Legendary Catastros
"Gather around rangers and hear the story of the beast stallion, the legendary Catastros." Udonna spoke up from her place in the loft, holding Xenotome. The rangers and Lena sat in wooden chairs around the small round table where the crystal ball glowed eerily. A storm raged outside, and the lights inside Rootcore flickered on and off, setting the perfect tone.
"You are going to love this, Neil." Lena nudged her son. "You too, Chip. It has knights in it!"
The yellow mystic beamed at his predecessor.
"Whoa!" Xander shot back as a spectral horse sprang up from Xenotome and galloped his way to the crystal ball, which started to show them visions from the past parallel to Udonna's narration.
"Many have tried in vain to break the mightiest creature of them all. Catastros was stronger than a hundred men and no one was able to harness his fearsome power." The crystal ball showed hunters trying to sneak on the horse and trying to bind him in chains, only for Catastros to break through them as though they were nothing and escape into the wilderness. "Catastros fled into the forest during the great battle between good and evil, but when the forces of Underworld threatened to burn the forest to the ground, the magical entities of the forest lent us their aid."
The images shifted to show three horses – a black stallion, who was obviously Catastros, a white unicorn and a brown mare with a pair of golden wings coming out of the forest with a small group of fairies, dryads, minotaurs, pixies and other magical creatures.
"Wait, is that a unicorn? And a freaking Pegasus!" Chip asked excitedly, his eyes widening.
"The white unicorn is Brightstar." Udonna smiled fondly. "She is my familiar."
"And that was the pegasus Surya, steed of the golden mystic Roshni. Sadly, we lost them both in the great battle." Lena said sadly.
"Catastros gave his loyalty to a brave knight, who saved him from falling prey to a dark spell." Udonna continued as they saw a knight in red and purple armour jumped in front of the wounded Catastros, deflecting a blast of dark magic with his sword. "The knight was my husband, Leanbow, the leader of the Mystic Force."
"He was the red mystic before you, Nick." Lena told him.
The rangers looked at each other shocked. They knew the mystics before them had fallen in the battle but they had no idea that Udonna's husband was one of them.
"Leanbow and the other knights forced Morticon and his forces back to the Underworld and Leanbow chose to venture into the realm to defeat the leader of the darkness, the Master and give the other mystics enough time to seal the Gates of the Underworld." The white witch said gravely. "Catastros followed him and we thought we had lost them both."
"But Koragg had Catastros." Nick pointed out.
"The Catastros I knew would have never submitted himself to darkness, let himself be tamed by anyone, let alone anyone as despicable as Koragg." Udonna sighed. "However, after the horrors he must have endured in the Underworld, anyone could be broken, even someone as strong willed as Catastros."
"Is there any chance that Leanbow could be alive as well?" Madison asked.
"It's foolish to hope. During our fight, Koragg told me that he had slayed my husband and that could explain how he got hold of Catastros." She said morosely.
"I am sorry." Madison said.
"I am fine, rangers." The white witch assured them with a pained smile. "The great war inflicted many scars on us but we have persevered."
"Wait, we saw Koragg get destroyed, what does that mean for Catastros?" Neil asked. "Is there any way we can save him?"
"Bandora did more than destroy Koragg and Necrolai, she absorbed their magic and powers. It would be wise to assume that she is the one in control of Catastros." Lena sighed. "And knowing her, she would rather kill him herself than let the light reclaim him. We can't save Catastros not until we defeat the darkness. And furthermore, it will take time for him to regain his free will and recover from two decades of brainwashing."
"I wish we could help him." Madison said.
"We do too but we must remember Catastros is not in his right mind now and he would not show mercy on us and if Bandora discovers that we are trying to free him, she will exploit that." Udonna told her simply. "There's nothing we can do, not without jeopardising Catastros' life."
The crystal ball stopped the visions as it showed a dark fog.
"That was the scariest story ever!" Chip gawked.
"Even I am a little freaked out." Vida told them and wrinkled her nose at the shocked faces of the other rangers. "Just a little."
"Well, I am not scared." Xander said smugly.
Just then, the lights shut down and they were blanketed in darkness. Lena snapped her fingers and there was a flicker of yellow electricity before the lights were restored, only to reveal Xander in Neil's arms, bridal style.
"Just making sure you are safe, mate." He said disbelievingly, patting the white mystic's shoulder as the others laughed.
"I am fine. Thanks!" Neil smirked dryly, promptly dropping him. He rolled his eyes fondly as the green mystic staggered to his feet.
"You guys can't possibly be afraid of a silly horse!" Nick snarked.
Udonna's eyes sharpened as she turned towards the red mystic.
"Catastros is no 'silly horse', Nick. He was once a dear friend but under the thrall of darkness, he is now a formidable foe." She warned.
"In the magical realm, animals are just as sentient as humans, if not more. Do not underestimate him just because he is a horse." Lena told them.
"Oh, don't you just love a good brainstorm?" Clare walked in to the room, cutting through the tension in the room, her head covered with a hat composed solely of whipped cream.
Lena twisted her lips, trying not to laugh but the rangers had no such reservations.
"Clare, you are steaming!" Maddie said between bouts of laughter.
"Yeah, I crossed a hot cocoa spell with a spell of protection." Clare beamed at them proudly, totally oblivious as to the reason for their laughter.
"Your hair…" Vida pointed.
Clare frowned before touching her head to find whipped cream instead of her hair. She tasted it and looked appalled. "I forgot to omit the part about toppings! And I'm allergic to toppings!"
She sneezed bending forwards, splattering cream all over Udonna. Udonna scowled, while the rangers tried to hold back their laughter. She frowned at her apprentice before going up to her quarters.
"Just like old times…" Lena shook her head, following Udonna. This reminded her of a time Niella had attempted inventing a spell of her own and almost burned down the academy.
Clare looked abashed before turning to the others.
"Quick, Nick! Point your wand at me and say Finishio!" She said hurriedly, as she sneezed again and blobs of cream headed at the rangers, whose faces turned from humorous to scared. Neil covered his face with his hands on reflex, and the blobs instantly froze to crystal orbs which fell to the ground, shattering to pieces.
As Clare was about to sneeze again, Nick pointed his morpher at her. "Finishio!"
The cream vanished from her head, restoring her golden locks and she sighed in relief.
"Hey how did you do that?" Xander asked Neil, pointing at the bits of frozen cream on the floor. "You didn't use your morpher or say a spell."
"I don't know." He answered honestly,
"Your ice magic acted on instinct." Clare told him.
"What do you mean?" Madison peered at the apprentice.
"Sometimes you can use your magic subconsciously without casting spells." She explained. "It's pretty common with elemental mages like you."
"Like how we did in the woods, when Udonna told us we need to believe in magic to use it!" Chip realised. "So we can all do stuff like what Neil did?"
"Yupp." The apprentice nodded her head.
"But you shouldn't or at least try not to. Using elemental magic without spells is dangerous." They looked up to see Lena on the stairs. "That is why we have wands and staffs in the first place to channel the energies so that they don't consume us."
The rangers looked at each other concerned about the new information.
"You can't escape me." A blue skinned monster in golden robes said menacingly as he neared the knight in white. The monster wore an elaborate headpiece and wore what looked to be reading glasses.
"You will not win. Not now, not ever!" The knight swore, leaping backwards, avoiding a blast of dark magic. "Ancient Mystic Mode!"
The knight transformed into a form akin to that of their titan forms – humanoid versions of ancient deities. He had light blue skin and white armour with a blue sheen. Blue spokes came out of his head, resembling a snowflake.
He summoned his sword and charged at the monster with a fierce battle cry.
Neil woke up from the nightmare, panting heavily. That seemed too real to be just a dream! It felt as if he was the knight charging at whatever that monster was. Maybe it was his subconscious processing everything that happened the last few weeks… him becoming a wizard and a superhero, then finding out his mom was a knight all along!
He looked at the bedside clock. 4 o clock. He turned towards the window. The glass panes were still misty with rain droplets. He could see the trees outside waver and heavy rain shower. It was still stormy.
He yawned, lying down and drifting back to sleep.
"Oh, look who's finally awake?" Neil blinked on hearing the familiar voice as he stepped out into the living room.
"Xander, what are you doing here?" He asked befuddled on seeing the green mystic sitting on the couch with his mom.
"Be nice." Lena admonished, looking up from her plate of bagels and waffles. "He brought breakfast."
"My pleasure, Lena." Xander grinned at her before turning towards Neil. "And I got your oreo shake too. So, hurry up."
"Thank you. A pleasant surprise and much needed motivation for not going back to sleep." He said quickly picking up a waffle and his shake from the carry bag on the table and then kissing Xander's forehead.
"Oh, you two are so cute together!" Lena smiled at them.
"Thank you." Xander said the same time Neil blanched. "Mom, stop!"
The doctor grinned at her son as he grumpily sat down between the two, munching on a waffle.
"You might finally get him to work on time, Xander." Lena smirked. The white mystic rolled his eyes as his boyfriend laughed good-naturedly.
"Neil, you are early today!" Maddie said surprised as Neil and Xander walked into the store.
"Why does everybody think I can never be on time?" He pouted.
"For good reason." Xander smirked. "You have never been on time to school or work or-"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. But I am on time today!"
"Hey, I get the credit for that." Xander claimed smugly, turning to Maddie. "Never underestimate the power of oreo shakes."
Neil facepalmed as Maddie giggled. Vida and Chip came over to them from the disco stand.
"Here's hoping you are not late to our dates." Xander elbowed him.
"Dates?" Vida asked before grinning widely. "You two are finally together! Took you long enough!"
"Wait, you knew?" Xander asked.
"I think the entire city knew you two were crushing on each other!" Chip exclaimed. "So happy my otp is finally sailing!"
Neil snickered while Xander turned to him quizzically.
"Otp?"
"One true pairing." He supplied.
"Okay… You nerds are weird." Xander shook his head.
"And since you're my boyfriend, it makes you weird by association." He retorted.
"Well, if that's the price I have to pay…" Xander smirked, stealing a quick kiss.
"Eww…gross!" Chip stuck out his tongue. "PDA much!"
Just then, Nick walked in.
"Nice of you to join us." Xander commented.
Nick looked at Neil and took a double take. "I really must be late if you are here already!"
"Seriously?" Neil huffed. "Why do – Never mind, just gonna accept it."
Xander laughed, putting his arms around him. "You look cute when you are annoyed."
"Did I miss something?" Nick asked confused.
"Oh, these two finally got together." Vida said smugly.
"Congrats." The red mystic smiled before heading over to the counter.
"Hey, everything alright?" Maddie asked him.
"Didn't get much sleep last night." He replied putting on his purple work jacket.
"Aww, did the scary thunder keep you up?" Vida teased him. "Oh, I forgot, you weren't afraid of anything."
"Very funny." Nick said dryly as the others snickered.
A familiar chime interrupted them. Nick groaned.
"No rest for the weary." Maddie told him sympathetically as they hurried out of the store.
Fully morphed, the rangers appeared in the city. Lena didn't join them since she was busy in the hospital but had promised to teleport straight away if they needed her.
The ground shook as they saw Bandora and a band of hidiacs terrorising innocents.
"Stop!" Neil called out. "Flurry of Snow!"
"Mystic Fairy Wings!"
The combined attacks quickly took care of the hidiacs, either freezing them into popsicles or sending them flying in the atmosphere.
"Your turn now, Bandora!" Nick declared.
"Cocky much?" The witch smirked, eying them. "I see your knight is not here to protect you today!"
"We are more than capable of taking you on, hag!" Vida snarked.
"Let's test that, shall we?" Bandora thrusted her hands forward as a spectral wolf howled appearing out of thin air before merging with her, and Koragg's armour formed around her.
"Wolf Knight Battle Armour!" She called as a helmet resembling what Koragg had, materialised over her head. She snapped her fingers. "Uthe Mejor Catastros!"
The steed neighed as he rose from a purple spell seal and Bandora leapt on it, as they traversed through another spell circle, which turned them into titans. "Sumbol Unithos Equestras!"
Bandora cackled as she merged with the horse into a centaur form.
"Galwit Neramax Du!" The rangers punched their spell codes into their morphers, turning into the titans.
"Galwit Neramax Unios!" Xander, Vida, Madison, Neil and Chip merged into the Mystic Dragon and Nick hopped on it. They flew up, the dragon opening their jaw and unleashing a torrent of fire at Bandora who cackled, dispelling the attack with her sword.
"That is all you have got?" The witch taunted, swinging her sword, summoning an arc of dark energy that crashed into them, knocking Nick off the dragon as the dragon fragmented into the respective titans.
"Finally, I will be rid of you pesky humans!" She cackled, trotting towards them.
The titans winced in pain, struggling to get back to their feet.
Bandora raised her sword, preparing to unleash another attack when a bolt of dark energy hit her from behind, sending purple sparks across her armour. She fell apart from Catastros and looked around to spot who had hit her from behind.
"You!" She shrieked in shock, noticing a figure in black with leathery bat wings connected to her arms, holding a crossbow, standing on a rooftop. "How can it be?"
The rangers looked at the direction and gaped.
"That's Necrolai!" Madison exclaimed, startled.
"But she was destroyed!" Xander gasped.
The vampire in question cackled, leaping from the building, and flying around in circles around Bandora's titan mode like a tiny gnat.
"Doesn't matter how you survived. I will crush you again!" Bandora vowed, trying to swat the vampire.
"You will have to catch me first!" The bat mocked her before flying away.
"How dare-" The witch snarled, casting another spell.
"No, you won't escape this time!" Nick growled, leaping at her as the spell circle enveloped her and Catastros and the spell seal began to warp.
"Get off me, you filthy mortal!" She slammed Nick into Catastros just as the spell circle consumed all of them.
"Nick!" Vida yelled.
"No, stop!" Maddie pleaded, running up to where Nick was standing moments ago but it was too late.
"Udonna!"
"Mom!"
The rangers called for their mentors the moment they burst into Rootcore.
Lena and Udonna looked up from the Xenotome.
"We know, rangers. Udonna alerted me to come as soon as Nick disappeared. We are working on a way to bring him back." Lena told them hurriedly, flipping through the pages of Xenotome.
"He is not answering his morpher either!" Vida said frantically.
"The signal is probably not getting through to where Nick is trapped right now." Udonna sighed as Clare ran up to them, her hands full with various scrolls and books. "I got what you wanted from the library, Udonna."
The apprentice set the books on one of the spare tables.
"And where is Nick?"
Udonna and Lena looked at each other darkly.
"In one of the infinite dark dimensions connected to the Underworld." Lena told them gravely. "Since we do not know what dimension he is in, we cannot cast a spell to portal him back."
"The crystal ball, maybe-" Maddie turned towards it, only for the crystal to show a dark fog.
"We already tried. Our magic cannot show us what transpires in the dark dimensions." The white witch told them.
"So, what do we do?" Neil asked.
"Keep watch on the Xenotome in case it gives some clue to where Nick is. Clare brought all the information we have on dark dimensions and transportation spells we have. Maybe there is something there which can help you find a way to bring Nick back." Udonna told them.
"Udonna and I will be back soon." Lena told them. "Do not give up rangers, We will do everything we can to rescue him."
"Where are you going?" Neil asked.
"To find someone who can point us in the right direction." Udonna said.
"We will go with you." Vida said.
"No." Lena told her sharply. "Stay here. If Bandora attacks again, you need to be ready."
"Are you sure about this?" Lena asked as she and Udonna walked through the forest.
"It's the only viable option we have." She sighed.
"Udonna, Clare is Niella's daughter and heiress to the Gatekeeper powers. She can potentially open a portal to-"
"And put herself in Bandora's notice. If they find out that Clare is the next Gatekeeper, they will stop at nothing to get her to raise the gates. I won't put her in danger." Udonna snapped, cutting her off.
"Yes, you are right." Lena sighed. "I am sorry."
"It's fine, Lena. You were trying to help but Clare is not ready and neither am I." She admitted.
"I understand completely." Lena smiled. "I don't want Neil here either but I have to respect his choice."
Udonna nodded as they reached a clearing. At the centre of the clearing was a huge banyan tree with various markings on it's bark.
"It looks the same after all these years." Lena noticed as they approached the tree. She held out her hand at Udonna. "Ready?"
The white witch nodded, clasping her hand tightly as Lena pressed her palm against the bark.
"Magicae Lacunae!" They chanted as the tree sucked them in.
Xander groaned in frustration as another spell failed to locate Nick on the crystal ball.
"It didn't work?" Chip asked.
"No! And I even winked!" He complained.
"And it still didn't work?" Neil teased, looking up from a scroll.
"Don't be cute." The green mystic stuck out his tongue.
"Let's try this one. It is supposed to contact lost loved ones." He pointed his wand at the crystal and casted the spell but it remained blank, much to his dismay. "Come on!"
"Don't get frustrated. Keep trying." Maddie urged, flipping through the pages of a book. "Claire, has anything appeared in the Xenotome?"
The apprentice sighed from where she stood over the blank pages of the Xenotome. "No."
"Hey guys!" Vida called. "I think I found something."
The others ran over to her, where she was reading off a scroll. "It says here that a spell of transport is a one-way deal, unless a source can reverse the seal." She read before turning to them. "Remember that record that came out last year? I used it all the time for scratching because if you play it backwards, it has different lyrics."
"So you think you can reverse the seal and release Nick if you say the seal backwards?" Neil asked.
"It's worth a shot." Vida shrugged, "Can anyone remember Bandora's spell?"
The team looked at each other helplessly while Clare perked up. "That's an easy fix. We can watch your memories in the crystal orb."
"We can do that?" Xander asked sceptically and the apprentice nodded.
"Wicked!" Chip grinned ear to ear, looking at Neil who was just as awestruck.
"Just like a pensieve!" Neil said and Chip nodded while Clare looked at them confused.
"From Harry Potter?" He told and the witch continued looking lost.
Neil and Chip looked at each other appalled.
"Boys, love the reference to our favourite story book but let's focus on real life and real magic, shall we?" Vida looked at them pointedly.
"Right." Neil nodded, turning towards Clare. "What do we do?"
"Try to focus on the memory of Bandora casting the spell and say 'Transfero Memor'." She instructed.
"Cool!" Chip smiled, taking out his morpher and pointing it at the crystal ball. "Transfero Memor!"
They saw the witch snarl before casting her spell. "Basalichi Infredo!"
"Great, we got the spell!" Vida whooped. "Now, to say it backwards!"
"Right." Chip took out his wand. "Oder-"
"Wait!" Clare screamed. "Don't cast that spell!"
"What, why?" Neil asked as they all looked at the apprentice.
"That is a dark magic spell and we are light wizards. We can never cast dark spells, not without consequences." She said, uncharacteristically serious.
"But we would get Nick back. Whatever consequences, I am sure that we-" Maddie started to say only to be cut off by Clare.
"If you use a dark spell, you will lose all your magic and your ranger powers along with it. Dark magic is dangerous and unpredictable."
"So, we are back to square one?" Vida grumbled.
"Let's hope Udonna and mom are having better luck." Neil sighed, just as their morphers chimed and the crystal ball showed a monster attacking the city.
"Seriously, now?" Xander groaned. "Ready guys?"
The others nodded.
"Magical Source, Mystic Force!" They morphed into their armoured forms before rushing out of Rootcore, leaving Clare behind to keep watch on the Xenotome.
The rangers arrived in the city and got a closer look at the monster. It was a rock golem, like the one Udonna had singlehandedly defeated in the woods the day they became rangers.
"Make my monster grow!" Bandora cackled from the top of a skyscraper, pointing her golden staff at the monster as dark energies swirled around it, enlarging it till it became a giant.
"Mystic Titans!" Xander called out as they summoned their titan forms. They charged at the monster, but their weapons couldn't penetrate his thick armour.
Neil in his snow lion form roared and icy comets rained down from the skies, hitting the monster, who growled in retaliation.
The minotaur titan hit him with his axe, the mermaid with her trident and the garuda titan flapped his wings, summoning bolts of lightning that struck the monster, which only seemed to make him angrier. He clapped his hands together, letting loose a shockwave that threw all of them backwards.
""We need the megazord to beat this guy." Neil surmised.
"Without Nick, it's not possible." Xander said, struggling to get back up with the support of his axe.
The monster towered over them as they got back to their feet.
A bolt of lightning struck the monster, sending it crashing backwards. They looked around to see Lena in her garuda titan mode fly towards them from the distance and there was someone standing on her left shoulder… It appeared to be another ranger in red amour but their armour had no resemblance to their own. Whoever they were, it was clear that they were not a mystic. He took out a white device, presumably his morpher and made swift motions in the air, as if he was drawing something and giant red symbols appeared in the skies in a burst of flames, before swirling to create a portal.
Almost instantly, Nick in his ranger form leapt out of the portal, riding on top of Catastros.
"Look, it's Nick!" Vida exclaimed happily.
"And he is with Catastros!" Chip gawked.
"Hey guys, need a little help?" He asked, summoning his titan form and Catastros also became giant before they merged to form a megazord. "Centaurus Phoenix Megazord!"
"Whoa, he combined with Catastros!" Xander said amazed.
"This is nuts!" Vida agreed.
"This is how it's done, red ranger style!" Nick yelled, brandishing his sword, enchanted flames swirling around it as he jumped at the monster, destroying him in a single strike.
The red titan whooped in victory as he detached from the stallion.
"Thanks, Catastros." He said, patting the horse only for the horse to suddenly jump to the air, throwing him off.
"Nick!" Maddie cried as she and the others ran up to him.
"Catastros belongs to the darkness, red mystic!" Bandora cackled, appearing beside the stallion in her titan mode. "You would do well to remember that!"
"No! I thought he had changed!" Nick said as the other titans helped him up. Lena landed near them, her arms glowing with amber aura.
"We will meet again, rangers," Bandora swore, summoning a spell circle underneath her. "Enjoy your victory while you can!"
The mystics reverted to their ranger forms, meeting in the ground.
Nick turned towards the other red ranger, who had a symbol imprinted across his helmet, black stripes running down his suit and a sword with a golden hilt attached to his belt. "Thank you, whoever you are, for getting me back."
"No thanks necessary, I was merely doing my duty as a guardian of the Earth." The ranger nodded stoically, taking out his morpher and drawing another symbol. The mystics waved at him before he swiped his morpher and the symbol turned into a portal. As soon as he jumped through it, the portal closed in on itself.
"Who was that?" Neil asked awed.
"The symbols and the markings on his helmet… They were Japanese kanji!" Chip realised. "Was that dude a ninja?"
"Close. He is the red samurai ranger." Lena told them.
"A real samurai!" Chip gawked. "So cool!"
"Why did he go away so quickly?" Vida asked. "And if there are other rangers, shouldn't they be helping us?"
"They can't, not more than they already have." Lena sighed. "The samurai have their own battles to fight. I will explain more once we return to Rootcore."
"Why could he open a portal to a dark dimension when we couldn't?" Neil asked his mother when they all returned to Rootcore where Udonna and Clare waited for them.
"Our light magic is not compatible with dark spells and the red samurai used magic that is very different to what we use." Lena said.
"They use dark magic?" Maddie asked bewildered.
"No, in fact they refer to their magic as symbol power. They channel the elements through a combination of blood magic and ancient runes. Their ranger powers pass from parent to child and each generation of samurai rangers have dedicated their lives to protecting humanity from a race of deadly demons called nighloks." Udonna told them. "Though both mystics and samurai are guardians, the relationship between them have been strained at best. We weren't sure they would help us, that's why we didn't tell you where we were going."
"Though I think it'd have been better if we had." Lena rubbed her forehead, frowning at them. "If it weren't for Clare's timely intervention, one of you might have cast a dark spell and we would be down a ranger now. We need to be clearer about what spells you can cast and how to differentiate light magic from dark."
"They are new to magic, aunty." Clare intervened.
"Novices or not, Lena is right. You need more lessons." Udonna said before smiling at them lightly. "However your attempt was admirable and you would have succeeded on your own if Bandora had used a neutral spell instead."
The rangers grinned at each other at the praise.
"Wait, I think we are all forgetting something." Nick pointed out. "Necrolai… how is she back? I mean we all saw Bandora destroy her and Koragg, right?"
"Yeah, with you disappearing on us, that slipped our minds." Maddie murmured. " She saved us."
"No, she attacked Bandora because she probably wanted payback." Neil deduced. "But if she is back, does that mean Koragg is too?"
"I don't think so since Bandora still has access to Koragg's powers." Udonna frowned. "Necrolai's return is not necessarily unprecedented. She is the queen of vampires after all and if legends are to be believed, vampire royalty are nearly impossible to kill."
"So, she resurrected herself?" Xander asked.
"It appears so." The white witch said warily. "We must be alert rangers."
Lena nodded. "Just because she is on the outs with Bandora, does not mean she is our ally. If anything, her being a loose cannon makes her even more dangerous."
The rangers looked at each other worriedly as the exhilaration of their hard-earned victory faded in light of the new information.
Hope you guys like this and please review. :)