The ferns and bushes rustled, frightening away a couple of toucans. Through the foliage, two pairs of eyes peered out into the woodland, meticulously studying the landscape before them.

“Something’s wrong,” Lexion murmured, his humanoid face covered in numerous face-wrappings through which only his grey eyes could be seen, “We saw them land here… so where are they?”

Zordon shrugged, “I don’t know…” His vivid green eyes darted here and there, his ears listening out for something abnormal; “This isn’t like her at all…” He ran a hand back over his black hair then straightened the sheath containing his katana on his back, “Come on… we have to keep moving.” He rose to his feet and rushed out of the bushes, scurrying into the cover of another, then over into another.

Lexion sighed, shaking his head, then followed suit.

The sun was intense where it penetrated the canopy of leaves above, and the atmosphere in the jungle was hot and humid; the clothes of the two humanoid warriors stuck to them uncomfortably, and they felt hardly able to breath, so close was it.

They travelled on for some time through the forest, looking for their hidden foe, until Lexion had to stop for a drink; he was so parched.

“Hurry up,” Zordon urged his comrade, continuing to keep watch from a low branch above the stream from which Lexion drank.

Lexion nodded, “Yes… just one moment.” He cupped his hands to the water and rose it to his mouth, taking another sip. With the wrappings clear of his face, a small crystal was now visible on his forehead, a sure feature of a man of the Edenite species; it was said to be the focal point of their acclaimed telepathic powers. In direct contrast to Zordon’s, his hair was of a silver hue and his skin pale.

Zordon suddenly arched his neck back and stared to the branches above; the birds had stopped tweeting, and all sound had died away. He heaved a great sigh, his green eyes intense as he tried to read this situation through the Morphin Gird, tried to see things via his mind’s eye; Zordon was a wizard, and one of the universe’s best at that…

“They’re here,” he whispered, standing catlike on the branch, crouched on all fours.

Lexion shot to his feet and looked around himself in panic, “Where?” he gasped, small droplets of water dripping from his chin.

“Shh…” Zordon insisted, holding his hand down toward his friend in gesture, “Be still.”

A huge lump made its way down Lexion’s throat as the less powerful magician glanced warily around the numerous trees and bushes - there were a million and one places for their enemy to hide in this rainforest, a million and one possibilities for ambush. The Edenite’s hands trembled as he reached for the hilt of his daggers, sheathed by his hips.

Suddenly, Zordon dived down from the tree above and toppled onto his friend, knocking him to the ground; “Get down!” he shouted.

As they hit the soil, a dart zipped through the space recently occupied by Lexion’s head, and flew into a rock with a crash.

Lexion shrieked in panic whilst Zordon clamped his hand over his mouth; the Edenite was more a conjurer than a physical fighter, and he didn’t like acting under these circumstances at all.

Then, the ambush began; from out of the bushes, a huge bipedal creature emerged, howling like a beast of the underworld; with a pair of black wings spread wide, it lunged at the two humanoids.

Zordon rolled with Lexion into the stream and paddled a short distance away before they scuttled back to their feet and stood ‘en garde’ on the far bank.

The winged beast dropped to his feet on the opposite shore, his suit of golden armour resonating with sinister clinks as he straightened to his full height and set his eyes on the two wizards with a grin. Little of his true form could be seen outside his golden shell, but he sported a canine-like visage coated in blue fur, with a long snout, a maw filled with small, flesh-tearing teeth and a pair of blood-red eyes. His blunt, black tail swished behind him as he folded his gigantic wings and snuffed toward the two soldiers; “It’s over, Sorcerers of Light. Give it up!”

Zordon and Lexion drew their weapons, “Our cause is worth fighting for, Goldar - and if it is to the end, then so be it!” Zordon replied.

“Then so be it,” Goldar repeated caustically, leaping back into the air and rocketing toward them; the two wizards dived out of the way as Goldar careered past them, drawing his sword and swinging it toward the two, but only managing to slice the air’s invisible flesh…

The Titanian warrior smoothly somersaulted about and catapulted himself back off a tree, flying once more at Lexion - like a true carnivore, he could always sense which kill would be the easiest…

Lexion’s resolve hardened and he balled his hands into fists; “Whirlwind!” he shouted at Goldar, punching a hand into the air above.

The winged wolf skidded to the ground and braced himself, enclosing his body within the shield of his wings as a brief cyclone engulfed him. His claws tunnelled into the soil below and he managed to remain upright until the spell faded. By that time, Lexion and Zordon were running off through the jungle.

Goldar growled in frustration and let out a terrific howl into the air above; more shadows appeared in the trees and darted off through the branches in the wake of the two scurrying sorcerers.

“We can’t waste time fighting that Titanian warrior,” Zordon said to his friend as they zipped through the forest, zigzagging through trees, leaping over bushes, and vaulting across creeks, “He’ll keep us in one place all day.”

“We can take him!”

“He too can use a little magic - we can’t afford to waste our energies on him. If he’s here, then so is she - it is for her that we have come and with her that we shall leave…”

Soon, both Zordon and Lexion caught glimpses of the shadows flitting through the trees behind them.

“We’re being tracked,” Zordon murmured.

Lexion nodded, trying to pace himself as they continued to sprint.

Suddenly, one of these shadows dropped from the trees and landed in front of Lexion; the wizard skidded to a halt with a sharp yell, drawing his daggers and rapidly plunging them into the creature’s throat; the clay creature fell to the ground with a whimper, breaking up into several giant blocks and lying still.

“Golems…” Zordon murmured, his eyes picking up on several more hiding in the branches above, “She must have her monster maker with her too… damn her.”

Lexion gave the broken-up Golem another look; it was basically a grey man of clay, moulded with simplified features, and brought to life by a particular - and peculiar - brand of conjuror, an enchanter from the planet Clayobious, who specialised in the animation of clay creations. These people were known as the monster makers, and they could be deadly foes, producing and giving life to whatever their minds came up with and whatever their hands could mould… The Golem was a basic type of monster compared to the more complex creatures that could be manufactured through the monster maker’s wicked art…

Zordon and Lexion were soon back on their way again, still pursued by the Golems and still looking for their deadliest foe…

The sun above began to wane, though the atmosphere remained as close as ever; Goldar was catching up with the two as well by the time they reached a clearing in the forest. They stopped in its centre, Zordon’s sixth sense picking up on something.

“What? What is it?” Lexion whispered as darkness began to creep into the trees, the sun now plummeting into the horizon.

Zordon didn’t have time to answer; various laughs and snickers began to emerge from the gloom in the woodland around them and, slowly, several forms walked out into the clearing. Zordon’s gaze narrowed on each one of them in turn, every face equally familiar and unwelcome; Baboo was the first, a bipedal creature that look like an ape, with black fur and a bluish complexion; the next was Squatt, a Venusian creature often joked to be half warthog and half blue berry; he also had a pale blue skin, though was half Baboo’s height but twice his width. The two were fast friends and rarely seen apart.

Next, oozing much more in the way of elegance and sophistication, came a female warrior, half clad in golden armour; she had long, silky black hair, which fell gracefully down her back, and the helmet she wore was embellished with the form of a scorpion; Scorpina was her name, and she was a deadly soldier and an infamous seductress, a creature that, though appearing perfectly normal, had the ability to shape-shift and transform into a frightening insect mode - in her case, a mutated version of her namesake. She held a boomerang-like weapon in her hand, and, as she came fully into the light, simply threw the two wizards a devastating smirk. She was also well known as Goldar’s other half.

Following on from her was Finster, a being who simply wore plain robes of blue and white, and who had an ashen, goat-like visage; he was the monster maker from Clayobious.

Then, last but not least, came their ringleader - Rita Repulsa.

Zordon and Lexion clasped their weapons once more as they faced the enemy they’d been looking for over all others; Rita was a sorceress, daughter of the infamous warlord Master Vile, and subject of the Emperor himself. She had been tutored well in the dark arts of magic and witchcraft and was a formidable foe for any who dared oppose her, be they foot soldier, mage or assassin. She wore a pale brown gown embroidered with gold, with a wide, black collar about her neck, and wore her long, silver hair up in two cone-like shapes.

The sorceress held her ornate sceptre gently in her hands, giving the pair of wizards a smug look; “It is not often that I have the pleasure of drawing two sorcerers into a trap,” she mused haughtily whilst Goldar suddenly flew down from the sky above and landed by her side; the winged warrior allowed himself a grin too, a row of jagged peaks peeping out from his lips.

“What trap?” Lexion blurted out.

Goldar laughed, and the rest of the band chorused in, too, until Rita silenced them with a graceful waft of her hand; “Enough,” she said.

Zordon swallowed, sheathing his katana across his back; “It is you who have given yourself to us,” he countered, pointing toward the witch.

Rita rose her eyebrows, “Really? Are you so sure?”

Catching everyone, even Lexion, by surprise, Zordon suddenly drew a magical orb from out of the folds of his jacket, and held the small, crystal ball in his palm; Lexion gawped as he set his eyes on the transparent form, watching coloured clouds swirl within it; “An Orb of Doom…” he gasped.

With a forceful hurl, Zordon launched the orb at Rita, muttering an ancient incantation under his breath as it flew through the air toward her; but luck wasn’t with him. With the lightning reactions of a cheetah, Goldar was before his mistress, doing his job as her bodyguard, and widened his palms out to either side of him; “Screen!“ he snarled.

His spell was a simple one, but it was perfectly timed, and the orb rebounded off the screen, hurtling rapidly back toward the two conjurers of light.

Zordon‘s eyes widened; “Lexion, move!” he yelled.

It was the last thing he ever said in the normal plane of reality.

As he was pushed to the ground by his comrade, Lexion only had time to turn and see the Orb hit Zordon full-on in the stomach. The wizard screamed as the ball shattered, engulfing him in its multicoloured flames, before his form was twisted, distorted, then pulled into the inter-dimensional gulf between both space and time…

“NOOO!!!” Lexion roared as he watched Zordon disappear into a void from which there was no return…

Rita, peering out from behind her shielding protector, suddenly realised what this meant; “He’s gone…” she whispered in gleeful awe, “Zordon’s gone!” She patted Goldar on the back and stepped from out of his shadow, “He’s destroyed himself with a weapon he intended to use on us!“

As the evil alien group all sniggered and clapped, coming to terms with this tremendous advantage on their part, Lexion suddenly had to come to grips with his own situation; he was alone on this quest now, but his embittered rage would not allow him to slink away - he had to see this through, for the sake of the universe!

He put his hands to his head and drew together every last trace of magic within his body; to any wizard, magic was just like physical energy - you could build it up, but if you used it all at once, you’d have to wait until your stores filled again. Lexion was prepared to deplete his entire supply, and consequently risk his life, if it would help bring about the end of these conflicts…

He began to mutter under his breath, and his body began to emanate a strange, otherworldly glow.

It was Scorpina who noticed this first, realising that they’d let their guard down to soon; “My Queen!” she cried, backing away into the woods and pointing at the wizard.

Rita’s eyes turned upon Lexion; her celebratory smile began to fade as the ancient dialect the wizard muttered registered in her mind; he was chanting a complex spell, one that would take a lot of power to implement but which could be devastating if executed correctly; “NO!” she cried as Lexion flung his arms out before him and yelled his final words.

Scorpina dived behind the cover of a trunk of a huge redwood as a large, forceful wave of energy rippled out from Lexion and rumbled across the surroundings. It caught Rita Repulsa and every one of her entourage full on in the chest… except for Scorpina, the only one who had managed to evade the sudden execution of this enchantment.

Simultaneously, all the alien group fell to the ground, immobilised; they had been taken by the insidious spell of paralysis.

Lexion breathed heavily as his casting was complete, and fell to his knees, weak with exhaustion; he just had time to put his hand into his tunic and send a signal from a small, pocket-sized device back to his comrades battling elsewhere in the galaxies. Hopefully, someone would soon arrive to collect both him and his prisoners…

* * * *

Clawed feet kicked up the dry dirt across the plains of Dracona, capital city on the planet Nim, the hub of the war’s dark forces. It was Scorpina, riding hard from the spaceport on a bipedal Raptor Dragon, a creature in the form of a Dromaesaur but with a large, triangular plate on the tip of its tail. She was heading for the Royal Castle, and dug her heels relentlessly into the creature’s hide, urging it to pick up speed as the towers of the palace came into sight.

Not long after, the scorpion warrior crossed the fort’s drawbridge and dismounted from her dragon in the courtyard. A stable boy guided the dragon away whilst she was taken swiftly into the labyrinthine corridors of the castle and to an audience with the Emperor himself…

Large wooden doors creaked open into the main hall and Scorpina was left stood alone, the doors closing with a gigantic thud behind her. At the far end of the hall, a lone figure stood silhouetted by the huge hearth, staring into the crackling flames of the fire that struggled to heat the enormous hall.

Taking a deep breath, she paced down over the stone-slab floor until she was within close quarters of the figure; she then fell to her knees behind him and bowed obediently.

“You may rise,” the figure said without even turning.

Getting back to her feet, Scorpina waited, her deep, brown eyes set on the back of the man’s head.

Eventually, he turned; his red eyes set themselves upon her and he threw her a suave smirk, rows of tiny, pointed teeth becoming just visible beneath his humanoid lips; “My dear Scorpina,” he said, his voice deep and velvety in tone, “To what do I owe the honour?”

The Emperor was a powerfully built humanoid with a pallid complexion and pointed ears, features natural to his species; his fingers were laden with claws rather than nails, with his three-toed feet also baring large claws, looking like something more suited to a dinosaur than a human-esque being. His hair was blond streaked with red, and his pupils were shaped like those of a cat rather than being the typical rounded shape of those of most other sentient species. He was relatively handsome, very tall, and - considering the lengthy life expectancy of his people - still young.

“The honour is all mine, my lord,” Scorpina replied with a dutiful nod, “Though the news I bring may not be what you wanted to hear.”

The smile faded and the Emperor made a faint shrug, “I’ll be the judge of that,” he said, beginning to pace down the hall with his hands clasped at the small of his back.

Scorpina fell into line by his side, “We managed to draw out Zordon, just as we planned - he had Lexion with him, too, a weaker sorcerer…”

The Emperor made a nod, staring only ahead.

“Zordon had actually planned to use an Orb of Doom on us, m’lord! How underhanded is that?”

“Very,” the Emperor replied, cocking his eyebrows, “I admire him for falling to our level… it’s about time he scrapped his faux pretence of honour and nobility - as if there is such a thing in war.” He looked down to her, “What happened, then?”

“Goldar managed to turn the Orb against Zordon with a simple reflecting spell…”

The Emperor laughed, his cold cackle seeming completely unsuited to his visage, “Oh, the irony…” he mused.

“Zordon is now lost somewhere within the folds of space and time.”

“Excellent, excellent!” he chortled, halting in his tracks and clasping his fists in a victorious gesture; “I thought you said that your news was to be bad?”

“The worst is yet to come,” she stated, “You see, Lexion had a spell up his sleeve, a powerful one, one that I haven’t seen cast in a long time… He cast Paralysis upon us - well, all but myself - leaving everyone, including Rita Repulsa, immobilised.”

The Emperor folded his arms and arched his head back a little, studying Scorpina carefully; “You didn’t have time to bring them back with you, then? Paralysis can be cured…”

“I tried, m’Lord, but I didn’t have the power to teleport everyone together - before I even had a chance to think, fortune played its part for the Sorcerers and some ship arrived for Lexion in a mere matter of minutes - they bound Rita and everyone up then carted them away. I had no choice but to flee! I would have been caught!”

The Nimian overlord turned, rubbing his chin.

“My Lord!” Scorpina protested, dropping to her knees, “Forgive me… I know I should have done more, I -”

He wafted his hand at her, “No, it is not your fault… Rita’s loss is compensated by Zordon’s eternal banishment, either way.” He looked to his subject and pulled her to her feet, “It is the matter of what will be done with them now that concerns me…”

“How will we find out?” she asked.

He threw her another charming smirk, “I think it’s time for you to go back undercover… I leave it up to you to find out where Rita and her company are and what fate they have faced - or have yet to face, as the case may be… See this as redemption enough for the blunder that befell you all. Is that clear, my dear?”

She dropped to her knee once more, “Yes, Lord Zedd.”