"Your sorceress is gone," said Black Lance, tightening his grasp on his lance. "You're also down a Ranger. What will you do now?"
Nick clenched his fist and glared up at Black Lance. "Now you've made me mad," he growled, pushing himself to his feet. He strode forward, morphing at will and rolling his sword over in his hands.
"Come on!" Black Lance taunted.
"You're going down!" Nick said, leaping into the air. He raised his sword above his head and smashed it down on Black Lance shield, shattering it to pieces.
Black Lance gasped in surprise.
"Fireheart!" Nick called. A shadow swept over him as the dragon landed and combined its powers to his own. Metal armour covered Nick's morphed body and two dragon batons appeared in his hands. "Red Dragon Fire Ranger!"
Black Lance snarled and thrust his lance at Nick.
Nick deflected the blast and rushed forward. He gripped Black Lance's sides and hauled him into the air, then leapt up and kicked him back to the ground. Has he landed, Nick whirled around, smashing his batons into the terror's side and knocking him back.
"Bullseye!" Nick said, disengaging from Fireheart and turning to his friends. "You guys want in on this?" he asked.
"Gladly," Xander said, pushing himself up.
The others grinned.
"Magical Source, Mystic Force!"
Grasping their Magi Staff's, Maddie, Xander, Vida, and Chip rushed Black Lance. Leaping into the air and blasting him with their magic.
"Thanks for joining the party," said Nick, regrouping with them. "Let's finish it!"
The others nodded and the team leapt into the air. "Mystic Spell Seal!" they yelled, combining their magic and slamming into Black Lance.
Black Lance hissed as he exploded.
The victory, unfortunately, didn't last long. As Black Lance disappeared thunder crashed and the skies darkened.
"What's that?" Nick asked, looking around.
"It's him," said Vida, pointing at a large shadow dropping out of the clouds. His tentacles wrapped around buildings, crushing them into dust as he landed on the ground not that far away.
Nick clenched his fist tightly. "Where's Daggeron, Eithne, and my father?!" he yelled.
The master laughed and threw a shining ball of light at the Ranger's feet. "Right here!" he said.
The ball of light materialised into three bodies and the three fallen warriors landed on the debris of the destroyed city.
"Daggeron!" Maddie yelled, racing to her teacher's side.
Nick staggered over to his father as Xander, Vida and Chip gathered around Eithne. She had only just been reunited with her daughter, and now she was gone again. In a way, they were glad Kali wasn't around.
"This can't be happening," Nick muttered. "All we've done was in vain. All this time, finding my dad."
"Nothing can stop me from bringing darkness and despair to this world," the Master grinned, now hovering over the disheartened rangers.
Xander grit his teeth and turned to the Master. "What can you possibly gain by destroying our whole world?!" he yelled.
"Your world is now my world!" the Master bellowed.
Five tentacles wrapped themselves around the Rangers, hauling them into the air.
"You want to see what my world will look like?" the Master asked.
~X~
Kali grunted as she landed in the deepest, darkest pit of the Underworld. She could only venture a guess that she was down a lot further than she had been during her last visit with Imperious, and she'd only seen part of this place when she had followed Hekatoid here during his reign of terror.
Holding her breath, Kali turned in a full circle, trying to take in as much as she could as she walked through the blackened halls. It was like being in a large hall. Corridors split off from the main hall, where she could only guess was where the Choosing Ceremony had taken place, and the corridors probably led to different rooms that the Terrors inhabited or called their own.
Creeping along the wall, Kali strained her hearing. Hoping to pick up the faintest of sounds. Where had Sculpin taken Udonna? They'd only had a few seconds head start on her, so there was no way they could've got far. But then, Sculpin had lived down here for centuries. He knew this place better than she did and probably knew all the fastest routes out.
"Where are you?" Kali asked, stopping at a fork and looking both left and right. Great, she grumbled. Now, what was she to do? What if she chose to go one way and it turned out to either being a dead end, or something way worse than Sculpin? Also, on the flip side, if she did choose the wrong way then it gave Sculpin an even greater advantage of either getting way or destroying Udonna.
"You look lost, little Ranger."
Kali whirled around, her hand on her Morpher. "Legend -" she broke off as Necrolai grabbed her wrist, twisting it away from her hip.
"We wouldn't want to do anything stupid," said Necrolai.
"I'm surprised you're even still alive," Kali said, her eyes narrowing. "You're a total failure. When the Terrors lost Eithne and Leanbow, I thought for sure they'd destroy you, you know? Do us all a favour. Even LeeLee."
Necrolai's eyes widened. "LeeLee?" she gasped.
"She's better off without you," said Kali. "From what I can tell you never appreciated her. I was quick to judge her, but then, given who you are, as a person, much less a parent, who could blame me?"
Necrolai dropped Kali's wrist. "You don't know what you're talking about," she said. "I love my daughter. I just wanted what was best for her."
"Best for her?" Kali snorted. "By forcing a legacy that she didn't want onto her? By making it difficult for her to make friends? How is that loving her?"
"I only did what my mother did to me."
Kali rubbed her wrist and watched Necrolai closely. She didn't fully trust the Vampire bat, even if she did trust her daughter. "LeeLee's still alive if you're wondering," she said. "She's making a great life for herself on the surface world. If you cared about her, at all, then you'd do everything to make sure she's safe."
"Why do you think I am here?!" Necrolai snarled. "Sculpin wants to help the master destroy the surface world. He cares not for the humans or anyone else that stands in his way, including LeeLee. But, she is still my daughter, regardless of whether she wanted my future or not. I don't want her to be hurt."
Kali bit the inside of her cheek. Necrolai was her best bet of finding Sculpin and Udonna. "If you want to save LeeLee then help me," she said. "I followed Sculpin down here. He has taken Udonna. I intend to get her back and stop him once and for all, but I can't do that alone. You're the Queen of the Vampires and I'm a Hellhound. I'm sure our combined magic can stop him."
Necrolai shook her head. "Our combined ours could cause a lot of damage, yes" she confirmed. "But it won't keep him down forever. We need something more powerful. Something that matches his abilities."
"Like another Terror?" Kali asked. "But there are no other Terrors left. I'm sure the others have destroyed Black Lance by now, and no one has seen Itassis since this morning."
Necrolai glanced away. "Itassis was destroyed by Sculpin," she said. "He and Black Lance destroyed her for betraying the Master."
Kali curled her hands into fists. Sculpin had taken Itassis' life for the same reasons he had taken Matoombo's. "Wait," she gasped. "I'm the Hellhound, which means I have access to souls. If we can find Itassis, before she crosses over, maybe we can bring her back?"
"As the Queen of the Vampires," said Necrolai. "I can revive the dead. We'd have to work together." She stared at Kali, uncertainty in her eyes.
Kali stared back. Necrolai wasn't just any Underworld dwelling demon. She had done her fair share of trying to destroy them in the last year. She had kidnapped Vida, she had turned Maddie to stone, she had tried to steal the Fireheart, and had been a part of the Dark Wish. She had even fed herself, Maddie, Nick and Xander to a giant monster.
"Working together means we would need to trust each other," said Kali. "Especially if we're to enter the Spirit World. How do I know you won't leave me behind once you've found Itassis? How do I know you're even speaking the truth about her turning on the Master?"
"Why would they destroy her if she hadn't?" Necrolai snarled.
Kali swallowed and glared at the bat.
"Besides, as the Hellhound, only you can open and close the gate to the Spirit World," said Necrolai. "How can I trust that you won't leave me behind?"
"Because of LeeLee," Kali said, quickly. "She and I have an understanding now. I may not like you or like what you've done to her. But you're still her mother and she loves you, I won't take that away from her."
Necrolai nodded slowly.
Kali looked around the darkened halls. "How do we do this?" she asked. "I've never opened the gates to the Spirit world before."
"We should start in Itassis room," said Necrolai. "It's where she was destroyed. The place holds a strong connection to her, we should find her more easily if we open the gates in there."
Kali nodded and followed Necrolai down the right corridor. I hope I'm making the right choice, she thought.
~X~
Bent at the waist, Chip rested his hands on his knees and took a deep breath. He and the others had just lost their titan forms to the Master after a battle had gone sideways. "All right," he gasped, looking around at the others. "We're safe."
"Safe?" Nick repeated. "Are you kidding me? That thing just destroyed our Zord, not to mention, Daggeron, Eithne, and my dad."
Vida lifted her head. "So that's it?" she asked, staring accusingly at her friend. "The great Nick, the Red Ranger is calling it quits?"
Breathing heavily, Nick turned and started to walk away. He stopped as Xander cut across his path.
"Whoa, Whoa. No, don't walk away," Xander said, grasping Nick's shoulder. "Answer her. Are you giving up?"
"Get out of my way," said Nick.
"No, Nick," Chip interrupted. "You answer that."
Nick looked frustratingly around at his team. "Guys, wake up and smell the darkness," he said, his voice growing in loudness. "We've done our best, and we failed."
Xander scoffed. "Do you think Kali would agree?" he asked.
"Kali's not here," said Nick, shaking his head. "She had the sense to get out when she had the chance."
"Get out?" Vida asked. "She's in the Underworld! She went after Sculpin. She's not here because she's trying to stop him."
"Listen to me!" Nick yelled. "It doesn't matter. Even if she was here, we're no match for that thing." He took a deep breath and swallowed, turning back to the others. "Fine. Yes, I've given up."
Chip looked disheartened as he turned to Vida and Xander. Neither of them could understand why Nick was ready to give up. They could understand there were overwhelming factors, but to them, the factors were fuel enough to keep fighting.
"Don't you say that," piped a small voice in the corner. The team turned, surprised, at Maddie's outburst. Even now, after a year, she was still the timid little mouse that kept mostly to herself. But now there was fire in her eyes.
"Don't you say that," Maddie repeated, storming forward. "Not you. You have held us together through all of this! You will not give up!"
Nick turned away.
"Listen to me!" Maddie snapped. "Giving up is not an option for you! We are a team, and you are this team's leader, we go on no matter what."
*BOOM!*
The Master laughed as he hovered over the fallen Rangers. Each one groaning and clutching a part of them. He could sense their fear and despair, and it had been that hopelessness that had helped him seek them out in the dark caves of his future. "It is time to finish this meal," he said. "Welcome to your end..."
~X~
Udonna gasped as she spotted Kali running towards her. She grasped the Black Ranger's arms and stood up, cautiously. "What are you doing down here?" she asked. "Are the others with you?"
"No, I left them in Briarwood," said Kali. "I was serious when I said I'd had enough of Sculpin. He and Black Lance had worked my last nerve, and my desire to see them gone only burned hotter when Sculpin took you."
"Oh, child, you should not have come after me," said Udonna. "How did you find me? This is place is a maze."
"I had a little help," said Kali. She nodded towards a cluster of nearby shadows and Necrolai stepped into the light.
Udonna smiled at Necrolai. "Thank you," she said.
Necrolai merely nodded.
"That's not all," said Kali. "She helped me unlock the Spirit World. We have a new power to stop Sculpin, once and for all."
Udonna cocked her head to the side, intrigued.
A loud boom echoed around the cavern, and Kali looked up as Sculpin walked inside. His footfalls rebounded off the empty cavern walls and echoed like a thunderstorm inside a small space.
"You came," Sculpin laughed, spotting Kali. "To bad you are only one."
"Take her," said Kali, passing Udonna off to Necrola. She reached for her Morpher and snapped it open. "Unfortunately for you, the wrong one! Magical Source, Mystic Force! Mystic Titan, Hellhound!"
Sculpin stepped back in surprise as Kali's titan form took up half the pit. Its armour-plated body glistened in the dim light and her eyes flickered between black and purple as she glared down at him.
"No matter," said Sculpin, tightening the grasp on his trident. "This will be all over soon."
"Damn right it will!" said Kali.
~X~
The team groaned as they slammed into the ground. They were demorphed and aching, but completely unscratched from their adventure to the dark future.
"We're back!" Chip gasped, looking around.
"Yeah. But now our magic is gone for good," said Nick, picking himself up. He tensed as the Master approached from ahead.
The armour that had once protected the Master's skull was gone, smashed to pieces by the force of Nick's sword. He growled and glared at the team of five. "Look what you've done to me. You will pay for this."
He pulled back and unleashed several tentacles at the team, but they froze and shattered as an ice-cold spell seal appeared between him and the Rangers. The seal disappeared, leaving only Claire and Snow Prince behind.
"Claire!" Nick gasped, running over. "You have powers!"
"Yes! Mystic Mother made a full sorceress!" said Claire, excitedly.
"Liar!" the Master growled. "I destroyed the Mystic Mother."
"No," said Snow Prince. "Just before you attacked. The Mystic Mother cast a spell and turned herself into energy."
"A few magic tricks will not stop me!" the Master roared. "I will return to the depths and gather my strength."
"I'm afraid that won't be possible."
The team gasped and looked around as Udonna appeared. She looked unharmed and determined as she faced the Master. "It seems your pit no longer exists."
"No longer exists?!" the Master repeated.
"What she means is that you no longer have a place to dwell in your darkness," Itassis said, appearing beside Udonna.
The Master gasped. "Itassis, you're alive?" he asked. "But how? The only you could be here is if -?"
"Someone had access to the Spirit World?" Kali asked, striding forward. She stopped beside Udonna and glared at the Master. "Maybe next time you should warn your second in command to not dare a Hellhound to come after them."
"It's still not possible!" the Master roared. "You may have saved her spirit, but you cannot revive the dead."
"I had help!" Kali said. "Unlike you, I'm willing to admit when I am wrong and accept help from the unlikely of places." She turned to Necrolai as the Vampire Queen appeared beside her.
The Master growled at the pair. "But I am your Master!" he bellowed.
"Well, this puppet as cut the strings!" Itassis levelled the Master with her club and fired. The blast hit the Master in the chest and he disappeared on impact.
The team cheered and regrouped.
Kali enveloped Claire in a fierce hug as the others clapped her on the shoulder and welcomed her back. She withdrew and accepted the group hug that Xander, Vida, Maddie and Chip were offering before turning to Nick. She smiled as she met his gaze, and then tensed and gasped as she spotted Leanbow, Daggeron and Eithne behind him.
"What happened?" Kali asked, taking a step towards her mother. She glanced at Nick, but he only managed to shake his head sadly.
Itassis cocked her head to the side as she looked between Kali, Udonna and Nick. "The Master is gone for now, but he will be back," she said. "Tell me, White Ranger, why do you shed tears?"
"The tears are for our sadness and our losses," said Udonna, her voice breaking. "I cry for my husband - Leanbow - and my friends, Daggeron and Eithne."
"That is something I cannot help you with," said Itassis.
Kali shook her head and turned to Necrolai. "I don't understand," she said. "We were there. We were in the Spirit World. If they are dead then they should have been there, we'd have seen them. Would we?"
Necrolai hesitated. "There is only one possible explanation," she said, mournfully. "Unless..."
"Unless?" Chip asked, his lower lip trembling.
"Unless they are not fully gone yet," said Necrolai. "It's not unknown for spirits to hold on to their physical hosts. If they aren't in the Spirit World already, they could be clinging on to the edge of life."
Vida looked hopeful. "How do we help them?" she asked. "Can we help them?"
Necrolai hesitated.
"You can do it, Mom," said LeeLee, appearing out of nowhere.
"LeeLee!" Necrolai gasped.
"You can do anything you want, Mom," said LeeLee. "Always could. Do it, Mom!"
Necrolai looked from her daughter to Kali and then to the trio of bodies behind her. The Hellhound had kept her word and not turned on her when they had travelled to the Spirit World together, she had even protected her against Sculpin when he had tried to stomp on her during their battle in the Underworld.
"I believe in you," LeeLee whispered.
"Mhm," said Necrolai, nodding. She stepped up and placed a hand on Kali's shoulder. "Alright. I'll try and revive them."
Kali watched as Necrolai stepped closer to the trio. She held her breath as Necrolai spread her arms and unleashed a blast of purple magic at the bodies. There was a spark of power and Necrolai screeched as she was knocked off her feet.
"Mom!" LeeLee gasped, rushing over. She fell to her knees beside her mother and looked up as Kali knelt, too.
"Look!" Udonna said.
Through the thin veil of smoke, Kali saw her mother straighten up and look around. She met Kali's gaze and smiled.
"Mom," Kali whispered, standing up and enveloping the Shadow Warrior in a tight hug.
Eithne breathed deeply and hugged her daughter back.
"Dad!" Nick exclaimed, hugging Leanbow.
Leanbow wound his arms around his son and wife as Udonna joined them.
"Daggeron!" Maddie said, hugging the Knight along with the others.
"Hey, don't forget about me!" Jenji called, appearing behind his master. "Look at me! I'm back!"
The team laughed.
Kali withdrew from the hug with Eithne and turned to the sound of LeeLee's whimpers. She was still on her knees beside her mother's body, only now Necrolai was convulsing.
"Mom?" LeeLee asked, quietly.
Kali reached for LeeLee as a ripple of energy coursed through her mother's body. She held the blonde back as Necrolai's body erupted in spark. There was a flash of light, and when it cleared, Necrolai was human.
"Holy cow!" Kali breathed, her eyes wide.
"Mom?" LeeLee gasped, her eyes raking in her mother's new appearance.
Necrolai smiled and held her arms out to her daughter, pulling her into a hug.
"LeeLee's mom is hot," said Xander.
Kali rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless. Everyone she loved and trusted were safe. She had managed to fulfil what she had set out to do when she first followed Sculpin to the Underworld. Now, all she had to contend with was the Master.
"Everyone get ready," Kali said, turning away from her friends as a shiver run down her spine. "It's not over yet."
"Quite the reunion!" the Master roared, appearing back in the skies. "Sorry I have to destroy it."
Udonna sighed and looked to her students. "Rangers, our magic is gone," she said, quietly.
"I've got an idea!" said Jenji, breaking through the group. "Let's all run and hide, okay?"
Kali scoffed and shook her head. "Sorry, Jenji, but I've never been one to just run and hide," she said. She looked to Nick. "This is all we've ever wanted. To know where we came from, to find our family. Our home. Now, I'm not sure about you, but I'm not ready to let that go."
Nick reached for her hand and squeezed, nodding. "Stay and fight," he said.
"Stay and fight," Kali echoed, grinning.
"Yeah!"
"We fight!"
"So be it!" the Master growled. "You are powerless now! My victory is already in hand!"
Nick scoffed. "We will show the Master what real courage is," he said, glancing at Kali. "With or without magic."
I underestimated you, Kali, I thought by now you would've realised.
Kali frowned and looked up, towards the skies. "Halwyn?" she asked, causing Eithne to look sharply in her direction.
You're a Mystic descendant, little one. You are never without magic.
"What is it?" Nick asked. "What's he saying?"
"He said we're never without Magic," Kali replied. She looked at her mother and shook her head. "I don't know what he means."
"Maybe he means us," Toby shouted, walking towards the team with a horde of people from the city. They looked scared but determined.
"Or maybe, he means us!" Phineas asked, striding out of the forest with a small army of woodland folk.
"Look, I spoke to some of the people from the city, and I told them that the forest and those that live there are not the ones for us to fear," said Toby.
"And I spoke the same truth to those in the forest," said Phineas. "Either we stay the way we are and perish, or we stand together and fight the real evil!"
Kali smirked as she looked up at the Master. This is what he had intended to destroy but only managed to force two civilisations together.
"Power Rangers..." Toby said, addressing the team. "You have fought all year for us. Your magic is used up. Well, now let us give you some of our magic."
"That's right," Phineas agreed. "You're not the only ones. All of us believe in magic,"
As the people of the Briarwood and the Mystic Realm came together as one united force, Kali felt a surge of energy run through the entire length of her body. It started at the top of her head and quickly spread to the tips of her fingers, igniting them in a warm black glow.
"Wolf Warrior!"
"Shadow Warrior!"
"Solaris Knight!"
"White Mystic Ranger!"
"Green Mystic Ranger!"
"Pink Mystic Ranger!"
"Blue Mystic Ranger!"
"Yellow Mystic Ranger!"
"Black Mystic Ranger!"
"Red Mystic Ranger!"
"We call forth the magic, together as one, united for all time! Power Rangers, Mystic Force!"
"Give me that magic!" the Master bellowed.
"You got it!"
Kali rolled her mystic staff over in her hand and thrust it up at the Master. A powerful blast of black energy merged with others, forming a single beam of pure golden light. The master opened his jaws, wide, sucking in the power, but it was too much. His skull bulged and grew bigger, looking like it would burst at any second.
"I devour it, yet still it comes!" the Master whined.
"There is no end to our magic!"
"Stop!" the Master pleaded.
Kali shook her head. "I thought this is what you wanted?!" she asked.
"It's too much!" the Master said.
"To bad!"
"Full power!" the team chanted.
The Master whined and struggled to contain the magic streaming into his mouth. He was supposed to be more powerful than this, able to withstand any forms of magic, but this was too much. "I cannot take any more!" he howled, before exploding under the pressure.
"YEAH!"
"Mystic Force!"
~X~
"Hey, I have a surprise for you," said Kali, jumping up onto the stage and grasping Vida's arm.
"For me?" Vida said, gasping in mock surprise. "You shouldn't have. We won't tell the others, they may think you're picking favourites."
Kali rolled her eyes but couldn't suppress the smile. "Are you done?" she asked. "I wanted to tell you as soon as Itassis sent the Master packing the first time, but every snowballed out of control after that. But, now is the perfect time as any. Can you come outside?"
Vida cocked her head to the side and nodded. "Sure," she said. She set her turntables to auto and followed her friend towards the door, sharing a confused look with Maddie and Chip as they passed the front counter. Once outside in the warm air, Vida looked expectantly at Kali. "What's the big surprise?"
"You know how I went to the Spirit World to find Itassis so that Necrolai could revive her?" Kali asked.
Vida nodded.
"Well, Itassis was the only spirit that we managed to find and revived," said Kali. "Necrolai just explained to me how she's human again. She said that she used up most of her powers when she revived five spirits either from the dead or from the brink of death."
"Wait, five?" Vida asked. She tallied up the people that she knew to be saved by Necrolai and frowned. "Kali, you've miscounted - Itassis, Leanbow, Daggeron, and Eithne - that's only four."
Kali smiled and nodded at something over Vida's shoulder. "You forgot about him," she said.
Vida turned, gasped and turned back to Kali. "How did you -?" she asked, grinning.
"Necrolai explained that the way he was taken meant that his spirit went to the Spirit World," said Kali. "I know how much you've missed him. It's only fair that you get someone you cared about returned to you, too."
"Thank you, Kali, you're amazing!" said Vida, hugging her friend.
Kali squeezed Vida tightly and then released her.
Vida whirled around again and run up the steps towards the street. Matoombo laughed and enveloped her in a tight hug as Kali smiled from the door.
"What are you smiling at?" Nick asked, stepping out of the Rock Porium and slinging his arm around her shoulders. He looked up the steps and spotted Matoombo and Vida.
Kali wound her arms around his waist and lay her head on his shoulder. "Just making memories," she said, tilting her head back to look at him.
Nick met her gaze, smiled, and then pressed his lips to hers.
Kali smiled and returned it.
The End of Book One
Finished!
Kali will return in Ninja Storm: The Hellhound's Secret.
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