The following morning, the Rangers were all assembling in the Command Centre ahead of the day. Commander Shaw wanted to brief them and keep them close to the base in case they needed to be deployed. Although he'd been turned back on his last attack, Ryjax had been relentless in his attacks until now, and so they had no reason to believe he was going to back off any time soon.

Joanne, along with the Rangers was waiting for Chaku and Commander Shaw to arrive. Although they were early, it wasn't like Commander Shaw not to be the first to arrive. She took her command very seriously. Ravi had always heard her say that true leadership meant that they came last in all things. They were the first to arrive, the last to leave, and they stayed at their post until the end no matter what, even if it meant figuratively going down with the ship. It did give them a little time to talk though.

"Chaku has a kid?" Steel asked, leaning in, listening on in interest. The Rangers had noticed he'd been more than a little excited with Chaku's presence, but especially since he'd found out he was a cyborg. While they weren't EXACTLY the same, he had very much started to form what appeared to be a kind of hero worship of him. There weren't too many cyborgs around that he had to look up to.

"Yeah, I overheard him talking to her when I was passing by his room last night." Nate told them.

"Wow, a cyborg can be a parent!" Steel said, looking off into the distance thoughtfully. "He is amazing!"

"So, what's she like?" Devon asked him. Nate just shrugged.

"She's just…a little girl." Nate said, trying to think of how to describe her. "She looks young, maybe about ten."

"Didn't Chaku say he's been chasing Ryjax for years?" Ravi asked. Nate just nodded in response.

"It's possible he's not seen her in a long time." Nate surmised. Zoey let out a little sigh.

"Well, at least she knew her dad." She answered in an off-hand way. "I could walk past my dad in the street every day and I wouldn't know. She must miss him terribly."

"I miss my parents all the time." Nate added sympathetically.

"Then I guess we can rule out Chaku joining us once we get rid of Ryjax." Devon concluded as he looked around his friends.

"It would have been good to have another ally in our fight against Evox." Ravi stated. "But, the way I see it, how can we feel bad about getting a dad back to his family? The sooner we get rid of Ryjax, the sooner we can get Chaku back home."

Just then, Commander Shaw came back into the room, along with Captain Chaku. The Rangers and Joanne all gathered, standing to attention.

"At ease." She instructed them. "Rangers, I have some news. This morning, I called Captain Chaku into my office to discuss an important matter. As you know he's been a great help to us in our battle against our latest enemy. With this in mind, I've offered him a position with Grid Battleforce."

The Rangers all looked among themselves. They'd already heard rumblings that Commander Shaw was intending to offer Chaku a place in Grid Battleforce. It made sense; he was a strong warrior and a useful ally. However, now they knew he had a family to go home to, it seemed like a moot point.

"And I'm pleased to announce that he has accepted!" She told them, somewhat surprising them all.

"Once we've defeated Ryjax, I can resign my commission with G4 Galaxy Police." Chaku told them. "When Commander Shaw explained to me about Evox, I realised that the biggest threat to the universe is right here. I'm proud to fight for the greater good."

The Rangers all looked a little confused. They were surprised that Chaku would choose to stay on Earth, now that they knew he had a family.

"This is AWESOME!" Steel declared excitedly, rushing over to him, shaking his hand so vigorously he caused Chaku to stumble. "Guys, didn't you hear? He's going to stay!"

"Yeah, we…we heard that." Zoey answered. "That's great news."

"Defeating Ryjax won't be easy. I've hunted down the rest of his gang, and he's the toughest one." Chaku said, retrieving his hand from Steel. "But I'm sure that between us, we'll be able to destroy him once and for all."

"Joanne, keep a close eye on the scanners in the city. I want to know as soon as Ryjax turns up." Commander Shaw told her. "The rest of you, be ready to deploy. If what Chaku tells me is correct…"

"Ryjax doesn't take losing very well." Chaku interrupted them. "I wouldn't be surprised if he's back with more firepower soon."

"Until then, you're all dismissed." Commander Shaw concluded. They all saluted each other, before she left the room. Chaku looked to be heading back to his own quarters. The Rangers and Joanne all gathered.

"He's staying?" Joanne asked.

"I know, isn't it great?" Steel asked.

"But, what about his kid?" Devon asked.

"Maybe…mom offered to let him bring her here?" Ravi suggested. Nate left the room, going after Chaku.

He found him a little way down the corridor, on his way to his quarters. He was staring at one of the vending machines thoughtfully.

"Chaku, hold up!" Nate called out to him. Chaku just turned to look at him, pointing at the vending machine.

"They eat frozen milk on your planet?" He asked. Nate saw the vending machine and nodded.

"Well, kind of. Ice cream's…it's a little hard to describe." Nate told him. "I'll just get you some."

"You wanted to talk to me?" Chaku asked him.

"Yeah, it was about you deciding to stay on this planet." Nate told him as he got a couple of ice-creams from the machine. "I was a little surprised that you agreed."

"Why would you be surprised?" Chaku asked him. "I joined G4 Galaxy Police because I wanted to serve the greater good. I can do more to secure the safety of the universe here than I can there."

"It's just…" Nate started a little awkwardly. He wasn't sure how Chaku would take hearing that he had listened to his conversation with his daughter, but he couldn't really see a way to explain without telling him. "…I was passing your room last night, and the door was open and…I heard you talking to your daughter."

"I don't see how that's any of your business." Chaku blurted out rather bluntly.

"It's just, if you have a family, why are you staying here?" Nate asked him.

"Like I said, I can do the most good here." He said, snatching the ice cream from Nate. "Now, if you'll excuse me…"

"Chaku!" Nate rushed out. "Look, for most of my life, my parents worked abroad. I know I'd have loved to have them come home. I'm sure your daughter misses you dreadfully."

Chaku didn't say anything as he heard him say this. Nate came a little closer.

"I take it from how quiet you've been you haven't talked to Commander Shaw about your family." Nate surmised. "If you do, maybe she can make arrangements for your daughter to come here."

"It's not that simple." Chaku sighed. "I haven't seen Starlight since before…before I got my cybernetic implants. They gave me the power I needed to destroy Ryjax's crew, but the man she knew as her father is no more."

"Chaku, I'm sure she'll understand." Nate tried to reassure him.

"No, this is the choice I made." Chaku told him. "I'll rid the universe of Ryjax once and for all, but after that, I can't go home."

"Maybe we can…"

"No, this is the life I've chosen." Chaku interrupted him. "Thank you for the ice cream."

With that, he headed back to his quarters, leaving Nate alone in the corridor.

Ravi was in his quarters, killing some time until his next class. As the base's official "training officer", he had some times during the day between classes where he was at a loose end, and while they were waiting for word on Ryjax, he figured he'd take the opportunity to spend a little time with Roxy.

Roxy was a naturally outgoing person, always wanting to go places and meet people. Even once she decided that working at Grid Battleforce wasn't the future for her, despite having no need of the money, she had gone to work for her family company for something to do. She understood that she and Blaze were under protective custody in the base to prevent public panic since Evox's main henchmen looked exactly like them, but it did mean she was at more than a little bit of a loose end and going somewhat stir-crazy.

Roxy without something to do was not a good combination. She had already encouraged the slightly embarrassing situation where she encouraged Betty to pursue Cole, completely oblivious to the fact he was actually gay, though she did claim a sort of victory in the fact he was now dating Ben, and now her latest obsession seemed to be reading through the Shaw family history. ALL of the Shaw family history! His room, normally so ordered and tidy was completely covered in old pictures, books, keepsakes and things she had asked his mother to bring out of storage to let her see.

"So, this Captain Chakku has a kid?" She asked, clearly as surprised as the others as Ravi relayed the latest development to her.

"Apparently, he does! A daughter named Starlight." Ravi said, before scrunching his brows, thinking about it. "At least...I think that's her name. It's what Nate heard him call her, but I guess it could be a pet name. I don't know."

"But he's still going to work here, for us?" She asked. He just nodded, looking around the room.

"That's what he said." Ravi said, picking up a plate. "Is this your breakfast?"

She looked over.

"Yeah, it is." She answered.

"You've hardly touched it." He pointed out. She just scrunched up her nose a little.

"Yeah, sorry, I was just...not feeling it." She admitted. "I have these chips though, so I'm good."

"Chips are not breakfast." He stated, earning him a glare from her. She shook her head and went back to reading.

"So, is he bringing his family here?" She asked.

"I don't know. I don't honestly think mom even knows he has a family." Ravi told her. "We only know because Nate overheard him talking to his daughter."

"I really hope she can sort something else out for him." She sighed. "I couldn't imagine wanting to leave your family. My mom and dad worked and travelled a lot, but whenever they could they brought us with them...wow, you really had a Great Uncle who lived to 103?"

"Yeah, I did..." Ravi said, shaking his head to try and get over the distraction of her tangent. He loved Roxy, but at times she did splinter a conversation like that and it could be difficult to recall what they were talking about. It was an endearing quality, but he'd be lying if he said it didn't drive him a little crazy sometimes. "...I guess if he talks to her, maybe she might be able to..."

"Do you feel that?" Roxy asked. Ravi just looked to her.

"Feel what?" He asked her.

"I think I felt the floor moving. Like, something moving underneath it." She told him. Ravi thought about it for a moment, before shrugging his shoulders.

"Can't say that I do." He replied honestly. "You're sitting on the bed, maybe it's just the springs..."

"It's kind of sad to think about Chaku's kid missing her dad." She said, before grabbing another picture. "One of your aunts was on an Olympic team? Damn, the Shaw family has some good genetics!"

"Yeah, we kind of do." Ravi said, again trying to catch up. Roxy just looked around again.

"You HAVE to have felt that." She stated. Ravi just shrugged and shook his head. She looked down to his military-issue boots. "Well, no wonder you don't feel anything through THOSE, you could cross the Himalayas in those and not notice!"

"Roxy, I really don't..."

"Just take them off." She instructed him. Realising he wasn't going to get any peace until he agreed, he bent down to unhitch his laces. As he did so though, as soon as he put his knee on the floor, he did feel a rumbling in the floor. More than that, now he could hear something too.

"Did you hear that?" He asked her. She just nodded.

"What do you think it is?" She asked. "The nearest subway is a couple of blocks from here. Wait, we're in the basement...aren't the old service tunnels under here?"

"Yeah, they are." Ravi responded. "But what's that got to do with anything? No one's been down there in years."

"Well, it sounds like drilling or digging." Roxy said.

"Why would anyone be digging there?" He asked. "No one uses them for anything; they abandoned the tunnels long before we got here."

"Maybe someone's trying to get in!" She suggested. "Those tunnels come right in under the base!"

"Roxy, who would dig their way in? The only reason we know about those tunnels is because we've seen the blueprints, and they're classified." He reminded her. "No one outside of Grid Battleforce even knows they're there."

"Ravi...they have a Blaze and Roxy!" She reminded him. "If I know something, they know it too!"

Ravi's eyebrows shot up, before he turned and ran out the room, talking rapidly into his communicator.

"Guys, meet me in the old Service Tunnels!" Ravi called out. "I think Ryjax is making his move!"

Under the base, Ryjax was with a contingent of viviks, putties and tyrannodrones, digging their way through the rock and earth, finally breaking through to the old service tunnels. He strode out, taking a look around. The tunnels were built long ago, before the site was re-assigned to more research and administration purposes. The original intention was for them to have a way to transport heavy weaponry and vehicles from the Black Site outside the city into the city unseen, but over time it had just fallen into misuse. He checked the plans he had been given.

"The tunnel's here alright. Looks like Blaze and Roxy were finally useful for something." He grumbled, looking at the blueprints. "Now, the garage is above us here, so the lab should be..."

"Not so fast, Ryjax!" Devon yelled as the Rangers and Chaku entered the chamber. Ryjax just threw his hands up and snorted in disgust.

"You lot, again?" He asked.

"Yeah, turns out digging a tunnel under a military base? Not a great plan!" Zoey told him. He just threw the device he was holding aside.

"Well, I figured it was better than marching up to the front door with a marching band, but you want a rumble? I'm game for that!" He responded. "GET THEM!"

In another part of the city, Muriel Reeves was getting ready for her latest podcast. She had been a promising reporter, working at one of the main television stations in the city. She had always worked hard, she had always thoroughly researched her leads and verified her facts before putting out a broadcast, and she was one of the most diligent reporters that many had ever seen. However, circumstances had always kept that one story, that one "Frost/Nixon" or that one "Oprah" moment just out of reach. She'd been waiting patiently for that breakthrough story that would put her on the map and take her from soft news stories to the top tier anchors.

Now though, she was working in her apartment, steadily building up her podcast and putting out her own news feed. None of the networks would touch her, and her own career had ended in one instant when she had finally got what she was sure would be her big break. She'd managed to capture the Rangers morphing on camera! It was likely to be the scoop that would make her career, but even she wasn't prepared for finding out that one of those Rangers was her own daughter!

Zoey didn't know she had found out about her secret identity, indeed she was sure that the Rangers were probably tasked with ensuring the leak would never see the light of day, but when push came to shove, when Zoey had the memory card in her grasp and could end that threat right there, she had instead opted to trust her mother with it. Muriel had gotten as far as starting the broadcast when she made a decision that had torched her entire career in seconds flat, snapping the memory card live on the air. The station was left a laughing stock. Many believed they'd manufactured the whole thing as a hoax to get more viewers and as a result, they'd fired her on the spot. Muriel did regret somewhat having to start her career all over again on her own, but keeping her daughter's secret? She didn't regret that for a moment!

Her apartment was now her workplace and her studio. She'd already started to get her own fans, some who liked her more investigative, hard-hitting style that the other networks just didn't seem to have. All reporters tread on toes, but most had an agenda. Whether it was their own views, or those of the station, they would demonstrably only hold some to account, while soft-balling others. Muriel was always someone that never minded treading on toes in order to ensure those who held positions of responsibility remembered who they worked for.

While her old colleagues had long since lost her number out of fear of being associated with her, many of her old contacts and leads were still funnelling stories to her, and many more were coming to her with stories they knew the other networks would never carry. It meant she was already building up a viewer base that while it had yet to break into the territory of the television stations, was getting her enough subscription to pay her bills.

Her cameraman came in, carrying a coffee and a bundle of papers, sitting down with her.

"The work's coming in pretty thick and fast." He told her. "The sources are really churning out the tips."

"It's definitely a lot to get through." She replied, taking the coffee from him. "To think this is still only about a tenth of the stories coming in! Thank God for interns, right?"

"Yeah, they always were useful." He commented, taking a sip. "She has pretty good taste in coffee too! Brought her own beans, can you believe that?"

"Whatever gets you through the day." Muriel agreed, taking a sip. "Damn, that IS good!"

"So, what do we have?" He asked her.

"Alright, there's some chatter between some of Mayor Daniels' cabinet members and private donors on private e-mail servers." She told him. "It doesn't link back to the mayor, but it is pretty concerning stuff."

"Sounds pretty dicey." He stated. "If it was anyone else, I'd ask if you're sure you want to go ahead with it but...I know you."

"All too well." She replied with a smile. Her cameraman had been the one that had filmed the Rangers. While he didn't know the Rangers' secret, he did trust Muriel's judgement enough that when she was fired, he opted to quit and go with her instead of staying at the station. "There's some landlords trying to edge out some families in the South Side...that one's kind of close to the bone for me, I definitely want to cover that. Someone has written a diet plan based on eating nothing but cupcakes...pass. There are reports of ghosts in..."

She tailed off and sighed.

"Ghosts." She groaned, getting up.

"Hold on, she's just a kid!" Her friend rushed out. Muriel just went through to the other room where her new intern was working, looking through all the stories coming in to figure out which ones to pass to Muriel. She stood over her.

"Ghosts, again?" Muriel asked in an exasperated tone.

"I...thought it sounded interesting?" She offered weakly.

"Damn it, Amelia, I'm trying to be taken seriously here!" Muriel responded.

"But there are a load of people who say they see weird stuff at that hotel all the time!" She protested. "And...you do say if the news is all serious stuff it's too dry and people stop listening."

Muriel just tapped her foot, glaring at Amelia, before sighing.

"Just...don't make me regret it." She muttered. "Go ahead and film that story if you must, but run it by me first!"

"I totally will!" Amelia gushed excitedly, before pointing to the printer. "More news coming in! I'll just get that!"

As she bounded across the room, Muriel just face-palmed.

"You know, I seem to remember you..."

"Don't!" Muriel warned him. "Just...don't!"

In the tunnels under the base, the Rangers were battling with the swarm of enemies, while Chaku fought back and forth with Ryjax. He'd been pursuing him for years, across multiple universes. Ryjax rammed him against a wall, his weapon sparking against Chaku's sword as he tried to drive it into him.

"You shouldn't have come after me Chaku." Ryjax growled. "I already took everything I wanted from your planet!"

"And I won't let you do it to any more!" Chaku shot back as he struggled against the massive monster's greater weight. "You've caused more than enough misery and destruction!"

"How many of your colleagues have I destroyed?" Ryjax cackled. "You should have quit while you were ahead! Now, I think I might just take that helmet of yours for my collection. Only question is, will I take your head out of it first?"

He screamed in pain as a blast hit him in the back. Chaku took the opportunity to shove him clear, before hitting him with a couple of quick slashes. Ryjax tumbled away, while the Rangers all formed up, training their blasters on him.

"You ready Chaku?" Devon asked him. He nodded.

"I've been ready for this for a long time!" He answered. The Rangers all powered up their blasters, firing a full power blast his way. Chaku rushed forward behind it, powering up his sword.

As the Rangers blasts hit home, Chaku gripped his sword in both hands.

"For all those who have fallen before you." Chaku whispered to himself. "ENFORCER STRIKE!"

The attack hit home, and there was a massive explosion. Chaku turned towards the Rangers, heading back towards them.

Before he got there though, they heard some movement. They all looked over, seeing some rubble moving. Ryjax's fist broke out from it.

"What the Hell?" Ravi asked.

"How is he still alive?" Zoey asked.

"It looks like he was tougher than Even I thought!" Chaku responded as they all prepared a guard. Ryjax broke out from the pile of rubble, but rather than fight, he started to run, heading down the tunnels.

"Get back here, you coward!" Chaku roared as he chased him. The Rangers all followed, getting outside. When they got there, Ryjax was standing, waiting on them. Chaku gripped his sword tightly. "What's the matter? No more places to run?"

"No, I just needed a little more head room." Ryjax laughed, pulling out a device. "I found this in the ruins of Andresia."

With that, he detonated the device. The Rangers and Chaku watched as he started to grow to massive size.

"Commander, deploy the Zords!" Devon called over the communicator. "Give us everything!"