The rest of the week went by relatively quietly for the Rangers. They were all still confused about the events of the Monday attack, and even more confused about the fact that they hadn't seen or heard anything from their enemies since. Now that it was Friday, they felt the usual trepidation, knowing that likely Cosmo was going to have another show, but with no real sign of what was going on, they could only wait until their enemies made their move.

They had gone to the yard outside the Shop Class to train, figuring that at least they could be ready for when the attack did come. Brody was sitting aside, watching the others as they went through their paces. He held a hand to his stomach as he felt a grumbling deep in his gut, the reason he'd had to call off his bout with Preston. Levi came over, seeing a look of discomfort on his face.

"Hey, you alright Brody?" He asked him.

"Yeah, I just...I don't know, I just don't feel right." Brody told him.

"He's been a little off-colour all week." Aiden commented, holding Sarah in a painful armlock and forcing her to the ground. The Pink Ranger struggled against him for a little while, but was left with little option but to tap out. As she did though, Aiden didn't seem to register, and held her in place. "He thought he ate something dodgy a couple of days ago, but I don't think it should have lasted this long."

"Aiden!" Sarah grunted as he held her.

"Yeah, most forms of food poisoning only last a couple of days." Preston remarked. "Maybe you're coming down with something."

"Maybe." Brody commented. Mick started to look over him, a look of concern on his face.

"Brody, maybe you should call in sick for the day." Mick suggested.

"Mick, I don't think Cosmo's going to call in sick..."

"No, but there's no point in pushing yourself too hard." Mick told him. "If you're expecting a fight, maybe resting up is the best approach."

"Yeah, you really don't look good." Hayley told him. "Um...Aiden, I think Sarah would like her arm back, preferably while it's still attached."

"What?" Aiden asked, before looking down at Sarah, who was frantically pounding the ground, trying to attract his attention. He released her and helped her up. Sarah just glared at him as she rubbed her shoulder and rolled it to make sure it was alright. "Oh, sorry, my bad."

"Yeah, that's fine." Sarah grumbled as Preston came to check on it. "I don't THINK I heard anything break or pop out."

"Yeah, you might want to ease up there." Levi said, before looking back to Brody. "Maybe some rest wouldn't be the worst idea. You're not going to be much good in a fight if you're puking."

"Not to mention inside the helmet...that would get pretty messy." Calvin chipped in. Aiden looked to him.

"I'll go tell Principal Randall you're not going to be in class today." He told him. "I'll even be able to come in and check on you. It's not like she keeps tabs on me during the day."

"No...um...I need to take him to the base." Mick told him. "I have supplies down there, not to mention cots he can rest up in. You don't need to worry Aiden; I'll keep an eye on him."

"Alright." Aiden told him. "But if he needs me, Ranger business or not, you let me in alright?"

"Sure." Mick answered.

"Hey, get well soon." Calvin told him as they left. "I promise we'll bring you some chocolate from the charity auction."

"Please don't say chocolate!" Brody begged.

"Wow, it must be bad!" Sarah chuckled. "I know I'd never be sick enough to turn down chocolate!"

With that, the Rangers all started to split off to go and get showered and changed for their first classes. As he left to get ready for work, Aiden looked towards Mick, who was helping Brody into his class and smiled.

"Well, you've confirmed one thing at least, the Ranger Base IS in the school." He remarked. "That's very interesting."

Up on the Warrior Dome, Madame Odious met with Toxitea ahead of her call to the stage. She smiled to see her.

"So, how are you feeling?" She asked. "Are you ready for your big entrance?"

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be." She told her. "My poison's had a few days to work around the Red Ranger's system. He's young, strong, healthy...but shortly it'll take full effect."

"The Rangers won't know what hit them." Madame Odious stated. "By the day's end, the Power Stars will be mine, and the Rangers will be begging for mercy!"

Down in Summer Cove High, the day was wearing on, and the Rangers were in Mrs Finch's math class. Mrs Finch was running through some problems on the board, but the Rangers had other things on their mind.

"I saved up my allowance all month for this!" Calvin told them with a big grin. "I am going to get so much chocolate..."

"Not to mention the kids' charity is going to get a lot of money!" Hayley said, giving him a little look. Calvin just smiled.

"Of course they are, and that's great." Calvin stated. "Of course, the fact that I'll have enough chocolate to last the rest of the year is just a bonus!"

"The rest of the week maybe!" Sarah teased him. "I saw how you were hovering all that chocolate down when we were making it!"

"It's quality control!" He insisted.

"Calvin!" Mrs Finch called out. "Would you like to take the class?"

"Oh...um...no, sorry." Calvin told her. "Sorry Mrs Finch, you can carry on."

"Alright, but if I have to interrupt you again believe me, I will bring you up to the front of the class." She told him. "And that goes for the rest of you too! I know you're all excited about the chocolate auction, but that doesn't mean we can't focus and..."

The bell sounded and she just groaned as she waved off the class.

"Fine, lunch-time it is." She told them. "Read chapters seventeen and eighteen and do the problems on those chapters across the weekend. Other than that, enjoy the auction!"

Everyone started to gather their things when the Rangers heard their Ninja-Comms bleeping. They quickly looked around to make sure no one was watching before Sarah answered.

"What is it Mick?" Sarah asked.

"I've picked up scans of some activity in the Martin Plaza." Mick told them. "Brody and Levi are already on their way."

"Alright, we're on it!" Sarah told him. "Come on guys."

"Aw man, I hate when we have to skip lunch!" Calvin complained.

"Hey, look on the bright side!" Hayley told him. "You'll have more space for chocolate this way!"

"I knew there was a reason I loved you!" Calvin said with a smile as they ran out of the base.

By the time they got to the Plaza, they could see that most of the people had already realised the danger and had started to clear out. Levi was already on site, but there was no sign of Brody. Levi was already clearing out the huge entourage of basher bots that Madame Odious had brought with her.

"Guys, look who it is, it's Madame Odious." Hayley called out.

"Yeah, and look who's with her." Calvin commented. "It's her little teapot."

"Why would she bring that loser back?" Preston asked. "Last time she was here, she hit Brody full-on and he barely even felt it."

"Who cares? If she wants to back losers, that's entirely up to her!" Hayley replied as they took the last of the basher bots down. The Rangers all lined up, facing Odious and Toxitea down.

"Alright Odious, are you actually going to stick around this time?" Calvin asked. "Or do we have a very short episode?"

"Oh, we have every intention of making this episode memorable." Toxitea told them. "But we're just waiting on one more."

Brody appeared around the corner of a building, running towards them, but they could see that he was moving slowly. Slowly for him anyway. Brody took his place beside them.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late." Brody told them. "My gut's been playing havoc all morning."

"Hmm...something upset your stomach eh?" Madame Odious asked. "Feeling a little under the weather are we?"

"Some exercise will do me the world of good!" Brody said, drawing his sword. As he levelled it her way though, he found it difficult to hold the sword steady. It started swaying around in front of him.

"Hm...something the matter Red Ranger?" Toxitea asked him. "Head feeling a little fuzzy is it? Maybe your vision's getting a little blurry?"

"What's she talking about?" Calvin asked as they looked to Brody. They could see him starting to get a little shaky on his feet.

"Brody, are you alright?" Sarah asked. Her voice sounded distant to him, and echoed around his head, like she was talking to him through water. He found it difficult to catch a breath, and bent over to make it easier. He found the ground rushing up towards him, before he face-planted right into the lawn. He de-morphed and lay on the ground, groaning and clutching at his stomach.

"BRODY!" Levi called out, kneeling by his side protectively, before looking up at Odious and Toxitea. "What have you done to him?"

"Really? You can't figure it out?" Toxitea taunted him. "I'll give you a hint. My name...is Toxitea."

"Toxitea?" Sarah asked, a look of concern crossing her face. "Your attack, it wasn't designed to injure him, you poisoned him!"

"That's why he's been feeling sick all week!" Calvin gasped.

"You're quick, I'll give you that." Madame Odious answered sarcastically. "He's tasted Toxitea's poison. Now, there's nothing you can do to save him! Unless..."

"Unless what?" Hayley asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Preston asked, grabbing his Ninja Sword. "The monsters' spells always break when we destroy them!"

"But what if it isn't a spell?" Sarah called out, grabbing Preston. " Trapsaw's trap still triggered after he was destroyed! What if Toxitea's poison is the same?"

"I think you'd better listen to your friend there." Madame Odious told him. She held up a purple bottle. "Now your friend's in the full grip of the poison, he'll be dead by sundown...unless you have the an-TEA-dote!"

"Really? Another tea pun?" Hayley responded.

"Give us that antidote or we'll..."

"You attack us and I'll smash this bottle right now!" Odious warned Calvin, holding it above her head. The Yellow Ranger sized up his options. He couldn't think of a way to make it across to them before Madame Odious could smash the bottle of antidote, destroying the only way they had to save Brody. "I'll give you the antidote, but in exchange you give me your power stars!"

The team didn't react to this; it was pretty much exactly what they expected. Madame Odious had made it clear she wanted the Power Stars, but unlike others like Galvanax or Ripcon, she really didn't seem overly interested in fighting for them.

"I see you need a while to let this sink in." She told them. "I'll just let you STEW on this for a couple of hours. Meet me in the park at four PM with your Power Stars, ready to hand them over. If you're smart and you realise quickly I'm holding all the cards, you might...LEAF with his life!"

She cackled as they both disappeared in a flash of light. The Rangers all gathered around Brody.

"Brody? Can you hear us?" Sarah asked him. "Brody!"

"Don't...don't do it!" Brody groaned. "Whatever happens, you can't give her your Power Stars!"

"Brody, I know it's a Red thing to be all stoic and brave, but we need..."

"Seriously, whatever happens...you can replace one Ranger easier than you can replace six." Brody grunted. "Promise me you won't..."

Preston waved a hand over him, at which a blue light washed over Brody. He looked to the others.

"I have no idea what I'm up against. I can't destroy the poison, but I can ease his pain a little." He told them. "We need to get him back to the base and fast!"

A little while later, the Rangers rushed Brody back to the school. Aiden was in one of the corridors, mopping the floor when he saw them coming in. He threw his mop aside as he saw Brody hanging between Hayley and Sarah, barely moving.

"What happened?" Aiden rushed out. "What have they done to him?"

"He's been poisoned!" Preston told him. "We're taking him to Mick to see what he can do to help!"

They all rushed Brody into the Shop Class, and then barged with him into the Ranger Base. No one stopped Aiden from coming with them. Mick gestured them wildly towards one of the work benches.

"Come on, let's set him up here!" Mick rushed out. He saw Aiden in the room, but he didn't say anything. He figured that given the circumstances, it was fine to have him nearby. He just looked to him. "Aiden, shut the door. We don't want just anyone to be able to see!"

Aiden closed over the door, locking it as the Rangers prepared the work bench, sweeping everything off it and laying Brody down. Even with Preston's spell, it was clear he was incredibly uncomfortable, and he didn't dare hit him with another spell in case he wasn't able to tell them what was wrong.

Brody was breathing hard, and rapidly, both very bad signs, and as Mick felt for a pulse, he found it to be erratic and spiking hard. His body was going into overdrive trying to get rid of the poison, but in doing so it was putting a huge strain on his system. He looked to the others sadly.

"His vitals are getting weaker." He told them. "His body's doing everything it can to get whatever Toxitea put into his system out, but in doing so it's pretty much burning itself out. Right now, I don't know what's going to kill him first, the poison or his body pushing itself too hard."

"Mick..."

"It's only because he's in such good shape he's lasted this long." Mick told them. "Toxitea said he has until sundown...I can't see any reason she'd lie about that. I'd estimate...we have about three hours tops."

"Not if you give them your Power Stars in exchange for the antidote!" Aiden yelled at him. The team all looked incredibly uneasy about this idea. They could all understand his reasoning, he was Aiden's brother. Any one of them would gladly give up anything and everything they had to keep him safe, but on the reverse side of things, their Power Stars were all that was keeping THEM safe. Once they gave them up, they'd be defenceless. "What are you waiting for? Get your Power Stars!"

"That's exactly what Galvanax wants Aiden!" Preston told him.

"Well right now, it's what I want too!" Aiden snapped at him. "The longer you wait the longer he suffers..."

"And once we DO give them our Power Stars, there's no guarantee that Madame Odious will keep her word." Hayley said, trying to reason with Aiden. "Once we give up the Power Stars, we'll have no way to make her give us the antidote if she decides to double-cross us."

"Not to mention we'll be defenceless." Sarah sighed. "There'd be nothing to stop Galvanax coming down and attacking the planet anyway."

"Hold on, we need to think about this." Levi told them. "Maybe...maybe we can do something clever. Madame Odious isn't the only one that can be sneaky..."

"You want to trick them? They aren't stupid!" Aiden protested. "We can't risk my brother's life like this!"

"But Aiden..."

"Hey, the way I remember it, the whole reason he's in this mess is because he took that hit for you two!" Aiden interrupted Hayley sharply, switching gears. He was trying to convince them to give in to Odious' demands, but if he couldn't do it with reason, perhaps a healthy dose of guilt could spur them into action. Both Hayley and Levi looked a little deflated by what Aiden had said. They hadn't intended any harm, but they couldn't deny that Brody had jumped in the way and taken that hit for them. The others just stared at Aiden. "You have to give them your REAL Ninja Power Stars!"

Mick interjected before the whole scene could turn ugly. The whole room looked like it was ready to explode.

"OR...we could try and make our own antidote." Mick suggested. "My chemistry and biology skills are top-notch!"

"How long will that take?" Aiden asked him.

"Longer if I have to discuss it." Mick put down flatly. Aiden just sighed and stepped aside.

"Fine, but we've got three hours." He reminded them. "If you can't get an antidote in two and a half hours, you have to give Odious your Power Stars, alright?"

"Fine." Mick told him as he started to get to work checking on Brody. "Alright, I need to try and figure out what the poison is doing. Sarah, Preston, can you hold him down?"

Hayley pulled Levi aside as they gathered around Brody, working frantically to try and save him.

"Levi, I think I have an idea." She told him.

"Great, I'll tell the others..."

"No, we can't...we need to keep this quiet." She told him. "Just...help me get the others' Power Stars."

"Wait...you're not seriously..."

"Trust me, I'll explain once we have them." Hayley told him. Levi didn't seem to like the idea of hiding things from his friends, but he'd known Hayley long enough to know that she'd never do anything to wilfully hurt them. If she did intend to hand over the Power Stars, at the very least she'd let the others know about it. He didn't like the idea, but he nodded in agreement at which they got to work, going around the room and starting to search the others' belongings to relieve them of their Power Stars. From Brody's side, where he was holding his hand, Aiden could see Hayley dipping her hand into Sarah's bag, taking out her Power Star and smiled as he saw her and Levi leaving the room.