(Disclaimer: I have returned! Yo, I know I've said that I was gonna be better about updating but with dance camp and school starting up again...fml. Anyway, here ya go!"
Chapter 11: The Gatekeeper pt. I
-Wind Academy-
Aria and Dustin walked hand in hand throughout the Academy, sharing stories of their lives; Dustin with his classes and Aria with her latest battles. Some of the students stopped and stared at the couple in awe at the presence of two former Ninja Rangers.
It was nice for her to be able to come visit her friends, she just hoped her former band mates didn't hate her for just dropping off the face of the Earth
"I was talking to Hunter earlier" Dustin started "And he says Lila and the others miss you"
Aria smiled sadly "I miss them too, but you know I can't say anything. It's just harder now than before cause I live in a giant wooden dragon" she scoffed
Dustin smiled at her "Well, when this is all over you're coming back down here right?"
"Of course" she smiled
The two leaned in but before they could meet in the middle her morpher alerted her of an attack
"Shit, I gotta go I'm sorry" she apologized
"It's fine" he laughed "Go get em"
She smiled at him one last time and melted into the shadows. She ended up just outside of the academy and streaked back to Briarwood
-Briarwood-
Now morphed and ready for battle she found her friends already fighting off Necrolai. She joined in on the fun joining Nick in trying to overpower her. Unfortunately she batted them aside easily when her eyes fell on something moving among the boxes surrounding them. Toby was there crouched behind a tall wooden crate. Necrolai spotted him to and made her way towards him, Aria leapt in front of her and blocked her path
"Out of my way" she commanded
"What do you want from him?" she demanded
"The Gatekeeper will be mine" Necrolai announced
"Gatekeeper?" Nick asked, the title sounded familiar to Aria
"He possesses more power than all of you put together. I'll be back!" she cackled as she flew off
"What was she talking about?" Nick said quietly
"Come on, we gotta tell Udonna" Aria warned, soon they all took off to regroup at Rootcore.
-Rootcore-
The Five followed Aria as she raced inside; "Udonna!" she called "Udonna, something happened"
"We just had a close encounter with Necrolai" Xander said
"She's looking for the Gatekeeper" Aria blurted, "How can that be possible?"
"Who's the Gatekeeper?" Nick tried
Udonna was silent, "Who was the Gatekeeper Udonna?" Aria asked, she had only known what the Gatekeeper did, not who they were
"The Gatekeeper was a powerful sorceress named Niella" she finally revealed "She was my sister"
The rangers had looks of shock on their faces
"Niella cast a spell that sealed the gate and banished Morticon and his armies to the Underworld. The spell was so strong that it depleted all of her life force. When the gate was lowered to the depths Niella was gone"
Aria couldn't believe what she was hearing, she never knew Udonna had a sister and that story made her think of her own siblings
"But her spirit lives on in my heart and through the legacy of her heir"
"She had a child?" Maddie asked
"Yes, and I fear that is who Necrolai is seeking"
"Well we have to find them first, protect them from Necrolai" Aria said, the others nodded their heads in agreement
"You won't have to look far, Niella's daughter and the heir to the Gatekeeper's power…is Claire"
As if on cue Claire suddenly appeared in the middle of the room, whimpering nervously as all eyes fell on her
-Later-
-Briarwood-
"So Claire, the one who turned herself into a sheep, has legendary powers?" Dustin repeated through the phone
"Pretty much"
"So now what?"
"Waiting game I guess, she should be fine if she stays at Rootcore but she seemed shaken up a bit" Aria sighed
As if on cue her morpher signaled another attack from Necrolai
"I gotta go, I'll tell you the details later"
"Be safe, love you" Dustin said
"Love you" she hung up and raced to the woods to guard Claire
-Rootcore-
Stepping into the main room of the tree Aria could hear Udonna calling out Claire's name
"Udonna what's wrong?"
"Claire, she's run off" Udonna informed the black ranger
"Okay she couldn't have gotten far" Aria tried to calm the older sorceress down "Come on, we'll find her"
Using the crystal ball the two tried to locate the runaway apprentice, which is a lot harder than you'd think considering all the trees in these woods look the same. When they finally found her the two rushed to meet her
-Woods-
As soon as Claire took a seat on a fallen log under a low branch Udonna appeared beside her in a shimmer of light while Aria appeared before her from the shadows.
"Claire thank goodness we found you" Udonna blurted out "What are you doing out here alone?"
"Nothing" Claire mumbled, not looking her aunt in the eye
"I don't blame you for being upset with me"
"It's just not fair" Claire said, her voice cracking slightly
Aria sat on the grass in front of her friend
"What's not fair Claire?" she asked gently
"Being the Gatekeeper is my legacy!" she said to her aunt "You can't keep that power from me forever"
"Claire, there are things you just don't understand" Udonna tried
"I understand…you don't think I can handle it because I'm incompetent and bumbling and clumsy and…"
"Exactly as your mother was" Udonna interrupted smiling at the thought of her lost sister "You are so much like her"
"But I thought that she was a great sorceress…"
"Oh she was…but not at first, in fact she blew up our cottage quite a few times trying to get her spells right"
"Everyone has to start somewhere Claire" Aria reminded
"Easy for you to say" Claire sniffled "You're an amazing sorceress Aria"
The raven haired Mystic laughed lightly "Do you know how I first got my powers?"
Claire thought about it for a second before realizing that Aria never told her how she first handled receiving her powers
"My brothers and I were messing around when we were younger when Hunter, the oldest, stole something of mine. Long story short I attacked my own brother" Aria said "And for the next 12 years I shut myself away from everyone, only recently have I been able to control myself"
"I didn't know…" Claire admitted putting a hand on her friend's shoulder
"But you see, even the most powerful sorceresses were once like you" Udonna reminded
"Then why-"
"I promised her to always keep you from harm" Udonna said "And I've tried my best to keep that promise"
"And you have" Claire reassured "I couldn't have asked for a better protector…or a better aunt"
"Someday, you'll be ready to take on your mother's legacy, but not today"
There was only a second of bliss silence when Koragg had tto appear
"We meet again sorceress" he greeted
Aria shot up from the ground and shielded the other two "What do you want Koragg?" she demanded, her hands balling up into fists as her eyes started to turn black
Udonna stood behind her and told Claire to stand back, "Leave the child alone Koragg" she begged
"What use would I have for that silly girl? I've come for you" he threatened
From behind Aria Udonna withdrew her wand and attempted to fire a spell at Koragg who cast his counter-spell and knocked the wand from her hand
"Your power is weak without your snow staff" he laughed
"But mine isn't" Aria called and fired her own attack. This spell did manage to push Koragg back a bit but he came back and fired his own spell back, this one much stronger than hers. Aria was thrown aside and he took this time to trap Udonna in a glowing gold sphere
"No!" Aria cried as she tried to fire another attack Koragg shielded himself and held the gold sphere in his hand
"With all the protectors of the human world in our grasp, surely the Gatekeeper will step forward"
And Claire did step forward, but only to grab Udonna's forgotten wand and attempted to cast a spell "Let her go!" she demanded. The wand had no effect what so ever
"Nice try apprentice" he mocked before vanishing in his spell seal. Aria fired one last time, but she was too late. Koragg had already taken Udonna and all that was left was a scorched patch of grass that Aria's magic left.
Fueled by anger, Aria stood up and proceeded to fire at the spot where Koragg just was as if he were still there. Only when Claire placed a gentle hand on her shoulder did she realize that her body was surrounded in a mass of black. Looking at her friends tear stained face she was able to calm herself down.
"We'll get her back Claire, I can promise you that" she said in all seriousness, she hugged the blonde apprentice before making their way back to Rootcore.
-Rootcore-
"Guys?" Aria called
"Ranger? Help! Udonna's been captured!" Claire rambled. The two had raced to Rootcore to try and find the other rangers. However they found no one in the tree; when they looked into the crystal ball they soon realized that the Five were locked in battle with Necrolai in the city plaza
"Claire, you stay here I'm gonna help them out" Aria said
"But-"
"Please Claire" Aria begged "Wait here"
Claire remained silent and Aria took a few steps back to morph "MAGICAL SOURCE, MYSTIC FORCE!"
"Gawlit Mysto Ranger!"
"Mysterious as Shadow; Black Mystic Ranger!"
She hopped onto her Mystic Racer and flew down to help her friends
-City Plaza-
She spotted her friends on the ground as Necrolai laughed evilly "Foolish rangers!"
"Hey bat bitch!" Aria called from the sky, she leapt from her racer and landed in front of her friends
"Ria!" Nick said in relief as he got to his feet. He raised his sword and faced Necrolai "You're the fool if you think we're giving the Gatekeeper up!"
With a mighty battle cry Nick and Aria charged for Necrolai. Said villainess fired her own attacks but her efforts were futile as the two rangers knocked them out of the way. The three were now locked in a fierce battle, Nick keeping her busy while Aria slashed her daggers across her back. When Necrolai turned to face Aria, Nick copied Aria's movements. Growing tired of their actions Necrolai slashed the two of them across their stomachs sending them back a few feet. Stunned by the strength behind it Necrolai was able to send them flying to their friends once more.
"fuck" they groaned as they struggled to get up again. Having a bit of extra strength Aria slowly stood back up and glared at Necrolai
"Want some more?" she mocked and raised her talons
Aria leapt into the air and landed a kick to her chest, knocking the wind out of her. "Just getting started" she fired back. Using her Mystic Daggers Aria did everything she could to overpower Necrolai, but it wasn't enough. Within minutes Aria tossed back to her friends groaning in the pain coursing through her body.
Necrolai slowly approached the fallen rangers "You're beat. And no one has come to save you. Maybe there is no other Gatekeeper". She raised her hand in preparation for the final strike when a bright, shimmering magic knocked her aside. All the rangers' heads snapped in the direction of the attack when they found Claire running to them; one hand lit with magic and the other holding her mother's headband.
"Wrong Necrolai! My mother's spirit lives inside me" she announced, she was clearly terrified but Aria was proud of her friend's courage. She glanced down at the silver headband in hand and placed it on her head
Suddenly, the baggy blue and pink dress she wore was replaced with a flowing white and purple robe. Her head was covered with a long purple scarf along with the silver headband. Claire's already bright blue eyes intensified in colour as the power within her awakened.
"Power of the Shining Moon! Behold—The Gatekeeper!"
The other rangers stepped forward, leaving Aria to stand behind them, in awe of the once bumbling apprentice transformed into the legendary Gatekeeper. Aria was awed by the change herself but she felt something she just couldn't explain. Shutting her eyes and putting a hand to her head she felt a pulse in her brain before her eyes suddenly opened wide. In her mind she saw the giant glowing red eye again, a little clearer than before. Then, as fast as it came, it was gone.
"So there is another" Necrolai grinned evilly "My plan to draw you out worked perfectly!"
"You're going to regret ever meeting me witch" Claire said coolly. She held her hand out in front of her and her staff appeared. Necrolai fired an attack that was easily blocked by Claire. She cast her own spell and sent Necrolai to her knees, gasping for air.
"My new powers! They've gone!" she cried
The Five rushed to the Gatekeeper praising her for taking Necrolai down. Aria took her time; she was still confused at what she just saw in her head a few minutes ago. Nick noticed her absence "Ria? You good there?"
"I-I don't know…" she said honestly
"Come on, we have to finish this!" Xander reminded
The Five flipped into the air and landed heavily on Necrolai
"You still lose Rangers!" she declared, clutching her arm in pain. She took off into the air. But not without announcing "I'll return!"
Her friends surrounded the confused black ranger, all asking questions on whether she was all right or not, but she would have to wait. There was still trouble.
She shook her head a few times before looking at her friends "We don't have time for this. Udonna's been captured" she revealed.
As those words left her mouth both Nick and Aria screamed in pain, their hands clutching onto the heads
"You will tell the Gatekeeper to battle me alone. If she does not come, your sorceress will perish."
When the pain subsided the red and black rangers were panting
"Nick, Ria what is it?" Vida asked, putting a hand on Aria's shoulder
The two looked at each other before looking at Claire. "He wants to fight you" Nick revealed stepping up to the blonde
"Alone" she added standing beside Nick
"I accept" Claire announced
-Rootcore-
Both Nick and Aria sat on the edge of the round table; their heads were still hurting from Koragg's message
"We shouldn't have let Claire go on her own" Maddie sighed
"You saw how she sent Necrolai running" her twin countered
"Yeah," Aria agreed as she hopped off the table and turned to face the crystal ball "But Koragg is a whole other story…"
At first the battle seemed to be in Claire's favor as she was able to push Koragg back a few feet but that was short-lived as he blocked what seemed like her most powerful spell
"Holy shit…" they all said as they watched Claire transform into a whole new version of herself
"She can go into Titan mode?!" Chip exclaimed excitedly
"Not Titan Chip…that's an Ancient Warrior" Aria breathed
The rangers watched the fierce battle and paled when they saw Koragg use this newfound power that looked eerily similar to Aria's to take her down. Clare transformed back to her human self as she fell to the ground, closely followed by Koragg. The Five watched intensely as Koragg pointed his sword at her. Aria's eyes were started to turn black in a mix of fear and rage at the sight.
"Fuck this!" she yelled and rushed out of the tree, the other's closely behind her. "Grab on" she ordered in a cold voice. The others didn't hesitate; they did as they were told and they soon melted into the shadow.
-Battle-
By the time they got to the battle they were already morphed and ready to go.
"KORAGG!" Chip yelled as he jumped into the air, crossbow aimed at the knight, and fired. Aria appeared after him and fired her own magic, with a bit of her lightning, and met up with her friends. They five of them stood in a line as Nick leapt over them with the Mystic Force Fighters on his hands.
With a boost from Chip and Xander Nick used his Spin attack, hitting Koragg straight in the chest and knocking him back a few yards
"Pick on someone your own size!" he yelled after him
Necrolai then appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Claire by the arm
"Claire!" Aria called as she rushed to her friend
"Stop!" Koragg commanded, blocking her path to the frightened girl
"Let her go!"
"By the power of the Gatekeeper" Necrolai recited "Let the Gates rise up!"
Claire screamed in pain as the Gates of Hell rose from the ground and the bright blue sky turned dull and gray. Necrolai tossed Claire aside and the rangers stood there helplessly as the Gates appeared.
The six of them regrouped and looked at the gate in horror "No what?" Nick asked
That was a good question…now what?
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