Summary: Mesogog has been defeated, and now that the danger has passed, Tommy is throwing a "Ranger reunion" to introduce his old teammates to the Dino Thunder teens.

But now...

One villian has returned from another dimension. One villian has been resurrected from the dead. One villian has been freed from ten thousand years of imprisoment.

Together, they will plunge the galaxy back into darkness...

Author's Notes: This is both a MMPR/Space/DinoThunder crossover and an Alternate Universe. In this Universe, no new villians (except Mesogog, who was created by a lab accident) rose up, and there was no need for new Rangers until the Dino Thunders.

A word of warning; this story includes two OC (Original Character) villians. I know some people don't care for OCs. Please don't let this put you off, however; this fic will also feature TONS of canon characters. I hope you enjoy.

For six years, the galaxy had known peace and prosperity. Zordon's Wave had scoured the galaxy of all evils, and none had risen to take their place. The United Alliance of Evil was gone, and so was the War that had scarred the thousands of worlds for millenia untold. It was a time of rebuilding; of sharing technologies (Earth in particular benefited from this); of focusing on things other than holding the Darkness back. Many Ranger teams stood down, stashing their morphers in a safe place and returning to civilian life. Although the most famous team of all, the Astro Rangers, the ones who had defeated the Countdown, did not do this, they too focused on other things, attending college and enjoying being able to date outside the team without having to suddenly be called away.

But in the dark depths of space, the last villain watched and waited.

Yes, Zordon's Wave had missed one individual. He had been in another dimension during the Countdown, and had survived. Whether Zordon knew this or not will never be answered, but apparently even his power had limits. It could not reach this villain.

Which was not to say he was not affected by the Wave. When he returned to his home dimension one year after the Countdown, he found his that fellow villians (including his best friend) were literally dust in the wind. The handful that survived were unrecognizable. First came the grief that wracked his soul. Then came the rage.

But unlike nearly all of the other villians, he burned cold, not hot. He had self control. He knew lashing out in anger would lead only to his own destruction. He could not take on an entire galaxy by himself. So he began to plan. And when the plan was complete, he began to gather the neccessary materials.

He was constantly amazed at how easy it was. Everyone, even the Rangers who should have known better, had let their guard down. Vital technology had been left literally lying around. A little had been salvaged so its' technology could be studied, but the rest had just been left where it was. Did they REALLY think evil was gone forever? How stupid could they be?

The piece de resistance had been the fully operational Machine Empire Skybase he had salvaged to use as a headquarters. He had also added the cloaking device from the Dark Fortress, making it virtually undetectable. But there were other pieces as well.

Finster's Monster Maker.

Rita's spell books.

Zedd's "Dark Demon of Destruction", Serpentera, the most powerful Zord ever built.

And the Machine Empire's Neo-Plutonium Core, which solved Serpentera's chronic power shortage once and for all.

Soon the pieces were in place. But still, he waited. While he was less egotistical and arrogant than most of his colleagues, he still appreciated irony. He intended to wait until the proper moment had come to teach the Rangers, and the galaxy as a whole, a very important lesson.

Evil never dies.

And then, the moment came.

To Zhane (the Silver Astro Ranger) and his wife Karone (who, unbeknownst to all but a few, had been the villain Astronema), a child was to be born.

And in the darkness Donovan, the Dark Warrior, smiled, for it was time to begin at last.