It's been a while but I finally managed to get this chapter done. So without wasting any more time here's goes...

Chapter 18: Trick Or Trial

Eric locked eyes with Selestra as Kazak continued to accuse the rangers of unjustly bringing them before the court, but she just stared back, eyes wide as she slowly shook her head. Clearly, she had not planned on things going this way and was just as helpless as they were to stop it.

"You've got to be kidding me," Ashley grumbled as the Court Witch declared a recess, vanishing along with the judges and guards. "How did we become the bad guys here?"

"That's easy," Taylor pointed out, eyes narrowed at the smirking faces staring at them from across the room."They know how to work this twisted system, we don't. They carefully picked those moments and knew exactly where to begin and cut them off, and manipulate their memories to their advantage ."

"I don't get it. Don't we just think of a moment and let it appear in the smoke?" Lucas wondered. "If we just show them what really happened, it'll prove that they're lying."

Taylor pressed her lips together, folding her arms as Eric and Ashley turned to each other, uncertainty scribbled across their faces. "I don't think it's that simple," Danny pointed out. "They weren't at the mansion or outside the store, but they somehow knew exactly what happened. We could probably prove there was more to that last fight but we have no way of proving that we acted the way we did because of a spell."

Ashely ran her fingers through her hair, her eyes focused on the strands of brown. "I still don't understand how Lucas and I don't remember a thing, but you three seem to know exactly how and when all that happened," she pointed out.

"That is a story we don't have time for" Taylor explained, her hand reaching for a necklace that was no longer around her neck.

"We'll explain everything once we get out of here," Eric added.

"First, we actually have to get out of here," Lucas stated. "It would have been nice of your friend to tell us how exactly this worked before she got us into this mess."

"Not my friend," Eric corrected. "But I don't think she was expecting this either. She definitely underestimated those two."

"And if we don't come up with a plan, we're going to pay the price for it," Ashley pointed out. Eric grunted as he turned back to the warlock brothers and their friends, Kazak's lips curled into a sneer as the firm hand on his shoulder reigned him in.

A loud gong echoed through the room as the mummy guards marched back in, followed by the witches and judges who materialized in a puff of smoke. In a single voice, the judges announced that the court would resume session and the Court Witch strode to the centre of the room summarising the charges now laid against the rangers before turning to face them."And how do you respond to the evidence that has been presented against you?"

Ashley clenched her fists at her side as Lucas turned to Danny, just as Eric did Taylor before stepping forward to address her. "I won't lie, the battles you just saw did happen but none of them were meant to hurt innocent humans, witches or anyone else visiting our world."

"Did Eric Myers just say that?" Lucas whispered but Danny shushed him as the Quantum Ranger continued. "A spell or curse was cast on the people of Silver Hills, transforming them into the beings they dressed up as for Halloween. The same thing happened to my friends. They attacked each other with no awareness of what they were doing."

"And you?" the witch questioned, folding her arms across her chest.

"I wasn't wearing a costume when the spell took effect, so I was lucky enough to escape its effects. I was attacked by those under their influence and was forced to defend myself with the intention of subduing them, not harming anyone."

The Court Witch hummed as her dark eyes shifted their gaze to the three rangers standing behind him. "Your friends appear to be in control of their actions now," she pointed out.

"We were able to locate the origin of the spell and undo it, returning everyone to normal. Though most of them don't remember what happened or what they did while under its influence.

The witch nodded and turned to the judges who declared as one, "Present the evidence."

The Court Witch turned back to him and flicked her wand. Smoke rose out of the cauldron once more and as the images took shape they saw Eric talking to Selestra but what surprised him was that she was no longer in her policewoman disguise but as she was now. He turned to her but she kept her eyes focused on the images as they revealed them walking back to the car where the young woman in the blue dress stalked up to them.

"It appears that the ranger was conspiring with the apprentice after all," Kazak pointed out. Taylor and Ashley glared at him but he otherwise went ignored as the image shifted to Eric following Taylor into the basement of the costume store where they discovered the cauldron and the unconscious witches.

"All that proves is that those weak mortals tried to interfere with magic and paid the price for it," Callista spoke up.

"What happened to no talking out of turn?" Lucas argued with the witch who simply turned to tell him that the rule did not apply to the defendants. "That's great," he grumbled as they watched the image shift to the field where the rangers ran into the clearing and began fighting the witches and warlocks. "How are they doing that? Danny whispered urgently as they watched the same version of the fight as before, the rangers taking the upper hand in the fight. "Why can't we see what actually happened?"

"This is not good," Ashley mumbled.

Taylor growled under her breath as she turned away from the shocked expression on Eric's face to the knowing looks on their opponents' faces, all focused on what was playing out in the smoke, except Kayn who was staring at Eric with a smug smile and Camryn who was playing with a band around her wrist. They knew exactly what was happening and it made her want to wring their necks. Her hand once again reached for the phantom necklace and settled against the collar of her suit. She blinked and turned her attention to Camryn and the other witches, her eyes searching for the matching silver bands around their wrists.

"Enough!" she called out, placing her hand on Eric's shoulder and stepping in front as everyone turned their attention to her. "Callista is right, what we showed you doesn't prove that she and the others cast the curse, we didn't see them do it, we just found where it had been cast."

"Taylor, what are you doing?" Lucas mumbled while the witches threw her a smirk. "But we can prove that they attacked the two women you saw unconscious alongside Selestra and that they were planning to use them as anchors to stay in our world once the veil had closed."

She looked over at the witches as Callico leaned over to whisper something in Callista's ear but the red-haired witch simply brushed her off as her smile vanished. Taylor fought back a smile of her own as she addressed the Court Witch, "Allow me to show you."

The witch flicked her wand and the images shifted back to the basement where Taylor was examining the unconscious women and held up one of their wrists revealing the silver band strapped around as Katie, in her witch form, explained what it was.

"The real evidence," Taylor interjected. "Is right in front of you, all three of them have the same bands. I'm sure you have the power to test who they are connected to. Those innocent women are lying unconscious in a hospital and there's nothing anyone can do to help them."

Silence followed. Callista and Callico paled and Kazak's eyes grew wide, only Kayn remained composed while Camryn continued to fidget with her band. Callico swatted her hand, hissing at her to stop and forcing her to look up where she found everyone staring at her. Then without warning, the witches' hands shook as an invisible force lifted them into the air, clearly displaying the bands for all to see.

The Court Witch kept her wand on them as she turned to the judges who needed no time to deliberate to pronounce them guilty. Callista opened her mouth but no words came out while Callico's lips curled in anger and Camryn just blinked in confusion. The Court Witch then turned to the warlocks with questioning eyes but Kazak immediately denounced all involvement with them. "Our arrangement with them only extended to helping us navigate the mortal realm and the transference. We were not party to their schemes or intentions."

She tilted her head upwards and held Kazak's gaze for a moment before turning to the judges. The flames flickered furiously as they deliberated with all eyes now on them. Kayn gripped the railing in front of him once the flames settled and closed his eyes as the judge in the middle boomed loudly, "As there is insufficient evidence connecting Lords Kayn and Kazak to the intention of the witches Callista, Callico and Camryn to defy our most sacred law of traveling between realms on All Hallow's Eve, they shall not be punished and the trial will continue. The witch will be removed but will be sentenced at the end of the trial."

With a flick of the Court Witch's wand, the three witches were trapped within a wrought-iron cage which slowly rose above the court. Callista clung to the bars, emerald eyes glaring down at Kayn as her li[ps parted in protest but her words died as he stared into her eyes and inconspicuously swept his finger over his lips.

"Traitors!" Callico screamed, flames engulfing her hands only to vanish as they touched the bars of the cage. "You will pay for this." She pushed past her silent sister and turned to the judges' table. "They are guilty of everything they have been accused of," she bellowed. "They had no intention of returning the mortal shells they stole. And most certainly mean to have their revenge on the court that banished them."

"What just happened?" asked Danny as he turned to Lucas who looked just as confused as he did. "That turned around pretty quickly, didn't it?"

"Nonsense," Kazak's voice entered the fray as he declared that there was no evidence of the witch's claims. "It is merely the wailing of a witch on the brink of her own downfall."

"They're not going to take him seriously, are they?" Ashley whispered as the Court Witch called for order.

"Technically he's right," Danny pointed out. "Unless the witches can provide the proof they need. They know exactly what went down."

"I don't think that's how it works," Eric mumbled as she stared across the room at Kayn. His hand had fallen to his side and his calm demeanour betrayed nothing, even as Kazak continued to argue against the accusations "I don't think they can provide "evidence" now. Kayn would not let his brother antagonize them like that if they could. He's in control and he knows it. And without proof, whatever she says is just another accusation."

"This sucks," Lucas grumbled. "They literally did the whole villain monologue thing, telling us their entire plan and we have no way to prove that."

"Eric tried," Danny pointed out. "But somehow the only thing he showed them was exactly what the psycho brothers wanted us to. And we can't risk that happening again."

Ashley raised the question about that not being the case for Taylor. Eric looked over at Kayn who appeared to sense him and turned, offering him a curt smile before finally stepping in to restrain his brother.

"Could it be?"

"What?" Taylor asked

"Could he be controlling what we think about? I was so mad at him I didn't realise earlier but I was trying so hard to prove what he showed the court wrong that…"

"...That you inadvertently focused on exactly that." she finished, catching his eye before turning to look at Kayn. "Mind games or control? He didn't try anything with me, though you're the one who's been staring at him since this started."

He scowled before shaking his head, "I don't know. He did say his powers were getting stronger and this is a place where magic exists so anything is possible. And I think he wanted the witches to get caught."

"You think he planned this?" asked Lucas

"Just look at him, he thinks he's in control. I don't think he planned on being brought to the court but it's a pretty convenient way to get rid of loose variables. Especially variables that know what he's planning."

"That's a lot of guesswork Myers," Taylor pointed out. "But if he can get into our heads, then we need to deal with that."

"Taylor's right, this is just guesswork, we don't actually know anything, except that if we try to show them what really happened it could backfire on us," Ashley pointed out. She looked across the room as Callico continued to holler languishing accusations against the warlocks that had betrayed her while Kazak countered that she was just being hysterical. "But we need to do something."

"Okay, if we go with Eric's theory of Kayn somehow being able to control what we're thinking of, how do we stop him?" asked Danny.

"Mind control usually requires a device of some kind or a lot of concentration, since it's safe to assume they weren't expecting us, it's probably the latter," Ashley deduced, leaving Taylor to suggest they distract him.

Lucas turned to Eric and nodded at his morpher, "Didn't Trip just give you a bunch of upgrades? Isn't there something you can use?"

The Quantum Ranger looked down as his morpher, running the list of upgrades Trip had rattled on about and blinked, "Actually..."

"Silence!"

The voices of the three judges echoed through the room, making the ground quiver at the lights flicker. Kazak and Callico ceased their argument and shrank back as the room became still and quiet. It was Kayn who finally broke the silence as he addressed the judges, "Honoured judges, I apologize for my brother's behaviour. It is perhaps the effect of being in mortal skin for so long. And it is hard to be betrayed by those we believed we could trust."

Callico snarled but this time the Court Witch pointed her wand at her, relinquishing her of her voice. "But he speaks the truth. We are pained to hear of this crime and are hurt by this accusation but there is no proof of this claim and I feel I must point out that the witches have been declared guilty and by the law of this court their testimony does not hold."

The Court Witch bows her head. "Yes, the testimony is unacceptable and the guilty may not provide evidence."

"But we still can."

All eyes turned to Taylor who gazes with the Court Witch. "You didn't forget about us, did you? It is still our turn to make our case if I'm not wrong."

The Court Witch raised her eyebrow but smiled as she tapped her wand against her palm and nodded, "Indeed, the proceedings shall resume. Which one of you will be presenting the evidence?"

Eric stepped forward and Taylor's eyes immediately sought out Kayn who had a smirk playing on his lips, his eyes focused on Eric. The Court Witch raised her wand but Eric stopped her.

"There's no need for that, Let's try this the way we do things in our realm."

He punched in a code on his morpher and immediately a familiar voice filled the room, "So you managed to undo a spell, I'll admit that for a race so ignorant of magic it is impressive but it has nothing to do with what we have planned. Come midnight, the mortals will take our discarded shells back to our prison and our powers will return, then nothing can stop us from showing you the true meaning of chaos."

Silence echoed through the room. The Court Witch tilted her head to the side while the smirk on Kayn's face dissolved into a confused grimace as his eyes widened, while Kazak's threatened to fall right out of his sockets. Eric fiddled with the buttons fast-forwarding the recording to specific moments and all Kayn and Kazak could do was stare at the rangers as they heard themselves openly declare that they intended to take over the mortal realm and seek revenge on those who had banished them.

"What is this?" Kazak hollered over the sound of his own voice criticizing mortals. "Such trickery is not permitted in this court."

Eric shot him a smirk as he turned it off and addressed the Court Witch, "No tricks," he assured her. "It's just a recording of what happened earlier tonight, with help from technology from the future. But I'll be happy to play by your rules if that will convince the court."

The witch nodded and pointed her wand at him. Once again images began to shift in the cauldron, revisiting the fight between the rangers and the warlocks for the third time that night. Only this time, the court witnessed what really happened, the warlocks ganging up on Eric as the witches fought the unarmed rangers forcing them into a corner until their morphers appeared and they were able to change the tide of the battle.

Taylor shot a glance at Kayn who was gripping the railing while his eyes flickered with a yellow glow. Kazak simply gaped as he watched himself being hurtled to the ground until the rangers stood victorious.

"Now that's more like it," Lucas declared as he high fived Danny while Taylor and Ashely sighed in relief. The Court Witch pulled back her wand and blinked before turning to the judges. Kazak opened his mouth to argue but Kayn shot him a fierce look that forced him to step back before he turned his glowing yellow gaze on Eric, hands vibrating with energy as they twisted the metal railing.

A low murmuring filled the room as Kayn kept his gaze fixed on Eric. "We have to do something," Kazak grumbled but was ignored as the energy surrounding his brother's hands grew stronger and stronger.

"He can't attack us, can he?" asked Danny as he took a step back.

"That would make things interesting," Ashley added.

"Not so in control now, is he?" Taylor chimed in.

"Yeah but…" Danny's concern was cut off by a feral roar from across the room as Kayn raised his arms and fired a blast of energy at them. The rangers instinctively slipped into a defensive stance but the blast hit the railing and veered away, deflected by an invisible barrier. And before they could even process what had happened, shackles appeared around the warlock's wrists as the Court Witch informed them that they had defiled the rules of the court. With a wave of her wand, they were encased in a cage that floated towards the judges' table where they were joined by the witches.

The flames flickered as the judge on the right declared, "By law of the ancient tradition of Lucidium Culpae…"

"We the supreme judges of the Halloween Intergalactic Court rule in favour of…" the one on the left continued before they shouted as one, "The Power Rangers."

"Yes!" Selestra shouted but pressed her lips shut and turned her attention to the floor when the Court Witch glared. The judges, however, ignored her as they declared that for their crimes against mortals, the witches would be sentenced to 500 years of imprisonment. And as for the warlocks, for endangering innocents and plotting against the court they would be banished to the realm of the forgotten for all eternity.

"No!" Kazak screamed, grasping the bars of his cage. "Not that place. I will not go back to that place."

"Looks like the traitor got what he deserved," Callico sneered as a pair of guards marched up to their cage to escort it into the fog. Kazak growled and turned to the rangers yelling that they would pay for this even as a second pair of guards marched towards them.

'Hey wait," Danny called out before they walked away with the cage.

The Court Witch smiled and turned to him with a gentle nod. "We have not forgotten," she assured him and raised her wand over her head, drawing circles in the air three times before flicking it at Kayn and Kazak then swiftly pointing it at the two unconscious forms at the end of the room. Each of them was immediately encased in a cocoon of white light when it faded, the two humans slumped over each other on the ground while in the cage stood the warlocks in their true forms, pumpkin heads and all.

Danny blinked as he watched the guards escort the floating cage into the fog, Kazak still screaming for his freedom. "After all they went through to switch the first time, it was that easy?"

"It is if you know what you're doing," the witch whispered before twirling her wand again. In a swirl of smoke, the rangers vanished from behind the railing and stood before the judges with Selestra now accompanying them.

"Happy now?" Eric asked her but she kept her eyes forward and just took a deep breath, clutching her wand between her hands.

"Selestra," the judge on the right rasped. "You defied the rules of the Court, for that you are hereby stripped of your rank as Apprentice Court Witch."

"That's not fair," Danny piped up. "She made a mistake."

"And without her, we wouldn't have been able to stop tonight from going in a very different way. We wouldn't have even known about it, nor would you until it was too late," Eric added, earning a surprised look from the Selestra.

"We are in agreement ranger," the judge on the left croaked. "Which is why we have reached the conclusion that she is not suited to the role of Court Witch and now appoint her as Investigator to the Halloween Intergalactic Court."

"What?!" she exclaimed, her eyes widening as she turned to the Court Witch who was smiling. "I don't understand."

"It means you now get to do the job you're actually good at," Eric whispered but she just stared ahead until the judge in the centre boomed, "Do you accept your new position and vow to seek out those who would harm innocents and bring them to justice?"

Selestra blinked and looked from the judges to the Court Witch then back to the judges until Eric prodded her with his elbow. "Yes, yes I do," she replied with a courteous bow.

"So be it!"

The Court Witch twirled her wand and a ribbon of white light swirled around Selestra as a cape identical to the Court Witch's appeared on her shoulders, except with a dark green lining just as a brighter shade appeared on the front of her dress. She bowed her head once again and joined the Court Witch beside the judges' table offering the rangers a grateful smile as she walked past them.

"Power Rangers!" the judges declared as one, garnering their attention before the one in the centre continued, "You have been truthful in face of machinations against you and this court. Your bravery and diligence have stood between the court and those who would bring it harm and have seen through to the end that justice has prevailed."

"Just doing our job," Lucas chimed in. "Now how do we get out of here?"

"You may depart immediately," the judge on the left croaked, before the one on the right picked up, "However before we do, we would like to confer on you a token of gratitude."

The rangers looked from one to the other and then at Selestra who appeared just as confused as they were but the Court Witch, however, was smiling as the judge in the centre boomed once more, "For your services to the Halloween Intergalactic Court, you are hereby granted a request, anything you desire across space and time. Choose wisely.

That's it for now. It didn't turn out exactly the way I wanted it to, but there was no sense in holding on to it. Do let me know what you think though.

Till next time...