Chapter 4: Quest from the Saints

The Dragon Keeper had appeared in the forest shortly after he crossed the dimensions. "Before I see what's going on underground," he mused, "It would be best if I proved that I had the skill to join their ranks. Defeating not one, but two Ranger teams should be enough to make me worthy. I may even become their LEADER if this is pulled off correctly."

"Is it a Hades Beast?" said Urara's voice from a distance.

"It's not like anything we've picked up before," Madison answered.

"Whatever it is, we'll win," Nick said, "Can't be that tough."

The Dragon Keeper took out his gnarled staff and slammed its bottom tip to the ground. Around him rose statues of five dragons, each one different than the next. A Madou circle was inscribed into the bottom of each pedestal, although the dragons themselves spoke more of the five elements used by none other than the Rangers.

"My power increase!" The dragonmancer held his staff to the sky, "Ryuu Ryugaro!" Dark energy spiraled around his body and lifted him into the air. The five dragon statues opened their maws and shot dark beams at the Dragon Keeper; the beams centralized in the tip of his staff and powered him up to his greatest extent. The dragon statues remained aboveground when the ten magicians appeared on the scene.

"I don't think it's a Hades Beast at all," said Tsubasa.

"It's a dragonmage!" Chip exclaimed, "Awesome!"

"…I don't think it's that awesome," Vida said, "He's trying to kill us."

"Let me reason with him," Xander spoke up, "Hi, I'm Xander. You would be…?"

"I, Xander," replied the sage "I am the Dragon Keeper. Exiled by the Magitopia council, I came here to spread my terror and let the world know the fury of these great beasts. None of you can stand against me."

"They've all said that," Madison sighed.

"We'll try," Nick stated, "Everybody, ready?"

"Ready!" replied Xander, Chip, Madison and Vida. The five flipped open their Mystic Morphers and called out "Magical Source, Mystic…"

They were shoved aside by Kai and his siblings. "You aren't needed," Kai said, "You lack the courage to take on someone of his level. Leave this to the magicians who know what they're doing."

"We don't lack courage," snarled Vida.

"Nii-chan, nee-chan!" Kai yelled, "Let's go!"

"Right!" said Makito, Tsubasa, Houka, and Urara.

"Tenkuu seijia yo, ware ni mahou no chikara wo! Chou Mahou Henshin! Maaji Maji Maji Majiiro!" They entered the code 1-0-0-6 on their MagiPhones and pressed enter. For the briefest of seconds they were visible in the suits the Mystic Force Rangers were familiar with, but that changed in the blink of an eye.

All five gained a white-and-gold chest shield with their emblem engraved and a respective-colored gemstone set within. Their gloves and boots had a large golden "M" insignia appear, and the white, gold and red DialRods appeared in their hands. Makito's helmet gained a pair of bull horns, Houka's fairy wings, Urara's a tail like that of a mermaid, Tsubasa's a pair of lightning bolt shaped wings, and Kai's a golden crown and five flared wings jutting from the sides. Their roll call was performed.

"Unaru Daichi no Eremento! Midori no Mahoutsukai, Legend MagiGreen!"

"Fukiyuku Kaze no Eremento! Momoiro no Mahoutsukai, Legend MagiPink!"

"Tayutau Mizu no Eremento! Ao no Mahoutsukai, Legend MagiBlue!"

"Hashiru Ikazuchi no Eremento! Kiiro no Mahoutsukai, Legend MagiYellow!"

"Moeru Honoo no Eremento! Aka no Mahoutsukai, Legend MagiRed!"

"Afereru yuuki wo mahou ni kaeru! Mahou Sentai…MAGIRANGER!"

"No way!" Nick gasped.

"Awesome!" exclaimed Chip.

"Impressive," commented Madison.

"Cool," said Vida.

"Wow," Xander stared ahead.

"We won't allow a villain like you to claim the surface world, not after we saved it in our own dimension," Kai declared, "Legend Fire!" A ring formed from the tip of his DialRod and created a stream of fire intense in both size and heat. The Dragon Keeper created a fanged shield around his body and let the attack fade away into nothingness. Makito and Tsubasa were next.

"Legend Earth Shaking!"

"Legend Thunder Crash!"

Makito raised a large boulder from the ground and smashed it with his DialRod. The boulder segmented into several small, sharp rocks that launched themselves at the Dragon Keeper.

"Zanga Ryujira!" The Dragon Keeper protected himself with a cage-like veil of energy. The rocks went through and did no damage. Tsubasa raised his DialRod to the sky and summoned a series of storm clouds overhead. The Dragon Keeper dropped his veil and prepared for the attack.

The storm clouds flashed and roared, but they eventually released a giant bolt of lightning that caused Chip to open his mouth in awe. The Dragon Keeper caught it in the tip of his staff and held the wand forward at the Magiranger. Several dark bolts of energy hit the Legend Magiranger on their chests and shattered the gemstone embedded on the shields. "Houka…Urara…" said Tsubasa, "Take him."

"Houka and Urara Ozu, magical sisters!" Houka announced.

"Beautiful Attack Formation!" Urara added.

Houka and Urara placed the tips of their DialRods together and spun the Rods around in a complete circle before meeting up again. "Gonga Jijiru!" Strands of pink and blue energy fluttered outward with the powers of wind and water racing within. The Dragon Keeper deflected with his staff and let them hit nothing but the trees behind him.

"That's IT," Nick said off to the side to his teammates, "I'm tired of being told I lack the courage or whatever to fight these guys. If our counterparts can, we can. Ready?" The Mystic Force Rangers threw off their cloaks and readied their Mystic Morphers. The code 1-2-3 was entered.

"Magical Source, Mystic Force! Galwit Mysto Ranger!"

"Strong as a tree, Green Mystic Ranger!"

"Ever-changing as the wind, Pink Mystic Ranger!"

"Fluid as the sea, Blue Mystic Ranger!"

"Fast as lightning, Yellow Mystic Ranger!"

"Forceful as fire, Red Mystic Ranger!"

"We call forth the magic– Power Rangers MYSTIC FORCE!"

In less than a second the five were in their spandex outfits and ready to fight. Nick spread his arms and yelled out "I summon the fire of the phoenix!" Red flame enveloped his body as he flew across the forest ground and slammed into the Dragon Keeper. The Keeper, holding Nick against him, swatted the red mage away like a fly with one swing of his staff. Nick landed on the ground. Xander, Chip, Madison and Vida rushed to console him.

"I told you not to interfere!" Kai yelled.

"He's our problem too, Ozu," Nick shot back.

"We'll finish him on our own," Kai said, "Nii-chan, nee-chan!"

The Legend Magiranger dialed "2" on their Rods and placed the five staffs in a pentagonal formation. Golden light flared up. "Jii Golu MagiBolt!" The Dragon Keeper knew this was coming, and prepared accordingly. "Ryaara Ryuu!" The dragon statues moved in front of him.

"LEGEND FINISH!" A beam of light shot forth like a comet and slammed into the dragon statues. Smoke, dust and debris filled the air. The Magiranger assumed the smoke and flame to mean that the Dragon Keeper had been defeated, and reacted properly. They turned around, snapped their fingers, and proclaimed "Checkmate!" A malicious laugh came from the darkness.

"You fool," laughed the Keeper, "You didn't kill me. Not at all. I have a fairly good estimate of your power now, and know what must be done to become ruler of the underworld and, in time, all worlds. Ryuu Ryujira!" A Madou circle appeared beneath him as he teleported away from the battlefield. The Magiranger and Mystic Force powered down.

"You idiot!" Nick screamed, "We could've taken him!"

"But you didn't, right?" Kai answered, "If anything, you were a hindrance in the fight!"

"Beautiful Attack Formation?" Vida asked of Houka, "Yes, streamers are the PERFECT weapon for defeating evil!"

"I thought it was nice…" Madison shyly chimed in.

"We're better sisters than you are!" Houka jealously roared back, "At least we get along like family. Madison's only riding your coattails because she'll knows you'll get angry if she tries to do anything better than you!"

"Houka, calm down!" Urara tried to control her sister.

"If you were really like me, you'd have stopped them," Tsubasa scolded, "That wasn't the time to jump into battle."

"It's not like you were winning," Chip shrugged.

"Take that back!" Makito growled.

"Let me try to reason with you," Xander said, "See…"

"SHUT UP, XANDER!" Vida yelled.

"Sorry, Vida, sorry…" Xander retreated in shame.

"We'll head back to the Rootcore and find a way home on our own," Kai said to his siblings.

"It's OUR base," Nick retaliated, "If you go, we have no choice but to go with you."

"Be that way," Kai stuck his nose up and turned away.

The two teams of five magicians kept a great distance from each other on the walk back. Chip wanted to use tree portals and get the jump on them, but when Xander warned him that he may cross paths with Tsuabsa, Chip quickly declined the thought. All assumed it was going to be a quiet and tense evening at Rootcore, but their suspicions were about to become completely wrong.


The dragon's-head entrance to Rootcore had an expression its eyes that made it look like it had eaten something. Xander pointed his Mystic Morpher's tip at the tree dragon and lifted its maw to reveal what was standing in the doorway to their base. It was a white goat with a scroll of parchment hanging out its mouth. The goat sounded a "baa" and caused all, except the Magiranger and Chip, to arch their eyebrows in confusion.

"Hikaru-sensei explained this to us before," Urara said, "There's a black goat in Magitopia and a white goat on the surface world. The message you want to send is shoved down the throat of the black goat and comes out the mouth of the white one. Their stomachs are connected by a tiny magical dimension."

"Awesome," Chip said as he took the letter from the goat's teeth, "I want to get a goat fax machine in my house."

"Don't get overexcited," said Tsubasa, "now read the letter."

Chip started at the top and muttered something under his breath. He was as engrossed in the letter as he was in one of his large collection of fantasy books. Tsubasa smacked him across the back of his head and said "Read the letter ALOUD, Thorn!"

"Oh, right," Chip chuckled, "aloud."

"Mahou Sentai Magiranger, Power Rangers Mystic Force

"There is no doubt that both of you are strong and worthy of the title of successor to the Five Legendary Magicians. But the Dragon Keeper is something that one group of magicians alone cannot defeat. As long as you see each other as enemies, then the true enemy shall continue living. It is because of this, on the order of the Heavenly Arch Saint Magiel, that I am sending you on something all noble and true heroes must go through to attain the greatness that surpasses their name through the ages. You are to go on a quest.

"In the Marudeyouna World there exists a special world created by none other than the Five Legendary Magicians themselves. It is a vast and sprawling world known as Heroes' Mountain. In the five sectors of this world lies something each of you must find, and something each of you must overcome. Only when you accomplish this task shall you truly be ready to take on the Dragon Keeper and the army of the undead he is sure to align himself with.

"Included are two pre-punched MagiTickets. One will take you to Heroes' Mountain and the other will arm you appropriately for combat. While dangerous, I know this is what must be done if the Dragon Keeper is ever to be defeated at last. Best of luck to all of you.

"Heavenly Saint Lunagel. Rin."

Chip saw two golden tickets slip from the parchment. The first had the image of a Saint circle on it and read "teleport" below. The hole in the ticket shone with a brilliant golden light that enveloped all ten and teleported them away. It was a feeling similar to the one the Magiranger experienced when they were forced across the dimensions to Briarwood, but this one had a calm air about it compared to the calamity of the previous teleport. Chip, of course, thought it awesome. In a few short seconds they were gone from sight.


Heroes' Mountain aptly fit its name. A large, sparkling lake was to one side of the central mountain, as was a dense forest and a stone valley. The sky was eternally blue with only a few soft, white clouds here and there. The sun shone brightly and the tip of the mountain was covered in a blanket of white snow. Three circles – Legend, Saint and Mahou – were inscribed in stone slabs at the center of it all. It was on the Saint circle that the ten magicians materialized.

"Whoa," Chip exclaimed, "that was cool." Chip dropped the second MagiTicket, this one labeled "Fashion". Its design was a shirt with a red question mark across it. This ticket shone as well. When its light passed over the ten magicians their clothing changed from their uniforms to something fitting for each colored pair. Tsubasa and Chip were the first to take notice.

"So we're role playing now?" Chip exclaimed, "I like."

"You should lay off the sugar," Tsubasa said, "…what's with our outfits?"

Tsubasa and Chip were now wearing a pair of moccasins and tan leather pants. Their shirts had mysteriously vanished, and yellow face paint was spread across their cheeks and forehead. They each had a headdress adorned with yellow and white feathers. It made them look Native American in appearance. Tsubasa found it uncomfortable, but Chip started looking for a tomahawk; he was as happy as a kid on Halloween.

When the light passed over Makito and Xander they had been changed into clothes even older than those of the yellow duo. They had hemispherical hats with bull horns and outfits made of a coarse fur. Boots and arm guards made of the same materials were also worn on their person.

"Vikings," said Xander, "Nice."

"…why this?" Makito asked, "It itches."

Houka and Vida were both in pink ninja outfits from Japan. From the sash around their belt to the ponytail in their hair they fit the part perfectly. No shoes were on their feet, but a small dagger was around their waist. Vida looked down at her outfit and stuck out her tongue in disgust. Houka tweaked her outfit to perfection and struck her pose once again.

"I HATE pink," Vida said.

Houka replied, "It looks cute on you."

"Now's NOT the time for that," Vida began.

Madison and Urara were in blue silk robes with their mermaid symbol sewed on in a darker shade of blue. Their hair was tied in the back, and it made them appear even more similar than before. The outfit in and of itself was traditional Chinese.

"Hmm…wonder why?" Madison asked.

"It looks good," Urara said, "Fluid as the sea."

Finally, Kai and Nick were in the most traditional and noble clothing of heroes. A chainmail undershirt, a red-and-gold tunic over that and silver armor on their arms and legs with a sword around their belt were now on their person. A flowing red cape draped down from their neck. It was the armor of a traditional medieval knight, and Kai knew that he would wear it proudly.

"A knight in shining armor…" Kai stated.

"What next?" Nick sighed. His question was answered when a Legend circle appeared at the feet of each group of two. There was a flash in the five colors of light and then the ten had been separated. Their quest was about to begin.