Author's Note: Co-written with SunsetBabe17! This chapter is turning out to be a lil long so we decided to split it into 2. so heres the first part!

Disclaimer: Don't anything belong to PR!

Kim led her new team into the Neola Jungle. Andy sidled up beside her, "You do know where we're going right?"

"It's been years since I've been here."

"That's fine. We're looking for a huge rock, we shouldn't miss it," Jace reassured as he walked to the front of the group as Kim trailed behind lost in memories of the past.

"It sure is hot out here," Rachel wiped the sweat from her brow.

"Hey, at least you're wearing white. I'm wearing black which absorbs the heat," Andy complained, pulling at his uncomfortable uniform.

"Whoa," Charissa jumped back as the ground in front of her gave out. Unfortunately Jace wasn't so lucky and fell to the bottom of the pit. The others rushed to the edge of the pit.

"Jace!"

"Hang on man!"

"Someone find a vine or something we can use to pull him up," Kim ordered. Rachel and Charissa ran off into the jungle in search of something to use as rope.

"Don't worry Jace, we'll get you out," Melissa shouted and put a comforting hand on Andy's shoulder who was desperately trying to catch a glimpse of his best friend. But the pit was too deep and all he could see was blackness.

Jace shook his head, trying to get his bearings after his fall. It was dark in the pit, but the sun glinted off something on the ground.

Jace bent down and grabbed it, and his world spun out of focus. He was standing over a woman who was pale and lying in a bed with several monitors hooked up to her. Upon closer inspection Jeace realized that the woman was Kimberly and standing with him were Andy, Melissa, Charissa, and Rachel. Sirens could be heard in the background.

"What are we gonna do now?" Charissa asked, and all eyes turned to Jace. He began to panic. He wasn't the leader, Kim was.

Jace took a deep breath to calm his nerves, "Alright, here's what we're gonna do. Charissa, Rachel you two are gonna get the antidote while the rest of us fight the monster." He didn't even understand the words that came tumbling out of his mouth, they just felt right.

"Got it." And everyone went to do as they were told.

Jace reached out a lightly touched Kim's hand, "Don't worry, we'll get that antidote," he then turned and followed after his team.

After defeating the monster, they rushed back to base to see Kim awake with a beaming smile adorning her features.

"You did it guys, I knew you would." They all crushed Kim in a team hug.

Jace's world spun again and snapped back into focus where he was once again sitting at the bottom of a ditch.

"Whoa," Jace opened his hand and a gold coin rested inside with a coyote etched upon its surface. A red light lit up the ditch and Jace looked up to see a coyote. It was more of a spiritual being, just a red outline.

"See young pup, you are capable of leading a team to victory."

"But I'm not the leader, Kim is. But I'm Red and isn't Red the leader?" Jace asked his spirit animal.

"Yes, that is usually the case, but there have been several instances in which red has followed another color. For instance, the first Red Ranger of Earth started out as the leader, but then was second in command under the White Ranger. And the second Earth Red Ranger followed the White Ranger. Also, the Pink Time Force Ranger led the team instead of the Red Ranger."

"Oh," Jace didn't know that.

"Though you are not the leader, you are still an important part of the team, Jace."

"Yeah, I know and plus I don't have to make the hard decisions," Jace laughed and the coyote shimmered out of existence.

"Jace, grab onto the vine and we'll pull you up," Kim called down. Jace stood up and saw the vine. Before grabbing onto it though he slipped the gold coin, which was on a chain, over his neck and tucked it safely under his gi.

Jace pulled himself onto the rope and the others yanked him out of the pit. He dusted himself off and squinted at the sudden brightness.

"You okay, man?" Andy looked at him imploringly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Jace debated over whether or not he should tell them what happened. "Actually, I found this," and Jace showed them the gold coin.

Everyone gathered around to look at it. Kim gasped, "That's a power coin."

"What?" Rachel asked, puzzled.

"It's a power coin. It filters the power from the Morphing Grid to the user. It's a power source," Kim explained, remembering parts of Billy's explanation from years ago.

"Wait, how do you know about all of this?" Charissa questioned, wary.

"Yeah, who are you aside from Kimberly Hart, world famous gymnast?" Melissa asked, backing up her friend.

"I was the first Pink Power Ranger of Earth," Kim admitted, eyes downcast, waiting for their reaction.

"That's so cool!" Jace exclaimed.

"Why didn't you tell us before?" Andy asked.

"But I thought you were just a Ninjetti," Charissa accused.

Kim shrugged, "We lost our powers and came here to get new ones."

"So why are you on this journey with us if you already have powers?" Rachel wondered.

"I gave them up," Kim sighed, wishing that she still had her power coin with her instead of giving it to Kat.

"But-"

"Look I don't wanna talk about it," Kim interrupted Andy. She turned and started up their trek through the jungle again. The other five all looked at each other and shrugged, following behind their leader.

"Great! Now what?" Charissa threw her hands up in exasperation as she saw that the bridge to the river they were supposed to cross was missing. It seemed like they were never going to get to the monolith.

But Kim just kept on walking until she reached a tree that had fallen and conveniently spanned the width of the river. As she jumped onto the log the others stopped, unsure of this course of action.

"You have got to be kidding me," Charissa deadpanned.

"It's the only way to get across," Kimberly shrugged and started walking across.

"You know we're not all world class gymnasts," Charissa continued her rant.

"It's wider than a balance beam," Kim reassured.

"Yeah, but a lot higher," Andy leaned over to check out the drop. He then climbed onto the log after Kim with Jace one step ahead of him.

"How else are we gonna get across?" Melissa pointed out and joined her team along with Rachel. Charissa reluctantly followed.

Kim basically skipped along the log, making it look like she did it every day. Then, she hopped off as she waited for the others to finish. Jace landed beside her, "Whoo," he shook out his tense muscles, "that was…" he struggled for a word to describe what he had just experienced.

"Exhilarating," Kim offered, she had missed the adrenaline rush from her Ranger days.

"Uh, sure," Jace shot her a look, wondering how anyone could find any joy walking on a log feet above rushing water when you could plunge to your death with a single misstep.

Andy jumped off next, and turned around to help the girls down. Melissa let out her first calm, steady breath since she stepped onto the log.

At that moment a strong gust of wind blew by, causing the remaining Ranger on the log to lose her balance. Andy lunged for her, but he was too late as Charissa plummeted into the raging river below.

"Charissa!" Melissa and Rachel shouted as they ran to the edge of the precipice. The Rangers waited with baited breath as the water settled a little, hoping that Charissa would surface.

"Where is she?" Melissa asked, frantic.

"She should have come up for air by now," Rachel agreed.

The breath was knocked out of her as the cold water consumed her. She was knocked around by the current so much that she no longer knew which way was up or down. Her lungs burned for oxygen, but when she tried to surface the current just pushed her back down.

A shiny object in the distance caught her attention and she tried to swim towards it. Upon closer inspection she realized that it was a gold coin. A power coin! She grabbed it, and all the pain went away as she took in a deep breath.

She glanced down at herself, she was wearing blue jeans and a baby blue t-shirt. Where were her Ninjetti robes? And why wasn't she drenched after her swim in the river?

Charissa didn't have much time to think about those oddities as she was grabbed roughly from behind, and she tensed as she felt the cool blade on her bare neck.

"Hand over your power coins, or I'll slit her throat," the assailant growled. Charissa started struggling in his grasp. She began to panic as the blade nicked her skin, and a thin line of blood appeared on her neck. How could she leave her life in the hands of people she just met? Would they give up all that power for her?

Suddenly everything came to a standstill, it was as if time stopped. Then, a brilliant blue light appeared in the middle of the field. Charissa squirmed, attempting to get free.

"Relax, stop struggling," her head shot up, and she noticed that a blue dolphin was now standing in the field where the blue light had been moments ago.

"Wha… Who err what are you?" Charissa questioned, uncertain as to what was going on.

"I'm your spirit animal, your guide," the dolphin explained.

"Ok, so get me out of here," Charissa demanded.

"That is not the point of this journey," the dolphin shook its head.

"Well then what is?" Charissa was getting frustrated.

"You need to trust your teammates."

"But I-"

"No, have faith that they will save you," the dolphin interrupted her. Charissa sighed and nodded.

She blinked rapidly as the dolphin disappeared and time began again.

"Fine, you win," Jace powered down and began to hand the monster his power coin, but at the last second he pulled it back and the monster was hit by an arrow from behind and his grip loosened. Jace quickly brought his leg up and kicked the dabber, sending it flying across the field.

Charissa fell to her knees as she grabbed her neck and took a deep breath. She looked up to find Jace with his hand out. Grasping his hand she let him help her up as she glared at him.

"What, didn't you trust me?" Jace grinned and the world spun out of focus as Charissa found herself back underwater. But she was no longer alone as she grabbed onto the dolphin's fin and swam ashore.

"Charissa!" The team raced down to her. She started coughing and Melissa began to rub her back soothingly.

"Are you ok?" Rachel asked.

She nodded, "Yeah," she was a bit breathless still. She opened her hand and she saw the gold coin resting in her palm, so it hadn't been a hallucination.

With Melissa's help she got to her feet, "I found this," she held up the coin, dangling from a chain for them to see. The sun glinted off of it.

"I guess we're all gonna find one," Andy shrugged and Kim silently if she would because she had given hers to Kat. As they moved to continue with their journey, Jace and Charissa caught each others eye, wondering if the other had gone through a similar ordeal to receive their power coin. But no words were spoken.

"I'm gonna laugh when you fall, Andy," Melissa said as she watched Adny walk precariously on an outcropping with a pit of mud below. The rest of them had chosen a path that was more out of the way, but easier to navigate.

"I'm not gonna fall," Andy huffed and brushed her off. Then, SPLASH, the others laughed as Andy stood up, dripping mud.

"You know brown and black don't really mix," Melissa joked.

"Oh yeah! Well guess what brown and yellow do," Andy lunged for Melissa who shrieked.

"Don't you dare!" She giggled and ran as Andy gave chase.

Kimberly shook her head at their playful banter, it was obvious they didn't realize the burden that they had taken upon their shoulders.

The ground started to shake and rocks pelted down from the sky above.

"Look out!" Kim shouted as she ducked and put her hands protectively over her head.

Once everything was calm, Kim stood up, "Everyone alright?"

"Melissa!" Andy shouted and the team raced over to their fallen comrade. Kim's brows furrowed in confusion when there was no visible sign of injury.

Then, Jace reached over to Melissa's clenched fist and opened it. In the center of her palm, was a power coin.

"She must be on her journey," Jace surmised. Everyone aside from Charissa had a confused look on their face.

"What?" Kim asked, angered at the fact that her 'teammates' hadn't mentioned this to her, their leader.

"Once we found our coin," Charissa took some of the heat off Jace, "we had to, um, earn it." She explained as best she could.

"So what do we do?" Andy asked, worried as he cushioned Melissa's head in his lap.

"We wait," Jace stated.

"Hello, Melissa," a kangaroo outlined in yellow greeted her.

"Where am I?" She looked around in confusion, it seemed to be a black vacuum of space. There were no other occupants aside from herself and the kangaroo.

"You want to be a Power Ranger, correct?" The kangaroo ignored her.

She shrugged, "Yeah, I guess," she didn't really know where the kangaroo was going with this.

"But there is something holding you back."

"No there isn't," she shook her head.

"But there is," the kangaroo replied.

"Well, what is it then," Melissa was getting frustrated with the kangaroo's responses that held no answers.

"You are afraid," the kangaroo stated simply as if it was obvious.

"Afraid of what?" Melissa cried.

"You know."

"No I…" she thought back to her conversation with Rachel and Charissa before they agreed to become Power Rangers.

"Sometimes sacrifice is necessary," the kangaroo said as it saw the light dawn in Melissa's eyes.

"But I don't want to die," Melissa said softly.

Color then filtered into the empty space and shapes began to form. A battle was taking place all around her. Brightly colored warriors were fighting around her, Power Rangers, her friends. A flash of pink caught her eye as Kim was forcibly de-morphed.

Time seemed to slow as the monster advanced towards the powerless Ranger. Melissa looked around to see that no one even noticed, they all had their hands full with monsters of their own. They couldn't lose Kim, the team needed her. She was the only one that knew what they were doing.

Melissa realized that she was running without even consciously thinking about it, and before the sword descended upon the fallen leader she jumped in front of her and took the blow. She screamed in agony as the blood gushed from her wound. Her vision became blurry, and the kangaroo appeared before her again as she struggled to breathe.

"You have faced your fear. It was more important that Kim lead the team to victory, to save the world. You sacrificed yourself in order to save your planet." Her world went black as she couldn't take in anymore air.

All of a sudden Melissa's eyes popped open and she gasped for air, holding her stomach.

"It's alright, you're ok," Charissa reassured her as she saw the panic in her eyes. Melissa closed her eyes and laid her head back down as she tried to calm her erratic breathing.

Melissa got up with Andy's help and stood on shaky legs, "Lets go."

"Are you sure you're ok?" Kim asked, wondering what her journey had been. Melissa just nodded and linked arms with Charissa and Rachel. She was still in shock and numb from 'dying'. It had felt so real and she wanted her friends close. Rachel and Charissa went along with it, sharing a worried glance.

They hiked on in silence. The scenery began to change from the rocky, desert terrain to a lushous green forest. The trees loomed high overhead and the setting sun was a fiery red.

Kimberly began to recognize her surroundings as she caught sight of the bones of the extinct dinosaurs.

"Welcome to Jurassic Park," Andy exclaimed. Kim whirled around and for a moment instead of Andy she saw a boy with curly black hair and a shy smile.

"What did you say?"

"I-"

"Look out!" Jace shouted as one of the dinosaurs came to life.

"Damnit," Kimberly cursed herself for getting distracted and lowering her guard, she should've expected this. After all, it happened last time.

Rachel dove out of the way as it charged towards her, "What do we do?"

Charissa ducked as the tail swung overhead.

Andy threw a bone at it, which caused the revitalized dinosaur to change direction and run at Andy. His eyes widened, "Oh shit!"

As the dinosaur chased Andy, Kimberly quickly thought of a plan. Climbing a tree she yelled to Andy, "Steer him this way."

Instead of wasting his breath in reply, Andy just nodded and ran towards Kimberly, trusting that she knew what she was doing. Once the dinosaur was directly beneath her, she let herself drop. She landed on its back and hung on tight.

"Alright, now how did Tommy do this," she muttered to herself.

Meanwhile the dinosaur kept chasing Andy, paying no heed to the passenger on its back, "A little help here! I can't keep this up all day."

At that point Jace smashed a bone against its jaw. His weapon just shattered upon impact, "Well, that didn't work," he grumbled as the dinosaur set its sights on him.

"Got it," Kim found the bone and pulled it out, not quite remembering the end result as she fell amidst a pile of bones. The others ran to help her, but as Rachel reached for her, her hand found its way to a gold coin instead and she grasped it. Once she did, however, she collapsed.

"Not again," Andy sighed.

Rachel looked around at the white space, "This must be my journey."

"You are correct, young cub," a polar bear appeared before her.

"So what am I supposed to do?" Rachel asked, ready to get this over with.

"What troubles you?" The bear took a seat in front of her so she sat down as well and thought about it.

"I'm afraid that we won't be able to do it. That we'll lose and Earth will be taken over," Rachel admitted.

"And I am here to tell you not to worry. The Power Rangers have never failed before," the bear grinned.

"There's a first time for everything," Rachel replied.

"True, but if you fail there are others that will take up the mantle. You are not alone." Rachel still wasn't fully convinced.

"Let me show you."

There were five Power Rangers standing before a dinosaur.

"I call upon the power of the gem!" And a huge blast struck the monster, destroying him.

Then, a beam of red, blue, and yellow energy knocked the evil ninja into the Abyss of Evil.

Multicolored beams of light from the Wild Zords and the Rangers' weapons hit Master Org who was then defeated.

The girl in a weird white outfit handcuffed the mutant, signaling the end of his reign of terror.

With a flying kick from the Red Ranger, the demon was sent back into the tomb. The tomb was sealed behind her.

The Red Ranger grabbed the green monster with his weapon and shot her at point blank range, sending her into oblivion.

The Power Rangers morphed on the rooftop and battled with the robots. The civilians helped them, when all of a sudden a golden wave passes and the Rangers de-morphed. The shop landed and a man came out, carrying a woman.

The Power Rangers grew to Megazord size and defeated the robot king.

Six teens stood in a circle each with a hand in the middle, one on top of the other. Then, they threw their hands in the air and jumped in celebration. One girl looked like a younger version of Kimberly.

Everything went white again, "Wow," was all she could say.

"So you see, Power Rangers don't make it a habit of losing," the polar bear laughed and Rachel was transported back to her body with the comforting reassurance that they had a good chance of winning this war.

Rachel came to and saw the others standing around her.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," Andy laughed until Melissa smacked him on the arm,

"That's not funny."

"Shall we continue," Kim tried to ease the tension of the moment.

Rachel dusted herself off, "How did you know what to do?"

"It happened last time," Kim explained.

"Oh."

As the sun descended and its last rays were extinguished, a full moon took its place. It lit up the night sky and a bitter wind ripped through the air.

"Maybe we should make camp for the night," Jace rubbed his hands together, trying to warm them up.

"Yeah, who knows what lies ahead. But whatever it is, it would definitely be better to confront it in the daylight," Rachel agreed, looking around the dark forest.

"Alright, lets go to that clearing," Kim pointed to an open area a little ways off. Andy and Jace went off to get some wood to start a fire.

"Here we go," Andy dumped the firewood in the middle of their circle. Then, everyone just stared at each other.

"Well, isn't someone gonna start the fire?" Melissa burst out in annoyance.

"Anyone got a lighter?" Everyone shook their head and Kim tried again, "A match?" the same results.

"Wait, I can do it. I was a boy scout," Jace grabbed two sticks and started rubbing them against each other vigorously.

"Oh boy," Charissa commented and everyone snickered, imagining Jace as a boy scout. Everyone leaned forward, excited as smoke rose from the makeshift fire pit. Then, it fizzled out and everyone groaned as Jace went back to work.

"Well, I don't know about anyone else, but I'm starving," Andy put a hand on his stomach as he attempted to lighten the mood after the disheartening display.

"Oh, I forgot. Dulcea gave me these," Kim pulled out something that resembled bread from a hidden pocket on her gi. She passed them out to the group.

"Uh…What is it?" Charissa asked, eyeing the food, but not eating.

"Dunno, but she said it will provide the energy we need for this journey," Kim took a bite, hoping they would follow by example. Andy shrugged and did the same. They ate their food in silence.

"Voila!" Jace shouted as a roaring fire blazed before him. He skipped over to Kim and grabbed his share of the food.

"Wow, you actually did it," Rachel looked amazed.

"Wha, you didn't think I could do it?" At least that's what they thought he said as he spoke with a mouth full of food. Everyone shook their head in the negative and laughed as Jace pouted.

Hypnotized by the dancing flames in front of them, the new team of Power Rangers reflected on how far they had come in a day. Was it really only a day? It was hard to tell though because time passed differently on Phaedos.

The five rookies laid down in the grass, close to each other to share body heat during the cold night. Unbeknownst to them, Kimberly sat wide awake, watching over her young charges.

Andy tossed and turned, unable to sleep as doubts and uncertainties plagued his mind. Everyone else had found their power coin, and he assumed Kim still had hers. But he didn't find his. Did that mean he isn't meant to be a Power Ranger?

In the middle of the night, Jace got up and went into the woods, nature was calling. When he came back, he noticed Kim was still awake, just sitting by the fire. So he went down and sat next to her.

"I can take second watch, you should get some rest."

"No, I'm fine," she shook her head.

"C'mon, you know the team is relying on you. We can't follow a leader that is exhausted," Jace reasoned. Kim inwardly sighed, he had a point there.

"Oh alright," she stood up and made a little spot in the grass for her to sleep, away from the rest of the team. Kim wrapped her arms around herself as she shivered and promptly fell asleep due to her long day.

Jace glanced over at her as he stoked the flames. She was curled into a little ball, trying to keep warm. Taking off his gi top he made his way over to her and laid it on top of her like a blanket. Kim pulled it in tight, embracing the warmth it provided.

Jace went back and sat down in front of the fire, just staring at the burning embers. Ever since he was a little kid he loved fire, his mom called him a pyromaniac.