Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. At this point, they belonged to Disney? Maybe? I dunno.

Author's Note: Christmas Break! Merry Holidays! My Christmas present to SuperSentai199, a nice long chapter, and the conclusion to "Shadow." with my profound apologies, Ed the Plot Bunny did NOT want to work on this, and then my DVD with this episode conveniently had skips in the last half of the episode so I had to fill in the blanks on my own with the help of YouTube, and...well, here's hoping you like it!


CHAPTER SEVEN

SPD HQ

Cruger snapped his fingers, making Boom jerk to attention. "Boom. Analyze the data in the computers and get me everything we can on those spikes."

"Sir…that's Kat's job," Boom protested. "I-I mean, all I do is R&D-"

His commanding officer sent him a glare with his dark eyes, and Boom shut up instantly. "She's not here," Cruger barked at him. "Can you do that?"

Boom swallowed. "I'm not sure-"

Cruger's voice lowered to a growl. "Go!"

Boom nearly knocked over Sky and the other Rangers as the B Squad came sprinting into Ops.

Sky glanced around. He didn't see Kat, or-Where's Luna? The SPD officers that were sitting around them were all very engrossed in whatever tasks they were working on, and Commander Cruger…Sky studied his CO. Cruger was pacing, muttering to himself under his breath.

He exchanged a look with Jack. The Red Ranger seemed just as worried as he did. "Sir?" Jack ventured. He looked at Sky, and Sky nodded, the first thing they'd agreed on all day. "I may be out of line," Jack continued, "but you seem to be losing it."

Cruger whirled, his lip curling back in a snarl. "You are out of line, Cadet Landors."

"Sir," Sky jumped in. "I'm gonna have to agree with Jack."

"That would be a first," Cruger said snidely at the two of them.

"I do, too," Z said.

"Me too," Syd agreed.

Bridge raised a gloved hand. "Me three," he added. His left hand had slipped out of his glove and he waved a few fingers in Cruger's direction. He didn't need the entire surface area. Cruger's aura radiated red—he was definitely upset about something—but then, shades of violet.

Cruger was worried about something. "Sir," Sky pressed, noting the look on Bridge's face. "Sir, what is it?" Suddenly, the fact that Kat and Luna weren't in the room made it somehow worse. "Sir, either tell us now or we walk," Sky said. "I'm not gonna work for someone I can't trust."

He saw Jack look at him from the corner of his eye. "I agree with Sky," he said.

Z leaned over to Bridge. "Might wanna get that glove back on," she whispered. "There's all kinds of weird emotions going on here."

Cruger clasped his hands behind his back, and lowered his head. "Rangers. When I told you of my past…I did not tell you everything. Kat says that a team has no secrets. And Luna tells me that a leader works with his team to resolve an issue." He let his hands drop to his sides as he sat down in his command chair. "While the great battle for Sirius was raging, I was fighting on the front lines. General Benaag snuck behind the frontlines…and captured my wife, Isinia."

Syd put a hand to her mouth in shock. Z slipped an arm around her.

"Benaag taunted me. But I was overwhelmed. I couldn't save her, couldn't get to her in time." His voice took on a faraway tone. "I never saw Isinia again."

Sky immediately thought of Luna, of her father, that night in the hospital. He'd been gone before she'd even had a chance to know what was going on. How Sky had tried to push his way into her hospital room before they'd taken her away.

"Sir," Jack spoke up, deferentially. "You can't blame yourself."

"You were overrun at your position," Syd added.

"And you had your troops to think of," Z reminded him.

"Your planet was at stake," Bridge said.

"And, Sir," Sky heard himself saying, "it was clearly a trap." An impossible situation. There was no satisfactory outcome. But, Sky thought, knowing that-

"Knowing all those things," he heard Cruger say, "does not stop my nightmares."

If Luna were here, she'd have something comforting to say, Sky knew. Speaking of which- "Sir, where are Luna and Dr. Manx?" he asked.

Before Cruger could say anything, Boom came back into Ops. His face paled a little at the expression on Cruger's face, but he managed to say, "S-sir, I found something you might want to see. I-I didn't look at the spikes, 'cause well, I'm not sure I can do that, but, but what I can do is look at security footage, because you asked me that first, and-"

"What is your report?" Cruger asked, sounding a lot less accusatory this time, Sky noted.

Boom looked at Cruger, and then at Sky. He threaded his way through the Rangers and punched up the footage Cruger had asked him to analyze.

Camera 001 had a pretty good view of the front plaza of SPD Headquarters. The team crowded around. Sky spotted Luna's purple top instantly, sitting on the side of the fountain he'd scrubbed painstakingly with a toothbrush not that long ago. He watched Kat join her, watched the two of them talk.

He heard the warning tones of the building going into lockdown.

And then, he spotted Benaag and a handful of Krybots materialize out of nowhere, and hustle the two women off the plaza, and out of range of the camera. Luna!

Cruger growled furiously. "This will not happen again!" He looked at the Rangers.

"We're on it," Jack said immediately. "Let's go talk to Piggy, see what he knows."

Halfway out the door, Sky turned back to look at Cruger. "We'll find them, Sir," he said, determination in his voice. "We'll bring them home."


Undisclosed Location
Newtech City

Luna hissed in pain as her fingertips made contact with the invisible barrier keeping her and Kat prisoners inside an old trailer. "Ow!"

"Force field," Kat noted. "Control switch is on that wall," she added. "Looks like Benaag outfitted this for a special occasion."

"A special occasion indeed," the rumble of Grumm's voice agreed. The two women looked up to see Grumm-still in his human form- and Benaag, enter the trailer. Grumm stood just on the opposite side of the barrier, looking at Luna curiously. "You must be Officer Oliveira's daughter. I can see it right around the eyes."

"I get out of here and the first thing I'll do is rip yours out with my bare hands," Luna promised. Sky would be so proud.

"Broodwing made a mistake leaving you alive ten years ago," Grumm told her. "I could easily rectify that mistake now." He lunged at the barrier, and Luna shrank back, her back hitting the wall. Grumm laughed. "But no. As delightful as it would be to eliminate you…" He looked at Benaag with an evil glint in his eye. "To see two women so close to Cruger perish in front of his eyes would give me even more pleasure."

"Cruger is coming for us," Kat told him.

Benaag snorted. "He didn't come for his wife. He won't come for you. Though, he may send the Power Rangers," he added. He looked at Grumm. "And we could make today even more miserable for Doggie Cruger."

Grumm nodded thoughtfully, his eyes glinting dark red. "Now," he mused. "There's an idea."


Piggy's

Aliens and humans alike scattered as B Squad strode into Piggy's. The alien proprietor looked like he wanted to pull his hair out-at least, he might have if he'd had any hair.

"You're killing my business," he accused Jack.

Jack shrugged. "Sorry to hear that, Piggy," he said, not sounding sorry at all. Sky didn't bother to hide his smirk. "How about you answer a couple questions for us, and we'll be on our way?"

"I'm outta that kind of work."

"Of course you," Sky said smoothly. "We just thought you might've heard something about a friend of ours-Kat Manx?" He deliberately left Luna's name out of it-the less people knew she was back, the better. Especially people like Piggy.

Z plopped down in one of the folding chairs, and propped her boots up on the tabletop. "You know, Syd," she said conversationally to the Pink Ranger. "I kinda like it here. I might become a regular."

Piggy glared at her. "I don't know anything about Kat Manx!" he repeated.

Bridge nodded, looking around the space. "You know," he said thoughtfully, "I'm the editor of the academy newspaper…on top of being a pretty big loudmouth. I could have this place bouncing off the walls with SPD-"

"Oh, all right!" Piggy exploded, throwing his hands in the air. Sky got a nasty whiff of the alien's body odor but did his best to rein in his expression. Piggy looked around, as if someone might jump out of the dirt. "Grumm is here," he confided to the cadets. "On Earth."

Sky's blood pressure skyrocketed. Grumm. The leader of the Troobian Empire. The one that Hector Oliveira was sure Broodwing had been dealing arms to.

Luna and Kat are in way more trouble than we thought. This just got a hell of a lot bigger.


SPD HQ

Armed with their new knowledge, a very somber SPD B Squad returned to Ops. Boom and Cruger were there waiting. Sky's nails dug into his palms as Jack relayed what they'd learned about Grumm. Cruger's jaw had dropped open in surprise at the news, replaced with a low simmering fury.

"Boom." His voice was tight, controlled. "What did you learn about those spikes?"

Boom swallowed. "Uh. This is what, uh, what we know. Okay, we know that the spikes are being placed, and, ah, and activated. The one downtown, then the harbor. And uh, the airport, the West End, the East End…" He swallowed. "A-after analyzing them, I believe that they are proton spikes. By themselves, they're harmless. Well, unless you pull them out of the ground without deactivating them."

Sky's comments from the MegaZord earlier to his commanding officer came back to bite him in the ass. "You were right, Commander," he said slowly. Cruger only met his eyes with a slight nod.

"I-if a mega neutron spike were to be placed in the middle of all of the spikes and activated," Boom went on, "well….seismic activity on a Q3 level."

'No doubt that's why Grumm has come to take a look at the destruction himself," Cruger said finally, processing all the new information he'd received.

"I say we give Grumm a little destruction of his own," Jack said darkly. The other cadets nodded in agreement.

"Be patient," Cruger said. "Grumm is a cunning adversary. If we act too soon, we may fall into his trap."

"And if we wait?" Bridge questioned, his hand in the air.

Cruger looked at the Green Ranger. "That may be a trap as well."

Bridge let his hand fall. "I was afraid you'd say that."

The doors to Ops slid back, and RIC, the team's Robotic Interactive Canine, scrambled in, his metal claws scrabbling on the tile. "RIC!" Syd exclaimed, bending down to pat the android dog on the head. RIC sat for her, and his optic sensors projected a holographic message. A 3D hologram of General Benaag appeared.

"Doggie Cruger," his voice announced. "Once again, I have taken something of yours."

Z put a hand on Sky's arm, as the Blue Ranger looked ready to tear Benaag apart.

"Benaag, you will pay for this," Cruger assured him.

The general seemed unfazed. "I will be waiting for you, Sector 4, Quadrant 6. Come alone. One hour."

Benaag stepped back, revealing Luna and Kat. Sky could see the intermittent flicker in the air that meant there was a force field keeping them in. He could also see something strapped around Kat and Luna's waists.

And the terror Luna was trying to mask as she tried to be strong while Benaag taunted her friends and family.

He heard Bridge swear, something the Green Ranger did not do unless things were really bad. Sky glanced backwards. "Those things…the belts?" Bridge whispered. "Demolecularization belts. Once the timer goes…" He trailed off, looking at Sky apologetically.

"It's a trap, Doggie," Kat said softly.

Their commander remained silent, but offered her a silent nod.

Someone else stepped into frame. The human, the one that had been with Benaag earlier. Only now…his eyes were glowing. Bright red. "Oh, I assure you," Grumm's gravelly voice said. "It absolutely is."

"Grumm."

"One hour, Doggie Cruger. Otherwise the demolecuralization belts will activate, and their molecules will be scattered across the sector." Grumm looked back at Luna. "Then again…this one and I have something we need to settle. Perhaps," he said, "this one I'll keep."

"Don't you touch her," Sky hissed, and it took Jack and Bridge both to hold him back. Cruger silenced him with a glare as Grumm's laugh faded and the hologram disappeared.

"Sir, I think Z and I should go after Kat and Luna, and Sky should lead the others in stopping the spikes from being planted," Jack suggested. That suggestion earned him a death glare from Sky, but Sky knew why he'd done it. He understood it, but-

It didn't mean he had to like it. The look on Luna's face was burned into his memory. I lost her once. It's not happening again.

"A good plan," Cruger was saying. "But not the one we'll employ."

Sky looked up. Was Cruger going to suggest what he hoped he was?

"Jack, take the other Rangers to make sure that seventh spike is not secure."

Damn it.

"What about Kat and Luna?" Z asked.

"Yeah, we don't leave a man behind," Bridge said. "Even if that man is a cat…woman. And a Tangarian."

"I appreciate your concern for them both," Cruger said. "But I have given you my orders."

Sky shook his head. "Sir, these four can pilot the MegaZord without me. Let me go after Kat and Luna!"

Cruger fixed him with a Look. "Do not challenge my order. Go."

Sky glared at him, but held his tongue. He better know what he's doing, Sky thought. Swallowing that thought, he turned on his heel, and followed the others to the Zord bays, jumping into Delta Runner 2. Jack punched in the commands, and the Runners combined into their MegaZord, landing in front of the giant robot of Benaag's that was currently trying to set down the final spike.

"There he is," Syd said over the comms.

"No matter what, we hold our position," Jack ordered. "He does not get by us to put that thing down."

The Delta Squad Megazord pushed back against the robot as it fought to get past them to the coordinates programmed for the final spike. Bridge and Sky, in charge of the Zord's feet, had their controls pushed down as far as they'd go, digging the feet into the pavement.

"Don't let up!" Sky muttered to Bridge.

"Holding," came Bridge's terse reply.

The faster we kick this guy's ass, the faster we can get to Luna, Sky thought. The thought of her in Grumm's hands made him sick to his stomach. First this guy, then Grumm, Sky promised.

"Sky!" Bridge yelled, and Sky returned his concentration to the present, shoving the throttle down again.

"I've about had it with this game of tug of war," Jack said. "On my signal, we're gonna destroy that spike and take this guy out in one move. Are we ready?"

"That was really vague," Z retorted, "but say when, oh Fearless Leader!"

Sky could practically hear Jack's smirk. "Now!" Bridge and Sky let go of their throttles, and the big robot suddenly had nothing to push against. It toppled forward, and as it did, Syd grabbed onto the spike. She held it high and out of the way as the other robot came crashing to the pavement.

"Down for the count!" Jack exulted. "Let's put this thing someplace where SPD techs can deactivate it," he suggested.

"And then let's go kick Grumm's ass!" Sky said.

Jack nodded. "Yeah, that sounds good too."


Luna's hands shook as she watched the countdown timer on her belt slowly ticking away. "Kat…I don't wanna die," she whispered hoarsely.

Kat put an arm around her and pulled her close. "We're going to be fine. Cruger and the others are coming for us."

"I remember…." Luna swallowed. "I remember feeling like this the night my Dad got shot. I can still feel it sometimes," she added. Her hand drifted up to her shoulder. "Sometimes it still burns."

"Would you have done anything differently?" Kat asked her.

Luna shook her head. "No. I would've jumped in front of my Dad a thousand times more, if I thought it would've done any good."

Kat nodded. "Keep that in mind right now," she told her. "That feeling, of not wanting to give up. Don't start now."

Luna settled into her embrace. "If I get out of here," Luna said, "I'm telling Sky I love him. Is that weird? Is that just the threat of impending doom talking?"

Kat smiled. "No, honey, I don't think that's weird at all," she told her. "Actually, I think it's about time."

Luna looked up at her in confusion. "We've all known you've liked him, even Cruger, since well before everything with your Dad, with all this," Kat said, waving a hand. "Your Dad and Sky's mom used to talk about it all the time. In fact, Jess Carson and Amanda Drew were already teasing that Bridge and Syd were going to be Best Man and Maid of Honor someday at your wedding."

"Really?" Luna bit her lip. "He always said I was like his sister."

Kat ran a hand through her hair. "That's because Sky is a boy," she said with a teasing grin. "And boys are dumb."

Luna laughed, despite it all.

From outside, there was the sound of a giant explosion, and then, the wall of the trailer in front of them blew apart. Startled, Luna and Kat got to their feet and squinted into the bright light. Outside, they could see a tall Power Ranger in a blue and black SPD uniform going on the offensive against General Benaag.

"That's too tall to be Sky," Luna noted. "Who is that?"

Kat smiled, as tears pricked the corners of her eyes. "That," she said, "is the SPD Shadow Ranger. Cruger."

Luna's eyes widened. "Doggie? No way!"

"Get him, Doggie!" Kat yelled from the trailer. At their waists, the countdown clocks became more insistent.

"And hurry!" Luna added in panic.

"Don't worry, he's got some backup!"

Luna had to hold onto the wall to keep herself upright at the shock of seeing Sky and Bridge come running toward them. The two men climbed into the trailer. "Sky!" she exclaimed.

"What, nothing for me?" Bridge asked, studying the panel controlling the force field and the belts.

"Hi, Bridgey," Luna replied. "God, am I happy to see you both."

"Nice save," Bridge grinned. "Let's see…yeah, okay. That part's easy enough." He adjusted a couple of dials, and the force field stuttered, then faded away. Luna leapt at Sky, wrapping her arms around him. Kat moved to help Bridge with the belts as Jack, Syd, and Z kept a perimeter on the outside of the truck, watching Cruger battle with Benaag. Benaag drilled him in the side, and Cruger howled in pain.

"Where's Grumm?" Sky demanded, running his hands over Luna's arms, as if checking to make sure she was really there.

"No idea," Luna admitted. "One minute he was monologueing his plan for world domination, the next, he was gone.

"He wasn't going to stay for Benaag," Kat said. "His lieutenants are loyal to him, but not the other way around."

"Hey no pressure," Sky cut in, his eyes widening at the belts. "Bridge, move it!"

"You know, it's really hard to work with you yelling like that," Bridge said tensely, his fingers flying over the control panel. "I don't know which one-"

"This one," Kat decided, punching a couple of buttons in quick succession.

The belts beeped insistently…and then went quiet. Kat ripped hers off and flew out at Doggie Cruger just as Benaag dropped to his knees, armor laced with smoking laser burns. Cruger picked her up as Syd and Z both awwww'd in happiness.

Sky looked at Luna. "You wanna do that too?" he asked her.

She put her arms around his neck. "Just don't drop me," she teased him, as Sky swung her in a low circle.


The team walked out onto the battlefield, where Benaag was struggling to get to his feet. Cruger held out his morpher. "General Benaag," he intoned. "You are charged with kidnapping."

His morpher beeped angrily. "Guilty. You are charged with the genocide of five planets."

The morpher beeped again, the red X flashing across the screen.

"Guilty. You are responsible for atrocities across the galaxy." Cruger's voice got harder and harder with every accusation. The X flashed again. "And," he added. "You are charged with the disappearance of Isinia Cruger on Sirius."

His jaw dropped as the morpher changed to a green circle. "Innocent?" Cruger gasped. "But how-"

"There's so much you do not know, Cruger," Benaag hissed at him. "Maybe we can cut a deal?"

"No way in hell," Sky spat at him, his arm around Luna.

Cruger seemed to echo that sentiment. "What I do know is where you're going, General Benaag."

Benaag howled and came charging at him. Cruger lit him up with the Shadow Sabre, and pulled out a containment card. "We'll be sure to talk some more," Cruger bit, locking Benaag inside the card.


SPD HQ

The five SPD Rangers, Kat, and Cruger, returned to base and worked through the mission debrief. Once everything was settled, and the recorders turned off, Kat turned slyly to Luna. "Hey, kiddo," she said. "I think you had something to say to someone?"

Luna's eyes drifted to Cruger. "Uh, I did. Um, I just want to say-"

"You were right," Cruger cut in. He looked at Kat and Luna. "You both were. The secrets I kept could have been deadly today. So I promise, from today forward," he added, looking at the entire team. "No more secrets."

"Well, sir, you are a Ranger now," Syd pointed out with a smile. "That makes you part of this team even more than you already were."

"What I wanna know is why there's a 00 on your chest?" Bridge questioned.

"It's a 100," Jack countered.

Bridge frowned. "Where's the 1?"

As Kat attempted to explain the suit design, Luna took that opportunity to usher Sky out of the room and down the hall. She didn't stop until they were back at Sky's quarters. Sky led them inside and let the door slide shut. "What's going on?" he demanded.

"I love you," Luna blurted out. She grimaced. "That…that was not how I wanted that to go."

Sky grinned. "You love me?" he repeated. She nodded, biting her lip the way she always had when she was nervous.

"I just…when I was sitting there with Kat in the dark, and I didn't know if-if I was gonna make it, all I could think about was 'man, I should tell Sky that I love him, you know?' Because I never really got the chance before and it would've been a shame to never tell you, and on top of that Kat's like, 'well we all knew you did,' and so it would've been really crummy if you heard it but not from me, and-"

Gently, Sky tipped her chin so she was looking up at him, and brushed a finger over her lip. "Well…I love you too," he told her. Then, he frowned. "Wait…is that what Kat was saying about you wanting to tell someone something?"

She nodded. "Thank God you waited until we were out of Ops," Sky said, relieved. "'Cause I'd hate to see Cruger's Shadow Sabre firsthand, and if he'd heard me say that, he probably would've lit me up like he did Benaag."