Sixteen years later, the now nineteen year old Nick, or Bowen, depending on what world he was in, paused. He silently reached out to Udonna's mind and thought, Mom, I forgot to tell you last weekend, but I'm moving to Briarwood to stay with my sister.
He felt Udonna smile and heard her respond, that's wonderful, Bowen. But promise me you won't get into fights at school. I don't want to have to be called to the principal's office this year.
Nick nodded silently and thought, OK, Mom, I promise.
Thank you, Bowen. I'll see you in a couple weeks.
He then raced toward Briarwood, when an earthquake occurred, damaging his bike. He managed to push the bike into town, and started fixing it.
An old man appeared, begging for help to find his brother. When the five teens—Nick leading the way, followed by Chip and Vida, and then Xander and Madison—entered the woods, the old man vanished. "What happened to the old man?" Xander asked.
"Don't they say that if you go into these woods you never come out again?" Nick countered, sarcastically.
The others nodded and Nick muttered, "I doubt that's true."—for he had gone into the woods multiple times as he grew up and he had always gotten back to his adoptive parents' houses safely.
A cloaked figure appeared and sent the five to Rootcore.
The figure entered the main room via a back entrance and said, "Welcome young ones. I am the sorceress Udonna and this is my home, Rootcore."
Nick ignored the others and ran right over to the sorceress and threw his arms around her waist. "Hi, Mom," he grinned up at her.
"Hello, Bowen. Welcome home," she kissed his forehead.
The others stared at each other and then Madison asked, "What's going on?"
"Udonna's really my mom and she wasn't really technically supposed to help raise me, but she's been a part of my life for the past sixteen years, since I sort of may of kind have run away to find her," Nick explained.
The others looked at each other.
Then he asked, "What was the earthquake about earlier?"
Udonna took a deep breath and said, "The forces of Darkness are returning."
"What? But you said that Dad and Auntie Niella had sealed them away," Nick frowned.
"Niella sealed the Gate—you know that it was not a permanent solution—while your father sealed away the Master," Udonna clarified.
She handed out the wands, revealing that they were the next group of Mystic warriors. Nick looked up at her and Udonna saw the message clearly in his eyes—he would live up to his father's legacy.
Nick nodded and soon heard and saw Clare running into the room, calling, "Udonna! Udonna!"
Udonna smiled at the twenty-year-old and nodded. Clare paused and looked at the teens. "Oh, hello," she said awkwardly, before whispering something in Udonna's ear.
Udonna pulled back and looked at the teens. "Stay here. Do not go into the woods on your own. It's not safe," she ordered, before casting a transportation spell.
Nick glanced at his cousin, who began asking, "How does she do that? I practice and I practice, but nothing."
He grinned and said, "Uh, Clare?"
She turned back to the teens and said, "Hello again. I'm Clare, sorceress-in-training here at Rootcore."
Nick nodded and the others prepared to leave. He walked over to Clare and hissed, "What did you tell Mom?"
"Bowen?" Clare asked, before engulfing him in a bear hug.
Nick swiftly returned the hug and repeated, "What did you tell her?"
"Trouble at the Mystic Village," she whispered.
"The one where we'd always visit?" he asked.
She nodded and Nick turned to the others and said, "I'm going to help Mom."
They nodded and followed Nick to the village.
Udonna asked, "Didn't I tell the five of you to stay at Rootcore?"
Vida quickly pointed at Nick and said, "It was his idea."
"I want to help," Nick stated, plainly. "What can we do?"
Five minutes later, the teens battled a group of Hidiacs and Styxoids while Udonna battled some sort of monster.
The group all gathered and Nick asked, "Mom, why are they returning now?"
Udonna shrugged—she wondered that herself.
Suddenly, they were attacked. Nick pushed himself to his feet and Udonna ordered, "Don't even think about it, Nick!"
He reluctantly agreed to let his mother handle the situation.
Xander walked toward the new opponent and said, "Hi. I'm Xander…"
"I am Koragg the Knight Wolf," the warrior intoned. "This is the beginning of the end. You will wish that today was your last."
"Way too doom and gloomy," Nick whispered in his mother's ear. Udonna fought back a smile at her son's words.
Koragg summoned Catastros and transformed into the Centaur megazord. "A centaur? A real centaur? I want one!" Chip blurted out. Nick groaned.
Udonna ordered, "All of you—that includes you Nick—stay back. You are not ready to fight his kind."
Nick nodded and anxiously watched the battle between his mother and Koragg with the others. The instant she sank to the ground, Nick flew to her side and glared toward Koragg, vowing that he would pay for what happened.
The six returned to Rootcore, where Udonna again gave them the wands. "Why do I need a wand now?" Nick asked, confused.
"They are not just wands," Udonna murmured. "They are also your morphers."
Nick nodded and Udonna agreed to turn the wands into cell phones.
The others left and Nick asked, "Mom?"
"Yes, Bowen?" Udonna replied.
"Did Koragg seem familiar?" he asked. "His voice, I mean?"
Udonna nodded and Nick asked, "Do you think the Master tried to change Dad?"
Udonna ruffled her son's hair and said, "Bowen, you know as well as I that your dad died sealing the Master away."
Nick nodded reluctantly and returned to town, where Madison got him a job at the Rock Porium.