"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha."
It was strange hearing Lord Zedd laugh. Sure he was subject to the occasional fits of laughter befitting any maniacal warlord, but this was different. His laughter now was genuine, brought on by something he obviously found humorous. It calmed Finster a little, but only for a moment. Lord Zedd was somehow scarier while in a good mood than he was during one of his trademark fits of rage. Finster could barely bring himself to speak. "My lord, have you viewed the message?"
"Indeed I have Finster," Lord Zedd replied, "Ha! Can you believe their audacity? It was a warning Finster, a warning! They suggested I leave earth lest I be destroyed. I am Lord Zedd, conqueror of galaxies. They are but children, specks of dust on a miserable little planet not even worth my attention."
"Might I ask by whom the message was sent?"
"I believe they referred to themselves as the Power Rangers. Just another of Zordon's poorly devised attempts at protecting the Power Coins."
"With all due respect my lord, do you think it wise to underestimate Zordon? The power of the coins is mighty, and Zordon is a formidable adversary," the white, elfish creature stated.
"You are only half right Finster," Lord Zedd replied, "Zordon may hold the keys to my destruction, but he has entrusted their power to beings whose minds possess neither the capacity nor the desire to comprehend their nature. Rest assured Zordon will fail. It is as inevitable as the dying of a star."
"I'm sure you are correct, my lord," was Finster's reply. He thought about reminding Lord Zedd that the last time he faced Zordon and his Power Rangers he had been locked away for nearly ten thousand years, but decided against it. Zedd was in a good mood and Finster did not want to be the one to change that.
"Of course I am," Lord Zedd exclaimed almost cheerfully. "Oh, and by the way Finster, did you have any luck in tracing the origin of the message?"
"Not much I'm afraid. All I know for certain is that the signal originated from somewhere in the continent they refer to as North America. However, judging by the language the Red Ranger spoke and the accent with which he spoke it, my estimate is that Zordon is currently residing in the country they call the United States."
"Very good Finster. I suspected Zordon may have implemented some sort of signal blocking device. Hmmmm. Finster, call Goldar. I have a plan."
-x-x-
Jason, Trini, Zack, and Kimberly were all seated at their usual table at Ernie's Gym and Juice Bar, enjoying Ernie's new tropical drinks.
"So what do you guys think?" the rotund bartender asked as he walked by.
"Good stuff Ernie," Zack replied, "But I have to ask, what exactly is a pamango?"
"It's kinda like a mix between a coconut and a mango. Kinda ridiculous huh? It almost sounds like some made-up fruit on a TV show or something."
"But it tastes good and that's all that matters," Jason said.
"Mmmm, you got that right Jase," Zack exclaimed after taking a large sip of his drink.
As Ernie walked away to help some other customers, Billy scrambled in to the Juice Bar looking both excited and exhausted. Under his arm he was carrying a large wooden box with a lock on it. Judging by Billy's tight grip on the box, one could assume that its contents were either very valuable or very important.
"Guys, I've got a surprise," Billy said as he sat down with his friends. Billy wasted no time listening to the others' responses; he quickly undid the lock and opened the lid of the box, revealing five multi-colored wristbands that resembled watches.
"Watches Billy?" Kimberly questioned.
"They're not watches," Billy explained, "They're teleportation devices."
"Teleportation?"
"Yeah. I was up all night examining the consoles at the Command Center when I discovered its teleportation unit. These wristbands are remote devices tied directly to the unit in the Command Center."
"Cool. How do they work?" Zack asked while putting the black device on his wrist.
"Well, using some of the information that Zordon recorded while we were morphed, I was able to link each device to its respective user's brain. In essence, they respond to thought. If you wish to teleport somewhere, simply press the white button on the bottom of the device, then think about where you want to go. The devices also work as communicators. To communicate with someone, think about who you want to speak to and then tap the black button on top. This will page them. When you are ready to communicate, hold down the button and speak into the device. The sound waves created by your voice will be teleported directly to the person or persons you are thinking about. When you are being paged, the device will emit a little six toned melody I made up. You won't be able not to hear it."
"Wow, this is really cool Billy," Jason exclaimed enthusiastically.
"I can't believe you just invented these overnight," Trini said, "You must have worked pretty hard."
"It was surprisingly easy actually. They use most of the same parts as the Command Center's teleportation unit. I just figured they would be useful for our, uh, new job."
"Definitely," Zack exclaimed.
Just then, for the first time, their communicators went off. Jason, Zack, Kimberly, and Trini all looked at Billy confusedly. They were obviously a little unsure about using their communicators. After a quick glance around, Billy spoke into his communicator.
"Yes Zordon?"
"Rangers, please teleport to the Command Center. Zedd has begun his attack."
After stepping into an empty hallway, the five Power Rangers teleported away in five different colored streaks of light.
-x-x-
Goldar was miserable. The cause of his misery was boredom. Lord Zedd's plan, though intelligently crafted, left little room for enjoyment. Of course, had Goldar been human, Las Vegas would have been the ideal place for him to spend an afternoon. But Goldar was anything but human, and the words Las Vegas meant about as much to him as peace and kindness.
Goldar had been ordered by Lord Zedd to go down to this city and cause some chaos. But there were rules, and it was these rules that caused his boredom.
"Do not kill too many people, Goldar," Lord Zedd had said. "Capture as many as you can and teleport them here so we can convert them into Putties."
This part was not so bad. Lord Zedd had not forbidden him from killing some humans, he just wanted more of them to be converted into Putties. The part of this mission that Goldar despised was that he had to remain in his human form the whole time. Goldar could not understand why Lord Zedd would send him to earth in his weaker form, though Zedd had explained to him that he did not want to reveal everything to the Power Rangers just yet. He wanted Goldar's true form to be a surprise.
Goldar hated his human form. Aside from it being horrendously ugly, it was also weak and very fragile. In a way, though, he enjoyed the anger he felt at his master's rules. Goldar had learned long ago that the best way to release anger was through violence, something he excelled greatly at.
This revelation gave Goldar a sense of belonging and importance, so much so that he continued his onslaught with renewed vigor. A few more decapitations and everything would be alright.
x-x-x-
"What's wrong Zordon?" Jason asked.
"Rangers," Zordon began, "Lord Zedd has begun his attack. He has sent Goldar, his top general, to the city of Las Vegas in an attempt to draw you out. Goldar has already slaughtered dozens of civilians and captured countless more to transform into Zedd's Putty Warriors."
"What's a Putty Warrior?"
"A mindless husk of flesh, bone, and clay imbued with superior strength and stamina, controlled only by Lord Zedd himself."
"We have to help them!" Kimberly exclaimed.
"I'm afraid that is impossible. Once the transformation has begun it cannot be reversed. Your top priority now is helping those in Goldar's path of destruction. Move quickly, Goldar will not cease this onslaught until you confront him. May the power protect you."
Jason looked at his four friends, the fear evident in his eyes, searching for reassurance. What he saw was the same trepidation that was consuming him from the inside. "You guys ready? It's morphing time!"
x-x-x-
As Goldar stared into the cold, lifeless eyes of his latest victim, a feeling of jealousy overwhelmed him. "No, not jealousy," he decided. He could not determine what he was feeling, but it was something akin to antipathy. Happiness was an emotion unknown to Goldar, but to these humans it was as illustrious as the sun itself. He hated them for it.
A loud whooshing sound deterred Goldar from his thoughts, and when he broke the stare with the severed head, he saw his reason for existing. Five multi-colored, armor wearing, Power Coin wielding humans. The Power Rangers.
"Power Rangers," Goldar bellowed, "You have the ability to end this carnage. Surrender the Power Coins now and this will be the last of your kind to die by my hand," Goldar said as he held the decapitated head high for the Rangers to see.
"Not a chance Goldar!" Red Ranger shouted. "You can tell Zedd that the Power Coins do not belong to him!" Jason was trying to sound tough, but at that moment he felt anything but intimidating. Goldar was huge, easily the biggest man Jason had ever seen, and he was covered in blood and other components of the human body that are meant to stay inside. The worst part, though, was the area in which Goldar stood. Freshly slain corpses littered the street and sidewalk, along with multitudes of severed limbs and gory entrails. Judging by the scattered body parts, Jason guessed that Goldar's favorite method of execution was decapitation.
"Very well. But I promise you, you will all fall by my sword." The severed head Goldar still held in his hand began glowing, and with enough force to crumble a building he threw it at the Rangers. The head exploded, sending the rangers flying backwards. Once recovered, the Rangers looked to where Goldar was standing, only to see him vanish in an explosion of golden light.
x-x-x-
"Oh my god," Kimberly groaned as she emptied her stomach on the Command Center's floor.
Sitting on the floor, her head hanging between her knees, Trini said quietly, "I can't believe anyone could be capable of something like that."
Billy felt the same way, and though usually loquacious, he could find no words to express his disgust and indignation. He wanted to hold Trini and tell her that everything would be alright, but he knew she would not believe him. He just stood there, speechless and afraid.
"I can't believe he defeated us so easily!" Jason smashed his fist on a computer console to emphasize his anger. "We weren't prepared for this! We had no idea . . ."
Zack's face was blank. Where usually there stood a broad smile, capable of brightening anyone's day, there was nothing. His eyes, glazed over, stared off in the distance at something that was not there. Zack was far away, not paying any attention to what was happening around him, and then he was back, his eyes shifting to Zordon's tube. "This doesn't make any sense Zordon. Why would Goldar kill all those people and then leave as soon as we show up?"
"He's insane!" Kimberly screamed.
"I don't think so. Don't you think it's weird that he didn't even attack us?"
"What do you mean he didn't attack us? He threw a god damned exploding head at us!" Jason exclaimed.
"Chill out Jase, and just listen. That was not an attack, it was a warning. He threatened to kill us, hurt us a little bit, and then left. Why didn't he try and finish us off right then and there? I get the feeling that Zedd is planning something."
"Maybe he was just sizing us up, trying to test us," Billy suggested.
"No, if that were the case he would have given us a chance to attack. He still has no idea what we are capable of. Any ideas Zordon?"
"I am afraid not Zachary. I do agree that this confrontation was most peculiar. Perhaps the location of the attack holds some significance."
"Las Vegas is a densely populated area. Maybe the goal of this attack was a high casualty count. Maybe Lord Zedd wanted to frighten you," Alpha suggested.
"That makes sense," Zack said, "But I've got a feeling it's a lot more complicated than that."
x-x-x-
"All right Finster, what have you got to show me?"
"My lord, though the computer is unable to trace the origins of the Ranger's teleportation, it is able to detect when the teleportation is triggered. Using the computer, I was able to time the length of their teleportation from their base to the city. Then, as the Rangers teleported away, I determined the speed at which they teleport. By multiplying their speed by the amount of time it took them to teleport, I figured that their distance from the city is roughly four hundred miles. Which direction, however, is anyone's guess."
Lord Zedd pondered over this information for a moment, then sent a servant to summon Darkonda. A minute later Darkonda sauntered into Finster's lab, a devilish grin on his face. "You called, my lord?"
"Darkonda, you are an excellent strategist. Tell me, where would Zordon set up his base of operations?" Zedd handed Darkonda a map that displayed the information Finster had discovered, and Darkonda studied it for a short while.
"It is difficult to say," Darkonda said almost teasingly. "North seems unlikely, and south is out of the question. That leaves just east or west. Both locations hold different advantages. If he is to the west, that would put him on the coast of this landmass, which means that an attack can only come from one direction. If he is to the east, he would be in the center of this continent, making it easier to dispatch the Rangers to different locations. You just have to ask yourself, is Zordon more defensive or offensive?"
"Enough games Darkonda!" Zedd shouted while reaching out and grabbing Darkonda's throat. "East or west?"
"West my lord. Definitely west."
