Author's notes - Son of Whiteboard, thanks for that. I read a story, at some point these last few years, about an author who's father asked her, what's your story about? And she stumbled over the answer, hastily explaining (with a bit of embarrassment) that the story was just some fanfiction she was writing. And he stopped, and patiently replied, "that's what's in the story, but what's it actually about?" And she had to stop and think about it, for a little while. But eventually, she realised that was writing something really profound.

And I thought there was such a powerful lesson, in that story. I love my characters, and I love the superhero genre in general. But a lot of the tropes we use in the stories we write and tell are just ... window dressing. What our stories are about is something deeper, and a much more interesting topic to talk about. Ultimately, for me, Nyctophobia was about fear, how we deal with our insecurities, how we recover from our moments of doubt, and how the people around us either help or hinder us in that process.

Anyway, with Luna defeated, onto the next chapter ... :)

Part Eight

Chapter Nine

Once we'd helped Ernie back to his house and made sure the city was more or less back to normal, we teleported to the Command Centre where we were greeted by an anxious Zordon and Alpha. But none of us were in the mood to celebrate. Nobody was saying anything, the mood despondent as we processed the night's events. We weren't even standing together, but scattered around the central chamber. Finally, Zordon broke the silence, but his voice lacked its typical booming quality. We noticed the difference straight away.

"Rangers," he began. "Alpha and I are glad you're okay."

"Are we though?" Zac asked. "That witch was in our heads for hours. We could've lost Ernie. There's no telling what she learned. That was…"

"Terrifying," Brendan said. "That's the word you're looking for."

"Who was that witch anyway?" Scott asked. "What did she even want? Why was she trying to capture us?"

"Her name was Luna the midnight queen," Teresa said suddenly. We heard the exhaustion in her voice. "From what Luna said in the temple," Teresa continued, "she's responsible for lots of things. She was the one trying to activate the crown, last month, and I'm sure she sent the pendant to the Dragon Lord. She might've even sent the cursed dagger to the museum in Normandy, although we'll never know for sure."

Kimberly stepped forward. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"What happened in the temple before we got there?" Jason added.

"When I smashed the two gems, there was some kind of magical feedback," Teresa replied. "I got hit with all these hazy, awful pictures. Most of them are things I'd rather forget. But I saw him. For a second, I actually saw him."

"Who do you mean?" Sarah asked.

"Luna's boss," Teresa said. "The guy behind all this."

There was a minute of silence as we glanced around the room. Even Zordon and Alpha were stunned. This was huge. I turned to Jason, and he returned the look. Finally, we had the chance to learn something about our enemy.

"Teresa," Billy began slowly. "Do you recall his name?"

"I think we'd hurt ourselves trying to pronounce it," she said. "But he calls himself the Shadow King. He is ancient. He thinks of himself as a god. He was banished from here, chained up in another dimension to punish him forever."

"The endless desert we saw," Ian realised.

Teresa nodded. "There were four chains, holding him in place," she continued. "But two of them were broken. I saw them lying on the sand. He's escaping. It won't be long until he breaks the other two."

"Four chains," I repeated. "Four gems from the crown, four of those imperial guards. Why is it always four?"

"The chains are breaking," Scott said. "They've been telling us what's happening for months now."

"And the Toymaker was trying to warn us," Trini added.

"Do you remember anything else?" Sarah asked.

"No, nothing useful," Teresa said. "Even now, it's all fading. There was a feeling, though. It was overwhelming. He hates us. For no other reason than we exist." She shook her head and looked away.

"The Shadow King," Jason said. "Alpha, can you…?"

"Already done Jason," Alpha replied, and gestured to the computer in front of him. "Ayeyiyi Rangers! In our entire archive, there's not a single reference to this Shadow King. He's so old that there isn't a single byte of information about him, not anywhere in human history. It's almost like the human race has been trying to forget he ever existed."

"This isn't exactly a fireworks moment, is it?" Zac asked.

"On the contrary," boomed Zordon's voice. "Rangers, we know our enemy's name, and we know his plot. There is power in that. We cannot underestimate our victory tonight. The old gods are powerful, but they're not invincible. They're just old. Not to mention, while Teresa was in Luna's temple, Alpha and I were finally able to study this Shadow King's magic. I've never seen magic like this before in my life! But luckily, Alpha and I are fast learners. Take heart Rangers. The next time the Shadow King attacks, we will be ready for him."

"That's something," Ian said.

"I don't even know if it's early or late," I said, "but does anyone else really want to go back to bed?"

As the rest of us reached for our wrists and began teleporting home, Sarah turned to Teresa. "You want to get out of here?" the Purple Ranger asked.

"Actually, no," Teresa replied, and glanced to the clock on the nearest console. "There's something I want to do first."

With the building at their backs, Teresa and Sarah sat in silence, facing the eastern sky and watching the dawn. As they'd sat down, the mountains on the horizon had been outlined in a soft glow. It wasn't long until the morning sun climbed into the sky, flooding the desert with light and warmth.

"Thanks for sitting with me," Teresa said. "You could've gone home."

"Hey, it's a sleepover," Sarah replied. "We're supposed to sit up all night."

"I realised it's been ages since I watched the sun rise," Teresa continued. "And after dealing with a demon goddess queen all night, today was as good a time as any. There were a couple of moments where I was worried we wouldn't see another one."

"Things are always less scary in the morning," Sarah said. "Fresher maybe? A chance to start again."

"That sounded almost hopeful," Teresa smiled.

"You know why I sometimes let in too much cynicism?" Sarah asked. "Because the truth is, you've got enough hope for the both of us."

"Luna thought so," Teresa replied. "She came after me because she thought I was weak. She saw hope as a flaw. Something to exploit." Teresa lowered her voice. "If only they knew how hard it was to keep going, sometimes, to keep believing that things are going to work out, even when the whole world is falling down around you."

Sarah leaned in close. "That's because you are the strongest person I know," she said. "Don't forget it."

"Thanks," Teresa nodded, and they shared a hug.

There was silence for a few seconds. "So what did Luna say to you?" Sarah asked. "Where did she take you? It's okay if you don't want to tell me."

"I do," Teresa said. "Just not right now. We still beat her. It doesn't matter."

"It matters to you so it matters to me," Sarah replied. "Not that you needed my help. Taking out Luna by yourself? You're a certified badass."

"Tell that to Ag'reth."

Sarah considered that. "Call it even?"

"Okay," Teresa laughed. She realised it was the first time she'd laughed since yesterday. "I do feel better about everything, you know? Whoever this Shadow King is, wherever he's lurking, whatever he wants to throw at us next, I'm sure we can beat him. He's chained up somewhere because he was defeated once before. I know we can do it again."

"Hopefully not today, though," Sarah said. "Because I am beat."

Teresa stood up. "You want to go home?"

"And sleep until midday? Absolutely!"

The girls laughed, and reached for their communicators.

To be continued.