So this definitely took a lot longer to get done than I imagined. But sometimes life happens and there's nothing you can do but deal with it and write when the opportunity presents itself.

To those of you who have been waiting for this thank you for patience. Here's the next chapter...


Chapter 16: It's Morphin' Time

"No!" Eric cried as he watched Callista drag his friends to the ground. Kayn used his distraction to swerve past his defences and land a powerful strike with his sword that sent him crashing to the ground. He gasped as he tried to pull himself together, reaching for the weapon that had fallen out of his hand while Kazak's laughter rang in his ears as he stepped forward to deliver a blow of his own.

"I'm disappointed mortal, I expected more of a fight. I'm afraid this is the end for you and your little fri… What is that?"

Kazak stopped his swing when he heard the note of surprise in his brother's voice and turned to look at the dome of light that now surrounded the others. Eric used the opportunity to roll away and grab his fallen weapon. He quickly shifted it back into blaster mode and fired a round of shots, forcing both his opponents to fall back as he ran towards the others, reaching them just as the dome faded.

Ashley. Danny and Taylor remained unmoving as the witches shared a look between them before Callico raised her arms again. Eric quickly fired three shots in succession forcing them to jump back as he stepped in front of his friends. "Are you guys okay?"

"Uh huh" Danny replied as he pushed himself to his feet, his eyes fixed on the gold flip phone with a very familiar bison motif in his hand. "How?" he asked as he looked up at Taylor but she was just as surprised as he was.

Kayn and Kazak lazily joined the three witches as they watched the rangers regroup, the latter grumbling about not liking surprises. "It appears you mortals still have a few surprises up your sleeve. Though you seem more surprised by this than we are," Kayn drawled. "But all this dillydallying is such a waste of our time, I thought you were serious about protecting your world, but it appears not. We should just end this once and for all. Girls…"

He trailed off as the three witches stepped forward, holding each others hands as their pendants began to glow and their lips stretched into sinister smiles. Eric trained his weapon on them but took a step back when they were suddenly surrounded by clones of the witches.

"What the…" he mumbled as he heard the others turn. He fired a shot but it went right through the witch standing before him. "They're not real," he called back eliciting a laugh that echoed around them. "Perhaps," Callista's voice rang above the echo. "But that doesn't mean we can't hurt you."

The circle of witches raised their hands as their amulets continued to glow "Now what?" Ashley grumbled as their hands began to glow. The rangers stepped closer together watching the witches cautiously until a barrage of blue energy bolts rained down on them, dispersing the circle and forcing the witches to take a step back.

"What is this?" Kazak grumbled

The rangers' attention however was focused on the dark haired man in a bright red suit that landed next to Eric. "Did you wear those with your costume?" Eric asked nodding to the holster strapped around his teammate's waist as he trained his Chrono blasters on their opponents.

"Nope, your new friend made that happen. I have to say though, I'm offended you decided to party without us. I thought we were making progress."

"Save the drama for later," Taylor bit out as she stepped between them. "It's time to show our friends here why you don't mess with Earth."

"Fighting words mortal," Kazak mocked. "The question is, can you see them through?"

"Oh, we can," Ashley declared as she fell in line beside Eric, strapping her morpher to her wrist.

"You can bet on it," Danny added as he stepped up beside Lucas who holstered his blasters and pushed down his sleeve to reveal his morpher.

"Ready?" Taylor called out

"Ready", the other three chorused

Ashley raised her hand and pressed the familiar digits on her morpher as she called out, "Let's Rocket".

Lucas immediately raised his morpher and brought his other hand upwards to hit the button as he called out, "Time For Time Force".

Taylor and Danny flipped open their morphers and raised it up to their ears, pressing down on the button in unison as they cried, "Wild Access! Ha!"

They were each enveloped in a flash of light before emerging in their ranger suits. "For old time's sake?" Ashley asked

"Why not," Taylor replied, prompting the former to slip into a stance and call out "Power Yellow!"

"Time Force Blue!" Lucas followed

"Iron Bison"

"Soaring Eagle"

"Quantum Ranger"

"Power Rangers," they called out together as an explosion sounded sending pillars of coloured smoke into the air.

The witches and warlocks shared a look of confusion. "Is that magic?" Camryn asked softly while her sister clenched her fists beside her. Callista narrowed her eyes at the five rangers and called for her sisters to calm themselves, reminding them that the night was in their favour.

"You put on quite the show," Callista sneered, calling out to the rangers. "But it's not going to do you much good."

"We'll see about that," Ashley shot back as she summoned her Star Slinger and leaped into the air, firing a shot at Callista, forcing her to jump back. The brunette landed in front of her and immediately went on the offensive, lashing out at her with a right hook. The other witches moved in but Danny charged into Callico knocking her off balance while Lucas stepped in to steal Camryn's attention.


"It looks like it is just us once again," Kayn teased as she stepped closer to Eric and Taylor, running his fingers along the edge of his blade, his brother mirroring his actions.

"Only this time the odds are even," Taylor countered, summoning her sword as Eric quickly shifted his Quantum Defender back to blade mode.

"Do you expect us to believe that a mortal woman is going to make a difference in this fight?" Kazak scoffed.

"Shouldn't have said that," Eric mumbled as he stepped forward to meet Kayn's blade while Taylor charged at Kazak, leaping over him as he lunged forward and aiming a kick to his back before she landed. He stumbled forward, his free hand flailing as he tried to stay upright. His eyes glowed when he turned around and a growl escaped his lips followed by a roar as he charged at her.

Taylor stood her ground, meeting his sword with her own and countered. Kazak grunted as he swung his blade wildly, throwing jabs and strikes in a frenzy. "It doesn't take much to set you off, does it?" she teased as she blocked every strike. She leaned back to give herself more room but he moved in with a titled jab, forcing her to turn out of the way as she brought her own blade down with a clean strike that he barely managed to block.

Kayn on the other hand was keeping Eric busy with clean movements and swift strikes that had the Quantum Ranger playing defence. "It appears my brother may have underestimated your friend," he said calmly as he stepped out of the reach of Eric's blade before leaning back in with a swing of his own. "You don't know the half of it," Eric grunted as he fended off the attack.

A soft chuckle escaped the warlock's lips before he whispered that the mortals were indeed interesting. He leaned forward with a sharp jab but Eric dodged to the side and spun around in time to grab Kay's sword arm, keeping the blade at bay while he knocked him back with his elbow.

Behind him Taylor lashed out at Kazak with a kick to his chest forcing him to stumble forward and crash into his brother as she jumped back to Eric's side. "Are you ready to give up now?"

The two brothers steadied their footing and looked at each other before laughing. "Why would we do something so foolish?" Kazak goaded. "Victory will be ours." Kayn sidled next to him and as one they raised their swords and lunged forward. The synchronized attack took Eric and Taylor by surprise, forcing them to step back to block but the warlocks kept at it, striking and deflecting in perfect sync, switching between opponents with practiced ease that pushed the two rangers on the backfoot.


Meanwhile, Callista managed to breakaway from the lock Ashely had her in and was concentrating on deflecting shots from her slinger. "This is pointless," the witch yelled as she sent an energy pellet flying into the trees. "You are out of time. There is nothing you can do to stop what's coming."

"You just don't know us very well," Ashley retorted as she lowered her weapon to recharge. But it gave Callista the opportunity to use her powers to raise rocks into the air and focus them on the Space Ranger only for her to draw her Astro Blaster and destroy them before combining her weapons and charging forward.

Lucas lunged forward with his sabre but stopped and stumbled forward when Camryn disappeared from sight. He paused and looked from left to right before a heel struck him in the chest forcing him to stumble backwards. "Really," he grumbled as he found his footing once more. "This song and dance is getting a little old. How about we switch things up a bit."

"Why?" Camryn teased as she reappeared in front of him. "I quite like this dance."

"Hate to break this to you, but playing hard to get kinda takes the fun out of it, especially since I'm on the clock. See my fairy godfather was pretty strict about the whole midnight thing, so I'm afraid I'm going to have to wrap this up. There's no way I'm pissing him off."

Her lips twisted into a wicked smile as she raised her hand over her amulet which immediately began to glow. "Oh I don't think you need to worry about him. You're not going to be alive much longer." She lowered her hand as a beam of yellow energy shot out of the amulet. He dropped to the ground and rolled aside before propping himself up on one knee as he joined his sabers into a single blade and swung it to send bolts of blue energy flying towards her.

Danny swung his axe to deflect a fireball as he ran in to get closer to Callico but was forced to dive to the side to avoid the next one. He got right up and charged again. "Why won't you just burn, you miserable insect?"

"Well technically, I'm a bison," he pointed out. "And we don't burn easily." With a frustrated growl she pulled her hands back before throwing a stream of fire his way forcing him to stop but with no time to duck all he could do was draw his axe in front of him to shield him from the blow. His weapon absorbed most of the attack but it was still powerful enough to push him back. When the flames died down they were both left panting, he barely able to stand and her hunched forward, hands hanging at her side as she glared at him.

He stumbled backwards, lowering his axe as he tried to catch his breath but his eyes widened when he watched her hand reach for her amulet. Drawing on all the strength he had left he raised his axe and spun it in the air before bringing it crashing down onto the ground sending a shockwave through the earth that knocked her off her feet.


Not far off, Taylor and Eric backed into each other and stumbled awkwardly as they tried to defend against the warlock brothers. Kayn slipped through the opening between them and struck Taylor sending her crashing to the ground but even as Eric turned around Kazak leaned in getting in a strike of his own.

"This is not good," Taylor grumbled as she pushed herself to her feet. "You can say that again," Eric agreed. "They're next level when they're fighting together." He turned to her unspoken words lingering on his lips but she voiced them for him, "And we're not exactly pulling off the tag team thing today."

Eric shrugged and turned around, holding his blade steady as the warlocks advanced with smug grins etched across the faces of the humans they were inhabiting. "Tay…" he began but was forced to dive out of the way to avoid Kayn's sword while Taylor leaped over Kazak to dodge his attack but as she landed Kayn was waiting her and she barely managed to deflect before being thrown back where she once again rammed into Eric.

"You have lost," Kazak goaded. "Within minutes everything you are fighting for will cease to exist as you know it. You might as well stand still and accept your fate."

"I hate to say it but we're not going to beat them at this game," Eric mumbled as he grabbed Taylor's waist to steady her. "Then let's change it," she suggested as she stepped out of his hold and turned her attention to their opponents who were now circling them. He watched her for a second before his eyes widened and his lips curled into a smirk under his helmet. "Divide and conquer?" he asked as he turned to follow Kayn.

"Divide and conquer," she replied as she tightened her grip on her sword and narrowed her eyes following Kazak's every step. The warlock charged but she was ready and blocked his attack before diggin her feet into the ground as she pushed back, forcing him to pull his sword back just enough to create an opening for her to lash out with a kick that made him stumble before tripping on to his back. Kayn moved in but Eric stepped in his path lunging forward with a strike of his own while Taylor charged at the fallen warlock, grabbing his arm before leaping into the air and spreading her arms as her wings appeared.

"I hope you're not afraid of heights," she called back as the stunned warlock latched on to the hand holding him.

Kayn watched in horror as she carried his brother over the trees but Eric drew his attention back to him by swinging his blade. "Sorry, eagles have a one passenger only policy. You're stuck down here with me."

"You fool," Kayn howled as he slashed through the air. "You're wasting your time, there is nothing you can do."

"Then you have nothing to lose," he countered.


Taylor let go of Kazak after slamming him into the side of a cliff before circling around and throwing darts at him to put him off guard as she landed. Kazak groaned as he pushed himself up and examined his now torn suit jacket. With an angry grunt he tore it off him and glared at her with glowing eyes as he raised his sword. He lunged forward but Taylor easily blocked the attack and side stepped him, forcing him to stumble forward on his own strength. "What happened to all the talk about destroying us?" she teased. "Or was that only for when you had your brother to do the heavy lifting. Hate to break it to you but it's just me and you out here."

A loud roar escaped his lips as he charged at her yelling, "Insolence! A mere mortal woman will not best me." He lashed out swinging his sword left, then right in quick succession but Taylor blocked every strike. She pushed upwards and he took a step back but she surprised him when she fell back a step instead of countering and tilted her head to the side. His eyes narrowed and he leaped forward raising his sword high. Taylor stood her ground and grabbed the hilt of her sword with both hands before bending forward and taking a step until she was right under him before rising up to ram the flat of her sword into his stomach.

He stumbled with a grunt, hunching over as he turned around. She kept up the attack by dropping her sword and grabbing his head and kneeing him in the stomach, forcing him to cry out in pain as his sword fell through his fingers. Taylor followed up with a roundhouse kick to his chest when he tried to secure his footing that sent him crashing into the wall of the cliff behind him before he sank to the ground. She retrieved her sword and stood over him watching him slowly lift his head towards her. "Looks like one just did."

Back in the clearing Eric and Kayn continued to match blades but the latter was growing increasingly impatient. "You know you can't stop the inevitable, why do you insist on waiting your strength?"

"And here I thought you wanted the workout," Eric countered as he swung his blade downwards only to be blocked and pushed back.

"That was before you became an annoyance. I remind you that time is not on your side."

"I'll be the judge of that," he shot back before slashing his blade through the air. Kayn stepped back to dodge it and moved in from the side to strike out with his blade. Eric turned around just in time to block it and grunted as he felt his knees bend under his opponents strength. He steadied his stance and dug his feet into the ground using it as a platform to push back against Kayn. With a surge of strength he shoved him off, forcing him to stumble backwards as he charged his sword before taking a step forward and dropping to one knee hitting Kayn's feet and instantly freezing them before he stood and knocked him in the head with the hilt of his weapon. A groan escaped Kayn's lips as his sword slipped through his grasp as he fell back onto the ground and blinked up at the sky.

Breathing heavily, Eric stood over him and held his blade to his throat, "It's over Kayn. It's time to make this all go away." To his surprise the warlock chuckled as he met his eyes with no trace defeat. "Are you going to kill me mortal?" he asked. "That is the only way you can end this. But what about the poor human's soul, it will have nowhere to go but the afterlife. Do you really want that on your hands?"

Taylor swooped in, throwing a groaning Kazak onto the ground beside his brother before landing beside Eric. "Switch back," she demanded as the other rangers walked up behind them.

"Or we can just turn you into popsicles like your friends back there," Lucas called out as he held up his badge.

"Go ahead," Kayn chuckled. "It won't save them. And even if we wanted to switch back, you are out of time. The hour is upon us, you might have won this battle but our war has only just begun. You have lost."

"Not just yet."

The rangers turned around as a woman began walking towards them with a wand in her hand.

"Officer Greene?"


That's it for now. It didn't turn out quite how I imagined but I decided to go with it. Would love to hear what you think though.

Till next time...