Interlude : Evil Love
Zordon had won.
The cost of his victory was high but he had managed to accomplish something that numerous ranger teams had failed before… the near extinction of evil.
Zedd tapped his claws on his throne in his Dark Dimension.
He was back after all these years and Zordon's legacy had persevered while his had faded away.
"Is it ready?" He asked his robotic ally, who worked in a makeshift lab with stolen equipment.
"Almost, my liege." Scrozzle blubbered, continuing to sculpt what appeared to be a robot.
Zedd hummed.
The sorcerer Reaghoul, who had resurrected and subsequently enslaved him, would have been the perfect candidate for the task he had in mind, but unfortunately, he had been destroyed by the rangers… A shame!
He clenched his fists before pounding it on the arms of his throne, the sound making Scrozzle squeak and turn towards him in alarm before quickly resuming his work.
That was the respect he should be treated with, by everyone in the galaxy.
Instead, a common criminal had used him as a henchman to strongarm other thugs, by means of a control collar.
That was preposterous!
He was Lord Zedd and yet, he was robbed of his own will.
He had wanted Reaghoul to suffer just like he had. He had planned to force the sorcerer to follow his commands, not through mind control but through sheer intimidation and absolute fear. He had daydreamed of his revenge, of breaking the wizard, and reducing him to no more than a snivelling servant, who wouldn't dare to even breathe without his command, but the rangers had stolen that chance from him.
He was deprived of his revenge.
More than that, he was robbed of the chance to bring back his family… his wife and son.
Despite his misgivings, Reaghoul had been a gifted necromancer, the best at what he did, for he did not just summon the soul of the dead, but also create them a whole new body.
Without him, he was forced to resort to less than savoury methods.
Bringing back Thrax from the Abyss would be difficult but summoning the dark energies of his wife would be easy. The trick lied in giving her a suitable vessel. Any mortal host would have eventually resisted her, or worse, tainted her with their own spirit. The only option was to either clone her or give her a robotic shell.
Cloning her would have taken out a lot of his energies and the resultant magic residues would have been a beacon for other sorcerers to track them and the last thing he wanted Rita's disgusting good self and her infuriating Mystic Force after him again!
"My lord, it is ready."
If he still had a face, he would have grinned.
"Fantastic!" He commended, rising from his throne and walking towards the slab on which the robotic shell lied. It was nothing out of the ordinary, with a blank face and two pairs of limbs.
He tapped his Z staff on the shell and started channelling his dark magic.
Particles of purple and brown energy appeared out of nowhere and flung towards his staff quickly before creating a ball of dark energy that he gently lowered into the shell.
The energies washed over it, transforming it to a more feminine shape. Rita's characteristic headband and white hair fashioned into hair cones appeared over her head while her body was covered by the garish brown gown, she was infamous for. Her blank face became more prominent, red energies emanating from her optic sensors.
Zedd scoffed. The face bore no resemblance to his darling wife, remaining a generic robot face, which unsettled him quite a bit, considering it had an eery similarity to Scrozzle's visage but he did not voice his thoughts.
The shell sprang to life and got up in a sitting position. She extended her hand, and her old staff appeared in it with a flash of red.
"My poison pie, you are back!" Zedd cooed at her.
"Zeddy?" She asked, still disoriented. "Where am I? What am I? My body… It feels strange!"
She looked down at her arms, seeing the metallic machinery and screeched.
Zedd winced. He had forgotten about this part.
"My dear, calm down!"
"Calm down!" She wailed angrily. "I am a robot?"
Zedd sighed, grabbing her shoulder.
"It was the only way to truly save you, my poison pie." He said gently. "Don't you remember?"
She paused and he could almost hear the gears clicking in her robotic brain.
"The golden wave… Zordon…" She murmured.
"It destroyed you and me. I was resurrected –"
"How come, you aren't a robot?" She accused.
"It is a long story, my dear." He assuaged her. "Believe me when I say, all that matters is that you have returned!"
"How can you say that, Zeddy!" She said, her voice breaking and Zedd was certain that if she still were humanoid, she would have shed tears. "I am a robot!"
"But dear, you are still you." He said tenderly, lifting her chin with his clawed finger.
"You mean that, Zeddie?" She whispered.
"I do." He said sincerely. He felt Rita's cold metallic hands reach up to his jaw as she leaned closer. Her metallic lips touched his faceplate. It was different to when her warm moist lips used to do the same, but the sentiment remained.
They were evil.
Their union was through deceit and manipulation, but along the way, they had fallen in love.
And they had honoured that every moment since.
They would always find their way back to each other, even across the barriers of life and death.
For the first time since his return, Zedd felt complete.
Hope you liked reading this and please review. :D
It was fun to write and thanks to Super Shadowhenshin for inspiring this interlude with their flawless humour. ;)