DISCLAIMER: I ONLY OWN ARIA
Chapter 13: Revelations
-Rootcore-
The others stared at her blankly "I'm sorry…what?" Nick asked with a shake of his head
"You know what I said" Aria said quietly
"Why didn't you say anything?" Xander added
"It's not something I can just bring up in conversation" she argued
"It would've been nice to know" Vida muttered
Her teammates' silence was not comforting at all. She tried to look at them at in the eye but they all avoided her gaze. "Nick?" she tried but he didn't even look at her. "V?" the pink ranger crossed her arms and glanced down at the ground. "Guys come on" she tried again but they responded with more silence
She couldn't believe it; Aria thought they were her friends
"Rangers, this is not an easy subject for Aria" Udonna tried
"You knew?" Nick questioned in disbelief. All the rangers turned and faced their mentor
"No, it's fine Udonna…I can tell when I'm not trusted" Aria grumbled "It's not I did anything to help the team like, oh I don't know, make the morphers, help train you guys, invite you to a fuckin secret ninja school, but no. I'm the bad guy because I was too scared to tell you this dark secret." She ranted, her voice getting louder and louder as she continued.
Her friends took a step back when she finished her rant glancing nervously at each other
"So much for being a team" she scoffed quietly before retreating to her room, slamming her door closed
She stared at herself in the small mirror rooted to the wall. Tears welled in her eyes. She tightly shut her eyes to blink them away but when she opened them her eyes were black. She looked back at her reflection in disgust before punching the mirror. With the cracked glass staring back at her she shut her eyes again and when they opened her normal grey-green eyes were back. Her knuckles were split open and started to bleed but she didn't care. She grabbed her black duffel bag and began to pack. As she began opening the drawers in her room she came across her silver necklace in her bedside drawer. She went to reach for it but hovered her hand over it. Finally she dropped her hand and shut the drawer.
Within fifteen minutes most of her stuff was packed and she had changed out of her Mystics uniform and into purple shorts and a black tank top. She made her bed, neatly folded her Mystics uniform, and placed it on the bed. She walked out into the main part of Rootcore and saw that the Five had left.
"Of course" she scoffed
"Aria" Udonna called softly
She turned and saw Udonna and Claire standing side by side with worn faces.
"You're leaving?" Claire asked
"They don't trust me" she said simply "I'm just gonna take some time away"
"Do you have to?"
Aria gave a small, sad smile "Come here" she said, opening her arms for the blonde
Claire accepted her hug "I'll be back in a few days; we still bad guys to fight don't we?" Aria said softly
Claire nodded her head and stepped back to stand by Udonna
"I understand why you must go" she admitted
"Thank you Udonna" Aria nodded "I should get going"
Silently the raven haired ranger walked out the dragon's mouth only to be met with the Five sparring with one another. Not wanting to be noticed she quietly walked past them and towards a trees shadow.
"Where are you going?" Nick asked. He had stayed from the others and followed her deeper into the woods
She paused for a second before placing the cold mask on her face. She turned to look the red ranger in his eye "Back to my real team"
Without another glance Aria melted into the shadows.
-Thunder Academy-
The familiarity of the woods around was soothing to the black rangers crushed spirit.
She trekked through the woods of Reefside till she came upon the boulder leading into her old academy. Walking through the boulder she was greeted with the rebuilt Thunder Academy. The entrance led to a stone balcony looking over the flat grassy fields where the students were currently sparring. In the distance lightning in the colours of black, navy, and crimson were striking the ground at random intervals.
She crossed the cobble stone balcony to find her blond brother's back, his hands clasped behind him.
"Damn you don't see your sister for months and you don't even say hi?" she tried weakly
He whipped his head around and broke into a mad grin at his baby sister "Ri" he exclaimed as he ran up and picked her up in a bear hug. He now combed his hair back instead of leaving it falling past his eyes.
"What are you doing here?" he asked after setting her down.
"I'll tell you with everyone else" she explained "Right now I wanna hit something"
He chuckled a little before saying he'd meet her on the training field while she went and changed into a spare uniform in her old room. In a few minutes she walked out in her spare uniform with her hair tied up in a messy ponytail.
After a quick sparring session Hunter had to return to running the academy while Aria wandered around. Reminiscing about the time she, Blake, and Hunter spent around here.
She walked past a stone wall, the newest addition to the thunder academy. She stopped in her tracks and turned to face it. Sensei Omino had a memorial built for the Ninja Storm Rangers.
In honor of our Rangers who saved the world and rescued their fellow ninjas
Shane Clark
Tori Hansen
Dustin Brooks
Cameron Watanabe
Hunter Bradley
Blake Bradley
and
Aria Bradley
She stared at her name at the bottom of the list and questioned if she deserved to be up there. After learning who-what she really was should she really be up there? Aria tilted her head and crossed her arms, burning a hole into the stone wall before her.
"Sensei's idea" Hunter spoke suddenly from behind her
Aria jumped a little at the sound of her brother's voice
"You've lost your touch" he laughed
She rolled her eyes and looked back at her name on the wall, "I shouldn't be on there…"
"What are you talking about?" he scoffed "If it weren't for you Lothor wouldn't have been destroyed"
"Can we head to the Winds?"
"Um…sure…"
-Ninja Ops-
Aria followed her brother down the steps into Ops
"Guess who I found" he announce as he walked in
The others were already in there, relaxing after a long of teaching
"Hey guys" she greeted
"Ri!" they called, it's been a while since she's been home
She smiled brightly at her family before her
"What are you doing here?" Dustin asked as he stood to walk closer to his girlfriend.
She hesitated before walking to the low table, taking her seat on the black pillow that rested next to the yellow one.
"I may not have been a hundred percent honest with you guys…" she mumbled
"What?" Tori asked as the other ninjas took their seats on their respective pillows. She noticed the empty spot between Tori and Hunter.
"What do you mean?" Cam questioned from the end of the table
"I first met Udonna after graduation, when the Senseis pulled me aside to talk."
"We know this already, you've told us everything…" Shane reminded
"I didn't exactly tell you guys everything" she admitted "One of the first things Udonna told me was that I was a part of this prophecy."
"Ok…" Tori said, eager to learn what her old friend was talking about
"The prophecy was about the Child of Darkness, the one who will either extinguish all the black magic in the world…or destroy everything good and light…" she revealed, resting her elbows on the table and running a hand through her hair
They all just stared at her, unsure of what to say "So you're…" Cam finally said
Aria quietly nodded
The tension could be cut with a knife; it felt as though hours were passing by rather than seconds
"Please someone say something" She practically begged
"What's there to say?" Shane responded
"Anything…"
Her worst fear were coming true, her family was now turning away from her
"Ri," Dustin began as her palms began to get clammy "why are you worrying about this?"
She froze "What?" she whispered
Hunter spoke "Ari, we know who you are; you helped defeat Lothor, you made morphers for those Mystic Force rangers, why would we think you were going to destroy the world?"
"We know who you really are Ri, nothing is gonna change that" Tori reassured, reaching to hold her hand across the table
Dustin put a hand on her knee as she buried her face into his shoulder
"Hey what's wrong?" he asked
"I'm just…relieved I guess?" she revealed "The others weren't as understanding…"
"What do you mean?" Hunter asked, a hard glare settling on his face
"They wouldn't even look at me"
-Rootcore-
"I am very disappointed in you rangers" Udonna said, staring down at the five rangers before her, she had led them into Aria's room to show them the made bed, broken mirror, and folded uniform that lay on her bed. Claire had hidden herself away in her own room, still upset that her friend had left. "Do you not realize how hard this has been for Aria to keep that hidden from you?"
"Just…why did she have to keep this from us, unless she intended on following the dark path" Xander argued
"Aria is a key part of this team" Udonna reminded "But you do not know what she has been through"
The rangers were silent and Udonna carried on "Aria has been through so much, and while you should hear her experiences there are things that even she doesn't know."
They shared uneasy glances as they began to feel guilty about turning their backs on their friend
-Ninja Ops-
"So your magic or whatever do you know if you were born with it or-?" Shane asked
Aria shrugged "I still don't know; all I know is that I either save the world or cause it to be destroyed" she repeated
"We're here for you Ri" Tori reassured
"Thanks guys, this means a lot"
"So are you gonna go back?" Hunter wondered
Aria sighed "I got to bro, I can't just leave them high and dry, plus they need me."
"When are you going back?" Cam revised "Because Nami, Lila, and Desi keep asking about you"
Aria laughed lightly "Long enough to see those girls again"
-Rootcore-
"We shouldn't have reacted like that" Nick said shaking his head and pacing across the wooden floors of Rootcore
"I feel really guilty you guys" Maddie sighed from her seat at the table
Vida was sitting on said table by her sister "Udonna was right; we don't know what she's been through"
"So do we go after her?" Xander asked
Nick sighed "We should let her cool off a little; hopefully she'll come back soon"
-Blue Bay-
The six rangers walked together along the beach with Aria and Tori taking the lead, the two girls were shoulder to shoulder talking in hushed voices. Hunter and Cam called Lila and Nanami respectively to meet them all at the beach.
"How's Blake?" Aria asked the former blue ranger
"He's good, misses home" she smiled at the thought of her racer boyfriend "He's in Jersey right now"
"You know when he's coming home?"
"He should be back in a few weeks" she smiled excitedly.
Their conversation was interrupted by the familiar screech of the fiery haired drummer Lila "ARIA BRADLEY WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?"
Said drummer came sprinting down the beach decked in low rise jeans, a white tank top, and a familiar looking crimson hoodie. Nanami and Desi trailed behind her laughing at the sight.
Lila tackled Aria into the sand. Nanami and Desi came over and helped their friends up and the four girls circled into a group hug.
"Where have you been?" Lila demanded
"We've missed you" soft-spoken Nami said in her pale-green sundress
"What've you been up to?" Desi finished, crossing her arms over her sweatshirt covered chest
"Briarwood, I've missed you too, and nothing much really" she answered
"Wow, Ri comes home and we just get pushed to the side huh Cam" Hunter said as the boys came up behind them
"To be fair we see your ugly mugs all the time, this one's been gone forever" Lila fired back with a smirk
Aria gagged "Ok I did not come back to watch you two flirt with one another"
The couple rolled their eyes
-Briarwood-
Nick walked through the city of Briarwood with guilt weighing down on his conscience. He thought back to when the others had blamed him for stealing and Aria was the only to stand up for him. He also began to wonder about who Aria really was, what her story was before laughing at himself. He'd like to know who the hell he is. He knew nothing of his birthparents; he was an orphan with no name. Just left on the steps of the orphanage here in Briarwood. Adopted at two years old he, his sister, and his parents traveled the world. He grew up as a military brat until his folks thought it would be best for him to have some stability in his life. He was then handed over to his aunt and uncle, his older cousins, and now his sister.
Now if he was being honest, he quietly envied Aria and the others. They had families, hell; Maddie and Vida are twins for crying out loud. They'd been friends with Chip and Xander for years and Aria had her own crew down in Blue Bay.
Then there was him, Nick Russell, the new guy. He sighed and sat down on a bench under a tree and watched the people walking by. The families, the couples, the groups of friends. He watched them silently, trying to imagine who they were.
-Blue Bay-
The group of friends sat in a circle and started talking as if Aria never left, or at least until Desi had to ask "So how's Briarwood?"
"It's uh, boring," she tried "Green. Too green, I prefer the beach and the race track"
"Really?" Lila laughed "Cause according to the news the power rangers are back and in Briarwood"
"Oh, yeah I've seen them a couple times…" she said nervously, the other ninjas glancing at each other
"Well besides that, how's your aunt doing?" Nami asked
"Huh?"
"Your aunt, didn't you say you had to go take care of her," Nami reminded "It's why you had to leave…"
"Oh! My aunt…yeah she's doing better." She couldn't believe she forgot the story she told the girls "I still need to go back, make sure she keeps getting better you know?"
"So how long until you leave?" Lila wondered
"A few days" There was silence among them, they all knew that time would fly "Hey, I'm here now, let's have fun" they all cheered and stood to their feet. The next few days were dedicated to her family.
-A Few Days Later-
-Briarwood-
The Five sparred at the mouth of the dragon but they were clearly off their game. Finally they stopped and addressed the elephant in the room
"When do you think she's coming back?" Chip wondered
They all shrugged, except for Nick he looked at his feet "I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't come back" he admitted honestly
"What do you mean?" Vida asked
"Last thing she said to me was 'I'm going back to my real team'"
"We really messed up you guys" Maddie sighed
"Where do you think she would've gone?" Xander added
They thought about it for a second before Nick came up with an answer "I think I may know where…"
-Blue Bay-
The past few days have been very healing for the curly-haired ninja. They spent hours on the beach, at the track, Storm Chargers, and Lila's garage for some long-time awaited jam sessions. But as always the good-times had to end and now they were hugging and saying their goodbyes.
"I'll see you girls soon okay?" Aria promised as she hugged the three others.
"You better" Lila agreed
After the farewells and hugs were done she went back to the Wind Academy to pick up her bag
-Wind Academy-
The six rangers returned to the academy laughing and reminiscing about their own ranger days. These past few days were a good distraction for Aria and she found herself feeling back to normal. They continued talking and laughing until they saw a rush of older students run past them and out the entrance
"Those were the Academy guards" Cam said
They soon found themselves following them
-Waterfall-
"This is the spot right?" Nick asked
"Yup, like I could ever forget where a ninja school was" Chip reassured
They stepped out of the tree line and scanned the area
"Anyone know how to get in?" Vida wondered as they stepped to the water's edge
They felt a shift in the air…something was following them
"Wait" Nick said
They paused in their spots for a second before spotting several streaks of red, blue, and yellow
"FREEZE!" a masked ninja commanded
They were completely surrounded
"WAIT!" they heard Aria yell
"These people are trespassing" one of the masked earth ninjas explained
"I'll vouch for them"
"They're cool" Dustin added
The ninja nodded his head and the entire guard streaked back into the school.
"Thanks Ria, that was a close one" Xander sighed
"What are you guys doing here?" she asked in a monotone voice. The others stood behind her, Hunter and Dustin flanking her protectively
"We wanted to apologize" Nick said standing in front of the other Mystics "We shouldn't have been so quick to judge you on this whole prophecy thing and we're sorry"
Aria remained silent
"We understand if you're upset, you have every right to be," Maddie added, standing next to Nick "But we need you, you're a part of this team as much as you are a part of your old ranger team"
"We get why you didn't tell us and we're sorry for assuming the worst" Nick finished
She thought about for a moment before stepping up to Nick, the Five held their breaths "You do that again and I leave with the morphers"
Smiles broke out from the Mystics and Nick and Aria clasped hands before sharing a quick hug.
She turned to the Ninjas "Time to go I guess" she shrugged
"Nice seeing you again Ri" Hunter smiled "But I gotta go to, gotta school to run"
She rolled her eyes as he streaked back to the Thunder Academy. "We should probably head back in also, the guards probably told Sensei what happened" Cam reminded
"I'll see you guys soon" she reassured and after a few hugs they went their separate ways.
Turning to look at the Mystics she raised an eyebrow, "Well what are we standing around for? If I'm not mistaken you guys have missed three days of training?"
The all laughed and began walking away until Nick stopped Aria. "Ria, listen I'm really sorry for everything we said. You're our friend and we total-"
"Nick stop, I really should've said something sooner. But I'm sure Udonna told you, even I don't know everything about my powers."
"Well we should probably get on that shouldn't we?"
She scoffed and playfully rolled her eyes before pushing him along. "Come on; let's catch up with them before they get lost."
Nick rolled his eyes and they ran forward, reaching their friends before heading back to Briarwood.
A/N: GUESS WHO'S BACK! Sorry for the hiatus, but you wouldn't believe how insane the past month has been. but don't worry, Aria's story is far from over! XOXO