The Commodore was on board his personal transport, observing through the viewing screen as the ship followed the path their surveillance had tracked the Red Galleon across. He knew he was already behind them, that they would have a significant head start, but his ship was fast enough that he was hopeful they would not be too far ahead. He had brought a squadron of ships with him, each carrying a squadron of X-bots. His foes were tricky, and he now knew they had potentially a lot more tricks up their sleeves. He was taking no chances this time.

Salamandore was by his side, while the bruisers stood ready for action. One of the X-bots turned in his seat to look at The Commodore.

"Sir, the Red Galleon is directly ahead." It informed him. He smiled as he saw the Rangers' ship in full view. It was floating above the ground, anchored in place.

"Then the Rangers will not be far." Salamandore commented. "There is nothing of note out here. They can't have gone far from the ship."

"This...this is odd." The Commodore stated.

"What's odd?" Salamandore asked him.

"I was under the impression there was a city here." The Commodore stated. "On the highway between San Angeles and Reefside...there was meant to be a city here, I'm sure of it."

"Does it look like there's a city down there?" Salamandore asked him. "It doesn't look like there's been anyone down there in years...it doesn't even look like any of our lot have been there."

"Yes...I noticed the lack of obvious destruction." The Commodore responded. "Like you said, the Rangers can't be far. Land the ship and start searching. How large can these woods be?"

Meanwhile, in the woods, the Rangers were finding out exactly that. Running after Nick, they found him moving at speeds which defied logic. Even Emma, who was well versed in traversing wooded terrain was completely stunned by the swiftness with which he moved through the terrain. Far more than simply being physically fit, and intimately familiar with the woods, he moved like the forest itself was assisting his flight.

"I thought he said no powers!" Jake complained as a low branch whipped his face. "He's clearly using magic, he's got to be!"

"I think he said only WE weren't allowed to use powers." Noah corrected him, stumbling on a root as he ran. "I guess we should have clarified the rules."

Nick leapt into the air, and disappeared, the air around him shimmering. Emma, Noah, Gia and Jake all skidded to a halt.

"Oh, come ON!" Gia complained. "How the hell are we meant to catch him if he disappears?"

Troy, breaking into a sprint, leapt into the air, and disappeared as well. The others just stared in amazement.

"Um...I guess we can follow then." Gia stated. As they too continued to run, they passed through the barrier.

Jake got a little way past the barrier before he realised something was wrong. He stopped, and looked around, realising that not only was he in a completely unfamiliar part of the wood, but now his friends, who only seconds before had been right beside him, were nowhere to be seen.

"Guys?" He asked. "Guys?"

Just then, he heard a loud crashing behind him. He turned in time to see the earth parting, forced upward from underneath, like it was being snapped in two. He was thrown off his feet by the parting earth, and landed in a heap.

"OK, I remember I used to have tricks like that." Jake stated. A tree grew up from the ground, before splitting open. A man slightly taller than Jake stepped out of the opening. He had slightly curly hair, and a long black coat, under which he had a leather waist coat trimmed in green. He was carrying an axe in his right hand.

"G'day." He greeted Jake. "The name's Xander."

"Jake." Jake replied. "I'm guessing that little stunt means we're not exactly going to talk this out."

"There was a time I'd have tried that approach." Xander said, twirling his axe in a nonchalant way. "But between the fact Plan Xander really doesn't seem to work, and the fact all of you decided to come barging into our home town demanding things that don't belong to you made us think, maybe you aren't the kind of people that can be trusted."

Jake pulled out his morpher, but as he was about to change, he looked into Xander's eyes, and for some reason, all he could think about was what Nick had said when he challenged them. They were not to use powers. It seemed that Nick and Xander didn't have the same reservations, and he was trying to think of a reason not to just morph, but something stopped him.

"I may be a pirate, but that doesn't mean I wasn't honest." Jake stated, activating a command on his morpher, bringing forth his cutlass and his pistol. "You challenged us to do this without powers, and that's what we agreed to!"

"Bold words for a pirate." Xander replied, hefting his axe up onto his shoulders and beckoning Jake forward. "Let's see what you've got."

In another part of the woods, Gia got to a clearing, before she realised she was alone.

"Emma?" She called out. "Jake?"

She felt a shift in the air, and knew that something was coming. The air felt thicker, like there had been a sudden rise in ozone.

She jumped back a couple of feet as a bolt of lightning hit the ground. She looked around.

"OK, this magic stuff is getting really old, really fast." She grumbled. "Lightning wouldn't strike open ground this close to trees."

"Well, it might under some circumstances." She heard the reply. A man with red hair, wearing a long black cloak, and carrying a sword and a shield walked into view. "Sir Charles Thorn."

"Gia." She replied. "So, now we've got the introductions out the way, I'm guessing you're not here to exchange polite conversation."

"And you were?" He asked. "I do remember you pointing a pistol at my friend Nick not too long ago."

"Fair point." Gia answered, drawing her cutlass, and her pistol. Chip smiled.

"A pirate against a knight?" He asked, drawing his shield up before him and readying his broadsword. "Let's see how that turns out."

After going through the barrier, Noah found himself standing on the banks of a river. He stopped running, realising he was on his own. He paused to consider that for a moment.

"OK, why do I get the feeling I'm not alone?" He asked. As if to answer his question, a huge wave struck the shore near him. As the water parted, he saw a woman standing before him, wearing a long cloak, and a waistcoat trimmed in blue. She looked to him judgementally.

"I'm guessing you're the Mystic Force Blue Ranger." He surmised. She just nodded.

"Maddison." She introduced herself, producing a staff. Noah sighed.

"I guess it's too much to hope we can talk about this?" He asked, preparing his sword.

"Why? Are you scared of getting your butt kicked by a girl?" Madison asked him.

"Hey, I've had my butt kicked by girls loads of times!" Noah answered. "Um...that came out wrong...come on!"

Emma made her way through the barrier, and had to skid to a halt almost instantly as she found herself at the edge of a tall cliff. She only just regained her balance as the wind picked up. She saw a woman walking towards her, carrying a staff, and wearing a long coat, and a waistcoat trimmed in pink. She had pink streaks dyed into her hair. Emma looked to her and gulped.

"Um...you're friends with that guy in the woods right?" She asked.

"I know him." Vida answered honestly. "So, are you just going to give up?"

"If you really were a Ranger, you'd know we don't really do that." Emma reminded her. "Now, where are my friends?"

"You'll be reunited with them soon enough." Vida told her as she ran at her, raising her staff.

Troy meanwhile had appeared at the top of some high cliffs, only a little way behind Nick after coming through the barrier. He followed him to the edge of a chasm between two rock faces. Nick leapt across, landing on the other side, before waving his hand. Troy stumbled as he tried to stop, only narrowly avoiding falling over the edge as the two cliff faces moved apart.

"Alright, we've done what you asked; we ran your little race!" Troy yelled at him.

"And yet, here I am, still out of reach." Nick taunted him. "The challenge was that you had to CATCH me."

"I'm sick of these tricks!" Troy snapped. "You told us to prove we deserve your Ranger keys! We've done everything you asked of us!"

"Well...not exactly." Nick told him. "You see, it's not me you have to convince. It's him."

He pointed down the chasm. Troy started to back up as a massive dragon flew up out of the abyss. It landed before him, unleashing a deafening roar.

"Aw...shit!" He exclaimed, before running and seeking cover behind a rock. Nick stood on the other side of the chasm, watching as Fireheart drew back his head, unleashing a massive jet of flame breath across the opposite cliff.

Outside the barrier, The Commodore and his forces were wandering through the woods, looking for any sign of the Rangers. Salamandore sat on a rock to take a rest after becoming frustrated with the endless search.

"Sir, there's another footprint." One of his minions stated, bringing him to a footprint in the mud. "It's the same type of boot as before."

"How far could they have gone?" Salamandore complained. "We keep finding footprints, but it seems like we're not getting any closer! How could they have come this far?"

The Commodore looked around, trying to figure out what was happening. As he did, he glanced upwards, seeing the Red Galleon over the tree tops. He squinted to see it.

"Stay here." The Commodore told them, before gesturing to one of his robotic minions. "You...go that way."

"Sir..."

"Contact us if you find anything." The Commodore told the robot. It dutifully walked off into the distance, disappearing into the tree line.

"Sir, what's going on?" Salamandore asked him.

"I'm just trying out a theory." The Commodore answered. After a short wait, the robot appeared on the other side of them, walking back into view. Salamandore just looked totally confused.

"Wait...how...?"

"We haven't moved any further from the Galleon than we were." The Commodore informed him. "We haven't been finding boot prints; we've been finding the same boot print over and over again."

"We've been walking around in circles?" Salamandore asked. "But how is that possible?"

"It isn't possible by any scientific means." The Commodore answered. "There is some form of trickery at work here."

"Then what do we do?" Salamandore asked him.

"Since going forward doesn't seem to get us anywhere, perhaps we should wait." The Commodore suggested. "Return to the ship, we know the Rangers will show up eventually. After all, they're not going anywhere without their ship."

Back on the cliff, Troy threw his back against a rock as Fireheart launched another blast at him. He gripped his sword tighter.

"What the hell? I have to fight a dragon?" He called out. Nick just continued to watch as Troy avoided Fireheart's attacks.

"You wanted the powers of the Mystic Force?" Nick asked him. "Well, here's your chance! All you have to do is convince him you're worthy!"

Troy fired his pistol as he broke cover, running for another spot. The shots seemed to have little effect on the massive dragon, if anything, all they did was anger it further.

"Easier said than done." Troy muttered. Looking at him, he had to duck as Fireheart's tail missed him by inches, sending stone flying from the impact. How could he have been expected to prepare for that? How many dragons were there? It wasn't like it was common to run across dragons.

That was when something occurred to him. He HAD faced a dragon before, or...he had at least faced its spirit. Back when he faced Vrak for control of the Wild Sword, he had communed with Graegoras, the Father of Dragons, the first of his kind. He hadn't earned the power of the Ultra Mode by force; he had earned it by convincing Graegoras of the power of his will to fight for the Earth.

Fireheart was no spirit; he was a very real, very powerful, and very dangerous dragon, the last of his kind. However, he knew from his encounter with Graegoras that dragons were tied strongly to magic, that they were the guardians of Earth long before the time of man. If Graegoras could be convinced of the worth of a human, perhaps Fireheart could too.

He stepped out of his hiding place, and drove his sword into the ground, before throwing his pistol aside.

"Fireheart, hear me!" Troy called out. Fireheart launched jets of flame from his nostrils that narrowly missed Troy, shooting either side of him. Troy stood unflinching despite the intense heat, and stared directly at him.

"I don't want to fight you. I was wrong to attack you!" Troy continued. "I was wrong to attack your friends. I was so caught up in gaining your powers...I had no right to act as I did!"

Fireheart just roared, slamming a clawed hand down on the rock either side of him. It drew closer.

"The mighty Graegoras, Father of Dragons, the first of your kind once trusted us with his power because like your friends, we want nothing more than to fight to save the Earth from those that would do it harm. I know you have no reason to trust us, there is but one thing I can offer you."

Troy knelt down before Fireheart, and bowed his head.

"Please, Fireheart, help us as your ancestor once did." He concluded. "Please, try to see in us what Graegoras once did."

Fireheart let out a low growl, before reaching up a huge, clawed hand. Troy didn't flinch as he waited for it to strike, but instead, Fireheart reached down, and picked him up, before depositing him on the other side of the chasm. Troy got to his feet, looking to Nick. The Red Mystic Force Ranger just smiled at him.

"Well, I guess this is it." He replied. "I guess you caught me."

"Something tells me that if you didn't want to be caught, I wouldn't be able to." Troy replied as he stood before Nick. Nick just chuckled.

"That took a lot of guts facing up to Fireheart like that." Nick stated. "He's mystically tied to me, but he still scares me at times."

"So you wanted to test our courage?" Troy asked him. "You wanted to see if we'd be willing to follow through and do whatever it takes to save the world from The Armada?"

"You've got it in one." Nick answered. "The fact it also gave you a little taste of humility was just a bonus. Just a thought, but next time you go to a Ranger team and ask for the only route to their powers? Waving weapons around and barking out demands...probably not the way to go about it."

"I guess I did get a little caught up in the immediacy of the search." Troy answered. "So...where are my friends?"

"My friends were keeping them company." Nick told him. He snapped his fingers, at which the other Mystic Force and Megaforce Rangers appeared on the cliff top. The Mystic Force put their weapons away.

"Wait...what happened?" Jake asked. "A second ago we were fighting..."

"Yeah, we're done with that." Xander told him. "Your friend convinced Fireheart you're on the level."

"He's a pretty good judge of character." Vida stated. "If he thinks you earned the keys, then...I guess you have."

"Alright, we got the keys!" Noah called out. "So...where are they?"

"Why do you think you had to convince Fireheart?" Nick asked in response. They all turned around to see Fireheart reaching out to them. There, in the palm of his outstretched claw were five Ranger keys. Red, Blue, Yellow, Green and Pink. Troy stepped forward, taking them.

"I thought there were more Mystic Force Rangers." Troy stated.

"There were, but we don't know where those keys are." Nick informed them. "Those were the only ones that appeared here. We really don't know what happened to the others. The Mystic Mother might know, but she's...well...she's disappeared."

"There are forces at work here that even we don't understand." Chip told them. "All we know is that for now, we're here to keep our little corner of the globe safe."

"Now, I know we all got off on the wrong foot, but would you mind doing us one small favour?" Nick asked them. "Some friends of yours showed up on the edge of the woods a while ago. Would you mind getting rid of them before you go?"

"I guess it would be a good way to try out these new powers." Emma said with a grin. Troy nodded his head in agreement.

"Alright guys, back to the ship." Troy told them. "Let's see what happens when you cross pirates with magic."