"C-coins?" Hayoung mutters.

"Not just any," Roy says. "Look carefully."

"No... it... can't be..."

"I need you to take them. Set them free when you win against Jiyong-hyung."

"But how? I thought it was you who-"

"I TRIED TO SAVE THEM!" Roy snaps as he turns away. "I tried to get as many people out as I could before Eddy decided to move ahead. Impulsive nitwit... Your friends were the last two people I could find as the building began to fall apart. We nearly got to my planned exit, had it not been for a support column that crashed on me. They tried to save me... but... Eddy stunned them as I passed out."

Hayoung continuously shakes her head, her eyes welling fast. "I..."

Roy turns back. "I know I've done some horrible deeds. I didn't want it be that way. But with what I was born into, I couldn't back down. I nerfed Jiyong-hyung's plans on purpose so I could save people before it was too late. In Century Tower, I really thought I could save everyone in that building, including your friends. It's tortured me since. Everyday is like a nightmare on repeat. The last thing I can do is to save your friends for good. Take them now before my family finds out."

Hayoung steps back. She can't even muster a word.

"Please..." Roy slowly extends his hand out. Hayoung reluctantly takes the coins. Then, Hayoung tries to get a long look at the coins, but her eyes blur too quickly as she kneels to ground. Tears flow from her eyes as they drop onto the faces of the friends that she has finally reunited with.

Roy pauses for a good while. "Listen..." he says softly. "It's not too late to bring them back to normal. I was hoping I could pass on the device that Seunghyun-hyung used to freeze them in that state. But... the device is damaged. You'll have to figure it out when you return to our time. Nothing here in this time can repair it. Here." Roy then takes a small, eerie device out of his pocket and gently places it in front of Hayoung. There are many scratches on it. "I tried to use it earlier, and the device lit up for a split second before burning out."

There's a long silence. Hayoung places the device in her bag, then stares at her friends once more. I've finally... found you... She closes her eyes, eyes welling again as she silently pockets them. Then, she clasps her hands and allows her forehead to rest on them. I can... save you...

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!"

Hayoung snaps to the voice.

"HANDS IN THE AIR, YOU TWO!"

Hayoung stumbles back up as she puts her arms in the air as Roy is doing. Then she sees who it is.

"This is Lieutenant Son. I have the suspect. Pier 5. Make it snappy!" As she holsters her walkie-talkie, she notices what's on Hayoung's arm. "You're a friend of hers! You're not off the hook either, miss! Let me deal with the suspect first!"

"Wha-what?! N-NO! He's n-not one of them!"

"Oh, give me a break. We were able to get a small glimpse of him from the little security camerage footage we could recover. He's the one who stole the prototype!"

"Who th-then gave it to us! P-Please! Let's talk about this!"

"And what about the other? How can you be so sure that he didn't give you the dummy version? We know his type! They're savages who have to be put down no matter what the cost!"

"NO! Please! You must understand!"

"ENOUGH! You stay out of the police's way and I'll spare you and your pesky friends from dealing with CEO Jung Boseok. Now STAND DOWN!"

Hayoung gulps. Then, as if subconsciously, she moves in front of Roy, arms stretched.

"What are you doing?! STAND. DOWN."

"I won't let you hurt him! You'll have to go through me!"

-

"Wait... is that her?" Namjoo whispers.

"It's that rude officer!" Bomi says.

"SHHH!!!" Chorong snaps.

"Oh no..." Eunji mutters. "She may have found her first. Come on, let's get closer..."

-

"My dear lady. It's foolish to think you can stand to the police unarmed. Khan is a threat. If you're going to be in my way then you are no different from them!"

"If you really care about saving lives, then why can't you just stop and listen?! If you're so serious about destroying every last remnant of Khan with no mercy, then it makes you no different from them to me!"

After a long pause, Naeun slowly points her gun down, her hands shaking vigorously.

Then, out of nowhere, a blaster shot lands in between the three.

"ARGH!"

Two shadows appear from the smoke. "Well, well, well. What do we have here? The Jennie lookalike and the tall one. No matter."

"I should have known you couldn't stand to be separate from your twin..."

"Come on, you fool. Let's dance!"

"CHRONO CHANGER!!!"

Immediately, Hayoung summons her sword and clashes with the rogue twin. Meanwhile, Naeun struggles to her feet. Then, the other figure grabs her by the neck.

"Hmm. Hello there, pretty one. You really do look like Jennie. Pity this is the end for you."

"NOT IF WE CAN HELP IT! CHRONO CHANGER!!!"

Immediately, the figure gets barraged with several blaster shots. "GAH!!!" Chorong and Eunji race to catch Naeun as she falls while Bomi and Namjoo summon their swords.

"Listen, Naeun," Eunji says. "We can take it from here."

"But have the police form a perimeter!" Chorong adds. "No one should be allowed to get near the pier!"

Naeun stares at the two for a few seconds before running off. Chorong and Eunji then turn their attention to Bomi and Namjoo, who are now struggling. "Come on, Jung Joonyoung. The party's here!"

-

"It's useless, you scrub! Seunghyun-hyung's tech is too powerful for any of you to stand up to!"

Ugh... it's useless! Just like last time! Wait... the prototype! I can only hope my slight modifications can allow me to summon it!

"Maybe this might. Summon Electro Assault!" Hayoung yells. Then, a gun manifests around Hayoung's sword. "Come at me!"

"Unwise decision. Take THIS!" Eddy fires a vault of energy at Hayoung, but Hayoung aims the barrel of the gun at the energy, and it immediately warps into the gun. "WHAT?!"

"Now taste your own medicine!" Hayoung fires at Eddy, whose armor sparks heavily upon contact with the blast. "AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!" Lying on the ground, he struggles to get up. "Ugh... this can't be..."

"Oh, sure it can, you scum! FIRE!" Hayoung then fires another several shots at Eddy as he screams in agony. "Stand down, Eddy Kim! You're under arrest!" Hayoung yells as she summons her World Police emblem.

"Ugh... worthless... armor..." Eddy mutters as he deactivates it. This is bad... where's Roy when you need him? Just then, Roy warps behind Eddy. Eddy hears the sound of the warp and turns his head. "Roy! Just who I wanted to see! Now... let's take her on toge-" But Eddy is instead greeted with a punch to the gut, and before he can react, he finds himself in a Full Nelson.

"NOW'S YOUR CHANCE!"

"But what about you?"

"Roy? What are you doing?!"

"You know what I told you. I'm not looking to be free! Just capture him now while you still can!"

"But-"

"It's fine! Don't worry about me!"

Eddy's eyes widen. "So... my own twin... you're the one who keeps foiling our plans! You'll pay for double-crossing us! RAAAHHHH!!!" Eddy manages to free himself for a split second before there's a mighty flash. When it all dissipates, there's two small, plastic panels where the twins stood.

Just then, Jung Joonyoung stumbles onto the scene. "Roy? Eddy?" Frantically looking around, he notices the panels as the four other rangers arrive. "No... it can't be... and of all people... you?"

"There's more where that came from!" Hayoung yells as she aims at her target.

"Ugh... until next time then!" Then, Jung Joonyoung throws a strobe in the air, blinding the rangers momentarily. When they regain their senses, he's gone. The rangers proceed to power down.

"Hayoung-ie!" Eunji yells as she runs towards her. All of the rangers then hug Hayoung tightly. "You're safe..." Chorong says, softly.

"Unnie... umm..."

"You weren't hurt, right?" Namjoo asks.

"No... I'm okay..."

"Looks like you really beat them up, eh?" Bomi smirks.

"Uhhhh..."

Then, Chorong notices the panels on the ground. "You... did it..." She says as she picks them up.

"I have a lot to explain."

"Yea, I think we should get out of here," Eunji mutters. "Let's try to sneak our way back before the police set up a perimeter."

"You won't have to," a voice says. The rangers turn their heads to find Naeun.

"Uh-oh..."

"No," Naeun says calmly as she waves her hand. "There's no need. You don't have to worry about a thing. I'll handle this with the police." She then looks at Hayoung. "And... thank you for your help today. Keep the prototype. It'll help."

"Come on, guys," Eunji says. "Let's go. And... thank you too. Until next time," she says softly.

-

"Wow. No kidding, eh?" Bomi sighs.

"All this time he tried to undermine the atrocities he was doing," Namjoo remarks.

"What's important is that we have a new weapon to combat Khan," Chorong says. "And..."

"Yerin and Sooyoung are safe," Hayoung interjects. "And when we go back, we have a way to free them for good," Hayoung says as she pulls out the device that Roy gave her.

"But most importantly," Eunji says as she pats Hayoung's shoulder, "You stood your ground and you saved the day! We're really proud of you. Now come on! Let's get that tteokbokki for you!"

-

What will Naeun do from here with the police? How will Khan retaliate with Roy and Eddy gone? What new challenges await the rangers? Find out next chapter!

-

A/N: And there you have it, folks! Hayoung's arc is complete. I decided to take elements of both Uniquely Trip and Trip Takes A Stand from Time Force for this arc, so I'd really appreciate feedback on this take.

I also find it quite nice that I get to release this chapter on the 5-month anniversary of this fic's establishment. Sheer coincidence as I never planned on it. As for the next chapters/arc, don't expect anything too soon. I'll be taking another break. I don't set deadlines for these things because this is a hobby for me, after all.

Hope y'all have enjoyed reading so far!