Power Ranger Origins: The Reign of the Morphing Masters

[ShinySephiroth]

Origins Part One: The Reign of the Morphing Masters -
10000 BC
https://sites.google.com/site/midgartradestation/_/rsrc/1400162863054/power-rangers/fan-fiction/sentinel-knight/Morphing%20Master%20Symbol.png?height=200&width=152

Chapters:
Chapter One: An Odd Resurgence (http://pro-board.org/showpost.php?p=52857&postcount=2)
Chapter Two: The Guardian of Time (http://pro-board.org/showpost.php?p=52860&postcount=3)
Chapter Three: The Academy (http://pro-board.org/showpost.php?p=52862&postcount=4)
Chapter Four: Rise of a Tyrant (http://pro-board.org/showpost.php?p=52864&postcount=5)
Chapter Five: The Resistance and the Crystal (http://pro-board.org/showpost.php?p=52869&postcount=6)
Chapter Six: Face off for the Crystal (http://pro-board.org/showpost.php?p=52871&postcount=7)
Chapter Seven: The Added Threat (http://pro-board.org/showpost.php?p=52873&postcount=8)
Chapter Eight: The Power of Gold (http://pro-board.org/showpost.php?p=52875&postcount=9)
Chapter Nine: The Master Born (http://pro-board.org/showpost.php?p=52877&postcount=10)
Chapter Ten: The Intergalactic Conference (http://pro-board.org/showpost.php?p=52878&postcount=11)
Chapter Eleven: Vigilante Defined (http://pro-board.org/showpost.php?p=52879&postcount=12)
Chapter Twelve: The Lord Born (http://pro-board.org/showpost.php?p=52883&postcount=13)
Chapter Thirteen: The Letter of the Law (http://pro-board.org/showpost.php?p=52884&postcount=14)

[ShinySephiroth]

Chapter One: An Odd Resurgence

The citizens ran from the plaza, screaming in fright. The chaos ensuing from the attack hit each person to their very core. As the Time Force cameras appeared in orbit to record the incident, the people could be seen scurrying to safety. Upon closer observation, however, there was one person who stood, staring the enemies down with defiance in his eyes, and what looked like the beginnings of a smirk. As the last of the crowd emptied the plaza, the young man placed his hand to his head and combed his hair back.

"Okay. Now, I don't know who put you up to this. I don't know why you're here. Frankly... I don't care. My job is to take you down. My personal goal, however... is to make you wish you never showed your faces here." He looked around and was pleased to see he had their attention. The fact Z-Putties were here, so long after Zedd was lost outside of time, was puzzling. The young warrior was sure, however, the main headquarters would get to the bottom of this odd resurgence.

The Z Putties lunged at the man. He stood back and got into his fighting stance. Okay. As they run forward, they have limited ability to maneuver. He moved his head up as if he were going to jump, convincing two putties to leave their feet. As they did, he ducked under and rolled beneath them. Getting up, he juked another opponent, giving him a donkey kick to the back. As he looked up, another putty reached to grab him. He crouched down at this point and slammed his shoulder into the putty's pelvic region. He proceeded from here to lift him up and throw him into a group of putties as they ran forward.

As the Z Putties regrouped, the fighter set himself in position. "You guys are good at protecting those Z-marks... I sure hope the others are doing better than me..." He sighed and stared them down. "I guess you leave me no choice but to crank up the intensity." He reached into his uniform jacket and pulled out his badge. "SPD Emergency!" A crackle of energy formed around him as he felt his gear appear from his tap to his power. "Force for the future! Future: Omega Ranger!"

He flew up into the air as an explosion occurred behind him from the excess energy produced from his morph. "Legend Blaster!" he yelled as his gun appeared. The ranger then pinpointed and rapidly shot at three of the putties, hitting them directly on the Zs on their chests.

While Omega Ranger landed, he clutched the morpher on his wrist. "Omega Morpher II: Hyper Mode!" As he commanded his morpher, chroniton particles filled his body and gave him his time defying abilities. He zoomed toward three of the putties and, with an ounce of arrogance, touched each Z with his index finger. As his ranger form returned to its normal state, he saw the putties break apart.

The last four Z Putties' arms turned into weapons as he stared them down. "Huh? I thought only Rita's putties had weaponry... Legend Sword: Activate! Morpher: Access Hall of Legends!"

Future: Omega Ranger ducked under one enemy swipe and struck another with his blade with a clink. "Access granted. Welcome Project Future: Omega. What is your request?"

The ranger punched a putty in the face as another kicked him square in the back. "Ugh!" he screamed as he fell.

"Unable to understand request. Please repeat."

"When did Z-Putties first appear with weapons instead of hands!?" Omega screamed this with as much enunciation as he could muster, as a putty struck his chest with an axe, sending sparks flying. While he flew backward, another putty punched him in the side of his neck. Omega fell to the ground as his suit started activating numerous inhibitory neurons to numb the pain.

"Access denied." The computer stated matter of factly.

Omega coughed to clear his voice. "Impossible. Reason for denial!?" One putty's hand morphed into a giant hammer and, with a massive uppercut, sent Omega flying. As he flew through the air, one putty jumped toward him, launching himself into Omega's chest as another putty came at him from the opposite direction, hitting him in the lower lumbar region.

As the courageous warrior crumpled to the ground, he heard the computer say, "The information requested is at a higher clearance level than the user who initiated the search. Please contact the network administrator for further details."

The ranger dug his sword into the concrete and, clutching the hilt, pulled himself up. Gasping as his vision regained focus, he said, "Clearance... level... Future: Omega." As he regained some composure, he rushed forward. At that same moment, a fifth putty teleported onto the scene and close-lined him.

"Insufficient clearance. Information: confidential."

"Come on, Sam. You can do this..." the ranger muttered to himself. What can I do!? An idea then sparked.

"Power... down." As he demorphed, Sam returned to his natural form, with all his injuries disappearing. As a putty rushed him, he teleported a pole in between them. Without time to react, the putty ran into the pole and made contact with it. The Z emblem made contact with the pole, causing the Z Putty to explode into a pile of clay.

Sam turned to the remaining four. "Time to morph! SP-"

"Kiah!"

"Hiyah!"

"Woohoo!"

Jumping over Sam, the B Squad SPD Power Rangers landed in between him and his foes. Relieved, Sam looked at them: Bridge, the Red Ranger; Z, the Blue Ranger; Warren, the Green Ranger; Syd, the Yellow Ranger; Boom, the Pink Ranger.

The Red SPD Ranger, Bridge, turned and placed his hand on Sam's shoulder. "Thought you could use a hand, buddy!"

. . .

While the rangers drove back to their base in the back of their SWAT vehicle, Sam stood up to sit next to Boom. "Hey, man. Thanks for your help back there."

Boom looked up, his eyes beaming with excitement and sincerity. "No problemo! Always there for a brother in arms! I'm just glad we finished off the other attacks in time! Your batch seemed super juiced... Why do you think that is?"

Sam shook his head. "I don't know..." He looked around and turned back to Boom, whispering. "I tried to access information on that variant of putty, but the Hall blocked me, saying I had insufficient clearance."

Boom cocked his head back and rolled his eyes into his head, as if to physically look for the answer. "Hmm... that's weird. We programmed your project to have full access. If you didn't, then the whole thing is pretty much a waste, ya know what I mean? Haha... Anyway, it must be a mistake in the programming. I'll call Kat and look into it ASAP." He beamed a smile and rustled Sam's hair. "Now, let's go grab some snacks: We're back home!"

[ShinySephiroth]

Chapter Two: The Guardian of Time

As Sam walked into his room, his radio clicked on. "...nd it has been three days since famous singer/songwriter, Kira Ford, has gone missi-"

Sam turned off his radio and sighed. "I need to program that thing to not turn on every time I walk into the room. Anyway, that was an amazing meal! Boy, am I stuffed!" He looked and found he was speaking to only the walls, as Warren, his roommate, was not in the room.

"Never mind..." he muttered under his breath.

He plopped down onto his bed. Staring at the ceiling, he thought: Boom is awesome. He has always made me feel like I have a family here. He's a good father-figure. Hehe... Glad his neuron-enhancer got him into duty.

Sam looked over to his desk at the gift wrapped on it. It took forever to finish it!

He mused to himself how funny it would be when Boom would open the box to find a replica Sam had made of the "SPD Orange Ranger" suit. He had constructed the suit by watching archived footage in The Hall of Legends.

"The Hall..." Sam said to himself. He remembered the problems he had during his previous battle. He had never had a problem with his access to the Hall, and it was bothering him. He left his room and went to The Entry.

As Sam walked into The Entry room, he saw the portal's sentinel slowly turn to him. "Transwarp Mark VII: ONLINE. What is your request?"

Sam pulled out his badge and placed it in front of the robot's eye-scanner. "Hall of Legends."

The Machine's eyes turned green. "Access granted. Welcome, Future: Omega Ranger." He cranked a lever, tuning the door's frequency to the proper setting to allow Omega's entrance. "Reminder: you must stay morphed in The Hall or you will be lost in the crevices of time."

Sam winked. "I gotcha, big boy."

He backed up and thought, I love this part! He then ran past the eight foot tall guard, yelled, "SPD EMERGENCY!"

Sam transformed right as he hit the portal's shimmering, purple surface. Like Alice down the rabbit hole, he slowly descended to the Hall's main floor.

"Sam, what are you doing?" Future: Omega Ranger's commander's voice rang through his communicator in his helmet.

"Just doing some indexing, Commander Tate."

After a silence, Sky said, "Very well. Make sure to at least remember your point of departure so you don't show up a week from now, got it? Oh, never mind. Here you come right now. Make sure you have your report with the proper formatting when you hand it to me."

Omega sighed. That's not how time travel works, Sky... He thought. Sky was a bright guy, and a great commander, but certain things escaped his grasp of understanding.

"Understood, Commander. Anything in particular you need me to index?"

Commander Tate's voice came back online. "Why, yes, I would like - What!?"

Omega heard an explosion in the background, followed by Sky's demands. "Ranger- stand down! That is an order!" More explosions were heard.

"Commander!?" Future: Omega stood frozen in shock.

What's happening!? He thought. He then began to remember what Sky had just mentioned: "Here you come right now..." Realizing that Sky was talking about Sam himself, he focused in on what he could hear was going on through his helmet.

"SPD EMERGENCY! Shadow Ranger!"

He could make out battle noises through the communicator. He then heard a distinct, familiar voice saying, "If that is what you want, then fine: Legend Blade!"

After some more noise and what sounded like screams, Future: Omega heard Boom say, "Sam... I don't know what is happening, so please put the blade down... Sam, NO!"

At that instant, the communication dropped. Sneering behind his helmet, Future: Omega Ranger turned his attention to the Hall of Legends' main computer. "Hall: set the Future: Omega Ranger power tap to the Morphing Grid." He shook his head and sighed. "That should weaken my future self enough so the guys can apprehend... me? ... and we can get to the bottom of this."

He knew that with the properties of time travel, two people could not share the same "tap" to the Morphing Grid without being weakened. If this was another version of himself, who had created a new timeline by visiting from the future, he felt he could at least get B Squad a chance to take the new Omega Ranger down by weakening him.

"Unable to grant request: Entry log deleted. Unable to grant request: Hall entry point sealed." The computer responded coldly.

Omega's heart felt like it was in his throat. "What is happening!?" He cried out in frustration.

Suddenly, a hologram appeared before him. It was the head of SPD Earth, Anubis Cruger. "Sam, I am sorry to say things are bad. Very bad. I had to lock you in The Hall for your own safety. It will take too long to explain everything, and I don't have time... but you do. Sam, your ranger project has been to ensure the omega future... the last future that cannot be taken by evil forces. I have programmed The Hall to only let you out once you have completed the project I left for you. It is filed as Project: Future Ensured. Good luck."

And with that, the Future: Omega Ranger was alone. "Computer: Open the programmer mode."

"This mode has been deactivated."

Omega stopped and breathed in deeply. He had been hoping to access the programmer mode and deactivate whatever was impeding him from escaping the Hall of Legends. Focus...

"Computer: Open file search and locate Officer Boom's instruction manual."
"All of these functions are locked. Omega Ranger's only access is currently to the file 'Future Ensured'."

A holographic projection of a file folder appeared in front of Future: Omega. "Ranger: this project has special guidelines. You are to watch the Time Force files chronologically. The first folder is unlocked. Subsequent folders are locked and will be unlocked upon completion of the previous files in the folder subsequently preceding the locked files."

Frustrated, Future: Omega Ranger activated the Chrono Work Station via his morpher and sat. The keyboard appeared before him, directly under the holographic folder.

"Computer: Tell me the names of the folders and the files in them." Omega watched as the folders appeared before him. To keep calm, he reasoned to himself, Cruger is right: I have time. I can still pop in at the right time. I have to trust him. Somewhere in these files is the information I need to resolve... whatever is happening.

The computer's voice echoed in Omega's helmet: "There are twenty one folders. The name of folder one is 'Origins'. This folder has three files. Folder two has five files. Folder numbers three through six have two files each. Folder numbers seven through ten have one file. Folder eleven has two files. Folders twelve through twenty one have one file each."

Omega hurriedly typed all of the information into his second monitor for his index record. "Open Folder One: Origins. What are the files?"

The computer flipped the icon open to show three files. Two were dark with no title. "File one is 'The Reign of the Morphing Masters'. Would you like to begin?"

Omega stretched out his arms and legs. "May as well." The archived footage began to play.

. . .

In a beige building complex with ancient looking designs that the Future: Omega Ranger recognized as having the same architecture as the old Command Center for the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, many important figures gathered. Some entered the complex through the opening at the top of the teleportation cylinder attached to the building where they would be verified for access. These were the leaders from wealthy planets and alliances. Those without access to such technology entered by foot through the front entrance.

Once inside, the view showed gadgets and charts lining the conference room. The scene showed all in attendance wearing white robes, as a respect to the traditions of those who were sponsoring the convention. A chime echoed throughout the room, indicating the browsing portion of the convention was over. The main presentation was to begin.

Three chairs sat on a stage, with only one vacant. One of the chairs' occupants stood and approached the audio system. He placed the voice amplifier and language synchronizer to his throat. "Ladies and gentlemen, as the meeting conductor, I say on behalf of the United Alliance Research and Development Team that we are honored to have you. My name is Burai and I am Assistant Chief of Research. I invite all to stand now as we welcome the Morphing Masters."

Fourteen figures teleported onto the stage as their cue was given, while a section for them to sit and preside over the meeting appeared as well. They all wore different colored robes, indicative of their position within the group. The one in gold moved to sit with the researchers.

Burai continued, "I am now pleased to pass the time to the research chairman from the Morphing Masters: Master Orion." As Burai turned to head to his seat, Orion materialized at the audio station and adjusted the tech to his throat.

Orion looked over the audience and began his speech. "I have worked in Research and Development for... well, let's say a long time!" The audience laughed. "Although I love it, I had felt the title of Head of Research needed to be passed on to someone young, more in tune with the new technology of our modern age. Although I had many from whom to choose, through the whole process, there was but one young man on whom I had my sights focused. He is talented and focused. I assure you all, as members of The United Alliance, that our research is in the hands of the most capable person I know. He is methodic in his designs and implementations. Hehe... I swear at times he is thinking ten steps ahead of everyone in the development team!"

Laughter could be heard from the audience from the section of researchers in attendance. "You see? They know I am right! Now, although Burai is trying to follow his well mapped agenda, I will skip the pleasantries and get to the heart of why we are all here! I invite the Head of Research up now to start his demonstration!"

The young man looked up, sweeping his messy blue hair away from his eyes. Orion laughed, "Yes, you! Come on! Everyone, the man who needs no introduction! Come on up!"

The Head of Research slowly stood up, groaning to himself. And now for the song and dance. Anything to keep the investors interested. Here we go.
He slowly made his way to the audio station, placing the devices to his throat as Orion patted him on the back, then materialized back at his chair. Unnecessary eye candy. I guess I need to learn to be "showy" if I am to do this.

He looked out toward the audience. He slowly plastered a smile to his face. "I appreciate the vote of confidence. Although... I doubt I'm that well known." The audience laughed. He adjusted the collar of his robe, then continued in his deep, authoritative voice. "I am the Head of Research and Development for the United Alliance. I hale from Eltar. My name is Zordon."

[ShinySephiroth]

Chapter Three: The Academy

After the conference, Zordon could be seen packing away his papers into his research bag. Burai, an averaged sized man with a mop of black hair, walked up to him and patted him on the back. "Well, Zordon. I have to say what you lack in charisma you sure do make up for in pure amazingness! Watching you present your theories and the possible applications it all may have... I just wish you would share some of these things with at least me. I am over this division too, you know..." Burai looked down in embarrassment as he said this. These were feelings he had bottled up, though only when they came spilling out his mouth was he able to fully realize the emotions existed.

Zordon nodded as he continued to pack his things, his back still turned toward Burai. "You are right. The best way to run an organization is if its leaders are all in accord." He finished packing and started toward the building's exit.

"Hey, wait up! I have a lot to ask about what you taught today!"

Zordon moaned to himself. Can't I have some time to myself? I didn't pick you as my right hand man so we could be friends. Well, maybe this will help get you caught up...

Zordon didn't slow down as he made his way out of the building. Burai was right at his heels.

"Okay, first off: why did you keep these things to yourself?"

Zordon adjusted the strap on his bag which was wrapped around his shoulder. "I was busy preparing the presentation. Orion strongly urged me to prepare things which would give the members of the Alliance faith in me. I picked the things which I didn't feel would give away my deeper thoughts and experiments, but would still border on the fringe side of our tech. Just to keep things exciting. I didn't tell you beforehand because I didn't have time to slow down my preparations for you to keep up with me." Zordon swept mats of blue hair from off his brow.

Burai placed his hand on Zordon's shoulder as they walked. "Trust me, my friend. I'll keep up! At least next time, give me your presentation notes. I'll go over them and if I don't understand something, I will ask you afterward about it. I am not ashamed to ask someone younger than me for help!" He flashed his superior a smile.

Great. So I guess you're saying I need to get accustomed to these post-meeting chats. And I am only one hundred years younger than you... Zordon turned to Burai. "You said you had questions about the presentation. I am fairly confident it didn't end with your first question."

Burai's head cocked back. "Oh, yes... right... let me see..." He pulled out some note cards from his pocket. "Well... You spoke about using items as sort of totems to allow for more power in our soldiers. What did you mean by that?"

Zordon chuckled. "I didn't elaborate on that on purpose. Sentinel Knight would've been very upset if I had outright stated my meaning. I'll be very surprised if he didn't catch my drift during the presentation anyway. I'm sure I'll have a scalding memo in my office in the morning."

"You didn't answer my question... sir." Burai smiled again, with what seemed like an amazing amount of patience.

"Right. You will need a history lesson first. With an older quorum of the Morphing Masters, there was the war for the Corona Aurora. Sentinel Knight was able to secure it and has been its guardian ever since. The purposes of that war was to use the jewels as a power source to fuel an empire. My conjecture is that we can use other artifacts in much the same way."
Burai nodded. "Yes, this makes sense. But wouldn't this be using it as a conduit to the Morphing Grid?"

Zordon shook his head. "This is what Sentinel Knight doesn't understand. One can make powerful warriors, who may give the impression of capabilities derived from the Grid, without actually tapping the Grid itself. Yes, he has outlawed sciences directly using the Morphing Grid, and he has done so for very good reason. Of all the Masters, he has the most experience with the Grid and knows its powers and dangers. What I suggest, and wish to prove, is that one can use totems to be a power source for warriors without tapping the grid."

Burai wrote these things down in his notes. "This is fascinating! What gave you the idea this could even work, though?"

Zordon shrugged. "Just a hunch I went with and, through my investigations, have seen evidence it is possible." Burai made some more annotations. Good thing he bought that. The truth would... complicate things.

"Okay, Zordon. You also mentioned machines which would facilitate Alliance security, and then showed some schematics. Anything else about them?"

Zordon shook his head, causing his blue hair to wave about. "That's all. They will be manned by soldiers. These 'Droids' will run in groups of five and their primary focus will be to divide and conquer the foe. I figure anything more than five will too difficult for a field commander to manage efficiently."

Zordon stopped at that point and, for the first time during the conversation, looked at Burai. "Thank you very much for your time and dedication for wanting to learn more of our department's future. Unfortunately, I have arrived at my dormitory. If you wish, we can continue these discussions tomorrow in my office."

Burai smiled. "Yeah, sure. Sounds great. Thank you for your time! I will also have my report about my upcoming research proposals ready for you in a few days."

With this, they parted ways. Zordon scanned his security badge at the dormitory scanner. "Zordon Zoltar of Eltar. Identity confirmed. Please enter." Zordon walked in and headed toward his room. As a high ranking member of The Morphing Academy, he was privileged with free boarding on the main planet. There was a sharp contrast of those who lived on the main planet: those who came from wealthy families and could afford the rooming, and those you earned the ability to live close to The Masters themselves. More often than not, those who were able to buy their room on the planet were those who never received a very high rank, while those who were regarded as more academically inclined rose achieved "greatness".

Every year, the Morphing Masters would allow for applications to be sent in for the top three spots in The Academy. They would be evaluated by their achievements, an interview with a member of the Morphing Masters, and their ability to battle with their inherent abilities to tap the Morphing Grid. Now, while it was outlawed by the Masters to make equipment for anyone to be able to tap the Morphing Grid, the Morphing Academy was founded expressly to increase the abilities of those who were naturally able to tap the Grid.

The purpose of having the top three spots selected was for those three to be those next in line to become a member of the Morphing Masters Council upon the death of a member. Zordon had been a member of The Top for the past four years, and with the death of Master App during a mission in the M51 Galaxy, Zordon was apprehensive of the fact he would be under observation for the spot. He very much wanted this spot, for he knew if he got in, he would have access to more resources than he thought imaginable, and would be able to fund Research and Development with the resources he believed that department deserved.

It's a shame. Although Orion started Research and Development, ever since he became a Master he has left it by the wayside. I will change things. And, there will be no more pandering to the masses. No more conventions that are nothing more than ringside attractions. The research will speak for itself and time will be devoted to that and not six months of planning for a silly event. Imagine if those six months went by completely interrupted, for just research! We could get more work done, and the results would speak for themselves! I am sure we would get at least the same amount of funds for the projects I would do! Zordon shrugged to himself as he walked down the empty halls, continuing his thoughts. No reason to imagine something which may not occur, I guess.

At that time, The Top was comprised of Zordon of Eltar, an Aquitian named Cestro, and Zordon's assistant, Burai. After Master App's sudden death, the candidate who scored the fourth best two months earlier, during The Trials, had also been chosen to be a member of The Top, to take the place of the member who would be eventually promoted to the rank of Master. It caused quite a flurry of discussion throughout the Alliance, since this candidate was the first female to be a member of The Top since Delphine of Aquitar was named as a Master. The favorite amongst the members of The Academy was Cestro to become a Master, due to being an Aquitian himself and having "an in" by way of Delphine.

As Zordon finally got to his room, he noticed someone at his door. It was Orion. He cleared his throat and started walking toward Zordon. "Good presentation today. It got a lot of potential investors. We'll work on them to get your research funded."

Zordon was very surprised to see Orion there in a dormitory. It was always odd to see a Master walking about for the members of the Academy, but to be in front of his own room threw Zordon off a bit from his normally balanced nature. It was also interesting for him to see Orion in the gold robe, which was worn by the lowest ranking member of the Senior quorum of the Masters. There were fifteen members of the Morphing Masters: seven Senior members and eight Junior members. Orion was recently voted in as the newest Senior member, to replace App, who had been second only to Sentinel Knight within the council.

"I hope to get started as soon as possible on my newest hypothesis." Zordon said, waiting to see if the congratulations were the only reason for Master Orion's visit.

"Well, that will have to take a back seat for now. I have been sent by the Masters to come and pick you up. You have been voted in to potentially take App's place. I will be teleporting you to the Masters' Council, which will start soon. There, you will learn of what your field exam will be to see if you are up to snuff."

Zordon's heart fell to his stomach. Orion was known to be direct to the point, so his bluntness at this moment provided no way for Zordon to gather himself for news he wasn't expecting.

"Okay. It seems like you are dumbfounded. You better have a tongue by the time we get to The Council. Now, come stand next to me." Zordon nodded and approached The Master. "Ready to teleport." Zordon, for the first time, was able to feel what it was like to be teleported.

[ShinySephiroth]

Chapter Four: Rise of a Tyrant

"Go... go!" The commander screamed as his rogue militia ran through crags. The commander looked around to see if he could spot his pursuers. When he thought they had gained some sufficient distance, he motioned for his squad to follow him into a small enclosure under a boulder.

"Filcar?" The commander asked for his right hand man, who looked up while rearranging his supply bag on his back.

"Yes, Commander?"

The commander looked around and couldn't see an end to the cave in which they found themselves.

"Take two others with you and see if this thing has any end."

As Filcar marched off with his recruits, the commander took his place with his men. While he awaited inevitably being found, he pondered how he got to the point in which he found himself.

It had all started at an archaeologic dig. He was the head of his team. He had found historical data in his studies hinting at ancient activity in a certain area of the universe, so after completing for and finally earning a research grant from the United Alliance (which took four slow years to attain), he was excited to scour the area. Within hours of starting, his team's monitors were surging with power spikes. Thinking he had found something which would put him in the history books, he had pinpointed the energy source and started digging.

As he thought back on the moment he found the artifact, he gripped his blaster tightly. How I wish I could go back. Change it all and stop myself. Everything would have been different...

He remembered the power the artifact had emanated as the crane pulled it from its earthy home. A large crystal structure, glowing with a rainbow of colors. He immediately sent a video to Orion, the then junior member of the Morphing Masters and leader of Research and Development for the Alliance. Within minutes he and a senior Master, App, arrived. The two masters looked over the crystal. Some reported hearing them speak of the Morphing Grid, and power sources. At that time, all the head of the dig could think of was this find's importance, and how his career would be cemented in history.

What he got was far from what he intended. Suddenly he found himself being taken to an Alliance facility, with Alliance officers interrogating him, and telling him that he needed to swear to never share his findings. He and his team were quarantined for months, being trained to become soldiers, to protect the artifact. He was named as the group commander, since he had military training from his time attending the Academy. He had joined to get a military scholarship, having the Alliance pay for his education.

With his team equipped with minor training, the Alliance's intent was to ensure the lowest number of people were aware of the artifact's existence. Those who refused to enlist were threatened with charges of treason and mutiny, a life sentence of solitary confinement dangling over their heads. The passion they shared for their career had led them to be prisoners of their greatest find, which was meant to never see the light of day.

Things never go according to plan, however, when destiny is involved. One member of the team, Novact, decided this was not the career he had signed on for. He could not wait on an undefined time when he would be honorably discharged, or if that time would even come. To free himself from his shackles, he made a deal with the devil.

That devil was a warlord who had parked himself in a main planet of the galaxy in which the artifact had been found. It was once a beautiful world named Decrof; eventually the planet found itself conquered after a grueling galactic war. The Alliance at the time knew not how to handle this empire's power, with generals and creatures unseen by Alliance strategists. Once conquered, as a mockery to those defeated, the planet was renamed by the victors - as Gamma Vile.

Novact surrendered himself to the warlord. To further mock the Alliance, the warlord had introduced himself with the title of master, being known as Master Vile. Now Vile, upon being told by Novact of the crystal, decided it was in his best interest to find the power source to fuel his empire, just as another empire had tried to accomplish many centuries before when they attempted to take the jewels of the Corona Aurora. Vile sent his armies and attempted a covert attack to accomplish his deed at the site his informant gave him. Whether by luck or by tactic they were unsure, but the team was able to escape with the crystal and find their way to a mountain range, where they had been battling and hiding for days, using the terrain as cover.

As these thoughts ran through the commander's head, Filcar could be heard approaching. "Sir! This cave has an exit! Please! Signal an evac team! They will arrive quickly: I know it!"

Filcar's excitement slowly became a ramble of desperation and joy, and with due cause. The commander nodded and tried to hide his own joy. He ordered everyone to start running to the cave exit. He knew once he transmitted any signal that it would be a matter of time before the source would be triangulated, causing the enemy to descend upon them with fury. When his team was out of sight down the cave's tunnel, he walked out a ways from the entrance. He pushed the button on his communicator.

"Alliance: this is Commander Zedd." He gave the coordinates Filcar gave him for the cave's exit and bolted back to the cave, leaving the communicator behind. He planned on Vile's forces appearing at the transmission site, giving the evac team time to arrive while the enemy attempted to figure out the team's location. Zedd hoped that by the time Vile's troops found the cave and followed it to its exit, he and his team would be gone.

All he could do, was hope...

. . .

Zordon sat at chair fifteen. He was not wearing the white metallic robe, though, because he knew he was not in actuality member fifteen.

Not yet, at least... Zordon thought to himself. He knew he would need to assert himself at the Council, yet show some restraint out of respect to let the Masters know he knew his place. He thought on these things because he knew how important this was.

He looked around at those who had already earned their place as a master of manipulating the Grid:

At the head of the council sat Sentinel Knight. He was the oldest on the council and had been through more battles than the rest of the council put together.

Sitting next to him was Ivicar, a talented human war general who was known for holding fast to what he felt was right, while being warm and kind.

Next was a humanoid from a classified species, named Dulcea. Not much was known about her among the Alliance.

Fourth in command wearing the black robe was Tria, an interesting being from Triforia. She was a tri-fold entity like all Triforians. Their origins were a closely-held secret by the Triforian government. They generally were comprised of a being of courage, another of heart, and another of wisdom. The Academy was full of Triforians, making getting into the Academy as a Triforian much more competitive, as the Academy strove for diversity amongst its students.

Following Tria was Gerlit, a Liarian. They were an odd, key wielding race.

Under him in the hierarchy was a king from the Cimmarian planet named Elma Estro. He came from a human race whose people were on the brink of extinction after a massive, and rather tragic, civil war.

Rounding out the senior council was Orion. He had served as the Head of Research and Development for quite a while for the United Alliance.

The junior council comprised of human (or humanoid) members: Delphine from Aquitar; Kamen from Edenoi; Animus, representing his long-displaced people from the Animal Realm; Magnas, from Kouevn; Dimitria, a frustrating being from the planet Inquiris; Michael, from the young planet that, at that time, was designated only as KO-35; and Gosei, from the venerated planet who originated The Morphing Master legacy: Earth.

Sentinel Knight gestured to Zordon. "I would like to recognize the new Alliance head of Research and Development. He is also the candidate to replace our fallen comrade, App." He then pointed to Orion. Orion nodded and moved to the holographic podium in the center of where the council sat. He looked at each person in the semicircle.

"Fellow masters: as you know, I have been coordinating the protection of the Morphing Grid fragment for some time. Zordon, I will fill you in on specifics later."

Zordon's mind was buzzing. Morphing Grid fragment!? But... how?

Orion continued, "We received word from Commander Zedd mere moments ago. This is why I recommended to Sentinel Knight to arrange this meeting." The masters began whispering amongst themselves upon hearing this latest update.

"I am heading down to Zedd's coordinates now with a militia of Alliance troops, ready to head off Vile's army. We will avenge Master App." The masters all nodded in agreement.

Zordon was shocked to hear Vile was involved in App's passing. App had been serving as a Morphing Master for as long as Sentinel Knight, and his destruction had been a great shock to the Alliance.

"Sentinel Knight decided the junior who will accompany me on this mission is not a junior at all, but actually a civilian: we will be using this as the field test for Zordon, who the council voted in yesterday initially with a vote of 11-3 before the unanimous decision..." Orion looked straight at Zordon. Ivicar grimaced, disapproving of Orion's way of telling Zordon not all of the masters were fully supportive when Ivicar had recommended bringing Zordon to the organization.

Ah, nonbelievers... Zordon decided to assert himself now, to take away any doubt which may have been resonating in any of the masters. He stood up and stared at the group. "I, Zordon of Eltar, humbly accept your nomination. I will go with Master Orion. I will fight and defend this fragment from Vile's forces. And I proclaim, in front of this council, that I will do everything in my power to bring back Zedd from the clutches of evil."

[ShinySephiroth]

Chapter Five: The Resistance and the Crystal

"Follow me. " Orion tapped Zordon on the shoulder and motioned for him to follow. Zordon walked to a platform as Orion brought up a holographic terminal from his wrist tech.

I develop technology I don't get to use. Soon, that will change! Zordon thought.

"We will be heading to the Research Lab. Our teleportation system isn't reliable enough to get us to M51. We will need to rely on your completed transportation projects." Orion said.

Zordon hid a smile. "It will be an honor to have their first official mission be for the Masters."

Zordon felt the energy envelop him as he was teleported to the laboratory. He walked to the doorway to where his machinery was kept. He looked into the scanner. "Zordon Zoltar of Eltar." As the panels opened, a rush of hot air hit him. He walked in as Orion followed.

Burai was busy working on some schematics with his team as he turned it to see who had entered. "Hello, Zordon! Nice to see you so soon after- Master Orion! It is a pleasure to have you here! What can we do for you!?"

Upon hearing Burai's announcement, the associates all stopped and straightened themselves, out of respect to the master who had entered the room. Orion lifted up his hand, saying, "As you were. Hello Burai. I am here with Zordon to test some equipment. I recently saw the schematics for... Storm Blaster and Lightning Cruiser?"

Zordon cringed as he heard the names. He and Burai had worked for quite some time on the project. Zordon had wanted to name them Dragon Cruiser and Pegasus Thunder, which he thought fit the naming pattern of Alliance vehicles better. He had lost the coin toss and Burai named them what Zordon thought were "ridiculous names".

Burai smiled at Orion. Is this my chance? Am I to be selected as Master App's replacement? Burai thought.

He had been considering his chances for quite some time. He felt he had a better shot than the other member of The Top, Cestro, since he had beaten him in combat during the last round of applications. He had originally thought it would be Zordon who would be selected, but when Zordon was called as the head of research and development, he began thinking that it would make no sense to name him as leader, when only months later he would become a master. His reasoning was that, to not cause too much change, Zordon would focus on the Alliance's tech, while he and Cestro would compete for the master slot.

Burai had also thought of how blessed Research and Development was to have Zordon. One example of Zordon's commitment to the Alliance stemmed from the fact Sentinel Knight had passed laws forbidding the tapping of the Morphing Grid to develop technology. During "The Great M51 War", when Zordon was the Acting Head of Research and Development while Orion focused on being a war general, many researchers said that since it was a time of war it would be of benefit to push aside Sentinel's laws to create tech which could save Decrof. Petitions were formed and schematics for weaponry were made that could potentially tap the Grid. Zordon put his foot down to this, destroying schematics and causing many associates to not only be fired from Research and Development, but to also be expelled from the Academy altogether. Zordon had said that using the Grid was not the established way, and that the Morphing Masters knew best.

"Right this way!" Burai motioned for Orion to follow him. As they approached the two vehicles, Zordon stood a little taller. Although he found working with Burai unpleasant at times, he had to admit the man's intelligence. The machine's designs were unique: no other vehicle had their shape or structure. They each had four tires made of a rare rubber like, but resistant, substance. They were given two light compartments at the front of their body and two in the back, for signaling warriors in the vicinity where they were and if they would be backing up, braking, or any other thing. Lightning Cruiser was smaller and built for speed, while Storm Blaster was built to be able to hold more people and go over rough terrain. Those specifications were done on the off-chance the two vehicles were unable to execute their primary function as flying vehicles. Zordon specifically worked on Lightning Cruiser, while most of Storm Blaster's design was Burai's.

"Thank you. Zordon will take it from here." Orion said, turning to Zordon.

Burai smiled, nodded, and headed back to his office. He locked the door behind him. He stared at the ceiling, fighting back tears. His gut felt like it was rolling in it body cavity. His heart was in his throat. He thought on how close he had gotten to being a master. He was disheartened because, due to the quasi-immortal nature of many of the council members, it was very hard to predict when one would die, freeing up a space to join. Burai was only human and, unlike beings like Magnus or Sentinel Knight, he would not live for what seemed like forever.

How naive was I!? How much longer must I wait!? I have been in The Top longer than Zordon! Will my time never come...? Burai thought to himself as he rested against the wall, slowly sliding down until he was sitting on the floor. He buried his head in his hands and allowed the tears to come.

Outside the office, next to the machinery, Orion told Zordon, "We will use these vehicles to lead our militia to Zedd. Do you have anything for the troops to pilot?"

At this question, Zordon paused to consider before replying. "No. Project Zordina isn't ready yet, and that is the project closest to completion."

Zordon added to himself: It is a shame, too, since those Droids would be perfect for escalating the battle. Vile would never see it coming!

"Fine. They can use the War Star ships." Orion tapped his wrist tech to send a text-type message. These "text messages" were encrypted and, although slower and only able to extend for short distances, were safer from enemy interception.

"The Alliance is on its way. Are these fast enough to catch up? We'll be behind them." Orion asked Zordon.

Obviously you didn't actually read the schematics. Zordon thought as he began his response: "These vehicles have artificial intelligence. They learn from their environment. This coupled with the tech we have outfitted them with give them the potential to be some of the most powerful vehicles in the universe."

Sensing Zordon's irritation, Orion placed his hand on Zordon's shoulder. "Please relax. You don't need to be so tense all of the time. This is why three Masters did not vote for you."

Zordon radiated fury at Orion for trying to be so familiar. He looked at the hand on his shoulder, then glared at Orion. "I don't need to be anyone's 'buddy'. I am here to get a job done. I take my assignments seriously. Now if you will excuse me-"

As Zordon tried to walk past, Orion gripped his shoulder and forced him back to face him. "Listen to me: The worst thing you can do is have enemies in the council. Trust me: I speak from experience. Now, I have confidence in you. I'm not one of the three who voted against you. I see potential in you. I backed Ivicar's recommendation. Just... watch yourself, ok? Your journey as a master can be fulfilling or demanding. Don't make it harder than needs be."

Zordon ripped his shoulder away. "What will make my life easier is to do my job and get things done." Zordon jumped into Lightning Cruiser and drove off, down the path set out usually for test rides.

As Zordon drove down the path toward the hatch leading to outer space, he heard Orion pull up behind him. Zordon opened the glove compartment and pushed a button, causing the hatch to open.

"Zordon, I am sending you the coordinates now." Zordon heard Orion's voice coming from the passenger seat. He looked around to see a wrist tech sitting next to him.

Orion must have thrown it in here as I drove off... Zordon slipped it on and a holographic image appeared before him, showing the coordinates of the militia's location.

"Get in position!" Zedd yelled to his troops. They pointed their blasters into the cave. Like a rumble of thunder, they could hear the enemy horde trampling to their location.

"Sir, make sure Novact pays for this!" Filcar yelled. He then grabbed a bag carrying the team's grenades, running into the cave.

Zedd stared for a moment, confused. He then realized what Filcar was doing. "Everyone: stay in position! Only fire if you see the enemy!" Zedd yelled this as he ran after Filcar.

Stupid kid. He's trying to blow himself up to barricade the cave and buy us time. No: We all get out of this. No sacrifices here... Zedd thought. As he rounded a corner, he saw Andrew Filcar running with the bag in hand. Once Zedd was in range, he stopped, aimed, and fired at Filcar.

"Ahhh!" Filcar screamed as he got hit, clutching his thigh.

Zedd ran to him. "Don't worry: a shot to the thigh is nothing compared to being blown to bits. You'll live."

Filcar pounded his fist into the dirt. "No, Zedd! Leave! You need to let me do this! It's better that I fall than everyone!"

Zedd tried to grab Filcar, but he kept scrambling and flailing about, yelling at Zedd to go without him. Zedd then aimed the butt of his blaster and hit Filcar in the head, knocking him out.

Zedd ran back to the other men, announcing himself before he turned the final corner to ensure he wouldn't get blasted with "friendly fire". He placed Filcar in some brush to help him stay hidden, then returned to his troops. As he did, one of his men fell backward, covered in a blue slime.

"It's Blue Globbor!" One soldier yelled, causing chaos to arise amongst the troop.

Zedd looked at the soldier and saw it was Rahp, a man who had once been his roommate at the Academy. Zedd slowly turned and stood erect to face the beast who had taken down so many Alliance troops during the war on Decrof.

Globbor, a blue slimy humanoid with what looked like opened and inverted horns at the end of its lanky fingers, looked at Zedd. It was wearing as it were a mask resembling a distorted version of Rahp's face. The monster stood as if he were defying the soldiers to hit him, for they all knew if they did, the damage would also be felt by Rahp. Globbor's most efficient mode of attack was to link himself to his enemy, ensuring that even if he were destroyed, he would take a soldier down with him. The Alliance, for the longest time, could not figure out how to best the beast. By the time scientists were able to analyze Globbor's genetic make-up, with the help of a tip from a high ranking student of the Academy, and find a stop to his reign it was already too late for Decrof. Many believed Globbor was the prime factor in Decrof's desolation.

If only we had some sunlight... Zedd thought. Recently with the help of a gifted young lady within the ranks of the United Alliance, the weakness of a Blue Globbor had been discovered. It was revealed to be none other than pure sunlight.

"Take me instead!" Yelled Zedd as he threw down his blaster, raising his arms in the air as a sign of forfeiture. When he did this, he heard laughter. A tall figure stepped out of the shadows of the cave, making himself visible as he did.

"I, Master Vile, have come personally to retrieve the crystal. Give it to me and your men will be set free!"

[ShinySephiroth]

Chapter Six: Face Off for the Crystal

Zedd clutched the bag on his bag. If the crystal is given to Vile, all will be lost, but... "My men are more important. Here, Vile."

Zedd threw the bag at Vile. What Vile did not know was that the bag was actually the bag of grenades Filcar had grabbed earlier. Zedd dropped down to a knee and, grabbing his blaster, shot the bag as Vile snatched it out of the air.

"Ahh!" Vile, Globbor, and by extension, Rahp yelled. Right then, a break in the heavy clouds appeared, causing sunshine to pour down on the scene.

"These dark clouds Vile cast over the planet are atrocious." Orion said from Storm Blaster as he led the War Star armada. Zordon flew beside him in Lightning Cruiser.

Sunlight hit Blue Globbor. It shrieked as it lost its connection to Rahp. Zedd was grateful to look up and not only see sunlight, but the Alliance come in to save him and his troops.

"Lightning Cruiser: target Vile." Zordon wanted to see if the Alliance database he programmed into the vehicle would be able to track his commands. To his satisfaction, the vehicle sent lasers at Master Vile.

"Nicely done!" Zordon said.

"Vwomp-vwomp." The vehicle honked. Zordon was startled.

"Are you trying to communicate!?" Zordon asked, feeling odd speaking to a vehicle.

"Vwomp-vwomp." Lightning Cruiser responded.

"Alright. I am glad to hear you are learning quickly! Now, let's go down to help out." Lightning Cruiser veered to the side and started its descent.

Vile's henchmen were pouring out of the cave, being met with Alliance fire. One ship landed and opened, sending a couple dozen troops out. They started firing on Vile and Globbor.

"We don't have much time until the clouds roll back in, so target Blue Globbar now!" Orion yelled as he fired at it himself. As a hail of fire hit it, Globbor fell to the ground, exploding as it did.

"Okay, now round everyone up." Orion commanded. The soldiers started collecting their comrades amidst the fighting. Once they were all in the ship, it started heading back into the sky.

In the ship, Zedd slumped down onto a bench. The commander of the evac team walked to Zedd, handing him a communicator. "Master Orion would like to speak with you."

Zedd nodded and answered. "This is Zedd, sir."

"Is the Zeo Crystal secure?" Orion asked from Storm Blaster.

Zordon was on the line as well, and was intrigued by the name of the crystal. Zeo Crystal... So this is what they have named the Morphing Grid fragment. He looked at his wrist tech as he drove into space, continuing to read the files Master Orion had sent him on the classified subject, written my Master Michael of the Junior Council of the Morphing Masters.

Zedd looked to find the bag on Filcar which housed the Zeo Crystal, since he had swapped for the grenade bag before Globbor had attacked. "One moment, sir."

Zedd looked around and could not see Filcar. He asked the soldiers, one by one, if they had picked up a man who was lying in the bushes. Zedd started panicking.

"Master Orion... I believe we have a situation."

. . .

Filcar awoke, his head throbbing. What am I doing in the bushes? He tried standing and fell back, forgetting he had been blasted in the thigh.

"Oh, great." He muttered to himself.

He looked around to see scorch marks and the bodies of Alliance troops on the ground. He dragged himself to a body to get its communicator. As he did, he heard a voice.

"You know, it appears as if someone was left behind." The man chuckled. Filcar could see a device flashing in the man's hand.

"Novact!" Filcar gasped as he realized who it was he was staring at: the man who betrayed the Zeo Crystal's existence to Master Vile.

Novact smiled and replied in his raspy voice, "Yes, it is me. Now, according to this device, you have something rather important in your bag. Fork it over!"

"What? You want some grenades? Well you're gonna get 'em!" Filcar reached into the bag and instead of feeling explosion devices, he felt something warm. He looked into the bag and was shocked to see the artifact he thought Zedd had been carrying.

Novact barked with laughter. "I can tell by the look on your face that the crystal's presence in your bag is news to you! Okay... listen... you and me were thrust into the same situation. So, just come with me. Master Vile will give you anything you desire! "

Filcar spit in his direction. "Not a chance!"

At this, Novact drew a blade. "Then prepare to be destroyed!"

As Filcar braced himself, the ground exploded in front of Novact.

"Huh!?" Novact yelled as he looked up.

"Descend!"

Storm Blaster and Lightning Cruiser descended next to Filcar. Zedd and Rahp pulled Filcar into the back of the blue vehicle.

Orion stepped out of Storm Blaster's front seat as a group of Vile's henchman appeared behind Novact.

"Novact! You are under arrest for treason. Surrender now and things won't get difficult." Orion said as he stared the traitor down.

"Don't make me laugh! You think I am going back with you, so you and your 'holier than thou' council can give me a life sentence of solitary confinement? Tengas - attack!"

The feathered beasts darted toward their target. As they did, Orion turned to Zordon. "Get the crystal out of here!" Then, turning to Zedd and Rahp. "You two: stay with me!" They aimed their blasters.

With this, Orion began to concentrate. "Power of Light: Activate!" Orion's concentration reached into the Morphing Grid, creating a ball of light. This energy encircled him and made itself manifest on his person: armor on his wrists, biceps, and around his calves. A special gauntlet appeared on his left wrist and an enhanced crossguard on his saber.

Zedd stood for a moment, stunned to see such power up close. I cannot imagine ever being able to wield such force! He thought as Orion jumped into the air.

Orion slashed his way through the crowd. In a matter of moments, the Tengas were defeated. Rahp stood in wonder. He turned to Zedd and said, "Wow! The Lights of Orion are more amazing than the stories I have heard!"

Orion grunted. "Novact is gone. He ran during the battle. Let us run through this cave. There may be some hint as to where he went on the other side."

Meanwhile, Zordon had landed on a moon, opening communications with the Morphing Masters. After explaining the events which had taken place, he said, "I don't have time - Sentinel Knight, I am sending Filcar and the crystal back to you on one of my vehicles. I am returning to the surface of Solaris 8 to retrieve Master Orion and Commander Zedd."

Sentinel Knight shook his head. "You will do no such thing. I cannot allow the Zeo Crystal to be escorted by a wounded soldier and an infant minded machine... on the other hand, I also will not leave any of my soldiers behind. Your orders are to stay on that moon and await Master Tria. She has been on alert, knowing she may need to assist you. Once she arrives, she will take the crystal from you. Then, once the crystal is secure, you must go to Master Orion's aid."

Zordon looked at the hologram before him. He said in boldness, "Master, the War Star armada should return to get the crystal. They are already closer and have more firepower."

Ivicar appeared on screen at that, looking at Zordon with warm eyes. "Zordon, we cannot do that because then more people would be aware of the Zeo Crystal. Do not worry. Master Tria is already on her way. May the Power protect you."

And with that, Zordon found himself alone with Filcar.

"So, are you a Master now?" Filcar asked Zordon.

Zordon shook his head. "No. This was a field test for my initiation." Zordon then thought, And now that Master Tria is coming to pick up the pieces to save me, I will never be a Master.

"How long until Vile finds us?" Filcar started looking around as he asked, clutching his blaster.

"Not long now. Hopefully Master Tria can get here to secure you and the crystal before then." Zordon said, fully acknowledging to himself that this would likely be where he would fall in battle.

"You two: give me the crystal!"

Zordon turned to see Master Vile, a group of his henchman of goat/humanoid hybrids, and a human male.

"Vile! Novact!" Filcar aimed his blaster.

"Fire!" Zordon commanded his vehicles and Filcar simultaneously.

As the beasts dodged the approaching blasts and headed for Zordon, Zordon performed a back flip onto a rock. Focusing his energy, he directed currents of White Energy at his enemies.

While Zordon did this, he was grabbed from behind before Lightning Cruiser could stop the assailants. Filcar shot wildly at Novact and Vile.

"Need some help?"

Zordon suddenly found himself freed. As he turned, he found himself face to face with not only Master Tria, but also Zedd, Rahp, and Master Orion.

"How did you get here?" Zordon inquired as Zedd and Rahp started fighting their way to Filcar.

Orion explained as Tria started battling the goat men. "We followed Novact to a clearing. There were a few of Vile's ships parked while his men searched for us. We simply hijacked one and flew here. As we landed, Master Tria attacked us. When she saw who we were, we teamed up to follow the coordinates you gave Sentinel Knight." As he finished, he threw Zordon down and blasted an opponent charging them.

At this, Master Vile started screaming. "Must I so everything myself!?" He began firing blasts at the two sentient vehicles. Zedd and Rahp took cover, firing back. Zedd was dismayed at seeing his shots do nothing more than small scratches.

Novact began attacking Zordon on the other side of the battleground, using his sword. Orion, still outfitted in his Light Armor, jumped in and parried the attack with his own blade.

"Tria! Get the crystal!" Orion yelled.

She nodded and leapt toward Storm Blaster. For a moment Storm Blaster began to retreat, preparing to fire on Tria. Immediately, though, the vehicle scanned it's pursuer and identified it as Master Tria. As she climbed in and sped away, she heard a crackle in the backseat. When she turned, her vision fell upon Filcar, slumped over the side of Storm Blaster. She feared the worst.

Master Tria pulled him back into the machine. She saw blood trickle down his face, and smoke come off where his head had been grazed by enemy fire. She focused her energy on Filcar. She could see that outside of a concussion, he sustained no life threatening injuries.

Back on the battlefield, Zordon was fighting off hoards of beasts as Novact battled Orion. Zedd and Rahp were in Lightning Cruiser, attempting to get a shot on Master Vile.

Zedd jumped out of Lightning Cruiser. As he hit the ground, he rolled between two goat men. He stood and sent an elbow to its throat, simultaneously throwing a donkey kick to the other behind him. He then took cover behind a boulder.

As he crouched, he took aim at Master Vile's head and fired. Instead of a direct hit, though, Vile caught the blast in his hand and redirected it to Orion. The blast hit Orion square in the back. As he cried out in pain, Orion dropped his saber. Novact took the opportunity and, leaping over and landing behind him, sunk his blade into Orion's gut from his back.

"Orion!" Yelled Zordon as the monsters he fought jumped on him. The mass of beasts on top of him were pinning him down, stopping him from reaching the Morphing Master.

"Ha! Who is the master now!? I am Master Vile, and welcome to the M51 Galaxy: where the bad guys always win!"

[ShinySephiroth]

Chapter Seven: The Added Threat

Sentinel Knight looked at the masters. He knew each of them at that moment was apprehensive to know the Zeo Crystal's fate. He was as well. He knew, though, that there were other matters that needed their attention.

"Magnus, you now have the floor." Sentinel took his seat and watched the big warrior approach the holographic monitor at the podium. Magnus turned to face the masters.

"Recently, a cargo ship disappeared near Mirinoi. Upon further investigation, the source was found near the entryway to The Lost Galaxy. It is some sort of... entity. Here is the transmission we received yesterday..." He turned to the podium as a hologram began playing.

The hologram showed an Alliance War Star ship's command deck. The captain was standing, facing a monitor showing the space surrounding the ship. The captain turned and motioned for whoever was holding the camera to point it at the large, flat monitor.

The image on the monitor was of a giant mass. It resembled a cloud. Suddenly, large tendrils of smoke appeared from the cloud, stretching out toward the ship. There was no sound from the recording: just the image of the crew fleeing their seats as the tendrils hit the ship. At that point, the hull was observed to break, and the crew started floating into space. As they did, more tendrils appeared and dragged each person into its large, smoky mass. These scenes could be interpreted from the camera, which was rolling in space after its holder was taken by the entity. The images ended when a tentacle of smoke grabbed the camera, pulling it into its dark core.

Magnus turned back to the council. "Amidst Vile's attempts at the Zeo Crystal, this new threat has appeared. Its origins are unknown. It is unknown whether it is sentient. What I do know is it must be stopped. It is slowly inching toward Kouevn, my world, and also Mirinoi. Both civilizations do not have the means to fight off something like this... Our astronomers say it is merely a matter of time before it reaches either planet." He clenched his fist and raised it up.

"It must be stopped." He continued in his grainy voice. "I sacrificed and fought to ensure my people had a planet to colonize. I plan on cultivating my new world. I plan on having a family. I do not ask for us to spread the Alliance thin: I ask only for one of you to offer your resources. Please."

Kamen looked around, then stood. "Ever since Dregon rebelled when Lexian did not choose him to be prince of Edenoi, my people have needed to worry about their safety. Without Alliance support, I truly believe Edenoi would have succumb to Dregon. I know the importance of Alliance support. Magnus, my military is at your disposal."

Magnus, looking grateful, closed his eyes and bowed his head toward Kamen. "Thank you very much. I ask that you and some of your troops meet me as soon as the Zeo Crystal has been secured." Magnus thanked the council for their time before returning to his seat, his crimson robe billowing behind him as he did. Sentinel Knight then stood to continue the meeting.

. . .

"Storm Blaster: stop." Tria commanded the vehicle when she thought they were sufficiently far from the battleground. She turned to look at Filcar. He was still out cold.

She felt odd, speaking to a machine. The technology Zordon created for the contraption to behave as it did astounded Tria. When she was an Academy cadet, and even as a member of The Top, her focus was history. She never felt like she had the mind of a scientist, though she did read many scientific articles.

At that particular moment, Tria recalled one of her favorite moments of history: the Morphing Masters had been fighting to protect the jewels of the Corona Aurora. During a particular battle, one master stayed behind to be the crown's defender. He figured he could sacrifice himself to cast a protective barrier around the jewels, using his own lifeforce. How the story ended, however, is that another member, Sentinel Knight, returned to defend that master. The two were able to escape the enemy hoards together with the Corona Aurora. Sentinel Knight had been its keeper since that point, having earned the confidence of the other Morphing Masters. The story was commonly told to children as an illustration of loyalty.

Tria looked into the sky and saw a fleet of Vile's ships leaving Solaris 8 and entering the atmosphere of the moon on which they found themselves. Tria thought on Sentinel Knight's example. She thought of her comrades. She thought of Zordon who was thrust into the mission, and if he fell there, of all of the inventions the universe would lose. She thought about Zedd, and how unfair it was that his findings had turned him into a soldier. She thought about how they did not deserve to fall there.

She deliberated within herself.

<We must go back. We must stand by our comrades.> Tria of Courage announced.

<We need to secure the Zeo Crystal. Nothing must happen to the fragment of the Morphing Grid.> Tria of Wisdom said.

<Our friends need us.> Tria of Heart counseled.

Coming together in her mind, Tria realized she needed to compromise. But what am I to do? I don't have the power to stop anything! All I have is my weapon...

She summoned her staff. It was given to her by the king of Triforia. It was to be a symbol that she was picked by royalty to defend Triforia. The staff had a universal symbol on the top which signified "king", representing the king of Triforia's stamp of approval. She never showed it to anyone, keeping it sacred to herself. She had never even used it in battle.

She sighed in frustration as she saw the fleet drawing closer to Orion and the others. She didn't have the power to fight them back.

Or do I? She looked at the Zeo Crystal. Her mind was directed by Tria of Wisdom back to the events during the M51 Galaxy war. Of the division within the scientific divisions of the Alliance about whether or not the Morphing Grid should be tapped to create weapons. As a Morphing Master, she knew how to manipulate the Grid for her purposes, but even that could only get her so far against forces which were able to defeat all of the Masters together, destroy one, and simultaneously defeat the entire Alliance military.

She then recalled Zordon's presentation from a day earlier. His words about using totems to power soldiers. What better totem than an actual piece of the Morphing Grid itself? It seemed to her that all three of the beings which comprised her conscious self were saying, "Yes... this is the way..."

She walked toward the back of Storm Blaster. As she did, she checked to ensure Filcar was still unconscious. She felt bad needing to do this all in secret. These actions weren't normally in her nature.

Tough times call for tough decisions. Tria thought. She pulled the crystal out of the trunk. She felt it glowing at her. She raised her staff and, lifting it in the air, propelled it down. A spark of energy shot out as a substantial chunk separated itself from its source.

It was glowing a black and gold hue. Totems... She thought, thinking back on Zordon's words. She began to concentrate, feeling her connection to the Grid power up her body. She willed the power to concentrate into her arms. She followed that by sending the currents of Morphing Energy into the staff. She then touched the staff to the Zeo Subcrystal.

The staff had become a conduit for the subcrystal. She looked down to the ground to see the subcrystal had disappeared. She looked at her staff. Its glow was like a flare of golden sunlight. The glow was so strong that at certain angles, she could make out circular rainbows. She averted her gaze until the shine subsided.

She gripped the staff tightly and concentrated on it. As she did, she felt the energy from the staff fill her body. She focused on the energy until she had completed the process. She had junctioned herself to the staff, which was now the source of the Zeo Subcrytsal. Once the junction was complete, she staggered, leaning on Storm Blaster for support. She felt her limbs aching. Her head throbbed. She felt as if she were underwater for a moment.

"Vwomp-vwomp! Vwomp!" Storm Blaster cried out in panic.

Tria composed herself. Perhaps I took a piece which was too large? She shook off the thought, for she didn't have time to dwell on it. What's done is done.

After catching her breath, she turned to Storm Blaster and placed the remaining chunk of the Zeo Crystal in its trunk. She then walked to the vehicle's front to give it instructions.

"I need you to drive to the next moon and wait there. When you receive a transmission with my voice, you come back to this spot. Understood?" Tria looked at the machine, awaiting a response.

"Vwomp-vwomp." Storm Blaster's blinkers flickered on and off as it responded.

"Keep the soldier and the crystal safe. Now, here is the frequency I will contact you on." She reached into Storm Blaster and pushed some buttons on his dashboard. She tuned the vehicle's frequency to match that of the private frequency on her wrist tech.

She patted the machine's hood and waved it off, smiling at it as it pulled around her. She then turned and started walking away. She heard the machine fly away behind her as she slowly approached the battlefield, ready to embrace her destiny.

[ShinySephiroth]

Chapter Eight: The Power of Gold

Zedd looked over as he saw Orion fall to Novact's blade. Anger filled him. It was anger toward Novact himself: he chose to abandon the Alliance for personal gain. This traitor had once been considered by Commander Zedd to be a victim of circumstance. Upon seeing the malicious look on his face, however, Zedd lost any and all pity he had once had for the man.

Novact was what many people called "a loner". He kept to himself. Zedd first saw the man during the interview process for acceptance into his archaeologic group. Novact had stuttered his way through the entire interview. Zedd had seen, however, promise in him through his written application, so out of pity he brought him onto his crew.

Biggest mistake... Zedd thought as the worm laughed at Orion's body, lying broken on the boulder they were upon.

Zedd charged toward Novact, leaving Rahp with Lightning Cruiser. One beast charged at him. Zedd performed a somersault, having both his feet connect with the monster's chin as he twirled backward. Both the monster and Zedd found themselves on the ground, though only one was conscious.

Another beast spied the event and ran forward, lifting up its leg to stomp Zedd. On his stomach, Zedd caught sight of the henchman through his peripheral vision. Zedd spun his legs around, hitting his opponent's ankles. Using the momentum, he found himself back on his feet. He continued his pursuit of Novact.

Lightning Cruiser and Rahp gave Zedd cover as he ran forward. Zedd leapt onto a small rock to use the extra height it gave to jump onto Novact's location. As he did, midair, a blast hit him in the left side of his rib cage.

Zedd fell to the Earth. Master Vile shrieked with laughter, now merely playing with his prey. He walked over and kicked Zedd's smoldering body.

Zordon watched everything from the bottom of the pile in which he found himself. Perhaps out of spite, those atop him didn't do anything but pin him down. Zordon screamed to Orion to stand up. Sweat and dirt hugged his face.

It can't end like this! Zordon thought. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion for him. Then, from out of nowhere, Zordon found himself free. He sprang up to see Rahp.

"If they're just going to lie there, they really make themselves easy targets. Now, let's go save Master Orion!" Rahp lead the way, blasting and kicking a path for Zordon to follow. As Rahp met a wall of opposition, he screamed to Zordon, "Just go! GO!"

Zordon took a running start and flipped over the mass, landing beside the fallen Morphing Master. Novact stared Zordon down in a rage. Zordon shook Orion's body, ignoring him.

"Are you alive!?" Zordon asked urgently. After a pause, he heard laughter.

"You always were direct with your questions..." Orion wheezed as he turned onto his back. A pool of blood lay where his body had been. Orion grabbed Zordon's hand tightly. "Rip that kid apart..."

This knocked Novact out of his daze. He was surprised that from all the power Master Vile had given him, he was unable to place the finishing blow on Orion. Novact drew his blade. He beckoned Zordon over with his index finger.

Zordon wiped blue hair from off his sweaty brow. He heard Rahp and Lightning Cruiser behind him, fighting the horde. Zordon had subconsciously charged two orbs of power. They sat menacingly in his hands.

Suddenly, more henchman, mainly Tengas, appeared onto the scene, dropping down from the ships Master Vile had sent after him from Solaris 8. Novact snapped his fingers in mock disappointment.

"Shucks, kiddo. See ya later!" And like that, Novact was teleported aboard one of the ships.

In a rage, Zordon released his White Energy, blowing away a couple dozen enemies about to come upon him and Orion. This blast, unfortunately, hit Rahp and Lightning Cruiser. Rahp flew through the air and hit his head against a rock wall, falling to the ground out of consciousness. Lightning Cruiser jerked up and down, blinkers flickering on and off. Then, it stopped moving altogether.

In the midst of the chaos, Master Vile approached Zordon and Orion, howling with laughter. He was flanked by henchman on both sides. "Bravo! Dazzling performance. It is a shame it must... come to an end! I will now destroy you myself!"

Zordon continued to stand, unflinching. He wore a sneer on his face. "Bring it on, Vile."

They rushed toward each other. As they met in the middle, Vile wrapped his arms around Zordon. After rattling him for a moment, he flung Zordon onto the side of a gravel encrusted slope. Zordon rolled down, grunting as he did. Once at the bottom, Zordon was surprised to find Orion waiting for him, his sword digging into the ground as he used it as a crutch.

Orion chuckled as he saw Zordon roll to his feet. Looking down, Orion said, "This monster's pretty tough." He helped Zordon to his feet.

Master Vile flew down to their location, proclaiming, "It gets worse!" As he landed, he waved his short staff and caused the ground around the two to explode, hurling chunks of earth at both of them. More Tengas flocked around Master Vile as that occurred.

Zordon struggled to get up. Orion lifted himself again with his sword. Zordon looked at Orion. "We can't let Vile win, Orion."

Master Vile chuckled some more. "Let me win? You are letting me win? Face it, you are powerless against m- Huh!?"

Suddenly, the Tengas to his right crumpled to the ground. Master Vile heard the wind whistling to his left and as he looked, he saw what looked like a shadow pounce on and off those to his left. He then felt the shadow land on his chest, a force more powerful than any other he had ever felt. The next thing he knew, he was on his back.

Zordon and Orion followed the shadow's movements. Zordon lost track of it after it toppled Vile. Orion was able to follow it to the top of the trench in which they found themselves. "Look, Zordon. Up there!"

As Tria glided up to the top of the trench, she focused all her power on the connection to the staff, wishing to mask her appearance in some way. What she hadn't realized is upon concentrating as she did, she unlocked the true potential of the Morphing Grid. Upon landing, gold lightning surrounded her. She was instantly enveloped by a black suit with gold armor. The final part of her armor was a helmet, taking upon it the insignia the king of Triforia gave her so long ago.

She stared down at the sight of her allies, while the enemy regrouped. She focused on her opponents. Moving into her fight stance, she found herself kiaiing.

"Wa-Watsaw!" She yelled.

"Hey! Where did he come from!?" Master Vile roared.

"Another fighter?" Orion asked, turning to Zordon.

Zordon couldn't take his eyes off the golden clad fighter. "But whose side is he on?"

She tapped herself on the chest, proclaiming, "Okay. Now it's my turn!"

She then swan dived into the middle of the horde, flipping before she touched down. She swiftly kicked two Tengas who approached her, dodging another before landing a gut punch on a fourth. She faked a high kick, only to sweep the legs of another enemy.

She turned and got back into her fighting stance. "Who's next?"

One Tenga advanced while the others stared apprehensively. She blocked its every punch, as if her Zeo Subcrystal was enhancing her ability to read the enemy's body language. She then grabbed its arm and sent her elbow into his gut, sending the monster to the ground.

After taking out two more grunts, Zordon turned to address Orion. "Orion, he's incredible!"

Orion nodded, watching her. It was then that he first noticed something about the uniform: it had a skirt.

He nodded and looked at Zordon. "But why haven't we seen her before?" Zordon't eyes widened as he turned and noticed this himself.

Novact stared down from the window of the starship. He pounded the wall with his fist, turning to the others in the ship who had been watching from a monitor. He said, fuming, "Another fighter!? What's going on here!?"

Madame Woe, a female being with a mask for a face and an interesting blue gem on her forehead, fanned herself, covering her eyes with the fan. She turned her back toward the monitor. "Oh, I just can't bare to watch any more of this!"

Vile's son, Rito, shrugged. "I have no idea where he came from, Novice."

Novact pushed Rito out of his way. "Fool! The name's Novact."

Rito picked himself up, afraid to confront his father's newest powerful fighter. Instead, he simply asked, "What'll we do with more fighters?"

Novact slowly turned to them. He sneered as he said in his raspy voice, "Destroy them all! Send in more troops right away!"

While more beasts flew down, Zordon and Orion were ignored as the Tengas attacked the Gold Warrior. She continually beat them all into submission in the mean time, causing more and more to appear with the goal of ending her life.

Meanwhile, Master Vile found himself with a tough battle. Zedd had awoken and battled his way to where the others were, and he began giving Vile everything he had. Zordon saw this and ran to his aid. As Zordon approached, his eyes glowed with a White Energy. He fired currents of Energy at Vile. Zedd used what little Morphing Energy he could, but he wasn't nearly as proficient as anyone who made it to The Top, let alone someone who could become a Morphing Master.

Master Orion watched them from behind a boulder. As he felt his own energy return, he tapped into the Morphing Grid to heal himself.

Suddenly, Tria found herself outnumbered. Some of the goat-men fired on her, causing her to roll for cover. Almost like an instinct, she knew what to do. She stood up and stretched out her arm.

"Alright." Focusing, she summoned her Power Staff into her hand. "It's time for a gold rush!"

Her staff, for the first time, went into battle mode. She felt it brimming with power. The power of the Zeo Crystal.

Getting into a running stance, she stretched the staff out before her and bull rushed her opponents. "Wa-Watsaaaaaaw!" She yelled as she hit them, residual Morphing Energy coating them. The Monsters exploded behind her as she resumed her fighting stance.

"Power of Light: Activate!" Orion yelled, jumping into the fray, pulling Vile away from Zordon and Zedd.

"I've got this demon by the horns." He announced as he grabbed Vile's head, causing Vile to almost take a knee.

Vile suddenly glowed with a light, teleporting away from Orion. Orion, Zordon, and Zedd prepared themselves to fight as the gold clad warrior landed in front of them. They could feel the immense power dancing off of her.

Vile yelled frantically, "I will destroy you, too!"

Grunting, Tria took the challenge and charged at him. Her face behind her helmet was scrunched up with determination. She couldn't think about what she was doing at that moment, because she knew it would psyche her out too much. She was going up against the biggest, most dangerous man in the universe and in any normal situation, she would have been terrified.

Zedd yelled after her, "Hey! Be careful!"

"Hiyah!" Master Tria screamed as she did another swan dive into Master Vile. She suddenly was in her Shadow Form again, constantly plowing into her foe. He fell to the ground again as she desisted, feeling exhausted.

As she landed, she groaned. That attack takes way too much out of me!

Zedd turned to Orion. "Master, who is this fighter?"

Orion shook his head. "I don't know, but I'm glad she's here."

Vile pointed his staff at Tria. "Alright. No more fooling around!" He sent several blasts of Dark Magic at Tria, only a few connecting. She flipped out of the explosion and landed nimbly on her feet, crouching to a knee with her own staff in tow.

Suddenly, her body was flowing with Zeo Energy. Autonomously, she clicked a button on her staff, causing the ruby atop to glow. She pointed it at Master Vile and several orbs of Gold Zeo Morphing Energy blasted him. He erupted into a black flame.

Tria stared at the smoke and flames. Is it over? Did I..?

She joined the other three. They were about to speak to her as they heard laughter.

"You cannot rid yourselves of me! Until next time, Gold Warrior!" He then teleported onto his ship. It turned and began its flight back to Gamma Vile.

Orion turned to the Gold Warrior. "Thank you for your help."

She bowed her head, placing a hand up to her shield. "I am only glad you are safe, Orion."

"How do you know me?"

The Gold Warrior turned away, thinking of how foolish she had been. She went into Shadow Mode and bounded away.

"Wait!" Zordon yelled.

"Who was she?" Zedd thought aloud.

"I don't know," Orion said. "But be sure the Morphing Masters will find out the mystery of this Gold Warrior."

[ShinySephiroth]

Chapter Nine: The Master Born

"...And then the Gold Warrior disappeared." Zordon said, ending his report. He looked over to Orion, who was still weak from the battle. Having used too much Morphing Energy too quickly, his body was taking the brunt of the abuse after the fact. He was in a wheelchair, an IV attached to his arm.

Tria looked at them both. Guilt twisted her insides. She knew that although she didn't technically break the law, its spirit was shattered. The Zeo Crystal was a fragment of the Grid, and she tapped it.

But I didn't tap the Grid directly. She justified to herselves.

Sentinel Knight stood up, moving to face the semicircle that faced the podium in the room the Morphing Masters generally convened in. "Power is a responsibility not to be taken lightly. Laws are in place to set a measure for people to know how they may live their lives, within a range that is safe. This 'Gold Warrior' has done that which we have forbidden: she tapped the Morphing Grid. I don't know how she did it. I did not, and do not, feel any fluctuations with the Grid, but all of her characteristics match a fighter who has tapped the Morphing Energy."

King Estro raised his hand. The knight gestured for him to speak. "How do you know she did this? How do you know the characteristics of someone who has tapped the Grid to don this power?"

Sentinel Knight looked down. "It was long ago when I saw someone do such a thing. It destroyed him. I cannot allow someone in our organization to do the same."

He looked at the masters. "It is not her place to change the range of power that has been set! It is too dangerous! This... Power Ranger is a vigilante. She must be apprehended and brought before us. We cannot let her be an example of anarchy. If she can do whatever she pleases, I promise everyone here it will be the end of the United Alliance as we know it."

Tria stood up impulsively at Sentinel's final remark. "I believe in times of war, we should up the stakes. As I traveled back here with the Zeo Crystal, I was tempted to use it to save Orion. I am glad someone wasn't a coward like I was, and did what was needed."

Sentinel Knight hung his head in disappointment. "Alright. We have a vote. Is this Power Ranger a vigilante?"

Zordon stood, no longer able to contain himself. "Master Sentinel has more experience than the rest of us! He has seen, firsthand, what this power can do. I urge you, as a citizen of the Alliance, to follow what is tried and true. My apologies, Master Tria, but the lives of Orion, Zedd, Rahp, and myself were not worth destroying the laws of our society. We must follow the established pattern, which has been tried and proven true."

Master Estro nodded slowly. Ivicar wore a smile on his face, proud of who he had picked to become a Master.

Master Gerlit raised his hand. "Let the voting commence. All in favor of the... Power Ranger... say 'aye'."

Tria, eyes locked on Zordon, fury emanating at the non-Master in the room, raised her hand boldly. I saved your life! How dare you-!?

Master Delphine stood. She did not wish to have impulse reign over the Morphing Masters for such an important decision. "This matter needs more thought. We need to meet with our respective committees and address this issue."

Master Kamen interjected at that. "No, we can't let this issue leave the council!"

Master Dimitria raised her hand. "Is it not already too late for that? Have not non-Masters such as Zedd and Zordon comprised the information already?" She had begun speaking in her "question mode", like all Inquirians did, in the presence of those with whom they were unfamiliar.

Master Ivicar stood to address the group. "I believe there is precedent for a recess. Think of this amongst yourselves and do not let the information leave these council walls. All in favor?" All raised their hands to this. Tria did so reluctantly, not wanting to have people start questioning her "enthusiasm" over the subject perhaps being connected to her involvement.

"But..." Ivicar continued. "We do have the matter of keeping our information 'in-house'. Zedd, we know, has proven time and again that he is trustworthy. As for Zordon... I say he passed his test. Sentinel?" He looked over to the presiding member.

Sentinel Knight paused, lost in thought. He then looked over to Zordon and said, "Master Zordon... please approach me to receive the white robe."

Magnus shot up and stormed out of the room. Once the members voted for Zordon's test, the final decision, to not be second guessed, fell upon Sentinel Knight. Master Kamen shook his head in disapproval. Animus got up and followed Magnus out of the room. Tria glared at Zordon.

As Zordon approached Sentinel Knight, ignoring the eyes of those who obviously did not agree with his being let into their ranks, Master Gosei stood up and shook the newcomer's hand, a big smile on his face. "Welcome to the council! I hope this will be the start of a powerful relationship."

[ShinySephiroth]

Chapter Ten: The Intergalactic Conference

Master Michael, in his cyan robe, urged Zordon to follow quickly. Zordon and Michael were assigned to head security at the Intergalactic Conference. Zordon looked down at his wrist tech, re-reading the assignment parameters and which team he would lead. Heading South Wing was Commander Zedd. Zordon had North Wing, while the newly promoted Commander Rahp was assigned to East Wing. West Wing would be guarded by Master Michael and his troop.

As Zordon took position with his team, he saw a rainbow of robes march to their places on the stand: Sentinel Knight in red; Ivicar in blue; Dulcea in green; Tria in black; Gerlit in pink; King Estro in yellow; Orion in gold; Delphine in silver; Kamen in violet; Animus in orange; Magnus in crimson; Dimitria in brown; Gosei in gray.

Sentinel Knight walked to the audio station, placing the voice amplifier and language synchronizer to his throat. He began speaking to the leaders from around the galaxy who had gathered to listen to counsel from the Morphing Masters. Sentinel Knight's speech seemed to be a precursor to the Gold Warrior drama for those in attendance: it touched on the importance of following laws which were already established, and the consequences on an intergalactic scale for not abiding by the laws.

Very intelligent... Zordon thought. In case the Gold Warrior incident became a widespread thing, Sentinel Knight was already influencing the people to side with him. He looked at each member of the council. Tria wore a disgusted look on her face.

Zordon chuckled to himself. Apparently Tria has caught on to his intent as well.

He then saw Master Estro. He kept glancing at a door in Commander Rahp's sector. When Zordon looked at it, a feeling he could not describe descended upon him.

Dread...? He thought. It washed over him. Looking back at the council, he noticed Master Ivicar was staring at the door as well, with a look of concern on his face. What settled things for Zordon was when he heard Sentinel Knight stumble in his words as he, too, looked to the door.

Zordon tensed. He pushed a button on his wrist tech to send a message to Commander Rahp to investigate. As he did, a message flashed on the screen telling him his communications were blocked. He stared dumbfounded at the screen. It made no sense to him, since Research and Development were the ones responsible to ensure communications were working before the conference. He and Burai had double checked everything immediately before the conference. That was why he was late in meeting with Master Michael in the first place.

Zordon tried communicating to Michael. He received the same error message. Zordon's eyes began to glow with White Energy. He focused all he had on Master Michael. Michael's head jerked up, sensing Zordon. Zordon had not practiced this mental capacity in a while, so he was happy to discover it was working. Michael looked at Zordon, puzzled. Zordon pointed at Rahp's sector and motioned for him to go toward it. As Michael began to move, Zordon rushed to the door.

The Masters must've felt it, too... What is happening!? How did this happen!? Who could've had access to the communications to jam everything? Zordon jumped over seats and zig-zagged through aisles, at times having to push people out of his way. Michael was in a similar situation.

By that time, people began to notice the commotion. Commander Zedd sent a few of his men over to where it appeared Zordon and Michael were heading. Rahp noticed as well, and asked for a few men to follow him to the door in his sector.

Sentinel Knight decided to address the situation: "Ladies and gentlemen, I am sure our securi-" He got to that point in his sentence simultaneously with two other events: Commander Rahp and his men arriving at the door; the door exploding, with ten Blue Globbors pouring in, and a platoon of Tenga Warriors.

The conference hall erupted in shouts. Zordon plowed his way through the crowds, but the sheer number began to overwhelm him. His eyes were glowing and his arms pulsing with energy he had charged up as he saw the explosion. The masses of people continued to prevent him from reaching Commander Rahp.

In the presence of danger, the greater good must be upheld... Zordon thought to himself. He sent out a blast from his person, sending people and Tengas alike flying about, slamming into walls and into others who were surprised to find themselves victims of a second blast whose origins they could not pinpoint.

Michael ran to Zordon. "Where did that blast come from!?" Zordon pushed him out of the way and kept running, yelling back at him to stop wasting time and to destroy the enemies.

The battle raged on. Innocents were attacked by Blue Globbors, causing many soldiers to stop in their tracks, not wanting to hurt civilians and intergalactic leaders who were junctioned to them. Zordon began charging his arms to attack them, yelling at the soldiers as he did. "Don't let this become like Decrof! Attack!"

The soldiers still hesitated. Suddenly, a blast from seemingly out of nowhere caught Zordon in the thigh. Zordon fell to the ground, clutching his thigh and screaming in pain.

Zedd, from up in his makeshift sniper's nest, lowered his blaster. "There is a fine line between getting things done, and doing them right..." He muttered to himself as he left his post. He had seen how Zordon had blasted innocent people out of his way to get to the Blue Globbors, and he did not want Zordon to continue running about in his current temperament. He ran to Zordon.

"Master down! Someone get medical he-!" Before he could finish his sentence, Zedd flew into the closest wall. When he looked up, he saw Master Vile standing over Zordon.

"Vengeance is mine! Your little conference was the perfect target. Now, surrender to me the Zeo Crystal, or I crush this Master under my feet!" Vile placed his foot on Zordon's head upon finishing his hostage demands. Zedd tried to stand, but couldn't.

Magnus and Kamen, who had been battling nearby, took down some Tenga Warriors and approached Master Vile. Vile wagged his finger at them, saying, "No, no, no! Not another step!"

Kamen got into his fighting stance, looking down at Zordon. "Who said I care what happens to him?"

Magnus chuckled and lifted up his sword. "Defender helmet!" Electric currents surrounded him as his helmet appeared. He ripped off his robe to reveal full body armor. Magnus' people had come together and commissioned the Alliance to outfit their best fighter, Master Magnus, with an electronic suit to assist him in battle. Orion placed his stamp of approval on the project and Zordon had finished it a mere three months earlier. He also modified Magnus' sword to become a blaster if needed. This was a part of the Alliance's initiative to create a defender specifically outfitted to fight Master Vile and his forces. Magnus was the prototype of the Defender Initiative.

The armor was blue in color. There was a silver faceplate in place, with a slot serving as a visor on the helmet. A pair of horns protruded from the helmet, one horn on each side. An emerald gem was found on the helmet as well as the belly of the torso. He wore a blaster on his belt that had the ability to become a blade, and a long flowing cape tied around his neck.

Kamen produced a glowing saber from a pouch on his belt, activating it. He lifted it up and yelled, "Now!" Armored Magnus turned his blade into a blaster and began firing as Kamen charged toward Vile.

As they did, they suddenly found themselves in a foggy wasteland. They turned to find a figure laughing at them.

Kamen gripped his saber. "Madam Woe..."

Magnus, voice more gravel-like through his helment, laughed. "This should be fun..."

Meanwhile, back in the main plane of existence, Master Vile looked around. "What!? No one else!?"

At this provocation, a rustling could be heard. Beaten and bruised, Commander Rahp lifted himself up from debris and rubble. He limped forward.

"Let... him... go..." Rahp slowly lifted up his blaster to shoot. Master Vile pointed his staff and shot the blaster out of Rahp's hand. Clutching his scorched hand, Rahp continued to limp forward.

"Give up, human!" Vile ordered.

Determined, Rahp continued. Zedd tried to shout to Rahp, to tell him to stop, but he couldn't gather enough breath to do so.

"Vile: stand down! Your troops have fallen! Now, let Master Zordon go and we will ensure you won't be hurt." Master Dulcea yelled this from the doors through which Vile's troops originally appeared. She, Gerlit, and Dimitria had run to the North Doors and wrapped around to attack the enemy from behind when the explosions had first begun. Upon their success, they entered to save whoever was still trapped in the conference hall.

"Tsk, tsk." They heard, but were too late to react. Novact and Rito slid out from their hiding places with blasters pointed at the Masters. More Tenga Warriors ran in, almost as if on cue.

"Where is my crystal!?" Master Vile screamed, growing more impatient.

Zedd wished he could do something. He knew it was hidden in Lightning Cruiser, who was being fixed in the main Research and Development lab. He, however, was still unable to speak, let alone move. He would've sacrificed the crystal to ensure Zordon stayed alive, who already risked so much to save him on Solaris 8's moon. He felt he owed him. Because he could not speak to reveal the Zeo Crystal's location, he also felt as if he had failed him.

Master Vile applied more pressure on Zordon's head. Blood started trilling out from his nose. The Masters stared at Vile and the forces around them.

Novact sneered at the Masters. "Give up now, and I will only punish you with what you offered me: solitary confinement for life." He laughed. He felt his betrayal of the United Alliance was finally paying off. He hoped that soon, he would be able to see all of the Morphing Masters either behind bars, or destroyed.

[ShinySephiroth]

Chapter Eleven: Vigilante Defined

Tria ran to the door. She hoped she could head the beasts off to a corner so she could transform into the Gold Warrior. As she ran forward, she saw Rito and Novact, disappearing without a trace. She noticed each held a golden cog in their hands.

"Drat! Someone saw us!" Rito said, irritated. The invisible Rito lumbered over to Tria and hit her on the head, knocking her out cold.

Rito turned to Novact. "Okay. Now that she's outta the way, when do we start?"

"When I give the signal. This must all go according to Master Vile's plan." Novact said to Rito. The two humans stayed in their positions outside the door in East Wing, awaiting their time to attack.

Tria heard shouting. She had been discarded behind some rubble in the conference hall by Rito before the attack. As her eyes focused, she peaked from behind where she was. She saw Novact pointing a blaster at Masters Dimitria, Dulcea, and Gerlit. She heard his raspy voice snarl something she couldn't quite make out. He seemed very proud of himself.

Looking a ways down the aisle the masters were looking at, she saw a man in a white robe, head buried under a foot belonging to Master Vile.

Zordon... She thought. Master Tria snuck back behind her hiding place. Well, I guess now's as good a time as any...

She focused her mind on the image of her Power Staff. The king insignia floated in her mind. She felt the power coming, beginning to surge through her body.

"Well... I guess it's morphin' time..." Gold Zeo Energy swam through her arms. She could feel the power suit envelop her body, with the gold armor landing on her chest. Suddenly, she was the Gold Warrior. She focused on Shadow Mode and bounded up, nearly touching the ceiling, giving her a brief moment to process her plan.

As she came down, she directed herself onto Rito, who screamed as he fell backward. She projected herself then onto Novact and used that momentum to ricochet onto Master Vile. She exited Shadow Mode and nimbly landed in between the fallen Zordon and her other comrades. As soon as they could process what had occurred, the Morphing Masters began their attack on the Tengas surrounding them. Zordon pulled himself out of the aisle, clutching his injured leg.

Tria pointed her Power Staff at Master Vile as he stood up.

Sentinel Knight's teleportation landed him, Master Animus, and Master Gosei in the Morphing Master council room. He turned to the two. "I am the protector of the Corona Aurora. I cannot let anything happen to it. It is likely Master Vile is trying to distract us with trying to get the Zeo Crystal, with his true motive being the Corona Aurora. I need to stay vigilant." Sentinel Knight then produced the Corona Aurora in his hands.

Master Gosei had only heard of its existence and never thought he would actually see it in person. He stifled the urge to say, "Wow!"

The crown disappeared. "I currently have it junctioned to me. As long as I have the Morphing Masters around me to sustain me in my calling as guardian of the jewels, I know they are safest with me."

Master Animus and Master Gosei nodded their heads at Master Sentinel. They sat in the room, awaiting word from the other Masters that they had resolved the battle.

Master Delphine looked at Master Orion. Orion sat in a hospital bed in the infirmary adjunct building of the Academy's Medical School. It was the most prestigious, and heavily guarded, medical school in the United Alliance. She knew they would protect the injured Orion.

He grunted. "I gotta help the others... ow..."

Orion tried to get out of bed but fell back, the pain from his injuries still being there although the physical manifestations had been long gone due to the Morphing Grid. There was some science about how the Morphing Grid took a longer time to heal internal injuries, but Master Delphine did not know much about it. She was more a politician herself.

"Okay, Master Orion, " Delphine said in her aquatic voice. "Now that you are secure, I will be heading back to help the others."

Orion chuckled. "Well, at least one of us is of use... Thank you for getting me here safely. May the Power protect you." Delphine nodded and teleported out.

Orion shook his head. "They didn't teach me to be a mama's boy back in Andrasia... ow... ow..." He whimpered as he tried to readjust himself in his hospital bed.

Kamen flipped through the air, trying to avoid Madam Woe's braids from capturing him. The Defender tucked his body into a ball and rolled closer to her.

"You will never keep us here, you know." He prophesied as he shot her with what he affectionately named his Magna Blaster. She swiveled midair to see him. She charged toward him.

It's working. Perfect. The Defender thought.

The best way, he knew, to take on a Madam Woe was to divide and conquer. Fighting a Madam Woe one on one would prove to be very difficult, and only one who had great determination and a powerful fighting spirit could hope to wrestle themselves out of the situation. The Defender, Master Magnus, looked up to see Master Kamen swipe down Madam Woe's back.

"Arrgh!" She yelled, writhing in pain.

The Defender converted his blaster into a sword and then jumped into the air, tucked into a ball once again, using his connection to the Morphing Grid to spin continuously, building up Morphing Energy in his sword. Once he charged, which was a quick process, he slashed at his opponent's face. A blue jewel dropped.

"Well, well." Master Kamen said, approaching the jewel casually. He turned and pointed at Madam Woe. "I guess we know what this means. Bye, bye, pocket dimension." Kamen crushed it in his hands, reverting them back into the conference hall.

"AHHH!" Tria yelled as she, in Shadow Mode, bounded into Madam Woe. She had originally been aiming for Master Vile, but when the Defender, Kamen, and Madame Woe suddenly appeared in the middle of the room, she did not have time to redirect her course, slamming into the villain unwittingly. The Gold Warrior shifted out of Shadow Mode after the collision and did a backflip to land balanced. Madam Woe sparked with electricity and exploded.

"Now's our chance. Let's get out of here!" Master Vile yelled at Novact and Rito.

"But, Dad! I-"

"Quiet, boy! The Gold Warrior is on the threshold of destroying all three of us. Now, come!" And with that, the three teleported back onto their ship in orbit, cloaked from the Morphing Masters' scanners.

The Gold Warrior pounded her fist into the wall next to her. I almost had him!

The Defender approached her. "My apologies, Gold Warrior. We did not mean to interfere. It was... happenstance..."

The Gold Warrior turned to face him. She understood it wasn't his fault. She nodded and, learning from her mistake with Master Orion, did not say a word. She focused on Shadow Mode and bounded away.

"Well, she's mysterious. Right up your alley, Magnus." Kamen said, winking.

The Defender helmet disappeared and Magnus was left only in the armor he rarely took off. The ever ready combatant turned to his friend and laughed. "I'm dating someone, moron." He then pushed Kamen playfully. He pointed to Zordon in a corner trying to stop his own bleeding, but his concentration had been rattled and he couldn't focus fully into his tap of the Morphing Grid.

"Let's help the kid out, shall we?" Kamen grinned at Magnus.

Magnus chuckled again and they headed toward Master Zordon as the other masters attended to Rahp and Zedd, and to anyone else they could find in the destruction.

Sentinel Knight stopped. He looked at Animus. "I feel something in the Morphing Grid. Do you?"

Animus was nowhere near as sensitive to Grid fluctuations as was the seasoned presiding Master, so he had to consciously focus. As he did, he felt a transformation.

Sentinel Knight assumed a battle stance. Gosei continued to get a strong reading, but could only feel the slightest hint at something... new. Upon seeing Animus imitate Sentinel's sense of urgency, he followed suit with his own ready position.

A golden beam appeared, teleporting someone into the room. Before them stood the skirted Gold Warrior. Sentinel decided to speak first. "What is it you want?"

The fighter's weight shifted from leg to leg. Suddenly, the warrior twisted back. When the Gold Warrior lunged forward, a large golden ball of Morphing Energy was shot out at the Masters. Animus and Sentinel were able to dodge the blast charged from the Grid, but Gosei was unable to feel the Grid quick enough and was blasted into a desk.

"I want the Corona Aurora..." Hissed the Gold Warrior. Sentinel Knight started circling toward the enemy, sure to not just lunge forward, giving up his stance.

Animus stayed in his stance. He looked over his opponent and decided to up the stakes. "Defender Helmet: Activate!"

Animus pulled off his orange robe to reveal his own Defender armor. His helmet descended on him. It was very similar in design to Magnus' suit, except slightly bulkier, with red being the main color instead of black. Animus was the only person to sport the Defender suit outside of its prototype phase. For the United Alliance, the Animal Realm was an obvious choice for the Defender Initiative: they were a displaced people, making them extremely vulnerable to the likes of evil empires, like that of Master Vile's.

The Animal Defender charged at the Gold Warrior, fully aware of what the consequence would be. Let's hope Zordon made this to withstand a Grid powered blast... Animus thought.

As predicted by Animus, the Warrior turned and, in defense, blasted him. This gave Sentinel Knight the edge he needed. As the Gold Warrior turned back, Sentinel Knight performed a roundhouse kick to his opponent's helmet.

At that moment, Master Delphine arrived. "I sensed a disturbance. I see..."

The Warrior stopped and looked at the Masters circling around, ready to attack. The Warrior lifted up an arm and was teleported out in a flash of gold.

"Who was that?" Gosei asked as the Animal Defender assisted him up.

Sentinel Knight clenched his fist. "I have a good guess..."

The council met again after the conference. Sentinel Knight was playing it safe by making it appear as if he had no leads, so he asked Kamen and Magnus to report on what they found when they investigated the energy mass outside the Lost Galaxy.

They said they observed the mass from as far as they felt comfortable. They said from what they could calculate, the mass they had codenamed "the Dark Cloud" was on a direct course to Mirinoi. They announced they would be leaving to Mirinoi the next day to try and stop the thing and that they would be selecting people to accompany them.

Although important, Sentinel was focused on his next task. He was ready, and so was his trap. He passed the time to Master Ivicar. Ivicar gave medals of war to Zordon, Dimitria, Dulcea, Gerlit, Kamen, and Magnus for bravery. He mentioned Zedd and Rahp would be equally honored at a ceremony the next weekend. He then thanked those Masters for pulling him, Master Michael, Master Estro, and Master Tria from the rubble.

Once Ivicar concluded, Sentinel Knight stood. He looked at the council. "As some of you have heard, the Gold Warrior attacked me and attempted to take the Corona Aurora."

Tria felt shocked. This was the first she heard of this. That's impossible! I was nowhere near here!

She thought back to after she defeated Madam Woe. She had snuck under some rubble and pretended she had just gained consciousness, after having people help her out of the debris.

As she recalled this, she slid her hand into the pocket of her robe. She felt the gold cog Rito had used to become invisible. He had dropped it during his scuffle with Tria. When she went to rejoin the others after the battle, she had noticed it on the ground and snatched it up for herself.

Sentinel continued. "This individual thought they were smarter than the council." He produced a remote from his red robe and pushed a button. Suddenly, Tria felt several stabs of pain. Before she could react, she was split into three.

"The Warrior was a female, and sported the Triforian king's insignia. Tria recently was in possession of the Zeo Crystal. There is no point in lying." Sentinel looked down at her three selves, crouched in pain.

Dulcea stood. "... Sentinel... it was I who wrote your report of the incident for the archives. At the time you say the Gold Warrior attacked you, Master Tria was helping me dig out Master Michael from the destruction. I had my wrist tech on: it recorded everything if you need proof."

Sentinel Knight was shocked. I have never been so wrong before... He quickly released Tria. She slowly reconnected her three selves.

Sentinel walked to her. "I am sorry. I thought if it were you, I shouldn't give you a chance-"

Ivicar stood and placed a chance hand on Sentinel's shoulder. "That's enough. I believe you should sit."

As Sentinel Knight took his seat, several of the council gave him cold stares, while the others knew not how to handle what they had seen. It was odd for them to not only see Sentinel Knight make a mistake, but also for him to get rebuked, although passively, for it. Zordon, though, was of the mind Sentinel Knight had good evidence and acted appropriately.

Gosei had seen what this Gold Warrior fighter could do. He fully supported the decision to attack first, ask questions later, as well: it was war, after all. On the other hand, Master Gerlit, the Liarian, was very against what Knight had done, for expressly the situation Knight found himself in: "what if you are wrong?" Gerlit was in the same line of thought as many of the other Masters.

Ivicar walked to the center of the room and turned to the others. "In light of recent events, it is obvious council statutes take precedence: No vote needed. The Gold Power Ranger is a vigilante and must be captured."

[ShinySephiroth]

Chapter Twelve: The Lord Born

Zordon sat in Lightning Cruiser. Beside him in the passenger seat was Master Magnus. He didn't say much during the trip, and that's the way Zordon preferred it. He felt as though the trip to Mirinoi should be spent focusing on the mission. Getting one's mind "in the zone", so to say.

In Storm Blaster sat Master Orion at the driver's seat, with Master Kamen in the passenger seat, mirroring his good friend Magnus coincidentally. Behind them sat Masters Tria and Dulcea, facing the opposite direction. Orion and Kamen joked about some of the things they encountered together when they fought side by side in the M51 war against Master Vile. They went through a lot in those battles, and although their relationship would never "gel" like how Kamen's did with Magnas, they were close nonetheless.

Dulcea turned to Tria. "You know... I admire the Gold Warrior. I have dreamt to fully access the power the Morphing Grid has. I saw the good she did. I did not feel anything bad from her." She stopped talking before looking around to see if anyone was listening in. "I don't agree that we have automatically counted her as a vigilante and a scourge to the United Alliance. She must have a good reason for wanting the Corona Aurora. She saved me and my group. She saved Zordon and his group on Solaris 8's moon... I don't know... It makes no sense for her to be bad! It doesn't feel right!"

Tria didn't know what to say. She thought: You are one hundred percent correct! It doesn't make sense because it wasn't the Gold "Ranger"! How do I know? Because I'm the Gold Ranger.

Instead of confessing her soul to Dulcea, though, she gave her a smile and said, "You have a good point there. I guess we will just have to wait and see. Only time will tell..."

The two female Masters looked forward, seeing the War Star armada ships following them. After some extensive healing treatments, Commander Rahp was ready to go in one of the battleships. Commander Zedd was also enlisted into the battle in a ship he was over. Filcar, who had shown great perseverance in the previous battles when not protecting the Zeo Crystal, had also been promoted to be a Commander and joined the others in his own battleship. The Alliance was fearful of what this mission may mean, so they were careful in their selection of fleets and chose those who had shown great courage and allegiance to the Alliance in the recent outings. Especially due to the events at the Intergalactic Conference, with the communication systems getting hacked, the Alliance was beginning to believe there may be a mole in their organization, so they were selecting those who were trustworthy to complete the new assignments.

Tailing the armada was Commander Risp, a human from KO-34. She was a hard commander and ran a "tight ship". The Alliance placed her as the commanding general for this mission because although Zedd, Rahp, and Filcar had proven themselves through diligence and field exams, they were fairly new to running their own unit. The Alliance did not want to leave that to chance. She was known far and wide for her incredible skills and expertise. If anyone were to ensure the mission's success, the Alliance knew that Risp was the woman for the job.

Wanting to support the mission in any way his planet could, Kamen provided the only ship and commander he could spare from Edenoi, but he did not squander: this commander was known for being decisive and cunning. He once was able to, with just his ship and ingenuity, push back half of Dregon's fleet.

Kamen opened a communication link to his commander's ship. "Storm Blaster to Scorpion Stinger. Storm Blaster to Scorpion Stinger. Do you copy?" Kamen had received reports that the closer one got to The Dark Cloud, the more likely communications would get jammed.

"We read you loud and clear. We are good to go and ready for action. Commander Scorpius out."

. . .

It floated through the space it found itself in. It was intrigued by everything it saw, because everything was new to it. It did not know how it came into being; it knew that it was hungry, and what it wanted was more power. It was a being with some form of sentience, yet no learning. It was a giant mass like nothing anyone had ever before seen.

This being floated by an asteroid and absorbed it. It felt like it was approaching something which might quench its hunger for more than just a moment, though. Something big.

A planet... The mass thought. It did not know how it could think, or rationalize, or know words like "planet", but it could. The first vessel it attacked, it felt guilt because it realized some of the objects it was absorbing seemed to be alive and sentient. After feeling the satiety they gave it, though, it did not care. It would rather destroy any and every living thing before feeling hungry again.

It even gave itself a name. I am the Dark Lord. It thought to itself. It knew it was approaching its destination soon. Suddenly, an image and a name popped into its mind.

It audibly laughed. If anyone had been around, what was a laugh to the Dark Lord would've been comprehended as a sound which would come close to being able to define what evil sounded like. Thinking on the image, it was able to think of the name that popped into its mind again.

Mirinoi...

Future: Omega Ranger stared at the monitor. "Dark Lord? I've never heard of it... That's what Magnus was saying appeared outside the Lost Galaxy. That same thing that attacked that Alliance ship. They called it the 'Dark Cloud'...

"Computer: Search all files for 'the Dark Cloud'. Oh, and please remember that I shouldn't be locked out of anything- this is project related." He added, hoping to bypass the restrictions which had been placed on him in the Hall of Legends.

"There are no files for the Dark Cloud."

Omega sat for a moment. "Computer: Are there any files on 'the Dark Lord'?"

"One file found. Report by Katie Walker. Playing audio now."

Omega listened as the familiar voice of the Yellow Time Force Ranger rang in his head. "I am having problems sending Time Force cameras to the point when the Dark Lord first surfaced. Its exact nature is unknown. It actually absorbed a Time Force camera when the camera tried to get close enough to run a mass composition scan. Whenever we sent one to the moment we have calculated as its 'birth', some sort of massive energy obliterates the camera. The risk of leaving more tech floating in space in the past is too great. For now, until Trip can find a solution, we are aborting the mission to ascertain the Dark Lord's origin."

And with that, Omega Ranger stared at his screen. "What are you? You know things something of your nature should not know. This makes no sense..."

Hoping to plow through his duty as quickly as possible, he resumed the archived footage.

. . .

Master Vile paced the command room of the Skull Ship. He was frantic, trying to think of a way to stop the Gold Warrior from foiling his plans.

Rito, sitting back in a chair, swiveled around to face his father. "You know, we could always ask Dischorida for help."

Vile chuckled. "As amusing as it is to see Dischordia forcing the Alliance to act like buffoons, I'm not in a position where I can play with my prey. The Gold Warrior is a serious threat, boy. And what are you doing, just sitting around!? Did I not give you an assignment!?"

"Already done, Daddio!" Rito said, swiveling back to the ship's console. He went to resume the game he been playing.

Master Vile was glad to hear this. "Good, good. Once your sister is done summoning Madam Woe into a new vessel, I will send her down again. It is imperative she gets a fighter in a solo fight. I have yet to see someone clever enough to defeat her without support."

Novact entered the room, a smile on his face. "Master Vile. I have tracked down the Zeo Crystal. It is being loaded onto a ship near the Morphing Master's headquarters."

"Excellent! Now we wait!" Master Vile turned and started walking toward his throne.

Novact's face dropped, confused by Vile's statement. I'm giving you a gold mine here! Let's attack now, you moron! Novact thought.

"But... Master... Should we not attack now?" Novact hid his displeasure with years of practice at pretending not to feel, which was necessary to survive the years of abuse he had to endure from bullies while growing up. Master Vile approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"No, no, my loyal servant. It will be easier to attack them away from the Morphing Masters, where they plan to unload the artifact. I do admire your enthusiasm, though. You're still a little too impulsive for my taste. You'll become a much better general if you learn patience!" And with that, Master Vile went and sat on his throne.

Once again, Novact felt the sting of not being good enough. His whole life, he knew what it meant to not measure up to what was expected. While working with Master Vile, and being trusted with this new power, he felt as if he was someone important. Being a failure, in any capacity, was not a possibility Novact wanted to face. He felt his stutter begin to return. He could hardly begin a rebuttal. He wanted to argue with Vile, to force Vile to see things his way. In fact, Novact did not care if he was right or wrong at that moment: he only cared that Vile agreed with him. If he failed afterward, he would deal with that, but it was more important to have approval and notoriety than to do things right.

Master Vile turned his attention to his protegé. He saw him, bubbling with energy and wanting to get things done no matter what. Vile chuckled. "Oh, dear. It looks as if you have gotten yourself all flustered. Listen, the enthusiasm is great! Once you learn some more tactics, under my wing, you will be one of the best. With your eagerness to perform, you will be like a... a dark wave, crashing down on your opponents."

Novact regained his composure. He liked what he was hearing. He also realized, for the first time in his life, he did not need anyone else's approval to get something done, or to feel good about himself. Hearing that he had the potential to beat down anyone in his path was appealing to him. Master Vile's words planted a seed in his mind which couldn't be easily unearthed. Novact looked at the being he once thought of as his master. "A dark wave, huh?"

"That's the spirit! You are dismissed, Novact!"

Novact walked out of the room, feeling pleased with himself.

. . .

Burai looked out the window of the armada cruiser. It had been a while since he had been sent on assignment. He turned around and looked over the Droid he and Zordon had packed into the ship. He was to monitor its energy expenditures, and all other relevant vitals during the Droid's premier battle.

Zordon had told Burai what to look out for and how to manage the equipment from the war ship. The ability to broadcast long range was still under development, so the ship would need to stay fairly close to the action. Even though it's to be a lackey... I am glad I get to finally see some action. I am a member of The Top, after all...

He thought of how irregular it was that he and Cestro did not see much action as of late. He thought that perhaps the Alliance was trying to ensure the Morphing Masters always had a pool to pick from. This matter, however, deemed itself too important to the Morphing Masters, so they sent all of The Top to this incident. Burai turned to see Cestro working on final adjustments while the new member who had taken Zordon's place, Margaret, observed fluctuations on the monitor.

Margaret was from the ill-fated planet, Decrof. She had been a key element in helping the Alliance during the war in the M51 Galaxy. Through her research she had been able to ascertain that the weakness of the Blue Globbor was sunlight. Although she only showed her findings to the forces of the United Alliance at a point in which Decrof could not be saved, her reveal greatly aided the forces to be able to inhibit Vile spreading rapidly through M51, eventually slowing him down so that he did not progress outside of that system.

Turning and flashing a big smile to Burai, Margaret greeted him. Burai's stomach was in a knot. He found her very attractive, from her appearance down to her intellect. She was witty and kind to everyone around her. Her silver hair swung around her as she turned. "Oh, Burai! I have another question about the Morphing Masters: what type of animal is Animus? He looks very humanoid to me, albeit hairy... how does that make him from the Animal Realm? I mean, for an Animal he's very... uh... short. When I think of an Animal, I think of someone like the leader of the Animal Warriors, Black Lion."

Burai shrugged. "Apparently he is some sort of ape-like creature... now. One of Animus' abilities he gained from the Morphing Grid is that he is able to store some of his self in the Morphing Grid. Since he can do this, if he falls in battle, he can be reincarnated later on, at an undetermined time. His Willpower slowly can seep out of the Morphing Grid and it will inhabit the body of an infant, or in utero... I don't know. When's a baby a baby? Right?" Burai felt silly for starting to ramble. He wanted to answer all of her questions, but also to show some personality.

"Oh, interesting! Anyway, I think the Droid is ready to go!" Margaret grabbed Burai by the hand and pulled him toward the machine. Ever since Margaret became an official member of The Top, Burai was glad he had not been picked to become a Morphing Master. Although he felt the sting over being overlooked, and was still bitter over it, working with Margaret was worth not receiving the honor.

. . .

The Dark Lord saw the planet Mirinoi. It was pleased. The planet was everything it thought the planet would be. The Dark Lord knew its hunger would be quenched for quite some time. It descended upon the planet, compressing itself into a mass smaller in diameter, but just as powerful.

When the beast looked down, its black and smoky tendrils reached and ripped chunks of earth out of the ground. As the mass absorbed the chunks, it felt pleased. The Dark Lord imagined how it would feel when it had finished the whole planet.

Suddenly, the Dark Lord felt a blast hit its side. It was able to perceive a group of people running toward it and getting into formations around it.

The Alliance... The Dark Lord thought, anger beginning to fill its being. It did not know why those beinga spelled bad news for it, but it knew they did. The Dark Lord whipped out a tendril holding a boulder and chucked it toward one of the soldiers. The soldier yelled out something and was suddenly adorned in some special armor.

That soldier, Master Orion, yelled, "Charge Up Mode!" and fired a giant ball of Light Energy at the Dark Lord. It thought the energy would feel good, but instead of absorbing it, the Dark Lord felt pain. It grew angrier.
Another enemy suddenly charged the Dark Lord, blasting at it.

The Defender... It thought, looking at Magnus in his Defender Armor. He looked over the armor, at the bluish hue it had, the emerald pentagonal gem on the torso, and the horns on the helmet. It was truly an intimidating piece of hardware. Reaching out one of its tendrils, the Dark Lord tried to absorb the Defender, but the Defender was too fast and avoided the black whipping appendage.

Zordon, having joined the fight with other Alliance soldiers, shot currents of White Energy from the Emotional Spectrum at the Dark Lord. Landing in the area as well, Dulcea and Tria pointed their blasters. All of the soldiers were unleashing a storm of fire on the beast, not knowing if it meant anything. The mass of evil swung it tendrils about all the while, trying to destroy everything in its path. It was pleased that it finally grabbed a soldier, absorbing it into its ever hungry "body". The Dark Lord felt some of its vigor return, but it wasn't enough to heal everything it was getting bombarded with.

Meanwhile, Commander Scorpius looked at his troops. This is my chance to prove myself to the Alliance. I'll rise the ranks in no time and finally rid myself of that horrid Edenoi! Scorpius thought.

Sneering, Commander Scorpius pointed at the creature he was instructed was called the Dark Cloud. It truly did resemble a cloud to him, albeit with something that seemed to be a gelatinous shell acting as a casing. "Fire everything you have!"

The soldiers under Scorpius' command blasted the beast. The Dark Lord felt pain shooting throughout its membrane covered body. To try and heal some of the damage, and to rid itself of some of its attackers, it began throwing tendrils out to absorb Edenites.

From a ways out, Command Risp spoke into her communicator to her troops as she surveyed the battle. "... Move out. Ensure the enemy is taken out. Do all you can to protect the other troops."

Claire Risp's eyes stared at the Dark Lord as her troops swarmed around her toward their target. She pulled out her sniper blaster and began taking shots at each of the tendrils. Some of the tendrils broke, releasing their victims. Very quickly, however, the tendrils were fully formed again.

What is this thing made of? This is not good... Risp thought to herself. She stared at her fighters, hoping the best for them.

"Droid Number Five: Activate!" Zordon commanded into his wrist tech. Zordon feared he was too close to the Dark Cloud, but was glad to see the communication went through. A red, humanoid battle bot teleported from the War Star ship nearby onto the battle area. It had black accents around its body, silver shoulder armor pads and white wrist mounted gauntlets which were programmed to be able to shoot lasers. A yellow light shone from the Droid's chest, being from its internal energy core. It's large eyes shone with the same color. Blue accents were designed around the light emanating from the yellow core on the chest. Getting into formation, Commanders Zedd, Filcar, and Rahp wrapped around the feet of the Droid to act as support.

Filcar smirked. "Nice to be back, guys. Ready to tear this thing apart?"

The two of his comrades nodded. Seeing their troops start to succumb to the Dark Lord, they feared for their own lives themselves. Zedd thought about how all of this had started: they were recruited into the forces of the United Alliance because they were good at their jobs. They had once been innocent archaeologists who had been caught in the crossfires of history. One thing each of them vowed was that they would be able to return to their normal lives one day.

Zordon, having teleported himself into Droid Five, sat in the pilot's seat. His Droid leapt forward toward a tree, stretching out a leg. As the leg approached the trunk, the Droid flapped its arms, sending its torso up ahead of the leg. As the Droid's body began to pass the tree, the foot landed on the tree's trunk and the Droid propelled itself toward the Dark Lord.

Master Magnus shot Morphing Energy blasts meanwhile, while Kamen absorbed the blasts from his friend with his electro saber before redirecting it with better concentration and precision to hurl them at the Dark Lord's membrane. Kamen knew that the more the enemy was distracted by outside attacks, the more efficient a direct hit from Zordon in his Droid could be, since it would go unblocked. The Morphing Masters hoped Zordon's vehicle would be up to the task.

Seeing that Kamen and Magnus' distraction was working, Zordon had Droid Five reach out and punch through the Dark Lord's membrane, puncturing it to reach deep into the its core. Before the Dark Lord could react, Droid Five opened its hand and released what it had secretly been holding in its closed fist: an implosion device. As Zordon finished the task, the Droid performed a flip midair and landed yards away from the opponent. All the while, Zedd, Filcar, and Rahp shot at it and threw plasma grenades.

What is this inside me...? The Dark Lord thought.

"Everyone: run!" Master Zordon ordered, indicating the deed was done.

Burai, on the ship, knew what this meant. He turned to Cestro. Cestro nodded and pushed the detonator. Turning to Margaret and Burai, he said, "It is done."

An explosion went off in the beast. Zordon looked up to see no effect of the blast in sight. "Huh? Everyone, are we okay?"

Zedd was the first to answer. "It seems the blast did not work..."

What no one knew was that the blast had actually gone off as planned and had indeed damaged the Dark Lord, but only from the inside. The blast did not escape the membrane surrounding the beast's nucleus. For all intents and purposes, Master Zordon's plan had worked. All of the systems inside the Dark Lord were severely damaged and beginning to fail.

"Everyone... look." Master Magnus ordered, pointing at the Dark Lord with his blaster. "It appears the Dark Cloud is faltering..."

As he said this, the Dark Lord fell to the ground with a mighty thud, its smoke like body looking odd plopping down. Its membrane kept its inner parts floating like a mosaic. I must survive. I cannot let this be... my end.

Suddenly, an instinct programmed into this being made itself aware of its only possibility. Only possibility for survival. The Dark Lord discovered it had a parasitic nature. It knew what its next move, its only move, was.

"Fire!" Master Orion yelled the exact moment he noticed movement from the Dark Lord: a smoky tendril lifted itself up.

The soldiers' intent was to protect themselves from the attack. What they could not foresee was how they were helping the beast: The Dark Lord lifted a tendril so it could puncture its own membrane. Coupled with Alliance fire, the tendril flew down and poked a hole in itself. Black smoke shot out from the hole, deflating the body.

No one knew what to do. Unseen by the heroes, the Dark Lord had scanned the crowd surrounding it, looking for susceptible, yet powerful, potential hosts. After finalizing its quick scan, the Dark Lord had its target, and the troops knew not how to defeat this beast, now in the form of a black smoke cloud.

Seeing this, Master Tria slipped behind some trees. She focused on the Power Staff, feeling the Zeo Morphing Energy pumping into her. "... it's morphin' time..."

Becoming the Gold Ranger, she ran out from her hiding spot and rushed toward the Dark Lord's smokey body. She had planned to only become the Gold Ranger if absolutely necessary: she feared becoming an intergalactic incident, because she knew that would cause the entire Alliance military to have her on their most wanted list. She saw the smoke fly out of the Dark Lord's membrane in mind numbing speed.

It shot toward Filcar, Rahp, and Zedd. She pointed at them and yelled, "Get out of here! Run!"

The troops ran every which way, forgetting their training. In a mass of confusion, chaos created by the basic instinct each soldier had to survive, soldiers ran about in terror, running into each other and around each other. They no longer cared for the well being of their comrades: only in themselves. Meanwhile, the smoke that the Dark Lord had become approached Commanders Zedd, Filcar, and Rahp, getting closer and closer. It had its target amongst the three. Just as it had calculated, the slower of the three, Filcar, was in reach. It would soon have its host.

Zedd looked back. Filcar, you idiot! Speed up! He thought. He could see that although only slightly slower than his comrades, Filcar was going to fall to the Dark Lord within a matter of moments.

Commander Zedd pulled out his blaster and turned around. Flashes of the interview he had conducted with Filcar passed through his mind when the man, Drew Filcar, had given his application to join Zedd's archaeologic team. Zedd sneered as he stopped on a dime and spun around, pointing his blaster at the cloud that was the Dark Lord. I got you guys into this mess... I'm not letting anyone fall! He charged the smoke beast.

From the position she had designated as he sniper's nest, Commander Risp took aim and took one shot at the smoke beast. She had no effect on its approach or speed. The blast wisped past quickly out of her scope. She pulled her sniper blaster back and stared as Zedd began to charge toward the smoke beast. "Troops, close in on the beast. Commander Zedd is in trouble."

"Filcar! Drop!" Zedd ordered. Hearing Zedd's voice, Filcar automatically did what he was ordered to do. As he dropped, Zedd unleashed everything his blaster had into the encroaching monster. The energy blasts, too, passed through the Dark Lord, not doing any damage at all.

"Argh!" Zordon screamed, sparks flying from his Droid: He had done the opposite of what the troops and along with most of the Morphing Masters had done: he was still giving chase. Zedd's blasts flowed right past the Dark Lord's smokey body and hit Droid Five by accident and, almost as if directed by fate, hit vital collateral circuits in the Droid's system.

"All systems down!" Cestro screamed from his console onboard the War Star armada ship.

"Divert energies to another part of the system, Margaret!" Burai ordered.

Turning to Burai, Margaret shook her head. "I am unable to do it, Burai... All systems down!"

Burai sneered. Impossible! I checked those systems myself! There should have been a backup to at least divert the energies in Droid Five to help in case of system failures...

"Are you sure, Margaret!?" Burai demanded as he began to rush over to her.

"There's no time to double think people, Burai!" Cestro yelled. "If Margaret is going to be a member of The Top, you'll need to trust her judgment! Now get back to your post!"

Burai stopped and nodded. "I'm sorry, Margaret, I-"

Margaret winked at him, but quickly turned back to her console. "Don't worry about it! But we gotta get back to work and fast!"

Meanwhile on the battlefield, the Gold Ranger in Shadow Mode bounded toward Zedd and the Dark Lord to help the commander. Masters Orion, Kamen, and Magnus stopped their onslaught of long distance attacks as they were shocked to see the shadow signifying the Gold Ranger.

Dulcea, too, stopped when she saw the shadow. She's here... I need answers! Who is she!?

The Dark Lord's remnant shot forward, unaffected by any of the blasts. It saw Zedd, who it just thought of as 'the body', before it. It realized it wasn't its original target but, recognizing Zedd from its initial scan, thought: The fool is stronger and allowed itself to be caught. My gain...

Commander Scorpius watched through his binoculars from a distance, observing his men running around with the others, unsure of what to do. He watched as the Dark Lord gave chase to Zedd, Filcar, and Rahp. He watched as Zedd confronted the Dark Cloud. Scorpius hoped his studying of the beast's movements would help him find a pattern to defeating it. Using the troops on the field as bait seemed like the best option to him. What he saw next, though, when the Dark Cloud advanced upon Zedd, changed his life.

Zedd could not react. He felt his nose and mouth fill with thick, black smoke. He couldn't move. He tried to scream, run, call for help on his communicator. Nothing happened. He saw the Gold Ranger land in front of him. He saw the Morphing Masters run up, falling in line behind her. They stared at him, unsure of what to do. He saw through his eyes Alliance troops gather around him as he felt himself fall to the ground onto his back.

Suddenly, he "heard" something. Zedd, is it? That's a nice name. You were a dedicated soldier. I thank you for keeping this vessel in such good shape. Now watch me run your reputation through the mud...

Zedd felt his eyes dart around. He felt his brain drudging up battle tactics he had learned from the time he entered the Academy to that point. He suddenly recalled all of the battle formations and strategies the Academy employed.

Zedd felt his mouth curl into a smile. His voice, uncontrolled by him, flowed out of his mouth. It sounded like a combination of his voice with this deep, otherworldly, raspy tinge.

"Prepare to feel my wrath, Morphing Masters." He felt his hand lifted up to be in front his face, digits slowly moving as he spoke. "I am your worst nightmare: I am Lord Zedd!"

[ShinySephiroth]

Chapter Thirteen: The Letter of the Law

The new Zedd recognized the formation his opponents were forming. He shot Black Energy from his hand and ripped through a large portion of fighters. Screams could be heard from the smoke and ash the blast left behind. As that happened, Zedd clutched his left arm.

...That was too much energy... I can’t do something like that again... The Dark Lord thought.

<Ha. It looks like your plan didn’t work exactly as you had figured, huh?> Zedd mocked the beast inhabiting his body. Zedd then felt the Dark Lord begin to think. Images flashed through Zedd’s mind. The thoughts ended upon the term “power regulator”.

The Dark Lord, ignoring Zedd’s words, began searching for the next part of his plan. While this was happening, he was using an extreme amount of power, hopping from area to area. The Gold Ranger was right on his tail. As she got closer to him, Lord Zedd got closer to what he spotted: a target to appease his need for a power regulator.

From the ship nearby, Burai looked at Cestro. “They need our help. What can we do?”

Cestro considered for a moment before answering. “We can always use Storm Blaster and Lightning Cruiser.”

Burai nodded. “Excellent! Margaret, stay here and monitor the systems. We’ll need someone to remain safe, in case...” He let his words trail off, not wanting to confirm the worst for those around him. Margaret nodded and turned to her computer. She moved her silver hair out of her line of vision, tying it into a ponytail.

Meanwhile, Scorpius watched as Lord Zedd easily evaded the Gold Ranger and the Morphing Masters. Such power! What I could do with a power like that...

Scorpius realized he was half jealous that power was being wasted on a grunt from the United Alliance. He considered what that power would’ve meant, seeing how Zedd’s persona changed, but after a moment realized his free will would’ve been an ample sacrifice to be so powerful.

Storm Blaster and Lightning Cruiser flew overhead, unable to pinpoint Zedd with their blasts. Cestro had made a point of putting their vehicle’s blasters on stun, so they could see what they could do about separating Zedd from the parasite within him. The Gold Ranger, still in Shadow Mode, could not move fast enough to catch Lord Zedd. Perhaps if she knew in what direction Zedd would go she could at least keep up, but losing time trying to also process his rapid directional changes, she could only keep him in her sights.

I have to get to him. She thought. I can’t let someone innocent fall to a fate of... this!

In the meantime, Commander Risp had finally reached the battlefield. She found herself next to Rahp and Filcar. They looked at her and saluted. She noticed Filcar looked as if he had been crying. Rahp approached her first.

“Commander Risp. We have our men reorganized. They are attempting to secure Commander Zedd. Permission to speak freely?” He looked at Risp in the eye for the first time.

“Permission granted.”

He relaxed and started speaking his intents to her. “I am afraid for Zedd. What can we do to help him? I mean, who would’ve thought that thing would have...?” He looked down at the ground.

Risp was one of the few outside Zedd’s platoon who knew the story behind the formation of Zedd's group: they had found some sort of artifact and were “commissioned” to protect it for the Alliance until the Morphing Masters decided what they would do with the artifact. Commander Risp was the one who led the team who gathered the archaeologic team and later interrogated them, “recruiting” them to the cause.

Personally, she did not agree with the Alliance’s tactics, but orders were orders. She knew Sentinel Knight had made a tough decision to quarantine Zedd's group and "volunteer" them to be soldiers to guard the Zeo Crystal. She knew he and a select few other Morphing Masters had weighed the pros and cons and had decided that the crystal's secrecy was more important than the comfort of the archaeolic team. Regardless of all that, a stab of guilt for being a key part of Zedd and his people becoming entangled with the military hit her, leaving Risp with a sense of loyalty to the intent of rescuing Zedd from his predicament.

Placing a hand on Rahp’s shoulder, Risp said, “We will find a way to get to him. We just need to wait for the Morphing Masters to assess the situation further.”

Rahp looked up, a fire in his eyes. “No. I have waited long enough for the Morphing Masters. Nowhere in the Alliance creed does it say soldiers need to wait for the Morphing Masters. I am a commander in this mission, and I say we hit hard now and do what we can to get back our fellow soldier. He is a hostage, and the Alliance does not negotiate for hostages: they save hostages.”

Filcar looked up at Rahp’s powerful words. They struck a cord in Risp as well. She looked at this man, exuding leadership in a time of uncertainty. She nodded. “Attention!”

The two of them straightened up and faced their commander. Looking at Paul Rahp, Commander Risp said, “I am turning over the role of general commander to Rahp. What are your instructions, commander?” She then fell back to attention. She had realized with Rahp’s connection to Zedd, and his determination to get the job done, he would be a perfect fit for this mission.

Meanwhile, Master Magnus as the Defender and Master Kamen did the best they could to keep up with the superpowered beings, but could not keep up. As that occurred, Dulcea dropped down from some trees as they stopped to catch their breath.

“Nice of you to join us.” The Defender said through his helmet. Dulcea looked at the black blur that was the Gold Ranger chasing the red blur which was Lord Zedd.

“It would be nice if we could keep up with them...” Dulcea looked at her two fellow councilmen.

Kamen placed his hand behind his head, elbow pointing up. “I hope you’re not insinuating what I think you’re insinuating...”

Dulcea looked down, and then back to the two fighters. She had been insinuating something: connecting to the Morphing Grid, to become warriors similar to the Gold Ranger.

Before they could give her thought further consideration, Lord Zedd found his target. As he landed, he sent a shockwave out from his self. Unfortunately for him, it caused his body to start to shut down again. The Dark Lord used all his remaining energy to keep the body he was inhabiting from completely failing. Zedd could hardly stand the pain and his brain caused his consciousness to go “unconscious”, leaving the Dark Lord as the vessel's sole pilot.

Lord Zedd looked to find the Gold Ranger trying to recover. He pointed his hand at the target of his desires on one of Mirinoi’s trees: what would help become his power regulator. The power from Zedd hit the target and teleported it into his hands. As he did, he found himself surrounded by Dulcea with her staff, the Defender, Orion wearing the Light Armor, and Kamen with his saber. The Gold Ranger jumped in with the others, Power Staff in hand.

Lord Zedd cackled. As he did, he leaned back, his body fully involved in the laugh. He showed his enemies what he held: a giant snake. “Prepare to meet my wrath!” Lord Zedd then focused his energies into the snake, much like Master Tria had done with the Zeo Subcrystal and her Power Staff. The snake then transformed into a large, metallic staff. A giant Z was found at the staff's head.

As the warriors encircled Lord Zedd, Master Zordon finally approached the group, having abandoned the totaled Droid Five. As he did, he saw everyone sporting their weaponry. Zordon spied Lord Zedd and his new Z Staff.

“AHHH!!!” Lord Zedd yelled as he used the staff to blast those around him. The Morphing Masters quickly darted out of the way, narrowly avoiding getting vaporized. Lord Zedd was glad he had the staff: his powers were too much for his mortal frame, and was quickly destroying it. The Dark Lord turned the snake into a staff to serve as his power regulator, to not destroy his vessel. He feared if his vessel were destroyed, because his essense was junctioned to it he, too, would be destroyed.

The Morphing Masters reassembled, with Zordon in the middle. He knew he would have to up his game. He had intended on saving the equipment he was thinking of for a later time, because Sentinel Knight had passed a law for the Alliance stating explicitly how the Morphing Grid was not to be used as a direct power source for fighters. Zordon in his research, though, had found a way to mimic certain features of the Morphing Grid. He had actually proven all beings and objects have some sort of connection to the Grid, though the depth of the connection varied from person to person. He had been planning on sharing his findings before he had been promoted to be a Morphing Master. After the promotion, though, things had escalated and he hadn't found the time to reveal his findings. And, with those findings... his secret.

Well, I guess impressing investors isn’t the forefront of my responsibilities anymore. Zordon thought. Hopefully Sentinel won’t suppress this idea. I wanted to have time for him to process this before unveiling it to the public.

Zordon looked at his comrades. He stared at Lord Zedd: the man Zordon swore to protect on his first mission with the Morphing Masters. The man who he felt he had failed. The man I will bring back from the clutches of evil.

Zordon extended his hand. “Saba! Come to me!”

A red saber appeared in Zordon’s hand. It seemed to have a tiger head on the end of the hilt. The blade extended a bit as Zordon gripped it upside down. The Defender tilted his head, unsure of what he had witnessed.

“Nice parlor trick, Master Zordon. Let’s see what it can do.” Lord Zedd taunted.

“Everyone stand back: he’s mine.” Zordon charged forward.

“Zordon, is this wise?” The head on his saber said.

“I need your help right now, Saba. We can talk logic later.” Zordon replied as he rushed his opponent.

“Oh, my...” The head, Saba, replied.

Zordon swiped at Lord Zedd. Lord Zedd easily parried the attack with his staff. He then pointed the staff at Zordon and sent the rookie Morphing Master flying back. Zordon performed a flip midair, correcting himself and landing back beside the Defender and the Gold Ranger.

“Attack!” Rahp yelled. He and the other militants had been in hiding, waiting for their commander to give the order. Commander Rahp had assigned all the troops to set their blasters to a stun setting, in hopes of retrieving Zedd. Once he saw Lord Zedd had dropped his guard, he ordered everyone to storm the field.

The Morphing Masters followed in step, with Storm Blaster and Lightning Cruiser flying overhead.

“Cestro, are you ready?” Burai said over his dashboard communicator, sitting in Lightning Cruiser.

“Ready!” Cestro replied in his underwater-esque voice.

Burai felt bad he had not been much help up to that point: Lord Zedd’s shockwave had temporarily taken a lot of the vehicle’s systems offline, including targeting. It seemed as though the staff was amplifying Lord Zedd’s attacks, making them more concentrated and controlled. It was Cestro's opinion that it not only regulated how much output came from Lord Zedd, but also allowed it to not “splash” everywhere. All the same, the two vehicles seemed safe from permanent damage.

Scorpius, now the only person not involved in one way or another in the fighting, continued to watch from afar. He continued to be in awe of the might Zedd had received. “Amazing! Absolutely amazing!”

The gem on Scorpius' forehead, which all people native to Edenoi had, recorded everything he saw into a format he could later transfer to a computer. He wished to analyze all of the data he saw later, hopefully to see how to defeat Lord Zedd himself and rip his powers from him. He was awestruck by Zedd’s new ability to take on six Morphing Masters, the Gold Ranger, and four different Alliance subunits. “I need power like that!”

Risp was amazed at Lord Zedd’s agility. His movements were fluid, like a beautifully choreographed dance. He had a counter to everything the Alliance threw at him. What no one knew was the Dark Lord was accessing all of Zedd’s Alliance training and was able to, due to his nature, recall everything faster than mortals could normally process, being able to fully regulate ion channels and Zedd’s entire nervous system in general. He was like an enhanced myelin sheath throughout Zedd’s neural network.

Filcar did the best he could to keep up. What little energy he could use to tap the Morphing Grid, he did. He flung small rocks and debris at Zedd while trying to get closer. This was supposed to be me! Let Zedd go! Take me! If I had been stronger, Zedd wouldn't have been taken! Andrew Filcar thought frantically. The burden of the recent events was taking its toll on him. He did not want the guilt on his shoulders.

Master Orion, in his Light Armor, was able to get close to Lord Zedd. He exchanged blows with the beast before being flung into a tree. Not by coincidence, Lord Zedd had flung him into a tree in which Master Dulcea was situated, prepping for an aerial attack. Master Orion slammed the tree hard enough to knock her down to the ground.

Zordon shot lasers out of Saba’s “eyes”. Lord Zedd seemed to be able to absorb them with his staff. Lord Zedd then began to laugh. “Fools! You will never destroy me!” He then sighed. “I am tired of this. Time to explore the universe!” And with that, he simply vanished.

Everyone looked around to see the damage. Friends had fallen; many others were injured. Master Kamen was the first to notice what was due to become a big deal: “Everyone, look!”

The Gold Ranger had her hand to her shield. She was glowing a bright gold color. It was an odd sight: the suit seemed like it was vibrating around her. Then, suddenly, she demorphed.

What? How!? No! Tria, demorphed looked around at everyone stunned. Her secret was out.

Dulcea was pleased: seeing Tria was the Gold Ranger concreted to her the ranger was in the right and not the villain Sentinel Knight had painted her to be. The Defender and Kamen were divided: they had seen how the Gold Ranger saved them in the conference hall, but also heard of her attack on Sentinel Knight.

Zordon was shocked. He looked at her, almost pleading that it wasn’t so. “But, why!? You are supposed to uphold the law, not destroy it!”

Tria shook her head. “I did not break any laws! I--”

“You attacked Sentinel Knight! He said he felt you tapping the Morphing Grid!”

“That doesn't even make sense! I'm usin' a Zeo Subcrystal. I didn’t tap the Grid! That wasn’t me!”

“Oh, so there are two gold rangers now? How convenient!”

“You are so ungrateful! I saved you back on Solaris 8 and--”

“Me, ungrateful!? I am extremely grateful... to the Alliance! They are the ones who maintain order in the universe, but when anarchists like you start running around, everything is put into jeopardy!”

Master Orion sent a ball of Light between the two debaters, narrowly missing them, to get their attention. “Stop it, you two. We need to work things out. Tria, you will need to come back with us for questioning.”

“Of course, Master Orion.” Although Tria outranked Orion in the council, his words and her law breaking gave him precedence and authority over her.

“That’s not enough!” Zordon yelled. “I have the law on my side: Tria, as the Gold Ranger you have broken Alliance Law: You are under arrest!”

Kamen sighed and shook his head. And to think only moments ago we were battling for our lives against a brainwashed Alliance commander. Now we're battling each other.

“Zordon, I think you are taking this too--” Dulcea started. Before she could finish, though, Zordon pointed Saba at Tria.

Tria summoned her Power Staff and as she did, Zordon fired. Tria rolled out of the way.

“It’s morphin’ time!” Tria yelled out of habit. She found she was able to morph faster when she performed similar habits before each morph, as if a memory trace had been formed to help her access the power quicker.

The Gold Ranger stared at her friends. Zordon pointed Saba again and fired. She went into Shadow Mode and bounded away.

[PRangerX]

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