Chapter: 4: The Master's Awakening
Setting: AU: before and during Mystic Force
Story Summary: the rangers go to Briarwood to help with the Master, but are shocked when they realize the Master is Maligore and that Kim is the child he's after. Will they be able to stop him or will they lose Kim to evil once and for all?

Chapter Word Count: 9,566

A/N: here is the fourth chapter. Thanks to everyone that has reviewed this story and has it on alert/favourite. Enjoy the new chapter...

Reviewers:
sabina21; taeniaea; Young at Heart21; RFK22; hopelessromanticgurl; PrincessKarlita411; LoveNLearn; hewhoreaps; Falcon4Crane;

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 writing this.

O.P.D.: Friday 5th October, '12.


Last time on MD;

-the former rangers arrived in Briarwood

-introductions are made and their training sessions start

-the Master makes his first move


Two days later, the rangers were once again out in the woods surrounding Rootcore. The last two days were spent getting to know the new team and training, but today was different. Unlike their last sessions, this time, they would be fighting against each other using their powers.

James and Melissa were sitting with Rita, watching the rangers.

"So," Maddie looked at the others, "how are we going to do this?"

"You guys should be able to use your powers without morphing," Joey said and then he gestured to the rest of the former rangers, "we can, and if you can't, we'll teach you how."

"We can use our powers without morphing," Vida spoke up, "but it's not the same way you're talking about. At least, I don't think so. And more often than not, we have to use our morphers/wands to do so."

"We'll teach you how to do it without the morphers," Shane smiled, "that way, if you ever for any reason, lose them, you can still be protected."

"Cool," Chip grinned, excited to start.

"And while the Mystic team is doing that," Jason looked around, "the rest of us will be fighting against each other. And I mean fighting. We won't be sparring, but actually fighting to hurt each other."

The rangers exchanged looks and then nodded at each other.

"Let's do this," Carter said as he moved away from the group a little. The others followed his movements and separated as well.

The Mystic Force, Ninja Storm, Dino Thunder and Ninjetti teams moved to form a group with the Mystic team in the middle.

"Nick," Aisha looked over at the red ranger, "your control is over fire because your powers and spirit animal is a phoenix. You can not only manipulate it, but you can create it as well."

Nick looked intrigued and a little hesitant to believe, so Rocky explained.

"When you guys first became rangers," Rocky told them, "the attack in the woods. You had to believe in magic to tap into the powers and you did so without your wand."

"How do you know that?" Xander looked at the former rangers in confusion.

Conner snorted. "You're really asking that? From each team, there's a tech expert, sometimes two of them, so with all the teams together, we had more than enough people qualified to hack into the satellite system."

"We're going to teach you how to use your powers like you did the very first time," Adam said. "Each of us here has powers that we can use without morphing."

"Like the Ninjetti," Shane spoke up, "we," he gestured to the rest of the Ninja Storm team, "have control over the elements so we can tap into them anytime we want. I have control over air…"

"I control water," Tori said, her eyes and voice serious.

"Earth," Dustin smiled, though his eyes and voice were just serious as Tori.

"We have power over thunder," Hunter waved a hand in his brother's direction.

Conner took off and ran around the lake, coming back to a stop. It had taken him seconds. "I have super speed," he told the Mystic Rangers.

"My skin goes diamond tough," Ethan said as he concentrated and seconds later, they saw the diamond texture cover his arm.

Angela disappeared from view, and reappeared behind Maddie, tapping the girl on her shoulder and causing her to jump in fright. "I have the power of invisibility."

Krista grinned as she brought a hand up in front of her. A pink glow emitted, growing until it became a solid bubble and surrounded her. She moved her hand forward and the bubble left her to encase Kira. She held it for a few seconds before she let it disappear. She then smiled at the rangers, "Force field."

"I'm a chameleon," Trent said, "I can camouflage myself, but I have to be touching something."

"Cool," Chip grinned.

"And what about you?" Lianbow asked Kira. "What can you do?"

Kira grinned and took a step back from Kim. She turned so that she was facing the lake and then, she screamed.

"Ow!" the Mystic team cried out as they slapped their hands over their ears.

The former rangers stumbled, surprised at the sound, but quickly got back into their fighting.

"What the hell was that?" Vida looked at Kira.

"Ptera scream," Kira smirked.

"So you guys had to learn how to continue fighting while she used that?" Maddie asked, looking at each of the former rangers.

"Yes," Ethan nodded.

"And you are going to teach them how to do that?" Udonna asked, looking from her rangers to the former.

"Yes," the teams said as one.

"Well then," Daggeron grinned, "let's get started."

That was the signal they all needed and soon enough, the training was underway. Shane and Kim worked with Vida as she had power over air; Adam, Billy and Tori worked with Maddie; Blake and Hunter worked with Chip; Dustin, Rocky and Aisha worked with Xander and Tommy worked with Nick.

While the Ninja Storm, Mystic Force and Ninjetti worked, the Dino Thunder team worked with Daggeron, Udonna and Lianbow around the groups, allowing the Mystic rangers to get comfortable with the idea of using their powers while they were using theirs.

~…~

Down in the Underworld, things were heating up as well. The foot soldiers as well as the minions were all tense with the anticipation weaving through the air. The power that they were pouring into their Master was building and they could feel that he would soon awaken. They couldn't wait.

"Soon, it will all be over for the rangers," Necrolai cackled as she concentrated on siphoning her powers to her master.

"The Master shall be free to destroy them and rule the world," Itassis cackled.

Maligore moved so that one eye could see above where his minions were. He could hear everything that was being said and while he relished their talk, he was more interested in finding her. Getting her back would prove more than beneficial to him and it would also mean the end of the rangers. Speaking of the rangers, he knew they already knew what was happening, but they weren't sure when he would return. It was an advantage they would have over the rangers. Focusing his thoughts on Necrolai, he ordered her to send the Hidiacs to attack.

~…~

Back at Rootcore, the Mystic rangers were starting to get the hang of tapping into their magic without using their wands when the alarm went off.

"What the hell?" Dana asked as she stopped and looked at the others.

"What it is that?" Kai turned to where the Mystic team was standing.

"The alarm," Udonna said as she left her rangers and headed inside.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and took off after her.

"What is it Udonna?" Ashley asked as she watched the white witch.

"Hidiacs," Udonna replied as she looked at the Xenotome. "They're attacking the town."

"We have to stop them," Xander looked at the others.

"Go," Carter said, "we'll come if it gets too much."

"Alright," Nick nodded before looking at his teammates. "Ready?!"

"Ready!" Maddie, Vida, Chip and Xander repeated.

"Magical Source, Mystic Force!" all five shouted.

"Galwyn Mysto Ranger!"

A bright light covered the room and when it disappeared, the rangers were in their uniform.

"Let's go," Nick said and the teens ran to their brooms, grabbed them and flew out.

"Brooms?" Conner chuckled when they left. "Seriously?"

"I know, right?" Dustin, Rocky and Zhane looked at him. All four winced when they were head slapped by Kira, Tori, Aisha and Karone respectively.

"Boys," Kim shook her head, "you deserved that."

They smiled sheepishly as everyone laughed and then, they all turned their attention to the ball, watching the Mystic Rangers battle the Hidiacs.

~…~

Meanwhile, the Mystic rangers arrived downtown to see the Hidiacs destroying everything.

"Hey!" Nick shouted, drawing their attention. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

The Hidiacs turned to face the rangers and stared at them for a few seconds before they attacked.

"Whoa!" Chip exclaimed as he jumped back from a blow. "Now, why you gotta be like that?"

"Now gents," Xander said, grinning under his helmet, "I'm sure we can work this out." He lost his grin when a Hidiac attacked him from behind. "Whoa!...guess not."

"Xander," Vida growled, "it didn't work the first time, why the hell would it work this time?"

All talking ceased as the fighting increased.

"Maddie, duck!" Chip shouted at the blue ranger as he fired a lightning bolt at a couple of Hidiacs.

The rangers used their powers and soon enough, the number of Hidiacs were dwindling. When the final Hidiac was destroyed, Chip pumped a fist in the air.

"Uh, I wouldn't celebrate too quickly," Maddie said, drawing his—and everyone else's—attention.

"What do you mean?" Xander asked with his head cocked to the side as he looked at the blue ranger.

"Because of that," Maddie pointed at the monster standing just a few feet away.

"Oh man!" Chip groaned even as he dropped into a fighting stance.

"It really shouldn't be a surprise," Vida snorted, "this happens all the time."

That was all that was said as the rangers threw themselves into the fight.

Xander was hit by one of the monster's blast, sending him flying back against the building. When the smoke cleared, they saw a tentacle wrapped around his neck.

"Xander!" Vida shouted out, her voice filled with fear as she raced to him. Using her knife, she cut the tentacles from around his neck and helped him to his feet. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," Xander coughed out as he rubbed his throat. He dropped his hand and looked at her, his eyes staring directly into hers despite the helmets blocking their views. "Didn't know you cared so much V."

Vida scowled beneath her helmet, "I don't. I just didn't want us to be down a man, that's all." 'He can be such a jerk sometimes!' She thought as she turned to stomp away

"V," Xander's voice was a little softer than before as he caught hold of her arm, preventing her from walking away. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. 'Just tell her! Tell her how you feel!'

"What?" Vida whirled around. "What could you possibly have to say?"

~…~

"I sense a moment coming on," Taylor grinned and the other girls chuckled.

"It's about time," Claire muttered, but she was heard by everyone and blushed when she realized she had their attention. "Sorry…didn't mean for anyone to hear me."

"It's ok," Kelsey chuckled, "we agree because we've been watching you guys since they became rangers."

"You have?" Daggeron raised an eyebrow in the ranger's direction.

"Yep," Andros nodded, "when the Nick and the others tapped into their powers, we had had an alert out, so we knew. We basically kept watch now and again."

~…~

Underneath his helmet, Xander swallowed to wet his suddenly dry throat. "V, I—

"Guys!" Chip shouted over to them, "we need help over here!"

Xander groaned and dropped Vida's arm and muttered angrily, "Couldn't have waited a few minutes Chip?"

Vida heard him and she turned to him and cocked her head to the side. Beneath her helmet, she grinned suddenly and was very glad her face was hidden because she knew her face was red. As she and Xander started towards the others, she stopped him and murmured low enough for him to hear only, "we are finishing this conversation." She squeezed his hand and then took off towards the others.

Xander stood still for a few minutes before he grinned and hurried after the pink ranger. His heart was pounding with joy because he knew, he was about to get his girl and nothing could bring him down now.

With that thought in mind, he re-joined the fighting with his friends. More invigorated, the rangers managed to destroy the monster and were quick to call on their zords when the monster turned giant. Half an hour later, the monster was finally destroyed and the rangers quickly made their way back to Rootcore.

~…~

Down in the Underworld, the other monsters groaned and yelled when they saw the Hidiacs and the monster being destroyed.

The Master's eye appeared and a growl sounded through the room, cutting through all the yelling. "What do you want us to do Master?" Necrolai asked as she dropped to her knees.

A glow surrounded the room and when it disappeared, the villains were shocked by what they saw.

The Master's eye reappeared and he growled again.

Necrolai had a nasty grin on her face. "These rangers will never know what hit them."

~…~

"So who do you guys think this child is?" Conner asked as he watched the Mystic team fight.

"I think it's Nick," Taylor said, drawing everyone's eyes to her.

"Why do you say that?" Kelsey asked.

"Ok," Taylor shifted so that she could see almost everyone. "He's the son of two powerful rangers, Udonna and Lianbow. Lianbow already had his run-in with the Master and he spent the last, what, twenty years, being under his control. Nick was kidnapped before we got here, but they managed to turn him back and from what we know, he was kidnapped because of who his parents are."

"That does make sense," Cam agreed with a thoughtful frown.

"So you think the Master is after our son?" Lianbow asked looking from one former ranger to another.

"Yes," all the rangers nodded.

"I mean, think about it," Kai said, "From what Kim said Zordon and the others told her, this child is powerful."

"And, when I talked to Nick," Kim continued, "he told me that the villains, when they had him, referred to him as the Child of Light."

"So," Cassie bit her lip, "if Nick is this child, then that means—

"Maddie and Vida and Chip and Xander are all in danger if this guy ever gets his hands back on Nick," Ashley finished.

"We can't let that happen," Maya looked at her friends.

"We won't," Joey shook his head, "no way in hell will we let it happen."

"Question is," Conner spoke up, "How do we tell Nick and the others that they're the ones we're here to protect?"

No sooner had the words left his mouth did the Mystic rangers walked back into the room. They demorphed as they replaced their brooms in the spaces and then turned to everyone else.

"Did something happen?" Maddie asked as she looked at all the rangers, noting the serious looks on their faces.

"Very perceptive, isn't she?" Karone grinned.

Maddie flushed lightly from the praise, still a little unused to people complimenting her.

"Is she right?" Nick asked as he looked from his parents to the other rangers, "did something happen?"

"No," Zack shook his head, "We think we figured out who this Child is that we're supposed to protect."

"Who is it?" Vida raised an eyebrow at the group of past rangers.

"We think it's Nick," Ashley replied.

"What?" Nick was shocked, as were the Mystic Rangers.

"Why Nick?" Xander frowned as he looked at his friend.

And so, the rangers explained what they had come up with. When they were done, the Mystic team was looking at them in slight shock, worry and confusion.

"Me?" Nick looked from one person to another, "You think the child is me?"

"It makes sense," Danny sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, "And that means that Maddie, Vida, Xander and Chip are in danger as well."

"How so?" Maddie asked. She took a step closer to Nick and grabbed his hand in hers, lacing their fingers together.

"Well from what Kim told us," Tanya spoke up, "If the Master gets his hands on Nick, he'll turn him back evil and then, he'll turn you guys as well because you're so close to him."

In the back, Kim rolled her eyes and muttered, "Whatever."

Tommy and Aisha, who were closest to her, heard her and both stared at her in confusion.

"So we're gonna be turned evil?" Chip asked. "Cool!"

At that, every head turned to stare at him.

"Oh," Chip grinned sheepishly, "sorry. I mean, bad, that'd be really bad."

"Sometimes I worry about you Chip," Vida shook her head, "I really do."

"You should go and rest," Udonna advised gently, "This is a lot to take in."

Nick turned and left without a word.

Maddie gave an apologetic smile to the group before going after her boyfriend.

"Well this sucks," Vida grumbled, "Not only to we have stop the Master from getting Nick back, but we have to make sure we don't get caught either."

"It could be worse," Xander grinned and threw an arm around Vida's shoulders.

She looked up at him dryly, "How?"

"Eh," Xander shrugged, "I thought that was what you were supposed to say in times like this."

Vida glared at the taller teen and pushed him away with a huff. She then turned and stalked from the room.

"V!" Xander chuckled.

"Leave me alone Alexander!" Vida snapped without turning around.

Xander winced at his full name. Because she was walking away, he couldn't see the smile playing on her lips, but the rangers in front of her could and they chuckled.

"Better go calm her down," Xander said cheerfully and he took off after the surly pink ranger.

"Those two are a match made in heaven," Alyssa giggled, "they remind me so much of Taylor and Eric."

"Hey!" Taylor threw a glare at her best friend.

"Tay," Tori rolled her eyes at her sister, "You know you acted the same way when you and Eric first met."

"She's right," Eric grinned.

"Traitors," Taylor muttered, but you could tell she was fighting a smile, or a laugh, "both of you."

"We love you still," Tori laughed.

"Wait," Chip interrupted with a wave of his hand, "You guys think Vida and Xander are a couple? They're not!"

"Not yet," Dana countered with a grin, "but they will be."

"But Vida doesn't even like Xander like that!" Chip protested, "she thinks he's a womanizing jerk!"

"Jealousy," all the girls said as one.

"What?" Chip was doing a pretty good imitation of a fish.

"She hates the fact that he flirts with so many different girls because she wants to be the only girl he's flirting with," Kelsey explained with a grin.

"But," Maya picked up, "she's also too stubborn to just outright tell him that."

"So instead," Cassie smiled, "she picks fights with him to hide how she really feels and because when they fight, his attention on is on her."

"You guys are reading too much into this," Chip said and walked out the room, heading up the stairs as he muttered to himself.

The moment he was out of sight, they all started laughing.

"What a fucking idiot," Kim scoffed as she started to leave the room.

Everyone turned to look at the girl with shocked eyes.

"Kimberly!" Melissa stared at her, "That was uncalled for."

"Bite me," Kim rolled her eyes and walked away without looking back, leaving everyone staring after her.

"What the hell was that?" Kai asked as he looked over at Tommy, knowing that if anyone would know, it would be him.

"I don't know," Tommy shook his head, worry evident in his eyes. "She's been acting weird ever since we got here."

Karone bit her lip, "Do you think it has anything to do with two years ago?"

"I honestly don't know," Tommy ran a hand through his hair.

"That doesn't make sense!" James protested, "I mean, why now? If this is an effect of that, then why is it happening now? Why not sometime before?"

"What are you talking about?" Lianbow frowned as he looked at Tommy.

"We told you that we had fought Nerian two years ago," Billy said, "but what we didn't tell you, was that during the battle, Kimberly sacrificed herself to kill him."

"Are you saying she died?" Maddie asked, startling them as they hadn't realized they had returned.

"Yeah," Carter nodded, his eyes filling with past sadness, "that dome that she had us in the day she talked to Nick?" when they nodded, he continued, "she had created one over us that day. We couldn't do anything. We were basically helpless."

"We had to watch as she fought him herself and then she gave her life to kill him," Kira finished. "She was gone for a year, but then, last year, she came back."

"What do you mean?" Udonna asked.

"Apparently she was in some kind of limbo," Aisha said, "there, she met Zedd, Zordon and Aurora; that's when they told her what was going to happen and then, they sent her back."

"Who's Aurora?" Nick asked even as he turned to look in the direction he was sure Kim had gone.

It was Udonna who answered, "She was the Goddess that gave the very first Ninjetti their powers."

"So you think that Kimberly dying and then coming back is messing with her mind?" Daggeron asked.

"What other explanation is there?" TJ asked. "Mr. Oliver is right; why now? Why is it affecting her now? Why not before or just after she came back?"

After a long silence, Tommy spoke up, "Because this is the first time since she came back that Kim is using her powers." He looked at the others, "the first time she started being weird was the first day of training. It was after we used our powers. When we were walking back, she grabbed her head in pain and said that she felt strange. When I asked her, she said she must've overdone it."

"And she's been using her powers constantly since then," Krista finished with a deep sigh. If that was the case, then it did explain a lot; like Kimberly's attitude over the last few days.

The spirited and bubbly girl had sometimes been downright mean and would walk away from training or refuse to train with someone. They had all brushed it off, but at least now they had an explanation for it.

"Yeah," Tommy nodded.

"I hope it's nothing more serious," Shane said, and the others agreed with him.

The moment the words left his mouth though, Tommy felt dread settle in the pit of his stomach. He had a really bad feeling and somehow he knew it had to do with Kim. "I think I'll go check on her."

"Sounds like a good idea sweetie," Melissa smiled over at him.

Tommy smiled back before leaving the room. When he got to the spaceship, he headed directly to his and Kim's room. He stepped inside and stopped when he saw her asleep on the bed.

Unbidden, a smile graced his lips and he walked slowly to the bed and sat down, being careful not to disturb her. Reaching out, he gently ran his hand through her hair and let out a sigh, "What is going on with you Beautiful? Why have you been acting out? Is it because of our powers, or because you died?"

He shifted his gaze to the ceiling and ran his hand over his face. After a few seconds, he looked back at Kim; if she had been awake, she would've seen the pain and fear in his eyes. "I can't lose you Kim…not again."

He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I love you Beautiful."

With that, he got up and left the room, not seeing the pink glow that surrounded Kim, nor the way it briefly flashed to red.

~…~

The next day, things were the same; the rangers all participated in the training sessions while Melissa and James spoke with Udonna, Lianbow, Daggeron and Rita in between. All six adults were just as concerned about Kimberly as the rangers were, but neither of them had any idea what to do.

Well…one did, but she wasn't saying anything.

"I still cannot believe she had died," Daggeron remarked as he watched Kimberly spar against Maddie. He watched as the pink ranger stop and explained something before she continued the fight.

"We were there and we still can't believe it," James said, "It was surreal, and something I have no wish to ever experience ever again."

"Same here," Melissa agreed. "We barely got through it last time; if it happened again, I'm not sure we'd survive…especially Tommy."

Their eyes turned back to Kim, worry filling each of them for the petite girl that was so obviously the heart of the entire ranger teams.

~…~

Kimberly knew everyone was worried and she brushed it off, but deep down, she was worried too. She had tried to talk to Shalimar, but the Crane was just as confused as her. She couldn't understand why she had started snapping and saying really spiteful things to the others these last couple of days. It scared her because it felt like when Maligore had taken control of her back in high school, but she pushed that thought away.

'It's not him. Firebird is gone, joined together with Shal and Maligore is gone as well. So why am I feeling this way? Is it really because of my powers?'

Shaking her head, Kim refocused on Maddie. "You're a lot better than you give yourself credit for."

"Thanks," Maddie panted out as she brushed her hair off her face. "I never knew this was so tiring. No wonder you guys are in such good shapes if you do this every day."

Kim laughed as she blocked a move from the girl and spun behind her, "Not every day. Just now and then. We started in high school when we became rangers and then we just kinda continued throughout. I used to do it a lot when I was in Florida and when I had moved to Paris."

"You lived in Paris?" Maddie asked as she ducked Kim's foot and threw a punch at her. She grunted when Kim brought up her arm to block her and twisted away before falling into the now familiar stance.

"Yeah," Kim grinned, "My parents moved there when I was fifteen, and that's where I went for college. I didn't move back until back in '04, when Conner and the others had destroyed their villain."

"Sounds like fun," Maddie smiled, "I've always wanted to go to Paris."

"How about this?" Kim suggested as she spun Maddie away from her before attacking, "when you graduate from school, before you go off to college, I'll take you Paris."

Maddie paused in shock and Kim used the opportunity to knock her to the ground.

"Always pay attention," Kim grinned as she held out a hand for Maddie to hold and then helped her to her feet.

"Sorry," Maddie grimaced slightly, "but you'd do that?"

"Sure," Kim shrugged with a grin, "Why not?"

"Thanks," Maddie smiled, unable to believe her luck.

"You're welcome," Kim laughed, "Now, I'm going to teach you how to use another weapon."

"If it's the sword," Maddie blanched, "then I don't think I want to do that…unless you'd like to be stabbed accidentally or something."

Kim laughed, "You really need to have more confidence in yourself. You'll be fine Maddie."

"If you think so," Maddie bit her lip, "Then, ok, I'm willing to try."

"Good," Kim smiled, "Come on. Let's go a little further from them."

The two girls walked away from the group until they were just a short distance away.

"Alright, here is good," Kim nodded and then she turned back to the blue ranger. She held out her hand and summoned her sword.

Maddie's eyes went wide with awe and delight as she stared at the sword. "That is very beautiful."

"Thank you," Kim grinned. She walked over to the girl and placed the sword in her hands.

"Kim, are you absolutely sure about this?" Maddie asked again.

"Yes!" Kim giggled, "I'm sure. Now, you have to hold it like this…"

Kim showed her the proper way to hold the sword and then, she eased into simple moves and techniques to help her move with the sword and to get more comfortable using it.

"The trick to using a sword," Kim explained, "is to not think of it as a separate weapon, but to think of it as an extra part of you. The sword moves with you, but if you're always conscious about it being a weapon, you'll never fully immerse yourself into moving more fluidly with it."

"Ok," Maddie nodded as her brows furrowed in concentration. She did as Kim told her and slowly but surely, she found herself getting the hang of it. Sure they'd use their blasters in fight and would turn them into swords, but that was nothing compared to this.

This was a real sword, and it was a lot harder to handle than what she was normally used to, but she was determined to do it. Kim had faith in her, as did the others, and she wouldn't let that be a waste.

Kim smiled as she watched Maddie use the sword. She knew the girl had potential, but was too shy and afraid to fully let go. Shaking her head, she summoned her bow and arrow. She looked around before focusing her gaze on a tree a good distance away.

Positioning her bow, she let loose the arrow, grinning when it hit its mark. For next few minutes, she hit several different targets, increasing the distance between her and the target every time.

After a good amount of time had passed, she dismissed her bow and arrow and went back to Maddie, taking her sword from her and sending the girl to spar with someone else.

She was turning around, eyes moving over the others trying to spot someone to spar with when Hunter walked up to her.

"Wanna spar?" the crimson ranger grinned.

"Sure," Kim grinned in reply.

Within seconds, the two were sparring, moving around and around, being careful not to get too close to any of the others.

Everyone was really into the sparring and although the Mystic team found themselves on the ground a few times, they didn't let it bother them; this was training and they absorbed as much knowledge as they could.

Everyone, including James, Melissa and Rita, were enjoying themselves, but twenty minutes later, everything changed.

The alarms went off and all sparring stopped as everyone turned to look at each other.

Udonna hurried inside, and the rangers exchanged another set of looks before they followed her.

"What is it?" Tori asked as they all gathered, as much as they could, around the Xenotome.

Without saying anything, Udonna allowed them to see.

Gasps of shock echoed throughout the past teams.

"Fuck me!" Rocky cursed.

"Tell me I'm not seeing that," Cassie pleaded, her eyes still on the scene.

"You are," Alyssa said, "because I am too."

"We have to go," Max looked at all the rangers, "we can't allow them to destroy the place."

"But how do we do it?" Mike asked as he started pacing. "We can't fight against them. They know our moves, our strengths and our weaknesses."

"So we don't," Conner said drawing everyone's attention.

"What do you mean?" Cam asked.

"Mike's right," Conner explained, "we can't fight our villains because we have before, so, why not fight somebody else's villains?"

"What exactly are you getting at?" Cole asked, raising an eyebrow at the red Dino ranger.

"I think I get it," Tori grinned. She turned to the others, "We fought against Lothor, and so did the Dino rangers, so he knows what we can do and what we can't do. So now, instead of us, or the Dino rangers fighting Lothor, another team does it."

The rangers looked at each and exchanged grins.

"So you're going to fight them," Vida spoke up, "but you're going to fight each other's past villains?"

"Yep," Zack nodded, "It's perfect. And since we have footage from every team, we know the moves of the villains, so we'll have the advantage over them."

"Let's do this," Andros stood up.

"Ready?" Jason called out.

"Ready!" all the rangers responded.

"It's Morphin' Time!" Jason shouted.

All the calls rang out as each team morphed into their ranger forms.

"DECA?" Andros raised his wrist to his mouth.

"Yes Andros?" the ship replied.

"Lock on and teleport us downtown."

"Locking on," DECA replied, "Teleporting…now."

"Go get 'em guys," Hayley smiled as they teleported out.

~…~

The rangers appeared downtown, right in the midst of the destruction that was going on.

"HEY!" Cole shouted, drawing the attention of the villains.

"If it isn't the pesky rangers," Divatox sneered.

"And if it isn't Divabitch!" Kim snapped.

"You'll pay for that!" Divatox growled.

That was the cue.

The villains started attacking, forcing the rangers to defend themselves.

Soon, everyone was spread out, and just like they had talked about, no one was fighting their own past villains.

The Mystic team couldn't help but to be glad for the training sessions when they had to learn to fight around the others using their powers as the Ninja Storm, Dino Thunder and the Ninjetti used their powers.

Carter was fighting with Eric when he saw a blue and gold, winged monkey with a sword, try to make his way over to where Jason and Tommy were.

He intercepted him.

"My fight isn't with you red ranger," the monkey growled.

"Well that's just too damn bad," Carter retorted as he pulled out his weapon, "'cause we're fighting."

He attacked, forcing the monkey to defend himself.

A blow caught him in his side and he fell to the ground before rolling away, coming back to his feet some distance away.

Joey came over to him, turning his sword so that the point was facing the monkey, "I thought they killed you Goldar!"

"You puny rangers can't kill me!" Goldar roared, "I'll kill you, and then, the white ranger is mine."

"Bring it on!" Joey shouted as he fell into a fighting stance, Carter doing the same next to him.'

The fight was tough as the villains seemed even harder to beat than before, but the rangers didn't give an inch. They gave just as much as they got.

When, after what seemed like forever, Carter and Joey finally destroyed Goldar, they moved to where Alyssa, Conner, Kendrix and Leo were to help them with their own villain, Rito Repulsa.

Kim was fighting alongside Trini, the two of them fighting Archerina, but the two got separated and she found herself facing Divatox.

"I have a score to settle with you Pink ranger!" Divatox snarled.

"Bring it on!" Kim grinned beneath her helmet. She was just as antsy to finish their fight from years ago.

The two women attacked and sparks flew as their swords collided together.

"This time pink ranger," Divatox hissed, "you won't win!"

"Wanna bet?" Kim taunted as she shoved the pirate back before attacking.

The woman could barely block the barrage of attacks Kim was unleashing and was hard-pressed to even get a chance to retaliate.

As Kim fought Divatox, she could feel her powers rolling through, thrumming to be released. She wanted to, but something stopped her. She had the sense that if she tapped into her full powers, even just a little, something bad would happen, something that she would be in the centre of, so she didn't; she kept her powers locked away, mentally telling Shalimar sorry for not letting her out.

But the crane didn't protest as she too could feel that dark sense of foreboding in the air, and that just made Kimberly all the more worried as well as determined not to use her powers until she was absolutely sure what was wrong with her.

Little did she know that her actions would all be for nothing.

Divatox was so focused on fighting Kim, or rather, defending herself, that she didn't see the ranger coming up behind her, so the blow to her back caught her off guard and had her stumbling to the ground. She rolled over, and growled when she saw the yellow Ninjetti.

"Couldn't let you have all the fun," Aisha quipped as she stood next to her best friend and spirit sister.

Kim giggled, "So? Together?"

"Together," Aisha nodded.

Divatox didn't stand a chance.

The two of the coordinated their attacks so perfectly that Divatox couldn't tell where they were coming from.

The last combined attack from the two Ninjetti hit Divatox dead on, and the she-villain exploded.

"And she's out of here!" Aisha laughed.

Kim shook her head and looked around, noticing the joined efforts of all the rangers were diminishing the villains slowly. She saw Trini, Maya and Dana fighting against Archerina. Spotting an opening, she summoned her bow and arrow.

Lining up the shot, she took it, at the same time yelling out to her teammates. "Tri, DUCK!"

At Kim's call, Trini moved out of the way, as did Maya and Dana and they watched as the arrow pierced Archerina's neck, destroying the woman in the process.

"Thanks Kim!" Maya called out and then moved on to help Tori and Taylor fight against Elsa.

Shane, Hunter and Kai had their hands full with Messogog.

"Damnit!" Hunter cursed as he rolled to his feet after being thrown to the ground.

"You ok?" Kai called out, firing his blaster at the dinosaur monster.

"I'm fine," Hunter replied, rejoining the two in the fight, "bastard's stronger than I thought."

"Come on," Shane grunted out as he dodged a blow from Messogog.

"You fools!" the monster hissed, "you can't fight me! You won't win!"

"Wanna bet?" Hunter growled out, "THUNDER STRIKE!"

Dark storm clouds appeared and before Messogog could do anything, he was hit by various bolts of lightning.

Kai used the opportunity to fire at him.

Messogog growled as he was thrown to the ground. Shaking with rage, he stood up, "I will destroy you for that!"

Shane moved to stand next to Hunter, "Hey Hunter?"

"Yeah?" Hunter looked at his friend and teammate.

"Try that move again," Shane panted out, an idea forming.

Hunter stared at him for a few seconds before nodding, "Got it. THUNDER STRIKE!"

"TORNADO STORM!" Shane yelled out at the same time.

The two powers combined and headed towards Messogog, colliding with the monster before he could even react. The explosion rocked the ground and when the dust cleared, Messogog was no more.

"Nice!" Kai grinned at the two.

The three of them looked around and saw that they were winning; slowly but surely, the villains were all being destroyed. Of course, their side wasn't without injuries or anything, despite their boost in power, but the others didn't let anything stop them.

They shared a look before rushing off to join the others.

The rangers were sticking to the plan of not fighting the villains they knew and had fought before.

As they fought, they made sure that they never got too close to each other and kept moving around so that they were still spread out. As it was, no one noticed that Zeltrax had slowly moved away from the rangers he was fighting against to get closer Tommy. He had a score to settle with White Ninjetti Ranger, and with everyone else occupied, he saw his chance to do so.

Rolling his wrists, the sunlight gleamed off his sword as he got closer and closer to his target. Even as he made his way to Tommy, he couldn't help but to chuckle darkly at the fact that no one had taken notice of his movements.

He was wrong.

Tommy was occupied with helping out some of the younger rangers, so never knew that anyone was coming up behind him. But Kim did.

Kim was looking around, even as she fought against Astronema with Kira, Maddie, Zack and Danny. She was trying to fight Tommy because something was telling her that he was in danger. She wanted to use Shalimar to get to Brennan, but she couldn't risk using her animal until she found out what was wrong with her powers.

Finally, she saw him, and she saw Zeltrax slowly making his way towards the oblivious White Ninjetti with his sword raised high.

'No!' Kim took off running, thankful that the duo was not that far from where she was, and ran into Zeltrax, stopping the attack. She groaned when she collided with him as it felt like she was hitting a brick wall.

"Kimberly!" Trini yelled out as she watched her best friend practically try and tackle Zeltrax like she was a football player. They both went down, with Zeltrax surprisingly still having a grip on his sword. She was worried that Kim would get sliced, but was too far away to do anything. That didn't stop her though as she immediately took off for the two.

At Trini's shout, Tommy spun around and saw Kim and Zeltrax tangled. All he saw was his girlfriend under the villain and from the way she was hunched, he knew she was hurt. Beneath his helmet, his eyes flashed green and a roar of primal rage ripped from his throat, drawing the attention of everyone else.

Kim struggled to get away from Zeltrax and moaned at the pain in her stomach. She was sure a rib was either bruised or broken. But that wasn't her problem; Zeltrax still had his sword and he was waving it in the air. She had to move before he skewered her. She had barely started when she heard the yell from Tommy and she froze for a split second. She knew that yell; Dragon wanted out.

'This is not good.' She had to get from under Zeltrax to let Tommy know she was ok. But that was easier said than done. He had a grip on her arm and didn't seem like he planned on letting go any time soon.

Tommy couldn't think past his rage. Kim was hurt and he had to get to her. Without conscious thought, he disappeared and reappeared next to the two and pulled Zeltrax off of Kim, the force sending him through the air. When he landed, the thud echoed loudly.

"Holy shit!" Xander breathed out as he stared from Tommy to Zeltrax and back.

The White Ranger's suit suddenly started flashing between green and white.

Seeing everyone frozen, Conner cursed. Yes he was worried about Kim and Dr. O, but didn't everyone realize they were in the middle of a battle? "Guys…Dr. O can handle this and Kim can handle Dr. O. We need to get rid of the rest of these villains…NOW!"

Conner's words snapped everyone out of their frozen state and the fighting commenced.

Across the street, Tommy stood seething, the green colour becoming more dominant.

Kim struggled to her feet and grabbed his arm, leaning into him a little. "I'm fine Handsome. Calm down. Dragon can't get out; you know the damage he'll do if that happens."

Inside, Tommy struggled to send the beast back to its slumbering state. Dragon wanted revenge. He wanted the same thing, but he knew Kim was right. If Dragon got out, the only person recognizable to him would be Kimberly; everyone else would be threats.

But Dragon had the bloodlust now, and he wouldn't be forced back that easily.

Sensing this, Kim took a deep breath and closed her eyes, and against her previous promise, she tapped into her powers. Soon, a pink glow surrounded her, and it covered her and Tommy, forming a protective barrier against any attacks from the other villains.

She focused on the bond between her and Tommy and saw him and Brennan struggling to send Dragon back to sleep.

"It's ok," she sent to the animal, "I'm ok. You have to go back. I'm not in any danger." Pushing some of her powers towards the beast, she soothed it, helping Tommy sending him back to sleep. Sending a tendril of love towards Tommy and Brennan, she went back to her mind.

Tommy shuddered and opened his eyes to look down at Kim through the helmet. "Thanks Beautiful."

"Anytime Handsome," Kim grinned as she dissolved the barrier, "now, let's get rid of these villains one last time."

"You got it," Tommy grinned but lost it and pushed Kim out of the way, out of the blast that Zeltrax had sent towards them.

"You're mine White Ranger," Zeltrax growled as he stalked forward.

"Let's finish this Zeltrax," Tommy fell into his stance, "I beat you before, I can do it again."

~…~

"Crisis averted," Hayley almost fell back in her seat from relief. While she hadn't been there personally to see when Tommy had been Dragon, she had heard the stories from the others and knew that if his alter had come out, it would've been really bad.

"You said it," Melissa nodded in agreement, "they already have enough trouble on their hands, they did not need him to add more."

~…~

Kim fell to the ground and cried out softly when she felt her ribs shift.

"You ok Kim?" Trini asked as she fell to her knees next to her sister.

"I think my ribs are really bruised," Kim revealed as she allowed Trini to help her to feet. "But other than that, I'm good."

"Maybe you should go back to base," Trini suggested, though she knew Kim wouldn't do that.

"Tri I'm fine," Kim shook her head, "We need to get rid of the rest of those clowns and then I'll rest, ok?"

"Promise?" Trini prodded.

"I promise," Kim nodded, "now come on."

The two girls jumped back into the fight, bypassing Tommy and Zeltrax.

Kim ended up with Tori, Kelsey and Maddie fighting against Elsa.

"You stupid rangers are no match for me!" Elsa taunted as she kicked Kelsey away and fired a blast at Tori.

"Wanna bet?" Maddie glared at the woman. She knelt on the ground, placing her palms flat and concentrated.

Tori fell next to her, "Water attack?"

"You got it," Maddie turned her head to look at the blue Ninja ranger.

The two girls combined their powers and water erupted from the ground and headed straight for Elsa, knocking her off her feet to land a short distance away.

Kim brought her hands together in front of her, holding them a couple of inches apart. "Fireball."

A ball for fire formed in between her hands, growing until it was the size of a beach ball. She looked up at Elsa, "Say goodnight Elsa."

"Goodnight Elsa," Tori, Kelsey and Maddie chorused.

Kim grinned as she threw the fireball at Elsa, watching with satisfaction was the woman exploded.

"Nice going Kim!" Maddie and Tori high-fived.

Kim shook her head at the girls' antics, but froze seconds later when the implications of what she just did hit her. She had used her powers; and not once, but twice.

'Oh God…oh no…no…no…no…What did I do?' Kim started shaking. She had tried so hard not to tap into her powers, but she had. She was afraid of what would happen. She turned towards Tommy, but before she could even say anything, she felt it; that pressure in her head. This time, it was worse than before. Her hands flew to her head and a low moan escaped her throat.

"Kimberly?" Kelsey turned to her friend in concern.

"Are you ok?" Maddie stepped closer.

"S-something's w-wrong," Kim moaned out as she fell to her knees.

"Kimberly!" Tori's panicked shout drew the others attention and some of the rangers broke off from the fights to form a barrier around the four girls, while checking on Kim.

"Is she ok?" Andros asked as he held his blaster in front of him while looking down at Kim.

"I don't know," Tori shook her head.

"Kim?" Adam called as he knelt next to Kim.

"Adam," Kim's eyes opened to slits, "everything hurts." With that, she fainted dead away in his arms.

"Kim!" Adam held her and watched with horrified eyes as pink lights swirled around her body, causing her to de-morph. He was scared because the last time he saw something like that, was when Zedd had stolen Kim's power coin.

"She's burning up," Kat said as she held hand to Kim's forehead. "Kim, can you hear me?"

There was no response. Kim's head lolled from side to side in Adam's arm while the pink colour kept swirling.

Andros brought his communicator to his mouth, "DECA, I need you to teleport Kimberly back to base…now!"

"Teleporting…now," DECA responded.

A pink beam of light surrounded Kim before she disappeared.

"She's going to be ok, right?" Maddie questioned.

"I hope so," Adam responded as he got to his feet. "Come on. Let's get rid of the last of these guys so we can check on her."

"Right!" the rangers said as one before doing as he said, though their thoughts were with Kim.

~…~

Kim appeared in Rootcore, and James immediately moved her to the medical cot and then moved out of the way for his wife to work on the girl.

"Is she ok?" Hayley asked, briefly removing her eyes from the screen to look at Kim.

Back at Rootcore, Melissa sighed as she took the wet cloth from Claire and wiped Kim's forehead.

"Is she going to be ok?" Claire asked as she looked on in concern.

"I hope so," Melissa replied, "her powers have been acting up these last few days, and now with this, I'm not sure."

Kim's head rolled from side to side as she started moaning.

"Kimberly?" Melissa called softly as she looked at the girl.

Kim didn't reply. She moaned even harder and soon enough, she started twisting and turning on the cot.

~…~

Down in the Underworld, things were about to become worst for the rangers. As each villain was destroyed, their powers went directly into the Master. The room started shaking and a crack appeared over the Master's pit; it split in both directions and then, it broke apart, creating a deep chasm. The walls shook and the roof crumbled as the Master slowly made his way out of his prison.

~…~

The rangers had been hit with renewed strength after Kim left. Worry and anger pushed Tommy to destroy Zeltrax and he watched as the others fought off the last two villains.

"Let's go," Eric said, "I'm worried about Kim."

Everyone agreed and they were just about to teleport, when the ground shook, making them stumble.

"What the hell?" Trini cursed as she reached out to hold on to Justin. "You ok?"

"I'm fine," Justin nodded as he held tight to her.

"What the hell is going on?" Joey asked. He looked around, trying to find the source of the sudden earthquake, as did the others.

"Look!" Leo pointed in the distance and they all turned to look, only to freeze in shock.

A huge chasm had opened up and they watched as something climbed out slowly. Smoke billowed around the figure, obscuring their view. Minutes later, the rumbling stopped and the ground settled again.

The rangers straightened up and fell into a battle stance.

The smoke cleared away and the original rangers took a step back in shock.

"No fucking way!" Rocky swore. His heart started pounding with fear.

"Is that?" Kat couldn't even finish her question, her blue eyes wide with disbelief.

"Maligore," Tanya swallowed.'This cannot be happening.'

The group of rangers stared at the monster in disbelief, but the original rangers, this felt like their worst nightmare. They had thought he had been gone for good.

"Didn't you kill him?" Carlos whispered to Billy.

"No," Billy answered. His voice was shaking from fear, but he didn't care, "we only managed to reseal him. He had been too powerful because he had already used some of Kimberly's power to regenerate."

At his words, Adam froze; immediately, past conversations flew back through his mind and when the realization came, he staggered back.

"Adam?" Tanya turned to her husband, "Adam what's wrong?"

Panting heavily, Adam ignored her and turned to the other Ninjetti and saw the realization in their faces as well.

"The child is very powerful," Aisha repeated softly, tears running down her cheeks, "if he gets his child back, all hope is lost."

"What are you talking about?" Max asked, looking at the black Ninjetti in confusion.

"No," Tommy whispered as he shook his head in denial, "It can't be…it just can't."

"What?" Joey asked, confused as well, and he was starting to get scared and worried.

"I see you've figured it out," Maligore grinned, dark satisfaction rolling through him at the fear in their eyes on their faces.

"You're not going to get Nick!" Vida shouted and the others backed her up.

"Foolish girl," Maligore taunted, "I was never after him."

"What?" Joel asked. He was completely shocked, as were the others. They had been sure it was Nick the man was after, but if it wasn't Nick, then who was it?

"The Master's child isn't Nick," Billy answered, "It's—

"Kimberly," Tommy finished, his eyes filled with fear and worry for his girlfriend.

Before anyone could say anything to that statement, a scream tore through the minds of the Ninjetti, and Conner, and they fell to their knees, holding their heads in their hands.

Mind View

The volcano didn't just erupt, it exploded and Shalimar screeched in pain as she glowed pink and then red before collapsing to the ground. She lifted her head, barely, and keened when she saw Firebird standing over her. But this was a different Firebird; this Firebird was a deeper, darker, shade of blood red, even darker than when Maligore had first gained control of her.

Shalimar moaned out as she tried to climb to her feet.

Firebird screeched angrily and pressed a foot on Shalimar's back, keeping her on the ground. Firebird's eyes glowed red and she started flapping her wings, creating a wind. The wind surrounded Shalimar and Firebird opened her beak, but instead of a screech, a bolt of red light emerged and hit Shalimar.

After a few seconds, the red light faded away. Firebird stopped flapping her wings and when the wind died down, Shalimar was enclosed in a red dome, very similar to the one Kim had placed the others in, but what had the bird scared was the sight in front of her. Kimberly was hovering mid-air, unconscious, and she was trapped in a red glass case.

Screeching once more, this time in victory, Firebird took off in the air.

"Oh God," Aisha cried out. Tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks, "Kimberly."

~…~

Back at Rootcore, Melissa, James, Claire and Hayley jumped back in shock when Kim became surrounded by flames.

"Dear God!" Melissa shouted to her husband as she started for Kimberly, but found that every time she moved close, the flames became higher. "I can't get close!"

"He's not letting you," Hayley whispered. Her heart ached for what they were about to go through, especially Tommy and the others.

The flames went very bright for a split second before it disappeared. And so did Kimberly.

"Where'd she go?" Claire asked as she looked around.

"One guess," James sighed.

~…~

The rangers jumped when they saw the flames between them and Maligore. The flames died down and Kimberly stood there.

"Kimberly," Wes cried out as he took a step towards the pink Ninjetti.

"Don't," Conner warned. He struggled to his feet. His head and his heart felt like it was being torn apart. The last time he had felt like this was when they had battled Nerian and Kim had sacrificed herself.

"What? Why?" Wes demanded, unable to understand or believe that the red ranger was stopping them from going after her.

Maligore let out a dark chuckle, one that fiercely reminded the original rangers of when Tommy was evil. He turned to Kim and held out a hand, "My child…come."

Cries of "Kimberly!" and "Don't!" rang out from the rangers as they stared in disbelief as Kim started towards Maligore.

With the exception of the Ninjetti and Conner, they all moved to go after her.

"No!" Conner and the Ninjetti said as one, trying to stop them because they knew it was too late. Maligore had her.

They watched as Kim took Maligore's hand and moved to stand by his side, her back towards them.

"WHY?!" Jason demanded as he turned his head to glare at them, "That's my baby sister. Why did you stop us?"

"We had to," Billy said, his hand clutching his chest above his heart. Adrian was letting out a keening wail because he knew his sister was in serious danger.

"Why?" Zack demanded.

"Because," Tommy closed his eyes and when he opened them, they were filled with pain, "That's not Kimberly…not anymore."

"What?" Cam asked as he, and the others stared at Kim.

Kim slowly turned around and the rangers couldn't stop the shocked noises from escaping.

"Oh my God," Tori breathed out.

Kim smiled, but it was dark and menacing and her eyes were glowing red.

"Hello rangers. Guess who's back?" Firebird chuckled.


A/N 2: uh oh…she's back. The rangers will have their work cut out for them, especially now that they're dealing with an evil Kimberly. But they can handle it…right? I really hope you guys liked it. Now that you've read, review so I can know what you thought...

Kila