Disclaimer: Power Rangers does not belong to me.
Chapter 5: Here Comes the Bride
"Vida!" called Xander in his thick, Aussie accent. "Vida, where are you? I need to talk to you! Vida! Vida?"
Xander's frustration at not finding his friend multiplied with each time he hollered Vida's name. He was desperate to discover first the cause behind Chip and Nick's oddly enamored behavior toward Leelee, whom the two boys normally loathed rather than loved. Smiling self-importantly, Xander thought of all the attention he would get from his friends for being able the call them out on their silly joke. And for him to do that, he needed the person who had last been with the boys before him: Vida.
"V, where are you?" shouted Xander again impatiently. "This isn't funny anymore!"
Yet Xander burst out laughing the next instant upon finally seeking out Vida in the distance… collecting moldy, mushroom in a wicker basket and wearing a pink, filly dress. Seeing Vida skipping around looking like Little Bo Peep and even singing nursery rhythms, Xander had to hold his stomach he was in such hysterics. If this was the punk rock princess's idea of punking him, Xander had to admit she pulled off the ditzy-airhead act quite well.
"What is this?" asked Xander chucking as he plucked at the pink bonnet on Vida's forhead. "And what is THIS?" he repeated, holding up this moldy mushroom like a piece of smelly fungus before realizing that's exactly what it was even without her answer.
"Do you like my new hat?" asked Vida, giggling as playfully posed with the bonnet. "I got it as a gift from my one, true lov…"
"That's nice, that's nice," cut in Xander dismissively. "V, the other boys were acting really strange this afternoon around Leelee. It's almost like they were," he paused, unable to wrap his mind around the words. "In LOVE with Leelee!"
"Yeah, isn't it just wonderful?" gushed Vida giddily. "So crazy in love! Got me looking, got me looking so crazy in loveeeeee!" she crooned in a very off tone pitch that made Xander instinctively cover his ears.
"Oh, I get it!" laughed Xander. "You're in on the joke with Chip and Nick, too. Very funny, V, but time to give up the act."
But Xander got no response as Vida continued to bop up and down to Beyonce. Sighing, Xander knew it was time to turn up the charm. It had always been his Plan Xander surefire way to get what he wanted from girls. Although, Xander suddenly remember it had never worked on Vida in the past. The girl hardly acted feminine, let alone human, even on a good day. Still putting on his most winning smile, Xander throw all his seductive moves on his best friend and pray for a miracle.
"Come on, V," smiled Xander charmingly. "It's Plan Xander time. I'm gonna figure out eventually what joke you and the boys are up to here. So, why don't you just be a doll, make it easy on yourself and tell me now?"
"No!" exclaimed Vida, spinning around furiously.
"Vida, why?" whined Xander like a four-year-old.
"Because I don't love you anymore!" chanted Vida tauntingly .
"No, you, wha… HUH?" stuttered Xander in shock at frank display of affection. "L, l, love mmmeeeee… ANYMORE!"
"Not anymore!" repeated Vida sing-songily, oblivious to Xander's state of shock. "I'm in love with someone else now. My new man is the most smartest and funniest and handsomest and charming man I've ever met!"
"How can anyone be more handsome and charming than me?" wondered Xander wounded out loud, before shaking his head and realizing that wasn't the point.
"And we're engaged!" continued Vida excitedly.
"WHAT?" yelped Xander, not sure now whether to be more shocked by her prior declaration of love to him or her now future betrothal.
"Phineas and I are going to be married!" squealed Vida.
"PHINEAS!1" repeated Xander, practically falling over, now sure he had lost his mind along with Nick and Chip. "Vida, stop it! That's just taking the joke way too far!"
"It's no joke!" Xander heard a gruff voice giggle as a furry face flew into view.
"Phineas, you scared me!" gasped Xander, holding his heart at seeing the troblin hanging upside from a tree. "Although not as frightening as the thought of you marrying, Vida. Phineas, tell me you're not serious!"
"Nope!" grinned Phineas, putting his arm around Vida. "Me and misssus are getting married!"
"B, bu, but WHY?" sputtered Xander. "Why in the world would YOU of all people want to marry, Vida!"
"She promised to make me as much mushroom stew as I wanted," enthused Phineas, to which Vida nodded enthusiastically.
Meanwhile, Xander felt like he had been the one eating enormous amounts of 'shrooms for he never felt like he was hallucinating more in his life than at this present moment. After rubbing his eyes several times and shaking his head hard to the side, Xander looked and still saw what looked like a bad movie in front of him. Vida was continuing to stroke Phineas's beard, frequently tickling the troblin under his chin and making the creature laugh.
Xander had never seen Vida act so airily affectionate and cutesy, which frankly was making him want to throw up more than thought of moldy, mushroom stew. Yet watching Vida now start to make Phineas pretty with petite pansy flowers, Xander began to long greatly for the old no bullshit and tough-as-nails girl who he actually – as much as he hated to admit it – admired above all others for her fearlessness in feeling not forced to act like other females.
"Vida, I want you to stop this joke now," demanded Xander. "You, Chip and Nick have all gotten love drunk. The game the three of you were playing was cute for awhile, but it's starting to bore me now."
"Why is it always about you, Xander?" whined Vida childishly in her love drunk state even as her true, subconscious feelings began to peak through.
"No it's not," protested Xander. "This is about me getting…"
"See, there it is again," chided Vida. "Me, Me, Me. Plan Xander. Oh look at me, I'm Xander. I'm so perfect. It's all about ME and what ME needs to do and never about helping out anyone else 'cause I'm supervising 'cause I'm Xander and I'm better than EVERYONE else."
Despite Vida's playful tone, Xander the significance of her point hit him like a boulder. Was Vida underneath whatever play she was putting on actually trying to express something serious? Xander was surprised to find himself so immediately affected by regret at his own actions every hurting any of his friends, but especially Vida.
"Well, I've got some news for you, Sir!" continued Vida in her playful but poignant rant. "I'm not putting up with it anymore! Because…" she paused and grabbed Phineas's hand. "I'm getting married in the morning! Ding ding dong the bells are going to shine!"
"Ooooo, sing-a-longs!" squealed Phineas. "I love me a good sing-a-long. Ohhhh, ohhhhh. I've got one! Here comes the bride! All dressed in white!"
"Here comes the bride!" belted Vida ecstatically along with her betrothed as they skipped off through the forest, leaving Xander with his jaw dropped on the floor.
Not only was Xander stunned by Vida's impending wedding, but also as equally by the revelation that parts of his own personality upset her so much. Despite their feisty friendship, Vida had always been the first of friends to comfort and reassure him when he was down, most recently the time he'd almost turned into a tree. Unlike other girls, even Madison, Vida had always looked at him beyond a pretty face and tried to force him to grow into a more emotionally mature person whose confidence was based more than upon outward appearance.
Xander felt truly horrible at the way he'd treated Vida like a computer database of information rather than as his most cherished girlfriend. Worse, Xander realized that if Vida felt this way, so did the rest of his friends who were even more self-conscious when it came to spewing out their feelings.
"Especially Maddie and Nick," chuckled Xander to himself.
He then realized how he'd run out of Rock Porium earlier to find Vida, all when Maddie had been upset about seeing Nick throw himself at Leelee. With this realization on top of Vida's candid confessions of his personality, Xander now felt doubly worse. Knowing Vida was right about his self-centeredness problem, Xander perused his mind for a way to redeem himself in her eyes and that of all his closest friends.
Suddenly, Xander noticed Vida in her amour for Phineas and dropped her backpack. Remember back to Vida's peculiar passion, Xander's brow crinkled as he began to wonder whether his friend was just a really good joker, or worse, whether she actually had fallen in love with Phineas. And if her love was real, Xander was sure it was the result of a real magic mix-up.
"Vida could be in real danger," worried Xander to himself. "Oh no, Chip and Nick with their love flu, too! I've got to find Udonna at Rootcore and let her know what is going on."
Xander picked up Vida's satchel and set off toward Rootcore, swearing when that when he returned the backpack he would tell his pink punk rock princess all that he felt for her.
Next chapter (6): A Few of My Favorite Things
(Sorry about the lack of updates on this story recently. I had major writer's block with this particular chapter and finally just decided to push it out the best I could.)