Out in front of a community building, stood King Atsuon. His armored head observed the rangers and watched their targets flee from the Red Ranger's final attempt at wiping them out. The energy waves that were sent hardly hit the back of their heels.

Pathetic... They are. They rely on technology that gives them a boost; strengthening their physical capabilities. Weak and slow behind their suits. The Red Ranger's their leader, with the most power boost. The two females hardly separate from the group, they work as support at most. The Blue Ranger acts as a backup to the one in Red and usually separates from the group. The Green one seems to accompany the red or blue to back them up. From what I've seen thus far... They lack the skills to take out an army. The King stood there, pondered, and ignored the fact that he stood in broad daylight. The cloak he wore hid him completely, only until he crouched did one of the Rangers tilt their head.

"Z, do you see that?" Syd questioned when she glanced at the yellow ranger and returned her hidden confused gaze to the faint shimmer.

"What is it, Syd?" Sky stepped backward to see what she stared at and cocked his head.

Jack powered down and the moment he did, the others did the same. Everyone huddled close and gave the faint shimmer far across from them a hard stare. "Jack, I don't think that's a chameleon... It's too big to be a--" Before Bridge could continue, Sky overran him when he recalled their Commander's words from earlier.

"It's the Gazin! It has to be!" With that, they all took a stance and kept their attention glued to the hidden King in the short distance. Silence was the only thing in the air besides the faint shimmer from the cloak Atsuon wore.

"I commend you... You've noticed," His deep, rough, but clear voice sent chills down their spines and watched them take a couple of steps back. "I was merely observing," Standing up from his position, his cloak disappearing and revealing his armored form caused a few gasps to escape from the group.

"Why are you here on Earth?" Jack's sharp glare never left the King, for he paid close attention to the Trident on his back and the horns on either side of his armored face. They weren't by any means ready to fight a Gazin just yet, especially not since they were totaled by a powerhouse and his friend.

"My reasons have nothing to do with you... Or your planet," The slight tilt of his head and the subtle flick of his reptilian tail showed how irritated he was.

"Our Commander said that Gazins weren't friendly. I'm not surprised you won't tell us but-- you could at least elaborate a little," This time it was Sky who spoke. Words were chosen carefully, and slowly he stepped closer to Jack's side.

"My business here will not harm anyone. The only one I will hurt is the one I must meet with. Neither of you, are of my concern," His arms folded and the light clunk from his armor echoed.

"The one you have to meet with is the one you'll hurt? Who is it?" The King could see the Red Ranger's fists tighten at his sides. The look in his eyes and the tenseness he could see in his movements told him how cautious he was.

"A fight that does not concern you," That was all he answered with. To have the Rangers get involved wasn't something he wanted, because he knew it'd only cause more drama. To give them a warning and hopefully send them away, the cube from the container on his hip was lifted into the air the second his clawed, armored hand raised. Above his palm, the cube with blue lines floated and turned about. "Leave," Dangerously he hissed and the flick of his tail proved his annoyance more.

"Who are you?" Delgado eyed the Gazin thoroughly, watching his every move.

"I am Atsuon... King of the Gazins! Now do as I said... And Leave. Lest you fall by my hand," Soon, the cube in his hand rotated in parts like a Rubik's Cube and glowed a bright blue. Sparks of blue electricity started to whirl around it and without warning, a beam of condensed energy shot out. Their cries of pain hardly raised any care when he watched them get cast away.

It shot Jack straight into Syd and sent them both crashing into a light post across the giant parking lot. The reverberating sound emitting from the cube gradually faded after the channeled electricity died down.

"Syd! Jack!" Both yellow, blue, and green rangers ran to their comrades to help them. The King couldn't help the hiss that escaped, if anything, their interference was stalling him.

His helmet could pick up their distant grunts and sounds, even the voice that came from their SPD Morphers.

"Rangers! Return to SPD immediately!" Commander Cruger boomed and demanded, to which Jack answered.

"But-- Commander!" The Red Ranger didn't want to run for it, not when there was a threat like the Gazin on the loose and had just shot him and his friend at the same time.

"That's an order!" Doggie wasn't going to have it. His word was absolute and they knew it.

"Yes, Sir!" In unison, everyone confirmed, and the ones who were still on their feet helped the two stand. As fast as they could they ran to leave the King alone.

Much to his appreciation, he returned his cube from whence it came and crouched once more. Cloaked, hidden in plain sight, he began to ponder the battle that was to come. Just wait... I will show you, how a ruler handles a fight... How a King takes down an army. I will skewer the rest, of what flesh you have, on your bones... Gruumm. Anger, and distaste, clouded his mind when he imagined himself piercing the Emperor's armored chest and watching his blood drain from his body.

~~~~

Left and right the Rangers bickered in the Command Center, neither of them noticed their Commander approach but when he did his voice overran everyone's.

"Rangers-- Ten-hut!" With his arms folded behind him, he watched them straighten up and give him their full attention. "Next time I give you an order to return to base, you best heed it! When I heard him announce who he was, I had to pull you guys away. King Atsuon is deadly. His skills are too much for you, especially in your current state!" Explained the dog with a momentary pause and sighed. "To other matters... It seems the enemy is using our own technology against us," In the middle of his speech, a bit of annoyance could be seen in his dark eyes when he heard Jack mumble.

"Oh, great... That's just what we need. A deadly alien King and that," Cruger overheard the sass from the Red Ranger.

"Enough!" With that, he ignored Jack's jaw clenching and stared at everyone with displeasure. "I've never been more disappointed in a team in all my years," To every one of his warriors he scanned his eyes over, his attention went to Bridge when he spoke.

"Wow-- that's a lot of years, when you consider one of my years is equivalent to seven of your years," He couldn't continue since Doggie gave him the biggest growl he's probably ever heard.

"This petty bickering has not only made the Command Center unlivable, it has compromised our mission on the battlefield. The Installation on Gamma 4 was recently attacked by unknown assailants. We have to be ready for the same. This is the next level in defense--" As he strode to one of the computers in the center, a button was pressed, and he brought up a hologram to show everyone the next leveled gear. "Swat mode," Doggie paused a moment when he heard everyone murmur about the new tech. "Enjoy the hologram, that's as close as you're gonna get," With that, he closed the view of the new mode.

"But, sir, what about the imminent threat and Atsuon?" The Red Ranger spoke up and could still feel the sting from the shot the King sent at him. His hand faintly rubbed at it and cringed when he felt a burning sensation.

"Good question. Unless you accept and embrace your teammates, as rangers and as people-- you will not be strong enough to defeat Gruumm or anyone else for that matter," The criminals they just lost and Atsuon, lingered in his mind at the last statement, for he knew his Rangers weren't ready them. "That goes for all of you," as if on cue, he saw the Red Ranger straighten up.

"We'll do better, Sir!" He announced, to which Cruger nodded.

"You'll have to-- especially since our biggest threat is not only the ones who stole our schematics but Atsuon as well. We don't know who he's meeting with to fight, but it can't be good. Kat has been keeping an eye on him-- it doesn't seem like he's moved from that spot since you left... So-- I'm sending all of you to planet Zentor to meet a friend of mine," The dog explained, just to see confused stares be exchanged among the Rangers across from him.

"Sir-- with all due respect. Are you really going to let him sit there when he just shot Jack straight into Syd and hurt them?" Bridge, with two fingers darting between the ones he mentioned, stared at his Commander with knitted brows.

"Yes. He warned you all to leave. As I stated before, none of you are prepared to fight him. Kat will watch him. If he meets with this person, she'll tell me and I'll be able to judge whether it's wise to step in or not. For all we know, it could be a simple quarrel among rivals that doesn't even involve Earth! Unless the fight is going to cause destruction and harm others around them, there would be no real reason to step in," Reassuring the rangers, he gave Bridge a nod and was about to turn when he heard him speak again.

"Maybe it's a lover's quarrel? Or a quarrel over a lover? Or maybe an argument over who gets to have what in terms of territory? If it's an argument over territory, why would they do it here?" Bridge being Bridge, his thoughts started to get ahead of him and his arms folded, when his eyes looked toward the ceiling.

"The only argument you need to worry about is what's going on in your head," Sky chuckled and smirked, just to earn a hurt expression from the said Green-bean.

~~~~

It was the next day when Feige woke up. Still on her side but strangely felt a pillow under her head. However, a spit of anger jolted her awake. Her violet hues adjusted and saw Gruumm rush off of his seat, spewing words that were a bit too quick.

"Silence! The only noise that should be coming out of your mouth is an explanation as to why you haven't made good on your part of the bargain!" Tightly gripped onto Piggy's shirt, she saw him push him against the bars and the glow of his rubies. Not in a long time has Feige seen him so angry that he'd talk that fast and act that aggressively. Her eyes widened at the sight, no one noticed her head lift to watch the display.

"I'm working on it, your massiveness! I had some top-secret SPD technology at my fingertips. But some of my acquaintances stole it," His explanation was enough to calm the Emperor down a bit, for she saw her friend step away and give him a short hum.

"Yes. Betrayal seems quite rampant around here," Not once did he let go of Piggy's shirt, but when Gruumm felt his feet scrape against the floor he looked down. "Huh?" He almost tripped backward if he hadn't picked up his feet and saw himself fly away from Piggy. Roughly to his seat he nearly tumbled and glanced at Feige, to which she saw, and gave her a curious tilt of his head.

"Stop being a douche, Grimly... I get it. You're stressed," The brunette frowned at his angry outburst and sighed, for she tried to sit up but failed. "You could... Eat my brownies now, to help with it," This time she flashed a shy smile and peeked at him, her fingers fidgeted with the blanket he gave her last night at one point.

She didn't know the breath he hitched when she called him a douche, for anger threatened to make him lash out. If she hadn't suggested the brownies idea, he would have, and quickly he pushed her insult aside. "That does... Sound tempting. Fine! I will send one of my Crybots out to retrieve what you made! And a blue-head to collect some human food while I'm at it," To the side, his gaze landed on Morgana and a hand gestured toward her. "Bring me a Crybot sphere and a blue-head sphere!" Upon his order, he and Feige both watched the overgrown child nod.

"Yes, Emperor!" Without further ado, she sped out of the room and left them there.

~~~

Moments passed after he received the Crybots and the blue-head, which he sent out to do the said tasks. It was maybe thirty minutes or less when they returned.

Two Crybots carried in a long dish of the brownies, while the Blue-head along with several other Crybots behind it, strolled in with countless containers of human food.

If Feige wasn't so dumbfounded by it all, she would've been able to protest over how much was brought in. "G- Gruumm! I can't eat all of that at once!" She struggled to sit up, which resulted in a sting in her side and forced her to lay back down. "Ow," Her quiet groan and grunt from the pain went ignored.

"Of course not! It will be stored away," She nearly giggled when she heard him answer with a scoff.

"G- Grimly... Did you... Rob a grocery store?!" She started to laugh but the pain in her side made her stop and hold her wound. "Ow... Hahaha, ow, ow, it hurts to laugh," The giggle fit managed to calm down a bit but a few chuckles remained, thankfully it didn't hurt as bad.

"No! I did not! Not really..." His response and how quickly he averted his attention from her, made her hold in harsher giggles.

"T- Thanks, though. Dig in... I hope you like the brownies," Snuggling further into the pillow, half of her vision was obscured but she still saw his hesitant steps toward the baking pan a Crybot held out to him.

He froze, she could only assume it was because of what she wrote on them. "Huh," That was all he got out. The brunette could tell he was trying to figure out what to say about them because the subtle red pulse in his rubies, showed for a second before his hand reached for one.

"Normally-- when someone makes you something, especially from scratch... T- They say Thank You," Her smile proved that she wanted to tease him, but it backfired when he glanced at her for a moment and took a quick bite. What was that about? Is he mad? Did I say something wrong? The smile she had fell and was replaced with worry when she saw him step closer. The brownie he bit into, caused him to groan and turn his back to her.

His simple nod made her grin return with a delighted giggle. He likes it~ He doesn't want to show it though. I think that's why he looked away the first time and ate it when I treated him to sweets at the restaurant.~ Even though his back was to her, she still saw his free hand gesture toward some food a Crybot held, then to her.

Moments turned into minutes, Feige slowly nibbled at a sandwich a blue-head helped her make. It was ordered to assist her to sit upright, so she could eat and her good side leaned against the robot's metallic arm.

"Piggy failed, didn't he?" Morgana questioned as she stood close to the Emperor, concern was written on her face. Gruumm refused to let the childish woman have a bite of the brownies, one of them remained in his free hand while the residue of it tainted his teeth.

"On the contrary..." The Emperor began, as he slowly turned to her with a disk in his other hand. "I know every SPD swat technology, which I will use to defeat them! Ahahahahah!" His laughter was soon interrupted when Feige spoke up and giggled.

"I'd laugh if it was a video game burned onto the disk. Hehehe, at least you wouldn't b- be bored.~" In between bites she stated. When he slowly looked at her from his side, the contemplative stare he gave made it difficult to hold in laughter. "I- I'm sorry! Haha, I can't help it!" It was so hard to not laugh, she needed some sort of amusement, and messing with him since he's her friend was probably the best she would get.

"You're enjoying yourself-- aren't you? Do not jinx me!" Red rubies glinted through the shadows, which made her hide her smile behind the sandwich and hold in her giggles.

"F- Friends can pick on each other. It's harmless. I- I'm not jinxing, I'm teasing," Amid her stifled fit of giggles, she watched his hand drop but not once did his stare waver. The glow in his gaze disappeared at least, however, the shake of his head and the groan she heard made her burst out. "Hehehehehe. You're awesome," She giggled so much that an embarrassing sound came from her nose and made her laugh harder. "Hahahaha! Oh lord, I snorted! Ow! Hahahahaha, ow!" Her hand held onto the stitched wound that was thankfully not as severe as she thought.

"By the way... I think my blood's too thin. That's probably why I bled so much. T- Thin blood can make a person bleed profusely and lose a lot of it much faster-- I think," After she calmed down, she began to recall the past when she used to take Aspirin a lot. Every time she received a shot from a doctor they always had to cover her wound up since she'd bleed nearly instantly.

"Then you will stay away from every sharp object on my ship!" Furious, he stomped over to her and ignored the quietly snickering overgrown child who was still getting over the amusing tease from Feige.

"Fine-- fine. Hehe... Worry-wart," A few giggles escaped when she looked away from him and continued to eat her sandwich. "You h- have some chocolate on your... Um-- teeth," Her mouth was full on purpose because it forced her to not smile despite wanting to at the sight. Then and there, she watched him whip around to hide his face so he could finish his other brownie.

The second he did, her smile fell because she recalled what Atsuon said about him. Is he really... Evil? Well-- he's certainly aggressive and the way he's been acting around everyone... Maybe he is? SPD is after him... They only go after criminals and bad people. I wonder... What made him this way? Was it that thing I heard in my head? Or maybe it's because he's been through crap and it made him... Bad? I want to understand him, know him more, and see what made him into who he is now. Grimly, whatever you went through, or that you're going through now-- I wish you'd tell me. Pain filled her eyes when they glinted brightly and stared at the back of his head.

His movements paused, his hand wiped the chocolate off and lowered, with a slow look over his shoulder at her.

"Morgana-- leave!" On his heels, he turned, which she saw, and watched him make slow steps toward her confused form. Neither of them had to look to know that she left, for the said woman's steps grew fainter. "I heard that... So-- you want to know? Do you want to know that badly? No one... Ever cared to know! Why would you care? Why?! I am the infamous, Evil, Emperor Gruumm! Conqueror of universes and Star Systems with countless crimes to my name! You say I'm your friend when you hardly know me! So what makes you think I'd be so willing, to let you in?" Crouching to her level, his rubies bore into her astonished violets.

Hearing his outburst and the anger that made his breaths heavy, making his fists shake, she still showed no fear. Pure worry over him reflected in her eyes and he saw it, however, he didn't stop her from lifting a hand to touch his skeletal face.

"Because... You helped me. Despite all of that-- there's still some light in you, left. I know there is," A sad smile graced her lips, the soft touch from her fingers seemed to have made the crimson glow in his rubies fade but not once did his shaking fists calm down. "I believe-- that there's always a reason why someone's evil, you know? I would've turned evil... If you hadn't showed up. If I hadn't met you-- I would've probably torn SPD apart because I would have had enough of hearing people call me insults and names. Forced to live in fear, always running away, and others calling me a monster or a freak. Eventually... The victim becomes tired of it all and just does something about it. Fear can turn people into monsters," The last bit made her throat tighten and almost tear up at the thought.

He knew that. He knew it all too well. The fact that he puts people into his Pit of Doom, uses intimidation to force others into submission and does as he orders them to do. But to hear it from her mouth and to see her emotional state when her gaze lowered, he couldn't move his rubies from her.

"Omni..." Quietly he spoke. Feige's eyes lifted to meet his, her stare was an indication for him to continue. "The Magnificence," This time, she watched him sit on the floor in front of her and prop up a knee so his elbow could sit on top.

"You mean the one, you said that you didn't want me to get involved with?" She knew it. It was as she believed before, whoever the thing was that could invade her mind, she was sure it was the same thing that was in his.

"Yes. It tore my planet apart..." He began, her eyes never left his and he allowed her to see his memories before the time he swore loyalty to Omni. Left and right, she saw other Troobians being slaughtered by alien forces led by a giant entity that she could hardly distinguish. Children and adults all ran away in fear of that thing, its tentacles grabbed innocent people and reeled them in.

Countless deaths, blood, cries of pain, and pleas for help, Feige saw it all. It looked like a sci-fi horror film before her eyes. The sky was tainted red and Troobian architecture made of bone and various other materials was crushed by The Magnificence's forces. When she got to the memory of when he held someone dear to him in his arms, the giant entity had hovered above him. His body shook with disbelief and fear, but when the thing spoke, it made him freeze. She heard it, the same voice she heard in her head was inside his memory. It demanded his loyalty and received it almost effortlessly.

After he had agreed to the thing's terms, more memories flooded her mind. Eons of taking innocent lives eventually became second nature to him and in time, what good was left inside dwindled. Little to no care of his actions when he took over Planet Sirius and the lives he took, surprised her. The fight with Cruger and when he took his horn, which was something she assumed all Troobians took pride in. All of the wars, his supposedly endless army, and how many crimes he committed, made her speechless.

When he stopped his trek down memory lane, she stopped seeing them, and her eyes blinked back to reality. All was silent, his stare toward her remained. It lasted a good minute or so before a gasp escaped when she gave him the biggest hug he'd ever received.

"I'm so sorry... You had to go through that hell!" Her arms were around his neck, she made sure to bury his face into her neck in return and muffled sobs fell from her lips. Her body shook from the sorrow and pain he went through, the change his heart was forced to undergo left her crying. "I'm here Grimly-- I'm here! I'll get stronger... I'll make sure that thing..." Trailing off, she pulled away and cupped his cheekbones to make sure he was looking straight at her face. "Feels the same amount of hell it gave you! No one... Gets away-- with hurting my friend!" Fury fueled determination, for it shone brightly in her teary eyes and made his breath hitch.

For once in his life, he saw a light. A kind of light that he didn't know how to describe. The amount of tears staining her face and the fire in her eyes was something he'd never gotten from anyone before. Well, directly towards him that wasn't full of hate. Never, had someone cried over him like this, not over his wellbeing. "You're not alone... You're not alone! Let's fight our fears together," Again she stated, and still, he was speechless.

Finally, a slow nod was given to her. Silence filled the room when she hugged him again and the look she had went unnoticed by him. She was dead-set on making that thing feel a kind of pain that's far worse than death.