A/N: A very pleasant Tuesday to all of you from the Lone Star State. 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. This particular chapter, Jayden is led like a lamb to his alleged slaughter in an arena full of monsters, but as this chapter will show, even in the mouth of hell, he is not without help.
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.
Chapter 19: Jayden in the Lion's Den Pt I
Saturday, October 6, 2012, in the wee hours of the morning
Lunar Palace, The Lower Dungeon
The first things that hit Jayden right in the face when he first came to out of his slumber were a couple of varying smells, one very noxious but one very fresh and warming.
The noxious smell was smoke, and it was coming from his cell. After a quick cursory glance, it didn't take long to figure out what it was.
The life force extractor...you know, the one that had been resuscitated by Flammia, Lauren and others and had Jayden's name written all over it was nothing but smoking ruins.
The other smell was five feet in front of him.
It was coming from a tray.
No way, Jayden thought.
It couldn't be food could it? Actually good food, not that awful gruel he'd had that had simply kept him alive?
Carefully he'd opened up the tray. Not only was it not gruel, it was all sorts of good food. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, some rolls, and lots and lots of water.
One of his favorites.
Then, he saw a note. He figured he'd better read it, whoever had taken the time to do this must really care about him. His eyes widened as he read every word.
Jayden,
It's me, Mom. Yeah, your real Mom. If you're reading this, I'm sure you're asking. Am I back to who I once was?
Kind of yes, and kind of no. Maligore still has a hold on me, even though it was was weakened by your friends and our family, but his hold is weakened, so I have a conscience for a short amount of time. Only a few hours at most, but it's enough.
In the short time I have, I had to make the most use of it. I wanted so badly to get your Morpher back to you, but I thought it was more important that you at least have your strength back. Those horrible monsters really did a number on you.
First of all, I destroyed that awful life force extractor which is probably why it smells like smoke in there. You won't have to worry about that anymore.
You need to eat this meal. Every bit of it. You need your strength to be ready for what is to come.
What's going to happen is they're going to take you to an arena, here on the moon, full of monsters. It truly is the lion's den, although I think you'll agree with me it's more palatable than Lauren trying to force herself on you. I will use my influence to make sure that does not happen.
I can almost assure that she'll bring your Morpher with you. She'll dare you to try and get through that pack of lions to get your powers back.
As such, you need to regain your strength. You'll need every bit of it.
By the way, I am very impressed with your friends. You have the greatest friends in the world. They grew and nurtured you into the man you are today. The man that I know will eventually lead the Power Rangers to victory.
PS - Tell your Aunt Kat I still love her like a sister no matter what. I couldn't have picked a better replacement and she proved it today.
Good luck, and as your deceased Uncle Zordon would say, May the Power protect you.
Love,
Mom
Jayden had tears in his eyes.
Even in his darkest hour, when he was about to go into a den with a wild pack of lions ready to chew him up and spit him out, his mother was still doing everything she could.
He had a plan too. Now he had the means to regain his strength and put it on the fast track. He didn't have to be told twice to eat, he was more hungry than Rocky and needed food and drink.
The food was good too. Damn good. It was one of the best meals he had anywhere in quite some time; Reefside, Chamber of Command, Shiba House, anywhere.
As he ate, he could feel the strength coming back to his body and felt the Phoenix go into a much more normal routine of healing his body.
There was one last thing he had to do, and as such, he put his communicator to his lips.
"J to R, come in," he said.
"Jay, dude, what's up? You hanging OK?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Took all the punishment they could dish but I'm still here. Thanks to my friends, and Mom. You still need to get back here, but the life force extractor isn't a factor anymore."
"Oh, thank God. That machine is horrible," the other man said. "Arena, then?"
"Yeah. You still have my pendant I got from Uncle David?"
"Right in my hand. I got what I needed too. With what I got, your sister won't be in their clutches much longer."
"Please, just hurry back, man. Time's running out," Jayden said.
"We're fine, Rangers always come through."
"I know. I probably better cut this off. See ya later," Jayden said.
"Right. Check you soon, man."
As the transmission ended, Jayden sighed in satisfaction.
One thing was for sure. When Flammia came back to get him to drag him to slaughter, she was going to get a nasty surprise.
Let them think they have it won, Jayden thought. He had other plans.
Several Hours Later
It felt good to be the Phoenix, and it felt good to be free. Kind of.
He wasn't all the way free, but he was a step closer.
He could hear the clanking, clattering of feet approaching the cell and knew his captors were coming to lead him to the slaughter. To the arena, where past monsters waited like ravenous dogs to end his dream.
But fate, and DNA were smiling upon him.
The first was fate. The cell he was in was chilly and the colder it got, the easier it was to snap his bonds. And he'd done so easily.
The second was DNA. The second he'd acquired the Phoenix Ninjetti morpher, he'd obtained the use of one of his father's old weapons from his Dino Gem.
Invisibility. It allowed him to hide, wherever he wanted, without anyone knowing where he was. The second he'd freed himself, he'd focused and activated that power.
Now all he needed to do was wait.
Standing in the shadows, he waited, crouched in position, as he saw the cell door swing open. All the big players were there, Lauren, Draco, Scorpina, Vipera, etc. except Flammia herself who was still recovering from what Kat did to her.
"Jayden, dear brother," the sing-song voice of his sister called. "I really wish this didn't have to end today, I wanted to have so much fun in bed with you. But by my Mistress decree..."
He suddenly saw Lauren stop short, eyes wide with shock, seeing Jayden was not there.
"Scorpina, come here," Lauren barked.
"What in the hell..." Scorpina muttered. "Draco, activate the alarm. We have a Crimson Ranger on the loose."
None of them saw a crimson blur come flying into the picture from out of nowhere and slam Lauren against the wall hard. Scorpina got a snap kick to the chin, and Draco felt his legs go out from under him as Jayden shimmered into view. Jayden then wasted no time in tossing all of them out of the cell into the hallway.
"Thought you had me, huh?" Jayden hissed as he looked as his opponents, who were just getting back to his feet. "It's gonna take a lot more than that."
"How in the world..." Lauren said. "You should be DEAD or close to it."
"I'm disappointed, Lauren. You know me better than anyone and you should know better than to underestimate me," Jayden said. Just then, he felt a shimmering in his own hand and breathed a sigh of relief.
His pendant, his necklace given to him by Uncle David, had been returned.
It helped on two fronts. First, it indicated that his rescuer was either here or would be here soon. He just needed to stall for a little time.
And he knew how that necklace could help him do it. He remembered, shortly after his 17th birthday, about what this special necklace could do, as it was told to him by the late Samuel Trueheart.
The words flashed over and over again in his mind.
'Any time this necklace is in your hand, you have the ability to call on any of the first six powers of the sacred animals your mother, your father and their team possessed if you need them, including your mother's. This can be wielded with or without a power coin, young Phoenix.'
He knew just what he had to do.
The thing was, he couldn't do it for very long, especially without his Power Coin. All he could do was stall for time. He'd have to demorph after a couple minutes but any time he could use up would be worth it.
"Play time's over dear sister. You too, Scorpina," Jayden said as he put his necklace back on
'Thank you, Rito,' he silently said.
"NINJA RANGER POWER! THE CRANE!" Jayden called. Instantly, the pink Ninjetti robes washed over him. It may have been the first time in history a male Ranger had ever worn a pink uniform.
"Impossible!" Scorpina shrieked. "Those powers don't exist anymore!"
"To those who possess the Great Power, Scorpina, anything is possible," Jayden said. "Now come on!"
"You want to play rough, you got it dear brother," Lauren said, as she pulled out her own Morpher. "Samuraizer. Go go Samurai."
Once Lauren morphed, she lashed out at Jayden and the fight was on. But he could see that Lauren was angry and frustrated, and could use that to his advantage. He sidestepped the attack, grabbed Lauren and hip tossed her into the hallway, just outside the entrance to the dungeon.
Scorpina tried to unleash her boomerang on Jayden, but a pink beam from Jayden's hands rebuffed the attack, sending Scorpina flying into the wall.
He knew then that was the extent of him being able to hold that morph, and quickly demorphed to save himself. Now, he was going to have to do his best without any sort of powers until he could get his Morpher (which was, he didn't doubt, somewhere in that arena) back.
He saw Lauren coming at him again, and just barely ducked the Spin Sword attack aimed for his head. A moment later and Lauren may have literally chopped his head off.
He gave it his best but the odds were too much, especially without his powers. The fight had drawn a commotion and soon he was outnumbered. He then felt himself being tied up, with Scorpina holding that rope as tight as she could, making sure he couldn't escape.
"Drag him to the arena!" Draco shouted. They did exactly that, dragging him through halls and beating him up frequently along the way.
"You may have escaped the torture of our cell, but what awaits you in that arena is hell on Earth for you, Phoenix Ranger!" Draco roared.
"I can't wait to see your demise, finally," Scorpina said. "You're nothing but a little gnat in our sides and what's coming up will prove that."
"You know, I thought you'd lose your confidence when we put you through that torture, but somehow or another you've regained your strength," Lauren said. "However, what's coming up next should make you very afraid."
"I'm not afraid to go against the odds," Jayden said. "If anyone should be afraid it's you and your new boss."
The talk unnerved Lauren a little bit, she had to admit. What in the world could he be talking about?
"Regardless, you are going to die today," Lauren said. "I am sad that it must come to this because there are things I've wanted to do with you, but orders from the boss dictate that you are going to die. Brutally."
The words were intimidating but Jayden knew he just had to let it be.
He'd done all he could to stall for time, but it was now or never.
'Come on, Rito,' he thought.
Little did he know that Rito had just arrived and seen the scuffle. Now he watched from the shadows, and making sure he stayed out of sight as much as possible, he closely followed Jayden towards the arena, waiting for his chance to strike just like he did when he destroyed the Thunder Zords all those years ago.
Meanwhile, Jayden was roughly thrown into the arena, causing a stir, and was quickly untied.
He shook himself awake and took stock of the situation. The odds were definitely not in his favor.
And at the far end of the arena, he saw it. His precious Morpher, encased on a pedestal in swirling crimson energy.
He definitely had his work cut out for him.
In the arena, these 200 or so monsters who were comprised from different eras of the Power Rangers spectrum (about 40 percent of them alone were from what was colloquially known as the Zordon era) were given the indication that they were going to have the opportunity to take some revenge.
But they didn't see Tommy, Kimberly (duh, she was evil now), or any of the Zordon era Rangers or any Rangers that mattered to them. So who the hell was this guy?
"That guy doesn't look very impressive," Pirantishead said to Robogoat and Stag Beetle as a commotion ensued.
"Keep on your guard," Stag Beetle said. "I have a funny feeling about this guy. He may be tougher than he looks."
"Oh please," Maronda, from the Lost Galaxy era, said. "I've handled Red Rangers before. That guy isn't even morphed!"
Suddenly, up on the top part of the circular arena, Flammia, clearly still not 100 percent from her encounter with Katherine, walked into view which drew raucous cheers from the gathered monsters.
"I promised you a major name today, and I'm not going to disappoint you, monsters of the past," Flammia said. "I didn't deliver you Dr. Oliver, or any of his friends, but you have the next best thing."
"Feast your eyes on the Phoenix Ninjetti, the son of the Falcon and Crane themselves. Also known as the former Red Samurai Ranger too...the first one. The only one that has kept me from my conquest of Earth so far," Flammia said. "Destroy this Ranger...and victory is ours."
That elicited cheers from everyone in the arena. All they had to do was kill this guy? That wasn't going to take more than five minutes!
Guys...he's all yours," Flammia said as she disappeared from sight.
The monsters prepared to charge their foe...except they suddenly didn't see him.
Jayden had taken the momentary distraction that Flammia had caused with her little spiel and activated his invisibility power once again.
"Watch out, he could be anywhere," Lauren Shiba said as she entered the arena, full view. "He did this on us earlier with a successful sneak attack."
For several minutes, no one could see him. Slowly, carefully, he crept towards the pedestal where his Morpher was. Because no one could see him, no one could attack him.
He was almost there, when his luck suddenly ran out.
"Nimrod, the pedestal, now! He's almost there!" Translucitor, from the Turbo era, said frantically. It made Lauren jump in shock too; Jayden was outnumbered muscle wise, but he'd out thought his opponents once again.
Unfortunately for Jayden, because Translucitor has the power of invisibility as well, he can see what others cannot. And as Jayden got closer and closer to his Morpher, the Power it attracted had got Translucitor's attention.
"Right," Nimrod said, as she charged her staff up without a moment's hesitation. Jayden had one hand on his Morpher until the blast struck him dead on, sending him flying 20 feet back and into view.
Unfortunately, 10 monsters, all from the Zedd and Rita era, were standing right where he landed back into view, and they were only too happy to gnaw on him like rabid dogs. They started kicking, punching and shoving him all while the rest of the monsters cheered and patted Translucitor on the back.
After one last kick from Fighting Flea sent Jayden crashing to the ground hard, with all those monsters, and those others watching, ready to finish him off as they stalked towards him.
"What should we do with him once he's finished?" Peckster said. "Do we keep him alive or not?"
"Mistress said to kill him, but I'm not so sure. He can be very valuable to us," Miss Chief said.
"That's very interesting, what do you have in mind?" Turbanshell said.
"Lauren had the right idea. I have a mind to make him fall in love with me. It would crush that Pink Samurai Ranger too."
"Me, fall in love with you? Ew, I'll pass on that," Jayden said.
"Maybe after I whip your ass you'll change your mind," Miss Chief smirked. As she was about to attack him with her shield weapon, suddenly, a huge explosion and a huge plume of smoke wafted through the arena. It was certainly a smoke bomb, but from who?
"No way," Jayden thought, but then he heard a voice.
"Jayden, dude I have your morpher. Here, catch!"
Sure enough, he saw the Phoenix Morpher coming his way and grabbed it without any effort at all.
"Thanks, Rito. Play time's over, Miss Chief and the rest of your minions. It's Morphin Time," Jayden said. "Crimson Ranger Power."
When the smoke finally cleared away to where everyone could see, Lauren and the rest of the monsters stood there in shock.
There was Jayden, fully morphed in his Ranger suit as if nothing had happened. What was worse, Rito, the human Rito not the idiot Rito, stood by his side.
"What's the plan?" Jayden whispered to Rito. "Do we try to get my sister back, destroy these guys, what?"
"As fun as it would be to see you destroy those morons, we have to book it. We have friends to rescue. If we rescue Lauren, fine but we have bigger fish to fry," Rito said. "I'll keep them busy. Go. I'll meet up with you soon."
Rito (who in his normal human form was actually a handsome, brown haired man who was a lot smarter than his alter ego) began to engage the monsters while Jayden made a break for the exit.
He was almost there when he suddenly stopped short. Of course. Lauren was blocking the way.
He was going to have to go through his sister, one more time.
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