Wrench was in the ship, directing some viviks as he prepared for the following day's move. While Sledge was currently distracted with his latest little spat with his fiancée, everyone on the ship knew that now he had the Purple Energem in his possession, Sledge would be eager to press his momentum as soon as possible. Everyone knew that Sledge could be impulsive and quick to act, but he was far from stupid. If anything, he knew the strategic value of quick strikes. Now that the Rangers had taken the blow of losing an unbonded Energem, every minute they waited to act gave them more time to fortify their position, to prepare for an attack, or worse...to figure out a way to get the Energem back before they had a chance to use it!
Right now, Wrench was working on the Magna Beam controls. Fury came into the room, looking confused.
"Wrench, I saw some viviks transporting a whole bunch of chemicals that were marked as..." He paused as he saw Wrench standing beside the console, and strode over, grabbing Wrench and spinning him away from it. "What the devil are you doing?"
"Hey, can't you see I'm working here?" He protested.
"It's the eve of our biggest battle, when we can finally destroy the Rangers for good...and you're dismantling our MOST POWERFUL WEAPON?" He screamed at him. Wrench just glared back.
"You wouldn't even understand what I'm doing." Wrench sneered in response. "I'm converting this thing to be able to channel an Energem and turn it into a laser cannon! If you think putting an Energem in Sledge's blaster is impressive? How much more impressive do you think channelling it through the whole SHIP will be?"
Fury just growled a little, but he didn't really have an answer. He didn't have the technical know-how Wrench did. All he knew was that if Sledge came through and found the Magna Beam in pieces, there would be hell to pay!
"You can always complain to Sledge if you like." Wrench suggested. This didn't sound like an appealing option at all. Right now, he and Poisandra were still in the middle of a huge argument about the fact Sledge hadn't followed through on his promise to marry her as soon as he had an Energem. Fury had about as much intention of getting in the middle of that as he had diving into the sun!
"Just...make sure this is all cleaned up before Sledge sees it." Fury responded, before storming away, leaving Wrench to his work.
In the Dino Lab, Kendall was working on a new device, completely oblivious to the late hour. Everyone knew that now Sledge had the Purple Energem it was only a matter of time before he used it. They weren't sure HOW exactly he would use it, since it was unlikely he could use it to morph (which didn't stop Chase giving everyone frightening mental images of it with a sketch of sledge in a Purple Ranger suit!) but so much power left unchecked was never going to be good.
So far, Riley had come up with the only reasonable plan, to invade the ship before he had a chance to be the one to attack first, but there was still a lot of x-factors to account for. Once on the ship, the Rangers were painfully aware they would have to face pretty much everything Sledge had all at once! With so much going on, it was unlikely they'd have time to search for the Energem in the middle of a fire fight. With a lot to think about and prepare for, the Rangers had all gone their own way to prepare how they saw fit. For Kendall, she regressed to what she always did in such times...she was working in her lab.
In particular, she was working on a device that could detect an Energem and search for it unseen. Knowing the Rangers would be occupied, she needed some way to retrieve the Purple Energem undetected during the battle. She hoped that with enough confusion and surprise, they could snatch the Energem and escape the ship before Sledge realised what was going on. She had hoped that by keeping her mind occupied, she could ignore the nagging feeling that it was her fault the Energem was now in his hands.
She always knew it was a risky plan to try and use Christie's wishing powers against her, but she had hoped that with attention to detail, with a very strict and precise choice of words that she could avoid any surprises with how the wish for a Purple Ranger was granted. She couldn't help going over and over her wish in her mind, trying to find if there was any way that it could be interpreted in a way that would enable Sledge or one of his cronies to morph. It didn't dare thinking about.
She suddenly became aware of another presence in the lab. Everyone had left some time ago. Koda's show was that night, and as far as she knew, everyone else had left ages ago.
"Hello?" She asked, looking around. She couldn't see anyone, in the gloom. The lights were on around her work bench, but elsewhere, the lab was in pitch darkness. "Keeper, is that you?"
She still had no idea where Keeper went between his 'little visits.' He just literally disappeared. She had some theories, but with no information from him they went from alternate dimensions to meditating on a mountaintop somewhere to recharge his powers. Frankly none of them were entirely too ridiculous to contemplate while also sounding as equally unlikely. It was a mystery she just didn't have time for. When she didn't get an answer, she reached under her desk, pulling out a blaster and primed it.
"Hello?" She asked. "Who's there?" As she tried to find any sign of movement, and strained to hear anything, she flicked off the safety and placed her finger inside the trigger guard.
"Hi Miss Morgan." She heard a voice behind her say. She jumped in fright, almost pulling the trigger as she turned to see Leanne standing behind her. Leanne had joined the staff very recently, but having met Riley at the tournament, she already knew about the Rangers. It was kind of a benefit not having to worry about talking around her. "I thought you could use some coffee but...maybe not."
"Good GRIEF Leanne, you scared the life out of me!" Kendall responded, putting the safety catch back on. "What are you doing here? I thought you went with Riley..."
"He and Ivan went to do some sword practice." She sighed. "Believe me; growing up in the Mystic Realm, I've seen more than enough of that for a lifetime. I thought maybe I could help out here."
"It's kind of late." Kendall reminded her, checking her watch. Leanne just shrugged.
"My family's never really been bothered by late nights." She assured her, gesturing to the workbench. "I don't know anything about...well...any of this...but I do know how to make good coffee!"
"I guess I could use some mocha." Kendall replied. Leanne just smiled and started to head away, at which Kendall called out. "Hey, careful, the lights are..."
"Don't worry; I've always been able to see well in the dark." Leanne assured her, heading for the elevator. Kendall just turned back to her work, and started concentrating on her...fetch-device? Find-buggy? She still had no idea what to call it.
Over at the hospital, Phillipe arrived in the recovery room, finding Margaret still resting after her procedure. Phillipe was loathe to disturb her, but as he sat down, he couldn't help reaching out for her hand. As he took it gently, she started to stir and turned to look at him.
"I'm sorry I woke..."
"Don't be." She answered as she smiled at him. "You're still here?"
"There's nowhere else I'd be." He answered. A doctor came into the room, and saw Phillipe there. Seeing the look on his face, they knew what he was about to say.
"Don't call security." Margaret told him. "I...I want him here."
"It's most irregular Your Highness." The doctor told him. "I have some results to share with Margaret; I'm going to have to ask..."
"Please, I want him to stay." Margaret interrupted the doctor. "Anything you can say to me, you can say in front of Phillipe."
"Are you sure about that?" The doctor said. She just nodded. "I'm afraid it's not good news. We've analysed the tumour...I'm sorry to tell you that it is malignant."
"I...I have cancer?" Margaret stammered. She had already thought about the possibility, it was impossible not to, but now that she heard it out loud, now that it was confirmed, it felt like the floor fell out from under her. She was in freefall, and she couldn't even begin to see the ground.
"I'm afraid that's the case." The doctor told her sympathetically. "One of the symptoms is a weakening of the bone, which is what led to your ankle breaking. It might not seem like it now, but in a strange way, it was a good thing that happened. Because of that we've found out so early."
"It didn't feel much like it." Margaret grumbled.
"What are the treatment options?" Phillipe asked the doctor.
"There are a few treatment options available here..."
"Doctor, please know that anything that's needed, anything at all, experts, equipment, anything...just ask for it and you'll have it." Phillipe told him. "You have my word on that."
Margaret could only look to him, her heart beating a little faster as she heard this. She was still terrified, she knew how serious cancer could be, but hearing Phillipe pledging everything he had to her was only just short of everything she could hope for.
"Phillipe..."
"Margaret, know that all that matters right now is making you better." He assured her, squeezing her hand gently. "Doctor, please, tell us what the options are."
Over at an arena, Koda arrived far later than he was meant to. Because of the battles earlier in the day, he wasn't sure if he even would come, but since the team still didn't have much of a plan to speak of, they had all been told to go and prepare in the best way they could.
"Koda, where the hell have you been?" Karl yelled at him as he and Alessandra arrived. He glared at Alessandra. He wasn't happy she was late, but since she was in the main event, she still had some time before she was due. Koda was in the opening match. "Jack's going apeshit!"
"Sorry, I held up." Koda told him.
"Well get your arse in there and get changed, FAST!" He yelled at him. Koda and Alessandra ran into the changing room, where Jack was pacing impatiently. He tossed back some aspirin, chased down with some whisky from his hip flask, but as he saw them, he stormed over.
"Where the HELL have you been?" He yelled at Koda.
"Aspirin?" Alessandra asked. "You alright?"
"Took a shot to the head last night." Jack told her. "Kid, you're late!" The Blue Ranger just looked apologetic. He knew that Jack had spoken up for him and gotten Karl to take a chance on him on this match. "Can't you hear that? That's the Kollosal Koallition's entrance music! Just get changed, now!"
Koda hurriedly pulled off his shirt, and was about to pull off his shorts, but Jack stopped him as his entrance music kicked in.
"No time!" He told him, grabbing Koda.
"But...Kendall make tights..."
"There's no time! We're being announced!" Jack yelled at him as they got to the entrance. With Jack's music playing, they both got to the entrance, but Jack didn't stop to pose, instead running to the ring, which was surrounded by weapons. The match was a 'hardcore' match, meaning that they were legal, and people were expecting them to be used. Koda followed suit, running to the ring.
While Jack went after Eddie, Koda figured he was meant to keep Vinny at bay. He went after him, only to receive a hard punch across the face. VERY hard! Before he knew what was happening, the whole thing descended into a legitimate brawl. He already knew that Eddie and Vinny were questionable workers who often took liberties with their opponents to cover for their weaknesses as performers, but tonight he was in no mood to take their nonsense. Yelling loudly, he hit Vinny so hard he sent him straight to the mat. If they wanted a legit fight, they were going to get it!
In his apartment, Tyler was sitting with Chase and Allison.
"So I guess you really did get to spend a weekend together." Tyler chuckled as he heard Chase tell them about their disastrous weekend.
"Thankfully Phillipe's lawyer works weekends." Chase responded. "He contacted Andrew Hartford, and he called and told the cops I was there on his behalf."
"I know Christie was always a bit of a troll about how she granted wishes, but you know...I kind of enjoyed it." Allison said with a smile. "Sure, a nice stay in a hotel would have been nice, but...you just know this'll be a story we'll be telling in forty years' time."
"You know, that's what I love about you." Chase replied, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her onto his lap. "You always find a way to be right."
"I still can't believe that she granted all our wishes." Tyler responded as Shelby came in. The tone took a decidedly less jovial turn as he said this.
"Tyler, you can't be sure..."
"I wished to see my dad." Tyler reminded them. "I saw..."
"You saw someone who looks like him." Chase said. "Dude, do you know how many times I could swear I saw my mum or Chloe..."
"It was him!" Tyler interrupted him. "Shelby saw him too! She can tell you..."
"Tyler...I saw someone who looks like your dad DID." Shelby reminded him. "On the cover of a book that was printed over ten years ago!"
"But the wish..."
"You saw your dad." Chase told him. "At least...in a manner of speaking you did."
"It was HIM, I know it!" Tyler yelled defiantly. "Does Ivan look over 800 years old? Does Koda look like a fossil?"
"They have Energems..."
"Of all the things we've seen and done, would this really be the most bizarre thing we've seen?" Tyler asked them.
"Tyler, if it was your dad...why would he run away when you called him?" Shelby asked him.
"I...I don't know." Tyler responded. Chase just sighed as they looked between each other.
"Look, we know what we're up against tomorrow. We have to be in the right head space for that." Chase told him. "What happened at the park...we can investigate that thoroughly once we're done with that. I promise you we will."
"We all will." Shelby agreed. "But until then, we can't let anything get in the way of what we have to prepare for tomorrow."
Tyler wasn't happy that they had to let the trail go cold on what had been the biggest lead he'd had in years to find out what happened to his dad. No matter how illogical it seemed, he was certain it was his dad he had seen. However, he also knew that finding his dad was pointless if the Earth was destroyed in the meantime. He reluctantly nodded.
"Then we deal with Sledge first." Tyler told them. "But then, nothing stops me looking for dad."
"Nothing stops US looking for him." Shelby corrected him, gently kissing him. "And that isn't a wish, that was a promise."
Back at the arena, the 'match' had descended into little short of a human cock-fight! Jack and Eddie were already busted open hardway* and bleeding all over the mats outside as Jack was strangling him with a baseball bat.
Inside the ring, Koda and Vinny were creating the centrepiece of the bout. It was coming close to time, and so the referee had given them the signal to take it home. Koda had set up a table and dragged Vinny over towards it. The larger man fought with Koda to prevent what was happening, but with all his strength, Koda lifted him up over his head, and slammed him down through the table, sending splinters everywhere. Koda flopped down on top of him, and awaited the referee counting.
He was stunned though as Vinny kicked out! That was the planned finish! Koda glared at Vinny hatefully as he grabbed a length of chain and punched Koda full in the face with it wrapped around his fist. Koda ducked his next swing, before head-butting him as hard as he could, staggering the man.
He thought for a moment how to end the match, knowing that if Vinny didn't cooperate and take the three count, then he would have to find a way to MAKE him take the loss. As Vinny hit the ropes and staggered towards him, blood streaming from his nose, he had a random thought wondering what his friends would do. Opening his arms wide, he wrapped them around Vinny and picked him up off the ground, squeezing as hard as he could!
Vinny screamed out loud, and tried to pry Koda's arms off him, but as the grip tightened, he could swear he heard something cracking. Air was leaving his body at a worrying rate, and his face was turning red. With one last squeeze, he screamed out loud and had no option but to tap out! Koda dumped him on the ground to a huge cheer as the referee raised his hand.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, your winners, 'The Deer Hunter' Jack Malone, and Koda!" The ring announcer called out over the house mic. Jack came into the ring as Vinny rolled out to be helped to the back by Eddie.
"Kid, that is the first time in a LONG time I've ever seen someone use a bear hug as a legit finisher." Jack chuckled. Koda just smiled.
"Friends say my hugs too tight." Koda answered. "Vinny find out hard way."
"Anyway, let's go." Jack told him. "You still have to give Alessandra her makeover."
Koda smiled as the two men exited the ring and headed to the back, the crowd still chanting his name.
A/N: The word marked with a * is a wrestling term. Normally when a wrestler bleeds in a match, it is intentional, they inflict the cut themselves with a hidden razor. If a cut is termed "Hardway" it means it is a legit injury, often caused by a mistake or carelessness.