Blood of the Wolf

This fanfic by Red Witch exists on the web at the following location(s) and we suggest visiting the following link(s) rather than viewing the material here: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/3719810/1/Blood-of-the-Wolf The text here has been included to allow searching for character availability and author recognition. Please note that the text is most likely not formatted and may be hidden by a spoiler tag.

Blood of the Wolf

by Red Witch

Rated: T

Summary: Goose's search to learn more about his past becomes the key for another maniac to try and take over the world. Will Goose's curiousity doom the world and tear the Rangers apart? Find out!

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Chapter 1

The disclaimer telling you that I don't own any Galaxy Ranger characters has gone to the dogs. Here's another strange fic that came out of my strange mind…

The battle was fierce and savage. Seventeen men attacking a lone rider on a motorcycle. They didn't stand a chance.

The rider leapt off of the motorcycle and pulled out two pistols. Firing with incredible skill and precision the rider shot nearly all the attackers in mid air. The rider then landed on the ground and kicked the final attackers down. With a few more shots and well placed kicks the attackers fell.

The rider removed his helmet with a flourish. It turned out that he was a she. A young woman with bright green eyes, a cocky smile and short blond hair.

"Freeze picture…"

The picture on the computer froze. Even though this film had been shot over a century ago, thanks to digital technology it looked as if the images had been taken only a few hours ago. Shane Gooseman stared at the picture, looking at the bright green eyes that matched his own.

She was someone Shane had never known before. Someone he had never even dreamed of meeting. Until six months ago when a mission went wrong. Two missions actually. And then he met her. One of his unknown genetic donors, Cheyenne Gooseman.

She had been one of the early prototypes for Supertroopers, a genetically enhanced super soldier created a hundred years ago. Her blood had been stored away, her DNA codes kept on file. And they had put them inside his body. Those who had created him used her DNA as a basis for his genetic pattern. In a sense he was her progeny. A child she would never know.

Or so they thought. Little did anyone know or realize that Cheyenne was still alive. Over the century her body had evolved and changed into a form very different than what her creators designed. She had gained powers and abilities beyond what any geneticist had dreamed she would have.

And Shane had met her. And she gave him hope.

She had also sparked a curiosity he had never known before. A curiosity into the past of his previously unknown parentage.

It had taken him over a month but he had finally found this recording. It had been stored in the archives deep within BETA Mountain. It hadn't even been labeled correctly, Shane had found it by accident. He was now reviewing the recording in the bowels of the archives.

Shane tentatively reached out his hand and traced the outline of her face. A face so similar to his. He was so mesmerized by her he didn't even notice anyone else entering the room.

"Gooseman! What are you watching?" A booming voice interrupted him. Shane turned around and saw Commander Walsh angrily staring at him.

"An old vid, Sir," Shane said simply, secretly cursing himself for letting the Commander sneak up on him. "Tactical studies."

"Tactical studies?" Commander Walsh raised an eyebrow. He looked at the video. "Really? You expect me to believe that? Where did you find this?"

"It was buried in the archives," Shane said. "It wasn't exactly marked top secret or anything."

"As far as you're concerned it is!" Walsh shut the video off. "We need to talk! But not here! My office! Now!"

Soon Shane found himself in Walsh's office along with Dr. Nagata the brain unit. "Goose I don't even know where to begin with what you just did!" Walsh groaned.

"I don't see what I did was so wrong!" Shane protested. "Like I said that video wasn't exactly marked secret or anything."

"Probably only on a technicality," Walsh grunted. "I've been monitoring your behavior lately Goose. You've been spending a lot of time in the archives and I want to know why."

"It's…hard to explain," Shane sighed.

"Try me," Walsh raised an eyebrow.

"Sometimes…" Shane closed his eyes. "Sometimes I'm ashamed to be a Supertrooper. Ever since I found out about Cheyenne…I've felt…Well, less ashamed. Can you understand that?"

"Ashamed?" Dr. Nagata asked in a computerized voice.

"Come on Dr. Nagata," Shane gave him a look. "Supertroopers aren't exactly known for their humanitarian work. She's the only one I've ever heard of that acted like a hero. She's the only one…"

"Like you…" Walsh finished.

"She is one of my parents…technically," Shane told him. "I just want to know more about her. That's all. I don't see the harm in that."

"Gooseman those DNA codes are classified," Walsh tried to explain.

 

"I wasn't looking at the codes, I was just looking at an old video!" Shane snapped back. "I don't understand the big secret! It's not like I'm going to run into any of my other relatives or anything…I just want to know more about her. Why can't I know even a little bit about my ancestry like any other human?"

"Gooseman you are not human!" Walsh shouted. "And you never will be so forget it!"

Shane stood there stunned. Then a cold look of rage crossed his face. He backed out of the room and ran. "Well that went well," Dr. Nagata remarked.

"Owen…" Walsh sighed.

"Perhaps we should tell him," Dr. Nagata said.

"You know that's not an option," Walsh gave him a look. "Technically we'd be committing treason if we told him about his background."

"That's not a viable excuse and you know it Joseph," Dr. Nagata told him. "For one thing you've already done that when you told him about Cheyenne Gooseman six months ago. We don't have to inform him about your addition to his DNA…"

"Just tell him about some of the others?" Walsh snapped. "Oh yes there's a bright idea! If Gooseman ever knew exactly what was in his DNA…He'd feel even less human than he does now."

"He wouldn't feel that way now if it wasn't for your poor choice of words," Dr. Nagata pointed out.

"Thank you for reminding me about the mistake I made two seconds ago!" Walsh growled. "What I don't understand is this sudden preoccupation with his genetic background!"

 

"Perhaps it's not so sudden?" Dr. Nagata surmised. "Maybe he's thought about it a lot before now?"

"No, I know him too well," Walsh grumbled. "These sort of thoughts never even occurred to him until that incident on Planet Maine. Where he got stuck with a fish tail. I never should have told him about Cheyenne."

"Well he did need to understand why he was stuck like that. I never realized it until I scanned that video," Dr. Nagata remarked. "He is a lot like her. And not just in appearance."

"I've read the file," Walsh brought up a picture of Cheyenne Gooseman and a file on her on his personal computer. "The resemblance is remarkable. Especially the eyes."

"Remember the day he was decanted?" Dr. Nagata asked. "We designed him to have blue green eyes but were shocked to see that they were bright emerald green."

Walsh nodded. "I'd never seen eyes like that on a living person before. Only in that picture. I suppose we put too much of her DNA into him. Even with our advanced genetic engineering there were still things that we couldn't control."

"Yes, we both learned that the hard way," Dr. Nagata admitted. "And you can't control Gooseman's curiosity, Joseph."

"I know that," Walsh groaned. "And we can't exactly put the genie back in the bottle."

"So what do you suggest we do?"

"The only thing we can do," Walsh sighed. "Try to keep Gooseman's mind off the subject as much as possible! And…"

"And?"

"I have to apologize to him…" Walsh groaned. "When he cools down…Whenever that will be."

Far away in outer space, in the city of New Pigalis on Mars, an important event was about to take place in the city's new (and only) museum.

 

"Doctor Rain," a studious young man walked up to a short, jovial looking scientist with black hair, black mustache and beard. "This is indeed an honor."

Dr. Rain adjusted his spectacles. "Oh the honor is all mine, Doctor Percy." He looked around the room. It was filled with several artifacts, many of them from Earth. "It's taken many years of hard work but finally we have brought history and culture to this frontier wilderness."

"Mars is hardly the frontier compared to some of the other planets in the League," Dr. Percy smirked. "On the other hand it's hardly a cultural Mecca either."

"That's going to change," Dr. Rain told him. "This museum is one of the first buildings made of stone and marble. When it opens to the public it will be the first step in bringing Mars out of the wilderness and into the light of civilization. The citizens of Mars will come here and see these artifacts from the past and wonder."

"If they don't steal them first," Dr. Percy grumbled.

"We've taken the necessary precautions for that," Dr. Rain noted the security guards surrounding the building. Suddenly a purple mist filled with glitter swirled around the guards. They all started to pass out. "What the…?"

"What's going on?" Dr. Percy shouted. "The alarms…"

"Your security measures may work on ordinary criminals," A cackling voice pierced the room. There was an explosion of smoke and it revealed the culprit. "But they are nothing but child's play to Mogul the Space Sorcerer!"

"And his apprentice Larry!" Larry appeared coughing.

Several green scaled white haired demons appeared and easily tackled the guards. "Oh my goodness!" Dr. Percy screamed. "We have to do something! What do we do? What do we do?" He ran around panicking.

"Uh should we do something to that guy?" One demon asked another.

"Nah, I'm enjoying watching him panic," The other demon chuckled. "It's one of the perks of this job!"

"What do you want?" Dr. Rain shouted as he was restrained by demons.

"There's a little artifact you have in your possession which interests me," Mogul waved his four arms. "I sense great and powerful magic. Magic that will be mine! Ha ha Ha ha!"

"Ooh good evil laugh Master," Larry said.

"Eh it's a little off," Another demon shrugged.

"Quiet!" Mogul snapped.

"What do we do? What do we do? AAAHHHHH!" Dr. Percy ran around screaming like a girl.

"And that means him!" Mogul pointed at Dr. Percy. One demon casually held out a fist and let Dr. Percy run into it and knock himself out. "Thank you!"

 

"I found it Master!" Larry pointed to a small wolf stone carving.

"Ah yes the magic vibrations are strong from this artifact," Mogul cackled. "This little dog statue…"

"Wolf, that's a wolf master," Larry corrected.

"Whatever," Mogul waved. "This thing is going to increase my power! I know it!"

"That's a priceless carving of Fenrir on loan from the Royal Museum! You can't take it!" Dr. Rain shouted.

"Hey! Who's the supreme sorcerer here? I can take whatever I want!" Mogul snapped. "And if I want this statue of Fenwick…"

"Fenrir," Larry corrected. "He's a Norse Wolf Demon God."

"Right, just testing…" Mogul covered.

"Yeah right," Another demon chuckled.

"Shut up!" Mogul snapped. "Larry! Bring me the statue!"

"Uh I'm trying, Master!" Larry tugged and pulled on it. "It seems to be stuck."

"Oh for crying out loud!" Mogul stormed up to it and tried to pull on it as well. "It seems to be bolted or something. Oh I see it's stuck on some tabs. Maybe if I pull here and you pull right…"

"My right or your right?" Larry asked.

"Your right," Mogul said.

"You mean left?" Larry blinked.

"No your right," Mogul told him. "No not that way! I said your right!"

"I was pulling my right! You want me to pull left!"

"If I wanted you to pull left I would have said left!" Mogul shouted.

"My right is your left!" Larry snapped.

"Don't snap at me you little ingrate!" Mogul snapped.

"Uh can't you just use your magic to get the statue loose?" A demon asked.

 

"Of course we can," Larry snapped his fingers. "I'll get it loose."

"No, I will do it!" Mogul snapped as he readied his magic.

"I'll do it! No I will do it!" Both of them snapped as they readied their magic. They both shot out magical blasts at the same time and it hit the statue too hard. So hard that the statue flew up and shattered on the ground.

"YOU BROKE IT!" Both Larry and Mogul pointed to each other. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN I BROKE IT? YOU BROKE IT!"

"Uh…Mogul…" One of the demons pointed. "Larry? Some stuff is coming out of the thing you broke."

"I DIDN'T BREAK IT! HE DID!" Both Mogul and Larry shouted at the same time. Then they saw what the demons saw. A growing cloud of blue and black smoke.

"I am free!" The cloud howled. A pair of blue glowing eyes shone from the cloud.

"It's a demon spirit!" Mogul readied his magic. "Time to paper train this puppy! Amarazon! Amellezion! Marta Hari Yamu Swami! Sit!"

Mogul shot out a blast of magic but it was reflected right back to him. "Okay that was obviously the wrong spell," Mogul got up from the floor where he was knocked down. "I just need something a little stronger! It's just an ordinary demon spirit! Nothing I can't handle! No problem! ZAZAZAZOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!"

He used his strongest magic but once again he was knocked down. "Larry…we have a problem!"

"Master," Larry gulped. "Something tells me that this is not an ordinary demon spirit."

"HA HA HA HA HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAAAAA…" A rumbling came out from the demon cloud.

"Now that's an evil laugh," One of the demons gulped.

"Uh oh…" Mogul gulped. "Larry I think we just committed what is known in the magic business as a big whoopsie!"

"Oh dear," Larry gulped. "I was afraid you'd say something like that."

Both magic users grabbed each other as the dark cloud of evil descended on them. "AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Back on Earth, Shane was fuming in his apartment. Both Niko and Bubblehead were there trying to get him to calm down. "Shane, I know you're upset but this isn't the healthy way to deal with it," Niko told him.

"Compared to how he normally deals with problems it is," Bubblehead quipped. "At least he's not using his blasters."

"You have a point," Niko shrugged.

"Stupid…frakking…" Shane muttered. "I can't believe he said that! I know he thinks it all the time! But he actually said it!"

"Maybe you misheard it?" Niko suggested.

"Oh I heard it loud and clear! He doesn't see me as a real human," Shane paced back and forth. "I don't know what he sees in me half the time. Maybe I'm some sort of pet to him!"

"And that's a bad thing right?" Bubblehead asked.

"Anybody else I expect it from!" Shane went on. "I hear it all the time from jerks and idiots but it doesn't bother me. But when he says it…I don't know! I just thought the Commander knew me better!"

"Boy somebody has Daddy Issues," Bubblehead blinked.

"Bubblehead you are not helping," Niko gave him a look.

"I hate to admit it Niko, but the bird has a point!" Shane threw up his hands. "I can't believe this is ticking me off as much as it is! Technically Walsh is right! I mean I do have some animal traits encoded into my genetic structure! And mutant DNA not to mention whatever else they put in me back at Wolf Den. But to hear him say that…"

"And it upsets you," Niko stated.

"Of course it does!" Shane snapped at her.

"I hate to tell you this, Goose," Niko smiled. "But it sounds like you are turning into a human to me."

"Wonderful!" Shane said sarcastically. "Go tell the Commander that! I'm sure he'll be thrilled!"

 

"Shane," Niko sighed. "The two of you have been through a lot together. Naturally there's some kind of bond between you two."

"Obviously he doesn't think so," Shane grumbled as he stopped pacing. "Why do I even care what he thinks?"

He went back to pacing. "I'm a Supertrooper damn it! I'm not supposed to care about what anyone thinks! Let alone go looking for information about a genetic donor so I can pretend that she's my mom or something! And I certainly don't need a father! Especially if he's my commanding officer! I'm a fully grown Supertrooper for crying out loud and I'm acting like a little kid who wants attention! What the hell is wrong with me?"

"Goose wants a hug from Mommy!" Bubblehead chirped. "Cheyenne come home!"

"Shut up bird!" Shane snapped.

"Boy you really get cranky don't you?" Bubblehead blinked.

"Keep it up, bird and you'll see how cranky I can get!" Shane snapped.

"He knows?" Niko was surprised.

"I…kind of talked in my sleep one night," Shane admitted sheepishly. "It's just annoying. Every time I think I've gotten over my past, something else comes along and stirs up those old feelings inside of me. Maybe the other Supertroopers were right? Maybe there is something wrong with me?"

"How can you say that?" Niko asked as Shane sat down on the couch next to her.

"Niko, I was never like the other Supertroopers," Shane told her. "For example when I was a kid I used to like watching the seagulls that occasionally flew by Wolf Den."

"What's so odd about that?" Niko blinked.

"The other Supertroopers liked to try and catch and eat them," Shane gave her a look. "Feathers and all!"

"Yikes!" Bubblehead shuddered. "Remind me to never invite your relatives over for lunch."

"Shane, I think it's safe to say you're not exactly wrong on this point," Niko winced.

"Yeah well it's just one of many little instances that prove that I'm not exactly a normal Supertrooper," Shane grumbled.

"And the fact that you are not as psycho as the others is a bad thing?" Bubblehead blinked.

"Let's put this in perspective," Niko held up her hands. "Supertroopers don't feel things other than rage or anger. But you do? Right?"

"Yeah," Shane replied.

"Supertroopers only think about fighting but you don't, right?" Niko went on.

"Obviously," Shane grumbled.

"Supertroopers aren't curious about the past or wonder about the future…"

"Other than where their next meal is coming from, no…" Shane agreed.

"But you do," Niko pointed.

"Yeah and unlike regular Supertroopers you don't have a hankering for birdie burgers with extra feathers," Bubblehead chirped.

"I dunno," Shane gave the memory bird a look. "Who knows? I might develop a taste for it!"

"In other words you evolved into something that your creators didn't foresee," Niko summed it up. "Like Cheyenne."

"Hey maybe you can find another one of your relatives to talk to?" Bubblehead chirped after an awkward few seconds of silence. "Look 'em up in the phone book!"

"No, that was the one rule that was the most strictly enforced in the labs," Shane explained. "No living donors. The Board of Leaders even went so far as to make it illegal and that was even before the treaties Earth signed when it joined the League of Planets. Considering all the other stuff they were allowed to do before then you can imagine the severity of the law. I guess they were afraid that if they did that we'd all take out personal ads or something trying to track down our parents."

"So your DNA…" Niko began.

"Was taken from a bank made up of corpses," Shane told her. "Well except for Cheyenne. They just had a lot of her blood on hand. She's obviously a fluke because everyone thought she died about a hundred years ago. No one could have imagined that she'd evolve into some kind of telepathic mermaid. Hell, there times I can't believe it."

"Brrr…Creepy," Bubblehead shivered.

"Yeah but I can understand that rule," Shane remarked. "I mean what kind of psychopath would deliberately put his own DNA in a living weapon?"

"You're right," Niko nodded. "It's a good thing Commander Walsh was running the Supertrooper project."

 

"Yeah he may have done a lot of things but at least the guy tried to be as ethical as possible," Shane grumbled as he got up. "Believe me the casualty list would have been a lot higher if he wasn't watching every little thing going on. Fat lot of good that did."

"Why not just reach out and call Mom?" Bubblehead suggested. "Do they have phones on the bottom of the ocean?"

"No, I just…" Shane sighed. "I just can't okay. I'm enough of a Supertrooper to not go running to an imaginary mommy every time I have a question!"

"Well then it seems to me then you have two choices," Niko gave him a straight answer. "Since you're too stubborn to talk to Cheyenne. You can either whine about it and complain or…"

"Or I grow up and accept it," Shane rolled his eyes. "I get it."

Niko got up and put a hand on his shoulder. "For what it's worth, if someone I respected a lot made a thoughtless comment like that I would be angry as well."

Shane gave her a surprised look. That was when their communicators sounded an alarm.

"Looks like we need to save the universe again," Shane grumbled as the two Rangers left the apartment.

"Bye! Have fun!" Bubblehead waved. "Bring me back a present!"

Not long after the Rangers were landing the Ranger One on Mars. "So what's so important about a bunch of statues and pictures?" Shane grumbled.

"Besides being priceless objects of art and a tempting target for any thief?" Doc asked. "I'm afraid the security cameras caught a glimpse of the thieves. Green scaly ugly thieves…"

He punched up a shot of a short piece of footage of a demon grabbing a camera. "Mogul…" Zach growled. "What is he up to now?"

"Knowing him, nothing good," Niko shook her head. "I've heard of the scientist in charge of this project. Dr. Rain. He specializes in studying alien civilizations but he has several contacts on Earth with museums all over the planet. He was gathering artifacts from his research and personal contacts to help build the first museum on Mars with a Dr. Percy."

"So Mogul's now in the art collecting business?" Doc asked.

"I doubt that he's an art lover," Niko said. "Unless one of those pieces had magic in them."

"That's what I was afraid of," Zach groaned.

Soon they were at the museum. "Looks like the place was trashed," Doc whistled at the scattered and broken artifacts.

A few security guards were tending to Dr. Rain and Dr. Percy. "Are you all right?" Zach asked.

"I'm fine I think," Dr. Rain dabbed his brow. "We're quite all right. Oh the artifacts! What happened?"

"You were attacked by demons," Niko told him. "It was on the security cameras."

"Demons?" Dr. Percy frowned. "How…horrible! How did that happen? And what do they want?"

"You don't remember?" Niko asked.

"All remember is talking to Dr. Rain then passing out," Dr. Percy sighed.

"I remember something…Some kind of cloud but…" Dr. Rain shook his head. "I'm sorry young lady but it's all a blank."

"What do you think? They used some magic mumbo jumbo on 'em?" Shane asked.

"Looks like it Goose," Niko scanned the room using her powers. "I'm sensing a lot of mystic energy but…I…I can't pinpoint it. It's strong. Very strong."

"Has anything been taken?" Doc asked.

"No, but many priceless artifacts have been wrecked! Oh!" Dr. Rain fretted. "Why would those vandals do this?"

"Who knows what goes on in that slimy four armed lizard's head?" Zach growled. "Gooseman, Doc you get anything on your scanners?"

"Nothing much," Shane shook his head.

"Pathfinder's still looking amid the security system but everything's fried," Doc told them.

"Gooseman?" Dr. Rain looked at Shane. "Pardon me for asking, young man but are you by any chance related to a Cheyenne Gooseman?"

"You…Know about her?" Shane was startled.

"Why yes," Dr. Rain nodded. "I am a professor of history as well as an archeologist. The Cold War and the genetic programs that resulted from it has always fascinated me."

"I thought your specialty was alien civilizations?" Niko asked.

"Oh it is, it is…" Dr. Rain coughed. "But I also dabble in Earth history as well. Ancient mythology, Norse lore, Cold War…It's all a very rich tapestry. So you are related to one of the world's earliest genetic warriors?"

"Well technically…" Shane blinked. "You actually know about her?"

"Oh I could tell you things about her you would not believe," Dr. Rain grinned. "She was a very fascinating woman."

"Really?" Shane was surprised. "Like what?"

"Well," Dr. Rain stroked his chin and thought. "She was very…dedicated to her work. She believed in protecting people and all that…uh, all that was her sworn duty."

Before Shane could ask another question, Zach interrupted. "Well other than several destroyed objects everything seems okay. But I think you'd better come with us Dr. Rain to BETA just to be on the safe side."

"Of course," Dr. Rain nodded. "Dr. Percy why don't you get your assistant and come with us as well?"

"Uh yes," Dr. Percy gulped. "Glad to."

"As long as we're going to BETA we might as well have a nice chat," Dr. Rain made a pleasant smile at Shane. "I know you must have plenty of questions about your ancestor."

"Yeah I do," Shane realized.

"Excellent! Then let's be on our way," Dr. Rain clapped his hands.

"We'd better report to BETA first," Zach said. The rangers moved off to check their findings and communicate with BETA, leaving Dr. Rain unobserved for a moment. But a moment was all it took.

"Oh this is going to be too easy…" Dr. Rain's eyes glowed a bright blue for a moment.

Shortly after back at BETA…

"I don't know why the bandits ran off this time but I'm sure he will be back," Dr. Rain told Commander Walsh and the Galaxy Rangers. "And I'm worried."

"This time?" Doc asked.

Dr. Rain sighed. "Right before the uh, incident on Mars I was attacked by a rather unpleasant individual named Mogul the Sorcerer. And from what your Rangers tell me he is the same foul creature that attacked us on Mars."

"He can't be that bad," Dr. Percy gave Dr. Rain a dark look. Dr. Rain looked at Dr. Percy. "Oh wait, yes he is…"

"Commander," Dr. Rain said. "I'd like your permission to borrow a few of your rangers for an important excavation I'm working on right here on Earth."

"What kind of excavation are you working on?" Niko asked.

"I have just discovered the location of the Temple of Fenrir," Dr. Rain told her. "It is the rumored sight of where the Norse Gods bound the wolf demon Fenrir to keep him from destroying the world."

"There could be powerful magic stored in that cavern," Shane thought aloud. "It would be a tempting target for that slimy sorcerer."

"I'd like to take at least Ranger Gooseman with me for security," Dr. Rain said.

"It would be disastrous if Mogul got his hands on even an ounce of powerful magic," Commander Walsh thought. "But I am not sure that I can comply completely with your request. I need Ranger Gooseman for other missions."

"What other missions?" Shane snapped.

"Commander you are aware that I have several connections?" Dr. Rain played with his fingers. "Powerful connections among the Board of World Leaders. I think they would be interested to know why you would turn down my request especially if the security of the Earth is at stake."

"I'm just curious why you want Ranger Gooseman while Ranger Niko is more qualified," Walsh narrowed his eyes.

"I didn't say I did not want her expertise," Dr. Rain corrected. "But I feel that Ranger Gooseman can also contribute greatly to this project. In fact I think I can get Dr. Percy to personally convince a few people in power to back me on this. Right Doctor?"

"Oh yes, yes…" Dr. Percy gulped nervously. "Just need to make a few phone calls."

"I'll give you my decision in a few hours," Walsh drummed his fingers.

"Very well," Dr. Rain nodded. "Come Percy!" They left the room.

"What was all that about?" Shane asked Walsh. "Mogul is up to something and Dr. Rain needs our help! We have to go or else that four armed lunatic could do major damage!"

"I just don't trust Dr. Rain," Walsh frowned.

"Neither do I," Niko agreed. "I can't pinpoint it. It's not like my psychic powers are picking up anything but…I just have a feeling that I'm deliberately being blocked but I can't sense it."

"If he can't be trusted all the more reason to keep an eye on him!" Shane said. "Or maybe it's me you don't trust!"

Shane stormed out of the room. "Did you two have a fight or something?" Doc asked Commander Walsh.

"No, we didn't!" Walsh snapped. "Well…maybe. But that's not the point!"

"I think it is," Niko folded her arms. "He was really hurt by what you said to him."

"What did he say?" Zach asked.

"That's not important right now! Something about this whole situation is not right," Walsh thought to himself. "And familiar…I've heard about something like this before I know it! But why does Gooseman want to go so badly?"

"Because the good doctor knows a lot about Cheyenne Gooseman," Doc told him.

"What?" Walsh gave him a look.

"Yeah he was practically bragging about it," Zach remembered.

"This again," Walsh grumbled. "I don't know what's gotten into that…I want the three of you to do a background check on Dr. Rain. Niko, see what you can dig up on your archeological contacts. Hartford I need you to help me cross reference some files…And Captain Foxx…Keep an eye on Gooseman."

"What do you mean?" Zach was startled. "Commander you can trust Goose!"

"I'm not so sure anymore…" Walsh frowned.

"All right Bubblehead what did you get?" Shane asked Bubblehead as they did some research in the archives.

"All the news you can use right at my beak!" Bubblehead stuck his beak in the computer terminal and downloaded the information.

"Quit squawking and start talking," Shane snapped as his fingers moved over the keyboard and he started to read the information on the screen.

"Fenrir, a real fun puppy," Bubblehead chirped as he gave his own version of the information he downloaded. "Son of the Norse God Loki who had real weird taste in women. Fenny was a giant wolf demon who was bound by the gods by an enchanted ribbon. If he ever gets loose he will bring about Ragnarok or the End of the world, civilization and Starbuck's white mocha lattes as we know it with his two sons Hati and Skoll. But wait, there's more! Look what else I found!"

"I hate to say it Bubblehead but you're almost as good as Doc at digging up information," Shane remarked. "When you actually pull your circuits together."

"Ranger Gooseman," The voice of Dr. Rain spoke on the communicator. "Are you ready to leave?"

"I'll be there in a minute," Shane told him. He shut off the communicator.

"Goose I don't think this is a good idea," Bubblehead gulped. "There's something about that guy that gives me the heebie jeebies!"

"Bubblehead I have to do this," Shane told him. "It'll be fine. Trust me."

"At least wait for the other Rangers!" Bubblehead pleaded.

"No time! Besides the Commander will try and stop me!" Shane told him. He finished looking at the information and shut the machine off. "I've got all I need to know. Go back to the apartment Bubblehead!"

"But…" Bubblehead chirped.

"That's an order!" Shane snapped. "Not that you've ever obeyed one before but there's a first time for everything." He left the archives.

"Ohhh," Bubblehead was worried. "What do I do? What do I do? Think Bubblehead think!" He hit his head with his wing. "Ow! Thinking hurts! No wonder I don't do it too often!"

He flew out of the archives right into Zach and Doc. "Bubblehead! What are you doing here?" Doc asked.

"Helping Goose sneak out with Professor Rain," Bubblehead chirped. "Oh wait, I'm not helping him sneak out…Or am I? I forget which!"

"What?" Zach yelled.

"Ohh! It's all this Cheyenne stuff! It's got the Goose's feathers all in a frazzle!" Bubblehead clucked. "Especially after that comment the Commander made about Goose not being human and not letting Goose try and learn all about her and…"

"Never mind! We get the picture!" Zach interrupted. "Come on! We got to stop him!"

"No wonder the Goose wants to fly the coop," Doc grumbled as they ran off after their friend. "But that's still no reason to run off like that."

"Goose is gonna run himself straight into a court martial if we don't stop him!" Zach told him.

But they made it to the hanger too late. "Goose no!" Zach shouted as the ship took off.

"Commander Walsh is not gonna be happy about this," Doc moaned.

Ten minutes later…

"HE DID WHAT?" Walsh roared.

"I was right…" Doc winced. The Rangers and Waldo were in his office.

"Of all the insubordinate…"Walsh fumed.

"It's not like Gooseman to just run off and…" Waldo began when he was interrupted by a buzzer.

"Commander Walsh, Senator Wheiner is on line one and he wants to speak to you immediately," A communications officer spoke.

"Oh I wonder what this could be about?" Doc said sarcastically.

"Commander Walsh this is Senator Wheiner," The senator appeared on the video screen. His eyes looked glazed and he spoke in a slurred speech. "I have personally ordered Ranger Gooseman to immediately accompany Dr. Rain and the marvelous Dr. Percy on their expedition. This is a very important thing so don't countermand my orders. This mission has the approval of the Board of World Leaders."

"Wheiner…" Walsh began.

"This is from the top Walsh! No arguments! I don't want you to interfere with this mission! Wheiner out!" Wheiner blew a raspberry and shut off the communications.

"That was pretty convenient," Doc blinked.

"A little too convenient," Niko remarked. "Was it me or were his eyes even more glazed than usual?"

"Like he was under a spell?" Doc asked.

"Either that or he's been drinking vodka for breakfast again," Waldo remarked.

"This is all Rain's doing. He wants Goose for some reason but I don't know why…" Zach frowned.

"I'm afraid I do," Commander Walsh groaned. "I've just gone over some old files I have in my possession. Files dating back about a hundred years…"

"To his ancestor, Cheyenne Gooseman?" Niko asked.

"Yes," Walsh admitted. "There's something Dr. Rain wants…And that's inside Gooseman…."

"Inside him?" Doc was shocked. "What?"

"You really don't want to know…" Walsh groaned. "But we've got to get Goose away from him! Now! Before it's too late!"

Somewhere in Norway in the mountains…

"Here we are," Dr. Rain called out to Shane, Dr. Percy and a few of his associates. Shane had landed the ship outside a large cavern. The men were wearing snow parkas and made their way inside to find themselves at a temple gate with two wolf statues outside.

"It's magnificent," Dr. Percy said.

"I've seen bigger," Shane shrugged.

"Yes, but it's still impressive nonetheless," Dr. Rain placed his hand on the door. "Gooseman come take a look at this…This door is rusted shut. I'm going to need your help opening it."

"What do you need me to do?" Shane asked.

"Try pushing on it.." Dr. Rain said. "The lock seems to be rather weak."

"Oh maybe I can blast it open!" Shane whipped out his blaster and used it to hit Rain to the ground. Then he shot at the assistants.

"What are you doing?" Dr. Rain shouted.

"Keeping you from activating whatever's inside that door," Shane snapped as he quickly dispatched Dr. Rain's assistants. When they landed on the ground they changed shape into Mogul's demons and disappeared back into their home dimension.

Shane grabbed an 'assistant' and threw it hard at Dr. Percy. They both changed shapes into Larry and Mogul. "I think he knows it's us," Larry gulped. "WHOA!" A lasso was thrown around them by Shane.

"This will keep you two on ice for a while," Shane growled as he tied them up.

Dr. Rain tried to run away but Shane chased after him. "Oh no you don't!" Shane grabbed him and gave him a punch. Then he took out some handcuffs and handcuffed Rain's hands behind his back.

"You know I gotta admit you almost had me," Shane told him as he grabbed the doctor by the shirt collar. "I was so eager…So willing to learn about my past…I almost walked blindly into your trap. Almost!" He shoved Rain to the ground.

"What gave me away?" Dr. Rain asked.

"Two things," Shane held up his fingers. "One, this whole setup seemed so easy for me. Too easy! Nothing for me is ever easy. And second once I got a whiff of Percy I knew it was Mogul playing sorcerer in scientist's clothing! I'd know that coward's stench anywhere!"

"I told you that you were overdue for your monthly bath Master," Larry remarked.

"Shut up Larry!" Mogul snapped.

"So you did a little background check in the archives?" Dr. Rain growled.

"It was a bit spotty but I learned enough," Shane said. "I learned there was some kind of crazy cult devoted to the end of the world operating around here and Cheyenne helped shut it down. I'm taking a guess but you're part of this cult, am I right?"

"You could say that," Dr. Rain grinned.

"If you knew this was a setup then why didn't you bring the other Galaxy Rangers?" Mogul asked.

"Because I didn't want them to see what I'm going to do to you for preying on my gentle trusting nature," Shane made a dark wolfish grin. He slammed his fist against his palm. Mogul and Larry couldn't help but gulp.

"You're not the typical dumb blonde are you?" Dr. Rain chuckled. "You are Cheyenne's cub after all!"

"And that's why you wanted me," Shane growled. "To use Cheyenne's DNA somehow to get what you want!"

"Close but no cigar. It's not her blood I'm after my boy," Dr. Rain's eyes glowed brightly. "It's mine…"

Dr. Rain violently shuddered and his body slumped as a huge blue black cloud seeped from it. It formed into the shape of a giant wolf with glowing eyes. "What in the…?" Shane stepped backwards.

"Hello Shane…" The demon spirit hissed gleefully as it pounced on him. "Daddy's home!"

Uh oh, things are about to get more complicated aren't they! Tune in to find out what happens next!

Chapter 2

Part II

Earth: 1984

The Temple of Fenrir

"Where the devil are they?" A tall man with long white hair in a long gray coat and black pants with black boots snarled. He was with two other young men and a young woman wearing black and having a lupine look among them. "How long can it take to wipe out one human?"

"No matter Father," The black haired young woman told him. "Now that we are at the gate all we have to do is shed our blood to remove the curse from the temple door. Then you can regain access to your true body."

"Shed blood huh? Not a bad idea!"

"What?" They turned and saw a young woman with short blond hair in a snow parka shooting at them from the crevice. To the tall man's horror she shot his three companions down, killing them instantly.

"NO!" He roared. He got shot but stood there as if it didn't affect him. A blue glow emanated from his fists as he shot out a bolt of magic. It knocked out the gun from the woman's hands. "GOOSEMAN!"

"That's my name, don't wear it out!" Cheyenne Gooseman snarled as she confronted the man,

"Foolish female! Bullets don't harm me," The man snarled.

"No, but this will," Cheyenne took out a metal sword. "Look familiar?"

"The Sword of Tyr," The man snarled. "Where did you get that?"

"From what was left of your fortress after I killed the rest of your End of the World Cult," Cheyenne sneered.

"You murderous wench! I smell the blood of my kin on you! You shall pay for that!" The man shrieked as he transformed. His hands grew into claws, his feet changed into wolf paws, he grew a tail and pointed ears and his face transformed into a wolf snout.

"Let me guess, you're the great wolf demon Fenrir, am I right?" Cheyenne readied her sword.

"No, Dad bought the snow farm a few millennia ago," The wolf man snarled as he created a sword from magical energy. "I am his son, Skoll."

"Whoop de do," Cheyenne said sarcastically. "Am I supposed to be impressed?"

"Considering what I went through to reincarnate my spirit into this body, yes," Skoll snarled. "But once I am reunited with my real body then I can show you my true power!"

"Reincarnate? What you're Buddhist or something?" Cheyenne asked as the two fought.

"I know magic from beyond the creation of time," Skoll told her as they dueled. "My body may die but I can possess or reincarnate myself into a new body at any time I choose!"

"But you need your original body to take over the world," Cheyenne snarled.

"Yes, only it has the power to bring about Ragnarok," Skoll snarled as he pushed her back. "And wipe out your diseased race of apes from this planet once and for all! And then the wolves and demons will take their rightful place on this world!"

"Not on my watch!" Cheyenne snarled. They fought. She was knocked backward. Overconfident, Skoll leapt forward. Cheyenne rolled to the side and managed to bring her sword high enough to chop off his left foot/paw.

"You will pay for that insolent female!" Skoll howled as he hopped on one foot. "No matter…All I need is a few drops of my blood to open the gate and free my true body…Then I won't need this one any more!" He made his way to the temple gate on his remaining paw and hands rather quickly.

But not quick enough.

"Oh no you don't!" Cheyenne snapped as she ran after him, knocking him down from behind. "Sit puppy!" She took the sword and cut his head off.

A hideous screech emerged as a cloud of blue black smoke escaped from the corpse. It transformed into a smoke shape of a wolf. "Fool! I just told you that I cannot be killed!" The wolf demon spirit howled. "I'll just possess your body and…"

 

"And nothing!" A young man with brown hair and glasses yelled as he clumsily rode a snowmobile towards them. He grabbled Cheyenne and took off away from the wolf spirit. "This is why I always tell you to wait for backup!"

"We're not out of the woods yet Jason!" Cheyenne snapped at him as the demon spirit followed them around the small cave.

"I thought we were in a cave?" Jason joked. "But seriously Quentin came up with something in case this happened! It's in the back!"

"Oh goody, presents!" Cheyenne took out a strange looking device that was reminiscent of something out of a popular movie at the time. "This thing looks like something Bill Murray used in his last movie!"

"Funny you should say that…" Jason coughed. "Uh oh…"

The demon spirit sent out energy that shattered off several giant ice shards from the ceiling. "WHOAA!" Jason yelled as he barely missed getting skewered by them. However he ended up crashing the snowmobile into a snow bank.

"What is it about you that you keep crashing into everything you either drive or fly?" Cheyenne grumbled as she sat up in the snow.

"Just lucky I guess…" Jason moaned.

"RARRRRRRR!" Skoll howled as he sprang on them.

Cheyenne grabbed the device next to her and used it in time. A strange energy surrounded the wolf spirit. "AAAAHH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME? AAAAHHHH!" Skoll was dragged into the machine.

"Time for you to be put to sleep!" Cheyenne shouted.

 

"NO! IT CAN'T END THIS WAY!" Skoll roared. "I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE GOOSEMAN! I SWEAR IT! I WILL…"

Skoll's smoky form was sucked into the machine completely. It made a strange sound then a ding. In the side of the machine a small wolf statue popped out into a pocket on the side. "Hey I got a prize," Cheyenne took it out. "Instant petrified wolf demon soul. What will they think of next?"

"And to think," Jason grinned. "You were mad at me for dragging you to see that movie Ghostbusters."

"That's not why I was mad at you," Cheyenne corrected him. "I was mad because you hogged all the popcorn."

A few large machines moved in and several soldiers and scientists appeared. Not to mention the commanding officer, a tall muscular older man with short blond graying hair, a thick beard, a mustache and hard emerald eyes. "I see you two have completed your mission with your usual style of destruction."

"What? You wanted the Earth to blow up?" Cheyenne raised an eyebrow. "I even got you a few souvenirs Commander."

"One wolf demon soul in a portable wolf statute container," Jason showed him. "And one demon wolf paw. The rest of him is in that temple."

"He was after his original body," Cheyenne explained. "Gonna use it to destroy the human race, rule the world, same old stuff."

"Don't they ever think of anything original?" The Commander grunted. "Give that paw to the scientists. I'll take the statue." He took it. "I know some people who will take very good care of this."

"What about the paw?" Cheyenne asked.

"We'll study it," The Commander gave the appendage a glance. "Who knows? Maybe it might come in handy someday? For now, let's leave this ice hole and get back to base."

Earth: 2088

Shane could see the entire episode as if it happened right in front of him a few moments ago. Of course having a demon spirit entering his body at the same time and invading his mind was not the most pleasant way to observe the past.

"I have to admit I love the irony of this!" Skoll howled as he spoke through Shane's mouth. "My blood and the blood of the bitch who destroyed my clan a hundred years ago in the same body! A genetically engineered body that's going to resurrect my body at long last! The future! What a great place to be!"

 

Skoll shuddered. "And not a bad body either…" He looked at Shane's hands. "It's definitely an improvement over that old professor! Such power…Even with this implant in your brain you haven't even begun to scratch the surface of what you can do! Or rather what I will do…"

Suddenly Skoll jerked violently. "You're…not doing anything…sucker…" Shane hissed as he fought for control over his body. "This is my body…Get out!"

"Oh I'll get out all right…" Skoll snapped. "Just as soon as you'll help me get my body back son!"

"Don't call me son!" Shane wrestled control back, throwing himself to his knees. "You're not…one of my primary donors! I know it! You're a secondary!"

"True my blood is thin within your body…" Skoll snarled. "Barely a few stray strands of DNA…But it's enough to do the job!"

"Hell no…" Shane fought for control of his body. "Cheyenne didn't let you win and neither will I!"

"Yes but Cheyenne was lucky to have a partner with brains which you don't have right now!" Skoll sneered. "Wait…The witch is still alive…?"

"Shut up!" Shane snarled.

"Oh this is just perfect!" Skoll laughed as he took over again. "Don't bother to hide it! I can read your thoughts while I'm in your body! A mermaid? She's a mermaid now? You have got to be kidding me! That's hilarious!"

"Don't you even think of going after her you bastard!" Shane roared.

"Like I really want to get my paws wet?" Skoll snorted. "Besides like I said having you do my dirty work is revenge enough for me! That and freezing all the oceans once I come into power…"

"The only thing you're getting is a one way trip back to…" Shane snarled. "AAAAHHH!" He grabbed his head.

"I gotta admit I'm impressed," Skoll hissed. "You have a lot of spunk in you! That's a great asset for a member of my clan. Even a junior member. But now it's time for you to learn your place! Submit!"

"GO TO HELL!" Shane roared back, he thrashed around on the ground, fighting for control.

"Been there, done that," Skoll sneered. "It's almost a shame I didn't take over your body sooner. I'd have had a lot of fun killing a few of the jerks that annoy you…Beating up that worthless fool Wheiner…Having a nice little tumble with your friend Niko…"

"YOU STAY AWAY FROM HER! YOU HEAR ME? DON'T YOU EVEN THINK OF TOUCHING HER!"

"Oh, ho ho…Touched a nerve did I?" Skoll laughed. "You really do carry a torch for her don't you?"

"SHUT UP! I'LL KILL YOU!"

"Considering where I am that would be a smart move," Skoll said sarcastically. "Okay, enough fun! It's time to end this!"

"Took the words out of my mouth!" Shane roared. Sweat was pouring down his brow as he fought for control of his body.

 

Meanwhile Mogul and Larry had untied themselves. "Now what do we do Master?" Larry asked.

"Uh maybe we should leave them alone?" Mogul gulped. "You know this seems like a father son thing?"

"Yeah…We should go home," Larry said. "I think I left the oven on…"

"Let's go home and turn it off," Mogul said quickly. The two aliens tried to sneak out of the chamber.

"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?" Skoll snarled.

"Uh…Out for pizza?" Mogul gulped, clearly terrified of the demon.

"Yeah we don't want to interrupt your family bonding…" Larry nodded.

"Help me you fools! This brat's will is too strong!" Skoll snarled.

"Uh what do you want us to do?" Larry gulped.

"Restrain him! I mean me! This body! You get the idea!" Skoll hissed. "Then drag us to the lock and help me shed his blood over the lock!"

"Oh no you don't…" Shane hissed as he managed to touch his badge. He glowed with energy. Over the years Shane had learned to memorize certain forms and states of being even without being hit first. And this was one of them.

"AAAAHHH!" Mogul screamed as a shot of energy shot from Shane towards him and Larry.

"HELP! HELP!" Larry and Mogul screamed as they ran around like the chickens they were away from the energy shots.

"DO I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING MYSELF?" Skoll yelled. "You useless…You're even more pathetic than humans! Fine! So Goose you think your little badge can stop me? Think again!"

With a vicious powerful tug Skoll forced Shane's hands to yank his jacket and shirt off and threw them to the side. Without his badge, Shane's energy stopped flowing. "There! That should take some of the fire out! You! Shorty! Grab the badge! Or do you think a shirt is too much for you to handle?"

"Uh no…" Larry gulped and ran to grab the shirt and threw it out of Shane's reach.

"Now help me get him to the door…" Skoll hissed. "And get a knife or something sharp!"

"You touch me and I'll…" Shane snarled. Both Mogul and Larry flinched.

"Maybe we should get some demons to help us?" Larry suggested.

"Great now I know which one of you is using the only brain cell you have!" Skoll snapped. "Do it!"

 

Mogul conjured up five of his strongest demons. But even they had trouble keeping Shane under control. "Hold us still fools!" Skoll hissed as Shane managed to control his arms long enough to punch a demon down.

A blast of laser fire interrupted them. "Galaxy Rangers Ho!" Zach shouted as he rode in on his metal steed with Doc and Niko riding on theirs, lasers blasting.

"More meddlers," Skoll snarled. "Keep them busy while I unlock the temple door!"

"NO!" Shane shouted. "GUYS! HELP ME! I CAN'T…" He screamed as the demons held him down.

"Goose! He's possessed!" Niko shouted. "A demon spirit is inside of him! But he's fighting it!"

"Try fighting this!" Mogul conjured up a giant dragon that breathed fire at the Rangers.

"Whoa! This is a little too hot to handle!" Doc barely dodged the fire blast.

Zach was nearly blasted by the flames but Niko put up a psychic barrier to protect him. "Thanks Niko!" Zach readied his bionic arm. "Why don't you get a bite of this you overgrown lizard?"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

With a blast Zach's thunderbolt destroyed the giant dragon. "They just don't make dragons like they used to," Zach smirked.

"Lucky for us," Doc wiped his brow in relief.

"I hate it when they burst my illusions," Mogul gulped.

However during this time the demons and Skoll had dragged Shane to the temple doors. "What kind of idiot sorcerer can't make a real dragon appear? Never mind! It's too late! Do it! Now!" Skoll ordered.

One of the demons took out a knife and cut Shane's left arm over the lock. A few drops of blood fell on it. "NO!" Shane yelled.

There was a huge blast of lightning and smoke as the temple doors opened. Shane and the demons were thrown backward. The energy from the opening of the door knocked back the Rangers and the sorcerers as well. Skoll laughed with glee as he left Shane's body in a torrent of smoke and headed straight inside. There was a giant white and black wolf body frozen in ice. Skoll's spirit entered the ice covered body and it's eyes opened.

"I LIVE!" Skoll howled as the ice shattered around him. "I AM FREE!"

"No…" Shane weakly stood up. Skoll stepped out in his wolf form, proud and defiant.

"Yes…" Skoll sneered. Then his body began to jerk and reform into a giant eight foot human body with long black and white hair, pointed wolf ears, claws, and a tail dressed in a black cloak, black paws for feet and a black outfit made up of animal skins. His face looked familiar but right then Shane couldn't place it.

"That's better," Skoll's human blue eyes glowed. "And now Shane my boy…"

He grabbed Shane by the throat and sent out a strange electric energy. Shane couldn't move as the energy pulsed through him. "GOOSE!" Niko shouted.

Shane's ears became pointed, his feet broke through his boots and were turned into blond wolf paws. His hands turned into claws, light blond fur covered his bare chest and a blond tail broke through his pants. His body grew a few inches taller, became more muscular and a pair of sideburns popped out on the side of his face. He became a wolf man like Skoll only blond.

"Ohhhh…" The transformation was too much and Shane passed out.

"A little gift, my son," Skoll snorted. "As a reward for restoring my true self! Now I hate to cut our little family reunion short, but I need to go on a road trip." He dropped Shane to the ground and disappeared in a crackle of lightning.

"Looks like Skoll knows a teleportation spell too, Master," Larry pointed out.

"Then we should take a cue from him and get out of here!" Mogul told him. The two disappeared in a puff of smoke with the demons.

"We're too late!" Zach shouted as they ran to help their friend.

"Oh Shane what did they do to you?" Niko held Shane's body.

"Come on," Zach said. "We gotta get him back to BETA."

 

"Not to mention get a few answers from Commander Walsh," Doc agreed.

"So let me get this straight…" Zach glared at Walsh back in his office the following day. "You put demon DNA inside Goose and somehow you thought that was a good idea?"

"Technically we didn't realize it was demon DNA we put inside him until before he was decanted," Walsh coughed. "We just thought it was regular wolf DNA until we ran some tests and…The sample we used was…mislabeled."

"Mislabeled?" Doc did a double take. "Commander you mislabel herbs and spices. Not DNA!"

"Well they finally got Senator Wheiner down from the roof of that fried chicken restaurant," Waldo walked in with Zozo. "It seems Mogul put in a few post hypnotic suggestions of his own."

"At least we don't have to worry about the Board coming down on Goose," Zozo chuckled. "Not after that lovely song Wheiner sang to the cameras about a few senators' indiscretions."

"They also found Dr. Percy and a security guard tied up in the basement of the museum on Mars," Waldo added.

"And Dr. Rain is recovering nicely from his possession," Zozo added. "So what did we miss?"

"Walsh and Nagata screwed up," Doc told them. "Which led to Goose screwing up."

"We know that part," Zozo told him. "What we don't know is what to do next? I mean if this Skoll character is so powerful enough to destroy the Earth why hasn't he done it by now?"

"Because he can't," Walsh told him. "There wasn't enough of Skoll's DNA in Gooseman to activate all his powers. Skoll is only a secondary donor, not a primary."

"There's a difference?" Zach asked.

"It's hard to explain but let me try and make a comparison," Dr. Nagata told him. "In a normal human the primary donors are a mother and a father. It is from their combined DNA that their offspring inherit their genetic traits. A secondary donor would be a distant relative like a grandparent or a great grandparent whose traits are mostly dormant within the DNA."

"In a Supertrooper's case the primary donors combined make up from 80 to 90 percent of his or her DNA," Walsh remarked.

"So the secondary donors, like Skoll's DNA would be minor," Doc caught on. "How many primary donors do Supertroopers have?"

"It varies from Supertrooper to Supertrooper," Dr. Nagata admitted. "Some were given as many as seven primary donors."

"Seven?" Doc blinked. "How many does Goose have?"

"Three," Dr. Nagata admitted, ignoring Walsh's dark look. "We discovered through our breeding experiments that the fewer primary donors a Supertrooper had the more stable the personality."

"Three," Zach thought. "Okay we know about Cheyenne, she's obviously one. Who are the other two?"

"That's classified," Walsh snapped. "What's important now is the situation with Skoll."

"Okay so give us the info here," Doc said. "So how do we put this oversized dog to sleep?"

"The same way Cheyenne Gooseman did it the last time," Walsh said. "With two very important items."

Walsh pushed a button and two holograms appeared in front of them. "The first item was created about a hundred years ago by a rather eccentric scientist. It's called the Ecto Petrifier. Apparently it has the ability to trap ghosts and evil spirits in solid form."

"Handy gadget," Doc remarked.

"The second item is much older," Walsh pointed. "It's called the Sword of Tyr. Legend says it was created by the gods to slay the wolf demon Fenrir and his children. From the data we've gathered it's the only thing that can hurt Skoll."

"So where are these items?" Zach asked.

"The Sword of Tyr is in a museum on the planet Prairie in the main city of Wilder Falls. And the Ecto Petrifier is currently in storage at Longshot," Walsh said.

"According to the legend none of Fenrir's blood can use the sword," Dr. Nagata told them. "So it's safe to assume Gooseman won't be able to wield it."

"But we can," Zach said. "Doc and I will go get the sword."

 

"I'll talk to Goose and then we'll get the Ecto Petrifier," Niko nodded. "He's a bit…Wound up because of his current condition."

"I think Zozo and I are a bit more qualified to talk to Ranger Gooseman right now," Waldo told her.

"If he doesn't eat you first," Doc smirked.

Shane Gooseman was not having a good day.

When he woke up in the infirmary looking like the Wolfman's better looking cousin it was a bit of a shock. Even more since his bio-defenses seemed stuck in that state and no one had a clue of how to reverse the effects.

What made him feel worse was Zach's brief but to the point lecture about waiting for backup and how he was part of a team and shouldn't take on things by himself. He knew that was nothing compared to the earache he was going to get when Commander Walsh finally saw him.

He managed to avoid Niko and Doc, definitely not in the mood for either pity or lousy jokes and found a spare ranger uniform shirt to put on. For some reason his feet which were now paws wouldn't fit in his boots so he went without them. He was hungry so he went down to the commissary to get a bite to eat. Trying to pass himself off as just one of the rangers again.

Just one of the rangers with wolf paws, claws, wolf ears and a tail.

The entire commissary fell silent as soon as he walked into the room. Shane pretended not to notice and ordered a steak.

"A steak?" The robot cook blinked. "In the morning?"

"Yes a steak," Shane said patiently as possible, trying not to growl. "Medium rare."

After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence he finally got his steak and walked over to a table by himself. He tried to cut his steak with a knife and fork but for some reason the claws on his fingertips make it unmanageable. So he simply threw them down and ate the steak using his bare hands.

As Shane was eating he realized that it was very quiet in the room. Too quiet. Not a single person had said a word as soon as he walked into the room. In fact, they were all looking at him as if he had…

Well he knew why they were looking at him.

"WHAT?" Shane snapped. "YOU NEVER SEE A GUY WITH A TAIL GET A BITE TO EAT BEFORE?"

He must have sounded more frightening than usual because the entire room cleared out in two seconds, including the cooks. Shane sat there, dejectedly finishing his steak alone (which took only a minute) then stormed back to his quarters to hide.

"You look different," Bubblehead blinked when he came home. "Have you done something with your hair?"

"Not funny Bubblehead!" Shane stomped into his bedroom and threw himself down on the bed in frustration. His claws accidentally shredded the blanket on top. "Oh great!"

"I heard what happened through the electronic grapevine. Boy did you get yourself into a pickle," Bubblehead chirped.

"Understatement of the year," Shane growled.

"This wouldn't have happened if you just called Mom in the first place," Bubblehead told him as he landed on his head.

"I know…I know…" Shane winced.

"Or waited for backup from the other Rangers," Bubblehead added.

"I know, I know…" Shane rolled his eyes.

"So you got a little too proud and thought you could handle things on your own?" Bubblehead shrugged. "So you accidentally let loose a wolf demon that's gonna destroy the Earth? So what? Everybody has a bad day once in a while."

"I really screwed up didn't I?" Shane groaned.

"Big time," Bubblehead nodded. The doorbell rang. "Ooh! Company! Lots of Company!"

"Oh wonderful!" Shane said sarcastically. Childishly he grabbed a pillow and covered his head with it. "Go away!"

"Come on Goose, you don't look that bad," Zozo said as he and Waldo walked in. "Okay your ears are still too small for my tastes but at least they're a nice pointed shape."

"That's not exactly helping Zozo," Waldo gave him a look. "Goose you can talk to us. We understand what you're going through."

"I doubt it. It was bad enough being the only Supertrooper in the Rangers," Shane groaned as he removed the pillow and sat up. "Now I'm a demon Supertrooper! Why not make my life more complicated?"

"Technically you are not even a fourth demon," Waldo pointed out. "Despite your temporary outward appearance."

"It better be temporary," Shane looked at his claws. "Commander Walsh was right. I'm not human and I never will be."

"As a non human myself I don't really see the problem here," Waldo raised an eyebrow.

"Me neither," Zozo agreed.

"Yeah this human stuff is overrated if you ask me!" Bubblehead chirped. "What's so great about being human anyway?"

"It's better than being a monster," Shane grumbled.

"Goose," Waldo said gently. "I understand exactly how you feel. Remember the Andorian Regression?"

"You guys go nuts whenever you're caged," Shane said. "I remember."

"All Andorians have a beast inside of them," Waldo told him. "Like it or not it is a part of us. But we do not allow it to control us. We control it. Usually."

"Not just Andorians," Zozo said. "You ought to read up on Kirwin Anthropology. We Kiwi weren't always the cute little farmers we are today. Our ancestors had a pretty nasty streak running through them that would give Supertroopers a run for their money."

"I'm pretty sure I've got some old Gatling gun parts inside of me," Bubblehead chirped. "Somewhere."

"The point I am trying to make is that there really is no such thing as a pure species," Waldo told him. "There are bad traits as well as good ones in all of our genes. But we don't let them define us. I thought you of all people would know this."

"Yeah but there's a big difference in how your DNA got warped and mine," Shane grumbled.

"There is no difference, why can't you see that?" Zozo snapped impatiently.

"I know why!" Bubblehead chirped. "He's just wants to look good in front of Niko!"

"Shut up Bird!" Shane snarled.

"Goose and Niko kissing in a tree…" Bubblehead sang as he flew around. "K-I-S-S-I-N…YIKES!" He was whacked by a pillow Shane threw at him.

"But Niko doesn't care about stuff like that," Zozo told him.

"I don't…I mean…" Shane stammered.

"Goose everyone on BETA Mountain knows the two of you hold great affection for each other," Waldo rolled his eyes. "Everyone ironically except for you two."

"We even have a betting pool going on which of you finally breaks down and asks the other for a date," Zozo chirped. "I've got you for September. Try to hold off until then."

"WHAT?" Shane yelled. The door rang again. "What is this? Visiting day?"

"Shane?" Niko walked into the room. "Are you all right?"

"Just peachy," Shane growled.

"Let me guess," Niko folded her arms and looked at Waldo. "He's been sulking like a child?"

"I have not!" Shane said quickly.

"Have too," Zozo gave him a look.

"Well if I was, which I'm not saying I was, don't you think I have a right to be?" Shane snapped.

"So stubborn," Waldo tisked and shook his head.

"He usually is," Niko agreed.

"Guy has a lot of self image issues," Bubblehead chirped.

"I'M RIGHT HERE YOU KNOW?" Shane snapped.

"Let me try," Niko told the two aliens who left the apartment. "Shane…"

"If this is one of those stupid lectures about what's inside a person that counts instead of the outside, forget about it!" Shane told her. "Obviously there's a lot wrong with me inside as well as outside!"

"Shane remember when you got sucked into Entropy's Edge and your implant malfunctioned?" Niko asked as she sat down next to him.

"Barely," Shane frowned. "Everything from that day's a little fuzzy. Everything except the mob chasing me with torches and pitchforks."

"Think hard," Niko said. "You protected Annie and you even risked your life to save a child from quicksand."

"That's what they told me," Shane frowned. "I barely remember…I was so lost in a haze…It was like I became an animal."

"Even then your main instinct was to help and protect the innocent," Niko held his hand. "No matter how out of it you were, you didn't hesitate to help those in need. You are not a killer, Shane. You're a protector. If everyone else can see that, why can't you?"

Shane blinked at her. "Besides…" Niko smirked. "I think those ears look kind of cute."

Shane's face turned bright red at this. Niko gave him a smile. "Wow Goose your tail is wagging a mile a minute," Bubblehead observed. "Look at that baby go!"

"WHY DON'T YOU GO BUBBLEHEAD?" Shane snapped. The doorbell rang again. "Oh no…Who else is showing up today?"

"Gooseman…"Commander Walsh walked in.

"Uh I think I'd better go…" Niko got up and left.

"Bye! I'll let you know how this went!" Bubblehead waved his wing.

"Go Bubblehead!" Shane snapped.

"Why? I can hear you fighting better in here," Bubblehead chirped.

"We are not going to fight," Walsh folded his arms. "But we are going to discuss your recent behavior and how once again your rash actions got you and everyone around you into trouble!"

"Like I didn't know this was coming?" Shane asked sarcastically. "Go ahead Commander, say how much I screwed up and put the whole world in danger!"

"Well maybe if you weren't obsessed about a hundred year old dead woman whose genes you happen to share you wouldn't be in this mess?" Walsh shouted. "Look at you!"

"Actually Commander this is the point I was trying to make!" Shane roared. "If I had known more about Cheyenne and more importantly what other DNA you put in me maybe this whole stupid thing would never have happened!"

"He's got you there, Commander Mustache," Bubblehead chirped.

"Didn't someone tell you to go away?" Walsh snapped at the Memory Bird.

"Probably, I don't listen very well," Bubblehead tilted his head.

"So tell me Commander are there any other weirdoes I'm related to?" Shane asked sarcastically. "Whose DNA did you put in my body? Godzilla? King Kong? The clone of Abraham Lincoln? Come on Walsh! Tell me! If there's anyone or anything that's either alive or could affect my life that I'm related to I want to know!"

Walsh seemed to debate something for a moment. "Actually there is one thing…"

"Who?" Shane rolled his eyes. "I can't wait to hear this one! So who else is my dad or mom or whatever other category there is?"

"It's not that…" Walsh hesitated. "It's more like…a brother."

"Brother?" Shane gave him a look. "I don't like the sound of where this is going."

"In one of the earlier experiments at Wolf Den we put Skoll's DNA in one other Supertrooper," Walsh winced. "In that Supertrooper Skoll was a primary donor."

"Another Supertrooper?" Shane definitely did not like where this was going. "Please tell me that this Supertrooper is safely frozen in the Cryocrypt."

"No…He's not," Walsh sighed.

"Didn't think so," Shane groaned as he remembered exactly whose face Skoll's reminded him off. "Oh no…No, no, no, no! Commander my life is jinxed enough as it is! So don't tell me what I think you are going to tell me! Tell me it's Stingray, or Brainchild, or Darkstar, or…Gravestone! Anybody but…"

"KILBANE!" MaCross roared as he fired on the raging Supertrooper. "You're going to pay for what you've done you maniac!"

"So I blew up your ship and a couple of your men?" Kilbane growled as he pulled out his blaster and fired back. "Think of all the credits you saved on payroll!"

"JUST SHUT UP AND DIE!" MaCross yelled as the two men went on a wild shoot out in a bar on an alien planet. Aliens all around them fled for their lives.

Kilbane laughed. "Lasers don't hurt me loser!" He changed into a metal form and let the lasers hit off him. They hit off him and hit the walls…And a chandelier which fell right on top of him.

"Don't need to when you can hurt yourself," MaCross laughed. Suddenly the room filled with smoke. "What?"

The next thing Kilbane realized he was in an alley and standing over him was a tall man with a face similar to his own. "What the…?"

"Hello Sonny Boy," Skoll grinned. "I'm your dear old Dad, well one of them anyway. I know I've been away a long time, but how about the two of us do a little family bonding…"

And the next thing Kilbane saw was darkness.

Yup things are really going to get wild now! Find out what happens next! You know you want to!

Chapter 3

Part III

"Oh what a day…" Mogul moaned as he returned to his castle and flopped in a large chair. "That was a complete and total disaster! I swear if you look up 'complete and total disasters' in an encyclopedia, you would find a picture of what we went through!"

"You said it Master," Larry sighed. "Shall I make some tea?"

"Better yet make me a margarita," Mogul told him. "And don't skimp on the salt!"

"Oh I hope that Skoll character won't follow us here," Larry shuddered as he made the drinks.

"First of all Larry, I think Skoll is too busy with his own plans of world domination to bother with the likes of us," Mogul explained. "And second even if he did find out where we live this castle is infused with enough mystic spells to keep out a whole army of Space Sorcerers! There's no way he's going after us soon!"

CRASH!

"Knock, Knock…" Skoll floated in grinning. He was carrying an unconscious Kilbane with one hand.

"AAHHH! SKOLL!" Both Larry and Mogul screamed and hid behind a chair.

"Wh-what are you doing here?" Mogul asked, nervously. "I thought you were off to take over Earth?"

"Oh I will but I had to run a few errands along the way," Skoll indicated Kilbane. "Speaking of which I needed to pick up a few stooges to do my bidding."

"If it's stooges you want I think the Black Hole Gang is available," Mogul suggested.

"I think he means us, Master," Larry gulped.

"Very observant Larry," Mogul groaned.

"Yes, very…" Skoll sneered. "Now I need Larry and some demons to go to Prairie and pick up something for me…"

"Okay you want him, you can have him!" Mogul shoved Larry in front of Skoll. "Have fun serving your new master, Larry! I'd say it's been fun but it hasn't! So it didn't work out between us! Oh well when one door closes another one opens! So if you'll just…"

"I need you to do something else for me Mogul," Skoll telekinetically dragged the space sorcerer towards himself.

"Me?" Mogul whimpered.

"Yes," Skoll grinned. "A few little rituals I need done…"

"Oh goody…" Mogul said weakly. "I don't suppose if I ask for some kind of payment you'll give me something will you?"

"That sounds reasonable," Skoll smiled. "Let me see, you work for me…And I let you keep your arms in their sockets and don't rip off your tail and strangle you with it. How does that sound?"

"Very fair to me…Boss," Mogul whined. Skoll dropped him.

"An army of Space Sorcerers can't get in, huh?" Larry asked sarcastically. "What? Is this army also drunk and unconscious as well?"

"Shut up and summon the demons!" Mogul snapped.

"For a frontier planet, Prairie sure has one big capital city," Doc whistled as he and Zach walked down the street of Wilder Falls. "There are skyscrapers and giant marble buildings everywhere!"

"Thanks to new technologies and advances in robot design, cities across the frontier are being built bigger and faster than ever," Zach told him. "Within a decade, even many of the smaller cities we've visited on frontier planets will grow out of wooden buildings and ranches."

"I gotta admit I'm impressed," Doc said. "It's almost as cosmopolitan as the cities on Earth."

 

"And fortunately for us the museum we want is right next to the spaceport," Zach said as he pointed to a large building. "This is the place."

An alarm sounded and several people fled the building. "Demons! Monsters!" They screamed in terror.

"This is the place all right," Doc groaned as he brought out his blaster. The two men rushed into the museum.

"WHICH SWORD IS IT?" Larry yelled as he and the demons searched the armory section. Dozens of swords littered the walls and were in cases. "There must be at least a hundred swords in this room alone!"

"You didn't think of getting a description?" One demon snapped.

"I was too busy running for my life! Sue me!" Larry snapped. "Just keep looking! It's bound to be here somewhere!"

"Uh these are samurai swords, not these," Another demon scratched his head at the swords on the walls as he searched. "Medieval swords, not these. Swords of the American Civil War, definitely not these…"

Zach and Doc ran in with blasters firing. "AAAAHHH!" Larry yelled in terror. "The Galaxy Rangers!"

"Do something Larry!" One demon yelled.

"AAAHHH!" Larry ran around screaming.

"Something besides that!" The demon snapped.

"Swords from ancient Egypt, not those…" The demon who was looking at the walls was still looking despite the chaos. "Swords from ancient Rome, not those…Swords owned by the Republican Party in the Eighties? Definitely not those!"

"Okay let's try this!" Larry fiddled with his magic. "Upston downson no no nanette!"

 

Suddenly every sword on the wall nearby flew out and started attacking the rangers. "I think Larry is trying to make a point!" Doc gulped as he grabbed the nearest sword nearby and fenced three swords at once.

"So? I'll make one of my own!" Zach growled as he used a thunderbolt to melt several swords at once.

"I don't think it's working Larry," A demon gulped.

"I don't see you coming up with any ideas!" Larry snapped at the demon. "Why don't you attack them?"

"Uh…" The demon gulped as Zach blasted apart more swords. "Maybe not…"

"Yeah! Didn't think so!" Larry snapped.

"En Guarde!" Doc dueled the three swords rather successfully. He managed to make a movement that ended up with all three swords imbedded into a wall. "These swords duel as well as Larry does his magic!"

"This is not working!" Larry was panicking. "This is not working!"

"We can see that!" The demon shouted. They barely dodged some laser fire from Doc's blaster.

Meanwhile the one demon that was looking was still looking at several swords in cases. "Sword of Storms, no that's not it. Sword in the Stone, that's not it. Sword of Stan. I don't think so. Sword of Tyr…No…Wait! Yeah! Larry I found it!"

"Well grab it then!" Larry snapped.

"Oh right," The demon nodded and broke through the glass with it's great strength.

"Forget it Scaleface!" Doc shot at the demon. "Eat light!" The demon dissipated into another dimension when it was hit.

 

"How about you eat…you eat…" Larry fumed. "Grapefruit!"

Using his magic large grapefruit appeared and attacked the Rangers. "Hey! I already got my recommended dosage of Vitamin C today!" Doc snapped. He blew up a grapefruit getting juice all over him. "And I just got this uniform dry cleaned!"

"How about trying this on for size?" Larry conjured up a huge giant grapefruit the size of a house and rolled it towards the rangers.

"This might be a tad painful," Doc gulped.

"Wanna bet?" Zach shot out a powerful thunderbolt that blew the grapefruit up to smithereens.

"AAAHH! I GOT JUICE IN MY EYE!" A demon screamed. "IT BURNS! IT BURNS!"

"Forget it! I got the sword!" Larry had made his way to the Sword of Tyr. "Let's get out of here!" He used his magic to teleport himself and the remaining demons away in a puff of smoke.

"They got away," Doc grumbled. "And worse they got the sword!"

"Who needs a dumb sword when you've got blasters and bionics?" Zach smirked. "Come on! Let's get back to BETA."

"My swords!" The museum curator ran in. "What have you maniacs done with my swords?"

"Uh…" Zach looked at the damage and melted swords. Not to mention pieces of fruit all over the place.

"Don't worry pal," Doc patted the museum curator on the back before running out with Zach. "I'm sure your demon insurance will cover it!"

"Oh right…HEY I DON'T HAVE ANY DEMON INSURANCE!" The curator screamed. "AND WHY DOES MY MUSEUM SMELL LIKE BURNED GRAPEFRUIT?"

Back at BETA Mountain…

"What do you mean you didn't get the sword?" Shane asked his nose wrinkling. "And why do you guys smell like burned grapefruit?"

"Larry was having a fruit special today," Zach said. "Unfortunately he got the sword."

"At least we were successful," Niko shrugged as she held the Ecto Petrifier. "I just hope this bucket of bolts still works."

"I can't believe a stupid thing like that defeated Skoll," Shane folded his arms. He accidentally leaned against Walsh's desk and his tail knocked over some papers and objects on it."

"Gooseman watch your tail," Walsh sighed.

"Oops," Shane blinked. "Sorry. Stupid thing has a mind of it's own. So now what do we do?"

"According to our data Skoll needs only one more thing to start Ragnarok," Walsh said. "He needs to resurrect the Gates of Valhalla and open them."

 

"Please tell me this gate is someplace warm like Bermuda," Doc rolled his eyes.

"No…" Walsh sighed. "Believe it or not…It's in New Jersey."

"New Jersey?" Shane did a double take. "The Gates of the Valhalla and the destruction of the world is in New Jersey? Why am I not surprised?"

"How did a bunch of Vikings Gods end up in New Jersey?" Zach asked.

"You should study up on your history Captain," Doc smirked. "The Vikings explored a lot of North America before Christopher Columbus took up yachting."

"So where exactly in Jersey is this so called Gate of Valhalla?" Shane asked.

"You remember the incident with the Po Sensation Doll?" Walsh groaned.

"Don't tell me…" Doc slapped his head. "Brappo's Mansion? This whole situation just gets crazier and crazier!"

"Tell me about it," Shane groaned as he realized his tail accidentally knocked over some more things on Walsh's desk.

"Come on my Were-Gooseman," Doc said. "Things aren't as bad as they seem." With a grin he started to scratch Shane's back near the neck and worked his way up to the ears. "Why don't you relax? That's a good boy…"

"Actually that feels kind of…" Shane nearly let himself get lost in the scratching. "WAIT A MINUTE!" He whirled around and tackled Doc. "You think you're funny or something?"

"AAAHH! DOWN GOOSE! DOWN BOY!" Doc screamed.

"I'll down boy you!" Shane roared.

"Gooseman please," Walsh groaned. "We would like to have Doc remain in one piece. At least until after the mission."

"Fine…" Shane let go of Doc.

Doc got up and staggered to the side. "Ooh…Boy…Look at the puppies…"

"We'd better get to Brappo's and fast," Zach said. "I have a hunch Skoll's already met up with Kilbane and gotten him to help him out."

"Kilbane would jump at the chance to get back at Earth," Shane growled.

Walsh said. "I have a hunch that Skoll has the sword nearby. We might need it after all."

"Sir with all due respect, I think the sword may not be as vital as you believe it to be," Zach flexed his bionic arm. "We've come a long way since those primitive days."

 

"The 1980's weren't that primitive," Walsh raised an eyebrow. "Trust me, that sword was specifically designed to take out a monster like Skoll. We're going to need it. Dr. Nagata you and I will accompany the rangers. If we break into two teams, we might be able to get the sword while the Rangers fight Skoll."

"And if that fails we can always distract Skoll by throwing a stick," Doc grinned. "Oh wait that might also distract the Goose…"

"You want a distraction Doc?" Shane growled as he jumped on Doc again.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Doc yelled as he was tackled again.

"Not to mention to make sure Gooseman doesn't kill Doc before we get there…" Walsh groaned.

"I just thought of something," Shane frowned as the Ranger One made it's way to New Jersey. "Is Brappo still in jail?"

"No, but his fortune has dwindled considerably since we last locked him up," Zach informed him. "He doesn't own New Jersey anymore. Just a couple of suburbs."

"Yeah but he sure had a hard time finding a buyer," Doc snickered.

"And he's going to have a harder time," Niko pointed at the rapidly growing mountain covered in fire coming before them. "What is that?"

"It appears to be a giant mountain growing out of a wealthy suburb covered in fire with some kind of ancient structure on top of it," Waldo remarked.

"I think it's safe to say the data was correct," Doc groaned.

"This might pose a problem," Waldo gulped.

"I've heard of fire sales before but this is too much," Doc blinked. "Please tell me that we have a plan for this!"

"The four of you distract Skoll and try to keep him from opening the gate," Walsh ordered the Rangers. "The rest of us will look for the sword."

"I think I might be able to help," Doc activated his CDU. "I wrote a little program on the trip back to Earth. Pixel, front and center!"

"Isn't that the program that's missing a few bites?" Zach made a face.

"Yes but he's doing much better now," Doc told him. "Pixel come on out!"

"Hello everybody!" A happy tweaker that looked like a sphere in the middle of two turquoise traffic cones stuck from bottom to bottom appeared. "Galaxy Ranger Pixel reporting for duty!"

"Doc…?" Zozo gave him a look.

"Relax," Doc waved. "Pixel I want you to assist Commander Walsh. Run Program Sword Quest! Commander take out your personal computer pad."

Walsh did so and Pixel jumped in. "This program will help you find the specific combination of metal alloys found in the Sword of Tyr," Doc explained. "If it's within five miles of here you'll find it."

"What if it's six miles away?" Zozo asked.

"Then we've got a problem," Doc said.

"Why didn't you have that program back at the museum when we could have used it?" Zach asked.

"Simple, I hadn't finished writing it yet," Doc shrugged. "We'd better land the ship and stop Armageddon from happening."

"Ragnarok," Niko corrected.

"I don't care what you call it we need to stop it from happening!" Shane snapped.

Whatever was happening it was not what Brappo had in mind.

"My mansion!" Brappo sobbed as his mansion was destroyed right before his eyes. "My beautiful mansion and all my pretty things! Everything I owned was in it! Without them I'm broke! Totally broke!"

 

"Broke?" His butler Peters raised an eyebrow. "Completely broke?"

"I'm ruined? Wiped out! Peters get me a hanky!" Brappo bawled.

"Get your own damn hanky you fat purple canker sore!" Peters snapped. "I quit!" He turned on his heel and ran off.

"PETERS! NO DON'T LEAVE ME!" Brappo wept openly. "I'LL TRIPLE YOUR SALARY!"

"Bite me Sir!" Peters snapped as he stormed past the Rangers.

"PETERS! PLEAAAAAAAAAAAAASE!" Brappo screamed like a little girl as he ran after him. "I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT YOU!"

"TRY!" Peters snapped back.

"That's something you don't see every day," Doc blinked.

"Stop glaring at the tourist attraction and let's get to the main event," Shane growled.

"Interesting choice of words…" A familiar voice growled. Something leapt in front of them.

"Oh great…" Shane narrowed his eyes. "I was wondering when you'd show up!"

"Hey there Runt," Kilbane hissed. He was a foot taller, had more muscles, black ears, a black tail, black claws and paws and a black wolf snout. "What? No hello for your big brother? Don't you like my new and improved body?"

"I'd say it was an improvement but this is you we're talking about," Shane snarled.

"Skoll thought you'd show up with your little playmates," Kilbane snarled back. "See I'm his favorite since he's one of my primary donors, not a secondary like you!"

"Whoop de do," Shane snapped. "Why don't we keep this within the family Kilbane?"

"That's fine by me!" Kilbane roared and attacked Shane. Both Supertroopers were fighting furiously.

"Okay since we're in the way here I think we'd better…" Doc tried to sneak away. "EEP!"

"Eep?" Zach asked.

"Yeah," Doc pointed. "Eep!"

There was Skoll standing before them. And behind him were Larry and Mogul. And behind them were several large wolf like demons snarling on all fours. "I thought you would show up. So I had Mogul call a few friends of mine to form a welcoming party."

"Fine, welcome to the Twenty First Century," Zach growled as he readied his thunderbolt. "GET THE HELL OUT!"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

A blast of energy ripped from Zach's arm and straight through Skoll. "AAAAHH!" Mogul screamed as he and Larry barely got out of the way. "Now that's a rather messy…WHAT?"

"It was a direct hit but…" Niko's eyes widened at the sight.

"Nice shot, but the only thing that can destroy this body is the Sword of Tyr," Skoll healed himself.

"Maybe but it got a few of your friends," Zach growled as he pointed behind Skoll. A few of the wolf demons had been blasted.

"Yeah and it can hurt us too!" Mogul looked at his robe which was scorched by Zach's thunderbolt.

"Who cares about you, you incompetent stooge?" Skoll snarled. There was several strange clouds of demonic energy behind him. "As for my demons they can reform themselves…"

"Or maybe not!" Doc turned on the Ecto Petrifier.

FOOOMMMMMM!

The displaced demon spirits were instantly drawn into the device and turned into tiny wolf stones. "Boy this thing works pretty well," Doc took out the wolf statues. "Instant paperweights."

"Damn it! I forgot about that stupid thing," Skoll grumbled. "It still works? On second thought, I don't want to know! Destroy it!"

"RARRRRRR!" The demon wolves attacked.

"Why am I always in charge of the things that make me a target?" Doc gulped.

Not far away Commander Walsh and his group had come upon a group of demons hanging around a sword. "Why do we gotta watch this thing again?" One demon asked.

"Because Mogul told us too," Another one said.

"I knew it," Walsh hissed. "I knew Skoll would be too arrogant to get rid of the sword. He's just the type to keep it close by as a trophy!"

"Okay so how do we get it away from the demons?" Zozo asked. Suddenly it seemed the demons obliged them.

 

"I don't know about you but I'm going on a coffee break," One demon grunted.

"Yeah I'm with you," Another demon nodded. The demons took off and left the sword alone.

"Well that was a freebee," Zozo blinked.

"Let's get the sword," Waldo suggested. The two aliens ran to get it.

Only to be intercepted by the demons. "They always fall for the 'going out for coffee' trick every time!" One demon laughed as he grabbed Waldo.

"And demons always seem to fall for the grabbing the aliens trick every time," Waldo snapped as he managed to turn on his personal protection device on his clothing, giving the demon a huge shock.

"YEAAAAHHH!" The demon screamed and disappeared in smoke.

Zozo avoided the attack of one demon and kicked it hard in the leg. Then the demon was knocked down by Dr. Nagata. "Why you little…" The demon growled. He then saw Commander Walsh with his blaster pointed at him. "Uh oh…"

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!

With surprising efficiency Commander Walsh hit the remaining demons and they were sent back to their home dimension. "Boy Commander Walsh you're almost as good as Goose is with a blaster!" Zozo was surprised.

"Yes well…" Commander Walsh couldn't help but grin with pride at that remark. "I don't have these commander's stripes for nothing. Let's get the sword to the Rangers!"

Meanwhile the battle was fierce and furious. Zach and Niko used their blasters and powers to fight the wolf demons while Doc used the Ecto Petrifier to trap the blasted demons. And even though Kilbane was bigger and stronger in his fight with Shane…Shane was still the better fighter, dodging and weaving around him with ease.

"Stand still and fight you Runt!" Kilbane howled. "I'm bigger and stronger than you and you know it!"

"What good is your strength if you don't know how to use it?" Shane snapped as he easily flipped Kilbane and tossed him to the ground.

"Okay someone please explain to me why I'm the one who's always carrying the stuff that everyone else is after?" Doc shouted as the demons attacked because he had the Ecto Petrifier on him.

"You already asked that!" Zach snapped as he blasted apart another demon.

"And I'll keep saying that! Whoa!" Doc was knocked down by a demon wolf.

"Looking for this?" Niko grabbed the machine with her powers. Zach blasted the demon wolf on top of Doc and Niko used the machine on it.

"This place is going to the dogs…" Doc moaned. "Sorry, wolves!"

"Okay we got the sword!" Zozo asked. "Now what do we do? AAAHHH!" Zozo was stunned as he was attacked by a large wolf demon. Fortunately Zach used a thunderbolt to blast it to bits.

"How about throwing the sword to the guy who knows how to fight with swords?" Doc snapped. "That's a novel idea!"

"Oh right," Zozo blinked. He gave the sword to Doc.

"All right!" Doc readied the sword. "Now you're talking! Make way for the number one fencing and sword fighting pupil at Miss Abercrombie's Charm School!"

"I knew I shouldn't have let the demons guard the sword alone," Mogul groaned.

"Can't you do anything right you second rate magician?" Skoll shouted. "That Ranger with the sword could actually hurt me! Kilbane! Forget Gooseman and go after the Ranger with the sword!"

"Yeah, yeah as soon as I deal with the Runt!" Kilbane had grabbed Goose. "Give it up Gooseman! I'm bigger and stronger than ever before!"

WHUMP!

"You may be bigger and you may be stronger…" Shane smirked as Kilbane lay on the ground. "But you're still stupid and a lousy fighter!"

"Worthless," Skoll growled at Kilbane. "Even Gooseman who has only a trace of my DNA is more fit to be my heir than you! Now there's a fighting spirit. Even with a full possession I couldn't control him! Why couldn't he be a full blooded descendant instead of you?"

"WHAT?" Kilbane roared. "NO! I AM YOUR TRUE HEIR! YOU CAN'T GIVE MY TITLE AWAY TO GOOSEMAN!"

"YOU WANT THE POSITION YOU CAN HAVE IT!" Shane roared.

"WHAT? IT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU? IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING?" Kilbane shouted.

"YES!" Shane yelled back.

"All right, time for Plan B…" Skoll growled. "Once I take over the planet I'll start breeding some new heirs!" He blasted energy at both Shane and Kilbane. Both men barely managed to dodge the blasts.

"Looks like Skoll's aim is as bad as yours Kilbane!" Shane taunted. "Like father, like son!"

"OH YOU ARE SO DEAD RUNT!" Kilbane shouted. One energy blast hit him in the behind. "YEOWWWW!"

"You know that threat would be more credible if you didn't keep saying it every time you were getting your butt kicked!" Shane laughed.

"I've had it with all this playing around," Skoll was getting fed up real fast. "That's it! Time to get this show on the road and get on to the main event! Take notes Mogul and watch how someone who knows how to use magic works!"

With a wave of his massive hands Skoll created a spell that caused giant vines to grow out of the ground. "HEY!" Zozo yelled as they wrapped him up and picked him off the ground.

"I've heard of flower power but this is ridiculous!" Doc yelled as he was wrapped up in vines. "These things are stronger than steel! I can't move!"

Soon all the Rangers and their allies were wrapped up and tied by the vines. "Even with my bionics I can't move…"Zach struggled.

"Skoll, you double crossing…" Kilbane roared as he struggled against the vines.

"Yeah like no one could see that coming!" Shane rolled his eyes.

"Shut up Runt!" Kilbane snapped.

"Make me," Shane gave him a look.

"Problem solved," Skoll snorted. With a wave of his paws a giant gated mausoleum rose out of the ground. "Now as soon as I open the Gates of Ragnarok and unleash it's energy…The world will finally be mine!"

"NO!" Walsh struggled against the vines but to no avail.

Skoll used his energy to slowly open the gates. A powerful mystic flame burst out and enveloped him. "Yes! Yes! Give me the power!" Skoll laughed.

"He's absorbing all that mystic energy!" Niko shouted.

"And we will probably be the first targets of him once he has absorbed enough power!" Dr. Nagata said. "He will be unstoppable!"

"Hmm, looks like Skoll is going to do what the Queen of the Crown has failed to do," Mogul noticed. "Destroy the Galaxy Rangers and enslave the Earth! Maybe this day won't end up so bad after all?"

"Yeah but if he does we'll end up his slaves forever!" Larry pointed out. "Possibly longer!"

"That's not good," Mogul gulped.

"And worse, if he does manage to wipe out humans the Queen is going to be upset that a potential source of slaver lord power is gone forever," Larry added. "And three guesses who's she's going to blame."

"US!" Both Larry and Mogul said at the same time.

"Okay new plan," Mogul made up his mind. "It's time for me to do what I do best!"

"Run away screaming?" Larry asked.

"No! Backstab the jerk I'm working with in order to save my hide!" Mogul prepared to use his magic.

"Oh yeah, you're real good at that too!" Larry nodded.

"You betcha!" Mogul nodded as he worked his magic. To their surprise the Rangers and their friends were free of the vines.

"What the…?" Shane blinked.

"We gotta close that door!" Zach shouted.

"I think I might be able to close it telekinetically but I'm going to need more power," Niko said.

"That we can do," Zach nodded. The four rangers put their hands together and touched their badges, combing their energy and powers to attack the door directly.

"What?" Skoll gasped as he saw his energy feed being interrupted. "Why you little…I can't move from this spot or I'll lose what energy I've collected!"

"Yes that's part of the spell isn't it?" Mogul called out. "If the process is interrupted all that energy will be reversed! Get 'em Rangers! Get 'em!"

"Boy that's something you don't hear every day," Larry blinked.

"You traitorous…" Skoll growled. "I may not be able to move but I have enough power so I can do this!" He used what energy he had to summon up several more demon wolves. "GET THEM!"

"AAAAH! NICE DOGGY! NICE DOGGY!" Mogul screamed as he and Larry ran away from the wolves.

"This might pose a problem," Waldo gasped as the wolves headed towards the Rangers in order to tear them to pieces.

"Can you guys handle this without me?" Doc asked as he held the Sword of Tyr.

"I think we might be able to handle it…" Shane growled.

Doc broke through and stood in front of the team holding the sword. "Once again It's up to the Doctor the save the day! En guarde!"

With a thrust of his sword Doc fended off the demon wolves. The sword easily destroyed the wolves and Waldo grabbed the Ecto Petrifier and disposed of them. The remaining Rangers focused their energy on the door.

"You know at first I was kind of miffed at what you did to me, Skoll," Shane grinned, showing a pair of fangs. "But this new form you gave me has twice the extra energy my old body had! Which means…"

Suddenly their energy glow grew brighter and their power blast grew stronger. "NOOOO!" Skoll shouted as the gates shut with a blast.

"And to make sure they stay shut…" Zach readied his thunderbolt. And with a blast amplified by the other two Ranger's energy he blew up the gate.

"NO! IF THE GATE IS DESTROYED…" Skoll barley got out of the way.

"Ragnarok will never happen," Zach panted as the rangers broke contact. "It's over Skoll!"

"No…It's not over! It's only beginning!" Skoll hissed as he shot blots of fire at them before running off.

"Oh no you don't!" Shane ran after Skoll before anyone could stop him.

"He's gone after Skoll alone," Walsh realized. "Of all the foolish…Hartford, Waldo give me the sword and the Ecto Petrifier!"

"Will do," Doc complied along with Waldo. "We'll just take care of the rest of the demon dogs here."

"Yeah they're not so tough," Zozo kicked one demon wolf in the snout and it whined. "HE-YAAAA!"

Shane however had caught up to Skoll. "What's your hurry, Dad?" Shane shouted. "How about some family bonding?"

"If you insist…" Skoll created a large energy blast which Shane managed to dodge. To his shock Skoll only meant the blast as a diversion, for he attacked Shane with a strong uppercut and knocked him out.

"No…" Walsh gasped as he caught up to them. Dropping the machine on his back to get rid of the weight, he used all his strength and speed to race to Shane's side.

"You could have stood beside me boy," Skoll hissed as he stretched out a claw to slice his throat. "Pity you take after your mother…"

SHING!

"ARRRGH!" Skoll hissed as he drew back a bleeding claw. A few fingers had been chopped off but they were already growing back. "YOU!"

"Don't even think about touching him!" Commander Walsh growled as he held the sword, standing protectively in front of Shane. "You forgot something Skoll…There were two people there who defeated you that day."

"Yeah? So?" Skoll narrowed his eyes. "Wait a second…You look familiar…Take away the mustache and about forty years as well as twenty pounds…Add some glasses and…"

Skoll remembered an image of the young man who was Cheyenne's partner. "You mean you're…"

"A descendant of Jason Walsh…" Walsh hissed. "Just like he protected Cheyenne…I will protect him!" He attacked Skoll with the sword.

"You think an old fool like you can take me on?" Skoll hissed as he created an electric sword with his good hand. "HA! This is going to be easy!"

"I may be old, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve," Walsh panted as he fought. He managed to divert Skoll away from Shane and fought him rather well. But Skoll was clearly the stronger opponent.

"Uhh…" Shane roused himself out of unconsciousness. "Commander…?"

"AAAHHHH!" Skoll knocked the sword out of Walsh's hands by force and knocked him down. Walsh landed with a grunt.

"Interfering old man…" Skoll snarled. "Fine you can die first!"

"NO!" Without thinking Shane got to his feet and grabbed the nearest weapon he could find and leapt at Skoll.

CLANK!

"WHAT?" Skoll screamed as Shane held the Sword of Tyr and blocked his attack.

"I'm not done yet sucker," Shane hissed.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Skoll roared. "YOU SHOULDN'T BE ABLE TO EVEN TOUCH THE SWORD! MUCH LESS USE IT! HOW ARE YOU DOING THIS?"

"I admit it stings a little but it's a lot less painful than listening to Doc's jokes," Shane hissed as he went on the offensive.

"You should take fencing lesions from your human friend," Skoll hissed as he blocked the sword attack. He managed to knock the sword out of Shane's hands.

"Who needs a stupid sword anyway?" Shane growled as he touched his badge. "Demon blood or not I'm still a Supertrooper!"

"AAAAHHHH!" Skoll shouted in pain as Shane changed into a golden energy form. Shane took advantage of this and threw Skoll forward.

Straight towards Commander Walsh who held the Sword of Tyr in his hands.

"Gotcha sucker," Walsh grinned. He twisted the sword in Skoll's belly and slit it upwards. Skoll's body disappeared into smoke with a sinister howl.

"MY BODY!" Skoll's spirit form hissed. "You're going to pay for that you old…"

"HEY DAD!" Shane readied the Ecto Petrifier. "SAY CHEESE!"

"NO! NOT AGAIN!" Skoll howled as he was drawn inside the machine. "IT CAN'T END LIKE THIS AGAIN!"

"But it has!" Shane shouted.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Skoll howled as he was drawn inside the machine with a flash. On the side of the machine a small wolf statue came out.

"Bingo…Uhhhhhhh…." Shane felt woozy. He nearly dropped the Ecto Petrifier.

"Shane!" Walsh forgot everything and ran to catch him. Shane's ears and body changed back to his regular form. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah…" Shane shook his head and looked at his hands, gingerly testing them. "I'm me again." He stood up with help from Walsh. "That's a relief. If I'd been stuck like that any longer I would have needed a flea collar."

"Speaking of fleas…" Mogul appeared and used his magic to grab Skoll's petrified form. "So second rate magician am I? Incompetent stooge you called me? Well this is what I think of you! Imperitus! Nevertemus! Wemissedabus! Disposubus!"

A small dark portal opened up. "I'm going to send this puppy where I send all my hazardous waste, the Dark Negaverse! A charming little dimension that makes a black hole look like cupboard! Once something is sucked into it, it takes eleven thousand years for it to reappear again!" Mogul sent the statue into it. "Bye Bye Doggy!"

"Don't forget to write!" Larry called out as the portal closed.

"And that's the end of that," Mogul dusted off his four hands.

"Not quite," Shane growled.

"Uh you know I think I'm not feeling so well…" Mogul gulped. "Larry, I think we should go home and make some Scotch with tea in it!"

"Good idea, Master," Larry gulped. Both disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Well Gooseman it looks like once again I had to pull your rear out of the fire," Walsh folded his arms. "This is getting to be a habit."

"I had everything under control," Shane replied.

"So it was part of some master plan for you to be unconscious and nearly get your throat torn out?" Walsh raised an eyebrow.

"Minor flaw," Shane shrugged. "It worked out in the end. I'm only human…So to speak." He looked at his hands.

"Goose about what I said, I never…" Walsh sighed. "I never meant to imply that you were less than human. If anything you're…You're more than human."

"I know…" Shane sighed. "Well now anyway."

"I don't want you to rely on the past to find your self worth," Walsh said. "You are an amazing ranger. Don't ever let anything or anyone else tell you otherwise."

"I know that too," Shane gave him a look. "It's just…nice to hear it every now and then. I gotta admit though, you have some pretty good moves for an old man."

"Humph!" Walsh grunted. "I'm not that old Gooseman!" Suddenly he winced in pain. He rubbed his sore arm. "Yes I am…But you should have seen me in my prime."

You didn't get all your fighting skills from Cheyenne, Shane, Walsh thought to himself, content to keep it a private joke.

What he did say aloud was something different. "I just hope this has satisfied your curiosity on your so called family tree!"

"Considering the root rot and the nuts on it, it's gonna be a long time before I drag out the family album," Shane smirked.

At least on my father's side…Shane thought to himself as he saw a cloud in the shape of a mermaid. Somehow deep down Shane knew Cheyenne knew what had happened and was proud of him.

"Yo! Goose! I see you got your ears clipped!" Doc waved as the others met up with them.

"Not as bad as Skoll did," Shane grinned. "After the Commander and I cut him down to size, Mogul personally sent him away to another dimension. Then he and Larry Boy took off."

"Kilbane flew the coop too," Doc remarked.

"We'll see them again," Commander Walsh growled. "No doubt about it." He rubbed his back. "For now…Let's return to BETA. My back is killing me."

"Hey Commander you just sounded like Skoll a minute ago," Doc joked. "Maybe you've got some wolf demon blood in you?"

"Maybe you'd like to spend the next month washing dishes and peeling potatoes in the commissary?" Walsh snapped.

"Come on everyone," Zach said. "We just saved the world. I think this calls for a celebration."

"The way we keep saving the world every other week we'd be drunker than a Maldozian Lemur if we celebrated like that," Doc said.

"I'll drink anything as long as it's in a glass and not a water dish," Shane grumbled.

"Or a toilet," Doc grinned.

"Okay I just saved the world and you know what I'm going to do?" Shane glared at Doc. "I'm going to beat Doc senseless!"

"AAAHHHH!" Doc ran from Shane.

"Too bad we can't save Doc from his mouth," Zach groaned as he shook his head.

THE END

When everyone had gone Mogul reappeared and searched the ground. "Oh here they are!" He collected Skoll's severed fingers. "Waste not want not!" He cackled and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

OR IS IT?