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. However, he must first learn of his true heritage and meet his extended family.
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 3: History Lesson Part I
May 16, 2012
The Shiba House
Panorama City, CA
Lauren Shiba sighed as she listened to Jayden and the Rangers talk about what they were going to do now that the Nighlok were gone. None of them knew she was spying on them in a way.
She was going to miss them all...at least for the time being. Well, except Antonio.
After this bit of business was done, Lauren was going on the "golden ticket" fishing trip with Antonio. Antonio knew she was coming, but not Jayden. Not yet anyways.
She heard Mia talk about how she was going to cooking school very shortly. Lauren chuckled...she knew that the person running the cooking school was a former Ranger and a ninja, although she wasn't sure if Mia knew that. She knew Mia went to the Ranger gathering every year (sans last year since the fight with Xandred started) since her cousin Cam was on the Ninja Storm team, but she knew Mia wasn't too great with names.
She smiled as she heard Kevin talk about how there was still time left for him to train for the US Olympic trials. Of the aspirations every one of the Rangers had, that arguably concerned her the most. Kevin was going to get the opportunity that had been denied to Kimberly Hart, Zordon's first Pink Ranger...and the greatest menace left in the galaxy.
She nodded at the thought of Emily going back to her farm and Mike going with her. Those two were so cute together and she hoped they'd take the time to deepen their relationship. Of all the Samurai Rangers, Mike had by far grown up the most in his time in the house.
As for her, she knew what she had to do. She nodded at Ji and they quickly went to the gate. Lauren hugged Ji before she stepped through the gate.
"See you soon, Lauren. Give Ninjor my regards," Ji said.
"Absolutely," Lauren said as she whipped out her Samuraizer.
"Symbol power, teleport. Ninjor's Temple of Power, please," Lauren said and she disappeared.
Moments later, she reappeared in the Temple of Power to find Ninjor tending to Cole, who was still feeling some effects after that vicious fight with Jayden.
The whoosh of teleportation caught Ninjor's attention and he looked at Lauren pointedly.
"They're gone, I take it?" Ninjor said.
"Leaving right now," Lauren said. "Antonio's going on his fishing trip in a few days, Mike and Emily are going back to the countryside and Mia's going to that cooking school run by Rocky."
"And Kevin?" Ninjor said.
"Still has a chance at the Olympics. He's going to be with his team," Lauren said.
"They all deserve their time off," Ninjor said. "As long as the Sentinel Knight lives, we won't have to call on them again."
"How is he?" Lauren asked looking at Cole. "From what you told me, Jayden really took a lot out of him."
"The cuts, scrapes, bruises and everything else that had been inflicted on him when he got here are not to be believed," Ninjor said. "He's better, but some of his body still hurts."
"You must be Jayden's adopted sister," Cole said, looking at Lauren.
"I am," Lauren responded. "Just know that nothing that happened to you is your fault."
"I know, but you know how female Rangers are. Alyssa's going to kill me when I get home. Taylor too at some point," Cole said.
"They get a little...over sensitive, yes," Lauren said. "When you do go home, I'll ask Ninjor to go with you to smooth things over. Alyssa will probably listen to him, she's not just going to listen to you."
"And you?" Ninjor said. "You are leaving with Antonio...when?"
"This coming Monday," Lauren said. "May 21."
"That works well," Ninjor said. "We can go to the Shiba house on the weekend. I'll talk to Mentor Ji about that. In the meantime, you should probably get some rest."
Friday, May 18, 2012
1:30 a.m. local time
Jayden's Room
The Shiba Houes
Panorama City, CA
Ever since the defeat of Master Xandred, Jayden's nights just kept getting weirder and weirder and weirder. He was still getting his sleep but it was becoming more and more difficult with the dreams.
The night after Xandred had been defeated...was that Tuesday or what...he'd seen visions of six different colored superheroes, in suits not dissimilar from the ones Jayden and his teammates had worn. The colors, from what he gathered, were black, blue, red, yellow, white and crimson.
The crimson warrior appeared to be especially powerful and he had visions of that warrior fighting a bunch of fire breathing foot soldiers, and a ruthless woman in golden armor who held a poisonous scimitar in her right hand.
Last night, he had visions of that same crimson colored warrior, alongside the white one, fighting a petite black haired female, dressed in a black body suit, with a firebird helmet and with a cape that gave he flight ability. She looked like what would be described as "the angel of death."
And tonight's dream was just plain weird.
In this dream, he was standing in a room that was completely pitch black, except for a small light which gave the room a little bit of lighting. It looked like the room hadn't been used in a long time.
'You want answers, young one,' a voice boomed.
Jayden looked around for the source of the voice but found nothing. Surely, he was just hearing things.
'All these dreams, all these weird happenings that are going on with you. You want answers and you want them now,' the voice said again.
Finally, Jayden found the source of the voice that seemed to come from the tube on the back wall of the building.
It was the image of a white floating head...was that floating head speaking to him?
'Greetings, Jayden. It is a pleasure to finally meet you as a man who defeated the one who tried to threaten him,' the voice said.
"You're a giant floating head and you're talking to me," Jayden said incredulously. Now this was just getting ridiculous. Meanwhile, the being in front of him chuckled. It really was the 1990s again, he remembered when Aisha Campbell said, "let the man speak...at least I think he's a man."
'I know it sounds incredulous but the ones who know me best thought the same thing when they first met me. My name is Zordon, young Jayden, and I am known as the first mentor to a team of non-Samurai Earth Rangers, going back to 1993.'
Jayden stared in awe. He didn't know a whole lot about past Earth teams, but he did know of Zordon from reading about him in one of Ji's books that he kept in the library in the Shiba house.
He was in the presence of a living legend.
"So, why am I here?" Jayden said. "You wouldn't have brought me here in my sleep for no good reason."
'Very perceptive of you,' Zordon said. 'I know you want answers to the weird things that have been happening to you. I brought you here to inform you that you are going to get those answers Saturday morning.'
Jayden breathed a sigh of relief.
'Be warned though, you need to go in with an open mind,' Zordon said. 'Not everything you think you know is true. Some of the information you will find out may make you angry. However, the events that have led up to this point are no one's fault but fate itself.'
Jayden nodded. With all the weird things that had been going on with him the last few days, anything was possible.
'One more thing to keep in mind, young Jayden. You have defeated the Nighlok but your journey is only just beginning.'
"What do you mean by that?" Jayden said.
'I will let you find out Saturday, young Jayden. Until then, and forevermore, may the Power protect you.'
At that point, Jayden woke up in a cold sweat. He needed some water on his face and needed it now. Things were just getting too weird.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
8:45 a.m.
The Shiba House
Panorama City, CA
Normally, Jayden would have slept in and enjoyed his time off from his duties.
That was not the case today, however.
The morning after his weird dream with Zordon, he had relayed his dreams to Ji including the one the night before and Ji confirmed that there would be a visitor this morning, at 9 am sharp.
That in mind, Jayden had woke up a couple of hours ago, had breakfast and then made sure the house was clean and was ready for the arrivals.
Jayden had just finished running the vacuum through the main room when they heard the chime that someone was at the gate.
"Looks like time's up, they were early," Jayden said. "I'll put the vacuum away."
Ji nodded as he went out to greet the visitors...one of whom would not be unfamiliar to Jayden.
The vacuum had just barely been put away when the doors opened. Jayden smiled slightly when he saw Lauren come in, then his brow furrowed in confusion when he saw two more beings arrive.
The first, clearly human, was a female African-American, slender and very well built, with a bright yellow sleeveless shirt and a purse over her shoulder.
The other being, and Jayden didn't know if he was human or not, was a blue robotic figure with a gold N insignia on his chest. Just from looking at the guy (if he was a guy) Jayden could just see the power radiating off this guy.
"Hey, Lauren," Jayden said as he embraced his sister. "When I said, see you soon, I thought it would mean, in a couple of months."
"On Monday, it will be, but I had to take care of a final piece of business. I'm going on the fishing trip with Antonio, but this is really important."
"Important enough to let a couple of strangers in the house, that I don't even know?" Jayden said with trepidation.
"Oh, they're not going to hurt," Lauren said, diverting his attention to the two newcomers. "That's Ninjor, the creator of the Original Power Coins and the head of the Temple of Ninja Power, and that's Aisha Campbell-DeSantos, the second Mighty Morphin Yellow Ranger."
"You're telling me that one of the best veterinarians in the world is a former Power Ranger?" Jayden said, his eyes wide in shock.
"Thanks for the flattery, I do my best," Aisha said. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Jayden."
"We should probably go into the main room and talk. This is going to take some time," Ninjor said.
A few minutes later, Jayden, Lauren, Aisha and Ninjor were seated in the spacious main room of the Shiba house.
"I know you have questions, Jayden. Now would be the time to ask them," Ninjor said.
"The first thing I want to say is, I feel hot, like my body is on fire. Not like it's going to burn up, but more than enough to where I notice it. I'm not afraid that it's going to burn the house down, it doesn't seem like that type of fire, but it's the type that can make it difficult to function," Jayden said.
"Is it like this roaring in your body?" Aisha said.
"Yes, exactly," Jayden said. "It's that roaring that...made me leave my team and almost cost me my life against Deker."
"You didn't make that decision," Ji almost stated. It wasn't really even a question. "The roaring, the fire in your veins did that for you."
"Yes, and it ticks me off because I could have died against Deker without my friends helping me," Jayden said.
"There is a reason that you were made to leave, and I will get to that in a while," Ninjor said.
"I've also been having these weird dreams," Jayden said. "I've been seeing battles of six different warriors, blue, yellow, black, red, crimson and white. The crimson one in particular intrigues me, and he seems to have a connection with the one in white. He fights with supreme skill, knowledge and strength and he's fighting a group of fire breathing warriors and some ugly woman who looks like a scorpion."
No one missed Aisha blanch right at that moment. It wasn't new news to her but the thought of the ugly femme fatale known as Scorpina still pissed Aisha off.
"In other scenes, I see the crimson warrior fighting a girl with jet black hair; she's got a black body suit, her helmet looks like a firebird and she has flight capability. In my dreams, she kills you, Lauren, and the rest of our team. And the crimson one is the only one that can stop her," Jayden said. "And then there is the weirdest dream of them all."
"Such as?" Aisha said.
"In the one Friday morning, I'm in this room that's empty, pitch black except for a small light, and the next thing I know I'm talking to this floating head. Zordon, he calls himself," Jayden said. He feigned ignorance, but he knew who Zordon was.
Meanwhile, Aisha's face formed a deer in the headlights look as did Ninjor, although no one could see it. The gig was up now. There could be no more secrets.
"How did you react Friday morning?" Ninjor said.
"I went to splash my face with water at 2 a.m., and then went back to sleep. The dream did not return," Jayden said.
Aisha, Lauren and Ninjor all looked at each other. They knew it was time.
"OK, let's start with fact number one," Lauren said. "The first fact is, you aren't a Shiba. You have been a great help to us, and I will always love you, but you were not born in our family."
"You were adopted," Ninjor added. "And you were adopted for very specific reasons."
"It was a trade, of sorts," Aisha added. "The couple who adopted you agreed to take you in to be able to protect Lauren, and two people close to us agreed to give you to them to fulfill a prophecy, which will be explained shortly."
"That also explains why I didn't get killed against Fiera," Jayden said. "A Shiba, a true Shiba, could have been killed against Fiera."
"Correct," Ji said. "It also partially explains why you were homeschooled after your adopted father, Michael's, death. It was part of the plan. We took no chances, not just to protect Lauren, but to protect you as well."
"That's why I've never driven a car, never attended public schools, basically been off the radar," Jayden said pointedly.
"Now, let's go to fact number two. That crimson warrior that you saw in your dreams, when your dormant powers are fully manifested, will be you," Aisha said.
Now it was Jayden's turn to have the deer in the headlights look. No way!
"Me, powerful enough to do THAT?" Jayden asked. "You must be joking, right?"
"Why not?" Aisha said. "That dormant power you have inside you was enough to beat Fiera, Deker and the big guy himself. And it's not even fully manifested yet."
"Now, let's go to fact number three. As for that girl in the black cape that the crimson warrior was facing off with, she is known as Lady Flammia, conqueror of many worlds. She is known far and wide as the most ruthless terror in the universe," Ninjor said.
Jayden nodded; he had heard of Lady Flammia, everyone had unless you lived under a rock.
Every time she conquered a planet, it was galaxy wide news. No one had stopped her yet.
And for some reason felt some sort of weird vibe when her name came up.
"The thing is, she will invade this planet some day in the near future and when she does, it will be up to you and a select group of Rangers, including the Samurai team, to stop her," Ninjor said.
Jayden simply laughed at this notion. The thought that he, right now, could take on someone of that caliber was preposterous!
"Come on, me, against her? That's like a single A baseball player taking on a Hall of Famer," Jayden said. For some reason that got a laugh out of everyone, lightening the tension in the room.
"Hey, don't insult single A baseball players. My friend Shawna used to public address announce games of a single A ball team so don't go insulting now," Aisha said.
"As Ninjor said, when your dormant powers are fully manifested, you will be able to match, maybe even exceed Flammia in power. The question is, will there be enough time?" Ji said.
"Now, to fact number four. The couple who put you up for adoption, were not only two of my best friends but former Power Rangers as well," Aisha said. "Your mother, in another life, was my best friend."
"Take a look at this side by side photo. The one on the left is a normal human girl, and the one on the right is the feared Lady Flammia. What do you notice about both of them?"
Jayden looked it over closely at Ninjor's insistence. The resemblance was astonishing.
"If I had to wildly guess...they're the exact same person," Jayden said. "Which means, if I'm right, we may have another Deker situation but worse."
"Correct on both counts," Aisha said. "That girl on the left is your biological mother, Kimberly Ann Hart, my best friend and my sister in everything but blood. Unfortunately, thanks to a series of events after your birth and adoption which still disgust me, she was turned dark and has terrorized the entire universe. No one has stood a chance against her."
"She had dreams of going to the Pan-Global Games and then the Olympics until they were shattered by lowlife human scum that I otherwise dare not reference. That, and other untimely events, have brought out a lot of anger," Ninjor said.
"That still raises the question though. Who is my father, is he evil too?" Jayden asked, concern suddenly lacing his voice.
"No, although he has been...multiple times. That was a really good question, actually. Your father is Dr. Thomas Oliver, who has worn a total of four different Ranger colors in the last 20 some odd years," Ninjor said. "Both your father and your mother belonged, and still belong to a very elite race of warriors called the Ninjetti, or Great Power. That is the very power that is awakening in you now."
"It's a LOT different from the Samurai powers. The power that is burgeoning in you now is a power based on the spirits of sacred animals," Lauren said. "The Samuraizers are very powerful, but I've been in the presence of the Great Power before. It's a power that I couldn't even hope to attain."
"Your father hoped to be here today as well but got called to a conference that he couldn't miss at the very last minute, so as your mother's best friend as a holder of the Great Power I got called in," Aisha said. "I hate Anton Mercer sometimes. Your godparents would be here but as great as they are they aren't Ninjetti, they wouldn't be able to explain what we do. I can."
"Dr. Mercer and Dr. Oliver are close?" Jayden asked. "I've heard of Mercer, that guy's business is well renowned."
"Yes, he is a very good businessman, with a checkered past himself, but I won't talk about that for now. Now, to the fifth and final fact, the biggest reason why you were put up for adoption," Ninjor said.
"It was to protect you from would be alien invaders until you were ready to fight, and fulfill a prophecy," Aisha said.
"Like the one where it was predetermined that Lauren would be the one to come back and try to seal Xandred?" Jayden asked.
"Yes, but on a much grander scale," Ji said as he pulled out a scroll and handed it to Jayden. "Read this and read it carefully...you may have to read it several times to understand it."
Jayden saw the scroll unroll and began to read.
During a time of war, an intergalactic being
Feared by many worlds
Will attack Earth
Six warriors, all chosen by the legendary Zordon
Will rise to combat this evil
The courageous Frog, the cunning, fierce Bear
The silent, sure Wolf, the strong Ape
The agile Crane and the just Falcon, the Winged Lord and Lady of the Skies
Will stand in the way of his rule, and the rule of two arch nemeses
Through unforeseen circumstances
Two of them will part ways, and the team's heart will fall to the power of the darkness
Which will put this power holder's very soul on the brink of extinction
From the very loins of the wings of the Ninjetti
Will come a powerful warrior
This warrior will embody his very animal spirit, the mighty Phoenix
Trained in the ways of the Samurai, but with the Ninjetti in his blood
If the sacrifice of the immortal one does not end the heart's curse
Then the Phoenix must rise and lead his troops into battle
To join forces with his father and the other holders of the Great Power
And the holders of the Dino Gems
Only the fire of the Phoenix, with his adopted sister and five other charges
Combined with the original power teams and and the holders of the dinosaurs
Can save the universe, once and for all
This prophecy does not foretell the fate of the Phoenix's mother, the agile Crane
What is to happen to her is not yet known nor has it been recorded.
Jayden reeled in shock after reading it.
He didn't want to accept it, mainly because he couldn't take another battle so soon after Xandred had been beat, but more than anything else, he knew it was true.
No one had ever held a Samurai power but had the power inside of him that had destroyed not one, not two, but three major enemies. A power that, he might add, had acted on its own accord to protect him.
"Excuse me, I need some time by myself," Jayden said.
"Wait!" Aisha said. "I'm becoming like your father...very forgetful. This is for you."
With that, she handed him a small DVD. It looked like it had been used many years ago, but had remained untainted and unblemished. Perhaps it was that power protecting it.
"Your father wanted you to have this. It's a complete history of what happened not just at your birth, but from the birth of the very first team of Rangers to today. It is focused on certain teams, but all are included," Aisha said.
"I'm sorry if I feel flustered, I believe all of you but this is a lot of information to take in," Jayden said. "I need some time alone."
With that, he headed back into his room, clearly his mind in a daze by what he'd just heard.
Silently, Aisha sat back down with Lauren, Ji and Ninjor.
"He said he believes us," Aisha said.
"I think he does, but I think he also needs time," Ji said. "When he tries to do too much that's when he gets himself in trouble."
"He is just like his father after all," Ninjor said.
"So I guess all we can do is wait?" Lauren said.
"All we can do is wait," Ji said.
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