The Rangers had called the Megazord, and were taking Trapsaw to task, trying to keep him from the city. Although he was a clumsy and comparatively unskilled opponent, the fact he had been gigantified always carried an element of risk. Even the most harmless monster could accidentally fall on top of an occupied building or stomp on a car with a family inside.
The Rangers took a glancing hit as he jumped into the air, spinning around to bring one of his saws across them, only he had completely mis-calculated the distance and ended up staggering around, dizzy and confused, before face-planting into the ground.
"Is this for real?" Calvin asked as he looked to the damage report, looking for anything to concern themselves over, but barely finding anything more than cosmetic damage. "Is Cosmo just like, trolling us now or what?"
"He definitely doesn't seem up to the usual calibre." Preston agreed. "Hell, even his brother was more of a threat."
"Guys, we shouldn't take anything for granted." Brody reminded them. "He might not be the toughest opponent, but we still can't take any chances. At this size he can still cause a lot of damage."
"Can we just finish him please?" Sarah asked them. "My dad..."
"We get it Sarah, really, we do." Hayley answered, looking to Preston. "This is your day."
"I guess it is." Brody agreed, handing him the Master Blade. Preston stepped up to the Command Position, taking the Master Blade in hand. He pulled the ripcord, starting it up.
"Time to shut his trap!" Preston called out. "FINAL STRIKE!"
Trapsaw got to his feet, just in time to see the blade coming down right between the eyes. He started sparking as he fell backwards.
"Aw, no one fell into my final trap!" He whined as he fell to the ground and exploded. The Rangers all looked to the nearest camera.
"Show's over, Ninjas WIN!" Preston declared. They sent their zords back into hiding, while de-morphing, landing in an empty street. They all looked to each other as the battle ended.
"Guys, I really need..."
"We all understand." Hayley interrupted her sympathetically. "It's your dad."
"You want us to come with you?" Preston asked her.
"I appreciate it, but there were a lot of people hurt, the hospital's probably going to be restricting visits." She reminded them. She was no stranger to hospitals thanks to her adventurous and inquisitive nature.
"As long as you're sure." Brody answered, putting a hand on her shoulder. "We'll call you later. If you need anything..."
"Thanks Brody." Sarah answered as she ran off. Brody looked to the others.
"So, what do we do now?" He asked.
"I think I have an idea." Levi said with a smile. "Come on, I saw a hardware store just around the corner."
"Hardware store?" Hayley asked, looking a little curious as they all followed him. None of them noticed that a little way off, someone was watching them.
Once Sarah was clear, she went into a secluded alley, morphing again and throwing her Mega Morph Cycle star, forming up her bike. She leapt onto it and gunned the engine and blasted towards the nearest hospital. Her dad wasn't moving the last time she saw him, she wished she could have stayed with him, but she knew that other people were still in danger while Trapsaw was at large. She could only hope that he was alright.
2012, Panorama, Al was pacing the room, his computer keeping track of the market while he poured himself some more vodka. He needed to keep his nerve, timing was of the essence. He checked his watch, realising his wife had already been gone an hour. He was hoping that she wouldn't be long, even though she had said she'd be a couple of hours, he was hoping that she would be back soon.
His phone rang and he answered it.
"Al, what the hell are you playing at?" Jerry asked him. "I don't see a lot of movement on selling that stock."
"It's all about timing Jerry." Al reminded him. "It could still gain a couple of points..."
"A couple of points?" Jerry shrieked. "Screw a couple of points, we need to ditch that stuff before..."
"I'm all over this Jerry, you know that!" Al assured him.
"Dad, come and see what I've done!" Sarah called through from the workshop.
"I'll be through in a second sweetie." All called back. "Jerry, you're becoming twitchy in your old age."
"When we could be looking at twenty years...yeah, that gets me a little nervous!" Jerry told him. Al just smirked.
"Come on, have a little faith!" Al told him.
"Dad...something's not right here..."
"I'll come look in a minute Sarah." Al assured his daughter. "Jerry, my man, will you just relax a little?"
"Dad...!" Sarah called in, a little louder.
"In a minute sweetheart!" Al told her. "Trust me, just a little longer and..."
Just then, the room shook as a loud explosion came from the workshop. He could see smoke and hear the smoke alarm sounding, along with his daughter screaming.
"SARAH!" He called out, running into the workshop.
"Al?" His phone echoed as he left. "Al, what's going on? Where are you? AL?"
Back in the present, up on the Warrior Dome, Ripcon had returned, and completely predictably, he had been summoned to Cosmo's office to answer to Galvanax. Cosmo and Wrench were also in the room, and none of them were happy. Ripcon knew that his plan was a risky gamble, and would likely only pay off if he had ended up destroying at least one of the Rangers and returning with at least one Power Star.
"Trapsaw's a genius is he? Trapsaw just needs to work out the kinks does he?" Galvanax roared as he paced around the place. "He was a FOOL!"
"But boss, I was sure he..."
"Spare me your excuses; I KNOW you only wanted an excuse to force yourself into another grudge match with the Red Ranger!" Galvanax interrupted him sharply. "I don't care about your personal vendettas Ripcon, all I care about is getting those Power Stars!"
"That little stunt of yours cost us quite a bit in the ratings." Wrench told him. "We managed to claw a lot back with some careful editing, but we're still WAY below average for this broadcast!"
"I...I...I was positive..."
"Of course the REAL harm won't be apparent until next week." Cosmo interjected, glaring at Ripcon. "After a fiasco like this week, how many are going to take a hiatus? How many are going to stop watching until they hear the show has gotten back to the quality they expect?"
"Was Trapsaw the fool? Or was Ripcon the fool for hiring him?" Madame Odious asked as she appeared, seemingly from nowhere. Everyone in the room stared at her.
"Where did you come from?" Cosmo asked. "Where have you been?"
"I have other projects in the works that require my attention." She answered casually. "After all, SOME of us need to work at putting on a good show."
"Yes, indeed." Galvanax growled, grabbing Ripcon by the one remaining horn. "Pull one more stunt like that and you won't need to worry about retiring to the production team. You won't need to worry about retiring...at all!"
With that, Odious and Galvanax left to return to his chambers. Wrench just sneered at him.
"Maybe you should stick to what you're good at." Wrench suggested.
"Maybe YOU should keep your thoughts to yourself rust-bucket!" Ripcon snapped as Wrench left. Cosmo approached Ripcon and placed his cane under his chin.
"Don't worry Ripcon; I'm sure I can think of something for you to do." Cosmo told him. "After all, you do owe me for that dip in the ratings...and I have a feeling that you can earn them back for me."
Over at Summer Cove Hospital, Sarah ran in, shoving her way through the corridors in her frantic search for her dad. She had no idea what had happened to him after the attack, all she knew was that he wasn't moving when she last saw him. Being a kind of adventurous and experimentally minded kid, she was no stranger to hospitals. She had been brought in a few times for a variety of things, but she always knew basic rules. The first was, pain was good. As bizarre as it sounded, if something hurt at least it was known it was still alive. Doctors and surgeons only really started to worry if the patient started to report numbness. The other was that movement was a good sign, if someone didn't move...
"MOM!" She called out, finding her mom waiting out in the hall. She ran over, hugging her tightly.
"Sarah!" She responded as she held her tightly.
"I came as soon as I could; I was...what's going on? How is he?" Sarah asked her.
"I don't know honey, he's in surgery." Ellie told her daughter, gesturing to the OR.
"Surgery?" She asked, looking horrified.
"They're not telling me anything, he's been in there since he arrived." Ellie told her. "I've tried to get some news, but they won't tell me anything."
As a doctor came out of the OR, Sarah approached him.
"Please, that's my dad in there." She told him. "Is he alright? What's happening?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you anything, we're still working on him." The doctor told her. "Please, know that we're doing everything we can for him."
"But you've not told us anything!" Ellie protested.
"I'm sorry, but we're still working to stablise him." The doctor told him. "I can assure you we've got some of the best people available working on him as we speak. We should be able to tell you something soon."
"But you said that an hour ago!" Ellie protested as he ran off to carry out some other task. Sarah held her mom as they went back to the chairs to wait for any other news. They knew that doctors were always hesitant to give any promises or firm statements. It was all too easy for something unforeseen to come up. It was all too easy for one thing to change everything.
2012, Panorama City, Al was racing through the streets in his car, heading for the hospital. It wasn't as if they hadn't been there before, it was a reasonably familiar route, all things considered, since Sarah had a habit of letting her curiosity get the better of her before she considered the risks of what she was doing. In hindsight Al couldn't believe what he had done. Sarah loved working in the workshop, doing her experiments, and he had given her the keys to keep her entertained. He should have paid more attention. If he had just kept an eye on her like he was supposed to...
He looked into the back, finding her moaning and squirming in pain. Her hands and arms were badly burned from the accident. He didn't want to think what could have happened to her. He still didn't know what she had done exactly, he hadn't paid enough attention to her experiments to understand half of them or how they worked.
"Dad, it hurts!" She whined as he looked over to her. His blood ran cold seeing her. Sarah had been hurt before, she had certainly ended up in the hospital a couple of times, but this was one of the worst he had ever seen. His mind raced as he tried to think about what to do, but seeing his daughter sobbing in pain, he could only come up with one thought. It was way beyond anything he could do with the first aid kit they kept in the house. She needed a hospital.
"It's alright sweetheart." He said soothingly, reaching back to her. "We're nearly there; we'll be at the hospital soon."
He looked back to the road ahead, all sorts of horrible thoughts running through his mind. What was he going to tell Ellie? What COULD he tell her? He had given his daughter the keys to the workshop and sent her away just to get her out of the way so he could work. He still didn't know what she had done.
"Sarah, what were you doing? What were you thinking?" He called back at her. "You know not to do anything dangerous if one of us isn't watching you!"
"I thought I could..."
"You could have been killed! Is that what you wanted?" Al yelled back at her, his panic getting the better of him. He looked back as he heard something else, a siren. He looked into his rear view mirror, seeing a cruiser behind him. One of the cops was signalling him to pull over. He signalled as he pulled into the side of the road. He figured that in his distraction he must have been driving too fast, but he wasn't far from the hospital. He hoped once the cop got one look at his daughter, he would understand and send him on his way. As he stopped, the cops approached his car. He rolled down the window and looked out, hoping to charm his way out of things.
"Licence and registration please sir." The cop began. Al handed over his details. "Do you know why you were pulled over?"
"I'm sorry officer; I guess I was going a little fast." Al told him.
"Sir, you were going fifty in a thirty zone." The cop informed him. "That's before we talk about the red light you just ran through and the stop sign you ignored..."
"Please officer, I'm sorry but...my daughter, I'm taking her to the hospital." Al told him, gesturing to the back. "Please, I'll go to the station and pay a fine..."
"Sir, step out of the car please." The cop told him.
"Officer, my daughter needs..."
"This'll just take a moment sir." The cop interrupted him. Al stepped out of the car. As he stood up, he could see the cop had pulled out a breathalyser.
"Please, I need to get my daughter..."
"Breathe into this please sir." He stated. Al took a deep breath and blew into the breathalyser. He didn't have much choice. He knew he'd had a couple of drinks that day, but he'd had a lot more and been fine. The cop looked to the reader.
"Sir, you've just blown a reading of 0.21." The officer informed him. "Put your hands on the car please."
"You've got to be kidding!" Al screamed. "Please, I know I've had a couple of drinks, but if you just let me get my daughter to the hospital..."
"You're not going anywhere; we'll get your daughter to the hospital." The cop told him, pulling out his handcuffs. "Mr Thompson, you are under arrest for driving under the influence."
Back in the present day, over in Ribbon Tree Park, Levi and the other Rangers were there with some wood and some tools, putting together a new sign. With the announcement from Mr Tien that he would be donating the park back to the city; Levi had decided not to waste any time in making it official.
"Nice and level." Hayley said, resting a spirit level on top of the sign.
"Um...Hayley, you do now a spirit level doesn't work that way right?" Levi asked her. "The sign's curved; a level only works on flat surfaces."
"Well...it looks level anyway." Hayley replied as Levi used his electric screwdriver to drive in the last screw.
"I don't know why you couldn't have let me just do it with...you know...magic." Preston commented. "It would have taken a lot less time."
"Yeah, but there's something to be said for a little hard work." Levi answered with a smile. "I used to always love doing woodwork back home. I used to do all the fences."
"Hey, my brother used to like helping my dad with that stuff." Brody remarked with a smile as he finished painting the sign. He stepped away from it, admiring his handiwork. "Alright...I think that should just about do it."
"Ribbon Tree Park!" Preston read aloud, giving the park its new official name. Although that was how the locals had known it for years, since it hadn't been officially designated a public park, it didn't really have a name on paper. Now though, it just seemed to fit.
"Yeah, I just spoke to your dad on the phone; he's transferring it to the city Monday." Levi told them. "He said it'll be here for everyone to enjoy for years to come."
"Mr Tien really came through for the town on this one." Hayley commented. "Who would have known he could have gone from being so cold to being so cool?"
Preston just stopped and stared at her. Hayley realised what she had said and sucked her teeth.
"Um...sorry." She answered. "I should have thought..."
"Hey, I know what you mean." Preston answered. "He really did come around on this one. I'm glad that he did. The world will always need progress, but what's progress if you have to lose everything else along the way? Sometimes...people just need somewhere they can walk their dogs or play catch with their kids."
"That's a really good way to look at it." Levi agreed. Just then, they heard a crash from a little way off and saw a massive dust cloud billowing up. They all looked to each other.
"You don't think...?"
"Trapsaw's last trap!" Brody called out. "We never found it!"
They all ran for the dust cloud, hoping to help whoever had accidentally triggered the trap. As they got there, the dust was only just beginning to clear. There was a pit in the ground that had opened up. It looked like it had been rigged to drop anyone that walked over it into the pit.
"Hello?" Brody called out. "Is anyone there?"
"Hello?" A voice called back. "Can someone help me out of here?"
"Guys, take my hand." Brody called out, offering his hand to Levi. They held onto him as he lowered himself as far down the pit as he dared, reaching out. "I think I can just about reach. Give me your hand!"
A hand grabbed Brody's and he started to pull up. The others all started to pull them both back as Brody started to pull the unfortunate victim up out of the pit. They eventually managed to get him up onto the grass, where he was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Wow, that was wild. I didn't know how I was going to get out of there." The stranger began. "Thanks for that."
"Hey, we're just glad we could help." Brody told him. "We should probably get a hold of some park workers to cordon off this area, make sure no one else falls in before they can fill it in."
"Brody?" The stranger asked, looking to him. Brody just looked at him curiously. There weren't many people in the city that knew him particularly well. Most of the people he knew were at the school, but he definitely hadn't seen this man there.
"Yeah...that's my name?" Brody said, somewhat uneasily. "Do I know you?"
"Wow...I guess...I guess I changed a lot more in ten years than I thought." The stranger answered.
"Ten years?" Calvin asked.
"You really don't recognise me?" He asked, smiling. "It's me, Aiden."
"Aiden?" Brody asked, heart beginning to race. He had been young when they were separated, and admittedly he knew that a lot of the memories he had from back then were still just forming. He had been only eight when he had been kidnapped. Most people had no meaningful memories before the age of five, and even up to about eight or ten most had very few memories that were fully formed as the brain was still developing. The stranger smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, it's me Brody, its Aiden!" He said as he reached out for him. "I'm your brother!"
Brody observed the only instinct within him and reached out, grabbing his brother tightly, hugging him to him warmly. It had been a long time coming, but at last he had his brother back, and he never wanted to let him go.
A/N: Just a quick note to address something. I AM aware that the new season started this week, and while I'm halfway through the first season, I just wanted to assure you I have every intention of continuing into the new one once this wraps up. With the first half of the first season now dealt with, hopefully I'll be ready for the new episodes when they start here in September.