Scaredy Cat
In the days following the Gatekeeper fiasco, it had been very quiet.
With Morticon's destruction, the Underworld was in chaos as they desperately needed a new leader to guide them to victory against the surface world until the Master could arise. As Koragg was the Master's most loyal and favored servant, one would have thought that the Knight Wolf would've been first in line to lead the charge, but the Knight Wolf had not been seen or heard from since his crushing defeat at the hands of the Red Ranger.
Whether that meant he was destroyed or simply in hiding whilst nursing his wounds, nobody knew for certain. But one thing Necrolai did know was that she had no desire to serve Koragg if the Knight Wolf ever returned as there was neither trust nor friendship between them and they were begrudging allies at the best of times. And ambitious as Necrolai was, the Vampire Queen was not stupid enough to think she could take on the Rangers alone, especially after their most recent display of power against the dark forces. Which meant that Necrolai was forced to resort to drastic action.
At that moment, Necrolai and Lee-Lee were on one of Briarwood's beaches, standing at the mouth of a dark sea cave with a small group of Hidiacs. Lee-Lee was not enjoying the excursion one bit and made no secret of it.
"Ugh. Mom, this place gives me the creeps. Why're we here and when can we go home?" whined Lee-Lee. Though they had yet to enter the sea cavern, Lee-Lee strongly disliked it as it was giving off a very dark vibe and she felt physically sick being near it.
"Patience, Lee-Lee. We're here because we need help if we're to defeat the Rangers," said Necrolai. "Inside that cave is the solution to our problems." Necrolai snapped her fingers, making the Hidiacs stand tall and at the ready. "Go in the cave and bring me the treasure inside."
At once, the Hidiacs obeyed and attempted to enter the cave, only to be disintegrated by a protective spell seal that reacted to the dark magic.
Lee-Lee grimaced. "Yikes. That had to hurt."
Necrolai growled in annoyance. "Curses! The cave's protected against even the smallest amount of dark magic. But not for long. Hah!" Necrolai thrust out her hand and blasted at the cave entrance, causing a giant protective spell seal to briefly appear before it vanished. "There. That should take care of it. Now, to get the treasure inside."
Lee-Lee's eyes widened in alarm. Enter the cave with that level of protective barrier? Was Necrolai insane? Odds were, Necrolai's dark magic had only weakened it a little and it was still strong enough to keep her out. There was no way the barrier had been completely removed yet.
"Go inside? Mom, no!"
But Lee-Lee's warning came too late as no sooner had Necrolai attempted to enter the sea cave, the residual magical energy keeping the barrier up became active and Necrolai was electrocuted like a fly on a bug zapper.
"Mom!"
Lee-Lee ran to Necrolai's side as the Vampire Queen lay on her back, twitching and softly moaning in pain.
"Mom, for crying out loud, are you trying to get yourself killed?" said Lee-Lee, sounding both worried and exasperated.
Lee-Lee loved her mother, she really did, but sometimes Lee-Lee wondered if Necrolai truly possessed any intelligence or common sense at all.
Despite the pain she was in, however, Necrolai remained determined to continue her mission. "I must…get…through…"
"The only thing you 'must' do is go home and heal up," said Lee-Lee, firmly, as she slung Necrolai's arm over her shoulder. "You're in no condition to take down a Hidiac, much less that barrier. You can come back later. For now, just shut up and do as I say."
Normally, Lee-Lee wouldn't speak to her mother in such a manner, but Necrolai had greatly worried Lee-Lee and there were times when Lee-Lee had to take charge. The fact that Necrolai neither argued nor attempted to disobey Lee-Lee's commands only showed just how much damage the protective barrier had done to Necrolai's person, which added to Lee-Lee's fears.
Lee-Lee knew she couldn't stop Necrolai from coming back to continue weakening the barrier, she wasn't strong enough for that, but she knew she could at least warn her friends of Necrolai's plans. Whatever was in the cave, whatever it was that Necrolai was so desperate to get her hands on, Lee-Lee knew she couldn't allow the Vampire Queen to get her claws on it.
XXX
Back at Rootcore, everyone was enjoying a little peace and quiet while going about their daily business until it was interrupted by Clare's frantic, excited shriek.
"Guys! Rangers, help! Come quick! You've got to see this!"
Alarmed, Natalia and the others ran over to Clare's side. She was standing in front of Fire Heart's nest and looked both frantic and excited. No one knew quite what to expect, but when nothing happened after a moment, Natalia wondered if Clare's call for help had been a false alarm.
"Uh…I don't—"
"Shh!" hissed Clare, excitedly.
Suddenly, Fire Heart's egg moved and rattled and everyone gasped in excitement. The dragon egg was starting to move, which meant it was beginning to hatch. Before too much longer, they were going to be guardians to a baby dragon.
"See? It's starting to hatch!" squealed Clare, as she hugged Xander. "It's starting to hatch!"
"I know, it's great. All your care's really paying off," praised Xander. In the Green Ranger's eyes, it was Clare who deserved the credit for the dragon's well-being as she was the one who was there all the time when Udonna and the Mystic Rangers were occupied with other business.
"All our care," corrected Clare. She wasn't just being modest. Clare genuinely felt that without the contribution of everyone there, there wouldn't even be a dragon egg to hatch in the first place, not to mention everyone had done more than their fair share of the work in caring for the unborn dragon.
"I can't believe it's finally happening!" exclaimed Chip, excitedly. "We're going to have a real live dragon in Rootcore!"
"Not to be a downer, but I just thought of something. Do any of us actually know how to make sure the dragon will hatch properly and healthy or how to take care of it once it does?" asked Natalia, as she began reheating the blanket with hot, flickering flames.
Everyone fell silent as they realized that Natalia had brought up a very good point. While they had been diligent in making sure the egg was warm and never alone, no one actually knew what else was required to ensure a proper hatching, much less how to take care of a magical, fire-breathing infant lizard. And judging from the egg's movements, time was running out to learn of all that and pretty soon, they were going to be surrogate parents to a real living thing!
Vida's face lit up. "Let's ask Udonna. She'll know."
Clare frantically shook her head. "Udonna's not here! She's up north and won't be back until this evening!"
"Calm down, I'm sure we can find intel in Udonna's books," said Mason, soothing. Quickly, Mason skimmed through a stack of books until he found one that looked promising. "Here we are. One Thousand and One Things You Want to Know About Dragons." Mason flipped through the book until he found the section he was looking for. "'To hatch a dragon egg, set the egg upright and proceed to bludgeon it with a sledgehammer until open.'"
At once, Clare screeched in horror as she protectively covered the egg and Mason scowled, realizing the text was fake.
"Oh, for the love of—! Who wrote this? Xander!" Upon seeing Xander's name scrawled in the flaps of the book cover, Mason glared at the Green Ranger.
"Sorry, mate," said Xander, apologetically, as he took the book. "It's a joke book I conjured. Forgot where I put it."
Vida and Chip laughed as Natalia sighed in exasperation. When was Xander going to learn? Didn't he know better than to leave that sort of thing lying around? What if Mason hadn't recognized it as a fake and they'd followed the book's instructions? It would've ended in a horrendous disaster!
Xander was spared from a scolding, however, when there was a knocking sound at the front entrance of Rootcore. It surprised everyone as no one ever knocked
"Since when does anyone knock on our front door?" asked Xander, puzzled. "Come to think of it, do we even have a proper front door?"
Xander was ignored as Natalia and Vida went to see who their guest was.
The knocking sound continued to echo throughout Rootcore and a few moments later, a familiar voice was heard.
"Knock-knock!"
Natalia and Vida emerged from Rootcore to find Phineas standing at the entrance, wearing a bandage on his head and looking utterly miserable.
"Phineas, what's wrong?" asked Natalia, concerned.
"Are you okay, Phineas?" asked Vida.
"Do I look like I'm okay?" whined Phineas. "Do I ever come and knock on your dragon nose thing? Do I ever wear a rather unflattering bandage on my head? Do I ever have horrible pain echoing throughout my mouth? Do I ever ask four questions in a row?" Phineas did a quick count on his fingers. "Five, if you count this one!"
"You have a toothache?" prompted Natalia, wishing Phineas would get on with it. Phineas was a nice guy, but sometimes he tended to ramble on and on.
Phineas immediately nodded. "Aha! Bingo! So, can someone please help me before my head explodes? Please!"
Natalia and Vida exchanged concerned looks. Although all the Rangers were quite skilled when it came to magic, dentistry was another subject entirely. They could numb up the pain with some special herbs, but anything beyond that such as dental surgery was out of their field of knowledge. But maybe Phineas' tooth wasn't that bad.
"Let's take a look and see how bad it is." Natalia took out a small flashlight from her pocket. "Open your mouth and say 'ah.'"
"Ahh…" said Phineas, as he forced his mouth open wide.
While aiming the flashlight into Phineas' mouth, Natalia had to force herself not to gag at the smell of Phineas' breath. It smelled like he'd never brushed his teeth (which he probably hadn't) combined with sick breath and something dead. It was disgusting. And it didn't take long before Natalia found the source of Phineas' pain.
"Oh, jeez, Phineas!" Inside Phineas' mouth, there was a tooth was a deep and black cavity the size of Texas and the surrounding gums were heavily inflamed. "No wonder your tooth's hurting. You've got the cavity from Hades! I take it there aren't any dentists in the woods?"
"Yes. No. What's a dentist?" asked Phineas, confused.
"A physician who specializes in teeth, the person you go to for help when your tooth hurts," explained Vida. "Isn't there one in the forest who could fix your tooth?"
Phineas thought for a moment and then his face lit up. "Oh! There's the Boulder Roller. He's this little gnome who takes a piece of vine, ties one end around your tooth and the other to a five hundred pound boulder, hence the title 'boulder-roller.' He then rolls the boulder off a cliff and voilà! Bad tooth removed! Or, you know, you go off the cliff with the boulder. Either way, the pain is gone." In the process of making some hand gestures while telling his story, Phineas accidentally touched his bad tooth and began crying in pain. "Oh, I did it again! Ow, ow, ow!"
Not wishing to see her friend in anymore pain, Natalia quickly looked around the base of Rootcore and much to her relief, found some pain relief herbs, which she picked and placed into Phineas' hand. "Swallow these right now and they'll help with the pain."
Desperate for some relief, Phineas immediately swallowed the herbs and then sighed in relief as they took effect, numbing away the worst of the ache in his decaying tooth. "Thank you. Is this permanent?"
"No, but we'll fix that soon," promised Natalia. "Just give us one second." Without waiting for a reply, Natalia grabbed Vida's hand and pulled her aside. "We need to help Phineas, but I don't know the first thing about dentistry. Do you?"
"Nope. Wait, what about that healing spell you use to fix yourself up? Could you use it on Phineas' tooth?" asked Vida, hopefully.
Natalia regretfully shook her head. It was a good idea, but it wasn't the solution they needed. "No. That kind of healing fire only works for me because of my connection to the phoenix. Using it on someone else would only incinerate them. I think we're going to have to take Phineas to a dentist in town." Natalia didn't like the idea, but with Udonna absent, they didn't have any other options.
Vida stared. "Take him into town? How?"
Taking a troblin into Briarwood was a risky business as not only did Phineas know next to nothing about the modern world and human customs which would send up red flags to civilians, but the mere sight of Phineas' natural form risked exposure of the magical world, which was not an option.
"Mason's perfected his glamour spell. What if he tweaks it so Phineas can pass for human but still get his teeth examined?" suggested Natalia. If Mason was able to make all but Phineas' teeth appear human to non-magical eyes, then Phineas could get through the city easily but the dentist could still see the problem and fix it. Or, in the absolute worst case scenario, they could enchant a dentist to do what they needed
Vida considered this for a moment and then nodded. "Sounds like it's our only option. Should we divide up the work?"
"Sure. You go fetch Phineas some more pain killer herbs from Udonna's garden and I'll notify Mason," said Natalia. "Phineas, come with me."
This was going to be quite the adventure.
XXX
One hour, two bundles of pain killing herbs and a very well-done glamour spelled leather bracelet later, Natalia and the other Rangers were escorting Phineas through the city of Briarwood and to a dentist. As Phineas had only been to the human world once before a very long time ago, he naturally found everything that he saw, heard and smelled to be very intriguing and exciting. At that moment, he was craning his neck trying to get a better view of the gigantic tall buildings of glass and steel.
"It's all so tall and shiny," said Phineas, in awe. "Whoa!"
Being so caught up in his sight-seeing, Phineas didn't notice Natalia's warning not to move as the traffic lights had just turned green and a car quickly zoomed by. Luckily, Mason pulled Phineas back, keeping the troblin safe.
"Careful, Phineas. You can't just step off the curb in front of a moving car. You could get really hurt," said Mason.
"Ooh, what's a car? It sounds delicious. Can I eat it?" asked Phineas, eagerly, as he imitated the car's engine sounds. "I'm starving."
"No," said Mason, as the others quietly chuckled. "A car is kind of like a cart, only it goes really fast. People use it for traveling. Understand?"
Phineas shrugged and then his eyes lit up as Lee-Lee headed towards them, looking agitated. "Ooh, who's that girl over there? She's gorgeous."
"That's our friend, Lee-Lee. She's Necrolai's half-human daughter," explained Vida, as she waved at Lee-Lee to get her attention.
Phineas looked excited at this description and began combing back his hair and rubbing his face clean of any lingering dirt from his earlier frolicking through the woods.
Upon seeing her friends, Lee-Lee sighed in exasperated relief. "There you guys are. I've been looking all over for you! I need your help." But Lee-Lee's irritation disappeared when she saw Phineas and she became intrigued. "Who's your cute friend?"
Before Natalia or the other Rangers could make an attempt at an introduction, Phineas stepped forward and produced a juicy pomegranate out of nowhere, which he held out to Lee-Lee.
"Hello, lovely lady. My name is Phineas, half-troll, half-goblin, a troblin," he said, sweetly. "This is for you and has anyone ever told you that you have nice elbows?"
Lee-Lee giggled and blushed from Phineas' flattery as she gratefully accepted the fruit. "Thank you. And no, you're the first. You're really sweet and kind of cute in an ugly sort of way."
"Oh, stop it. You're going to make me blush," said Phineas, as he turned bright pink.
While Natalia found Lee-Lee and Phineas' interactions adorable and hated to interrupt, they had more pressing issues at hand, such as Phineas' tooth problem and whatever it was that Lee-Lee had wanted to tell them. She cleared her throat to get their attention.
"Sorry to interrupt, but weren't you looking for us for a reason, Lee-Lee?" prompted Natalia.
"What? Oh, yeah." The expression on Lee-Lee's face changed from confusion to seriousness in a flash. "We have a problem. This morning, my mom nearly killed herself trying to break through a barrier at the sea cave on the beach. She said something was in there that would help defeat you guys. And before you ask, I don't know what it is, only that she's going after it no matter what. I took her home to rest before she could get through, and she was out cold all morning, or so I thought. I left her for five minutes to get some coffee and when I went back, she was gone."
Natalia's heart sank. Necrolai had not only resurfaced but she was after another ally or weapon for the dark forces? Just perfect! Ah, crap. We barely survived destroying Morticon. What's next?
"How close was she to breaking the barrier?" asked Natalia.
Lee-Lee grimaced. "Pretty darn."
Natalia cursed under her breath. That had been the exact opposite of what she'd wanted to hear. And to think, the day had started out with such a promise and a simple job to do. Now, they'd have to Ranger up and deal with the Vampire Queen.
"We should get to the beach. Whatever Necrolai's after, we can't let her have it," said Vida, urgently.
"I wonder why the crystal ball didn't pick it up," said Chip, curiously. It was odd that the crystal ball hadn't alerted them to the threat.
"What about Phineas?" reminded Mason. They couldn't just abandon their troblin friend. He was in pain and needed their help.
Ah, right. Fortunately, there was an easy solution to that problem. "Lee-Lee, can you do us a huge favor and take Phineas to the dentist, please?" asked Natalia.
Much to Natalia's relief, Lee-Lee nodded. "Sure. Not a problem. I'll take him to my dentist, Dr. Golem. My mom made him in the event of an emergency. He's worked with humans and supernatural creatures before, so this'll be a cinch. C'mon, you."
Lee-Lee held out her arm and Phineas eagerly took it and they walked off towards downtown, looking like a young couple on their first date, which for all intents and purposes, they probably were as it was clear that Lee-Lee and Phineas had just fallen for one another, which was either very adorable or just plain bizarre. Probably both.
XXX
After morphing and summoning their Mystic Racers, Natalia and the others raced to the beach as fast as they could. But when they arrived, there was no sign of Necrolai or even her foot soldiers. In fact, the whole beach was deserted, which was a first given it was a warm weekend afternoon, perfect for a day at the beach.
"This isn't right. When this place ever empty this time of year?" said Chip.
"Never," said Vida, concerned. "Think Necrolai's already been here?"
Mason, who'd been examining the protective barrier, shook his head. "No. The spell's hanging on by a thread but it's still strong enough to keep Necrolai out. She hasn't gotten in…yet."
"Then let's make sure she doesn't get what she's after," said Natalia, briskly. "Come on, guys."
Without further ado, Natalia led the Rangers into the cave, unaware that Necrolai was watching them with a hopeful, gleeful look in her black eyes.
Inside, the cave was chilly and dank and it not only reeked of mildew and rot but there was a deep sense of unease emitting from the cavern walls. To make things more difficult, within a few minutes into their walk, the little sunlight they had vanished and the cave became pitch dark, Natalia drew her flashlight but despite the fresh batteries inside, the light wasn't emitting.
"Dang it. The magic of the cave must be interfering with the tech," muttered Natalia, as she stowed away her flashlight. "Chip, would you mind…?"
"Not a problem," said Chip. He drew his Magi Staff and lit it up with electricity and it created a sparkling light throughout the cave.
"Hey, Mason, who's your little friend?" teased Xander.
"Friend? What—" Mason's voice wandered off as he looked to where Xander was pointing and saw a large blue and gold frog was sitting comfortably on Mason's hand. Immediately, Mason's heart began racing like a train and he could neither breathe nor focus on his surroundings. All he could think of was the slimy, ugly frog and getting away from it. "AUGH!" Mason screamed at the top of his lungs and began shaking his hand while trying to run away. In the process, Mason not only knocked down the others and sent them on a tumble ride down the cave, but also bashed his leg against a rock.
"Ow…"
"Sorry guys," mumbled Mason. He felt like a complete idiot. Having a panic attack that badly while on duty because of a frog! And in front of his girlfriend, too, no less! While Vida, Chip and Xander knew about Mason's frog problem, he'd never once said a word about it to Natalia, fearing she might think less of him for being so scared of something so small. What would she think of him now that his secret had been blown?
"No worries, bro," said Vida.
Chip and Xander murmured in agreement as they untangled themselves from the pile. Natalia did not reply and nor did she make any inclination towards Mason's fears. Instead, she tilted her head in concern as Mason winced from the deep bruise he'd sustained to his leg and then resumed her role as leader of the team.
"Vida, take Xander and Chip to search the cave. I'll take care of Mason," said Natalia.
The other Rangers nodded and began searching the cave for whatever it was Necrolai might've been looking for.
Natalia waved her hand and a small fireball hovered in the air above them, creating a warm glow as she crouched down beside Mason, who was holding his head in his hands and shaking like a leaf as his panic attack slowly faded.
"You okay?" asked Natalia.
"I will be. Sorry you had to see that."
"Don't be. But I wouldn't mind knowing why that frog scared you so much," said Natalia, concerned.
Mason sighed. No point in keeping it quiet any longer now than Natalia had seen his freak-out. "I've got ranidaphobia, all right? I'm petrified of frogs. I can't even go near their cages at the zoo without freaking out," said Mason, miserably. It was so embarrassing to admit it aloud, which was why he'd never said anything before. "Pretty stupid, isn't it? I can face down monsters with no problem, but a tiny little amphibian scares the living daylights out of me."
Natalia's face softened as she squeezed Mason's shoulder. "It's not stupid. Everyone's afraid of something. It doesn't make you any less brave. Between you and me—" Natalia lowered her voice to a whisper. "—until Catastros and I bonded, I was scared to death of horses. It's not so bad now, but I'm still a little antsy around them."
Mason tilted his head in surprise. Having seen Natalia and Catastros in action, he never would've guessed that Natalia had ever been afraid of horses. And to know that he wasn't alone when it came to that kind of fear lightened Mason's mood considerably and he accepted Natalia's hand as he stood up with a smile on his face.
"Guys, I think we found something!" yelled Chip. "You'd better get over here!"
Exchanging concerned glances, Natalia and Mason raced down to the other end of the cave where they found Vida, Chip and Xander.
"What did you find?"
"Well, actually, it's more like we found two somethings. First is this—" Chip held up a gold oil lamp encrusted with sapphires and brushed off some of the sand, exposing the crest beneath it. "—it's got the Mystic Force crest!"
"Wow," breathed Mason. He took it from Chip and gave it a look over. "It must've belonged to the previous Mystic Warriors. And judging from the vibrations, it's housing some pretty strong magic. No wonder Necrolai's after this. It could very well change the tides of the battle."
Natalia frowned. "Wait, you said there were two things you found. What's the other?"
"That ugly thing," Vida pointed over to the wall of the cave.
Natalia turned to look and immediately her blood ran cold and her heart skipped a beat as she saw the mummified form of the monster who'd haunted her nightmares. It was the monster who'd chased her and that boy whose name she could no longer recall through the forest (why had her memory suddenly gone fuzzy?) seeking her demise.
This isn't possible. How can that thing be real? This has to be a trick. But it wasn't a trick. It was real. A horrifying thought struck Natalia. What if the reason the crystal ball hadn't detected any threats because there wasn't any yet? What if the lamp wasn't what Necrolai was after, but the mummy? What if she planned to revive him and sic him on the Rangers? Either way, Natalia refused to let Necrolai get her filthy, scaly hands on either one of them.
"Guys, we need to get these things to Rootcore immediately!" ordered Natalia. "Necrolai can't get her hands on them!"
The Rangers all jumped a foot at Natalia's loud, commanding tone but nobody protested as they knew better than to argue when she used her "leader voice." Before they had a chance to obey Natalia's orders, however, the entire cave suddenly lit up and shook from an earthquake.
"What the heck was that?" demanded Xander.
"That was the magical barrier keeping me out of here being destroyed by moi," said Necrolai, smugly. "Thank you, Rangers, for saving me quite a bit of work and locating my prize! Now, give me what I came here for!"
"Over our dead bodies, hag!" spat Vida, viciously as the Rangers took defensive stances, blocking Necrolai's path.
Necrolai's eyes gleamed. "That can easily be arranged. Hiyah!"
Dark magic shot out of Necrolai's hand, blasting the Rangers into the cave wall. Necrolai then took advantage of the confusion and grabbed the mummy. Before the Rangers could attempt to follow Necrolai or stop her, the Vampire Queen blasted the roof of the cave, causing a cave-in.
"So long, Rangers!" cackled Necrolai, as she then disappeared with her prize.
Natalia cursed under her breath. Necrolai had the mummy and the cave was collapsing. The situation had just gone from potentially bad to worse. But there was no time to dwell on the former as they had bigger issues to deal with at the moment, such as their upcoming demise if they didn't act and quickly.
"Xander, think you can keep the cave from collapsing long enough for us to get out?" asked Natalia.
Xander nodded. "I can try. Defendat Terrae!"
Xander's Magi Staff glowed bright green and then powerful vines the size of oak trees shot out from the ground and created a protective archway, keeping the collapsing rock from falling onto the Rangers. Judging from Xander's body language, the spell was putting him through considerable strain and would not last long, forcing the Rangers to run as fast as possible to the exit. And it was lucky they reached it when they did, for no sooner had they reached the beach, Xander gave way to exhaustion and collapsed, and the cave along with him.
"Good work, Xander," said Natalia, as she caught her breath.
"Thanks, Lia," said Xander, tiredly. "Man, I never want to do that again."
"With any luck, you won't have to," said Mason. "But I don't think we'll be lucky enough for this to be over. I have a bad feeling about that mummy."
"What do you mean? It was just a mummy," said Vida, confused. "It's useless, isn't it?"
Mason shook his head. "Given how badly Necrolai wanted it, I sincerely doubt it. She's crazy, but she always acts with a reason, so whatever it is she's got planned, it can't be good."
"I agree with Mason. We need to get back to Rootcore and make a plan of attack," said Natalia, her tone not inviting argument. "And we should also find out what's so special about that lamp."
Necrolai hadn't even tried to go after the lamp, which spoke volumes about its value to the darkness and confirmed Natalia's fears. But at the same time, the fact that it possessed as much power as Mason had said and yet was ignored also piqued Natalia's interest as well as the fact that it was marked with the Mystic Force crest. They needed more information and quickly, if they expected to endure whatever was coming next. And when it did, Natalia hoped that they would be strong enough to stop it.
XXX
Down in the Underworld, Necrolai had prepared an ancient dark ritual used for reviving artifacts or beings of dark power. After marking the floor with a dark spell rune and carefully placing an enchanted mixture of herbs on the rune, Necrolai placed the mummy in the center and then she chanted over and over, "Tenebras Autem Revertetur!"
Within moments, a sound like thunder rumbled throughout the room and then the rune exploded with red and black fire. Necrolai couldn't help but moan with delight as the mummy's petrified form changed into silver liquid and then solidified into a newer, stronger body. The mummy turned to face Necrolai and grinned as he showed off his new form. He was now considerably taller, his body was entirely silver and his eyes were red. In lieu of a hat was a mass of crisscrossing bandages that were upright like a top hat, he was dressed robes of dark blue, violet and red trimmed with white fur and silver and a high collar adorned with red, yellow and blue crystals, and he held a wide silver and white fan in his slender fingers.
This was Imperious, a notorious dark wizard who would now help the dark forces win the war against the Mystic Rangers.
"Ah, this new body…" murmured Imperious. "It feels right. I feel so strong, so beautiful! And I owe it to you, Necrolai, my dear." Imperious took Necrolai's hand and kissed it. "I owe you my thanks for rescuing me from that wretched cave and reviving me."
Necrolai grinned as she knelt down on her knees. "It was my honor, my lord. And may I say, it's wonderful to have you back."
"It's excellent to be back. Now, arise my servant, and tell me what has happened since I was cursed," said Imperious. "Just before you retrieved me, I saw that the powers of the Mystic Warriors have found new hosts. I take it we did not win the first war against the surface world?"
Necrolai regretfully shook her head. "I'm afraid not, my lord. We lost and were imprisoned for fifteen years. It is only in the last few months that the second war has begun." Necrolai then proceeded to fill Imperious in on everything that he had missed, such as the Mystic Rangers being chosen, the Master's awakening, the Rangers' numerous victories against the darkness, and their most recent defeat with the Gatekeeper fiasco and Morticon's destruction. "…Koragg has not been heard from since Lord Morticon's destruction. Whether he was destroyed at the hands of the Red Ranger or is simply nursing his wounds, I do not know but it would be most pleasing if he was gone forever."
Imperious nodded in agreement. Although Koragg was a formidable warrior and wizard, Imperious would prefer it if the Knight Wolf was gone forever as someone who believed in honor and loyalty to the Master would only interfere with Imperious' grand plans for world domination with Imperious himself as leader of the conquered world.
"Let us hope he stays gone, then, shall we? Koragg is a loyal soldier but his beliefs in honor have no place here. We're better off without him," said Imperious. "Now, obviously we failed to retrieve the Mystic Crystal for the Master, but was I at least successful in destroying the Princess Aurora?" Since Imperious had been cursed into the cave on the beach, he had no way of knowing if the dark spell he'd cast all those years ago had been successful in killing the princess.
Once more, Necrolai shook her head. "I'm sorry, my liege, but according to the Oracle, the son of the Solaris Knight and the Princess Aurora not only survived your attack but she is in possession of the Mystic Crystal!" said Necrolai.
Imperious nearly popped a vein. "She is WHAT?!" he roared. Dark magic shot out of Imperious' fan and caused the whole room to shake as well as several Hidiacs to perish, but Imperious took no notice of it. He was furious, to say the least. When he'd been cursed into his mummified form and trapped in the wretched cave, Imperious had believed if not hoped that even if the darkness had lost the war, Imperious had at least been successful in destroying Aurora. For Imperious to know that he had failed aggravated him like nothing had before. "How is that possible? The blow I delivered should have ended her! Where is the little brat?"
"I regret to inform you that we do not know the girl's current whereabouts. Even the Oracle could not pinpoint her exact location. It seems the Mystic Crystal is protecting its mistress," said Necrolai.
Imperious growled in anger as he paced around the room. "I should have foreseen this happening!" Suddenly, everything made sense. The Mystic Crystal had never been found by the dark forces because it was in possession of the one person they hadn't considered and should have and Imperious knew exactly how it'd happened. "Leanbow always was a protective nuisance! He probably hid the Mystic Crystal with the princess in order to keep it from the Master! Well, no matter, I will find that wretched girl and take it from her corpse if I have to!"
Imperious had been defeated, but that was all about to change now that he had his new body and powers. One way or another, Imperious would find the princess and the Mystic Crystal. They would both be his, he would take his revenge and the surface world would be his to rule.
XXX
Meanwhile, back at Rootcore, after trying and failing to locate Necrolai and the mummy with the crystal ball, they'd made a plan of attack just to be on the safe side before turning their attention to the cave's other treasure. Everyone was gathered around the table, watching as Mason manipulated some hot soapy water to clean the lamp. Once it was done, the lamp gleamed and shined like new, revealing the full Mystic crest but no further inscriptions, which left only one thing left to do.
"Chip, since you found the lamp, would you care to do the honors and rub it?" offered Natalia.
Chip excitedly nodded and quickly rubbed the lamp. Immediately, the lamp shook and the lid came off. White smoke trailed out of the lamp and when it faded, there was a six-foot white humanoid cat dressed in black and gold armor with rubies and matching wrist bands, a red collared cloak and a red feathered headpiece with a bright blue gemstone.
"Greeting," said the cat, as he bowed. "I am the great genie—"
"Jenji, is that you?"
Much to everyone's surprise, Clare, who'd entered the room carrying a big wicker basket of freshly folded laundry, stared in amazement at the sight of the great cat.
The cat's blue eyes widened in surprised delight. "Clare-Bear?"
Clare's face lit up as she dropped her basket and ran into the cat's arms. "Jenji! Oh, gods, I've missed you so much! Where on earth have you been?"
"That is a very long story, one that I will happily tell you later. Right now, I want to hear all about you. Look at you, you're all grown up!" said Jenji. He was smiling as he hugged Clare, but then his eyes fell onto the necklace on Clare's neck, an emerald and citrine heart, which had been a token of Xander's affection on their first date. "Oh, I see someone's got a boyfriend. So, tell me his name so I can use him for a scratching post."
"Oi!" said Xander, indignantly, as everyone laughed.
Clare smiled. "Oh, stop it. Behave yourself while I introduce you." Clare turned and gestured to Jenji. "Everyone, this Jenji the Genie. He was one of my best friends before the war. Jenji, these are the Mystic Rangers, Natalia, Mason, Chip, Vida and my boyfriend Xander."
"A real live genie," said Chip, in amazement. "I've always wanted one of those!"
Natalia chuckled at Chip's childlike excitement as she held out her hand for Jenji to shake. This was a fantastic moment. They had a new ally and Clare was reunited with an old friend. Udonna was going to be so pleased when she found out.
"It's nice to meet you, Jenji," she said.
"Same here," said Jenji, as he shook everyone's hands. "And that includes you, Green Bean, but I warn you, I will turn you into a mouse and eat you if you ever break Clare's heart."
"If I do, you have my permission, mate," assured Xander, as everyone laughed again. Xander didn't like being given the shovel talk, but he couldn't really begrudge Jenji for it as it as Clare meant a great deal to them both.
"So, if you're really a genie, then don't I get a wish since I rubbed your lamp?" asked Chip.
Jenji nodded as he rubbed his paws together. "Yep. You wish it, I dish it. But there are a few rules, I must warn you."
"Rules? As in limitations? On wishes? That doesn't sound fair," complained Vida. After everything they'd had to deal with in the last few months, a wish had sounded perfect until Jenji mentioned the rules to his wishes.
Jenji shrugged. "What can I say? I don't make the rules, I just follow them."
"It is standard genie practice," said Mason. He'd watched Aladdin more times than he could count and had read Arabian Nights just as many times, so he knew genie rules backwards and forwards. "Isn't that right, Chip?"
Chip nodded before turning to Jenji. "So, what're rules?"
"Simple: I can't bring anyone back from the dead, I can't make anyone fall in love, I can't kill anyone and if you wish for more wishes it'll cancel out your wish. And I'm only in your service until either you make your wish or someone else rubs the lamp. Care to see it in writing?"
Without waiting for a reply, Jenji snapped his fingers and there was a flash of smoke. When it faded, an old genie's contract appeared in Chip's hand, outlining everything Jenji had just said. Chip passed it to Mason, who examined it carefully before giving it back to the Yellow Ranger.
"Looks to be in order," said Mason. "What're you going to wish for, Chip?"
"Don't take all day. I've been stuck in that lamp for fifteen years and I have things I want to do today. Places to visit, people to see," warned Jenji.
Chip looked ready to burst with excitement as he contemplated what he wanted. "Could I grant you your freedom from the lamp?" he asked.
Vida kissed her boyfriend's cheek. "You old softie."
Jenji looked visibly touched as he rubbed a speck of dust from his eye. "That's sweet, Carrot top, but no go on that. I'm stuck in that lamp for good. But thanks anyway. So, what would you like instead?"
Chip looked disappointed but then he thought for another moment and eventually came up with another wish.
"I wish to know when Fire Heart will hatch."
It may have seemed like a silly thing to wish for, but as an expert in magical lore, Chip knew it was better to be practical rather than greedy when it came to wishes. True, he would have loved to wish for victory in the war they were fighting, but the price of that wish might have come with too a high a cost. One never knew when it came to magical wishes. That and as he was happy with his life but desperate to know when they would finally get to meet Fire Heart, his wish seemed like the best one to make.
Jenji snapped his fingers and a clock that was counting down appeared in front of Fire Heart's egg. There were four hours and counting left before the egg hatched.
"Look, guys! It's going hatch before sunset," said Clare, excitedly.
Jenji's ears quivered with interest as he walked over to the dragon egg. "Ooh, a dragon egg. Who's up for a stuffed omelet?"
"Jenji!" scolded Natalia, as Clare made a horrified squeak and protectively covered Fire Heart's egg. "You shouldn't say stuff like that."
Jenji held up his hands. "Sorry, just a little joke. But seriously, if you want that egg to hatch, you're missing something vital. Someone needs to sit on the egg until it hatches."
Everyone stared at Jenji in bewilderment.
"Sit on it? What for and won't that break it?" asked Natalia, confused.
Jenji shook his head. "Nope. Dragon eggs are like diamonds, you can't break them. You have to sit on the egg so the dragon feels safe and knows who to imprint on. It's uncomfortable, but it's the only way, trust me."
No one was particularly happy to hear that but there were no arguments. As the Rangers never knew when they'd be called away to battle, Clare agreed to sit on the egg until it hatched. It wasn't very comfortable, as Jenji had said, but at least it was only temporary.
"So, where's the kitchen? I'm dying for one of Clare's sandwiches," said Jenji. He started to walk away but Natalia grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
"Hang on, kitty, I've got questions you need to answer," said Natalia, sternly. "Do that and then you can go eat." The reunion had been cute to watch and she was glad to know when exactly Fire Heart would be born but they still had a crisis to deal with and questions only Jenji could answer.
Jenji looked taken aback as he twisted his fingers together. "What do you want to know?"
Natalia folded her arms across her chest. "There was a mummy in that cave where we found you. Who is it and why did Necrolai want it so badly?"
Suddenly, Jenji looked as though he might faint. "Necrolai? As in the Queen of the Vampires? She took the mummy?" When Natalia nodded, Jenji began biting his nails and pacing around the room in fright. "Oh, no, no, no! This is not good! If Necrolai has him, she'll revive him and we'll all be in trouble. And trouble is bad because bad means fighting and fighting means losing people and losing—"
"NO ONE is going to be lost!" said Natalia, loudly. She grabbed Jenji by the shoulders and forced him to look at her. Her agitation was replaced with concern as she looked into Jenji's blue eyes. "Jenji, I promise, whatever comes our way, we can handle it. But I need to know what we're fighting against. Who is the mummy?"
Jenji hesitated and then sighed. "He calls himself Imperious. He's a dark wizard who betrayed the Mystics for his powers. If Necrolai's revived him, we're all doomed, because Imperious makes Morticon look like a newbie apprentice. That's how scary and dangerous he is."
Mason and the others exchanged worried looks at this tidbit of information. They'd barely survived their final battle with Morticon. How could they possibly win against Imperious if he was as powerful and dangerous as Jenji said?
Suddenly, the crystal ball darkened and showed a blackened storm cloud that was sparking like a live wire. Something powerful and dark was about to attack the city and it wasn't hard to guess what that something was.
"We're needed in the city. C'mon, guys," said Natalia.
"Good luck to you. I'll be here with Clare if you need me," said Jenji. He snapped his fingers and conjured himself a sandwich, which he devoured in seconds.
Jenji expected to stay with Clare and take it easy, but a surprise came Jenji's way when Clare said, "Jenji, go with them and help."
Jenji's fur stood up on edge and he began backing up. "Me? But I can't! I'm just a kitten when it comes to fighting. I—"
"Why can't you fight?" interrupted Mason, curiously. "I've sensed your level of power. You're one of the strongest practitioners I've ever seen. Why don't you think you can fight?"
Jenji's shoulders slumped as he sighed. "Because it didn't work out so well last time, okay? I was supposed to help protect some good friends of mine during the Great Battle and I messed up. I didn't save them. And I don't want to go through that again."
During the Great Battle, Jenji had fought alongside the Solaris Knight and was supposed to help protect Princess Auror and Nehir from the Master's forces. But when Imperious had attacked, Jenji had failed protect his comrade-in-arms as well as his charges, which had led to being trapped in that forsaken cave for fifteen years. And not to mention, Jenji was one of the biggest fraidy-cats ever to walk the earth. He'd fought, yes, but never without fear and on occasion that fear left him frozen. If he'd failed so miserably during the Great Battle, what hope did he have of changing that now? And more importantly, Jenji had failed to protect loved ones once before and lost them. He had no desire to endure that pain again.
Both Natalia and Mason's faces softened with sympathy and understanding.
"I know how you feel," said Natalia, her voice thick with emotion. She ignored the questioning, confused looks of Xander, Vida and Chip as she continued. "I've failed to save people I cared about too. It hurts worse than anything I've ever felt before. I know what it's like to want to stay away from similar situations because you're scared history will repeat itself. You think people are better off if you stay away. But none of that is true and giving into those feelings only dishonors yourself and the memories of those who trusted and believed in you."
Natalia remembered all too well what it'd been like when she'd been chosen to serve as the Red Mystic Ranger. She had been haunted by her failure to save her parents and so trapped within her fears of history repeating itself and of her own power that Natalia had almost left Briarwood just to escape it all. She thanked her lucky stars that she had chosen to stay and fight instead and now she hoped she might convince Jenji to do the same.
"And just because you're scared doesn't mean you can't be brave," added Mason, thinking of his panic attack and Natalia's encouraging words. "Courage cannot erase our fears. Courage is when we face our fears. You fought alongside the original Mystic Warriors. You can honor their memories and prove to yourself that you can be strong by helping us stop Imperious."
Mason grabbed Jenji's lamp and rubbed it, making it glow as it marked him as the master. "So, come on. Get in your lamp and come with us. You owe it to your friends."
Jenji groaned but obeyed Mason's command. Whether it was out of obedience to the magic of the lamp or because he'd been convinced by the Red and Blue Rangers words, no one could say for certain. But one thing Jenji was certain of, he was not going to like this one bit. He just knew it. Why did he have to be free of the cave on today of all days?
XXX
When Natalia and the others reached the city, no figure emerged quite yet but the storm cloud was getting bigger and the bolts of lightning were becoming more powerful.
Jenji poked his head out of the lamp. "Okay, this was fun. What say we run home, grab a pillow and hide under the covers?"
"Shh," whispered Natalia. She understood Jenji's fear but now wasn't the time for him to a scaredy-cat, no pun intended.
"At last, the Mystic Rangers!" said Imperious, as he emerged from the storm cloud. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am the destroyer of your world. I am Imperious, dark wizard of the Underworld."
"What you are is a dishonorable traitor," growled Natalia. "You betrayed the Mystics for power. You're a disgrace!"
Imperious cackled. "Your White Sorceress Queen has misled you, Red Witch. Magic is for fulfilling your own desires. Using magic for the benefit of others is a waste of time and it will leave you feeling so very unsatisfied. You have great power, so why not use it to benefit your own wishes? Or better still, learn how to further strength your powers until you're unstoppable? Join me, Red Witch, and everything you've ever wanted will be yours. What do you say?"
Natalia pretended to consider Imperious' offer as she put on hand behind her back and conjured a powerful grenade. "I say…drop dead, traitor!"
Quickly, Natalia tossed the grenade at Imperious and it exploded right in his face, doing a great deal of damage to Imperious but not enough to defeat him.
Imperious hissed in anger. "You will regret that, you wretched girl!" He thrust out his fan and blasted them all with dark magic, sending them flying across the battlefield.
"That's it, you freak. Now, you're going to get it!" snarled Xander. He drew his Magi Staff and changed it to an axe before charging at Imperious. But when he swung his bad, Imperious disappeared. "Where'd he go?"
"The better question is, where will you go?" sneered Imperious. He flicked Xander's forehead with dark magic and sent the Green Ranger flying into a tree.
Chip growled in anger as he tried to strike next. "Fulgur Percutiens!" Powerful blasts of lightning shot out of Chip's Magi Staff but Imperious was prepared for that and conjured a reflective shield which caused Chip's lightning to bounce back and hit Chip instead, injuring him.
"Chip!" yelled Vida, as she ran to her boyfriend's side. After making sure Chip would be okay, Vida turned her anger to Imperious. The surrounding winds became to pick up speed strength as they sends the Pink Ranger's wrath. "You son of a—! Let's see how you deal with tornado power!" She turned into a pink tornado and began spinning towards Imperious.
"I think I can handle it just fine," sneered Imperious. "Boombasa!"
Imperious turned into a black tornado and collided with Vida, sapping her of her strength and causing her to land into Mason's arms.
"How're you doing all this?" demanded Mason, as he helped Vida to stand. "All those years in the cave should've left you weakened!"
"Isn't it obvious? Regardless of how long I was in that forsaken cave, I still have stronger magic than all five of you combined!" jeered Imperious. "And I must say, I'm severely disappointed. I'd heard you were quite the formidable foes and yet you hardly seemed to be worthy of my time. Udonna did not choose wisely."
"We'll see about that," growled Natalia. She wanted to launch her strongest spells against Imperious, but from what she'd seen, individual attacks were no good against Imperious. He was too strong for them. But if the attacks weren't individualized, if they were combined, the Rangers would actually stand a chance of taking Imperious down. "Guys, let's show this creep what we're made of. Ready? Galwit Mysto Prifior!"
Quickly, the Mystic Rangers transformed into their Titan forms before joining together into their megazord form. But before they could cast a single defensive spell, Imperious cast a dark spell seal that caused him to grow a hundred times bigger than the Rangers' megazord.
"Pathetic," spat Imperious. He swung his leg and kicked the Rangers like a football, sending them flying across the city.
Undeterred, the Rangers conjured their sabre and thrust it into the sky, causing the mystic spell seal to appear. The wings of the megazord extended and they took to the skies but before they could go through the spell seal and cast the spell, Imperious smacked them out of the air like a cat hitting a fly against a window.
"I grow bored of you annoying pests. Mutrafento!"
Dark bolts of lightning shot out of Imperious' fan, striking the Rangers and severely injuring them. But despite it all, the Rangers refused to give up.
"We're not done yet," snarled Natalia. This was the monster who'd haunted her nightmares for fifteen long years. She would not let him destroy her loved ones or her world. "Everyone, together! Titan Megazord Full Power!"
The megazord became alight with power and then leapt into the air as Imperious drew his fan and prepared to strike again. One way or another, this was going to end.
Jenji, whose lamp had been tossed across the battlefield when Imperious first struck, poked his head out and watched the battle unfold in distraught. His friends were going to get squashed like bugs and he couldn't stop it. Again! If he wasn't frozen with fear, maybe he could do something. But Jenji's limbs wouldn't move.
"Oh, I wish I wasn't such a fraidy-cat," moaned Jenji.
He didn't expect it to work, but suddenly, Jenji's lamp glowed bright gold as it granted the genie's wish. Jenji's fear vanished as if it had never been as the big cat grew to the size of Imperious.
"What's this?" gasped Imperious.
"Hey, Imperious, look at what I've got for you!" Quickly, Jenji extended his claws and slashed Imperious' face, causing the dark wizard to howl in pain as his face became a mess of nasty cat scratches. "That was fun. Want to go again? Let's see what's in my hands!" Jenji's paws were pressed together, concealing the contents inside of them. "Oh, look, it's the Mystic Rangers!"
Before Imperious could react, Jenji opened his hands and the Rangers struck at Imperious' face with their strongest spell, severely injuring the dark wizard and causing him to shrink back down to normal size.
Imperious angrily growled as he stood up. "You got lucky, you miserable brats! But you won't be for long!" He thrust out his fan and tried to cast another dark spell, but the spell rebounded back onto its caster and Imperious cried out in pain.
"What's wrong, mummy boy? Need your bandages changed?" teased Jenji.
Imperious glared. "Shut your mouth, you stupid furball! Seems the Blue Wizard was right. My magic is not yet what it was. I'm weakened from my time in the cave. I must recover my strength. My apologies for not destroying you as promised, but I will! Luthar!"
A dark spell seal appeared beneath Imperious' feet and he disappeared.
"Oh, yeah? Well, you're an even bigger loser!" yelled Jenji, as Imperious vanished.
XXX
Later that day, after a celebratory lunch with some of Jenji's favorite dishes, Natalia and Mason went off in search of Lee-Lee and Phineas. They hadn't heard from them all day and wanted to know how Phineas' dentist appointment had gone. After checking all of Lee-Lee's usual hangouts, they finally found her at the Rock Porium, smiling as she leaned against the counter.
"Hey, Lia, Mace," said Lee-Lee, when she saw them.
"Lee-Lee, there you are. We've been looking all over for you and Phineas," said Natalia. "How'd the dentist appointment go?"
"Great. Phineas' bad tooth is long gone and now, I have a new boyfriend," said Lee-Lee, happily. "Oh, and take a look. Apparently, he's never listened to rock-and-roll before."
Natalia and Mason looked to where Lee-Lee was pointing and saw that Phineas was at the DJ's stand, wearing headphones and badly humming the rock-and-rock music while pretending to be playing an electric guitar.
Natalia doubled over laughing while Mason looked horrified.
"What have we done?"
XXX
A few hours later, when Udonna returned from her trip, Natalia and Mason told her to close her eyes because they had a special surprise for her. Carefully, they led the White Sorceress outside of Rootcore where Jenji was waiting with Chip, Vida and Xander.
"Can't you just tell me what the surprise is?" asked Udonna.
"No," said Mason, chuckling. "Now, keep your eyes closed until we say you can open them."
Jenji excitedly took a few steps forward and looked ready to burst. When they'd told him that Udonna was alive and mentoring them, the genie feline had been thrilled and asked the Rangers to help him surprise her with his return, a wish they'd only been too happy to grant.
"Okay, we hope you like pets, because we have a new cat," said Vida, excitedly. "Open your eyes."
Udonna took her hands off her eyes and her face brightened with immense joy as Jenji did a funny pose and said, "It's me! I'm the cat!"
"Jenji!" exclaimed Udonna, happily.
"Udonna, you haven't aged a day," complimented Jenji, purring as they embraced.
"I think we can keep him," said Natalia, as the others nodded in agreement. Anyone who made Udonna this happy definitely had a place at Rootcore.
"I've missed you so much. Where have you been?" Udonna's joy became replaced with urgency. "Daggeron and Nehir…Aurora…do you know where Aurora is?"
Jenji scratched at his furry ear. "Uh, actually, no. You see—"
Before Jenji could continue, a sound like an alarm clock echoed from Rootcore and to the outside and then Clare yelled, "Somebody help me! It's going to hatch!"
Quickly, everyone ran back into Rootcore and just in time as Clare went flying off the table and into her boyfriend's arms. They all then watched with barely contained excitement as the egg went upright and began breaking. A few moments later, a male silver dragon hatchling with red, yellow and blue wings emerged from the egg.
"Oh, Fire Heart," whispered Clare, delightedly. After so long, Fire Heart was finally born.
"Mama!" cooed Fire Heart. He leapt off the table and into Clare's arms, nuzzling Clare under her chin as he snuggled up close. Though she was surprised by Fire Heart's first words, Clare did not hesitate to wrap her arms around Fire Heart and cuddle him like a baby.
Everyone oohed and awed at the dragon's antics and they increased when Fire Heart spotted Natalia. He wrapped his tail around her wrist and pulled her hand in close before licking her palm and nuzzling it.
"Big sister!" cooed Fire Heart.
Big sister? Natalia was shocked to say the least. She'd never been anyone's big sister, let alone a baby dragon's, but she felt very touched and couldn't deny the idea had its appeal.
"Nice to meet you…little brother," said Natalia, as a happy tear made its way down her cheek.
Life at Rootcore just got a whole lot more interesting.
XXX
A/N: I am so sorry I haven't updated in forever. October's been crazy. Between nursing a cold and migraines from Hades and family obligations, I haven't been able to write. Enjoy and please don't give up on me or this story!