Author's Note: This follows the end of Destiny Fulfilled. Let's find out what happened to Aliyah, shall we?

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended in the making of this series. I simply own my OCs and anything that is unrecognizable from the show. Power Rangers belongs to Saban Enterprises although Ninja Storm - RPM belongs to Disney. Enjoy.

Warning: Be sure to have read Jungle Fury: Destiny Fulfilled before reading this one shot, or some references may confuse you. Thanks.

Title: Second Chance

Summary: Aliyah's been given a second chance, but it's not without its consequences.

Rolling onto his side, Cam stretched his fingers out searching desperately for the body of his girlfriend. When he came in contact with nothing but empty bed sheets he sat up quickly and looked around. "Aliyah?" he asked, his voice rebounding in the empty room.

Throwing back the covers, he shuffled out of the room and down the hall, pausing at the nursery and looking inside. Penelope's crib was also empty, meaning Aliyah had probably awakened to her cries and gone to check. It had been several weeks since Aliyah had returned from the spirit world.

"Aliyah?" Cam asked again. He had gone downstairs and found the former white ranger sitting on the porch outside. In her arms, swaddled in a thick blanket with the Ninja Academy crest on it was the itty bitty baby formally known as Master Nix, Phoenix Master at the Pai Zhuq Academy.

Aliyah looked around at her name. Her tired eyes meeting his gaze, but she still smiled.

"What you doing down here? Are you okay?" Cam asked, settling himself down beside her.

"Couldn't sleep," Aliyah replied looking back at the sleeping baby in her arms.

"Nightmares again?"

Aliyah nodded. Since coming back from the dead she had been subjected to horrifying nightmares. While she couldn't remember exactly what happened in the spirit world after her death, she could remember, in detail, what happened before. Entering Dai Shi, the cold tendrils of darkness creeping up her body, wrapping around her throat like fingers, squeezing.

Cam put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and Aliyah tensed. "It's okay," he whispered. "It's just a consequence of dying and coming back to life. I'm sure they'll pass."

"When?" Aliyah asked. She'd had reoccurring nightmares about monsters before, but nothing that kept her awake as badly as these. Normally, when it came to things she was afraid of, she found it easy to just ignore them until they went away. But Dai Shi, even though being gone, still haunted her every sleeping moment.

Winding his arm around her, Cam drew Aliyah into his chest and held her tightly. She relaxed against him and closed her eyes, listening to the faint thud of his heartbeat. They sat in silence, just enjoying each others company and listening to the early morning around them.

A few weeks ago none of this seemed possible.

A few weeks ago, Aliyah was dead. Taken from her family by a prophecy that had been created centuries ago. No matter how many times she tried to fight it, in the end, Aliyah knew there was no chance of escape. The only chance she had of saving the human race was to sacrifice herself for the greater good.

To many, sacrificing oneself for the greater good was admirable at best, admirable but irreversible. But then, they weren't Aliyah Logan and wasn't the sacrifice that confused them, it was what happened after.

~*Second Chance*~

Aliyah sat on one of the barstools in RJ's kitchen. Behind her, she could hear the ticking of the clock, mounted on the wall. Normally she couldn't hear it over the ruckus that usually filled the loft, but today everyone was silent. Each lost in their own little world of disbelief. A mere few hours ago she had been dead, suspended in a state of paralysis as she left the world of the living for that of the spirit. But she couldn't remember ever entering that plane.

She had been there once before, the spirit world that is. She remembered waking up there, to her grandmother's face no less. Catherine Logan, a happy and always smiling woman, her face creased with worry lines as she helped her youngest grandchild to her feet.

The visit had been caused by a Dark Wish. A wish that had wiped all the good from the world and replaced it with darkness, a wish that had killed Aliyah on the spot, sending her to the world she did not belong. But wasn't just she who had been sent there. Tyler had been too. They two had died during the fall of the Lightning Academy when the Master had first risen.

That visit had been short lived and reversed when the Mystic Force Rangers had broken the Dark Wish and reversed everything. Reversed the darkness, chased it from the world and refilled it with good, light magic. Everything that had happened during that time had returned to normal, and Aliyah and Tyler had returned.

This visit, however, was permanent... or was supposed to have been.

The clock ticked, annoyingly on.

"Will someone say something?" Aliyah asked, her voice breaking the silence, tearing everyone from their thoughts.

Rebecca lifted her head. "What do you want us to say?" she asked.

"Anything!" Aliyah protested. "Someone tell me what the hell happened for starts. How am I here? I thought that by destroying Dai Shi, I would -" she broke off, unable to say the words that became stuck in her throat.

Rebecca licked her lips and shook her head. "I don't know," she replied. "I don't know how you're here. I didn't know that you had to die."

"What do you remember?" Vida asked, her eyes red from all the crying she had done. Normally, like Aliyah, she was tough and rarely showed emotions, but seeing her best friend stone still and caused her succumb to her emotions.

Aliyah looked thoughtful. "I remember arriving at the quarry with Jarrod," she looked to the man in question. "I remember him distracting, Dai Shi. I remember the darkness and the cold. I remember..." she closed her eyes, her fingers lighting touching her throat, "I remember not being able to breathe."

"Do you remember telling us to attack?" Tyler asked.

"No," Aliyah replied. "After that, all I remember is waking up here. I don't even know if I made it to the Spirit World."

"You must have made it somewhere," said Connor. "Cam sat with you for hours, and when I came in to say goodbye, there was no pulse. Did you hear me talking to you?"

Aliyah shook her head. "What did you say?" she asked.

"I told to raise hell for us."

For what felt like the first time since she had been discovered, Aliyah smiled. "You know I would have," she assured him.

"That's why I said it."

The teasing seemed to break the tension as, all around the loft, someone either smiled or chuckled. The sound was almost intoxicating.

Aliyah met Cam's gaze and leaned over, resting her head on his shoulder. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her, pulling her onto his lap and holding her close. The few hours he spent next to her lifeless body had been agony, and he couldn't help but wonder how he would live without her. Thankfully, now he didn't have to.

Suddenly a pale platinum light appeared, bathing the whole loft in its warm glow. The occupants shielded their eyes, and only looked up when the light had gone.

"Master Leo," Aliyah breathed as her spirit master appeared.

"Aliyah, I hope to find you in good spirits," Master Leo said, smiling slightly.

"All things considering," Aliyah nodded.

Master Leo bowed his head and considered his student. "I suppose you have questions?" he asked.

"One or two."

"Maybe half a dozen," Dustin muttered.

Rebecca nudged him with her elbow. "We're more curious about what happened," she said, speaking up. Master Leo turned to her expectantly.

"What happened is the prophecy fulfilled itself," Master Leo explained. "Aliyah's sacrifice completed the circle. Dai Shi never expected the saviour to willingly give her life to save the world, he always assumed he would kill her trying to protect it."

"But she protected it by giving her life, didn't she?" Nick asked.

Master Leo nodded. "Yes, but it was Aliyah's sacrifice that protected everyone, and thing, on this planet," he explained. "Even if Dai Shi had managed to survive the attack, he would've found his powers to be useless against anything. Not only did you severely drain him of his power, Aliyah, but you also flipped the switch on his source of fear. They may not know it, but you gave the humans a reason to not be afraid. Subconsciously, they knew there was someone out there watching over them. An angel."

Aliyah scoffed, shaking her head. "I'm no Angel," she said.

The others smirked.

"A Legendary Warrior then," Master Leo said.

"But how am I not..." Aliyah trailed off again, the words still catching in her throat. "I felt..." she shuddered. "I felt it happen. I shouldn't be here."

"No, you should not, and for a while, you weren't," Master Leo said.

Aliyah shook her head. "I don't understand," she admitted. "How can you go from being dead one minute to being alive the next? It just... doesn't happen."

"At least not without a spell or scroll, right?" Dustin asked. He looked around at the mystics and his fellow ninjas.

"No magic, Ninja or otherwise, can raise the dead, Dustin," Sensei said. He had arrived after hearing the news that his future daughter-in-law had perished, and had come to comfort his son.

Master Leo smiled knowingly, yet sadly. "I'm sorry to tell you this, Aliyah, but your resurrection was no accident," he said. "I can understand your reasons for not noticing, but take a look around, and tell me what it is you see."

Aliyah furrowed her brow and cast a look around the room. Her friends, no, her family, were all present. Everyone except... she gasped. "Penelope!" her head snapping back to Master Leo. "Where is she? Where is Master Nix?"

Master Leo's sad smile deepened.

"No," Aliyah said, piecing together what Master Leo was trying to convey. He did not need words, the look in his eyes was all she needed to confirm her thoughts. "No! The deal was if I died then I'd protect everyone! How could she slip through the cracks?!"

Tyler and Rebecca exchanged looks from behind Aliyah. Neither of them had noticed Penelope's disappearance, but now everything started to make sense.

"Master Nix knew what choice you would make," Master Leo said, "and while you were preparing yourself for the final fight, she put her own plan into motion. You'd become more than just a student to her, Aliyah. She cared very deeply about you. Your hopes, your dreams, all of it, it became her reason to protect you. Which is why, after the final battle, she came to the spirit world. You won't remember it, its part of her gift."

"Gift?" Aliyah asked. "You mean...?"

Master Leo nodded.

Chip frowned. "Can someone explain to me what's going on?" he asked. "I'm confused."

"Penelope had the spirit of a Phoenix," Aliyah answered, staring intently at Master Leo. "At the end of their life span, Phoenix's regenerate and take on a new life, leaving behind their old one. Am I right to believe that Penelope gave her life for mine?" she asked her spirit Master.

Tears sprang to Aliyah's eyes as Master Leo nodded.

"But Penelope was so young," said Theo. "How could she...?"

"A Phoenix Master has the ability to choose the end of its own life span," Master Finn explained. "Penelope must've felt that Aliyah's life was worth more than her own."

"No!" Aliyah snapped, turning to face the older man. "No one life is more important than another, especially not mine. Penelope didn't give up of her life so I could have mine! She traded her life for me. She's dead... and it's my fault!" Tears spilled down Aliyah's cheeks, and her body quaked with sobs.

Cam pulled her closer, allowing her to cry into his shoulder.

The loft became silent again, the only sound being Aliyah's sobs.

Then, Master Leo spoke again. "She's not gone, Aliyah," he said.

"What?" Aliyah asked, lifting her head. Her face streaked with tears and her eyes rimmed read.

"Not completely, at least," Master Leo said, shaking his head. "She gave her life, for you, yes, but she was also very smart in where she did it. If she had given her life here, on this plane, she surely would've died. But by doing it in the spirit world, she activated the side of her spirit animal that takes but also gives back."

Aliyah frowned. Her heart was heavy with guilt, and she was finding it hard to understand what Master Leo was trying to say.

Master Leo held up his arms. Another bright light filled the loft, and when it cleared a bundle of, what appeared to be blankets, appeared in Master Leo's arms. Everyone in the loft paused, each one gasping as Master Leo pulled back the top blanket to reveal a sleeping baby inside.

Before anyone could react, Aliyah was out of Cam's arms and across the room. Her eyes wide as she stared down at the small precious infant. "Is... is that..." she looked up at Master Leo. "That's her? That's Penelope?"

Master Leo nodded. "In the spirit world, the Phoenix Spirit is given the chance to regenerate," he explained. "After Penelope willingly gave her life to save yours, she reverted back to the beginning of the cycle. But the spirit world is no place for a baby," he added. "She would need to be raised in this world."

"Will she remember anything?" Claire asked. "Will she remember what she did for Aliyah, or her life before regeneration?"

Master Leo considered the young sorcerers. "There have been stories of others who have regenerated remembering snippets of their past lives," he explained. "But nothing is known for certain."

"Where will she go?" RJ asked.

"That is for Aliyah to decide," Master Leo said.

Aliyah could feel all eyes on her, but she ignored them. Right now she only had eyes for the infant. Carefully, she took the baby from Master Leo, bending her left arm in at the elbow so that her knuckles were brushing against the bottom of her rib cage. All babies were precious, but this baby was special.

Feeling someone at her shoulder, Aliyah turned and locked gazes with Cam. No words were spoken between them, but Cam knew exactly what Aliyah wanted. She was just waiting for him to decide. He smiled and nodded.

Aliyah beamed and looked back at the infant. "Penelope," she murmured, pressing a light kiss to the baby's hairline.

~*Second Chance*~

"Penelope Watanabe," Aliyah said, looking down at the baby in her arms. She felt Cam smile as he pressed a kiss to her head, just behind her ear. "She's so perfect."

"She gave up a lot for you," said Cam.

Aliyah nodded. "That's why I wanted to keep her," she said. "She gave up her life for me, yet raising her doesn't seem to be enough of a thank you."

"What would?" Cam asked.

Aliyah shrugged. "I don't know," she said.

"Want to know what I know?"

"Sure."

"I know that you're both happy," Cam said. "You gave your life to save us all, including Penelope, and she did the same for you. She may have lost a lot more than you did, but you're giving it back to her in the form of a new life. You still have each other."

"But she won't remember me like I do her."

"Does that matter?"

"I don't know," said Aliyah. "Maybe."

"Look, whether she remembers her past life or not, you still have each other," said Cam. "And at the end of the day, I still have you."

"And a daughter to boot."

Cam smiled and reached forward, pressing his lips to hers. "Who could ask for more?" he asked.

Aliyah chuckled and shifted the sleeping infant over, resting her between both herself and Cam. Instinctively, the Samurai's hand cradled the baby's head, and Aliyah rested her head on his shoulder, smiling down at the baby.

"I love you," Cam whispered.

Aliyah smiled and snuggled in closer. "I love you too," she replied.

Copyrighted ©

Chapter written by xXxKaraBeckerCutterxXx

Chapter updated Monday, August 28, 2017 at 9:20pm