As promised, here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 10: Stranger Within Part 2
Vida looked up at her friends with wide eyes filled with fear as she stood in Rootcore. A chalk circle surrounded her, preventing her from escaping. Her eyes and teeth had returned to normal, but her skin had turned deathly pale again in exchange.
"Guys, I know you think you need to do this...but I'm alright," Vida pleaded with her friends as they watched her with worried expressions. "Please, let me out," her voice quivered.
"We're gonna help you V, I promise," Chip told her, not responding to her request.
"Maybe, we should let her out," Claire, who had been keeping her distance after seeing Vida snarling at Ari for getting too close, suggested softly. When she moved closer, Vida lunged at her and slammed into the forcefield with a loud snarl. They all jumped backwards, alarmed. "And...maybe we shouldn't," Claire yelped as she hid behind Udonna.
"If Flytrap was destroyed...Vida should be fine," Maddie walked away, unable to watch her sister beg to be freed.. "She must be under the spell of another Vampire," she voiced what they had all realised.
"Well there is another Vampire lurking around Briarwood, is there not?" Althea's question made them all look around at the Knight.
"You mean Necrolai?" Chip asked her curiously.
"Well it could be," Althea shrugged from beside Udonna.
"Koragg would know if it was," Xander nodded.
"Nick. Koragg seems to be able to contact you whenever he likes," Chip glanced to Nick, who frowned. He didn't like where this was going. "Have you ever tried to contact him?" the red-head asked him seriously.
"No," Nick frowned, but sighed. "I can try," he put his fingers to his temples and turned away, closing his eyes and focusing. After a moment, he opened his eyes and shook his head. "I guess it doesn't work like-" Nick stopped abruptly, before letting out a cry as the piercing pain that came with Koragg contacting him shot through his head. "Next time Chip...you can call him yourself," Nick muttered, breathing heavily. "He's in the glen," he told the Rangers.
"Will you go after Koragg?" Udonna asked them, making the group look around at her. "There's something I need to do," Udonna hurried off, looking deep in thought.
"I'll go with you," Althea decided as she walked over. "It's been a while since I helped out, and Koragg is a powerful enemy," she told them, resting a hand on her hip.
"Who's gonna stay with V?" Maddie frowned as she gestured to her sister.
"I will!" Claire volunteered with a smile.
"Claire, she'll try everything and anything to get you to release her," Xander turned to her as he warned her gently. Her smile dropped as she looked at him with wide eyes. "Are you sure you're up for it?" he asked her, and she nodded.
"Don't worry, I am a lot smarter than I look," she assured him, before pausing. "Or...never mind. I'll be fine, I promise," she smiled brightly at them. The Rangers then turned to meet Koragg, and paused.
"Where's Chip?" Nick sighed, knowing exactly where the Yellow Ranger was.
"Oh no..." Ari groaned, putting a hand to her face.
1-2-3-4-5
The Rangers arrived in the Glen just in time to see Koragg send Chip flying with a well placed Wolf Attack. The Yellow Ranger rolled along the ground, kicking up the fallen leaves, and the others ran over to him.
"Chip!" Nick reached him first, and stood in front of his fallen friend, ready to fight Koragg.
"Are you ok?" Maddie and Ari helped him into a sitting position as he groaned.
"If you are looking for the one who turned the Pink Witch into a Vampire, look no further than Necrolai," Koragg told them as he stood facing them. "If you want the Pink Witch back, defeat Necrolai," he told them, and turned, walking away.
"Why tell us this?" Althea demanded as she held her whip at the ready. Koragg stopped, but didn't look back.
"If you are strong enough to defeat Necrolai and get the Pink one back, then, and only then, have you earned the right to fight me," he finally glanced over his shoulder at them. Ari felt herself bristle at his words. He disappeared through a spell seal before she could speak, and they all stood together.
"We'll play your game..." Nick muttered.
"What a waste..." Althea muttered as she returned her weapon to her side.
1-2-3-4-5
None of the Rangers spoke as they returned to Rootcore, and Althea went off to locate Udonna.
"Oh no, look," Maddie was the first to spot Claire standing in the circle, looking very sorry for herself.
"I knew it!" Xander sighed as they ran over. Claire shuffled her feet sheepishly.
"I'm so sorry...but she got really sick, and then she fainted, so I-"
"No need to explain Claire," Nick told her with a heavy sigh. All exhausted and frustrated, none of them spoke much.
"I just thought that what if something really bad happens? I would never forgive myself. So I just erased a little bit of the circle and...she got out," Claire told them, her eyes large and sad.
"Well...at least she didn't bite you," Chip smiled reassuringly at her, before pausing. "She didn't bite you, did she?" he asked as fear crept into his voice.
"Well...no..." Claire showed them her neck, which was free of bite marks. "But she put me in the circle...please let me out, you need to find them," she asked them pleadingly. With a shrug, Xander removed some of the circle with his foot, allowing Claire to escape the trap. "Thanks, uh...I better find Udonna," she hurried off, and they sighed.
"I still say that anyone with half a brain wouldn't have been tricked," Xander shook his head as she disappeared. Ari looked down at the circle, frowning as her brain told her that she was missing something, something very important.
"Guys...we're missing something here," she chewed her thumbnail as she thought hard about it.
"Missing what?" Xander looked down at the girl standing beside him with a puzzled expression.
"Oh, hi guys, I didn't hear you come in," hearing Claire's bright voice, they all spun around quickly and stared at the apprentice as she appeared from a completely different direction. "Gosh, that Vida is a tricky one! She tried to convince me she got sick, but I-" Claire froze, her smile dropping. "Hey, where did Vida go?" she asked, frowning at them.
"The chalk," Ari finally realised what she was missing. "If it had actually been Claire, she wouldn't have gotten stuck," she put a hand to her face, berating herself for being so stupid.
"What was that half-brained theory of yours again?" Maddie looked at Xander with a frown, and he groaned.
1-2-3-4-5
"What if we find Necrolai before Vida?" Maddie wondered as they stood around the table, unsure of what to do now. Althea had disappeared off to help Udonna with whatever it was the Snow Witch was doing. "How do we destroy her? The Flytrap was one thing..." she trailed off nervously. They all looked worried. Necrolai was powerful and had always dominated in the rare occasions that she had actually fought them.
"Chip's book!" Xander spoke up as an idea came to mind. "It's gotta have a chapter on destroying vampires," he gestured to the book, and Maddie leaned on the table as everyone looked at Chip hopefully.
"Chapter 13," he shrugged, having memorised the book long ago. "Basically it's the old 'stake in heart' scenario, unless we're dealing with the queen of the vampires..." Chip trailed off.
"And what does it say about destroying them?" Nick asked, raising an eyebrow at him. Chip hesitated, before shrugging.
"It says you can't," he told them, and they all sagged at the thought.
"That's encouraging..." Xander grumbled as he leaned on the chair.
"Hey, what was it that Nick told us the other night?" Ari folded her arms as she looked at the dejected group. "Don't give up. Never give up. Just because a book tells us it can't be done, doesn't mean anything," she told them with determination. "Our friend is in danger. We'll think of something. We always do," Ari insisted.
"Wow Ari..." Maddie smiled at the Gold Ranger, who went red at her outburst.
"This is why we keep you around," Xander teased, messing up her hair.
"I've not done anything..." she mumbled, swatting him away as she pushed her hair out of her face, still blushing furiously. Xander laughed at her, before pausing.
"Wait a second, the Xenotome!" he looked around at the others. "That tells us everything, what we need to know, when we need to know it. We need to know it now," they all nodded, and ran over to the large, mostly blank book. They gathered around, and Chip put his hands on it gently.
"Xenotome, how do we destroy the Queen of the Vampires?" he asked the book slowly. Almost instantly, the writing of the Ancients appeared in a flash of light, with a picture of a strange diamond shape. "Dawn Crystal...that must be the only way to defeat Necrolai..." Chip read it quickly. "It says how to make one...but it takes time, and ingredients I don't know if we can get," Chip's hope seemed to fade as he looked at the others.
"You can't, but we did," Udonna and Althea hurried in. Udonna was carrying a basket of ingredients, and Althea was covered in dirt. "We must hurry, there's not much time. We must make the Crystal before..." Udonna trailed off as she set down the basket.
"Before what?" Maddie repeated as tears began to fill her eyes. "Before it's too late, is that what you were going to say?" she demanded, and both Althea and Udonna looked around with worried expressions.
"Make no mistake rangers, we are in danger of losing one of our own," Udonna told them gently. Maddie's breath hitched in her throat as her tears threatened to spill over. Chip, Xander and Ari were silent, all of them worried about losing their friend. Nick took her hand, squeezing it gently.
"That's not going to happen," Nick promised the Blue Ranger in a soft voice. When Maddie looked at him, her tears starting to roll down her cheeks, Nick released her hand and walked over to the two older Mystics."Udonna. You make the Dawn Crystal, we'll find Vida," he told the red-haired woman, who nodded.
"No!" Chip spoke up suddenly, and Nick looked around, surprised that Chip was challenging his decision. "I'm staying to make the Dawn Crystal. I owe Vida that much," he told them softly.
"I'll search too," Althea volunteered herself. "I've never been great with potions, and the Dawn Crystal is incredibly difficult to make," she added with a shrug.
"We could always use the extra eyes," Ari told her with a grateful smile, and Althea smiled at her daughter. Despite her initial hesitation, Ari was slowly becoming more relaxed around her.
1-2-3-4-5
"Vida!"
"V!"
"Sis! Where is she?" Flying through the forest and back towards Briarwood, the four remaining teenagers looked around for any sign of Vida. The sun was beginning to rise, which worried them. She had still been sensitive around Ari, which meant the sun was dangerous to her still. Althea, morphed into her silver suit, flew up on a broomstick that she was standing on.
"No luck in the villages near Rootcore," she shook her head as they looked to her.
"She has to be somewhere! I'm not giving up!" Maddie yelled at them.
"No-one is Maddie, no-one is!" Nick insisted as he flew beside her, trying to comfort the worried Blue Ranger. They all continued to call out for the Pink Ranger as they reached Briarwood, and began to search their city for her.
1-2-3-4-5
Still unable to find Vida after the sun rose, Nick, Maddie, Xander and Ari went to Rock Porium, while Althea continued to circle the city for any sign of her,
"Maybe she left town...maybe she was taken, maybe she-"
"We'll find her Maddie," Nick interrupted Maddie as she leaned on the counter, tears still rolling down her face. He put his arm around her shoulders to try and comfort her. Maddie looked up at him as she sniffed, and he gave a small smile. "I promise," he told her, before they heard Toby's office door swing open.
"Find who?" Vida grinned as she walked out, grinning widely at them.
"Vida!" Maddie cried, and ran over to her sister, nearly knocking the laughing Pink Ranger to the ground. Unable to believe it, Nick, Xander and Ari walked over, their eyes wide.
"Sis, I'm fine," Vida managed to pull away from her sister. "Calm down, I'm fine. I had quite a night," she smiled to the other three. "But I'm ok," Vida smiled, and with a tearful laugh, Maddie pulled her into another choking hug.
1-2-3-4-5
The Rangers returned to Rootcore, just in time to see Chip passing the Dawn Crystal to Udonna.
"You won't be needing it," Nick grinned, earning their attention as the group walking in, with Vida leading the way.
"V!" Chip ran down and lifted her off the ground in a hug. "Are you alright?" he asked the laughing girl as he set her down.
"Is she alright?" Nick repeated with a grin, sitting on the table. "She defeated Necrolai all by herself," he told the surprised Yellow Ranger. Udonna looked over with a small frown, and Althea shrugged, walking over to her.
"Why didn't you call? We all wanted to help," Chip looked down at her, still smiling in disbelief.
"I know," Vida shrugged. "But it was my problem. You know me," she told him with a smile.
"Defeating Necrolai by yourself. That must have been quite a battle," Udonna spoke up, holding the Dawn Crystal carefully. Althea was chewing on her thumbnail, still looking a little cautious.
"We were a little suspicious before, but she walked all the way home in broad daylight," Xander shrugged. "And hey," he pushed Ari towards Vida, who just laughed. "She can stand Ari again," he grinned.
"You could phrase that a little better," Ari slapped his arm as the others laughed.
"Hail Vida! Vampire slayer!" Chip cheered, striking her V pose. Vida's smile dropped as she looked a little confused. Chip's own grin faded and he dropped his hand, instantly sensing that something was off with the girl.
"Vampire slayer, and gift giver," she held out the bag that she had been carrying, and held out an apple. "I picked you all a little something," she passed out the apples, and as Ari took one, she glanced up at Althea, and found her still looking a little wary. Ari recognised her chewing her thumbnail as something that she herself did when something was bothering her, and as soon as that thought crossed her mind, Ari's own wariness kicked in.
"To the Rangers!" Vida cheered as she held one up herself.
"To the Rangers!" Nick, Xander and Maddie echoed, before going to bite into them.
"Wait! Something's wrong," Chip spoke up before they could. "She couldn't have picked these apples, they're not grown in Briarwood," he pointed out.
"Picked? I meant picked up at the store," Vida told him with a smile, but Ari was hesitating as well now, alarm bells going off in her head. Both Althea and Udonna didn't look convinced either.
"What about the pose?" Chip asked, repeating it. "You didn't even recognise it," he pointed out.
"I recognised it," Vida told him with a shrug. "I've just moved on from it. You know me, I never stick with anything for very long," she told them, and while this was true and seemed to appease some of them, it still didn't let Chip relax. "Now I'm going to get a complex if none of you eat my gifts," she warned, before biting into the one in her hand.
"No!" Chip yelled, smacking them out of his friends' hands as they went to eat them. "I'm telling you, this is not Vida!" he shouted at them when they looked surprised.
"Chip! Now you've gone and ruined perfectly good apples!" Maddie scolded him, bending down to pick them up. However, before she could, they started to smoke, and melted into a terrible smelling goop.
"Talk about your rotten apples!" Xander stared down at it, and as Ari went to drop her own in disgust, a hand clamped over her mouth, and she was yanked backwards.
"She's gone!" Nick realised when he looked up to see that Vida had disappeared.
"Ari?" Xander noticed that the Gold Ranger was missing as well. "She took Ari," he realised, looking to the others with wide eyes.
"And we're going after her," Althea's expression was dark as she made the apple in her hand disappear.
1-2-3-4-5
"Lemme go!" Ari thrashed around as Vida carried her over her shoulder easily, sprinting through Briarwood. "Stupid Vampire strength!" she yelled, but Vida didn't respond. Ari continued fighting, but at the angle she was at and the speed Vida was running at, not even her Dino Powers could help.
After a few minutes of running, Ari found herself falling, and she hit the ground hard. She rolled onto her back, and glared up at Vida. "Did you just throw me? Because even Hunter was nicer than that and he tried to kill me straight after," she told the Pink Ranger, who didn't respond, just looking straight ahead.
"What a coincidence!" Ari's eyes widened and she looked up at Necrolai as the bat landed in front of Vida. "Because I plan on doing exactly that too," she laughed as Ari scrambled into a sitting position.
"Hag, do you have any idea just how many have actually attempted that?" Ari tried to look casual. "Because I don't. I lost track after around the first time that my school principal tried to kill me," she shrugged.
"All you need to know, child, is that I will be the last," Necrolai lunged for her, but Ari slammed an energy-ball into her face and rolled out of the way.
"Still you losers call me a kid. No wonder my number of wins grows. You're constantly underestimating me," Ari smirked as she got to her feet, but as she went to morph, Vida grabbed her arms and restrained her. "Vida no! Please, snap out of it!" Ari pleaded as Necrolai recovered and stalked towards her.
"You know why I had my pet take you?" she asked as Ari looked up at her, still struggling uselessly. "She told me all about you. Your history as a Ranger, your ability to encourage the others to keep going, your magical heritage, everything," Necrolai laughed as Ari looked around at the expressionless girl behind her. "But mostly, because you and your whole sun magic, really irritate me. I told you that you'd regret crossing me, girl," the Vampire chuckled as she stood close to Ari, who glared at her, refusing to show any of the fear that she was currently feeling.
"I regretted crossing your path the moment I met you, hag. But you're still not going to win," Ari told her firmly. "Good doesn't fail, and darkness never wins," she spoke confidently.
"Not this time," Necrolai told her, and raised a hand to strike her, only for Althea's whip to hit her in the face. Necrolai screeched and staggered back, and in one quick move, Vida had been knocked aside and Ari pulled away from her.
"You know, I'm not a rag-doll," Ari complained as she looked up at Xander, who had his hands on her shoulders as he watched Vida carefully.
"That's the thanks I get for saving your sorry ass?" he asked, looking down at her with a grin. Ari smiled back.
"Thanks Xander," she told him, before mischief sparked in her eyes. "We're almost even," she teased, and he sighed.
"Are you ok?" Althea asked as Ari stepped away from the Green Ranger, ready to fight.
"Other than thinking back to one of the last times I was kidnapped, I'm perfectly fine," Ari grinned to her, but it wasn't entirely genuine. Due to the use of the Gem of Souls, a good bit of the adventure in the Cavern of Souls was blurry to her, and being carried off again had forced the unpleasant memory back to the surface. Althea didn't look entirely convinced, and neither did Xander, but they didn't have a choice but to accept it as Necrolai recovered and put a hand on Vida's head.
"Get them!" she ordered, and Vida smirked.
"Yes mistress," she obliged, and morphed into her Ranger suit. She slowly approached the others, who were hesitant to fight one of their own.
"No! Vida!" Maddie cried out to her sister. Vida just ignored her, and drew her Staff, sprinting at them.
"Don't hurt her. I'm going after Necrolai," Chip spoke as Vida approached. They nodded, and he ran towards Vida, before morphing and leaping over her head. She looked around quickly and made to follow him, only for the others to grab her and try to restrain her. However, with not only her enhanced strength from her Ranger suit, but also from her Vampire powers, she easily threw them all off and to the ground.
"We're getting really hurt taking it easy on her," Nick groaned.
"Always the way," Ari sighed, and instantly put up a large shield as Vida attacked them. It absorbed most of the attack, but part of it still managed to break through, and sent the five flying over the railings. They morphed to save themselves from the damage, and rolled along the ground before getting up.
"Getting her Magi Staff off her will help," Althea spoke up as she grabbed her whip.
"Just be careful. We can't hurt her," Ari pleaded as she looked to her mother. Althea hesitated, before Vida leapt down and ran at them. She jumped into the air and floored Xander and Maddie with powerful kicks.
"Stop!" Nick pleaded as he grabbed her Staff and fought with her. "It's us, Vida!" he attempted to get through to her, but she just knocked him aside as well. She then turned to Ari and Althea, but Ari put up another shield.
"Please, listen to us V!" Ari cried out to her as Vida hit the shield repeatedly, not bothered by the ricochet caused. "We've been friends since we were five Vida, you'd never hurt any of us! Snap out of it!" she yelled, but instead of heeding her words, Vida shattered her shield and ran at the pair. Althea knocked her Magi Staff out of her hand with her whip, but Vida kicked Ari out of the way as she went to grab her, and Nick grabbed her from behind. She threw him off and grabbed her Magi Staff again, knocking them all back to the ground. She then leapt back up above, leaving them to try and get up.
"I'll hand it to her, Vida sure packs a punch," Althea grumbled as she got to her feet.
"We have to stop her, Chip won't be able to fight both her and Necrolai at once," Nick pushed himself back up as well.
"Especially if it's Vida..." Ari mumbled. They hurried to the higher level, and reached the battle just in time to see Chip powering up the Dawn Crystal and pointing it at Vida, who stood between him and Necrolai.
"You can't! It's Vida!" Xander yelled as they ran towards him.
"Don't do it Chip!" Maddie cried out in horror at the sight.
"Put it down, now!"
"I believe in you V...FIRE!" ignoring their pleas, Chip fired his crossbow. The yellow light flew towards Vida, only for the Pink Ranger to dive aside at the last second, allowing the Dawn Crystal to slam into Necrolai. "V is for victory!" the Yellow Ranger cheered, and pulled Vida's pose. "Vida showed me her sign. Even though she said she wasn't with us any more, I knew she was," he explained with a grin under his helmet. The others ran over to him, standing with the Lightning Wizard.
"Very clever," Althea nodded with a smile, amazed that Chip had managed to break the spell on Vida.
"You tricked me, Pink Witch!" Necrolai realised, and looked to Vida. She snapped her fingers, and Vida screamed in pain as electric pulses shot through her body and forced her to demorph. On her knees, she looked over to her friends.
"You have to stop her!" she cried out to them.
"You got it! Do it for V guys!" Chip called, and they drew their Magi Staffs, holding them out in front of them, before raising them into the air together. Althea stepped aside, watching them control their magic.
"MAGI STAFFS, FULL POWER!" the staffs began to spin, and as Chip held the spinning power in his hand, the others crouched down out of the way.
"Bite this Necrolai!" Chip yelled, and hurled it at Necrolai. She screamed, as blinding light surrounded her.
"This can't be happening..." Necrolai screamed again, and exploded. Their Staffs returned to them, and Althea watched as they ran over to Vida. She couldn't believe how much their power had already grown. To defeat the Queen of the Vampires was nothing to look down on. As they helped Vida up, she smiled at them, already looking much healthier, but as they celebrated their victory, the ground began to shake.
"You six wizards have shown great power and cunning to defeat Necrolai," Koragg stood above them as he spoke. His sword and shield were in his hand, and he was ready to fight. "This is what I have waited for," the Knight announced, and called on Catastros to form his Megazord.
"MAGICAL SOURCE, MYSTIC FORCE!" Vida morphed again, already back to full strength. Althea stepped back, knowing what was coming. This was their fight, and she knew that their strength when together was much greater than anything she had to offer. The Rangers called on their Titan forms and combined to make their Megazord as Althea watched.
"Let's show him!" Nick called to his friends as they drew their sabre and got ready for a fierce fight.
"ANCIENT POWER, MYSTIC SPELL SEAL!" they called on their powerful attack straight away, just as Koragg did the same. The two spell seals clashed, and exploded, throwing the Rangers backwards.
"He's stronger than we are!" Maddie cried out as they were thrown about the cockpit. "Guys, what are we going to do?" she asked, looking to her friends.
"I say we fight back, we don't give up!" Chip called, reaching out and putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Chip's right! Don't give up!" Vida agreed as she held up her staff. "We never give up!" she yelled, refusing to stop fighting now.
"Now didn't I say that earlier?" Ari laughed.
"Count me in!"
"One for all!" Nick called.
"And all for one!" Chip moved to the front, before a bright light appeared, shining down on them. They all held up their staffs, which began to glow as well. "What's going on?" Chip asked as the light faded as quickly as it appeared.
"Your belief in me has given us a new spell!" Vida realised as she looked to him.
"Nice!" he laughed back.
"Battle me!" Koragg roared, growing impatient with them.
"Ready?"
"Ready!" they held their hands over their consoles and allowed their magic to flow. The wings of their Megazord shot out, taking Koragg by surprise.
"You have new magic?!" he realised in shock.
"TITAN MEGAZORD, TAKE FLIGHT!" the Megazord flew into the air quickly, passing through a spell seal before slowing and hovering in the air. "SPIRITS OF THE ANCIENT TITANS! TITANS ATTACK!" they hurled back down towards the ground, and with one powerful slash, they took down Koragg. As they landed, the Rangers cheered, unable to believe their victory. However, it was short-lived as Koragg burst out of the rubble and slowly got to his feet. While he was badly injured, he was still alive.
"Impressive. You grow more powerful by the day," Koragg told them as he stood up straight. "But so do I! Our next battle will have a different outcome!" he warned them, and disappeared through his spell seal.
1-2-3-4-5
"Alright, spill," Ari jumped as Xander leaned on the counter beside her. "Something about what happened with Vida freaked you out," he accused.
"I need to stop hanging out with ridiculously perceptive people. It really sucks," she muttered irritably.
"Ari," when he frowned at her, Ari sighed.
"I don't remember a whole lot of when Hunter and Blake kidnapped me," she admitted in a quiet voice, aware that there were customers wandering around. "A lot of it is blurry, but what's clear to me, is trying to escape, and almost dying in the Cavern of Lost Souls..." Xander was very quiet as she told him this. "It's just the way she grabbed me. It brought back more of it..." Ari looked even more irritated as she spoke.
"You know, it's ok to admit that you're scared once in a while," he told her gently, and Ari didn't speak.
"You gotta know, Hunter and Blake were tricked," she spoke after a moment, looking at Xander with an almost sad expression. "They lost their parents when they were little. Lothor told them it was Sensei who killed them, and that by using my powers, they could get their revenge. Lothor told them I'd survive the process," she explained carefully.
"Do you do that a lot?" Xander asked. Ari frowned at him, not understanding. "Defend people when they hurt you?" Ari went red.
"I think that's what pissed off Zoe more when she finally found out..." she mumbled. "But I can relate to them. I can understand why they did it. Being adopted and all that. I guess that's why I defend them," Ari explained with a heavy sigh. Xander shook his head, and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't dwell on it Ari, you're way cuter when you're smiling," he told her seriously, and Ari went bright red. She swatted at him, and he dodged, laughing.
"It scares me that you can say that with a straight face," she said, but was unable to stop her smile, despite blushing. "Thanks Xander, you're not that big a dork after all," Ari teased.
"You've gotta stop calling me that. It's gonna damage my image," he told her, which only served to make Ari laugh.
"Whatever you say," she shrugged, walking off. As soon as her back was turned, Xander's smile fell, and he ran a hand down his face, swearing under his breath. When he opened his eyes, he found Nick watching him with a wide smirk.
"I knew it," he stated simply, and Xander's eyes narrowed in a glare.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he turned away from the Red Ranger, who was now laughing to himself.
"Guys, I'm gonna clear things up with Leelee," Vida told them with a grin, and walked over to the blonde that was once again in the shop. "Leelee, you know that Vampire thing in the store the other day?" Vida smiled at her as the others watched from a distance. Leelee looked up at her, her expression wary. "I was just playing a joke on the guys," Vida explained, and Leelee smiled widely.
"Yeah, I knew that!" she insisted with a nervous laugh. "You didn't think I thought you were really a vampire, did you?" Leelee asked nervously.
"Of course not," Vida spoke, trying not to laugh. There was an awkward silence for a moment, before Leelee forced a smile.
"I gotta run!" she walked as quickly as she could out of Rock Porium, and as soon as she disappeared, the Rangers burst out laughing.
Not too long until Daggeron shows up, which seems to be what most, if not all of you, are looking forward to!
I'll do my best to update by Wednesday next week!
Please review!