Back in the "camp" that Vrak had set up for the Rangers, they were all starting to settle in for the night. They still didn't know EXACTLY how Vrak intended to get rid of them, but the one thing that was clear was that he was in no hurry. His troops still occasionally brought back another Ranger they had found, throwing them into the holding area to be tended to by the others, so it looked like he was waiting until he had all of them in one place. The only thing that was clear looking around though was that this would not take much longer.
Wes approached Jen, who was cleaning up some of her wounds. She had been brought in around half an hour before. Her Time Force training gave her some idea of the kinds of things that fugitives did to evade capture, meaning she had lasted a lot longer than the others. However, eventually they had found her looking for some food in what was left of a Thai restaurant. Wes approached her, offering her a cup.
"It's coffee." He said with a smile. "Strong enough to stand the spoon up in, just the way you always liked it."
"Thanks." She said as she took it, setting it down a little way from her. Wes saw her struggling with a bandage, trying to apply it to her forearm. He let out a small laugh and reached for it, taking the bandage. Jen just let him start to wind it around.
"Even after all these years you're still trying to do everything yourself." He teased her. Jen just looked to him as he dressed the wound, securing it with a piece of tape. As she took the coffee, he sat with her. "Got to admit, you lasted well. Even a couple of the ninjas were brought in before you."
"I'm Time Force, remember?" She responded as he carefully dressed the wound. "Alex is the real master fugitive though. He led us on a merry dance for months. Sometimes I'm not convinced we'd have caught him if he hadn't led us straight to him."
"Yeah, Emma and the others told me about how he borrowed the Q-Rex for Orion." He answered with a little bit of a tense note in his voice as he sat with the woman he had loved. "So...um...that's the only interesting thing Emma told me about."
Jen had seen this coming when she knew that Wes would be taking part in the final battle. Alex was still being monitored, awaiting a disciplinary hearing to decide if he would face any repercussions for his actions in the past. While it was accepted he hadn't had any criminal intentions in his actions, along the way he had broken a number of laws, and they needed to sort out exactly what he would and wouldn't have to answer for before they even began deciding if he would be punished for any of them. The upshot was, he wasn't able to come back with the rest of the team, and since Wesley still had the red morpher anyway, it was really the best choice to bring him back.
"When Emma told me about the Ranger keys and we didn't have them, I kind of figured that you'd have them." She explained as she looked away from him. "I gave Emma that hologram because I was sure she'd figure it out. I guessed she'd probably tell you when you crossed paths."
"Emma told me you named her Eleanor." Wes said with a smile. Jen just nodded.
"I remembered you always said you wanted to name a kid after your mom." Jen told him. "It just felt right, because...well..."
"Because you knew I wouldn't be around." Wes asked her. Jen just nodded, wrapping her arms around herself. Wes moved a little closer, pulling a blanket around both of them. As Jen looked to him, he held up a hand.
"Hey, it's just for warmth. I know you've moved on." He assured her. "Or...well...moved back anyway."
"Wes, what we had was really special, and I wouldn't trade it for anything, but since I got back to the future, I just felt it in my heart, Alex is where my future lies." She told him. "He's been amazing through all of this."
"So, a girl huh?" Wes asked her. "What's she like?"
"She's a pain in the ass at times." Jen said with a smirk. "She's so smart, and strong-willed, she's always getting herself in some kind of trouble."
"That sounds familiar." Wes responded. "I guess given the genetics she had to work with, there wasn't much hope for her being any other way."
"Alex is great with her, he dotes on her constantly. He spoils her rotten at times, and they have a great connection." She continued. "She pretty much idolises him. She's such a daddy's girl..."
"Her words tailed off as she said this, looking to Wes. He knew what she meant; realistically Alex was the only father she'd known. It wasn't her fault that her father was a thousand years in the past. He forced a smile.
"So...um...does she know about...you know...me?" He asked her. Jen just nodded.
"We thought it was best to be straight with her." Jen told him. "We've told her a ton about you. I even let her have some of your old stuff from back in the day. She absolutely loves playing catch with your old baseball glove."
"You still have that thing?" Wes asked her with a smile. "That thing was mostly duct tape when I still owned it! I was sure that'd have fallen apart by now!"
"No matter how busy he gets, Alex always makes time to play whenever she asks." Jen informed him as she took a sip of her coffee. "When I watch them, I can't help smiling. In some ways, I think it's her way of being connected to both of you."
"I'm just glad she's happy." Wes said as he thought about her. "I just wish I could get to meet her or even just talk to her."
"I never meant to keep any of this from you." Jen assured him. "It's just...Time force is paranoid about its agents creating paradoxes. Alex had to pull out all the stops to convince everyone else that Eleanor's his kid just so they'd let us keep her. I couldn't have let anything happen to her."
"I'm really glad to know things worked out for you both." Wes replied. "Alex is a good man. I know he'll do anything to take care of both of you."
"I really wish things could have worked out differently." Jen told him.
"It's like you said, what we had was special. It's just...over." Wes answered. "You moved on, maybe it's time I did too."
"Listen, you still have that communicator right?" Jen asked him. He just nodded. "Well, it'd be breaking about a hundred Time Force regulations, but if we get out of this..."
"I'd love to talk to her." Wes interrupted her. Just then, they all looked up as another Ranger was dragged back to the camp, and kicked through the Lightning Field, joining the others. Aurico tried to get back out, but was punted onto his rear end as he hit the field and the charge went through him. Wes just sighed.
"By my count, that makes 117." Wes stated as Carter made his way over.
"That's what I counted too." Carter stated. "That means there are only two Rangers unaccounted for."
"Cole's nowhere to be seen." Taylor informed them.
"Hunter's missing too." Tori called over.
"A ninja and jungle boy." Wes chuckled. "It figures they're the ones that have been able to hide the longest."
"They might just buy us some more time." Taylor replied. "Let's just hope Vrak doesn't get impatient and change his mind about waiting until he has all of us."
In another part of the "camp", Orion was continuing to look around, testing out the limits of the Lightning field. As he was thrown back with another bright flash, Emma made her way to his side, grabbing him as he tried to stand back up.
"Orion, stop!" She told him. "You're only hurting yourself!"
"There has to be a way out of this!" He snarled. "There just HAS to be!"
"There isn't!" Emma snapped at him. "If there was, we'd have found it by now! We've got Anton Mercer, Billy Cranston, Trip...we have some of the greatest minds available right here, all working to find a way out. If they can't figure it out..."
"I've survived this long, through things I was certain would be my end!" He told her. "We can't give up! We can't..."
"We also can't just beat our way through that lightning field!" Emma interrupted him sharply. He got back up, heading for another part of the field. Ea screamed something at him in Andresian, causing him to pause. He turned back to her, looking at her in surprise.
"Where did you learn...?"
"After that incident with Gia, I figured a few more lessons in Andresian from Tensou were in order." She informed him. "I've got to say, there are a lot of surprisingly coarse expressions."
"Well, most of us were miners." Orion reminded her. "There weren't too many poets in my village."
"Come and sit down." She told him. Orion sat with her, at which she pulled in closer, taking a look at his hands. They were badly burned from where he had struck the field in his vain search for a weakness. Emma looked around for something to treat them with.
"Orion..."
"It's fine, really." He assured her. "I've had much worse."
Emma just looked to him as she started to dress his wounds.
"It's just...I've gotten out of so many hopeless situations before. I just...I believed that I was so close to getting through all of this. I was so close to seeing the end to the vengeance..."
"That's just it, what were you planning to do once this was all over?" Emma asked him. "Orion...vengeance can't be all that matters to you."
"Emma..."
"The way you hurt yourself like this really worries me." She told him. "If you don't care about yourself, I have to ask...what were you planning to do if you did get your revenge? What if you had managed to wipe out the whole Armada...what then? Andresia's still gone."
"I never thought that far ahead." Orion told her honestly.
"Orion, there are people that care about you." Emma reminded him. He just smiled at her.
"Emma, if there was anyone that would convince me of that, it's you." He answered. "No one's done more to try and salve the loss of my home than you."
"There's nothing we can do for those we've lost." Emma told him. "All we can do is try to live the best lives we can, so that their loss isn't meaningless."
She took a blanket and pulled it around him.
"Try to get some rest." She told him. "I'm sure this isn't the end."
Just then, they heard a commotion as someone else was dragged into view. This time, they were unconscious. As a lifeless form was thrown into the field, they saw that it was Cole.
"That only leaves one Ranger." Emma stated. "One more, and then..."
"Then Vrak's got us all." Orion stated.
In another part of the city, Jordan had taken to the streets, looking for any signs of the others. There were survivors all over, but as well as that, he found the streets still swarming with troops. He knew about Vrak's invasion, and he now knew that the others were powerless. Still, he hadn't gotten any sign of them. He didn't know where they had gone. He only knew that he was checking all the most likely places he could imagine they would look for shelter.
He heard a ruckus up ahead, and headed to see what was happening. He could see Hunter running through the streets, fighting for all he was worth against a group of the robotic soldiers. As Jordan was about to intervene, he noticed something odd. None of them were armed! They were going after Hunter without using any of their weapons. They tried using them as clubs and staffs, but they didn't try to utilise any of their energy weapons. Hunter did well, but he was quickly being overwhelmed by their numbers.
Jordan suddenly got a thought as he saw them struggling to gain the upper hand on the Thunder Ninja. They weren't trying to kill him; they were trying to capture him. They wanted him alive. Right now, no one was looking for him; everyone thought he had perished on the Command Ship when it blew up. This was probably the best chance he was going to get to find the others.
Despite his best efforts, eventually the robots managed to overwhelm Hunter, holding him in a tight grip that he just couldn't break. The Kingsmen signalled to the others, at which they dragged him away. Jordan followed them at a safe distance, making sure not to be seen, hefting a shoulder bag high onto his back.
Morning started to break over the rock quarry, and the Rangers were all starting to stir as the first light broke over the horizon. It had been a long and restless night as they awaited their fate. They all looked up as a shadow was cast over them by a winged creature. They all looked up to see Vrak descending slowly from the sky.
"Behold the Lord of the End Times, the Agent of your Destruction!" He declared as he slowly landed on the ground softly. He folded his wings up behind him as he stood before them. "Fall to your knees before me and declare fealty!"
"You know, you give a guy a pair of wings and suddenly he develops a God complex!" Zack said sarcastically.
"I am the most powerful and unstoppable creature in existence, and now...now there is no one left to stop me!" He declared as the last contingent of soldiers brought Hunter into view, throwing him into the field. The Rangers knew that this now meant there were no more Rangers free. They had all been brought into one place. "Fall to your knees and declare fealty! Bow to me as your one and only true Lord and beg for my mercy!"
"You never learn, we'll NEVER beg that of you!" Troy roared as he stood up and headed towards him. "Do what you want to us! As long as we're alive, we'll never give up!"
"The human race will never give up! There will always be someone willing to fight, powers or no powers!" Jason added as they all formed up before Vrak. "If you're going to do it Vrak, just do it, because if you leave us around, sooner or later, we WILL find a way to fight back!"
"Then you've made your decision. I can't say I'm surprised!" He declared. With a wave of his hand, his soldiers started to form up a perimeter around the quarry, cutting off any possible escape, even if they did somehow get out of the field. "Then I guess the only question is...who goes first?"
As he stood in the centre, with none of his soldiers nearby, the Rangers all looked at him curiously.
"You want to take us yourself?" Shane asked.
"Why leave such things to underlings?" He asked them. "Now, should I choose, or will you?"
"I'll go." Tommy stated.
"No, I will!" Conner shot out. "I want a piece of this guy!"
There was no shortage of volunteers as the Rangers all prepared to step up to the plate, but eventually they all looked around as there was a blast. They all watched as Jordan walked out of a large cloud of smoke.
"How about I go first?" He asked.
"YOU!" Vrak roared as he saw him. "I thought..."
"It's just like you Vrak; you want to start the next dish before you've finished with the first." Jordan declared. "I may only be half-Eltarian, but why start with the humans before you've finished with us?"
"Are you so eager to die?" Vrak asked him.
"Who said anything about dying?" Jordan asked him, hefting his bag. "I've got all I need right here."
"A secret weapon?" Vrak said with a small chuckle. "You really think...?"
"I'm giving you one last chance to leave with your life." Jordan told him with authority.
"I've come too far to back out now!" Vrak stated as he rounded on Jordan.
"In that case, I guess we do this the hard way." Jordan said with a little smirk. "I'll tell you what; I'll even give you a fighting chance."
He threw the bag into the middle of the quarry, a good distance from them, leaving him completely unarmed.
"Jordan, what the hell are you doing?" Gia screamed at him. "This is no time to..."
"I know what I'm doing Gia!" He answered.
"Arrogance always was an Eltarian failing, but most of them were never foolish." Vrak laughed. "I guess you're more human than you thought."
"I take that as a compliment!" Jordan answered, pulling into a guard. "Now, how about we see this end?"