(Disclaimer: PRMF isn't mine, only Aria and her plot)
Chapter 7: Whispering Voices
-Rock Porium-
Aria was standing outside the Rock Porium guitar in hand playing one of her old songs, Just Like Fire, when Nick walked up.
"You playin again?"
Aria smiled down at the scratched up guitar in hand. "Yeah," she looked back up at the red ranger "You know since I saw all my old friends again I've been getting my muse back"
"Well keep at it" Nick grinned before walking inside.
Aria smiled in response and kept playing, soon people started crowding around her, dropping cash into her open guitar case at her feet. Some were even wandering into the shop.
After her song the small crowd applauded and dispersed. She smiled and thanked the crowd before packing up. Right when she bent down to put her guitar away a voice was heard
"You're not wanted anywhere. Leave before it's too late"
'What the fuck?' she thought before briskly walking through the tree and into the woods
When she got to the other side the voice came back stronger than before which made her knees buckle, her head started pounding, and her eyes were starting to turn black again
"Nobody wants you here. Leave now"
Aria frowned in confusion before making her trek to Rootcore.
-Rootcore-
"Oh, hello Aria-" Udonna greeted but Aria so lost in her thoughts that she made a beeline for her room and shut the door
Sitting down on her bead she tried to make sense of what she was hearing. She thought she and the others were becoming good friends. Maybe she was wrong.
'Do they know what I am? Have they heard the prophecy? Do they not trust me?'
She rubbed the temples of her head to try and soothe the ache but nothing was working. Her mind was racing a mile a minute; there was no way they could've found out…right?
She was about to walk out of her room when she heard Maddie, Chip, Xander, and Vida talking
"You know what I've noticed about Aria?" Maddie said
"What?" Vida asked her sister
"In all of the books we've read about the Mystics and our powers"
"But…"
"But I haven't seen anything about Aria's magic"
Vida's brow furrowed
"What are you saying?" Xander asked
"Don't you ever wonder where it comes from? I mean we've all seen how powerful it is."
They all shared a look of agreement while Aria slipped back into her room.
She was right; how did she get her magic. As far as she knew these powers just appeared out of nowhere.
With her head still pounding she sat down on her bed, head in hands.
Suddenly the voice appeared again and her head felt like it was being pounded with a brick
"Why should they rust you? You can't even trust yourself. You don't even know where you're from"
Aria buried her head into her pillow and screamed, the pain was too much and to be honest she kinda agreed with the voice. But that didn't mean she enjoyed hearing the truth. She didn't know where she was from, she was found in the woods for shits sake.
Her eyes clamped shut and she saw a vision, a vision of a baby wrapped in a familiar purple blanket. The baby had a mop of black hair on its head and was screaming and crying. Suddenly a huge mass of black energy appeared in front of the baby.
Aria moaned in pain as the vision repeated itself over and over again.
After what felt like forever the pain subsided but the ache was still there
-Later-
-Rock Porium-
After the pain disappeared Aria decided to visit her friends. She made her through the trees and ended up in front of the Rock Porium
There she was greeted by Nick fixing his bike and the other rangers marching towards him
"Hey Aria" they greeted before turning their attention to Nick
"Hi Nick" Xander started
"Hey" the two replied back
"Look Nick, there's $1000 missing from the store" Maddie continued
Nick stopped working on his bike looked up at the blue ranger. He stood up and Aria walked forward to stand between Nick and the others.
"Oh, I get it, I'm the new guy. I must've stolen it right? I charmed my way into your lives just to rip you off. Is that it?" Nick demanded getting louder as he continued.
He straddled his bike and started to put his gloves on
"Yeah well, that just about covers what we're thinking" Chip confirmed
"Great…And I thought you guys were my friends"
"Guys that's a lot to accuse of someone, someone else probably took it. Y'all get a lot of customers walking through there" Aria tried "Besides, I'm new too, this entire time I've been living in the woods, I only came into Briarwood the same time as Nick."
"I can't believe I actually thought…never mind" Nick grumbled "Thanks Ri, but it's clear I'm not trusted around here" with one last glare at the others he pulled his helmet on and sped off
"Maybe we made a mistake…" Maddie said after he left
Aria was getting pissed, this was so unfair. She started to feel her eyes changing
"He just took off. Didn't even deny it" Xander spat
"Did you guys forget that you're Mystics?" Aria growled as she pushed her way past them and into the store.
The others rushed after her inside. She burst into their boss's Toby's office, thankfully he was out on break or something, and hacked into his computer. She was able to hack into security footage and found the culprit. The face was blurry but it was clear that it was a blond, curly haired girl who hid the money behind the register.
Aria, still fuming, pushed herself out of the chair and marched out the office where the others were waiting. She reached behind the register and snatched the envelope.
She shoved it into Xander's hand and he jumped a little when he looked into her eyes, they were pitch black.
She then stormed off to try and calm down and find Nick
Xander looked down and swallowed, little bits of the envelope were burned away where Aria touched it
Before she walked out she heard Xander say "You're right, her magic is nothing like ours…"
Those words snapped Aria out of it, they were right, 'My magic destroys, theirs protects…what's wrong with me?' she thought
She continued walking down the street when the voice appeared again
"You see? They don't trust you. Everyone questions you."
She had enough "What do you want?" she yelled, thankfully she was alone, she would've looked crazy or something if someone was around
"Meet me at the beach and find out"
Aria clenched her fists and growled and streaked to the beach closest to Briarwood.
-Beach-
To her surprise she found Nick
"Aria?" he question "What are you doing here?"
"I was gonna ask you the same thing"
A third voice was then heard "I am here Red and Black Ranger"
"You" the two said at the same time
"I should've known" Aria growled
"I spoke the truth," Koragg began "No one trusts either of you. No one wants you except me. I want you for your power!"
Koragg opened his shield to reveal the Red Eye once again Aria only experienced a flurry of visions while Nick was thrown up into the air
"Nick!" she cried as she raced over to help him up
"Fight me!" Koragg commanded
"Yeah, if it'll get you outta my head" Nick snarled
"You too huh?" Aria asked, staring Koragg down
Nick nodded before pulling his morpher out
"Ready?"
"Ready"
"MAGICAL SOURCE! MYSTIC FORCE!"
"Galwit Mysto Ranger!"
"MagiStaff Striker!"
"MagiStaff Daggers!"
Staring each other down one last time Nick and Aria rushed into action. Taking turns attacking Koragg; the two fought together as though they've been doing it for years. Koragg tried to go offensive which really didn't work for him. While he was attacking Nick, Aria formed a ball of lightning between her daggers and shot it at the knight. That distracted him long enough for Nick slash his sword across his chest.
Koragg then turned his attention to Aria. Swiping for her head she bent backwards before straightening up again to slash him across his stomach.
He growled in frustration and went mad. He sent a flurry of attacks and the two rangers were unable to keep up.
He sent the two flying and landing on their backs. They quickly got up, getting pissed at Koragg even more so than before only to be met with an explosive hit from him, their suits sparked and smoked and they cried in pain as they were thrown to the ground again.
"Neither of you are as formidable opponent as I thought" Koragg said as he sneered at the two rangers at his feet
The two leaned on each other to get up; groaning in pain as they did so
"Your powers are weak" Koragg continued "You have not learned to harness your magic. Your defeat will be swift"
"We ain't as weak as you think pal!" Nick announced as they both finally got up again
"Power of the Phoenix!"
"I summon the Darkness Within!"
For Nick a fiery red aura surrounded him while Aria's was pitch black. Both auras took shape into their respective creatures; the Phoenix and the Reaper. The mix of the two knocked the Knight Wolf on his back in a fiery explosion
"It's on now!" Aria cheered as she and Nick raced forward, swords and daggers raised over their heads.
"You're more powerful than I expected" Koragg admitted "Wolf Attack!"
His shield opened once again blasting Nick away and distracting Aria for a few moments.
"Nick!" she ran over to her leader and helped him up
Koragg attacked once again, this time with no mercy. The battle was intense and Nick and Aria were getting tired. Soon all three of them were locked together
"You will be defeated today! That I promise you!" he vowed
They broke apart but before either ranger could attack Koragg slashed both their stomachs with a single blow.
"And now young rangers, you will meet your destiny."
"No!" they both cried as Aria shielded Nick with her body to try and protect him. He was one of the Five, the world needed him more her. But the blow never came as Koragg was shot by Chip and his crossbow
"Hang on guys!" Xander called as he and the others rushed to aid their fallen friends
Xander leapt into the air and struck the ground with his axe
"Nick! Aria! You alright!" the girls asked as they helped the two up
"We know you didn't steal the money Nick" Xander said in a quick apology
"We're sorry we jumped to conclusions" Vida added
"Actually, it was Xander's fault" Chip laughed
"We let our imaginations run away with us. It was all of our faults" Maddie said
"Uh, I proved y'all wrong!" Aria pointed out
"Yeah! It was your faults. Maybe if you should thought of that before. Aria was the only one to stand up for me!" Nick agreed
"Look out!" Xander warned when he noticed Koragg walking up to them
"Now that you are all here, I shall finish this!" he announced "Usay Rejor Contestuous! Samba Gunitos Equestras!"
"Oh no that's the spell he used to defeat Udonna!" Maddie warned
"Looks like it's time to zord up. Go guys!" Aria commanded
"No, come with us. We could use your fire power" Nick said
Aria smiled behind her helmet and nodded, getting in line with the others.
"Galwit Mysto Prifior!"
They formed their dragon formation with Nick on their backs while Aria flung open her cloak to reveal that it also acted as a pair of wide black wings to help her soar the skies. With her wings now open Aria's Titan was shown to be wearing black and purple armor. They all fired upon completing their transformations while Koragg headed towards them. He leapt high into the air to meet the Five causing him to lock swords with Nick. "You will never defeat me!" Koragg vowed
"Oh shut up" Aria commented as she soared above him and sent a blast of black magic into his chest.
Koragg fell back to the ground and attempted to use his shield against them. Seeing this, Aria flew to her friends and used her large wing-span to provide some cover for them. She groaned in pain as the flurry of images appeared in her mind. The final image she saw was a giant glowing red eye in a dark, smoky hole.
She shook her head to clear her thoughts in time for her to watch as her team flew over her and fire their own attack on Koragg.
"Now we've got you right where we want you!" Nick boasted
"Now I have a new power! Usay Migor Ultimas!" their opponent called "Centaurus Wolf Megazord!"
If it were possible, their eyes widened in shock at the new megazord standing in front of them.
"The time has come to take this fight to a new level! DARK SOURCE EVIL FORCE!"
Aria landed on the ground and looked up as her friends were forced to land by some invisible force
"Guys what's wrong?" she asked with worry
"We can't combine!" Nick said
"I shall use your own magical powers against you, as I summon the evil Morticon from the Underworld!" Koragg announced
"No!" Aria cried
"Rise Morticon, RISE!"
In the space between Koragg and the Rangers a glowing blue spell seal appeared. It looked like a horror movie with the way Morticaon crawled himself from the ground.
"Free at last!" the new villain laughed evilly
"No way!" Nick breathed
"Now that I am released from that evil cell, I shall run this dimension as the most powerful warrior of all time! Let's finish this Koragg! DESTROY THEM!"
Morticon rushed for the six rangers while, to their surprise, Koragg just stood behind him. Morticon and Nick were stuck in a sword fight with Aria sending blasts of her magic here and there but Koragg remained still in the back. Morticon grabbed the rangers and easily tossed them over his shoulder at Koragg's feet.
"Dark Magic Spell Seal!" Koragg said
The spell was sent to the six and sent them sparking and smoking. Nick was thrown off the others as they lay still on the ground. Nick and Aria were the only ones left standing. Turning around Morticon towered over them with his sword raised. "How does it feel Mystic Rangers?" he asked as he slashed down on them. Aria tried to use her wings to provide cover for both of them but her efforts were futile. They were tired and weakened from this long battle. "This will be my finest hour!" Morticon said as he continued his relentless attacks. He pushed down Aria into the ground and wrapped around Nick's neck "The day I destroy the leader of the Mystic Rangers! Join me for the final strike!" he said to Koragg
Yet he just stood there, the glowing red eyes of his megazord went from Nick trapped in Morticon's grip and Aria struggling to get up and help her friend.
"My work is done. The Master will be pleased" he answered
"Have it your way Koragg" Morticon raised his sword to prepare for the final strike when Aria and Nick caught each other's gaze. There was like some unspoken bond between the two rangers and with a nod of their heads they shot up into the air.
"RED MYSTIC RANGER!"
"BLACK MYSTIC RANGER!"
Glowing in their respective colours Aria extended her wings and took off as Nick leapt into the air.
"What's happening?!" Morticon demanded
"COUNTER SPELL!" the two called at the same time.
A spell seal in a strange combination of red and black appeared below Morticon before swallowing him whole into the ground. "Koragg do something!" he demanded
"That's impossible" the Knight Wolf whispered "How could they counter my spell?"
With a final cry Morticon fell back into the Underworld as Aria and Nick came back down to the ground. Suddenly that burs of power was gone and they both fell to their knees
"I don't know how you did that Mystic Rangers, but I have your Megazord Power now."
"No!" they cried one last time before collapsing
-The Next Day-
After the battle Nick had pulled Aria aside, "Hey, uh, why do you think Koragg chose to single us out?"
Aria shrugged "We're the new guys maybe? Or maybe because we were the only ones who were able to take him on by ourselves? You never know with these guys…"
"And that power I felt when we were fighting Morticon, I know you felt it too"
"I don't know man, maybe we'll find out sooner or later. Come on, the others want to apologize."
With that Nick went to go retrieve his bike while Aria decided to take the long way and walk through the woods, at least for a little while. That vision of the glowing red eye kinda freaked her out and she had yet to tell Udonna about it. Honestly she was a bit scared of what she'll find out if she did talk to her. With her mind wandering she didn't even realize that she was out of the woods. Deciding to just skip the walking and get there as soon as possible Aria melted into a shadow and came up in an alley beside the Rock Porium
-Rock Porium-
Stepping from the alley she managed to catch Nick and the others already talking.
"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry" Xander began "I really am"
"Aria was right," Maddie continued, nodding to the black ranger "Your our friend Nick and you deserved better"
"No more jumping to conclusions, promise" Vida vowed
"It was Xander's fault" Chip said causing them all to laugh "It was"
"Thanks guys" Nick sighed "And I owe you an apology too"
"Actually we both do" Aria spoke up "We should have come to guys when we started to hear Koragg's voice"
"Guess we all learned a lesson about trust and friendship"
"No more secrets between us" Xander said
Nick and Xander shook hands "No more secrets man"
Soon they all needed to go to work. Aria's phone started ringing and with a final goodbye to her friends she answered
"Hello?"
"Ri?"
"Oh hey Dustin. What's up?"
"Are you okay?" he sounded really worried
"I'm fine why is something wrong?"
"Yeah, your necklace was glowing like non-stop yesterday dude"
"What?"
"Cam wants to know if it's happened before"
"I mean like once or twice that's it"
"You wanna come and get it?"
After a few moments of silence I said "No, but I'm gonna come visit and check it out. Might head to the Thunder Academy and pick something else up."
"I'll, uh, I'll see you soon then"
She smiled "See you, love you"
"Love you"
After they hung up Aria looked back at the Rock Porium, "No more secrets…"
(A/N: I know it's been awhile since I've updated this story but I've had some major writers block. on the other hand I do have another story out now called Lady Red it's a Now You See Me story so if you love that movie as mush as I do, check it out! :D)