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. This chapter includes Jayden's reunion with his first family, and his first trip to Phaedos which will be detailed at the end of this chapter.
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 6: Phaedos
May 28, 2012
4:30 p.m.
The Shiba House
Panorama City, CA
A couple of hours after the "cavalcade" of Rangers had arrived, as Mentor Ji called them, and the party was in full swing.
And unlike what Mike had done with his Samuraizer early in the fight against Xandred, this wasn't just some manufactured party. No, this was real.
Most of the teams in attendance, older and newer, had each brought one or two specific items for the cookout. From buns, to burgers, to brats, condiments, brownies for after, and everything in between, the party had everything you could want.
Including family.
For the last couple of hours, Jayden was drinking everything in, just watching the camaraderie between the various teams. And in doing so, he came to two conclusions. The first being that it was quite obvious to him that no matter if it was the first team or the Jungle Fury team, this was one very tight knit family.
The second conclusion he came to (and he had his suspicions before then) was that of all the color designations, the Pinks were the "don't piss me off" type.
It didn't matter if it was his Aunt Katherine, her successor Cassie, his Aunt Jen, or any other Pink. They were all dangerous.
That was cemented when Kat started teasing Jason about the "Red Mission" deal in 2002.
You know, the one where all the Reds went to stop Serpentera without telling their significant others. And then all of them were sporting good-sized shiners for a while as a result.
"I'm sorry for relaying that story, Jayden," Kat said regrettably as she embraced her godson. "I get that it's too much information, that story's too good not to share. Your Uncle Jason slept outside for three days after that then I finally had mercy on him and let him back in the house."
"No, it's a good story. It's a good refresher of a lesson that I learned when I was fighting Xandred," Jayden said. "It's no surprise that Mia wore the Pink color. Emily was a fighter, but Mia is and was our heart. I would never want to get on her bad list. As Reds, we're the testosterone, but the Pinks are the don't tread on me types."
"Perhaps it's a good indicator of why Mom has conquered so many worlds," Jayden said sorrowfully. "She's powerful and she's got a Pink's temperament."
"Yeah and when she comes back, I'm afraid she's going to do things to me that I will want to forget for the rest of my life, but can't," Kat said.
"We're family now. That's just not going to happen. Half of her evil side I bet is anger at you, so if I protect you, that will help us that much more," Jayden said.
"You're right, it is. Maligore has twisted Kim's soul so much that it's filled with hatred for me. The first time she sees me, she's going to try to hurt me. Really bad," Kat said. "It's going to further fuel the evil within her to where it may consume what's left of her soul."
"I am going to take steps to make sure that isn't going to happen," Jayden said. "If she tries to come near you she'll pay the price. I'm not going to give her that opportunity."
"I have one other question. How do you make sure your kids don't get wrapped up in this stuff?" Jayden asked.
"Angela Taylor, your Uncle Zack's wife, knows about our identities. We call her the childsitter for when we have to go to Ranger activities like this," Kat said.
A couple of hours later after Justin and Hayley showed him how to use his new iPad and iPhone, the party moved outside for the early evening cookout festivities, and everyone began selecting their choice of food to eat, then picking their spots in the spacious Shiba house backyard, Jayden found himself sitting next to his father. His biological father.
In many ways, it was appropriate, Jayden mused as he was lost in his thoughts, trying to find words to put how he was feeling at that moment.
It might have taken several words to describe, but belonging, joy and happiness were words that could have described his emotions at that moment.
He was still trying to think of the right words, until Tommy beat him to the punch.
"Have you thought about moving to my house in Reefside when this mission starts?" Tommy said.
"It's a good question. I think not, at least not right now," Jayden said. "Hold on, hold on. This isn't a rejection all of a sudden."
"Why not?" Tommy said.
"Because I think it may arouse too much suspicion to what we're all up to," Jayden said. "You said the Ninjetti spirits are connected to each other, right?"
Tommy nodded. It was the truth.
"Well, if you, Mom and I are all biologically connected, and spiritually connected, as long as she's evil I don't want us too close together. Not right now," Jayden said. "Maligore will try to tighten his grip on her if I move into your place and live in the same house. He's going to notice."
Tommy was dumbstruck at the moment. Not that he was angry, it's more that he was surprised that Jayden was thinking ahead, and thinking of possible repercussions.
"My number one goal is to cut off the ways that Maligore can keep control of her," Jayden said. "The Crane spirit still lives, right?"
"Indeed it does," Tommy said. "As long as Maligore doesn't take complete control of her soul, the Crane still lives."
"Then I'm going to cut off the ways that Maligore can use to keep control of her," Jayden said. "If I was going to move some place, I think I would actually move in with Uncle Jason and Aunt Kat for a while."
"Why Aunt Kat?" Tommy said, curiously.
"Part of my plan," Jayden said. "Isn't it true that part of what's fueling Kimberly's evil half is hatred for Kat?"
"Yes, it is very much true," Tommy said. "When we were on Murianthias, and God I hope you never end up there, even after Kimberly was turned evil she was targeting Kat."
"If Kat goes out there alone then, Flammia could come down and terrorize Aunt Kat in ways I don't want to talk about, without having to deal with the consequences," Jayden said. "But if I'm where she's at, then she either has to face me before she wants to or she leaves her henchmen to deal with Kat."
"My ultimate goal is to make her face me before she wants to. Once I start beating her henchmen one by one, she's going to have to make a choice; either face me on my terms or watch her associates get destroyed. I'm going to make her play by my rules," Jayden said.
"I think in the end, it's best if I stay in the Shiba house for now," Jayden said. "It will attract the least amount of attention. You've said you have a Command Center in your basement?"
Tommy nodded. It hadn't been used frequently in a while but there still was one.
"Well, we have the same sort of thing here," Jayden said. "Ji and Lauren told me about it before Lauren left with Antonio. It's not quite what your base is, I'm sure, but it's a place I can go to if and when the house gets attacked."
"Xandred threatened to find Lauren and hurt her in our last battle. If he had come here, Lauren would have gone down to the basement as would Ji. Fortunately, he never got here," Jayden said. "If I teleport from that bunker to Phaedos for the days I train, no one will notice."
Tommy smiled with pride. The plan was simple. Make Flammia think Earth was going to be an easy conquest when she did get here, take her by surprise, protect Aunt Kat, and above all else try to draw Flammia into a fight she doesn't want.
"Your plan is a sound one," Nick "Bowen" Russell said as he came walking by. "Unfortunately not all plans work out like we want them to."
Jayden formed a small smile. He was talking to the person that he promised himself he would "give em one for."
"Nice to meet you, cousin Nick," Jayden said. "I'm going to give them all one for you after what The Master put you through."
"I appreciate that, but as a fellow Red who's been in this game for about five or six years, I'm here to give you some advice," Nick said. "The advice comes from my Mom and Dad and it is that not everything works out like we want it to."
"What do you mean?" Jayden said.
"I mean that in every war that Rangers have fought there's always a curveball," Nick said. "I didn't know I was the son of Udonna and Leanbow until after our fight with the Master began. I didn't know I'd be married to Madison and her to be expecting a child in about three months."
"A lot of us have been in this game longer than you have, Jayden. You've displayed superior skill and leadership but a lot of us have many years of experience," Jennifer Collins said as she too came walking by. "I was to be married to Alex, another of our Rangers until we came back in time and I found your Uncle Wes. I never thought I'd fall in love with him but I did."
"The point we're all trying to make is that you should use that phone booklet that I made for you," Tommy said. "We are always just a phone call away. Some of us will be with you on Phaedos when your training begins."
Jayden blew out a breath. As much as he wanted the plan to work, they were all correct.
It was quite likely that everything involved in his plan was likely to go awry at some point. Not that it wasn't sound, but there was no guarantee that Flammia didn't have plans of her own which could derail everything.
After all, he thought his destiny would be over when Xandred was beaten. How wrong he'd been.
And he'd seemingly forgotten, so soon, what Lauren had told him prior to her departure one week ago.
Flashback, May 21
"All set now?" Jayden asked, although he already knew the answer.
He knew Lauren was ready; with her orderly, meticulous ways she was probably ready a day ago.
"Yes, I am," Lauren said as she embraced Jayden one last time before her big excursion.
"I'm going to miss you, I wish you could be here when I get my powers," Jayden said.
"Believe me, I'll probably feel it somehow. We all will," Lauren said. "I may be older than you, have more experience than you, but you're the chosen one. This is your moment now. Oh, and remember one other thing."
"What's that?" Jayden said.
"Be ready to change your plans on the fly. I know you've already thought of a plan, and if it works, great but the best generals are able to adjust on the fly. Once this war starts, the firepower's going to be coming from all sides and it's gonna go fast," Lauren said. "The best battle generals have a plan B, and plans C, D and E after that. Be ready to adjust to whatever happens."
Jayden nodded mutely. As much as he wanted his plan to work, it probably wouldn't. Very few Plan A's work out like people want them to.
"That's why your father Tommy is the best Ranger there ever was. He's got a lot of wisdom, so listen to him and listen to him well," Lauren said. "Not just because of longevity, but because he's able to adjust to any situation you can throw at him."
"Tell Antonio to catch us a lot of fish," Jayden said as he kissed Lauren on the cheek one last time.
"I will. Good luck," Lauren said and with one last wave, she headed out the door.
End Flashback
The advice from Lauren ran through his mind as Jayden ate his burger.
"Thinking about someone?" Tommy said. "I think I know who it is and I think she wears Pink."
"Surprisingly, that's not correct," Jayden said. "I'm thinking of my sister and the words she imparted on me when she left with Antonio."
"Your advice just now brought my last conversation with her back into my mind," Jayden said. "I got too caught up in my own plans that I didn't think of what would be my Plan B and C."
"Your sister is a very wise, mature young lady and I'm proud that you have someone like that to lean on," Tommy said. "My relationship with my sibling David is much like yours with Lauren; we were separated for many years but found our way back to each other during my teenage years. He lives on the reservation outside Angel Grove."
"Never doubt yourself, Jayden; you've already overcome tremendous odds against you," his Aunt Trini said from nearby. "When you believe, anything is possible."
Monday, June 4, 2012
7:15 a.m. local time
The Shiba House, lower bunker
Panorama City, CA
Before Jayden knew it, one week had passed since most of the Ranger teams had come by to see him. He still kept sharp with his training, and did all he could to relax in the meantime, but now it was time.
The moment that had been much anticipated since the defeat of Xandred was at hand. The Phoenix was headed to Phaedos to begin, what he hoped, was the training that would fulfill his destiny and in the end, reward him with his family back in full.
Ji had contacted Dulcea in the last week or so, and they had worked out a scenario that Jayden felt was perfect. The glowing portal before him would take him directly to Phaedos without much notice if at all. It would happen, Ji and Jayden decided, until Jayden figured it would be best to go some place else.
"Remember," Ji said as Jayden prepared to go through. "Be prepared for anything, always give it your best, and know that I and everyone else in the Ranger family is proud of you."
"Got it," Jayden said as he hugged Ji one last time, and stepped through the portal to whatever waited on the other side. Behind Jayden the portal closed, and Ji said a mental prayer for Jayden as he went upstairs to eat his breakfast.
Meanwhile, Jayden emerged from the portal moments later. Whereas the sun was rising on the West Coast, it had clearly been up for a couple of hours here.
The ground he landed on was very, very rocky and he literally had no idea where to go and there appeared to be nothing or no one there on his arrival. Searching once again inside his heart for the power he knew was there, he sought some guidance, and when he had it, he trudged off to his right.
Little did he know that he was being watched by a curious green owl perched high above a cliff, in fact the very cliff he was standing below. If he'd have looked up, he may have taken notice.
That very owl reached for the communication device near her and pressed a button.
"Alpha, he's here," the voice, clearly female, said. "Activate one of the practice battle scenarios we created. I wish to see how far along Jayden is, and then I will confront him."
"You got it, Dulcea," the robotic voice from the other end said. "Activating now."
Meanwhile, back below the cliff, Jayden continued walking towards his right. He'd barely gotten ten more feet when suddenly a cawing filled the sky. Jayden suddenly looked up and saw a fleet of purple colored birds heading his way.
Tenga Warriors.
"Deja vu," Jayden said, recalling his conversation with Tommy about his trip to Phaedos 17 years ago and what happened when they got there. Ivan Ooze was allegedly dead, so this had to have been planned by somebody.
A garbled noise then reached his ears, and he turned to his left to see a group of clay creatures with Z's on their chest.
Zedd's Putty Patrollers.
But he was good now too, so obviously somebody planned this.
"Come on. Bring it," Jayden called, beckoning the two groups of foot soldiers to come his way and they instantly responded.
Jayden then went right to work; as two Putty Patrollers neared him he channeled the fire that was inside him (Tommy had begun to teach him about that when he visited the Shiba house), allowing two fireballs to magically appear in his hands. He tossed the fireballs at the Putties nearing him, and the second they made contact the Putties instantly burned into nothing more than two piles of ash.
The Tengas then descended on him, but were rudely met with rapid punches to the face. Jayden then took out his sword that he always carried with him. He used his sword to, literally, chop three Tengas' heads off, and he then transformed into a fireball and barreled right through three others, incinerating them instantly.
The carnage continued for 20 minutes; every single Putty and Tenga attempted to come at him, and all were met with the same fate.
Then, suddenly, what was remaining of all the footsoldiers disappeared, and he was left alone again. The stench of blood and burning fire that he'd created remained though. It was a nasty stench, and he had to hold his nose a bit as he sheathed his sword.
"Very impressive performance, young Phoenix. You are somewhat further along than expected," came a voice with an alluring female accent. Before he knew it, a small owl flew down on a rock in front of him, and in a flash of light transformed into a tall, well built female warrior with a mass of bronze hair.
She was dressed decidedly different than she was the last time the Rangers had been here; the green bikini had been replaced by a green robe similar to what the Ninjetti wore.
"Dulcea," Jayden said, recognizing the woman immediately from his father's DVD.
"Indeed I am, Jayden," Dulcea said as the age old warrior embraced the Phoenix-in-the-making. "Welcome to Phaedos. It was here during the fight with Ivan Ooze that I gave your father and mother their Ninjetti powers, and it's where I found out your parents were pregnant with you. I have waited for this day for many years."
"What just happened...that wasn't Zedd, Rita or Ivan, was it? I'm just making sure," Jayden said.
"No it wasn't. That was one of many practice programs created by Alpha 5, Zordon's robotic assistant, and myself that was designed to test those such as yourselves who wish to acquire the Great Power. I simply wished to see how far along you are," Dulcea said.
"You are further along than I imagined, which is a good thing," Dulcea added. "Now, come with me. Let us go take the next step in acquiring your powers. There are others here as well who wish to see you."
With that Dulcea slipped her arm around Jayden, trying to make him feel comfortable, and the two headed off towards the Ancient Ruins.
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