Hayley rushed to the Ranger base, followed a little way by the other Rangers. Hayley had been the one to finish off the Skullgator, desperate to finish the battle quickly. It wasn't because of the dance, right now the school dance couldn't be the furthest thing from her mind. Right now, all she could think about was Kody.

Kody had bravely fetched her friends to help against Badpipes, and he had paid a heavy price for it. She looked around, finding Kody lying on the table, with Redbot watching over him.

"Kody!" She called out, rushing over to his side. "How are you boy?"

"Please tell me you took down that monster." Kody grumbled. Hayley smiled and nodded.

"He's not going to bother anyone again." She assured him. She looked up to Redbot. "How is he?"

"His leg is definitely broken; he's going to have to go to a vet." Redbot told her. "I could probably have re-set the bone and dressed it myself, but when I scanned him I found screws and plates from a previous..."

"He got those the day I found him." Hayley told Redbot. "A car side-swiped him and left him on the side of the road. I took him to a vet. When I realised he hadn't been chipped and didn't have any ID on him I knew he was a stray and I took him in."

"Well since he has had surgical repairs before I really can't work on them. He'll need a proper surgeon." Redbot told her. Hayley looked to Kody, who was resting on the table.

"You're going to have to go back to the vet boy." She told him. "I know you hate it, but..."

"Hey, if it's that or lose the leg, I'll gladly go." Kody grumbled. Hayley just stroked him reassuringly. "There's no way I'm going to be known as tripod for the rest of my days."

She smiled and stroked him, cuddling him, before looking to her friends and smiling. "Kody's going to need to go to the vet for surgery." She told them. "But he's in good spirits; he's actually joking about it."

"J...joking?" Mick asked her, looking at her curiously. Hayley realised what the situation looked like and realised why her friends were staring at her. She took a deep breath.

"OK guys, I just found out something pretty wild." She told them. "I didn't tell you because I was getting freaked out, but...I've been hearing voices."

"Voices?" Preston asked her. Calvin looked incredibly worried.

"I know, I was freaked out too, but today I figured it out. The one voice I've been hearing most often, that I've been hearing all the time, it was always when Kody was around. Today I finally made the connection. It was Kody!" She told them. The Rangers just continued to stare blankly at her. "Guys...I can hear Kody! I also heard some stuff when Preston's rabbit peed on Victor. Guys, it's the Ninja Steel, it has to be! I can understand animals!"

"Um...OK?" Brody asked.

"And he can understand me! I was just talking to him right now!" She told them. That was when there was some uncomfortable shifting around the others as they looked like they were trying to figure out how to say something. "What?"

"Um, Hayley, when we came in...you were barking." Calvin told her. Hayley just laughed.

"Barking? You're telling me I was barking?" She asked him. "No, I was just talking to Kody, like I'm talking to you right now!"

"No, you were definitely barking." Sarah said. "We...um...we all heard you!"

"I think I'd know if I was barking." Hayley chuckled, looking to Kody. "Wouldn't I boy?"

"Hayley, you're definitely barking." Kody told her. "It's about time you stopped talking all that human gibberish. I can finally talk to you!"

Hayley shot up as she stared at him, pointing between Kody and the others.

"Wait...Kody says I'm barking too." Hayley said, seeing the others all nodding. "What's happening?"

"Wait a minute, Hayley, do you remember that guy you bumped into in the lunch line the other day?" Sarah asked her. "The um...the deaf one?"

"Yeah, I remember." Hayley stated.

"You said you weren't using sign language, but you definitely were!" Sarah told her. "I saw you! You were using sign language, but you said you weren't, just like you said you weren't barking right now!"

"So you're trying to say that I can speak different languages and I don't even realise it?" She asked him. Mick looked to her.

"OK, there's an easy way to resolve this." He told her, looking at her. "I'm going to say something and I want you to respond with the first thing that comes into your head alright?"

"OK." She answered. He took her by the shoulders, and looked to the other Rangers, before looking back to her.

"Kehsetreebooh muhk-hay-yoo?" The other Rangers heard Mick asked. Hayley just looked confused.

"Nahsetreebooh, muhk-haya Hayley." They heard her reply. The other Rangers all looked really impressed. "Guys, what's the big deal? He just asked what my name was."

"I asked what your name was in ANDRESIAN." He pointed out.

"You know Andresian?" Preston asked him.

"We had some slaves on the ship a while back, I picked up a few things." Mick said with a shrug. "The thing is, Andresian as a language is not commonly spoken on Earth. There's only one settlement on the other side of the state. There are less than a thousand people worldwide that speak it, so I knew there's almost no way Hayley could have any previous knowledge of Andresian."

"So what? I can now speak any language?" Hayley asked.

"I think...kind of yes and no." Mick told her. "You were able to speak Andresian after hearing me speak it. You were able to use sign language after seeing someone else use it. I think that if you hear or see someone communicating in another language, your brain starts to make the connections allowing you to understand it and respond appropriately, even if you aren't consciously aware you're doing it!"

"So I can't just understand Kody, I can LITERALLY speak dog?" Hayley asked him. "But to me it sounds like he's speaking English, and when I speak to him even though I think I'm speaking English, I'm speaking dog?"

"That's about the size of it." He concluded.

"And the reason she was freaked out hearing those voices but we weren't wasn't because she was hearing voices, but because we all heard the SAME voice, namely Kody's." Sarah surmised. "Only Hayley heard it in English while we just heard the barks we normally do."

"Exactly!" Mick concluded. "You know, perception is a very tricky thing. Sometimes people see one thing while another thing is true."

"Yeah, and...I guess I learned that too." Hayley said sadly, looking to Redbot. "Redbot, I'm sorry for what I said. I dismissed you as a machine, I didn't think of you having feelings and I didn't take it seriously when you wanted to take me to the dance."

"Say...what now?" Calvin asked.

"I really shouldn't have dismissed you the way I did." Hayley told him. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

"That's quite alright." Redbot assured her.

"Um...hello, um..." Calvin said, interjecting into the conversation. "Redbot, you asked Hayley to the dance?"

"Why yes!" Redbot told him.

"Redbot, you do know that Hayley's my girlfriend right?" Calvin asked him.

"Yes, of course I do!" Redbot told him. "I just wanted to dance!"

"Oh...right." Calvin said, trying to look casual. "Um...that's cool, I guess."

"We should really get Kody to the vet." Hayley stated, beginning to wrap Kody up in a blanket and carefully pick him up. "The rest of you should still go to the dance."

"It's fine, we should all..."

"No, there's really not room for you all in the truck." Calvin answered. "Besides, if he does need surgery, there's nothing you can really do when he's in there."

"Well...as long as you're sure." Sarah said sympathetically, patting Kody gently.

"We'll call you when you can check on him." Hayley assured them. "He'll love all the attention."

"Too damn right I will." Kody told her. "I'm expecting lots of toys and hugs!"

Hayley just laughed.

"What did he just say?" Sarah asked her.

"I'll tell you later." She answered. "Come on Calvin."

With that, Hayley and Calvin took Kody to get the treatment he needed, leaving Mick, Brody, Preston, Sarah and Redbot behind. Sarah looked to the others and sighed.

"I don't know about you but I'm really not in the mood for the school dance." She commented.

"I guess we've seen Victor make enough of an ass of himself for one day." Brody agreed.

"But I still really want to dance." Redbot commented. Preston just looked to the others.

"Well...how about we have our own dance party right here?" He asked. "I know none of us feel much like partying, but at least if it's here it's just us and we can do what we feel like right?"

"Sounds good to me." Brody answered. "A quiet party with friends sounds ideal."

"Well, I have a couple of projects I want to work on, but they can wait." Sarah answered, pointing to Mick. "How about it Mick, fancy cranking up those tunes?"

"Well it's better than being around Hastings all night." Mick told them. "She's been hassling me to chaperone the dance all week."

"She has?" Brody asked him.

"Yeah, asked me about four times a day." Mick answered. "She even offered to get me a suit when I told her I didn't have anything to wear other than this."

"Oh, she did, did she?" Preston said with a sly grin on his face.

"Yeah, wanted to know where and when she could pick me up actually." Mick told them. "That was a little awkward to answer since she doesn't know I live here. She's been pretty..."

"Mick...I really don't think she wanted a chaperone." Sarah said with a smirk. Mick just looked confused.

"Really, because that's what she was asking me to..."

"Yeah, Mick? You know what you were saying about perspectives before?" Brody said as he put an arm around his friend, leading him to the corner as he started up the music, beginning the party. Redbot, Sarah and Preston all got up to dance. While they were worried about Kody, and none of them felt like making much of a fuss, a night of blowing off steam with friends after a hard battle was just what the doctor ordered.

Meanwhile, up on the Warrior Dome, Cosmo was in his office with Odious, Ripcon, Galvanax and Wrench, going over the events of that nights' broadcast. Cosmo had the figures before him and with the exception of a sharp dip in ratings from the previous week at the beginning; he had clawed back a decent return.

"In the third quarter of the broadcast, the numbers..."

"I am SICK of hearing of your numbers!" Galvanax roared as a Kudabot came in, carrying a cocktail for Cosmo and a cigar. He rounded on Ripcon, grabbing him by one of his horns. "Your monster had the Rangers under his spell! Your interference cost me the Power Stars!"

"It wasn't MY fault boss!" Ripcon protested. "Badpipes lost his grip on the Rangers before I did anything!"

"So what are you saying? Are you saying the monster YOU picked was incompetent?" Madame Odious said in a casual drawl. "Or that YOU couldn't assist him when you were standing right there?"

"Screw up one more time and you know what'll happen!" Galvanax yelled as he grabbed the Kudabot. Cosmo was quick enough to save his cocktail, while Wrench grabbed the cigar. Galvanax punched the Kudabot, which exploded on impact, before storming away. "Fail me again Ripcon and you'll be next!"

"You know, I have to wonder, are you just incompetent?" Madame Odious asked as she prepared to leave. "Or...hmm...is it possible there's a reason you'd want to..."

"Are you accusing me of something?" Ripcon screamed, going for his katana. Cosmo just interjected between them.

"Listen, whatever is going on between you two is entirely your business!" Cosmo told them.

"I was only saying..."

"And I'M only saying that if you have an accusation to make, bring it to me on formal channels and I'll be more than happy to hear your evidence." Cosmo stated. Odious just bowed, before slinking out of the office. Ripcon just sneered.

"So glad you saw straight through..."

"Ripcon, you delivered me the hottest rivalry in years! You've created a money-match for the ages and I am NOT blowing that on baseless accusations!" Cosmo interrupted him. "If Odious had something on you, if you really were trying to bring down the show then I'd see you reduced to a footnote and forget about you forever seconds later!"

"WHAT?" Ripcon screamed. "How dare...?"

"You get the benefit of the doubt Ripcon, but don't make me regret that!" Cosmo snapped at him. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a pay-per-view schedule to organise. In the meantime, I suggest you get ready for the second round with the Red Ranger!"

Ripcon let out a frustrated yell, before storming from the room, leaving Cosmo and Wrench alone together. Wrench came across, offering Cosmo the cigar.

"I don't trust..."

"Believe me my boy; I don't trust any of them." Cosmo said as he popped the cigar in his mouth and gestured to Wrench to light it. "Odious is up to something, I just know it, but I've been doing this way too long to be taken for a ride."

"You don't trust...?"

"My boy, I literally wouldn't be in this job if I didn't play the game better than anyone else." Cosmo told him. "Believe me, there is NOTHING they can come up with that will take me by surprise!"

He looked to Wrench as he just nodded wordlessly. Cosmo smiled.

"Now, how about I pick that brain of yours about your...previous experience?" He asked.

"Of...of course!" Wrench stammered. Cosmo knew all about Wrench's time on Sledge's crew, and more importantly his battles with the previous teams.

"We've tried a few things now with...shall we say...mixed success." He stated. "Tell me, what worked best in your tenure?"

"Well...my technology of course!" Wrench stated. "But I was always pipped to the post by their mentor, some uppity blonde scientist always spoiling my plans...and Sledge was always too cheap to update our technology, if I'd had access to..."

"My boy, where do you think you are now?" Cosmo asked him, panning his arms around as he crossed his feet up on his desk. "Tell me, if you had access to the best tech available, what would you do?"

"I'd find that annoying little human and..."

"Your grudge can wait. You can execute half the population of the planet for all I care once you're done." Cosmo told him. "What would you do?"

"An army is only as good as its weapons." Wrench stated. "I'd turn their weapons against them."

"My boy, I think I may have just the man in mind." Cosmo said, gesturing to him to sit down. "Tell me more!"

Meanwhile, in another part of the ship, Madame Odious approached one of her hidden doors, pulling out her hammer and activating it, after ensuring she wasn't being watched. Stepping inside, she made her way to her secret lab.

Inside, she found her captive, still strapped into her machine.

"Ripcon's failure is playing right into my hands my little prisoner." She told him, knowing full well that he couldn't hear her. The helmet on his head blocked all visual and auditory stimuli, other than what she wanted him to see and hear from her programming. Altering the mind of any creature was a delicate process, one that had tremendous potential to go disastrously wrong. The human mind in particular was incredibly fragile, and she had to check on her progress constantly to find out if her programming was strong enough to have the desired effect, but without completely destroying his mind.

"Hmm...your vital signs appear to be stable, I guess you're in pretty good shape...and I've not burned out your brain cells yet. I guess you're fortunate for that much." She stated. Her process was slow going, she'd had to keep him in the ship now for weeks and monitor him. If she pushed too hard, the best case scenario was his mind wouldn't be able to handle the new programming and she'd turn him into a lunatic or a drooling, comatose vegetable. Worst case scenario was that the physical structure of his brain wouldn't be able to handle the power going through it and she'd blow it out, killing him. She wasn't overly concerned for his welfare, but she didn't believe in killing off her subjects too quickly, even some of her rejects could be used in further study.

She checked the upload, and the system she had in place for checking it was taking hold. It was one thing to present someone with new information, it was quite another to make sure they believed it.

"The transfer is almost complete, and your new programming is going well." She told him, before going to the machine and opening up a compartment. Inside, was the Gold Power Star. She took it and inspected it with an evil grin on her face.

"Soon none of them will know what hit them." She declared. "Rest well my little subject. Soon, it'll all be over!"