Streaks of Purple Saga Volume Two, Heather Ray [story read aloud txt] 📗

Goldar stared off the edge of a deep crater, dug centuries ago into the face of the murky gray Moon by a passing meteor. It reached nearly a quarter mile in depth, leaving the very bottom obscured in darkness.

But his intensely keen eyesight was able to detect the burning sanguine light that smoldered in the epicenter of the pit.

Swallowing hard with dread, Goldar cast a single glance behind him. The towering palace of Lord Zedd was still visible in the distance, shining vibrantly in the light cast by the radiant sun that hovered over the blue jewel of Earth.

Goldar sighed inwardly. There was no use delaying the inevitable. Hopefully, the dreaded Lord was too busy working on his newest scheme to properly punish him.

So, he nimbly leapt into the darkness. After several seconds of slow descension, thanks to the limited gravity of the Moon, he landed on the dusty ground that ringed Zedd's workstation.

Goldar's ruby eyes widened when he saw the Emperor's staff dug into the ground, moving in a circular motion to stir a pit of quicksand. But unlike any other form of quicksand, this one sparkled with red dust, which littered the gray mud like the stars do the heavens.

Zedd didn't even bother looking up at Goldar. His visor remained fixed upon a large scroll, hanging in the air and illuminated by the light that flashed from Zedd's eyes.

"M...master," Goldar stuttered, his tone mirroring the fear in his heart, "The Imlit Fog has no effect."

Zedd glanced up, turning on his heel to fix the Titan with an incredulous gaze. "Impossible!" he scoffed, "No magical defense can withstand the Imlit Fog for so long! And certainly

not an Earthling."

"But she is unharmed," Goldar protested, very

carefully, "I probably couldn't even touch her."

"Did you try?" Zedd demanded. Goldar cringed, staring down at the ground again.

"I thought not," Zedd growled, turning back to the scroll. His silver-tipped finger passed along text, and his eyes then rose to the sky, where the Earth swallowed nearly a quarter of the space visible from the bottom of the deep pit.

"What... are you doing, Lord?"

Zedd lifted his thumb to measure the view above him. "Summoning a creature that will certainly destroy

the Power Rangers." He would have smirked, if his face were visible beneath his iron mask.

Goldar frowned thoughtfully, first following his Emperor's gaze to the heavens, and then looking back down at the pit of swirling, thick mud. His eyes widened in realization.

"The... the Erebus?" he gasped, stepping back timidly, "The beast that razed the temple of Phaedos? But, we are so far from its power source. Can the creature be summoned?"

Zedd folded his arms. "I didn't think so," he admitted, "but I spent some time calculating just how distant we are from the Great Tear. This night is the closest this solar system shall be to that epicenter of power for the next eight thousand years, so now is the time to try. The positioning of the planets will be able to reflect some of the Chaos energy this direction, magnifying the radiation Erebus can feed upon."

Zedd then looked down at the swirling pit, extending his hand. The staff obeyed his command, flying into his grasp. The pit continued to stir without the mixing rod, moving on its own volition. "If I do manage to raise Erebus, he will doubtless have only a fraction of the might he wielded on Phaedos. However, he should be powerful enough to destroy the Power Rangers."

His ruby stare fell onto Goldar once again. "He would have surely destroyed the four Rangers, if you hadn't been so inept as to let Jason live! Twice!"

Goldar scowled, but his face was invisible to Zedd, as it was bowed in submission.

Zedd calmed, turning his back to Goldar once again. "It is nearly complete," he decided, "So long as the Moon is high in the sky of Angel Grove, enough Chaos energy should be reflected to maintain his manifestation."

Zedd's hands stretched over the pool, crackling lightning flying between his fingers. "I don't have time to deal with the Purple Ranger now," he growled, his voice heavy with exertion, "This spell must be cast perfectly

, and I won't have another chance. If you can't destroy the girl, just keep her imprisoned for now. Make sure she doesn't somehow get back to Earth to help the Rangers. I want Earth's forces to be destroyed

this night."

Goldar watched, completely mesmerized, as the flashing lightning dove into the center of the whirlpool. At the touch of Lord Zedd's energy manifestation, the reddish-gray mud flashed into an angry red, which swirled throughout the puddle with the slow motion of the thickening mud.

Black lightning then leapt from the center of the abyss. Goldar pushed himself against the furthest wall of the pit, wide eyes staring in terrified wonder at the creature that lumbered out of the pit.

Of all of Earthly creation and imagination, it mostly resembled something of a wiry dinosaur, its skin covered with sharp scales that glistened in the red light of Zedd's magic. It stood on its two hind legs, allowing four equally-versatile limbs to hover in the air, stretching to flex the mighty, lean muscles corded beneath its oil-toned skin. Empty pits served for its eyes, three in all, that sat above the elongated snout with saber teeth peaking out from beneath its black lips.

Finally, a mighty tail swung behind it, connected to the small of its back and elevating above its head like a scorpion's stinger.

The creature blinked empty eye sockets, turning its attention to Lord Zedd. The Emperor stood undaunted as the creature's sockets flared with steady red energy that hovered in the empty pits and focused on him alone.

"YOU DARE SUMMON EREBUS, CHILD OF CHAOS, TO THE REALM OF MATTER?" the beast growled, its voice pulsing within a person like one's own heartbeat.

"Yes, I dare," Zedd growled defiantly. He lifted his staff threateningly, the platinum metal glistening with inner energy. "You may be a mighty beast of Chaos, but you are too far from the Tear to manifest your full power. I

have the power to control you, if you dare defy me."

After a few moments of silence, the beast smiled, revealing the full length of its numerous fangs.

"YOUR POWER PALES IN COMPARISON TO MY MASTER," he recognized with a mocking chuckle. "YOU ARE NO MATCH FOR THE SHADOW LORD, NOR FOR ME."

Zedd's visor flared. "Umbriel is dead

, Destroyer. And those responsible for his demise are there!" He pointed his index finger to the Earth, which hovered ominously above them.

Despite the surprising news, the beast continued to smile. "THE LORD OF SHADOW IS NOT DEAD," he revealed.

Zedd clenched his fists furiously. "Don't toy with me," he hissed, on the very brink of outrage, "The Empire has collapsed beyond repair, and your precious god is history. Now, obey me

, and annihilate the Power Rangers!"

The monster's smile stretched into a curious smirk as he turned his pulsing jeweled gaze to the globe hovering above. "THE POWER RANGERS," he repeated with interest, "ZORDON OF ELTAR'S LITTLE EXPERIMENT?"

Zedd smiled beneath his mask. "Yes. The very same Zordon you were ordered

to kill on Phaedos. Not only did you not kill him or the Blacksmith, but you even let them finish the mission of creating the Power Rangers."

Erebus' ruby eyes tilted slightly toward Zedd, who remained standing defiantly under the twelve-foot beast. It then folded both sets of arms, glancing again at the Earth.

"MY LAST MISSION WAS NEVER COMPLETED," he admitted, "BUT I DID DESTROY THE NINJETTI CULT ONCE AND FOR ALL. AND TONIGHT, I SHALL FINISH THAT MISSION BY ANNIHILATING ZORDON AND THOSE WHO WOULD PROTECT HIM."

Once again, cold rubies fell toward Zedd. "REMEMBER, THIS MISSION IS FULFILLED ONLY

BECAUSE MY MASTER HAD WILLED IT. I SERVE NO WEAKLING MORTAL PRINCELING. YOU CANNOT TEMPER THE BLACK FLAMES OF CHAOS."

"You certainly spent a great deal of time talking," Zedd grumbled scornfully, "Now... be GONE!"

The beast frowned at the impudent monarch, and arched his back. Huge leathery wings sprouted from his back just above his thick tail, and stretched to the sky. With one powerful thrust, he hurled his body upwards.

Goldar slowly released the breath he was holding, and inched out of the wall he had practically dug himself into. Awed, his eyes followed the monster as it vanished from sight.

"You... you controlled the god of Chaos!" Goldar marveled.

Zedd chuckled, leaning heavily against his staff. "Don't be so dramatic. He is no god... only a manifestation of primordial energies. He is created from the First Realm, and he despises being summoned into the material world by anyone weaker than himself."

He then held his scepter tightly, lightning flashing about his body. "See to the girl. I must rest... the spell has exhausted me."

Goldar watched his monarch vanish.

Billy's puzzled green gaze fixed upon the tremendous blue column that reached to the high ceiling of the Command Center.

About fifteen minutes ago, their mentor's visage had dissipated, leaving behind gaseous fumes and sparks of energy.

"How is he planning on reaching a consciousness

?" he mused. He then turned to Alpha, who had returned to Tommy's side to conduct another quick status check.

"Alpha, does Zordon have... telepathic ability?" he proposed.

Alpha nodded his saucer-shaped cranium. "Before his body was destroyed, Zordon was a sorcerer as well as a telepath. Therefore, he has access to both the Astral Plane, the reality of pure thought, and the Magical Plane, where the energies of the universe can be manipulated."

Kimberly cocked an eyebrow, watching Alpha work. "Uh... come again?"

"Think of reality as... your Firebird viewscreen," Alpha suggested. "Now, the default setting is Optical Lens, which lets you see your surroundings as if you were looking through a window. That's the Material or Physical Plane."

Kim nodded, following the illustration. Alpha noticed the other Rangers gather around, their brows furrowed with interest.

"The Optical Lens only allows you to see what you could see with your naked eye, but you all know there is much

more out there than the visible," Alpha resumed. "You can switch the visual to an Infrared view, X-Ray, Heatscan, Metal Detection, and Density scan, just to name a few. Each screen looks different, and makes visible different aspects of the environment. But