A/N: Did I really not take two years to update this? Go me :) Part 1 of the grand finale hehehehe. Enjoy...
Chapter 27: Mystic Fate pt.1
-Rootcore-
Aria spent the rest of the day asleep, her mother doting on her, keeping a cool towel pressed to her forehead. To the others she seemed to be resting peacefully however, in her head it was a constant battle with this unhinged version of herself.
-Aria's Dream-
Whenever she looked down at herself she was bruised and bloodied, scratched beyond belief by this alter ego's sharp talons. Anytime she tried to use her dark magic the creature before her just seemed to absorb it.
"Why do you keep fighting me?" She demanded, voice distorted and dripping with rage. "It'd be so much easier to just accept this"
"I've never been one to be easy" Aria gritted, the taste of iron in her mouth "you should know that by now"
"I also know how tired you are" She taunted as the two circled around each other, splitting into an evil grin "I know you feel me…creeping closer and closer to the surface…admit it. I am you."
Aria spat, "Even if that were true," it may be "I got too much to lose to ever lose myself to you."
"Like you have a choice" She bared her fangs as she again rushed forward.
Exhausted was not a strong enough word to describe what Aria was feeling right now. But she refused to succumb to this thing before her. This was what Aria was preparing for. What she said was true, there was too much at stake for her to not give her all.
Was this battle even real? Was it all in her head?
Aria didn't have time to think about that. All she knew was that the Master has returned, and this thing is currently trying to murder her. Priorities.
-Rootcore-
Nick came in to check on his sister, offering to take Udonna's place to allow her to rejoice in her husband's return. With a warm smile she left the room, leaving her twins together.
Nick sat next to his sister. Laughing to himself to think that not even a year earlier they were merely strangers. Now not only is his twin sister lying in front of him, but his parents are just on the other side of the door.
Just as he put a fresh towel on Aria's head, Nick felt a sudden jolt of energy as he was suddenly standing in a Briarwood than looked suspiciously like when there was no good magic in the world.
-Aria's Dream-
He looked around in confusion, falling into a readied stance should something come out to him, when he heard the sounds of a struggle.
"Aria…" he whispered and took off running with no hesitation.
Nick didn't know what to expect but watching Aria fighting…Aria (?) was not one of them. It wasn't hard to differentiate the two, one of them clearly matching the creature he and the others had to deal with during the whole 'No-Good-Magic Fiasco'.
"Seems like we have a guest…" She snarled, panting for breath just as Aria was
Aria looked up, "Nick?" What was he doing here?
"Hoping I'd never see you again" he shot back at the creature, running to stand before his sister(s?). "I have no idea where I am, or how I got here. But I know for sure you're not supposed to be here."
"It's only a matter of time for me to finally arrive 'Light', with the Master's return I will only grow stronger." She boasted
Aria somehow got up to her feet with what little strength she had left and stood by her brother.
Instinct took over as she slid her hand into his "Over my dead body…"
Aria's alter ego smirked "That can be arranged."
She took off, hurdling towards the twins. The duo automatically held their joined hands forward as a growing ball of magic, light and dark formed. The combination of magics shone brightly, creating a flash around them.
-Rootcore-
The two of them sat upright with a gasp. Aria looked down at herself to see that the only cuts and bruises she had, were the healing ones from the earlier events of the day.
"What the fuck…" the two sighed out at the same time. Aria and Nick looked at each other, both with equally confused looks on their face.
"Was that real?" he asked.
"Doubt it…I'd be a lot more than black and blue right now if it were."
"You feel any different?"
Aria looked down at her hands as she tested her magic. And just like that, balls of black energy appeared. "Nope…"
"Isn't this what Phineas said…when we first…you know…"
Aria thought back to that conversation. It felt like a lifetime ago. But the Light and the Child of Darkness were the key to defeating the Master once and for all. "So that's how we defeat the Master…"
"Guess so…" Nick sighed, running a hand over his face. "Warning you now by the way, dad wants to start training for the Master once he sees you're okay."
"It's so weird hearing that" she laughed, she still wasn't completely used to calling Udonna and Leanbow mom and dad yet. "Like dude…you're my brother…"
"Who do you think is older?"
"That's what's on your mind? I'm still trying to wrap my head around we're fucking twins dude."
The two laughed. Neither really had much time to process that they were actually siblings. Twins. They were each other's missing piece. Despite not knowing each other, let alone grow up together, this bond between them was already showing.
"Listen, I know we're…twins and everything," Nick sighed, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly, "But I don't wanna overstep Hunter and Blake, I-"
"Nick," she interrupted "as far as I am concerned I have three brothers now. And if you're comfortable with it, they can be yours too."
"You think they'd be okay with that?"
"We're twins man, they'd understand we're a package deal now. Plus, we got a lot of time to make up for." Aria playfully shoved her brother laughing quietly to themselves when they heard careful footsteps outside Aria's door.
In a flash the twins collapsed pretending to be asleep as Leanbow entered the room, closely followed by Udonna.
"Let them rest," Udonna spoke softly, heartwarming at the sight of her children sleeping peacefully "you can train when they wake up."
"To think we're all together again…" Leanbow sighed peacefully before leaving the two to 'sleep'.
With the click of the door and the fading footsteps the two of them slowly peeked their eyes open and laughed quietly to themselves.
-Later-
-Rootcore-
The twins plan didn't last long, soon they grew bored of avoiding the inevitable training and left to face their father.
"Ah finally, let us begin!" Leanbow clapped as he began heading out of Rootcore and into the woods.
"He is too excited about this…" Nick sighed and followed him.
Aria was about to follow but she couldn't shake the feeling of anxiety within her. With the Master's return would they be enough to defeat him, potentially her? She had complete and utter faith in her fellow Mystics, but she was always one for backup plans. Quickly she ran back into her room and dug out the old communicator Cam provided the rest of them after Lothor's defeat.
'Was hoping I'd never have to use this again…' she thought to herself as she clicked it.
"Something big is coming to Briarwood soon, like Abyss of Evil gone nuclear big. We're gonna need all the help we can get. Let everyone know. Be on standby" she uttered quickly
A flurry of acknowledgements came through followed by quick messages from a few to text them later with a better explanation of the situation. Once that was out of the way she followed her father and brother outside.
-Woods-
"I still don't get why you wanna do this," Nick sighed as Aria moved to stand beside him "we've battled enough."
"We aren't battling," Leanbow explained "we're training. The Master will be at his full power soon, we must be ready for it."
"Our magic has never been stronger." He replied bluntly "You know that."
Leanbow stepped forward and transformed into his Ancient Mystic Mode, brandishing two swords, "Convince me."
The twins glanced at one another, raised their morphers, and silenty morphed. Nick drew his own sword as Aria summoned her daggers.
At once, the three of them collided. Aria doing her best to aid her brother as he went for immediate direct attacks. Aria tried to sandwich Leanbow but was never given a chance to. She may be fast, but he was somehow faster. He caught the two of them "The Master is strong; you must be stronger."
Leanbow threw them aside as if they were ragdolls. The twins did their best to get the upper hand but as Daggeron used to say to them, he was the fiercest warrior in the entire Mystic Realm. He didn't even seem to be breaking a sweat fighting the two of them off. They were able to corner him off on a platform and seemed to finally have a chance when he decided to bring his magic into the battle.
"Ancient Power of the Phoenix!" he cried before leaping into the air, swords ablaze and struck down on his children.
Nick and Aria collapsed to the ground, the damage ultimately demorphing them as they looked up at their father. Aria could feel the anger rolling off of Nick. And while she understood the severity of the situation, she never imagined Leanbow using his ancient magic on them. Even Daggeron never trained them this way.
"See, you're not ready" Leanbow sighed at the sight of Nick and Aria groaning on the floor. The two helped each other up and stared back at their father, unsure of what to do next. It was only due to the ringing of their morphers that broke the silence.
"Itassis is in town, the others are already on their way." Aria said, glancing at Nick "We gotta go now."
"Go," Leanbow commanded "we will continue this when you return."
"Great…" Nick spat as he brushed past him without a second glance, Aria hot on his tail.
"Well that went well…" she sighed before the two jumped through a tree to another Terror.
-City-
The six rangers, morphed and ready to go, rushed into the city and found Itassis waiting for them.
"By order of the Master, I am here to destroy your world!" she declared
"And we're here to stop you!" Chip countered as he led the charge. He called on his lightning bolts but with a wave of her hand Itassis reverted the attack to him.
"Do not interfere!" she warned.
The Rocca sisters jumped in next, combining their air and water magics to attack. They succeeded in pushing Itassis back a few inches but again, she easily blocked it and repelled the magic back.
"Hey!" Xander called at the sight of his friends being tossed around. He ran forward, attacking her hand to hand. But of course, she wasn't fazed by it.
"Stop fighting it and accept your fate!"
"Never! Vine Power!"
On either side of Itassis, thick vines sprouted wrapping themselves around her. With a furious cry she broke free, shattering the vines and flew towards the Green Mystic, firing yellow lasers from her eyes.
"I am one of the Ten Terrors." She boasted "Your magic is nothing compared to mine."
With the rest of the team out of commission Nick and Aria stood before them, shielding them from any more attacks.
"I'll show you magic!" Nick fired back "Red Dragon Fire Ranger!" Fireheart swooped down as Nick launched up to finish his transformation.
Together the fired their magic at the Terror, this time she was unable to block it.
"Impressive…" she breathed, almost surprised she was hit
"Always" the two fired back. Just as they did earlier, the duo fought together, side by side.
"Try this one on for size!" she teased before brandishing a huge lion shaped cannon. With a cry she fired. Aria and Nick did their best to block a majority of the attack, but it was two powerful.
"Now will you admit your defeat?" she tried again, watching as the fallen rangers struggled to their feet.
"Never." Aria spat
"You say you're after knowledge but you're just a puppet for the Master!" Maddie fired back. This clearly wasn't the first time the Five met the Terror.
"What?!"
Nick added fuel to the fire "And you don't even have the courage to make your own decision!"
Itassis seemed to take this into consideration as she turned away from the rangers. "He is right…" she spoke softly before fading away.
"Wait!" Nick cried
"Let her go…" Aria said "There's something about this one…"
-Later-
-Rootcore-
On the balcony of Rootcore Aria was perched on a stone platform as Nick practiced his swords below her. Per his request Aria taught him some basic sword techniques from the Ninja Academies. Clearly the new forms were uncomfortable for him, seeing as he was mostly trained by a knight.
"I feel stupid…" he said in a particular stance
"You look it too" she fired back
"Ria…" he whined
She sighed and jumped down to him, making minor adjustments here and there before reassuring him. "You look fine, just relax, don't be so heavy. Float like a butterfly…"
"…Sting like a bee"
"Exactly, I'll be back soon. Have fun training with dad" she smirked before walking off. Nick promptly flipping her off with a fake laugh as she left.
Once out of Rootcore she slinked in the shadows of the hanging trees and found herself outside the entrance of Ops.
-Blue Bay Harbor-
-Ninja Ops-
Following the battle with Itassis Aria once again used the communicator to call an emergency ninja meeting at Ops. By the time she arrived all of them were there, minus Blake who was unable to get away. He was being called from Cam's supercomputer.
"What's the deal with Briarwood?" Tori asked.
"And what exactly is worse than the Abyss of Evil?" Shane added, Hunter visibly shook at the thought.
Aria answered Shane first, "Just the Gates of the Underworld."
"Oh perfect"
Aria continued, "One of our last battles the Master of the Underworld was released, he took over the body of one of his soldiers and it's only a matter of time before he's at full power." She was met with anxious sighs "I know the Mystic Force rangers are powerful, but it took more than just the seven of us to defeat Lothor. I know it's a lot to ask, especially since you guys don't have your ranger powers anymore-"
"We'll do it" Cam spoke
"No need to ask, we'll be there when the day comes." Hunter added
"No powers, no problem. We're still ninjas dude." Blake spoke from the computer.
Dustin pitched in, "We can recruit our senior students too!"
"I'll make a call to the Dinos, from what I heard they have their mutated powers still too." Cam said as he rushed to his computer to inform them.
"I hate putting you guys at risk, but this could be massive…" Aria tried, she didn't think they'd ever reject helping her, but this was a lot to ask.
"Just give us the signal and we're there." Tori squeezed the smaller girl.
Sensei spoke from the side of the room, "As ninjas it is our duty to help the outside world from the shadows. We will be there in any time of need."
"Thank you all, so much."
With that, the group reveled in being all together again. It almost seemed as if these group gatherings were farther and fewer in between. Dustin telling stories of his latest freestyle competitions, Hunter telling funny stories about some of his students. It was home.
But as always Aria was soon alerted about trouble back in Briarwood.
"Itassis?" she asked
"We don't know, the village near Rootcore was attacked." Maddie spoke, her voice dripping with worry.
"You gotta get here quick Ria, it's bad" Vida's voice rang through
With that she bid her old friends goodbye.
"Be careful!" Hunter called after her. With a small wave she rushed outside and jumped through a near tree to meet with the others.
-Briarwood-
-Village-
By the time she arrived with the others she gasped at the sight. The small village of innocent magical creatures burnt to the ground. There was virtually nothing salvageable for the villagers. Leanbow and Udonna were already there helping the villagers.
Chip, Maddie, Vida, and Xander seemed to be in a bit of an argument with a villager.
"What happened here?"
"Leave us!" the villager demanded "Humans do not belong here!"
Aria was taken aback, not two months ago she, Maddie, and Udonna had visited this same village
"Look at what happened to our village! Our home destroyed our crops ruined." He continued before his face dropped in fear. Behind her Aria felt a dark presence. It almost felt like her magic. Almost. "He's back! The Destroyer has returned!"
As the villagers ran off to hide, Aria turned to face this 'Destroyer' but was met with Nick. Something was off with him.
"Nick…" she called out cautiously
"The Destroyer?" Leanbow asked the villager, "No, you got it wrong, that's my son."
Nick smiled before turning into a scowl switching from Aria to Leanbow "Guess it runs in the family" he sneered, his pale green eyes glazing over into a pale purple. Leanbow stood in shock as Aria placed herself between him and the others. She was all too familiar with these types of situations.
"You guys missed the show" he said with a smirk as flashes of the destruction he laid onto the village played out.
Udonna took a cautious step forward, "Bowen, is this true?"
He scowled at his mother, "I'm just getting started"
With his bare hands he fired his magic towards his friends and family. They all ducked expecting the blast, but it was all aimed at Leanbow. The Ancient Mystic took it head on and was thrust into the air. As Nick laughed evilly, Koragg's Knight Wolf Armor taking over his body.
"The Master's dark magic has given me more power than I ever dreamed. I can't believe you gave it up!" he shot at his father before turning to stalk towards his sister. "And you! You have so much more power than you could ever imagine! Yet you cower from it! Embrace it Aria, join me sister."
She stood to stand by her father, helping him to his feet. "Nick," she answered, "this isn't you, fight it. I know you can."
"You don't deserve to be the Child of Darkness, perhaps if I destroy you the Master will give me your power" he thought aloud.
In an instant Nick shot dark magic at them again. This time, Leanbow transformed into his Wolf Warrior Armor as Aria quickly morphed.
Nick leapt into the air, sword drawn and swung down on Leanbow you successfully blocked him. However, with the previous attack weakening him and Nick's newfound strength, he was struggling to hold him off. "The Mystic Force will fall by my sword."
Aria came up behind him, daggers crossed around his neck "Not if I can help it."
"I'll start with you then." He spat as a spell seal appeared below them. The others rushed to stop them, but it was too late. The three, locked in arms, disappeared before them.
-Rootcore-
To Aria's surprise they ended up in Rootcore. Toppling over the shelves they seemingly landed over. They quickly got to their feet, Leanbow shielding Aria from Nick.
"Training time's over…this is the real thing."
Nick kicked his shield to the two as a distraction before continuing his attacks. Leanbow had him at first, countering his every move but Nick was too strong. He flung his father into the wall before kicking a stray podium over to him, effectively trapping him.
"Dad!" Aria cried as she followed suit. This time simply using her MagiStaff to better defend herself from Nick's sword. It was moments like this she wished she had her Thunder Staff on deck.
Leanbow was able to remove himself from the rubble and joined to help his daughter. The battle was fierce, Rootcore taking as much damage as the Leanbow and Aria. At one point Aria tried to use her dark magic and black lightning to act as a whip, grabbing one of Nick's arms as her father trapped the other.
"Son," he tried again, "you must fight it."
With an angry roar Nick easily freed himself from his father's grip and swung his sword around, nailing his father and sister across their chests. Once free he again fired his dark magic. Aria stood between them, knowing that the magic directly from the Master wouldn't do nearly as much harm to her as it would to Leanbow.
Nick was getting angrier by the second, rage fueling his every move. Mostly directed at their father. As much as Aria didn't want to hurt her brother, she not about to let him kill their father.
"Tough love it is" she gritted before demorphing.
"Aria what are you doing?!" her father demanded but she stood to face her brother.
"Hey!" she called; she sent a silent prayer that this didn't backfire. "You want the Child of Darkness?" her eyes shown black "Come get her."
She took off into the air, firing her own dark magic at him. Her use of her dark powers gave her a new surge of energy, but she could still feel the monster within her clawing at the surface. Her years of meditation and concentration allowed her to keep it at bay, but this was definitely a challenge. To combat that urge she also threw in a few black lightning attacks. Leanbow soon joined in once again, pushing Nick out onto the balcony. The same balcony they were training on that morning.
Nick caught Aria by the wrist when she tried another attack, "You feel that power? That's only a fraction of what you can really do. Just let go."
"I want my brother back." The distortion in her voice clear.
With a growl he pushed off of him, throwing her into a pillar and watching it crumble on top of her.
"Baya!" Leanbow cried, trying to reach her but was blocked by his son.
Nick forced him to the edge and continued mercilessly. He skillfully stole the older Mystic's sword away from his and summoning the Master's dark magic executed the same attack Leanbow had used on them in their earlier training.
At this point Aria was able to maneuver herself from the rubble as she watched her brother push their father off the ledge.
"DAD!" she screamed, her own voice breaking through. She jumped after him casting another spell seal to get them to safety but was immediately followed by Nick.
-Woods-
Aria and Leanbow landed first, Aria quickly getting to her feet to aid her father. Just as Nick appeared, casting a shield around the three of them.
Udonna and the others banged on the purple tinged force field helplessly. "I'll deal with you later" he threatened before turning to the two winded Mystics, Aria standing before a tired Leanbow.
"Enough of this" Leanbow sighed, pushing past the still dark eyed Aria. He tightened the grip of his sword before striking down to the ground. "You're right, we've battled enough." He demorphed
"Dad wha-" he held up an arm in front of her, whether to protect her or hold her back she wasn't sure.
"Pick up your sword!" Nick demanded.
"I won't fight you anymore."
"Or perish!" Nick raised his sword ready to strike.
Aria's power grew with her anxiety. Her hands ignited aflame with dark magic, just waiting to burst from her.
Leanbow maintained his eye contact with his son, "I know you're in there son…I love you."
It was as if those three magic words really were magic. "Dad…" Nick struggled out as the Koragg armor melted away, the Master's dark magic physically leaving his body, leaving a dazed and drained Nick behind.
He collapsed in his father's arms, "I'm sorry dad" he sobbed
As Nick wept, Aria was doing everything to calm down. But with the Master so close to power and her high emotions, Aria was having trouble calming down.
"No, no, no, no.." she began mumbling to herself. "Stop, please, stop." Her voice going in and out.
"Baya." Udonna said gently, reaching out her. Unknown to Aria, she had begun hovering in the air as she began to lose herself. "Come darling."
Aria hesitantly reached for her mother's hand. To her surprise, her dark magic seemed to melt away at her mother's touch, the black in her eyes melting away. Udonna pulled her daughter down to her father and brother and there the four of them embraced on the forest floor.
"I understand now…" Nick sighed, his tears stopped flowing as he looked to both Leanbow and Aria.
"I'm just glad you're okay." Leanbow sighed looking over at Aria in his wife's arms rubbing his children's heads affectionately "Both of you."
-Rootcore-
After reassuring their parents for the hundredth time that they were okay, the rangers all began to pitch in not only helping clean up the village, but Rootcore as well. While the rangers stayed with the villagers, Nick, Aria, and Leanbow were urged to heal at Rootcore. As Claire and Daggeron worked to clear out the rubble, Udonna tended to her family.
Nick and Aria were perched on the edge of Aria's bed while Udonna urged her husband to sit on the nearby chair. Thankfully for her, and Nick honestly, her room was relatively damage free from the previous showdown.
"Daggeron has trained you both well." Leanbow praised wincing as Udonna cleaned a slice on his forehead.
"Thanks, but I'm pretty sure that was the Master's doing" Nick sighed, adjusting the bandage around his neck. "Was the knife to the neck really necessary?"
"Says the guy who kicked dad over the balcony." Aria shot back. Nick groaned at the memory. "You know bad time, but we're three for four now."
"What?"
"We've all been evil except for mom…" she pointed out. All three of them looked at her with a questioning look. She proceeded to knock on the wooden frame of her bed.
Nick picked up a stray ice pack next to him and chucked it at his sister "Dude, how hard did I hit you."
She easily caught it with one hand "Clearly not hard enough."
Their parents chuckled and shook their heads. "Speak for yourself" Leanbow winced again. The two men proceeded to knock on the wooden furniture as well. Better safe than sorry.
The light atmosphere suddenly shifted as Udonna tensed suddenly
"Udonna what is it?" Leanbow asked, reaching up to grab his wife's hand.
"Something's wrong…"
Aria then suddenly hunched over, head in hand. Udonna was right, something was definitely wrong. It felt as though she was summoning her dark magic – clearly she wasn't. At least not willingly.
"Ria?" Nick tried, kneeling by his sister
Udonna rushed out of the room in an instant, followed closely by Leanbow and Nick guiding the dazed Aria.
"Udonna what's wrong?" Daggeron asked seeing the worried look on his old friend's face.
A blue spell seal appeared in a flash as a wounded Snow Prince stumbled forth, collapsing onto the floor with Udonna just barely catching him.
"I'm here with terrible news," he gasped out "the Master has destroyed our realm, the Magical Source has been attacked."
"The Mystic Mother?" Udonna asked aloud
"Yes."
"Who is that?" Nick wondered, shifting eyes from the fallen Prince to the others
"The Empress of all good magic."
"She was known as Rita once, but she's sworn to fight off all evil since then" Aria clarified, slowly peeling herself from her dad and brother. She took a few deep breaths to try and regulate her pounding heart.
The Prince began to regale them of the events that occurred not moments ago. The Master breaking into the Mother's palace and wiping her away as if she weren't an all-powerful sorceress. He was only able to get away thanks to the Mystic Mother before her demise.
"With the Mystic Mother gone…no one will be able to defeat the Master…" Udonna breathed.
Leanbow suddenly turned, heading for the door "There may be a chance the Mystic Mother is still alive" he stated, Daggeron nodding in agreement as he followed his teacher
"Let me go with you!" Nick begged, zipping up his vest in a hurry.
He looked down fondly at his son, seeing so much of himself in those green eyes. "No, Daggeron and I will handle this. Your team will need you." He placed a hand on his shoulder before bringing him in for a hug. Going unnoticed by Udonna and Aria, he bent down and whispered into his ear "Look out for your sister…"
He gave the same hug to Aria before moving to his precious wife. "It seems like we're always saying goodbye" she sighed.
"I promise this time will be the last…" he turned to his wide-eyed twins "Nick, Aria, I'm counting on you two to take care of things while I'm gone."
"But we can help…" Aria tried
"Both of you are needed more here, do you understand?"
Nick and Aria glanced at each other. They both knew he was right, but they had just been reunited again.
Daggeron stepped forward and presented Jenji's lamp to Aria who took it in her arms gently. "Keep an eye on him for me."
And with that the two men were off.
"I'll never be as good as him will I?" Nick asked no one in particular.
"I don't think anyone can be…"
Udonna reassured her children "You are not your father; you are on your own paths."
Before Nick could come up with a retort their morphers rang, it was Xander.
"There's big trouble in the city!" he warned. "We got two Terrors out here."
With that Aria knew it was only a matter of time. Again, she pulled out her old communicator, clicked it twice, and fastened it around her neck. She paused for a moment to look at the many pictures of her loved ones on her walls and around her rooms before exiting.
"What's that?" Nick asked pointing to the red and black symbol hanging on her chest.
"Backup."
"We're on our way."
-City-
Aria stood by her friends in her titan form, wings extended and staff at the ready as they formed their Manticore Megazord meeting Black Lance who was more than eager to begin their battle. Udonna stayed behind to face off Sculpin.
"Legendary Striker Spin Attack!" the Five called out
Aria back up this attack by calling forth her dark magic, not trying to go too far down the hole in fear of not being able to control herself.
To their surprise Black Lance easily charged through it and swung his blade down on the two Titan forms.
"You're not nearly as strong as your father" he boasted, clearly aiming for Nick's pride.
"Enough talk" Aria spat in defense of her brother as she flew forward again using her dark magic, clearly using a weaker attack than she was capable of.
The Terror laughed at her mockingly, "What's the matter black ranger? Do you feel the Master's presence?"
Aria's silence was the answer he needed as he again rained strikes down on them. They had no time to react to anything Black Lance was giving them.
"We can't take much more of this!" Vida cried. Aria raised her staff again in a futile attempt as the Terror just sliced across her abdomen over and over again. She was too weak to even fly away let own swing down upon him.
"Accept your fate!" he cried as he delivered a final blow to the rangers, throwing them out of not just their Titan forms, but their suits as well. They clawed at the ground beneath them. The neighboring buildings have since been destroyed, smoke and rubble everywhere.
"Rangers!" Udonna cried out to them, still locked in battle with Sculpin. She was soon put in the same position as her students. Demorphed and panting for breath.
"At last!" Sculpin declared, "Oh, how the mighty Mystic Force has fallen. There's no one to help you now!" again he fired his magic at the unmorphed rangers. They all braced for the impact as Jenji launched himself out of his lantern and took the hit for them.
"JENJI!" Aria screamed as they watched their beloved feline fade into a puff of smoke.
Sculpin stalked his way towards Udonna. Aria and Nick struggling to their feet. "Come with me sorceress…" A spell seal appeared below them as they fell through it.
Aria's black eyes widened as she fired her dark magic at the Terror, but she was too late. Her mother was gone.
"NO!" the rangers stared at the spot where Udonna once stood. Disbelief, horror, and grief etched onto their faces. But for Aria and Nick all they could feel was rage.
Black Lance appeared before them again, "Your sorceress is gone, and now it's your turn…"
-Blue Bay Harbor-
Dustin, Shane, and Tori were spread out throughout the Academy teaching their classes when they each heard the familiar chirp of their communicators. Pulling it out to confirm the signal the three Senseis nodded at their senior students to signal them to follow their lead. They all met in the courtyard with Cam joining last.
"I've tracked her location, she's in downtown Briarwood, Thunders and Dinos are on their way."
With a nod the small group of Wind Ninjas fastened the masks and hoods on their heads and took off.
-Reefside-
Hunter and Blake led their own group of senior Thunder students out of their Academy, identities hidden as they prepped to streak to Aria's pinned location.
"Dinos are on the move, let's go."
Blake, under his hood and mask smirked "Back in business" as they disappeared in flashes of crimson, navy, and black.
A/N: It's coming down to the end y'all...at least of this story ;)