Well, here we are, the beginning to another chapter. I'm glad you all liked the prologue and hoped it kept you all intrigued to the point of wanting to read more. I promise some interesting happenings in this fic along with the return of some characters of the Power Ranger legacy.

Thanks as usual to all ye reviewers.

Titanium Gold: Nice to hear from you again. That was quite a compliment you gave me there. I swear I blushed when I read it. Anyway, rest assured, twists and turns are coming and they are a doozy.

Justin Jack: It's a good suggestion and I considered making the orphan be the son of Leo and Kendrix, but I needed a character that was older. Due to the time frame of Lost Galaxy, Leo and Kendrix's son would only be about ten or eleven. For reasons that will be revealed once the story goes on, I needed a character that was in his late teens. But don't worry, characters from the history of Rangers will make their appearences whether it's a simple cameo or a prominent role.

And kudos to everyone else. So, here we go: the beginning of another roller coaster that is this fiction.

Chapter 1

Back to the Bay

"Conner! Phone!"

Jaime Lawton wandered through the condominuium, searching for his elusive roomate. Jaime's brow furrowed as his search for Conner proved fruitless. Every room in their lodgings was devoid of UCLA's leading scorer. Huffing out a sigh of frustration, Jaime raised the phone to his ear.

"Erm, hang on a sec, Kira. Pelé here seems to be avoiding me."

A musical laugh floated through the phone line as the singer on the other end smiled, "It's okay, Jaime. I'd check the balcony. I'm pretty sure he's trying to finish his term paper, and you know he goes out there for isolation."

Heeding Kira's advice, Jamie ventured out onto the beachview balcony adjacent to the living room. Sure enough, Conner McKnight sat situated at the table overlooking the view, tapping frantically on the keyboard of his laptop, a pair of earphones feeding him tunes from his iPod. Even with the pulsing melodies of Fall Out Boy assulting his ear drums, Conner sensed Jamie's presence. Shifting his gaze over his shoulder, Conner acknowledged his roomate with a nod as Jamie gestured to the phone, placing it on the table beside the laptop. With one hand removing the earphones, Conner stretched out the other, his telekenesis causing the phone to fly to his hand.

"Go for Conner."

"Aw, Jockboy, I'm hurt. Your honed senses can't tell it's me?"

Chuckling as his finger punched the down arrow, scrolling through his paper, Conner grinned, "I'm sorry, love, but auras get lost in translation through phonelines, and when coupled with preoccupation, it's slightly thought of as a lost cause. But don't worry, I'm sure someone in Rhode Island picked up on your glowing life force."

Kira laughed, "Good to know. I'm just calling to remind you to pick me up tomorrow after my final exam."

Abandoning his paper, Conner leaned back in his chair and snapped his fingers, "Damn, I knew I had to do something."

"Conner…"

"Kira…" Mimicking his girlfriend's exasperated tone, Conner chuckled, "Don't worry Rock Star. I am overwhelmed by your abundance of faith in me. For your information, I've got everything covered."

"Don't forget - "

"The plane tickets are on top of my dresser next to my cell phone and wallet," Conner finished.

"And your aunt - "

"Is dropping us off at the airport after we leave my car at her house."

"Did you at least remember to pack underwear?"

"Uh…"

"Conner!"

"Kira, relax. I was joking," Conner assured his girlfriend over the phone, "I have everything under control. Now, if I recall correctly, you have a Music Composition and Theory exam that you have been obsessing over for months, swearing that if you don't pass, it will forever ruin your impending musical career. So stop talking to me and start studying. I, my love, will take care of all your worries and needs."

"Why does that not make me feel better?" Kira muttered playfully. Heaving a sigh, she relented, "Okay, then. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Love you, babe."

"Don't call me 'babe.' Love you too."

Ending the call, Conner leaned back in his chair. Absently, his hand drifted to the morpher he still wore around his neck, inconspicuous to pass as a pendant. Caleb's conversation still rang fresh in Conner's mind, pestering him for the past three months since their talk had transpired. Conner definitely had a bad feeling about this summer. As his fingers drifted lower to grasp the medal of St. Christopher his mother had given him and Eric two years ago before they left for college, he prayed on it that if this summer proved to be different, everyone would be alive to see the end of the season.

xxx

Deep in the mountains of Blue Bay Harbor, a gong resounded, echoing through the grounds of the Wind Ninja Academy. At the sound, the leigons of ninjas halted their exercizes to gather on the outdoor central training mat, lining up by element.

"Atten-tion!"

With the command, the students snapped into position, feet together, hands at their sides as their masters filed in on the upper platform to stand before their respective elements. Shane and Eric strode in first, followed by Dustin and Kyle, Tori and Tally, Cam, and finally, Hunter. Gazing down at the students, Shane shifted his eyes to Eric, prompting him with a nod.

"At ease."

Moving as one, the ninja students shifted to the right, settling into a shoulder-width stance, their hands behind their backs. Raising his voice, Shane addressed the pupils before him.

"Good work this morning. All of you trained well. We will now have our hour break. Report back here for the afternoon classes. Dismissed!"

Bowing in unison, the students proceeded to file out in the same order: air, earth, water, samurai, thunder. Bringing up the rear was one single student.

As the training area emptied, Kyle and Tally bid goodbye to their fellow masters to take their lunch break. The rest of their masters made their way to Ninja Ops, and Shane turned to Hunter.

"So how have your students adjusting?"

The thunder master shrugged, "The transition was rough on some. You know the majority of them left the Thunder Academy in Blue Point to follow me when they found out I was leaving to teach here. It's really different than the Thunder Academy. They've had to adjust to a new dojo, new code," Hunter plucked at his ninja uniform, "Even a new uniform."

"How do they feel about it?" Dustin questioned.

"They understand," Hunter grinned, sifting a hand through his hair, his wedding band glinting in the dim light. "Most of them actually like it here better. The Thunder Academy was kind of small since there was only one primary element working."

As the group reached Ninja Ops, Eric turned to Cam, "So how have the morphers been coming?"

The samurai ranger led them downstairs to the lower level and gestured to his work station, "Let me show you."

The former Ninja Storm and Dino Thunder rangers glanced down at the smooth metal surface. Resting atop the table was a row of cuffs, color-coded with each element's respective shade. The ninja discs were set firmly in the center of each cuff, designed to look like a watch.

Shifting to Eric, Cam grinned, "I'm glad Conner had you keep your Dino morpher. Analyzing its components, I figured out the technology Tommy and Hayley used to allow the Dino bracelets to change into morphers on command." Cam gave a shake of his head, "It's quite ingenious, actually. I'm surprised other teams didn't think about it before. It makes the morphers much less conspicuous. Case and point, ours." Cam waved at the first generation of bulky Ninja Storm morphers lying beside their successors. Plucking the green samurai cuff from its fellows, Cam latched it onto his wrist.

"Ready."

The guantlet flashed, the morpher proceeding the beam of light emitted from the cuff. As it changed back, Cam removed the bracelet, placing it back with the others, "Everything's almost finished, but we seem to be having problems with the final morpher."

Tori's brow furrowed, "What sort of problems?"

Cam lifted his hands in a helpless gesture, "Well, you all know the power discs within the morphers are infused with the elemental power they represent and are only attuned with those of that element. Water students can't use an air morpher and so on." Cam paced the gound before his teammates, "With the first elements, they are compatible with any student of that element. That in mind, we could use the stock power normally used for testing to charge the morphers. For the last morpher, however, we obviously don't have stock for that element since there is only one student. So, I had to use his own contribution." Cam paused.

"And the disc rejected it."

Shane frowned, "How is that possible?"

Cam shook his head in defeat, "I can't seem to fathom a reason. It seems that this disc is more selective than others."

Dustin furrowed his brow in confustion, "Well, what are we going to do? Are we just not going to have that ranger?"

Cam hesitated, "Not exactly. I've been testing samples from the only other contribution we own, and apparantly, it appears as though each discharge has a signature unique to its individual carrier."

Hunter groaned in disbelief, "So that means - "

Cam nodded, "The disc is going to choose its bearer."

xxx

Conner leaned casually against a stone bench shaded by trees in the courtyard of UCLA's campus, idly waiting for Kira. He tugged slightly on the brim of the gray cap perched jauntily atop his shock of brown hair peeking out from the confines of the covering. His long legs, clad in worn and faded blue jeans, were stretched out before him, his feet in black Adidas Gazelles absently wiggling with impatience.

Yawning slightly, Conner stood to stretch, the gray and crimson three-quarter sleeve shirt riding slightly to expose a bit of his tanned stomach and crimson boxers peering out from the brown belt that secured his jeans riding low on his hips. As he settled down into his previous position, Conner checked his communicator at the watch Billy thankfully installed.

"Rock Star, you're late."

"Hey, Torch!"

Turning his head to his right, Conner acknowleged the greeting of a teammate with a grin and a enthusiastic wave, "Oy, Nolan!"

The junior midfielder waved the hot pink flyer clutching in his fist, "Hey, Sigma party tonight! You in?"
Conner shook his head, "Nah, can't dude…"

"Right," Greg Nolan snapped his fingers in recognition, "Back to the boonies again."

Conner laughed, playfully chucking a pinecone at his friend, "That's Reefside to you, bucko!"

"Hey, Conner McKnight, right?"

At the sound of his name, Conner rotated and spotted a tall brunette girl walking towards him, her arms clutching a pair of books, surrounded by a group of friends whispering to each other, gesturing eagerly at him. Aware of their intentions, Conner groaned inwardly, but flashed the girls a friendly smile.

"Yeah." Surveying the girl, Conner vaguely recognized her, "You're a cheerleader, right? The one who had a fat problem with Kira Ford?"

The girl nodded, rolling her eyes in disinterest, flipping her long mane of hair over her shoulder, "I don't know if it's a problem. The poster child for the Alanis Morrisette fan club and I had a run in at one of your games. Personally, I don't know why she was even there. Shouldn't she be at, like, a grunge show or something?" Smiling brightly, the girl tilted her head at the jock, "I'm Lauren. We," She gestured to her friends behind her, winking flirtatiously at Conner, "cheered at the title game." Inching closer to the soccer star, she ran a finger down Conner's toned arm, "You played a great game."

Apparantly she doesn't read the magazines that mention I'm in a relationship…no wonder Kira has a problem with her. Bringing his arm up to rub the pair of hemp bracelets around his right wrist, Conner forced out a tight smile, "Thanks."

"But we missed you at the celebration party." Lauren pouted, shamelessly hitting on the soccer star. Conner grimaced inwardly, uncomfortable with her advances, but glancing around, he found no escape route. Of all the times for Kira to be late…

Conner reverted his attention back to Lauren and her cronies, "I was there."

"No the after party."

Nodding in understanding, Conner gave an indifferent shrug, "Sorry, things to do."

Not even remotely put-off by his nonchalance, Lauren produced a hot pink flyer from the depths of her bag, handing it to Conner, allowing her fingers to linger on his.

"Well, my sorority's having an end-of-the-year party this weekend. Maybe you can come."

Conner shook his head in mock remorse, "Ah, can't. Sorry. My girlfriend and I are flying home for the summer today, and we won't be back until school starts. As a matter of fact, there she is now." Spying Kira emerge from the doors of the university hall, Conner hefted a sigh of immense relief, absently handing back the flyer.

"Maybe some other time."

Lauren's face twisted into a scowl at the sight of Conner striding off to none other than Kira Ford, "Well, call me if that doesn't work out and she, like, gets all depressed or something."

Conner rolled his eyes, calling over his shoulder, "Don't be waiting by the phone."

xxx

Kira groaned as the midafternoon sunlight bore down on her eyes. Marching down the steps, she barely noticed the gentle hand removing her book bag from her shoulder while threading her free hand's fingers through his as her booted heels clicked on the hard pavement with each hasty stride.

"If I never see another scantron sheet, number two pencil, or idiotic filler question like 'Do you wish Professor Stiegler was a) maimed, b) castrated, c) fired, or d) a nice guy,' I will never complain about the lack of quality coffee shops here on campus," Kira muttered, straightening the sheer yellow undershirt beneath her black long-sleeve over it. Throwing her wavy hair over her shoulder, she continued, releasing the semester's worth of frustration in a lengthy tirade.

"I mean, almost three hundred questions? Who the hell does he think we are, Energizer Bunnies? I hope he grades on a curve because I - "

Her rant abruptly halted as Kira found herself pushed up against Conner's car, his lips preventing anymore words. Relaxing as her arms wound around his neck, deepening the kiss, slipping her tongue between his caressing lips, Kira felt all her irritation ebb away. Pulling away, she gazed up into his amber eyes, smiling softly, her worries forgotten.

"Hi."

Conner grinned back, "Hi." Bracing one hand against the car door, Conner quirked an eyebrow, "What took you so long?"

Kira leaned back against the cool metal of his SUV, "Diana was asking me about the deal Tone Records was trying to get me to sign again. I told her the same thing I told Eddie when he tried to sucker me into another video: hell no." Staring up curiously to his grinning face, Kira's brow furrowed, "Why?"

Conner gave the sky a long, suffering look, "I had caught the certain attentions of a group of cheerleaders you personally have problems with." Pressing a kiss to her forehead as he opened the door to his Mercedes SUV, Conner shot Kira a reproving glance, "I could have used you for some PDA." Catching the preoccupied look still pasted on Kira's face, Conner groaned.

"Stop worrying about school. It's done. Over. And you and I are going home for the summer to hang out with our loved ones and friends."

Kira sighed, hauling herself into the passenger seat, "I'm just looking forward to a relaxing summer free of stress, anxiety, and most importantly, freaky mutant wannabes figuring that them taking over the universe will better the human population and their own pitiful self-esteem issues."

Conner forced out a laugh, grimacing behind her turned back as he climbed into the driver's seat, "Yeah, me too."

xxx

Hours later, Conner lay awake in his childhood bedroom, staring up at the ceiling. The cool night air whistled in thought his open window. The plane ride to Angel Grove International airport had been pleasantly uneventful as the couple managed to dodge the small amount of media crawling in the airport. The only exception had been the Ninja Storm half of his ranger team, plus his family, Dr. Oliver, and his former teacher's girlfriend, another past ranger, Kimberly Hart, greeting Conner with a monstrous blown-up version of his cover of Teen People featuring the soccer star shirtless and dripping with watter. Needless to say, the press captured a lovely picture of his extremely red face.

Still unable to sleep, Conner slid his legs from under the covers. Pulling on a pair of crimson running shorts over a UCLA t-shirt, Conner laced up his running shoes, and pulling a sweatshirt over his head, set out into the brisk night. As his feet lightly pounded against the pavement cooled by the midnight air, Conner throught about his eerie conversation with Caleb. Now that the summer season was fully upon the inferno ranger, he wondered exactly what his guardian spirit meant by their exchange. "Fun" to Caleb was more attuned to a training session against fifty rabid monstrosities out for blood or a body part, whichever came first, and Conner had a sinking feeling that his blissful retirement from rangering was coming to an abrupt end. Flipping up to balance on his hands atop the railing of the boardwalk overlooking Reefside's Hang Ten beach, his mind drifted back to the summer accompaning the year that changed his life.

"You, Conner , are the scarlet warrior depicted in the prophecy. You are what ancient texts so eloquently name, The Chosen Ranger."

"So how are you dealing?"

"Considering I just found out I am responsible for preserving the universe as we know it, not bad."

"I mean, with Mesogog, it was just Reefside. Now, it's the whole frickin' universe."

"Uh, yeah, I had some trouble with the fire exercizes Sensei had me do."

"Uh, I blew up the candle I was supposed to light."

"He hurt you, Kira. Really bad. Day after day, I watched you kill yourself trying to help him. Watched your spirits and hopes build up whenever he was good, only to come crashing down when he betrayed us once again. I saw the hurt in your eyes when he spewed another one of his death threats or promises of our utter demise. And I saw your heart shatter into a million pieces wen you found out he was the white ranger.

The worst part was, I couldn't do anything about it. I could only stand and watch as he broke your heart over and over again. And it hurt me, because I couldn't protect you. Your emotions are something so vulnerable. I'm sorry if I'm bitter, if I don't forgive him, but I'm not just gonna let him waltz back in here with that holier-than-thou attitude like he's our God-given savior and allow that to happen again. You – You all mean so much more to me."

"So you love me, huh? Can't say I'm surprised. I have that effect on a lot of women."

"What do you suppose I do, pick names out of a hat. 'Hey, would you mind giving up your life so that Khyuss can be destroyed?'"

"To get to Earth, you have to get through us."

"I am the Chosen Ranger, and I hold the POWER OF FIRE!"

"Destiny, bro."

He had gone through so much that year; it was almost hard to believe. That he had changed him more than anyone could know.

Settling down atop a rock in an isolated cove, Conner gazed out into the night sky, the lighthous in the distance occasionally flooding the shores with its intense beam, guiding the wayward ships along the coast. As the ocean mist tickled his nostrils, a different breeze wafted through his senses. Rolling his eyes as he cradled his head on a hand propped up on his knee, Conner groaned.

"You know, I'm starting to dread everytime you show up."

Caleb's erethral visage displayed mock hurt, "Conner, you wound me."

Giving his guardian a suffering glance, Conner quirked an eyebrow, "And you don't give me good reason to? Shall we recap? Visit number one: forgetting all pleasantries of just find out you exist, you tell me someone on my team has to die. Second encounter: I'm dead! And the third: beneath the veil of small talk and friendly conversation, you imply that this summer is going to be 'fun,' a concept that you and I have vastly differing opinions on. Did I leave anything out?"

"Just the stick, but that's stuck up your ass." Noting the murderous glare sent his way, Caleb sighed, "Okay, okay. I understand your apprehension. But rest assured, I'm just here to give you a message."

"Well then, by all means," Conner muttered, sarcasm dripping from his voice, gesturing that his guardian proceed.

Caleb grinned, "Just to let you know, you're not alone. Where there is one, there is always another." Caleb gave Conner a quick sidelong glance, his eyes twinkling with mischief, "Just some food for thought."

Conner waited, anticipating more, "That's it?"

"No." Caleb grinning innocently, "And the initial application of an object may not exactly be its primary function."

"Dude, where were you during my junior year final? That sounds like something my physics teacher would say." Conner frowned, "So what does that all mean?"

A pale eyebrow shot skyward, "Now, if I told you that, why would all your teachers try to teach you critical thinking?" Tipping an imaginary hat to his succesor, Caleb began to fade, "I'll be checking in…"

As a breeze ruffled through Conner's sweaty locks as a parting, he turned a weary gaze skyward.

"I knew it was going to be one of those summers…"

xxx

Galaxies away, a long girl stared up at a similar night sky. A pair of eyes gazed upward, a curious shade of blue: brilliant and so pale, they were almost white. As the pale orbs stared at the dusky sky, alight with flashes depicting the war-torn world she currently resided in, they shone with a maturity that exceeded her seventeen years. Her eyes, with all the horrors her young existance experienced and lived through, had failed to lose their life and hope. A peaceful wind ruffled her wild dark locks, curling around her strikingly beautiful face, a stark contrast to the battles that ripped through the night sky. Night was supposed to be when the world rested, dreaming of the a world outside of reality. But in this world, rest was non-existant, and dreaming of another life occurred constantly.

There she sat, huddled beneath a swaying palm tree, a vision of innocence. But this girl was far from immaculate, a blaster strapped to her thigh, her feet incased in heavy boots, faint stains of blood streaked across her tattered wardrobe and cut face, a heavy spear lying at her side. She had fought for a long time, only to gain nothing. But the Elders had assured their people that help would arrive, according to a prophecy.

When the wizard of dark sees his demise
And the Chosen One has made his sacrifice
The seasons of life will twice begin and end
Before He shall again suit himself in red

On another world his team will fight
To battle the dark and bring the light
Aided by another of the flame
This battle will be against he who looks the same

Sacrifice will again show his face
For the survival of another race
The line between friend and foe lies obscure
For where one is tainted, the other is pure

Two will be again the number of choice
For the call of the dragon will raise its voice
To choose its bearer, the wholesome of heart to find
To leave the mystery of an unknown past behind

As the crack of weaponry accompanied the screams of terror and demise, the girl glanced up once again at the sky and whispered to the endless abyss.

"Please come, Chosen One. And come soon."

Coming Up:

A surprise for our Chosen Ranger…

Yes, another prophecy rears its ugly head, promising the death of another character. But who will it be this time? And will he or she proceed in the footsteps of our Chosen Ranger and rise from the ashes? Or will nature take its course? Hm…another story brings about more mysteries. Stay tuned. Just a reminder to keep the challenges coming!

Roxie