Back in the Command Center, Zach was standing next to the Viewing Globe. He handed Billy his morpher after removing the dino gem. It glowed in his hand as he closed his fingers around it. "Alpha will teleport you a few blocks away from the hotel. I would use your power as soon as you get near the place. Who knows what kind of surveillance they have outside." Tommy said, resting a hand on Zach's shoulder. Zach nodded, not a trace of fear on his face. He had given us everything he had on him, the power not strong enough to cover his cell phone or the morpher. Even his communicator had to come over, leaving an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach. This left him without any means of communication with us once he was there.
"Here." Billy handed Zach a pair of sunglasses with the lens popped out of them. He gave Billy a confused look. "They contain a hidden camera in them. I found them in the supply closet. This way, we will be able to see what you see. It's the only device small enough to be supported under the invisibility projection."
"Thanks." Zach slipped them one, the thick frames of them looking ridiculous on his face. Zach had changed into a black t-shirt and jeans, matching black sneakers on his feet. He had made a joke earlier about it, saying it was going to help him in the dark if the gem stopped working. My mind wouldn't let me picture what would happen if that came true. I shoved it out as soon as it appeared, focusing on the positive thoughts I needed to have. "Alright. I think I'm ready."
"Alpha, teleport Zach." Zordon said. Alpha did his thing with the control panel and Zach vanished in a burst of black light. The Viewing Globe lit up and a fuzzy picture appeared. It slowly came into focus, showing us Lenox Avenue in downtown Angel Grove. Zach had ended up in an alley off the street, out of view from anyone passing by.
"I wish he could hear us." Rocky murmured, crossing his hands over his chest.
"Zach knows what he's doing. He'll be fine." I replied, not sure who I was reassuring more; Rocky or me.
"He's heading towards the hotel." Billy said, pointing at the globe. On the screen, we watched as he walked up the street. In the distance I could make out the movie theater and a number of businesses. The street where the hotel was coming into view. Zach dodged down an alley quickly and held his hand up, showing us a thumb up sign before using the dino gem. He glowed for a second before disappearing from view. He started to walk again, the first-person angle making my stomach feel queasy. I ignored it though as the hotel came into the shot.
The Tricotta looked the same as it did when I last left it. It stood high about the ground, the gold outside of the building shining in the mid-morning sun. Zach walked quickly towards the front door, the gold revolving door spinning as people walking in and out of the place. He jumped into it as a couple entered the building and hopped out inside of the lobby. Like before, everything was still in different hues of gold, red and black. Looking around, Zach took a right towards a stairs case exit. He stopped next to the beige colored door, glancing behind him.
"How's he going to open that without someone noticing?" Aisha asked, looking worried.
"C'mon, Zach." Tommy muttered, his forehead creasing as he watched. Zach stepped backwards as an employee walked around him and shoved the door open. "Yes!" Tommy said, making a fist with his right hand. Zach zipped in behind the maid and watched her walk up the stairs. Once she was gone, he went down the stairs on the right, heading for the basement floor. I found myself holding my breath as I watched Zach trek down into dimmed lighting. The only source of light came from a set of emergency lights on the wall above him. It grew darker and darker the deeper he went. At the bottom of the stairs, there was a large door made of dark painted wood, reminding me of the thick doors on the Seventh Floor.
"Oh, that doesn't look good." Aisha said, biting her lip. Reaching out, he grabbed the brass ring on the door and pulled it open. Beyond it, I could just make out the balls of light coming from floating orbs in the room. Zach slipped into the basement, the door shutting behind him. The basement was a large room, dim lighting filling the entire shape of it. From what we could see, it looked mostly empty. The walls were a faint grey color and there were no windows to be found or doors for that matter. On the right side of the room, there were large wooden crates stacked in neat rows. Some had metal rods reinforcing the sides of them while others were missing the lids, them propped up against them.
Quickly, Zach crossed the room and stopped by one of the open crates. Peaking inside, we saw it was empty. He moved to the next open one and there was something inside. Reaching in, he pulled out a long piece of metal. It was extremely shiny and seemed sharp. It reminded me of the talons of the pterodactyl zord. Zach held it up for a minute, so we could see it before putting it back inside. I could now see that there was writing on the sides of the crates. It wasn't in English and it seemed to be some weird language I had never seen before.
"That's Talmarian." Alpha said, as if he was reading my mind. "It's the language spoken on Goldar's planet."
"Could it be a Zord?" Billy questioned, glancing at Tommy. Tommy's jaw line hardened as he shrugged his shoulders. Zach continued on to the next box, more metal inside of it.
"They are building something." Rocky commented, leaning forward on the control panel next to the Viewing Globe. "And whatever it is, it's still in pieces." Zach moved away from the boxes and turned to the other side of the room. It was mostly bare, a random smaller crate stacked here or there. In the far corner, there was a small control panel of some sorts. The buttons lit up and there was a lever in the middle of it. Approaching it, Zach looked around the room again to make sure he was still alone.
"He doesn't have much more time." I said, glancing at my watch. It had been twenty minutes already. He would be cutting it close if he didn't start leaving yet.
"What's he going to do?" Aisha asked as Zach reached over and pulled the lever on the panel. Something made Zach whip around. Everything moved quickly as he did, the image shaking. As it steadied, the floor began to open in the room in front of Zach. Light emitted from the growing crack as the floor separated. Zach moved closer, trying to look into the growing hole. A mass was forming in it, the shape taking forever to appear through the fog that rose from it. We all took a collective step closer, trying to make it out through the fuzzy picture on the Viewing Globe.
"Alpha, get ready to teleport Zach." Billy said, looking at his watch.
"What is that?" Aisha whispered, focusing on the globe. It was a massive object, the front of it curved metal. It was long and two holes were cut into the side of it. The side of it seemed to open, more metal inside of it. Cylinder shaped rods protruded from the side of the object, bending at odd angles. Maybe it was a Zord. It was shaped like the mouth of something. As the fog continued to recede, more of the object came into view. The floor seemed to rise as did the metal mass. Larger pieces connected to the rest of it and then glass was welded to the top of that, forming the shape of eyes. Tommy, Billy and I let out a collective gasp as the eyes began to glow red.
"Serpentera." We said together, exchanging glances. Rocky looked at us in amazement, the thought dawning on him and Aisha finally.
"Holy shit. That's bad." He said, shaking his head.
"Zordon, I thought Serpentera was taken care of with the red ranger mission on the moon. It was destroyed! How is it still a thing?" Tommy asked, glancing up at our leader.
"I'm not sure, Tommy. It seemed that Rosita has found the parts of Lord Zedd's zord and have brought it back together. It will have the power to destroy the Earth if not stopped." Zordon replied, a glint of worry on his face.
"Zach!" Billy exclaimed, causing us all to turn and look at the globe. I watched as the image on the screen changed, Zach flying through the air. The glasses must have fallen off his face because he suddenly appeared, laying on the other side of the room as the camera. He was no longer invisible. "Alpha! Teleport!"
"Ay ay ay!" Alpha said, pressing buttons quickly. Strasser appeared on the screen, towering over Zach. He raised his staff above him and brought it down, striking Zach across the face. Zach winced, his head tossing back. Strasser landed another blow, continually hitting Zach. His face was beginning to swell and blood streamed from his mouth and nose. As Strasser lifted his staff again, Zach began to glow with a black light before disappearing. Strasser's staff connected with the floor, his victim no longer there. He looked around the room, trying to find him. He began to shove the crates, thinking it was a good hiding spot.
In the middle of the Command Center, Zach appeared. He laid crumpled on the floor, not moving as the light around him receded. Aisha and Billy rushed forward, checking for a pulse. I held my breath, waiting for Billy to say something. "He's alive." He said, glancing at Tommy and me. "Barely though. We need to transport him to the medical tubes quickly."
"I'll get the bed." Aisha said, scrambling to her feet. She raced off towards the medical bay while Rocky and Tommy helped flip Zach onto his back. His face was to the point of being unrecognizable, mounds of flesh where his nose and cheeks were oozed out blood. Both his eyes were swollen shut and blood dripped from both his ears. He was missing some teeth and his arm was bent at an unusual angle. My stomach flopped when I looked at him, fear and rage burning in there as well. Aisha returned with the floating bed, pulling it next to Zach. We all lifted him from the ground and on to it, Billy and Aisha pushing him off hurriedly. Rocky, Tommy and I stood in the control room, no one speaking as we looked at the small pool of blood that was left where Zach had laid.
"I'll clean this up." Alpha said softly, disappearing into the hallway.