Prologue
Udonna, the White Witch sighed. If her visions were to be believed, it was a matter of time before the forces of Underworld break free from their imprisonment, however the chosen champions, the next generation of the Mystic Force, were yet to be found.
The mystic wands keep on rejecting her chosen candidates, even those she had handpicked from the various magical schools across the realms.
It was nothing like when she and her team were chosen twenty-five years ago.
The wands refused to empower whoever she presented before them.
She remembered what the Mystic Mother had always told her about the Grid, "You don't choose the power, it chooses you", but it was bordering on ridiculousness.
All the warriors the Grid was deeming unworthy were actually brave and honourable individuals, each of them capable of holding their own in an arcane fight, even without the protection of ranger armour! Then why in the world, were they being rejected?
Whenever she opened the Xenotome for guidance, it showed her the same prophecy which roughly translated to the same thing… Five brave warriors from the human world would be instrumental in defeating the darkness.
She hated prophecies. They can be open to interpretation or even outright false at times. Her son Bowen was prophesized to be the greatest warrior in all the realms, yet he perished when he was a mere child.
There were infinite possibilities, countless futures… Heavens knew which possible future the prophecy was referencing!
She wasn't expected to select random humans from the streets to be the next team of rangers, was she?
She shook her head. Maybe she would have to resort to that eventually, but she still had one option left.
She hoped from bottom of her heart that this worked because the last thing she wanted was to rest the fate of the world on blind faith.
Tori Hanson could not help but feel uneasy as a student gave her a scroll from the Sensei, requesting her presence in the Ninja Ops. The last time she got an official summons, it turned out to be a ploy by Lothor to brainwash her and her friends.
She sighed. She was probably being paranoid.
"Hey Tori!" She turned around to see Dustin and Shane coming towards her, after finishing teaching their classes for the day, both of them holding a scroll.
"You guys got it too?" She asked.
"Yeah, dude but I'm like a bit spooked because you know, the last time…" Dustin wavered off.
"We know." Tori nodded. "We are probably just being paranoid because-"
"It's been months since Mesagog was defeated and the dino rangers couldn't find a sign of Lothor in his fortress." Shane said. "He is still out there for all we know."
"Or maybe Mesagog destroyed him or he got caught up in an explosion?" Dustin said hopefully.
"Trent told us that he saw that Mesagog had captured Lothor in a containment jar." Shane said seriously. "We have to consider the possibility that he escaped during Mesagog's defeat."
"And we have. The security in all the Guardian Academies have increased ten folds. Lothor can't come anywhere near here without setting off a hundred alarms." Tori reassured him. "Plus, Cam is working hard on restoring our morphers just in case."
"Yeah dude, Sensei might just be calling us there to chill!" Dustin told them as they neared the entrance to the Ops.
Suddenly, two streaks of vermilion and crimson hit the ground, revealing Hunter and Diana. Both used to teach in their respective academies till a few months ago, when they decided to focus on building a life outside of the world of ninjas and rangers, after getting engaged. That made Tori yearn for something like that herself. However Blake was always away, busy being a professional motocross racer and they hardly met once in six to seven months. She missed him but at the same time, she doubted if they had a shot at having a real relationship.
"What are you guys doing here?" Dustin asked.
"Same as you, I am assuming." Diana answered, the two of them revealing the ninja scrolls. "These were by the floormat to our apartment."
They climbed down the stairs to see Sensei, Cam and Anjali waiting for them along with a woman with intricately braided auburn hair in white robes.
"Hunter!" Anjali cried happily, dashing at him and wrapping her arms around her brother.
"Missed you too, sis." He grinned, returning the hug.
"What am I, chopped liver?" Diana grinned at her future sister in law as she hugged her next.
"Sensei." Diana turned towards the older man, giving him a bow.
"It's good to see you both again, though I hope it was under better circumstances." Sensei sighed.
Tori's eyes narrowed.
"Is Lothor back?"
"No, the reason I called you all here is something more dire." Sensei Watanabe gestured towards the mysterious woman. "This is the sorceress of Rootcore, Udonna of the Mystic Realm, the White Mystic Ranger."
"It's an honour to meet you all." She smiled warmly at them.
"The honour is ours." Tori replied, having heard of the Mystic Rangers and the Great War they fought twenty years ago to protect humanity from the forces of darkness.
"Why have you summoned us here?" Hunter asked bluntly.
"The destruction of the Abyss of Evil has led to the imbalance in the Shadow Realms." She said gravely. "The Nighloks have returned, meaning the Seal over the Sanzu River has broken. I fear it is a matter of time the spell sealing the Gates of the Underworld breaks too." She informed them, taking out a wooden box from her bag.
They watched with wide eyes as she opened the box, revealing six wands.
"I am here to ask if you will accept these and be the Mystic Force Power Rangers."
Hunter snorted, causing Udonna to look startled and the others to glare at him pointedly. Diana elbowed him and he looked down sheepishly.
"Sorry but we are not magicians." He said to the white witch dryly.
"Believe me I would not have come here unless necessary. The wands have rejected the bravest of knights and the strongest of warlocks, leaving me no option but to search the human world for champions." She replied calmly.
"You six are the strongest wielders of the elements." Sensei said, looking at them as well as Cam. "Will you six accept the power once again, should it choose you?"
The six of them looked at each other before nodding.
"Thank you." Udonna approached them with the box.
She passed Tori, Hunter, Shane, Anjali, Diana and Dustin the blue, yellow, pink, black, red and yellow wands respectively, beaming as the wands shined brightly.
"Thank the Tribunal, the wands have chosen you." She declared happily, breathing a sigh of relief.
"So, what now?" Hunter asked. "Wait, I'm yellow?"
"I'm green." Dustin noticed before turning to see the others. "Wait, Anjali's black but dude, Shane, you are pink!"
Cam rolled his eyes while Shane flushed.
"Dustin be nice." Diana shot him a glare. "And cheer up Hunter, it will be nice to see you in yellow."
"You are only pleased because you get to keep red." Hunter grumbled.
"I know." She replied smugly.
"Amateurs." Cam rolled his eyes. "The mystics have different colours to represent the elements than the ninjas. You guys still have the same elements. Pink is air. Yellow lightning. Red fire. Green earth. Blue water and Black metal."
"You are right, Cameron." Udonna nodded encouragingly at him.
"So, I'm the pink ranger now?" Shane asked sourly.
"Cheer up bro." Dustin nudged him. "Pink rangers are cool too!"
"Yeah, it's not as if you are the first guy pink too." Tori reminded him.
Udonna looked at Sensei confused.
"In the human world, there is a baseless stigma that pink is a colour for girls and not boys." He told her.
"Oh." Udonna nodded bemused before turning to Shane. "There is no such symbolism in the mystic realm. I have seen many powerful warriors in pink during my time as a mystic, some of them male and some female. It does not make a difference. Pink is one of the most powerful colours in the universe. You should not be ashamed of it."
Shane brightened up, nodding.
She looked at all of them. "I am pleased that the power chose you but there is much you need to know in the ways of magic. It is similar to the element bending taught in the ninja academies but also different in key ways."
"Right." Dustin nodded excitedly, turning to the others. "Dude! How cool is it that we are ninjas, rangers and now magicians! We are like super awesome!"
The others smiled at his excitement.
"That is an incredible feat." Sensei agreed. "However the trials that await you will be nothing like what you have faced before. Be careful."
"Wait, it seems like you are saying goodbye. Are you going somewhere?" Dustin asked bewildered, scratching his head.
Cam gave an exasperated sigh. "No Dustin. He's not going anywhere, we are."
"Why? What about the academy?" Tori asked startled.
"You seven must go to Rootcore and the mystic realm to know more about the ways of magic." Sensei advised. "I believe I and the other teachers will be capable of making up for your absence."
You seven must go to Rootcore and the mystic realm to know more about the ways of magic." Sensei advised. "I believe I and the other teachers will be capable of making up for your absence."
"And why are you going?" Hunter eyed Cam.
Anjali glared at him, intertwining her hands with Cam. "Because he's my boyfriend and he's going wherever I am!"
"Besides, I think the answer to restoring the Wind Morphers might be in the magical realm since I have been unable to restore them through technology." Cam added.
"What if Lothor comes back?" Shane asked.
"Do not worry, Shane. The Ninja Storm morphers might be damaged beyond repair but the other Guardian Rangers are still active and on the lookout for Lothor." Sensei reassured him.
"Okay." Shane relented.
Hunter looked at Diana and a silent understanding passed between them. They might have been ready to leave this world behind but their friends needed their help.
"We are ready." Diana said.
"Good. Farewell Sensei." Udonna smiled at Sensei while Cam hugged him quickly.
She pointed her wand at the ground and chanted something in a different language. A golden spell circle appeared underneath them and they felt a strange sensation pass through them as their surroundings blur into obscurity.
Diana Romero is my OC and was the former Vermilion Ninja Storm Ranger, representing the Fire Ninja Academy.
This story is meant to be a sequel to my stories "Power Rangers Ninja Storm - Trial By Fire" and "Power Rangers Dino Thunder - Stronger Together" and can be read stand alone too.
Hope you guys liked this and please review.