Sorry for the long wait between chapters at the moment, I've been pretty distracted, between convention season being in full swing over here and working loads and there's the slight matter of starting another fic that's distracted me.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy!


Chapter 9: Stranger Within Part 1

Walking down the stairs as she pulled on her hoodie, Ari checked her watch and found she still had some time before Nick, Xander and Vida's shift at Rock Porium was up.

"You're going out?" as she walked into the kitchen, Ari's father asked, raising an eyebrow as he peered over his newspaper at her. Blue-eyed with short blond hair, he could not have been more different in appearance to Ari, whose messy black hair, green eyes and darker complexion gave away the fact that she was adopted.

"Staying with friends for the weekend," Ari replied lightly, which wasn't entirely a lie. She and the other Rangers were taking advantage of the long weekend by staying at Rootcore to try and find out the secret of the Fireheart. They wanted to decipher the strange paper that had been ripped in half by Ari and Necrolai in a tug of war, before the bat did.

"I see," her father continued watching her as Ari went into the fridge and pulled out a box of strawberries. "The usual ones, I imagine?" he asked, and Ari nodded without turning around, shoving the box into her bag. "They're all still in school, yes? What have you got planned for when they finish? Aren't they going off to college?" Ari stiffened. She was used to her father wanting to know what she wanted to do with her life. She'd been out of school for over a year, and he wouldn't accept that she was content working in Rock Porium and skateboarding for now.

"Oh, leave her be Bernard," they both looked around as Ari's mother walked in, scolding her husband. Her long dark blonde hair fell down to her ribs, curled and elegant. "She's still young. Just let her enjoy her weekend," Elizabeth told him sternly. Ari's father just sighed and returned to his paper. "After all, she's not getting into trouble, is she?" Ari laughed weakly. She was very glad both had been out the day she had returned covered head to toe in mud from their adventure in the Cimmerian Forest.

"I better go. See you," Ari slung her back over her shoulder, and was pulled into a tight hug by her mother.

"Take care, and stay away from those monster attacks," she told her daughter. Ari nodded, hugging her back and feeling guilty. Not only was she doing the exact opposite, but she was fighting alongside her birth mother. With a quick goodbye to her father, Ari ran out and grabbed her skateboard, heading off to Rock Porium to meet her friends.

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"Hey guys!" Ari called as she walked into the music shop, carrying her board as she looked around.

"Hey Ari. I see you're early for once," Nick commented as he walked past. Ari rolled her eyes and sat on the counter. Vida laughed from behind the counter, flicking through her magazine. "Of course, you're not working, so it's not as surprising," he added.

"Now you're catching on," she laughed, and he grinned at her before walking over to the door. Nick flipped the sign, but as he went to shut the door, Leelee wormed her way in, stopping him.

"Hey!" she protested at him almost shutting it in her face.

"Sorry Leelee, we're closing," Nick told her as the blonde girl strutted in as if she owned the place. Ari rolled her eyes as Leelee glanced at her and looked away as if dismissing her.

"Perfect! That means you have no excuse for not taking me to see this great new DJ tonight!" Leelee smiled at the Red Ranger, who rolled his eyes. He'd made it abundantly clear that he didn't care for the girl, who threw herself at him at every chance.

"No can do. Already have plans," Nick turned her down as he walked past her, and her smile fell as both Ari and Vida giggled.

"Please?" Leelee whined as she lowered the poster in her hands.

"Don't waste your time throwing yourself at him Leelee," Xander walked over and winked at her. "Throw yourself at me," he suggested with a charming smile. Leelee looked mildly disgusted at the thought.

"Would you believe how many dates that's actually gotten him?" Ari whispered to Vida, who laughed in disbelief.

"Ok...you can come with me," Leelee decided as Xander pushed Ari, almost knocking her off the counter. The Green Ranger grinned as the others rolled their eyes.

"He can't go either, he's the one I have plans with," Nick popped out of Toby's office, and Xander's smile immediately fell. Ari laughed, jumping off the counter.

"Bad luck dork. Guess you're stuck with us instead," she elbowed Xander as she walked past.

"Stop calling me that," he grumbled, which only made Ari laugh more as he followed her.

"DJ Fly...never heard of him," Vida took the poster from Leelee and looked at it curiously. "Any good?" she asked the blonde curiously.

"He's just like the hottest new DJ around," Leelee gave a laugh. "I'm surprised you haven't heard of him," she told the Pink Ranger with raised eyebrows.

"I better check this guy out," Vida decided as she looked back down at the poster in her hands.

"Great! You can go with me!" Leelee cheered happily.

"No she can't," Ari called over, leaning against the wall of Toby's office.

"Vida has plans too," Nick spoke as he walked over.

"But there's new talent in town!" Vida exclaimed, looking horrified as Nick ushered Leelee out. "Our plans can wait till tomorrow!" she pleaded with him.

"No, they can't! You gave your word that you'd help V," Nick growled at her as he opened the door, and glared at Vida. The rocker scowled, looking down at the poster. "Thanks for the invite Leelee, some other time. We're closed," the Red Ranger got Leelee out, and shut the door as she stormed off, glaring back at him.

"The leader has spoken," Ari laughed as he locked the door.

"We have half the Fireheart scroll to figure out," Nick turned to face the three as both Xander and Vida looked grumpy. "Chip and Madison are waiting for us at Rootcore, remember?" he reminded them as he grabbed his jacket and headed off to leave through the back.

"Since when did you become Nick, the good witch of Briarwood?" Xander rolled his eyes as he dropped his magazine on the counter and followed.

"Since we have a scroll to figure out and you going on a date with that bimbo would mean we have half a brain less to figure out what it means," Ari told him.

"Alright, that's it," Ari let out a shriek as Xander grabbed her, hoisting her up to carry her under his arm. "I warned you to stop being mean to me sunshine," he told her simply as she struggled to break free, laughing all the while.

"You coming, V?" Nick rolled his eyes and looked over to the Pink Ranger.

"Be there in a few! I got some paperwork to catch up on," she told them, and they nodded, heading out.

"You know she's going to see DJ Fly, right?" Ari asked as she now perched on Xander's back.

"How come she gets to go and I get stuck putting up with you guys all weekend?" Xander whined as Nick let out a frustrated breath.

"She's not. She said she had paperwork to do. Now come on," Nick increased his pace.

"What's the matter? Do you not like us?" Ari grinned as she leaned forwards.

"That's the problem," Xander muttered, and Ari laughed, hanging on as he sped up to catch up with Nick.

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"I give up," Xander announced, cutting through the silence that had fallen over the group of five. They had been working on and off for the entire day and a good bit of the night as well. "Maybe we're not meant to find out the secret of the Fireheart," he sighed heavy as he pushed a book away from him.

"Come on," Nick shook his head and shoved a book into his arms. "Don't give up. Never give up," he told them determinedly as he passed Maddie a book next.

"Wow, Nick. That's inspiring," Maddie smiled as Nick passed Ari and Chip books. Ari yawned, having been woken from a nap by Xander hitting her over the head with a book.

"Yeah, that's what I thought when Udonna yelled it at me this morning when I was ready to quit," Nick admitted, making them laugh. "By the way...where is Udonna?" he noticed that the sorceress was missing.

"And Althea? I haven't seen her around all day either," Ari noticed that her mother wasn't around either.

"Last time I saw Udonna, she was teaching Claire an invisibility spell," Maddie told them. Nick walked over to the Xenotome, attempting to get some answers between it and the book he held.

"That could be the problem right there," Chip spoke up, making them laugh.

"I think Althea's out on another errand. She's been helping the Woodland Village get back on its feet after those Hidiacs attacked," Maddie added as she looked to Ari.

"Leaving us with the hard work. Lame," Ari complained, flicking through the book quickly as she found nothing that would help them solve the mystery of the Fireheart.

"How have you been a Ranger before?" Chip laughed at how lazy Ari could be.

"The first time Sensei Sugiura basically shoved the morpher into my hands before the Celestial Academy was destroyed and I was the only one not put into a bubble and imprisoned on Lothor's ship," Ari answered seriously, looking up at him.

"And the second time?" Xander asked with a smirk, knowing just how it went down. Ari went red.

"It was a shiny rock. Not my fault I fell into a sinkhole and found Doctor O's secret lab with magical Gems that would give me powers..." she muttered as they laughed even more. Hearing someone arrive, they looked up to see Vida breeze in.

"Yo crew, sorry I'm late," she spoke in a bored voice, not sounding very apologetic. She sat down at the table and leaned back in her chair.

"Late? We haven't seen you since yesterday," Nick walked down as they all stared at the Pink Ranger. "That's beyond late. So much for giving us your word," he said as he joined the others.

"Relax," Vida swung in her seat and rolled her eyes. "You're not my dad. So I missed a night of saving the world," she let out a wide yawn as Ari frowned at her. "Good news is, world's still here," she shrugged, apparently not caring in the slightest. She leaned forwards and rested her elbow on the table, propping her head up with a lazy smile.

"Uh, V, it's not just that you missed last night. You missed all day too," Xander raised an eyebrow at her. "It's night-time again," he pointed out.

"I was worried about you," Maddie told her with a hurt look. She had tried to contact her sister, but had only reached her voicemail.

"Look, I'm sorry," Vida sighed and stood up as she looked to the group. "I gave my word and I blew it, it won't happen again," Vida insisted, but Ari had a bad feeling about her. Something was wrong.

"Hey, no problem V," Chip spoke up before anyone else could. "We all make mistakes," he said, and she smiled at him. Not liking it, Ari went to speak, but before she could, Nick let out a cry and put his hands to his head.

"Nick?" everyone looked at him quickly, frowning.

"We gotta go guys. Koragg's back," he told them, hating how the Knight could get into his head.

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Dawn was fast approaching as the Rangers ran through the forest, looking for Koragg and his minions. Slowing to a stop where Nick had been told they would be, they looked around, before Hidiacs swarmed them. They all fell into fighting stances, and Vida smirked.

"Let's Ranger up!" Nick called, only for Vida to step forwards.

"Why bother?" she asked before they could lift their morphers. When they went to question what she meant, Vida ran forwards to meet the Hidiacs. She ran through them, knocking each of the mutants to the ground. She turned and smirked to the others, who stared at her in shock, before continuing to fight off the Hidiacs.

"Why bother?" she asked, and ran at the Hidiacs. With quick, powerful strikes, she made quick word of the Hidiacs who ran at her. The other Rangers stared in shock as Vida flashed a confident smirk at them, before tossing a couple more foot soldiers out of the way.

"Man, look at V go!" Nick stared, his eyes wide.

"This catching up on her sleep thing seems to be paying off for her," Xander was just as shocked as he was.

"Go sis...I've never seen her like this before," Maddie laughed, unable to believe it.

"Neither have I," Chip raised an eyebrow. "It's just weird," he muttered.

"I don't like it..." Ari muttered, still feeling uncomfortable. "She's completely different...it's like Cyber Cam all over again..." she thought back to when Cam's virtual replicant had locked him up and impersonated him for the day. Vida used her magic, turning into a tornado and finishing off the monsters.

The other five ran over to her, with Nick, Xander and Maddie cheering her on. Ari noticed that Chip was quiet as well, looking a little confused.

"Very impressive," before either of them could speak, Koragg appeared. They all fell into fighting stances, ready to fight him. "Now how about a real challenge?" casting a spell, Koragg transformed into his much larger form. The Rangers grabbed their morphers quickly, ready to fight.

"MAGICAL SOURCE, MYSTIC FORCE!" calling on their power, the six transformed into their Titan forms and faced Koragg.

"Welcome to your last fight!" the Knight yelled as he drew his sword and held it up.

"That's what you think!" Nick held up his own sword, but as they went to attack, Koragg moved first.

"Wolf attack," calling on the strange red light within his shield, he blasted the Rangers, with only Chip, Nick and Ari able to avoid it. "Come on!" he yelled as they leapt at him. He easily fought them off with his sword and shield, knocking Ari back up into the air as she launched at him from above. Maddie recovered and went to attack as well, but was hit and thrown back as well.

"You want some of this?" Xander stepped forwards as Maddie hit the ground. He swung his large axe down at the much shorter knight, but Koragg blocked it. He shoved Xander back and hit him across the chest, before taking on Nick as the Red Ranger attempted to go at him again.

"Could use some help V!" Chip called to the much smaller Pink Ranger as Nick was thrown into Ari, knocking the Gold Ranger out of the sky.

"Incoming!" Vida flew through the air in her ball form.

"Little game of catch, Koragg?" Chip caught the ball, and hurled it at Koragg. Surprised by the attack, Koragg barely managed to block it, and the power forced him back.

"I'm not done yet!" Koragg told them as he recovered, growing angry. He cast a spell, calling on his horse. Combining with Catastros, he formed his Megazord. "Now you will feel my real power!" he warned the Rangers as he held his lance, ready for round two.

"Talk is cheap, you don't scare us!" Nick told him as they regrouped.

"Let's show him!"

"Let's do this!"

"Let's go!"

"MYSTIC TITANS, DRAGON FORMATION!" the Rangers went to combine into their Dragon form as the sun rose, but Vida let out a pained scream.

"The sun's so bright!" she cried as she shielded her eyes from it. "I feel all..." she fell to the ground, and rolled over, before returning to her normal size and demorphing. She hit the ground hard, trying to get up and failing.

"You ok sis?" Maddie called down to her sister as they gathered around.

"V!" Chip called down to the weakened Ranger.

"You lose one, and you all quit?!" Koragg snarled, not about to let them take a break. Looking around quickly, Xander blocked the attack from hitting anyone else, and fell to his knees. "Look at pitiful yourselves...you are defenceless," Koragg scoffed, disgusted with the group as Ari moved to Xander's side to ensure he was ok. "I waste my time," he turned and disappeared.

"Guys, we have to help her!" Chip focused on the Pink Ranger as she blacked out.

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While Maddie stayed behind with her unconscious sister at Rootcore, the other Rangers returned to Rock Porium, where they knew they would find Leelee. The blonde looked a little started as the four walked up to her.

"What happened to Vida at the club the other night?" Nick demanded as she looked at him, her eyes wide.

"V's been acting a little strange since then," Chip told her. Leelee let out a laugh.

"She was acting strange at the club. She was like, nice to me, even talking to me!" she told them, laughing as they all frowned.

"Leelee, this is important," Xander stopped her, and her smile instantly dropped.

"Alright...I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, but I couldn't stay. My mum called and I had to leave," the girl told them as she became serious. "Vida was fine when I left," she shrugged, and they all looked around as Maddie and Vida walked in. "And had a better tan," Leelee spoke, looking horrified. Vida wore a large hoody and big sunglasses in an attempt to block out sunlight.

"Hey V," Xander smiled to the Pink Ranger.

"Hey..." Vida muttered back.

"You feel better?" Ari asked, still a little wary of how weird she was being. A little freaked out, Leelee moved off quickly.

"I guess so. Just a little sensitive to sunlight," Vida shrugged, walking straight past them. When she got close to Ari, however, she recoiled, and moved a little quicker away from the Gold Ranger.

"Well that was weird..." Ari frowned, having noticed her reaction. "Did I do something?" she looked up at Xander, who was rubbing his chest a little, still hurting from the blow he had taken to protect the others. "Are you ok?" Ari frowned at him, and he grinned.

"Of course. You worry too much, little mermaid," he messed up her hair, and she slapped his arm.

"I told you not to call me that," she scowled at him as he laughed.

"And I told you to stop calling me a dork," Xander countered.

"That's different!" Ari protested as she went red.

"How?"

"Cause you are a dork!" Maddie was laughing at them while Chip walked off, reading a book he had pulled from his pocket. Nick looked very confused as he surveyed the pair.

"Ari's real name is Ariel," Maddie explained to him quietly as Ari and Xander began arguing playfully. "Everyone used to call her a mermaid in school, it drove her nuts" she told the Red Ranger, and the pair left them to it, getting back to work.

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Still nowhere near actually solving the mystery of the Fireheart, the Rangers spent another day in Rootcore. They read through as many books as they could, but Vida had gone to get some sleep and Chip had been acting strange since Vida had shown up in Rock Porium.

"Good morning Rootcore," Vida arrived with a smile, still pale but more active than she had been before.

"Morning? Now I know I didn't go for a nap," Ari frowned, looking outside. It was dark out, and had only been so for about 3 hours.

"Hey sis, you're feeling better!" Maddie looked down at her sister with a relieved smile.

"I'm feeling great! I slept like a baby," Vida told her with a grin.. "Let's rock and roll!" she cheered loudly.

"You slept like a log," Nick told her as Maddie laughed, grabbing her camera. "22 hours worth," he shook his head and looked down at the book in front of him.

"Hey V, say a few words to your fans," Maddie called to the Pink Ranger as she turned on the camera and pointed it at her. Ari watched curiously, still not convinced that Vida was ok.

"Alright, I'll show you a new pose that came to me in a dream," she smirked at the camera and held up her fingers in a V shape by her eye. She laughed, leaning against the table as Chip approached her.

"After such a long nap you must be very thirsty V," he handed her a goblet, which she grabbed and took a gulp from. When she spat it out, making a disgusted noise, everyone else looked up quickly.

"It's tomato juice!" Vida yelled at the Yellow Ranger, who smirked back.

"Aw what, did you think it was blood?!" Chip 's accusation took everyone by surprise.

"Pardon me?" Xander stared at the Yellow Ranger as Vida stared at him with wide eyes.

"I am a card carrying member of Count V," Chip held up an ID as Vida grimaced, the taste of tomato juice still in her mouth. When Chip was met with four blank stares, he sighed. "Containment of Underworld Nocturnal Transylvanian Vampires Club! And I, my friends, have found myself a vampire," he declared, looking back at Vida.

"My sister is a vampire?" Maddie summed up with a raised eyebrow.

"Ari, come here a second," the Gold Ranger frowned at Chip's request, but obliged him with a shrug. She walked down to the red haired young man, who then pushed her towards Vida. The accused girl flinched away as Ari got close, and she was unable to look at her. "Pale skin, sleeping all day? She has a thirst for blood? She's sensitive to the sun, I mean she can't even look at Ari!" he gestured to Ari as she frowned at Vida's reaction. "Textbook Vampire signs!" he held up a book that was tilted 'How To Spot A Vampire' as Vida laughed a little.

After a moment of silence, in which Vida looked to Chip with a careful expression, Xander, Nick and Maddie burst out laughing. Ari tilted her head as Vida laughed as well. While the idea that she was a Vampire seemed ridiculous to her, she knew that something was definitely off with her.

"Come on guys, we're late for work," Nick managed to calm his laughing a little more than Xander and Maddie as Chip looked up at them, his smile dropping.

"I'll meet with you guys later," Vida grinned to the others, and looked to Chip. "I gotta grab a bite before I go!" she winked at Chip, who jumped, despite Ari still standing between them. The other three laughed, and Ari sighed.

"Ok...maybe I'm wrong..." Chip mumbled, looking down at his book. "I'll stay here and go in with V..." he told the others.

"Come on Ari, let's go," Xander called to the Sun Witch, who frowned but nodded. As she went to walk over to them, Ari paused and moved closer to Chip to whisper in his ear.

"There's definitely something weird going on with Vida. Keep looking, you'll figure it out," she told him quietly, before walking off to catch up with the others without looking around. She grabbed her backpack on the way out and hurried to catch up with the other three, hoping Chip would figure it out.

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"They're still not here?" Nick frowned as he emerged from the office and found that Chip and Vida still hadn't appeared for work. "Toby's gonna have a fit," he said. The other three shrugged, looking concerned as well.

"Chip was pretty convinced that V's been turned into a vampire," Xander commented as they stood together. "Maybe he's stopping her from leaving?" he suggested.

"In the years we've known Vida, when has she ever let anyone stop her from doing what she wanted without a legit reason?" Ari frowned at him, and the three turned to her. She blinked as they looked at her suspiciously. "What?"

"You said something to him before we left. What was it?" Maddie asked.

"I told him not to give up. There's something weird going on with Vida," Ari shrugged. None of them spoke, unable to argue with that.

"But she can't be a..." Nick trailed off, finding it too ridiculous.

"I'm not saying she is," Ari raised her hands in defence. "Even I find that a bit too weird to believe. I can understand why Chip thinks it, considering how she's reacting in sunlight," she muttered, folding her arms.

"Why is she reacting that way around you though?" Xander asked.

"I have sun magic. I guess it's something to do with that," Ari pointed out.

"Althea did say that we did put out magic naturally," Maddie remembered what the Lunar Knight had told them.

"Come on, we better finish up here and get back to Rootcore," Nick told them, worried about the pair.

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"V!" as soon as they had finished their shift, the four worried Rangers returned to Rootcore to see if Chip and Vida were still there. They hadn't shown up at all in work, and they weren't answering their morphers.

"Chip?" Xander called as they looked around Rootcore, but it was lacking the other two Rangers.

"Guys?"

"You're out here awfully late," Udonna commented as she and Althea walked into the main chamber. "What is going on?" she asked.

"You miss us?" Althea smiled as she adjusted her glasses. The action reminded Ari of Zoe, the Moon Ninja who had fought alongside the Ninja Storm Rangers.

"Chip and V didn't show for work," Nick explained as they walked over. "We think there may be a problem," he said, and the pair frowned.

"They seemed alright when the last time you saw them?" Udonna asked.

"Not exactly," Xander couldn't hide his grin.

"Vida's been acting really weird the last couple of days," Ari explained as she pushed her hair from her face. "And Chip's convinced that she's become a Vampire," the others giggled, but neither Udonna nor Althea reacted the way they expected.

"Really? Vampires are where you lot draw the line?" Althea raised an eyebrow at them.

"There are many things in the woods that seem unbelievable, but I assure you, they do exist," Udonna told them, and their laughter instantly died.

"Hey, I just thought of something," Maddie realised. "I filmed Vida earlier today," she cast a spell on her camera, and the video showed up on the screen.

"V, say a few words to your fans."

"Alright. I'll show you a new pose that came to me in a dream," they found that while Vida spoke, there was nobody on camera. They watched as Chip held out the goblet of tomato juice.

"Ok, that's weird. She was dead centre frame when I took this and now..." Maddie trailed off, shaking her head.

"Her imagine will not appear on video," Udonna told them from the back.

"Or in a mirror," Althea added with a frown. "Chip was right to be worried. Vida has become a Vampire," the Rangers were silent as they processed this.

"Find them Rangers, they need your help," Udonna told them.

"Let's go," Nick told them, putting a hand on Maddie's shoulder for a moment as she looked stunned. They ran off to help, and Udonna exchanged looks with Althea.

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Finding where a monster was attacking in Briarwood, the four spotted Chip and Vida facing him down. They were already morphed, and ready to fight.

"V!" Maddie called as they reached the two, who looked around quickly. "Are you alright?" she asked her, and Vida nodded, grinning under her helmet.

"Never better!" she cheered, and posed.

"Good! Let's swat this fly!" Nick told them.

"Strong as a tree! Green Mystic Ranger!"

"Ever changing as the wind! Pink Mystic Ranger!"

"Fluid as the sea! Blue Mystic Ranger!"

"Fast as lightning! Yellow Mystic Ranger!"

"Bright as the Sun! Gold Mystic Ranger!"

"Forceful as fire! Red Mystic Ranger!"

"Courage is our magic!"

"And your downfall!" Vida told Flytrap confidently.

"No problem!" Flytrap wasn't intimidated by their words. He shot several vines at the Rangers, wrapping around them and stopping them from moving as the teenagers nearby hissed, ready to attack as well.

"Let me try some magic!" Vida called to the others. She focused, and seemed to disappear in a flash of pink lights. The vines that had restrained her dropped to the ground, and the tiny Pink Ranger flew through the air. "Magi Staff!" returning to her normal size,Vida swung her Staff down hard and freed the others.

"No!" Flytrap cried out, falling backwards as his vines smoked from the attack.

"Magi Staff, crossbow mode!" Chip called on his own Staff and changed it into a crossbow. "Fire!" he blasted the monster with his yellow magic, making him fall back.

"Nice one Chip!" Vida cheered on her friend, still holding her Staff. They all leapt through the air and surrounded Flytrap, who cried out in surprise as he looked from one to the other. "Tornado time!" the all began spinning, throwing Flytrap through the air. He crashed to the ground, and growled angrily.

"Shut your traps!" he yelled, before starting to grow.

"Let's even this out," Chip called. They all drew their morphers and called on their Titan forms, before combining to make their Megazord.

"Let's get him!" Maddie cheered, glancing to Vida quickly. "You alright sis?" she checked. The Pink Ranger nodded, smiling back.

"Never been better!" she told her,, striking her pose again.

"Liking the new pose V! Titan sabre!" Chip grinned.

"TITAN SABRE!" the others followed suit, and they summoned their sword.

"Try and stop these!" Flytrap tried his vine attack again, but with a quick slash, the Rangers called on smaller swords that cut through the vines and struck the monster several times. When Ari felt her powers suddenly start to grow stronger, she let out a gasp.

"The sun!" she yelled, just as the pained cries of those infected by Flytrap cried out below. The Rangers yelled out in horror as they realised that their deadline was approaching quickly.

"We have to break the spell, fast!" Chip told them quickly.

"Ready!" Nick looked to the others. They held out their Staffs, and put a hand over their consoles.

"Ancient Power! Mystic Spell Seal!"

"Attack!" Flytrap rushed at them, attempting to attack before their Spell Seal was ready, but they were faster. With a powerful slash of their sabre, the Rangers slammed him with the Spell Seal.

"You're planted!" the monster staggered as red lights shot from his body, before he exploded, destroyed. The sun came up, and the Rangers watched from a higher level as the teens who had been infected stopped yelling, and walked off as if nothing had happened.

"Chip saved the day, I got my sister back, and Briarwood's teens are back to normal," Maddie summed up as they turned away, cheering and leaving.

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Music filled Rock Porium as Vida jumped down from her decks and danced with Leelee, who laughed at how much more energetic the Pink Ranger now was. Relieved that Vida was ok, the others were relaxed and, as usual, not actually doing any work.

"Hey Ari, come dance!" Vida called to the girl watching from the counter as she made her way through another box of strawberries.

"The day that happens is the day I see Xander pass a mirror without checking himself out," Ari smirked.

"Hey!" Xander protested, from behind her.

"Has it happened yet?" Ari countered as she looked around, and the Green Ranger blushed as he glared half-heartedly at her. Ari just winked at him and continued eating her strawberries. She watched as Chip suddenly crouched down on the ground and began drawing with chalk. "Hey Chip, you're the one who's gonna be cleaning that up!" she warned.

"He's showing us how Vampire chalk works," Nick called over with a mocking grin. Ari just laughed, used to Chip's crazy behaviour.

"Sorry, these are $300 boots!" Leelee snapped at the Yellow Ranger as she jumped away from him. "Draw your chalk near someone else's feet," she told him with a growl. Vida laughed as Ari rolled her eyes. Nick and Maddie were giggling as Chip got back to his feet and Vida continued dancing. The phone rang, and Xander turned to get it as Ari continued watching the girl.

"Hey V!" Xander leaned on the counter beside Ari as he looked over to the Pink Ranger. "We got any Coltrane on CD?" he called over to her as she stopped dancing.

"Lemme check!" Vida told him, but as she made to step over the circle that Chip had drawn around her, a forcefield shot up. She cried out in pain and stepped back, her eyes wide. Xander hung up as he and Ari exchanged shocked looks, and they ran over as Vida attempted to get out again, only to cry out in pain when she slammed straight into it.

"Uh..V...? Are you alright?" Chip asked carefully as all trace of laughter was gone. She looked up and hissed at them, her eyes glowing red as she bared her fangs at them.


I will be updating either tomorrow night or on Thursday at some point, as I will be in Dublin from Thursday until Monday for Arcadecon (excited squeals)

Hope you liked it!

Please review!