Ride the Wind
By SparklyTree3876

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Adventure/Romance

Pairings: Jesse/Nadine, Tommy/Kim, Jason/Trini, Billy/Kat, Andros/Ashley, Zhane/Karone, Rocky/Aisha (mentioned), Adam/Tanya (mentioned), Zack/Angela (mentioned), and TJ/Cassie (mentioned)

Author's Notes: Hi, readers. I'd like to present what is probably the first Power Rangers/Free Willy crossover. This is an AU set twelve years after "Free Willy 3: The Rescue" and eleven years after "Countdown to Destruction." This puts the year the crossover takes place in 2009. I wondered what would happen if a group of former Rangers and their children met Jesse, Nadine, Randolph, Rae, and Willy during a camping trip on San Juan Island. As a result, this crossover was born. It follows only the first six seasons of Power Rangers. The population of orcas that regularly swims through Puget Sound and has been seen as far north as Vancouver Island and as far south as California is called the Southern Resident Community. It is made up of three pods with the letters of J, K, and L. J-Pod was used as Willy's birth pod throughout the Free Willy series. You may see special appearances by a number of J-Pod orcas at some point. It is recommended you know about the first six seasons of Power Rangers and the Free Willy series before you attempt to read this crossover. I hope you enjoy this crossover. Constructive criticism is welcome.

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Chapter 1: Orcas Swim and Play

The early morning sun beamed its rays on the San Juan Islands in late June. The ocean appeared as if it were sparkling. The last of the predawn mist was quickly evaporating. A golden eagle screeched as it glided effortlessly through the sky. It flapped its wings, gaining altitude. It let out another screech, this one being louder.

Twelve years had passed since Jesse, Randolph, Drew, and Max stopped a team of poachers from harming J-Pod. This had included Willy's mate, Nikki, who had been a member of L-Pod and was pregnant with their son, Max, at the time. An investigation uncovered that the Southern Resident orcas weren't the only ones killed. Transient orcas that frequented the area had also been targeted. Both populations managed to recover, though they remained under threat due to pollution, boat traffic, food depletion, and habitat destruction.

A year after Max's birth, Dark Specter's forces launched an attack on the entire universe, including Earth. Unfortunately, many planets suffered much damage, which took a while to clean up. Tommy, Kim, Jason, Zack, Trini, Billy, Rocky, Adam, Aisha, Kat, Tanya, and Justin learned of Zordon's death when they felt his energy wave pass through them. They returned to the destroyed Power Chamber and paid their respects to him along with Andros, Ashley, TJ, Cassie, Carlos, Zhane, and Karone. Many Earth civilians figured out the identities of past Rangers. They were impressed with how ordinary humans came to defend their world and countless others from evil forces. They came to respect them greatly. A planet exchange program was started not long after the battle, where Earth civilians traded places with those from other worlds to experience each other's cultures.

The eagle looked down at the water. Suddenly, three J-Pod orcas broke the surface. They went back under very quickly. Four more came up, followed by three others. They disappeared just as fast their podmates had. Two spyhopped, emitting playful squeals. They sank beneath the surface. Another jumped upward and turned on its side, landing in the water and causing a huge splash.

Much had changed in J-Pod since Max's birth. Willy and Nikki had a daughter, Isabella, in May 2003. Willy's sister, Luna, found her mate, Alex, who had been a member of K-Pod, but he traveled with theirs now. They had a son, Ben, in September 1999 and a daughter, Sparkle, in October 2005. Willy and Luna often spent time away from their mother, Catspaw, along with their mates and children. Only their brother, Littlespot, traveled with her regularly.

Just then, Willy surfaced, followed by Nikki. Their skin had rakes from behind their eyepatches to under their saddle patches on both sides. Max came up behind them. A knick could be seen in the middle of his dorsal's trailing edge much like his mother's, though it was a bit smaller. Rakes could be found on his right side from under the saddle patch to near the base of his tail.

Isabella leapt into the air behind her brother with an excited squeal as he and their parents went underwater. She resembled her father, though her eyepatches appeared to be scooped out in the middle and came to sharp points just above her dark blue eyes. She possessed rakes on her left side just under her saddle patch. She landed on her stomach, creating a small splash. She joined Willy, Nikki, and Max. They surfaced again.

Luna broke the surface behind her brother's group. She possessed rakes around the base of her tail and under her saddle patch on both sides. Her left fluke had a small notch in it. Alex came up beside her. His dorsal was slightly bent on the left at the tip. The trailing edge had two small knicks just above the middle. It had rakes around the base, as did that of his tail. His eyepatches were large and thick. They came to sharp points just above his dark brown eyes. His flukes curled completely under. His saddle patch was mostly closed on both sides and had a swirl in the left tip.

Ben spyhopped behind his parents, letting out a joyful squeak as they dove underwater and slapped their tails on the surface. He resembled his father, though his eyepatches were slightly smaller and didn't come to sharp points just above his blue eyes. He had rakes on his right side from behind his saddle patch to the white area in front of his tail and around the middle of his dorsal.

Sparkle swam on her side behind her brother. She slapped her flipper against the water as he slipped beneath the surface. She resembled her mother, though the white mark on her dorsal looked like a sparkling star instead of a crescent, and the edges of her eyepatches seemed to fade into her black skin. Her eyes were brown, and a white spot could be seen on the tip of her rostrum. Rakes could be seen on her right side from the edge of her eyepatch to just past her saddle patch. She rolled right side up and headed underwater, joining Alex, Luna, and Ben. They surfaced once more.

Catspaw came up behind her daughter's group. Her dorsal resembled Luna's, but it lacked the white crescent. It possessed a tiny knick at the tip. Her eyepatches resembled Willy's, though they came to sharp points just above her brown eyes. She had rakes on her left side under her saddle patch, which was open in the middle on both sides.

Littlespot surfaced beside his mother. His dorsal resembled Willy's, though it showed no signs of bending in either direction. His flukes curled nearly completely under. Both of his sides had rakes from under his saddle patch to the base of his tail. He charged underwater. He turned upside down, as he swam toward the surface. He jumped backward, hitting the water, which caused two huge splashes.

Willy leapt into the air and hit the water on his stomach, creating two huge splashes. He charged downward and turned upside down, as he headed for the surface. He flicked his tail after he reached it, throwing water upward. Nikki, Max, and Isabella joined him as he returned to right side up. They swam downward and turned toward the surface. They spyhopped and squeaked in joy. They went back underwater.

Luna and Sparkle swam on their sides and slapped their flippers against the water. They repeated the latter action twice. Without warning, Alex appeared and nudged his mate playfully. Ben mimicked his father's actions with his sister. The four orcas decided to head underwater. They turned upside down, as they swam for the surface. They threw their tails upward, sticking their bodies halfway out of the water. They came back down, hitting them against the surface. They turned right side up before swimming on.

Littlespot did a bow, as did Catspaw. They repeated their action four times. They surfaced and performed six rolls. They stopped on their sides to slap their flippers against the water. They rolled to the right side up position and dove underwater, slapping their tails on the surface. They came back up, performing spyhops. They emitted clicks and whistles. They disappeared underwater.

Willy, Nikki, Max, and Isabella broke the surface with delighted squeals. Alex, Luna, Ben, and Sparkle came next. Littlespot and Catspaw followed suit. All of them went underwater, their tails slapping on the water. They came to the surface at the same time. They let out loud bursts of air. J-Pod continued its swim through the ocean.