advanced, extended, additional chapters & alternate endings of this story can be found on rangerfiction . net

Disclaimer: Power Rangers and all its related logos are property of Disney Entertainment and/or Saban Entertainment. I am using them without permission, but I do not expect to make a profit. If I do, I promise to split it 50/50 with the Disney people. I swear, I do. All original characters are mine, and I do have permission to use them.

A/N: This takes place a few years after Dino Thunder, and is loosely based in the "Future Imperfect" universe. Don't worry; you shouldn't have to read that one to understand this one.

Take a sec to review too, I live for those.

KO-35 2008 AD - The Utopian Mountains

Both of the suns were going down, setting gently behind the mountains of Utopian City. There was a cool breeze in the air, and the stars were shining a little brighter than normal. It was, as always, peaceful on KO-35. However, deep within the mountains themselves, unbeknownst to the citizens of KO-35, the forces of evil were gathering, preparing.

There were Quantons, Kelzacks, Ghouls, Batlings, and a variety of other foot soldiers gathered around a symbol in the ground. The symbol itself was a bronze colored pentagram with a circle surrounding it. Within each of the triangle shapes in the pentagrams, there were smaller, individual symbols. Along the circle itself was an ancient writing, and smoke seemed to be coming from it. The seeming endless sea of foot soldiers parted, allowing a hooded figure to walk through, approaching the pentagram. The mysterious figure stopped at the pentagram, bowing to one knee.

"My glorious leader, your time is at hand. Our plans are in place, and soon, your reign of terror will spread through this galaxy and every other. All will tremble in fear; all will kneel before your immeasurable and inexhaustible power. Every pure soul, every ounce of goodness in the universe will be purged, and evil, the first evil, will dominate the universe," he proclaimed.

The foot soldiers all cheered with approval, each in their own language as the hooded figure stood up, pulling a small dagger out of its sleeve. It then turned slightly, motioning for something. "Bring me the sacrifice," he ordered.

A quantron stepped forward, bringing with it an elderly man. The man struggled, but it was on use. The quantron held the man in place as the hooded figured approached him slowly. "Fear not my friend, your sacrifice is a noble one. You are the key, the catalyst from the destruction of your world and countless others. The blood of the innocent will open the seal of Daphron, and when the power source arrives, our leader will be freed from its tomb," he told him.

"God please, no…" the man old sighed.

"Your god has nothing to do with this," he said as he began to carve symbols into the man's chest. The man cried out in pain, struggling to get free, but there was no use. The harder he tried, the deeper the hooded figure cut. Soon, the elderly man passed out from the lose of blood, and the cloaked figure tossed him onto the symbol in the ground.

The blood began to pour out the man, spilling into every crevice of the symbol. Soon, the entire symbol was covered in blood, and it began to glow. Small compartments began to open on the symbol as smoke filled the cave. The symbol continued to shift, until eventually, the entire symbol was gone, and there was an opening in the floor. The opening seemed to be filled with blood, and soon, the smoke cleared. The hooded figured stared down, unsure of what to expect. He'd performed the ritual, done the sacrifice, but nothing was coming from the opening.

"You almost seem disappointed my friend," a deep, eerie voice said.

The cloaked figured turned around quickly with the dagger in hand. "Who dares…" he paused, realizing who it was. "My lord, forgive me," he sighed, dropping to one knee.

"No need for that my friend, rise!" the entity said. It was still very dark and almost impossible to see anything, so he wasn't able to get a good look at it. The figure in the cloak nodded slightly.

"My lord, you have returned."

"Yes, but you're wrong about one thing. All the goodness in the universe will not be purged; it will be allowed to survive. Those who choose to serve by my side will know power and wealth beyond their wildest imagination, those who do not will be made to suffer for an eternity, trapped in a living hell. You see my loyal friend, it isn't good or bad, these are old-fashioned terms with no real merit to them. It isn't about to who's right or wrong, who serves good and who serves evil, it's about power. Who has the most of it? Who is willing to use it? I not only have the power, I am the power, and I will use it to crush all those who oppose me."

"My lord, the plans are in place. Soon, the power source strong enough to make you corporal will be here, and our reign of destruction will begin," the hooded figure told him.

"Do not under estimate our adversaries, they will no doubtedly try to stop us, but you mustn't let that happen. I have waited for countless millennia for my opportunity, trapped in a meaningless void. My time has arrived, and you must ensure that all goes according to plan."

"I assure you my lord, when this is over, you will be corporal again, and every being in the universe will bend to your will."

Tommy and Leo - Reefside, California 2008 AD

It was an impressive collection, to say the very least. Over the years, as new generations of rangers were selected; Tommy managed to hold on to each of his morphers. They were such an influential part of his life, so significant, that it seemed almost necessary to keep them all. Each of his morphers was laid out on the table in front of him, each of them damaged in some way, shape or form.

His green power coin was simply a coin now, no real power whatsoever. 'Not like it was very reliable even back then,' he chuckled to himself. The green ranger energy, created by evil, was temporary at best. His powers always seemed to give out on him at just the wrong time, leaving him or the other rangers in trouble. It was his first time being exposed to the power, beginning what would become his legacy as a ranger. As the green ranger, he'd done things he wasn't proud of, things that, if he had the chance, he'd go back and change, but those times were also the stepping-stones for what would become his destiny.

The white power coin looked exactly like the green one, with the exception of different engravings. For him, the white coin represented second chances, an opportunity to correct some of the mistakes he'd made as the green ranger. He assumed control of the ranger team, and together, they were able to defeat Lord Zedd and Rita Repula every time they attacked. Though members of the group changed over the years, their mission remained the same, and under his leadership, there was nothing they couldn't do. Then, tragedy struck. Lord Zedd was successful in destroying the Command Center, taking their powers with it.

With their powers gone, the rangers turned to the Zeo crystal for a new energy source. While Tommy no longer had the actual crystal, he did have his zeo morphers. His time as the red Zeo ranger was more of a coming of age time for him. All of them were getting older, wiser. Zedd and Rita were gone, and the Machine Empire was slowly but surely taking over the galaxy. This time around, it wasn't just the city that depended on him, it was the entire world. While they never truly defeated the Machine Empire, they were successful in driving them back into space, leaving the Earth safe.

With the Machine Empire gone, he was sure that things would finally go back to normal. 'Whatever normal was,' he sighed. He'd been a ranger most of his life at that point, and he was preparing to move on with his life… until Divatox showed up. It became necessary for him to resume his role as a ranger, this time with the red turbo morpher. His time as the red ranger was cut short this time around, and Dimitri, who'd assumed control of the Command Chamber in Zordon's absence, instructed each ranger to find a replacement. Tommy chose TJ, the man who'd saved his life, and finally, Tommy's life as a power ranger had come to an end.

He moved on with his life, went to college, got a degree, even got a good job at Mercer Industries. Things were finally looking up for him; he'd almost forgotten about the times he spent as a ranger. Years had gone by, and then, he received a call from Andros, the red space ranger, informing him that generals from the long forgotten Machine Empire were planning to invade Earth. With a reluctant heart, Tommy resorted to his Zeo morpher, becoming the red ranger one more time. Alongside nine other red rangers, they were able to defeat the generals, and the Earth was safe.

It didn't take long for Tommy to realize that he couldn't escape the power for too long.

Time went on, and Tommy took a job as a schoolteacher. While it wasn't as rewarding as saving the world on a daily basis, it was safe, and for the most part, he was happy. He'd finally settled down, married the love of his life, Katherine Hilliard, and was preparing to start a family. The two of them had discussed it several times, and he finally felt as though he was ready. Of course, his destiny caught up with him again, and he had been forced to put his life on hold to become a ranger yet again. This time, as the black ranger, he and a new ranger team were able to defeat Mesagog and prevent him from recreating the dinosaur era on Earth. His black dino gem lost all its power in the final battle, and it was at that point that he vowed never to go back.

'I've done my part for the world, it's over for me now,' he thought to himself, picking up each morpher and placing them in a box on the table. It had been a few years since he was the black ranger. He was a family man now, he had a daughter, and he was ready to move forward with his life. He and Katherine had even discussed having another child in the near future. It was finally over; he would finally have his life back.

Every now and then on the news, he'd hear something about the rangers saving the city, or how they stopped a monster attack. He'd heard something about Bio-Lab and the Silver Guardians merging with another company, SPD, and now they were going to train future rangers to protect the world. He was sure that he'd never be called on again to save the world.

"What are you doing down here?" Katherine asked as she walked into the room, wrapping her arms around him gently and kissing him on the cheek.

"Just packing up some old stuff, moving it down to the basement," he said, quickly sealing the lid of the box.

Katherine had been firmly against him going on a mission with the other red rangers, and protested. Eventually she understood, but when he had tried to explain that he had to be a ranger again, this time the black one, it was the last straw. 'You have to pick. Them or me!' he recalled her saying. Though he was happy with his life, happy with how things were going, he knew he had to live up to his responsibility. The safety of the world outweighed his own happiness, and as a result, she had left him. Once Mesagog was defeated, and it was finally over, he vowed to her never to be a ranger again, never to wear another uniform, or put his life on the line. She took him back, and things had been fine for them ever since.

"It's getting late, are you coming to bed?"

"I will in a minute. Is Kim already in bed?" he asked her.

Their daughter had recently celebrated her third birthday, and on that day, demanded a "big girl bed". Since then, she couldn't wait to go to bed, and looked for any opportunity to lie in it.

"You know she is. She's been lying there for almost an hour now, waiting on you to tuck her in. She's such a daddy's little girl," she told him.

"So are you," he giggled, kissing her on the lips softly.

She playfully pushed him away. "Go check on your daughter. I'll be in the bed waiting for you," she said, then turned and headed up the steps.

Tommy couldn't help but smile as he watched her walk up the steps. His life was finally perfect. He had a wonderful wife, a beautiful daughter, a happy home, a good job, and everything was falling into place for him. His thoughts were broken as the phone rang. He walked over to the phone on the kitchen wall, picking it up.

"Hello?"

"Thank God you're there. Tommy, we need your help," a voice said.

Though the voice sounded panicked, he recognized it right away. "Rocky, what is it, man? What's wrong?"

"It's Emily, something happened. Someone… took her."

"Took her? Where?"

"I don't know; there was an attack, a big one. She's gone, man, she's gone!"

"Did you call the police?"

"They're not going to be able to help me, Tommy, I need your help."

"My help? What can I do?"

"They left a message. It says that if I ever want to see Emily again, I have to go to K0-35 and get her. Tommy, if we don't go, they're going to kill her!"

"I can get in touch with Andros for you, he'll be able to…"

"That's fine, but I need you to come with me. Jason's going too, they kidnapped Emily. We have to ranger up and…"

"No, I can't. I won't. I promised Kat I wouldn't…"

"I know you did, but if we don't do something, it could cost Aisha and Emily their lives."

"Rocky, I…"

He was interrupted as he heard a crash come from upstairs, followed by screaming. On instinct alone, Tommy dropped the phone and rushed up the chairs, heading immediately to his daughter's room. As soon as he rushed in, he saw Katherine unconscious on the floor, and several robots in the room. He'd never seen robots quite like these; they resembled puddies, but they were much more advanced, and it seemed as though they were wearing armor of some kind. One of the robots had his daughter, and was heading for the window.

Tommy lunged at him with a kick, knocking Kimmy out of his arms. She fell to the floor, and Tommy swung around with an elbow into the ribs of the robot, flipping it over his shoulder. Two more came towards him, but Tommy grabbed a pillow off Kimmy's bed, ripping it and allowing features to fly all over the room. The confusion was enough to let Tommy give one of them a sweep, knocking it over, then he did a back flip, kicking the other robot and sending it stumbling backwards, falling out the window. He stood ready as Kimmy crawled behind him, trembling in fear.

In the distance, he heard another crash, and within moments, even more robots were making their way into the room. Realizing he was outnumbered, he picked up Kimmy and was ready to make a run for it, but two of the robots grabbed him, literally snatching Kimmy out of his arms. He broke free and went after them, but four more robots overwhelmed him. Soon, he was pinned down to the floor as Kimmy screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Daddy! Help me, Daddy!"

"I'm coming, Kimmy," he called out, still struggling to get free, but it was no use.

Just then, there was yet another crash downstairs, but this was one different. It sounded like more of a struggle, and seconds later, the red Lost Galaxy ranger charged into the room. A well-placed kick sent one of the robots out of the room, flipping over the banister and down to the floor below. With the galaxy saber in hand, he single handedly disposed of the robots. The robots that were holding Tommy down went after him, but they were no match for him. A roundhouse kick took care of one. Another rushed at him with a blade of some kind, but the red ranger sidestepped it, and the robot sliced the other in half. With one robot left, the red ranger swung, slicing its head off with one shot, sending it collapsing to the floor.

With them done, the red ranger immediately turned to Katherine, who was still lifeless on the floor. "Kat, can you hear me? Are you okay?" he quickly checked her vitals. "Looks like she just passed out, she should be fine."

Tommy got back to his feet. "Oh my God, Kimmy?" he ran to the hallway. "Kimmy? KIMMY?"

But she was nowhere to be found.

"I got here as soon as I could. I'm sorry about your daughter," he said.

Tommy leaned back into a corner, falling back with tears in his eyes. "Kimmy?" he cried.

"POWER DOWN!" there was a flash of light, and the ranger uniform disappeared. "Listen to me, Tommy, we will find your daughter. This isn't just happening to you, it's all over the galaxy. Someone kidnapped Karone and Kendricks, too. Last I heard, former rangers all over the universe are getting kidnapped. If we're going to get them all back, I'm going to need your help."

"I-I can't Leo. I'm not a ranger anymore."

"You'll always be a ranger and you know it. If any of them have a chance of surviving, if your daughter has a chance of surviving, we have to try. Come with me," he told him.

Tommy stood up slowly, wiping the tears away from his eyes. Though he'd promised Kat he would never do it again, he would never go back; he knew this was something he had to do. If it meant she was going to divorce him, he was prepared to live with it if it meant being able to save his daughter. "There's something I have to get first," he said, walking out of the room with a look of determination in his eyes.

Tommy headed downstairs and back into the kitchen, ripping the box wide open and grabbing his Zeo morphers. He put one on each wrist, and as he turned around, Leo was standing in the doorway, nodding.

"You ready?"

"Let's go!" Tommy said coldly.

next time on Forever Red II: Alex and the new Quantum Ranger are called into action, and Jack is asked to come out of retirement.