Hayley was just about to finish construction on her third attempt at a stretcher that would bear Redbot's weight. Although not any taller than an average human, as a result of his construction he did weigh significantly more than someone his size would otherwise indicate. He was easily over 300 pounds, which was why she needed to construct something to make dragging him a little easier to begin with. As she was about to finish though, his eyes started to blink, before turning back to their normal blue colouring.
"Reboot complete." Redbot said, beginning to sit up. Hayley just tossed aside the now redundant stretcher she had been trying to build now for somewhere in the region of an hour.
"Oh my God, Redbot, you're OK!" She gushed as she came around before him, beginning to inspect him. It was a little futile, given her limited mechanical skills she wouldn't really know what to do about it even if something was malfunctioning. All she could see was a couple of scorch marks from where Badpipe's blasts had hit him, and the hole going through his rocket boot that had knocked one of them offline.
"Of course Hayley. I'm so sorry about the rough landing." He responded. Hayley was a little stunned by this at first; Redbot had put himself at risk and taken a fair amount of damage in order to get both of them to safety. If it was anyone else she would imagine they'd be screaming in pain...it took her a moment to remind herself that he was a robot and didn't have pain receptors. He didn't suffer traumatic shock from his 'wounds' like a biological creature. He could have all of his limbs ripped off and most of his body, but unless someone significantly damaged his internal systems, he would continue to function with only the drawback of losing his limbs.
"Rough landing?" Hayley said with a smile. "Redbot, you saved my life! How can I ever thank you?"
"I'm programmed to assist. There's no need to thank me. But it is nice to be appreciated." Redbot declared. "That's the difference between the Rangers and the Warrior Dome. Here, you appreciate me, so I choose to serve you instead of them."
This hit Hayley straight through to her core, it was something she had never even thought about since she had met Redbot. He was a machine, he had central programming, in his case to serve, but to hear him talking about being appreciated and choosing who he wanted to serve...that was beyond her thought of anything a machine was capable of.
A gun would function exactly the same way in the hands of a criminal as it would in the hands of a policeman; it literally had no say and no regard for who used it for its intended purpose. Redbot had left the Warrior Dome, and while she had thought that perhaps he had done so because Mick or Brody had told him to, if they weren't the ones he was programmed to obey, if he was programmed to take his direction straight from the senior staff in the Warrior Dome, would he have been able to leave without their permission? If he wasn't programmed directly to either Brody or Mick, something she doubted as both of them were slaves and providing them with weapons would be considered extremely unwise, the only way he could have left would be by his own decision.
"Then...then it is true. You do have feelings." Hayley gasped, trying to piece it all together. She wasn't sure to what level he had feelings, but if he could understand concepts such as what 'want' was and understanding preferences and concepts like appreciation and gratitude, then he clearly had some level of true feelings. Short of any real direct consequences for his actions, such as reward or punishment, there was no real difference between if Ripcon gave him an order or Brody did...unless he could feel a preference in himself for who he wanted to obey.
"Yes, I do. Brody says that's what makes me special." Redbot told her. Hayley just nodded her head.
"Brody' right...and I was wrong." She said regretfully. "Redbot, I only thought of you as a machine, in the same way as I'd think of the primitive machines we have here as machines. I didn't think that you could be any different to them. In a way I was prejudiced. I'm so sorry I hurt your feelings when you asked me to the dance."
"It's alright, I thought about it while I was walking." Redbot told her. "I suppose it would be a bit strange for you to show up at the dance with a robot."
"Well, yes but...I wish I could say that's all it was." Hayley answered honestly. "I didn't think that you could actually want, well, anything if I'm honest. I didn't take you seriously when you said you wanted to go to the dance and that's on me. I'm sorry Redbot."
"I thank you for your apology." Redbot said as he started to get up. "Now, that tone deaf piper is still around here somewhere, we should get moving."
"Good thinking Redbot." Hayley agreed. "Now you're up and about, we can give this Mega Morph Cycle a shot."
She threw out a Ninja Star which grew and formed up into her cycle. She was impressed by the work that had gone into it, as a joint project between Calvin and Mick, she was sure it would be impressive.
"That's one cool ride! I'm going to have to tell Cal when I see him." Hayley said, morphing and getting onto the bike. Redbot climbed on behind her, holding onto her tightly. "Hold onto your hard drive Redbot! This is going to be quite a ride!"
Just then, they heard some blasts from another part of the wood, and saw some smoke rising above the trees.
"I don't think explosions normally occur naturally." Redbot stated.
"The others must have been looking for me and found Badpipes." Hayley concluded. "Hang on Redbot; we have to put an end to his concert once and for all!"
Elsewhere in the woods, the Rangers were all taking cover, coughing as the smoke cleared from Badpipe's first attack. He had set up an ambush when he had heard them coming, it was only thanks to Kody smelling him before they got there that had given him the advanced warning he needed to alert the Rangers to the danger.
"Kody was warning us! If it wasn't for him, that guy would have toasted us!" Preston said, turning to Kody, beginning to stroke him. "Good boy Kody!"
Kody let out a little whine as Preston touched him though. He couldn't tell through the rest of the burning smell, in the area, but it was only as some of the smoke started to clear, he could see that Kody had taken a hit in his right foreleg, burning him badly. Cavlin cradled him gently.
"Kody's been hit, it looks pretty bad." Calvin told the others. As he touched it, Kody let out a heartbreaking high-pitched whine. "I think his leg is broken. We need to get him to a vet!"
"Sorry boy, but you're going to have to tough it out for now." Sarah said, patting him as gently as she could. "I don't think this guy's going to let us have a medic break."
"Hello Rangers!" Badpipes cackled as the smoke finally cleared enough for them to see. This time though, they could see he had someone else with him, and even before the smoke cleared, they could see it was no mere Kudabot! Brody noticeably tensed up as he recognised the silhouette instantly. He had been his main tormentor for ten years. Ripcon stepped up beside him, looking over the Rangers as he arrived.
"Thanks for letting me tag along Badpipes!" Ripcon declared, looking to the Rangers. "I decided enough is enough. The fans at home deserve a REAL show this time! So now they have a bonus fighter. You're not the only ones allowed a tag team!"
"Ripcon!" Brody snarled as he pulled out his Ninja Sword, bearing down on him.
"Did you miss me Rat Bait?" Ripcon asked him. Brody just smirked.
"Not for a minute!" He told him. "You looked better with your Black Egg facial!"
"You...you hit him with a Black Egg?" Preston asked. A Black Egg was one of the many distraction devices used by ninjas to elude or take out their foes. It was an egg shell that had been hollowed out, and re-filled with another substance before being sealed with wax that would irritate the enemy's vision. In some instances, it would be filled with powdered glass, meaning that as the enemy instinctively blinked to try and promote tears to wash out the irritant, it would move the glass around, scratching the eyeball and making the damage worse. Since he had to work quickly though, Brody had made do with the hottest pepper sauce he could find in the kitchen, another popular choice, creating an early version of a pepper spray. Getting an eyeful of Tabasco sauce was far from a pleasant experience and would hurt for hours afterwards. "No wonder he's pissed at you!"
"Time for me to chime in!" Badpipes declared, positioning his hornpipes under his arm. The Rangers were about to attack, but as he started to play, all of a kind of haze descended in their minds. They couldn't think what they were fighting for, they couldn't think of much at all. All they could do was listen to the haunting music drilling through them, and started to pace towards their enemies, their swords hanging loosely by their sides. Each of them pulled their Power Stars out, and extended their hands out, offering them up to Badpipes.
"It's working, it's working!" Ripcon screeched, seeing this. He used his thumb to shift one of his swords a little out of his scabbard, caressing the handle as he watched the Rangers come towards him. "But the audience paid to see bloodshed, and that's exactly what they always get from Ripcon. I think I'll start with a certain big rat."
"Show's over!" Hayley called out as she rode into view. She could see her friends were under Badpipes' spell, but fortunately she couldn't hear his music very well over the engine of her Mega Morph Cycle. At least, she couldn't hear the frequency that gave him control of their minds. She decided not to take any chances and targeted him first, even though she could see Ripcon was already going for his sword and Brody was only a little more than arm's length. "Plasma Blast!"
Ripcon flew for about thirty feet as the blast hit him, his hornpipes being ripped from his grasp. Just as the spell dissipated, Brody realised the danger he was in just as Ripcon swung for him. He was barely able to get a sword in the way, and tumbled back, quickly finding his feet and getting some distance.
"What happened?" Sarah asked, rubbing her head. "Where...what...who...?"
"That only leaves 'why' and 'when'." Redbot joked. Hayley smirked a little hearing this. She didn't realise he was capable of making jokes, or even understanding what a joke was.
"Hayley, Kody brought us out here, he was hit!" Calvin told her. Hayley looked in horror to where Kody was lying in the grass. She ran over, crouching over her dog.
"Kody, Kody, are you alright? Speak to me boy!" She rushed out. As she did so, her friends all looked to her curiously. Calvin just looked to Sarah.
"Is Hayley...?"
"Cal, I really think we have more important things to worry about right now." Sarah gulped.
"Hayley?" Kody asked her. "The bad thing did this...I can't move my leg...it hurts too much."
"Don't worry boy, he'll be blowing those pipes out the other end by the time I'm finished with him." She assured him. Redbot went to Kody, and gently picked him up.
"I'll get him help." Redbot told her. Hayley just looked to him.
"Redbot, he's hurt bad, he needs a vet..."
"I've done a lot of reading recently. I think I know the basics of how to help him." Redbot assured her. "Anything I don't know I can research quickly. I'm a very fast reader."
Hayley knew this much was true, it didn't take him as long as a human to process new information, and once he had it in his data banks, he didn't need to keep reminding himself like a human. She just nodded.
"Take him to the base; I'll be there as soon as I can." Hayley told him. "Thanks Redbot."
With that, the robot ran away, carrying Kody with him. Hayley and the other Rangers all stared down Ripcon and Badpipes.
"His spell comes from his pipes." Hayley told them. "We need to destroy them!"
The Rangers all broke into a run, heading for the discarded hornpipes, but Ripcon could see them coming. He whipped back his long coat and drew his swords, powering up his attack as dark energy whipped around him.
"Double Sword Doom Strike!" He called out, throwing blasts their way. The Rangers saw the attack coming and morphed, dodging as best they could, but still taking damage. They knew that if Badpipes got a hold of the pipes again, it was unlikely they'd be lucky enough to get a second chance. Hayley put an Element Star into her Ninja Blade, rolling her shoulder as one of the waves hit her.
"Cal, I could use a boost!" She called to her boyfriend. He took a knee, allowing her to spring off his shoulder. She spun the Element Star in her sword and gripped the blade with both hands, coming down just as Badpipes was reaching for them.
"Ninja Element Star, Fire Strike!" She called out. Badpipes had no choice but to pull back as she brought the blade down, utterly destroying the hornpipes. Badpipes just watched them go up in flames.
"NO! My beautiful hornpipes!" Badpipes wailed, pounding the ground in what could only be described as a tantrum.
"Enough of the games and spells! That's not how REAL warriors do things anyway!" Ripcon stated, adopting his guard. "Time to crush you Rangers the way we should have done all along! The old fashioned way!"
"That sounds fine by me Ripcon!" Brody declared. "Because of you Galvanax destroyed my father! I owe you, and it's overdue time to collect!"
"Fine by me Rat Bait!" Ripcon yelled as he ran at him.
"Alright guys, that leaves us with the tone deaf terror." Hayley declared as she saw Badpipes running off. "Come on, he's not getting away with what he did to Kody!"
Meanwhile, up on the Warrior Dome, Cosmo had resumed the broadcast, and it was only now he had seen that Ripcon had gone down to Earth himself. It wasn't that he objected to Badpipes getting a little help, but he hadn't authorised Ripcon to go, and sending a major competitor like him without previous planning was giving away a money match for free! Although Ripcon wasn't much of a draw himself, if booked correctly, he could add just enough spice to a match to tip things over, but by going himself, Ripcon had essentially stolen from him. Every minute he was out there without the proper promotion, Cosmo was losing money, and that was something he couldn't tolerate!
"He had to think on his feet as he saw his monsters breaking the first rule of a tag match; they split up, meaning that now he had to split his broadcast between two separate matches! The audience had a notoriously short attention span, and there was such a thing as over-booking. If they had too many things to concentrate on, then they would become confused and lose track of what interested them. It was one of the main reasons he didn't just throw as many monsters as he could into a match. There came a point where the audience's attention was just overloaded and they lost interest.
By splitting the match into two separate matches, Ripcon had forced the audience to try and keep track of two separate fights, which meant they were becoming confused as to who they were cheering for.
"Wrench, cut the feed to Badpipes." Cosmo said over his communicator.
"You want me to do what?" Wrench asked.
"You heard me, cut the feed to Badpipes!" He told him. "I want all the attention on Ripcon!"
"But...but..."
"Badpipes has already lost the audience; he's already lost his appeal!" Cosmo interrupted him. "Time to cut my losses."
"Alright." Wrench responded. Feed ending in three, two, one...gone!"
A small section of the audience let out sounds of disapproval as the feed on Badpipes died, but he could see it was only a small section of the audience. His gamble had paid off, without his pipes, Badpipes had lost a significant part of his power, and so more of the audience were now more interested in what Ripcon was up to.
"Sorry about that folks, it looks like we're having a few technical issues." Cosmo lied without a hint of remorse whatsoever. "However, it looks like Ripcon; our King of the Katana is giving us a rip-roaring show against the Red Ranger! Prepare for the grudge match of the ages folks! Here we GO!"