History of the Grid

Posted on Sun Mar 31st, 2024 @ 8:35am by Damien McGinnis
Edited on on Mon Apr 1st, 2024 @ 5:11am

1,054 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: The Secret of Corvus
Location: Chamber of the Morphin Masters
Timeline: Unknown; After the Battle of Corvus

Damien's eyes opened, widening as he realised he wasn't looking at what he'd expected. Rather than the battlefield he'd been on with his team, facing down the time creature, he was stood in a large, white void. He looked around. Nothing and no one was visible.

He was alone.

He took a deep breath. The air was devoid of any odours or tastes. It was like the entire place wasn't there. And yet it was. The whole idea made his head hurt.

"Hello?" He called "Is anyone here? Where even is here..."

"This is my realm." Came a calm voice from behind him.

Damien span, raising his morpher as he did, before noticing that he was no longer morphed; instead, he wore a white linen shirt and brown cargo pants, barefoot in the empty void. In front of him was a humanoid figure, their appearance androgenous and without features of any kind. The figure looked at Damien, or he assumed it did, given the lack of eyes, he found it hard to tell.

"Who are you?" Damien asked, trying not to sound too shaken by the situation "What is this place?"

"I am the first. The last. The beginning. The end." The figure said "I was once many but now am one, and yet I am also all."

"What?" Damien asked "Dude, you're not making any sense."

"All shall become clear in time, Damien McGinnis." The figure spoke softly "My name is Aetherion. I suppose you could say I am the reason you are here, or that there is even a here."

"What?" Damien repeated "Look, I'm having a really bad day. There was a time manipulating monster and I shot it and there was an explosion and - Shit, am I dead?"

"No. And yes." Aetherion replied "In one version of reality, when you triggered that explosion, you were killed. In another, you survive. Which one you return to is up to you. It is a, as your scientists would say, multiverse."

"Multi what now?" Damien asked "So you're saying I can choose whether to live or die here?"

"Yes, but not in every instance where such an event happens." Aetherion nodded "This is the Chamber of the Morphin Masters. It exists outside of space, outside of time. Anyone connected to the morphin grid may journey here, provided their spirit is willing."

"So my spirit's willing?" Damien cocked an eyebrow "I'm sure there's an old song about that."

Aetherion said nothing, instead moving to a console, waving a hand over it, a number of spherical objects appearing in the air, each with different images of various Rangers in it. Damien recognised some as being of his own team, others he'd never seen before. He paused as he looked at what looked like a female red ranger with a dinosaur themed helmet in his zord.

"Multiverse..." Damien said, rubbing his eyes "So alternate timelines.... Is that me?"

"No. That isn't how it works... Most of the time. There are variations of some teams existing in multiple dimensions. Your Mighty Morphin team had five different versions in three different realities." Aetherion explained "She is simply someone who uses an alternate version of your zord. In her reality, she started as the pink ranger."

"So not my counterpart... Kilena's?" Damien asked.

"Not a counterpart to anyone you know." Aetherion said "Allow me to expain. This chamber is where I originally forged the morphin grid itself. Where I created the morphin masters in order to help protect that grid from those who would use it for ill. You see, I created the grid to benefit the denizens of various universes, but my counterpart did not approve. We warred, and eventually a truce was met, with neither of us being allowed to intervene any further. That is why I recruited another to help me create the morphin masters. Why I forged the Zeo crystal as a key to the grid, a key which had shards left as offcuts. Shards that became the Solar Crystals."

Damien paused. So the crystals were remnants from the forging of the Zeo crystal. He had some knowledge of the crystal, but just what was in the history books the Professor had gone over with him. He knew it had been used to power a team of rangers in the 1990s, and that it grew stronger over time. If the same was true for their own crystals, it could only be a good thing.

"Okay, so great lore dump." Damien said, pausing "How do I get back to my team? I need to help them."

"All in good time." Aetherion said "First, let us begin your instruction, so that you may aid your team in reaching this place also."

"Will they need to be blown up too?" Damien asked.

"I certainly hope not." Aetherion replied "You were able to reach this place due to being at a multiversal nexus point caused by the destruction of a time crystal, interacting with your Solar Crystal's ability to instill you with a supernatural level of luck, the very reason you're still alive in spite of your... Headstrong nature. With my assistance, you will be able to return to your team, and then you and they will be able to enter this realm also."

"But why?" Damien asked "What do you gain?"

"I told you I went to war with another entity of my kind. Their name was Helios. In the same way as I created the morphin masters, they created Dark Spectre and his ilk. We had agreed never to directly interfere. However, not Helios is using multiple beings in your reality to begin a war across the grid. It is up to you and your team to stop it."

Damien paused. If what Aetherion was telling him was true, then this Helios must be the reason the Imperium attacked Earth. The reason the Cult of Zedd had attacked Corvus. They were all just pawns in some interdimensional game. Unfortunately, he couldn't see a better solution than to accept the being's help.

"Help me get back to my team." Damien finally spoke "Once we've dealt with the threat on Corvus, we'll come back here, you can explain your case to the team and we'll decide together."

"As expected." Aetherion nodded "Very well, Damien McGinnis. Shall we begin?"

 

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