A/N: 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 what happens when Jayden leads Rangers old and new into a fight for the Earth's survival...with his corrupted mother. But to claim his destiny and face his mother, he must first advance past battles against Deker as well as Master Xandred. The climactic finish vs Master Xandred is right here, includes scenes of the Samurai Rangers and various veteran Rangers as well.

A/N 3: Couples featured are Jayden/Mia, Memily, Lantonio, Jason/Kat, Adam/Tanya, Billy/Trini and a slew of other oldschool Ranger pairings. You'll have to read this story to see if there's Tommy/Kim at the end, hehe.

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

Chapter 2: Xandred X-terminated

May 12, 2012

10:30 p.m. local time

Shiba House

Panorama City, CA

Though he hadn't really thought about going back to the Shiba House after the fight, he was kind of glad his team had carried him "home." Clearly, they wanted him back on their team even though he had established that Lauren was the true leader. The last thing he wanted to do was sleep underneath a tree and risk breathing those awful fumes of smoke that were almost certainly still going on in the wake of that unbelievable fight with Deker.

How he was even able to walk under the current circumstances, he still failed to understand. Fiera had beat the crap out of him, and then 24 hours later, he'd waged a legendary fight with Deker. How he had the strength to be able to wage that fight was amazing in the first place.

He was currently back in his room, which was right next to Lauren's, and was drinking as much water as he possibly could. If there was anyone who needed hydration at this point, it was Jayden. He still felt warm, not like he had a fever or anything and he didn't feel like he was on fire like what happened in the fight with Deker, but still, he felt warm enough to break a sweat even in an air-conditioned climate.

What he didn't know was that one of the main parts of his dormant power was currently activated; his body was currently healing faster than most humans could. While his body was healing, his body would still feel warm.

He was also close enough to the front room that he could hear the conversations that were going on. In fact, he could hear his team...or what used to be his team...talk about that very thing.

"Is it you, or did you guys have a tough time willing Jayden back here last night?" Emily said. "I don't know about you, but I thought my hands were going to burn up."

"Same here," Mike said. "It felt like his whole body was on fire and that I'd burn up every time I touched him. Do any of you think he has a fever?"

"I don't think he has a fever, it didn't seem that way to me when he came in," Lauren said. "Tired, maybe, but I don't think he has a fever."

"The only thing I can tell you...is that Jayden will be fine. I am quite certain he does not have a fever," he heard Mentor Ji say. That made Jayden bristle just a bit.

It made him bristle because he knew Mentor Ji better than anyone, and knew how he acted. This seemed to be one of those moments where he knew something that nobody else did.

As soon as the fight with Xandred was over, he was going to make sure he found out whatever Mentor Ji was hiding.

At that point, Jayden wasn't worried too much about that though. He was way too tired.

"Do you think he'll come back to us and fight with us?" Mia said, more hopeful than anything else.

"I don't know," Mentor Ji said, conviction clearly lacing his voice this time. "You'll need to persuade him to fight with you again I think. I think he's very valuable but right now he feels Lauren is the leader."

Jayden gave a small smile. Clearly, Mia cared for him very much and Jayden knew he'd made a mistake not telling her how much he loved her...and he really did. He'd made the mistake of being so entrenched in his duty that he hadn't taken time enough to pay attention to that kind of stuff.

If they won this fight, he promised himself that was going to get corrected.

Those were the last thoughts before sleep claimed him for the evening. For today, he could hold his head high.

May 13, 2012

3:30 p.m. local time

1492 Valencia Drive

Reefside, CA

The day should have been a final celebration for the safety of Jayden. For the fact that Xandred was sealed again, and they could all make plans to talk to Jayden about his true history...and prepare him for the eventual invasion that would take place.

All of that had given way to not just lack of celebration, but outright concern.

None of the older Rangers blamed Lauren. In fact, she'd done everything she'd been asked to do. Practiced the Sealing Symbol day and night. Came back to do her job. Executed the symbol to perfection.

Lauren was all class and deserved a better fate. To be quite frank, the entire Shiba family deserved better, the older Rangers thought. They'd taken Jayden in when Zedd and Rita were still out there, had helped fulfill their part of the prophecy, and this was the thanks they got.

Xandred was still alive.

Even after he was gone and Cole freed, the whole Deker/Dayu thing still haunted not only the Samurai team, but all past teams of Rangers who dreamed of Jayden joining them where they felt he truly belonged.

Xandred had pulled the ultimate coup thanks to Dayu; not only had Dayu's sadness at Deker's death brought Xandred into this world, but it was the absorbing of Dayu's energy that had kept him in it AND had protected him from the Sealing Symbol.

It was causing a lot of angry and sullen faces in Tommy's residence. Tommy himself was still somewhat tired after the events of last night (all the Ninjetti were to an extent) and now he was grouchy too. And no one liked being around Tommy Oliver when he was grouchy.

"I swear if I see Deker, the REAL Deker, in the afterlife, I'm going to kick his butt. I'm going to ask God himself if I can, but I'm going to beg and plead every day," Aisha DeSantos said sassily. "This whole thing is RIDICULOUS!"

"Lay off him, Sis," Trini said, trying to calm Aisha down though she knew it wasn't going to work. "If not for that Serrator guy to begin with we wouldn't be in this situation."

"Not everything is bad," Jason said, addressing everyone else. "He went back with his team. Even helped Lauren in that fight. Clearly, he's not making the decisions; the Phoenix is calling the shots."

"And he wisely teleported everyone out before Xandred could really do some damage," Tanya Park added. "He's fine, got the crap beat out of him but they all did. They have a day to come up with at least a strategy that could beat him."

"Yeah but let's be honest, what real chance do they have?" Jennifer Collins (who had been back in this time for nearly a decade and was married to Wes for about six years) said. "You all saw that fight. Ransik and Nadira were bad but I've never seen a villain exude such power. The Samurai are a great team but they were completely outclassed."

"I agree, if it were just the Samurai we should be worried a lot more," Rocky said. "But Jayden's got that big bird. My feeling is that's the only way that can destroy Xandred."

"Sadly, that's gotta be it," Tommy sighed. "Unfortunately, tomorrow is Monday so we're not going to be able to help him as much this time. He's going to have to do it on his own."

"And that's the scary part," Kat said. "He's only going to get one shot too, probably."

"Then he's going to have to make it count," Andros said.

Monday, May 14, 2012

3:30 p.m. local time

Panorama City, CA

They'd done everything right, and yet it still seemingly wasn't enough.

Master Xandred truly was the slime that wouldn't die.

He'd survived being out of the Netherworld, not just survived but thrived thanks to Dayu's power.

Sealing Symbol? Wasn't enough. Lauren had done everything right, yet that same power kept Xandred alive.

First Shiba fire disc? Broken a long time ago by the big guy himself. After which he had thrashed the Rangers like they were insignificant bugs, then promised to find Lauren and make life hell for her. And Jayden more than anyone else knew how vulnerable Lauren could be.

Second Shiba Fire disc? Better, it had actually destroyed Xandred, the first time but in the end all it did was make him grow and piss him off.

Now the Zords were taking a beating, in fact Xandred's first two blows had thrown all six Rangers across the cockpit, and unless something was done fast, this truly was going to be the end of not only the Samurai team, but the world itself.

Jayden was desperate for ideas and was running out of them. Until his body started to heat up again. It was that roaring in his body again, that he couldn't explain.

'You and the other Rangers need to demorph, Jayden.'

'If we demorph he'll clobber us!' Jayden thought.

'It is the only way. You and your team must demorph and combine every bit of symbol power into one grand strike. It is the last chance for victory.'

'And if it doesn't work?'

'It will. Just do it. I'll take care of the rest.'

Just then, Kevin had started to use his symbol power. Jayden stopped him, then outlined his plan...although to be honest, it really wasn't his plan. Jayden demorphed from his shogun mode, and the Rangers were amazed again. They could feel the heat in the cockpit, and not just from the battle or any of the aftermath of Xandred's last attack.

No, Jayden's body was on fire again, and they could all feel it. But they couldn't worry about that right now.

"Remember, no matter what happens, we cannot retreat," Jayden said. "We have to keep going at all costs, even if we have only one Zord left. Everything is riding on this one attack."

In the process that followed, the Rangers lost seven of their Zords and their shield thanks to Xandred's attacks. And as the Rangers got closer to the Big Guy, there was the pep talk from Jayden. You know, the one about how no Red Ranger had ever led a better group of Samurai.

They were finally close enough and they all called for all the symbol power they had.

"Samurai STRIKE!" all six Rangers shouted at once. As soon as the Rangers released their attack, that weird 'thing' as Mia had called it two nights earlier, happened again.

As if it had a mind of its own, that big crimson bird flew out of Jayden's body, out of the Gigazord, and launched an attack which struck Xandred at the same time that the Rangers symbol power hit.

Xandred knew he'd been had when the fire of the Phoenix struck him, along with the Rangers symbol power.

"The Great Power? IMPOSSIBLE!" Xandred roared. No one thought that existed still, much less be able to singlehandedly be able to beat a guy like Xandred.

All Rangers present would have wondered what he meant but at that point, they didn't care. Xandred was going down. The fire of the Phoenix's attack and the Rangers symbol power washed over Xandred, as the big bird returned inside Jayden.

Xandred had been beaten in part by a force long thought to be dead, but he he was never one to not have the last word.

"Samurai Rangers, hear me now. You have won this battle, but evil's quest to rule your world will never end. You may have defeated me, but someday you will meet your demise. And one day, the Nighlok will rise again and rule your world!"

Those were Xandred's last words before he exploded in a blaze of glory.

This time, he and the Nighlok were really gone.

The Sanzu River receded back into the Netherworld, the Samurai Rangers had their final victory and Jayden had passed his second major test.

But unbeknownst to him, his destiny was not over. To truly realize his date with destiny, he would have to continue to fully embrace this "unknown power" as he called it, and would some day have to face good's most formidable foe.

Reefside High School

Reefside, CA

"Yes!" Dr. Oliver exulted as he pumped his fist. And breathed a sigh of relief. School had been dismissed about 45 minutes earlier, but Dr. Mercer had been nice enough to close off the conference room for Tommy; Tommy had filled him in many years ago on Jayden and Dr. Mercer knew also what was going on with the Samurai team.

Knowing how much this meant to Tommy, the least Anton could do, he felt, was give him a private place where he could watch the Rangers final fight on his iPad or phone.

He'd watched the whole thing, and the only time he breathed a sigh of relief was when that big crimson bird had come out of Jayden and helped beat the big guy. It did make him chuckle just a bit that none of the Rangers including Jayden himself had any idea of what was going on.

They'd get their answers soon enough, Jayden especially.

For the Samurai Rangers, and for the Rangers at large, it truly was a Victory Monday. Xandred was a tough customer, had made life hell for his son just like Rita and Zedd had done back in the day.

In many cases, this was the scary battle. This was the pressure battle.

Had the Samurai Rangers lost this fight, no one would have been left to stand in the way of his former Beautiful ruling the universe. It would have been the Nighlok vs the Flame of Destruction for control of the whole universe and most if not all of the Rangers would be dead.

His son had rid the world of the Nighlok and had unknowingly put himself in position to make not just his, but all of the Rangers dreams, come true.

And that was cause for celebration in itself.

"Smoothie at Hayley's!" he said to himself, grinning as he skipped out of the room, pep in his step. And he was sure that all the other Rangers who watched that had a little bit more energy as well.

The Power Rangers still lived, for now, and that was all they could ask.

"Enjoy your well deserved time off from your duties, my son," he thought. "Some day soon, we'll see each other again and it will be the greatest day of our lives."

"If only she were here too..." he thought as he walked to his car to head to Hayley's in celebration.

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