Chapter 28: Intruder Alert!

Ryne's heart was pounding in her ears as she stretched up as high as she could. She didn't dare breathe as her fingers, coated in a fine layer of chalk, brushed at the purple rubber that jutted out from the wall.

When it became apparent that she wouldn't be able to reach it, Ryne's eyes narrowed, and she bent her knees, bracing herself on the two pieces of rubber that her feet were on, and jumped up. Easily catching it, Ryne pulled herself up, and without waiting, she continued to scramble up the wall until finally she reached the top and hit the small button. The clock stopped, and a buzzer echoed around the room, followed up by applause from the audience.

"That was amazing!" as Ryne slowly descended back to solid land, she was met by Fane, who was smiling eagerly at her at the bottom.

"Weren't you supposed to wait in the audience?" Ryne asked her. Her face was flushed, both from exertion, and from the praise.

"I told her that she could wait over here," Wyatt, Ryne's coach, explained to her as he stood with the Princess. "Better view for seeing you climb up that like a squirrel," he chuckled. Ryne gave a nervous laugh, making a note to check in Nate to make sure that the squirrel DNA that she'd been infused with wasn't giving her an unfair advantage. "Great work kid. I'd like to see anyone beat your time," he reached out and patted her head, messing up her hair so it fell out of her hastily made ponytail.

"Hey," she swatted him away, which just made the man laugh again.

"I better go check in with the other judges. Grab some water, and don't forget your warm down," Wyatt told her, turning to leave as Ryne nodded.

"Come on, if you're so insistent," she told Fane, who just grinned in response and followed her through the large doorway to a corridor where the changing rooms where.

"You know, he's pretty cute," Fane commented as they made their way down the corridor. Ryne rolled her eyes at her best friend, not even surprised that she'd made such a comment.

"You know he's like, twice our age, right?" she pointed out, but Fane just shrugged in response.

"Barely looks it," she stated simply, and Ryne gave her a droll stare as they turned the corner. "And besides, just because he's older doesn't mean he can't be cute," Fane pointed out in a matter of fact tone.

"True," Ryne allowed, unable to deny this. "I guess he's just not my type," she shrugged, pushing open the door to the room that she'd been assigned. Instantly she went for the bottle of water on the table.

"Here," she glanced at Fane, who held out her wristcom to her.

"Thanks," Ryne took it, strapping it back to her wrist. She wasn't allowed to wear it during the competition, even after explaining to Wyatt that she needed it, so Fane had held onto it just in case there was any emergency.

"So what is your type?" Fane asked as Ryne began to stretch, letting her muscles relax after her climb. "A gamer in Red? An artist in Blue? A genius in Gold or a robot in Silver?" she grinned, wiggling her eyebrows at Ryne. The Pink Ranger groaned in exasperation.

"Don't you start," she grumbled. "Like I keep saying. They're like brothers to me," Ryne stated. "Not to mention Ravi and Nate are dating Roxy and Zoey. And I'm pretty sure Devon has been hanging out with that girl Kerry a bunch in his free time," she added. "And even if they weren't, I'm not interested," she said firmly. Fane blew a raspberry in response.

"What about-"

"If you even consider suggesting Lewis, I'll pull strings and get you kicked out of the country," Ryne warned sharply, and without looking up she knew that Fane was pouting.

"Okay, okay," Fane shrugged. "What kind of person are you looking for?" she asked, and Ryne hummed, thoughtful. She hadn't really thought about it.

"I guess, someone who I can talk to about what I'm doing. Not the Ranger stuff, but what I do when I'm not a Ranger. This, and I guess stuff like what I like to build," Ryne said. "Blaze kind of got a glazed over look when I talked to him about tech," she said, which made Fane snort.

"Asher's got her work cut out for her," she considered, and Ryne hummed her agreement. "I still think you let them off the hook too easily. You should have made them feel super guilty. Maybe gotten a puppy out of it," Fane grinned, and Ryne couldn't help but laugh.

"When would I have time to look after a puppy?" she asked, and Fane nodded her understanding. Between her Ranger duties and everything else she got up to, Ryne was constantly busy. "Besides, I know the only reason they took so long to admit it was because they felt guilty over everything, and I broke up with him because I knew they liked each other. I want them to be happy," she said simply. Fane couldn't help but smile at how simple Ryne made it seem. "What about you?" Ryne asked, and when she looked up, she saw Fane looking confused.

"Me?" she repeated.

"Unless there's another you in here that I don't see," Ryne said, sitting down to continue her stretches on the floor. "Anyone over in Zandar that you like?" she asked.

"Eh. Not really. I've met some cute people at the functions I have to attend, but nobody that I really feel a spark with," Fane shrugged, leaning against the counter. "Is it childish of me to want something like what my parents have?" she asked with a sigh.

"Better them than what my parents have," Ryne pointed out, making Fane start laughing. "But no, not really. Everyone wants love in their own way, and if what you see in your parents is what you want, then that's what you should go for," she said simply. Fane smiled at her as Ryne got back to her feet and gave one more big stretch. "Except for my coach. He's far too old for you," Ryne told her. Fane pouted.

"You suck," she complained. Ryne just winked at her.

The light mood faded quickly as Ryne's wristcom beeped, and both frowned. Ryne had the day off, so if someone was contacting her, it had to be important.

"Go ahead," she answered as Fane went to the door to make sure that Wyatt wasn't coming.

'I'm sorry to call you away from your competition, but we need you back at the base," Nate told her, looking serious. 'Can you get away?' he asked.

"I just finished my own climb. I'll tell my coach there's an emergency and head over asap," Ryne told him.

'Great. See you then,' Nate sounded relieved, before the communication ended, and Ryne glanced over to Fane. The Princess gave a small smile.

"The life of a Ranger seems less glamorous by the day, and it didn't seem particularly glamorous to begin with," she said honestly.

"Tell me about it," Ryne agreed.

"I'm here!" Ryne announced as the doors slid open and she hurried inside. "Sorry, had to at least change before I could leave," she apologised as she walked into Nate's lab where the others were waiting.

"You made it, that's what matters," Devon told her.

"So what's going on?" Ryne asked as she moved to stand with the other Rangers. They all turned to Nate, waiting for him to elaborate.

"Hang on, I'll just bring this up," Nate brought up a strange feed on his screen, which gave off a static sound when played. "Check it out, guys. SPD picked up this feed in deep space a couple of days ago, and sent it to us," he told them.

"Deep space?" Ravi repeated, frowning. "Why would they send it here? They handle all things intergalactic," he pointed out.

"Normally they would. But Commander Tate said that we needed to hear this," Nate explained, and hit play before they could ask any more questions.

'Warning to Grid Battleforce,' the message started. 'A dangerous criminal is on his way to Earth from across the Galaxy. His name is Ryjack and his mission is to steal valuables from your vault,' the warning made them all freeze. The vault was filled to the brim with Ranger technology. For anyone evil to get their hands on it, would be a bad thing. 'Ryjack is armed and dangerous. Be careful,' the voice warned, before ending abruptly.

"That's one scary greeting card," Steel complained. Ryne had to agree.

"We gotta be on guard," Devon told them firmly.

"I agree," Commander Shaw spoke up, looking grave. "I'll liase with Spencer about this. This is something that we'll need to work with SPD for," she decided, knowing that SPD were better equipped for handling a threat from space. "I'll also assign extra security to watch the vault. There's a lot of valuable Ranger weapons and technology in there," she considered, and turned to Ben and Betty. "For now, you two will work with Lewis to protect the Vault," she decided. The siblings both looked excited, while Lewis groaned. "I'll have more security join you asap," Commander Shaw told them, ignoring Lewis' reaction.

"Great…" Lewis grumbled, taking his phone out.

"Other plans?" Asher guessed.

"Not anymore," Lewis sighed. "I was going to go to the wildlife rescue centre," he explained, and Ryne glanced at him, a little surprised. She'd not had a chance to go back since they'd released the squirrel she'd rescued out into the wild. Before she could ask him about it, Commander Shaw's wristcom beeped.

'Unknown subject spotted in city sector Delta 7-9 trying to steal Morph-X,' the warning came through loud and clear. 'The bio signs are alien,' the Rangers all turned to each other in surprise.

"Either we've got a big coincidence on our hands, or that's gotta be Ryjack," Ryne considered.

"We're on it," Devon told the Commander.

"I'll reach out to SPD about this," she told them.

"Come on!" Devon led his team back out of the lab to head to find out what was going on.

Reaching the site where the report had come from, the Rangers followed Ryne's steps and kept close to the side of the Morph-X station where a strange figure was standing. After a quick glance at the rest, Devon moved out, keeping his blaster aimed at the stranger.

"Step away from the Morph-X!" Devon warned, and the stranger whirled around to reveal a mostly cybernetic body with a helmet. For a moment, he watched them silently, before glancing to the device that had been plugged into the pipes, charging with Morph-X. He reached out towards it.

"Don't touch that!" Ravi warned, his own blaster raised. The stranger stopped, standing straight again, and began to beep with a hand up.

"Nate, what's he saying?" Steel asked his brother, who rolled his eyes.

"Sorry, I don't speak evil alien," he grumbled.

"You don't?" Steel seemed surprised by this. Ryne frowned as she watched the stranger, trying to figure out what he was attempting to convey. Before she could, the alien shook his head and slowly reached for his device.

"Don't!" Ryne tried to stop the rest of her team, but they fired their blasters and sent the stranger flying. Devon then ran in close, keeping his weapon aimed at him.

"Grab him!" Devon shouted to the others, but as soon as he took his eyes off the alien, he knocked Devon's blaster away and vanished in a flash of silver light.

"Darn it!" Zoey grumbled.

"Ryne, wait!" they turned at Ravi's shout, seeing Ryne lifting the device that had been left behind. "Be careful, who knows what it can do," he warned her.

"That's exactly what I'm going to figure out," she rolled her eyes, staring at the machine in her hands.

Holding the device up to the light, Ryne studied it closely and frowned.

"I have no idea where to even begin with such a thing," she admitted, lowering it with a heavy sigh. "I hate not knowing things," Ryne complained, which made both Blaze and Asher laugh.

"Just leave it in the vault for now. When SPD gets here to help with Ryjack, I'm sure they'll be able to give a hand," Asher told her.

"I don't want to need them to give me a hand," Ryne grumbled, but shuffled over to the vault and opened it, stepping inside. She set it down on the shelf beside the Samurai Spinsword, and stepped back out to close the door. Lewis, Ben and Betty had gone for a quick break, having been standing guard both inside and outside of the vault for a few hours, and with Ryne and Asher around, they allowed themselves a few minutes.

"What's really bugging you, Ryne?" Asher asked, able to see that something was bugging her cousin.

"Is it about your competition today?" Blaze asked. Ryne shook her head, glancing at the young man who had taken on the job as Lewis' assistant, at least as a temporary try.

"It's about that guy out there, the one who owns that thing," she said quietly. "I don't think that was Ryjack," Ryne said. "There was just something about him that didn't scream dangerous criminal. He was trying to communicate with us," she said, and Asher groaned, closing her eyes.

"It really is hereditary that our family adopts the bad guys," she muttered. Blaze turned a confused look on her.

"Hey!" Ryne exclaimed, hands on her hips. "I'm not adopting him, and I don't think he's bad," she defended, but couldn't deny that there was a similarity with how she'd been feeling, and the stories that they'd both heard.

"Wait, your family adopts bad guys?" Blaze asked the two, who looked at him for a moment, before turning back to each other.

"He doesn't know about my dad, huh?" Ryne asked, which only made Blaze's confusion grow as Asher couldn't stop her giggle.

"Or Matoombo, or Minos. Or Fane's grandfather," she added.

"Or Morgana," the pair chorused together, grinning.

"Okay, now I really am lost," Blaze complained.

"Welcome to the world of dating someone in our family. It's nothing but confusion," Ryne told him with a smirk. Blaze turned to Asher, almost in hopes that she'd deny this statement. She just smiled and shrugged.

When they heard the door to the vault suddenly click open, all three turned to it, confused. "Uh…I'm pretty sure that there was nobody in there when I went in," Ryne commented. The three immediately stood together, ready to fight whoever had broken into the vault.

Ryne's eyes widened, and the fight went out of her, when the same figure from before walked out holding his strange little device. "You?" she spoke up, and he jumped, turning to her. Immediately his hands went up. "Guys, wait," Ryne grabbed Asher's arm, stopping her from attacking.

"Seriously? He just broke into the Ranger vault," Blaze growled.

"And look at what he took. The thing we took from him earlier!" Ryne pointed out. However, before they could do anything else, a red blur charged past and rammed into the stranger, knocking him backwards as Devon wrenched the device from his hand and forced him into an armlock. "Devon, stop!" Ryne tried to stop her leader, only for Ravi to run past and help to restrain the struggling figure.

"Grab his weapon!" Zoey shouted, and Devon passed it to Nate.

"They caught Ryjack!" Cruise exclaimed as the Beastbots rushed in, hearing the commotion.

"Stop! That's not-"

"Are you guys okay?" Devon cut Ryne off, and she bit back a frustrated shout. Blaze and Asher looked just as concerned, but before anyone could speak, Devon's communicator beeped loudly.

'Rangers, we've detected more alien bio signs in the city,' Commander Shaw's warning made their eyes widen.

"We're on it, Commander," Devon answered quickly. "Look him in detention," he told Asher and Blaze, who nodded.

"You've got it," Asher agreed. Ryne opened her mouth to protest, and Asher put a hand on her shoulder. "Whether or not you think he's Ryjack, he broke into the vault. We need answers. He'll be fine, now go," she directed Ryne to follow the others. Reluctantly, the Pink Ranger followed them out, wondering just what was happening now.

Hearing the terrified yells of the construction crew running away, the Rangers ran in the direction they had come from, finding two creatures standing nearby.

"Hey, freaks!" Devon shouted as they reached the two. As they got close, all of them stopped abruptly, recognising one of them. Though his armour was bright yellow, none of them would soon forget him.

"Vargoyle?!" Ryne gasped, hands going to her mouth. "But how?" she demanded. She had been there when Devon had destroyed the monster.

"That would be my doing," the blue rhino-like monster beside him spoke up with a laugh. "With his shiny new Compliance Collar, your old foe does whatever I ask. Get down and give me 20!" he ordered. Without a word, Vargoyle dropped to the ground and started doing push-ups.

"A Compliance Collar?" Zoey repeated, not understanding.

"I've heard of those, from SPD," Ryne growled, anger bubbling up inside her and calling her powers to her fingers. "Whoever wears one is compelled to follow whatever order is given them. They're barbaric," she spat.

"That sounds dangerous," Zoey gulped. Vargoyle was powerful, and to know that someone was able to put him under their control was a scary thought.

"Not as dangerous as me!" the other alien scoffed. "I'm Ryjack!" he declared, and their surprise only grew at that declaration.

"You're Ryjack?" Ravi demanded.

"I knew it…" Ryne whispered. "We went after the wrong guy," she glanced at Devon, who nodded.

"We'll figure that out after. Right now, we need to worry about these two," he pointed out. Ryne nodded in agreement.

"Change of plans," Ryjack decided, turning to Vargoyle as he stood up again. "We'll finish getting Morph-X after we destroy the Rangers!" he shouted. He then pulled a small device from behind his back. "Why don't we invite some friends to the party?" he laughed. With a laugh, he pressed a button on it, and a moment later, several strange creatures appeared in a flash.

"What are those?!" Steel gasped, not recognising the monsters.

"They're Putties," Ryne recognised the chittering creatures from the files she had read. There was another flash of light, and other monsters in white appeared.

"Whoa, they're new too!" Steel groaned.

"Vivix!" Ryne realised, not understanding how the monster was creating old foot soldiers.

"Show 'em what you got!" Ryjack shouted at them, and the foot soldiers ran at the Rangers. Ryne scowled, moving away from the other Rangers as the fighting broke out, and she dodged the attacks from the Vivix.

"I don't know how you freaks are here, but I'm gonna send you right back," blue sparks shot from her hands, before she lifted them and threw out the energy, ripping through the foot soldiers and destroying them.

"Zoey!" they heard Nate's shout, and all of them hurried to the fallen Yellow Ranger's side.

"Seriously though, what are those disgusting things?!" Steel demanded.

"Putties are the monsters that the Mighty Morphin' Rangers fought," Ryne said, shaking out her hands as more of the monsters moved towards them with Ryjack. "And Vivix fought the Dino Charge Rangers," her voice was a little quieter when she spoke again.

"I see one of you knows their history!" Ryjack sneered as he and Vargoyle joined the monsters. "They've fought Rangers for years," he laughed as they scowled at him. "And you, those powers you have, they're very interesting," he directed at Ryne. Her eyes widened, and she took a step back.

"Leave her alone," Devon growled, raising a hand as if to block Ryjack from the Pink Ranger. "I hope you like history, cause you're about to be history," he snarled. "It's Morphin' Time!" he shouted. The Rangers called on their weapons.

"ACTIVATE BEAST POWER, HA!" they Morphed, and rushed in to continue the fight. With their Ranger suits and powers, they were far stronger, easily overwhelming the footsoldiers. As Ryne destroyed more of the Putties, Ravi tossed Ryjack into the air, and Zoey kicked him into the side of a nearby cliff.

"Good job!" Ravi high-fived Zoey as she landed, only for the rubble to explode towards them.

"Nice powers!" Ryjack had recovered quickly and was walking towards them. "Now, why don't I show you mine?" lightning blasted from his horn, and slammed into the two. They screamed, thrown backwards before landing amongst the rubble.

"Ravi!" Ryne shouted in horror.

"Zoey!" Devon shouted as they saw it happen. "Quick, they just got hit hard," he called over to Nate and Steel as the two fought off Vargoyle. The two looked around just in time to avoid Ryjack's attack, and ran around him as he landed and moved to stand with Vargoyle.

"Beast Blast!" the two shouted at the same time as Ryne threw out more energy at them.

"Vargoyle!" Ryjack raised a hand and Vargoyle moved in between him and the attacks. The monster jerked, but didn't cry out as he managed to stay standing. "Blue and Yellow are done for. We'll get the rest later," Ryjack decided. "Say goodbye, minion," he told Vargoyle.

"Goodbye," the monster said flatly, before they vanished in a flash.

"Ravi!"

"No, Zoey!" Nate ran over to check on Zoey. Neither had moved, seeming unconscious, and lay there even as the other Rangers tried to wake them.

"There's weird energy around them," Ryne said as she crouched beside Ravi. "I don't know what it's doing, but whatever it is, it's not good," she said, looking up at Devon.

"They need medical attention immediately," Nate said, fear clawing at him as his girlfriend didn't wake.

"Let's get them back to base," Devon nodded.

Ryne and Asher stood over Ravi and Zoey, who lay motionless on the medical beds back at Grid Battleforce. Their skin had lit up with golden light, and while it healed the cuts and bruises that covered the two, the strange glowing yellow and green lights around their head hadn't faded.

"Enough," Lewis was the one to touch Ryne's shoulder, and the glow faded. "You two have been working long enough to heal them of anything. Whatever this is, it's not something you can heal," he told the two. Asher reluctantly stopped glowing as well. "You can't waste your energy, not when Ryjack is still out there," he added. Ryne nodded, but didn't speak.

"Lower the isolation field," Nate sighed, trying not to sound too disheartened. Asher walked over to Ravi, and lowered the shield down in front of his face. "Whatever Ryjack hit them with, it's causing some kind of alien infection. Their condition seems to be getting worse," Nate warned Commander Shaw as she looked down at her son.

"Even our healing powers don't cure whatever it is," Asher shook her head.

"Finding a cure is our number one priority," Commander Shaw spoke up, masking her concern quickly.

"We're working with SPD to speed things up," Nate nodded.

"This Ryjack is after us, and so far he's taken down two of our Rangers," Devon hissed, staring at Ravi and Zoey as Nate kept working, while Asher monitored their vitals.

"I don't think it's a coincidence that the other alien showed up in town right before Ryjack," Ryne spoke up, lifting the strange device up. "And now that we know for sure that he's not Ryjack, I'm even more convinced that there's more to him than we thought," she said, turning to Devon. He nodded.

"Yeah, you're right," he agreed.

"I doubt it. He was stealing Morph-X, remember?" Nate scoffed. "And he broke into our Vault," he added.

"And all he took was this," Ryne waved the device in the air. Nate flinched as if he expected it to suddenly blow something up. "He has the tech to get past our defences and straight into the Ranger vault, which is filled with incredible stuff, and he just takes this," she pointed out, shaking her head. She'd held back in speaking her mind on the matter, but now that they knew he wasn't Ryjack, she couldn't stop herself.

"It really is hereditary," Asher muttered under her breath. Hearing her, Lewis snorted quietly.

"It's worth investigating," Commander Shaw decided. "Try to communicate with him, but be careful," she told Devon.

"We will," he nodded. Lewis sighed, and walked to the doors.

"Come on. I'll show you where he's being held," he offered. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea, but he saw the look on Ryne's face. And he knew that they were running on borrowed time. They had to act fast to save Ravi and Zoey. "This way," Lewis walked out of the lab, still grim.

"Let's go," Devon told the others. Ryne followed him out, and Nate and Steel went after her.

"I hope this isn't a mistake…" Steel muttered. Asher looked down as Ravi and Zoey winced and breathed heavily, turning paler by the moment.

The four Rangers walked down the corridor, all tense as they worried for their friends. Ryne could feel her powers bubbling under the surface, and she clutched the device in her hand tighter. When they reached the holding cells, Lewis opened the door, and they all jumped when they found the alien slumped over on the ground.

"What happened to him?" Devon gasped as they ran in to help him up.

"I think he's sick," Nate realised when they saw how weak the alien was. "And getting worse," he breathed. Leaning against the wall, the alien gave a series of chirps, holding out his hand towards Ryne. Her eyes widened, before she realised he wasn't gesturing to her, but to the device in her hand.

"Guys…I think he needs this," she told them quietly. She met Devon's gaze, not wanting to act without the others agreeing.

"Do it," Devon agreed with a nod. She took a step forwards, but Nate stopped her.

"You sure? It's fully charged with Morph-X," he reminded quietly. However, when the alien gave another weak trill, Nate relented, and Ryne handed it over to him. He attached it to his helmet, and the light of the Morph-X covered his entire body, making the Pink Ranger gasp.

"He's rebooting!" Steel exclaimed, and after a moment the light vanished. The alien moved more confidently, no longer seeming weak.

"That thing recharged him," Nate realised, staring.

"So it's not a weapon," Devon glanced at him. The Gold Ranger nodded in agreement, while Ryne watched the alien press a button on the side of his head.

"Hello, Power Rangers," their eyes widened when he suddenly spoke in a language they understood. "I am Captain Chaku of the G-5 Galaxy Police Force," the alien introduced himself.

"Galaxy Police Force?" Ryne repeated, her eyes wide. "They work independently from SPD, but collaborate on any big threats," she explained when she saw Devon's confused look.

"Then he's on our side!" he realised. Chaku nodded.

"Yes, we hunt down criminals all over the universe," he said as they helped him back to his feet.

"Captain…Chaku, you said?" Devon asked, and he nodded. "I'm Devon. This is Ryne, Nate, Steel and Lewis," he introduced the rest of them.

"So is this how you treat everyone who comes to your planet?" Chaku asked, unimpressed.

"Sorry, we didn't know," Nate apologised.

"And to be fair, this planet is under SPD jurisdiction," Lewis spoke up. "Most who come to the planet follow the protocols and go through New Tech. They don't just show up and steal Morph-X," he pointed out. Chaku turned to him, and Lewis gave a pleasant smile.

"Lewis, don't be rude," Ryne frowned at him. "He's right, we could have been nicer," she pointed out.

"But-"

"Wow, a galactic police officer! That is so cool!" Steel stopped them before anything could happen. Immediately the air seemed to lighten, and both Ryne and Lewis couldn't help but smile at his excitement.

"I've travelled across seven galaxies to hunt down Ryjack," Chaku explained, deciding not to argue it further. "But I lost him when I ran out of power," he shook his head.

"That's why you needed the Morph-X. You needed to recharge!" Ryne realised. Chaku gave another short nod.

"Correct. I'm here to defeat Ryjack and stop his trail of theft and destruction," he told them, sounding angry.

"We appreciate it, Chaku," Devon said.

"We shouldn't have jumped to conclusions, but we received a warning that had us on edge," Nate explained, thinking back to the warning they had gotten.

"Yeah, about Ryjack…" Steel spoke up. "He's a real piece of work. He attacked our friends, and they're in really bad shape," the others nodded, looking just as worried. Chaku hummed.

"They weren't hit by the blast from his horn, were they?" he asked, sounding worried.

"Yes," Devon nodded as they wondered just how he knew this.

"Then they won't survive long," Chaku warned them, sounding more urgent now as he completely moved past their rough introduction. "We have to act fast," he said, and they quickly led him out of the holding cells and back to the lab.

"I've heard a lot of reports about people suffering the same symptoms," Ryne's eyes widened at the familiar voice, and they walked in to find Spencer standing with a tablet in his hand. "All across the universe," Spencer added, glancing to the pretty blonde woman beside him.

"Seems this Ryjack has been busy," Syd commented, looking worried. "Sky's gonna have a fit, this is something we should have been aware of," she said, hand on her hip.

"We won't have a lot of time," they looked around as Chaku strode in. Commander Shaw looked at the Rangers and Lewis as they followed him in, an eyebrow raised. When she'd said to look into it, she hadn't expected them to free the stranger who had been stealing Morph-X.

"And you are…?" Syd looked up as Chaku walked straight over to Ravi and Zoey to investigate them.

"Captain Chaku of the G-5 Galaxy Police Force," Chaku introduced himself to the pair. He looked at the two newcomers for a moment longer, seeming to take in their uniforms. "Ah, my apologies. It was my decision to take on Ryjack alone, without SPD's involvement. I'm sorry that you have been thrown in with no warning," he apologised to the pair. Spencer and Syd exchanged wary looks.

"Why-"

"It can wait until after," Devon spoke up. "Ravi and Zoey need help," he pointed out. Syd looked at him for a long moment.

"Why do Reds always have that attitude?" she finally turned to Spencer, who hid his smile as he watched Chaku scanning Ravi. Hearing her, Devon looked surprised.

"Syd is a former Ranger too, she was on dad's team. SPD Pink," Asher explained as she passed Devon, seeing his expression. Syd just winked at the Rangers now looking at her, and looked at Ryne.

"Pink suits you," she told the girl, who blushed.

"Hmm…I've seen the effects of Ryjack's horn shock before," they got back to the matter at hand as Chaku looked at his scanner. "Unfortunately, it can be devastating," he warned gravely. Spencer and Syd nodded, having read about it during their search for a cure. Most didn't survive the day. "It's critical that I treat your friends, immediately," Chaku told them, barely looking up at the group there.

"Please, help them," Devon's voice was soft.

"Stand back," Chaku urged everyone backwards as he lifted the isolation field from Ravi. "I can't promise this will work on your people, but it's worth a shot," he lifted his device, and pressed a button. A pale blue, almost aqua-coloured fog began to spill from the nozzle on the bottom, dense and drifting down towards Ravi for him to inhale.

"Cross your fingers and hope, guys," Steel murmured as Chaku did the same to Zoey.

As it became a waiting game to see if Chaku's cure would work for Zoey and Ravi, Ryne left the base, not able to sit around waiting for an answer. Her fingers were itching to work on something, but her worry had her mind too clouded even to work.

"Hey," Fane's arms wrapped around her as she saw the look on Ryne's face. "They'll be okay. They're Rangers, they're tough. They'll pull through," she soothed. Ryne looked up from the small trophy she had in her hands that Fane had presented her with in an over-dramatic fashion. It had been given to Ryne's coach when she hadn't been around for when the awards had been given out, and Fane had offered to bring it to her.

"It's just scary, seeing them lying there. My powers did nothing to help them," Ryne sighed. "I was so fixated on proving that Chaku wasn't bad, I should have been more focused on the fight. Maybe-"

"Maybe if you had, you'd have ended up the same way as Ravi and Zoey," Ryne's eyes widened at Fane's consideration. The blonde smiled at her. "Hey, if we're working on maybes, then we may as well consider that," she said, and Ryne looked down at the trophy in her hands again. Third place was more than she'd expected from her first competition. "You can't change the past. You just have to focus on what's next," Fane leaned against her, and Ryne hummed an agreement. When her phone buzzed, she quickly pulled it from her pocket to check the message.

"They're improving. The cure is working," Ryne told the young woman beside her, who smiled.

"See?" she nudged her, and Ryne's relief was visible on her face as she let herself relax just a little. "Can't always rely on powers anyway," Fane waved a hand dismissively, and Ryne laughed a little. Fane grinned, glad to hear it.

"You're right," she agreed, before her wristcom beeped loudly. "Go ahead," Ryne answered, her smile fading.

"Vargoyle has been spotted in the city," Devon warned her, and Ryne got to her feet. "Nate and Steel are going after a Gigadrone, and Captain Chaku and I are on our way to find Vargoyle. Can you meet us?" he asked. Ryne nodded.

"On my way," she replied, and handed Fane the trophy back.

"Maybe I should just keep it," Fane said, admiring the trophy. Ryne rolled her eyes at her best friend, who grinned. "Be careful," she said.

"Always am," Ryne replied, running off.

"That's a lie!" she heard Fane call after her, and grinned to herself.

"Vargoyle must be around here," Devon called to Ryne and Chaku, having met up with the Pink Ranger on their way. The two were Morphed, ready to take down Vargoyle again.

"Ah, the Red and Pink Rangers again!" they stopped as they found the monster standing with a group of Tronics. "At last, I get to crush you like the worms that you are," Vargoyle sneered at them.

"Old friend of yours?" Chaku asked, tone dry.

"It's a long story," Devon sighed, and Ryne nodded. She hated the sight of the monster, having had nightmares about him even after Devon had destroyed him.

"Then let's keep this chapter short," Chaku decided.

"Music to my ears," Ryne said, and the three moved into fighting stances.

"Get them!" Vargoyle shouted. The Tronics rushed at the three, who ran forwards to meet them.

"Bit ironic that the guy wearing a Compliance Collar is giving orders," Ryne considered aloud, calling on her Beast Spinners to cut through the Tronics around her.

"No kidding," Devon nodded. "You should give up while you can, Vargoyle!" he shouted as he swung his sword. It caught the metal collar around his neck, cutting cleanly through the metal. Vargoyle staggered backwards, before laughing.

"Finally, free from that Compliance Collar!" he laughed with glee. "I'm outta here!" Vargoyle tried to escape before either could stop him, but his device just gave an angry beep. "Huh? No Morph-X?! Then I can't teleport!" Vargoyle realised furiously.

"You're not leaving!" Devon declared, but as he moved towards Vargoyle, more Tronics blocked his path. He and Ryne cut through the Tronics, who seemed determined to stop them from following the monster as he escaped on an old motorbike.

"Enforcer Laser!" they looked up as Chaku fired a barrage of shots, destroying the last of the Tronics around.

"Whoa," Ryne breathed, impressed by his power.

"Sick moves, but we still gotta stop Vargoyle," Devon reminded, and they nodded. "Cruise, meet us by my current location," he contacted his Beast Bot.

"On my way!" Cruise responded, bright as ever.

"Come on," Devon led the other two back outside. In the distance, they could hear the much larger battle going on, as Steel and Nate continued to fight the Gigadrone.

"Devon!" they looked around to see Cruise arriving.

"Right on time, Cruise," Devon grinned to his partner, before their wristcoms beeped loudly.

"Vargoyle's headed to a Morph-X tower in the south woods, close to your coordinates," Commander Shaw alerted them, having been tracking the monster's location.

"Copy," Devon nodded. "Chaku, need a ride?" he asked the Captain, who shook his head.

"Thanks, but I've got my own wheels," Chaku stepped away from the pair. "Summon Galactic Interceptor!" he shouted. As they looked up, there was a flash of light in the sky before a vehicle of Chaku's own appeared beside them.

"Cool!" Cruise exclaimed. "Come on Devon, jump on!" he then changed into his motorcycle form, allowing Devon to jump on.

"Come on Ryne," Devon indicated for the Pink Ranger to get on behind him. She climbed on, holding on as he took off. "We've got some catching up to do!" he sped off at top speed, and they raced towards the woods where Vargoyle was waiting for them.

"Finally, their time is up," he fired his blaster, but they were too fast, avoiding the blasts that kicked up dirt around them.

"I'm so over this guy," holding onto Devon with one arm, Ryne leaned over and threw out a bolt of blue energy, slamming into Vargoyle. As he was stunned, Chaku leapt from his own bike and tackled him off. The two rolled through the dirt as Vargoyle cried out.

"Let's duel!" Chaku pulled a sword from the armour on his arm and ran at Vargoyle.

"Come at me!" he roared back, fighting all three as Devon and Ryne ran in with their own swords. They swung hard, but Vargoyle was as strong as they remembered, knocking the two Rangers back.

"Hey!" Chaku shouted, and dodged the blast Vargoyle threw at it. As it exploded behind the Captain, the lights on his helmet flashed. "Enforcer laser!" he fired another of the powerful blasts, hitting Vargoyle and making him scream in pain. "Alright! Devon, Ryne, are you with me?" he called as his sword began to glow.

"Of course!"

"Let's finish him off," Devon and Ryne raised their own swords, which glowed green with Morph-X. The three ran in from different directions as Vargoyle staggered.

"Enforcer Strike!" Chaku leapt into the air.

"Beast-X Slash!" as Chaku's sword cut straight down, both Devon and Ryne swung their own swords, and the energy came off their weapons in a bright flash to cut through Vargoyle's armour. Vargoyle gave one more agonising scream, before falling backwards and exploding.

"Nicely done," Chaku praised as the two grinned.

"You too, Captain," Devon said. Ryne nodded, glad that Vargoyle was gone once more.

By the time Devon, Ryne and Chaku had returned to base, Nate and Steel were already there.

"Great work out there," Commander Shaw told them with a nod.

"Good to see that Gold and Silver still make a great team," Spencer grinned, and Syd rolled her eyes at him.

"Red and Pink work great together too," she added, hands on her hips. Devon and Ryne exchanged entertained smiles.

"You did always work great with Jack," Spencer allowed, before smirking at her. "Better with Sky," he teased, and she hit him lightly. "Though I think you worked best with Bridge," he considered. Syd looked like she was about to hit him again, before deciding against it as she seemed to agree with him.

"SPD's Ranger team changes up every now and again. Promotions, people leaving stuff like that," Ryne clarified for Devon as he looked a little confused. As he glanced at her, he noticed the thoughtful expression on her face.

Their attention was diverted as Ravi groaned. Commander Shaw was immediately over by her son, as the last of the green and yellow pulsing energy faded from under his skin and the pained expression faded a little.

"How are you feeling, Ravi?" Commander Shaw asked as she lifted the isolation field and helped him sit up.

"Like I've been hit by a train," he groaned. Zoey didn't look much better as Nate lifted the field to allow her to sit up, but her boyfriend handed her the carrot smoothie he'd had made for her. Ryne gave a small sigh of relief, and Devon patted her head.

"I'm glad to see that you two have recovered," they looked up in shock as Captain Chaku spoke up.

"This is Captain Chaku," Nate explained quickly, seeing the two go on alert despite how exhausted they felt. "He's the one who sent us the warning message," he told them.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both," he said politely.

"He's the one that had the antidote that saved you," Commander Shaw added when they still looked confused. The last they remembered, he was breaking into their vault.

"It's thanks to him that you guys survived Ryjack's horn shock," Ryne spoke up, looking up at the Captain.

"Wow," Zoey breathed. "Thank you," she said as the pair slowly got to their feet.

"We were totally wrong about him. He's one of the good guys," Devon declared, patting Chaku's shoulder. The Captain gave a bashful laugh.

"One of the very good guys," Steel added.

"Thanks," Ravi reached out and shook his hand. "Sorry for locking you up," he apologised, feeling guilty.

"I understand," Chaku shook his head, not upset by it anymore.

"We shouldn't have judged you so quickly," Zoey was just as guilty, but Chaku shook his head again.

"All is forgiven," he insisted. "I'm proud to have worked with you, Rangers. It's true what the legends say - you're mighty warriors," Chaku said, and Syd looked up at Spencer with a smug smile. He shook his head, but was smiling.

"Yes, I definitely live up to the hype," Steel nodded, earning laughter.

"When I came to Earth, I had one mission. Stop Ryjack, the last of a notorious gang of intergalactic criminals," Chaku declared, determination clear in his words. "But it's always good to make new friends," he added, making them smile.

"Sure is," Devon agreed. "And we're gonna work together to take down Ryjack," the team nodded.

"Oh!" Ryne gasped. "I gotta go. Fane's gonna steal my trophy!" she hurried off, and Chaku turned to the other Rangers. Even with his helmet on, they could tell that he was confused.

"Don't worry, you never get used to her," Ravi grinned. The other Rangers nodded, as Asher laughed, unable to disagree with the comment. Lewis smirked.

"Funny, we used to say the same about Spence," Syd giggled. Spencer just rolled his eyes.

I'm into single digits of chapters left to write for this, but it's been a slow process. Hopefully I'll get back into the swing of things now!

Hope you liked it!

Please review!