A/N: This theme is probably one of those that I looked forward to writing... a lot. This is a total Alternate Universe take on the season; same characters, very different situations. It takes some fanon theories and mixes it with canon and a bit from the Sentai series Mahou Sentai Magiranger, the series that Mystic Force is based upon. It's a bit long, but not as long as I'm imagining it could be. Hope you like it!
A/N #2: So, this is the third to last chapter of this story, and I am both excited and sad. I've learnt so much about writing and character development with these two, and yet for me, finishing a story is a big (and I mean, big) accomplishment. Also, sorry about the long wait between updates; real life got in the way Big Time. (If you really want details, then PM me). Enjoy!
"…": characters talking to each other
'…': characters talking to themselves
(…): extra facts about something in the story
(Takes place throughout the season at random intervals)
Theme 58: What If...?
Rootcore, September 5, 2006, 11:30 am – Briarwood, CA, USA
"Come, daughters, we must leave now," Daggeron stated voice no-nonsense. His twin daughters, one bearing a trident and the other a pair of sai sheathed on her belt nodded in agreement.
"Where are we going?" the one clad in blue asked brushing a stray strand of hair out of her gray eyes, the same as her sister and father.
"The Human World, to seek help in our cause."
The one clad in pink wrinkled her nose. "Father, must we?"
Daggeron stopped and, turning around stared. The pink-clad daughter fidgeted before sighing and waving her hand signaling that she wasn't going to speak against him again.
"Yes, we must."
With those words, the family of three vanished through a tree, their clothes and weapons vanishing into personalized subspace pockets as they appeared on a small hill overlooking a busy street in Briarwood. As the girls looked around in astonishment at the strange venue in front of them, Daggeron strode forward importantly the No-Notice Charm he'd placed on himself allowing for free movement among the humans even through thick crowds. His daughters ran after him, both now clad in jeans and tank tops, open jackets on top in their respective colors.
"'Rock Porium'?" the blue-clad daughter sounded out, head tilted. "Odd name." Her sister shrugged, not saying anything. Turning to her father, she asked, "Do you believe that we will find help here?"
Daggeron nodded. "Yes, I believe that we will."
With that, the three entered the "Rock Porium" only to be shocked into silence at the loud music emanating from the back table. A young man clad in purple and red stood there, a pair of what appeared to be noise-blocking tools of some sort earplugs on his ears, moving to the beat. Just below him, on a small set of stairs sat a pair of yellow-haired girls (one more dirty-blond than the other), both of whom talked quietly while organizing small discs of some kind. The paler blond was dressed in shades of purple; the dirty-blond in lavender and white, but both wore an unopened, purple overshirt. A few feet away, a ginger-haired youth was seated on a chair, reading some kind of thin tome; he was clad in yellow with the same purple shirt ('A uniform of some sort?'). No other people were in the store, surprising the trio yet again. For a place on a busy street that obviously catered to people in selling something, the lack of business was strange.
"Can I help you?" one of the girls asked looking up and spotting the trio standing in the doorway, her blue eyes curious.
Daggeron nodded and, waving his hand a shimmering gold dome descended on the seven people, spreading shock among the four humans at the back of the store. He then took a step forward, hand raised in what was a universal signal for peace in the Magical Realm; he hoped it crossed over to the Human Realm. "Do not be alarmed, for we come in peace."
"Bullshit!" the youth in red exclaimed yanking off the strange ear devices and throwing them onto the table in front of him. Leaving the music blaring he leapt over the table, landing in front of the girls, olive eyes burning. "No one comes in here and does something so, so weird like that without an explanation! It's not natural!"
"You are correct," Daggeron replied, not at all afraid of the youth and choosing to ignore the latter part of the male's statement for the moment. Turning to his daughters, he said, "Madison, Vida. If you would, please."
Without saying anything, the two females stepped forward and waved their hands, a ball of water and air appearing in their wielder's hands respectively. Eyes wide in shock, the purple-clad quartet watched as the elements then surrounded their creators, dissolving only to leave them in some kind of warrior outfits, weapons at their sides; sharp, pointy weapons that immediately sent alarms ringing in the store employees' heads. There was definitely something going on; people didn't just bring a trident and, er, some kind of large forks ('Sai!' whispered the ginger-haired youth gleefully) into a music store without some underlying reason.
"Infershia is rising, and you four have the power to help us tame it so that it does not rise again," Madison stated twirling her trident absently already bored with the spectacle that her father had asked her to do. Vida, beside her nodded in agreement as she regarded the quartet warily, eyes flicking back and forth between the four. Vida's mind busied itself weighing whether or not Madison and she would have to perform more magic to convince the quartet in front of them that the magical trio were not insane.
"The Ancients' Prophecy says that only the Chosen Mages can defeat the evil and keep the balance intact," Vida supplied arms crossed. Her eyes narrowed as the four purple-clad people shared skeptical looks.
The employees seemed to be silently communicating, for no words were said for a few minutes; however, it was the one clad in yellow and purple who stepped forward. "Wait... you're telling us that we have the power to save the world?" At a nod, he grinned. "Count us in." Despite protests from the other three about how the ginger-haired male was not to speak for them the yellow-clad teen had his way.
Soon after this day (give or take a week), a new generation of Mages was born: Nick Russell, with power over fire; Clare Russell, cousin to Nick, with the power over moonlight; Leelee Slambrook, with power over metal; Chip Thorn, wielder of lightning; Madison Solaria, the mistress of water and Vida Solaria, the wind's mistress. The Solaria sisters' father Daggeron served as the team's mentor and primary teacher of Battle Magic, Magical Realm Lore and Theory, Practical Magical Application and the other, smaller details that came with possessing immense magical powers. Daggeron took pains to warn the newly found magic users that the upcoming battles would be tough – as would training – but the satisfaction of saving people helped them all deal with the Infershian monsters who attempted to destroy Briarwood every chance they had; that is, until he came...
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Private Chambers, Infershia, November 23, 2006, 1:30 pm – Mystical Realm
"Father, everything is prepared," a youth said respectfully dipping at the waist in a curt bow. His curly brown hair was just long enough to hide a pair of gleaming chocolate eyes, tinted red from the faint light shining down from the surface world.
"Excellent, my son," an older man replied fangs glinting in the torch-lit cavern. "Do as I have said and The Master will be pleased."
"As you wish," the youth bowed once more and left clothes changing into dark jeans and an emerald green dress shirt at a mere thought. His fangs retracted and his slightly curved nails reverted to appear smoother and more rounded.
"You have no idea who you're messing with, Rangers..."
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Rock Porium, November 23, 2006, 2:30 pm – Briarwood, CA, USA
"Can I get some help here?" a voice rang out and Vida, whose father had insisted that she and her sister gain experience interacting among the local populace in the Human Realm walked out of the storeroom.
"Yes?" she asked not in the mood. She'd just dropped a box of compact discs on the floor and knew that if she didn't get them cleaned up that Leelee's mother, Nikki (owner of Rock Porium) would freak out, lecture her for not respecting the music idols that inspired the compact discs themselves and then dock her pay… which she had come to rely on too much not to fear the tall woman's wrath.
"What's good here?" the male asked dark eyes appraising the store arms crossed across his chest as he did so.
"What are you interested in?" Vida asked tilting her head and putting her hands on her hips. Something about this guy had her instincts whispering that he was odd... well, she supposed, more odd than those who lived in town and her teammates, the latter of whom all possessed their own perks and idiosyncrasies that drove Daggeron up the wall (Vida enjoyed this; Madison did too but didn't outright show it).
The male put a hand to his chin in thought and walked a few feet away from Vida to examine a display more closely, both moves that Vida found odd. Sure, she and Madison had had to get a crash course in Human Realm music before Leelee had introduced them to her mother, but this guy… he was acting like he had never seen anything in the store before.
Odd for someone who lived in the Human Realm.
"That guy." The male pointed at a cardboard cutout of a man whom Vida had come to learn was Jimmy Hendrix. Leelee and her mother were obsessed with him and immediately defended the singer when he or his music received even the tiniest negativity when in their presence.
Unfortunately, Vida had learned this the hard way.
"Hendrix? No problem. This way." As Vida helped the male find some new music and rang him up, she continued to hear her instincts – now about fifteen levels louder – telling her that this guy was going to be a problem. How, she had no clue, but her instincts hadn't proved her wrong yet...
"Thank you…" the male paused to read her nametag a smirk crossing his face, "Vida. I very much appreciate the aid." He held out a hand for the pink-clad teen to shake as Vida moved from behind the register to continue picking up the mess of discs in the storeroom from earlier. She paused in her movements, looking at him strangely for his offer of a handshake, but didn't see anything to suggest that she ignore the offer. So, reaching out a hand she shook the proffered limb only to be pulled close to the male, her eyes going wide at the action. Shivers ran up her spine when she felt his hand on her back, palm splayed to keep her against him.
"Name's Xander; Xander Bly. I'll see you around...Vida." With that, the male pushed Vida back against the counter and, saluting jauntily left the store, the bell jangling behind him. Vida didn't move, frozen in a state of shock at the male's intimate contact with her, knowing that if her father found out the younger male would not live to tell the tale. Then, self-anger coursed through her veins at her failure to acknowledge her instincts, which had tol-, no, blared at her not to trust the guy! She'd fallen for a simple handshake! How stupid could she be?!
Vida didn't want to consider what would happen whe-, no, if her father found out…
Xander returned to the store everyday on the premise of buying more of Hendrix's music, yet Clare reported finding every single piece of purchased music in the garbage outside of the store, which led to an incensed Leelee not only vowing castration for his abuse of Hendrix' music, but a personal mission to catch the man in the act.
Unfortunately for her, Xander stopped by the store whenever Leelee wasn't on shift; in fact, he almost never came unless Vida was in charge of the front of the store that day. Odd, that.
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Briarwood Park, December 26, 2006, 11:30 pm – Briarwood, CA, USA
During the next month of battles, Vida's thoughts continually fled to a new foe, a vampire named Calindor, who was always accompanied by a youth in a black face mask. The only thing she and her fellow magicians had ever seen about said youth was curly brown hair and a never ending smirk complete with prominent fangs. She and her companions were severely beaten by the new male duo time and again; to make things worse, Clare almost lost her life when it was discovered that she was the Gatekeeper, the daughter of a famous and extremely powerful sorceress during the previous War against Infershia. The Gatekeeper had given her life to save the Magical and Human Realms. Luckily for her daughter, Chip had managed to save Clare's life but in the process almost lost his eye.
(Chip's scar extended from the top of his right eye over it and down to his chin; he called it a "badge of honor" but Vida called it a mistake that she had allowed to happen. She was superior in magic, damn it! She'd been practicing magic since she was just old enough to toddle around her home in the Magical Realm! She should have been able to save Clare and prevent Chip from getting the scar!)
Every time that Vida saw Chip's scar she hated herself. Hated herself for not being able to stop the attack, for not saving Clare, for not possessing the level of healing magic needed for getting rid of his scar, having to come up with some theory to tell Chip's family about how he acquired the scar… yeah, she was on a serious self-loathing kick right now.
However, she hated no one more than the idiotic guy in the black mask taunting her while pinning her to the ground during their latest battle.
"Give up, Pink Mage," the younger male stated a battle axe held against her throat. Vida growled hand inching towards her belt where her sai rested. Feet away, Madison tried desperately to reach her sister but was unable to, the "Monster of the Day" keeping both Leelee and her busy. Nick fought one-on-one and sword-on-sword with some guy named Koragg and Chip and Clare battled Calindor, magical sparks flying everywhere as their weapons clashed with Calindor's dual-bladed naginata.
"Never!" Vida hissed succeeding in reaching a sai and moving quickly managed to toss it at the male's head. Unfortunately, he dodged at the last moment but not entirely. The sai hit his mask, a crack appearing. The crack quickly spread and moved across the mask, splitting it into pieces that fell across Vida's form. Blood fell from scratches on the male's face left from the cracked mask that he attempted to stem, but in doing so ended up dropping his battle axe. Even through the blood covering her face Vida clearly saw the face behind the mask; she couldn't muffle the gasp of shock.
"Bitch!" the male, whom Vida could now clearly see was Xander Bly hissed running a hand over the myriad scratches covering his face; however, a larger scratch that Vida was sure would scar ran down his nose and over his mouth. Then, just like a switch had been flipped a blank expression took over his face. "No matter; I'll just dispose of you the way that Father wishes." He snapped his wrist and a small knife flew out from underneath his sleeve. Catching Vida's look, he smirked.
"Hidden weapons are so useful, am I correct?" He then lunged for her, going for her neck. Vida grabbed her second sai and connected with the knife, the resulting 'clang' putting the two combatants into a stalemate.
"You'll never win against us and Infershia shall not rise again!" Vida declared pushing back. Unfortunately, Xander was both physically stronger and on top of her, a knee pressed into her side. Deciding that even vampiric males had the same weaknesses as regular ones, she kneed Xander below the belt. Gasping, the vampire's hold on his knife slackened and she wrenched it out of his hands, now holding her two weapons against his throat.
"Looks like the tables have turned, hmm?" Vida scrambled to her knees at Xander's movements to protect his family jewels. The male youth glanced at Vida and, noticing their physical closeness leered; the two were now kneeling next to each other, with Vida in control of two weapons whereas Xander had none.
"You play dirty. Not that attractive for a young lady such as yourself." Xander moved closer to Vida, eyes boring into hers, and without meaning to a connection formed between the two. As their foreheads came into contact, the edge of Vida's stolen knife pressed into the young man's throat drawing a thin stream of viscous blood.
"Who said that I'm a lady?" Vida breathed the splattered blood from earlier dripping onto her nose. Xander's eyes were drawn to the site and suddenly it was as if nothing else in the world existed except them. Without warning, Xander leaned forward and pressed his lips gently to hers, eyes closed. Vida froze for a moment, too shocked to move. All too quickly, the kiss ended and Xander glared down at Vida, almost accusing her of it being her fault that he'd committed such a treasonous act. He got to his feet and without a backwards look abruptly vanished in a flash of black light. Vida didn't know what to do, much less say; therefore, her teammates remained unaware of what had really conspired only privy to the fact that new boy Xander Bly was actually Calindor's son.
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Gathering Room, Infershia, March 14, 2007, 7:30 pm – Mystical Realm
'Father's losing his mind,' Xander thought leaning up against a stone wall. 'All this talk of teaming up with the Barbarian Beasts, forbidden since Ancient Times, is seriously going to backfire; Morticon's penultimate plan to use the White Sorceress' power to turn Koragg back to our side will as well.' He frowned. 'The Wolf Knight has retreated to their side permanently; I sense none of The Master's evil present in him. He has been fully cleansed by the power of the Gatekeeper. The White Sorceress, on the other hand, has never been evil, despite our holding her captive since the end of the last War.'
He glanced sideways at Morticon, who was currently ranting to a none-too-sympathetic Calindor about the reality of beating the Mages. 'I don't think that you're going to win, not when they've achieved that bloody Legend Mode.' He paused. 'Since when have I begun to empathize with the good guys?'
"Since her," Xander whispered eyes widening. The memory of his kissing the Pink Sprite all those months ago sent his mind down a path that detailed all of their subsequent meetings during private battles, physical and emotional in nature. For someone such as Xander, who'd grown up without physical, much less emotional affection, who had lacked even the typical mussing of hair that accompanied a word of praise, the physical contact was the equivalent of drinking ambrosia. It was addicting, and he kept coming back for more.
After realizing that there was something more to them than merely vampire and mage, good and evil, they began getting to know each other better. Xander had talked of his time in Infershia, how his birth mother had been turned into a Hidiac at his father's command because she broke his favorite teapot, how he'd been groomed to become the next King of the Vampires. In return, he'd learned of Magitopia, of the real reason the War was fought over two decades ago, of how her mother had gone missing during said war and no evidence of her was ever found, of growing up with a father who actually cared, of these emotions called caring, friendship, kindness, gentility, and, lastly, love. The last one had begun to change him; he was sure of it.
'What to do now?' He looked out over the chamber and where once he'd have been right alongside his father planning the downfall of the Rangers, now he found it to be revolting and something he wished to have no part of whatsoever. 'I have an idea...'
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Briarwood Park, March 14, 2007, 8:30 pm – Briarwood, CA, USA
Vida, seated at an old swing-set sighed, moving the old, rusty swing back and forth with her feet, mind fuming. Her father had called her out on her strange behavior as of late, and when she'd told him that she was feeling underneath the weather he'd run a diagnostic charm on her. When he'd discovered that she had traces of vampire on her (and wait until she saw that idiot vamp. again, oh, she'd get him for that hickey!) he'd blown his top. It had taken the efforts of Madison and her father's newly found and reformed friend Lienbow to calm him down enough to at least listen to her pleas of fairness, of giving the vampire in question a chance to show that he hadn't harmed her, nor would he harm any others. Vida, though generally reserved, silent and quick to pass judgment wanted to wait and see what Xander would do when she relayed the news that he'd been found out.
Of course, Daggeron had no clue who the mysterious vampire that had dared give his daughter a hickey really was; Vida was sure that it would only be a matter of time before he linked together his arch-nemesis Calindor and the youth that all of the young Mages (Vida excluded) had come to hate as being father and son, and then for said youth to be Xander Bly (who still came around to Rock Porium and bought music but due to a number of stringent threats from both Leelee and her mother Nikki now actually kept what he bought). There were times where after each battle either Vida or Xander would sneak away from their allies and meet somewhere, deciding to just talk or do other things, such as Vida taking a page from Nick's book and teaching the vampire how to skateboard or said vampire teaching Vida some tricks in self-transfiguration that he knew from his time in Infershia.
She wished she'd had had a camera to take a picture when Xander had gone flying into a tree when he'd gone too quickly down a hill and forgotten how to break on the borrowed skateboard. However one looked at it, they'd been alone numerous times, giving him perfect opportunity to turn or, worse, kill her. Yet, he'd done neither, a rather interesting trait for a vampire.
"V?" came a whisper from somewhere nearby and the Pink Mage leapt to her feet, sai appearing in her hands at a thought. Narrowed eyes surveyed the rest of the wooden and metal playground in front of her, the swing set at her sides and back before they turned behind her and alighted on a tall, lanky figure.
"Xan? You're early," Vida whispered back the sai vanishing in a gust of pink wind. Then, she remembered her father. "You idiot! Because of the stupid hickey you gave me Father found out about us!" She marched towards him and stabbed him in the chest, not afraid that he'd hurt her for the action; he liked her too much to do that.
Xander shook his head, drawing Vida's attention to his shadow in the setting sun, which soon lengthened and added a few inches to his already impressive height. "V, another time I would laugh, but not now." He paused then, straightening his shoulders added, "I've defected, Vida."
"Wait, what?" She hadn't heard what she'd thought... right?
"You heard me." His voice was stronger now. "I've decided to join your side. As a token of my sincerity, I have the key to not only Morticon and Calindor's destruction, but a method to rescue the White Sorceress."
After a moment of silence Vida spoke. "Xander, if you do this, then you won't be able to see your Father again." She gazed into his eyes, searching for any sign of doubt about his actions, about what the consequences for his choice were going to be.
Xander lifted a hand to cup her cheek. "Vida, I don't care. I don't belong there; not anymore. Spending time with you and the others – especially you – made me realize that life is more precious than death, particularly if death equals a world full of those bloody Hidiacs." He smirked. "Besides, what better way is there to piss off both my old man and yours by showing up as a good guy?"
After a moment of silence – with Vida taking the time to take in what Xander had said – she smiled. Then, for the first time since the early days of battling against Infershia, Vida laughed a full-body laugh. "Great. I love this plan, Xander." She paused. "What's the key?"
As Xander told her the plan neither noticed the steel grey eyes of Daggeron, the Solaris Knight, watching the two. Fists clenched, he watched the two young adults in front of him for some more time before sensing that they were to leave the park. Turning he moved to a nearby tree and seamlessly vanished into it, emerging just outside of Rootcore, He had to concede that his daughter had been right when he'd stumbled upon her diary a month or so ago. The son of his old friend and rival Calindor wasn't bad at all, merely misled.
'Apparently, my daughter has been the key to ending this whole conflict... and I had thought that to be Nick or Clare. Udonna, my friend, we are coming for you.'
Soon enough, the War with Infershia came to an end when the Barbarian Beasts which Morticon himself had summoned destroyed him (and they, in turn, were destroyed by the Mages in Mystic Warrior Mode). Calindor had been destroyed by his son's personalized battle axe in a two-day long succession fight. With Xander's victory, he became the literal "King" of the Vampires; he had then ordered all of the Vampires who'd been serving Infershia to jump ship, giving Magitopia a power boost. Said power boost proved strong enough to allow for the release of the White Sorceress, Udonna, and the sealing of The Master once more.
As Daggeron reflected on the events of the past year and a half as victory was celebrated he saw his youngest daughter embrace the blood-spattered Xander Bly, his head resting on hers, peace surrounding them. He tilted his head then thought that perhaps having a vampire for a son-in-law wasn't such a bad thing... after all it meant that he received free access to vampiric healing powers for those nasty days when Fireheart decided to eat a finger or two...