A/N: Hey, everyone! So, it's been a few years since I've written any Power Rangers fanfics (actually, I'm pretty sure the last time I wrote a PR fic, Samurai had just started). So, just a head's up on this fic; It's kinda sort of AU-ish? At least in the sense that some of the concepts/ideas I plan to include might conflict with concepts/ideas brought up in the comics and more recent seasons (especially the former).

I really haven't really watched much of either the comics or of Beast Morphers/Dino Fury to be confidently familiar with either (Plus, I consider the comics to be their own separate continuity/'verse as it is).

In any case, I hope you enjoy! Comments and kudos are always appreciated! ^_^.

Prologue

November 1998-River Valley, California

A frigid, late fall chill bit through the starry night sky that blanketed the still mountain forest like a shroud. Smoke of the recently doused campfire drifted lazily, vanishing into the cold, fog rolling along the floor of the sleepy campsite.

Of course, not everyone within the camp was slumbering peacefully. Within the one of the large tents, a slightly unkempt man sat on the floor, studying several thick, ancient looking books and paper sprawled around brown eyes, somewhat bloodshot from a lack of sleep, seemed to glimmer with an electricity far brighter than the yellowish lamp-light that filled the small space.

He grinned tiredly to himself as raked a hand through his graying hair as he, stretched, reaching for something on the far-side of his makeshift work space.

As much as Dr. Kyle Novak always considered himself more of the type of college professor more at home in a lecture hall discussing ancient civilizations or sequestered in his office among stacks of dusty books, there was always a part of him that sort of enjoyed the thrill of actually being out on an field research

Especially when he was almost certain that he was on the verge of uncovering one of the greatest lost treasures in the world.

Okay, he reasoned, maybe not the greatest discovery ever; it wasn't exactly like discovering the ruins of the Library of Alexandria or The Rosetta Stone, but at least to him it was fairly close.

Absently, he turned over the object in his hand. The ancient symbols and markings that littered the object's jagged crystalline surface seemed to almost glimmer with an eerie light in the glow of the golden lamplight, sending chills up his spine as an uneasiness settled in the pit of his stomach.

was never the one to believe in fate. It wasn't that he considered himself above indulging in such a theory, or that he faulted anyone who did. It was just that whether fate existed or not wasn't particularly a discussion that interested him.

But, as he felt the weight of the ominous crystal in his hand, he couldn't help but wonder if fate might have played some role in everything that had happened.

Without realizing it, he thought back to a few weeks prior. He'd heard the news and rumors of what appeared to have been a full-scale alien invasion over the city of Angel Grove.

Of course, people outside of the city had been quick to explain it away as some sort of publicity stunt. After all, the Terra Venture was still a few months away from launching on it's maiden voyage. And, he'd heard rumors that the group of masked heroes that often appeared in the city were likely themselves linked to some sort of experimental private company or government project.

So, it wasn't entirely out of the realm of possibility to assume that perhaps the people promoting the Terra Venture project and whomever were attached to the masked fighters had teamed up for some wild publicity stunt.

But, admittedly, Dr. Novak wasn't exactly sure if he readily accepted that particular theory as truth as it seemed that a lot of people were. Then again, it wasn't like he could necessarily blame them; a long, drawn out publicity stunt was a lot easier to digest than the revelation that aliens from outer space actually existed.

Then, there was that weird light-wave that apparently swept throughout the galaxy.

Part of him wondered how a light-wave with the amount of energy, or radiation, to supposedly disintegrate entire beings to dust, but somehow hadn't had much of a notable effect on any electromagnetic devices.

But then again, he reasoned, while he did dabble in some of the harder sciences, he wasn't exactly as familiar with that particular field to know for certain how that worked. Once he'd finished his work on this project, he reminded himself to ask one of the more knowledgeable of his colleagues about that.

Still, he thought as he shook his head and crawled out of the tent into the moonlit campsite, saying that it was true, there was something about all of it that left an uncomfortably heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

Again, he looked down at the softly pulsing amulet in his hand. Was it possible that that that cosmic event and him finding this ancient relic so soon afterward were somehow connected-if not directly, then by some sort of unseen, ancient force?

Was he holding the key to lost knowledge? Or was it the key to the Pandora's Box he held, and he was unknowingly orchestrating the ultimate destruction of humanity, yet seemingly unable to will himself to stop.

Or was he thinking too deeply about it?

And yet, he couldn't shake the lurking dread that something terrible was looming on the horizon.

A sharp, frigid wind cut through the air, extinguishing the faintly glowing embers of the dying campfire. The faint wisps of smoke danced like opalescent ghosts on the breeze as the trees rustled wildly.

In his hand, the glow of the relic began to pulse more brightly, as if responding to soft glow of the moonlight that fell upon it. A sharp chill of ice ran through his veins, freezing his blood as a ghostly laugh echoed in his ears over the roar of the wind.

"W-who's there?!" he demanded in a shaking voice as something fluttered in his periphrial vision.

Again, the ghostly laugh mocked him in response. The crystal in his hand shook violently, as electric blue-white lightning arched from it, leaving behind a trail of smoke and fire in it's wake as it shot through the spaces between the trees into the darkness.

He knew that that should have been his cue to drop that cursed crystal and run in the opposite direction as fast as his feet could carry him. And yet, curiosity and an almost supernatural compulsion seemed to have taken hold of his body, urging him forward against all of his better judgment.

When he found himself regaining his sense of awareness, he found himself standing in the midst of a clearing. His muscles ached and stung from the bruises and scratches that he'd gained on his long, blind trek through the thick forest. He drew a ragged, panting breath as he wiped away a sheen of sweat and dirt from his forehead, as he realized he was completely lost.

And yet, the sight before him was enough to make him forget about that for even a moment.

Huge crumbled columns and arches of stone and crystal lay scattered like felled trees among the edges of the clearing. Shattered fragments of what might have once been statues littered the clearing, hidden in the overgrowth of vines and tall grass.

The faint, ominous miasma of death and dark magic weighed on the air, making him unconsciously hold his breath. At his feet, spectral fog swirled lazily, seeming to glow as it illuminated the starless, black void above.

Slowly, he moved along the broken remnants of a stone path toward the distant wall of the cliff. He felt as if he had stepped beyond a veil that separated the waking world into a mystical, lost realm of dreams and nightmares, as the fog continued to glow with an eerie light.

His path was stopped as he approached the massive wall of the cliffside towering like a skyscraper. At the foot of the wall, the area once more opened up into what appeared to be a circular open-air chamber surrounded by elegant, crystalline arches.

Within five of these arches, towering marble-like statues depicting what appeared to be faceless knights, their stone hands frozen into hand gestures. Upon their helmets, each bore a gem that seemed to almost radiate with an inner light.

That light, he noted unconsciously, could be both a great power and a great destructive force, depending on the hands of those who could wield such power.

In the center of the circle, another statue stood on a platform in the middle of a shimmering fountain. Like the statues of the warriors, this faceless statue exuded an immense aura of regal power. Unlike the other statues, this statue did not depict the figure of an armor clad knight, but rather a feminine figure clad in flowing robes; her arm outstretched as if reaching for the empty heavens above her.

A section of the cliffside that formed the only solid wall of the chamber, had been smoothed and carved into what appeared like a pair of large doors, locked together by what appeared to be a large, ornate circular seal of some kind.

Arcane runes and symbols in languages long forgotten and lost to memory decorated the outer rim of the seal, glowing steadily with a threatening aura as they surrounded what appeared to be some sort of ancient royal crest.

"This is..." Dr. Novak breathed in awe as slow realization dawned on him, choking his words in his throat, "The lost Chakrian kingdom..."

He had to have been dreaming, he thought to himself. Most people believed that the Chakrian Kingdom was nothing more than a handful of myths and bedtime stories passed down between generations. After all-the remnants of a long lost civilization that had fallen to Earth eons ago? Who wouldn't have considered that to be a work of fiction?

Dr. Novak himself had grown up fascinated by those exact same legends, as many of his colleagues had.

Yet, somewhere in the core of his heart, there was a part of him that believed these stories to be more than just fanciful ramblings spinning tales of brave warriors and wise sages blessed with seemingly magical capabilities.

Even in the darkest parts of his dreams, his soul was a moth and this place was the flame that drew him toward it. As much as he didn't like to resort to describing things in such esoteric ways, he couldn't help but feel as if there was something inexplicable in his blood that resonated with the lost voices of the spirits enshrined here, waiting restlessly for the long years to pass before he could gain the knowledge and skill to uncover and understand their secrets.

A chorus of ghostly haunting voices echoed around him, cracking the in the still, electric air like thunder. Dr. Novak felt his skin shiver, even underneath the warmth of his coat, as invisible hands brushed and prodded his skin with their ghostly touch.

In the back of his mind, panic rose in a paralyzing wave as those hollow voices turned their whispers toward his ears, crawling deep into his brain and down his spine.

Those voices spoke his name, some mockingly discussing him among themselves in thin metallic voices, and others calling his name in deep, reverberating voices that clashed like metal against concrete in his skull.

"Him?" one, or maybe more, voices echoed, "Are you sure that he's the one? He seems a bit too weak and...human."

"Perhaps," another voice countered, "But no typical human has ever been able to venture into this sacred ground in over six thousand years."

"He even bears the Phoenix Stone in his possession.,"a third voice added giddily "So, surely this is must be some kind of sign."

"It's true that the power of the seal has shifted," the first voice said, dubiously, "And that King Drachala has been able to exert some level of influence beyond the confines of the sanctum, recently. But, you still forget that the Heart of Darkness is not the only force with influence."

"Even so," Yet another, this one much deeper, reverberating loudly in 's skull that he couldn't help but wince in pain, "It's likely that he won't have a choice to resist our influence. The Fates have determined that the reign of the Kingdom of Chaos is at hand. "

Panic surged through the doctor's veins, paralyzing him with a greater terror than he had ever felt before. The arcane writing on the seal flickered with a mesmerizing light as it futily struggled to hold back the sudden dark crimson clouds that spilled around it.

He couldn't even cough as he felt the dark smoke entered his lungs. His body convulsed, struggling against the cold mist as it filled his body, pushing his entire spiritual being into the corners of his subconscious. In moments, his limbs felt numb as he found himself unable to do more than watch in restrained terror as his body began to move of it's own accord.

In his hands, the crystal grew hot in his hands, flickering like a warning light sending out a distress beacon to some unknown and unseen force that would never be able to receive it.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as he watched his hands place the flickering crystal in the hands of the statue of the robed maiden. Around him, the crystals on the statues of the knights suddenly flickered to light, bursting forth rainbow beams as the struck the radiating white gem. Once more, the light of the white gem flared, bathing the void in a blinding white light.

At that moment, the dark smoke faded, allowing his will to tumble back into his aching, heavy limbs as he fell to the floor. Drained, he tried to push himself back up to a standing position, but soon found that difficult as the ground below him began to quake and tremble. Only the vague awareness of his survival instincts provoked him to roll out of the way as the giant statues began to crack and crumble, creating large, splintering cracks as they crashed to the ground.

His thoughts and feelings had jumbled into an incomprehensible jumble somewhere between despair and catatonic numbness as he watched the arcane seal explode into a plume of flame and smoke. A great, terrible scraping grated on his ears as the heavy stone doors in the mountainside shuddered and opened with a haunting groan.

That numb confusion was replaced with a wave of dread as he felt a wave of dark, moving shadows spill forth from the open door, like the flood-waters from a dam that had broken, plunging what felt like the whole world into a shadow deeper and colder than the void of space itself.

Defeated, Dr. Novak closed his eyes, reluctantly resigned to the horrible fate that this overwhelming force had determined for him. At least, he thought bleakly, a quick death would be merciful compared to what was likely able to befall the rest of humanity.

But, the endless oblivion of death never came.

For at that moment, as his consciousness began to fade, five lights began to glow in the darkness.

Five lights glimmering in the darkness.

Five souls united as one standing between the world and complete chaos.