The Queen's Return

Everyone stared.

"Alia is Queen Bansheera's daughter?" said Kelsey. "How is that possible?"

"I only know what Alia's told me and what magic's shown us," said Ryan. "Before the demons were locked up, Queen wanted a powerful offspring. The strongest she could create would be a half-witch, half-demon child. So, she used her powers to trick a warlock called Morlock into falling in love with her and before long, Alia was born. At that moment, Morlock discovered the truth about Queen Bansheera and he took off with Alia when she was barely a day old.

"Three years went by and the two of them were hidden. But then they were found. The Queen wanted her daughter, but Morlock refused to hand her over. A great battle went underway and it nearly cost Alia her life. Morlock became desperate to save her, so with his last breath and final act of love, he entombed the demons and sealed Alia away in magical chamber that would allow her to sleep, unable to age or die until she was needed or the world was safe from demons once more. For eons, Alia was hidden away. But Morlock's spell was flawed. In all that time, her memories became little more than forgotten dreams.

"When she was found and freed by Diabolico, she remembered whose daughter she was, but forgot all that Morlock had done for her, thus enabling her to believe the lies she was fed about being abandoned like I thought I was. She didn't remember the truth until we went looking for answers. We both thought Queen Bansheera was destroyed and Alia was as shocked as I was when the Queen came back in her spirit form, if not more. And it gets worse."

"How could it get worse?" asked Carter.

"Before Alia was born, there was a prophecy about her. We never thought it'd come true, until Queen Bansheera reappeared." Ryan reached into his pocket, opened his pocket watch and handed Captain Mitchell a small piece of paper, which he read aloud.

She who is born of evil and of magic

Shall set upon a great path of destiny

Stronger than others because of her line

When the planets are all aligned

Whether by choice or not at all

Her powerful blood or her using her power

The ritual will occur and the Demon Queen shall rise again

A single choice to choose the fate of Mariner Bay

Whether to preserve or to raze

Unless love of great power through an eternal bond

Shared between her and a strong human and is remembered

She shall not live to see another day

"The only reason she was trained during the seventeen years she was with demons was because they wanted her to be as powerful as could be so they could guarantee the ritual would work," said Ryan.

"Oh, crap," said Kelsey.

"If Alia isn't found and saved, they'll take control over her and use her for the ritual. She's strong, but there's only so much she can take, before they win. And if the ritual's a success, then Mariner Bay will be destroyed, then Queen Bansheera will return to her bodily form and Alia will be destroyed," said Ryan. "That can't happen. I can't lose her."

"And you won't," said Dana. "We'll find her and bring her back, I promise. We know what she means to you."

"But Ryan, why didn't either of you ever tell us about this before?" asked Ms. Fairweather.

"Alia was scared. Lightspeed's the only family she's ever known and she thought if you knew, she'd be an outcast. She made me swear not to say anything unless I absolutely had to. I couldn't break my word," said Ryan.

"We understand, Ryan," said Chad. "You did what you had to."

"Alright, here's the deal," said Captain Mitchell. "Ryan, you'll stay here and get your strength back up, but you'll have a monitor in here and you'll be keep in the loop on the situation and give us any information that might be necessary. The rest of you will stay with me while we work out a plan and then try and save Alia and stop the ritual."

"Okay," said Ryan.

"Ryan, think, is there anything else you know?" asked Joel.

"The alignment's tonight," said Ryan. "It's what they've been waiting for."

With that, the Rangers headed out in the Rescue Zords, hoping Fate was on their side and they'd win.

XXX

Alia struggled against her bonds, but her shackles were covered in an anti-magic formula that prevented her using her magic to unlock them and they were made out of carbon steel.

"Stop struggling, Princess, you cannot avoid your fate," said Spellbinder.

"The future isn't written in stone," she said, coldly. "I won't be a part of this."

"You have no choice," said Loki.

"There's always a choice!"

"How cute," said Vypra, mocking. "Queen Bansheera's daughter's trying to escape destiny as Mariner Bay's destruction and her mother's return!"

"Our mother," corrected Olympus. "She is, after all, sister to me, her brother."

"You're no brother of mine," she spat.

Olympus laughed. "Pathetic, isn't she? And she's just as weak as weak her little husband is!"

Alia let out an angry growl and lunged for Olympus, but she couldn't reach because of her chains.

"Don't you dare insult Ryan, you scumbag!" she yelled. "He's a thousand times the man you will ever be."

"Enough!" said Spellbinder. "The time has come." He took a knife and cut Alia's hand, collecting the blood. "Now, to make sure this works, your mind will be ours and then you shall become what the prophecy said!"

"You just try," she snarled. But she knew these were empty words as without her magic, the blocks around her mind were minimal and wouldn't last long. She bit back the yell that entered her throat as Vypra and Olympus each touched one of her temples and entered her mind and then she knew no more.

XXX

Meanwhile, the Rangers had managed to find the location of the ceremony and were nearly inside unnoticed when Vypra appeared.

"Come and get a front-row seat!" she said, as she attacked them.

The Rangers fought her until they were overcome by her and her Batlings, who held them prisoner as something horrible came into their sights.

There, in the center of the demonic symbol on the ground, no longer enchained, was Alia. Her hair was up, her brown eyes were glowing white, although she still wore her father's ring and necklace from Ryan, she was dressed in a red dress with thin spaghetti straps with a white sash around her waist, she had horns protruding from her head, enormous wings on her back, and there were claws protruding from her fingers.

"Alia, is that you?" asked Joel.

The voice that spoke was distorted and barely sounded like Alia's. "Foolish human, I am no longer Alia. I am Mania, the daughter of Queen Bansheera and Princess of the Demons, and your destruction." She raised her hand and the Rangers were trapped against the wall.

"Mania, finish the ritual with Spellbinder," said Vypra.

"Yes, Vypra," said Alia/Mania.

She and Spellbinder stepped forward and began chanting in an unknown language as the stones glowed and the planets reached their alignment. Then, there was a great burst of golden fire that went through the roof of the building.

"Arise Queen Bansheera, ruler of the demons!" cried Alia/Mania.

"Ah, at last, our Queen will return to her bodily form!" gasped Vypra.

"Mariner Bay will be no more!" said Loki.

But then, the Rangers managed to break free and start attacking the demons and Batlings with their weapons.

"Spellbinder, get them," said Alia/Mania. "I'll continue the ceremony."

"As you wish," said Spellbinder. He began attacking Carter. "How dare you try to interfere with this ceremony?"

"We're not to let it happen! Yah!"

Spellbinder and Carter dueled hard until Carter finally gained an advantage and fired his V-Lancer at him, destroying the demon.

"That's one thing taken care of," said Joel. "What do we do about her?"

Alia/Mania was still continuing the ceremony.

"Alia, stop this!" yelled Chad. "You have to stop!"

"I think not, Blue Ranger," she said. "My mother will soon be returning and all human life will be destroy and forgotten as the demons take their rightful places as the rulers of the world!"

"What about Ryan?" shouted Carter. "Are you going to destroy him too?"

Her eyes flashed and her voice was soft. "Beloved?"

"Remember how much Ryan loves you, Alia," said Dana. "You keep each other safe and you love him! He wouldn't want this for you, he'd want you live!"

"But my mother…"

"Your mother doesn't care about you!" said Kelsey. "She only wants to use you so she can live while you're destroyed! Ryan is the one who loves you, your father loved you, we love you! Please, Alia, remember Ryan!"

She seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then Queen Bansheera's spirit form appeared. "Do not listen to them, daughter! The only true destiny for you is to restore me to my bodily form and destroy Mariner Bay! Now, do it! That is an order from your mother!"

Alia/Mania raised her hand and the Rangers stepped back in fear, but then she turned her power towards Queen Bansheera and fired, causing the demon queen to yell in pain.

"You are not my mother and nor will you harm those I love!" Surges of power burst through her hands and fired upon Queen Bansheera's slowly returning body and destroyed the ceremony. She also destroyed Spellbinder, and then fired upon Vypra and Olympus until they were withering in pain until she stopped. "You will never touch my mind again or I shall not be so merciful next time."

"Alia, stop!" yelled Carter. "It's over. Just let it go. Stop!"

"Remember, Ryan!" yelled Dana.

The moment she said that, Alia returned to her usual form, no longer looking demonic, and was in her usual black garb. She was injured and weak and staggered a couple of steps before collapsing in Carter's arms.

"Alia!"

He cradled her in his arms. She was barely stirring and her pulse was weak.

"Ryan," she murmured. "Ryan…"

"Alia, just hold on," said Dana. "We'll get you to Ryan soon. Carter, she's hurt. We need to her back to the base."

None of them noticed how a tear slipped from her eye and as her father's ring glowed, the tear turned into an astral-projection form of Alia that then traveled to the Aquabase, unnoticed.

Ryan's injuries had been more serious than everyone had thought and he was starting to fade away. He was wincing in pain and his breathing was shallow. Alia's astral projection form touched him and healed him. He then opened his eyes with wonder and relief.

"Lia?" he whispered.

"I will never abandon you, beloved," she whispered. "Now, sleep."

Ryan nodded and shut his eyes as he fell into a contented sleep.

XXX

When Alia woke up, she was in the medical bay of the Aquabase with Ryan by her side. He had her hand in his and was fast asleep.

"Beloved?" she said, hoarsely.

Ryan immediately woke up at the sound of her voice. "Lia!"

"Ryan!"

They hugged each other tight and then shared a passionate kiss.

"You've been out for two days. I was so afraid we'd lost you," he murmured, when they broke apart. He placed a hand on her cheek. "How're you feeling?"

"Better now that you're here," she said.

Just then, Ms. Fairweather, the other Rangers and Captain Mitchell came in the room and upon seeing her awake, burst out in smiles and cries of joy.

"Alia, you're okay!" said Kelsey.

"Good to see you up and about, girl," said Joel.

"You really worried us," said Chad.

"We've missed you," said Dana.

Alia just nodded and looked down as tears of shame filled her eyes. "I'm so sorry, everyone. I remember everything about the ritual. I should've told you the truth. I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt any of you. And I—"

"Alia, we don't care," interrupted Carter.

Alia looked at them. "I beg your pardon?"

"It doesn't matter to us if Queen Bansheera's your mother or not. What matters is you, the person you are and you choose to be," said Captain Mitchell. "And that's a very brave young woman who fights to stop evil from taking Mariner Bay. You're part of our family and our friend."

Alia smiled through her tears as everyone nodded in agreement. "Thanks, Dad."

"Alright, I think we'd better leave these two alone," said Ms. Fairweather. "Alia, you can leave the medical bay and join us for breakfast in half an hour. Okay?"

She nodded and then she was left alone with Ryan.

Ryan squeezed her hand. "You know, you never did tell me you could do that."

"Do what?"

"Earlier, I was almost gone because of my injuries and then I saw you. You were right where I'm sitting down. You healed me and said you'd never abandon me. You saved me."

Alia looked confused. "Ryan, I never—wait." She slipped off her father's ring and examined it. "Two spells have come from it. Look." There, etched on the inside of the ring was a tiny phoenix. "My father's familiar was a phoenix. A phoenix's tears have healing powers. That, combined with love allowed it to work and you were healed and brought back."

Ryan smiled. "Your father certainly knew what he was doing, wasn't he?"

"Yeah, he was."

They kissed again before Alia got of the hospital bed and they headed down to the cafeteria with the others to relax for a while and just enjoy one another's company.

XXX

One week later Alia called a meeting to tell the Rangers of something she'd seen in her dreams.

"We all thought that Queen Bansheera's chance of returning was gone, but we were wrong," said Alia. "Last night, I had a vision. Although I was able to damage her severely, and the ritual was interrupted, but enough of it was completed that she's halfway back."

"What do you mean?" asked Captain Mitchell.

"She doesn't have her full body back, but Queen Bansheera's powers will only grow stronger," said Ryan. "And one day, no matter what you do, no matter what weapons you build, she'll destroy us to build her palace."

"You're saying she's indestructible?" said Ms. Fairweather.

"There must be some way to stop her," said Carter.

"Yes, the demons are all free now, but there was a time when that wasn't the case," said Alia. "So, we know it's possible."

"We're going to leave," said Ryan. "We've got to find out how to capture them again."

No one looked pleased by this. Captain Mitchell and Dana looked upset.

"We'll go with you," said Kelsey.

"No, Mariner Bay needs you," said Alia.

Captain Mitchell rose up. "I'm proud of you, son. And you, Alia."

"Be careful," said Carter.

Ryan and Alia nodded and each shook Captain Mitchell's hands and then Ryan hugged Dana tight, who was on the verge of tears.

"Don't worry, little sister," said Ryan. "We'll be back before you know it, we promise."

"You'd better be," said Dana, sniffling.

Alia handed her a small bag. "Here're some magic tricks, just in case you need them and there's also a two-way mirror you can use to call us. Just say our names and we'll respond."

"Thanks," said Dana.

"Oh, Chad, give this to a mermaid called Marina," said Alia, tossing him a little shell necklace. "She'll know what it is."

Chad raised an eyebrow at these instructions, but didn't question them as he put the necklace in his pocket.

Alia and Ryan waved good-bye, grabbed their luggage, and then set out on their journey, not quite knowing what to expect.