Alien Ship

Admiral Malkor walked from one side to the other. He had just finished communications with their base, and they were determined to come and see their progress on Earth since the planet they conquered was starting to show signs of weakness.

Malkor punched the wall of the ship. This was not in the plan. They were supposed to come and see his glorious victory over Earth and the Rangers, and instead, they were going to find him hiding in this ship and Vrak trying to play with technology he didn't understand.

Malkor walked towards one of the screens and quickly contacted Vrak, who was at the underwater basement.

"Any progress?" asked Malkor.

"Right now, I'm going to meet with Metal Alice and launch an attack, Admiral," said Vrak.

"Make sure you don't fail this time, Vrak. We don't have much time to conquer this planet before the others arrive," said Malkor.

Malkor finished the communication and sighed. Vrak was getting more impertinent, and this was getting to a point where Malkor might have to intervene. But for now, he would let things play the way Vrak wanted... just for now.

-Megaforce-

Underwater Basement

Vrak chuckled before he turned towards Metal Alice, who was walking towards him with a new prototype that, even if it didn't look really threatening, might be the thing they needed to destroy the Rangers.

"I'm going to the city to find and destroy the Rangers, sir," said Metal Alice.

"Very well," said Vrak.

Metal Alice went to the teleport machine with her robot, and the two of them disappeared towards the city.

-Megaforce-

Plaza

As soon as Metal Alice and her new robot appeared, the Rangers appeared in front of them, getting the signal from Tensou. The Rangers were prepared to fight whatever that robot threw their way, and in this case, it must be that new companion she had.

"Since you are still a prototype, let's get them tired first," said Metal Alice. "Loogies! Attack!"

The Loogies ran towards the Rangers and they started a fight, but Black quickly saw Metal Alice trying to activate her new robot. Without thinking, he jumped between them, grabbing her hands and pushing both of them away from the robot.

"What are you doing!?" asked Metal Alice.

"You are not activating him!" said Black.

The Rangers, using their weapons, got rid of the Loogies, but Black and Metal Alice seemed to have their own fight. When she tried to kick him, Black called for his ax and blocked the hit, pushing her away. Metal Alice spun but had time to grab the device she hid in her leg and press the button, activating the robot.

"Weapons combine!" screamed Red.

The Rangers combined their weapons and got ready to fire at Metal Alice and the robot, hoping not to repeat what happened with Rotox DX. Metal Alice laughed, looking at her robot.

"Destroy the Rangers, Robot 1CO!" ordered Metal Alice.

To her surprise and the Rangers, the robot didn't move. He made no gesture that indicated he heard the orders he was given, and even when Metal Alice tried again, the robot still didn't respond.

"Ugh!" said Metal Alice, frustrated.

"This is our chance... fire!" ordered Red.

The Rangers fired their laser, but Metal Alice grabbed the robot, using him as a shield and disappeared, while the robot fell to the ground, damaged from the Rangers' attack. When the Rangers lowered their weapons, they were surprised to find only the robot there and no trace of Metal Alice.

The Rangers disassembled their weapons and walked towards the robot, who was trying to get up. When he saw the Rangers, he jumped, scared, and Pink immediately fell for his fear. She made her weapon disappear, raising her hands and looking at the others to do the same.

"Hey... hey, it's okay," said Pink, walking towards the robot. "Don't worry, we're not here to hurt you."

"Hurt you?" said the robot.

"Yes... we are Power Rangers, and we protect this planet," said Pink, touching the robot's head. "Would you allow my friend to see you and make sure you are okay?"

The robot looked at her, and after a few minutes, he nodded, still confused. Pink looked over her shoulder, and while she could see the other Rangers didn't truly trust the robot, they still followed her and made their weapons disappear.

"Blue, please, take a look at him," said Pink.

"Well... I guess I can. It doesn't look like he has any weapon," said Blue, scratching his helmet.

"Then let's go somewhere private," said Red, walking towards Pink but looking at the robot. "It's okay, you are safe with us."

Pink nodded and grabbed the robot's hand gently, guiding him to the deepest part of the park, followed by Red and Blue, while Yellow and Black looked at them, worried.

"I don't like this," said Yellow.

"It will be okay," said Black, tilting his head while he wondered about the robot. "Maybe he is a malfunction. It wouldn't be the first time a monster or robot created to destroy Earth, protected it."

Yellow looked at Black in wonder, but he just looked at her and nodded. Then, they followed the rest of the Rangers. If the robot was a threat or not, they would find out soon enough.

-Megaforce-

Park (Secret Spot)

The idea was for Noah to make sure the robot was not a threat by checking all its controls, fascinated as he was by this new technology. However, there was the problem of their identities, so Noah made the Rangers demorph away from the robot in case it was recording them.

"I'll go," said Jake, already walking towards the robot.

"Jake!" said Gia, grabbing his arm. "Are you crazy? It could be a trap."

"Or maybe not, and Vrak already knows I'm the Black Ranger. It won't be a surprise," said Jake, kissing her hand. "It will be fine, trust me. He is not a threat."

Gia wasn't sure, but she still let him go, trusting his instinct. Jake slowly walked towards the robot and looked at it, but the robot made no movement. While Jake didn't understand technology as well as Noah, he had seen his best friend enough to recognize if they were being recorded or not.

"I think it's safe," said Jake, looking up.

Noah nodded, walking towards his friend and finally checking the robot while the others stood behind. Emma was the most worried, looking at the robot and feeling for it, as if the robot had emotions and she was able to tune with them. Not far from them, Troy was slightly confused by the robot, and Gia crossed her arms, thinking this was nothing but a trap.

Jake stood beside Noah just in case something went wrong.

Noah checked twice, and finally, he nodded, activating the robot. When the robot came to life, it looked at Noah first and then at Jake and put a hand on the Black Ranger's chest, making the others jump into action, at least until Jake stopped them by raising his hand.

"It's okay... he is not trying to hurt me," said Jake.

"Bastro?" asked the robot.

The robot nodded a couple of times and then looked back at Jake and then back to his chest. The robot nodded again, and even if it was weird for Jake, he didn't feel any threat coming from the robot. Then, the robot looked up at Jake and touched his face, slowly.

"I see... I don't know, but I'll try," said the robot.

"What is going on?" asked Troy.

"Who knows, but I swear if he hurts Jake..." whispered Gia.

"He is not hurting Jake," argued Emma.

Gia gave her best friend a look that clearly said she didn't care if Emma cared about that robot or not. Gia didn't trust him, and if that thing hurt Jake, then her claws would be the last thing that robot would see.

After a few minutes, the robot took its hand off Jake's face and looked at the others, relaxing while Jake smiled at the team.

"He is good. For some reason, he has no desire to fight us or destroy Earth," said Jake.

"How do you know that?" asked Gia, walking to him.

"Because Bastro told me," said Jake. "Gia, it's okay... relax."

Gia looked up at him, and after having a silent conversation with their eyes, Gia finally gave up, looking at the robot that was now surrounded by Emma, Troy, and Noah. The couple walked towards them, and when the robot saw them, it raised its hand towards Gia.

"Friends?"

Gia looked at Jake and then at Emma and finally rolled her eyes, grabbing the robot's hand in agreement. The other Rangers smiled, and one by one, they put their hands over the robot's and Gia's when Emma looked at the robot, thinking.

"You need a name," said Emma.

"Name?"

"How about Rico?" said Noah. "His natural name was 1CO, so..."

"It's perfect!" said Emma. "Do you like it? Rico?"

"Rico?" said the robot, thinking. "Rico, like it."

The Rangers laughed as they looked at each other and the new member of their team.

"Well, Rico. Let's show you where we live, okay?" said Troy.

"Okay..."

Rico, guided by Emma and the others, walked out of their hiding place, ready to give Rico the best day of his life and hopefully teach him that there's something else out there even for him.

-Megaforce-

Park

Rico looked at the Rangers eating and playing, marveling at the things humans could do. Emma threw the ball at him, and Rico, remembering Jake's movement, hit the ball towards Jake. Jake kicked it and then, gently, gave it back to Emma.

"That was great! He memorized and reproduced Jake's movements!" said Noah.

"Very good, Rico," said Troy.

Gia raised her hand with her thumb up, and Rico saw her eating cherries. Unfortunately, that was something he couldn't do. As much as he tried, he realized that memorizing and reproducing movements was a thing for robots, not humans.

Rico looked down. He wasn't a human.

"What's wrong?" asked Emma, walking towards him.

"Rico doesn't know if he fits here. Rico not human," said Rico.

Emma felt for the robot. He had been so calm, enjoying the day with them that seeing him so sad now broke her heart. She hugged him and then looked at him with a smile.

"It doesn't matter if you are a human or a robot. You are still our friend," said Emma.

"Friend?"

"Yes," said Emma, grabbing her camera. "And now we are going to teach you to make memories."

Rico looked confused when the other Rangers surrounded him. Emma put her camera on a rock and programmed it to take a picture in ten seconds. She ran, standing beside Troy as he hugged her. Noah had his arm on Rico's shoulder, and Gia stood on Rico's other side, with a hand on his shoulder while Jake hugged her from behind, with his head on her shoulder.

When the picture was taken, Emma ran to grab her camera, and that's when Noah noticed a light, following it. He saw something red on Rico's chest, and his smile disappeared while Jake looked down when something white hit the walls of his brain.

Jake touched his head as if he had a headache while the light on Rico's chest grew bright. It was only when he winced in pain that the others really got worried. Gia quickly put her arms around Jake, and when Rico tried to help, Troy stopped him.

"Let's go to the Command Center," said Troy.

Rico didn't know what to say, but he followed the Rangers while he felt an energy growing inside Jake's soul.

-Megaforce-

Command Center

Troy and Gia brought Jake into the Command Center, followed by Noah and Emma, who slowly introduced Rico into their sacred place. No one was there but them as the older Rangers had lives to attend. Troy let go of Jake and brought a chair while Gia lowered her boyfriend down so he could sit and looked at Gosei and Tensou worriedly.

"We need help. Jake is..." said Gia, looking at him. "We don't know what's wrong."

"What happened, Rangers?" said Gosei.

"We were at the park with Rico, and when his chest started to show a red light, Jake felt something," said Troy. "It looks like his head is hurting."

"Bastro in there," said Rico. "Bastro needing energy."

"Bastro? The other spirit in Jake's soul?" asked Emma.

Rico nodded and walked towards Jake, looking at Gia almost as if asking permission to stand in front of him. Emma, feeling the tension, walked towards Gia and made her look at her. After a few minutes of intense connection, Gia sighed, and Emma slowly forced her to take a step back while Rico knelt and touched Jake's head.

"Rico feels Bastro," said Rico. "Bastro needs energy."

"Wait... do you mean Bastro is taking energy from Jake?" asked Tensou.

"Yes, Rico feels Bastro doesn't want to hurt Jake, but the transfer of energy always hurts the vessel," said Rico.

"How do we stop it?" asked Gia, putting a hand on Jake's shoulder.

"It's okay..." said Jake, wincing in pain. "It's almost done."

He raised his hand, grabbing Gia's and kissing it before a last wave of pain flashed over him. Rico could feel it too because he fell to the ground while Jake closed his eyes and took a deep breath while Emma and Noah helped Rico get up.

"I feel better now, thank you," said Jake. "And thank you for translating for me, Rico."

"Rico felt Bastro. Jake okay?" asked Rico.

"Yes, I'm fine. Bastro is recovering slowly. Normally, he asks for a transfer, but today was unexpected," said Jake.

Jake looked a little more serious than normal, but then Troy noticed the red light on Rico's chest again and got up, moving towards the robot.

"Rico, do you know what that is on your chest?" asked Troy.

"A sensor? I hear my creator in there, giving me orders," said Rico.

The Rangers, surprised, looked at the robot, but Jake was the only one that didn't move. In fact, he was the first one to nod while Emma quickly moved to protect Rico from a possible attack.

"I knew you couldn't be trusted," said Gia.

"No, he is a friend... come on, he has been with us all day," said Emma.

"He could have been controlled," said Noah. "Now they may know where we operate."

"It's not his fault!" said Emma, looking at Troy.

Troy looked down, unable to hold the stare of the girl he loved, but then he got an idea and looked up to her, only to find that both Rico and Emma were gone, and the other Rangers were looking at the entrance, sadly.

-Megaforce-

Beach

Emma found Rico sitting on the rocks and walked towards him slowly. The robot was shaking, almost as if he were crying, but there were no tears falling from his eyes. Emma felt her heart break for him.

"Rico..." whispered Emma.

"Rico danger. Emma stay away," said Rico.

"No, Rico, you are our friend," said Emma.

"No!"

Rico turned away, but Emma walked towards him and hugged him. The robot shook again and put his head on Emma's shoulder while Emma closed her eyes, hugging him as she sang a song for him and stayed there, alone for a moment.

-Megaforce-

Command Center

Jake sighed, washing his face and looking at the mirror in front of him. He didn't like the idea of Rico leaving, but Bastro was right—it might be the only choice for him to survive, and where he went, he would be safe.

Suddenly, an alarm made him look over his shoulder, and he ran to the main room, where the Rangers saw Rico, the Pink Megaforce Ranger, and Metal Alice. Pink was trying to talk to Rico, but his face looked different. He looked evil.

"The red light... it may be Metal Alice controlling him," said Noah.

"There is no time. We have to go!" said Troy. "Go! Go! Megaforce!"

"Go! Go! Megaforce!" screamed the Rangers.

The Rangers ran towards the battlefield, but only one of them had a plan to save Rico, and he hoped for the good of their friend that it worked.

-Megaforce-

Beach

Rico threw Pink away with a powerful attack, but RoboKnight appeared to grab her and helped her land before looking at the robot in front of them. RoboKnight took a step towards Rico, ready to fight, but Pink grabbed his arm and shook her head.

At the same time, the Rangers arrived at the scene, with Red and Yellow running towards Pink.

"Are you okay?" asked Red.

"Yes... don't hurt Rico," whispered Pink.

Not far from them, Metal Alice chuckled before she activated Rico's sensor at full power, making the robot dizzy and almost causing him to fall to the ground. When he saw it, Blue suddenly had an idea.

"The sensor... it's a sensor!" said Blue. "If we freeze it, you can destroy it, Pink!"

"Then let's do it!" said Red.

"Partner! Let's make sure he doesn't move!" said Black.

Yellow nodded, following him. They both ran and jumped over Rico, grabbing his arms while Red and Blue sent a water and air combined attack that paralyzed Rico. Then, RoboKnight used his cannon and card to freeze the sensor, and then all of them looked at Pink.

She prepared, looking at Rico, and when she saw him trying to move, she knew she had no choice. She had to do it. She had to save him.

Pink prepared and fired her weapon, hitting the sensor and finally allowing Rico to be free from Metal Alice—or so they thought.

"You think you won, Rangers!? Watch this!" said Metal Alice.

"Oh hell, no..." whispered Black.

Metal Alice sent a powerful signal, but Black stepped in front of Rico, using his body to protect Rico from the waves coming to him. The waves were so strong that Black lost his morph, but Jake never stepped down, forcing himself to stay there while protecting Rico.

"Jake?" asked Rico.

"No one stays behind, Rico," whispered Jake. "But you can't stay here... Metal Alice will get a hold of you."

Jake groaned when the waves became bigger. When the others tried to help, Metal Alice sent Loogies towards them, leaving both Jake and Rico alone to deal with their current problem.

"What should Rico do?" asked Rico.

"I have friends... in Aquitar... they are Rangers like us and know the technology you use. They can keep you safe," said Jake. "You have to go with them."

"Aquitar? Familiar planet," said Rico.

"Aquitar has a technology similar to the one used to create you... it will be your home," said Jake.

Rico looked down and then nodded at Jake, which was all Jake needed to make up his mind. He knew what he had to do, so taking a deep breath, Jake closed his eyes and let the power overwhelm him one more time.

A wave of white light surrounded Jake and Rico, hitting Loogies and Metal Alice, who was forced to run before it hurt her. The Megaforce Rangers looked impressed as they demorphed and saw Jake opening his eyes, showing his gold lion-like eyes.

"He has done it again..." whispered Troy.

"What the...?" whispered Noah, amazed.

Jake looked towards them and smiled before using his hands to send a wave of energy in front of him. Slowly, the Rangers saw Jake opening a hole, almost like a portal, and from it, other Rangers came out, walking slowly towards them while Jake kept the portal open.

"Rangers from Earth, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Delphine, White Aquitar Ranger and the leader of the team," said the white ranger.

"I'm Troy, Red Megaforce Ranger..." said Troy. "How did you...?"

"Can we leave the introductions for another time? I'm not strong enough to keep this open for long," said Jake, behind them.

He was sweating, clearly making an effort to keep the portal open while the Aquitar