Chapter Two: The Knight

Lord Zedd stared into the hologram as his leader, Dark Specter, spoke. He hated the fact that he followed someone, but Dark Specter had proven to be a powerful foe. Zedd knew it would be better to follow him and get his way, than to oppose the monster and be destroyed, or at worse, cut off from being able to accomplish his goals.

"The Resistance has stalemated us." Dark Specter said in anger. "And I do not wish to allow those who wish to fight against us to think they have any leg to stand on. Zedd, I order you to attack Tarmac 5. I have calculated that it is the weakest link in the Resistance. If you take it out and its leader, you will deal a devastating blow to the Resistance. That is all."

Lord Zedd stood up. He had just awoken from a hibernation sleep and was surprised to see that everything was not destroyed in his absence. Over the years, his faith in Rita Repulsa and her minions had faltered. It seemed that Rita had been falling deeper and deeper into madness. He suspected it was due to the influence the staff he had created from his raw Red Energy had on her. He could see the Red Energy flow from the gem atop her staff and he knew it was working on her. He still was unsure, however, if it was more of a handicap for the woman or not.

As he walked in, he saw Rita hitting her henchman over the head with her staff. "This is all your fault! Had you any brains, the Order of the Claw wouldn't have seen you coming! You ruined the intel Scorpina gave us!"

Squatt, while grabbing his head in pain, apologized profusedly. Baboo followed suit, bowing before his mistress. Baboo was a simple being, with not a lot going on "upstairs". Over the years, he had given himself completely to Rita Repulsa and her cause, and had forgotten how he had began in her service by being a mole for Dai Shi and Master Octomus. Since Dai Shi still had Scorpina in Rita's ranks, he hadn't minded when he had stopped hearing from Baboo. In fact, the majority of his forces didn't remember or care that Babool had helped them. His sister, Necrolai, knew he was utterly useless, so she didn't bother reminding anyone.

Finster, after recently having unplugged Zedd from his hibernation station, walked into the room. Seeing the mood Rita was in, he hurriedly turned around and scurried back into his lab, not wanting to be punished for something he knew he had not done. Although he despised Rita's tactics, he had grown a soft spot for her. He saw how much she tried, and it was endearing to him. As he made it back to his lab, he began attaching pieces of monsters together to surprise Rita with a new monster to attack Earth.

"Rita!" Zedd boomed, Red Energy visibly filling the room. Rita straightened up. She ran to Zedd and bowed before him, kissing his exoskeleton. Zedd laughed at how he had her under his control. "Rita, my servant. I have a task for you. I need you to attack Tarmac 5 immediately. There, you will be tasked with destroying its Resistance outpost."

Rita stood and cackled. "Not a problem! I already have history with the worm he is over there! Ah-haha!"

"Excellent... Then go, my minion, and do my bidding!" Zedd declared, laughing as he went to his Z Throne. He sat in it and turned on his radar from his red visor. He would sit on that throne from time to time, to monitor what was occurring on Earth and what the Order of the Claw and the Resistance were doing.

As Zedd went about his tasks, Rita finished telling her henchmen what was expected of them. Goldar stepped forward, saluting Rita by crossing his arm across his chest.

"My empress..." Goldar said, bowing. "I have a warrior who has helped me in battle recently. He should be of great help!"

"Oh, really? What's his name?"

"He goes by the name of Knasty Knight. He has a special weapon that he uses. It is enchanted with witch magic and causes any weapon that comes into contact with it to begin to decay." Goldar said.

"Amazing!" Rita said happily. "Where did you meet such a fighter!?"

"When I accompanied Dark Specter and Darkonda a while back on a conquest, this knight had been defending his homeworld. In exchange for his people's freedom, he agreed to work for Dark Specter and use his abilities to decimate other worlds."

"Then he will do quite nicely!"

"I will have him go with me to Tarmac 5 immediately!"

"Wait, Goldar..." Rita said, smiling. "There is more to this plan than just brute force. On Tarmac 5 are some powerful artifacts. We need to make sure to secure them before we obliterate the place! Ah-hahaha!"

. . .

Bio Mech Silver shot at Miha and Doc. Miha ducked behind a computer console as Doc ran through a room.

Marvelous sneered as Bio Mech Silver ran forward to get his prey. "That's it! Destroy those traitors!"

Luka folded her arms. "Marvelous... I'm confused. Who are these people?"

Marvelous leaned up against a console. "Probably some Spirits wanting revenge for us destroying their world. Nothing big."

Joe shrugged. "So now what? We're stuck here?" He pointed down to the Demon Traps beneath them.

"Hey! Silver!" Marvelous yelled out. "Could you let us out, please!?"

Bio Mech Silver turned from his pursuit. He shot at the emblems under each Demon and blasted a single scorch into the floor. It was enough to break the paint and let them out.

Miha took a deep breath as she slipped into an outer room, grabbing her spellbook she had dropped. She and Doc had found the spellbook during their journeys since they had lost their friends to Demonhood. Miha had worked on it for quite some time until she felt that she had perfected the spells the book contained. She remembered how it had felt when she and Doc had first snuck onto the ship. Seeing Marvelous, Luka, and Joe after so many years hurt her deeply. She remembered using the incantation when all three happened to appear in the ship's main room at the same time, conjuring Demon Traps at the exact spots on which they were standing. She had begun using a spell to get them to recall their past. She had been happy to see it working, but disappointed all the same. She knew in her head that it wouldn't bring them out of their stupor right off the bat, but in her heart she hoped it would.

"Let's grab Miha and make sure she pays for attacking us." Joe said, cracking his knuckles.

Marvelous nodded. "After everything we've done for her, you think she'd know better than to pay us back like this!"

"Yeah, and that worm Doc. How dare he betray us!" Luka added.

Bio Mech Silver cocked his head to the side. "So, you know these two?"

Marvelous nodded. "Yeah. We used to be Power Ra-"

The three Demons stopped in their tracks. Bio Mech Silver turned to stare at them. "What are you talking about? Power Rangers? You were once Power Rangers?"

Joe squinted, looking down. "I... I think so..."

Miha tried to suppress her excitement. They're not out of the woods yet...

"I don't remember!" Marvelous yelled, falling to his knees. He clutched his head in pain.

Bio Mech Silver shook his head. "I don't understand, General Marvelous. Since when have you-"

As he said this, a red light appeared around Marvelous. Suddenly, he was gone.

"Huh?" Bio Mech Silver asked, confused.

Joe was enveloped by a blue light and Luka a yellow one before they, too, disappeared.

"Where did they go!?" Bio Mech Silver demanded, pointing his blaster around the room. He hoped to find the ones responsible for this sudden teleportation.

Miha sat in the room in which she found herself as Doc appeared, walking through a wall himself. He bent over and began whispering to Miha by saying, "Miha! You should have seen what happened! Marvelo-"

Before he could finish, a green light appeared over him. Suddenly, he vanished. Miha jumped up, scared.

"What is happening!?" She screamed in panic. As she did this, she knew she didn't need to turn around. She knew who was then standing behind her, pointing his blaster.

"Okay, witch. Turn around slowly. Tell me what you have done to General Marvelous."

Pink light descended upon Miha as she began to turn. The vision of Bio Mech Silver began to blur as she found herself being teleported away. The last thing she saw of that ship was a beam of energy leaving the Silver Ranger's blaster, headed toward her. The first thing she saw of her new location was an old man in a robe, sitting on a chair before her.

Miha got into a fighting stance. "Who are you!?"

The old man smiled. "The Sorceror of the Sands. I have summoned you here for your help."

He flashed her a card in his hand. It was a silver card with a reflective shine to it. "You see, Demons are taking over throughout the universe. This is all that is left of my world." He pointed outside of the tent in which they found themselves. The two of them walked outside. All she could see was sand for miles.

"We were a peaceful race, called Sand Benders. One day, Bansheera came down and attacked us. She had some machinery with her. Her fighters used it and sucked the essence out of all of my people. I was the only one who was not caught. I was lucky..." He said, sadness filling his eyes. "I had covered myself with a pile of sand as the Demons tried to blast me. They thought they had obliterated me. By chance, I was left for dead.

"During my time after the invasion, I came upon these ancient Power Cards. They are filled with Ethereal power. I have felt that the time had come to use them. I infused a bit of my own magic into them, so the powers would manifest themselves in a way that the universe at large would see these powers and recognize them as symbols of justice.

"I then did an ancient incantation, calling upon the powers of the Ethereals to summon forth warriors strong enough to take the power upon themselves. The cards showed you and your four friends to me. They gave me a brief synopsis of your lives. I do have to say, I am very sorry for the pain you have endured these past couple of millenniums."

Miha looked down, a tear falling from her eye. The only thing that she could think to say was, "Where are they? What have you done to my friends?"

"They are with my assistant. He is speaking to them the same way I am speaking to you. I have chosen you to lead this team. You have shown great determination and endurance over your time trying to free your friends. That is the sort of dedication the universe will need. Although the cards chose all of you for these powers, it is I who have chosen you to lead this team."

"You said your assistant is speaking with them. Does this mean...?"

The sorcerer smiled. "Yes. The cards have purified them. If you will look down, you will see the cards have also returned you to the land of the living. Now, Miha, look up and see your team."

Miha turned and pointed her gaze to the skies. As she did, she saw Marvelous, Joe, Luka, and Doc descend down, wings sprouting from their backs. She ran to Marvelous as they landed, hugging him tightly.

"Nice to see you, too, Miha." Marvelous said, smiling.

Luka looked around. "Man... It's like waking up from a bad dream..."

Joe was silent, looking off into the distance. He was trying hard to forget everything he had seen and done as a Demon. It wasn't working.

Doc smiled and hugged each one of his friends. "I am so glad to see you all again! This is great!"

The five turned to the Sorcerer of the Sands. Marvelous stepped forward and shook his hand. "Thank you, Sorcerer. You have given me my life back."

The Sorcerer's assistant, Delu, appeared from behind the Sorcerer, teleporting in from where he had been speaking to the other four chosen card wielders. The Sorcerer turned to him and nodded, saying, "What is it, my friend?"

Delu swallowed hard. "If we are going to fight off the Demons on Canine 4, we have to do it now."

The Sorcerer nodded. He turned to the five chosen warriors. "Are you ready to start your fight against the Demons?"

Marvelous nodded. "I started this. I'm going to end it."

Luka folded her arms. "They'll wish they never used me for their agenda."

Joe sneered. "I'm going to make them all pay for what they're doing."

Doc smiled. "It feels good to get back in the saddle."

Miha stepped forward. She could feel the card instructing her on what to do. She looked at the Sorcerer of the Sands and nodded. "Change card!"

She lifted her card above her head. The others followed suit. Miha then said, "Sky Armor!"

A different colored helmet appeared on each of their cards as they said this. The card read their personality and Spirit, creating the armor according to them. The cards then began to shine, each one with the color of the armor that each of the former pirates would don upon themselves. As the armor appeared on their person, their wings sprouted out from behind them and flapped once, imprinting themselves on the front of their chest, as an emblem representing their Animal Spirit. Not only did the cards tap into the Morphing Grid and the powers of the Ethereals, they also were based on the martial art principle of Animal Spirits.

The final piece of the morph occurred when the helmets appeared on each of the fighters. The transformation was complete.

The pink fighter got into her stance. "The Animal Spirit of breath! Phoenix! Gaia Pink!"

The red fighter then said, "The Animal Spirit of storms! Dragon! Gaia Red!"

"The Animal Spirit of blossoms! Tiger! Gaia Yellow!"

"The Animal Spirit of Waves! Shark! Gaia Blue!"

"The Animal Spirit of Tides! Dolphin! Gaia Green!"

Gai Pink turned to her team. "Okay, guys. Let's head to the Wolfshead Galaxy. We have a planet to save!"

They all nodded. They allowed their wings to sprout out and they flew up into the sky, out into space.

The Sorcerer of the Sands smiled. "Good luck, and may the Power protect you."

. . .

As Zedd tried to figure out how he could distract those on Earth from his throne on the moon, he watched as five people appeared on one of Earth's continents. Something about a couple of them seemed familiar. He watched as one walked forward and began speaking.

"We have come to take the jewels of the Corona Aurora. Come out and face us, or we will destroy your entire planet."

Robo Knight promptly walked out from the Magic Realm. He slowly turned to the five warriors and pointed his blaster at them.

"Who are you and why do you threaten this planet? It is illogical to do so with such bravado." He stated, semi-curious as to their motive.

"I am Rahp. I have been ordered to announce my intent to obtain the jewels to the Corona Aurora. I will destroy all who oppose my team on their mission to obtain the jewels of the Corona Aurora. Are you here to stop us from completing our mission to obtain the jewels of the Corona Aurora?" Rahp said, sounding more hollow and mechanical than Robo Knight.

Robo Knight nodded. "Yes, I am here to stop you. Surrender your attempts now, and I will let you go. If you persist, I must destroy you."

Rahp turned to his team and nodded. "Bio change: Mech mode!"

With the announcement of their morph, the five instantly transformed into their Power Ranger counterparts. They got into fighting stances before announcing their names to Robo Knight.

"Bio Mech Red."

"Bio Mech Blue."

"Bio Mech Yellow."

"Bio Mech Pink."

"Bio Mech Green."

Unconsciously, the Bio Mech Power Rangers had signed off in order of their role call when they had been Alliance Power Rangers. Once done announcing themselves, a program Deviot had put in to intimidate those opposing his ranger team, they ran forward to meet Robo Knight.

Zordon, already seeing on his monitor spikes from the Morphing Grid, outside of feeling it himself through his Nathadian magic, was already trying to assemble a team of martial artists to help.

Over this communicator, Master Guin could be heard saying, "I'm sorry, Zordon. I have Hidiacs on every side over here. It feels like they are trying to rush into the Ancient City. We need every person we can to be here. I'm sorry: Robo Knight's on his own."

Zordon frowned. "You don't understand: He's being attacked by Power Rangers."

He could hear Guin hesitate. "I'm sorry, General. I'll send people as soon as I can, but we are really swamped here. Scorpina and Necrolai are here as well. I really am sorry."

Zordon slumped in his seat. As he was about to call the Aquitar Rangers, he heard Robo Knight's voice come over the radio. "Zordon, I need back up immediately. I'm losing."

Zordon frowned. He lifted his old body up and limped over to the main control panel. He sighed and thought, I wish Gosei wasn't on Liaria right now...

He typed in the coordinates for Robo Knight's location. Suddenly, he found himself out of the Magic Realm, staring at five Power Rangers simultaneously attacking Robo Knight. The silver knight was expertly defending himself, even causing damage to the evil rangers. Zordon could tell, though, that he was tiring.

"Zordon! Come in! I-"

"I'm here, Robo Knight."

Robo Knight blocked two punches and kicked a third ranger away from him. He looked at Zordon, shocked. Zordon hadn't gone to the battlefield in many, many years.

Bio Mech Red turned to face Zordon while his team continued to attack Robo Knight. Zordon could see sparks fly from his loyal knight as he got hit, but refused to fall. He clenched his wrinkled fist in anger.

"Move away from here, old man, or face our wrath." Bio Mech Red warned.

From up on the Moon Palace, Zedd laughed. "Zordon of Eltar? My, how you've grown old... This should be interesting to see. And why did those rangers look familiar? More importantly, who sent them?"

Zordon grimaced. "Don't tell me what to do."

Bio Mech Red slowly began walking toward him. "One last chance, old man."

Zordon closed his eyes. He began focusing. He could hear the voices of those who had called themselves the Tribunal of Magic speaking to him. Over the years, he had learned to tune out their pleas for him to return to using their magic. It had been a while since he let them back into his life.

"Welcome back, Zordon."

"It's about time!"

"Go and do your duty."

Zordon opened his eyes. Bio Mech Red was a mere three yards away from him. He forced his body into a fighting stance. "Ancient source... Meledon force."

. . .

Burai and his team walked out into the field. The distress call had come from that area, but he couldn't see anything. He told his team to disperse and comb the area.

As he began searching, he heard some crying. He ran as fast as he could, gripping his Dragon Dagger in one hand. Over his Resistance uniform was hisDragon Shield.

"Hello? Is there anyone here?" Burai asked.

A figure crawled out from behind a tree. Burai could hear sniffling. His jaw nearly dropped when he saw who it was.

"Wha-? That's impossible..."

Margaret stepped forward. "Burai? It's me, Margaret... I've escaped. I... I came looking for you as fast as I could. Please, help me... I don't want them to catch me again!"

Margaret ran forward, crying. Burai lowered his dagger as Margaret fell to his arms. Her deep sobs hurt his heart. He couldn't believe it. It had been so long since he had seen her. He knew there had been some connection between the two of them, back when they were members of the Morphing Academy. He was still in shock that she had returned, the way he remembered her.

"It's okay, Margaret. I'm here. I'll protect you. Let's get you out of here." Burai said, helping her down from atop the hill he had found her.

She smiled. "Thank you, Burai. I knew you'd be the one to help me."

Perfect... She thought. I have him right where I want him...