Moments before:
Cosmo strode onto the stage in his very finest livery, the spotlights shining on him as pyrotechnics fired all around. The crowd erupted in riotous applause and cheer as he danced out onto the stage, performing a hand-spring into the centre of the stage.
"Who do you love?" He declared loudly.
"COSMO!" They all replied. Cosmo just shook his head and wagged his finger in disappointment.
"No, no, no, we can do SO much better than that! WHO DO YOU LOVE?" He roared again, throwing his arms open as though embracing the entire crowd.
"COSMO!" They all called out once more. This was him in his element. He was never happier than when at the centre of the spectacle. He took a moment to drink in the adulation before he held up a hand to call for quiet. It took a little while, but eventually a hush fell over the crowd as he readied himself on the microphone.
"Tonight, is a very special night. Tonight…we…have…a CHALLENGER!" Cosmo called out, beginning to whip up the excitement once more. "Fresh off an amazing series of victories over some of the biggest, the strongest, the toughest, the smelliest, the most disgusting…and yes, sometimes even the most bizarre creatures the universe has to face, the Power Rangers have earned the right to challenge the Champion for the title of Galaxy Warriors Heavyweight Champion!"
He once more called for a hush, and the lights came down as he prepared for his introduction.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting to you, the Supreme Fighter. The Scourge of all Systems. The terror of anything that lives! The thing that gives nightmares sleepless nights! The reigning and defending, undisputed, undefeated Galaxy Warriors Heavyweight Champion…GALVANAX!"
The stage doors opened up and Galvanax strode out onto the stage, mist billowing in and an ominous red light casting a daemonic glow over his armour. He had his naginata in one hand and the Mega Mag in the other. His championship belt was strapped around his waist. He stood before the audience and threw his arms up, bellowing a huge roar that rivalled that of the entire arena. Cosmo stood back, letting Galvanax take his moment. This was what he lived for. As Galvanax finished posing, he stood in position, ready to be beamed down to Earth.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, let the final battle…BEGIN!" Cosmo called out as he slammed his hand down on the control, bathing Galvanax in a bright light, teleporting him down to Earth.
Galvanax arrived at the school, still a little way from it. He jammed his naginata into the ground, and took the Mega Mag in both hands, aiming it at the school.
He fiddled with the settings, getting everything just right, before sweeping it across the building. Although he knew the Ninja Steel was in the school, he didn't know WHERE exactly in the school, and bitter experience had taught him that ninjas were nothing if not inventive about setting traps, especially on their home territory. Of course, thanks to the Mega Mag, he would not be having to risk entering the school, a potential cavalcade of deadly traps. Instead, he could draw the Rangers outside to face him on an open field. Force them to fight on his terms, where the circumstances suited him better.
He finally got a lock on something, and could see on the display he had something hooked. Turning up the power, he could feel the device pulling against his grip. Seizing onto it as he cranked the power up to maximum, he saw an area of the school wall being ripped clean out, before he could see the Ninja Stars flying through the air towards him. One by one, they connected with the end of the Mega Mag, locking in place. He stared at them in amazement. All those months, all those battles and yet here he was in possession of almost all of the Ninja Steel in a mere matter of moments. A couple of Kudos's came up to him carrying a large jug.
"This will do." Galvanax declared. "The Rangers will have no choice but to come to me now!"
A little way off, the Rangers were walking towards the school, laughing and joking as they headed in. Mick had already sent them word that the asteroid would be coming through their area of the galaxy and that they would be going out to collect it.
"I can't believe we get to go back into space!" Sarah squealed in delight. "Dr Morgan was cool and everything, I mean dinosaurs and all that are awesome but I've always wanted to be an astronaut!"
"You do remember you've already been in space before, right?" Calvin asked.
"Well I spent the last ten years in space." Brody said with a shrug. "The novelty kind of wears off."
"Oh, come on guys, I can totally get why Sarah's excited!" Preston told them with a smile, putting his arm around her. "I mean, it would be kind of like if I got to do a show with David Copperfield!"
"I can't wait to get going!" Sarah rushed out. "You guys, this is simply THE coolest thing we've ever done!"
Just then, their Ninja-Comms bleeped. They all looked at each other, rolling their eyes in unison.
"Typical!" They all chorused as Sarah answered hers.
"Mick, what's going on?" She asked.
"Guys, things are bad. REALLY bad!" Mick told them. "Galvanax has decided when he wants his title bout. And…he's decided there's no time like the present!"
"Aw man, I was worried about that." Levi stated. "I was hoping we'd have the Super Ninja Steel before he showed up."
"I guess we'll have to make do with what we have." Brody replied. "Maybe if we take him down now, we won't even need the Super Ninja Steel."
"Alright Mick, where is he?" Sarah asked.
"That's just the thing. He's here!" Mick told her.
"You said that already." Preston stated.
"No, you don't get it. He's HERE!" Mick told them. "He's just outside the school with a whole bunch of kudabots!"
"He's at the SCHOOL?" Hayley asked. "How could this get any worse?"
"It gets worse." Mick continued, almost as if he'd heard her. "Somehow…he's managed to take the Power Stars."
"He took the Power Stars?" They all yelled together.
"How?" Brody asked.
"I don't know! One minute they were on the table in my workshop, the next minute, I have a new window and all the Power Stars are flying towards Galvanax!"
"This isn't good." Levi told them. "All I've got is my own Power Star!"
"Same here." Calvin added. The others all showed their Power Stars and nodded to confirm that they were all in the same situation.
"What are we going to do?" Preston asked. Brody just took a deep breath.
"What choice do we have?" Brody responded as confidently as he could. He had taught them well, and he more than all of them knew that not only a ninja's greatest weapon, but ANYONE'S greatest weapons were their wits, their courage and their training. Weapons could fail, be broken, be taken away but the fundamental skills of a well-trained warrior could not be lost. Of course, right now, even he wouldn't mind having just a little bit more of an arsenal behind him. "A ninja's a weapon all by himself. We can use this as a strength."
"The fact he has all our weapons?" Preston asked him.
"Not all of them." Brody reminded him. "Besides, if he thinks we're licked, it might make him overconfident. We can use that to our advantage."
"I don't know about you, but in the absence of a better plan, I'm all for it!" Levi stated, fist-bumping Brody. "This is it Bro, we'll make him pay for what he did to dad!"
"Alright Mick, we're on our way!" Sarah stated as she signed off. The Rangers all dumped their bags, sprinting for the school as quickly as they could.
By the time they got there, Galvanax was waiting for them. They could see a huge jug sitting beside him, full to the brim with their Power Stars! The only saving grace was that he didn't also have the Nexus Prism, but if they failed, then Brody wasn't confident even the booby traps he and Mick had devised for the base would be enough to keep him out forever. The Rangers assembled before him.
"Rangers, I was almost starting to think you wouldn't show up!" Galvanax taunted them, his hand straying to the jug. "See anything you'd like!"
"Those don't belong to you!" Brody snapped, pointing to the Power Stars. "Give them back! NOW!"
"You have some nerve talking about taking things that don't belong to you!" Galvanax stated. "I took you in, raised you, fed you, and you repaid me by stealing my Ninja Nexus Prism!"
"It was NEVER yours to begin with!" Levi interjected, looking livid.
"You've been destroying my monsters, slowly working your way up the ranks. Now you've finally earned the right to challenge for this!" Galvanax stated, pointing to his title belt. "I have accepted!"
"Does it matter that none of us actually WANT your stupid title?" Hayley asked him. "Yeah, I thought not."
"Enough of this, the time for talking is over." Brody announced.
"NINJA SPIN!" They all chorused together, rushing into the battle, morphing as they went.
Up on the Warrior Dome, Monty and Viera were working on the super-sized Mega Mag for Odious. None of them knew what she wanted it for, and in all honesty, they weren't really too concerned. However, as long as Odious wanted them to make this for her, the longer she still needed them, which meant that for the time being at least, she wasn't going to dispose of them.
"Damn it Victor, where are you?" Monty asked as he continued to work. They had already devised an escape plan, albeit one that had a rather larger reliance on luck than any of them would like, but since they all doubted Odious would let them go after they completed their work anyway, they were ready to give pretty much anything a try right now. Victor had insisted he needed to go to a bathroom and while Odious hadn't really been overly concerned for his comfort, eventually Monty had convinced her that letting Victor go to a bathroom would probably be a lot better for her than facing the consequences of Galvanax returning to the inevitable consequences in his chambers if she didn't.
"Monty, I…I'm really sorry I lied to you." Viera said hesitantly. Monty just looked to her. "I didn't…I didn't do it because I thought you were stupid or anything. I just thought it would be safer."
"So, are you really a Princess?" He asked her. She just nodded. "Well, I guess I always did think you were out of this world."
"A lot of people back home don't like me very much. It's the reason I had to run." She told him. "I was trying to make my home a better place, but there are people there that just…they don't want things to be any different. They want everything to remain the same."
"There are always people like that." Monty told her. "But in the end, all we can hope is that there are more people out there that are intrinsically good and want things to be better than people who want to hate."
"You really are amazing." She told him. Monty just blushed a little as he looked at her rather awkwardly.
"I mean, I'm…I'm not a Prince or anything like that…"
"No, you're not." She answered, moving closer. Monty could see her drawing in, her face reaching closer to his. "You're so…much…more."
"Sorry it took me a while." Victor announced, pulling them both from the moment as he came back with a trolley. "I convinced the Kudos's we needed some parts and had them take me to the garbage disposal."
"Did you get what we're looking for?" Monty asked him. Victor just smiled, reaching under some trash and pulling out the ruined head of a Kudabot.
"Oh yeah." He answered. "Victor Vincent came through!"
"Great, then all we need is to get this thing finished." Viera stated. "The sooner we get this up and running, the sooner we can make our move!"
Back down in Summer Cove, the battle raged and the Rangers were more than making up for their depleted arsenal with fire and determination. For months now, they had been Rangers and watched their city being attacked again and again by Galvanax's forces. They had seen the destruction he had brought with him, the ruin he had caused their home. As much as they all loved being Rangers and were honoured to have been chosen to defend their home, they were also more than ready for this to be the last time they would need to raise arms against Galvanax.
Brody and Levi were going after Galvanax himself, while the others kept the Kudos's at bay. Levi peppered Galvanax with blasts from his Rockstorm Blaster, forcing him to cover up as Brody closed the distance.
Brody remembered from the first time they had fought Galvanax how heavy his armour was. If they had access to some of their more powerful weapons, like the Lion Fire Armour, or the Fusion Star, he was confident things would be easier, but without them, they still had another option. The last time, they had gotten lucky and had managed to cut a loose strap, causing one of the plates to come loose and leaving some of his body exposed. If he could perhaps get to him, he could find a similar weakness this time.
He scored a couple of attacks, getting as close as he dared before being forced to back off to avoid a counter. Unfortunately, he didn't see an opening this time.
"You're strong Galvanax but you're SLOW!" Brody taunted him as he flipped out of the way of a massive sweeping strike Galvanax aimed his way. He followed up with a jet of flame. Brody was almost regretting calling Galvanax slow, as he could feel the heat searing him through the suit as it sailed just past him.
"HEY! No one flash-roasts my brother!" Levi called out as he ran for Galvanax, striking his exposed back. Galvanax swung around for him, but this just created an opening for Brody. Ten years of pent-up rage between the Romero brothers translated into a furious assault from all sides as they darted in and out, striking Galvanax as he looked for the other. Up on the Warrior Dome, the audience was going wild.
"WOW! Did you see that folks!" Cosmo said as he watched the footage. "This is the grudge match of the ages! Can Galvanax take much more of this?"
Galvanax wasn't willing to find out though. Losing his patience, he launched into the air, before coming down, creating a shockwave that shook the ground all around him and forced Brody and Levi to flip away from him. He tried to get his breath back, to take stock of the situation. Even without their most powerful weapons, the Rangers were a lot stronger than he had given them credit for. He had always assumed that the last time it had been luck, a fluke that they had managed to find a loose-fitted plate that some careless armourer hadn't tightened properly, but now…now as he saw Brody and Levi already preparing to resume their attack, he was starting to wonder if they were just lucky.
He saw the Mega Mag a little way off, and darted for it, snatching it up and switching it on.
"Enough of this!" He roared.
"Wait…is that…Victor and Monty's Mega Mag?" Hayley asked. Just as she said this, Galvanax aimed it her way and turned it on. She could only watch as her Power Star was ripped from her sword, flying through the air towards the evil warrior. She could feel the power leave her and looked down to see her sword and her suit disappearing.
He swung around, this time coming to Preston and Calvin. Their Power Stars were yanked from them, taking their power with it. They were both confused just long enough for some Kudos's to take advantage and swarm them.
"Shit! Now I guess we know how he took the other Power Stars!" Sarah complained as her star too was stolen, leaving her completely unarmed as she was suddenly set upon by a horde of Kudos's. "Let GO of me!"
"Now it's YOUR turn!" Galvanax growled as he turned his attention back to Brody. Levi saw what was coming and leapt in the way, but succeeded only in exchanging Brody for himself. His suit disappeared as his Power Star too was pulled from him.
"Levi NO!" Brody yelled as he tried to go and help him, but he was cut off by more Kudos's. Galvanax started to laugh.
"If I were you, I'd be more worried about myself!" Galvanax taunted him. "Say goodbye Red Ranger!"
Before he could activate it though, they all heard the roar of powerful engines, and they turned in time to see Brody's truck leaping over the crest of a hill. Mick floored the accelerator, bearing down and slamming straight into Galvanax, sending him flying. He opened the door.
"Brody, get in!" He called to him.
"But the others…"
"First rule of being a ninja, live now, fight later!" Mick rushed out. Brody took one more look around and could see that his friends were being overwhelmed and brought to the ground, being held tightly. It wasn't difficult to see that pretty soon the battle was going to be lost. Right now, he held the only Power Star they had left, and with it, quite possibly the only hope humanity had left. He looked regretfully to his friends.
"Brody, get out of here!" Levi yelled at him as Kudos's held his arms back, almost as though he knew exactly what Brody was thinking of. "You can come back for us, GO!"
Brody just nodded, but he had one last thing to do first. Seeing the Mega Mag lying on the ground, he raised his sword and brought it down, smashing it into smithereens, before diving into the truck.
"Go!" Brody ordered Mick. Mick didn't need to be told twice. He floored the accelerator, speeding off and leaving the others behind. He daren't look in the rear-view mirror to watch Galvanax round them up. He already knew that the others were now at Galvanax's mercy, but there was nothing they could do until they had a chance to regroup and figure out a new plan. He could only hope that they hadn't already lost their one and only hope.