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Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers or any other shows. They and all other material used in this story belong to their respective copyright owners.

Author's Note: This story takes place a few weeks after the previous story.

Darkness on the Horizon

Little more than a month the messenger had granted them before a compulsory meeting of the United Alliance of Evil, which they had all been told that they had joined. Just thirty days, after which their acts as individual villains would likely end at the command of their new Grand Monarch. And while their territory would remain, their chances to extend their empires would be curtailed.

Six weeks at most left in which to play for the greatest prize in the Universe: Earth; a hideously short time to overcome its defenders and secure the power that would guarantee their survival in the dirtier side of Alliance politics. And as they absorbed the meaning of the message, assorted villains representing the Machine Empire, the House of Vile, Xett and Repugna, the Dianthe Clan and a few that had been conducting their own wars without attracting as much attention, swore as they realised that half a day had already passed.

They had collectively ignored the first message, dismissing the woman that had delivered it as some insane witch without the power to back up her threats. That line of thinking had rapidly changed when the Messengers of Fire had started arriving. Their exact nature was unclear, but they had affected those that relied on pure technology and those that dabbled in magic alike. Fires had ravaged one of Master Vile's spawn worlds, incinerated a vast section of the Dianthe fleet and had turned one of King Mondo's space bases into a floating pool of molten metal, which had taken hours to cool despite being in space.

After that demonstration, the Messengers had restated the ultimatum, allowing the villains a slight grace period that had passed between the first summons and their attack. Now there was not a single villain that didn't realise that their time was running out. When the United Alliance of Evil met, new rules would be established and any claims to the Earth would likely be dismissed; it was highly likely that the Grand Monarch would declare the planet as his, ending all the previous squabbles.

But there was hope. Capturing the planet before the meeting would give them a bargaining chip with which to demand a greater share of the prize - for even possessing control of the Earth would not be enough to overpower a villain with such powerful servants.

And so their efforts intensified, their plans reaching new and more ambitious heights in their desperate bid to claim the prize. Rita delved into the darkest arts at her disposal, Mondo and Gasket began construction of their most diabolical machines, Dregon shifted through his collection to find the most powerful Insectivores he possessed while Divatox had Porto, Rygog and Elgar searching for a warrior capable of defeating the Power Rangers while she called every vessel in the Dianthe fleet to her aid. And away from all the madness and rush, Master Vile smiled evilly as he concocted his own plan, one which would give him the means to meet the Grand Monarch as an equal and perhaps give him a chance to grab the Earth for himself.

So many villains, so much ambition and so little time. So much to lose, but so much more to gain. And in the middle of this race for power stood the little planet known as Earth. Looked down on by galactic society, feared for the violent nature of its people and the way they had managed to see off so many threats where more advanced and powerful worlds had fallen.

Forces of darkness competing for possession of a world with no regard for the people that lived there. And regardless of who won for the human race and especially the Power Rangers, this promised to be a countdown to destruction.

End of Part.

<post_date>2017-05-05 12:00:01</post_date><post_modified>2022-11-15 14:09:37</post_modified>