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Twice Chosen
"So you know who's under the Green Ranger's helmet?" Thresh looked at me in surprise as we stood around the ship's control room, our helmets off but the armour still on.
"I… thought I knew him," I said, struck by the painful memory of everything my old friend had said to me the moment he realised it was me under that helmet. "Gale… I always knew he didn't like the Games, but I never thought he'd go that far…"
"Smashing up buildings and putting innocent people at risk?" Glimmer observed, a particularly grim expression on her face. "Yeah, that's a bit of a jump from just complaining about things."
"But it's just… how could he do all that?" I shook my head in frustration. "He was always more about traps and snares when we hunted together; this kind of full-on attack…"
"It's not like he had the power to do this kind of thing before," Thresh pointed out. "I mean, if we didn't have to work hard to even turn our armour on… would we have done anything else?"
"I wouldn't just… go out and start smashing everything!" Peeta protested.
"Yeah, but face facts, Twelve; you and the kid are the nice ones on the team," Glimmer pointed out.
"They're the nice ones?" Liv looked at Glimmer with an expression I could only think of as uncertain indignation. "I'm… nice, right?"
"Yeah, but you're also the smart one; if you wanted to hurt people, you'd have a better idea of where to go to do the most damage with the least amount of fuss," Glimmer observed.
"That's…" Liv began, before she sighed and nodded. "OK, that's… probably fair."
"Really?" Rue looked curiously at her for a moment, before she shook her head and gave Liv a cautious smile. "I… probably don't want to know what you could do if you chose to do what Green's doing, right?"
"Probably not," Liv gave her a nod. "But for what it's worth, I wouldn't do any of that even if I hadn't met any of you guys."
"Which is a good thing when we've got Green causing all this crap right now," Glimmer put in, before she turned to look at me. "And on that topic, is this going to be a problem for you?"
"What?" I looked incredulously at Glimmer, understanding her question even if I couldn't believe she felt she had to ask it. "How can you- I fought him-!"
"When you didn't know who he was," the former One resident cut me off. "You were defending yourself when Green attacked you after the big reveal, but what are you going to do next time you have to face this guy?"
"Fight him," I said, walking over to stand in front of my former adversary and current teammate. "Gale's been my friend back home, but that doesn't mean I'll… he can't be allowed to keep attacking the Capitol like that."
"You're sure?" Glimmer asked, her arms folded as she looked at me.
"I'm sure," I nodded at her. For a moment I thought about pointing out how she had been in a similar position at the start of all this, considering how she had basically turned against her own District, but I reminded myself that wasn't fair. From everything Glimmer had told us so far, she'd only had a sense of loyalty to her district in a more abstract sense, but the rest of us had all made it clear we had people we wanted to get back to when this was over.
"Whatever Gale was to me…" I decided to say at last, taking a cautious breath as I looked around the control room at the others. "I can't just let him go around threatening innocent people and smashing their homes. If he can do all this… he's not my friend any more; he's a threat that I have to stop."
I was grateful when the rest of the team just nodded at me in understanding without saying anything that might have meant I'd need to say more. Peeta gave me a sympathetic glance that suggested he had some idea of how significant it was for me to even talk about going against Gale, but he kept it to himself.
"Talking about Gale changing, that reminds me," I turned to look at Zordon. "When I was fighting Gale, he mentioned someone… it sounded like this guy might have something to do with Gale even having the coin in the first place…"
"You thinking he didn't just pick the coin up after Rita lost it?" Thresh put in.
"I mean, he didn't exactly give me details, but the way he was talking about this guy… he didn't say anything straight out, but it sounded like Gale had been taking cues from someone," I shook my head as I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to think back on what Gale had said. "He mentioned something about how he'd been told we wouldn't have the strength to do what Gale and this other guy felt had to be done… I think he called this person 'Zedd'…"
"Zedd?" Zordon and Alpha said simultaneously.
"You telling us you know about this guy?" Thresh asked.
"Indeed," Zordon nodded grimly at him. "Zedd was initially one of the Morphin Masters back on Eltar."
"I… take it that's bad?" Peeta looked at them uncertainly.
"Very bad," Zordon nodded grimly.
"Morphin Masters?" Liv asked, before she clicked her fingers. "You mentioned that before; they're the ones who… originally harnessed the power of the Morphing Grid so that… people can morph in the first place, right? And Eltar's your home planet?"
"Correct on both counts, Liv," Zordon confirmed. "Zedd was not one of the original Masters, but he was the heir to the role of the Green Morphin Master, some time before my original team was assigned to protect this world."
"Just to check," Peeta raised his hand, "if there's a Green Morphin Master, does that mean there's also a Yellow one?"
"And the others?" Liv asked. "Blue, Red, and the rest of us?"
"It has been a long time since I met the Masters, but yes, their heirs doubtless still exist," Zordon affirmed. "The Morphin Masters have many duties, but their most significant role is to serve as essentially the physical manifestation of their aspect of the Morphin Grid, helping to enhance or take power from the currently active Rangers of their colour as required."
"As required?" Liv repeated.
"The Power Coins are the means by which my team were granted our powers, but there are other means of drawing on the power of the Grid. It is the responsibility of the Morphin Masters to confirm that all such methods are safe, capable of taking power from the Grid at a reasonable level and in a manner that will not conflict with another known method."
"Another known method?" Glimmer asked. "What does that mean?"
"Each method of accessing the power of the Morphin Grid is different," Zordon explained. "Just as you draw on the power of your world's ancient animals, another world may draw on its own contemporary creatures, or other cultures draw on mythological creatures that may have never existed. Some advanced civilisations are capable of essentially tapping the Grid directly, using technology alone without the need for an avatar to filter the power."
"That's…" Liv began, only to trail off and give him an awkward grin as she shrugged. "I feel like I should have a better word than 'Wow', but… you get what I mean, right?"
"Indeed," Zordon said, giving the Blue Ranger an approving smile before he continued. "The important thing is that no two methods of accessing the Grid should be alike. Even if two different teams are drawing on essentially the same animal as an avatar, the armour and zord of each Ranger should be different to avoid creating conflict in the Grid."
"Uh… sorry if I'm missing something, but if it's possible to tap this power through technology, why use the animal avatar thing in the first place?" Thresh asked. "I mean, it looks cool, but if there's other ways to do it…"
"The use of avatars provides greater variety in how the power will be channelled," Zordon explained, before he gave a slight smile. "Plus, it was felt by many of the original Masters that when our duty is to fight for the lives of the planets we protect, it would be symbolically appropriate to allow the life on those planets to have some role in their defence."
"I… think I can see that," Peeta nodded thoughtfully.
"OK, not that all that wasn't fascinating, but you said that these Master guys can also take power from Rangers?" Glimmer cut in with an urgent wave of her hand. "Are you saying that this 'Green Morphin Master' guy could have taken Rita's power coin from her?"
"It would have required her to be taken directly to the Morphin Masters to stand trial and confirm that she had broken the rules, and even then it is unlikely we could have done that with Rita," Zordon explained. "By this point her long period of being bonded to the Coin had fundamentally altered its nature due to her own power; separating the two against their will would not have been easy."
"Which is another clue that this Zedd guy is behind this, right?" Liv asked. "If he's the Green Morphin Master-"
"He was the Green Morphin Master once," Zordon interrupted. "Zedd was officially stripped of his position before my mission to Earth after he was somehow corrupted and turned to evil by the power of Master Vile."
"Master Vile?" I asked, hoping that I didn't look as out of my depth as I felt right now.
"An agent of Dark Spectre, one of the more primal manifestations of the dark aspects of the Morphin Grid," Zordon explained. "Dark Spectre himself cannot exist in our realm, but he has empowered various agents to act on his behalf and create conditions suitable to permit him to operate in this world."
"One of which is this Master Vile guy?" Thresh asked. "Should we be worried?"
"Vile is powerful, but at last report he is content to remain in his own galaxy and rule his established territory," Zordon explained. "However, when Zedd was part of a mission to attempt to vanquish Vile, Vile was able to play on Zedd's own personal faults and corrupt him to serve Dark Spectre. The other Morphin Masters were able to limit Zedd's access to the Morphin Grid to ensure that he could no longer control the powers of the Green Rangers to the same extent as before, but he would theoretically possess power over a coin that had been corrupted by its user's free will."
"So… he couldn't just go out and turn any random Green Ranger evil?" Glimmer asked.
"Not on his own, although he would be able to act once a Green Ranger fell on their own," Zordon confirmed. "In any case, after a battle with the other Morphin Masters, including his replacement as the official Green Morphin Master, Zedd was defeated and sealed in a pocket dimension."
"Sealed?" I asked. "Wouldn't it have been safer to kill him?"
"Killing a Morphin Master is no simple task, Katniss," Zordon explained. "The sheer power he possessed meant that destroying his physical body would unleash a wave of energy that could have done serious damage within the blast radius, and said blast radius…"
"I take it we're talking about something more than just a big boom?" Thresh asked.
"Theoretically the power of a slain Morphin Master could destroy most of a solar system."
"…Yeah, we definitely want to avoid that," Liv nodded. "So how did anyone stop this guy?"
"He was sealed in a pocket dimension, but the sheer power he possessed meant that it was still considered likely that he could escape in the future," Zordon explained. "All subsequent Rangers were made aware of his existence, and warned of the possibility of his return."
"Hold on; you were this worried about a guy who got banished before you even came to this planet?" Thresh asked. "I get that you guys aren't human, but if we're talking that far back… wouldn't he have died of old age by now?"
"Banishing his essence did not necessarily mean killing him," Zordon explained. "In theory the dimension he was banished to would have been capable of sustaining him until the end of his natural lifespan, but if Zedd can master his internal energies…"
"He could preserve some part of his… essence… and stay alive?" Liv asked.
"For a given value of 'alive', but he would be conscious and able to make plans, yes," Zordon confirmed. "Should he have gained enough power to reach out across the dimensional barrier, particularly if he could find a suitable conduit that would link him back to this universe…"
"Such as a corrupt Green Ranger?" Liv asked.
"And when we defeated Rita…" I began cautiously, hoping I'd understood this whole situation. "If he still has the power of the Green Morphin Master, Zedd could have enough influence over her corrupted coin to basically take it from her after her defeat and… found some way to give it to Gale?"
"I cannot say when he would have made contact with Rita, but it appears safe to assume he did so at some point."
"And now Zedd's telling Gale what he wants to hear about his current vendetta so that he can draw on Gale's use of Rita's old coin?" Peeta put in.
"Indeed," Zordon said grimly. "If Rita or Gale were able to gain access to a suitable power source, whether they are aware of it or not, Zedd would be able to use the Green coin as a conduit to channel that power to himself. While his body is almost certainly gone by this point, if he has been able to maintain his essence, and with Rita having already corrupted the Green coin…"
"We're in big trouble," Glimmer said simply.
"Just to check, if Gale has the coin now, what does that mean for Rita?" Peeta asked.
"The most likely explanation is that Zedd left her to drift in space for her failure while he chose a local operative to act on his behalf," Zordon explained. "With Earth's isolation and your relative inexperience, he would conclude that it is easier to acquire the power of the Zeo Crystal here than seek an additional power source elsewhere."
"And better to hit us with a local opponent who has a better understanding of the situation and a new way of doing things than trust that someone we've already beaten can do a better job second time around?" Glimmer asked.
"That is the most likely explanation for the change," Zordon conceded.
"OK, so what's our best move now?" I asked. "Is there a way to get the Coin away from Gale?"
"Couldn't we call on those… Morphin Masters for help?" Rue asked. "I mean, if they control the Power Coins…?"
"It is a fair question, but we do not have the means to do so," Zordon explained. "After all the millennia since my team first came to this planet, I no longer know where the Morphin Masters are or how to locate them, and could not send us all there with your friend even if I could do so."
"And the Green coin being… corrupted is another problem, right?" Liv put in.
"If we were relying on the Morphin Masters, certainly," Zordon explained. "With the essence of the Green Coin having been corrupted by its long time with Rita, it would have only been possible for Gale to wield its power if he was in a… suitably negative state of mind."
"He's angry at the Capitol and blames everyone in it for the Hunger Games and everything wrong in Panem; he's definitely in a negative state of mind," I nodded at Zordon.
"Then we must operate on the premise that Gale's mind has been corrupted by the Green Coin and he will be unable to move past his rage to use the coin as part of your team," Zordon said, his tone grim. "I am sorry, Katniss, but if your friend chose to become this… by now, he has essentially fallen too far to simply come back to us."
"I…" I began, before I shook my head and nodded. "I understand."
It hurt to say those words, as though it was a rejection of Gale, but I had to face the facts of the situation. If I was to lead this team as the Red Ranger, I couldn't let my memory of what Gale had been overcloud the reality of what he had become now.
"So that's it?" Peeta asked. "We've lost the Green Coin and Gale?"
"Essentially yes," Zordon replied, before he gave us all a slight smile. "However, there may be another option."
"Another option?" Peeta asked.
"In cases where morphers were corrupted in the past but a suitably pure Ranger could be found to use them once they were separated from their original wielder, it is possible to purify the morpher using the Sword of Light."
"Sword of Light?" Glimmer raised an eyebrow. "Bit melodramatic, isn't it?"
"I did not name it," Zordon said with a defensive tone before he continued. "In any case, once Alpha and I can access the relevant networks through the ship, we will be able to identify the last prior location of the Sword of Light, at which point we will have enough power to send some of you to retrieve the Sword and bring it back here while the rest of you choose a suitable candidate for the new Green Ranger."
"Choose?" Peeta looked at Zordon in surprise. "But we already have Rue-"
"Which Rue is a fine ally, she is regrettably not a suitable candidate to wield the power of the Green Ranger," Zordon said, looking apologetically at the young girl before he addressed the rest of the team. "The role of the Green Ranger requires a balance of strength and semi-independence, and while Rue is a compassionate ally she lacks the resolve to use this power properly."
"Oh," Rue said, shrugging slightly despite the saddened expression on her face.
"Hey," Peeta walked over to crouch down beside Rue and give her a brief hug. "You know… even if you're not a Ranger, you're still our friend, right?"
"I second that," Glimmer put in, Thresh giving Rue a thumbs-up as Liv and I gave the girl comforting smiles.
"OK," I said as I turned to look back at Zordon. "So if I've got this all straight, you and Alpha need to find out where the Sword of Light is… some of us go to find that while the rest of us stay here to find a good candidate for the new Green Ranger… and then we need to fight Gale and use the Sword to transfer the coin from him to our new candidate?"
"But if we can purify the Coin-" Peeta began.
"Gale has already proven susceptible to the most negative aspects of power," Zordon cut him off. "It is possible to purge him and the coin from Zedd's influence, but if they were brought back together…"
"Gale would just end up defaulting back to his current attitude, huh?" Glimmer asked.
"He may be more reasonable, but he would ultimately still focus on his current goal of destroying the Capitol rather than working with you," Zordon affirmed. "Now that he believes he must use the power of the Coin to destroy his enemies, he will be unable to abandon that idea so long as he retains the Coin."
"In other words, he's got to go cold turkey if he's gonna get over it," Thresh nodded.
"A good way to explain it," Zordon confirmed.
"Well," Liv clapped her hands together as she looked over at Alpha, "if we need to find this Sword, what do we need to make this work and when do we start putting it all together?"