Author's notes – Hello readers!

Gosh, it's been a few years.

And what years they've been. Elections, plagues, wars, disasters, and hopefully, dear readers and fellow Power Ranger fans, you're still out there, surviving them all.

Halfway through 2017, I had a great idea for a really epic story, and I was exactly halfway through it when 2018 hit and I had to deal with some serious health issues. I'm all good now, nicely recovered. But "Nyctophobia" was the longest story I've ever attempted, and it took me a few years until I was finished. The story has 12 parts, and each one of those parts is its own individual story, focussing on one character in particular. Every time I finished a chapter, I had to reset and start again (with a brand new villain, setting, moral, etc), which is why the story took so long to finish. It was a constant companion through some of the worst years of my life, and I'm very proud of the result.

In 2017, I was introduced to the SCP Foundation, a story-telling mythos created by a collective of online contributors. If you're unfamiliar with the SCP Foundation, they are to cosmic horror what the Men in Black are to aliens. I can honestly say that I don't like the horror genre, and I don't care for cosmic horror either (cosmic horror is too bleak and hopeless for me, which is the exact opposite of everything the Power Rangers represent, right?). Those SCP stories were creepy and horrifying ... and some of them were damned good. Even though I'm not a fan of the genre, some of those stories were brilliant, and I really appreciated their creativity, regardless.

So I started thinking. The Power Rangers deal with alien threats all the time. But how would they cope if their enemies were no longer just aliens, but real Lovecraftian nightmares? Monstrous eldritch abominations and things that Humankind Was Not Meant To Know? Things they've never dealt with before? So the idea of "Nyctophobia" evolved from there. This was my take on the Power Rangers in a cosmic horror sandbox, inspired by the SCP archives but with lots of karate and explosions (and in a PG-environment. It's still Power Rangers, I mean, c'mon...).

If you are familiar with the SCP Foundation, there are a lot of shout-outs, and you're going to recognise a few things, here and there. I get to do a lot of things with "Nyctophobia" that I'd always wanted to do, creatively. It takes place over a year, so it's 12 months in the lives of the heroes. I really get to explore the characters' fears and insecurities. I even get to use an evil amusement park (a solid SCP trope) and I've always wanted to use one of those.

Anyway, that's the introduction. It's good to be back. On with the story!

I hope you enjoy.

And maybe ... keep the light on while reading.

"Nyctophobia"

Prologue

Today

The monsters were scratching at the door.

It was so dark in here that I couldn't see the walls. I barely even knew where I was. But I could hear them. And they knew I was here. Trapped. Alone. They were coming for me, and I couldn't escape.

The scratches were getting louder.

I'd spent years fighting monsters and aliens and the occasional army, but this was something else. They'd had centuries to prepare. We'd been outmatched from the very beginning. Brendan told me that in his worst moment, when he'd felt the most scared, his Power Coin had protected him. I fumbled blindly for the coin at my belt. Nothing. A piece of alien metal, the most powerful paper-weight in the Universe.

There was a lot more of them now, on the other side of the door, climbing over themselves in a frenzy to break through.

What did Zordon say, not two hours ago? That our greatest weapons would always be there for us? Why would the power abandon us, today of all days? I held out my hand and tried again. "Power sword," I said, without a shred of conviction in my voice. My fingers closed around empty air. "Power sword," I said again, even quieter. Nothing happened.

I don't think I'd ever felt so alone.

The monsters had almost ripped through the door.

They were relentless.

They were hungry.

Surely my friends hadn't abandoned me? No. They must've. The worst part was I couldn't blame them. Too unsure of himself, they must've said. Why try to save someone who couldn't even save himself? It was a sorry consolation prize, right at the very end, to know that I'd been right all along.

How could we have stopped this?

There was something big on the other side of the door. The growls had become screeches, angry and frantic. Whatever it was, it was trying to force its way through. Rhythmic thuds, growing louder.

Was there anything we could've done differently? I thought back. Twelve months ago, if we knew what we know now, would it have made a difference? Could we have stopped him? Everything started the day Jason and I fought the Stone Assassin, I could see that now. Should we have tried harder?

The door splintered and gave way, and I knew it was too late. If only we'd seen the danger at the beginning. If only we could've done something. Now, there was no time left. Our powers had failed. The sky was falling.

It was over.

"Jason. Where are you?"

To be continued.