Chapter 7
Kimberly left the area that Zedd had set up for her meal and returned to her room. As she did, she again, felt the call of something that, while not as powerful as the call of her Zord, was along the same feeling. But, she had a lot of thinking to do. Especially what Zedd had showed her and the fact that she was here with no way to contact the Command Center and her fellow Rangers.
As she thought about what Zedd had showed her, it made sense. Zordon, forced to communicate from his tube, using Alpha 5 to summon them, always fighting monsters, it seemed that THEY were the ones who were taking all the punishment, and always forced to fight whenever a monster showed up. The monsters were, for the most part, soulless creatures, created by Zedd or Rita, as fighters in the battle. What Kim didn't realize was that she had been slowly had her mind reprogrammed by Zedd to his way of thinking.
"Do you think she will come around?" Goldar asked Lord Zedd, as the duo was in the Throne Room. Goldar had mixed feelings on this matter. If the Pink Ranger was turned, she would make a powerful ally. But, there was also the risk that she would break the magical hold like Tommy had done to Rita, in which case, she would rejoin the Rangers.
"It's hard to say Goldar. But, I suspect that she will join us. There is something within her, a power that if properly unleashed, would make her a much more powerful warrior than she is now. Combined with the mixture of truth and lies that I showed her, I think that she will join us" Zedd told his top servant. Zedd quietly thought over what had happened. He was fairly sure that Kimberly Hart WOULD join them, but the final choice would have to be hers.
Finally, Kim came to a decision. "Excuse me" she told Squatt "Could you direct me to Lord Zedd's Throne Room?" she asked.
The blue armored creature was surprised. NEVER was he asked to do anything, he was usually ordered to! Being treated like this was a rare surprise for him, so he made the most of it, showing Kim all the ins and outs of the castle, before escorting her to the Throne Room.
Zedd was in there, looking like he was asleep, when Kim approached. "So, Miss Hart, have you come to a decision?" Zedd asked her.
Kim nodded. "I have. I want to learn. I want to prove Zordon wrong, by working with and for YOU!" she told the Dark Emperor.
If Zedd had been capable of smiling he would have. But, his encounter with the Zeo Crystal had burned away all skin from his body. "What you wish to do, will not be easy. It will mean a change in your way of thinking and the way you act. Are you SURE that you want to go this route?" Zedd asked, testing her to see if she truly was willing to go this route.
Kim nodded. "I've made up my mind. Besides, there is a mystery here that I need to solve" she told Lord Zedd. Kim was not afraid of the changes. Something was calling her, not just the feel of something similar to a Zord, but a call in the darkness surrounding her and this castle. And it offered her power to shape her life, in a way that Zordon never offered her or any of the other Rangers. In fact, the only way that she had seen to leave being a Ranger, was to find a replacement and transfer the power and the coin to them.
"Then welcome to my service Miss Hart. Tomorrow, you begin training in ways you never did with Zordon. Goldar will oversee it. Now, as for your Power Coin, if you would turn it over to me, I will make sure that Zordon gets it. It will tell him that you have left his service and joined mine" Zedd informed her.
Kim did as she was instructed, handing both coin and her morpher over to Lord Zedd. "What will my training be like?" she asked the skinless Dark Emperor.
"A great deal of physical training. In time, we will find out just wear you will fit in" Zedd informed Kim, as her Power Coin and its morpher vanished from sight. Zedd had arranged for it to be sent to Angel Grove, where one of Kim's friends/Rangers would find it.
And Zedd was true to his word. Goldar took charge of her physical training. It was tough, but Kim persevered, even when facing the golden Titan in hand to hand combat. However, one day, Goldar teleported into Zedd's throne room unannounced, and in a state of extreme agitation.
"Goldar, what is it and why did you arrive without being called!?" Zedd snapped at Goldar, not liking being interrupted during one of his planning sessions for destroying the Rangers.
"My Lord, I would not dare interrupt were it not important. In combat practice today, when I went after the former Pink Ranger, something odd happened" Goldar told his master, the look of shock present in his eyes.
"And what might that be? She managed to get past your defenses?" Zedd asked, sarcasm dripping from his tone of voice.
"She did my Lord. But, it was the way she managed to get past them that caused me to come here directly" Goldar responded. "She used Magick to get past them!"