Disclaimer: See first chapter.

Ghosts of the Past

Chapter 7

Tommy Oliver stared at the remains of the Power Chamber, clutching the Zeo Crystal in his right hand and a red glowing orb in his left. Smoke was rising from all corners of the planet because of the Star Empire's crushing offensive led by Tommy Oliver. When Nyx reawakened the darkness within Tommy, everything was clear once again. Even clearer when Nyx told Tommy that Kimberly had chosen "him."

But Oliver had the last laugh. He had the Death Seed at the place where the Morphing Grid was most concentrated on Earth. There was no question for the action that was long overdue. It was irony that he was only now finishing the job Rita Repulsa asked him to do years ago, fulfilling the mission of the evil Green Ranger as a more powerful force.

He was the Vulcan Ranger. The power buzzed through his head even in an unmorphed state. He tasted the power when he led the offensive against the nations of Earth to pave way for the new home base of the Star Empire. The new fortress would be raised over the sight of the old Power Chamber, but there was still unfinished business.

Tommy loosed his grip on the Death Seed, which fell into the earth beneath his feet, carving a tunnel deep underground. "No more," he said. "No more Rangers will arise from this world." Tommy knelt by the tunnel, focusing his presence at the epicenter of the coming storm. Great plumes of white energy emerged from the ground and radiated like a shockwave across the surface. Connected to the universe itself, Tommy could feel Morphing Grid withering like a vine before it crumbled around him.

The Zeo Crystal shined silently in his right hand, unaffected by the Morphing Grid's collapse on Earth. In his own research, Tommy knew the Zeo Crystal tapped into a different energy. Because of this fact, he had plans to use its power to project the will of the Star Empire. He stood once again and extended his left hand. With a single blast of energy, he cleared the remains of the Power Chamber.

Tommy stared up into the sky.

Well done, Tommy, Nyx told him. The other Rangers are headed for Eltar. We will plant the Death Seed there next.

"Yes, Empress," Tommy said obediently.

~*~*~

The Phantom Ranger clenched his teeth as he felt the Morphing Grid disappear from his homeworld. He was not alone. The sensations were detected by Kimberly and Zhane, who shared Billy's sensitivity to the Morphing Grid. The rest of the crew would have been oblivious to it despite the fact that they were former Power Rangers. They were nowhere around the trio.

"This is horrible," Kimberly finally said. The group had changed into uniforms similar to those worn by the Astro Rangers. "We were powerless to stop it."

"Erebus tried to stop this until the end of his life," Zhane said. "He told me that something terrible would happen if the Morphing Grid were ever to disappear from worlds of greatest concentration."

"Unless I'm mistaken, such a plan would take centuries to come to fruition," Billy said.

"But what if just knocking over a few pieces is enough?" Kimberly inquired.

"Kim's right," Zhane said. "Nyx is punching holes in the Morphing Grid, which operates similar to a great stream. There are certain worlds where the Morphing Grid holds concentrated energy and eliminating those locations forces the rest of the Morphing Grid to compensate. It's not as if a few worlds could cause problems, but if you cause enough damage, you could push the Morphing Grid to the tipping point."

"Positive feedback," Billy mused. "It's responding in the direction of perturbation."

"English, Billy!" Kimberly said.

"He means that it's bleeding out," Zhane told her. "They've already hit Aquitar and Earth and we can't assume any major world is safe at this point. Eltar has the greatest known concentration, so they'll likely strike there next."

"Which is coincidentally where our paths are converging," Billy said.

"So how do we stop this?" Kimberly asked Zhane. She took a seat next to Billy and looked to the Solar Ranger for answers.

Zhane sighed before he leaned against the wall, defeated. "I don't know," he said. "It doesn't impact our powers, but you have to understand something. The Morphing Grid wasn't created by ancient sorcerers to just be a source of magic. The Morphing Grid actually limits our powers. The energies aren't that different from what is contained in our gems, but sorcerers like Zordon and Lord Zedd saw the need to limit our powers in case Nyx ever returned."

"Lord Zedd had a hand in the Morphing Grid?" Kimberly asked.

"Yes," Zhane said. "You should be counting your blessings that the transformation the Zeo Crystal brought upon him prevented him from using the full extent of his powers."

"They wanted to limit their own powers in case Nyx ever returned," Billy realized. "She's naturally impacted by the presence of the Morphing Grid as well."

"We are immortals drawing upon powers that no mortal should ever touch," Zhane told him. "When Nyx was at full power, she was like a great goddess. We were all like gods who tasted the forbidden fruit."

"I sensed something when I first morphed," Kimberly said. "I could feel everything, even the screams of a distant dying star."

"That is what we are," Zhane said. "We are the Archons. Our gems are the fruits of forbidden knowledge of all that has transpired and all the power in the universe."

Zhane left Billy and Kimberly alone as he walked back to the cockpit. Zack, Justin and Aisha were resting until the group reached Eltar. Billy and Kimberly looked at each other as they were both trying to absorb what Zhane revealed.

"All of a sudden, I don't mind the idea of fighting one of Rita's monsters," Billy told her. He watched Kimberly smirk, but neither were in the mood for laughing.

"I just don't understand something," Kimberly said. "If the Machine Empire had the Worldship, why didn't they use it? That would have beaten us."

"Something tells me there's much more to the story behind the Worldship than we know," Billy told her. "The Machine Empire may have developed the technology to create wounds in the Morphing Grid, but it doesn't make sense that they would create such a device alone. Nyx had to have had disciples preparing for this day. The Worldship may have been the Machine Empire's ultimate weapon, but it wasn't theirs to use."

"I never knew you for conspiracy theories, Billy," Kimberly said.

"Zordon also never mentioned that Zedd had a hand in creating the Morphing Grid," Billy told her. "Let's face it. There was a lot that we didn't know."

"I guess we were just left in the dark," Kimberly said. "We just have to find the truth together."

"Quid est veritas?" Billy said. When Kimberly looked at him quizzically, he translated, "What is truth? It's Latin. It was Pilate's question to Jesus."

"Interesting," Kimberly commented. "What does it have to do with anything?"

"My guess is we only knew what we needed to know," Billy told her.

~*~*~

"We only have one chance at this!" yelled Erebus. The Phantom Ranger converged on the Shadow Ranger on the plains of Pandemonium. Even in the face of death, Nyx grew more powerful.

Nyx laughed. The morphed Shadow Ranger was unafraid of the group assembled against her. She raised her right arm to the sky and lighting crashed down around her. Zordon dodged out of danger as his caped whipped in the wind. The White Sentinel signaled the Lunar and Solar Rangers to their positions. Lord Zedd continued in the distance to channel his energies into powerful holding spells to limit the fury of Nyx's storm.

Erebus faded into shadow and enveloped Nyx, using her own power against her. The Lunar and Solar Rangers held out their Power Gems, channeling their energies into the shadow cloud around Nyx. Zordon raised his Power Quartz as Erebus's Power Ruby glowed. Finally, the Power Emerald in Nyx's hand, ripped from the Vulcan Ranger, emitted its green glow.

"What is this?" Nyx asked.

"Your reckoning!" Erebus replied as energy began to quickly encase the Shadow Ranger. The Power Diamond reacted against its wielder's wishes, fueling the power needed to accomplish the task. Erebus withdrew from the shadow cloud around Nyx as a hard seal formed around her. It was clear as silica glass and her screams were frozen in time as her morph ceased to function.

Zordon collapsed to his knees as Lord Zedd walked over to him. "It's over," Zordon said. "At last it's finally over."

"I doubt it," Zedd told him. He was an older wizard with a bald head and a white goatee. "We must ensure that her power is never again seen in this universe."

Erebus walked over to his mentor. "Lord Zedd, if you do this, you limit all our powers," he said. "We've discussed this before."

"Erebus, he is right," Zordon told his friend. "It would help ensure the seal will hold Nyx in her prison."

The Lunar Ranger removed her helmet, revealing a beautiful female warrior. "This is preposterous, Zordon," Dulcea told him. "How do you know that it won't make the seal weaker? It was our power that created the seal."

"We don't have a choice," the Solar Ranger said in support of Zordon and Zedd. "Our power is an abomination."

"What would you do, Ninjor?" Erebus asked the Solar Ranger. "Would you give up your power for the sake of an ideal?"

"Erebus, Nyx proved what could happen when a being with the power of a goddess is permitted to run rampant through the universe," Ninjor told him. "I would surrender my power once we've created the Morphing Grid. Champions of a different sort can arise in times of need. The universe does not need us to be silent sentinels any longer."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Zedd told the group. "What will you do, Erebus?"

"I will not take part in this," the Lord of Death told Lord Zedd. "You don't know Nyx like I do. None of you can."

"Erebus, please think this through," Zordon pleaded with his old friend as he finally stood.

"I have," Erebus said. "You're setting yourself up for a disaster in the future." The Phantom Ranger walked away from the battlefield, leaving his comrades.

Zordon watched him depart, hearing as Erebus' warning constantly echo in his brain. "I hope you're wrong," he finally said.

~*~*~

Zordon opened his eyes to the great void, awakened by a great disturbance in the Morphing Grid he helped create. Ever since he had Andros shatter his tube years ago, Zordon was content to rest for all eternity in the great emptiness, trapped in a strange dimension beyond time itself. The sudden rush of sensations brought him back to clarity. The Morphing Grid was disappearing due to some unknown force, but Zordon had an inkling of the origin. He could sense Nyx from the land beyond time.

He felt his body materialize as consciousness returned and his feet touched an invisible plane. There was nothing as far as the eye could see. Zordon encountered a wanderer when he first arrived, one who was succumbing to madness. Zordon instead refused to journey through the void and decided to sleep.

"Zordon!" he heard a voice scream.

Zordon lifted his neck, still strong despite all the years. He had the appearance of a young Eltarian man once again. Long silver hair rested down the length of his back and he had the lean muscular appearance of a great warrior. "Who is there?" he asked.

A young Asian woman dressed in yellow robes appeared before him. "I'm surprised you don't recognize me," Zordon. "You chose me, remember?"

"Trini," Zordon said as he looked up at the beautiful face frozen in time. "How did you get here?"

"I don't know," she said. "I died, but somehow ended up here instead of somewhere else."

"The Morphing Grid is collapsing and it's my fault," Zordon said. "I asked Andros to destroy my tube to stop one evil, but I unleashed another. I lost my Power Quartz somewhere and I haven't been able to reclaim it."

"Nyx has it," Trini told him. "She won't give it up so easily."

"Then we have no choice," Zordon told her. "We have to escape. Do you know a way out?"

"I can't leave this place," Trini told Zordon. "But you can. If you concentrate, you can summon your power again."

"I'll try," Zordon said as he closed his eyes. Somewhere lost in the void was his power, but he was somehow able to summon enough of it to reclaim his body. There was something at the edge of hearing, something calling to him. When he created the Morphing Grid, he learned how to harness its power. Now that same creation was in danger and empowered him.

Zordon's body glowed and a staff appeared in his hands. White robes clothed him and his hair turned white. "That's it," he said before a portal opened around him. Zordon reappeared in an abandoned temple on Eltar, recognizing his home world by the distinctive two moon night sky. It was a beautiful sight to him.

"It's been far too long since I looked at the universe with my own eyes," Zordon mused.

Zordon looked in the sky as a ship approached the temple. He walked out of the building and towards where the ship was landing. His robes whipped behind him as the gusts of wind from the landing spacecraft cut past him.