Space

Creepox had been waiting patiently for his chance to go against the Rangers. This was his opportunity to prove himself, and he was going to do everything in his power to come out victorious. But first, he had to convince his Admiral to let him fight.

"I have the best monster for the job, sir!" said Creepox.

"I don't know, Creepox, it may be too soon," said Admiral Malkor.

"This time is different. Let Dragonfly take down those Rangers, and we can invade this planet like you wish, sir," said Creepox, determined to get his chance.

There was a moment of silence before Admiral Malkor finally nodded, giving Creepox the permission he seemed to want so badly. Creepox clapped, walking towards the exit of the ship with Dragonfly, to be teleported to Earth and take care of those idiots dressed in spandex.

-Megaforce-

Earth, Ernie's Brainfreeze

Troy and Jake walked into Ernie's Brainfreeze and waved to Emma, who was there doing some recycling. They saw a guy surrounded by other people, looking like the center of attention. While he was enjoying the spotlight, Troy and Jake headed towards the bar, not paying attention to him.

"Hey... what are you doing here?" asked Emma when she stopped beside Jake and Troy.

"Troy is having some nightmares, so I took him out to do my training routine to clear his head," said Jake, while Troy sighed. "Seems our favorite new resident was having trouble keeping up."

"You are a soccer player," said Troy, laughing.

"Bah... you did pretty well for your first time," said Jake, thanking Ernie when he brought their drinks and one for Emma too. "Thanks, Ernie."

"It was 150 monsters against me!" said the boy, making the three Rangers and Ernie look towards him. "But I managed to beat them all using my sword!"

The people surrounding him seemed impressed and excited, and the boy was smiling proudly. The Rangers didn't want to know, but Ernie pointed at the boy while he got up and made the same pose Troy used as the Red Ranger.

It was far from the real thing, but it could pass as the Red Ranger pose.

"He keeps saying he is the Red Megaforce Ranger," said Ernie, behind them. "I don't know why... doesn't he know there is a reason why they keep their identity a secret?"

The comment, apparently innocent, snapped something inside Jake. He got up with an expression Troy and Emma had never seen on his face before. They shared a look while Jake walked towards the table where the boy was still doing poses.

The boy saw him and smiled, grabbing a pen.

"You want an autograph?" asked the boy.

"I don't give a damn about your fame, idiot!" growled Jake. "How dare you spit on the Rangers' name by trying to get your stupid five seconds of glory!? You are not the Red Ranger!"

There was a moment of shock where everything fell silent until the boy recovered and started to laugh in Jake's face, prompting others to do the same. The boy pointed at Jake's clothes.

"He is jealous of me being the Red Ranger, and by the looks of it, he may be a fan of the stupid Black Ranger," said the boy. "Get out of here, loser."

The people started to boo Jake too, but he didn't care. He had no right, and Jake was determined to make things right. When he felt Troy and Emma grabbing him, stopping him from making a mistake, Jake didn't move. Troy and Emma knew they weren't strong enough to keep Jake away.

He was stronger physically and could easily push them away, but he didn't, mostly because he was too angry and didn't want to hurt his friends by doing something reckless.

"Do you have any idea what you are doing, piece of trash!?" asked Jake. "By doing this, you are exposing yourself to the aliens trying to invade Earth! What are you going to do when they go after you!? Especially since you are nothing but a liar!"

"He is right," said Troy. "There is a reason why Rangers' identities are a secret."

"True, I doubt you are the Red Ranger, but in any case, what are you going to do when a monster attacks you or uses your family against you now that you revealed your identity?" said Emma. "I hope you can sleep at night, knowing how many people you put in danger to get this fame."

"I... I can defeat them," said the boy, now nervous.

The boy was starting to see his mistake, but it might have been too late. Jake was angry and now worried for the boy's safety. He untangled himself from Troy and Emma and walked to the boy, pointing his finger at the boy's chest just as Gia and Noah came into the Brainfreeze, surprised to see what was going on.

"You don't know how many Rangers died in the line of duty, do you?" asked Jake, seriously. "But you are here, disrespecting all of them because you want fame? Very well, man, get your fame, but don't go crying to them when a monster walks into your house."

Jake pushed the boy away, not hard enough to make him fall, and walked away, not paying attention to anything but the need to get out of there and relax. The other Rangers looked at each other, confused by the Black Ranger's reaction.

Troy followed him, not wanting to leave the Black Ranger alone, while Emma sighed. Gia and Noah looked at her, confused.

"What happened?" asked Noah.

"I'm not sure," said Emma, looking towards the exit. "But I think I know who can explain to us Jake's reaction to this situation."

Gia and Noah nodded, following Emma out to go to the Command Center. Hopefully, there someone could explain to them why Jake reacted this way to that stupid boy's comments.

-Megaforce-

Forest

Troy found Jake meditating in a quiet space in the forest. Jake was shirtless with his eyes closed, letting the wind hit his skin to calm his thoughts as he tried to relax and let the forest speak to him. Troy walked towards him carefully, not wanting to disturb his friend's meditation.

But it was too late; Jake already felt the Dragon's roar carefully tend to his furious Snake.

"I can feel you, Troy. Your fire is quite intense," said Jake, with his eyes closed.

"It is? I'm sorry, I didn't want to disturb you," said Troy.

"It's okay... Do you want to sit down?" asked Jake, opening his eyes.

He pointed to the spot beside him, and Troy walked towards it, sitting down and looking at Jake. Jake looked up at the sky with a sad smile as the wind gently hit them. For Troy, it almost seemed like Jake was looking for guidance. After a minute of thinking, Troy realized what might be troubling the Black Ranger.

"A Ranger died?" asked Troy.

Jake lowered his eyes until he saw Troy's face and then looked down at his hands. It was hard to explain this part of his life, but he felt he could trust Troy. Besides, it was part of the story they would learn sooner or later.

"Once you become a Ranger, all of them, new and old, become your family," said Jake. "I met people you would never dream of knowing, like Rangers from the future. They were the ones who told my dad about me becoming a Ranger."

"From the future?" asked Troy, shocked.

"Yes, there is a lot they can't tell us for our own good, but they were allowed to tell my dad and my family I was going to become a Ranger," said Jake, looking down. "That's how I got all this knowledge about Ranger history. When they told my dad and Uncle Tommy, they decided to train me. To be more effective, they called in other Rangers to help with my understanding of this world."

"I see... so you learned from other Rangers," said Troy, making sense of the past Jake was explaining.

"Yes, one of my teachers, well, my sensei, was Shane, the Red Ninja Storm Ranger. He was able to control the wind, and everything about him screamed hero," said Jake with a sad smile. "He was brave, a protector. He was calm in the middle of the storm."

Troy remained silent. He could see and hear how much Jake loved his sensei. It was evident in the break in his voice and the way his eyes shone with tears when he talked about him. Jake sighed, wiping his face. His dad and Tommy taught him everything a Ranger would want to know, along with the other Rangers, but the Ninja Storm Rangers taught him how to control his energy and fight with his heart.

"He sounds like a very special man," said Troy, putting a hand on Jake's shoulder.

"He was... he taught me how to control the wind," said Jake, smiling at the memory. "Tori is more technical, a water master; the Bradley brothers are all about physical fighting and fortifying the mind; Cam is about the history of the Ninjas; and Dustin is the fun and relaxed one... but from all of them, only Shane was able to help me channel my energy and remain calm when things got complicated."

"That's why you came here to meditate?" asked Troy.

"Yes... here, let me show you," said Jake, grabbing Troy's hands. "Put your hands like this."

Jake made a posture, and Troy followed, closing his eyes with Jake, feeling how everything disappeared around them except the wind, which flowed around their energies and allowed both Rangers to see the world in a different light.

The silence became part of their training as they focused on the energies, not seeing the spirit of a Red Ranger stand in front of them, nodding with conviction before sitting down in front of the new Rangers, watching them do what he did so many years ago.

-Megaforce-

Command Center

When Emma, Noah, and Gia arrived, they came face-to-face with three new faces they had never seen before talking to Kimberly. Kim, seeing them, smiled before pointing them to the strangers, who seemed extremely happy to see them.

"This is the new generation," said Kim. "Emma is the Pink Ranger, Gia is the Yellow Ranger, and Noah is the Blue Ranger."

"Oh, so finally we meet," said one of the women. "I'm Cassie, Pink Space Ranger."

"Yes, it's about time. I'm Ashley, Yellow Space Ranger," said the other woman.

"And I'm Carlos, Black Space Ranger. We were also the second Turbo Rangers, Pink, Yellow, and Green," said Carlos, smiling at the three Megaforce Rangers. "You have already met TJ, and soon you may be able to meet Andros, Karone, and Zhane."

"Talking about past Rangers... where is Justin now?" asked Kim.

"With Karone on KO-35," said Cassie.

"KO-35?" asked Noah.

"Andros, Karone, and Zhane's home planet," explained Ashley. "It's a planet out of this system. It's a long story, but they are all humans, I promise."

"So we have Rangers from other planets too," said Noah, amazed.

"Kid, you have so much to learn," said Carlos, chuckling at the boy's reaction.

Emma nodded and looked at Kim. The reason why they came here was still evident in their minds, and Kim could see it in Emma's worry and Gia's expression. Noah was still confused about KO-35, but something was bothering him too, and she wondered if it had to do with Jake or Troy since they were the two members of the team missing.

"Did something happen?" asked Kim.

"Maybe?" said Emma. "Jake overheard a guy taking his five seconds of fame telling everybody he was the Red Ranger and went furious, screaming at the boy... I never saw Jake so mad before."

"It was strange," said Noah. "He was out of his mind."

"I have never seen him like that either," said Gia, crossing her arms. "I wonder..."

"The reason?" asked Cassie.

There was a moment of silence between the older Rangers after Cassie's question, and the Megaforce Rangers looked at each other, confused. Ashley decided to take the lead in this situation and sat down, forcing everyone to follow her lead before she spoke.

"Being a Ranger comes with a lot of dangerous situations," said Ashley. "Sometimes we get hurt, and there have been cases of Rangers dying for the greater good."

"Rangers die?" asked Emma, grabbing Gia's hand.

"We had a few situations like that. Kendrix, the Lost Galaxy Pink Ranger, died saving Cassie and her planet from someone called Psycho Pink Ranger," said Ashley, taking Cassie's hand in hers. "But she was revived when the Lost Galaxy Rangers defeated their enemy with Karone taking the Pink mantle. Now, Kendrix is taking care of her kids, and Karone is still the Pink Ranger."

"Then there was Alex Drake, the first Time Force Red Ranger. He was believed dead for a long time, and it was the reason why the Time Force Rangers had to travel from the year 3000 to 2001, to find Alex's murderer a mutant named Ransik, in his place, they found Alex's ancestor, Wes Collins. Now he is the Time Force Red Ranger," said Carlos.

"At the same time, Wes was supposed to die fighting an army while his team went back to the future, but they changed that event by going back and fighting with Wes till the very end," said Kim. "They ended up winning the fight, and nobody died."

"Wes's father was supposed to die too, in an attack, but he survived thanks to Alex because it wasn't his real time," said Cassie. "And you know what happened to Jake's mother. Even if it wasn't due to Ranger duties, losing Trini affected us all."

"... and the last one to fall was Shane."

The Rangers, old and new, turned to the new voice. The woman, dressed in the clothes of the Ninja Academy from Blue Bay Harbor, walked towards them. The blue stripe on her clothes revealed her Ranger color as Kim got up and engulfed the new presence in a hug, followed by Carlos, Cassie, and Ashley.

"Tori, what a surprise," said Kim.

"I know I should have called, but it was a last-minute decision," said Tori. "It seems the wind is upset, and the Sensei wanted me to come and check on Jake."

Kim nodded and looked at the Megaforce Rangers, confused. She signaled Tori to look at them before introducing her.

"Rangers, this is Tori Hanson," said Kim. "She is the Blue Ninja Storm Ranger and controls the water."

"So these are the new Rangers?" asked Tori, smiling at the teenagers. "If I got the clues right, then Jake did become a Ranger, and you are his teammates? I think I remember you, Noah."

"Yeah, Ms. Hanson. We saw each other before," said Noah, smiling. "I'm the Blue Megaforce Ranger, Emma is the Pink Megaforce Ranger, and Gia is the Yellow Megaforce Ranger. Jake is Black, and Troy is our Red Ranger."

"I see... so the wind's distress may be caused by something Ranger-related," said Tori.

"Or with Jake upset," said Emma.

"He fought with a guy that wanted fame saying he was the Red Ranger," explained Gia.

"I understand," said Tori, looking down. "My Red Ranger, Shane, died a few years ago in the line of duty. It hit Jake pretty hard."

The Rangers looked down. Death was never a fact they considered when they wore the suits, but now they had evidence it happened all the time. While some of them came back or were never dead, Shane was gone. By Tori's expression and Jake's rage before, they knew the Red Ninja Storm Ranger was never coming back.

Noah looked down. He remembered the time when he saw his best friend crying like a baby, bawling about something Noah didn't understand at the time. Back then, he just stood beside Jake, offering moral support while his friend went through the pain.

The girls saw it too. They remembered a sadder, more serious Jake once, but they quickly forgot when he came back, wearing his silly smile and acting as if he was fine around them.

"Shane was a great man," said Tori. "He was defending Blue Harbor from a monster when a building came down, and he threw himself into the line of fire to save a group of people using his element, the wind."

There was a moment of silence while Tori looked away, controlling her emotions.

"He left his sword and his symbol to Jake, his best student," said Tori, with a sad smile. "He loved Jake and took it upon himself to teach the boy all he could need to control the wind and his emotions in a way he could use in the fight when the time came. Jake gave him the proudest moment when he graduated from the Academy with honors."

Tori smiled, showing the new Rangers a picture of Jake with the Ninja Storm Rangers and Jason. The Ninja Storm team was dressed in their teacher clothes, while Jason was dressed casually. Jake had a Ninja suit with a dark green stripe on the chest and Shane's wind symbol on his chest. Blue, Yellow, Crimson, and Navy Blue decorated his gloves and shoes, and light green adorned his wrist.

"Shane always had the feeling Jake was different. He had a way of uniting people that no one else had, and his way of learning when focused was something we admired as Ninjas," said Tori, looking at the picture. "He would be proud to see Jake turned into a full Ranger now."

"We all are," said Cassie, smiling at Tori. "We know Earth is in good hands with him and with them."

The Megaforce Rangers blushed at the reference about them when the alarm of the Command Center went off, warning them there was a monster in the city. When Tenshou ran to locate the attack, they heard Troy's voice through his panel.

"There is an attack in the city! Jake and I are almost there!" said Troy.

"We're on our way, Troy," said Gia, turning to her friends and nodding at them.

"I'm going too," said Tori, getting ready. "I can help evacuate the civilians."

"We can help too," said Ashley. "Kim, can you look after my princess?"

"Of course. Go and be careful," said Kim.

"Everyone ready?" asked Gia, receiving nods from all the Rangers. "Go! Go! Megaforce!"

"Ninja Storm! Ranger Form!" screamed Tori.

"Let's rock it!" screamed Ashley, Carlos, and Cassie.

-Megaforce-

Center of the City

When they got to the location, Red and Black were already transformed. It took some time for them to spot the monster and the boy they had seen at Ernie's before, along with his fans. The fans were screaming for the boy to transform, but of course, the boy couldn't do it because he wasn't the Red Ranger.

"Let them go!"

The boy and the monster turned to see Black and Red jump into action, pushing the monster away from the boy. Black turned to the boy and then to Red, who nodded, grabbing the boy's arm to get him away from danger along with the rest of the people.

"You need to leave! Now!" said Red.

The fans of the boy ran, scared, while Red brought the boy to a safe place. Black looked at the monster, ready to face him with his axe when the monster laughed.

"No one can defeat Dragonfly!" said the monster.

"We'll see about that," said Black.

Black ran towards the monster, raising his axe, but the monster blocked the weapon and used invisibility to hide from Black, thinking he could attack and defeat the Ranger like that. What the monster didn't know was that Black was ready for that situation. He stopped, closed his eyes, and let the wind act in his favor. The rest of the Megaforce Rangers, the Space Rangers, and Tori arrived at the scene.

Blue Megaforce was confused and tried to walk towards his best friend when Blue Ninja stopped him.

"What is he doing?" asked Yellow, looking at Blue Ninja.

"He is using what Shane taught him," said the Blue Ninja Storm Ranger. "He is using his element to fight the monster's invisibility."

The Rangers weren't sure what she was talking about, but in the battle, they could see Black focused, not moving while the wind spoke to him, the same way Shane did when he was here. Black took a deep breath and heard the monster running towards him with the wind. In the last second, Black moved his axe, hitting the monster, who appeared and hit the ground