She stood silently at the edge of the rocky cliff. The sky around and above her was blue with thick clouds hovering around. The woman that stood here wore nothing but black. Dark gray armor adorned her upper body, with micro-chip circuits glued to her like bees on honey. The circuits connected to wires that run into her skin beneath the suit she wore.
Short red hair covered her head and outlined a pale face with then, red lips that etched upwards in a sly smile as the thoughts went through her mind. She held a long steel lance with her personal banner insignia at the top of it. Standing on this rocky cliff, she let herself think about what brought her to this place, this one moment where destiny awaited her.
For the past few months, she had found herself in a back and forth battle with the Power Rangers on Earth. Each new plan she formulated was executed to perfection by her forces, yet the Rangers persevered. And what's more, they defeated her forces at each turn. And while defeating her, their leader, the Red Ranger, repeatedly tried his best to convince her of her true self, the one flaw she saw inside of herself.
A flaw because part of her knew what he told her was true. Another part of her didn't care.
She knew who he was and what he was to her, but the currents of energy sent forth by the circuits that were inside her prevented her from giving into that feeling she sometimes got late at night. That feeling that perhaps she could be nothing more than a sister and a friend. But the programming of the circuits, each and every time, reminded her in painful waves who she was now.
She was Astronema. She had a destiny to fulfill. And that was truly why she stood here. The time for her plans to get rid of both the Rangers and Dark Spectre were passed. The time had come for the end of peace throughout the universe and Astronema couldn't wait.
The skies and the very air around her crackled as an ominous presence made itself known. Astronema stood stock still as her only master, Dark Spectre, appeared before her very eyes. He dwarfed her own height with his own bulky size. Taking on the appearance of a once all powerful being known as Maligore, Dark Spectre stood looking down at the red haired woman he personally trained to follow in his footsteps when the time came for him to step down. He had another purpose for summoning her, however.
"Astronema." Dark Spectre's deep tones boomed over the area with it's intensity.
Astronema merely tilted her head in question.
"The time has come to complete my Master Plan! Summon all of my evil forces. They must all unite to finally take over the Universe!" he ordered her.
A smile lit Astronema's features as she gazed at Dark Spectre's face. She raised her staff high into the air. "Let the battle begin!" she roared.
Dark Spectre vanished after a few more seconds of silence. The smile stayed on Astronema's face as her second in command, Ecliptor, walked up to her. He stayed silent for a moment before he spoke. "He still does not know about your connection to the Psycho Rangers?" he inquired.
Astronema turned and faced him. "No, and he won't know either."
"No, he won't." he agreed obediently.
"You heard him, gather the forces. We have an invasion to prepare!" she declared, turning and stalking off. Ecliptor followed her silently.
About thirty minutes later, Ecliptor stood in a control room aboard the Dark Fortress. His hands were typing on a nearby console. The screen above it was blank slightly, but after a moment, a visual was seen coming in. The image that can back was the interior of the cockpit of Serpent Terra, the most destructive and massive zord ever constructed. On the screen, however, were four figures.
One was a monkey with big wings and gold armor. Another looked just like a walking and talking skeleton. They stood in the back. In front of them were two thrones. On one of the thrones, a woman sat. Ecliptor recognized her instantly, as he did the individual that sat next to her. Red in skin all over with steel parts on his arms, chest, legs, and feet, not to mention his hands and face with the top of his brain showing, there was no doubt who Ecliptor was looking at.
Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa, along with Rito Revolto and Goldar. At one point in time, they were THE force of evil to be reckoned with, the force to which no one would ever challenge because their very name inspired fear in their enemies. But of the four of them, there was only one that Ecliptor looked at with an unlimited amount of respect.
And that was Goldar. The legendary tales of the battles that Goldar were involved in was what Ecliptor was taught up learning about. The intensity and the sheer brutality that Goldar once possessed was known the whole universe over and it was those stories that Ecliptor was raised upon, trained upon. He would never forget the first moment he met the gold armored warrior.
He was a young Ecliptor then. He hadn't even come into service for Dark Spectre then. It was during a time when the planet Onyx was still recognized as the gathering place for the worst villains and scum of the universe. And Dark Spectre was a frequent visitor there. He, along with his friend Villamax and Villamax's little buddy Keglar, always liked to get together at least three times a month and do their game of cards in the regular old saloon.
And that's what he was doing on that one fateful day. He, Villamax, and Keglar were part of a five member game of Interstellar Poker. Of course, Villamax was the better player of them all and he was beating all of them. Ecliptor still had a good amount of money, though, so he had decided to keep playing after Villamax won that last hand.
Ecliptor had raised his cup and took a drink of his drink, then looked at his friend. "So, Villamax, what have you and Keglar been up to lately?"
Villamax dealt the cards out before he answered. "Oh, this and that. Staying out of trouble, or at least trying." that had come with a look at Keglar.
Keglar had raised his hands in a gesture. "Hey, that's not my fault!"
Villamax had chuckled. "Sure, my friend. You walked right into a trap set for some Power Rangers and I had to rescue you. You call that not being your fault."
Ecliptor had laughed, always enjoying the banter between the two beings before him. It didn't last, though, because a moment later, the saloon doors swung inward and a figure had entered. And Ecliptor's attention had been snagged right away.
From the top of his head to the bottom of his feet, he was covered in gold armor. But it wasn't the gold armor that demanded attention. It was the way he'd carried himself. Secure with himself and full of bad attitude, Goldar was someone who demanded respect from anyone and everyone he came into contact with and Ecliptor was fascinated by the warrior in gold.
But back then, Ecliptor had never known what he looked like, so, he didn't know who it was. He'd turned to Villamax, having just noticed the utter quietness that exploded throughout the bar at Goldar's entrance.
"Who is that?!" Ecliptor had asked, hurriedly.
Villamax had looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. "Oh, don't you dare tell me you've never heard of the great Goldar!"
"Of course I have. THAT'S Goldar!?" Ecliptor had replied.
"Yes, and I'd be quiet if I were you. He doesn't look to be in a good mood." Villamax's voice had lowered.
But Goldar had heard his name mentioned in their conversations and he had stalked over, looking down at Ecliptor. "Who are you?" he asked slowly, carefully.
Ecliptor had stood, extending a hand. "The name is Ecliptor."
Instead of grasping the offered hand, Goldar, not being one for formalities back in those days, had backhanded Ecliptor across the face. "Nice to meet you Ecliptor."
Then, Goldar had turned and went over to the bar, getting himself a drink. And as Ecliptor picked himself up, Villamax came over. "I don't think he likes me." Ecliptor had said.
Villamax had laughed, patting him on the shoulder. "No, if he didn't like you, he'd of used that sword and killed you right away."
Looking back at that first moment, Ecliptor shook his head at the immature person he had been back then. But now was not the time to be dwelling on those times, he had a job to do. He looked at Zedd and Rita. "I am contacting you because I have an order that comes all the way from Dark Spectre himself."
Zedd and Rita exchanged a startled look. "What is it?" Zedd asked.
Ecliptor bored his eyes into Zedd's, with the intent purpose of trying to show Zedd how serious the order was. "It's time to conquer the universe." he said simply.
And right away, Ecliptor noticed two things. One, Rita's eyes lit up at the prospect of causing destruction and two, Zedd's entire demeanor changed into that of speculative wonder. Ecliptor thought about that as he ended the transmission and headed out towards the balcony, where his princess was standing, regarding the hundreds and hundreds of Quantrons that were looking at her from the bottom level where they were gathered.
"When we're finished, there will be no good left in the Universe, no love and definitely no happiness. Only chaos, anger, and greed!" Astronema's voice rang over them.
Below, the hundreds of Quantrons cheered at her words.
Astronema let her hands rest on the railing as she studied her warriors. "Fight strong and destroy all the forces of goodness...especially those Power Rangers!"
Her voice had risen as she spoke and with each word, the Quantrons cheered louder and louder. And as the Velocifighter ships began departing from the Dark Fortress, Astronema's smile widened as she watched them head towards the Earth. From her lips, three words sounded to Ecliptor and Elgar's ears. These three words told the entire story of the next few days in the lives of everyone on Earth.
"It has begun." she said, chuckling.