(Here's an update for ya! i actually like this chapter!)
Disclaimer: I dont own PRMF, only Aria :*
Chapter 12: The Gatekeeper pt. II
The seven of them looked up helplessly at the giant black gate before them. "I'm sorry rangers" Claire apologized with tears in her eyes
"It wasn't your fault" Maddie reassured
"Look!" Xander cried "Up at the gate"
He followed his line of sight and saw one of the statues glow a bright purple before coming to life. The winged creature stood tall and leapt down to the ground. His eyes glowed orange as he fired a spell at them, causing the seven of them to collapse to the ground
"Get up!" Koragg demanded as he grabbed Claire by the arm, Aria had almost forgotten he was still there
"Let her go!" She screamed
"Stop!" Nick added
"You won't get away this time," he warned her before turning to face the rangers "and the gargoyle of the gates will take care of you."
"NO!" Aria yelled in a distorted scream as she jumped to her feet and grabbed for Claire, closely followed by Nick. Unfortunately both were weakened from the blast and unable to were easily thrown aside
The others raced to help their friends as Koragg laughed evilly and disappeared with Claire. As they descended into the spell seal the six rangers tried to catch them but were stopped by the giant gargoyle. He raised his staff and prepared to strike, "Look out!" Nick warned. They all managed to leap out of the way just as the gargoyle fired another spell at them.
Midair the rangers transformed into their Titans and faced the gargoyle off
"Phase two!" Nick called
The Five formed their megazord while Aria transformed her Titan's cloak to the giant black wings
She flew over the gargoyle's head as a distraction while the Five created their spell seal. Their plan failed however as the gargoyle vanished and reappeared behind them.
"What?" Aria demanded as the gargoyle slashed across the megazords back. The rangers tried to strike him in return but he kept teleporting to different angles, making it seem impossible for the rangers to touch him.
Aria joined in, summoning a long purple staff to try and aid the rangers but it was no use. Even she couldn't land a hit. Soon the gargoyle used his own weapon and pushed the six of them against the entrance of the Gate.
Morticon stuck his sword through the opening and pushed the Five back. Aria on the other hand was losing it, much like when the Abyss opened in Blue Bay; she slowly felt her dark side reemerging.
"Hello rangers" he mocked
Aria put a hand to her head, her wings transforming back into the cloak that hid her armor.
"Your megazord cracked the Gate enough for me to come through" he informed
Aria stumbled away from the entrance and towards her friends; she had to get away from that thing.
"Now your whole world will know my power!" he cheered "Yes! My time has come!"
The other rangers finally noticed their dazed friend and helped steady her, but it didn't stop the gnawing feeling of her alter ego emerging
"What's the matter Black Ranger? Can't handle the power?" he mocked
She could hear the questions the others were asking
"What?"
"Aria are you okay?"
"What is he talking about?"
Their question would remain unanswered however as he slowly clawed his way out the Gate
"The destruction of the surface world is at hand!"
The two zords were trapped between the gargoyle and Morticon unsure of where to go
"I've done it! I'm free!" Morticon cheered as he finally pushed the Gate open
He eagerly swung his sword and hit both zords, causing sparks to erupt and smoke to cloud their vision.
"We have to fight him?" Aria heard Chip ask
"We don't have choice" she said with a clenched jaw, trying to fight the darkness
"Come on!" Nick cheered as both swung their weapons at Morticon. He blocked them both and slashed them again and again and again. With Aria fighting her personal battle the Five were not fast enough to counter Morticon's strikes.
"Let's take it to the sky!" Nick ordered as the megazords wings extended and they soared into air. "SPIRITS OF THE ANCIENT TITANS!"
Aria let out a shaky breath, trying to maintain what little control she had and extended her own wings, flying up to join her team. Finally there was enough distance between her and the gate to push her other half aside.
"SPIRITS ATTACK!" they all commanded as their ancient spirits attacked Morticon one by one.
But he wasn't going down that easily, to their surprise he blocked one of their heaviest attacks and pulled them down from the sky. Aria dove down to try and help them but was batted aside like a fly.
"Is that the best you got?" Morticon mocked
"Hardly" Nick replied through gritted teeth
At his words Morticon's sword conjured an aura of dark magic similar to Aria's and prepared to strike "Now you'll see what true power feels like! DARK MAGIC STRIKE!"
"NO!" Aria cried
She jumped in front of her friends, taking the full blow. But it wasn't enough, her friends still ended up getting hit and caused the megazord to break down, sending her friends plummeting to the ground.
She let out a strangled cry, feeling the dark energy awaken once more within her.
"ARIA!" her friends screamed when they realized she was still surrounded by the dark magic. The dark magic surrounding her soon dispersed, revealing her in her human form floating in the air. Her wild, curly hair whipping around and her usually beautiful pale green eyes a pitch black.
"Impossible!" Morticon cried in frustration
"You hurt my friends" she said through clenched teeth
She focused on her anger and rage as her own black magic shot out all around her. Morticon did end up on his ass but he was far from defeated. Aria's energy depleted and she felt weak and dizzy from the amount of magic she exerted. She found herself lowering to the ground softly, landing on her knees and panting. Her friends surrounded her trying to get close to her but backed away as the aura surrounding her had not faded.
Their attention was then drawn to the skies; within seconds the once clear blue sky darkened to a dull grey, blocking out the sun. "What's going on?" Nick asked
"The Gate's opening" Aria responded, the distortion in her voice getting stronger as well as the aura around her
They watched helplessly as Morticon and the gargoyle started trashing the city.
"Is this really how it's gonna end?" Maddie asked
"No!" Nick said, standing to his feet "This is not how it ends. Udonna said we were the protectors of the city, and that's what we're gonna do"
The others nodded their heads in agreement
"Ria, think you can handle it?" he asked kneeling beside her
"I-I don't know" she replied honestly. The aura around her kept getting stronger and stronger
"Come on we have to go" Vida ushered
Nick reluctantly stood up and walked to the remaining four
"MAGICAL SOURCE MYSTIC FORCE!"
"Gawlit Mysto Prifior!"
The four rangers transformed into their Titans and joined together to create the dragon formation
Nick delayed his morph and kneeled by Aria again "Ria, we can't do this without you" he tried "We need your help"
"Stay back Nick I don't wanna hurt you" she warned, her voice no longer recognizable; the edges of her cloak were burned and her hands began to glow
He reached out and held onto her shoulder, seemingly unaffected by the magic surrounding her
"Come on Aria!" he urged
In Aria's mind a flash of images appeared much like when Koragg uses his shield to attack them. But rather than seeing destruction she was able to see life and happiness; the bright blue sky, blurry, smiling faces, and two white glowing figures reaching their hands out to her.
The glow surrounding her hands disappeared and the aura around her soon disappeared as well. Her eyes were still black but she had gained some self-control again. With a nod of her head Nick helped his friend back to her feet
"MAGICAL SOURCE MYSTIC FORCE!"
"Galwit Mysto Ranger!"
The two were now morphed and ready to go. Nick summoned his bike while Aria called upon her Racer; together they raced to the Gate.
Aria suddenly cried out in pain as the Gate shone a bright red light
"You okay?" he asked
"We gotta do this quickly; I don't know how long I can keep it together"
He was confused by her response but remained focused at the task at hand. Hidiacs appeared before them blasting at the two rangers. Nick fired his lasers as Aria fired her own magic into the crowd. The exertion of her dark powers made it a little easier to keep the other side at bay, but not by much.
They were soon surrounded and they had no choice but to fight on foot.
"MagiStaff" they both called as they fought back to back. But it was like fighting a Hydra. Chop one down two more take their place, it was beginning to feel like a never ending battle. Aria eventually gave up on her MagiStaff and used her magic instead. A tendril of her magic would appear and grab one Hidiac and she'd use it to knock others out of the way. Nick was taken aback by her ferocity as he had never seen this side of her but was ultimately grateful for it.
However, he soon realized that as the light behind the Gate grew brighter, Aria's magic got stronger and she became unaware of her surroundings. She once fired her magic at a group of Hidiacs and barely missed Nick
"Watch it Ria!" he reminded
Finally they were able to get through.
"Come on let's go!" he called
"We have to hurry" she warned with a locked jaw, the pull was almost unbearable
Together they leapt into the Gate and landed in a dark room. Koragg stood before them with Udonna in a ball hovering next to him and a drained Claire behind him. Above her was a giant lock on the brink of being opened
"Let them go!" he commanded. Both rangers landed a heavy kick to Koragg's chest and pushed him back, causing the lock to disappear.
With the lock gone the other side of her backed off a little, allowing Aria to focus on her face-off with Koragg.
"MYSTIC FORCE FIGHTER!" the two of them summoned the red boxing gloves and challenged Koragg to a fight
"I never say no to a challenge" he replied cockily. With a flash from his shield the two rangers, Claire, and himself were sent to a new battlefield
-Unknown-
"What's happening?" Nick asked
"Where are we?" Aria added, noting the fact that she was starting to feel normal again
"Your challenge, my battlefield" Koragg stated
"Fine" Nick and Aria said as they raised their hands to fight. They were evenly matched but when the two young rangers attempted to unleash the full power of the Mystic Force Fighters Koragg knocked them aside, causing the magic boxing gloves to disappear.
"MagiStaff Striker"
"MagiStaff Daggers"
With their new weapons Nick and Aria tried to battle him again but were able to keep up. Koragg was already a powerful opponent but add the fact that they were already weakened from their previous battles; this fight didn't seem to be in their favor. The three of them were locked together, neither willing to break it. So Koragg released the two and slashed them across their chests, sending them over the cliff they started out on.
"We're not done yet"
"Right you are" Koragg answered with his sword raised
"FIRE OF THE PHOENIX!"
"I SUMMON THE DARKNESS WITHIN!"
The two energies combined and hit Koragg dead on, but somehow he remained standing
"No!"
"Your magic is strong," he admitted "but it cannot compare to that of the Master"
Aria, knowing it would not affect nearly as much Nick, blocked her leader from the blast and took the full blow. But once again it was too much and both she and Nick were sent flying before crashing into the ground
"Now you know the power of dark magic" he said, pushing foot and shield onto the two rangers' chests "That power will always triumph!" he lowered the point of his sword in the two rangers' faces
"You're wrong" Aria said, her chest crushed from Koragg's boot. "Even I know that there is more power in courage"
"The kind it takes to keep going even when it looks like there's no hope" Nick continued
"I may have darkness within me, but I will never let it overpower me. I'll keep fighting until only light remains" Aria announced as both she and Nick grabbed hold of Koragg's sword, pushing it away from their faces.
"Fools," Koragg bellowed "just surrender!"
Koragg ripped his sword from their grip and pointed it towards them. They raised in their hands in defense. Just as the point was about pierce through them fiery, red wings surrounded Nick as foggy purple ones surrounded Aria. The force from their defense pushed back Koragg and shot the two into the air.
Nick dove down first, enveloped in the same fiery red aura and trapped Koragg in a spell seal. Aria followed, surrounded by her usual black magic and prepared to strike Koragg. He raised the flat of his sword in defense but only ended up with it breaking in half.
Nick and Aria stood side-by-side and watched as Koragg fell to his knees and disappeared in a blazing explosion.
With him gone their attention immediately went to Claire who was on her knees, panting from the magic that was drained from her. They rushed over and helped her up
"Are you okay?" Aria asked
"I think so, being a sorceress is tougher than I thought" she laughed weakly. Behind her helmet Aria smiled at her friend, relieved that she was alright
Behind them there was another eruption and when they turned around they found Koragg once again kneeling on the ground
"No way!" Nick yelled in frustration
"You may have destroyed my weapon, but you have not destroyed me" he reminded before disappearing again
"This isn't over! Get back here!" Nick demanded as he ran to where Koragg was just a second ago
"Nick!" Aria called as the young blonde collapsed into her "We need to help Claire"
"Right, right" he said shaking his head before jogging back to the two girls.
"The other rangers-" Claire began "Morticon will destroy them"
"What?" Nick said
"If we only had Catastros" Aria wistfully as she help Claire up "The last time we combined…the power was incredible"
"Then you'll have to do it again" After a bit of thought Claire said "Maybe we could combine our powers and get control of him"
"No Claire," Aria argued "This has taken too much out of you"
"She's right, we couldn't ask this of you" Nick added
Claire argued back "It's what my mother would've done"
Aria wasn't having it "Your mother is already proud of all you accomplished today, Nick and I will do it"
Nick nodded in agreement and Claire backed off
The two rangers stepped back "MagiStaff Full Power!" they called together as they raised their wands to the sky.
Soon Catastros's mighty hooves stomped the groundand stood quietly before the two of them.
"It worked" Claire breathed at the sight
"Remember us?" Nick called
"Galwit Mysto Prifior!"
-Briarwood-
Nick rode on the stallion's back in his Titan form while Aria flew right over him in hers.
They watched as the Gate lowered and the skies cleared, allowing Aria to take the reins of her alter ego. Morticon spun around himself screaming about who dared interfered with him
"That'd be us!" Nick responded
"We too late?" Aria added
"Come on Catastros, just like last time!" in a flash of light Nick and Catastros combined and became the Centaurus Phoenix Megazord!
Morticon prepared to attack but Nick used his fire tail knocked him down.
"My turn!" Aria called and dove down onto Morticon. Using her staff the two fought hand to hand
"You should join us, where you belong" Morticon mocked
"I'll never join you" she spat in return and pushed him back. Aria flipped back and stood by her friends
"You insolent little ants!"
"Ria? Wanna turn?" Nick asked
"Hell yeah!"
The two switched places, Nick formed the megazord with the others and Aria combined with Catastros to form the Centaurus Reaper Megazord.
The two fought as one, tossing Morticon between them until he finally collapsed. The Five suddenly froze and a colourful light shone on them, signaling the arrival of a new power.
Aria stepped back and watched as the Five called "Ancient Power, Mystic Spell Seal!" as a frustrated Morticon tried to use his dark magic strike
Morticon's dark magic froze upon impact and he stumbled back.
"Udonna?" all the rangers called
In between them a hazy image of the white ranger appeared and with a nod of her head they all stood side by side. Raising their weapons up over their head as one they slashed down together
"The great Morticon has fallen" he screamed in anguish. He fell to his knees but before saying "You will join the Master Child of Darkness! The Master will prevail!"
Those were his last words as he erupted into erupted in a blazing explosion.
"Child of Darkness?" Maddie asked
"What was he talking about?" Xander added
Aria remained silent and turned her back to her friends
-Rootcore-
The rangers and Claire all surrounded Udonna while Aria stood near the back of the room
"He said that the Child of Darkness would join the Master" Nick regaled "Who was he talking about?"
They all stared at the sorceress anxiously waiting for an answer. Claire and Udonna glanced at each other nervously unsure of what to say. Aria soon grew tired of the silence and spoke
"Isn't it obvious?" she asked the group "It's me…I'm the Child of Darkness"
(A/N: DUN DUN DUN! Please REVIEW and FOLLOW! XOXOX)