Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers or anything associated with it.

Rating: K+

A/N: Thanks again kindly reviewers :-D Just for the record: even though The Ultimate Duel hasn't aired yet in Australia, I have seen a few random clips that have been posted on Youtube. So technically I'd heard a fair bit of the dialogue in the last chapter, but either:

a) had forgotten it, or
b) needed to change it for the sake of my story.

Anywho, this is the chapter where we've officially entered the AU. Enjoy!

A/N2: And before you read on, apologies! This chapter was originally meant to take us closer the whole Antonio/Mia and Jayden/Mia issue, but then this random Nighlok attacked the story, and took over, so I've had to bump that stuff further on in the story :-/ Darn Nighloks. I truly hadn't been planning on him.

SECRETS

Chapter 4: Paranoia

"Ta-dah!" Emily said proudly, spreading her arms out in a lavish sweep.

"My cookbooks!" Mia exclaimed happily. There they all were, spread out on her bed. She thought she had lost them forever. "Emily, how—"

"I saved them from the trash—pulled them out as soon as you left the kitchen the other day. When I saw you talking with Jayden just now, it was like the old, happy Mia was back. So I thought she'd like her cookbooks."

"Thank-you," Mia beamed. "You know, I don't usually use cookbooks, I just make up all my recipes myself."

"Really? I never would have guessed," Mike said sarcastically. Emily shot him a dangerous glare and he didn't open his mouth again.

Mia, thankfully, had missed his point. "I know, they seem professional, don't they? It's just, Antonio said it might be good to try recipes from books for a while, to see if they might inspire some new ideas."

"Antonio's a very clever guy," Kevin whispered to Mike, who still kept his lips firmly sealed. Still, the evidence of a smile was obvious around his eyes and the corners of his mouth.

Just then, the alarm went off signalling a Nighlok attack.

"No rest for the wicked," Mike said wearily, getting to his feet.

When the Rangers arrived by the river, they could see that something was affecting all the evening riverside diners. Some were writhing on the ground, crying. Others were running, hiding, crouching. The rest were all fighting with each other.

"What's going on here?" Kevin asked.

"What's wrong with all those people?" Emily looked around, feeling helpless. "What's happening to them?"

"Right on cue, Rangers," a ghoulish voice came from behind them. The six Rangers turned around, but could not see anything. "What's the matter, Rangers? Can't get a fix on your fear?" The voice was now coming from their left. Again, they whipped around, but could not see anything.

"We're not afraid of you," Mia said defiantly, looking all around.

"I think you are, Pink Ranger."

"You're just another Nighlok," Mike replied aggressively. "We've defeated your kind before, and we'll defeat you!"

"Show yourself!" Jayden demanded.

"Does it make you nervous, not being able to see me? Good, that's just the way I like it. People's paranoia is what makes me happiest. Your deepest, darkest fears, suspicion—they're my cup of tea!"

"What are you on about?" Mia asked. By now, the Rangers were arranged in a circle, looking out in all directions.

"You, Pink Ranger," the voice began. All of a sudden, Mia was confronted by a monstrous face very close to her own. It was half grey, half black. The black side was facing Mia, and the creature's eyes and mouth looked angry. In an instant, it had spun around to face her with the grey face. They eyes were crazed, the mouth almost laughing. "I know your irrational fear, Pinky. Surrounded by friends, loved. Yet you fear you will end up alone."

Mia had started to reach for her katana, but froze mid-action. The monster had gone. So had the other rangers. How could it be? Everyone had disappeared, even the people by the water's edge.

"Emily?" she called. "Jayden? Antonio?"

No one replied. "Guys? Where are you?"

"We're right here, Mia!" Emily grasped Mia by the shoulders, shaking her lightly. "Mia, can you hear me?"

"Where is everyone?" Mia looked around her. They'd all left. "No, they wouldn't have left me behind. They're my friends!"

"She can't hear us," Kevin said. "Or see us."

"Nighlok! What have you done to her?" Jayden shouted, his mind confused with mixed anger and fear.

"I can see I don't need to work my magic on you," a voice said right in Jayden's ear. He whipped around to see the creature, a little taller than he was. The black face was turned to Jayden. "You're already doing it by yourself."

Jayden slashed his katana through the air, but the creature had already disappeared.

Next, the voice spoke to Mike. "Why are you even here?" it asked. "You're not like the rest of them. You're not strong enough, I'm surprised they haven't kicked you off the team yet."

Before Kevin knew what was happening, Mike had turned on him, striking him with the katana.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Kevin protested, drawing his own blade to protect himself. "Mike, what's gotten in to you?"

"Scared or angry, fear does funny things to humans," the Nighlok said, his voice distant once more. "Lucky for the rest of you, I'm drying up! But I'll be back, and next time, you'll all be like your friends, broken people!" And with an evil laugh and a flash of red by a crack in the footpath, the Nighlok was gone.

"Mia!" Emily cried, running over to her friend. All the Rangers had un-morphed, except for Mike, who was still trying to get at Kevin, despite the Blue Ranger's protests.

Mia was crouched on the ground, crying and rocking herself.

"No," she was saying quietly, over and over again. "No, no, no."

"Mia," Jayden breathed sadly, not sure what to do.

Antonio crouched beside her, stroked her face. "Mia? Mia, it's me. It's Antonio. Can you hear me?"

When Mia didn't respond at all, Antonio stood up. He glanced over at Kevin and Mike. "S'pose I'd better help Kevin out," he said, jogging over to the sparring rangers.

"What will we do?" Emily looked at Jayden, eyes pleading. He shook his head, he had no idea what was happening.

"We have to get them back to Ji, he might know how to help them."

"Oi, Mike!" Antonio called, whipping out his samurizer. "Somebody's getting grouchy," he said. "Time for nigh-nighs." And with that, he texted the symbol for 'sleep' and sent it Mike's way. The green ranger froze mid strike and then fell backwards.

Kevin crouched over Mike as he un-morphed, waving a hand in front of his friend's eyes. "Out like a light," Kevin said, looking over at Antonio, who grimly nodded once.

"Come on," Antonio said. "We have to get them back to the house."

Back at the Shiba House, Jayden, Emily, Kevin and Antonio were in the sitting room, crowded around the table. Jayden and Emily had helped Mia into her room, while Kevin and Antonio cleared everything except the bed out of Mike's room, and locked him in.

"What's happening to them, Ji?" Emily asked, her voice shaky. "Mia's miserable and can't stop crying."

"And before Antonio knocked him out, Mike was really aggressive," Kevin added. "He attacked me for no reason at all."

"From what Jayden has told me, it sounds like the Nighlok you encountered was Fearanoia. He's a particularly nasty Nighlok that is very difficult to tie down, because he is hardly ever seen."

"That's true," Kevin said. "The only people to see him were Mike and Mia—and look what happened to them!"

"I saw him too," Jayden said quietly, looking at his hands fisted against his knees.

"What?" Kevin and the others turned to look at him. "Then why didn't anything happen to you?"

"I'm not sure," Jayden said. "He just said, 'I don't need to work my magic on you, you're already doing it yourself'." Jayden looked up at Ji. "I'm not sure what he meant."

"Fearanoia creates misery wherever he goes by exploiting people's paranoia," Ji said. "For example, if someone is paranoid that they are being watched, Fearanoia exaggerates this in their mind, making them strike out aggressively at anyone who they think might be the spy."

"That's why all those people were fighting," Emily said. "But what about Mia?"

"There are two common reactions to Fearanoia, depending on what paranoia he's picked up on," Ji continued, putting his manual down. "The first, like I said, is irrational, random violence. The second is fear and sorrow. Did you hear him say what Mia's paranoia was?"

"He said something about her fearing she would end up alone, even though she was surrounded by friends," Antonio said.

"Hmm," Ji mused. "Yes, that is far more likely to result in tears than in punches. Her fear is internalised, a sense of her own shortcomings, whereas Mike's nervousness is in relation to all of you, and is external."

"What can we do to fix them?" Kevin asked.

"I'm not sure," Ji said sadly. "Your best bet would be in defeating Fearanoia."

"How are we meant to do that, when we can't even see him?" Antonio asked.

"And what are we meant to do if he confronts us like he did Mia and Mike?" Emily looked between Jayden and Ji, hoping one of them would have a miracle solution.

"We need to face our fears," Jayden said, looking up at last to meet Emily's eyes. "We all know what we are paranoid about. Mia and Mike must've been trying to deny it, that's the only conclusion I can think of. They knew their fear, but tried to pretend like it didn't exist. I know what my fears are, but I don't try to deny them."

Ji sat down next to Jayden, clasping his hands under his chin thoughtfully. "I think Jayden has given us all plenty to think about," he said after a long silence. "Perhaps you'd best go to bed, get your rest, and think about what it is that you are paranoid about."

"I'm not paranoid about anything," Antonio said defiantly. "Paranoia is irrational."

"We all have something that we know we shouldn't be afraid of that haunts us," Emily said seriously. "Even if it's not too obvious. Just look at Mia and Mike."

"Emily's right," Jayden said, looking at his childhood friend, eyes sparking. He'd never tell the others how close Antonio was to one of his many, many fears. "And no matter how small a fear is, that Fearanoia can exaggerate it until it consumes you."

"Someone should stay with the others," Emily said. "Someone needs to stay with Mia, try to keep her calm, and someone needs to watch Mike's door, make sure he doesn't escape."

"We all need our rest, though," Kevin said, frowning slightly.

"We can work in shifts," Jayden said. "Emily and I will take turns watching over Mia, and Antonio and Kevin can watch Mike."

"Right," Antonio and Kevin nodded.

"Come on," Emily said to Jayden as the two other boys left the room. "Mia needs us."

And that's it, folks! Well, for this chapter at least. I seriously did not plan for any Nighlok to come into this, but Fearanoia just felt like popping his head in and being a pain, so now, instead of going for my originally planned six chapters, I have no idea how long this story is going to drag out :-/

Thanks again for reading, please review if you have the time! I love to hear any comments, criticisms or suggestions any of you may have.

xx Little Goose Girl xx