A/N: Hello, readers! Welcome to another chapter! Enjoy!

edited on may 14th, 2022 @ 8:14am

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX - CRUISIN' FOR A BRUISIN'

𝓣𝚁𝙴𝙽𝚃

I WAS CURRENTLY AT THE base wearing a gray t-shirt with a black flannel over it. I was with the other Rangers as the Beast Bots were busy helping us train.

"And that's all six targets in position. Everybody to your stations, please." Jax announced.

"Great. Thanks, Jax." Zoey told him.

"All right, let's get this party started." Steel said.

"Okay, Rangers. This is round one." Cruise informed.

"How about we make training interesting?" Devon suggested. "Anybody who misses buys the rest of us smoothies. What do you say?"

"I don't have my wallet." Ravi shrugged. "But I won't be needing it."

"Do you know exactly who you're challenging, Devon?" I smirked.

"Hey, this is target practice. It's not a competition." Zoey told us.

"Ooh, looks like someone is afraid of losing." I teased, making Zoey whack me in the head as Ravi laughed. "Ouch. Sorry, Z."

"I'll beat you all." She claimed.

"Wait— I can't even drink a smoothie!" Steel realized.

"Ready, set. . ." Smash started off. We picked up the blasters as they began to whirl. ". . . fire!"

All of us then began firing at the targets in front of us. The cardboard Tronics were soon hit as they flapped downwards.

"No smoothies so far." Ravi announced.

"But round two is a little harder." Smash informed.

"Great." Nate said.

"Now, where did I put that remote control?" Cruise asked himself as the remote was in his hand.

"The one you're holding?" Devon questioned.

"Oh, yeah. There it is." Cruise replied.

"Oh!"

"Oh, Cruise!"

Cruise pressed the button as a Tronic figure appeared. "So, we figured you might wanna crank things up a notch." He announced.

"A moving target, huh?" Nate guessed.

"More of a challenge." Devon said.

"Ready, set, fire!"

At Smash's command, we picked up our blasters again and began firing at the moving target, but none of us got a hit in.

"It's moving too fast." Ravi pointed out.

"Ugh! I'll say." Zoey agreed.

"That's a tough one." Nate added on as all of us ceased fire.

"Not tough— that shot is impossible! Did you even test this?" Steel accused Cruise.

"Of course Cruise tested it. Show 'em!" Harlem defended.

"All right, then." Cruise said, walking over as he picked up the blaster.

He then fired at the moving target perfectly. "What a shot!" Devon complimented.

"See? It's not impossible." Cruise claimed.

"Way to go, buddy!" Devon praised, giving him a high five.

"Dude, have you been practicing?" Zoey asked.

"No, no. It was nothing, really." Cruise answered.

"Nothing? We could use that kind of shooting on our team." Ravi stated.

"I'm right here, Ravi."

"Sorry, Trent."

"More firepower isn't a bad idea. Cruise can help us out against real Robotrons and Tronics." Devon suggested.

"Hold on. That isn't what I meant." Ravi told him.

"I'm not so sure about that." Zoey disagreed.

"Me either." Nate chimed in.

"Cruise being on the battlefield with us could put him in danger, and considering he powers your Zord, it could be risky for future Megazord battles if anything were to happen to him." I added on, Nate nodding in agreement with my words.

"Trent's right. Beast Bots weren't really built for ground fights." Nate informed.

"Doesn't mean they can't do it. How about it, Cruise?" Devon asked.

"Oh, well, . . . sure." Cruise answered. "Anything to help you, Devon, and the Rangers."

"I don't know." Nate still wasn't on board with the idea.

"Come on. You saw how precise he is." Devon urged.

"Yeah!" Cruise agreed.

"Fine. I'll make him some blasters. But he's gotta do combat training if he's gonna be in the field." Nate said, finally giving in.

"Yes! This is gonna be unreal." Devon said as he fist bumped Cruise.

Cruise chuckled. "I can't wait, Devon." He said.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

"So, these should do it. Here you go, Cruise." Nate announced, setting the new blasters down. "These wheel blasters are built to interface with your Beast Bot technology."

"Wow! These are the nicest wheels I've ever had." Cruise claimed.

"If anyone fires back, you can use them for cover too." Nate informed.

"Cool!"

"Nice job, Nate." Devon complimented.

"Yeah, thanks." Cruise thanked him as the alarm suddenly blared and Commander Shaw appeared on screen.

"Rangers, I know you're busy, but there's been a disturbance downtown in sector Delta 7-8. Go check it out." Commander Shaw told us.

"We're on our way." Devon said, turning to Cruise. "It's time for action, Cruise."

"Yeah! I'm ready to fight with the team!" Cruise claimed.

"Come on, buddy." Ravi said as all of us rushed out.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

We all arrived at the scene to see Digitron. "Good tech makes me stronger." He claimed.

"He's scarfing down tech like it's his lunch." Zoey pointed out.

"Well, he's not getting dessert." Devon said as he rushed forward. "Hey, you!"

The rest of us soon followed him. "Did someone say 'dessert'?" Digitron questioned.

"It's morphin' time!" Devon shouted out as we got out our morphers.

"Activate Beast Power! Ha!" We all exclaimed as we morphed.

"Unleash the Beast!"

"And unleash the Beast Bot!" Cruise added on.

"You can't outnumber me! Tronics!" Digitron shouted out as Tronics appeared.

"Whoa! We'll take these ones!" Nate announced as him and Steel headed towards the Tronics closer to us.

The rest of us let out a shout as we began fighting the Tronics. I dodged an incoming attack from a Tronic before kicking it to the ground.

Devon ended up getting punched by Digitron as he flew in the air and fell to the ground.

"Devon!" Zoey called out as she jumped into the air, but ended up on the ground as well.

"Zoey!"

"Z!"

Both Ravi and I called out her name in concern. Digitron then attacked Devon, Ravi, and I as we collapsed to the ground.

"He's getting stronger." Ravi pointed out.

"We can't give up." Devon informed.

Nate and Steel soon rushed over to us. "Guys, where's Cruise?" Nate asked.

"That Robotron absorbed him." Devon replied.

"What?"

"We gotta capture him, find a way to get Cruise back." Devon claimed. "Cable Strike!"

That's when Digitron suddenly vanished. "What?" Steel questioned in confusion.

"No! Cruise!" Devon dropped to his knees. "Cruise."

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

"Oh! It's not the same without Cruise." Smash complained as we were back at Grid Battleforce.

"Us Beast Bots are a quadruple, not a trio." Jax added on.

"He was fighting so well. Then we lost sight of each other." Devon said. "One moment he was there, and then he was gone. And it's all my fault."

"I should have insisted on combat training." Nate spoke up.

"You tried. And I just wouldn't listen." Devon said.

"You can't blame yourself. That Robotron was after tech —any tech." Zoey tried to reassure him.

"If it wasn't Cruise, it would've been Steel." I pointed out.

"True. If you're after tech, I'd be the ultimate catch." Steel agreed.

"I know you're all trying to make me feel better. But it's only gonna happen when we get Cruise back." Devon said.

"How are we gonna do that?" Ravi asked. "That Robotron's even stronger now because Cruise's technology powered it up."

"That's it! The answer's right in front of us. It's Jax, Smash, and Harlem!" Devon exclaimed, turning around.

"Us?" The three remaining Beast Bots said in unison.

"I don't like where this is going." Harlem added on.

"Whoa. No way Jax is fighting." Zoey disagreed.

"Count Smash out too." Ravi said.

"And Harlem. Don't take this the wrong way, Devon, but I'm not letting him be digitized like Cruise was." I stated.

"No, that's not it. I have a better idea." Devon claimed.

"Like what?" Smash asked.

"Digitron became more powerful when he digitalized and absorbed Cruise. It's like you said— he powered himself up. What if we combined with our Beast Bots, so we could become powerful too, like Digitron?" Devon turned to Nate. "What do you think, Nate? Is it even possible?"

"It's a complex idea. But. . . I think there's a way. And more importantly, if I can figure out how to turn a Beast Bot into data, we could reverse it and turn data back into a Beast Bot— maybe save Cruise." Nate replied.

"Oh, man!" Jax exclaimed.

"Devon, Nate, you're geniuses!" Steel praised.

"We're in!" Jax said.

"Whatever we can do to help." Smash stated.

"If it gets Cruise back, we'll do it." Harlem claimed.

"Thanks, guys. We're gonna do this." Devon said in determination.

"Yeah, we are!" Steel agreed.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

"These keys will digitize Smash, Harlem, and Jax." Nate informed, handing Ravi, Zoey, and I the keys as we took them.

"Ready to give it a go?" Nate then asked.

"Ha! We were built ready." Jax responded.

"Hit us with what you've got." Smash added on.

"Great." Nate said, picking up a tablet.

"Here goes nothing." Zoey stated.

I kneeled down to Harlem's level and inserted the key, causing him to get digitized.

"Whoa! Smash?" Ravi questioned, looking at his key. "Buddy, are you in there?"

"They're fine. The digitization worked perfectly. Smash, Harlem, and Jax are now loaded into your keys." Nate reassured us.

"You did it! Exactly like Digitron." Devon said.

"Whoa! Smash, Harlem, and Jax are data now." Zoey stated.

"Affirmative. So with that in mind, if you hit Digitron with this. . ." Nate hands Devon his own key as he thanked him. ". . . it should extract Cruise's data, safe and sound. With your Beast Bot data loaded, they're primed to be deployed into battle. Let me show you how."

"What are those?" Ravi asked.

Nate held one up. "This is a Beast-X Mode Visor. It attaches to your Morpher." He replied as he demonstrated. "Then, when you're ready to deploy your new armor. . ."

"We insert our Beast-X Mode keys?" Zoey finished.

"Exactly! And then, thanks to my genius bro, Smash, Harlem, and Jax will become your armor and amplify your Beast Powers in battle." Steel answered. "With Beast-X Mode, you four could be almost as strong as I am!"

We all chuckled at his statement. "Just a little bit more programming to upload, and these things will be ready to go." Nate told us.

The alarm suddenly blared as we rushed towards the computer. "What's up, Commander?" Devon asked.

"Digitron is back— sector Bravo 6-4." Commander Shaw responded.

"Roger that." Devon said.

"Let us know the second the visors are ready." Nate told the female worker.

"That'll be in seven minutes."

"That Robotron could be causing some real damage in the city." Zoey informed.

"We'll have to hold our own without the new tech." Devon stated. "Come on. Let's get out of here."

All of us soon followed him out of the room.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

We arrived at the scene to find Digitron getting more energy. "How much longer, Nate?" Devon questioned.

"Two more minutes." Nate answered.

"We can't just stand here!" Ravi informed as he rushed forward while we followed him. "Hey, Digitron! It's not nice to steal!"

"Too late, Rangers! I've downloaded everything!" Digitron claimed.

"Well, we're gonna take you offline." Devon claimed as we all got out our morphers.

"Activate Beast Power!" We shouted as we got covered in mist of our respective color and morphed. "Transport!"

All of us headed for Digitron with our weapons in hand. "Beast Blast!" Devon shouted out, firing at Digitron.

We soon began fighting Digitron off the best we could. "Devon!" Zoey shouted out.

"I'm okay." Devon reassured her.

"Come on. Let's try this again." Nate said as Ravi and I grabbed onto Devon's arms. "Ready, aim. . ."

"Fire!" Digitron finished as he fired at all of us. We all groaned and fell to the ground.

"It's no good." Devon said.

No matter what we did, we got tossed aside. "Nate, we need that power-up!" Devon informed.

"No. You need to stay down!" Digitron exclaimed, firing at us once more as an explosion occurred and we collapsed to the ground.

"Fools! None of you stand a chance against me!" Digitron declared.

"No!" Devon exclaimed.

Nate's communicator suddenly beeped. "It's the lab. The upload is complete. The visors are ready to go." He informed.

"All right. Thanks, Nate." Devon said. "I'm not giving up until this is over."

"Whatcha gonna do?" Digitron taunted.

"You took my friend. But now, I'm gonna get him back! Transport Beast-X Visor!" Devon shouted as his visor appeared in his hand. He then connects the visor to his morpher. "Beast-X Visor linked."

"Okay, Cruise. I got you into this mess, and now I'm gonna get you out." Devon declared.

"Tech for me?" Digitron questioned. "Yes please!"

"Ravi, Trent, Zoey— now!" Devon told us.

Devon headed for Digitron while Ravi, Zoey, and I blasted him using our weapons.

"Nate, Steel— your turn!" Devon called out.

Nate and Steel grabbed onto Digitron's arms. "What are you doing?!" Digitron exclaimed.

"What we do best!" Nate replied.

"Stopping bad guys!" Steel finished.

Devon inserted his key into Digitron as a purple light began to show. "Cruise, grab on!" Devon told him as he finally got Cruise out of Digitron.

"No! You took my precious tech!" Digitron exclaimed.

"He's more than tech. He's our friend." Devon declared as Digitron growled. "He's about to help me destroy you. Activate Beast-X Mode!"

"Beast-X Mode Ready!"

"Right here with you, Devon!" Cruise told him.

"Glad to have you back, Cruise." Devon said.

"This can't be! I feel weaker." Digitron claimed.

"Transport Beast-X Visor!" Ravi, Zoey, and I said in unison.

"All right!"

"Let's go!"

"Beast-X Visor linked!" The three of us said. "Activate Beast-X Mode!

Ravi, Zoey and I got changed into the same armor that Devon wore.

"Beast-X Mode Ready!"

"How are you feeling, Ravi?" Smash asked.

"Tough as nails." Ravi replied.

"Time to kick butt." Jax stated.

"You said it, Jax." Zoey agreed.

"I don't think I can top the Lion Fire Armor, Trent. But I'll do my best." Harlem told me.

"Don't worry about that, Harlem. You're the best partner a hero can have." I reassured him, gently fist bumping my armor.

Ravi, Zoey, and I walked forward to join Devon. "Nothing gets between us and our Beast Bots." Devon claimed.

"Tronics!" Digitron shouted out as Tronics soon appeared. "Attack!"

"I'll take them on!" Steel claimed.

"Wait! Watch them." Nate said.

I began fighting the Tronics. I brought out my Lion Lance and easily slashed through the Tronics coming towards me.

"Now to finish you off." I declared. My eyes flashed green momentarily before I let out my supersonic roar. A mixture of green and black waves attacked the remaining Tronics.

"Still standing, huh?" Digitron questioned. "Well, I've got something special for you!"

He fired a blue orb towards us but it was soon destroyed. "Huh?" Digitron said in confusion.

"Not this time!" Zoey declared as she leaped into the air, dodging Digitron's attacks.

"Jackrabbit Spin Strike!" Zoey shouted as she kicked Digitron aside.

"Yo, Digitron. Get ready, because this move's about to rock your world!" Ravi claimed as he placed his hand down on the ground and a boulder appeared. "Gorilla Slam!"

He throws the boulder towards Digitron, throwing him back a bit as I caught him.

"Personally, I like the old fashioned way." I stated, moving my lance behind me as a glowed both green and black. "Poisonous Lion Slash!"

I slashed through Digitron, making him collapse to the ground. "How is this possible?" He exclaimed.

"Because Beast Bots are more than just technology. They're our friends, and we work together. Let's show him, Cruise." Devon said as circles appeared in front of him.

"Beast-X. . . Cheetah Charge!" Devon shouted, racing forward and slashing through Digitron, who began sparkling out.

"Data. . . is. . . invalid." Digitron managed to get out before he finally exploded. Our armor soon disappeared as well and our Beast Bots appeared to their normal forms as we cheered in victory.

"That Beast-X Mode is amazing!" Cruise exclaimed.

"Thanks to you, buddy." Devon told him as Cruise gave him a high five.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

"Thank you for the Blasters, Nate." Cruise thanked him while returning his blasters. "They work great. But I think I prefer helping Devon in Beast-X Mode. Especially with that cheetah move."

"It was a real blast!" Jax said.

"Yeah. Sign us up for more!" Smash added on.

"I had no idea I could connect with your former powers, Trent." Harlem admitted.

"Nor did I. You seemed to connect to the Nexus energy that still resides in me fairly well. Is there anything else you have up your sleeve?" I jokingly asked.

"You'll find that out later." Harlem replied, causing me to hum in confusion.

"Hey, are you okay, Cruise?" Devon questioned.

"Yeah. But I'm sorry I got captured. I really let you down." Cruise responded.

"Are you kidding? I pushed you into fighting when you didn't have the training. And I won't make that mistake again. 'Cause you're so much more than a Beast Bot. You're one of my best friends." Devon admitted.

"Wow, Devon. That means so much." Cruise said as him and Devon hugged.

"I guess you could say Beast-X Mode has made us closer than ever." Cruise added on.

"Exactly." Devon agreed.

"I think this calls for a celebration!" Smash exclaimed.

"Oh, wow!"

Smash released the confetti into the air. "That is one extra party popper!" Steel commented.

Ben and Betty soon came into the room. "We heard a bang!" Betty exclaimed. "Whoa! What a mess."

"But don't worry. We'll take care of it." Ben reassured.

"Uh-huh." Betty chuckled. Ben pressed a button as the Tronic from our training entered the room. "Presenting the Mop Master Machine!"

"It'll clear it up in a jiffy." Ben stated. "Clean up confetti."

The robot began moving as it began picking up the confetti on the ground.

"Ta-da!"

The robot then began turning around and raised the mops. "Why is it looking at me like that?" Ben asked.

"Uh, Ben, you've got confetti on you." Betty replied.

"Guys, . . . we all do!" Devon pointed out.

"What?" Zoey questioned as the robot headed for us.

"Now would be a good time to run!" I exclaimed as we all rushed out of the room.

"Wait for me, guys!" Smash called out.

"Hey, Ben. . ." Devon paused.

"What do we do?" Smash asked.

"I'm trying, but it won't stop!" Ben responded.

The robot finally exploded as we all covered our faces. We looked over to see it was Cruise with his blasters.

"Phew! That was close." Cruise said. "Lucky this Beast Bot's still got it!"

We all laughed in reply and clapped. "All right!" Steel cheered.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

A/N: Not me having Harlem foreshadow the episode "Beast King Rampage" even though it was pretty obvious it would go to Trent. Thanks for reading!

Word Count: 3172 words.