Disclaimer: I don't own the Power Rangers. They belong to Saban, along with anything you've seen in any of the shows. I do however own Sedra, and Locan. And anything else you haven't seen on the show. I'm not doing this for profit. I'm not getting paid for this. This is for entertainment only. If you would like to use any of my characters, please let me know. Thanx.
Author's Notes: In this timeline, T:APRM does not happen. This is the second story in my Ranger of Light series, after Every Hero Has a Beginning. Please read it first before you read this, or you will be totally lost. If you like this, please let me know. This has been a really hard fic for me to write.
And a special thanks to my online friend, Jennifer Hart, who is also a PR fanfic writer. She helped me make some tough decisions on an important part of this story. And thanks to Cynthia for posting the fics. Have fun reading. :)

Ranger of Light Saga
Part Two: A New Ascendancy
by Cinders

Two weeks later:
Rita and Zedd handed a gift to the Machine King, Queen and their lackeys; on the surface of the moon. Quickly they made their excuses, and boarded the ancient winabego they were using for transportation on the moon, as well as their home, and left the Machine Empire behind.

"Any minute now..." Zedd stated.

Suddenly, a flash of red light descended upon them. Zedd and Rita shielded their eyes against it's brightness. Goldar barely had time to look through the rearview mirror, and see a ball of fire rise from where they had left the Machine Empire with the gift.

Then they were swallowed by the light.

Oblivion.

A beautiful woman stood on the bridge of the space cruiser, which; at that moment, was hovering over the surface of the moon. Her long white hair brushed her back as she moved closer to the viewing screen. Her arms crossed. She watched, with black eyes, as the balls of flame quickly winked out. Their targets evaporated.

As she turned to her companion, her long, satin, burgundy dress, which hugged every curve of her body like a second skin, rustled with each step that she took.

"I hate parasites. Especially, space parasites." She brushed her long slender hands together, as if ridding them of dust. Her long gold nails flashing in the light of the room.

"I agree Queen Sedra."

"Thank you Locan. Your service on this mission is gratefully appreciated." She stated as she brushed past him.

Locan was a large creature of the same species as Goldar had been, but larger. Instead of his wings constantly spread, his were carefully folded to his back. Where Goldar had been blue in complexion, Locan's place in the higherarchy of their race was defined in the black of his color, and the glowing green of his eyes. His silver armor shown like a mirror, encasing his body. His helmet was held tightly in the crook of his arm. A white mane of hair fell to his shoulders, from his head.

In their place in their race, Locan would have been the Master to Goldar's slave.

So, it was with little pity, that Locan watched Goldar's death.

"I am here to serve." He watched her take her place in the throne, on the bridge of the Space Cruiser.

"On the dark side of this orb, they call a moon, is a castle. We will reside there...for the time being. Within the bowels of this castle, buried in a secret chamber; of which I only know, is the journal that the Heratron prisoner stated, was sealed there.

"He said there were clues to a great power to be found within it's pages. He confided this in me...as he drew his last breath." An evil smile curved her blood, red lips. "I will have that power. For with it, I will destroy what I will, so that I may rule this universe, along with all of the others I have concurred. Starting with that little ball of blue, right there.

"There Heratron prisoner told me that it was without protection. Besides, I've concurred larger worlds before, just with the flick of my little finger. This one should be no different." A slow smile crossed her lips.

It had been the best two weeks that Billy could remember. Well, since he supposedly went off to Aquitar. The dreams had not returned since the night he sought out Zordon's council. And if they did, he did not remember them.

The Rangers were doing well against the Machine Empire. Zedd and Rita had made an appearance, but they had not attempted anything on the Rangers, but the Rangers were on the alert none the less.

Billy had finished the work on the Turbo Zords, and had plenty of time to do some working out, and some reading. He'd even talked to Kim a couple of times since that night, and she was looking forward to the Pan Globals. She had even hinted at coming to visit, once the secrecy was over.

That alone, had lifted Billy's spirits, even if Zordon couldn't give him a definite date as to when he could come out of hiding.

With a lunge, Billy grasped the dangling rings tightly. Slowly he pulled himself up. The braces around his wrists, and the grips on his hands, helped him to more firmly grasp the rings. He could feel the burn in his muscles as he pulled his legs up, and used his arms and shoulders to lift his body into a handstand. It took all of the control of his muscles that he could get, just to keep the rings from shaking and causing him to fall.

It had been a long time since he'd practiced any of his gymnastic routines. His best routine had been on the pommel horse, but he loved the rings more.

Slowly, he let his legs down as he kept his arms straight, pressed tightly to his sides. As soon as the trembling in the rings diminished, he slowly pushed his arms out, away from his body, and began to lower his torso.

The Cross.

The hardest maneuver to execute on the rings. Billy was able to accomplish it with very little thought.

The burning in his muscles was a welcome reminder of times gone by. He held his position; arms straight out at shoulder level, body straight, legs pressed together, head held straight.

Suddenly, the blare of alarms distracted him. His body began to shake, sending him falling from the rings, and landing him hard on his back side.

"Ow! Man..." Quickly he righted himself, pulled the braces from around his wrists, and headed for the control room of the Construction Core.

Once he was in the control room, he switched on the link between him and Zordon.

"Zordon. What's happening?" Immediately an image of Zordon appeared in the tube in the room.

"A FEW MOMENTS AGO, AN EVIL PRESENCE WAS DETECTED; MOVING INTO OUR GALAXY. ALPHA AND I MONITORED IT'S COURSE, TO MAKE SURE IT WAS NOT JUST PASSING THROUGH. AS IT NEARED EARTH, IT TURNED TO THE MOON.

"ALL LIFE ON THE MOON HAS BEEN OBLITERATED. THE MACHINE EMPIRE, RITA AND ZEDD."

"Who is it Zordon?"

"I DO NOT KNOW BILLY. SO FAR, THERE HAS BEEN NO MOVEMENT TOWARDS OR CONTACT WITH EARTH. BUT, I FEAR IT WILL NOT BE SO, FOR LONG. IT'S TIME FOR THE TURBO TEAM TO BE ASSEMBLED."

"Right Zordon. I'm on my way."

Billy quickly cut the communications with Zordon, as Zordon disappeared from the, now dark, tube. He headed to his private chambers to get ready. It was time for the secrecy to be over. "I'm coming home." Billy stated. But his comment lacked the enthusiasm it would have had mere moments ago.

Tommy and the rest of the Zeo team were relaxing on the nearly, deserted beach, enjoying the free time they had when they weren't battling the Machine Empire.

Rocky, Tanya, Kat and Adam were involved in a little two on two, game of volleyball on the beach a little ways away from him. Next to Tommy, lounged his brother David.

"It's been really nice getting to spend some time with you guys. You know, getting to know everyone a little better. Usually, you all are running off to fight monsters, and basically; save the Earth." David stated as he watched Tanya send the ball over the net.

Tommy pulled his sunglasses up and rested them on his head, and looked at David, who didn't seem to notice. "Things would be a lot easier if Billy were still around. Man, when he said that he wasn't coming back, and that he was going to stay on Aquitar with Cestria, I wanted to be happy for him. I really did. But, I couldn't. Not deep down inside. I knew he wasn't happy, all cooped up in the Power Chamber. He'd been miserable for the past year. Almost from the very moment he gave up his place on the team to Tanya.

"But, something about the transmission from Aquitar, didn't seem right. But, if that's what he wanted, them I'm happy for him. It just doesn't change the fact that I miss him. He was the last of the original team." David finally turned to face Tommy, his glasses firmly in place over his eyes.

"Well, the short time that I knew him, I thought that he was a really great guy. Maybe he'll come back to visit sometime soon?"

"I hope so. It's been nearly seven months, and we haven't heard from him since he left. Not to change the subject, but how is the new Dojo you and Jason are opening, going?"

"Pretty good. Our doors have been open for a week, and already all of our sessions are booked up solid."

"That's great, man." Tommy said as he slid his glasses back into place to finish watching the game.

Suddenly the air around them was filled with the familiar six tone beep! that they'd all come to know, and somewhat dread.

"And you were saying..." Tommy said sarcastically to David, as he got to his feet to join the others behind the lifeguard station.

When the coast was clear, Tommy opened the link. "What is it Zordon?"

"TOMMY, I NEED YOU AND THE OTHER RANGERS TO COME TO THE POWER CHAMBER IMMEDIATELY."

"We're on our way."

"I guess I'll see you guys later." David said as he began to move away down the beach.

"It's a date." Tommy smiled, as their bodies were engulfed in a rainbow of lights, that shot into the air, on their way to the Power Chamber.

Within moments, the five columns of light became five teens, standing in the center of the Power Chamber floor.

Tommy was the first, being the leader of the team, to step forward. "What's happening Zordon?"

"RANGERS. THE MACHINE EMPIRE, AS WELL AS RITA AND ZEDD, HAVE BEEN DESTROYED BY A NEW EVIL FORCE. WHO IT MAY BE, IS UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME, BUT THEY HAVE NOT MADE CONTACT WITH EARTH YET.

"I FEEL THAT IT IS FINALLY TIME FOR THE FIVE OF YOU TO TAKE ON A NEW 'STRONGER' POWER. PLEASE HAND YOUR ZEONIZERS TO ALPHA." The Rangers were shaken by Zordon's words.

New powers?

Stronger?

Give up their Zeonizers?

They each looked to one another, as in turn, each quickly gave a slight twist to their wrists to make the Zeonizers materialize from their pocket dimension. Then, one by one, they reluctantly removed the devices, and handed them to Alpha, who stood patiently waiting.

"Zordon. We don't understand. What's happening?" Adam stepped forward, speaking what was on all of their minds.

"BEHOLD RANGERS. YOUR DESTINY AWAITS. YOU ALL HAVE BEEN TESTED, AND FOUND WORTHY TO RECEIVE THE NEW POWERS." The wall at the back of the Power Chamber began to split apart, slowly sliding into resesses in the walls. Behind them was a great expanse of darkness. "BEHOLD, THE POWER OF TURBO." Zordon exclaimed.

From within the dark, five sets of lights flashed on and began to advance toward them.

The Rangers all stared in wonder, as five high-tech vehicles began to move toward them. "Amazing." Was the only word that Tommy could think of to describe what was before him. He realized, with a bit of a chuckle, that it was what Billy would have said if he had been there.

The soberness of the moment was broken by the next statement. "This will sure make it easier to make a stop at the fast food pick -up window, after work." Rocky gazed around as groans from four people reached his ears.

"What?" He asked with a smirk on his face. But, even Zordon had Rocky's attention with his next statement.

"RANGERS. BEHOLD, BEFORE YOU SITS THE TURBO ZORDS." All five vehicles had come to a stop in the center of the massive room.

"ADAM, YOU WILL PILOT DESERT THUNDER, AND YOU WILL BE THE GREEN TURBO RANGER." Desert Thunder's lights flashed.

"ROCKY, YOU WILL PILOT MOUNTAIN BLASTER, AND YOU WILL BE THE BLUE TURBO RANGER." Mountain Blaster flashed it's lights.

"TANYA, YOU WILL PILOT DUNE STAR, AND YOU WILL BE THE YELLOW TURBO RANGER." Dune Star's lights flashed quickly as well.

"KATHERINE, YOU WILL PILOT WIND CHASER, AND YOU WILL BE THE PINK TURBO RANGER." Wind Chaser's lights flickered on, then off again.

"AND LASTLY, TOMMY, AS LEADER OF THE TURBO RANGERS, YOU WILL PILOT RED LIGHTNING, AND YOU WILL BE THE RED TURBO RANGER." Red Lightning moved ahead to the front of the Zords, it's lights illuminating a large pedestal in the center of the room.

The round dais at it's top, was separated into five pie shaped slices, and each was illuminated with the colors; red, yellow, pink, blue and green. In the center of each illuminated piece, rested the Turbo morphers.

"RANGERS. STEP FORWARD AND ACCEPT YOUR DESTINY. THE DESTINY TO BE THE STRONGEST RANGER TEAM TO EVER EXIST. THE POWER OF TURBO."

Slowly, the Rangers approached the pedestal, each taking his or her place before the triangle that illuminated their respective Turbo colors.

As each member stepped up, they held their hand out to the center of the dais, just slightly above it's surface. They didn't know why they did it, it just felt right. When all of the Rangers were in place, they withdrew their hands and quickly placed them, palm down, on their colored wedge, and gazed upward.

Five flashes of light engulfed each member in their color. As soon as the lights faded; where five teens had once stood, now stood the Super Elite team of Power Rangers Turbo.

Headlights and crome detailing adorned each helmet, and surrounded a darkened visor. The only thing that separated the men's uniforms >from the women's, was the fact that Kat and Tanya sported a short skirt over the leggings.

Each wore a set of white, with black trimmed boots and gloves. Their new weapons rested gently at their sides. In a triangle on their left shoulders, was their respective number on the team...1, 2, 3,4 and 5.

"This is amazing. I've never felt anything like this before." Adam stated. Kat and Tanya echoed his response.

"I feel energized." Tommy exclaimed.

"This is the greatest." Rocky put in.

"BY ACCEPTING THE POWERS, AND THEIR ACCEPTANCE OF YOU, THE TESTING IS COMPLETE." Zordon announced.

Tommy was the first to remove his helmet. "You still haven't told us about this ‘test' we've passed. We don't remember any tests." Each Ranger removed his/her helmet and gazed up at Zordon's wizened face. Each face etched in confusion.

"The point of the test, was that you not know you were being tested." The voice floated out of the massive room. The Rangers turned to see the cars and the darkness beyond them, but no source to the voice, though it did seem vaguely familiar to them all. "You all had to fight your battles alone, without help to guide you. You had to find the weakness' alone, and really work as a team. Not only did you have to fight, you also had to learn the workings of the Power Chamber as well. Many times Zordon could have helped you more than he did, but then you would not have been worthy of the powers."

As the door to Red Lightning opened, and a figure began to emerge >from within it, the Rangers stood agape at the familiar form before them. "Hey guys, long time no see." Suddenly he was swamped by hugs, handshakes and slaps on the back. Zordon tried to get control over the situation, but his voice was barely a whisper when it was over shadowed by numerous voices asking several questions all at once.

"RANGERS!" Finally, the noise quieted down and they moved away from the black clad figure. "I THINK YOU SHOULD TELL THEM WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR THE LAST SEVEN MONTHS."

Taking a deep breath, he began...

"Zordon came to me a couple of months before I left, and told me that he had some new powers. Powers greater than any ever created before them, but that he needed to test all of you to see if you were worthy of them. And part of that test, was my leaving you..."

"But, why Aquitar?" Tanya asked. She'd truly missed him.

"...I didn't go to Aquitar. I never truly left you at all."

"What?" Tommy asked, confused. "The Aquitians tried to help you stop aging, and you went back and stayed to be with Cestria...right?" He watched as Billy slowly shook his head.

"The Aquitians were here to help us begin the test. I hadn't grown old. I had taken a picture I had of my Grandfather, scanned it, and made a 3-D image. Then I used my holograph device to render his image over my own, so that it is HE you would have seen, and not myself.

"It had to be convincing. You could not know that I was still here, and reachable in times of emergency. And during that time, I spent in a secret place called the Construction Core, creating the Zords that each of you would pilot.

"I've also kept an eye on all of you. And, it's been really hard not to help you in the hard times, as I have done in the past. But, the testing is over, and you are now the strongest Ranger team the Earth has ever known. And I am home to stay." Billy smiled a genuine smile as he looked at each and everyone of his greatest friends.

"THAT IS VERY TRUE BILLY."

Smiles were plastered on each and every face of the Ranger team. Tommy slowly strode forward, gripping Billy's hand.

"Billy, it's good to have you back, man."

"It's good to be back. But now, I believe we have a new evil with us. Zordon, Alpha and I will work on finding out who our new guest on the moon is."

"Right."

"WELCOME HOME, BILLY." Came Zordon's voice. A smile on his face.

End