[Kiryu]

Access 19: The Rusted Blade

Reggie sits on the cold metal slab that is Ai’s work bench. He rubs his arms, while Ai places her tools away with a smile upon her face. “There, that wasn’t so bad was it?” Reggie grumbles. “Easy for you to say...” Ai quickly turns back and glares at him. “What was that?!” Reggie shakes his head. “N-Nothing Ai...” Ai’s laboratory is a mess, filled to the brim with things that look like something out of an old science fiction movie. Reggie takes a quick look around and notices a half finished robotic exoskeleton, which is made up of a mishmash of different Spammerbot parts, salvaged from one of their battles. “You building a robot Ai?” Reggie asks.

Ai nods smiling brightly at Reggie. “Yes! I’m building a helper robot to make Kyle’s recovery that much more comfortable but don’t tell him...it’s a surprise okay?” Ai places a finger on her lips, and Reggie nods. “Sooo...you want to help me test out the robot too?” Reggie tugs at his shirt collar. “G-gee, would you look at the time? I’d love to Ai, but I just remembered that I had to help Jordan with...stuff....later!” Reggie quickly runs out of the room.

---

Inside the command centre, Will and James stand in front of a large, supercomputer-esque looking machine. The machine has an open slot, big enough for the Pass Scanner, and attached to the machine is the still-damaged Mod Belts. “Care to do the honors, James?” Will asks, handing him the Pass Scanner. James nods. "“Will I!”. Without hesitation, James takes the Pass Scanner from Will. “Uh...Will...are you sure it’s a good idea handing delicate equipment like that to James?” Nathan asks, causing James to scowl in response. “Shut it, Nosan! I’m not Ai!” At that moment, Reggie comes running into the Command Centre. “What I miss? What I miss?!” he asks in between gasps of air. “Hey, I see you got away from Dr. Frankenstein.” Nathan smirks. “Careful Reggie, we wouldn’t want her sending the monster stomping after you!” Matt and Nathan both laugh, causing Reggie to scowl. “Oh, shut up the both of you!” “Don’t tell us to shut up, you shut up!” The three continue to banter back and forth, each one telling the other to shut up, before Jordan shouts, “Why don’t all of you shut up and let Will and James do their thing?!”


They can only watch on, but Will nods, and James inserts the Pass Scanner into the machine. Within minutes, the room darkens, only to be illuminated by five monitors, each one displaying the characteristics of a different Mod Suit. “Yellow, Cyan, Hunter, White, Navy...looks like we got them all!” Will and James both give each other a high five. “Not all of them” Reggie says. Will and James both turn towards Reggie. “Say what?!” Jordan nods. “Yeah, you’re missing Bronze.” Will and James look towards them with shocked expressions, before both hanging their heads in defeat. “Aweeee maaaaan.....” Will sighs. “If he wants us to do another BS errand, I am DONE!”

“You won’t need to worry about that...” All eyes now turn to the to the door. Tony stands there with a grim look on his face. He snaps his fingers, and the screens displaying the suits collapse and the lights turn on. “What do you mean by that??” Jordan asks, but Tony says nothing. He silently approaches his desk as all eyes continue to follow him. “Tony, are you going to tell us what happened, or what?” Tony takes in a deep breath. “ModBronze...gave his life for us during the final days of the Virusion War...” A shocked gasp falls over the crowd.

----

The Virusion War ended with the death of it’s general. The team of Original Mod Rangers made their way through the fortress as it crumbled around them. Tony was wearing an Prototype suit, one which shared many similarities to his own current suit. In front of them, ModBronze lead the charge as he cut down a foot soldier that shared many qualities of the SpammerBots. ModCyan lagged behind the rest of the group, and he tripped and fell onto his knees. “Jess!” ModBronze cried, and he quickly ran to his side and knelt down. “Leave me, Ken! I’m only slowing you down!” Ken shook his head back and forth. “Stow that talk, no one’s getting left behind on my watch! We’re almost to the entrance! C’mon Jess, I know you’re tougher than this! Stand up!” Jesse nodded “A-alright...” He took Ken’s hand into his, and with Ken’s help managed to get up to his feet, though his legs were shaking. “C’mon!”

The group continued to run down the corridor, but meeting them was a foe Ken thought he had long vanquished. A Virusion general stood in their way. His armor resembled a version of Garo’s armor, but more high tech looking, and with a furred collar around his neck. “Khan!” Ken shouted. Khan laughed. “I told you...they don’t call me an Immortal for nothing. I cannot die, and I will not stop until I’ve settled my score with you...ModBronze! Draw your sword!” Ken shook his head back and forth “Don’t be a fool! Your immortality was tied to your Master’s power! With him gone, you are no longer the Immortal!!! If this fortress goes, you’ll go with it!” Khan laughed maniacally. “Do you think I care about that? My life means nothing if I don’t prove that I am your superior!”. Tony scowls “Damn it, we don’t have time for this!” Ken still blocked their path. “Tony...take the others and go. I’ll handle Khan.” Tony shook his head. “But...”. Ken shook his head in response. “Tony, there’s no time to argue…just GO!” Hesitantly, Tony nodded. With his sword in hand, Ken assumed the Cyber Yamato defensive stance, and Khan took his own.

The two swordsmen stood there for a moment, as the team ran past them. “Tony!” Ken said, passing Tony a set of keys. “The store’s your’s... take good care of her.” Tony gasped. “Hey! What happened to no-one gets left behind?!” Tony was about to head back in Ken’s direction when Hunter grabbed his arm. “Move your ass, Tony! The portal is closing!”. Tony struggled in Hunter’s grasp. “Let go of me Hunter!” Tony broke free, but Vincent grabbed hold of him as well, and the three leapt through the portal. The last thing Tony saw was Khan and Ken clashing swords as the fortress crumbled around them.

They joined ModYellow and Cyan, who had both come out of the portal before them. “No! No! Ken!” Tony shouted, and he pushed Vincent and Hunter off of him, but the portal closed before he could run into it. “NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!” Tony shouted. Jesse began to cry while Yun held her comfortingly. Meanwhile, Tony began pounding his fists onto the floor shouting “DAMN IT...DAMN IT...DAMN IIIIIIIIIITTTT!!!!!!!!!”

----

Tony lets out a deep a sigh. “That’s what happened...the last time I saw Ken...ModBronze, he was fighting his eternal rival, Khan the Immortal, as the fortress crumbled around him. It was a one way trip...we all knew that going in.” Tony turns away from the group, and he takes in a deep breath, trying hard to hold back the tears. A sudden heaviness hangs over the group that is, until Nathan shouts, “KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!!!”. The group turns to glare at Nathan for a moment but instead, Jordan turns back to Tony and says, “So does that mean we’re stuck?” This causes Nathan to nearly fall out of his chair, anime style. “C-C’mon guys! Nothing? Not even a chuckle?!” Reggie quickly grabs Nathan in a headlock and whispers into his ear, “Dude, this is NOT a time to be acting like Nossan!” Tony takes in a deep breath. “There is one way out of this...but none of you are going to like it.”

All eyes are once again placed on Tony. He stands up, and in his hand he carries his Master Caliber. He walks around his desk and stops in front of Jordan. He then holds it out to him. “Jordan...I’m making you the new ModMaster,” causing everyone in the room to let out a gasp. “Hey, what about us?!” Nathan shouts. “Yeah, what are we? Chopped liver!?” Tony shakes his head. “This is our only solution. From here on out, Will, James, and Jordan will carry on the fight...the rest of you are dismissed. Ai!” Ai stands up nervously and salutes Tony. “H-Hai!”. “I want you to remove the limiters on Will’s and James’ suit, and work on upgrading them. Immediately. Making them safe for prolonged use takes precedence over everything else, understood?” Tony asks. Ai frowns, but she nods. “H-hai...” Tony prepares to leave, but Matt stands in his way. “So, were all of our battles up till now for nothing?! You can’t just toss us aside like that!” Tony says nothing as Matt continues to glare angrily at him. Tony once again sighs. “I’m sorry, but there’s nothing we can do...I’ll make sure that your families are well protected...and that you’re all properly compensated. The Anons won’t touch you or your loved ones...you have my word” Tony bows, but then he walks past Matt. Matt then pounds his fist into the desk.

“Damn it! So that’s it, huh? This is Bull!” Reggie closes his eyes and walks towards the door. “Where do you think you’re going?!” Matt shouts. “Out...we’re no longer needed any more, so technically we’re not suppose to be here...” Reggie waves his good hand, and Matt watches Reggie leave with his jaw hanging open. “How come you’re so calm?! Don’t tell me you’re okay with this!!! Heeeeey!” He shouts.

----

Outside, Reggie leans against the back of the wall, placing his foot up as support. He has his phone to his ear, and it begins ringing. “Hello?” A recording of Hunter’s voice begins playing: "Hey, it's Hunter! Yes, THE Hunter, the best bounty hunter this side of well... I'm the most badass bounty hunter anywhere.” Hunter’s voice suddenly deepens, and he says: “I’m the best at what I do... and what I do isn’t very nice.” He then clears his throat. “But what IS nice is that I’m always for hire, and completely awesome. My fee is just as awesome as I am. Which is a lot. I can’t come to the phone right now because I’m off on a badass super secret mission! But you can leave a message after the bang. By the way: this message will self destruct in 10 seconds! Kidding! But I will try to get back to you ASAP...which might not be soon enough!” Reggie scowls and rolls his eyes, as the voice mail continues to talk about how awesome and badass Hunter is. He hits end call. “Who does he think he is?” He tries another number. Arthur’s voice comes from the other line. “Arthur, hey! It’s Reggie.” Arthur’s voice seems to brighten up as he says: “Oooh! You must be one of Sir Tony’s new Knights... seeking advice from your elders, eh?” Reggie lets out a sigh. “No, actually...I wanted to talk to you about Ken...” Reggie hears a click on the other line, and Arthur’s end suddenly grows silent. “Hello...? Hello? Well nice to hear you too…sir Asshole of Jerkington...” He lets out a sigh, turning to a closed nightclub that is ahead of him. Reggie approaches the door, but outside he sees a bouncer on his smoke break. “Excuse me, I’d like to talk to Sky Yun-” The bouncer blows a puff of smoke. “Sorry kid, club’s closed. I’m not suppose to let anyone in.” Reggie shakes his head “That’s fine, can you just tell him to come outside? It’ll be five minutes!” The bouncer glares at Reggie. “Scram kid.” Reggie scowls. “Listen you muscle bound oaf, it’s important that I talk to Yun and-” Before Reggie can finish his sentence, the bouncer pushes Reggie into the street.

Reggie scowls. He gets up and cleans himself off. He then notices a delivery being made, and the person who accepted does not close the door. The bouncer that threw Reggie returns from his smoke break. Reggie grins to himself. “Now’s my chance!” Reggie makes it inside the club without any difficulties, but it isn’t long before he is caught by two bouncers that tower over him. Reggie gulps. “Uh...I uh...got lost looking for the Bathroom?” Meanwhile, Yun is busy practicing his routine, but stops when he sees Reggie being picked up by a bouncer and dragged out, all the while shouting, “Let go of me you muscle bound ape!”. Yun lets out a sharp whistle, and the two bouncers look towards him. “Bring him here and put him down” The bouncer nods and does exactly that, dragging Reggie towards Yun and dropping him like a sack of potatoes in front of him. “T-thanks...I think...” Reggie says, rubbing his behind. Yun places his hand on his chin. “You’re one of Tony’s replacements...aren’t you? Hmmm.... come to see me dance, did you?” Reggie shakes his head. “Actually, I came to ask you a few questions.” Yun nods “You can ask them... BUT word on the street is you’re a pretty good dancer. Think you can out-dance me?” Yun grins, but Reggie sighs. “C’mon, Yun this is serious. I don’t have time to play around with you.” Yun laughs. “Ooooh, admitting defeat already, eh?”. Reggie scowls at Yun. “I never admit defeat! You’re ON!” Reggie removes his jacket, while Yun continues to grin. “Alright, beat this!” Yun begins his impressive breakdance routine, which ends with him pointing at Reggie. “Your turn!” Reggie cracks his neck but then rubs it. “ Ow! Piece of cake!” Reggie manages to out-dance Yun, much to his shock. Yun then claps. “Bravo, bravo!” Reggie takes a bow, and picks up his jacket, slinging it over his shoulder. “So... what was it you wanted to ask me about?” Reggie smiles. “It’s about Ken...” Suddenly, Yun’s mood sours as he glares at Reggie.

The next thing he knows, Reggie finds himself being thrown out of the club, landing on a pile of garbage. Painfully, he gets up, dusting some garbage off of himself. “F-fine well, if that’s the way you want it... this will be one club I won’t ever set foot in again! Even if I don’t go clubbing anyway...still! You lost yourself a customer!” He grumbles to himself and angrily storms off.

Next, Reggie finds himself at the police station on a busy afternoon. He finds Vincent’s office just as he’s clearing out his desk “Hey, you’re the purple guy! Great timing, I was just about to leave.” Reggie tilts his head “Leave? Back to the FBI?” Vincent nods. “Yeah, this location was only a temporary assignment. What’s up?” Vincent asks. “I was wondering if you could tell me about Ken?” Vincent’s mood suddenly turns sour as well, and he too glares at Reggie. “Get out of my office before I arrest you for... for being a nuisance!” Reggie is practically pushed out of Vincent’s office, and he grumbles “Geeze, what’s with these guys?!”

Now, Reggie finds himself in front of a quiet looking suburban home. He rings the doorbell, and moments later a fairly young-looking woman opens the door a crack. “I’m sorry, but Jesse says she won’t be taking any more interviews. If you must see her about one, talk to my lawyer.” The woman is about to close the door when Reggie puts his foot in between it “That’s not why I want to see Jess at all well... it’s easier if I just show you” He holds out his mod pass in his hand. “Oh! You’re one of those new Rangers. Are you here seeking advice from Jess then? Just wait one moment.” The woman closes the door, but Reggie can hear her fiddling with the locks. “Come in, come in... Jess’s room is up the stairs.” Reggie nods. “Thanks, I won’t take long.”

Reggie walks up the stairs, and knocks on the first door he sees. Moments later, Jesse opens the door, and inside Jesse’s room, Reggie can see that it indeed looks like a girl’s room. “So you’re really a girl then?” He asks scratching his head. “What do you want? If that’s the reason you came here, I swear I’ll kick your ass.” Reggie shakes his head. “Actually... I wanted to speak to you about Ken....” Jesse lets out a gasp, her face suddenly becoming emotional and she holds back tears. “G-get...get out! GET.OUT!” She picks up one of her stuffed animals and throws it at Reggie, causing him to back off and dodge out of the way. Jesse slams the door right in his face, but he can hear Jesse sobbing on the other side. Reggie walks down the stairs, and he can see Jesse’s mother waiting for him. “You asked about Ken, didn’t you?” She sighs. Reggie nods “Yeah... I can’t say I’m surprised... they all must’ve been really close.” Jesse’s mother nods. “Very... Ken and Jess especially. You see, Jess’s father left us when she was still very young. Ken came into her life almost a year after. Ken is Jess’s Godfather you see, and with his help, she learned to open her heart to people again....Ken was the closest thing Jess had to a real father...the poor thing doesn’t handle loss very well.” Reggie nods. “When Jess comes out...tell her I said I’m sorry for bringing it up...good day ma’am.”

-----

Reggie finds himself in the outskirts of town,at the site where the original ModRangers first opened the portal into Cyberspace. “This must be the place...” Reggie takes a quick look around, but sees nothing that stands out to him. Reggie shakes his head. “Why am I even doing this?” He turns around to leave but suddenly lets out a gasp. His body begins to tremble, he feels dizzy and lightheaded and a sudden pain wafts through his body. He falls to his knees, his vision begins to get blurry and he has trouble speaking. Right in front of Reggie, a portal begins to open, and though his vision is darkening he lets out a gasp as he sees ModBronze and Khan. The two are clashing blades, but the duel finally ends in a draw, with both Ken’s and Khan’s swords striking each other’s vital points at the same time, with the two warriors falling and breaking into binary. Reggie lets out another gasp.

However, the binary code reforms Khan and Ken and the two continue to clash, like a video on a loop, the scene playing exactly the same. “Quite the predicament, wouldn’t you say?” A familiar seductive voice rings through the valley. Reggie looks up the best he can and sees Ease standing over him, arms crossed and cocking a grin. “The residual energy released from your transformation devices... combined with the energy released when the Virusion fortress was destroyed... and the regeneration program that made Khan invincible in the first place, this all combined and resulted in the endless loop phenomenon that you are now witnessing. In their current state, they are like ghosts. They cannot hear us, nor can we touch them.” Reggie can feel the barrel of Ease’s gun tapping at the back of his head. She laughs seductively. “Ooooh, how easy it would be... but a certain pest dressed in white will interfere... that and you’re more valuable to me alive.” Reggie lets out a gasp as he turns to look at Ease the best he can in his current state. “‘How does she know about Harmony?’ Is what you’re trying to say I bet...” Ease chuckles. “Harmony and I were birthed from the same source code... that’s right... we’re what you humans call “Sisters”” Ease lets out another chuckle. “I can help you with your current problem...but it’s going to cost you dearly, boy....you see, opening a portal and reconfiguring Ken into the real world is merely child’s play... I’ll free Ken and in exchange, you work for me” Ease would once again let out another chuckle.

“Do not give in to her!” A familiar voice echoes throughout the canyon and with a gasp, Reggie and Ease turn to the source. Harmony stands at the very top of a cliff, the bottom of her dress flowing along with the wind. “Harmony....!” Ease says in a dark, hate-filled voice. “As much as it pains me to admit…yes, Ease and I were both birthed from the same source code... but this means that she and I share the same abilities!" Harmony raises her open palm, pointing it towards the portal. Bits of bronze colored binary flow into her hand, and inside the portal Ken’s form disappears just as he and Khan are about to deal the finishing blow. Binary continues to collect into Harmony’s hand until a bronze colored ball of light is formed. Harmony kneels down and presses the ball up against the ground; she closes her eyes and the ball once again becomes binary code, but the code then forms into ModBronze. His form vanishes and Ken lays there, unconscious. Ease’s hate filled glare intensifies as she turns it towards Harmony. “You...this is the last time you’re going to interfere with me!!!” Seeing Ease charging towards her, Harmony quickly tosses Ken towards where Reggie is. Ease’s battle armor forms over her body, and with a single leap she dashes forward towards Harmony, who merely stands there, calm and relaxed as she normally is. With her rifle, Ease fires at Harmony, but she deflects the shots, and she leaps into the air before Ease has a chance to slam into her, her own body armor forming in the process. As soon as Harmony lands, her rapier begins to glow with white light. She spins around and slings the blade upward, and when she does, a white wave of light leaves the sword. It cuts through the ground as it travels towards Ease. She blocks the attack, but the impact causes her defense to break, allowing Harmony to shoulder tackle into her. Ease is sent flying, and she crashes into a canyon wall. She emerges from the rubble with barely a scratch on her. Harmony assumes a defensive stance, pointing her Rapier straight at Ease, but she merely laughs hysterically. “Playing rough doesn’t suit you, Harmony...but if you want to play rough...I’d be happy to oblige.” Underneath her armor, Ease grins. She raises her rifle and points it towards Reggie and Ken, but Harmony merely stands there, not showing any signs of making any sudden movements.

The nozzle of Ease’s riffle begins to build up with energy, but before she has a chance to fire, she is hit by unknown laser fire. She staggers as the shots bounce off her armour. “Not so fast, Dracula!” James, Will, and Tony arrive on the scene, causing Ease to grind her teeth together. Tony glances towards Reggie and gasps. “That’s... Ken!” He rushes over towards Ken’s side in disbelieve. “I...I don’t believe it... he... he looks the same as he does six years ago. He hasn’t aged a bit.” Reggie lets out a groan .“I...had a hunch he was still alive...but I wasn’t totally positive if he was...H-Harmony...s-she helped free Ken.” Tony’s gaze turned towards Harmony. “You...did this?” Harmony simply nods, and Tony bows. “T-thank you...you have no idea...no idea what this means to me...to a lot of us.” Tony’s voice is emotional as he speaks. Ken lets out a groan.

Ken slowly regains consciousness, and the first thing he sees is Tony and Reggie staring back at him. His vision is blurry at first, but he slowly comes to. “...Tony? Is that you? Man what happened? You’re...old...” Tony gives Ken a swift punch in the arm as he says those words. Harmony giggles and points her Rapier at Ease’s neck. “Give up, Ease! And Return from whence you came!” Ease laughs. “Touching...it’s so sweet I almost want to barf. I’m sure there’s someone else who’s eager to get reunited with you...” Slowly, Ease’s open hand raises towards the portal, and bits of binary begin to collect in her hand at a much faster rate than Harmony was able to collect Ken’s. Khan now stands before them, kneeling. He rises to his feet and turns his gaze towards Ken, raising his sword towards him. “ModBronze! Today we decide which one of us is superior....” He gets into a battle stance “Prepare yourself!”. Ken slowly stands to his feet, and he wobbles slightly “Khan!” He cries. “Ken, you’re barely in any shape to stand, let alone fight!” Ken grins at Tony’s comment. “When has that ever stopped me before, Tony? Besides...you and I know that I’m the only one here strong enough to take on Khan...” Tony remains silent, and he hesitantly nods. “Just be careful, we just got you back and I don’t want to loose you again.” Ken smiles. “Careful is my middle name, Tony.” Tony laughs. “I thought it was Randal... Will, James, back him up!” Will and James nod, James doing a two finger salute. “You can count on us, Boss!” Tony passes Ken’s sword to him; Ken takes the blade and shouts: “Mod Access!! LOG IN!” Ken takes his ModPass and inserts it into his ModKatana, and the blade responds with: “BRONZE, LOGGING IN...DOWNLOADING” Bronze’s ModSuit would appear around him. Will and James inserts their Staff Passes and yells out: "USER ACCESS, LOG IN!" Their belts responds with: USER KIRYU, LOGING IN…WELCOME. USER CONUNDRUM, LOGGING IN…WECOME...ModBronze gets into a defensive stance, shouting, “ModBronze!”.

Ease laughs. “Three on one is hardly fair...let us level the playing field.” With a snap of her fingers, a group of Spammerbots and Trollers appears behind them, causing Will and James to laugh. “Ha! You call that leveling the playing field!?” Ease chuckles. “They’re more than enough for you buffoons” This causes Will and James to to fall down, anime style. “As for you, Harmony... we’ll settle this another time.” Ease vanishes, returning back to the Cyberworld. “Wait!” She cries but Ease vanishes before anyone can blink. “Damnit! You won’t get away from me!” Harmony too vanishes.

James and Will turn their attention to the legion that stands in front of them. “James and I will take care of the small fry, you just worry about the ugly guy!” Ken nods. “I’m counting on you!” The trio charges ahead, Khan doing the same, with the legion of grunt soldiers following behind him. Ken begins to cut down Spammerbots as he makes his way towards Khan, and the two began to clash swords. Ken parries Khan’s sword, which causes him to stagger, leaving him open for Ken to slash him across the chest, creating a fatal-looking gash across his armor. Khan laughs, as the gash quickly closes up and his armor looks like new. Ken lets out a gasp. “You’re regenerative program! I see... that woman in black must’ve reactivated it! In that case... I’ll just have to go for your weak point!” Khan laughs. “Just try!” Two trollers appear behind Ken, who lets out a gasp and prepares to defend while Khan attacks from behind.

Before Khan’s attack can hit, he is pelted by a barrage of laser fire as a flaming whip incinerates the two Trollers. “I told you: let us worry about the small-fry!” Will says. Ken sees Will and James fighting an overwhelmingly large group of foot soldiers causing him to gasp. “Guys!” “Keep your eyes on me, Bronze!” Khan shouts, bringing his sword down but Ken is able to block it. Khan keeps pressing down harder and harder while Ken struggles to keep the sword up, while Khan laughs maniacally. With a fierce battle cry, Ken stands up and pushes Khan’s blade upward, parrying him at the same time. Once again open, Ken’s blade begins flashing a bright emerald green; he slashes upward, unleashing a green energy as he does. Khan is hit by this blast; he lets out a cry of pain and staggers back. The wolf emblem on his chest falls to the ground in two smoldering pieces. “Guys! This is our only chance, let’s hit him with everything we got!” Ken shouts. Will and James nod. “Gotcha!” The two of them leap into the air, using a Spammerbot as a stepping stone. Will is the first to attack, using his chain whip to strike Khan, while James rushes forward, dealing Khan a double kick. He lands on his feet and begins to pelt Khan with laser fire again. Khan lets out a growl; he raises his sword and attempts to strike James down, but he leaps out of the way and kicks his blade down so it becomes stuck in the ground. “What?!” Khan shouts, struggling to get his blade out of the ground, but he looks up with a gasp. Will, James, and Ken stand there, their signature weapons charging with energy. The three of them lets out a fierce battle cry as they launch their attacks forward, each of the attacks coming together in a large ball of energy which strikes through Khan. Khan is knocked off his feet by this blow, and he lets out a groan. “Curse you... ModBronze! Curse you! This won’t be the last you’ll hear from me! Don’t think you’ve won!!!!” Khan falls backwards and explodes, causing Will and James to high five one another. “Oh yeah, we rule, we rule!” James says. “Don’t celebrate just yet.”

The remains of Khan’s body suddenly begin to glow. Khan bellows out a roar as he suddenly becomes a ten story tall giant. “Awe man!” Will shouts. “Figures, monsters growing big after getting beaten once is ALWAYS is a staple in these Sentai shows! Hey Tony, please tell us we get our own giant mecha.” Tony nods “You have your own mecha...Ai! Deploy the Newsievan and Photobomber!”

Back at HQ, Ai nods at the request. “Yokai! Launching NewsieVan and PhotoBomber!” She pulls on a lever and deep inside the hanger, the lights of an enormous van comes on, and meanwhile, a stealth bomber-like fighter craft’s engines began roaring. Both vehicles take off into a portal that opens into the canyon, causing Will and James to both let out a gasp. “I trust you’ve logged enough time on the simulators?” Will and James nod. “Alright, well... have at it then.” Both Will and James leap into the air, entering their respective vehicles cockpits. “Wow... this is too cool! It’s like I’m in a mecha anime or something! Whoa!” Will turns the steering wheel a hard right just as Khan’s massive blade comes down towards him. James counters by firing a barrage of missiles at Khan. “Pay attention, doofus!!” James cries. “Oh um...r-right!” Will and James both press a switch; the PhotoBomber and Newsievan turn into humanoid shapes, each one resembling something out of Transformers.

Khan lets out a roar as he charges towards the two; he brings his blade down towards Will and James’s mechas, but Will blocks the attack and quickly punches Khan in the gut. Stunned, James uses this opportunity to attack him with a laser cannon, but Khan manages to block. “You’re getting on my nerves!” Khan’s voice bellows out, and with one sword slash, he manages to knock both mechs off their feet. “Damnit, we’re getting nowhere like this!” Will shouts. Tony’s face appears on a monitor. “What are you two doing?! You’ll need Forum Assaulter to fight him!” Will nods. “O-Oh um right...!” Will and James then both shout: “Combine! Forum Assaulter!” and the two leap into the air. The Photo Bomber separates, panels compressing and folding away, becoming armour parts for Will’s mecha. They combine together, with cockpit of the PhotoBomber on the front, and a massive wing pack on the back. “Combine, Forum Assaulter!” Will looks around the cockpit and tilts his head. ‘Huh...not a whole lot changed...alright James, let’s kick his ass!”

A pair of jet thrusters ignite and launches the mecha up into the air. “Don’t think I can’t reach you up there!” Khan shouts, swinging his blade forward, unleashing a wave of energy. Will and James dodge out of the way. A pair of mini gatling guns pop up from the Forum Assaulter’s wrists and begin firing at Khan. Khan blocks the attack, but is then hit by more missile fire. The Wings from the back of Forum Assaulter detach and become an enormous sword. Forum Assaulter plummets to the ground, and with a robotic battle cry, strikes Khan. This strike causes Khan’s sword break. “What?!” He screams out in response. “Now’s our chance!” Forum Assaulter’s eyes glow, thrusters propel the armored mech forward as the blade becomes engulfed in energy forming a drill-like shape. “Submission Thrust!” Will and James both shout as the blade strikes right through Khan, leaving a hole in his armour. Khan staggers as sparks fly from his armor. “This is...inconceivable! I am...The Immortal! I cannot die...I will not diiiiiie!!!!!!!!!” Khan falls over, becoming engulfed by a ten-story tall fire ball.

Seeing this, Ken lets out a sigh. “It’s...finally over...” He turns around and begins to leave. “Ken...? Where are you going?” Tony asks. “I just need to be alone...so I can collect my thoughts...” Tony nods and watches as Ken walked off.

----

Following the battle, Ken approaches a tombstone, his own, and he kneels down, seeing that a bouquet of fresh flowers has been left for him. “It’s strange, looking at your own grave... isn’t it?” Ken remains silent. “...How long was I gone?” Tony lets out a sigh. “Six years, I’m afraid.” He crosses his arms. “Six years....” Ken repeats to himself. For a while, the two say nothing before Ken chuckles. “It’s strange... being trapped inside the cyber world all this time... it felt like I was in never ending dream. And yet...” Ken’s voice becomes emotional, and he takes in a deep breath. “So much about this world has changed. My old neighborhood is gone, my apartment...gone...even my folks are gone.” Tony nods. “They moved out of the state to distance themselves away from this place... but I’ve informed them that you’re okay. They’re on a plane as we speak, coming to see you.” Tony places a comforting hand on his shoulder, and Ken nods. “Thank you...I owe you for that.” Ken smiles and once again the two saiy nothing.

“So what are your plans now?” Tony asks. Ken shakes his head. “I don’t know... there’s six years worth of anime, games, movies and news I’d like to get caught up on.” Tony nods. “Before that...I’m sure there’s someone else who’d like to know you’re okay...c’mon.” Tony is about to leave but Ken laughs. “Six years is a long time, and I sure hope you’re a lot better with a sword then you used to be.” Tony stops in his tracks and turns towards Ken. “Is now the proper time for it?” Ken grins “It is... not unless you’re chicken.” Tony laughs. “I’m man enough to take you on... old timer.” Ken nods. The two of them move away from the cemetery, stopping in a more open area. Each one is armed with their own signature blade. They let out a fierce battle cry as they clash swords.

“I’m home!” Jesse comes into her house, removing her shoes and backpack in the process, but the home is dark and she is not met with a response. “Mom?” Jesse cries, worry and paranoia beginning to set in. She enters the dark living room and turns on the light. When she looks at the sofa, she lets out a gasp. Sitting on the sofa is Ken; he turns to a shocked Jesse and smiles .”Welcome home, Jess.” Jesse’s eyes begin to swell up, tears flowing and she runs at full speed, tackling Ken and knocking him and the sofa over in the process. “Whoa!” Ken shouts and laughs. “Don’t you ever.... EVER put me through that again you big jerk!” Jesse shouts. Ken smiles. “It’s good to see you too, Jess.” Ken gives Jesse a big hug, and outside, Tony, Will, and James watch, with a smile on their faces, as the two are reunited.

Next Time on Tokunation Sentai ModRanger:

Ai: Take responsibility, okay?
Tony: You're mainly focused on speed.
???: Viral Access!
Reggie: STOP IT!!!

Access 20: Hyper! The Violet Hero's Rampage!