Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached the end. The final installment of SPD - Year 2. There will be a small epilogue coming in the next few weeks. Thanks to everyone whose given this series a chance and read and commented. It's been awesome. Enjoy!
POWER
RANGERS: SPACE PATROL DELTA
YEAR TWO
"DESTRUCTION, 2"
Searing pain. That was all Doggie Cruger could feel spreading through his body in that moment. When Omallix's energy charge struck him like lightning, Cruger felt his heart stop...or at least he should have, he thought to himself. Cruger saw past the pain and realized he wasn't dead. He had seen Omallix's destructive power before and a blast that powerful almost crippled him months ago. He wasn't even morphed now and he wasn't destroyed. He's weaker, Cruger thought. That could be the only explanation. Cruger regained more and more of his bearings, but his eyes remained closed. His other senses were working to his advantage.
His keen hearing alerted him that Omallix hadn't moved from his position in the corridor outside the laboratory. Cruger did hear some erratic footsteps coming from nearby. He hoped Z hadn't found trouble. He had no time to worry for the Yellow Ranger, though. He began to hear the stomping steps of Omallix's metallic feet moving towards him. His nose provided more evidence. He could smell Omallix getting closer. He reeked of blood. Cruger wasn't going to let Omallix's thirst for it destroy him, especially since he had redemption in the palm of his hand...literally.
As he heard Omallix's steps get close to his thighs, Cruger began to smell him getting even closer. Omallix was bending down to peer at him. This was the time to strike. Cruger sent his leg flying into the air in the direction of the smell, striking Omallix in the head. He staggered backwards, giving Cruger time to roll onto his knees and grip his Shadow Saber. He slashed the weapon straight across Omallix's chest, sending him flying backwards out the doorway and onto the floor in the corridor, near Felix's body. Omallix groaned in pain, as his body smoked.
Cruger got to his feet and sheathed his saber, turning his attention to his best weapon in this fight. He extended his hand, as Omallix looked up from the corridor floor, seeing the Patrol Morpher.
"This ends now! S.P.D. Emergency!"
Cruger's morph sequence began, but somehow it was different, Cruger thought to himself. He felt his suit form around him and even felt the snug helmet materialize on his head. Something, however, was very different. The sequence didn't stop there. He felt a black vest form over his chest. The red outline of the number "100" was the only color on this new...gear. A small communications headset was soon attached to his helmet, along with braces at his elbows and knees. They were agility enhancers, Cruger knew. It was then that he realized what Kat's microchip was all about.
'Kat, you're the best,' Cruger thought, proudly.
Now fully morphed, Cruger cast his gaze on Omallix, who was staggering to his feet. He could tell his enemy was a bit surprised at what he saw. Cruger had no problem reinforcing the truth.
"S.P.D. Shadow Ranger...S.W.A.T. Mode!" Cruger shouted.
He lifted his hand, which held his Shadow Saber. It too was different. The blade's handle felt bigger. Cruger saw two long black metal tubes extended from the handle down both sides of the silver blade. There was a small red button on the grip of the weapon.
"Ahhh!" Omallix yelled in fury, sending another blast of red lightning energy from his eyes.
Cruger blocked the bolts of energy with his saber, then extended the weapon in front of him, pressing the red button, which caused red lasers to shoot out, piercing Omallix in the chest. The monster stumbled off down the hallway. Cruger followed, passing Felix's body in the corridor. Omallix continued to fire back at him, alternating between blasts from his eyes and from his palms. The Shadow Ranger launched himself over the first set of energy strikes and fired his saber blaster at Omallix again, blocking the second blast as he landed. He brought the saber down for another blow, but Omallix blocked it and made his way down the stairs.
Back down the hallway, inside the lab at the end, Z Delgado was in a fight for her own survival. Charlie had her by the throat. Her grip was too strong, Z thought, as she glanced across the room, near the door, where Charlie had knocked her Delta Enforcer from her hands. She needed to get it back. She used all of her energy to ram Charlie backward into a storage shelf, causing all of the medical contraptions to fall from it. Charlie's grip loosened a bit and Z broke free. The Yellow Ranger ran for the blaster, but just as she reached out to grab it, Charlie grabbed hold of her S.W.A.T. vest from behind.
"I don't think so," Charlie grunted.
She got a hard grip on it and slammed the Yellow Ranger into the observation window, stomach first.
"Ah," Z yelled, as her body collided with the glass.
Both were shocked that it didn't break or even crack. Charlie swung Z around from behind, throwing her across the examination bed. Bolted to the floor, the bed didn't move as the Yellow Ranger's body went toppling over it and onto the floor.
"This day's not turning out to be as bad as I thought," Charlie cackled.
Down on the floor, Z writhed in pain. She was in trouble.
Down on Earth, the S.W.A.T. Megazord was also down, smoking from Cartiron's fiery blasts.
"No!" Sky yelled. "Syd! Quinn!"
The Red Ranger was instantly scared. He maneuvered the Delta Squad Megazord Mark 2 towards the fallen S.W.A.T. Megazord.
"Are you guys all right?" Sky yelled, through the communications controls.
There was no answer. He grabbed his morpher from his control console and popped it open.
"Syd, can you hear me?"
Bridge sat in silence in his zord. In that moment, there was no way he could dispute Sky. After all, he was worried for his friends too.
"We're okay," Syd shouted.
"Yeah," Quinn responded.
The Red and Blue Rangers both breathed sighs of relief. Inside the cockpit of S.W.A.T. Flyer 5, the Pink Ranger took a moment to gather herself, but as she looked out the front of her smoking zord, she realized there was no time.
"Guys, look out behind you!" Syd shouted as loud as she could.
The Delta Squad Megazord turned swiftly, as Cartiron was standing several feet away, with his arms extended. He brought them together into a clap, which sent a heavy stream of fire straight towards the new DSM. Without thinking the two Rangers inside activated the controls, sending the Megazord diving backwards over the fallen S.W.A.T. Megazord and into the air, ducking the stream of fire as it passed inches above the front of the diving Megazord, as if in slow motion. As the stream of fire ran out, the Delta Squad Megazord landed in a handstand, flipping to its feet.
"Whoo hoo!" the Blue Ranger shouted.
"Good job," Sky yelled, proudly.
There was no time to celebrate, however, as two more fireballs came flying towards them! One hit the DSM on the shoulder, followed by the second, which pounded the Delta Squad Megazord directly in the chest, sending it to the ground. Cartiron stepped closer to the area, gazing at each of the fallen Megazords.
"This is too easy," he said, darkly.
Inside the Delta Command Base's lobby, smoke from the Fericks' fire blasters filled the area. Retaliating laser fire from the S.P.D. Officers also whizzed by as they tried to repel the attack to no avail. Fericks were flooding by and the first wave, led by Jintari was already deep inside the base. Around a corner, twenty feet away from the corridor that would eventually lead them to the Command Center, C-Squad was crouched, firing their laser pistols into the fray, aiming for any Ferick they could see, thankful that Kat had upgraded all of the S.P.D. personnel's' weapons to be able to pierce the Fericks' circuitry.
"There's too many of them!" Duc yelled, as he ducked a fireball.
"We have to get to the Command Center," Meg yelled at his side. "We can't give up!"
"I can't even see a clear path!" Casey yelled from across the way, as she tried to peek around the corner.
The only thing she saw was an S.P.D. Officer falling after being blasted in the chest by a fireball. Three Fericks trampled right over his body. Casey lifted her pistol, firing directly at them. She hit the one in the middle, but also drew the attention of the other two.
"Uh oh," Casey said, as four fireballs came flying her way.
She ducked back around the corner, eyeing her friends on the other side.
"We can't go on like this!" she said. "We're losing more troops than they are."
Then, the three of them heard a rumbling sound. It was getting louder. It didn't sound like the clacking noise that the Fericks made as they marched across the marble floor of the base. This was an engine. The three members of C-Squad tried to listen harder. Duc lay down on the floor, putting his ear to the marble. His eyes squinted curiously.
"It sounds like a car coming," he said, looking confused.
Meg raised her head, as she heard something else.
"Are those tires screeching?" she asked.
Seconds later, the three saw it. The S.W.A.T. Truck came roaring into the lobby. It hadn't come from outside, but from further inside the base. It plowed past the corner where C-Squad was taking cover. They lowered their heads as metal parts of a dozen Fericks went flying. The robots were instantly cracked apart by the impact of the truck. It came to a halt a few meters from C-Squad's position, allowing them to see who was on top.
Commander Silverback fired lasers from the truck's cannon, while also using his free hand to fire shots from his old-fashioned laser rifle. He let out his simian call of attack, before looking back over his shoulder at C-Squad.
"You three just gonna stand there, are you gonna get your butts to the Command Center?" Silverback yelled.
Casey looked across the way at her comrades, who instantly got to their feet. The trio ran past the S.W.A.T. Truck and down the corridor. Duc and Meg turned a corner, running at top speed. Casey wasn't far behind, but she paused for a second before turning. She looked back down towards the lobby and saw Silverback firing at any metal moving. She caught up to her friends and they kept running. Back behind them, Silverback was still firing away.
"Officer Blanks, get me a better position," Silverback yelled down below.
Behind the truck's controls, Officer Blanks nodded. He keyed in a few commands and grabbed the steering wheel. The S.W.A.T. Truck turned to face a wall. They were sitting atop a flight of stairs that led down to the entrance to the Delta Command Base. This new position allowed Silverback to shift in the control seat and target the Fericks as they marched into the base. He used the truck's cannon and his own weapon to drop them by the pair as they came in. The only problem was that they never stopped coming.
Deep inside the Delta Command Base, two small feet were running as fast as they could. Sam's mind was racing. He had to get there, quickly. He finally saw the corridor he needed to cross over into. He was running so fast that his feet slid a bit as he tried to change directions. He saw it in the distance, almost glowing. He came to a stop in front of the plaque in the middle of the corridor and took a deep breath. Sam reached out to grab it. While he could reach the bottom of the gold memorial to Jack Landors, he wasn't tall enough to unhook it from the wall. Sam ran into the closest room he could find, located a chair and grabbed it.
He set the chair up directly underneath the plaque. In the distance he heard commotion. He had a feeling he didn't have a lot of time. Just as his hands grazed the sides of the heavy plaque, he could sense the commotion was getting louder. Another figure came running past that corridor quickly. So quickly that Sam didn't even notice him. His eyes were focused on the opposite direction, where he knew trouble was coming. The figure that had just run by came back, peering down the corridor, behind Sam, and saw the young boy.
"Sam!"
Sam turned to see Boom. The sound of hearing him shouting his name, however, caused Sam to lose his balance. The boy went toppling off the chair and onto the marble floor, hitting his head in the process. Boom ran as fast as he could. Once he was inches away, he slid to his knees, coming to a halt next to the fallen boy.
"Sam!" Boom yelled. "Are you okay?"
Boom tried to wake the child, without moving him, fearing he might have a concussion. Then, in the distance in front of him, Boom heard trouble coming. The marching feet of the robotic army was coming this way. He raised his head slowly, wishing and praying that it wasn't true, but by the time his gaze reached the far wall, they were there, five of them, coming in his direction. Boom grabbed the boy into his arms and turned his back on the Fericks, hoping to head back the way he came, but that was when he got another shock. More Fericks were coming from that direction. He was cornered.
Inside the Command Center, everything was smoky. It was, however, the only place inside the base where the smoke wasn't coming from the fire blasters of Fericks. Jintari's control device had caused an electrical burst to discharge through every station there, practically electrocuting anything near a control console. On the floor near the main control station in the middle of the room, Sophie lay. Her eyes began to flutter open, as her circuitry came back online. She registered the temporary surge of energy, as she got to her feet.
Sophie immediately noticed that the lights were out. Only the emergency blue lighting traced the floor and the ceiling. She looked around, regaining her bearings and trying to remember what she was doing before she was knocked offline. She walked over to the main console and touched it, instantly recoiling. It was burning out. She looked around, noticing Niyako & Ghiren weren't at their stations. She saw them on the floor and ran to their sides, trying to wake them.
"Ghiren," Sophie shouted at the large green creature. His large stature often made her think a tank couldn't stop him, but that electric charge certainly did. His fingers were still smoking. His pulse was faint.
She crawled over to Niyako, worried that she might not have made it. Her small body was much more susceptible. Sophie was glad she was still alive herself. She knew that if she weren't a cyborg, she would have surely died from the surge. Niyako too was breathing, barely. Sophie took a deep breath as she got to her feet and looked around. She walked over towards the exit doors, knowing the techs needed help, but she stopped before getting close enough to trigger the doors. There was an invasion in progress and there was no way she could risk opening those doors, or leaving the Command Center unprotected.
She cringed in fear. She wasn't human, but she might as well have been. She felt what they felt and she wanted to help. But, Sophie knew she had no other choice than to do her duty. She took a few steps backward away from the doors, as she felt something grab her leg. She turned quickly, taking a fighting stance, only to realize that it was Murphy. Like her, he was all metal on the inside and the blast had affected him only temporarily too. She breathed a slight sigh of relief. She didn't feel so alone, but with all of the controls down, she had no way of knowing what was going on outside of the Command Center.
Corridors away, Doctor Kat Manx was running at top speed. In one hand she had a laser pistol, pointing out ahead of her. She wanted to be ready if she ran into trouble. She knew it wouldn't take long to get to the Command Center from her lab. She turned a corner and trouble was right in front of her. She saw Jintari turn the same corner. It was a long corridor and an adjoining hallway was between the two. That hallway led to the Command Center. Kat slowly walked closer. Jintari did the same.
"Well well, Dr. Manx. We meet again," Jintari spoke. His voice echoed down the long corridor.
"This time you're not going to get away," Kat said, her pistol still drawn, pointed straight at the alien scientist, her evil counterpart.
"That plan didn't work so well last time I was here, did it?"
"I've learned my lesson," Kat responded. "Too bad you didn't learn yours. I don't know how many times I have to tell you to stay out of my base."
Kat pulled her morpher from behind her back, with her free hand.
"S.P.D. Emergency!"
Within seconds, Kat was morphed and standing even closer to that hallway. Her laser pistol was still focused on the green Shimitan scientist.
"Prepare to be judged!"
"I've learned as well, Doctor," Jintari said, as he came a bit closer.
Both inched closer to the hallway. For one of them it led to salvation and for the other it led to the final phase of a deadly plan.
"I learned not to put my faith in a human," Jintari said, as he snapped his fingers.
A large group of Fericks came marching around the corner behind him. Jintari nodded his head, affirmatively.
"Charlie's not with me this time," Jintari said, proudly.
Kat counted them. Seven Fericks, fourteen mechanical eyes all gazed at her, seven blasters trained on her. One Kat Ranger standing between them and the Command Center. Kat knew what she had to do.
"So, are you really going to stand in my way, Doctor?" Jintari sneered.
"Count on it!"
Kat spun her body into the air, whipping herself into a spinning maneuver, as she fired her laser pistol. The Fericks were a bit caught off-guard. They lifted their weapons towards the ceiling, firing at her, but Kat's spinning motion was moving too fast for them.
"Get her!" Jintari yelled, as he tried to point at her, but she was moving too fast.
Kat counted, as she saw the pistol's lasers connect with one Ferick, then another and then another. She couldn't hold her spinning formation and used her catty reflexes to grab a hold of the wall. The four remaining Fericks all fired at the spot. She launched herself off the wall and landed on the opposite wall, where she only remained for a second, before pushing off on her feet quickly, landing right in the middle of the Fericks. She used the laser pistol to jab one of the robots in the throat, before firing it on two more, sending them falling to the ground. The Ferick, which she had just maimed, was getting to his feet behind her, but Kat had her eyes on the one in front of her. He fired his blaster at her, but she dove away, sliding a bit on the floor. The fireballs from the Ferick's weapon collided with his teammate, destroying him. The Ferick quickly turned in Kat's direction and she fired at him from the floor, destroying him.
Jintari looked around, dumbfounded.
"No!"
Kat Ranger got to her feet and pulled her morpher out again.
"Where were we? Oh yeah. Prepare for containment!"
Jintari yelled in anger as he pressed a button on his remote device, causing more Fericks to come marching quickly.
"Do you hear those footsteps, Manx?" Jintari yelled. "There's more where that came from. You can't take on my entire army by yourself."
Kat thought quickly. She knew he was right about that. Then, she realized just how far she had come down that corridor. She nodded.
"I don't have to!"
Kat went sprinting off down the adjacent hallway that led to the Command Center, just as another half-dozen Fericks came running.
"Don't just stand there!" Jintari yelled. "Get her!"
The group went trotting off down the hallway, with Jintari following close behind. He had no idea how Cartiron was doing against the Power Rangers, but he knew that when the time came, he would have S.P.D.'s shields down, making them ready for the burning.
"We have to get up!" the Pink Ranger yelled inside the S.W.A.T. Megazord.
She saw Cartiron marching towards the Delta Squad Megazord. They had to do something to help.
"Some of the systems are fried," Quinn yelled from the green S.W.A.T. Flyer cockpit.
"We've got to give it everything we've got," Syd said.
Cartiron peered down at the Delta Squad Megazord, as he saw it smoking from the chest. He let out an evil chuckle.
"And here I thought it would leave a bigger mark," he said, wickedly.
"Sky..." Bridge grunted. "Can you feel your arms and legs?"
"Yeah, Bridge," the Red Ranger responded, taking a few breaths inside his cockpit.
"Me too," the Blue Ranger said, nodding nervously. "Just askin'. Is that Cartiron I see out my window?"
"Yeah, Bridge," Sky repeated, grimly.
"Okay...again, just askin'."
"We gotta get up," Sky said.
The Delta Squad Megazord began to move a bit, but Cartiron was right on top of them, literally. He pushed one foot down on the chest of the DSM, preventing it from rising. He raised a fist.
"It is time for your destruction!"
His fist slowly opened. A glimmer of golden light appeared there. It got bigger, as his palm opened more. The swirling ball of fire continued to get bigger and bigger, as Cartiron's eyes were focused in on the Delta Squad Megazord.
Inside his cockpit, Sky saw it. Cartiron was going to fire. He wasn't sure if the Megazord would be able to take that hit at this close range, despite the Delta Squad Megazord's upgrades. He never learned the answer.
The S.W.A.T. Megazord grabbed Cartiron from behind, pulling him off of the Delta Squad Megazord. The Green and Pink Rangers got the best grip they could, clenching the Megazord's hands around Cartiron's bulking arms. He wrestled against their grasp, but for the time being, they had him caught.
"Fire your weapons!" Quinn yelled. "Hurry!"
Bridge brought the Delta Squad Megazord to its feet, using every ounce of power he could muster. The DSM was right in position. Seconds passed by. The Blue Ranger got curious. The Megazord wasn't firing.
"Sky! What's wrong? Shoot!" Bridge yelled.
"We can't," Sky responded. "If we fire at this range we could destroy the S.W.A.T. Megazord too!"
In his mind, Sky knew he couldn't take that risk. At that moment, nothing filled his head except the visions of Syd and Quinn possibly being hurt. Was it his head, or his heart?
"Do it!" the Pink Ranger's screaming voice came through his morpher. "We don't have a choice. We have to stop him before he destroys the city."
"Sky!" Bridge yelled. Seconds went by and still nothing. "Sky! That's it. I'm taking over control of the weapons."
"No!" Sky yelled back at his friend. "I'll do it."
Sky ran his fingers across the controls with one hand, as the other was firmly gripped on his zord's steering wheel. He pressed the final button he would need.
"Firing!"
"Nooo!" Cartiron yelled.
The Delta Squad Megazord's hand squeezed the trigger of its blaster, sending three glowing streams of laser energy directly into Cartiron's chest. That blast was the biggest the Rangers had ever seen. Kat had outdone herself with the weapons systems on the new Megazord. Cartiron and the S.W.A.T. Megazord ignited in an explosion that blinded the Blue & Red Rangers as they watched intently.
"Guys?" Sky screamed into his morpher. "Syd? Quinn, answer me?"
Aboard Omallix's infiltrated fortress, he ran from the intruder. Omallix trotted into his throne room and ducked out of the doorway, waiting for the Shadow Ranger. His eyes caught a glimpse of the crashed shuttle in front of him. Omallix shook his head. This was a major setback, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was Cartiron destroying Space Patrol Delta and its Rangers. Omallix refocused, as he heard footsteps approaching, steady and calculated. He saw the drawn Shadow Saber slowly pass through the doorway. He eagerly waited for its owner to follow. When Omallix saw both of Cruger's wrists come through the doorway gripping the sword, he grabbed them from the side, preventing Cruger from using his new lasers.
The two fought over the weapon, as Omallix dragged Cruger further into his throne room. Instead of fighting the force of Omallix's body, Cruger switched gears, pushing himself further towards the evil criminal. Omallix was caught off-guard as Cruger pushed him backwards until his back crashed into the shuttle. Cruger and Omallix were face to face, closer than they had ever been before. Omallix fought Cruger's grip, as he tried to use his grasp of the sword to bring it close to Omallix's neck. The monster mustered all the strength he had. He could finally feel his power returning to normal. He pulled a knee up, hitting Cruger in the gut. Omallix scored a front kick, sending Cruger flying backwards into some nearby rubble. Omallix now had his hands on the Shadow Saber.
"Now, I believe I was planning your destruction," Omallix spoke loudly. His tone was dark and menacing.
As he walked closer to Cruger, wielding his enemy's weapon, Cruger staggered to his feet. Omallix felt the trigger button in his fingers and pressed it, sending the laser blasts directly at Cruger's position. But, the S.W.A.T.-outfitted Ranger was more agile than ever before. He launched off the ground, flying over Omallix's head. Cruger landed directly behind him, before he could even turn. When Omallix did turn, Cruger grabbed the Shadow Saber.
"That's mine!" he yelled.
With one hand on the sword, Cruger knocked Omallix into that same rubble with a side kick. Cruger took a fighting stance with the sword, training his eye on the villain.
"It's all over, Omallix!" Cruger yelled.
Several feet behind him, behind the shuttle, the glassed wall that Cruger had crashed into began to crack. One large crack was beginning to spread, while several smaller ones were growing larger.
Upstairs, the Yellow Ranger was also in a tough fight. She got to her feet, as Charlie glared at her, with her monstrous hands on her grotesque hips. Charlie cackled loudly.
"You just don't stay down do you?" Charlie sneered.
"I am a Power Ranger," Z grunted. "We don't give up...not the good ones anyway."
Charlie yelled in anger. Z took her chance. She hoisted herself into the air, just as Charlie used her arms to push off of the examination bed. In midair, Charlie went for a punch. As if in slow motion, the Yellow Ranger ducked the blow, swinging her body around to score a spinning kick that sent Charlie flying backwards into the far wall, just above the observation window. As Charlie slid to the ground, stunned, the Yellow Ranger landed near the door. Charlie got to her feet, as Z got her hands on her Delta Blaster.
Charlie sent a blast of laser energy from her eyes, focusing her burning rage on Z. The Yellow Ranger flipped out of the way, launching herself into the air. She landed on the examination bed, on one knee, with her Delta Enforcer drawn. Charlie stood in front of the glass window. The Yellow Ranger had moved too fast. She fired on Charlie, lighting her up with lightning-fast laser pellets from her Delta Enforcer. Charlie shook in a barrage of sparks and smoke, as the observation window behind her shattered as well. Z watched, as Charlie's monstrous body slumped backwards, sprawling her body between the two laboratories, seemingly hanging on the window sill. The Yellow Ranger hopped off the table and grabbed her morpher.
"Charlie, you're under arrest," Z said, sarcastically. "...Again!"
She pointed her morpher and zapped the dazed traitor, trapping her inside a containment card.
"No!" Charlie yelled from inside. "Not in here again! You're going to pay for this! You're all going to pay!"
The Yellow Ranger swiped the card off the floor and stared at it, shaking her head.
"Shut up!" Z said, calmly.
At that moment, she began to feel a slight rumbling under her feet. Z had no idea what that was about, but she knew she had to get out of there and check on Cruger. She ran through the laboratory doors and saw Felix's corpse on the hallway floor. She fell to her knees, placing her Delta Enforcer and Charlie's containment card on the floor by her feet.
"Felix!"
She checked for a pulse, but she didn't feel anything.
"Oh no," Z said, somberly. "We were too late."
Z glanced into the other laboratory, but saw no signs of S.P.D.'s Supreme Commander.
"Where's Cruger?" Z asked aloud.
In the main room of the base, the glass was cracking. Cruger turned, as his instincts kicked in. He could feel the floor shaking beneath his feet. Omallix took his chance. He sent a bolt of lightning energy from his eyes, which landed at Cruger's feet, sending him flying backwards. Omallix got up and stormed towards him, just as the Shadow Ranger got back up, swiping at him with his Shadow Saber. Omallix caught the blade in his metal palms.
As they struggled for control once again, the glassed wall completely shattered, sending more glass and debris flying towards them, as Cruger's shuttle was sucked out into space. Both Cruger and Omallix dived away from the growing spatial hole, as gravity began to pull the floating fortress out of its orbit.
Back upstairs, the loud sound of bending metal took over. The entire deck started to buckle and tilt. Z reached for her Delta Enforcer, which went sliding down the hallway, along with Charlie's containment card. She was about to go sliding right along with them, as the entire base seemed to be turning over. She instinctively grabbed Felix's leg, as she noticed his clothes had snagged on a nail in the floor. She reached out to grab the card. It was moving slower than her Delta Enforcer, which had landed near the staircase that was now below her. The gun cracked upon impact. Charlie's card wasn't far behind.
The only thing Z could do was watch the card, as it fell onto the stairs, teetering. She could still see it. She looked up at Felix's hanging body and then back down at the card. She knew she couldn't stay there forever, but she couldn't leave Felix either, dead or alive. She thought for a second and then pulled out her morpher again. She took a deep breath.
"Here goes nothin'," Z said, as she pointed her morpher at Felix's body, which she was still hanging onto.
The Yellow Ranger activated her morpher, causing Felix to become contained as well. She caught the card in her hand, knowing it was the only way to make him mobile enough to leave with her. As her body slid down the floor towards the staircase, she pocketed Felix's card, along with her morpher. She reached out a hand and grabbed a hold of the metal railing of the staircase. She pulled herself towards the stairs, reaching out her hand and grabbing Charlie's card.
Inside the Delta Command Base, Boom was literally caught, trapped in the corridor, as Fericks were coming his way from both sides. There was a room directly across from him, but he knew it would only be a dead-end. His brain started thinking as fast as it could. He knew the base well. He looked down at Sam, seeing the boy was still unconscious in his hand. Boom knew he had to save him, as he backed into the wall. His back bumped into Jack's plaque. That was when Boom realized where he was in the corridor. He glanced down behind him towards the floor. There was a maintenance shaft. He laid Sam down for a second, as he slid the maintenance hatch open. Boom slid Sam into the shaft and followed right behind him. He closed the hatch. Boom knew the shaft was big enough for him to move through, quickly, even with Sam in tow. Boom lifted the child onto his back and started crawling as fast as he could.
It wasn't long before he felt the increasing heat behind him. He looked back, seeing the hatch was being burnt away. The Fericks must be shooting at it, Boom thought. He reached a turn in the shaft and kept crawling, just as two balls of fire came shooting in his direction. Boom quickly crawled around the corner, turning back briefly to see the damage. He couldn't turn back now. That was for sure. Boom kept crawling forward, as he glanced at Sam over his shoulder.
"You know, I could really use your genetic powers right now, kid."
Several corridors away, inside the Infirmary, Dr. Shivan Sevarus was pacing, nervously. He looked impatient. Finally, he stopped and stared towards the back of the Infirmary.
"Piggy, get out here, now! We have to evacuate," Sevarus yelled.
Seconds later, Piggy came walking out of Sevarus' office door, fully dressed.
"What do ya think?" Piggy said.
He did a slight twirl and almost fell over. Sevarus grabbed a walking cane that was lying on Piggy's bed and handed it to him.
"Here."
"What's this for?" Piggy asked.
"You can barely stay on your feet. You're still recovering and if I'm going to get you out of here anytime soon, you're going to need it," Sevarus explained, as he turned towards the door. "Now, let's go."
Piggy hobbled over to the door, as Sevarus walked over to a control panel nearby. Piggy noticed the doors didn't open when he approached.
"Uh, Doc. We're locked in."
"Of course we are," Sevarus said. "There's an invasion going on. I'm unlocking now."
"Now, you tell me," Piggy said, as he placed a hand on the door. "Ahh!"
"What is it?" Sevarus asked.
"This door is piping hot!"
Sevarus grabbed a scanner and ran it over the door. He gave Piggy a look of dread.
"Oh no," Sevarus said. "They're here."
"Who's here?"
"Fericks!" Sevarus responded.
"What's a Ferick?"
"Omallix's robot army. They must be trying to blast through with their fire blasters."
"Fire blasters?" Piggy looked shocked. "I knew I should have stayed in bed today."
Minutes later, the doorway melted away and the robotic troops came marching in, with their weapons drawn. There were four of them. Piggy peeked from behind an examination bed. The Fericks picked up the movement and fired in his direction. Behind them, Sevarus popped up from behind another bed. He sprayed two fire extinguishers, turning them on the Fericks. The robots seemed to be blinded. Piggy came from behind the bed swatting one of the robot's blaster arm away with his cane. Piggy stabbed the creature in the chest with it, taking it down.
Sevarus came at another, hitting it with the extinguisher. Once it fell, he dropped the extinguisher on its head, crushing it. He teamed up with Piggy, attacking the other two, until they started firing wildly, causing both male aliens to dive to the ground, looking for cover. Sevarus crawled behind a bed, joining Piggy, who stared at him.
"Got anymore bright ideas?" Piggy asked.
Elsewhere in the Delta Command Base, the three members of C-Squad were running as fast as they could. They turned down a corridor and they stopped. Casey and Meg both sighed, as Duc smiled. They could see the doors to the Command Center in sight.
"We're almost there," Casey said, as she led the way.
The three started trotting again, just as several blasts came from behind them. All three of the cadets were knocked off their feet. They landed on their stomachs on the floor. As they all rolled onto their backs, they saw a group of Fericks was right behind them. They each raised their laser pistol and started firing. The three robots in front crumpled to the ground, destroyed, but there were more behind them.
"We can't all make it!" Duc said. "Someone's got to hold them off."
"If we split up, whoever's left behind won't make it," Casey said.
"We have to do something," Meg yelled, as she continued to fire.
They were inching their way closer to the Command Center doors, as they continued to fire. But, more Fericks seemed to be coming towards them, firing streams of flames from their blasters. C-Squad tried to move faster to stay ahead of the flames. But, they weren't fast enough. Duc grabbed both girls, turning them away from the flames and getting their bodies as close to the ground as possible. This was it, he thought to himself. They were done for.
"Kat stunners!"
The three members of C-Squad all looked up from the floor, seeing Kat Ranger standing there, throwing the glowing energy feathers at the robots, causing them to ignite in sparks and smoke. C-Squad got to their feet and ran closer to Kat.
"Dr. Manx, is that you?" Meg asked.
"Yeah. Are you three okay? What are you doing back here?"
"We heard the surge from the Command Center," Duc said. "We wanted to help."
Kat nodded as she walked over to the doors. Meg and Duc kept cover, as Kat keyed in her access code on the door panel.
"I hope this still works," Kat said.
The doors slid open, but only a few inches. The group heard footsteps approaching once again. Kat Ranger turned to the direction she had just come from. She knew who was coming their way.
"Get inside, now!"
Meg slid inside, followed by Casey and then Duc. Kat saw the Fericks come around the corner and she started firing from her laser pistol. Jintari pushed his way past the robots and caught sight of Kat again. He seethed.
"Cross this threshold and you'll regret it!" Kat yelled, before sliding through the gap in the doors, which slid closed right behind her.
The alien scientist scurried over to the doors, but it was too late. He turned to the robots behind him.
"Get this door open, now!"
Several blocks away from S.P.D. Headquarters, The Delta Squad Megazord stood in stunned silence, amidst the smoke, the flames and the buildings. The Red and Blue Rangers waited with baited breath, wondering, hoping that their comrades had survived. As the smoke finally cleared away, they saw Cartiron down on the ground and nearby was the S.W.A.T. Megazord. The Delta Squad Megazord went running to its side.
"Are you all right?" the Red Ranger called out.
"You're asking that a lot today," Quinn grumbled back.
"Agreed," Syd called out.
The Red Ranger took a deep breath, thankful that his silent prayer had been answered. The Delta Squad Megazord extended a hand, helping the other Megazord get to its feet once again.
"It looks like Cartiron's down for the count," Bridge announced.
But, only seconds later, Cartiron was moving.
"Nevermind," Bridge said, grimly.
Cartiron staggered to his feet.
"Okay, guys," Sky said. "Let's finish this!"
The Delta Squad Megazord pulled its blaster, as the S.W.A.T. Megazord drew its twin blasters as well.
"Ready?" Sky yelled.
"Ready!" the three other Rangers responded quickly.
"Fire!"
The two Megazords fired their laser weapons, sending streams of destructive energy directly into Cartiron's body. The Dark Hellion lit up in a barrage of sparks and fell to his knees, refusing to fall.
"I...am...too powerful," Cartiron grunted.
"Not for long," Sky yelled. "Let's do it again. This time, we attack from both sides."
The S.W.A.T. Megazord nodded to its companion zord and took off into the air, landing several feet behind Cartiron, with its blasters drawn again. The Delta Squad Megazord prepared to fire, as Cartiron struggled to his feet again.
"Fire!" the Red Ranger yelled again.
The blasts left the blasters, but this time, Cartiron was ready for them. He crossed his arms. His left went towards the S.W.A.T. Megazord and his right went in the direction of the Delta Squad Megazord. As the lasers traveled towards him, he bent his knees back, showing his own enhanced strength and agility. The laser blasts collided with each other, as he sent two huge fireballs from his palms. The balls of fire struck both Megazords in the chest at the same time, sending them crashing to the ground once again.
"You can't beat me!" Cartiron yelled loudly.
Back inside the Command Center, Sophie took a deep breath as she saw C-Squad and Kat Ranger. Murphy quickly jogged to Kat's side, as his tail shifted a bit.
"Status, Sophie?" Kat called out.
"We've got nothing," Sophie responded. "I've tried every console in the room and nothing's working. The odd thing is, the stations aren't showing any major damage from the electrical surge. The panels are overheated, but the controls should be working."
"So what's the problem?" Duc asked.
"Jintari," Kat grumbled.
She turned to the doors, remembering Jintari's remote device.
"He's blocked the systems power controls. He doesn't want us to access them and cut him off," Kat surmised.
"Why?" Casey wondered aloud. "What does he want?"
"I'm afraid we don't want to know the answer," Kat said.
The room went quiet for a few seconds. Then, everyone jumped as they heard a banging at the doors.
"They're trying to come in!" Meg shouted.
"What do we do?" Sophie asked, looking to Kat.
Kat's mind raced, thinking of an answer. She looked at the doors again. They looked darkened through her helmet's visor. And that's when she realized the solution to their problem. Kat stood in front of the main control console, facing the door. She went into a fighting stance.
"We don't give up," Kat said. "Sophie, there's a hatch on the wall behind the spot where Commander Cruger's chair used to be."
Sophie rushed over to the wall, followed by Duc, who helped her move a shelving unit aside. Sophie knelt down and saw the hatch Kat had mentioned.
"Murphy!" Sophie called out.
The robotic patrol hound rushed over. Sophie pointed to the bolts that locked the hatch into place. The metal canine quickly produced the tool she needed to unscrew them. She started to work. Kat kept her eyes on the Command Center entrance, as she saw the doors begin to part a little. She saw several robotic fingers poking through, trying to get a grip. She knew it would only be a matter of minutes before they stormed their way in. She had to prevent Jintari from carrying out his plan. Fighting them this way wasn't smart, especially when she was running out of morphin' time.
"C-Squad, cover the door," Kat yelled, as she quickly ran to the main control console.
The heat didn't bother her hands, since she was morphed. In the back of her mind she wondered how much time she even had left. She hoped it would be enough to pull off her plan. She bent down and unhooked a panel beneath the console. Kat started diverting power from the Command Center, manually. Sophie joined her.
"The hatch is open," Sophie said.
The doors to the Command Center opened a little further.
"They're coming in!" Casey yelled, as C-Squad began opening fire on the robots through the cracked doorway.
A ball of fire came shooting through. Sophie and Kat both saw it hit a wall.
"Get Ghiren and Niyako inside," Kat said, as she turned to Sophie.
"What are you doing?" Sophie asked.
"Diverting all power from the Command Center into the DCM."
"The Delta Command Megazord?" Sophie asked. "But..."
Then, Sophie realized what Kat was planning. She smiled.
"Yes, ma'am."
She rushed over, grabbing Ghiren, but he was a little too heavy.
"Cadet Sato, help her!" Kat yelled.
Duc ran over, helping Sophie grab the technician by the shoulders. They pulled him over to the hatch. Duc climbed in and pulled, as Sophie pushed from her side, before climbing in as well. Murphy was right behind them, dragging the compact Niyako, using his mouth.
"Go, now!" Kat yelled to Casey & Meg, who were firing steadily through the doors, which began to open more.
The girls rushed past Kat and climbed through the hatch. Kat finished manually rerouting the power and then quickly followed them inside. Once on the other side, Kat found herself standing on the bridge of the Delta Command Megazord. She looked at the hatch, as Duc was quickly replacing it. She looked to Murphy and nodded at him. The patrol hound scurried over, as Duc moved away. An acidic spray came from the canine's mouth, welding the hatch shut. There was no way anyone was coming in after them through there. Kat looked around at the four pairs of scared eyes. Her gaze finally rested on the center chair up front. It was Cruger's chair. She walked over and sat down.
"I think it's about time we rolled this baby out of mothballs," Kat said, as she lowered her morpher into the access control slot.
The lights and consoles instantly lit up, as Kat looked around. Beneath her helmet, she smiled. The others were all in awe. Sophie was at Kat's left. She glanced at the console in front of her and walked up to it, realizing she knew the design. Behind Kat, were three more consoles, where Meg, Duc and Casey found themselves standing. Kat ran her hands along the controls and instantly thought of Doggie Cruger. She hoped he was safe.
Up in space, Omallix's fortress was at a full tilt and moving closer to Earth. The two fighting creatures inside, however, didn't even seem to notice. Omallix sent a blast of energy from his palm, which the Shadow Ranger flew over, before firing his saber lasers at the psycho, who quickly jumped away. Omallix fired from his eyes, catching the Shadow Ranger as he landed. Cruger was down for only a second, when he noticed the Yellow Ranger approaching out the corner of his eye.
From the doorway, Z could see the fortress was indeed falling. She was holding on to keep from sliding right out into space. Omallix's throne chair had completely detached from the ground. It was now blocking the large gaping hole, where their shuttle had crashed in. It was the only thing keeping Cruger & Omallix from being completely sucked out into space as well.
"Get out of here, Z!" Cruger yelled to her.
"Commander, you need my help!"
Omallix saw her and sent an energy blast at the doorway. Z ducked away.
"No! It's too dangerous. Where's your weapon?" Cruger yelled.
"It's broken," Z yelled back.
"Wonderful!" Omallix yelled. "I'll get to destroy a real Ranger too!"
"Never!" Cruger shouted back, sending a laser blast from his saber, before turning back to Z.
"Once this base gets into orbit of Earth, you get off!" Shadow Ranger screamed. "That's an order!"
"I can't leave you!" Z yelled.
"That's an order!" Cruger screamed back as loud as he could.
With those words, Z groaned, disappearing back inside the interior of the fortress. Cruger hoped she would listen to his warning. At that moment, he turned and Omallix was right on top of him. The monster dove at Cruger, sending both crashing to the ground. Omallix was on top, as the Shadow Saber went sliding out of Cruger's hand. Omallix began punching at Cruger's helmet. The Sirian felt the pressure as his head knocked against the headgear. Behind them, out the partially broken glass window, Earth was getting even closer.
"We have to pull it together," Sky yelled from inside the Delta Squad Megazord.
The Megazord was crouched behind a skyscraper, with its Delta Sword drawn. Cartiron sent a fireball directly at the building. Bridge's reflexes were top notch. He sent the Megazord diving away, as the fireball incinerated the building. The Delta Squad Megazord rolled to its feet and took off into the air, coming down with a striking slash. Cartiron staggered backwards, smoking from the strike, but he didn't go down.
"Now, guys!" Sky yelled.
With that order, the S.W.A.T. Megazord flew in, grabbing Cartiron in the belly and taking off. Once it got to a certain height above the city the Green Ranger broke the grip. The Pink Ranger took control, as Cartiron seemed to float there in place for a few seconds. The S.W.A.T. Megazord backflipped in the air, away from the monster. When it got a few meters away, it pulled its twin blasters, firing several huge laser shots. It was another direct hit on the Dark Hellion, who went crashing to the concrete, which seemed to crack underneath him. The S.W.A.T. Megazord landed next to the DSM.
"Good job," the Red Ranger yelled.
They all watched, however, as Cartiron was getting back up again.
"No," Bridge yelled.
"He can't be getting up!" Quinn screamed.
"That was our biggest attack yet," Syd chimed in. "We don't have much left."
"We have to keep going," Sky yelled to them. "We're the only thing standing between him and the complete destruction of Newtech City."
Several blocks away, the Command Center doors were forced open. Four Fericks marched in, scanning the room with their weapons drawn, but the Command Center was empty. Jintari marched in, seeing no one there.
"Where did they go?" he wondered out loud.
He stormed over to the main control console and noticed it was still inactive. He pressed a few buttons on his remote device and the lights in the Command Center came on. Jintari smiled, as he looked back down at the panel, which was now lit up as well.
"Poor Dr. Manx. Doesn't she know by now that scientists don't save planets? They're much better at seeing to their destruction," Jintari sneered, as his hands touched the panels.
He knew exactly which sequence he needed to key in to get at the Delta Command Base's security protocols. He needed to make sure their shields were permanently down so Cartiron could destroy this place. It was at that moment that Jintari realized he couldn't do anything at the control station. It was powered up, but none of the controls would respond to him.
On the Delta Command Megazord bridge, Sophie noticed something come up on her panel. She glanced over at Kat.
"Someone's trying to access security controls in the Command Center."
"Jintari's found his way in," Duc guessed, from behind them.
"He's smart," Kat said. "It won't take him long to bypass my rerouting of the power."
"Well, what are we gonna do?" Meg asked, standing at the terminal in the back on Kat's right.
"We're going to get him out of there," Kat said. "Prepare to activate Delta Command Megazord. Cadet Parker, open up communications with the rest of the base. They need to get to safety zones, now."
Casey nodded, as she activated the far-left control console in the back row.
"All S.P.D. personnel, report to safety zones," Casey said, as calmly as she could. "I repeat, all personnel to safety zones."
"This is gonna be bumpy for anyone who can't get to one," Duc chimed in.
"Including Jintari," Kat said, as she hit the controls to activate the Delta Command Megazord.
The Delta Command Base began to transform. Inside the Command Center, the floor began to move. Jintari looked stunned, as he heard the announcement, but had no idea what was about to happen. He had been in containment way too long to know what the Delta Command Megazord was all about. In an instant, he and the Fericks were sliding away from the consoles and right of the Command Center doors.
In the lobby of the base, Silverback had heard the announcement as well, but he knew there was no way to get to safety zones, with Fericks still trying to infiltrate the base. He didn't know how the Delta Command Megazord was being formed, but he was glad it was. That meant no more Fericks would be coming inside. But, the dozen that still lingered in the lobby would still be a problem. He couldn't get the S.W.A.T. Truck out in time. Silverback took a deep breath and looked down.
"Officer Blanks, I won't order you to stay," Silverback said.
"I'm not going anywhere sir," Blanks said, sealing his own fate.
"Then, let's go down fighting!" Silverback yelled.
As the base transformed, the perch where they were parked at the top of the staircase, began to turn. Officer Blanks turned the S.W.A.T. Truck towards the stairs and hit the gas. The S.W.A.T. Truck roared towards the dozen Fericks near the bottom. Silverback fired with everything he had, as the entire lobby turned, causing the Truck to collide with the Fericks, exploding upon impact.
Inside the Infirmary, Sevarus and Piggy were still hiding from the remaining Fericks when they heard the announcement.
"Safety zones?" Piggy looked confused.
"Hold on!" Sevarus said, knowing the Infirmary wasn't one of the zones.
The entire room starting to spin, tilting quickly, and causing the remaining Fericks to go sliding out of the room. Sevarus tried to grab hold of an examination bed, but he lost his grip. Piggy reached out his cane, which Sevarus grabbed. He pulled him back up to his position, where they both braced for the full transformation.
Inside the maintenance shaft, Boom was still crawling. He hadn't heard the announcement from his position. All he could make out was a muffled female voice, as he had his ear pressed against the shaft's wall.
"I don't know what that was about, Sam," Boom said as he looked back, seeing the child begin to stir. "Hopefully, the worst is over."
At that moment, Boom began to slide forward, as that part of the base transformed.
"Maybe not."
He picked up speed, as he continued forward down the maintenance shaft. On his back, Sam's eyes fluttered open.
"Boom?" Sam uttered.
Boom started screaming as he noticed another shaft hatch straight ahead.
"Hold on!" Boom yelled, as they went plowing through the hatch.
Boom grabbed a hold of the corner of the shaft, as the hatch went flying off and falling. Sam was knocked off his back, but Boom grabbed a hold of him with his other hand, holding him as tight as he could. Sam couldn't help but look down, seeing that they were hanging four stories above the lobby. He saw the flaming S.W.A.T. Truck down below and the hatch door falling into the small inferno.
"Boom!" Sam yelled, as he became instantly more aware of what was happening.
"Sam, just try to hold on," Boom grunted.
Deep down, though, Boom knew he couldn't hold on to the hatch or to Sam for very long.
"Delta Command Megazord online," Kat said from her seat.
Outside the base, across the street, Isinia Cruger and the other escapees from the base watched. As they saw the huge Delta Command Base form in front of their eyes, many of them began to applaud, hoping that this meant S.P.D. was still in control. Isinia wasn't one of them. She wasn't sure that S.P.D. as in control. Her mind was still on her husband. As the applause continued, she heard something in the distance.
"Everyone, quiet!" she yelled.
The clapping immediately stopped. Isinia looked up into the sky and saw Omallix's two-story fortress falling towards the city. It was entering the atmosphere, encased in a rush of gold, beginning to burn. It looked almost like a falling comet, heading in their direction. Gasps were heard amongst E-Squad, and the civilians.
"Doggie," Isinia muttered.
At that moment, something inside her knew that her husband had indeed gone there and he was still there now.
Blocks away, Cartiron was back on his feet.
"I've had enough of this!" He yelled.
Cartiron extended his arms and swirls of fire began to form around them. He saw the Delta Command Megazord form in the distance. It was time, he thought to himself. The fire around his arms began to get stronger. Behind him, the Delta Squad and the S.W.A.T. Megazords were getting to their feet. Bridge looked ahead.
"Is that what I think it is?" he exclaimed.
"Cruger must be back," Sky uttered.
"He got his morpher?" Quinn wondered aloud.
"Guys, Cartiron's going for another wave," Syd shouted. "I'm not sure the DCM can withstand it."
"We have to stop him!" Sky yelled from his cockpit.
"How?" Bridge asked.
"We have to max out our zord power!" Sky said. "Give him everything we've got, all at once."
"Right!" the other Rangers yelled.
Seconds later, Cartiron staggered forward, hit by the blasts from both the Megazords. He did not lower his arms. The sustained blasts from both of them didn't bring him down. He was getting stronger, thanks to the swirling fire energy.
"It wasn't enough," Quinn yelled, as the S.W.A.T. Megazord staggered a bit.
"What now?" Bridge asked.
The Red Ranger grabbed the controls and moved the Delta Squad Megazord over to Cartiron, grabbing his left arm. The fire swirling around there, causing the DSM to spark and smoke, but he didn't let go.
"We can't let him destroy anything else," Sky grunted, as he seemed to be putting his own strength on the line.
"Right!" Quinn yelled, as he took control of the S.W.A.T. Megazord, grabbing Cartiron's other arm.
The action caused the S.W.A.T. Megazord to be burned by the flames as well. Cartiron struggled against their grips, refusing to lower his arms, as the fire continued to build up.
Inside the transformed Delta Command Base, Sam was still hanging. But, he could feel Boom's hand was sweaty. He tried to hold tighter to him with both hands.
"Boom, what's going on?" Sam yelled.
"This really isn't the time to explain, Sam," Boom said, struggling to hold on to the shaft's corner with one hand. "The Delta Command Megazord must have formed. But, we've got bigger problems. I can't hold on much longer."
Sam looked down at the fiery S.W.A.T. Truck below. They definitely didn't need to fall down there. His head was pounding from his fall, but he knew he had to do something. Boom's hand began to slip off of the shaft. Sam took one of his hands off of Boom's other hand and waved it over them both, as Boom lost his grip. Boom screamed. They fell for a few seconds, before being dissolved into Sam's transport wave.
Seconds later, they were inside the Delta Command Megazord bridge. Boom was still screaming, until he realized where he was. Their backs were facing the front of the cockpit and the three members of C-Squad were staring at them, strangely.
"Hi, guys," Boom said, forcing a smile. Then he looked confused. "How did you get the DCM to work without a morpher?"
The trio all pointed past Boom. He and Sam turned around to see Kat at the controls.
"Whoa," Sam said, as he walked up beside her. "Kat Ranger! Cool."
"Brace yourselves boys," Kat said. "We've got incoming."
Boom took the spot at the vacant console in the front row, to Kat's right. Sam stood next to Duc who was at the middle console on the back row. Sam put a hand up on the station, never realizing that he was standing in the exact spot where the Omega Ranger stood a year ago. Murphy was at his side. Kat pointed out the cockpit window at the large fortress coming towards them.
High above, the structure was falling faster. Cruger and Omallix were still at each other's throats on the floor. Omallix turned to look through the glass wall, as he was blinded by the light of day.
"You've been in space too long," Cruger said, as he punched Omallix off of him.
Both warriors got to their feet. Cruger scored a side kick, sending Omallix flying across the room, which was shaking violently. He picked up his Shadow Saber from the floor and stepped forward, staring out the broken glass wall for a second.
"Welcome home, Omallix!" Cruger sneered, before turning and seeing Omallix was gone.
The monster attacked him from behind, grabbing Cruger around the neck. The Shadow Ranger sent an elbow right into his gut. His S.W.A.T. brace allowed it to do damage to Omallix's armor. He lost his grip and staggered backwards. The two of them stared each other down. Between them was the broken wall and the buildings of Newtech City were getting closer.
Isinia looked worried, as Kristine Brooks was standing at her side, clutching her son, Bailey.
"What do we do?" Kristine yelled.
"Run!" Isinia shouted.
All of the shelter residents began running for their lives. Although, deep down, Isinia knew that a building that big was about to do major damage and she wasn't sure if they would be able to avoid it. It got closer and closer, just as the Delta Command Megazord stepped up, in front of them.
"Brace for impact," Kat shouted to her crew.
The fortress collided with the Delta Command Megazord, but the massive zord didn't fall. It reached out, almost completely grabbing the entire fortress, releasing some of the fiery momentum. Isinia and E-Squad rushed all of the people out of the way, as the Delta Command Megazord began sliding backwards down the street, until the entire Megazord fell backwards onto the ground, with the fortress on top of it, burning and crumbling.
Blocks away, the Delta Squad and S.W.A.T. Megazords were still trying to hold off Cartiron, who had seen the crash of his former home. He was a bit worried for the safety of his leader at that moment, but he knew it didn't matter. Even if Omallix had perished, Cartiron would carry out his orders. This entire city would pay. He began to build up more energy once again, as he noticed the Delta Command Megazord was now down on the ground. It would be an even easier target.
"We can't let go," Sky yelled to his team.
"He's too strong," Syd responded.
"We can't hold on much longer," Quinn yelled.
"Maybe you won't have to!"
All four Rangers were shocked to hear a voice they hadn't heard in hours. It was Z Delgado. The sound of approaching sirens caught them all off-guard, including Cartiron. As a matter of fact, in that moment, Cartiron thought he was seeing a ghost. The Omegamax Cycle came speeding onto the scene, firing lasers straight at Cartiron's chest. He staggered back a bit and the Megazords still didn't let go, despite the mini-explosions plaguing them from the intense heat of the fire swirling around Cartiron's arms.
"Z?" Bridge yelled.
"In the flesh," Z said. "Or, I guess I should say, in the Omegamax Cycle!"
The zord began to transform, forming the Omegamax Megazord.
"Keep holding!" Z yelled, as she took off in the Omegamax Megazord.
The large zord hopped onto legs, lined with two large tires. The Megazord picked up major speed, as it got closer to Cartiron, who was watching intently.
"No!" Cartiron yelled. "Not you!"
"This is for Jack," Z said, as she punched the controls.
The Omegamax Megazord took off into the air, spinning with its bladed arms twirling straight towards the unprotected chest of Cartiron. The collision sent Cartiron and all three Megazords crashing to the ground. The resulting explosion could be seen for miles.
On the ground near the fortress wreckage, Isinia gasped.
"Oh no!" she uttered. "The Rangers!"
Once the smoke cleared, the three Megazords rose, standing together. This drew more cheers from the watching crowd on the street. The Delta Squad Megazord patted the Omegamax Megazord on the shoulder.
"Good job, Z," Sky said. "I guess we can skip the lecture on being late to battle."
"Hey, I think I arrived just in time," Z said.
"Jack would be proud," Bridge said.
At that moment, another form began to rise.
"Oh no!" Syd shouted. "Tell me this is not happening!"
"He can't be," Sky muttered.
"Impossible," Quinn added.
Cartiron was battered and bruised and barely able to hold himself up.
"I am invincible!" Cartiron shouted, in his menacing tone. "I will destroy you all!"
His arms began to raise again, but he couldn't even hold them up for long.
"I say we finish this, once and for all," Z shouted.
"We tried that like four times already," Bridge yelled back. "He's too strong."
"Then, I guess we need to work together."
All three of the Megazords turned to see the arrival of the Delta Command Megazord. The Green Ranger was surprised to hear the voice behind the controls.
"Kat?" Quinn called out.
"Kat Ranger, actually," Kat responded.
"Way to go, Kat!" Syd chimed in.
"Rangers, I think it's time we put Cartiron away," Kat said.
Inside the Delta Command Megazord, she looked around to the crew that was backing her up. She nodded. They all nodded back.
"Let's do this!" Sky yelled.
On the other side of them all, Cartiron chuckled loudly.
"What are you going to do now? I'm unbeatable!"
"We'll see about that," Syd shouted, as she & Quinn hit the controls on the S.W.A.T. Megazord, transforming it into the S.W.A.T. Cannon.
Cartiron didn't even move, showing no fear of their transformed weapon. The S.W.A.T. Cannon lowered slowly, as the Delta Squad and Omegamax Megazords held it into place. Kat brought the Delta Command Megazord into position behind them all, grabbing a hold of the trigger. Inside the cockpit of the Omegamax Megazord, Z raised her morpher towards Cartiron.
"Cartiron, you're charged with destruction of public property, terrorism, and murder," Z said, angrily.
Within seconds, her morpher's judgment mode had its guilty verdict. Inside the S.W.A.T. Megazord cockpit, Quinn loaded a containment card into his Delta Enforcer.
"Guilty!" each one of them yelled.
With that, the Delta Command Megazord pulled the trigger, sending a finishing blast towards Cartiron. But, it wasn't the only blast. Energy from the other three Megazords joined the S.W.A.T. Cannon blast, engulfing Cartiron in a blazing explosion. He was finally gone. They all looked down at the ground and saw him, trapped inside a containment card. Deep breaths were taken from everyone in those Megazords, as they realized it was over.
Within moments, the Delta Command Base was back to its normal size and status. Jintari was running swiftly for the nearest exit. He turned a corner and came face to face with Kat Ranger once again. She had her morpher drawn and pointed directly at him.
"Going somewhere?" she asked.
Jintari looked frightened for the first time in Kat's presence.
"We've got unfinished business," Kat said.
She was about to press the containment button on her morpher. Since Jintari was an escaped criminal, there was no pressing need to judge him again for his new crimes. But, in that moment, Kat had a bigger problem. Her suit dissolved around her. Kat Ranger was gone.
"Oh my," Jintari said. "Looks like you're pretty little suit went bye-bye."
Jintari pulled a blaster from behind his back.
"What's your next move, Doctor?" Jintari sneered at her.
Then, he fell to the ground, knocked out from behind. Kat looked a bit surprised. She knew C-Squad had left with Boom, Sophie and Sam to check on the civilians and dispose of the rest of the Fericks. Then, Kat smiled as she saw Piggy come around the corner, holding his cane up high. He had obviously just whacked Jintari with it.
Kat pointed her morpher at Jintari on the ground. She couldn't morph, but she could at least use it to contain him. She pressed the button and Jintari was captured inside a containment card. She knelt down and picked it up, then looked to Piggy.
"Thanks, Piggy," Kat said, with a smile.
"Anytime," Piggy said, as he admired his cane. "I'm beginning to like this thing."
Outside the Delta Command Base, the still-morphed Rangers were being celebrated, not only by the shelter's residents and other civilians who had come into the area, but E-Squad, C-Squad, Isinia, Boom, Sophie, Sam and Dr. Sevarus had also joined in the celebration. Z grabbed Isinia, pulling her aside.
"Isinia, I'm sorry," Z said, somberly. "Doggie was onboard when the fortress crashed."
Isinia stared off in the distance, at the smoking rubble. She nodded her head.
"I know," she said quietly. "I know."
"I tried—"
"It's not your fault," Isinia said, as she smiled at Z. "None of this has been your fault."
Kat and Piggy came walking into the area, joining the group. Near the entrance to the Delta Command Megazord, Murphy was sniffing around the wreckage of the S.W.A.T. Truck. He knew his master was amongst the remains. He whimpered, as a graphic of a broken heart appeared on his faceplate.
Nearby, Isinia still stared at that rubble. Then, she noticed something. A part of it was starting to move. She felt her heart skip a few beats.
"Doggie!" she yelled loudly.
This caught everyone's attention. Isinia was about to go running towards the burning wreck, but Kat grabbed her arm. The Rangers ran over instead. When they got close, a hulking piece of debris went flying and everyone gasped. It was Omallix, still alive. Part of his helmet had cracked and fallen away. The Rangers saw the scarred, half-metal cheek of a human inside that armor.
"Ahhh!" Omallix let out a piercing scream, as he saw the five Rangers standing before him.
He fired blasts from both of his palms, sending the five diving to the ground. Kat, Boom and the cadets ushered everyone back a safe distance, as Sky & Bridge went S.W.A.T., joining the other Rangers with their Delta Enforcers drawn. They fired, but Omallix launched himself out of the rubble and into the air, firing down his red lightning energy strike, which sent the Rangers crashing to the ground. They all struggled to get to their feet after the destructive energy burst. They weren't a hundred percent healthy after their last zord battle.
Omallix chuckled, as he heard the gasps of the watching crowd. He turned to them.
"You will all pay for this!" Omallix screamed at the top of his lungs.
He lifted his palms, ready to send more destructive energy strikes down on the civilians. The lighning energy could be seen building up on his hands.
"No!" Sky yelled, as he ran towards Omallix, grabbing him from behind.
That didn't stop Omallix's eyes, though. The other four Rangers raced over to the area, where the civilians and their friends stood. The lightning energy blast from Omallix's eyes was more powerful than ever, fueled by his unending rage. He shot it out in a large blast stream to hit all the people. The Blue, Pink, Green and Yellow Rangers jumped in front of the large group, extending their arms out and taking the full brunt of the blast. They all ignited in sparks and smoke, as they lightning energy hit their suits. All four staggered forward, crashing onto the ground, as their suits seemed to fizzle away, knocking them from their morph. Kat kneeled near Syd, Sophie near Bridge, Boom & Sam fell by Z and C-Squad checked on Quinn.
Omallix let out a loud cackle, as he knocked Sky off his back. The morphed Red Ranger rolled to the ground for only a second. He had his Delta Enforcer back in hand and he launched himself off the ground and into the air, firing down several laser attacks on Omallix. The evil monster rolled to the ground in the attacks, but as Sky landed, Omallix sent a blast from his hand that hit Sky right in the chest.
"No!" Quinn yelled, holding his own chest on the ground.
He remembered it was an attack just like the one that killed his best friend, Darren.
"We have to help him!" Bridge yelled. "If Omallix knocks Sky from his morph, we're all doomed."
"No," Kat yelled. "You can't risk morphing after that blast. You could destroy yourselves, if your bodies can't sustain the power."
"We have to do something," Z said, as she staggered to her feet.
"I've got an idea," Bridge said.
Sky struggled back to his feet. His Delta Enforcer had landed a few feet away. He bent down to grab it, as he heard Omallix's chilling voice.
"Now now, Red Ranger," Omallix said. "Is that really necessary? We both know you don't have the power to defeat me. Not even Shadow Ranger could!"
"I don't have the power to stop trying either," Sky spoke, his voice low, tired.
Omallix chuckled, as he looked into Sky's eyes and began stepping closer towards him. Sky didn't move towards the Delta Enforcer anymore. He knew Omallix was right. A blast from the weapon wouldn't stop Omallix and Sky knew he had to stop him. He just wasn't sure if he could. Omallix took a few more steps.
"Now!" Bridge yelled, as he kneeled nearby, focusing his psychic powers on Omallix.
Four copies of Z Delgado attacked Omallix, hitting several stinging combinations of kicks and punches. Omallix tried to swat her away, but Bridge had the remedy.
"Left," Bridge yelled out the directions to Z, telling her exactly where he knew Omallix was going to strike next.
She managed to dodge every attack and she began to wear him down, until he sent a blast from his palm towards Bridge, sending him flying to the ground. He kicked Z to the ground as well, causing her duplicates to disappear. He turned his attention back to Sky, who was still standing, staring at him. Omallix moved to take a step forward, but found himself stopped. His feet wouldn't move. He looked down and saw Syd holding his ankles.
"Fists of stone!" Syd yelled, causing her body to take on the properties of concrete, preventing Omallix from moving.
"Murphy!" Sky yelled.
The Multi Utility Robotic Patrol Hound came running, almost with an anger of his own. Sky strapped on his battlizer and activated it. Within seconds, Murphy was transformed and the Red Ranger was much stronger than before.
"Syd, let go!" Sky yelled.
"You're all going to pay for this!" Omallix yelled, as he couldn't get an arm to focus on Syd behind from her current position.
He also couldn't twist his head enough to strike her with his eyes. Sky whipped the Battlizer Cannon off his shoulder.
"Syd, now!" Sky yelled.
"I got her!"
Sky heard Quinn's voice as he swooped down, using his levitation power to grab Syd by the waste, as she released Omallix. They made a hard landing, rolling onto the concrete right next to Kat. They stared at Sky, seeing him point the cannon directly at Omallix. Kat and Syd shared a troubled glance.
"Sky!" Syd yelled.
"Containment Card!" Kat yelled.
Without another word, Sky fired. No containment card, no attempt to load one. Sky fired and Omallix was gone in an instant. A huge explosion engulfed his body and he was gone, burnt to a crisp, leaving behind nothing but smoking ashes. In the resulting mass of ash and burning smoke, the civilians, the cadets, and S.P.D.'s greatest allies all realized that Omallix was no more. Sky fell to one knee as he demorphed. The other four Rangers joined him, pulling him to his feet.
"You did it," Bridge said.
"Omallix is gone, for good," Z nodded.
Syd simply nodded.
A few feet away, Kat walked over to Isinia, rubbing her arm, as she stared back off towards the rubble of Omallix's fortress.
"Isinia, I'm sorry," Kat said, as she tried to hold back her own tears.
Isinia's frown suddenly disappeared, as more debris began to move. She walked a little closer to the fallen fortress and saw a figure emerging.
"Doggie!" she yelled.
Everyone turned to see it was true. The Shadow Ranger, still in his S.W.A.T. mode, emerged from the rubble. But, once his feet hit the concrete, he demorphed, taking a deep breath. Isinia rushed over to her husband, taking him in his arms.
"Omallix?" Cruger muttered, as she hugged him tightly.
"He's gone," Isinia said. "He's finally gone."
Over Isinia's shoulder, Cruger glanced over at Sky, standing with the rest of B-Squad in the distance. He nodded to him. Sky nodded back. Cruger's gaze then went from Sky to Kat, whom he saw staring at Sky. Kat then turned to look Cruger in the eyes. She looked reserved, but proud, as that tear fell from her eye.
Hours later, the clean-up was already underway. Supreme Commander Cruger didn't want it to be long and drawn out like the firewall massacre that occurred almost a year before. He surveyed the area outside of the Delta Command Base as a crew was cleaning up the debris from Omallix's fortress. Kat came walking up to him.
"The crew thinks they'll have it all cleared away in a few days, sir," Kat announced.
"Thank you. I'm sure the Rawlings estate will be glad to know their scientific legacy is no longer being used maliciously," Cruger said, somberly.
Kat nodded in agreement.
"Silverback?" Cruger asked.
"Dr. Sevarus said there was nothing he could do," Kat explained. "He was gone. I feel like it's my fault."
"It's not," Cruger said, as he looked into Kat's eyes.
"If I hadn't formed the Delta Command Megazord—"
"If you hadn't formed the Delta Command Megazord, more people would have died at the hands of the Fericks," Cruger said. "All of the cadets and most of the Officers made it to the safety zones."
"That's true," Kat said. "But still, it doesn't make me feel much better."
"Silverback heard the announcement. He did what he had to do."
"I know, sir," Kat responded, with a sigh.
"What about the other casualties?"
"We lost four officers. Sevarus says Ghiren and Niyako will both fully recover though. Considering how many Fericks invaded the base, I guess we got lucky," Kat said.
"No, Kat. We got good," Cruger tilted his head, smirking a bit. "I've been meaning to thank you for the Shadow Ranger upgrade. S.W.A.T. mode was pretty fantastic."
"Thank you, sir. A good friend gave me the kick in the pants I needed to get back on track."
"You did so with flying colors. New Delta Runners, Shadow Ranger S.W.A.T. and a battlizer. Not bad at all," Cruger chuckled.
"I still couldn't prevent all of this," Kat said, as she looked around the area at the damage.
"No one could," Cruger said. "But we'll rebuild and it'll all be better than before."
"Earth really is home, isn't it?"
"I was just going to ask that very same question myself," a voice called out from behind them.
Kat and Cruger both turned to see President Otto Cali of the Galactic Council walking towards them. Cruger sighed deeply.
"Supreme Commander Cruger...we need to talk," Cali spoke.
Kat and Cruger shared a glance.
"I thought Cruger said we could have the rest of the day off!" Quinn sighed, as Bridge, Syd and Z were practically pulling him around the corner.
"I swear this won't take long," Bridge said, as they got closer to the Command Center.
The doors to the place opened, as they walked in. Quinn's eyes got big as he saw Casey, Meg, Duc, Sam, Sophie, Piggy and Boom inside. The place was decorated with balloons and streamers, along with a banner that read "Happy 18th Birthday, Quinn!".
"Surprise!" they all yelled.
Quinn smiled, looking shocked.
"What the?" he said, as he looked at his three closest friends on C-Squad. "You guys did this, didn't you?"
"You know we couldn't forget your birthday," Duc said, as he hugged Quinn.
Meg and Casey ran up to him on both sides, each kissing him on a cheek.
"Happy Birthday, Quinn," Casey said, with a smile.
"Yeah, Happy Birthday, Gray!" Meg chuckled.
"Thanks, everyone. This is great," Quinn said. "It's nice to see you all here."
"We wouldn't be anywhere else," Z said.
"Yeah," Syd chimed in.
"I love a good party," Piggy said aloud, as the others laughed.
He then leaned over to Boom.
"Who is this kid?" Piggy whispered to him.
"That's Quinn Gray, B-Squad's sorta new Green Ranger," Boom said.
"I've been out of it for way too long," Piggy said.
Boom patted him on the back.
"Yes, Piggy. You have."
As Sophie lit the candles on the cake, which was sitting on the main control console in the center of the room, the doors slid open and silence was heard amongst the guests, instantly. Sky walked in, frowning.
"What's going on in here?" Sky yelled.
Quinn's smile faded and he let out a deep breath. He was about to speak when Bridge stepped in front of him.
"It's Quinn's birthday party," Bridge said, sternly.
Sky stared into Bridge's eyes for a few seconds and then smiled a bit. He looked past him, at Quinn.
"Then, I guess I'm in the right place," Sky said.
He walked over, extending a hand to his half-brother. Quinn looked genuinely surprised. He shook Sky's hand.
"Happy Birthday," Sky said.
"Thanks, Sky," Quinn said, with a bit of a smile.
Nearby, Z and Syd exchanged smiles. Sam tried to run a finger through the icing of the cake, as Sophie smacked his hand away. Bridge came right behind him, swiping his finger on top of the cake. He handed some of the frosting off to Sam, causing a smirk from Sophie. Everyone laughed and enjoyed themselves, as the doors to the Command Center opened again. This time it was Doggie Cruger entering, with his wife Isinia on one arm and Kat Manx at his other side.
"Sir, you're late!" Bridge shouted. "We already did the surprise!"
"I apologize for our tardiness, Cadet Gray," Cruger said.
Isinia walked over, patting him on the shoulder.
"Happy Birthday," she said, as she walked off joining the others.
"Thanks."
Kat hugged Quinn.
"You made it. 18 years gone. How does it feel?"
"Honestly, I feel like I need to call my mom," Quinn chuckled.
A chorus of chuckles and "aws" spread throughout the room.
"I'm sure she'll be glad to hear from you," Kat said.
"Well, I hate to take the spotlight off Cadet Gray, but I do have an announcement to make," Cruger said.
"It's okay," Quinn called out. "After today, I think we all deserve some spotlight."
Everyone gathered around the main control console, where the birthday cake was still sitting. Cruger took a position where his chair once sat.
"As most of you know, Commander Silverback did not survive the attack on S.P.D. Headquarters. I would like you to all meet his replacement," Cruger said.
Everyone exchanged curious glances. None of them had expected a decision this quickly.
"The new Commander of Earth's Space Patrol Delta is Katherine Manx."
Slight gasps were heard from everyone, as they all were shocked and very happy to hear the news. Kat hid the knowledge well, as all eyes fell on her and she finally gave them all the toothy grin that she had been dying to share for the last hour. Cruger knew there was more to tell, especially concerning his conversation with the Galactic Council President, but he didn't want to taint the party. He led the applause for Kat's promotion.
"Don't get too used to the idea yet," Kat said. "I still have to pass a few tests before S.P.D. will award me a field commission."
"Well, if anyone can do it, Kat, you can," Syd said, with a smile.
Everyone agreed. Minutes later, the party was in full swing again. Quinn blew out all eighteen of the candles on his cake and Sophie began cutting slices. As everyone passed them around, Sky watched them from a few feet away. Quinn was laughing with C-Squad, Boom with Piggy, Z with Sam, Sophie with Bridge and Cruger with Isinia and Kat. At that moment, Sky realized someone was missing. Out the corner of his eye, he saw the doors to the Command Center close.
With everyone celebrating, no one even noticed or heard the doors open and close. Sky slipped out himself, without anyone noticing. In the middle of the room, Bridge took a large bite of the cake.
"How is it?" Sophie asked.
"Really good," Bridge said. "It's buttery!"
At that moment, Bridge noticed his right hand wiggle in response. Sophie gave him a hug, as Bridge looked shocked.
"Syd, wait up," Sky called out down the corridor, as he saw her walking away.
Syd stopped in her tracks, but didn't turn around. Sky saw her heel tapping a bit on the floor. She was nervous about something.
"Hey," Sky said.
Syd turned around and Sky saw that she had tears in her eyes.
"What's wrong?" Sky asked, as he frowned.
"I didn't want to bring anyone down," Syd said. "They were all so happy."
"You should be too," Sky said, as he put a hand on her arm. "I think I'm finally ready to be happy myself."
"It doesn't work like that, Sky," Syd said, sadly. A single tear fell.
"What do you mean?"
Syd pulled her arm from his grip.
"I'm leaving."
"You're leaving? Okay. You're not in the mood for a party. After everything that happened today, I get that—"
"Sky, I don't think you do get it," Syd said. "You don't get it at all."
"Then, tell me. What are you talking about?"
"I'm leaving S.P.D.," Syd said, somberly.
"No. You can't leave. Why?"
"I can't be here," she said.
"But, Syd...I'm sorry. I'm so sorry for the way that I treated you. I got so wrapped up in my father and my legacy that I let it cloud everything, every decision I made," Sky stated. "Jack tried to get me to see that and I finally get it."
"Jack helped me realize some things too," Syd said. "This isn't right."
"What isn't?"
"None of this. You and me and what you did out there. It's not right. You didn't contain Omallix. You didn't reach out and treat me the way I deserve to be treated," Syd stammered.
"I don't see the connection. So, Omallix is gone for good. I don't see the problem with that and I just apologized to you," Sky said.
"No, Sky! You can't just apologize and make everything better. We're not kids. You can't let your emotions control every decision you make and then expect one little sentence to make it better, just because your grudge is over," Syd explained. "I can't be with you. I can't even be here in these walls. It's all changed too much."
"But, I'm trying to change again," Sky said, desperately. "I'm ready. I will take you into that room in front of Cruger and our friends and I will kiss you. I don't care anymore."
"I care," Syd said. "Sky, months ago when you doubted yourself as a leader, you came to me and I told you that I would follow you anywhere. I can't follow you anymore."
Syd began to break down crying. Sky gently pressed both of his hands on her arms.
"Syd, don't cry," Sky said, looking confused. "I don't understand. I have real feelings for you."
"That's what makes this decision the hardest," Syd said. "Because I have feelings for you two, but I can't live like this. I can't live with ithis/i Sky, waiting and worried that the Sky from the last six months is gonna come out again. That's not fair to me."
"I'll make it right. I promise."
"No," Syd said, as she pulled her arms away again, remembering her final conversation with Jack. "I'll make it right, right for me. No matter how I feel. I can't turn a blind eye where you're concerned anymore."
She took a few steps back away from Sky.
"I already gave Cruger my resignation," Syd said, as she gathered herself, stopping her tears. "He's gonna tell everyone after the party. I left notes for Z, Bridge and Quinn. I have to go."
Syd turned and walked away. Sky still looked confused and even a bit disoriented, as he realized what he had lost, not today, but months before. He leaned against the corridor wall and slid down to the floor. He heard footsteps coming around the corner. He looked up for only a second, before seeing that it was Murphy, walking slow, with his head lowered. The robotic hound with no owner laid next to Sky, as his eyes closed.
On the roof of the Delta Command Base, Z Delgado looked out at the setting sun. It had been a long day. She had lost a lot this year, but someway, somehow she felt her next day would be brighter than the last. It was the first time in almost a year that she felt that. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
"Z!"
She turned to see young Sam coming towards her, carrying the memorial plaque dedicated to Jack.
"Hey," she said, with a smile.
"I'm sorry. I couldn't save it," Sam said, somberly, as he showed the plaque to Z.
It was cracked.
"Must have took a pretty big hit," Z said, with a smile.
"You're smiling?"
"Now, it reminds me of Jack," Z said, chuckling. "He could always take a good punch."
"So, you're not mad?"
"Not at all, Sam," Z said, as she looked at him.
She took the plaque from him and held it up to the sun setting.
"It's gonna be a new day. You know what? I'm not tired anymore. I'm ready to face what's next and that's the greatest gift that Jack could ever leave me," Z said.
"Maybe he left that to me too," Sam said. "Being in the Delta Command Megazord was so amazing today."
Z looked down at Sam, as he had a glimmer in his eye. He's got it, Z thought to herself.
"I'm definitely enrolling in the Academy when I'm old enough and hopefully, in the future, I'll be ready to be the Omega Ranger. I can live up to the example Jack set," Sam stated.
Z took a deep breath and put an arm around Sam, as they started walking back towards the rooftop entrance.
"Sam, you don't ever have to live up to anyone's example. All you have to do is be the best at whatever you choose to do, for you, not for anyone else," Z said.
"You're right," Sam said.
"But," Z smirked. "You will have to deal with me borrowing the keys to the Omegamax Cycle again sometime!"
Sam and Z laughed together, as they entered the base. Above the lives inside Space Patrol Delta, the sun finally set on their day, their horror and their despair.
YEAR 2 ENDS