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 when Jayden leads Rangers old and new into a fight for Earth's survival...with his corrupted mother. In this chapter, the Samurai Rangers, from varying locations, watch Kevin compete in the London Olympics, and Jayden admits his love for Mia, continues in his new life and comes upon some new revelations. Warning: Jaymia in this chapter right off the bat.

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. This is my holiday present to all my readers. Happy Holidays no matter what you celebrate.

Chapter 9: Taking Flight Part II

Sunday, July 29, 2012

The Shiba House

Panorama City, CA

When news got out that a former Ranger was competing at the Olympic level in any sport, no matter who it was, everyone generally stopped what they were doing.

Especially when said Ranger, Kevin Hill, was rubbing shoulders with Olympic legends such as Ryan Lochte and Michael Phelps.

Two months earlier, Kevin was saving lives as a Power Ranger. Now, he was in speedos, continents away and he was part of another team. The United States Olympic Swimming Team and today, he was competing in the 4X100 freestyle relay. He would be competing in other events also but this was one all the Samurai team was waiting to see.

Jayden was pissed that he was forced to go back to the Shiba house to watch the events, but Dulcea had forbade him from watching it anywhere else. In her view, it would have aroused suspicion that something was different about Jayden and Dulcea didn't want the rest of the Samurai team outside Lauren to know about what was coming before they needed to.

In other words, she said, they needed time off. Jayden was pissed about it, but he agreed.

With Jayden back in his old stomping grounds, six of the seven Samurai Rangers were all on their Samuraizers chattering. Lauren and Antonio were doing this chat from the Gulf of Mexico just off the coast of Texas. By the way Lauren talked she couldn't wait to leave that part of the world.

Jayden shrugged nonchalantly at that; it was expected. Oppressively hot and humid climates, which was what the Gulf region was during the summer, did not appeal to Lauren. Still, she braved it for Antonio's sake.

Emily had not changed much in the two months since Xandred's defeat; her upbeat nature was still in place. It was Mike that had changed. He was a lot more serious now than he used to be and with good reason.

Shortly after Mike went to be with Emily, he'd found out his brother was in the United States Army and was overseas in the Middle East. That put a whole new light on things, and while Mike continued to live his life he was a lot more serious now than he used to be with his brother's life on the line every day.

And then there was Mia. Dear, sweet Mia.

She was briefly back him with her mother, Makiko, who had donned the Pink Samurai spandex before her. In two weeks she'd be starting her new journey at Rocky's cooking school.

Jayden was happy for her, but still he was going to find a moment when Kevin's stuff was all over to somehow get Mia here. There was something he needed to tell her. He couldn't say much, but he needed to say at least one thing.

One hour later

"Well, it sucks that Kevin didn't make the finals, but that's a great accomplishment!" Emily beamed. Indeed, Kevin had made a good showing of himself. He wasn't going to compete past the prelims of this event (and it was near impossible since Lochte and Phelps would be on it), but he had made a good showing and was going to compete in further events.

Most of the Rangers had signed off to go on with their every day lives, but Jayden had asked Mia to stay on. Surprisingly, at least to Jayden, Mentor Ji had relented and allowed Jayden to do what he was planning to do; he had forbidden fraternization in the house when the team was fighting Xandred, but everyone was gone and on breaks now. As far as he was concerned, they could do what they pleased...within reason of course.

"You wanted to speak to me?" Mia said. "I'm assuming this is important if you asked me to stay on?"

"Yes, I do want to speak to you. Use your symbol power and teleport here please. This needs to be done in person," Jayden said. "It's important...to me at least."

Five minutes later, the former leader of the team that had sent the Nighlok packing for good was embracing his Pink teammate...a teammate that, she would soon find, was more valuable to her leader than she ever imagined.

"Mia, I'm going to cut right to the chase," Jayden said. "I admit, here and now, I made a mistake when we were fighting the Nighlok. I missed the boat on something that was way more important than any battle, anything we ever did, etc."

"Mia Watanabe, I have no clue how you feel about me but I love you more than anything in this world, and if you were in danger of losing your life, I'd risk everything to go save you," Jayden said.

Mia let the tears flow from her eyes. This was worth coming back, at least briefly, for. Finally, her over-serious leader had let the cat out of the bag.

"I've thought this ever since the fiasco where the brides of Panorama City got kidnapped, but I couldn't say it because Ji wouldn't let us fraternize in the house and because we had an enemy to defeat," Jayden said.

"You goofball, you could have at least said something!" Mia said, smacking his arm playfully, still shaking at this revelation. "I loved you from the moment I laid eyes on you. Well before said incident."

"I almost risked everything for Emily during the Splitface fight, but if you were the one in danger I would have gone in no questions asked," Jayden said. "No one could have stopped me."

Jayden paused for a few moments before looking at Mia seriously again. He could at least tell her this, though he couldn't say any more.

As he was about to speak, she looked at him closely and noticed something...different about Jayden.

She couldn't put her finger on what was going on, but he was decidedly different than when she'd last seen him. Before she could say any more, she was cut off.

"Mia, there's one more thing I want you to do," Jayden said.

"What's that?"

"Be prepared and don't put your Samuraizer away completely," Jayden said. "One day, we'll have to save the world again."

"And you know this...how? The Nighlok are gone," Mia said.

"They may be gone but evil never rests and there are a lot worse out there than them," Jayden said.

"Yeah, Lothor was no picnic, Cam and the guys talk about him all the time," Mia said.

Jayden nodded, but left what he really wanted to say unsaid.

That being, he wished it was Lothor that they would face next. After all, his mother had kicked Lothor's ass twice so how difficult was he really?

"Just please, keep your Samuraizer ready. When evil strikes, we need to be ready to fight. Go on with your life, but stay sharp and stay ready," Jayden said.

"OK, I will. I should probably get back, Mom was making dinner," Mia said.

Jayden formed a small smile; her family was really important to her which was partially what drew him to her.

"Until we meet again, Mia, remember...I'll always love you," Jayden said. "Rangers together..."

"Lovers forever."

Eltarian Capital City

Same Time

Of course, what was left of Jayden's mother had sensed the whole thing unfolding. She knew it would be a special day simply because a Power Ranger was getting ready to compete at a level she once had dreams of competing at.

But she hadn't been prepared for that. Her sweet, darling child had admitted he loved someone. A Pink no less.

She was happy for him although it irritated her that Jayden and Mia had done the same thing she and Tommy did back in the day. Basically, they tap danced around each other but this was for about a year and a half.

Granted, Mentor Ji had rules, and she respected that. One of which was no fraternization in the house. In her day, Zordon had been a lot more lenient with what was acceptable behavior. As long as the team followed Zordon's three rules they were fine.

She appreciated Ji putting his foot down because she didn't want the same thing happening to Jayden and Mia that she and Tommy did, but in her opinion it had hurt the team even though they won against Xandred, and it hurt her son mentally as well. And she never wanted her son to be limited in his abilities.

Better late than never, though, she thought.

Of course, when the bullets really started flying, she was sure her evil half would find out that Mia was Jayden's weakness. She privately said prayers most days for Mia because when her evil half found out Jayden and Mia were lovers, Mia was going to get tortured.

That was for later though. Today had been a special day.

Monday, July 30, 2012

Phaedos

As she watched Jayden continue to train in combat, Dulcea nodded, pleased with how he was coming along. She could also see he was more relaxed than at any time since he'd come to Phaedos to get ready for the impending battle that was coming. That was a good thing.

Today he was taking on his Uncle Andros and Aunt Ashley, and though he couldn't gain an upper hand on the veteran Rangers, clearly he wasn't expecting himself to; after all, they were the last of Zordon's era. Jayden had figured out a while ago that he didn't need to outduel Rangers in combat, just needed to hold his own and do so without exerting himself too much. Clearly, he was demonstrating that ability.

He was tired and had taken a beating, but so had his opponents. Dulcea could see Jayden preparing to square off against his two opponents again, but Dulcea decided that she didn't need to see any more today.

"Enough!" Dulcea barked; immediately, the three Rangers present turned to the Master Warrior.

"Good job, all of you," Dulcea said. "Andros, Ashley, you are excused. I wish to have a few moments privately with Jayden."

"Yes, ma'am," Andros said; a few moments later, the two were teleported back to Angel Grove to resume their daily lives.

Dulcea smiled at Jayden once she had him alone; it wouldn't be long before he would be able to face her and possibly go on his quest for his powers.

"That was your best effort yet, young Phoenix," Dulcea said. "You seem more happy today than at any point since you started training here. Want to talk about it?"

Jayden hadn't expected that question, not at that moment. Still, he composed himself enough to form a response.

"It's...I love someone...one of my former teammates...I finally told her last night after we watched Kevin in the Olympics..." Jayden said.

"It's your Pink teammate, isn't it?" Dulcea said. It was more of a response than a question. Jayden was flabbergasted. The Great Power really was beyond his wildest comprehension. Otherwise there was no way Dulcea could know he was in love with Mia.

"Yes, it is," Jayden said. "We danced around each other for a year and a half. Sadly, that's my fault."

"Not all of it is," Dulcea said. "After all, you couldn't be together in the Shiba house could you?"

"Not really. Ji put his foot down pretty much from day one on that," Jayden said.

"I will have a talk with him about that, Jayden. That was a mistake. He did it with the Samurai predecessors too and I thought it was a mistake then as well," Dulcea said. "It's normal to be in love with someone; it's wrong to at least not say it."

"You're not concerned about her at all, are you?" Dulcea said.

"Not really. Maybe I'm not as worried as I should be but I know Mia. She's a tough customer," Jayden said. "She can give as well as take. When the going gets tough, I know she'll come through."

"She will be an invaluable asset to you in this war...and she could also be your greatest weakness," Dulcea said.

Jayden's face formed a look of confusion, which was the signal for Dulcea to continue with her point.

"Once this battle starts and you claim your powers, Flammia will realize that her army cannot match you physically so she'll try and break you down mentally," Dulcea said. "That's where Mia comes in."

"It's tried and true throughout every team in history," another voice, clearly female, said. "Zeddy here and I tried that many times with your mother and your father."

From the shadows, two figures came forth. One, clearly female, was dressed in a white robe. Jayden could sense an aura of wisdom within her that had come with experience. The other, he could tell from the red shirt, had been the former Emperor of Evil once upon a time.

"Ah, Zedd, Rita, I had not expected you to show up today," Dulcea said.

"Yeah, today's pretty boring, so we decided to come see the Phoenix in action," Rita said. "Hi, Jayden, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Rita, also known as the Mystic Mother, and this is my husband Zedd. He was once Lord Zedd, but hasn't been since Zordon's wave."

"Dad told me about you two in the video. He said you guys carry wisdom and knowledge with you from your experiences," Jayden said. "Pleased to meet you."

"It's a pleasure to meet the one who will save the world and bring his family back together," Zedd said. Jayden could barely hide his surprise. These two obviously knew a lot and they had surpreme confidence in him.

"We're here to talk to you today about Pinks and how they can become your weakness, and specifically Mia," Rita said. "Jayden, it's easy to say you trust Mia now, but I'm here to tell you things will get really tough for her once this battle starts."

"She will need you more than ever," Zedd said. "She can handle herself, but there will be days where she gets the crap beat out of her."

"When we were married, we targeted your mother. A lot. She was your father's weakness because he would do anything to save her," Rita said. "When you were about two months old, Kat, before she became a Ranger, stole Kim's power coin at our bidding. The plan was to use Kim as ransom to make the Rangers fight with the Shogunzords, which we controlled at the time."

"Your father...actually came to my Dark Dimenson...and beat me," Zedd said. "In single combat. He risked everything to save your mother."

"The point we're trying to make to you is this, Jayden," Rita said. "There's no doubt Mia is a tough customer and can handle herself but when this battle starts, she will be in for some tough days ahead. I cannot say whether Mia will be used as an evil warrior against you, but I am quite sure Flammia will attempt to use her as blackmail at the very least."

"You say you trust her, but there will be days ahead where you will have to fight the urge to go rescue her all by yourself," Zedd added. "She can be used as bait to destroy you in any number of ways."

Jayden mutely nodded; he fully understood now.

When he got his powers, he was going to be awesome physically. But his mental state and how he responded to certain situations could very well be a deciding factor in the outcome of this war.

"Before we adjourn, I have a question I want to ask all of you," Jayden said. "Some weeks ago I was visited by Mom and Dad's spirit animals. That visit by the way is what prompted me to move in with Dad. In that visit they said that even if I stayed at the Shiba house I wouldn't be there long."

"What did they mean by that? Is something going to happen there that I don't want to know about?"

Now it was Zedd, Rita and Dulcea's turn to be surprised. If they thought Jayden would ask any question, it would be about Deker and Cole. Not about this.

Jayden saw the trio huddle up briefly, and Dulcea nod her head. He suspected he was going to get his answer soon, and he was right.

"Nothing is going to happen to the Shiba house; that place will always be protected no matter what. In fact, the meaning is quite positive for you and all Rangers. What they meant was this," Dulcea said. "If you can reach your morpher and your powers, not only will you gain control of the powers I have mentioned to you, but the destruction of the Power Chamber by Divatox will be reversed."

"Only it will be made better," Rita said. "The new Ranger Chamber of Command, as it will be if you reach your powers, will have eight or nine levels. On those levels will include a mess hall, living quarters, a state of the art workout area and pool, meeting room that will be just like the room the Rangers met in at the old Command Center but will be up to date, and much more."

"in addition, your Phoenix powers will provide the Chamber with the ultimate protection," Zedd added. "No force of evil and no government official will be able to enter the new Chamber of Command."

"Good," Jayden said bluntly. "That's all we need is the government in DC up in our business."

"When I asked Dad about this question, he seemed to know nothing about it. Is he feigning ignorance or does he really not know?" Jayden said.

"You are the first to know, aside from those of us insiders who know what's going to happen when you get your powers," Dulcea said.

"I suppose I should be heading back," Jayden said. "Dad's going to be worried I'm staying too long. Zedd, Rita, good to meet you."

"I am pleased and honored to meet the mighty Phoenix," Rita said. "May the Power protect you, Jayden."

Sunday, August 5, 2012

3:30 p.m local time

Silver Hills, CA

The last week, at times, had been very rewarding for Jayden, and at times, very difficult.

It was hard not to pay attention to the Olympics; they were on everywhere one looked it seemed. And for those who didn't watch it, there were about a million apps for the Games as well.

And while he was happy for Kevin's success in the swimming sector, it was hard for Jayden not to watch the gymnastics and get misty-eyed.

If fate had been a little kinder, damn it, his mother could have been maybe the coach of the US team these days. What could have been.

That said, the week had been very rewarding. He was still on schedule as far as getting his powers. In addition, Miss Appleby was working him over good on GED material, but he was proving he was a fast learner in that regard too. Miss Appleby loved working with him and cursed the fates every day that he hadn't had the life normal kids had.

There was a lot of gymnastics at the Olympics that was on that day, so Wes and Jen had opted to come and spoil Jayden for the day. Kat and Jason would have, but Kat was in New York preparing for a show.

Jen especially loved spoiling her nieces and nephews and Jayden was no exception. Anything he wanted, he got. So when Jayden said he wanted a day at the amusement park, Jen readily agreed, laughing a bit as she did so considering how Jayden didn't go to the amusement park with his team that one time a couple of years ago. Silver Hills had a big amusement park, one of the biggest in the state, so it was perfect.

It was a much needed day of fun for her and Wes too. In addition to taking care of their children, Amber and Schuyler, or Sky as he liked to be called, both had been really busy at work.

Curretnly they were on one of the two biggest roller coasters in the park, but Jayden considered it more of a thrill ride and a rush than a dance with death. Compared to the life and death scenarios he had faced and would face, this was trivial and fun.

"How are you feeling?" Jen asked after the ride finally came to a stop.

"Like that was fun and that I'm ready for more. I could use something to eat though," Jayden said.

"I could too; see, there's an ice cream stand over there," Jen said. "Let's go get something."

She jogged off towards the stand and Jayden, laughing inside, followed her over.

As the group of five, two adults, one teen and two kids, sat down to eat following their orders, Jayden looked at Wes and Jen with admiration. Clearly, they were one big happy family and that's exactly what he wanted.

"I can't thank you guys enough," Jayden said as he put an arm around the two former Time Force Rangers. "I needed this day and obviously you guys wanted this day for me too."

"We love you Jayden, LOVE you," Jen responded, hugging him tightly as she did so. "I love all my nieces and nephews and so does Wes but none more so than you. That fate prevented you from having a family in the first place is terrible and we'll do all way can to help you rectify that situation."

"We'll always be here for you, Jayden, as will every one of our brothers and sisters," Wes said.

"Yeah!" Amber squealed in a cute, five year old voice.

"Come here, you guys," Jayden said as Amber and Sky held him tight. Jayden continued to eat his ice cream, being careful not to spill it on the two kids. Then again, with the way their family operated they'd probably forgive him even if he did spill ice cream.

It was a day of fun that was sorely needed, because the battle and much more difficult times were fast approaching.

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