"This is all my fault," said Claire, looking guilty. "I'm sorry, Rangers."
"Don't blame yourself, Claire," said Kali, shaking her head. "If he hadn't have used your abilities, Koragg would've found another way to raise the gate."
"She's right," said Nick. "It was only a matter of time before something like this happened."
The others nodded and Claire relaxed, although she still felt disappointed in herself. If only she had been stronger, maybe she could have fought off both Koragg and Necrolai, and then they wouldn't have used her to raise the Gate.
"Look," Xander exclaimed, pointing at the Gate. "Up there!"
Following his trajectory, the Rangers and Claire spotted one of the statues stand on its hind legs and let out a roar. It shook the city worse than any earthquake. The gargoyle jumped from its perch and landed in the middle of the city, causing several aftershocks.
The gargoyle found the Rangers and unleashed a barrage of attacks on them. The ground exploded near the team and they were thrown into the air, and back down to the ground.
Claire groaned as she landed beside Kali, the black ranger's arm was still wrapped around her shoulders as they both recovered slowly from the attack.
"Get up!" Koragg growled, dragging Claire to her feet.
"Let her go!" Kali said, jumping to her feet. She staggered and her world spun, as blood rushed back to her brain too fast. She groaned and pressed a hand to her head.
Koragg laughed. "You won't get away this time," he told Claire. "And the gargoyle of the gates will take care of you," he added to the Rangers.
Despite the pounding in her head, Kali lunged for Koragg. She aimed a wild punch at his head but missed due to her world still spinning. Koragg scoffed and smashed his shield into Kali's torso and knocked her back, she stumbled and hit the ground, tripping over her own two feet.
"Kali!" Chip called, running over with the others.
Koragg laughed evilly as a dark spell seal appeared and he and Claire descended into it.
"No!" Kali yelled, staggering forward. She felt arms wrap around her and tug her back, just as a foot of the giant gargoyle landed in the spot where Koragg had once stood.
The gargoyle raised his staff and aimed it at the rangers as energy rippled across its spikes. He thrust it down towards the ground and unleashed an electrical attack on the team. Still supporting Kali, Nick yelled for the others to look out, before jumping into the air.
The Rangers summoned their Titan powers and leapt through individual spell seals to face the Gargoyle on his level. With the added boost of magic, Kali felt slightly better, but she was still a little dizzy.
"Kali, are you sure you're fit to fight?" Xander asked.
"I'll be fine," Kali replied. "Don't worry about me. Worry about the stone gargoyle destroying the city."
The others nodded and turned their attention to the attacking stone statue. Leaping forward, Chip and Nick slammed their feet into the gargoyle, knocking him back a few steps.
"All right, phase two," said Nick.
The others nodded and summoned the magic they needed to create their Titan Megazords.
"Mystic Spell Seal," Nick called.
"Mystic Spell Seal!" Kali yelled.
Two spell seals appeared in the air between the two Megazords and the gargoyle. Raising their sabres, the two Megazords slashed through each seal, individually, and send the torrent of magic at the gargoyle. However, before their sabres could hit the statue, he disappeared, reappearing behind the team and attacking himself.
Kali shook her head as she slammed into her podium. "How the hell did he do that?" she asked, spinning around. She swung her sabre again, and just like before, the gargoyle disappeared, reappearing a short distance away.
With a low growl, the Gargoyle threw his staff at the Hellhound and hit her in the chest. Kali coughed as she was slammed back into her podium, as her Megazord crashed into the gate.
"Kali!" Nick yelled.
"I'm all right," Kali replied. "I'm all right." She stood and shook her head, glaring at the Gargoyle as she stormed forward, raising her sabre and swinging it down. Before the sabre could hit the Gargoyle though, Kali felt a sharp pain her side and looked down to see the tip of a sword strike her Megazord.
A deep, booming laugh echoed across the city.
The Rangers turned and gasped as, much to their horror and surprise, Morticon appeared at the gate.
"Hello, Rangers!" Morticon said, pushing with all his might against the fine-lined crack in the gate.
"You again!" said Nick.
"Thank you, Hellhound," Morticon said to Kali. "Your Megazord cracked the gate enough for me to slip through. Now your world will know my crushing power!"
"You're not out yet," said Kali. "And I sent you back before."
"Ha. You won't get the chance!" Morticon said. "Yes. The time has come. The destruction of the surface world is at hand!"
Kali's eyes widened as she watched Morticon extract himself fully from the Underworld.
"I've done it!" Morticon yelled. "I'm free!"
"Oh no. He's out!" Xander gasped.
"What now?" Vida asked.
"We got to fight him?" Chip asked.
Maddie whimpered in fear.
"Looks like we don't have a choice," said Nick. He looked around at Kali and found that she had turned her back to him and the others, her hand clenched tightly around her sabre as she faced the Gargoyle.
As the others fought Morticon, Kali raised her sabre and speared it at the Gargoyle. It disappeared for a fourth time and reappeared to her left. Acutely aware that her friends were struggling, Kali glanced behind her, hoping that her ability to sense magic would alert her to when the Gargoyle decided to attack.
"You've got wings!" Kali yelled to her friends. "Use them!"
"Right! Let's take it to the skies!" said Nick.
The Titan Megazord rose into the air and soared through a spell seal high above. "Spirits of the ancient titans," they commanded, raising their sabre. "Titans attack!"
Morticon slashed through the attack, knocking the rangers out of the air. "Is that the best you've got?" he asked.
"Hardly!" Kali shouted, storming over. She swung her sabre around and stabbed the tip towards Morticon.
Morticon blocked and drew back his sword. "Now you'll see what true power feels like," he said, as black smoke engulfed his blade and he swung it at the hellhound. "Let's see you absorb this, black ranger! Dark Magic Strike!"
The attack hit the Hellhound at high speed and caused an explosion that rocked the whole city. Kali screamed in fear and pain as she was ejected from her Megazord and demorphed before she hit the ground.
Kali choked as she felt the wind leave her lungs upon impact with the ground.
Morticon laughed and turned to the other Rangers. He unleashed a second Dark Magic Strike, causing a second power outage in the other Megazord. The rangers all groaned as they landed near one another, but neither had the energy to check on each other.
Rolling onto her stomach, Kali slowly raised her head and spotted Nick nearby. "Nick," she whimpered, dragging herself across the floor until she was close enough to take his hand.
Nick responded by squeezing her fingers.
"He's even stronger than last time," Chip groaned, struggling to sit up.
"He's got more dark magic energy than before," Maddie added.
"How are we supposed to fight him if we don't have that kind of power?" Xander asked.
Nick and Kali met one another's gaze. He noted that she looked weary, and a little pale. He couldn't help but wonder if she'd survive another titan battle, should the event occur.
"Oh! What's going on?" Vida asked, looking up. Black skies had rolled in like someone had flipped had taken a paint-brush and painted the whole city in black paint.
Chip breathed heavily as he spotted the Gargoyle and Morticon trudge into the city, and begin destroying it. "I don't like the look of that," he said, pointing it out to the others.
"Destroy it!" Morticon yelled, taking out another building. "Destroy it all."
"Is this really how it's going to end?" Maddie asked.
Squeezing Kali's fingers a second time, Nick stood. "No," he said, determinedly. "This is not how it ends. Udonna told us that we're the protectors of this city, and that's what we're going to do." He reached out a hand to Kali, and she took it, allowing him to help her back to her feet.
"Right, Nick!" Xander agreed, staggering to his feet. The others followed, each of them taking out their morphers and punching in their morphin' code.
"Magical Source, Mystic Force!"
As the others called on their titan forms, Nick grabbed Kali's arm and turned her to face him. "Are you sure you're up for this?" he asked.
Kali smiled and nodded. "They need me to form the dragon," she said.
"Kali, I saw you," said Nick, worriedly. "You don't have much energy left."
Kali swallowed and looked away. She had made a promise to Claire that she wouldn't let anything bad happen to her, and she had already broken that promise by letting Koragg take her. "I'll be okay," she said, her voice firm. "I'll just have to sleep for a week once this is all over."
Nick chuckled and released her. "Be careful," he said.
"You, too," Kali said. She squeezed his hand and then punched in the code for her titan form. She grew, bigger than the others, and then summoned the magic she needed to combine.
"Mystic Dragon!" the five of yelled, as they soared into the air.
The gargoyle roared and fired its staff at the team. They swooped and dived to avoid the blasts. They reared back and then dived, attacking the gargoyle from all sides as they flew in a lazy circle around him. Pulling out of the circle, the Rangers rose back into the air and unleashed a fireball onto the gargoyle, finally destroying him.
With the gargoyle finally disposed of, the Rangers circled and unleashed six more fireballs at Morticon. He deflected each one with his sword.
"We have to get that thing away from him!" Kali growled, fists clenched.
They swooped down again, intending to attack Morticon with their serrated wings, but he caught them in his firm grip - one hand on the wings and the other around the neck - and he lifted them and threw them over his shoulder.
"Don't you know who you're dealing with?" Morticon roared. He turned rapidly and slashed his sword through the dragon, disengaging the Rangers and causing them to crash separately onto the city.
Rolling onto her side, Kali pushed herself back to her feet and glowered at Morticon. "We know exactly who you are!" she growled. "You're a power-hungry bully with the mentality of a baby! If, and when, you can't get your way, you throw a temper tantrum and throw all your toys out of the buggy."
"You insolent brat!" Morticon said, raising his sword. He summoned his Dark Magic strike and hurled it at Kali. The attack rocked her flank, but she managed to stay standing as she absorbed a bit of the energy source and use it to sustain herself.
"If you think we're done," said Kali. "You've got another thing coming! Come on, guys!"
"Yeah!" the others yelled, regaining their feet. They spread out along the city, encircling Morticon and forcing him into a tight-knit circle.
"Vida, you ready?" Kali asked.
Vida nodded and transformed into a ball. "Game on!" she challenged, tossing herself at Chip.
Chip passed to Maddie.
Maddie passed to Xander.
Xander passed to Kali.
Kali head-butted Vida and directed her towards Morticon.
The ball bounced, aimlessly off Morticon's shoulder and he laughed.
"That was pathetic!" Morticon said, raising his sword. He slashed at the others, knocking them down again, and then rounded on Kali. "You're a thorn in my side," he said. "I don't know how you managed to send me back last time, but I will make sure you cannot do it again!" He raised his sword and summoned his magic for one, last, final strike against the Hellhound.
Kali clenched her fists and stood her ground. She could feel her energy dwindling by the second, but she refused to go down without a fight. If Morticon wanted her gone so badly. He was going to have to work for it.
Inches away from Kali's neck, Morticon stopped as a beam of bright yellow light struck the gate. The doors sealed shut, preventing anything from getting in or out, and then the stone wall rattled as it started to descend back into the ground.
"What's happening?!" Morticon roared. "Impossible! Who has done this?" He turned wildly to Kali. "You! You did this! How did you do this?!"
"I did!" Nick shouted, bursting through the blackness and charging at Morticon. He was riding Catastros and both were already in titan form, ready to combine.
Kali let out a sigh of relief at the sight of her best friend. She staggered on her four legs and sat down, returning to her normal height as her energy completely left her body.
"Kali!" Maddie called.
Sitting on the ground, Kali demorphed and looked up. She barely had enough energy to keep her eyes open, much less maintain her ranger suit. She moaned and leaned back, landing in Xander's arms as he arrived behind her.
"Come on, Catastros," Nick said, summoning the magic he needed to combine with the horse. "Centaurus Phoenix Megazord. Now it's my turn!"
Morticon roared in anger.
"Fire tail!" Nick called, dragging the whip at the back of his head through the air. The whip ignited with ferocious flames and hit Morticon multiple times, knocking him to the floor.
"You insolent little ants!" Morticon roared.
"You guys ready?" Nick asked.
The others nodded and joined Nick, while Xander hesitated and glanced down at Kali. She was barely awake.
"Go," Kali said, her voice weak. "I'll be okay."
Xander nodded and rested her against the base of a building. He then returned to his titan form and joined the others, forming the Titan Megazord.
"Time to end this," said Morticon, summoning his magic and feeding it into his sword. The blade engulfed in black smoke. "Dark Magic Strike!" He swung the sword up and unleashed the dark matter at the rangers.
"Ancient Power, Mystic Spell Seal!"
Kali watched as the Rangers sabre clashed against Morticon's causing it to freeze solid. She frowned in confusion, before grinning as a phantom image of the White Ranger appeared beside her friends. With the spirit of Udonna coursing through them, there was no chance of the Rangers losing.
"MYSTIC STRIKE!"
Wielding their sabre around, the rangers struck Morticon with a powerful and fatal blow. He staggered and rippled with energy.
"The great Morticon has fallen, but the Master will prevail!" Morticon yelled as he succumbed to his injuries and exploded.
Kali grinned as darkness started to creep in on her vision. "Checkmate!" she whispered, before passing out completely.
~X~
The next time Kali awoke, she realised that she had been moved from the middle of the street and placed in a cot somewhere in Root core. She groaned as her body ached and protested when she sat up, but she needed to find the others.
"How much longer do you think she'll be out?" Nick asked. The sound of his voice brought relief to Kali and provided her with enough energy to make it out into the base.
"Not much," said Xander, spotting Kali first. He jumped up and hurried over to help her down the stairs, and then over to the table where there was a spare seat. "Welcome back."
Kali smiled and slouched in her chair. "Thanks. I still feel like I've been run over, though," she said.
"Your energy and magic were depleted whilst battling Morticon and the Gargoyle," said Udonna.
"If that's your way of telling me I should be resting then don't worry," said Kali. "I'm planning on making it home and then sleeping for a week."
The others laughed.
Udonna smiled, comfortingly. "You did well today, Kali," she said. "I hope this answers at least one of your questions from this morning."
Kali cocked her head to the side as the others looked confused and mildly concerned. "Oh, you mean the future Mystics," she said, blinking in realisation.
"You wondered how future generations would consider your battles," said Udonna, nodding. "I can assure you that they would find you fought valiantly today. All of you," she added, looking around at the other Rangers. "You defeated Morticon. Forever."
The others grinned at each other.
Without moving too much, Kali managed to glance around the room. "Where is Claire?" she asked, noticing that the apprentice was the only one missing. "Is she all right?"
"Claire is fine," Udonna said, reassuringly. "Like you, she used enough magic to today to deplete her energy supply. She is resting comfortably."
"I'm glad," said Kali. "I'll let her rest before I apologise."
"Apologise? For what?"
"I made her a promise, and I failed," said Kali. "I promised her that nothing bad would come of her, and then Necrolai forced her to open the gate, and on top of that, she was abducted by Koragg. I should never have made that promise."
Udonna swept around the table and placed a comforting hand on Kali's shoulder. "Nonsense, child, you did what every other friend would've done," she said. "You saved not only Claire today, but the whole city. You should be proud of your accomplishment."
"She's right, Kali," said Maddie. "We wouldn't have been able to defeat Morticon if it hadn't have been for you. You distracted him long enough today for Nick to make it back with Catastros."
Vida nodded. "Yeah, and you forced Morticon to use up most of his strength and magic trying to take you down. He was a lot weaker after he tried to destroy you," she said. "I mean, sure, you got the brunt end of his attacks, but he'd probably still be here if you hadn't have worn him out."
Kali smiled and shook her head. "You may be right," she said. "But I'm not taking all the credit. We destroyed Morticon and that freaky gargoyle thing together. Teamwork."
The others chuckled and gathered around Kali. Nick nudged her, causing her to whine and then held out his hand out in front of him. He tucked his thumb and two middle fingers in towards his palm and linked his first finger and little finger up with the others.
Tiredly, Kali wrapped her little finger around Nick's forefinger and linked her forefinger with Maddie's pinkie.
"Mystic Force!"