A/N: Okay I am so sorry about being this long on posting this chapter. Its been hard for me to find time to sit down and write without falling asleep. I hope that everyone enjoys this chapter.
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Ashley rolled and reached for her husband only to come up empty. Sitting up, she looked around the room but still didn't see Andros. Where was that man? They had only journeyed back to KO-35 a week ago, but he was constantly working. She wasn't mad at him though because his work was one of the reasons that they had come back. He was one of the five delegates that travel throughout the galaxy trying to secure a future for KO-35. She just wanted him to take a break every once and a while especially at night.
Sighing, she got out of bed, grabbed her robe, and went in search of him. He needed sleep and she would remind him of that fact. He was still somewhat human or at least a man and he needed sleep like everyone else. The counsel could wait until he had some proper rest. She left their assigned room and went straight to his office. It was the only place he could be at this time of night because she knew the counsel was in bed.
The door was open so she didn't bother to alert him to her presence. He was typing away on the keyboard. A screen across from him showed images of smoking rubble. She prayed it was old footage and not something they would have to deal with. Damage like that meant another trip through the galaxy and that was something she really didn't want to do at the moment. Destruction that bad always brought up memoires of the Power Chamber being destroyed by Divatox all those years ago.
Stepping closer, she saw something that made her blood freeze. She knew that rubble and she knew it well.
"That's Angel Grove," she gasped out as the air rushed out of her lungs. This could not be happening again, could it? There was no evil being that wanted to destroy Angel Grove, was there? How could this be happening?
Andros turned to see his wife standing just inside his office door. She was wearing her long yellow robe so he knew she had been asleep. She didn't look sleepy though, no she was upset, as he knew she would be when faced with the news he had just discovered. It was one reason that he hadn't woke her up when he had first learned this news. He knew how this would affect her considering it was Angel Grove that was now in ruins.
"Ashley, you need to sit down," he urged as he stood up and walked over to her. He didn't need her to faint before he got to talk to her.
"What happened to Angel Grove?" she asked as she slid into a chair he directed her too. She gripped the sides of the chair as she waited for her world to stop spinning. There was a nagging worry that her world had just started in a downward spiral that wouldn't stop anytime soon.
"I'm not sure, but I'm working on it," he replied softly. "I just received the information about an hour ago."
"You've known for an hour that my hometown was destroyed?" she questioned as tears spilled down her cheeks. Angel Grove was gone and she hadn't felt anything out of the ordinary. Was she that disconnected to everything she had ever known? What had happened to the Yellow Ranger, she had been?
"Yes," he answered. "I wanted to know more facts before I alerted you," he stated matter-of-factly.
"Who did it?"
"I'm not sure, the readings are all over the place," he explained. "Do you need anything?" he asked when he noticed that she was as pale as their white bed sheets.
He wasn't sure how to help her since they had never faced anything like this before. Sure, he was there to help her deal with Zordon's death but this was so much more. The town that they had fought so long to protect was lying in rubble and they had no clue who had done it.
"I need to get there," she replied. "Take me back to Angel Grove."
"I will, but you need to calm down," he stated as he took her hands in his. "I have contacted the others. They will be here within the hour."
"You've already called them?" she whispered as he nodded. "Okay, what do you need?" she asked slipping back into ranger mode with ease.
He was impressed at how quick she fell back into the role of a Power Ranger. It might have been years since she wore the Yellow spandex, but she had no problem getting back into the mindset. He knew he shouldn't be shocked though, once a ranger, always a ranger.
"At the moment, I just need to get the team to Angel Grove," he answered. "I can't find the answers I need from this far away," he admitted before releasing her hands to move away from her. "You will need to get ready."
She nodded as she took a deep breath. Her body was still shaking from the footage of the devastation of Angel Grove. She couldn't seem to stop either. Closing her eyes, she tried to push the images of it out of her mind, but it didn't help.
Angel Grove was in ruins and they had no clue who did it or why it was done. The first order of business was to get everyone here. She knew they would be in flight within minutes of everyone arriving. They couldn't get there soon enough. The thought of anyone else already being there never crossed her mind. She was focused on her being there.
Whoever had done this to Angel Grove would pay. They would learn that you couldn't mess with the Power Rangers, retired or not.
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Jason felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Reaching in, he pulled it out and noticed an unknown number. It wasn't unusual since he ran a business but this had a different area code. Never one to let a phone ring, he answered.
"Hello?" he answered.
"Jason Scott?" a woman's voice asked.
"Yes, who is this?" he asked. He couldn't place her voice but she had the right number since she was calling him. Hopefully, whoever this was didn't need anything at the moment since he wasn't going to leave until they had some answers. He may not leave until this was over with depending on what the woman needed.
"I'm Hayley and I worked with Tommy on his latest stint in black," she supplied. It was code but he knew exactly what she was talking about, Tommy had just completed time as the Black Dino Ranger. He had never talked to Hayley, but knew about her, through Tommy.
"I understand, what's going on?" he asked because he didn't know why she would be calling him instead of Tommy. He didn't know the other rangers on Tommy's team.
"Well I can't get ahold of Tommy first off. The Dinos' morphers are acting up and I found out some news on Angel Grove that he really needs to know," she explained quickly.
He looked over at Tommy and sighed. Of course, the man didn't have his phone on. Tommy didn't like to be bother when it was something to do with ranger business. He guessed that Tommy just forgot he had a ranger team that would be affected by this as well.
"I can guarantee you he knows about Angel Grove since that's where we are right now," he stated as he moved further away from the others.
"What? He is in Angel Grove?" she asked in shock.
He didn't know why she would be shocked over that piece of news since Tommy was normally in Angel Grove at his house.
"Yes, he is," he confirmed. "Do I need to let you talk to him?" he asked glancing back at the man in question.
"Uh, well since he already knows that fact, I guess not," she muttered. Hayley didn't sound happy that Tommy had kept something from her. He wondered about their relationship, and how it would play out with Kimberly back. He didn't want or need the drama of a current girlfriend getting jealous that an ex-girlfriend was back on the scene. He had enough on his plate with Tommy and Kimberly treating each other like enemies.
"What about their morphers?" he reminded her getting back to their conversation.
"Well I did help design them, I'm sure I can figure out why they are acting weird."
If she had helped design them, then they could probably use her help here. He knew they needed all the help they could get since they didn't know who had done this.
"How about you and the others get to Angel Grove," he suggested. "Billy can take a look and see what's going on. It could have something to do with Angel Grove."
"Okay, we'll see you soon."
"We'll be here," he stated before pushing end.
Shoving his phone back in his pocket, he looked around. The rangers were still looking for an entrance to the Command Center. He wondered what they would think about Tommy's team. He'd never met them so he didn't know what to think. The one thing he did know was that their problems with their morphers had everything to do with Angel Grove.
This should be an interesting meeting for the young rangers and Tommy. He couldn't wait for Tommy's explanation on why he didn't tell anyone about his team. It was too big of a secret to have kept from everyone.
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"So what did he say?" Connor asked as soon as Hayley set her phone to the side.
"Well Tommy is in Angel Grove so he knows about its destruction," she replied as she looked around at the rangers. "We are going to Angel Grove."
"Of course we are," Connor stated. "We are needed."
"Uh Connor, did you remember that we don't have our powers anymore?" Kira asked him.
"Well, we do have powers," Ethan pointed out as he held up his arm that had turned to stone.
"Okay, but not the ability to morph," Kira agreed. "I'm pretty sure we will need that in order to help out."
"The others can't morph either," Hayley pointed out. She didn't mention that the rangers didn't care if they didn't have powers. They would defend Angel Grove with or without powers.
"See, they are there and can't morph," Connor said. "We are at least still in shape from being Power Rangers."
"Connor has a point," Trent stated. "They are all older and it has been a while since any of them wore the uniform. I think we need to journey to Ange Grove."
"I agree," Ethan said. "At least this way we can find out what's wrong with our morphers."
"I know I'm going to regret this but let's go to Angel Grove," Kira muttered.
She had a bad feeling that this trip was only the beginning. They had just destroyed Mesogogg a few months ago and she never anticipated that she would reenter the ranger world this soon.
Worry nagged the back of her mind something wasn't right about this. Something told her that this would be an even bigger battle than Mesogogg had been and that made her scared. She would go with her team though; she was a Power Ranger after all.
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An hour later, Kim rubbed her forehead and groaned. No one had found anything and she was starting to get frustrated. Why couldn't they find this entrance? There had to be one, she wouldn't think about the outcome of the world if there wasn't. She was a Power Ranger and nothing was impossible. This theory was proven time and time again.
Taking a breath, she focused on her crane. Her bird kept hovering over the spot where she had spoken to Tommy. What was special about that spot? She walked back to the spot and looked closely. Something was here; she just had to find out what it was.
"If I were a hidden entrance, where would I be?" she questioned under her breath.
A crunch of gravel had her turning to see who had pulled up. No one should be up here because no one knew that this place existed or at least she didn't think they did. It was to remain a secret. Two cars stopped next to Jason's vehicle. She didn't recognize the cars or any of the occupants except for one. Hayley.
"Why are you here?" she breathed as her crane screeched. She placed her hand on a fallen column and felt her world shift. The ground opened up below her feet as everything slowed. She knew this feeling well since something had always happened to her while she was the Pink Ranger. She just never thought it would happen again to her.
"Tommy!" she yelled as she fell out of sight.
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Tommy saw the cars stopped and wondered why the Dinos and Hayley were here. How did they know where he was? Walking towards them, he watched as Connor, Trent, Kira, Ethan, and Hayley exited both cars. Something had to be wrong for all of them to be here, but why didn't they call him?
"Dr. O, you need to remember your phone next time," Ethan stated as he handed Tommy his phone.
"I guess this answers my question on why you didn't call me," he mused looking at his phone. He didn't even think about grabbing earlier. He had just wanted to get to Angel Grove as soon as possible when Jason called him with the news. "What's wrong though?"
"Our morphers are acting weird and Hayley doesn't know what to do," Connor supplied.
"Also we wanted to tell you that Angel Grove was destroyed but you already knew that," Kira muttered as she glanced around at the rubble.
"Yes, I did," he agreed. "I would assume it's also the reason that your morphers are acting up since they were linked to the morphing grid that was located here," he explained. "Once we find the entrance to the Command Center, I'll have Billy look into it."
"Entrance?" Ethan asked. "Uh, Dr. O there is nothing here but ruins."
"Actually the Command Center is underground and the entrance is hidden," he commented.
"Is everything dealing with the rangers underground?" Connor asked.
It was a good question, Tommy thought since their center was in his basement. "No, not all of the ranger bases are underground. This one used to be on the surface, but it was destroyed years ago."
"So how are you going to find a hidden entrance?" Trent questioned.
"Not sure," Tommy answered looking around at the rubble. He assumed that they would have already found the entrance. They had been searching for over an hour already. He knew everyone was getting tired because he was. They didn't have time to waste. Angel Grove depended on them finding out who had done this.
"Tommy!"
Tommy turned to find Kimberly because he knew that scream better than any other sound in the world. It was one he still heard in his nightmares. All he saw was her disappearing through the ground. His heart stopped for a beat before kicking it into overdrive. Running to the spot he had last seen her, he expected to find a hole in the ground, but found nothing. It was as if she hadn't even been there. He knelt down to see if he could find any clue of a trap door.
"Where did she go?" Jason gasped kneeling down next to him.
Tommy hadn't known that anyone had followed him, but it didn't surprise him. Jason would know Kim's scream as well as he did.
"You saw her fall, right?" Tommy questioned as he looked at Jason.
"Yeah, but where is the hole?" he asked as Tommy shrugged. "I guess she found a way in, but how do we get in?"
"Who knows," Tommy muttered. "She's not going to be happy though." He knew the former Pink Ranger well. Falling through that hole without anyone else would bring up all the bad memories of when she was captured, taken, or simply vanished. He didn't want her to have to relive those memories again especially since they had an unknown evil lurking around the corner.
"Yeah, I know," Jason agreed. "You think Billy can figure it out?"
"Probably," Tommy replied as they both stood up. "I'll have Hayley help him. Together, they should get this figured out so that we can rescue Kimberly."
"You know I find it kind of funny that she yelled for you, even though she is mad at you," Jason remarked.
"I told you, during battles or times of high stress, she calls for me," he stated with confidence. "I just have to figure out why she left in a rush." He would figure out the truth before all of this was over with because he wanted her in his life.
"Good luck with that," Jason muttered as the others finally joined them.
"Why are the two of you just standing around and where is Kimberly?" Trini asked, glancing around the group.
"Well Kimberly found an entrance," Jason stated.
"Good, where is it?" Rocky asked looking around.
"Yeah that's the problem, apparently she was the only one to go that way," Tommy said as he rubbed the back of his neck. He could feel the tension building up and it was because Kimberly was possibly in danger.
"What?" Aisha asked looking around to see she could see Kimberly and that Tommy and Jason were joking.
"Kimberly fell," Jason answered. "The hole closed up after her so there is no way we can get to her."
"Okay that's no possible," Katherine muttered. "She can't disappear through a hole in the ground."
"She did," Tommy mumbled. "Don't worry, we will find a way to get to her."
"I do know that since Kimberly will go ballistic if we don't," Rocky commented because he remembered a few of the times that Kimberly had been taken. It was never a good thing when the Pink Ranger went missing. A certain White Ranger didn't play nice when it happened. "Besides that who are these people?" he asked pointing at the Dinos and Hayley. They didn't need any strangers here right now while they were trying to deal with the situation.
"Oh this is the newest retired Power Ranger team," Tommy answered. "Connor in red, Trent in white, Kira in yellow, Ethan in blue, and Hayley was the tech advisor."
"Newest retired?" Billy asked as Tommy nodded. "I guess their retirement didn't last as long as ours."
"I guess not," Tommy sighed. This was not how he pictured his team meeting the others. "Do you think you can figure out what's wrong with their morphers?"
"If you linked them to the morphing grid then that's the reason their morphers are on the blink," he stated.
"Actually I linked them," Hayley supplied. "I knew that it would make them stronger if it was linked to the morphing grid that the Original team used."
"Once we get into the Command Center, I will take a look and see what I can do," Billy stated. "Now we need to find a way to get to Kimberly since she is probably already near the Command Center."
"Agreed," Adam said.
Everyone nodded as they began to closely inspect the area. If Kimberly found the entrance, they could too at least they hoped so.
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"Andros, have you learned anything else?" Cassie asked as she rushed into the megaship.
"No," he replied. "I can't find anything about Angel Grove from this far away. The sensors are being blocked somehow."
"Okay, how is Ashley?" she asked. She had been worried about her best friend ever since she heard about Angel Grove. It may not have been their birthplace but it was their hometown. They had come to love that place while they had been defending it. Hearing about its destruction was a hard blow to take because they hadn't been there to defend the city. It didn't matter that they were retired. Angel Grove shouldn't have been destroyed.
"Not good but getting stronger," he answered. "She would probably enjoy seeing your face right about now."
"I'll see her then, Carlos and T.J. were right behind me."
"Good, all we like are Zhane and Karone. We'll be taking off as soon as they board," he informed her.
"Okay," she said before exiting the bridge and heading to the sleeping compartments. Since their retirement, many changes had taken place on the megaship including a remodel of the sleeping compartments.
Cassie rushed down the hallway only to pause at Andros and Ashley's compartment. She knocked softly in case Ashley was asleep.
"Come in," Cassie heard Ashley say through the door.
Shaking her head, she slid the door open. Ashely was sitting at the desk looking down at something.
"Ashley, what are you doing?" she asked as she closed the door.
"Cassie!" Ashley screamed as she jumped up and rushed to her best friend's side. "I can't believe you're here finally."
Cassie was wrapped tightly in Ashley's arms. "Uh, Ashley," she gasped, "can't breathe."
"Oh, sorry," Ashley murmured as she released Cassie. "Sorry, I've just been missing you."
"Angel Grove's destruction is hard for me too," Cassie admitted.
"I thought we'd saved it forever," Ashley whispered as tears pooled in her eyes.
"Me too," Cassie whispered as she guided Ashley over to the desk. "What are you looking at?" she asked gesturing at the paper on the desk.
"It's old blueprints of the Command Center before it became the Power Chamber," she replied. "I figured we would need a base once we got there."
"It's destroyed though."
"Only on the surface," Ashley shared. "Andros believes that Zordon and Alpha had a plan in place if the Power Chamber was ever destroyed just like they did before the Command Center was destroyed."
"So you think it's underground?" Cassie asked looking down at the blueprints.
"Yes."
"So where's the entrance?"
Ashley sighed. "That's the problem, we don't know."
"Sounds like we will have our work cut out for us," Cassie remarked as Ashley nodded.
"Is everyone here?" Ashley asked as she rolled up the blueprints.
"We are only lacking Zhane and Karone," Cassie replied.
"Good, I can't wait to get there so that we can deal with whoever decided it was okay to destroy Angel Grove."
"I'm right there with you," Cassie stated. "Whoever it is, will find out not to mess with the home of the Power Rangers."
"Ladies, we will be taking off within moments. Andros requests your presence on the bridge." DECA, the on-board computer stated.
"Okay, thanks DECA," Ashley said before she and Cassie exited the room and made their way to the bridge for takeoff.
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Kim opened her eyes and tried to get her bearings. The problem was that it was dark and she couldn't see anything. In addition, she had no clue what had been under the Command Center, so she didn't know what was in place or not. Moving around, she groaned. Since she wasn't prepared for that fall, she didn't quite land on her feet. Instead, she landed on her butt and wrist. It wasn't a good thing for a former gymnast and Power Ranger.
Rolling to her side, she rubbed her wrist and stood up. There really was no light at all. If she fell through a hole, you would think that there would be a crack, to at least let in a tiny bit of light. It wasn't the case though. How would she ever find her way around?
Trust me.
Blinking, Kim took a deep breath. The voice echoing in her head was familiar. It wasn't her crane even though it should have been. No, the voice belonged to Tommy's falcon. When she had been the Pink Ranger, she became very familiar with his falcon. She wasn't sure why he was speaking to her now, but he was.
Reaching out, she felt around. Her hands met cold stone as she slowly felt her way around by keeping one hand on the stone and the other in front of her. The stone didn't curve or at least it didn't feel as if it curved so she should at least be going in a straight line and not a circle. Her journey was slow, but she didn't want to bump into anything.
She knew should have just stayed where she was, but she wasn't the type of person to just stay where she fell. Besides, this way, she might actually find the Command Center and another entrance for the others. It also gave her some time to deal with the fact that Hayley was here instead of being safely tucked away in Reefside.
Why was she here, anyway? This was ranger business and if she couldn't be away from Tommy for a short while then their relationship wouldn't last beyond the first year.
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"So we will be having company in a little under an hour," Billy casually stated.
"Who?" Jason asked. He didn't like it that they would have more people show up. They had enough to deal with besides other ranger teams trying to help. He didn't need more attention bought on them and the mountain.
"The Space team," Billy answered. "Andros just called to inform us that they were on their way."
"I thought he and Ashley were on official business on KO-35," Jason remarked.
"They were until he saw the damage of Angel Grove," Billy explained. "They helped protect it just like we did."
"I know," Jason moaned. "It's just that this was our home."
"Yes it was but we are going to need help," Billy pointed out. "They have the equipment we need to find out who did this."
"What about the Command Center that we are searching for?" he asked. "I thought that was the reason that we are walking around like chickens with their heads cut off to find an entrance."
"It is but I'm not sure what will work," Billy admitted. "Think about it, it has been years since the Power Chamber was destroyed. No one has been up here to check on anything."
"Okay I get it; I just worry about more people joining the fight."
"You know you don't have to take all of this on your shoulders," Billy commented. "We are a team."
"I know," he mumbled.
"We are here to lessen the burden on you. We are not teenagers who need one leader," Billy stated. "We are all adults and can help lead this team."
Jason looked back at the others and realized that Billy was right. He didn't have to be the leader of the past. This was a team effort and the team would handle this new problem. "You're right," he whispered. "We are a team."
Billy smiled as he watched the worried look finally fall from Jason's face and the tension ease from his body. The old Jason, the one who had been chosen as the Original Red Ranger was finally standing in front of him, now to get all the others on the same page. They all needed to rediscover their former selves.
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Tommy slipped away from the others and heard the distant cry of Kimberly's crane. It was odd since he hadn't heard it in a long while. In fact, the last time he had heard her crane was the day she left for Florida. When Katherine had taken over as the Pink Ranger, he didn't hear the crane. Zordon had explained to him that it was because he wasn't linked to Katherine as he had been to Kimberly.
Closing his eyes, he saw the crane hovering close to where Kimberly disappeared. He opened his eyes and shook his head. Walking over to the spot, he looked around and tried to see if anything shouted entrance. Nothing jumped out at him; instead, he was left frustrated.
"Where did you go Kimberly?" he whispered as her crane cried out once more. It was a mournful cry and one that he easily recognized. Normally he heard it when Kimberly was lost to him. Kimberly wasn't lost though because he knew where she was; they just couldn't get to her right now.
Scrubbing his hand down his face, he grabbed the nearest piece of rubble. His intention was to throw it but he never made it that far. Instead, he fell just like Kimberly had only this time no one saw him disappear.
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Kim heard a noise and a groan. Someone was down here with her.
"Hello?" she asked and braced herself for an attack.
"Kimberly?" Tommy asked.
She held back a groan. Why out of all the people above her, was it him that fell? Couldn't she get away from him even for just a little bit?
"So how did you get down here and are the others in route?" she asked as she heard him move around.
"I got here the same way you did and no, the others don't even know that I'm down here," he replied. "Guess you're stuck with me."
"Some rescue," she muttered.
"Since we are down here for the foreseeable future, we can try to get everything online," he stated.
"Whoa, what do you think I've been trying to do," she quipped. "Just because you were the leader in the past, doesn't mean that you are still the leader."
"Kimberly, now is not the time to start a fight," he stated.
"I'm not starting a fight; I'm just not blindly following your instructions."
"What will you do then?" he asked.
"Well I will continue with what I was doing before you dropped in," she replied. "I suggest staying next to the walls since I can't vouch for the safety of the path."
Tommy almost growled at the tone in her voice. Since when was his Pink Princess this cold and unfeeling with him? He had to figure out what made her run away from him months ago. This wasn't really the time, but they were alone for the first time in a long time. He may have to push aside his concern for Angel Grove just to find out what was really wrong between him and Kimberly.
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Okay so what did everyone think? Please let me know. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone.