The hall was virtually silent as Dai Shi sat on his throne, thinking about what steps to take to attain the Sands of Sila. He had the advantage; three of the necessary artefacts were in his possession and the troublesome Fearcats were out the way. However the arrival of new rangers had threatened his plans; could another team give the rangers the upper hand?

He was snapped out of his thoughts by Scorch, who had entered the hall through the large doors which served as the entrance and was now approaching his king

'Dai Shi,' he addressed the Phantom Beast King 'we have reason to believe that summoning Agrios was just the beginning of the treacherous Fearcats' plans. They also planned to free their kin from this' he showed his master a small, shattered mirror 'this mirror served as a prison to the other Fearcats, and I think they intended to repair it and free the others in hope of taking over this planet'

'What makes you think this?' Dai Shi asked

'The mirror was found in their possession sir,' Scorch informed him 'the mirror is useless in its current state but, if repaired, it serves as a gateway to the human world. The Fearcats attempted to use it the first time they came here, but those new rangers destroyed it. If we, however, can somehow repair it then perhaps we could harness its power'

Dai Shi thought for a moment 'an army would be good, but we don't have the means to repair such an item'

'What about me?' A new voice spoke from near the door. Dai Shi looked up and Scorch turned to see Camille standing there 'I have the powers of the Phoenix, and that allows me to breathe new life into things, like when a new phoenix is reborn from the ashes of the old one. Maybe my powers would be able to repair the mirror?'

Dai Shi looked at the mirror then back at his faithful servant; that was a plan that might just work...

Jungle Karma Pizza

The four Jungle Fury Rangers were training in the loft, with RJ observing and occasionally instructing and the Overdrive rangers watching on

'It's quite amazing you know' Rose said suddenly

'What d'you mean?' Dax asked

'That there are schools like this,' Rose continued 'secretly training students in martial arts. Makes ordinary schools look boring'

'You'd prefer to be doing something like this? You've always loved science Rose' Dax looked confused

'I know I know, it's just weird to think how different things could've been if we were part of something like this rather than where we are now'

'We'd still be rangers, that seems certain' Dax joked; Rose didn't seem to be her usual self and he just wanted to lighten the mood 'how did you get here anyway?'

'Got a message from Mr Hartford,' Rose told him 'said I was needed to be part of 'one last ranger mission' and to meet here'

'So you haven't spoken to Mack then?' Dax asked cautiously, realising he was treading into potentially dangerous territory

'No...we haven't spoken for a while...' She said rather absentmindedly, focusing on the training session the Jungle Fury Rangers were having. Dax decided to leave it for now, but would be sure to talk to Mack when he returned; he didn't know what had gone on, but he wanted to help Rose and he was sure Mack would be pretty down if the two had fallen out. The Blue Ranger was snapped out of his thoughts by the news report showing on the screen

'Looks like Dai Shi's finally decided to turn up,' Theo remarked 'but we're still some rangers short'

'We'll go without them' Rose replied, seemingly happy for the distraction

'Right, keep the Sands of Sila protected at all times' Casey told them, with a nod to Dom who was keeping hold of them. The group nodded in response before going to confront Dai Shi

Ocean Bluff

The rangers were suited up by the time they saw Dai Shi stood with Camille, Scorch and Snapper. Rinshi footsoldiers had been clearing the area and now stood ready for battle

'Hand over the Sands of Sila' Dai Shi instructed, clearly not in the mood to mess around

'Not a chance' Casey replied

'Rinshi!'

The command sent the footsoldiers towards the rangers. Dax and Rose drew their Drive Defenders in sabre mode and attacked the Rinshi, while the Jungle Fury rangers used a series of martial arts techniques to fight them off without the need for weapons. Casey could see Dai Shi was preparing to blast them and quickly summoned the Claw Cannon

'Come on guys, let's finish this' Casey called as Theo and Lily joined him and supported the cannon. Their animal spirits charged the weapon, and Casey quickly fired the beam of energy at Dai Shi. However the villain didn't counter and instead lifted up a small, round object which took the force of the blast. The rangers watched as their blast disappeared and now they could see what Dai Shi had used to defend himself; a mirror

'Huh? What's that?' Casey questioned

'This, Red Ranger, is the Prison Mirror. It has the power to release unimaginable power into this world and will ultimately lead to your end. You have 24 hours to hand over the Sands of Sila, or I will provide this mirror with the final portion of energy necessary to unlock its potential and release the power inside onto this pitiful planet' Dai Shi concluded his speech and, with a final, fearsome look to Casey, he teleported away and leave the rangers to consider the ultimatum

'That Prison Mirror contains the other Fearcats,' Dax told the Jungle Fury Rangers 'we destroyed it last time, but if Dai Shi unlocks its capabilities he'll have an entire army at his disposal

'So why didn't he just do that anyway?' Lily asked

'Maybe he's not sure if he can control the Fearcats,' Rose suggested 'if he's using it as his last resort then perhaps it isn't as good a plan as he wants us to think'

The rangers thought for a moment, but were interrupted by two men who were running towards them. One had a microphone while the other had a camera

'Stop! Power rangers! We'd like an interview! Stop!'

'Erm...you guys might want to get outta here' Dax suggested hastily

'Yeah, our identities are known to the world so the media like to talk to us because we're the only rangers they know' Rose added

'Alright. Meet us back at Jungle Karma Pizza once you've finished your...interview?'

'Yeah, something like that,' Dax replied 'now go, before they try and get you too!'

The Jungle Fury rangers scarpered as the Overdrive rangers powered down and stopped the two men

'How can we help you, gentlemen?' Dax asked

'Quick, get the camera rolling,' the one with the microphone told the other, before turning to Dax 'I'm here with Dax Lo, movie director and Blue ranger of the Operation Overdrive team. Dax, could you explain to me why you're back on ranger duty please?'

'Well it's a long story,' Dax was used to talking to the press, he wasn't going to give away much detail 'but a former enemy of ours has resurfaced, and we needed to come back to solve the problem'

'Is this danger something the people of Ocean Bluff should be worried about?'

'No, not at all' Dax remained composed 'we're already some way through dealing with this threat, and we have the help of the Jungle Fury rangers so things will be resolved soon'

The reporter turned to Rose 'Rose Ortiz, Pink Ranger and scientific genius! What's it like working with a new team? Have there been any arguments?'

'Not really' Rose laughed 'they're a good team, and we're thankful for their help at this time'

'And what about your own team? Mackenzie Hartford, Red Ranger and adventurer was seen not too long ago defending these parts from evil. Can we expect the whole Overdrive team to return, and where is Mack now?'

'Erm...' Rose was left speechless by the questions, as if she was uncomfortable, but Dax intervened

'The other rangers, like us, lead very busy lives,' he told the reporter 'Mack was here but he left to recruit the other rangers, hence why we're here. However it all depends on how quickly they can get here. The hope is that the team will be united and, along with the Jungle Fury rangers, we can stop this threat together'

'Thank you for your time Mr Lo, Miss Ortiz...may we have a picture?'

The two posed with the cameramen, whose looks of excitement made it evident they were fans of the rangers. After getting signatures too, the reporters left them in peace and the two decided to return to JKP

'Sorry about that Rose, I didn't think they'd ask questions about Mack'

'It's fine' Rose shrugged

'What happened between you two?' Dax asked hesitantly

'It's a long story,' Rose began 'things just kinda went weird after Operation Overdrive. Mack and I spent a lot of time together. Things seemed to be moving on, and then suddenly he just left on an expedition without a word. I really like him Dax...but we haven't spoken for a while now. So when that reporter asked about him, I just wished I could turn invisible'

'You can remember,' Dax laughed I'm sure things will be sorted soon. He wouldn't have left unless it was important. Once this is all over things can get back to normal'

'I hope you're right Dax' Rose replied

The two rangers returned to Jungle Karma Pizza and headed up to the attic. They were greeted there by the Jungle Fury team

'The celebrities have returned' Casey laughed

'They just wanted to know what was going on,' Dax replied 'we didn't give them much, but enough to justify our being here'

'So what do we do about Dai Shi?' Dom asked

The rangers looked thoughtful for a moment, before RJ eventually spoke

'We call their bluff,' he said eventually 'we can't just give them the Sands of Sila, and it's likely he'll open the Prison Mirror regardless of whether he's got them or not. We're going to have to fight them either way, so we may as well keep the Sands for now'

'But there's only seven of us,' Theo pointed out 'how do we expect to take on an army?'

'The other Overdrive rangers will be here as soon as possible,' Dax interjected 'we have to put up the best fight possible until they get here'

Casey now stood up, gaining the attention of the gathered rangers

'Then it's settled. Tomorrow, we fight'

Somewhere on Earth

In the dead of the night, a small humming could be heard and a single light shone as an object whirred in the sky. Sighting a grassy plane at the entrance to a forest, the object made a slow descent to the ground. As it approached the land the blades of grass stirred, as if disturbed by a helicopter or aeroplane. The object, presumably a spaceship, settled on the grass and the whirring ceased; the light now increased as what can only be described as a door of some sort rose up from the side to reveal the interior of the ship and shed light onto the plane. In the doorway, a figure appeared and stepped out onto the plane, looking at a device held in both hands. At the flick of a switch a noise was heard as two doors parted at the back of the ship and an opening formed, out of which rolled a rather retro-looking motorcycle. The man held the bike by the handlebars and wheeled it to the side of the ship, before propping it up on the fence that ran along the edge of the open space and divided the forest and the row of houses next to it. Though dark, the ship could still be seen by the lights that emanated from inside and in daylight the hulking machine would be seen by all who lived nearby. However at the flick of a switch on the man's device, these lights disappeared. In fact, the whole ship appeared to have disappeared. Satisfied the ship would be safe, the man attached the device to the front of the bike and began typing into it. As he punched at the keys, the bike began to rev and he set off onto the road. He concluded his typing and a map or roads and buildings appeared on the screen, with the destination printed in capitals at the top:

HARTFORD MANSION, SAN ANGELES