I've been waiting to post this chapter all week, and I can't hold back my excitement anymore.
Enjoy.
"Trust is the key to any team. To truly trust each other, you must be willing to put your safety in the hands of the team," Udonna explained. "Are you ready, Madison?"
"I guess so," said Maddie, hesitantly.
"Slowly fall forward. Your team will catch you."
Kali leaned against the railing, her arms folded, as she watched the others. She had already done her trust exercise with them, and luckily enough they had pulled through.
Maddie squeaked as she fell into Xander and Nick. The two pushed her back to her feet, just as Claire wandered past with Fireheart wrapped up in a blanket.
"No, Maddie, don't -" Kali called, as Maddie toppled backwards and hit the floor.
Maddie whined and lifted her blindfold. She looked around and found Vida and Chip cooing at the baby dragon. "Oh, that's trust for you," she said, rubbing her tail bone.
"Are you okay?" Kali asked, helping Maddie stand.
"I think so," said Maddie.
Kali smiled and wound her arm around Maddie's shoulders, leading her over to the others.
"Dark magical energy is emitting from the forest," said Udonna, gazing into the crystal ball.
"We'll check it out," said Nick.
A short walk away from Root core, Kali opened her Morpher and checked the coordinates of the energy surge. She frowned and looked around. "This is it," she said. "This is where the crystal ball wanted us to come."
"It's quiet," said Nick, looking around at the trees suspiciously. The only real sound was that of a croaking frog.
"Almost too quiet," Chip grinned. He laughed as the others turned to look at him. "Sorry. I always wanted to say that," he told them.
"At the risk of someone calling me paranoid," said Kali shooting Nick a look. He grinned back. "I get the feeling that someone is watching us."
Vida nodded. "I feel it, too," she said.
The trees rustled and the Rangers spun around to find their path blocked by a figure in ancient mystic armour.
"What brings you, children, into these dangerous woods?" the figure asked.
"Who you calling children, jokester?" Kali asked, clenching her fists.
The warrior laughed.
"Give us a second and we'll show you," said Nick.
The six prepared for a fight and then rushed the warrior, he managed to hold his own for the most part - he twisted Xander's arm around while holding back Vida and Chip and then threw Xander at Maddie and Nick.
"Hyah!" Kali shouted, jumping out of the tree above the warrior. She landed behind him and aimed a swift-kick to his legs. He jumped over her leg, spun around and grabbed her shoulders, hauling her into the air and tossing her aside.
Kali rolled to her knees and shook her head. She met Nick's gaze from across the clearing and nodded, reaching for her Morpher.
"Wait!" Udonna called, approaching from behind.
"Watch out! He's evil!" Nick warned.
"No, he's not," Udonna chuckled. "He's an old friend." She smiled at the warrior and hugged him once he had returned to his human form.
"Udonna," the warrior grinned.
"Calindor. You haven't aged a day," said Udonna, releasing the man from her grasp.
"I'll explain later," Calindor said, running his hands down Udonna's arms and grasping her hands instead.
Udonna smiled and stepped aside, gesturing to the Rangers behind her. "These are the Mystic Rangers," she said, happily.
Calindor bowed. "The forest will forever be in your debt," he looked from one ranger to the next, and then finally stopped on Kali. He cocked his head to the side, and run his gaze over her.
Kali glared at him when he returned his gaze to her eyes. "What?" she asked.
"You look familiar, have we met?" Calindor asked.
Kali glanced at Nick and then back at Calindor. "I highly doubt it," she said. "I haven't been in Briarwood that long, and the last time you saw Udonna was, I'm guessing, eighteen years ago?"
Calindor stared long and hard at Kali, then his eyes widened in recognition. "Maeve!" he gasped.
Udonna frowned and looked between Calindor and Kali. "Calindor, are you sure?" she asked. "Maeve was lost years ago."
"Excuse me, who is Maeve?" Kali asked.
"Maeve was my daughter," Calindor answered. "She was born during the Great Battle and lost not long after. Her mother and I were forced to give her up to save her from the forces of darkness that coveted her."
Kali shook her head. "And you think I am that child?" she asked. "If she was born eighteen years ago, then how you would you know it is me? Surely I don't look the same as a newborn."
Her friends chuckled and even Calindor cracked a smile. "You have your mother's sarcasm, I see," he said. "Make no mistake, my dear, you may not look like the child I lost, but you are most definitely her. Eithne would love to have met you."
"I'm guessing Eithne was your wife?" Maddie asked.
"We were betrothed, yes," said Calindor. "We were not meant to marry until the fall. Eithne always loved the colder nights."
"Eithne? I just read about her. She was the black sorceress before me," said Kali, looking at Udonna. "She was my... mother?"
Udonna nodded. "Although, I did not know she was your mother until now. Eithne was part of the wood elves. Her father was the king and her mother the queen. It was rare for elves to have magic, but Eithne seemed to be an exception."
Kali looked from Udonna to Calindor. He was watching her closely. "This is not what I expected when I wanted to find my birth parents," she said, shaking her head. "I'm also still not completely sure if I believe you."
"Take as long as you need," Calindor said.
Kali blinked and looked away. She met Nick's gaze, as Udonna led Calindor back to Root core. The others followed, each of them introducing themselves along the way.
"You okay?" Nick asked, trailing behind with Kali.
"I don't know," said Kali. "Ever since we stepped foot into these woods, I have had that feeling that I belong here. I just never expected it to be in this way."
"Do you believe him?"
Kali shrugged. "Do I have a reason not, too?" she asked. "This could explain why I was never able to find my birth parents. Because outside of the magical realm, they don't exist. There are no birth certificates on these people. No family trees and my adoptive parents weren't lying when they said they had no clue where I came from."
Nick reached for her hand and squeezed it. "That's not all there is," he said, tilting her head back to meet his gaze. "What else aren't you telling me?"
"I don't get a good feeling from him," said Kali. "I didn't like the way he looked at me, and when he said I was familiar, I got a chill down my spine. Imperious said the same thing."
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying I think you were right the first time - he is evil," said Kali.
Nick looked back to where the others had disappeared with Calindor.
"They aren't going to believe us," said Kali. "Udonna, definitely won't. Calindor is the only other person that has survived the Great Battle, she's going to want to keep him close and find out how. We just need to be careful. She could accidentally let slip some information that we don't want him to know."
Nick nodded and the pair headed back towards Root core. They had just reached the perimeter when the others came barrelling out of the Dragon's head and headed straight for them.
"What's going on?" Nick asked.
"Monster attacking downtown," said Vida. She caught Kali's arm as she passed, and tugged the black ranger towards a nearby tree.
The pair disappeared through, and Nick followed.
~X~
"There he is!" Nick called as he and the others flew over the city. They spotted the blue and silver monster, bouncing around the city square as people ran screaming. "Get him!"
Kali kicked her leg over her Mystic Racer and jumped off. She hit the ground running and charged at the monster as he continued to destroy the city, oblivious to the Rangers arrival.
"It's wrecking time!" the monster howled, slashing through a stationary car.
"The bad guys are always so obvious," said Vida. She drew her Magi Staff and jumped into the air, unleashing a blast of wind magic.
"Yikes!" the monster yelped as he disappeared through the ground.
Kali slid to a halt and looked around. "Where'd he go?" she asked, drawing her magi staff in anticipation.
"He was right here," said Nick, patting the ground. It was solid.
"Yoo-Hoo! The jokes on you!" the monster yelled, popping back up through the concrete.
Maddie gasped at something over the monster's shoulder. Two people hung precariously from a railing, high above the street.
"Now what are you going to do?" the monster asked, laughing.
"This!" said Kali, throwing out her arm and hitting the monster with a blast of black magic.
The monster deflected the blasts and laughed. "Let's play!" he said, running forward.
"Maddie, go get them!" Kali said, ducking under a kick from the monster. She grabbed his arm as he swung at the blue ranger and threw him toward Xander.
Maddie nodded and runoff.
The monster aimed an attack at her retreating form but was knocked off course as Kali rammed into him. "That's not nice," he said, rounding on Kali.
"Neither is attacking someone when they're back is turned," Kali snapped. She caught the monsters arm and kicked him in the chest.
He slammed into a car.
"That's how you catch someone," said Maddie, returning to Kali's side after saving the pedestrians.
Kali clapped her on the shoulder. "Nice one, Maddie," she said. "I guess we can always trust you."
Maddie laughed and turned back to the monster. But he had gone.
"We got to find that freak," said Chip, running over.
The team took off and found the monster three blocks away. He was lying on the ground, painting red strokes onto the road.
"You again!" the monster complained, jumping to his feet.
"You're in trouble now! Mystic Force Fighters!" Nick called, summoning the boxing gloves.
Jester laughed maniacally as Nick ran towards him.
"Power Punch!" Nick called, swinging his fist at Jester. The clown ducked and Nick hit the barrels' behind him. They exploded and Nick flipped over, landing on the ground with a thud.
"Nick!"
"Are you all right?"
"Yeah!" Nick replied, getting back to his feet. He looked around, trying to see where Jester had gone.
"Nick, look out!" Kali yelled as she watched Jester land on Nick's back, covering his eyes with his hands.
Nick struggled and managed to throw Jester off. The clown flipped over and kicked Nick in the stomach.
"That was a good one! Bye-Bye!" Jester said, diving forward into the ground.
Xander looked around, waiting to see where he would pop up next.
"Coming through!" Jester laughed, bowling through them from behind and knocking them down.
"This guy's looney!" said Nick, stumbling over to the others. "Huh?" he looked up as Jester smashed his way through them again, punching each of them in the chest and knocking them down.
"You can't stop me!" Jester laughed. "I'm Jester the Pester! I'd love to stay and chat, but I have work to do." He waved and then shot off, disappearing from view.
Kali groaned and shook her head. "Let him go," she said, grabbing Nick's arm as he tried to run after Jester. "We'll get him next time."
Nick sighed but relaxed.
"Hey, check this out," said Maddie. She was standing beside the drawing that Jester had painted on the ground.
"Strange," Xander murmured, looking down at the giant red 'X'.
Kali tilted her head to the side. "Anyone else got the feeling of Deja vu?" she asked.
Maddie nodded.
~X~
"I can't believe you were born into the magical world," said Vida, cornering Kali near the Metal section at the Rock Porium. "And you didn't even believe in magic!"
"It's not that big of a deal," Kali shrugged.
"You found your birth father," said Xander. "I'd say that is a pretty big deal. Why aren't you excited?"
Kali sighed. "Maybe because I don't trust him," she said. "There's something about him that gives me the creeps. I mean, did you see the way he looked at me? A father does not look at their daughter that way."
"I've seen other father's looking at you that way," said Xander. He yelped as Kali punched him in the shoulder, and quickly moved away from her. "I was just saying," he muttered.
Kali shook her head. "Can we talk about something else?" she asked.
"How about how we're going to stop that circus clown from running amok in the city?" Nick suggested.
Kali nodded. "That mark he drew, I recognised it from somewhere," she said. "But I can't remember where. Maddie?"
Maddie shook her head. "I do think it has something to do with a dark seal," she said. She paused as she saw the wide-eyed looks Vida and Chip were giving her. "What?" she asked.
"Seems like your prince has arrived," said Xander, leaning over her from behind.
Maddie frowned and looked down. "Oh!" she gasped and pushed the frog from her shoulder.
"Still don't like frogs, sis?" Vida laughed.
"Not since you put one down my dress when we were kids, no," said Maddie, shuddering.
"That was a long time ago," Vida defended.
Kali shook her head and squeezed Maddie in a hug. The frog croaked and jumped at the team, causing Maddie to squeal in fear and run for safety.
"GET IT!" Kali yelled, diving for the amphibian. She missed and slid into a CD rack, bringing the whole lot down on top of her.
Nick laughed and hurried over to help her stand. "You okay?" he asked.
"Where did it go?" Kali asked.
"It's over here!" Xander yelled from the kitchen. There was a loud thump followed by a curse, and the frog hopped out of the kitchen.
Xander followed, peeling a banana skin from his head.
Kali laughed and then shrieked as Xander threw the peel at her.
From the front counter, Maddie jumped and squealed at every move the frog made. When it landed in front of her, she ducked beneath the counter and buried her face in her knees.
"I got it! I got it!" Nick shouted, lunging for the frog. It jumped away and Nick almost slid across the counter. He caught himself at the last second but knocked all the CDs off the side in the process.
"Where did it go?" Chip asked.
Vida gasped and jumped up onto the stage. The frog was spinning around and around on her turntables. She hesitated as she tried to grab it, afraid that if she missed she would wreck the records. The frog croaked and jumped away again.
"Did you get it?" Maddie asked, peering above the counter.
"Not yet," said Kali.
"There he is!" Vida shouted, catching sight of the frog. It was sitting on the tiled floor between the back office and the kitchen.
A scream from outside the store caused them all to pause and look around.
"I'll give you one guess who that is," said Kali, pulling Maddie out from behind the front counter.
"Let's go," said Nick.
They raced from the store leaving the frog to; hopefully, find its own way out.
~X~
"Anyone want to see a trick?" Jester screeched. He had just popped up in the middle of a busy intersection and sent everyone running and screaming. "Guess not," he shrugged. He lay on the ground and continued to paint his symbols.
"Hold it, Jokester!" Maddie yelled, spraying the street with her water magic. The water sloshed over the symbol and it disappeared.
"No!" Jester yelled.
"That's it," Maddie gasped. "I know what you're trying to do."
"You do?" Jester asked, surprised.
"Feel like filling the rest of us?" Kali asked. "It's driving me crazy."
Maddie nodded. "You're writing down symbols on the ground to create a dark seal," she explained. "It's the same one we've seen Koragg use."
"Holy shit! You're right," said Kali, snapping her fingers.
"But it's not going to happen," said Maddie, shaking her head.
"When the seal is complete, all the humans will be gone," said Jester, excitedly. "Try and stop me!" He held out his hand and blasted the Rangers off of their feet.
Recovering first, Maddie rushed at Jester, swinging her Magi Staff.
"Bring it!" Jester challenged.
Maddie lunged for Jester, but he retaliated by punching her in the chest. She landed on the ground behind him, and had very little time to recover before he grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet.
"Let her go!" Kali yelled, standing up. "Magi Staff! Hells Firewall!" She pointed her wand at Jester and a towering wall of black magic crashed into him, but not before he threw Maddie aside.
Maddie groaned as she demorphed.
"Maddie!" Vida yelled as Jester recovered. He blasted Kali off her feet for a second time and rounded on the blue ranger.
"Come here, pretty!" Jester taunted, stalking slowly forwards. He raised his blade, the tip glinting in the sunlight. But before he could attack, the frog from the store leapt at him, causing him to freak out.
In a state of panic, Jester pulled the frog from his shoulder and threw him to the ground.
"Hey, freak!" Nick yelled, scrambling to his feet. He charged Jester, the others following, while Kali run to check on Maddie.
"Are you okay?" Kali asked.
Maddie nodded and crawled over to where the frog lay. She carefully scooped it up, much to Kali's surprise, and held it in the palm of her hand.
"You saved me... you ugly, little thing," said Maddie. "I could kiss you."
"I don't think that's a good idea," said Kali. "You don't know if he's carrying germs or parasites on his - okay, don't listen to me," she added as Maddie pressed her lips to the back of the frog.
A bright golden light engulfed the frog and floated into the air. It transformed, right before the Rangers eyes, and the frog was soon a mad. He held a card between his two fingers and directed it at Jester, hitting him forcibly with a beam of warm magic.
"My lady," the man said, holding his hand out to Maddie. He helped her stand and smiled. "Thanks. You broke the curse."
"I... did?" Maddie asked, unsure.
The man nodded and then looked up as the others run over.
"Woah! Yeah!"
"That was sweet!" said Nick.
Maddie grinned as Kali nudged her.
"Hidiacs!" Jester bellowed.
The rangers prepared themselves for a fight, but the man put his hand on Maddie's shoulder and held her back. "Stand back," he ordered, quietly.
"Hey, hold on," said Nick, as the man approached Jester.
"Solar Cell Morpher!" the man said. He slotted the card he had used on Jester into the gap of his Morpher and punched a hole through it. "Magical Source, Mystic Force!" he chanted. "Power of the Sun! Solaris Knight!"
Kali gasped.
Nick turned to her. "What is it?" he asked.
"Solaris Knight, Udonna told me about him," said Kali. "He's one of the knights that fought in the Great Battle with our predecessors."
The Rangers looked back at Solaris as he summoned Jenji and his lamp from Root core. The cat popped out of the lid and grinned.
"Sorry, I was reading," Jenji said. "Where have you been? You look great."
"Sorry, Jenji," Solaris apologised.
"Hidiacs, attack!" Jester ordered.
"Sure, we'll catch up later," said Jenji, disappearing back into the lamp.
Solaris run his hand down the side of the lamp, powering it up. "Laser Lamp, power up!" he commanded, pushing down the handle and transforming it into a blaster. "Fire!"
Jester yelled out as he was blasted off his feet. "Hey, no fair! That's a new weapon!" he whined.
"Right you are," said Solaris. He leapt forward and easily destroyed the Hidiacs, before setting his sights on Jester.
As Solaris dealt with the Jester, the Rangers turned to Kali.
"What else do you know about him?" Chip asked.
"Only that he uses the power of the Sun, and he was one of the Mystic's most trusted allies," said Kali. "He wasn't a Mystic himself, in the sense that he doesn't have magic, but they trusted him with their lives."
"So, there are the Mystics that we took over from," said Chip, "and then there are the knights?"
Kali nodded. "There were a few knights. But Udonna only told me about Solaris," she said. "It was during the time that Koragg and Necrolai were looking for Claire when they raised the gate. We had more pressing matters to deal with, so she promised to tell me more about the Knights at a later date, but we haven't had time."
There was an explosion, and the rangers looked around just in time to see Jester get blown out of the pavement.
"Hopefully, you've learned your lesson about playing tricks on people," said Solaris, powering up the lamp.
"Time to get serious," said Jenji,
"Jenji Shining Attack!" Solaris commanded, firing the lamp blaster. Jenji rocketed out of the spout and soared towards Jester, punching him in the chest with a giant cat paw.
"Take that, and that, and that, that, that!" Jenji said, punching multiple times. "Go, Jenji, Go, Jenji!" he cheered as he returned to the lamp.
Jester croaked as he keeled over and exploded.
"Sweet!" Chip grinned.
"That was amazing!" said Xander.
Solaris demorphed and they all jogged over to meet him.
"You're Daggeron," said Kali.
Daggeron nodded. "There'll be time for introductions later," he said. "Udonna's in trouble."
~X~
Imperious laughed as the protection spell surrounding the Xenotome finally broke, and he was able to access the book without interruption. "The secrets of the Mystic's are mine," he declared, before a wall of black fire slammed into him, knocking him back into a bookcase.
The force field surrounding Udonna and Claire disappeared, and the pair looked towards the entrance to see the Rangers and Daggeron enter Root core.
"I knew I didn't trust you!" Kali said.
"Your mother didn't either, at least, not in the end," Imperious said, getting back to his feet. "You are so like her."
Kali clenched her fists and took a step forward, but Solaris put a hand on her shoulder and held her back.
"We meet again, Calindor," said Solaris, returning his attention to Imperious. He crossed the room and climbed the stairs, standing alongside Udonna as she shielded Claire from view.
The Rangers followed.
"I am now called Imperious," the mummy declared. He held his fan in front of his face as Daggeron prepared to fight. "This is neither the time nor the place. We'll meet again, and next time, I will finish you off for good."
A dark seal appeared beneath him and he disappeared through it, but not without one last glare at Kali.
"Are you okay?" Kali asked Claire.
Claire nodded but accepted Kali's hug.
~X~
Imperious looked around at the Hidiac army surrounding the pit. They all roared and growled, awaiting their turn to go to the surface world and cause mayhem. Near the throne, stood Necrolai and her annoying daughter - he hadn't bothered to learn her name.
A bright hole in the centre of the pit shimmered with mist, and a large eye appeared at its core, staring through into the dark abyss.
Imperious approached the hole and knelt beside it. "They may have thwarted my plan this time, but next time, Daggeron will fall!" he promised. "As will the Mystic Force and once they have been eliminated, the Hellhound will return home."
The eye dilated and an earth-shattering roar echoed around the pit.