Disclaimer: I do not, have never and have no hope to own the Power Rangers. They are owned by Saban (Please don't sue me Mr Saban). I also do not own Doctor Who, which belong to the BBC or any associated characters. Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling and although not used directly in this series is an excellent read and deserves a mention.
I do not own VR Troopers, Big Bad Beetleborgs, Masked Rider, Galaxy Rangers, Transformers or GI Joe. Some of the concepts and character in this story are based on these shows as do any characters that make an appearance. They are all used without permission of the copyright owners.
I also need to credit Battlestar Galactica, Star Wars, Blake's Seven and Star Fleet/ X-Bomber for some of the ideas in this book and for general inspiration. References are made later in the series to Sailormoon, Digimon, Pokemon, Robotech, Zoids, Gundam Wing, Captain Planet, Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future and Dragonball-Z and any character or idea taken from those series is done without permission.  If there is anything I've forgotten such as MASK, Terrahawks, Thunderbirds or Ghostbusters, they're not mine either.
I would like to thank Jeremy Ray Logsdon, Ellen Brand and Randel for writing their respective series. They were an inspiration to me two years ago when I started writing this series and remain so regardless of the numerous rewrites I have produced. The basis of the Morphin Grid in this series is modified from Randel's version of Ellen's definition of the Morphin Grid. The idea of the Infinity Crystals in later chapters was inspired by Jeremy Ray's Earth Crystals and Marvel Comic's Infinity Quest.  Any characters used have been taken with the permission of the author.
The mention of a series, book or television program in this disclaimer in no way guarantees characters, places or situations from those sources will appear in this series. Most are excellent programs that deserve a mention or that have had a positive influence on the direction of this series. No part of this series is used for profit.
Author's Note: This is a rewrite of the first part of Conquest of Evil first released at the Command Center Archives in 1998/99. This has been rewritten to allow for later seasons of Power Rangers including Wild Force.
Time Line: The series does not adhere to the Saban timeline. The year is 1996 and the series begins after Billy left for Aquitar, but before Jason started to lose the powers of the Gold Ranger.
Special Note: This part borrows heavily from Ellen Brand's story: Fathers and Sons. This has been done with permission and I thank Ellen for agreeing.

Rangers in Training
by ShadowRanger

Zyuella

"Kim look out!" Billy called as he ducked another monster.

The eight teens had no sooner arrived at their destination than they were attacked. Eight lizard-like creatures had taken them by surprise; each armed with a spear.

Kimberly leapt out of the way, narrowly avoiding the lizard's tail. Landing on one foot she pushed herself into the air, performing a spin kick that would have made Tommy jealous. For some reason, despite being unable to morph the Rangers were able to execute moves they had only ever managed successfully when the power was flowing through them.

"Come on you overgrown handbag," she heard Tanya call.

Looking over to where the former Zeo Ranger was fighting she could see the lizard was having problems. Tanya kicked it from behind and quickly rolled away as it turned around. Once again behind her opponent, she kicked it a second time.

Jason meanwhile had not bothered with fancy kicks. Instead he was trading fists and solid kicks with a powerful looking lizard. He pulled away as he saw the tail swinging towards him, waiting for the correct opportunity and then stomping on the tip of the tail. "Hi-yah!" He threw the lizard to the ground, driving his fist into its skull just above the eyes.

Zack had gone back to the techniques that had given him the best results as a Ranger. Distracting his opponent with his footwork, he waited until the lizard had lost interest in fighting him before kicking it in the head. A few extra kicks to the creature's midsection and it keeled over.

~*~

In a pocket dimension composed of neither light nor darkness a small group watched the former Rangers in battle. One of them had worked with the Rangers before. Two had been watching over the Rangers at various times in their careers. The final member of the group was a powerful ally of Rangers throughout the Universe who might one day have become their mentor, had not Minion's existence changed events so she would never join forces with them.

"They are good," the first watcher said.

"I told you they were," a second piped up. "I only served with two of them, but I believe Zordon has chosen correctly."

"As do I," a female voice said. "We will train them, but we must be sure they are worthy before they take the final step. If we are mistaken we must find out before they receive their powers. Afterwards we will not be able to remove them."

"Then it is decided," a fourth, deep voice said. "We will wait until they have completed this challenge before introducing ourselves. We will train them to use their powers without the aid of Zordon and then we will test them. If we are correct there will be eight new Rangers."

The pocket dimension returned to silence as four of the most powerful beings for good watched the Rangers finish off their first trial.

~*~

Working back to back David and Sam had formed a good team. While David drew the lizards towards him Sam would catch them by surprise.

"Ready?" David asked.

He got his answer when he felt Sam step into his hands, onto his shoulders and then launched into a bicycle kick. The first lizard didn't even realise what was happening until Sam landed, using a reverse chop to bring the creature down.

David slammed his fist into the side of his opponent's head. Turning his back on the lizard he pulled its chin over his right shoulder, holding it in place by positioning his arms around its neck and dropped to his knees. With an effort he dragged the semiconscious form back to its feet before repeating the move. This time though he turned his body as he descended, causing the lizard to rise into the air slightly.

Unexpectedly, the lizard Sam was fighting managed to knock him off his feet. Sam fought back as best he could until the lizard man collapsed. Behind it was Trini, offering her new friend a hand up.

"What happened to yours?" Sam asked.

Instead of answering, Trini pointed to where Billy was beating two lizards simultaneously. "Do you think we should help?" David asked as he help Sam up. He noticed the looks on his friends' faces and added, "I meant the lizards."

"Billy's pissed!" Jason said as he walked over with Kim and Tanya.

"You can't blame him," Zack said as he also joined his friends.

"Heeyah!" Billy cried. "And don't you ever try that again," he told the last lizard as it collapsed to the ground. The workout had done him almost as much good as his time in Ninjor's Temple.

"Congratulations Rangers," Ninjor said as he moved to greet them. He waved a hand around the lizards and they vanished. "For those of you I have not met, I am Ninjor, Blue Morphin Master, protector of the Temple of Ninja Powers and keeper of the Spirit Aspect of the Power."

"Congratulations indeed," a deep voice boomed. "Know that I am Saurian, keeper of the Body Aspect of Power."

"I am Thalian, keeper of the Mind Aspect of Power," A white faced humanoid said.

"And I am Dimitria," a female voice said although it was difficult to see her behind the thick veil. She smiled as Sam, David, Jason, Zack and Billy struggled to pick their jaws off the ground. Her race had that effect on males, not really magical, just the ability to encourage a hormonal response. "I am here to ensure that you receive all the training you need and not just instructions on how to fight." She glared at Saurian as she said that.

"Zordon has provided you with all the lessons a Ranger needs to know," Thalian stated, "but his captivity has prevented him from teaching you some of the things you need to know. That is why you are here."

"Come," Saurian said. "We will talk more when we reach my temple. Your training for the Ranger Aspect shall begin at dawn tomorrow."

~*~

Stone Henge, England

He stared into the depths of the crystal he held. It was amazing how something so small and beautiful could be so powerful. As he looked he felt himself drawn deep into its depths as if the crystal was searching him and he had to fight to remain aware of his thoughts. Then he felt is if every nerve in his body had exploded with fire. He had never considered that the Infinity Crystal could be incompatible with his body. He willed the pain away just the same as he had willed himself to exist after the Rangers had destroyed him. The crystal was his and he would conquer it.

The cause of the pain remained and the intensity continued, but somehow the utter belief that he could bare the pain was enough. The Infinity Crystal reacted to his will and altered the reality of the situation so that it was compatible. The pain was dulled because in Minion's desires there was no pain. The little test required to master the first crystal had been passed and by doing so, the secrets contained within the crystal were unlocked.

Knowledge flowed into Minion's mind telling him about the crystal and its capabilities. He had found the Key Crystal: the seventh crystal used to bring unity to the others. It lacked it own unique properties, but acted as detector to the six remaining crystals as well as storing the knowledge needed to make them work.

Minion had already discovered that the link to the other crystals allowed the holder of the Key Crystal to draw some of their powers to a far lesser extent:

If he had held the Reality Crystal he would have had the freedom to travel to any point in time or space, to alter reality to fit his desires, and the ability to see events occurring at any time or place. Through the link the Key Crystal allowed, Minion had only been allowed to make small changes to his reality; only enough so he could handle the crystals safely.

The Mind Crystal was a vast database of knowledge and gave its holder the power to manipulate both matter and energy with a thought. But Minion did not hold the Mind Crystal and as a result all he had been able to learn was the location abilities of the other crystals.

The Body Crystal drove the wielder to the peak of physical condition, boosting the strength and speed of the subject as well as providing continual renewal should damage occur. The link to the Body Crystal had restored Minion to health after the Zeo Cannon had blasted him.

The Soul Crystal allowed the user to control the souls of the dead; such power had renewed his link to the Dark Dimension. In its purest force the Soul Crystal could erase all the good or evil in a soul.

With the sixth crystal he would have been able to control all the elements instead of just limited manipulation of earth he had used to shift the debris that covered him following the blast. With the Elemental Crystal he would gain control over all the elements.

Finally there was the Power Crystal that would have allowed Minion to draw energy from any source regardless of whether he was good or evil. With the Power Crystal in his possession the Morphin Grid would have been his to command. Fortunately for everyone else, he didn't hold the Power Crystal; even without it Minion had more power than he should have been allowed.

The barrier he had summoned around Stone Henge pulse with evil energy from the Sword of Darkness. Already he had learnt that the attacks on North Valley, Crossworld City, Charterville and Leewood had been successful. In fact his reappearance had pushed the balance of power so far that any resistance had been crushed. Soon the fallen defenders would be placed where they could not harm him after he had stripped their powers away of course. Then apart from the Power Rangers the Earth was solely dependent upon its military.

He summoned the Sword of Darkness and pointed it at the ground. The sword had been crafted to give the wielder complete control of the Dark Side of the Morphin Grid including those monsters spawn from that part of the Grid. With the Dark Dimension open the power of the sword had been extended to summon forth monsters that had been defeated by the forces of good.

"Ancients Spirits of Evil, send forth warriors to do thy will!"

Rita and Zedd had recently used old monsters, but the Sword of Darkness had summoned a mixture of monsters from Rita, Zedd and the Machine Empire. All stood silently waiting for their instructions, as Minion looked them over. After taking a moment to test their dedication he sent them to Angel Grove, followed closely by a selection of his finest Robo Troopers.

~*~

"Yes Minister, I understand. Goodbye Minister." Finally able to put the phone down Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart returned to his assignment.

Earlier that day a strange energy barrier had appeared around Stone Henge. Although he had retired from UNIT many years before, the ageing Brigadier had been asked to return to action to resolve the unknown problem.

"Sir?" The Brigadier turned around to be confronted by his old second-in-command, Mike Yates.

"Captain Yates, good to see you again old chap."

"Thank you sir," Mike replied.

"Well, what do you make of this?" the Brigadier asked indicating the reason UNIT ad been called in.

"It's similar to the energy field the Daemon used back in Devil's End," Mike said. "All we need is the Doctor to show up with some ingenious way to get through it and we can find out what's on the other side."

"Somehow I knew you were going to say that," the Brigadier muttered. "Sergeant Groves!"

"Sir!" The young Sergeant snapped to attention as he saluted his superior.

Younger than most of the Sergeants who had served under him in the past, Groves looked cool, calm and efficient. His short dyed hair was hidden under his Green Beret. The Brigadier noticed the Sergeant was carrying a small revolver at his hip.

"At ease Sergeant," the Brigadier said. "Right, I want a five mile exclusion zone around the monument. Anybody you find in the area I want detained and taken to a safe area for debriefing. Then post some men around the monument itself. Nothing is to go in or out of that barrier."

"Yes sir," Groves said as he hurried away.

"Now," the Brigadier continued. "Let's go take a look at this barrier, shall we?"

~*~

Temple of the Body, Zyuella
0500 hrs Next day

Eight hopeful humans stood awaiting their first test. Saurian had warned them that the training they would receive was intended to make up for the gaps in their training and then to stretch them to the peak of their abilities. It would be at that time that they would be able to tell whether or not the Rangers had what was needed to succeed. Their day would be long and tedious, but during that day they would learn whether they would be able to hold the Ranger Aspect.

"We shall begin the training soon, but first you must be divided," Saurian told them. "Some of you are connected to one aspect of the Morphin Grid already and your training will take place with those aspects in mind."

Thalian stepped forward to look at the hopeful Rangers in front of him. "Zachary Taylor, Kimberly Hart, you two will accompany me to Dairon." He held out his hand to both of the former Rangers. Kimberly and Zack took his hand and vanished.

"Trini Kwan and William Cranston, you are both to accompany me to the Desert of Despair," Ninjor said. Billy and Trini stepped forward and vanished.

"Samoht Revilo and Jason Lee-Scott, you will remain here with me," Saurian said. Above him a door opened in the temple and the two boys followed him in.

"And that just leaves us," Dimitria said to David and Tanya. "Since neither of you has been trained in the ways of a Morphin Ranger, would it not be a good time for me to teach you?" She smiled at them and held out her hand. "Come on, let's go."

"Where are we going?" David asked.

"Japan," Dimitria replied.

In a flash they all disappeared.

End