Early the next day, Wrench was making preparations for the invasion. With Sledge having the Purple Energem at last, the time had come for them to press the advantage. Painful experience had taught them that waiting too long often just gave the Rangers, especially their blonde scientist, time to prepare and come up with a new device or weapon to combat them whenever they had the advantage.
His body by now was mostly mechanical but he did have enough left of his own brain that he still felt emotion, and just thinking of her was enough to get him angry. He could feel it burning away, eating at his consciousness every time he remembered how often she had come up with a strategy to circumvent his plans. The first time he became aware of her was when he nearly brought the Ankylozord under their control, and seeing her for the first time, seeing that there was someone other than the Rangers there to turn the tide against them was enough for him to put a face to his aggravation.
Since then, she had managed to be one step ahead of him in their technological disputes. Whenever he came up with a weapon, somehow she managed to figure out a perfect defence. When he placed a bomb in Amber Beach, she managed to solve his puzzles and de-activate it. He had even once been involved in a direct hacking battle with her, one which he was ashamed to admit he had lost. This...human...had managed to defeat him at every turn, and while he knew that time was on his side, with his systems meaning that he had lived already for millions of years and was more than capable of living for millions more, knowing that she had defeated him at every turn was like an itch he couldn't scratch...a sensation he hadn't felt since he removed his last nerve millennia ago!
Right now, he was preparing other weapons, specifically storage of chemical weapons components as he prepared for when Sledge defeated the Rangers. He reasoned their search would be so much easier if there weren't so many plants and animals living on the planet to hide them. He was preparing for a form of "scorched Earth" approach to speeding up the search. The only thing he could think of that would make it any better would be if he could get his hands on her and force her to watch her world melt before her eyes. A vivik came in the door, seemingly without a care in the world.
"You there! Get your HazMat suit on!" He yelled at the creature. It wasn't actually working in the lab, being assigned to other duties, but since Wrench was yelling, it just went and got a bright yellow protective suit, assuming it had just been drafted to help him in his efforts. Wrench saw another one. "Are you pouring without a face mask? Am I the only one that cares about safety?"
Before he could say anything else though, he saw imminent danger as one of the creatures, who was pushing a trolley of the chemicals collided with a stack of garishly-coloured luggage that was being pushed in the other direction by a decidedly unhappy-looking Poisandra. He had to run quickly to catch a container that fell off the trolley before it hit the floor, possibly spilling its contents.
"You mush brains! This stuff will eat right through the ship!" Wrench yelled at them. Poisandra just wheeled around, glaring at him, flailing her arms.
"Who cares about the ship? They nearly ruined my beautiful luggage!" She screeched at him. "I'm leaving! This time, it's for GOOD!"
Wrench just muttered something in a very quiet tone. He had heard this before, Poisandra was nothing if not a highly emotional creature. Her sanity was always in question, as her emotional range had a tendency to go from the giddily happy to psychotically destructive with little to no provocation as far as anyone could see. Usually she was happy enough with the thought of her 'Sledgeums' and their pending wedding, but right now that didn't seem to be keeping her calm. She and Sledge had been fighting all night since she heard him say that now he had another Energem he was going after the other nine. Wrench only hoped she would choose to have her temper tantrum somewhere there weren't so many dangerous chemicals. Sledge, inevitably, wasn't far behind.
"Poisandra my sweet, please, you can't leave now! I finally have an Energem!" Sledge tried to reason with her.
"You have ONE Energem!" She yelled, stomping her feet like a petulant two year old in the toy aisle of a supermarket when their parents asked them to leave. "If you think I'm waiting another second for you to get all ten, you're CRAZY!"
Wrench had to try hard not to laugh. Poisandra calling ANYONE crazy was like the pot calling the kettle black.
"Please, just let me get just one more Energem." He told her. "Then, I promise, we'll get married!"
"You promise?" She asked.
"Today! We'll get married TODAY! Right her on the ship!" He told her. "Wrench can perform the ceremony!"
"Please don't bring me into this." Wrench whispered. Fortunately neither of them heard him; Poisandra was far too busy screaming in delight. She started skipping around, leaving the room with Curio.
"Oh, I have so much to do! After all this time..."
"...We're getting maaariieeedd!" Curio sang as he skipped away, arm in arm with her. Sledge just looked to the blaster in his holster and pulled it out, inserting the Purple Energem into it.
"It's time the Rangers faced the power of an Energem!" He stated. "Prepare the transport pods!"
Meanwhile, down on Earth, in the basement of the museum, the Rangers had all gathered. They too were more than aware that their time was growing short. With Sledge actually having an Energem, it seemed better to prepare for an attack on him than just waiting for him to dictate when the next battle would occur.
Kendall was demonstrating her new device, the robot she had created to search for Energems. They all watched as it rushed in from the other room, with Tyler's Red Energem in its claw, stopping before them. Tyler retrieved it.
"Five times in a row! Awesome!" Tyler exclaimed excitedly. "That last time I hid it in Koda's laundry hamper!"
"It's pretty brave going in there!" Chase chuckled. Koda just glared at him grumpily. Kendall smiled and came forward.
"And THAT is how Get-bot is going to find the Energem on Sledge's ship!" She told them. The Rangers all stared at her, causing her to feel a little self-conscious. "What?"
"Get-bot?" Riley asked. "That's what you called it?"
"Hey, I spent all night working on this thing! If you can think of a better name, go ahead!" She replied a little pointedly. Riley just backed down as the others decided to move on from the subject of the name.
"I guess it doesn't matter what it's called as long as it works." Riley said, still well aware of Kendall's hard glare on him. "But that still leaves the question, how do we get it on his ship?"
"That would be your job." Kendall replied. "We have to hit Sledge with everything we have."
Just then, the elevator opened up and Phillipe walked out.
"Which includes the Graphite Ranger!" Ivan said proudly, bowing in respect. "Your Majesty."
"How...how's Margaret?" Shelby asked tentatively. They could see that Phillipe wasn't his usual dapper self. He wasn't wearing a tie, his shirt collar was open, and he hadn't shaved. Given the look in his eyes, it didn't look like he had slept much either.
"She's as comfortable as she can be right now." He answered honestly. "If you please, the sooner we begin, the sooner I can get back to her."
"We appreciate you coming to help." Tyler answered. "We'd have understood..."
"Margaret would be the first once to remind me that the world is more important than any one person." Phillipe interrupted him. "We can go over all the treatment options we have, but it will all be rather pointless if the world is obliterated in the meantime."
"Alright, then all we have to do is head for the Plesio..." Chase started to say, before an alarm sounded. They all quickly looked to one of the viewing screens.
"We're...too late." Chase commented, seeing a number of transport pods heading straight for Earth.
"This complicates things, but...I think I have another idea." Kendall told them, gathering up the Get-bot. "Come on guys!"
"And where exactly are you going?" Ivan asked her.
"He's making the first move; your mission is now to drive him off!" Kendall told them.
"And...your mission is...?"
"My mission is to get this thing into a transport pod!" She told them. The others all just stared at her. "We're probably going to take a beating on this, but if we can drive him off, then we might get him to take this onto his ship FOR us!"
"Like...a Trojan Horse?" Riley asked. "That's kind of...?"
"Does anyone have a better plan? Because believe me, I'm all ears!" Kendall rushed out, sounding a lot more desperate than they were used to seeing her get. "No? Then come on!"
"You heard her guys!" Tyler answered. "Ivan, stick close to Kendall."
"Tyler, that really isn't..."
"This isn't negotiable." Tyler insisted. "You're not going out there completely defenceless."
"Fine, let's just go." Kendall told them.
Up in the cafe, Allison was setting up for the day ahead with Leanne. They both watched as the team marched straight past the cafe, heading for the vehicles outside. Leanne just looked to Allison.
"They seem pretty intense." Leanne commented. "This is a big one isn't it?"
"Hopefully the biggest." Allison responded. "I could really do with a break from all of this."
"If it makes you feel any better, I did live through the battle in Briarwood." Leanne told her as reassuringly as she could. "There were times it got pretty dark and scary, but...it all worked out in the end."
"I'll bet it was scary, especially for a kid." Allison replied. Leanne didn't seem to respond to that. "What? It was over ten years ago."
"Oh...um...yeah, you're right." Leanne answered a little nervously. "Yeah, but I was such an independent kid...I never really considered myself a kid."
"Even when you were six?" Allison asked. Leanne just looked away.
"I...think we have a customer." She responded, turning to the counter. "Hi, welcome to the Dino Bite Cafe! I'm Leanne, how can I help you?"
"I'd like a cappuccino and some information if it's not too much trouble." The man replied.
"Well, the cappuccino I can definitely do, but the information...I'll do what I can." She answered. She started to make up the coffee as he started rummaging in his pockets.
"A friend of mine used to work out here. He's...no longer with us I'm afraid, but I heard some of his family might be out here." He answered, putting down a photograph. "I was hoping to look this kid up."
"Oh...I'm sorry, he doesn't look familiar." Leanne told him.
"It's a really old picture...that's my friend there." He said, pointing to a man in the picture. "It was taken about ten years ago. I'm looking for this kid here, he'd be about...18 now."
"I'm sorry, I really don't..." Leanne said as her words tailed off. "Hang on a moment would you?"
She took the picture to Allison, handing it to her.
"What's this?" Allison asked her.
"There's a strange guy out the front. He says he's looking for the kid in this picture." Leanne replied. "He said he's probably about 18 now. I don't know about you, but from a certain angle...does that look like it might be...Tyler?"
"It could be." Allison agreed. "What about this other guy?"
"He said that was his friend, the kid's dad." Leanne responded. Allison looked up, looking a little shocked by this.
"Leanne, Tyler's dad's been missing for 10 years! This guy said he knew him?" She shrieked, heading back out the front. "Sir, can I speak to you...SIR!"
Unfortunately, by the time she got out the front, the customer was gone, leaving only a ten dollar bill to cover his coffee.
"Damn it!" Allison grumbled as Leanne joined her. "Did he even say what his name was?"
"I'm sorry...it never came up." Leanne replied honestly. Allison just nodded.
"Alright, fine, but if you see him again, tell one of us immediately alright?" She asked. Leanne just nodded in understanding.
Deep in the woods outside of the city, the Rangers arrived, just in time to see the transport pods flying overhead. By the looks of things, they weren't slowing down for anything, and they were going to be landing close. Kendall looked to Tyler as they morphed, ready for action.
"That is a LOT of transport pods." Tyler stated. "Sledge really isn't kidding around."
"They'll be on top of us soon." Kendall told him. "Ivan and I will circle around behind put the Get-bot in one of his pods. The rest of you need to drive him off."
"Sure, give us the easy job." Riley said, pulling out his Dino Sabre as Kendall and Ivan broke off from the others. The team started heading towards the direction of the transport pods, but before they made it more than a couple of paces, Tyler was hit by a blast and knocked from his feet. More worrying than the fact he de-morphed as he flew through the air was that he was completely silent. There was no scream of pain, no groan as he hit the ground, nothing. He just hit the ground and stopped moving.
"TYLER!" Shelby screamed, before looking up. The rest of the team looked up to see Sledge descending on his jet pack. It seemed that he had come down on his own ahead of the rest of his party to gain a surprise advantage. The Rangers were reminded of the first time he had come to fight them. His armour was capable of protecting him from the atmosphere, meaning he didn't need a transport pod to come down himself. It gave him the drop on them; he was much too small by himself to show up on any scanner.
"Surprise!" Sledge called out as he cut out his engines, coming down hard. The Rangers had to scatter as his massive weight hit the ground, the shockwave throwing up earth. Tyler's body was thrown up in the air, but hit the ground again shortly afterwards as the rest of the Rangers managed to regroup. They could only watch as he grabbed Tyler's Energem and ripped it from his neck.
"HEY!" Chase called out, firing off his blaster. "That's not yours to take!"
"Hah, you call that a blaster?" Sledge responded, aiming his blaster his way. "THIS is a blaster!"
Chase closed his eyes as Sledge pulled the trigger, but was surprised that it didn't hurt. There was no sound...other than a very loud, shrieking alert. He opened his eyes to see Sledge smacking his blaster.
"What is with this stupid thing?" He screamed. "WRENCH?"
"It's overheated!" Wrench responded through his helmet communicator.
"OVERHEATED?" Sledge shrieked. "After ONE SHOT?"
"It was never designed to operate with that kind of power!" Wrench reminded him. "You need to wait for it to cool down or it could..."
"I know the risk!" Sledge replied, putting his blaster away. He realised that his gamble had now backfired horribly! It would be at least a minute or two before the rest of his party showed up, and his primary weapon was now dangerously overheated. He now had no choice but to face off against five Rangers single-handed! "Looks like I'll need to take the rest of you down the old-fashioned way!"
"Come on guys! We'll never get a better chance than this!" Phillipe called out as they all ran straight for him.
A little way off, Ivan and Kendall were making their way through the woods, taking care not to run into any of Sledge's forces. They could already hear that they were passing pretty close, but it seemed they managed to pass them by without being caught. It wasn't long before they found the transport pods, guarded by a couple of Spikeballs. Kendall didn't expect things to be easy, but she had hoped that Sledge would be more concerned with taking the fight to the Rangers than guarding the pods.
"Damn it. This isn't good." Kendall muttered, looking to Ivan. For the first time, she was glad that Tyler had insisted he come along. "Ivan, can you...?"
"Your wish is my command my lady!" Ivan replied, gripping his Ptera Sabre and screaming a battle-cry, running for the Spikeballs. Kendall didn't have to wait too long before they were too caught up in fighting Ivan to notice her approaching the Transport pods. By the time she had programmed the Get-bot, Ivan was standing with his Ptera Sabre across his shoulders as the Spikeballs exploded. "Monsters Vanquished!"
"More importantly, the Get-bot is in place." Kendall told him. "Now that's done, you can get back to the others and make sure you drive Sledge off."
"But...I was told to..."
"You destroyed the only two bad guys out here; the scariest thing I have to worry about is getting sprayed by a skunk!" She told him. "I'll get back to the base myself. GO!"
"As you wish my lady." Ivan responded, knowing it was better to just go with whatever Kendall had to say than it was to argue. As he ran off, Kendall watched him go, before looking for somewhere to hide. Although she had told Ivan she was going to go back to the base, she needed to know if someone found the Get-bot before the transport pods left Earth. Secreting herself behind a felled tree, she could only wait and hope the Rangers were up to their part of the plan.