Streaks of Purple Saga Volume One, Heather Ray [i love reading .TXT] 📗

a soft-spoken man.

His gaze then fell upon a withered figure standing before him.

"Zordon," the man said, his voice quiet with awe. His powerful eyes were transfixed upon the floating, ethereal blue head suspended in the core of the cylinder, staring at him with deep confusion.

"WHO ARE YOU?"

"True, I've wrinkled somewhat over the years... but perhaps if you took a closer look, you would recognize me?"

Zordon's eyes widened as the ancient human's identity dawned upon him.
"REGITA? NO... IT ISN'T POSSIBLE..."

The Eltarian sage was thunderstruck. He barely noticed the gold and red android step towards him, pressing buttons on some computer just beneath him.

It was then that Zordon realized he was encased within a glass tube.
"WHAT HAPPENED?" he suddenly demanded in panicked confusion, "WHAT... WHAT HAPPENED TO MY BODY?"

"Do you remember when Ghedaliah brashly attacked the Citadel?" Regita inquired, leaning against his staff once again. "You led the rest of us after him."

Zordon bowed his head in a form of nod.

"After the High Lord had suspended us in a paralyzing field, you confronted him in telepathic combat. It was the only way to prevent him from killing us all. However... while you did battle, he tore your mind from your body. Permanently."

Regita paused somberly. "To all the world, it seemed as if you had fallen dead. I'm sorry... if we had been able to preserve the body, we might have found a way to restore you."

Zordon's expression was grim. "HOW LONG AGO WAS THIS BATTLE?"

The android unit stepped forward. "We have searched various planes of existence for one hundred-seven years."

Zordon's jaw clamped, and he fell into a deep, pensive silence. It was incredible to fathom he had spent that much time trapped in limbo. And yet, he was still trapped. Without his body he had no vessel to house his soul. Only through this contraption could he communicate with the universe for which he sacrificed his body.

"WHAT IS THE SITUATION NOW, REGITA?"

"Ghedaliah managed to kill Umbriel right after your... death."

Zordon's eyes were like saucers. "UMBRIEL IS... DEAD? ARE YOU CERTAIN?"
Regita frowned slightly. "No body was ever found, but there hasn't been so much as a whisper from the him since that battle. "HAS ANYONE FOUND THE SOURCE OF UMBRIEL'S POWER? THE CRYSTAL...?"

Regita shook his head. "No... we could only assume his loyal forces took it with them when they left the planet. I haven't detected any real magical potency since the final battle. We retired our Power Coins, and focused our attention on reviving the people who served as slaves in the High Lord's citadel. In fact, the other Rangers served on a Council to organize the former slaves. We have transformed the Empire's main palace into Gateway City, the only city on this continent."

Zordon listened intently to the story, but one point Regita stated struck him. "ONLY THE OTHER RANGERS? WHAT DID YOU DO WITH YOUR LIFE?"

Regita smiled. "I would not rest until I had found you. I was convinced we could reach you, and when Lexion explained planes of reality, I served with him and Alpha to create the machines that would bring you back. I have lived in the Command Center ever since."

Zordon's eyes were wide. "YOU SACRIFICED YOUR LIFE TO FIND ME?"

"You sacrificed your life for a planet not your own," Regita pointed out, "It was my duty to insure every possible measure was taken to find you." He then smiled. "I have lived a fulfilling life, Zordon. True, not quite as... outgoing as my comrades, but no less significant. I have ensured that there would be someone to take on the role of Rangers if another threat arrived."

His smile then eroded into a frown of the utmost urgency. "And it did."
Chapter Eight

Zordon remained in alert silence as Regita thoroughly explained the events that had taken place over the past three years. He introduced his mentor to all the information gathered about Rita Repulsa, her forces, her powers, and her objectives. He also helped Zordon access all the files on the arsenal at the Rangers’ disposal, including the colossal Zords created by Ninjor.

Finally, Zordon was informed about the new Power Rangers, and met them as a group. Wisely, Regita has asked the Rangers to leave the chamber when Zordon arrived, in order to prepare the Eltarian for the shock awaiting him. When they did enter, the humans were a little befuddled by Zordon’s non-corporeal existence. But they understood the greatness of the man before them, and quickly felt the joy their mentor displayed at the restoration of Earth’s most significant hero. Zordon, for his part, was touched at the eagerness these youths displayed.

However, neither the active Rangers nor their mentors were aware that the stakes had risen tremendously.

Chapter Nine

Rita swallowed hard, the flickering of the candle on her desk shedding eerie shadows across the ancient tablet she stared at.

The text was engraved deeply in the worn marble, and slowly, the queen ran her trembling finger along the vertical text.

She leaned her head against her other hand as she stared blindly at the tablet.

"I... I can't do this," she breathed, pushing the tablet away. It crept to the edge of her magnificent granite desk, the surface reflecting the dim light like a mirror.

Her fear mixed with frustration as she abruptly rose from her seat, striding across the chamber to another wall of books, scrolls, and tablets. She had spent days in her study, searching forsomething she could use. She needed to find some force of evil powerful enough to sap the seemingly limitless power of the seven humans. She needed to find some ally she could rely on to carry out its mission without failure.
But was she desperate enough to summon the evil that tablet alluded to?

"Machti nolem hoi, siki-lan justil," she murmured, "Blade of Night Eternal, Reflect the Darkness Within."

She had found this spell of unknown power during a casual trip to the Onyx spaceport, where she stopped on the way to Phlegethon to begin her service to Zedd. The other villains at the pub were too terrified by this Sword of Darkness to even bid on the tablet, but she was too curious to refuse. Being from M 51, she was unfamiliar with the legends of the Sword of Darkness, and the evil it embodied. But gradually, the stories reached her ear, and froze her very soul.

Rita was evil, no doubt about that. But the evil that created this weapon was unfathomable, even by her standards.

Was there any way to control that kind of evil, once it was forged into reality? Could she even find a host strong enough to survive, as the spell twisted its very soul and amplified its own darkness?

What would keep her new champion from turning on her? True evil, in its darkest nature, could feel no love or loyalty whatsoever. It was entirely proud, and unbearably selfish. A warrior armed with the Sword of Darkness would surely betray her eventually, and destroy any being that stood in the way of its desires. Friend or foe, or even helpless innocent... it meant nothing to this type of Evil.

Rita sighed deeply as she stared at her other volumes. Her hours of diligent research had found nothing else. She needed a Knight that would carry out her bidding that was mighty enough to enslave the Earth in her name.

She then scowled, glancing back at the ominous tablet. "What does it matter anyway?" she muttered, "Without the proper host, that sword is utterly useless to me. I would need someone with incredible natural power, but with an inner darkness the spell can feed upon. And I'd need to develop a way to maintain control over this warrior."

She huffed. "If only it were that easy to find a warrior who could even challenge

the Rangers..."

Chapter Ten

Meanwhile, only meters away from the conflicted Queen, her only true warrior paced anxiously in his subterranean lair. His gaze constantly jumped from the cracked ground to his silver-trimmed mirror, the only accent in the extremely Spartan living quarters.

Finally, the small mirror flashed, the energy glint bringing fresh excitement to the warrior. Goldar hurried to the mirror, absently straightening the fur on his snout as a blurred image came into focus.

^Greetings, Goldar. You are certainly looking well,^

He smiled broadly at the compliment, bowing his head slightly. “As do you, Scorpina.”

Lord Zedd’s spy grinned broadly, a twinkle in her dark eyes.

“How far are you from Earth?”

^My vessel should be arriving in the Sol system in about three hours,^ she reported, ^and then, it should only take about one more hour to reach the Earth’s satellite - ^

“Actually, I’d rather you meet me on Earth itself.”

^Really? Why?^

Goldar glanced behind him, as if he feared an eavesdropper. “Because, this is my

mission. I don’t want Rita interfering, and if you came to the moon, she’d sense your presence. But she’s been distracted lately, locked up in her study without emerging, so I doubt she’ll notice if you go to Earth.”

A devilish smirk pulled at the femme fatale’s crimson lips. ^A covert mission, dear general? Sounds deliciously devious!^

Goldar puffed his chest with pride. “I knew you would approve.