Up on the Ethospear, Arcadyx was sitting in his chair, staring out at the planet Earth. "So, as you all probably know... things have gotten slightly more complicated..." he said, watching as the sun shined brightly over Earth. "It turns out our little feathered friend has got himself a right pair of bodyguards, a couple little Power Rangers it seems!" A big smile formed across his face. "Too bad they're pretty dime a dozen when it comes to this backwater blue ball!" He said with a chuckle. "So, which one of you wants to crush me some Rangers... and get me my Cubes." he asked his three generals. "Send me down, boss. The rats will be nothing but paste..." said the first with a snarl, who was covered in massive blue square shaped crystals across his entire body, including his gigantic shoulders. His head had no eyes to speak of; only a set of razor sharp teeth could be seen on his crystalline jaw.
His name was Cuborax, and to say he was a nasty customer would be a massive understatement. The second general, Khamelia, simply gave a chuckle. "Oh, you would sooner crush those poor Cubes into dust rather than capture them. What this mission requires is a woman's touch..." she said with a tone as soft as a kitten. She was clad in black and green with a gold honeycomb design on her knees and chest. She too had no visible eyes on her face, like her crystalline comrade, while large strands of tentacle-like hair grew out the back of her head. Cuborax gave a growl. "A "woman's touch" would only make things worse." he snarled with disdain while Khamelia gave a smirk. "Perhaps a lesson in mind over muscle would sharpen your mind." she said with a chuckle. "Alright, that's enough. You two sound like a bunch of newly hatched Jetlings." remarked Arcadyx, standing up from his seat.
He was clad in bright reds, deep blacks and shining gold across his armored body. His eyes glowed a sinister bright red, while long tassels hung from his head, shaped in the style of a pirate's hat. "Perhaps a little vote on my end might be required, since you two both still make some convincing cases but are more keen to bicker like babies I pick..." he said, putting his hands together, but before he could make a decision, the sound of laughter was heard behind him. "Allow me to save you the trouble, Captain!" said the voice, revealing his third and final general. "It is I, the Curse of The Choushin Cluster! The Bane of The Bima System! The Scourge of Sharivan Itself... Spikester!" he proudly proclaimed. Appropriately fitting to his name, he was clad in jet black metals and covered from head to toe in razor sharp spikes. Khamelia gave an amused chuckle while Cuborax was evidently unimpressed.
"As if a showboating runt like yourself could even take a Voltrat Whelp with a cold..." retorted Cuborax. "Oh and what's the matter, you blue blockhead? Is that a bit of jealousy I hear from you?" quipped Spikester, and just as Cuborax was about to send one of his crystalline fists straight into Spikester's face, Arcadyx stepped in between the two monsters. "Okay, cool it you two..." he said, putting up both of his hands in front of the two. "You make a solid case, Spikester. Alright, I'll be sendin' you down to eliminate those little Rangers and get me my Cubes." he said, standing right in front of the spiked scoundrel. "Don't disappoint me." he finished, his tone of voice growing cold. "Disappointment is a foreign concept to me, sir!" responded Spikester, racing off to the Teletransporter Room. Cuborax gave a grumble. "You don't expect that fraud to actually win, do you boss?" inquired Cuborax.
Arcadyx gave a small chuckle. "Consider it a bit of good ol' friendly entertainment... we have all the time in the universe on our side." he said with a grin. Back down on Earth, inside the Sanctuary, our two heroes Nate and Josh were locked in combat in the Sanctuary's Sparring Pit; while they definitely managed to hold off a few Tentycons just a minute after morphing for the first time, refinement was definitely needed for these two to properly perform their duties as Power Rangers. Josh gave a right hook to Nate, which he swiftly blocked and responded with a lightning quick spinning back fist. Josh quickly ducked underneath the incoming attack, and landed a massive punch to Nate's chest, with enough force to send him flying into a nearby wall. But with the grace of an Eagle, just like the spirit that resided within him, landed feet first and kicked off the wall and spun like a twister back down to the floor, landing with a slide.
This quickly transitioned into a lightspeed dash for a brief second, before Josh attempted to counter with a roundhouse kick, but Nate gracefully leaped over him behind his back, and well before Josh could process the thought of turning around and landing a blow, Nate gave a quick leg sweep to his friend turned combatant, with enough force to send him in a spin and landing face first with a massive thud in to the dirt. Josh gave a groan of pain while Talonwing gave a nod in approval. "Very good. Both of you." said the bird man. "Not sure what I did right though. I got my butt whooped." responded Josh, as the fallen Yellow Ranger picked himself up off of the dirt. "Just lifting yourself up from the ground, after defeat, shows you have strength, in more than just a physical way." said Talonwing, as Josh wiped the dirt from his clothes. Nate gave his knuckles a crack and his arms a stretch. "He's not wrong, dude." he chimed in.
"Defeat can be a dangerous adversary, but also a powerful teacher." responded Talonwing, with a small nod. Josh, however, gave a sigh of frustration. "You will grow stronger, Joshua. With practice and time." said the team's mentor. Just as Josh finished wiping all the dirt from his clothes, one of the five crystal totems in the center of the Sanctuary began to shine a bright blue; the five totems represent the five Spirit Cubes still out in the world, the first was for Nathan's, glowing red and the second shined a bright yellow for Josh's, the last two totems remained dark, as their Cubes were yet to be found. The trio exited the Sparring Pit and entered the center of the room, where Talonwing soon knelt down on his knees. "A moment, please." said the bird man, before closing his eyes and beginning his meditation with the totem. The low hum of energy echoed throughout the Sanctuary
As the meditation proceeded, the totem fed the information of the Cube's whereabouts to Talonwing, during which his expression remained stone faced. Several minutes had passed before the meditation had finished, and Talonwing lifted himself up from the ground. "So, where's the next Cube?" asked Josh, just before Nate quickly elbowed him in the arm. "Jeez, give him a second to recover!" he whispered in his friend's ear. "No, it is fine... From what the Spirit Totem had told me, the third Spirit Cube is surrounded by water, in a place of protection and recovery." responded Talonwing, as the two Rangers pondered where he could be referring to. "It's probably hiding in the Conservation Center, back in town; I know they house aquatic animals." said Josh, as Nate nodded in agreement. "I guess even the Spirits are into tourist attractions," he chuckled.
"Just one problem. We don't have a vehicle to get back to town, at least not anymore thanks to Arcadyx's goons; any ideas?" asked Nate. "There is... The Spirit Cubes can transport its users to wherever they are needed." responded Talonwing. "You mean, we can just teleport anywhere at any time?" inquired Josh. "That is correct." nodded Talonwing, in agreement. "Simply input code 3-6-4, keep your destination inside your mind and you will arrive there." he finished. Nate quickly flipped open his Cube. "Well, in that case, let's go Cube Hunting." he quipped, beginning to input the transportation code. "I will watch your progress through your Spirits, to guide you when needed. But be careful, however, I fear Arcadyx's forces may be mobilizing to capture the next Spirit Cube." warned Talonwing. "We'll be ready for 'em." responded Nate, as finished inputting the code along with Josh.
A bright flash of red and yellow light shined brightly in the Sanctuary for a brief second, before the two vanished. Back in Spring Shallows, in an alley right next to the Conservation Center, the two arrived with a red and yellow flash. Luckily, there wasn't anybody around to see them be instantly teleported, not even the smallest beetle. "Wow, it actually worked." said Josh, looking around. "I hope you didn't forget your wallet at the Sanctuary!" chuckled Nate, as the two joined the masses arriving at the Conservation Center entrance. The entrance consisted of a huge white building with large metal struts supporting the roof; a massive metal and wood sign sat just above the doors with the writing "Spring Shallows Conservation Center" in bright green and gold. The inside was painted a bright white, and about as clean and shiny as you could get, from the ceiling to the floor.
Admittance inside was about ten dollars, which the two paid. In front of them there were about four different hallways, each leading to a different section of the Center. "Any ideas?" asked Josh, hands to his hips, while Nate gave a contemplative look. "Split up, we'll cover more ground that way. I'll take the left, you take the right." he replied, while Josh gave a nod in response. "Hang on, how do we know where the Cube is hiding?" whispered Josh. "Well, uh... we'll cross that bridge when we get to it." he responded, with a shrug. Josh just sighed and the two split up. Nate's path took him past the Cat, Bird and Rhino enclosures while Josh's took him by the Reptile, Insect and Canine enclosures. Of course, the center was massive and trying to see everything it had would take several hours. During those several hours, Josh was slowly beginning to lose hope; was this whole thing just some wild goose chase?
What if Talonwing was lying to them? Was he actually working for Arcadyx just to throw them off? Whatever the outcome was, Josh was just wandering by the Aquatic enclosures, hands in his pockets when he noticed something inside one of the tanks. He noticed a medium sized Blue Shark swimming around among the rocks and artificial coral put inside for decoration, eating the chum that was tossed in from above. There was one thing that was off about this shark though; its dorsal and one of its pectoral fins were torn and cut apart; in fact the shark had some trouble swimming around its tank. He leaned in towards the glass, pretty much pressing his forehead against it. Suddenly, a whistling noise emerged from within his head. It sounded familiar, yet this was the first time he had never heard it before. His Spirit Cube soon materialized in his hand; looking down he saw it giving off a faint white-blue glow, pulsing lightly like a heartbeat.
"How's the hunt?" said a voice from behind, making him nearly jump out of his skin in fright. Giving a small growl in frustration, he turned around to see Nate standing behind him, in his right hand was a cheeseburger. "Seriously?" asked Josh, staring at Nate as he continued to eat his meal. "What, I got hungry so I grabbed a bite to eat!" he responded. Josh just stood there in silence, while Nate finished off his meal in a few bites. "Well, while you were busy chowing down I found this." said Josh, pointing to the tank behind him. Nate leaned toward the glass. "My Cube was starting to act funny when I found the Shark." said Josh, while Nate continued to observe the shark. "That's gotta be the sign the Cube is here." responded Nate. "Now the question is: how do we recover it?" he inquired. "Can I help you two with something?" asked a voice to their right.
Turning around they saw a woman dressed in a green, white and gold uniform; evidently he was one of the employees at the center. Her skin was a light brown and her voice had a notable Australian or New Zealand accent to it. "We were just... uh, checking out the shark tank here." responded Nate, trying to come up with a good cover story; obviously saying they were searching for an artifact would be rather strange and get them tossed out probably. "Yeah, she's a bit of an attraction, that one. Her name's Mizu." said the woman, staring into the tank. "What happened to her?" asked Josh, pointing at the shark's obvious injuries. "We found her caught up in a fishing net about a year ago. She was hurt pretty bad, and never fully recovered from it. If she were to just be released back into the wild, she'd never survive. So, we decided to give her a permanent home here.
"I've been taking care of her ever since." she said. Nate's eyebrows cocked up. "You're her caretaker?" he asked. "That's right, I make sure she's well fed, clean and happy. My name is Miranda, by the way." she replied, giving her hand out for a handshake. "I'm Nathan, or just Nate to my friends." he responded, shaking her hand. "That's my buddy Josh." he said, pointing to his friend. "Pleasure to meet you!" said Josh, giving out his hand for a handshake as well. What he didn't realize, however, was the hand he was giving out also held his Spirit Cube. "What's that?" asked Miranda, gesturing to his artifact. Josh's eyes widened in panic and his speech devolved into incoherent stammering while Nate gave a facepalm in the background. In Miranda's presence, the Cube's glowing actually began to grow brighter and energy flowed out of the Cube, flowing like smoke or water toward the tank.
Mizu seemed to take notice. Her body also began to radiate energy, turning slightly transparent and ethereal, like a ghost. It was making quite the scene, however, and there were dozens of people staring at the trio, taking pictures of the glowing shark. Miranda reached for her walkie-talkie. "Simon, we have a situation with Mizu..." she said. "Is something wrong? Is she hurt?" he answered. "Not exactly, it's... complicated." she replied. "Uh... okay, I'll be there ASAP." responded Simon. "Thanks." finished Miranda, turning to Nate and Josh. "You two, with me. Right now." she said, sternly. Nate gave a frustrated sigh. "Nice going, you idiot!" he whispered to Josh, shaking his head. "I'm sorry I... I forgot!" stammered Josh. Miranda led the two to the employee's lounge, shutting the door behind them. "Alright, what is this thing and did you two do to Mizu?" she commanded, snatching the Cube out of Josh's hand, her expression growing more and more angry.
"Listen, if I told you what was going on and why we're here... you probably wouldn't believe us." responded Nate, trying to defuse the situation. Miranda crossed her arms. "Try me." she said, eyes tightening. "Okay, so..." Nate held out his hand, and his Cube materialized. "These are Spirit Cubes, they're imbued with the power of Animal Spirits." Miranda's right eyebrow cocked up. "There are five out in the world, we have two and we think Mizu is the third in disguise. The reason we're looking for them is because there is a really bad guy named Arcadyx coming here to get them for his own purposes. If he gets all five, all of Earth or even the GALAXY could be in huge trouble." he finished, while Miranda stood in silence, trying to process what Nate said. "...You're insane." she finally responded, while Nate's hands dropped to his sides, and a look of frustration boiled over his face.
"Hey, this is all just as crazy for me as it is for you but the absolute LAST thing Nate would do is lie." interrupted Josh, taking back his Cube. Suddenly, the muffled sound of an explosion and ensuing panic echoed throughout the center. "What was that?" asked Miranda, concerned. "Trouble." responded Nate, as the trio raced out of the room. Pushing past the panicked crowds, they returned to the entrance. Greeting them just outside the center was the sight of Spikester and a full battalion of Tentycons attacking civilians. "Well well well, you three must be the ones who triggered that energy spike! So glad you could give away the Cube's location for us!" barked the spiked monster. "Is that Arcadyx?" inquired Miranda. "I don't know." responded Nate. "Now, hand over the Cube or you'll get the sharp end of my wrath!" demanded Spikester, but the three weren't having it. Nate turned to Miranda.
"Try and get the civilians out, we'll hold them off." he whispered. Miranda quickly nodded and raced off. "If you want the Cubes so bad, come and get 'em, Pinhead!" shouted Nate, holding up his Cube. "What did you just call me, punk?!" responded Spikester, completely outraged. "You ready?" asked Nate, turning to Josh. "I'm gonna have to be." responded Josh. "Good..." Nate turned back to Spikester. "Because It's Morphin' Time!" he proclaimed. The duo twisted the top of the Cubes so the front symbol was complete. Opening the Cubes, the two were engulfed in light for a brief second before completing their morph. "So, you're the two little heroes I've heard about! Oh how fun it'll play Pin The Spike On The Ranger!" quipped Spikester, as the Tentycons readied for battle. "Don't count on it, Spikes For Brains!" responded Nate, running his hand over his helmet as though he were slicking his hair.
"Because when you mess with Earth, it bites back!" With that, the two Rangers charged into battle. Josh managed to tackle one of the Tentycons with a shoulder block followed by a quick punch, while Nate flipped past two more, pulling off an upside down split kick to the two goons; his boots landing in their alien faces as they fell to the ground with a thud. Glancing behind him, he saw three more Tentycons rush toward him, weapons at the ready. With a flick of his wrist, his trusted weapon, the Spirit Whipblade, materialized in his hand in a reverse grip and in a lightning quick blur of red, sliced down the three goons in a burst of Tentycene dust and bright red energy. Josh suddenly leapt over him in a spectacular flip, eager to take out the villain in front of them. "He's mine!" he shouted, charging into the fray towards Spikester. "Joshua, don't!" warned Talonwing, as a guiding voice inside the Ranger's heads.
Josh, however, just ignored his mentor and leapt into the air, with the grace and fury of the lion spirit within him. "Spirit Surge!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, summoning his lightning charged claws. Josh slammed the two electrified energy whips down at the villain as hard as he could muster, but Spikester quickly rolled out of the Ranger's way, dodging the explosion of lightning and flying debris. "Looks like you're all shock and no awe!" mocked Spikester. "Shut up!" shouted Josh, angrily swinging his claws to the right, throwing his lightning whips across the sky. But in a blur of red wind, Nate barrelled through the villain knocking him straight off his feet, with the Ranger landing with a slide. "You alright?" asked Nate, quickly picking himself up off the ground. "Yeah, I'm okay." responded Josh, dusting himself off.
"You cannot face threats such as him alone, Joshua; you are part of a team!" spoke Talonwing to Josh, who gave a defeated sigh. "I'm sorry. I just... I wanted to prove myself." he said. "Well, it'd be kinda hard to do that if you get yourself killed." responded Nate. "We're partners," he held out his hand "and we're gonna beat him together, got it?" Josh gave a nod in response, gripping his partner's hand with determination, before the two turned toward their foe. "Isn't that adorable? I'll make sure to destroy both of you at once!" quipped Spikester, as he readied more spikes from his body and arms. "You're more than welcome to try!" responded Josh, as the two Rangers readied themselves for battle once more and charged forth. "Spirit Surge!" shouted Nate, as his wings re-emerged across his arms and he took off in a sonic boom, smashing straight into Spikester with enough force to send him flying.
The spiked villain flew backwards in impressive fashion with a frightened scream, before landing with a thunderous slide, while Josh leapt high into the air with his claws out, and his lightning whips smashing into the villain in a spectacular explosion of dirt and lightning, leaping backwards away from the blast and joining his partner. "That should do it!" said Nate, dismissing his wings, while Josh did the same with his claws. But once the sparks and debris soon cleared... "I don't even have a scratch!" said a voice, firing a storm of spikes from his arm cannon at the Rangers, slicing and piercing the two and forcing the two off their feet and de-morphing them; Spikester was still up and able to fight. "Well, this has been a fun little diversion, but I have a Cube to collect!" taunted the villain, rushing off into the Conservation Center. The two Rangers struggled back to their feet.
"There's still civilians in there! And Miranda, too!" said Josh, trying to pick himself up. "Come on, let's go!" replied Nate, giving a hand to his friend and charging back into the Center. Inside, Miranda continued helping civilians through one of the emergency exits, along with Simon. "Okay everyone, through the exit, stay calm and keep in line! Help is on the way!" she said, leading a group of people through the door. Out of the corner of her eye, however, was Mizu still in her tank. In the chaos, she was still trapped. "Simon, keep those people safe! I'll catch up!" she quickly said to her partner, before running off. "Wait, where are you going?! MIRANDA!" shouted Simon, as Miranda bolted off to the tank. As she reached the tank, two Tentycons emerged from the hallways, armed with blades and more than ready to take her out. She swiftly responded with a spinning kick to one and an elbow strike to the other.
Just as she was about to head for the control room to open up Mizu's tank, a massive spike came flying by Miranda's head, embedding itself in the wall just beside the glass. Turning around, she saw Spikester accompanied by another squad of Tentycons. "So, that must be the Cube in disguise! How cute of it to put itself in a fish tank, just for me to take!" taunted the villain, as Miranda readied herself for battle. As the Tentycons prepared to charge her, most of them were whipped into submission by Nathan's Whipblade, as the two Rangers quickly arrived to join Miranda. "Are you alright?" asked Josh, standing at Miranda's right. "Yeah." she replied, giving a small nod. "I need to get Mizu out of here, there's a control station in the back I can use to open her tank doors up and get her to safety." she said, as the two Rangers gave a quick nod. "We'll hold these guys off." responded Nate, as he and Josh readied themselves for the fight.
However, Spikester reached into a small pouch on his right leg, holding a supply of Tentycene Disks. Tossing the alien devices on the ground, a whole new squadron Tentycons emerged in a burst of light and dust. "Let's Ranger Up!" shouted Josh. Summoning their Spirit Cubes, the two Rangers prepared to morph once again. "Spirits Within!" the two Rangers shouted to summon their Ranger form. "Oh no you don't!" shouted Spikester, firing a volley of spikes at the two Rangers just before they could morph, blasting the two back straight into the glass, with enough force to begin cracking it. As the two heroes fell to the floor, their Cubes flew out of their hands landing right next to them, with the Tentycons all rushing to restrain the Rangers. "I'll just be taking those..." quipped Spikester, taking the two Cubes. "No you're not!" shouted Miranda, as she tried leaping on the Spikester's back.
She struggled to stay on him as he continued trying to shake her off. "Get off me, you brat!" shouted the villain, finally managing to throw Miranda off his back, with her landing hard on the concrete floor, as the two Rangers struggled to break themselves from the Tentycons' clutches to no avail. Spikester gave a belly laugh, as Miranda tried picking herself up from the ground. "I gotta admit, this has been a fun little expedition of sorts..." he said, aiming his cannon arm at Miranda. "But, all good things must come to an end..." However, as he said this, the trademark sound of cracking glass rumbled through the air. Taking a quick glance, the trio all saw Mizu desperate trying to break the glass even more than usual; as if she was trying to break out, ramming the crack as hard as she could. "...Mizu?" said Miranda, confusion boiling up within her. Spikester gave another laugh.
"Awww, perhaps your little friend here knows better than to mess with The Scourge of Sharivan Itself!" he chuckled, stepping over Miranda and standing right in front of Mizu's tank. "Now come to papa Spikester, little fishy..." he finished, opening his arms wide. But with one final headbutt against the glass, and her body giving the same ethereal glow as before, she smashed open the tank, with water splashing the Tentycons and the Rangers in spectacular fashion, glass shards sent crashing to the floor, and her jaws wide open, latching right onto Spikester's face. "Let go of me, 'ya overgrown anchovy!" screamed Spikester, struggling to pull of the small shark from his face. Mizu finally released her grip, flying with a bright flash before quickly transforming into the next Spirit Cube, which fell to the ground right next to Miranda, which she quickly grabbed.
"Hey wait, that's my Cube! Give it back, now!" angrily shouted Spikester, as the Tentycons readied themselves behind him. "Miranda, match the front symbol and open the Cube!" shouted Josh, as Miranda quickly matched the front emblem. The Cube quickly forced itself open, revealing another Cube animal just as Nate and Josh found, this one being a blue colored shark. Pulling a nose dive straight into Miranda, a quick blast of blue energy burst out... and had given Miranda her own Ranger form. "Incredible..." she quietly said to herself, examining her new form. "WHAT?!" shouted Spikester, in disbelief. "You gotta be kidding me! Another Ranger?!" he stuttered, as the Tentycons swarmed around their leader. "Yeah, that's what I'm talkin' about!" shouted Nate, grinning like an idiot. Readying herself for battle, Miranda charged forward as the Tentycons' did the same.
As the swarm circled around her, Miranda flipped past the cabal of foot soldiers like a beautiful gymnast and as she landed with a knee to the floor, a surge of spirit energy flowed through her, soon revealing a massive shark fin on her back. Putting herself in full sprint, she leapt forward at the Tentycons, which instantly transformed her into a spinning glowing disk, slicing through each one of the baddies like a hot knife through butter with the grace of the shark spirit within her. She landed with a hard slide as the Tentycons crumbled to dust and fire. "Why you wretched little punk!" screamed Spikester, swinging his cannon arm at Miranda, who quickly pulled off a backflip and suddenly disappeared into the ground with a splash! "What the?! Where'd you go?!" he shouted, confusion completely overwhelming him. Without warning, Miranda reappeared behind him, spinning wildly and knocking the Spirit Cubes out of his hand.
She quickly caught them before they landed and swiftly landed in front of the other Rangers. "I think you dropped these." she quipped, handing the Cubes over to Nate and Josh before turning to Spikester. "Give those back right now, or you're gonna get it!" shouted Spikester, aiming his arm cannon. "Oh we're gonna get it alright!" replied Nate. "We're gonna get your butt whooped!" The two Rangers readied themselves. "Spirits Within, Awaken!" they both called out, before morphing once more. Spikester gave a monstrous roar as he and the Rangers quickly charged at each other. Nate quickly summoned his Whipblade, as Spikester fired several spikes at him. As quickly as the Eagle spirit inside him, he swiftly sliced the projectiles out of the air before hastily leaping into the air and coming down with a massive strike.
"Spirit Surge!" he shouted, his wings emerging by his arms and grabbing hold of Spikester and hoisting him into the air. "Going up!" he quipped, flying up through the open ceiling and high above the Conservation Center. "Put me down, you runt!" shouted Spikester, struggling to get free. "Can do!" joked Nate, releasing Spikester a good 100 metres above the entrance of the Center. "Wait no, not like that!" screamed Spikester, as he plummeted straight back down to the ground, landing on the concrete stairs like a brick. Miranda and Josh quickly emerged at the entrance as Nate landed swiftly in front of them. "Oww!" shouted Spikester, holding his head in pain. "You punks are really starting to get on my nerves! It's about time to put an end to this!" The other Rangers readied themselves. "He's right, let's finish him off!" said Nate to the others, as all three charged forward as the villain did the same.
Nate flipped high above over Spikester's head, spinning like a top while slicing away at Spikester before landing one last blow on him, and landing a heavy dropkick at his back. "All yours!" he called out, as Josh leapt into the fray, claws out and landing four savage blows on Spikester before flipping away, as Miranda also activated her Spirit Surge mode, slicing at him as well, before flying straight at Josh. "Give me a boost!" she called out, as Josh leapt towards her. "Hey, Pointy!" he shouted. "Catch this!" Josh caught the still spinning Miranda in his claws, tossing her like a discus with the full strength of the Lion spirit. Miranda swiftly sliced through Spikester, landing with a heavy slide on the ground. Spikester screamed in pain, as he fell to the ground and landed with a thud and a blast of dark energy and fire.
The Rangers celebrated their victory. "Heck yeah, that's what we're talking about!" said Nate, hugging Miranda. "Not bad for my first day as a Ranger, huh?" responded Miranda, as the other two Rangers gave a laugh. "You got that right." said Josh. Back on the Ethospear, Arcadyx observed the carnage that had occurred. "Well, ain't that a right disappointment, ain't it?" he quipped, legs crossed and head held in his hand. "What else did you expect from a pathetic whelp as him?" snarled Cuborax. "No worries... I prefer to play with my prey before the big catch. Besides, I have a special something for these little brats..." snickered Arcadyx, as he pressed a button on the right arm of his chair, and out popped a golden coin, with cracks in the center shaped like a star, which he caught out of the air. "A Megadallion, sir?" asked Khamelia, concerned.
Arcadyx chuckled to himself. "A little soon, I admit... but I got plenty more to spare..." he said, sticking the Megadallion in the coin slot just below the button used to summon the alien device. A few seconds later, a small cannon fires the coin straight at Earth, with a very specific target in mind. The Megadallion gave a hiss as it flew through the open skies, not unlike a screeching banshee, which Josh quickly took notice of. "Hey, what's that?" he asked, pointing at the glowing object falling to Earth, which soon embedded itself in Spikester's chest, and quickly phasing through him... which suddenly triggered a massive growth transformation! The Rangers stumbled back, as Spikester grew to the size of a skyscraper in a matter of seconds. "I'm sharpened up and ready to stomp you pests out!" he shouted, staring down at the ant sized Rangers.
He raised his left foot, hoping to crush the Rangers underneath as they scrambled out of the way of his heel. "How do we stop this guy?!" asked Josh, panicked. "Talonwing, this guy just got a nasty growth spurt, what do we do?!" asked Nate, through his Cube. "Remain calm, Nathan. Summon your Spirits, they will fight by your side." responded Talonwing, almost in a state of zen. As he said this, the trio's Cubes right sides' glowed a vibrant gold. They each turned the Cubes' top segment to match the right side, as the Cubes opened up, and the Cube animals from before arose from their vessels. "Those are your Cubezords, your spirits manifested." he spoke. "Alright, now we're talking!" said Nate, as the trio quickly transported to their Cubezords. The cockpits were of stone design with veins of white energy flowing through them. The control mechanism consisted of an energy field and a single stone pillar where the Spirit Cube could be inserted.
Slotting the Cube into the slot, the energy quickly shifted to red, blue and yellow, for their respective Rangers. "Eagle Cubezord, ready for battle!" said Nate. "Shark Cubezord, all systems ready!" responded Miranda. "Lion Cubezord, let's do it!" finished Josh, as the three Zords took off for battle. The Eagle Cubezord sliced past Spikester in lightning quick fashion, as he gave a grunt in pain. "We gotta get this guy away from the city!" said Nate, circling around the villain. "Come on big guy, catch me if 'ya can!" he taunted. Spikester roared in anger. "I'll swat you out of the skies, you punk!" he hollered, as he chased the Zord into the nearby countryside, away from civilization. "Here, catch this!" shouted Spikester, firing a barrage of spikes at Nate. In lightning quick fashion, the Cubezord folded back into Cube form for extra protection against projectiles, as the spikes simply bounced off its armor.
"Time to return the favor!" Nate said to himself, motioning his hands inside the command field, as the Cubezord unleashed a concentrated beam of red energy from the top cannon just above its head, blasting Spikester straight in the chest. "Coming in from behind!" said Josh, as both the Lion and Shark Cubezord leapt up from behind the villain, with their mighty metallic jaws open wide. Both Zords clamped down on Spikester's arms with primal strength, trying to hold the villain down, as Nate quickly circled back around, aiming directly at Spikester. "I'm comin' in hot!" he said to the others, ready to ram Spikester directly in the chest. But, with an unexpected show of strength, "I think you dropped this!" he shouted, as he smashed Nate out of the sky with the Lion Cubezord, as both of the machines crashed into the ground with a mighty slam, before glancing at the Shark Cubezord on his cannon arm.
"Now as for you..." he said to the Zord, moments before slamming his arm into the ground with a hammer-like swing, prying it from his weaponized appendage. "Looks like you're all washed up!" he said, before firing a volley of spikes directly at the Zord before brutally kicking it straight at the other two, sparking wildly from the impact. "And to think I nearly thought myself to be outmatched!" laughed Spikester, as the Rangers tried picking themselves up inside their cockpits. "He's too strong, our Zords aren't enough! What do we do?!" panicked Miranda. Nate silently stared at his Spirit Cube, remembering the front emblem with five animals on it. Suddenly, he had an idea. "Josh, you remember what Talonwing said about working together?" he asked. "Yeah, why?" replied Josh. "Well, maybe our Zords can work together, as one!" he finished, confidently. "That is correct, Nathan! Together, you are more!" said Talonwing.
"Unite your Zords as one body and one soul. Only together can you win." he finished. "Alright, let's do it!" said Nate, pulling out his Spirit Cube, as the third and final side of it glowed a beautiful bright blue. Matching the symbol revealed the face of a machine. "Match up the final side and re-insert your Cubes, guys. We got this!" commanded Nate, as Miranda and Josh quickly followed his lead, putting their Spirit Cubes back inside, as a thunderous hum of energy echoed outward. "Primal Megazord, begin construction!" shouted all three, as their Cubezords quickly reverted into Cube Mode, rising high into the air. The Lion Cubezord landed back down first, soon followed by the Shark Cubezord being stacked on top of it, and finished with the Eagle Cubezord on the top. Materializing from above came a sword like device that inserted itself inside the stack of Zords.
The inside twisted, revealing the face of a machine, with a smaller sword released from the top and landing in its hands, and thus, the Primal Megazord was fully complete. "Woah, it worked!" said Miranda in complete amazement, in the team's new three man cockpit. "So, one target instead of three huh? Sounds good to me!" taunted Spikester, firing yet another volley of spikes at the newly complete Megazord. "Not so fast!" yelled Josh, motioning his hands, as the Megazord quickly slashed through the storm of projectiles without any trouble. "What?!" said Spikester, in complete and utter shock. "Let's cut this guy down to size!" responded Nate, as all three Rangers commanded the Megazord to move forward. Running forward like a mighty titan, the Megazord gave three earth shattering slashes to Spikester's chest, as he stumbled backwards from the attack.
"Is that the best you got?!" he roared, as he charged towards the Megazord, aiming his arm cannon at the colossal machine. "No, this is!" responded Miranda, as the Megazord landed a heavy punch to Spikester's head, and rammed the sword in its hand directly in the barrel of his cannon arm, sparks pouring out from every exhaust hole on the weapon, permanently disabling it. "No, my beautiful cannon arm!" shouted Spikester, staring at his now useless weapon. "Alright, time to finish this!" said Nate, as the others gave a nod in response. Twisting the Cubes a quarter to the right, then back to the left, the flowing energy glowed to almost blinding levels. "Spirit Saber, ignite!" shouted all three, as the eponymous blade suddenly burned with spiritual flame. The Megazord stepped back, sword out and ready to strike. "Spirit Slash!" cried out the Rangers, as the Megazord gave a mighty strike to the villain's abdomen.
Spikester let out a cry of pain as he fell to his knees. "No!" he screamed as loud as he could, as he fell to the ground before the immense spirit energy from the attack caused a massive explosion, finally ending the villain once and for all. Inside the cockpit, the Rangers celebrated and cheered their first major battle. "Score one for the wild!" cried out Nate, his voice almost giving out in excitement, as the Megazord stood victorious from its first, and definitely not last, battle. Sometime later, the trio transported to the entrance of their headquarters, as the stone door protecting the base dematerialized in front of them. "You're gonna like this." said Josh, just behind Miranda, as she stepped into the base. "Wow..." she quietly said to herself, a look of shock and awe spread out across her face. "This is the Sanctuary, our base of operations as it were." responded Nate, with a smile on his face.
As this happened, Talonwing stepped down from the floating platform from above, with Miranda giving a shocked expression and even readying herself for a fight, as Nate stepped in front of her. "Don't worry, he's a friend." he assured her, as she allowed her guard to be lowered. "That's Talonwing, he's kind of our boss and mentor, of sorts. He's a nice guy, y'know, once you get past the feathers." he said with a smirk. "I've got to be dreaming this, I swear..." said Miranda, still in disbelief of the situation. "I assure you, Miranda, this is all too real." responded Talonwing, calmly. Miranda's eyes widened. "How does he know my..." she asked. "We'll explain later." responded Josh, as the three Rangers stood side by side. "The third Spirit Cube has been recovered and the Shark Spirit is in the right hands." said Talonwing, observing the three.
"Yeah..." replied Miranda, looking at her Cube. "I just wish Mizu were still here..." she said, sadly. Talonwing stepped forward and put a hand on Miranda's shoulder. "Communing with the Shark Spirit, Mizu tells me you have taken great care of her, and now she wishes to return the favor. Though the form you know her best may be gone, her spirit and strength will always be with you." he said, thoughtfully. Miranda gave a small accepting nod. "Thank you." she said, quietly. "Well, I need to get back to the Center, we have a lot of work to do to get repairs up and check on the civilians." she said, as she turned around to exit. "Hold on a second, what if we lended a hand there?" asked Nate, as she turned around raising an eyebrow. "Y'know, like a job?" he said, as Josh walked up next to him. "Seriously, a job? We don't know anything about raising animals, how on Earth could we get a job at the Center?!" he asked.
"I don't know, maybe we could be janitors, or security guards, or something? Besides, I think we owe the Center some help after we lead Pins-For-Brains straight to the Cube." he said, crossing his arms, as Josh gave a defeated sigh. "We could use the help, if possible." said Miranda, as Nate looked back at his friend, eyebrows held high. "Alright, yeah, we'll lend a hand." he responded. Nate looked over to Talonwing. "If anything happens, give us a shout on our Cubes, and we'll be on our way." he said, as the bird man gave a nod in response. "Alright, then partner..." said Nate, patting his friend's back. "We got some work to do." he snickered, as Josh gave a sigh. Meanwhile, back up in orbit of Earth, Arcadyx stepped his way through the halls of his beloved ship, with Khamelia and Cuborax in tow. "I told you sending down that prickly buffoon was a mistake, Arcadyx!" growled the Cube monster.
Arcadyx, however, chuckled at Cuborax's comment. "Oh it was hardly a mistake... call it, testing the waters." he said. "When you're hunting big game, the first thing you need to do is wear it down, until it's so backed up in a corner and out of strength, it has no choice to submit to you... and believe me when I say..." responding as a door opened up, revealing what looked to be hundreds, if not, thousands of various monsters and creatures locked up in cells. "I've got plenty of ways to beat those little brats down." he finished, stepping through the door and overlooking the holding area like a king. He quickly cleared his throat. "My dear, beloved Collection!" he announced, as various roars and snarls echoed out. "I hope you've been enjoying your stay on my ship." he chuckled. "But, on the off chance you all aren't, allow me to make a special offer for you..."
The roars all soon calmed down, and the silence was deafening in the holding area. "I'm looking for five, very special items of interest... they're called Spirit Cubes, and they could make for one heck of a sale online... or, could let me and my crew take whatever we want, whenever we want, however we want. Unfortunately, those Cubes have landed on a backwater chunk of worthlessness called Earth, and even better, they've managed to get back to a feathered pest and his little lackeys... a couple little Power Rangers. Amazingly, they managed to take out Spikester, though to be honest, taking out that little showboat ain't all that difficult." he rambled, as the collected monsters listened carefully. "So, I have a deal with you sorry lot... you destroy those Power Rangers, and get my Cubes... and you join my crew in taking over the universe." he finished.
The entire holding area erupted in cheers and roars, and the Tentycons that served as guards all scurried away from the riled collection, as Arcadyx gave a smile to himself. "It's the end of the line, Talonwing... I'll take back what's rightfully mine..." he thought to himself, as he exited the holding area, ready for the next move.