A/N: A very pleasant Tuesday from the Great State of Texas. Welcome to the main event of the Project Phoenix series. As a disclaimer, this series is inspired by Kctimes2's The Adoption. Before reading this, you should read The Crane's Destructive Path and its accompanying one shot, Granted Wishes. Hope everyone is staying safe in the middle of the coronavirus. Cases are starting to rise again here in Houston and across the state, unfortunately. Seems like the fall wave of the virus has arrived.

A/N 2: It's party time. And it's a Thanksgiving, Ranger style. Part two.

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. Used to be Saban, then Disney, then Saban, now Hasbro owns them.

Chapter 38 - Generational Thanksgiving I

November 21, 2012

1492 Valencia Drive

Reefside, CA

It was now early afternoon on Thanksgiving Day, just a few days after Kimberly had been given back her freedom temporarily, and even though she had been away from Earth for many years and hadn't seen an American Thanksgiving, the feast that Rocky had prepared was incredible.

The turkey, which like everything else was now ready as the kitchen was bustling with Rangers and friends, smelled wonderful as did everything else. And the pies...my goodness the pies. The strawberry rhubarb pie, which was a staple in California, caught her eye in particular. She couldn't wait to have it all as she hadn't had a great thing to eat in a decade and a half.

"Enjoying seeing the delicacies Kim?" a voice suddenly said from behind her. Kim's eyebrow raised just slightly when she saw it was Diana standing about ten feet behind her.

"I mean seriously, how the hell does anyone not eat all of this within three or four hours?" Kim said. "I mean I'm looking at this and now I'm hungry for everything!"

"Spoken like someone who hasn't seen a good meal in a long time. I know the feeling," Diana said. What happened next surprised her as Kim threw her arms around the former Ranger villainess. The one who had pulled the trigger on her fate years ago, no less.

"What have you done with Kimberly?" Diana whispered softly. This was not the reaction she expected when she came face to face with Kim.

"I can tell you expected to be punched in the nose when I eventually saw you," Kim said. "Maybe years ago that would have been the case, but not today. What happened to me is my fault, not yours. I was a naive little girl that decided to chase my dreams and paid the price."

"Your fault, seriously? Kim, don't be ridiculous," Diana said. "If anything you should be heralded for what you did. You did exactly what any good loving mother would have done in that moment...do anything to save your child."

"I know but from the messages I've been getting, not many in the galaxy realize that. The dictatorship that my evil half created for many has been too much to bear it seems," Kim said.

"I wish I could say you were wrong, but there is no doubt it will take many years before some people trust you again," Diana said. "But you have your friends here...they at least know who you really are."

"Thank you and Dimitria both for having faith in my son," Kim said. "I know that in your darkest hours of captivity it could not have been easy."

"Nothing ever is, but he's the son of the Falcon and Crane and clearly knows how to harness his powers correctly," Diana said. "The final battle will be tough but as long as your son lives, I have faith the forces of good will prevail."

"And we'll be here to make sure everything goes smoothly," another voice said as she saw Diana head off. She turned her head and her interest was immediately piqued. She saw Zack, which she really wasn't surprised by, but she saw Angela as well.

"Now this is a conversation I've been waiting to have before we eat," Kim said, pointedly looking at Angela. "The rest of the guys tell me that Zordon read you the riot act years ago."

"It's true, Kim, he did," Angela said quietly. "To be quite honest, I don't think I'd have married Zack if Zordon hadn't just eviscerated me about how selfish I was."

"This is going to surprise you because I love Zordon like a father, but I don't think he should have done what he did. I respect his opinion, obviously, but I don't think I would have handled it that way. I find his actions bizarre, actually," Kim said. "You couldn't have known about our secret."

"Zack has pretty much said the same thing, that the Ranger operations are shrouded in more secrecy than even the FBI or CIA. You should have seen the deer in the headlights look he had when I came back to him crying and the word Zordon escaped my lips," Angela said. "Obviously, he's glad that Zordon came through and that we got back together but he said he wouldn't have handled it that way either."

"She handles our kids," Zack said. "Whenever the guys need to drop the kids off because of a Ranger emergency, that's where they go, It's pretty much standard operating procedure at this point."

As she continued to move through the kitchen she suddenly felt the presence of the Falcon right behind her.

"Enjoying getting a look at everything, Kim?" Tommy said.

"Goodness, it all looks awesome," Kim said. "Rocky isn't a top notch chef for no reason."

"Yes and we are tired as you know what from our space travels yet Rocky has been working very hard to get everything over the goal line, so to speak."

"By the way, Kim, I have sources that tell me more surprises are on the way for you. Some surprises you may not expect. Please don't freak about what might be to come."

Kim scratched her chin, wondering what Tommy meant by that.

Two hours later

Diana was right, Kim hadn't had a good meal in a long time, and it showed.

By the time it was all over, and most of the Ranger males were putting the dishes away, she'd had just about everything. And as she knew would be the case with Rocky in charge, it was all top notch.

There was still a lot left, too, and she knew she'd be coming back for more. Especially for more of the pies. Wow.

At this point, most of the Rangers were spread throughout the residence somewhere; she was relaxing on the living room couch when the doorbell rang again.

As someone went to get the door, Tommy knelt down beside Kim and said, "Beautiful, I wasn't lying to you when I said there were more surprises coming your way. In fact, they're coming through the door right now."

A few seconds later, a familiar voice pierced the room, "Kim?"

And when Kim saw who the voice belonged to, her smile grew almost as big as California.

"Mrs. Oliver?" she asked, almost not believing what she was seeing.

"Yes, it's me, dear," Elizabeth Oliver said. "Imagine my surprise when my son called me this week and told me that the Phoenix freed one of the people I love the most for the first time in 15 years."

"Only temporary," Kim reminded her.

"Probably, but I don't care, little missy. I've been waiting for this moment since things started happening to you. You're with us at least temporarily and honestly, that's as good a Thanksgiving gift as anyone can have."

"I'm telling you I ate so much that I can't move, Elizabeth," Kim said. "I can't tell you the last time I had a really good home cooked meal."

"I bet you can't remember since your evil half took your body over," Mrs. Oliver said. "I'm going to have to bring you back to my place at least one more time before everything goes to hell in a handbasket again."

"Do you still live in the same place?" Kim asked.

"No, we moved a few years ago to a nice place just outside town. My husband is retired and I work at JP Morgan Chase downtown," Elizabeth said.

"I'd like to come see it. This weekend or next, hopefully. Maybe I can help you guys set Christmas up."

"Any extra set of hands would be great," Elizabeth said. "Is there anything else I can do, possibly?"

"There is, actually. This is going to be really hard for me to say, but I need you to call Paris and ask Mom to come to California so we can talk. I need to bury the hatchet, once and for all."

"Kim, no...just, no," Elizabeth said. "I hate her. With every fiber of my being. She tried to kill your child...MY grandchild."

"I know, Mrs. Oliver, but part of my predicament is my fault. I went to chase my dreams and got burned in the worst way possible. I was a naive little girl who thought the world was full of roses. How wrong I was. If I'm ever going to be who I can be again, this has to happen."

"Grandma, just do it. Mom is right," Jayden said, suddenly coming into the room. "This is going to be hard for me to say; she's bad but she isn't all bad. She helped foil one of Flammia's plots...with Zordon's help of course."

Elizabeth nodded mutely. She still didn't like the old hag, but if Zordon had straightened her out...maybe there was still some hope left.

"I suspect Mom and Grandma Caroline have to an extent admitted the mistakes they made. Now they just have to bury the hatchet with each other. I think it's really important," Jayden said.

She nodded in resignation...she absolutely hated the idea, but Jayden was the leader, and what he said in her mind was the law.

"OK, if you guys want to, then I will grant your request. However, I propose it not happen this holiday," Elizabeth said. "I don't want her spoiling this moment. It can be done next week."

Kim's body relaxed a little bit...and inside, the once more powerful part of her body, now greatly removed from control, groaned inwardly.

If this happened, then dire consequences for the side of evil would result. The bad thing for Flammia was, with the confluence that was currently in play, there wasn't a whole lot that could be done at this point.

Ninjor watched the conversation carefully, meanwhile. This was going to be very interesting to watch. He had not expected Kimberly to act so quickly in wanting to talk to her accursed mother.

Truly, he was reminded now, his Crane was made of the right stuff. He wouldn't have done what Kim proposed as he had a tendency to hold personal grudges, but Kim wanted to let the past be the past and build for the future.

It reminded Ninjor of when the Sentinel Knight had come to this residence and Tommy had refused to give in to his personal desires, instead strategizing for the future. There was a reason they both, until the Phoenix powers had manifested, been the centerpiece of the Ninjetti. They were, indeed, both made of the right stuff.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang yet again, startling them all. Jason answered the door and eyebrows were raised around the room as Tommy looked to the door and saw his biological brother David walk in the house.

"Did I miss the feast?" David said.

"You did, bro, but there are plenty of leftovers strewn around the kitchen. Grab yourself whatever you like," Tommy said.

"That's great, but before I do that, you and your adoptive folks are with a certain pink wearer who is lying on the couch that I would like to meet," David said.

"Knock yourself out," Tommy said. "Beautiful, that's my biological brother David. He lives on the reservation just outside Angel Grove. He's a good guy. It's OK. I'm going to spend some time with my folks."

As David got closer, Kim could feel a wisdom and spirit within him that, as much as she loved the rest of the guys, wasn't quite there with any of them except maybe Tommy and Jason.

"Tommy's brother, huh?" Kim said as David knelt down beside her.

"Yeah, I know. Crazy. We both met each other, bizarrely, shortly after your letter and during the whole Machine Empire fiasco," David said. "Those metal heads even mixed me up in the Rangers business because of Tommy."

"Yeah, unfortunately, that's a not so novel concept by the Alliance of Evil and it seems those who come after them. Capture someone close to the team and then use them as bait to lure the Rangers into a trap," Kim said. "Most of the time they fail, of course, but it's a really scary thing when you get captured by them."

"Tommy told me his biological father, your father, passed away about a year ago. Sam was his name...I think?" Kim said.

"Yep, Samuel," David said. "He wanted so much to meet you at some point, but unfortunately the fates did not allow for that. I knew that when Tommy called me and told me that your curse was temporarily lifted that I had to come see you today. For my brother...and my father."

"He didn't die because of evil, did he?" Kim asked. "I mean, the answer is probably no, but I'm just wondering."

"No, he died a natural death," David said. "It's sad but it is what it is."

"Perhaps we can win this fight for him, and may others that can't see this because of sacrifice, natural death, or torture from my evil half," Kim said. "There are plenty of people that lost their lives to my evil half...many thousands of others at the very least had their rights violated. They all deserve to see the destruction of Maligore's spawn, her entire army and most importantly an end to this 15 year nightmare."

"Then, maybe the universe can rebuild. But only after this nightmare comes to an end," Kim finished.

Review box is at the bottom. Please review/follow/favorite if you don't mind. Thanks. There are more meetings with past faces in the next chapter which is post Thanksgiving.