"I still can't believe you destroyed Imperious," said Xander, leaning against the kitchen counter with Kali. She had been taking her break, and was, as per usual, reading. "Haven't you finished that book yet?" he added.

"I'm a slow reader," Kali replied, closing the book and setting it on the table in front of her. "Yeah, I destroyed him. But at what cost?"

Xander cocked his head to the side. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, Daggeron is still mad at me for breaking bound battle rules," said Kali. "There's also the fact that, in his eyes, I almost crossed a line."

Xander raised an eyebrow at her.

Kali sighed. She hadn't told anyone about her conversation with Daggeron the other day, not even Nick, and she told him everything.

"Come on," said Xander, nudging her. He grinned as she jumped away when the tip of his finger prodded her side. "Are you ticklish?" he grinned.

"No," Kali said. She shrieked as Xander poked her under the ribcage again. She grabbed his wrist to still his hand and glared at him. "Okay. Yes, I'm ticklish. Please don't do that again."

Xander grinned. "I'm storing this information for future uses," he teased.

Kali rolled her eyes but still smiled. She slid from her chair and headed into the kitchen, taking a bottle of water from the fridge and leaning against the table opposite her friend. She fiddled with the bottleneck as Xander watched her, carefully.

"Daggeron told me something that he thinks Udonna is too afraid to tell me," Kali said, quietly. "I haven't told anyone else. Not even Nick."

"I won't tell him you told me first if that's what you're worried about."

Kali looked up, her brow furrowed. "Why would I be worried about that?" she asked.

"Because he's your best friend and you always go to him first," said Xander with a shrug. "It just seems odd that you haven't told him yet. Any reason?"

"He's so hung up on this whole 'being Bowen' thing that I didn't want to add more to his plate."

Xander made a small murmur of agreement. It had been a week since the truth had come out, and Kali had been carrying around her chat with Daggeron like it was some big secret. It wasn't, but she wasn't sure how to process what Solaris had told her or how her friends would react to the news.

"I think it's my fault that the Great Battle started nineteen years ago," Kali blurted out. Her eyes widened and she clamped a hand over her mouth, as Xander stared at her. She panicked and pushed away from the table, evading Xander's hand as he tried to grab her and rushed out the back door.

"Damn it!" Xander groaned. He glanced over his shoulder and spotted Vida. "I'll be right back!" he called to her and then disappeared after Kali. He found her sitting on the curb outside in the alley behind Rock Porium.

Kali didn't look up. She sat with her head in her hands, staring at the cold hard floor beneath her.

Xander didn't speak as he sat beside her. He was close enough that she could feel his shoulder brushing against hers as he sat down, and she squeezed her eyes shut tight as she felt his gaze on the side of her head.

Kali swallowed hard and then looked up, blinking back tears as she exhaled. "Daggeron told me that I was born on the Eve of the Great Battle," she said, putting her admission into some form of context. "That's why I think I was the cause of it."

"Because you're the Hellhound?"

Kali nodded.

Xander breathed in deeply and then exhaled sharply. "Even if that is true," he said. "It doesn't change who you are. You're not a bad person, I don't think you could be a Power Ranger if you were a bad person."

"I don't care about my Ranger status right now," Kali murmured. "Udonna and Daggeron have been great to me since the beginning. But, I'm wondering now if they're keeping me at arm's length with the truth because they're afraid of what I will do with it? Like, Udonna didn't want me to know about my birthday, does she blame me for taking Leanbow away from her all those years ago?"

"You were only a few hours old," said Xander. "Leanbow fought to protect you."

"But, maybe if I hadn't have been born then it wouldn't have happened!"

Xander grabbed her hand and forced her to look at him. "Don't talk like that," he said. "You, you're not allowed to talk like that."

"Why not?"

"Why? Because I said so, that's why."

Kali snorted and looked away, smiling. "Sorry, Dad, forgot that I needed your permission," she teased.

Xander laughed and released her hand. "But, seriously, whatever happened nineteen years ago is not your fault," he told her, his voice dropping as he leaned in closer. "Even if you hadn't been born the darkness would've still come for Nick. If my understanding is correct, then the darkness wanted you both."

Kali nodded. She had taken that from Udonna's story, too.

"Then it's only partly your fault."

Kali laughed. As she looked back at Xander, she cocked her head to the side, resting it on her fist and smiled up at him. When she had first come to Briarwood, she hadn't intended to find a friend outside of Nick; but she couldn't deny that Xander had made an impression on her. She also found him cute, but she wouldn't admit that out loud.

Xander studied Kali's face and then brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. She shivered at his touch and he felt his usual smirk rise inside of him as her gaze dropped from his eyes to his lips and back again. Over the last few months, she had been a pain in his ass, but while he wouldn't admit out loud, or to anyone, he found her an endearing pain, and the last couple of weeks he had longed to be closer to her.

Then her lips were against his. As if some invisible force had pushed them together.

It lasted on a second before Kali tensed and then pulled away. She stared, eyes-wide at Xander and then bolted from beside him, heading straight out into the middle of the street. She was gone from view before Xander even had a chance to realise what was happening.

As Kali disappeared, Xander sighed and run a hand through his hair. That had just happened, right?

~X~

Later that afternoon, after work, Xander found himself at Root core with the other Rangers. Kali had already been there when he arrived with Vida, Maddie, and Chip, but she kept her distance from him, not even looking at him when he tried to get her attention. He sighed and cursed himself for kissing her if he had known it would cause this much trouble he would've held off.

Daggeron entered the base, carrying a large bag of oats over his shoulder. "Ah, great, you're all here," he said.

"Yeah, what's with the cloak and daggers routine again?" Kali asked. "You taking us on another training course?"

Daggeron shook his head. "Not this time," he said. "I'm in the dark as much as you are about this meeting. I was just told to get everybody here." He walked over to the doorway leading to Fireheart's den. "Come on, Fireheart! Come and get your oats!"

The team watched as Daggeron tossed the bag into the den and, with a burst of flames, the Dragon scoffed them down.

"He likes his oats toasted," Daggeron said, brushing off his hands and returning to the others.

They all laughed.

"At least someone takes his responsibility of feeding the dragon seriously," Kali teased, glancing at Xander. She bit her lip as he met her gaze and then looked away again.

Daggeron laughed gently.

"I'm glad you could all make it," said Udonna, appearing at the top of the stairs. She smiled and hurried down them, folding her hands in front of her as she faced the team.

"Is everything all right?" Nick asked.

"Yes and no," Udonna told them. She took a deep breath as she surveyed those before her, before settling her gaze on her niece. "Claire, you have been a wonderful apprentice. You'll make an amazing sorceress."

Claire beamed as tears appeared in her eyes.

"Daggeron, I am so happy you have come back into my life," Udonna continued, moving on to the knight. "Vida, Chip, Xander, Madison, you have far exceeded any expectations I had of you. Meave," she chuckled and smiled fondly. "Kali, you are everything I expected you to be, and more, your mother would've been proud of you."

Kali smiled lightly.

"Bowen, Nick, my son," Udonna finished, placing a hand on Nick's shoulder. "You have grown into the man I always hoped you would be."

"What's going on?" Nick asked, scoffing lightly. "You're leaving."

"To find Leanbow," said Kali.

Udonna nodded. "He's still out there somewhere," she said. "I intend to find him and bring him home."

"But Udonna, you don't have any magic," said Kali. "How do you intend to find him if he is in the Underworld?"

"Anything is possible," said Udonna, smiling. She reached for Kali's hand and squeezed it.

"Then let us go with you," said Vida.

Udonna shook her head. "No, you're needed here," she said. "This is something I must do alone."

"I get that you're hurting," said Kali, her voice breaking as she chose her next words carefully. "And I know what it's like to lose someone that you love. But this is a suicide mission. If you go out there without magic, you may not come back."

"I appreciate your honesty, Kali, but I'm still going," Udonna said. "You would do the same."

Kali scoffed but smiled nonetheless. "I had to try at least," she said. "Be careful, I can't stress that enough. With Imperious gone, we don't know what's going to happen next. At least promise to call if you need us?"

Udonna smiled and nodded. She released Kali's hand and walked away, leaving the others to watch her go. Neither one of them were sure if or when they would see her again.

Kali, however, only had eyes for Nick. She knew what it was like to have a parent walk out on you, and she would never have wished the pain on her worst enemy, much less her best friend.

~X~

After Udonna's departing farewell, the Rangers returned to Briarwood to finish their shifts at the Rock Porium. Still, Kali avoided any situation where she was alone with Xander and made herself scares when he was around. She was currently restocking the shelves with Nick while the green ranger offered his support at the counter with Maddie and Vida.

"You going to tell me why you're avoiding Xander?" Nick asked, picking up an armful of disks and rearranging them in alphabetical order on the shelves.

Kali pulled a footstool towards her and climbed up onto the top step, so she could add more CDs to the top shelves. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said, brushing aside the question.

"You're a good liar, Kali, but you know you can't lie to me," said Nick, passing her a couple more CDs. "Did something happen between you two? Did he overstep or step out of line? I can talk with him if you need me too."

"I don't need you to be an overprotective big brother right now," Kali snapped, jumping down from the stool and glaring at him.

Nick's eyes widened and he stepped away, holding up his hands. "For the record, I wasn't trying to be an overprotective big brother," he said. "But you look like you could use a friend."

Kali sighed and run a hand through her hair. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you," she apologised. "Yes, something happened between me and Xander, but no, I don't feel comfortable talking to you about it."

"Why? What happened?" Nick asked, confused. It wasn't like Kali to not open up to him, and the more she skirted around the subject the more concerned he was becoming. He glanced across the store at Xander, trying to figure out what that green ranger could've done to make one of the toughest girl's he knew so skittish.

Kali shook her head and reached for another box of CDs, ready to move on to the second set of shelves. She gasped as Nick grasped her hand and tried to ignore the flicker of electricity that washed over her, leaving goosebumps in its wake.

Taking a deep breath, Kali removed her hand from his and met his gaze. "He didn't do anything to me," she said. "It's more what I did to him, and what I need to figure out before I can face him again."

Nick furrowed his brow. "What did you -" he broke off as their morphers chimed. He sighed and led the charge out of the Rock Porium, and into the streets where people were going about their daily business as if nothing was wrong.

And, from the looks of things, nothing was wrong.

~X~

"This is strange," said Xander, looking around. "The reading on the Morpher said the dark energy here was off the charts."

Kali wrapped her arms around herself and shivered as the sky turned black, blanketing the whole city in darkness. People, now thoroughly terrified, ran screaming from the streets, leaving only the Rangers behind.

"You were saying?" Nick asked.

As soon as the darkness appeared, a split appeared down the middle and it parted like a pair of curtains, revealing a podium with ten massive, imposing monsters towering over the city.

"Now, this is a wild guess, but could it be referring to that?" Chip asked.

"No, Chip, it's referring to the pink elephants on parade!" Kali snapped.

Chip whined and pouted at her, but Kali refused to meet his gaze. She had more pressing issues; the dark energy radiating from these ten new creatures was making her inside turn on each other. It was different to the way the Hellhound had reacted against the Chimera, but still, her inner beast wanted to escape. To fight.

"Now this - this could be the end of the world," said Chip.

"Could you please stop enjoying this?" Kali asked, reaching behind and nudging Chip's arm. "It's not funny."

Daggeron gasped as he finally arrived behind the others. "Oh, boy," he muttered. "In all my years of magic, I have never seen anything like this."

"I didn't want to hear that," Xander said, shaking his head.

"Who are they?" Maddie asked.

Kali shrugged as she looked from one creature to the next. She hadn't read anything about ten terrifying creatures with ominous dark magic in any of her research at the Root core library, so this was uncharted territory for her.

"People of the surface, let me introduce you to the destroyers of your world," shouted a red fish-like monster at the top of the tier. "Black Lance, Megahorn, I am Scuplin, Itassis, Serpentina, Hekatoid, Oculous, Magma, Matoomba, and Gekkor."

"Does that answer your question?" Kali asked Maddie.

"We are the ten terrors of the underworld," Sculpin continued. "We have come to punish you. Give us what you hold most sacred. Give us the light!"

Kali shared a look with Nick and reached for her Morpher. "Imperious said that with his destruction something a lot worse would appear," she said. "I think he meant this."

Nick nodded. "We got to stop them," he agreed. "Ready?"

"Ready!"

"Legendary Source!"

Once morphed, the team called upon their mystic lion and firebird forms and combined to create the Manticore Megazord. They stood below the stone steps, looking up at the monsters. There had only been one monster that had ever towered over them without help, and that had been Imperious.

"We're going to give you a one-way ticket back to the underworld," said Xander. "Legend Striker, spin attack!"

Their shoulder plates rotated and ignited as the flames wrapped themselves around the tip of their spear. The Rangers wielded their lion staffs around and thrust them up as the Megazord did the same with the spear, releasing the funnel of flames at the terrors.

Black Lance held up his shield and deflected the attack. "That was nothing!" he laughed. "Take this!" He hit the Megazord with his lance and knocked them back, disconfiguring them in the process and forcing them to eject and demorph.

Kali groaned as she landed beneath Xander in the dogpile.

"We will have the Light," Scuplin promised, turning his back on the surface world and disappearing along with the others. As the terrors departed, the skies returned to normal and the city breathed a sigh of relief.

Panting, Kali shoved Xander off of her and stood up, brushing off her jeans and looking around at the others. They all seemed okay, no obvious cuts or bruises.

"The Light?" Nick asked. "What was he talking about?"

Kali folded her arms and shook her head. "I'm going to venture a guess and say he doesn't mean the light of our world," she said. "If they're from the Underworld, and Imperious foreshadowed their awakening on his deathbed, I'm going to say it has something to do with us."

Nick met Kali's gaze and then looked away with a deep sigh.

~X~

Fireheart whined as Nick threw his favourite toy but held him back from retrieving it. He nudged the red ranger with his snout, but Nick refused to budge.

Sitting on a nearby log, Kali rolled her eyes. "Just let him go, already!" she called. "Before he decides to trample you."

"Get it, boy!" Nick called, ducking under Fireheart's tail as the dragon bounded into the trees. He laughed and made his way over to where Kali was sitting and sat opposite her. "You ready to tell me what happened between you and Xander?" he asked.

Kali drew her bottom lip into her mouth and chewed it. She wanted desperately to tell someone what had happened, but could she do that with Nick? She had feelings for him, feelings that had crept up on her unannounced, but still stronger than she'd ever felt for someone, maybe except Xander.

"Kali, whatever it is, it can't be as bad as you're making it out to be," said Nick, reaching for her hand.

"I kissed him," Kali blurted out.

Nick withdrew his hands and leaned back on the log.

Kali met his gaze and her heart ached at the hurt reflected inside them. Why did she have to go and say that out loud? "It just happened this morning," she said. "He was comforting me and..." she looked down and shrugged. "I'm sorry."

"Why?" Nick asked.

"Why, what?" Kali asked. "Why did I kiss him or why am I sorry?"

Nick shrugged. "Both, I think?" he asked, confused. He run a hand over his face and through his hair. Why did he care that his best friend had kissed Xander? She was well within her right to kiss whoever she pleased and didn't need his permission to do so.

"Like I said, he was comforting me, and it just happened," said Kali. "As for why I am sorry, I guess, because if I had just come to you with what was bothering me, it wouldn't have happened. Like a lot of things in my life."

Nick furrowed his brow. "What does that mean?" he asked.

Kali heaved a heavy sigh. "Can we talk about something else?" she asked. "I don't want to talk about this."

"If we had something else to talk about, maybe we could," said Nick. "But we don't, so spill."

"How about we talk about what's going on in your head?" Kali asked. "Why have you been so distant lately? Ever since you found out you were Bowen, it's like you've been ducking me. That, this whole thing right now, is what led me to Xander and why I ended up kissing him."

Nick curled his hands into a fist and narrowed his eyes at his best friend. "You're saying this is my fault?" he argued. "I didn't force you into Xander's arms."

"No? Because I wanted to talk to you about what happened last week," Kali retorted. "But every time I brought up the subject you'd either change it or drag one of the others into the conversation. Why don't you want to talk about what happened? Are you still pissed at Leanbow for being Koragg?"

Nick scoffed, stood up and walked away.

Kali followed him. "See, there you go again!" she yelled.

"What do you want from me?" Nick shouted, turning back to face her.

"I want you to talk to me!"

"Like how you wanted to talk to me so badly, you ended up going behind my back and making out with Xander?!"

"1. I didn't make-out with Xander," Kali growled, "and 2. Go behind your back? I didn't realise I needed your permission to kiss another guy. Thanks for clearing that up!"

The pair glared at each other from across the clearing. The tension between them was thick and electrifying. It was broken as a figure dropped out of the sky and landed between them.

It was Phineas.

The troblin paused and looked between the two, his smile slipping into a frown as he realised he had landed in a hostile argument. "Ooh, tension," he said, scratching the back of his neck, nervously. "Should I come back?"

"Don't bother," said Kali, tearing her gaze away from Nick. "I'm done here." She turned and stalked away.

Phineas watched her leave and then turned to Nick. The red ranger let out a shaky breath and covered his face with his hands.

"Uh, is she okay?" Phineas asked. "Are you okay? Are you two okay?"

"We're fine, Phineas," said Nick. "What do you want? Why are you here?"

Phineas grinned.

~X~

Kali hadn't even made it back to the Rock Porium when a call came in to say a Terror was attacking the city. Normally, she would take the fastest route back to the city, but her argument with Nick, which she still couldn't believe had happened, had made her so angry that she decided to take the long way around to cool down.

Just breaching the barrier between the Mystic Forest and Briarwood, Kali opened her Morpher as it chimed and found a spike in dark magic from the middle of downtown. Daggeron was already there and the others were on route.

Morphin', Kali called on her Mystic Racer and headed towards the battlefield. She dismounted and landed beside her friends as they arrived on the scene. Nick was also with them, and she avoided him as she turned to Maddie, Vida and Chip. They were a team of six, and she was avoiding two of them.

"Daggeron!" Maddie gasped, as the Solaris Knight hit the ground in front of them. She knelt to help him stand as the Terror known as Magma laughed.

Kali clenched her hand into a fist. "Yo, lava boy!" she called, reaching for her mystic staff. "You seem to fair one-on-one, let's see how you do against all of us."

Magma huffed and goaded them on.

Nick and Xander raced forward, but Magma batted them aside like flies.

Rolling her staff between her fingers, Kali stood between Chip and Maddie and pointed the hellhound ornament at Magma. "Magi Staff!" she called, her voice echoing along with the others. The blasts hit Magma in the chest, but bounced backwards, knocking the rangers off their feet.

Racing past his students, Daggeron blocked Magma's club and held it down. "Now, Nick!" he called, as the red ranger snuck up from behind Magma and kicked him in the back. The monster's rock hard armour protected him from any damage caused.

Throwing Daggeron off, Magma turned and smacked Nick in the chest with his ball and chain.

"Hey!" Kali yelled, racing forward with Vida. She caught Magma by the left arm as Vida caught his right, and together they managed to haul the monster away from Daggeron.

Annoyed, Magma threw the two girls' off and threw his ball and chain at Xander, whipping him around and tossing him into Maddie and Chip as they tried to help.

"Have a ball!" Magma said, kicking the ball into the air and tossing it at Nick. It hit the red ranger in the chest and knocked him back. "Weak Rangers," he goaded as the team regrouped.

Nick panted and turned to his friends. "Okay, he seems to be just a little tougher than the others we've battled," he said, stating the obvious.

"Oh, you haven't seen anything yet," said Magma. He spread his arms wide and the lava on his chest burned furiously, before spreading out across the pavement and hitting the Rangers. The heat alone was enough to make them gasp for air, then there came a blast of energy and they hit the floor for a second time.

Kali panted as she rolled onto her stomach and looked up at Magma. He laughed as he stood over them. "You have lost your will to fight, so I no longer have business with you," he said. "I will go and plan for the destruction."

He disappeared in a burst of flames.

~X~

Kali bit back a groan as she turned the corner towards Root core and found Xander waiting at the entrance. She had been looking for Claire, seeing as the apprentice hadn't been seen since that morning's meeting with Udonna.

"Hey," Xander said, offering her a smile.

"Hi," said Kali. "How come you're not inside with the others?"

Xander shrugged. "I thought maybe we could talk about this morning," he said. "You took off before I could react, and you've been avoiding me all day."

"Yeah, about that," said Kali, looking away.

"Did I do something wrong?" Xander asked. "I mean, obviously I did, I mean, I kissed you, but -"

Kali looked around wildly. "You kissed me?" she asked, shaking her head. "I kissed you. That's why I ran. I thought I had crossed a line."

Xander chuckled. "You didn't cross a line," he admitted. "I mean, sure, if it was going to happen like that, maybe we could've been in a more romantic placement as the alley behind Rock Porium wouldn't have been my first choice, but, I'm not going to complain."

"Xander," Kali interrupted. "You're rambling."

"Sorry," Xander apologised. He took a deep breath. "I guess what I am trying to say is the feeling was mutual, and I wanted to kiss you as much as you wanted to kiss me. So, maybe we chop it up to kissing each other?"

Kali forced a smile.

Xander sighed. "Or maybe not?" he asked, unsure. "I know I can be a flirt, but I am failing to see what the problem is here. We both like each other, that kiss wouldn't have happened if there weren't some sort of feelings behind it."

"It's not that," said Kali, shaking her head. "I do like you, Xander, and yes, I wanted to kiss you this morning."

"Then what's wrong?"

"I didn't come here to find a boyfriend," said Kali. "Yes, I like you, a lot, but there is so much more going on right now. Udonna is gone, Claire is missing, and I told Nick about what happened between us and now he's not talking to me."

Xander frowned.

"I've had boyfriends before and none of them worked out," Kali admitted. "They all wanted one thing. I guess I'm just a little nervous that the next guy I commit too is only going to want me for that, too." She paused. "You've been a great friend. Other guys have flirted with me, but not you, never you, even if it's in your nature to do so. That's why I like you because you treat me like I am human and not something to drool over."

Xander held up his hands. "I'm not saying you're not drool worthy, I mean, damn, Kali -" he laughed as she punched his shoulder, a smile creeping its way onto her face. "But, seriously, I'm a flirt. I'm not misogynistic."

"Big word for you," Kali teased.

Xander smiled.

Kali exhaled deeply and chewed her lower lip, thoughtfully. "Look, I don't know what's going to happen between us, if anything does, but I'm not entirely sure how I feel right now," she admitted. "I could go back and change anything that happened this morning, it wouldn't be kissing you."

"But...?" Xander prompted.

"But, it has caused a lot of problems between Nick and I," Kali admitted. "I need to find out where he and I stand before I go forward with anything. Do you understand?"

Xander nodded. "I get it, I do," he said. "Nick's your best mate, and I wouldn't dream of coming between you two. But, I can't change how I feel about you. Sooner or later, he's just going to have to accept that."

"I won't keep you waiting for too long," Kali promised. She reached up and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Thank you."

Xander grinned and reached for her hand, raising it to his mouth and pressing a kiss to her knuckles.

Kali snorted and shoved his shoulder. "How chivalrous," she said, leading the way into Root core.

Xander followed. The dragon's mouth closed behind them and the wall separating them from the others opened up. Inside, the others were talking amongst themselves, or rather, panicking about the earlier battle against Magma.

"Maybe there was something I could have done or should've done -" Maddie fussed as she paced back and forth.

"Give it a rest, sis," Vida snapped, agitatedly. "We got our butts handed to us, plain and simple."

"Hey, you don't have to be so hard on Maddie," Chip intervened, standing to face off against Vida.

"Hey, hey, guys!" Nick called, trying to break up the fighting.

Kali raised a brow and shared a look with Xander as the others continued to bicker and squabble, neither one realising that they had even arrived. Placing two fingers in her mouth, Kali whistled, gaining everyone's attention.

"Anyone seen Claire?" Kali asked as silence fell. "I can't find her anywhere."

"No!" Vida and Chip snapped.

Kali glared at them.

"She asked a simple question," Xander defended. "You don't need to bite her head off."

"Well, go look for her yourselves," Vida said.

"Don't you think I've been doing that?" Kali snapped. "While you're all in here bicking like babies, I've been scouring the Mystic Forest for her."

Nick eyed her and Xander curiously. "Alone or did you have some help?" he asked.

"What does it matter if he came with me?" Kali snapped at him, her anger from their argument returning quickly. "At least he seems to care."

"I don't think he cares half as much about finding Claire as he does about spending alone time with you," Nick sneered.

"Hey, what's your problem?" Xander asked, turning his attention to Nick. "Are you jealous that she kissed me and not you? Because you've given her nothing but hell since you found out."

Nick scoffed and shook his head. "What happens between you two is none of my business," he said. "Just the same as what happens between her and I is none of yours. So, why don't you just back off, string bean?"

"Hey!" Daggeron yelled, slamming the Xenotome closed with a resounding bang. "You sound like a bunch of spoiled children. We lost. We got our butts kicked. We are up against an enemy the likes we have never faced before. If we cannot be a unified force, we stand no chance at all."

The team sighed as Daggeron berated them.

"We do not blame each other, we do not take it out on each other," Daggeron continued, looking from each ranger to the next. "We wait for our next opportunity, and then we -" he broke off as the globe chimed, alerting them all to evil in the city.

"Your time in this kingdom is over!" Magma bellowed as he appeared beneath the water tower. "I have been chosen to deliver the punishment!"

~X~

"... the hills will soon erupt with lava!"

"We'll see about that," the rangers yelled, racing onto the scene and unleashing a powerful magical strike against Magma. The spell slammed into him, knocking him back and the fireball above his head disappeared.

"Who dares?" Magma roared.

"We do!" Daggeron called, landing before Magma as the others joined him. "It's your turn to feel the heat."

"All right, we fight," said Magma, accepting the challenge. "But to make this interesting, what say we play a little game?"

"A game?" Nick asked.

"Here are the rules," said Magma, setting a nearby tower on fire. "If I defeat all of you before the flame goes out on that radio tower, I win. But, if even one of you is left standing when the flame goes out, you win!"

"Hah. How do we know you can trust you?" Chip asked. He had a point, the forces of darkness were hardly about playing fair.

"You don't. But that's what makes this game fun," said Magma, joyfully. "Shall we begin? Or maybe you don't feel like playing now?"

Kali tightened her grip on her lion staff. "I'm not exactly big on games," she said. "But I'll play. Code One, Inferno!" The ball of dark energy crashed into Magma but did nothing in terms of damage.

Magma laughed as he shrugged off the attack. "Is that all you've got?" he asked.

"Code One!" Xander yelled. "Rockslide!" He slashed down with his staff, unleashing a series of rocks at Magma. The boulders stopped inches from the monster and disintegrated instantly.

"No way!" the team yelled.

"Yes way," Magma said, unleashing a spiral attack on the Rangers. They groaned and hit the floor. "This game is a little one-sided, wouldn't you say?"

Maddie struggled into a sitting position and then pushed herself to her feet. She was unstable but determined. "I am not giving up!" she growled, pointing her staff at Magma.

"Maddie?" Nick gasped.

"This game we're playing isn't just about us losing," said Maddie. "If we lose, everyone loses. The world loses, and I am not going to let that happen! Code One, Tidal Wave!"

A tower of water rose up from behind Maddie and sloshed over Magma, causing steam to erupt from his armour. He cried out in agony and dropped to his knees, breathing heavily.

"Good job, Madison," Daggeron praised, getting to his feet and squeezing her shoulder.

"It was nothing," said Maddie.

Kali shook her head and nudged her friend. "Stop justifying your reasons for doing your job, and maybe you'll feel like you've contributed to the team," she said. "You did great, Maddie."

"She's right," Nick agreed. "You saved everyone."

"Yeah, way to go, sis!" Vida grinned.

Angered, Magma got back to his feet. "Don't think you've won!" he roared. "All you've done is turn me back into my giant form."

"Yeah, because everyone knows we have no way of fighting you up there," Kali said, sarcastically. "Idiot."

The team chuckled.

"Code Three," said Nick, holding up his staff. "Legend of the Sky, Mystic Firebird."

"Code Four," said the others, following his lead. "Legend of the Jungle, Mystic Lion."

Magma glowed a bright orange as the sun started to set in the distance. "Now I can finish you all," he boomed.

"Spin attack!" the team yelled, activating their shoulder plates and transferring the flames produced to their spear. "Full power!"

The attack spiralled out and slammed into Magma.

"Check it out!" said Maddie.

As the flames and smoke cleared, the team could see that their attack had done nothing.

"You should know by now your attacks don't work on me," said Magma.

Nick groaned as Magma fired up for another attack.

"You're through, Rangers," Magma hissed.

"Don't bet on it," said Kali. She nodded towards the radio tower. "You lose."

"What?!" Magma yelled. "No! That's not possible! My heat, it's fading!"

The Rangers watched, fascinated if not slightly concerned, as ripples of red energy started to appear all over Magma's body.

"What's going on?" Nick asked, curiously.

"I made up the rules of the game, and I lost!" Magma said as the ripples of energy rendered him to his knees. "The rules of darkness show no mercy, but you have nine other Terror's to defeat. This is just the beginning."

A halo of light appeared above Magma and covered him from head-to-toe in a stone casing before he exploded.

"Man, I can't believe they destroyed one of their own," said Nick, his eyes wide.

~X~

Kali flung her arm around Maddie's shoulder and squeezed her. "If it hadn't have been for you, we would never have won that fight," she said. "You should be proud of yourself."

"I am," Maddie grinned. "But, I didn't do it just for me. I did it because I wasn't about to stand there and let him destroy the whole city."

"I've never seen such a big wall of water," said Xander. "I think I'd like to try and surf that."

"Make sure I am recording when you do," said Kali. "That way, when you fall off your board, I get it on camera." She shrieked as Xander prodded her in the side. "You promised you wouldn't do that."

Xander laughed and wrapped his arm across her shoulders. "I now have something to stop you from picking on me," he said. "I told you I was storing the information for possible future use."

Kali pouted and shrugged out from under his grip. "And to think I kissed you," she teased and then shrugged. "Maybe it'll be a one-time thing."

"Wait, so that happened?" Chip asked, turning to the pair. "You two kissed? Gross."

Kali cupped her hands to her mouth as she burst out laughing. "I love you, Chip, don't ever change," she said. She caught Nick's eye from across the group and shook her herself. "But, while we're on that topic, we're not going to go into detail about what happened between me and Xander."

"Damn, I was so sure that you and Nick would end up making out," Vida groaned. "When did you and Xander happen?"

"Which part of 'not going there' didn't you understand?" Kali asked.

Vida grinned. "Do I have to poke you to get it out of you?" she asked, faking a lunge for her friend.

Kali dashed to the other side of Xander and glared at Vida. "If you're going to keep digging into my love life, then I'm going to bring up yours," she threatened.

"Nothing to deny in my love life," said Vida.

"Yeah? How about the way you stare at Chip when you think no one is looking?" Kali challenged.

Vida blushed and glared at Kali. "I do not!" she protested.

Kali grinned. "Your face and that exclamation says otherwise," she teased.

"I'll kill you!" said Vida, lunging for Kali.

The black ranger laughed and took off through the park as Vida chased her, leaving the others to shake their heads as they followed at a more slow pace.

"Back to Maddie," said Chip. "I hope you feel like you've contributed to the team now."

"Contribution?" Maddie repeated, a mischievous grin forming on her lips. "I felt like the whole team."

The three guys groaned and turned to her as she slowed her walk, backing up and grinning before taking off in the same direction Vida and Kali had disappeared.

~X~

Panting and out of breath from running, Kali slammed into the door of the Rock Porium just as Vida caught up to her and pummeled her by poking her in the sides. Kali shrieked with laughter and tried to pry Vida off of her as people started to stare.

"Alright, I give!" Kali called through her laughter. "I'm sorry."

Vida huffed and pulled back, brushing her fringe from her face. "Damn, you're fast!" she said. "Where'd you learn to run like that?"

"Being a delinquent gives you enough motivation to be a fast runner," said Kali. "If I couldn't run away from the cops then I would spend the night in county lockup."

"Sounds fun."

"Up to the point where your parents have to come bail you out in the morning," said Kali, clutching her side. "They used to send Joe and Nick, but the more trouble I got in, the more they would come down personally to scold me in front of everyone."

Vida shook her head and then slid past Toby at the front counter, stealing a purchase from him and ringing up the customer.

"Oh, you're back," said Toby, looking from Vida to Kali and then to the others as they finally arrived. "So nice of you to show up. Are you sure you wouldn't rather be out doing whatever it is you do do when you're out doing what you do do?"

Kali blinked and cocked her head to the side as she stared at Toby. "You feeling okay, boss?" she asked, reaching over to check his temperature.

Toby swatted her hand away. "I'm fine, now answer the question," he said.

"Sorry, boss," Xander apologised.

"Well, apology not accepted," said Toby, moving around the team and standing beside his office door. "That's why I've decided to hire a new employee."

The team shared a look as the door to Toby's office swung open and a familiar blonde stepped out, carrying a basket of CDs.

"LeeLee!" the team exclaimed.

"Yep, and she promised to not go running off all the time, like some other people whose names I - Nick, Kali, Xander, Vida, Chip, Madison - am not going to mention."

"Toby, you can't hire her," said Nick. "Her mom is -"

Kali elbowed Nick between the ribs, cutting him off. Toby cocked an eyebrow at them, waiting for Nick to finish.

Instead, Nick cleared his throat and forced a smile. "Welcome onboard, LeeLee," he said.

"Thanks," LeeLee grinned.

Toby patted her on the back and returned to his office. Leaving his employees alone at the front desk.

"Just because you work here now," said Kali, earning herself LeeLee's attention. "Doesn't change anything between us. You're still one of them, you can't change that."

"I guess that makes two of us," said LeeLee, her friendly smile disappearing as she glared at Kali.

Kali growled and made a move towards the blonde, stopping only as the others held her back.

"But, in the meantime," said LeeLee with a sickly sweet smile. "If you keep my secret, I'll keep yours."