War of the Hidden
Disclaimer: Nothing that you can google belongs to me.
A/N: Please give me some kind of comment so I won't keep posting if no one likes it.
Ch. 8
"There she is," Tommy said when Maxi walked into the base of Rootcore. The Rangers were already there. Maxi had fallen back to sleep after her encounter with Zordon. It was noon now, and everyone was already gathered and resumed their search to find out who Lord Atirddez Asulper was. Maxi entered, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes like a small child.
"Forget it guys, there's no point in doing this anymore," she said. Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and turned to stare at the little girl. Silence fell upon them as they let her words seep in.
"Don't tell me you're giving up now," Aisha said, breaking the silence.
"Rangers don't give up," TJ replied.
"Olivers don't give up," Tommy added.
"What does it matter if Rangers or Olivers don't give up, if Zordon gives up," Maxi retorted.
"What are you talking about? Zordon would never give up," Justin said.
"It's true. When I went to sleep last night, I found myself in a weird place: all white with electrical Ranger-colored sparks. There, Zordon spoke to me. His last words were, 'If you can't beat them, join them'."
"You talked to Zordon?" Andros asked. Being the one to strike his tube, Andros was always interested in information on Zordon, believing that the great sage and mentor of the Power Rangers had not really gone, or at least, there was a way to bring him back.
"How?" Carlos asked, crossing his arms. "I thought he was destroyed. His sacrifice was what saved the universe from Astronema's forces."
Maxi took a deep breath and told them about her dream. They were quiet for a long time after she finished, trying to digest it. No one that had known Zordon believed he would tell the Rangers to join the side of evil, however, they all knew Maxi and knew the little girl would never tell a lie (except when having to make up an excuse for Ranger-related stuff).
"The Morphing Grid," Trini said. "You must've been at the Morphing Grid. That's the only logical place Zordon would appear."
"Maybe if we can talk to him, he'll answer our questions," Conner said.
"Whatever questions we have, I'm sure Lori's already asked them," Jason said.
"And even if she hadn't, how would we get to the Morphing Grid anyways?" Adam asked.
"I don't think we should be worrying about how to get to Zordon," Justin said slowly, his brow furrowed in deep thought, "But what he said to Lian, and to us."
"What do you mean?" Chad asked.
"Well, I've never heard Zordon to use those proverbs," Justin said. "I think we should try to decipher the meaning of his words."
Not only was Justin a genius, but he was also the youngest Ranger in history, obtaining his powers at the tender age of 11, the age Maxi was going to turn soon. No one doubted him when he spoke. They all sat together, huddled with their closer friends and tried to figure out what their mentor was trying to tell them. Alone, Maxi stood, in front of the Xenotome, the all-knowing book of the Mystics. To be honest, she was angry. She was angry that Alpha had chosen to teleport her to Briarwood first. She was angry that the other Rangers seem to be putting her up as leader. Maxi didn't want to be a leader. Maxi never was a leader. She had always been a follower. She did what her friends wanted to do, she played the games her friends wanted to play, she watched the movies her friends wanted to watch, she never made the decisions, and now, every decision she made was going to effect the fate of the Earth. How could she handle this kind of pressure? But most of all, she was angry at Zordon for not talking directly with her, but spoke in riddles. They didn't have time to figure out the deep double meanings of his words. Why can't people just speak their minds?
"Rangers!" Clare's voice called, bringing everyone back from their thoughts. They all hurried to where she stood in front of the Crystal Ball.
"Atirddez's army is attacking again," Udonna reported. Everyone watched the vampire's rampage of the city.
"Come on guys, it's time to go to work," Jason said. "It's Morphin Time!"
"Mastadon!"
"Pterodactyl!"
"Saber-tooth Tiger!"
"Tyrannosaurus!"
"Zeo Ranger I—Pink!"
"Zeo Ranger II—Yellow!"
"Zeo Ranger III—Blue!"
"Zeo Ranger IV—Green!"
"Shift into Turbo! Storm Blaster, Turbo Power!"
"Let's Rocket!"
"Go Galatic!"
"Lightspeed, Rescue!"
"Titanium Power!"
"Time for Time Force!"
"Quantum Power!"
"Wild Access!"
"Ninja Storm, Ranger Form!"
"Thunder Storm, Ranger Form!"
"Samurai Storm, Ranger Form!"
"Dino Thunder, Power Up!"
"White Ranger, Dino Power!"
"Magical Source, Mystic Force!"
53 heroes of assorted colors ran into battle where seven golden-eyed vampires were combating against 30 or so crimson-eyed ones. Sparks flew as Ranger weapons clashed against the vampires', collisions sounded like land-slides as the Cullens slammed into Atirddez's minions. Destruction was higher than when Megazords battled downtown. Maxi's fist clenched tight, her knuckles white from lack of blood flow. Her jaw grew tight and she shook her head as she watched another group of citizens scream and caught the attention of vampire. She watched in horror as the monster launched himself on one of the slower runners and sucked in her dry. A cry escaped from Bella's lips. Being around vegetarian vampires, she was not used to seeing such a revolting sight. Karone had been Astronema, Princess of Evil, and even she was bawling her eyes out. Mike kept a firm grip on her to keep her from collapsing. He too had tears in his eyes. Clare had squeezed her eyes shut and was clinging onto Bella, the two supporting each other. Maxi stared, frozen in shock. When she spoke her voice was harsh.
"Evacuate the city immediately."
"What?" asked someone her through their communication link. She didn't bother to identify it.
"Our first priority is the safety of the citizens of Briarwood. We have to keep them away from the danger of being dined on. Evacuate the city! Bring everyone into the forest. Atirddez's army should not be able to penetrate through the dimension. I want the Mystics to handle that. Can the rest of you hold off the vampires for the time being?"
"We'll do our best," Jason replied. He turned to Nick who he was fighting back to back with. "Go!"
Nick nodded back. "Right. Come on guys!" With a sweep of his arm, he and the rest of the Mystic Force Rangers ran off with him to collect the citizens.
"Aaarrg!" Maxi cried in frustration, slamming her tiny fist on the wooden table. "That can't be it! We can't lose!"
The others stared at her as if she had lost her mind when she whirled around at them. Her body was heaving in anger and her eyes were livid. Now for Maxi, her eyes were special. While her hair was much like her godmother's, long, straight and jet-black, her eyes were unlike any of her diverse friends'. They were a dull gray, as if drained of color. So when her eyes were livid, it was a strange sight. Almost like bubbling lead.
"Nothing is without a fault," Maxi said, struggling to control her anger. "Vampires are not perfect, nothing is. They have to have a weakness. There's no way they're indestructible."
"Well…" Bella said hesitantly. Maxi's gray irises locked onto her brown ones immediately.
"What do you know?" the little girl demanded none too gently. It wasn't that she was trying to be mean, but after seeing how the innocent woman had been killed, her anger and desperation to stop these monsters had taken over.
"There is something that can beat vampires," Bella told her rather reluctantly.
"What?" the others asked.
It was obvious Bella didn't want to answer, for what reason, Maxi did not know. Her knowledge could help the Rangers defeat Atirddez once and for all, it could save the world, why was she so hesitant to talk about it? Bella knew what her new friends were thinking. But she also knew something they didn't. However, at this moment, every person on Earth was depending on her answer. She looked from Clare to Karone, to Mike, and down to Maxi, whose eyes were piercing what felt like her soul, willing her to speak. Bella heaved a sighed and answered, barely louder than a whisper.
"Werewolves."
After listening to what Bella had to say about werewolves, Maxi agreed not to call them in. The only pack of werewolves Bella knew that existed resided in La Push, a Quileute reservation in Forks, and the pack was smaller than Carlisle's coven. With vampires and werewolves being natural mortal enemies, it was a safe bet that the Rangers could only ask for one side's help. Maxi agreed that at this point, they needed the Cullens more.
Again, Maxi's eyes flickered towards the Crystal Ball. Since the gruesome attack, she had been afraid to look at the battle for any lengthy amount of time, but what she saw then captured her attention.
"No!" she breathed, moving to get a better look. Her friends came up behind her to see what was going on. Maxi's eyes grew wide in horror. "No!"
Bella, Clare, Karone, and Mike gasped also. They couldn't believe it either. They were shocked, but Maxi was traumatized.
"No! Dad!"
