It was just another day for the rangers, and their school week had just ended. They had fought another one of Nightmare's monsters and saved the city. Gold watched from the monitors, happy that his friends were victorious!
"Garble's been sent packing Gold! We're headed back to the command center!", Burst said.
"Right. I'll be waiting on you." Gold's thoughts then turned to the rangers' opponent. 'Garble. Sombra.', Gold thought with a scowl. He remembered when Garble and Sombra had attacked him and his father while they were searching for worthy rangers to wield the morphers. 'You two hurt me and my adopted father. The man who's loved me as his own son and you nearly took him away from me! Never again!' Gold then turned his thoughts to the training he had been doing to prepare for the next time the two of them showed up. 'Next time I see those two, that'll be the time for me to face them.' The rangers returned to the command center.
"Hey Gold? You alright? You look upset.", Inferno asked.
"Oh! Nothing! Just a little tired of staring at Garble showing up so much."
"Huh. Well, tell us if something's got you riled up. We're more than just a team. We're your friends. Remember that."
"Thanks Inferno."
The next day...
Nightmare was sitting at her crystal when Garble stormed in! "Nightmare! I want another shot at the rangers! Let me destroy them once and for all!" Nightmare sighed as Garble ranted.
"Fine. But I'm sending someone with you this time. Sombra?" Sombra materialized from the shadows. He was wearing plain armor and a royal looking cape.
"Yes my queen?"
"Babysit Garble while you engage the rangers."
"Babysit?!", Garble growled! "Why do I need him to watch over me?!"
"Because he's served me longer than you. Also he's not greed prone like you are when you get a chance to fight the rangers." Garble was fuming as he and Sombra teleported to earth. Meanwhile at the command center, Gold had picked up on Sombra and Garble arriving on earth.
"Now's my chance!" Gold headed for the teleporter and locked onto their coordinates. "Those two are going to pay for hurting my family!" Gold teleported to their location! "Garble! Sombra!" The two villains turned to face Gold.
"Hey, aren't you the brat that was hanging around Pegasus when we stole those morphers! Come to get another beating?", Garble asked with a sneer.
"You attacked me and my dad! I won't let you hurt anyone else!" Gold charged at Garble! He managed to land a hit, but it had no effect on Garble at all!
"Heh heh! My turn!" Garble punched Gold so hard it sent him flying! As he was about to strike, Gold punched Garble right in the face! "Agh! You brat!" Garble lunged at Gold but Sombra stopped him.
"You need to control that temper of yours Garble. No wonder Nightmare had me babysit you.", Sombra said with a neutral expression.
"You uptight-!" Garble found himself silenced by Sombra's magic.
"I must applaud you for facing us. You're either brave or foolish to take me on. Truth be told I was expecting the rangers to fight me. Since you're so determined, try and beat me. Make me regret attacking you and your father. If you can.", Sombra said with a smirk.
"Rrraaaagh!", Gold roared as he charged at Sombra. Meanwhile at the command center, Celestia and the girls had arrived. Sunset then noticed that Gold was nowhere to be found.
"Weird...", Sunset said. "Let's check the monitor." Sunset and the girls scrolled between the different sites the monitor could observe, and found Gold taking on Sombra alone! "Contact the guys! Gold's in trouble!" Back at the fight, Gold was starting to wear down and Sombra noticed.
"Time to end this game.", Sombra said as he fired a blast of dark magic that knocked Gold to the ground! "It's over..." Sombra summoned a sword made of magic and prepared to strike, but it was knocked out of his hand by a blaster shot!
"That's enough!", Burst said as he and the rangers arrived on the scene!
"We're leaving Garble.", Sombra said as he and Garble warped back to Nightmare's fortress. Burst and the rangers went to check up on Gold.
"Anything broken?", Burst asked.
"A little roughed up, but I'm fine.", Gold replied.
"In that case....WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!", Burst then powered down. "Gold, you could have been seriously hurt or worse! What in the world made you think you could take those two on?!"
"You don't understand. Garble and Sombra attacked my dad and I to make a grab for the morphers! They almost made me lose him, and I can't forgive them for that!"
"I can understand why you feel that way, but that's no excuse to be reckless! Gold, what would Pegasus do if he ever lost you? What would happen to Sunset?"
Gold froze for a second before he replied."Next time I'll-"
"There won't be a next time." Burst sighed. "Gold, I'm the leader of this team. That means I'm responsible for everyone's safety. Not just my friends who are rangers but the ones who know out secret and are close to us. And you're among that group."
"Try to understand, we just don't want you getting hurt.", Inferno added.
"...I get it."
"I hope you do. We're just trying to look out for you." Gold and the rangers then teleported back to the command center. Sunset rushed to Gold when they returned.
"Gold!", she said as she pulled him into a tight hug. "Are you alright?"
"I'm okay. Nothing broken or any major injuries."
"All the same, I'm gonna fix you up. Fluttershy, help me out." The rangers watched as Sunset and Fluttershy tended to Gold's injuries.
"You have to admit Burst. He held his own for a good while.", Steel mentioned. "You think Pegasus could make him a ranger?"
"You're right Steel. He was able to hold off Sombra for a good while. But he's got the wrong drive. He's got a vendetta against Sombra and Garble for attacking him and his dad. And like we saw today, that made him reckless when he was looking for payback. I'm going to talk to him later. Some of you should keep an eye on him in-case he tries another stunt like that. As for the ranger part, Pegasus told me he was making a new series of morphers. But for who they're for he didn't say. Only that he'd unveil them when the time was right." Meanwhile Sunset and Fluttershy had just finished bandaging up Gold.
"There. You should be back to full strength pretty soon.", Susnet said. "You're lucky Burst and the others showed up when they did."
"Tell me about it." Sunset's expression turned serious.
"Gold, I think the reason you're fighting is a good one. To protect your family, your friends, your home. But you're being driven by the wrong reasons."
"What do you mean?"
"You're fighting out of revenge for them attacking you and your dad.", Sunset said with a small frown. "All of us can understand why you'd do that, but it makes you reckless. You and I found each other Gold, both of us were from Equestria. And I don't want to lose you and neither does your dad!" Sunset was tearing up. Gold felt ashamed he had put her through such distress. "Just promise me that you won't try something that crazy again. Or at the very least, promise to come back safe." Gold pulled her into a loving embrace.
"I promise Sunset. I won't try anything too crazy again. And if I do, I promise to come back safe." Gold then pulled her into a kiss. "I love you."
"I know.", Sunset said with a smile. Back on Nightmare's fortress, Garble was fuming!
"You smug little-!"
"Silence Garble.", Nightmare commanded.
"But Sombra hogged the whole fight!"
"And proved he was a superior warrior to you in every regard."
"But I've got brute strength on my side!"
"Apparently that's all you have going for you. Now I'm glad I decided to make Sombra my second in command. He's proven himself more capable today in fact."
"He turned tail the second the rangers showed up!"
"And he knew he stood no chance. A warrior must have brains as well as brawn. There's nothing more to say on the matter, so stop complaining.", Nightmare said sternly. "As for Sombra, congratulations on your first outing."
"You flatter me my queen."
"Your performance was so admirable I've decided you shall lead the next attack."
"Thank you my queen." Sombra bowed and took his leave. 'The rangers look like strong opponents. This should be amusing. I think Nightmare should be wary of that punk Garble. He seems...unstable to say the least.' The next day came, and Sombra led a squadron of shadowbolts to attack the city. "This should bring out the rangers in no time." At the command center, Gold saw Sombra and his minions on the monitor.
"Guys come in! Sombra's attacking the city!"
"We're on it Gold!", Inferno said. Gold's thoughts then turned to the upcoming battle.
'Sombra was the one who stole the morphers. Maybe I can pump some information out of him! Sorry Sunset. But it looks like I might have to break one of my promises!' Gold teleported to Sombra's location. "Sombra!"
"Oh. The kid from yesterday. Come for a rematch?"
"I want you to answer a question. How do we get back the other morpher?", Gold asked with a determined look on his face.
"You're quite fortunate.", Sombra said with a small smile. "Your goal coincides with mine."
"What do you mean?"
"Garble is unstable, and I fear he may turn on Nightmare. Also, he went too far in stealing the morphers. Nightmare's orders were to merely disable your vehicle and incapacitate you with sleep spells. However, Garble disobeyed and went for a straight attack. There is a gem on his forehead armor. Destroy it and the morpher will be released from Garble. In fact, I'm going to give you and the rangers just the chance you need. Queen Nightmare? I believe this mission is not suited for my abilities. Perhaps brute strength such as Garble's is in order?"
"Your request is odd, but not out of the question Sombra. Return to the fortress. Garble will take your place shortly." Sombra nodded and he teleported away and was replaced with Garble.
"Looks like Nightmare came to her senses!", Garble said with a sneer. "Alright boys! Let's wreak some havoc!"
"You won't be wreaking anything!", Burst said as he and the rangers showed up. He then noticed Gold. "Gold?! What're you doing here?!"
"Sombra gave me some useful information on how to get the morpher back! The gem on Garble's forehead is what's binding the morpher to him! Destroy it and the morpher is freed!" Burst gave a sigh of relief.
"I'm glad you found that out. And that you didn't try anything reckless. You heard Gold! Aim for that gem on Garble's forehead! But focus on the shadowbolts first!" Burst and the others tore through the shadow bolts with a barrage of blaster fire! Garble just sneered at the sight.
"Time to give myself a power-up!" Garble pulled out a small gem. "Dragon Treasure!" Garble broke the gem and was soon flooded with a small boost in power. "This should let me be able to take even you on Blue Eyes Ranger!" Garble charged and actually managed to send Burst flying with a powerful kick! "So who's next?"
"Time for me to go all-out!" Inferno activated his Black Skull mode! "Archfiend Black Skull Ranger!" Inferno and Garble fired blasts of flame, but they snuffed each other out! "Not good! Looks like our strengths are equal!"
"Wanna bet?" Garble executed a powerful punch that pushed Inferno back even when he blocked! "I'm above all of you now! In fact, I'll take any attack you throw at me!" Inferno unleashed another blast of flame, but Garble was unscathed! Steel slashed at Garble, but his sword didn't even make a dent! Ace and Shadow charged at him and landed a hit with their weapons, but they didn't even scratch him! Garble then summoned a blast of flame that knocked them all back! "None of you are a threat to me now!" Burst was watching the battle as he recovered from the shock of Garble's blow.
"This isn't good! That power increase gave him just enough strength to send us flying!" Gold then had an idea!
"Too bad he's lacking in the brains department! We just need to trick him into letting his guard down!"
"Gold. You're a genius!" Burst then walked over to Garble. "Hey Garble!" Garble turned his attention to Burst. "That treasure gave you quite the boost. I bet you could even take a charged shot from my blaster without it and still come out fine!"
Garble sneered. "Finally admitting defeat huh? Good. In fact, I think you're right! I'll just get rid of the dragon treasure and tank a charged shot from your blaster! Come at me!" Burst walked up to Garble and began charging his blaster. Garble stood with a smug grin and open arms and closed eyes preparing to take a shot to the chest. But when Garble opened his eyes to see his triumph, he was greeted with a blaster barrel to the forehead! "What th-?!"
"Jackpot.", Burst said as he fired the charged shot at Garble's forehead! The force of the blast destroyed the gem and a blinding light went off! Once it faded, Garble slowly got up. He was furious!
"You'll pay for that!" Garble snarled as he began to charge at Burst! But then he noticed that his armor was starting to fade! "What?! No. NO!" Garble's armor was destroyed, and there was an orb of crimson light floating above him. The orb then flew towards Gold and stopped in front of him! Gold reached his hand out to the orb, and in a flash of light the second stolen morpher was on his wrist. It resembled Gold's monster partner. Crimson Dragon!
"I'm sure you know what to do?", Burst asked. Gold smiled as he uttered the famous words.
"IT'S MORPHIN' TIME! Crimson Dragon!" In a flash of light, a figure wearing armor similar to Burst's stood! Instead of white, this ranger's armor was a brilliant crimson and the wings were made of crystals! "Crimson Dragon Ranger!", Gold cried out proudly! "Your choice Garble! We can do this the easy way, or the hard way!" Garble looked like he was about to put up a fight, and then he ran away as fast as he could! "Hmph. Just like any other bully. Let's head back to the command center." The rangers teleported back to the command center, and found that Pegasus had joined the girls in waiting for them. Burst powered down and went to kiss Celestia, Inferno kissed Rarity, and Ace was nearly crushed as Sonata hugged him. Shadow and Ice powered down and tried to pry her off before he turned blue. Sunset then noticed the seventh ranger that was among the group.
"So who's your new friend?" Gold smiled as he took off his helmet.
"Hey beautiful." Sunset rushed up and kissed him! "Looks like you don't need to be worried about me getting hurt now, huh?" Pegasus watched with a fond smile.
"Gold my son. You've risen to the occasion." Gold smiled as he powered down. The duel monster partners of the other rangers greeted their lost comrade.
"And now we've got a new friend to join the fight. Welcome to the rangers Gold!", Burst said proudly. Pinkie then busted out her party cannon and the whole group celebrated!