POWER RANGERS: ZERO HOUR - Fifteen
Written by DTM666
Based loosely upon Countdown to Destruction by Judd Lynn
Disclaimer: The author would like to clarify that Power Rangers and its characters is owned by BVS Entertainment and not the author. Also, this revision has nothing to do with the other C2D "revisions" floating out there and any similarities apparent is strictly coincidental.
Aggravatingly Long Intro
Zero Hour is the third and final 'volume' of the trilogy that comprised of Power Rangers Zeo: Shadow of the Dragon (the one with the Dragonzord) and Power Rangers: Breakdown (the one with the Tommy clone and unresolved cliffhanger). Anyone who has read Breakdown till the end will know that this story spills into Countdown To Destruction territory. While this will cover the events of CTD, it will not follow the established events of CTD. Some events will differ from the aired episodes, but otherwise the general plot is the same.
For all intents and purposes, I highly suggest you read Breakdown before taking a wiff at this story, as that story sets up some background for most of the events that occur in this story. If a certain event in the story is unclear, chances are it's been mentioned or happened in that story.
In any case, I hope you enjoy this revisionist version of CTD entitled Zero Hour. And I especially hope you enjoy it enough to leave a review... they're always the driving force behind speedier updates and... stuff.
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Previously on Power Rangers: Breakdown...
On cue, a loud boom sound echoed through the halls of the palace and in the sanctums of the wrecked throne room. The former Rangers looked around see what could have been causing the sounds of explosions, but were then met with slightly rumblings of the floor. It wasn't long before the ceiling of the room began to show cracks.
"What's going on?" Kim called out.
"The Palace is imploding," Adam realized, "We have to get out of here!"
"I got an idea," Thomas said, "but I'm not sure it'll work."
Jason was about say something, but paused when he saw Thomas pull out a small control pad with a blinking red button on top. Before anyone could react to the device, Thomas firmly pushed down the button and...
Jason froze in place when he found himself not in a dingy palace throne room that was about to fall apart, but aboard a space vessel. From the various containers neatly stacked and organized, he assumed that this area was the cargo hold. Nearby, Adam studied some of the container markings, which were clearly written in plain English. Before the two could ask questions, they were met with a familiar friend who had just walked in.
"Welcome to the Megashuttle, boys," Rocky DeSantos' cheerful voice boomed, "on loan from the Space Rangers."
"Rocky!" Adam blurted out.
Rocky staggered back a bit as the two Rangers stepped. The three clapsed hands with each other, knowing all is well. Jason
"Wait a minute," Jason said. "Something's not right."
Adam's jaw slightly dropped in realization. "You're right, Jason. Where's Tommy? And where's Kimberly? Shouldn't they be here too?"
Rocky's head hung, much to Adam and Jason's disappointment. "When the palace imploded, the shuttle's scanners showed two teleport beams caused by an unknown source, but I used the modulator or whatever it's called to bring the teleport beam here instead of wherever." He paused, not able to find other words. "I haven't found any other teleport beams."
Adam stared ahead at the wall. "Do you think they made it out before the palace imploded?"
"I hope so, Adam," Jason commented, "But now's not the time to worry. Right now, we have to get ready."
Both Adam and Rocky stared quizzically at the original Red Ranger. "For what?"
Jason's eyes met the others with great despair. "War."
---
For the longest time imaginable, there was the war between good and evil. Fought across the many cosmos, under many grueling conditions and guises, the war has left a terrible mark on those who have fought within it. All worlds and galaxies that have been a participant in the war, directly or otherwise, had experienced the war in various forms. On Earth, there was the World Wars. On Aquitar, there was the Hydro Wars. The War of the Machinists was fought for millennia before a corrupt leader took control of the Machine Empire. However, aside from these planetary conflicts, the war of good and evil was fought spanning dozens of worlds, both sides united under the belief that the world was black and white.
Evil was the name of the game for most of the dark warlords, but none of them were united. Each warlord had their own political agendas and goals of conquest. This dissolution was the weakness that was exploited by the forces of good and light, lead by the prodigal son of Eltare, the master sage known as Zordon. It was this unity among the forces of good that has allowed them to triumph and contain the evil forces so that they would not spread.
As eons passed, the war stagnated. Warlords were busy dealing with their own internal affairs, evil beings had lost touch with the old ways, and the struggle between evil forces was not a foreign concept in modern times. The forces of good were also entrenched in their own periods of change, as their warlike methods are deeply buried and methodologies are tweaked towards peace. Over time, the jagged line between good and evil was slowly fading and the two opposites would not confront each other in an epic scale.
Well, that is... until recently.
The United Alliance of Evil started off with several warlords joined together to eliminate the opposing forces. Unlike other warlords, the Alliance maintained the old ways and caused trouble wherever they went. Treated and seen as a mercenary group, the Alliance grew over time and, under the command of Dark Specter, became a full-fledged political power that had major influence in most worlds.
The raid on Eltare and capture of Zordon was the greatest victory the Alliance had pulled off in its entire history because Specter executed his grand plan swiftly. His spies had constantly updated him on happenings on the planet and surely, there were those who were willing to sacrifice Eltare's prodigal son for a few more credits in their pockets. The timing was almost perfect in a sense, as Eltare was caught off-guard by this massive assault.
But while the Alliance touted this as their greatest victory, Specter was already working on his master plan to conquer all the worlds that oppose him. A plan this devious would take advantage of the chaos already impending in the universe. With events such as the civil war between former king Mondo and Emperor Aradon for control of the Machine Empire and the forces of good spread throughout all quadrants, desperately searching for Zordon, Specter would strike when chaos was at an impending high.
Now seemed like a good a time as any and the final touches of the plan would get underway.
The countdown to destruction has begun...
---
Her mind went fuzzy for a moment the moment she felt the strange senasation that struck mere seconds. Her reaction to the sudden collapsing of Zedd's palace was practically non-existent before it hit her. Kimberly didn't know what to make of it. It felt like a teleport, but not like any she had experienced before. The only thing that she knew was that she was nowhere near the collapsing palace, nor was she on the moon. That alone made her somewhat relieved.
Kim's nerves settled for a brief moment. The cool air struck her, but not too hard. What really surprised her was her new surroundings; an endless desert with several mountains scattered about and a pale blue sky slowly turning red. Kimberly looked around and found that she was alone; her friends were not here with her. She thought of shouting out to see if they were out there, but somehow she knew that they weren't. She looked around the desert until she saw a peculiar rock formation in the distance. It seemed odd that she would point to this formation, feeling as if she had recognized it before.
Without further delay, Kimberly preceded towards the formation slowly, climbing up the gradual slope leading to it. In between the two rocks was an open cavern, to which she entered slowly but without reservation. Kimberly looked around the cavern as she navigated the tunnel, the thick fog practically filling up to knee length. It wasn't long before Kim reached a dead end, but she pressed towards the rocky wall on her right and walked right through. She found herself in a stylized and well-preserved botanical garden with a Japanese shrine elevated on a plateau.
"This is Ninjor's Temple," she said in realization, "But why am I here?"
She slowly climbed the steps to the top of the plateau. To her surprise, she saw the blue-armored Ninja Master to whom the temple belonged to. Judging by his posture, Ninjor didn't seem surprised to see. In fact, it's almost as if she was expected to be here.
"Ninjor? Is something wrong?"
"Yes, Kimberly," Ninjor answered in a shallow version of his usually high-pitched voice, "Something is terribly wrong. Come inside. We have much to discuss."
---
She stood atop the edge of the highest cliff of Antares Prime, where the throne world of the leader of the United Alliance of Evil resided. She awaited for the demon known as Dark Specter to appear, probably to give the word to execute the final phase of his Master Plan. She didn't mind following this plan because it did not distract from her own. She would go along with this until she felt the time was right to break away and strike at the weakening leader of the Alliance. Dark Specter's goal is to eliminate all good in the universe.
But to the Kerovan human known as Astronema, the goal was bold if not small. Her campaign over the past year, designed to ensure Specter's total dominance, was disrupted by a force known as the Space Power Rangers. Just recently, she had learned that one of those Rangers was her brother Andros, thought to have been killed by the Rangers. Learning of this, she immediately defected, but was soon converted back to the dark side through technology and black magic. The result was a darker, more calculating version of the enemy the Space Rangers had been fighting the past year.
Now Astronema continued her attacks further by using five beings known as the Psycho Rangers, who had the ability to counter the Rangers' powers and become stronger. They also attacked another force, albeit indirectly, as their livelihood was periodically reduce Dark Specter's powers until he was in no condition to lead. While the Rangers managed to defeat all the Psychos, Dark Specter's power had been severely drained.
Astronema found herself facing this monstrosity of a creature, whose power was waning and it showed. He was breathing heavily, the magma blood vessels didn't have the crimson glow they have had previously, and his eyes were leaking lava tears. The cause of his weakened state was not known to him, but it was known to her. Naturally, she did not tell him as despite being weakened, he was still a formidable demon.
"Astronema." His voice was that of death, but Astronema did not flinch. "It is time for the final phase of my Master Plan. Summon all my evil forces
"It's time to end this war." Astronema called out, thrusting her staff to the sky, "Let the final battle begin."
The grand monarch of the Alliance nodded in approval and his not-so-mighty image soon faded to obscurity. Soon after, Astronema was teleported back to her flagship, the Dark Fortress, where her bodyguard and general stood, waiting to follow the commands of his princess.
"Ecliptor, assemble the troops," she commanded, her tone cold and void of emotion. "It's time to attack."
---
Territorial Defense Systems - TDS for short - are positioned along all borders surrounding the Machine Empire, designed to destroy any ship that attempts to cross the border from either side. Within the territories of the Empire, a civil war is being fought between two superpowers, vying for control of the throne. One of these superpowers was Mondo, the former ruler of the Empire - dethroned two Terran years ago after failing to conquer planet Earth, a current member of the Alliance of evil and represented within the boundaries of the civil war by his four generals.
The other superpower is a former overlord named Aradon, who was responsible for putting the final nail in the coffin of Mondo's Earth campaign by destroying his lunar colony and bringing the remains back. He was given the title of Emperor as a result and a decision of such magnitude had torn the Empire apart and into brutal conflict. He remains active in the war, while Mondo fights from outside.
The TDS turrets were of Aradon's design, made to keep outside forces from interfering in what was clearly an internal Machine affair. Naturally, the designers were so focused on the offensive capabilities of the TDS that no one had bothered to reinforce the delicate armor plating of the TDS. Of course, no one dared tried to fire upon these turrets in fear of retaliation.
Until now...
---
The large ceremonial chamber of the Dark Fortress was normally a training facility with several Quantrons and hired troops at most occupying it. This time, the chamber was filled with practically tens of thousands of troops. Some were Astronema's own Quantrons, others were Piranhatrons on loan, and there were few black-armored Cogs in presence. All stood in attention as they looked up at their leader Astronema, standing on the high balcony above the troops. On her right side stood Ecliptor and on her left was Darkonda, a mercenary for hire who had been a thorn on the side of both the Space Rangers and Ecliptor. Darkonda would co-operate with Astronema's grand plan and assist her... for now. All were attentive as the upstart princess spoke out, her voice echoing through the chamber for all to hear.
"Today is an important day in the history of the universe! Today is the day that the forces of good shall be no more and that evil shall reign supreme!"
A loud applause from the troops erupted the massive chamber, and soon settled when Astronema raised a hand, silencing them almost instantly.
"Today is a pivotal chapter in the Alliance Wars. As we speak, other alliance members are either preparing to strike or are strike at random planets. There has been word of one-sided victories, worlds claimed, even worlds destroyed. Make no mistake; we are superior, we are stronger, we are larger, but don't let that go through your heads. Victory is inevitable, but defeat is certainly, if not microscopically, possible. Your job is to make sure that doesn't happen.
"Our target, specifically, is the planet Earth. The same planet that is defended by the Power Rangers. Yes, they have defeated other powers in the past, and they have managed to gain few victories over us, but now they're weakened. The past several attacks had stripped them of their arsenal and their morale is at an all-time low. Add to the fact that their world is not technologically advanced.
"When this war ends, there won't be a shred of light in this universe. No love, no happiness, no peace, no unity, no companionship, no hope! Instead, there will be chaos, corruption, greed, hatred, and a nightmarish universe enveloped in total darkness."
Astronema's hands rested on the railing as she leaned over slightly. "Fight strong and keep on fighting until every single force of good, every soldier of fortune, and especially every single Power Ranger lies dead at your feet!"
The cheers were almost thunderous, deafening as the armies of Astronema... the armies of Dark Specter chanted the monarch's name. The chanting lasted several minutes before the warning klaxons sounded, drowning out the chants.
Instantly, thousands of Velocifighters poured from the hangar bays of the Dark Fortress, which was calmly sitting within a blue nebula, its unique properties shielding it from sensors. The large group of ships, joining larger battleships that numbered in the hundreds, soon split off into smaller groups, each one headed for a different system of the universe, each one with one goal in mind: total and utter domination.
Nothing else mattered. There is no turning back. One way or another, the war ends...
End FIFTEEN