Hello everyone. This is a project that I have had in mind for quite a while, believe it or not. As many ranger fans will recall, the Power Rangers Legendary battle was very… underwhelming, to say the least. But its lackluster performance spawned a good deal of reimagining and rewrites here on this site, and they are some of the best stories I have read around here. Two of which I will give a special shout out to at the end of this story. To be clear… this story is still in the works, as I have a lot of research to do to make it "perfect." So I do regret that it will be a while before I come around to it. In the meantime though, enjoy this "chapter zero" to the legendary battle rewrite. Here, I am setting up a couple critical plot points which will come up later on. I hope you enjoy this preview of what is to come.
The unthinkable had happened. After a long, brutal fight and despite destroying many thousands of Armada vessels, the Megaforce rangers had been taken down. With their zords destroyed and the rangers themselves unconscious, Gosei and Tensou could only watch as their team of rangers had fallen in combat, and now lay unconscious among the rubble in Harwood. Tensou was very upset by this development. "Oh no! The rangers have fallen in battle Gosei! And it looks like Earth is about to be surrounded by more Armada ships than ever! What do we do now?" The robot asked, frightened.
"I… I don't know, Tensou" Gosei sighed.
"What?!" the shocked little robot cried out; it was not like Gosei to be speechless at a time like this. "Surely there is something we can do!" Tensou asked.
"I know Tensou. Like you, I have had full faith in our team of rangers, and knew that they had the strength to overcome everything the Armada could throw at them. But now, it seems that with their leader Emperor Mavro himself now present, not even Super Mega mode gives them the strength they need. They have fought with the powers of the legendary rangers that came before them, and used them to their greatest potential. However, a defeat like this not even I could foresee" Gosei explained.
"But who do we turn to when the rangers themselves need help Gosei? What would your mentor Zordon have done?" Tensou asked.
"I'm not sure Tensou, but if there was ever a time when I need him most, it is certainly now." Just then, Gosei had an idea. "Wait, maybe there is something we can do!" Gosei said, realization dawning.
"What is it?" Tensou asked.
"Send out emergency distress signal six-five-alpha Tensou; there are some heroes who can be of great help to us right now" Gosei explained.
"I'm on it! Who are you trying to summon?" Tensou asked.
"In good time Tensou; in good time" Gosei assured. After a minute or so of waiting, suddenly two figures arrived in the room. Tensou and Gosei watched as they manifested before them; one figure was blue, with gold trim on various aspects of his armor, and a round "N" symbol on his chest. The other figure was golden in appearance, with a crown like helmet and a black cape. They both had helped different generations of rangers in the past, but now the time had come for them to work together.
"Thank you for coming on such short notice, Ninjor and Sentinel Knight" Gosei said.
"My pleasure Gosei; I had not anticipated you to send out the signal this late in the fight though… why wait so long before calling for help?" Sentinel Knight asked.
"At first I thought it was not necessary" Gosei began. "My team of rangers proved themselves against the Warstar, and when the Armada finally arrived they once again proved to be a formidable force. For a brief period, I genuinely believed we would not have to take the risk of summoning the past rangers to fight again. They have given so much during their time as rangers, how could we ask them to take up the mantle again?" Gosei explained.
"I presume something has changed?" Ninjor asked.
Gosei made a sound akin to a sigh and affirmed, "Not even ten minutes ago I had a humbling experience. I do not know if you are aware as of yet, but my team of rangers has fallen, their zords destroyed and now they lay unconscious as the armada regroups above us" Gosei explained. Ninjor and Sentinel Knight stood solemnly, but remained level-headed in this situation.
"I see… is there any chance…" Ninjor began.
"My team is all right. The sensors show they are unconscious, but they are alive. And it would seem that the silver ranger has turned around to make his way back to Earth" Gosei added.
"One of your team's rangers left the planet?" Sentinel Knight asked, sounding concerned.
"I am afraid I do not have time to explain that" Gosei said, before redirecting the conversation again, "I have called for you two to come here because I feel that the time has come for the legendary rangers to assemble. This fight can no longer be handled by a single team; we need all ranger forces to fight as one. You two are here because you can help me get the ball rolling. Ninjor, as the being who forged the power coins, and the one who helped me forge these keys, I now must ask for your help in returning these powers to their original owners" Gosei explained.
Tensou was confused. "Gosei, I don't understand. According to the database, Ninjor was resealed in the Temple of Power when time reversed itself, so how is he here and knows about the keys?" the little robot asked.
"Perhaps I should explain this myself" Ninjor spoke up. "You see, when that time warp happened, I was returned to the Temple of Power, that is correct, but thanks to Zordon I was no longer sealed in it. During that time Zordon explained to me that the rangers were sent on a quest to retrieve the Zeo Crystal, which was to become the new source of the ranger's powers since the power coins had been destroyed. I was no longer necessary to the rangers, so I had thought my mission was complete. However I was quite wrong, because Zordon ended up asking me to do a few things" Ninjor explained.
"What did Zordon want you to do?" Tensou asked.
"First, he asked me to keep an eye on the ninjazords, shogunzords and falconzord, as they had never been destroyed. They had taken a good beating during their time with the rangers I must say, but thankfully any damage they had was within my power to repair. He explained to me that he feared one day, an evil force so great would attack earth, that there had to be a reserve supply of zords on hand in case of an emergency. Fortunately, they would up not being needed during the Machine Empire invasion, and the United Alliance of Evil invasion, but it would seem we may need them now" Ninjor explained.
"So you spent all this time looking after zords?" A confused Tensou asked.
"Of course not" Ninjor assured, "once they were mothballed, Zordon contacted me again; he said that he was leaving Earth to return to Eltar, but he asked me to do two things before he left" he explained.
"What did he want you to do?" Tensou asked.
"First, he asked Ninjor to help me forge the keys that line these walls" Gosei explained. "His experience with the power coins proved invaluable to this task. For every set of powers, Ninjor and I worked to forge these keys, which in many cases were able to restore powers that were thought lost, like the Mighty Morphin and turbo powers" Gosei explained.
"I regret that due to circumstances beyond my control, the second set of power coins I created proved impossible to recreate, possibly due to the time warp, but I am uncertain, to be honest. However, I was able to reforge the original dinosaur based power coins, which will allow the mighty morphin team to once again take action" he assured.
"And while it is true that several teams of rangers technically never lost their powers" Gosei began, "over time these teams realized that they no longer needed to be actively connected to the morphing grid, so they relinquished their morphers to be held in safe locations should the need to use them rise again" he continued.
"In cases where the morphers still exist, when not in use their powers are kept in these keys for safe keeping" Ninjor explained. "The keys themselves did not take up much of my time, and fortunately I only had to work on about one team per year, so for much of the year I would travel to Aquitar. It sounds unusual, I will admit, but there was something about those Aquitar rangers that captured my interest. It is a good thing I was back on Earth checking in on the zords, otherwise it would have taken me longer to get here" Ninjor explained.
"Excellent; time is of the essence" Gosei began. "Ninjor, I need you to activate the failsafe we discussed… we both have worked on these keys these past years, but as a mentor to the first generation of power rangers, I feel it proper that you be the one who has the honor" Gosei explained.
"It would be my pleasure" Ninjor said. He went up to a command module and entered a series of codes. When the final one was entered, the keys began to dissipate; one by one, until all of the keys had left the command center. Ninjor nodded in affirmation to Gosei. "It is done. Though some keys must travel through time and space, so it will be a while before all ranger teams are ready" Ninjor explained.
"But how will they know to come here?" Tensou asked.
"For each team of keys, I encoded a pattern of coordinates to the Command Center's location. When each team has its powers restored, they will be given a message to come to this location; it is best to face the Armada as one large strike force than as a series of small skirmish forces" Ninjor explained.
"But from what I understand, many teams have gone their separate ways; what if they have trouble figuring out what to do?" Sentinel Knight asked.
"We shall tackle that hurdle when it comes; for now we must focus on the other reason I summoned you here" Gosei said. His attention turned to Sentinel Knight. "As I recall, you have stated that the Corona Aurora has the power to wipe out all life, and also restore it. Is that true?" Gosei asked.
Sentinel Knight affirmed, "Its power is great, but I would rather not use it against the Armada. Yes, it could destroy them and end this battle quickly, but I fear that the amount of power it would need to do so would result in it breaking into pieces again, and I would rather not run the risk of doing that again" Sentinel Knight explained.
"I know; which is why I am asking you to use its power only to restore life… even if only for a brief period." Gosei said.
"I know you would not ask this if it wasn't important Gosei, so I will allow it for this use. Who do you want to restore?" Sentinel Knight asked.
"There are a few beings actually, but the first one is most important. His wisdom is something we must call on again" Gosei explained.
Sentinel Knight thought it over for a minute, and realized who Gosei was talking about. "But of course; unfortunately I cannot restore him to life permanently, but he will be brought back just long enough to help us in this battle" Sentinel Knight said. "How shall we go about this?" He asked.
"Over there, behind those rocks" Gosei explained. On an adjacent wall, some rocks retracted, revealing an energy tube that any early generation power ranger would recognize.
"Hmm… it would be a shame to have him restored in the same trapped imprisonment he was in for many years. But there is a good deal of residual energy in this tube that perhaps… yes, I just may be able to pull it off. Hold on, this will not take long" Sentinel Knight said as he held up the Corona Aurora. Raising it in front of the energy tube, a brilliant glow began, followed by bursts of energy that connected between the energy tube and the Corona Aurora. The glow became brighter and brighter, until at last, a human-like head began manifesting within the energy tube.
"It is working! Please, keep it up!" Gosei said, beginning to sound rather excited. The energy grew stronger, when suddenly from the tube the energy transferred to a space just outside it, and began to take a shape. More and more energy flowed, until at last the shape was identifiable… it was human-like in shape, as if a ghost were manifesting in the Command Center. In a sense this was true.
"Almost there, just a little more…" Sentinel Knight said, as at last one great burst of power resulted in the energy beginning to solidify. It started as an amorphous light, then the energy started to become defined, and at last the spell was complete. Sentinel Knight, Ninjor, Tensou and Gosei looked on in amazement at what had just transpired. In front of the assembled group stood a bald man with fair skin, who was very much alive. Ninjor stepped forward
"My friend; is it really you?" He asked.
"Yes, it is. While I know this is not a permanent spell, thank you for letting me come back for the next few days. I have seen everything that has transpired from my resting place; and I must say even I am shocked at the sheer scale of this invasion" the man said.
"Master; I cannot begin to express my joy at seeing you again. I do hope you will forgive me, but this is Earth's darkest hour, and if there was a time where you are needed, it is now" Gosei said.
"I understand, my protégé. This has become a very dire situation, and one you did not anticipate. But I know that once the power rangers are assembled, we will overcome the Armada, and stop them once and for all."
"Thank you, my mentor" Gosei said.
"It is my pleasure. Ninjor, can I count on you in this fight?" the man asked.
"Yes; if all the rangers are returning, then so will I. And what about you Sentinel Knight?" Ninjor asked.
"It is not even a question. But unfortunately I must go for now; I must contact the Hartfords and have my rangers reassembled, since they went their separate ways after their mission ended."
"Very well; good luck Sentinel Knight, and may the power protect you" Gosei said. And the Sentinel Knight left, leaving only four beings in the command center.
"We must get started immediately" Gosei said.
"Yes; the future of the Earth is at stake" Ninjor said.
As the man proceeded to a console, he looked over at Gosei one more time, and smiled. "It is good to see you again, my student" he said.
"Yes; it is good to see you too, Zordon" Gosei replied before they set to work.
And with that, the process to set the stage for the legendary battle has begun. What will unfold in the story? All will be revealed in due time.
As I do my research for inspiration for this project, I realize that there are many things we wanted to see in the legendary battle that didn't happen. With that in mind, I would like to turn this over to you, fellow readers and writers; what would you like to see in this interpretation of the Legendary Battle? If there is something you would really like to see happen, shoot me a PM, or leave me a review with your ideas. Again, it will be a while before this story is written, but I will do my best to incorporate your suggestions when the time comes.
Now for the Story recommendations: first, I want to mention "A Truly Mega Legendary Battle" by SageModeSasuke. It was the first Legendary Battle story I read on this site, and is one of the most well written here. His approach is what I would call "realistic," where he completely reimagined the Legendary Battle from the ground up to be something "more" if you will. Though it is not quite finished yet, it is definitely worth checking out. He also has other stories in the works, so check those out too. Second, I want to give a shout out to Unversed333 and his story "Legendary Battle." It is complete, and is also just as well written. His approach to the story is best described as a "director's cut" approach, where he took the basic structure of the episode, but greatly expanded upon it and introduced a couple subplots to compliment the main action. He's also done several "tribute episodes" which feel like Power Rangers episodes, but include more legendary rangers. Be sure to check them out while you are there.
And finally, a third shout out as a bonus. While technically not a Legendary Battle story, be sure to check out "Power Rangers: Hexagon" by dm7111722. I'd rather not spoil what happens, but I will say that he does a brilliant job of taking the idea developed for Power Rangers: Hexagon, and applying it to the Megaforce Rangers. It is definitely worth stopping by for a read in my opinion.
Till next time fellow readers and writers; don't forget to leave a review.