In seconds blasters and Mystic Morphers had been drawn. Sky shot at Xander but he deflected with a blast of his own before aiming at the trees in the forest around them. His manipulation over the element allowed to control the trees, and he used the branches to constrict Sky. He threw the Blue Ranger using the branches before aiming another shot at him from his Mystic Morpher, but the S.P.D cadet conjured a forcefield to block the attack

'Better luck next time' Sky commented snidely

Z had duplicated and her clones were giving Madison trouble; they had her surrounded and she was struggling to block their kicks and punches. One hit caught her in the ribs and forced her to the ground but out of the circle of clones; now was her chance. She focus hard and, manipulating the moisture in the air, created a fierce jet of water that quickly shot through the copies Z had made. Once they'd all vanished, Madison pulled out her Mystic Morpher and fired a shot which hit Z square in the chest, sending her flying to the ground

Vida had been quick to conjure a whirlwind and was using it to send Syd all over the place. The other Rocca sister's manipulation of the air allowed her to control the movements of the wind, and she threw the S.P.D. Ranger one way then the other before dropping her to the ground. She was about to pick her up in another gale, but Syd quickly touched her badge, instantly turning her skin to metal. The increased weight of her now metallic form made it virtually impossible for Vida to lift her, and she quickly took advantage of the Pink Mystic's struggles by racing at her and delivering a punch to the face. However the strike never made contact; a bolt of lightning shot from the sky and struck Syd, electrifying her all over due to her metallic form. She fell back in pain, her skin returning to normal, giving Vida time to compose herself. Sky looked over to see the source of the lightning was Chip, and was about to charge at him until he saw he was already fighting Bridge. His team mate had taken his gloves off and was using his powers as energy waves to try and knock Chip off balance, but the Yellow Mystic was countering with equally powerful lightning bolts from his staff. Sky was about to enter round two with Xander, until suddenly something large seemingly fell from the sky. It landed with a heavy thud, sending shockwaves through the ground and sending all eight rangers flying. The Mystics recovered, faces contorted by the pain, but their expressions soon turned to those of delight as they saw the source of the disturbance

'Fireheart!' They chorused happily, stroking the dragon who'd been like a pet during their ranger days. Xander noticed what seemed like a note in his mouth, and pulled at it. The dragon obliged and released the letter; it was slightly singed on the edges but it was still legible as Xander opened it out

Rangers,

The magic has returned to you again, and we will be needing it in this desperate time. A demon known as Chronos has revived Imperious and recruited help from elsewhere in order to destroy us. Chronos is the demon of time, and requires our powers in order to fully achieve his potential. If he is able to fully master time travel, his actions could have disastrous, irreparable effects on Earth as we know it.

It is believed he and Imperious recruited help from a future time, but they have rangers too who I believe will be venturing to our time to recapture the criminals they lost. Work with them; we are all rangers and it is important we work together. I have spoken with Leanbow, Udonna and Nick, and they will be meeting us soon though I imagine they won't be far away by the time you read this. Fireheart will take you to the meeting place, safe journey rangers

Daggeron

Xander handed the letter to the others before looking to Fireheart, who had lowered his wing almost as a platform for the Mystics. After they'd all looked at the letter, they handed it back to Xander who rolled the letter up and put it in his pocket for safe keeping. 'Fireheart is taking us where we need to go,' he told the others 'we're meeting them there and hopefully we can put a stop to this' the trio each nodded in agreement, before carefully creeping up Fireheart's wing and onto his back. However the dragon didn't take off

'We're ready Fireheart, come on boy' Chip encouraged, but the dragon didn't move. Xander noticed his other wing was lowered, in the direction of the S.P.D. Rangers

'No way! You can't expect them to come with us!' Xander protested

Fireheart snorted in annoyance, fire burning from his nostrils and scorching a few leaves in the process before looking back to Xander. His eyes descended to the letter, and the Green Mystic remembered its words:

Work with them; we are all rangers and it is important we work together

Xander sighed, knowing he was beaten; Fireheart wasn't going anywhere without the other rangers, so it was either fly with them or don't fly at all

'We shouldn't be fighting,' Xander told them 'we need you to come with us'

'Why should we?' Z shot back 'you were fighting us a minute ago'

'Hardly our fault when he refuses to work with us' Vida retorted, eyes fixed on Sky who met her glare

'Guys, come on,' Chip tried to reason 'Fireheart won't leave without you, we gotta work together. You guys have criminals to capture, and we have a world to save. We're all rangers...we should be working together not fighting'

The S.P.D. Rangers thought for a moment, before Bridge spoke 'he's right Sky. We're all rangers, and if we want to get Morgana and the others back we need to work with them'

Sky was silent for a moment; he didn't want to go with them. For one he didn't completely trust them, and anyway they would probably just get in the way. But Bridge was right; they were the only ticket out of here. They knew the area and, without their vehicles, the dragon was their only means of transport

'Fine,' Sky conceded 'we'll go'

The journey hadn't taken long and soon the eight rangers had been dropped off at the nearby plaza

'Why here?' Sky asked impatiently

'The letter said Fireheart would take us to the meeting point' Chip told him

'Yeah, our team are coming here. After all it's our powers he wants, so we need to be united' Madison added, satisfied she'd defended her case when Sky didn't question again. All they could do now was wait

Underworld

'Bring him here!' Imperious ordered, shouting at the Hidiacs; some remnants of the Morlock hordes remained here, but Imperious was waiting for the day a full army would be at his command. Slate was brought before his new master, still weak from his last exertion to create the Barbarian Beasts. Imperious held his staff over him once more

'You are going to help me revive the Ten Terrors,' Imperious told him 'well, a version of them'

'Please...' Slate breathed 'have mercy...'

'I was never known for mercy' Imperious replied coldly before blasting Slate, again using his powers. The mimic lay, seemingly unconscious, on the floor while ten more warriors stood before Imperious. The latter walked up to an unconscious Slate and ran his staff up his stomach and chest. The mimic let out a few gasps as the last of his lifeforce was drained in the final use of his power. He seemed to simply disintegrate as Imperious lifted his staff, still brimming with energy. He aimed at a clear spot and a power beam shot from the staff. Imperious watched as another figure rose up from the spot, and smiled as he saw the familiar purple armour of a former associate

'I always wanted a pet Koragg' he smiled wickedly

The other three criminals Imperious had taken from S.P.D. were beginning to tire of the lack of action

'When do we get to fight the rangers?' Morgana questioned impatiently 'what did you release us for if you had no intention of using us?'

'Dear Morgana, don't fret,' Imperious replied 'it is simply a case of wearing the rangers down. Your friend has proved most helpful, and these clones are helping tire them out. Once they're weak myself, Chronos, you...we can all be present to finish them off'

'Who is Chronos anyway? What's his interest with the rangers?' Morgana asked

'You know I don't actually know,' Imperious told her casually, before adding with a more sinister tone 'but whatever his intentions, I can guarantee they will not get in the way of our plans'