Streaks of Purple Saga Volume Two by Heather Ray (red scrolls of magic .txt) 📖

"Ooo, Girl... this was just made

for you!"

Alexis looked up, her hand still absently browsing through blouses on the rack. Her dark green eyes narrowed as she appraised the cotton knit turtleneck, the material a cool jade.

Her nose pinched. "I don't know about the color."

Angela blinked, setting the sweater back on the rack. "Since when don't you like green? It brings out your eyes."

"I think I have enough green stuff in my closet. I'm looking for... something else..."

Angela smirked, jerking her thumb to the pile of clothing the girls deposited on a nearby counter. "Lemme guess. Something purple."

Alexis visibly cringed at the offhand comment, glancing sidelong at her friend. "What makes you say that?"

"Oh, just the fact that you're going on a wild shopping spree, and everything

you picked out has been purple!"

Alexis frowned, shifting her gaze from the blouse rack to the clothing she had selected thus far. Sure enough, it was predominately purple... royal purple skirt, soft lavender sweater set, flare jeans with orchids embroidered near the ankle, black Guess logo shirt with plum rhinestones... even the canvas sneakers she selected were violet!

"I read in 'Seventeen' that purple is the in-color for the fall season." In truth, she hadn't even realized her color preference.

Angela shrugged, turning back to the sweater. She eyed it critically, lifting it from the rack once again and pressing it to her body. "Hmm... it's a bit chunkier than most of my shirts, but... what do you think?"

Alexis smiled her approval. "It'll look great on you."

Angela nodded in agreement, tossing the sweater over her arm. "Okay, I think that's enough for this store. We still have to get over to Masquerade and look for costumes for the Halloween Ball."

Alexis nodded obediently, sweeping up her purchases and following Angela to the registers. While the pair waited on the rapidly moving line, Alexis took another appraising look at her selections.

She then nudged Angela with her elbow.

"Do you think it's too much purple?"

Angela tilted her head. "Well... no. Lucky for you, purple compliments your skin tone. Though I think the richer shades look better than the pastels." She then leaned closer. "But that new watch of yours has got

to go."

Alexis turned her attention to her purple and silver communicator band. "Really?"

Her friend nodded emphatically. "It's absolutely garish

. Your wrist is far too dainty for such a bulky accessory. That style may look good on Zack, but you really need a thin one... maybe gold-tone."

Alexis blinked incredulously, her anxiety escalating. She absently settled her purchase on the register counter once the cashier was free. "Z...Zack?"

"Oh yes, he's got a very similar watch." Angela took the opportunity to take Alexis' wrist now that her arms were free. "Identical even; except for the color. Funny... I don't see a name brand."

Alexis jerked her hand away as gently as possible, laughing nervously. "Yeah, well... it's some flashy new European brand. I can't remember the name. Nana gave it to me when I visited her last week."

The new Purple Ranger barely contained a sigh of relief when Angela nodded, apparently accepting the explanation.

After the girls finished making their purchases, they strode through the sparsely populated halls of Angel Grove Plaza, Angela dragging her disinterested shopping-mate into Masquerade, a new seasonal shop that boasted the largest selection of adult-size costumes in the county.

Alexis gasped at the sight of the store.

It was decorated like a cave, the shelves and walls all covered with gray plastic designed to look like rock formations. The relatively dim lighting and dense fog that crawled along the floor gave the store a chill, emphasized by the air conditioning that kept the store noticeably cooler than the hallway just outside. Mannequins lined the walls, costumes covering just enough of the skin to make one wonder whether there wasn't a person within.

Alexis gulped, staring out into the darkened corridors. Where was everyone?

"Freaky," Angela marveled, an excited gleam in her eye as she moved forward, "It's like a haunted house! No wonder everyone's raving about it!"

"R...right," Alexis whispered, nervous fingers tightly clenching her shopping bags. It had only been a few days since her encounter with Goldar, which left her confined in a creepy, foggy, dark room for several hours, just waiting for death to claim her. Such a memory would leave anyone on edge.

The new Purple Ranger watched her friend vanish down an aisle, excitedly skimming through the selection of women's costumes hanging inside a wall. Alexis hovered near the entrance, her face still tight with anxiety.

Slowly, her gaze slid to a mannequin wearing a suit of armor that seemed to guard the entrance. He stood on a small podium next to the glass door, the tip of his sword grazing the ground between his toes.

She sighed loudly, desperately trying to recompose herself. "Angela? I think I'll... wait outside a bit. It's freezing in here."

When her friend didn't respond, Alexis couldn't help but worry.

Don't be so irrational,

she chided, huffing aloud in disgust, It's just some stupid store...

Her lip quirking in a self-conscious laugh, she strolled toward the exit.

She promptly screamed when a silver sword suddenly appeared before her face, blocking her exit.

She didn't even think- her arms swung towards the left, where the knight stood at her side. Her heavy packages crashed into his gut, knocking the knight off his feet.

She almost broke into a run, but she heard the startled "Whumph!" from her would-be attacker, accompanied by a loud crash.

Alexis grimaced, dropping her bags and kneeling beside the knight, who had collided with a display of candy selections for Trick-or-Treaters. "I'm so

sorry!" she gasped, "You... you scared me!"

To her surprise, the knight laughed riotously. "No, I think I owe you the apology," he said, once he'd recovered himself, "I didn't mean to really

scare you... you were just too tempting a target."

He struggled to pull off his helmet, revealing a tan complexion and soft brown hair. He glanced up at Alexis, an impish grin spreading on his face. "Welcome to Masquerade. Mind helping me up? This suit's harder to move in than wet jeans."

Alexis sighed as she grasped the knight's hand, and pulled him to his feet. Once he was stable, he whistled, rubbing his sore neck. "You've got some quick reflexes," he commented, "Most people scream, but no one's hit me before."

Alexis glared at him, before turning away from his laughing copper gaze. Her face began to redden with humiliation. "I didn't mean it," she hissed, "But... that's what you deserve, sticking sharp swords in people's faces!"

He laughed again, bending down to pick up the "sharp" weapon. He held it before Alexis, and gripped the edge tightly. With little effort, he bent the sword into a U shape.

"Rubber," he explained with a smirk. He then tapped the edge of the blade against her forehead for emphasis.

Her face slowly folded into a snarl. This clown certainly

didn't need to make her feel all the more the idiot by making fun of her.

"Whatever," she grumbled, collecting her bags, "I'm outside, Angie!"

Without even a gesture of goodbye, Alexis turned away from the knight and headed into the halls.

She blinked in surprise when she heard a heavy metal footfall directly behind her.

"You're not actually mad, are you?" the knight asked, "I mean, I said I was sorry."

She turned around with every intention of chewing out the young man for scaring her half to death. But one look at his face, alight with penitence and just a touch of boyish mischief, and all she could do was sigh. Again.

"Well, no," she conceded.

His face instantly broke into a sunny smile, and he grabbed her hand. "Great! Since you're such a good sport, you get 10% off your purchase! Today only!"

Alexis watched helplessly as the exuberant teen dragged her back into the store. "But I wasn't even shopping!" she insisted, "I'm just here with my friend."

"So you have your Halloween costume already?"

"Well, no-"

"Then you'd better get crackin'... you've only got a week before the big day."

Her eyes rolled as the pair re-entered the store. "I'm a too old for Trick-or-Treating."

His eyebrow quirked. "No one's ever too old for Trick-or-Treating. Besides, who doesn't love getting all decked out in a costume?"

Her hand rose to her lips in an attempt to hide an ironic smile.

"So, what do you want to be?"

She puzzled over the question for a moment, before finally shrugging her shoulders. "I have no idea."

The knight frowned at her skeptically. "Well, lucky for you I'm a master at finding the perfect costume. Have a seat, Miss."

Alexis obeyed, sitting on the empty chair near the entrance. She watched as the knight then turned his attention to the destroyed candy display, and began cleaning it up.

"Let's start with the basics," he said, glancing at her. "What's your name?"

"Alexis."

"Okay, Alexis... do you remember your childhood dreams?"

"What does that

have to do with anything?"

"Everything! The whole point of Halloween is wearing a costume... becoming a new person, just for one night."

"Really," she challenged, a smirk on her lips, "and silly me... all this time I thought it was a religious holiday which has been commercialized into games and candy by modern society, just like Christmas and Easter."

The knight paused his cleaning to stare at her. "You're sucking all the fun out of this, ya know."

She bit her lip to contain a giggle. "Sorry."

"Anyway," he resumed, "the best costume is one that feeds upon fantasy. That's when you really enjoy the holiday! Take me, for instance. I've always wanted to be a valiant hero, you know... rescuing a beautiful princess from a fire-breathing dragon, or saving the universe from a dark evil with my light saber. That kind of thing."

His smile widened, and he thumped his chest proudly. "This year, I'm the knight in shining armor. Last year, I was the masked superhero. The year before, I was the fearless cowboy."

Alexis leaned back, an amused grin on her lips. "I'm getting the picture."

"So, what's your

fantasy? Think about it."

And so she did. She reflected on her youth... not that long ago, but for some reason it felt so far away the past few months. She thought about the carefree imagination that drove her parents to insanity, as she bound through the hallways as Wonder Woman, slid down the staircase atop a flattened cardboard box like a champion skier, or even huddled around the corner with her trusted water pistol as an intrepid British super spy.

What hadn't

she dreamed to be? At some point she had been everything from G.I. Joe to Jem... how