The following day at school was a pretty relaxed day all in. By now pretty much everyone had heard the news that Galvanax had been defeated and the Warrior Dome ship had been destroyed! The news articles had been playing out all through the night, and every newspaper and magazine had some kind of story or other connected to it on the front cover.
Then again, even if no one had heard about it before now…Victor and Monty were making sure everyone heard about it now!
The canteen was packed with kids, more kids than the Rangers had ever seen making them wonder if all of them were even Summer Cove High students, and they were all gathered around as Victor and Monty stood on a table recanting tales of heroism. Needless to say, some of the facts were more than a little creatively edited.
"So, there I was, surrounded by robots, the evil, vile, hideous Cosmo Royale stood right in front of me!" Victor declared as Monty held up a pillow. "So, I said to him, 'Not my planet sunshine!' and socked him right on the nose! BAM!"
He punched the pillow away as the kids continued to listen. The Rangers all sat, shaking their heads.
"Does anyone else think it kind of sucks that Victor and Monty get to brag and we don't?" Calvin asked. "I mean, I'm not saying I want a Congressional or anything but seriously, we just saved the whole planet and we get precisely none of the credit while those two are milking it for all they're worth!"
"Strictly speaking we'd have failed pretty epically as ninjas if everyone knew what we did. Being anonymous is kind of the point." Brody sighed. "But yeah, it does kind of suck."
"Come on guys, this is the last day before the holiday." Hayley chipped in. "We should be a lot more cheerful than this!"
"Hayley's right, let them have their fun." Mick said with a smile as he arrived. "They've been through a lot, and they did help us out quite a bit. If they get a little bit of limelight, what does it matter?"
"But what if they run their mouths a little too much?" Hayley asked him. "You know, their stories can get pretty wild, even when they're completely untrue."
"Oh, they know to keep your names out of everything." Mick answered, pulling something out of his pocket. "I told them if they ever told anyone about your involvement in all of this, I'd use this to erase their memories of the last year."
"Uh…Mick? That's a Cylon Pez dispenser." Preston pointed out. Mick popped one of the chalky candies into his mouth.
"Well, you know that and I know that, but they don't." Mick replied as the others laughed. "Anyway, come to the base. There's some things we have to discuss."
"Sure thing Mick." Brody replied as he and the others all gathered their things. "Let's leave the story-tellers to their fun."
They made their way from the canteen to the shop class, and were heading for the secret entrance to the paint room when they noticed something odd.
"Mick, why is the door open?" Preston asked.
"Well, there's not much reason to keep them locked anymore." Dane said as he loaded a box onto a trolley.
"Dad?" Levi asked. "What are you doing here?"
"He's helping to clear out the base." Principal Hastings told them. "Now that Galvanax is gone, you won't really be needing it anymore, and I'd really like to get my paint room back at some point."
"It feels a little weird coming through the front door for once." Brody commented. "Say, where's Redbot?"
"I'm right here." The box in Dane's hands said.
"You took him apart?" Calvin asked.
"Well, we thought people might just notice a big red robot walking down the hall." Mick stated. "Sorry Redbot."
"This is so humiliating." The Robot grumbled.
"It's only temporary." Dane assured him. "I thought he could come and stay with us on the farm."
"The farm?" Brody asked with a smile. Dane just nodded.
"We're going to fix it up across the holiday." Dane told him. "We're going to need somewhere to stay now we're a family again. Since I already own the deed to the property all I figured where better?"
"That's epic!" Brody answered.
"Now for the hard part." Mick said as he looked to Jennifer, who just nodded. "You got news from the Lion Galaxy?"
"The intergalactic law enforcement agency Space Patrol Delta has no jurisdiction in the Lion Galaxy, but that doesn't mean to say they don't know what's going on." Viera started to explain. "Sometimes the battles and wars within the Lion Galaxy spill out across the borders so they have to be ready. As you know Tiberius took over the throne, but there's been a lot of warring factions trying to claim control. Well, recently there's been a very interesting turn. Pro-Viera movements have started to gain and hold significant traction in the area."
"Wait, Pro-Viera?" Sarah asked. Viera just nodded.
"Apparently there was a major shift following my escape." She told them. "According to SPD's reports, a lot of people supported the ideas of my reforms. The support was largely underground at first, my imprisonment discouraged a lot of people, but when I escaped a number of them became emboldened."
"There are a lot of people who are fed up of the constant war in the Lion Galaxy, who believe in Viera's message." Mick explained. "We think the war might be about to take a critical turn."
"Which is why I'm going back." Viera told them. She looked to Mick. "We both are."
"You're going back?" Hayley asked her.
"I can't expect people to fight, to die for my message if I'm not even there." She responded. "But I'm not going to be going alone."
"I put out the call to former Rangers and found as many of them as I could that are prepared to go and fight." Mick informed them. "There may not be many who can go, but with their powers it could make all the difference. We'll be taking the Lion Fire Ship and the Lion Fire Armour."
"OK, but how can you use the Lion Fire Armour or the Lion Fire Ship?" Sarah asked. "I thought those Power Stars were destroyed when we destroyed Galvanax, and we haven't found the Super Ninja Steel yet."
"Well, there was one source left." Dane told them. "Mick and I discussed it, and since we were the last ones on the team, we figured it was only right we were the first ones to go."
"You melted down your own Power Stars?" Levi asked. Dane and Mick both nodded, showing the team the new Lion Fire Armour Star and Lion Fire Zord Star.
"Don't get me wrong, being a Ranger was…everything I've ever hoped it would be." Mick assured them. "But I figured that Viera needed the stars more than I did, so it looks like for me and Dane at least, it's one and done."
"That's…that's amazing." Brody stated. "But that means you'll be going without any powers."
"What can I say? It wouldn't be the first time." Mick told him. "Besides, I'm a mechanic. My role will be mainly behind the lines."
He walked over to Principal Hastings and took her hands in his own.
"I've met some…amazing people here, people that I would be only too happy to call my family, and if I was told I could never return to the Lion Galaxy I couldn't think of anywhere I'd rather stay or people I'd rather stay with." He said, cupping her cheek with his hand. "But the Lion Galaxy is my home, and if I have a chance to save it, I have to try."
"I understand." Jennifer replied, a tear starting to roll down her face.
"We all do." Sarah said sadly. "We're really going to miss you Mick."
"I'm going to miss all of you guys too." He replied, throwing his arms open wide. The Rangers all came in, hugging him tightly. There were a few tears, but before long they released him. He looked once more to Jennifer, he was about to say something but she just put a finger to his lips, before replacing it with her own. The others started to shift a little awkwardly, trying to look anywhere but at Mick and Jennifer. She parted from him without another word. While a large part of her wanted him to stay, she could understand why he had to go, and she could never ask him to choose.
"Dane has said he's going to help you find the asteroid and gather the Super Ninja Steel." Mick told them. "Anyway, I think it's time we were going. We have a ship to rendezvous with."
Viera took the Lion Fire Armour Star in her hand, and in a flash of light, she was once more wearing the armour of her ancestors. She made her way to Sarah and handed her an imaging disk.
"Give this to Monty." She told her. "He deserves to know why I'm going."
"I'll make sure he gets it." Sarah assured her. With that, Mick stood beside her and held onto her as she activated the teleport controls.
"Mick out." He announced as he disappeared. The Rangers all looked among each other as they processed what had happened.
"It all seems so final packing everything up." Hayley commented. "I don't think I've ever seen this place so empty before. It just seems so…big."
"Well, once we rebuild the workshop, I'm sure there'll be plenty of room for all of this." Dane told them. "Not to mention the yard is so much bigger, much better for training. I'll even be able to help out!"
"You'll be helping?" Calvin asked.
"Hey, my days as a Ranger may be over, but that doesn't mean I don't have pertinent skills." Dane replied. "It's been a while since I had students, but I think I can be a pretty good sensei."
"So, let's get this all loaded up." Levi said, picking up a couple of boxes. "We do still have a couple of hours before the holidays start after all."
"The sooner we load all this up the better." Sarah agreed. "I don't know, but…this place just doesn't seem the same without Mick."
"I know what you mean." Calvin answered. "Still, it'll be nice to be able to re-spray Nitro."
"CALVIN!" They others protested.
"What, too soon?" He asked. The others just shook their heads and left. "Oh, come on, I was trying to lighten the mood! It was a joke!...Guys? GUYS?"
Up on the Warrior Dome, repairs were already starting to be made to the ship. It was difficult going, the asteroid had caused immense damage, and they had to take great care when opening up new sections to make sure that they were safe before they went. The last thing anyone wanted after working so hard was for all of their work to be nothing when someone accidentally opened a door only to find the bulkheads had been breached and see everyone sucked out into space.
Sledge's skills and experience as a gaoler were incredibly helpful. They would occasionally find areas where people had miraculously survived. It didn't matter if they were already an 'intern', a senior staff member, one of the former warriors or even customers, anyone that was found was quickly pressed into service. It was a simple matter of survival. Everyone needed to work to rebuild the ship if they wanted to survive. There were obviously some complaints from those who had been there by choice before but Sledge was only too quick to stamp out any such protests.
Sledge was overseeing some workers when Odious came to him.
"I see work is progressing well." She stated.
"We're doing well with what we have." Sledge told her. "There's not much left in the way of working systems, but Wrench is good. It almost makes me wish he hadn't handed in his notice."
"Hmm…curious." Odious commented.
"What's curious?" He asked her.
"You openly and without reservation make use of prisoners and slaves." She remarked. "And yet when one of your most useful crew members left you, you did not simply go and reclaim him, but respected an employment contract."
"I am first and foremost a Bounty Hunter and businessman." Sledge stated flatly. "My reputation is only good for so long as my word can be trusted. When all is said and done, the only reason anyone gives me more contracts is because I keep my end of my bargain. I may have been angry that he left, but he did hand in his notice as was required by his contract."
"So, if I was to offer to give him to you, then you would refuse?" She asked him.
"A large part of me would like to accept." Sledge answered, powering up his blaster. "Though if you are willing to double-cross your own, that would only make me question what you plan to do with me."
"Sledgeums!" Poisandra called out in her shrill tone as she skipped towards him.
"What is it Poisandra my sweet?" He asked her.
"There's another ship approaching." She told him. Sledge's eyes started to burn intensely as he aimed his cannon at Odious.
"What is your game Odious?" He asked.
"I…I don't know…"
"You can't expect me to believe that for a moment!" Sledge roared. "Is this your game? Get me to do most of the work while your friends ambush us?"
"MY friends!" She demanded. "How do I know they're not YOUR friends!"
"Apart from the fact I can be trusted, I don't know anyone in this sector!" Sledge reminded her. "All my allies are gone! I was dead until yesterday! Who would I be able to summon!"
Madame Odious wasn't able to answer that, it was a very good point. However, the fact was she had no idea who was approaching either. She had allies, though she also had many more enemies, and with the ship as damaged as it was, they were effectively blind and defenceless. An alarm sounded.
"A teleport warning!" She rushed out. "Cosmo, block it!"
"I can't! The defences are down!" He squealed. "We have no way to stop them!"
"We have one way!" Sledge snarled. There was a flash of light in the hangar and a single figure appeared. He was blue and white, with angular features, and carrying a bow. Others ran from him as he appeared. Sledge confronted him, aiming his cannon at him.
"If you came looking for trouble, you've found it!" Sledge stated.
"Ah, Sledge I presume. Your reputation precedes you." The new arrival stated. "Take this as an act of good faith."
He slowly knelt down, placing his bow on the ground, before stepping away from it. Sledge just looked to him.
"Who are you?" He asked.
"I think the more important question is who are you, and the answer appears to be in need of help." He answered. "My name is Lord Draven. I have brought enough slaves, weapons, tools and parts for you to rebuild this ship far greater than it was before."
"I see." Madame Odious stated. "And what exactly would you be looking for in return?"
"I trade in favours." Draven told her. "Let's just say I have an…undertaking…I have been planning for some time. I will need your help eventually, not to mention his skills." He pointed to Sledge.
"Interesting." Odious stated. "Clearly you know I'm not in much of a position to refuse, so I wonder why you are being so generous."
"Your magic will be useful to me very soon." Draven told her. "In the meantime…"
The slaves all ran as crates of equipment and tools started to appear in the hangar. They were soon followed by people, clearly slaves as they were all in chains. One appeared next to him. He shoved her towards Odious.
"This is Badonna, one of my more academically minded acquisitions." He told her. "You now have everything you need to effect your repairs. Soon, I will contact you with this."
He tossed her a device.
"This is an inter-dimensional communicator." She commented. "Interesting. Who exactly are you?"
"Right now, I'm just a generous benefactor." He replied. "Eventually, I will be a partner. Until then, I wish you well with your repairs."
"What about me?" Sledge growled. "YOU may trade in favours, but I don't!"
"Yes, I thought that might be the case." Lord Draven replied, pulling out a large pile of cash and throwing it to him.
"This…this is…one million space bullion!" Sledge gasped. Poisandra just took it off him.
"ONE MILLION?" She squealed. "Ooh, this guy is like hitting the jackpot! I like you!"
"I also have a ship for you." Draven continued, showing Sledge a holographic projection. "It is as much as I could make it like your old one so that it would be familiar, but much of the technology that made yours is obsolete. I'm sure you'll find the upgrades a benefit though."
"What do I have to do for this?" Sledge asked him.
"Call it a retainer." Lord Draven told him. "I will have great use of your skills in some difficult acquisitions. There will be more where that came from, and believe me, you will earn every penny."
"Poisandra! Get Fury, we're leaving!" Sledge told her. He looked to Odious. "I have done what I promised here. I wish you luck in your vendetta."
With that, he left in search of his lieutenant, taking Draven and Poisandra with him. Odious just looked to Badonna.
"So, you are to be…what? My servant?"
"I am to be whatever you wish me to be." Badonna told her. "Lord Draven has ordered us to obey you as we would obey him."
"I am always suspicious of generosity. In my experience it always comes with a very high price tag." She replied, before looking to Badonna's shackles. She pulled out her hammer and said a small incantation at which they fell off. Badonna looked to her in confusion. "Consider this your first of many lessons."
"Mistress?" She asked.
"I have granted you an act of generosity." Odious reminded her. "Expect the price tag later!"
Back on Earth, the kids were counting down the moments until the end of the school day. They were all itching to get on with their holidays. Even the teachers had long since given up any pretence of trying to teach anything. What was the point in teaching the kids anything new that they were likely to forget in a couple of weeks anyway?
The Rangers were in Mrs Finch's class, though she wasn't even trying to hide the fact she was more interested in her text messages than the class. It was the last one before the holiday, so really no one cared what the kids did. That left the kids with plenty of time to discuss their plans.
"So, Levi and Tom are coming to help you fix up the farm?" Calvin asked. "Seems kind of like a busman's holiday if you ask me."
"It'll be hard work, but dad really wanted to connect with the family again." Brody told them. "He was really eager to meet Tom. He was happy to hear that Levi found people who took care of him, so he wanted to get to know Tom."
"Well, I do not have any plans whatsoever!" Calvin said proudly. "Just sleeping in, cartoons on the television, relaxing…"
"Studying for your exams next semester, preparing for the assessments." Hayley reminded him. "College applications!"
"Yeah…uh…those too." Calvin said somewhat unconvincingly. Preston just smiled.
"I guess this'll give me time to work on some new tricks." He told them. "I've been working so hard on my real magic that my stage stuff has been kind of neglected recently."
"I don't have any idea what I'll be doing." Sarah told them. "Normally we take a little break somewhere but with dad's business still being in the early days he really can't take time away from his clients."
There was a knock on the door and everyone looked around as Principal Hastings appeared in the doorway. Everyone looked to her as she came in.
"Oh, come on!" Victor complained. "It's only fifteen minutes until the end of term, you can't give us a hard time now!"
"Well, guilty consciences aside Victor, for once I'm not here for you." She told him. "Sarah, there's a…visitor here to see you."
"A visitor?" Sarah asked. "Um…who is it?"
"I…think you better come and see for yourself." Principal Hastings told her. "He asked for all of you."
Sarah and the others just looked to each other, before filing out of the room. The other kids started to follow her to see what was going on. By the time they got to the hallway, they found they were not the only ones. Kids were clamouring around, almost the entire student body. There were several men in suits gathered around, but one in the centre seemed to be the source of all the attention. He was signing some autographs and letting people take selfies with him. He saw Sarah and smiled.
"Sarah!" He called over.
"PHILLIPE!" She screamed, rushing over and grabbing him in a tight hug, completely ignoring any form of protocol. The whole Summer Cove student body could hardly believe what they were seeing. Then again how many people would believe a High School student who claimed to be on a first-name basis with the Hereditary Prince and Ambassador to Zandar? "Oh my God, it's been so long, how have you been?"
"Uh…is that who I think it is?" Calvin asked.
Hayley mumbled something completely incomprehensible. As an aspiring politician, she had many influences, but Prince Phillipe was one of her idols. Still only in his mid-twenties, he was an Ambassador for his nation to the United States. It was true that his position as the heir to the Principality of Zandar was influential in him holding that position, but he had already faced an uphill struggle for respect and had since made great strides to open up relations between the two nations.
"Guys, come on over!" Sarah beckoned them. "This is Phillipe! He's an old friend!"
"We…uh…kind of know who he is." Levi said as he arrived, shaking Phillipe's hand.
"As I do you Mr Weston. Your music sells very well in my little corner of the world." Phillipe told them. "Sarah, it is a delight to see you again."
"Yeah, it's great but what are you doing here?" She asked him.
"Well, I did say I would extend you an invitation to my wedding." He reminded her. Sarah just face-palmed.
"Oh my God, I've been so busy, I completely forgot!" She rushed out. "That's soon isn't it?"
"Yes, so I took a little trip to extend the invitation in person." He told her.
"You know, most people just e-mail or send an RSVP." She told him.
"Then again, most people don't have access to their own private jet, do they?" He asked. "It's an open invitation by the way. Your friends are perfectly welcome to come too if they like. I know we all had a shared experience."
Hayley let out a little squeal of joy and gripped Calvin's arm painfully tightly.
"Wait…private jet?" Preston asked. "Why would we need a jet? Amber Beach is only…"
"Preston isn't it?" Phillipe asked. "You don't really think the heir to the throne of Zandar can hold his wedding in the United States, do you? It's a state event of tremendous importance to my people and the future of my nation."
"You want us to go to Zandar?" Sarah asked him. He just nodded.
"Only if your parents don't mind of course." He answered. "I fully intend to let you go home to pack."
"Guys, remember when I said I didn't have plans for the holidays?" Sarah asked. "I think now we do!"
"Oh, this is going to be SO much better than cartoons on the couch!" Calvin agreed.
"Your Highness?" Brody asked. "Thank you for the invitation and everything, but Levi and I already have plans. It's kind of important…"
"Say no more. It was an invitation, not a summons." Phillipe told them. "Sarah has told me something of your situation and believe me, I understand how important family is. As for the rest of you…"
His guards opened the front doors, revealing the motorcade outside waiting for them. In the middle, was the limo bearing the coat of arms of the Royal Family of Zandar.
"My car is waiting!" Hayley, Calvin, Preston and Sarah all took one look at each other, before rushing for the limo. They had other issues to deal with. They needed to find and secure the Super Ninja Steel, and none of them believed for a moment they had seen the end of Psycho Green, but for now, they had a once in a lifetime invitation. How many people ever got invited to a Royal Wedding?
Fin.
A/N: Well, there we go, a little bumper-length chapter to round out the story. A few loose ends to run into future storylines that will inevitably lead into new stories and a whole fun story starting very soon!
For those interested, I'm probably not going to be covering what happens in the Lion Galaxy. I know, it's full of ideas and storylines that would be wonderful to see but the fact is, if I do that, I most likely will never be able to get through Super Steel in a decent time-frame. Sorry, but I just don't have the time to dedicate to that. Though if anyone wants to take any of my concepts and come up with their own ideas, feel free to drop me a line. I'll be more than happy to hear what you have.
I hope you enjoyed the story, and I fully plan to bring you something a little fun over the holiday period. Thank you to all the regular readers and reviewers and stay tuned. There's plenty more drama to come!