Chapter Thirteen: Regda 2
Kamen approached the command room. He looked around, impressed with what he was seeing. The Astro Megaship was much higher in tech quality than anything Edenoi had to offer.
"Welcome." DECA said as Kamen entered the main room. Michael stood up and gave Kamen a smile. Kamen nodded, walking over to his friend and shaking his hand.
"Thank you so very much for being here." Michael said, truly grateful. "I've been tracking Master Vile's movements through the universe. I've seen some truly tragic situations. The reason I asked you here to this one is due to the... weirdness of it."
"What do you mean?" Kamen asked.
"Well, outside of the attack on Liaria, I haven't really seen a lot of intermingling of armies. On the planet I'm currently observing, Regda 2, I have noticed some of Vile's main forces, including Novact and the Dark Wave, but also, recently, some of Rita Repulsa's crew."
"Hmm... Why do you think they are coming together?"
"I don't know. But I have a very bad feeling. I do want to thank you again for coming, though. Tria is busy with her project she is currently working on, and ever since our little 'misunderstanding' with thetheAlliance... I haven't felt very comfortable with approaching anyone else if that makes sense. I do worry about Edenoi, though. How are they going to get by without their protector?"
Kamen smiled. "It was a stroke of luck. Count Dregon recently pulled out of orbit around Edenoi. We were thinking that it was a trap, but we were able to track him to another sector. Apparently he is chasing Scorpius around there."
"Scorpius? Why him?"
Michael shrugged. "No clue. I thought all the bad guys were working together. I guess when you're a bad guy, in the end of it all, you really have no one you can trust."
"Right. And that's why there are people like us. To ensure those we love are raised in an environment where they can thrive." Kamen said, thinking of his family and his soon to be wife.
Michael pointed to his wrist tech. "Ready?"
Kamen nodded, revealing his Decade Morpher under his robe. Michael motioned for Kamen to follow him to the teleportation hangar. Kamen observed the hangar when they arrived: chutes lined the wall at the top of some stairs.
"What are the chutes for?"
"These are how we will teleport down to Regda 2. It will project us down and we will land where I programmed for us to land. It should be far enough away from the enemy's base camp that we won't be putting ourselves in danger." Michael explained, running up the stairs. He motioned for Kamen to follow.
"So I just... jump in?" Kamen said, wary.
"Yep. Don't worry, Zordon, may his soul rest in peace, Orion, and I programmed the system ourselves. It's completely safe." Michael said, attempting to reassure Kamen.
"Okay. Ride on." Kamen said, jumping in first. Michael grinned and followed Kamen down.
Arriving on Regda 2, Michael looked around. The planet was fairly green, quite the opposite of its sister planets Regda 1 and Regda 3. Regda 1 was a desert planet, with many volcanoes. Regda 3 was what many people in the old Alliance referred to as "the universe's popsicle". Michael himself had only ever visited Regda 3, having gone there with Orion on a research assignment. He was quite impressed with Regda 2 for being so different from the other extreme planets sharing the same name.
"This place is beautiful." Kamen remarked, mimicking Michael's thought. "I hope I can get Edenoi one day to return to this state."
"Oh? I was not aware Edenoi was not naturally a desert planet." Michael said.
"We have been at war with Count Dregon for enough time that the war has taken its toll on the entire planet. My brother has been quite the thorn for our planet." Kamen said, looking as if he was reliving a memory that left a bad taste in his mouth.
"Well, it all starts here, Kamen." Michael said reassuringly. "We take down the forces of evil, one by one, and eventually we'll all be free. I'm sure of it."
"I wouldn't be so sure of that!" Someone snarled from behind them. Michael and Kamen quickly turned themselves to face the voice, immediately getting into their fighting stance. Kamen was very worried, because neither his nor Michael's senses gave them any indication that they were being watched or approached. The being who had spoken to them must have been extremely powerful, according to Kamen's thinking.
Michael furrowed his brow as he looked the gold clad warrior up and down. "Who are you!?"
"I am Goldar, champion fighter for my mistress, Rita Repulsa! You fools seem to think we are stupid and can't read energy spikes from teleportation systems. Hahaha! I will crush you slowly for your insolence!"
"Let's rocket!" Michael told Kamen, inputting the digits into his wrist tech to activate his morpher.
"Right. Ecto-phase: Activate!" Kamen said, turning on his morpher. Kamen suddenly found himself in a black suit of armor, before some cards erupted from his morpher and placed themselves on his helmet.
"Black Space Ranger!"
"Kamen Rider: Decade."
"Oh, goodie! Power Rangers. Haha! I've been waiting to crush the likes of you! Prepare yourselves to face the wrath of Goldar!" The big blue monkey produced a sword in his hand, appearing in a burst of flames. He protracted his wings and flew toward the two fighters.
"He can fly!?" Black Space Ranger said in surprise.
"It would appear as if that were the case..." Decade said, ducking and rolling out of the way of the flying menace. Goldar swung his sword as he flew by, attempting to connect with Decade's armor.
"I will crush you like the insect you literally are!" Goldar said, pointing to Decade.
Black Space Ranger stopped momentarily and assessed the situation. Goldar had landed on a rock formation as he threatened Decade. Doing some quick mental arithmetic, the Black Ranger knew what to do.
"Astro Blaster!" Black Ranger declared, having his weapon teleport into hands. He then took careful aim and shot a tiny rock in the formation. Just as Black Ranger had calculated, the rock formation under Goldar collapsed, sending him falling with the boulders.
"Ahh!" Goldar cried out as his wings began to snap under the rocks.
"That's gotta hurt!" Black Ranger said, snapping his fingers.
"Looks like you've been grounded..." Decade said, slowly walking to the beast as he pulled himself from the rubble.
"How dare you defy the mighty Goldar!" Goldar said, observing the damage to his wings. He could hardly move them. Looking at them, he believed he might be able to move them slightly and fly for short distances, but it appeared as if they were never going to fully recuperate. This made Goldar very, very angry.
"You will pay for taking my wings! Ahhh!" Goldar said as he painfully retracted his damaged appendages. He charged toward the two fighters and was able to slash Black Ranger across the chest, sending concentrated Morphing Energy flying. As Goldar turned to do the same to Decade, Decade was able to parry the attack easily.
"Fighting through rage and wild instinct will only get you so far, gold monkey." Decade warned. "You need to concentrate and be in complete control if you wish to truly defeat your enemies."
"I will squash you!" Goldar said, furiously.
Kicking Goldar away from him, Kamen Rider began focusing his energy. Almost instantly, he was ready. He declared, "Rider Kick!" With the declaration, a line of cards from the Rider Project made their way from Decade to Goldar. Leaping into the air, Decade's morpher calculated Decade's angle of descent and made a diagonal line down to his target.
Looking up, Goldar knew the situation would not be conducive for his survival. "Until next time, puny warriors!" He then disappeared as Decade landed. A small shockwave rippled from Decade's feet.
"Are you okay, Michael?" Decade asked, helping him up.
"Yeah... it's just... dang that guy can pack a punch. It knocked the wind outta me!"
"Well, he's sure to be back and with reinforcements. Let's take the fight to him now." Decade said.
Black Ranger nodded. "Right. Let's go!"
Meanwhile, on the Dark Wave, Goldar made his way to Novact. "General Novact, I-"
"Quiet, you moron!" Novact took Goldar's sword out of his hand and slammed the butt of the hilt into Goldar's face. Blood trickled down from Goldar's mouth.
"How dare-"
"Shut. Up. Rita told me she was sending me a warrior. You're no warrior. You're a clown. If you don't want me to shove this sword down your throat, then just stand there and shut up!" Novact said, throwing the sword at Goldar. It clattered on the floor, being the only other sound in the room as everyone stared in silence, shocked. Novact was furious Power Rangers had made their way to Regda 2 as he prepared to take its resources before destroying it. This was supposed to be his way of shining. He knew there was a higher power than Master Vile, and he believed if he participated in enough wars and did enough things for the empire, this higher power would reveal itself to him.
"Okay, listen. Rita didn't just send me you, okay? I want you to head back down there with this other fighter and prepare yourselves to destroy those rangers. Understood?" Novact said, trying to regain his composure.
Goldar snarled. "Yes, General." He picked up his sword and caused it to disappear. "Who is this other fighter? I was unaware Rita sent someone else."
"When I saw you getting your tail handed to you, I told Rita you weren't good enough." Novact said, Goldar curling his lip in anger as the general continued speaking. "So, she sent me someone who has quite the interesting resumé."
Goldar was getting impatient. "What's his name, Novact."
A creature made its way out from the shadows, laughing. "I, Eye Guy."
. . .
"Well, well... I thought I'd never see that ship again!" Captain Mutiny said, laughing.
Marvelous sneered. "We're not here to cause a problem. We are asking for help."
The other five pirates' jaws dropped. "What!?" They all said in unison. Luka grabbed him by the arm and pulled him to the side.
"What are you doing!?" She demanded.
Joe walked over as well. "Yeah, I'm curious as well. Since when do we ask nicely?"
Marvelous walked up to Joe and stared at him in the eyes. "Since we decided to stop making a mess of things. Since we decided we were going to help people. If we charge in here and steal the Dilithium Crystal, we haven't changed. Well, I have. You have a problem?"
Joe rolled his eyes. "Fine. Just remember, though: Villamax called you as leader. If we aren't going by his teachings anymore, than we have no reason to abide by his hierarchy, either. If I disagree with you in the future, I'm outta here. Got it?"
Marvelous winked. "Got it, hotshot." He then made his way to Captain Mutiny, semi-surprised to find that during his mini conference the villain had called hisSwabbies to his side as reinforcement.
"So, I guess we aren't going to be doing this nicely, huh?" Guy said.
"We will get your powers back. Don't worry!" Doc said, nodding and smiling.
"Gokai Change!" Miha said, starting the chain where the others, sans Guy, pulled out their morphers and crystals. They then transformed.
"Gokai Red."
"Gokai Blue."
"Gokai Yellow."
"Gokai Green."
"Gokai Pink."
"Guy Kari!" Guy said, spinning and throwing his arms to the side as if he were morphed.
"Last chance, Mutiny. You haven't even heard what we want you to help us with! We don't want to fight you." Gokai Red said. Gokai Blue scoffed at the last sentence.
"Don't care none too much. Swabbies? Get 'em!" Mutiny said, pointing to the Gokaigers.
"Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger!" The six pirates yelled.
"Guy, stand back. We don't want you getting hurt." Gokai Yellow advised.
"But-" Guy started.
"No buts. Get back or this'll be for nothing." Gokai Red said.
Guy nodded and ran back to the Galleon. As he arrived in the ship, he took his seat at Doc's communication terminal.
"Guy, online!"
"What is this?" Gokai Blue demanded.
"I'm helping out, just like the Alliance Rangers have their ear in the sky! I'll be yours!" Guy said, looking at his screen. He saw a group of purple dots approach the blue dot. "Joe! Your three o'clock!"
Joe instantly turned and slashed a group of Swabbies that had almost jumped him. "Just make sure not to get in our way, Guy..."
Guy smiled. "Haha! You're welcome!"
"Hmph." Gokai Blue said as he continued slashing his way through Swabbies.
"Ahh!" Gokai Red yelled. The pirates turned from their fighting to see him fall to the ground, sparks erupting from his suit.
"Marvin!" Gokai Yellow shouted.
"Marvelous!" Gokai Pink said, unable to get to him as more Swabbies crowded her.
"Why didn't you help him, Guy?" Gokai Blue said in anger.
"I'm sorry! Whatever hit him didn't ping in my radar until just now! He's, I dunno... sneaky!" Guy lamented.
The villain standing over Gokai Red pointed his sword. "Stand now and fight me with honor! I, Treacheron, will prove my blade with you to my captain."
Gokai Red attempted to stand, but kept falling down.
"Come on... get up!" Gokai Blue whispered to himself.
"I... I... will beat you!" Gokai Red said, failing to stand once again. He hit the floor with a tremendous thud.
Treacheron bent over and grabbed Gokai Red by his collar. He began to drag him over to Mutiny.
"Marvelous!" Guy shouted.
"This is your fault." Gokai Blue said.
"Joe! Please! Not now!" Gokai Yellow chastised.
"Ah. The Red Ranger. Finally got me mitts on wunna ya." Mutiny said. He grabbed Gokai Red from Treacheron and lifted him into the air. "No one steals from me! Ya'll see what happens to thieves! Ya'll not pirates. Ya'll er jus' a bunch er scallywags! I'll show ya'll how a real pirate handles his matters!"
And with that, Captain Mutiny suddenly fell to the ground with a scream. "Argh!"
"What!?" Gokai Pink said, shocked. Gokai Red simply stood up and laughed, dusting himself off.
"But how...!?" Treacheron said, staggering forward, shocked himself.
"Woo hoo!" Gokai Green taunted from afar. He was standing on a balcony on Mutiny's castle, waving his gun in the air.
"I was wondering what Doc was doing so far away from you guys..." Guy said, laughing.
Gokai Green then grabbed a vine from a nearby tree and swung down to meet his team. As he came down, though, he lost control and slammed into Treacheron.
"Ahhh!" The two screamed simultaneously. The other four Gokaigers ran to meet their green friend.
Gokai Red slapped Gokai Green in the back. "Good job! It worked... right?"
Gokai Green nodded. He pulled out a crystal. "Yep! Got it!"
"What's going on?" Gokai Blue asked nonchalantly as he slashed an approaching Swabbie.
Answering, while shooting two Swabbies in the face without looking, Gokai Red explained: "I didn't want you guys to tip off Mutiny with any type of body language. When I started fighting tall, white, and honorable here," Gokai Red used the tip of his sword to point at Treacheron. "I opened a private channel between Doc and me and told him to slip away and find the dilithium crystal while we cause a distraction. He then used his machine to triangulate the crystal's position. To give him time, I decided to put my acting skills into practice!"
"...Acting!?" Treacheron said, lifting his head up. "That's not... honorable! ... I ... I should-"
Before Treacheron could finish, Gokai Red kicked him in the face, knocking him out again. "Oh, just shut it, will ya? Bad guys talking about honor are like kids who cheat on intelligence tests. Let's move out, guys."
As the Gokaigers began making their way to the Galleon, Guy saw something on his radar screen. It made him nervous. Very nervous.
"Guys... get back here immediately!" Guy screamed.
They started sprinting. They all looked around for danger.
"What is it, Guy!?" Gokai Red screamed as they ran.
Suddenly, a giant ship appeared in the sky. It was in the shape of a skull. From the mouth, the pirates could see a figure moving.
"Vile..." Gokai Red said, sneering. He took a step forward, gripping his saber.
"This is the M51 Galaxy! This is my home!" Master Vile screamed. "How dare you invade my home! You will rue the day you crossed paths with me!"
Gokai Pink stepped forward as well, now side by side with Gokai Red. "You destroyed my home, you hypocrite! I will destroy you in honor of Rashon!"
"Destroyed Rashon? You must be mistaken! Haha! Rashon stands still!"
"What?" Gokai Pink said, surprised. She noticed suddenly she had been holding her breath.
"It's a shame you'll never leave here to see it again!" Vile said, laughing.
"We fight for justice and what is right." Gokai Red yelled up to him. "We will win!"
Vile laughed again. "I guess you hadn't heard! This is the M51 Galaxy: where the bad guys always win!"
. . .
Dai Shi walked into the portion of his castle's dungeon housing the monstrous Master Octomus.
"What is it, Dai Shi?" Octomus asked in his booming voice.
"I have received word the Greatest Treasure is on the move. I want to discuss with you a plan on retrieving it."
Octomus grunted at the suggestion. "I do not believe we should do as that fool Bansheera has done and spread ourselves thin across the universe. Her hard work will come crashing down because of it, I say."
"I agree, Octomus." Dai Shi sai. "I am thinking we use the Power Rangers and their fued with Bansheera to get the Greatest Treasure back here on Earth."
"What are 'Power Rangers'?" Octomus asked.
"Do you remember when we were betrayed by those goodie goods? And how one of them transformed himself? Well, apparently he was an Alpha like Lothor said."
"Hmph. So that clown really did know what he was doing..." Octomus said, thinking back. "So these Rangers are the progeny of the Alpha?"
"It appears as such. They are trying desperately to keep the status quo the new Morphing Masters have tried so hard to maintain. We manipulate them into stashing the Greatest Treasure back here on Earth and we should be golden." Dai Shi said, explaining his plan.
"Interesting. I am in accordance." Octomus said.
"Now, I need your help to brainstorm how we can ensure Bansheera does not interfere..." Dai Shi said, hoping they could work something out.
Octomus laughed. "I just so happen to have that taken care of. I have two members of the vampire royal family in my pocket. One of them is currently situated in one of Bansheera's best general's army: the one who has the Moon Palace, Rita Repulsa. This vampire, Baboo, will inform me of everything I need to know of Bansheera's plans-"
"While also helping us get to the Zeo Crystal! Octomus, you're brilliant!" Dai Shi said, laughing.
Octomus laughed as well. "Yes. And soon, the universe will belong to us!"
. . .
Yoral looked out the window of the Ragnarok. Turning to the others in the room, he said, "What's the next step?"
Zordon shrugged. "We look for hints of Ivicar's whereabouts."
Yoral scoffed. "The dude's dead. Get over it!"
Zordon sneered. "You don't know Ivicar. He is powerful. I doubt he would go down so easily."
"Orion did!" Yoral said flippantly.
Zordon rushed to Yoral and, grabbing him by the collar of his white coat, pushed him up against a wall. He pinned him to it and got in his face, saying, "How dare you speak so poorly of a man who saved millions of lives? He was one of the best men I ever knew!"
Though I never treated him as such... Zordon thought with shame.
Tria ran over to the two and separated them. She held Zordon back as Yoral laughed.
"Ha! So much for being the embodiment of the Order of Meledon! I thought we weren't supposed to use our powers for gain."
Zordon laughed. "You thought I was using my powers? Believe me, you wouldn't want me to have used my powers on you."
"Okay, okay. Come on Yoral. Let's take a walk to let you two calm down. Sheesh, males and their testosterone!" Tria said as she escorted Yoral out of the room. As she went into the hall with him, Zordon overheard her saying, "By the way, I wanna have a looong chat with you about my sister..."
Zordon plopped down on a couch. He began to get lost in his thoughts as he felt someone approach him.
"I'm very sorry for his behavior." Trinity said as she sat next to Zordon.
"Why are you apologizing? He's a grown man. He can take responsibility for his own actions." He said.
As should I... Zordon thought.
"Yeah, but..."
"He's your boyfriend. I get it." Zordon said, half annoyed.
"Yeah..."
"What do you see in him?"
Trinity laughed. "He is rough around the edges. I dunno... we spent six months, just about, together on this ship. While Tria was off doing her Power Ranger thing, we were on the ship together. There were plenty of times when he saved my life. I got to know who he really was under that hard exterior. He's really sensitive and sweet. He has a large heart and he gets hurt very easily. I guess that's why he's so abrasive at times... he's protecting himself from getting hurt."
"Like I said, he's a grown man. Regardless of the reasons, he should take responsibility for his actions. It doesn't matter the reasons: in the end, he is a jerk. He should have respect for real men, like Orion was. A man who sacrificed so much for us, and does not deserve to be spoken of so lightly by those who were saved by him." Zordon said, standing his ground.
Trinity said nothing to this. She hadn't thought of Yoral's behavior in that light. Trinity of Heart said she should be compassionate and understanding toward Yoral. Trinity of Wisdom countered, saying Yoral's lack of empathy hurts others. Trinity of Heart conceded, seeing she had accidentally forgotten the effects Yoral's actions could have on those around him.
"Well, I need to get ready. We never know when we'll find another lead on Ivicar." Zordon said, getting up to leave.
"Why Ivicar?" Trinity asked.
Zordon stopped. "He was the second highest member of thetheUnited Alliance. He was given control of the whole operation. I believe if we get him back, it would be a symbol for thetheAlliance that we haven't been destroyed. That we have a chance and we can win this."
"Do you believe we can win?" Trinity asked.
"With all my heart." Zordon said as he left the room.