"Alright, guys, settle down," Jason said, speaking a little louder to be heard over the rest of the group. "Yes, I know this whole situation is getting out of hand, but we're going to deal with it."

The rest of the room quieted down a little, turning their attention back to Jason. Any of the original rangers who had been in the area were currently gathered at Jason and Trini's house to discuss the Mystic Force letters. Jason had also set up computers so that the few who lived out of town, or off planet, could also be involved. So, while most of the group was physically present, Kim, Kat, Billy, and Zach were all using video chat to be a part of the meeting.

"As I was saying," continued Jason, now that he had their attention again. "I've spoken to all of the other teams and anyone who has received a letter has responded appropria—well, they've responded, anyways…"

Some of the others snickered. Zach started outright laughing, as did Rocky.

"Loved the responses from the Silver Guardians and Lightspeed," he grinned, leaning back in his chair as he looked at the camera. "Though Conner's kind of scared me…"

Jason, having gotten copies of all of the responses from the other teams, had shared them with the rest of the originals before the meeting. The letter Dino Thunder had sent, which had been written by Conner and edited by Ethan, had been the most volatile of all of the responses.

"That's because he practically threatened them," Kim pointed out.

"Girl, he did threaten them," Aisha corrected. "There's no practically about it."

The letters, which had all appeared suddenly several days before at the same time, had elicited a variety of responses from the different ranger teams. By this time, everyone had a least a general idea of what Mystic Force had done to Tommy. None of them, even the teams who weren't close to the famous ranger, had been happy about it, though not all of them were up in arms. Jason had nearly had a riot on his hands when the news spread past the originals and Dino Thunder, spending hours on the phone arguing with some of the rangers as to why they were not allowed to go teach Mystic Force a lesson themselves. The letters had just riled them up more.

"The point is," Jason said shortly. "That everyone with a known letter has responded. That includes Wes and Eric, Lightspeed, Dino Thunder, and Wild Force. The Space Rangers haven't gotten one and TJ has nothing for Turbo, though they could have lost those letters anywhere on the ship and won't know it for weeks with all the fan mail they deal with. And the ninjas haven't gotten one at all."

"Yeah, and they are not happy about it," Zach snorted. "Talk about offensive. Mystic Force should at least cover all of their bases if they're going to do something stupid like this."

Jason shot a look toward the computer, but Zach just grinned.

"The rangers here on Aquitar have also received a letter," Billy said quietly. "Though it did arrive some hours after the rest of them, even if I account for differences in time. I believe it may have gotten slightly lost along the way due to the distance from Earth. I am also checking with Lost Galaxy to see if they received anything, though I do not believe the young team would have any knowledge of them as they never came to earth."

Jason nodded.

"So, what are we going to do about our letter?" Adam asked. "The one you got, Jason."

"And what about the one I got for Ninjetti?" Rocky asked. "I haven't done anything with it yet."

"And you don't need to," Jason said. "As for ours—I'm not answering it."

The room fell completely silent for a moment as they all looked at Jason in shock, except for Trini who just sighed. She had already known what Jason had decided. After a moment, though, everyone started talking at once again about why it was or wasn't a good idea to ignore the letter. Jason let it go for a little while before he interrupted.

"Alright, quiet," he said, grabbing their attention again. "I know some of you, or all of you, may not like it, but that's my decision. I am not going to send them a response because at this point in time, I have no plans to initiate further contact with them. There is no point in encouraging communication by sending a letter when I want nothing to do with them."

"Jason, they're your sisters," Kat said. "You can't just cut all ties to them like this."

"Watch me," Jason growled, glaring in her direction.

Every single one of the originals was outraged by Mystic Force's actions regarding Tommy, but a few of them thought Jason completely alienating them was the wrong way to go. A few of the group wanted to reconcile and move on rather than stay at odds with the newest team. The difference in opinion had been causing some waves throughout the ranger network.

"Jason, you have to give them another chance," Kat said, pleading her case. "I'm not saying they didn't do something wrong—I hate what they did to Tommy. But we've all messed up and we've all hurt each other in some way. Send the letter. Give them a chance to make this right."

"They don't deserve a letter," Kim snapped from her computer. "Those rang—those kids—hurt Tommy. And not just physically. We've all seen how depressed he's been since the whole blowup. They hurt him."

"You hurt Tommy, too," Kat snapped back. "Remember the letter? He gave you a second chance."

Kim froze, momentarily stunned by Kat's response. Everyone else was just as shocked. There were a few subjects that were taboo among them and that letter was one of them as it was an extremely touchy subject for everyone involved. Taking a deep breath, Kim glared across screens at Kat.

"Fine," she hissed. "If that's how it's going to be, then I'm out of here."

Before anyone could stop her, Kim hung up, disappearing from screen. A guilty look flashed across Kat's face, but she didn't say anything as several of the others looked at her in surprise.

"Kat, you broke up with him, too," Tanya said softly after a moment.

"But not like she did," Kat said defensively. "Tommy and I both agreed that our lives were heading in different directions—she just decided long distance was too hard. She didn't even give him the courtesy of a phone call!"

"But you didn't have to yell at her," Zach frowned. "She has a point about the newbies."

"Well, I'm sorry," Kat said tearfully. "I just—I can't do this today. I have a performance and I don't need this right now."

She hung up, too. Zach started to say something else, but Jason stopped him.

"Just stop," Jason interrupted. "This is why I'm not responding. The whole thing has already divided us enough and I'm not about to let it tear the rangers apart. I am not sending Mystic Force a letter. Maybe when they don't get a response they'll start taking a closer look at what they've done. They need time to think."

Reluctantly, the rest of the rangers nodded in agreement. They were all tired of being on edge and irritated with the new team and each other. Jason took a deep breath.

"Now," he said. "Everyone remember that no one is to say anything about this to Tommy. He's been dealing with enough."

While most of the rangers nodded, Adam frowned.

"Jason, then what are you doing about the Zeo letter?" he asked. "Did you get a hold of it somehow? Because if that letter did the same thing as the rest, it would have gone to our red—Tommy."

Jason froze, grimacing.

"Zeo," he muttered. "I forgot about Zeo."

"Oh, thanks," Rocky grumbled. "You know, you were on Zeo for a while, too."

"I know," Jason said, rubbing a hand over his face. "But it wasn't for that long and it doesn't come up in conversation much. Trini doesn't like talking about it…"

"Because you almost died!" she protested.

Jason sighed.

"Trini, we all nearly died on a weekly basis in high school and you have a meltdown over one small period of time?" he said.

She glared at him, crossing her arms.

"Jason, you didn't tell anyone it was killing you," she snapped. "That's a whole lot different."

"Alright," he relented, not wanting to get into the argument they'd had many times before. "Now, has anyone talked to Tommy recently? Has he said anything about the letter?"

The rest of the rangers rolled their eyes, shaking their heads.

"Jason, no one has talked to Tommy in weeks except you," Adam pointed out. "We told you that when we got here, remember?"

"And that definitely has not changed in the past hour," Zach commented.

"Yeah, well, I was hoping," Jason muttered. "The idiot doesn't even answer my phone calls anymore. He's hiding overseas, not talking to anyone except Hayley. I know something happened, but he won't tell me what. And he left his wife here alone and she's—"

"Jason, careful what you say," Trini warned, guessing where he was going.

"Is—extremely—pregnant," Jason stumbled. "The point is he should be here instead of on a dig in whatever country he's in right now. But he's not and he won't tell anyone why except Hayley."

"And anytime one of us tries to talk to her about it, she starts crying and hangs up," Aisha sighed.

"I'm pretty sure the kids know, too," Jason muttered. "But I can't get anything out of them. And anytime I think I'm getting close to cracking one of them, suddenly we're talking about something else completely."

The others laughed, nodding. They'd all experienced that a time or two with the younger Dino rangers.

"Talk about being good at keeping secrets," Zach said. "No one can crack them if they don't want to talk."

"No kidding," Jason grumbled. "One minute I thought I had Ethan about to confess, and then suddenly we're talking about ice cream. I couldn't even remember changing subjects! And then I try and steer him back to what's going on with Tommy and, next thing I know, he and Conner are arguing about some video game."

"Well, look at who their mentor is," Tanya pointed out. "They learned from the best."

"A little too well, sometimes," Trini sighed.

"Anyways, the meeting is over for now," Jason said, pulling his phone out. "I've gotta try calling Tommy. I really hope he didn't get that letter…"

Tommy sighed, hearing his phone start vibrating again. He glanced over where it was sitting on the table next to him, but didn't reach for it. Instead, he went back to writing.

"Give it a rest, Jase," he muttered. "Calling three times in thirty minutes isn't going to get me to pick up. I'm sorry, bro, but I don't want to talk right now…"

Going back over the letter one more time, he folded it and put it in the envelope he had already gotten ready. Sealing the letter inside, he set the envelope down on the table again and studied it. He'd been surprised to receive the letter several days before. At first he hadn't been sure what he was going to do with it, and then he decided he would send a response back and encourage them to contact Jason. Just because the girls and their teammates hated him, didn't mean they needed to hate all of the rangers. It would be good for them to meet formally as rangers. And eventually getting to meet some of the other teams would be good experience for the new team. It would help the young rangers expand their knowledge of the Power Ranger network and create stronger connections for the future.

"I hope this helps them," he sighed, shaking his head.

Despite everything that had happened, Tommy wasn't angry with the young rangers—far from it. He held nothing against them for the attack, taking all the blame for himself no matter how many of the others tried to tell him he hadn't deserved any of it. All he wanted right now was to support them in any way he could. And if that meant sending them letters that pointed them in the direction of a reconcilement with their brother, then he would do it.

"Wonder how the others are responding to theirs," he mused, guessing he wasn't the only one to get a letter.

His phone started buzzing again and Tommy rolled his eyes.

"Jason, you are far too overprotective sometimes," he sighed. "And you aren't even my current—oh no."

He stopped, grimacing.

"Conner," he muttered, reaching for his phone. "If he got one of these… I have to call Hayley. Sorry, bro, keeping Conner from killing your sisters is more important right now."

Ignoring the call from Jason, he dialed Hayley instead.

"Hayley?" he said as soon as she answered. "Have you heard from Conner in the last couple of days?"

"Wait for it, Chip," Xander said, not taking his eyes off of what he was doing. "If you move too soon, the whole thing will come crashing down."

The two rangers were currently waiting to make their move as Nick and Madison, currently facing off with Daggeron and Leanbow, led the two older rangers toward the trap that was waiting. Vida was flitting around in the shadows of the trees, occasionally jumping into the fight to throw off the balance. But she was really waiting to leap in and snag the prize Leanbow and Daggeron were carrying and guarding. It was a training exercise focusing on teamwork—the magical version of capture the flag. Essentially, the goal was to take the object from their teachers however they could. The younger rangers had tried the frontal assault first and failed. So now they were setting a trap.

"I've got it," Chip grinned, glancing over his shoulder at Xander. "Just be ready to let those vines go."

After darting away for a moment to throw in a side attack of his own Chip returned to wait with Xander. Leanbow and Daggeron were slowly getting closer. The younger rangers knew their teachers had to be expecting a trap, but they were hoping to throw them off enough to succeed. They had set up an intricate net of living vines that Xander was currently holding in place with his magic. Their plan was to lure their teachers into place through frontal assault and sneak attacks. As soon as they were in position, Chip would attack and momentarily blind them with a light spell meant to send them stumbling into the vines. Xander would let go, pulling the two older rangers up into the trees and giving Vida the chance to fly in and snatch the prize before their teachers could break free. So far, the plan was working.

"Almost there," Xander muttered. "Just a little closer."

Daggeron and Leanbow were only a few steps away. Slipping silently into position, Chip waited to release his spell. Udonna came walking in from the direction of Rootcore. She stayed well away from the rangers, not wanting to interfere in their session. But she did announce her presence so they were aware of her.

"Rangers, when you're finished, Phineas just left a letter for you that was delivered to the Rock Porium," she said.

She had expected the rangers to all keep going and acknowledge her after they were finished. But at the mention of the letter, Chip momentarily lost focus. He let the spell go early and, instead of blinding Daggeron and Leanbow, the flash of light caught Xander. Shocked by the spell, Xander lost control of his own and the vines whipped out of place. Leanbow and Daggeron leapt out of the way, but Nick was closer and didn't have a chance to move. The vines snagged him, pulling him up into the trees.

"Oh no!" Madison exclaimed as the fight came to an abrupt conclusion.

"Chip!" Nick shouted, struggling to free himself.

With Nick trapped and Xander trying to recover from the blinding spell, Leanbow and Daggeron quickly took down the four young rangers, ending the training session. Udonna continued to wait patiently for them off to the side.

"Your plan was well thought out," Leanbow said, offering a hand to Xander. "But not well executed."

"What happened?" Daggeron asked, pulling Madison to her feet. "If you had waited just a few more moments, you very well may have had us."

"That was my fault, Daggeron," Chip said sheepishly, climbing back up to his feet. "I lost focus for a moment…"

"No kidding," Nick muttered, still hanging upside down in the tree.

"Hold on, Nick," Vida sighed, looking up at him. "We'll get you down. Xander?"

As Xander, Madison, and Vida turned their attention to getting their leader down, Daggeron and Leanbow turned theirs to Chip. They both looked at him for a moment with expressions of disappointment.

"I'm sorry…" he mumbled, ducking his head. "I shouldn't have lost focus…"

"No, you shouldn't have," Leanbow said. "You must always be prepared for distractions and be ready to handle them—without putting the rest of your team in danger. A true knight notices and observes everything, but keeps his mind focused on the task at hand."

"If this had been real, all of you would have been in serious trouble," Daggeron added. "Xander was blinded and Nick was trapped, leaving you down two rangers. In a real fight, that could get someone killed, not just trapped."

"I know…" Chip said, his shoulders sagging. "And I have no excuse…I messed up."

Behind them, Xander had managed to lower Nick to the ground without dropping him and now he and the girls were pulling the vines off the red ranger. Daggeron put a hand on Chip's shoulder.

"Next time, keep your focus," he said. "Other things have to wait when you're in battle."

"I will," Chip promised as the rest of the team came to join them now that Nick was free.

Chip turned to his team, still embarrassed by his loss of focus.

"Sorry, Nick," he said. "I shouldn't have let the letter distract me. We don't even know if it's from one of the rangers…"

"That's alright, Chip," Nick said. "Just, next time you get distracted, can you not do it when I'm going to get strung up in a tree? Hanging upside down is really not as fun as you'd think."

Chip smiled, nodding. Udonna, seeing that they were done, came forward to join them. She held out the letter to Chip, who hesitated. The letter was the reason the training exercise had fallen apart. But Nick nodded encouragingly, so he took it.

"It's from Dino Thunder!" he said excitedly. "They're practically our neighbors when it comes to ranger teams."

Vida, Nick, Madison, and Xander all grinned, waiting as Chip opened the letter. Leanbow, Daggeron, and Udonna watched in interest. They knew about the letters, but hadn't actually read any of them at this point. Pulling the letter out of the envelope, Chip scanned it eagerly. But as he read, he developed a look of shock.

"Chip, what's wrong?" Nick asked, frowning.

"It's—it's a threat," Chip stammered, looking up from the letter. "They're actually threatening us."

"You've got to be reading it wrong," Nick said, taking the letter from him. "They've never met us, so why would they threaten us?"

But as he read it, his face grew grim.

"They are way out of line," he growled, shaking his head. "This is completely uncalled for—we have never threatened them in any way!"

"Would someone just read it?" Vida demanded, crossing her arms. "What does it say?"

"Here, let me," Madison said, taking it out of Nick's hands.

He just glowered at the paper, muttering under his breath. Scanning the contents quickly, Madison took a deep breath.

"Mystic Force," she read, speaking loud enough for everyone to hear. "Your letter asking for the chance to meet us is both unnecessary and unwanted. We know who you are and have no desire to share our identities with you. So stay in Briarwood where you belong. Fortunately for you, we are under strict orders to stay out of your city and we will follow the chain of command. So, as long as you stay there, you're safe. However, if you set one toe in the boundaries of Reefside, rest assured that the results should we catch you will be drastic and immediate. We will not hesitate to take your presence here as a threat worthy of our full attention and power. This is your one and only warning. Dino Thunder Red."

Everyone was looking at her in shock now, even their teachers.

"Have all of the letters been like that?" Udonna asked in surprise.

"No," Chip said, shaking his head. "The first one was an application, but we're pretty sure that was a mix-up. And the other one—well, it kind of gave us some answers. But there weren't any threats of any kind…"

"So why would this team be different?" Daggeron said, looking at them.

The younger rangers just shrugged in confusion.

"Maybe we make them nervous," Xander suggested. "We are really close to Reefside. So maybe they feel like we're encroaching on them—you know, stepping on their toes? They were the last team."

"Like they're not quite ready to let go of being rangers?" Vida said.

Xander nodded, but Nick just snorted.

"They're just mad that it's not their turn anymore and threatened because of how good we are," he said, his arms crossed. "Too bad for them."

Leanbow raised an eyebrow and Nick back downed a little, but he was still clearly agitated by the threatening letter.

"Let's just stay away from them for now," Madison said, looking around at the group. "None of us have a reason to go to Reefside anyways."

She glanced at Vida, who grimaced slightly but didn't say anything. The others nodded.

"You're right, Maddy," Chip said. "Maybe they'll come around if we leave them be for now."

"Give them a chance," Leanbow agreed. "Perhaps there has just been a misunderstanding."

"Maybe," Chip said. "But it doesn't get us any closer to meeting anyone…"

Udonna smiled.

"You will get there," she said. "But for now, be patient."

"And focus on your training," Daggeron added. "Are you guys ready to try again?"

Looking at each other, the five younger rangers nodded eagerly.

"Let's go," Nick grinned.

"Guys! Guys!" Chip shouted, pounding on doors as he bounced down the hall. "Wake up! You've gotta get up!"

Doors started flying open around him and his teammates came stumbling out of their rooms. All of them still looked half-asleep, pajamas on and hair all over, but they had their wands out and ready as they looked around for trouble. Chip stopped, looking at his teammates with an amused look.

"What's going on?" Nick demanded. "Where's the danger?"

"Danger?" Chip repeated, looking at him in surprise. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, there had better be something wrong," Vida said, starting to lower her wand. "Or I'm going to kill you."

"Chip, why on earth would you come pounding on our doors like that if there's nothing wrong?" Xander yawned, still ready to fight the unseen enemy.

"Umm… Because it's almost noon and I figured you were all awake," he said slowly. "Even if you were in your rooms…Why are you all still in your pajamas?"

They were all glaring at him now.

"So there's really nothing wrong?" Madison asked, dropping her arm.

"Not that I know of," Chip said. "Why? Did I miss a fight or something? And you still didn't answer my question…"

"We're in our pajamas," Nick said shortly, putting away his wand, "because we were up all night training. We've barely been asleep for three hours."

As if on cue, yawns went around the room now that the scare of danger was over.

"All night?" Chip said in surprise. "Why?"

"Because Daggeron and Leanbow decided not having you around was a good way to prepare us for moving in the dark if we didn't have a light source," Vida muttered. "Something about learning to deal with the disadvantage on the off chance something happened to you."

Chip snickered.

"Sounds like fun," he said.

"Oh yeah," Xander grumbled. "Because stumbling around in the dark trying not to trip over each other is our idea of fun."

"Why didn't you guys just make a torch?" Chip asked.

"We tried…" Madison sighed, yawning.

She had moved to stand next to Nick, leaning against him sleepily as he put an arm around her shoulders.

"But after we nearly started a forest fire, we decided against it…" she finished, stifling another yawn. "So it took us all night to track down Leanbow and Daggeron. I still don't know how we managed it…"

Nick snorted.

"I'm pretty sure they decided to just stop trying," he said. "And the sun was coming up…"

"Pretty much…" Vida agreed. "I still think they just came back here and left us wandering in circles all night."

"But they said they were out there," Xander said. "And they wouldn't lie to us."

The others sighed, nodding. Chip frowned.

"Wait a minute," he said. "Daggeron and Leanbow were out all night?"

"Yeah, why?" Xander asked.

"Because they were outside sword fighting when I came in," he said. "And they didn't seem tired at all."

The other four groaned.

"Of course not," Vida grumbled.

"Anyways," Nick said. "Chip, why did you wake us up? Because I'd rather still be sleeping."

"Oh! Right!" Chip exclaimed. "Look what we got."

Grinning, he held up a thin envelope stamped with a red seal.

"Another one?" Madison said. "Who's it from?"

"Lightspeed," Chip answered.

"So are you going to open it?" Vida asked, somewhat impatient. "You already woke us up."

Chip nodded. Not needing anymore encouragement, he opened the envelope and pulled out the letter. He scanned through it, his face falling quickly.

"What is it?" Nick asked, frowning.

Sighing, Chip read the letter out loud.

"Mystic Force," he read, sounding disappointed. "We appreciate your interest in our program, but, unfortunately, we are not accepting applicants at this time. Thank you for your interest and good luck in your future endeavors. Lightspeed Rescue…"

He trailed off, his shoulders drooping as his hands fell to his sides.

"The whole thing was stupid…" he mumbled, looking down at the ground. "None of them want anything to do with us…"

The other four exchanged grim looks. They were all disappointed by the results, but it was hitting Chip the hardest.

"Don't let it get to you," Vida said. "There are still plenty of other rangers to hear from. And maybe it was just another mix-up. They might not have even read the letter if it got mixed up in other stuff."

"Sis is right," Madison quickly agreed. "It probably got mixed up in all their other stuff so they just sent a standard response. I'm sure it's nothing. Let's wait and see what else we get."

"Yeah, I guess…" Chip sighed.

"Oh, good, you're up," Udonna interrupted, coming down the hall. "And Chip, you're home."

She smiled at him and he made an effort to smile back.

"Just got back," he said.

"Well, then all five of you can get to work," she said. "Leanbow told me you didn't complete the exercise last night—so they have another one waiting for you."

The rangers groaned, but Udonna just raised an eyebrow.

"Bowen?" she said expectantly.

"Alright, we're going," he sighed. "Come on, guys. Let's get dressed and get back to work. We've gotta head to the shop later, too…"

Momentarily distracted from the letter, the rangers scattered to change and get ready for another day of training and work.

"Where's Chip?" Vida asked, looking around the shop.

She'd just gotten to the Rock Porium after spending the morning out in the magical realm with Daggeron. Madison, Xander, and Nick looked up from what they were doing and shrugged.

"He went back to Rootcore a couple of hours ago," Madison said. "Said he had things to do."

"Things?" Vida said, raising an eyebrow. "What things?"

"No clue," Xander answered. "He wouldn't tell us. But he's still kind of depressed over the letters. The answers aren't what he hoped for."

Vida sighed, shaking her head. All of them had been hoping for something more, but Chip had been more excited about it than any of them. So the lack of positive response had hit him hardest. It had been several days since they'd received the response from Lightspeed and he'd been moping around ever since.

"Has anyone checked again today?" she asked.

"Nope," Nick said. "Unless you count Toby. He grabbed the mail earlier and took it in his office. We haven't seen him since."

Rolling her eyes, Vida headed toward Toby's office.

"What are you doing, sis?" Madison asked.

"Checking the mail," she said. "Someone has got to tell us something other than they're not interested—or threaten us."

"If you find one you'd better read it first," Nick said, leaning on the counter as she paused with her hand on the doorknob. "Cause if there's another letter like the other ones he's better off not knowing."

Vida nodded, slowly opening the door and poking her head inside.

"Toby?" she said. "Was there anything in the mail for us?"

He didn't look up from the puzzle he was working on, pointing absently to the pile on the corner of his desk. Vida slipped the rest of the way inside the office and walked over to his desk. Picking up the pile, Vida quickly sifted through it. She was almost to the bottom of the pile when a slim envelope caught her attention. It was plain except for the red seal on the back—and it was addressed to Mystic Force.

"Yes!" she exclaimed. "Thanks, Toby!"

Darting back outside, she let the door swing shut behind her. Xander, Nick, and Madison were waiting expectantly. They all looked nervous when she held up the letter.

"What does it say?" Xander asked.

"Should I really open it?" Vida asked.

When all three of her teammates nodded, Vida took a deep breath and opened the letter.

"Chip!" Vida shouted, hurrying into Rootcore. "Chip, where are you?"

Clare, who was working on a potion, glanced up.

"Oh, hi Vida," she smiled. "Chip is out on the balcony swing."

Vida stopped in surprise.

"Clare," she said. "You're actually home. I feel like we never see you anymore."

Clare sighed, nodding.

"Being a full sorceress keeps me a lot busier than I thought it would," she said. "Especially since Udonna has stepped down. Everyone needs me almost constantly."

Vida gave her a sympathetic look.

"Well, I'd love to stay and talk," Vida said. "But you look busy and I really need to talk to Chip. He needs to see this."

She held up the letter.

"Go ahead," Clare smiled. "I'll see you around."

Nodding, Vida darted toward the balcony. It didn't surprise her that he'd gone there. Chip liked sitting out on the balcony when he needed space or quiet to think in. Stepping outside, she paused for a minute to watch him sitting on the swing. He was facing away from her, leaning on the back of the swing as he stared out over the forest.

"Aren't you supposed to be at work?" she said, keeping the letter tucked out of sight for a moment.

Chip spun in surprise, jarring the swing as he did.

"Oh, V," he said. "Umm… What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," she said, plopping down on the swing next to him. "Clare told me you were out here."

He sighed, turning to look back out over the trees.

"Yeah…" he said. "I just didn't feel like being at the shop today. Toby didn't need me, so I came back here."

Vida sighed.

"Chip, you do know it doesn't matter what they think, right?" she said. "We're rangers no matter what they say."

"I know," he mumbled. "But I really wanted to meet some of them…"

"Don't give up," she said. "Not all of the rangers are so ready to dismiss us."

Chip frowned, looking back at her again.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked.

A smile spreading across her face, Vida pulled the letter out from behind her.

"We got another one," she said. "And I think you're going to like it."

Chip hesitated, but took it. Ignoring the fact that it was already opened, he fixated on the seal.

"Do you know whose seal that is?" he exclaimed, sounding a little more excited now.

He looked up at Vida who grinned in response.

"This is Zeo red!" he exclaimed. "It's from one of the oldest teams. What did it say?"

"Why don't you read it and find out?" Vida said, leaning back in the swing.

Eagerly, Chip pulled the letter from the envelope and started reading.

Mystic Force Rangers,

Congratulations on completing your mission. You have done well in upholding the legacy that was laid out before you and I applaud your success. Your entry into the ranks of the Power Rangers is almost complete.

Having said that, there is something you must understand. As a whole, the rangers strive to keep their identities a secret from the general population. So, while I understand the purpose of your letters, I must also point out that the letters will yield no results from any team until permission is passed along the chain of command. That chain is what has held us together all of these years and will continue to bind the rangers together as a unit, no matter how spread out we may have become. It keeps us safe and protects our identities.

Therefore, I encourage you to continue trying to contact the original Mighty Morphin' red ranger. As the first red ranger here on Earth, the decision to meet with you and give you access to the rest of the ranger network currently lies with him. No other ranger team will meet with you or initiate contact with you in any way until they have his permission.

As I'm sure you already know, he can be difficult to contact when he wants to be. Be patient and keep trying—he'll come around. He does, after all, have your best interests at heart despite any differences that may have arisen. So do not allow his silence and distance to discourage you. Just give him time.

Remember, no matter what anyone says you are all true rangers now. You have proven yourselves in battle and defeated your enemy. Whether he sees it yet or not, you belong among the ranks. So don't allow his distance or the distance of the other teams to stop you. They are only following his lead as we do in everything concerning the rangers.

And, if you ever truly need help, I am—as I have always been—ready to step in to help you in any way I can no matter what may now lie between us. So stay strong and everything will eventually fall into place. I look forward to hearing about your official admittance into our ranks.

May the Power protect you all,

Zeo Red

By the time Chip finished reading the letter, he was grinning. They had finally heard something promising from the rangers. He looked up to find Vida smiling as she waited for him to say something.

"This is great!" he exclaimed. "Not only is it from one of the older teams, but he actually kind of explained what's going on. And a whole lot better than Wild Force's letter did…"

"Feeling better?" Nick asked from the doorway.

Chip and Vida turned to see the other three watching them from the door.

"We were hoping the letter would help," Madison added, smiling when she saw how much happier Chip looked.

Xander, Nick, and Madison joined Chip and Vida, crowding around the swing.

"So what next?" Xander asked. "You got your answer. They won't meet with us til they get permission."

Chip frowned, looking at the letter again.

"I don't know," he said, losing some of the excitement. "I mean, we still haven't heard anything from the Mighty Morphin' team at all, let alone their red. What if he really doesn't want to meet us?"

The others exchanged looks.

"Chip, that's nonsense," Vida said firmly. "The letter had to have gotten lost along the way. Zeo did say he was hard to get a hold of."

"And he explained why the others have seemed so hostile," Madison said. "They aren't supposed to talk to us."

"Still no reason to threaten us though," Nick muttered, shaking his head.

"Well, they are the closest," Madison reasoned. "So they were probably afraid we might try coming over there on our own."

Nick just shrugged.

"The point is," Vida said. "We're going to keep trying, just like the letter said. He has to respond eventually."

Chip nodded slowly.

"Yeah, you're right," he said. "We have to keep trying."

The other four smiled.

"So then what's the plan?" Xander asked again.

"We're waiting on you," Nick said. "You've got the lead on this one, Chip."

For a moment, Chip didn't say anything as he studied the letter again. Then he looked up.

"I guess we can send another letter," he said slowly. "But how do we know if it gets there?"

"We don't," said Vida. "But we'll just keep sending them until we get an answer. They can't ignore us forever."

Nick, Xander, and Madison were nodding in agreement. Chip took a deep breath.

"Alright," he said, a smile spreading across his face again. "Let's do it. We'll send letters to all of the original team and keep sending them until they answer one way or another."

Grinning, Vida hopped up and held out a hand to Chip.

"Let's go," she said.

Pulling him off the swing, she pulled him after her back into Rootcore with the rest of the team following behind.