A/N: And we're off into the actual meat of the story! As of right now it looks like we won't be getting the full team assembled until chapter 5 but even still, this is going to get ugly before it gets better. I'm really enjoying exploring where everyone is before this, and why Kim has felt the need to cut herself off from her friends. (Hint remember what you were like at 21-22 years old.)

"I've got a bad case of the 3:00 am guilts - you know, when you lie in bed awake and replay all those things you didn't do right?"- DD Barant

Boston, Massachusetts, Planet Earth-Sector Six

Aisha missed the Savannah the most on days like today. Boston was cold in ways she had never really experienced. Bitter and biting with wind that whipped across her face like a thousand pins all at one. It was crowded too, a big city trying to fit into pants that were too tight. The Savannah had been all wide open space, even the tree cover spaced out so that you could see for miles and miles around. She missed the village and its inhabitants. The people were kind, open and welcoming in a way you didn't find in the world anymore. They had known, maybe not exactly that she was a Power Ranger, but they had known she was a warrior of some kind. They had called her shujaa wa kike and treated her with a kind of revenrence. She had done everything she could to show her appreciation and respect for them. Most of all though, she missed the animals that she had helped care for. The lions, elephants, impalas and even the warthogs. Life was precious on those pieces of land. She had been important to the circle of life.

The decision to leave her life as a Power Ranger behind and settle there had been a both difficult and easy one. There was regret of course; choosing to abandon the duty she had been given, leaving her friends who had become more of her family than her own parents. But leaving had rewarded her with the ability to help people and animals. It shown her purpose beyond the Power, something that as a teenager she had worried over to her best friend. What would they do when the time came to move on? How do you still make an impact when you've saved the world?

An invitation to lecture about the animals of African Savannah had finally brought her home to the United States, even if it was on the opposite side of the country from where she had grown up.

A lecture she was going to be incredibly late for if she didn't manage to get her ass in gear.

"According to our affiliates in New York Hal, the pink ninja was wearing the same uniform as the Power Rangers of Angel Grove from the early 90s." Janet Wu's voice floated from the TV in the bedroom as she rushed to finish her makeup in the connected bathroom. The brush she had been holding falls out of her hand as she rushes out of the bathroom to try and catch any of the video footage. Chocolate eyes widen as she sees the pink ninja taking on Tengu warriors in downtown New York.

There's a sickness in her stomach, seeing the familiar uniform on her TV screen. It looks just as pristine as the first time she had seen it, which later she would think was so strange. It had been a very long time since those powers had been called for the last time. Shouldn't it show it's wear? There isn't time to process it fully and there isn't time for her to sit glued to the television, watching it over and over. The world has tilted on its axis for her personally but her professional life is demanding her attention. Quickly dashing to the bedside table, the former yellow ranger opens the laptop Billy had gifted her as a graduation present for her doctorate and quickly pulled up the news site and downloaded the video so she could look at it after her seminar. She would dissect it over and over again, bring it to Justin so he could confirm it was real.

In the taxi ride over to the University she sends a text to Katherine. Unassuming and familiar she asks the Australian who had also worn the uniform what she was up to for the rest of the week. When the blonde replies with a recounting of ballet students and nothing more her stomach sinks and her traitorous heart soars.

No matter how much she tried to ignore it during her lecture and then the ride home, Aisha wasn't able to shake the ice cold grip that seemed to be squeezing her heart as tight as a noose.

There were only ghosts left if Katherine hadn't been the one to call on the powers.

Kimberly had been the first real female friend she had ever had. She had friends on teams and in different clubs but there had never been someone else for her to confide in. It had been the pink ranger who made her feel welcome on the team. They had confided in each other about everything. Hell they had been as close as sisters for the last half of both of their ranger tours, living together when Kim's mother and stepfather moved to France. There were times when she was sure her best friend was dead and others were Aisha rationalized that she would have known. Surely there would have been some feeling? The bear in her soul crying out at the death of her soul sister.

[Outgoing Text] Can I come by your lab? I need you to check something out for me

The buzzing response manages to startle her a little bit, the jump making her feel ridiculous.

[Incoming Text: Little Boy Blue] Sure I should be finished up with what I'm doing by six. I'll order Thai.

Home of the Grand Councilman Andros, KO-35 Sector 14

She had only seen him like this a few times since the Z Wave purified them both. Had avoidance been an Olympic sport, she would have earned gold medals in that as well. Watching him walk towards where she, Andros and Ashley are sitting around a larger table on the back patio raised the hair on the back of her neck, muscles poised and waiting for an attack.

"This is a bad idea." she murmurs to her two companions, wanting to voice her protest.

"They're the best lead on information Kimberly." Andros's voice is chiding, his face mirroring the disapproval in his voice.

They had never been able to agree on this particular issue. Andros believed that as the evil had been purged out of them, it was worth giving the benefit of the doubt. After all Rita was now the Mystic Mother. To the former Red Space Ranger, that counted for a lot. Kimberly however couldn't see past the beings that had terrorized her and her friends during their youth. Andros had made the mistake of bringing up Tommy the first time they had the argument about Zedd and Rita, pointing out that she had never held Tommy's actions against him. Her eyes had gone to steel, hands clenching and unclenching as she reminded him through gritted teeth that Tommy Oliver had no choice in what he had done and had more than proved himself. Voice sounding more like a growl she had reminded Andros that at sixteen years old Tommy Oliver carried the white light of goodness, before storming out of his office.

They didn't talk for almost two weeks after

Where there had once been chrome and exposed pulsing red muscle was now a tall, lithe man with sandy blonde hair and eyes that looked to be made of pure gold. He was wearing a belted red tunic, causing the Black Ranger to sneer. Zandred of Eltar was, from what she had been told by the people she encountered who had known him personally, the spitting image of his twin brother Zordon before he had been trapped in a time warp by Zandred's ever so charming wife, the Mystic Mother. He had been the Red Ranger on the team that his brother had been the White Ranger for, reminding Kimberly of Jason and Tommy.

"Grand Councilman, Lady Crane, we came as soon as we got your message." Zandred said with a bow to the both of them.

"Thank you both for coming so quickly. The information we have to share is dire and neither of us can imagine how it happened." Andros's tone is warm, inviting them both to join them sitting at the table.

"Alyven was more cryptic than normal." The mystic mother comments, the rustle of her white skirts distracting from Kimberly from her anger for a moment.

"There were Tengu on Earth." she snaps at them, wanting to move this along as quickly as she possibly can.

The couple pauses midway into taking their seats, a look of dread passing between them as they take in the information.

"There isn't necessarily a correlation." Mystic Mother comments diplomatically

"It would be the only thing that i know of with the power to bring those monsters back." Zandred counters back, looking for a moment at Kimberly with the same parental look Zordon used to give her.

"You know what resurrected them?" Ashley wonders

"How much do you know about the staff I wielded as Lord Zedd?" Zandred asked, that same diplomatic tone in his voice that the Mystic Mother had used.

"Beyond that I wanted to snap it in half, nothing." Kim comments flatly

"I know that it was the source of your power and that it was what created the" Andros trails off for a moment, an edge of embarrassment in his tone

"The staff is a relic of an old Power cult known as the Cult of Zedd. The legends were that Zedd was the first user of the Grid to ever be corrupted. The acolytes of the cult imbued it with his powers just before he died. And ever since then any being who's held the staff, their darkness and magic has strengthened it. Anytime a Zedd has been destroyed that power has stayed with the staff. When my brother sacrificed himself, I took the staff and with Mystic Mother's help, locked it in a vault of white magic. It should be impossible for any of the acolytes to get it." Xandred explained, looking sad even as he told the tale.

"So if all the power was in the staff, how did this happen?" Kim's curiosity overrode her anger so that the question came out kindly.

"Not all of the power, Lady Crane. Just most of it. Beyond whatever being is attempting to claim the title of Zedd possess on their own, the acolytes themselves hold a measure of the original Zedd's power. There is a ritual that the candidate must survive first. If they manage it, then they would be given the staff." His golden eyes are thoughtful as he considers who might have come along to try and take up the power.

"Would you know where to find who it is and where they might be?" Andros inquired, hopeful that this would be able to put to rest quickly.

"Unfortunately no, the location hasn't been written. I stumbled upon the temple by accident and it was moved after I took on the staff, which was the tradition."

Kimberly stood resting her hands on the table in front of her, taking a deep steadying breath. "This has been illuminating but I have other, pressing information to try and obtain. If you think of anything useful, please share it with the council." She presses the button on her belt, disappearing in a column of black light.

"I'm sorry for her abruptness." Andros says quietly

"It is an understandable thing for Kimberly to be unable to forgive us. We are responsible for her most terrible nightmares." Zandred acknowledged with an understanding nod of his head.

"But I fear what will happen if she is not willing to open her heart as it once was and forgive herself." the woman once known as Rita commented, staring at the sport where the former Pink Ranger used to be.

Blue Wolf Technologies Satellite Lab- Boston, Massachusetts, Planet Earth-Sector Six

"Aisha are you all right?" Justin asks his friend, watching the way she seems almost nervous. Her face looks grave and he can't put his finger on the reason she seemed to hug him harder than normal. She also hadn't touched the food they ordered, which was odd in and of itself.

"This thing I need you to check out for me. If it's real...Justin I can't wrap my head around it." her voice trembles, pain and a hint of fear coloring the tone of it.

"Sha you're kind of scaring me." the younger man admits, nerves spiking.

Justin Stewart had known many ranger women over the years. And fear or nervousness was not an emotion that he was used to seeing on any of their faces, least of all Aisha. In all the time he had known her she had been the fierce, fearless bear that her ninja spirit represented.

The former yellow ranger goes over to her bag and pulls out her laptop, pulling up the video she had downloaded and started it, letting the younger ranger watch it.

"Oh fucking Christ." Justin swore, realizing what he was watching as he heard the voice and saw the uniform that came from the bright pink light. He hadn't really known Kimberly beyond the time they met during his first adventure as a ranger. But the people he cared about, the people who were like his older siblings cared a lot. This was going to fuck all of them up. Badly.

"Does Tommy or Jason know yet?" he murmurs quietly, typing away furiously on the keyboard to start running diagnostics on the video file

"No not yet. I don't know how to tell any of them about this, not until I know it's real. And even if it is real, how do I tell them?" her hands tremble, arms wrapping around her midsection to hug herself tightly. Her lips tremble as she tries to hold in the sobs threatening to spill from her lips. She can not differentiate between the anger at knowing her friend is alive and had left them all thinking the worst for so long and the pure, unabashed relief that Kimberly was alive and okay. She wants to know why more than anything else. What could have possibly happened that would make Kim just cut them all off like she had. They had been through countless battles, more hopeless situations than Aisha would ever like to recount. There wasn't anything so terrible that the dark skinned woman could conjure up that would force her pink sister to choose to abandon them the way she had. Justin catches sight of her out of the corner of his eye, swallowing as he lets the scanning program run and steps away from the yellow laptop, walking over to his friend.

"It's okay to cry Sha." he assures her, reaching out to envelope her in a tight hug, swallowing thickly as he feels her start to cry into his chest in violent, harsh sobs.

The Ninjette Temple Ruins, Phadeos-Sector 23

She stands on the precipice of the stone platform that overlooked the path down into the jungle, watching as the sunset in a beautiful burst of orange, pink and yellow light. She could feel a presence watching from behind her, the feeling of the gaze burning into the back of her head as tears pricked the corner of her eyes.

"You can come out now Duclea." She called, hearing rustling and steps on the stone, another body standing next to her.

"In all the time you have been working with the Council, you have never come here." The master warrior comments, not entirely unkind

"There was no reason for me to. I was no longer connected to the Ninjette and my team had long broken apart." Kimbery counters the chiding

"I believe you have learned today that that is not altogether true haven't you young Crane?" Dulcea is smiling, the pink and black ranger can feel it.

"How is it even possible? And don't give me that for those who possess the great power crap" her caramel colored hair whips around as she turns on her heel to glare at the other woman.

"That crap as you call it is the truth." The master warrior's voice takes on a hard edge as she stares down at the smaller woman. "Just because the coins were destroyed does not mean that the power was not still deep inside of you. You are the Crane, agile and graceful. And you shall be that way until your life is no more. Just as your team will always be your team Kimberly."

"That isn't true. What I've done to them isn't something they'll forgive." She walks backwards toward the shrine where they had first been connected to their animal spirits, feeling as if she closed her eyes for a moment that when she opened them again she would see the nearly invincible six teens that had stood there over ten years ago.

"You are not the only one who has made mistakes, my young Crane. And you underestimate your teammates. You have not done something so grave as to never be forgiven."

"You couldn't begin to understand. I made a choice and by the time I realized it was the wrong one, it had gone on too long. There's an earth saying about making your bed and lying in it" She sighs deeply, kicking out at a stray rock on the ground.

"You have become bitter with your regret and closed off the heart that used to define you. You will never be able to soar again Kimberly if you do not find a way to let go of that." Dulcea's final words are tinged with sadness for the girl in front of her, a rush of air and then a flutter of wings signalling to Kimberly her departure.

"Helpful as always." she comments to the empty air, looking around one more time before disappearing in a shower of black light.

Somewhere in Space

"That blasted pink ranger is going to ruin everything!" the henchman groaned to his master, his fist shaking in direction of the viewing screen.

"Oh come now, our game has only just begun." The villain spoke with a smooth voice, his face was boyish, his acid green eyes and the slight point to his ears the only things that gave him away physically as not being a fully human. "And she's been divided from her team for a very long time, I would not count on them mending those bridges so easily." he reminded his henchman with a wagging finger.

"Yes master." his henchman nodded, the golden glint of his armor reflecting off the low candle light

"Are the acolytes almost ready?" he asked the creature who served as his right hand

"They will be ready for the ritual by tomorrow." the other informed him with a sinister smirk.

"Let us keep our focus there, as we are not ready to reveal our true purpose. I'll keep sending creatures down as tests. There's no sense in worrying before we need to." he was nonchalant, overconfident in his belief that where others had failed he would succeed. The pink ranger showing up had been an unexpected turn of events, but not one that could not be surmounted. The rangers that had been hailed across the galaxies as undefeatable were fractured and the villain was skeptical that those fractures could be mended well enough to create a viable fighting force.