POWER RANGERS ZEO
SHADOW OF THE DRAGON
Chapter One
Written by DTM666
Originally Published on November 2003 to May 2004
First volume of the Breakdown trilogy, which is followed by Power Rangers: Breakdown and Power Rangers: Zero Hour.
Disclaimer: The author would like to clarify that Power Rangers and its characters is owned by Saban Brands and not the author.
-o-
On the lunar surface, a rickety old Winnebago rapidly speeds ahead towards an ominous black castle in the backdrop. The driver of the vehicle is Lord Zedd, once-master of his domain driven away by King Mondo and his corrupted Machine Empire just last year. Mondo had thought Zedd and his crew to be gone forever, his mind set on adding Earth to his list of dominated worlds of the Machine Empire.
But a year later, the Machine Empire is in shambles and nowhere close to conquering Earth, defended by a mighty force known as the Zeo Power Rangers. Lord Zedd made his return and dealt a crippling blow to the leaders of the Empire, with the help of a specially designed bomb disguised as a gift to take out the Machine monarchy. With Mondo out of the way, Zedd could finally make his way back to his cherished lunar palace.
"Our trick gift worked well," drooled Rito Revolto, the idiot brother of Rita Repulsa. "Didn't it, Ed?"
"ZEDD, you stupid oaf!" the fleshman roared, partly in anger but mostly annoyance. "LORD ZEDD!" He paused for a moment and spoke more calmly. "But you're right, fool. My little surprise for the Machine monarchy did indeed work wonders." He looked ahead as he saw a silhouette of a familiar sight. "In fifteen minutes, we'll be home and we'll take back what is ours."
In the back area of the vehicle, Goldar stared at his plate of food, slightly discolored pieces of string covered in a soothing red liquid that is thick and chunky in its composition. With a quick spin on the rusted fork, the Titan awed as he slowly spun the fork around within the food, slowly rolling a small ball of strings together. Gently, he lifted the fork and slipped it into his mouth and pulling the utensil out in one quick motion. It took several chews for Goldar before he swallowed, but the soothing sigh that was let out indicated his enjoyment of the food.
"Ew!" Rita Repulsa screeched as she approached the back area, "What is that?"
Goldar spoke after swallowing. "It is an Earth delicacy." He paused to consume more of the stringy food before swallowing again. "I believe the humans call it 'spaghetti.'"
"Spaghetti?" Repulsa bellowed, wide-eyed. "You were on Earth for several months, we purge your minds of all that crap."
"I happen to like the food." Goldar mused. "It is almost like the Tarkarian worms Mother used to make, with the sweet Liarian stew sauce."
Repulsa, disgusted by the food or the description... or both... walked off forcibly, bumping into Rito who was just walking by. Goldar simply shrugged and turned his attention towards the food, consuming it as if it was a woman. Rito stared at the plate of food and extended his hand to grab a bit, but the titan quickly pulled out his sword and extended towards Rito's neck. Rito pulled his hand back.
Goldar grinned. "That's the first intelligent thing you've done all your life." He soon returned to eating his meal.
-o-
The Angel Grove Youth Center has been quiet for the past few days. It had its usual share of patrons, and business has been running smoothly, but there's a different feel in the air when you walk in the place, as compared to last week, when the Zeo Rangers and the monarchy of the evil Machine Empire had their epic final battle in the middle of the desert. To the Rangers, a quiet day at the Youth Center simply meant business as usual, although the absence of Bulk Skull did seem peculiar.
"What is he doing?" Tanya Sloan asked surprised, as she saw Rocky DeSantos behind the counter of the Juice Bar, a spot normally occupied by the Youth Center's owner, Ernie.
Adam Park, sitting on the other side of the table, with Kat Hillard sitting middle, grinned at Tanya's surprised face. "Rocky's cooking Ernie's special shakes."
"Cooking?" Kat said, almost in shock. "Ernie's letting Rocky doing the cooking?" As she said this, her boyfriend (and fellow Zeo Ranger) Thomas Oliver walked in from the backroom in time to see the looks of surprise on his friends' faces and grinned.
"Ernie said he'd be gone for the day to take care of some paperwork," Tommy explained, purposely not hiding his amused tone, "so he asked Rocky to do some of the cooking in the kitchen." He turned to the Blue Ranger with a smirk. "Make sure you follow those recipes to the letter, man. I don't want to smell rotten tuna in my strawberry smoothie."
"Ha. Ha." Rocky said in mock annoyance. The others simply let out a couple of giggles.
A half-hour had passed and things were running smoothly. In the background, a slight rumbling sound could be heard. Glasses and plates were visibly shaken, but not by much. Soon, thunderous bangs were heard, storage containers and boxes fell to the floor, people were startled and screaming, and the emergency klaxon sounded, prompting everyone to leave the Youth Center immediately.
All but five teenagers, who stood around for a moment helping out with the evacuation until the Youth Center was empty. On cue, their communicators sounded a familiar six-tone sound and the Rangers rushed into the backroom. Tommy spoke into his wrist communicator. "What's going on, Zordon?"
"Rangers," the sage spoke over the communicators, "there's a disturbance in downtown Angel Grove, but the energy signature does not seem to originate from either the Machine Empire nor Rita and Zedd."
"Someone new?" Adam suggested.
"I don't know, but it really doesn't matter." Tommy answered, looking out the door to ensure no one was around, "Let's do it. IT'S MORPHIN TIME!"
-o-
When the Zeo Rangers materialized on, they searched around the towns square to find people running away from various explosions that was occurring. The Rangers then found the source of the problem in the form of a tall stranger who just stood there, his (or her) black leather trench coat blowing in the wind. The body was completely covered in a stranger form of off-white wrappings and charcoal-colored shades covered what would be this stranger's eyes, but judging from the apparent shape of the face, this seems to be humanoid.
"Careful, Rangers." Zeo Red warned, "We don't know what this... thing is capable of."
The cloaked figure did not answer. Instead he or she pointed past the Red Zeo Ranger. Tommy didn't know what he meant, but he soon heard a faint hissing sound behind him. Tommy looked behind him at the other Rangers. One by one, they disappeared into nothingness. Where they end up, he doesn't know for sure. But the mysterious figure in the leather trench coat probably does.
"What did you do with them?" he barked, every word he spewed laced with anger, but this stranger... whatever he or she may be... simply stared, the face practically hidden by the wrappings and shade of his or her hat, much to the Red Zeo Ranger's annoyance.
Tommy drew his Zeo Pistol and aimed it straight at this stranger's head. "If you don't tell me," he threatened, "You're going to suffer!"
Again, the stranger was silent. No longer hesitant, Tommy fired a burst of laser beams at his target, but soon observed the beams dissipated before they even make contact with his coat. Tommy increased the power setting a notch more and fired several more shots. Again, the lasers soon phased out before they made contact. Tommy kept firing beams in desperation at this stranger, trying various settings and tactics, but all would produce the same result. Finally, Tommy decided for a close up attack, hoping for some kind of response... any kind of response from this stranger, who has done nothing but stand there.
Tommy pulled out his Zeo Sword and attempted to strike at the chest of his mysterious opponent, but soon the stranger broke out of his trance-like state and blocked Tommy's attack with a weapon of his own, following up with a kick to the stomach. For a second, Tommy was caught off-guard at the sight of the stranger's attack. It wasn't the fact that the stranger managed to counter quickly. It wasn't the fact that the stranger was playing possum and seemed stronger than before. What caught Tommy's eye was the weapon his opponent held. It was a weapon he was very familiar with. A weapon he had never thought in a long time he would ever see again. A weapon that haunted him.
The Dragon Dagger. The weapon of the Green Ranger.
It can't be, Tommy thought in disbelief. It's impossible.
The stranger raised the dagger to lips and played an all-too-familiar tune. Tommy, still in shock over the appearance of his old weapon, started to notice a rumbling sound from another site that is all too familiar to him. Soon enough, Tommy saw a giant metal monster rise from the oceans, but could not believe his eyes.
After years in slumber, the Dragonzord rises from the depths to do its master's bidding. Its master, however, was not Thomas Oliver...
-o-
Three standard-class Machine Skybases, the giant starbases that houses the Machine Empire's Quadrafighters and also serves as command vessels, loomed slowly towards the Machine capital on the moon, overshadowing most of the minor facilities that covered the moon. One skybase descended to the point of nearly touching one of the command towers. The other two kept their altitude.
Without hesitation, the main skybase fired bolts of green energy at the refineries, blowing them apart and causing various detonations throughout the city. From the lowest skybase, three squadrons of eight black Quadrafighters were launched, firing various beams and missiles at the industrial areas and waste plants. One of the ground bases managed to send several standard red Quadrafighters, but the fighters were quickly and effortlessly disposed of.
In the bridge of the main skybase, Cogs were shuffling from one station to the other while the main viewer showed random images of the Machine City under fire. In the center of the bridge sat a slender silver android; a robotic life form whose body was molded of a typical human male. Snapping his fingers, a gold-plated cog stood and bowed before the commander.
"Report, Captain?" the commander asked calm.
"No sign of Mondo, my liege." the Cog said, although he seemed to have a normal-sounding voice, not the robotic voice typical with Cogs. "We have already begun to fight his aerial defense."
The commander frowned, but his composure did not change. He casually surveyed the tactical overview of the moon base before addressing the Cog. "Resume the attack on the moonbase. Focus our firepower on the industrial facilities first, then go for the power stations."
"As you wish, Lord Aradon," the Cog bowed before returning to his post.
Pleased with the current happenings, Aradon watched ahead as his small battalion was slowly, but surely eliminating Mondo's Lunar city.
-o-
"After many months of being cramped in that putrid Winnebago, it's good to be home."
Lord Zedd walked into his old throne room with victory on his mind. The place seemed to have collected a little dust, but other than that, it was still in one piece. Even the giant fan in the background, the only source of illumination in the room, was still functional. All in all, it was well preserved despite not being occupied in the past year.
"Now," he spoke aloud, his voice echoing across the empty halls as he sat on his throne once more, "I begin my plans to strike at the heart of the Machine Empire."
TO BE CONTINUED...