Emma woke up, finding that Troy wasn't beside her in the bed. Looking to the bedside table, she could see that his prosthetic leg was gone.
"Troy?" She asked, but she didn't get a response. She looked to the curtains noticing there was no light coming through the crack in the curtains. Furrowing her brows, she looked to the alarm clock, seeing that it was only 5:30 in the morning. She wasn't exactly unaccustomed to early rises. Some of the creatures she wanted to view and photograph didn't exactly keep to the same timetable as humans. Troy was also an early riser, usually going for a run and working out before he showered and got ready for school, but this was early even for them.
"What could he be doing at 5:30 in the morning?" She asked herself. As she did so, she saw a light starting to glow from the street outside. Not knowing what it was, she grabbed some clothes, hurriedly throwing them on as she went down the stairs, heading out into the back yard.
When she got there, she found Troy standing in a pair of sweat pants, and nothing else, running through what appeared to be Tai Chi. Troy was versed in a few martial arts, and she knew he used patterns as part of his workout regularly. He had even taught her some, but this was the first time she could see this.
He didn't notice her as she came out into the yard. On closer inspection, his eyes were closed, and he was focusing all his attention on his exercise. She looked to him as the glow came again, realising it was coming from him. She had seen something like this before, back when Casey had trained them. She could remember how she felt when Casey put her in touch with her Phoenix Spirit, and had seen a similar energy running from her. They didn't have time to complete their Pai Zhua training, but he had given them access to a whole new power within them that day.
The glow around Troy though was so much more intense, and as she came closer, she could feel the hairs on her skin standing upright. She could feel the power coming from him, and it left her breathless. Troy finished his exercise, sinking down into the lotus position, and the energy started to form into his hands. Emma came around in front of him to find the energy forming into the unmistakable form of a dragon, which nestled into his folded hands on his lap, like it was falling asleep, before disappearing. She stood, watching him wordlessly for a moment, unable to believe what she had seen.
"Good morning Emma." Troy said, causing her to jump with fright. She didn't know he was aware she was even there. It was then that Troy opened his eyes. "I tried not to wake you."
"Um...it's alright." Emma replied a little nervously. She offered Troy a hand to help him up, which he politely declined. He hit a backward roll, ending up back on his feet. Troy saw her reaction.
"Sorry, it's a force of habit." He told her. "It's silly, but it's something that was drilled into me by my group...I'm meant to get on my own feet."
"Never mind refusing the hand...what was that?" Emma asked him. Troy realised she meant his exercises. "That was...incredible!"
"Like I said, a lot has changed about me." Troy told her. "I was working to learn to adapt to the amputation. It wasn't easy; a lot of the stuff I used to do was a lot tougher with the prosthetic. Then one day, Swoop showed up."
"Swoop?" Emma asked him. "Master Swoop, the Pai Zhua master?"
"He taught me a lot." Troy answered, reaching for a t-shirt he had dropped onto the ground when he started his workout. He pulled it on, looking to her. "I expected him to teach me to work around my disability, you know...because he did...but he taught me so much more than that, something I never thought about. He taught me that he never even considered his blindness as a factor."
"He doesn't?" Emma asked. She could remember one time Troy had convinced them to train blindfolded, but even though they could figure out the environment with their other senses, that was in the middle of the woods, where there was relatively little noise or other distractions. None of them were under the false impression that they would be able to do the same thing on a battlefield with explosions going off all around them. Troy balled his hand into a fist, and it started to glow again.
"He trained his animal spirit; he relies on it, unified with it, and takes his strength from it." Troy told her. "He taught me to do the same. I've increased my understanding of my animal spirit so much under him. In time, learning to fight with only one leg just kind of fell into place. I can now almost fight as well without the prosthetic as I can with it."
"That's incredible." Emma whispered, as his hand stopped glowing. She stepped closer to him. "You said something about some group?"
"I joined a support group that helps people learning to deal with life after disabilities." Troy told her. "Allison recommended it to me actually. It's the same one she joined after her car accident. It was a huge help to talk about things. The weird feelings I'd get from where my foot should be, getting used to the way the prosthetic feels...it really helped me get to a good place."
"It sounds like it." Emma told him. She drew in, kissing him softly. "I really did miss you."
"I missed all of you." Troy answered. "We should get inside, the others will be getting up soon, and we should be ready for when they do. I don't want anyone to worry."
"Worry?" Emma asked. "What about?"
"Jordan's gone." Troy told her, handing her the letter Gosei had left. "Gosei took him away in the night."
"Wait, Jordan's gone?" She asked. "And you're telling us not to worry?"
"If you'd asked me a couple of months ago, I'd have answered differently, but there's one thing I've learned in all of this." He told her as he headed inside. "Even the bad stuff happens for a reason. We just have to have enough faith to wait until we see what that purpose is."
As he headed inside, Emma just felt confused. She was happy Troy was back, and she couldn't believe the new strength he had returned with, but there was something odd about the whole conversation, something she couldn't quite put her finger on.
On The Armada Command Ship, Damaras was on the bridge, going over and over the inventory of his remaining resources. Although not much remained of his biological body, given his long and storied career with The Armada leading to him going to the bionics lab more than a few times, he felt a huge wave of panic. What remained of his stomach felt twisted, and he was constantly ill. His heart, which normally felt very little, was running cold, and felt like it was about to beat its last at any moment.
He had always known that siding with Vrak in his scheme to depose Vekar was a risky option. Despite his many feelings, as his only legitimate son and heir to the throne, Emperor Mavro had protected him his entire life. It was the reason he had assigned Damaras, one of his most successful and trusted generals to him in the first place. He had even told Damaras himself that he felt if he was at Vekar's side, even HE couldn't foul up invading this sector of the galaxy.
When Vrak had engineered Vekar's demise, he knew the Emperor wouldn't be happy, but once they had the Earth, once they had eliminated those responsible and avenged Vekar's "tragic" demise, he would come to accept Vrak as his new heir. Unfortunately, he hadn't factored in one thing. He hadn't factored in Lavira's relationship with the Prince. Although he was certain she would have covered her tracks to the point that the Emperor would never find out, he was certain she was the one that had disabled the teleportation system, trapping Vrak on the planet. Even if he had defeated the Rangers and stopped them disabling the Planet Buster, he would have been on the planet when it was destroyed. Whatever happened, Vrak would have been destroyed.
He now knew that his only hope of surviving the Emperor's wrath was to avenge his fallen sons, and to do so before he got word and arrived to do the job himself. It was like Lavria had said, on his watch; both of the Emperor's sons had been murdered. It was the kind of failure that he was certain he would never survive.
Vrak had used all of the Planet Busters in his last scheme, so he didn't have the kind of ordinance required to simply destroy the planet from under the Rangers. His fleet now only had a few dozen ships, certainly not enough to mount a significant invasion. His stocks of Kingsmen and Bruisers had been completely exhausted, and he no longer had any Commanders.
"X-borgs?" He roared. "All I have left are X-borgs?"
He scanned the whole ship, hoping that there was something he had missed. He couldn't believe that he had been left functionally unarmed against the whole planet. Vekar, for his careless disregard for his resources and troops, was also a nervous general, who felt most comfortable when he was surrounded by stockpiled weapons to throw at any enemy that threatened him and was quick to requisition more weapons. Vrak on the other hand was always planning ahead, and he found it hard to believe that he would not have some kind of back-up plan on hand. However, after scanning the whole ship, he confirmed that he was down to virtually nothing. He eventually just hit a command, sending down a squadron of his X-borgs, only to hear a derisive laugh from behind him.
"Perhaps you could always try asking them nicely to let you take the planet?" Lavira chuckled as she entered the room, seeing the desperation in Damaras as he roared in frustration at his predicament. "It would do about as much good as those X-borgs."
He turned to her and pointed to her in warning.
"Don't try my patience Lavira!" He snarled. "You know how dangerous I can be!"
"I know how dangerous you USED to be." She taunted him. "The mighty Damaras, the warrior capable of decimating a planet single-handed...who hasn't graced a battlefield himself in...how long has it been again?"
"Keep pushing Lavira!" He warned her. "Keep pushing and you'll find out just how dangerous I can..."
Just then, there was a huge blast, and a flash of light, brighter than a thunder flash. Before they knew it, the whole ship was shaking as explosions started to go off all around them.
"What's happening?" Damaras asked. "An enemy attack?"
This was indeed a worrying prospect for them. With their resources so depleted, they were well aware that they were vulnerable. The Earth might not have anything that could harm them, but there were other worlds not too far from them that were not on good terms with The Armada. Aquitar, Triforia, Xyberia...if a fleet from one of those planets had found them, they were in deep trouble.
They stumbled to the windows as they tried to get a view to see what was happening. All of their remaining support ships were being attacked by an unseen foe. Ships started to streak into view from hyper-speed, blurring into view. Damaras staggered back.
"Oh shit!" He muttered. Lavira just smiled as she saw they were Armada ships, more than she could count coming into view. The ones closest to the ship were purple, which meant specifically they were Royal Escort. She just smiled.
"It looks like daddy's home." She said in a satisfied tone, looking to Damaras. "Now you're in for it."
The wall opened up behind the throne that used to belong to Vekar, into a long passageway with a red carpet. It was the direct link between the transport docking area and the throne room, one exclusively reserved for the Emperor.
"Make way for Emperor Mavro!" A Kingsman declared as they started to march into view. "Bow down before His Royal Highness!"
Damaras and Lavira stood in the middle of the room, watching as two Kingsmen marched out, followed closely by the unmistakable form of Emperor Mavro. Behind him were two other creatures, one of them that they recognised as Redker. The other was a Commander with golden armour that brought up the rear.
"Your Majesty!" Damaras declared as he and Lavira both knelt before him, bowing down reverently. Lavira still had a smirk on her face, thinking about the fate that awaited Damaras. "I..."
"As you can see Damaras, your entire fleet...what was left of it...has just paid the price for your dismal failure to take over this planet, and to protect my sons!" He declared regally as he sat in the throne. Redker and the other Commander flanked him, standing to attention, awaiting his orders.
"Emperor, I can explain!" Damaras protested.
"Take Damaras into custody on the crime of high treason!" He shot back, completely ignoring Damaras' attempts to protest his innocence. He didn't have any interest in what he had to say. All he knew was that his sons were dead, and he had assigned Damaras to the task of ensuring that didn't happen.
"Sire!" He again tried to protest, but Redker and the other Commander were already coming his way.
"Your incompetence cannot be ignored any longer!" He roared.
"What?" Damaras asked incredulously.
"You were meant to protect the Prince and you FAILED!" Redker screamed, raking his claws across Damaras' face, sending sparks flying. "You were meant to protect Vrak, and he was murdered!"
He raked his claws across Damaras' chest too, but the cyborg barely even flinched at his attacks. They were more like slaps to him than any serious attempt to harm him. It was more about humiliation than anything else. Damaras didn't dare to fight back. Despite his genuine belief that he had done the Empire a favour by removing the weak and incompetent Vekar, he was still completely devoted to The Emperor.
"You allowed both of my cousins to die!" Redker screamed at him. "Now, you will suffer!"
"Inept fool, not only did you not protect them, you stood back and watched them be destroyed!" The other general reminded him. Lavira stood up.
"My Lord, it wasn't all his fault." Lavira stated. This caused Damaras to look at her, completely taken aback. This was what he was sure she wanted. She wanted him to be destroyed for his part in her fiancé's demise. Because of him, she had missed out on marrying into the family, and becoming in line to be a monarch! Why would she defend him?
"Prince Vekar ordered him to stay behind! He insisted on going to the planet in his Megazord to face the Rangers alone!" She told him. "Damaras couldn't disobey a direct order!"
"Quiet!" The gold-plated General declared. "You're lucky you don't get worse than this!"
He blasted Lavira to the floor, at which she stopped moving, completely stunned. Mavro looked to Damaras as his Kingsmen seized him.
"I don't care what your orders from Vekar were; you had orders from me to protect him, even from himself!" Mavro reminded him. "Take him away! I will decide a suitable punishment for him later!"
"Sire, please!" Damaras pleaded with him. "Allow me to redeem myself!"
His pleas fell on deaf ears though. The Emperor just glared at Lavira.
"As for you...you are confined to your lab from now on!" He told her. Her face fell.
"But...but Your Highness...I was devoted to your son!" She protested. He just scoffed.
"I know about your relationship with him, but as far as I can see, you were just a...concubine." He told her. "You are no use to me here, so I'm putting you where you are most use to me! Fit her with a restraint and confine her to the lab. I don't want to see her again!"
Lavira was grabbed by the gold-plated General, who dragged her from the room, screaming her protests. Redker snapped his fingers, at which another Kingsman came in, carrying a portrait of Prince Vekar, trimmed in black.
"Your Highness, I took the liberty of having this prepared." He told him. "I thought it might bring you some comfort to hang this behind your throne."
"Hang it up." He declared, at which the Kingsman did as he was told. "Damaras has failed me, but the Power Rangers did the deed! They destroyed my sons! For that, I will destroy them!"
Back at the Goodall place, breakfast was taking on more of a feeling of feeding time at the zoo. With fifteen people in a house only designed for a family of four or five, it was more than a little cramped, and people were getting in each other's way. Ernie was keeping on top of making food and handing out drinks as people prepared for the day ahead.
Allison was outside, in the front garden. She didn't take it personally, no one asked her to go outside, but being in a wheelchair made getting a space difficult at the best of times. When the house was full like this, she actually found it preferable to be outside. Jake came out, carrying a couple of bacon sandwiches and a stool, placing the stool down next to Allison before sitting down. He handed her the plate, taking a sandwich himself.
"Bacon?" She asked. He just shrugged.
"I kind of had to let the whole kosher thing slide while I was on the run." He told her. "I have to admit, I don't necessarily think I was missing much, but bacon is pretty good."
"I guess a lot has changed." Allison replied. "How's Emma?"
"She and Louise are going to the hospital soon." Jake told her. "They've both been handling things pretty well."
"I guess having a full house didn't help much." Allison stated. "I guess once we all go back home and they have more space, it might help."
"Go back home?" Jake asked her. Allison just looked to him.
"Jake, we were only here because you were worried about Vrak coming for us." She reminded him. "Vrak's gone now. We don't need to squeeze into one house now."
"What if I like being close to you?" Jake asked. "I mean, it's been a long time, and I was hoping while we were in town, we could catch up."
Just then, his morpher bleeped. He was about to answer it, but the others were already on their way out the door.
"Jake, attack at the mall!" Troy told him. "Come on, let's go!"
Jake just looked to Allison regretfully. She leaned in, kissing his cheek.
"You know where to find me when you're done." She told him. With that, Jake ran off, forcing down his sandwich as he went.