[Sunday, October 3rd, 1993 3:36am]

It was that time of night where the Moon Palace was completely silent. During the day, or, what was perceived as day, Rita's overbearing screeching could be heard echoing through the entire palace, or the occasional ramblings of Squatt and Baboo and they scurried back and forth. At certain points of the day, Finster's Monstermatic could be heard whirring into operation as he carefully crafted warriors for Rita. But, after a long battle, there was nothing but calmness, stillness.

The sound of Goldar's golden armor could be heard clanking across the floor as he walked over to a window, staring out. From a distance, the Earth seemed so small, so insignificant. It was hard to believe that this one miniscule speck in the universe had been such a problem for a warrior of his caliber. For over 10,000 years, alongside Empress Rita, they conquered countless galaxies, enslaved populations and brought anyone who opposed them to their knees. Goldar's name was known and feared throughout the universe. Where he went, destruction followed, and any living thing that dared challenge him was eliminated without haste, without mercy.

During their invasion of Tarmac Three, along with a few select warriors, they were able to quite effortlessly take over the planet, then enslaved the population to mine and eventually create his golden armor. Zordon, the Sage of Eltar, sent four of his finest warriors to combat Rita's forces.

"Power Rangers," he snarled in his low, gravelly voice.

Zordon was known throughout the universe as a force for goodness, for peace, but often found himself no match for Rita's forces. On the same day Goldar's new armor was completed, his long time ally, Knasty Knight, also claimed a significant victory by defeating the finest warrior in Zordon's army; the Green Ranger. As spoils of that victory, Knasty Knight claimed the sword used by his opponent, The Sword of Light, as his own. He dubbed it the Sword of Darkness, trapping the essence of his enemies within it. Battle after battle, with the very being of his enemies trapped inside, Knasty Knight made quick work of anyone who opposed them. Their victories would continue over the years, until finally, Rita launched an all out assault on the last planet in the Oharian galaxy, Hexagon. Goldar warned Rita that her string of victories had left her vulnerable, that her overconfidence would be her downfall. A few other warriors shared that sentiment, but none would dare question the Empress.

Warriors were sent to secure the planet, but with most of her forces on the planet locked in battle over the fate of the world, Zordon and a group of warriors launched their last ditch efforts to stop Rita forever. Zordon realized that the only way to truly stop Rita would be to imprison her, so multi-phasic chamber was constructed. Though small on the outside, inside the chamber time was suspended and was much bigger, leaving more than enough room to trap Rita.

Goldar, sensing something was wrong, returned to Rita's side, and in doing so, was trapped inside the chamber along with Rita, Squatt, Baboo and Finster. While time and space moved differently inside the chamber, which Squatt affectionately referred to as "the dumpster", Rita and her comrades were well aware of the passage of time. Goldar suddenly found himself a warrior without a battle to fight, without a foe to vanquish. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, months into years… and after a while, they gave up on keeping up with the time in the outside world. His only comfort was that one day, they would be freed from their eternal prison, and once they did, any warrior who dared opposed them in the past would be long since gone. It would be a chore, but they would one by one conquer the galaxy again.

After what seemed like a lifetime of aimless drifting through space in a dumpster, they crashed on a planet, where they were accidently released by a team of astronauts. Ready to pick up exactly where they left off, Rita occupied the Moon Palace and prepared for the conquest of Earth, but there was a catch. Their archenemy, Zordon, was still around, and had recruited a new group of warriors to stop Rita.

No matter, Goldar thought to himself. He had overseen the occupation of entire galaxies, slain warriors who claimed to be unstoppable; surely these new warriors would pose no threat to their plans. Yet, battle after battle, warrior after warrior, fell to this new team assembled by the Sage. In most cases, it was simply a matter of poor planning. These new warriors were nothing but teenagers, infants compared to Goldar, yet unsound tactical decisions by Rita led them to defeat after defeat.

Finster often referred to the In Libro De Reprobi, to create new bodies for fallen warriors for their armies. Rita ordered Finster to bring forth these creatures, and one by one, they were not only defeated, but defeated seemingly almost effortlessly by Zordon's new team. What was it about these warriors, he wondered. Granted, they had the power of the Morphin Grid powering their armor, vehicles and weapons, but that shouldn't have been a problem. They had dispatched rangers in the past, rangers with far more experience, so why were these teenagers a problem?

They shouldn't have been. It didn't make any sense to him. While he pledged his undying loyalty to Rita and her cause, he couldn't help but question their recent string of defeats at the hands of these… children.

Sword in hand, Goldar turned and walked away, making his way into the main throne room, were Rita sat on her throne fast asleep. He couldn't help but be a bit disappointed that she wasn't awakened by the sound of his approach. She had, in his opinion, gotten spoiled, even a bit lazy. If they were going to stop these rangers and finally rid the galaxy of Zordon, she would have to be much more alert.

He dropped to his knee loudly on purpose. The sound of his knee and the tip of his sword hitting the floor was enough to startle her, waking her.

"My Empress," he announced, bowing slightly.

"What do you want, you big gold witnit?" she snarled at him, wiping her eyes as she sat straight up, enraged that he had woken her. "You're giving me a headache."

"My Empress, what is your next plan of attack against the rangers? Our past battles have been…" he stopped himself, making sure he found the right words. She may have gotten a little laxed, but she was still his Empress, and still one of the most powerful sorceress he had ever encountered. "... less than successful. Send me and I will return with…" he was interrupted.

"No. You will do nothing. My plan is nearly complete," she told him.

"Plan?"

She stood to her feet. "Am I supposed to check it with you, Goldar? Are you to know every move I make?"

"No, my Empress, I merely…"

"You merely nothing, you buffoon. My plan has been in the works for a while now, and now, it may finally be time to unleash my most fearsome creation," Rita exclaimed.

Goldar never rose to his feet, but instead looked up. The sound of a plan was exciting to him, but in keeping with her most recent plans, it was more than likely a giant hedgehog monster, or a creature made out of old tires. These were the very essences of some of the greatest warriors he had ever served with, and they were reduced to almost comic relief. Still, she was his Empress, and if she had a plan, he would do his part to help carry it out. "What can I do to assist, my Empress?"

"Bones, Mighty Minotaur, Chunky Chicken, Eye Guy, Gnarly Gnome… all of them have served a purpose. All of them have been in preparation for this," she said, holding her hand out.

There was a quick surge of green energy, and in the palm of her hand appeared a coin. Even from the angle Goldar was kneeling in, he knew exactly what it was.

"A power coin?"

"Not just any power coin, the green power ranger that Knasty Knight secured in his battle on Karmac Three. With this coin, I will recruit my own evil green ranger, and use him to destroy Zordon and the rangers once and for all," she told him.

"That is brilliant, my Empress. Destroy the rangers with one of their own. But why allow our allies to fall? Why sacrifice them when they could have…"

"Because, you fool, each time one of them is defeated, their essence is trapped inside the Sword of Darkness, making it the most powerful sword in the universe. Their essence powers the sword, and the rangers constant expenditure of energy powers the coin. I will give the sword to my evil green ranger, and he will use it to finally end Zordon's pathetic crusade to defeat me," Rita explained.

The idea of being given the green ranger powers intrigued him. The power of the coin, along with the Sword of Darkness, would make anyone a formidable force, but he had grown accustom to his armor. It was crafted for him, and he wasn't ready to give it up. But, he did know someone who would be the ideal candidate to receive the powers.

"My Empress, I think that Scorpina would make an excellent green ranger," he informed her.

He had served alongside Scorpina for centuries, and once he and Rita settled into the Moon Palace, Scorpina had reunited with them. She was almost unstoppable with a blade, and with the Sword of Darkness in her hands the rangers would be easily defeated. And, on a personal note, it would be a good excuse to have Scorpina around more often .

"Scorpina? That witnit wouldn't know real power if it scurried up to her and stung her on the…" Goldar did not allow her to finish her sentence.

"Scorpina's expertise with a blade would surely be…"

Rita walked over to him with her staff in hand, standing directly in front of him. "Don't you ever interrupt me again, tin head. The green ranger powers will be the deciding factor in this war with Zordon. Do you think I would give such power to a hired mercenary? No no no, my green ranger will be a human. Those brats will never see one of their own coming, and my green ranger will be the final nail in the coffin for those power twerps," Rita hissed.

"As you wish, my Empress. Would you like to secure the candidate? I will go to Earth and retrieve him at once," he offered.

"No, not yet. The sword is nearly at full power. When it reaches its apex, I will use that power to put a spell on my ranger, making him loyal to only me."

"Who have you selected?"

Rita let out a devious laugh. "I have someone in mind," she said, cracking a half smile.