Rock Solid

It was yet another beautiful day in Briarwood and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, especially that of the employees at the Rock Porium.

Mason was in the midst of making another video diary and was aiming the camera at Vida, who was at the DJ table, rocking it out.

"Boo-yah!" said Vida. She grinned at her brother. "Hey, nice shirt, Mason."

Mason's brand-new shirt had a picture of the ocean in various shades of blue, which really brought out his eyes. "Yeah, you too, sis. This is great stuff."

Since becoming Rangers, everyone had started wearing their Ranger color on a daily basis in one form of another, be it clothing or jewelry. Vida had finally found a butterfly sequin shirt in a shade of pink that she tolerated better than most and it looked stunning on her.

"You're a genius behind these tables," continued Mason, as he shuffled his feet to the beat of the music. "I love it."

"Thanks," said Vida. "But I can't chat anymore. I'm in the zone." When Vida got in the zone, it was usually time to leave her alone and let her meld with the music.

Mason nodded. "Gotcha." After catching a shot of Lee-Lee, who was browsing through the CDs and smiled at the camera, Mason turned his attention to Xander, who was reading the Briarwood Gazette and the Green Ranger looked far from happy. "Xander, what's got you so upset?"

"Look at this." Xander held up the newspaper. The headline read:

LOCAL MAN GETS TURNED TO STONE

"This makes twelve attacks in less than two weeks and we're no closer to catching the freak than we started," complained Xander. Something or someone had been turning people into living statuary and the culprit was proving to be too quick for the Rangers to track down. The attack were increasing in number and it was going to get worse if they didn't get a handle on the situation. "Hey, Chip, we're supposed to be marking those."

Chip, was stocking records and marking with them with discount coupons for the sale they were having, gave Xander a look. "Uh, yeah. We are. But I suppose you're 'supervising'?"

Xander grinned. "He catches on quick."

Mason looked to Chip, waiting to see what Chip would do but instead of starting an argument, Chip decided to make a game of the work. Chip held the price gun like it was a weapon and spoke with a heavy Transylvanian accent.

"Every price shall fall under my mighty hand, for I am Count Discounts!" declared Chip, making Mason laugh. "Defender of the bargain bin, hero to slacker and collector alike! Pow! Pow! Pow!"

Xander scowled at being called a slacker and quickly stood up, tossing his paper aside. "Alright, that's it. Give me that." He took the price gun from Chip and began marking the Yellow Ranger with price tags, starting with Chip's Rock Porium uniform and ending with Chip's forehead. Finally, Xander put Chip's collar upwards like a vampire's. "There. Now, you're really Count Discount."

"Don't stop there. Doesn't every vampire count need his Renfield?" teased Mason, laughing at their antics. "Chip, shouldn't you fix that?"

Chip's face lit up with a mischievous look and he pulled Xander into his game, despite Xander's groans of protest.

"We don't have eight-track tapes, you Neanderthal!" snapped Toby.

Startled, Mason looked up to see Toby being unbelievably rude to a customer at the cash register. This was completely out of character for Toby, who usually treated every customer with the utmost respect and was a firm believer in the old saying, "the customer's always right!"

"The fidelity on those things is horrible!" continued Toby, ignoring the customer's offended look. "Now, get back into your pinto and take your business elsewhere!"

The customer was only too happy to oblige and stormed out of the store.

"Jeez, Toby. What's got your feathers ruffled?" asked Mason, concerned. "You've been in a bad mood all morning."

Toby sighed as his crankiness was replaced with weariness. "I'm…fasting for forty-eight hours as part of a diet change. I'm trying to cleanse my mind and body and make myself less inclined to eat junk food. Which means, no food at all. No pork rinds, no cheese fries and no snack cakes. But it's not working and I'm so hungry that I could eat the Oldies Section!" Toby clutched his stomach and made a pitiful little whine. "Tomorrow can't come soon enough."

Mason inwardly grimaced. Privately, he thought Toby's plan sounded insane but he was too polite to say so aloud. "Well, good luck to you, boss. By the way, have you seen Natalia?" The Blue Sea Wizard had barely seen hide or tail of the Red Ranger all morning.

Toby nodded and pointed to his office. "She's in my office doing some paperwork for me. One warning, she has a bit of a migraine, so be gentle."

A migraine? Ouch. Mason had had a migraine once, just once. But it made him pity anyone who had one. A migraine was like a headache multiplied by a thousand. If it was in just one part of the victim's head, Mason had likened it to feeling like being hit with a sledgehammer over and over. Mason felt bad for Natalia but at the same time, if she wasn't feeling all that great then perhaps it was the perfect opportunity to cheer her up with a little surprise.

Mason put away his camera before grabbing some painkillers and then he headed to the breakroom where he quickly brewed up a pot of tea and poured into Natalia's mug. His supplies ready, he gently knocked on Toby's office door. When he heard Natalia give permission to enter, he went inside the office. The lights in Toby's office were dimmed and the blinds were closed, making it pleasantly dark and cool, perfect for someone whose head was splitting. Natalia was sitting at Toby's desk, pen in hand as she went over some papers and a migraine ice patch was on her forehead. She looked like death warmed over but she was still smiling when Mason came.

"Hey," she said, softly.

"Hey," said Mason. He held out a bottle of Advil he'd taken from the store's first-aid kit and a steaming mug of raspberry zinger tea. "Heard you weren't feeling well, so I brought you this."

Natalia gave Mason a grateful look. "You're a saint. Thanks. I was looking all over for those." She quickly opened the bottle and downed two of the orange and black tablets with a sip of tea. "Where was it, just out of curiosity? The Advil, I mean."

"Behind some boxes under the cash register. It's easy to miss if you don't know where to look," said Mason. He sat down beside her and he felt a pang of worry at how miserable Natalia looked. "Hey, how about you clock out early and I'll walk you home? You look like you could use some rest."

Natalia shook her head, not looking up as she made a check mark on the paper she was examining. "Thanks, but no thanks. My head hurts but I'd rather be doing something productive in a quiet room instead of just sitting in bed, bored out of my skull waiting for the pain to take me."

Mason nodded understandingly and then after a moment's comfortable silence, Mason cleared his throat and hesitantly reached into his vest pocket. "So, uh, Lia, I was wondering if—"

Mason was interrupted by a sudden knocking on the door and then Chip poked his head in. "Hey, Natalia, that guy Endo Tsukino's back here. He's asking for you again. Want me to tell him you're indisposed?"

Mason's heart sank at the mention of Endo and the feeling worsened when Natalia's face lit up. "No, tell him I'll meet him in here." Natalia turned to Mason. "Would you mind giving us a minute? I need to talk to Endo in private."

Mason numbly nodded as he left the office. He tried to ignore the stabbing pangs of envy and sadness in his heart as he watched Natalia embrace a well-muscled and handsome looking Asian gentleman before closing the office door. For the past seven days, Natalia had been visited by a new customer, Endo, and despite Natalia's claims of social problems, she certainly seemed to be quite friendly with Endo. Mason had seen them chatting and laughing like they were old pals and even hugging on more than one occasion. He'd wanted to ask her about it, but lacked the courage to do so. If Endo was Natalia's boyfriend, Mason didn't want to interfere with that.

"Uh-oh, Mason, seems you've got competition," teased Lee-Lee, having witnessed Endo and Natalia's interactions herself. "Looks like Natalia's found herself another guy."

Mason turned red and he feigned ignorance. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Lee-Lee, however, didn't buy it. "Oh, come on, Mason. I've seen how you look at Natalia. It's pretty obvious you have a massive crush on her."

Mason's shoulders slumped. "Is it really that obvious?" he asked, timidly.

Ever since Natalia had gotten into town, Mason had been in love with her. He'd fallen hard and had been trying and failing to ask Natalia out on a date ever since. Every time Mason tried, either something would come up or he would lose his never all together as he was afraid Natalia might reject him.

Lee-Lee laughed but not unkindly as she nodded. "Pretty much."

Mason groaned and buried his face in his hands. "Great. Just perfect." His feelings for Natalia were in plain sight and everyone seemed to notice except for her. Was he just making a total fool of himself, pining after someone who wouldn't return his feelings? "What do I do?"

"Well, if you want my advice…" Lee-Lee just loved giving advice. "…you should probably stop being so shy and stop hiding behind that camera all the time."

Mason stared, clearly taken aback. "What? I'm…I'm not shy or hiding." He wasn't bold and outgoing like Vida but that didn't mean Mason was a shy little wallflower…did it?

Lee-Lee gave Mason a look. "Mason, listen, you're a sweet guy and all, but you spend so much time filming everyone having fun that you hardly ever get out there and have any fun yourself."

Mason's heart sank again and he tried to deny Lee-Lee's claims. "I have fun," he said, weakly.

Lee-Lee raised an eyebrow. "Name something then. Name something you've done that's different and spontaneous like Natalia."

"Uh…" Mason racked his brains, trying to come up with something he'd done that had been different from his usual routine, something spontaneous that no one would've expected from him. Most of it was Ranger stuff but with the exception of Mystic Racer practice, Ranger work didn't exactly qualify as fun and even so, he couldn't mention his Ranger activities to Lee-Lee. Then Mason thought of something. "When Natalia first got into town, I hung out with her and helped her with her bike even though I didn't really know her."

Lee-Lee looked impressed but she still had plenty more ammo. "And after that? Have you done anything since?"

Mason's shoulders slumped and he felt upset as he realized Lee-Lee was right. "Okay, I haven't done much of anything," he admitted. "But that still doesn't mean I'm hiding or that I'm all that shy!" Mason had never been ashamed of being the quiet one in his family before but now the idea of being the shy, quiet one, was like a loathsome disease.

Lee-Lee sighed in exasperation. "Missing the point! Look, if you want Natalia to notice you, then you should come out of your shell. Just grit your teeth and ask her out. Otherwise, that hot guy is going to take her away and you'll have no one to blame but yourself."

Mason winced as though he'd been slapped. Lee-Lee's words, however true, stung. "I…I'm going to go for a walk. Excuse me." Without waiting for a reply, Mason headed out of the store. He needed some fresh air to clear his head.

In Mason's haste to leave the store, however, Mason failed to notice Endo and Natalia come out of Toby's office as Endo slipped Natalia something special she had planned for Mason.

XXX

Meanwhile, Necrolai was returning to the Underworld to report on the latest statue that had been added to their collection thanks to her brilliant plan to use Clawbster's stone spell to transform the city's citizens into human lawn ornaments.

"Good news. Another's fallen to Clawbster's spell," said Necrolai, smugly. "Twelve humans in less than a fortnight! He'll pick off the citizens of Briarwood until it's nothing but a statuary."

"Excellent," said Morticon, pleased. "It won't be long before the entire city is ours!"

Koragg did not share in Morticon and Necrolai's sentiments. He thought they were celebrating too early. "You're both fools. One mortal at a time is hardly dominance over an entire city," he scoffed. "There are thousands of humans up there and you've hardly scratched at the surface. Nor has your warrior used his stoning spell on the Rangers."

Necrolai felt a wave of anger as she glared and hissed at Koragg. "At least I'm accomplishing something, Koragg! What have you done besides suffer a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Rangers?" she sneered.

Koragg drew his sword. "How dare you question me, hag! I may have been defeated in battle but at least my loss was an honorable one and nor did I let one of them slip through my fingers!"

Necrolai nearly burst a vein with outrage. "Why you—!"

"Stop it, both of you!" commanded Morticon, as he came in between them, preventing any unwanted bloodshed. "Necrolai, you have done well but Koragg is right. We must stop hiding in the shadows. Koragg, have your army of Styxoids ready for battle at my command. Meanwhile, send this creature back to the surface world so it can do some real damage."

Necrolai bowed. "As you command, my lord."

Koragg thrust out his hand. "Oothra Noquah Ozarro!"

A dark seal appeared beneath Clawbster's feet, which took him to the surface world above.

XXX

Back at Rootcore, Natalia had fully emerged from Toby's office, in a much more chipper mood. Mason had clearly worked some magic into the tea he'd given her, because it hadn't been long after consuming it with the Advil that Natalia's migraine had faded away into non-existence, which was quite a relief. With her head no longer splitting in two, Natalia came out of Toby's office, carrying a beautifully wrapped box.

"Hello, beautiful. Feeling better?" asked Xander. He eyed the box like it was something delicious. "Is that for me?"

"No, Xander," said Natalia, firmly as she batted his hands away. "It's for Mason. Do you know where he is? I need to talk to him."

Xander shrugged and shook his head. "Nope. I haven't seen him anywhere. Chip, have you?"

"Last I saw, Mason was talking to Lee-Lee and then he went on a walk, looking pretty upset," said Chip. "But that was half an hour ago. Is Mason still not back?"

"No," said Vida, joining them. She looked worried. "He should've been back by now, which can only mean he's either in trouble or he's more upset than we thought. Natalia, do you know anything about it? Anything at all?"

Natalia looked baffled as she shook her head. She couldn't recall doing or saying anything that would've upset Mason. He'd seemed fine earlier that day. What could've changed that? "No. I haven't seen him since Endo showed up. Maybe we should ask Lee-Lee."

Before they could do so, however, their morphers went off. Udonna was calling and she sounded worried. "Rangers, I'm sensing dark magic energy just outside the perimeter of the forest."

"It could be that thing that's turning people into statues. Better bring a mirror just in case," said Chip. "You know, just in case it's like a gorgon."

"What about Mason?" asked Vida.

"We'll call him if we need him," assured Natalia. She was disappointed that Mason was absent, but now wasn't the moment to dwell on that. They were needed on the battlefield. Sighing, Natalia cast a spell to transport the gift to her bedroom at Rootcore for safe keeping and then followed the others out of the store.

XXX

Meanwhile, Mason was taking a long walk under the Tree Arch, a stretch of sidewalk beneath a tree that had grown improperly. On one side of the sidewalk was the tree's trunk but on the other, the tree's branches stretched across until they nearly touched the ground. It was a very nice place for a walk, shady and cozy and solitary, which was what Mason needed at the moment.

I can't believe everyone thinks I'm this shy little wallflower. I can be spontaneous sometimes, can't I? thought Mason. I mean, I was spontaneous when I met Natalia and with everything that came afterwards, wasn't I? Natalia likes nerds, she said so. But even as Mason thought it, it sounded pitiful to himself. Or maybe she was just being polite.

Mason sat down on a rock and took out the envelope containing the gift he'd intended for Natalia. They'd been burning a hole in his pocket for a few days. At the time of their purchase, he'd been so excited and hopeful, but looking at them now made Mason feel despondent and miserable. He sighed to himself as he return the envelope to its hiding place.

Oh, who am I fooling? Lee-Lee's right. I'm pathetic. I'm nice but how can I possibly compare to that Endo guy Natalia likes? realized Mason. And why wouldn't she like him? He's probably just like her—adventurous, fearless and a risk taker. That's everything I'm not, so why would Natalia ever look twice at me?

Mason furiously scrubbed at the tears that burned his eyes as he tried to ignore the feeling of heartbreak that threatened to consume him.

XXX

After taking off on the Mystic Racers, it wasn't long before Natalia and the others reached the perimeter of the forest and it was there that they found dozens of people all frozen in terror thanks to Clawbster's stone transmutation spell.

"We're too late. He's already been here," said Vida, in agitation.

Chip shuddered. "That is beyond creepy. And stone cold."

Everyone groaned at Chip's horribly bad pun.

"How do you like my rock garden?" sneered an all-too familiar voice. "Soon, everyone will be just like they are!"

Everyone spun around to see Necrolai swoop down behind them with her pet lackey, Clawbster, who appeared from a dark seal and looked a cross between a humanoid bird and a spiky pineapple with lobster claws, which was not a pretty sight in the least.

"That's not going to happen, bat fake!" snapped Xander. He drew his weapon. "Magi Staff, Striker!" Without thinking, Xander charged at Clawbster and struck the monster several times but Clawbster didn't even feel a single one of Xander's attacks. Then Clawbster grabbed Xander and punted him like a football across the battlefield.

"Fire!" roared Clawbster. He then shot out blasts of dark magic from his claws before anyone could react, injuring the Rangers and leaving them to Necrolai's mercy.

"Now, there's no one to stand in our way," laughed Necrolai. "And look, you're missing little blue. Why don't I pay him a little visit?" Before anyone could stop her, Necolai and Clawbster disappeared in a dark seal.

Little blue? What did she mean—oh, crap. Mason! "Guys, she's going after Mason! We need to hurry!" said Natalia, urgently.

No one wasted any time as they got up and back on their Mystic Racers and zoomed off to Briarwood, praying they weren't too late.

But their prayers were in vain as by the time they arrived in Briarwood at Mason's location, the city was in a panicked frenzy as Clawbster turned one person after another into a statue. Mason, who was helping some kids get away, tried to morph only end up as a statue for his troubles.

"Bro!" yelled Vida. She ran over to Mason and touched his literally stone-cold face and immediately, Vida's anger spiked. "You'll pay for this, Necrolai!"

"Oh, really, Pink Witch? And what, pray tell, are you going to do about it?" sneered Necrolai.

"This! C'mon, Lia!" said Vida.

Knowing what Vida was referring to, Natalia stood beside Vida and they joined hands, combining their powers of fire and air, a trick they had practiced just the other day.

"Ignis Venti!"

From Vida and Natalia's joined hands emerged a giant fire tornado that badly burnt Necrolai and Clawbster and sent them halfway across the pathway.

"Impudent brats!" hissed Necrolai, as she struggled to stand. "Don't you see? You can't stop us and now that you're down a Ranger, your defeat will be all the more swift!" The Vampire Queen cackled as she then conjured a dark seal which took her and Clawbster away to the Underworld.

"Get back here, you coward!" screeched Vida, furiously.

Natalia grabbed Vida's arm as the surrounding winds picked up in strength and speed. "Vee, focus! Mason needs us!" Upon hearing Mason's names, the winds immediately settled down. "We've got to get Mason to Rootcore so Udonna can help us. He's vulnerable like this." If Mason was left alone in his current state, he couldn't protect himself and odds were Necrolai wouldn't pass up a chance to shatter the statue into gravel. "She'll pay for this, I promise. But you need to focus and help us get Mason to safety. Understand?"

Vida grudgingly nodded as she obeyed her leader's wishes.

XXX

When they arrived at Rootcore, Udonna quickly cast every single counter spell and anti-transmutation spell and charm that she could think of or that was found in her books. But it was all for nothing as not a single one of Udonna's attempts worked, even when she combined her powers with one of the other Rangers. No matter how much effort was exerted by Udonna and the Rangers or what trick they tried, Mason remained a living statue.

"Sorveda Murcuius!" Udonna's face fell as the final counter spell failed. "It's no good, I'm afraid. The creature's magic is too strong. The only we'll restore Mason is when Clawbster's destroyed. Only then will the dark magic reverse itself."

"Oh, I'll destroy that scumbag, all right. With my bare hands!" vowed Vida. She began storming out of Rootcore, only to have Xander get in her way. "Get out of my way right now, Xander, or so help me, I will make you!"

Despite being petrified of Vida's infamous rage, Xander stood his ground. "No, Vee. If you go out there right now—"

"If I go out there right now, I'll destroy Clawbster and avenge my brother!" interrupted Vida. Her eyes were blazing like fire and the surrounding winds picked up strength and speed again. "Now, get out of my way!"

"Vida, stop it!" ordered Natalia, as she stood beside Xander. "You're not going anywhere until we come up with a plan and you calm down!"

"Make me, Red," challenged Vida.

Natalia rolled her eyes. Vida was so angry, she didn't even realize how outmatched she was. "Fine." Quickly, Natalia swooped down on Vida and after a brief struggle, Natalia's training kicked in and Natalia pinned the Pink Ranger to the floor. Vida screeched in discontent as she squirmed under Natalia's tight grip.

"Get off me, Lia!" snarled Vida. "Let me go!"

"Not until you calm down!" growled Natalia. She kept a very tight grip on Vida, despite the latter's struggles. "Vida, I'm your leader and I'm ordering you to calm down and listen! If you go off like this, you'll join the statuary and Mason will be stuck like this forever! Is that really what you want? Do you want to help Mason or don't you?"

"That's rich, coming from you!" snapped Vida. "Mason's only like this because you broke his heart!"

Natalia's jaw dropped and her brow wrinkled in confusion. "What're you talking about?" Had Vida gone completely nuts? How could Natalia have been responsible for Mason's current state?

"Don't pretend you don't know!" spat Vida. "Mason's been pining after you since you came into town. But you've been so busy drooling all over your boyfriend Endo this past week that you haven't even noticed him! I've been thinking it over and I've realized it's true. Why else would Mason have been out there, alone and unprotected like that unless you broke his heart? It's your fault!"

Natalia was shocked and then felt a fresh wave of anger. Natalia had made a mistake in being distant with Mason but it hadn't been intentional and nor was Natalia's relationship with Endo what Vida thought. And kinship to Mason be darned, who the heck did Vida think she was to blame Natalia for Mason's fate or to judge Natalia like that? Vida knew nothing, absolutely nothing about Natalia's affairs or her feelings and she had no business butting into Natalia and Mason's relationship when there was no proof that either Natalia or Mason had hurt each other.

"Shut up," hissed Natalia. "My personal affairs are none of your business! And even if they weren't, you don't know a darn thing about me or how I feel about Mason! I would never hurt Mason. He means more to me than you will ever know! So, don't you dare blame me for this! Necrolai and her monster are the ones at fault here! Now, you are going to calm down and help us come with a plan to save Mason. You will not go charging out there like a mad bull. Is that clear?"

Natalia disliked having to use such extreme force to get her orders obeyed but as the leader, there were times when Natalia had to put her foot down, like any soldier would.

After a moment, Vida's struggles ceased and she complied with Natalia's orders. She still looked enraged but she didn't attempt to storm out of Rootcore.

"I don't understand how're you so calm," said Vida. It sounded more like a question than a statement.

"I'm not," admitted Natalia. She was furious and everything in her was screaming to track down Necrolai and Clawbster and torch them alive for daring to hurt Mason but Natalia knew she couldn't. "I want to punish them, Vee, but if I'm not like this, if I'm not in control, I will lose it and I won't be able to fix it. Understand?"

"Fair enough," admitted Vida.

Natalia sighed and rubbed the space between her eyes. "I should've explained about Endo from the start, but for heaven's sake, if Mason was that upset about Endo, why didn't he just say something? I would've listened and told him the truth." Natalia was not being judgment or cruel, she was genuinely at a loss to explain Mason's behavior. Granted, Mason was shy but Natalia had also pegged him as straightforward. Why hadn't he just spoken up? Had he truly been that afraid of her?

Chip nervously stepped forward. "I think I can explain that." Chip whipped out his wand and cast a spell that projected one of Mason's more recent video diaries onto Mason's laptop. Within moments, the monitor became alive with images of Briarwood and the Rangers and Mason's voice.

"Introducing DJ Vida, who's easily the best big sister ever! She's looked after me my whole life. Don't know what I'd do without her," said Mason's recorded voice. The screen showed Vida blowing Mason a sisterly kiss before returning to her music. The image then changed to Xander, performing stunts on his skateboard. "Can't forget Xander. Not only is he kind of like my big brother and a great friend but he's also sick on his board." The image changed again to Chip, practicing his archery in fantasy-hero Chip style. "And then there's Chip. I like to think of him as my little brother. There's nobody in this world quite like Chip, a big imagination with an equally big heart." The screen changed to Natalia, smiling while she worked on upgrading her bike in her usual spot under the tree outside of Rock Porium. "And last but definitely not least, there's Natalia. She's new in town but already she's made a big impact in my life. Without her, I don't think I ever would've become a Ranger. What's more, she's easily the strongest girl I know as well as the prettiest. Natalia may not believe it, but I know in my heart that she's more than what she thinks she is. She's something special." The screen changed again, this time to a group photo of all the Rangers together the day they'd celebrated when they'd become a team. "So, those are my friends, old and new and if I'm extremely lucky, something more. Mason out!"

The laptop switched off as Natalia wiped away her tears. But they weren't tears of sadness. No, they were happy tears.

"I didn't know he felt like that," murmured Natalia, unable to keep the guilt out of her voice. "You were right. I was completely clueless. How did I not see it?"

"Everyone has their own ways of expressing themselves, Natalia. Sometimes, you need to know where to look and when," said Udonna, gently. "It just takes a little time."

"Well, I think enough time's passed." Natalia walked over to Mason's statue and cupped his face in her hands before she pressed her forehead against Mason's. "I'm so sorry for hurting you, Mason. But I promise, I'm going make this right." When this was over, Natalia and Mason would need to have a long overdue talk. Natalia could only pray that Mason would listen as of all the people she'd come to know and care for in Briarwood, losing Mason would be the most painful.

Suddenly, the Xenotome lit up with a new spell code as well as the answer to Clawbster's defeat.

"Apparently, you have a new spell code and the answer you seek," said Udonna, proudly. "To defeat Clawbster, you need to reverse his spell onto him."

"Reverse his spell?" echoed Xander, confusedly. "How do we—?"

"The mirror spell!" interrupted Chip, excitedly. "If a gorgon looks at its reflection, it'll turn to stone, so the same principle can be applied to Clawbster. All we got to do is use the mirror spell to turn him to stone and then Mason will be okay."

"Let's hope you're right, Chip, because now we've got to put it to the test," said Vida, beckoning to the crystal ball, which had suddenly become alive with images of Clawbster attacking one of the busiest parts of the city. "You guys ready to do this for Mason?"

"Ready!" said Chip and Xander, in unison.

"Ready!" said Natalia.

Everyone drew out their morphers. "Magical Source, Mystic Force!"

XXX

After morphing, Natalia and the others zoomed off towards Briarwood on their Mystic Racers, only to find an ambush waiting in the middle of their flightpath.

"Where do you think you're going, Rangers? Attack!" commanded Koragg.

As commanded, Koragg's Styxoids began firing off dark spells from their staffs to knock the Rangers out of the sky and they nearly succeeded in doing so, despite the Rangers' attempts at outmaneuvering the Styxoid's dark magic.

"Guys, you go and stop Clawbster. I'll handle Koragg and his goons," said Natalia. "Go!"

"You've got it, boss," said Xander.

While Natalia drew away the Styxoids' fire, Xander and the others flew to Briarwood.

XXX

"There he is!" yelled Vida.

Necrolai was nowhere in sight but Clawbster was making chaos in the city square, blasting anyone or anything that moved and turning them into stone.

"Hiyah!" Xander leapt off his Racer and kicked Clawbster hard in the chest, not enough to seriously injure the monster but enough to stop him from attacking another citizen and send him flying across the city square.

Chip took the lead. "Magi Staff, Crossbow!"

Lightning bolts shot out of Chip's crossbow but they were quickly deflected by Necrolai, who appeared out of nowhere. She then retaliated with dark magic blasts straight from her eyes, which seriously injured them.

"Nice try, children," cackled Necrolai, mockingly. "But I'm afraid this time, you're out gunned and out of luck!"

"Think again, Necrolai! Hiyah!"

Vida launched herself at Necrolai, only to have her blows either dodged or blocked. Despite Chip and Xander joining in, the Vampire Queen kept all three Rangers at bay and then she gained the upper hand when the talons on her wings became sharp and she spun around at a lightning-quick speed. The force from her blows and the sharpness of her talons greatly injured Vida and the boys and left them vulnerable to Clawbster.

"Stupid Rangers!" sneered Necrolai. "Thinking you could defeat me! Me! The Queen of Darkness!" She flicked her hand dismissively. "You aren't worth my time anymore. They're all yours, Clawbster! Get them at once!"

Clawbster eagerly nodded. "Yes, mistress!" He excitedly approached his fallen opponents. "With you gone, I'm going to rock this town!"

The Rangers were at Clawbster's mercy. What were they going to do?

XXX

Meanwhile, Natalia was doing heavy battle with Koragg and his Styxoid goons.

So far, she'd managed to play a good game of cat-and-mouse, swooping in and out of the battlefield, dodging the Styxoids while blasting them with fire and she was doing well. But it wasn't long before Koragg grew tired of Natalia's battle tactics and drew his sword.

"It ends here, Red Ranger!" he declared.

Oh, really, Koragg? I don't think so. "That's what you think, but I've got a promise to keep!" Natalia swooped down on Koraag but she found herself cursing her own stupidity as Koragg drew his blade and swung at the engine of her Racer, making her broom go out of control. "Oh, crap! Well, now's a good as time as any for the new spell code. Galwit Mystio Motor!" Quickly, before she hit the ground, Natalia punched in the spell code and before she was destroyed in a fiery explosion, Natalia's Racer transformed into a flaming motorcycle, a Mystic Speeder, and she landed safely on the ground.

"What?!" yelled Koragg, shocked. "Impossible!"

Though she knew Koragg couldn't see it through her helmet, Natalia couldn't prevent the smug smile that crossed her face.

"For you, maybe, Koragg. But not for me!" said Natalia. Now, let's see what this bad boy can really do. She hit the accelerator and drove for the Styxoid army.

"Stop her!" roared Koragg.

The Styxoids raced for Natalia but they made the mistake of all of them doing it at once as it made them easy prey for her. After blasting at the Styxoids with her bike's weapon system, Natalia began zooming around in an enchanted circle of fire which launched the Styxoids into the air and the flames reached their peak, incinerating the Styxoids into ashes and soot and leaving Koragg to do battle against Natalia alone.

"You may have vanquished my Styxoids, but this isn't over, Red Ranger!" growled Koragg. "Now you will have to deal with me!" He unsheathed his sword and leapt into the air as Natalia blasted at him with her bike's weapons, dodging the blow.

"Block this, Koragg!" Natalia drove her bike up a ramp and collided with Koragg when she landed. He blocked her bike with his sword, leaving himself open to a hit from a different angle. Natalia drew her own sword and swung at Koragg, injuring him and causing him to make the mistake of lowing his shield, making him vulnerable once more. Natalia took the chance to blast at Koragg with both her bike and her own fire magic, which did considerable damage to Koragg but the Knight Wolf was still standing and ready for more battle.

"Wolf Attack!" yelled Koragg.

Koragg's shield split open and dark magic shot out from the evil eye in the center. Natalia barely dodged the dark magic in time before she jumped off another ramp and used the high altitude to blast at Koragg again. By now, his injuries were great but still the Knight Wolf refused to surrender to Natalia. He would never admit defeat, not to anyone, especially not she who infuriated him so much.

"You should give up. You attack me but still I stand! Your magic isn't strong enough to defeat me, Red Witch!" snarled Koragg.

"Maybe not," admitted Natalia. Koragg was strong, both as a wizard and a warrior, perhaps even stronger than Natalia and all her allies combined but that meant nothing to her. She would never quit or admit defeat, not as long as she lived. "But it's strong enough to keep you down today. Flamma Aeterna!" Out of Natalia's hand shot a powerful blast of fire, which sent Koragg flying and left him too weak to pursue her as she took off towards Briarwood.

"We will meet again, Red Witch!" hissed Koragg. One way or another, Koragg would have victory and he would have his revenge!

XXX

Natalia broke a million speeding laws to get to her friends but she didn't care as she arrived just as Clawbster was about to turn them into stone.

"Think again, pal!" yelled Natalia. She quickly blasted Clawbster with her bike's weapon system, injuring the monster and keeping her friends safe. Natalia then descended from her bike and stood protectively in front of her friends. "You want me, big boy? Come and get me! I'm right here! Or are you too much of a coward?"

Steam blew out of Clawbster's ears at Natalia's insults and he fired up his stone spell. "No one calls me a coward! Take this!"

Natalia inwardly grinned as she drew her Magi Staff and plunged it into the ground. "Reflectus Torgo!" She aimed her spell at the ground and from the earth emerged a six-foot tall mirror. When Clawbster's spell hit the mirror, it bounced right off the reflective surface and hit him instead, turning him into the world's ugliest lawn decoration.

"No!" screeched Necrolai, horrified.

"Oh, yes!" The time had come to end this once and for all and get Mason back. Natalia swung her sword again. "I summon the power of the phoenix! Ignis Phoenix Surgere!" Natalia's body was engulfed in flame as she turned into a giant, blazing phoenix. She dove right at Clawbster and the force of her blow turned him into gravel, which reversed his stone transmutation spell for all.

Necrolai was infuriated, to say the least, as she kicked Clawbster's broken stone head across the courtyard. "Koragg! Help this worthless heap!"

Down below in the Underworld, Koragg waste no time in casting a dark seal which restored the monster's life and enlarged his size.

"Oh, crap. Now what do we do?" asked Xander. "Without Mason, we can't—"

"Then it's a good thing I'm here, isn't it?" Everyone turned to see Mason, restored, morphed and ready for battle, zoom in on his Mystic Racer before landing down on the ground. "Hey, guys. You miss me, much?"

"Mason!" Vide enveloped her younger brother in a tight embrace. "Don't you ever scare me like that again, bro! You hear me?"

"I promise, Vee," assured Mason.

Natalia hesitantly reached out and touched Mason's shoulder. "Mason, I'm so sorry. I think there's been a huge misunderstanding. When this is over, can we talk?"

Mason nodded. "Sure thing, Lia." Suddenly, Mason's wand lit up with yet another new spell code that they'd earned. "Looks like we've got some more firepower. Let's titan up and show this freak who's the boss. Ready?"

"Ready! Galwit Mystio Priofior!" At once, everyone morphed into their Mystic Titan form and then they incanted the new spell. "Galwit Mystio Unios!"

There was a great flash of light and then they were engulfed into a giant light seal which caused them to join as one. When the light faded, they found themselves in a giant room with a chessboard and they were all giant chess pieces and they had a perfect view of the battlefield. It was as though they were truly bonded as one in more ways than one could imagine.

"Whoa," gasped Xander. "This place is freaky."

"You've got that right," agreed Vida, as she moved across the board. "Bro, any ideas?"

Mason nodded. "I've got it. This is the cockpit for the Titan Megazord and it's like a chessboard. We can control our fight with strategical moves."

Chip was thrilled to hear this. "And lucky for us, I belonged to the chess club back in high school!"

Natalia waved her hand to get their attention. Exciting as all this was, they still had a mutated gorgon-like creature to deal with if they didn't want to become living lawn ornaments. "Guys, focus! We've got a battle win! Okay?"

Everyone nodded in agreement as they prepared for battle.

"That doesn't scare me!" sneered Clawbster. He quickly blasted them with dark magic, expecting them to be destroyed, only to be shocked when he saw that the Titan Megazord's wings had protected them from the dark magic. "What?! This cannot be! I will destroy you!"

Clawbster charged at the Titan Megazord but it quickly proved to be a mistake when the Rangers cried out, "Titan Sabre!" A giant blade appeared in the Titan Megazord's hand and it was swung at the monster, injuring him and sending him flying, leaving him vulnerable to the final blow. "All together! Ancient Power, Mystic Spell Seal!"

A giant seal of light magic was formed and then set on Clawbster, which ultimately destroyed him.

XXX

Later that day, Natalia and Mason met on the balcony at Rootcore.

Both of them were quite nervous and rightly so, for however this went down would ultimately decide the fate of their friendship forever. Mason found Natalia sitting on the swing looking out at the sunset, a beautifully wrapped box with blue and gold paper sat beside her. Her back was to him, so she didn't notice Mason's presence

Okay, Mason. It's now or never. Mason took a deep breath and cleared his throat. "Hey."

Natalia turned her head and smiled. "Hey. Care to join me?"

Mason nodded and sat beside her.

Both of them then took the opportunity to speak.

"I just want to say that I really—"

"Endo isn't—"

Mason and Natalia stopped mid-sentence as they realized neither of them was going to hear anything over the other and then they chuckled.

Natalia gestured for Mason to continue. "You first."

"Okay." Mason took yet another deep breath to calm his nerves. "I heard about Vida and I want to say that I'm sorry at how Vida reacted. She can't help it. Ever since her parents took me in, she's been really overprotective of me. But that's no excuse for what she said and I'm sorry."

Natalia blinked in surprise. "It's not a problem. We already made up. And I'm sorry but…you're adopted? I never would've guessed."

Mason nodded and looked down at his hands. "Yeah, when I was five, I woke up in a hospital in Briarwood with amnesia. Vida and her folks found me and took me in as their own. That was fifteen years ago, but I still don't know who I was or who my birth parents were. I mean, it's not a big deal, I loved my family, they're great. But sometimes I wonder why I was left there, if there was something I did wrong or whatever. And that sometimes leaves me feeling…"

"Insecure? Shy?" suggest Natalia. Her tone was gentle and understanding, as though she knew just what Mason had gone through.

Mason nodded again. "Both. So, that's mostly why I'm so quiet. That and I'll take reading in a library over Vida's crazy stunts any day." This made them both laugh. "But sometimes, I wish I was a little bolder, more spontaneous and brave. Maybe then, I might…" his voice wandered off and he couldn't finish his sentence.

Natalia took Mason's hand in hers, making his heart flutter and spreading a warmth throughout his body. "You are brave. In your own way. And you don't need to be like Vida to be liked or whatever. You just have to be you. When I first came here, I liked you because you were different than all the spontaneous wackos I'd met before. So, don't you ever change, okay?"

Mason's heart leapt and he smiled as he gave Natalia's hand a gentle squeeze. "Your turn. What did you want to tell me?"

Natalia looked a little nervous as she took a deep breath. "Okay, well, you know that I've been able to control fire my whole life, right?" When Mason nodded, she continued, "Well, being a living firecracker didn't make it easy for me to make friends or trust people. My parents didn't have a problem with it, they were encouraging and kind but others weren't. There were a couple of times when I was exposed to someone, whether it was an accident or out of misplaced trust and it didn't end well, let's leave it at that."

Mason's heart ached as Natalia's eyes glistened with tears. Just what kind of persecution had Natalia endured before coming to Briarwood where she was accepted for all she was and could do? Mason wisely said nothing and gave her hand another squeeze, encouraging Natalia to continue.

"Anyway, to spare myself and everyone else a lot of unnecessary grief, I started keeping everyone but my parents at arm's length. But there was someone who was different, someone who tried to help me gain better control and teach me to defend myself at the same time. His name's Endo Tsukino."

Mason's eyes widened at the implication of Natalia's words. "Wait, are you saying Endo is—"

"Not my boyfriend," confirmed Natalia. "Just my favorite martial arts teacher and a surrogate uncle who not only travels sometimes for his work, but he's also in his forties and is quite happily married with three kids. We ran into each other at the grocery store last week and reconnected. He's in town for a martial arts tournament and was also helping me prepare a surprise for you."

Mason turned bright red with embarrassment and he felt like a colossal idiot. Her teacher. The man that Mason had been so jealous of, the one that Mason thought Natalia had feelings for, was her teacher. Her happily married teacher!

"I should've just asked you. I'm so stupid…" he murmured, as he buried his face in his hands.

"No, no, you're not stupid," assured Natalia. She gently pulled his hands away so that Mason's blue eyes could meet Natalia's brown ones as they both stood up. "Anyone else would've made the same assumption. If anything, I should've told you the truth instead of hiding from you. That was my mistake and I'm sorry."

"It's okay," said Mason, gently. He couldn't believe what had happened. It was like something out of the movies. "So, I guess we both learned our lesson. From now on, we'll just be honest with each other. Deal?"

"Deal," agreed Natalia, happily. "So, now that that's cleared up, are you ready for your surprise?"

Mason eagerly nodded as Natalia handed him the brightly wrapped present. When Mason unwrapped the paper and opened the box, his jaw dropped.

"No way," he gasped. "This is the best video camera on the market. It's insanely expensive. How on earth did you afford this?"

"Endo called in a favor for me, got a really good deal at the camera store," said Natalia. "I know it's not a special occasion or anything, but I wanted to give you this because I thought it would help me pluck up the courage to ask you out." When Mason didn't reply and just looked speechless, Natalia started to panic. "It's too soon, isn't it? I'm so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. I just—"

Natalia was cut off when Mason suddenly wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in for a deep, passionate kiss that she returned. Sparks flew, quite literally, as Natalia's arms snaked around Mason's neck and he pressed her closer to himself. When they finally broke apart for air, Natalia and Mason were looking at each other with bona fide love. It'd taken them a little while to realize it, but they had indeed fallen under the spell that was Love at First Sight.

"Wow," said Natalia, breathlessly. "For a guy who's not spontaneous, you sure know how to surprise a girl. I like that."

Mason smiled and then pulled away so he could reach into his pocket. "It's not over yet." He handed her the envelope and when Natalia opened it, she found two tickets to a Broadway show that was touring in town and opening night was the following day. "I was wondering if you'd like to go with me."

"How'd you know I liked Anastasia?" asked Natalia. She couldn't recall ever having mentioning it before to him or to anyone else in Briarwood for that matter.

"Oh, you know…magic." When Natalia gave him a look, he caved. "Okay, okay, I might've looked at your most listened to list on your iPod when you weren't looking."

Natalia chuckled as she slid her arms around Mason's neck again. "I'd be delighted to be your date. I love you, Mason."

"I love you too, Natalia," murmured Mason, as he kissed her again.

For one precious moment, there was no mystical war, no Ranger duty or anything of the like. Just two people in love enjoying the sunset and each other. And for that one moment, everything was simply perfect.