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. In this chapter, Jayden begins his Ninjetti training.
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 7: Winged Prince
June 4, 2012
The Ninjetti Temple
Phaedos
As Dulcea led him along towards the Ninjetti Temple, Jayden gasped at the beautiful scenery. There was a lot he didn't know about this planet, he was sure, but he still marveled at his surroundings.
"It's so serene here," Jayden breathed. "I can feel a sense of peace here. Like nothing can bother me, that this is where I'm supposed to be."
"Once upon a time this used to be a thriving planet, many, many thousands of years ago," Dulcea said. "Wars and attrition have reduced this planet to what it is today."
"It is a beautiful place, but I wish my people were here with me today. In the last number of years, your father and his brothers and sisters in battle have become the closest thing to a family that I have," Dulcea said.
As the two continued to walk along, a question came back into Jayden's mind. He'd been wanting to ask but kept forgetting to.
"Dulcea I have a question," Jayden said. "During our fight as Samurai Rangers, we had a fight against a Nighlok called Splitface. He took Emily's soul, and if it hadn't been for a miracle created by our Gold Ranger Emily's soul would have been gone forever."
"Before Antonio saved her, I proposed to go into the Netherworld, where normally no human survives without becoming Nighlok," Jayden said. "Is it possible, with the Phoenix in me, that I would have survived in there?"
"You could have, but we thought it was a big risk for you to have your powers awaken then," Dulcea said. Jayden couldn't argue with that; if his powers had manifested then, it would have thrown everything out of whack. Every single evil entity would have tried to destroy him, not just the Nighlok.
"But could you have survived, yes. Had you gone in there, you would have stood a chance because the powers of the Phoenix are greater than the powers of the Sanzu River. But at that point, I deemed it too risky and so did your father."
20 minutes later, Dulcea and the newest Ninjetti-to-be arrived at the Temple; the moment they stepped foot on Temple grounds, they were greeted by the arrival of a small robot, with a red chest plate and a yellow lightning bolt down the center of it.
"Hooray, the moment has finally arrived," the robot spoke, which flabbergasted Jayden slightly. "Greetings, Jayden, this is the first time I have seen you since you were born nearly 17 years ago. My name is Alpha 5 and in a previous life, I was Zordon's lifetime friend and assistant in Earth's old Command Center where you were born."
"Dad told me about how important your role was back in the day, but you'll have to excuse me if I'm slightly flabbergasted that I'm listening to a talking robot," Jayden said, laughing slightly. "In my time as a Samurai Ranger, we never had anything close to that level of weird."
"Believe me, your father and his friends thought the same thing when they first met Zordon and I," Alpha said. "That includes this man, the Lone Ranger of your father's old teammates who you haven't met yet. Come on out."
From the shadows of the Temple stepped a young, 30 something year old man with sandy brown hair that had partial streaks of blond in it thanks to the time he had spent with the Aquitians.
The years had changed him as much as any of Zordon's Rangers. The shy kid who would have had trouble beating Bulk and Skull in a fight was unrecognizable. The man that stood in his place well toned, all muscle and looked like he could beat anyone including the guys.
With every step he took, his pace quickened. Before he knew it, Jayden was being pulled into an airtight bear hug. If possible, it rivaled the one his father had given him a week or so ago.
"Let me breathe...please..." Jayden mouthed.
"Oh, uh, affirmitive," Billy Cranston said as he let his nephew go. "I realize that your father did this a week or so ago, but you just don't realize what this means to all of us, especially those who grew up with your father."
"There were times, when the universe was being conquered planet by planet, that I wondered if your mother's evil half would find out about you and destroy you before you were ready. Many of us feared for your safety while you were growing up," Billy said.
"Yeah, if only it weren't for the prophecy," Jayden said, making a face as he did so. "And if it weren't for a specific person who would have wanted Mom to kill me before I was born."
"Don't get me started on that, I hate her too," Billy said. "I will teach you how to give her a little message in our own special way later. For now though, I will leave things up to Dulcea. Congrats on being one step closer to fulfilling your destiny."
With that, Billy and Alpha left, leaving Jayden and Dulcea alone on opposite sides of a fire pit.
"Like I have said, you are somewhat further along than I expected you to be," Dulcea said. "This is because you are allowing the powers to become one with you at a very fast rate. Still, I must perform the ritual as usual."
"Within each of us, Jayden, is an animal spirit waiting to be released. Close your eyes and look deep inside of yourself," Dulcea said. "Allow the animal spirit inside of you to be released."
The flames rose high into the air, and the fire that would have consumed most individuals was like second nature to Jayden. It was a warm feeling that seemed to give him unending strength.
When it was all over, Jayden opened his eyes and found himself dressed in a crimson robe much like the previous Ninjetti who had come here. The medallion on his chest had the emblem of a Phoenix on it, as expected, but that wasn't all.
Not only that, the power that was coursing through him was unbelievable! Lauren hadn't been kidding when she said this power made the Samurai powers seem tame by comparison. The Samuraizers were powerful, but nothing like this!
"Jayden David Oliver, you are now the flaming, majestic Phoenix. The Winged Prince of the Skies, the one who will save your world and, if all goes well, your family," Dulcea said. "I would like to make you aware of something."
Dulcea gently felt his robe until she found what she was looking for; the medallion in the center.
Using her magic, she was able to turn it so Jayden could look down just enough at it to see what she was looking at.
"As you might expect, there is the emblem of a Phoenix on this medallion. But take a look at what else is on it," Dulcea said.
Once Jayden saw what she was looking at, he gasped in surprise.
There, flanking either side of the big, majestic Phoenix, were a Falcon on the left, and a Crane on the right. Truly, to him, that symbolized what love was all about. Even though this family was apart, they had his best interests at heart.
Jayden's eyes misted over. The family that should have been, had been torn apart. In his heart, he knew that wouldn't last forever.
"Now, I would like to inform you of some added powers that will be bestowed on you once you claim your morpher," Dulcea said. "Your Phoenix Ninjetti Zord, quite possibly the most powerful Zord in existence, will not be the only Zord you possess."
Dulcea called forth an image in which several different Zords were displayed; a green robotic dragon seen rising up out of a harbor, a pink-colored firebird, a white colored tiger, a pink crane, a white falcon, a white robotic Shogun based Zord, a red battle machine with a star on its head, a red colored car, and a huge black Brachiosaurus themed machine.
"Because you are the son of the two greatest Rangers in existence, your Phoenix morpher comes with a unique power. When you touch that morpher, you will automatically gain control over each of the Zords your parents possessed. The White Tiger Thunderzord and the Pink Firebird Thunderzord were destroyed in a previous battle but if you reach that morpher, their destruction will be reversed," Dulcea said. Jayden's eyes widened in shock.
"All of them? No way," Jayden said.
"Like I said, you aren't the Winged Prince of the Skies for nothing," Dulcea said. "This is the most powerful Ranger power in existence."
"It'll be a long time before I can even have a chance to reach that morpher, correct? I mean, something that powerful doesn't come easy," Jayden said.
Dulcea was speechless; usually Rangers who received a power like this were too eager to go claim it.
"I wish I could tell you it will be easy to claim that morpher, but your quest will be arduous and you are not ready as yet to go on that quest," Dulcea said. "Your parents and their friends had it tough enough getting to their powers. Your quest will be twice as difficult."
"How close am I?"
"Further along than expected but you still have a ways to go. To be able to go on your quest eventually, you will have to get to the point where you can face me in combat and fight effectively," Dulcea said.
Jayden gulped. He knew he wasn't ready to do that yet. Dulcea's mental state was at peak performance, he could tell, and while he was in a good spot, there was little doubt in his mind that he would be outclassed right now.
"I would however, like to see you in action a little more. To see just a bit more of how far along you are," Dulcea said. "That said, I won't be choosing your opponent this time. You will."
"You can pick anyone off the Ranger roster, from the first team to any of your Samurai teammates," Dulcea said. "I will very soon extend that option to all Ranger mentors and allies except for those who are in captivity."
Jayden then composed himself, sat down on a boulder for 20 minutes and thought of who he might want to face. Finally, he had his answer and whistled to get Dulcea's attention.
He noticed that Billy had come back out and was standing next to Dulcea. He thought for a moment about choosing Billy, but no he decided, that would be the easy way out. It may show favoritism too.
"I'm going to go with someone you may not expect," Jayden said. "I'm going to choose someone who controls the opposite element of mine."
"I'm going to choose someone who is a Ninja and a trained Sensei. I'm going to choose someone who is the only female on a team of all guys."
Billy and Dulcea looked at each other. They knew who he was talking about but this was a surprise.
"I know it's gonna upset Hunter, but I select cousin Tori as today's chosen opponent."
"I'll put out the call," Billy said, as he waved to Jayden. "Good luck."
"I'm surprised you chose her. It's a good choice but I'd love to hear your reasoning," Dulcea said.
"One because she is experienced and actively uses her Ninja powers most days in her training. Second, I don't want to pick one of my Uncles except on a weekend because I know they have jobs and lives to live. Third, her water power is an effective opposite to my powers. Finally, if I show favoritism to the older teams, that won't look good," Jayden said. "Certain teams will take center stage in the final battle but I'm going to need every team to win."
"You really put some thought into that. I have said you have a ways to go and you do, but I think you are on your way and I believe that you will fulfill your dream eventually," Dulcea said.
Two Hours Later
Jayden's body was soaked from head to toe and not only that, he was sore.
He knew there was no way he could fight Dulcea at this point after fighting Tori for two hours.
Every part of his power that he knew about, he'd tried. Aside from a few promising counter-attacks, the tall blonde surfer and seasoned Wind Ninja had outclassed him. Knew exactly what he was going to do before he did it. Not only that, she'd dictated everything in that sparring match.
"Here, let me help you up," Tori said. "You're pretty sore. Expended a lot of energy today."
"At least I know exactly where I stand," Jayden said. "But geez that was painful. Nothing I did worked."
"You simply need more experience, more time with your powers," Tori said. "That's really what it comes down to. I've been doing this for nearly a decade and I've been here to Phaedos to train against Dulcea. Your powers just now awakened and you are at essentially a novice level of Ninjetti."
"The one thing I would suggest to you though is be aggressive and take chances. Don't be predictable," Tori said. "I knew this would happen because you're a novice, but I could see your attacks coming before they happened. Be creative. You're the one that has little to lose."
"Do you know how I ended up with Hunter?" Tori continued.
"Yes, enlighten me because from what Dad told me on that DVD, you had a thing for Blake at one point," Jayden said.
"I'll be honest, I could never have seen myself going out with Hunter before our team broke up after we beat Lothor," Tori said. "I was in the dumps for close to a year and a half after our team went our separate ways. Blake was on his motocross tour and wasn't showing a sign of coming back."
"Except for when Mesogog teamed up with Lothor," Jayden said.
"Yeah, don't remind me," Tori said, making a face. "Blake was gone but Hunter stayed to run the Thunder Ninja Academy and our schools became real close. I learned as time went on that female Rangers tend to become really close to Red designations and there was something about Hunter that I couldn't put my finger on."
"I took a chance in early 2005 and went out with him one night. Never been more love struck ever, and never ever looked back," Tori said. "Was Blake upset when he found out, sure but I think he knew he messed up when he didn't actively pursue me when we were Rangers."
"The point is, doin't be afraid to take chances?" Jayden said.
"Yes, very much so. Your father fought Lord Zedd one time to save your mother, right before she left the team," Tori said.
Today had been a humbling experience, but Jayden wasn't the least bit deterred.
He would get better, get more creative, and when he did, these experiences would be far less frequent.
The Netherworld
Same Time
When a major event like a Ranger's animal spirit awakening happens, it's not just those on the side of good that notice.
No, those who were evil notice too.
Master Xandred was no long alive, but some of his minions and Nighloks remained. Most notably, Octoroo.
Octoroo recalled that Dayu had said there was something else to that Red Ranger "impostor" Jayden or whatever his name was. It turned out, she was right.
That same Octoroo was standing next to Fiera, the bird-like female Nighlok who had beat the crap out of Jayden just three weeks earlier, and the insane Madimot, the insane Nighlok who had made Jayden fight Kevin. They could all feel the fluctuations in the Grid. Everyone could. Only this was something beyond their wildest dreams.
No one thought that impostor Red Ranger would end up being the legendary Phoenix Ninjetti.
Yet they could all see the images. They could see that impostor former Red Ranger, in possession of the Great Power to an extent, sparring with a past Ninja, Tori Hanson-Bradley.
He was getting his butt kicked, but every one of the Nighloks watching knew damn good and well that it wasn't for lack of trying. That the only thing he lacked was experience in using his power. The Ranger he was facing was a seasoned Ninja who knew everything about her abilities and about being a Ranger.
Everyone knew the prophecy. If the Phoenix powers were awakening in the former Red Samurai Ranger, then all of them knew what was coming next.
"I remember when you sent me out there to fight him," Fiera said, looking pointedly at Octoroo. "When I fought him, I half thought I couldn't destroy him because he isn't a Shiba, and the other part of me was asking what sort of freak is this guy?"
"It turns out he was much more of a freak than I could ever imagine. The legendary Phoenix Ninjetti, wow," Fiera finished. "You know what this means, don't you?"
"Ooh ah ooh, yes indeed. One day Flammia's army will come and once that Red Ranger fully claims his powers it will be a fight to remember," Octoroo said. "Ooh ah ooh, I'm glad I'm not going to bet my Zenematars on who wins that one."
"I made a mistake," Madimot said. "I should have thought to turn that Red Ranger evil and bring him here. Imagine the powers of a Red Samurai Ranger and a Ninjetti Ranger all at the same time."
"You couldn't have, even if you tried," Fiera said. "Don't feel so bad. The Phoenix Ninjetti's parents were both evil and one still is. Because both of his parents were evil, the powers of the Sanzu would not have corrupted him."
"I guess in this case, two wrongs do make a right," Madimot said silently.
Eltarian Capital City
Same Time
And if Xandred's merry band of misfits could feel the fluctuations in the Grid, then those who followed the Great Flame of Destruction could feel it too.
In fact, that's what Queen Flammia and her top general were discussing right now. Flammia's prized battle machine had been completed just a few days ago, but all the good feelings from that were gone thanks to what she felt in the Grid.
"I don't know how this is possible, Scorpina," Queen Flammia ranted. "We saw a Phoenix power emerge back in 2006. That Nick Russell or whatever his name was."
"The Light, you mean," Scorpina said. "The one who helped defeat Octomus."
"Yes, that one," Flammia said, clearly flustered. "So what is ANOTHER Phoenix power doing out there?"
It was a good question, and one that Scorpina didn't have a good answer for. Like most, she'd fallen for the thought that Nick Russell was the real Phoenix, the one the Phoenix prophecy talked about. That anyone who'd destroyed someone who had any connection to Maligore, much less Octomus, was the chosen one.
In addition, up until now, there had been no indications that there was another Ninjetti waiting to be born. Yet, they could feel the fluctuations in the Grid. The side of good was becoming stronger because of a Phoenix Ninjetti that was awakening.
"All I know is this," Flammia said. "If this recent power turns out to be the real Phoenix, and not Nick Russell, then I will be so pissed I can't see straight!"
Scorpina wisely left; she was Flammia's closest confidant, but even she knew she wasn't safe as long as her mistress was this angry.
"Not to mention that little insignificant Crane power is growing stronger by the day," Flammia said. "That little insignificant wench is hiding something from me!"
"What are you hiding, Kimberly Ann Hart? What are you keeping from me?" Flammia growled to herself.
'Oh you're just now figuring out that I've been conserving myself and hiding something from you?' the perky voice of the woman that used to be filtered in Flammia's head. 'Congratulations, fire woman, after 15 years you figure out I've been hiding something from you. Someone give that woman a prize!'
"Spit it out you insignificant pitiful woman!" Flammia roared as if talking to herself. The Maligore side of Kimberly was fast losing composure. "I will not be bested by a washed up former Ranger who allowed me to take her body so easily!"
'First of all, take some of the attitude out of your voice when you talk to me. Without me as a vessel you don't have a chance to live. As far as what I'm hiding...wouldn't you like to know? Too bad I'm not going to spit it out. Have fun finding out some day soon.'
Flammia ranted and raved; she wanted action so bad but she was stuck. Earth was protected, so was Phaedos, so was Aquitar. And the insignificant little Crane was unwilling to give up her secret. Probably for her own amusement.
"Mark my words, little Crane, one day I will destroy what's left of you and I will take all that you hold dear! You will be sorry that you ever kept something from me!" Flammia roared, almost to herself.
And inside that body, the soul of Kimberly Ann Hart that still lived smiled from ear to ear. She could have told her Maligore side what she was hiding, but no, that would take away all the fun.
She was having so much fun seeing the Maligore side of her lose its mind and was going to have as much fun as she could with it.
That and the fact that Jayden was becoming more and more one with his powers made it a very good day.
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