I do not own this season at all. This chapter takes place sometime before DJ got the urgent call from Ellie.


Unlocking The Sacred Box Part Four


Max moaned as he slowly awoke to the faint sound of chuckling nearby. He never made it back to DJ's house the previous night. The stress was too much to bear, so he decided to walk it off. He traveled through the city and even through some of the darkest neighborhoods to wear off the pain that still embodied him. Alas, exhaustion got the better of him and he ended up sleeping on a bench in an abandoned park.

The laughter became very clear, and so did Max's vision, revealing a haunting figure approaching him, stroking its baton.

Max stumbled for a bit before jumping off the bench and onto his feet, shaking his dirty hair briefly and cursing under his breath. "Buck..."

Buck snickered. "Hello, Red Ranger. You see, I wouldn't love anything more than tearing you bit by bit. And lucky for me, I just so happen to obtain about 99 percent of the power I need to unlock this particular box."

Max tilted his head in confusion. "What are you talking about? We know you had the majority of excess power required to"

Buck then interrupted the red-haired boy. "Buuuuut...just so happened that those twin Rangers have supplied me with the amount I needed to unlock the box when they were battling my ill-gotten cousins." Buck laughed out loud as he held out his right hand. A burst of blue flames erupted from the hand. Once it died out, it revealed the Sacred Box, which now had a blinkering golden light that emanated from the inside. "Now, it would be more fun to take you Rangers all out at once, but I figured it would be more convenient to take you out one by one before destroying that good-for-nothing Po and his siblings.

Max gasped in horror. He couldn't let this happen. He had just lost his family. He wasn't going to lose his home to this freak. He immediately slammed onto his morphed and morphed into the Red Ranger before pulling out his blade and charging at Buck, his blade shining bright as Max powered it up with energy. He knew what to do at that very moment. If energy was what the box needed, then it was going to get it, but Max was going to make sure HE'S going to end up with the Box, not Buck.

He continued sprinting toward Buck just as he predicted where Buck would strike. Buck didn't even blink when he swung his baton downwards, but Max immediately dodged by doing a cartwheel maneuver to the right. Just as Buck looked over to where Max was, the Red Ranger slashed his charged-up kendo blade onto Buck's right forearm. Buck shrieked just the box was hurled several feet from where the two warriors were standing.

Max turned just as Buck raised his foot to stop him down, but the boy immediately rolled out of the way, getting up to his feet, and began dueling with the red-faced monster.

Max tried to get a least a jab at Buck, but with every attack with his blade, Buck would block it with his baton. Buck then stretched his tongue and used it as some sort of whip, striking the Red Ranger in multiple directions before firing beams from his eyes.

Max yelped in shock and pain as he felt his suit ignite. He then stumbled face-first to the ground, moaning in pain.

Max slowly flipped over as he could feel Buck's shadow cast over him. Buck waved his baton in anticipation of his next attack. "Too bad your Rangers buddies couldn't see this. No matter, I may need the Box to destroy Earth, but no need for it to destroy you." He raised his baton over his head for the final blow.

Max shut his eyes as he felt his whole life flash before his eyes in split-second frames. On his fourth birthday, he and his parents threw pieces of cake at each other. He also saw images of his younger years, after meeting DJ for the first time, the two of them took turns pushing each other on the swings. Meeting Maya for the first time and realizing how much her existence has impacted her life. From going from a carefree teenager who only had to worry about school and work, going out at night and spending his days off riding his skateboard all through the town and playing soccer with his friends, to taking the role of the leader of Earth's main defenders. Now it felt like he failed. He failed his parents, his friends, his world, and even himself.

But perhaps believing this was the end was jinxing it.

In a flash, several blasts of raw yellow energy were launched over Max, striking Buck before he could give the final blow. Buck stumbled back a few feet, stunned by the sudden attack. Max sat up in shock and turned to see the blast had come from Maya, who was fully morphed with the Blue Ranger by her side.

Buck growled as the Blue and Yellow Rangers rushed over to help their leader up. "You bumbling brats! So many years of planning is not going to be foiled by children!" He growled, forming balls of raw energy between his hands before launching them at the three.

"GET BEHIND ME!" Max ordered, stepping in front of his friends, who both hurdled together behind the Red Ranger to avoid Buck's attack. "Eagle Shield, full power!" He pulled out his shield, which managed to deflect any energy blast that came toward them. Instead, many of those blasts were deflected to several areas of the landscape, including the grassland and even the trees, some of which burst into flames.

"Okay guys, on three, you charge at this jerk!" Max ordered.

Maya shook her head. "But what about-"

"I GOT A PLAN! ON THREE!" The Red Ranger stated. "One! Two! THREE!"

DJ and Maya wasted no time, jumping out of the Red Ranger's barrier and speeding toward the red-faced menace.

Max looked over and there it was the Sacred Box. Now, it seemed as though it had just collected enough energy for it to activate, and with just a little bit of Max's own Ranger energy, he could unlock the Box, and it could be of good use against Buck.

Buck stretched his tongue just as the Blue and Yellow Rangers got close enough. Both were stunned as the tongue wrapped around them tightly, limiting their ability to move at all.

"Ew, it's too slimy!" DJ exclaimed as the tongue tightened its grip around his arms.

"If you believe you stand a chance against me, here's a shocker, and yes, that pun was intended," Buck joked before lighting up and electrifying his tongue. Maya and DJ cried out in pain as they felt their bodies heat up to a painful extent. Smoke emanated from the scene as the two were released from the grip, staggering to the ground. "YOU RANGERS CAN'T DEFEAT ME!" Buck shrieked before letting out a cackle that echoed throughout the area.

"Screw this guy," DJ growled, limping back up to his feet, clutching his chest in pain.

"DJ, wait," Maya pleaded before wincing in pain. The Blue Ranger ignored her and grabbed his blade, marching over to the red-faced monster, with Maya limping close behind.

Watching his friends get manhandled by Buck, Max looked hesitantly to his right, still keeping his shield up just in case Buck tried something. He skidded carefully over a few feet to the right as Buck battled the Yellow and Blue Rangers.

Buck slashed both the Yellow and Blue Rangers away each with a swing of his baton, launching them near a bank by some rushing water. He then turned and noticed Max was just about a foot away from the Sacred Box.

"Oh, no you don't!" He stretched his tongue out for it to travel over 50 feet, wrapping around Max's leg. Max nearly tripped as he struggled to his balance, but that was lost as Buck was reeling his tongue backward, tightening its grip around Max's ankle, and pulling him further away from the box.

"Eagle talons, engage!" Max called out. On queue, long black talons stretched out from each one of his fingers, ripping through the fabric of his gloves. The Red Ranger grunted as he dug the talons deep into the ground, hindering Buck's ability to reel him in with his mighty tongue.

His body stretched as Buck's tongue pulled roughly. Dirt began to make its way through the gloves. Max was straining every muscle trying to hang on tight but it was clear to him that he wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer. The only hope was the Sacred Box, which was just a few feet in front of where Max was, hanging on for dear life as the tongue grip around his legs started to grow tighter and tighter.

Maya and DJ both looked up from where they were lying on the far east side of the park. They both gasped at the situation Max was in. "Max, NO!" Maya screamed.

Buck cackled as he started pulling on his tongue. "You won't make it, Red Ranger! Soon, this world will alas be mine! MINE!" He laughed evilly before green plasma arrows struck his tongue from the side. He was stunned before looking over to the far west side, where the Green Ranger stood, preparing to fire yet another bow.

Just then, the White Ranger jumped over the Green Ranger, doing a somersault and striking Buck's tongue with her lance, setting Max free.

Buck reeled whatever was left of his tongue back into his mouth before scowling at the twins. "Oh, if it isn't you two?"

Maya and DJ managed to sneak around Buck just in time to meet with Donnie and Bonnie. "Sorry I didn't give you guys the memo that he was here," Maya apologized.

"No problem," Donnie simply replied.

"She was obviously talking to me," Bonnie revolted, with a hand on her hip.

Donnie groaned. "Well, who the heck cares?"

DJ sighed as he shook his head. "Guys, please not now."

"Hey Rangers, let's play a game!" Buck pulled out both of his eyes. It wasn't much of a problem, as he could regenerate new eyes almost instantly, which bulged out after he had removed the two previous eyes from their sockets. "Let's play...dodgeball!"

Buck launched the eyeballs directly at the Rangers. "Incoming!" DJ called out, but it was too late. The balls exploded on impact, knocking the four Rangers to the ground.

"Ha! I guess that's enough power, if I say so myself...wait!" The realization from his release of the Red Ranger struck Buck like a lightning bold as he turned his head and nearly felt himself a heart attack as Max stood proudly, his blade in one hand, and a particular box in another.

"No, no, NO!" Buck cried out, wielding his baton, pointing it threateningly at the Red Ranger. "I believe that belongs to me!"

Max chuckled. "Nah, it belongs to us, and let me just say that I have no patience for thieves!" He declared. "Now let's see what this baby can do." He slammed the butt of his blade on top of the box, causing it to unlock. "BLACK BELT MODE!"

And with that, a mini tornado consisting of red and gold winds swirled around Max. The entire area of affected by the gushing winds, as Max's friends all struggled to get back onto their feet following Buck's attack, and Buck stumbled a bit, his hand over his face.

Once it was over, the tornado settled, revealing Max in a new body of armor, much to the amazement of all four Rangers.

"Woah!" Bonnie stammered.

"Look at Max!" Maya squealed in excitement. All four rangers were mesmerized by Max's new look. The beak over the visor was now doubled in size. The visor itself, which was a triangular V-shaped resembling a beak was now colored in red that was still transparent, giving Max a more advanced computerized vision. Long, red mechanized wings were stretched from Max's, and to top it all off, he was wearing a red vest, silver steel gloves, and red glittered boots. The usual gold belt that was wrapped around his waist was now replaced with a black belt, and his sword was now red and doubled-edged.

"Check me out!" Max boasted.


"Dad, look!" Ellie exclaimed, shaking in excitement. Her father rushed over to her side and observed the action that was being displayed on Ellie's computer screen.

Uni let out a laugh out of pure shock and amazement. "He did it...he actually did it!"

Ellie looked up at her father with a huge grin on her face. "You know, the rules you previously mentioned for the most part only apply to rookies. That means some of the rules now do not apply to him, since he had upped the ranks and is not a rookie anymore. So..."

"We will give him the good news afterward. Let's observe and help in any way we can."


"No! It took me years of planning in order to execute this plan! Waiting for Po to return, using his monsters, risking my own life under his administration...just for my genius plan to be foiled by YOU!" He hatefully spat out at the now armored Red Ranger.

"Years, huh? Let's measure how long it will take for me to bring you down for good, Buck!" Max said hostilely before inserting the box into a green rectangular above the handle of his double-edged blade.

Buck repeated his eyeball attack, yanking his two eyeballs before taking them un-coordinatively at the Red Ranger, who nearly dodged the explosive attack by zipping upwards with his wings.

"Whoa!" The Blue Ranger exclaimed, looking up at the now-flying Red Ranger.

Max's vision was now into Designation sight mode, now locking in on Buck as the former was flying around. Max then flew downward toward the red-faced Humanitor. "Double Edge Attack!" He slashed Buck with one edge of the sword before the latter could defend himself, knocking the baton out of his hands. Max steered upwards, before slashing Buck once more with a powerful strike while he was upside-down. Buck was knocked to the ground, shouting in pain and kicking his legs in frustration.

Max landed, skidding his feet to a stop. He turned toward Buck just as his friends regroup with him.

"Max, look at you! You look like a boss!" DJ exclaimed, still in shock and excitement.

"I know, right? This box is awesome!" Max stated. Then 5 rangers averted their attention over to a wounded Buck, who managed to get back up to his feet, grumbling incomprehensible words that were undoubtedly related to his frustration of his plan foiling, and the idea that the Rangers had a 1-up over him.

He put his hands together to maneuver his final attack. Max took notice of this and barked out his last order. "Combine the weapons, I'll take care of the rest!"

The Rangers quickly obliged. Using their weapons, including Max's shield, they put together the cannon, with Maya commandeering it. She pointed the weapons at Buck, preparing to amplify its firepower using the Sacred Box.

"Fire in the hole!" Maya pulled the trigger and fired. The blast came just in time as Buck launched a glowing ball of raw energy toward the Rangers.

The two attacks collided, resulting in an eruption of energy that stunned Buck and even pushed the Rangers back, except for Max, thanks to his new armor. He took this opportunity to charge up his sword, before using his wings to fly directly toward Buck.

"I can take you!" Buck yelled, blinded by the sudden eruption, waving his arms violently in multiple directions.

"SUPER AIR GUSH!" Max called out, before giving all of his strength in this final slash. He flew through Buck, slicing the villain's abdomen.

"No, no, NO! This isn't happening! THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MY BIG MOMENT! MINE! THIS WAS NOT HOW IT WAS SUPPOSED TO END!" Buck cried out before his body gave way and he collapsed to the ground, his body then detonated on the ground, sending blades of burnt grass flying through the air.


"Idiot! Absolute idiot!" Po exclaimed.

"Well, he could be a useful idiot!" Sky declared, forming the hydro-fertilizer between her hands. "May I?"

Po grumbled as he tiredly sat on his throne. "Go ahead...I'm looking to be entertained anyway."


To be continued...