A/N: To answer the questions from reviewers:
griffenvamp: I hate to say it, but it seems the girls will explain to their friends and teams in a few chapters, maybe 3 or 4. Maybe more. I'm not too sure at the moment.
According to my timeline, Kimberly should've gotten her powers after PR Turbo, around the time PR Time Force was active. Her letter will be explained in later chapters.
An explanation for Ashley's departure is in the first chapter, though I suppose it can seem a little fuzzy. Basically, she was overwhelmed by her new unexpected powers. She also saw how dangerous she was with her power of molecular combustion; her friendship and love made her scared of possible hurting her friends and Andros, so she kept away. As with Kim and Taylor, she felt a force pull her to San Francisco where, I guess you could say, she 'belonged' at the time.
Taylor and Eric's back story will be posted much later.
Star Fata: The story as to how and why Kim, Ashley and Taylor became the Charmed Ones will be explained later; unfortunately, it will be much later, as I said before.
As for the prophecy, I'm not sure what my interpretation is at the moment, to tell the truth. I'm actually waiting for the last Charmed episode to see if what I think will happen does. If so, then it should tie in with my story pretty well, excluding the messed up timeline when you think about it. I can see how it can be confusing; I still don't see all the details my creative brain is throwing at me concerning the prophecy.
For everyone else, the question remains the same: when are the girls explaining? As I said, later. Sorry to prolong the wait, but if you let the story progress, trust me, it'll makethe eventall the more worth it. Trust me. Or you can all hunt me down and threaten to ruin my stories if I don't fix if you guys don't like it.
Major thanks to my beta, Rosa. I could never have caught the stuff she did as quickly as she had.
Thanks so much for your patience. I think you guys will enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 5:
The minutes of deliberation passed with eager waiting from everyone, with the exception of Zack and Rocky who couldn't seem to opt for a winner soon enough. After more than five minutes of consideration when Zack and Rocky seemed almost finished but mulling some more, the crowd was getting slightly restless and Aisha shot up from her seat behind her boyfriend and snatched the paper with the chicken scratches she guessed were the rating tallies. Scanning the sheet for a fast minute to figure out what the two guys were trying to mark down in decision, she gave a smile when she turned around to everyone else after telling the judges that they could not have made this verdict any slower if time itself decelerated.
"Anyone wants to guess the winner?" she teased the crowd to see how long they could last, though it seemed to be senseless since she gave the answer without wasting a second after asking. "It's Kimberly's group!"
Eruptions of consensus blew from the crowd and eyes began searching for the victors, finding them gazing in basic awe at nothing in particular. Their choice to participate ended up in their favor. They finally broke out of astonished reverie when Trini and Cassie were the first to rush over and hug the trio in congratulations. The rest inundated gradually at first, almost enough for the girls to nearly miss the quizzical looks from their friends. Almost. But as before, they'd deal with them when it became necessary.
"So what do you plan on doing with this party now?" Katherine asked the three, a question that was rising in the minds of several others.
"Need any ideas how to torment Zack and Rocky now that they're your servants for the rest of the day?" Jason questioned as an addendum that made quite a few chuckle who wanted to add their own ideas on the subject.
Responses from the trio came in shrugs and 'We don't knows'. They were trying to get the rest of the reunion to take a breather and back off when Taylor noticed Ashley's countenance signaling that her empathy was becoming too much for her, bringing on a headache. It was accompanied by the unsure expression that appeared on Kimberly's face whenever her sensing power was working but obviously not giving her a clear picture. She silently asked Kimberly what was going on and if the two were all right, gaining her answers when she was about to ask aloud from the wait.
We're okay, Kimberly answered mutely. Ashley's just being a little overwhelmed with everyone around us but she's getting it under control.
And what's with your sensing, Taylor inquired. I can tell by your face. Is something wrong?
Actually, I can feel something happening but I can't get the whole thing in my head. It's acting up again.
Hearing that from Kimberly made Taylor worry more rather than have her misgivings pacified. She got up and was about to ask everyone just to take a break and enjoy themselves when a crowd of mostly red Power Rangers started to rush toward an area a little far off to the right. It evidently caused a chain reaction and two minutes later everyone had assembled in a massive group in a vast clearing of the park with nothing but grass and part of the park's walking trail for nearly half a mile ahead around them. Everyone came to encounter the unpleasant middlemen of every generation of the Power Rangers, giving everyone more than a déjà vu; a shocker, to say the least.
"What the…" appeared to be the comment throughout the entire group, not believing that all these drones were real; practically all of them were defeated along with the destruction their immoral leaders, aside from for the hidiacs for the Mystic Force rangers. Most of the former rangers tried to assess the number of mindless recruits from the past, obviously seeing that there were more than enough, more than seven hundred from what they could see, to give the rangers a struggle if they were real. Some walked forward with caution to see if they were indeed real, all getting hit one way or another, mostly with shots from some sort of previous artillery, when they got close enough.
"Yep, they're real," Tommy Oliver announced loud enough for everyone to hear.
"How?" most of them asked, if not wondered, at the observation. It was a reality hard to believe after all their work getting rid of them.
"I don't know," Tommy continued, "But if we don't do something, they might start shooting us into a void."
"Then what are we waiting for," all the red rangers asked simultaneously. It amused the rangers of other colors that it seemed the red rangers got a sort of ego boost in situations such as this simply because they donned the crimson color. But what they said was serious enough for everyone's mind.
Within seconds, teams of every generation formed and a concurrent charge was made toward the mindless fighters on the opposite side, the two segments eventually amalgamating into a fight that represented like those of former, and current, times. It was like everyone had their ranger powers once again and was fighting for the same cause like nothing had changed so much in the past. Yet this time, there was a difference: the number of Power Rangers had grown since the last time something like this happened that it felt easier to fight the foot-soldiers, and it was. Every one of them, putties, tengas, cogs, piranhatrons, quantrons, sting wingers, batlings, cyclobots, putrids, kelzacks, tyrannodrones, krybots, and hidiacs met their defeat in not even twenty minutes.
As exhausted and sore as the odd battle left most of the rangers, they were all simply glad that their previous opponents were demolished again. But the question remained over how they could all be reincarnated when they should've disappeared with the destruction of their leaders years, some even a decade, ago. After a brief discussion among the leaders of each team, an interrogation for the Mystic Force rangers occurred with Tommy Oliver, the unofficial leader of all Power Rangers apparently by this point, leading the questions.
"Who is the head of your enemies right now?" Tommy asked when he met up with the current rangers.
"I believe someone named Morticon," Udonna, the white Mystic ranger, answered, "but there is a chance that there may be someone behind him in the fight against us rangers."
"Do you know what he is capable of, especially with anything involving the past of rangers?" Jason asked next as Tommy's second-in-command.
"There hasn't been any evidence so far," Nick, the red Mystic ranger, replied.
"I still think they're our only suspects capable of reviving any past monsters," Jason said to Tommy who nodded in agreement. After another quick discourse, the two oldest leaders informed all the other rangers over the most logical theory the red rangers could see in this situation. For almost all, the conjecture was substantial, but there were a small number of doubts and other speculations.
Ashley turned the theory over in her mind; it was certainly possible. She glanced over to see what her sisters thought when she noticed Kimberly's preoccupied expression. She could feel that Kimberly had another opinion. "What is it?"
"Nothing," Kimberly said softly, her face belying her answer.
"You don't believe that theory the guys gave," Taylor stated on deduction. "Or at least you believe there's more to it than that."
Kimberly shook her head yes to confirm Taylor's guess before speaking. "I don't know what it was," she admitted, "but there was something about all those putties and piranhatrons and every other thing we fought just now. Something… off about them, and the whole them coming back to life thing."
"Like it had something to do with… us?" Ashley asked, not sure where Kimberly was going.
"Maybe," Kimberly shrugged. "A part of me feels like it does."
"At least we know what the big thing was that was going to happen when we came to Angel Grove," Taylor said, just to get the thought out of the way, which her sisters concurred with.
Yet before they had a chance to say something, or anyone else present for that matter, everyone was thrown back by a blast that came out of the blue, knocking those in the back toward the huge oaks that gave a wounding impact to their bodies as everyone moreover knocked and landed into each other. The effect was a large pile of bodies lying down from the unexpected blow, taking the rangers and their friends a while to separate from the heap to help others. But before even a seventh of them were back up, a loud voice spoke from where the blow might have come from.
"I hope that the strike didn't harm everyone in my way," it said, causing most of the rangers to turn their heads in hopes of finding a form to match the voice to. When they couldn't find one, Jason was the first to speak.
"Who are you? Show yourself," he commanded, eager to punch the person who caused the acute pain in his lower back.
"Very well," the gruff voice answered before a form in a black cloak stepped out into an opening between two groves about a fourth of a mile away from everyone who was still trying to stand up. "Here I am."
The next voice to speak was Vida Rocca's, the current pink ranger. "Dude, not again," she said, annoyed. "How many times do we have to deal with people in black cloaks?"
"I guess that means we have to morph and fight again," her friend Chip said, the Yellow Mystic Force Ranger, who seemed evermore eager to morph and use his ranger powers anytime anywhere.
"Trust me, it's not you rangers I'm after," the voice stated when he heard the two. "In fact, I'm not looking for rangers from one certain team, to be exact," it continued as the form proceeded to draw down the hood of the cloak to reveal a male face accentuated by completely jet-black eyes set on a somewhat emaciated visage.
"Again, who are you," Jason repeated once the person showed his face.
"Unless you're a Charmed One, that is none of your business."
"What?" The question jumped from almost everyone's mouth when they heard the specific name the man said, nearly all of them standing by now.
"Dude," Xander Bly started, "I think you've got the wrong crowd. There's no 'Charmed Ones' here."
"Yeah," Nick added, "So you can just beat it already. You've done enough damage."
"Oh, but I'm not finished."
Vida Rocca's irritation was manifesting itself more and more in her voice. "Oh, jeez, he's one of those," she said, referring to the infuriating enemies who never seemed to give up and tried to speak in cryptic words that did more to aggravate her.
"Just hand over the Charmed Ones and I shall leave," the man said.
"Didn't you just hear them," Jason stepped forward to address the man again. "There's no Charmed Ones here, whoever the hell they are."
The pushes for that statement did nothing to dissuade the cloaked man and it was obvious he wasn't going to leave until he got what he came for. "Oh, but they are among you; they're just hiding for the moment." He waited for the awaited to come forward and declared they should step forward now. When no one came up, he spoke again. "Very well, if you Charmed Ones refuse to reveal yourselves, then I will just have to persuade you to do so upon my own terms."
Almost instantly, a young girl showed up in his grip, her throat held by his left hand. The Astro rangers recognized her as T.J.'s niece Laura. Seeing her in the clearly untrustworthy man's grasp, every Astro ranger and Karone let out an emphatic 'No!' Ashley started reproaching herself immediately for getting the innocent child involved; her entire purpose was to prevent, if possible, any innocents from getting involved with the Charmed Ones or their demons and saved those already too deep into the fight.
"Unless a Charmed One steps forward," the man continued, "then I will not be the one responsible for whatever happens to this young girl."
The sentence triggered the guilty sentiment and a reminder of obligation for the Charmed Ones. For that minute, they didn't see the repercussions of telling their friends the truth; they only saw an innocent in danger, because of them no less, and that they had a duty to return to right now. Ashley was just about to use her ability of speed when the stranger spoke again.
"But before I do anything to this innocent, perhaps some entertainment should be called to order. Charmed Ones, I know how dear your friends here are to you, and all the rangers in general. It'd be quite the shame if I were to accidentally burn them all up with a few fireballs, now wouldn't it?" The derision in his voice irked everyone but they didn't have time to shake it off before he spoke again, his left hand still holding Laura and his right elevated with an impulsive fireball floating.
As more sirens of distress rang in Ashley and her sisters' minds, the demon thrashed the burning sphere toward the huge group's direction that seemed to shoot more orbs of flames from it that came faster than any of them expected. Going directly on instinct, Ashley shot open her hands and palms with her focus on stopping the fireballs by using her gift of molecular combustion. Within moments the flying flames were gone and she was relieved to see she could get rid of them all. But there was an expected surprise waiting around her. She had just revealed her secret and not in any way close to how she wanted to disclose her paranormal half.
Ashley took a glance at some of the people around her, finding the most taken aback to be her friends. She shifted her eyes around so that they would pass over Taylor and Kimberly whose alarmed faces told her they were just as surprised at this entire occurrence. It was not exactly what they had anticipated. Quickly, Ashley turned back to the demon standing a bit far off in front of her, irritation dancing in her eyes. Giving a quick curse in her mind for the fact the demon got her to reveal her power, she spoke.
"Fine. You've got one." She strode forward a few yards to make herself clearer. "Now let her go." It did not matter that so many faces were covered in shock and doubts about who she really was; all that was relevant was that Laura was still in the man's grasp and Ashley had a responsibility to save her as part of a promise she made years before she ever gained her first power. Besides, her secret was already exposed and she felt there was nothing left for her to lose. Her sisters were a different matter.
Despite the distance, Ashley spotted the twisted smirk on the demon's face that caused her to twitch inwardly at the apparent malice in his intentions. It still bothered her that she did not know exactly who he was. "So the Charmed One of love and humanity steps up. Typical," he remarked, the delay only annoying everyone more. "That was a smart move on your part… but there are still two missing and I feel much too impatient to cull them out of this crowd. You've no real strength without your two companions. But while we're at it, it appears you made a mistake in parting from your little group. You didn't honestly expect me to come after you all alone, now did you?"
It seemed that one thought evaded Ashley but her focus was still on something else. Yet now that the demon mentioned it, Ashley went on the defensive with the reminder in the back of her mind of possible ambushes. She had nearly no time before she heard other henchmen approaching by their growls and their running on the grass. It didn't seem like this situation was getting any better.
The creeps moving too quickly for her preference toward her sister sent Taylor into her attack mode without much thought; her sentiment and protective nature took over first. Running toward the ones on Ashley's left, Taylor conjured a fireball in one hand accompanied by an energy ball in the other and without delay hurled the two objects in the direction of the demons. She expected for the tactic to work and was relieved when it did, seeing her sister in usual condition. Her ease augmented when she saw that Kimberly took care of the rest of the demon henchmen on Ashley's right with a swift movement of her left hand using her power of telekinesis that sent the three demons literally flying into trees without warning. Ashley was safe and the two had made sure of it…
Unfortunately, they also revealed that they were the two other Charmed Ones amidst the crowd.
Oh shit. The thought kept reiterating in Taylor's mind, obviously not disappearing anytime soon, even if she could suppress it. She wanted her identity to be revealed in a different, more personal way where the crowd she would tell was not overrun with strangers, not because she broke out in instinct against some random creep who decided to show up and damage the tense party. She wanted to rip the demon to pieces for ruining what little enjoyment she had. She felt a greater rage at the thought that he sicced lower level demons to attack Ashley; anyone going after either of her sisters, demon or otherwise, never sat well with Taylor. She glanced over to Kimberly yards away, both with expressions of panic at the disclosure of who they were. It seemed Kimberly thought the same as Taylor: they were caught in those theoretical headlights.
Taking a moment to let all recent thoughts slip except the most important ones stay, Taylor decided to do as Ashley did and step forward. After all, she had nothing to lose. There was no way she was going to allow Kimberly and Ashley to fight this battle without her; she was never one to enjoy sitting on the sidelines. Ready to conjure a fire or energy ball in either hand, she walked forward, trying to forget any possible countenances on her friends' faces expressing any shock. Once she reached Ashley's side Taylor spoke for the first time in minutes.
"Better watch which sister you go after first." The resilience in her eyes was so heated that Ashley thought a glimpse from them would set the space around them into flames. With Taylor, it was all or nothing. She was half a second from going onto one of her signature swift retorts when she and Ashley and felt Kimberly orbing in to Ashley's other side.
"Or better yet," Kimberly began, "leave us the hell alone." She stood her stead, finishing the trio of numinous abilities accompanied by resilient conviction. After a moment, Kimberly turned to her left to glance at her sisters. She had no surprise when she saw the smirks on their faces; she could feel one mirrored on her own lips. They were going to take care of the demon now and their friends later.
Seeing that particular trio step up and ultimately announcing to everyone present who they were, the shock was made complete, or so they thought. There was nothing any of the other rangers could think to say, not knowing whether this was real or not. The only thing going on in their minds was the repeating question over what was going on. But the three girls ahead could not think of answering that question just yet; they had something more important to take care of. Before saying anything else, Ashley rushed in a wind to grab Laura from the person's grip and returning the girl to her uncle in a swift instant. The entire move did more to stagger her friends when she returned to where she started in less time than it took most of them to breathe. The mysterious man did nothing to withhold any sign of his anger at Ashley for taking his hostage but he had to erase it quickly.
"You three still have bigger things to deal with, starting with me." His coarse voice irritated the three when they heard the demon speak after muted minutes.
Being the oldest of the three, Kimberly gave the first say. "How about telling us who the hell you are first?"
"We'd like to save ourselves time from scanning the Book for the demon we're about to vanquish," Ashley added out of her frustration for the demon's kind in general.
The only indication to show that he heard came in the form of a scoffing laugh with an unwanted smirk. "Vanquish? What makes you so sure you'll be able to do that?"
It was obvious the most forthright and impetuous would answer that query. "Because of something along the lines of this," Taylor retorted before sending a fireball and an energy ball toward the demon from each hand that sent him burning up with electric sparks flying before suddenly deteriorating into the air, wiped off from the earth like so many of his allies and associates.
The impulsive action, no matter how much expected, made Kimberly and Ashley turned their heads toward Taylor with a look of disbelief at what she did. At her answer of a shrug that basically said 'What?', Ashley voiced her reason for her expression of incredulity. "Didn't you just hear what I said? Now we'll never know who the hell that demon was or whoever sent him."
The glance Taylor gave the two told them she knew she may have been rash and slightly apologetic, but that did not mean she was going to apologize for it. She did as her promise to humanity called for and she had her lieutenant's face on so there was no impeding her. Even if she had any contrition about the action, Ashley and Kimberly couldn't blame her. They were seconds from doing the same thing; Taylor merely beat them to it. Besides, they knew they had something bigger to worry about: the latest demon from a minute ago was too easily vanquished. With her experience, Kimberly knew that a fiend like that could only be lower level demon, which also meant that someone more notorious, or at least more dangerous, was behind the cloaked demon. She only wondered how long it would take the real threat would appear after Taylor dropped her stern expression.
Like the three expected in the back of their minds, the more precarious menace shimmered a distance in front of them, putting the three on the resistance again and everyone else in more mystification. What Kimberly, Ashley and Taylor had done did nothing to illuminate what exactly was taking place. And to tell the truth, some of them became more timorous when they saw Taylor shoot out a fireball and an electric ball that subjugated the malevolent person from before. It may have been too supernatural over all else, but to her friends and the other rangers, it was reinforcement as to how irate and hazardous Taylor could be to someone whom she had indignation toward and what she would, and could, do in those conditions.
While they hoped for the new foe to be an unknown, the three female ex-rangers were disappointed, and panicking, once they saw the face of a demon they fought months ago, someone they wished not to see again. Ashley immediately stood her ground in between her sisters, hands ready to blow up anything the old enemy would throw at her; Taylor stood prepared to conjure any damaging sphere if necessary and Kimberly ready to thrash anything off its course that came their way with a quick thought of her mind. The three stood strong as they had done so many times, silently promising not to back down. For them, this was merely another fight.
As for their friends, this was more reason to be confused; nothing was becoming clearer, and quite honestly, some of them were freaked out by these random 'demons' popping up and the three girls making them disappear off the earth. A few were getting tired of not gaining any answer in the last few minutes. Some were even thinking of stepping forward and voicing their need for clarification. Most were surprised when Xander Bly decided to do so and began his stride toward where the girls were standing and attempt to reason with the malicious-appearing figure standing ahead of them. His teammates tried to stop him but he was too far ahead for them to reach him and before Kimberly, Ashley or Taylor knew it, he was standing a few feet in front of them, beginning his endeavor.
"Hi, I'm Xander Bly," he started with his amiable Australian accent, putting on a charming smile and sticking out his hand, forgetting the previous times dealing with monsters back in Briarville when he began a quick discussion that began the same way and ended with the monster refusing the polite start. "I don't know you but I'm sure if we just talk, we can work this whole thing out. I'm sure any attack will be totally unnecessary."
Xander's statement, which came from a variation of how he always talked to monsters that came from the Underworld to attack him and his friends, was answered by a streak of electricity that appeared more like lightning from the demon's hand striking Xander right in his stomach, knocking him back past the trio of young women and into his friends Nick Russell and Chip Thorn who ran up earlier to try and stop him. They broke his fall, much to their dislike, which prompted the female half of their team to rush and see if the three were all right. Quick words of assertion were exchanged before all six of the Mystic Force Ranger team, along with everyone else, turned their attention back to the demon who struck Xander and the three girls standing before him.
There was no need to look at the girls' faces to see what they expressions were: strong, hard, determined, and quite frankly, pissed off. The same airs were reflected in the demon's eyes when he slightly lifted his head at an angle to reveal a side of his face to all. Like the one before, his eyes were jet black and stood out against paling skin of an ivory shade, yet the one feature that took a prevailing presence was an unburied scar on the left side of his face that seemed to cut his face, beginning from his temple trailing all the way ending under his jaw line. It looked like a scar not easily gained from any small action.
Long moments passed where neither side did anything: the demon hadn't attacked, nor did Ashley, Kimberly or Taylor, and no one else made an attempt to talk to any of the four after seeing what happened to Xander. A small disquieting nuisance floated in the air at the silence that compelled someone to finally speak. As the eldest, Kimberly took the initiative.
"What do you want, Phrazare?"
Hearing his name apparently drove the demon to lift his head fully and address the speaker. "What we all want," he started with a guttural voice that appeared to be covering something deeper, something angrier behind it. "You three. Dead."
At heeding the last three words, some rangers in the crowd became defensive over the three girls standing ahead of them, who were situated to attack better than the other rangers could. Despite their perplexity of the entire circumstance, they knew what 'dead' meant and were not willing to take things well when the word was applied as a threat to their friends. Yet none of them could do or say anything before one of the girls said something.
"Just because you and a thousand other demons want it," Taylor retorted, "doesn't mean it's going to happen."
"We sure as hell won't let you try without a fight," Ashley added, feeling the need to assure what her sisters were saying.
A smirk and a laugh, a scoffing one moreover, fell from the demon, his eyes full of a conviction that mixed with a small mockery at what the girls said. He still hadn't shifted from his position far ahead. "Of course not," he said suddenly after quiet moments. "I never would expect you to back down so easily."
Kimberly made a correction to the last remark. "We never back down. Period."
The dark figure announced earlier as Phrazare tilted his head in continuing contempt. "Then I suppose I should make sure a fight against you is worth your trouble in the first place." At that moment, a sphere similar to one that Taylor conjured earlier appeared floating slightly above the demon's palm. For a moment she thought it was another energy ball but as the sphere expanded slowly, she realized it was a thermal ball and warned her sisters silently of the damage the crackling globe could bring; her gift concerning energy balls had not extended far enough for her to understand all dynamics of a thermal ball.
Yet as each girl was preparing to demolish the orb in one way or another, or rather evade it, Phrazare quickly withdrew it until it vanished. "However, I highly doubt this type of fight where I conjure measly thermal balls and such would be fair enough against you three. Besides, one against three never made the situation evenhanded in the first place. I think these will suffice instead," he continued as several leather-clad henchmen emerged from nowhere around him.
The girls figured them to be lower-level demons if they were poorly dressed in imitation to all the others preceding them. Couldn't these demons think of new clothes to attack with, Ashley thought quickly at the sight of them, a thought followed by agreement from Kimberly when she sensed her sister's consideration. They didn't have time to continue their silent conversation before Phrazare spoke again before leaving.
"Now I suppose this will be a just fight on both sides. Have fun, all," he finished, turning around at the closing of his last sentence. He stopped quickly as if to contemplate something and turned back again to face the girls for one last comment. "Oh, and I thank you for getting rid of Bhexo; he wasn't of much use for anything, really." With that, Phrazare flamed out, leaving both sides to unavoidable combating.
"At least we know who that demon was," Taylor noted while facing Kimberly and Ashley, almost lightheartedly enough that her sisters looked at her with almost amused expressions.
"Like that's the worst of our problems," Ashley said, letting the three forget for the quickest moment they had more than a dozen demons to deal with that the moment. A thrown energy ball that hit Kimberly on her left arm brought their attention back on the situation at hand.
Not bothering to make a verbal articulation at the slight pain, Kimberly went straight to work, so to speak, and began throwing a few demons to the far left with a firm sweep of her arm. Taylor pitched a fireball toward two of the pathetic demons standing too close to avoid deteriorating from her shot and Ashley caused another of the group to molecularly combust. At that, the demons spread out, hoping to separate the girls in the process.
The trio was about to do so when they saw that the henchmen they vanquished barely seconds before appeared back with a little surprise: replications of themselves. "Oh, great," Ashley voiced first, "They can duplicate once we've vanquished them."
"Guess we've got to find another way out of this," Kimberly stated.
"So let's get going," Taylor initiated, instants away from shimmering. "Y'all know what to do."
"Right," both Ashley and Kimberly affirmed along with curt nods before leaping into action.
Within seconds, Taylor had shimmered off to another place a few yards off from her previous position behind one demon, a fireball ready at hand that destroyed him quickly; Ashley ran off at an inhuman speed, blowing up demons in her dash, and Kimberly turned around to face the crowd behind them before placing a forcefield to protect them from whatever was about to occur. She was met with bewildered faces, petrified even, and felt a twinge of guilt at not being able to explain everything right now. She felt even sorrier when Jason Scott and Billy Cranston stepped forward too quickly and crashed into the invisible wall she set up to shield them.
Jason recovered faster than Billy did and asked her, "Kim, what the hell is going on," while rubbing a now sore spot on his forehead from the collision.
"I promise to explain later," she answered hurriedly. "Right now, I'm a little busy. Oh, yeah" she added before orbing off, "An invisible shield is in front of you, so don't run forward unless you want to crash into it. Sorry, Jase. Sorry, Billy."
Once finished she disappeared in a wave of separating lights and particles, showing up in a completely different location in the clearing, having to mentally transport a demon out of her way first. Once getting rid of two or three demon subordinates, she glanced at her sisters, mentally asking them if they were all right and, moreover, if they were ready for yet another battle ahead. When Ashley and Taylor answered that they were, Kimberly nodded as a signal to continue their fights. It was going to be longer than most of their previous battles, she could see that much. Regardless, it had to go on…
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