Chapter Twenty-Three: Whispered Conversations

"You wished to see me?" Master Vile said as he walked into the throne room.

He bowed down to one knee as he approached the throne. He was nervous. Most weren't called to the throne room unless they were to be punished. As he thought of what terror he would face if he were to be punished, he looked at the golden box in the corner of the room.

Vile's leader sat on the throne, face hidden in shadows. She was uncomfortable with letting her underlings know her face. She kept most at arm's length. Her massive empire operated on the tactics of lies and infiltration. It was only logic to her that if they were willing to do this for her cause, how much more willing would they be to do the same for their own selfish ways? Therefore, she stayed in the shadows, working behind the scenes.

"Vile... are you living up to the title of 'Master' that you so unceremoniously bestowed upon yourself?" She asked.

He swallowed hard and tried to remain calm. He thought as quickly as his mind would let him. If he spoke too arrogantly, the Queen would throw him into that infernal box for sure. She knew those with too much self confidence would eventually stage a revolt, so as soon as she felt such an attitude, she disposed of the culprit. If anyone showed humility, she would equally dispose of such an individual. Her reasoning for that was the thought of such an attribute showing how a humble person would start developing attitudes of decency, which would surely jeopardize missions. To survive in her empire, one needed to know how to find a happy medium.

"I am no Master," he began. "But I do strive to live up to this title. I merely picked it to add insult to injury to the Morphing Masters, after I had already infiltrated the M51 Galaxy, as my queen commanded."

She giggled. She loved to see her high ranking officers squirm to please her. She loved it even more to see them squirm to protect their own lives.

"I recently had a report that the being who calls himself Lord Zedd had struck again. Any further word on this?" She asked.

Vile shook his head. "My informants were not involved in the incident. They needed to remain at their posts to ensure their cover was not blown. All I know is that he ran away after being defeated by Commander Scorpius of the Alliance."

The Queen thought that over. "Scorpius beat him? Intriguing... Dregon has mentioned to me that he has recorded some unusual energy levels from the Scorpion Stringer over these last few weeks... I will have Dregon look into it during the next part of the operation he is to carry out.

"As for you, how are your preparations?" She asked, crossing her legs.

"All according to plan. Actually, Tria of Triforia appeared during Zedd's attack. All of those incidents together made Sentinel Knight so tense that he has accelerated the whole scheme. I will be ready to launch my forces quicker than planned!"

The Queen nodded. She smiled to herself. Those fools with their politics and whatnot... they are burying themselves alive! Soon, I will rule the universe! Glee flooded her body as these thoughts floated through her mind.

"You are dismissed, Vile."

"Yes, my queen..." Vile said as he stood.

His knee ached from being on it for so long. He straightened his robe and made his way out of the throne room, glad to have survived the meeting.

"Maligore?" The Queen asked, calling for her right hand man.

"Yes, your highness?" The lava golem asked his benefactor. Although his voice was rough and gravelly, he spoke with eloquence and what seemed to be high intelligence.

"What is your analysis?"

Maligore made his way to the computer terminal near his usual place in the throne room. He accessed his files.

"My observations, Queen:

"Vile has a strong force. Your agents within the Alliance are giving them all of the information they need to demolish the Alliance's infrastructure. They are acting appropriately with said information.

"Dregon has taken a step back, like you asked him, ever since he joined your empire.

"Zedd is a wild card, and interrupted Vile's acquisition of the Zeo Crystal. He seems to be extremely powerful. He disappeared the night our Alliance agents were supposed to secure him for you, my queen. I am currently trying to find his location.

"The Pirate Queen, Divatox, has done what she has been asked up to this point. She has assured me that as long as we continue to pay her, her allegiance lies with you, my Queen. I suggest to not put much faith in an associate who is so... flimsy.

"Your Alliance spies are doing well. With the appearance of who is being called the Gold Ranger, they have shown great resourcefulness and have used it to your advantage. Their quick thinking is what caused the beginnings of the downfall of Triforia.

"This is my report." Maligore finished.

The Queen chuckled. "Don't trust them, my pet. Remember: what you do may be delivered back upon your own head if you are not careful enough. They did very well with adding Triforia to the confusion, but I have my eyes on them... I am apprehensive of the fact they may have their own objectives..."

Maligore put a fist to his chest, as a salute. "Yes, Queen! I will continue my analysis."

She smiled. "Very well, my loyal pet. Dismissed."

As the big lava beast left her throne room, she began to laugh maniacally. She knew she was close to victory. She knew that soon... The United Alliance would belong to her.

Kamen sat in his cell. His jewel sat in the middle of his forehead. He concentrated on keeping his inner calm. By doing so, he was able to come to peace with his situation. By focusing on his inner peace, he could see that, due to the evidence, The Alliance had acted appropriately by locking him away.

Appropriately? How long have I sacrificed for the Alliance!? How many times have I battled for the Alliance!? And Magnus... I thought we were friends! How could he not fight for me! Kamen thought.

As it normally happened, his mind would wander to the negative aspects of his situation. As if to physically displace the thoughts, he shook his head and began to refocus his mind toward the positive. The jewel on his forehead glowed a bright green as he rediscovered his center.

A mantis-like insect flew through the air vents. It had been scared while on the lawn around the holding facility. One of the gardeners was mowing the lawn, and to avoid being caught in the lawn, the insect jumped into a vent. It flew through the vents, trying to find a way out. Its non-sentient mind was buzzing with abstract notions of "Food! Escape! Food! Escape!"

Eventually, perhaps by fate, the mantis landed unnoticed in Kamen's room. Kamen continued to meditate.

"No, Sentinel... No!"

Kamen heard voices echoing through the air vent. He broke his concentration and crawled over to it, disregarding the room's newest inhabitant. The mantis tried to fly out of the room, but the entire thing was shielded in a powerful force field created by Sentinel Knight. It fluttered and rested atop Kamen's bunk.

Kamen recognized the voice speaking. It was Master Ivicar. He sounded stressed.

The next voice belonged to Sentinel Knight. "It is the only way... You and I both know it isn't what we want to do... but it is what is necessary to uphold the order of the Alliance. Everything is set upon order. If we don't act, chaos will reign supreme. If chaos wins... then beings like Lord Zedd and Master Vile have already won!"

"But, Sentinel... Execution!?" Ivicar's voice floated through the vents.

Kamen could feel himself swallowing hard. They cannot be saying what I think they are saying...

"Yes, Ivicar. Execution. Alliance mandates state that when treason is committed, we have the right to do whatever is necessary, without the vote of the United Alliance. Oh, my good friend... had you and the others not deterred me from my instincts! I had Tria trapped, powerless, just weeks ago! I don't know how she managed to make it appear as if she had been with all of you in the conference hall, but look at all the damage she has done!" Sentinel Knight's fists could be heard pounding against something solid.

"Sentinel... please calm down. I know how difficult this is for you... And I appreciate you coming to me about this. I know in the end, though... you are the presiding member of the Morphing Masters, and all I can do is counsel you. I fear you are making a mistake in executing Kamen."

"No, I am not. He will be executed in the morning. Also, we will continue to detain all from Edenoi. Contact the War Star Armada, as well. They are to attack Edenoi shortly after the execution."

Kamen's head was light. He did not know what to do. He could not fight off Sentinel Knight, let alone the entire Alliance military.

I'm innocent! My people are innocent! This is crazy! What do I do...!?

Suddenly, his eyes fell upon the mantis, eating crumbs off Kamen's bunk from the dinner he had just finished. Kamen smiled and approached the little thing.

"Hello, my friend..." Kamen closed his eyes and focused.

Being a non-sentient being, Kamen began delivering a message into the insect's brain. Kamen did this through a combination of his natural Edenite heritage, along with his strong hold of the Morphing Grid. The message was meant for Tria of Triforia. Suddenly, everything was clear to Kamen: Tria, just like him, had been framed. He saw how she had helped him in battle in the past. He saw how she had battled the Dark Cloud valiantly on Mirinoi. The other behaviors exhibited had to be from an imposter. Someone with the ability to mimic The Gold Ranger. He felt as if he was the victim of the same individual.

The message told Tria to gather as many forces as she could, and come to break him out of the holding facility. He needed to get back to Edenoi to protect his people. Kamen then smiled at his little messenger. The mission was in its head, and it would do nothing else until it was delivered.

"May the Power protect you." Kamen said as he dropped the mantis back down the ventilation shaft.

Kamen crossed his legs and closed his eyes again. He began to meditate. That time, not to calm himself. That time he was meditating to prepare for war.

Luka peered out into space. She had been assigned by Master Orion to ensure Princess Miha Momomille and her bodyguard, Joe Kenig, returned to the planet of Rashon safely. She enlisted only two others to accompany her: Captain Marvin Louse and a medical expert, Doctor Wilson Goier.

Joe was in a corner of the room. His shirt was off so he could not only show off his muscles to those in the room, but also so he could practice his fighting technique. Being in the situation he had just been in reawakened his love for fighting. He had felt slightly "rusted" as he had his short encounter with Lord Zedd. He wanted to make sure he was at his peak the next time he met anyone like Zedd again.

Louse sat with the princess, flirting up a storm with her. Luka smiled. She and Marvin had once tried to harbor a romantic relationship, but the one night they went out to dinner with such intents, it turned into a night of sparring, watching bad movies, and each trying to compete with the other to see how many phone numbers they could get. Although that in and of itself wasn't evidence of no romance between them, their hearts were the biggest factor. They honestly felt no romance one for the other, and it did not bother either of them one bit. They did, however, harbor grand feelings of love one for the other. They had been friends since their first day at the Academy. They were like brother and sister.

Doc walked into the room, interrupting Louse's exaggerated story of how he single handedly at the age of ten, battled a warrior he said came from another dimension. He always told people he had made the warrior run home to his proper dimension crying. No one believed him, and Miha was no exception. She did find the attempts cute, though, and had been humoring him with questions about the exploit. At her home, her father was very overprotective. This was the first man outside of the ever-serious Joe she had a conversation with, and she had wanted to take advantage of every second of it. That was... until Doc interrupted.

"What are all of your thoughts on the recent events within the Alliance?" He asked.

Normally, Louse would've kicked his chair and told him to leave, but he decided to take the opportunity to show Miha he understood politics. He turned to her, smiling, ignoring Doc, but answered Doc's question.

"I say... just look at the writing on the walls."

Miha scrunched her forehead. "What do you mean by that?"

He kicked his chair back, placing his feet on the table and resting his arms behind his head. "What I mean is... The Alliance ain't gonna last much longer."

Hearing this, both Joe and Luka approached the table.

Luka looked at her friend and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

That was the first she had ever heard Louse speak that way. He shrugged, almost losing his balance as he did.

Recovering, flashing a smile to Miha, he said, "Well... Triforia has been banned. Edenoi is in the process of being banned. Many Morphing Masters have fallen in a very short time frame... You know? The signs. Every empire eventually falls. Someone very smart is orchestrating a big coup... and the Alliance is the target. It's only a matter of time before poof!... The Alliance falls."

Joe laughed. "And I guess pawns like you three will be out of a job."

Marvelous jumped out of his chair, smiling. "Not out of a job as much as... free!"

Doc cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean... 'free'?" He said, wide eyed with curiosity.

"Free! You know, recently I have been wondering... what would it be like to be on my own? What would I do...?" He paced back and forth, looking at the ground as he spoke. He then stopped and walked to one of the ship's windows.

"I want to be an explorer! I want to travel the universe! See what it has to offer!"

Miha ran up to him and placed her hands on his shoulder. "That sounds exciting! I would love to do something like that, myself!"

"Then it's settled!" Louse said, turning around with a marvelous gesture.

"What's settled?" Luka asked, amazed to see such bravado at a time of darkness with the Alliance.

"This!" Louse said, pointing at each person around the table. "This! Of course, Miha will need her bodyguard, so you come along, too, Joe! We need more than one tough soldier within our ranks!"

He said that while patting Joe on the shoulder. Before Joe could refuse, Louse turned around and continued speaking.

"The five of us will travel the universe together once the Alliance falls! Seeing that for such a thing to happen, chaos will ensue, we will need to fend for ourselves."

Miha's eyes sparkled with wonder. "You mean, like pirates?"

"No, not like... yes! Yes! Exactly! We will be pirates! We will pillage and plunder! With no more laws in place, we won't be in the wrong! It'll be survival of the fittest!" Louse announced with happiness in his voice. Luka hadn't seen him this animated in many years.

She smiled. "Oh, yes, Marvin... that sounds great! Let me know when it happens, okay? Until then... we have a mission." She winked at her friend and left the room.

"So... your name is Marvin?" Miha said, giggling at his name. She thought it amusing because it didn't sound very tough compared to the stories she had been hearing about him.

"Uh... well... You can just call me Captain!" He said, trying to recover his posture.

Joe smirked and walked back to his corner, toweling the sweat off his chest.

Doc stood and walked to the window Louse had just been at. "Me? A pirate? Oh, now, that would be the day."

He continued looking out the window, daydreaming about what it would be like to sail the seas of the space with his friends.

"Stand with me now, fellow Edenites! We are being treated unfairly and we will not go down without a fight!" Trakeena yelled as she stood at the front of the Edenite cadets of the Alliance.

Commander Risp had been given the assignment to head the battalion to gather all Edenites on campus together for questioning. She was to ensure their safe transport to the Alliance's holding facilities. She had asked Lieutenant Talp to help her with the task. The two stood at the front of the Alliance troop selected to ensure this went as smoothly as possible. Risp was the one to speak.

"Cadet Trakeena... stand down now! This is just a routine questioning. You must understand we are only trying to ensure the safety of all of those within the jurisdiction of the Alliance! Stand down!"

Trakeena laughed. "I think the term you are looking for is 'interrogation'. This. Is. Wrong. We have done nothing wrong!"

As Risp was to reply, her emergency communicator began ringing. She instructed Talp to continue negotiations as she went to take the call.

He smirked at Trakeena, followed by a forced laugh. "So... This day is probably not going like you planned, huh?" He forced a cheesy smile, as if it could defuse the situation.

Trakeena widened her eyes and sneered, as if to say, "No duh".

Risp returned. She walked to Talp and began whispering in his ear.

"A large fleet of Triforian ships have broken through Alliance barriers. They are being led by the Gold Ranger. Sentinel Knight wants both you and me to get to the holding facility as soon as possible."

Talp's eyes widened. "What about these cadets?" He whispered back.

"We are to leave this troop to handle it themselves. Don't worry, these are some of my best soldiers. I trust them. They'll be fine." Risp answered.

She ran to one of her higher ranking soldiers and told her that she and Talp were leaving. Trakeena stood, curious to know what was happening. Suddenly, as Risp sent a message to Sentinel Knight saying everything was arranged, the two soldiers were teleported to the holding facility.

Trakeena laughed. "It looks like your leaders were the smart ones! Follow suit or face the consequences."

On their new leader's signal, the troops drew their blasters. As they did, someone else teleported onto the scene. He wore Alliance armor. His visor was on so no one could see his face.

Recognizing the armor, the soldiers put their blaster back down.

"...Daddy?" Trakeena asked.

Scorpius turned and nodded. "It is me, Darling. Don't worry: I will take care of this..."

Trakeena was so filled with joy to see her father arrive to save her, she did not notice how different his voice had become. She turned to the other cadets and assured them everything was going to be alright. When she turned back around, she saw her father's armor glowing, ready to attack.

"Huh?" Trakeena wondered out loud.

"Don't worry, Trakeena." Scorpius cautioned. Trakeena then watched in horror as her father descended upon the soldiers of the Alliance.

Gosei looked at his wrist tech again, looking at all of the assignments Sentinel Knight had sent out. He and Dulcea were to locate Master Vile. Vile had not been heard from recently, and Sentinel feared he may be prepping for a large attack at a time which would not be optimal for the Alliance. They were to try and ensure such an attack did not occur.

Sentinel himself would go with Master Delphine to search for Lord Zedd, for the same reason Dulcea and Gosei were to look for Vile. Sentinel did not want to put himself into play, because he knew this would risk the Corona Aurora. The numbers of Morphing Masters, however, were too low to allow for such a luxury.

Ivicar and Michael were to stay behind and look over security for the main campus. After Kamen escaped from their holding facility with Triforia's help the day before, followed by another attack on some Alliance soldiers trying to round up Edenite cadets, Sentinel Knight did not want to leave anything to chance. His right hand man would protect their homebase himself.

Due to their open attack, The Alliance was on a full-scale war with both Edenoi and Triforia. King Estro, Master Gerlit, and Master Magnus were assigned to head the battle against Triforia, while Master Zordon and Master Orion pursued Kamen to Edenoi with a chunk of the Alliance military themselves.

Gosei shook his head. In such a short time, everything seemed to be falling apart. It left the Morphing Master with a feeling of unease.

"Ready to go?" Dulcea asked.

Gosei nodded. The pilot started their warship. Gosei then took a seat next to Dulcea. He turned to her and said, "I fear this battle may not go the way we hope."

Dulcea nodded. "May the Power protect us all..."

Zordon was surprised there were no defenses in orbit around Edenoi.

We have to be ready for the worse... He thought as he looked around.

He was riding in Lightning Cruiser. Saba sat next to him. Zordon could see Saba continually retract his claws in and out of his paw. He was nervous as well. As they landed on Edenoi, Orion and Burai landed beside him in Storm Blaster. Next to them, a War Star ship landed as well. It carried over one hundred soldiers. They were ready for battle.

Suddenly, several hundred Edenites piled out from the caves around Zordon and those with him. During Tria's invasion, Kamen had stolen some teleportation equipment. He used it just then to teleport himself and his fighters to where The Alliance fighters had landed.

"Just give up now and no one will get hurt." Orion offered.

Kamen shook his head. He looked at the tech on his belt. He and many scientists worked all night on it. He looked back up at his former teammates.

"For one decade, I served The Alliance. All I got for it was imprisonment and the threat of execution, without so much as a trial. I deserve better than this. The universe deserves better.

"The Alliance has grown corrupt. Please, Orion... join me. We can help fix everything."

Orion shook his head. "I'm not a traitor, Kamen. I have a testimony of the good the Alliance has done for the universe. I will fight for it with all my might, even if it means fighting to my dying breath."

"So be it..." Kamen said, not surprised, but disappointed nonetheless.

He rubbed his hands over the tech on his belt without breaking eye contact with Orion.

"Saba Saber: Activate!" Zordon yelled, summoning his red battle saber.

"Dragon Dagger!" Burai cried out, unsheathing his blade.

Pressing it to his lips, Burai played a fanfare from the powerful blade. "Dragon Shield: Activate!"

The golden shield appeared on Burai's person, glowing with a green sheen upon its arrival from the Morphing Grid.

"Power of Light: Activate." Orion said calmly, also disappointed with the outcome.

Kamen, still staring at Orion, focused on his connection to the Morphing Grid. He channeled the Morphing Energy into the power regulator he had on his belt. He pulled out a card and inserted it into the buckle.

"Ecto-Phase: Activate!" He yelled.

Power surrounded him. It manifested itself into a primary suit. The final details landed on the suit, making itself a reality from its digital form. These final details powered the suit with Morphing Energy.

"For the continued peace of the universe! I fight to honor the ten years I served as a Morphing Master... Kamen Rider: Decade!"