Interlude: Dark Coup

Bandora pursed her lips, looking at the hordes of merlocks looking down at her from the infinite tunnels.

"It's time." She said softly, rising from her throne. Morticon hesitated slightly, before getting up too.

"My queen, are you sure?" Morticon said from her side.

"Hush, husband." She cut him off and turned towards the emblazoned marble in the centre of the floor – the "Eye of the Master", that connected them to the deeper layers of the realm, where her father was sealed. She snapped her fingers and the merlocks writhed in pain, just as they dissipated into wisps of black smoke that swirled together before slamming into her back.

She stooped to her knees, placing her hands on the Eye, which sprung to life, a crimson hue covering her face.

"Father…" She smiled endearingly before it turned predatory in a split second. Purple veins spread across her entire body and her hands shone with dark energies. Her nails sharpened to sharp claws that dug into the Eye with a squelching crack. Destructive energies poured through the crack directly into the pit. The underworld shook as dust fell from the earth over it and catacombs collapsed on itself. Bandora screamed but did not stop. Black ooze poured out from the Eye and red lightning lashed out at her, which Morticon was quick to block with his sword.

"So long, father…" She snarled, channelling all her magic into the attack till the red lightning fizzled out and the cracks spread through the entirety of the Eye before it shattered in a huge explosion, which sent her skidding backwards.

"Bandora!" Morticon yelled, rushing to her.

"I am fine." She coughed, clutching on to the cyborg minotaur for support as she stumbled to her feet. She looked at where the Eye was once placed… All that remained was now charred stone and black ooze.

"We did it. I can't feel him anymore." She smiled.

"Is he gone?" Morticon asked.

"No. I cut off his connection to the Underworld and without the dark energies, he will not be able to maintain any semblance of a physical form. His energies will dissipate and so will his spirit." She said gleefully. "I am now the undisputed empress of the Underworld and you, my darling, are the new Master."

Morticon grunted, looking at the empty tunnels. "Master of nothing, it seems. My army and my generals are all gone."

The dark witch frowned. "Don't be so harsh, husband. You know as well as I do, Koragg and Necrolai's loyalty lied with my father and as for your army…" She clapped her hands together and dark spell circles appeared all around them, before all sorts of grotesque abominations as well as many hidiacs and other foot soldiers crawled out of them, bowing to their knees before them. "They are easy to replace."

Morticon laughed. "I apologise, my queen."

He linked their arms before hoisting his sword to the air.

"The Mystic Force will soon fall and my armies will conquer all dimensions!" He yelled and his subjects started cheering.

"To the fall of Mystic Force! All hail Master Morticon! All hail Mistress Bandora!"

Clare whirled around at the sound of the doors opening, numerous scrolls dropping to the wooden floor.

"Easy, Clare. It's just us." Nick smiled at her as he and the other rangers except Vida entered their base.

"Oh, yes. I see that." The apprentice nodded absentmindedly, scurrying to pick up the scrolls before putting them on the table beside the crystal ball.

"What are these?" Neil asked.

"Scrolls of the vampire hierarchy that I and Udonna managed to find from the library." She said, "We are trying to find out more about who Lilith is."

"Did you?" Madison inquired.

Clare shook her head. "No. For the last ten thousand years or so, Necrolai was the undefeated queen of the vampires. She had no heir to take her place."

"She looks exactly the same as Necrolai though." Xander pointed out.

"Yes, as every one in the royal vampire lineage should." Udonna said, coming down from the stairs followed by Lena. "Whoever she is, she is related to Necrolai."

"Her name could be a clue perhaps?" Lena asked. "Like we all know the Lilith from our human mythology but in the legends of mystic realm, Lilith is a powerful being. She was not only the first woman but also the first witch and-"

"Let me guess, the first vampire?" Chip said.

"Yes." Udonna said.

"Could this Lilith be the same one from the legends?" Neil asked.

"No. More than likely, it's someone who has taken her name. The original Lilith was the grandmother of Necrolai but she was destroyed in a battle with a group of celestial beings called the Heavenly Saints." Udonna informed. "Using her name is a show of power. According to the scrolls, Necrolai had a daughter named Camille, who she abandoned when she first ascended to the throne because the girl had no magic and by some strange twist of fate, born as a human and completely resistant to vampirism. It is possible that Lilith is one of Camille's descendants but that's all we were able to uncover."

"So, a dead end to this also!" Nick groaned.

"Hey where is Vida?" Maddie frowned, looking around.

Xander and Nick shared an exasperated look.

"She told us she'd be coming in a few… But knowing her, she probably went to the DJ rave with Leelee." Xander shrugged.

"What DJ?" Neil asked.

"Leelee was nagging for someone to come along with her to see some new DJ in town." Nick told.

"Yeah, she is there alright and will probably be there all night long." The blue mystic sighed. "And I have to come up with an excuse for her to mom and dad… again!"

"Let it be, Madison." Lena said, placing a hand on the younger mystic's shoulder. "All of you have been running yourselves ragged ever since you became rangers. Let her have one night as a normal teenager. Maybe she needs this."

"Yeah." Maddie nodded.

"Besides we were going to search the library for clues into what the scroll of Fireheart means. There are already eight of us. I think we can manage." Neil shrugged as they headed up the stairs towards the library.

I have decided to change some stuff going forwards and I know some of you'll be happy especially because several characters will be appearing sooner than they did in canon. While the broad storyline will stay same, the story itself will shift majorly.

Hope you enjoyed this short chapter, which revealed what Bandora is up to and kickstarts the adaptation of "Stranger Within" arc, which will be darker than in the show, with actual vampires showing up instead of the Venus flytrap inspired monster we got in the show. Also, did anyone spot the reference I made to another season?

Also, I have started another Mystic Force story "Mystic Force: A Different Destiny", which focuses on an alternate timeline where Bowen grew up in the mystic realm and Clare was lost in the human world. I have some cool stuff planned for that story, so check that out if you guys are interested.