Shift Steel: Rise of the Machines (S2)

"No fuckin' way! Congratulations, Amara!" Olivier grins, walking over to embrace Amara for this exciting news. "I bet Derek is excited too."

"He's nervous, Like I am," Amara said. "It's a big step, and...well, it means I have to back out of the team. But, I've already talked to Jax, and if I am, he'll take over as Gold Ranger when you need his help."

Tifa nodded softly. "We'll make sure he fits in," she said. "And we'll make sure you're taken care of. Probably sure Derek's already got things in his head for the baby."

"Yep," Amara laughed.
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Jun took a deep breath and began to speak, "Well... it's like this. Out of all of the Rangers, I'm the only person who doesn't know anything about the history of the Power Rangers, nor have any relatives who have fought as Rangers. But for some reason, my younger brother's death started a connection but I might be wrong. Maybe my dealing with his passing might not have anything to do with me being a Yellow Ranger. But maybe another thing is how Moze's leadership affected me as a Ranger before she passed as well. And with Tifa taking the role, it hit me differently almost like..., " he spoke as he began to blush slightly.

Jax raised an eyebrow, chuckling. "Do you have a crush on her?" he asked.

Ken had sequestered himself in his office at SPD determined to find out about Cole's parents and how they related to the wider Power Rangers community and the more he found out the worse he felt Cole's mother Claire had been instrumental in several government based projects including lightspeed rescue and SPD and his father despite being socially awkward was just as brilliant in his own right working on ways to harness the morphing grid for power and energy like grid battle force had done no wonder he felt so angry about Morph-Z

"Moze I really wish you were here what do I do?" The self proclaimed King asked the empty air


***
Cole had decided to go back to working on the battle simulator to occupy his time until the next crises reared its ugly head now with a few more battles under their belt he had more data to work with it was then that he was struck with a thought maybe he could create a virtual datascape just in his spare time of course

"Yeah. I mean she knows how to throw hands and isn't the type who would be pushed around like that," Jun said with a smile before looking at Jax. "Don't tell her anything."

Jax chuckled and smiled. "Secret's safe with me," he said. "But you have to figure out what you're going to do. You have to confront the feelings in time, but you also can't be surprised if she says no. She's only been here a few weeks."
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"Hopefully everything goes well smoothly. The last thing you don't want is the Machine Empire being all killjoy." Olivier says with a smile. With joy like this, it helps her keep her mind at ease in regards to Cole's grief over his fallen parents.

"I hoep so too. I'm very scared, very nervous, and I'm genuinely terrified," Amara said.

"I think you're going to be a great mom," Kida said with a smile. "You're already used to taking care of people, so a baby is just a smaller, more screamy version of us."

Amara snickered and nodded. "I hope I'll be ok."

"You will. You're one of the strongest people I've got to meet," Tifa said. "even if I haven't been here all that long, I know that you're gonna be awesome."
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On the moon, AXIM was overseeing the production of a new robot to attack the Rangers. She paced back and forth in front of the creation chamber, watching her newest invention come to life. "Who do we go for now?" she asked. "Olivier and Cole are too obvious of targets. The new girl isn't that big of a deal yet. Amara and Derek I can work on later. Ken didnt' work at all."

Gasket walked in, hearing AXIM muttering as she paced. "AXIM?"

"Ah, darling. Just working on my new creation and figuring who to attack," the former Ranger ally said, folding her arms over her chest.

"Perhaps Yellow? He's the most insecure, and he's clearly disconnected from teh rest," Gasket said. "Even when I fought them a year ago when Dhazan brought us back, he didn't seem that connected. My searching of their identities show that he doesn't even have much of a connection to anything Ranger related from history."

AXIM stopped and tilted her head, cycling through memories and getting an idea. "Oh, that's wonderful," she said, looking up as the creation chamber hissed, the door opening and flooding the room with smoke. "And with Cerebrus on the attack, he'll be able to make Jun suffer!"

The bot in question stepped out, doing a self-diagnostic and checking his components, making sure all circuits and servos were online. "Cerebrus at your service. Objective?"

"Make the Yellow Ranger fold under pressure. Ignore the others. Yellow is your main focus," AXIM said. "Take Cogs with you, and Hardlight will accompany you. She can corral the other Rangers to keep you focused on Yellow."

"Yes, ma'am," Cerebrus said, bowing hsi head. His eyes flickered, summoning Cogs to earth. He turned and disappeared, ready to start hs battle.

Cole went back to work on his battle simulator when he heard a knock at the door checking his front door camera he saw that it was his adoptive mother come to visit him he rushed to the door and opened it greeting her with a great big hug

"Mom it's good to see you!" The green Ranger said embracing Kayla the Kingsford matriarch hugged her adoptive son back chuckling "I wanted to make sure you were okay sweetheart especially considering what today is… I also wanted to invite you and the Rangers to dinner tonight Derek and Kida excluded of course"
the smile faded from Cole's face "mom you know you have to get over this grudge you have eventually life is too short to hold grudges" Cole said trying to be diplomatic Kayla just smiled "sweetie I appreciate you seeing the best in people but I'm not quite ready to forgive them just yet I hope you understand" Kayla said firmly


Cole knew better than to try to change Kayla's mind when she was firm after all Kingsford stubbornness was a defining trait "I understand I can't wait for dinner tonight we'll be there with bells on" the green Ranger said smiling

"Hey, rejection is one thing. I've had girls turn me down back in high school so if Tifa turns me down, I'll be hurt but I'll recover quickly. But my feelings about being the Yellow Ranger... that's gonna be a tough one to crack," Jun said, looking at his Yellow Ranger key.

"I'm sure you'll figure things out," Jax said. "That's the bad part about being Rangers. Something we wish we could have solved in the first fight comes back to bite us in the ass the second time around." He looked at the screens as the alarms went off, seeing Cerebrus and the Cogs with Hardlight attacking downtown. "Looks like it's time to fight." He hit the communication line. "Rangers! The Empire's back with a new bot. It's downtown near the cafes. Be careful, we dont know what this thing can do yet."
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And we're going to make sure everything goes well. For you and Derek." Olivier says in understanding. Just thinking about it makes her realize she may have to tell Cole the news. At least next day for his sake. One news at a time.

Amara nodded. "And do me a favor. Don't tell the boys yet. Least of all Ken. I want to tell everyone else when I'm sure, but I wanted you three to know because us girls stick together."

"Even rookies that haven't had much time on the field," Kida said, looking at Tifa with a smile.

Tifa smiled softly. "Thanks for including me," she said. She looked down as hers and Olivier's morphers went off. "Thanks, Jax. We're on the way!" She looked at the Pink Ranger. "Ready to go?"

"I'll lock the house," Amara said, looking at Tifa. "Just leave me your keys and I'll get them back to you when you're done."

The Red Ranger nodded, tossing her house keys to the Gold Ranger. "Alright. Thanks," she said with a genuine smile. "Let's go, Liv!"

Amara nodded. "And do me a favor. Don't tell the boys yet. Least of all Ken. I want to tell everyone else when I'm sure, but I wanted you three to know because us girls stick together."

"Even rookies that haven't had much time on the field," Kida said, looking at Tifa with a smile.

Tifa smiled softly. "Thanks for including me," she said. She looked down as hers and Olivier's morphers went off. "Thanks, Jax. We're on the way!" She looked at the Pink Ranger. "Ready to go?"

"I'll lock the house," Amara said, looking at Tifa. "Just leave me your keys and I'll get them back to you when you're done."

The Red Ranger nodded, tossing her house keys to the Gold Ranger. "Alright. Thanks," she said with a genuine smile. "Let's go, Liv!"

Olivier realizes it won't be easy to keep this secret from Cole since he prefers honesty. In due time, he'll not mind. Besides, it's not like he has a new secret from her or something. When she learns about the latest monster attack from Jax, she looks up at Tifa with a nod.

"I sure am." Olivier says. After giving a quick farewell to Kida and Amara, she gets her morpher ready and teleports to the scene.

Olivier realizes it won't be easy to keep this secret from Cole since he prefers honesty. In due time, he'll not mind. Besides, it's not like he has a new secret from her or something. When she learns about the latest monster attack from Jax, she looks up at Tifa with a nod.

"I sure am." Olivier says. After giving a quick farewell to Kida and Amara, she gets her morpher ready and teleports to the scene.

Tifa followed Olivier, ready to take on the next challenge. Once the two Rangers arrived, the Red Ranger looked to her Pink counterpart. "I'll show you girls those suits later. I hoped we'd have had enough time," she said with a small smile.
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Looking at the new attack bot, Jun sighed and readied his morpher, "Alright, it's go time," he said.

Jax looked at Jun. "Go. Don't need to wait for the others. They'll meet you there," he said.