A few days had passed since Rachel returned to the Mystic Realm. The story around school went that Rachel transferred to a fancy boarding school in Connecticut. The Rangers tried to continue life as usual, but found that it was a difficult task. Dr. Bly told them it was for the best. Claire explained herself to be an old friend of Dr. Bly's. She was to be something of a guardian to the Rangers. Her role functioned like that of an animal familiar. She was to help guide the Rangers as magic users until they were able to stand on their own feet. Then, she would move on.
Over the past few days, she had told the Rangers how as their powers grew, their own individual powers would expand in numerous ways. Alongside their own powers, their Ranger powers would not only grow just as strong, but eventually bleed over into them. This meant that with training, the Rangers would be able to utilize their elements, to a lesser extent, outside of Morph.
"I feel like we haven't seen you in forever!" Lydia nudged Alicia. They were sitting in the Quad at lunch with Ezra and Bobby. It was the last day before Thanksgiving Break started and everyone was looking forward to the 10 days they'd get off from school.
"Things have been pretty wild lately," Alicia assured her friends. Her own boyfriend gave her a skeptical look, which she did not miss. "What's wrong, Bobby?"
"You've been hanging around them a lot." Bobby motioned across the field to the Willow Tree. Under it were Jared, Tobias, Noah, and Liam.
"So?" Alicia asked incredulously.
Ezra commented, "Liam and Noah? We get. They're Varsity Athletes. But Tobias and Jerry?"
"It's Jared," Alicia corrected, "And you don't know them."
Lydia gave her best friend a strange look but kept her mouth shut. The strawberry blonde knew in her heart that something had changed. The look she shared with Bobby indicated he knew too. Ezra, however, wasn't so privy.
"Complete losers," Ezra deadpanned. "I don't know why Noah and Lee are hanging out with them, either."
Sighing, Alicia looked down at her salad. It wasn't so appealing to her anymore. Bobby softly placed his hand on hers, which rocked her with emotion. Her Empathy ability instinctively activated, opening Bobby up to Alicia's perception. The girl detected care at the forefront.
But underneath it, she sensed irritation, confusion, concern and… jealousy. She quickly snapped her hand away from Bobby and shook her head as she stood up, "You know, I don't have much of an appetite right now and I have a few things to take care of." Without another word, Alicia left her group and headed indoors.
"Whatever," Ezra shook his head. Bobby merely rolled his eyes. Lydia, however, got up to follow her friend.
-Mystic Realm-
The Mystic Realm, mostly unknown to the Human Realm outside of Briarwood, had a society of its own. Those who chose to live there lived in relative harmony. Of course, like any society, there were those who wished to undermine it.
The numerous cities within the Mystic Realm were built through magical means. The buildings themselves stood tall as a cross between medieval, steampunk, and modern. The buildings all had unusual geometric shapes to them, yet they all complimented each other well.
The Council Of Light, a governmental body that oversaw the Mystic Forces of the Mystic and Human realm, was located in the capital city of 'Iluma.' The city itself was circular and was just as big as the Human Realm's city of London. Actually, a lot of Iluma's city schematics and a bit of its culture were influenced by London - meaning, the city's zones were split off into concentric circular zones for organizational purposes. At the center of all the zones, at the circle's hub, was the Council of Light's temple.
Within this temple, sat a small group of people sitting in a circle of ornate chairs. The oldest and wisest amongst them was a bald man with deep dark skin. Like his counterparts, he wore white and gold robes. Despite the look in his gentle eyes, he radiated a large sum of power.
"What is the status of the Alpha Nemeton within the Human realm?" He asked with a soothing, deep voice.
Ryland Shelor replied, "It's cracked. The Twilight can only send limited forces to the surface world. But with the Nemeton's energy seeping out, Supernatural creatures in both our realm and the human realm will gather in Bayview. That, combined with the Twilight's efforts, could risk weakening the seal further. If the seal breaks, they will escape the Dark Void. Master Tenzin, what shall we do?"
Tenzin ran his fingers through his short, dark beard. He took in a deep breath and replied, "We do nothing for now. From Rachel's reports, it appears as if a new team of Power Rangers, using the Spirits of our Ancestors have arisen."
"But sir-" A woman with blue hair protested.
"That is my decision," Tenzin replied, "Remember, we must not spread out forces too thin. As you know, our own realm has come under attack. We shall step in if the Twilight threat becomes too much to handle. For now, we'll-" Tenzin was cut off by a series of explosions that rocked the whole Capitol.
-Cue Theme-
~Human Realm~
"Woah!" Alicia ducked under an attack. She had left the Quad and resolved to head to the library to ask Dr. Bly if he had heard anything about Rachel. Before she was able to get there, however, she felt malicious intent reverberate down the halls.
Focusing her Empathic power, she followed the trail to one of the older, smaller gymnasiums that was set to be remodeled.
When she asked if anyone was in there, something jumped out at her. She muttered a spell that created a series of white lights above her so she could see better. Standing before her was, strangely, a mummy. The mummy stood at about 7 feet tall. It had a scarab on its chest and some of its preserved skin was visible through its wraps.
"No way…" Alicia whispered as the mummy charged at her. She rolled under its arms and kicked it in the side, knocking it away. She looked around and noticed that a few people were wrapped up in bandages, trying to break free.
"Don't worry!" She called out, taking a fight stance. The mummy growled at her, its eyes glowing an aggressive green color. It charged at her once more, but she jumped up and flipped off of its shoulders with enough force to send it falling into a wall. Taking the opportunity, she pulled out her cell phone and sent a text to her friends as she tried to pull the victims out of their prisons.
"It won't budge," Alicia grunted with effort, trying to pull someone free. Another scream made her turn around. Lydia was cowering in a corner, with the mummy advancing on her.
"Lydia!" Alicia called out, in fear. Without thinking, without processing it properly, she felt an invisible reach extend from her mind's eye. She instinctively launched it at the mummy, which caused it to be sent flying away from Lydia and landing on its back. Alicia was shocked.
"How'd I do that?" She asked. She shook her head and ran to Lydia, helping her up. "Are you okay?!"
"What is that thing?!" Lydia demanded. "What's going on?!"
"Ali!" Jared called out as he and the rest of the Rangers appeared in the gym.
Sonia asked, "You okay?"
"I'm fine…"
"Lydia?" Noah asked, "What're you doing here?"
"Alicia was upset at lunch so when she left, I followed her." Lydia explained crossing her arms. "Now, I'll ask again. WHAT is going on here?"
"We'll explain later," Jared replied taking a few steps forward, "I cast a cloaking spell. No one will know what's going on in here."
"Let's do it," Liam nodded.
The Five Rangers lined up in front of Lydia, who was still confused. Only when they materialized their Morphers did she connect the dots.
"You guys…" She whispered in disbelief.
"Spirit Legend, Awaken!" In a flash of lights, the Rangers stood morphed and ready. Leaving Lydia with her mouth hung open, the Rangers charged forth. Lydia saw how her classmates worked in tandem, striking and swarming the mummy. However, after a few minutes, the mummy began to get the upper hand on the Rangers. No matter what they did, it didn't seem to slow the mummy down.
"What's up with this thing?" Noah demanded, blasting it with a spray of water. "Nothing's working!"
Liam jumped into the air with his X-Sword, but the mummy shot him with bandages, binding him from the chest down. As the remaining Rangers fought on, Lydia noticed the scarab on the mummy's chest glowing every time it attacked or if it got hit. She remembered something she read somewhere before about the scarab. It then dawned on her.
"Guys!" The four turned around in confusion. Lydia pointed, "Attack the scarab! It's the beetle on its chest!"
They didn't have to be told twice. Alicia whipped up a wave of wind and blasted the mummy into a wall. Jared, Sonia, and Noah charged up their X-Swords and sent slash waves of their own elements forth. The waves struck the scarab, shattering it, and caused the mummy to disintegrate.
When it did, Liam and the rest of the victims were freed from their bandages. The Rangers helped the students up and told them to get going. Lydia could only stand in shock at what had happened. When the coast was clear, the Rangers demorphed before her eyes.
Lydia glanced over the five of them before saying, "This all makes perfect sense now. I knew something was different… and this was it!"
"Thanks for the tip about the scarab." Liam said, massaging his own arm. "How'd you know?"
Lydia shrugged her shoulders and said, "I may know a thing or two about the supernatural."
Sonia then put her hands on her hips. "What do we do about her?"
"What do you mean?" Lydia asked, taking a few steps back.
Noah stated, "You know about us, Lyd. We've been trying to keep a low profile."
"I won't say anything, I promise."
Noah wasn't too thrilled, "That's how it starts… Jared? What should we do?"
Jared crossed his arms and took a few moments. He was intrigued by how she knew about the Supernatural. With Rachel gone, he figured she could help them. However, he also knew that would be a risk. He sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, we gave Tobias a chance and helped us. So... I say... Alicia's one of Lydia's best friends. I say we let her decide."
Every turned to Alicia with a variety of gazes.
Alicia then said, "It's dangerous. But…" As if she had read Jared's mind she continued, "She might be able to help us now that Rachel's gone." Noah sighed, walked away and threw his hands in the air. Sonia gave her friend a skeptical but understanding look. Liam ran after Noah while Jared nodded in agreement.
He pitched, "If it doesn't workout, we can erase her memory. Deal?"
Noah shouted from the door, "Sounds good!"
Alicia walked up to her friend and said, "We have to do some catching up, huh?"
~Later On~
The Rangers exited school together, with Lydia in tow. Despite learning of her classmates' activities over the previous weeks, she was able to keep everything together. She calmly absorbed everything they told her like a sponge and only stopped to ask a few questions.
"Dr. Bly wasn't in class today," Noah pointed out as the rest of the student body emptied the front parking lot.
"Do you think something's up?" Sonia asked.
Before anyone could answer, the sound of windchime jingles resounded from their wristbands which hid their Morphers. Exchanging worried looks, the Teens quickly shuffled to a more secluded area before Jared answered the call.
"Rangers," Xander said, "Come to HQ. Something's happened in the Mystic Realm."
"Oh no," Noah shook his head. The Rangers took off, promising to find Lydia when this was all over.
"Attacked?!" Jared asked Claire and Xander. "By who?"
Claire explained, "It's hard to say. There've been reports of strange incidents throughout the Mystic Realm, but this is the first time something like that has happened… We lost contact with the Capital an hour ago.
Dr. Bly continued, "I've tried casting communication spells, but none of them worked. I've also tried using the trees to get there, but the passages have been blocked."
"We have to get to the Mystic Realm!" Alicia pitched in, "We can find a way to get there. I bet 10-1 that there's some sort of spell in the Book of Shadows. We go and we investigate ourselves."
"It's too dangerous," Dr. Bly shook his head. "You'd be walking into Iluma, the Capital of the Mystic Realm. A dark force was able to conquer it, and ALL of its experienced Magic Users. You Five aren't at that level yet."
The Rangers looked down at the ground, disheartened. Was Rachel okay? What could've possibly attacked the Mystic Realm?
"So what do we do, then?" Liam asked, his arms crossed behind his lower back.
"Train and hone your powers," Xander pressed.
Claire built off of that by saying, "You train. You make sure your united powers can keep the Five of you safe." Claire eyed Xander with a knowing look.
He sighed and explained, "Look, guys. You know I was a Ranger myself. My friends and I were lucky… I've told you about other Power Ranger teams from across the Universe, even in different dimensions. The danger is always real and there will ALWAYS be something more dangerous. With where you guys are at right now… I don't want you guys to lose anyone… like how other teams lost some of their own…"
"And until you're ready," Claire concluded, "Don't plant this tree until you know you can nurture it. Now… go home. We'll pick up training in the morning.
The Rangers shuffled out of HQ, but something lingered on Jared's mind. He resolved to bring it up later.
~That Night, Jared's House~
Dressed in his Slaying outfit, which consisted of a red under-armor shirt, black pants, and sneakers, Jared took a deep breath and opened his bedroom window. He focused his Mana and jumped from the second story port and landed in an elegant roll.
"No way," He shook his head with resolve in his heart. He slowly moved through the shadows, making his way to the Bayview Forest. He had just made it to the mouth of the woods when he felt that he wasn't alone.
"You too, huh?" He asked with a grin. From behind some trees came his friends, all who wore similar clothes to him, except each wore their own Ranger color.
"As if we'd let you do this alone," Sonia winked as she wrapped her hair into a ponytail.
"We care about Rachel, too." Liam nodded, "What we do, we do as a team."
After Noah and Alicia gave their two cents, Jared nodded back at his friends. "Something that Claire said to us stuck with me. She mentioned planting a tree."
"I caught onto that too," Alicia shared, "According to the Tomes in HQ, trees are excellent conductors of magical energy. That's why the Nemeton is used as a seal for the Dark Void."
"Exactly," Jared stated. "Claire told us not to plant this tree until we can care for it. I think… I think she wants us to create a new portal to the Mystic Realm."
"Sounds simple enough. A simple Herbology Spell, yeah?" Noah asked. "Let's pick a spot and get started."
It didn't take long. With the proper motivation in their minds, they utilized the combined teachings of Dr. Bly and Claire to enchant a freshly planted tree. They stood around it in a circle, focusing their Mana.
"Now," Alicia instructed, "We concentrate the power of our Ancient Spirits and fuel the growth of the sapling to its full maturity. You know the spell, let's cast it."
"Et crescere meridiem." Alicia muttered, to herself. Under her feet glowed a pink, circular spell seal. A manifestation of the Spirit of Wind stood behind her. All around her, her friends also stood on circular seals that shared their personal Ranger colors, alongside their own Ancient Spirits.
Jared chanted, "Light of life, to you I plead. Nurture and grow this tiny seed."
In Noah's hands, were two pieces of paper. One had rose drawing while the other had the sun.
Liam's hands were flattened against the ground. From his hands, tendrils of tiny green energy surged through the ground and wrapped around the sapling, giving it more nutrients.
Sonia hummed to herself a series of musical notes that gave her a golden aura.
In concert, the Five continued to cast the same spell in their own specific ways. Their energies came together around the tree, making it grow to its adult size. After a few moments, their energies faded away as the tree itself began to glow a bright blue light.
"We did it," Sonia sighed in relief.
"That was metal," Noah grinned as the Five gathered together. They were about to step through when Claire and Dr. Bly intercepted them.
"Nice night for sneaking out, huh?" Dr. Bly pointed out with a calm look.
Liam shook his head, "Please… don't try and stop us."
"We care about the Mystic Realm and Rachel," Alicia said, "And we can't just stand around and do nothing!"
"We know it's dangerous," Jared pointed out, "But we have something that no one else has. We're Rangers… and we have each other."
Claire placed her hand on Xander's shoulder and the two shared a look, as if conversing non-verbally.
Xander simply replied to the Rangers, "The gate you created won't stay open forever. You go through and I'll keep it open. You'll have about 36 hours before it closes and unless you can open other channels of travel, you'll be stuck there."
The Rangers smiled at their mentor with relief and nodded at his words.
Claire stepped forward, "I'll guide you around, just in case." Without missing another beat, the group went through the tree trunk as Xander focused his own magic on it.
-A Dark Space-
Claire led the Rangers through a corridor made up of swirling purple energy. It was a bit chilly, like a cool autumn day. Not a sound could be heard save for the footsteps of the Team.
Claire looked over her shoulder, seeing the looks of wonder and anxiety etched across the faces of the Rangers. "I want everyone to stay with me. You lose your way, you're lost forever."
They walked on for what seemed like several hours, when really it was around 10 minutes.
"It should be here," Claire explained as she stopped in place.
Liam asked, "What should?" Without warning, the corridor around them dissipated, and was replaced by an Earth-like scenery. The trouble was, they were about 15,000 feet off the ground and falling.
"Oh my god!" Noah howled at the top of his lungs. "Oh my god! Oh my god! We're gonna die!"
Sonia called out, "Noah, calm down!"
Jared nodded and materialized his Morpher. "She's right! Morph!"
"Spirit Legend, Awaken!"
In a flash of lights the Rangers were still free falling. But, the use of their suits provided a sense of security. Alicia focused her energy and used a swirl of wind to catch them all. The pink hued winds wrapped around the group, as it quickly and softly slowed their descent.
"Nice save, Alicia!" Liam complimented as they reached the ground and demorphed.
Alicia was bent over, her hands on her knees. She panted as she gave Liam a thumbs up. "Thanks."
Claire motioned to the Capital city in the distance. She said, "Rangers, welcome to Mystic Realm."
"Lead the way, Claire." Jared beckoned, "There's no time to waste, right?"
The city of Iluma was strangely quiet. The Rangers and Claire walked through the barren area, completely devoid of life. Of course, there was debris everywhere, implying a large scale attack.
"What could've done all this?" Noah asked, eyeing a building that was completely decimated. They came upon a gate that separated the Council of Light's headquarters from the rest of the city. It was a rather large gate with a dark color. However, it had a large hole blown through the door.
Claire was suspicious. "Even the guards are gone… where're all the citizens?" A chill ran through the air and made everyone's hair stand on end. A spiraling cloud of dark energy massed together in front of the Rangers, forming five Shadow Beasts that looked like gorillas with dragon wings.
"Looks like they wanna fight." Noah said cracking his knuckles. "Shadow Beasts. Looks like we found our attacker."
"Then let's show them what we're made of." Liam said with confidence.
Claire wasn't quite convinced, "Rangers be careful. These Shadow Beasts, they seem different."
"We will," Jared nodded. "Ready?"
"Ready!"
"Spirit Legend, Awaken!"
-Five Way Split Morphing Sequence-
"Let's take them down!" Jared called out, raising his weapons.
Jared backflipped away from the gorilla he was fighting.
"Spirit of Steel!" A silver ribbon-like stream wrapped around his right arm and formed an arm blade. The Slayer jumped into the air and sliced down the middle, destroying it.
Noah rode on a wave of water around his Shadow Beast. It desperately tried to keep up, but it was no match. It raised its sword and swung forward.
"Sorry, but you won't be able to get me!" He lifted his hands, made fists, then flicked his fingers forward. A vortex of water wrapped around his target, trapping it.
"Let's try something new!" Noah jumped into the air and landed on top of the Beast's head.
"Aqua Pulse!" A swirling sphere of water formed in between his hands and he smashed it down on the Golem's head. The sphere exploded and the Beast disintegrated.
Alicia fired three arrows into the Beast, sending it backwards.
"Hurricane Wave!" The gust of wind blew the Beast into the ground, crippling its wing. She jumped high into the air, focusing her Mana into her X-Sword. She landed on the Beast's back and plunged her sword into its neck, destroying it.
Liam rolled through the opening between the Beast''s legs and jumped up. He brought his axe down on its back. "Take this! Geo Force!" A green burst of energy erupted from Liam's right hand and blasted the Beast to bits.
Sonia electrified her target with large sums of electricity, slowing her enemy down. It swung low, and Sonia jumped over it. She focused her powers and formed an electrical sphere.
"Zap Spark!" She launched the ball at the Beast. The sphere dispersed into electrical currents and paralyzed the giant. Sonia then materialized her daggers and sliced the Beast to pieces.
With all the Shadow Beasts defeated, the Rangers grouped back up and de-materialized their helmets.
Claire grinned with pride, "An excellent use of your powers, Rangers."
-Inside Council HQ-
Inside the main meeting room floated a viewing globe. It depicted the Rangers destroying each of their Shadow Beasts before heading toward HQ to investigate further.
"Impressive…" Spoke a figure sitting in Tenzin's chair. "Let us see how they handle what's coming next…"
