The Rangers arrived at the Warehouse District, finding Metal Alice and Vrak studying one of the units there. It was the largest warehouse in the area. As they got there, Metal Alice turned to face them, having only been dimly aware of their presence.
"Rangers, I was starting to think you'd finally given up." She taunted them.
"That's something we'll never do." Troy snapped in response. "You're finished Alice! It doesn't matter if you take us out! There will always be someone to fight!"
"We don't care what it costs anymore!" Jake added. "Now, where's your friend?"
"Oh...right, I almost forgot about him." She responded. Just then, The Messenger stepped out of the warehouse. He looked the Rangers up and down, scanning them before turning to Vrak.
"These are the Rangers that gave you so much trouble?" He asked. Vrak just stared blankly at him. He looked back to the Rangers. "I am The Messenger, special Envoy of The Armada!"
Troy felt a shiver as he heard him say this. He had never heard the name before; he had no idea what it meant, but all his dreams...all he had seen in his dreams was a massive invasion, thousands of warriors...hundreds of ships. Before they had destroyed Malkor and the Insectoids, he had originally believed it was them, that they were just the precursor to a much larger invasion, but since he had started to see their forces dwindle and lose power, he was starting to believe that he had made a terrible mistake. As they became more and more aware of Vrak's double-dealing and scheming, he had started to suspect that Vrak was the real architect behind it all. Of course with Metal Alice wiping his mind, he was now doubting even that.
"You know what, we don't care anymore!" Jordan snarled. "We don't care if you work for Lord Zedd, or The Armada or Metal Alice or even the God Damned Easter Bunny! You're all going down!"
"I have been tasked with clearing resistance in preparation for my master's arrival." He snarled as he attacked Troy, with a sword mounted to his wrist. "You will be the target of all my wrath!"
"Alright, I'll take Alice!" Jordan announced to the others as she came after him.
"But Jordan..."
"If we overwhelm one of them, then we can cut down the odds!" He explained. "Finish Vrak, then help Troy!"
"Take them out one at a time! Got it!" Noah answered as he, Jake and Gia fell upon Cyber Vrak, attacking him in full fury.
Troy had run inside the warehouse, followed closely by The Messenger. He brought out his Megaforce Blaster, firing a round at him.
"Royal Shield!" He called out as massive metal places mounted to his back and sides seemed to grow, and surround him like giant metal wings, deflecting the blast. Troy just looked to him as he recalled the shield. Troy rushed immediately to the attack, swinging his Ultra Sword with all his might into his guard. The Messenger finally locked with him, grabbing the handle of the Ultra Sword.
"You pathetic humans, you really have no idea what you're dealing with." He announced. "Did you really think that Vrak was capable of orchestrating all of this?"
"Frankly, we're past the point of caring!" Troy responded, kicking him to try and drive him away. The Messenger just stared at him, completely unfazed by the attack. He cast up a whirlwind attack from somewhere within his chest. Troy tried as hard as he could to stand up to it, but was eventually blown off his feet, tumbling through some machinery.
"Believe me, you will care! I am but the first of many!" He informed them. "And if this is all you have to offer? Then you will fail!"
Outside, Jordan was battling Metal Alice, who was trying as hard as possible to finish him. He could see the difference in her attacks now, realising that her anger was getting the better of her. Smashing the handle of his sword into her face, he realised this was the best chance he had of defeating her once and for all. All he had to do was keep her mind from focusing on the task at hand, just as she had done to him so many times before.
"That wasn't too bad for an abomination was it?" Jordan asked her. "I'm guessing since this Messenger guy isn't one of yours, he's a major spanner in the works."
"He is of no concern!" She shrieked as she went for him again. Jordan managed to avoid her attempt to thrust her blade into his chest, and scored a nasty swipe down through her thigh, damaging her leg.
"Really? The way I see it, the way everything's getting under your skin like this, the way you're letting yourself get angry...I think this is a major problem for you!" He told her. "Your reaction seems almost...human."
Metal Alice screamed like a maniac as she swung with a frenzy of blows, which Jordan was barely able to avoid, before he managed to grab her wrist. He brought down the Robo Blade, taking her arm off just below the elbow, leaving him holding it, and the sword as she staggered away. He swung once more, sending her falling to the ground, leaking vital fluids over the ground, just as Vrak staggered into view, being sent there by a power blast from the others. Jordan prepared his Vulcan Cannon.
"Say hi to RICO for me!" Jordan told her as he powered up the Knight Dynamic attack. Vrak saw the attack coming and stepped in the way, blocking it with his arm and shoulder, which were torn almost completely off. The Messenger was coming out of the warehouse, throwing Troy over their heads as he saw this. He analysed the situation, before making his decision.
"We have underestimated you this time." He told the Rangers. "It will NOT happen again!"
With that, they disappeared, leaving the Rangers to catch their breath.
"Well, we got them on the run." Jake remarked, trying to find any positive results in the outcome.
"Yeah, but they escaped." Noah reminded him. "That means they'll just repair and upgrade themselves."
"All we can do is head back to the Command Centre and wait for them to show up again." Troy told them. "Next time they show up, either they go down or we do!"
Meanwhile, back at the underwater base, Vrak was in a booth, getting repaired while Metal Alice was working on attaching a replacement arm. The Messenger was looking through footage of their previous battle.
"These Rangers are a lot tougher than I gave them credit for." The Messenger commented, looking to Vrak. "It seems I was premature in judging your efforts."
Vrak didn't say anything, not that The Messenger expected him to. He approached Vrak, starting to work on the console next to him. Metal Alice looked up from her work.
"What are you doing?" She asked him.
"I am just checking these upgrades you are fitting him with." He told her. "I have to say, your work is most impressive."
"Thank you." She replied. "I am but a faithful servant of..."
"Ah, I would expect nothing less Metal Alice." He told her. As she finished up, and left to perform other duties, The Messenger turned his attention back to the console. He looked to the programme and smiled, before hooking himself into the mainframe.
"This is impressive." He told her. "But I just need to make a few minor modifications."
As he finished his alterations to the programme, he looked to another screen, before opening up a communications link.
"This is The Messenger, we have encountered more resistance than first believed, but we will proceed as scheduled." He announced. "Prepare for the invasion."
"Message received." An ominous voice replied. "The Armada is approaching the outer reaches of the galaxy. Prepare for our arrival. Victory will be ours."
Detective Barnes arrived at the lab in the precinct, looking to the lab tech there wearily.
"OK, what exactly am I here to see?" She asked.
"We thought you might just like to see this." The lab tech told her, stepping aside. She saw the lower arm of Metal Alice, still holding her sword, lying on their work bench. Detective Barnes' mouth hung open as she inspected it.
"Where...where exactly did you get this?" She asked him. The lab tech just sighed.
"That's just it, we didn't." He told her. "It just...appeared here."
"Appeared?" Detective Barnes asked him. He just nodded, before presenting an envelope to her.
"This is addressed to you." He told her. "It came with...well...that."
She opened the envelope, pulling out a note that was inside.
"Have the lab check this out." She read the message aloud. "I couldn't explain before, but I doubt it matters now. At least now someone will know the truth."
She looked to the sword, and sighed.
"The Edwards kid didn't do it." She told the lab tech. She shook her head in regret thinking about the fact that as soon as communications were re-established, largely because of her, the identities of the Rangers would be broadcast. The news crews had been following her when she went to confirm her suspicions. She only wanted to know so that she could confirm her suspicion that Jordan was innocent of General Edward's murder. Now that she thought about it though, the news crews wouldn't care about that. All they would care about was the race to be the first to break the biggest mystery of the year. "God, what have I done?"
In the Command Centre, the Rangers were taking their down-time to acclimatise themselves to the Command Centre as their new home. Although they had, on occasion, stayed over in the cave when the situation called for it, they had never really considered it as a home long-term. Tensou had prepared side-chambers for them to make them as comfortable as possible. Noah was sitting on the edge of his bed as Emma came in, seeing that he hadn't unpacked anything yet. She couldn't really blame him, unpacking was basically a way of accepting the fact that they were not going home. As she came closer, she saw him holding a trophy in his hands. She thought it was one of his science trophies, but on closer inspection, the name plate wasn't his.
"Quinn gave me this." He told her sadly. "She asked me to bring it back when I'm coming home."
"We're all hopeful." Emma replied in a whisper as she sat with him. He just shook his head.
"I told her, it isn't going to happen." Noah answered. "I told her, once the news breaks, once our identities are revealed, there's no way we'll be left alone. The only way our families will be left alone is once the reporters and all the others figure out we're not coming back."
"Noah..."
"All I wanted was to be normal, is that too much to ask?" Noah yelled. "Look at all the other Ranger teams. What about them? They all got to retire!"
"Noah..."
"The Ocean Bluff team became pizza waiters!" He continued. "They all went on to work in shops, or become musicians or run sports academies...all of them got to have normal lives!"
"Noah..."
"All I wanted was to finish my duty and go home." He told her. "I figured I'd go to university, maybe work in a lab somewhere...maybe one day I'd have some kids. Weren't my plans good enough?"
"Noah, we all feel that way. We all feel cheated." She assured him. "Do you think I want to live in this cave?"
"It's just...it's not fair." Noah complained. "I love Quinn, but I know I can't have a life with her, not after this. I went to her place and I told her..."
"You told her it was over." Emma surmised.
"I told her to find someone else, someone who can give her the life I can't." Noah informed her. "She was my first Emma. She was my first girlfriend, and I didn't lose her because of some stupid fling, or some pointless fight. I didn't even lose her because we grew apart. I lost her because of this damned war!"
"Noah, it's alright to feel angry, we all do." Emma answered.
"I just...I don't know what we're meant to do." He told her. "What if we do win? What if we do finish this Messenger and Vrak and Metal Alice, and however many other freak shows decide they want to join the party, what then? We can't go home! We'll never be left alone!"
"Well, I guess that's something we have to figure out then." Emma told him. "In the meantime, I guess we just have to make the best of making this our home."
Just then, Jake came into the room. He looked between them.
"Emma, Troy was looking for you." Jake told her. "He's in your room."
"Are you going to be alright?" She asked Noah. He just nodded his head.
"I guess I just need to get settled in." He told her. "Thanks Emma."
"You're welcome." She told him as she left. Jake looked to the two beds in the room and then to Noah.
"I guess you've chosen this one." He stated as he dumped his stuff on the other bed. Noah just shrugged.
"Let's just get some sleep." He muttered as he rolled over in his bed, pulling his covers around himself. "Troy said he wants to start training early tomorrow."
As he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, all Noah could think of was the things he would never get to do. He would never get to go to the Graduation Ball, he wouldn't get to go to college, all he had was this interminable war, and the hopes that those he left behind would go on to have lives worth living. That was his reason for fighting now; he just hoped that it would be enough.
In another room, Troy was getting ready for bed when Emma came in.
"How is everyone?" He asked her.
"They're doing as well as you'd expect." Emma told him sadly. "I doubt any of them ever intended on spending the rest of their lives in a cave."
"We can figure out something when we win." He told her. "I mean, Jason did say he had friends in high places right? Maybe if we get through this, we can see if he can figure out something."
"I guess so." Emma answered. Troy just took her hand.
"I know this has to be hard." Troy told her. "I mean...I know how close you and your dad are."
"Can we please just not talk about it?" She asked him. "It's been a really exhausting day."
Troy just nodded in agreement, and was about to leave her, when she pulled him back.
"Please...I just...I really don't want to be alone tonight." She told him. "Would you stay with me?"
Troy just lay down on the bed next to her, pulling her into himself and wrapping his arms around her as he pulled the covers over them. It wasn't long before exhaustion overtook them, and they were both sound asleep.