"They've come to take me back to the ship!" the alien known as Mick whined. He was stranded on a road to nowhere with two human teenagers for protection. Not good looking odds.

The female teenager turned to her companion. In her hand she clenched a broken tube and glanced uncertainly at the approaching monsters. They were blue duded with a sombrero carrying wooden staffs with spikes.

"Um, maybe we can scare them off?" she suggested.

The male companion, also holding a metal tube, and looking equally as nervous, nodded. "Yeah, sure." He stepped forward, trembling. "If you want him then… uh…" he glanced unsurely to his companion.

She, too, stepped forward. She was nervous, but at least she wasn't trembling. "You'll have to go through both of us!" she said. She hoped she sounded intimidating enough.

"Yeah!" Mick shouted. He then turned and climbed into the truck beside him. "Good luck!" he said, slamming the door behind him.

Both teenagers shared uneasy looks. Their intimidation strategy was failing, and Mick was of no use to them.

As the monsters attacked, the pair rushed forward, despite their minds and bodies telling them not too. They managed to block several attacks, before becoming overwhelmed and thrown in two different directions.

"Hayley!" the boy shouted.

The girl, Hayley, groaned as she landed on her arm. Pain shot down from her elbow, and she rolled onto her side, gazing up at the monsters standing over her. "Calvin," she murmured, eyes wide.

The monster raised his staff, the sharp end pointing downward.

"Hayley!" Calvin called again. He had managed to find his footing and was trying to get to his friend. He rammed his way through the monsters but was quickly subdued. Being forced to his knees he watched as the monster standing over Hayley stabbed down, and he yelled.

Hayley closed her eyes, waiting for the inexplicable pain that was sure to follow. But nothing ever came.

"Why don't you guys pick on someone with a little more fire power?" asked a strange male voice.

Hayley's eyes snapped open, and she gasped. Another person was standing over her, he had the monster ready to attack her caught in his grasp.

The monster screeched as lightning wrapped around the man's hand, turning it to dust. "You call that a monster, Circe? More like a foot soldier to me," said the man.

Hayley frowned. Did he just call her Circe? Who was this guy? What did he just do to the monster? He had barely touched it and now it was dust in the wind.

"They are foot soldiers, Morthill," said another strange voice. Hayley glanced back as a fast-moving figure passed by her. Her gaze followed the newcomers trajectory, watching with wide eyes as she launched herself into the air and landed directly in the middle of the circle that now surrounded Calvin.

The female figure landed in a crouch, hands above her head as a ball of black and purple mass formed between her palms. She smashed the orb into the ground, and smaller orbs burst forth, attaching themselves to the monsters and incinerating them also.

"Show off," the new guy, Morthill, muttered.

"I heard that," the girl, Hayley could only guess was called Circe, called. She turned to Calvin and held out her hand.

Meanwhile, Morthil turned to Hayley and did the same. "M'lady," he said, bowing at the waist and pressing his lips to her knuckles.

Hayley giggled and tucked her hair behind her ear. She caught Calvin's gaze as he crossed the field to her. "Oh, don't look so worried," she said, kissing his nose. "I still love you."

Calvin smiled goofily and then turned to their saviours. "I don't mean this to sound… unappreciative," he said. "But who are you?"

The two fighters removed their face masks. The man, Morthil, was a lot taller than Hayley had guessed, maybe 6ft. He had a strong, broad build to him, muscular arms, and a chiselled face. His hair was shoulder length and a light brown while his eyes were an unusual violet.

The girl, Circe, was a lot smaller than her companion. She had dark skin, dark hair, and even dark eyes. There were scars running along her neck and face, a particularly nasty one clipped the corner of her chin and ran along her jaw, disappearing beneath her hair.

"I'm Circe," the female introduced. "Master Defender of the Woodland Realm. This is my companion, Morthill. He's new."

"Woodland Realm?" Calvin questioned.

Circe turned to Morthil. "I told you they were human," she said, nudging her companion.

"How was I to know?" Morthil defended, rubbing his arm. Circe may have been small, but she packed a punch. "Their very essence screams Mystic Realm, and they fought with warrior hearts."

Circe conceded. She couldn't argue that.

"Why were you fighting like warriors?" Morthil asked, turning back to the couple. "Why were those foot soldiers attacking you?"

"They weren't after us," said Hayley. "They're after Mick."

"Mick?"

Hayley nodded toward the yellow truck on the side of the road. "He says he is an alien from outer space. We didn't even know about him until Calvin kicked a metal ball and he transformed," she said.

"Transformed?" Circe questioned. She turned and approached the truck, peering into the window and found the white-haired man sitting in the passenger seat. She opened the door, and he tumbled out.

"Please don't take me back!"

Circe jumped back as Mick curled up in a ball at her feet, his voice quivering as he pleaded with her. "Whoa, easy," she said, falling to her knees. "We're not going to take you back… wherever 'back' is. We want to help you."

"You do?" Mick asked, peering up at her. He studied her face, eyes widening. "You're from the Mystic Realm."

Circe nodded. She was a tad surprised that an alien being knew of the Mystic Realm, they had been taking in intergalactic refugees for months now. It wasn't a surprise anymore that the Magical Realm was known in other worlds besides Earth.

"The Hellhound," said Mick, suddenly. "She can help me. She can help me find my friend. Brody, he's from right here."

"Brody…Romero?"

Mick nodded. "Yes! Brody!" he screeched. He jumped up and seized Circe by the shoulders, a move that caused Morthil to step closer, but also stand down as Circe held out her hand.

"I can take you to Brody," said Circe. "He was found a few hours ago in the forest outside of Summer Cove. He's safe at our homebase."

Mick sighed in relief.

Circe looked over at Morthil as Mick released her. "Bring the boy and girl, too," she said. "Kali is going to want to see them."

Hayley and Calvin shared a look.

"Um, excuse me, but bring us where?" Hayley asked.

Morthil smiled and held out his hand. "You'll see," he grinned.

~X~

Preston stared in awe at the computers surrounding the walls. He had heard so many things about Briarwood, but a magical tree in the centre of a grove with computers installed was not one of them. He obviously knew that the Mystic Force Power Rangers had a home base somewhere in the forest, but he never expected it to be this.

"You deliberately went against my orders," said Kali. She was standing in front of Aidan and Nym, arms crossed and a furious look in her eyes. "I told you what would happen if you interfered. What if it hadn't have been an intergalactic creature, huh? What if it had been someone or something from our world? How do you think that would have ended?"

"I had to do something," said Aidan. "I had to save Brody."

"From what I gather, you didn't even know it was Brody until you turned around?" Kali snapped. "For Merlin's sake, Aidan, you know the consequences that your specific actions could have on this world. I would move heaven and hell to save Nym, but I would tear down worlds for you. Why would you do something so stupid?"

Aidan lowered his head. He knew his mother would rip him apart when she found out, and he had hoped that she wouldn't. But when Maddie had arrived in the clearing, along with the Elemental patrol, he knew she would report back immediately. She had even warned him that the consequences of his actions would be a lot worse than if it had been someone else causing the issue.

"I wanted to help," Aidan repeated. He couldn't say that he had wanted to help Brody because his mother was right, he didn't even know it was Brody until Nym and Preston had made the comment about looking into a mirror. It had been that comparison that had caught his attention and made him turn.

Brody was his younger brother. The same younger brother that had disappeared several years ago, but he was older now. At least seventeen. He looked a lot different to his childhood self, but still resembled his older brother in so many ways. Dark hair, dark eyes, dark skin. No one could deny the relation between them.

"And you were helping by staying at school," said Kali. "What if the attack had left the woods and entered Summer Cove? You were the first line of defence for the humans. You left them unprotected. I'm disappointed, Aidan."

Aidan sighed. He hated when Kali was disappointed in him. It had only ever happened one other time and he had sworn it wouldn't happen again. Today he had broken that promise. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Kali stared at her son. "I know you are," she said, lifting his chin. He met her gaze. "I hate punishing you. If this were any other circumstances, I'd let you off with a warning. But this was a deliberate disobedience, I can't let it go."

Aidan nodded. He dreaded to think what she would take from him. Kali had never really believed in punishments, especially not since her own childhood hadn't been all that grand. When she was sixteen she had been jailed in a juvenile detention centre for stealing a car, her parents hadn't even tried to fight her case, and basically locked her up and threw away the key. She had promised to not do such things with her own children, but there were certain issues that even she couldn't ignore.

"Aidan Romero, disobeying orders from your mother is one thing," said Kali, "but disobeying orders from the Hellhound is an entirely different kettle of fish. Therefore, your punishment is a week in the Underworld with Itassis and Matoombo. You will do exactly as they say, oh, and no guitar."

Aidan's eyes widened. "Mum!" he whined.

"Keep it up. I'll make it two weeks with no guitar."

Slumping in his seat, Aidan crossed his arms and pouted.

Kali rolled her eyes but turned away. She met Nym's gaze from across the room. "Your actions may have been admirable, Nym, but you too disobeyed orders, not only that but you put a human in danger," she said. "You'll join Aidan in the Underworld, do you understand?"

Nym blinked back tears of shame and nodded.

"Good. Now that is out of the way," said Kali, turning to the Ninja Nexus Prism on the table. It glittered in the dim light that Rootcore had to offer. "This is the crystal that your father died protecting?" She looked to Aidan.

Aidan nodded.

"And you're the Brody that went missing," Kali added, turning to the teen that Aidan had saved. She couldn't deny the resemblance. It was obvious who he was.

Brody nodded. "My father told me about you… before he disappeared," he said. "Said that, if there ever came a day where he wasn't here and Aidan and I needed help, we were to come to you."

"Smart man."

Preston raised a hand. "Can someone explain what's happening, please?" he asked. "I'm lost."

Kali smiled. "Sorry. My name is Kali Briar," she introduced. "I'm the Hellhound. First and last line of defence in the Mystic Realm. My team, the former Mystic Force Rangers, now retired, work with me to defend the borders of our world and the human world. Your home, Summer Cove, falls within my command and is therefore protected from all threats - international, intergalactic, and magical. If anyone so much as breathes darkness in any of the realms under my patrol, I dispatch defenders to hold it back."

"Okay. But what was that thing in the woods?" Preston asked.

"Korvaka," said Brody. "He's a Fearcat. A cat-like monster from the planet Ailuro. He was a warrior on the intergalactic space show Galaxy Warriors. His job was to return me and the Prism to Galvanax."

"I'm guessing that's who captured you all those years ago?" Kali asked.

Brody nodded. "He's the Galaxy Warriors champion. Undefeated," he sighed heavily. "I have seen what he does to planets that don't give him what he wants. I dread to think what he will do to Earth now he is here."

"Why is he here?" Nym asked.

"He's searching for the crust that the Prism was encrusted in when it first arrived on Earth," said Brody. "My dad hid it before he disappeared. But I don't know where."

Aidan and Kali shared a look.

"We have it," said Aidan. "Dad told me to hide it when he left to help you. I had it with me when you were kidnapped. I'm sorry, by the way, I wanted to help you, but dad -" he broke off, shaking his head.

Kali looked between the two brothers. "You both got dealt a rubbish hand as children," she said. "But there was nothing you could've done to help Brody, Aidan. If you had tried, you would have been handing Galvanax the Ninja Steel, and we wouldn't be having this conversation today."

"Where is the Ninja Steel?" Nym asked. "If Galvanax is searching for it, shouldn't we be moving it to a more secure location?"

"There is no more secure location than where it currently is," said Kali. "If Galvanax manages to traverse the Cimmerian Forest and make it back alive, he deserves the Ninja Steel. That place scares even the mightiest of warriors."

Aidan nodded. He had heard many stories about the Cimmerian Forest, and every story was the same. Anyone who dared enter there was usually never seen again. Kali had entered there a few times, and barely escaped by the skin of her teeth. She hated the place with a passion, but it had also been the only spot she could think of that was secure enough to hide something truly valuable.

"If the situation becomes dire, I'll send for its retrieval," said Kali. "For now, it stays where it is."

Brody looked like he wanted to argue, but decided at the last moment it was better if he didn't.

"Circe's back," said Kali, suddenly. She turned away from the Nexus prism and towards the entryway. It slid upwards, revealing a long corridor, at the end of which was a dull light. Five figures entered the base, three adults and two teenagers.

"Hayley?" Preston asked, recognising the youngest female.

Calvin turned. "Preston?" he asked.

"Calvin!"

Nym frowned between them. "You know each other?" she asked.

"Yeah, from school," Preston answered. He turned to Calvin and Hayley. "What are you doing here?" he asked.

Hayley shrugged and glanced at Circe.

"They were at the disturbance site," Circe told Kali. "It was a squadron of foot soldiers. I don't know what they're called."

"Kudabots," Brody and Mick answered, simultaneously.

Circe glanced between the two. "Ah, so you're Brody," she said, eyeing the other teen. She looked over at Aidan and smiled. "Oh, yeah, you're definitely related."

Aidan laughed. "So everyone keeps saying," he said.

Circe smiled and turned back to Kali. "I figured you'd know what to do," she said. "Plus, they had seen far too much. Leaving them at the scene wasn't an option."

"You did the right thing," said Kali. "Thank you, Circe."

Circe crossed an arm over her chest and bowed her head. She nudged Morthil and he did the same.

As Circe and Morthil left Rootcore, Kali turned back to the Prism. The centre of it had started to shimmer, and the stars within the middle were pulsating.

"What's happening, mum?" Aidan asked.

"I don't know," said Kali, shaking her head. "They weren't doing this before." She eyed Hayley and Calvin. The disturbance had only started to happen after they had turned up. "Join me?" she asked.

Hesitantly, Hayley and Calvin stepped closer. As they did the white and yellow stars started turning, and the hard casing seemed to melt and ripple.

"I think they're calling to you," said Kali. "Try to reach in and take them. See what happens."

"What?" Hayley asked. "I'm not putting my hand in there."

"I promise you, you'll be fine," Kali said, reassuringly.

Hayley turned to Calvin. He looked as hesitant as she felt. "I'll do it if you do," she said.

Calvin nodded and took her hand. Together they reached through the centre of the prism and plucked out the two-coloured stars - Calvin yellow and Hayley white.

"Interesting," said Kali. She turned to Aidan. "Your turn."

Knowing his mother was on hand if anything went wrong, Aiden stepped up and slid his hand between the walls of the prism. The gold star started to turn clockwise, and he wrapped his fingers around it before pulling it free.

"Whoa," Aidan breathed, staring at the star as it sat in his palm.

"Preston, Brody, Nym," said Kali, beckoning them closer. She had a theory, but she wanted to be sure before she said anything.

One by one, Preston, Brody and Nym reached into the prism and removed the blue, red, and pink stars, respectively.

"How did you know -?" Mick asked.

"They all stood and fought bravely against a beings determined to hurt innocents," said Kali. "Those traits alone were enough to choose them to be Power Rangers."

"Power Rangers?" Preston echoed. "You mean -?"

Before Kali could respond, the crystal ball chimed from the centre of the table. She hurried over and inspected the contents.

"What is it, mum?" Aidan asked.

"There's a disturbance in Summer Cove," said Kali. "The readings are small, so I'm going to say it's not Galvanax. Maybe a foot soldier or a monster. You should check it out nonetheless."

Nym stared at her mentor. "You want us to check it out?" she asked. "I thought you wanted us to stay out of it?"

"That was before you were chosen as a Ranger, Nym," said Kali. "I'm not saying either of you would be my first choice to send into battle, but then, I wasn't my first choice either. As Rangers you'll be equipped with weapons and skills that will ensure you're victory. But this life isn't easy. Trust me, I speak from experience. But you will learn, I'll teach you myself, if I have too."

Hayley, Calvin, and Preston, those who hadn't been raised in a world of magic and Power Rangers shared nervous looks. Where they truly cut out for this?

"First," said Kali, sensing their nervousness. "Deal with the situation at the high school. Mick and I'll stay here and monitor for any changes, but I'll be on hand if you need me. You're all linked to Rootcore now, so just call my name if you get into trouble, and I'll be there."

Brody stared at the red star in his hand. He turned to Aidan and nodded. "Dad would've wanted this for us," he said. "Now's our chance to get justice for him."

"Word of advice," said Kali, interrupting, "Going out there where your only goal is to avenge someone, you'll fail. Get justice for your dad if you can, but don't make it your only purpose of being a ranger."

Brody puffed out a breath.

"Now go," said Kali. She caught Aidan's eye. Her words from earlier echoing silently between them - she would move heaven and hell for anyone. But she would tear down the walls between dimensions for him.

Aidan nodded.

This time he would be careful.