Cat: Yes! Edited and better then ever! I clarified pretty much everything and added a few things to make interactions more natural. This is Power Rangers Mystic Force for those of you who didn't read the original. I wrote it about the Great Battle, because I thought that was a little dark for Power Rangers. I mean, wow, someone actually died (Okay, so it was only hinted that they died, but come on people, they died.)
Disclaimer: I still don't own Power Rangers, which you should know because the girl Rangers still don't have merchandise.
Udonna flinched as a nearby explosion sent bits of wood spinning through the air. Sparks danced and flames leapt from roof to nearby roof. Somewhere, a baby cried. Udonna tried her hardest to block it out, but she knew she'd never be able to forget the sound.
The stiff weight of a Hidiac pressed down on her. The creature struggled to keep the Snow Wand pointed downward, and he was succeeding. Udonna couldn't discern many sounds through the cacophony of the great battle, but she heard crunching footsteps behind her. She released her hold on her wand and threw herself to the leafy ground. The Hidiac she had heard rushing towards her collided solidly with the one she had been wrestling with and they collapsed into a heap. Udonna flipped them over easily and snatched the wand from beneath them before spinning around to face another opponent. There was always another opponent.
She wondered how many villagers had fled, and hoped that it had been most. Because Udonna knew that this was the end. No one left here was ever walking away. All the little kids that had played between the trees, the dashing young wizards who dabbled in spells for luck and success, the old women who had told stories in the firelight. They'd all been caught off guard and virtually unarmed. This wasn't a battle, it was a slaughter.
There was only one thing that separated this village from all the others, and Udonna thought she knew what it was. She jammed her wand into the ribs of an oncoming Hidiac and spared a brief glance at the sky. She hoped he wasn't coming, but she knew that he was. After all, it was his village. It was his little sister playing outside, his handsome cousin practicing spells, and his wrinkled mother telling stories. There was nothing he could do to save them now, but he would try. Yes, Mathew was coming.
Udonna wasn't sure about the others. Dani was her best friend, and Udonna hoped that she could be convinced to stay away. She probably could be, she was reasonable and knew what was at risk. The Mystic Force had to attack together, and when they were prepared. Then they could win. They would win. But only assuming that none of them were killed because they tried to fight by themselves against hopeless odds.
Dani wasn't stupid. She would throw away the entire world for one little village. Mathew was stupid. Stupid and brave and if he showed up, she had to make sure he didn't die.
"The trees!" A small voice shouted in tearful distress. "It spread to the trees!" Udonna flipped another Hidiac over her shoulder and her gaze shot towards the trees. They were burning. The hot, angry flames had finally spread from roofs to treetops. It wouldn't be long before heavily flaming branches and trees would begin to fall, and not long before the fire inched away from the village, and into other parts of the forest.
Udonna tried not to think about it. There was nothing ice-magic could do about it.
She turned her attention instead to the one who had shouted. It had been Clare. Mathew's seven year old sister was dripping in blood, some her's, some belonging to others. Her bright eyes were very wide and she stood very close to her one protection.
Her cousin Grey towered above her and was fending off as many Hidiacs as he could. His brows were knit together in concentration and his countenance was grim and despondent. Udonna felt threatening sadness well up within her. There wasn't time for sadness! She fiercely sent a thick wave of ice to settle of the current enemies of the pair. Grey flashed her a brief smile and Udonna nodded acknowledgement at him.
A Hidiac bashed her on the back of the head in vengeance and she retaliated accordingly. She'd fought so many that she didn't even have to think about it anymore. She turned around expectantly. Sure enough, there was another Hidiac. Because no matter how hard any of them fought, no matter how many little kids were scarred by blood and battle, there was always another opponent.
Three more enemies lunged from every direction and she spun in a full circle, magic flying from the snowflaked tip of her wand. The Hidiacs froze instantly and she pushed them backwards. They toppled over on top of several of their teammates and shattered into a thousand thousand pieces.
She glanced upward again; scanning the skies for a sign of the stupid warrior who she hopped wasn't coming. It was hard to see through the thick smoke, it seared her eyes and throat if she stopped to think about it, but she couldn't afford to think about it. And through the smoke came a vibrant cry and Udonna's hope failed.
It was Mathew.
He was going to die and then their world was as good as finished. She looked quickly away, trying her hardest not to cry. A couple of the villagers cheered. They thought that his arrival meant their salvation. What they didn't realize was that not even the spells of a Mystic Warrior could defeat such a large number. It would take all five, the complete force. Even then it would be risky. With just one it was suicide.
"All hail the Mystic Force!" Someone else shouted. At this Udonna looked up. One member was not the Mystic Force. But then she saw that there were five. All five, flying towards them with all speed.
Without word or pause they dispersed into the battle. They knew not to waste time.
Heather, swift to conclusions and to anger, the wind, zoomed to the right and descended in a mass of villagers. They fought harder then ever now. Now there was a chance.
Randy, dependable and solid, the earth, shot out over the lake, pulling sea plants of all kinds from the depths and throwing their damp leaves and cooling waters over the battle.
Leslie, gentle and still, the water, pointed her wand swiftly at the trees .Water rushed up from the depths of the earth, dousing the flames and provided a much needed sign to the people. The fire was out, the tide of the battle had turned. Leslie turned to her boyfriend and winked and Randy grinned back at her.
Mathew, fierce and brave to the point of stupidity, fire, rejoined all that was left of his family. Clare brightened noticeably, but even she seemed somewhat hesitant about her older brother. Mathew radiated anger. They had come after his family, and now he was coming after them.
Dani, sharp and blunt, lighting, landed lightly next to Udonna and grinned at her. She knew that they were probably still doomed. Just because the Mystic Force was the best chance, didn't mean that victory was a sure thing (particularly when they were surrounded by hedgewitches and village healers instead of sages). Still, she couldn't help but feel hope again.
It wasn't over.
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Smoke rose softly from the ground, gratefully obscuring and masking the bodies and bloodstains that Udonna knew were there. More than one person sobbed. More then three people screamed, crying out names and curses into the unresponding sky. Udonna just stood there in silence.
The battle played over and over in her head, every second of it unbearably clear. It had taken so long, but now that it was over, it seemed to have happened too fast. Grey clouds and silver smoke curled through the sky. There was no telling how long it had actually taken.
And Udonna watched as person after person slowly filtered from the battle site. Limping, shuffling, and leaning on others, they moved slowly. Finally she was left in complete stillness.
She moved for the first time in ages. Much of the mist had faded, leaving horribly disfigured faces staring up at her. Udonna wanted to vomit, but couldn't. She wanted to cry, but she couldn't do that either. She had known them personally. Every single one of them (if there was on thing that Udonna was, it was social), but she couldn't mourn them yet.
The villagers thought that the evil force was gone forever, but Udonna knew that spell that Mathew had used. She remembered his voice. His instructions. "Train others, I'll hold them off." And so he'd cast the spell. It was a complex spell, a difficult spell, but he'd managed it to perfection. Mathew had become a gate. A doorway in the Underworld. Behind it evil was trapped for as long as his strength held out. It was suicide. Suicide for a temporary solution. And now she had to continue on.
It would have been easier if she'd died with her friends.
A gentle wave brought a familiar object to the shore of the dark lake. Udonna bent down slowly and gently, reverently brought the object to eye level. A wand of Rowan wood capped with soft blue sea glass in the shape of a whale's tail. Leslie's wand.
Water surged as Leslie fought with all her strength and magic to return to the surface. Another hidiac launched itself onto the already vast pile. More weight. Crushing, pushing, holding her beneath the water. Huge waves, stories high and fueled by panicked magic, roared out of the lake and onto the battle field, pouring water and hidiacs over all the participants, but the girl did not resurface. A second wall of water exited the lake, but when she tried to summon a third, her magic failed and it dissipated before it even reached the shore. Then there was stillness. "Les!"
Udonna laid the wand quietly in the folds of her robe, running the dirt-torn fabric over it in an attempt to dry it. She ended up getting mud on the blue symbol and could not get it back off. Udonna left it in despair and walked.
Her eyes skimmed over the faces on the ground. With a jolt her eyes alighted on a hunched over form.
A thick bit of birch stuck out of the mud nearby and she removed it with great care. Jade in the shape of an ox-head adorned it. This wand had belonged to Randy, as had the huddled body.
It was charred and wet. A brief breeze pulled bits of ash from his back and sent them twirling through the air.
Flames everywhere. They seemed to burn even brighter on Randy then they had the houses or trees. He cried for help, but none came. Running madly, instinct led him to the lake. He plunged in, sending up a mushroom cloud of steam. Dragging himself out on his hands and knees Randy weakly made his way out of the water. His wet skin and clothes turned the ground beneath him to mud. Water rolled down his arms and of his feet, which burned and ached from the flames. Sinking slowly, the ground seemed to be fighting against him, sticking his limbs fast into the mud. A growl above made him glance up. A hidiac was there, sword in hand. Randy dogged his blade deftly. The steel thumped into the ground mere inches from his head and he sighed in relief. He hadn't noticed the other creature standing behind him. Randy had time for one last scream, announcing his fate to them all.
She placed that wand next to the other. The blue and green matched beautifully. And both were wet and muddy. Randy and Leslie could have had a future together, and even in death they were a couple.
Now Undonna found she could cry. Soundless tears dripped down her face slowly, one by one, and mingled with the blood and dirt. But still she walked.
She caught sight of a flash of pink and walked that way. The handle of this wand was made of wood from the Ash tree and was worn smoother then the others from when Heather would run her hand up and down it in nervousness or excitement or boredom. The butterfly shape at the top was comprised of a mixture of rose quartz and a pink topaz which blended together seamlessly.
Twenty or thirty hidiacs surrounded her, pressing closer every second. Heather knew she needed an escape, but she couldn't just abandon the villagers beside her. She shut her eyes tight in concentration. They needed and exit. They needed an exit. The mantra repeated itself in her head until one idea came to her. Grabbing her wand tightly she whispered to the fairy directly beside her. "You run while I distract them." The message was passed quickly and Heather took a couple deep breaths. She needed to be fast. "Three." She counted under her breath. "Two." Those near her tensed and Heather noticed that her knuckles were white from gripping her wand too hard. "One." She chucked her weapon at the nearest hidiac and rushed forward. Caught briefly off guard by her unexpected abandonment of her main weapon, the Hidiacs hesitated. A wild tornado grabbed the enemies and threw them skyward as the villagers made a break for it. After a moment the storm of magic subsided and Heather knew she hadn't been fast enough. She hadn't made it to safety herself. Hidiacs outnumbered her by far too many as they attacked. One monstrous hand found her throat. Heather gasped and tried to shake his heavy weight, but the creature wasn't moving. A second racking breath penetrated through the hidiac's clutch, but he allowed no more. Heather grabbed a hidiac that was coming up behind her and tossed him forward. She saw him land on three of his fellows, but then her vision began to cloud. Before she knew it, it was dark.
Running her own fingers over the wand Udonna noticed that one of the butterfly's wings had a slight chip in it. She hesitated when she placed this one with the others. It was neither wet nor muddy, but eventually she did. There was the tiniest of squelching sounds as the wand sunk slightly into the mud on the ox shape.
Udonna knew exactly where the fourth wand was, but she didn't want to see it. At the same time her feet took her steadily in that direction. Her friend was right where she had left her about halfway through the great battle.
Dani was half buried. Leaves, branches, ash, and mud mid most of her face, but Udonna avoided looking at her face anyway. The rest of her body was drenched in blood. Her clothes, her skin, and the skin of several hidiacs was splattered and soaked with the sticky liquid. The blood had leaked from several small wounds, but most had stemmed from one large one.
A stick of Maple wood stuck out of Dani's gut like a spear. Udonna forced herself to kneel and take the stick in her hand. The wood was solid and stiff beneath her fingers, but slick with dark blood. With a single sharp wrench the weapon came free. Still-warm blood dripped off the lightning yellow symbol at the top of her wand. It was made of yellow sapphire, but appeared a rusty brown-black.
The hidiac held her fast, but Dani had a plan. She summoned a minor lighting bolt and it stuck dead on. She was released quickly and pointed her wand angrily at them. "This is your official warning. Back away now." Instead of running away, the hidiacs surged forward. Dani simply shrugged as she grappled with them. She knew they would react that way. Then one of them got the upper hand. It gripped her wrist, which held her wand. Yanking hard it fell over backward with its prize. Dani glared and began a three word spell that would destroy the nearby hidiacs and give her ample time to regain her weapon. She only got through the first word and a half of the second one. The hidiac that held her wand did something that no one could have predicted. It jammed the admittedly sharp tip of the wand into the stomach of its owner. Pain burst through Dani's entire body.
Udonna whipped as much of the blood as could onto a corner of her robe. With her garment sufficiently stained and her heart in sufficient pain she placed it with the others and turned to the very edge of the battle field.
Standing there, at the very rim of the mists and just outside of the blood-damp soil, was Clare. She had been standing there, completely silent, since the battle had ended, Udonna could tell. Most of her wounds had clotted, and the blood on her skin that had been dripped there from others was dry and cracking. Clare was trembling, eyes dark and deep-filled with tears.
She was trying to be brave. Brave for her brother. In her hands she clutched the last piece of her family she would ever have, a wand of oak and ruby.
Mathew held Clare's shoulder's tightly. His hands were heavy, he'd always felt that way to her. Heavy and sturdy. Clare didn't try to read his face, and couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes. She was scared. She knew he was going to do something big, and she knew she didn't want him to. He spoke to her, but she didn't understand what he was saying. She didn't try to. Then he ruffled her hair in a final sort of way, neither of them minding that he traced blood through the delicate curls. Then he turned away.
Udonna approached cautiously. Clare looked up at her. Their eyes met and her resistance splintered into a hundred bits. She didn't wanna be brave anymore. Rushing forward Clare launched herself at the sorceress, bawling. Udonna embraced the child tenderly. And Clare sobbed and couldn't stop.
Cat: Your reviews make a difference! They help me write better! I'm begging here. I welcome flames.