"Ya-Ohoch!" For the past hour, Jack had been attempting to try to go though the holding cell wall, something that had always been a piece of cake for him. He was about to go at it again, until Z grabbed a hold of him and pulled him back.

"Okay, that's enough," she exclaimed in an almost motherly tone.

"I told you, Jack, the force field that's around the bars prevents you from going through with your powers," annouced Cruger for the tenth time.

"Can't blame a guy for trying," he responded. It wasn't that he didn't believe Commander Cruger, it was just he was the team leader. The team was counting on him. He had to at least try.

And he was right; no one could really blame him for wanting to try. Earth was in danger, their friends and families were in danger. Sam wouldn't be able to last long on his own. They needed to get out of here and soon, otherwise…

"Sir." Syd slowly walked up to Cruger, as if she were a frightened child. They had been through a lot this year, even had a number of close calls, but they always managed to come out on top in the end. "We're going to get out of here, right?" He was their Commander, leader of SPDs earth base. He had to have a plan, right?

He just stood there staring in her eyes, looking at him as if he had all the answers. He was older, older then any human, he had seen and been through a lot in his life time. In the past he had always been able to provide them with answers, but this time he didn't have all the answers. He didn't know if they could get out of here. He didn't know whether they would still be alive by the end of the day. He didn't know whether or not the Earth would still be around a week from now. "I don't know, Sydney…" he answered with a heavy sigh.

It finally began to sink in for all of them, that this really could be the end. There would be no tomorrow, see yah later. This was it. This would be all they would ever have. A deep silence fell, as all of them sank to the ground, leaning their backs against the walls.

Jack sighed heavily, letting reality sink in. If he had known he would only live to be nineteen years old, maybe he would have tried to track down his parents, tell them how sorry he was for leaving. He knew Z thought he didn't care about them, but the truth was he did care, more then she would ever know. His mind soon drifted to Ally, who had become someone very special to him, they weren't boyfriend and girlfriend, just yet, and now they might never be. She would never what she means to him.

Syd thought of her parents, the people she loved with all her heart, they had given her everything she could have ever wanted. But right now she would trade all of those things just to know that they would make it through this and that she would see them again.

Bridge had become very quiet; his mind was on his family, but he soon found himself drawing to his teammates, or two of his teammates, as if he were picking up on their feelings. He looked over at Z who sat close to Jack; she really had no one back home, no family, no friends, except maybe for Sam. It hadn't occured to him until then just how lucky he was. He looked over at Sky, who had been keeping to himself ever since his blow out with Commander Cruger. Sky was the opposite of Z, he had people back home that cared about him, whether he chose to believe it or not.

Z rested her head against Jacks shoulder, as he wrapped his arm protectively around her. He had protected since the very first day they had met. He was there for her in the darkest moment of her life and now they were both faced with a new dark moment. One she didn't know if they would make it out of. She took some comfort in knowing if today was her last day, at least she wouldn't be alone. She would have Jack and the new friends they had made this past year. She had lost her family years ago, but had gained a new one.

Sky had his head lowered. He felt like he had let the team down. It wouldn't have been the first time he had let them down, that he let his anger or his pride get the best of him. Now they were faced with what could be the end. He didn't know how to get them out of this one. He didn't know how to lift up there spirits as he had when they were all thinking of quitting. Even Commander Cruger seemed to have given up. Sky sighed heavily as his mind drifted to Eric who had been trying to connect with him for the last six years, but every time Eric or Hayley invited him to visit. He turned them down, saying he was too busy. ...Now he'd give anything to see them one last time.

Cruger felt at a loss of what to do. And Isinia felt helpless, nothing she could have said would do much good. All seemed hopeless; it would take a miracle for them to make it through this….

"I'm bored, when do we get to have some fun!" whined Mora, as she ran up to Gruumm who was heading towards the room where Omni was.

Gruumm muttered under his breath. He was starting to grow annoyed with her. She was becoming more of a nuisance to him than of help. None of her monster creations had been able to defeat the Rangers; no, he had to get them on his own. "Soon, now go play. I have something very important that I must do."

"But I'm bored, you promised you'd play a game with me," she yelled and slammed her foot down.

"MORA, GO!" he roared into her face. He laughed as she yelled and ran away from him. He sighed heavily and started back towards the chamber room where Omni, his master, was kept. "Kids…"

Else where...

Cliff had made it safely aboard Gruumm's ship without anyone seeing him. He was in Gruumm's chamber room. No one was in sight. He looked around the room and then his eyes fell onto a table where the Rangers morphers were: just what he was looking for. He quickly scooped them up and was on his way. He knew there wasn't much time left. He needed to move fast, Omni's power suit was complete and Gruumm would soon be sending him to Earth. And then the biggest battle of their lives would be before them.

He peered out the chamber door, checking to see if the coast was clear of Krybots, not that they would be a problem for him. At least they didn't used to be, but that was before he turned on Gruumm. He moved back a few feet when he saw a shadow coming towards him; it kept on coming closer and closer. His heart raced with fear, thinking it was Gruumm. He moved back further, until he was backed up against the wall. "Shit. I'm toast." There would be no questions asked, Gruumm would kill him right where he stood.

"Who's there!" yelled a soft demanding voice. It wasn't Gruumm, at all, but something just as bad.

"Mora…" She might just be a child, but she was plenty dangerous. He took a deep breath as the door opened, and found young Mora staring right at him.

"You? I thought you were dead!" she exclaimed angrily, as she walked up to him and kicked him in the leg. "Traitor, you made friends with the no-good humans!" And she really did sound offended, as if she had really looked up to him and the others. "How could you? They killed our parents, or have you forgotten?"

She really was a victim herself, like himself and the others; she had been lied to. She believed the lies Gruumm had fed to her, just as he once had. Maybe he could help her see the truth as he had, but… Mora was more complicated. She had just been a baby when she was taken. They had changed her, made her older than she was and now her mind was under the control of Omni. For all he knew Mora could be lost, but he had to try. After all she was the daughter of his mother's closest friends, even though he hadn't realized that until that moment, until the truth had settled in and became clearer. "Mora, let me explain, you don't-"

"Explain what!" she shrieked. "I'm going to get Gruumm!" She turned and started towards the door. "Oh Gruu-"

"No!" Cliff moved fast and grabbed a hold of her, putting his hand over her mouth before she could yell out for Gruumm.

He realized that until Omni was destroyed it would be useless to try to get through to Mora. He wasn't strong enough yet to break whatever hold Omni had on her. He placed her in a closet. "I'll come back for you," he told her with a heavy sigh.

"Hey, this isn't fair. You can't do this-"

Cliff quickly shut the closet door. He hated having to do that, but he had no other options. "I'm sorry, one day you will understand." With those final words went on his way in search of the Rangers, ignoring Mora's pleas as she pounded on the closet door.

Gruumm bowed in front of Omni. "Soon, my master, Cruger will be defeated and I will have my revenge and once-"

"I care nothing of your conflict with Cruger," hissed Omni as his one eye moved right into Gruumm's face, staring him down. For years he had controlled Gruumm, it even had been part of his devious plan to capture the children, but like most things Gruumm had screwed that up. They had turned and now were dead; all that remained was Mora.

"But-"

"I have spoken!" exclaimed Omni furiously. "Only once the Earth has been destroyed and humanity beaten, only then will you have your revenge upon Doggie Cruger."

"Of course, my master."

"Now, is my body complete?"

"Yes, we can begin now if you like. I have the Rangers imprison here on this ship, the Earth is yours for the taking, and we are in its atmosphere as we speak."

"Yes," he hissed. "Let us begin."

"It is time for your demise humans!" announced an orange Krybot as he and four blue heads approached their cells, each holding powerful blasters. He eyed Cruger and Isinia. "Emperor Gruumm will deal with you two himself." He opened the cell and they surrounded it so no one could get out.

"No!" roared Cruger, going at the orange head, but only to be hit by a stun beam, by one of the blue heads.

"Doggie!" cried Isinia, as she ran to him and knelt by his side.

The orange head prepared his blaster. "As I said, you'll be dealt with later!" he announced. He turned his attention back to the Rangers. "Now, which one of you wants to go first?"

"I will!" announced Sky loudly. "Take me first." He moved in front of his friends until he was just a few feet from the orange Krybot.

"Sky, are you sure about this?"

"Trust me on this, Jack. This is the way it's got to be." Sky looked at his attacker, determined, willing, and ready for what was ahead of him. "Ready when you are freak!"

The orange head laughed, as he pulled the trigger and waited for it to hit Sky the blue Ranger, but it never did. Just before it was about to hit Sky, a shield formed in front of him and expanded; all the Rangers were protected. "Fire now!" he ordered as several shots were fired, but none of them were able to breal through Sky's shield.

"Seems you got a problem there, orangie!"

The orange head turned around and found Cliff standing behind him. "You? I thought you were down on Earth?"

Cliff smiled wryly. It appeared that the Krybots have not been fully filled in by Gruumm yet, which gave him the advantage. He took a quick glance at the Rangers before looking back at the orange Krybot. "I was, but I got bored." He moved around so that he was now in front of the Rangers. "So it looks like you're having a bit of a problem, huh?"

The orange head was starting to grow suspicious, but there should be no reason to. Cliff and the others had always been on their side. Gruumm had not indicated any problems with them. "Yes, you could say that," he hissed as his eyes fell onto Sky. "That one keeps bringing up a shield preventing us from killing them."

"I could help you," Cliff grinned cunningly. "You know. Take down that shield for you." He moved his hands behind his back, on the other side the Rangers could see their morphers. "Just tell me when you're ready and I'll get out of your way and you can blast them into oblivion."

The orange head turned to his counterparts; they nodded their heads. He looked back to Cliff. "Ready!"

"Good. It's going to be a blast," Cliff excliamed as counted to ten in his head. It was a dangerous move and he would only get one chance, so he had to do it exactly right. "Rangers, now!" He jumped in the air, doing a flip, just as Sky released the shield. Cliff went right over the Rangers' heads, dropping their morphers rights into their hands. They morphed quickly and blasted the Krybots away, before they could even say a word.

"Good work, Rangers!" announced Cruger as he and his wife stood up.

"Power down!" The Rangers unmorphed and all turned to Cliff, who had started out as an enemy but had become an ally by saving all of their lives.

"Cliff!" Cruger's voice roared loudly, like he was going to bite his head off. Cliff tensed up, a little afraid, but knew he had it coming, he just hadn't expected it. "Good work!" Cruger patted him on the shoulder.

"Yeah." Z smiled and took a hold of his arm. "You saved us, thank you."

He smiled faintly. "It was the least I could do, after everything's that's happened."

"Are the others okay?" asked Syd, eager to know what had become of the remaining A-Squad Rangers.

He sighed heavily; he didn't even need to say it. The look on his face was enough to show what had become of his teammates.

"We need to move fast, Rangers. I fear it could already be too late," announced Commander Cruger. "Return to Earth and save the academy." He turned to his wife. "I want you to go with them."

She sighed heavily, but knew it was for the best. In order for him to fight Gruumm, he needed to know she was somewhere safe. "Of course." She kissed him gently on the cheek. "Just promise me that it won't be another twelve years until I see you again."

"I promise." He had spent more than a decade believing he had lost her forever; there was no way he was going to let anything tear them apart. He eyed Cliff. "Cliff, I want you to stay here with me, I'm going to need you for this fight." He knew he alone would not be able able to defeat Gruumm. He was going to need help.

"I'd be honored to fight along side you, sir!" exclaimed Cliff. He could not believe after everything that had happened, after everything he and the others had done; that Commander Cruger trusted having him fight by his side.

"I'm staying too, sir," announced Sky in a firm voice, as if he has already decided it long ago.

"Sky-" started Cruger.

"Gruumm ordered Mirloc to kill my father," Sky announced as he looked his Commander in the eyes. "This is something I need to do, sir, for me." It wasn't just something he wanted to do. It was something he had to do. He needed to see the look on Gruumm's face when they took him down once and for all. Gruumm needed to pay! Years ago Gruumm had ordered Mirloc to take away the only thing that was dear to him. It was something he would never be able to get back, but he could get justice. He had already brought Mirloc in. Gruumm was the final piece in getting his father the justice he deserves.

"I'm sorry, Sky, but I can't let your personal feelings get in the way," announced Cruger with a heavy sigh as he gripped Sky's shoulder. "Your team needs you more."

"But sir-"

"That's an order.!" he exclaimed firmly as he looked Sky hard in the eyes. Now was not the time for arguing. "Disobey me and I will have you removed from the academy. Do I make myself clear?"

"Perfectly," Sky answered firmly seeing it was pointless. Commander Cruger just didn't understand.

"Good."

Eric, Sam and Nova handled Broodwing, while the cadets and officers fought off the Troobian army. Already the ground was littered with bodies from both sides. Cadets and officers had bravely sacrificed themselves for the cause. They would never be forgotten.

The battle reminded Eric of that one grim day going back nearly twenty years ago. A day when nearly a hundred Silver Guardians had lost their lives protecting the city of Silver Hills. A day when he came close to losing his own life more than once that day; if it hadn't been for Wes he probably wouldn't have made it. They had made it through that day and lived to tell the tale, so he knew they could make it through this day. There was still hope. The future had not been set.

Broodwing kicked Eric hard in the chest, sending the Quantum Ranger flying right into a tree. Eric's body dropped and rolled to the ground. Sam knelt down to him and gripped his shoulder. "Rest here, we'll take care of him." He looked to Nova. "Right, Nova?"

"Right!"

Eric watched as the two ran towards Broodwing. He took a moment to pick himself up from the ground. He was pretty beaten up, his helmet was busted and his suit was a mess. He threw off his helmet and tossed it to the ground. He whipped the blood dripping from his lip off. He locked his eyes hard on Broodwing, watching as he fought off Sam and Nova. Both of them were excellent fighters, but even they weren't powerful enough to defeat him. "It's time to end this!" He picked up his sword from the ground, tightening his hands around it.

"Your time is up, Broodwing!" Eric's voice rang loud as he charged. He jumped on top of Sam's and Nova's shoulders, doing a flip over Broodwing, landing right behind him.

Broodwing didn't stand a chance, three rangers on all sides of him. He turned towards Eric, thinking he would be the easier target, but he would later learn that was a mistake. "Go to hell!"

"You first!" Eric snarled, as he slashed Broodwing with all his might. Nova and Sam soon followed, hitting Broodwing's back side. The three stepped back and watched as Broodwing dropped to the ground in a powerful explosion that took out some of the Troobians.

Eric took deep breaths as he stepped around Broodwing's unmoving body; he kicked it with his foot, but Broodwing never budged. They had defeated him, but this was only the beginning. Something far worse was coming, and from the look of the darkened sky it was going to be soon. Eric turned to Sam and Nova. "Get everyone prepared, this isn't over yet."

"Yes sir!" yelled Sam, as he ran to help the cadets fight the remaining members of the Troobian army, which were soon joined by over thousands of Krybots. He's coming, Sam thought, he knew if they didn't win this battle he wouldn't have a future to go back to. "Come on, cadet's, we can do this!"

Eric stepped around to the side and leaned against a building, taking a deep breath. He was exhausted, to say the least, and he was more than sure he already had several broken ribs. But he couldn't let that stop him, as he watched the battle carry on. He watched as the cadets and Sam fought against the powerful army. He was all they had. He couldn't quit now….

"Are you all right?" her voice was full of concern. "Maybe you should step out, let Sam and me handle this."

"I'm fine. Just needed a minute." He pulled away from the building, but was just barely able to stand on his own. "Come on, let's go finish this." He gripped her shoulder.

Sky was more than just angry that Commander Cruger had denied his request to join him in taking down Gruumm, he was furious. How could he do that to him? He knew how important it was to him, to take Gruumm down; it was because of him his father was dead. He needed to see the look of fear in Gruumm's eyes, watching as all his plans and dreams fell to pieces, just as his own dreams and plans had been shattered after his father's death.

He sighed heavily, knowing the others wouldn't understand. They all thought he was too serious, too pigheaded and had too much of an ego. Maybe they were right, but this was still something that was important to him, it was not just something he wanted to do, but something he needed to do, for himself. It would be his way of making peace, taking the pain away that he had been holding in all these years.

"There's the portal, just like Cliff said," announced Bridge as he walked up to it. It was a bright, shiny and colorful bulb of light, their ticket home, that's if they still had a home. "So who wants to go first?"

"I think you should test it out first, greenie," annouched Z, as she playfully pushed Bridge into the portal. A moment later and he was gone.

Z smirked. "Guess it works." She turned to Jack. "See yah on the other side, brother!"

"I'll be right behind you." He smiled. Once Z had gone through the portal, all that remained was himself, Syd, Sky, and Cruger's wife. "Guess it's my turn," Jack said as he walked through the portal to join Z and Bridge on the other side.

"Go ahead, Syd," smiled Sky, as he motioned for her to go through the portal. "Ladies first."

Syd couldn't place it, but there was something in the sound of his voice, like he was hiding something. "You aren't going to do something stupid once I go through, are you?" she asked searching his eyes.

He had to give her that, she might be a dumb blonde at times, but she always did have her ways of knowing other's true intentions; especially his. "When have I ever done anything stupid?"

Isinia stepped in and smiled kindly at Syd. "Don't worry, Sydney, I'll make sure he gets out okay."

Syd nodded her head and smiled. She stepped towards the portal, but took one last look over at Sky, setting her eyes on him, as if something told her it might be for the last time. Which was silly, he was going to go right after her. She shook the thought off and headed into the portal, to join the others back on Earth.

"Look-"

"You don't have to say anything. I know when a man has made up his mind," answered Isinia. She wouldn't try to talk Sky out of doing what he already had set his mind on.

"Then you, for understanding what I have to do."

"I understand." She walked up to him so they were face to face. "But I also know doing this won't fix things, it won't change what happened to you."

"I won't know if I don't try." He nodded his head and turned around and started down the hall, until he heard Isinia calling back for him.

"Is doing this worth losing your place at SPD?" Was it worth losing everything he has worked for all these years?

He didn't even have to think about it. He looked over his shoulder and answered. "That's a risk I'm just going to have to take."

"And what do I tell your friends?"

"Tell them I'm sorry." And with that said, Sky disappeared down the walkway…