A/N: Some chapters will be dedicated to solely Tommy, Kim, previous rangers and their life, other chapters will be all about Jayden, and there will be chapters where I'll have both of them.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who is reading this story.

Chapter 5- The Dreams

May 2003
Oliver Residence- Living Room
Reefside, CA

A little girl of age three ran to her parents.

She was a gorgeous child with caramel, wavy hair that flowed to the middle of her back. Her skin color was with a slight tan, she had very full lips, and her knowing, dolly like eyes dazzled like the tiger's eye gemstone. Anyone who encountered her gravitated towards her because there was this calming air about her. She joyously smiled, as she jumped on her parents' lap.

They were comfortably resting on the couch. They were pooped after today's events. There was a wedding between two past Power Rangers, and they were so happy for them to experience marital bliss like they had been.

Wesley 'Wes' Collins and Jennifer 'Jen' Scott were married earlier in the day. The former Time Force Rangers had to go through what seemed like higher courts to make sure their love was secured through holy matrimony. She was from the future but decided her love for Wes trumped everything. And, she was granted her wish: to stay in the past and be with him for the rest of her life. Now, she could really begin her adult life as Jennifer 'Jen' Scott-Collins.

And little Sophia Anabelle Oliver, Tommy and Kim's young daughter, was asked to be the flower girl at their wedding. The abundance of petite cakes, the boxes of fine, Godiva chocolates as a party favor, and all the different dance tunes seemed to make her more hyper.

"Mommy, Daddy, whatcha doing," she asked, as she curiously looked at everything they were holding.

"Daddy's planning a 'vacation' soon," Tommy spoke about an internship he was leaving for in about a week. He hated being away from his wife and daughter, but he knew what was to come from this trip—advancement in his paleontology career.

"Disneyland," Sophia happily squealed, and she looked at her parents hoping that was the case.

Kim shook her head. "Oh, no, honey," she dissuaded with a smile. "Maybe, when your dad comes back, but for now he's the only one going."

Sophia pouted her lips with much cuteness that warmed her parents' hearts. "Please, please, please, with sugar on top," she practically begged.

Tommy grabbed for Sophia, so she could sit solely on his lap. He looked into his daughter's eyes, and he made sure she paid attention. As much as that might have been hard for other children, who were three years old, that wasn't the case. She obediently stayed put on her father's lap, and she paid very close attention to what he had to say. "When daddy comes back, the first thing we will do is go to Disneyland," he promised, and he held out his pinky.

Sophia's eyebrow rose a little bit, but she believed him. "Promise?" Her dad nodded, and with that, she securely wrapped her pinky around his. She kissed her dad on the cheek.

Kim's eyes filled with happy tears. Each time she watched the interaction between her husband and their daughter, she had to admit she got more emotional than the average parent should. She attributed that to her teen years. Once more, she thought about the child she had given up. She missed him so much, but having Sophia as a daughter eased her emotions.

"Sophia, look," the former Pink Ranger showed her daughter a picture of how she looked at the wedding. With interest, her daughter took a peak. "You looked so beautiful, and you did a great job for Uncle Wes and Auntie Jen."

Sophia smiled.

"Now, it's time we all head to bed," Tommy spoke up, and he was ready to have some alone time with his wife. Knowing he was going to be gone for four months, he wanted to make love to her as often as he could.

"Aw, daddy," their daughter didn't like this one bit. "Each time you guys go to sleep, I hear noises."

The former Green, White, and Red ranger nervously chuckled at his daughter. "What do you mean noises," he asked, as he felt perspiration form on his forehead's surface.

The young girl rolled her eyes. "You know, the trees banging against the windows," she answered as a matter of fact.

"Well, that's not the only thing banging at night," Tommy's wife cheekily murmured, which Tommy heard and motioned for her to cut it out. "And you're very brave because you never enter Mommy and Daddy's room when that happens," she bent down, and she kissed her daughter on the cheek. "Mommy's going to put you in the bed. Say goodnight to Daddy."

"Goodnight, Daddy," little Sophia hugged him, and she followed her Mommy to her room.

Tommy and Kim decorated Sophia's bedroom, as if she was truly a princess. Her pink bed had a canopy and white drapes that flowed down. On the wall, which her bed was against, there was a grandeur castle Kim had painted. Young Sophia also had a desk that housed all of her drawing supplies, a pure, white, almost porcelain, credenza kept her TV, and there was a pretty in pink dresser that contained a majority of her clothes. Her room, like the other bedrooms in the house, had a walk in closet.

Kim tucked Sophia safely into the bed. "In the morning, we'll go to IHOP and get pancakes," she kissed her daughter on the forehead.

"With strawberries," she innocently asked.

"With as many as you want," the mother promised her daughter. "I love you, Sophia."

"I love you too, mommy," the daughter yawned, and she finally closed her eyes. She really did have a great time at the wedding.

Before exiting, Kim made sure to turn on Sophia's night light. She exited to spend some sensual, alone time with her husband.

As Sophia drifted deeper into sleep, her body began to glow pink, and she was cloaked in white afterwards. Usually, she would toss and turn in bed, but tonight, she was as still as 'Sleeping Beauty'.

(Sophia's Dream)

A pink dove with white wingtips arrived in the Sahara Desert. The dove looked around with interest and confusion. Making a cooing noise, once again, the dove made movement. The bird arrived at a pond and pecked at the water.

Then, in the distance, a red lion began to stalk the dove. Each movement the dove made the lion had to mirror the movement.

Feeling the lion's eyes, the pink dove's head ascended upwards. The topaz pools curiously looked at the grand figure.

The lion's jeweled eyes twinkled at the dove's appearance.

Finally, the dove confronted the lion head on.

The lion roared.

The bird flew.

The lion moved.

The bird sang.

Once more, the bird soared into the sky. The lion roamed to the middle of the pond. The bird's shadow cascaded on the king of the jungle. Again, their little dance commenced.

To the other animals, they watched in awe. The lion wasn't trying to consume the bird for a meal. Instead, the witnesses around them found the two animals playing around, trying to get each other like a game of tag. And, the two kept going at it for hours.

Deprived of energy, the colorful dove flew down and rested on the tired, red lion's head.

A couple of hours later, both stirred in their sleep. The dove stared into the red, lion's eyes. A coo exited, as the bird looked at the very prominent eyes, strong features, and the soft and gentle soul of this animal.

Then, there was a loud BOOM!

In the distance, fire erupted, as if there was a volcano atop of a mountain. Flames were everywhere, smoke went straight up to the sky, and there seemed to be no stopping this natural made phenomenon.

A tear escaped the dove's eye.

(End of Sophia's Dream)

Xxxxx

Ten Minutes Later
Oliver Residence- Tommy and Kim's Room
Reefside, CA

Tommy rolled onto his back. Sweat laced his hair, covered his neck, back, and the rest of his body. He loved his wife so much, and he knew this was the way to show her. And it was also cheaper. He became tired, but he still had to check on her to make sure she was alright.

"Beautiful," he called, and she lovingly looked at him. "Are you okay?"

"Better than okay," she replied with a smile, and she felt his shoulder. The throes of their passion was evident on his back. "Now, are you okay?"

He slightly hissed. "Yeah, I'm fine," he was familiar with her fingernails digging into his back.

And that's how they were, the Olivers were disgustingly in love. They didn't care though, as long as they were happy. Shortly after Zordon's demise, Kim found out she was pregnant. And for the two, there was no question about what to do about the pregnancy. In 2000, they married, and later that year Kim gave birth to Sophia Annabelle Oliver.

Following the wedding, the two bought a house in Reefside, a picturesque town 30 miles west of Angel Grove. Tommy majored in Paleontology, slowly working his way up to becoming a doctor in this field. Kim became a music teacher, and she even thought about having a side business of owning her own fashion store. Tommy agreed she could do both.

The rest of Zordon's era of rangers settled down as well. Jason and Trini married and have three children. Zack got married to his high school sweetheart, Angela. The next to get married was Rocky and Aisha. They had two children. Andros and Ashley life bonded with one child. Surprisingly, TJ and Cassie fell in love, and she had a child with one on the way soon. The next to get hitched was Adam and Tanya, and they currently had a daughter. Carlos just recently became engaged, and like Zack's wife she was a civilian. Justin was still in college at M.I.T, and he had been dating his girlfriend for a year and a half. As for Billy, he was talking to someone. Kat was busy with her dance studio, but made the time for her loving boyfriend. And Karone life bonded with Zhane; the two were talking about starting a family.

"That wedding was truly beautiful," she grabbed his hand, and they laid together intimately. "Jen is so lucky to have a rich husband."

"Hey, what about me," Tommy wondered, and he looked at his wife with playful anger. "You know, we aren't exactly living paycheck to paycheck."

'You're right," she agreed, "but he's like filthy rich."

He rolled his eyes. "Am I going to miss more weddings between Power Rangers," he queried, and Kim sadly nodded. "Make sure to give everyone my best wishes."

Kim kissed him. He was her soul mate, and she hated being away from him for long periods of time. "I will," she thought about the upcoming nuptials between some rangers. "The upcoming weddings are Taylor and Eric, Kelsey and Ryan, and I think Cam and Hunter."

"I'm surprised about one of those."

"Let me guess Cam and Hunter," she hypothesized, since this was not common for any Power Ranger team. A same sex couple was absolutely taboo, but the two were making it known they were in love and willing to become life partners.

"No, Eric and Taylor. They get into an argument within like ten minutes," he reminded her.

"Yes, they may do that, but that doesn't matter. You know he would do anything for her," she mentioned, and her husband nodded.

"DADDY! MOMMY! DADDY! MOMMY!," they heard their daughter frantically scream

The parents glanced at one another with instant worry. They immediately got dressed in robes. Mixed emotions enthralled their bodies. They went to her room, and stepped inside. Tommy inspected every single crevice in the room, while Kim consoled their daughter, who had tears trickling down.

"Sophia, what happened," the former Pink ranger asked her daughter.

"The fire, the fire," was all she could say.

"Fire, what fire," Tommy questioned with curiosity, and he looked outside. There was nothing out there, so he wondered his daughter was talking about. "Baby, there's no fire," he then turned to Kim. "She must've had a bad dream."

Sophia wiped her eyes. "The lion, I want the lion here," she cryptically spoke once more. And she faced her parents. "Get him here!"

The parents were dumbfounded by her words.

"I'm going to get her juice and a cookie," Kim shook her head, as she headed for the door. She turned to her husband and opened her mouth once more. "She's sleeping with us tonight."

Tommy agreed that was best. He watched his wife fully exit the bedroom. He, then, picked up his daughter, and he carried her to the master bedroom. He laid her on the bed. Kim was up a few minutes later. She gave her daughter a juice box and a bite of the snicker doodles they got from the wedding. Pretty soon, their daughter closed her eyes and went back to sleep. She nestled in between her parents.

"What was she talking about," Tommy questioned his wife, as he stroked his daughter's waves.

"It really must've been a bad dream," Kim replied. She pecked her daughter's cheek. She hoped the dream would never happen for Sophia again.

The Oliver family slept comfortably for the rest of the night.

Xxxxx

July 2003
Shiba House- Jayden's Room
Panorama City, CA

(Jayden's Dream)

Both stirred in their sleep.

The red lion released a hefty yawn, and then, stared into the dove's innocent eyes. The lion listened to the angelic coo released from its beak.

Then, there was a loud BOOM!

In the distance, the fire erupted. Watching the smoke spewing from the mountain top, all the lion wished to do was protect the dove, get the dove out of harm's way.

A tear escaped the dove's eye.

The red lion finally became overwhelmed with emotion as well. The burning sensation of a tear was felt.

Roaring in pain, the screech rumbled throughout the jungle. The lion tried to recapture the dove, but the dove rapidly flapped its wings and left with no word, no song, no coo. The lion continued to look around, hoping the dove wasn't too scared.

A turtle, bear, ape, and dragon suddenly appeared. Every step the lion took back, these animals approached. Suddenly, feeling like he had nowhere to go, the dragon was the first to come forward, followed by the bear and ape. Finally, the little turtle slowly walked.

Confused the red lion roared and roared. In the distance, there was the snow white colored falcon down on the ground. The pink colored crane mourning right beside. The dove, the one from earlier, comfortably protecting the two other birds.

Upon seeing the trio of birds, the Red lion, without hesitation, became a phoenix.

(End of Jayden's Dream)

School aged Jayden, unaware his body had been glowing red, immediately rose from his restless night's sleep. He rushed to the bathroom, and he splashed his face with water. He looked at himself in the mirror. He appeared to be fine, though, yesterday, he took a hefty, staggering blow.

Ji ended practice after that, and he wanted his prized student to take the rest of the day off. And Jayden did take it easy, but he was worried about going to bed.

This dream was common—a red lion, a pink dove with white tips, and the explosion. However, the ending was extremely different than before. A falcon, a crane, the animals of the Samurai, and the phoenix; that was not the usual.

"Jayden," Mentor Ji called. "Breakfast!"

Jayden quickly dressed in his training robes and headed to the kitchen. He smelled the fresh fruit Mentor Ji cut, the egg whites that were freshly cooked, and the bread that was slightly toasted. He sat down to the meal.

"Ji, this looks great," the young boy complimented.

"You're welcome," Mentor accepted the acknowledgment.

The radio played in the background, and Jayden overheard the news story.

"Mentor, can you turn that up a little bit?"

Mentor did as told, and the two listened to the broadcast.

"Can you believe this?
An island off the coast of Australia suddenly became engulfed by an explosion. There had been paleontologists, including the famous Dr. Anton Mercer, assistants, interns and even some family on that island. There were studies being conducted. At first, there seemed to be no survivors, until, off the shores, there were two, pink shining dots that could be seen."

"Two, pink shining dots," another commentator repeated with some inquiry in her voice. "What exactly were those dots?"

"No one could exactly figure that out, but let's just be thankful. There did end up being a survivor, and his name is Thomas James Oliver was the sole survivor"

"Wow, now, that has to be a survivor's tale for the books," the commentators finished the story.

Jayden rapidly ascended from his seat, and he went to turn off the radio. He turned to Mentor, firmly, yet nervously nodded, and he went to sit down to finish his breakfast.

Mentor Ji's eyebrow rose. "Jayden, does that story mean something to you," he inquisitively asked his pupil, who was more like a son to him. For the past three years, he had been helping Jayden train, the young boy wasn't one for the news or listening to the radio either. Honestly, Jayden was committed to his studies, and he had been making definite strides.

"Oh, no, Mentor, you know, I don't watch the news."

"Right, you don't watch the news," the former Senior Guardian repeated as he wiped down a dish. "The interesting thing is you weren't watching the news, now were you?"

The soon to be Red Ranger smacked his head slightly.

"You're having that dream again, aren't you," Mentor asked, while he made himself a plate.

The older man didn't know how to help Jayden exactly. He was concerned, since the dream would sometimes affect Jayden during a mock battle. Ji, with some stress evident, sighed. At first, the young trainee had a problem with cartoons. The TV was the first to go out the window. Then, Antonio Garcia, a boy Jayden had met at the fisherman's market, deterred Jayden from learning more. Thankfully, for Ji, the young boy had moved away. On top of that, Mentor couldn't find the Octozord. And now, there was this recurring dream.

The dream started a couple of months ago. Jayden would definitely lose sleep because he would stay up trying to decipher what the dream meant. He asked his Mentor what was his interpretation of the dream. Ji answered this was maybe his dad's way of communicating from the grave. And, Jayden wished that was the case. Sadly, his last memory of his dad was when he was given the folding zord; then Mathew died ten minutes later.

At his dad's closed casket funeral, Jayden cried. He looked around, hoping he was going to get some hope and comfort. That wasn't going to happen; he was sad that his mom nor sister could attend. So, he took it upon himself to pay respect on their behalf's. His dad was gone, his sister and mom were far away, and Jayden felt alone. He definitely consumed himself with all of the practicing. This was his dad's plan, and he understood. For the plan to work the brother and sister could never visit one another, they couldn't even wish each other a happy birthday, nor talk over the phone. They really had to act like the latter didn't exist.

If this dream was his dad's way to let him know how his mom and sister were doing, then Jayden had fear gurgling within him.

"Ji, what does my dream mean," he asked like a broken record player.

"Jayden, I don't know, but if I did, you know I would tell you," he honestly replied. "Why don't you get an extra hour of sleep? I'll come get you when I think you're ready." He mentally cursed himself for making Jayden think this was a sign from his dad. He watched Jayden. The young man was definitely conflicted about something.

The '18th Head of the Shiba Clan' consequently nodded. He left the kitchen and returned to his room. He crawled into bed and began to sob slightly. He wished his family was here to help him.