Sector 10 Mega Mall, Pixel Paradise
Metro City, Canada
April 23rd, 2015
11:45 PM

"Riley Bishop"

Today was the day I had been waiting for since 2010, when the first teaser trailer for "Time Knight" was released. It kept getting pushed back and delayed until finally, they secured the release date of 4/24/15. In "Time Knight", 42415 is supposed to be the code that unlocks the time machine or something, so, it's cool how they were able to release it on that day.

"Why did you drag me here so late?" yawned Amanda, "It's not like there won't be any copies left tomorrow morning."

"It's a long weekend and I'm already caught up on my homework," I said, "The sooner I pick up the game, the more time I'll have to play it before school starts again."

"You promised me that if I gave you an advance on your allowance so you could buy this game that it wouldn't consume you," said Amanda, "Remember that you're still a Pow- Um, a power forward on your hockey team."

Nice save. She's getting better.

"The rest of the team can still call me whenever they need me."

"Why did you need the advance again?"

"Because it costs $100."

"For a video game!?" she gasped, "That's almost as much as I charge for headshots."

"Well, since I pre-ordered the game, I get the limited edition collector's bundle," I said, "So, technically, the game itself only costs $50."

"Are you sure this game will be worth it?" she asked.

"You play as a time traveling knight from the Medieval Ages. The time machine lets you do all kinds of awesome things all across time," I said, "The possibilities are endless."

"I guess that does sound kind of cool."

"It's also something that's never really been done before," I said, "At least not as a 100+ hour interactive RPG."

"Who makes this game, anyway?"

"Bad Egg Industries," I said, "Everyone thought they went bankrupt years ago. Turns out they were really just working in secret on this game."

"Interesting." said Amanda.

"Exactly," I said, "Everyone in line has probably been waiting five years for this game, just like me. I wanted to come earlier, but the doors were locked until fifteen minutes ago."

"It feels like so much longer…" yawned Amanda, "You don't need me here. If go home and leave you here, can't you just teleport back or something?"

"I'm not supposed to do it frivolously."

"If anyone complains, tell them I asked you to do it."

"Bucker up, Sis," I said, "You waited two hours to get your hands on those fancy cameras."

"Yeah," she said, "But it wasn't late like it is now."

"Okay then," I said, "Compromise. You can go wait in the car and nap while I stay here."

"Deal." she said, handing me the money.

"Aaron "Trojan" Kingsley"

Even though I'm much happier in Cyberspace than I would have been in prison, there are still several things I miss. Like being able to touch something that isn't made of nothing but data. I miss being hungry and being able to eat real food. I miss being human. I especially miss video games. The online world was my only means of socializing.

Nobody I met in real life bothered to give me so much as the time of day. It got to the point where I just stopped trying. From there, it went to me trying to make them pay for judging me before I could even tell them my name. All twelve of my kills were fueled by revenge. All of them were my way of punishing people who made me feel worthless by treating me like dirt. I don't regret any of them.

"Is something troubling you, Sire?" asked Dr. Molex.

"No," I said, "Sometimes I just find myself overrun with pointless memories."

Even now, everything I was doing was also fueled by revenge. The people of Metro City feared me because they knew that it was their own fault that I became a killer. If they had treated me like everyone else, none of this would've happened. The judges and the police, the cowards that they are, immediately and predictably always sided with the citizens. None of them cared about me. They all thought I was some insane sociopath, so, they handed me over to the CDI without even sending me to jail first.

"Memories of what?" asked Phisher.

"You imbecile!" snapped Molex, "He used to be human, remember?"

"Don't waste your time," I said, "I need you to do what you do best."

If the Red Ranger was anything like me, he'll have a hard time dividing his priorities. I know I did when got my hands on a game I really liked. I'll admit there were times when I almost missed my chance to kill my current target because I was too preoccupied in a game. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I could definitely use this to my advantage…

"Riley Bishop"

The ride home from the mall was gracefully quick. Traffic was practically non-existent. I just sat in the car, holding the huge box full of the collector's paraphernalia and the actual game itself. Once I made it up to my room, I nearly jumped out of my skin.

"Did you get it?" asked Rachel, excitedly.

"Damnit!" I snapped, "You know I hate it when you do that!"

"Do what?"

"Wait for me in my room without telling me."

"Riley, you did tell me to wait in here," she said, "Also, its poker night at my place."

"Still?"

"Well, you know my Dad," she said, "The night isn't over until he wins or breaks even."

"Alright, I'm sorry," I said, "I take it we're doing this the same as usual?"

Ever since I first got into video games, Rachel and I have worked as a team. She loves sorting and arranging all my collectibles as well as taking inventory and keeping track of how much stuff I get, while I play the game for her to watch. I've often wondered if she genuinely does enjoy it, or if she's just been humouring me this whole time.

I tore the box into shreds, taking in the familiar scent of packing peanuts. Once I found the game, I snatched it out of the box while Rachel sat down on my bed and began to take inventory. There was a knock on my door.

"Rachel, are you staying over?" asked Amanda.

"I suppose," said Rachel, "My Dad won't even notice I'm gone."

"I take it its poker night?"

"Uh-huh."

This had become so much like a routine that it was almost second nature to each of us. Once I booted up the game, I felt myself get more and more absorbed into it. Eventually, I turned around and saw that Rachel was fast asleep on the bed. All the collectibles were neatly sorted on my shelf. How long had I been playing?

I looked up at the clock. What I saw made my heart skip a beat. The clock was displaying the time in the language from the year 3576 in the game. How was that possible? Surely, it was just my mind playing tricks on me. I closed my eyes tight. When I opened them again, the clock was back to normal. It was nearly sunrise. I tried to stifle a massive yawn before turning the game off.

Back when Rachel and were kids, we would sleep in the same bed. But now, especially because of our lingering, attraction towards each other, it would be very much taboo. So instead, I collapsed in the couch under my window.

I don't know how much later, I felt someone plug my nose. Realizing I needed to breathe, I jerked awake and toppled off the couch.

"Good morning," said Rachel, "Or should I say, afternoon?"

I looked at Rachel, but I didn't see her. Instead, I saw the Princess of Quantos, a humanoid alien with beautiful, pale blue skin-like, scales. She was wearing Rachel's clothes though, which made no sense, because obviously, as a princess, she would never do that.

"Are you feeling alright?" I asked.

"Sure," she said, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"No reason," I said, "You just… Um, look a little different."

"Different how?"

"Blue," I said, "With scaly skin."

"How long did you play that game last night?" she asked, sounding concerned.

"No more than usual for a new game," I said, "But, when I stopped, I had a hard time distinguishing our world from the game world."

This has happened to me before. Never to this extent, because I wasn't a ranger back then. But, I'd get so caught up in a game that I started seeing things from it everywhere.

"Just be glad this is happening during a long weekend."

"Do you mind sticking around for moral support?"

"Sure," said Rachel, "I just have to tell my Dad."

I watched her leave. She closed the door behind her. A sudden burst of pain in my head caused me to clutch at the spot that was hurting. It felt like my head was about to explode. There was actually a disease like that in "Time Knight"; a lethal parasite infects a host, causing extreme encephalitis, which in turn makes the host's skull explode.

How was I supposed to know what was real and what wasn't anymore? I dreamt of the game. It was so vivid that I felt all the pain my character felt. We were perfectly in sync. I didn't tell Rachel any of this because if she really was the Princess, then she was secretly an evil mastermind. Maybe she did this to me?

I heard a mighty roar, there's no doubt that it was the sound of a balrog. Easily the most fearsome creature in the game; balrogs are enormous giants that emit flames from their skin. Normally, it would be suicidal to try and touch one, but if you catch one off guard, they won't have time to ignite themselves.

Since I was the only one that was seeing these things, I was the only one that could fight them. Rachel and the others can handle the viruses, but I needed to make sure these other monsters couldn't hurt anyone. How horrific that would be, being crushed under the foot of something you can't even see.

Explanations and apologies for my actions were at the very bottom of my to-do list at this point. So what if I shirk off my ranger duties if what I do instead ends up helping them?

I heard Rachel come back up the stairs, so I leapt out of my bedroom window and landed on the balrog's nose. Just like in the game, I proceeded to climb on top of its head, where I waited for the ideal opportunity to strike.

"Riley?" said Rachel, peeking out the window of my room. Her voice sounded faint from on top the balrog's head.

As I looked at her, what I saw flickered from the Princess to Rachel. Each time, a small burst of pain shot into my head. It had a rhythm just like a heartbeat.

"Come on, you," I said, grabbing two sizable flabs of skin to use as reins, "We're going this way!"

I pulled the skin in the direction I wanted, and with a painful shriek, the balrog began to move, stomping clumsily as it went.

"Aaron "Trojan" Kingsley"

"You seem pleased, Sire," said Berg, "Is this all part your plan?"

"Of course," I said, "Everything is going just as I planned."

"What kind of virus did you make?" asked Berg.

"One that can remain dormant for extended periods of time and go completely undetected. But when it wakes up, it uses its abilities to create illusions by breaking through the foundation of reality."

"To the casual observer, it will look as though the Ranger Red is going insane," I said, "He's the only one that can see or interact with these illusions."

"Think of it as mental virtual reality." said Molex.

"I don't get it," said Phisher, "Why are we making it seem like he's crazy when we could be making him genuinely crazy?"

"Because humans have ways of curing real insanity," said Molex, "This way it will keep him out of action for much longer."

"What happens if they manage to destroy the virus?" asked Phisher.

"I'd like to see them try," I said, "The virus can also use its ability in battle."

"You've really outdone yourself with this one, Milord." said Molex.

"I have, haven't I?" I said, with a satisfied smirk.

"Stephen "Silver" Silverstone"

"Tell me again what happened, Rachel." I said.

"Riley and I stayed up late last night," she said, "He had just got a new video game. It's a tradition of ours that he plays the game, while I watch and take inventory on all the collectible stuff he gets with the game."

"How late would you say it was?" I asked.

"Amanda brought him home from the mall at around 12:30," she said, "Riley had told me to wait for him in his room so we could start as soon as possible."

"And at that point, he seemed fine?" I asked.

"Yeah," said Rachel, "Actually, even when he disappeared, he wasn't acting all that out of character."

"For someone who was running on less than five hours of sleep, anyway." said Marcus.

"This isn't like him at all," said Rachel, "Silver, do you think he's sick again?"

"He wasn't sick the first time," I said, "He had a parasitic computer chip attached to him."

"Whatever," she said, "What if he has another one?"

"I suppose it is possible," I said, "Highly unlikely, but certainly not impossible."

"What should we do?" asked Heath, "Ranger duties or look for Riley?"

The alarms began to blare.

"Does that answer your question?" asked Chloe.

"Protect the city," I said, "I'll see if I can track down Riley."

"Ready?" asked Rachel.

"Ready!" called the others.

"CYBER POWER, ACTIVATE!" they shouted together.

As they teleported away, I noticed that the signal from Riley's Digitizer was stationary, as in, forgotten in his room somewhere. If I was going to track him down, I'd need the help of someone who can think similarly to him. There were only three candidates to begin with; Rachel and Marcus were out, which left Amanda.

I expected there to be much more commotion at Riley's house than there was. When I got there, the house seemed silent, as if everyone was accounted for. Maybe Amanda hadn't noticed that he was missing yet. I knocked on the door

"Any luck finding him yet?" said Amanda without opening the door.

"Oh, so you do know."

"Silver? I didn't think it would be you…" said Amanda.

"Do you mind if I come in?" I asked, "I could use some help tracking down Riley."

"Ditto," she said, unlocking the deadbolt, "Be my guest."

"You're handling this well." I said.

"Knowing the truth makes it easier."

"I'll cut to the chase," I said, "Do you have any idea where he might be?"

"If I did, I'd be out there right now looking for him!"

"Consider yourself lucky then," I said, "Replicators are invading the city again."

"So, the rangers are too busy to search?"

"That's why I came here," I said, "We need to pool our resources to track down Riley."

"Can't you just use your fancy computer to find him?" she asked.

"I tried, but Riley didn't bring his Digitizer with him."

"Maybe someone or something kidnapped him and he wasn't able to grab it?"

"The codec's residual energy has gradually been enhancing the physical capabilities of each ranger," I said, "I don't think kidnappers could've abducted Riley without a fight."

"I'm not even going to bother asking what that means."

"Riley Bishop"

I could tell the balrog was getting tired now. This was my chance. While still clinging for dear life, I made my way down the side of the balrog's head and climbed in through its cavern-sized ear. I was now in the belly of the beast... Er, make that the skull of the beast. Despite the immense size of balrogs, and their flaming bodies, their main weakness is that their flames don't always work. This meant that I could crawl inside it without getting burned.

"Wow... It really does have a tiny brain." I muttered.

According to lore from the game, balrogs have very small brains, just like how the stegosaurus did. The size of its brain has nothing to do with its intelligence, but the fact that it's small will make killing this towering hothead much easier.

Since I didn't have my Digitizer, I had to stop the balrog without any weapons. So, I secured my footing and with a mighty heave, kicked the balrog's brain as hard as I could.

Even from inside it's body, I could hear the anguished groan that the balrog let out. Then, as it began to collapse, I got sent flying, and smacked up against the side of its skull. I had to get out of here, if I stayed inside the balrog, the impact of the fall would certainly kill me.

Moving around inside the skull during the falling motion felt just like trying to walk down the aisle of a speeding train, but by remaining calm, I managed to make my way back towards the same ear that I used to enter the balrog and leapt out.

I breathed a sigh of relief. I was safe and the balrog was dead. I still had more work to do, but at least that balrog wouldn't be able to hurt anybody.

"Wait a minute..." I said, as the truth hit me.

I was free falling towards the ground from about forty feet high, balrogs can get even taller than that though. I might be back outside, but I was still no better off than I had been inside. During the escape, I completely forgot that I wasn't wearing my Digitizer.

This is how I was going to die. Not exactly what I expected, but at least I'll die a hero. A hero that saved the city from something only I could see. My only hope is that Silver or Rachel would figure out what had happened to make me start seeing things. Once they knew why I died, they could tell everyone.

"Screw this!" I shouted, "This can't be the way I die!"

Just then, time seemed to gradually slow down until I was eventually suspended in midair. I saw an explosion of binary that mimicked the shape of an actual fiery explosion. Something began to materialize in the center of the blast, something that let out an eerie, soothing wail. It sounded like some sort of bird.

"Hello Riley." said a deep voice that echoed as if it was coming from inside my mind.

"Who are you?"

"I am the Guardian of Cyberspace," said the voice, "Protector of the ever expanding dimension that you and the others draw your powers from."

The ball of fire dissipated and in its wake, was a majestic bird with burning wings.

"I am the Phoenix." it said.

"The Phoenix?" I asked, not sure I had heard it right.

"Not what you expected as the Guardian of Cyberspace?" it asked.

"No." I said.

"Technically, I have no true definitive form," said the Phoenix, "I am merely a program, but I was dubbed 'Phoenix' by my creators because, like a Phoenix, I am eternal. No matter what happens to Cyberspace, I will always be there to protect it."

"So, you've been watching over us this whole time?" I asked.

"I used to have enough power to do more than that," said the Phoenix, "But over time, my original programming has started to falter, and soon I will cease to exist entirely, which is why I have appeared before you now."

"Falter?"

"Yes, you see, Riley, as Trojan wreaks havoc on Cyberspace, he is also inadvertently damaging the vital part of my programming that anchors me to Cyberspace," said the Phoenix, "Without that, the next time I die, I will not be able to be reborn."

"I think I understand," I said, "You can't let me die, because the other rangers and I are the only hope you have left."

"I can see why Silver made you the leader, Riley," said the Phoenix, "I can save you this time, but after this I will need to hibernate and regain my strength."

"Thank you." I said.

"When the time comes, you will have to prove your worth in order to reawaken me," said the Phoenix, "It might seem cowardly, but I have no choice. If Trojan discovers me, I will not be able to protect myself from him."

"I promise you, Phoenix," I said, "I won't let it come to that."

Rather than answering me, the Phoenix let out its eerie cry once again and then vanished. Time started moving again, but I floated down to the ground safely as the flow of time returned to normal.

Now when I looked around, everything was still flickering in between reality and fantasy, but I was aware of it now. I could see through the illusions. But that doesn't necessarily mean that I was safe from them.

My only thoughts were of going back home. Everyone must be worried sick. What would I say to them?

I had steered the balrog from Sector 13, where I lived, past the school and near the hill that housed Sector 13's power plant. All of this is in the same sector, but it's still quite a long walk. That's why Rachel and I usually bus to school, or get picked up by Oz.

"Download weapon!"

That was Chloe's voice. The rangers must be battling something nearby. I might not have my Digitizer, but if I could lend the others a hand, then it would save me the trouble of having to walk all the way back my house.

"Replicate this!" jeered Oz.

As I approached the school, I could see that there was a heated battle taking place in the football field.

"You guys need a hand?" I asked, jogging towards them.

I had arrived just in time to see Rachel deliver the final blow to the remaining Replicator. Everyone looked up at me, but I couldn't tell what their facial expressions were through their masks.

"Power down." said Rachel.

Again, when I looked at her, she flickered between alien and human, but that didn't matter anymore.

"Miss me?" I asked, with an innocent grin.

Rachel gave me a smile, and approached me with her arms wide as if she wanted to hug me. I followed suit, but was stopped dead in my tracks when she slapped me across the face.

"Weird," she said, "Somehow I thought that would make me feel better."

She offered me her hand to pull me up and I took it.

"Sorry." she said.

"No," I said, rubbing the place where her hand had struck me, "I deserved that."

"I'm not entirely sure what's going on yet, but I'd appreciate it if you'd teleport me back to my house," I said, "I'll do my best to explain stuff."

She nodded and grabbed my arm.

"Don't forget to de-morph before you follow me." said Rachel.

Seconds later, we were outside my front porch. I pulled the door open and walked apprehensively into the living room. Amanda jumped up when she saw me and I flinched instinctively.

"Welcome back." she said.

I gave her a hug, but didn't say anything. I was still trying to figure out what I should say and how I should say it. As I waited, I collapsed into a chair in the corner. I was tired, but hadn't realized it until just now.

"This is the part where you tell me where you were." said Amanda.

"I'm working on it." I said.

"Mind if we drop in?" asked Marcus, speaking for the group.

I heard the door close behind them as the others joined the meeting in the living room.

"I don't know why yet, but I left to go save the city from a balrog." I said.

"What's a balrog?" asked Amanda.

"A giant monster that's constantly on fire," said Rachel, "I remember Riley almost losing to one "Time Knight""

"It came out?" asked Marcus, "I'm totally borrowing it after you beat it."

"Time and place, Marcus." I said.

"So, you were gone for hours fighting a giant that only you could see?" asked Amanda.

"What makes you think only Riley could see it?" asked Oz.

"Because there was nothing about it on the news," said Amanda, "If it's as big as you make it seem, there's no way it would go unnoticed."

"Well at the time, I kept having pain spasms in my head and couldn't tell what was real and what was fake." I said.

"I'm gonna go out on a limb and say there's a virus at work." said Chloe

"It must be one of the kinds that can hide from my sensors," said Silver, "I'm not getting any sort of readings whatsoever."

"Riley," said Rachel, "You don't think..."

She was pointing upstairs. Her finger was aimed directly where my GameSphere sat in my bedroom.

For the record, no, it had never occurred to me that the virus could be my beloved GameSphere. Not only did it have sentimental value, but it was a special limited edition.

Rachel bought it for me on the day it came out, and then pretended to forget about my birthday so she could surprise me with it. It, alongside my computer is my most cherished possession.

"No..." I muttered, "Not my GameSphere."

"GameSpheres are replaceable Riley, but lives are precious. Even though it's dormant now, that virus could wake up and hurt innocent people." said Silver.

"Actually, Silver, it's a limited edition GameSphere with chrome plating, two disk drives and an extra hard drive slot," said Rachel, "Not to mention, sentimental value."

My only hope is that the Rachel's theory was wrong. Of course, if it wasn't, I knew what I had to do, but doing it would be the hard part. I begrudgingly headed upstairs and Rachel followed me, trying to be stealthy, but I still knew she was accompanying me.

"This has to be done." I muttered, over and over again.

The door to my room was open. After I was gone, Amanda must've come up to check on me. I passed by the GameSphere for the time being and made sure to grab my Digitizer. With it on my wrist, I ejected the game, put it back in its case, unplugged all the cables and then carried the GameSphere back downstairs.

"Here." said Amanda, handing me a rolling pin.

"A rolling pin?"

"That's the old one that keeps falling apart," she said, "I'm not letting you use the good one, you might break it."

"Beggars can't be choosers."

I made sure to close my eyes, because I couldn't bear to watch this. I raised my arm high and brought it down, hoping I wasn't going to wimp out at the last second.

I didn't.

I left a mighty dent in the case and I heard a crunching sound, which I'm pretty sure was the motherboard snapping clean in half.

I thought I would cry or something.

I didn't.

"If it doesn't mutate into a monster soon, Trojan is going to wish he was never born." I said.

I must have uttered a password or something, because no sooner had the words left my mouth, the GameSphere mended itself and then flew through the large living room window, despite it being closed. The glass didn't even shatter.

"Be careful," said Silver, who had pulled out a laptop, "According to this, the Console Virus, or #5G8A7M4E6S, has the ability to create illusions by shattering the dimensional boundaries."

"Then how are we supposed to know if what we're seeing is real or not?" asked Oz.

"I'm immune to its tricks now," I said, "Listen to me and this should be a cake walk."

Outside on the street, the virus was hovering in midair, pulsating as it began to assume it's true form.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Ready!" shouted the others in unison.

"CYBER POWER, ACTIVATE!" we screamed together.

Morphing was just what I needed. It gave me an immense burst of energy that seemed to rejuvenate me. I opened the door and leapt out of it onto the street to confront the pulsating GameSphere. The others followed closely behind me.

"I was having such a nice nap," came a whiny, impish sounding voice, "You'll pay for waking me up, rangers!"

In a very cartoony fashion, the virus seemed to turn itself inside out, almost like how a popcorn kernel pops and becomes popcorn. Only in the case of the virus, it became a balrog. This one looked even more menacing than the last one.

"Silver," I said, "We need the Zords pronto!"

"They await your command." he said.

"Download Marlin Zord!" called Blue.

"Download Falcon Zord!" called Orange.

"Download Gorilla Zord!" called Green.

"Download Rhino Zord!" called Yellow.

"Download Fox Zord!" I called.

The Data Zords materialized before us quickly. We all jumped into our respective ones.

"Commence Megazord transformation sequence!" I said.

I felt myself being pulled away from the cockpit. I floated up into the sky until the sensation stopped. I looked down and noticed that I could see what was happening from an angle above the action.

Piece by piece the Data Zords transformed until they were all properly attached in their designated locations. Orange's Falcon Zord had become a substitute arm last time we formed the Megazord, but this time, since Blue was fighting alongside us, it became a pair of magnificent wings.

"Cyberspace Megazord, online!" we announced together.

The virus flourished its right arm and a whip made of pure fire formed in its hand. After cracking the whip several times to ensure its stability, it attacked us. Even though it was night time, we could see the whip very easily as it traveled through the air.

"Let's take to the skies!" said Orange, pulling a lever at her station.

The Megazord's wings flapped, causing gusts of wind to go everywhere, but the Megazord didn't move.

"The wings aren't strong enough to achieve flight without help!" came Silver's voice.

The flaming whip struck us and began to ravel itself around the Megazord's torso. Me, Blue and Green are the ones that control the arms and body, so we went all out pushing every button, pulling every switch, but nothing worked. The Megazord might as well have been wearing a straight jacket.

"We're trapped!" moaned Blue.

"We're whipped!" moaned Green.

We all groaned.

"Oops," he said, "No pun intended that time."

"Concentrate, everyone," I said, "Our legs aren't trapped."

"I don't think the wings are either." said Orange.

"Maybe the legs and wings need to work together to make us fly." said Yellow.

"Make us crouch, Yellow," I said, "Then flap the wings and jump up at exactly the same time."

Orange and Yellow nodded. I saw them use their consoles apprehensively. Shortly thereafter, everything we could see appeared to pan downwards as the Megazord bent its knees. More gusts of wind were created when the wings began to flap.

With a lurch, Yellow let go of his steering mechanism and the Megazord leapt high into the air just as Orange made the wings flap hard again. We were airborne, but still caught in the whip.

"See if you can make us do a barrel roll or something." I said to Orange.

The wings flapped furiously like a toddler having a temper tantrum. Not exactly what I had in mind, but it was still enough to make the virus lose its grip on us. Now free, Blue and I moved the Megazord's arms high over its head and we rocketed towards the virus.

We were seconds away from impact and victory, when we suddenly crashed. The Megazord got to its feet after regaining itself and looked up to see the virus hovering above it. It was twirling the whip like the blades of a helicopter.

"Funny, Silver didn't mention that this virus can defy the laws of physics." said Orange.

"That's because it can't. It's just an illusion," I said, "Blue, charge up the sword and attack where it would be if it was on the ground."

"If you say so." she said, pressing and holding a button on her console.

"Cyber Strike is fully charged!" she said after a momentary pause.

"Nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah!" taunted the virus from above.

"Attack!" I called.

The Megazord charged forward, leading with the sharp end of the marlin. Blue had built up power, so the blade was glowing blue. Even though there appeared to be nothing in front of us, we could tell that the sword had hit something.

The virus that had been hovering in the air disappeared and then reappeared on the ground, where we could now see that the Megazord's right arm had gone right through the skull of the balrog.

"Tag!" I said, "You're it!"

The virus became stiff as a board then collapsed backwards, exploding into binary as it hit the ground.

10 minutes later, the Megazord was gone and we were all sitting back in the living room of my house in civilian form.

"Great job everyone," said Silver, "Especially you, Riley. I know it can't have been easy to sacrifice your GameSphere like that."

"I'm sorry for running off on you guys," I said, "I should have come straight to you and told you what I was going through."

"Well then..." said Silver, "Since you learned a lesson, I suppose you deserve to have this."

From behind his back, Silver had pulled out a GameSphere that was identical to mine, only this one had a red tint to the chrome plating.

"I had a limited edition one too," he said, "But with Trojan's return, I never got a chance to really put it to good use."

I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. I think I had been trying to say thank you, but it probably would've sounded more like a few high pitched squealing noises.

"Thank me later," said Silver, "Embrace the rest of your long weekend while you can."

"Starting tomorrow morning," said Amanda, taking the GameSphere from Silver, "You're grounded until then as punishment for running away."

"Fine by me," I said, "I play better when I'm well rested anyway."

At some point, I would have to tell the others about the Phoenix, but even if I did, would they believe me? Was the Phoenix even real at all? I had no idea. But what it said to me is something I know I would never forget.