"Rangers, gather around. It is time for a lesson on magical history," Udonna said, drawing the scattered teens to the crystal ball. Over the past month and a half that they'd been Rangers, Udonna had been teaching them everything she could, from how to ride their Mystic Racers properly to spell forms and their effect on a spell's intentions. Of everything they were learning, though, the most interesting had to be history. While history at school may have been boring, this was far from that. Not only were they learning about Power Rangers and magic, but they could watch all the action unfold instead of just reading about it.

"Today we will learn of a great beast, the legendary Catastros." The sorceress waved her arm over the globe when each teen had arrived, summoning the image of a frightening black horse galloping through the forest. "For ages, Catastros wandered alone, terrorizing any place it came to. It was a mighty beast, neither good nor evil, and carried a great power that both sides feared and wanted. Many brave warriors tried to tame it and failed." The crystal ball turned to an image of hordes of powerful warriors being fought off easily by the beast. Chip furrowed his brow.

"But Koragg tamed him, didn't he? I mean, we've seen him using it."

"Yes, Chip, that's right. During the Great Battle, the darkness dragged Catastros into its depths. It was there that Koragg managed to tame the beast, though he does not have total control," she replied with a note of finality, indicating that she was done and they could discuss it.

"Wow," Chip breathed, mesmerized by the intense images flashing across the globe. "That was the coolest story yet. Can I hear it again?" Udonna started to answer, but was cut off by a sudden rattling noise. The lights flickered on and off and they could hear potion ingredients rattling on their shelves. Then the lights were out completely, gone like a doused flame, bathing the room in complete darkness. Nick could faintly hear the rustling of capes and when the lights came back on, he understood why.

A trembling Xander clung helplessly to Vida, who seemed both surprised and angry to see the guy in her arms. When he realized that everyone was staring and, much worse, Vida was getting irritated, he patted his friend genially on the shoulder and smiled.

"Just making sure you're safe, V," he said, making it sound as if the Sprite had fainted in his arms.

"I'm fine," she growled, dropping him ungratefully on the floor.

With that, everything went back to normal, or at least their own special kind of normal. Udonna gave them fifteen minutes between lessons to do whatever they wished, and they decided as a group to stay inside and just hang out, seeing as it was raining sheets outside. Madison, Chip and Nick had all become engaged in a conversation about, of all things, former Ranger teams.

Udonna had given them several lessons on the teams that had preceded them, which Chip soaked up eagerly. Every time she mentioned learning history, he hoped that it'd be Ranger history. He had to admit, though, that is was strange learning who other Rangers were under the helmets when he'd grown up idolizing them. It ruined some of the childhood mystery.

"No way," Nick argued. "Tommy was way cooler."

Chip shook his head as if he were arguing with a particularly stubborn five-year-old. "But Jason was the original. If Tommy was that great, why didn't Zordon choose him as leader first?"

"Easy. Tommy hadn't moved to Angel Grove yet. Come on. The guy's had, like, four colors and six powers. He is a born Ranger."

"And he can't choose a color. It's like he had multiple personalities or something. And anyway, Jason got the Gold Zeo powers. That has to count for something."

"I still think Billy should've been Zeo Gold. He was way loyal to the team. He deserved the powers. I don't care if he wasn't polarized properly or whatever. He could've easily found a way around that."

"He could've, but he didn't have enough time. I think the powers were always bound for Jason, anyway, even if they did belong to Trey."

"But Billy had the brains and the brawn," Maddie interjected, trying to join the otherwise male-controlled conversation. Chip shot her his best glare.

"You're just sticking up for another Blue." The look in his eyes told her that he'd been spending a tad too much time with Vida.

"Hey, back off... " Nick replied calmly, letting his words trail off as Clare walked into the room, smiling giddily. "Clare, uhhh... " He couldn't finish his sentence, as he was suddenly overtaken by a fit of giggles. The others followed his line if sight to the sorceress-in-training and they too were overtaken with silent laughter. Clare mistook their smile as happiness and smiled back.

"Yeah, isn't it great? I mixed a hot chocolate spell with a spell of protection. Keeps me warm on these cold, rainy days." The Rangers could only stare on in amazement, trying not to laugh. Quickly, though, the young apprentice realized they weren't smiling at what she'd done right, but laughing at what she'd probably done wrong.

"What is it guys?" Vida only let out a repressed snicker and pointed to what had been Clare's hair. The girl looked up, eyes going wide as she saw the dripping mess on top of her head. Sticking a careful finger into it, she tasted it. When she realized exactly what it was, she started to freak out.

"It's whipped cream!" she nearly shouted. "I'm allergic to whipped cream!" She frantically danced around in her spot, eyes finally landing on Nick and his wand laying next to him. "Nick, help me!" He jumped up from his seat promptly, wand already in hand.

"What do I do?" he desperately asked. No spells were just coming to him.

"Just point your wand at me and say 'Finishio'! Hurry!"

"Finishio!" he shouted back hastily, raising his open wand to her 'hair'. A stream of red light covered the top of her head, changing the drippy whipped cream back into her regular golden locks. Clare finally and visibly relaxed.

"Thanks," she said gratefully, a tad embarrassed.

"No problem," Nick replied, glancing down at his phone. "Ooh, we're going to be late for work," he added with a wince.

"Aggh, work," groaned Vida, leaning her head tiredly on Xander's shoulder. The Green Ranger grinned and shook her off gently.

"It's not all that bad," he said with his most charming smile.

"Says the supervisor."

"Oh, come on," he replied cajolingly. "I'll give you a ten minute head start in sales. Maybe you'll finally beat Xander the Great." She turned to him, competitive fire burning in her eyes. Vida wasn't the kind of person you challenged unless you really wanted a challenge.

"It's on," she said, storming out of Root Core. "Just don't cry when I wipe the floor with you." The remaining four just exchanged knowing glances and followed the determined Pink Ranger out into the forest and to work.

"Prices fall under my Reduction Ray, for I am Count Discount!" Chip shouted, aiming his labelmaker like a gun at a rack of vinyls.

Xander, relaxing with a newspaper a few feet away from his eccentric friend, grinned, a devious gleam in his eyes that reminded Nick of a maniacal genius.

"Are you really?" he asked wickedly, standing up and taking the labelmaker out of Chip's hands. He fired it rapidly, covering Chip with the small orange labels it contained. For a second he paused to survey his work, then quickly added a price tag to his friend's forehead and turned up the collar on his work shirt, two necessary finishing touches.

"Now you're really Count Discount," he said in a high-class British accent, looking pleased with his work.

"So, Count Discount, what angers do you harbor against these prices?" Maddie queried suddenly, stepping closer with her camera in hand and turned on. She had been doing some paperwork in the office when Nick had mentally alerted her to the potentially entertaining situation. Fortunately, she'd caught everything from a hidden vantage point.

Chip, not missing a beat, took up his new mantle, thrusting out his chest and placing his hands on his hips proudly.

"Prices are my mortal enemy, fair lady. They have taken my money far too often, so I am forced to bring them down to a reasonable point." He snatched the labelmaker back from Xander and pointed it menacingly at the remaining records. "Prepare to fall, vile prices! Hah!" Several stickers flew randomly through the air, Chip laughing madly all the while. The others joined in, along with a few customers. The past week had been boring, at least compared to their regular weeks, and they were starting to lose it a bit from the lack of action.

As if tuned into their need for something interesting, their morphers all rang in unison. They all jumped, not expecting it, then gathered around Nick's promptly open phone.

"There is dark magic downtown," Udonna said, a hint of emergency tainting her usually calm voice. "You need to respond immediately."

"We'll be there," Nick replied, already pulling off his work shirt and walking out.

"Be back soon, Toby," Xander shouted to his boss quickly as he jogged out with the others. "Lunch break."

Nick led the group through the streets of Briarwood, his tired muscles protesting the whole way. He hadn't been sleeping well for the past week or so. Ever since Udonna had taught them about Catastros, he'd woken up several times a night by the same dream, a dream where he was on the horse and he had no control whatsoever. It wasn't just the lack of control over a wild, galloping horse that frightened him, but the fact that he'd been terrified of the equine species ever since he was seven. One had bucked him off and then nearly trampled him, leaving the boy with a broken leg and concussion. He'd never exactly been a big fan after that.

Without realizing it, Nick found himself already standing in a defensive position with the others, looking up at a Zord-sized Koragg. Peoples screams echoed around the area as buildings fell easily under the Knight Wolf's attacks. Completely sure that no one was in the area, Nick flipped open his wand.

"Ready?"

"Ready!" the others responded, opening their wands.

"Magical source, Mystic Force!" they all shouted. Light engulfed their bodies as they keyed in another spell, the light expanding into five larger forms. Where the teens had once stood now were the Mystic Titans, though in slightly different formation as to not destroy any buildings themselves. Xander himself took up most of the space, Vida fluttering daintily over his shoulder. The other three took up an equal amount of space side-by-side.

Being a Titan was strange, all the Rangers had agreed to that when it'd came up one day. It was such a powerful feeling, being that tall and metallic, but at the same time you felt oddly disconnected, like your mind was simultaneously telling you that this wasn't your real body and that it was. It definitely took some getting used to. Chip and Vida had to adjust to being able to fly and, in Vida's case, being the smallest. Xander had to deal with being the biggest and the strongest, a deadly combination if he tripped. Maddie had a tail. Nick himself didn't have anything new - just the power and disconnection.

Koragg surveyed the Titans, eyes finally resting on the Phoenix.

"So, Rangers, you finally showed up. I was beginning to wonder how many destroyed buildings it would take."

"Cram it, maskface," Vida snapped. The Knight Wolf momentarily shifted his vision to the Sprite.

"Your insolence will not be tolerated," he growled. "When I bring you down, you will be the first to die."

"Wanna try me?" she spat back, voice full of challenge.

"Do not doubt that I will take you all out, but you are not my concern today. Only the Red Wizard is." Nick inwardly sighed, still projecting the cocky attitude of a Ranger. He understood Koragg's obsession with him now, but that didn't make it any less annoying.

"Just give it up, Koragg. I'd die before I joined you," he shouted at the dark warrior, who'd turned his attention back to his son.

"So be it," the father replied. Under his helmet, he grinned wickedly. As he'd watched the everyday activities of the boy, a plan had begun to formulate in his head, feeding into his larger overall plan. Nick was about to face his greatest test yet. "Uthe mejor Catastros! Sumbol unithos equestras!" In one swift flash of light, Catastros had risen and combined with Koragg to create the Centaurus Wolf Megazord. The Rangers simultaneously changed into the Dragon Formation and charged their foe. The Knight Wolf simply stood in his spot and stared them down.

As soon as they'd reached the point of no return, he shouted, "Behold the Eye of the Master!" A blast of energy emanated from his chest, tearing into the Titans and throwing the Phoenix harshly on the ground. Not yet satisfied, he released another shot, this time connecting squarely with the Dragon and throwing it into a building, promptly and forcibly disengaging the foursome.

"Is this all you can do?" he asked as he watched the Titans struggle to stand up. Only the Phoenix succeeded in getting up, energy slowly returning to him.

"Not by a long shot," the young man replied, brandishing his sword. He launched himself at the older man more quickly than the Knight Wolf expected, not that it mattered. He still easily caught his son and threw him on his back. The boy groaned a little as his father stepped back, smirking evilly.

"Have you given up yet?" Standing up weakly again, Nick gave Koragg the best look of defiance as he could with his unmoving metallic face.

"You know I'll never give up."

"One trait that you and I share, I see," said Koragg. "You may have the strength to fight me, but your friends do not. There is no honor in this fight. Another time, Red Ranger. Ut atrium terra." He began to sink into the ground, but Nick wasn't ready to end this yet.

"Not so fast," he shouted, diving onto the older Ranger. Koragg merely smiled, quickly separating himself from Catastros and leaping out of the already warping circle. The pair landed quite ungracefully on the ground, spell seal fluxing chaotically around them. Before either could react, it lit up with a vivid purple light and pulled them downward.

With a smirk of triumph, Koragg turned to the remaining Titans, all of whom had managed to pull themselves to their feet. While the others could only stare on in astonishment, Maddie glared at the older man, anger unable to shine through her stoic face.

"What'd you do to him?" she growled, voice unlike it had ever sounded to her friends. Even Koragg was slightly taken aback by the harsh inflection resounding in her voice.

"All you need to know, Blue Witch," he sneered back, regaining some of his former boldness, "is that if he survives, then he is truly ready to become mine." His wicked tone only made her angrier.

"He'll never join you. He's one of us, and he always will be. Why can't you get that through your thick helmet?" The acid dripping from her voice was amazing to her friends. A few months ago, they never would've guessed that the once shy Ranger could put that much hate into mere words.

"We will see," the Knight Wolf replied calmly, sinking into a portal.

Madison glared at the spot where her boyfriend's father and enemy had once stood for only a moment before growling and demorphing straight to human form. The others followed suit, hesitant to approach the witch once they'd returned to normal. Vida gathered enough courage to go up to her sister, albeit somewhat slowly. She placed a hand gently on the younger twin's shoulder.

"Look, sis, we'll -"

"Damn it!"

Vida let her hand drop to her side, completely shocked. Madison almost never had that kind of an outburst. The girl whipped around to look at her friends. Hot tears may have streamed down her cheeks, but a fury burned in her eyes.

"We have to find him," she stated, voice low and calm despite the rage dancing at the edges. "Whatever happened was no accident. Koragg planned this."

"How do you know that?" reasoned Xander. "He could've been just as shocked as we were. I mean, he was just trying to lea-"

"No," she replied firmly, sending a glare that could've wilted flowers Xander's way. "He did it on purpose."

"But how do you know?" Vida repeated.

"Because that was not the usual teleport spell. It was definitely different."

"Why would you know? How?"

"Because-" She stopped. They didn't know about Nick's random spell usage, or the fact that he could teleport using the same spell. Even if it wasn't major, she wouldn't feel right saying it. That was something Nick would explain when he felt like it. "Because I'm just observant. Koragg's used the regular one before, and this one wasn't it."

Vida arched an eyebrow, not entirely convinced. She knew when her sister was hiding something and she had the feeling that it had to do with Nick. Their relationship ran deeper than that of your average couple, Vida knew that much. There was something about them when they were together, something powerful, magical, if you pleased.

"So what now?" Chip asked cautiously.

"We need Udonna's help. Even if she doesn't know how to get Nick back, she should have some advice for us," Maddie answered, mentally adding, 'And she and I need to talk.' She got the feeling that there was more to Nick's story than Udonna was letting on, more than his relation to Koragg and being a former dark child. There was a certain sadness in her eyes whenever she looked at Nick, one that screamed of past pains.

Completely preoccupied by her thoughts, she didn't even realize she'd been moving until Xander ran into her. She found herself quite suddenly in a dog pile on the forest floor. Xander's cape fluttered down over her face as he started to apologize.

"I'm sorry, so sorry," he said hastily, helping her up. "You just stopped right outside the tree and I didn't kno-" She held up a hand to stop him.

"Enough of that. We've got work to do." She did an about-face and stalked off silently, not waiting for the others. Nothing was going to stop her from getting Nick back.

Nick landed harshly on his chest, sand grating on his face as he was forcefully demorphed. For a brief moment, he had no clue where he was or why. Hadn't he just been fighting Koragg with his friends? And then...

It clicked. Koragg had done something. He'd used another spell to try and 'regain what he'd lost'. That still didn't help explain where he was, though.

Standing up gingerly and brushing off the sand clinging to his clothes, he glanced around. Wherever he was, it was definitely not Briarwood. It looked like someone had turned down the brightness on the colors, most of which weren't even right. The grass was purple. Purple. This had to be the weirdest place he'd ever been, and he'd visited New Zealand with his parents before. Weird people there, especially those crazy actors...

He grabbed his phone from its place on his belt and opened it hurriedly, desperately hoping that he could get a hold of someone. This place freaked him out.

"Guys, it's Nick. Hello? Come in, can you hear me?" No noise. Nothing. "Damn," he whispered, stowing the phone back in its place. His mind was racing, an endless stream of ideas on where he was and how to escape flooding his thoughts.

Those thoughts never made it very far, mostly due to the unsettling noise that resounded through the valley. Nick clamped his eyes shut, sure he knew what the sound was.

"Please just be an oversized pelican," he pleaded, turning around slowly. When a puff of warm air hit his face, his fears were confirmed. Peeking open one eye slowly, he found himself face to face with Catastros.

"Oh, shit," he managed to choke out before breaking into a dead run in the opposite direction.

He stumbled over the tall purple grasses, footing not so sure in his terror. The rapid beating of hooves told him that Catastros was hot on his trail. This only pushed him to run faster, not caring that his chest burned and his legs were numb. It wasn't that he couldn't run for very long, but more that he'd never pushed himself this hard for this long before. Trees flew past him and he was vaguely aware of how much they resembled those in the forest, at least in a surreal, bleached way.

He saw the pastel blue of the sky before he could realize that he'd tripped over an uprooted stump and managed to roll onto his back. Pain shot up his left leg as the pale sky was replaced by the rearing form of Catastros. He was barely able to roll out of the way before the powerful hooves crashed down on what otherwise would've been his head. Dropping several feet into an alcove of roots, he listened as the pounding of hooves grew further and further away.

Nick breathed a quiet sigh of relief when he could no longer hear the beast. His mind was already rolling through his options, few as they were. He could try and teleport out, save for the fact that he had no idea what dimension he was in, or where he was. If a spell came to him, he could always try that. That could potentially backfire, since he generally had no idea what the spells did. Or, it occurred to him, he could contact Maddie. Even if his phone refused to work, surely a magically-made telepathic connection, as long as she was conscious. She could very well be asleep; Nick wasn't sure if time flowed evenly in this dimension. Deciding that it couldn't hurt, he closed his eyes, concentrated and hoped for the best.

"Well, that didn't help," Vida said angrily, kicking at a pile of leaves.

They'd stopped at Root Core, only to find that Udonna had left, off treating an ill elf at Woodland Village. Clare had tried her best to help, but to no avail. That left the Rangers to wander dejectedly through the forest.

"What are we supposed to do now? Udonna could be gone for hours," sighed Xander, garnering an absent nod from Chip, who'd spent most of the time since they'd left Root Core staring at the ground. Madison only glared at every tree she passed as if they were all Koragg in disguise.

"We need to find a way to get Nick back," Vida replied, displaying more courage than she felt. They may have only knew Nick for a little over a month, but he was already one of the gang. She didn't let her friends go without a fight. That was beside the fact that she found Maddie's unnatural silence unnerving and upsetting. Even the old, shy Maddie was bubblier than this.

"We need to help Nick," she said again when no one responded. "We have to st-"

"Did you say Nick?" someone or something - you could never be sure in the forest - asked, falling onto its feet from a tree above them. It brushed off some dirt in a nonthreatening way, though that really didn't help the overall aura of dirtiness coming off of it in waves. Chip, being the closest, recoiled slightly at the smell rolling off of the creature.

"Are you guys friends of Nick?" it asked. Xander nodded, obviously repulsed.

"Just who are you?" he asked back, looking over it. It just grinned, revealing two dirty canines, and looked to its left.

"They want to know who I am," he laughed to the open air next to him. "Drum roll, please... " He waited, listening to the imaginary drums, then threw out his arms, a large smile crossing his face. "I'm Phineas." The Rangers' eyes widened in synchronized realization. Nick had talked about the troblin, but they'd never met the guy. Xander had assumed that Nick was exaggerating when he'd said how strange Phineas was. He wasn't.

"Oh, Nick told us about you," Chip said excitedly. Phineas' smile only got bigger. "I'm Chip." The Yellow Ranger held out his hand, which the troblin stared at. An indiscernible look crossed his face, eyes welling up with tears soon after. He suddenly pulled Chip into a tight hug. The redhead cringed and stuck it out, breathing a silent sigh of relief as his new friend stepped back, suddenly realizing what they'd been talking about.

"So what's wrong with Nick?" he asked, a more serious look of worry flashing in his eyes.

"Koragg sent him somewhere, and we have no idea on how to get him back," Vida stated. The troblin simply nodded.

"Well, then giving up does seem like the best option." Maddie's attention was suddenly drawn to the troblin, sending him a powerful glare.

"We are not giving up," she said, voice colder than she'd intended. "We're just... thinking."

"Really? 'Cause it looks to me like you're all just moping. Can't really blame you, though. If I were you, I would've given up a long time ago. No use getting up just to fall back on your face, right?" He smiled jovially to his left, as if sharing an inside joke with his invisible friend.

"We are not giving up," Maddie shot back indignantly. "We are goi-"

'Maddie... ' A voice drifted through her mind faintly, catching her attention completely. The others stared at her, quizzical looks gracing their faces, but she paid them no mind.

'Maddie... ' She heard it again, a desperate whisper on the edge of her mind. Something about it commanded her attention wholly. It echoed her name yet again, and this time she realized why it enraptured her so. It was Nick.

He felt her sudden surprise at his voice, stopping her thoughts and words dead in their tracks, and then her quick response.

'Nick?' Her voice was barely there, a ghost of its regular tone. 'Is that you?'

He breathed a quick sigh of relief before replying, 'It is. I don't know where I am,' he added, sensing her question. 'But Catastros is here, and he won't leave me alone. I keep running, but he keeps finding me.' Maddie could feel his panic and tried her best to send him waves of calmness.

'How did you get there? Because I have this feeling that Koragg sent you there on purpose.'

'Me too. I think he's using this as another quest to get me again. He's not going to back off, that much I know.'

'I'm starting to see that,' she replied wearily. 'So you have no idea how to escape?'

'No good ideas, but I am in a freaky parallel dimension being chased by a psychotic death horse, so I deserve some credit.' Maddie smiled. 'Just keep trying to find me, okay? I'd like to get out of here as soon as possible.'

'Can do,' she managed to think back before their link was unexpectedly severed by another voice.

'Hello, son.'

A/N - So another chapter finally done. Finally. My lazy ass finally got in gear. Anyway, I'm close to what could be the final chapter or two, at least on paper. I achieved 250 written pages, too. And a third notebook. And an idea for a sequel. My mind has been in overdrive lately. All the better for you guys, I guess. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Now for some dinner...