A thickly wooded area finally came into view after what seemed like hours of

walking. It had only been a few minutes, but it seemed like an eternity to the

group of teens... they had all just seen their parents and family members fight

for them, only to be captured.

The only thing that seemed to give them comfort was each other. Evie clung

tightly to Xander as they walked, while Lindy did the same to Leo, and Brady

stood in between them, holding his sisters' hands.

Sam stood between Cody and Jack, while Nicky and Charlie held hands together.

Andy was between all her brothers, holding Owen's hand in a vice-like grip.

Kanoi walked alongside Sky. Kyle held himself back from lashing out as he walked

with Ethan and Jake, who were particularly quiet.

They all were a little leery of the person leading them, but if Evie, Lindy,

Brady, and Leo trusted her, then the rest of them knew they could as well.

Princess Shayla paused and turned to the group of forlorn teens and tried to

put on a brave face.

"If you'll just follow me, I promise I will explain everything," she said

gently as she motioned for them to go through. Hesitantly, they all moved

forward with Leo and Lindy leading the way.

As soon as they stepped into the woods, a breeze enveloped them and they found

themselves in front of the massive stone face of a lion.

"Where are we?" Sky asked.

"You are on the Animarium, and I am princess Shayla for those of you who don't

know me directly," Shayla said. "Please... I know you all are very tired and upset

right now, but you need to be aware of the danger that has resurfaced."

"Is that why you're awake?" Lindy asked as she and the others sat. Shayla

smiled.

"Yes Melinda, it is..." she walked over to the pool and cast her hand over it. "I

had hoped this day would never come, but now I'm afraid Master Org is after more

than just control over the earth."

A picture of the Org came into the pool as he was being destroyed by the former

Wild Force Rangers.

"When Master Org was destroyed, his life force was spread all over Turtle Cove,

and some of remaining particles mixed into the lake where the Animarium used to

be before I brought it into the sky.

"A few days ago, a truck accidentally spilled toxins into the lake, and in a

way fueled a type of regeneration."

The kids all sat in silence as the enormity of everything sank in. Evie stood and approached the pool. Shayla smiled as she clearly saw the leadership qualities of her mother.

Evie looked down into the pool and saw the lake where everything had originated.

"Papa said that he wanted me to go check it out... maybe if I go down there now I can find something to help us get our parents out of there," she said turning back to everyone.

"No way," Xander said standing up. "We have no clue what we're up against."

"I'm not just going to sit around while my parents and my aunt and uncle are in danger!" she cried back.

"Evelina, please," Shayla said gently.

"I'm sorry Princess, but I won't stand here and be told what to do like this." Evie then proceeded to take off into the jungle.

"Good job Xan," Lindy replied as she took off after her sister. Brady shot daggers at him and he took a seat next to Leo.

After some silence Owen stood. "Evie's right... we need to do SOMETHING." He walked over towards the pool but stopped short when he suddenly felt a strange sensation run through him.

"We have... to...AHH!" he screamed and fell to the ground. His entire body was tingling... like he had been shocked. Immediately his siblings were at his side as well as Charlie.

"O! Owen...bro come on," Jake pleaded to his twin. Owen slowly came to and stared up at the faces.

"Mum... something bad just happened to mum...it's like I felt what she did," he said as he sat up.

Shayla helped him up and sat with him. A thought came to mind and she touched his shoulder.

"Owen, has this happened before?" she asked.

Owen shrugged his shoulders. "Not really...just like... I think sometimes I can feel a power running through me."

Shayla looked to the others. "Have any of you experienced this?"

Shyly, Charlie, Kanoi, Sky, Cody, and Jake nodded.

"I think perhaps the bond you all share has something to do with the fact that your parents are great ninjas as well as power rangers," she said.

"Wait... Sensei told me about this once," Nicky said.

"Yeah... something about an inner ninja connection thingy," Andy supplied.

"Well, maybe we should ask Sensei about it," Kyle suggested.

Shayla grinned. She knew more than she was letting on. "Perhaps you six should go and seek him out for answers. I'm sure he will want to be made aware of what has happened."

The six teens nodded. "Thank you Princess," Owen said. "Take care of them," he said as he turned to his siblings and friends.

"Be careful O," Ethan said as he clasped his shoulder. Owen and the others nodded and quickly ninja streaked out.

Kyle, Andy, Ethan, Jack, Sam, Xander, Leo, Nicky, and Brady couldn't sit around anymore and decided to explore the Animarium.

"I gotta find Evie," Xander mumbled to himself as he and Leo took off after the girls. Andy and Kyle headed towards the lake, while Nicky, Brady, Jack, Ethan, and Sam just wandered around.

As they all walked off away from the meeting place, Shayla looked into the pool and saw the familiar figures of the wild zords...

'I hope this works...' she said in her head.

"It will."

Shayla turned around and felt her breath leave her.

"Merrick!?"

A/N: EVIL EVIL, I KNOW. SORRY FOR THE LONG UPDATE, BUT I'M IN THE PROCESS OF MOVING... I PROMISE THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE UP SHORTLY... WHAT'S MERRICK DOING THERE? HOW WILL THE KIDS SAVE THEIR PARENTS, AND WILL THEY BE ABLE TO STOP MASTER ORG?