Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers. Only my OCs.

Chapter 12: White Thunder: Part 3

Previously...

Zoey ran through the dark corridors, panting. She paused, pressing herself into a rocky crevice, trying to make herself invisible.

"Down here!" A freaky bat-looking woman ran past with a horde of zombie-like monsters following, "She went this way."

When they were gone, Zoey sank down, putting her face in her knees, "What is going on here? What am I? How did I get here?" She felt pure evil everywhere. She was surrounded by it, "Come on, Zoey. Focus. You've spent all of this time learning magic and the history of this realm. Calm down and don't panic." She stood back up, took a deep breath and peaked out into the corridor.

She stepped out and went to go back the direction she originally came before a hooded figure stepped out, all in white.

"This is no place for you." The figure lifted a very sharp and deadly silver sai and pointed it in Zoey's face, "Now, tell me why I shouldn't destroy you where you stand?"

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Zoey froze as she stared at the weapon, "I didn't come here voluntarily. I was brought here. I assure you, this wasn't by choice."

The figure cocked it's head to the side in consideration, "Who could have enough power to bring you here with the Gate still sealed?"

Zoey thought for a moment, knowing her own mother had trouble just getting enough energy to enter her dreams for their lessons, "Honestly, the only person I could think of would be the Mystic Mother." She looked up at the gasp of shock on the other person, "You've heard of her?"

The figure hesitated for a moment before lowering the sai, "I have." Hands reached up and pulled the hood down off, revealing a woman a little taller than Zoey with wavy dark-brown hair pulled back into a braid that reached her waist. She had brown eyes, with bright gold flecks in them, framed by dark lashes and slightly pointed ears. "Now, how about you explain to me how you know her and why she would bother sending you to the Underworld."

"Wait, that's where I'm at?"

"That's correct. You shouldn't even be able to get in here. The Gate is still sealed. They can't get out. So," she squinted, "how did you get in?"

"Look, I'm not sure. Usually when she pulls me, it's when I'm awake. My body goes into a sleep-like stasis until I've learned whatever it is she needs me to learn."

"Learn?" The woman grabbed her arm and pulled her back into the alcove, holding a finger up, "Shh!"

Another group of creatures ran past, in search of Zoey. Once the coast was clear, Zoey was pulled back out and steered down the hall. They entered a cavern with a small lake and waterfall inside, "Wow! Who knew such a beautiful place existed in this darkness."

"Not to them, it doesn't." Zoey looked over as the woman sat on a rock, "They can't enter here. This is a dimensional pocket protected by good magic. It was created eons ago with a very special crystal. Only ones with a good heart can enter. I can take it with me when I come down here for protection."

Zoey crossed her arms and smirked, "Are you referring to the Zeo Crystal?" The woman looked shocked, "I don't believe it. Was this the only pocket that was created before the crystal was put on the moon?"

"How did..." Zoey raised an eyebrow, "Well, I see now why the Mystic Mother would take such an interest in you."

"You have no idea." Zoey walked over and sat next to her, "My name is Zoey."

The woman looked at the hand presented to her, sighed, and shook it, "Alura." She smirked, "Now, how about you tell me the real reason why the Mystic Mother is interested enough to bring you here."

"It may have to do with the fact that I was born in the Magical Realm and I'm destined to be part of the team that takes down the Master once and for all."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Yeah." Zoey walked over and sat on a rock in front of Alura, "I was taken away from the Magical Realm for protection and adopted into an amazing family. I grew up learning martial arts from my older brother..." she quirked a brow at the older woman, "and watching him and his friends put their lives on the line every day as the original team of Power Rangers."

"Power Rangers?" Alura looked shocked, "As in, 'Zordon of Eltar'?"

"And you are older than I thought you were."

"I'm over 10,000 years old."

"Yeah, sounds about right." Zoey sighed in the silence and looked back up, "The symbol on your sais; did you adapt it or were you a part of it?"

Alura down at the sais in her boots and frowned at the three black claw marks in the center of the base, "I earned those stripes." She looked up, "Now, how do you know about it?"

Before Zoey could answer, the cavern shook as a group of undead creatures rammed the barrier from the outside.

"They can't get in here, right?"

"They shouldn't have even been able to find this place." Alura pulled out her sais and stood up, "Make a deal with you."

"Okay."

"We go out together, take these freaks out and I'll teach you a spell for a protective barrier." She looked over grimly, "And a few other things, if you'd like."

Zoey smirked as she grabbed the front of her shirt and pulled, revealing her Ninja uniform, "Deal."

"A Fire Ninja." Alura chuckled, "Even more interesting." She cast a spell on the entrance, creating a rune so only her and Zoey can pass through, "Something else to discuss." They nodded at each other and took off through the gateway.

Zoey leapt over a group of the freaks and threw an energy blast out of her hands, sending them up against the wall, which caused Alura to look over in surprise. Nodding in appreciation, the older woman dispatched her own group with quick efficiency. After the fight was over, Zoey walked back into the cavern and sat back down on the rock.

"I know why I was brought here."

"Why was that?" Alura asked as she resealed the cave.

"I just figured out who you are. Or," Zoey smirked, "were."

The other woman paused for a moment before sitting down herself, "Tell me."

"Master Talyn." She said as she stood up and bowed, "A great warrior and Master who, legend had it, disappeared during the Beast War. She was someone who helped put the final nail in Dai Shi's prison. Who, when the smoke cleared, was just gone. Vanished without a trace." She sat back down, "She was known for her expertise with the Jungle Sais and amazing power behind her Snow Owl Animal Spirit."

Alura paused as she looked up, "Well, well. That's explains why you recognize the symbol on my sais." She smirked, "You don't have your stripes and you most definitely do not fight like any cub I have ever seen."

"Technically, I am still a cub. But, Master Mao has offered me the chance to get my stripes on multiple occasions. I just haven't been ready to do so. Yet."

"Yet? Okay." Alura smirked, "Well, that energy blast didn't come from Pai Zhuq. Neither was that fighting technique."

"As I said before, my brother has been training me in martial arts since I was three. Then, I got recruited, at a very young age, to the Flame Ninja Academy in Stone Canyon. When I was 15, my Sensei requested that I also start training my Fox in the way of Pai Zhuq along side my fire."

"Fox?" Alura's eyes widened in surprise, "The Fox and fire?" She chuckled, "Now I know why you don't have your stripes. You're the keeper of the Spark."

"Yeah. It's too out of control. I've gotten better at it, gotten a better grip on it. I'm getting there. It's just taking some time." Zoey sighed, "Anyways, an evil space Ninja name Lothor showed up and started destroying all of the academies and kidnapping the teachers and students. Some of us survivors were given morphers to form the Ninja Power Rangers." Alura nodded in appreciation, "My brother, who became a paleontologist, had discovered these gems with some powerful properties to them. He had a couple of dormant ones just lying around his house and my friend Jenna and I bonded to them. They altered our DNA, giving us special abilities."

"And that's where that energy blast came from."

"Yes." She smiled, "A few months ago, four teens in detention found the other four in his lab, alerting Mesogog to their presence."

"What's a Mesogog?"

"Actually, we still haven't figured that one out yet. He's basically a mutant dinosaur freak, Hell bent on turning the planet and it's inhabitants back to the age of the dinosaurs. So, my brother's friends helped him build more morphers and now... we're the Dino Thunder Rangers."

"A Ranger twice. Nice. Your brother must be proud."

"Oh, yes. Especially since a gem bonded with him too." Alura laughed, "Now we get to fight side by side together and his friends can't stop making fun of him."

"So, now you're here to learn my identity?"

"I'm not sure. Usually when I've learned what I'm supposed to, I wake back up." She looked around, "I've learned who you are and your connection to Pai Zhuq, I've learned about your connection of the Zeo Crystal and Zordon and I've learned what I'm going to be dealing with when I finally get called to the Magical Realm."

"That's a lot to learn in an hour. Now, you said you were born in the Magical Realm and that you were taken away for your protection. Do you know who your parents are?"

"Yes." Zoey took a breath, "My father was destroyed during the war, trying to get me and another to safety, though that's objective right now. Still not sure if that's accurate. My mother was captured and put into a mirror. She's the one who was originally pulling me to these dreams and teaching me about my parentage. I've been learning magic from her for the last two years. But it only works when she's been able to gather enough energy. It takes a lot out of her to pull me into those Dreamscapes." She paused, "I made a promise to her. The minute that I find a way into the Magical Realm, without it being a dream, I will stop at nothing to find her and release her from that damn mirror."

Alura looked at her for a moment, staring into her eyes before her own widened in recognition, "Phaedra." Zoey looked up in shock.

"You know my mother?"

"She's alive. Are you sure?"

"Very. Just stuck in a mirror somewhere."

"I don't believe it." Alura leaned back, staring at the younger girl in shock, "You're Zarya." She laughed, "Their little star."

"Yes, ma'am."

"This is unbelievable. I thought you had died in the battle. Your father was supposed to bring you to me, so I can protect you. The battle was going strong and he was needed at the Gate. He never showed up. I had set up a barrier protection around Myst so that I could take in refugees. But, when he never showed up, I assumed the worst."

"What's Myst?"

"My homeland. It's the Northern Elven Kingdom. Your mother is from there."

"Wait, my mother is an elf."

"Half, actually. Her eldest brother, out of nine, was the heir to the throne..." Alura hesitated, "and they're my descendants."

"What?!"

"I'm immortal. I was cursed after the Beast War by a bitter and selfish creature. She couldn't kill me, so she cursed me. I can't step foot outside of the Magical Realm until Dai Shi is destroyed. For good."

"And he was already locked up and in the custody of the Temple. You couldn't leave the realm and no one was strong enough to destroy him. So, you've been stuck here, for over 10,000 years. That's unbelievable."

"My brother was already king when it happened. I had eight older siblings and one younger. I was never in line for the throne and I was okay with it. I had my life as a Master. When I was cursed, I was appointed as Realm Protector. It's go to sorceress. It made it easier. I had a purpose and a life again."

"So, why do you keep coming here?"

"I've been looking for someone. Someone I believe is still alive and taken during the Beast War. There were rumors that he was in the Magical Realm. Every time I think I've caught up to him, he disappears again."

"Is he... related? A friend?"

Alura paused, "He's my husband. And I'll do everything I can to find him."

Zoey smiled, "I'll make you a deal. I've gotten better at my spells and my brother and his friends have some amazing equipment. Technology that is highly sophisticated and alien to this planet. We'll help to try and find him if..."

Alura smiled sardonically, "If?"

"You know about the Spark. You're a Master. A legend. We have to learn about you at the Academy. And, you obviously know magic. You're from this realm. Maybe, just maybe, you can help me get more control."

"And how would we do that if I can't come to you?"

"You wouldn't happen to know the spell that can call to someone's dream?"

"I might." The Master sighed, smiling, "Alright, you've got a deal." They shook hands, "You know, I would have helped you without the deal."

"Oh, we'd have still looked for him if you had said no. That's just who we are. I just wanted to mess with you a little." They laughed in appreciation with each other until Zoey started to wince in pain.

"What's wrong? Are you going back?"

"I... I'm not sure." Zoey sat back down and stared off into the distance as a scene started to form in her mind, "Tommy."

"Who?"

"My brother. Something's wrong."

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She saw her brother, morphed, on the ground and holding up his morpher. He turned on the communication as he rose unsteadily to his feet, "Hayley, listen!"

"Yeah."

"The White Ranger is..." Tommy didn't get any further in his sentence as an amber-like substance was shot at him from a machine being maned by the evil Ranger. When it was done, he was completely encased in the hardened substance, unable to move or finish his message.

"Tommy! Come in, Tommy!" Hayley's voice pleaded over the com-link

"Let's keep this our little secret," the White Ranger cackled, walking away.

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"No!" Zoey's eyes cleared as she shot off the rock in a panic, "I have to get back. I need to find my brother."

"What happened?"

"The evil White Ranger trapped him in some rock-like amber substance." She looked around, "Did I figure it out yet? Huh? I've been gone too long. I should have been there with him. I could have been there to stop it. You need to send me back! Please!"

"Stop." Alura walked over and grabbed Zoey by the shoulders and shook her, "Stop!" Zoey stopped freaking out as she looked at the immortal, "I get that he's in trouble. I get that you need to help him. But you won't be able to help him if you lose it."

"You're right." She took a deep breath and sat back down, "I need to figure this out. What am I missing that I need to know?" She started to chew on her nail, an old habit, and looked back up, "You said that my mom was heir to the throne of Myst and your descendant, right?"

"That's right. From my oldest brother."

"Did you have a close friendship with her?"

"Why, yes. She even made me one of your godmothers, along with Udonna."

"What?" Zoey eyes widened as she started to fade, "That's it!" She smiled as she looked at her hands, "We'll talk again. And we'll start those searches."

Alura's voice started to fade away, "But we didn't talk about any of the details..."

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Zoey jerked up in bed and looked at her surroundings. She was in her old room at Ninja Ops. She took a deep breath and a drink of the water on the nightstand beside her. When she had calmed down, she stood on shaky legs and walked into the mainframe.

Cam, who was sitting at the computer, looked up, "Hey, you're awake. Are you okay? You look really pale."

"No, I'm not. Where's Jenna?"

"An emergency called her back to Reefside and asked if I'd keep an eye on you." He stood up and walked over to her, "Why don't you sit down for a moment, let me get you something to eat. You don't want to keel over." He led her over to the table and pushed her into a chair, "That way, you can regroup and contact your team for an update." When she nodded, he walked away to head into the kitchen in the back.

She took another breath and held up her morpher, "Hayley."

"Zoey? You're awake. How are you?"

"Don't worry about me. I need to know if Tommy was attacked by the White Ranger and encased in amber."

"Wait... how did you know that?"

"I'm not sure. I'm going to get myself settled, get some food in my stomach and talk with Sensei, then I'm coming home. I'm going to help you find a way to free my brother and you're going to help me start a search for someone. I have to stay busy. I need something productive to do to keep me from kicking that damn White Ranger's ass."

To be continued...

Thank you.

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Catch you on the flipside!