A/N: If the last conversation of this chapter hits you right in the feels, that's exactly what it's meant to do.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: What you recognize as canon belongs to Hasbro.

Chapter 17: Trini's Choice

Taylor hovered in the air using the Animarium Armor, watching as what had once been her air base now stood as a giant robot in the distance. The robot's movements were cumbersome as Venjix took time to get the hang of moving it. That was good. They needed that time.

She floated back down to the temple. "Animus, I know you're watching. Thank you for the Animarium Armor. Now we need your help, one last time." She shut her eyes, willing the ancient being to hear her words. In the distance, she heard the giant robot take a step towards the Animarium, emphasizing her need.

Then she felt the sensation of the Falcon Summoner appearing over her arm again. Opening her eyes, she looked down to see four crystal sabers appear on the ground in front of her. And in her free hand, a small red orb appeared, the falcon wildzord visible within.

Maya ran over, holding a small orange orb. "Giraffe gave me this." Past her, she saw Summer also approaching, with a small green orb. Turning, she watched as Z and Tanya stood by the two zords they had been interacting with, now staring at the blue and purple orbs they held.

"Thank you, Animus." Taylor reached down and picked up two of the new sabers, handing them to Maya and Summer. "Take these. Place the orbs in the holes." Then she picked up the other two sabers as Tanya and Z approached.

Finally, she summoned her own crystal saber, and placed Falcon's orb within. Raising the summoner, she put her saber in place and drew back. "I know you're not my eagle, but I know you'll help me when I need you." She took aim at the mountain. "Falcon Zord, descend!"

The red pulse flew towards the mountain, and fire erupted. The falcon emerged.

Retrieving her saber, Taylor looked back down to see that the other rangers had morphed, and held their new sabers aloft. "Let's put them together." She held her saber towards the middle of the group, and they did the same. The orbs glowed.

But then the Animarium trembled. The robot had reached it. A horde of cyclobots emerged from it, charging towards the wildzords and attempting to disrupt the formation of the megazord. "Look out!" Lily exclaimed, morphing. Trini, Ashley, Kelsey, Katie and Jun'ga came up alongside her, all morphed already.

"Go!" Katie told Taylor. "We'll hold them off. Chrono Saber!"

"Power Daggers!"

"Star Slinger!"

"Rescue Blaster!"

"Jungle Bo!"

"Claw Cutters!" Jun'ga's lobster-claw weapons formed around her hands.

Taylor summoned the soulbird, and she and the other four rangers chosen by the wildzords climbed on, flying up and into the Isis Megazord. With the efforts of the cyclobots thwarted by the others, the megazord took off, drawing the giant robot's attention away from the Animarium.

"Giraffe Spear!" The first attack glanced off the robot. Venjix had reinforced the walls of the base. Taylor wondered what internal transformations it had done to strengthen the structure like that, but there wasn't time to worry about that.

"Isis Stare!" Again, nothing. The robot swung its arm, swatting the megazord away, and the rangers inside were forced to hold on tightly as it tumbled through the air for a while before managing to right itself.

"That's not a feeling I missed," said Maya. "What do we do?"

The megazord flew around the robot, and saw an opening at the back. "There," said Tanya, pointing. No sooner had they seen it, however, than the robot had turned back towards them.

"We need a distraction," said Taylor. Then she spotted a small craft in the distance, and the ranger who was flying it. "Or maybe, we need to be the distraction."

Trini swung her daggers, slashing at the robots and sending sparks flying everywhere. The cyclobots certainly didn't go down as easily as Rita's putties did, but she could prevail against them, nonetheless.

She looked up and saw Ronny arrive on what looked like a large flying motorcycle, with a device strapped to the back of it.

"That's it," said Katie, running to the device and pressing a button. The device glowed.

"Look out!" Trini darted over as a robot came up behind the ranger from the future, striking her. Shoving her dagger through the robot's head, she knelt down. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I will be," Katie muttered.

"What do I press to set off the device?"

Katie looked at her. "It's too dangerous. If you don't make it out of there in time..."

"I will," Trini assured her.

Katie hesitated a moment longer, then nodded, and showed Trini the button that was now surrounded by glowing light. "That one. Get it close to the receiver, then get the heck out of there. Once it's powered down, that robot will be an avalanche of falling stone and metal."

Trini nodded. "I've got it." Then she stood and downed two more cyclobots before climbing onto the motorcycle behind Ronny.

"Ready?" Ronny asked.

"Ready."

Ronny took off again, and Trini held on tightly.

As they left the Animarium behind, they saw the megazord flying around the robot, dodging its attacks. Taylor's voice emerged from it. "Ronny, there's an opening in the back. We'll keep it distracted, you get over there."

Ronny nodded, aiming for the back of the robot as the megazord landed a strike to its front. Sure enough, the robot stayed focused on the megazord as she closed in, until she was hovering right outside of the open entrance. "You're up," she told Trini.

Trini nodded, taking the device with her and leaping through the opening. Getting to her feet, she realized that she was standing on a wall, inside of a building that had turned on its side. That could make getting around difficult.

The progress was slow as she navigated through the lopsided corridors. There were places where she had to climb, using doorways as hand and footholds, and the device made that difficult. The movements of the robot didn't help matters. Then, as she was perhaps approaching the heart of the robot, she heard words that made her freeze. "Welcome, Trini."

The voice was deep and mechanical, and came from a speaker above her, at the end of the corridor she was climbing. "Venjix?"

"You are fighting for the wrong side. I can help you."

"No thanks." Trini continued climbing, until she reached a room with a large screen. A large machine at the center of the room hummed, and the battle outside echoed through the walls. She approached the machine. She didn't know if it was the receiver, but it certainly looked important.

"The rangers from the future know your fate," said Venjix. "They won't change it, but I can. I can change what will happen, Trini. I can save you."

It felt like her blood turned to ice. "What do you mean?"

The screen came to life, showing a grayed-out picture of her. "Your future will end in tragedy. I can change that."

She stared at the image.

No, it couldn't be true. Venjix was trying to trick her, like it had tried to trick Taylor with the fake transmission from her husband. Trini couldn't trust it.

She turned to the machine, raising the EMP device.

"I am telling you the truth, Trini. You are sealing your own fate."

Trini glared at the image of herself on the screen. "Maybe, maybe not. I have no way of knowing for sure. And I don't want to know for sure. I'll learn about my future the way I'm supposed to, by living it. And whatever happens to me will happen." She placed the EMP device on the machine. "And your future ends now." She pressed the button.

The device let out a high-pitched whine, and she ran for it, leaping back down the corridor she had climbed. As she landed, there was an explosion above her, and the giant robot rocked. She leapt down the next corridor and ran, darting towards the opening. The robot began to teeter over, and Ronny was forced to move away from the opening. Trini charged forward and leapt, and for a few seconds there was nothing but empty space below her and a collapsing robot above.

And then she was grabbing onto the flying motorcycle and Ronny was racing them away as the robot crashed to the ground behind them.