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.

AN: Here's chapter 9! 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.

Crimson Rising

Chapter 9: Stand By Me

Oh, why you look so sad,
The tears are in your eyes,
Come on and come to me now.

And don't be ashamed to cry,
Let me see you through,
'Cause I've seen the dark side too.

When the night falls on you,
You don't know what to do,
Nothing you confess
Could make me love you less.

I'll stand by you,
I'll stand by you,
Won't let nobody hurt you,
I'll stand by you.

Song: Stand By Me

Artist: The Pretenders

Briarwood

Nick hid behind a chunk of concrete debris, as well armed men in black police-like uniforms milled about the city, gathering survivors and shuffling them onto buses.

"Where do you think they are taking those people?" Madison whispered. He shook his head.

"I don't know, but I don't trust them, especially the ones over there," Nick said back, pointing to an aging man in full military uniform and his two MP's that seemed to flank him wherever he went. Always weary of authority, the others deferred to their leader and hid with him.

"You're right not to trust them, red ranger," a dark haired, petite woman said, as she appeared before them. Vida narrowed her eyes, but she slowly smiled, as recognition dawned on her.

"Mystic Mother…" she whispered.

"But how…" Chip echoed, wondering how she even existed anymore, much less how she was before them in physical form.

"I don't have much time to explain, rangers. We must go," she said.

"But what about the survivors?" Madison asked.

"Those men will prevent you from interfering, but the people will be safe for now. We must be on our way to Blue Bay Harbor," she responded.

"What's in Blue Bay Harbor, Mystic Mother?" Xander asked. She smiled warmly.

"I am no longer the Mystic Mother, green ranger. My powers were mostly sacrificed for your cause, but I escaped with my life fortunately. And Blue Bay Harbor is home to the Wind Ninja Academy. Rangers are gathering to combat the evil that did this to your city," she explained.

"What do we call you now then?" Nick questioned. She smiled.

"By my name, of course. It's Rita," she stated, as the followed her.

Blue Bay Harbor

Ninja Ops

Zedd surveyed the young people before him, though his eyes couldn't help but drift back to his nephew. He had to keep his concentration, but found it a little difficult knowing that he was not only about to change Hunter's life forever, but also to remind himself that he wasn't staring at his brother. He saw Dulcea in the young crimson thunder wielder too, but he was unmistakably the son of his late brother.

"Who are you?" Tori asked, snapping him away from his thoughts.

"I am Zedd of Eltar and long ago, before my fall to darkness, I battled Ivan Ooze alongside my own team of rangers, thousands of years ago," Zedd began his story.

"My fall is very much a part of the story I am about to tell, but I assure you that my days of evil are long passed. I was given a chance at redemption by my old friend Zordon upon his death and I vow to you as a former warrior of the light that I will not betray this chance, rangers," he assured them. A few of them shifted uncomfortably, but most seemed to accept his word.

"My story begins six thousand years ago," Zedd began.

"During my youth, the galaxy was a place of relative peace until a tyrant known as Ivan Ooze began conquering defenseless worlds in a galaxy neighboring Eltar. He was ruthless and more powerful than even the strongest sorcerer on Eltar. The Ooze Empire was soon established and his reach began to extend into our galaxy. He had managed to conquer a gifted race of warriors with the ability to use energy blasts that drew not from magic, but from their own life force, without draining them immediately," Zedd said, pausing, as he saw recognition in Carter's eyes.

"The green beings that attacked Mariner Bay," he stated. Zedd nodded.

"The Duronians. They make up most of the Ooze Empire's elite army and the one that took the life of the Blue Lightspeed ranger is known as Xinshing, who alone has killed hundreds of rangers from various worlds, including Trey of Triforia now as well," Zedd continued.

"Back to my story though. Ivan's rise to power was troubling to the Council of Elders on my home planet and when Master Vile began his conquest to conquer the M51 galaxy, they decided that something had to be done," he said.

"What did they do?" Danny asked with rapt attention.

"They called upon our allies on the Planet of Phaedos and insisted that it was time to allow the Ninjetti spirits to be awakened to combat the forces of evil. Their only stipulation was that their very own Princess would join the ranks. Zordon wasn't happy," Zedd chuckled.

"Why?" Hunter asked.

"Zordon's father was a Council elder and lost his wife early in Zordon's life. The Queen of Phaedos was also widowed fairly early in her marriage as well. They met and fell in love. The union produced a daughter, the crown Princess of Phaedos. Zordon's sister…Dulcea. He was a little overprotective of his baby sister," Zedd stated, expecting the gasp from Tommy that came.

"Dulcea is Zordon's half-sister?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes Tommy," Zedd answered.

"He never told us," Tommy replied.

"I know, but trust me, everything Zordon did had purpose, I assure you," Zedd stated.

"Anyway, the team of warriors was assembled and we called ourselves the Council of Meledon. It consisted of Zordon, our white ranger, who led us beside my older brother…Zander, the crimson ranger. Dulcea represented Phaedos, as the silver ranger. Trephan of Triforia was our gold ranger, a direct ancestor of Trey, Dolphia of Aquitar was our blue, and I was our green ranger. I'm afraid the trouble started though when our Ninjetti spirit animals were revealed. In hindsight, I was a jealous fool," Zedd spat in disgust with himself.

"What do you mean?" Shane asked.

"My family consisted of a long line of powerful warriors, almost a dynasty on Eltar. We were the chosen family of the Phoenix Ninjetti spirit, the most powerful and rare Ninjetti. The Phoenix only chooses one family line and one per generation to bestow its power to. My father was chosen…and then I was passed over in favor of Zander. The Phoenix of course made the right choice, but I couldn't see this at the time. All I wanted was power and it strained my relationship with him," Zedd continued.

"So did your brother defeat Ivan Ooze?" Dustin asked. Zedd smiled.

"Yes, though it was Zordon's spell that sealed Ooze away in the hyper lock chamber, it was my brother's powers of fire and thunder that overpowered the tyrant. Unfortunately, our problems didn't end there," Zedd answered.

"Master Vile, right?" Tommy asked bitterly, remembering his destruction of the power coins.

"Yes…he wanted my brother dead, because of the threat he posed to his rule and my brother set his sights on freeing M51 from Vile's clutches. While my brother fought against his armies, I grew more bitter and angry at always being in his shadow. Vile picked up on this of course and told me about a power source that would make me more powerful than Zander if I could get my hands on it," Zedd stated.

"The Zeo Crystal," Tommy guessed. Zedd nodded.

"Of course, he didn't tell me that it would destroy anyone that touched it if they had evil in their hearts. Being pure evil, Vile would have been incinerated upon contact with it, but I wasn't completely gone by then and he knew this. I was burned alive when my hand touched the crystal, leaving me as the skinless monster that would later terrorize Zordon's chosen rangers. My anger was only compounded when my brother arrived and stole the powerful crystal away, seeing that its guardians sealed it away on Earth's moon and away from Vile's clutches. I betrayed my brother and vowed to get revenge on him. Vile was only more than happy to use me to do his bidding," Zedd spat bitterly.

"What happened then? If your brother was so powerful, then Vile didn't stand a chance, right?" Dustin asked. Zedd gave him a thin smile.

"If only it were that simple. He couldn't defeat my brother directly, so he instead went after my brother's wife. By that time, Zander and Dulcea had married and she was with child," Zedd told them.

"So Vile went after her and the baby," Tori guessed. Zedd swallowed the lump in his throat, as he looked between the pair, as Hunter held her hand. His mouth went dry as he realized the very real possibility that they could face the same dilemma someday. He shook away those thoughts. He had vowed to protect his nephew this time and that protection would extend to her as well.

"Yes, he wanted the child destroyed. As long as the Phoenix Ninjetti existed, he could never complete his conquest to rule the universe. He attacked Phaedos and these catastrophic events led to the annihilation of Dulcea's people. Vile used a spell to curse Dulcea, forcing my brother to either watch her die in his arms or sacrifice himself. Being the man he was, he did the latter of course," Zedd told softly.

"I don't think I understand," Cole voiced.

"He used his full power of the Phoenix to reverse the aging curse on his wife, though she would be forced to remain in her palace on Phaedos for eternity, lest she would wish to rapidly age again. Usually, the Phoenix has the power to recover from even the most devastating of wounds, but Zander went a step further and allowed his essence to be passed onto his child, protecting the baby from any curse Vile could try. The old snake was infuriated that he couldn't take the child and raise it to be evil, but thrilled that Zander was out of his way," Zedd continued.

"So what happened to the baby? I clearly don't remember there being anyone else with Dulcea when we were there twelve years ago," Tommy questioned.

"The Temple where Dulcea resides is enchanted and for thousands of years, she cared for her child that remained as unchanged as she did. But she and Zordon both knew that the time would come for the child to be sent away so he could grow into the warrior he was destined to be," Zedd stated.

"But wouldn't the child age really fast too if he or she left the Temple?" Max asked with hungry attention.

"The child is a boy," Zedd confirmed.

"Zander saw to it that his heir wasn't cursed like his beloved was. The boy aged at a normal pace and through the years, Zordon kept a watchful, yet unknowing eye on the nephew we shared. I took up that mantle for him when he died and gave me a second chance to redeem myself," Zedd told them, as he shared a look with Sensei Watanabe. The Ninjas looked to their teacher, seeing that it seemed he suddenly knew something that the rest of them didn't.

"It's a fascinating story, but what exactly does it have to do with us? Or the situation we're in?" Eric asked dryly. Wes nudged him for the obvious disrespect in his tone. But if Eric cared, he didn't show it.

"I'm glad you asked that, Mr. Meyers and the answer is everything…because that boy is in this room," he announced, eliciting shock and gasps throughout the room. Uncharacteristically, it was Dustin that made the connection first.

"Hey…didn't you come here looking for Hunter?" he asked. All eyes turned to the former crimson thunder ranger and the blonde looked very uncomfortable, but tried to shake it off with a lazy smirk.

"You guys can't seriously be thinking that he's talking about me?" Hunter asked incredulously.

"Dude…you are the crimson ranger," Shane reminded. Hunter shook his head in vehement.

"No way dude, he's not talking about me. He can't be," Hunter refuted, as he felt Tori squeeze his hand tightly.

"The Crimson thunder ranger too," Blake added, earning a glare from his big brother.

"Thunder, not fire," Hunter refuted, as Tori gave him a meaningful look. She hadn't forgotten about the incident as they watched the footage of the green skinned General who had terrorized Mariner Bay and neither had he.

"Hunter…I know this has to be really difficult to take in, but the dormant Phoenix spirit has already become restless and I know you have felt things that you haven't felt before, things that you can't explain," Zedd approached gently. Hunter looked at him questionably and shook his head.

"This is too much. I'm not the one you're looking for. I was born here on Earth…I had parents…" Hunter tried to reason.

"You're adopted bro," Blake reminded.

"So are you," Hunter shot back.

"It is absolutely no coincidence that you are the crimson thunder ranger, the only ranger to wield the color since your birth father," Zedd stated.

"But I don't have any ability with fire, no one does. There's no school of fire," Hunter refuted.

"That's because only the Phoenix can wield fire and your fire is only beginning to stir. Thunder is easier learned, but your fire has only recently begun to stir in the presence of evil, hasn't it?" Zedd questioned. Hunter looked at him and then shook his head.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he denied.

"Hunter…on the way to Mariner Bay when we were watching Xinshing destroy Mariner Bay, your skin was on fire…and it was like you couldn't hear me for a few minutes," Tori reminded. He shook his head.

"It was nothing," he denied again.

"Let me guess, there was a roaring in your ears like a volcano waiting to erupt," Zedd said knowingly.

"I need some air," Hunter said, as he jumped up and Ninja streaked to the exit. Tori sighed and Ninja streaked after him before anyone could stop her.

"All this has been fascinating, but we have even more problems than Ivan Ooze," Eric voiced finally.

"What else could there be?" Cam asked. Wes and Eric exchanged a glance.

"In short, none of our identities are as secure as we may think," Wes stated.

"What are you talking about?" Conner asked, speaking for the first time.

"I mean that there's a government organization out there that knows all about us. We were lucky enough to run into them in Mariner Bay," Eric answered, as they explained what had happened.

Blue Bay Harbor Beach

The ocean breeze ruffled through Hunter's shaggy blonde locks, as he stared out at the choppy white caps. He felt her eyes on him, as she arrived and sighed.

"Those are some killer waves," he mentioned.

"They are, but I didn't come here to check out the waves," she replied, as she came beside him. He ran a hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry, I just had to get out of there and get some air," he apologized.

"It's a lot to take in, but don't think I'm going to let you brood about this all alone," she said, threading her fingers with his.

"We're still in this together," she promised.

"I know…I guess I'm…overwhelmed a little," he replied. She knew in Hunter talk that overwhelmed meant scared, but she would deal with that later.

"Of course you are. You just learned who your real parents are, among other things," she mentioned.

"Like that Zander was the most powerful ranger of all time and has some pretty big shoes to fill," Hunter added.

"It's still not a burden that you're going to share alone," she reminded.

"I'm not even from Earth," he said sadly. She tilted her head and gently brushed his bangs away from his eyes, her hand gently stroking his cheek with a loving touch.

"Do you really think that there is anything that could change the way I feel about you?" she asked, gazing into his intense blue/gray eyes. They were so much like the color of the sky over the ocean just before a storm and just a glance from those eyes easily sent tingles through her body.

"I know this is a lot to wrap your mind around, but the fact that you're the one that will probably save us all really doesn't surprise me. I'm not going anywhere and I'll be right by your side every step of the way," Tori told him, before kissing him softly. Spurred on by her lips moving over his, he responded hungrily, slowly deepening the kiss, the intensity growing between them. His hands slid around her waist and pressed on the small of her back, squelching any remaining daylight between them, as he moved his lips passionately over hers. Their lips finally parted, as their lungs demanded air and they stared into each other's eyes, lost in the intense emotions that swept through them.

"We should probably get back and see what's next," he finally mentioned. She smiled and nodded, as they joined hands when he stopped suddenly.

"Hunter?" she asked, as he looked behind them, his eyes darting everywhere.

"What is it?" she pressed.

"I…don't know, but it's that roaring in my ears again. I think…something's wrong…" he said uncertainly. As if on cue, they heard a woman scream and grabbing her hand, they raced off to find the source.

Ninja Ops

Blake ran a hand through his hair, as he paced nervously. He tended to worry about Hunter when he went off on one of his tangents of brooding and self-loathing. It was way too much to take in at once and his big brother had never been too good at dealing with his emotions. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Shane looking at him.

"He'll be fine," Shane assured him.

"Yeah man, Tor will make him talk. She doesn't let him bottle his emotions anymore like he used to," Dustin mentioned. Blake looked a little uncomfortable and Dustin winced.

"Sorry dude, I forgot that this has to be weird for you," he added. Blake shrugged.

"They seem happy together and Hunter's never really been truly happy before, not since our parents were killed. I had no right to expect Tori not to move on when I didn't even make a move in the first place," Blake refuted. Shane patted him on the shoulder sympathetically.

"You're right," Shane reminded him, as they heard the security signal chime on the console.

"That probably means trouble," Cam said, as he honed in on the signal coming from Blue Bay Harbor beach. When he pulled up the scene on the viewing screen, they expected to see alien monsters, but instead they saw a tall blonde woman with a little boy, surrounded by several armed thugs. The weaponry had likely tripped Cam's sensitive security scanners.

"That's Kat…" Tommy cried, as they saw Hunter and Tori, who must have been nearby, arrive.

"Connor, let's give them a hand. If I'm right, those goons work for whoever is after her and that means we can't wait for Jason to bring her here," Tommy called.

"I'll teleport you guys to the beach. Be careful, they've got guns," Cam warned, as Connor and Tommy disappeared, while the others watched, waiting to see if they would be needed.

Blue Bay Harbor Beach

Kat ran as fast as her legs would carry her, clutching Aiden's hand beside her, as he ran as well. They had been found again and now Malcolm's thugs were chasing them across the beach. She felt one of them grab her arm and yank her back.

"Aiden run!" she pleaded, as the man backhanded her, sending her crashing into the sand.

"Mom!" Aiden screamed, as the thugs surrounded him. Instead of cowering before them, he sunk into a fighting stance like he had learned from his Uncle Jason.

"Look boys, the shrimp thinks he can take us on," one chuckled. Keying off, Aiden delivered an impressive kick to the man's leg.

"Ow…you little shit!" he screamed, as he grabbed the boy by the hair and tossed him to the sand.

"No…please, just leave him alone!" Kat pleaded, as the others hovered above her.

"Don't worry sweetie, you won't be feeling anything in a second. Mr. Renaldi's orders for you are clear," the leader sneered, as he cocked his gun. Hot tears slipped down Kat's cheeks, as she realized that it was over. Suddenly, a crimson and aqua blur snatched the woman and child from the sand and reappeared several feet away, safely depositing the two on a bench. Kat looked at the young man and woman in confusion, as the young blonde woman put her son in her arms.

"Stay here…we'll deal with this," the man in crimson told her.

"Matt…take care of these punks…" the leader ordered, as the man fired his gun.

"Thunder shield!" Hunter cried, as a crimson film sizzled to life in front of him and Tori and the bullets fell harmlessly to the sand.

"What the…" the men uttered in confusion.

"Get them now!" the leader demanded. Hunter leapt at the stockiest one that was easily twice his size and elbowed him in the gut. The man grunted in pain, as he disarmed him and then swept his legs out from under him. Another came at him, but Hunter was too quick. He kicked him in the gut and rolled over his back, as he doubled over in pain. He kicked the third one in the face and then sent him face down into the sand with a knife punch between his shoulder blades. The other two, clearly thinking that Tori would be easy prey, actually holstered their weapons and attacked her. The water ninja kneed the first foe in the gut, surprising him with her strength and she grabbed his arm, flipping him over onto his back, before leaping into the air and scissor kicking the second attacker. Hunter joined her, as the men scrambled to regroup, preparing to fire their weapons. Hunter looked to Tori and she nodded. Since they had discovered that the government knew about their powers, they didn't see much reason to hide it anymore. It seemed like it would only be a matter of time before everyone knew anyway and they weren't about to be killed to keep a secret. Water swirled in her hands and she blasted them back with a raging torrent.

"What the hell?!" one screamed, as they all landed in a dripping pile in the sand. Hunter glared at them and truly frightened them with the crackling orbs of lightning that appeared in his palms.

"What…the hell are you?" one of them uttered. Hunter ignored his question.

"Only a bunch of cowards would gang up and hurt a woman and her child. If I ever see you in this city again, I'll roast you all," Hunter threatened, as he watched them run away in fear. Tori turned to the other blonde and smiled warmly at her.

"It's okay…they're gone…" she assured him. Kat shook her head.

"You don't know my ex-husband. He'll just send more of them. Come on Aiden, we have to go," Kat said.

"Thank you, but we can't stay," Kat said, still in panic mode.

"Kat wait!" a new voice called. The blonde stopped and turned, her eyes widening in disbelief.

"Tommy?" she questioned.

"It's okay Kat, you don't have to run anymore," he told her. She shook her head.

"You don't understand Tommy. I have to contact Jason," Kat said, trembling.

"Jason is already on his way here. We're all former rangers here and we can take you some place that he can't get to you. Trust me," Tommy assured her.

"Mom, if they're rangers, then we'll be safe," Aiden said in awe, as he looked up at them.

"Why is Jason coming here?" Kat asked. Tommy sighed.

"Because all rangers are gathering. I promise we'll explain, but not here," Tommy replied. Kat nodded, as she took Aiden's hand and followed the four former rangers.

"That was so awesome! How did you do all that?" Aiden asked, wide eyed, as they trekked along the beach. Hunter smiled.

"We're Ninjas and we study at a school that teaches one not only martial arts, but to use the power of their inner ninja powers of the elements. Some are air ninjas. Some are earth ninjas. And as you've probably guessed, Tori is a water ninja and I'm a thunder ninja," Hunter explained.

"And you are power rangers too?" Aiden asked in amazement. Tori smiled.

"We were, but we don't have our ranger powers anymore," Tori responded.

"I wish I was a ranger. Then I'd really make my dad sorry for hurting us," Aiden said sadly.

"He's not going to hurt you again or your Mom. Now that we're involved, he'll pay. It may have to wait until after we deal with Ivan Ooze, but he'll get what he deserves," Tommy promised.

"Ivan Ooze…didn't you and the others defeat him before I became a ranger?" Kat asked. Tommy nodded.

"He exploded with the comet, but someone has put him back together," Tommy sighed.

"Trey is dead and Triforia has been conquered. And…Aquitar was blown to pieces," Tommy told her sadly. Kat felt her heart leap into her throat.

"Billy…" she said sadly.

"He made it off. He and his daughter are the only survivors. They're on their way here, but Cestria died in his arms before they had to flee," Tommy told her.

"Oh my God…poor Billy," Kat cried.

"It gets worse," Conner said. Kat looked to the young man.

"Oh, I'm Conner McKnight, former red Dino ranger," Conner said. Kat smiled and shook his hand.

"Katherine Hillard and this is Aiden," she replied.

"Hunter Bradley, former crimson thunder ranger," Hunter introduced.

"Tori Hanson, former blue wind ranger," Tori added.

"Thank you to both of you again…I don't want to think what would have happened if you hadn't intervened," Kat thanked them.

"We're just glad we got there in time," Hunter replied.

"So…you said it gets worse?" Kat asked with a sigh.

"Ooze's army has destroyed Mariner Bay and Briarwood. The Mystic Force rangers all survived, but the blue and green Lightspeed rangers were killed, not to mention hundreds of innocent people in both cities," Tommy said evenly.

"My God…what are any of us going to do? Do any teams still have powers?" Kat asked.

"The Overdrive team does, they're the newest, but they don't stand a chance. Nothing against them, but their lack of experience is going against them. We're way more experienced and we barely defeated him the first time," Tommy said, pausing for a moment.

"Other than them, we can count on the Space rangers and Galaxy rangers if they get here, but so far, we haven't been able to get in contact with Andros. K0-35 and Mirinoi could be under attack for all we know, but we have an ally that seems to know what we have to do," Tommy said hesitantly.

"An ally?" Kat asked.

"Yeah…it's Zedd…" Tommy said carefully.

"Zedd?! As in Lord Zedd?" Kat exclaimed.

"Easy Kat, he and Rita aren't the same people. They're on our side now and though he just found out, Hunter is actually his nephew. Zordon's too," Tommy replied. Kat was trying to find words and wrap her mind around that concept.

"It's probably best if you just watch the recording of Zedd telling the story when we get back to Ops," Tori suggested, as Hunter raised his communicator to his lips.

"Hey Cam, we're clear and we've got six to teleport," Hunter said.

"Standby in three," Cam responded, as a few seconds later, they disappeared in six streams of light.