ibDisclaimer:/b Skull, Lord Zedd, Goldar, Zordon, and Alpha are the property of Saban. The idea of
the Dark Falcon and just about everything else in this story is mine./i
PcenterThe Direct Approach/center
pcenterBy: SilvorMoon/center
p Afternoon sunlight flashed off of the shiny wings of a meandering beetle as it charted an
erratic course through the warm, herb-scented air of a Tienese garden. It landed briefly on the
hand of a young woman who was resting quietly in the shade of a spreading tree. She watched it
with bright, curious amber eyes as it marched across her fingers one by one, fanning its blue and
red spotted wings. Then it took off again, this time alighting on the nose of her companion, a
dark-haired young man. He crossed his eyes to stare at it a moment, and then blew it away with a
puff of air. Insulted, the beetle took off for more friendly territory.
P It was high summer on Tien, and it seemed like the whole planet, or at least the capital
city, was sleepy from the heat. No one had invented air conditioning yet, so the best that could be
done was to enjoy the relative coolness of one of many shade trees planted in the city for just that
purpose and sip water from wells that took their chill from the cold that lay far beneath the
planet's surface. Being without any other immediate plans, that was just what Skull and Cedar
were doing: just relaxing together, chatting or thinking according to their mood.
p Skull was doing a surprising amount of the latter. He had been doing it more and more
since he had come to Tien, and he was finding that it seemed to be a difficult habit to break. In a
strange way, it disturbed him a little. He had a notion that it meant something, but he hadn't quite
figured out what it could be yet. He couldn't let that trouble him much, though, not when there
were so many more important things to deal with - the safety of the world, for example. That was
one idea that never left his cranium for very long. If someone had come to him a month ago and
told him that he would be relocating to an alien world approximately ten or twelve thousand years
in the past, be given magical powers from a fire entity, and be expected to save a planet populated
entirely by shape-shifting talking birds, he would have laughed aloud. But now, not only was he
doing just that, but he actually seemed to be doing reasonably well at it. He wasn't dead yet,
anyway. That was worth something.
P Sometimes, though, he had to wonder just how long he was going to have to keep it up.
He had formed a vague notion sometime early on that he was just a temporary stand-in, just a guy
off the street who had been picked to do what he could until a ireal/i hero came along. Even
though he was beginning to wonder if he'd been right about that, it was still more or less fixed in
his mind that, sooner or later, he was going to have to leave. The war would be over eventually,
and then there would be no more need for the Dark Falcon, so he would go on with his original
plan to travel to Terra Venture to be reunited with his longtime friend Bulk. It would be good to
see him again, and it would be nice to be back in the modern world where people had actually
invented electricity. Still, on the other hand...
P "What Eugene thinking about?" asked Cedar. "You look so far away."
P "Just... remembering my old home," Skull replied. "Not that I don't like it here and all,
but, well... you know."
P "Yes," Cedar answered. "I know. I have known all along that this is not your home, and
someday you will have to go back to your own people. You are loyal to them, just as I am loyal
to my own race."
P Skull turned to look at her. There was a part of him that never ceased to be amazed at her.
On one level, she could look like a flighty, impulsive, endlessly enthusiastic girl barely out of
childhood, but there were depths of wisdom in her that harkened back to her father, known to be
the wisest wizard on Tien, and there was no mistaking the proud light in her eyes when she spoke
of her world, or of anything she really loved. Whatever she felt, she felt it completely and totally,
and she would do anything for a cause she believed in. Of course, Skull was only sensing an
inkling of that, without being able to put it into words, but he knew her well enough to know that
anyone who got on her bad side had better look out.
P "Well, kinda," he said vaguely. "Don't get me wrong, I love it here, too. I mean, I'm
happy here, and you and Hemlock and Poplar have been so nice to me... not many people were
nice to me like this back home."
P "Tien is a friendly world," said Cedar. "We have always been known for our hospitality -
at least, we were before the war started. It has made people less trusting. I hope things go back to
normal when Zedd is finally gone."
P "If he messes this place up even a little bit, I'll make him regret it," said Skull with
surprising vehemence. He had never quite gotten over seeing the attempted assassination of
Hemlock. In the month that Skull had been living on Tien, he had come to think of Hemlock
almost as a second father, and his sleep was sometimes troubled by nightmares of seeing the mage
lying in a slowly spreading pool of blood.
P "I feel the same," said Cedar, her voice hard with controlled anger. "There are times I
wish someone would just kill him and be done with it."
P "bYou know, that's not a bad idea,/b" answered a thoughtful voice.
P "What?" said Skull and Cedar in unison.
P Perched up in a tree, his glorious flaming feathers tossing in the light breeze, was the
Firebird. He looked down on them with the air of a benevolent being surveying his followers -
which was fairly close to how he perceived the situation. Seeing that he had their attention, he
fluttered down to perch on the garden wall, putting him closer to eye-level so they wouldn't have
to strain their necks to see him.
P "bI was just agreeing with you,/b" he said, with a courteous nod to Cedar. "bSomeone
really does need to do something final and decisive about this Lord Zedd person before he goes
too far./b"
P Skull said nothing. Ever since he had threatened to strangle the bird over a disagreement,
the fire entity had made it a point to be particularly polite and friendly. He was always popping up
at odd moments and chatting with them for no evident reason other than to be sociable. Then he
would vanish again and not show up for hours or days. Sometimes he would come back from
wherever he went seeming quite cheerful, but there were other times when he'd return from his
absences looking concerned and muttering to himself. Depending on his mood, questions about
where he took off to would either be answered by grand pronouncements about the affairs of
immortals that revealed no useful information, or by snapped remarks about minding their own
business. If the latter, he would always apologize almost instantly, and go back to being perfectly
polite and mannerly. It put Skull on the defensive. He might not be the brightest crayon in the
box, but even he knew that when someone suddenly began to be very nice for no special reason, it
was time to watch your back. Though, on the other hand, he might just be trying not to have his
neck wrung.
P "Exactly," said Cedar. "He's already gone too far, if you asked me. No one should want
the whole universe for himself, and that is just what he's trying to get."
P "bYou should get rid of him,/b" Firebird answered. "bYou could do it. You have
the power. Just go in and zap him. I'll help./b"
P "Are you out of your featherbrain?" asked Skull, dumbfounded. "There's no way I'm
going up against Lord Zedd! He's like the most powerful evil sorcerer in the universe! I'm just
Skull-you-bonehead, the village idiot. No way I could beat him. No way."
P "bCorrection, my good fellow. You are the Dark Falcon,/b" Firebird answered
mildly. "bYou can do a lot more than you think you can. I've seen you. Just think: no one has
ever defeated an Eccubus before, no one but you, and you did that all by yourself. With my help
and that of your lady friend here, you should be more than a match for this Zedd person./b"
P "Uh-uh. No way, no how, no sir," said Skull. "I'm not fighting him, and that's that."
P "Right," Cedar added. "It's too risky. How would we even get to Lord Zedd? He must
have hundreds of guards and soldiers and servants between himself and us. We'd never even get
near him."
P "bThere are ways around all that,/b" said Firebird in a lofty tone that was not
especially convincing.
P "Well, I don't want to know about them," Skull replied. "I'll keep on doing what I'm
doing. Fighting ordinary monsters is bad enough."
P "bWell, fine, then,/b" said Firebird, sounding a bit sulky. "bI was only trying to be
helpful. Why do you always resist so much when I make perfectly good suggestions?/b"
P "Because your suggestions always come out wrong," answered Cedar tartly. She
considered a moment. "I am hungry. Are you hungry, Eugene? I think there is bread left over
from this morning's baking."
P "Hey, I could go for that," Skull replied, brightening. "Your mom's cooking is the best.
My mom was never much of a cook."
P "bOh, very well,/b" said the Firebird with a sigh. "bI can tell when I'm not
wanted. But think about what I said, and if you ever feel like taking the direct approach to ending
this war, just give me a call and I will come. Think carefully, now. Think about how many lives it
would save is Lord Zedd was gone. Think of the suffering that would be avoided./b"
P "Right now, I'm thinking more about lunch," said Skull. "See ya, Firebird."
P "bHmph!/b" the Firebird replied, and he vanished from sight in a sudden blink of
light.
pcenter~*~/center
p By the time the afternoon was over, Skull had nearly forgotten the Firebird's proposal. He
hadn't given it any serious consideration when he'd heard it, and he didn't intend to think about it
any more. There was too much to do besides fuss about the absurd notions of cocky immortals -
flying practice with Cedar, running errands for Hemlock, exploring the wonders of the
marketplace. He was tired by the time he got to bed that night, and he fell almost instantly into a
deep sleep.
p Unfortunately, it was not a dreamless sleep. In his mind, he relived his previous battles. At
first, it was only those he had faced before - Goldar, Firestrike, the Eccubus - but the creatures
quickly multiplied. The monsters who had troubled him in Angel Grove appeared and pursued
him, and he was badly outnumbered. Cedar and the Firebird were nowhere to be seen, and the
villains were pressing close on him. He turned to face them, ready for battle, prepared to
transform into his powerful alter-ego and teach them all a lesson... but his pendant was gone! That
was always his worst fear, that it would be lost and he would be unprotected. It was even more
than that, though. Though he hadn't noticed it happening, the Dark Falcon had been a part of his
soul, and losing it hurt like nothing else could. He was alone now, defenseless, and there was
nothing he could do but throw up his hands in surrender, and the monsters mobbed him with
gleeful roars and howls. Then he was being dragged before some kind of throne that loomed out
of the dark, and he could just barely see some shadowy thing sitting in it. He cringed away in fear.
P "So, if it isn't Eugene Skullovitch," growled the thing in a deep voice. "I know you. You
never could get anything right, could you? You couldn't get to Terra Venture, you couldn't save
Tien, and you couldn't save your little family."
P "What...?" Skull began.
P Then he stopped. The shadows parted to one side of the being of darkness, and he could
see bodies strewn about, mangled and pale. He couldn't turn away fast enough to stop himself
from recognizing them: Poplar, Hemlock, Cedar, Bulk, other friends from Angel Grove.
P "What have you done?" cried Skull in anguish.
P "I got rid of them. You were supposed to come and help them, but you didn't make it.
You're not good enough, and you never were. All you've ever been is a failure, and now Tien is
gone because of you."
P "No! I did my best. I tried to save them..."
P "You didn't try. You had your chance, and you never took it. You see," answered the
voice, "I am Lord Zedd. Because you let me live, I've taken over your universe. You're a failure,
Skull. That is why I've taken your powers." He held up a clawed hand, and the Firebird pendant
dangled in it, flashing with its own light. Then it blinked and dissolved into lights that slowly
crawled up the creature's arm. Soon the whole monster was glowing... and growing. It was
becoming an enormous, revolting giant that reached down with its cruel talons to snatch Skull up
and crush him...
P "iNOOOOOOOOOOO!/i" Skull screamed.
P He sat bolt upright in bed, shivering in cold terror, breathing hard. He looked around his
room, his safe, comfortable space, trying to get his heart to stop pounding. After a moment, he
climbed out of bed and pulled on a robe against the nightly chill - even in summer, temperatures
could drop below a range uncomfortable for beings without feathers. A brief exploration of his
room reassured him a little. The Firebird medallion was just where he had left it, lying on his
dresser with its cord carefully coiled. Even in the dim moonlight, it glittered with the same
rainbow light that had caught his eye the first time he had seen it. He hung it around his neck and
was emboldened by its closeness.
P He tiptoed out into the hallway and found Cedar's door ajar, so he peeked inside. She was
sound asleep, resting peacefully. A shaft of moonlight was touching her face, making her seem
more a creature of silver with golden hair than a simple mortal creature. Skull watched her for a
long time before he finally closed the door gently and left.
P Well, what was he to do now? It seemed his dream had been only a dream, but there had
to be some reason why he'd had it. That was what he thought, anyway. He was almost sure he
had heard somewhere that dreams had meanings to them somewhere. Anyway, he might as well
think about something, because there was no way he would be able to sleep after having a
nightmare like that. It was everything he was most afraid of come to life - failing his friends,
losing his powers, and then being helpless in the face of some horrifying creature. The real trouble
was that there was a possibility that his dream could come true.
P *iBut maybe if I really did get rid of Lord Zedd..../i*
P He shook his head. Who was he trying to kid? He couldn't do it, and he knew he couldn't
do it, so why even think about it?
P *iBecause if I don't do something, I'm going to be having dreams about it for the rest
of my life./i*
P Perhaps it wouldn't be as bad as he thought. After all, the Firebird had promised to help.
Skull wasn't entirely sure, because he had never seen either of them in action, but he was pretty
sure a fire immortal would be a pretty fair match for a mage, even one as powerful as Lord Zedd.
It could work... maybe.
P "Firebird?" he called softly. "Hey, Firebird, are you around?"
P In response, there was a flutter of wings, and the Firebird came to land on his windowsill,
filling Skull's room with warm light. He cocked his head curiously and stared at his human friend
with a puzzled expression in his glowing aquamarine eyes.
P "bYou certainly are up late,/b" was his remark. "bYou called me at a good time,
though. I just got back. What are you doing up at this hour? It's past midnight./b"
P "I had a dream, and it woke me up," Skull replied. "Where have you been? What are you
back from?"
P "bVisiting people,/b" answered the Firebird, giving more of a direct response than
Skull had ever gotten from him before. "bSo, what did you call me for? You realize I won't
just appear like this for anyone./b"
P "I was thinking about what you said earlier," Skull replied. "About getting rid of Lord
Zedd. Do you really think I can do it? I mean, are you really and truly one hundred percent sure?"
P "bOf course I'm sure! I'm always sure. I do not suggest doing things unless I have a
sound reason to believe there is merit in doing them,/b" said the Firebird. "bWhy? Do you
think you want to reconsider?/b"
P "Maybe," answered Skull carefully. "What exactly do you want me to do? I'm not crazy
enough to just run in there and attack him."
P "bDon't worry. I have a plan,/b" answered the Firebird. "bHave a seat and let me
explain./b"
P Skull pulled the chair from his desk and sat down. The Firebird fluttered briefly around the
room before alighting on top of the desk in front of Skull. He preened his feathers quickly before
asking, "bHas your friend Hemlock ever mentioned to you a thing called the Zeo Crystal?/b"
P "I don't think so," answered Skull. He didn't think he'd ever heard of the crystal itself, but
the phrase, "Zeo Rangers," wandered through his mind.
P "bThe Zeo Crystal is a source of incredible power, forged by ancient magicians many
years ago. It is now hidden in catacombs beneath the surface of a lifeless planet, protected by
powerful magic. No creature of evil can get anywhere near it without being destroyed rather
messily, but iyou/i have the power to make sure that doesn't happen./b"
P "I do?" asked Skull, confused.
P "bNo,/b" Firebird replied, "b but Zedd doesn't know that./b"
P "Ohhhhhhhh," said Skull. "So, why is this important?"
P The Firebird looked annoyed. "bThink! Zedd wants to win this war at any cost, and
having the Zeo Crystal would be a great help with that. He can't get it because he's evil, but if
you come along to get rid of the shield, he can steal it and make himself invincible. What he
doesn't know is that you don't have any more capability to get take the shield down than he does.
So when he tries to pass through it.../b"
P "He gets fried!" Skull finished. "Hey, that's pretty cool!"
P "bSee? I know what I'm doing. So, do you want to try?/b"
P "Aw, I don't know..." said Skull, deflating a little. "Cedar would never go for it. She
thinks it's too dangerous."
P "bShe doesn't have to know,/b" Firebird replied. "bI will go in her place - Zedd
will never know I'm not your companion, and I can tell you what to say and do. You'll be back
before morning, and Zedd will be gone for good. Think how pleased she'll be when she hears the
news!/b"
P "Oh. I hadn't thought of that," said Skull. "You know, that's not such a bad idea. If
you're really sure it will work..."
P "bI am,/b" answered the Firebird.
P "...then I'll do it!" said Skull. "For Cedar and the Aerials!"
P "bExcellent!/b" Firebird replied. "bWell, then, let us waste no more time. Are you
ready to go?/b"
P "Not in my bathrobe," Skull replied. "Just let me transform. iFirebird!/i"
P There was a flash of light, and in an instant, the scruffy human with sleep-tousled hair was
suddenly replaced by a sleek armored warrior with predatory eyes. As the Firebird whisked him
away, though, he had to admit he was still a little scared inside.
pcenter~*~/center
P Night had come to Zedd's castle, just as it came everywhere. He would have changed that,
if he could. He hardly ever needed to sleep - a few minutes a day, at most - and he always felt
slightly irked that he had to shut down the rest of the castle just for the convenience of lesser
beings. Still, servants did have to rest occasionally, or else they would do the annoying thing of
dropping dead of exhaustion, or at least thoroughly botching their tasks due to weariness, so the
warlord put up with it. The lesser servants slept when they needed to, and he mostly didn't bother
with them as long as their tasks were being done as specified, but the higher-ups were expected to
be at their lord's beck an call at any time of day. Though the rest of the castle might sleep, its
heart, Zedd's throne room, was constantly active.
P Outside the castle, though, there was nothing much happening. A pair of guards stood
listlessly at the front doors of the palace, halberds held disinterestedly, peering into the darkness
that lay beyond the flickering light of a pair of torches. The moon and stars were blocked away,
leaving the world shrouded in a deep gloom. Clouds drifted across the sky, putting forth sporadic
drops of cold rain. Hidden in the shadows, Skull shivered, even with the warmth of the Firebird
hidden behind one of his wings to block his glow.
P "Okay, how are we going to get inside?" Skull whispered.
P The bird approximated a shrug. "bJust ask./b"
P "Ask?" repeated Skull. "Oh, sure, I'm just gonna walk right up to those goons and ask for
a grand tour. I hear they're free to the public from nine to five." Being with the Firebird seemed
to encourage his capacity for sarcasm.
P "bDon't take that tone of voice with me. I keep telling you, there are reasons for the
things I suggest,/b" Firebird replied. "bThose are, as you said, goons. They stand there to
make sure no one sneaks into the castle. If you try sneaking, you'll probably be caught. On the
other hand, if you act like you're here on legitimate business, they won't be able to get you to
Zedd fast enough, for fear of displeasing their master./b"
P "I guess that makes sense," answered Skull, who had gotten lost somewhere in the middle
of the explanation. "What do I do once I get inside?"
P "bCollar a servant and tell him Lord Zedd is waiting for you. That will get you to him
quickly. Don't worry about what to say; once we're inside, I'll be communicating with you
telepathically. You'll hear the words in your mind, but no one else will, so I'll be able to tell you
what to say without creating a suspicion./b"
P "You don't think Zedd will notice? He's supposed to be a great wizard or something."
P "bMortal magic,/b" scoffed the Firebird. "bHe won't suspect a thing. All
monsters, no matter how powerful and cunning, are weak in that they all consider themselves to
be the cleverest creatures ever to trod the earth. They never stop to think that someone would try
to put something over on them./b"
P *iThe same could be said for Firebirds,/i* Skull thought, but he didn't say it aloud.
What he did say was, "Okay, let's get this over with."
P With the Firebird perched proudly on his shoulder, Skull marched toward the front doors
in what he hoped was a confident manner. The armored thugs glanced up at him curiously and
crossed their halberds.
P "Who goes there?" one of them demanded.
P "I'm here on important business," Skull replied, dodging the question - the guards might
know the name of the Dark Falcon even if they didn't recognize him on sight. "Lord Zedd wanted
to talk to me. He's not going to be happy if you keep me out."
P The guards quickly uncrossed their weapons, and one of them pulled a lever that made the
doors swing open.
p "Get inside," it growled. Noticing a scaly blue reptile of some sort wandering down a
hallway, it added, "You there! This fella needs to talk to his highness. Get him to the throne room,
and be fast about it, or we'll all be in hot water."
P The thing bobbed its head in a nervous nod. It turned round black eyes on Skull, as if
sizing up whether this person looked like someone he should be afraid of. Evidently, it decided he
was, and it instantly became the model of servility.
P "Right this way, sssssir," it said. It's voice was little more than a sibilant whisper. "I will
take you ssssstraight to the throne room. His majesssssty is there holding a discusssssion of
ssssstrategy."
P "Lead the way," Skull replied. He wondered briefly and irrelevantly if someone could ever
invent bug repellant for butterflies in the stomach.
P It has been noted by some that suffering lies as much in anticipation as it does in the actual
pain. Skull got a firsthand taste of that on his journey through Zedd's palace. It was a vast, dreary
place of high ceilings and thick shadows - it seemed as if walls and columns and statuary had all
been chosen to keep the lighting from doing the least amount of good. There were candles set in
sconces here and there, but they did nothing more than give off pale, flickering glows that made
everything they didn't directly touch look larger and darker than they really were. There was very
little that could be seen clearly, but Skull didn't mind that very much. He didn't think he really
wanted to be able to look at the art decorations, no more than he wanted to think about the
mounted heads on the wall with glassy eyes and contorted expressions. Though he tried not to see
them, he felt reasonably sure that some of them were human. Minutes ticked by, and he continued
to walk in the deep darkness and silence, following a guide who never spoke and never looked at
him, and he was slowly beginning to get a sense of what kind of person would live in a place like
this, and he did not like it at all.
P At last, they paused before another door. Skull resisted the urge to sit down and catch his
breath. Though the Firebird had seemed quite unperturbed by the whole trip (Well, why not? He
was supposed to be immortal, so why should he worry about fighting anyone?), his human
companion was feeling a bit shaken, and he would have liked a chance to stop a while and see if
he could get his heart to stop beating quite so fast.
P "Here," hissed the lizard. "These rooms are private, used only by the massssster and those
he summons to do his bidding, and I am not allowed to enter without permisssssion. You go in
through here, turn right at the first turning, and follow that hallway until you reach a white door.
That will take you to where Lord Zedd is."
P Skull nodded. He went in.
P He was floored. This part of the castle had ilight/i! Clear, steady light flowed from
some indefinite source to reflect off white marble walls... or perhaps the light came from the walls
themselves. There was soft purple carpeting on the floor, and the walls were set at intervals with
pretentious gilded doors. It was such a contrast from what Skull had just been going through that
he was momentarily confused.
P "Wha' happened?" he asked.
P "bWell, these are obviously rooms especially for the emperor's use,/b" Firebird
replied. "bI suppose he likes the pomp-and-circumstance look. You wouldn't expect a man
who has everything to live in a dump, would you?/b"
P "I guess not," Skull replied. He had never really given much thought into what kind of
living accommodations a monster would have, so he supposed that idea made as much sense as
anything else.
P "bWell, then,/b" said the Firebird briskly. "bWe didn't come here to admire the
decor, you know. Let's be moving along so we can find Lord Zedd and get on with our
plan./b"
P Skull sighed and did as he was told. He found the door right where the servant had said it
would be, and he was rather surprised to see that it was unguarded and unlocked. Was the
warlord so powerful or so feared as to not need locks on his doors, or was there something
unpleasant waiting on the other side for some poor fool to blunder through? Skull turned to
glance at the Firebird, who gave an encouraging nod. Heart pounding in his ears, the Dark Falcon
entered the sanctuary of his nemesis.
P His timing couldn't have been worse. As he opened the door, two heads snapped around
to face him, each wearing a dangerous expression. One was Lord Zedd, which was to be
expected. The other was Goldar, and that was a problem.
P Up until that moment, the evil ape had been deep in discussion with his master, the
conversation hinging mostly upon Goldar's failure to do as he had been bidden in matters
concerning the destruction of Tien. The interruption was welcome, in Goldar's view, because he
hadn't been holding up his end of the argument very well, beyond apologies and general pleas for
mercy. He was more of a fighter than a debater, and he was no match for his master where words
were concerned. The truth was, Zedd wasn't going to let him win any arguments no matter how
well he pleaded his case, because of the fact that the war was slowly but surely beginning to turn
against him, and he wanted someone to lay the blame on. Since he was convinced that victory
would be assured for him if he could lay hands on the Crystal of All Times, and because it had
been unofficially made Goldar's job to get it, he had chosen the winged primate to take the brunt
of his anger. The arrival of the Dark Falcon would be enough to take some of the heat off of him,
and possibly even give him a chance to redeem himself before his master.
P "Dark Falcon!" he roared. "How dare you enter my lord's castle? You're going to pay for
trespassing here!" He raised his sword in preparation for an attack.
P "Wait! I come in peace!" Skull said, spreading his hands in a gesture of supplication. "I
just want to talk to Lord Zedd."
p "What could you possibly have to discuss with me?" Zedd replied.
P Skull turned to stare at the speaker. This was Lord Zedd? On his journey, Skull had spent
many fearful moments imagining what the ruler of monsters and destroyer of worlds could
possibly look like, composing scenes of horror that left him shaking in his boots. In his wildest
dreams, he had never really thought that Lord Zedd would look human. He had heard people say
he looked like a human, but he had never truly believed that anything that terrible could look like
anything less than a monster - a humanoid monster, maybe, but definitely a monster. In truth,
Lord Zedd appeared to be nothing more than a perfectly ordinary man, just like any Skull could
have met on the streets back on Earth. Maybe taller and more muscled than most, and dressed in a
style that was undeniably alien, but certainly nothing that would inspire nightmares. The only thing
that seemed wrong about him was the way his eyes seemed to glow. They didn't even look like
real eyes, just a pair of red-orange orbs that had somehow taken residence in his face. They did
not look friendly.
P *iDon't just stand there! Get up there and start talking! I'll tell you what to say./i*
P The sound of the Firebird's voice echoing in his mind snapped Skull out of his thoughts. A
suggestion had just been planted in his brain, and, not having any better ideas, he obeyed. Skull
took a few steps forward, drawing nearer to Zedd's throne. At the Firebird's cue, he dropped to
one knee before the warlord and lowered his head in a gesture of complete humility, and the
Firebird lowered his head and spread his wings in an avian bow.
p "Great Lord Zedd, I have come to denounce my ties to the Aerials and offer my fealty to
you. If you will take me, I would be honored to join your side." Skull relayed the Firebird's
speech as the words came into his head. It wasn't terribly difficult, but he found himself wishing
he knew what he was talking about. He had no idea what "denounce" could mean, and as for
"fealty," he could only hope it was something he had and that he wouldn't mind giving it if Zedd
asked for it.
P Zedd smiled slightly, his expression becoming calculating. He liked seeing his enemies
bowing to him, whether they were lying about it or not. He hadn't made up his mind yet whether
the Dark Falcon was lying or not, but he was enjoying the spectacle and the speech. He made a
quick evaluation of his visitor. The Falcon was not an especially dangerous looking thing with his
garish costume and unimpressive build, but Zedd knew potential when he saw it, and there was
potential here. This wasn't a warrior who won by strength, but by speed and agility... and
cunning? It wasn't out of the range of possibility. But he had obviously never received any real
training. That much was clearly visible in the way he moved and carried himself. The idea of
having a warrior like that, one that actually had something going for him besides brute strength,
who could be trained in any way Lord Zedd saw fit was highly appealing.
P "You may rise," was all he said. Dark Falcon arose and stood at attention, anxiously
awaiting the decision of the warlord. Zedd nodded slightly in approval and turned to Goldar.
P "You get out of here," he said. "I wish to have words with the Dark Falcon in private. I
will call you if you are needed, which I doubt will happen."
P "Yes, your highness," said Goldar obediently, and he left the room.
P That was as far as he got, however. He stood outside the door, leaving it barely ajar, just
enough that he could peer through the crack and see what was happening. Something funny was
going on here, he was certain, and he didn't like it one bit. The Dark Falcon he had battled had
seemed too proud, too loyal to his world to suddenly change his mind like this. And another thing
- he was absolutely certain that the flaming bird that always accompanied the Falcon was colored
in shades of gold and orange, whereas this one was every color of the spectrum. It was strange,
and Goldar had a feeling that the explanation for it would not be something that was liable to help
Zedd's cause. Lord Zedd, Goldar thought to himself, was a strong leader, a powerful magician,
and a master planner, but he had been away from the battlefield too long to remember his field
tactics. Let him trust the Dark Falcon if he wanted to, but Goldar knew his duty well. As long as
his enemy was within striking distance of the Emperor of Evil, Goldar would be on guard.
P Meanwhile, Zedd was interrogating his guest.
P "I suppose you know," he began, "that so far, you have given me no reason to trust you.
As far as I know, you're trying to put one over on me. As a matter of fact, that is the only
reasonable explanation I can think of. Unless you can convince me sometime in the very near
future that you are sincere, I will be forced to do something to you that you won't enjoy. So, let's
hear what you have to say."
P For a moment, Skull was frightened, but he was reassured as the Firebird swiftly presented
him with a reply.
P "Why should I stay with the Aerials? They're peaceful people, and I'm a warrior. One way
or another, this war is going to end. If I'm on their side and you win, you'll kill me. If I'm on their
side and they win, there won't be anything for me to do. If I join you, I'll at least have work to do
and be appreciated. The Aerials don't want warriors when there's no war."
P "Hmm," Zedd replied thoughtfully. "That almost sounds logical. Very well, Falcon. I'm
not convinced of your sincerity, but I'm interested enough to give you a chance."
P Skull wasn't sure exactly what the best thing to do would be, so just to be safe, he bowed
again.
P "Thank you," he said. "I know just the way prove my loyalty. If you want, I can get you
the Zeo Crystal."
P Zedd pretended not to be shocked. He was good at controlling his expression; those
flaming eyes revealed nothing save for the eternal burning of greed in his soul. He fixed his
inscrutable gaze on the Dark Falcon and feigned mild interest.
P "I'm listening," was all he said.
P "I know where the Crystal is, and I know how to deactivate the shield," Skull answered,
grateful the Firebird was there to tell him what to say. "Follow me, and I'll take you straight to
it."
P "Why do I have to go?"
P "I can't take the crystal and hold the shield open at the same time. I have to have help...
and would you trust anyone else with its power?"
P "That," Zedd replied, "makes entirely too much sense. You have your speech well
rehearsed, don't you? It makes me wonder why you felt you needed to plan all this so well."
P Skull felt his mouth go dry. He was beginning to think this wasn't such a good idea.
P *iJust watch and wait,/i* the Firebird assured him. *iHe'll fall for it, you'll
see./i*
P "You're probably up to something," Zedd said, "but that makes very little difference at the
moment. Let's see you get on with your act. If you do as you say you will, fine. If you don't... I
will personally destroy you. That is not an honor every hero gets."
P "I'm no hero. You can believe that," Skull replied. He felt shock radiating from the
Firebird even without words - that line, at least, he had come up with himself. He meant it, too.
P "I see. Very well then," answered Lord Zedd. He gestured with one hand, and his
lightning bolt staff appeared. "Let's get on with it."
P Skull nodded. In a fiery blink of light, courtesy of the Firebird, the three of them vanished.
No one noticed an addition to the group, as Goldar followed after his master.
pcenter~*~/center
p They reappeared in a tunnel made of grey stone. It was dim in the tunnel, but the area they
were standing in seemed to be lit by some kind of strange, sourceless glow. Even the Firebird's
radiance seemed muted. Skull glanced around in apprehension, but there didn't seem to be
anything threatening in the immediate area. There didn't seem to be any crystals there, either,
magical or otherwise. Zedd seemed to be noticing the same thing.
p "Where are we? Where is the Zeo Crystal?"
p Answers were supplied by the Firebird, and Skull began to relay them.
p "We're in the Caves of Deception. The magical field around this place is too strong to
safely transport through. We'll have to walk the rest of the way."
p "You'd better not be lying," Zedd replied.
P They began walking, the Firebird giving Skull discreet directions. The indistinct glow
followed them, lighting the area within a ten foot radius while leaving everything else in shadow.
The caves seemed to twist and branch all around, and Skull kept thinking he saw things flitting
around in the edges of his vision that kept vanishing when he tried to look at them, and he felt
nervous.
p *iI don't like this place. This is really weird./i*
p *iDon't complain,/i* the Firebird's voice answered in his mind. *iThere is a
reason why these are called the Caves of Deception. This place is filled with magic of confusion,
illusions of fear and deceit meant to frighten away trespassers. I have laid a spell around all of us
that will keep them at bay. You ought to thank me for that./i*
p "Is this trip going to take much longer?" asked Zedd in irritation. "I will be very angry if
you are leading me on a wild goose chase... or a wild falcon chase. Speed things along!"
p "We're almost there," said Skull. "It's just a little further ahead."
p "You had better hope so," Zedd replied, fingering his staff significantly. Skull tried not to
shiver.
p Suddenly, the Firebird glanced up and looked around sharply, as if he'd heard a gunshot
somewhere.
p *iDon't look now,/i* he told Skull, *ibut we're being followed. One of Zedd's
helpers, by the feel of things./i*
p *iWhat should I do?/i*
p *iSend me to scout it out for you, while you go on for the crystal. It isn't much further;
you can find it yourself without too much trouble. I can handle any kind of creepy-crawly Zedd
can dredge up./i*
p Skull nodded, and gestured for Zedd to halt a moment.
p "What is it now?" the mage growled.
p "We've got company," Skull replied. "I'm going to send my bird to check it out."
p He felt the Firebird bristle a little at being called "my bird," but he didn't really care. It was
a subtle sort of revenge for getting him into this mess in the first place. Zedd considered a
moment.
p "Fine, then. Get on with it."
p With that cue, the Firebird took off and began flapping down the halls on silent wings of
flame, leaving the Dark Falcon to navigate for himself. Feeling deeply uneasy, Skull began
walking again.
p After a bit of time had passed, the pair came to a fork in the tunnels. The way diverged
abruptly into two ominous dark tunnels, perfectly identical, neither looking very promising. Skull
stopped and stared, not liking what he was seeing.
p "Well?" asked Zedd. "Which way?"
p "Um..." Skull racked his brain desperately, trying to come up with a satisfactory answer.
"I forgot."
p "You iforgot/i?" Zedd repeated. "Of all the idiotic-"
p "It's okay," Skull interjected. "We can split up and search them both." He would have
been very glad to get out of the warlord's company.
P "Oh, no," said Zedd, giving the Falcon a suspicious look. "You're not going to fool me
that easily! You can check both of them yourself, and I'll wait right here for you."
p "Okay, fine. I was only making a suggestion," Skull replied. He shrugged, gathered what
courage he had, and headed down one of the tunnels.
P Luck was with him. He had only gone a short distance down the corridor when he noticed
a faint light, and he picked up his pace. Very soon, he emerged in an large room, filled with a pale,
pearly glow. The glow came from a stone resting proudly on a pedestal, bright with its own light,
and Skull felt a shiver run down his spine. He was looking at pure, crystalized magic. It was,
without a doubt, the Zeo Crystal.
pcenter~*~/center
p Firebird soared through the caves, humming brightly to himself. He was the only one in
the tunnels who was having a good time. He was looking forward to having a battle of wits with
whatever it was he had noticed following him. It didn't take him long at all to find Goldar slinking
through the shadows, jumping at movements. The armored ape wasn't benefitting from the
Firebird's spell of protection from hallucinations, and he was having to rely on force of will alone.
It was a good thing for him that he didn't have much of an imagination, or he would have been
having a dreadful time. As it was, the visions came only sporadically and were easy enough to be
rid of if he concentrated. Still, he was nervous, and having a flaming bird suddenly fling itself at
him was enough to startle him badly.
P "Aaagh!" he shouted, waving his sword wildly.
P The Firebird was unharmed. "bWhat's a goon like you doing in a place like this?/b" he
taunted. "bI would have thought your mother would have better sense than to let you cross the
street by yourself, much less come all the way out here./b"
P "Watch your beak, you poor excuse for a sparrow!" Goldar snapped back.
P "bIs that the best insult you can come up with? For shame! That's iso/i unoriginal./b"
P "Would you rather I turn you into a spitted goose?" asked the warrior, raising his sword
threateningly.
p "bYou'd have to apprehend me first!/b" called the Firebird cheerily. "bCatch me if you can,
slowpoke!/b" Laughing, he swooped down one of the corridors and out of sight.
p Angered, Goldar chased after him. He barreled down the passages, a gold-plated
juggernaut, ready to rip the Firebird to little bits when he caught up to him. Unfortunately, the
caves were twisting and sprawling in all directions, and he wasn't watching where he was going.
He ran blindly, and the illusions played tricks on him, making it seem like the caves were full of
flaming birds. Finally, Goldar ran out of energy and looked around. He was now completely lost.
With a growl of frustration, he looked around, picked a direction, and started walking, trying
without much real hope to retrace his steps, muttering and cursing the Firebird.
p And the Firebird sat hidden in the deepest shadows, enjoying every minute of it.
pcenter~*~/center
p Frozen in place, Skull continued to stare at the Zeo Crystal. It was so beautiful and so
unlike anything that he'd ever seen, he moved forward to touch it. By the time he felt the shield, it
was too late to back away... but it only parted for him as if it was no more than smoke. Then he
was standing next to the pedestal, reaching out one hand...
P Images reeled through his mind, and he yelped in shock and jumped backwards. He stared
at the crystal with a suspicious look, as if expecting it to attack him, but it only sat there glowing.
It had already told him all it needed him to know, and he stood there considering. The images had
shown him a young man in white picking up the crystal, and Skull had recognized him as his old
schoolmate, Tommy. There was something in the images that had felt almost apologetic. It was
sorry it couldn't let Skull take it, but it was waiting for Tommy. That was all. Skull was confused.
In the images he had seen, Tommy had been dressed as a Power Ranger. But that was crazy...
wasn't it?
P "No crazier than me being the Dark Falcon," Skull said, stepping back out of the dome of
protection. Raising his voice, he shouted, "Hey, down here! I found it!"
P Moments later, Zedd arrived, looking wary. Then his gaze fell on the crystal, and he took
on an expression of surprise.
P "Well," he said. "It seems you were telling the truth, then."
P Without anyone to tell him what to say, Skull only shrugged. Zedd moved forward, his
eyes glued to the shining stone. Just before he was about to touch the shield, the tip of his staff
struck it, and sparks fountained. He jumped in surprise and whirled angrily on Skull.
p "You haven't taken the shield down," he said dangerously, narrowing his flaming eyes.
The light in them seemed to concentrate, hot and fierce. Skull shivered inside, but outwardly, he
seemed to stay calm.
p "Right," he said. "And I'm not going to. We're going to fight. I've had enough of you
messing with my friends, and I'm not going to take it anymore!" His voice was getting louder and
more defiant as he spoke. "It doesn't matter how powerful you are, I'm still going to beat you
right here, right now. So there."
p "A pretty speech," Zedd sneered. "Well, you're a good liar, Dark Falcon - I'll give you
credit for that. You would have done better to keep up the act, because now, I'm afraid I'm going
to have to destroy you."
P Skull produced his sword. "Try it."
P Zedd didn't waste any time with preliminaries. He sprang at the Dark Falcon like a cat
attacking a bird, and Skull made a dodge and a tumble. They both got back to their feet, Zedd
with practiced smoothness, Skull with an uncoordinated scramble. The warlord lashed out with
his staff, attempting to stab the Falcon while he was still off-balance, but Skull used his sword to
parry the blow. He wasn't trying to attack yet; the Dark Falcon's instincts were telling him that a
sword, even the beautiful and possibly magical one he carried, wouldn't be enough to kill Lord
Zedd. The only thing available that would do it was the shield, and so he had to try to force the
mage closer to it. He managed a solid kick to Zedd's chest, making him stumble backwards a
little, and Skull moved in to try to press him further. The mage retaliated with a powerful blow of
his own, sending the Dark Falcon crashing against the wall. He raised his staff to fire a finishing
bolt of energy, but Skull quickly flipped open his wings to shield himself. He shifted the sword to
laser mode again and fired a few rapid shots at his assailant, but Zedd blocked them easily. Skull
gave up on that tactic and went back to his sword again, and he struck out at Zedd's staff, hoping
to knock it out of his hands. The blade crossed with the wand, and the combatants struggled to
break the lock.
p "Give up, Falcon! You'll never win!" Zedd growled.
P "Your slip is showing," Skull replied.
P "Huh?"
p Concentration broken, Zedd glanced down in confusion. What he saw was the Dark
Falcon's purple boot coming up to kick him in the midriff, and he staggered backwards.
p Despite Skull's efforts at aiming the blow, Lord Zedd managed not to crash directly into
the shield. That would have destroyed him in an instant in a very painful fashion. He only grazed
the edge of it, and thus got only a fraction of its full force. It was still enough.
P Skull looked up just in time to have his eyes seared by an explosion of bright light. A
scream came from somewhere, an inhuman wail of pure agony, and Skull closed his eyes and
clapped his hands to his ears in a desperate attempt to shut it all out. The scream intensified, and
now there was a sort of sizzling sound mixed in. Then all the noise began to slowly fade out.
What was left of Lord Zedd fell limply to the floor. Cautiously, Skull took his hands away from
his ears. He opened one eye, then the other. So far, so good. Then he turned around and looked
at the Zeo Crystal. It was still resting comfortably on its pedestal. Finally, his gaze fell upon the
fallen warlord. Skull stared a moment at the gory mess, and then he quietly passed out.
P A few moments later, the Firebird swooped in.
P "bWhat's going on?/b" he called. "bEugene, what happened? I felt an explosion
and-/b" He paused in mid-sentence as he scanned the area and the two still bodies lying on the
floor. He dropped between them an examined the remains of Zedd.
P "bOh, dear,/b" said the Firebird. "bThat's rather gruesome, isn't it? This didn't go
at all the way I expected. Oh, well. This has been interesting. I guess it's back to the drawing
board again. Time to go home, Eugene./b" He flicked his wing at the still unconscious form of
the Dark Falcon, and they both vanished in a flare of gold light.
P Their timing was very fortunate, because just at that moment, Goldar came running in,
panting a little from his mad dash and frustration with the whole situation. He skidded to a halt
and looked all around the room. It didn't take him long to notice the grisly remains of his master,
or to recognize the staff that was still gripped tightly in the warlord's hand. He felt a sinking
feeling at the sight of the ruined body, and wondered what he could possibly do. Then, taking a
closer look. Impossible as it seemed, Zedd's chest was still rising and falling in weak breaths, and
now a dazed moan of pain was audible. Despite his appalling state, Lord Zedd was still alive.
P "Aargh!" cried Goldar in frustration. This was just what he had been trying to prevent!
Perhaps, though, he could still save his master's life if he moved fast enough. He kneeled next to
the prone warlord, and they both vanished in a swirl of flames.
pcenter~*~/center
p *iNightmare,/i* thought Skull dazedly. *iI've been having the worst dream.../i*
P Well, it was all okay now, he was back in his nice safe room, and everything was going to
be all right... His thoughts ended abruptly as he realized he was still wearing his Dark Falcon
costume. He opened his eyes and was met by twin pools of amber. He jumped.
p "Are you all right, Eugene?" asked Cedar worriedly.
P Skull breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm fine. That was just... brr! I don't want to do that
again."
P "Ve vere all vorried about you, Eugene," said Hemlock, who was sitting nearby. "Ven
Cedar told us vat the Firebird told you to do..."
P "Did you really go to fight with Lord Zedd?" Cedar interrupted.
P "Yeah," said Skull, nodding weakly. "We fought. I think I won... I shoved him into a force
field, and there was this explosion, and he burned up... no one could have survived that. It was
terrible..."
P "Aw, poor Eugene," said Cedar sympathetically, trying to hug him even though he was
still lying down. He accepted the gesture of affection gratefully. It would be a while before he
could close his eyes without seeing the grisly remains of the warlord with his skin burned
completely away...
P "Lord Zedd is... dead?" asked Hemlock in disbelief. "Can it be true?"
P Skull nodded weakly. "He's gone."
P Hemlock closed lifted his eyes skyward in a prayerful expression. "Good forces be
thanked! We are saved at last."
P Tired and drained as he felt, Skull managed to smile. He was safe, he was with people he
loved, and he had won. For once, he finally believed it was true. He was a hero.
pcenter~*~/center
P Skull fidgeted in the antechamber of the great hall. Cedar, perched on his shoulder in her
Gold Eagle form, attempted to soothe him by preening his hair. He managed a smile for her.
P "Don't be so nervous!" she said to him. "All will be well. You are here to be honored, not
executed."
P "I know,"said Skull. "I'm just not used to big crowds, I guess. I'm not used to being
noticed."
P Cedar giggled. "You are funny, Eugene Skullovitch. You run off in the middle of the night
with only crazy Firebird to help you to battle the greatest evil sorcerer in the universe, and now
you are scared of being given a medal for it."
P "Yeah, I guess it is kinda silly," Skull agreed, laughing a little. "I'd be scared stiff if you
weren't here with me. And it's not like I wasn't scared of Zedd or anything. I was scared, but I
was more scared of what would happen if I didn't stop him. That's the only thing that kept me
going."
P The door opened, and Skull restrained himself from jumping in surprise as a little robot
peeked around the door.
P "Who or what are you?" he asked.
p "I am Alpha Five," answered the driod, bowing slightly. "We are ready to begin the
ceremony now, Dark Falcon."
P "Thanks," said Skull. He got up and followed the robot down a hall and around a corner
to the main double doors of the meeting hall. A dull hum of voices emanated from inside, the
sound of many people talking to each other. Skull felt his nervousness rising, but he throttled it
down. The robot pushed the doors aside, and he went in.
p The room was ihuge/i, and for a moment, Skull couldn't help but stare at it, his gaze
wandering from the high arched ceiling lit by gold chandeliers to the red carpeted walkway across
the white marble floors to the gold candelabrum on the walls and then... then he looked at the
people. They nearly filled the room, standing in respectful groups on either side of the walkway,
peering over each other's shoulders as they vied for a glimpse of him. Some looked human, some
animal, some reptile, some robotic, some so totally alien Skull couldn't name them at all. Some of
them actually glowed. He could have stood there in the doorway for hours if the helpful robot
hadn't given him a discreet push to start him walking. Slowly, he stepped onto the carpet, and the
onlookers fell into a hush, as if his treading on that red strip had activated a hidden mute button.
He couldn't even hear the sounds of his own booted feet touching the floor.
P He reached the far side of the room, where a set of platforms placed one atop the other
created a set of stairs leading up to a dias. Sometimes a judgement seat rested there, but today it
was gone. There was a small door behind the uppermost platform, and as Skull arrived there, the
door opened. The stillness deepened as all breathing was bated.
P The man who came through the door was an impressive figure. It wasn't so much in his
looks though; he was tall and strong looking, but not really that imposing physically. There was
an aura around him of controlled power and of deep wisdom. This was a man who had seen love
and pain had gained understanding that most people would never find in their lifetimes, and Skull
was slightly awed. Then his gaze was caught by the man's eyes. They were blue as the evening
sky and warm as a friend's greeting, and for the first time since coming to Eltar, Skull relaxed. He
also began to notice that, though the man was wearing a stately blue robe of royal blue, decorated
with medals and badges of honor, he was still wearing a plain white shirt and breeches in a style
very like what Hemlock wore for working in his lab, and Skull got the impression that the man he
was meeting now had just pulled his formal costume on quickly a few minutes before the
ceremony. He smiled and bowed, not as deeply and subserviently as he had for Lord Zedd, but
with total sincerity.
p "Zordon," he greeted.
p "Dark Falcon," answered Zordon with a courteous nod. "Welcome to my homeworld. It is
an honor to have you here."
P "The honor is mine," Skull replied automatically. Hemlock had coached him on what to
say before he had come here, but he honestly meant what he said.
P Zordon turned to the audience, spreading his arms to include them all as he spoke to them.
P "My friends, we are gathered here today to honor a true hero. In an act of unparalleled
bravery, he has risked his life to save our universe in a way that leaves no doubt of his bravery. By
his courageous deed, we are freed of the terror of one of our greatest enemies. Therefore, it is my
great pleasure to present the Dark Falcon with a medal of valor."
P There were applause and cheers from the audience. Skull blushed a little, and Zordon gave
him a reassuring smile.
P "This is the part where you kneel," he whispered over the tumult.
P "Oh, sorry," Skull replied.
P The Dark Falcon dropped to one knee before the wizard, and the little robot came up from
the side to hand Zordon a box made of dark, polished wood. Taking and opening it, Zordon
removed a golden medallion hung on a purple silk ribbon, which he ceremoniously hung around
Skull's neck. Skull rose again and bowed to the audience, and the ovation was deafening.
p Zordon said a few more uplifting words to the crowd, and Skull took the opportunity to
examine his new treasure. The medallion was a finely wrought thing, brightly polished and perfect
down to the last detail. The face bore the mark of a sword and a feather making a cross design,
while the back was stamped with a picture of a spread-winged eagle that looked a lot like the
Firebird, but with less personality. Finally, the speeches were concluded, and Skull went to mingle
with the masses, accepting congratulations. Even the Gold Eagle got her share of attention.
P As Skull made his rounds, Zordon stood to one side and watched. The little robot came to
his side and looked up at him curiously.
P "Ay, yi, yi, Zordon," he said, "who iis/i that masked man?"
p Zordon continued to watch the Dark Falcon, smiling enigmatically.
P "Alpha, my friend," he said, "some things are best left unknown."
pcenter~*~/center
p Lord Zedd awakened in a dark room. For a moment, he was too dazed for anything to
register, but then the pain hit him. He was a mighty warrior and mage who had suffered without
flinching agonies that would have crushed lesser men. It had been thousands of years since he had
felt any level of suffering that was enough to mean more than a distraction. He gritted his teeth
and fought against the tears that were pressing unbidden from his eyes, burning against his skin
like acid... or rather, against the place where his skin used to be. He lay tensed, doing all within
his power not to cry out against the unbearable pain, until he felt a sudden prick on his arm that
sent soothing warmth spreading slowly through his body. The doctor nodded in satisfaction as he
saw his ruler relax.
P "Is he going to live?" asked Goldar worriedly. If Zedd were to die, the empire would fall
to pieces, and that would leave him in something of a tight spot.
P "He's made it this far," said the doctor with a sigh, putting the hypodermic needle away.
"Chances are good that he will live, but he will never be the same."
P "What... happened?" Zedd managed to ask. His voice sounded rough and harsh in his ears.
He couldn't remember how, but he must have been in a terrible accident.
P "It was the Dark Falcon," offered Goldar helpfully. "He tricked you into trying to steal the
Zeo Crystal."
P "The Dark Falcon," Zedd repeated. He thought it over for a while as best he could with
the pain drugs clouding his mind. The Dark Falcon had tricked him, probably humiliated him in
front of all the forces of Good. Word would spread that Lord Zedd could be taken down by an
untested young warrior in a funny suit, and he'd never hear the end of it. The Dark Falcon would
pay dearly for it, in time, but for now....
P "Bring me a mirror," he said. "Show me what has been done."
P There was a nervous scuffling and a whispered conversation. The doctor stepped forward.
P "I don't th-think that would be a g-good idea, your highness," he said, trying not to
stammer.
P "I don't care what you think," said Lord Zedd, some of his former character showing
through the haze of drugs and pain. "I care what I want, and what I want now is for my order to
be obeyed without question. Do it!"
p The doctor jumped and scuttled away. Moments later, he reappeared carrying a small
mirror, which he held up for Zedd's inspection. The evil monarch managed to stare into his
hideously disfigured face for a few seconds before turning away in revulsion.
P "I will need a mask," he said. He sounded tired. "No one will see this. No one."
p "You need to sleep. We'll take care of it," said the doctor soothingly. "The medicine I
gave you will send you to sleep in a few moments, and I will make sure you are attended to."
P "Make it so," Zedd replied.
P Goldar and the doctor took this as the dismissal it was and made their way to the door of
the darkened bedchamber. Zedd sighed and closed his eyes, letting himself drift. The pain would
subside eventually, and he would get his strength back in time. It was just a waiting game. He was
weak now, but there was no doubt that he would live, not with such a powerful lure to keep him
alive... irevenge!/i
pcenterThe End... for now.
the Dark Falcon and just about everything else in this story is mine./i
PcenterThe Direct Approach/center
pcenterBy: SilvorMoon/center
p Afternoon sunlight flashed off of the shiny wings of a meandering beetle as it charted an
erratic course through the warm, herb-scented air of a Tienese garden. It landed briefly on the
hand of a young woman who was resting quietly in the shade of a spreading tree. She watched it
with bright, curious amber eyes as it marched across her fingers one by one, fanning its blue and
red spotted wings. Then it took off again, this time alighting on the nose of her companion, a
dark-haired young man. He crossed his eyes to stare at it a moment, and then blew it away with a
puff of air. Insulted, the beetle took off for more friendly territory.
P It was high summer on Tien, and it seemed like the whole planet, or at least the capital
city, was sleepy from the heat. No one had invented air conditioning yet, so the best that could be
done was to enjoy the relative coolness of one of many shade trees planted in the city for just that
purpose and sip water from wells that took their chill from the cold that lay far beneath the
planet's surface. Being without any other immediate plans, that was just what Skull and Cedar
were doing: just relaxing together, chatting or thinking according to their mood.
p Skull was doing a surprising amount of the latter. He had been doing it more and more
since he had come to Tien, and he was finding that it seemed to be a difficult habit to break. In a
strange way, it disturbed him a little. He had a notion that it meant something, but he hadn't quite
figured out what it could be yet. He couldn't let that trouble him much, though, not when there
were so many more important things to deal with - the safety of the world, for example. That was
one idea that never left his cranium for very long. If someone had come to him a month ago and
told him that he would be relocating to an alien world approximately ten or twelve thousand years
in the past, be given magical powers from a fire entity, and be expected to save a planet populated
entirely by shape-shifting talking birds, he would have laughed aloud. But now, not only was he
doing just that, but he actually seemed to be doing reasonably well at it. He wasn't dead yet,
anyway. That was worth something.
P Sometimes, though, he had to wonder just how long he was going to have to keep it up.
He had formed a vague notion sometime early on that he was just a temporary stand-in, just a guy
off the street who had been picked to do what he could until a ireal/i hero came along. Even
though he was beginning to wonder if he'd been right about that, it was still more or less fixed in
his mind that, sooner or later, he was going to have to leave. The war would be over eventually,
and then there would be no more need for the Dark Falcon, so he would go on with his original
plan to travel to Terra Venture to be reunited with his longtime friend Bulk. It would be good to
see him again, and it would be nice to be back in the modern world where people had actually
invented electricity. Still, on the other hand...
P "What Eugene thinking about?" asked Cedar. "You look so far away."
P "Just... remembering my old home," Skull replied. "Not that I don't like it here and all,
but, well... you know."
P "Yes," Cedar answered. "I know. I have known all along that this is not your home, and
someday you will have to go back to your own people. You are loyal to them, just as I am loyal
to my own race."
P Skull turned to look at her. There was a part of him that never ceased to be amazed at her.
On one level, she could look like a flighty, impulsive, endlessly enthusiastic girl barely out of
childhood, but there were depths of wisdom in her that harkened back to her father, known to be
the wisest wizard on Tien, and there was no mistaking the proud light in her eyes when she spoke
of her world, or of anything she really loved. Whatever she felt, she felt it completely and totally,
and she would do anything for a cause she believed in. Of course, Skull was only sensing an
inkling of that, without being able to put it into words, but he knew her well enough to know that
anyone who got on her bad side had better look out.
P "Well, kinda," he said vaguely. "Don't get me wrong, I love it here, too. I mean, I'm
happy here, and you and Hemlock and Poplar have been so nice to me... not many people were
nice to me like this back home."
P "Tien is a friendly world," said Cedar. "We have always been known for our hospitality -
at least, we were before the war started. It has made people less trusting. I hope things go back to
normal when Zedd is finally gone."
P "If he messes this place up even a little bit, I'll make him regret it," said Skull with
surprising vehemence. He had never quite gotten over seeing the attempted assassination of
Hemlock. In the month that Skull had been living on Tien, he had come to think of Hemlock
almost as a second father, and his sleep was sometimes troubled by nightmares of seeing the mage
lying in a slowly spreading pool of blood.
P "I feel the same," said Cedar, her voice hard with controlled anger. "There are times I
wish someone would just kill him and be done with it."
P "bYou know, that's not a bad idea,/b" answered a thoughtful voice.
P "What?" said Skull and Cedar in unison.
P Perched up in a tree, his glorious flaming feathers tossing in the light breeze, was the
Firebird. He looked down on them with the air of a benevolent being surveying his followers -
which was fairly close to how he perceived the situation. Seeing that he had their attention, he
fluttered down to perch on the garden wall, putting him closer to eye-level so they wouldn't have
to strain their necks to see him.
P "bI was just agreeing with you,/b" he said, with a courteous nod to Cedar. "bSomeone
really does need to do something final and decisive about this Lord Zedd person before he goes
too far./b"
P Skull said nothing. Ever since he had threatened to strangle the bird over a disagreement,
the fire entity had made it a point to be particularly polite and friendly. He was always popping up
at odd moments and chatting with them for no evident reason other than to be sociable. Then he
would vanish again and not show up for hours or days. Sometimes he would come back from
wherever he went seeming quite cheerful, but there were other times when he'd return from his
absences looking concerned and muttering to himself. Depending on his mood, questions about
where he took off to would either be answered by grand pronouncements about the affairs of
immortals that revealed no useful information, or by snapped remarks about minding their own
business. If the latter, he would always apologize almost instantly, and go back to being perfectly
polite and mannerly. It put Skull on the defensive. He might not be the brightest crayon in the
box, but even he knew that when someone suddenly began to be very nice for no special reason, it
was time to watch your back. Though, on the other hand, he might just be trying not to have his
neck wrung.
P "Exactly," said Cedar. "He's already gone too far, if you asked me. No one should want
the whole universe for himself, and that is just what he's trying to get."
P "bYou should get rid of him,/b" Firebird answered. "bYou could do it. You have
the power. Just go in and zap him. I'll help./b"
P "Are you out of your featherbrain?" asked Skull, dumbfounded. "There's no way I'm
going up against Lord Zedd! He's like the most powerful evil sorcerer in the universe! I'm just
Skull-you-bonehead, the village idiot. No way I could beat him. No way."
P "bCorrection, my good fellow. You are the Dark Falcon,/b" Firebird answered
mildly. "bYou can do a lot more than you think you can. I've seen you. Just think: no one has
ever defeated an Eccubus before, no one but you, and you did that all by yourself. With my help
and that of your lady friend here, you should be more than a match for this Zedd person./b"
P "Uh-uh. No way, no how, no sir," said Skull. "I'm not fighting him, and that's that."
P "Right," Cedar added. "It's too risky. How would we even get to Lord Zedd? He must
have hundreds of guards and soldiers and servants between himself and us. We'd never even get
near him."
P "bThere are ways around all that,/b" said Firebird in a lofty tone that was not
especially convincing.
P "Well, I don't want to know about them," Skull replied. "I'll keep on doing what I'm
doing. Fighting ordinary monsters is bad enough."
P "bWell, fine, then,/b" said Firebird, sounding a bit sulky. "bI was only trying to be
helpful. Why do you always resist so much when I make perfectly good suggestions?/b"
P "Because your suggestions always come out wrong," answered Cedar tartly. She
considered a moment. "I am hungry. Are you hungry, Eugene? I think there is bread left over
from this morning's baking."
P "Hey, I could go for that," Skull replied, brightening. "Your mom's cooking is the best.
My mom was never much of a cook."
P "bOh, very well,/b" said the Firebird with a sigh. "bI can tell when I'm not
wanted. But think about what I said, and if you ever feel like taking the direct approach to ending
this war, just give me a call and I will come. Think carefully, now. Think about how many lives it
would save is Lord Zedd was gone. Think of the suffering that would be avoided./b"
P "Right now, I'm thinking more about lunch," said Skull. "See ya, Firebird."
P "bHmph!/b" the Firebird replied, and he vanished from sight in a sudden blink of
light.
pcenter~*~/center
p By the time the afternoon was over, Skull had nearly forgotten the Firebird's proposal. He
hadn't given it any serious consideration when he'd heard it, and he didn't intend to think about it
any more. There was too much to do besides fuss about the absurd notions of cocky immortals -
flying practice with Cedar, running errands for Hemlock, exploring the wonders of the
marketplace. He was tired by the time he got to bed that night, and he fell almost instantly into a
deep sleep.
p Unfortunately, it was not a dreamless sleep. In his mind, he relived his previous battles. At
first, it was only those he had faced before - Goldar, Firestrike, the Eccubus - but the creatures
quickly multiplied. The monsters who had troubled him in Angel Grove appeared and pursued
him, and he was badly outnumbered. Cedar and the Firebird were nowhere to be seen, and the
villains were pressing close on him. He turned to face them, ready for battle, prepared to
transform into his powerful alter-ego and teach them all a lesson... but his pendant was gone! That
was always his worst fear, that it would be lost and he would be unprotected. It was even more
than that, though. Though he hadn't noticed it happening, the Dark Falcon had been a part of his
soul, and losing it hurt like nothing else could. He was alone now, defenseless, and there was
nothing he could do but throw up his hands in surrender, and the monsters mobbed him with
gleeful roars and howls. Then he was being dragged before some kind of throne that loomed out
of the dark, and he could just barely see some shadowy thing sitting in it. He cringed away in fear.
P "So, if it isn't Eugene Skullovitch," growled the thing in a deep voice. "I know you. You
never could get anything right, could you? You couldn't get to Terra Venture, you couldn't save
Tien, and you couldn't save your little family."
P "What...?" Skull began.
P Then he stopped. The shadows parted to one side of the being of darkness, and he could
see bodies strewn about, mangled and pale. He couldn't turn away fast enough to stop himself
from recognizing them: Poplar, Hemlock, Cedar, Bulk, other friends from Angel Grove.
P "What have you done?" cried Skull in anguish.
P "I got rid of them. You were supposed to come and help them, but you didn't make it.
You're not good enough, and you never were. All you've ever been is a failure, and now Tien is
gone because of you."
P "No! I did my best. I tried to save them..."
P "You didn't try. You had your chance, and you never took it. You see," answered the
voice, "I am Lord Zedd. Because you let me live, I've taken over your universe. You're a failure,
Skull. That is why I've taken your powers." He held up a clawed hand, and the Firebird pendant
dangled in it, flashing with its own light. Then it blinked and dissolved into lights that slowly
crawled up the creature's arm. Soon the whole monster was glowing... and growing. It was
becoming an enormous, revolting giant that reached down with its cruel talons to snatch Skull up
and crush him...
P "iNOOOOOOOOOOO!/i" Skull screamed.
P He sat bolt upright in bed, shivering in cold terror, breathing hard. He looked around his
room, his safe, comfortable space, trying to get his heart to stop pounding. After a moment, he
climbed out of bed and pulled on a robe against the nightly chill - even in summer, temperatures
could drop below a range uncomfortable for beings without feathers. A brief exploration of his
room reassured him a little. The Firebird medallion was just where he had left it, lying on his
dresser with its cord carefully coiled. Even in the dim moonlight, it glittered with the same
rainbow light that had caught his eye the first time he had seen it. He hung it around his neck and
was emboldened by its closeness.
P He tiptoed out into the hallway and found Cedar's door ajar, so he peeked inside. She was
sound asleep, resting peacefully. A shaft of moonlight was touching her face, making her seem
more a creature of silver with golden hair than a simple mortal creature. Skull watched her for a
long time before he finally closed the door gently and left.
P Well, what was he to do now? It seemed his dream had been only a dream, but there had
to be some reason why he'd had it. That was what he thought, anyway. He was almost sure he
had heard somewhere that dreams had meanings to them somewhere. Anyway, he might as well
think about something, because there was no way he would be able to sleep after having a
nightmare like that. It was everything he was most afraid of come to life - failing his friends,
losing his powers, and then being helpless in the face of some horrifying creature. The real trouble
was that there was a possibility that his dream could come true.
P *iBut maybe if I really did get rid of Lord Zedd..../i*
P He shook his head. Who was he trying to kid? He couldn't do it, and he knew he couldn't
do it, so why even think about it?
P *iBecause if I don't do something, I'm going to be having dreams about it for the rest
of my life./i*
P Perhaps it wouldn't be as bad as he thought. After all, the Firebird had promised to help.
Skull wasn't entirely sure, because he had never seen either of them in action, but he was pretty
sure a fire immortal would be a pretty fair match for a mage, even one as powerful as Lord Zedd.
It could work... maybe.
P "Firebird?" he called softly. "Hey, Firebird, are you around?"
P In response, there was a flutter of wings, and the Firebird came to land on his windowsill,
filling Skull's room with warm light. He cocked his head curiously and stared at his human friend
with a puzzled expression in his glowing aquamarine eyes.
P "bYou certainly are up late,/b" was his remark. "bYou called me at a good time,
though. I just got back. What are you doing up at this hour? It's past midnight./b"
P "I had a dream, and it woke me up," Skull replied. "Where have you been? What are you
back from?"
P "bVisiting people,/b" answered the Firebird, giving more of a direct response than
Skull had ever gotten from him before. "bSo, what did you call me for? You realize I won't
just appear like this for anyone./b"
P "I was thinking about what you said earlier," Skull replied. "About getting rid of Lord
Zedd. Do you really think I can do it? I mean, are you really and truly one hundred percent sure?"
P "bOf course I'm sure! I'm always sure. I do not suggest doing things unless I have a
sound reason to believe there is merit in doing them,/b" said the Firebird. "bWhy? Do you
think you want to reconsider?/b"
P "Maybe," answered Skull carefully. "What exactly do you want me to do? I'm not crazy
enough to just run in there and attack him."
P "bDon't worry. I have a plan,/b" answered the Firebird. "bHave a seat and let me
explain./b"
P Skull pulled the chair from his desk and sat down. The Firebird fluttered briefly around the
room before alighting on top of the desk in front of Skull. He preened his feathers quickly before
asking, "bHas your friend Hemlock ever mentioned to you a thing called the Zeo Crystal?/b"
P "I don't think so," answered Skull. He didn't think he'd ever heard of the crystal itself, but
the phrase, "Zeo Rangers," wandered through his mind.
P "bThe Zeo Crystal is a source of incredible power, forged by ancient magicians many
years ago. It is now hidden in catacombs beneath the surface of a lifeless planet, protected by
powerful magic. No creature of evil can get anywhere near it without being destroyed rather
messily, but iyou/i have the power to make sure that doesn't happen./b"
P "I do?" asked Skull, confused.
P "bNo,/b" Firebird replied, "b but Zedd doesn't know that./b"
P "Ohhhhhhhh," said Skull. "So, why is this important?"
P The Firebird looked annoyed. "bThink! Zedd wants to win this war at any cost, and
having the Zeo Crystal would be a great help with that. He can't get it because he's evil, but if
you come along to get rid of the shield, he can steal it and make himself invincible. What he
doesn't know is that you don't have any more capability to get take the shield down than he does.
So when he tries to pass through it.../b"
P "He gets fried!" Skull finished. "Hey, that's pretty cool!"
P "bSee? I know what I'm doing. So, do you want to try?/b"
P "Aw, I don't know..." said Skull, deflating a little. "Cedar would never go for it. She
thinks it's too dangerous."
P "bShe doesn't have to know,/b" Firebird replied. "bI will go in her place - Zedd
will never know I'm not your companion, and I can tell you what to say and do. You'll be back
before morning, and Zedd will be gone for good. Think how pleased she'll be when she hears the
news!/b"
P "Oh. I hadn't thought of that," said Skull. "You know, that's not such a bad idea. If
you're really sure it will work..."
P "bI am,/b" answered the Firebird.
P "...then I'll do it!" said Skull. "For Cedar and the Aerials!"
P "bExcellent!/b" Firebird replied. "bWell, then, let us waste no more time. Are you
ready to go?/b"
P "Not in my bathrobe," Skull replied. "Just let me transform. iFirebird!/i"
P There was a flash of light, and in an instant, the scruffy human with sleep-tousled hair was
suddenly replaced by a sleek armored warrior with predatory eyes. As the Firebird whisked him
away, though, he had to admit he was still a little scared inside.
pcenter~*~/center
P Night had come to Zedd's castle, just as it came everywhere. He would have changed that,
if he could. He hardly ever needed to sleep - a few minutes a day, at most - and he always felt
slightly irked that he had to shut down the rest of the castle just for the convenience of lesser
beings. Still, servants did have to rest occasionally, or else they would do the annoying thing of
dropping dead of exhaustion, or at least thoroughly botching their tasks due to weariness, so the
warlord put up with it. The lesser servants slept when they needed to, and he mostly didn't bother
with them as long as their tasks were being done as specified, but the higher-ups were expected to
be at their lord's beck an call at any time of day. Though the rest of the castle might sleep, its
heart, Zedd's throne room, was constantly active.
P Outside the castle, though, there was nothing much happening. A pair of guards stood
listlessly at the front doors of the palace, halberds held disinterestedly, peering into the darkness
that lay beyond the flickering light of a pair of torches. The moon and stars were blocked away,
leaving the world shrouded in a deep gloom. Clouds drifted across the sky, putting forth sporadic
drops of cold rain. Hidden in the shadows, Skull shivered, even with the warmth of the Firebird
hidden behind one of his wings to block his glow.
P "Okay, how are we going to get inside?" Skull whispered.
P The bird approximated a shrug. "bJust ask./b"
P "Ask?" repeated Skull. "Oh, sure, I'm just gonna walk right up to those goons and ask for
a grand tour. I hear they're free to the public from nine to five." Being with the Firebird seemed
to encourage his capacity for sarcasm.
P "bDon't take that tone of voice with me. I keep telling you, there are reasons for the
things I suggest,/b" Firebird replied. "bThose are, as you said, goons. They stand there to
make sure no one sneaks into the castle. If you try sneaking, you'll probably be caught. On the
other hand, if you act like you're here on legitimate business, they won't be able to get you to
Zedd fast enough, for fear of displeasing their master./b"
P "I guess that makes sense," answered Skull, who had gotten lost somewhere in the middle
of the explanation. "What do I do once I get inside?"
P "bCollar a servant and tell him Lord Zedd is waiting for you. That will get you to him
quickly. Don't worry about what to say; once we're inside, I'll be communicating with you
telepathically. You'll hear the words in your mind, but no one else will, so I'll be able to tell you
what to say without creating a suspicion./b"
P "You don't think Zedd will notice? He's supposed to be a great wizard or something."
P "bMortal magic,/b" scoffed the Firebird. "bHe won't suspect a thing. All
monsters, no matter how powerful and cunning, are weak in that they all consider themselves to
be the cleverest creatures ever to trod the earth. They never stop to think that someone would try
to put something over on them./b"
P *iThe same could be said for Firebirds,/i* Skull thought, but he didn't say it aloud.
What he did say was, "Okay, let's get this over with."
P With the Firebird perched proudly on his shoulder, Skull marched toward the front doors
in what he hoped was a confident manner. The armored thugs glanced up at him curiously and
crossed their halberds.
P "Who goes there?" one of them demanded.
P "I'm here on important business," Skull replied, dodging the question - the guards might
know the name of the Dark Falcon even if they didn't recognize him on sight. "Lord Zedd wanted
to talk to me. He's not going to be happy if you keep me out."
P The guards quickly uncrossed their weapons, and one of them pulled a lever that made the
doors swing open.
p "Get inside," it growled. Noticing a scaly blue reptile of some sort wandering down a
hallway, it added, "You there! This fella needs to talk to his highness. Get him to the throne room,
and be fast about it, or we'll all be in hot water."
P The thing bobbed its head in a nervous nod. It turned round black eyes on Skull, as if
sizing up whether this person looked like someone he should be afraid of. Evidently, it decided he
was, and it instantly became the model of servility.
P "Right this way, sssssir," it said. It's voice was little more than a sibilant whisper. "I will
take you ssssstraight to the throne room. His majesssssty is there holding a discusssssion of
ssssstrategy."
P "Lead the way," Skull replied. He wondered briefly and irrelevantly if someone could ever
invent bug repellant for butterflies in the stomach.
P It has been noted by some that suffering lies as much in anticipation as it does in the actual
pain. Skull got a firsthand taste of that on his journey through Zedd's palace. It was a vast, dreary
place of high ceilings and thick shadows - it seemed as if walls and columns and statuary had all
been chosen to keep the lighting from doing the least amount of good. There were candles set in
sconces here and there, but they did nothing more than give off pale, flickering glows that made
everything they didn't directly touch look larger and darker than they really were. There was very
little that could be seen clearly, but Skull didn't mind that very much. He didn't think he really
wanted to be able to look at the art decorations, no more than he wanted to think about the
mounted heads on the wall with glassy eyes and contorted expressions. Though he tried not to see
them, he felt reasonably sure that some of them were human. Minutes ticked by, and he continued
to walk in the deep darkness and silence, following a guide who never spoke and never looked at
him, and he was slowly beginning to get a sense of what kind of person would live in a place like
this, and he did not like it at all.
P At last, they paused before another door. Skull resisted the urge to sit down and catch his
breath. Though the Firebird had seemed quite unperturbed by the whole trip (Well, why not? He
was supposed to be immortal, so why should he worry about fighting anyone?), his human
companion was feeling a bit shaken, and he would have liked a chance to stop a while and see if
he could get his heart to stop beating quite so fast.
P "Here," hissed the lizard. "These rooms are private, used only by the massssster and those
he summons to do his bidding, and I am not allowed to enter without permisssssion. You go in
through here, turn right at the first turning, and follow that hallway until you reach a white door.
That will take you to where Lord Zedd is."
P Skull nodded. He went in.
P He was floored. This part of the castle had ilight/i! Clear, steady light flowed from
some indefinite source to reflect off white marble walls... or perhaps the light came from the walls
themselves. There was soft purple carpeting on the floor, and the walls were set at intervals with
pretentious gilded doors. It was such a contrast from what Skull had just been going through that
he was momentarily confused.
P "Wha' happened?" he asked.
P "bWell, these are obviously rooms especially for the emperor's use,/b" Firebird
replied. "bI suppose he likes the pomp-and-circumstance look. You wouldn't expect a man
who has everything to live in a dump, would you?/b"
P "I guess not," Skull replied. He had never really given much thought into what kind of
living accommodations a monster would have, so he supposed that idea made as much sense as
anything else.
P "bWell, then,/b" said the Firebird briskly. "bWe didn't come here to admire the
decor, you know. Let's be moving along so we can find Lord Zedd and get on with our
plan./b"
P Skull sighed and did as he was told. He found the door right where the servant had said it
would be, and he was rather surprised to see that it was unguarded and unlocked. Was the
warlord so powerful or so feared as to not need locks on his doors, or was there something
unpleasant waiting on the other side for some poor fool to blunder through? Skull turned to
glance at the Firebird, who gave an encouraging nod. Heart pounding in his ears, the Dark Falcon
entered the sanctuary of his nemesis.
P His timing couldn't have been worse. As he opened the door, two heads snapped around
to face him, each wearing a dangerous expression. One was Lord Zedd, which was to be
expected. The other was Goldar, and that was a problem.
P Up until that moment, the evil ape had been deep in discussion with his master, the
conversation hinging mostly upon Goldar's failure to do as he had been bidden in matters
concerning the destruction of Tien. The interruption was welcome, in Goldar's view, because he
hadn't been holding up his end of the argument very well, beyond apologies and general pleas for
mercy. He was more of a fighter than a debater, and he was no match for his master where words
were concerned. The truth was, Zedd wasn't going to let him win any arguments no matter how
well he pleaded his case, because of the fact that the war was slowly but surely beginning to turn
against him, and he wanted someone to lay the blame on. Since he was convinced that victory
would be assured for him if he could lay hands on the Crystal of All Times, and because it had
been unofficially made Goldar's job to get it, he had chosen the winged primate to take the brunt
of his anger. The arrival of the Dark Falcon would be enough to take some of the heat off of him,
and possibly even give him a chance to redeem himself before his master.
P "Dark Falcon!" he roared. "How dare you enter my lord's castle? You're going to pay for
trespassing here!" He raised his sword in preparation for an attack.
P "Wait! I come in peace!" Skull said, spreading his hands in a gesture of supplication. "I
just want to talk to Lord Zedd."
p "What could you possibly have to discuss with me?" Zedd replied.
P Skull turned to stare at the speaker. This was Lord Zedd? On his journey, Skull had spent
many fearful moments imagining what the ruler of monsters and destroyer of worlds could
possibly look like, composing scenes of horror that left him shaking in his boots. In his wildest
dreams, he had never really thought that Lord Zedd would look human. He had heard people say
he looked like a human, but he had never truly believed that anything that terrible could look like
anything less than a monster - a humanoid monster, maybe, but definitely a monster. In truth,
Lord Zedd appeared to be nothing more than a perfectly ordinary man, just like any Skull could
have met on the streets back on Earth. Maybe taller and more muscled than most, and dressed in a
style that was undeniably alien, but certainly nothing that would inspire nightmares. The only thing
that seemed wrong about him was the way his eyes seemed to glow. They didn't even look like
real eyes, just a pair of red-orange orbs that had somehow taken residence in his face. They did
not look friendly.
P *iDon't just stand there! Get up there and start talking! I'll tell you what to say./i*
P The sound of the Firebird's voice echoing in his mind snapped Skull out of his thoughts. A
suggestion had just been planted in his brain, and, not having any better ideas, he obeyed. Skull
took a few steps forward, drawing nearer to Zedd's throne. At the Firebird's cue, he dropped to
one knee before the warlord and lowered his head in a gesture of complete humility, and the
Firebird lowered his head and spread his wings in an avian bow.
p "Great Lord Zedd, I have come to denounce my ties to the Aerials and offer my fealty to
you. If you will take me, I would be honored to join your side." Skull relayed the Firebird's
speech as the words came into his head. It wasn't terribly difficult, but he found himself wishing
he knew what he was talking about. He had no idea what "denounce" could mean, and as for
"fealty," he could only hope it was something he had and that he wouldn't mind giving it if Zedd
asked for it.
P Zedd smiled slightly, his expression becoming calculating. He liked seeing his enemies
bowing to him, whether they were lying about it or not. He hadn't made up his mind yet whether
the Dark Falcon was lying or not, but he was enjoying the spectacle and the speech. He made a
quick evaluation of his visitor. The Falcon was not an especially dangerous looking thing with his
garish costume and unimpressive build, but Zedd knew potential when he saw it, and there was
potential here. This wasn't a warrior who won by strength, but by speed and agility... and
cunning? It wasn't out of the range of possibility. But he had obviously never received any real
training. That much was clearly visible in the way he moved and carried himself. The idea of
having a warrior like that, one that actually had something going for him besides brute strength,
who could be trained in any way Lord Zedd saw fit was highly appealing.
P "You may rise," was all he said. Dark Falcon arose and stood at attention, anxiously
awaiting the decision of the warlord. Zedd nodded slightly in approval and turned to Goldar.
P "You get out of here," he said. "I wish to have words with the Dark Falcon in private. I
will call you if you are needed, which I doubt will happen."
P "Yes, your highness," said Goldar obediently, and he left the room.
P That was as far as he got, however. He stood outside the door, leaving it barely ajar, just
enough that he could peer through the crack and see what was happening. Something funny was
going on here, he was certain, and he didn't like it one bit. The Dark Falcon he had battled had
seemed too proud, too loyal to his world to suddenly change his mind like this. And another thing
- he was absolutely certain that the flaming bird that always accompanied the Falcon was colored
in shades of gold and orange, whereas this one was every color of the spectrum. It was strange,
and Goldar had a feeling that the explanation for it would not be something that was liable to help
Zedd's cause. Lord Zedd, Goldar thought to himself, was a strong leader, a powerful magician,
and a master planner, but he had been away from the battlefield too long to remember his field
tactics. Let him trust the Dark Falcon if he wanted to, but Goldar knew his duty well. As long as
his enemy was within striking distance of the Emperor of Evil, Goldar would be on guard.
P Meanwhile, Zedd was interrogating his guest.
P "I suppose you know," he began, "that so far, you have given me no reason to trust you.
As far as I know, you're trying to put one over on me. As a matter of fact, that is the only
reasonable explanation I can think of. Unless you can convince me sometime in the very near
future that you are sincere, I will be forced to do something to you that you won't enjoy. So, let's
hear what you have to say."
P For a moment, Skull was frightened, but he was reassured as the Firebird swiftly presented
him with a reply.
P "Why should I stay with the Aerials? They're peaceful people, and I'm a warrior. One way
or another, this war is going to end. If I'm on their side and you win, you'll kill me. If I'm on their
side and they win, there won't be anything for me to do. If I join you, I'll at least have work to do
and be appreciated. The Aerials don't want warriors when there's no war."
P "Hmm," Zedd replied thoughtfully. "That almost sounds logical. Very well, Falcon. I'm
not convinced of your sincerity, but I'm interested enough to give you a chance."
P Skull wasn't sure exactly what the best thing to do would be, so just to be safe, he bowed
again.
P "Thank you," he said. "I know just the way prove my loyalty. If you want, I can get you
the Zeo Crystal."
P Zedd pretended not to be shocked. He was good at controlling his expression; those
flaming eyes revealed nothing save for the eternal burning of greed in his soul. He fixed his
inscrutable gaze on the Dark Falcon and feigned mild interest.
P "I'm listening," was all he said.
P "I know where the Crystal is, and I know how to deactivate the shield," Skull answered,
grateful the Firebird was there to tell him what to say. "Follow me, and I'll take you straight to
it."
P "Why do I have to go?"
P "I can't take the crystal and hold the shield open at the same time. I have to have help...
and would you trust anyone else with its power?"
P "That," Zedd replied, "makes entirely too much sense. You have your speech well
rehearsed, don't you? It makes me wonder why you felt you needed to plan all this so well."
P Skull felt his mouth go dry. He was beginning to think this wasn't such a good idea.
P *iJust watch and wait,/i* the Firebird assured him. *iHe'll fall for it, you'll
see./i*
P "You're probably up to something," Zedd said, "but that makes very little difference at the
moment. Let's see you get on with your act. If you do as you say you will, fine. If you don't... I
will personally destroy you. That is not an honor every hero gets."
P "I'm no hero. You can believe that," Skull replied. He felt shock radiating from the
Firebird even without words - that line, at least, he had come up with himself. He meant it, too.
P "I see. Very well then," answered Lord Zedd. He gestured with one hand, and his
lightning bolt staff appeared. "Let's get on with it."
P Skull nodded. In a fiery blink of light, courtesy of the Firebird, the three of them vanished.
No one noticed an addition to the group, as Goldar followed after his master.
pcenter~*~/center
p They reappeared in a tunnel made of grey stone. It was dim in the tunnel, but the area they
were standing in seemed to be lit by some kind of strange, sourceless glow. Even the Firebird's
radiance seemed muted. Skull glanced around in apprehension, but there didn't seem to be
anything threatening in the immediate area. There didn't seem to be any crystals there, either,
magical or otherwise. Zedd seemed to be noticing the same thing.
p "Where are we? Where is the Zeo Crystal?"
p Answers were supplied by the Firebird, and Skull began to relay them.
p "We're in the Caves of Deception. The magical field around this place is too strong to
safely transport through. We'll have to walk the rest of the way."
p "You'd better not be lying," Zedd replied.
P They began walking, the Firebird giving Skull discreet directions. The indistinct glow
followed them, lighting the area within a ten foot radius while leaving everything else in shadow.
The caves seemed to twist and branch all around, and Skull kept thinking he saw things flitting
around in the edges of his vision that kept vanishing when he tried to look at them, and he felt
nervous.
p *iI don't like this place. This is really weird./i*
p *iDon't complain,/i* the Firebird's voice answered in his mind. *iThere is a
reason why these are called the Caves of Deception. This place is filled with magic of confusion,
illusions of fear and deceit meant to frighten away trespassers. I have laid a spell around all of us
that will keep them at bay. You ought to thank me for that./i*
p "Is this trip going to take much longer?" asked Zedd in irritation. "I will be very angry if
you are leading me on a wild goose chase... or a wild falcon chase. Speed things along!"
p "We're almost there," said Skull. "It's just a little further ahead."
p "You had better hope so," Zedd replied, fingering his staff significantly. Skull tried not to
shiver.
p Suddenly, the Firebird glanced up and looked around sharply, as if he'd heard a gunshot
somewhere.
p *iDon't look now,/i* he told Skull, *ibut we're being followed. One of Zedd's
helpers, by the feel of things./i*
p *iWhat should I do?/i*
p *iSend me to scout it out for you, while you go on for the crystal. It isn't much further;
you can find it yourself without too much trouble. I can handle any kind of creepy-crawly Zedd
can dredge up./i*
p Skull nodded, and gestured for Zedd to halt a moment.
p "What is it now?" the mage growled.
p "We've got company," Skull replied. "I'm going to send my bird to check it out."
p He felt the Firebird bristle a little at being called "my bird," but he didn't really care. It was
a subtle sort of revenge for getting him into this mess in the first place. Zedd considered a
moment.
p "Fine, then. Get on with it."
p With that cue, the Firebird took off and began flapping down the halls on silent wings of
flame, leaving the Dark Falcon to navigate for himself. Feeling deeply uneasy, Skull began
walking again.
p After a bit of time had passed, the pair came to a fork in the tunnels. The way diverged
abruptly into two ominous dark tunnels, perfectly identical, neither looking very promising. Skull
stopped and stared, not liking what he was seeing.
p "Well?" asked Zedd. "Which way?"
p "Um..." Skull racked his brain desperately, trying to come up with a satisfactory answer.
"I forgot."
p "You iforgot/i?" Zedd repeated. "Of all the idiotic-"
p "It's okay," Skull interjected. "We can split up and search them both." He would have
been very glad to get out of the warlord's company.
P "Oh, no," said Zedd, giving the Falcon a suspicious look. "You're not going to fool me
that easily! You can check both of them yourself, and I'll wait right here for you."
p "Okay, fine. I was only making a suggestion," Skull replied. He shrugged, gathered what
courage he had, and headed down one of the tunnels.
P Luck was with him. He had only gone a short distance down the corridor when he noticed
a faint light, and he picked up his pace. Very soon, he emerged in an large room, filled with a pale,
pearly glow. The glow came from a stone resting proudly on a pedestal, bright with its own light,
and Skull felt a shiver run down his spine. He was looking at pure, crystalized magic. It was,
without a doubt, the Zeo Crystal.
pcenter~*~/center
p Firebird soared through the caves, humming brightly to himself. He was the only one in
the tunnels who was having a good time. He was looking forward to having a battle of wits with
whatever it was he had noticed following him. It didn't take him long at all to find Goldar slinking
through the shadows, jumping at movements. The armored ape wasn't benefitting from the
Firebird's spell of protection from hallucinations, and he was having to rely on force of will alone.
It was a good thing for him that he didn't have much of an imagination, or he would have been
having a dreadful time. As it was, the visions came only sporadically and were easy enough to be
rid of if he concentrated. Still, he was nervous, and having a flaming bird suddenly fling itself at
him was enough to startle him badly.
P "Aaagh!" he shouted, waving his sword wildly.
P The Firebird was unharmed. "bWhat's a goon like you doing in a place like this?/b" he
taunted. "bI would have thought your mother would have better sense than to let you cross the
street by yourself, much less come all the way out here./b"
P "Watch your beak, you poor excuse for a sparrow!" Goldar snapped back.
P "bIs that the best insult you can come up with? For shame! That's iso/i unoriginal./b"
P "Would you rather I turn you into a spitted goose?" asked the warrior, raising his sword
threateningly.
p "bYou'd have to apprehend me first!/b" called the Firebird cheerily. "bCatch me if you can,
slowpoke!/b" Laughing, he swooped down one of the corridors and out of sight.
p Angered, Goldar chased after him. He barreled down the passages, a gold-plated
juggernaut, ready to rip the Firebird to little bits when he caught up to him. Unfortunately, the
caves were twisting and sprawling in all directions, and he wasn't watching where he was going.
He ran blindly, and the illusions played tricks on him, making it seem like the caves were full of
flaming birds. Finally, Goldar ran out of energy and looked around. He was now completely lost.
With a growl of frustration, he looked around, picked a direction, and started walking, trying
without much real hope to retrace his steps, muttering and cursing the Firebird.
p And the Firebird sat hidden in the deepest shadows, enjoying every minute of it.
pcenter~*~/center
p Frozen in place, Skull continued to stare at the Zeo Crystal. It was so beautiful and so
unlike anything that he'd ever seen, he moved forward to touch it. By the time he felt the shield, it
was too late to back away... but it only parted for him as if it was no more than smoke. Then he
was standing next to the pedestal, reaching out one hand...
P Images reeled through his mind, and he yelped in shock and jumped backwards. He stared
at the crystal with a suspicious look, as if expecting it to attack him, but it only sat there glowing.
It had already told him all it needed him to know, and he stood there considering. The images had
shown him a young man in white picking up the crystal, and Skull had recognized him as his old
schoolmate, Tommy. There was something in the images that had felt almost apologetic. It was
sorry it couldn't let Skull take it, but it was waiting for Tommy. That was all. Skull was confused.
In the images he had seen, Tommy had been dressed as a Power Ranger. But that was crazy...
wasn't it?
P "No crazier than me being the Dark Falcon," Skull said, stepping back out of the dome of
protection. Raising his voice, he shouted, "Hey, down here! I found it!"
P Moments later, Zedd arrived, looking wary. Then his gaze fell on the crystal, and he took
on an expression of surprise.
P "Well," he said. "It seems you were telling the truth, then."
P Without anyone to tell him what to say, Skull only shrugged. Zedd moved forward, his
eyes glued to the shining stone. Just before he was about to touch the shield, the tip of his staff
struck it, and sparks fountained. He jumped in surprise and whirled angrily on Skull.
p "You haven't taken the shield down," he said dangerously, narrowing his flaming eyes.
The light in them seemed to concentrate, hot and fierce. Skull shivered inside, but outwardly, he
seemed to stay calm.
p "Right," he said. "And I'm not going to. We're going to fight. I've had enough of you
messing with my friends, and I'm not going to take it anymore!" His voice was getting louder and
more defiant as he spoke. "It doesn't matter how powerful you are, I'm still going to beat you
right here, right now. So there."
p "A pretty speech," Zedd sneered. "Well, you're a good liar, Dark Falcon - I'll give you
credit for that. You would have done better to keep up the act, because now, I'm afraid I'm going
to have to destroy you."
P Skull produced his sword. "Try it."
P Zedd didn't waste any time with preliminaries. He sprang at the Dark Falcon like a cat
attacking a bird, and Skull made a dodge and a tumble. They both got back to their feet, Zedd
with practiced smoothness, Skull with an uncoordinated scramble. The warlord lashed out with
his staff, attempting to stab the Falcon while he was still off-balance, but Skull used his sword to
parry the blow. He wasn't trying to attack yet; the Dark Falcon's instincts were telling him that a
sword, even the beautiful and possibly magical one he carried, wouldn't be enough to kill Lord
Zedd. The only thing available that would do it was the shield, and so he had to try to force the
mage closer to it. He managed a solid kick to Zedd's chest, making him stumble backwards a
little, and Skull moved in to try to press him further. The mage retaliated with a powerful blow of
his own, sending the Dark Falcon crashing against the wall. He raised his staff to fire a finishing
bolt of energy, but Skull quickly flipped open his wings to shield himself. He shifted the sword to
laser mode again and fired a few rapid shots at his assailant, but Zedd blocked them easily. Skull
gave up on that tactic and went back to his sword again, and he struck out at Zedd's staff, hoping
to knock it out of his hands. The blade crossed with the wand, and the combatants struggled to
break the lock.
p "Give up, Falcon! You'll never win!" Zedd growled.
P "Your slip is showing," Skull replied.
P "Huh?"
p Concentration broken, Zedd glanced down in confusion. What he saw was the Dark
Falcon's purple boot coming up to kick him in the midriff, and he staggered backwards.
p Despite Skull's efforts at aiming the blow, Lord Zedd managed not to crash directly into
the shield. That would have destroyed him in an instant in a very painful fashion. He only grazed
the edge of it, and thus got only a fraction of its full force. It was still enough.
P Skull looked up just in time to have his eyes seared by an explosion of bright light. A
scream came from somewhere, an inhuman wail of pure agony, and Skull closed his eyes and
clapped his hands to his ears in a desperate attempt to shut it all out. The scream intensified, and
now there was a sort of sizzling sound mixed in. Then all the noise began to slowly fade out.
What was left of Lord Zedd fell limply to the floor. Cautiously, Skull took his hands away from
his ears. He opened one eye, then the other. So far, so good. Then he turned around and looked
at the Zeo Crystal. It was still resting comfortably on its pedestal. Finally, his gaze fell upon the
fallen warlord. Skull stared a moment at the gory mess, and then he quietly passed out.
P A few moments later, the Firebird swooped in.
P "bWhat's going on?/b" he called. "bEugene, what happened? I felt an explosion
and-/b" He paused in mid-sentence as he scanned the area and the two still bodies lying on the
floor. He dropped between them an examined the remains of Zedd.
P "bOh, dear,/b" said the Firebird. "bThat's rather gruesome, isn't it? This didn't go
at all the way I expected. Oh, well. This has been interesting. I guess it's back to the drawing
board again. Time to go home, Eugene./b" He flicked his wing at the still unconscious form of
the Dark Falcon, and they both vanished in a flare of gold light.
P Their timing was very fortunate, because just at that moment, Goldar came running in,
panting a little from his mad dash and frustration with the whole situation. He skidded to a halt
and looked all around the room. It didn't take him long to notice the grisly remains of his master,
or to recognize the staff that was still gripped tightly in the warlord's hand. He felt a sinking
feeling at the sight of the ruined body, and wondered what he could possibly do. Then, taking a
closer look. Impossible as it seemed, Zedd's chest was still rising and falling in weak breaths, and
now a dazed moan of pain was audible. Despite his appalling state, Lord Zedd was still alive.
P "Aargh!" cried Goldar in frustration. This was just what he had been trying to prevent!
Perhaps, though, he could still save his master's life if he moved fast enough. He kneeled next to
the prone warlord, and they both vanished in a swirl of flames.
pcenter~*~/center
p *iNightmare,/i* thought Skull dazedly. *iI've been having the worst dream.../i*
P Well, it was all okay now, he was back in his nice safe room, and everything was going to
be all right... His thoughts ended abruptly as he realized he was still wearing his Dark Falcon
costume. He opened his eyes and was met by twin pools of amber. He jumped.
p "Are you all right, Eugene?" asked Cedar worriedly.
P Skull breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm fine. That was just... brr! I don't want to do that
again."
P "Ve vere all vorried about you, Eugene," said Hemlock, who was sitting nearby. "Ven
Cedar told us vat the Firebird told you to do..."
P "Did you really go to fight with Lord Zedd?" Cedar interrupted.
P "Yeah," said Skull, nodding weakly. "We fought. I think I won... I shoved him into a force
field, and there was this explosion, and he burned up... no one could have survived that. It was
terrible..."
P "Aw, poor Eugene," said Cedar sympathetically, trying to hug him even though he was
still lying down. He accepted the gesture of affection gratefully. It would be a while before he
could close his eyes without seeing the grisly remains of the warlord with his skin burned
completely away...
P "Lord Zedd is... dead?" asked Hemlock in disbelief. "Can it be true?"
P Skull nodded weakly. "He's gone."
P Hemlock closed lifted his eyes skyward in a prayerful expression. "Good forces be
thanked! We are saved at last."
P Tired and drained as he felt, Skull managed to smile. He was safe, he was with people he
loved, and he had won. For once, he finally believed it was true. He was a hero.
pcenter~*~/center
P Skull fidgeted in the antechamber of the great hall. Cedar, perched on his shoulder in her
Gold Eagle form, attempted to soothe him by preening his hair. He managed a smile for her.
P "Don't be so nervous!" she said to him. "All will be well. You are here to be honored, not
executed."
P "I know,"said Skull. "I'm just not used to big crowds, I guess. I'm not used to being
noticed."
P Cedar giggled. "You are funny, Eugene Skullovitch. You run off in the middle of the night
with only crazy Firebird to help you to battle the greatest evil sorcerer in the universe, and now
you are scared of being given a medal for it."
P "Yeah, I guess it is kinda silly," Skull agreed, laughing a little. "I'd be scared stiff if you
weren't here with me. And it's not like I wasn't scared of Zedd or anything. I was scared, but I
was more scared of what would happen if I didn't stop him. That's the only thing that kept me
going."
P The door opened, and Skull restrained himself from jumping in surprise as a little robot
peeked around the door.
P "Who or what are you?" he asked.
p "I am Alpha Five," answered the driod, bowing slightly. "We are ready to begin the
ceremony now, Dark Falcon."
P "Thanks," said Skull. He got up and followed the robot down a hall and around a corner
to the main double doors of the meeting hall. A dull hum of voices emanated from inside, the
sound of many people talking to each other. Skull felt his nervousness rising, but he throttled it
down. The robot pushed the doors aside, and he went in.
p The room was ihuge/i, and for a moment, Skull couldn't help but stare at it, his gaze
wandering from the high arched ceiling lit by gold chandeliers to the red carpeted walkway across
the white marble floors to the gold candelabrum on the walls and then... then he looked at the
people. They nearly filled the room, standing in respectful groups on either side of the walkway,
peering over each other's shoulders as they vied for a glimpse of him. Some looked human, some
animal, some reptile, some robotic, some so totally alien Skull couldn't name them at all. Some of
them actually glowed. He could have stood there in the doorway for hours if the helpful robot
hadn't given him a discreet push to start him walking. Slowly, he stepped onto the carpet, and the
onlookers fell into a hush, as if his treading on that red strip had activated a hidden mute button.
He couldn't even hear the sounds of his own booted feet touching the floor.
P He reached the far side of the room, where a set of platforms placed one atop the other
created a set of stairs leading up to a dias. Sometimes a judgement seat rested there, but today it
was gone. There was a small door behind the uppermost platform, and as Skull arrived there, the
door opened. The stillness deepened as all breathing was bated.
P The man who came through the door was an impressive figure. It wasn't so much in his
looks though; he was tall and strong looking, but not really that imposing physically. There was
an aura around him of controlled power and of deep wisdom. This was a man who had seen love
and pain had gained understanding that most people would never find in their lifetimes, and Skull
was slightly awed. Then his gaze was caught by the man's eyes. They were blue as the evening
sky and warm as a friend's greeting, and for the first time since coming to Eltar, Skull relaxed. He
also began to notice that, though the man was wearing a stately blue robe of royal blue, decorated
with medals and badges of honor, he was still wearing a plain white shirt and breeches in a style
very like what Hemlock wore for working in his lab, and Skull got the impression that the man he
was meeting now had just pulled his formal costume on quickly a few minutes before the
ceremony. He smiled and bowed, not as deeply and subserviently as he had for Lord Zedd, but
with total sincerity.
p "Zordon," he greeted.
p "Dark Falcon," answered Zordon with a courteous nod. "Welcome to my homeworld. It is
an honor to have you here."
P "The honor is mine," Skull replied automatically. Hemlock had coached him on what to
say before he had come here, but he honestly meant what he said.
P Zordon turned to the audience, spreading his arms to include them all as he spoke to them.
P "My friends, we are gathered here today to honor a true hero. In an act of unparalleled
bravery, he has risked his life to save our universe in a way that leaves no doubt of his bravery. By
his courageous deed, we are freed of the terror of one of our greatest enemies. Therefore, it is my
great pleasure to present the Dark Falcon with a medal of valor."
P There were applause and cheers from the audience. Skull blushed a little, and Zordon gave
him a reassuring smile.
P "This is the part where you kneel," he whispered over the tumult.
P "Oh, sorry," Skull replied.
P The Dark Falcon dropped to one knee before the wizard, and the little robot came up from
the side to hand Zordon a box made of dark, polished wood. Taking and opening it, Zordon
removed a golden medallion hung on a purple silk ribbon, which he ceremoniously hung around
Skull's neck. Skull rose again and bowed to the audience, and the ovation was deafening.
p Zordon said a few more uplifting words to the crowd, and Skull took the opportunity to
examine his new treasure. The medallion was a finely wrought thing, brightly polished and perfect
down to the last detail. The face bore the mark of a sword and a feather making a cross design,
while the back was stamped with a picture of a spread-winged eagle that looked a lot like the
Firebird, but with less personality. Finally, the speeches were concluded, and Skull went to mingle
with the masses, accepting congratulations. Even the Gold Eagle got her share of attention.
P As Skull made his rounds, Zordon stood to one side and watched. The little robot came to
his side and looked up at him curiously.
P "Ay, yi, yi, Zordon," he said, "who iis/i that masked man?"
p Zordon continued to watch the Dark Falcon, smiling enigmatically.
P "Alpha, my friend," he said, "some things are best left unknown."
pcenter~*~/center
p Lord Zedd awakened in a dark room. For a moment, he was too dazed for anything to
register, but then the pain hit him. He was a mighty warrior and mage who had suffered without
flinching agonies that would have crushed lesser men. It had been thousands of years since he had
felt any level of suffering that was enough to mean more than a distraction. He gritted his teeth
and fought against the tears that were pressing unbidden from his eyes, burning against his skin
like acid... or rather, against the place where his skin used to be. He lay tensed, doing all within
his power not to cry out against the unbearable pain, until he felt a sudden prick on his arm that
sent soothing warmth spreading slowly through his body. The doctor nodded in satisfaction as he
saw his ruler relax.
P "Is he going to live?" asked Goldar worriedly. If Zedd were to die, the empire would fall
to pieces, and that would leave him in something of a tight spot.
P "He's made it this far," said the doctor with a sigh, putting the hypodermic needle away.
"Chances are good that he will live, but he will never be the same."
P "What... happened?" Zedd managed to ask. His voice sounded rough and harsh in his ears.
He couldn't remember how, but he must have been in a terrible accident.
P "It was the Dark Falcon," offered Goldar helpfully. "He tricked you into trying to steal the
Zeo Crystal."
P "The Dark Falcon," Zedd repeated. He thought it over for a while as best he could with
the pain drugs clouding his mind. The Dark Falcon had tricked him, probably humiliated him in
front of all the forces of Good. Word would spread that Lord Zedd could be taken down by an
untested young warrior in a funny suit, and he'd never hear the end of it. The Dark Falcon would
pay dearly for it, in time, but for now....
P "Bring me a mirror," he said. "Show me what has been done."
P There was a nervous scuffling and a whispered conversation. The doctor stepped forward.
P "I don't th-think that would be a g-good idea, your highness," he said, trying not to
stammer.
P "I don't care what you think," said Lord Zedd, some of his former character showing
through the haze of drugs and pain. "I care what I want, and what I want now is for my order to
be obeyed without question. Do it!"
p The doctor jumped and scuttled away. Moments later, he reappeared carrying a small
mirror, which he held up for Zedd's inspection. The evil monarch managed to stare into his
hideously disfigured face for a few seconds before turning away in revulsion.
P "I will need a mask," he said. He sounded tired. "No one will see this. No one."
p "You need to sleep. We'll take care of it," said the doctor soothingly. "The medicine I
gave you will send you to sleep in a few moments, and I will make sure you are attended to."
P "Make it so," Zedd replied.
P Goldar and the doctor took this as the dismissal it was and made their way to the door of
the darkened bedchamber. Zedd sighed and closed his eyes, letting himself drift. The pain would
subside eventually, and he would get his strength back in time. It was just a waiting game. He was
weak now, but there was no doubt that he would live, not with such a powerful lure to keep him
alive... irevenge!/i
pcenterThe End... for now.