Hey guys! Vote, comment and share! Enjoy!

____________________

Bloom

She was here for me.

The she devil is here for me. But why?

The sky still hadn't cleared and the ship looming above us only increased my sense of dread. It was a miracle that I was still breathing, because I practically just forgot how to live.

And her promise for revenge only shook me to the core, even though I have no idea what I did. Who was this nighlok and what did she want from me? The questions seemed to outweigh the answers and that wasn't a very favorable situation. 

Something in me deep down wanted to check on the other rangers, see how they are holding up, but much to my disappointment, my eyes were glued to the creature in front of me. It was as if I believed that if I looked away, things would go down south– a feeling I seem to have towards bugs too.

I could feel the air suffocate around me. I must play it cool. I play it cool.

"W-who are... you?"

I did not play it cool.

A sound something similar to an amused chuckle reached my ears. I wonder if the sound was from the nighlok or from Jax. When I looked at the others through the corner of my eyes, I found them in a more miserable condition than mine, standing frozen in place, the only signs of life being their shivering hands.

"I. Am. MISTRESS XALIA!" The nighlok proclaimed. "The ruler of the netherworld and the ancient ones. I am your doom!"

Ancient ones. There was that word again. Ancient ones. Ancient ones. Ancient ones. 

My mind raced but my body was much faster. Before I could scold myself and call me a stupid, my sword went above my head and went directly to hit Mistress Xalia. 

A fight broke out. The rest of the team took on rocky nighlok while I battled the nighlok ruler. My eyes kept darting towards every opening, every swing, every slash, every jab... my body was coursing with adrenaline, masking the many wounds I was probably now carrying.

"Stupid girl!" Xalia hissed. "You are stupid to think you can defeat me!"

"Well," I breathed. "You haven't defeated me yet, either. So, I guess we are both disappointed."

Whatever happened next, I wasn't prepared for it. She screamed. A scream that was so loud that sent my ears ringing and my legs wobbling. But no... I won't let that stop me.

I try to block out all kinds of noises, preoccupy my mind with things that would help me concentrate, for instance, this nighlok's face. Her face is so disgusting that it motivates me to punch her right on it.

Suddenly, I'm stumbling forward with the sheer force of trying to hit her, for she had already jumped away to her ship.

"I'm not wasting my time on you," she spat out. "My minions are more than enough to deal with you."

Before I could register what she was telling, she screamed again.

"CRAGATOR!"

I turned just in time to meet my sword with the brawny hand that almost crushed my head. He likes surprise attacks, I guess.

The others ran towards me... to help me, I realize, but the thought still seemed foreign to me.

The minute my team engaged with cragator, I couldn't help myself but dart my eyes to the She nighlok now standing with all her glory at the edge of her ship. And at that moment, something nagged at me.

I wanted answers. I wanted it now.

Who is she? Why is she targeting me? Does she know about my powers? Even so, why revenge? As far as I believe, if she did come to know of my powers, revenge would be the last thing on her mind...

I know I shouldn't do it. I know it is not the optimal solution for my problems, let alone escaping through the mind of a nighlok and potential exposition of my powers, but I have to do it. I need answers and I have no other way to get them. And asking is never an option. 

I take in a deep breath as I concentrate.

One moment I'm staring into those deep dark orbs, willing myself to feel her, hear her, see through her and the next moment, I'm in her mind. My entire being thumped and burned, crying for me to turn back and leave this evil mind, but I can't. Not before I get some answers.

I search and search and search through countless thoughts, every effort scorching me more than the previous one. I doubt nighloks have memories that they cherish, but I'm sure her thoughts are well out for me to read. All I have to do is grab the right on from all the ringing ones around me.

I strained myself to listen, to understand. And there, as clear as the day, was a thought louder than any other.

Revenge for my brother.

That only increased my questions more. Who the hell was her brother and why is she seeking revenge for him?  

Few more minutes, I told myself. I'll have to gather more, but I should also keep the time in mind. I should get out before my staring starts to look less like a dare and more like something else.

Once I found this thought, the others weren't hard. They were practically lying around, and if I'm not wrong, the thoughts were growing louder and louder, probably because of my presence in front of her. 

And I found another thought useful for me: red ranger destroyed my brother.

Still not very clear, but atleast I know why she wants to destroy me. I ventured more and soon enough, I found another one. Something that shook me to the core. Something I wasn't expecting. Something... that makes so much sense that she wasn't really after me.

Master Xandred. 

Master Xandred is her brother?

I pull out of her mind and stumble, half because of fatigue and the other half solely because I was terrified. 

Terrified, not for my life, but for Jayden's. 

This nighlok was after Jayden. My sweet loving brother... 

Xalia's head tilted at my heaving figure and something told me she was onto me. Play it cool, play it cool, play it cool...

My heartbeats echoed in my ears, momentarily making me forget about my surroundings. I apparently got a little too distracted because a hit sent me sprawling on the ground, demorphing me by the sheer force.

My head tilted up just in time to catch a movement beside Xalia-- a tiny figure, probably not taller than my hip. And thanks to my stupid powers, their conversation reached my ears as clear as glass.

"Ooh ah ooh!" The figure said. "This is not the red ranger I was talking about!"

"WHAT!?" Xalia yelled at him. But my mind was racing again.

"The red ranger who fought Master Xandred was different," he continued.

"THEN WHERE IS HE?" the mistress yelled again, her face inches away from the creature.

"Ooh ah ooh!" The nighlok sang, his voice sounding more nervous. "Probably at the Shiba house."

And with that, my heart stopped beating.

I won't let them get to Jayden.

I concentrated on the figure, his features becoming more and more familiar by the second. And then it clicked.

I knew him. I knew him very well. The right hand guy to Master Xandred. The guy about whom more than half of the books in the archives talked about.

"Octoroo!" I yelled, shunning the battle field to a halt. Even Cragator stopped his attack by my voice. "Do not tell me you forgot me already!"

Octoroo's head twisted between mine and his Mistress, his whimpers evidently trying to explain.

"Did the soak in the sanzoo river for so long rot your brain!" I continued, not allowing his mind time to process.

"I destroyed your master and I will destroy your Mistress too!"

I could feel my teammates eyes boring into me, a silent question of what the hell I was doing very much evident.

"ENOUGH!" Xalia yelled.

"B-but Mistress, she...," Octoroo started but I already had plans for him.

"I," I started, making sure his attention darted to me. And he did exactly that. A big mistake that he would regret... if he could remember. 

My eyes bore into his and spoke every word like a sacred prophecy meant to burn itself into the wielder. "I destroyed master Xandred!"

Octoroo looked surprised, shunned even. That's right... believe me. I destroyed him, not my brother. Not Jayden. My mental hands grabbed at his memories and manually willed it to rewrite itself.

I desperately grabbed all the pages from the book of Jayden's life, wanting to reinforce my claims.

"I was the one who lead my team to plunge their swords into his chest!"

I felt the rage emanating from the she devil. Good. It's working.

Just then, I felt my team walk slightly towards me.

"Bloom. what the hell are you—"

I cut through Cole's words, not wanting any kind of distraction.

The only mantra that kept chanting in my mind was, save Jayden, save Jayden, save Jayden.

"I SAW HIM CRUMBLE TO THE GROUND AS HE PROCLAIMED THAT THE NIGHLOK WILL RAISE AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!"

And that, as expected, was Mistress Xalia's undoing. "Ooh ah ooh," I heard Octoroo mutter. "I guess that's true"

A feral scream left Xalia's mouth and the land trembled, the skies revolted and the winds raged. 

Just when I thought this is going to be the end of me, I spotted a small dry spot appearing on her torso. "Ahhh! I'm drying out!" The nighlok grumbled from behind me, surprising me back to the present by making himself known. And just like that, he disappeared within a crack.

My attention went back to Xalia, who, surprisingly, was held back by Octoroo. "Ooh ah ooh! Your drying up! We must leave! Now!"

"This will not be the end!!!" She growled, her finger pointed towards me. "I will destroy youuuu!!!!"

Those were the last words she told me as the ship disappeared back to where it came from.

As if on cue, my body gave out. My knees buckled and my head lulled and within seconds, I was on the ground, just then realising how much of my powers I had just used.

"Bloom!" I heard my team scream as they ran to me, immediately kneeling on the ground beside me. Lia's arms immediately wrapped around my shoulders as support. "I'm fine," I mumbled, my voice hoarse from all the screaming.

"What exactly did you do to get so tired up?" Jax commented and for a second, I thought he was being his usual obnoxious self. But no. When I looked at his face, I saw genuine doubt and curiosity written all over it.

"Something so stupid that Jayden is going to k*ll me for," I said and I could feel their doubt increasing ten fold.

What I said was very much real. If Jayden found out what I just did, he would probably k*ll me before the nighloks do.

But I don't mind, because I am satisfied with my decision.

My brother is safe and off the hook and that's all that mattered.