[many years ago]

It was a curious sensation, though in hindsight he wasn't sure that sensation or curious were the right words to use in such a situation. Whatever involuntary compulsion he once did to open his eyes, he'd been trying for what seemed like hours, until finally, there was light.

It was obvious that things were trying to come into focus, but there was still a slight blur to everything. He glanced around, coming to the realization he was in a lab of some kind. Or possibly a hospital, he speculated. There was a sort of glare, which it didn't take him long to determine that there was a thin sheet of glass between him and everything else.

The question was, was he inside glass, or was everything else?

He reached out to put his hand on the glass. Maybe feeling his way around would give him a better indication as to what was going on, but soon realized he couldn't feel his hands.

Or his legs.

He attempted to turn his head and look around, and his immediately discovered that the feeling of his head turning from left to right and the muscles necessary to do that he had taken for granted countless times, was absent. Despite his attempts, not only did he not feel them, his perspective of the room he was in was my changing. When turning his head in any direction, things that once appeared in his peripheral vision became clearer.

But that didn't happened.

He his instinct was to panic, to lash out, to do something… anything, but found he was unable to do so.

"What…"

There was something muffled, almost distorted about his voice. He almost didn't recognize it.

"Calm down, calm down. I know this must be disorienting to you," a voice said, though he couldn't tell where it was coming from.

"What…"

It was his voice again, that he was sure of, though it was disturbing to him that the tone in his voice didn't indicate the level of distress or concern. There were other indistinct voices present, several of them, and a humming sound he couldn't quite place. While they were too faint for him to make out what they were saying, he was somehow left with the impression they were trying to help him.

"Please, Zordon, I know this is jarring. Please try to relax. What's the last thing you remember?" another voice asked him.

Zordon… I am Zordon, he thought to himself. He allowed his mind to wander, trying to recall the events leading up to his current situation.

"I…"

"Don't worry. There may be some unforeseen side effects to the procedure. We're confident that as time goes on, you'll remember more."

"Zordon, we're trying to help you," another voice told him. There was something familiar about the voice. It was comforting, soothing. Someone approached him, and even though he couldn't make out who it was, he saw that they placed their hand on the glass as if they were reaching out to him.

Suddenly, things began to clear up for his. His vision and hearing were starting to improve, but it was still far from perfect.

"Its working, the levels are stabilizing. If we can get to them drop to under 20% we'll be in the clear."

Zordon still had no idea who this person was, or even where he was, but there was something about her. He could feel himself calming, or at least whatever the sensation was that he associated with calming down. It was… a woman. His woman.

"Dimitria," he sighed.

"Yes, yes it's me, Zordon. There was an accident," she informed him.

"Accident?"

"The Alliance of Evil was trying to open a dimensional rift, the rift would have spanned across all of time and space. It would have destroyed most of the galaxy, but you sealed it. You saved us all," she explained.

"You… are safe?"

"Yes, my love. I am. Thanks to you, but there was an accident."

"What happened?"

"You sacrificed yourself to seal the rift, but you were… you were killed. We don't know a lot about what happened, but we suspect the residual energy from the rift trapped you in a time warp. As far as he can tell, your consciousness from one nano second before you died is being contained within this… this tube," Dimitra explained.

No matter how much he tried, he simply couldn't bring himself to recall what happened to him prior to waking up inside a glass tube. He did recognize Dimitra, and that was enough to give him hope that he would eventually remember more.

"How long will I…"

Dimitra glanced over at one of the men who were helping, but he disappointedly shook his head.

"We've got our best people working on it, but there is just so much we don't know about it. Your cell structure, your neural pathways, your DNA, all of it is... different," she said.

"What am I?"

"I hesitate to put a label on it until we do more testing, but in layman's terms, you're now an inter-dimensional being trapped in a time warp. Outside of this tube, not only would you not survive, we speculate your consciousness would dissipate. You would just be gone," the scientist explained.

"Then do it," Zordon said.

"Do what?"

"Open the tube. Let me out. Let me die."

"Zordon, I…"

"I am of no use to you or anyone in this state. If my sacrifice saved the galaxy, allow me to pass on in peace. I will be one with the Celestials," he said.

Though his voice was devoid of any emotion, Dimitra could tell he meant it. Zordon had always been a very spiritual being, and now was his chance to move on from his life.

"That's a negative," a voice said. This voice was different from the others Zordon heard previously, there was a confidence to it, an authority. "This is a terrible tragedy, and your service to the citizens of Eltar and the entire galaxy can never be repaid, but the galaxy needs you again."

Dimitra turned to the stranger. "He has done enough. His time has passed. Let him move on in peace."

"Our latest intel suggests that the multi phasic technology we acquired from Gallifrey was successful. One of the AOE's generals and her team have been contained, but the technology to duplicate it was destroyed in the explosion. The blast was enough to push the chamber away, and we determine it has or it will land in sector 001."

"Sector 001 is over ten thousand light years away. Even at max velocity in our fasted ship it would take us centuries to reach it. It's over. Rita and her goons are gone," Dimitra mentioned.

"The same alloy the chamber is made of is the same thing that will allow us to send Zordon to sector 001. We are still several generations from perfecting the technology that will let organic matter to travel inter dimensionally, but Zordon…"

"Zordon could survive the trip and get there is a fraction of the time," she sighed.

"If I can be of service, I will, but what can I do in this state? I cannot leave this tube," Zordon mentioned.

"We can send you with one of the A.L.P.H.A. units. Its A.I. matrix will be repurposed to serve you well."

"What in the name of the Celestials do you think Zordon can do on the other side of the universe with an A.L.P.H.A. unit? Even if Rita did manage to escape, which she won't, they would be no match for her and her team," she said.

"Give us the room," the man said.

One by one, the scientists exited the room, closing the door on their way out.

"What's this about general?" Dimitra asked.

"A century ago, our government had amassed a legion of zords, weapons and power sources, all of them connected to the Universal Morphin Grid. They believed that if left unchecked, such an array of weapons would lead to civil war. The Quasar Sabers, the Zeo Crystal, the Energems and many others were sent to sector 001 and scattered throughout all of time and space. It was the only way to be sure none of them would fall into the wrong hands, even if those hands were our own," the general explained to him.

"You're worried that Rita will break free, find of this sources of power and launch an assault on Eltar," she added.

"We have dispatched volunteers to safeguard the power. Ninjor has already departed. Because he isn't an organic being, he will be protected. Keeper is a mystic and will be safe to travel, and will keep an eye on the energems. Dulcea is immortal, and even though traveling through the rift will leave her in immense pain, she will heal. Our plan is to send Zordon through the rift to safeguard the Zeo Crystal, which, according to our long range probes, is on one of the moons in that sector."

"How?"

"We are in possession of five of the six power coins. Zordon and A.L.P.H.A. will have to recruit indigenous lifeforms from that sector to ensure the crystal never falls into Rita's hands."

"Has the AOE sent anyone through the rift to secure Rita and the crystal?" Zordon asked.

"Yes. Serpentera the War Zord has been dispatched, but it will still take them get there without the rift. We have no intel on who is on board, but we suspect Dark Spector will send one of his best soldiers."

"So you want to send Zordon and a tin can across the galaxy equipped only with power coins? And not even an entire set. Then recruit warriors and stop Rita, who can't escape her prison, from getting the crystal? That's insane," Dimitra protested.

"If Rita or anyone else gets their hands on the crystal, the entire galaxy will be in danger," the general told her.

"And just now is he…" she was interrupted.

"I'll do it," Zordon said.

"You what?" she snarled.

"I'll do it. I will protect the crystal, no matter the cost."

"But Zordon, you've done enough. You saved the entire planet, the whole damn galaxy, I'd say the galaxy owes you this one. Stay here and let us figure out how to get you out of this damn tube," she urged him.

"We are Sages, Dimitra. We have a Celestial duty to protect. I will go where I must to protect the galaxy," he paused. "To protect you."

"You will not be alone, Zordon. There are people from other planets in our system that realize how important this is. As we speak at the shipyards of K.O.-35 they are working on a new hyperdrive technology that will allow us to travel faster than ever before. Sooner or later we will get to you, and when this is over we will bring you home. You have my word," the general assured him.

"When do we leave?"

"As soon as your ship is ready and your A.L.P.H.A. unit is fully charged. I'm told that the fifth unit in the series is the most advanced A.I. we have ever created." he turned to Dimitra. "I'll give you two a moment alone," he said, then walked out the lab.

"You're going to be stubborn about this, aren't you?" she asked.

"I have to go. I have a duty."

"What about your duty to me? To our friends? To our family?"

"We took an oath to protect anyone who may be in danger and to stop the AOE at all costs. I have to do this."

"We've spent our entire lives trying to protect the power from falling into the wrong hands and keep the galaxy safe, but this time…" she walked back over to the tube, placing her hand on it gently. "This time, I hope the power can protect you." Dimitra sighed.