The Imperial Ring

Fiona rushes to Zeke’s side after he bails from the now ruined Shield Liger. Van is nowhere to be found, but Zeke opens up and reveals his location. Van wakes up ok, but Zeke will need to rest to regain all of the energy he used to save Van (according to Dr. D). And best of all, no zoid magnite required! Van regrets what happened to the Shield Liger and taking on Raven’s challenge. Dr. D snaps him out of it and explains that Van has his work cut out for him (rescuing Rudolph).

Rudolph has been kidnapped by Raven who has decided to hand him over to Captain Metlenik and his gang! Metlenik can’t begin to understand why Raven has simply handed over such a prize. Raven explains that he means nothing to him. Rudolph charges Raven from behind who sidesteps the attack. Removing the tape from the bound and gagged Rudolph, he tells him that the Shield Liger has drawn its last breath. Then, Metlenik conducts a small-scale interrogation with Rudolph to find out where the ring is. He won’t tell him, so Metlenik bluffs and caused the crowned prince to have an outburst, revealing the name of the ring holders. Metlenik smugly thanks Rudolph for the information.

Shortly after he acquires Rudolph, Metlenik opens communications with Irvine and his Command Wolf. Metlenik wants the Imperial Ring, and Irvine wants to be sure that the crowned prince is still ok. That’s the end of the communication link. Irvine lays out the information he got from Metlenik. Dr. D wants to know where the ring is and warns that the reason that Metlenik wants it is to give it to Prozen who can then become the rightful ruler of the Empire. That’s when Van says that he has the ring and shows it to all. Irvine and Van are on their way to rescue Rudolph. Irvine is worried about the condition of his command wolf. Vans says that he has a great plan and that Irvine doesn’t need to worry.

Meanwhile, Rudolph explains to Metlenik that his friends are drifters and won’t risk their lives for his. Metlenik (using binoculars) can see Van on a hoverboard coming towards them. He tells Rudolph that he has underestimated his friends. When Van arrives, Metlenik wants to know if he brought the ring. Van says it's in a safe place, refusing to tell where that place is until Rudolph is released. That’s when Irvine does his thing. He fires flash rounds into the air near the place of the confrontation. Taken by surprise, Roto, Dennis and Metlenik don’t know what to do. Van takes this opportunity to rescue Rudolph. Irvine then switches to live ammunition and fires upon the two remaining Dark Horns. Van is joined by Irvine as the Dark Horns give chase. A stray round hit our friend Irvine who insists that Van and Rudolph should continue on without him. That they do, but the Dark Horns just seem to get closer and closer. They try to escape in a nearby canyon, when a stray round (yeah, another one) hits the canyon wall, knocking debris into their narrow path. They fly into the air and land near an old abandoned mine, where the real action begins….

Rudolph points out that they appear to be in a mine, and that they are likely to get lost. Van says that it’s better to be lost than to be Dark Horn dinner. That’s when Metlenik and his gang start to open fire at the two. They take cover around a corner and find a ladder to escape. The villains catch up and fire a warning shot at them announcing "the game is up". Irvine, who has gotten into the mine and is standing at the top of the ladder, says “Hey, heads up! Fire in the hole!”. Without a moment to spare, he drops some smoke grenades down at the villains, who scurry off. That buys them some time.

The three come across an enormous room, in the shape of a giant cylinder, with many, many floors and fiberglass planks jutting out from the side. That’s when Metlenik and his men catch up and tell them not to try anything funny. Van heroically pushes Irvine and Rudolph out of the line of fire, when they shoot at Vans feet, forcing him over the edge. That’s when Metlenik and his thugs run over to Van, Irvine and Rudolph’s prior position. Van manages to bounce off of one of the fiberglass planks and lands back on Metlenik’s head and forces him over the edge! Not willing to see the end of their captain, Roto jumps and grabs his foot and Dennis grabs his arm and the ledge! (Confused?) Our heroes leave them hanging and run.

Meanwhile, Fiona is counseling Zeke when Moonbay comes over and offers her a coffee. The two sit down and talk about Van getting back when a mysterious voice speaks to Fiona…

Van returns the ring back to Rudolph, who is crying due to his guilty conscience from putting Van and Irvine in trouble. Van tells him not to worry, because they are always getting into trouble. The three head back, and Van asks if Irvine knows the way. He replies, “I’ll figure it out”.  After a few dead ends and some complaining from Van, a small hole is found in one of the ceilings of the many hallways. Van pokes his head up, and is spotted by Dennis! The chase begins again. They find another hallway, where Irvine locates a mine cart that is behind the entrance to the hallway. Still with me? Anyway, Irvine gets a free ride and blows by the other two leaving them to fend for themselves (not on purpose). Van and Rudolph come across an exit to the mine, which is perched on a cliff over a river. Metlenik and crew catch up and tell them that they have nowhere left to run. Finally Rudolph says that he will save Van from this situation; he threatens to drop the ring into the river below unless they guarantee the safe release of Van. Van walks off, but you know that he doesn’t give up that easily. Van says that he ‘has a present for them’ and throws a flash grenade at them. That’s when Van hops in a mine cart and grabs Rudolph as the cart goes over the cliff and into the raging river below…

The two are okay, and they share a laugh about how they foiled their plans. That’s when, once again, Metlenik catches up to them, but this time, it’s in a Dark Horn! He says that he’s had just about enough of this, tells them to prepare to be destroyed. That’s when Irvine in his Command Wolf fires a single round at one Dark Horn and causes a command system freeze. Irvine dedicates a few more rounds at Metlenik, but he manages to dodge them. A pissed off Metlenik opens fire with his chain gun. Irvine performs an amazing feat of maneuverability by jumping over the canyon, running down the wall, and firing a single round at point blank range clean through the Dark Horn.....knocking it out of commission. Rudolph tells Metlenik to go back to Guygulos and warn Prozen that he will return to take what is rightfully his. That’s when Van's stomach persuades him and the others to head back to camp and get something to eat.

Back at camp, Fiona is still hearing that mysterious voice. She stands up, totally mesmerized by it, and Zeke suddenly gets up as well. The two fuse with one another. Then, Zeke, with Fiona inside, take off in the air and fuse with the liger. The liger is transformed into an amazing swirling orb of pink and white light, an awesome sight indeed. Inside, Fiona is on a hill, and the weather is beautiful. A gentle breeze moves her hair, and she looks over to her side only to find an image of herself looking back at her…