"Where am I now," said Ryoga as he opened his eyes to some unfamiliar scenery.
"According to that sign, we're in Barwod," said Mousse from behind him. He had been sitting on rock waiting for Ryoga to wake up. They were atop a hill overlooking a small city that was settled by a large lake.
Ryoga took a look at the sign, "That sign says Briarwood. Put your glasses on."
Mousse put his glasses on and looked at the sign, "My English must be a little rusty."
"Hey, I can only read it. I can't really speak it. That doesn't matter though. Have you seen any of the others?"
"No, and I can't get through with the morphers either."
"Well maybe we'll have more luck in the city. I can find a path there easy."
"Great, I got a good look at it from up here. Finding our way around will be easy."
Then the directionally challenged teen led the extremely near sighted one down the road to the city.
Three days later, the two found themselves half dead from hunger and exhaustion.
"Next time, I lead," said Mousse.
The two of them sat on bench contemplating their next move. Mousse got up to go to a hotdog cart and grab them lunch.
"Sorry, but I can't take this. Come back when you have some real money," said the Vendor as he handed back Mousses' yen.
When Mousse came back he said, "If we're gonna be stuck here, we need to find work. No one around will take our money."
Ryoga sighed, "I wonder why we were even dropped off in America to begin with." After three days, the two were at least able to deduce that much.
"I don't know. I guess we could have been dropped anywhere. It gets worse, I just saw a newspaper and if I read it right, we're five years in the past," said Mousse
The two eventually decided they had rested enough and began to look for any place that would hire two teens who didn't speak English.
They continued to walk until they came upon something strange. Five people, a little older than them, probably in their late teens or early twenties, stood in front of a tree. Three of them were boys and two were girls. Ryoga noticed that one of the guys produced an arrogant aura like Ranma. The second guy seemed to possess Ranma's narcissism, while the last looked a little dorky. The two girls seemed close to each other, one of them had streaks of pink in her hair while the other seemed to possess a sweetness that reminded Ryoga of Akari and Akane.
Then the arrogant one placed his hand on the tree and disappeared. He was soon followed by the other four.
"You don't see that every day," said Ryoga.
"Come on, let's follow them. Maybe they can help us get home," said Mousse.
The two of them made their way to the tree and places their hands on it. To their surprise, nothing happened.
"Maybe we just imagined it," said Ryoga.
Just then, a man wearing a very colorful shirt ran out of a local store.
"Where did they run off to now," he said. The man had an Australian accent.
The man then noticed the two confused boys with their hands on a tree and decided to go over to them.
"Hey, would you two like a job. I'm a little shorthanded," he said.
"Did you get any of that?" asked Mousse to Ryoga.
"I understood the word 'Job'. He ran out of the store over there. Maybe those five people will come back through this tree if we wait around long enough," said Ryoga.
The two of them looked at the man and nodded.
"Great. My name is Toby. What should I call you?" he asked.
"I think he just called one of us Toby," said Ryoga.
"Why would he do that?" asked Mousse.
"Great the first two people I find don't speak English. Oh well, you two will have to do for now," said Toby as he motioned for the two to follow him. The moment they were in the store, Toby handed them a broom and a mop.
Speaking slowly and making sure to enunciate, Toby said, "You two clean the store and help customers. I'll be in my office if you need me."
"So now what?" asked Rygoa.
"I guess we get to work. At least we can make a little money so we can eat," said Mousse as he began to sweep the floor.
Time went one and Ryoga went missing. Mousse noticed the mop buck had been turned over.
"Great, I bet he accidentally turned into a pig and got lost," said Mousse. Then the door opened and a girl walked in. Her hair was blonde and she was dressed very casually. Then Mousse adjusted his glasses and noticed that she had a very confused black pig riding in her purse.
"Only Ryoga would be carried around by a cute girl like that," said Mousse to himself.
Toby came out of his office and noticed the girl, "Right on time Leelee. Can you help me with the new employees? They don't seem to speak English."
"What do you want me to do about it," asked Leelee.
"Just make sure they stay out of trouble," said Toby.
Ryoga had taken Leelee's distraction as an opportunity to sneak off and find hot water. Ryoga came back in with the mop and pretended to be working the whole time while Mousse rolled his eyes.
Leelee waved, "Hello, I'm Leelee. What are your names?" Leelee said this while motioning to herself and then motioning to Ryoga and Mousse.
This time, Mousse and Ryoga were able to decipher what she was saying.
"Mousse" said Ryoga while pointing to Mousse and then he pointed at himself and said, "Ryoga".
"Pointing, why didn't I think of that?" said Toby.
Over the next few hours, Leelee managed to get Ryoga and Mousse to completely clean the store while she sat behind the counter and "supervised".
Once the store was clean, Ryoga and Mousse sat down exhausted.
Toby soon walked in holding a pizza, "Here's my way of saying thanks for the help. If only my other five employees worked as hard as you.
The pizza was nearly consumed by the two starving boys with Leelee and Toby only getting one slice each when five more people walked in the store wearing, looking slightly exhausted.
"About time you showed up. Meet your new coworkers," said Toby. "This is Ryoga and Mousse. They don't speak English so try to talk with your hands."
The five each said their names while pointing at themselves. The arrogant guy was, "Nick." The narcissistic guy was, "Xander" who like Toby also had an Australian accent. The dorky guy was, "Chip." The girl with pink streaks in her hair was, "Vida", and the other girl was, "Madison."
The two boys waved hello. Then as soon as he left, Leelee sat up, "So, how's mom?"
"Unpleasant as ever," said Nick
Then Xander heard a chime coming from his pocket. He pulled out a gold colored cell phone and answered, "Xander here."
On the other end Ryoga and Mousse could hear an older man's voice, "There's trouble hear. I need you and the others to come as soon as possible."
"We're on our way," said Xander.
"Well it looks like we got to leave you alone again," said Vida, although the tone in her voice was not sorry.
As the five ran out, Mousse and Ryoga quickly followed them.
"Where are you two going," shouted Leelee.
Ryoga heard her speak and figured he should at least say something, "Thanks for the food."
Mousse then said, "If we don't come back, it was nice meeting you."
"Like I understood any of that," said Leelee in frustration.
As the five got to the nearest tree, instantly began disappear into it. Chip was the last one and just before his hand touched the tree, Mousse and Ryoga grabbed hold of him.
"What are you doing," said Chip. But the weight of the two pressed him into the tree and transported the three of them.
Toby walked out of his office to find Leelee sitting behind the counter.
"Where did everyone go? Even the new guys are gone," said Toby.
"Beats me," was all Leelee said in reply.
The other rangers waited for Chip to arrive and when he finally did, they noticed his two stowaways.
"What are they doing here," asked Nick.
"They grabbed me as I was going through," said Chip.
Ryoga and Mousse were quick to note that the five's outfits had changed. Instead of regular cloths, they wore more medieval looking outfits complete with matching cloaks.
Before they could argue any more, many creatures began to run towards them. They smelled rotten, their eyes were yellow, some of them carried crude weapons, and each of them wore armor made of bone. Their auras told Ryoga and Mousse that these creatures were not friendly.
"Hidiacs," shouted Madison.
Nick looked at Mousse and Ryoga and said, "We'll worry about them later."
But before the five could do anything, Ryoga and Mousse had sprung into action. As one hidiac charged forward, Ryoga punched it away, the force sending the creature flying into several others. Mousse leaped into the air and tossed several egg bombs, creating a smoke cloud. While the hidiacs were disoriented, Mousse pulled a staff out of his robes and knocked out three of the hidiacs before they even saw him coming.
"Where did Toby find these guys again," asked Xander.
"Shouldn't we be helping them," asked Madison
Ryoga and Mousse were barely breaking a sweat when the other five jumped in. Chip took off his cloak and wrapped it around a hidiac and spun the creature around towards Madison. As the creature came toward her, Madison hit it with a roundhouse kick, knocking it out.
"Thanks Maddy," said Chip.
"So what was the plan again," asked Mousse.
"Right now we're improvising," said Ryoga. "Anything to get home. It's what Ranma would do."
"Are you sure Ranma is the best example of how to get through this situation."
Suddenly, three hidiacs leaped at them. Ryoga and Mousse got ready to counter when a strong wind blew from behind them, tossing the creatures into the trees.
They looked back to see Vida. Her phone had flipped open and she held it like a wand.
"Are you sure you should have done that with them here," asked Xander.
"They just teleported through trees and shrugged it off. I don't think they'll care if we you use our magic openly," said Vida.
Just as a hidiac was about to jump on Vida, Xander held up his wand, causing a tree root to spring up, wrap around the creature, and slam it down on the ground.
"Well, when your right your right," said Xander.
Then Vida and Xander had to duck as Nick kicked a hidiac over their heads. Nick then ducked as one of the creatures swung it's blade at him. As he ducked, Madison and Vida jumped over him and took out the hidiac with a jump kick.
"Shi Shi Hokodan," shouted Rygoa. His ki charged and he fired beam of heavy ki, flattening at least ten hidiacs.
"What was that?" said Nick
"It came from Ryoga," said Madison.
The few remaining hidiacs stood, ready to attack again.
"You sure you still wanna fight," said Mousse as he traded his staff for a sword. Behind him stood Ryoga and the others. Knowing they couldn't win, the hidiacs made a run for it.
Mousse and Ryoga looked back at the others and noticed that they each had their wands drawn.
"Who are you really?" said Nick.
Mousse and Ryoga simply stood there silent. Mostly because neither of them understood what Nick was saying. Madison realized this and waved her wand.
A small blue light flowed from the wand swirled around Mousse and Ryoga's heads.
When it had dissipated, Ryoga said, "What just happened?"
Mousse's eyes widened, "I thought you couldn't speak English? Wait, since when can I speak English?"
"Oh good, my spell worked," said Madison.
"Are you going to answer my question about who you are now," said Nick
Ryoga looked over at Mousse. Neither of them wanted to fight any more than necessary. They nodded to each other and reached inside their pockets.
Nick and the others slowly lowered their wands when Ryoga and Mousse pulled out their zodiac morphers.
"You're rangers too?" said Chip.
"It would appear so," said Mousse.
"Where did you come from?" asked Nick.
"Nerima, Japan, five years in the future," said Ryoga.
"An enemy of ours transported us here. We managed to find each other but three of our friends are still missing," said Mousse.
Chip interrupted, "And when you say 'five years in the future' you mean…."
"We're from the future, we need to find our friends, and find a way back to our time," said Mousse.
"Is there anything you can do to help us?" asked Rygoa.
"It will have to wait. We were supposed to meet our friend Daggeron out here when the hidiacs showed up," said Nick.
Just then, a man with dark hair, a well groomed beard, and cloths similar to the other five fell before them.
"Daggeron," shouted Vida.
Daggeron slowly got up, "It's Leanbow, he's become Koragg once more."
"What?" shouted Nick.
Then a large purple armor clad figure walked slowly walked into view. In one hand he had a large sword and in the other a shield.
"Surprised to see me rangers," he said.
"Now seems like the time to ranger up," said Xander.
"Don't have to tell us twice," said Ryoga
The five plus Daggeron, Ryoga and Mousse stood together.
Nick, Madison, Chip, Xander and Vida each held out their wands/phones, and pushed several numbers on the keypad while shouting, "Magical Source, Mystic Force!" Then out of nowhere, a voice called out, "Galwit Mysto Ranger." When the voice faded, five circles of light appeared above them and the five jumped into them. Once they passed through, they were each in a ranger suit. Nick in red, Madison in blue, Chip in yellow, Xander in Green, and Vida in pink.
Daggeron held out ticket puncher and a card, "Magical Source, Mystic Force!" He then punched the card and threw it. The card flew into the air grew until it was Daggeron's size. The card passed through Daggeron and his gold ranger suit appeared on him like armor.
Ryoga and Mousse were quick to notice the difference in appearance between their suits and the suits of the other six. The other's helmets were all unique and their colors were significantly brighter. Another noticeable difference was that the other's suits featured capes.
Shrugging it off, Ryoga and Mousse pressed the button to morph while shouting, "Sheng Xiao, Power Up!"
The eight Rangers stood together and struck a pose, "Power Rangers Mystic Force/ Sheng Xiao Power Rangers."
Koragg held up his shield. The top of the shield opened revealing an eye.
"Wolf attack," shouted Koragg. Then several wolf heads made from dark magic flew from the shield toward the rangers.
Nick, Daggeron and Mousse were able to dodge the attack but the rest weren't as lucky.
Each of the mystic rangers besides Daggeron summoned what they called a magi staff. Nick quickly transformed his into a sword and charged Koragg on his own.
Koragg was quick to bash the red ranger away with his shield. Mousse used the opening to bind Koragg with his nunchucks.
"Hold him steady," shouted Daggeron as he called out, "Solaris laser lamp". Then to Mousse and Ryoga's surprise, the gold ranger then summoned what looked like a genie's lamp. The lamp then converted into a blaster. Daggeron fired several blast of golden energy towards Koragg who was struggling to get free from Mousse.
Then at the last second, Koragg grabbed the cord Mousse was holding him with and swung the black ranger around, using him as a human shield against Daggeron's attack. Koragg then charged forward, slashing Daggeron with his sword and knocking him away.
As Koragg got free from Mousse's nunchucks, he had to quickly dodge Ryoga's umbrella as it came spinning towards him.
"Don't count us out just yet," said Ryoga as Xander, Vida, Chip and Madison stood behind him.
Xander's magi staff transformed into an axe which he slammed on the ground causing an energy wave to travel towards Koragg. Koragg easily dodged the attack by leaping into the air.
"Bad move," said Vida. The pink ranger waved her magi staff in the air and large pink fairy wings appeared behind her. The wings began to flap conjuring a strong wind which blasted Koragg out of the air and into a pond.
Koragg tried to run out but Madison was already waiting, "Don't even try it." She waved her magi staff causing a geyser blast Koragg back into the water.
Suddenly, Koragg jumped from the pond and unleashed another wolf attack at the rangers. Ryoga quickly jumped in front of them and used his umbrella to shield against the attack. Then Chip's magi staff transformed into a crossbow. He stood with Daggeron and the two fired blast of lightning and gold magic at Koragg who blocked the attack with his shield.
When Koragg was distracted, Nick, Xander, and Mousse snuck up behind him. Mousse once again bound Koragg with his nunchucks while Xander summoned vines to hold him even tighter.
Nick walked up him, "Leanbow, remember who you are. Udonna, your wife, is searching for you. Is this what you want her to find?"
Koragg once again broke free from his binds. He swung his sword, knocking back all the rangers. Then he picked Nick up by his neck.
"Fool. I am not Leanbow and I am not Koragg. All I am is a manifestation of what remains of Koragg's evil energy. I only live to destroy you and the rest of your friends."
Nick struggled against Koragg's grip, "If that's the case, then we don't have to hold back."
Suddenly, Mousse's nunchucks wrapped around Nick and pulled him free.
"Shi Shi Hokodan," shouted Ryoga.
Koragg raised his shield to block the attack, and then he countered by firing a blast of dark energy at Ryoga who wasn't able to dodge. Luckily, he was able to recover quickly.
"Are you ok?" asked Mousse
"Just fine. Ranma's attacks are stronger than his," said Ryoga.
"He's also slower than Ranma."
Then a plan formed in Ryoga's head. "Mousse, the moment I grab his shield, pull me away with your numchucks."
"Ryoga wait," called Mousse but it was too late.
Ryoga opened his umbrella and charged forward. The umbrella provided some protection from Koragg's attacks. Once Ryoga was in Koragg's face, he tossed his umbrella aside and grabbed Koragg's shield.
"Foolish boy, you dare to steal my weapon," said Koragg.
The shield opened and Koragg unleashed his wolf attack on Ryoga at point black. Mousse's nunchucks wrapped around Rygoa just as the attack hit. With all his might, Mousse pulled Ryoga who kept his grip on the shield even through the attack. Then with one last tug, Mousse pulled Ryoga and Koragg's shield away.
Once Mousse got Ryoga to safety, he placed the blue ranger against a tree. Koragg's attack had done it damage to Ryoga and the lost boy struggled to remain conscious.
"You know, just because it's something Ranma would do doesn't make it a good idea," said Mousse.
"Just shut up and end this," said Ryoga.
"I'll stay with him, you help the others," said Daggeron as he helped Ryoga get to his feet. Before Mousse returned to the fight, Daggeron handed him his laser lamp, "Here, take this".
Mousse nodded and ran off.
Mousse charged into the fight, firing the lamp wildly. Koragg knocked several of the blast away with his sword but he couldn't block all of them. Eventually, Mousse hit him several times and caused him to stagger back.
With Koragg distracted, the other five rangers pulled out their morphers and hit several buttons on them while calling, "Legendary Source, Mystic Force!" A voice called out, "Galwit Mysto Neramax." Once again, magic circles appeared above them and proceeded to transform the rangers. The rangers' gloves and boots became white while upper body armor also white in color appeared on them. They each held out their hands and a staff with a lion's head materialized in them.
The rangers held their staffs so that they formed the five points of a star while calling out, "Legend warriors, united formation."
Ryoga, Mousse and Daggeron watched as a golden white light erupted from the staffs and blasted Koragg until he was no more.
As they all powered down, Nick walked up to Ryoga and Mousse, "Sorry for not trusting you."
"Don't worry about it," said Ryoga.
"Well, let's see what we can do about finding your friends and getting you home," said Madison.
"Is it over yet," said a voice.
Then the head of a smiling white cat popped out of Daggeron's lamp.
"You have a genie," stated Mousse.
"Jenji's the name," said the cat.
"Can you find our friends and wish us back?" asked Ryoga
"No problem," said Jenji. A cloud of smoke escaped from the lamp and soon, Jenji stood before the rangers. The genie was tall and clad in black and gold armor. "Ok now click your heels together three times. Just kidding." The Genie clapped his hands together and a light surrounded Ryoga and Mousse but then it dissipated.
"That's not good," said Jenji.
"What's wrong," said Ryoga.
"The magic that sent you here was strong and I'm afraid my powers aren't enough to get you home," said Jenji.
Daggeron spoke up, "Well you can at least transport up to Rootcore to see if there is anything there that can help."
"One step ahead of you," said Jenji as he clicked his fingers, teleporting the rangers in an instant.
The Cat Café was a mess of books and old scrolls. Cologne had been searching for a way to bring the rangers back for days but so far had been unsuccessful.
"All this Amazonian magic and nothing for time travel," said Cologne as she tossed another book aside.
"Any luck at all," said Tofu as he walked in holding another stack of books.
"None," replied Cologne.
As Tofu left to brew coffee, they heard the door open. Tofu went to see who it was but only found a box. He picked it up, stuck his head outside and looked around, finding no one, he went back in.
"Who was it?" asked Cologne.
"Don't know but they left something," said Tofu.
Curiosity getting the better of him, Tofu opened the box to find several crystals and a note.
He read, "These are known as time crystals. Hold one and recite the desired date. A portal will open to temporarily transport you or others to and from said date."
"Who could have left these," said Cologne.
"Might as well see if they work," said Tofu.
Tofu grabbed the Chronicler and began to flip backwards, finding Ryoga and Mousse first. He read entry and quickly found the date.
After reciting it, a portal opened just like the note described.
Mousse and Ryoga had arrived back at the place the Mystic Force called Rootcore which was a house inside of a giant tree.
After several hours, Rootcore looked just like the Cat Café, with many books, scrolls, and magic paraphernalia scattered around the place and Daggeron and Chip were right in the middle of the pile. Vida and Madison left to grab some food, Nick took Ryoga to go feed the dragon Fireheart and Xander and Mousse were in Rootcore's basement bringing up more books.
Daggeron eventually closed the last in a stack of books, "I'm sorry boys but it would seem that there is nothing here that can be used for time travel. Udonna is the only one who could help us, and I'm afraid she is gone and I don't know when she'll be coming back."
"Sorry," said Xander.
"You can stay here until we find a way to get you back," said Chip.
Madison and Vida walked in carrying many grocery bags full of food. Suddenly Mousse dropped the books he was holding.
"Shampoo I've found you," said Mousse happily as he wrapped his arms around Vida.
Madison quickly backed away as did everyone else in the room.
"It was nice knowing him," said Jenji from inside his lamp.
Nick had just come back inside with Ryoga to find Mousse disoriented and covered in bruises.
"Forgot your glasses," said Ryoga.
"I don't think that was Shampoo," said Mousse.
Vida cracked her knuckles, "How could he confuse me with a hair product?"
"Long story," said Ryoga.
"Any luck guys," asked Madison.
"None," said Daggeron.
"Well, don't give up. In the meantime, Nick, can you help me with dinner?"
Ryoga was quick to notice both Madison and Nick blush.
"Sure Maddy," said Nick.
Suddenly, a bright light shinned in the middle of the room.
"What's going on?" said Xander
Then the light turned into a circle that opened up. Ryoga and Mousse looked into it to see a bewildered Tofu and Cologne on the other side.
"Looks like that's your ride home," said Daggeron.
The Mystic rangers each came up and shook Mousse and Ryoga's hand.
"See you soon," said Nick.
"More like see you if we're ever in Japan in the next five years," said Chip.
"If your ever in town again, stop by the shop and I'll give you a discount," said Xander.
"Don't go mistaking too many girls for hair products now," said Vida.
"And if you ever need us, you know where we are. Oh and my spell should wear off as soon as your home since none of us will be there to keep it in effect," said Madison.
Mousse and Ryoga bowed their heads.
"Thanks for all your help," said Mousse.
"We'll never forget you," said Ryoga.
Then Daggeron and Jenji came up to them.
"Don't forget these," said Daggeron. Then Jenji clapped his hands and two cloaks appeared in each one. One had the symbol of the rooster and the other had the pig on it.
"It's always good to leave with a souvenir," said Jenji.
Mousse and Ryoga bowed their heads in thanks once more, took their gifts, and jumped through the portal.
Ryoga and Mousse arrived safely inside the Cat Café and the portal closed soon after.
"It worked," said Tofu.
"It's good to have you too back," said Cologne.
Just then, some customers walked in.
"Looks like you're just in time to help with the dinner crowd," said Cologne with a smile on her face.
"I'll go upstairs and get the others back," said Tofu.
Mousse and Ryoga sighed as Cologne handed them a serving tray and broom respectively.
"Good to be back," said Ryoga
"If those are the words you want to use," said Mousse
(Authors note)
Next time, we'll see what happens when Akane and Shampoo come face to face with ninjas.
This is a brief description on what is currently happing in the Mystic Force universe:
(Spoilers for anyone who didn't watch the season)
The chapter takes place after Mystic Force Episode 25: The Hunter. Udonna has begun her search for Leanbow with Clair tagging along, which is why she was only mentioned. The spell that turned Leanbow into Koragg is broken but he is still missing. Mystic Force is currently fighting the Ten Terrors who are being helped by Leelee's mom Necrolai.