Chapter 7
HELP ME
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The answer hiding in plain view
My eyes are closed
It slips away
again
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Other than the light from the full moon, that hung in the black starless sky, Rootcore was impressed in darkness. A cool breeze, passed through the windows of the hallowed out tree, and blew at a loose strand of Madison's hair. Her head was leaning against her arm as she was sound asleep surrounded by loads of dusty old books.

Claire stumbled out of her bed and down the stairs and saw Madison slumped over sleeping.

She rubbed her eyes and approached the sleeping girl, debating on whether she should wake her and tell her to go home.

In obvious Claire style, she tripped over a broom stick and fell to the ground in a loud thump.

Madison's head shot up and her eyes were wide open, "What's going…on?" Her voice sounded faint and tired.

Claire got up really quickly and smiled happily. "Everything is cool. Yep." She finished straightening out her nightgown and walked towards the table Madison was sitting at.

"You know, it's late. Like, really late. What are you doing here anyway? " Claire glanced over at all the books and squinted to try and read their titles, but it was too dark.

"Ah, just some…research…on something…very boring." Madison tried to think straight, but her mind was still hazy from falling asleep. She quickly gathered the books and carried them to the shelf on the other side of the room.

When she was done putting all the books away, with only one of her hands, she waved a weak 'Good Night' to Claire and dashed out of Rootcore.

Madison decided to walk home… through the woods… alone… at night. Big mistake. Obviously, her tired and sleepy state was impairing some of her judgment.

All she could think about, was the vivid dream she had before Claire woke her up.

She was reading Udonna's old books that had any references to the Old Times, Dragons and The Master. Hoping all the while that she could find something that would help stop The Master from fulfilling his plans….That being the last thing she was thinking about; falling asleep at that point wasn't a good idea.

Images of Dragons in their natural forms flashed through her mind. All the blood and destruction described in the books didn't fail to make an appearance in her dream--or rather more accurately-- her nightmare.

Her tiredness slowly started to fade as her mind came back to rest on one thought: The Master is after Vida.

Her eyes closed shut for a moment and she repressed her need to start crying again. She'd done enough of that already.

"What can I do?" Her voice sounded helpless…

Madison stopped walking after hearing a noise behind her. She slowly turned and looked for the source of the sound.

A few moments later, a few Hidiacs jumped from the shadows of the trees and surrounded her.

She grabbed her morpher and 'Rangered Up'.

While she was fighting , she noticed a cloaked figure standing off to the side just watching. After she threw a Hidiac into a near by tree with her Water attack, she moved quickly to stand in front of the strange figure.

"Who are you?" As she asked this, the Hidiacs were ceasing their attacks and just hovering around the two of them.

The cloaked stranger removed his hood slowly and stared at the Blue Ranger directly. It was a young man, with long sliver hair that reached just below his shoulders. It was combed back away from his pale white face. His eyes, growing more intense as they both just stared at one another.

"What the hell… " Madison repeated her earlier question, with more urgency.

"I thought you would prefer my more Human state. We met earlier if you can remember." His words flowed calmly as he stood motionless in the same spot she first saw him at.

"Mystero…" Madison uttered the name with some uncertainty. Mostly because she couldn't believe she was standing here talking to a Dragon that looked like a human--a very handsome human.

She was rewarded with a faint nod in acknowledgement.

"Why are you here talking to me instead of, oh I dunno, fighting me?" As Madison said this she slowly moved into an attack stance.

Mystero let out a string of laugher that he more than exaggerated.

"I wouldn't waste my time fighting you. That would constitute cruel and inhumane behavior…" He said this with a slight smile on his face.

"You're Evil. Cruel and inhumane behavior is what you do best," Madison said this in a dull voice.

His slight smile faded suddenly.

"I need you to do something for me--" He began to say this when it was Madison's turn to burst out laughing.

"Excuse me, but do you see 'Stupid' written on my forehead? No. So cut the crap and get to what you're really here for because I have to be at work in a few hours and I need to sleep." When she was finally done speaking she had her arms crossed and no longer looked uneasy about standing in the middle of the woods talking to a Dragon.

"By the way, 'Mystero'…what kind of name is that?" Madison's hand movements became somewhat more dramatic as she ridiculed the Dragon that stood before her. She was irritated from the lack of sleep and it was starting to show.

"No one has ever spoken to me like that." The Dragon simply said, a slight hint of humor in his voice.

"Maybe you should get used to it then?" Madison suggested, while she considered calling her Mystic Racer and getting out of here. If she got home now she would have at least 4 hours of sleep before she had to be at work to open up shop.

The Dragon's attention was diverted for a moment as he looked away suddenly.

When he turned back at the Blue Ranger, his lips arched in a slight smile once again as he said, "It appears my presence is required elsewhere. We shall finish this another time."

"Mystero…" Madison repeated under her breath, still apparently amused by how silly it sounded.

"My real name, if you must know, is Aron. This encounter has been most… perplexing. Do you not value your own life?" He asked this as he looked genuinely curious.

"Right now, my life is just…" Madison paused, unable to find the words, her mind going blank suddenly.

"…pitiful? A complete waste?" Aron finished with amusement, stepping forward to emphasis each word he said.

The Blue Ranger just stared back, choosing to say nothing and just wanting this whole thing to be over.

"I must be going." As he said this, he pulled the hood on his robe over his head.

"You will help me Blue Ranger. You will have no choice in the matter." That was the last thing he said before he disappeared into the shadows.

Madison sighed and just stared at the spot where the Dragon, Aron, had just stood only moments ago.

She rolled her eyes, not believing a word of what the Dragon said.

After deciding she was too tired to walk the rest of the way home, she called her Mystic racer and left the woods.

Finally.

----

It was raining the next morning, gray clouds covering the sky blocking the sun entirely.

Madison managed to get out of bed, after only 3 hours of sleep. When she got home during the night, Vida was up waiting for her. Rolled up on the sofa in the living room near the front door, Vida's eyes fluttered when Madison came in. Her eyes immediately narrowed as she pushed herself off the sofa.

"Maddie, where have you been?" Vida came over really quick and crossed her arms over her chest, obviously very irritated.

At that moment she was glad her parents were out of the country on business. She couldn't handle a 3rd-degree from her mom or dad. With Vida, she just smiled as much as she could, considering how tired she felt, and hugged her angry sister.

"I missed you too, sis." her sarcastic tone calmed the mood and when she pulled away from Vida, she noticed a smile on her face.

"I'll tell you everything in the morning. I promise." As Madison said this she made her way through the living room to the stairs leading to her room. That's when she saw all the cushions that were supposed to be on sofas were scattered in a huge pile. She walked over to it and saw three bodies sprawled chaotically across the floor. Madison nudged the leg closest to her, the body stirred and mumbled incoherently.

"Vida?" Madison looked over to her sister hoping for an explanation.

Vida dropped her hands to her sides and held back a giggle. "Maddie, it was Movie Night, tonight. You didn't show up even though it was getting so late and the guys thought they'd wait around to make sure you got home."

"Whose bright idea was that?" Madison asked, staring at the lump of bodies in front of her.

Mischief suddenly crept into Vida's tired face. She tipped toed to the kitchen quickly and came back with two shinny metallic cooking pots and a two large serving spoons.

Madison's eyebrows shot up when she saw what Vida was planning to do.

Both girls stood just above the mound of bodies holding the pots and spoons right over the boys' heads.

In almost complete darkness, besides the light from the full moon shinning in dimly through the open curtains, Madison and Vida slammed hard and made the loudest noise they possibly could.

In a split second, all the boys jumped away in a jolt, releasing frantic girly screams of panic.

Vida ran to the nearest wall and switched on the lights. Madison was leaning against a chair laughing and pointing at the tears that started to appear in Chip's eyes.

"Whaa…what HAPPENED!" Chip yelled as held his nose tightly. In the sudden shock of waking to the loud noise, Nick accidentally elbowed Chip in the nose while he scrambled to get up.

Madison and Vida both stopped laughing and looked concerned. "Maybe that wasn't a very smart thing to do…" Madison mumbled as she quickly walked up to Chip and helped him sit down. Vida came back from the kitchen with a damp cloth and handed it to Chip.

The girls looked over at the other two hoping neither one had gotten hurt.

Both Nick and Xander fell into the nearest chair and were sound asleep, as if nothing had happened.

After Chip's nose stopped bleeding, feeling guilty, Vida grabbed her coat and offered the boys a ride home. Jumping at the chance, they all got up and headed for the door. Madison offered her apologies to Chip for the millionth time and he simply shrugged it off, laughing like it was nothing.

Nick still oblivious to what he'd done, walked out the door with his eyes half closed and a stumbling Xander was right behind him.

Once everyone had left, Madison dragged herself upstairs, changed into her pajamas and fell into bed instantly falling asleep.

Now she hung her head low as she walked to work in the early morning, wishing she was still tucked in her warm bed.

On her way to work, she reflected on what happened in the woods and debated whether she would tell the others.

She didn't want to burden them with something that didn't really matter, at least that's what she thought.

Standing outside the door to the Rock Porium, a tall boy was there with his back turned to her. She hurried up to open the door, not wanting to lose a customer.

When she got to the door, he turned around and Madison stood frozen in her spot. The face the looked back at her was no stranger.

His hair was just like she remembered it, long, silver and pushed away from his face. With the light of the day, his facial features looked more striking---beautiful actually. The subtlety in the dark blue of his eyes was captivating.

Madison snapped out of it. He's a dragon.

"I'm not gonna even ask what you're doing here." Madison said pointedly as a frown captured her face.

"You know why." He said simply.

"I don't care." Madison turned sharply away and jammed the key into the door, but it wouldn't budge.

"A moment of your time is all I require." For now.

"That's more time than I'm willing to offer. Now go away." She kept trying to get the key to turn in the lock, but it wouldn't work.

"Ugh, are you doing something to the door?" Madison asked, looking very annoyed at this point.

Aron, the dragon in human form, didn't respond. He just stood there watching her, waiting patiently, it seemed.

"Do you know how crazy this is?" Madison lowered her voice quickly, and continued saying, "You're a dragon…and you want to talk to me?" She couldn't believe it.

Aron's face twitched slightly as his lips arched into a smile. "If I wanted to harm you in any way, you would be nothing but a distant memory by now.--An irritating one at that. I want to talk. It's important." He stressed the last bit as his normally low rhythmic voice faded.

Madison sighed and the key in the door lock suddenly turned with a click.

She walked into the store, without even looking back, as she shrugged off her jacket and put it aside.

Aron came through the door and quietly shut it behind him.

"What is this about?" Madison turned to look at him, with nothing but contempt in her eyes. If the others find him here…

"What do you know about my people?" His eyes growing lighter, almost shimmering blue.

"Your people? Dragons? Not much."

He looked away for a moment, his eyes softened, like he was reflecting on what he was about to say.

"We used to rule this world," when he said this he paused and looked back at Madison.

"The Master came along and changed…everything." Aron moved closer.

He looked down and his voice was barely a whisper, "We have no choice but to serve him."

Madison tilted her head back, confused by what he was saying.

Now, standing only a few feet away, he looked up at her, "The Master needs to be stopped."

"But why are you coming to me with this?" She was stunned.

"I guess, you're the most… receptive, in your little team." Aron explained this with a smirk.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Madison went from feeling confused to annoyed in a split second.

That only made Aron's smirk grow even more as he pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to her. Madison didn't immediately take it, with caution, she just looked at it. The object he held in his hands looked like a silver medallion of some sort. It hung on a thin chain, which he had entwined between his pale fingers.

"What is it?" she said this as she took the chain in her hands.

"Take it to the sorceress Udonna. She will know what to do with it."

Madison looked at it carefully, it sparkled in the light and had strange symbols in the center of it.

"Our people, despite our appearance…" he grinned before he continued, "We don't mean your kind any harm. Dragons have slept in the deepest parts of this earth for centuries, but The Master has woken us so he can use our powers. Once I learned what his plans were, unleashing the Burning Times… more Dragons will awake, the kind I only thought lived in Old Legends, they will rip this world apart… " The whole time he spoke, he didn't make any eye contact.

Madison was unsure of what she was hearing, she leaned her head against the ledge next to her as she sighed. "This is a lot to take in… why should I even believe you?"

He looked at her this time, his eyes growing darker by the second. "I give you my word, I know it's asking a lot for you to listen to me like this, but what I'm saying is the truth."

"You never told me why you needed my help?" Madison wrapped her fingers around the medallion tightly and slipped it into the pocket of her shirt.

"The Chosen Ones…I need to find them." He said this simply.

"Remember our little encounter in the woods?" Madison's voice was sharp as her eyes narrowed.

"I remember."

"That's assuming what you're saying is true, why did you bring all those Hidiacs to attack me if you really needed my help?"

He paused, as he glanced away, hiding a small grin.

"For my amusement. You fight well."

The phone rang.

Madison ran into Toby's office and answered it.

When she was done on the phone, she came to find the door to the Rock Porium left opened…

Aron was gone.

For a moment Madison thought maybe this was all a horrible nightmare and she'd wake up at home, in her warm bed, and forget about it.

But then she felt the heavy object in her pocket and sighed loudly.

A Dragon that was good? Is that even possible? She asked herself this question, but she was left without an answer. She decided she needed to tell Udonna everything, especially getting this medallion to her.

Whatever it is was, it felt like it had a lot of magic and power.

----

"You've been pretty quiet today…" Nick said as we sat in the car waiting for Vida and the others to finish up inside the Rock Porium.

Madison had her head down, leaning her chin against her knees., quietly twisting a piece of hair around her fingers.

"I'm just thinking." She replied, not moving from her position.

Nick put a hand on her back and tugged at the hood of her top, "Thinking about what?"

Madison sat up and shifted in her seat, "I don't even know where to begin…" Rubbing her eyes, she tried to continue, "Remember that night we first saw the Dragons? The one that talked to us, Mystero?"

Nick nodded at both of the questions.

"I saw him on my way home from Rootcore earlier this morning and again when I came in to open the store."

Nick stiffened in his seat, his jaw line was strained, "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No." Madison quickly said, not wanting him to worry about her.

After she finished explaining everything that happened with the Dragon she met, Madison handed Nick the medallion and let him look at it. Once the chain touched his hand, it shimmered a bright red sparkle. Nick dropped the chain suddenly and he quickly went to retrieve it.

"Did you see that?" He asked, staring disbelievingly at the object in his hands.

"There is something very strange going on. I don't know if I should trust him. I mean, if he's really on our side…maybe we can actually stop The Master?" Madison ran her hands through her hair as she sat back in her seat feeling completely frustrated at this point.

"We need to wait until Udonna gets back, but right now, stop worrying so much." Nick leaned closer and tried to detangle her fingers from her hair. His face was serious now as Madison stared on ominously, "If this Dragon guy comes back again, you need to call me. Immediately."

"Promise me you'll do that." He didn't even bother making it a question.

"I promise." She said and looked away quickly, a sick feeling in her stomach overwhelming her.

Something bad was gonna happen and she could do nothing to stop it.

Unless…

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I see it
Without the light
And in your silent voice
I find my way home
Somehow
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