Chapter 2: Mystic Doppelgangers
"Densetsu no Gonin no Mahou Tsukai?"
"What did he just say?" Chip arched his eyebrow.
"ALRIGHT!" Vida said, "Aerotan!" A gust of pink wind swept the room and cleared away the multicolored mist that had been hovering in it for the past several minutes. The five figures suddenly became visible. To Nick's surprise, they weren't invaders from another world, but rather people…people like them.
Each of them wore a long, black cloak with the "M" the Mystic Force Rangers were familiar with on the chest. The five threw off their cloaks in unison to reveal vibrantly-colored jackets in red, yellow, blue, pink and green. Each jacket had their respective symbol in the upper corner and plaid markings on the arms and near the waist. Madison pointed out they were also wearing necklaces and rings in the same color pattern.
The furthest to the left had brown hair, leather pants and a serious, impatient look on his face. Next to him was a girl with silky black hair, a blue jean skirt, and tennis shoes. To the right of the center figure was a girl with brown hair, a white skirt, and pink boots. Beside her was a man with long, black hair and black pants. The center boy, clearly the youngest of them all, had short black hair with black pants and tennis shoes. They were all Japanese in appearance.
"Den what?" Chip continued to wonder.
"What he's trying to say is…Magicians…Magitopia…" started the one in green in broken English. Things weren't much clearer. Then the one in green had his Mystic Morpher (or so they thought it was) beep twice. He pointed the tip in the air between the two groups of five, pressed the keys 4-1, and "Enter."
"Majiine Maaji!" he proclaimed. A heavenly voice echoed the spell. A tiny wave of energy swept over the ten. When the boy in red spoke again Nick understood what he was saying…it was in English this time.
"Are you the Five Legendary Magicians?" asked the boy.
"Five Legendary Magicians?" laughed Nick, "Hardly."
"Then…who ARE you?" said the man in yellow.
"Wait a sec…we can understand you now?" queried a confused Chip.
"Yes, you can," explained the man in green, "we stood strong when we were brought here, and got a new spell from Magitopia for it." Xander noted that word…"Magitopia"…had been used again. "Majiine Maaji eliminates the language barrier between us and allows us to communicate with each other. Now, have we introduced ourselves?"
"Not really," Chip commented.
"Ozu Kai," said the boy in red as he shook Nick's hand, "and you would be…?"
"Nick. Nick Russell," said Nick, "Ozu? As in…'Oz'?"
"Something like that," interrupted the man in green, "Ozu Makito's the name."
"Xander Bly," Xander shook Makito's hand, "someone rather like myself, I see."
"Let's get this over with," sighed the man in yellow, "Ozu Tsubasa."
"Charlie Thorn," said Chip happily, "Call me 'Chip'."
"Ozu Urara," said the girl in blue, "You're very pretty."
"Madison, same to you," said Madison in reply.
When Madison shook Urara's hand she felt something crash within her soul. Although she had never met Urara before in her life, she could find herself being…in-touch with her all too easily. The disappearance of a woman in white was the one that stood out to Madison the most. To think that both she and Urara could have gone through the same experience was confusing, but somehow felt right.
"Ozu Houka-chan! Pose of determination, version up!" Houka struck her pose by placing her index and middle fingers near her eyes in a sideways "V" formation. "Who's the new girl?"
"Vida Rocca," Vida said, "Stop trying to be so cutesy."
"Cutesy?"
"Yes, cutesy. You're making me sick."
"But this is Houka's pose!"
"You're being annoying."
"Are you TRYING to aggravate me?"
"I could be, couldn't be…who knows?"
"I say you are…and I'm not going to let a skunk-haired priss like you put me down!"
"Skunk…haired…priss? That's it, Houka…I'm showing you who REALLY wears the boots around here." Vida, her face in an unflattering snarl, grabbed Houka by her collar and pinned her down against the table.
Houka, in retaliation, stomped her feet on Vida's cape and sent her tumbling to the ground. Vida made a move for the Ozu girl's hair as the other eight watched in total shock. "Houka, stop this! Now!" Makito yelled, "As your older brother, I'm telling you to show some respect to our new friends!"
"She was asking for it," Xander said, "that pose could drive anyone batty."
"Vida was probably having a bad day," Urara said, "I've been like that at times."
"She was having a day," Madison intervened, "that's sis for you."
"That gives her no right to treat Houka like that!" Makito said to Xander.
"Should we say anything?" Nick asked.
"Not sure…" Kai wondered.
"So, Tsu, whatcha doin'?" Chip asked.
"Taking this fight to where it belongs," Tsubasa said, "Maaji Jiruma Majuna." He entered the code 1-2-9 on his MagiPhone and teleported all ten away in a flash of a golden Mahou circle.
They landed in the middle of an empty forest glade; the creatures that lived in the woods gathered 'round to watch. Houka kicked Vida on the side of her body with one of her pink boots, and both sides, wanting to protect the ones they cared about, had their tempers flare so much that the inevitable fight broke out when Nick placed his hand on Kai's shoulder and whispered "Showtime."
Xander and Makito were using their upper body strength in a wrestler-like tussle for control. Xander's came from his training, while Makito's came from hours toiling in the fields of the Aniki farm for his family. Xander slammed Makito into a nearby tree, only to find the eldest brother of the family Ozu tossing him to the ground. Xander drew his Mystic Morpher.
"The joke's on you, Makito," he quipped.
Xander created a column of vines around him and lifted himself into the treetops. Makito was distraught at having his target get away, but wasn't about to lose just yet. Makito opened his MagiPhone and pointed it to the treetops. Controlling nature was his specialty, and he was about to command the woods themselves to find his target.
2-7 was pressed on the golden cellular. "Jiruma Majika!" Makito hollered as he pressed down on the "Enter" key. Green light radiated outward and swayed the trees in Makito's direction. Xander, his waist bound by vines, was nervously chuckling at the Ozu who had outdone him.
"We can work this out, right?" he said sheepishly.
"I have my ways," Makito said, "JIRUMA MAJIKA!" The vines tossed Xander across the sky. He skidded across the ground. His uniform had been dirtied, but he would keep fighting. He'd keep fighting until he won. Neither side was willing to give in for this fight of fights.
A good distance away, Vida and Houka were still trying to pummel each other into submission. Vida had let go of her cape and pink-embroidered vest to leave only her white shirt beneath on her body. Houka knew she had the Legend Power within her, and decided to utilize it to its fullest. Vida approached her with her sleeves rolled up and her fists readied.
"PINK STORM!" Houka screamed. From her mouth shot a funnel of pink wind aimed at Vida. Vida pushed through and delivered a powerful kick to Houka's stomach. Houka fell to the ground and kicked Vida in the chest with her own boots. Both girls were down, but not defeated. "You think you're good at this, aren't you?" Vida smirked, "We're just getting started, Hou-chan."
Urara and Madison had teleported alongside each other to the one place in the woods where they knew they could fight – the lake. Both had their phones out and ready. The fight began when Madison grabbed Urara by her shoulders and threw her into the water. While Urara's turquoise jacket was drenched, she was now in her element. The second girl of the Ozu family took out something from her jacket pocket.
"What's that?" Madison asked. It was small, outlined in gold, and had a shining, sparkling, navy-blue background with the image of a pale pearl crystal ball on it. The word "Fortune" was written beneath it on a golden "scroll" design in stylistic, black-inked calligraphy. Urara pointed her MagiPhone's tip to the card.
She chanted quickly, "Maji Jijiru" and touched the crystal ball on the MagiTicket. Blue light radiated outward as Urara saw the fortune of Madison. She saw a torrent of water heading in Madison's direction with her riding atop it. Urara gave a self-satisfied smirk and motioned her hand towards the Blue Mystic Force Ranger. "Your fortune has been read. See what your future holds…"
"Don't try to pull anything on me," Madison said, "I can even the odds." Madison aimed her Mystic Morpher at the water and shot several geyser-like streams up around Urara. Madison swept her Morpher in a wavy motion and watched the geysers converge into one rising column of water. "She's done with."
Madison turned her back and prepared to walk away, only to be confronted with Urara's vision come true. She rode atop the geyser and redirected Madison's own burst back at her. Both Madison and Urara had washed ashore, but Madison retaliated by swinging her legs like a mermaid's tail. Urara grabbed Madison's legs and threw HER into the water instead.
"Who's wining now?" Urara said as she proudly stood up.
"You got lucky," Madison growled, "Lucky. That's all."
Tsubasa had been hiding in the bottom of a hollowed-out tree trunk with a miniature cauldron in front of him this whole time. Chip was left aimlessly wandering around trying to find his adversary, but not even his control over light could pierce the thick darkness covering this particular section of the Briarwood forest. Tsubasa drew his MagiPhone and opened it to wand mode.
"Jinga Majiiro," he pressed 5-6 and watched as the cauldron's contents bubbled and condensed into a sparkling yellow liquid. Tsubasa scooped the liquid into a crystal vial and walked out into the forest. "This will be just the way to show up that foolish redhead," he thought, "let him get in the first strike…then the battle goes to me."
Chip sent flares and sparks of light from his Mystic Morpher to pierce the darkness until one of the flares revealed Tsubasa leaning against a strong oak tree. "There you are!" Chip exclaimed, "Hi-yah!" A bolt of lightning flung outward, but Tsubasa downed his concoction in one sip and avoided the blast completely. Chip found Tsubasa grabbing him underneath his arms.
"What are you doing? How…did you do that?" he groaned.
"Potions master extraordinaire," Tsubasa said, "This one is the Draught of Refraction. In the blink of an eye I can redirect any of your light and lightning-based attacks. You don't even know who you're dealing with."
Tsubasa swung his arms out like a bird spreads its wings, and knocked Chip aside. Chip fired beam after beam from his Mystic Morpher, but Tsubasa dodged every one with ease. The second-youngest of the Ozu siblings grabbed Chip and threw him into the side of a large, smooth rock. Chip rubbed his head and prepared for battle once more.
"You're pretty good," he admitted.
"…and don't you forget it," smirked Tsubasa.
Nick and Kai were at the forest's edge. Kai found himself surrounded by an arrow-shaped formation of trees. He was in plain view of the slowly advancing Nick with no visible means of escape. Then he remembered his skill in magic – alchemy and transfiguration. Kai pointed his MagiPhone at the row of trees and swept it through the air. "Jiruma Majiiro!"
The trees' bark transformed into a silvery, reflective, mirror-like material. Nick's footsteps were heard from a distance. Kai jumped into the center of the clustering of mirrors and waited for Nick to pass him by. When the Red Mystic Force Ranger approached, he saw not one, but SIX Kais staring him down. "There's only one way to win," he said, "fry 'em until one remains."
Nick launched a stream of fire from his Mystic Morpher at the rightmost Kai. The mirror cracked and revealed charred bark underneath as glass fragments fell to the ground. The leftmost and uppermost Kais were false as well. "The angle of reflection…" Nick thought, "I got it!" He lunged at the Kai standing dead center and slugged him across the side of his face. Kai fell to the ground, motionless, and transformed into a tree stump.
"How did I fall for that?" Nick asked.
"I know why," Kai said from between two of the burned trees, "you and your friends lack the yuuki to use magic properly. Now, prepare for your defeat!"
Kai charged for Nick and Nick for Kai, but the two shared clumsiness, and when they bumped into each other two golden phones went spinning across the ground. Each looked identical to the other, right down to the phoenix symbol embedded in fire visible in the clear glass window above the buttons.
"If you want to play that way, I'll play that way," Nick grabbed one phone.
"Such a lack of courage is unforgivable," Kai replied; he took the other phone.
"Magical Source, Mystic Force! Galwit Mysto Ranger!"
"Heavenly Saint, grant me the power of magic! Mahou Henshin! Maaji Maji Majiiro!"
Nick pressed "1-2-3" in sequence while Kai typed in "1-0-6". Both pressed "Enter" and held their phones to the sky. They waited for the familiar signs: the appearance of the magical circles, the descending of Flagel, and the suiting-up into the Red suits they wore when defending from underground attacks. None of that happened.
"What's wrong with this thing?" Nick smacked his phone several times, "Come on, morph me already! I entered the spell and everything!"
"This is unusual," Kai thought, "Unlike with Gaston, I have my courage with me. This should be working! But why isn't it?"
Nick pressed random buttons on his phone, changing it back to phone mode, and saw an image appear in the screen in the upper half. He knew that the Mystic Morphers could be used as camera phones if possible, but he didn't recognize the girl he saw in the picture. She was about 17, Japanese in appearance, and wearing a school uniform. He held the phone out to Kai.
"Do you recognize her?" he said confusedly.
"YAMAZAKI-SAN!" Kai exclaimed as
he snatched the phone from Nick's hand, "That's my MagiPhone!
Give it back!"
"Your MagiPhone?" Nick asked, "So I take
it Yamazaki's the girl?"
"Well…kind of," Kai said nervously. As Nick continued to be entranced by Yuka Yamazaki, Kai thought to himself about the sudden turn of events. The Mystic Force Rangers were the same as he and his siblings in every regard, from their elements down to their base. Yet, when Kai tried to henshin using Nick's phone, he achieved nothing. There was only one way that was possible….
"Nii-chan, nee-chan!" Kai yelled into Nick's Mystic Morpher, "STOP!" His voice resounded across the forest. The fights were reaching their breaking point, and had Nick not called everything to a halt the consequences would have been disastrous.
Xander and Makito had locked hands as they struggled for control. Then, from Xander's Mystic Morpher, Kai's voice rang through. Makito loosened his grip and spoke into his MagiPhone. "Kai, why are we stopping?" Kai's voice answered through Xander's phone once more. "I can't tell you why right now, but come to the forest glade immediately. That will be all."
"You heard him," said Xander, "That's where we're going. It's a draw."
"Right," Makito nodded, "a draw."
Houka and Vida had been brawling the most intensely of the warring magicians. Vida's shirt had been ripped to expose her shoulders, and Houka had lost all but one button on her pink jacket. Vida grappled Houka into a headlock and looked down at her struggling face. Both of them were dripping with sweat and starting to tire, but Vida wasn't about to give in.
"Skunk-haired priss, am I? I wear pink MUCH better than you, Hou-chan…and I HATE this color like you wouldn't believe. Face it; the only way you can win now is by giving in. I'm not about to…"
"STOP!" yelled Kai's voice through Vida's Mystic Morpher.
"Kai?" Houka questioned weakly.
"What do you want, Ozu?" Vida snarled.
"He said to stop!" Nick replied, "Come to the glade as quick as you can."
"Feel lucky, Houka," Vida said as she let the Magician of the Pink go, "this is me on a GOOD day." Vida and Houka stayed a sizable distance apart and walked in the direction of the forest glade.
Madison and Urara had become drenched since their fight began. Their black hair hung limply over their heads and their uniforms were soaked. Madison pushed her long hair aside and looked at Urara. "You're pretty good," she said, "skilled in Divination?" Urara nodded and took off her turquoise-blue jacket and left nothing but a blue-gray undershirt beneath.
"MAJIKA!" Madison was hit by a stream of water and left struggling to get up when Kai's calming voice came through her morpher. Urara took Madison's morpher in hand and helped her stand on her own two feet once more. "Kai?" she asked. The Mystic Morpher pinpointed Kai and Nick's location in the Briarwood forest. Urara grabbed the weary Madison by the hand and dragged her off.
Chip had managed to pin Tsubasa down once he figured out how. Tsubasa could deflect all of his elemental attacks – so the way to go about it was by pure brawn. Chip was preparing to gloat in victory when he and the Ozu sibling received Kai's word. The Yellow Mystic Force eagerly let Tsubasa go and shook his hand, hastily, as if he wanted to make amends.
"Heat of the moment," he said while blushing, "didn't mean any of that."
"You didn't need to apologize," said Tsubasa, "let's go. Whatever Kai's telling us to stop this petty feud for, we have to check. As a family, we stick together. Do YOU have those bonds among your team? I'd like to know that."
Chip didn't answer, but simply walked along.
Urara and Vida had placed their jackets back on by the time they joined up with Kai and Nick. Makito placed his MagiPhone to Houka's jacket and activated a spell with the combination "4-4". "Majiine Majiine," he spoke. Houka's pink jacket returned to normal in no time. As Xander checked for bruises he looked over to Nick and asked what was up. Nick and Kai exchanged phones before speaking.
"Nii-chan, nee-chan," Kai began, "I'm not sure of how to say this, but…hmm…"
"What?" Houka asked.
"I think these…Rangers…we've been fighting are…ourselves. We must've stumbled into another dimension."
"We WHAT?" said Makito in shock.
"I don't know how to explain it EXACTLY," Kai said, "but the similarities are there. When I took Nick's Mystic Morpher," he looked aside to Nick and whispered "Is that what you call it?" Nick nodded in reply. "Right, Mystic Morpher, I had a feeling unlike anything else I've ever felt before.
"My magic, borne of Magitopia, is divine, and sacred. Your Mystic Morpher's magic, however, was rawer. It felt more natural, more heroic…more drawn from the earth. It felt medieval, like the kind of magic Merlin or King Arthur would've used. I'm not saying it's unfamiliar, but it is slightly discomforting for someone so used to Magitopia's holy, courage-borne magic.
"This could only mean one thing. Nick, your magic and mine are very similar, but very different. This is why, I suspect, we're no longer home. Not in our world, but not the Marudeyouna World either. This is a completely different Earth altogether."
"So we're almost like twins?" Nick said in shock, "Wow."
"That's why I saw inside your mind," Madison revealed as she looked at Urara, "when we shook hands."
"I could see yours as well," said Urara, "It was unsettling…but calming, too. Like I knew that you had been through what I had, and we thought the same. Felt the same things. Almost as if we were the same person."
"Maybe the Magiranger and the Mystic Force should spend some time with each other," Tsubasa said, "The more we know about ourselves; the more certain we are that we're close, then and only then may we find a way to get home. It's the best course of action."
"He's got a point," Vida sighed, "even if I have to be with YOU, Houka."
"What's that!" Houka screamed as she pointed at the sky.
Ten heads turned to observe something over the forests of Briarwood. It was about the size and shape of a Sky Hoki, except that a menacing dragon's head was in the front. A cloaked figure rode atop it and laughed. He looked down at the Magiranger and Mystic Force before holding an hourglass and speaking menacingly.
"The crossing of the dimensions has begun! When I forge my alliances, there shall be a new ruler of the world – and it shall be me! Cherish these moments while you can, for they will be the last you ever have! Remember my words and remember my name! For I am….THE DRAGON KEEPER!" The Keeper exited on his black-and-blue dragon Sky Hoki.
"'Crossing of the dimensions?'" asked Makito.
"We must go see this town where you live," said Tsubasa, "What is it?"
"Follow us," Chip replied, "If we're to cherish these moments, we may as well do so in the friendliest little town in the western United States. Ozu family, I welcome you to Briarwood!"
