A/N: A very pleasant Tuesday to all of you from the Lone Star State. Welcome to the main event of the Project Phoenix series. As a disclaimer, this series is inspired by Kctimes2's The Adoption (one of the best stories I've ever read here). Before reading this, you should read The Crane's Destructive Path and its accompanying one shot, Granted Wishes.

A/N 2: This is the story of when Jayden leads Rangers old and new into a fight for Earth's survival...with his corrupted mother. This chapter may elicit a few tears. Reunions and reconciliations abound...but not the big one. Yet.

A/N 3: Couples featured are Jayden/Mia, Memily, Lantonio, Jason/Kat, Adam/Tanya and a slew of other old-school pairings. You'll have to read on to see if there is Tommy/Kim at the end...hehe.

A/N 4: Usual disclaimer. Power Rangers doesn't belong to me.

Chapter 21: Reunions and Reconciliations

Saturday, Oct. 6, about mid-day

The Rangers Chamber of Command

Angel Grove, CA

If the mood in the Chamber of Command just a few days earlier was akin to a funeral (and it was), then the mood at the current moment was just the opposite.

The Power Rangers of Earth were battered, bruised, and hurt to the point that some would miss a significant amount of time.

Yet, none of them cared at the moment. Defeat had seemed certain, perhaps even final defeat, and yet the Phoenix Ranger had saved them all and in the process had dealt the Flame of Destruction a devastating defeat.

As soon as the Phoenix Ranger landed back in the Chamber of Command, he was dogpiled by his Samurai teammates like he'd just scored a dramatic goal to win the World Cup.

Zordon's Rangers were acting like a bunch of party animals too.

It was total bedlam.

Celebrations abounded and chants of "Jay, Jay, Jay!" bounced off the walls of the building. When he was captured, only the most ardent believer in his abilities thought he'd come back in one piece, much less be able to do the things he did.

Even his own father, Dr. Oliver, had expressed his own doubts. No one knew how sinister the Moon Palace could be better than Dr. Oliver himself.

Yet, against all odds, here was Jayden in the flesh. None of them could believe it.

And even more than that, he'd brought more bodies who could fight...that was, when they were able. Which would be a while, but this was huge.

"Guys, let...me...breathe..." Jayden said. Mike immediately gave him some air, and the others followed his lead.

"Mentor Ji is going to chastise me for saying this but...you magnificent bastard," Kevin said. "I can't believe you're back!"

"I can't believe I'm back either to be honest, though you're right, Ji would chastise you for using that language," Jayden said. "I should probably be in the infirmary right now with half the team, but I have business to do first."

He then whispered something to Ji, who whispered something to Kira. Immediately, Mrs. McKnight released her Ptera Scream which caused everyone to cover their ears.

"Good gracious, Kira!" Vida said. "Warn us next time when you're going to do that please!"

"Sorry but Jayden told me to do it," Kira said. "He said he has some business to take care of."

"The only business you have is with me in the infirmary with half the team," Dana said.

"Not so fast, Dana. I'll be there but there are things to do first," Jayden said.

Immediately, Dana huffed her dislike, but sat down anyways, knowing that as important as she was, the Phoenix was the leader.

Carter laughed at what just happened, only to receive a glare from Jayden as well.

"And what are you laughing at?" Jayden said.

"There's no way I can do what you just did!" Carter said. "When she gets her mind fixed on something she never shuts up! I always have to go along with her!"

"Well that's because I'm the Phoenix and you're not so I suggest you shut up," Jayden said.

Now it was the Pinks turn to share a laugh, at both Carter and how utterly brash Jayden was at this point. He was confident before, but surely not to this level.

It was lost on no one that Mia was laughing the loudest; this was the Jayden she fell in love with. Brash, daring, would do anything to help his teammates and the world. Not to mention a hot-headed Red had got put in his place.

"Before I was so rudely interrupted I have business to attend to. Important business, too," Jayden said. "Rita, are you here?"

Immediately, a shimmering white light filled the Chamber of Command, revealing the ancient sorceress, former Ranger archrival and ally to the Mystic Force team.

"I'm here young Phoenix," Rita said. "What do you need?"

"It's not what I need, it's what, or rather who, came back with me. You're about to meet, or rather, be re-acquainted with, the person who is in large part responsible for me being here today. Come on out," Jayden said.

Rita's face formed a confused look, until the person emerged from the shadows, and Rita's eyes went wide as saucers.

It couldn't be...

Before she knew it, now it was her turn to be tackled to the ground...by her very own brother.

"Rito..." she gasped. "But how? I thought I lost you for good in the Countdown..."

"Yeah, I thought so too. But dear old ugly Thrax's destruction reversed my fate. Zordon told me when I first came back to this world, told me in a dream that ending my life in his sacrifice was a mistake he regrets," Rito murmured. "He offered me the chance to make up for so many thousands of wasted years."

"That's good and all but where have you been all these years? You could have fought back against Flammia's rampage," Rita chided. "You could have aided in saving our home...Rhiannon wouldn't be fighting for her life..."

"Believe you me, Sis, I could have if I thought it was a smart move," Rito said. "But honestly, that wasn't the best play. Me against that army wouldn't have stood a chance. I'm sorry I didn't come home right away, but I figured that the universe was a dangerous place with Evil Kimmie running around conquering planets. It was better to stay out of sight..."

"And off the radar so you could be ready when the time came," Rita said, tears in her eyes. "The Rito I knew is not only not dead, he's back in full."

The older Rangers stood in stunned silence. Apparently, not only did Rito have a good side to him that was laid to waste when Zordon sacrificed himself, but he was all of a sudden the smartest guy in the room!

Even Billy was confused. He was there when Rito had destroyed the Thunder Zords, but that had been more of a fluke win than anything.

Jayden nodded at both of those two, then beckoned the Lost Galaxy Rangers, Dimitria, Diana, and Masked Rider over. Rhiannon had used some of her magic to give them some strength and clean them up a little bit, but they were still in awful shape.

"Those awful, awful monsters," Jayden said, looking at them all sympathetically. "I'd ask what they did to all of you, but I'm not sure I even want to know the details."

All of the former prisoners were in bad shape, but Leo in particular could barely stand. Lacerations covered his body, he had major internal bleeding, and every time he tried to stand up he had a pronounced limp.

"How long and how bad?" Jayden simply asked.

"2009," Leo said; Jayden by simply looking at him wouldn't have been surprised if he had a torn ligament. He was limping bad, and the rest of the Lost Galaxy Rangers minus Mike weren't much better off. "And it's been the worst three years of my life. It's not even close. Flammia is a monster, I'm surprised anyone can stand up to her at this point."

"I can still see them overrunning my home. Until today, I'd lost all hope..." Maya said.

Jayden eyed them with quiet sorrow. They had been rescued but the scars from captivity may never go away.

"2009 for me too," Dex said. "My experience has not been a whole lot better either. I'm surprised she ever loses a fight. Her army is near unstoppable. I want to fight, but my body is still very weak."

"2006 for Dimitria and I and as you can guess, it's been even worse for us. We both have magical abilities so we cannot die completely, but we have never been more in need of good care than we are right now," Diana said.

"Kimberly Hart's evil half is...ruthless," Dimitria added

"I still don't understand half of what's going on, anyways," Kendrix said. "This whole Ninjetti stuff, the Phoenix, Jayden's connection to Tommy, all of this."

"And that's why I'm here," a sing-song voice said as a familiar blue figure stepped out of the shadows.

"Big Blue," Jayden said, referring to Ninjor, who had just appeared from the shadows.

He was followed closely by another figure who the Lost Galaxy Rangers knew very well.

"Mike!" Maya exclaimed. They all wanted to come give Mike a hug but most were too weak to do so.

"You two want to explain to them what's going on? I got to go to the infirmary or Dana here's going to kill me," Jayden said.

"Go. We'll take it from here," Ninjor said, shooing Jayden towards Dana, who promptly whisked him out of sight.

"So it goes like this..." Ninjor said, as he began outlining Jayden's history and true heritage, as well who Flammia had been and how her evil half came to be.

The Lost Galaxy Rangers were in stunned silence when Ninjor was finished. To them, the Ninjetti were only a myth, the stuff of only legends they had heard.

Now, they were standing before today's holders of the Great Power, in the flesh, and the most powerful of them had just saved them all from certain death.

"I knew of Kimberly and her dark side, but I had no clue of the Phoenix and how powerful he was," Dex said. "We owe him."

"I just hope we get healthy enough to get in this fight some day," Leo said. "This is the worst feeling ever...hopeless, injured, and nothing we can really do."

"We will, Leo, we will," Kendrix reassured him. "Flammia's going to pay. For everything."

The Mess Hall, later that evening

After a brief checkup following the initial celebrations, Jayden had been cleared for the most part and had been sent away to rest. And rest for a long while. The last few days had been tough and grueling and he more than anyone else needed rest.

That said, the smiles of the occupants of the Chamber of Command had been far and wide when Tommy informed the rest of the various Ranger teams that he was OK and would be joining them for dinner, once he got the proper rest.

So the ovation he'd received when he walked into the Mess Hall that night was almost as loud as the cheers he'd received when he'd returned earlier that day.

"You OK, man?" Mike said.

"Yeah. That rest took five or six hours, and my sleep clock may be off for a day or two because of it, but it's exactly what I needed," Jayden said. "It's good to be back."

"How's Lauren?" Antonio pointedly asked.

"A little tired, but she's fine. I'd advise going to see her till tomorrow," Jayden said. "She'll need more sleep than I will because, as great as she is, she doesn't have the powers that I possess."

"We all still want to know how you got free in the first place," Aisha said. "When Ethan finally broke through the palace barrier, the only thing we saw is that you were fighting Lauren. Then, Flammia attacked again."

"First thing you need to know is that Mom is still watching over us. Yes, my real mother is still continuing to fight her oppressor against all odds. Thanks in part to you, Kat," Jayden said.

"Me?" Kat asked.

"Yeah, you. You not only fought her to a draw the first time you two faced off, you actually dented her armor. You bruised her ego. She thought you'd be a walk in the park and you dented her confidence," Jayden said.

"Yeah but she kicked my ass real bad today," Kat said. "I'm lucky I'm not hurt beyond repair..."

"That just shows you how desperate she has been," Jayden said. "I think she finally realizes while her forces are big and bad, they can be had."

"Because of the strength she got over her evil half due to your victory, she was actually able to bring me food to get my strength back," Jayden said.

"Yep, in fact, I've got the souvenirs up in my room to prove it," Rito said.

"Don't tell me you brought those back in here, Rito," Jayden scolded. "I'm sure those things stink!"

"Eh, they can be put in the dishwasher and I put them there," Rito said. "They'll be fine once they're cleaned off."

"As to how I got free, fate smiled on me a bit. The cell I was in was cold...colder than cold," Jayden said. "But because I was shackled by chains, they become really brittle in cold conditions. That made it very easy for me to snap them."

"Then when Evil Lauren and her crew tried to come and get me to take me to the arena, I used my invisibility to hide and attack them when they weren't looking. It didn't work for long, but I was able to stall for just enough time for Rito to get back."

"And in the arena, getting your morpher back?" Hunter asked.

"That was partially my invisibility power getting me close, and Rito coming in at just the right time," Jayden said.

Rangers one and all looked at each other, surprise clearly creasing their faces. When Jayden was going for his powers and when he attained them, they saw the talent and raw ability that could be used to combat Flammia's forces.

But now, they were seeing the true underbelly of a leader who knew exactly what he was doing.

He couldn't have escaped that awful Moon Palace on just physical ability alone. No, to escape, he had some help no doubt, but he had clearly outsmarted his competition. His competition being the greatest band of conquerors the Galaxy had ever seen.

"I know you guys want to know how we got Lauren free as well," Rito said. "Well, on Sis and I's home planet of Eltar, there's a potion that can be used to counteract many of Maligore's spells."

"The job Kat did, and Jayden's resilience, bought me just enough time to retrieve that potion, the Flame Extinguisher," Rito said.

"The Flame Extinguisher?" Adam said. "Never heard of it. Zordon never told us about it anyways."

"Yeah, it's pretty powerful. The sad thing is, it can be used only once. And the quest to get to that potion is hard enough as it is."

"You went to Eltar? With it being conquered?" Rita asked.

"Yeah I knew just where to go while being able to stay out of sight. Many of the elder intergalactic beings like Zordon have gone underground, in hiding. They're afraid to fight back because they know they'd be outmatched."

"At first, those old geezers didn't believe me or my story. Fortunately, I kept a locket Sis gave me when we were kids. It was a gift from one of the elders and when that elder recognized it and I outlined the situation, they finally let me go through. It was really hard though," Rito finished.

"I bet," Rita said.

As if to answer the questions that were about to fire up, Rita stood up and looked at the older Rangers.

"Rito and I are in fact brothers from Eltar. His alter ego was in fact the dumb skeleton monster that was made to look like a clown, but Master Vile made him like that for a reason. Zedd and I are still married but he's from another planet. In fact he's from one of the few planets that hasn't been conquered," Rita said.

"When Master Vile captured both Rito and I thousands of years ago, Rito was the smarter of us and Vile knew because he was gifted and smart that he'd turn on him. So he made him into this dumb clown that always lost," Rita added.

"I'll always curse 'Pops' for ruining my life, for dumbing me down to the point where I couldn't understand simple concepts so he could continue to rule over his empire," Rito said.

The older Rangers looked at each other. The way they were hearing things right now, they had actually been pretty fortunate. Rito had beat the Thunder Zords and that was when he was the dumb clown. The smart Rito that was standing before them...wow.

"Is Daddy Dearest still gone?" Rita suddenly said.

"In a word...yes," Rito said. "We ain't gotta worry about him any more. The reversal from Thrax's destruction only applied to those of his family who weren't pure evil, like me, or Ed, I mean, Zedd if he had been involved."

Jayden heard the conversation, but it was like he wasn't listening. The wheels were turning in his mind. He then fixed Rita and Rito with a hard glance.

"You said all the elders on Eltar have gone underground? That they're afraid to fight back?" Jayden asked.

"Yup, all of them are scared to death," Rito said. Rita's face formed a sad expression.

"The hell with that," Jayden said. "Tell them to form resistance armies and fight back. Tell them they have my blessing."

"Jayden, no!" Rhiannon said. "They're all going to get killed! They're totally outnumbered!"

"The longer they have to deal with these resistance factions, on Eltar and anywhere else, the better for us. We agree that Earth is their goal, correct?"

Everyone in the room, to a man and woman, nodded their assent.

"The reason Evil Mom has been able to give us so many issues, or one of them, is that she's been able to focus all of her attention here," Jayden said. "There's no push back from any of the other planets, which means she doesn't have to worry about anywhere else. If there's actual resistance, she can't focus her attention here. And it's a good time to start, by the way."

"Why is that?" Jason asked.

"That last attack wore her down to the point where she had to go to a regenerative device, like what Zedd had before he married Rita," Jayden said. "She will rest for a good while. If there's ever a time to form resistance armies now is it."

"Darien got executed, sadly, but I know many of the people and how to reach them," Rhiannon said, sighing, knowing how bad this could get. "I'll rally them to fight, but we haven't seen Rangers or a true fighting force in thousands of years. It's almost like we forgot how to do it."

"That's OK. Just do it, and tell them to do their best," Jayden said. "They have nothing to lose and the more bodies they take down, it helps us."

"Triforia has been waiting forever for a chance to fight back," Trey said. "I know how to reach the former King even though he went underground. I can send him a coded message."

"Inquiris is not to be messed with. We're afraid of her army, but we want a chance to fight back. King Queary is not dead and I know where he is," Diana said. "I'll tell him to do anything he can to fight back."

"Excuse me, am I missing anything?" a familiar female voice said from the doorway of the mess hall. Rangers one and all whipped their heads around to see Lauren standing in the doorway. A unified cheer went up from the occupants of the room as Jayden went up to embrace his sister.

"Welcome back, big sis," Jayden said. "You feeling OK?"

"A bit tired, but I'll live," Lauren said. "I hope you guys didn't eat all the food."

"Now you're starting to sound like Uncle Rocky," Jayden said, laughing slightly. "I think there's probably still some food left."

"And no, Mentor, she didn't do...that," Jayden said, Ji breathing a sigh of relief. "Mom used her influence to make sure that did not happen."

Several Hours Later...

Jayden's sleep clock had been altered, but he knew it was time to end this day and get some more rest. He still needed it after all he had been through. He knew when he got up the next morning, he was going to be going through the rigors. The last few days of captivity had put him significantly behind in his GED studies.

As he prepared to turn out his lights and call it a night though, he suddenly felt someone in the room with him. Turning around, he saw his sister standing a few feet away.

"Congratulations," Lauren said as she threw herself into Jayden's arms. "And thank you for rescuing me from that awful mind control."

"I don't want you to blame yourself for what happened in the last week or so," Jayden said. "It's no one's fault but Flammia's army and fate itself. Oh, and you're welcome."

"The last time I was myself was what, one week ago, two weeks ago?" Lauren said. "I went to bed that one night, and then when I woke up the next morning and touched my Samuraizer it was like my body was burning up and I had no control of what I was doing."

"So it wasn't while you were in your sleep but close enough," Jayden said.

"Yeah," Lauren said.

"I'm going to be real honest though, Lauren. My personal demon is gone," Jayden said.

"I know. All your life you'd wondered, could you make the grade. Could you live up to the standard set by me, and my parents. You not only lived up to that standard you passed with flying colors," Lauren said. "I don't want you to ever wonder about that anymore. You made me look like an idiot at times back there. I got a couple of 'wins' against you, but let's face it I got lucky those times. You're your own Ranger and perfectly capable of leading us to victory."

"And that's exactly what's going to happen," Jayden said. "We're going to get them. Some day."

The Moon Palace

However, unbeknownst to the Rangers, while Flammia was asleep and the Rangers were celebrating their win, some of her generals were still working on active ways to lure the Rangers into a trap and destroy them.

"So, we have a deal?" Draco boomed into his communicator.

"Indeed," the being on the other end of the phone said. "Let those Power Pukes have their win for now. In approximately three weeks, we will use the full moon along with the close proximity of the Halloween holiday that the Earthlings have to lure the Rangers into a trap that they will never recover from."

"The Rangers will never know what hit them," Draco said. "When the Mistress wakes up, the Earth will be all hers."

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