Nick cringed slightly, but quickly arranged his features back to a passive look, neither smiling nor frowning, and turned to look at her.
"This your room?" he asked, pointing a thumb back even though he already knew the answer. How could this not be her room? Not only was she the only teenage girl in the Underworld, and this was most certainly the room of a teenage girl, but everything about it just screamed 'Leelee'.
She nodded and moved past him into the mysteriously well lit room.
"My own personal happy space in this dump," she answered brightly. Glancing around at her belongings lovingly, she sat down on her bed. "So what exactly were you doing here?" He smiled lightly and took a seat on a chair in the corner opposite her bed.
"I just got a little lost in thought and ended up wandering down here. Believe me, I'd rather be wandering up there -" He pointed upwards, indicating the surface world "- but my father prefers to be an ass about it. He doesn't understand why I hate being trapped here, but you know how boring it can be." She replied only with a nod, understanding better than he could how excruciating the boredom could be after nearly eighteen years worth of experience. "Somehow, my aimless wandering landed me here," he added as an afterthought, not really meant to affect the conversation any.
"I'm glad it did," she said with a grin. "You're, like, the only person I like talking to down here. I don't have to hide anything and, best of all, you're human."
"My father's human, too," he responded despite the slight hints of sadness in her voice. She wrinkled her nose.
"He doesn't count. He's always in morph down here. And besides, he's way too old to talk to."
"True," laughed Nick. The two shared a moment of silence before he asked, "So how did your plan go over with the pumphead?" Leelee had the unfortunate luck of Morticon catching wind of a plan she'd been formulating, and the general had demanded she explain it to him before going through with it. The vampire princess' face lit up at the mention of it.
"He actually liked it. Mom and Koragg just stood around and scowled, but Morticon actually liked it. He wants me to start it as soon as possible." Nick nodded, vaguely surprised. Morticon was known for shooting down ideas presented to him for little to no reason; it explained why the armies of darkness could go weeks without a major attack. Everyone who knew anything in the Underworld knew to avoid explaining anything to the Morlock and push forward with their plans, at least until they'd succeeded in some way. You only ever went to him when you required his assistance or he'd found out and demanded to be informed. For him to like a plan right off the bat was highly unusual.
"So what is this plan exactly?" he asked, interest piqued by the fact that even Morticon approved of it. "I know you mentioned a flytrap and getting my friends to join us."
"That's exactly why I wanted to see you, actually," she answered with a broad grin. "You're totally going to love my idea. It'll get all of your friends down here in one way or another."
"And... ?" He gave her an inquiring and slightly impatient look.
"Well, for one thing, it's not just any flytrap I'm talking about, it's the Flytrap," she stated as if he was stupid for not knowing the difference when she'd only mentioned it in passing. "Flytrap is this monster thing that can turn people into vampires. I had this idea that he could turn into his human form and hypnotize people - that's his other power, hypnotizing people - and then turn them into vampires. Then we'd have our own little army, and even a few of your friends." A smile that told of how incredibly pleased with herself she was spread over her features.
"And how does he turn people into vampires exactly? I thought that was your mom's thing."
"Easy. Mom gave him the power - that's a vampire queen thing, giving other people her powers through blood - but can still make her own personal servant vampires. And that's where your friends come in. When they're hypnotized, she turns them into her own servants so they can walk in the sunlight like her and all that. Then they can join us down here forever."
"And how are they going to turn them? I'm pretty sure it's still suspicious to stop strangers and hypnotize them."
"You ask some really stupid questions, you know? We'll just mask the whole thing as a party at a club. Flytrap is going to be the DJ and Mom'll turn your friends once they're hypnotized." He nodded in understanding as it started to come together, but one question still stuck out to him.
"How are we going to get them there? They won't exactly take an invitation from you now. And that's beside the fact that Chip and Madison aren't exactly the club-going types. Hell, Xander hardly is." She shook her head lightly, recently applied waves dancing around her cheeks.
"Just leave that to me. I'll get at least one of them there."
"Leave Madison out of this whole plot, though," he replied, shooting the vampire princess a warning glare. "I'm not going to hesitate to kill anyone or anything that even tries touching her. I want her to come down here willingly." He paused, an idea striking him. "Although, if we were to have some sort of incentive that could lure her here, like, say, a sister, she'd be here of her own free will and my magic might be able to turn her... " Leelee mentally rolled her eyes.
"Whatever. I'll try to get Vida down here, but I can't promise anything. And I won't touch your girlfriend," she said, a particular venom wrapped itself around the last word. "Just let me handle everything and we'll have some new friends down here in no time."
"Aw, come on you guys," Vida pleaded, shaking a flyer hopefully in front of herself. "Won't any of you go with me?" Xander scurried past her, barely making it to the counter with an overly large box. He shook his head at her again.
"I already told you, V, Toby wants me to close up tonight. I can't." Chip, too, shook his head as he loaded some vinyls onto their respective shelves.
"I can't either. I promised Udonna I'd drop by to work on the Fire Heart scroll some more. And besides," he added with a goofy grin, "you know clubs like that don't like me. The last one tried to kill me." Vida arched her eyebrows and let a tiny grin play on her lips.
"Chip, that was in seventh grade, and it was only a fan." He still shook his head.
"Sorry, Veed. Clubs just aren't my thing, and I can't bail on Udonna." Sighing resignedly, the Pink Ranger turned to her sister. Madison didn't look up at first, busy taking stock of the DVDs.
"Will you please go with me? There's going to be this awesome new DJ there."
Maddie, not looking up from her clipboard, answered, "How do you know he's awesome if he's new?"
"I just have this feeling, like it's going to be exciting," Vida said, desperately trying to explain the nagging compulsion to go to her twin. "So will you go?" Maddie, making a note of the number of DVDs on that particular shelf, stood up and sighed.
"I'm going to have to go with Chip on this one, sis. Clubs are more your thing than mine." Vida looked pleadingly at her sister, but the Blue Ranger refused to recant her statements. "I just don't want to go, V. I have the feeling that I shouldn't, kind of like the feeling you have that tells you to go. I'm just going with my gut." The younger twin proceeded past her sister to leave the tally on Toby's desk and managed to catch the fleeting pout on Vida's face, making her smile.
"Fine," the Sprite said, looking between her friends and sister with both determination and resignation. "I'll go alone. Call me if you need me, though." The other three nodded and exchanged goodbyes with her as she pulled on her leather jacket and left. None of them knew of the powerful chain of events the young woman was about to set in motion, and thought nothing of her quiet departure.
"Please don't ever leave me again," she whispered into his chest, arms wrapped around his neck so that he couldn't even if he wanted to.
"I won't," he whispered back simply. She snuggled closer to his warm chest just in case, grinning despite herself. His arms slowly moved up to her shoulders and pushed her back enough to look into her surprised eyes.
"What are you doing?" she choked out, fearing the worst. He simply smiled and placed a finger on her lips.
"I'm not leaving you," he answered. "I've been wanting to do this -" He placed a quick kiss on her lips. "- and it's really hard to do when you're that close." She blushed hard and giggled, loving the playful joy in his eyes.
"Well, let me return the gift." Her eyes sparkled with the same giddiness as she planted a peck on his lips. As she came back down, he gave her a sly grin.
"Hey now... " he said, moving one arm to her lower back and the other between her shoulder blades. Before she could realize it, he'd lowered her into a dip and was passionately kissing her on the lips, distracting her from the bright red birds flying through the water around them. It quickly escalated to full-on French kissing and...
WHAM!
Madison sat straight up in her bed, trying to gather herself after that dream. It had been so vivid, and she found herself desperately wishing it had been real even as the details trickled away.
Glancing blearily around, her brain began to register exactly what was going on. From the light pouring faintly in through her window, it couldn't have been any later than five or maybe six in the morning. The noise that had awoken her had come from what was now behind her. That was... Oh, thank god.
She jumped out of bed, not bothering to throw a robe on over her pale blue tank top and pastel red and pink striped boxer shorts. Scampering to the bedroom next to her own, she met her parents at the doorway. They too had been jarred from their sleep by the noise. Without a word they all entered the room and were met by the sight of Vida collapsed on her bed haphazardly. Their mom was instantly next to the girl, a hand on her forehead. The elder woman furrowed her brow.
"She feels so clammy," she murmured, leaning closer to Vida's face. "Are you okay, honey?" It took an anxious moment, but Vida nodded.
"I'm fine, mom. Just had a crazy night at a club."
"You weren't drugs, were you?" her father asked sternly, while her mother gave her a wary and fearful look. Vida responded in the negative.
"No, dad. No drugs. Just a lot of dancing." Her father nodded in acceptance.
"Good. Now, do you have any idea how late, or early, it is? Your mother and I have been beyond worried." Vida smiled weakly, looking strange against her pale skin.
"Sorry, dad. I just lost track of time. You know how I can get lost in the music," she added, laughing a bit. "Anyway, could we maybe do this later? I know I'm exhausted, and I'm sure you'd all love to get back to sleeping." The two parents exchanged a glance and nodded slowly a moment later, earning a small smile from the barely elder twin. They both retreated from the room after placing a kiss apiece on her forehead, leaving Maddie to lean dazedly in the doorway alone.
Something about Vida seemed off to her. Maybe it was just the glint of creeping in through her window or the early morning lack of sleep addling her thoughts, but something was wrong with her twin. She could feel it.
"You okay, sis?" Vida's question startled her out of her thoughts. Maddie snapped her eyes to her sister and, with a tired sigh, forced a smile.
"I'm fine," she answered, shaking her head."Just lost in thought."
"You'd better get some sleep. It'd be pretty hard to save the world if you're too tired." Maddie nodded now and murmured a quick goodnight to her twin. Even as she snuggled back between her sheets and drifted back into unconsciousness, she couldn't shake the strange vibes Vida was giving off, haunting her even into her brief dreams.
Chip could tell that there was something wrong with Vida from the moment she walked into work four hours late. Eleven-ish years of friendship had taught him more than enough of what she was normally like, and this was not it. Everything from her pale skin to her less than together demeanor gave away just how wrong she was. He couldn't pin down exactly what was going on to change her so, but something in the back of his mind was begging to be recognized.
When he'd asked Madison if she knew what was wrong with her sister, she'd admitted that she had the feeling something strange was going on. All she knew beyond her gut feeling was that Vida had gotten home incredibly late (or early, depending on your viewpoint) and had seemed tired and pale. She'd then asked him if he knew anything, but he told her that all he knew was that he'd gotten the same bad feeling she had. Even Xander commented on the small peculiarities he'd noticed from time to time, most often how she could be completely peaceful and content behind her turntables one minute, and restlessly finding jobs for herself around the shop the next.
Later, when they'd been called away from work to defend a small forest village from a random Hidiac attack, the whole mess became even more strange. Instead of beating down the roving pack of zombies with a combination of recently learned fighting techniques and magic, Vida managed to single-handedly beat them without magic. While the other two had been momentarily stunned, Chip had been busy working out what was going on. Amazing feats of strength, reckless daring, pale skin, random personality fluctuations, staying out all night, each alone a not-so-weird coincidence, but all together... It all seemed to point to one thing, one of his strange specialties that Vida liked to tease him about. All he had to do was prove it.
So here he was, anxiously waiting for his friend to walk into Rootcore. After the battle, he'd silently gone back to work with the others and rushed home once his shift had ended to pick up his kit. Now he was sitting at the central table in their headquarters, kit hidden on the chair next to him. It was like any other study session at their base, all present and quietly reading ancient tomes, save for Vida, who'd mysteriously vanished after her shift. No one knew where she'd been for the subsequent hours, and Madison in particular had become worried. It took occasional reassurances from Xander that the young Sprite could take care of herself and that she was probably just eating something, maybe resting a bit, having lost track of time. Every time the Green Wizard stated that Vida was fine, Chip felt less and less confident that she was.
Finally, Vida sauntered in, a sly smile on her face that didn't help the nervous butterflies dancing in Chip's stomach. He wasn't sure how he'd be received by his friends, or how Vida would react, and each moment that he couldn't go forward with his plan was both agony and relief.
"Hey, guys," said the latest arrival. Maddie had already slammed her book shut and was looking worriedly at her twin.
"Where have you been? You were supposed to be here almost two hours ago." Vida rolled her eyes, coming closer to her friends and leaning on the central table in a way that suggested this bored her.
"Oh, come on, it's not like you needed me. We protect the world and, if you haven't noticed, the world's still here."
"That's not the point, though. You told Udonna you'd be here," Maddie replied, disappointment, accusation and hints of fear lining her voice. Vida sighed.
"I'm sorry," she conceded, sincerely apologetic. "I made a promise and I messed up. I'm here now, though." Maddie gave her sister a small forgiving smile in spite of the peculiar vibes she was still getting from the other Rocca. Vida didn't sense the hesitancy behind her twin's smile and only reciprocated the expression in a much more exuberant way.
"Hey, you want to see my new pose? It came to me in a dream." Maddie nodded, as did Xander, both interested. Chip simply stared on, waiting for the perfect moment to execute his plan. Vida, not noticing the calculating gaze that she was receiving from Chip, grinned and pulled her right hand into a sideways 'V' next to her right eye.
"Ha!" she shouted as she did the move, startling Xander slightly and making Maddie's smile a little bigger. Though Chip outwardly smiled, something in his mind fell into place. He'd seen that pose before. As it clicked just who he'd seen it on, he nearly whooped in glee. Yet another hit for his theory.
A lull fell over the room as Xander tried to save face after being so shocked by a single shout, Maddie simply smiled and relaxed a bit, Vida chuckled and Chip saw his opportunity. Seizing a nigh-full goblet from what had been (and still was, he reminded himself) Nick's chair and approaching Vida, a sly grin crossed his face.
"After such an exciting day, you must be very thirsty," he said, holding forward the goblet, brimming with a thick crimson liquid. Vida's eyes widened almost comically at the sight, seemingly transfixed. He held it out seductively, smirk growing wider as her hands came up to intercept it. She moved forward so dazedly it was like she didn't realize she was moving at all. A stunned hunger seemed to consume her as she took the cup and let the crimson liquid splash over her lips. Chip couldn't hold back his boisterous, knowing smile as she spat it out a moment later.
"What is this junk?" she asked angrily, wiping some from the corners of her mouth with the back of her hand.
Chip put on a pouty expression and responded, "Aww, did you think it was blood?" Ignoring the frightened look Vida gave him, he turned to respond to Xander and Madison's questioning stares. "Imitation blood. It comes with a premium membership to COUNTV, which I happen to be a card-carrying member of." He proudly flashed his signed, stamped and authenticated card to them. Maddie only furrowed her brow, trying to work everything out.
"COUNTV?"
"Containment of Underworld Nocturnal Transylvanian Vampires," he stated matter-of-factly.
"Ah. And that's why you gave my sister fake blood?" Maddie asked. She wasn't entirely convinced, but she had a pretty good idea of what Chip was getting at. Whether or not she believed it, it did explain Vida's weird behaviour. "Do you really think she's a vampire?"
"How could she not be? Pale skin, erratic behaviour, thirst for blood, all telltale signs of vampirism." While Madison found herself starting to believe her eccentric friend, Xander merely chuckled and shook his head.
"Vida, a vampire? That's a good one," he said with a grin. Seeing Xander laughing, Vida joined in.
"Nice theory, Chip, but if I really was a vampire, how'd I walk in the sunlight?" This question caught him completely off-guard. Vida was right. How did she walk in the sunlight? He had been absolutely sure that she was a vampire, but that threw a wrench in everything. It was impossible, unless - The idea hit him hard and fast. Unless she'd been turned by a queen. That was the only way.
"If the Queen turned you, you'd be able to walk in the sunlight all you want," he stated. Barely catching the brief flash of surprise on her face, he smirked, knowing that he'd nailed it. It didn't even register to him how much worse this made the whole situation, merely that he'd been right and vampires were real.
"Yeah, sure," Xander responded, still smiling. "I think you've been reading too many comic books again, mate." Vida nodded along, like this was all one big joke to her. Maddie simply stared on, contemplating Chip's theory. She didn't want to believe it, but a little part of her knew how right it sounded.
"Anyway," Xander began, interrupting the silence that had befallen the group, "I have to get home. Mum's expecting me by nine." Grabbing his bag from a nearby chair, he exchanged goodbyes with everyone and jogged out of the base, knowing that he would only make home in time if he all but sprinted and desperately wishing that Udonna taught time magic. Of the many times he'd asked to learn, only one had he received more than a "No," and this was only an explanation that it was no longer practiced and quite the hazard to the time-space continuum and fabric of reality, or something that to that effect. He'd zoned out somewhere around the "No" part.
For the next half hour, the remaining three Rangers studied in near silence, Chip and Maddie occasionally giving Vida appraising glances. She caught them once or twice, but only arched her eyebrows at them in a "Yes?" gesture, prompting them to quickly look away.
Finally, when she began to get sleepy, mesmerized by all the words that she could barely read anymore, Maddie stood up and grabbed her own royal blue messenger bag, stuffing a few books into it.
"Going already?" Vida asked. "The night's still young." Maddie smiled tiredly and shook her head.
"And yet I'm already sleepy. I'm not the night owl you are, so I need to head home while I can still teleport to the right place." She and Vida hugged and she shared a quick goodbye hug with Chip before she began to exit. Halfway to the door, she paused and looked back at her twin. "You will be home before tomorrow morning, won't you?"
"Of course I will. Chip'll make sure of it, won't you, Chip?" She nudged her friend, seemingly lost in thought. He immediately snapped back to reality, nodding despite the fact that he had no idea what they were talking about. Vida laughed good-naturedly and Maddie smiled, adding a yawn to the end.
"Okay, I guess I'll see you at home later," the Blue Witch added after her yawn had subsided. Vida gave her another quick goodbye as the girl walked out, receiving a wave for a reply. As the whole of her twin disappeared from the doorway, Vida slowly turned her gaze back to the book before her, but Chip could tell that she wasn't reading. Intense thought seemed to consume her, like a private war was going on behind those light blue eyes. Finally, resolution flickering across her features, she spoke up.
"You know, Chip, you were right," she began, biting her lip hesitantly. "I am a vampire." He froze, attempting to simultaneously process this information and tensing up for the impending attack. Only when he felt nothing did he relax a bit, realizing that there was much more than animal hunger in her words. They carried more of a sadness, a silent wish that it wasn't true paired with the knowledge that it was.
"V. . ." was all he managed to get out before he was up and rifling through his kit. "I can help you," he said as he sat a book on the table while still looking through his leather briefcase-like kit, "but I need you to tell me something first - did the Queen turn you?"
For a second, she was quiet, replying playfully a moment later, "Yeah, yeah, she did." He could almost hear the smirk in her voice, the complete slight change in her demeanor, and instinctively wrapped his hand around the handle of a garlic clove.
"Then this is going to be a lot harder." He could feel her stalking up behind him with his perfectly honed senses, trained specifically to detect vampires, doing a quick one-eighty as she lunged at him. She recoiled for a moment before her resistence kicked in, but that gave her enough time to push her humanity back into control.
"Sorry," she replied pitifully, glancing at him as the fierce pink faded out of her eyes. "I can't really help it, if it's any consolation. You know I'd never attack you willingly." He gave her a small, knowing smile, one that alone conveyed the length and depth of their friendship.
"I know you wouldn't, V. You've always been there to protect me, and you always will be but, but now it's my turn to protect you. If there's one thing I can help with, it's a vampire problem." He reached back into his case and, holding out his garlic out distractedly as she attempted to assault him yet again, asked, "When did you get turned?"
"At the club the other night, I think," she answered, relaxing back into her spot as her humanity took over again and screwing her face up in thought. "I remember the music being really hypnotic and then... " Her eyes glazed over at the mere thought of such powerful music.
Chip didn't look up from his kit, only prompting, "And... ?" After another second, she snapped out of it, eyes darting around to reassure her that she was indeed still at Root Core.
"... And then I remember stumbling through my front door at five in the morning." A puzzled look overtook her face as she paused, trying to grasp at the memory of the hours in between, dancing ever so mockingly just beyond her grasp. She could feel the lost hours dangling closer and closer to her mental reach and, as a few fluttered into her mind, a stabbing pain ran through her mind. She moaned and pressed the backs of her wrists to her temples, mind engulfed in a snippet of memory.
"I shall be your mistress now," Necrolai stated haughtily. "Repeat that to me."
"I shall be your mistress now," Vida droned, earning herself a disgusted frown and a slap on the cheek.
"You foolish witch. Tell me that I am your mistress."
Vida, straightening herself and remaining otherwise unresponsive to the abuse, complied.
"You are my mistress now." The vampire queen laughed and stroked Vida's hair.
"Good pet. Now go bring me more of your Ranger friends."
Vida gasped as the flash of memory ended, along with the pain, and found Chip staring worriedly at her, eyebrows arched.
"What is it?" he questioned.
"Just a bit of last night, I guess," she replied, shaking her hand and suddenly baring her fangs. Chip held up the garlic without thought, prompting her to elaborate as she regained herself.
"Necrolai was there, and she made me call her mistress," the young witch said with utter disgust, the very thought of doing such a thing repulsive in every way. "And then she told me to bring her more Rangers." While he contemplated this, she shook her head again, as if that could dislodge more flashes of memory.
"That means that this wasn't just some random attack because she saw an opportunity. This was all planned. She got you, and now she's gunning for the rest of us." Vida creased her brow, trying as best as she could to pull up another memory that floated just out of her reach, and frowned slightly. A cackling laugh filled her mind as another tiny bit freed itself and surged to the top.
"You are quite lucky, you know. While the others will perish in the sunlight come my order, you will survive as my eternal servant. While they remain Flytrap's creatures, you are my own and therefore have all of my strengths. You will live as Flytrap orders his servants to destroy Briarwood and themselves." Necrolai traced a pointed fingernail along the girl's cheek. "Does this please you?"
"Yes," she replied vacantly. The vampire queen snarled and slapped her servant, not for the first time that night. Vida's head twisted to the side sharply, staying frozen in the position for a second before shifting back.
"That will not do, not at all. Now tell me, what is my title, witch?" Necrolai asked, malice dripping from her last word.
"You are my mistress." Though the words were void of any inflection, Necrolai still clapped her hands together gleefully.
"Good servant. I am your mistress, and I always shall be." She paused, a horrific smile crossing over her demonic features. "Now, go. Bring me your friends, but do not touch your sister. My daughter and the Red Wizard ordered that she be left alone, and we shall do such until our opportunity arises. She will be ours eventually, as will the entire world."
"Oh no," she murmured as the memory faded back into the ether. Chip's look instantly shifted to that of concern.
"What is it?" he asked, setting his free hand gently on her shoulder while gripping the garlic readily in his other.
"She's using this monster to turn people into vampires and she's going to use them to overrun the city. When the sun comes up, they'll all die."
"So not only do we have a vampire queen to deal with, but there's a monster we have to beat, otherwise tons of people will die?" She nodded, garnering a sigh from her friend. "Sounds like we have one heck of a night ahead of us then," he added with a smile. Vida too smiled despite the situation, always cheered up by Chip's nigh-giddy outlook. They exchanged growing smiles, caught in a private moment aside from all the other troubles around them.
"Sooo... What now?" Vida asked as the moment passed into memory.
A sly grin crossing over his face, Chip answered, "I think it's time we crash a club."
"Chip Thorn, you know you shouldn't have done that." Even through the lingering pain in his abdomen, he grinned.
"That is what you keep telling me," he replied, wincing as he turned to look at the driver of the car he was currently a passenger in. Vida kept glancing between him and the road, and her divided attention was definitely showing. Already, an older couple in a Buick had swerved to avoid the black Jeep's erratic driving and it was looking like they wouldn't be the last. The occasional shifts between human and vampire weren't exactly facilitating outstanding driving either.
Her concern only reinforced Chip's knowledge that he'd made the right decision, though. He would take a hit for her any day. She'd been his best friend since kindergarten, the only one to defend the weird kid in a cape, and they'd been inseparable since that day. Anything he could do to return her original protection was done without hesitation.
That was how he'd ended up in the front seat as she drove, clutching his left side despite the dissipating pain. They may have escaped the club, not without their share of bruises, but Flytrap and Necrolai were still out there. Chip wasn't sure how to destroy Necrolai, or if he even could, but Flytrap would be a piece of cake. He was just your run-of-the-mill, powers for the occasion monster that every Ranger team faced many a time. Vida had made the call ahead to Madison and Xander; both were on their way to the heart of downtown Briarwood. It was there that Vida had sensed the army of vampires created by Flytrap amassing and awaiting their chance to wreak havoc and die.
It wasn't long before they'd reached their destination, meeting the already morphed Xander and Madison. The latter pair ran over to the Jeep as Chip stepped out gingerly and Vida shut off the engine. Under her helmet, Madison frowned.
"Are you okay?" she asked Chip, lightly touching the hand that still gripped his aching side. He glanced down at it and smiled.
"It's nothing. Just a little incident at the club." When she gave him a look that he could tell was questioning, he merely shook his head. "I'll tell you later." Though his words didn't end her worry, she held back anything further. There would be time to mother him later.
"So what exactly is going on?" Xander asked. "It is the middle of the night, you know."
"Oh, can it. We've got bigger problems than your beauty sleep right now," Vida ribbed, only half joking. The two shared a brief grin before turning back to the business at hand.
"So what are we here for?" Maddie inquired, looking around for any sign of trouble.
"Well, Vida sensed Flytrap and his horde of vampires here. We need to dest-" Xander held up a hand, halting the young man who'd suddenly taken charge.
"Wait, wait, wait - his vampires? Are you telling me that this whole vampire kick you're on right now is actually real?"
"Is it really that hard to believe?" reasoned Chip. "Our enemies are zombies, cyborgs, knights and a bat lady that happens to be the Queen of the Vampires."
"Point taken."
"Anyway, as I was saying, we have to destroy Flytrap before sunrise or all of his vampires will turn into dust while they rampage."
"You mentioned Vida sensing them here," Maddie stated. "How?" Vida and Chip exchanged a glance that you would've sworn carried telepathic thought, then looked back at Maddie.
"Vida's kind of one of them. In fact -"Chip snuck a look at his watch. "- it's almost time for... " Out of the blue, Vida bared her fangs and lunged at the redheaded youth, to which he responded by casually holding up a garlic clove. "...that." Xander and Madison gave the pair strange looks, only to be returned by sheepish shrugs.
"All part of the gig," Vida said nonchalantly, repositioned the hem of her shirt as if this was a regular occurrence. "Anyway, I'd like to get this party started. The faster we deal with this Flytrap, the faster we can deal with Necrolai and I can go back to not being a bloodthirsty creature of the night."
"Then you won't have to look far, Rangers," came a voice from her right. The quartet whipped around toward it, their eyes met by exactly what they'd expected: a freakish looking monster, a handful of Hidiacs and an army of Briarwood's turned youth.
"You guys ready for this?" Vida asked, looking to her friends. They all nodded, Xander and Madison leaping into the battle with the approaching zombies and vampires, while Chip and Vida flipped open their wands.
"Ready?"
"Ready!"
"Magical source, Mystic Force!" Two bright flashes of pink and yellow momentarily replaced the pair, and then faded away, leaving only two morphed teens. They leapt into battle alongside the Green and Blue Rangers, who'd already killed most of the Hidiacs and incapacitated a handful of the vampiric teens. When the last few zombies had fallen, the team turned to the remaining vampires, knocking some out and trapping others. It took nearly fifteen minutes to get them all due to the sheer number of them and Flytrap starting a fight with one of the Rangers every so often.
When the last few teens had been captured, KO'd or otherwise put out of danger, the Mystic Force turned to Flytrap. Knowing that they'd need more than magic and fighting skill to defeat him, Chip summoned his MagiStaff crossbow and the others followed suit. All was normal, a line or two of witty banter crossing the air, until Maddie actually looked at her wand and let out a short gasp.
"What the... " she murmured holding out her MagiStaff for all to see. While usually she and Vida's remained in their Staff form, a fact that Vida had ranted about for many hours until Maddie had asked her to name one weapon associated with air, Maddie's too had changed into another form alongside the guys'. Much like Xander's, the legs of the Mystic Force symbol had turned upside-down, tips becoming more pointed and sides more rounded, and a third prong had emerged from the center, slightly longer than the other two. Her blue mermaid crystal now lay at the base where each point curved and met.
Vida frowned at her sister's new weapon, very obviously a trident, but her complaints were ceased by the stars that flashed before her eyes as she found herself face down on the ground. Flytrap stood laughing at what had been her left, pleased by his actions.
"Stupid Rangers," he rumbled. "Do you not want to fight?" As Vida pushed herself up, still mildly stunned by the blow to the head, Xander, Chip and Madison shot the monster acid glares.
"Don't you dare touch my sister," Madison spat, a light coating of red tainting her vision. While the trident wasn't something she was skilled, let alone familiar, with, that really didn't seem to matter right now. It seemed alive, ready to finally be used and attack something, and she wasn't about to deny it that pleasure.
"How will you stop me, little mermaid? With your new weapon? Ha!" His derisive peals of laughter only made her more furious, and even Vida's light touch on the shoulder couldn't quell it.
"Wanna get him, sis?" the Pink Ranger asked, a new hatred for this creature burning in her voice. Maddie gave her twin a short nod, paired with a feisty smile, and the two leapt into battle. Their sudden actions caught Flytrap by surprise, giving Vida time to throw him back with a hurricane-force wind. Maddie launched herself at his form, struggling to remove itself from the wall it had been partially embedded in, and used as much force as she could muster to swing her weapon in a stabbing motion directed toward his gut. He managed to deflect the blow just barely by throwing his arms up and pushing away. The Blue Ranger was sent into a tumbling roll, ending up on her side but quickly on her feet again.
By now Xander and Chip had joined the conflict, the former swinging his axe in a wide curve at the creature's legs as the latter shot an arrow of lightning at the beast. While he managed to avoid Xander's attack, the bolt of lightning caught him squarely in the chest, sending him backwards and down in a twisting descent to the ground. He picked himself up quickly and captured Chip with his vine-like fingers. The young man struggled for a minute but went temporarily limp as Flytrap bashed him into a wall. Moments later, the assault lessened as Xander jumped in to protect his friend, hacking at the appendages. Maddie and Vida continually assaulted him from every other side, dividing his attention between the three of them.
After nearly a minute's worth of work, Xander managed to hack off the fingers on the right hand that were holding Chip, freeing the Garuda as he fell to the ground. He picked himself up quickly, brushing off the vines and catching his breath. Taking careful aim, as to not hit either of the girls, he fired the most potent bolt of lightning he could muster. It burned the air, leaving the scent of ozone as it connected with the beast, sending it thirty feet back.
As Flytrap struggled to stand again, the Rangers grouped back together, exchanging glances. In what could've been construed as telepathy by anyone who hadn't felt the Power or used magic, they seemed to communicate silently, mere gestures conveying thoughts.
After a matter of moments, Maddie stepped forward, their para-speech ended, partially inspired by the others' ideas and partially by her own instinct. She thrust her new weapon high above her head, placing her faith in the gut feeling it gave her and the power emanating from it. Taking a deep breath, she shouted, "By the powers of water!" On cue, a heavy rain began beating down on the scene with enough force to have actually hurt the Rangers if not for the protection of their suits.
Xander too stepped forward, standing on the opposite side of the monster. He held his axe skyward and shouted, "By the powers of earth!" Below them, a slight rumble shook the ground, but they stood steadfast.
Vida came next, following suit. She took her place halfway between Maddie and Xander and raised her wand to the sky as a burst of wind sent the rain pounding at an angle. "By the powers of air!"
Chip stepped into the final position, creating a diamond around Flytrap, who dove at the Yellow Ranger as if only now realizing the team's intentions. A wall of earth, rising from the ground, stopped the monster, allowing Chip the time to complete his phase of the attack. He held his crossbow up and, quite extravagantly, exclaimed, "By the powers of lightning!" A bright flash of light broke through the darkness and, destroying the fractional silence, was followed by a peal of thunder.
Finally, Maddie lowered her trident, aiming the points at the now fearful-looking monster. Knowing exactly what she had to do, she concentrated and called out, "By the powers of fire!" In synch, the others lowered their weapons to the same angle as Madison's.
"By the elements, you are destroyed!" they all said together. Bright light in each of their respective colors engulfed their weapons and grew by the minute. In Maddie's case, it was both red and blue, swirling around one another and blending in a fine purple line where they met.
Another fraction of a second later, these concentrated colors burst forward in individual beams of light. They connected to form a perfect plus sign between the four morphed teens, with Flytrap dead center. The creature was instantly a rainbow light show, sparking and shimmering in almost every color you could imagine as the lights crossed paths. Culminating in a bright white flash, the explosion rocked the unfaltering Rangers even as they about-faced. All that remained as the light subsided was Flytrap, falling face first onto the pavement and exploding in a series of small fireballs.
"Checkmate!" the four Rangers said in unison, snapping as a final explosion demolished anything of the monster that remained.
Immediately proceeding to the vampiric teens, who'd all collapsed as their master was destroyed, they helped up the conscious ones and put those who remained unconscious in the safest, most comfortable positions they could. When they'd sorted through all of them and explained exactly what was going on, sending the assorted youths home, the four Rangers sauntered tiredly back to Vida's Jeep, demorphing as they walked. There, the vehicle's owner looked to her sister and Xander.
"How'd you two get here?" she asked, suddenly aware of the lack of another automobile. Xander gave a small smile in response, glancing at the Blue Ranger next to him.
"Maddie here picked me up via that teleportation spell. We all really should learn that trick." Vida smiled back as Maddie blushed from the recognition.
"Tomorrow, maybe. Right now, I want some sleep," the younger twin replied. They all nodded appreciatively, fatigued expressions gracing their features.
"So do you want a ride home?" Vida asked both Maddie and Xander. While Xander seemed undecided, Maddie shook her head.
"I'm just going to teleport home. Teleporting in makes a lot less noise than parking a car and climbing in through a window," she stated. Vida stuck out her tongue.
"I'm not that bad -"
"Not anymore," Maddie muttered, earning a playful punch on the shoulder from her twin.
"Anyway," she started again, "I'm not that bad anymore. I've learned a lot about sneaking in since I started, and a bit of assistance from a levitation spell doesn't hurt either." She added a wink, managing to make Chip giggle. Whether it was from how funny it actually was, or the lack of sleep mixed with dangerously low levels of caffeine in his system making him a tad bit stupid, they'd never know, but soon after, Xander turned to Vida.
"If you don't mind, V, I'll have Madison take me. I don't need my dad wondering why I'm stumbling in at nearly two A.M." The Sprite smiled and nodded, seeming both wide awake and almost dead from exhaustion.
"Fine by me. It means I don't have to stop by your house after I drop Chip off at the farm."
"Then it's settled," Maddie said. "See you later, sis. You too, Chip. Don't let her get to you." He grinned drowsily at her, nearly asleep on his feet now that the immediate danger was gone and the true lack of sleep, or rest of any sort, was getting to him. Vida, too, grinned and took his hand, directing him toward his seat.
"In you go," she murmured as he pulled himself into the passenger seat. Looking back at her twin when she was sure that he'd buckled himself in properly, she added, "See you, Maddie. Don't wait up for me."
"Will do," the girl answered with a small smile, taking Xander's hand. "Uthe sastos." Both she and her tagalong vanished into a multicolored spell seal, leaving a tired vampire and a dazed vampire hunter to make their way back to their respective homes.
The ride was uneventful, at least by their standards. Several times, Chip broke out of his tired stupor to ask Vida utterly ridiculous questions (like who would win in a battle between Darth Vader and Batman), only to fall back into his trance-like state as he stared out the window. The most excitement came thanks to Vida, who became an unbelievably bad driver when her vampiric side emerged. Several times, Chip found himself scrambling to ward off the demon half and save them both from an exceptionally grisly death that his mind had begun to cook up, one involving rolling end over end and fire. Lots of fire. Thankfully, the highway was nearly vacant at this time of night, or morning, depending on your preference, so only a handful of truckers caught any of these brief bouts of madness.
More than one close call later, Vida was parked in front of Chip's uncle's ranch-style house, calling out an exhausted goodbye as he walked away. Once she heard his front door click shut, she shifted into drive and pulled away. She'd already made it back onto the highway when a shrieking laugh pierced the whooshing night air. Vida nearly steered herself into the median when she saw who was in the seat next to her, where Chip had been just minutes ago.
"Necrolai!" she spat, expression dancing between shock and anger. "Get the hell out of my car!" The vampiress simply cackled.
"Now, now, my pet, do settle down. I have plans for you, but you must be calm." Vida sent her the best murderous glare she could summon while still watching the road.
"Like hell you do. What do you want with me?"
"Oh, only your eternal servitude," she replied with what could've been a smirk on her frozen lips. "Now, before you go any further, my plan needs to be pushed into motion yet again." She leaned uncomfortably close to her servant. "You are mine," she whispered, voice entwined with traces of hypnotizing control, "and you shall do as I say." Like a backdrop suddenly crashing into the wrong scene in a play, Vida's eyes clouded over to an almost indistinguishable and unfocused light red.
"Yes, mistress," she replied in monotone, attention no longer on the road. Necrolai squealed delightedly and clapped her hands together.
"Such a good servant. Now to the Underworld we go!" Vida nodded absently, turning her gaze back to the road. The dark jeep passed under the long shadow of a tree and vanished before it could come out the other side, taking both passengers into the darkness with it.
A/N - Ugh, finally. It's been nearly three weeks since I updated, and I've been itching to get this one out. Yes, this is the beginning of the end. Don't think that the next chapter will be that last, though. There'll be two more chapters, at the very least, and an epilogue. I'm just relieved to finally be done with this one. Some parts were difficult to get through because they felt weird, or I felt like I was letting some details flounder, but here it is. My next update may be another few weeks, unfortunately. I have very little free time between school, the musical, all five books I'm reading and my favorite shows premiering, not beside the fact that my friend won't stop bugging me to get back into our RPG. I am going to try as hard as I can to update as soon as I can, but I can't promise that it won't be another long period between updates.
As it is, enjoy!