Episode 34:
The Enemy of thy Enemy
"It truly is a joyous day when we can gather here in such wonderful weather to celebrate the history of our fair city."
It took all of Hilary's effort not to roll her eyes as Mayor Fielding's speech continued to drone. There were a million better things she could be doing with her afternoon, and attending the statue unveiling of a minor, barely relevant historical figure was well and truly at the bottom of the list. Beside her, Ray maintained his posture, looking dead ahead with feigned concentration. Hilary recognized all too well from the many software seminars she'd dragged him to over the years.
But what made it worse was that, speeches aside, this should have been an event for her to enjoy. It wasn't often that she got a chance to throw on a formal dress and attend a garden party with the city's elite. Under normal circumstances, this would be a chance to cut loose, to enjoy a wonderful spring day with her husband while looking fancy as hell, sipping champagne with a bunch of social climbers before stumbling back to the apartment at day's end.
But it wasn't where they were that bothered Hilary so much; it was why.
Because while the invite to her, her husband, and her assistant had been extended by the mayor, Hilary was all too aware of its true origin. Even now, she could see Davian Scolex sitting up on stage with the other VIP speakers and smirking at her frustration. Because any minute she spent away from her terminal was a minute that his forces could drop down and attack the city.
She knew what he was doing. Having agreed to back away from the Rangers families, he was instead using every connection at his disposal to make Hilary as busy as humanly possible, keeping her on a sharp and anxious edge. And she knew, just knew, that declining any invitation would give Scolex the perfect chance to push her further from the mayor's esteem. Something that was starting to become more important than ever.
But what made it all even worse was that Scolex didn't even need to do anything, just the mere suspicion that he was up to something was enough to grate Hilary's nerves. The moment she allowed herself to be complacent would be the perfect moment for Scolex to strike, and they both knew it. So, Hilary had to wait, begrudgingly attending a party that she'd normally enjoy, and sit there squirming with uncomfortable suspicion in full view of Scolex from the stage.
"How much longer?" Hilary finally whispered, relenting to her agonizing boredom in hopes that the end was in sight. At least once the ceremony ended, they could make for the open bar.
"Judging by the number of other people on the stage?" Ray replied.
"Schedule said it should wrap up by three," Jess said beside her. "And it's just past two, so…"
Times like that, Hilary really wished she wasn't so quick with math. Stifling a groan, she maintained her posture and returned her attention to the stage as Mayor Fielding began a delightful anecdote about a confused Spanish explorer who would go on to found the city.
This was definitely running over time.
An hour to go, and Hilary just had to hope that anxious waiting didn't kill her. Or that something didn't need her even earlier.
It wasn't much, but it would do, and it was certainly all that ArcKnight needed.
Ender always did consider himself the brains, but therein lay his greatest flaw. He was so enamored with his own intelligence he'd overcomplicate things. He never had an appreciation for simplicity and never could recognize that sometimes blunt force was exactly the tool for the job.
But it wasn't just a simple oversight; it was a fatal miscalculation.
ArcKnight had been born from Davian Scolex, just as Ender had, and while he hadn't been sculpted for the explicit purpose of intellect, the vestige imprints of Scolex's mind remained. And that meant every piece of technology that now sat at ArcKnight's fingertips was well within the realms of his capabilities. Already, the discarded machines were humming to life, building power to enable his revenge. Soon, they would all be ready.
As he readied the program, preparing to produce the forces that he needed, ArcKnight cast his vision to the hacked security feeds surveilling the city. There they all were, gathered in one place for easy picking.
Both his enemies and his former master. He thought himself so important, and yet Scolex lacked the will to do what was necessary. All too eager to embrace a crowd's adoration rather than act in a distasteful manner. It disgusted ArcKnight to think that he'd been born from that man's essence. But ArcKnight was a refinement, a distillation of Scolex's greatest attributes with the weakness discarded.
As the ceremony watched on, ArcKnight couldn't help but chuckle, a self-indulgent satisfaction of all that he was about to reap.
No, ArcKnight didn't lack the will to act. He held no fear of how people perceived him and felt no need to hide behind a mask. He knew what he was, a weapon, and now free of his master's bondage, ArcKnight could at last truly revel in it. They thought him destroyed. They thought him simple and ineffective.
But ArcKnight was a warrior, a survivor.
He would show Scolex exactly how powerless he truly was. He was about to show them all.
Lena wished, more than ever, that the camera really did add ten pounds, because Scolex looked more dashing than ever. As the mayor finally ended his speech to the audience's applause, the floor was given over to the smug billionaire to talk about how generous he was. Lena could only be thankful that she didn't have to sit through it in person, watching via security feed while Ray, Hilary, and Jess were subjected to the live showing.
At least watching from mission control meant that she only had to pay half attention, giving her time to pursue her own personal project uninterrupted. The fact that the security detail was also bored out of its mind added an extra layer of vindictive satisfaction.
But her smug solitude was soon interrupted by the dinging of the elevator doors as Miguel wandered into the lab. "All on your own down here?"
"Was going to say the same to you," Lena replied. "I'm doing Ray and Hilary a favor, what's your excuse? Shouldn't you have a hot date or something?"
"Abbey's studying for her history final," said Miguel. "And apparently, Zeke's hitting the books as well. I was going to see if Erika wanted to hang out, but she's out with Val, so I thought it'd see what you were up to."
"Well, I'm honored to be your last available option," Lena said amusedly. "But I'm stuck here. We need someone on mission control until the grownups get back from their smoozy function."
Raising an eyebrow of curiosity, Miguel wandered over to see the feed, rolling his eyes as he realized that Scolex was making a speech. "Is it bad that seeing him look good on camera only makes me hate him more?"
"There's no way it's natural," Lena agreed. "He probably made some extra adjustments when he digitized himself to make Xaviax and the others. It's the only explanation."
"Man, and I thought being stuck in detention was torture," Miguel admitted. "But having to listen to that slimeball all afternoon? Ray and Hilary are a pair of saints."
"They're not the only ones stuck there," Lena giggled. "Take a look at Captain Stick-in-the-Mud. Bet he's starting to really regret accepting that fancy promotion."
To make her point, she flicked to the feed of the security detail, where Kyle Mason was standing at the perimeter with an expression that was equal parts hyper-vigilant and bored.
"Oh man, his brain's got to be cooking by now," Lena snicked. "Just melting away while stuck listening to inane speeches from the people that sign his paycheck."
But while Lena was more than eager to reveal the former Security Ranger's discomfort, Miguel's face narrowed, turning to Lena with a look of judgmental surprise. "What's your deal with him? I get that you used to be enemies, but I thought you were past all that."
His comment caused Lena to look away in shame, a guilty admission that he was right without wanting to stop. "It's complicated."
"Is it? I mean, he was on a team with Ray and Hilary, right? You buried the hatchet with them and Ben. And it's not like the team hasn't forgiven you for everything that happened way back when. Didn't you guys have some kind of back-to-back bonding moment just last week?"
"This is different," Lena replied. "It…. it just is, okay?"
Masters, where to even begin with all that? If there was anyone on the team to understand second chances, it was Miguel. But the history between Lena and Mason was a whole new level of weirdness that she didn't even know how to begin with. It was weird enough that even Ray wasn't probing or offering advice, instead giving both her and Mason space as they navigated the strange new dynamic that they found themselves in.
For now, the two had come to a truce, an unspoken agreement between Lena and Mason to stay away from each other wherever possible. The fact that Ray had not commented on the pointlessness of avoiding their problems just made it all the more unsettling.
But if Miguel had more questions to probe, his chance was stolen by the beeping alarm. Somewhat thankful for the conversation's sudden end, Lena turned her attention to the monitors, only for her brow to furrow in surprise. "Huh, that's weird."
"What is?" Miguel asked.
"Something triggered the teleport sensor," Lena explained, pulling up the list of sensors that Hilary had installed all around the city. "But I'm not picking up any activity. It's like the energy burst has been released, but nothing's come out."
"That doesn't make sense, how can you teleport without teleporting?"
"That's the thing, I have no idea. It'd be like you starting to Wisp into one location while staying where you are. The line's open, but the only thing that's coming through is static."
"Could it be some kind of trick? Maybe Ender's up to something?"
But Lena shook her head. The more she stared at the readouts in front of her, the more unsettled she became. "This doesn't look deliberate; this looks like… like someone's hacked into a signal that they don't know how to use."
"But who would do that?" Miguel asked. "Who would even want to hack into the Xaviax's teleporter network?"
"I don't know," Lena admitted. "But whoever it is, it looks like they're getting the hang of it. The output's starting to congregate; whatever this person is doing, they're definitely going to teleport something. Looks like they're going to drop it right about…"
But her final words were cut off with a gasp, eyes widening in horror as Lena realized the intended target.
"What is it?" Miguel asked.
"The park," said Lena. "They're teleporting to the park. Right on top of Ray and Hilary!"
"… and so, I would like to express my supreme gratitude by presenting this cheque to the city park services," Scolex announced with a winning smile. "May our world be greener with the care we give it."
The crowd clapped in polite applause as the assistant approached the stage with an enormous novelty cheque. In her seat, Hilary mimicked a gagging face to her husband, taking a brief moment of satisfaction in watching Ray try to maintain his composure without laughing.
"Any hope of that thing bouncing?" Jess asked cynically.
"Knowing Scolex," Ray replied. "He probably scraped all the money from his million side businesses. Can't imagine this big show of generosity will make an actual dent in the cheque-book."
"It's got to be so hard," said Hilary with a roll of her eyes. "Making yourself look good to the crowd without giving anything up. You've got to wonder what it would actually take to make him look bad."
The thought was cut off by a vibration on her wrist, her communicator's silent mode buzzing with an imminent warning. One look was all Hilary needed to see Ray and Jessica had received it as well, with the latter playing the dutiful assistant to check her phone for the update. Even as she did, Hilary's pulse began thumping. Lena knew that she and Ray were occupied; she wouldn't bother them with a message unless…
"Hilary, look." Jess hissed as she spun around the phone to show the screen. Short and sweet, it told them everything.
TROUBLE INBOUND! GET OUT!
Hilary's heart stopped, sharing a confused look with her husband as both then turned toward the stage. Sure enough, Scolex was still there, prattling on about the city's history. That didn't make any sense, why would Scolex have the Cyberdrones attack an event that he was at?
But Hilary knew the sensors that Lena had at her disposal; there could be no mistake. Something was coming. They needed to get out of there now!
Sharing a nod, all three rose to leave, hoping to get far enough away to find somewhere secluded and morph before the trouble started. Over by the stage's edge, Kyle saw them move, brow furrowing with concern as his hand shot to his ear and began muttering orders to the men on the perimeter. All the while, Scolex continued to speak.
"And so, without any further ado, I would like to reveal, for the first time, the new monument for Lakeview. And for an all the world to see what-."
And then the air was filled with an ear-piercing screech.
The guests screamed, hands snapping to their ears as the sound shrilled from every speaker. Sparks began bursting from cables, phones vibrating as the fierce and overwhelming feedback ripped across the park with a deafening sharpness. Then, just as quickly as it had started, it stopped, leaving only a ringing in everyone's ears as the party was consumed with a familiar emerald light.
The party guests screamed as the entire area was filled with Cyberdrones crawling all around them in a sinister perimeter. Still dazed from the sonic assault, Hilary whipped around, back instinctively pressing to Ray's as they stared down the unwelcome guests. Then she shot a look to Scolex, expecting to see that he'd mysteriously vanished. But he wasn't; he was still there.
And he looked just as surprised as they were.
"Jess," Ray suggested. "Bring the car around."
The assistant merely nodded as Hilary's attention snapped back to the surrounding Cyberdrones. Scolex was a problem for another time; priority one was getting the partygoers to safety. And ideally, finding somewhere to morph.
A heartbeat later, the Cyberdrones lunged as the partygoers screamed and scattered in frightened panic.
Hilary moved on instinct, shifting forward to intercept a blow as the nearest drone dove for a fallen civilian. As her wrist smacked against the metal forearm, Hilary snatched and grabbed, flipping the Cyberdrone in the air and heaving it to the ground. The woman on the ground didn't question the intervention, already scrambling to safety before more could come. As Hilary whipped around in readiness for the next incoming henchmen, she cursed beneath her breath.
Dammit!
First, Scolex ruins would normally be a delightful day out with her husband, and the now Cyberdrones were going to ruin the effort of getting dressed up for it. She'd spent an hour on her hair, and of all the dresses in her wardrobe, this was the one with the fewest chances to wear. Hilary didn't know how, but she was going to personally make Ender pay for this.
Mentally reminding herself to later give the girls some tips for fighting in heels, Hilary regretfully reached down to her dress and ripped. The fabric tore along the seam, exposing her bare leg to the open air. Dresses could be repaired, but Hilary was not reliving the embarrassment of senior prom.
And not a moment too soon. The nearest Cyberdrone had clearly gotten ideas, seeing Hilary's dressed-up state and thinking her easy pickings. As it lunged high for a downward punch, Hilary whipped to a spin, shooting up her leg to plunge the sharp, sandaled heel into its stomach. As her would-be attacker slammed into the ground, Hilary kept her momentum, gracefully cartwheeling into another cluster of henchmen and sweeping her leg to trip them.
"Sorry, boys," she growled as they rolled beneath her. "This party's invite only."
People were running and screaming all around them, and it was taking all Hilary's attention to scan the manic crowd while keeping up her guard. Caught on the perimeter, the Silver Guardians were battling the hostile forces, fighting their way through to create a passage for the people to escape. Kyle was leading the effort, doing all he could to keep the Cyberdrone's attention on them. It was something, but there were plenty of other Cyberdrones loose among the crowd.
Too many problems; where to even begin?
Thankfully, Ray was making some headway. As Hilary had leaped back to draw the Cyberdrones in, Ray had pushed for an opening, making for the high-standing h'orderves tables as he led Jess to safety. The poor assistant had probably never been in a fight in her life, and now she was caught in the middle of a writhing mass of Cyberdrones while her boss's husband fought to keep them off her.
Moving fast, Ray shot to the table, whipping around it to place it between himself and the pursuers as Jess raced to stay behind him. The first punch swung, and Ray leaned back, gracefully avoiding the blow as his hand shot up and grabbed.
"Not a fan of speeches?" Ray asked. "Have a try some of this!"
With a forceful pull, he yanked downward, slamming the robot's faceplate into the surface as it crashed into the table. Another came from the side with frightening speed, but Ray was faster. His hand shot to the side, snatching an abandoned tray of canapes just as the robot closed in.
"Have you tried the shrimp?" he offered. "They're to die for."
The flat surface flipped up like a shield, throwing the appetizers into the robot's face as the tray clanged against the plunging weapon. Having deflected the attack, Ray spun the tray in his hand before swinging it into the robot's face, smashing it back before seeing another charging in. Without wasting a second, Ray hurled the tray, spinning like a heavy disk that smacked the robot upside the head. As it stumbled, Ray spun, thundering a heavy kick into the attacker's chest to send it flying.
With the Cyberdrones around him stumbling, the civilians were rushing to a gap that the Silver Guardians had opened. Ray took his chance, firing a burst of beams into the still-standing Cyberdrones. The red rounds lanced their chests, bursting into sprays of sparks as the henchmen crumbled.
"Go, now!" he ordered Jess. "Get to the car and get back to the museum!"
The girl didn't need telling twice, racing faster than Hilary ever thought possible in the heels she was wearing as Ray leaped back to rejoin his wife.
"So much for our day out," he noted.
"I'll send Scolex the bill," Hilary replied. "Speaking of."
Her eyes narrowed as she whipped around, scanning the area for their prime suspect. He had to have played hand by now, right?
But neither a satisfied smirk nor an absent billionaire was the sight that met her. Instead, as Hilary's eyes shot the stage, she saw Scolex huddled by the lectern. The Silver Guardians had converged on the stage, but their priorities were elsewhere, and Kyle was more focused on extracting the mayor as he battled his way through the robotic forces.
Time for some answers.
"I'm going for Scolex," she said to Ray. "Cover me!"
Ray didn't question it, dropping low to slide tackle an oncoming Cyberdrone as Hilary bounded for the stage. The first drone in her way copped a fist to the stomach, buckling as Hilary rolled over it to bring her heel crashing into the next. After spinning to kick back a third, her way was cleared, and Ray hurriedly collided with those she'd left behind as Hilary made it for the platform. Scolex was still huddled behind the lectern, pressed up against it as Hilary reached his side.
"So, what's this? The long con?" she hissed at him. "Have your goons attack your big event so everyone will think you're a victim?"
But as Scolex looked up at her, an icy chill shot down Hilary's spine, and her heart seized as she saw the fear in his eyes.
"This isn't me."
The words were chilling enough, but worse was that Hilary believed him. And that just made things a whole lot more complicated. "If it's not you, then…?"
But Hilary's words were answered by a booming nearby, and the Silver Guardians went flying as a mighty fireball erupted at their feet. The blast caught Ray, sweeping him up and tossing him across the grass. And as she saw the culprit, Hilary's jaw dropped. Beside her, Scolex's eyes widened.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Scolex," ArcKnight growled. "It appears I have forgotten my invite."
This was bad. This was very, very bad!
Lena was typing as fast as she could, running every scan she could think of while pinging all available Morphers. Cyberdrones were one thing, that was a standby situation that the Silver Guardians could handle. But ArcKnight?
How was he even back? But Lena knew that the answer didn't matter, he was far from the first villainous digital construct to return from the waste bin. She, of all people, knew that.
"You need to get down there, now!" she barked at Miguel.
The boy's Morpher was already on his wrist, hurrying toward the elevator as he readied to go online. But a second later, Lena called him back.
"Wait!" she called, cursing herself for not spotting it earlier. "There's some kind of forcefield, looks like it's blocking teleportation."
"Why is Scolex bothering?" Miguel asked. "He knows we can get there just as fast with the Server Cycles."
But as Miguel said it, Lena had another chilling thought, one she almost didn't dare voice aloud. "I don't think this is Scolex."
"Lena? Lena, are you there?" Jess' voice suddenly blared through the coms. "I'm in the car and on my way. Automated systems should cover until I get to the museum, you need to get down to the park, now!"
She wasn't going to say no, and after quickly barking a warning into the com for the others to take the bikes, Lena hurried to Miguel's side.
"Looks like we're going to have to crash the party," he realized.
"Just when I thought I was getting a quiet weekend," Lena grumbled. "You ready?"
"Ready!"
"Server Force! Login Access!"
The light blazed out from their wrists, twin columns of white and black consuming them as both teens gave themselves to the power of the grid. The energy surged through them, emboldening them as the suits materialized around them, reinforcing their limbs as they spirited across the city toward the scene. The cycles materialized beneath them, and as the visors slid across the vision to complete the concealing helmet, Lena and Miguel shot out into the streets with the roar of Server Cycle Engines. The other three were just ahead, their own bikes racing at top speed into a tight V formation as Lena and Miguel moved to join them.
"Alright, guys, you know the deal," Erika warned. "Go in hot and hit the Cyberdrones hard, bring the focus on us so the civilians can get to safety!"
"On it!"
They picked up speed, ramming the throttles as the engines burned and the five cycles surged toward the park. With a mighty cheer, the team hit the air, soaring high as they landed on the scene. Too close quarters to use the vehicles in combat, the five Rangers leaped from the saddles, swords unfolded as they clashed with the Cyberdrone lines.
Lena went straight on the attack, blade cleaving wide to carve through the intervening warriors. One overzealous henchman saw her land and took the shot, but Lena was already moving. Her saber sliced up, battering away the strike as she kicked out to send it flying. All around her, people were running and screaming, huddling behind the suited Silver Guardians who were doing their best to keep the robotic forces at bay. But they needed more than just some robots to fight; they needed a plan. Protecting the civilians while they escaped was all well and good, but the Rangers needed some assessment of how to push them back. And while waiting for Jess to reach the chair, there was only one other person best positioned to give them an update.
Cursing, Lena leaped high, somersaulting overhead to land beside Kyle Mason. He'd taken up holding near the gate, punching back against the Cyberdrones, and firing at any others incoming. Now that they'd reached the exit, the mayor's security detail was taking over, hurrying the official from the park as quickly as they could.
"You want to fill me in?" she asked.
"Your guess is as good as mine," Mason replied quickly, ducking beneath a blow as he kicked back and fired at point-blank range. "All I know is that they showed up out of nowhere, and everyone scattered. I think I saw that knight you guys you've been fighting, but hadn't you blown him up already?"
He, of all people, should have known it wasn't that simple, but Lena kept that thought to herself. Right now, the priority was figuring out where everyone was.
"Where'd he go?"
"Down that way!" Mason pointed. "Looks like he was going after Ray and Hilary. It… looked like they were with Scolex."
There was another hint of confusion in Mason's voice, one that trilled Lena's rising suspicion. But it wasn't a problem for now, not when Ray and Hilary were in danger. Worst case, she could intervene and relieve them, giving them the room they needed to find some privacy to morph.
Lena took off without so much as a goodbye, sword swinging wildly to carve through the Cyberdrone ranks. All around her, the other four Rangers were making headway, drawing more and more of the Cyberdrones toward them as the civilians hurried to safety. With any luck, one could peel away, but until that happened, Lena was on her own. She just had to hope that it would be enough.
With a final battle cry, Lena leaped free of the remaining Cyberdrones to reach the stage, completely unprepared for the sight that greeted her. Sure enough, there was ArcKnight, back from the trash bin and locked in combat with Ray and Hilary. Lena had to really hand it to them, even unmorphed they were holding their own.
Still in their formalwear, they moved with swift synchronicity, each covering the other as they laid into ArcKnight with their bare hands. Ray led the attack, lunging in with a heavy kick to ArcKnight's chest. The strike didn't do much, little more than a shove against the superpowered warrior, but it was enough. Too proud to ignore it, ArcKnight pushed back, following as Ray bounded on the retreat and Hilary switched into the warrior's path. With the cool, liquid metal coating her hand and the dress's trail flapping gracefully in her wake, Hilary swung with all her might, smashing a superpowered uppercut into the chin of ArcKnight's helmet. The metal was just enough to strengthen Hilary's blow and just subtle enough to avoid the attention of any wandering eyes. Unprepared for the assault, ArcKnight staggered back as a pair of red beams burst out to splash against the warrior's chest.
With an inch of ground gained, Ray and Hilary shot beside each other again, starring ArcKnight down as the warrior glared back and readied to reengage. Their strategy was clear: hold strong against ArcKnight and wait for backup. That wasn't what Lena found surprising. Instead, it was who was with them.
Huddled behind the pair with the large backdrop cutting off his escape was Davian Scolex, and he looked frightened. Ray and Hilary were protecting him from ArcKnight! But any questions that Lena had needed to wait. Clearly, ArcKnight was done playing around.
"This reunion has been enlightening," he said coldly as his sword began to glow. "But I'm here for the guest of honor."
With a mighty slash, the energy unleashed from the blade to blast Ray and Hilary from their feet. The slice carved through the earth, a wall of fire erupting from beneath as the ensuring force sent them flying. Both hit the ground and tumbled, separating them from each other and, more importantly, from Scolex. Now alone, the billionaire staggered back, scrambling as his former general closed in to cast a looming shadow.
"ArcKnight, is that really you?" Scolex asked with a feigned charisma of confidence. "I've got to say, you're looking great. Better than I've ever seen you."
But the warrior was undeterred, and with one swift movement, his gauntlet lashed out and snatched Scolex by the throat.
"Your silver tongue will not protect you," ArcKnight warned. "I have long stopped listening to your voice. Now, all I have to give you is oblivion."
Lena stood there, staring in frozen indecision as she watched her two enemies stand among the wreckage. Was there anything to do? Was this a problem about to fix itself?
But as she did, she caught Ray's eye, a firm nodding that communicated his expectation. Scolex may have been their enemy, but right now, he was someone in need of saving. Any other confusion they could clear up later, and Lena was out of time for questions.
"Goodbye, Scolex," ArcKnight growled as he raised his sword to strike. "Any final words?"
"I can think of a few!"
Davian Scolex had barely shut his eyes as Lena soared overhead and sliced into ArcKnight's armor. Surprised at the attack, the warrior gasped as he relinquished his hold, staggering back as Lena shifted to stand between him and Scolex.
Morphing Masters, she hoped this was worth it.
"How's it going, ArcKnight?" Lena asked. "I see you decided to crawl your way back out of the heap."
"My purpose was left unfinished," the warrior replied. "Something you will easily help me rectify!"
He threw back her blade, but Lena was ready, already moving to attack the flank and shift his attention from Scolex. Discarding the saber, she shifted to her spear. Growling, the warrior shifted, stepping back as Lena pushed on the offense to put more and more distance from the stage.
It had been a long time since they'd fought, just the two of them, but Lena knew well enough the importance of maintaining pressure. For all his defeats, ArcKnight was a force to be reckoned with, and if she gave him an inch, he'd take a mile.
As the spear sliced toward him, ArcKnight shifted footing, abandoning his shifting dodge to engage with the blow directly. Lena didn't see it until it was too late, the grounded footing that braced against her strike as the shield shot up between them. Too committed, Lena's spear bounced off the surface. As she staggered on the rebound to reclaim her footing, ArcKnight pounced upon her.
It was all Lena could do to dodge, leaping away and spinning in an attempt to reset the field. ArcKnight's attention was still on her, and Scolex was wisely using it as a chance to get away. Whatever righteous indignation that warrior had been feeling toward Scolex was being directed at Lena, and it was taking all she had to hang on.
But still, something about this wasn't sitting right. Attacking Ray and Hilary, she got. But why was he going out of his way to attack Scolex, his creator?
"What's the deal, ArcKnight?" Lena taunted. "Did you not get a goodbye present or something?"
"I have no longer use for scheming fools who revel in their hubris," ArcKnight replied. "My goal is clear, and those that stand in my way should be eliminated. No matter who they are."
So, he had rebelled against his master. ArcKnight was a free agent, launching this attack of his own volition and free will. But as they stared each other down, Lena realized something else, something that froze her in place as the true ramifications hit her. ArcKnight had made a choice to pursue his own destiny for no one but himself. He was just like her.
"ArcKnight…" Lena began, but it was far too late. The pause was minor, but the thought was enough to throw her guard, a costly distraction, as ArcKnight took his chance and charged.
In a flash, he was upon her, lunging with his sword raised high and ready to strike her down. Lena had nowhere to go, nowhere to move, and now her moment of empathy could well have been her last. She swung the spear just in time, bringing the haft across herself to catch the falling blade. The two weapons clashed with a pulse force, and Lena's knees buckled as ArcKnight pressed his weight upon her.
"Your time with humanity has clouded your judgment," he growled. "Allow me to clear it."
"What if you've only just started thinking clearly?" Lena suggested.
But her retort fell on deaf ears, her voice straining as she buckled beneath the warrior's might. With her balance shifting, ArcKnight kicked out, slamming the metal boot into her chest to send her reeling. As Lena bounced along the ground, the warrior strode toward her, ready to make the final blow.
"Head's up!"
Before he could close the gap, a barrage of colored light rained down from the sky, and the other four Rangers soared into view. They landed in tight formation, forming a guard around her with the weapons leveled at their enemy.
"Sorry to ruin the fun, ArcKnight," Erika taunted. "But we missed you too."
"You okay?" Miguel asked as he helped Lena to her feet.
The White Ranger nodded and immediately stepped forward, spear held ready as visor locked with ArcKnight's helm.
"What are you doing here, ArcKnight?" she demanded. "What's really going on?"
But the warrior gave no answer, glowering instead in the face of opposition as he lowered his sword in surrender.
"You may have come to the aid of your new ally today," he warned them. "But you, too, will soon be among the ashes in my wake."
And then he vanished in a flash of green, leaving the five Rangers to stand alone in the ruins of the ceremony, more confused than ever.
"I want him found!"
The doors hissed open as the Cyberdrones scrambled back, fawning in frightened submission as Xaviax strode toward the center console.
"Have no fear, most sanctimonious one!" Ender insisted. "We will have him found in the flashiest of flashes. That traitorous two-bit program will be consigned to the trash bin by sundown!"
"He should have been already," Xaviax said darkly. "So, I take it that you have an answer for how he returned without my knowledge? Or, for that matter, how you were unable to intervene upon his unwanted intrusion?"
At that mention, Ender scowled and bowed back sheepishly, turning his attention to the terminal as the displays flashed with fresh information. "It seems that ArcKnight received more of your brains than we gave him credit for. He's found a way to preserve himself within the datastream and set up a Digitizer that's separate from our server. He also has some connection to our teleporter network, although that will definitely not be for long."
"Your answers aren't filling me with confidence, Ender," Xaviax warned. "This was not meant to be a big event, just a chance for Scolex to apply some petty pressure on Hawkins. Instead, ArcKnight nearly exposed me in front of the city. We cannot afford this kind of distraction or complication this late in the plan. Do you understand?"
"Transparently, my lord," Ender bowed. "I'll drag ArcKnight out of whatever haystack he's hiding in and make him regret ever reconfiguring himself in the first place. By the time the time I'm done with him, there won't be a shred of code that hasn't been forensically dissected and pulled apart."
"See that it's done."
Without another word, Xaviax turned on his heel and strode toward the exit, the edges of his cloak billowing behind like shadow tendrils. Then, reaching the threshold, he stopped and turned menacingly back toward his minion.
"And Ender?" he added. "Remember that just like ArcKnight, your only value is in your use to me. I would make sure that I have no cause to reassess."
The entire ride back, neither Hilary nor Ray said a word, making only vain attempts to voice their thoughts before being smothered by greater confusion. Everyone was on high alert, with the Rangers immediately retreating to the Lab the moment the Cyberdrones had vanished. Having made it back to the console, Jessica was practically glued to the chair, watching the monitors like a hawk for any warning of another attack.
ArcKnight had attacked Scolex; they had defended Scolex! In the span of one afternoon, they'd gone from a swanky, if not boring, event to a chaotic scramble flipping everything they knew on its head. And Hilary had no idea where to even begin unraveling it.
Graciously, Jess had given her the chance to go up to the apartment, remaining glued to mission control while Hilary changed and discarded the ruined dress. It was only when Hilary had returned to the lab, now in more comfortable clothing and far more practical shoes, that Jess finally relented to going home to look after herself. The poor girl was white and shaking, clearly rattled from being closer to the action than ever before. It was only after Jess had left, kindly escorted home by Lena, that she and the rest of the team began unpacking the insanity that had unfolded.
"Just so we're clear," Erika stated. "That was ArcKnight that we were fighting?"
"And that was definitely Scolex that we were protecting?" Miguel added.
"How is that even possible?" Abbey asked. "I mean, I thought we destroyed him at the school?"
"I guess Xaviax could have brought him back," Zeke reasoned. "But then why would he then be attacking his own boss?"
"All good questions," Ray agreed, "but none of which we can answer right now. What we need to figure out what we're going to do about it."
"Well, for starters," Hilary decided. "If I'm getting into scraps protecting Scolex, he can pick up the dry-cleaning bill."
Especially given that he was the reason they were there in the first place.
For a long moment, the six of them all stood in silence, each of them struggling to comprehend the mess that was laid before them. Finally, it was Zeke who voiced the question on everyone's mind.
"I mean," he suggested nervously. "Do we have to do anything? It's not like we don't need to take Xaviax down; if they're going to fight, why don't we just let them and have the problem fix itself?"
"And how many people will get caught in the crossfire?" Abbey reasoned.
"She's right," Erika agreed. "At least when we go out there, we're doing all we can to keep people safe. But that will be the last thing on ArcKnight's mind. And as for Xaviax, I think we've got a pretty good idea about his thoughts on collateral damage."
"Besides," Ray agreed. "It's not up to us to decide who needs saving. As Power Rangers, it's up to do all we can to save everyone, even if they don't deserve it. When we take down Scolex, it won't be like this."
"Speaking of," Miguel realized. "Why did we have to? Erika and I have seen what he can do, Xaviax can hold his own. Why was he cowering behind a lectern while Ray and Hilary did the dirty work."
"Appearances, probably," Hilary said bitterly. "Any chance he gets, he plays the good guy, and that also means playing the victim. He can't use his powers without revealing himself to Lakeview as Xaviax, and there's no way he's giving up the friendly billionaire routine unless he's forced to. He knew we were there and that whether we wanted to or not, we'd protect him."
"So, what happens now?" Abbey asked sincerely. "Are we just fighting a war on two fronts? Whatever happened to "the enemy of my enemy"?"
Hilary shared a look with Ray, hoping that he'd have something wise and sage-like to spout instead of her cynical bad news. Because the truth was that while the Rangers would morally intervene for the sake of protecting the innocent, there was no way that Scolex would give them the same courtesy. There was just too much that they didn't know, and fighting blind was deadly.
"First thing we need to do is get answers," Hilary decided. "You guys head off. There's nothing you can do for now, and we'll call you if something happens."
"What are you going to do?" Erika asked.
"As for us," Hilary decided. "Ray and I are going to make an appointment. I think we need to have a chat with our dear friend, Davian Scolex."
She had no idea whether this was a good idea or not, but Lena knew that she had to do it. Scratch that, it was a terrible idea. But that didn't change its necessity.
Rather than returning to the lab, Lena headed uptown after dropping Jess at home. Everything she needed was already on her person, and there was nothing else that could help. Very briefly, she considered calling it in and warning Ray and Hilary of what she was considering. But she also knew that they'd only try to stop her. Worse still, they could insist on going with her.
No, for better or worse, this was something that she had to do alone.
So, after she'd made sure that Jess was feeling safe and secure, Lena had pulled out her phone and opened an old and long discard chat log. It had been months since it had ever been looked at, long muted for the sake of her sanity.
Way back when Lena had been sent to infiltrate the Rangers, a backup line of communication had been established. Access to direct communication would be limited, and so it had been decided that they needed a more mundane method should the need ever arise. A simple group chat, just like 'the kids these days,' had been set up between Lena, Ender, and ArcKnight. It had barely been used, mostly just for Lena to quickly report on the Rangers' movements, but now it was the lifeline that Lena needed.
Pulling it up, she'd quickly scrolled through the many expletives that Ender had sent her upon rebellion, selecting ArcKnight's contact details and opening a separate line. The message had been short and simple: Heading home if you want to talk. He'd know what it meant, and Lena just had to hope that ArcKnight would not only receive it but respond in good faith. From there, she began the journey to another place long forgotten, the emergency rendezvous point for if her infiltration ever went south.
She had no idea what to expect, but Lena knew that she had to try. That she, and she alone, was the only person with any hope of succeeding. She needed to find out why ArcKnight had turned against his master, to see whether a once enemy could become their friend.
Still, she was cautious. There were a million things that could go wrong, not least that Ender could have intercepted the message and laid a trap for one or both of them. To be safe, she'd parked the car two blocks back before cautiously approaching the meeting place on foot, creeping forward between every corner to keep her eyes peeled for a trap or ambush.
One block later, Lena was standing before the rendezvous point as the ruined structure loomed before her. It had been a joke, Ender's idea of humor, that the rendezvous points should be right beside Lena's made-up address. Now, the curling shadows within called to her, a dark specter of her past coming back for another haunting. One that only she could banish.
But there was no turning back, not if Lena wanted to live with herself after everything she knew. She didn't just owe it to ArcKnight, but herself to give the choice that she had for so long been denied. And so, with a nervous breath, Lena stepped across the threshold and into the awaiting darkness.
The cold, stale air hit her as she entered, clawing at her skin as Lena continued her trespass and ventured into the ruin. It was only when she wound through the crumbling walls and out into the open central courtyard that her nerves picked up on a disturbance, an instinctive warning that she was being watched and followed. That someone knew where she was and was watching to see where she was going.
Throwing caution to the wind, Lena whipped around, snapping into a fighting stance with the expectation of seeing either ArcKnight or a horde of Cyberdrones. But instead, the person who met her was far, far worse.
"Hey there, Mileena," Lieutenant Kyle Mason said coldly. "Fancy meeting you here."