Chapter 3: Explanations
The five former Rangers went to Zordon and hugged him. After they did, Tanya said, "I thought you were dead." "I was," explained their former mentor. "But I was saved." Justin looked at the woman and asked, "Who's she?" "This is Dulcea, Master Warrior of the planet Phaedos," Zordon introduced. "She is the reason I am standing before you today. But that is not why I have summoned you all here." "Let me guess," began Justin. "You want us to be Rangers again?" "That is correct," said Zordon. "Because Lord Zedd has returned." Tommy, Kat, and Adam all looked stunned. Justin and Tanya had never faced Zedd, so they just looked confused. "How is that possible?" asked Kat. "Observe the monitor." The grown-up Rangers (unless you still consider Justin a teen) turned to the huge monitor where Zordon's plasma tube had once been. They watched and listened as Zordon told his story.
"Thousands of years ago, I lead the original Power Rangers team. Lord Zedd was planning to invade our galaxy and we were the only force that had the power to stop him. The Great Power, or the power of the Ninjetti, was bestowed upon us. For years we battled Zedd and his minions, and just as it seemed we were about to defeat him, he decided on a drastic measure. He created a second Z staff which, along with his original, would make him more powerful. And it did. He began to push farther and farther into our galaxy, conquering four worlds, and making his way toward Eltar. We knew that if Zedd ever captured Eltar, then he would have no trouble conquering the rest of our galaxy and, eventually, the universe. Fortunately, Jada, the original Pink Ranger had been able to find a way to sneak into his starship. So we snuck in for one final battle with the Emperor of Evil. The attack was successful, but the cost was dear. Out of all ten Rangers, only three survived: Jada, Dulcea, and myself. We imprisoned Lord Zedd, but we knew that it wouldn't hold him for long. So Dulcea and Jada took his second staff, and buried it deep underground on Earth in what is now known as the Sahara Desert. There was no life on Earth at the time. I took his original staff, but before I could find a place to bury or destroy it, Zedd escaped. It didn't take him long to find me. He attacked me and took back his staff. But before he could destroy me, Jada and Dulcea showed up. He retreated and set his sights on conquering the rest of the universe. I had been injured so badly that the only way to save me was for Dulcea to use all of her magic to restore me. She then had to return to Phaedos, for if she stayed, she would age rapidly and die shortly." The transmission then ended.
"And then, you spent the next 2000 years battling Rita, and got placed in your time warp," said Tommy. Zordon nodded.
"But why didn't he make more staffs?" Adam asked. "If he had tried, Adam," began Zordon, "it would have killed him. Just making that second staff permanently used up more than half of his power and life energy. But Lord Zedd has never been an easy foe to handle, full power or not. He also knew that, if he were ever destroyed, or purified as he was when my tube was shattered, there was a chance that someone else would find his second staff. And if it was discovered by someone with evil intentions, he would not only become and receive the power of Lord Zedd, he would also inherit his memories and knowledge of all Power Rangers, past and present."
Justin then turned to Dulcea. "But, if you're here, then how come you're not aging?" "When Zordon was restored," explained Dulcea, "so was I." "Oh," was all Justin could say.
"What happened to Jada?" asked Kat. "She gave up her power," Zordon explained, "and left the team shortly afterwards. I don't know what happened to her after that, but I do know that she arrived on Earth about a year ago."
"But that is not the reason you have been summoned," said Dulcea. "Will you accept the responsibility of protecting the Earth again after all this time?" The five ex-Rangers looked at each other. They all nodded in agreement. Zordon and Dulcea smiled. They knew they would. "You must come with me to Phaedos," said Dulcea, "and begin your quest for the Great Power. But before we leave, you must meet the final two members of your team."
A door opened up and two figures stepped into the room. One was familiar to the five, except Justin. "Aisha!" Kat exclaimed. She, Tommy, Adam, and Tanya ran over to her and hugged her. Justin approached the other person, female as well. She was as tall as he was, had shoulder-length brown hair, and looked like she should be in Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Edition. "Who are you?" he asked. "I'm Jada," she said. This surprised everyone accept Zordon, Alpha, and Dulcea. "Jada?" Tommy asked. "As in the original Pink Ranger?" She smiled and said, "The one and the same." "But how do you look so young?" asked Tanya. "I have limited magical abilities," she explained. "That makes it easy to stay young." Dulcea then spoke up. "There will be time for pleasantries later. They have already been informed of the situation. Right now, we must get to Phaedos so you can receive your Power." She then turned to Alpha and said, "You know what to do, Alpha." "Right," said the sentient robot. "Preparing for teleportation." He pushed a few buttons and they were on their way.
Once they were gone, Alpha said, "Ay-yi-yi. I hope they make it alright." Zordon put his hand on what would be Alpha's "shoulder." "Have faith in them, Alpha. They were Rangers once before. They'll be alright." "I hope you're right, Zordon," said Alpha, obviously worried.
Lord Zedd stood on the balcony of his old palace. It had only taken a short time for the place to get completely renovated. "Ah. It feels so good to have my old Chamber of Command back." He then noticed eight streaks of light teleporting away from Earth. He shot a red beam from his visor to get a closer look. He growled. Goldar and Scorpina came up behind him. "What's going on, my lord?" asked Goldar. "It would appear that some. . . old enemies of mine are going after the Great Power." "You mean they're going to be Power Rangers again?" asked Scorpina stunned. "If they get to the Great Power, everything will be ruined!" Zedd then turned to address them. "Nonsense, Scorpina. Aside from the original team, no one has ever survived a quest for the Great Power. All who have tried for it have perished. But just in case they do, we must prepare an army of monsters to terrorize Angel Grove."
He then turned back toward Earth and began searching the city with his visor. He saw a statue of a tiger. "Perfect. Arise, Tigra!" He sent a bolt from his staff and struck the statue. It turned into a huge humanoid saber-toothed tiger with seven-inch claws. It roared, ready to kill. Back on the moon, Zedd turned back to his minions. "Soon, we will have enough monsters to conquer Angel Grove and the world! And soon after that, we begin our long-awaited conquest of the universe!" He began to laugh evilly. Goldar and Scorpina laughed along with him. Lord Zedd then looked back toward Earth, searching for more creatures or objects, and made them into monsters with his staff, laughing the whole time.