In Commander Shaw's quarters, the evening was progressing well. Ravi, Roxy and the Commander had enjoyed their first course and were just waiting on the second, while killing some time. Commander Shaw was overjoyed to have Ravi back in her life after their rift, and now getting to know Roxy was an experience she had been longing for.
She had known Roxy, of course, for quite some time, but given the way things had happened, she hadn't had the usual experience of getting to know he special woman in her son's life in that context. Roxy, for her part, seemed to be taking the night in her stride. She had been asking all sorts of questions about Ravi and what he was like growing up. It led to a part of the evening that Commander Shaw and Roxy were loving, but Ravi…not so much.
"Aw, look at him, that is adorable!" Roxy gushed as she looked at one of the pictures. It was a baby crawling around on the floor. Ravi's face was in his hands as she poured over the photo albums. "You were such a cute baby!"
"Yeah, so I've been told." He grumbled. "Mom, do we really have to do this?"
"If our guest insists." Commander Shaw told him.
"Oh, I insist alright!" Roxy giggled, continuing to leaf through. "So, just about all of these seem to be taken on military bases, you've always been in the forces?"
"Our family has been in service either in this country or in the subcontinent for generations." Commander Shaw told her. "With a few…select…exceptions. It's something of a Shaw family tradition."
"I can tell, some of these photos are pretty amazing." Roxy commented. She found one from some time ago, where Ravi looked to be around grade school age, but he was already in a uniform. Standing beside him, with a proud look on his face, was a very distinguished looking bearded man, in uniform, with a number of medals on his chest. She inspected the photo thoughtfully. "Is this Mr Shaw?"
"General Ayaan Shaw." She replied with a smile. "Yes, that was Ravi's father."
"He was a very handsome man." Roxy complimented him, her voice getting a little quiet. She knew it was likely a sore subject. "Do you mind if I ask what happened to him?"
"It was stomach cancer." Ravi answered sadly, looking at the photo. "This was my first day at grade school. I think…I think this was about a year before he died."
"That must have been really rough." Roxy said sadly. "My family might drive me crazy at times, but I couldn't imagine anything happening to them."
"It was a very difficult time." Commander Shaw said, taking the photo album from her and running her fingers over the picture. "He was such a strong, independent man. I think that was part of the problem. Even when he started to get sick, he only went to the doctor when I made him."
"I really miss him too." Ravi admitted, holding his mother's hand. She just nodded.
"Now, how would you like to see one of those black sheep of the family I was telling you about?" Commander Shaw asked her. She flipped the pages, coming to a man who was dressed far more casually than any picture she had ever seen of Ravi or any of his relatives. "This is Ravi's grandfather, my father."
"Oh my goodness, really?" She asked.
"He was a jazz musician." Ravi said with a smile. "He was one of the coolest people I knew. He served his tour of duty before we emigrated, but once his tour was up, he decided he preferred music to the military. Jazz was his first love, but he never did settle for just one instrument."
"I still have all his music, albums and instruments." Commander Shaw chuckled. "No matter how much room they take up, I just never have the heart to donate them or throw them away."
"I guess he must be where you get your artistic side from." Roxy stated. Ravi fell noticeably quiet when she said this. Roxy looked between him and his mother. "You know…his painting."
"Yeah, it's just…it's just something I do." Ravi said in an off-hand way. "It's just…"
"I'd heard something about that." Commander Shaw sighed. "I'd very much like to see some of your work some time."
Ravi just looked to her a little curiously.
"What?" He asked. "I thought you said…"
"I have been wrong about a great many things, Ravi." Commander Shaw told him. "A young man who is very wise for his years reminded me that even the Samurai, who were some of the most dedicated and disciplined soldiers in history, were great artists."
"Really?" Ravi asked. He'd often worried about his mom's attitude to his art. It was something he loved, but she had long said that she considered such pursuits a waste of time.
"Many of them were great painters. Others wrote poetry. Some were musicians." She recalled. "Having a balance in life between discipline for what must be done and what one has a passion for is essential to the balance in life that creates a more rounded person."
"I never knew you thought about it that way." Ravi responded. She just nodded.
"Like I said, a very wise young man set me straight on that." She answered. "So, perhaps some time you could show me some of your work."
As he was about to answer, there was a knock on the door. Commander Shaw got up and went to the door, opening it. Betty and Steel were outside.
"Betty?" She asked. "Steel? What's going on?"
"Commander, really sorry to disturb you." Betty began. "I think this is something you all need to hear."
In the Crystal Dimension, Evox was being recharged by Scrozzle. The robotic henchman watched as he Morph-X drained into his master, powering him and repairing him after his long exposure to the weakening element of Mayor Daniels' human DNA.
"I grow stronger with each treatment." Evox hissed. "Soon, I will no longer need these degrading treatments."
"Master, I'm glad you're getting stronger, but at this rate it won't be long before we run out of Morph-X." Scrozzle pointed out. "If that happens, we'll be trapped here."
"Master, let us repay the debt we owe you for our failure." Blaze begged him. "Give us just a little Morph-X and we'll return with…"
"No, I have made alternative arrangements." Evox told them. "Let's just say that after your recent performance I've decided to outsource some of your duties."
"Outsourced?" Roxy demanded in an irritated tone. "You're benching us?"
"As Scrozzle correctly pointed out, we're running low on Morph-X, and if we run out, then we're stuck here." Evox pointed out. "But I know a mercenary who has his own way of skipping across dimensions which means he won't be using any of our resources."
"A mercenary?" Roxy asked dismissively.
"Hey, what's to lose?" Blaze asked her. "If he succeeds, we get the Morph-X. If he doesn't, we don't have to pay. Sounds like win-win to me."
Before Roxy could protest though, there was a bright flash of light, and a portal appeared. Evox rounded on it.
"Ah, impeccable timing." He stated. "It looks like our mercenary is right on time. There's something to be said for reliable henchmen."
Roxy rolled her eyes and crossed her arms defiantly. Blaze watched as Ryjax stepped through the portal, closely followed by a human that looked somewhat vaguely familiar. Given the state of her clothes and her hair, it looked as though she'd been his prisoner for at least a few days or so. She had a heavy looking mechanical collar around her neck. Ryjax made his way towards Evox.
"Ah, Evox, at last we meet." He greeted him. "As you can see, I've already completed one of those little jobs you asked me to do."
He snapped his fingers and gestured Kendall forward. The former Purple Ranger had little choice but to walk forward, before he pointed down. She tried to resist, but she fell to her knees before Evox.
"Wait, who's that?" Blaze asked him. "What do we need her for?"
"Wait, she looks familiar." Roxy mused, looking to her. "Wait…Ranger History Class…she used to be a Ranger! You, you were a Ranger, weren't you?"
"Answer her, slave!" Ryjax ordered her. "And no lies."
"I am Dr Kendall Morgan, Purple Dino Charge Ranger." She forced out. Blaze just circled her, inspecting her thoughtfully.
"Well, it may not be one of OUR Rangers, but I suppose capturing a Ranger isn't a bad start." He commented. "So, what do we need her for?"
"All in good time." Evox waved him off. "Ryjax, you've proven yourself. I'm impressed. I feel that our deal will be mutually beneficial."
"Hey, as long as I get what I want, I don't care what you do." Ryjax told him. Roxy took this opportunity to interject.
"Um…yeah, just a thought. He's a mercenary." Roxy reminded everyone. "How can we trust him?"
"You can trust me as long as I get paid, princess." Ryjax answered.
"And…what exactly are we paying him in?" She asked, gesturing around. "I mean, unless he's got a thing for crystals, I'm wondering how we can afford mercenaries."
"Oh, we've already got an arrangement." Evox assured her.
"I'm a collector, you see. I collect tech from all over the multiverse." Ryjax told her. "Lord Evox told me the Rangers here have a proper little treasure trove of Ranger tech in their base, just ripe for the picking! All we need to do is take out the Rangers, and I get fist pick of anything I want!"
"Ranger tech?" Roxy asked.
"I already have one of the most extensive collections of evil tech ever assembled on my ship on their Earth." He told her. Roxy flicked a look Blaze's way, who just nodded. They took note of that detail, Ryjax had confirmed his ship was somewhere in the Rangers' dimension. "But with Ranger tech…oh, that just sounds like the kind of sweet score I've been looking for across hundreds of dimensions!"
"So, what makes you think you can take out the Rangers with a few old weapons?" Blaze asked him. Ryjax just looked to Evox, who produced a blaster.
"Perhaps a demonstration of your talents is in order." Evox suggested, throwing it to him. Ryjax caught it, before producing another device. Blaze and Roxy watched as he activated it, bathing the blaster in a strange, glowing energy. Before they knew what had happened, there was a flash of light, and a very familiar creature appeared.
"Vargoyle?" Blaze stated, recoiling in shock. Given the way Vargoyle looked around in amazement, it seemed that he was just as surprised as everyone else to be back.
"Wait, what happened? Where am I?" He demanded. Before he got his bearings, Ryjax snapped a compliance collar around his neck. He instantly fell to attention.
"As you can see, as long as I have a possession with enough contact DNA material, my reanimiser can bring back a clone of anyone that used it." He told them. "And this compliance collar ensures he is under my complete control."
"Your complete control?" Roxy asked.
"Oh, you still doubt me?" He asked, before looking to Kendall. "Slave, get up!"
She got to her feet, at which he pointed to the nearby workbench.
"Go over to that bench and pick up the hammer." He told her. Kendall did as she was told, knowing that whatever he had in mind couldn't be good. As she picked up the hammer, she looked to him. A sick grin crossed his face.
"Splay out your left hand on the table." He told her. "Then break the pinkie and ring finger of your left hand!"
A look of horror crossed Kendall's face. She tried to resist, but it was utterly pointless. The collar seized control of her body. Blaze and Roxy watched as she put her hand on the table, splaying out her fingers, before raising the hammer above her head. She brought it down with a loud bang, and a scream of agony erupted from her as she fell to her knees, clutching at her hand. Tears streamed down her face as she held her hand to her body.
"Jeez…even I think that was messed up!" Blaze commented. Roxy just nodded her head in agreement.
"Now, if we're quite done here, I understand you're looking for Morph-X." Ryjax commented. "I'll just go and get some with my new pet here. You can keep the Ranger, just as we agreed. Come, Vargoyle! We've got a delivery to pick up!"
As he disappeared, Evox looked down to Kendall, who was still clutching at her injured hand. She looked up at him defiantly through her tears.
"Whatever you're going to do to me, just get it over with." She hissed through pained gasps. Evox just laughed.
"Oh, you aren't here as some kind of toy. There's something I need from that pretty little head of yours." He told her in a low, sinister tone, coming close to her. "I want you to tell me everything you know about how to create a Biozord."
Kendall gasped as she looked to him, realising the predicament she was in. It was not unusual for Rangers to end up in their enemies' hands, that had unfortunately happened on more than a few occasions. However, generally when that happened, it was for some kind of gloating or torture. She hadn't thought about the kind of dangerous knowledge that she had, and now, thanks to the compliance collar, she was powerless to stop herself telling him all he needed to know.
Back at Grid Battleforce Headquarters, the Rangers were all assembled hastily in the Command Centre. They saw Ravi's shirt and smiled.
"Whoa, look at you!" Zoey complimented her. "Now I'm feeling under dressed."
"I didn't know that there was a dress code for emergency briefings these days." Devon added.
"If you're quite finished." Commander Shaw said with authority. The team all stood to attention. "The night shift received a transmission that is quite concerning. I wanted you all to hear it."
She then proceeded to punch a few keys on the computer, accessing the recording.
"This is an emergency APB from Commander Chaku of the Galactic Police Force." A voice stated. "A dangerous criminal by the name of Ryjax has been sighted coming into this sector. Ryjax is wanted in connection with a string of serious crimes across numerous dimensions."
"Dimensions?" Nate asked.
"He is to be considered armed and extremely dangerous." The transmission continued. "If sighted, it is highly recommended he is not engaged, but that an emergency signal is sent on this frequency."
She shut off the transmission and looked to the Rangers.
"So, I guess we should get the obvious question out of the way first." Devon started. "Do we even know if this transmission is legit? It could just be someone playing a prank."
"I've already traced the signal, it crosses a dimensional barrier." Steel informed them.
"So, either this is a serious threat being called in by an inter-dimensional police force." Ravi suggested. "Or the most epic-scale crank call in history."
"We shouldn't rule out either possibility just yet." Devon said, suddenly taking the reins of the situation. He liked to joke around, but when it came to his responsibility as the leader of the team, he would always err on the side of caution. "I sincerely doubt someone's wasting all their minutes on their interdimensional cell phone plan just to mess with us."
"That's a wise decision." Commander Shaw answered. "We may have weakened Evox for now, but until we know that this threat is contained one way or another, we should treat it as being every bit as dangerous as Evox himself."
Just then, there was an alarm. They all groaned.
"And just when I thought I might get some studying done tonight." Zoey complained. Nate pulled up the details on the computer.
"It's an attack on a storage facility." Nate told them. "Early reports say that the intruder looks extra-terrestrial."
"An alien?" Steel asked. Devon just nodded.
"This is way too much of a coincidence." He stated with authority. "Something tells me that Ryjax just made his move. Commander, tell Joanne to be ready to send the hardware. I'm not taking any chances, we're going in loaded for bear!"
Back in the Crystal Dimension, Kendall was still holding her broken fingers, kneeling before Evox as he listened to her describe in detail the secrets behind how the biozords were created.
Keeper had shared with them the secret of how they came to be before he died. He had told them all about how he had created them 65,000,000 years before to defend the Earth. Shelby and Sarah had even managed to create a new one, the Spinozord, albeit with some rather mixed results. It had worked eventually, but it took them a while to figure out how it had come to life.
Kendall cursed the damned collar around her neck. She would sooner have died than tell any evil being how the zords were created. Even in the pain she was in now, she would have withstood any kind of torture that Evox could throw at her rather than give him the secret to creating some of the most powerful weapons ever created. Yet here she was, telling him everything, and there was nothing she could do to stop herself.
"So, that's all that's needed." Scrozzle cackled. "I don't claim to be much for the mystical side of things, that was always more of a Zedd thing than a Machine Empire thing, but…"
"I will be able to replicate the process." Evox hissed triumphantly, beginning to stroke Kendall's head softly. "Thank you, Purple Ranger. You've been most helpful. Soon, I will have everything I need to destroy the Rangers once and for all."
He saw the pained expression on her face and sniggered.
"Now, go and see to that hand." He told her. "After all, you're no finished yet."
Kendall dutifully got up, heading to the workbench to look for something to make a splint for her broken fingers, all the while her mind racing with the horrible thoughts of what Evox could now create, all thanks to her.
A/N: OK, so no one has gone for my little challenge, so rather than just give up, I'll give you another go. Here's a little reminder.
In the previous chapter, Ryjax made reference to someone sending him a bunch of flowers, which he didn't find funny, so in response he sent them a crowbar. This is a reference to a real-life incident involving a celebrity that Ryjax kind of reminds me of. Let's see if anyone can get the reference.