Note: This is not a part of my ongoing co-written Lost Galaxy series with Tanika. This should make up for not having any action sequences in the predecessor to this story.

Leo went at Kendrix with a punch. She caught it and tried flipping him, but Leo twisted in mid air and landed perfectly on his feet.

"Show off," Kendrix teased, as Leo went into his usual stance.

"Hey, when you've got it, flaunt it," Leo retorted. Kendrix had to laugh softly at that. Taking advantage of that, Leo tried rushing her. Kendrix was ready and tried to flip him again, and this time, she did.

"Ouch," Leo said, after getting dumped on his back.

"Geez, Leo," Kendrix said, "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Leo replied, "Help me up, will you?" He extended his hand to her.

"Sure," Kendrix said, grasping his hand. She let out a yelp, as Leo pulled her close and did a monkey flip like move that he learned from watching wrestling. "You cheater."

"Sorry, Kendrix," Leo said, "Now we're even."

"Oh, you," Kendrix scolded, shaking her head as she got to her feet. When she rubbed her back, Leo's expression softened.

"Are you all right?" he asked, "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"Nah, I don't think so," Kendrix replied, "My back's just been bothering me the past few days."

"Maybe you should go to the Megaship's medlab," Leo suggested, "You were sick this morning, weren't you?"

"Yes, but I'll be fine, sweetie," Kendrix lied, "I think it's just stress that made me sick. As for my back, I think I just have a bruise there from the fight with Freaky Tiki." She saw a slightly pained look cross Leo's face about that particular battle. "Oh, geez, I forgot."

"It's all right, Kendrix," Leo said. Ever since he had almost been killed on Mirinoi until the very battle Kendrix had been talking about, Leo had been a prisoner, in a manner of speaking, of the Magna Defender, who gave his life to save Terra Venture, and so that Leo could live again. It was still a bit of a touch subject for Leo.

"Are you sure?" Kendrix asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Leo replied, "I will always remember my time imprisoned inside the Magna Defender, but it's time I get over it. I'll have to, to become the new Magna Defender."

Kendrix nodded. Mike was going to give Leo the Magna Sword to Leo the next day, which was exactly two weeks after the original Magna Defender had given his life to saving innocents.

"I've got to be going," Kendrix said, "The R&D director wanted to meet with me about a project I proposed."

"I guess I'll see you later then," Leo said. They had a double date with Mike and Maya scheduled for that evening, barring a fight with Scorpius and his brood. Kendrix gave her boyfriend a quick kiss, before leaving.

The next day, the Rangers met in the simudeck. Mike was carrying the Magna Sword, and Leo stood before him. "Leo, I have great pride in giving you this," Mike said, "I believe that you've earned it." He held the sword out to his little brother.

Leo heitantly took the sword with one hand. The other was entwined with Kendrix's hand. "Thanks, guys," he said, "This means a lot to me, than you trust me with this power. I won't let you down."

"We know you won't, Leo," Damon said, "Congratulations, and welcome to the team, man."

"Thanks, Damon," Leo said. Kai and Maya also welcomed him.

All of a sudden, some sirens went off. The simudeck program they had running cut off immediately. Mike's communicator chimed, so he brought it up to his lips. "I read you, Alpha," he said, "What's up?"

"A ship of some kind is... appearing in space, for lack of a better word," Alpha replied, "I don't know what to make of it."

"What do you mean, just appeared?" Mike asked, "Did it fly here?"

"No," Alpha answered, "I don't have any explanation for it. It just... appeared out of the blue."

"We'll be right up to the bridge," Mike said, before cutting off the transmission. "We'd better morph. We might need it. Ready?" The others nodded.

"Go Galactic," the five Galaxy Rangers cried.

"Defend the galaxy," Leo called, holding the sword high above his head.

In seconds, all six Rangers were morphed into their respecive suits of armor. They then headed out of the simudeck and straight for the bridge, where Alpha was at his station, punching buttons for the sensors.

Alpha spotted them immediately. "Rangers, I'm glad you're here," he said, "Something aboard the ship has sent something down to the city."

"What is it?" Damon asked.

"I don't know, exactly," Alpha said, "It looks like a teleportation portal, but it's bigger than any I've ever seen. It also has some kind of writing on it that isn't in the database."

"Let's go check it out," Leo said, "This might be what we need to win this war against Scorpius."

"Or it could be a trap from Scorpius," Damon replied, "Scorpius and his brood are the only ones I know that can cause things to appear out of the blue like that."

"Damon's right," Mike said, "We can't risk the chance that thing could be a bomb of some kind."

"What do you think, Kai?" Leo asked.

"I'll have to agree with Leo, guys," Kai replied, "I have a feeling that, whatever that portal, and ship is, it'll help us."

"Kendrix?" Mike asked. Kendrix silently went to stand with Leo, and so did Kai. "I guess I should have seen that coming. What about you, Maya? If you're against us going, then we're tied. If you want to go check it out, then majority rules."

Maya wasn't even paying attention. She was looking at the ship. Her face was pale and her eyes were wide. "What's wrong, Maya?" Kendrix asked, "You look like you've just seen a ghost."

"I think I just have," Maya said, "I know that ship. My people may not look it, but, at one time, we were actually very technologically advanced. But my ancestors eventually banned a lot of technology, after a ship was lost with all hands. A ship that could fold space to go across the universe itself.

"One thing we still have left from our technological days are old holovids, of the ship," she said. She pointed to the ship on the screen showing outer space. "That's the ship in question. It's called the Majestriez ."

"So, do we go or not?" Leo asked.

"I need to go over there, and find out what happened," Maya said, "If my planet is restored one day, I can take that information back with me."

"All right, this is the deal," Mike said, "Damon, Maya, and I will go to the Majestriez . Leo, Kendrix, Kai, since you were wanting to go check out the portal, go check it out, but call at the first signs of trouble, understood?"

"You've got it, bro," Leo replied.

"Don't worry, Mike," Kendrix said, "We'll be careful."

"Good luck, guys," Damon said.

"You too, Damon," Kai said for his group.

The two groups teleported away. As Leo led Kendrix and Kai towards the mysterious portal, Mike, Damon, and Maya found themselves aboard a cold, dark, abandoned ship.

"I wonder what happened to the crew," Mike mused aloud.

"Probably long dead," Maya replied, "The Majestriez has been missing for about five hundred rotations, I mean years."

"Damon, you're the computer expert," Mike said, "You try hacking into the main onboard system."

"You got it, Mike," Damon said. He literally pulled up a chair and wheeled over to the nearest computer terminal.

"That will probably take a while," Maya replied, "What do you think we should do while we wait?"

"Let's go looking around," Mike said, "If there were both male and females, then they must have had children, and so forth. There has to be a crew around here somewhere. We'll just have to find it."

"Right," Maya agreed, "I believe your people's term is `this place gives me the keeps."

"That's creeps, Maya," Mike replied, smiling. The two of them left the bridge to search for any forms of life.

Somewhere in his own universe, Scorpius started getting an ominous feeling that he couldn't shake. `Something big is about to happen,' he thought, `Something dangerous for everybody, good or bad.'

"Trekeena!!!" he boomed.

His daughter came running into the room. "Yes, father?" she asked.

"Have the probes we left connected to Terra Venture picked up anything?" Scorpius asked.

"Just an opening of some kind," Trekeena replied.

"Did anything come out of it?"

"Just a ship," Trekeena said.

"What was the name?" Scorpius asked.

"I think it was called the Majestriez ," Trekeena answered.

"THE MAJESTRIEZ!!!" Scorpius screamed, "Prepare the Mega Stinger for the jump back to their galaxy. We have to get there, before the Rangers unwittingly open the gateway."

"What gateway?" Trekeena asked, "Father, you're scaring me!!!"

"You should be, daughter," Scorpius replied, "For if that gateway is opened all of the way, then we're as good as dead. Once we're back in that galaxy, get me in communications with the Rangers."

"As you wish, father," Trekeena said, leaving the room.

Leo, Kai, and Kendrix tentatively approached the portal. "Hmm, this is odd writing," Kai said, examining the hull.

As he looked at the teleportation portal, Leo's mind flash backed to an old show he used to watch called Star Trek. The portal reminded him of an artifact in one episode called the Guardian of Forever, except this was almost ten times bigger.

"The Guardian of Forever," he murmured.

"I guess that's a good a name as any," Kendrix replied, "But how do you know its name?"

"Huh? Oh, I don't," Leo said, shaking his head. "It just reminds me of something I saw once on a show a long time ago. It was an artifact of some kind, called the Guardian of Forever."

"I wonder if Maya knows this writing," Kai called out, grabbing his teammates attention.

"She might, but this also might be ancient writing of her people," Leo said, "A kind that hasn't been translated in hundreds of years."

"We'll just have to ask her when the others get back down here," Kendrix replied.

"Hey, guys," Leo called, "I think I found something. It almost looks like a trigger of some sort."

Kendrix and Kai went to where he was. A big switch was there. "I didn't notice this before," Kai said.

"Who cares," Leo said, "This will probably get this thing going. If it's a weapon, we can send it after Scorpius and his stooges."

"I don't know, Leo," Kendrix said, "I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this thing. Maybe it's a Pandora's box."

"A what?" Leo asked.

"A Pandora's box," Kai replied for Kendrix, "It's an old story about this woman named Pandora opening a box, letting out evil or something like that."

"Oh," Leo said, "Well, I guess you're right. We should wait for the others to get back, to decide on whether or not we're going to pull that switch. We'd better get back to the Megaship."

Kai and Kendrix nodded, and the three of them teleported away.

Onboard the Majestriez, Damon was getting nowhere at all with the computer system. "Mike," he said, through his communicator. "I'm not getting anything on the computer. I can't even get the main power on. I'm lucky that the computer system is on some kind of self recharging back up system."

"Yeah, we're not finding anything either," Mike replied, "Meet us back where we came in, and we'll teleport back to the Megaship.

"Let's go," Maya said, "This place is just too..."

"Wait a minute!!!" Damon chirped excitedly, "I think I'm getting something." All of a sudden, the overhead lights came on.

"Good work, Damon," Maya said.

"It wasn't me, Mike," Damon admitted, "I think I hit some kind of failsafe program that starts up the ship automatically. Now that the main system is on, I'm going to see what I can find."

"Sounds good," Maya replied, "Mike, you and I should head back to the Megaship anyway. We'd just be in Damon's way here."

"You're right," Mike agreed, "Let's go." The two of them headed back to the rendevzous point, where they first teleported in. Once there, the Red and Yellow Galaxy Rangers both teleported back to base.

There, they found Leo, Kai, and Kendrix waiting for them. "What did you guys find out about the portal?" Mike asked.

"We couldn't make heads or tails of it, I'm afraid," Leo said, "There was writing all over it, and I thought that you might be able to decipher it, Maya."

"I should be able to," Maya said, "My people's language hasn't changed since that ship went into space."

"You four head back to the portal, and see if you can tell us what the writing is," Mike decided, "I'll stay here with Alpha, to keep an eye on you guys and Damon's progress." The other four Galaxy Rangers nodded and teleported away. A second later, Mike's communicator went off. "Yes?"

"It's me, Mike," Damon said, "I think we have some trouble. That portal is not ordinary, according to the crew logs I'm reading at this moment. I think it's a gateway to somewhere. It's how the ship was able to fold space to cross entire galaxies."

"Great, and I just sent Leo and the rest of them over there," Mike replied, smacking his head. "Alpha, pull the team at the portal back, now."

"All right, Mike," Alpha said, "But why?"

"No time to explain," Mike said, "Just teleport them out of there. Damon, are you heading back?"

"No, I think I'll stay and see if I can't get anything more out of this computer," Damon replied.

"All right, but be careful," Mike said, "There might still be crew members over there, and they might consider you a threat."

"Right," Damon said, "Well, talk to you later. I need to concentrate on this."

"You got it," Mike said, cutting off the transmission. He turned to Alpha. "I thought I said pull them back."

"I tried, but something's interfering," Alpha replied, "The portal seems to be coming to life."

"Damn it," Mike growled, "Go Galactic." In seconds, he was morphed into the Red Galaxy Ranger. "Alpha, teleport me to the nearest place you can to the others."

"You got it, Mike," Alpha said.

Mike felt himself washed away in the familiar feeling of the teleportation beam, and soon found himself in the city. He used his communicator to home in on the other Galaxy Rangers and Leo.

When he got to them, the portal was just seeming to open up. A flood of monstrous, barely humanoid, beings came flooding out. Leo quickly switched his sword to blaster mode, and was trying to pick them off. Around him, Kendrix, Kai, and Maya were using their quasar launchers.

But their shots didn't even faze the beings, who easily shrugged them off. Even when Mike entered the fray using his quasar launcher, he couldn't make a dent in any of the beings. The Rangers were eventually forced to retreat, teleporting back to the Megaship.

There, Damon was waiting. "I saw what happened," he said, "The portal opened up, didn't it?"

Mike nodded.

"What were those things?" Leo asked.

"The crew of the Majestriez called them the Quachien," Damon said.

Maya stiffened at that word. "The Hellspawned," she whispered.

Kendrix looked at her, surprised. "What?" she asked.

"The closest translation from my native language to yours for Quachien would be Hellspawned," Maya replied.

"That's what I gathered, as well," Damon said, "Anyway, they are living, not demons, but the living armor they have on is nearly indestructible."

"If these things are nearly invulnerable, then how did they defeat them?" Kai asked. Damon wouldn't answer him. "Damon?"

"They didn't," Damon murmured softly, "Near as I can tell, the Quachien killed the crew and went back to their galaxy, or dimension, or whatever, to wait for the next people to open the portal."

"Did the crew kill any of the Quachien?" Kendrix asked.

"Yes, but only five," Damon said, "And the details have been lost. I think the Quachien deliberately deleted that part from the logs before they went back to their home."

"Rangers, the Megastinger is coming through a spatial rift," Alpha said, "They're putting out a hail to us."

"Return it," Mike said, "This should be interesting." A few seconds later, Scorpius appeared on the view screen. "What do you want, ugly?"

"To call a truce, so we can defeat these things," Scorpius replied.

"Why should we believe you?" Leo inquired, "You're the enemy."

"I may be the enemy, but I'm also the sole survivor of the Majestriez ," Scorpius said, "The Quachien changed me into the monster. I'm originally Mirinoian. I know of the only way to kill the Quachien."

That got all of the Rangers attentions. "All right, Scorpius," Mike said, "We're listening. What's on your mind?"

"Like I said, I want to call a truce," Scorpius said, "I want revenge on these creatures, for what they did to me. I'll tell you how to defeat them, and I'll also send down some sting wingers and a monster to help you."

Mike looked at the others, most of who looked skeptical. "Can you give us a few minutes to talk about it?" he asked.

"I will," Scorpius said, "But hurry. The Quachien destroyed my crew in a matter of hours. By sundown tomorrow, they'll have every man, woman, and child aboard Terra Venture dead or transformed." With that parting shot, Scorpius cut the transmission.

"What do you think, guys?" Mike asked his companions.

"We're going to have to trust him," Leo replied, "If he really does know of the way to beat those things, we'll need that information." The others nodded in unanimous agreement.

A few minutes later, they were back on the line with Scorpius. "I thought you'd see the logic in a temporary team up."

"I admit that we'll need all the help we can get against those things," Mike said, "How many sting wingers can you send?"

"All that I have, which is over thirty," Scorpius replied, "Now, to get down to business. You want to know how to defeat them, correct?" The Rangers all nodded. "There's only one way to beat them, and that's to decapitate them."

"Kind of like something out of Highlander," Leo murmured, "I should have guessed. Everything else seems to be coming out of movies and shows."

"What did you say, Leo?" Mike asked.

"I was just musing aloud, really," Leo replied.

"I'll send down my sting wingers immediately, along with a monster," Scorpius said, "You join the fray as soon as possible. Your best bet on weapons are your quasar sabers."

"Right," Mike said. Scorpius broke the transmission. "Let's go, team." With his command, the six Rangers teleported out of the Megaship, heading back to the portal and the army of Quachien.

There, they found sting wingers and a new monster taking on the Quachien. The Rangers once again jumped into the fray, hacking at the demon like beings. For each swing, each Ranger took at least one head of a Quachien.

Leo was fighting near Kendrix, watching her back. Kendrix was watching his back, as well. They complimented each other well. When one was temporarily struck down, the other would chop the head off the opponent that did the striking.

Across the court, Mike and Maya were doing the same, and so were Damon and Kai. The four were actually working together, and bodies of numerous Quachien were strewn all over.

Leo took a bad shot, and so did Kendrix. The Quachien they were fighting were about to finish them off, when a blast came out of nowhere and severed their heads. Leo and Kendrix looked up, to see ToroZord and the Wildcat GalactaZord had been the ones that had saved them.

ToroZord raised one hoof and let it drop, squashing a bunch of the Quachien that chose then to try to attack it. This looked to be just as effective as slicing off their heads, so the two zords let out a roar that brought the other GalactaZords running. Together, they squashed entire squadrons of the Quachien at a time.

"Rangers, this isn't doing you any good," Scorpius said, suddenly coming over their helmet communicators. "The portal is still opened, and as far as I can tell, there is a limitless number of the Quachien on the other side. You have to close it, now!!!"

"I've got an idea, guys," Leo said, "Let's bring our zords together. Between the six of them, we should have enough energy to take out that portal. Mega Defender, transform." With that, the ToroZord shot lasers at Leo. They struck him, and he started growing. "Defender ToroZord." With that, he combined with the ToroZord.

"Galaxy MegaZord, power up," Mike called. The five GalactaZords formed up into MegaZord mode.

"Defender Galaxy MegaToroZord, power up!!!" Mike and Leo cried in unison. With that command, the zords all formed up, to create one big MegaZord. They turned to the big portal, and opened fire. It was obliterated.

It didn't take the Rangers and Scorpius' forces long to dispatch the few remaining Quachien. The Rangers then teleported back to the Megaship, while the sting wingers went to the Megastinger.

Scorpius had one last parting shot for them. "I actually want to thank you," he said, "You helped me get the revenge I've been waiting five hundred years for. To show my thanks, I will leave without any hassle. Until we meet again, Rangers."

With that, he cut the transmission. On the screen, his ship went through a fold in space and back to their galaxy.

Not too long after the big fight with the Quachien, Leo and Kendrix decided to see the simulated sundown from atop one of the many skyscrapers. Kendrix was snuggled into her boyfriend's arms, her back to him, and they watched, as the orangish ball of fire went down.

For once, the two young lovers weren't worried about what the next day would bring, or their lives as Rangers. They were just happy about being together.

"Kendrix?" Leo asked.

"Hmm?" Kendrix replied, looking up at him.

"I've been thinking a lot," Leo said.

"About what?" Kendrix asked.

"Just general stuff, really," Leo said, "Like how good it feels to be the Magna Defender, how great it is to be a part of Terra Venture, and how good it feels to be with you."

Kendrix blushed. As she remembered the news she had to give to Leo, news she dreaded giving him, she turned away quickly.

"What's wrong?" Leo asked.

"Well, I found out what's been making me sick," Kendrix replied, turning back to Leo. "And the pain from earlier wasn't a bruise. I went to see Alpha right after the big fight with the Quachien, and he just confirmed it."

"Confirmed what?" Leo inquired.

"Leo, I'm pregnant," Kendrix whispered. She suddenly couldn't look him straight in the eye, so she stood up and walked away. She knew that Leo was going to be upset with her.

Kendrix was surprised, however, when Leo gently turned her around and pulled her into a hug. "I'm going to be a father?" Leo murmured. Kendrix nodded. "How long..."

"About two weeks," Kendrix replied, "I think the baby was conceived at my, um, private welcome back party for you after the fight with Freaky Tiki. If I remember right, it had been so sudden, we had forgotten a condom." She looked up into his eyes, and saw not anger and loathing, but pure love. "You're not mad at me?"

"Of course I'm not, Kendrix," Leo said, "This is my fault, after all. Why would I be angry at you for something I caused?"

"It wasn't just you, Leo," Kendrix said, "I was there too, you know. What are we going to do? I don't want to have an abortion, but I don't know how..." She started crying.

"Shhh," Leo replied, pulling her head to his chest. He let Kendrix softly sob against his chest. "We'll think of something, Kendrix. I promise." He kissed her forehead and looked out to the city.

Note from the author: How's that for something of a cliffhanger? All I can say is expect yet another sequel. I just might turn this into a series if I get enough positive feedback.