The sun loomed over Phaedos as the seven Rangers came out into an outdoor part of the Ninjetti Temple that resembled an outdoor arena. In the middle of the arena, there was an arch containing seven pillars with colored symbols of the Ninjetti animals on them. Dulcea was nowhere to be seen.

Ninjor, however, was standing in front of the pillars, "Your gifts will serve you well as I have already told you," he said in an enlightened voice. "Now, with your new powers, you are ready for your Ninja Zords."

"Ninjor, what is a Zord?" Laura, who was just beginning to accept her new role as a Ninja Power Ranger, asked as she came towards him. "I don't mean to ask questions, but I'm still trying to understand…"

Ninjor beckoned her forward, "How does one learn to understand something if they do not act courageously and ask questions to those who know better?" he asked as she came forward. "The Zord I am about to bestow on each of you is a machine based on your animal spirit that will give you power to succeed when your Ninja powers aren't enough to defeat evil. Now, all of you, come forward."

As the other six Rangers came forward, Laura sighed and immediately searched among the totems for her symbol, "Tommy and Jason, step forward," Ninjor said, prompting Laura to refocus her attention.

"Tommy, as the Falcon you are the winged lord of the sky and for it, I now give you the White Falcon Ninjazord," Ninjor said as the White Falcon Ninjazord suddenly appeared above the first pillar. "Jason, as the Lion, you are the king of beasts and I grant unto you the Red Lion Ninjazord; you are both leaders."

The Red Lion Ninjazord suddenly appeared above the second pillar, "Adam and Billy, step forward," Ninjor said, pleased when they did so without hesitation. "Adam, as the Frog, you are the lord of all water elements and are granted the Black Frog Ninjazord. Billy, as the Wolf, you are the protector of all jungle elements and the powers within. Use these powers wisely and remember teamwork's value."

"Kimberly and Laura, come forward," Ninjor commanded as the Black Frog Ninjazord and the Blue Wolf Ninjazord appeared on the third and fourth pillars. "Kimberly, as the Crane, you are the one who will be able to help the others soar as one unit and for that, I grant unto you the Pink Crane Ninjazord. Laura, I commend you for taking on a role you do not quite understand and as the Eagle, you will be able to help heal hearts and bring love to others even though you have little given back; I now grant unto you the Yellow Eagle Ninjazord that you may serve well as a Ranger. Now, Malcolm, please come forward."

The Pink Crane Ninjazord and the Yellow Eagle Ninjazord appeared on the fifth and sixth pillars as Malcolm sighed and stepped forward. As he reached Ninjor, an owl flew over his head and settled on the rooftop of the Ninjetti Temple. It stared at him intently, but Malcolm focused on Ninjor.

"Malcolm, as the Tiger, you are the prince of the Earth and protector of all," Ninjor said in a serious voice as he waved his arms and the Orange Tiger Ninjazord appeared on the seventh pillar. "Use the wisdom you have gained from tragedy and success and you will be an excellent Ninja Ranger. I now grant unto you the Orange Tiger Ninjazord; may you work with your fellow Rangers to keep peace."

Ninjor then gestured to the seven Zords, "When your Zords are combined, they make the Ninja Megazord and it can defeat any evil. You must now return to Earth and stop Ivan Ooze from destroying any more than he already has," he said in a somber voice. "May the Power protect you all."

"Let's go guys!" Tommy shouted, eager to save both Zordon and the world. "White Falcon Ninjazord!"

Jason grinned, "Red Lion Ninjazord!" he shouted in an eager voice. "Let's go back and save the world!"

"Black Frog Ninjazord!" Adam shouted. "I hope we can save both Zordon and the world in time!"

Billy swallowed hard, "Blue Wolf Ninjazord!" he shouted. "We can do this as a team, guys!"

"Pink Crane Ninjazord!" Kimberly shouted in a hopeful voice. "We'll always be a team, guys!"

Laura sighed and then gazed up at her Zord, "Yellow Eagle Ninjazord!" she shouted in an eager voice.

"Orange Tiger Ninjazord!" Malcolm shouted, his confidence restored by his newfound powers.

Ninjor chuckled as all of the Rangers gathered before him, "Use your powers and Zords well, Rangers," he said in a lighter voice. "Only by working together can you defeat Ivan Ooze and rescue Earth."

"Right!" the seven Ninja Rangers said in unison as they joined hands and looked up at their Zords.

As the seven teleported away, the owl morphed into Dulcea and she watched the multi-colored beams travel away as she hopped off the pillar, "You never revealed your secret, Dulcea," Ninjor commented as he looked at the aged warrior who now looked very exhausted. "Didn't you want him to know you?"

"Some secrets are better left buried," Dulcea said in a somber voice as she turned to face Ninjor. "If I were to tell him, it would destroy all that Zordon has given him to know. It is better that Malcolm hold on to what he still has instead of what he has lost. He has family and friends on Earth who love him."

Ninjor nodded, "What of Mark?" he asked in a quiet voice. "Are you going to seek Mark out as well?"

"Mark is dead and evil lives in his place," Dulcea said shortly. "Evil cannot dwell on Phaedos lest we die."

The first thing the Rangers saw when they materialized in the damaged Command Center was Trini's body lying on the cot undamaged. Jason, Billy, Kimberly, and Tommy stood there for a moment and silently reflected on pleasant times they had shared with Trini while Laura, Malcolm, and Adam hurried over to where Zordon lay; they were surprised to see him still alive. Zordon smiled at the three of them.

"Rangers, you came back," Zordon said in a faint voice. "Now you must go and defeat Ivan Ooze."

Tommy, Jason, Billy, and Kimberly quickly came to Zordon, "What about you?" Kimberly asked in a sorrowful voice as she gazed at how weak Zordon seemed. "If we leave, you'll die; you can't die."

"If Ivan Ooze is not defeated, your journey to Phaedos was a waste," Zordon replied gravely.

Before any of the Rangers could reply, Katherine suddenly stepped out of the darkness where she had been waiting in her cat form, "Your journey was a waste anyway," she said, showing them the Orb.

"It's that thing she used on Aisha!" Malcolm shouted as he quickly assumed a defensive position.

Katherine chuckled and swung the Orb back and forth. Before she could begin to say the chant that would turn the Rangers into children and cause them to lose their memories, however, Billy let out a yell and quickly snatched the Orb from Katherine's hand. Katherine lunged for the Orb, but Billy quickly darted away from the others and threw it hard on the floor, leaving nothing but dust remaining.

"You'll pay for that," Katherine hissed as she walked back into the darkness. "I leave you a present."

As Katherine vanished, a figure in a black ninja outfit came staggering out of the darkness and slowly lifted its hood with a trembling hand. Jason, Tommy, Malcolm, Billy, and Kimberly were very surprised to see an exhausted looking Zack standing there. Malcolm quickly hurried over to Zack to help him.

"Zack, what happened?" Malcolm asked as he helped the shaken Zack to sit on the floor.

Zack sighed and tried to collect himself, "Katherine put me under a spell, but I'm suddenly free," he replied in a shaky voice as he leaned against Malcolm for support. "Did you guys make it back?"

"Yes, but now we need to go find Ivan so we can defeat him," Jason replied softly. "Will you be okay?"

Zack nodded and pulled away from Malcolm, "I should be," he replied faintly. "What about the others?"

"Ivan has to be our priority," Tommy cut in regretfully. "Stay here for now and we'll be back, okay?"

Zack groaned and was silent as the seven Rangers quickly teleported out of the Command Center.

Blood was spattered on the grass and on his son's uniform, Zedd realized as he appeared in the park and saw Zedison lying in a heap near a statue of a hand. Ivan was nowhere to be seen, so Zedd crept across the grass to where his son lay, "Zedison, are you alive?" he hissed in a growly voice. "Son, I'm here."

"Father," Zedison whispered in a faint voice. "I can't breathe; please, remove my mask…"

Zedd quickly removed the black hood and face covering, revealing bad burns on Zedison's face, "Ivan did all THIS to you?!" Zedd asked in a voice of horrified disgust. "He will pay, my dearest son, I promise."

"With what, cash or a credit card?" Ivan asked as he came out from behind a tree. "My goodness, Zeddy, you don't waste time coming to clean up your children's messes, do you? Shall we finish this now?"

Before Zedd could reply, Rita suddenly appeared with her staff in hand, "YOU MESS WITH MY FAMILY AND THE WORLD I'M TRYING TO TAKE OVER, YOU MESS WITH ME!" she shouted as she hurried to block Ivan from touching Zedd or Zedison. "ZEDDY, GET HIM OUT OF HERE AND GO BACK HOME!"

Suddenly, Ivan cackled and electricity ran up his body, "Ahh, I am completely powered up!" he said in an invigorated voice. "The parents of Angel Grove have gotten me all the electricity in this large city!"

"Let's go, Rita," Zedd said, knowing that this was a fight that they couldn't win. "Next time."

Realizing that Zedd was right and that they needed to get their son out of there before he succumbed to his injuries and died, Rita nodded, "See you later, purple slimeball," she hissed in an angry voice.

As Rita, Zedd, and Zedison vanished, Ivan suddenly began to grow and quickly grew to a height that was bigger than the tallest buildings in the city. "Now it's time to play!" Ivan crowed in an amused voice.

"Woah!" Jason yelled as he, Tommy, Kimberly, Billy, Laura, Malcolm, and Adam appeared in the park not far from where the giant monster now stood. "Your time is up, Ivan! We are the Ninja Power Rangers!"

Ivan cackled and was delighted when he saw that there were seven Rangers, "Ooh, seven Rangers!" he crowed in an amused voice. "I didn't think you'd find seven after Katherine made Aisha a child!"

"We did and we're ready to take you on!" Tommy yelled. "We need Ninjazord Power, now!"

Tommy raised his hands, "White Falcon Ninjazord!" he yelled anxiously.

"Red Lion Ninjazord!" Jason yelled, raising his hands.

Adam quickly raised his hands, "Black Frog Ninjazord!" he shouted.

"Blue Wolf Ninjazord!" Billy shouted in an energized voice.

Kimberly quickly brought her hands together above her head, "Pink Crane Ninjazord!" she shouted.

"Yellow Eagle Ninjazord!" Laura shouted as she brought her hands together above her head.

Malcolm quickly clapped his hands and raised them above his head, "Orange Tiger Ninjazord!" he yelled.

All of the Ninjazords quickly came to their new masters without hesitation and the seven Rangers leapt into their Zords, "Your Zords are nothing more than stuffed animals to me," Ivan scoffed, seemingly unimpressed by the Ninjazords. "Really, is that all Dulcea and Ninjor could give to each of you?"

"Now we're ready to give you a whipping," Adam said, programming the Black Frog Ninjazord to lash out its tongue at Ivan and give the purple monster a great electric shock. "Shocked into running yet?"

Ivan growled and shot electricity at the Frog Zord, causing it to tremble, "Would you like a shot in the right direction?" Kimberly asked in an amused voice as she made her Crane fire lasers at Ivan.

"Why don't you fly south?!" Ivan snapped as he shot magic at Kimberly, sending the Crane flying off into the sky at an uncontrollable speed just as the Wolf Zord lunged and bit Ivan's side. "OUCH!"

Billy chuckled as the Wolf Zord continued biting Ivan, but then frowned when Ivan wrenched free and knocked the Wolf back so hard that it nearly crashed, "Why not have a little heat applied?" Jason asked in a determined voice as he brought his Red Lion Ninjazord face-to-face with Ivan. "Eat heat, Ooze!"

"Ooh, that tickles," Ivan crowed as the Lion Ninjazord breathed fire at him. "Why not go for a run?"

Jason fought the urge to swear as Ivan shot purple lightning at him and the Lion shot backwards, "Why don't we lash you into humility?" Laura asked as she maneuvered her Eagle Zord towards Ivan. "I need some backup, Tommy. Let's shoot this thing into its own little nest where it belongs."

As the Falcon and Eagle Ninjazords took another pass at Ivan, he waved his arms, "Why don't you join your Crane friend in flying south?!" he shouted as lightning hit the Zords and sent them far away.

"How about some Tiger scratches?" Malcolm said as he lunged towards Ooze with his Zord.

Ivan cackled and a whip appeared in his hands, "How about a whip for the bad kitty?" he said as he thrashed the whip at the Tigerzord and sent it crashing to the ground. "Good kitty; stay down!"

"We need more power!" Tommy yelled in an anxious voice. "Activate Ninja Megazord now!"

Ivan's amused look quickly changed to horror as the seven Zords quickly came together and formed a robot-like being that was as big as he was, "Let's take this fight out of this world!" Billy said to the other Ninja Rangers as they all sat in the cockpit together. "We can get him into space and use our individual Zords to chase him right into the sun, guys. That way, there's no danger to anyone else on Earth."

"Great idea, Billy," Jason replied in an intrigued voice as he looked at the others. "Let's go, guys."

The Ninja Megazord quickly powered up and shot itself high above Angel Grove, "Oh, so it's a game of tag, is it?" Ivan asked in an amused voice as he used his wand to make himself able to fly. "I'M IT!"

As the Ninja Megazord left the Earth's atmosphere, the Rangers could see Ivan pursuing them, "Right, guys, once Ivan is in line with the Sun's orbit, we need to fire everything we've got at him," Billy said in a knowing voice. "Once he's veering towards the Sun, we need to follow at a distance to make sure…"

"TIME TO PLAY, RANGERS!" Ivan yelled as he approached the Ninja Megazord. "ONE, TWO…"

Before Ivan could say 'three', he was hit by a barrage of weapons, electric shocks, and fire. The Ninja Megazord then grabbed Ivan and twirled him around like a Frisbee, finally throwing him towards the Sun with such force that Ivan could not stop. The Rangers were silent as Ivan flew into the sun and exploded.

Completely unaware how the rest of Angel Grove was faring, the seven Rangers landed in the damaged Command Center. They immediately hurried over to where Zordon lay, hoping it wasn't too late.

"Zordon?" Kimberly asked in a concerned voice, suddenly frowning when Zordon didn't wake up.

Not wanting to think about if they were too late, Tommy looked around at Jason, Kimberly, Billy, Laura, Adam, and Malcolm, "We need to just join our hands and have faith that it will be enough," he said in a determined voice. "Remember, we need to use teamwork or else these new powers will not work."

"Our hearts have saved us, so why wouldn't they save Zordon now?" Malcolm spoke up. "Let's try it."

Even though Laura was unsure if joining hands and hoping for Zordon to live would actually work, she joined hands with the other Rangers and they all closed their eyes.

Nothing happened for a moment and then gold beams of light suddenly shot out from all of the medallions on their chests and filled the entire Command Center with a blinding light causing Zack, who had been on the floor, to slowly stand up.

The light faded and the Command Center was completely restored, "Rangers!" Zordon said in an enthusiastic voice as he gazed at the seven Ninja Power Rangers from inside his time warp tube.

"So you're Zordon?" Laura asked as she gazed up at him. "It's very glad to finally meet you, sir."

Zordon smiled, but he quickly frowned, "Billy, my sensors tell me that there are people at Doctor Oliver's cabin who need our help," he said in a commanding voice. "Teleport them here immediately."

Billy nodded and hurried over to the console. He pressed a few of the controls and almost immediately, Doctor Oliver, a sleeping Aisha, Alpha, and Rocky appeared. Rocky, who was covered in the blanket that Doctor Oliver had given him, immediately collapsed to the floor, but remained very conscious.

"Rocky!" Adam said as he hurried over to his fallen friend. "Rocky, you're sweating really a lot, man."

Dr. Oliver quickly knelt down next to Rocky, "There's medical technology here that would help him, right?" he asked as he removed the blanket and saw that Rocky had become even paler from the whip cuts on his back. "He mentioned something about being a Dark Ranger and how he was tortured…"

"Alpha, take Rocky down to the Chamber of Light for a bio-scan," Zordon said in a concerned voice.

As Alpha helped Rocky up and escorted him away, Dr. Oliver looked at Aisha, "Zordon, is there anything we can do to restore Aisha to her former self?" Laura asked, suddenly feeling very out of place among people who she knew nothing about as she walked over to where Aisha lay. "Is she going to be okay?"

"Aisha will be fine, Laura," Zordon replied. "However, she cannot be returned to her former state here; she must be sent back in time and then grow naturally. Any attempt to do otherwise would kill her."

Before any of the Rangers could reply, Zordon zapped Aisha and she vanished from the Chamber.

"Uncle Frank, I have a question," Tommy suddenly spoke up. "How did you find out about us all?"

Dr. Oliver sighed, "I knew I would need to tell you sooner or later," he said as he walked over to the controls area. "When Tommy and I first moved to Angel Grove, he was very excited for a fresh start and I was happy that he finally showed emotions about things. Anyway, not long after that, I noticed a drastic change in his personality; he was angry all the time and would pick fights with me over the dumbest things. I, however, always took it calmly and simply sent him to his room or on a walk to stew over his emotions for a while."

Tommy suddenly looked very ashamed and looked at the floor; what had Rita's spell done to him?

"One day, I had come back to our apartment after school was out and I found the place a mess," Dr. Oliver said, suddenly feeling bad for recalling old memories. "I tried to find Tommy, but he wasn't home, so I just started cleaning. When I finally got around to his room, I found a strange coin on his desk…"

Swallowing hard, Dr. Oliver bit his lip, "It looked like some sort of wishing coin, so I picked it up and wished that there was some way I could help my struggling nephew," he explained in a gentle voice as he walked over to Tommy and put an arm around him. "I was suddenly teleported here and I met Zordon and Alpha; they told me that Tommy had been put under some sort of spell by some freaky space witch named Rita Repulsa that was trying to destroy a group called the Power Rangers. I took an oath to always be ready to help the Rangers if it was ever needed, which it was during this crisis."

Malcolm suddenly became very quiet and swallowed hard, "Jason, ever since Phaedos, I've had something on my mind," he said in a low voice, gazing at his cousin. "I need to talk to your parents."

"Our parents!" Billy suddenly cut in worriedly. "Zordon, did Ivan Ooze hurt our parents at all?"

Zordon smiled, "While they are aware of the presence of Ivan Ooze, they are not aware of their role in any damage caused," he replied gently. "The damage is minimal and all is again well in the city."

"Billy, you and the others should go ahead and visit your families," Laura cut in, knowing how much the other Rangers missed their families and wanted to spend time with them. "I'll stick around to see if Rocky is indeed okay and then catch up with you guys later. I'd like a bit of time alone, actually."

Tommy and Jason exchanged a look and Kimberly frowned, "Are you sure, Laura?" she asked, wondering what Laura would do by herself while she waited for Rocky. "We could hang out at the park together."

"I'll be all right," Laura replied in a soft voice, wondering how long it would take before Tommy, Jason, Billy, Kimberly, Adam, and Malcolm made excuses that they were too busy to be around her. This experience as a Ninja Ranger had been wonderful, but Laura was now waiting for it to be taken away.

Dr. Oliver smiled at Tommy and then at the rest of the group, "I think that after everyone's had some time with their families, we should all get together and have a wake for Trini," Zack cut in, his voice excited. "We could have a barbecue or something and invite Trini's parents to come…"

Suddenly feeling very out of place among this group of friends, Laura quietly slipped away from them and quietly made her way out the front entrance of the Command Center. She had felt good saving the world, but figured that she had nothing in common with them and was much better off alone.

"Oh, how precious, the Yellow Ninja Ranger feels cut off from the others!" Goldar hooted as he peered through Rita's telescope with amusement. "Empress Rita, should I send down Putties to capture her?"

Rita quickly came hurrying into the throne room, "Forget the Putties, Goldar!" she shouted in an annoyed voice. "Zedd and I need to go find help to recharge our powers! Ivan Ooze's meddling has drained our powers, traumatized our daughter, and nearly killed our beautiful Zedison! Come!"

Goldar quickly followed Rita into Finster's lab where Zedison lay on a table in his mortal form with only his blood-stained ninja suit covering his battered body. Zedd was at the head of the table, gently stroking Zedison's hair to keep the boy calm. Rita approached her battered son and sighed deeply.

"He can't see you, Rita," Zedd grunted, gesturing to Zedison's eyes. "He's almost completely blind."

Rita fought back tears as she touched Zedison's face, "I'm glad that purple slimeball is already dead or else I'd kill him myself," she said in an annoyed voice. "Katherine, where are you?! Come here!"

Still deeply traumatized by Ooze's reign, Katherine hurried into the room, "Your mother and I have to go across the galaxy to find help with our powers," Zedd said in a regretful tone. "We are sending you and your brother to Earth to live as mortals. We will block any memories of us until we return for you both."

"I will look after my brother, Father," Katherine promised as she gazed down at the weakened Zedison.

Swallowing hard, Rita took Zedd's hand and the two of them stepped away from their children. Rita waved her magic wand at Zedison and Katherine, muttered some words, and fought to keep from mentioning her sudden headache as the two disappeared in a flash of brilliant red and blue light.

Despite the damage caused by Ivan Ooze, the City of Angel Grove was in a celebratory mood that evening and the mayor promptly organized a carnival in honor of the Power Rangers saving the city once again. The carnival was held on the football field at Angel Grove High School and it was very crowded.

Jason and Malcolm stayed close to Jason's parents for the entire evening; Malcolm had expressed his desire to have the love of parents once again and be adopted. Thomas and Helen Lee Scott were so excited and treated the boys to whatever they wanted to do because it was a special occasion.

Tommy and Kimberly spent the evening with Dr. Oliver, who wasn't normally much for parties, but had decided to enjoy himself just once. After being cured of his physical wounds by Alpha and being told to take it easy, Rocky had shown up to the party and was hanging with them because he hated being alone and his family hadn't come to the party; they had smaller children at home who needed attention.

Billy and his father had brought Adam to the party and they were discussing Billy's mother as they walked around the field, occasionally stopping to play a game in one of the many booths available. Zack had come to the party with his parents after stopping by Trini's house and offering condolences to her parents; they had been told that Trini had been killed in a car wreck while driving around Switzerland.

Bulk and Skull had come to the party and while they scouted out and indulged in every piece of food they could eat, they also spent time stalking Laura from a distance. Laura knew what they were up to and simply ignored them; she had very little on her mind except how very much alone she felt.

May I please have some reviews?