Xander took a deep breath and began talking, something he quite liked to do.
"Well, you see, she was being really spacy today at work, not getting much done and all. Toby decided just to give her the rest of the day off, so she left pretty quick, talking about taking a walk in the park. So about half and hour later, we get a distress call on the morphers from her, but it cuts out midway. Of course, we rush to see what's going on, and we find her like this, completely turned to stone. We'd been hearing about it in the papers, and we thought it might be something a bit on the magical side, but this pretty much confirmed it. And, anyway, this vampire lady named Necrolai is standing there laughing with this weird monster that I didn't quite catch the name of, and then they attack us and pretty much kick our butts, then decide to disappear into the Underworld, kind of like how Koragg comes and goes. We bring her back here, and you know the rest of the story."
"Can you do anything to help her?" Vida asked hopefully, obviously fearing for her sister's safety. Udonna didn't respond, opting to step forward and place her wand tip on Madison's head.
"Sorvadum nuchaios." A few sparkles played listlessly around Madison's head, but died away without any effect. Udonna shook her head. "I'm sorry, Rangers, but my magic will not work on her. This monster's dark magic is too strong. If you want to free Madison, you must destroy the creature who put the spell on her."
"But how?" Chip asked. "I mean, it's not like we can summon him up or anything, and I don't think we know how to get to the Underworld." He turned to look at the others questioningly. "Can we?"
Nick, previously frozen in his spot by sheer shock, forced the cogs in his brain to start turning. Maybe they couldn't open up a dark seal, but he might be able to. If he could send the Hydras Worm down, then he could pull up this creature, this thing that tried to harm Maddie. Just thinking about it made him angry; angry that she was trapped like this, that something had the guts to attack her, that he hadn't been there to protect her. No, he'd been here feeling angry and confused, wallowing in his emotions. He hadn't even heard her call for help, which only fueled his desire to save her now.
"I might be able to," he said quietly, hardly loudly enough for the others to hear. They turned to look at him, having not seen him when they rushed in.
"How?" Xander asked, cocking an eyebrow. "We don't know any magic to get him up here, do we?" Chip and Vida shook their heads, while Udonna only gave Nick a knowing look. He chose to ignore this, staring straight at Xander instead.
"I don't know if I do," Nick replied, feeling suddenly on the spot, "not exactly."
"How can you not be sure if you know a spell or not?" Vida asked, voice a bit more vicious than she'd meant. Nick seemed temporarily taken aback. "Sorry," she said in response, calmer now. "I'm just worried about my sis." Nick mentally shook it off and smiled sympathetically.
"So am I. I want to get the thing that did this to her, and I want it now." There was a fire in his eyes, a passion to hurt what had hurt Madison. He wanted to make it clear to the Underworld that no one hurt her so long as he loved her.
The others saw this passion and exchanged a few quick glances, letting Xander speak up first.
"So what do you propose we do, then?"
"You know what I want to do. I want to summon this thing and get rid of it," Nick said, slightly exasperated.
"But you want us to use a spell that you may or may not know, that may or may not work," Xander replied, skeptical. Nick walked past his stubborn friend and gave all three a relentless frown.
"C'mon, you guys. Every minute we waste here is another minute Maddie's trapped like that," he said, pointing to the frozen Ranger. "And the thing that did that to her is still out there." He looked at Chip. "Does this thing have a name?"
"Clawbster," he replied, traces of an amused smile playing on his lips, prompting Vida to give him her newly patented death glare. "What?" he asked innocently. "I think it's a funny name."
Nick rolled his eyes. "Thanks Chip. Like I was saying, you guys just have to trust me on this."
Udonna, quiet up until now, stood up. "I believe in him." The Rangers, even Nick, turned to look at her, almost having forgotten she was there. They all stared on in a stunned silence, Udonna returning it evenly. Finally, Vida shifted her focus back to Nick and glared.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" she asked, raising her arms questioningly and walking past him to the door. As far as she was concerned, if a powerful sorceress like Udonna thought Nick could do it (whatever it was), then it couldn't hurt to try. Worst case scenario, it wouldn't work, Nick would be embarrassed and they'd all be back to square one.
It took Nick a moment to register the fact that she was willing to go along with him, if only for her sister. Where the others had just accepted him as part of their group, Vida was still wary of him. He felt that if he succeeded at this, she'd accept him and, most of all, that he had no intention of hurting Madison.
He turned to the Pink Ranger, already halfway out the door, and shouted, "Wait, V, wait for me!"
Jogging to catch up with her, he left Chip and Xander to exchange glances before running to catch up with the other two.
Vida stopped abruptly, causing Nick to accidentally run in to her. She payed no mind, as opposed to the usual burning glare he'd have been receiving, instead opting to survey the open field before her.
"Will this do?" she asked gruffly, still not entirely okay with this plan. He stepped in front of her, careful not to bump into her again, and gave the field a once-over.
"It's fine," he replied, stepping into the tall grasses. "I'm not sure exactly what's going to happen, so you guys might want to stand back until I summon it." He paused. "... If I can."
"I sure hope you can, because otherwise we're back to square one," Xander added, not helping the suddenly mounting pressure Nick felt.
Ignoring said pressure and steady gazes flowing from his teammates, he closed his eyes in order to focus. For several minutes he stood in utter silence, trying to find a spell to use trapped in the recesses of his mind. Finally, one floated up and, startling the others, he began chanting.
"Basalichi infredo ... Basalichi infredo ... Basalichi infredo ... " By the second repeating, his voice had taken on a deeper, more guttural tone, much darker and heavier. A circle began to etch itself into the ground before him.
Chip's eyes went wide. He knew that circle. That was the same circle Koragg used to go between the surface and Underworld. How was Nick using it?
"Basalichi infredo!" Nick shouted, eyes flying open, momentarily revealing a glimmer of strange enjoyment in this magic, before returning to their normal gleam. As he uttered the last syllable, the circle flared a brilliant golden-purple. He visibly relaxed, looking at his circle, but nothing happened.
Vida just stared at him impatiently. "Well, what now? Are you going to do anything with that or are we wasting our time out here?" Nick turned his head slightly and gave her a reassuring glance.
"Cool it, V. I've only got the portal open. Now I just need to get it up here."
"Any idea how to do that?"
He gave her a small sheepish grin. "Maybe. We'll find out." He turned back to the shimmering portal and closed his eyes.
Through the spells floating around in his mind, Nick couldn't help but smile, if only inwardly so Vida wouldn't try to kill him. He wasn't sure where these spells were coming from, but they felt right. Magic just felt right, even when he couldn't control it. It was just in his blood. He couldn't change the truth, and he couldn't deny it if he wanted to save Maddie.
Another spell drifted to him through his bog of thoughts and spells. "Uthra norqua ozarro," he whispered, focusing intently on Clawbster. Despite the fact that he'd never actually seen the monster, a vivid image flashed across his eyes. The circle flared its bright golden-purple again, and something began edging its way out, struggling as if it was being forced through. Nick's eyes flew open, alight with magic.
"Rise," he said, voice strange and unearthly again. Chip, who had been frozen in his spot since seeing the circle, was again reminded of Koragg as Nick pulled the monster up fully. There was something in his voice, in the way he used the magic, that reminded Chip of the Knight Wolf, and yet it was different, lighter, like Nick with a dash of Koragg.
The monster, now most of the way up, saw Nick and let out a fearful cry.
"Necrolai, mistress, save me!" He looked frantically to the other Rangers, eyes settling again on Nick, seeing something strange in the Red Ranger's eyes. "What do you want, wizard?" he asked, regaining some of his former dark attitude. "Why did you call me here?"
"You happened to freeze a good friend of mine. I'd like to repay the favor," Nick said harshly, holding his wand out menacingly toward the creature. It tried to lunge at him, but was thrown back by a wall of golden light coming from the circle.
"I'd advise you not to try that again, unless you'd like to die a little sooner," Nick said calmly, staring the monster down.
"I don't think so," came a voice from behind him. Nick froze in his spot. He knew that voice. Turning around slowly, he saw Necrolai, exactly the vampiress he'd been expecting to see.
"Hello, Rangers," she hissed, smiling darkly. "So good to see you agai -" Her breath stopped in her throat as her eyes fell upon Nick's face. Being the first time she had met the Red Wizard, she was stunned by the resemblance he bore to one of her co-conspirators in evildoing, at least in their unmorphed forms. The dark hair, the face, the confident way he stood, it all screamed Koragg.
She reluctantly filed away these thoughts for a later time when she could confront the Knight Wolf and smirked evilly again.
"What are you doing with my minion?" she snarled. Any anger she bore toward the man she could rightly assume was the Red Wizard's father was now directed at the boy himself.
"We're here to destroy him. He froze one of our Rangers," the boy responded, stepping forward confidently. His readiness to fight was nearly overtaking his negotiation skills. "Leave if you don't want to go down with him." Necrolai only scoffed. He had his father's false sense of power, too.
"You think you could destroy me? You think too much of yourself, Red Ranger." Nick held out his wand in the most threatening way you could hold a cell phone and stared her down, ready to fight at any moment. The vampiress only laughed. "What do you think that puny device could do to me?"
"It can do enough," the Red answered gruffly. Chip, Vida and Xander took their places on either side of him, wands out. He gave them an appreciative look before turning serious again. "It's time to Ranger up. Ready?"
"Ready!" they chorused, flipping their wands out fully.
"Magical source, Mystic Force!" their voices chimed in unison, arms following the complex movements. Within moments, they had been replaced by four Rangers, each posed and ready for battle.
"Ha!" jeered the villainess. "That didn't help you last time! What makes you think it will now?"
"Well, there are four of us now," Chip answered lightly, as if mocking her. The strength he took on when he became a Ranger was quickly overtaking his usually light-hearted demeanor, leaving little room for such comments.
"That won't help you," Necrolai spat back, glancing to her cowering minion.
"Please, mistress, let me out," he whined. She snapped her fingers, shattering the circle, and not sparing him another glance. What a pitiful beast, she thought.
"You'll have to conjure more than that sorry circle, Red Ranger, if you plan on defeating me. You may be adept with balanced magic," she said, noting his golden-purple circle, "but it will take more power to defeat me than a mere summoning circle."
Nick stepped toward her, sword drawn and pointed at the vampiress' throat.
"I'm only going to tell you this one time, hag. We only want Clawbster. Go now if you don't want to be destroyed."
"Getting rid of me will take more than empty threats," she cackled, face turning more serious. "Hidiacs, attack!"
Twenty-odd masked zombies rose from a summoning circle on the ground, lunging at the Rangers almost instantly. Xander, Vida and Chip all drew their weapons and joined Nick, who was already slashing at the foot soldiers mercilessly. With their combined efforts, added with Nick's fervor, the Hidiacs came down easily.
Necrolai only stood stock-still in shock. She'd faced the Pink, Green and Yellow Rangers before and easily defeated them, but with their leader, they gained a significant amount of power. Alone, his magic was astounding, but when paired with the others ... There was no doubt that this boy was Koragg's son.
"So what now, Necrolai?" the Red asked, turning to the stunned vampire queen. "Are you going to give up and give us Clawbster? Or are you going to end up like your Hidiacs?" Necrolai, quickly snapped out of her stunned trance, gave him a dirty look.
"Do you think me weak, Red Ranger?" she snarled, mind racing. She did not want to face the Rangers now, not when they were fueled by the temporary loss of a comrade, but she didn't want to come off as a coward. "I could defeat you any day. Alas, he is useless to me now." She pointed to Clawbster. "And I have business to attend to. But this does not end here, Red Wizard." She quickly opened a portal and disappeared, leaving a trembling Clawbster.
"Don't hurt me," he whimpered, afraid especially of the Red Ranger after what he'd seen the guy do.
"I can't promise anything," Nick growled, the image of a petrified Madison drifting through his head. He approached the quivering and pointed his sword point at what he could only assume was its neck. "Stand up." The creature obliged silently as the others joined Nick by his side.
"What now?" Xander asked, voice only slightly muffled by the helmet. Nick mulled the question over, not really sure how to save Maddie and destroy this thing. A few ideas floated around, but nothing really stood out as the right way. Fortunately, Chip spoke up quickly."What about a power-stripping spell? Or a banishing spell?" Nick nodded, liking the ideas more than any of his own.
"I like it. But first, we need to get him to reverse the magic he did on Maddie, and all those other people. I want to know that they're safe before we do something to him." He turned to Clawbster. "Will you reverse the magic?" The creature nodded wildly. "Good. Go for it." Turning back to his friends, he smiled behind his helmet. "See? Not too hard." Just then, he heard a roaring behind him and whipped around in time to get thrown backward by an immense weight. Somewhere in the six seconds between looking at Clawbster and talking, the monster had found his previously absent courage.
Nick, temporarily blinded by the attack's force, blinked hard several times, willing his sight to return. He felt a few hits connect between his helmet and Clawbster's claw before his vision had fully returned. Now Nick was getting angry - not only was the beast not reversing the magic, but it had the guts to attack him. A thin veil of red began to flood is freshly regained vision.
Letting out a furious battle cry, he kicked the monster off, flames erupting from the point of contact. It flew nearly twenty feet, landing on its back with a loud groan. Nick leapt up easily and stalked over to the monster, who was trying to put out the flames dancing on his chest. He placed his sword on the beast's throat menacingly.
"That was a bad idea. I gave you the chance to survive, but I think you just gave it up," the Red Ranger growled, voice once again much darker. Thoughts that no Ranger should have raced through his mind without really letting him think them, all coming up and dying down too quickly to focus on. One thought did linger, though, and from the sounds of it, it was a spell. Nick grabbed it easily and glared daggers at the monster.
"It's time for you to die," he whispered harshly. "Coniecto laqueus!" Flames burst from his sword point, forming a cage around Clawbster and the Ranger. "Good bye." He snapped his fingers, the cage collapsing in on the monster. The flames danced around Nick and engulfed Clawbster. Its screams pierced the air for only a moment before dying out in a fiery blast.
With the creature gone and the pieces done burning, now just smoldering slightly, Nick felt a weight lift off him. He just felt like Nick again, not Nick the Red Wizard Power Ranger who has Control Over a Rare and Powerful Magic. No, just Nick.
Whispering 'Power down' as he turned to his friends, he hoped they weren't too freaked out. He had lost it a bit there. Surprisingly, only Chip's face, quickly unmorphed like the others, revealed an odd look, a mix of deep thought and the last dregs of the strength that came with his morphed form. Vida just gave him a broad smile.
"Way to go!" she said happily, patting him on the back and giving him an awe-filled look, which easily told him that she'd fully accepted him, as a Ranger and as a friend.
"Nice bit of magic there at the end," Xander added, smiling jovially.
Chip just gave him a half-hearted grin. "That was nice, man." Vida looked at her oldest friend for a second, seeming worried, then looked back to Nick.
"C'mon, let's get back to Root Core. I want to see my sis." She began to walk away, toward Root Core, before the guys could respond. Despite the fact that none of them were quite sure if Maddie had been released, what with Clawbster being destroyed first and all, she had this feeling deep down that her sis was alive and well. If Maddie wasn't revived, Vida would've known.
The trio of guys quietly obliged her, jogging to catch up with the Pink Ranger.
Koragg didn't hear Necrolai's footsteps as she entered his private quarters. He was too enthralled by watching various points in Nick's life, studying the boy's childhood, the way he was raised, the many times his powers cropped up without warning. He did have a true knack for random acts of magic, especially during his teenage years.
"You've been keeping a secret," Necrolai hissed from behind the dark warrior. He turned to her, surprise masked by his helmet.
"Really?" he growled back. "Enlighten me."
"Oh, it's nothing much," she replied playfully. "Only that your son lives on the surface as the Red Wizard." Koragg's eyes widened.
"So you know," he said, quickly recovering his cool demeanor. "That makes two of us, then. If I'm not mistaken, you have a daughter up there."
"But she is there to serve the darkness. Yours is a Power Ranger." She said the last part with particular venom.
"As am I. It makes no difference. If all goes well, he will be on our side soon enough."
"You'd better be right, for your sake. I'm sure the Master would like to know of your deceit," she spat, sauntering off, very pleased with herself.
Koragg silently cursed her. Her knowledge of Nickolaus' lineage would be a huge hindrance unless he executed his plans now, slightly sooner than he'd intended. If he did succeed, though, the hag would pay. She would pay dearly.
The Rangers arrived at Root Core within minutes, all clamoring quickly through the door. Nick and Vida were the first in, Vida squealing girlishly in a very uncharacteristic way when she saw Maddie quietly reading at the center table. In one long stride, she'd crossed the room and scooped her sister up in a gigantic bear hug.
"Oh, Maddie! I was so worried!" she said, nearly strangling her sister with excitement. Pulling away when she revealed how tightly she was hugging the Blue Ranger, she gave the girl the best stern look she could manage in such a happy mood. "Don't ever do that to me again, or so help me ... " Maddie smiled back apologetically.
"Don't worry. It's not something I ever plan on doing again," she replied quickly before she was pulled into two much less intense bear hugs by Chip and Xander. When they had gotten their turns, she looked over to Nick, who stood quietly off to the side, trying to decide what to do. He knew that she liked him, at least a small bit, from the way she had kissed him back. But he had no clue as to whether or not she actually wanted to pursue a relationship, and he didn't want to make her awkward in any way.
She stood perfectly still for a moment, lost in her thoughts and his face, before working up the courage to go to him and pull him into a tight, intimate embrace. Burying her face in his chest, she smiled lightly. She got the feeling that the next events were going to be on her mind for a good long while.
Finally, they pulled apart and looked at each other, ignoring how uncomfortable Chip and Xander were and how badly Vida was suppressing her death glare.
"We need to talk," Maddie whispered. Nick nodded in response and looked at the others.
"I think we'd better go for a walk, then," he said, noticing the trio of friends pretending to be doing other things in a very unrealistic way. Madison smiled and took the Red Ranger's hand, following him out into the forest.
They walked silently until Root Core was out of view. Both stopped and turned to face one another again, studying the subtle features of the other's face.
"About the other day ... " Nick started, voice trailing off as he grasped for the right words. He wouldn't need them, though, as Maddie quickly put a finger up to his lips.
"Stop. You don't need to apologize, not when I liked it," she said, a slight blush rising to her cheeks. "I like you," she added, gaze drifting away from his. "The thing is, I've liked you since I first saw you and your bike outside of the Rock Porium. I guess it was just love at first sight, like they talk about in movies and books. There was something about you, about your courage, your honesty, something in your eyes that I just liked. I wanted to follow you into the woods with the old man so badly, but ... "
Nick grinned, interrupting the otherwise serious moment. "Did you know that Udonna was the old man? Yeah, surprised me, too," he added, seeing the surprised, questioning smile that came to her lips. "So why did you and Xander eventually join us?"
"Well, he decided that someone had to watch out for you guys and I just wanted to make sure my sis stayed safe, all beside the fact that you were there. But here we all are now, witches and wizards and Power Rangers ... "
"But ... " he probed, sensing the lack of finality in her sentence. "What is it? If you don't want to be with me, I'll completely understand."
"No, no, no," she said hastily, trying to correct his misconceptions. "Of course I want to be with you. I have since the moment I saw you. Right now, there's nothing in this world or any other that could keep me from you. It's just ... " She paused, her turn to be short on words. "Well, if you hadn't kissed me, I never would've admitted that I liked you. I'm not that forward. I guess I just feel like I wouldn't bring too much to the relationship with someone as great as you. I don't even have the guts to tell a guy I like him."
"No way," Nick replied firmly, shaking his head. "You're much stronger than you think you are; I can just see it. Sometimes you don't need guts to be strong." Her blush deepened. "No, it's true," he laughed. "I wouldn't have fallen for you if you weren't so perfect. You're my perfect girl. And besides," he said, smiling as he wrapped his arms around her, "I'm tired of those girls who just want me because I'm sexy and won't take no for an answer. Demure is so much cuter."
Maddie smiled shyly, not used to this much attention from a guy. They usually paid more notice to loud, outspoken tomboys like Vida, or stuck-up, materialistic girls like Leelee, never shy, quiet girls like herself. And yet here she was, in the arms of such a perfect guy. What did she do to be so lucky?
She looked timidly into Nick's eyes, and was suddenly overcome by the fiery urge to kiss him. For an excruciating moment, she tried to resist, but had to give in when he smiled playfully at her.
Standing on her tiptoes, she pulled him down and met his lips with hers. Instantly, she was lost in the passion and excitement.
Nick was briefly stunned by her bold action, but quickly brushed it off and leaned into the kiss, meeting her passion equally, if not more so.
Maddie was the first to pull away, breathing heavily and face flushed.
"Wow," she managed to whisper, grinning ear to ear absently. Nick smiled back with a crazy smile.
"Wow is an understatement," he breathed.
"I mean ... Wow." She seemed beyond floored. "I never do that. I've never done that." She looked at him, grinning madly. "What is it about you that makes me crazy?"
"I don't know," he grinned back. "Maybe it's this." He leaned in, taking her chin and pulling her into another deep kiss. She smiled inwardly, returning the kiss with what could only be divinely inspired passion.
Somewhere in the middle of the kiss, Nick barely registered the chiming sound of their wands. Pulling apart regretfully, he grabbed his and opened it up.
"What is it?" he asked, slightly irritated.
"Clawbster has returned, and he's attacking the forest," Udonna's voice rang out. "Meet the other Rangers at the specified coordinates. A new spell code awaits you."
"Got it," Nick replied, flipping his phone together and looking to Madison. "Sorry for the interruption. Later?" he asked, looking hopeful.
"Possibly," she replied, smiling wickedly. "Let's just go kick some monster butt right now." Not waiting for the Red Ranger to follow her, she disappeared into a tree, leaving an anxious Nick to play catch up with yet another Rocca girl. Today was going to be one hell of a day.
A/N - I'm sorry it took me so long to get this chap up, but with a shopping trip up to Chicago and finals, it's been hard. With summer rapidly approaching, I'm going to try my best to get chaps up more often.
Anyway, it's weird, but on paper, where I generally write the first draft, I'm up to 159 pages (and a second notebook), but I've only typed up a total of 61 of those pages. I'm pretty sure that I'm not going to catch up with myself anytime soon, which won't be a bad thing, since the story is in a constant state of revision. I think I've got the basic plot for my unwritten stuff down, though, so this story is becoming a bit more structured.
As for the impending battle at the end of this chap, I'm not going to write about it, just allude to it in the next chap. For one thing, I'm not good at writing detailed battle scenes (I'll include one only if it's essential in moving the story along), and it wouldn't have added much to the story anyway. Besides, this chap is way freaking long as it is. Each chapter seems to get longer than its predecessor. I'm not sure how it keeps happening, but it does.
Keep in mind, this wasn't the original ending for this chapter. I liked the original a lot more, but it didn't make sense in the story. So here's my second choice for an ending.
Enjoy.