Eric sighed as he fell into his bunk. They were back on the Astro Megaship Mark 2, heading for yet another planet in search of Grumm. It had been eight long months since he, Wes, and the others had departed Earth. Leo and Andros' observations had been correct.

Grumm attacked the planet near Mirinoi, and they drove him back… but he wasn't through. He had ordered the attack, but he wasn't there.

They had saved the planet, but had been following the space criminal in hopes of putting an end to everything. According to their recent readouts they were close… so very close to the ultimate battle that he could taste it.

Communications had been lost from Earth the day before, and he remembered the look on Taylor's face when he told her he wasn't through with his mission. She was hurt, but happy to hear he was alright. He had learned that Sky and Ani (now going by AJ) were doing exceptionally well in all fields at the academy.

Sky had met a boy named Dru and, according to Taylor, they were inseparable. Sky was placed in the C-Squad group of cadets training to be rangers, while Animaria was chosen to work on the science end of things with Kat. She wasn't terribly disappointed, but Eric knew his daughter wanted to be a ranger someday.

Collin suddenly had his heart set on being a doctor, while Lucas had decided that he wanted to be a Silver Guardian when he grew up.

Eric kicked himself mentally for not being home. More than anything, he wanted to be there with his family, but he knew he was doing this to protect them.

The sliding of the door made him jump slightly. Wes sauntered in and sat on the bed across the room.

"Andros has confirmed the Grumm's ship is on Onyx. It's not too far away, so we could be looking at a battle pretty soon," the Time Force Ranger said.

"The sooner the better," Eric replied. "I just want to get home."

Wes grinned. "Me too… but I have to admit, I never would have thought of you as a family man."

Eric snorted a bit as he sat up and looked at the picture he had brought of his family. "To tell you the truth, neither did I… Who would have thought giving an ordinary speeding ticket would lead to all this?"

"Not me, that's for sure… Jen and I had a bet to see how long you'd last until you finally killed each other… I think it's up to, oh, a few thousand dollars now."

Eric just smiled. Wes was in every sense of the word his brother and, though he wouldn't admit it, he was glad to have him in his life.

"Guys," Leo said as he ran into the room. "We've got trouble." Both rangers were on their feet immediately, following the Red Galaxy Ranger to the bridge. What they saw when they looked on the screen made their blood run cold…

Bodies were scattered around the planet's surface… it seemed like hundred of them…

"Oh my God," Kai said softly.

Then they all saw Grumm himself staring at them. His bright red eyes bore into each and every one of them.

"You think you can stop me!" he cried as he pointed his finger at them all. "You're pathetic, weak… just like Cruger! Especially you Quantum Ranger!" Eric's fists formed into tight balls, and Wes saw the unmistakable anger written on his partner's face. "You couldn't even protect those brats of yours from my hit man! Pathetic!"

"You son of a bitch!" Eric cried.

Grumm just laughed. "I see I've hit a nerve! Come down here and face me like a man or I'll finish what I started!"

Eric made the move to go, but Andros held his arm. "Surrender Grumm. We have a squadron of Rangers here and we're not afraid to take you on," the Space Ranger said.

"Fools! All of you!" He cried. "You will never stop me! None of you, or SPD will ever be able to defeat the mighty Grumm!" With that, the Alien disappeared in a flash.

"He'll be back," Leo said.

Eric was seething. How had he known about his children in the first place? "I'll kill him if he touches my kids again."

"He won't. We're going to stop him before he gets there," Wes said confidently. Eric calmed down somewhat, but Andros knew it was time to formulate a plan.

They all found themselves around the conference room table, going over various tactics, but Eric's mind was on one thing… Stopping this maniac from hurting his family.

"Grumm despises Commander Cruger," Andros said, breaking Eric's train of thought. "He found out that Cruger had placed Eric in charge of SPD on Earth and decided to make things personal." He then told the others about Ani and Sky's abduction, and the others now understood why Eric hated the creature so much. They all had their own families after all.

"Tomorrow we move to strike," Zhane finished. The others agreed and left, but Eric sat completely still in his seat.

"Commander?" Eric turned his head to see one of his cadets. "Are you going to be alright?"

Eric waved him off. "I'll be fine," was all he said as he walked back to his room… he was going to finish this once and for all…

It was very early when Eric made his move. Wes was sound asleep in his bunk, and Eric was thankful for that. He strapped on his gear and his morpher and took one final look at the picture of his family.

He placed a letter to Taylor next to it and left.

Moments later, he was on the surface of Onyx, looking at the fallen bodies around him. So many lives lost because they didn't get there in time… he was going to make sure nothing like that ever happened again.

"Grumm! You son of a bitch! Get your ass down here and fight me!" he cried out.

Moments passed before he heard sinister laughing coming from behind him. He turned and faced the creature.

"I see you've decided to take me up on my offer," he said as they circled each other.

"You're going to pay for what you did to all theses people… all the others you've destroyed… you're going to pay for hurting my family," he said through clenched teeth. "SPD Emergency!" he cried into his Quantum Morpher. Moments later, he was transformed, charging at the enemy.

Wes woke up with a start. He looked at Eric's bed.

"Damn it Eric!" he cursed as he got up and ran down the hallway to get the others.