The new week started and the team checked around. Chad had not been to any of his classes. They weren't entirely surprised by this, but it was one thing to turn to the side of evil and another entirely to disappear altogether. The school was trying to keep things as tight lipped as possible but knew eventually it would be figured out. Fairy Godmother had already gone to deliver the news to his parents, Jane didn't know rather she would tell Cinderella and her husband where their son currently was or not.
"I'm starting to feel smothered here." Audrey joked as she had all of her friends around her during lunch that day. Since she had gotten out of the infirmary she had gotten almost no privacy, Lonnie had even spent the last few nights in her room. The bigger group outings included Ally and Aziz who did not know all of the details but Ally had been the one to find Audrey after Chad had attacked her and naturally it gone to Aziz. That was on top of the fact that Aziz knew he had quit the tourney team not long before hand.
"Well good." Mal said with a laugh. "You know if you think you're in a sandwich just remember the stuff in between the bread is usually the best part."
"Yeah, Carlos can be one of the slices of bread." Jay joked and laughed. Carlos rolled his eyes at him but said nothing. He slapped his friend on the back. "Just kidding man."
"Yeah, yeah." Carlos said waving his joke away.
"Don't worry, you'll get some sort of privacy later." Ben told her. "Mal and I are going on a date this afternoon. I'm going to teach her to ride a horse."
Mal rolled her eyes. "So looking forward to it" She drolled and looked to the princess. "I am more than willing to stay with you." She said jokingly.
"It's no different than that a dragon." Audrey said vaguely, referring to the dragon zord she had that she sometimes rode.
"Doug and I are going to the chemistry lab, we have to do an experiment." Evie said as she patted his hand gently. He was not complaining about the contact.
"I'm helping Jane with some upgrades to some computers." Carlos said, also vague as he was referring to the command center.
"I've got a hip hop club meeting." Lonnie said.
"And we have a history project to work on." Jordan said, indicating Ally and Aziz as well.
"And what are you doing?" Audrey asked Jay.
He shrugged. "Not a thing, you're still stuck with me." Jay answered simply. "But that's okay because we have a lunch appointment that we never got to meet." He shrugged. "It'll be a bit more like a snack now, but at least we can make the original appointment."
Audrey nodded and smiled softly. "I think I can live with that." She said.
Ally and Aziz exchanged looks too. The blonde hated to admit but it was clear that her friend was right, there was something going on with them that they didn't know about. The idea that they were keeping things from them was kind of hurtful but she had not wanted to believe it. Now she was just hoping they had a good reason for it.
"I still wish I knew what had gotten into Chad." Aziz said with a shake of his head. "Dropping out of the tourney team and now disappearing from school."
"That's going to cause quite a bit of gossip around campus." Ally agreed. "Regardless of what the truth is."
Only the seven warriors, Fairy Godmother and Jordan currently knew what the truth was. And right now they weren't sure anyone outside of the council needed to know what was going on in full.
Lunch ended and the group broke up. Carlos told Jane he would meet her after classes and began to make his way to the other side of the school for his animal handling class but halfway there he heard a noise. He looked around. "Jay?" He called and got nothing.
He picked up the pace to get to his class but before he could get much farther he heard a noise an turned around and let out a gasp of shock as he was rushed…
Classes got out and Lonnie hurried to another classroom only to find she was early. She set her bag down and looked out a window. She was still seething at what Chad did to betray them, but to her the worst thing was that he hurt Audrey, he hurt her friend and that was a personal line, not a professional one. She was very protective of her friends.
She heard the door open and she turned around but saw no one. But then she heard laughter. "Who's here?" She asked. "Show yourself." She didn't know if this was some practical joke with a magical element or not. She almost wondered if the school could be haunted, stories had been told before.
Then two hands clad in black showed up from behind her and grabbed her mouth and back of her head…
Evie made her way to the chemistry lab first and sat her bag down on the chair. She started to preheat the water on a Bunsen burner for their experiment. She found herself looking at her magic mirror and making some adjustments to her hair. She felt she should look her best for him but almost figured it wouldn't matter. He seemed to like her just the way she was.
"I wonder if Mal would agree to go on a double date." She said to herself. She had never dated before but her purple haired friend had practically jumped into a very stable relationship with the king of the land. It was a nice contrast and she wished when all was said and done she had that kind of confidence.
She heard a crashing sound and turned to see a glass beaker had fallen to the ground and shattered. There was no way she could see that it could have fallen on its own. She leaned down to investigate it. Then there was a shadow behind her and she turned out and gasped…
Mal and Ben were walking on the school grounds, heading toward the castle again for a light snack in the garden themselves. They hesitated when they saw Audrey waiting alone by the lockers but felt better when they saw Jay run up, and even the purple haired girl felt a bit of surprise to see a red rose in his hand. They turned to return on their date when they heard Audrey scream.
Both turned, expecting Chad but finding that Audrey had just been pulled through a wall. Jay kicked at his own assailant but he grabbed his foot and then both vanished. "What's going on? What's that about?" Mal asked. She and Ben both turned around to make sure they weren't ambushed. A sound made Mal jump until she realized it was her iPhone. "Not a good time." She said as she picked up.
"Sorry to interrupt your date but Carlos hasn't shown up to the command center." Jane said on the other line. "And I…took a look at the school records. He didn't show up to any of classes after lunch."
Mal couldn't help but smirk a little. "Took a look? Is that your way of saying you hacked school files?" She asked amused. Then it caught up to her. "Wait, what do you mean that Carlos never showed up at all?"
Ben was listening to the conversation and almost missed his iPhone. He picked it up. It was Doug. "Ben, I just got the chem lab. There are a few broken items here, as well as Evie's bag and magic mirror but there is no sign of Evie." He told her.
He looked to Mal, who had looked to him. "Doug says Evie is missing too." Then he said into the phone. "Go join Jane in the command center and text Jordan to check in on Lonnie." After an acknowledgement Ben hung up as had Mal.
They quickly made their way over to the command center but received a text from Jordan. Found Lonnie's bag and nothing else. Ally and Aziz may not like it but I won't be coming back to our session, see you in command. –J. That only worried them more.
The two showed up in the command center, near panic. "What are we going to do to find them?" Mal asked immediately.
"I'm running scans now." Jane said. Doug was also helping her while Jordan felt kind of useless. "So far I haven't found their iPhones."
"Do you think the same thing that grabbed Jay and possibly Audrey grabbed Carlos and the girls?" Ben asked as he looked to Mal.
"Maybe." She said. When the three civilians looked at her curiously she told him about the cloaked figure that grabbed Jay and the idea that the same one or another grabbed Audrey. "But we saw nothing but the figure in black."
"Paradias? Sermaya? Or some other random big bag to make our lives miserable?" Jordan wondered with a roll of her eyes.
Then a message came in, not from the iPhones but from the view screen. On it was Chad, Reviveslime and some soldiers. "Hello Ben. Hello Mal." Ben said as if he had joined them casually during lunch. "How are things at Auradon?"
"Where are our friends?" Ben demanded.
"They're right here." Chad said calmly. "We're all enjoying each other's company." Whatever they were using to communicate with the command center panned out and they saw the five rangers bound to posts like they thought Ben had when the knight thing had started…in hindsight they figured it was Reviveslime playing games with them.
"They don't look to comfortable." Mal noted dryly. "How did you get your hands on them?" She asked.
"If you want to know that you're going to have to come join our little party." Chad said with a shrug. He walked over and glared at Jay, remembering what he perceived as him being replaced on the tourney team.
"Release me and I'll end this little 'party'." Jay threatened as he pulled on his bonds.
Chad laughed, giving dismissive glances to Lonnie, Carlos and Evie. He stopped in front of Audrey. "Hello again Audrey." He said.
"Don't touch her." Jay warned.
Audrey shot him her own warning glare. "Don't touch me Chad, or I will find a way to break you." She warned.
Chad only laughed and slapped her across the face hard. "I keep telling you to shut up. Maybe one day you'll do what your told." He said coldly.
"When I get out of here…" Lonnie started now.
"None of you will unless your leader and her brave knight decide to join the party." He stepped away from the bound teens and back to the camera. "Come out to play Ben, Mal. Or else it will be your friends who pay the price." Then the screen went black.
"He really knows how to push buttons." Jordan mused with anger in her eyes. It reflected everyone else's eyes well.
"We don't have a choice but to meet as Chad wishes." Ben said with steel in his voice. "But if I have any say in it, this will be the last time we meet."
Mal wondered if he was really ready to end Chad's life. Even for the daughter of Maleficent it seemed to be a huge leap to take. She suddenly feared if Ben ever went through that door she might lose him forever.
"Remember that Chad and Reviveslime have something up their sleeves." Jane warned them both seriously. "We may have no choice but to spring this trap but that doesn't mean you have to go in with blindfolds. Stay calm and be mindful of the situation."
Both teens nodded and left the command center. As they started to toward the forested area Mal frowned. "Why is it that Chad chose to leave you and I alone?" She asked. "I mean it seems he really hate Jay and Audrey right now. Why not leave them to be the ones he has this confrontation with."
"I don't know Mal." Ben answered. "Maybe because you're our leader. Maybe because my powers are similar to his." He shrugged. "If he survives the fight I'll let you ask him, but right now we need to worry about us surviving this fight."
When they grew closer Mal took out her iPhone and transformed. Ben summoned his sword and shield and transformed. It was good timing as several warriors jumped the two teens but they were easily dealt with.
"I'd still feel better if I knew who had grabbed the others in the first place." Mal said.
"I would too." Ben agreed. "But I saw no signs of a monster, or a group of monsters for that matter, anywhere in the image we got from Chad. From what we saw it couldn't be Reviveslime or any of the soldiers." After a moment he suggested, "Paradias or Nerissa could have done it."
"They wouldn't have hesitated to go after me, in fact they wouldn't have waited this long to do it." Mal responded. "No, this has to be someone, or more than one monster, new."
More soldiers showed up and again Ben and Mal took them down easily. They wanted to think that would make the rescue easier but they found they couldn't believe it.
They soon found Chad, Reviveslime and their bound friends. They found a group of soldiers standing by to keep an eye on their friends but no signs of whoever, or whomever, had grabbed them in the first place.
"We're here Chad." Ben said. "Let's get this over with."
Chad formed his sword and shield. "I agree." He stated. "It's time to end this developing problems of ours Ben. Once and for all." He transformed into the Dark Knight.
"I guess you're mine then slime head." Mal said to Reviveslime as she formed her staff. She reached over and touched the dragon scale to activate the neon armor. "Let's see what you're made of."
Reviveslime formed his sword and said in his high pitched voice. "Then let us begin the battle purple ranger." He leapt at her and she blocked with her staff.
Ben and Chad met and began to clash, sword to sword. "We spent too much time training together in fencing Ben." Chad said with a smirk. "We're basically evenly matched.
"We're not." Ben said firmly as he slashed at Chad, only to get blocked by his shield. "You're fighting for evil and I'm fighting for good. And good will always triumph over evil."
"This isn't a fairy tale Ben." Chad said. "This is real life, where the bad guys can win." Their clash continued.
Mal swung her staff at Reviveslime and he blocked it again though barely. "I haven't faced you or your friends since that nifty little neon armor was added to your repertoire." The slime general said with some glee. "I hadn't realized how strong that really made you or your friends."
"Glad to give you some surprises." Mal said deadpanned as she moved past him and struck him in the back as hard as she could. It caused a hole that soon resealed. "Thanks to Lonnie for the idea."
"Then I'll have to make sure she regrets having that thought." Reviveslime said enigmatically. "But then again all of you will be regretting your actions to our master by the time we're done with all of you."
"You won't get that chance." Mal retorted and moved in to strike him with her staff as many times as she could. The attacks seemed to be doing some damage but regeneration was occurring very quickly, far more quickly than any of the strikes they could currently deliver individually could handle.
"It's not too late Ben. We could still work together, as we used too." Chad said as they continued their clash. "Return to Paradias's side and we could be like brothers again."
"That won't happen Chad." Ben replied. "Unlike you I won't go to the side of evil as long as I have that choice."
Chad shrugged. "I figured that would be your answer, but I thought I'd give you that chance. Of course would you change your mind if I said that was the only way to save Mal from dying?" he asked now.
Ben hesitated only a moment. The truth is he thought there was a good chance that his former friend was lying to him. Paradias wouldn't spare Mal or any of the others regardless. He doubted even if somehow Chad was telling the truth that didn't mean that Paradias would hold up to his word. "It will never happen." He responded simply.
"As I suspected, this can only end one way." His former friend said with a shrug. "It's your loss old friend."
Reviveslime unleashed a stream of energy and it struck Mal hard. She fell back and found she had lost her grip on her staff, which flew into the shrubbery. "This is going to cost you." Reviveslime said to Mal in a tauntingly singsong voice. "Your life is going to end here."
"Mal!" Ben yelled out, losing focus on the one he was supposed to be fighting. Chad took advantage of that opportunity to strike him in the back and fell to the ground hard. He ultimately landed by his girlfriend.
Reviveslime came to stand by the Dark Knight. "This should be a blast from your past Ben." The slime monster said gleefully. The two combined their swords and blasted at the two warriors again. They found themselves flying up in the air and then landing hard. They were then forced to power down as the two of them lost consciousness now.
Chad motioned for six soldiers to grab the two unconscious fighters as two more pillars rose from the ground now. "Bind them up." Chad ordered. "They will have some questions when they awaken that I will be only too happy to answer before we end your miserable lives…at least eventually."
"As I told the brat of Maleficent I have a pink ranger to thank for the neon armor idea." Reviveslime said.
Lonnie had to laugh a little bit. "When it comes down to it the only way any of you could ever do anything to us is when we're bound or in our nightmares." She said with some scorn. "You and your master are pathetic."
Jay saw a bruise appearing on Audrey's cheek from where he had hit her and he had to stop himself from growling. He looked to Chad. "When I get out of here you're going to pay for what you did to her. And what you've been doing."
"You are just so dense." Chad said condescendingly to Jay. "I keep telling you, you're not going to be getting out of here." He then nodded toward the soldier's and the five conscious teens slipped into darkness.
Jane struggled to find a way to bring up a visual for them to figure out how to find to help Ben and Mal rescue the rest of their friends. "Next project is going to be helmet cams." She said to herself though of course she knew Doug and Jordan were close enough to hear her. She had already texted her mother to find out what they should do if all seven of their warriors had somehow been captured.
"What are we supposed to do if they have been captured?" Doug asked. "We don't have powers, we're not fighters and only you two have magic?"
"And not much of it in this corner." Jane said with a frown.
"I have some but I don't know how I can use that to deal with Chad, Reviveslime and whatever Paradias used to kidnap them in the first place." Jordan said as she found herself bored and looking through some of the information from past adventures. She then realized something as she was glancing around. "Oh, no." She gasped.
"What's wrong?" Jane asked as she tried to work the consoles.
Before the genie girl could respond they got a visual. They saw all seven of the warriors were indeed bound on pulls.
Jane altered the image, which she guessed was coming from either Mal or Ben's dropped weapons. She worked to shift their view and found they had gotten a view from Mal's inert crystallized dragon. They saw Chad in the Dark Knight armor. They saw Reviveslime. And they saw five figures in dark black, but each of them had the same colors to match Audrey, Evie, Carlos, Jay and Lonnie. They had splashes of their colors on their helmet and their chests.
"Those had to have been the abductors." Doug said.
"No doubt." Jordan said. "How could they be here?" She asked.
"Do you know who they are?" Jane asked now.
Jordan nodded. "Yeah, when your mom mentioned Zordon I…used my powers to get some information from Zordon's world. Those are one of the most dangerous adversaries the power rangers have ever faced, evil versions that call themselves the Psycho Rangers."
"I don't know much about them." Jordan said. "But they gave other rangers a hard time."
"What are we supposed to do now?" Doug asked.
Jane texted her mother and after sending it she almost accidently dropped her phone from her shaking hands. Often enough she was the idea girl, but this time she had nothing to offer.
Fairy Godmother had gotten her daughter's latest text. She used her own iPhone now to access an app she had had found on her screen most recently that she had yet to activate. She had been hesitant but now had no choice. It opened up another text window and she put in Rangers and Knight have been captured. Daughter saying it was by two generals and what Jordan has identified as the Psycho Rangers. Please advise.
Moments later she received a return text. Understood, will take care of it. Don't worry, everything will be fine. –A
A/N: I do not own the Psycho Rangers, they are part of Power Rangers in Space and don't belong to me.