Episode 28

How the Rabbit Hole Goes

"Doing a coffee run!" called a voice by the office door. "Anyone want anything?"

Charlotte turned to Hilary with a quizzical look as the programmer politely shook her head. "No, that's fine!"

As the door closed, the CEO returned her attention to the new hire, and Hilary shifted nervously in her seat.

"Thanks so much for your help," Charlotte said gratefully. "I just have no idea how we were going to get all the transfers done in time. This merger just happened so quickly."

"Don't worry about it," Hilary replied. "It's nice to get out of my office. Besides, my assistant's so efficient she practically runs the museum without me."

"I think that's putting it lightly," buzzed an amused voice in Hilary's ear. "I think it's more accurate to say that I do run it without you."

Hilary actively resisted the urge to reply to her assistant's snark as she kept her focus on Charlotte. Jess was right, Hilary owed her big time and even more than normal. Any other instance, and she wouldn't have even dreamed of asking Jess to pull the overtime and double-duty she was pulling. But the opportunity was too good to miss, and Hilary knew she had to take it.

It all started a week earlier when she'd been combing through any Scolex Industry file she could get her hands on. Scolex's business was growing, that much Hilary knew, but how he was doing it was another matter entirely. There was no way he was buying it under his company name, and Hilary had already linked enough shell companies to assume that it was Scolex's main method of operation. But even in narrowing it down, Hilary had no idea what to do with the information she'd been gathering. She was following a paper trail, but she had no idea where it was leading.

Hilary was at an absolute loss, and she could only feel the answers slipping further away as Xaviax escalated his plans. He was buying out half the city, expanding his operations beneath it, and sinking his claws even deeper into city hall. And all of that was even before considering how he was going after the Rangers.

It was one thing to send monsters into the streets, where the Rangers could face them with the protection of their suits, or even to jump them out in the open when they could still call for backup. But Erika had been attacked in her home, victimized where she was most vulnerable with no one around to help her. And that created a whole new level of fear. It seemed like Hilary was now running updates on the firewalls every hour, sealing up fresh weaknesses before Xaviax could exploit them to attack the Rangers and their families.

Once, back when Hilary had first been a Ranger, she'd been on the receiving end of an attack at her home. Her parents had thankfully been out, but the Byte-Bots had managed to make their way inside, and Hilary could still remember the feeling of frightened violation that came from knowing her enemy had entered her inner sanctum. But that was then, when she had been a scarred kid herself, and back then Doc had done all he could to assure her and the team that it could never happen again.

But Doc was gone now, his whereabouts still a mystery, and Hilary was now on his side of the keyboard. The responsibility for the team lay in her hands, and she was not going to fail them. Keeping up wasn't working, they'd tried matching pace, and Xaviax was still so many turns ahead. They needed to pull out front, again, some kind of leverage to start solving problems before they arose. And the only way Hilary could get that leg-up was getting a lead through Scolex's business operations.

And that was when fate came knocking.

Charlotte Canning, the owner of a local accounting firm, had been standing in front of Hilary one morning in the coffee line, bemoaning to her colleague the difficulties they were having with their recent merger. After a few lightning searches on her phone, Hilary had quickly surmised that the "merger" was with one of Scolex's shell companies, and the firm was just the latest of Lakeview's business to be sucked into the growing corporate beast.

With the long list of ever-growing IT issues, the company's unknowing integration into Cyberdyne Industries was leaving Charlotte at her wit's end. Even without the sleuthing opportunity it presented, sympathy alone would have prompted Hilary to offer her services. No one in the city knew computers like she did, and certainly not anyone willing to help for free.

"Okay, so we've got the basic inputs for the server migration," Charlotte explained as she finalized Hilary's system access. "The new office wants us to move all of our archived files onto the central server."

"Not current ones?" Hilary asked quizzically as Charlotte shook her head.

"No, just the old cases we're keeping for tax reasons. They want open cases to stay on our server to keep them contained for security purposes. They said they've got larger storage capacity in their central network, and it'll free up space for more storage on our end."

Hilary nodded but said nothing, only half buying the explanation while suspecting that Charlotte had no idea what half those terms meant. One look around the office, and Hilary could see what made them the perfect target. Honest, hard-working people who were just trying to keep their business afloat while providing a service to their community. Their IT support, security, and data storage would have been the best they could afford, and what they could afford couldn't have been much. But while it made them vulnerable, Hilary had to admit that one peculiarity stuck out to her.

"If you don't mind me asking," she said. "Why is this even happening? You're not a publicly listed company; it's not like your new owners could force a buy-out. Your whole brand is being locally owned and operated; why the sudden urge to accept a merger?"

"You should have seen the deal they offered," Charlotte replied. "I still have a majority share in the business, and we have an iron-clad agreement over autonomy. Their only requests were that we share clients when appropriate and we join their collective databank on their central server. I had our lawyers go through the contract with a fine-toothed comb; it was like a dream come true."

She was right, it was. But a recent experience with dreams offered by Xaviax only made Hilary more wary and suspicious. If Scolex had no interest in control of the business, what did he even need it for? Why even care about a small accounting firm that would gain him next to nothing? Whatever the answer was, Hilary doubted the motive was anything other than sinister.

Having thanked Charlotte for helping her settle, Hilary set to work helping with the IT issues, all the while combing the lines and lines of code for any clue of what her nemesis was up to. This was her in, her way to scrape the server of their enemy and glimpse at the plans they had in store. She needed to make it count.

"How goes the mining?" Jess asked lazily in her ear.

"It's exhilarating," Hilary replied dryly. Honestly, were she at her terminal in the lab, it would only take her half a second. A computer with twenty times the processing power and the wall of monitors at her disposal would easily let her sift through the haystack for a needle. But creating an upload to the lab would only compromise its security, and under no circumstance was Hilary letting Xaviax get an opportunity to take another run at that.

"Anything exciting report from mission control?" she asked instead.

"Day's been quiet," Jess replied. "Both on the monster and museum front. Honestly, you couldn't have picked a better time. It looks like you even managed to find a slot for your husband in your calendar."

The sudden mention twanged at Hilary's conscience, guiltily realizing that she'd forgotten her four o'clock appointment. They'd decided on it over the weekend after Ray had noted his concern about how hard Hilary was working and how little time she was leaving for herself. He'd suggested making a date and that they could meet up after work for some time together. Hilary knew what he was doing, offering himself up as an excuse to take a break. But even that only made her feel guiltier, that he felt the need to be an excuse at all.

What was the last time they'd gone out together? Dinner with Jake may well have been it, and Hilary had to admit even that was mostly because he was one of their oldest and closest friends. But an outing just the two of them? A date? Hilary couldn't even remember; she'd been so busy with the museum and the lab and her investigations into Xaviax that she rarely took more than an hour for herself, let alone her husband.

Ray had made the suggestion for her well-being, but Hilary was agreeing for him.

"What can I say?" Hilary said flippantly, deciding that she didn't need to unload her marital missteps onto her assistant. "Keeping the spark alive."

"You two are so sweet," Jess giggled. "I'll mark you down for 'do not disturb' and let you know if there's a problem."

"Thank you kindly."

As her assistant dropped off the coms, Hilary fixed her focus on the computer in front of her, eyes narrowing on the rolling lines of code.

"Alright, Xaviax," she muttered determinedly. "Let's see what you're up to."

Ray leaned back on his chair, enjoying the soft afternoon light filtering through his office window as Erika sat opposite and smiling. A little more than a week since the incident on her birthday, and at last, Erika had come to his office for a debrief. Ray knew that it was best to give her time, that pushing her too soon to reflect on what had happened could cause her close-up instead. He couldn't even begin to imagine going through what Xaviax had inflicted upon her, to come face to face with a world she'd long dreamed of, only to be forced to walk away.

But for all Ray's apprehension, Erika was in high spirits, relaxed as she sat in the chair with a fresh lightness about her demeanor. There was more color in her clothing, her make-up was less heavy, and even her hair was loose and more exposed, tidily combed as it brushed the tips of her shoulders. Her look was still unmistakably hers, yet now Erika's appearance was open and vibrant, no longer the visage of someone who wished to hide and be left alone.

"It feels weird," Erika admitted. "After everything that happened, I feel like I should be thanking Xaviax. Is that weird?"

"How do you mean?" Ray asked her non-committedly.

"I know I should be furious," said Erika. "Believe me, when I first figured it all out, I was. But after? When I'd made my choice? When I was done crying and giving that monster everything I had? I don't know; I felt lighter. I felt better, even. I got to see my mom again, and I got to see what my life would have been like with her. And it also helped me realize that her leaving is a part of me now, and nothing's going to change that. It's not good; it's not bad; it just is. It's like granting me my wish helped me let go of it.'

"You would have got there on your own eventually," Ray said warmly. "You've come a long way already."

"I know," Erika conceded. "But there's something about seeing it all for myself, about being able to walk away. At the time, it was like tearing off my own arm, but now that I'm on the other side, it felt almost easier. Xaviax made that place to trap me, but I think it ended up freeing me."

"I can't imagine what it would have taken to leave that all behind," said Ray. "It would have taken a lot of courage to take that step, and I think it's fair to say that plenty of people wouldn't have been able to do the same."

"I think I know a few others who could have done it," Erika replied.

Ray said nothing as he leaned back in his chair. It wasn't hard to pick up on what Erika was implying, but in truth, he had no idea if she was right. It wasn't that he didn't know how it felt to have a hole forever empty from the absence of another. He knew what it was like to grow with it. But Ray knew that, for him, it was different. While it helped him relate to the girl needing help in front of him, he also knew that he'd had warning, he'd been as prepared as he could when his mother was taken from him, and that he'd had now nearly twenty years to come to terms with it.

No, the Dreamworld wouldn't have shown Ray the mother he'd lost when he was young. If it was built to show him his heart's desire, then it would have been something he'd equally wanted nothing more than to hold onto forever. Maybe it was something that even he didn't realize he wanted. And walking away would be just as hard for him as would anyone else.

"That's the funny thing about dreams," Ray said. "They're not real, and they stop becoming dreams once they are. It's what makes them easy to love, to wish for, and easy to hold on to. They're just ideas that give us comfort, that keep us looking ahead and moving forward. But they can also keep us trapped in the past if we're not careful."

"Or isolate us from the present," Erika agreed. There was a smirk about her as she said it, like she'd figured out what Ray was going to say and beat him to it. Ray couldn't have been prouder; it meant she knew how it applied to her. And how it could help her.

"People always say we have to hold onto our dreams," he said. "But sometimes it's just as important to let them go. It's the only way we can make room for new ones."

If Ray could think of any lesson that was hardest to learn, it was that. Something that could so often only come from experience, of feeling a dream become an anchor as opportunities slipped away. It was the hardest part of growing up, learning to accept the life you had instead of longing for the one you wanted, and Ray had to admit that he'd seen plenty of adults still grappling with that same conundrum. That Erika had some conclusion at only eighteen filled him with the warmest pride.

With Ray's check-in and Erika's reflection over, their session came to a close, and both rose as Erika made her way to the door. But this time, not unlike when she'd left in her very first session, Erika stopped at the doorway, taking a moment to turn back and look at the man who had guided her path.

"Xaviax isn't the only one I need to thank, you know," Erika smiled as she broke Ray's distant contemplation.

"How do you mean?" Ray asked. Her first conclusion had been insightful enough; he couldn't wait to hear who else she felt belonged on that list. But nothing could prepare Ray for who it was.

"You," said Erika. "As much as you say that other people wouldn't have been able to let go like I did, I don't think the girl I was a year ago would've either. And I have you to thank for that."

It was like a breath had been stolen from his chest, a surprised gasp sucking in and freezing still. Ray had always been proud of her, from her early resolve to her insightful questions to her determination to do what was right. To strive and do better. But to hear Erika's thanks, her gratitude for all he'd helped her with, was more to bear than Ray had ever realized. His eyes grew heavy, the shimmering weight growing at the base of his eyelids as he pushed a shuddered breath to calm. To maintain even an ounce of professionalism as he looked back at the girl in his office and smiled with equal gratitude.

"You would have," Ray insisted. "You always had the strength."

"But you taught me to use it," said Erika as her own eyes began to shimmer. "You taught me to see it for what it was, take what I saw as a weakness, and turn it into power. I used to only see myself as broken, as a problem. But thanks to you, I'm whole, and it's like I'm exactly who I always could have been. And I will never be able to thank you enough."

The words kept escaping him, no matter how hard Ray tried to form them, standing there stammering in shocked astoundment as Erika insisted on his importance. It was one thing to see how far she'd come, to surrender to a modicum of professional vanity and glow with an immensity of pride at her achievement. But to hear Erika's gratitude, to hear in her own words how much he'd helped her, was enough to make his heart burst.

"It's been an honor," was all Ray managed to get out.

There they stood, tearily beaming at the other in a feedback loop of gratitude. Eventually, Erika asked for a hug. Her! A hug! And giving the all-clear, Ray complied, a shared sign of warm admiration between the counselor and his client.

At long last, Ray pulled back, giving Erika plenty of room to leave following her confession. Neither said anything, but both knew. Erika wouldn't be in that office again for a very long time. If she ever would be again.

"Thanks for everything, Ray," she smiled one last time.

"You don't owe me anything," Ray repeated warmly. "You never have."

This time, Erika nodded, accepting Ray's insistence with the lightness of laughter before stepping back across the threshold and out into the world.

"See you around."

And then she turned and left, a bounce in her step as Ray proudly watched. It was why he did the job, why he'd begun walking that path all those years ago. So, he could use every hour he could spare to make people's lives better. And today, he'd seen proof that he was succeeding.

He couldn't wait to tell Hilary.

Speaking of…

Checking his watch, Ray noted the time and hurried to his desk for his bag. Plenty of time to get across town for his afternoon date. Good news aside, he was glad that he'd been able to convince his wife to take the time to meet him. Truth was, Ray was growing more worried about her with every passing day. Her evenings spent in the lab were growing longer, and once or twice he'd awoken to find that she'd already risen and returned to her computer in hopes of uncovering Xaviax's plans. Secretly, Ray suspected he'd reach a morning where she'd never come to bed at all, and that her obsession with defeating Xaviax was leading into an unhealthy spiral.

Even this new project, helping the firm with its server migration, was only adding to her list of tasks. So, for Hilary to take even a little time from to poke out of her ever-deepening rabbit hole and meet for a bite to eat? Ray was going to take that as a win.

And so, with a smile as wide as his cheeks would allow, Ray trotted off to the car, eager to make the most of his time with his wife.

ArcKnight stormed into the lab like a bursting gale with an air of impatient fury. Every breath seethed fresh anger, boiling within his chest as he strode toward Ender's workstation.

"Have you lost something?" Ender asked amusedly, barely looking away from his screen.

"I will not stand for this," ArcKnight growled. "I am a warrior. I was created to lead our master's armies and lay waste to his enemies. I should be bringing this city to its knees, not skulking about in the shadows like cowardly vermin."

"The polite thing to say after a tirade like that is 'no offense'," Ender replied dryly.

"I can assure you it was very much intended."

"Oh ho ho!" Ender laughter. "ArcKnight, was that a joke? A verbal barb intended to wound me? My, my, how far you've come."

"That I have been further degraded by your constant presence," ArcKnight replied. "a further sign that I am being wasted hiding away in these halls."

"Well, ArcKnight," Ender suggested. "If you've got a problem with the grand scheme, you can always take it up with the man upstairs…"

ArcKnight glowered as he stepped back, begrudgingly conceding to the obvious flaw in his frustration as Ender gleefully returned to his work.

Months! It had been months now!

Ender would sit there, chuckling at his schemes on his keyboard, while ArcKnight would be left to pace in restless anticipation. Where once, the mighty knight had been a trusted part of his master's inner circle, Xaviax had long since stopped informing him of his plans, instead conferring only with Ender.

Now, it seemed that ArcKnight was only ever deployed to serve as a distraction for the Rangers, cast out to receive a humiliating defeat in service of Ender's gains. While Ender chuckled away with his petty trickery, ArcKnight's honor was impugned time and time again. It was an outrage, and he would stand for it no longer.

"I swear I need a better weather app," Ender said snidely. "I don't remember my current one mentioning any chance of sulking."

"To hold me back like this is an insult," ArcKnight replied. "The Rangers are being allowed to consolidate their power, and yet you seem content to tinker without any cause for alarm."

Even as he turned to face his comrade, Ender was unable to drop the smirk and air of condescension. "ArcKnight, we've been over this. The Rangers are busy chasing their tails, and you need to keep them occupied. Besides, are you really sure you want to blame me for all your bad beats? I'm pretty sure I was able to take on a whole heap of them in a fight just the other week. And from memory, while I was facing three of them, you cornered your favorite Dark Ranger alone. But somehow, he was still standing when reinforcements arrived. Just saying…"

ArcKnight scowled again, fist tightening as he held back the urge to throttle his comrade. The little worm was nothing compared to him. Ender only ever entered the fray begrudgingly, resorting to nothing but cheap shots to take his wins when he wasn't busy running away from harm. It would be so easy for ArcKnight to send him to oblivion then and there to prove himself superior once and for all. But Ender had something that ArcKnight didn't: protection. For whatever reason, their master favored the sniveling monster maker. And for that reason, ArcKnight had to hold his challenge.

"You may snicker at my side of our shared defeats," ArcKnight warned him. "But one day, our master will cease to be impressed by your horrendous creations. And when that day comes, he'll have far more need of me than he will of you."

"I'm quaking in my stylish boots," Ender replied lazily as he returned his attention to his work. "Let me know if I should start sleeping with one eye open. Or would that take away your fighting chance?"

ArcKnight stifled a flurry of insults and spun upon his heel, storming out of the lab as Ender quietly chuckled behind him. He deserved more than this, to be cast aside until their master required only a cursory need of him. Xaviax just needed to be reminded of his value, of why he created a warrior of ArcKnight's caliber in the first place.

Yes, ArcKnight knew exactly what he needed to do, what would win him his master's favor. Then he could show that sniveling Ender what true victory was. The value of true loyalty.

And, if ArcKnight chose his target and timing correctly, he could even kill two birds with a single stone…

Hilary's eyes felt like they were going to fall out of her skull, and maybe they would have if her heavy eyelids hadn't kept threatening to drop closed as she struggled to stay awake. This server migration may well have been the most boring task she had ever undertaken. And that was a saying a lot after the numerous late-night analytic algorithms Hilary had run during her PhD.

It wouldn't have been so bad if Hilary could determine what the point of it even was; at least then, she could begin considering ways to speed the process up. But the requirements from the firm's new managers made no sense! They wanted almost none of the actual relevant case and client data, mostly requiring a backup uplink for document retrieval should it ever be required for legal matters. Even then, the format they'd put in place required direct authentication on the firm's end, removing any real convenience of the uplink in the first place.

In fact, the more Hilary examined the uplink she'd been requested to make, the more she realized that very little data was actually going out at all, causing her to question what Scolex was even gaining from the acquisition. There was consolidation of information, but Hilary doubted that a small downtown financial firm was going to add much at all to the megacorporation's profits. But at the same time, it compelled her, enthralling curiosity-grabbing hold to lure Hilary deeper into the spinning web. The fact that it didn't make sense only perked her interest further, the absence of something so seemingly normal was just another indicator that Scolex was up to no good.

Her phone buzzed, breaking Hilary from the enthralling spell to remind her that it was time to wrap up. It was the early warning that her afternoon date with her husband was drawing near and that she needed to leave soon if she hoped to be on time. And as the main cause for their lack of quality couple time, Hilary was determined not to make her husband wait.

Confirming the reminder from her phone, Hilary readied to depart. She wasn't making much headway anyway, only earning more questions from her tedious hours before a screen. There probably wasn't much to be learned from the site; despite hours of coding, the firm's servers were only on the edges of Scolex's own, and any real access they'd be afforded would be limited. No, it was best to accept the questions uncovered in her inquiry and come back tomorrow for a little more assistance before politely telling Charlotte she'd done all that she could.

At least the firm's clients would be happy, Hilary noted as she got up from the chair. No data was compromised; all confidentiality was being safely maintained. Pretty easy feat when no relevant data was actually going… out…

It was a lightbulb moment, Hilary's posture snapping straight as the brainwave swept her up. She was on the wrong end of it, looking at it only from the perspective of the server site. But connections were always two-way, and even if no data was leaving…

A heartbeat later, Hilary was back in the chair, fingers dancing in the keys as she rebooted the system to examine the firm's full data stream. Sure enough, she found what she was looking for. Little in the way data was leaving the server, but there was sure as hell was a lot going in.

Bingo.

Now Hilary was getting somewhere, sniffing out the source of foul play that might at last give her an edge. It was exactly what she'd been looking for, maybe not a smoking gun, but it could well be the true beginning of the paper trail. And it was the perfect place to start when she got back in the morning.

Although…

Hilary's heart skipped a beat, feeling the siren song of her inquisitive instinct attempt to lure her further still. She did have somewhere to be, but it was also the first real lead they'd obtained in months. Hilary's eyes flicked back to her phone, guiltily confirming the time as she ran a lightning-fast assessment. She didn't have to leave just yet. She had time. And did she really want to take the risk that Scolex wouldn't learn that she'd been poking around?

Just a quick peek to see what they were dealing with. She could still make her date on time.

With the fresh thrill of exhilaration flushing through her chest, Hilary leaned closer to the screen, eager to interrogate her findings.

Jackpot.

The city street was quiet for a Thursday afternoon, and Ray had to admit he was enjoying it as he patiently sat at the outdoor table. He liked the Hub as a local coffee spot, but he had to admit that it wasn't really his vibe. Fifteen years ago, maybe, but not anymore. Now, the calm was his preference over the buzz, a nice place to sit over the popular place to be.

Of course, that didn't mean he wanted no company.

Ray's serene expression faded into a frown as he checked his watch. Hilary should have been there by now, even accounting for crosstown traffic. Although, it was a safe bet that she hadn't been delayed by traffic at all. More likely, she'd just accidentally fallen into a rabbit hole and lost track of time.

Right now, Ray expected that Hilary was blissfully tapping away at the keys as she peeled back on her latest discovery, oblivious to the world around her. And any moment now, he was going to get a panicked message profusely apologizing for becoming so absorbed that she'd completely forgotten their date.

It's how it had always been, certainly in their college years when they were meeting halfway. Many plans over the years had been made around Ray coming to Hilary to make sure that she left the lab on time, from their time at college in the Bay Area, to when he followed Hilary to Boston for her grad, to now, in Lakeview, where they were battling monsters every day beside a team of teenagers.

With a resigned chuckle, Ray finished his coffee and opened up his phone, confirming the lack of messages before hailing an Uber. If he couldn't bring his wife to their date, then he'd just have to bring the date to Hilary.

But it was just as he'd flicked open the app that Ray got a sinking feeling in his gut, paired with the prickling hairs on the back of his neck as years of honed instinct sounded its warning. A dark shape loomed above him, and just as quickly, the small cluster of café patrons screamed as they took off running. Ray hissed a readied breath, snapping to his feet and whipping around to glare at his unwanted company. To see ArcKnight standing on the curb with a menacing air about him.

"I've got to admit," said Ray. "You're not the person I was hoping to see just now."

"Your hopes are irrelevant to me, Gold Ranger," ArcKnight growled. "I have come to claim a prize for my master. Today will be your end."

"So, you keep telling me," Ray replied. "But now's not a great time, I was planning on having an afternoon with my wife. So, if you'll excuse me."

The movement was a bait, but one that ArcKnight took gladly. As Ray stepped to move past, ArcKnight blocked his path. Too close for Ray to redirect, too far to reach out and strike. ArcKnight snarled as Ray skidded to a stop, the whole street filling with a flash of green as the Cyberdrones dropped down around him. Great; cornered, exposed, and outnumbered. His surprise office visit was going to have to wait.

"You guys came all this way just to hang out with little old me?" Ray taunted as he shifted into a fighting stance, slyly tapping the distress button on his watch before focusing on the encroaching horde. "I'd say I'm flattered, but it's honestly just creepy."

"The only thing you should feel is fear," ArcKnight replied. "It will herald your impending demise!"

And then the Cyberdrones descended with full force and fury.

The first one grabbed Ray's shoulder, an iron grip to hold him still as its comrade came from the side. But Ray was ready, eyes tracking his first assailant as he readied his body for the assault. As the hand clamped down, Ray's hand snatched to grab its grasp, bracing on his captor as the other closed in. His foot shot out, hooking around the ankle of the robot to send it crashing to the ground as the communicator finally beeped back.

"Ray?" Jess' worried voice sounded through the speaker. "What's going on?"

"Just down at the local café," Ray replied. "The work-end rush is getting killer."

"I'm calling the others!"

"Please and thank you!"

By then, the rest had closed in, but Ray was already moving. With one swift movement, he leaped into an aerial cartwheel, soaring over the grasping strikes as he landed beside a nearby table. Without wasting a second, Ray snatched up the nearby tray, whipping it in front of his face as a metallic hand clanged into the surface. Ray threw it back, the robot stumbling as Ray spun into thunderous kicks before ducking behind another blow.

"Sorry guys, they're about to close," he warned them "Looks like you'll have to take it to go."

As the remaining Cyberdrones clambered to catch him, Ray leaped back, rolling over the table as he sent the tray spinning from his hands. The disk clanged into a robot's neck, sending it toppling into the robots behind it as Ray landed on the other side.

"Still want it in?" he chuckled. "Fine then, here's your table." His leg kicked out, shoe smacking into the edge of the tabletop and smashing into a robot's stomach. With the boost he needed, Ray leaped up, bounding from the surface to soar above the drones. As he did, his eyes began to glow, and a barrage of red beams unleashed to sear into the henchmen below. As he landed, the robots dropped, smoke seething from their chests as they collapsed in a crumbling heap.

"Alright, ArcKnight," Ray decided. "Can we just skip to the end, or are you going to insist on getting there the long way?"

"If you wish to draw out your sufferance," ArcKnight replied. "Then I can only oblige."

Great.

Ray had barely caught his breath when ArcKnight lunged at him. The giant, black-iron sword crashed into outdoor furniture, rendering it into a rain of splinters as Ray desperately dived. The Morpher flashed to his wrist as he rolled to his feet, spinning around to face his foe.

"You really are keen on an afternoon alone with me, aren't you?" said Ray. "Word of advice? You're coming on a bit strong; it makes you seem desperate."

"If my strength intimidates you, then you are welcome to surrender."

"I'm just getting started. Server Force! Login Access!"

The morphing grid awoke from the device, showering Ray in golden light as the power imbued within him. The suit wrapped around his limbs, and a fresh intensity energized from within as it flushed through his body. As the armored plating reinforced his shoulders, the helm encased his head, and the black visor shunted before his eyes as he emerged from the fading light.

"If a fight is what you want," Ray decided. "Then it'd be rude to give you anything less."

"I agree," ArcKnight replied with the flourish of his blade. "At last, we will see which of us is truly superior."

The warrior charged as Ray's Mainframe defender unfolded into a mighty blade, reading for the assault as more green flared around them. The weapons clashed, both powered fighters lunging into the furious melee as more and more Cyberdrones dropped into the square, forming a circle that caged the two of them in. That would keep any interference out.

As he swatted ArcKnight back, Ray gritted his teeth, knowing full well what the growing crowd now meant. If ArcKnight was going to lose, then Ray doubted he'd keep playing fair. And even if he would, Ender certainly wouldn't. And no doubt the onlookers would be ready to lunge and grab at Ray the second he faulted. He needed backup, and he needed it now.

Ray could only hope that his team, and his wife, would get the warning before it was too late.

Hilary could only stare at the screen, wide-eyed and stunned at what she'd discovered. She was right, a whole lot of data was going into the server and had been from the moment Charlotte's business had plugged into Scolex Industries. At first, Hilary had hoped to decode the information being uploaded, to find out what could possibly require such a massive data dump into a small, local server.

But that quickly proved almost impossible. The layers of encryption were far too complex for Hilary to break with the time and tools available. But that only caused Hilary's curiosity to grow, causing more and more questions to spin around her mind as she continued digging deeper and deeper.

What could it even be? What was even worth uploading like this in the first place? It couldn't be spyware; Scolex didn't need it. Not when he was contractually permitted to access any of the firm's data and information already. Malware? Not something this big, not on this scale. It wouldn't take much to cripple a system like this, and if he wanted it undetected, then the smaller the better.

It was only as Hilary began to examine the data stream itself, looking away from what it could be and focusing instead on what it was doing, that at last, its true purpose revealed itself. The code was unfolding on the screen, growing and shrinking, line-by-line, with elements of commonality before sending a small return signal back through the connection.

It was calculating.

Scolex hadn't bought the company because he needed the service, or the data, or even the money or real estate. He'd wanted the servers, the physical capacity for data calculation. And Hilary didn't doubt for even a second that he'd done the exact same thing in every other business he'd got his hands on.

Hilary could only stare in wide-eyed horror as she retraced her knowledge of every single business Scolex had consolidated. It stretched across the entire city. This wasn't about one business or a collection of them. It was about all of them.

He was turning Lakeview into a giant super-computer!

And Hilary could only imagine what he could possibly do with that much raw computing and Digitizer at his disposal.

The code, she had to crack it; now could be her only shot. Hilary knew that by the next morning, Scolex could already have figured out what she was up to. If she could find out what he was trying to calculate, even just a snippet, then maybe she could come up with a counter-measure. Come up with some way of stopping his plan for good. To stop him from coming after the people she loved.

And no sooner had Hilary flipped to a new screen to begin a cipher algorithm than the screen on her wrist communicator started strobing. "Jess?" Hilary hissed impatiently. "What is it?"

"It's Ray!" came the panicked reply. "ArcKnight cornered him!"

Icy fear jolted through Hilary's veins, and she gasped in horrified realization as her eyes flashed to the time. She'd lost track of time; she'd left him there alone. She'd been so consumed by her discovery that she'd completely neglected her date with her husband!

And ArcKnight had seen him as ripe for the picking.

"I'm on my way!"

Dammit! Ray was in danger, and it was all her fault. Hilary snatched up her keys and leaped from the chair, striding toward the door as she mentally scanned her memory of the building for the nearest secluded exit. She could come back for the car later; Ray needed her now.

But as she reached the door, Hilary paused, turning back to the still-open server screen and all its promising secrets. This was her one chance to learn everything she could. If she left now, she could lose the one lead they had. It could be exactly what Xaviax wanted.

Or that was the idea, to keep her busy with the allure of knowledge to leave her husband alone and exposed. And then another thought hit her, one that came with a painful stab of guilt. Her husband was in danger, and all she could think about was what it was costing her.

Her mission didn't matter. Not now. Not when Ray needed her.

Spinning on her heel, Hilary stormed from the office, skidding down the fire stairs and into the empty alley beside the building.

"Jess?" she asked hurriedly. "Tell me the others are on their way."

"The beacon is lit," came the reply. "Full team heading in."

"Then I'm right behind them," Hilary replied as the bulky Morpher flashed to her wrist. "Sever Force! Login Access!"

She was already running as the light enveloped her, racing into the silver glow as the suit digitized around her body. She didn't have time to wait around; she needed to be out there. She should've been out there. And there was no way Hilary wasn't getting there as fast as she could.

The light shot down upon the scene, flaring like a spiraling column of silver flame as Hilary leaped into the action. Empowered by the grid, she launched high, soaring over the unfolding chaos as she desperately scanned for her husband. The other Rangers had arrived, charging into the horde of Cyberdrones and fierce bid to reach their teammate. But ArcKnight had come prepared, and the numbers were more than enough to hold the Rangers at bay.

But among the choppy sea of robots, she couldn't find him, and down below, they'd covered more area than she could clear in a single bound. With righteous fury, Hilary opened fire with her Mainframe Blasters, silver beams booming as it broke apart the horde, and more Cyberdrones rushed to fill the gaps.

Out on the edges, the other Rangers were doing their best. In the center of the formation, Miguel and Zeke stood side-by-side, using the shield to keep the striking weapons of the Dark Rangers as his Dark Saber cleaved through the masses. But what they gained in defense and coordination, they were losing in speed, and the sheer numbers were more than enough to make up the differences in losses. Lena and Erika weren't fairing any better. While their axe and spear were hitting the Cyberdrones beneath a volley of Abbey's covering fire, they too were struggling to advance before the Cyberdrones could reposition. The henchmen may have been breaking on the weapons like water on rock, but the Rangers' pace was also stonelike.

Which meant it was time for a new plan.

"Where's Ray?" Hilary demanded as she landed beside Erika. Without missing a beat, the Red Ranger spun around, cleaving her axe through a Cyberdrone as she turned to meet her.

"He's in the center!" she explained. "ArcKnight's got him cornered and using his goons to keep the rest of us back!"

Hilary scowled as she registered the news, mind racing for a solution before time ran out. If ArcKnight was holding them back, then it meant he was riding out the clock. Holding Ray in a deadlock, all he needed to do was wait for the Gold Ranger to tire. Peering over the bobbing heads, at last, Hilary found her husband, his presence signaled by a booming blast in the distance. Sure enough, there he was, swirling in a frenzied melee as he crossed blades with ArcKnight.

He was fighting the battle alone, and he never should've had to. Hilary needed to get to him. Now!

"Guys?" Hilary ordered into the com. "We're going to spear-tip and push. Erika, lead the charge. Miguel and Lena can cover from behind while Abbey and I lay down fire to keep the gap open. Zeke, when we break open a path, go as hard as you can and keep them back!"

"Right!"

The Rangers sounded a unanimous reply, swiftly somersaulting into a regrouped position as they prepared to face the horde together.

Without another word, Erika spun around to face the rising horde, charging full-pelt with her axe wound back and glowing. Leaping high, the Red Ranger plunged into the thick of the writhing sea, axe-head bursting with crimson light as it crashed into her target. The Cyberdrones went flying, tossed in all directions by the force of the blow as Lena and Miguel descended. They leaped over their comrade, spear and sword beating back the encroaching Cyberdrones as Hilary and Abbey unleashed their weapons behind them. The beams of blue and silver burst into explosive balls of flames, shattering the robots' lines and at last leaving room to land.

"Zeke! Now!"

"Coming through!"

The Yellow Ranger surged forward, shield braced against his shoulder as he pummeled through the like a battering ram. The way was clearing, and the Rangers were making headway into the horde as another blast from Ray's battle boomed in the distance. Hilary vaulted high, soaring toward the cleared ground as she began her desperate bid to reach her husband.

Hang on, Ray!

If it were only ever that simple. No sooner had Hilary taken flight when a sudden burst of energy flared toward the Rangers. They dived just in time, the shot bursting at their feet to unleash a fiery shockwave that sent them soaring. Having been lucky in her timing, Hilary landed on the scorched earth as the smoke subsided, the Rangers clambering to their feet as they turned and stared at the source in frustration.

It was a giant metal ball; tiny hands, head, and feet protruding from its casing and standing there with a glowing, orange fury in its eyes. Across its stomach, a separate crevice stretched from one end to the other, shaped like a row of clenched razor teeth. Great, so ArcKnight had brought tougher backup.

"Looks like things are reaching boiling point!" it laughed at them. "Guess I better roll with it!"

Dammit! Hilary's breathing tightened as she spun back to her destination. She was so close! But as much as Hilary wanted desperately to reach her husband's side, she knew where her priorities needed to lie. Ray would have to hold a little longer; she couldn't turn and run while there was a monster on the loose.

"Don't forget about us!"

The Rangers had other ideas. As Lena and Miguel snapped to their feet and lunged at the horde, Erika, Abbey, and Zeke vaulted high. Security Pistols drawn, they opened fire, beams of primary light searing down and bouncing off the monster's spherical skin as they landed beside Hilary.

"We've got this," Erika insisted. "Go get Ray!"

Hilary wasn't going to argue; she'd seen all of them in action long enough to trust they knew what they were choosing. She'd fought beside them long enough to know they could handle it. With a nod of gratitude, Hilary leaped away, unleashing a fresh torrent of laser fire on the crowd below as the three Rangers lunged at their newly arrived enemy. The robotic sea burst apart as Hilary's onslaught rained upon them, shattering into mangled parts as her finger squeezed the trigger and she finally crossed the distance.

Ray's battle was caught in a deadlock, his Mainframe sword pressed against ArcKnight's blade as neither was willing to relent. Hilary could see the plan all too well; Ray was too deep in the horde to be afforded a retreat, while ArcKnight was far too stubborn to even consider relenting. He'd trapped his foe in a fight to the finish, with only two ways he was willing to leave. One of those terms was not an option.

Ray stepped back, regaining his footing in preparation for another assault, as ArcKnight took the opening and lunged. Oh no he didn't! Reaching the peak of her arc, Hilary unfolded her mainframe defender in sword mode and plunged.

"Sorry, ArcKnight!" Hilary warned as she forced herself between them. "But he's here for me."

She didn't waste a second, bringing around the mighty blade as ArcKnight staggered backward. Quick on the back foot, his sword parried hers, batting away the powerful strike but nonetheless losing ground. As Hilary readied to go again, she stood firm between her husband and his attacker, determined not to let anything else reach him.

"Legally, half of what's his is also mine," she decided. "And that means you're fighting me too."

Behind her, Ray was panting, surprised but grateful for her intervention. Slowly, his posture straightened, sword flourishing as he stepped beside her and readied to join her in the bout. In the face of new opposition, ArcKnight scowled and lowered his blade.

"Your commitment to each other will spell your doom," he growled at them.

"What's the matter, ArcKnight?" Hilary sneered back. "Are we too much to handle?"

"If you're so eager to hasten your demise," ArcKnight replied. "Then I will not turn do the opportun-."

The rest of ArcKnight's declaration was lost in a horrified gasp, cut short by surprise as the warrior staggered back. Hilary braced herself, tensing beside her husband as the two Rangers readied for some form of unseen development. But instead, ArcKnight staggered back, looking up in fury as he bellowed in defiance.

"What? No! Wait!"

And then, in a vibrant flash of green, the monster was gone, leaving Ray and Hilary surrounded by nothing by the mangled remains of Cyberdrones.

"What was that about?" Ray asked. Hilary could only shrug, equally confused by ArcKnight's forced retreat. But they weren't out of the woods yet. Hilary was just about to com Jess for an update, for any kind of insight into why Xaviax would pull ArcKnight from the fight against his will, when her attention was shunted back to the present. As if on queue, a ball of fire bloomed in the distance, heralded by sounds of cracking concrete and the cries of falling Rangers. The battle was far from over.

"Thanks for the save," Ray said to Hilary quickly as the two of them leaped off to aid their teammates.

"Don't thank me yet," Hilary replied. "Not when I'm pulling you into something bigger."

The two of them bounded overhead, leaping to the scene to witness the Rangers' battle with the monster. But they were too late. Erika, Abbey, and Zeke were clustered together on the defensive backfoot as they tried to hold their ground. But they were just where Boiler-Maker wanted them.

"This is nothing!" the monster laughed. "I'm going to roll right over you!"

His limbs and head shot inward, the crevice on his belly opening into a blazing maw as the giant metal ball shot forward. He spun at lightning speed, rolling in a blurring motion as flames billowed around him. Clustered together, the Rangers had nowhere to go, steered into the perfect place as he collided with them. The three cried out in surprise as they were thrown from their feet, explosive force flaring from their suits as they hit the ground and tumbled. Moments later, their Rangers suits flashed away, revealing three groaning teens lying helpless on the ground.

"I could've gone another," the monster cackled. "But I guess that's just how we roll!"

"I can think of something else that does the same!" While it was too late to save the Rangers, Ray and Hilary weren't too far to engage, and the pair unleashed a torrent of energy as Hilary bellowed her taunt.

Boilermaker cried as he stumbled back, soaring from the concussive force before he slammed into the ground far from them. With the way clear, Ray and Hilary landed beside the fallen trio, placing themselves between their teammates and the monster as they stared back in defiance. Moments later, Lena and Miguel somersaulted beside them with a resounding cheer, and all four Rangers stared the monster down.

"Looks like it's time to roll on out of here!" Boilermaker realized as they readied their weapons. "Later!"

And then the monster vanished in a flash of green, taking the remaining Cyberdrones with him and leaving the Rangers to recover in the dust. Not long later, the Rangers split off to recover, choosing to debrief later when they had more information. Ray, while exhausted, seemed okay, and while Hilary was relieved, she couldn't help but guiltily wonder how she could've stopped him from being in danger at all.