Gasket sat his throne, his wife stood next to him, she was a beautiful machine named Archina. She caressed her long robotic fingers across his chest. "Forget about The Circuit." She whispered in his ear. "Let's head home, we can rule our new empire, you are the rightful heir, why not claim it?"

"I will not head home empty handed. Gasket said, "I will return a hero."

Archina sighed,and returned to her room. Zurgane approached Gasket. "We must prepare another attack on Earth, our troops are limited, and we don't have enough power to drag things out."

Gasket was silent a few moments. He was hoping for the chance to slowly crush humanity, sending wave after of wave of powerful monsters. That didn't seem likely considering the fact the there were so many Defenders on Earth. He couldn't beat Earth in battle, not like this. They'd have to charge Alphabet Soup. They had about six hundred Cogs in storage, and five Generals left.

Gasket formulated a plan inside his head. As the details drifted through his mind one detail was excruciatingly obvious, it wouldn't be easy. It was a shot in the dark, his processor claimed it had a 40% chance of success. Beating odds such as that gave birth to true rulers. He would bring The Circuit in and immediately be crowned ruler.

Very diligently Gasket began to formulate his plan.

Devon watched as the ships flew overhead. They were from the Machine Empire, swirling masses of gears that zoomed across the sky. Devon was interested but wasn't particularly afraid. He stood at the edge of a bluff, leaning over the metal railing to get a better look.

Julie seemed scared. Her hands were white as she gripped the railing. "They're heading towards Alphabet Soup…"

"What are you talking about?" Devon asked, "Are you implying the Machine Empire is here to wage a war of Chef Boyardee?"

Julie shook her head. "It doesn't matter, what matters is that we have to stop them."

"Why?" Devon asked he raised an eyebrow at Julie, "Don't tell me you're trying to go all goodie goodie on me."

"I said it doesn't matter!" She snapped, "Are you gonna help me or not?"

Devon shrugged, "Why not, let's do it."

Cooper was deployed along with twenty other Silver Guardians. He held his rifle firmly in his hand. The entire block had been evacuated, leaving plenty of buildings for snipers to stand mounted at.

The ship hovered overhead. Intelligence had determined that five identical ships had been sent to Earth, they were landing all over the state. The Silver Guardians were going to have their hands full.

A Silver Guardian with a rocket launcher fired at the ship. The missile exploded against the bronze ship, a bright light followed, and Cooper swore he felt his eyebrows singe. The smoke cleared, and the ship remained undamaged.

The ship floated twenty feet above the ground. Every Guardian had their weapons raised. A small compartment on the ship opened, the Guardians aimed their weapons at the hole, expecting troops to spill out. Cooper knew better. He jumped away as the plasma blast exploded out and obliterated at least six officers.

Next came the Cogs. They poured out of every orifice, like a rushing flood. Before the Guardians knew what was coming a hundred Cogs stood in front of them.

Cooper screamed as he fired his rifle. A few Cogs flew back, sparks flying from their bodies. It didn't seem to do any good, more kept rushing in. The Silver Guardians fired back, leaving a trail of Cogs that continued to pile up. Cooper threw a grenade into the crowd. It's explosion made his ears ring. More Cogs fell, not enough.

Something else was moving through the Cogs, Cooper could just barely make it out. He knocked down a few more Cogs, then permanently locked his rifle onto the moving figure. Cooper swore under his breath, things were supposed to go differently today. He was supposed to get his way and nab that brat, Reese. Now he was fighting for his life as the Cogs continued their march.

The figure finally materialized from the mass. It stepped into sight and Cooper was having a hard time processing it. It was a machine, built from dark steel panels, only it was constructed to look like a rat.

"They call me !" The machine said. He drew a crossbow and pointed at Cooper.

One of the snipers took aim and fired. The shot was right on target, hitting 's mechanical skull. The bullet squished against his head and fell to the ground. turned to the sniper and aimed his crossbow, his weapon unleashed a powerful energy blast, leaving nothing but a creator of stone and wood where the sniper had been.

turned to Cooper and fired, Cooper jumped away, barely dodging the blast as it obliterated everything around him. He aimed his gun and fired into , the bullets hit, but nothing happened.

laughed cynically. "You were foolish to assume you have enough power to defend yourself against the Machine Empire."

took a step closer to Cooper, but a plasma shot impacted the creature's hard shell and sent sparks flying from him. The villain turned towards the new attacker, a fellow Silver Guardian, only this one had a red barrett.

"Mr. Collins?" Cooper asked. "I didn't think they deployed you anymore."

Wes smiled, "They don't I deployed myself." Wes lifted his arm to reveal his smooth shaped Chrono Morpher. "Time for, Time Force!"

Time Force Red jumped at . He armed his Chrono Saber and slashed it down. More sparks flew from , and an ugly gash formed along his chest. Cooper stood behind Time Force Red, using his rifle to prevent any Cogs from getting close.

leaped back as Time Force Red armed his Chrono Blaster. The two aimed at each other. They both had their fingers on the trigger. They both tried to fire, but Time Force Red fired first. found a giant hole in his chest.

Time Force Red turned to the rest of the Silver Guardians, only about four were left. "Let's take care of these Cogs."

Len watched as the ship approached. The other Armored Riders wouldn't be ready for another week at least, so he was given a squad of Silver Guardians. It was lame, but he'd deal with it. He actually wished Cooper was on in his troop, at least then he'd have someone he could count on.

The ship hovered overhead. Len pulled out his Advent Deck and slid it into his belt. "Armored Rider!" He transformed as soon as the ship tried to blast him away.

Cogs started to descend. Wing Knight quickly mowed them down with his blade. The Silver Guardians pitched in, but Wing Knight knew he could handle this alone. If he was stronger than those pathetic Rangers then he was strong enough to take care of this useless scrap.

A new machine approached it was designed to resemble a kangaroo with spiked boxing gloves. "Boparoo is my name, boxing is my name!" The machine said. Boparoo swung at Wing Knight, but the Armored Rider dashed to the side. Wing Knight drew a card from his Advent Deck.

Weapon Vent!

Wing Knight armed his lance and dashed at Boparoo. The machine swung its fist, but Wing Knight leaped into the air. He readied his lance, preparing to finish the machine. Boparoo pulled a fast one, it swung into Wing Knight, hit him in the chest and sending him flying backward. Boparoo rushed at Wing Knight, it prepared to deliver another blow.

Guard Vent!

Wing Knight's cape surround him, blocking the machine's strike.

Wing Knight held his lance forward. He ran with all his might, replicating a knight during a joust. The lance hit Boparoo, sliding right through it. Sparks flooded its entire existence and Wing Knight slide the lance from the creature's gut.

Boparoo fell. Wing Knight shook his head. He still had a fleet of Cogs to deal with.

Reese, Ninjor, and Cameron watched the ship from twenty feet away. They had missed its landing (if you'd call it that) and were now entering the fray of Silver Guardians VS. Cogs.

"Ninjetti Power!" The two Rangers yelled as they dashed into battle.

Ninjetti Red slashed through several Cogs within a few moments. Ninjetti Green followed in his wake. Normally the Silver Guardians would have shot the Rangers on sight, but the losing battle seemed to sway their normal thoughts. Ninjor dodged the laser blast of one of the Cogs, he threw a shuriken that shot right through its bronze head. "I didn't realize how rusty I am," Ninjor said.

A General broke through the ranks, a machine with a head that resembled a drum. "D.J Drummond." The machine said, "Let's rock!"

The machine charged at Ninjetti Red, both of his comrades were busy with the Cogs, leaving him to face D.J Drummond alone. The machine swung, but Ninjetti Red dodged. He then retaliated by slashing the machine with his Katana, sending sparks down the machine's body.

"Lucky hit." D.J Drummond said, "But now it's my turn." The machine began to slam his fists into the drum on his chest, the noise was loud enough to force the Rangers to the ground. "No one can survive my drum solo!" The villain mocked, "It's killer!"

D.J Drummond was suddenly thrown back by a bolt of lightning. Ninjetti Red looked, expecting Jonathan to appear with a smart ass comment. Instead, a Gold colored Ranger appeared.

The Golden Ranger jumped at D.J Drummond. She used her staff to slash into him, causing his metal body to spark.

"I thought you were our enemy." Ninjetti Red said. He hadn't seen this new Ranger before, but Rocky had filled him in.

"I am, but I don't like these machine guys either."

The two Rangers jumped at the villian, their weapons raised. They both slashed down, causing the machine to overload and explode.

The Gold Ranger grabbed his wrist. "Come on, we have more to do." She was trying to lead him away from the battle.

"I can't." Ninjetti Red said, "I've got to clear out these Cogs."

The Gold Ranger sighed, "Fine," She raised her staff, "Let's make this quick."

Rocky, now in his Jiraiya armor, Ninjetti Yellow, and Ninjetti Navy were waist deep in Cogs. The three had been fighting valiantly. The machine General flew past the two Ninjetti Rangers, it was designed like a moth, with shimmering white fur wrapped around its metal shell.

"Watch out!" Ninjetti Navy yelled he fired a bolt of lightning. It missed the moth creature but caused it move away from Ninjetti Yellow.

"Thanks." Ninjetti Yellow said coldly. "I can handle myself, though."

"What's your problem?" Ninjetti Navy asked.

"I don't like you," Ninjetti Yellow said. "Simple enough."

"What did I ever do to you?" Ninjetti Navy asked he dashed to the side, barely dodging the moth's attack.

"You just cause trouble." Ninjetti Yellow blurted out. "You're too rash, you don't think things through, and I don't think you should be on the team."

Ninjetti Navy held his tongue. He chopped down a Cog that was trying to ambush Ninjetti Yellow. "I'm trying the best I can! I came when you needed me the most, now you're trying to act like you have some golden expectation."

"You don't have the right to wear blue! You aren't Vega, we don't need you, we need her!" Ninjetti Yellow froze, the gravity of his own words hit him like a ton of bricks. The moth machine took no time to strike. She latched onto him, biting and digging her claws into his armor. A jolt of pain followed sparks as the creature relentlessly tore into him.

Ninjetti Navy swung his staff into the moth, while the creature was recovering from the blow he pulled it from Ninjetti Yellow. Ninjetti Navy threw the moth into the air, it tried to use it wings to glide itself safely back to the ground, but Ninjetti Navy fired a giant strike of lightning into it, causing the machine to overload and bust.

Ninjetti Navy looked at Ninjetti Yellow. "I'm not your girlfriend okay? I'm Reese's boyfriend. If you don't like me that's fine, but don't take your petty romantic frustrations out on me because we wear similar colors. I wear Navy anyway." Ninjetti Navy knocked the head off of a stray Cog. "We have work to do."

Devon and Julie were only a few miles away from the hidden bunker. Julie felt the pang of heartache seize her heart. She was so close to Dr.X, she could practically feel him. She stood tall, brushed her hair away from her face, and imagined that he was watching her through one of his hidden cameras. She hoped he was, she figured the heat of battle would make her appear more attractive, like a warrior princess in the comics her brother used to read.

The ship was overhead, it had already tried to assault them with a plasma blast, but Devon had used his dark powers to quickly disarm it. Devon didn't try to stand tall, his small body bent inward as he slouched. He'd lost a lot of weight, he appeared more closely to a skeleton than a human now. His soulless eyes watched as Cogs began to flood around him. A Cog stalked near him, but a quick blast of dark Ninjetti blew a large hole in the grunts chest. It's lifeless body fell to the ground, causing the side of Devon's mouth to form a slight smirk.

"You're enjoying this," Julie observed.

Devon shrugged, he knocked down several more Cogs. "I wanted a bit of a challenge."

Something suddenly jumped down. It was a bulking machine clad in thick cloth robes. It swung its large claymore down at Devon, but the dark warrior mere sidestepped. The machine lunged again, Devon tried to duck, but the machine swirled around and slammed the hilt into his nose. Devon's head flew back, blood leaked from the crumpled mess that had formerly been his nose. Devon frowned as his dark armor covered his form.

The machine prepared another blow, but Twisted Crimson blocked with his spear. The machine tried to overpower Twisted Crimson, but it was completely hopeless. "Don't hit me again." Twisted Crimson growled. The dark warrior summoned a vortex of dark energy, it swirled around the machine like a tornado, quickly converting it to scrap metal.

Twisted Crimson looked at a mass of Cogs, they were obliterated in a matter of minutes.

He then began to move from Cog to Cog, cutting them slowly, watching as the sparks flew from their bodies. He was enjoying the destruction, enjoying the power he had obtained.

Julie watched from the sidelines. She was glad that he could handle this himself, but she wished he'd cut the bullshit and finish things.

Gasket's ship hovered over the deep canyon. He smiled to himself, hidden under the miles of dense rock was the compound where the humans had hidden the Circuit. His last hundred troops were in the barracks in the ship's underbelly. Soon they would descend upon to compound, allowing him to enter with ease.

"Your plan was brilliant." Zurgane marveled, "Spreading out your troops to distract the Silver Guardians. "I couldn't have devised anything better myself."

"Of course not!" Gasket replied, "That's why I'm in charge."

Gasket released his troops, they fell upon the compound like ants on a cheesecake. Gasket was trashing the picnic, and he had his eyes on the whole basket.

The inside of Alphabet Soup was in complete panic. Cogs flooded from every available angle. They moved with a zombie-like intelligence, a format Dr.X instantly recognized as hivemind behavior.

So they were smart, they didn't particularly look smart, their jerky behavior didn't lend well to that theory, but Dr.X knew better than that. DrX turned to one of his monitors it displayed the brightest of Alphabet Soup were sent away in a heavily armored bus, they would be transported to a safe facility somewhere .X figured that was a pretty smart idea, and briefly whether he should do the same. Dr.X watched bored as more Cogs swirled around his compound, he was safe for now, the machine grunts hadn't managed to break into his room.

His eyes locked on the strange bronze device on a table. They had come for this, they would eventually break in to take it, Dr.X knew that much. He sighed, wishing he'd gotten on the bus as well. Things would be easier, he might have a better chance of survival.

He turned back to the screen, just in time to witness the bus being obliterated by a stray blast. He grinned, maybe staying was the best option.

Dr.X turned back to another monitor. He had to think of how he was going to survive the Cogs. He clicked away at this keyboard, surfing through all of his data. Most of his Armored Riders still had a long way to go before they'd be ready. He bit his thumb sharply if he died now those projects would remain unfinished, that was a decent incentive.

He looked the state of one his older projects, he had begun it before he had developed his first core. The data from it eventually went into Succubus. Suddenly an idea hit him, and he started to type furiously. He'd have one of the prototype Cores he developed with his newest research and place it into his frozen test subject. The idea was crude, and the creation wouldn't last very long, but it would be better than nothing. If he survived he could build something better.

By the time, everyone realized Gasket's plan it was far too late to stop it. The giant fortress stood over the secret compound, most of the Silver Guardians were dead, things weren't too good. Cooper and Wes met with Len, the three of them sped towards the compound, maybe they'd have enough time to save some people. Maybe.

"I'm glad you made it out okay," Len said to Cooper.

"I did my best." The boy replied.

Wes remained quiet, he was trying to formulate an idea, something that could be done to quickly illuminate the Machine Empire. He had an idea, but he didn't think it would go over well with his colleagues.

He looked out the window of the black jeep. Everything was destroyed, the building was utterly trashed, cars smashed, bodies of the human who hadn't evacuated lay dead and burned. He frowned, his idea would piss people off, but it was all he had left. Wes tapped on his Morpher, trying to tune into the correct signal.

Wes took a breath and held his Morpher up to his lips. "Hello, this is Wesley Collins, Red Time Force Ranger, and leader of the Silver Guardians. I understand that we have our differences, but things are going bad. Ninjetti Power Rangers, if you're listening I'm going to send you the coordinates to a Government compound, Prince Gasket and the rest of his troops are currently invading. We need your help."

Rocky stood next to Reese, the two red Defenders gazed at Gasket's ship overhead. The two seemed to share a mutual understanding, despite the fact that no words had been spoken at that point.

"I can't believe we're helping them," Cameron said under his breath.

"Relax." Jonathan said, "Rocky knows what he's doing."

"They're the enemy!" Cameron exclaimed.

"They aren't the ones killing everybody." Reese shot back. "We have to get help from everybody we can." The rest of the Rangers had to admit that his statement was weirdly perspective, especially for Reese.

The four Ninjetti Rangers had come a long way. They had built themselves up the past three months. They had evolved into heroes Rocky was extremely proud of.

The black jeep pulled up next to the Rangers. Len, Cooper, and Wes stepped out of the jeep. The Ninjetti Rangers glanced at Cooper but dismissed it for now. They had more important things to do now.

"I'll lead," Reese said. Len opened his mouth to object, but Wes stopped him. Reese took a breath. "We're going to stop the Machine Empire here." Reese armed his Morpher, the others followed.

"Ninjetti Power!"

"Time for Time Force!"

"Armored Rider!"

The ten figures charged towards the ship, It was all or nothing now. Reese could feel his heart beating in his chest. He was going to do it, he was going to stop the Machines. He was going to be a hero.

They smashed into the Cogs head on, guns fired, and swords swung. Sparks flew across the battlefield. Ninjetti Red kept his gaze on the ship. It floated over the entire scene, a symbolic representation of the enemy.

Dr.X moved with all of the speed he could muster. He commanded his machines to finish the work on his Armored Rider, but he knew that wasn't going to be enough. He'd have to come up with another plan. Files flew across the screen, moving at a speed most humans would find completely illegible.

A new plan came to Dr.X, it was accompanied by a wide grin. On of his younger colleagues, Dr.K had been working on a virus capable of rendering all technology useless, Dr.X quickly modified the code, adjusting it to only affect Machine Empire technology, he then uploaded it to a short range emitter.

Cogs began to bang against the door. The bolts began to pop out, and the metal structure began to bend inward, It wouldn't be long before they broke in. Dr.X began to sweat, he wiped his brow as he finished the last few lines of code.

The suddenly gave inward. None other than Gasket himself stood there, his mechanical eyes peered at Dr.X with incredible hate.

"You are the one who stole The Circuit." Gasket said in an accusing voice.

"I suppose," Dr.X said boredly.

Gasket swung his blade at Dr.X, the boy wasn't trained in combat but he got lucky and dodged the swing. One of his computer monitors flew and hit the wall. It shattered with a loud thud. He cringed inside but it would be okay, he'd get more later.

The ten heroes continued their struggle. Ninjetti Red plowed through countless Cogs, swinging his blade with ease. He'd been trained for this moment, this was what he was built to do. Three Cogs fell simultaneously, sparks flying from their body.

A new figure arrived, and Ninjetti Red felt a sinking in his chest. Zurgane jumped at Ninjetti Red, his blade extended slides his weapon across Ninjetti Red, sending sparks from his armor. The Ranger fell back, the Cogs around him grabbed his limbs, holding him still while Zurgane continued to slam his weapon into Ninjetti Red's chest.

Things began to slip from Ninjetti Red's reality, things shifted, flowing away like dark silk. He tried to get a grip, but things were falling too fast.

Sparks flew from Zurgane's back. He turned around and slashed his blades with a golden blade. Ninjetti Yellow took down the Cogs that grabbed at Ninjetti Red, once the Ranger was freed he fell to the ground.

A blade suddenly stabbed through Zurgane, slicing his midsection away from his legs. As his torso fell Ninjetti Red caught sight of the hero who saved him.

"Three months and you still need me to save your ass."

Ninjetti Red couldn't believe it. He stared dumbly at the blue armor. "Vega?"

Ninjetti Blue laughed from under her helmet. "Took you long enough."

Ninjetti Yellow stopped fighting, he stared at Ninjetti Blue for awhile. It seemed like she was the only thing he understood anymore. A stray Cog took advantage of this moment a fired into his chest, sending the Yellow Ranger flying black.

Ninjetti Yellow started to laugh, completely oblivious to smoke rising from his armor. "Vega's back…"

Dr.X dodged another swing as he moved his way back towards his keyboard. Just a few more steps and he could turn this battle around. Gasket swung his blade at the scientist, it flew over his head, followed by a terrifying swish sound.

"Humans are nothing but bugs!" Gasket said. The mechanical warrior swung again, but Dr.X leaped out of the way. "You are a disease, you don't deserve to exist."

Dr.X smirked. "I'll show you a disease." In one fluid motion, he slammed his hand down on the keyboard. His grin grew wider as the emitter began to flash lights.

Gasket hovered over Dr.X, his blade was risen, and he was ready to deliver the final blow. Gasket's eyes suddenly flashed red and the villain fell to his knees. He gripped his head and hollered out in pain.

Dr.X watched as sparks flew from Gasket's body. The villain looked up at Dr.X, his metal mouth opened as if he meant to formulate some final speech. Instead, he fell silent, his body laying lifeless on the floor.

Ninjetti Red couldn't believe what he was watching, for a second things seemed hopeless, the Cogs were all around him, closing in with an eerie unity. Ninjetti Red held his Katana with a shaking grip, he wouldn't admit it but he didn't know if he could do this. He was tired, fatigue was hanging over him, slowing down his brain. Then suddenly, they all fell.

All of the Cogs suddenly gave out, as they were marionette puppets with the strings cut. Ninjetti Yellow picked himself up. He kicked one of the fallen Cogs and turned to Ninjetti Red. "Looks like it's all over." Ninjetti Yellow said with some a satisfaction.

"Seems like it." Jiraiya agreed, he slid his Katana back into its sheath.

Wing Knight looked to the Rangers. "Thanks for the help." He said and moved towards the compound. "You can leave now."

"Is that it?" Ninjetti Green asked, "You beg us for help then kick us away?"

Wing Knight laughed, "I'm letting you live, that should be good enough."

"I don't know if you realized this but there's more of us than of you." Ninjetti Green said. The other Rangers looked around, none of them wanted to pick a fight with the Armored Rider, even Navy kept his mouth closed.

Before things could escalate something stepped out of the compound. It was a new Armored Rider, his armor was light blue and his helmet resembled a shark.

"Hello Rangers." The Armored Rider said in a dark voice, "It's been awhile."

Ninjetti Blue froze, her voice grew weak and shaky. "You…"

"That's right Blue." The Armored Rider said in an amused tone, "Vexacus is back." It was like staring at a phantom. Vexacus didn't quite look as he had, yet he still stood the same way, his body language hadn't changed a bit.

Wing Knight approached the fellow Rider. "We're falling back." He said in a stern voice.

"Sorry," Vexacus said. "But I don't listen to you."

Wing Knight held his ground. "I'm your commander, of course, you'll listen to me."

Vexacus armored one of his fists, it was designed to resemble a shark's mouth. The mouth opened and fired a blast of high-pressure water. The water cannon hit Wing Knight and sent him flying back.

Vexacus moved towards Twisted Crimson. "It seems you're using my gift well."

Twisted Crimson nodded. "I've gotten some more tricks as well."

"Good." Vexacus said, "I suppose you'll bring me back to my team, they're probably missing my guidance."

Twisted Crimson shrugged, Vexacus, Succubus and him all fled from sight.

Ninjetti Red turned to the Gold Ranger. "You did pretty well. We could use another Ranger on our team."

The Gold Ranger laughed, "Sorry, but I've got other plans in mind." She quickly drew a pistol and fired into Ninjetti Red. The Ranger buckled to his knees, instantly understanding what that meant.

The other Rangers jumped to interfere, but she quickly took them down. She approached Ninjetti Red very casually. She lifted him into the air. "I'll be taking this." She said and ripped the Morpher from his wrist. A bright light enveloped him as his armor fell away. She quickly fled.

Cooper looked to Wing Knight. "I suppose we should check out the assets."

"Yeah." Wing Knight agreed. "The two of them went into the compound.

The seven Ninjetti Rangers returned back to base, Reese was silent the whole time.

"It's pretty funny isn't it?" Luke said with a smirk, "You've spent so much time telling everyone about the Machine Empire and no one believed you, then you leave and they attack."

Vega was distracted by the window, she watched the grass sway in the wind. She nodded but didn't say any more. Reese sat next to her, he gazed at his Morpherless wrist, there was actually a tan line visible.

"Look." Rocky said, "I know things are bad, but we can't sulk like this."

Navy rubbed Reese's back, he turned to Rocky, a grimace was plastered on his face. "The Machine Empire is gone, give us some time."

"The Machine Empire is gone, but those Armored Riders are still out there. More than that they managed to get Vexacus back."

That was the part that hit home the hardest. The Ninjetti Rangers had slept well knowing Shark Blade was good and dead. Now the nightmare returned, and he seemed even stronger.

"I have to agree, though." Jonathan admitted, "We can't give up. If Reese can't fight then I'll fight even harder."

The Rangers all grew quiet, they all could sense the darkness just over the horizon.

Dr.X was still inside the compound, almost all of the staff decided to fully transfer to the new location. The Ninjetti Rangers and the Dark Ninja Legion knew about this place now, nobody was secure there.

Dr.X didn't care. This was his home, this was where his research was. He continued to work on his Armored Riders. Armored Rider Abyss may have been a failure, but he'd just make more. He'd build an army until nobody could stop him. He'd rule the world one day, he just needed to keep working.

Dr.X became aware of footsteps inside the compound. He very calmly opened his drawer and withdrew his pistol. Gasket had caught him off guard, that wouldn't happen again.

The person that entered was human. Dr.X vaguely identified him as a Silver Guardian, but his name escaped the scientist. Dr.X went back to his work, constructing a streamlined Core that could be used to build Armored Riders and an incredible pace. The man was nothing but an insect, Dr.X was already bored of him.

The man placed something on Dr.X's desk. He glanced up, his eyebrow raised. "How did you get this?"

The man smiled, "Doesn't really matter does it?"

Dr.X was eyeing the Red Ninjetti Morpher. The complex technology glimmered, it was incredibly interesting, he'd been dying to see how it worked. Dr.X couldn't hide his grin, "I suppose it doesn't."

"I want you to build me one..."

Dr.X considered the offer, it would push his Armored Rider project back a few weeks, but the offer was too tempting. He'd make up the research with his new knowledge anyway. "Consider it done."

Archerina knew her husband was dead, she could sense it deep within her circuit. She didn't know the extent of his demise, but she didn't need to. She sighed to herself if he was still functioning she be able to say, "I told you so." Yet he's gone. It was time to move on.

She knew there would be repercussions for her rebellious actions, she would face them like an adult. Archerina headed back home to the farther reaches of the galaxy where the rest of her family lay. She hadn't seen them in years, but they would be more understanding than the Machine Empire. They might actually take her back.

If they took her back she would take her place as Princess of the Mechoid Armada. She would become the warrior princess she had neglected herself to become. She would rally her own troops and return to Earth. She would get revenge.

Armored Rider Abyss, known formally as Vexacus, stood with Beevil, and Jabbar. The two were surprised to see Vexacus alive. They weren't too happy, though. Vexacus was an eccentric, and a maniac , those weren't the most charming qualities.

"Why haven't you made any progress?" Abyss asked in an angry voice.

"It's impossible sir." Beevil said, "Sankari has the last Shard, and he is with the Rangers now."

"Sankari is nothing!" Vexacus spat. "You have Twisted Crimson, he is the sword of Zoltar. You shouldn't have any trouble cutting down those Rangers."

"Twisted Crimson has all but gone rogue." Beevil said, "I can't control him."

"Why haven't you contacted Shimazu?" Vexacus asked.

Beevil looked down to the ground. Neither of them wanted to admit that Shimazu scared the life out of them. He was one of the vilest creatures in the Galaxy. His death count rose higher than Vexacus, worse then that was his love of putting his victims through sick games.

"I'll have to get him myself," Vexacus spat, the villain turned away, leaving Beevil and Jabbar alone to themselves.