The sun seemed brighter than usual today, as if it too was celebrating how great everything was. Only yesterday had they rescued Vida, Nick and Leanbow from the darkness, though it seemed ages away. It had been a serious battle on all three fronts, but they'd made it out whole, some skirting closer to the edge than they would've liked.

Still, they'd all made it to Root Core in one piece and, after many explanations, group hugs and more than a few kisses between couples, they'd all been allowed to go back to their regular lives. Chip, Vida and Xander, all dismissed before the couple of Nick and Madison, had gone to the Rock Porium, some to take up the shifts they had shirked for part of the day and others just to hang out.

When they too had been allowed to leave, Nick and Madison had gone for a short bike ride and then out to lunch (Nick had been desperate for real food, and not something you just conjured). Their night, polar opposite of how the morning had unfolded, was rounded out by hanging around the Rock Porium until it closed and then going home. She didn't know about anyone else, but Maddie knew that she'd had the best sleep she'd had in weeks that night.

Jarring her musings on the brilliance that had been the latter half of yesterday, Maddie found herself in front of the Rock Porium before she knew it. She'd chosen to leave home early and walk to work today rather than catching a ride or teleporting, but the trip had been lost to the tornado of thoughts whirling around her mind. Now that she'd arrived, she forced her mind to ground itself in reality once more and walked inside.

Even at ten in the morning a handful of teens were milling about, enjoying their last week of freedom before school reared its ugly head. The purple of an employee button-down flashed past her as she surveyed the customers, and she squinted to see who is was through the combination of bright sunlight flooding in and dim lighting of the store itself. Dark hair, a paled tan, black t-shirt with a red ringer collar underneath the work shirt - obviously Nick. But why was he working today? He wasn't scheduled.

Moving out of the doorway so a few patrons could go in and out, she glanced around the room. Xander was lounging on a chair, strumming away on a ukelele and entirely lost in his music, while Chip had constructed a makeshift fort out of books, CDs and vinyls around himself so he could read his graphic novel in peace next to Xander's chair. Neither wore their work shirts, despite being scheduled. In fact, only Nick and Vida seemed to be working, and you really couldn't call what Vida was doing work. She stood behind her turntables, experimentally spinning a new record back and forth while tweaking the settings and taking note every time she heard something she liked. Hadn't she been scheduled to work the register today? And Chip and Xander were supposed to be working, too. What was going on?

Approaching Nick, who was stocking a shelf with the latest in thrash metal and the like, she tapped him on the shoulder.

"Just a minute," he replied distractedly, not looking back at her.

"I can wait." Hearing her voice, a grin spread across his face, but he continued his stock work.

"Hey, Maddie. What's up?"

"Just coming in for my shift, but I'm a little confused. Why are you working today, and why aren't Chip and Xander?"

"You know I'd love to explain, but first I need to finish this, and there's a customer," Nick answered, nodding his head at the young woman milling about around the counter, CD in hand. "If you wouldn't mind getting her, then I can bring you up to speed when we're both done." Not pushing him to know but still slightly hesitant, she obligingly slid on her work shirt and went to ring up the young woman.

A few minutes later, when Nick emptied his crate of new releases, he ambled over to Maddie and slid his arms around her waist, enjoying the very feeling of being able to be with her up here and not have to worry about constant mental intrusions. She let her body melt back against his, having had no more purchases since the young woman.

What could have been ages of this passed until, finally, Maddie asked again, "So why are you working today? And why are Xander and Chip just hanging around?" He released his hold on her and she turned to look him in the eyes, hoping to evoke more answers with her gaze. The bright green orbs she stared into were no longer pristine, but still bore the occasional fleck of red, several shades lighter than they'd originally been and forever a reminder of his time in the darkness.

"It's my fault, really," he said, breaking her gaze on his tainted eyes. "I took as many of their shifts as Toby would let me, Vida's too, without pay. They're getting the checks. I guess it's my little attempt at an 'I'm sorry,' but it doesn't really cut it."

"But you don't even need to say sorry to me?" she asked, acting as she was hurt. Truthfully, he didn't need to say sorry. His actions weren't exactly his own, and she knew why he did it.

"You think too little of me," he replied pridefully, puffing out his chest in a mockery of self-importance. When she arched an eyebrow, he grinned and continued normally. "Of course I thought of you. If this hardly cuts it for them, it wouldn't be anything for you. That's why I have something planned for us tonight. Pick you up at seven, okay?" Curious and confused, she nodded complacently. He gave her another grin, placed a kiss on top of her head and went back to work.

For the rest of the day, he refused to divulge any details, even when subjected to her random questioning. By the time he left at four, she was going crazy with curiosity, and hurried home when her shift ended an hour later.

She didn't spend those two hours fretting over hair, make-up or clothes - her mind just didn't work like that - but come six-thirty, she was getting worried. Not only had she not chosen an outfit, or the make-up and hairstyle to go with it, but Vida wouldn't stop teasing her when she wasn't trying to help her choose clothes.

Ignoring the outlandish suggestions Vida offered, she settled on a sky blue tank top and a flared tan skirt, just below the knees, with a pair of leather sandals. Vida helped to pull her twin's hair into two loose buns near the base of her neck while she applied a light layer of nude make-up, killing two birds with one stone, at least in their own way. She'd just finished filling her small blue clutch purse with the date essentials when the doorbell rang, making both girls jump. They rushed down to the front door, but their mother had already answered it.

"Hello Nick," she greeted warmly, motioning the young man inside. He'd been to their house several times before, and their parents knew him fairly well, liking any boy who could bring Madison out of her shell so well and make her so happy.

Before closing the door she peeked out onto the street in front of their home. "Where's your motorcycle?" she asked, knowing well the machine and the rest of its kind from days long past. He glanced back worriedly at the street, forgetting for a moment that he hadn't driven it here tonight. A grin spread across his face when he realized that it hadn't disappeared, but had been left at Gracey's, and he turned to look at Mrs. Rocca again.

"I decided to do this the right way tonight. Figured the motorcycle wasn't the best way to take Maddie on a date. It took some bargaining, but I got Gracey to let me take her car." Maddie looked around him and saw what he was talking about: a black sports car was parked in front of their house. It was nice, to say the least, but not in the least surprising for someone like Gracey. Like her brother, she had a thing for speed, but in a less 'Rebel Without a Cause', more sophisticated way.

"It's very nice," her mother commented, earning a smile from the young man.

"Thanks, Mrs. Rocca. I guess the need for speed runs in my family."

Her smile broadened as she replied, "I've told you time and time again, please call me Gwen. Mrs. Rocca makes me feel . . . old." She paused as he smiled and nodded, then decidedly changed the direction of the conversation. "So where are you taking my little girl?" she probed, fishing for a detail or two about this sudden mystery date. He only shook his head.

"I can't tell. It would ruin the surprise."

"Aww, such a killjoy." She grinned and he rolled his eyes playfully.

"If you really have to know . . ." He leaned over and whispered the answer into her ear, her eyes widening almost comically.

"Oh, my," she said as he leaned back, a large smile spreading across her face. "Maddie really is lucky to have a guy like you." At the compliment, he blushed a bit, cheeks attempting to match the color of his dark red button-down and failing miserably. Gwen inwardly smiled and added, "Well, I shouldn't keep you two. Just bring her home before midnight, okay?"

"Won't be a problem," he replied, taking Maddie's hand and guiding her out the door to the black Eclipse waiting for them. Opening her door for her, he helped her in and then went to his own side, climbing in and turning it on, engine revving as if in anticipation of getting to move again. They pulled away from the house in a relative silence, but as soon as they were out of the sight of Vida and Gwen, who'd watched from the window as they left, Maddie began talking.

"So where are we going?" she asked, trying to make eye contact with him by turning. It was harder to lie when you had to look into someone's eyes.

Not taking his eyes off the road, he answered, "Like I said, I can't say. It would ruin the surprise."

"Then why'd you tell my mom?"

"She can't tell you now."

"Prove it."

"I don't need to. Unless you used magic on her, there's no way you can ask without me knowing. Anyway, I trust her."

"Fine then," she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest as if she way actually mad. "You can at least tell me how you got Gracey to lend you her car." A wince overtook his features as she asked, but it was merely a reflex to the memory.

"I had to let her use my bike for the rest of the week," he admitted. "She wouldn't let me barter with anything else." Grinning at how paining the very thought of letting Gracey use his motorcycle was to him, she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Well, it's good to know that you're still willing to make the occasional sacrifice for me," she joked, earning a smile.

"Always."

The conversation continued after that, Maddie too drawn in to notice as they made their way into the heart of Briarwood's downtown. The couple talked about anything that came up, moving from topic quickly and seamlessly whether it was lighthearted or serious. As they pulled to a stop in the parking lot of a restaurant, their words died away and Maddie finally took in the semi-tall buildings around her. Her eyes fell on the establishment not thirty feet from them, smile fading as she read the name emblazoned on the side.

Marglianos. The most expensive Italian restaurant in Briarwood, and certainly the hardest to get reservations at. It was supposed to have the best Italian food you'd ever taste. If you went there, you knew that this date was going to be something special.

Aside from that, there was only one problem: she hated Italian food. Well, not specifically Italian food itself; it was mostly Marglianos she disliked. For her and Vida's tenth birthday, their parents had taken them out to celebrate there. Everything had gone exceptionally well until Vida, thinking she was being funny, dropped a frog down her twin's dress. Chaos had ensued as both parents, a waiter and Maddie herself had tried to get the frog out of her dress while Vida leaned back and laughed hysterically. The debacle had quickly turned to trying to catch the frog without bothering the other patrons, a fruitless task without Vida tipping her chair over backwards on the head chef, who'd come to see what all the racket was about. By the end of the night, the entire restaurant was near shambles, Vida was grounded for a month and had a bloody lip, their parents had to apologize to the old lady who'd spilled wine on her expensive silk dress and the trauma had left Maddie with a near paralyzing fear of frogs and an intense dislike for Marglianos, and Italian food by extension.

It really was sweet of Nick to bring her here, but she didn't think she'd be able to make it through a meal there without getting more than a little jumpy. She'd just have to explain to him why she couldn't, and hope that he'd understand.

"Nick, I -"

"- Hate Italian?" he interrupted. "I know." He paused, enjoying her confused look, then continued. "We're not going there."

"Then where are we going?" she asked, a little puzzled. Pointing his thumb behind them, he grinned.

"We have reservations at Casa Rio. I just wanted to mess with you." Fractions of a second later, when his words clicked in her mind, he felt a sharp smack on the back of his head, and his hand was instantly on it. "Yeah, I probably deserved that, but it was still worth it." She couldn't help but let out a small smile as he glanced at the clock in the dashboard. "I think we should get going now. They might give away our table if we're late." Nick jumped out his side and made his way to Maddie's, but she was already out, not wanting to be doted on too much - she was a big girl, after all. Opting to simply take her hand, the pair drifted away from the scent of olive oil and garlic and toward that of cooking oil and fried things.

The rest of the meal proceeded splendidly. Both Nick and Madison had a deep love of Mexican food, Madison because her Grandma Rocca had always made the best tostadas, and Nick because he'd fallen in love during one of his parents' business trips to Mexico. Their conversation picked up where it'd left off before they'd arrived, discussing many of Maddie's films, most of all the secret videographies.

Every so often, when enough had happened, she filmed a few more spots of her friends and then spliced in some magically found footage of the fights they described next to some shots of them just living out their everyday lives in their downtime. It had all started with her simply profiling each person and seeing if she could catch their magic on film. From there, it had branched into a full-fledged documentary, chronicling their battles up to the recent scuffle over the map to the Fire Heart. She'd even managed to copy some memories for a first hand point-of-view of what each Ranger went through in the Cimmerian Forest. It was in desperate need of an update, and talking about it only made her want to do it more.

After they finished eating and Nick paid, they were back in the Eclipse, heading to an unknown location. Not entirely unknown, actually - Nick knew exactly where they were headed - but their destination was yet another surprise to Maddie. They wove out of town and into the more open parts, the ones not occupied by large buildings and restaurants. Several minutes passed until he parked the car in a small parking lot sitting atop a short cliff. Soft blue waves crashed on the beach below them, creating a steady rhythm that captured Maddie. She watched them, utterly transfixed, and Nick smiled at her, entertained.

"Earth to Maddie," he intoned after a minute. Instantly she was snapped out of her trance, turning to look at him. "Why don't we just go down there instead of staring?" Like the idea had only now occurred to her, she grinned madly. That quickly fell as she looked around.

"I think it's closed right now," she said, a slight sadness twinging her voice. His grin refused to fade against this new logic.

"And your point ... ?"

"Well, we can't go down there," she replied, furrowing her brow as she tried to see what he was getting at.

"Who says we can't?"

"The law, I think." She was becoming increasingly suspicious, and his reaction to the whole situation wasn't helping.

"Ah, the law, the law. Such a fickle mistress. Can't always give her what she wants, can we?" Without another word, he took her by the hand and teleported down to the beach. Her sandals sank down into the sand a bit as they touched down a fraction of a second later, Nick still grinning crazily as Maddie gave him a short glare.

"What's going on?" she asked appraisingly, confusion adding to her suspicion as the goings on delved into murkier waters.

He smiled back at her. "Nothing. I just want to be with you on the beach. Why should such a stupid law stop me?"

"Because it's probably there for a reason," she countered. "Are you sure you're really all good again? I did get rid of all of your darkness, right?" His playful smile faded, expression turning serious.

"Madison, you can't just get rid of a part of who I am, especially one that big. It'll always be there, always be a part of me. I can't deny who I am. I'll always be a follower of the light, and I'll fight the darkness until the end of time, but my own darkness still has a place in my life. It's a whole half of my magic, but it isn't the whole thing. If my father could choose the light after being raised evil, then I can choose the light after being raised without any magic. I'll always choose the light. Hell, I am the Light. But that doesn't mean I can't indulge my darkness sometimes," he added. "Helps keep the balance and all."

Though she was still wary, she understood what he was saying and nodded appreciatively.

"Besides, an eight-o-clock lockdown on the beach? Whose dumb idea was that?" She grinned and took his hand again, pulling him closer to the water and to herself.

"Just the city council's. Wouldn't want us teenagers getting too rowdy down here on the weekends, now would they?" He grinned back and let her pull him down to the sand on the edge of the water, just far enough away that the water barely hit their feet. Maddie kicked off her sandals and looked at him with a wicked smile. "Guess they can't stop us magical hooligans, not when one of us has something of a dark streak." Both grinned again, Maddie leaning her head on his shoulder. His arm moved across her back, hand resting on her opposite shoulder without a thought, and bringing a more silent, serious tone to the moment as a whole.

"I was so afraid of losing you," Madison began quietly, staring straight ahead to the ocean. "Sometimes, when things were the worst, I could see someone else in your eyes, someone inhuman and evil, and it wasn't you. That scared me. But sometimes, there was something else in there - I could see you, and you were afraid too, afraid of what you were becoming, of your own darkness. That scared me more, because I could see how little control you had over yourself.

"When things were at their worst, it was all I could do to hold everything together, to make sure we still protected people and looked out for the world, and not just break down or go off on my own little suicide mission to find you. Everyone would tell you that I was as calm and collected as any leader could in times of crisis, but it was all a facade. I was just barely keeping myself together, and everyone else wasn't doing so well either. We could all tell that things were strained, that we were stretched thin, but we knew we had to pretend, for each other and for the people we protect.

"Everything was just so wrong, and I was always scared, for myself and for you, and especially for all of the civilians. I was scared that one day I was going to fall apart or make a mistake and then someone would be dead because of me. I was scared that you would hurt someone, or you'd hurt me, and you'd never be able to forgive yourself. I was just so scared all of the time." With everything off of her chest, she let out a long breath and closed her eyes tiredly. Next to her, Nick nodded.

"I was afraid, too, or at least part of me was. The darkness was consuming me bit by bit, and I couldn't stop it. I spent most of my life pretending it wasn't there, telling myself that I was just imagining the weird urges and random fires, and there it was, taking over every part of my life. You were the one ray of light keeping me grounded and away from total darkness. I know that it was for the best, but when you blocked yourself from me, you took away the one thing keeping complete darkness at bay. By the time we fought, there wasn't much more of me left. You were just in time to save the little part of me that was still there. You pulled me off the edge before it took me and gave me reason to fight back with every bit of strength I could muster. We came so close to losing each other so many times, and I promise I won't ever do that do you again."

As if to seal his words, she felt a soft kiss on top of her head. When he pulled away, she turned her head up to look at him.

"You'd better stick to those words," she said, repressing the smile on her lips. "I can't promise that I'll be as gentle next time." He arched his eyebrows suggestively.

"Really?" he asked curiously. "Maybe I should ..." Her fist connected with his shoulder forcefully, but he just laughed. "I kid, I kid."

"Don't do that. It's not funny."

"Well, I thought it was." By her glare, she really didn't care if he thought it was, and his smile faltered. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry," he ceded after a moment. "It wasn't really that funny. I think I can make it up to you, though." Before she could inquire as to what he meant, his hands were cupping her face and her eyes had drifted shut, pulled instantly into the moment. Their lips came together, soft skin brushing each other and sending waves of thrilling excitement down their spines. It seemed like forever since she'd felt his lips, and they now held a new passion, different from anything she'd felt previously. There was a soft gentleness to them, a reluctance to push it too far too fast, but still laced by an unhindered passion, bordering but not touching on the lustful. It seemed like the best of both worlds, light and dark blended, and it was ecstasy.

Hours, minutes, moments later, when they pulled apart, Maddie couldn't help but grin like a madwoman. Maybe this whole thing hadn't been so bad. The trip had been a bit tumultuous, but the results were stellar. Even though the past few months had been a wild ride, and that was to say the least, the darkness was now severely weakened and the light was even stronger. Everything had worked out to their advantage.

As she leaned in for another kiss, several thoughts shot off before the passion overtook her brain again. Barely three months as Rangers had passed and already this much had happened; what was next? What is some bigger evil was next? Did they have the potential to beat that, too?

But now was no time to think about that. They had a whole week left before school started, and there was no way the darkness could rebuild that quickly. This was their time, and she was going to seize it.

Their lips met and one last thought managed to fire: things may have been looking up for them, but in no way was this war over, not by a long shot. As long as Morticon and his armies of the undead were still out there, the Mystic Force would have work to do. They'd be there to face the darkness every time, now and forever more.

A/N - It's ... over. Child of Darkness is over. That feels so weird to type, let alone say out loud. It's hard to believe, especially for me. This is only the fourth story I've ever finished, and the first I've ever been happy with afterward. Exactly seven months ago today, the prologue for this went up and the five reviews I received for it were the push to keep going for me. It's hard to believe that it's really over.

Okay, so it's not really over. Children of Light (the working title for the sequel) is in the process of being written in first draft form, and one 'lost chapter' is already written. I'm thinking of calling the 'lost chapters' story Rangers of Chaos. Any thoughts on the titles of either are appreciated.

CoL is promising to be huge. Lots of story to adapt/write and new ideas flooding my brain every day, so I have a lot of work ahead of me. I can promise that there'll be more Nick/Maddie, but they won't be the entire focus of the story anymore. CoL moves into the broader view of all the Rangers in my sort-of-AU.

As a freebie to everyone looking forward to the sequel, I'd now like to present the (current) detailed overall summary for CoL. And, of course, I like teasing you guys.

With the Master dead, Necrolai gone and Koragg turned good again, the Underworld is in shambles. Morticon must call upon old allies to help him rebuild, along with a mysterious and all-knowing new force, and together they will be more fearsome than anything the Rangers have faced yet. The Rangers face their own challenges, magical or otherwise, along the way, including horns, changing their pasts, alternate timelines, feeling not quite themselves, romance that begins as anything but, Ancients and things they never thought possible. Two worlds will be drawn together and the truth will come out in their senior year of high school, making imprints on the lives of everyone involved.

I hope you liked how CoD ended (I'm really crap at writing a decent ending to a story), and I hope you like CoL when it rolls around! I love every one of you, whether you read and reviewed or simply read, and I can't wait to see some of you next story over. Until then!