Paradias moved to bring the energy blade into Mal's chest but at the last second she felt her muscle control returning and again she managed to catch his writs and kick him in the chest. He let out a growl of frustration but when he turned back to where he had left Mal she was gone, and he couldn't see her.
"There was no council meeting today?" Carlos asked, his mind refusing to consider the alternative.
"That's what I just said." Jordan replied. She noticed the looks on all of their faces. "Look, sorry to be the bearer of bad news and all but it's true."
"You don't understand." Lonnie said, her voice showing the shock they were all processing. "If there was no council meeting then that means that…" She had to take a moment to swallow her dread but got it out as Jordan looked at her curiously. "That means Ben lied to us."
"Wait. Ben, lie?" Jordan asked. "Out of all of the kids to lie in this school he's like the last one I'd expect…except for maybe Pinocchio's kids." She added after a second of thought.
Jane looked to the five rangers. "Check on Doug and bring Ben here." She said. "We have to get this figured out once and for all." She motioned for Jordan to sit down. "Meanwhile, I've got a story for you…"
The five rangers left Jane to fill in the details on their exploits as power rangers as they ran back to the command center. Evie's mirror had still been left I place and for a moment all of their hearts stopped as they saw Paradias on screen but no sign of Mal.
Then Jay gasped out, "Over there." And in the corner of the screen they could see Mal in the fog, trying to evade Paradias as he searched for her.
With the assurance that their friend and leader was still alive for now they turned to the next task at hand and had the realization that while they could see Doug working in the undersides of one of the consoles Ben was nowhere to be found. "Doug!" Carlos yelled.
"Ah!" Doug yelped as he hit his head on the console and then came out from underneath it. Evie was already coming to his side to check on him but it was clear that aside from perhaps a small bump by then next morning he was likely going to be alright. "What was that for?" He asked.
"Dude, where's Ben?" Jay asked him.
Doug blinked in confusion and then felt kind of embarrassed. "I, uh, I don't know." He answered as he rubbed the spot on his head that came into abrupt contact with the console. "He was here before I slid under this console and I didn't know anything was wrong until now." He looked at their confused and slightly exasperated faces. "Why, what's going on now?"
Audrey let out a sigh of impatience, though it wasn't at Doug. She understood they a lot of work to do to get the command center going again. It was the ever increasing complexity of the situation. "Jane is talking to Jordan right now, she was with her parents in Agrabah until just recently."
It took just a moment but Doug got it. "But if that's true then there was never a council meeting."
"And we need Ben to tell us why he lied and find out if he really knows what happened to Mal." Lonnie finished gravely. "Though I still can't figure out why he would deceive us like that."
"This is getting more and more unsettling." Evie said softly. "What is going on here? What are we missing?"
"Right now we're missing Mal and Ben." Audrey said grimly. "I don't know what we're supposed to do about him but let's see if Jane has finished talking to Jordan and seeing if she has any ideas."
"So let me get this straight." Jordan said as she stood up. "All of these weird happenings are because of some ancient evil that is older than even Maleficent and probably my parents that showed up and plagued the world, and then some intergalactic wizard named Zordon helped them to repel it, with no mention about this potentially cataclysmic event from our parents or anywhere in the history books that our headmistress says are so magical." She ran a hand through her long hair. "And before he left he helped set up these ranger powers to help if he ever came back, which he did, and now everyone but you, Ben and Doug are power rangers." She turned around to face Jane again. "Except that you and Doug, along with our esteemed headmistress, have been constructing and maintaining a command center for that day."
Jane sat patiently and waited for the female genie to finish her rant, nodding occasionally.
"That includes that knight, and those two large dragons that attacked, and that red magician guy, and that ape lion thing at the tourney game." Jordan listed.
"Actually Sermaya is a separate problem from Paradias and his army." Jane supplied helpfully.
Jordan nodded and muttered, "Swell a separate creep." Then she regained her focus. "And now somehow they swept Mal into this Dark Dimension place and you need my magic to help you get her out of there because none of your fabulous technology can do the job." She finished grandly and perhaps more than a little exasperated.
Jane waited a moment to make sure the rant was over with and then nodded a bit. "Yeah, that pretty much sums it up." She answered coolly. "So, can you help us?"
For just an instant it looked as if she were about to lose it again, that it could be a major blow up. Then suddenly Jordan sat down, her arms crossed over the table as if this were just a simple discussion about the last tourney game. "Sure, why not." She leaned toward Jane a bit then added, "Here's my thought…"
"Come out wherever you are Mal." He said tauntingly. "You can't hide forever."
Mal knew he was right but also judged that his search for her and actually placed him behind her. She stood up from the fog and exclaimed, "Paradias!" As he turned she did a spinning kick and struck his right wrist, finally getting him to lose his concentration on the blade. She then followed up with two strikes to the chest that sent him sprawling. "How do you like me now?"
"I will not be out done by a child." Paradias growled defiantly as he attacked the purple haired girl with renewed anger.
Mal started to match him blow to blow. "News flash, aside from you're little occasional outbursts you have been out done by children." She retorted, and then dodged a blow aimed at her face. "You've tried dragons, you've tried magic, you've tried love spells and you even invaded some of our nightmares!" She got off a good kick to his chest. "And yet we've overcome the odds every time. You are never going to be able to beat us."
"You have spunk girl, you all do." Paradias agreed. "But not enough." And with that he unleashed a bolt of green energy that struck Mal back against the ground hard. "My victory is only a matter of time."
Jordan and Jane were just standing up when the five rangers showed up. Jane looked uncertain now. "Where's Ben?" She asked. "How is Mal doing?
"We don't know." Evie answered. "He slipped out after we left when Doug was working underneath a console." She took a quick breath. "Mal is alive but last we saw not doing so well, she was hiding underneath the fog in that Dark Dimension place to avoid Paradias."
"I don't know what to tell you about our noble king." Jordan said with perhaps just a bit more sarcasm than needed. "But as for Mal, I was just telling Jane that I think I have an idea."
"What is it?" Audrey asked her.
"The river portal." Jordan replied.
"The what?" Carlos asked.
Lonnie nodded. "There's a river as not far from the canyon where we first went to try to free Ben from the knight." She started. "It's as clear as crystal, you can see the bottom of it from the shoreline."
"How does that help us?" Audrey asked in confusion.
"On your own it wouldn't." Jordan answered simply. "But with my magic, I can use it to open a small portal to the Dark Dimension to go and bring Mal home." She looked to the five rangers. "The catch though is there is only going to be enough magic imbued in that water for one of you to go through."
"Let's get to the river first and we'll worry about who goes then." Jay said.
"I'm going to go back and help Doug, and keep an eye on Mal for whatever that's worth." Jane said. With a nod she ran off to the command center as the six teens started toward the river.
They had just gotten there and Jordan had only began weaving the spell she would need to open up the portal when they heard the sounds of someone approaching them. They turned to see Ben coming out from the woods.
"Ben." Audrey said, somewhere between relief and suspicion.
"What are you doing out here?" Carlos asked. "You were supposed to be in the command center. You wanted to stay and watch Mal."
"I…I panicked." Ben said, sounding uncertain of himself. "I saw what was happening and I just bolted…I ran…I hate feeling this…this helplessness and uncertainty."
"Right now we're right with you on that, don't forget that." Jay said as four of the rangers started toward Ben. Evie did not, thinking it best to hang back in case someone tried to attack Jordan.
The genie girl looked up just for a moment, wanting to make sure Ben was okay before returning to her portal spell, but what she saw made her stop short. "Oh, no." She said and then called out, "Guys, stop!"
All five rangers looked at her in confusion. "It's just Ben…" Lonnie said uncertainly. They all knew something was off here but they wanted so badly to believe that the man in front of them was there friend.
Jordan wished that she couldn't see it as clearly, or maybe she wished they could see it more clearly. The concept of wishing of a genie wishing at all was almost ironic if Jordan could have spared the seconds to think about it. "That's not Ben." She said. "That's nothing but slime."
"Jordan." Audrey wanted to tear into her for that comment, but laughter startled them all. It wasn't pleasant.
"I can fool these humans, I can fool those half fairy girls, and with prior contact I can even fool something as technologically complicated but ultimately inanimate objects like the command centers sensors." Came a high masculine voice from Ben's body. "But the eyes of a genie, one born to pure magic, that is scrutiny I cannot simply stand up to."
The four rangers backed up a little. "Who are you? Where's Ben?" Jay demanded.
The shell of Ben faded away to reveal a slimy blue creature. The shape of the monster was vaguely masculine and he even had white hair on his head, sticking out all around. But nothing else was discernible save the vague outline of eye sockets and the upper half of a mouth.
"Gross." Audrey stated in disgust.
"What is that?" Evie asked Jordan.
"Anaphasic slime." Jordan answered. "It's a rare form of life. In most cases life is too generous a term as it's usually not sentient. But somehow this one is."
The anaphasic slime creature laughed. "You may call me Reviveslime, and my master Paradias has enlisted me in helping to put an end to your very existence." With that statement came a group of soldier's. "I don't know what you're doing out here but I can't allow you to do whatever your planning."
"Get that portal open Jordan." Audrey said to the genie girl. "Guys, let's get to work." With that the five rangers pulled out their iPhones, input their numbers and transformed.
Jordan had to watch, she had never seen it before. "Wow, cool." She granted with a smile and then returned to the work of opening up a portal.
Mal struck again and Paradias stepped back. The two were at a standstill. "Alright then Mal." The mastermind finally said. "I think you've earned this." And with that the knight appeared next to Paradias. "Finish her off." Then with a flash of his eyes he was gone.
Mal hesitated as second. The knight was unarmed but in armor. She was only in her purple skirt, purple boots, black tights and purple shirt. "Maybe I was better off with Paradias." She reflected, half sarcastic and half serious.
"You're time has come purple ranger." The knight said. "This time I will end you." He swung at her and she dodged underneath the strike. She saw his impact leave a small dent in the wall. He lashed out and kicked her hard.
Mal hit the ground hard and her hand bounced off of something. She looked to see that her hand at actually hit her iPhone. Paradias must have dropped it when I attacked him and made him lose his energy blade. She realized. She tried to get a better grip on it, unsure if it would help but didn't think it could hurt. Then the knight stepped on her wrist, pinning her. He towered over the purple haired girl.
Reviveslime lashed out at Jay with a sword grown from his own pale blue flesh. "How'd you get that lame name anyway?" Jay asked.
"You will never know." Reviveslime answered. "Just know that it is entirely apropos." He brought his sword down hard across Jay's chest and sent him flying.
He moved into finish the black ranger off but Evie was in front of him. She had recalled her mirror from the command center console now that they were fighting and she used the mirror shield to collect and reflect the attack on Reviveslime, who was caught off guard and it blew him up.
"What a push over." Evie remarked coyly as she offered a hand to help Jay up.
He took it and started to stand up when he saw movement from the corner of his eye. "Ah, shoot." He muttered and Evie turned to see what he saw. They watched as the blue flecks of slime moved around and formed together back into the form of Reviveslime.
He could imagine the look of shock on the ranger's faces and laughed. "Now you see where my name came from." The monster stated. "And now you see why you will never defeat me."
"Great, gross and seemingly indestructible." Audrey said with more disgust for the creature if at all possible.
"Hey guys, not to interrupt but portal's up and ready but I don't know for how long." Jordan interrupted.
Audrey made the decision. "Carlos, Lonnie, help me keep slime boy and the soldiers away from the lake." Both pink and yellow ranger nodded. "Jay, stay by Jordan and keep her safe in case they get by us, if something happens to her we lose that portal." The black ranger nodded and then she looked to Evie. "Bring your sister home." She ordered simply.
Evie nodded as she powered down, knowing her powers would simply cease to work anyway. "Yes ma'am." She replied with a grateful smile on her face and in her eyes. Evie and black ranger rushed to the river's edge as the other three rangers turned to fight.
"I don't know how long you've got." Jordan told the blue haired girl. "Get in, get Mal as quickly as you can and get out."
Evie nodded. "Don't worry Jordan, I will." With that she stepped into the river and was gone from Jordan and Jay's view in a matter of seconds.
She had just enough time to take in the small space, the fog around her ankles and the isolated feeling of this pocket dimension before she saw the knight hovering over Mal. He formed his sword. "It's over, good bye purple ranger." Then she sprang into action and shoved the imposing metal figure off of her hard.
Mal gasped in surprise and delight. "Evie!"
Evie knelt beside her and, her iPhone firmly in hand, Mal threw her arms over the blue haired girl. She threw her arms around the purple haired girl and two exchanged a close hug. When Mal looked back both girls were crying. "I am so glad that you're okay." Evie said.
"I'm so glad that you're here." Mal said with a smile. "Thanks you so much, for having my back, for being there for me, even though I may not deserve it."
"You're my sister, M." Evie said as he squeezed her shoulders. "Always…"
"And forever." Mal finished and they both laughed. "Just the way it should be, E." The purple haired girl didn't know how much her blue haired friend needed to hear those words after the nightmare she had endured thanks to the Invader of Nightmares.
They both stood up now and the blue haired girl noticed the knight getting up now. She saw a slight ripple in the wall and assumed that was where Jordan's portal stood. "We have to get out of here." Evie said.
"How?" Mal asked, not even sure how her friend had gotten there in the first place.
"This way." Evie said and took her hand. She lead her through the ripple.
Mal felt her legs, ankles and boots getting wet. Then she realized they were in getting out of a river. She also saw someone new. "Jordan?" She asked.
"Hey Mal." The genie girl said. "Or maybe I should call you the purple ranger."
"She knows M." Evie said. "We had to tell her, we couldn't figure out a way to access the Dark Dimension. But she had a way."
Mal looked to Jordan. "Thanks." She said simply.
"No problem." Jordan said and then added, "As long as you keep those wet boots out of my lamp."
Mal laughed a moment and then realized something else was going on. She looked to see that Jay was distracted by a few soldiers that had gotten by Carlos and the two girls.
"I think it's time to give them a hand." Mal said to Evie. The two girls pulled out their phones, input their numbers and transformed.
"What!?" Paradias roared out. "How could she have escaped the Dark Dimension? How?"
Nerissa frowned a bit. "I don't know, I…" She then looked at the readings of the six rangers and their civilian friend only to realize what had happened. "That girl…she's a genie."
Paradias now understood but his anger did not fade. "One born purely to magic and the quiet possibly the only exceptions to the seemingly unspoken rules about the lack of magic use in this land." He said. "I didn't think they would have a genie in Auradon Prep." He tried to bury that anger now. "No matter, we will make whatever changes we need to compensate for it and in the meantime we still have our knight, and no amount of genie magic will take that away."
"Mal, good to see you again." Jay said with a smile behind the helmet when the two girls helped him with the soldiers.
"More than good to see you too. And to be able to morph again." Mal said. "Now let's help the others."
The six rangers now together again easily sent the soldiers in retreat. Carlos laughed. "Mal!" He exclaimed and the two exchanged a hug. The instant he was away both Lonnie and Audrey came forward and hugged their friend. Mal found it easy to return those hugs to both the Auradon princesses.
"I'm glad you're okay Mal." Audrey said to her. "And that you're back."
"Thanks." Mal said and then had to tease, "You just keep getting thrust into my leadership positon don't you?"
Audrey laughed a little. "The universe is trying to tell you something." She joked.
Mal nodded. "Yeah, that it's time to take some creep down."
Audrey grew serious. "I don't know if we can. We thought Evie's attack killed him but he reformed." She warned.
"You're never going to get by me rangers." Reviveslime said.
"Luckily they don't have too." Jordan replied. "Here's another advantage of a genie being in the know." With that there a puff of light blue smoke and they disappeared.
They only found themselves in front of Auradon Prep's gates. "Well I was aiming for the command center." Jordan said with a roll of her eyes. "Guess I'm not a full-fledged genie yet."
"Close enough Jordan." Mal assured her as the team powered down again. "We can walk from here. I'm sure Ben will be relieved to know that I came out of that ordeal alive."
The six of them exchanged looks of apprehension again and then Jay took a deep breath. "Mal, Ben isn't here." He told her.
"But the council meeting…" Mal started.
Jordan reflexively rolled her eyes. "Mal, as I told the others already, there was no council meeting." She said impatiently. "My dad sits on that council and I just came back from visiting Agrabah with my parents."
"That Reviveslime monster impersonated Ben." Lonnie told her.
"I guess we know how I got taken to that Dark Dimension in the first place." She mused but then moved to a more important subject. "But how?" Mal asked.
"Reviveslime is no ordinary monster." Jordan repeated, recalling that when she told this to the others Mal had been in the Dark Dimension. "It's an anaphasic slime. Normally it's non sentient life form that only exists for about twenty to thirty seconds. I don't know if Paradias is responsible for it or what but that monster has exceeded what everything the organism is about."
"So then Paradias still has Ben." Mal noted with dismay.
"Seems like it M." Evie replied sadly.
The team made their way back to the command center, with Jordan in tow. "Yikes, is it the maid's day off or something?" She asked.
"No, this was done by the knight when he came here looking for some reason, probably to cripple us." Jane said as she looked up from sealing up a console. She smiled a little when she saw Mal and went over to hug her. "Glad you're back."
"Glad to be back, except for the whole Ben is still missing thing." Mal said with a sad smile of her own. "Any word on your mom?"
Jane shook her head sadly. "Nothing." She said.
"Wait, what's wrong with our headmistress?" Jordan asked.
"When the command center was attacked, he also attacked Fairy Godmother." Lonnie explained to the young genie. "She's in the infirmary now and we're waiting to hear something back."
Reviveslime entered the bridge and bowed before Nerissa and Paradias. "They escaped through the genie's magic. I have failed and offer my life as penance."
"Nonsense." Paradias said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Your continued presence will be of much more use to us alive than dead."
"We still have the knight, but what do you wish to do now master?" Nerissa asked.
"Simple." Paradias answered. "I am going to make them pay for the retrieval of the purple ranger. By depriving them of their zords."
"You guys sure have your hands full." Jordan said. She started toward the stairs. "Good luck with this, really. And if you really need me I'll help however I can but this is really your fight. You have your battles and I have mine."
The group exchanged uncertain looks but were in no position to argue with her. "Alright." Mal said. "We understand. But we're going to call on that help if we need it again." With a nod of understanding the genie girl headed back up the stairs.
"We don't need her anyway." Audrey tried to say encouragingly. "We have you back Mal and we can deal with this knight now. We can get this command center up and running again and we can save the world."
It was then the alarm sounded yet again and Audrey almost wanted to tear that apart with her bare hands now. The view screen showed that Reviveslime was nearing the town. Then the green beams surrounded him and the monster grew.
"Him again?" Carlos asked. He was starting to think they'd never get things fixed at this rate.
"We're going to have to go confront him then." Mal said.
"But he'll just reform even if we do manage to kill him, M. This has to be a trap." Evie reminded her friend.
"I know, but we have to defend Auradon, so what choice do we have?" Mal responded and then had an idea. "I don't want him dead. I want him weakened for when I get ready to demand he tell me where Ben is."
They took out their iPhones, ready to transform and then summon the Auradon Megazord from the mountains and the Auradon Dragon from the clouds where it had been released before the tourney game to get some exercise, but when they started to input their numbers the consoles again surged and this time they had lost all power in the command center, worse yet they found themselves unmoprhed and trying again resulted in nothing…