Robo-Blaze was looking over the city, biding his time while he let the Rangers and Grid Battleforce stew over his ultimatum. He had a sick smile on his face as he contemplated his part in the proceedings.

Evox's foces were dangerously depleted, that was just a fact. They had limited reserves of Morph-X, and they needed to be careful how they used it. Evox had almost finished preparations on his Endgame weapon, a weapon that he was certain would devastate the Rangers, but he needed time, and with the reanimiser gone, and now with Roxy destroyed as well, they were in a dangerous stage of the game. The Rangers were weakened by that battle, and so were they. Now it was down to who could recover first.

Blaze had concocted this scheme largely as a distraction, as something to keep the Rangers busy, to prevent them having too much time to recover or rest before Evox was ready to launch his final offensive. He heard some groaning behind him and turned around, heading towards his prisoner.

"Comfortable?" He asked. Meghan was lying on the floor, shackled and glaring up at him.

"Not really." She muttered. "You'd think with somewhere this fancy you could at least give me a seat."

He just took amusement in her discomfort, beginning to pace around her. She looked around, taking in her surroundings, trying to figure out where they were. She noticed portraits on the walls, oil paintings many of which looked like they dated back possibly hundreds of years. Many of the men in them looked startlingly like Blaze.

"Yeah, we're in one of the Winchester estates." He told her. "The old man called this his winter retreat."

"You brought me to one of the Winchester places?" She asked, her fingers searching her wrist for her communicator. "A little obvious, don't you think?"

"Maybe, but it's not like I'm trying too hard to hide." He told her. "After all, I'm really only playing for time. Anything else Master Evox gets out of this is just a bonus."

He saw her struggling and smirked.

"Oh, don't bother looking for your communicator. I already destroyed it." He informed her. "You forget, I know your playbooks."

"Something tells me you should really have paid more attention." Meghan told him. "Grid Battleforce has strict guidelines about negotiating with enemies. We don't negotiate for prisoners. If you think they're going to give you anything for me..."

"Yeah, I know I read all those guidelines too." Blaze interrupted her. "But you see, all those goody-twoshoes at GB? They're a soft touch. They'll never just let something happen to one of their own. They have this little drawback in that they actually care about others. Us? We don't have that trouble. Neither do you from what I remember."

Meghan lunged, but ultimately didn't get anywhere near him. It was true that she didn't quite understand other people the same way that others did. She struggled to put herself in other people's position, to understand what they were feeling, but to say that she didn't care about others, that bothered her. She did appreciate those that had tried so hard to help her. It meant a lot to her that others had gone out of their way to help her, even some of those she had harmed with her actions.

She didn't claim to fully understand why so many had gone out of their way to help her, but she now felt grateful to those that had. As much as she was in danger and wanted to be rescued, a part of her didn't want them to risk themselves for her. She knew that tactically, cutting her loose was the best option for Grid Battleforce. They would lose comparatively little if something happened to her, but if they gave Blaze anything for her return, then that could be used against them.

"I'm sure they're already brainstorming ways to try and help you." He declared. "Right now I'm sure they're probably weighing up rescue plans, trying to think of schemes to try and trick me into giving you back. Hell, they might even be compiling some Morph-X ready just in case they need to give me..."

"They'll give you NOTHING!" She screamed at him. Blaze just laughed.

"Wow, that really got under your skin, didn't it?" He asked her. "You know, when I was a kid, I used to love hitting up kids for their cash. Shaking them down for lunch money, whatever they had in their pockets and such."

She just looked to him in confusion.

"I never cared about the money, of course, because...well..." He waved his hand around the room. "But it was just about making sure people knew their place. Making sure they knew who their betters were."

He saw the way she reacted to that.

"Did the other me never tell you about that?" He asked her.

"He told me he used to be a bad person." She told him.

"Yeah, he's just the sugar-coated version of me." Blaze answered. "Me? I'm the best parts of him, without all that..."

"He's a million times better than you'll ever be!" She interrupted him. "He knows he was wrong, and he did something about it. You? You'll never be anything more than a sad little bully."

"Tell yourself whatever you need to." He scoffed. He checked the clock. "I reckon I'll let them stew a little while longer. Think about all the horrible things I could be doing to you. Then I'll call them. Then we'll see how quick they run."

Back in Grid Battleforce headquarters, the team had split up to get back to work. There wasn't really much to be done until Blaze contacted them to tell them where he had taken Meghan. The Commander was already trying to formulate a plan on how she planned to resolve the situation, but she'd already made it clear that ultimately, they couldn't risk Evox getting any more Morph-X, not right now when their Zords were still under repair.

Ravi, Roxy, Ben, Betty and Steel were all sitting around a table, waiting for word on what to do next. The Commander had told everyone to be ready in case they were summoned into action if they got any word on Meghan. Naturally, they were all worried about her, and they wanted to find a way to help her if they could. Nate and Zoey came back, carrying some drinks for them all.

"OK, we've got smoothies." Nate told them, handing them around. Steel just looked dejectedly to the drinks as they sat down.

"No word yet." Betty confirmed. "Has anyone seen Blaze?"

"He's taking this pretty hard." Ravi commented. "I don't think I've seen him taking anything this hard."

"I've known him a long time, this has really gotten to him." Roxy admitted. Of all of them, she'd known Blaze the longest. Their families ran in the same circles, being among the richest and most influential people in Coral Harbour, and while she had always been well aware of Blaze's less admirable traits growing up, they had known each other for a while. "Do you really think the Commander would cut Meghan loose?"

"She might not have much of a choice." Ravi confirmed. "We can't risk Evox getting any kind of advantage, not right now when the Zords are still down. Whatever he was making with the Energems is still out there, and it's possible the only reason he hasn't already sent it down Main Street is he's waiting on some Morph-X."

"They traded for us before." Ben pointed out.

"Yeah, but...you're the General's kids." Ravi answered. "I know it shouldn't matter, but it does. The General ordered us to trade Steel for you. Meghan...she doesn't have anyone that we need to answer to."

"Ravi!" Roxy reprimanded him, smacking him in the chest.

"Sorry, I don't think its right either!" He assured her. "Look, I don't think anyone should be treated any differently, we're all in this team, and if it was a choice between me and helping Evox...I know I'd expect all of you to sacrifice me."

"Let's just hope it doesn't come to that." Zoey sighed, taking a sip of her smoothie. As she did so, Betty saw the way that Steel was looking at her.

He reached for one of the smoothies, picking it up and staring at it.

"I'd really prefer it doesn't come to that either." Nate said, taking the smoothie off Steel. "I know, Steel, I've not made you able to eat or drink yet, it's not like we haven't had this conversation a million times."

Steel didn't say anything. Instead, he just crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. Betty just watched him, feeling a little badly for him.

Ben's communicator bleeped, and he looked to it.

"Dad's arriving at the base." He grumbled. "I thought with all this, he'd forget all about seeing me."

"Hey, family's important." Nate answered. With that, Steel got up and walked away. Nate just looked after him curiously. "Steel? What was that about?"

"Guys, could you give us a minute?" Betty asked. Ravi, Roxy and Ben all got up and left, leaving Betty alone with Nate and Zoey. She leaned in closely. "Nate, there's something you should know about Steel."

"Look, I know he wants to be more human..."

"No, I don't think you guys get how much this upsets him." She carried on, shuffling in a little closer. "It's not just that he wants to be more like a human. He...he IS human."

"Yeah, we know that." Zoey answered.

"No, I don't think you get exactly how much this upsets him." Betty carried on. "He...he told me something in confidence, but I think you need to hear it. It's not just that he wants to be more like a human. To him...he IS a human. He feels like he's human and the fact that he can't be like all of us really gets him down."

"He wants to be fully human?" Nate asked. She just nodded.

"As far as he's concerned, he is." Betty clarified. She suddenly started to feel uncomfortable. "Look, I don't know if I should have told you that..."

"No, we appreciate that you did." Zoey assured her. "Thank you."

With that, Betty got up and headed off to go back to her duties. Zoey just looked to Nate, who was deep in thought.

"I knew this human thing was something that got to him, but...Nate, is this something that's even possible?" She asked him.

"I...don't know." He answered honestly.

Up in the Commander's Office, General Burke had arrived and was discussing the situation with the General. They were at a crucial stage of the war against Evox and they knew it.

Warfare was always a terrible, cruel thing to negotiate. There was rarely a more dangerous time than when one side was significantly weakened and depleted through attrition. It led them to make desperate, risky moves. The only thing more dangerous was when both sides were in the same situation. Evox's forces were depleted, that was true, but right now so were Grid Battleforce's, and that meant that any tip in the scales could prove decisive or disastrous.

General Burke was looking over her analysis of the situation, weighing up her recommendations and her thoughts on the war as it stood. Blaze's move to kidnap Meghan was very definitely a power move, a counting coup so to speak. He had taken one of their own to show that they were vulnerable, and to threaten her in exchange for resources that Evox would need. It was a cruel and despicable plan, but one that now forced Grid Battleforce to possibly make a terrible choice.

"So, what do you think?" He asked her. She sighed.

"I don't want to give up anyone." She told him bluntly. "I've...I've lost many under my command, people who depended on me. Some lost their lives, some had them irreversibly altered, but I've never willingly ordered someone to be allowed to die."

"It's...not an easy situation." General Burke agreed sadly. "It never is."

"We can't let Evox get the upper hand, not now, not when we're so close." She told him. "Whatever we decide now could well be the decision that decides the outcome of the entire war."

"And it all rests on one woman." General Burke agreed. "Does she have any next of kin?" Commander Shaw just shook her head.

"She was in care most of her life. As near as we can tell we're all she has." She replied honestly. "In some ways, that almost makes it feel worse."

Cole came into the office, bringing some coffee with him. He set it down on the table.

"Perhaps we need to step back from this and take a break." She suggested. "We can't very well plan an operation to extract Meghan until we know where she is."

"I suppose you're right." He answered. "I hear your son gave you some good news?"

"Well, quite a bit actually." She said with a little bit of a smile. "Apparently, I'm going to be a grandmother."

"Well, congratulations!" He boomed cheerfully. "I imagine that was a bit of a shock."

"I will admit that I wasn't exactly planning to be a grandmother quite yet." She acknowledged as Cole started pouring the coffee. "But I suppose it might have some advantages, happening when I'm still young enough to fully enjoy the benefits of a grandchild."

"Our kids really are growing up, aren't they?" He asked. "I heard that Ben's in a relationship now."

"Oh?" She asked. "How did you...?"

"Oh, I do talk to a few people around here." He assured her. "I have to admit, I always wanted to see my kids end up with good people. I was hoping to meet this new person in my boy's life."

Cole paused a little as he heard this. He understood that Ben hadn't come out to his dad yet.

"I'm sure whoever she is, she's a very lucky lady." Commander Shaw told him. She looked to Cole. "Cole, just a little cream thank you."

Cole had to shake himself to bring him back to attention and return to the task in hand. He started pouring the cream.

"Whoever my boy ends up with, I'm sure they're a fine person." General Burke told her. "People can say what they like about Burkes, but we're all excellent judges of character! Cream and three sugar, there's a good lad."

Cole started to prepare General Burke's coffee. The General just sighed.

"I know that I've got nothing to worry about, but...I'd still have liked it if my son had been the one to introduce me to the special someone in his life." General Burke told her. "I really don't know why he's been keeping this from me."

Cole bit his tongue. He had been remarkably lucky with his own family. They had all been supportive when he came out, but he had already assured Ben he would let him take his own time and speak to his father when he was ready. He looked to Commander Shaw.

"That'll be all." Commander Shaw told him. Cole just saluted, before heading out of the door. General Burke watched him go, before turning his attention back to Commander Shaw.

"Fine young man there." He said approvingly. "He almost made the cut as a Ranger, didn't he?"

"He did indeed." She said in response. Just then, the screen behind her flickered and burst into life. Commander Shaw turned to see Robo Blaze on the screen. He was standing by a large stone structure, kind of a gothic architecture that looked like it belonged in some kind of church yard.

"Commander, hope I'm not interrupting." He greeted her.

"Spare us the false pleasantries." She stated. "What do you want, Blaze?"

"You know what I want. All the Morph-X you have." He told her.

"Absolutely not." She put down flatly.

"Oh, well I know someone who's not going to be happy to hear that." He said, gesturing to Meghan, who was chained to a pillar behind him. "She's been waiting to hear how you're going to get her out of this. I know that you're not meant to give in to demands, but I'd have thought you'd at least put in an effort to negotiate. You're really just going to toss her under the bus?"

"If you harm one hair on her head..."

"I think we both know that this thing's pretty close to being over." Blaze cut her off. "Whatever happens, we're going to be facing off pretty soon. The only question is, will this one be around to see that happen?"

"If you do anything to her, you can forget any kind of mercy..."

"You know what? I think maybe you need a little more time to think this over." Blaze told her. "I'll call back when you're willing to take this a little more seriously."

With that, he cut off the communications link. She pressed a button on her desk.

"I just received a communication in my office." She announced. "I want it traced! Transfer it to the lab, I want you to analyse everything! I want you to find anything that could tell us where she is!"

She looked to General Burke.

"Come." She told him, before getting on her communicator. "Rangers, meet me in the lab immediately."

As they rushed out, they didn't notice Blaze standing just out of view. He had pulled back when he heard them moving, but he had been standing by the office waiting to see or hear anything about what they planned to do about Meghan.

He had only seen a glimpse of the screen, but that was all he needed. He ran to his room, going inside and starting to rummage through his things, finding a katana.

Pulling on his leather jacket and strapping the katana to his back, he ran off, this time heading for the vehicle hangar. When he got there, he mounted his bike, pulling on his helmet.

Gunning the engine, he roared off, swerving around a transport as it came into the garage, heading up the ramp. The transport pulled aside, at which Devon got out.

"Blaze?" He asked curiously. "Where the Hell is he going?"

Meanwhile, Blaze gunned the engine, heading for the barrier and skidding underneath it, before pulling out of the base, scattering traffic to a deafening chorus of horns and expletives.