Chapter 13 - Dark Rising

The Moon had not been quiet. The Rangers scrambled often to fight some new monstrosity the Moon had thrown at them. While tough, they weren't exactly getting any better. It was beginning to feel like busy work. Meanwhile, they still had to juggle school, competitions, work and family. Family seemed to be the trickiest part.

Sora having to contacted his mother at Terra Venture on the planet Mirinoi about his father. Lammy met Taran's adoptive parents in Kansas over Thanksgiving. Chloe and Danny had to disappear suddenly during a trip to New York to spend time with their father. It was all sticky.

Rex was highly annoyed. Though they usually tried to rotate who was sent out into the field unless it was absolutely necessary, Rex had still been required to leave his sister unsupervised at some teeny-bopper concert the day before when a monster attacked nearby. His parents had been giving him a hard time about it. Especially since it wasn't the first time something like that happened. He knew he didn't have a good excuse besides the truth, which he couldn't tell them. Being caught in the stampede of people running for safety while coming back from the bathroom didn't seem to be an adequate excuse. To make matters worse, Rena had tried to take up for him.

Finally, with a disappointed shake of her head, his mom had finally let it drop. Dad had stayed out of that one for the most part but he didn't really stick up for his poor son either. Rex was finally allowed to leave, feeling a bit like crap. His parents were usually the cool parents people always wanted. He guessed even the cool parents had to put their feet down sometimes. He was headed toward his car when he noticed activity at the house across the street, which belonged to the crazy old cat lady Mrs. O'Bannon.

There were a couple of girls knocking on the door with suitcases stacked up behind them. The blond pounded on the door. "Granny!" she shouted and pushed the doorbell a few times.

"I thought you said your parents talked to her," said the one with the short dark hair.

Ordinarily, Rex wouldn't have been too nosey aside from casually checking them out, but something stood about them. It was the way they wee dressed. They seemed to each being uniforms of some sort but different from each other's.

"They did! I wouldn't have asked Justin to leave us here if I didn't think she was expecting us," the blond girl said and knocked on the door again.

The brunette girl shrieked when a cat appeared and pounced playfully on her boots, beckoned by a loose lace. "What was that?" she demanded.

"It was a cat. Granny has several of them."

"There's nothing like that on KO-35," she groused.

Now that definitely caught his attention and he walked over to them. "Mrs. O'Bannon isn't there," he said helpfully.

They turned then to look at him. Both of them were young, probably sixteen or so. The girl with the edgy black bob had fair skin and silver eyes. He definitely recognized that uniform now that she mentioned KO-35. The blond had slightly curly hair with brown streaks and braids running through it. She sported a Terra Venture staff uniform. She also had a pair of the prettiest blue eyes he'd ever seen. She stared at him for a long moment then blinked and looked away, flushing slightly. She then frowned. "What do you mean she isn't here? She has to be. She's expecting us," she complained.

Rex shook his head. He brought out his keys, found the one he'd been given last week and unlocked the door. "She went on a cruise and asked my mom to feed her cats for her. She'll be gone for at least two more weeks," he said and pushed the door open.

The blond closed her eyes as if to summon up patience. "Well, thank you--" she gasped and both girls covered their noses.

"What is that smell?" the other girl demanded.

"That would be the litter boxes. My sister is supposed to clean them. She, understandably, shirked that duty it seems," he said.

"There's no way I'm staying here. I'll sleep on the ship with Justin and Carlos," the brunette said gagging.

"Zhane would love that."

"Then I'll find Sora and stay with him. Cassie knows where he is."

"Shh," the blond belatedly tried to shush her friend and they both glanced guiltily at Rex.

He grinned at them. He closed the door and locked it up again. "We'll go over to my house and sort this problem out. Sora you say?" he asked. "I think I know a Sora," he said casually.

They gave him suspicious looks."Oh, really? What do you know about Sora?" the brunette asked.

"I know his parents were on Terra Venture," he said and pointed at the blonde, "and that he later went to live with his cousin, Cassie, on KO-35 and learned their style of martial arts from a man named Zhane Rahl," he said and pointed at the brunette.

The girls shared a look. "The only way you could know any of that is if you're a Power Ranger," the brunette said suspiciously.

Rex snorted. "If I'm that easy to figure out, you'd think my parents would and get off my back a little. Come on. We'll head over and I can call in re-enforcements to see what we can do about that house. I'm Rex, by the way. Rex Hart," he introduced himself.

"I'm Zara. Zara Rahl and this is Melody Robinson," the brunette piped up.

Melody gave him a brief smile and a finger wave. "We're, um, here to train with the Power Rangers. Sort of. It's a long story and I'd rather only tell it once," she added.

"Fair enough," Rex said and helped them take their things across the street to his house. He briefly explained to his parents that they were meant to stay with Mrs. O'Bannon but there was a communications snag. His mom went into mother-mode and began to fuss over them immediately.

Rex ducked out and teleported to the Command Center.

-x-

Billie left the Youth Center with an extra-large, extra-sweet, extra-creamy coffee and her laptop bag. She wanted to work on some of her projects this weekend. She was almost finished with what she called a hand-held healing device and she had an idea for an armor piece for the Reds and the Greens, as well as a weapons upgrade. Winter needed a better weapon sometimes and if he could get one with some powerful armor, all the better for him. After all, from what the records say, the Green and Red Ranger had a shield they could share. It was woefully outdated but she could go from there.

Her mind was so occupied she didn't even realize when she made it home. There was no car in her drive. That meant that the Doctors Davis were at work. On a Saturday. She sighed and entered the empty house. Her parents were brilliant. Mr. Dr. Davis was a brain surgeon. Mrs. Dr. Davis was a rocket scientist. They were on the cutting edge of their fields. She was proud of them but it'd be nice if they were home every now and then. She'd ended up having Thanksgiving with Nathan's family because they'd been called into work at the same time.

"There you are, sweety."

Billie jumped when she heard her mother's voice. On the short side and slightly plump, her mother didn't look like she designed missiles for a living. She looked more like she baked cookies all day. Which was hilarious because the woman couldn't boil water. "I didn't think you were here. Your car's gone," she said.

Mrs. Dr. Davis gave an absent smile. "It's in the shop. I was going to the store for some milk and it died on me," she explained.

"Dad's been after you get a new one," Billie said with a smile. "I'm going to go to my room. Nathan might come over later to study for mid-terms," she said and started to head up the stairs.

She never saw it coming. She felt a sharp pain in her neck and everything went black. Impostra caught Billie and the coffee cup before it could spill everywhere. The faceless woman-shaped monster with a conical head lay her down briefly and neatly disposed of the coffee in the sink and threw the cup away. She shifted into Billie, jotted a note and stuck it on the fridge.

'Needed to go to the computer store. If Nathan drops by, tell him we'll reschedule. -Billie'

Swiftly reforming to her true shape, Impostra cradled Billie in her arms and disappeared.

-x-

Tai arrived at the Command Center at Beez's behest to see a gaggle of elders all standing around trying to talk over each other. There were two new faces in the clutch. A young man in a Galactic Policeman's uniform and a Asian woman in a Kovarian science uniform. She held a silver case in her hand.

He shook his head. And they were supposed to be the grown-ups. He stuck two fingers in his mouth and gave a sharp whistle that garnered all their attention. They turned and looked at him.

Cassie Chan, Pink Astro Ranger, smiled at him. "You must be Tai," she said. "I think there was a break down in communication somewhere," she said. She patted her case. "This and two other packages are supposed to be delivered here. I was told we were expected," she said. "I suppose that's what I get for letting Zhane make the plans," she said.

"No, no, it's my fault," Jason said as he strode into the Power Chamber. Where he'd been previously, Tai didn't know. "I'm sorry. I was told to expect you but you got here before I could pass it along," he said. He didn't face her as he spoke to her, instead looking at Tai. "Things began to happen quickly," he said.

Tai nodded. "So what's up?" he asked.

"Beta Z asked Zhane to do something for her," he explained.

Holo-Beez appeared. "Indeed I did. Apologies for my absence, Tai. I am at a dig site in central Africa," she explained.

"Why are you at a dig site in central Africa?" he asked. "No, wait. That's for later," he said. "The Zhane thing and the packages?" he prompted.

"He's looking for the lost Coins," she answered. "There is also some civil unrest on KO-35 and for safe-keeping, he sent us the Astro Morphers and his sister," she explained.

"Andros and Cassie are staying to try and keep the peace, but they wanted the Morphers where certain factions of the government couldn't get to them in case things got out of hand," Cassie explained. "So we hitched a ride with him since he was on his way to Earth," she said and jerked her thumb at the young Galactic Policeman.

"Which brings us to the third package," Justin ?? said. "My original assignment was the space around Mirinoi but I've been sent back to Earth to rendezvous with Carlos while we await orders for the change-up. Again, another story for another time," he said. "Karone will be traveling with Zhane but aside from that, she wanted me to smooth out the transfer of her pupil; the future Pink Quasar Ranger," he explained.

"While not technically Rangers yet, they will be and I've agreed to watch over them and further their training," Jason explained.

Tai cocked his head at the big man. He decided not the question he had front of so many others, but he would definitely be talking to him later. "Okay, so Astro Morphers and Rangers-in-training. Did I miss anything?" he asked.

"Nope, that's pretty much it," Cassie said.

Billy took the case from her. "I will see this safely put away," he said. Jason nodded at him. There were only three of them and Beez that knew where the Archive was, which where outdated or broken Morph Tech was kept. It was where the Power Coins had originally be stored.

Rex appeared. "Aha, Justin and Cassie," he said. "I believe you lost something," he said.

"We did?" Justin asked.

"Yes. Mrs. O'Bannon is bat guano crazy and didn't remember her granddaughter and a friend were coming to stay with her and her fifty cats. She went on a cruise last week," he answered.

Cassie made a face. "Yikes. Where--?"

"My house. For now," Rex answered.

"Well, instead of crashing with Sora, I'll stay with them until she gets back," Cassie said musingly.

"Isn't Mrs. O'Bannon the one whose house smells like--?"

"Yep," Rex answered Tai's question with a nod.

"Like what?" Cassie asked unsurely.

"Cat pee," they answered simultaneously.

"But don't worry. We can clean up the house and kennel the cats until she gets back," Rex said. "I assume you'll be filling us in on what's been going on?" he asked Tai.

Tai nodded. "I think I got most of the story now," he said. He looked at Jason, who conveniently wasn't looking at him.

"Oh, and let's not tell Sora I'm here yet, okay guys?" Cassie said with a grin. "Now, take me to the girls and let's see what we can do about the house. You're Rex right?" she asked and latched on to his arm.

"That's me," Rex answered and teleported out with her.

Tai smiled. Justin was looking around at all the changes with rapt attention. Eventually he disappeared into the consoles, just like he used to as a kid. "Okay, Beez, about central Africa?" he prompted, letting Jason slide this time.

-x-

Palace on the Moon

Widow drew Billie's blood. She couldn't get to the hidden Power Coin, no matter what she'd tried. Her blood was the next best thing. She took a rather sizeable vial and went in the depths of the Palace to where Zita and Roki awaited her. Moriko vowed to have nothing to do with this. Widow understood her concern. The Sword of Darkness was not something to be taken lightly,

In a dark room upon a blade mold were the pieces of the Sword of Darkness Rita Repulsa had once used to turn Tommy Oliver evil. It would serve such a function again. "We must all agree one last time. Do we want to do this?" she asked.

"Yes," Zita said immediately.

Roki nodded. "Together we should be able to keep the Sword's power in check," he declared.

Widow nodded. She took a breath and poured the blood over the blade. They joined hands around the mold. They began to chant and the blade began to glow. Brighter and brighter it glowed until they could no longer look at it. It gave off so much heat they had to stumble back, breaking their link.

When the glow was gone, so was the Sword.

-x-

Moriko paced outside Widow's lab where Billie was unconscious on a examination table. "This is madness. Utter madness," she said and chewed on her thumbnail.

"What's the big deal?" Griff asked, watching her pace.

Moriko shook her head. "I feel it in my bones. This is not going to end up how they want it to," she said quietly. She bit her lip. She turned suddenly and saw Billie standing in the entrance of the lab.

Griff subtly slid himself in front of Moriko. Billie gave an amused sort of smirk. "I'm not going to bother her. Chill. After all, how much damage can I do?" she asked and gave a grin. "I'm a caffeine addicted klutz," she pointed out.

Moriko narrowed her eyes. There was something off about her. "It's already done, isn't it?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

Billie tilted her head. No, not Billie. When she ruled the world, she'd be known as Mina. Yes, that had a more regal and elegant air than Billie. "Is what already done? Why have I been brought here?" she demanded.

Moriko shook her head. "Ta. You can't fool me," she said.

Mina gave a shrug. "Worth a try," she said and her eyes gleamed darkly for a moment.

Widow, Roki and Zita arrived after hurrying once they realized the Sword must have found it's new host. Mina gave them a minute bow. "I really must commend you for your forethought of turning me evil," she said. She saw things in a completely new light. She was so much smarter than nearly everyone around her. Only Danny and Holly could possibly hope to compare. She didn't count Dr. Billy, who despite his youthful appearance was well past his prime. While she always knew that, she only just now appreciated it.

She recognized though, the strengths of others. As she glanced at the Repulsas, she realized she probably smarter than they were combined. They wouldn't be too much of a problem. Without such things as moral quandaries, her world opened up in a whole new way. Her mind was already working overtime. She had to play it cool for awhile though. eventually her friends would see things her way.

"I'm pleased to the see the process worked," Widow commented. For a moment Mina had completely forgotten she was on the Moon.

"So, what now? Infiltrate and destroy from within, I assume. You understand that this will take some time. I don't want to draw attention to myself," she explained. "So I'll keep devising ways to destroy your monsters for appearance sake while I figure out the best way to destroy the Rangers," she explained. She'd have to get Autumn first, she realized, otherwise she might squeal about her aura changing or something.

"Very well, but you will report to us regularly. You don't want to cross us, do you?" Zita asked, snarling slightly.

Mina widened her eyes. "No, no. I will of course report to you regularly," she promised.

"Then we should have no problems," Roki said stiffly. Scruffy and seemingly benign, there was something about this girl that almost made him regret using the Sword on her.

"Come along. I'll show you where you can train and get away when pretending becomes to much" Widow said wrapped her arm in hers.

Mina allowed herself to be led around.

-x-

At the Youth Center, Sora was moping. Getting touch with someone on Terra Venture wasn't the easiest thing in the world, even for a Power Ranger and even then his mum hadn't been very informative about his father. She claimed to have met him as a girl, they enjoyed a whirlwind romance and were married and divorced within a year. The problem, she supposed, was because he was an alien and hadn't told her. Sora tried to remember the last time he saw his real father. When he gave him the miniature sword he wore around his neck, he realized.

He was so deep in thought, ruminating instead of studying like he was meant to be doing at the Youth Center, he had no idea anyone was sneaking up behind him. "Sora-kun! Why you no visit me!"

Sora jumped and turned, seeing the grinning face of his cousin and not his old crone of a grandmother. "I hate it when you do that," he said. Few people knew that Cassie was also of Japanese descent on her mother's side and they shared a very tyrannical grandmother who'd hated coming to America with her new husband when they were newly married.

Cassie laughed and reached up to pinch his cheeks. "But you're reaction is always so priceless," she teased him.

"You laugh but your mum pushed her off on my mum to take across space. You had the luxury of visiting only when you were forced. I had to live with her," he griped.

"Then you came to live with and we lived happily ever after, blah blah blah," Cassie said.

"What you doin' here anyway?" he asked.

Cassie sighed and sat across from him. "That is a long story and has your idol in the middle of it," she said.

Sora sat back down with a chuckle. "What has sensei done now?" he asked.

"Treat me to one of those teas and I'll tell you all about it," she said cajolingly.

"Sure, and by the way; your map drawing skills are rubbish," he declared. She made a face at him and ignored that. He smiled and went to counter to order two teas. He returned to have a long chat with his favorite cousin.

-x-

Melody and Zara had spent a very uncomfortable night in a smelly house with too many cats. Melody had finally managed to get in touch with her grandmother who claimed she never even spoke to her parents but since she was there she could make herself at home. Melody half hated being there and was half psyched.

Her parents were scientists on Terra Venture. Her dad was a botanist and her mother was a forensic anthropologist. They wanted Mel to be just like them, but she had no interest in science. As a child she preferred spending time in the jungles to interning on Terra Venture. Her parents were never approving of that. They liked it even less when they found out a few years later that Karone had taken an interest in her and had been teaching her Hei Quan; a modified version of martial skills she'd been taught while raised as Astronema.

Mel loved Karone, always had. About five years ago, while exploring the jungle around Terra Venture, she got lost and was hurt. She found the Quasar stones. No one knew where they'd been hidden except the Power Rangers. In awe, she'd touched the Pink Quasar Saber's handle. That day changed her life.

She didn't draw the Saber from the stone, but it marked her. She rubbed her right hand as she thought about it. It wasn't always visible, but her hand had a mystical brand. Karone and Kendrix had found her not long after that. It was then that Karone finally relented to teach her. One day, she was going to be called on to draw the Saber from the Stone.

Her parents didn't know all that. When the science department of Terra Venture gave them assign on a different continent, instead of letting her go with them or stay with Karone or even Kendrix, they supposedly arranged for her to come back to Earth to stay with a grandmother she didn't even remember. Karone assured her that it was the best move sense she and Zhane had something to take care of themselves and she'd be away from Mirinoi. She arranged the transport with Justin, who stopped by KO-35 to pick up Cassie and Zara.

Melody had met Zara on many occasions when Zhane would visit Karone. They got along well. Friends for the stay they liked to joke.

Cassie had left them in the capable hands of Rex Hart that morning while she went to hunt down Sora. Rex brought over some breakfast his mother had made for them. Pancakes and sausages. They were delicious.

Zara had been skeptical, food on KO-35 wasn't as varied as food from Earth. She was an instant fan. After breakfast and lot of other teenagers showed up the house and began to help them clean and catch cats to take to a kennel. There had been fifteen of them.

"No wonder the house reeked," Nathan said, shaking his head at the stack of pet carriers containing cats.

"Can't one of you brainiacs event some kind super odor neutralizer?" Lani asked, holding her nose as she sprayed a bottle of odor neutralizing spray on a chair in the living room.

Mina almost snapped that she had better things to do, but forced herself to reply in a differently snappy tone, "I'll get right on that," she said drily. She didn't even know what she was doing there. Nathan and Wood showed up at her house with beaming smiles and wouldn't take no for an answer. So she went along.

She had to get away from here. Feigning the need to pee she contacted Widow and asked for a convenient attack on Angel Grove. She had to get to the Youth Center before Autumn got an eyeful of her.

When she walked back downstairs it was to find the room in half way decent shape. They were a great team. If she had it her way, she'd keep it that way.

Mel was putting another cat in a cage when she heard several chimes go off.

"That's just what we need," Chloe complained.

Tai twisted his wrists and activated his communicator. "Go for Tai," he said.

"There are Putties attacking in down town Angel Grove," Beez informed them.

"We're on it," he said.

"Can we do anything to help?" Zara asked.

Tai shook his head. "Only active Rangers invited to the party," he said.

Mel sighed. "We understand," she assured them. Zara crossed her arms over her chest and nodded.

"Let's go," Tai shouted and the Rangers morphed.

"Let's go see if we can find Cassie," Zara said.

"Sure thing," Mel agreed.

-x-

Mina appeared in the back of the Youth Center and went invisible. She snuck past Fox cursing at the stove and slipped upstairs. She knew that Rei would be wherever Sora was. Only the twins were an obstacle if hey were around, which she doubted since Autumn and Win were probably both at the battle sight.

She'd never been up to the living area of the Youth Center. It was as sprawling as the Center itself. She checked rooms briefly. She had to hurry or she'd be missed. for sure. Finally she entered the girliest camouflage green room she'd ever seen. She smirked. Sitting on the made up bed was the stuffed Gold Ranger rabbit Ros had given Autumn. "Perfect," she said. The Sword of Darkness appeared in her hand; she touched the tip to the rabbit. Thick black smog seeped into the rabbit.

While she was creeping around, she decided to find Win's room. It was easy to find. She walked in and glanced around. She didn't see anything that stood out overly much. She wandered over to a few Native American artifacts and a little carved wolf on a shelf. She studied the wolf. It was obviously made with great care. It wasn’t as old as the artifacts. It must hold some sort of significance to him. It would do.

She stepped back and touched the tip of the Sword to the wolf. It absorbed the black smog.

Satisfied, she made the Sword disappear and teleported to the battle fully morphed. She intervened just as a Putty tried to take Danny's head off.

"Thanks for the save," he said.

"No problem," she said. She saw male Red fighting himself. Impostra was the monster that impersonated her mother. She didn't like that. She tapped on her helmet and made her computer appear. The computer analyzed the monster for a weakness. She had a score to settle. There was always a minor flaw, she realized. Like her mother had a freckle on her right ear but Impostra's had been on the left ear. The imposter Red Ranger's dino symbol was reversed.

"The chest!" she shouted.

Male Red jumped back and lunged forward, stabbing the monster right through the chest. Impostra shouted and and reverted to her true form. Now that she was revealed, she began launching energy attacks at them. They were powerful enough to have the Rangers running for cover.

"I think it time to bring out the cannon," the male Black said pointedly. He took out a Putty trying to get the best of Chloe.

"I got it, thanks," male Red responded. "Magnum Power Cannon!" he summoned the weapon and stood behind it. When he touched it, their Power Coins began to glow. Each barrel began to glow, staring from the outer most and going inwards until the large barrel began to glow as well. "Magnum Blast!" he pulled the trigger. The individual points of energy converged as they blasted through the monster, all but vaporizing her as she exploded.

She grew to enormous proportions. "Ahhh! You foolish Rangers. You have no idea what's coming. Even if I'm not your doom, you are doomed," she shouted at them.

"Let's shut her up," male Green suggested.

"Good idea. I'm tired of always hearing about our doom," female Black said drily.

"I'll handle it this time," female Red said. "TyrannoZord!"

"TriceraZord!"

"MastoZord"

"PteroZord!"

"SmiloZord!"

"StygiZord!"

"StegoZord!"

"VelociZord!"

"CeratoZord!"

From various place around the city, Zords began appearing and converged on their location teleporting their pilots aboard. Female Red found the button on her console. "Activating Magnum Alpha Megazord Configuration!" she said and pressed the button. The Zords began assembling together. The SmiloZord and the MastoZord formed legs and feet. The TyrannoZord formed a torso while the PteroZord and TriceraZord formed arms. A helmeted head turned out of the TyrannoZord. The StygiZord broke apart to form gauntlets, a chest shield and a helmet. The StegoZord, CeratoZord and VelociZord configured themselves in a shoulder mounted dino head cannon system that attached to the back of the shield with a tail. The pilots teleported into an enormous combined cockpit.

Impostra laughed and her shape shimmered, making herself into a copy of the Megazord.

"This can't be good," Red said.

They ducked when Impostra tried to swing at them.

"I have a feeling she'll be just as tough as we are," Silver commented.

"Then we need to strike hard and fast," female Blue said. She'd made sure she was in the Megazord this time. Impostra was getting dangerously close to spilling her beans in desperation.

"Yeah, I got it," Red said. "Magnum Dino Blast!" she lined a target on the screen and depressed buttons on the arms of her yoke.

The dinosaur heads opened their mouths. The dinosaur heads on the phony Megazord opened their mouths as well. The blasts met, rocking them, making the cockpit nearly explode.

Anger seethed through Blue.

"Well, that didn't go as planned," male Pink said.

"Ya think?" Black groused at him.

Blue was busy at her console. She accessed the programming through her helmet computer while the others struggled to get the upper hand on the monster. She grinned triumphantly and rewrote a bit of code. "Try it again," she said. "The monster is capable of what we could do. I doubt she knows what we can do," she said and sat back.

"Here goes nothing," Red said. "Magnum Dino Blast!" She lined the target up on her screen. This time when she pressed the buttons, not only did the dino mouths come open but their tail whipped up and four points of energy where fired at the monster. Impostra had tried the same trick again, but Blue's modifications made all the difference.

This time when the energies met, hers were overpowered and they hit her full force. She assumed her true form before exploding.

Pink reached over and pulled Blue close for a hug. "You did it, Glitch," he said.

Blue just nodded as something else became clear to her. She didn't even hear the others praise. It didn't matter near as much as that brief hug.

-x-

Dark Dimension

Widow and the Repulsas had shown Mina how to access the Dark Dimension, thinking she could train there. They had no idea the boundless possibilities that existed there. She'd already conquered it and made it her own. It was a headquarters of sort. She blocked all access to other parts of the Black Keep, as she liked to call it, except for herself and those she allowed in.

It was late and she should be asleep. Even the the Youth Center was closed and all had gone to bed. Except for Winter and Autumn. They joined Mina in this late night meeting.

"What are your plans?" Autumn asked, sitting cross legged on a floor covered with pillows.

"We have to keep up appearances for now, so try to act like you usually would. We'll even fight against the monsters. I will eventually bring everyone to our side," Mina answered.

Autumn frowned. "What about Taran? I don't think you can turn him evil," she said.

Mina paced slightly. "We'll have to deal with him when the time comes. I'll try my best. The Sword is a powerful thing," she said. "Don't you have anything to say?" she asked Win.

He shook his head. "No. I'm just glad I'm fully functional," he said and grinned slightly.

Mina rolled her eyes. "They are shockingly bungling, aren't they? Oh, well, they won't be a threat for long. I'll let them believe they have me in check for now. It suits me just as well," she said.

"What's next?" Win asked.

"I'm going to collect my generals and work on my King," she answered.

Autumns brows shot up. "Your King?" she asked.
.
"Every Queen needs one," Mina answered with a shrug. "We'll meet again soon. You can go now," she said dismissively. Autumn and Win stood. They gave her deep bows and teleported out. Mina left that room and went to where she set up a temporary lab. She had lots to do, both as Billie and Mina. Leading a double life was going to get tiresome very quickly.

-xEnd Chapter 13x-           

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