A Royal Visit

Synopsis:  Everyone visits the homeworld of the Royal House of Gadgetry, Mechanus, to pay Somnibot's beloved family a royal visit.

Chapter 1--Keeping things Mum from Somni and Beta

There was a growing hubbub among the Rangers and their robot cohorts.   Zordon had gotten a very secretive communique written in binary, but being a nearly all-knowing wizard, Zordon could translate it.    

‘We have to wear our best clothing.  The Royal house is coming to visit their daughter !’, he said, trying to act professional when he was gushing like a fanboy.   Secretly, Zordon adored all things about royalty, even if they were intergalactic.

‘Are there any etiquette rules we need to follow once they are here ?’, Kim questioned.   

‘That’s what I was wondering, as well as decor. What’s acceptable ?’, Kat queried, inquisitively.    

‘I’m up to date with all the customs.   They’re similar to meeting and greeting royals here but you don’t need to fret too much.   They’re normal people just like you or I.’, Zordon began. Luckily, Beta, Somni, Morpheus and Pashieta were still asleep.   They were obvious that their family was about to have a grand reunion but the family was still lost in their dreams of returning to Disney World or to an entirely different amusement park, Cedar Point.    With that being said after hearing all Zordon’s wisdom the team got right to work and began to set up HQ to make it fit for royalty.

Chapter 2--A Warm Reunion

The Rangers did a little bit of research on the Gadgetry coat of arms and hung a glorious banner.   It was based on the typical look of a printed circuit board combined with the Gadgetry Family's coat of arms.

‘That’s perfect.   They’ll feel right at home looking at that when they enter the cafeteria.’, Billy said, wiping a little bit of sweat from his brow.    Somni, Beta, Pashitea and Morpheus awoke from their sleep, curious about why their coat of arms was gently flowing in the spring breeze.    

‘They’re up !  Act natural !’, Jibo whispered to one of his robot friends.   

‘What are we whispering about ?’, Somni asked, cutely.    

‘You’ll see soon enough, Somni !’, Jason said as he lead Somni, Beta and their children into the kitchen where King Mondo and his gorgeous wife were waiting.   

Chapter 3--Almost Speechless

Upon seeing her younger brother, mother and father, Somni was at a loss for words.  

‘When did you arrive ?  I had no idea you were coming !’, she said, feeling slightly underdressed  and slightly exposed. Her parents thought nothing of it and welcomed their daughter’s hugs and kisses.  

‘This must be Beta, your handsome husband.’, Queen Machina trumpeted.   

‘And Pashitea and Morpheus.  I have heard so much about you !  I can’t believe I’m an uncle now !   It’s so neat !’, Prince Sprocket crowed.    Clank and Orbus had come along as well. It was unusual having them as well as the Cogs in one space knowing they were all fighting on the same side.   It was bizarre at first but ever since Somnibot turned over a new leaf, the Machine empire began to do so as well, helping, rather than hindering the galaxy.    Somni hadn’t heard from her family in a long time since Machina was too far away, making communication nearly impossible. However, with new improvements in technology, they would be able to speak to their daughter and son-in-law every night.   The last they had seen them was during their wedding. It was remarkable how big their grandchildren had gotten and how intelligent they were. They remembered Sprocket but the Prince still outnumbered them in years. Despite that, he was still a big kid and they all wanted to play video games together.   Looking to the Queen, the youngster got the nod of approval and the 3 of them traipsed away to play a rousing session of Mario Kart 8.

Chapter 4--A So-Called ‘Normal’ Day on Machina

Queen Machina described her duties to Somnibot.  She knew one day, like Alpha and Edenoi, she’d be ruler of the planet.   That would mean leaving her beloved friends and family behind.

‘Who else is going to help the Rangers fight against evil on Earth ?’, she asked impulsively.   

‘I’ll be the one choosing them.  There won’t be any reason to be concerned.’, Zordon reassured them, coming to them in rare, human form.   He couldn’t turn down a rollicking party, especially seeing the Royals in person. They were far more interesting face to face than in the old, musty, dusty tomes he had read when he was a wizard in training.    Meeting historical figures always made his day 1,000 times better.

It came time for the royal feast.   Mondo called Sprocket to come and join them but he was already there, quicker than a flash.   He had smelled the food coming from the kitchen, which the Rangers had prepared. They hoped that the food was to the Machine Empire’s liking, not really having any idea what robots liked to eat.    

They hoped that the food was to the Machine Empire’s liking, not really having any idea what robots liked to eat.

'I hope you enjoy the food. Delta and I prepared it ourselves.', Alpha said.   Mondo was still patting off his metallic lips in deep pleasure. With a satisfied sigh, he said, in a rather refined way,

‘My boy, it was resplendent !’  

‘Yes, I quite concur.   Everything was exceptional !’, Machina added.   Sprocket too, was quite impressed. He was sated, content and gushing about the presentation, temperature and overall taste of the gustarian trip around the world he was offered on his plate.    He and the others had no room for dessert. The food that was leftover would have to give some of it to the local food pantry but at least it wasn’t going to go to waste.

Chapter 5--A Royal Review

Picture Phone was always the type to support ‘edutainment’.   Since most of the Rangers and Robots weren’t familiarized with the rise of the Machine Empire, she showed a film about it as well as present footage of a ‘normal’ day in the life of the Gadgetry family.    These moments in time were interesting, even to the royals.

‘I had no idea you took time out to meditate every so often.’, Mondo said, surprised.    

‘I like to clear my head before helping my people.   They need my mind at its sharpest.’, Machina grinned.   She saw Mondo playing games with the Prince and teaching him about the throne, educating him in universal matters as well as informing him about humans, which he had never seen before.

‘I remember when you showed me a picture of a human.  I thought they looked so funny at first but then I was fascinated.  I wanted to learn more. Now I actually get to interact with them and you’re right, they are very sophisticated.  We’re very much alike.’, Sprocket commented. As the evening began to wind down, Sprocket was curious about sleeping over.  

‘Would I impose if I asked if I can participate in the human activity known as a sleep over ?’, he asked.   The King and Queen looked at each other and pondered it for a bit. They had to return to their home planet, but Sprocket was left with his new friends.   He had never been alone on another planet before but he was on his best behavior, knowing that he had to live up to expectations and protocol while he was off planet.   Being a polite, refined young robot, he was a perfect gentleman the entire night but maintained his playfulness despite the rules and regulations of the Crown.

Chapter 6--Games Before Bed

Sprocket engaged in such favorites as Monopoly, Parcheesi, Yahtzee, Dominoes, Trivial Pursuit, Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, amongst others.   

‘One more game !   I’d like to play a favorite of mine !’, he said, plugging in an old school NES.   The familiar strains of Tetris began to play and the kids tapped away at their controllers while the parents drifted off to sleep.    After a while, the kids were completely zonked out. Magic Screen had been the only one that was awake.   She could simply recharge herself in a ‘power nap’ before dawn.

Chapter 7--A Delightful Breakfast Before Departure

'Welcome to the Temple of Starlight, Gadgetry Family. I know you can't stay very long as Earth's sun is rising, but I welcome you here regardless.', Lumina stated.

'This place is amazing. We arrived here once before on Somnibot's birthday.', Herman explained.   They understood that they were all connected through their dreams due to ‘dreamtime’. Such a thing usually could only be achieved by the most transcendent shaman, but the Rangers were more than that.   They were highly in touch with their spirituality so entering dreamtime was nothing new. As for Sprocket, he had never experienced it before and wondered how his mom and dad were there as well since they weren’t on earth spending time with him there.  

‘How are you even here at the Temple ?’, he asked.    The two shrugged.

‘I guess it’s your connection to us.  That’s the only logical conclusion.’, Machina surmised.

‘We do have sympatico, definitely !’, Mondo concurred.    Lumina gave them the grand tour; everything from the tall crystal spires, floating plasma lanterns, luminescent moths and futuristic landscape.   Even though it was very intricate and meticulous in architecture, Lumina’s Dreamscape had plenty of flora and fauna that lived symbiotically from the vibrations of music and people coexisting in harmony.    

‘The sun’s coming back up, so we have to awaken.’, Zach said, with a hint of sadness in his voice.   They had enjoyed their own little personal realms and those savored as friends but the day was beginning and they had to prepare their friend for his trip home.  

Before he left, Sprocket was treated to a 5-star breakfast fit for royalty.   

‘Can I take some of these delicious delicacies home ?   I want to see if we can make ingredients like this on Machina and whip up pancakes, waffles, French toast and blintzes.’, Sprocket requested.    Amy, Kat and Aisha gave him all the ingredients they could think of before he was zapped back home.

‘That should be more than enough.’, Aisha said.   The Prince hugged his sister back, trying not to shed any oil while he did, but he did anyway.

‘We’ll see each other again.  Don’t you fret.’, Somnibot asuaged him.   With one final hug, Zordon set the coordinace and he was sent home faster than a picosecond.   

Epilogue

Sprocket downloaded all he could about humans’ culture, literature and contributions.  The more he found the more he wanted to learn. It was all too much for one day, so he condensed it into ‘byte size.    Being that the day had already been spent, he resumed his princely duties for the day and finished the evening playing a spirited round of Risk with Orbus and Clank and was winning.   

Feeling tired, he thought of his sister and grinned.   

‘She must be singing now, and they’re all heading to dreamland together.   I might join them again tonight.’, he thought. With that, he closed his eyes and fell into a deep, gentle slumber, hoping that the next time he saw Somni it’d be a chance to prove himself as an ally.  

The End