Chapter: 1: What Really Happened
Setting: AU: before and during Mystic Force
Story Summary: the rangers go to Briarwood to help them with the Master, but are shocked when the Master is Maligore and they realize that the child he's after is Kim. Can they stop him from getting her? Or will they lose Kim to evil once and for all?

Chapter Word Count: 6,804

A/N: this story is the sequel to Return of the Ancient Ninjetti which is the sequel to Someday. This is the third and final part of the Trilogy. There will be references from the previous two stories in here, so I would suggest that all new readers read SD and RAN before reading this, otherwise, you might be a little lost. You don't have to if you don't want to, but if any questions are asked, I will not answer them...just a fair warning.

A/N 2: follows canon a bit, but follows my "canon" more. Anyways…enjoy.

Disclaimer: Power Rangers and all its affiliates belong to Haim Saban; no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. In other words, I don't own them and I'm not making any money from this fiction.

(Starts with the final scene in RAN)

One year later

It's been almost a year since the final battle and almost a year since Kim was gone. Slowly things had gotten better; Tommy and the other ninjetti had been able to move past their grief and into acceptance. They spoke with their friends, sharing memories of Kim with those that didn't know her.

The other rangers had gone back to their own life, but they would make it a point to show up at Tommy's once every month to talk and reminisce. They had cancelled their monthly meeting for this month and had decided to meet instead on the anniversary of the day Kim disappeared. Tommy's house would be filled once more with the rangers.

Now, Tommy and the original rangers were at Hayley's preparing for the upcoming anniversary.

"Hey guys," Hayley smiled when she saw Trent, Krista and Angela J. walk in.

"Hey Hayley," they replied.

"Dr. O not here yet?" Trent asked as he looked around; he saw Jason and the other originals minus the ninjetti sitting over in the corner with Ethan, Kira and Conner.

"No," Hayley sighed sadly as she shook her head. "None of them are; I think it's hitting them hard because of the anniversary."

"Understandable," Krista nodded. "Are the others coming today or tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow and later today," Hayley replied as she wiped down the counter.

"Ok," Angela J. nodded. "We'll be with them."

"I'll bring you guys some drinks," Hayley suggested as she turned to prepare them.

Trent, Krista and Angela J. made their way over to the others.

"Hey guys," Zack smiled; in the last few months, the normally upbeat and cheerful guy had turned silent and slightly serious. His smiles were no longer as infectious and playful as they used to be.

"Hey," Trent said as he took a seat. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," Trini replied as she looked around. "How are you guys?"

"We're good," Krista nodded.

"That's good," Tanya smiled; she was about to say something else when she saw Conner sit up suddenly. "Conner?"

The others looked at him.

"What's wrong?" Kira looked at her boyfriend.

"I…I don't know," Conner frowned even as his hand came up to his heart absently. "I feel…restless; my Rex feels restless…fidgety…"

The others exchanged looks before looking back at him.

"I feel as if something's going to happen in the next few days," Conner said.

"Something good or bad?" Kat asked.

"I don't know," Conner shook his head. "It doesn't feel bad…at least, I don't think so."

"God please don't let it be something bad," Trini prayed. "Not on that day…"

Jason looked at his wife and squeezed her hand; he felt exactly how she did and knew that with everyone thinking on Kim, for something bad to happen on that day, would push them over the edge. They wouldn't be able to handle it.

Joey was going to say something, but was interrupted by the arrival of the ninjetti, minus Tommy, the NS team and the WF team along with Eric and Wes.

"Hey guys," Taylor called out as they walked over.

"Hey," Kat answered.

"What's wrong?" Alyssa asked as she sat down, the others following her.

"Conner says he feels like something is going to happen," Ethan answered.

"What?" the others turned to look at him.

"I just have this weird feeling," Conner explained once again. "It's like my T-Rex is—

"Restless?" Rocky cut him off.

"Fidgety?" Adam asked.

"Anxious?" Billy added.

"It's like he's anticipating something," Aisha finished.

"Yeah," Conner looked at her before looking at the others. "How did you know?"

"Because," Rocky blew out a slow breath. "We feel it too."

"We've been feeling it since yesterday," Adam picked up. "It became stronger this morning."

"And I believe it will only get stronger," Billy finished with a frown.

"Do you know why this is happening?" Wes asked.

"No," Aisha sighed. "But I wish I did; I just hope it's not something bad."

"That's what I hope as well," Trini looked at her. "I don't think I can handle it if something happens on that day."

"Neither do I," Aisha agreed.

"I don't think anyone of us will," Tori said as she leaned against Blake. Despite it being almost a year, they still weren't over what happened to Kim.

"Let's just concentrate on the upcoming anniversary," Hunter suggested.

"Great idea," Hayley said as she walked over to the group.

~…~

The next three days passed really quickly; the rest of the rangers had shown up and now everyone was at Tommy's. Melissa and James had taken the day off from their jobs and that morning, Melissa, Hayley, Trini, Angela W. and Tanya had made a huge breakfast for everyone.

The morning passed by with the rangers talking quietly amongst each other, swapping stories as they always did; Tommy had made a quick appearance, but had left soon after as he couldn't bear talking about Kim as yet.

It was now late afternoon and most everyone was sitting on the front porch and around the yard. The ninjetti were sitting on the top steps, along with Conner, Kira, Tanya, Trini and Karone; the others had started up mini games between them.

"It's getting stronger," Conner muttered as he draped an arm around Kira.

"Yeah it is," Aisha nodded.

"I wish we knew what it meant," Rocky said. "I asked Jesse and he doesn't know."

"Neither does Adrian," Adam added.

"I have a feeling we'll know soon," Billy said even as his gaze drifted to the sky.

Hayley had just come out of the house and had taken a seat next to Billy when the alarms went off. Everyone froze before looking at each other.

"What the hell?" Eric asked and that seemed to break them out of their trance as they all rushed to the basements.

"Hayley, Andros," Danny looked at the two techs. "What is it? What's going?"

"Please don't say it's something monster or something," James sighed.

"It's not," Hayley answered even as her fingers flew across the keyboard.

"It's a power source," Billy spoke up as he looked at the screen and what they were doing.

"A very powerful one," Andros added. "And from the trajectory, I'd say it's headed straight for us; it's going to land in the backyard…right about now."

The words were barely out of his mouth before everyone rushed out the room; they got to the backyard just in time to see a bright light touch down a few feet away from them. They shielded their eyes, and moved them when they light cleared, only to gasp in shock; where the light was, a person now stood there. It was a girl, and she was wearing pink shorts, tennis shoes, and a white top; her hair was done in a braid and it ended just a few inches above her butt. She turned around and everyone froze when they saw who it was.

The ninjetti was the first to react and they rushed towards her; Aisha got there first and when they embraced, she heard Lexa roar out in joy. Adam, Billy and Rocky reached them next and when they joined the hug, they too heard their own animals.

The rest of the original rangers got out of their stupor and with shouts of joy, they ran to the group; their movements drew the others out of their shock and soon enough, everyone else had rushed towards them. To their surprise, Conner got there first and he pulled the girl into a hug, sighing when he heard his T-Rex roar out in triumph. Seconds later, the other rangers joined them, resulting in a group hug with the female in the middle.

~…~

Tommy sighed as he parked his jeep between Jason's and Rocky's car; he looked around at the other vehicles, taking in each one. He had left his friends earlier as he couldn't stand to be in the room, hearing them talk about Kim; even after all this time, it still hurt.

He opened his door and got out, pausing next to his jeep to lean against the side as he shifted his gaze skyward. For the past few days, both Brennan and Dragon have been fidgety and restless…almost like they were anticipating something; the only problem was, neither animal could say what they were waiting for as they didn't know.

He sighed once more and turned to go inside when he saw the beam of light touch down in the back; he froze for a few seconds before he shot off like bullet. Moving through his house, he made his way out back only to stop when he saw his friends and parents in what looked like group hug. He took a step forward only to freeze; inside of him, he heard the screech and roar of Brennan and Drago and knew instinctively who they were hugging.

The others seemed to sense he was there because they all turned to look at him with tear filled eyes and happy smiles. They parted and he saw her and his breath caught in his throat.

"Kimberly," he breathed out and his eyes hungrily took in her appearance; from her long caramel hair, which seemed a shade darker, her clothes, her body and her eyes…her doe-brown eyes that he had missed more than anything sparkled with joy and love.

Without even noticing it, he hurried down the steps and caught her in his arms as she flew into them.

"I missed you," Kim whispered against his neck and smiled as she felt his arms tighten around her waist.

The hug went on for a few more minutes before Tommy reluctantly pulled back; his hand came up to brush the loose strands of hair from her face. "You're really here?"

"Yes," Kim nodded with a smile even as her eyes filled with tears as she looked up at the man she loved more than anything. "I'm here Tommy, I'm real and I'm never leaving you again Handsome."

"Oh Beautiful," Tommy smiled at Kim before leaning down to capture her lips in a kiss; the moment they touched, he felt their bond and connection snap back into place.

Kim felt a surge of joy as the kiss went on as she too felt the connection and bond reaffirm itself. She heard Shalimar cry out and in her mind's eye she saw her and Brennan reuniting.

They pulled back from the kiss just in time for the rest of the ninjetti to join them in a hug, each delighting in the joyous sounds of their animals reuniting.

~…~

Everyone was in the living room, with Kim, Tommy and the rest of the ninjetti, along with Conner and Kira, sitting on and around the couch while the others took up various seats around the room.

"How are you here?" Trini asked as she looked at her best friend; her eyes kept roaming over Kim's body as if trying to memorize her or catch any changes. "We thought you died."

"I did," Kim answered and she looked up at Tommy when she felt his arms tighten around her. She smiled softly and leaned up to press a kiss on his cheeks. "I'm ok."

"But then," Dustin asked. "How are you here?"

"Honestly," Kim shrugged. "I'm not even sure myself."

"What do you mean?" Melissa asked as she looked at the girl she loved as a daughter.

"When I did what I did," Kim started, capturing everyone's attention. "I had every intention of dying. I wanted to stop him and protect everyone and I knew that I'd more than likely die…I was prepared for that. When the light surrounded us, I could feel my power coursing through me, and I could also feel Nerian's own power as it tore through me as well; I have never felt such pain in my life. Not even getting my power coin stolen by Zedd and having him drain my life force hurt as much that did."

The ninjetti's eyes widened slightly while Kat gave a barely noticeable flinch and the others held sympathetic looks on their faces.

"When the light cleared, I woke up in what looked like a rainforest; it reminded me of the jungle on Phaedos actually. Everything was foggy for a bit before it cleared it up. I was terrified, so I started walking; the more I walked though, the calmer I became. I walked until I came to a small pond and when I touched it, everything around me changed. Instead of being in the jungle, I found myself in Angel Grove. I walked around and I realized it wasn't the Angel Grove that I had left but rather one from a long time ago."

"Wild Wild West?" Adam asked and everyone looked intrigued as they had remembered when they were told of that particular day over the course of the year when they were learning about each other, more specifically Kim.

"Not that far back," Kim smiled over at her bonded brother. "It was actually Angel Grove from my childhood; I was thrown back into time to when I was child. But the weird thing was, I wasn't truly experiencing it; it was like I was just a bystander watching everything that happened. It was a little strange seeing things from an outsider's perspective, but in a weird way, I enjoyed it because I was also able to see some of you guys as kids; well, the rest of the original as I grew up with Jase, Tri, Zack and Billy."

"You saw us as kids?" Rocky raised an eyebrow in her direction.

"Yes," Kim laughed, "and I must say, I wasn't surprised to learn you were such an exhibitionist as a kid."

"Hey," Rocky flushed as the others laughed at him. "It was freeing."

"I bet," Kim giggled. "And I saw that you missy, didn't like ballet at all as a kid."

"I hated it," Kat admitted with a laugh "But I eventually grew to like it."

"How was it?" Mike asked, "Seeing your childhood all over again?"

"It was…hard," Kim admitted. "My childhood was…difficult to say the least and to see it all again from an outside point of view didn't change anything. The only thing it did do, was to make me wonder where I found the strength to keep going…where I found the courage to be a ranger in the first place."

"What do you mean?" Ryan asked. "I mean, the others told us that they, including you, didn't want to be ranger in the first place, only Jason did and that one of your reasons was because your hair would be messed up, but hearing that statement tells me that there was more to it than that."

"There was," Kim nodded. "In all honesty, I didn't think I'd be good or strong enough to be a ranger; I didn't think I had what it took and I was afraid I would disappoint the others and Zordon if I failed at it."

"But you didn't," Zack spoke up. "You proved not only yourself, but him, wrong as well, and now, you're one of the strongest people I know and one of the most powerful rangers in this room."

"Who's him?" Taylor asked and the original rangers looked at each other.

"My Father," Kim answered. When she saw the looks on their faces, she smiled ruefully. "My dad wasn't the best father around; in fact, he wasn't around much at all and when he was…needless to say, I always felt I wasn't good enough for him and one night, he was quite indisposed when he told me so…I never forgot that."

"Kim spent most of her childhood at our houses," Trini gestured to her, Zack, Jason and Billy. "But she spent more time at Jason's though."

"What about your mom?" Max asked.

"She tried," Kim smiled. "She made me feel as if I was special, but it still made me feel as if I was the rope in a tug of war."

"That's messed up," Cole said; he couldn't really understand how that would feel as he had lost his parents when he was a baby and had spent most of his life in a jungle.

"I know," Kim shrugged, "but I was able to move on; I became a ranger, met some really good friends and the love of my life, gained another set of parents and I found a father in our mentor. My childhood and some of my teen life sucked, but they all made me who I am today. I figured that part out as I was watching the reruns of my life."

"Go figure," Trent smiled and the others laughed at the comment.

Aisha looked at Kim with a soft smile. "You do know—

"Yes I do," Kim cut her off with a smile. "And I am sorry."

"I broke down at the lake a few weeks after the battle," Aisha clarified to the others when she saw the looks of confusion on everyone's faces with the exception of the ninjetti males. "I yelled, I screamed, I cursed to hell and back before I started crying; the guys ended up out there ten minutes later and we all cried as we looked out at the water."

"So that's where you guys were that day?" Cam asked, referring to the day they had noticed the ninjetti were missing only to find them a few hours later sitting on the back porch.

"Yeah," Rocky nodded. "We didn't say anything because we wanted to keep it private and to ourselves."

"Understandable," Conner nodded, his head rubbing against Kim's knee from where he sat in front of her.

"I'm sorry to you as well," Kim looked down at him. "The bond was new and had snapped together so strongly that I knew it hurt you almost as much as it did these guys."

"It did hurt," Conner swallowed as he recalled how he felt. "I mean, I felt empty, like something was missing and I knew it was you and that you were really gone, but I knew that I couldn't let the grief keep overwhelming me as I knew you'd want us to move on…though that was very hard to do and it took a while."

"I really am sorry," Kim looked around her friends and surrogate parents.

"We know sweetie," Melissa smiled. "And I think the reason everyone, myself included, got over the anger pretty quickly was because we knew that it was just like you to do something like that. You were always willing to do anything to help and protect the ones you care about, and from what I have heard about Zordon, he meant a heck of a lot more, no offence to you guys, to you that he did the others and protecting his legacy meant a lot to you as well."

"It does," Kim said and the original rangers, Joey included, agreed.

"So what else happened?" Joey asked.

"Well," Kim looked at him before smiling. "Coming on to the end of the quest, I got some really unexpected guests."

"Who?" Tanya asked.

"Zordon, Zedd, and The Goddess," Kim smiled.

"What?" everyone was shocked.

"Explain please," Justin said.

"Well," Kim started. "It was just after I saw Aisha and the other Ninjetti breakdown…"

Flashback

She sighed sadly even as a small smile made its way across her face; seeing Aisha breakdown, followed by the rest of the Ninjetti was bittersweet. She was happy that they had each other, but she was sad that she caused their pain in the first place. However, she knew that if she could do things over, she would do the same; if her dying meant Nerian was destroyed and their world—as well as Zordon's legacy—was safe, then she would do it. She was a ranger after all, one of Zordon's children, and it was what she was taught to do.

"And I have never been more proud of you," a voice behind her spoke. Her eyes widened in disbelief and she turned slowly. One female and two male stood there; the two male looked familiar, but the female didn't. One of the males was bald-headed with baby blue eyes, and was wearing a grey robe; the other was slightly shorter with a head of dark brown hair and hazel eyes; the female was shorter than the two males and her hair was a golden colour that fell mid-back, she had green eyes that seemed to sparkle and a mischievous smile lit her face.

"Zordon?" she called, her voice tinged with disbelief and shock.

"Hello my crane," Zordon smiled, his blue eyes twinkling in delight.

She said nothing as she flew into his arms; when they closed around her, she let her tears fall.

"I've missed you so much," she whispered against his chest.

"I know," Zordon nodded as he pulled her back to look at her. "I have missed you as well. I have missed all of my children. I am very proud of all of you, especially you young Kimberly."

"I'm not that young anymore," she muttered with a smile.

"To me my crane," Zordon laughed, "you will always be young."

"She'll always be a pain in the ass you mean," the dark eyed man teased.

She pulled away and looked at him, her brows furrowed as she tried to place where she knew him from.

"You'd think after all the times I tried to kill you and your friends," the man laughed, "you'd recognize me."

"Zedd?" her eyes widened in disbelief and shock.

"In the flesh," Zedd chuckled, "well, humanized is more like it."

"Oh my God," she breathed as she watched, "this is beyond surreal."

"I'd imagine," the female laughed.

"And you would be?" she turned to her, "please don't say Rita."

"I am not," the female laughed. "My name is Aurora; I was the Goddess of Phaedos."

"You're the one who chose the first ninjetti and gave them your powers," she was beyond shocked now; she couldn't believe the Goddess was standing right in front of her.

"Yes," Aurora nodded with a smile, "that's me."

"What is going on?" she asked as she looked at the three of them. "What are you guys doing here?" she paused. "Are you here to lead me or something?"

"You could say that," Zedd nodded.

"What do you mean?" she looked at the three of them. "I'm dead, so I'd assume you're leading me to the great beyond."

"You are dead young Kimberly," Zordon nodded, "but you of all should know that anything is possible for a ranger, especially those who possess the great power."

"And not only do you possess it," Aurora smiled, "you own it."

"Ok," she nodded, "So what does that mean for me? I mean, what's going to happen now?"

"Why don't we walk and talk," Zedd suggested; the scene changed from the Ninjetti to the park in Angel Grove. The four turned as one and started walking.

"Zedd," she looked at the man. "I thought you were alive? I mean, I thought Zordon's energy wave turned you good."

Zedd explained to her how after Zordon's energy wave had turned him good, he and his wife Rita were ready to finally settle down; but that wasn't to be. He had died in a battle on his home planet protecting Rita.

"I'm sorry to hear that," She touched his arm briefly.

"It's ok," Zedd smiled, "I'm glad I did; Rita is now a paragon of good, but enough about my life; we're dealing with yours."

"Come young crane," Zordon directed them forward once more. "There isn't much time."

"Much time for what?" she asked as she looked up at the man she respected and saw as her father.

"To decide whether or not you stay or go back," Aurora smiled.

"What?" she stopped walking and looked at all three.

"Kimberly," Zedd looked at her. "You are a very special person. You see the good in people, even if you shouldn't. You have been through so much in life and yet, you haven't allowed it to destroy you, instead, you have grown stronger because of it. Someone else would have given up, but you didn't."

"That's because I had all my friends standing with me," she replied.

"That wasn't always the case though," Zordon said gently.

"No," she shook her head as she thought on her friends' betrayal back in high school.

"And yet," Aurora said, "you forgave them. Out of everyone that has touched the power, from the first set that I chose, to the ones from Zordon's world, to those from Earth, you have suffered more than them. Out of them all, you were the only one that had the right to say no, to quit being a ranger."

"I couldn't," she said. "When Zordon chose us, I admit I was terrified and a part of me felt like giving up, but after we got into it, I knew I made the right choice in staying. Yes, being a ranger meant I suffered through more shit than any normal person, but it also had its positives. It's because I was a ranger that I met Zordon, a man who became a better father to me than my own. If it wasn't for being a ranger, I never would've met Aisha and the others, I never would've grown up knowing how to protect myself and how to know better, the difference between doing what is right and what is easy." She paused and smiled. "But most of all, the reason why I wouldn't have quit and I'm glad I didn't is because, if it wasn't for being a ranger, I never would've had the courage to go to Tommy when we first met.

"I admit that the power had us through the wringer so many times, but the way I see it, going through all that, just made us even more appreciative of each other. Being a ranger taught me to not take things for granted; it taught me how to be a better person. It brought me even closer to my friends and it gave me even more. That's why I fought then, when you Zedd was in power, and again when Nerian came to us. I am a ranger; Zordon, you brought us all together and I couldn't let him destroy that. I had to protect your legacy and I knew the others felt the same. You believed in us, five teens who had no idea what they were getting themselves into, you made us believe in ourselves; you gave us the courage to do what we do."

She looked away briefly before looking back at the trio. "Yes, a lot of shit happened to me, and Tommy, and it's because of our ranger duties, but I wouldn't give it up for anything. If I had the chance to go back and tell my past self not to go back to the Command Centre, to not be a ranger, I wouldn't take it. It's because all the bad things that happened made me appreciate the good things and made me stronger; it made me a fighter. Without my past, my ranger past, I wouldn't be who I am today."

"You are an amazing woman Kimberly Hart," Aurora smiled as she stepped closer to Kim to place a gentle kiss on her forehead. "And I am glad the power chose you. You have done me and my powers proud."

"Everything you just said," Zedd smiled, "is the reason why you are going back."

"What?" she looked at him in shock and hope.

"Yes my young crane," Zordon reached out hold her hands. "It is not your time as yet. You and your friends have done so much good for the world and I am beyond proud of each and everyone one of you. However, you're destiny is not yet complete."

"What do you mean Zordon?" she asked, her brows furrowed.

"My children," Zordon continued, "and that's what all of you are, you have one more chapter in your ranger life to go before you can finally let go. And I have no doubt that you will succeed."

"An old foe is going to resurface," Zedd said, causing Kim to look at him. "However, He will not be your problem until you are needed. When that time comes, an old enemy turned ally will contact you."

"Do you know who the foe is?" she asked.

"We cannot say," Zordon shook his head. "What I can tell you is that, He will have a purpose; He will be looking for someone."

"Who?" she asked.

"His child," Zedd picked up. "When the time comes, you will have to protect the child, defeating the foe will depend on it. If He finds the child and gets to them before you do, all hope will be lost."

"What's so special about this child?" she was very curious.

"Power," Zordon explained. "The child is powerful; if He finds them before the rangers do, not only will the child be lost to evil forever, but those closest to the child will be at risk for defecting to evil as well."

"So find this child and protect them," she nodded slowly.

"Do not worry," Aurora smiled, "you are stronger than people think you are, all of you, and you will get through this." She looked up for a few seconds before smiling. "It is time."

"Are you ready?" Zedd asked. "You can say no, and you will stay here."

"But if I do," she frowned, "then whoever is going to come back, the others will fight them. I want to help."

"Are you sure?" Zordon asked.

"I'm a ranger," she smiled, "one of your chosen ones; do you really think I'd let someone mess with my friends, with our family and your legacy without doing anything about it? I didn't when Nerian showed up and I'm not going to now."

"How silly of me to think so," Zordon smiled before drawing her into a hug. "Take care, my crane."

"I will Zordon," she whispered. "I love you."

"And I you," Zordon replied before he let her go. She was hugged by Zedd and Aurora before the three formed a circle around her.

The trio glowed and a bright white light surrounded them before surrounding her; as she was enveloped within it, she locked gazes with Zordon and smiled.

"May the power protect you," Zordon whispered and then she was gone. She never saw the smiles disappear off the trio's faces to be replaced by sadness.

"She has a fight ahead of her, doesn't she?" Zedd asked as he looked at the two.

"Yes she does," Aurora sighed. "And I pray she truly is strong enough to fight Him. I pray He doesn't get her back."

"We have to have faith," Zordon's voice was filled with determination and worry. "We have to believe that Kimberly does have the strength to fight Him, for if she doesn't, He will reclaim her as his daughter and that will lead to the destruction of not only the rangers, but the world as well."

End flashback

Kim looked around her friends with a small smile; she knew that they were stunned by what she had just told them.

"I can't believe you met Zordon," Justin was the first to break the silence.

"Or the Goddess," Ethan added. "That must have been cool to meet them."

"It was," Kim nodded. "It was shocking too, especially meeting Zedd and Aurora, but I'm glad I did."

"I for one am glad you were able to come back," Aisha said as she reached to grab Kim's hand.

"So am I," Rocky added. "I still can't believe you saw Zordon again, or that you met both a good Zedd and the Goddess."

"Do you know what he meant?" Trini asked; her brows were furrowed as she thought on what Kim had just told them.

"From what I understand," Leo spoke up, "an old villain is going to be coming back and we're not only going to have to fight him, we're going to have to find this child of his."

"Yes but," Billy said, "it seems that it's not going to be our fight directly."

"What do you mean?" Dustin asked as he looked at him.

"Well according to Zedd," Billy explained, "another team of rangers is going to be the one directly fighting him. We won't be called until it's too much for them and our help is truly needed."

"He's right," James spoke up, "so, you guys have time to actually relax and enjoy being free of your world saving duties until that time."

"But," Adam looked around, "what about this child that we're supposed to protect? And what did they mean by, if we lose the child, those closest to it are at risk."

"I think," Kim spoke, "what they meant was, if whoever this villain is, if he gets his child to join his side, then so will the ones closest to that child."

"So we have to, not only protect the child," Danny frowned, "but we also have to figure out who their friends are and protect them too."

"That about sums it up," Zhane nodded.

"I vote that we do what Mr. Oliver said and not worry about this until it's actually time to do so," Zack spoke up. "We have Kim back and another team is going to be coming along to deal with this evil guy, so until they call us, let's just enjoy our lives."

"Sounds like a plan to me bro," Tommy nodded in agreement and soon enough, so did everyone else. The news of the villain was placed on the back burner as the group of friends decided to celebrate and enjoy their lives.

As the others started talking, Kim shifted until she was lying more comfortably on Tommy; she allowed the noises from her family to drift over her, smiling softly as the familiarity of it lulled her to sleep.

Trini, who had turned to say something to Tommy, stopped and her eyes softened when she noticed that Kim had fallen asleep. The others, noticing where her gaze was, turned to look at Kim as well and one by one, the conversations died out as everyone stared at the girl that meant so much to them.

"She's really here, isn't she?" Taylor asked as she watched Kim. "No tricks or nothing…she's really back."

"Yeah," Jason nodded, "she is. I am so glad for that."

"We all are," Melissa smiled.

Tommy tightened his arms briefly around Kim before shifting her so that he could take her in his arms. "I think I'll take her up."

"Alright," Hayley smiled.

Tommy said nothing; he stood up carefully, mindful of Kim, and headed towards the stairs.

"He's not coming back is he?" Ethan asked as he watched his former teacher go up the stairs.

"No," Conner shook his head. "And I don't blame him."

"None of us do," Carter said. "We've seen how he has been the past year. Maybe he needs this time alone with her, even though she's sleeping."

"They really are the strongest, aren't they?" Krista looked around the room. "I mean, this past year has been hard on all of us, especially them." she shook her head. "To go through everything they have…"

"They've been going through crap since high school," Zack answered. "From the moment they met, Tommy and Kim haven't had it easy. I mean, you guys have heard the stories."

"And yet," Alyssa spoke up, "they kept fighting. Despite every bad thing that kept happening to them, they found the strength to keep fighting."

"You were right Cole," Eric smiled; at Cole's, and the others, confused looks, he clarified. "After the Moon Mission when you said that he was the greatest ranger…you were right."

"Yeah well," Cole shook his head, "it's not only him anymore. She's just as great…they had to be, to go through what they did."

"I love being a ranger," Leo looked at everyone, "but I think that if I had gone through even half of what they did, I would've quit."

"No," Aisha shook her head. "Even if you had quit, you would've still fought. You would've fought because you're a ranger."

"Even if you had turned in your morpher," Rocky picked up, "you wouldn't have been able to sit around, knowing you could help, and not do anything."

"It's why we're all here now," Billy added. "You guys could've said you weren't going to fight, but you didn't. And even though you now know all the horrors that those two have been through, even though a part of you is glad it wasn't you, you will still fight."

"We're rangers," Adam smiled, "it's what we do."

The clock chimed interrupting anyone from saying anything else.

"I didn't realize so much time had passed," Kira looked at the time.

"We should all get some sleep," Melissa suggested with a smile. "It's been an exciting day."

"Yes it has," the others nodded in agreement and soon enough, everyone went to their customary sleeping places.

~…~

Tommy opened his eyes when he heard a noise; after he had brought Kim up and had changed her into a t-shirt of his, he had sat on the bed and watched her sleep, before he had given in and had joined her in the bed. He moved behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist and Kim immediately shifted in her sleep closer to him. He had fallen asleep immediately after that.

The sound came again and he realized it was his bedroom door being open. Shifting, he looked towards the door and saw Aisha standing there.

"'Sha," his voice was slightly groggy. "Is something wrong?"

"No," Aisha shook her head and stepped in the room. "I just…Lexa is still a bit restless."

Tommy understood what she was saying as it was the main reason he had joined Kim in bed; Brennan and Dragon had needed the reassurance.

Looking at Kim, he eased away from her and stood from the bed. "Come on."

Aisha smiled briefly before hurrying to the bed; being careful, she moved to Kim's side and lied down.

"'Sha?" Kim opened her eyes.

"Yeah," Aisha said softly. "I had to be here."

"Ok," Kim nodded sleepily before she yawned and snuggled into her best friend. Aisha closed her arms around Kim and closed her eyes, sighing when she felt the relief that flowed through Lexa.

Tommy had just pulled on a pair of sweats over his boxers when the door shifted open again; standing there was Rocky and Adam.

"You guys too?" he shook his head as he pulled the chair near the door, closer to Kim's side of the bed.

"Yeah," Both boys nodded.

"Come on," Tommy waved them in. The two nodded and walked inside, closing the door gently behind them.

"Thanks man," Adam said softly as he moved to the bed. He moved to lay behind Aisha, placing his arm around her waist so that he was touching Kim.

Rocky smiled before he grabbed the other chair and moved it to Aisha's side. He sat down, silently thanking Tommy for having comfortable chairs, and looked at his friends. He had barely settled down when the door opened once more and Billy poked his head in; seeing the others, he smiled and came in the room, closing the door behind him.

"Couldn't sleep either?" Adam asked as he shifted against Aisha; the sleep that had eluded him in his own room was taking him over now.

"No," Billy shook his head as he climbed onto the bed, moving to lie down on the foot of the bed, but close enough to the girls where he could touch their hands. Adam, seeing him, shifted slowly from behind Aisha before he copied Billy's movements; the two were close enough to touch hands, though they didn't…the proximity was enough.

"I'm so glad she's back," Billy whispered as he looked up at Kim.

"We all are," Tommy said before he moved to the bed; being mindful of Billy's position, he lay behind Kim, placing his arm around her waist, touching the joined hands of her and Aisha.

Rocky said nothing as he mirrored Tommy's actions, also mindful of Adam's place. The moment the three boys settled on the bed, they fell asleep; somehow, even with all of them lying in the positions they were in, no one had shifted in their sleep to disturb the others and they had managed to stay touching each other.

In the morning when the others checked in on them, they all smiled and were awed when they saw the colours and the animals surrounding the ninjetti six as they reaffirmed their bond once again.

A/N 3: at the end of the flashback, the scene in bold means that Kim didn't hear that. I hope everyone enjoyed this first chapter.

A/N 4: also, this story isn't complete; I have like four chapters done. Reason why, I had three chapters written, but then I basically lost the motivation for it, so I wrote A Shocking Betrayal. And that's when I realized that reading what my fans thought of the story was pure motivation, so I decided to post the first chapter and because the story is updated every two weeks, it puts me on a timeline/deadline to get a chapter out which is motivation in and of itself.

Like I said in my profile, I'm a little procrastinator (I'm working on it...honest), so the timeline/deadline really helps to kick my butt in gear. Enough rambling from me. Review so I can know what you thought of this chapter

Next Update: Friday 7th September, '12.

Kila