Chapter Twenty-One: Hercuron and Earth - Consequences
Saba protracted his claws and swung with a mighty force at the Rinshi and Hidiacs attacking him. He was easily able to destroy many of them with his superior speed and power, but the sheer amount of them was overbearing. He was fatiguing quickly.
If only Zordon were here, this would be a lot easier... Saba thought as he narrowly missed getting sandwiched by his pursuers.
"Okay, okay... stand back! I've got this!" Roared Faor. He barreled onto the scene. His sheer size made up for the warriors crawling on him. His thick skin hardly felt them as he crushed them under his feet.
Hidden in the shadows, Dai Shi fumed. "They can't do this! Why do they fight for humans!? Can't they see I am trying to make things better for them? Give them Earth so we are no longer a displaced people!?"
"We agree with you, mighty Dragon." A figure said, forming from stones nearby.
"What!?" Dai Shi said, caught off guard. He got into a fighting stance.
"I said that I agree with you."
"Overlord Grizzaka!? Is this some sort of trick!?" Dai Shi demanded, focusing on the Elemental Overlord standing before him.
"I come here to make you an offer... you see, the other Overlords of Earth and I have been considering what you have been preaching ever since you appeared again. We look out over the universe and see what its citizens are up to, and it is mostly war. I love this planet, and do not wish to see it be destroyed by the pettiness of beings, such as the Humans. Ever since Lothor came with his stupid agendas, I have felt my beautiful planet be at a state of unease.
"The people of the Animal Realm never seem to start any fighting. Yes, you wish to help others, but what wars have you started? I truly believe this planet I call home would be in safer hands if the Animals ruled over it.
"This is why we decided, in secret, it would be in everyone's best interests if we helped you in your plans. Unfortunately, for us to be of any help to you, we need to maintain appearances. Our political status with both The United Alliance and the Animal Realm is what gives us the power we need to manipulate everything for you and your forces. Then, at the last moment, the other Overlords and I will strike."
Dai Shi laughed. "And what do you bring to me that should tempt me to ally with you? I don't see how you and the others can truly help me."
"The first thing I offer is intel. I can let you know all of the Order of the Claw's secrets. Where their bases are, both here and in the Magic Realm. I can also plant seeds during our weekly firesides with the youth, to slowly convert more fighters to your cause, oh mighty Dai Shi. I can give false information to the Claw's Masters, leading them into traps. In the end, of course, it is up to you..." Grizzaka ended his sales pitch. He folded his arms and awaited Dai Shi's response.
"How do I know you aren't lying to me!?" Dai Shi demanded.
Grizzaka looked down. He began to think. He then heard Faor fighting in the distance, stomping on the swarms of Hidiacs and Rinshi in the valley. Grizzaka smiled a terrible smile and turned to Dai Shi.
"I will show you by using my resources. Monkeywi!?"
The baboon like animal teleported in by command of Grizzaka, who willed the beast into his presence. "Yes, Overlord?"
Grizzaka pointed at Faor. "I wish for you to destroy that person."
"Faor? Why!?"
"Because I demand it. This is the beginning of a revolution. After this, Monkeywi, you will be thought of as a traitor to the Animal Realm. You must stay loyal to me and not tell anyone of my involvement. I promise you that if you follow my orders, you will be deeply rewarded."
Monkeywi stood in silence. As he turned his head, he noticed Dai Shi standing there. He then nodded. "I see... so you are siding with him... If this is what the Overlords have decided for me, then I must obey..."
He turned and began focusing. "It is time to unleash the full power of the monkey! Woo-ah!" As he said this, he tapped into the full potential of his Animal Spirit. He grew large, matching the size of the rhino he was ordered to destroy. He ran forward in Faor's direction.
"This is insanity." Dai Shi said to Grizzaka. "There is no way the Monkey Spirit can hope to win one on one against the Rhino Spirit. The rhino is one of the most powerful Animal Spirits there is."
Grizzaka laughed coldly. "I know that. Monkeywi probably knows that, too. It doesn't matter, though. I ordered him to fight Faor, and that is what he will do. No questions asked. That is what I can offer to you, and more."
"It looks as if we may have an agreement then..." Dai Shi said, turning to look at the fight.
"Watch all you want, Dai Shi. The fight isn't rigged. You'll see... hehehe..." Grizzaka said as he pointed at Monkeywi while he approached Faor.
"Hey, M.K.! Come here to help out?" Faor said, turning to see the familiar face.
Monkeywi swallowed hard. "You... could say that..." He then closed his eyes and swung his arm. It connected with Faor's unguarded face. Stunned, Faor fell to the earth, causing it to shake.
Saba looked up as he saw the rhino fall. "What? Faor!" Saba jumped on all fours and charged to the fallen warrior.
Faor pulled himself up. "What was that for!?"
Without answering, the money jumped into the air and planted both of his feet on Faor's chest. The rhino staggered back once again.
"Don't push me, monkey..." Faor warned.
"Ooo-aaah!" Monkeywi screamed as he barreled at Faor. Faor gave himself a wide base and had his arms in the ready position. He locked his arms around Monkeywi's shoulders as he got close. The rhino twisted his trunk and tossed the baboon over his head. Monkeywi flew to the dirt behind Faor in a devastating crash.
As Monkeywi stood up, he noticed other animals rushing to the scene. He looked to the hidden place from where Grizzaka and Dai Shi were watching. Grizzaka nodded, letting him know he could run away.
Sneering, Monkeywi said, "This is only the beginning..." He then shrunk and ran into the woods nearby. Grizzaka waved his hand and caused Monkeywi to disappear with his Blue Magic.
Saba ran to Faor and asked, "Would you like me to follow him?"
Faor shook his head. "No... we need to go to Master Mao and let him know what happened. Monkeywi said that this was only the beginning... I don't have a good feeling about this..."
As Faor turned to speak to the other animals approaching him, Grizzaka bid farewell to Dai Shi. He then turned and decided to walk a ways, to see what other battles were occurring in the area. He spotted a young Human battling near him and wished to observe.
Dirty Humanss... Grizzaka thought. Soon, Dai Shi will help us eliminate all of them from off my beautiful planet. And then... then I will destroy him and the rest of the Animal Realm myself. This is my planet.
Focusing his attention on the young man, he sat down on a rock to see just how formiddable of a fighter he was. He was able to have a good view from the mountain ledge he was on.
"Hi-yah!" Yoral screamed as he slashed with his gunblade at the Hidiacs and Rinshi attacking him. As he finished a group of them, watching them disintegrate around him, he rested the sword over his shoulder and scoffed. Smirking, he turned around and began looking for the next fight. While he did this, his eyes landed on a tree nearby.
How dare Trinity speak to me like that!? I saved her life more times than I can count... It's Zordon... I know it. Everything was fine until he showed up, taking charge and barking out orders like he was someone... News flash, kid! We were doing this stuff for six months before you showed up! We were a team before you and your stupid Nathadian magic! I SHOULD HAVE BEEN A RANGER, NOT HIM! Yoral thought angrily as he stared at the tree. He then imagined Zordon's face on the tree. Frowning, he pointed his gunblade and shot at the tree's trunk. A large chunk flew off as he did. He then swung his blade with fury, hacking away at the bark. Within moments the entire tree was cut up and falling to the ground. He panted as he saw what he did. Red Energy hovered over his blade.
Grizzaka stood up, furious. How dare that Human desecrate my beautiful planet! This is the exact kind of destruction their kind brings! Focusing, Grizzaka pointed his hands at Yoral and shot a beam of power at the ground around him. As he was the Earth Overlord, he had jurisdiction and power over the earthy things. Using that connection, he caused the ground to collapse around Yoral, sending him falling. Grizzaka laughed as he covered the hole back up.
"I'm going to watch you suffer, Human... Just as you made that tree suffer!" Grizzaka said to himself, leaping down from the mountain ledge he had been on to where the ground had swallowed Yoral. Focusing on his connection to Earth, he focused on what he thought would have been Yoral suffocating, dirt falling into his lungs. What he saw was something very different.
Yoral himself could not see. There was no light in the place in which he stood. He fumbled on all fours until he felt his gunblade. Once he had it in hand, he shot a quick blast from the gun portion of his hybridized weapon. The flash was bright enough that he could momentarily see he was standing in a room with ornate decorations and statues. He focused on what little magic he had learned from his time travelling the universe and was able to conjure up a fireball in his hand. It quickly illuminated the space in which he found himself.
Squinting a bit ahead, he saw what looked like a skull sitting on a stone altar. He felt uneasy about it. Slightly in front of it was another object. It looked like a grouping of crystals. Before he realized what he was doing, he approached the crystal. As he was to touch it, he suddenly jerked his hand back, realizing what he was doing.
"Hello, young warrior." A voice said. Yoral jumped back. He dropped the fireball he had and everything went dark. Before he could conjure another, the skull lit up, illuminating the room in a bright light.
"Who are you!?" Yoral said, feeling silly addressing the skull. He pointed his gunblade at it.
"I am but a Ghost. I have been trapped in the darkness of the remnants of this temple for what would seem to be a long time... and yet no time at all... and yet, all the time that there once was."
"Huh?" Yoral said, lowering his blade a bit in confusion.
"Never mind." The voice said, chuckling. "Why are you here, young warrior?"
"How do you know I'm a warrior?"
"You carry a sword and know magic. It is not hard to deduce."
"Well... there's nothing that I want. I came here by accident."
"I have learned there are not many things accidental in the universe. Fate seems to play a large role in all things..." Suddenly, a beam projected from the eyes of the skull. When this happened, Yoral noticed for the first time the skull had what appeared to be jewels in its skull. This made Yoral feel a bit more nervous. Looking at the blast, he saw the image of a man there.
"Zordon?" Yoral asked. "How do you know Zordon?"
"I don't, but this is what permeates the thoughts of your mind." The Ghost said, switching the image to that of Trinity. "You fear you are losing her, and it is this Zordon's fault, correct?"
Yoral nodded. "Why do you know these things?"
"I am but reading your heart, my child. Oh... this is a treat... Zordon is influenced by the Nathadians?"
"Something about that, yeah..."
"Well, here's something I believe you will find most interesting: I hail from the same land as the Nathadians!"
Yoral squinted at the skull. "You know them?"
"Yes, yes I do. I came from a different tribe than them, though... I am a Zocatian."
"Okay, well I guess the universe is quite a small place..." Yoral said, trying to see how this meant anything to him.
"You find Zordon to be arrogant and overbearing, which fits the characteristics of a Nathadian perfectly. What would you say if I could make you more powerful than him? Do you think that power would make you more desirable to her? To Trinity?" The Ghost asked.
Yoral didn't respond. He didn't need to. He thought of his jealousy toward Zordon, when he saw he had become the Meledon Ranger. He had always felt he deserved power, and that Zordon continually had things just handed to him.
"Yes, Yoral. Now is your chance." The Ghost said, reading Yoral's thoughts. "The universe is trying to help you now. It's your turn.
"Yoral, I have a magic that can rival Zordon's power. All you need to do is focus on your feelings toward Zordon, and this will enhance the power..."
"My feelings toward him? You want me to focus on hatred, rage, and anger?" Yoral said, becoming skeptical of the Ghost.
"Hahaha! Oh, no..." The Ghost said slyly. "I wish for you to focus on your feelings toward him, so that you can focus on the Nathadian magic he has. It will be the best way for you to tap into the magic I offer."
As he said that, a wand appeared at Yoral's feet. It began to glow slightly with a black and blue light. Yoral looked at it curiously.
"This will be your conduit of the energy. It will allow you to harness my power directly. You will be a force to be reckoned with..." The Ghost said darkly.
Yoral picked up the wand. He felt a rush of power flow through him. "Wow... just, wow..."
"Yes. Now, continue to return here. I will teach you. Train you to become the warrior I wish for you to become."
Black and blue light coursed over Yoral's body. He looked to the skull and nodded. "Yes, I will. I will take you on as my mentor. You can teach me to be the best fighter in the universe!"
"That is correct. You will be most formidable. All you need to do to access this power is to grip the wand and unleash the power inside. You do this simply by invoking my Zocato power."
"Zocato, huh? Alright..."
"This will give you preliminary power. I will train you to be able to tap deeper into the Zocato power, to help you have more power than I offer you upfront, untrained."
Yoral smiled. "Okay, Master. When do you wish for me to begin?"
The Ghost laughed. "Come back here daily. You can use the wand as much and as often as you like, for that will get you... primed... to the Zocato power. I will simply help you hone and polish that power into something... greater."
Yoral nodded. "Then I will see you again tomorrow. Thank you, Master." With that, Yoral teleported away in a cloud of blue and black light.
Grizzaka stood, shocked. "How did I not know of this temple? It was in my Earth and I knew not of it!? Impossible!" He then punched the ground beneath him, opening it up and landing in the discarded temple. The light pouring in from the surface was enough for him to see the skull with his own eyes.
"Overlord Grizzaka, welcome." The Ghost said casually.
"How do you know me!?" Grizzaka demanded, running to the skull.
"That is not important at the moment. What is important is your desire to defeat Dai Shi... Your goals fall in line with that of my own. I will also give you the ability to use my Zocato power."
Grizzaka stood, staring at the skull. "How would you do such a thing? You already gave it to that Human."
The Ghost laughed. "He isn't a Human: he's from Eltar, but I assume they're related enough that I don't blame you for the confusion. Well, you see, I need him to wield that wand so I can speed up his saturation to Zocato power. You, however, are already very powerful. You don't need the wand. You just need to focus on your inner rage. That is the key to Zocato power."
Grizzaka looked at him. "Why should I trust you?"
"Like I said, we have similar goals. I wish to rid myself of any remnant of the Nathadians. They were a thorn in my side for much too long. After that, I don't care. I can rest in peace."
Grizzaka did not believe the skull, and the skull knew Grizzaka did not believe them. Both of them did not care, however, because they were both getting what they wanted: One would receive more power, and the other would begin to spread his seeds for domination anew. They were both content.
"How do I start?" The Overlord asked.
"We start now." The Ghost said happily. He knew Grizzaka had been listening the entire time, and had told Yoral to leave so he can take on another apprentice in secret. One already versed in corruption and evil.
"What do I call you?"
The Ghost laughed again. "You can call me... the Ghost of Darkness."
. . .
Zordon sat with Dulcea and Tria around the table staring at him. He asked them to meet with him as they raced back to Earth. He had not yet informed them what his intentions were, but was rectifying that at that moment.
Clearing his throat, Zordon said, "Tria... Dulcea... There was a project I was working on before I was called up to the Morphing Masters' council. It is one of my masterpieces, really... We need it for what I am intending."
"What are you intending?" Dulcea asked, worried.
"I intend to take the fight to Rita on Earth's moon. She is in possession of the Zeo Crystal and we need to get it back."
Dulcea and Tria exchanged worried glances. Dulcea was the one to speak first by saying, "Zordon... do you not remember one of the rules of the Order of Meledon? We are not to escalate a fight..."
Zordon scoffed, a little of his old personality showing through. Both women had forgotten what kind of arrogance he used to sport. "It's all good to follow these rules as a guideline for generalities, but sometimes there are specific situations in which it is not wise to act in the way the Order suggests. We can't just sit around and wait for Rita to decide to give us the crystal. It won't happen. We must act now.
"My plan involves one of my old projects, like I said. It is a project I called Zordina." Zordon said as he put an old bag on the table. Out of it, he pulled out what looked like a few scrolls.
"What are these?" Tria asked curiously.
"These are scrolls I used to record my research. I pulled the data from off the Alliance network and put them on these scrolls for safe keeping. Once we discovered Rita had infiltrated our ranks, I didn't feel it safe to continue having these schematics on the network for fear that someone would take them for themselves. Judging by the appearance of Cyclopsis recently, I see I was right in doing this."
"So... what are these scrolls schematics for?" Dulcea asked.
"It is a part of a project I codenamed Zordina. It is for a Megadroid more powerful and versatile than my first Megadroid, Leopardon. It is designed to be able to take on the characteristics of its pilots."
Dulcea looked at him, confused. "Why did we not use this against Goldar back when Novact was finishing the conquest of the M51 Galaxy?"
"Because a team needs to have the same purpose for this to work. The group we had before was not cohesive enough for the Megadroid to have functioned properly. We, as Team Victory, I feel have had enough time together to make this work. The Megadroid will work with us as its pilots."
"And you wish to storm Rita's base with it, and steal back the Zeo Crystal?" Tria asked, summing up Zordon's plan.
He nodded. Dulcea furrowed her brow. "I don't agree that this is the best thing to do, but you are the embodiment of the Order of Meledon as its chosen ranger. If you feel this is what we should do, then I am behind you one hundred percent."
"Where is this Megadroid, anyway?" Tria asked.
"Ironically, on Earth. I hid it there because I didn't figure anyone would go searching on that planet. Funny how Earth now seems to be the apex of evil in the universe."
"That is because it was also the apex of good in the universe, according to Nathadian lore." Dulcea said.
Zordon nodded. "Okay, then. Let's make sure that comes to pass again. Time to activate Project Zordina."
. . .
Burai looked down from the Warstar Armada ship used to house the Alliance Power Rangers. The planet he was monitoring, Hercuron, was being invaded by a horde of Demons, led by Vypra, the Demon who had possessed one of his leading soldiers, Private Ayame Ubi. He shook his head in disgust. He thought back on how he had been unable to defeat Azazel when he snuck onto their ship, and because of his weakness in that battle, he let Private Ubi down. And, by extension, the people of Hercuron as well. Had Ubi not become Vypra, Hercuron would not have been in the middle of an invasion led by her.
"General Burai." Alliance Pink called out from the communicator. "We have finished applying the brand to those unaffected here on Hercuron. Those not possessed are being shipped off the planet now. We are doing what we can to hold Vypra and her new army of Hercurians off now."
"Thank you for your report. May the Power protect you." He said hollowly. He walked over to his work station. He carefully pulled a cage out from his specimen freezer. He was ready to go through with his plan.
He had the DNA of a specimen he had been researching for many years. It was inconclusive from where it originated, but legend had stated the diseased specimen was born of a horrible warrior many years in the past. All that was currently known about the specimen was that it acted as a virus on its host once introduced into a host body. It would change both the phenotype and genotype of the host, turning it into a creature after its own species. It had been named a Barillian bug, after the scientist who first did experiments on the wicked viral DNA. Burai planned on unleashing the bug on the Demons, stopping them from infecting more people as Demons. He knew destroying a Barillian Bug Monster would be easier than defeating a Demon. In a way, he was fighting fire with fire by using one form of possession to overwrite a more deadly form, in his opinion.
"Okay, Rangers. I'm sending you a special syringe. I need you to use it against one of the Demons and then leave the planet immediately." Burai ordered.
"Leave immediately? Why!?" Alliance Blue asked from Hercuron's surface.
"Because in the syringe will be a dangerous chemical weapon. I don't want you guys to get infected. So, I'm teleporting it to Rahp right now. Make sure to stick the closest Demon to you as quickly as possible and then get out. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir!" He heard the five rangers scream in unison. He placed the needle of the syringe into the bottle of Barillian bug DNA and filled the syringe. He then used his wrist tech to teleport the dangerous substance to Rahp and the other rangers.
"Good luck, guys... and please be careful..." Burai said as he placed the dangerous substance back in its protective cage. He then slipped it back into his freezer. Sitting, he looked down Hercuron, the planet he condemned its possessed citizens to a life as insects doomed to be destroyed by the UDC, the Universal Disease Control unit.
Once word spreads that the Barillian Bug Virus is out, the UDC will give the only order it can give: nuke the planet. Burai thought. Although the Hercurians will no longer have a home... they will have their lives... and at least this group of Demons will no longer hurt anyone.
Burai shook his head. He did not wish to escalate the battle so quickly, with such dire consequences, but the guilt he had over allowing things to get to the point they had gone to weighed on him too much. His desire to get rid of the problem quickly overrode all of his thoughts. This was the quickest way he knew how to fix what he deemed was his own mistake. He then closed his eyes and awaited word from the rangers that the deed had been accomplished.
. . .
Rita sat, staring at Earth from the porch at which she liked to sit, on the Moon Palace. She hadn't had any of her horrible dreams lately, which made her glad. She was able to finally focus fully on the tasks her father, Master Vile, had given to her.
"My empress!" Goldar said, walking into the room. He bowed before her as she stood up to face him.
"Yes, what is it, my faithful general?" Rita said.
"Baboo has reported that he saw the Ragnarok enter Earth's atmosphere mere minutes ago." Goldar stated.
"And... What is a Ragnarok!?" Rita said, slapping the back of Goldar's head. "Don't assume I know everything, nitwit!"
Goldar growled but controlled his temper. "My apologies, Empress Rita. The Ragnarok is the ship which Zordon and his crew of rangers use to travel the universe."
"Hmph. Zordon. Well, why are they here!? Don't we have enough problems dealing with the Order of the Claw, attacking us up here every so often!? Sheesh! Everyone wants my Zeo Crystal. Let me tell you something, Goldar, they'll never - huh!?" Rita stopped mid-sentence when she heard a loud crash outside the palace. She and Goldar ran out to the balcony to see a giant metal warrior standing before them.
"Zordina Victory Megadroid, online and ready." Meledon Ranger stated calmly. The Zordina mecha had acted exactly as Zordon had predicted: as soon as he and his teammates had entered the cockpit, after he input the password to activate the Droid's sensors, the Megadroid sensed the team bond the rangers had and assimilated that into its machinery. It turned the metal machine from a plain metal like appearance, to the appearance it had when Rita and Goldar placed their eyes upon it. It branded the "V" symbol on its chest to represent The United Alliance's warcry for "Victory".
"Ugh... I have a headache..." Rita said, turning to Goldar. "Take care of that thing."
"I've defeated one of these before. I can do it again!" Goldar said, jumping down to the ground around the palace's base. Rita concentrated on Goldar, focusing on her Blue Magic.
"Magical Source: Grooooow!" She commanded.
Blue Magic circled Goldar about. He grew to gigantic proportions, facing off with the Zordina Victory Megadroid.
Angry, Rita made her way to the inner room of the moon palace. She walked over to Finster's laboratory. Noticing he wasn't around, she punched in some digits into the network broadcaster she found.
"This is the operator, Squatt. How may I direct your call?" The voice said over the communicator.
"I wish to speak to General Hydro Hog." Rita said calmly. She could hear the operator and the other end fumbling with the circuitry. "NOOOOW!"
"Yes, your evilness!" Squatt said, hurrying his process.
As she was being connected, she found herself lost in her thoughts: How dare them invade me so carelessly! Who do they think they are!? Well, if they're going to escalate things, I'll respond in kind! They don't know who they're messing with!
"This is Hydro Hog. How may I be of assistance, Empress Rita?" The general said.
"I have some pests at my door, and they are really ticking me off. I want them to know we mean business. Are you familiar with the planet Aquitar?" She asked.
"I've always been curious to go to that planet... I'm sure you're aware of my particular set of powers. That's why you asked for me, correct?"
Rita laughed. "Of course. Dehydrate those fish brains. I hereby decree that Aquitar is under your jurisdiction. Now go and take your new planet, General."
Hydro Hog seemed shock. "Why... thank you! Thank you, my empress! I will get on it immediately! I promise you that you won't be disappointed!"
As he ended the call, Rita smiled. "That's right. I won't be. But The Alliance will be. They'll rue the day they attempted to fight me head on. Fools! Ahahahaha!"
She then made her way back to her balcony. Looking on, she observed the megadroid struggling with Goldar.
"There's something very wrong here, Zordon." Gold Ranger stated. "I can't get this thing to fully comply with my commands."
Green Owl nodded. "I, too, am having difficulties in that area. Zordon, are you sure there aren't any bugs in this thing?"
Meledon Ranger tightened his fist and pounded on the console. "I don't understand this! I'm having the same problems! This thing should be one hundred percent functional!"
Goldar rammed the megadroid with his shoulder. As the Zordina Victory Megadroid fell, Goldar summoned his trusted sword. It appeared in his hand with a burst of flames. The megadroid rolled out of the way as Goldar swung the sword down where the rangers had once been. The megadroid quickly got back to its feet.
"Zordon, what's the problem with this thing!?" Gold Ranger demanded. "I'm not risking my life for incompetence."
The sting behind his teammate's words felt like a slap across his face.
"..."
"Zordon!" Green Owl screamed, barely able to block Goldar's sword by summoning their own. She had been trying to get the blade to materialize, but was having a hard time with the megadroid's interface.
"I'm working on it!" Meledon Ranger screamed. He looked at the connection between Gold Ranger and the megadroid. He thought that perhaps her Triforianthree-fold biological make-up could be causing some sort of mechanical interference in for the psychologic interface, but found it was stable. He then checked Green Owl's connection, thinking perhaps her Nathadian background was interfering, but was surprised to find nothing wrong there, as well.
That means it must be... Meledon Ranger thought as he checked his own connection. He found that, indeed, he was the problem. For whatever reason, he was not at one with the other rangers and was causing an interruption in the channel between the machine and the ranger team.
"It's me... I'm the problem." Meledon said.
"What? Why? How are you impeding us?" Gold Ranger asked, confused. As she asked, Goldar had finally landed a blow on the megadroid, sending sparks flying. The megadroid was able to stay on its feet, to the relief of the rangers.
Green Owl turned from her console to look at Meledon in the center of the cockpit. She grabbed his swivel chair from behind and spun him to face her.
"What are you doing!?" Meledon demanded.
"Zordon... it's because you escalated the battle by taking the fight to Rita. That is against the Order of Meledon... which we all agreed to follow. You are not at one with your power, and you are not at one with us." Green Owl said.
It made sense to Meledon Ranger. He nodded. "What do I do? How do I fix this?"
"Retreat. We must stop being the aggressors. It is the way of my people." Green Owl stated.
"Okay, guys. Can you please come back and help!? I'm having a hard time dodging this guy!" Gold Ranger screamed.
"Meledon Ranger online... Setting coordinates: Earth." He ordered. The megadroid instantly turned and began flying toward Earth.
"Oh, no you don't!" Goldar screamed. He protracted his wings to chase after them. As he did, pain shot throughout his spine. He fell to his knees. He then squinted his eyes at the megadroid as it got tinier in the distance, approaching Earth. Clenching his fists, he was able to fly down to Earth after the megadroid.
. . .
Burai received the report from the rangers. He couldn't believe his ears.
"I'm sorry!" Alliance Red said. "I couldn't help it!
"He came out of nowhere and snatched it out of Rahp's hands as soon as it teleported." Alliance Yellow explained.
"There must be some sort of hack or something in The Alliance computers. That's the only way he could have swooped down so quickly after the teleportation. There's no way it wasn't planned." Alliance Green deduced.
Burai felt awful. "Everyone... retreat now. You have a deadly virus on the loose and Demons all around you. The majority of the Hercurians are safe. We need to chalk this one up as a loss. I'm sorry."
"But-" Alliance Yellow started.
"That's an order. Come back. Now." Burai ordered.
"Yes, sir." Alliance Yellow replied.
"Before you sign off... what did the thief say his name was?"
Alliance Green was the one to reply. "He said his name was Deviot. I've never seen him before."
"Whoever he is, he's now a very, very dangerous man. Burai, out."
Burai sighed as he looked up to the ceiling. He could see the consequences for what he had done: Had he not escalated this battle, and grabbed a dangerous virus, the universe would not be in peril. He was afraid to think of what the Barillian Bug Virus was capable of in the hands of a madman. Now, instead of curing his feelings of guilt for causing mass destruction, those feelings got worse.
And for some reason, he felt that things were supposed to be this way. Little did he know, in another time, his actions caused the eventual creation ofUltimecia. Unbeknownst to him, in some odd way, the universe had found equilibrium between the original timeline and the new one. It restored Burai's sense of guilt for releasing evil to the universe.
. . .
As the megadroid landed on Earth, they noticed Goldar speedily following behind them. They got into a ready position to fight.
Goldar landed, bringing his sword up. The pain, however, in his wings became too much for him to handle. He retracted his wings and fell onto his knees. The mix of his focus on pain and his distance from the source of his magical growth caused him to shrink down to normal size once again.
"Time to end this! Megadroid: Step on him!" Meledon Ranger commanded.
"No!" Green Owl shouted. "We fight him as ourselves. With honor. That is the way of Meledon."
Meledon Ranger grunted in frustration. "Fine. Everyone down!"
The three rangers jumped down, landing in front of Goldar. He got back up to his feet and laughed. "What? Is this some sort of display of honor? You'll regret not finishing me when you had the chance!" Goldar screamed as he rushed forward, swinging his sword. The process of retracting his wings and shrinking somehow combined to all but cease the pain he had been feeling. He was back to fighting form.
"Time to show you our fighting spirit!" Gold Ranger cried out, slashing at Goldar with her Power Staff.
"Get away from my sister!" Trinity yelled, jumping into the fray. Goldar pushed her out of his way. She fell onto her back hard.
"Trinity! Get away from here!" Gold Ranger said, rushing to her sister's side. She examined her quickly to see if she was okay.
Aside from his injured wings, Meledon Ranger's scan came up with no apparent weaknesses for Goldar. Turning to Green Owl, he said, "We're in trouble."
Rushing forward, Green Owl and Meledon attempted to overpower the large gold warrior. He kicked Green Owl hard, sending her flying into a tree. She stayed on the ground, in a fetal position, with large pains coursing over her back. Meledon Ranger attempted hitting his opponent with his red saber, but was blocked at every swing. Finally, Goldar was able to knock the blade out of Meledon's hand and punched him in the gut. Meledon Ranger fell to his knees.
"What's happening to me!?" Meledon Ranger said, confused. He scrambled to his feet and away from Goldar, who was laughing with pride.
"No one can defeat the mighty Goldar!"
Analyzing himself quickly, Meledon Ranger found two problems pop into his mind. The first was that he was not at one with the spirit of the Order of Meledon. This was interrupting his connection to the Nathadian Magic and also to the Universal Morphing Grid. He shook his head in disappointment. He was now seeing the consequences for his arrogance. Because he had chosen to escalate the battle, against the words of his teammates, he had put at risk his own powers, and by extension, his team. He knew he needed to change his ways.
The second problem seemed to be coming from Earth itself. Some sort of odd magic he could not recognize was coursing through the universe, interacting oddly with the Nathadian Magic. Only one word came to his mind when he tried focusing on the odd magic: "Zocato".
Suddenly, Meledon Ranger saw someone leap over his head and land in front of him. He recognized the white trench coat and the gunblade immediately.
"Yoral?" Meledon said. He quickly saw in his hand, Yoral was holding the wand he had received earlier from the Ghost of Darkness. Not knowing what it was, he tried analyzing it. All he got, though, was a large pain in his head.
"Yep, it's me. Sheesh, Zordon, you don't look so good. Don't worry, I'll take care of this." Yoral said. He smirked and then looked over to Trinity and the Gold Zeo Ranger. "I hope you guys are watching."
"You wish to challenge me? Ha! No Human has ever defeated me!" Goldar proclaimed defiantly.
Yoral laughed. "I'm not a Human. I'm Eltarian. Prepare to face your deepest nightmares, monkey."
Everyone in the valley stared at Yoral intently. They could all feel it. Something odd was about to happen. Something powerful. And, at the same time, something inside of them also knew it was something dangerous.
"Zocato Power!" Yoral screamed. A blue and black cloud erupted about him. He turned as the Zocato power enveloped him and smirked at Meledon Ranger. Although he could feel the Zocato power around him, seeing Zordon in the ranger suit caused him fury and rage. As he focused on the Meledon Ranger suit, he felt something happen from the Zocato power. Even though it had been a while since he used his training from serving in The Alliance military, he could never forget what he was feeling. His desire had directed his Zocato power to his old tap to the Morphing Grid. It was mixing with it and his desire to create a special Grid tap, with his wand as his power regulator. His morpher.
Goldar stared in fear. He had never felt such power. Especially since the Meledon Ranger he had just battled was a depowered version of the Meledon Ranger. He backed away slowly.
Yoral's mind was opened up to his Grid tap. He smiled as he said, "Ancient Source: Zocato Force!"
The blue and black cloud enveloped him. As it dissipated, where Yoral had once stood was a Power Ranger.
Striking a pose, the ranger said, "Time for you to feel the strength of my Zocato power! Amaradon Ranger!"
"Uh... I think I hear Rita calling for me!" Goldar said as he used the last of his strength to teleport to the moon. He vanished in a blaze of fire.
The other rangers and Trinity ran to meet Amaradon Ranger.
"Wow! You're a Power Ranger now!?" Trinity asked.
"Yep. It's about time, huh?" Amaradon said.
"But... how!?" Meledon Ranger said.
"How did you get your Meledon powers?" Amaradon asked.
"... I... I don't know." Meledon said.
"Same here. I guess it just happened." He lied. His four teammates gave each other knowing looks, even though three of them were wearing helmets. They knew something was off.
"What's that wand?" Green Owl said. Her Nathadian blood gave her good instincts, and it was telling her there was something wrong with that wand.
"Geez! What's up with all the questions!? I don't know what it is, I just found it in the Magic Realm while I was fighting with the Order of the Claw and the other wizards and witches. I didn't see you guys treat Zordon like this when he became a ranger, or Dulcea!"
Gold Ranger nodded. "He's right. We can talk about this later. Fact is, you saved us! Thank you so much!" She said, hugging Amaradon. He felt awkward about it at first, but quickly calmed down and returned the hug. The wise Triforian's plan to diffuse the situation worked.
"Well, I guess... welcome to the team!" Meledon Ranger said, extending a hand to Amaradon. When he saw this, he remembered the first time he had met Zordon:
"Zordon, this is my crew. This here is...my sister Trinity. And...the man at the door..." Tria tried to finish her sentence, but was having difficulties after the experience she had fleeing from her enemies.
He raised a hand, closing his eyes and nodding as he began to walk into the room. He marched over to Zordon and extended his hand, offering it. "Name's Yoral. I'm from Eltar, like you. I guess that gives us something to talk about before we get to know each other."
Zordon turned to Tria without shaking Yoral's hand. As he did, he answered the other Eltarian in the room by saying, "Yeah, I guess."
Instead of shaking Meledon's hand, Amaradon patted Meledon on the shoulder. "Yeah, I guess." He replied, mimicking Zordon's words from when they first met.
"...Okay... so now that we have a new ranger, things will work better for us!" Green Owl stated.
Amaradon looked up. "And I can't wait to take that megazord out for a spin."
"Megazord?" Meledon asked.
"Yeah, it's what the Alliance Rangers call their robot. A megazord. Huh... I guess I never noticed your name's in it." He then thought about that bitterly. "I guess it's to honor you, or something."
As they continued to speak, Grizzaka stared at them from afar. He laughed. "You think you have Zocato power? Ha. The time will soon come that I will show you what true Zocato power is. Hahaha!"