"Mom!" Nick shouted, falling to his knees. "No!"
The other rangers were right behind him, diving for the place where Udonna had been in the futile hope of following. But it was too late—she was gone. Now it was just them and Black Lance.
"Your sorceress is gone, and now it's your turn," Black Lance scoffed, towering over them.
Since the Master's possession of Matoombo and his return, things had just been getting worse and worse for the Mystic Force rangers. They had stepped up their training, constantly in a state of alert as they waited for the Master to make his next move. And it had been one they hadn't expected. First he had possessed Nick, turning him against the citizens of the magical realm, his team, and even setting him against his own father. As a new incarnation of Koragg, Nick had nearly killed Leanbow. But Leanbow had broken through to his son, helping him throw off the Master's control.
Then the Master retaliated, invading the palace of Mystic Mother, the empress of all good magic, and destroying her palace—and her. After receiving news of the attack, Daggeron and Leanbow had left to see if they could still save Mystic Mother, leaving Jenji with Nick and Nick in charge. And things had continued to spiral out of control. Responding to an alert from the others, Nick had joined them in battle against Black Lance. Udonna joined in the fight as well, taking on Sculpin alone as the rangers fought Black Lance in zord form. Black Lance overpowered them, knocking them out of form and sending them to the ground. And now Udonna had fallen and had been taken into the dark realm by Sculpin, leaving the rangers to face Black Lance alone.
"Now you will fall, just as your mother has," Black Lance laughed, advancing toward the rangers.
Nick stood up slowly, his gaze fixed on Black Lance.
"Now you've made me mad," Nick growled.
Stepping forward, he morphed as he moved to meet Black Lance. The other four rangers watched, waiting as Nick took on his opponent.
"Come on!" Black Lance shouted, holding his sword and shield at the ready.
"You're going down!" Nick cried, charging him.
Taking Black Lance by surprise, Nick landed a hard blow to his enemy's shield, shattering it into pieces.
"My shield!" Black Lance exclaimed in shock.
"Fire Heart!" Nick called.
The dragon soared down out of the sky, knocking Black Lance off of his feet.
"Good boy, Fire Heart!" Nick praised as the dragon landed behind him.
"Your dragon will not save you this time!" Black Lance snarled, getting back to his feet.
Black Lance sent a spell flying toward Nick. But Fireheart wrapped his wings around the red ranger, protecting him from the blast, and the pair morphed into their fused ranger form. Combined with Fireheart, Nick attacked Black Lance once more. Now it was Nick who held the upper hand, his stronger magic, determination, and anger giving him the power to overcome his opponent. Knocking Black Lance to the ground, Nick separated from Fireheart and stood waiting for the enemy to climb to his feet.
"Bullseye!" Nick said. "You guys want in on this?"
The other four leapt to their feet, running to stand behind their red.
"Gladly," Xander said.
"Uh huh," said Madison.
"Yeah," exclaimed Chip.
"Yeah!" Vida agreed.
"Ready!" Madison said, glancing at the other three.
"Ready!" Chip, Vida, and Xander answered.
"Magical source, mystic force!" the four rangers called.
Now morphed, they joined Nick in the fight. All five of them attacked. Madison hit first, knocking Black Lance back with a blast of water.
"Magi staff!" Xander and Vida exclaimed, taking the next hit.
"Thanks for joining the party!" Nick said as they fell in next to him.
"Mystic spell seal!" they shouted, attacking together. "Yeah!"
Black Lance fell, destroyed by their combined powers. But the fight wasn't over yet. A new opponent appeared in the sky, drawing all eyes to him.
"What's that?" Nick asked in shock.
"It's him!" Vida cried. "The Master!"
Floating in the sky, the Master laughed as he loomed over them.
"Where's Daggeron and my father?" Nick demanded.
"Right here!" the Master said.
There was a flash of light and a body appeared, falling to the ground. It was Daggeron.
"Oh no!" Nick shouted.
"Daggeron!" Madison cried, scrambling toward him. "Daggeron!"
Their teacher, the one who had worked so hard to train them, didn't respond.
"And Leanbow!" the Master laughed as a second body appeared, falling in the same manner.
"Dad!" Nick shouted.
He stumbled a few steps toward his father's body, shaking his head in shock. Behind him, Vida fell to her knees, staring at Leanbow. Xander knelt next to her, a hand on her shoulder, as Chip stumbled after Nick.
"This can't be…" Nick muttered. "All we've done was in vain…all this time… finding my dad…"
Stumbling the rest of the way to Leanbow, Nick fell to his knees next to his father and bowed his head over him. Putting his arms around him, Nick pulled Leanbow's body close.
"Nothing can stop me from bringing darkness and despair to this world!" the Master exclaimed.
"What can you possibly gain by destroying our whole world?" Xander demanded, whipping around to face the Master again.
"Your world is now my world!" the Master responded, whips of power reaching out to wrap around each of the rangers and pull them closer. "You want to see what my world will look like?"
Unable to break free of the Master's hold, the five young rangers were pulled into his illusion of a changed world. All light disappeared, the landscape shifting around them as the world rocked in turmoil.
"It looks so dark!" Madison said, looking around.
"This is the future of your world," the Master told them, throwing them to the ground. "There is no purpose for your species. Once I eat your magic, you will become a part of the dust that I will walk upon. That will be your one and only purpose."
The rangers stumbled to their feet as he spoke, not quite ready to give up the fight.
"We're not done!" Nick snapped back. "You haven't defeated us yet."
"Legend warriors!" the rangers cried, amping up their power and shifting into zord form.
"Yes," the Master said eagerly. "More power for me to eat."
"Come on, rangers," Nick said. "We've gotta hit him with all of our magic!"
Preparing themselves, they attacked the Master.
"Legend striker, spin attack!" they shouted.
The attack struck home, but instead of hurting the Master, he simply ate the power of the attack and absorbed it.
"Huh!" Nick exclaimed in complete shock.
"Impossible!" Xander cried. "He consumed our spell like it was nothing!"
"You are nothing!" the Master laughed, attacking back. "It is now over! The hopelessness and fear I feel inside of you makes your power even more tender to dine on."
The zord fell as the Master ate more of their power, absorbing it into himself.
"Our magic—I can feel him taking it," Xander gasped.
Losing the magic to sustain the form, the rangers fell to the ground, their combined form lost.
"Come on!" Xander exclaimed as they scrambled to their feet.
Looking to regroup, the rangers darted into a nearby cave to catch their breath. Inside they stopped, panting as they tried to pull themselves together.
"Alright. We're safe," Chip panted.
"Safe?" Nick scoffed, shaking his head as he leaned on his knees. "Are you kidding me? That thing just destroyed our zord, not to mention Daggeron and my dad."
He straightened up, not looking at the others.
"So that's it?" Vida said, straightening up herself as she stared at him in shock and frustration. "The great Nick, the red ranger, is calling it quits?"
Nick shrugged and turned, starting to walk away, still panting.
"Whoa, whoa. No," Xander said, putting himself in front of Nick. "Don't walk away. Answer her. Are you giving up?"
"Get out of my way," Nick growled, trying to avoid Xander's gaze.
"No, Nick," Chip said firmly. "You answer that."
"Guys, wake up and smell the darkness!" Nick shouted, gesturing around him as he finally turned to look at them. "We've done our best, and we failed. We're no match for that thing."
He paused, shaking his head as he turned away again.
"Fine," he admitted. "Yes. I've given up."
Madison, who had been watching quietly, finally stepped up.
"Don't you say that," she ordered, catching the others by surprise. "Don't you say that. Not you. You have held us together through all of this! You will not give up!"
Nick tried walking away again, but she stopped him.
"Listen to me!" Madison demanded, pulling him back around to face her. "Giving up is not an option for you! We are a team and you are this team's leader! We go on, no matter what."
For a moment they just looked at each other, all of the rangers waiting for Nick to answer. But before he could say anything, a burst of dark magic blasted through the cave and knocked them all off of their feet.
"It is time to finish this meal," the Master said, laughing as he appeared over them as they lay groaning on the ground in pain. "Welcome to your end."
For a moment, none of them moved as the Master laughed in triumph. The attack had stunned and injured them. Finally, Nick moved, shoving himself upward.
"Not here. Not now!" Nick snarled, climbing to his feet. "This is not our end."
"You are only one," the Master laughed.
"And, unfortunately for you, the wrong one," Nick snapped back, his sword and staff appearing in his hands. "I call forth the powers of good magic still left in the world! Of all the good magic still left in my body—come to me now! Magical source, mystic force!"
He morphed again, finally summoning the energy.
"The Light will be most delectable," the Master said gleefully, attacking Nick with his tentacles.
But Nick fought back, no longer ready to give in. Striking the Master hard, he shattered the armor protecting the Master's head.
"No, my armor!" the Master cried in shock, falling back a ways.
Nick didn't let up, striking another hard blow.
"Return us now!" Nick demanded as his attack started to shatter the Master's spell.
He reached back to his teammates.
"Take my hand!" he ordered. "Quickly! Hold on!"
"Yeah!" Chip grinned as they all head tightly.
"Okay!" Madison exclaimed.
"It's working!" Nick said.
The Master's illusion shattered, bringing them all back to their world.
"We're back!" said Chip as they hit the ground.
They were no longer morphed, their magic spent.
"Yeah, but now our magic is gone for good," Nick said grimly.
Footsteps caught their attention and they all groaned as they pushed themselves to their feet. The Master was coming again.
"Look what you've done to me," the Master cried. "You will pay for this!"
He shot out his tentacles to attack and destroy the defenseless rangers. All of them flinched as they waited for the attack to strike, putting their arms up in futile defense. But the attack failed, freezing before it reached them.
"What?" the Master exclaimed in shock.
Snow Prince and Clare appeared between the Master and the rangers, facing down the enemy together.
"Snow Prince?" Vida said in surprise.
The all scrambled to their feet, running to their friends.
"Clare! You have powers!" Nick exclaimed, skidding to a stop next to her.
"Yes," she smiled in delight. "Mystic Mother made me a full sorceress!"
The rangers all smiled, happy for Clare.
"Liar!" the Master snarled, interrupting their brief moment of happiness. "I destroyed the Mystic Mother!"
"No!" Snow Prince countered. "Just before you attacked Mystic Mother, she cast a spell and turned herself into energy."
"That's why I'm Mystic Mother," Mystic Mother's voice echoed in laughter around them. "Did you really think you had me? Sorry to disappoint!"
"A few magic tricks will not stop me!" the Master roared. "I will return to the depths and gather my strength."
"I'm afraid that won't be possible," Udonna interrupted, walking out to join them.
"Udonna!" Chip exclaimed in surprise as they all turned to see her.
"It seems your pit no longer exists," Udonna said, facing down the Master.
"No longer exists?" the Master said in shock.
"What she means is that you no longer have a place to dwell in your darkness," Itassis clarified smugly, stepping up next to Udonna along with Necrolai.
"Itassis!" the Master exclaimed. "You're alive! Where is Sculpin?"
"He is no more," she answered.
"What?" he cried. "But I am your master!"
"Well, this puppet has cut the strings," she retorted, sending a blast of magic at him.
The Master roared in pain, disappearing in a cloud of black smoke. Itassis turned back to the rangers. For a moment, the rangers cheered, celebrating. Udonna rushed to Nick and mother and son hugged each other tightly. Tears slid down Udonna's face as she held her son, mourning the loss of her husband and friend.
"The master has gone for now, but he will be back," Itassis said, tilting her head in surprise as she looked at Udonna. "Tell me, white ranger, why do you shed tears?"
Still keeping an arm around Nick, Udonna looked over her shoulder at Itassis. The cheering around them had stopped as the rangers remembered their fallen.
"The tears are for our sadness and for our losses," Udonna said sadly. "I cry for my husband—Leanbow—and Daggeron."
"That is something that I cannot help you with," Itassis said slowly.
"My mom can," Leelee inserted quickly, surprising everyone.
No one had seen her join them
"Leelee!" Necrolai exclaimed.
"You can do anything you want, mom," Leelee said firmly. "Always could."
Necrolai hesitated, still unsure.
"Do it, mom!" Leelee said again. "I believe in you."
Necrolai still hesitated, thinking.
"Alright," Necrolai relented. "I will try to revive them."
Stepping forward, Necrolai concentrated her vampire magic as she tried to revive the two fallen knights. There was a final burst of magic and Necrolai collapsed to the ground.
"Mom?" Leelee cried, running to her mother.
Groaning and movement drew the attention of the rangers. Slowly, Leanbow and Daggeron moved and climbed to their feet. The other rangers watched in happy surprise as their fallen teammates stood once more. Relieved to see his father alive, Nick ran to meet him.
"Son!" Leanbow said, hugging Nick back as the young ranger threw his arms around him.
"Dad," Nick said in relief, just happy that he was alive.
"Daggeron!" Madison cried, reaching out to hug him as he joined the group.
Everyone was laughing and crying in delight now, overjoyed to have Leanbow and Daggeron back.
"Hey! Don't forget about me!" said Jenji, reappearing.
"Jenji!" Xander exclaimed in excitement.
Laughing, Madison let go of Daggeron and turned to smile at Jenji.
"Great to have you back, teach," Chip said to Daggeron.
"Glad to be back," Daggeron said as they exchanged a hug, clapping each other on the back.
"Look at me! I'm back!" Jenji laughed, bouncing around.
Nick and Leanbow were still hugging, the younger ranger now reluctant to let go of his father. Leanbow looked over Nick's shoulder at Udonna, who was smiling as she watched them together. He held out a hand to her and she joined in the hug, the three of them clinging to each other.
"Mom?" Leelee said desperately, staring at her mother on the ground
All of the rangers turned to see what was happening, realizing that not everything was happy at the moment. Electricity crackled as Necrolai lay on the ground, trying to get back to her feet. But she could barely move. Leelee hesitantly reached down toward her mother, but jumped back in surprise when there was a sudden burst of magic and flash of light. When the light cleared, Necrolai slowly climbed to her feet and turned around. Gone was the vampire. Now Necrolai stood before them fully human. She held out her arms to her daughter, who ran to her laughing and crying to hug her mom.
"Leelee's mom is hot," Xander grinned as the others laughed, nodding in agreement.
A roar interrupted their celebration, shaking the ground as the Master reappeared.
"Quite the reunion," the Master interrupted. "Sorry I have to destroy it."
"Rangers, our magic is gone," Udonna said as they all faced the Master.
"I've got an idea!" Jenji said. "Let's all run, okay?"
"I'm through running," Nick said determinedly, looking around at his teammates and friends. "I've found my real family. I've found my home. No more running."
He stepped forward to stand against the Master.
"Stay and fight!" he exclaimed.
"Yeah!" the others agreed, running to stand with him.
"We fight!" Vida shouted, fists clenched as she glared at the Master.
"So be it," the Master growled, towering over them. "You are powerless now! My victory is already in hand!"
"We will show the Master what real courage is, even without magic," Nick said, not backing down.
"Without magic, mystic ones?" Mystic Mother's voice echoed around them. "You are never without magic. You just have to know where to find it."
"Never without magic?" Madison frowned, looking around in confusion. "What does she mean by that?"
"Maybe she meant us!" Toby exclaimed from their left.
"Or maybe she meant us!" Phineas said from their right.
Toby and Phineas were each followed by a group of people from the town and the forest, respectively.
"Look, I spoke to some of the people from the city and I told them that the forest, and those that live there, are not the ones for us to fear," Toby explained.
"And I spoke the same truth to those in the forest," Phineas added. "Either we stay the way we were and perish, or we stand together and fight the real evil!"
The townspeople and the forest folk cheered in agreement, ready to stand together.
"Power rangers," Toby said. "You have fought all year for us. Your magic is used up. Well, now let us give you some of our magic."
The rangers smiled in surprise. They had not expected this.
"That's right! You're not the only ones," Phineas agreed as the two groups moved forward. "All of us believe in magic. Thanks to you."
The townspeople and the forest folk joined hands around the rangers, Toby and Phineas meeting in front of Nick.
"That's right!" said Toby.
"Let's show him!" said Phineas.
All of them lifted their hands, holding tightly to each other.
"Together!" Toby said.
"Together! We believe in magic!" the crowd exclaimed.
Magic flowed from the people, converging on the rangers. As the initial flow ebbed, the citizens quickly stepped out of the way, still cheering for their protectors. The rangers now stood morphed and ready to fight the Master to the finish.
"Wolf Warrior!"
"Solaris Knight!"
"White Mystic Ranger!"
"Green Mystic Ranger!"
"Pink Mystic Ranger!"
"Blue Mystic Ranger!"
"Yellow Mystic Ranger!"
"Red Mystic Ranger!"
"We call forth the magic, together as one, united for all time!" the rangers cried, standing together. "Power rangers, Mystic Force!"
"Give me that magic!" the Master roared.
"You got it!" they responded.
Together, the rangers sent a stream of magic at the Master, not wavering in strength as it struck him straight on.
"I devour it, yet still it comes!" the Master cried, trying to devour their attack.
"Guys, it's working!" Xander exclaimed.
The Master was beginning to struggle as the good magic started to become too much for him.
"Keep going!" Nick said. "There is no end to our magic!"
"Stop! It's too much!" the Master cried again.
"Full power!" the rangers responded, throwing even more power at him.
"I cannot take anymore!" screamed the Master. "I have devoured all I can! Agh!"
In a burst of light, the Master disappeared. He was gone, finished by the power of the rangers and the magic of the people they were sworn to protect.
"Mystic Force!" shouted the rangers in triump.
Everyone started laughing and cheering, turning to one another in celebration.
"And so darkness was destroyed by light, and, should it ever return, your magic must stop it," Mystic Mother's voice echoed around them one more time.
The cheering and applause got even louder as the rangers reappeared, no longer morphed, to join the citizens in celebration.
"You're leaving," Madison said quietly, walking up to where Nick was crouched by his bike.
It had been a few day since they defeated the Master and things were well on their way back to normal again as everyone worked together to rebuild the two realms—well as normal as it would ever be again. Nick glanced up from what he was doing to look at Madison.
"Yeah," Nick said, standing up. "I'm going to see my adoptive parents. There's a lot to tell them."
"So, you're not coming back?" she said, clearly disappointed.
"I didn't say that," Nick said.
"You are coming back?" Madison asked, brightening up a little.
"Uh… what I'm saying is that uh… I'd like to come back if there was something or someone to come back for," he said, stumbling a little over his words.
"Well, there is," Madison said quickly, smiling as he continued to get his stuff together. "There's Xander, Vida, Chip, umm… Toby, Phineas, Leelee, and umm…"
She hesitated, looking at him.
"And me," she said in a rush. "I—I want you to come back for me."
Nick smiled, turning around to pick something up.
"Will you hold on to this?" he asked, handing her his blanket.
"Sure," Madison smiled brightly, taking it.
Nick grinned, climbing on his motorcycle. He paused for another moment and then took off down the street. Madison watched him go, holding the blanket tightly.
"He'll be back," she said confidently before heading back inside.
Inside the Rock Porium, it was extremely crowded. There were people everywhere. On one side of the room, Chip was sharing stories about some of his exploits as a ranger with an eager crowd.
"There I was, face to face with Necrolai herself," Chip said dramatically. "She cowered."
"Oh, really?" Necrolai interrupted. "Cowered?"
"Well, maybe not cowered, but she trembled," Chip said quickly.
"Trembled?" she said, raising an eyebrow.
"Uh… broke a sweat?" Chip tried.
"Vampires do not sweat, they glow," Necrolai scoffed.
"Hey, Nikki," Toby said, joining them. "Uh, we better get to the movies. They start in ten."
"Okay," she smiled.
"She was sweating," Chip said quietly as she walked away.
A short ways away, Leelee and Phineas were talking.
"Who would have thought this a few months ago?" Leelee smiled, looking around. "I'm living in the city with my mom in our new condo. I'm dating a troblin hunk muffin and she's dating the owner of a record store. How cool is our life?"
"And I got my job back," Phineas grinned as she turned to look at him. "Hug?"
"Hug," she beamed, leaping into his arms.
Xander walked, past them, showing a new employee around.
"So, we have CDs in front, DVDs in the middle, and the vinyl up the back," Xander explained to the new employee. "You got that?"
"Ok, sure," the employee responded.
Xander grinned, patting him on the back and sending him on his way.
"Playing manager," Xander grinned. "Gotta love it."
Up at the DJ tables, Vida was enjoying herself with Matoombo. After the Master's destruction, the rangers, especially Vida, had been delighted to find that their friend had been restored to himself. Vida had been spending a lot of time with him and Matoombo had been thrilled to find he still had friends in the rangers. The pink ranger had also done something that surprise all of them, especially her twin—she'd died her whole head pink.
"Go Vida!" Motoombo laughed.
"Now, just let the music move through you and your hands do the rest," Vida directed, beaming as she showed him how to run the tables.
"Like this?" Motoomba asked.
"That's it!" Vida exclaimed. "Now, turn to the audience, and shake your booty!"
"Oh yeah!" Motoomba said.
Madison walked up to watch her sister, laughing as her twin danced with the tall Matoombo. Turning, Vida saw Madison and smiled as she kept dancing. Smiling back, Madison held up the blanket and shrugged. Vida's smiled widened in delight, recognizing the blanket and what it meant. Laughing, Madison joined in the dancing as everyone celebrated their victory.