was requested.”
“Does Trey know?”
Timmy looked around and didn’t see Trey, “I suspect he does and this might be something he’s behind.”
The thirty thousand Riders were standing beside their Zord and all of them looked bewildered. Something was going on that was causing a change in their relationship with their partners. Timmy looked at Jingo, “Do you know what’s happening?”
“No, I don’t, Your Majesty. However, whatever it is, it’s related to Trey entering that temple.”
“What temple?”
“He walked through a door into a temple and the building disappeared leaving him unconscious in the dust. Something happened to him and it has also affected the Zord.”
“How do you know the Zord were affected?”
“Kreej was different after the event. Something had changed in his demeanor. I don’t know how to explain it but something happened.” Jingo looked out over the assembled Zord and said, “Can’t you feel it? There’s something different about them.”
Timmy turned and looked at the huge gathering and saw that the Zord were not talking with their Riders. They were all focused on the Reviewing Stand as if they were waiting for something to happen. He looked at Virze and saw she felt it as well. “It looks like we’re waiting on Trey to arrive.”
Trey was high overhead on Vring, “I know how you feel about this, Vring.”
“I feel like I’m being disloyal to White Hair. It pains my heart to know he would be hurt by our decision.”
“You have not gone against your promise to do this.”
“How can you say that? I’m going to break an oath I took.”
“No you’re not; how can you even think that? Your Father promised to defend White Hair and his people until that mountain on El Prado fell to the ground. Are you saying you won’t come to our defense?”
“Well, of course not.”
“Then you have not broken a promise. Take me down to the clearing in front of the Emperor.”
“Trey, White Hair is so proud of you. I know your parents are as well.”
“I know. Let’s go get this over with.”
Vring screamed and everyone looked up to see the huge Zord diving for the Clearing. Every Zord on the plain lowered their head and bowed to the incoming Flyer. The Riders saw their mounts bow and bowed as well. Timmy saw their response to Trey’s arrival and wondered if the time had come for Trey to assume the throne.
Vring landed and Trey dismounted and looked up at the leaders of the Empire, “I thank you for coming here today, Your Majesty. There has been a fundamental change in our relationship with our Zord friends and they have asked me to inform you what that means.”
Timmy stood and walked up to the podium and looked down at Trey, “What do you mean a fundamental change?”
Cassie sat in her room and watched Trey. She had not been able to determine what was going on and wondered what he was talking about. She sensed that his mind was now more powerful than hers and his psychic abilities had been tremendously magnified. She closed her eyes and listened to what he was going to say.
Trey turned and used his telepathy to say, “Please rise, Flyers.”
The thirty thousand Zord and Riders stood straight and the Zord stood on their back legs and towered over the assembly. Carter looked out and the view was overwhelming. Something big was about to happen.
Trey faced the Zord and bowed deeply to them. He held that posture until all the attendee’s on the Reviewing Stand and the Riders also bowed. Vring watched and felt his heart fill with respect and admiration for the beings his Flocks had chosen to join so many years ago. He thought, “Please rise.”
Trey stood up and smiled. He looked at Kreej standing next to Vring and felt his love. He shook his head, took a deep breath, and turned to face the Emperor. “Your Majesty, the Zord are going to leave us today.”
The immediate shouting was loud and the loudest were the Riders standing beside their partners. Trey watched as each Zord told their Rider to be quiet and listen. After ten minutes silence ruled the gathering. Paul stood by TK and felt his heart fill with love for his nephew. He took TK’s hand and squeezed it. She turned and saw his feelings. She was shocked at Trey’s announcement but looked in Paul’s mind and saw that he knew this was something wonderful. She relaxed and moved closer to him. He put his arms around her and pulled her close.
Timmy looked at Trey, “Have we done something to offend them?”
Trey shook his head, “No, we haven’t. They have been given another quest and they have no choice but to accept it.” Trey turned and faced the Flyers, “The Zord are a creation of the force that brought life to creation. They have been evolving to prepare them for a war that they must win. They have now reached the point where they are ready to begin that struggle.” Trey turned back to the Reviewing Stand and smiled, “I am going to share a vision with you that I was blessed to be given. I am going to show you Creation from the eyes of the Creator.” Trey sent the vision of all Creation to those assembled and he saw the impact it had on the gathering. The thousands present stood in awe and were speechless. They saw all the universes and dimensions in one giant vista. The magnitude was almost more than could be visualized. They also saw the suffering and destruction that was happening all across that vast vista. They could feel the sorrow and mourning over the trillions that were being killed by aggressive species that preyed on helpless civilizations. They could feel the deaths of not only intelligent creatures but the animals and plants that were being destroyed by ruthless attackers that destroyed planets. The attackers were numerous and were growing in numbers.
Trey waited until he sensed that everyone was back to the present moment. “Creation is being attacked by evil forces that are killing numbers beyond our ability to count. Balance is going to be lost unless those forces can be stopped. The Zord are the ones that will fight to bring balance.”
Grang yelled from the stand, “How can they stand up to those forces? They aren’t strong enough to take on most of those beings we just saw. Even the Heramu killed more than a hundred Flyers.”
“The Heramu no longer exist.” Everyone took a quick breath. “Kreej and I have destroyed every one of their ships and planets after we left the temple.”
Grang was struck silent. Jingo said, “How did you do that?”
“The Zord have been evolving into beings that are Creation’s immune system. Just as when our bodies are attacked by a disease, our immune system creates antibodies called white cells that attack the invading disease. It has taken billions of years for Creation to create and release its defenses against the evil infecting the universes. The Zord have now been activated and are fully functional.”
Trey looked around and no one said anything. He turned to Vring, “Would you please show this assembly what I’m trying to communicate?”
Vring looked down at Trey and nodded. He spread his wings to their full expanse and suddenly he turned bright blue and appeared to be a blazing ball of blue fire. The huge Review Stand lifted and hung suspended ten feet off the ground. After a minute it was lowered back to the ground and Vring changed to normal color and folded his wings.
Trey said, “The Zord are psychic beings and they have now been released. Their power is on a level beyond what we can comprehend and they are going out into the universes to fight the growing evil. They are compelled to do this and it is their reason for existing. We will have to face our enemies without their help.”
Timmy furrowed his brow, “They aren’t going to handle the Invaders?”
“No, that is a quest we have been given.”
“Why is that?”
“Because we are also evolving to become a part of the defense of creation; we’ve just not arrived at that point in our development yet. We will have to face challenges that will force us to become what we are intended to be. The Invaders are the one facing us now.”
Timmy took a deep breath, “So what happens now?”
Trey turned around and faced the Zord and their Riders, “We take this moment to say good-bye to our beloved friends.” Trey turned back to the Timmy, “And then we go back into our ships and continue this conflict. The Riders will be the troops we use to handle any conflict that happens on a planet. Their armor will be updated soon and they will not lose any effectiveness by the change. We have always been most effective with the starships we build. That will be the path we must now follow.”
Timmy stared at Trey and said, “What if I order the Zord to stay until we resolve our conflict with the Invaders?”
