Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers. I think Saban owns them again. It was Disney for a while, but whoever owns them, it's definitely not me. I also don't own any song lyrics used. I'm just borrowing to set the tone of the chapter.

AN: Here's chapter 6! Thanks for all the great reviews. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

AN 2: Set in 2007 following the Operation Overdrive episode "Once a Ranger". Everything after that episode is AU.

AN 3: Warning, this chapter is rated a strong T. Nothing super graphic, but adult situations ahead. Mentions and illusions to sex and mentions of death. This Power Ranger story isn't for kids. :)

Crimson Rising

Chapter 6: Iridescent

You were standing in the wake of devastation
And you were waiting on the edge of the unknown
And with the cataclysm raining down
Insides crying "Save me now"
You were there, impossibly alone

Do you feel cold and lost in desperation?
You build up hope, but failure's all you've known
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go. Let it go

Song: Iridescent

Artist: Linkin Park

Angel Grove

Home of Rocky and Aisha Desantos

After closing the dojo with an emergency sign up citing a family emergency, Hunter and Tori followed Adam and Rocky back to the Desantos house. Aisha had already been called and left the vet clinic that she owned early, picking up their daughter from daycare on the way.

"Daddy!" Olivia Ashala Desantos called, as she ran to him as fast as her little five-year-old legs would carry her. Rocky smiled and scooped her up, before kissing his wife tenderly.

"He's really back?" the pretty African-American woman asked.

"Afraid so 'Sha," Rocky said, as the woman turned and smiled invitingly to them.

"This is Hunter Bradley and Tori Hanson, crimson thunder and blue wind ninja rangers," he said, as Aisha shook their hands.

"Nice to meet you both. I'm Aisha Desantos, second yellow Ranger," she replied. Hunter nodded.

"Good to meet you," he greeted.

"Nice to meet you," Tori repeated.

"Let's go inside and make some sandwiches. Sounds like you guys have a trip ahead of you and we have phone calls to make," Aisha said. They agreed and went inside the very nice and spacious two-story home.

Olivia swung her legs, as she sat on the counter, while her mother made sandwiches, and she chatted animatedly with Tori, who had just become her new best friend. Tori chatted back, adoring her as much as Olivia seemed to instantly adore Tori. The blue water ninja was glad that there was still innocence like this in their sometimes very ugly world. She did what she did to protect that innocence.

Olivia's black hair was up I pigtails adorned with yellow ribbons, her skin was a beautiful caramel color and she had obviously inherited her father's smile. Her pigtails bounced as she giggled.

"She's beautiful," Tori complimented. Aisha smiled.

"Thank you. She's Daddy's little princess. Rocky denies her nothing," Aisha said, both amusement and disdain in her voice. Tori smiled and wondered if she and Hunter would have children someday. She knew he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. They had talked in sensual whispers the previous night after making love. The unexpected battle had brought forth the need to express their love both physically and verbally. She knew what he feared now, even though she insisted that she could take care of herself. He had lost everyone he cared about, namely his parents at a very young age. Blake leaving to tour with Factory Blue had hit him harder than anyone save for her knew. And now that evil had returned, possibly to hunt every living ranger, former or not, he was afraid of losing her. She remembered his tangible fear from the night before.

"Hunter!" she cried out in ecstasy, as they made love. He captured her lips in a searing kiss and she gladly welcomed his tongue into her mouth.

"I love you," Tori whispered in his ear. He collapsed into her waiting arms and she kissed him tenderly.

"I love you too," he finally managed to say. She smiled brilliantly, but noticed his pensive look, as he rolled onto his back. She propped herself up on his chest and his arm slid around her waist.

"What's bothering you?" she asked, as she kissed his bare chest and idly traced the lines of definition over his muscled torso.

"I just thought the danger was behind us. I'm happier than I ever thought I could be and now I could lose you," he said dejectedly.

"You are not going to lose me," she insisted.

"You fought those things too, Tor. They made Lothor look like a chump and I have a feeling they were just the lackeys," He responded.

"That doesn't mean you're going to lose me," she said.

"The fates or whatever is out there like to screw with me," Hunter said darkly. Tori sat up and covered her unclothed body with the sheet.

"No one is going to take me away from you, Hunter Bradley. You're holding on way too tightly for that to happen. Not to mention that I'm not a pushover in a fight. I'm not going to let anyone take me away or you away," she replied.

"I wouldn't survive losing you, Tor. You're everything to me," he confessed, as he sat up behind her, pressing his bare, sculpted chest against her naked back. Sensually, he kissed her shoulder, before moving open mouthed kisses to her slender neck. Tori shivered in delight, as his hands slid up her slender, toned abdomen.

"Hunter…" she moaned, before his lips were on hers, sparking the passion between them again.

"Thinking about someone?" Aisha asked knowingly. Tori blushed, as she had been caught staring at the tall, handsome blonde in the living room.

"Yeah, I just thought all this was finally over," Tori sighed.

"You and me both, girl. I haven't been a ranger for fourteen years and now this. I'm married to a red and you're dating one, which means they'll both be out in front, leading the attack. Ivan Ooze was our toughest battle, like going from the little league to pros in one big leap. I'd be lying to you if I told you that I wasn't scared," Aisha said quietly, as she stroked her daughter's hair. Tori looked at Olivia and then back at Aisha, before squeezing the former yellow ranger's hand.

"We'll all do what we have to in order to protect what's important," Tori assured her. Aisha smiled and lifted her daughter off the counter.

"Why don't you help Tori take some sandwiches to your daddy, Uncle Adam, and Hunter," Aisha told her, giving her a small plate, while Tori took a bigger one.

"Go on munchkin, I'll be in soon," Aisha prodded. Tori smiled and watched her carefully carry the tray in.

"Mommy said to bring these," Olivia announced, as she and Tori set the plates down.

"Thanks princess," Rocky told her, kissing her on the head. Tori sat next to Hunter, as they ate quickly and plans were drawn out. Soon, they were at the door.

"Be careful," Aisha pleaded to their two new young friends. Tori nodded.

"We will and we'll call when we make contact with Wes and Eric," Tori promised, they shared a hug. Olivia looked at her expectantly and Tori knelt down to hug her. The little girl looked shyly up at Hunter, who smiled gently at her.

"Is he your boyfriend?" Olivia whispered in Tori's ear though everyone could hear. Tori giggled.

"Yes," she said back in a loud whisper.

"He's really handsome," Olivia whispered again. Tori giggled and the others chuckled, enjoying Hunter's embarrassment

"I know," she replied with a giggle, before she and Hunter walked out the door hand in hand. Once they were on his bike and their helmets were secure, Hunter revved the engine and Tori held on tightly, as they headed out.

Mariner Bay

The day had started out as any ordinary weekday in the Mariner Bay. Dana and Carter Grayson left their home for their busy careers, hers as a doctor and his as a firefighter. But that day, at eleven twenty three in the morning, would be a date and time etched into the memories of every Mariner Bay citizen who managed to survive.

Carter Grayson limped as fast as he could, carrying two crying children out of the burning building. He set them down, preparing to go back in, as his wife ran an emergency triage center nearby. The hospital was one of the first hit buildings and Dana had only made it out thanks to her ranger powers. They were under attack again and naturally, they morphed to combat the new evil. But these green skinned warriors were like nothing they had ever fought before, making the demons they had faced seven years ago seem like nothing. These beings had come out of nowhere and demanded nothing. There was none of the usual bravado that evil villains came spouting, daring the rangers to face them and boasting that they would destroy them. There was none of that this time. These aliens just came and left destruction in their wake. Buildings crumbled instantly with one energy blast that the creatures seemed to wield not from a weapon or magic, but simply from their hands. Somehow, they gathered energy from their very life force and used it without draining their energy. And when they weren't blasting things, they proved that they were skilled fighters. They immediately morphed when the chaos erupted, but it had not mattered. Fighting these things, even morphed, still meant certain defeat. They had learned that lesson hard early on when Chad was hit head on with a blast that tore through his ranger armor and left with a gaping hole in his midsection. He died moments later in the arms of his friends. Moments later, their powers had failed when the Aqua base was destroyed, taking the lives of Joel, Angela, Captain Mitchell, and hundreds of others.

As Carter stumbled back toward the burning building, it exploded, blowing him to the ground. There were still a lot of people inside, but now they were lost, senselessly murdered for nothing. Carter let out a strangled yell, representing the pain and loss they had experienced in just a few hours. It was now a mission of survival and that meant those they had saved were their concern now.

"We need to move everyone to the underground bunker beneath the firehouse," Carter ordered to his remaining teammates.

"But there are more people…" Dana started to protest.

"There's no time Dana! We're all dead if we don't get those we can to the bunker," Carter said, instantly sorry for snapping at his wife, who hadn't had time to mourn her father yet.

"Carter's right. This is a recovery mission now. There are other rangers out there and they'll come for us," Ryan said, aiding the red ranger in his painful decision.

"How can you be sure?" Kelsey asked, as she held a small whimpering child in her arms.

"Because no ranger, current or former, will take this attack lightly. This is war," Carter said gravely, as they began moving those survivors in the triage center to their destination, all the while praying that they would not be discovered.

Briarwood

Nick stared on in horror, as the magical forest around Briarwood burned like a raging inferno. His parents were overseas, exploring the world together and making up for lost time. After traveling across most of the United States with them, he decided to opt out of the overseas trip, because he missed his friends. Okay, so he missed Madison the most. So with his parent's blessings and promises that they would see him soon, he made his way back to California to surprise them. But this was what met him upon his return.

The power was gone now and…all the magical creatures. And Claire…poor Claire never had a chance. Nothing he had experienced or witnessed during his ranger days could have prepared him for this. His stomach twisted and he swallowed the bile in his throat. The city was leveled and he knew the chance of finding his friends alive was slim.

"Madison…I should have never left you," he nearly sobbed in anguish, but pushed it away.

Without wasting another minute, he ran through the razed city and found his friends exactly where he knew they would be if alive. Outside the crumbled Rockporium, the four rangers sat defeated, battered and dirty, with minor injuries and hopeless expressions.

"Nick…" Madison squeaked, as her turned her dirty, tearstained face up at him.

"Maddie…" he croaked, as he knelt down beside her.

"We failed…we couldn't stop this," Maddie cried into his chest, as he held her.

"I'm sorry, I should have never left," he whispered.

"You're damn right you shouldn't have," Vida spat, glaring at him with hard, tear-filled eyes.

"Stop it V, he couldn't have stopped any of this either," Chip argued.

"None of us could. Whatever these green guys are, they're way out of our league," Xander chimed in.

"Yeah and we just ran away like cowards!" Vida spat, as the tears finally started coming. She allowed Chip to hug her tightly and grateful when he started to cry with her.

"No, you didn't run away, V. You did what you had to in order to survive so we can fight again another day," Nick told them quietly.

"What do we do now?" Maddie sniffed, as she lifted her head from his chest.

"If these things are gone, we find survivors and we help them anyway we can," Nick said.

"Nick is right. There's others out there…other rangers way more experienced than we are. They'll do something about this," Xander assured her, trying to employ his usual lighthearted charm, though he was having trouble mustering his upbeat façade.

"Like the ones you just worked with?" Chip asked. Xander nodded.

"Them and so many more, mates. I think this is just the beginning," Xander replied. Nick nodded. He knew there was frightening truth in that statement…

Los Angeles

Thanks to Tanya's connections, she had herself, Kira, and Conner on a private jet back to L.A. within an hour. It took nearly no time at all and they would be right back on the plane in just a few hours to return to Blue Bay Harbor.

Kira was at their apartment packing and he was talking to his coach, which wasn't going well at all.

"I don't believe this, McKnight. It's the middle of the season!" Coach Stevens yelled. Conner sighed.

"I know coach, but I need to be there for my family. Believe me, if I thought I wasn't needed, then I wouldn't be asking for an emergency leave of absence," Conner insisted.

"Just what kind of bloody emergency is this?" Stevens demanded. Conner sighed.

"Oh nothing much, just an immensely evil being that plans to conquer the planet and a group of former, powerless rangers are all that stands between him and the annihilation of the human race. Nope, no emergency there," Conner ranted in his head, fighting the urge to pace like a caged animal.

"I'd rather not go into detail, but believe me, I have to go. You know that I'm dedicated enough to my career that I wouldn't just up and leave if the situation wasn't dire," Conner argued.

"I'm not sure that I do," the coach retorted. Conner blanched.

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?" the red Dino ranger questioned.

"It means that I recall hearing about how you did this back in high school. You blew two chances then when a scout tried to recruit you. The only reason you got another chance later was that you're so damn good. But you can be replaced, McKnight," the coach spat. Conner steeled his gaze on the older man and clenched his teeth.

"So that's it? I take leave and you're going to kick me off the team?" Conner questioned. The coach shrugged.

"I won't have a choice. And sure, the teams will look at you again in next year's draft, but some coaches will be reluctant to take on a player that's known to abandon the sport on any whim," the coach threatened. Conner exhaled a strangled breath, trying to keep his cool. He wanted to scream at the coach that if he didn't do this that there might not be an Earth left soon, much less a game. Conner sighed, as the coach spoke again.

"I'm sure your family will understand that you can't just leave," the coach reasoned.

"So, you're saying that I need to choose between the team and my family?" Conner asked.

"If you want to put it that way, McKnight, but don't make me out to be the villain here. The season's over in a few weeks. I'm sure your family will be fine without you until then," the coach suggested.

"Then I've made my choice," Conner stated calmly. The coach smiled and stood up, ready to congratulate his star player on seeing things his way. But when Conner handed him his security badge and tossed him the key to his locker in the locker room, the coach's face was stricken with shock. It remained that way, as his most talented player walked out of his office without looking back.

Phaedos

Zedd appeared on Phaedos and immediately sensing his presence, Dulcea emerged from her Temple.

"The Ninjetti spirits are restless. Something has happened, hasn't it?" Dulcea questioned. Zedd sighed.

"Ivan Ooze has returned," Zedd announced.

"That's impossible!" she refuted.

"I wish it was, but it seems his daughter and top General found a way to bring him back. Now he's seeking revenge. The Gold and Phantom Rangers are dead, Triforia has fallen, Aquitar has been destroyed, and he has ravaged two former ranger cities on Earth," Zedd listed, but put his hand up, as she prepared to ask him if it was Blue Bay Harbor.

"He destroyed Mariner Bay and Briarwood. The Lightspeed morphers had no connection to the morphing grid, so their repair will not be so easily or quickly done. And I believe he wanted to take out the morphers for the ranger team that draws off magic too," Zedd told her, as she surveyed the two desolate cities through her viewing pond.

"That monster," she hissed under her breath.

"He is intrigued by the Ninja ranger's powers over the elements and seeking to toy with the ones who destroyed him in the first place. This has drawn Tommy's Dino rangers into the mess as well," Zedd told her gently, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Then he has seen Hunter?" she asked. He nodded.

"I'm afraid so," Zedd replied.

"Does he suspect?" she asked.

"I'm not sure, but it wouldn't surprise me if he suspects some kind of connection. A crimson thunder ranger that bores such a resemblance to Zander, his mortal enemy next to your brother, will strike him as too coincidental," Zedd told her.

"Then it's time," Dulcea replied. Zedd nodded.

"Only the combined powers of the Ninjetti and the Phoenix can stop him for good," Dulcea said.

"You want me to bring them all?" Zedd asked. She nodded.

"They are the ones the scrolls speak of. Other former rangers will be there for support, but the prophecy says that twenty will stand against evil in the final battle and will follow the one with the firebird spirit to save their home. The scroll will reveal those twenty I speak of," Dulcea said. Zedd nodded.

"I will go to Blue Bay Harbor at once to begin that gathering, which may already be underway," Zedd replied. Dulcea nodded gratefully.

"He might not take any of this very well at first, especially when he finds out he's related to me," Zedd mentioned. Dulcea nodded.

"I know, but I'm confident that you can convince him that what you speak is true. He can be hotheaded like his father, but I believe he has a young woman standing beside him to keep him in check," Dulcea mused with a smile. Zedd nodded.

"There's a strong woman behind all hot headed ranger males, most of the reds especially. And yes, my brother was a hothead and you'll be happy to know that your son is the same," Zedd told her with an eye roll. Dulcea smiled.

"I kept him in line and I'm sure the dolphin spirit will do the same for my son," Dulcea said confidently. Zedd chuckled.

"Yes, my nephew is whipped if that's what you're looking for," Zedd teased, as he used his powers and disappeared, returning to Earth to change his nephew's life and the lives of nineteen other former rangers forever…

Reefside

Home of Dr. Tommy Oliver

"No, I understand. You, Ashley and Zhane need to protect KO-35 after what happened to Triforia and Aquitar," Tommy said, as he spoke with Andros over the comm system in the Dino cave.

"I wish there was more I could do. I am regretting accepting T.J, Cassie, and Carlos' resignations. They could help if they still had their morphers," Andros replied regrettably.

"No one can blame them for wanting to move on completely. Most of us thought that time in our lives was finally passed, including me. With what just happened in Mariner Bay and Briarwood, you better stay on KO-35 and the galaxy rangers shouldn't risk leaving Mirinoi unprotected," Tommy confirmed. He wasn't really sure what any of them could do anyway. The Lightspeed powers might as well have been non-existent against this enemy. He doubted the space morphers or quasar sabers would offer much resistance.

"Still, Ash and I will contact them and let them know what's going on after I contact the galaxy rangers. May the power protect us all," Andros said, as the comm went dark. Tommy sighed and grabbed his packed duffle bag. It was time to leave for Blue Bay Harbor. As he tossed it into the backseat of his jeep, he thought about that little saying that Zordon had coined so long ago.

May the Power Protect You

"We could use a little of that power right now, Zordon," Tommy mumbled to himself, as he started the engine and pulled out of his driveway, leaving his house behind for the open road.