Nick, Vida, Madison, Chip and Xander sat throughout Rootcore, staring aimlessly at the floor below. All of them were utterly shocked. Udonna and Leanbow, two of the greatest Magicians were dead and defeated so easily. Clare had left Rootcore shortly after Udonna, Nick and Leanbow left to begin a higher level of training in the Mystic Realm. They had contacted Daggeron to let them know of Leanbow and Udonna's deaths, but he hadn't arrived yet. Nick sighed hard, rubbing his face wearily and stood up. At that moment, Daggeron appeared in hundreds of shimmering, golden orbs. He, too, let out a great sigh and shook his head.

"Hello, Rangers…" Daggeron whispered softly and walked up to Nick. "I am… Sorry…" Grasping Nicks shoulder firmly, he gave him a gentle shake. "But I've discovered the name of our attacker… and what's he after." Nick's fists clenched, eyes thinning out as they meet Daggeron's. He could see the fire burning within the Red Rangers eyes; an unquenchable hate to destroy anything and everything in his path until Damascus was dead. "His name is Damascus… and he is after us, the Ancient Mystics. Since… Leanbow is an Ancient Mystic… he killed him. Udonna perished as well because she insisted on fighting."

"So does that mean he'll be after you as well?" Madison asked, looking up from the floor. The fright shimmered in her eyes and Daggeron merely nodded. "… what are we going to do?"

"… I am going to draw him out and I hope… that the six of us will be sufficient enough to defeat him." Daggeron shook his head. "There is nothing else we can do but fight… It is only a matter of time until he decides to pick us off one by one just to get to me. I'd rather die facing my enemy then as a coward by running from him."

"Right! Ranger up?" Nick asked and summoned the MagiPhone to him. Everyone else followed after a moment, Daggeron nodded. If it was their fate to die… they'd do it in battle. And as one, a single cry echoed through the hollowed walls of Rootcore:

"Magical Source, Mystic Force!"

XXXXXX

Daggeron stood in the middle of the forest where they'd sensed Damascus and… waited while the rest of the Ranger hid. Daggeron stood there, one arm crossed over his stomach, the other resting lazily at his he stared at the ground. Half of him was scared shitless, knowing he had absolutely no chance of defeating this Magician, especially if Leanbow, Udonna and Nick combined couldn't do it. The other half of him was curious, however, just to see how strong their foe really was.

And he didn't have to wait long either.

"Maagi Golu Gii Magika!" Daggeron's head snapped up as he saw a flaming tornado rip from the forest; too fast for him to dodge and too powerful for him to block. "Dark Force Strike: Blazing Storm Slash!"

Before the tornado hit, five multicolored shields appeared in front of Daggeron and absorbed the blow, yet they still shattered under its power. Daggeron took the chance to attack and surged forward. Damascus merely grinned, hovering barely a foot off the ground, arms spread wide as he clutched King Calibur and the Knight Wolf Sword firmly. As Daggeron's fist descended, it struck a shimmering purple shield and the force suddenly launched him backwards. The Mystic Force Rangers suddenly dropped from the trees, their staffs flaring brightly.

"Mystical Strike: Magical Blast!" They cried as one and connected their staffs; a hurricane of energy cut through the trees and fell upon Damascus. Though, the barrier failed to even tremble under the Rangers powers. Damascus' twisted grin widened and he stabbed both blades into the ground.

"Maagi Magi Magika!" Damascus whispered and suddenly his body let out a brutal snap. A cry escaped hi as he began to grow; his muscles ripping and tearing through his skin, only to be replaced with knee. He was once short, only to become larger – over six feet – and the Rangers trembled, feeling the magical energy wash over them. "Dark Force Finisher: Galaxy Slash!"

The Rangers gasped and cried out as Damascus threw the blades down over his chest as they crossed at his knees. For a moment, nothing happened… but suddenly explosions shook the ground followed by a shower of golden sparks. Hurled backwards, the Rangers smashed against the trees, fell from their forms and collapsed to the ground. Daggeron, the only one left standing, stepped in front of them.

"So it's just you and me, eh?" Daggeron grinned beneath his mask, though his stomach churned at the mere thought of it. "Fine… I hate long waits!" Daggeron surged forward and met Damascus in battle. Lashing out with a snapping thrust kick, Damascus pushed it aside with a slash of his blade, but Daggeron spun hard before it connected and drove a knee hard into the Generals stomach. Doubled over in pain, Daggeron stepped back and spun again, unleashing a vicious roundhouse in the Generals jaw.

The force spun Damascus through the air before he crashed painfully to the Earth. Daggeron held his hand out at the Lamp Blaster appeared, but before he could force, Damascus' eyes flashed a pair of laser blasts struck the Solaris Knight square in the chest. Staggering from the blow, Damascus nipped up, spun and drew his blades high. "Dark Force Crusher: Calibur Smasher!" King Calibur fell and Daggeron let out a painful roar as nigh invisible blade surged forward and struck in the chest. Hurled backwards again, Daggeron struck the tree, but he merely fell into a crouch. Head snapping up, he gasped and dodge-rolled hard to the right as the Knight Wolf fell, cleaving the tree clean in half.

"G-Guh… I have t-to stay away from those blades!" Daggeron jumped back as Damascus spun, nearly gutting him. Before the Ancient One could right himself, Damascus was upon him again with a flurry of slashes and stabs. Golden sparks sprayed through the air, bathing the bushes and trees before Damascus spun and cut Daggeron twice more. Collapsing to both knees, the General drew his blades to ready position once more. One was held out horizontally in front of him, the other resting over his right shoulder.

"And now Daggeron, you will die as well…" Damascus taunted, grinning sadistically. It was finally at hand! After this… there was nothing that would stop Kraken from entering the Mystic Realm and taking it as his own! "Dark Force Finisher: Great Ruin Slicer!" Daggeron watched as the blades rose to the sky once more. Too him, it was as if someone had paused time and made him watch this in slow motion. The blades shinned for a mere instant and then… everything sped up. The blades fell and Daggeron let out a final cry as golden orbs left his boy, ascending to the sky. Letting out a final breath, Daggeron fell forward and shattered into tiny golden shards before he even made it.

"Full Moon Strike!" Damascus' head snapped up but he was too slow as the golden orb consumed him. Lightning suddenly snapped and ripped down as it ripped across the Generals skin. A second later, the orb sank inwards and suddenly a great explosion shook the ground again and fire plumed into the sky. Falling to both knees, the General's breath's came in short, hard breaths. Looking up, he saw the Dino Rangers standing amongst the bushes. "You will pay for what you've done to him, Damascus!!!" Hayden roared and charged forward again.

Dagger met blade and Damascus shoved it away and followed through with a rising, diagonal slash. The Dragosword suddenly intercepted, catching the blade while Kim and Tommy fell from the sky, their respective weapons – the Brachio-staff and Naganata – cut across the Generals body. Staggering from the blow, the rest of the Rangers wouldn't let him recover.

Three Thundermax Sabers fell and cut across his body before Conner stepped forward and sliced Damascus hard across the face. As he staggered, Ethan and Kira stepped in, their weapons rushing forward and slashed across his chest. "Lets put it together!!" Conner commanded and five of the seven Rangers fell in line, connecting their weapons. "Dino Bomber!!" Conner finished and squeezed the trigger as a flaming orb erupted from the Conner's staff and surged forward.

To their surprise, and horror, Damascus had recovered enough to send the sphere hurling into the air. "G-Guh… Blasted Dino Rangers… No Matter… you will not be enough to defeat me." Returning to his stance, Damascus lowered the Knight Wolf, the tip of its blade resting against the ground. "Dark Force Strike: Rising Thunder Slash!" Suddenly, the General swung upwards and hurled a lightning crescent at the rangers. Instantly, the split apart, letting the crescent slide by and cut through several trees before fading away.

"Dino Energy Orb!" Tommy cried and swung his staff forward but Damascus countered with a simple slash of King Calibur and cut the sphere in half. "G-Gah! What?! No one has ever done that!" Tommy staggered back, eyes wide beneath his mask as Damascus stomped forward, blades clutched firmly in hands. Suddenly, faster then Tommy could comprehend, one blade was falling towards his face but a pair of daggers intercepted. Damascus' eyes snapped to his left and saw a boot rise into his jaw. His head snapped hard to the right as blood and spit splattered against the trees, staggering away from the blow.

"Leave him alone!" Kira hissed and leaped forward, slicing the daggers twice across the Generals chest before spinning away only to be replaced with a vicious thrusting-snap kick from Conner. Knocked in the air, Damascus' arched gracefully for a long, long second before plummeting to the ground with a thunderous crunch.

Instantly, Damascus was on his feet again… but he did not move. He merely grinned and slashed the blades as they shattered in red and silver orbs. Drawing himself to full height, the General began to shrink again; his skin burning away, bones popping and shrinking. The Rangers gasped, watching as the once great General turn into a rather frail and old looking child. "Another time, Rangers… My job here is done…" Damascus turned away and the shadows suddenly reared forward and swallowed him up.

All the rangers could do was glance at the Mystic Rangers. None of this was making any sense…

XXXXXX

Trent sat back in a chair on the deck, gazing out at the forest before him. He inhaled powerfully, held it for a long moment and then exhaled. To him, he was letting out all the pent up rage, hatred and disappointment from his body. Though… it didn't help him relax any. One hand came to his forehead as he rubbed his throbbing temples. He felt a headache coming on that felt like it was going split a hole in him the size of the Grand Canyon.

It also didn't help with everything that is going on… was so confusing. Why… why would Kraken send a general to attack the Mystic Rangers? Wasn't Kraken after them or was there something bigger he was trying to attain? If he was simply here to eradicate the rangers… he was on the right path. Methos managed to kill Marietta… and who knows how many he killed now…

"Trent?"

He jerked around, arm raised to transform but paused when he saw it was Kira. Trent sighed lightly and waved his hand to the chair beside him and leaned back again. Suddenly, Kira fell into his lap and curled up against his chest; both hands clutching at his shirt. He smiled lightly, both arms slipping around her shoulders and back. But… he could feel her shake and it worried him.

"Kira? Kira, are you okay?" He asked, tipping her head back a bit, gazing down at her. The pain and anguish shimmered in her eyes so clearly… it scared even him. Instinctively, Trent hugged her tighter, drawing both knees up as if to shield her from harm. He nuzzled his cheek gently against hers and let his eyes fell shut. "Kira, sweetheart, what's wrong…?"

"M-Marietta… I-I miss her s-so much…" She whispered, both arms wrapping around his neck now. "A-And I'm frightened… worried about Conner and Hayden."

Trent smiled lightly and shook his head. "I wouldn't worry too much, Kira… Conner is a strong person and if there's anyone who can get past this, it'd be him. The same goes for Hayden… I think he's seen more death then any of us here combined… He's the only one I haven't actually seen shed a tear beyond what Kimberly said…"

"And that… that's what worries me, Trent…" Kira countered, looking up into his eyes. Behind the shimmering, intoxicating eyes, she could see a love for her burning so strong, it could melt even the coldest of snow and ice. Trent was hers and hers alone… And by God… she was going to keep it that way, no matter what she had to do… "He keeps the pain in and never asks for help. He seems… so alone, more then Conner does."

"Some people are just better off alone." Trent answered, looking up towards the forest once more. Then… Kira did something entirely unexpected. He began to feel her hand run from his neck, his chest and to… an entirely good spot. He looked down at her, with raised brow and sly grin on his face. "Hm… I think I'm getting the message here…"

"Oh?" She whispered and leaped up, gently tugging at his earlobe before kissing the crook of his neck gently. He moaned lightly and suddenly swung his arms around in bear hug and stood up. Kira looked up at him, her cheeks a scarlet red, and then they vanished through the door into the house.

Perhaps things were going to get a lot less confusing for a few hours…

XXXXXX

A/N: I just realized that I haven't had a love scene between them in a while and I thought it was time for one O.o Kira is worried about Conner and Hayden while Trent is assured they'll be fine and is more worried about everyone else – including himself. Heh… of course, sex definitely alleviates any kind of fear :P