Smoke, Fire and Metal

Smoke, Fire and Metal is the forty-fifth and final episode of Power Rangers: Lost Ninjas.

Summary
All three factions regroup and return to Scrimshaw for the final reckoning.

Last Time
Chris, Jess and Nero headed for Scrimshaw, where the Rangers intervened between Reggie and Dean, and Alice helped convince Tyler that Dean was sincerely good now. After using Easton to free Chiratheon, Tauza turned on Korassil, and a massive fight broke out, during which Rat was killed by Tyler and Dean as they rescued Easton.

March 5th, Chiratheon's Lake, 11:59 pm
Madam Yuki, in bird form, flattened Alex to the ground. As she hauled back to stab him with her beak, he teleported right out from under her, and she sprawled inelegantly on the grass. Quickly picking herself up, she plunged back into the main fight alongside Amorphous, Chubouzu and Reggie.

At this point, the battle had shrunk to a few surviving foot soldiers, and the main combatants. Near the shore of the lake, Chiratheon exchanged blasts of high-powered water with Zart and Helios's fireballs. Further up, Tauza and Korassil circled, swords drawn and looking for an opening. By the dents and chips in their armor, and the few cuts visible through their suits, they'd both gotten in several hits.

"You turned on your own husband just because of that traitor?" Korassil demanded.

"Keep talking about my little sister that way and I'll cut out your tongue."

She swung high; Korassil blocked the blow at the shoulder and pushed back. He turned the move into a slash, which Tauza sprang aside to avoid. Recovering, she charged with a rapid volley of clanging blows, blocking, slashing and stabbing, but unable to break through her brother-in-law's defenses. Slowly but surely, he pushed her back towards the lake.

Massive waves rose and dropped down towards Zart and Helios, steaming away until they were little more than rough dousings. The water tentacles, swooping in low and from every direction, seemed more effective; Zart already had several visible bruises. Once he'd almost been dragged into the water, but Helios had pushed through and dragged him out again.

Zart's expression was wild; it was impossible to tell through the noise whether he was laughing or shrieking or both. Helios seemed to be roaring, casting a defiant glare—and a lot of fire—at the water demon. From the middle of the lake, Chiratheon watched with an unreadable expression, only moving to launch more attacks. In spite of his distance and power, burns already blackened his gleaming, oily skin.

"Focus on the head!" Helios shouted to Zart. In a blinding flash of fire, he transformed into a massive comet. Any scraggly bits of grass that had survived his first attack crackled into ash as he swept into the air.

As he moved, Chiratheon drew the water back, leaving Zart standing on the shore. With a roar, he hurled a massive tidal wave at the pyrokinetic. It dropped down on him with a boom, and all around the lake, Fiery Salamanders collapsed into fiery embers. At the same moment, Helios shot out of the smoke, separating into several smaller comets. They slammed into Chiratheon from behind one by one, exploding on contact.

Chiratheon let out a horrible howl, enough to burst the eardrums of anyone within a mile. All the remaining combatants tried to cover their ears. The demon's skin blackened, and noxious, greasy smoke filled the air. He collapsed, waves writhing about him.

In the pause, Korassil abruptly raised his sword and lunged at Tauza. Deafened by Chiratheon's death scream, she didn't notice until the blade was too close for her to move. She still tried, and instead of getting stabbed, got slashed deeply across the chest, just below the collarbone. With a pained choke, she doubled over.

As Korassil drew back for the final blow, a blue-white light flashed directly behind him, and blue streamers snaked around him, tying him in place. Before anything else could happen, he teleported out of the streamers in a burst of light, revealing Xumara—or rather, what was left of her.

Metal plates covered most of her right arm and body like skin-tight armor. Her hair was much shorter than it had been, burned away entirely in patches. A blue-tinted visor covered her eyes. Her streamers fluttered around her as she ran to Tauza.

"What did he do?" She exclaimed, catching her sister by the shoulders. Her voice had an electronic buzz to it.

Tauza had both hands clamped to the wound, but they and most of her chest armor were already shiny with blood. She couldn't seem to talk; her mouth moved silently. Xumara put a hand over the wound, holding its edges together, and began searing it shut with one glowing metal finger. Now Tauza screamed outright, but Xumara held her still.

Near the edge of the lake, Helios landed with a thump, retaking humanoid form. He splashed into the lake—the water bubbled around him—and bent down. With a grunt of effort, he pulled Zart up and began dragging him to shore. The pyrokinetic dangled limply from his arms.

Xumara finished cauterizing the wound, and Chubouzu—who by this time had joined her—gathered Tauza in his arms. He teleported back to the ship as Xumara stood. Running to Helios, she caught sight of Zart and halted.

"Dead?"

The Agini heaved a sigh. "Yes. A pity; he had talent."

"He was insane."

"And?" Helios stood. With a stone-like rumble, he grew back into his monstrous Agini form, and gestured. Fire wreathed around his fingers and twisted towards Zart, lighting up the grass and his damp robes. Xumara stood and watched with an expression of cautious satisfaction as flames enveloped the body of her would-be executioner.

March 6th, Stewart Memorial Hospital, Scrimshaw, 6:18 am
"Yes, I can fight!" Sienna snapped. "I feel fine!"

"Don't lie," Tyler said wearily. "You couldn't even spar last night."

"I was nauseous. They gave me medication, I feel fine now! Want me to prove it to you?" She made a swing at Tyler, but he blocked it and jerked her arm aside.

"Even if a lot of the space ninjas get killed in that fight in the Himalayas, and even if Dean's plan works and you get your morpher and Zord control back, it's not going to be an easy battle. If you're not at top strength then you have no business endangering yourself and the rest of us."

Sienna pulled her arm free. "If it's as bad as you say, we're going to need everyone in action, fully healed and morphed or not. Besides, nobody's really healthy, not after the water demon thing."

"Which is why I'd like to stop arguing and go get some sleep!" Tyler was almost yelling now.

Sienna put a finger on his mouth, and spoke in a fierce whisper. "Lower your voice or we'll get in trouble."

Tyler's shoulders slackened, and he ran a hand over his face with a groan. Flopping back in bed, Sienna looked him over again, still defiant.

Tyler was the first to speak. "You're right. But you've gotten badly hurt twice before. I don't want to risk something worse happening, not when you're still weak from last time. Maybe . . . maybe you can be in reserve or something? You could guard the other Rangers here in case something happens."

"I'm not a little kid, you don't have to try to make me feel important with a stupid job," Sienna muttered.

"I'm not trying to . . ." Tyler trailed off and crushed the heels of his hands into his eyes. After a moment, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and looked up at a sheepish Sienna.

"Sorry, I'm stubborn and I get worked up sometimes. I just don't want to sit idly by while you put yourself in danger."

Tyler put his hand over hers, finally smiling at her and looking a little less tired. "I meant it about guarding the hospital. These guys seem pretty willing to hit us while we're down—and at least you can defend yourself. Easton can't, and I don't even know what kind of shape the other Rangers Dean mentioned are in."

Sienna sobered. "Easton's still out of it?"

"Yeah. The doctors said it looks like a coma, but they can't explain it—even the ones who know who we really are."

Sienna winced. "That sucks, but I see your point. I'll play guard—but if things get out of hand, call me right away. We're a team, remember?"

"I promise to come crying to you for help if the bad guys beat me up," Tyler replied.

Sienna tugged his ponytail, grinning. "Good boy. Now go to bed, you look like a zombie."

"Braaaains." Tyler reached towards her, and she smacked his hands away. "Okay, I'm going. Bye."

Sienna pecked him on the cheek. "Bye. Don't get killed."

"I won't if you won't."

Tyler left the room, shutting the door behind himself. A few doors down, Susana stood in the hallway, looking into another hospital room. Tyler joined her to see a battered but sleeping girl about their age being treated inside. Burns scored her body; Tyler shivered involuntarily.

"She's one of the new Rangers?" He asked Susana in a low voice.

"Yeah. No chance she's fighting tomorrow, but I don't think she'd want to anyway." Closing the door, Susana started out, glancing back at Tyler once. "You look terrible."

"Long flights and I don't mix well. Does anyone know how long we have till the space ninjas get back?"

"No clue. With luck, a couple of hours; their ships aren't much faster than Zords. Hopefully they won't be expecting an attack so soon and we can just grab the morphers and get out. Assuming Dean isn't setting a trap for us, anyway."

"I trust him," Tyler said. "He had plenty of chances to get rid of me and Easton on the way over, and he didn't." He half-smiled wryly. "Plus Alice would beat him to death with a frying pan if he tried anything."

March 5th, Korassil's Ship, Himalayan Airspace, 12:04 midnight
Alex barely registered that he'd just materialized on a metal floor before he heard someone shout his name. Pushing himself up on an elbow, he saw Kiaris abandon the teleport controls—which she'd apparently hijacked from the bewildered-looking monster nearby—and lunge at him. He braced himself as she tackled him in a hug, babbling about how badly he'd scared her. As his heartbeat slowed to normal, he thanked himself for not dumping her just yet.

"It's okay, it's okay, I'm safe," he said as soothingly as possible, hugging her back. He tried to think. Tauza's betrayal had taken him by surprise; this would slow things down.

The teleport controls monster was watching them sourly, and Alex stood, pulling Kiaris with him. She'd calmed down, but still clung to his arm. As they reached the door, the teleport activated again, and Alex looked back to see Korassil materialize.

"We're going back to Scrimshaw," Korassil panted. "Now."

"Without Zart?"

"He'll keep them busy while we leave—besides, he was dangerous."

Alex looked to Kiaris. "I'll take him to sickbay just in case. Go transmit the order." An idea struck him, and he added, "If we put the other Rangers between us and the traitors, they might just even the odds."

"Right." Kiaris ran out.

March 6th, Season Zord Hangar, Scrimshaw, 9:07 am
All but silent, the Rangers finished up a few last-minute repairs and checks on their vehicles. The Copperhead Snakezord was still in pieces, but the rest were functional and ready to go. Ishinomori had been working on them all night—right now he was asleep in the Snakezord's cockpit. His snores echoed faintly around the room.

"Are we ready?" Tyler called.

"Looks like," Kerri shouted from the open cockpit of the Batzord, where Dean stood with her.

Chris was climbing into the Foxzord's cockpit. His wounded arm was out of its sling now; the Season Ninjas at the hospital had been working on it all night. They'd recommended he rest it longer, but he knew that wasn't an option. It worked well enough, but it still hurt, especially when he tried to raise it above head height. Tyler held out a hand as Chris came level with the cockpit. Chris took it, and let himself be pulled inside.

"Are you sure you can fight?" The Orange Ranger asked in a low voice, looking Chris up and down.

"Wouldn't matter if I could. Alex will come after me wherever I am; might as well be on the battlefield."

Tyler winced, but nodded.

Kerri's voice came through the comms system. "I'm ready to go. Dean, morph and find a comfy spot."

Dean obeyed; red light flashed through the windshield as the hatch hissed shut. Chris moved to the back of Tyler's cockpit. Around them, the other Zords' engines thrummed to life. The outer doors opened, and morning sunlight brightened the hangar. The Batzord, which was closest, took off, followed by the Pandazord and Foxzord. Since neither of those Zords was particularly good at flying, they just followed from the ground for air support.

The Batzord flew upwards until it vanished among the clouds. On the ground, civilians saw the Zords coming and scattered, on foot and in cars. Tyler and Susana took their Zords towards the mountains, moving with caution to avoid stepping on anyone. Hopefully they could keep the battle away from the civilians as much as possible.

"Kerri, have you seen the ship yet?" Tyler asked over the comms.

"Yeah, they're coming. Hang on."

Lasers lit up the clouds like flashes of multicolored lightning. As the Batzord appeared again, a lucky strike made it shake. Chris wondered what he could do; he'd hoped for a battle on the ground, but it looked like this one would be fought with Zords and ships.

He was wrong. In a flash of light, the Foxzord cockpit disappeared from around him. Without the wall to support him, Chris fell backwards. He caught himself and sprang up immediately, ready for a fight. Gradually, his eyes adjusted to the darker room. From the poor lighting and almost organic look of the place, he guessed he was aboard the space ninja ship.

"I knew it," Alex's voice rang out behind him, and Chris spun around. His brother was unmorphed, both of his Shadow Swords strapped to his back and Asamune at his side. With a half-smile, Alex hefted the katana. "You couldn't stay away. Of course, I could have teleported you up from anywhere, but it's nice to see you're ready. Here, catch."

Startled, Chris caught Asamune as Alex threw it. The blade hummed almost audibly at his touch. Just slightly, the twinges in his wounded arm faded as he drew the sword, and a surge of confidence filled him. He could do this. He had to do this.

"I thought so. To become her true master, I have to finish off the previous one." Alex drew his own two swords. "After all, that's how Grandfather did it—even murdering a relative. I'm just following family tradition, really. No hard feelings?"

Chris drew in a deep breath. "You're going to lose."

"Oh, really?" Alex looked Chris up and down. The fact that he was clearly favoring his left side couldn't have missed him; his eyes narrowed slightly, and his smile widened. "What makes you so confident all of a sudden?"

"Because I'm done giving you second chances, Alex." Chris raised the blade into a guard stance, sighting past it at Alex. He steeled himself. "I'm going to kill you."

"First you have to defeat me, little brother." With that, Alex lunged at him.

Scrimshaw Airspace, 9:13 am
Dean braced himself against a console as an explosion rocked the Batzord. Kerri put it into a barrel roll, shooting down towards the city.

"Try to get above the Thinker's ship!" Dean yelled. "No guns up there!"

"I know, I know, I'm trying!" Kerri pulled the Batzord out of its spin.

Before Dean's stomach stopped spinning, a metallic shriek filled the air. Recognizing it, Dean lunged forward and stared out the windshield. Sure enough, the Screech Owlzord was winging towards them, with three space ninja ships and the Penguinzord right behind. That wasn't what surprised Dean, though: a third, scarlet Zord shaped like a large mongoose was charging through the streets below.

"That wasn't who I thought it was, was it?" Kerri asked, though from the tone she guessed as well and didn't like the idea.

Dean leaned back, out of her way. "Just get us above a ship, fast."

"I'll try."

The Batzord's nose tilted up towards the clouds. To their left, the ship they'd originally targeted opened fire on the newcomers. A hatch opened, and out dropped a blue Zord; Dean recognized the Cougarzord, and wondered who was piloting it. It joined the battle on the ground, and Dean looked away, focusing on their target once more—apparently one of the three new ships. Kerri's console started beeping.

"Hurry out," Kerri said, her voice curt as she focused on the maneuvers.

Dean grabbed a coil of thick cable they'd brought aboard for this job, and tested the knot one more time. It was welded together, so it held. Kerri flipped a lever, and the hatch began to open. Instantly, icy winds whipped through the cockpit; if the two teenagers hadn't been morphed it would have hurt.

Clipping the cable to his belt, Dean climbed up on the console and slipped out. The wind almost ripped him clean off the Zord, but he crouched low and fed his cable out slowly. Below him, he could make out the black back of a space ninja ship. He couldn't tell which part of the thing he was closest too, but he knew the prison hold was near the stern.

The Batzord descended. Reaching the edge, Dean stepped off. The wind batted him back and forth like a rearview mirror ornament in a convertible, but he kept feeding out the cable, dropping further and further towards the ship. As he reached the end of his line, he raised a hand. There were still plenty of pipes pumping fluids under the ship's surface; he located one a few yards away and focused on it.

With a rattle, a pop and an echoing boom, neon green fluid burst through the hull from the inside, spraying in every direction. As Dean got closer, he reached into his belt for the Ethereal Shuriken he'd borrowed. One by one, they embedded themselves in the hull of the space ninja ship below him. It took five agonizing minutes, but he finally laid out a rough path towards the hole in the hull. Bracing himself, he unclipped the cable. He fell and caught the shuriken, jerking himself to a halt before momentum tore him away.

"I'm down," he said into his communicator. The Batzord peeled off. Panting, Dean began climbing towards the hole he'd made. Some of the Shuriken wobbled as he grasped them, but he braced his feet on the others and pushed on quickly. By the time he reached the hull breach, his geyser had drained away.

He slithered inside, landing in a puddle of goopy green stuff. Dean's Geyser Blowgun was already in his hands, but he quickly lowered it. Two foot soldiers lay in the passageway, Spider Drones, covered in neon slime and sparking dully. Dean made a note of that, and ran down the hall.

Korassil's Ship, 9:21 am
Alex's Shadow Swords sliced into an afterimage of Chris, dissipating it. The Silver Ranger was already rolling away, springing to his feet. Whirling on him, Alex delivered a volley of blows seemingly from every direction, twin swords moving in perfect synchronization. Chris's blocks were solid, but slower and slightly awkward. He was barely even using his right arm now. Hauling back, Alex scissored both blades at Chris, which he caught with his upraised sword. Alex's momentum slammed him against the wall.

"You want to know what I found out from Grandfather when he died, or should I leave that to him?" Alex asked.

Chris tried not to listen; he needed to focus on the fight, not Alex's banter. He kicked his brother in the shin. That broke the weapons lock, but Alex ducked Chris's swing, laughing breathlessly.

"Good! I was hoping for a challenge—it's embarrassing to have a guy I helped train lose so much. Now put your whole body into each strike, not just your arms, like this." He swept low with both swords, moving to cut Chris's legs out from under him.

Chris jumped over the blades—over Alex in a somersault—and landed behind his brother. Asamune whirling in his hand, he stabbed backwards. Alex swerved to avoid the blow, but it gashed him across the upper arm, and he swore in pain. Whirling, Chris brought Asamune down on Alex's arm, smashing one Shadow Sword out of his grip.

Alex recoiled, and the two brothers stood there for a moment, panting. Alex looked from his bloody arm to Chris and back, startled. The Silver Ranger's expression was steely. Slowly, the surprise faded from his brother's face, replaced with venomous determination.

"Fun's over, then." He stabbed at Chris with his remaining sword.

Chris parried, slashed and stabbed back. Both swords flashed in lethal arcs and figure-eights, clanging like alarm bells. The fighters weren't looking at the swords, but each other, faces like statues. It was almost like they were standing still.

Alex blinked.

Asamune sang as her edge bit into the Shadow Sword's, snapping the metal near the hilt. Almost too fast to see, the sword shot further, plunging into Alex's chest even as he brought up an arm to block it. His palm rested on the top of the blade, just below the hilt.

Alex and Chris stared at each other, both breathless, Chris panting. Eyes wide with shock, Alex looked down at the sword, then up at his younger brother. His legs folded, and Chris caught him. The taller man's weight almost tipped him over; he staggered and sat down hard.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Chris said, his stony exterior beginning to crack.

"Shut up." Alex's voice was barely audible and thick with pain, but Chris went silent at once. One hand clamped down on Chris's forearm, knuckles whitening, and then went slack.

Scrimshaw, 9:36 am
Reggie pulled the Screech Owlzord out of a tailspin and banked sideways, so focused he forgot to breathe. On the ground, Xumara in the Mongoosezord and (as he guessed) Korassil in the Cougarzord tore into each other, and occasionally the Fox and Pandazords as well. The air was so thick with blinding lasers that Reggie couldn't tell who was shooting at whom. Nearby, the Batzord flew dizzying, drunken circles around the Penguinzord, more erratic as it took more hits.

Studying the battlefield rapidly, Reggie winged towards the Penguinzord. Might as well get rid of the Diamond Ranger; with the air to themselves, the space ninjas could focus on the ground. One of the ships seemed to have the same idea; it moved slowly towards the two white Zords.

As Reggie prepared to pounce, the ship opened fire—on his and Anya's Zords. The lasers blasted a hole clean through the Owlzord's left wing. Down it spun, Reggie struggling with his panicking controls. Just as he got the Zord evened out, a shadow fell over him. Reggie looked up as the Penguinzord crashed into him. The impact threw him out of his seat—his head thunked against the back wall—the cockpit spun around him—he knew he was spiraling into a crash—

When Reggie came to himself again, he lay crumpled in a corner of his cockpit, unmorphed, underneath his chair and part of a console. A stabbing pain pulsed in his right leg, and he guessed it was broken. With a groan, he sat up, pushing the debris away. His hands shook, but he worked furiously, ignoring the pain.

Outside, he saw the ship that had attacked him move into position over the stolen Zords. The Fox and Panda moved out of the way, letting the space ninjas take the treacherous ship's fire. The other three spaceships continued shooting at each other, the Batzord helping out the lone fighter. The Thinker's old ship, Reggie thought.

Anya's head appeared through the hole in Reggie's hatch, and she jumped inside. With a grunt of pain, Reggie dragged himself to his feet. His leg wouldn't hold him, but he caught himself on a console.

"Need a hand?" Anya asked.

Reggie shook his head, breathing hard. He hobbled towards the hatch.

"Go fight—I'll join you."

"Fight?" Anya looked around at the battle. "Without a Zord? I don't think so."

"We'll break into one of ze others."

"Look, even if we can morph, we'll get squashed or blasted or otherwise killed without anyone even noticing. What fun would that be? Face it, the best thing we can do now is skip town," Anya said. "Maybe they'll let us go—or at least not kill us when they catch us."

Reggie shook his head vehemently. "No! Ve haven't lost!"

"Yeah, we kinda have."

"I don't lose!" Reggie yelled. "I can't!"

Anya folded her arms. "Yeah, you can. It's not so bad—I can teach you how to get an insanity defense if you don't want to go to jail or whatever. These guys aren't the killing type."

Reggie wasn't even listening anymore. He couldn't lose—these pathetic Rangers couldn't defeat him like this. But he couldn't fight on this leg. Panting, he looked around the cockpit. Several pieces of broken glass from the windshield lay on the floor, and he snatched one up.

"It doesn't count as being defeated if zey don't fight me," he said, raising one jagged edge towards his throat. "I just won't give zem ze chance."

"Hey!" Alarmed, Anya grabbed his wrists and jerked them away. Reggie struggled, but Anya kicked his broken leg, and he sat down hard with a loud curse.

"Let go!" Reggie twisted his wrists up and inward, breaking Anya's hold, and shoved her back.

As he prepared to stab himself, a familiar voice cut in. "You don't have to do that." Reggie and Anya looked up to see Jambavan standing outside the hatch. "A strategic retreat would be better than destroying yourself, wouldn't it?"

"Vat?" Reggie lowered the piece of glass.

"I'm the victor of this fight; the Rangers are just doing all the work for me. Lothor's fleet is tearing itself apart, just as I wanted, though the work isn't done quite yet. I could use two powerful fighters like you—especially your insider knowledge of the fleet, Reggie."

Jambavan held out his bronze paw. Anya and Reggie looked at each other, and then up at the bearlike alien.

"Ve'll be back, zough," Reggie said, standing unsteadily and throwing the glass shard away. "Prove to zese Rangers zat ve are superior."

"Of course." Jambavan caught Reggie's hand.

Anya stood as well. "Why not? Sounds more fun than going back to the nuthouse anyway. I'm in!"

"I'm glad to hear it. My ship is this way; we'll collect your Zords on the way out."

"Don't be so sure about that," A male voice interrupted.

Jambavan ducked just in time: an arrow and a bullet pinged off the hull of the Zord, right where he'd been standing. Anya sprang back, and Reggie stared in bewilderment. On the ground below them stood Archer and a man in a hood—that hitman who'd kidnapped Chris?

"Who do you think you are?" Reggie demanded.

"Nobody," Archer replied, notching another arrow to the string. "We're just cleaning up the leftovers."

Jambavan chuckled. "Impressive. You two will make fine additions to my army as well." He transformed into a black mist, and flowed out of the ship towards the pair. They both opened fire.

The Thinker's Ship, 9:57 am
Dean stood at the main console, supervising the rescued Season Ninjas as they filled the two uncaptured spaceships—Tauza's and Xumara's—with holes. On the ground, the Cougarzord bit down on the back of the Mongoosezord's neck, giving it a fierce shake.

"Xumara!" That was Tauza, yelling through the comms system. She didn't sound good. "I'm teleporting you out."

"Give me a few more minutes!" Explosions tore through the hull of the Mongoosezord, jerking it in the Cougarzord's jaws.

Lunging forward, the Pandazord slammed the Cougarzord flat, Mongoosezord beneath it. The Foxzord joined in, clawing at the Cougarzord's back.

"Dean," Chris said through the comms. "I've got Korassil's ship under control."

"How did you get—never mind. Move in on the other ships," Dean said, as the Season Ninjas did the same.

"What about the prisoners?"

"Teleport them out as soon as you can get a lock on them. The stasis bubbles should protect them, but we'll need to be sure." Dean gestured to the teacher at that side of the console, and he got to work on the sequence.

"Dean?" The male, slightly gravelly voice made Dean freeze.

"Master Vincent?"

"Well done."

Dean's shoulders slumped in relief, and he sighed. "Thank you, Sensei. Let's finish off these invaders."

"Agreed."

"Teleport complete," a Season Ninja announced.

Chris spoke up again. "Likewise. Move in."

The two stolen ships moved in, guns blazing, and the Batzord quickly got out of the way. Lasers punctured the hulls of the other spacecraft. One began to drop, and the Batzord swooped after it, nudging it towards the battle on the ground.

"Heads up, guys!" Kerri yelled.

The Foxzord and Pandazord got out of the way, and just in time—the falling ship slammed into it. By comparison the previous explosions looked like sparklers: even watching through the viewscreen Dean was blinded.

By the time he looked again, the remaining enemy craft was gone. Startled, he sprang to the console.

"Where are they?" He demanded.

"No idea. They're not showing up on the sensors," one Season Ninja replied. One by one, the others concurred.

Dean waited tensely, but no attack came. On the ground, the tower of fire faded to embers and a column of black smoke the size of a skyscraper. After the battle, the silence felt unnatural, like Dean had gone deaf.

"I think they're gone," Chris said at last, over the comms.

The Batzord landed on a nearby building, one of a few in the district still standing. "Does that mean we won?"

Nobody spoke. The Panda and Foxzords got to work stomping out the fire, or looking around for any civilians who'd gotten caught in the struggle. Chris's ship began to descend for a landing, and Dean motioned for the Season Ninjas to do the same. They touched down in newly-widened streets one by one.

"Looks like it," Dean said at last.

"Okay. Um, woohoo?" Kerri said.

Tyler started laughing, and Susana added "I think you mean WOOHOO!" More noises of celebration carried over from Chris's ship, and the Season Ninjas started cheering and clapping and occasionally hugging each other. Grinning, Dean headed for the outside.

On the ground, he found the others already gathering. The newly-rescued ninjas were all talking at once, filling the air with excited noise, and gathering around their Rangers in such thick crowds that Dean could barely see any of them. He glimpsed Terra uniforms pouring out of Chris's ship, and then found himself swamped by his fellow students.

Somehow, a female voice cut through the noise. "Hey, open sesame! Let me through!"

A few metallic clunks punctuated her sentence, along with yelps of pain. Dean grinned as he realized who it was, and started pushing towards the voice. He soon saw the crowd parting for the frying pan, and Alice appeared. Spotting him, she dropped her makeshift weapon and charged, almost tackling him in a hug. Dean was too psyched to even feel self-conscious about it.

By the time they broke—or rather, loosened—their embrace, the crowds had started to mingle, giving the Rangers some breathing room. Dean saw that Sienna had joined Tyler, Susana was talking excitedly to a few other Ethereal Ninjas, and Chris was off to one side, hugging a crying woman whose armor made Dean think she was one of Lothor's crew. Dean couldn't tell if Chris was trying to comfort her, or just pin her arms so she couldn't hit him.

"So, what happens now?" Alice asked, looking up at Dean. "I saw one of those ships get away, and wasn't Archer—"

Tyler interrupted. "We'll worry about that tomorrow. Today, we won."

Alice grinned. "Good." She felt the sides of Dean's helmet. "How does this thing come off?"

Dean retracted the visor and mouth guard. "Will this do?"

"Nicely, thank you."

Out of the corner of his eye, Dean saw Tyler and Sienna were already lip locked; by Tyler's blush he could hear the other ninjas' whistles. Susana had stopped chatting and was directing the ninjas to help clean up the battlefield; good, someone was going to deal with that. He could just focus on Alice. She had to stand on tiptoe to wrap both arms around his neck.

"You know, we really should help," she said in his ear.

"Do we have to?"

"Well . . . maybe not yet."

Allies

 * Mark Nero
 * Alice Harod
 * Archer

Villains

 * Korassil
 * Tauza
 * Major Jambavan
 * Madam Yuki
 * Spymaster Amorphous
 * Brigadier Chubouzu
 * Commandant Helios
 * Chiratheon
 * Spider Drones
 * Snipers
 * Kelzak Berserks