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

they all exist, and take up the same space. That's how reality is structured... different layers that essentially occupy the same area. There are layers... or dimensions, to the universe. The Physical is only one."

Trini's almond eyes widened. "And Zordon is on the Mental Plane only?"

"Right. Without his body, he lost his link to the Physical Plane. But with this technology, he can interact with this reality, to a limited degree."

Zack scratched his head, clearly overwhelmed. "Wow... this is all so complicated

!"

Alpha giggled. "Hey, give it time! You've only been Rangers for a year now. It took decades of programming to turn me into the encyclopedia I am today!"

With that, the cheerful robot tilted his head, his version of a smile, and moved to the small computer at the base of Zordon's cylinder.

"This scanner is our only access to the Astral Plane, where Zordon is," he explained, "We can't exactly explore it, but we can home in on Zordon, so we know if he's okay, and so we can re-establish connection if he's ever involuntarily separated-"

Suddenly, alarms screamed to life, jarring the unprepared Rangers. All five teens assembled tightly before the Viewing Globe, Jason looming behind his team with his arms crossed.

His dark eyes, which had been narrowed in preparation for Leader Mode, widened in absolute horror at the grotesque creature the Globe revealed.

He swallowed hard, turning to Alpha incredulously. "Please tell me that's some kind of hologram."

"We're getting an energy reading," Alpha reported, his voice trembling, "and... aye yi yi! Its power is incredible!"

"What is it?" Trini wondered, "Zedd didn't make this monster out of a household appliance."

"Finster?" Kim proposed.

"No, the energy readings aren't compatible with the Monster-Baking signature. It's... a summoned creature!"

"A what-now?" Zack muttered with a scowl.

"Monsters can be created magically, like Zedd and Finster do. But they can also be summoned, by casting spells that cut into the folds of reality to pull out different energies and give them life. This one is pulsing with energy from the Chaotic, the very first layer of Reality from which all else was formed. The energies in the Chaotic are... as the name suggests, wild!"

The small robot shuddered fearfully. "...and capable of terrible destruction."

Alpha looked to the Viewing Globe, almost dazed. "I didn't know Lord Zedd was able to control a Chaotic beast. No one

has been able to do that, except..."

His voice died, panic nearly blowing a fuse.

Jason's terrified expression hardened. "Alpha, keep conducting scans," he ordered, "Try and find a weak point of some kind. Figure out how we can beat it." He then turned to his team. "Let's move."

Kim bit her lip, casting a hesitant glance at their sixth member. Jason noticed. "Alpha, let us know the moment

there's any change in Tommy's condition."

Alpha snapped out of his daze, and straightened. "You've got it! But be careful, Rangers! That monster is different from everything you've ever faced!"

Jason nodded, striding to the console that carried his helmet. "Back to Action!"

Chapter Five

The tiny form shivered with sobs, rocking her entire frame and weakening the flickering power within.

She hovered like a helpless puppet on invisible strings, surrounded by a strange matrix of liquid color. In fact, for some reason, she was the only object in view that wasn't awesomely vibrant.

Her skin was a pallid gray, as well as her hair that fluttered about her fetal-positioned body as if she were immersed in water.

Nothing...

she wept, Not even a flicker of Erol! In all that boy's being, no sign of him. He is gone... completely...

Despair had claimed her completely, and she cared not that her achromatic body slowly dissolved into a formless, nearly invisible mist.

*Kreia!*

The shuddering stopped. Hollow eyes looked up from her knees, turning toward the gentle voice. The voice seemed to pulse in her mind, but she was able to detect its location on the Astral Plane as well.

It was almost ironic. She had always marveled of the layers of reality, especially the Astral Plane, which was always out of her reach. And now, it would be her grave.

A figure, covered in a protective pearly armor, hovered closer to her. While his manifestation was impossible to recognize, the energy he exuded was quite familiar.

*Zordon,* she whispered, her mind-voice as soft as a weak spring breeze.

Zordon floated to her side, gazing at the manifestation fearfully.

Yes... it was certainly Kreia. The Astral projection resembled her physical body, as it nearly always did. But, something was terribly wrong.

She wore no protective armor, meaning she was completely vulnerable to psychic assault. She almost seemed to flutter, like a weak leaf lost in a current of wind. Her limbs were far slimmer than he recalled, and the rich colors of the mental plane were absent. She was gray, and nearly translucent.

Kreia nodded weakly, stretching out of her fetal position. She bowed her head slowly, folding her hands before her. *I'm... fading.*

Zordon couldn't contain his discomfort at the emptiness he sensed. She was almost a ghost of an astral form. He had never encountered such a being.

Did she even realize the danger she was in? How frightfully weak she had become? *You aren't fading, Child... you are dying!*

She shrugged impotently. *I am already dead. Or, I was never alive. It all depends on how you look at it.*

Zordon frowned, removing his psychic helmet to help open up his senses to her pain. *I don't understand. What is happening to you, Kreia?*

She sighed deeply, unfolding her hands and staring at her fading palms. *I'm... I'm not Kreia,* she revealed, *Not really. The girl Kreia died not long after she Ascended. I am just a Shade.*

The ancient sage's eyes widened. *A Shade?*

*I am just a reflection of Kreia, caught between Realities by the energies she manifested when she died. I am her thoughts and feelings, given consciousness by the Power she wielded. When the Purple Coin was found, and brought close enough to the Command Center, I was awakened.*

*How?*

She closed her eyes tiredly. *The familiarity,* she confessed. *I have been in limbo, my only connection to the Physical Plane being the coin in which Kreia focused her life energy for the Ascension. When the coin came so close to the Command Center, I could... feel that I had come home. The energies of the Morphin' Grid are active now, and that warmth reached me.*

She shivered again, wrapping her arms around her too-slim body. *I was so confused... lost. My thoughts mingled with the girl who awoke me, and when she accepted the coin, I fused with her. I didn't mean it... I didn't mean to hurt anyone. But... when I touched the new Green Ranger... it was so clear...*

Her voice faded.

*When I use my power, I weaken. I used so much when I touched Tommy, when I searched for Erol. I could no longer hold the Physical Plane, and I regressed here, into the realm of Thought. After I spent some time here, fully conscious, I... I realized what I was.*

After a few more moments of silence, she gazed back at Zordon. As always, he wore the most tender, remorseful expression.

*I'm so sorry, Kreia.*

She shook her head. *You couldn't help me, Zordon. You couldn't stop me... stop her, from sacrificing herself.* She inhaled a steadying breath. *How... long?*

*Nine-thousand, nine hundred and thirty six years,* he responded. With a slight grin he added, *Ten months, and twelve days.*

Kreia's shade blinked. *Gods...* she breathed, stunned. Then, she sighed. *Then it's all for the best that I am fading. There is nothing left in this world for me. The Earth I swore to protect is long gone.*

Zordon was solemn, watching the mists increasingly waft into the Astral Plane. With each passing moment, Kreia became less and less substantial.

*Fight it!* he pleaded, stung that she didn't even seem to care about her imminent demise. *You are strong, Kreia. You have the willpower to sustain yourself here! I am trapped on the Astral Plane too, with no body to return to. But I didn't let myself melt into oblivion!*

Kreia looked up again, smiling mildly at the compassion in her mentor astral eyes. *You know the difference, Zordon. You are

Zordon, in heart, mind, and spirit. You've only lost your body. I am a figment of the imagination. A dying thought. A final breath. I am not a person... I couldn't last long. How long does a single breath exist?*

Zordon watched helplessly as the last vestiges of the young Purple Ranger disappeared from existence. But before she faded completely, an alarming thought came to the sage's mind.

*Kreia, wait!* he pleaded, *What of Alexis? Where is she?*

The mist crawling up Kreia's image slowed, and faded. Her expression was thoughtful. *I do not know. I haven't seen the Physical Plane since I touched Tommy.* She then closed her eyes, her body trembling as she exerted her will to the Physical Plane. After several moments, her eyes widened in panic. *She is greatly alarmed, Zordon. I cannot see from her eyes unless I exert myself over her consciousness, but she is in danger.*

She frowned. *I can still feel the connection between us. So long as she holds the Purple Coin, and I still exist, she is protected by all my remaining power. However... she doesn't know how to use it. Her only protection is the involuntary protective spells. She doesn't know how to escape.*

Zordon nodded. *Thank you, Kreia, for your help in solving this dilemma. The Rangers will rescue her.* He smiled tenderly, reaching out and taking her hand. *Safe journey, my Child.*

Kreia hovered slightly away from his hand, startling the wizard. *Not yet,* she determined, *The Rangers may not find the girl in time to be of any use. The last action I will perform will be heroic. I am the one who pulled the innocent girl into our world of fierce battles. She will not be harmed so long as I exist.*

And with that, Kreia vanished from the Astral Plane in a faint flash of energy.