Cammy felt lucky; well, as lucky as she could as she walked through a deserted, broken city. The Rangers appeared to grow stronger as they moved, looking for a transport pod that would be suitable to place the Get-Bot. It seemed as they neared the battle field, where Kendall and the Prince were locked in a battle against Sledge and the power of six energems, the Rangers were getting stronger. Just like with the PlesioZord, they needed to be near their energems in order to keep their strength up, and the longer they were apart, the weaker they became. Cammy was no longer overly worried for their safety, but getting back home with all her friends was still her top concern.
"We get the Get-Bot into a pod," Tyler said. "We make it back to the lab and we call Ms. Morgan and the Prince back."
"We fight," Koda insisted, but Ivan shook his head, patting the caveman on the back.
"You heard Ms. Morgan's orders. She wants us back at the lab."
"But... we protect Kendall..."
"She's bonded to an energem, Koda," Shelby reminded him. "She's one of us. You don't need to worry as much anymore."
"Can we not talk about Kendall," Cammy asked, looking up at her friends. "Can we just do what we need to do?"
"Sounds perfect to me," Chase nodded. "See any pods nearby?"
"Not yet. Maybe soon."
-Dino-Charge-
Kendall was thrown off her feet and into a pile of rubble. She was still morphed, but just barely. She lifted her head, shook the cobwebs and then looked over at Sledge. He was laughing as he fought with the Prince.
His size and strength alone made him a fearsome warrior. From Keeper, Kendall had heard all about how Sledge had captured or killed some of the most dangerous criminals in the universe. He was a monster to be feared, and that was without the power of the energems on his side.
The only advantage she had was that the six energems in his possession were bonded. As such, they were loyal only to the person they were bonded with and anyone else who tried to use their powers wouldn't get the same strength from them as their hosts. It was the reason why, until now, Sledge and Fury were hesitant to steal energems that had bonded to Rangers. It was unbonded gems that they were after.
However, the strength of a bonded energems in the wrong hands was still no laughing matter. Especially since six of them combined were still strong enough to destroy the city. Kendall was sure the only reason she and the Prince were still alive was because Sledge seemed to enjoy watching them squirm.
The Prince fell to his knees before Sledge and was slashed across the chest by the brute's sword. He remained morphed, but like Kendall, it was just barely so. He fell face first to the ground, clearly hoping he would get a moment of peace to recollect himself and find his second wind.
Wanting to help, Kendall rose to her feet once more. It seemed every time she and the Prince stood up, they both amused and frustrated Sledge. It was clear they were putting up more of a fight than he expected from two Rangers.
"So, you're Keeper's little pet," Sledge taunted, leveling the blaster he carried with him at Kendall. This blaster housed the six energems, and if used would surely be the death of her and the Prince. "You're the reason the Rangers found eight energems, and I had none."
"Not the only reason, but I'll take the credit," Kendall said. She hoped to keep talking. So far, Sledge had only taken her and the Prince on individually. If she talked long enough, maybe the Prince could get up and take the green beast by surprise, turning the tables if just for a moment.
"How does it feel, then?" Sledge asked, showing off his blaster, "Knowing that in spite of all your hard work, I've still ended up with six of you precious energems."
"We've got two," Kendall said. "And there are still two more out there. You haven't won. Not yet."
"That's where you're wrong," Sledge taunted her and placed his finger on the blaster's trigger. Kendall could see he was about to shoot and jumped out of the way, praying he would miss.
And he did. Just as Sledge fired the shot, the Prince was up on his feet. He pushed Sledge, screwing with his aim. Kendall still felt the heat of the blast, as well as the energy, but she was alive. She breathed a sigh of relief.
"Ms. Morgan..."
"I'm fine," she called out and pushed herself up to her feet, but it was then she realized how she had survived despite being so close to the blast. She was no longer morphed. She stood before Sledge and his blaster, completely vulnerable.
"Too easy," Sledge chuckled and put his finger on the trigger again. The Prince tried to stop him, but Sledge wouldn't be fooled twice. He fired again, but nothing happened.
"What?" he asked, looking to his blaster. "It's powered by six energems. How is it not...?"
He pulled the trigger again and again, but still there was no shot. Kendall breathed a sigh of relief while the Prince rushed to her side.
"This is our cue," he told her. "We've got to retreat now!"
"But Cammy and the others..."
"Ms. Morgan, we're dead if we stay any longer," the Prince told her as he grabbed her by the arm. "We've got to go!"
Kendall pulled her arm free and shook her head, "I can't leave. They haven't called. If we retreat, Sledge might do the same. Someone could see them and..."
"Ms. Morgan, we'll call them back," the Prince grabbed her again and raced off with her while behind them Sledge roared furiously. By some stroke of luck, it seemed the energems had run out of energy. Both the Prince and Kendall knew it was only temporary, though, and knew they needed to take this as their advantage to flee. It was best if they lived to fight another day.
-Dino-Charge-
"There's one!" Cammy said excitedly as she pointed through the trees to a transport pod. It seemed to have been left unattended but the lights were still flashing, meaning there was a good possibility it had enough fuel and power left to head back to Sledge's ship. When the Rangers saw Cammy pointing, they pulled her behind a nearby tree, hoping to keep hidden until they were ready to break cover.
"This is it," Tyler said. "All we've got to do now is get the Get-Bot inside the pod and then make it back to the lab."
"We'll keep watch," Shelby told Cammy. "You bring the Get-Bot over."
Cammy nodded her head and looked beyond the tree to the pod. It seemed like there was no one around. This mission would potentially be the easiest one yet. Still, she was cautious as she broke cover, constantly checking over her shoulder for signs of trouble. She trusted the Rangers could take care of her, but she didn't want to leave anything up to chance.
She did make it to the pod safely and reached over the sides with the Get-Bot to place the machine inside. She tucked it safely into a corner, though it was designed to be unbreakable. Kendall had thought ahead and imagined if the Get-Bot was caught sneaking around Sledge's ship, it could potentially be destroyed. So she had made sure the exterior was tough and the compartment where the energems would be kept would stay locked until she opened it with her key or the energem inside was close to its host. This way, if Sledge, Fury, Poisandra or any other monster did intercept the bot, they would have to come down to Earth and demand her help.
Cammy hadn't been a fan of that idea. She knew they would kill Kendall to get the key to retrieve the energems, but Kendall assured her it wouldn't get to that point. Cammy could only hope she was right.
Once the Get-Bot was secure, Cammy reached for the controls. Keeper had told her what to push and she remembered very clearly the order of the buttons. This would get the device up to Sledge's ship. However, before Cammy could get a chance to push the final button, she heard Koda cry out. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the blue Ranger break cover with a loud roar. She wasn't sure what had startled him until a blast knocked her away from the transport pod. She screamed, covering her face, as she was thrown in the air. When she hit the ground, she let out a piercing cry.
"Cammy!" the other Rangers called out and while four of them ran past her to join Koda, Chase knelt by her side, taking her in his arms.
"Let me see," he asked her and tried to take her arm but Cammy refused, cradling it close. "Come on, Cammy, I've got to see. You have to let me look."
Chase wasn't sure if he pried Cammy's arm away from her chest or if she relaxed enough to let him look. Either way, he saw the damage and breathed a sigh of relief to see the arm didn't look broken. However, there was a rather large burn extending from the back of her hand to just above her elbow. Chase hugged Cammy tight and tried to get to his feet. He had to take her away and back to the lab. The others could only hold off Fury for so long.
But as Chase broke into a run, he quickly found himself needing to stop as Poisandra stepped out from behind a tree. Chase looked over his shoulder and seeing his teammates were struggling against Fury, he knew there was no way he could get help for himself and Cammy.
And he couldn't face Poisandra on his own.
"I give," he said, shifting Cammy's weight so he could hold her with one arm and then raised the other. "Just don't hurt her."
"Too late for that," Poisandra smirked and Curio appeared behind her and began to taunt the black Ranger.
"We're going to destroy you! We're going to destroy you!" he sang.
"Destroy me, keep the girl alive," Chase pleaded. "Kendall loves her more than anything. If she's alive, you'll be able to get the other two energems from her. You'll have all eight, without so much as a fuss."
"Eight energems, huh?" Poisandra asked, stroking her chin as she contemplated the offer. "Hmm, that's almost enough for a ring on every finger. But what's the catch, Ranger?"
"You keep me and the kid alive," Chase hugged Cammy close as she tried to protest the offer he was making, insisting she wanted to just head home instead. "At least until you've made the deal with Kendall."
"And you're sure she'll hand them all over?" Poisandra asked. "Just like that?"
"For the kid, she'll give you every energem she's got and more," Chase promised. "Please, just... don't kill us yet."
Poisandra looked to Curio, contemplating the idea for a moment first then she turned back to Chase.
"Fine," she pointed to the transport pod where they had dumped the Get-Bot, "Get inside. We'll take you to the prison. We'll see what my Sledgums has to say about all this."
"Chase..."
"Cammy, it's alright. You're gonna go home, I swear," Chase promised the little girl as he climbed into the transport pod. Poisandra called off Fury's attacks on the Rangers, insisting they had all they needed. As the transport pods lifted into the air and flew off, the remaining Rangers watched with a pit in their stomach.
"I'd rather face Fury again than go back to Ms. Morgan without Cammy," Shelby muttered to the boys, who nodded in agreement. However, they knew they had to get back to the lab as soon as they could, before the pain of their headaches became unbearable.