Chapter 18: Artificial Intelligence
(Intro)
As the team returned from another Stormshock mission, they passed Zeke and his truck, which he named Trucketta, while he was watching Blador's Quest. "Join us next week for another intergalactic adventure on…" The announcer on TV started to say. "Blador's Quest!" Zeke chimed in simultaneously with the announcer. But then, the thunderstorm in the area caused the TV to go out. "Ugh! Blasted storm!" Zeke complained. With nothing else to do, he grabbed his metal detector and started scanning the ground for anything metal or alien in his case. Suddenly, the detector found something. "We got a live one here." Zeke said. He started digging with a shovel until he hit something metal. He dusted off the soft dirt and unveiled an artifact of Sentient origin. He pulled out a tape recorder and started recording. "Log entry 31-B/12. Uncovered alien artifact. Similar to Thorian Orb in episode 21 of Blador's Quest. Proceeding back to diner- I mean lab where I will conduct indebt analysis." He said, ending the recording. "YES! CONTACT!" He cheered, holding up the artifact high. Suddenly, lightning struck the artifact and zapped Zeke. Just then, the artifact started downloading data into Zeke's brain. Data about Sage, the Zodiac Guardians, and a secret Sentient Battle Zone. When the download was complete, Zeke fainted from the shock he received.
Meanwhile, the next morning, Grace and Zeke's grandkids were cleaning up the diner for the morning rush. "I wonder where Zeke is. I'm getting worried." Grace said. "Us too." The septuplets said simultaneously. "Okay, I'm going out to look for him. You kids get ready for opening until I get back." Grace said as she put on her jacket and grabbed a helmet before leaving the diner. She hopped onto her motorcycle parked outside and drove off into the Salt Flats.
After a while of searching, Grace found her manager lying on the ground, holding a strange orb device in his hand. Shocked at the sight of her manager, she parked her motorcycle and ran over to check on him. "Zeke! Are you okay? Speak to me!" She exclaimed. Zeke woke up with a big gasp. "I've got to find Vert, Olivia and their team!" He exclaimed as he recovered. "Whoa! Easy, Zeke." Grace said. "This not the time to be easy, Zodiac Pisces." Zeke said. Grace got confused at why he called her that. Zeke got into Trucketta and drove off. "Wait! Zeke! You need to go to the hospital!" Grace called out as she rushed back to her motorcycle and drove after Zeke.
Meanwhile, Vert and Zoom were racing on the practice track. Olivia and Agura were timing them. Vert and Zoom were on the final lap, going towards the final turn. "This one's gonna be close, Liv." Agura said. "Oh, this is exciting!" Olivia said excitedly. "Finally, a challenge." Zoom said as he caught up with Vert. But Vert was finishing his drink. "Oh, sorry. Were we racing?" He asked before stepping on the gas and speeding ahead. "Oh, nuts!" Zoom complained. Suddenly, as Vert approached the finish line, Zeke drove up to him in Trucketta, honking the horn. Caught off guard in surprise, Vert quickly moved out of the way before he collided with Zeke, spun out of control and skidded to a stop. "Vert!" Olivia cried as she rushed over to the Saber. Vert exited the Saber as Olivia reached him. Just then, Grace drove up on her motorcycle. "Vert, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" She asked. "Yeah, I'm okay, Grace. But Zeke, have you lost your lug nuts?! What's the deal?!" Vert exclaimed. "I know the truth about every single one of you." Zeke said before driving off towards the garage. Vert and Olivia looked at each other in confusion and concern before looking at Grace, who just shrugged.
Meanwhile, at the garage, Sherman, Spinner, Stanford, Talia, Rayona and Ivan were fixing up their rides. "Hey, Sherm, do we need this part?" Spinner asked, holding a piece from the Buster. "That's the brake, Spinner." Sherman said, deadpanned. Spinner shrugged as he tossed the brake. "Guys! We got company!" Zoom called. "Uh oh." Spinner said when he and the others see Zeke. "Well, darn right." Zeke said as he walked in with Vert, Olivia, Agura, Zoom and Grace following him. "No! Zeke! Wait!" Vert exclaimed. "Hey!" Agura exclaimed. "What are Zeke and Grace doing here?" Rayona asked as Zeke walked over to the Buster. "Triple Diuranium Crystal plating. An obvious alien alloy." Zeke said, deducing the Buster's armor. "Zeke-" Vert tried to say. "Fancy watch from Japan, huh? I think not." Zeke said, gesturing to Sherman's com-link wrist. Vert chuckled nervously. "And these! Sentient signs for Leaders, Scout, Hunter, Tech Support, Artillery, Support Enforcer, Medical Officer, Safety Officer." Zeke said, deducing the Sentient symbols on the team's shocksuits. "Uh, what did he just say?" Olivia asked in surprise. "Oh, I think you know, Zodiac Ophiuchus." Zeke said. Olivia gasped when he mentioned her past life's name. "That's right. And I know each of your past lives as Zodiac Guardians." Zeke said. The team became shocked at this while Grace was even more confused. "But if you kids are really in cahoots with the aliens, you'd need an underground base." Zeke said. "Uh, underground base? Nope. Nothing like that around here." Vert lied, trying to act innocent. "Yeah. We don't know what you're talking about, Zeke." Agura added. But then, Horace came up the secret elevator with a plunger. "Toilet's clogged in our secret underground base!" He exclaimed. The team groaned as Zeke looked on in excitement and Grace in shock. "Nice one, Horace." Sherman groaned. "This is bad." Agura said. "Very bad." Vert agreed. "Really bad." Olivia agreed.
Later, as everyone entered the Hub, Zeke and Grace looked around in shock and awe. "Cover me in batter and dunk me in the deep fryer! Crystal-based nanotech." Zeke said in awe. "I…I don't believe it." Grace said in surprise. "Greetings. I am Sage." Sage said as she, TRINA, Iguanarox and Zug walked over. "I'm TRINA, her assistant." TRINA introduced. "I am Iguanarox, former Vandal Warlord." Iguanarox greeted with a bow. "And I Zug." Zug introduced. Grace looked at them in surprise with her jaw dropped. Zeke fainted at the sight of real aliens, causing the artifact to fall out of his pocket. Sage and TRINA gasped at the sight of the artifact. Agura and Rayona looked at them in confusion, wondering what they knew.
Later, Zeke woke up in the medical bay and looked over to the team, pets, minus Sully due to his large size, slugs and Grace with the artifact. "What is this thing, Sage? It feels familiar." Vert asked. "A Sentient Data Log. When my home world was overrun by the Sark, Vandals and Dwellers, the Council of Five protected the combined knowledge of our civilization by-" Sage started to explain. "Downloading it into Data Logs and launching them throughout the Multiverse." Zeke finished. "Exactly. The hope was that Sentient survivors would collect them and bring them to a Safe Zone where they could rebuild." TRINA explained. "The world must know of this." Zeke said. "No. I don't want certain people getting involved." Vert said, gesturing to his and Olivia's childhood friends. "And we don't need the government meddling with our mission either." Olivia said. "Knowing them, they'll just mess things up and let the aliens in." Agura said. Zeke thought about that. "Oh, you're right about that." He said.
"Zeke, how do you know all this stuff?" Zoom asked. "Yeah. How did you get to be such an expert on Sentient knowledge and who we are?" Ivan asked. "Well, it all kinda happened after I got struck by lightning." Zeke said. "Oh yeah. I found him out in the Salt Flats after that lightning storm cleared up." Grace said. "It must've fused the data inside this log with Zeke's mind." Sage deduced. "Well, let's get this data out of his mind and find this Safe Zone. Stanford, think you can use your psychic powers to drain the data out of Zeke?" Horace asked. "Absolutely not! My powers are still too unstable. And if I tried, Zeke's mind would wipe out like New York City in a blackout." Stanford denied. "Whoa, yeah. You ain't probing my mind. You wanna get to this Safe Zone, I'll take you there." Zeke said. "You know the coordinates?" Sage asked in surprise. "Sure do-*glitch*-Sure do-*glitch*-Sure do-*glitch*-Sure do." Zeke said repeatedly, glitching like a video game. "This is getting weird, people!" Spinner exclaimed, feeling creeped out. "What's happening to him?" Grace asked with worry. "The human brain is not equipped for the massive amount of data within these logs." Sage said. "Meaning the information in Zeke's head is probably unstable. It could be wiped out at any moment." Sherman said. "A sound hypothesis." Sage said. "Then we better use Zeke's knowledge before that happens." Vert said, gently slapping Zeke's back to snap him out of his glitch. Just then, Sage and TRINA sensed a Stormshock. "I sense a Stormshock opening." They and Zeke said simultaneously. Sage and TRINA looked at Zeke in surprise as he said that. "Who wants to hit a Battle Zone?" Zeke asked, taking the Data Log.
Later, at the deployment station, Sage and TRINA were giving Trucketta an upgrade and equipping the Data Log to it so Zeke can take the team to the Safe Zone. "Initiating system protocol." Zeke said as he started up Trucketta. "Constraining nulls up to vectors. Cyclotron cycling. Vital odreadings at maximum. Let's roll, Battle Force 14!" He cheered as he put on his homemade tinfoil helmet. "Battle Force 14?" Spinner asked in confusion. "Actually, it's only 13. I just quit." Horace said. "I'm not sure if I wanna do this." Grace said with worry. "It's okay, Grace. You'll be riding with me. And we've handled worse situations before." Zoom said. "Vert, Liv, I'm not sure taking Zeke and Grace into the Zone is a good idea." Agura said with concern for Zeke and Grace's safety. "If Zeke can lead us to more Sentient tech or even survivors, it's a risk we have to take." Vert said. "And if Grace is a reincarnated Zodiac Guardian, we need to be sure." Olivia said. "Since this is a very important mission, all 14 of you will need to make this journey." TRINA said. "Alright, guys, let's burn some rubber!" Vert ordered.
Everyone hopped into their respective vehicles. Grace got on the Chopper and held on to Zoom as they started to drive out. They drove out onto the Salt Flats and headed towards the Stormshock. "What's the deal with the Data Log?" Spinner asked. "It synchs with the Stormshock to take us to the right Battle Zone." Zeke said. "What about our enemies? Will they have access to the Zone too?" Vert asked in concern. "Well, here's hoping!" Zeke exclaimed excitedly as the team drove towards the Stormshock.
As the portal opened, the team crossed through it and landed in a desert Battle Zone that was filled with strange obelisks, almost like the ones from the Lost City Zone. As everyone looked around the Battle Zone, Zeke fainted in Trucketta from his excitement. Again. "Newb." Agura scoffed. "So, this is really another dimension?" Grace asked in awe. "Yep. Pretty cool, isn't it?" Zoom asked. Grace couldn't even answer him while being too awe at her new surroundings. "This is just like episodes 34, 51 and 62 of Blador's Quest all smooshed together!" Zeke cheered as he recovered. "You watch Blador's Quest too?" Sherman asked. "What's Blador's Quest?" Iguanarox asked. "It's a science-fictional television show that was based off a similar version from back in my country." Stanford explained. Iguanarox scratched his chin with interest. "Hey, Zeke, where to now, buddy?" Vert asked. "Yeah, we wanna get a jumpstart on any enemies in this Zone." Zoom said. Suddenly, Sherman picked up multiple enemy signals on his scanner. "Too late! Sark at 12 o'clock!" He called. Zemerik, Zug 2.0 and an entire legion of Zurk were driving right towards them. "Zemerik." Zug growled venomously. "Battle Force 10, you know the drill. Zeke, Grace, we'll handle the rough stuff. You 2 stay out of it." Vert instructed. "DOWN WITH THE SARK EMPIRE!" Zeke exclaimed as he drove Trucketta towards the Sark. As Vert and Olivia watched in concern, Zeke bashed Trucketta into a few Sark. But then he skidded out of control and crashed into one of the obelisks, causing to fall over. "TIMBER!" Spinner exclaimed. "Everyone, scatter!" Vert ordered. Everyone quickly drove out of the way. But Agura couldn't move as the Tangler just skidded. She screamed as the obelisk fell on top of her. "Agura!" Stanford cried. Zeke gasped in horror at what he did as the Sark continued their advancement towards the team.
As the Sark continued to drive towards the team, Agura couldn't get out due to the obelisk trapping her inside her Tangler. "Stanford, can you lift that obelisk off Agura?" Vert asked. "I can do it." Stanford said, driving over to help his girlfriend. Grace hopped off the Chopper as the others drove off to engage the Sark. "Let's roll! Everyone, time to wreck some Sark." Vert said. "Wrecking Sark is how I relax." Zoom said. "It how Zug like to relax too." Zug said.
Agura tried to drive as hard as she could from under the obelisk, but the Tangler couldn't move. "Hang on, Agura. I'm right here." Stanford said as he drove over and hopped out of the Reverb. "But how can you get that obelisk off of Agura? It probably weighs a ton." Grace said as she ran over. Stanford focused his mind and used his psychic powers to start lifting the obelisk off the Tangler. "Whoa. That's pretty cool." Grace said in awe. Just then, Zeke drove up. "I can help." He offered. "No thanks. You've done enough." Agura said.
Meanwhile, the team and the Sark were about to start their battle. "Yeah! We got them!" Horace exclaimed as he prepared his blasters. Zoom fired his Chopper's cable onto the Defender and activated his glider mode. Horace started firing his blasters at the Zurk, knocking them down. As he drove towards a group of Zurk, Vert activated his tire blades, flipped the Saber around and spun around, bashing his blades into the Zurk. "Zug will DESTROY ZURK!" Zug exclaimed as he fired up his Zendrill and bashed through the Zurk. Another group of Zurk drove towards the Buster and the Pom-Pom Pouncer. "Let's mash some Zurk, little bro!" Spinner exclaimed. "You ready, Talia?" Sherman asked. "Let's go, team!" Talia cheered. The Buster activated its chains and the Pom-Pom Pouncer got its spiked pom-poms ready. Together, they wrecked through every Zurk in their way. "How about a little teamwork, Ivan?" Rayona asked. "Bring on the fog, Rayona." Ivan said. Rayona readied her homemade fog formula and released it out of the Wok, blinding the Zurk's sights. Just then, Ivan brought out his Dune Cat's chainsaws and slashed through the blinded Zurk. Olivia fired up her Jetray's boosters and blew her way through the Zurk. "Spines away!" Iguanarox exclaimed, firing his Spine Crawler's spines and piercing the Zurk. As Horace continued blasting the Zurk with his blasters, Zoom glided overhead and slashed through the Zurk. "Yee-haw!" He cheered as he landed. Suddenly, Zemerik spotted Trucketta and the Data Log. "A Sentient data pod. Zurk, retrieve it!" He ordered. The Zurk sped past the team and drove straight for Zeke, Agura, Stanford and Grace. "Vert, they're going for the Data Log!" Olivia called. "Hold on, Zeke. We'll save you." Vert said as he and the team turned around.
Meanwhile, as he struggled with the obelisk with his nose starting to bleed a bit, Stanford focused as hard as he could and finally telekinetically lifted it off the Tangler. Agura stepped on the gas and successfully drove out from under it. Stanford finally let go of the obelisk and let it fall before sitting down from exhaustion. "Blador faced such a predicament in episode 42 of-" Zeke tried to say. "Blador's Quest. Yeah, yeah." Agura said in annoyance. "Wait. I think I saw that episode once. He was able to divert the energy from his ship and short circuit the attacking robots." Stanford said while he cleaned the blood from his nose. "With an EMP blast." Zeke said. He pushed a button and the Data Log released a powerful EMP blast, knocking back Zemerik, Zug 2.0 and the entire Sark legion. "Sark systems damaged. Must retreat and repair." Zemerik said, feeling dazed from the blast as he drove away with Zug 2.0 and some surviving Zurk.
Later, the team regrouped with the others at the obelisk. "An electromagnetic pulse." Sherman said in awe. "Whoo! Keep hitting them with that and we're golden!" Spinner cheered. "It can do it once every 4 hours. And only if you reroute the power through the mini hadron colliders." Zeke said. "That EMP blast was pretty impressive." Vert said. "Yeah. Good thing your love for sci-fi shows gave you the idea to use it." Olivia said. "I think I'm getting the hang of this hero stuff." Zeke said. "Uh, Vert, Olivia, go to channel 4." Agura said. Vert and Olivia switched to the instructed comm channel. "We need to send him back now before he drops an obelisk on someone else!" Agura whispered angrily. "He didn't mean it, Agura." Vert said. "Yeah, don't be so sour over one little accident." Olivia said. Everyone got a look at the other obelisk. "Vert, you think this could be it?" Olivia asked. "Maybe. Is it the Sentient Safe Zone?" Vert asked. "Scanning memory bank." Zeke said, searching through the data in his mind and saw a vision of a giant Sentient statue, a gate opening and a lock of some kind. When he stopped, he fainted on his steering wheel in exhaustion. "Hey, buddy, are you alright?" Vert asked in concern as Zeke started to recover. "I'm not sure if I'm interpreting the data correctly, but we need to head into an Inter Zone." Zeke explained. "An Inter Zone?" Rayona asked in confusion. "A Zone within a Zone?" Sherman asked. "Like in…" Zeke started. "Episode 33 of Blador's Quest!" They exclaimed simultaneously. "One more mention of Blador's Quest and I'm gonna lose it." Agura warned. "But how are we gonna get into a Zone within a Zone?" Stanford asked. Sherman tried to think, but Zeke interrupted by blowing his nose into a tissue. "The instructions don't say." He said. "Well, if we need to get into another Zone, we're probably looking for a portal of some type. And a key." Sherman said. Just then, Agura had a realization. "And if we assume this is the key, then all we're looking for…" She started to say. "Is a keyhole!" Olivia finished. "Everyone spread out and search." Vert said.
The team all spread out and started searching amongst the obelisks for any clues to a possible keyhole. There were murals of people standing before several constellations of cosmic entities. Just then, Vert and Olivia came across a mural of a small group of people on one of the obelisks. "Looks like they're cowering before some sort of Guardian." Agura said as she and Stanford walked over. "But what kind of Guardian?" Stanford asked. They looked up and saw a mural of a constellation of a giant fiery bird. "Vert, is that what I think it is?" Olivia asked. "A Phoenix." Vert said. Just then, he recalled a memory from his past life about a Phoenix.
[Flashback]
Aries and his Zodiac Guardians stood for battle with 75 cosmic entities by their side. One of them was a great Phoenix who stood beside Aries, blazing with cosmic fire as it let out a loud shriek.
[Flashback End]
Suddenly, the Data Log started glowing and the whole Zone started shaking. Just then, the platform in the middle of the obelisks opened up and another obelisk rose up into the sky. Sherman examined the new obelisk with his binocs scanner. "Guys, I think I got something. There's faint energy readings from the top of that obelisk." He said. "Of course! The Data Log!" Zeke deduced. "So, if we place the Data Log at the top of that obelisk…" Ivan started to say. "It will open up a portal to the Inter Zone." Iguanarox finished. "Agura, climb up and insert the Data Log." Vert said. "No prob. But make sure Zeke doesn't knock it down while I'm up there." Agura said, making Zeke feel guilty. "She just can't let it go." Rayona said. Agura magged the Data Log to the Tangler, drove up to the obelisk and climbed up to the top of it. As she magged it to the top, it magnetically inserted itself into the keyhole and started glowing green. The obelisk opened 4 panels on its sides, released a green energy pulse and connected 12 beams of green light to each of the obelisks' tips. As the Tangler leapt down, the obelisk let out a couple more pulses of energy before shutting down the beams. Suddenly, as the team watched with curiosity, the Data Log started generating green electricity and opened a big crimson vortex which started sucking up, making the team nervous.
As the vortex started spewing beams of crimson energy, the obelisks beside it formed a doorway. "Everyone, stay back from the vortex." Vert said. "Or we'll disintegrate. Why is always like that?" Horace asked in annoyance. As everyone rushed back to their vehicles, they saw the Sark coming back. "Sark, closing fast!" Zoom called. "Destroy organics and retrieve Sentient artifact. It is leading them to something. The only question now is…" Zemerik started to say. "Why." Zug 2.0 guessed. "No." Zemerik said. "When?" Zug 2.0 asked. "No." Zemerik said. "How." Zug 2.0 guessed. "WHAT! The only question is WHAT!" Zemerik exclaimed. "Zeke, the Data Log!" Vert exclaimed. Zeke magged the Data Log and brought it back to Trucketta. "This is just like episode 26, Blador's Last Stand, where he was trapped with no chance of escape and had to make a leap of faith into a swirling neutrino galaxy." He explained, annoying Agura and Horace. "Awesome." Sherman said. "Zug gonna have to start watching Blador's Quest when we go home." Zug said. "Me too. And that's if we ever get home." Iguanarox said. Just then, Vert and Olivia glanced back at the mural of the Phoenix. "Wait. The Phoenix! That's it!" Olivia exclaimed. "Everyone into the vortex!" Vert called. "Excuse me?!" Stanford exclaimed in surprise. Vert and Olivia drove towards the vortex. "Vert! Liv!" Agura cried. Vert and Olivia drove into the vortex and disappeared. "Where Vert and Olivia go, I go!" Zoom exclaimed. "Me too!" Ivan exclaimed. "To victory or death!" Iguanarox exclaimed. "Yes!" Zeke cheered. Grace screamed as they passed through the vortex. "I can't believe I'm doing this." Agura said as she and the others followed. "Out of the frying pan and into the vortex!" Horace exclaimed as they passed through. Zemerik, stunned by what happened, halted his Sark legion at the vortex.
As the vortex reopened, Vert and Olivia passed through and entered the Inter Zone. "Whoa. That was intense." Vert said. "Yeah. That was probably the most exciting thing we've ever done in so long." Olivia said. Just then, Zoom, Grace, Ivan, Iguanarox and Zeke passed through the vortex. And soon, everyone else followed through. "The Inter Zone." Zeke said. The team was all in awe. "Cool." Zoom said. "How did you 2 know we would rematerialize?" Agura asked. "The Phoenix represents rebirth. Something that's destroyed and then reformed." Vert explained. "Yes. It's like in the great myth. A Phoenix bursts into flames when it dies and then is reborn from the ashes." Olivia added. "You 2 risk our lives based on artwork made of stick figures and an old childhood fairytale?!" Horace exclaimed. "Hey, no risk, no reward." Olivia said. "Okay, everyone, let's move. It won't take Zemerik long to figure it out too." Vert said as he started to continue.
Meanwhile, the Sark continued to stare at the vortex. "The organics self-terminated. The Earth is defenseless." Zug 2.0 said. "Jumping into a vortex of anti-matter is completely illogical." Zemerik said. "The organics are illogical. That is what makes them weak." Zug 2.0 said. "Or perhaps that is what makes them strong! Zurk, ADVANCE!" Zemerik ordered.
Meanwhile, as the team drove further into the Inter Zone, they entered a chamber with a giant Sentient statue. Just then, they drove up to a door. They got out of their vehicles and gazed in awe. "This must be it. Sentient survivors could be behind that door! With answers to everything I've always wanted to know about the universe!" Zeke cheered excitedly. "Then let's crack it open." Vert said. "But how? I don't see a way to open it." Olivia said. "Could the Data Log be the key?" Agura asked. "No. According to the Sentient hieroglyphics, I think you're supposed to press this." Zeke said, pressing the stone Sentient's face. Just then, everything started to shake and the statue's eyes woke up as something started powering up. "That sounds like someone just turned on the world's scariest air conditioning unit." Spinner said. "Look. Energy." Sherman said, seeing energy fueling up the pipes around the door. But it suddenly stopped at just a quarter. Sherman noticed a few pipes missing and looked to the pipe pieces on the ground. "I think we have to connect these pipes so it flows from there to there before the energy leaks out." He deduced. "A puzzle? I actually love puzzles!" Stanford cheered. "A positron flow lock to be precise." Zeke said. He used the Data Log to telekinetically raise the pipe pieces and connect them.
Suddenly, Zoom turned around and saw the Sark coming for them. "Guys, we got company!" He called. "Vert, I'll help Zeke finish the puzzle. You guys hold back the Sark." Stanford said. "Right. Everyone, it's slice and dice time." Vert said. Everyone quickly hopped back into their vehicles and buckled up. "Hold up. Just in case the Sark get through us." Agura said. She motioned her hand and a crystal wall formed between the team and the door, protecting Stanford, Zeke and Grace. "Nice thinking, Agura." Olivia said. "Let's roll!" Vert called. The team drove towards the Sark, readied their weapons and sliced, bashed, blasted and slammed through every Zurk in their way. Stanford used his psychic powers to help Zeke fit in the pipe pieces. "A few more pieces, Stanford, and we'll know everything! The secrets of the Multiverse, decoded at last!" Zeke exclaimed excitedly. "Let's hope so. Who knows what we'll find behind that door." Stanford said as they continued putting in the pieces.
Meanwhile, Zoom and Agura slashed and bashed through the incoming Zurk. "Shredding!" Zoom cheered. But then, Zug 2.0 came in and bashed Zoom aside. "Oh no, you don't!" Agura exclaimed. But as she tried to take Zug 2.0, she was nearly sent over the edge. She struggled the Tangler to hang on as Zug 2.0's Zendrill was attempting to push her over the edge. "Agura!" Grace cried as she saw this while Zeke and Stanford were nearly finished with the pipe puzzle. She looked between them and Agura, wondering how she could help. "Guys, a little help here!" Agura called. "We're all tied up!" Vert exclaimed as he dueled Zemerik. "Well, in one second, I'm gonna be all drilled up!" Agura exclaimed. Zeke and Stanford were almost finished. "SOMEONE! HELP ME!" Agura cried, getting their attention. "Agura! We have to help her!" Stanford cried. "But we're almost there!" Zeke protested. Grace looked between them and Agura as Zug 2.0 was about to send her to her death. "You 2 keep working! I'll help Agura!" She exclaimed. "Grace, no! It's too dangerous!" Stanford exclaimed. "Not for a Zodiac Guardian." Grace said as the symbol of Pisces, glowing pink, appeared on her forehead before running off.
Meanwhile as Zug 2.0 was about to push Agura off the edge, a giant wave splashed him, knocking him away. "Agura, are you okay?" Grace asked as the Tangler climbed back up. "Perfect. And since when do you create big waves?" Agura asked in surprise. "Just now." Grace said, sheepishly. "You pathetic post protozoan organisms!" Zemerik exclaimed as he drove in to finish the job. "May you rot in this zone forever!" Grace took a few steps forth as Zemerik got closer. "Not today, Sark scum!" She exclaimed as she motioned her arms and formed a whirlpool around Zemerik. "What is happening?!" Zemerik exclaimed. "This is the power of Pisces!" Grace said. She motioned her arms and the whirlpool sent Zemerik flying towards the Sentient statue. "RECALCULATING!" Zemerik screamed before he crashed in front of the statue. "Sark intruders. Zone compromised." The statue said. Zemerik was confused. "Initiating self-destruct." The statue said as it raised its arms. Everything started shaking. "Time to get out of here! Let's get to that portal!" Vert exclaimed. "Wait! Zeke and Stanford are still inside!" Talia exclaimed. "Stanford! Zeke! The Zone's self-destructing! We have to go!" Olivia exclaimed through the comm. "Relax, young Liv. We'll be fine." Zeke said as he and Stanford calmly continued putting in the pipes. "FINE?! Did he not hear the words self-destruct?!" Horace exclaimed. "Wait. Maybe he's onto something." Grace said. Vert and Olivia thought about this hard. "Nobody move! Stand your ground!" Vert ordered. Everyone stayed put with worry.
The Sark started to retreat as the statue started counting down. "Self-destruct in 5, 4, 3, 2…" The Sark retreated through the portal as Zemerik screamed in terror. "…1." The team closed their eyes as the statue closed its hands together. But…nothing happened. The team opened their eyes in surprise. "Nothing happened." Spinner said. "No explosion or anything destructive." Rayona said. "How is that even possible?" Vert asked. "Because the Sentients that built this Safe Zone installed a false self-destruction protocol to scare away Sark, Vandal or Dweller intruders." Zeke explained. The team was amazed by this.
Stanford placed the final pipe into place and the energy surged into the other side, opening the door. The team stared in awe at this. Inside is what appeared to be a chamber. As they walked in, Zeke and Grace see relics with the symbols of the Zodiac. "These markings, they're the symbols to the Zodiac." Zeke said. "Amazing." Grace said. Just then, Zeke noticed a stasis pod in the center of the chamber. "Hey, there's some kind of pod over here!" He called. As the team rushed over, he opened the pod. The team gasped at what they saw inside the pod. A female Purple Sentient. Suddenly, she gasped as she woke up, surprising the team. "ARIES!" She screamed as she fell forward. But Vert managed to catch her. She looked up and saw Vert's face. "Aries?" She asked weakly. "I'm sorry to say this, but I am and not Aries. The Zodiac Guardians are gone." Vert said. "But…you're standing right here. All of you. Well, minus Taurus and Libra." The Sentient said. She walked over to the pod and checked the time. To her shock, she saw that she was asleep for almost 100,000 years. "That…that's impossible!" She said.
Later, as the team started gathering up the relics in the chamber, Vert and Olivia comforted the distraught Sentient. "Tell us, what do you remember before you went to sleep?" Olivia asked. "Well, I remember that I was entrusted by Zodiac Aries to watch over these relics. He said that he would come back with his team in a new form. That was when I was placed inside that pod and put to sleep." The Sentient explained. Vert gasped as he realized who she was. "Destina?" He asked. "Yes. Wait. How do you know my name? I never told you my name." The Sentient, named Destina, said. "I remember you. You were advisor to the Zodiac Guardians." Vert said. "But how do you know…" Destina tried to ask, until she realized. "It's true. You, all of you, are the Zodiac Guardians, reincarnated in a new life." She said.
Later, upon returning to Earth, the team returned to the Hub and revealed their little surprise to Sage and TRINA. "Destina." Sage said in surprise. "It is so good to see you again, Sage." Destina said, bringing her old friend into a big emotional hug. "We thought you were dead, Destina." TRINA said. "Don't believe everything you hear, TRINA." Destina said, hugging her droid friend. "She was inside the chamber inside the Inter Zone, along with all the relics we brought in." Vert said. "She really missed out since she's been asleep for 100,000 years." Olivia said. "I almost didn't believe it when I thought your new team were the reincarnations of our Zodiac Guardians." Destina said. "Well, they are. Aries did promise that he would return to me. And he has." Sage said, holding Vert's hand. "Well, now that everyone's back together, what do we do now?" Grace asked. Everyone turned to Zeke. "Yes. I'm ready." He said.
Later, in the medical bay, Sage and TRINA safely removed the Sentient data out of Zeke's mind and back into the Data Log as he slept. "That's it. The last of the data is removed from his mind." TRINA said. "That's good. Another second and his mind would've overloaded, deleting the data." Sherman said. "Is he gonna be okay?" Stanford asked. "I hope so. He got us into that chamber." Agura said. "And I wouldn't be here if he hadn't found my pod." Destina said. "He will be fine. He will remember everything that transpired today." Sage said. Zeke gave a big yawn as he finally woke up. "How're you doing, Zeke?" Vert asked. "Doing good, Vert. Believe it or not, I'm actually glad to have all that data out of my noggin." Zeke said. "You have proven yourself to be a most trusting soul and treasured ally today, Zeke. You are more than welcome in our base anytime." Sage said. "Thank you. All of you. And I promise that I will never reveal your secret to anyone. I mean, I wouldn't want to lose my best and favorite customers." Zeke said. That made everyone laugh. "And what of you, Grace, since you now have awakened the powers of your past life?" TRINA questioned. "Well, I gave it a lot of thought. And I've decided…that I want to learn more." Grace said. "Then there is but one more thing to do." Sage said.
In the deployment station, Grace brought in her motorcycle. "Beginning upgrade." Sage said as she brought out a pink Sentient chip from her chest and placed it on the pad. As the machines started upgrading her motorcycle, Grace became outfitted in a bright pink shocksuit. When the upgrade was finished, Grace's motorcycle was modeled into a bright pink Tri & Stop Me motorcycle based off the year 2009. "To complete upgrade, you must name your vehicle." Sage said. "The Speed Runner." Grace named. "Welcome to Battle Force 10, Grace." Vert said, giving Grace a handshake.
Later, back at the diner, Zeke was getting hugged in relief by his grandkids while Grace was getting the team some free pizza. "Where have you been, Grandpa?" They asked simultaneously. "Oh, I was just on a little out-of-town trip." Zeke said. Meanwhile, as Grace was making the team's pizzas, she talked with the diner's new waiter, her brother Julian. "So, you're now working with Zeke's best customers as test drivers now?" Julian asked. "Yep. They offered a spot to me and I accepted it. And Zeke's been cool about it." Grace said. "Well, glad to know that my little sis is doing good." Julian said, giving Grace a side hug. Grace smiled, happy to know that she had a bright future ahead of her.
Wow! Wasn't that amazing?! After Zeke discovers a Sentient Data Log and got struck by lightning, the information in the Data Log got fused in his mind. To help Battle Force 10, he and Grace, having learned their secret, they traveled to the next Battle Zone to locate a Sentient Safe Zone and discovered the Inter Zone within. But the Sark followed them into the Inter Zone as the team proceeded to the hidden vault. But Grace awoke her past life's Zodiac powers and aided the team while Stanford and Zeke unlocked the vault. Inside, they discovered a bunch of relics, along with a female Purple Sentient, named Destina, the Zodiac Guardians' advisor. After returning to Earth, they successfully drained the Data Log information from Zeke's mind and welcomed Grace to the team. What will Battle Force 10 encounter next? What were those cosmic beings from Vert's vision, including the phoenix? Leave a review if you'd like.
Special thanks to my partner, FoxyKhai0209, for Destina.
