Disclaimer: Don't own any of it.
A/N: An update a lot faster this time. I hope this chapter turned out alright, something feels a little weird about it to me. Anyways, enjoy!
Mack's eyes widened as the Red Ranger neared him, but thought quickly and backflipped away, effectively slashing at his approaching foe while he was retreating. Jason held his hands out and formed his sword just in time to block the attack, but was still thrown backwards from the sheer force. He sailed over Mallow and the royal family, and straight into a wall...leaving a good sized crater that he was stuck to.
"Go! Destroy them!!!" Mack commanded to his robotic army. "Leave none of them alive! They are useless to our cause!!! Slaughter them and..."
He was silenced when Mallow stepped forwards, waving his hands and covering the room with bolts of lightning. All of Mack's forces either exploded to nothing or collapsed in states of disrepair while the enemy general just stood there wide eyed.
"Behind you!!!" the princess yelled in terror as she saw more robots storming into the room, with their wrist blades out.
Mallow turned around and released a blast of lightning from his hands straight into the approaching horde, keeping them at bay. Mack saw an opportunity there, and released a fireball from his mouth, aimed directly at the boy's back. Just in the knick of time, however, Jason leaped down and knocked the attack into a wall with his sword. Mallow kept up his lightning assault with his left hand, but turned sideways to fire a bolt from his right at Mack. The giant sword dodged by crouching as low as his spring would let him and then quickly leaping up and over it. In midair, he turned upside down and he sailed higher and higher towards the tall roof, eventually stabbing through it and disappearing.
"Shit!" Jason yelled as he picked up Tommy's knife, tossing it to Mallow, noticing that as well as the boy was doing...he was trembling something fierce. He was clearly petrified by this whole situation...and who could blame him? As Mallow caught the knife in his free hand he let a small smile escape, although it was masked behind the helmet. He didn't dwell on Mallow's actions for long, though, knowing he had other things to worry about...he looked up towards the high ceiling and the hole Mack had left in it. "What's above the throne room!?"
"Just the roof!" King Toadsworth replied as he pulled his daughter close to him to make sure no stray attacks from either side hit them. "The access point is all the way..."
"Forget that!" Jason interrupted, looking to his companion. "Mallow! You have to protect the royal family!"
"Wh-what!?" Mallow screamed back, not turning his head from the metallic horde he was keeping at bay.
"Their army's probably right behind these guys! Just hold them off and don't let them in!" Jason yelled back, looking back up at the ceiling now.
"What about you!?" Mallow shouted back.
"Just do it, Mallow!" Jason replied. "Leave the rest to me!"
Before Mallow could let out his slightly scared reply...Jason was gone. With a powerful leap, enhanced by his Ranger powers...he sailed up through the hole effortlessly, doing a simple flip and landing a safe distance from it up on the roof. As he was landing he took a brief moment to scan the surroundings...not seeing much at all. The roof wasn't exactly flat, there were plenty of inclines all over the place, but there were no structures that would make effective cover. He also noted a strange, blue star about half his size stuck into the roof a couple of yards away. Not paying it any real mind for now, he focused all his attention on Mack.
"There's no where else to run!" the Red Ranger declared, pointing his sword at him.
"You're a fool to think you can take me in single combat...Ranger!" Mack shouted right back, pausing for a second to study him. "...Earthen Ranger...! Impossible!"
Jason stayed silent, frowning in confusion. How did all these guys know he was from planet Earth?
"They say the red one is always the one you keep the closest eye on!" Mack laughed. "Bringing your head before Smithy will earn me a great reward."
"Who's Smithy!?" Jason demanded, noticing that name again. He really wished he had asked Zordon for some more details on the guy.
"You needn't concern yourself, fool!" Mack yelled, and then launched three fireballs from his mouth right at Jason.
Jason gritted his teeth as they approached and swung his sword at each one, swatting them aside easily. He looked up to see that Mack had taken that distraction to leap right at him, blade first. Jason jumped backwards just a second before Mack slammed into the piece of roof he had been standing on. The giant sword hopped backwards, while Jason whipped out his blade blaster, setting it to it's pistol mode.
He held the gun up with his left hand, firing at Mack, who effortlessly hopped sideways to dodge the laser bolt. Jason tried to follow his path and keep firing, but Mack kept hopping around...getting closer and closer while dodging each blast. Once he was in range, Mack preformed a quick somersault, not following it all the way through...so he would land on his side, yet slash straight downwards at the Red Ranger's head. Jason quickly switched his pistol to dagger mode, and crossed it and his sword above his head, catching Mack's blade. Still, the force and weight behind it was almost too much for him...his arms nearly gave way while his feet dug into the roof up to his shins, causing him to let out a loud yell of pain as he pressed back against Mack's blade.
"Too much for you!?" Mack taunted, but instead of waiting for a reply, he shot a fireball from his mouth and into Jason's chest, blasting the Ranger away and making him drop his weapons.
Jason hit one of the inclines on the roof and bounced upwards a few feet before falling flat on his face, while Mack hopped up and made another blade first leap at the Ranger. Jason's head shot up at the sight of that blade closing in on him, and he quickly jumped up and back only a couple feet this time. When Mack slammed into the roof right in front of him, the Red Ranger quickly leaped up and roundhouse kicked Mack in the side of his face with all the power he could muster. Mack was thrown to the side, and Jason landed and leaped right after him. As he closed in, he threw a hard punch into the giant sword's face, causing him to let out a yell of pain. Mack preformed a backflip, hopping to slash Jason with the upward swing of the sword, but instead the Red Ranger slammed his boots into the blade as it came up, and was catapulted across the roof.
"Damn you!!!" Mack screamed as he turned around, seeing the Red Ranger land near his fallen sword.
"Never count a Ranger out!!!" Jason yelled, running his hand up the blade and turning it into a long beam of red energy once again. He was really getting fond of this little trick...maybe it was just because it had worked so well against Tommy that one time. He threw it at Mack as the giant monster leaped towards him, and managed to cut the monster out of the air.
Jason didn't even notice as Mack hit the ground. He was too busy leaping for his blade blaster. He hit the ground on his right shoulder, rolling to his feet and grabbing the weapon as he did. He quickly switched it to it's pistol mode, charging up a shot as Mack stood back up. The disoriented monster looked around for a second before spotting the Red Ranger, and leaped right at him once again. As he closed in, though, Jason released a fully powered blast, knocking Mack backwards. As the giant sword screamed in pain...Jason's sword came back, and Mack was in it's path. The energy powered blade slashed straight through the screaming enemy general, cutting him straight in two. Jason caught his sword as his opponent exploded into nothing, taking a deep breath.
A quick glance over the edge showed him that the robotic forces outside were being mopped up by the Mushroom Kingdom's army. He spun his sword around, causing it to vanish from his hands while holstering his blade blaster...and looked around the roof, eying that strange blue star again. He walked over to investigate it, but suddenly, it lifted up off the ground. Jason took a step backwards as the star began floating in wide circles above his head, slowly making them smaller and smaller. Finally, it was directly above him, and shot straight up for a couple yards, before slamming down at Jason with lightning speed. The Red Ranger tried to brace himself for the impact by holding his arms up to shield himself, but it never came.
Jason began frantically looking around, trying to see where the star had gone...not seeing it anywhere. Then he noticed it...the tiny blue star shaped mark on his right hand, just below his ring and pinky fingers. It was letting out an odd blue glow, and was visible through his Ranger gloves. Jason just sighed, looking up at the night sky. Just another problem he'd worry about, later. For now, he needed to check on Mallow. With that...he ran back to the hole in the roof, and hopped through it.
Kimberly busted out the front door of Booster's Tower...taking deep breaths and looking around. Tall bushes and grass on all sides of the thin, long concrete paths that led away from the place. Not to mention this place was nestled in some kind of valley, with mountains towering up on all sides...just great. She didn't want to be on the trail where it was easy to spot her...but not knowing this area at all...it seemed like the only choice.
"Come on, Kim...think...!" She mumbled, trying to retrace the path they had taken her on when they brought her here. Of course, that would take her to the ocean...and the ocean wasn't going to do a lot of good.
She held her head for a moment...letting out a heavy sigh. It was no-telling-what-time at night. She was tired, hungry, thirsty, and scared. She'd never felt so alone in her entire life...all the way on the other side of the universe, being chased by some lunatic, not knowing if Jason was alive, and knowing the others were worried sick about her. She shook her head...now wasn't the time. She needed to be strong and get out of here. She picked the widest path, figuring it would lead to some kind of main road...and ran down it as fast as her aching body would let her.
Jason let out a a yawn as he wandered into the throne room early the next morning. Mallow had made short work of the robots without him the night before, and the kingdom had been reclaimed. Furthermore, no one knew anything about the star, but the consensus among everyone had been to just discuss all the night's events in the morning. Jason hated to go to sleep with everything that was happening...but he knew he needed to do so at some point. As he walked into the room, he saw that Mallow was already there, along with King Toadsworth and an extended legion of guards.
"Good work last night," Jason said, patting Mallow on the back when he reached the top of the stairs.
"Thanks..." Mallow said, forcing up a smile. He was still a little shaken after the night's events.
"Well...what happened? What were those things?" Jason asked the king.
"We have no idea...they struck shortly after you left. It's a miracle you were here to fight them off," Toadsworth replied, shaking his head.
"Mallow here's the real hero," Jason said. "He's the one who dealt with all of those soldiers."
"Just did what I could," Mallow said, this time with a genuine smile.
"No enemy force has ever conquered us like that. I fear that without the Axem Rangers...difficult times will be ahead," Toadsworth solemnly said.
"I'm sorry...I have to move on," Jason said. "I've got to find a way into that castle."
"I understand," Toadsworth replied. "And thank you again. Both of you...for all of your help."
"Just glad I could help!" Mallow cheerfully said.
"My pleasure," Jason said with a grin and a nod. "Any updates on getting into that castle?"
"None, sadly," Toadsworth replied. "All our forces were here last night...dealing with the aftermath of that assault."
"Let's go see my grandpa!" Mallow suddenly said, causing Jason to turn and look at him. "My grandpa, Frogfucious, lives in Tadpole Pond! He knows everything!"
"Frog...fucious?" Jason asked skeptically.
"He is a sage, renowned for his wisdom," King Toadsworth added on, shocked to discover that Mallow was his grandson.
"All the creatures of the world bring him news! He probably knew about you defeating Mack before I did!" Mallow said, throwing that last part on as a joke, although secretly he wondered if that was the case.
"Alright...alright..." Jason said, still very skeptical of this whole thing, but knowing he didn't have any other leads. "Where is this Tadpole Pond?"
"It's a two day hike down into the valley," Mallow said. "Or we could take the shortcut through Kero Sewers...it's dangerous, but they say it could be done in a couple hours."
"Shortcut it is," Jason said...the threat of danger didn't mean much to him anymore.
"Be very careful of the sewers, you two," King Toadsworth warned. "The Belome lives there, and is not a monster to be trifled with."
"I'll deal with him if we see him," Jason said, not thinking twice about it. "Where are the Kero Sewers?"
"Just a little bit south of the castle town..." King Toadsworth answered. "Jason...Mallow...please be careful."
"We will," Jason said, giving a small bow. "Thank you your highness."
"No, thank you...and good luck," the king replied.
Jason and Mallow just looked at each other...then turned and headed out the door to the throne room. Jason was relieved. Maybe...just maybe, this would be his ticket into the castle...and a shot at rescuing Kim.
A/N: Whew! The Mushroom Kingdom segment is over! Leave me some reviews, cause like I said, I'm kinda unsure about this whole chapter.