When the ship finally lands the settling of the landing gear makes the deck plating rattle and my knees instantly ache.

A voice crackles from one of the DECA units above me, "Sorry about that, Jason, got a little resistance from the atmosphere last minute."

I'm not alone in the shuttle bay of the Astro Megaship for long when Andros joins me. He has his duty jacket off and he slings it over a metal hook near the bay door.

He slips a KO-35 Navy excursion jacket on to replace it, it's one of those Aquitarian Advanced Cooling rigs I've seen a few times before. I take a moment to realize that I can recognize an alien winter coat and shake my head. I'm a long way from 1993 Angel Grove, California.

Andros takes my cane and helps me shrug on a coat of my own. I wobble under its weight for a second and he grabs my elbow to steady me.

"I'm sorry we'll have to walk from here. The planet is still being extensively terraformed and short range craft are currently banned."

I straighten myself and plant my cane and it whirs and clicks. A deck of cards sized cylinder slides along a rail, calibrating to the new environment. "Lead the way, Red Ranger."

I catch a look at myself on the surface of the door as it too slowly adjusts to the atmosphere and opens before me. I do not flinch away.

While I'm only in my late forties my body is withered and my face is gaunt. My once broad shoulders are hunched and I'm so lean my clothes hang off. The Golden Power I once possessed has done so much damage. I shake my head and push the pain away.

Andros shields his face with his hand as the oppressive heat blasts its way into the shuttle bay but I welcome it like a baptism. This is my last best chance at regaining my life. My salvation. This is Edenoi.

What feels like hours later (though probably a fraction of that since I can still make out the squat frame of the Astro Megaship Mk II in the distance) we reach a roughed out cave that serves as the entrance to the warrens where most of the remaining Edenites reside.

A lone figure emerges from the dimly lit reaches of the cave. A young man pulls down the hood on his own Aquitarian rig to reveal a mop of black hair and a kind and boyish face.

Although I'm read up on Edenoi I'm not prepared to see the organic gemstones that reside on their foreheads. This man's stone is so radiant that I quickly look away.

Andros bows quickly, "Your Majesty, thank you for greeting us personally."

I dip my head, the extreme fatigue I'm feeling brought on from the trek prevents me from doing much else.

He waves off the formality by slapping Andros on the shoulder and steps to me, "I keep telling your Kerovan friend every time he makes a supply run that I prefer 'Dex' but as you can see…"

I begin to introduce myself but Dex continues, "You are, of course, Jason Scott of Earth."

He grips my hand gently, "The King of Triforia has become a close friend of mine and he speaks very highly of you."

"Thank you, Dex. I'm grateful that you and your Grandfather have agreed to help me. I had begun to lose hope."

His smile tightens, and he betrays his doubt for a fraction of a second.

Dex turns his attention back to the Red Space Ranger and grasps his hand, "Andros, I hope you'll stay with us a few days?"

Andros frowns regretfully, "Afraid I can't, Majesty, I have to swing back to KO-35 before I head home to Earth and my wife doesn't like it when I'm away for too long."

"Well, Give Ashley our love-"

"Andros wait," they both look at me perplexed at my interruption of their small talk. "Please... would you actually mind staying a night or two. If King Lexian can't help me… I might need a ride home."

They both awkwardly begin to nod and Dex saves the moment, "We also have some cargo that we've been meaning to get to KO-35, we'll need some time to load it on your ship anyhow."

Andros walks over to help me move to the elevator and smiles as best he can, "Of course I'll stay." A slow pit of guilt begins to open in my stomach.

I wake up around two hours after being shown my rooms by a little chime on my red communicator band. I lazilly thumb the alarm to off mode and swing my legs over the double sized bunk.

My hand finds my cane leaned against the wall and the mechanical device calibrates itself to my weight and the air pressure.

I think of the man who made it for me and a small smile splits my face despite my slowly growing anxiety.

I hobble to a steel pocket door that slides to reveal a private balcony. Someone has very kindly installed a bar to help me lower myself into the stone bench so I can look at the view. The bar's polished brightness reveals how recently it was installed and is a strange contrast to the ancient looking masonry.

I adjust myself to get comfortable and lay my cane across my lap. Finally situated I look at my view.

The main chamber quite literally takes my breath away and I will myself to recover as I stifle a cough.

A hidden spring has produced a waterfall that I figure is about 80 or 90 feet tall. It terminates into a large reservoir of water and produces a cooling mist that permeates the air.

I know from my research that there is a small shrine that sits around the spring's entry point. The shrine holds statues, and the transformation belts, of all the great Riders of Edenoi's history. The great powers of light, hope, and will.

"Hope…" I let it whisper and my room's bell softly chimes.

When I finally get to the door I use the tip of my cane to toggle the switch and my door slides open. A mixture of shock, guilt, and relief swirl through my head, "Kim?"

Kimberly Hart gives me an easy smile. She's dressed in a plain sleeveless black dress that opens at the throat. Her hair is down and flowing and trying its best to cover the gap in her neckline.

"Hey." She says it softly and communicates everything she needs to in a single word.

"Hi…" My response is equally as complicated.

We are both still very deeply in love with one another. All the brashness or coldness I made her suffer through, as the Golden Power chewed away at my body, is forgiven.

She takes my arm and kisses me close but not quite on the lips. "Come on, we'll do this together."

She laces her fingers in mine and begins to lead me to Plan A.

Kim laces her fingers in mine and helps me into the sitting position. I must look pathetic, a skeleton of a man, shivering from the cold touch of the medical bed.

King Lexian sits quietly, his mind gem twinkling dimly. In the silence I'm aware of the sound of my ragged breath. Kim's warm hand lands gently on my back and my body calms. As much as her presence here complicates and endangers my plan, I realize that I need her and instead I'm grateful.

King Lexian eases up out of his chair and sits beside me, like an old friend. He is not a man of pretense and smoothes his beard before speaking.

"The Golden Power was designed for a person that could disperse the power among three souls. In fact the possibility that you held it… and held it for months is like…"

He glances at a star chart on the wall, "You chained yourself to a star, but instead of spiraling around the galaxy, you learned how to drive it."

He looks back at me, "The trouble is, it shoved your connection to the Morphin Grid to three times its Apex and left it there. I'm sorry to tell you that there is nothing to heal. Nothing is broken, you've just burnt your fuel."

Kim's hand doesn't move. I've suspected this. Billy theorized it. Ninjor softly confirmed it when he couldn't make me a new power coin. But hearing it from Lexian, the authority on healing, is… truly damning.

I push through it, I've prepared contingencies. I'm stronger than this damaged vessel.

"Your Majesty… what about a… what if I could wear a rider belt."

I make the elderly monarch do a double take. This is also a long shot but it's the next safest play.

"Jason…" he begins, realizing he needs to penetrate my desperation, "despite the fact that no non Edonite has ever been granted a belt, nor are we even certain that they would still work…"

He stands so we can look at one another face to face, "Transforming in this state will probably outright kill you. But… let's say it works. A Rider Belt is not a connection point to the Morphin Grid. A Rider's Power is the Rider. Its battery is the soul and the ignition is will power and they connect like a Dynamo. You could find yourself restored, sure, or accidentally and irreversibly immortal. Your soul could weave itself into the fabric of the universe, or worse yet, be ejected into a parallel universe. Forced to jump the multiverse forever, indefinitely. To navigate the Power of a Rider… with no mind gem, also might simply drive you insane."

He takes my hand, like a grandfather, "I'm sorry. You're going through enough. There is an alternative. Regular and small bursts of the Golden Power. It could keep you going for years yet."

I did, of course, already know that before I came. But I resolved months ago, the day I made Kim leave… that I couldn't live that way. It wouldn't be a life.

Kim's hair smells wonderful and I take a deep breath. She's an amazing woman. I would be a fool to ever spend another moment apart from her.

I slide a small vial into my coat pocket. It's the fraction of Golden Power meant to be my first dose.

"Would you mind walking with me?" Her answer is a kiss on my lips and then my forehead as she helps me up from the bench outside Lexian's office.

"I have a house… in the bluffs above Angel Grove. We could go home," her voice is not somber or sad, those times are gone from us.

I can hear the smile in her voice, "you could make an honest woman out of me."

In a sweet silence we walk slowly from Lexian's double storied building. We walk along the edge of the large pool, more mini lake, and we both listen to the pleasant roar of the waterfall. This walk is rejuvenating for us both.

In a few moments we reach the bottom of the stone structure that supports the Rider Shrine. I stop her and kiss her seriously. "I do."

"Jason…" she says sweetly before surprising me once again, "What are you up to?"

I smile, take her hand and kiss it. "Behind you is an elevator. I'll tell you up there."

The view from the Rider Shrine is just as wonderful as the one from my room. The squat city below is a warm brown with twinkling points of light that remind me of the gems that adorn the people.

We walk together slowly among the life sized statues of the great Riders of the past. Heroes, Rebels, Kings, and sometimes Conquerors. They all stand here like rings of an old tree, telling the story of a great people.

"Time to play my last card, my love."

I stop Kim in front of the statue furthest from the spring. "When did you put it together? That I would be here? I didn't realize you were keeping tabs."

She clicks her tongue against her teeth in admonishment, "Jason Lee, please. My darling you are many things, including a terrible liar. Surrounded by terrible liars."

"Zach..." I say, shaking my head.

"Not to mention the only one who could have given you the tech in the cane to hide what you're carrying… and did I mention he tells his wife everything and she does not approve of this plan either."

"Billy…"

"The only thing I couldn't figure out is how you got it."

I sigh and thumb the catch on my cane. The calibration cylinder slides down to reveal a small figure of a spider. I take it out and hand it to her, "Would you believe a witch gave it to me?"

She lifts the tiny sculpture out of my hand and flicks the spider with one of her long fingers and the look of disapproval on her face is profound.

"Putty. You're just full of moral compromises."

I put my hands up in mock surrender, "She's reformed you know."

Kim reluctantly hands the artifact back over to me and takes a deep breath. She takes two deliberate steps back and crosses her hands in front of her. A band of pink light passes over her and she shimmers slightly. I blink away the light and she is the Pink Ninja Ranger. She pulls down her headwrap and says almost bored, "As soon as you do whatever you're about to I'm pretty sure we're fighting our way out."

This is it.

I walk over to a stone statue which likeness is the only one that is not a Masked Rider. Instead stands a figure in a tunic and cape, the folds of the clothes are beautifully sculpted. The face is intentionally left without many features as generations of Edenites have forgotten this statue's significance.

Years of research, searching for answers beyond the Grid, and cavorting with ex-evil witches and the spirits of ancient Eltarian wizards have led me here. I'm almost one hundred percent certain that what I'm about to do will kill me outright, Kimberly's optimism aside.

At the foot of the statue is a hollowed out groove and I anticlimactically deposit the Putty Spider inside.

Nothing happens. I wait, holding my breath. Still nothing.

"Did you do it wrong?"

I give Kim a withering look, "I have no idea. I haven't summoned an interdimensional Spider God before."

"I thought you were trying to Morph," she states more than asks, not quite an admonishment but I start to shake my head regardless.

"Kim, I can't just walk up to a statue and yell 'it's Morphin time-" at my command the Putty Spider disappears in a flash of light and the groove recedes into the stone slab. For a moment the sound of what seems like clockwork emanates from the base of the statue and with a final brief hum the groove resurfaces. This time it is filled with a squared off silver bracelet.

Kim's voice is sweet sarcasm, "What was that you were saying, dear?"

Behind us there is a loud hiss and we both realize at the same time someone has called the elevator from below. We share a tense look and she nods slowly.

I slide the bracelet over my left wrist and it wriggles under its own power. It sits comfortably and components resize themselves until it feels like it was made specifically for me.

"It's Morphin Time?"

Nothing happens and I hear Kim say behind me, "it's not a question and the elevator it's on its way back!"

I throw my cane down. I take a step to the side to position my legs shoulder width apart, one foot slightly in front of the other. I base myself, expecting the energy of the Morphin Grid to once again come when I call.

"It's Morphin Time!"

There is a sudden agonizing pain in my wrist. The bracelet… something has injected itself into me. A burning begins in my left arm and starts to spread.

The world begins to dim. I am filled with cold fear, everything has gone so wrong. How could I trust Rita, or believe in old tales of ancient races? The gamble is a bust. I'm dying. I slump to my knees and then fall to the ground. I hear the soft tone of the elevator door just as everything goes black.

"The spider was a wonderful gift, Jason."

I blink away the darkness and I am sitting upright, something is bracing me in this position but I feel very comfortable.

In front of me is a crisp and crackling fire, it's warmth fills me and I feel safe and the fear is gone.

I glance around and slowly begin to recognize this place, "Yosemite…"

"You must forgive me, we are in one of your memories. A camping trip with your father when you were a boy. I felt it best to wake your mind here."

Across the fire the Putty Spider shimmers through the flames and after a second a man sits in its place.

He looks like an older version of my father, garbed in a black tunic and cape, he is the statue come to life.

"I am Garia, one of those Who Came Before. A Lightweaver, one of those who came to this universe to show its beings how to shape the great Web."

My head swims for a second, "the Morphin Grid."

"So you say… we came to this place generations inumerable to teach your people our ways and make them their own. The universe before this one was my home and many other adopted worlds before I came to Edenoi to rest. And sleep I have, very deeply, and very well."

"I have come, Garia… to ask…I need new powers, to be a Ranger again."

Garia smiles warmly, knowingly, and I am enveloped in the warmth of his smile.

"No, my son. That life is behind you now. I would not install the Grid's power in you again, for it would not save you."

I know this should fill me with dread, and desperation, but I am at peace here and this memory washes those emotions away before they can surface.

"Before you is a new path. As we speak your body is being repaired rapidly. The last of my lifeblood is restoring what the Golden Power burned away. The combination of my blood and yours will change you permanently."

I am filled with wonder, "How, Garia?"

"No longer will you need to transform yourself. My blood will give you strength, speed, agility, and awareness. Unmatched, even by your time as a Ranger. Keep my brace, it will supply you with a battle suit, and schematics to build a new ship. You will need these in the battles to come."

"Battles?"

"I am not the only thing to come from the Universe before, nor the only thing that sleeps in the darkness. Fortunate that you found me, and more fortunate still that we share this fire. Those deep and primordial evis stir and wake, even now. The passing of your former mentor pressed against the edges of it and now its awareness is close to gaining physical form. You will need to stand against the storm, when no one else can."

"Garia… will you guide me?"

The specter of my father that shares this being opens his hand, and in the palm is the putty spider.

He rubs a thumb over it lightly before answering, "A few feet from us is a good woman. Your love is the only guide you have ever needed. I am also on a new path. The next universe will need us both. And much must be prepared. Farewell, Jason, our son, you have made us very proud."

I blink the firelight away and I am once again in the shrine. The elevator just arrived.

I take a deep breath and… nothing hurts. I feel strong again. A man in his prime. I look down at the silver brace, it also has smoothed and contoured. Set in the center is a mark resembling a power coin, with a spider spread like the Gold Zeo staff. A gift from Garia to remember who I was, and now who I am.

Kimberly lets out a low whistle and I glance at the rest of myself. My body is restored, I am no longer a frail husk, but a man strong and tall.

I wink at her and slide my finger along the brace and hold it in front of me. Bands of red light and shadow weave around me, the fibers coalescing into my new suit. I only have a second to note the black base fabric highlighted by a deep "V" of red that is cross hatched with the motif of a spider's web. It is not lost on me that black and red were my Ranger colors. Like my original suit there is a white diamond in the center of the red mantle, the "Zeo Spider" symbol emblazoned in Gold.

The Masked Rider steps out of the arrived elevator, his helmeted head cocks to the side in confusion. Brown robed Edenites shuffle out behind him and flank him.

"Whoever you are, surrender what you have stolen from us," he punctuates his request with a saber that manifests from his belt.

I reach up and yank my cowl down, the feeling more like peeling back skin. "It's me, your highness, Jason Lee Scott. I had to do this, to save myself. I had to activate the Spider statue."

Dex takes a staggered step back, "The spi-" he stammers at the thought. "Jason, you do not know what you have done."

He gestures toward me with his sword and the Brown Robes reluctantly advance. "We must subdue him and hope to reverse what he has done. Both of you, power down, and we will see my father."

My cowl reforms around my head at a thought and I take a slow step before Kim. My senses are flooded with input. The heartbeats of those Edonites boom in my ears as they begin to hasten.

Kim's slow and steady breathing and the deep thrum of Dex's mind gem communing with his Rider Belt. Subtle clicks and the smell of plasma as the Brown Robes produce blasters and stun batons. All this input flowing in like an extra sense has opened a window in my mind.

Dex takes a single step forward and something inside me explodes. It's as if all of my senses merge and… tingle. My body moves on its own and I cut through the air as if each molecule bends to my passing.

I yell to Kim, "Don't hurt them, I'll take the Rider."

She moves in a pink flash, dancing between the wispy white blasts of the Edonoi sidearms. Tendrils of pink ribbons manifest in her hands as she wraps the group up and twists between them. She is a gymnast in her very soul.

Dex is ready for me as I collide with him and he expertly shoves me off as we both roll to the ground. With a tight roll he gets back to his feet and flips his saber back into his hand with a practiced half-spin.

I reset our distance and handspring back up. With some primal instinct and a flick of my Braced wrist I conjure in an instant a shield of webbed energy as Dex's saber slices at me. Our two energies meet and the shield disperses as quickly as it arrived.

With my off hand I summon a webbed sword to fend off another swipe. I do a double take at the webbed Mighty Morphin Power Sword but manage the parry.

Behind me Kim has literally tied up Dex's warriors with a neat bow and has joined my side.

Dex changes his stance, prepared to face us both but I put my hand out in surrender, "Dex I'm sorry. It didn't have to go this way. Apologize to your father for me."

Another flick of my wrist and I fire a burst of web and it lands perfectly on his helm. He brandishes his saber as his other hand claws at the web.

I grab Kim by the waist and she instinctively hooks her leg in mine and grabs my shoulder.

A tendril of web launches from Garia's Brace and smacks the ceiling of the cave structure. With my new immense strength I use my arm to leverage both the weight of Kim and I and we swing up and over the edge of the Shrine.

I spin another and another as the claxon of an alarm fills the streets. A wisp of energy cuts through my web and as we plummet through the air I launch the Pink Ninja and catch her again as I ride a fresh web.

"Not. Cool," she manages through gritted teeth. "Dex is gaining."

I glance behind me and see the Masked Rider leaping from rooftop to rooftop, impossibly gaining on us.

"Switch to my back," I grunt and Kim expertly slides her frame around and hooks her arm around my neck.

I land against the side of the elevator shaft and instinct takes over. I hook my fingers into the side of the panel and with seemingly no effort I tear it off like tissue paper.

The panel is just wide enough for Kim and I to clear and I feel her tense up as I shoot us both through the opening.

Inside the panel, through some sort of strange tactile response I begin to climb up using my fingers and toes to quickly ascend.

I must be quickly adapting to the dramatic changes caused by the dose of Garia's blood because I *know* through some other sense that the Masked Rider is in the main elevator now.

It doesn't matter now I'm too fast for the elevator to keep up. Kim yelps as I pry the doors open that lead into the cavern at the top and deposit her on to the ground.

I wave my braced left arm at the elevator and a huge blast of energy web lodges itself in the elevator doors as they snap back closed. I hear a groaning noise as the elevator car lands inside that mess.

"Hopefully that will keep Dex at bay-" his saber's blade penetrates the webbed door and I sigh, "Come. On."

"What the hell?"

I spin and Kimberly has Andros in a Kimura hold. This isn't the smooth and diplomatic exit I was hoping for. I put my hands on my hips as the moment gets away from me, "Jesus, Kim! I turn around for two seconds! Let him go!"

There's a muffled yell from inside the elevator and a lance of electric energy extends along Dex's saber and he begins to saw an opening.

"Damn Masked Rider *up* my ass right now."

Andros rubs his wrist and shoots Kim an evil look at Kim before turning to me, "Jason? What the hell is going on? Did you steal powers?"

"Not exactly. Look I don't have time to explain but I need you to get us off Edenoi. Right now."

"Super Gold!" Dex's voice rings out and an orb of yellow energy blasts into the cavern.

Without looking I lob another Web at the hole, "Look, Andros. We gotta go."

"Jason this is insane," he puts his hands out as to calm me down, "it's not too late, power down and let's talk."

"Kim."

The Pink Ninja Ranger quickly gets Andros into a rear naked choke and in a few seconds she throws the unconscious Kerovan over her shoulders and we're both sprinting toward the Astro Megaship.

About the time we reach the cargo ramp to the ship there's a measured explosion behind us. Out of a ploom of smoke coming from the cave's mouth the Masked Rider rockets toward us riding a blue motorcycle.

We get inside the safety of the ship's interior and I slam the door controls and the opening hisses shut behind us.

"Welcome back, Andros" Deca chimes politely. Andros starts stirring at the call of his name. Kim and I drag his semi conscious body to the bridge and Kim deposits him in a chair next to the science console.

After a second of consideration I web him. "Deca we need a quick lift off and punch it back to Earth."

"Command authorization is required."

The ship rocks and a status screen generates footage of Dex laying fire to the Megaship.

Kim joins me at the main console, "Tell me you have an escape plan."

"Twenty years ago I was on this ship on a mission to stop the last of the Machine Empire. When I was still able to use a power coin. We all had to be given command access in case only one of us made it out. I'm willing to bet I still have a profile with Deca."

She coughs, "You're…willing…to…bet?!"

My suit peels away from my hand and with no small measure of unearned confidence I slap my hand on the control panel.

After an awkward second the panel lights up and controls manifest on the touch screen.

"Access granted. Please fasten travel restraints."

The ship tears off the ground and Kim and I are slammed against the console behind us as the Astro Megaship blasts into the sky.

The status screen shows a shrinking Dex and Edenoi as we're quickly in orbit and into the star fields of Edenoi's solar system.

Finally I slump into the closest chair and with a tap on my slick new brace I dispel the battle suit. I quickly check but despite a sudden panic, the web is keeping a groggy Andros in place.

Kim dismisses the powers of the Pink Ninja with an off hand gesture and plops herself on my lap. She rests her head on mine and breathes out a quiet, "Holy shit."

I'm just about done splitting wood when he arrives. A blast of exhaust from a Ford Bronco's V8 disturbs the tranquility around Kim's house on the bluff and she appears in the doorway of her cottage.

I hear his heartbeat before he's even in ear shot. It's strong for a man our age and it thrums all the stronger by its myriad connection to the Morphin Grid.

I sink the maul's head into the splitting block and slowly turn to see our visitor. Kim is already on her porch with a few cold bottles of beer. A peace offering for an old boyfriend.

By way of hello I call after Tommy Oliver, "Andros ok?"

"His feelings are hurt. But he understands your situation. We all do, Jason…"

I'm no fool. He was the only one they dared send. He is the most powerful living Ranger and my former partner and sometimes best friend.

Kim hands him a bottle and he accepts it gratefully. They share a warm hug. Two people that were close, grew apart, and have both moved on to full lives. It's actually quite comforting to see despite the fact that Tommy and I won't be able to see eye to eye. And not for the first time.

He takes a swig of the beer and he and I clink bottles before we both take a long pull.

"How are Kat and JJ," Kim asks as she sits herself on one of the Adirondack chairs that sit on either side of her front door.

"They're well. JJ will be in SPD this time next year. Already talking rangering and zords."

"So much for any of us getting sleep. I was hoping all of the Ranger kids wouldn't get a taste for it." I wince, despite the fact Kimberly never had children of her own she's always had a very motherly instinct towards the second generation of Zordon's original rangers. The Golden Power robbed me of any hope of being a father, one of a thousand regrets.

Tommy nods solemnly then finally sizes me up, "You're looking spry."

"I've been back in the gym."

He cocks an eyebrow, "The Edenites are quite upset. Demanding the return of that brace and you, to answer for your crime. They've also heavily implied you have kick started a galactic Apocalypse."

"I wish I could. But the wheels are in motion now. By accepting this second chance I've also accepted a burden. Something was already stirring. Waking. Something beyond the reach of the Z-Wave. It will be up to me to stand against it. I pay the price. I pay it gladly."

He sets the beer down and takes a few steps onto the field in front of Kim's cottage. I can sense his muscles tightening and the tension in his shoulders.

"Don't."

"I have no choice. I know that tone of voice. You think you're right… I'm going to have to-"

Kim stands up, interrupting him. His eyes dart toward her, worried he'll have to fight her too.

"I'll put dinner on and let you two get it out of your system."

Tommy produces a gold Morpher from behind his back and with a shout he is replaced with Zeo Ranger V.

I consider him for a moment. Not quite sure that I can take him, he's equipped with the Master Morpher and five distinct connections to the Grid spiraling around his aura like a tornado. Suddenly I feel that same peace and calm from the memory in Yosemite. And I can feel the warmth of the fire. I must stand against the storm when no one else can.

I flick my left wrist and Garia's Brace replies to the gesture by weaving my battle suit around me with crimson hued shadow.

"Not bad for an old man," Tommy remarks.

His voice is glib but soaked in confidence. He takes a single step forward, like his foot spins the Earth. I will a webbed Power Sword into my two hands in an en garde position, "We'll see in a second won't we?"

The Zeo Powers were supposed to grow stronger over time but I have no idea if that still counts when Tommy is using a coin proxy.

He begins his assault with a strong overhand slice of his sword and I take a step black and stop the blow with a high block. The force of the blow is enough to sink my two feet into the ground so I suppose that answers that question.

I dismiss the sword, that's enough to throw him off balance and I use my speed to spin outside of his resetting reach.

I take a step to the side to avoid another slice, my speed increasing with every moment. By the time he switches to a backhanded cut in reverse grip I'm crouched too low for it to matter.

I can feel Tommy's frustration coming off in waves. His hand is already thumbing the Master Morpher and in a slightly different red flash the Red Turbo Ranger emerges.

In this form Tommy is able to match my speed. His Fender Sword strikes out toward me, fast and whip-like, and I conjure a web shield to buy myself some space.

His cuts are relentless so I use my new found agility to hand spring back into a leap that puts me well out of melee range. As I land I launch the mother of all web blasts at him.

He's encased in the sticky energy and I quickly close the distance and rip the web away to find… nothing?

I'm quickly dropped to my knees from a blow to my legs and I hear rather than see movement to the side. I curse silently. I seem to recall one of his ranger forms could cloak.

I let the sensory input come to the forefront of my mind and my other new sense begins informing my movement.

I'm able to dodge and parry my invisible opponent, my body seemingly moving without any conscious effort.

I grab something solid, feels like a rod weapon and rip it from Tommy's invisible grasp. With a shimmer the Black Dino Ranger stands to my side. I toss his sidearm and we go hand to hand.

It's been a very long time since we've crossed hands. It almost feels like taking up with an old dance partner. His martial arts are like fingerprints and incredibly unique.

Each jab and elbow strike I could have named like a long lost friend. In this instance we're at a stalemate.

I cancel his boxing with wing chun hand trapping and close the distance to get him in the clinch. He immediately switches to his muay thai training and his knees become an issue for my chest.

I try to free one of his arms to get him in a standing arm bar but he sees the move coming from a mile away and he's almost able to get me in a front guillotine. I'm forced to admit his jiu jitsu is better than mine.

I roll forward before he can set the lock and bowl his legs over and we're both in a tangle.

When I get to my feet, Saba's point is in the center of my chest. I didn't even register the morph when it happened.

I throw my hands up and with another flick my suit is gone. He lowers the blade warily and begins to reach for the brace.

He doesn't know that I don't have to morph anymore so I take him completely by surprise and headbut his helmet, grab the collar of the White Ranger's chest armor and throw him to the ground. I take a few steps back and summon my battle suit.

Tommy actually laughs and dismisses the powers of the White Ranger as he lays there.

"In thirty years I've never seen you fight dirty." He laughs and catches his breath, "I kind of love it."

He lifts himself off the ground and dusts off his green olive drab jacket. "Alright, fine. I'll go help set the table."

"Thanks, Kim. I'll send your love to Kat." The two share another hug. Kim gives me a long look but walks back into the cottage without saying a word.

"No Dragon Ranger?" I muse, as if we're taking up an old conversation.

"We already answered that question once. Not sure if I could handle it getting answered a second time."

He plops himself in one of the Adirondack chairs and crosses his legs casually.

"It took me a long time to step out of your shadow. To stop looking up to you and look across. And when you got…sick I felt like I was fighting alone for the first time. If I lost my powers… and I mean finally lost them… I would be lost too. So I get it. Jason, I would have done the exact same thing. Anything, to get back in the ring. Because I don't want to fight alone."

"You can't come with me." I read the question before he even knows he's even about to ask it.

"I know. I have Kat, JJ, and I have to carry on the legacy at home. It's just… I just got you back."

"Maybe you'll stand with me one last time."

Kim's white dress is a reflection of all she's been through. It's a simple white skirt and blouse. A pink ribbon in her perfect hair.

I can't take my eyes off of her, despite a fire engine red automaton being the one giving her away.

I should be nervous. I'm currently the most wanted person in the entire galaxy, with a target painted on my back. But I couldn't feel more right standing in the yard behind Kim's cottage.

It's nice having Tommy here too, beyond the fact we've renewed our friendship, having the Morphin Grid's most powerful ranger in attendance means that there won't be any surprise visitors or sudden arrests.

Zordon's original rangers, united once again and maybe for the last time fan out beside us. Many others, who've followed in our footsteps make up the crowd. In a way we're all extended family.

Adam, Rocky and Aisha, members of the Turbo Rangers, the Space Rangers (Andros is being a good sport about the whole thing), and beyond all make up the small congregation.

Alpha pulls double duty, and standing in for his former master, pronounces us Husband and Wife. He joins us in the Eltarian way by announcing to the crowd that now the Grid has joined together two points of light in a bond forever lasting.

The reception is a blur as we're all crying tears of joy and sadness. Tomorrow we leave. First to the KO-35 shipyards (giving Edenoi a wide berth) to pick up our new vessel, then it's into the unknown. With the knowledge and power Garia has left for me Kim and I must forge a new path, luckily we'll do it together.

I catch myself staring down at Angel Grove in the distance, able to make out twinkling lights as dusk settles into night. I think about the day in 1993 when a beam of light took me and my friends into the sky to meet an interdimensional Space Wizard. Every choice since then, good or bad, joy and pain, has led me here.

Kim's hand slides into mine, a perfect fit.

This one has been in the junk drawer for awhile. In a different draft Jason was going to be Kamen Rider Decade, in another it was adaptation of Sun Vulcan, but now that I'm ready to publish i really like the OG Red as the OG Sentai Supaiderman.

I always wanted answers to lore questions. Whatever happened to Edenoi? The Ninja Ranger Sub-powers? Why did the golden powers not work for Jason? I know the real world reasons, I'm just a sucker for the lore.

Anyhow in a dream world Dan Mora would do the updated suit design. In the meantime just google his Sentai Spiderman