Chapter 6: Legendary Catastros

The thunder that boomed outside of Rootcore was loud enough to rattle the shelves, leaving an eerie sort of feeling within the massive tree as the magical lights that floated by the ceiling flickered in response. The storm raging outside had made it impossible for outdoor training, to the chagrin of the Rangers, who were now stuck inside as they waited for it to subside.

"If I try to learn one more spell, my eyes are going to fall out of my head," Vida complained as she leaned back and groaned.

"I may not be the most knowledgeable of your kind, but I'm certain that can't happen," Titania supplied, far too cheerful for Vida's liking. The Pink Ranger fixed her with a droll stare, which only made Titania giggle. "Come on V, the more we learn here, the more we can put to use in battle," she pointed out with a grin.

"She's right!" Chip nodded, just as chipper as the Fae. Vida wasn't even remotely surprised by how well the two got along, considering they both had optimistic, playful personalities. The more she got to know Titania, the more she wondered if Chip was secretly Faerie himself. "How fun would it be to turn Koragg into a sheep?" Chip continued, earning laughter from the others. Even Carvallain cracked a smile. Vida, however, just turned back to Titania.

"Can I make a deal to get out of this?" she asked her with a serious look on her face. Titania didn't lose her smile.

"Nope," she answered in that same cheerful voice.

"You can't get me out of it?" Vida looked horrified, but Titania's bright eyes shone with mischief.

"I could, I just don't want to make a deal," the Black Ranger told her simply, and leaned back in her chair as she popped one of the sweets that Chip had brought for them all to share into her mouth. "You have nothing I currently want," she said. Vida huffed, offended as the others continued to laugh.

"Rare indeed for a Fae to turn down a deal," Carvallain spoke aloud as he idly turned the page of the book he was reading. "Truly an insult," he commented. Vida glared at him.

"I miss when you just ignored us," she told him, which only brought a pleasant smile to the Elf's face.

"Then you shouldn't have been so persistent," Carvallain replied.

"Well, seeing as you all are thoroughly distracted from your studies…" they looked over at the tell-tale clopping sound of Taliesin approaching. "Perhaps a tale will be more interesting than your books," he suggested, and lifted his gaze as thunder boomed once again, causing the floating lights to flicker again. "And I have an appropriate story for such an atmosphere," the Satyr raised a hand, and the lights dimmed.

"Is this a spooky story?" Maddie sounded a little hesitant as they rose to their feet and walked over to Taliesin.

"I love scary stories!" Chip grinned widely. Taliesin chuckled.

"And this is quite the tale," he held up his hands in front of him, and silver magic shimmered in a similar fashion to Carvallain's own magic. "It speaks of a powerful beast, born from the Gods themselves," the Rangers all inhaled quietly as the magic in Taliesin's hands formed a beautiful stallion that whinnied and galloped through the air before fading from their sight. "One that you know quite well by now - the legendary Catastros," the name was of course familiar to all of them by now.

"The horse Koragg uses in battle," Chip said eagerly. Taliesin held up a finger, and the Yellow Ranger fell silent.

"Koragg does not use Catastros; they work together in an alliance that many had coveted," he explained patiently. "From the moment Catastros came to reside in the Magical Realm, there were those who sought to break the divine beast, and all of them failed," he gestured to the crystal ball that sat in the centre of their table, and it lit up in response to his magic.

The Rangers peered closely, watching the powerful, massive black stallion gallop through the forest. Various people tried to capture Catastros in all manners of ways, but the stallion's strength was obvious as he evaded capture. "As the child of the Gods, Catastros possesses strength greater than a hundred men, and so he remained free, until the Great War between good and evil," Taliesin spoke as they watched, enraptured as a dark spell seal appeared below Catastros, forcing him to stop.

Even with his great power, the stallion was unable to break free of the magic that held him in place. "In the final moments of the war, as the Gate to the Underworld was sealed, tendrils of that dark magic reached up and ensnared Catastros, dragging him down into the lowest depths of the pit," as Taliesin's story came to an end, he waved his hand, and the crystal ball went dark.

"That…was the scariest story I have ever heard," Chip breathed, his blue eyes bright. "Tell it again!" he asked eagerly, making the Satyr laugh as Maddie put a hand on Chip's shoulder to settle him.

"Even I'm a little freaked out…" Vida admitted, and when she realised they were all looking at her, she blushed. "Just a little," she grumbled, challenging them to say anything.

"Glad to see you learned your lesson about admitting to fear," Carvallain told her, earning another glare from the Pink Ranger.

"It is scary to think that such a powerful creature could be captured by dark magic," Titania admitted, shivering. Xander laughed, a grin still on his face.

"Well, I'm not scared," he boasted. Mischief flickered in Taliesin's eyes as they kept their back to him, and he flicked a hand. As thunder continued to rumble outside, the lights above suddenly went out for a few seconds. When they flickered back to life, the Rangers found Xander in Carvallain's arms. The Elf looked startled, supporting him instinctively.

"Quite okay, Xander?" he asked, and Xander's grin returned to his face.

"Just making sure you're safe," he blustered, and Carvallain rolled his eyes.

"How noble," his words were dripping with sarcasm, and Xander let out a yelp as the Prince dropped him to the ground. Taliesin chuckled to himself, shaking his head as he walked away to speak with Udonna.

"I'm quite sure that leaping into his arms like a damsel in distress means you're scared too," Titania accused as Xander got to his feet and brushed himself off. Without replying, the Green Ranger just ruffled her hair and pushed her away as she squirmed, complaining as she ducked behind Maddie.

"You guys can't possibly be afraid of a silly horse," Nick scoffed.

"Catastros is a divine creature," Titania turned to him, her eyes wide as she looked incredulous. "The power inherited by a child of the Gods is far greater than we could ever imagine," she pointed out. The very idea spooked her.

"But Koragg must have tamed him, since he has control over him," Maddie theorised, thinking about the two times they had witnessed Koragg call on Catastros to help him fight.

"If he were locked in a pit in the Underworld for 18 years, I can barely even begin to imagine how those two formed an alliance," Carvallain shuddered.

"Ah, don't you just love a good rainstorm?" Claire's question distracted the group, who turned to her. Instantly their eyes widened, and Titania put a hand to her mouth to stop the snort of laughter from escaping her. "It just washes away the stress of the day!" the apprentice smiled brightly, not noticing their reactions.

"Claire…you're steaming…" Maddie tried to warn her as Vida couldn't stop her giggles. Titania started too, the pair leaning against each other. Even Carvallain couldn't stop his laughter.

"Oh, yeah! I crossed a hot cocoa spell with a spell of protection," Claire exclaimed, looking proud of herself. "It keeps me warm on these cold, stormy nights," she explained.

"Your hair…" Vida managed to force the words out between laughs, gesturing to the whipped cream that was wrapped around Claire's head and upwards. Confused, the young woman touched what she had thought was her hair, and tasted it. She cried out in horror, putting her hands to the mound of cream on her head.

"I forgot to omit the part about the toppings!" Claire realised as they continued to laugh. "I'm allergic to whipped cream!" no sooner had she warned them did Claire sneeze so violently that it splattered them all with cream. "Quick, Nick, use the Finishio spell-" Claire barely managed to get the words out before she sneezed again, and more cream went splattering around her.

"Finishio?" Nick tried as he pointed his wand at her. Red magic flew from his wand and collided with Claire, causing the whipped cream to vanish. Her hair fell down around her, back to normal, and Claire breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thanks Nick," she smiled at him, and sneezed again. "Well I better go…" embarrassed, the apprentice hurried off.

"She's got power, but really needs to learn the control," Carvallain considered as he wiped the cream from his shirt.

"What was that spell she had Nick use?" Chip asked, always eager to learn more spells.

"It's a basic reversal spell. It counters minor spells, like Claire's hybrid spell, as well as minor injuries and messes," Titania explained as a rainbow hue shimmered around her for a moment, and the cream on her clothes vanished.

"Sounds useful," Maddie considered, making a mental note to try the spell out herself.

"And how come you're all clean and the rest of us aren't?" Chip complained. Titania flashed a smile at him.

"A prestidigitation spell," she said simply. Beside them, Carvallain was murmuring under his breath, and his own clothes were instantly cleaned. He gave a smug smile as they glowered at him.

"What? It's a basic trick that novices learn," he told them.

"Show offs," Xander complained.

As the storm finally lessened enough to go outside, the Rangers left to return home before it got too late, leaving through the dragon's head root as Titania and Carvallain called out their goodbyes.

"It's so cool that they get to live at Rootcore. I want to live here!" Chip whined as they reached a nearby tree.

"Good luck explaining that one to your folks, Chip," Xander patted his shoulder, and touched the tree. He vanished in a flash as Chip pouted and the other three laughed.

"I don't know about you, but I'd rather a proper house than a giant tree," Nick told him honestly before vanishing as well.

"Yeah, I like my bed. And a proper shower," Maddie agreed, making Vida laugh. Chip huffed, but didn't argue as they travelled through the tree, back to their dimension.

All of them tired after a long day and ready for bed, none of them had been aware of the figure standing in the darkness watching them, their face obscured by a cloak.

"Human Mystics…how interesting," the voice was gruff and male, and filled with intrigue as he vanished into the shadows of the night.

The thunderstorm continued all night, finally subsiding by the time the sun rose. Carvallain emerged not to long after that, yawning as he tried to smooth his hair down. He wasn't too surprised to see Titania already up and reading a book as she ate her breakfast.

"Morning," he yawned as he sat down with porridge of his own. "More of those books from the human world?" Carvallain guessed, even as he felt awkward asking. He was trying to come out of his shell more and be more himself around the team, but it was a lot to get used to.

"A book on Faerie culture. Hermes gave it to me," Titania answered, lowering the book to look up at him. Instantly she laughed. "Nice hair," she teased, and Carvallain let out a sigh.

"Thanks, I was working on it all night," he said dryly. It earned him another laugh from the young Fae, who went back to her book.

"And it's good to see you're being more yourself," she added. Carvallain rolled his eyes, and decided not to dignify that with a response as he instead began to eat. Titania smiled to herself, and focused instead on the book in front of her.

Their peaceful morning didn't last too long, however, as the crystal ball in the centre of the table gave a loud chime to warn them of trouble. Titania looked up from her book quickly as Carvallain stopped tending to his sword, and both got to their feet to check out the problem.

"We'll call the others on the way," Carvallain told the Fae as they saw the dark magic detected within Briarwood. With a nod, Titania followed him out of Rootcore and off to the fight.

With the heads up from their teammates, the other five Rangers reached the town square where the dark magic was lingering, reaching there as Carvallain and Titania did too.

"See anything?" Nick asked the two, who shook their heads. It was oddly quiet, but there were no monsters roaming around. Not even the Hidiacs who accompanied them.

"Look!" Maddie was the first to spot the dark spell seal in the sky. They looked up to see Koragg pass through it, growing much larger as he summoned Catastros from the Underworld.

"Let's Ranger up!" Nick shouted. The team grabbed their Morphers, punching in the code.

"MAGICAL SOURCE, MYSTIC FORCE!" they shouted, and as they Morphed into their Ranger suits, Koragg combined with Catastros to form the Centaurus Wolf Megazord.

"Prepare to be defeated," Koragg declared as he towered over Briarwood with his dual-blade.

"How can we fight him without our Megazord power?" Vida wondered. None of them had forgotten how the last battle with Koragg had gone - it was only thanks to Nick that they had even survived after Koragg had stolen their power.

"Good question…" Maddie breathed. Even Carvallain couldn't stop the pang of worry as he stared up at the powerful warrior who had bested him every time they battled.

"Come on guys!" Nick shouted, trying to rally them. "We can do this! We don't have a choice," he pushed, refusing to just lay down and accept defeat.

"Yeah. Let's Titan up!" Xander agreed. They grabbed their Morphers once again, calling on their Dragon Formation as Nick transformed into his Titan form and landed on their back.

"Fire!" Nick yelled as they flew through the air, battering Koragg with a blaze of fire.

"Come on!" Koragg roared, his armour smoking as he turned to them. The dragon landed on the ground heavily, ready to attack again.

"You don't have all our powers, Koragg," Nick reminded him. Koragg gave a scoff as dark magic began to surround his dual-blade, and he conjured another spell seal.

"That was nothing!" with a shout, the warrior swung up and sent a powerful burst of magic that collided with the Rangers. It exploded, so strong that their dragon formation shattered, and the Titans were thrown apart.

"Our Dragon formation…" Titania breathed as she tried to force herself up. "Even that couldn't stand up to Koragg's might," she moaned, falling back to the ground.

"Get up and fire," Koragg ordered impatiently, before he suddenly jerked. A pulse of dark magic rushed through his Megazord form, and as he staggered, there was a loud laugh.

"That will teach you to lie to Morticon," Necrolai taunted, carrying a crossbow in her arms. Hearing her, Koragg turned to stare down at her.

"What?! I will crush you, hag," he warned, furious that she'd turned on him. Necrolai let out another laugh, not threatened in the slightest.

"You'll have to catch me first," with a shriek, Necrolai flew off, too fast for Koragg to catch up.

"My own allies are turning against me…" Koragg muttered, barely sparing another glance at the worn out Rangers. "I must deal with this," he decided, casting another spell seal that lit up below his feet.

"No!" Nick roared, on his feet and lunging at Koragg in a desperate attempt to stop him from escaping. Koragg gave a grunt as the Red Titan collided with him, stunned and off guard after Necrolai's sneak attack, and couldn't fight him off as the spell seal under his feet exploded, splitting Koragg and Catastros apart. Nick yelled as the loud whinny from the powerful stallion echoed.

"Nick!" Maddie yelled as she tried to get up, only to fall once more.

"No, stop!" they could only watch as Nick and Catastros vanished through the unstable spell seal, which disappeared once they had.

"That's not good," Carvallain breathed.

Once they had regained enough strength to move, the six remaining Rangers returned to normal and raced back to Rootcore, barely talking amongst themselves as desperation clawed at them. The doors had barely opened when they squeezed through to run inside.

"Udonna!" they yelled, searching for the sorceress.

"What?" she appeared from upstairs, hurrying down at the sound of the commotion. "What is it?" Udonna asked, seeing their panicked expressions. Even Carvallain was paler than normal.

"Nick's gone!" Chip's words had her stop abruptly.

"We tried to contact him on his Morpher, but he didn't answer," Vida spoke up next as they reached the shocked woman.

"We were battling Koragg, and poof, Nick gets sucked into a seal with Catastros," Xander elaborated, trying to stay as calm as he could.

"Koragg was ambushed by Necrolai, and he tried to leave. Nick tackled him, and then…" Titania sucked in a breath, unable to find Nick with her own magic either.

"Sounds to me that your friend disrupted the spell and made the seal unstable," they whirled around at the gruff voice that came from behind. Pulling the hood of his cloak down, the new arrival revealed a surprisingly youthful face, with an impressive blonde beard and thick eyebrows. His long blonde hair was braided out of his face with pieces of engraved metal, and his diminutive stature made it obvious that he was no ordinary person.

"You're a dwarf!" Chip blurted out before he could stop himself.

"Aye, that I am," the Dwarf arched a thick eyebrow at him. "And you'd be the Lightning Mystic, with manners like those," he considered. Chip coloured red at the comment.

"Fáfnir!" Titania exclaimed, almost managing a smile. He winked at her.

"Apologies, Fáfnir. Greetings will have to come after," Carvallain sighed, looking back up at Udonna. "What can we do about Nick?" he asked, unsure of how to proceed. He'd never heard of such a thing before.

"If what Fáfnir says is true, since we do not know what dimension Nick is in, I can't transport you there," she warned them. They sucked in a sharp breath at her lack of an answer.

"We have to do something!" Chip protested. "Come on, guys!" he rushed over to the crystal ball, trying to will it to show their lost leader.

"Even the crystal ball can't find him," Maddie breathed.

"I can't locate him either," Titania said as rainbow lights shimmered around her again. "The dimension he's fallen into it far too distant from our world," she shook her head, frustrated once again by her lack of power.

"Let us hope he didn't end up in Shalafar," Fáfnir piped up, earning an almost withering look from Carvallain. "Either way, you have your work cut out locating him," he said, brutally honest.

"Who are you?" Vida growled, not appreciating his commentary.

"This is Fáfnir, former Earth Mystic," Carvallain introduced the Dwarf, who gave a small bow.

"Good to see you again, my lord," the small smile he had as he greeted Carvallain told them his words were intentionally to fluster Carvallain, whose ears had gone red.

"Please don't call me that," he requested with a tired sigh. Fáfnir chuckled as he straightened, and lifted his head to lock his gaze with Xander's. The much taller, current Earth Mystic was staring at him, and Fáfnir knew it wasn't because he was a Dwarf.

"Sounds like this is more important than an old friend stopping by. Don't let me get in your way. I'll just chat with Udonna in the meantime," the gruff but cheerful Dwarf told them, already walking by to talk with Udonna, whose eyes were clouded with worry.

"But…what are we going to do?" Titania wondered aloud.

When the crystal ball remained cloudy despite their attempts to locate Nick, the Rangers went outside to get some air and clear their heads. A miserable air had fallen over all of them, and even Titania was stifled as she dragged her feet through the grass.

"I can't wrap my head around it," Vida angrily threw the stick in her hand away, barely paying attention to where it flew. "Nick's gone…really gone…" she said, glaring at the ground as Chip moved to walk beside her.

"Well…technically he's just gone from this dimension," the Yellow Ranger spoke up as if this made everything better. However, it just earned him several glares, and his smile faded. "Technically…" he repeated, falling silent.

"Without Nick, we have no leader," Carvallain pushed his hair from his face again, trying to smooth it down. "And we can barely stand up to Koragg as it is," he couldn't stop himself from thinking about the fights they were barely surviving.

"There's got to be something we can do to get him back," Maddie spoke up as she pushed through the bushes in their path.

"I don't know how. We can't track him, and even the crystal ball can't figure out what dimension he's ended up in," Titania kicked a rock out of her path.

"Even Udonna didn't have an answer," Xander pointed out. They'd all felt that Udonna was all knowing, and seeing her at a loss for an answer had been disheartening. Carvallain's sharp ears caught the sound of rustling, and his eyes narrowed. "Nick's in real trouble this time," Xander continued, not hearing the sound himself.

Carvallain started to reach out to stop Xander, hearing more rustling overhead, before a figure barely taller than Titania flipped down from a branch. All but the Silver Ranger gave shouts of surprise at the sudden arrival, who landed on his feet with his back to them. They jumped back, partly to prepare for a fight if needed, and partly to get away from the smell.

"What's that?" Phineas turned to them quickly, his eyes wide. "Nick's in trouble?" he asked.

"Who are you?" Xander demanded, staring at the strange creature. He had a massive, bulbous nose, and when he smiled at them, they saw a row of dangerously sharp teeth.

"What are you?" Vida asked, her eyebrows rising so high that they almost vanished into her hair.

"That's Phineas," Titania giggled, making them glance at her. "The Troblin that Nick was telling you about?" she reminded them off what their missing friend had told them about the strange creature who roamed around the forest.

"He didn't tell us that he was so…freaky!" Chip exclaimed as he looked back at Phineas.

"Do you have any filter?" Carvallain wondered of the Yellow Ranger. However, rather than looking offended, Phineas looked flattered.

"Stop, I'm blushing," he laughed, and threw his arms around Chip. Instantly the young man grimaced, both at the sudden contact, and the smell. He quickly pushed him away, unable to hide his reaction. Phineas turned, seeing the others standing there. He smiled at Maddie and Vida as he moved past them. "Oh! Girls…I love that…" he said.

"Phineas, what are you doing here?" Titania asked, giggling.

"Oh!" Phineas let out another exclamation as he remembered why he'd jumped down. "What was that about Nick being in trouble?" he asked, turning serious.

"He's trapped in an evil dimension," Maddie explained softly, shrugging her shoulders as misery descended on the team again. "And there's nothing we can do to get him out," she said bitterly. Phineas cocked his head.

"Oh…yeah, well I guess giving up is the right thing to do," he nodded his head sagely, making them frown. "No point in getting up just to fall on your face again, I always say," Phineas said, making them all bristle.

"Hold on, we didn't say we were giving up," Xander defended, not liking the way that Phineas was talking. Phineas quickly raised his hands.

"My mistake! So you…moping around here with the long faces is actually helping. Yeah, I get things wrong sometimes," he said as he walked past them again. Titania couldn't help but laugh as she shook her head and rested her hands on her hips.

"I swear, he says these things on purpose," she murmured.

"I'm not too sure about that," Carvallain muttered to her, making Titania's smile grow.

"He's right," Vida admitted, the indigence draining from her. "Walking around feeling helpless isn't going to bring Nick back," she pointed out.

"Yeah," Maddie nodded.

"I agree," Xander spoke up, still watching the strange creature. "We've got to at least try," he pointed out. The others nodded.

"We wouldn't be very good friends if we left Nick alone," Titania smiled, ready to resume their search for a way to save Nick.

"Breaktime's over, let's get to work," Carvallain flashed a small smile.

"Thanks Phineas, you really put things in perspective," Maddie smiled warmly at the Troblin as they started making their way back to Rootcore.

"What did I say?" Phineas wondered quietly, before smiling and waving to them. "Any time!" he called after them, hoping he sounded confident. As they hurried away, the Troblin smiled to himself. "I've got new friends," he giggled happily.

With Udonna out with Fáfnir, the Rangers were left to pour through every book and scroll they could get their hands on in hopes of finding a way to track Nick.

"Nominimus…rox!" Xander tried, stumbling over the pronunciation of a spell he'd found in the book. Green magic streamed from his wand and hit the crystal ball, but nothing happened. His shoulders slumped.

"Did it work?" Chip asked hopefully.

"No! And I even winked," the Earth Mystic complained.

"I'm afraid you'll find that magic can't be charmed into working," Carvallain replied from where he stood. A spell seal was fading, and he was surrounded by random items, including a small pile of odd socks.

"What happened to you?" Chip asked. The Elf gave an embarrassed shrug.

"A spell to find lost things. I suppose a person isn't quite a thing," he admitted, before humming as he lifted a book from the pile of socks. "I wondered where this had gone," Carvallain set the book down on the table. "No luck from either of you, I take it," he guessed. Chip shook his head, and Xander huffed.

"Like you said, magic can't be charmed," he grumbled. Chip and Carvallain exchanged amused glances.

"What about your scrying potion, Titania?" Carvallain called over to the Fae, who was carefully pouring a vibrant purple liquid into the bubbling cauldron. She sighed, shaking her head.

"Nothing," she answered, disappointed. "I'd hoped if it were powerful enough, it could transcend dimensions, but I guess not," Titania continued to stir in hopes of finding something, but saw nothing but a vibrantly purple liquid in the cauldron.

"Let's try this one," Chip suggested as he held up his wand and looked over a spell in one of the older books he'd found. "It's supposed to contact lost loved ones," he said, calling out the words he read on the page. However, once again nothing worked. "Come on!" he exclaimed, frustrated by his own lack of progress.

"Let's count ourselves lucky that spell did not work," Carvallain's words made them look up in surprise. "That one only contacts spirits," he explained. Chip shivered at the implications of his words.

"Just keep trying," Maddie called from the raised platform. She held a small book in her hand that was filled with handwritten scribbles, making it harder to decipher.

"Hey guys!" Vida called suddenly, surrounded by books near the back. The hopeful tone in her voice drew them all over quickly. "It says here: 'a spell of transport is a one way deal, unless a source can reverse the seal'," she recited from a dusty tome that had been hidden away at the back.

"Oh goodie, a riddle," Maddie smiled, both at the challenge and the chance that they could bring Nick back.

"'Reverse the seal'?" Chip repeated, confused. "But how?" he asked.

"Well, the seal was created by an incantation, right?" they turned to Titania as she spoke thoughtfully. "Maybe it means reverse the incantation?" she suggested.

"That could be it! If we say the spell backwards, it might release Nick," Maddie considered, and Titania nodded eagerly.

"It's worth a shot," Vida agreed.

"But does anyone recall the spell that Koragg used?" Carvallain cut through their excitement with his question, and their smiles faded.

"Oh! It was something like…fettuccine alfredo!" Chip's exclamation earned him several exasperated looks. "It was!" he insisted as he went red at the looks he got. Titania huffed, trying to think back to their battle with Koragg. Everything had happened so fast, and they had all been disorientated after the powerful warrior had broken apart their dragon formation.

"We've made one step towards helping Nick, and found an even bigger obstacle in our way," Carvallain sighed. "Make sure to get rid of that potion before Claire mistakes it for dinner," he warned Titania, who nodded and walked over to empty the cauldron.

"What could that spell have been?" Titania wondered as she tipped out the cauldron and cleaned it down with the bucket of soapy water she'd conjured, making sure it wouldn't contaminate whatever was made in it next - something that Penelope had drilled into her before she'd even begun to teach her how to make potions of all sorts. "I wish I could remember…" she murmured, her scrubbing slowing. "I wish I was stronger…what sort of Fae am I when I can't even help my friend?" Titania berated herself, and scrubbed the cauldron harder.

"Easy with that, or you're going to scrub it out of existence," Xander's teasing comment made Titania jump and look up. He grinned at her. "You've been out here a little while, we were wondering what you were doing," he commented as he crouched beside her.

"Just making sure it's clean. Don't want to cause Claire's next potion to blow up or something," Titania shrugged, making the young man snort.

"Something tells me she'll manage that by herself," he said, almost getting Titania to smile. "You alright? You've been quieter than usual," Xander pointed out as she continued to clean the cauldron.

"We should get back inside, we need to find Nick," Titania flashed a smile at him, rinsing out the cauldron before standing. The bucket vanished, and she hoisted the cauldron up into her arms to walk back inside. Xander hummed to himself, noting that she'd evaded his question entirely, but made no attempt to push it.

As Titania set the cauldron down, making sure it was balanced properly, they all heard the chime of warning from the crystal ball. Turning quickly, they heard the ferocious roar before they saw the creature responsible, newly summoned from the Underworld.

"Looks like we're gonna have to deal with him first," Xander groaned as he grabbed his Morpher from the table.

"Keep thinking Chip, you have to remember that spell," Maddie told the Yellow Ranger, who seemed to remember the most about the dark incantation that Koragg had used.

"Peppercini All Day…oh…" Chip stumbled over the words, knowing how ridiculous they were before he'd even finished saying them.

"By the Goddesses…" Carvallain sighed. Chip cleared his throat.

"Ready?"

"Ready!" the others called as they flicked out their Morphers. "MAGICAL SOURCE, MYSTIC FORCE!" with a burst of magic, they Morphed and hurried out to fight the new monster.

The Rock Troll that Koragg had empowered and sent to do the fighting for them roared as he stomped around the centre of Briarwood, attacking anything that moved. It didn't take long for the Rangers to spot him.

"Let's get him!" Xander shouted as they raced down the stairs to start fighting, but the Rock Troll laughed.

"Let's make this interesting!" before they could reach them, the Rock Troll held out his hands and summoned magic that was familiar to them all.

"It can't be!" Titania gasped as a shiver ran through her.

"He has our Megazord power!" Maddie shouted. Before they could stop him, the monster absorbed the magic fully into his body and began to grow.

"No way!" the Rangers jumped back to avoid being crushed.

"We don't have a choice. We need to Titan up and stop this creature," Carvallain looked to his team, who nodded. Going for their Morphers again, the Rangers called on their Titan forms, hoping it was enough to stand up to the monster.

"Boulder Blast!" with a roar, the Rock Troll slammed a foot down and created massive boulders from his own magic, hurling them at the Rangers. Too great in number to dodge, all of them felt the pain of the rocks smashing into them, knocking them to the ground as they barely managed to avoid crushing the buildings around them.

"We have to remember that spell!" Maddie groaned as the Rock Troll stomped towards them.

"Chip, you're our only hope here!" Titania told the Yellow Ranger as she forced her Kitsune form back up and charged. She collided with the Rock Troll, making it grunt from the force.

"Titania!" Vida shouted as she tried to get up, watching as the two pushed against one another.

"Be careful!" Carvallain warned as he tried too, but his vision was still swimming after taking a boulder to the head.

"I remembered the spell!" Chip gasped. "It was Basalichi Infredo!" as soon as the words left his mouth, they knew he was right.

"So? Say it backwards," Vida exclaimed. Chip took a breath, hoping that he was saying it right. It wasn't just Nick's life that depended on it.

"Oderfni Ihcilasab," he tried, and the effect was immediate. A strange sensation washed over them all, and even the Rock Troll paused at it. They looked up as a massive spell seal appeared in the air, in complete reverse of how Koragg's had looked.

"Come on," Titania whispered as she staggered away from the Rock Troll. A beat passed, and they heard a familiar yell as Nick passed through the spell seal. To their shock, however, he wasn't alone.

"Go, Catastros!" Nick cheered from the saddle of the legendary stallion, who carried him into battle.

"It's Nick!" Vida smiled in relief at the sight of their friend.

"I can't believe it worked," Chip admitted with a laugh.

"Unbelievable…" Carvallain breathed at the sight of Catastros allowing Nick to accompany him in battle.

"Hey guys!" Nick waved to his team. "Need a little help?" he grinned, full of confidence now that he had conquered his fear of the mighty creature. "Centaurus Phoenix Megazord!" Nick raised his sword to the air as his burning magic filled the air. He and Catastros passed through another spell seal, and they combined into a much more powerful form.

"He combined with Catastros!" Xander gasped.

"This is nuts!"

"No way!" Vida and Chip could barely believe what they were seeing.

"Catastros found someone else worthy? What happened in that dimension?" Carvallain couldn't help but wonder.

"This is how it's done, Red Ranger-style," flames began to swirl around the dual blade that Nick was wielding. He spun it over and over again as the Rock Troll roared at the newcomer to the battle.

"I'm not afraid of you," the monster bolstered as he charged Nick, swinging his club. It bounced harmlessly off Nick's weapon, sending streams of fire scattering around.

"I'm all fired up," summoning even more power, Nick channelled flames from his helmet, using them to destroy the rocks that the Troll threw at him. With the same power, he struck the Rock Troll with one powerful final move, making it stagger and shriek. "Time to rock out!" he laughed as the monster exploded. As it did, another spell seal appeared in the sky, formed with seven different coloured lights. It then separated, floating down to each of the Rangers.

"Our combining power!" Xander realised as he reached up and touched the green magic, which vanished into him.

"We got them back," Chip grinned with relief.

"Now we can kick some evil butt," Vida gave a laugh as she spun.

"We have a chance against Koragg again," Carvallain let out a quiet sigh of relief, grateful to have the small portion of his power back.

"Thanks, Catastros," Nick reverted back to his normal Titan form, still on Catastros' back. As he reached out and patted the horse's neck, Catastros gave a whinny and bucked, throwing Nick off.

"Nick!" Maddie gasped, crouching to help Nick up. Catastros had bounded off, straight to Koragg, who had been watching from a nearby building. He leapt up, and formed his Centuar combination.

"Catastros rides with me," Koragg declared, victorious despite the loss of their power.

"No! I thought he had changed," Nick took a few steps towards Koragg, sad to lose Catastros after connecting with him.

"I don't know how you were able to combine with my mighty Catastros, but I promise you, I will find out," Koragg warned Nick, his words cold and angry. "Something about you is troubling," he confessed. Nick frowned.

"I don't understand…what are you talking about?" he demanded, but Koragg simply turned his back on them.

"We will meet again, Red Ranger," there was a flash of purple light, and Koragg vanished.

"I don't understand…" Nick murmured.

"Not many can say they've ridden the mighty Catastros," Udonna spoke as she walked with Nick and Fáfnir back to Rootcore. He had told them all about the dark dimension he had ended up in, and how he'd managed to heal Catastros and earn his trust enough to fight in battle together.

"Aye lad," Fáfnir nodded, and not for the first time Nick shot him a wary look. The others had told him on their way back about the former Earth Mystic, but he was still bizarre. "From all the legends I've heard of the beast, you can count on one hand how many he's even let near him, let alone allowed to ride him. You're something special," Fáfnir told him. Nick flushed with pride, and the Dwarf laughed. "Taliesin will be fuming, I can't wait to see his face," he said, almost seeming gleeful.

"It is impressive," Udonna said, trying to resist rolling her eyes as Nick looked at her to gauge her reaction to Fáfnir. "How was it, to not only ride the child of the divine into battle, but combine with him?" she asked Nick.

"It was pretty amazing," the Red Ranger said, unable to hide his disappointment. "Even though he probably only let me ride him cause I helped him out," he shrugged.

"Yes," Udonna nodded, understanding his meaning. "Unfortunately, the next time you meet Catastros, you will be enemies again," she warned. Nick's disappointment grew. "But you conquered your fear and were rewarded. I'm proud of you," Udonna's words made Nick's eyes widen just a little as he realised how happy hearing that made him.

"And what a reward it was," Fáfnir chuckled.

"Thanks. And don't forget about the others, they really came through for me when it counted," Nick admitted, making her smile.

"Apparently they had a little help from that Troblin friend of yours," Udonna said, and Nick couldn't help but laugh.

"Phineas?" he asked, and she nodded.

"That fella is still about? Good to hear, I haven't seen him in almost twenty years," Fáfnir admitted, stroking his beard.

"Man, if you had told me that I'd be hanging out with a magical sorceress and a Dwarf," he glanced to Fáfnir, who grinned up cheerfully at him. "And a half Troll, half Goblin, I'd have never believed it," Nick shook his head.

"Your journey is just beginning, Nick. There are many adventures ahead, for all of us," Udonna told him as they reached the dragon head.

"Now that I can believe," Nick laughed, vanishing inside.

"I hope for my sake, not for me," Fáfnir just chuckled as he followed the two, and the dragon's head closed behind them.

My February is packed with activities so I don't know when I'll be able to update again, but I hope you enjoyed in the meantime!

Please review!