Chapter Eighteen: The Palace on the Moon

General Miller walked onto the moon's surface. She was glad to know the atmosphere around that satellite did not contain anything poisonous. It was one less thing she needed to worry about.

"General?" She heard someone say behind her.

She turned to see her right hand man, Captain Louse, standing behind her. His uniform shirt was untucked.

"Tuck in your shirt, Captain. You are supposed to be an example around here." She said habitually. Although he never listened to her, she felt obligated to at least mention the procedure to him. After stone facing each other, they both laughed.

"So, Luka, my unit has just finished setting up the equipment from Edenoi in the palace itself. We have different dimensions now set up: some for training, and some for imprisonment." Louse said.

She smiled. "Thanks for getting that set up, Marv. My unit has just finished placing the Zeo Crystal in the labyrinth we carved out."

General Miller was very well known and trusted in the Alliance. The Morphing Masters informed her of the Zeo Crystal and their plans to secure it from enemy hands. Over the past few weeks, she and her unit had been working alongside Masters Gosei, Kamen, and Dulcea in carving out a labyrinth under the palace which once housed the Venerated Ones long ago. All the while, Dulcea had been using some sort of ancient Magic around the maze, coating it with said Magic.

Dulcea had explained the Magic to General Miller, after an incident with Captain Louse that greatly amused her: the Magic used the impurities inside of a person in the maze against them, turning into delusions. If the person had enough impurities, the delusion would be some sort of manifestation from the person's past; if there was not enough impurities in the person's past, then the manifestation would simply be something random. Captain Louse had inadvertently walked into the caves while Dulcea was finishing the spell's implementation. His screams could be heard ringing through the walls of the cave. Dulcea told everyone they could not enter, because they would only increase the spell of the delusion. Through telepathy, Dulcea was able to instruct Louse on how to navigate back to the cave's entrance, to avoid the delusion. Luckily for Luka, Louse had left his camera hooked up to the ship, so she was not only able to watch the "battle", but also record it onto the ship's mainframe. What made everything so humorous to Luka was who the delusion was of: a giant Human baby. He tried to defend himself later by trying to convince everyone how creepy babies looked. Ever since, Luka couldn't help but smile when she thought of the incident.

As Louse explained to Luka what was going on, she started staring over his shoulder. She then widened her eyes in horror and started pointing.

He looked at her, concerned. "What is it, Luka!?"

She shouted, "A giant baby!"

Marvin Louse's face dropped to the ground as he ducked. He pulled out a blaster and turned around, only to see a sand dune. When he turned again to face Luka, she was laughing hysterically, pointing at him instead of the sand dune.

"Come on, Luka! Don't be like that!" He said angrily, giving her a shove.

As they laughed, Luka looked back over his shoulder, going through the same process of pointing she did before.

"No, no. I'm not falling for it again!" Louse said.

She shook her head. "No... this time I'm serious. It's Vile." Luka grabbed him by the shoulders and spun the captain around.

He groaned. "Ah, man. And I was just about to have my lunch, too..."

She patted him on the shoulder, smiling as the ships flew overhead and dozens upon dozens of Tenga Warriors descended on the small planet. "Well, then... let's get this done quickly, shall we?"

He smiled. "Okay, fine. But let's make it showy!"

. . .

Gosei walked in to the main room in the palace. He found Kamen and Dulcea going over maps of the area, trying to make sure all possible fortifications had been dealt with.

"Guys, we have a problem."

"What is it, Gosei?" Dulcea asked.

"Master Vile is here, and he has a massive army. General Miller and Captain Louse's units are currently fighting them off." Gosei replied.

"Impossible!" Kamen shouted as he pounded his fist into the table. "There is absolutely no way they could've found out where we were! They should be at the Deserted Planet with Orion right now!"

Dulcea looked down. It must be the same person who is framing Tria...

She was one of the few members of the Morphing Masters who believed Tria had not planned several attacks on the group. She believed there was an insider in the Alliance, feeding their enemies secrets and even posing as the Gold Ranger. She had no proof, though, and hadn't mentioned anything to anyone.

Suddenly, Master Delphine staggered into the room, blood on her face. "...Water... I need... water..."

"Delphine! What are you doing here!?" Gosei yelled as he pulled her into the room to drink from their containers.

"We... tracked down Lord Zedd... he is here... We believe he has been following Master Vile. We only saw Vile, unfortunately, after it was too late: they had already begun their attack here. Sentinel and Margaret are outside, battling with the Alliance troops. I'm afraid they'll be here soon..." Delphine explained.

Kamen and Dulcea exchanged worried glances. Dulcea nodded to the Masters in the room and ran toward the patio branching off the room they were in. She looked down to see Tengas flooding the moon floor. She jumped down in the middle of the fray.

"Commander 17! Commander 17! Can you hear me!?" She heard a medic say as she pulled an injured soldier to the side.

Dulcea ran to them to help fend off attackers. She looked at the girl's name tag and read her name.

"Priscilla, will you be ok?" She asked.

The medic nodded, looking around cautiously. "I think so. I should be able to care for his wounds in this enclave."

Dulcea, angry, pulled herself out of the ditch and faced a squadron of Tengas. She produced her lance, separating it into two batons. She knew Tengas had heightened hearing, so she decided to take advantage of it. She began to spin the batons. The whistling sound it made was originally meant to inform Alliance troops in older days that enemies were approaching, but in this instance, it was a weapon.

"Ahhh! It's like nails on a chalkboard!" One Tenga yelled. They abruptly turned away and took flight.

Not today! Dulcea yelled as she chased after them.

. . .

"Project White Genesis is a success!" Vile proclaimed, staring down at the Moon from his Skull Ship. Flames could be seen dancing on its surface.

Novact nodded, mesmerized by the chaos he had helped create down below. He turned to Vile.

"I have news: the being Count Dregon informed us of, Zedd... he is here. Apparently he feeds on planets and such. I fear he is wanting to feed off the Zeo Crystal."

"Ah, him. Good! He can be a distraction! Where is he now?"

"He is currently fighting Sentinel Knight."

Vile laughed. "Oh, this is too perfect! The final part of the plan will be initiated soon!"

Novact raised his eyebrows. "You mean... your daughter?"

Vile nodded. "Yes! Tell Rita her time is at hand! Tell her to strike down Sentinel Knight!"

. . .

Lord Zedd stared at the two warriors before him. He had never felt such power. Both of them were amazing fighters, and they made Dregon look like an ant in comparison. Zedd had recently fed, though, and was a better opponent. Fearing for his life, though, he was much more cautious in his approach. He knew one haphazard attack would mean the end of his existence.

Commander Zedd looked from the prison in his own mind, through his own eyes he could no longer control, at the man who he once called his leader. He feared the worst for him. Alongside Sentinel Knight was a girl he did not know. He figured she must have been a new Master.

So much has changed since I left... He thought.

Give up! You can't beat them! You're outnumbered! Zedd yelled at the Dark Lord. He was ignored, as he usually was.

"I advise you to stand down, Zedd. This can only end badly for you." Sentinel Knight warned.

Zedd lifted his hand to his face, his digits dancing as he spoke. "I advise you to not stand in my way!"

He pointed his staff and shot a beam of energy at the Master. Sentinel Knight easily dodged the shot. He could feel the kind of power it had, though. It was immense.

What are you? He thought.

"Magical Focus: Ultra Waves!" Margaret yelled.

Rings of energy pulsed out of her and shot themselves at Zedd. Zedd leapt over a sand dune and landed rather close to where the Tengas were fighting the Alliance troops. For the first time, he laid eyes upon the Palace on the Moon.

"Ahh... how nice. You made a palace for me!" He raised his arms in the air as if he had just won a victory.

Sensing something approaching, Zedd ducked and rolled. As he did, Sentinel landed where Zedd had been standing.

Sentinel shot a blast of Orange Morphing Energy at Lord Zedd. To counter, Zedd shot a blast of his own from his staff. The two beams of energy met halfway between the two fighters. It looked as if the energy beams were playing an odd game of tug of war. The blasts kept pushing each other back, trying to approach their intended targets.

Sentinel looked up and saw Margaret gracefully land atop a dune.

Good, he thought. The tides are always in favor of those fighting for justice!

"Magical Focus: Ray Bomb!" She yelled.

Margaret stared down and focused on her target. The power of her Blue Magic descended down the dune, rippling and bringing up sand as it did. The blast hit its target with a ferocious explosion.

"Ahhh!" Sentinel Knight yelled, caught off guard as he was the one who had been hit.

As the blast hit him, Zedd's blast also connected. Sentinel Knight went spiraling into a sand wall. He stood back up momentarily, only to fall back down. He looked up from the sand and saw Margaret slowly walk toward him.

She bent over and patted him on the head. She wore a cruel and devious smile on her face as she did so. The look also gave Sentinel Knight the impression that Margaret was getting great pleasure from her recent escapade.

"There, there. Just go to sleep. Oh, but before you do... hand over the Corona Aurora!" She yelled as blood dripped from her nose from the extensive use of Blue Magic.

"Hey, you!" Zedd yelled as he landed behind her.

She turned to face the man. She smirked in amusement. "Ah, yes: The old man Dregon pitied."

Zedd's face turned red. "Wha...!? How dare you!? Who dares speak to Lord Zedd in such a manner!?"

Margaret bowed before him in a mocking way. "These fools know me as Margaret, but you can call me by my preferred name: Rita Repulsa!"