"There you are!" he exclaimed, "I thought you disappeared…and the poster…and the lights…"
"Damnit," Xander whispered under his breath. He inconspicuously took out his Morpher and ceased the motion of the woman on the poster.
"Maddie!" Toby grabbed Madison by her shoulders, "You cut your hair."
"I like it this
way," Madison Grey said, brushing it back with her hand, "So,
Toby, where do I start? Xander's probably going to 'supervise'
as usual."
"Yes, of course," Toby said panickedly, "You've
got everything under control, right?"
"Of course I do, boss!" Xander said proudly.
"WE do," Madison Grey interjected, "now, I believe this is my shift. Vida, Nick, you're free to go do whatever you please. Your earlier work set things up nicely."
"Thank you…Maddie!" Vida cheered, trying to remember this girl in blue wasn't of any relation.
Nick and Vida left the store as Madison, Xander, and Chip started on the afternoon's work. Toby was pleased that Madison had stepped up and set things straight. He looked at the poster one more time. It wasn't moving. Finally, some peace and quiet that he could comprehend.
"Oh, and Maddie?" he asked.
"Yes?" Madison Grey spoke.
"Be sure to turn off the lights on the disco ball. We must have left them on from last night's dance party."
Maddie pointed her finger at the disco ball's switch on the wall and stopped its incessant spinning. "I'm so getting a raise for this," she thought.
"Necrolai, you incompetent fool!" Midhat screamed, "Your plan failed…again!"
"Not entirely," Necrolai pleaded, "I can already tell that Madison Grey is a much more stormy personality than Madison Rocca ever was. Just think of it – her teammates offset by her attitude, her ex-sister confused…oh, it's almost perfection in its glory."
"So we're keeping her?"
"Yes."
"And what happened to Rocca, anyway?"
"Oh, yes…I think she's handling herself just fine.
The Desert of Lost Souls was a pretty barren place. Nothing but sand and the weapons of those who had been killed in battle were lined along it. When the mist had struck Madison Rocca, she saw a flash of blue light, and the next thing she knew, she was falling. Falling endlessly through the magical void, only seen when the Solar Streak Megazord was in operation. She felt her body hit sand. Then, there was nothing but darkness.
Madison awoke to find herself dressed in nothing but her white T-shirt, usually worn under her magical vest, and a short skirt. It was an incredibly simple outfit, with a belt made of rope. Her Morpher was still in her hand. She looked around the desert and started to wander around. The heat from the sun above and the cold from the wind tore at her body, but she trudged on, her magic healing her from the debris that flew past her face.
After she had been walking for what felt like half an hour, she felt something splash her in the face. It was water, pure water. Madison could feel her wounds heal. With the last of her strength, she reached into her pocket and pulled out her Mystic Morpher. "Lead me to the water!" The tip of the wand-phone began to light up aglow in shades of blue, and Madison followed.
She ran across the desert, her feet sweeping against the sand, and, when she wasn't looking, felt herself stumble into something cold and wet. She glanced down, and could see that she'd come across the Soul Oasis. This wasn't even documented in the books of magic, so she wasn't exactly sure what it could do. Madison looked into the water, and could suddenly see a girl who looked very much like herself materialize.
"Oh my god…" she gasped, "It's me."
Hours later, with Madison Grey keeping everyone in line, the Rockporium was about to close. "Maddie, you coming home with me?" Vida asked, "Well…new Maddie."
"I guess I am," Madison Grey answered, "I can't remember a home of my own."
"How is that possible?" Nick asked as he hung up his jacket.
"I don't know, Nate," Madison Grey said, "Everything before I came to Briarwood is a blur."
"Well, c'mon, not-sis!" Vida said, "We're going home!"
Vida and Madison rode in Vida's car back to the Rocca house, and everyone else returned to their respective homes. Madison and Vida walked in the door; Madison Grey was a little apprehensive. To her, this was entering a stranger's house, and she didn't want to hurt everyone around her. Deep in the recesses of her mind, though, life was going as normal.
"Hi, Dad!" Vida exclaimed, "We're home!"
Mr. Rocca, a man close to middle age with dark brown hair and a stern look, walked in. He saw that Madison had suddenly cut her hair short and went out to purchase a new wardrobe.
"Maddie!" he said, "about time you changed yourself up a little bit." He hugged Madison Grey, only to find her shoving him away.
"She's had a tough
day," Vida answered, "We're going to get ready for the night.
Settle down, mix some records, cut some film, that kind of
stuff."
"Enjoy yourselves," Mr. Rocca replied, "Dinner's
at 8!"
"Yes, Dad!" Vida shouted.
"Alright," Madison Grey smirked, "We've got time."
Vida went into her room, which had pictures of the latest musicians and a high-end DJ table, and collapsed onto her bed. She could feel the sweat roll down her forehead, and immediately thought "Wow, that dancing must've really gotten to me today." She tossed her shirt aside into a dirty clothes pile and walked into the bathroom. She slipped out of the rest of her outfit, hung a T-shirt on the door, and turned on the faucet. The water began to rush over her body, cleansing her from another hard day of work.
Madison Grey walked into the room once owned by the other Rocca sister. It was a simple, mostly undecorated room in light shades of blue. Everything was tidily organized, and a small collection of video editing equipment was grouped around a computer at the edge of the room. Grey looked around at the place, and decided to see what Rocca's hobbies had been. If she was going to be in her place for the time being, she'd need to know the kind of person her predecessor was. She turned on the computer, and heard a beep, followed by a faint whirring noise.
The computer's video editing program started immediately. Grey saw what her precursor had been filming, and the result surprised her. She pressed "Play" and watched the contents with an unwavering gaze.
The screen showed the exterior of the Rocca house. Vida was sitting at a table out back sometime in the summer, wearing a pink bikini. A blue streak of color ran through her hair. "Maddie, come on," Vida urged to the camera, "stop being such a worrywart. Xander and Chip are waiting for you. You know that the Thorns close their pool at 7 o'clock. Something about mosquitoes."
"But Vi…" Madison answered on the tape, turning it towards her, "I can't let them see me like this. I'm…not as pretty as you are." She panned down her body, covered up. Her own swimsuit was barely visible underneath. Vida had joked about it making Madison look "older than she was." She hadn't thought very well of that, but she didn't want to reveal so much of herself, body or mind, in front of the boys. Xander would just make come-ons and Chip would stand there all slack-jawed.
"I know what this is, Maddie," Vida ran up to Maddie, her face taking up the camera, "it's because you're the little sister!" She pulled Madison's cover-up down to her waist, revealing the body of a young girl. Madison's camera toppled off her shoulder to land safely in the grass, pointing up at Vida's body. Madison ran over to it, picked it up, cleaned it, and shut it off.
"VIDA!" she said, "I'm not going!"
"Maddie!" Vida pleaded, "I didn't mean it that way!"
It was too late to apologize.
Madison Grey stared at the video screen, which had now turned to total blackness, then to the bathroom located between the rooms of the two Rocca sisters. She could hear the water rushing. Her hands began to shake. She had gotten an idea. "I'll show you what the little sister can do…" she said, "…no one will put me down for that again!" The video she had watched had been months ago, but it was the only part of Madison Rocca's mind that Madison Grey knew. What a volatile thought it was.
She turned the handle of the bathroom door and walked in. Vida was humming "Fidelity" to the white walls, dripping with water, but stopped when she saw the body in front of the shower's misty door. "Madison?" she asked, "What are you doing in here?" Madison Grey had a knowing smirk cross her face, and snapped her fingers. A spark of blue magic appeared between her thumb and middle fingers and shot out.
The spark landed on the showerhead and turned the water freezing cold. Vida screamed in surprise and opened the door. "MADDIE!" she yelled. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR?" She grabbed for a towel. Her eyes looked to Madison Grey as she passed. There was that glare in the eyes. She thought it was determination at first, but now it had turned to something else entirely. "I'm investigating this tonight," Vida thought to herself. She wrapped the towel around herself and ran out.
Madison Grey laughed. "Take her down with those closest to her," thought the other Madison, "I can get the others once she's finished."
"A doppelganger!" Madison Rocca gasped in shock as she watched the events play out in the oasis, "Thank you, Clare!" She opened her Mystic Morpher and keyed in the digits that allowed her to contact Rootcore's Crystal Ball. She started screaming into the Morpher as soon as a link with the ball was reached.
"Clare!" she screamed, "CLARE!" She wondered if her voice was getting through. At the moment, in the giant tree, Clare was sleeping in her room and dreaming the night away. "If you see me…that's….NOT…ME!" She screamed until her throat was sore, trying to get a response from the apprentice on the other end of the dimension. No response came. The images in the oasis vanished. Madison could see her feet, standing in the water, sparkling blue. They felt…disconnected from the rest of her body.
Madison Rocca collapsed into the pool and became covered in the sparkling waters. Her entire body shone like sapphire. Her head stayed above the water, keeping her afloat. Blue sparks traveled back across her form, putting her mystic robes back on her body once more. She needed it more now than ever, because Clare had forgotten to mention one thing in her look-over of the bestiary – doppelgangers can steal more than the appearance of a person.
They can also steal their magic.
Night had fallen on the Rocca household, and Vida was still wide awake. When she was certain there was no light, from the computer or blue magic, coming from her sister's room, she decided to make her move. Vida held her wand above her head and chanted a single spell twice. "Galwit Minius! Galwit Minius!" She could feel her body shrinking in size.
"Fairy Wings!" A pair of the translucent pink fairy wings, smaller than normal, sprouted from Vida's back. She fluttered across the hallway, a faint glow in her color radiating from her body. The door to the other Madison's room was slightly ajar, giving her a chance to hover in. The bed appeared like a monstrous mountain from down there, but it wasn't going to stop her. Vida was going to figure out just what was up with Madison Grey. She'd invited this Grey girl into her own home, and expected to be respected, at the very least.
Vida landed on Madison Grey's stomach, supported by the blue bedsheets, and cast her wand at her not-sister's forehead. "Mysto Aura!" Madison's body twitched from the impact of the spell's spark, no smaller than a mosquito's stinger, and was immediately surrounded by a pitch-black cloud. Vida had to rely on her wand for light. She wasn't the wisest on magical auras, that was her sister's specialty, but she knew that a black one wasn't good.
Madison Grey, awoken by Vida's unknown presence on her, swatted her out the window in her sleep. Vida assumed her normal size, and transformed into her spandex on the way down with a call of "Galwit Mysto Ranger!" She had to head to Rootcore. Tomorrow was another day at work, and she had to get rid of the doppelganger before the Rockporium was swept away in a flash-flood by this unknown intruder. "Maddie…" she said into her Mystic Morpher, "…if you can hear me, I'm looking for you…the real you."
She hoped it had gotten through.