Disclaimer: Still stands from previous chapters.
A/N: If anyone has any questions, comments, whatever, you can always review, e-mail (cjlaz at att dot net), or IM (AngelsRosesX) me.
Chapter 12 - Black Secrets
Bria sat in class, bored to death. She had already covered this particular subject back in Angel Grove. But the school said she had to take something, so this is what she got. She let her mind wander, and her thoughts fell on the Black Ranger.
He was so hostile towards them. Both he and Sphinxra had seemed confident in his ability to defeat the Rangers. It was only thanks to Kyle that they had survived. If the Black Ranger got any stronger....
Her thoughts drifted to
Ryan. She had had another dream about him last night...or at least, she
thought it was him. She wasn't really sure. The man in her dream had seemed
to be Ryan...but then again, maybe it wasn't. She wondered how he was
doing, then recalled that she was supposed to be looking for his son.
Sarcastically thinking how good a job she was doing, an interesting
idea popped in her head. Wouldn't it be odd if Aaron were someone she
knew? Someone walking down the street? In the car next to her? In front
of her in the line at the grocery store?
Bria tried to picture
how he'd look. Of course, she didn't know what his mother looked like,
but she guessed based on Ryan. He'd probably be tall, like Ryan, but
other than that, she really didn't know. Maybe she'd give Ryan a call
and ask.
Then she started to wonder what Aaron would be like. He'd be about 23 now...would he be kind and understanding, a good person, even though taken from his parents? Why wouldn't he be? She guessed it all had to do with who had taken him.
This got her on another train of thought. Who had actually taken Aaron? It could be anyone, really...but something nagging at the back of her mind told her it wasn't just anyone. But then...who? She stifled a wry laugh. Wouldn't it be funny if it was Amenkotept? The thought suddenly lost its humor, and she froze. What if it had been Amenkotept? Then she shook her head. The possibility was one in a million.
The bell rang, jarring Bria from her thoughts. After gathering up her things, she walked to her locker, ignoring the other students. Most of them could care less about the new girl. It didn't surprise her; she had never been exactly popular at her old school either. Not that it bothered her. She didn't really want to live the life of wild parties, drugs, sex, all that. As long as they stayed out of her way, she stayed out of theirs.
She walked to her locker, sighing as she saw Alexandra McGinnis standing in front of it. Alexandra, or Lexi as she was commonly called, was so arrogant and heartless, it angered Bria to no end.
"Excuse me, could you move?" Bria asked politely.
"Sorry, did you say something?" Lexi retorted, turning from her little circle of friends.
Bria rolled her eyes. How original. "Yeah, I asked you to move."
Lexi
scoffed at Bria, then moved. As Bria opened her locker, she could hear
Lexi talking to her little group. "Skunk girl's got an attitude...you
wouldn't guess it from someone so innocent. No wonder she's such a
loner--"
Bria slammed the locker shut, just missing Lexi. "Hey!" Lexi protested. "Watch it!"
Bria smiled sweetly. "Sorry, did you say something? I couldn't hear you over the locker."
Lexi just glared and stalked off, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder, her little group following. "Could she get anymore immature?" Bria muttered. Shaking her head, she walked out of the school, glad to be going home.
The Black Ranger charged into Sphinxra's chambers. "I need more power."
Sphinxra looked up. "Why?"
"Because of that idiotic Silver Ranger." He continued in a line of curses at Kyle.
Smiling,
Sphinxra stood. "Easily accomplished. But I'm warning you, I can't give
you any more power after this; this is the last of it." She walked over
to a panel in the wall, taking out a small, shiny, black sphere.
Holding it up, she blew lightly on it, then whispered a few choice
words. The sphere floated in front of the Black Ranger, then merged
with his chest. Black energy crackled around him, and he laughed. Now
he could show those Rangers....
Sphinxra looked at the Black Ranger. "Do I get payment?"
He
looked at her. "We agreed the destruction of the Rangers was payment
enough." He left, leaving Sphinxra to curse at his retreating figure.
"This is Sunset Lake, and over there are the Sunrise Falls." Bria and the others were giving Kyle his promised tour of Sun Valley. They were just finishing up the tour with the lake and falls. Just as they all sat down to enjoy the view, there was an explosion in the caves next to the falls.
The Rangers jumped up, morphing as they ran. The Black Ranger stood in the entrance to the cave, holding his saber-staff. Bria ran in the cave. The others followed...
...and ran right into a solid wall of air.
"What the hell?" Kyle asked, pounding his fist on the invisible wall. Now that he looked closer, he saw it was flecked with black.
"My business is with the Red Ranger," the Black Ranger said.
Everyone was confused. "Why?" asked Kyle.
"Red is the leader, easy to pick off, and, when gone, will create quite a hole in your abilities as Rangers."
Bria stood inside the wall with the Black Ranger. "Gee, I feel so privileged."
"You should." The Black Ranger took a swing at her. Bria ducked, leading him farther back into the caves.
"I don't want to fight you," Bria protested.
"Too late."
Bria
flew backwards as he kicked her. "I don't want to fight you!" Then, as
if on second thought, Bria decided to take her chances. "Aaron."
The Black Ranger froze, and Bria noted that she had been correct. What were the odds of that?
"What did you call me?" he asked.
"Aaron...don't do this."
As if half to himself, the Black Ranger spoke. "No one has called me that in years...I'd almost forgotten..." Then he shook himself and slashed at her with his saber-staff.
"Aaron, stop! It doesn't have to be
like this...you know your father wants to see you? I'd like to
reintroduce you..." She groaned as he hit her head against a rock.
"What would you know?" he growled.
"A lot...your dad misses you..." The Black Ranger shoved her against a wall.
"Shut up!" He threw her, and she smashed into a wall. She groaned, sliding down the wall. Everything went black as she crumpled on the floor of the cave, and her morph left her.
The Black Ranger prepared to deliver the final blow with his sabers, but something stayed his hands.
The Red Ranger was nothing more than a girl! He dropped to his knees beside her, wonder in his covered eyes as he pushed her striped hair away from her face with a gloved hand. A mere girl...
He wondered if what she had said was true. Aaron. It had been so long since anyone had called him that. Aaron. He let it roll around on his tongue a few times. Aaron. He liked it. It wouldn't be so bad to hear it more often.
His mind whirled in confusion, all brought on by this...girl. This young girl. The Red Ranger, no less. Shaking his head, he gently picked her up, walking towards the entrance to the caves. With a nod, the wall vanished. Josh, who had been leaning nervously against it, stumbled towards the caves.
The Black Ranger gently handed Bria to him, then vanished. "What...?" wondered Josh, staring down at Bria. She stirred, waking up.
"You OK?" asked Kyle, eyeing her unmorphed form.
"Yeah..." Bria said softly. "I think I am."
"What happened?" Jess asked.
Bria just shook her head. She wouldn't tell anyone. It was almost an unspoken agreement; she didn't tell the Black Ranger was Aaron, he didn't tell the Red Ranger was a girl. She smiled as she thought of him, then lay her head against Josh's shoulder, falling into an exhausted sleep.
"You did WHAT?!" Sphinxra screamed. "You let him get away?! After the power I gave you?!"
"Shut up, Sphinxra."
"Shut up? Shut up?! You. Let. Him. Get. Away!"
The Black Ranger glared, not bothering to say the Red Ranger was a girl. "Go get the Red Ranger yourself then!"
"I just might do that!"
Bria sat at the picnic table, looking out over the lake tiredly. So she had found Aaron...now what? A lot of good that did her. It wasn't like she could traipse home with him. She tensed as her communicator beeped.
"Yeah Alpha?"
"Sphinxra is headed your way, Ranger!"
Bria
morphed, preparing to greet Sphinxra. After a few moments, nothing
happened. Wondering if Alpha made a mistake, she went to talk into her
communicator.
Suddenly she felt a prick at her neck. Everything started to go foggy, and she heard Sphinxra's laugh. As she cursed her stupidity, everything went black.
