A/N: A very pleasant Wednesday 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.

A/N 2: Rangers get downtime here. Christmas and New Year's Eve at the Olivers in this one.

A/N 3: Couples featured are Jayden/Mia, Memily, Jason/Kat, Adam/Tanya and a slew of other old-school pairings.

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 47 – Christmas, The Ranger Way

Saturday, December 8, early evening

The Chamber of Command

Angel Grove, CA

It had been a joyous ride home in the Brachiozord, as everyone was glad to finally be out of the hell known as the Nemesis Triangle.

And when everyone showed back up to the Chamber of Command in one piece, the celebration simply continued. The few who had stayed behind, such as Rhiannon, had watched on the screens and were overcome with the same joy.

"That was so scary, and yet so exhilarating at the same time," Rhiannon told Jayden as the two embraced in the main room after all the Rangers had arrived. "I can't believe you managed to pull the wool over their eyes!"

"Team effort," Jayden said, as usual downplaying his team's pivotal win. "If it hadn't been for Karone and the girls buying off the natives, if it hadn't been for the junior Ninjetti holding off the footsoldiers…"

"But most of all it was a resilient group of Rangers that prevailed," Rhiannon finished. "For the first time since I was run off my planet, I think it's actually going to happen…"

"It will. The second the remnants of her army show their faces here, we're going to end this once and for all. No matter what happens after this, these assholes will never hurt people again after this," Jayden said. "They'll all be in prison or dead."

"A job well done, Rangers," another voice suddenly said. It had come from the direction of the screens, so someone seemed to have successfully contacted the Chamber.

Rangers one and all turned to see Dulcea's face, beaming with pride.

"Dulcea," Jayden acknowledged.

"An incredible performance, Jayden," Dulcea said. "As your mother has told you, the Nemesis Triangle is one nasty place. For you to survive that is a wonderful indicator of how far you have come in your journey."

"One which is not over, unfortunately," Jayden said. "There's still the boss herself."

"While true, I agree with Ninjor. I do not suspect an attack on Earth or anywhere else will come any time soon. Perhaps, for many months," Dulcea said. "Her two top generals are dead. To even think of mounting an attack, they will need to organize and have new leadership below Flammia herself."

"That being said, you are not wrong that when she does attack, it's going to be bad," Dulcea said, her face growing somber. They could tell what she was about to tell them was of grave importance.

"It is time for you all to go to your people, most notably to the authorities on your planet and inform them of what is coming. When Flammia attacks, it will be bad. Very bad," Dulcea said. "More importantly it is time for you all to reveal your identities to your people."

"We're skeptical, but we will do what you say," Jason said. "Unfortunately I fear it will be the end of all of our work careers when we do."

"Agreed," Kat said. "I can't imagine the backlash."

"Jock will probably be ok though, the folks at Manchester City know he's a Power Ranger. It'll be interesting when the world knows though," Kira said.

"I have that covered, even though I can't be on Earth," Dulcea said. "I know people who will take care of that issue."

"Like who?" Jason asked. "Some people I know in U.S. government don't like us very much."

"Maybe not but you also have more allies in your government than enemies," Dulcea said. "One of Zordon's best friends moved to Earth and works in President Obama's government. The FCC, I believe it's called."

"The Federal Communications Commission? That's big," Kim said. "If we are able to get messaging out about this incoming attack…"

"Not just here, but all governments of the world. If we are able to get our message out, on national television, the governments of the world will be contacting us even though they may not like us," Rocky said.

"Our friends Cassidy and Devin, to my knowledge, work in TV," Kira said. "Cassidy works for the NBC affiliate in Las Vegas, and Devin is at ABC in San Francisco. They need to know about this too."

"Agreed," Tommy said. "We can't throw them off guard when this hits."

"I can bring in my friend Shawna. I haven't seen her in a minute but I trust her and she works in public relations. She knows I was one and thinks we are still the good guys," Aisha said. "She will definitely help us if I ask."

"Do it. And do it soon, Aunt Aisha," Jayden said. "We're on a clock still because I don't know when they'll attack."

"That's a good idea. The Power Rangers need a spokesperson especially in these times. This isn't 1995 and we need to be represented," Kim said. "Some of the galaxy still hates me. Who's the lawyer in here?"

"That would be me," Trini said smiling at her old friend.

"Do not do it immediately, I would suggest," Dulcea said. "Take your time and enjoy your holidays. They will not attack for some time."

"We enjoy the holidays and then we move," Jayden said.

"May the Power protect you, Rangers," Dulcea said as her face disappeared from the screen.

"Before we adjourn. Ninjor, I want to ask something," Jayden said. "You said the destruction of Scorpina and Draco enhanced the power of the Ranger Keys or whatever they are. Can you and the technical nerds find them and then call me when you do? We need to organize the mission when the time comes."

"Definitely. I am not for sure where they are, but I sensed possible power boosts in eight different locations. Angel Grove, Washington DC, Boston, Paris, Rome, Vienna, Beijing and Tokyo," Ninjor said. "These may all be fakes, but I find it highly unlikely."

"Wow. Angel Grove, if we win, should be a piece of cake," Zack said.

"Maybe but I've seen stranger things," Kim said.

"Like having Tokyo in the mix," Lauren said.

"Keep searching for any more possible power spikes and if you guys find them, contact me," Jayden said. "And let me know if those power spikes are fakes. Rangers have faked power coins before."

Kim looked at Tommy as if to say, 'You told him about the peace conference fake power coins trick?'

'Of course I did,' Tommy mentally shot back.

"Agreed. We will," Justin said, looking at Jayden.

"Meeting is adjourned. Let's enjoy the holidays for now," Jayden said.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012, early evening

1492 Valencia Drive

Reefside, CA

"Gracious!" Mia said. Even she was completely flabbergasted.

She THOUGHT she was a good shopper compared to past female Rangers. She now realized she was completely out of her league as she and Jayden watched the spectacle.

This was Kim's first trip to a shopping mall since her return from the side of evil about a month ago. Mia was now getting exposed to the real Kim. The teenager Kim that used to do this kind of stuff.

Mia would have been there but still was in classes with Rocky's cooking school – business classes she couldn't miss (Rocky himself was cooking in Tommy's kitchen that night, which was supposed to be ready any minute).

Plus, Jayden was finishing up with GED classes before the holidays and Mia couldn't leave him. He was set to be finished by next summer.

In the last few days, the Rangers gradually had begun moving out of the Chamber at least temporarily and began returning to their cities for the holidays. Some of the Samurais had gone back to the Shiba house to decorate that place for Christmas as there was no sign of any attack coming.

For the last hour, Aisha, Kim, Trini, Jen, Tanya and Kat had hauled in bag after bag after bag after bag. They could guess it was all Christmas stuff, plus the latest fashion trends. They'd also probably gotten a bit tipsy at happy hour too.

Jayden was no less stunned also. He hated doing this stuff with Mia and now visibly blanched at the thought of getting involved in something like this.

"How many drinks do you think they had?" Jayden said.

"I don't even want to know," Mia said.

"Your mother hasn't even had her evening dinner wine yet…and she'll have it," Taylor said from nearby.

"Let's…not go there Tay," Eric muttered under his breath. "She's tipsy enough."

"The great thing is it won't take but five seconds to decorate this place once everything is brought in," Madison said. "I hate using powers for personal gain but this will save us a lot of hassle."

"You're kidding right?" Mia said.

"You forgot who Kim is?" Jason whispered. "She's at least the second most powerful entity in this building and has been exposed to various forms of magics. If she wanted this place decorated and wanted it quick it'd be done in five seconds."

"Dinner's ready, guys!" Rocky called suddenly.

"Good. We just brought the last bag in. Finally," Kim said. Today was classic Kim, but even she was tired from everything. Bringing in bag after bag had taken its toll – it had been a while since she'd done this.

"Oh gracious. Yum. Fish taco night," Kim said, remembering her teenage days when Rocky's family used to do it all the time. "Been a while since I've done that."

"Well, we've got plenty of stuff for this so let's get started," Rocky said.

Dinner took about 30 to 45 minutes and by the time it was done Kim needed some Kleenexes – fortunately Tommy had a multitude of those in house. The sauce that Rocky had put on the tacos itself had aroused Kim's sinuses and a few others also.

About 20 minutes later, once her sinuses were a little better, Kim beckoned Jayden, "Come here. I need your help with something. I need to ask you something in private that the others can't hear."

Once they were safely out of earshot of everyone else, Kim said, "Part of the reason for all the crap ton of bags today is one of our stops was for Christmas decorations. It's the opinion of Aisha and myself that if we don't decorate this place, even though we're out in the country it'll make us look like Scrooges."

"The problem is that we're 13 days away from Christmas. That's not a whole lot of time to get this done," Kim added. "I'm feeling like I want to use my powers to help decorate the house especially since we got past the Nemesis Triangle. I love everything about him but we're not playing by Zordon's rules anymore."

"I agree but they're largely untested," Jayden said. "Until we get this thing over with, you should have Dad and I to help you steady yourself."

"I'd argue with you as the original female Ranger, but after all I've been through I think you're right," Kim said. "I'll talk to your father but I think you're right on this one."

"If he accepts, then we do this first thing in the morning," Jayden said. "Get a picture in your mind of what you want this place to look like."

Thursday, December 13, 2012

6:30 a.m. local time

1492 Valencia Drive

Reefside, CA

Before he went to bed, Jayden had received a text from his father saying that he had talked with Kim and that he was OK with what he and Kim had talked about. Everyone was on the same page.

So before Tommy headed off to Reefside High for the day (he would be done until the New Year a week from tomorrow) and before Jayden began another day of studies, they would participate in this. They were currently discussing the alignment for how they wanted to conduct this.

"I think since this was Mom's idea, she should be in the center. Our powers should augment hers as she hasn't learned how to control them enough yet," Jayden said.

With that, the three formed a straight line. Kim stood in the middle, with Jayden on her right and Tommy on her left. They raised their arms together and concentrated on their powers, with Kim going first and the others following.

"Powers that be. Help us to decorate this residence in the way we see fit," Kim started. "The Crane!"

"The Phoenix!"

"The Falcon!"

The place began to rumble and the three, as one group, dug deeper into their powers. There was a light so bright it blinded them all.

About two minutes later, the light died down. Unless one was in the room or knew the three individuals that had just done this, no one would have believed it.

But they'd basically successfully decorated the residence in just a few minutes, in pretty much the way they wanted to do it.

"By George, I think we did it," Jayden said. "I should probably finish getting ready and Dad should too. Have a great day, Mom."

Kim gave Tommy and her son a thumbs up as they both went their separate ways.

Christmas Day, 2012, in the morning

1492 Valencia Drive

Reefside, CA

In the two weeks prior to Christmas, things had settled down quite a bit after that.

The combined powers of the Falcon, Crane and Phoenix had changed the logistics entirely. Now instead of everyone having to help with decorating the house in Reefside, they could stay more local until Christmas itself and focus on buying gifts for each other.

The result was a well oiled machine that kept coming in and out of Reefside in intervals for the big day itself. The combined powers of the three birds had also wielded a Christmas tree itself. The 'Ranger hints" as the various teams called them, were very, very evident in the ornaments themselves.

During the interim, Billy had brought Jayden something for him and the others to investigate. As it turned out, in the interim, the geeks had found more possible power spikes, this time in Ranger related cities like San Angeles, Reefside itself, Blue Bay and Ocean Bluff.

Jayden had asked Billy to bring a couple of keys from the Ranger related cities to see if they were real or fake. Billy had brought keys from Blue Bay Harbor and Ocean Bluff, specifically. Both were home to Ninja related academies and so maybe they could get answers.

Presently, most of the teams were in the Oliver living room, sharing more stories of past team bonding activities from their Ranger days. Some were hilarious, some were dorky, and some were just downright unfunny to some.

What was curious to some, though, was that some of the team leaders and mentors were having a pretty lengthy discussion off to the side. It had been going on 30 minutes. This one wasn't behind closed doors or anything, but no one dared to try and get in front of that meeting.

Not in the Falcon and Crane's house, anyways. As far as most of the teams were concerned, this was now the birds' nest. They simply hoped one of the birds would survive past what was to come. Rocky was in the kitchen meanwhile cooking Christmas breakfast.

Suddenly, the Ranger leaders and mentors broke their huddle and turned to face the teams that were huddled there.

"Just a moment of your time, please," Tommy said. "Before we go into the kitchen to eat breakfast, as soon as Rocky is ready, we are going to be performing a power usage. The Ninjetti including myself."

"We've decided to use our powers to expand the house, as a gift to ourselves, though we will still be opening individual gifts," Kim said. "I like the place but Tommy, Jayden, myself and the others agree that it's too small as of now and that if we survive, it's going to be the main base of operations in the future. We need it to be bigger."

"We're doing it when Uncle Rocky is ready?" Derek asked.

"Yes," Kim said. "It's just a matter of when he gives the word. He knows what's going on – he got a text message from me. We're not necessarily playing by your Uncle Zordon's rules anymore."

"I'm ready now," Rocky called from the kitchen. "I'm just taking breakfast out of the oven and putting it on the tables and then I will be there. Get ready."

A few moments later, Rocky had joined the rest of the teams, which made the group that needed to be there complete.

"Ninjetti, form a circle," Kim said. "The kids, too. And join arms."

"Now," Kim said, "focus on your animal spirits, and call to them. The kids first."

"Ninjetti! The Unicorn!"

"The Raven!"

"The Polar Bear!"

"The Penguin!"

"The Iguana!"

"The Moose!"

"The Panther!"

"The Dolphin!"

"The Nightingale!"

"The Dove!"

"The Dragon!"

"The Ape!"

"The Bear!"

"The Wolf!"

"The Frog!"

"The Falcon!"

"The Crane!" When Kim she said it, they swore they could feel the ground shake.

"The Phoenix!" As Jayden uttered his call to complete the circle of power, they could almost feel the ground shake again.

"We call to these animal spirits," Jayden began.

"Enlarge this building and make it more suitable for a base of operations!" the rest called out. The result was 18 different animal spirits rushing from their owners and creating a massive surge of power. It was so bright that everyone in the room had to cover their eyes.

Then the shaking suddenly stopped, the spirits returned to their owners and those in the circle lowered their hands.

To their amazement, nothing had been damaged. But the room had clearly been expanded, with more than enough space for everyone. It had been a tight squeeze before the ceremony – it wasn't now.

"Breakfast is still good, guys," Rocky called from where he'd set breakfast down. "Everyone come get it and let's eat before it gets cold!"

About an hour and a half later, breakfast was done. They knew they had expanded the house, but they had no idea just how much until they SAW how much they expanded it.

Before the ceremony, it was a simple one story home with the lair underneath. Now, it was a full three stories with bedrooms aplenty. Space was no longer an issue.

Tommy and Kim had basically traversed the whole place…the rooms were nice and spacious. Kim didn't miss the additions of a few Synthetrons in the place – the method by which the Space Rangers got their food. Most of the rooms had large HDTVs, nice beds, and wall coloring that held colors of the various Rangers.

This was going to come in handy, they thought. It'd been years since Kim cooked a meal, and Tommy himself was not a very good cook except in certain spots.

They had finally come to Tommy's bedroom, which was the last place in the stop. As Kim could probably guess, the room was painted in various shades of red, black, white, and green. Kim simply chuckled to herself. The guy had FOUR colors.

The fact that there was a bed more than large enough for two caught the attention of both.

Kim managed a slight smile, she took that as a sign that maybe, just maybe, things would work out OK.

"You know your cleaning lady is going to have to get an explanation, right?" Kim laughed.

"Yeah. That's partly why Jayden and I agreed that we're meeting with Cassidy, Devin and Shawna very soon," Tommy said.

"I'd say I'd be looking forward to you explaining to the cleaning maid, but honestly I wouldn't be looking forward to that if I were in your shoes," Kim said. "Are we sure Jayden doesn't know about our gift for him?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure. We played it close to the vest," Tommy said. "But remember first of all, Jayden has met them all and second, this is our gift to all of us, not just him."

6:30, that evening

The rest of that day went really smoothly. Some of the Rangers who were there were already making plans to frequently visit the "Oliver Manor" as it was called now.

The Rangers had Christmas dinner earlier that afternoon, and now they were opening gifts. In fact, they were almost done.

Just about all the gifts had been opened, when suddenly there came a noise from outside.

The Rangers could just barely make it out through the darkening sky (the sun had just about gone down). It definitely was some kind of ship, and it was headed for Tommy's backyard.

"They timed it perfect," Tommy said. "Son, what is on that ship is our gift not only to you, but from Kim and I to all of us."

Most of the Rangers were in the dark too except a few members of the older teams – virtually no one expected this surprise this late in the game.

What came off the ship first wasn't completely unexpected. It was the six Space Rangers, and Karone. They had indicated they would go back to KO-35 after the fight at Maligore's Temple but that they would be back for Christmas.

"Andros," Jayden said as he shook the hand of his fellow Red counterpart from the Space team. "Late like my father used to be, but better late than never. You guys are the gift to me?"

"Part of it," Andros said. "There is a second part and it should be coming out…now."

In the next moment, the Rangers heard a shuffling of feet and a voice that anyone who had worked with Zordon would have known by heart.

"Aye-yi-yi, it feels good to finally come back to Earth once again, for good this time. Happy holidays, Rangers," the Rangers heard. The Falcon and Crane simply stood stoically while the rest of the older Rangers' eyes, and Jayden, lit up like Christmas trees.

"No way…" Rocky muttered.

"Alpha!" Kat exclaimed, while Jason and the other older Rangers were all smiles.

"Good to see you again, Alpha," Jayden said. "Thanks, Mom and Dad."

Eyebrows were raised at this statement. Jayden had met him once before?

As if to answer their question, Jayden said, "Yes I met him. On Phaedos when I began my journey."

Tommy and Kim gave their son a thumbs up, before Jason said, "I hate to cut this short, but Alpha, how close are they to being able to attack again?"

"Not very. Their forces are very scattered since they've conquered so many planets," Alpha said. "I estimate it may be months before they are able to attack again. I'd rather talk about some good news."

"And that is?" Billy asked.

"There may be a way for Tommy, Kimberly and Jayden to all survive the final battle, and for Zordon himself to be brought back," Alpha said. "It is an extreme longshot but I have seen weirder things than what it would take for that to happen."

December, 31, 2012, a few minutes before midnight

1492 Valencia Drive

Reefside, CA

Most of the others were inside playing cards or passing time until midnight struck, but Jayden and Mia had decided to spend midnight outdoors.

In the previous week, things were looking up even more in the Ranger world.

The Rangers had in fact met with Cassidy, Devin and Shawna a few days ago and all agreed to work with them. They all agreed that after the new year they would put their plan into action.

And the thought of Mia's boyfriend, prospective parents in law and their original mentor surviving the final battle? It seemed like a distant possibility but just the thought excited them. Including Mia herself.

Jayden, for his part, was pretty relaxed, which didn't escape Mia's attention. He'd been going about 100 miles an hour since the whole thing started and now was getting downtime.

"I haven't seen you this relaxed in a long time," Mia said, putting an arm around her boyfriend.

"Truth is, we're now in position to win the war," Jayden said. "It's best for the time being if we relaxed and returned to our normal lives while keeping an eye on the situation."

"Besides, Alpha came back and thinks my parents and Zordon might be saved," Jayden said. "That's at least something to dream about."

"Do we know if the keys are real or fake yet?" Mia asked.

"I don't know, Billy hasn't told me," Jayden said. "He said he'd know more after the new year. He says he is working with someone called Orion from the planet Andresia."

"As I recall, we didn't get there on our voyage," Mia said.

"No, we didn't," Jayden said. "It's a small mining planet. Orion apparently knows about these Ranger keys and knows if they are real or fake. Billy tells me that Orion thinks the power spikes we encountered may be fake since he remembers some of the Keys being on his planet."

"And that planet is…" Mia said.

"Yep, still run by Flammia," Jayden said looking at his watch and then hearing fireworks. "Hey, it's midnight!"

"Happy New Year, my powerful Phoenix," Mia said as she and Jayden shared a kiss. They were rudely interrupted as they were sitting near a window, on which the other side was a group of Rangers playing poker.

"Get a room, you two!" Wes heckled from the other side. At which Jayden and Mia stuck their tongues out at him in reply.

2013 was off to a great start.

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