"It has to be around here." Carlos said with a roll of his eyes as the newly minted eight warriors approached the Badlands. The place wasn't stormy without Lighting Skull plaguing the place but instead it was hot and very dry. They walked near the sand but stayed close to the borders as a sandstorm was starting to kick up. They had not transformed yet.
"What do you think they're doing here?" Evie wondered.
"I don't know E." Mal said as they tried to patrol the outer edges. "But whatever the reason, Paradias and Nerissa are supposed to be down here directly." She shook her head. "Whatever that purpose might be."
"Any ideas?" Jay asked the four Auradon teens. "You know the area better than us."
None of them had any ideas and shook their heads. "There's nothing out here that we know about, and it's pretty inhospitable to life." Jane replied. "That's why they call it the Badlands." She assumed her mother didn't know anything, if she did she hadn't said anything to them about it.
Thy edged closer into the Badlands but wanted to make sure they didn't lose sight of their way out. If they got too far into the Badlands they'd be lost in the desert area, perhaps to never be seen again.
Evie was taking a few landscaping classes this semester so she was the first stop. "Hey guys, this area is different." She reported.
"Looks the same to me." Audrey drolled.
"No arguments here." Jay agreed.
"How is this area different Evie?" Mal asked her blue haired friend. "I have to admit it looks the same to me too."
"It's the sand drifts." Evie answered as she leaned down to examine it. "This area is lower in level than the surrounding ones."
"So?" Carlos asked.
"Couldn't it have just been a dust tornado?" Lonnie asked.
"It's too centralized." Evie replied.
"Alright so what does it mean then?" Audrey asked her.
Evie sat up to face her friends. "I think it means this area had a bunch of sand removed, leading to something under the ground." She answered.
"Is that possible?" Jay asked. "For something to be under the sand?"
"Maybe." Ben said. "No one knows much about this place."
"How do we find out if Evie's right then?" Carlos asked. "We can't spend the next who knows how many hours, or days, digging."
"We do it with magic." Mal stated and she looked to Jane. "What do you think?"
Jane took the magic wand from a holder on her waist, something she had recently added to her wardrobe with help from Evie for instant access as it also let her become the white ranger. "A sand storm of our own. Of a smaller more compact variety." She declared.
The seven stepped back a bit as Jane cast a spell to create a small sand tornado that started to bury itself into the sand. They hesitated just a bit. If Evie was wrong than they could bury themselves in the unending sand. Then they started down the curving path that the sand tornado was making for them.
It took maybe a half an hour. Mal had started to use an app on her iPhone to trace the pattern they were making. Jane noticed the dust tornado disappear and she held up her hands to stop the team. "We lost it." She said.
"I think I see parts of a cave formation." Evie noted.
"You do." Jane said. "Everyone watch your first step. It looks to be a bit of doozy." She warned and then took a step down herself. She landed a bit roughly but didn't sprain or break anything. She was followed by Carlos, who did his best to aid Evie down.
Jay was the next down; he was athletic enough to be able to make it easier to get down. He took Lonnie's waist to help her down, setting her next to Evie and Carlos. Then he took Audrey by the waist and helped her down. She almost seemed to lose her balance and her hands wrapped behind Jay's neck as he held her against him. "I would think a princess would be more graceful." He noted with a smile.
"You would think that, wouldn't you?" Audrey asked with a small coy smile.
Lonnie resisted the urge to tease them about flirting, rather they realized that's what they were doing or not.
Next was Ben who dropped down to see that. "Get a room you two." He said jokingly.
"Dude, you should talk." Jay pointed out as he sat Audrey on the ground beside him now.
Mal let Ben take her waist to help her down and she even kissed him on the lips briefly. "Thanks." She said.
Audrey rolled her eyes. "At least I didn't kiss him." She noted, though in truth she had thought about it for a second. She still didn't know entirely what to make of what seemed to be going on between her and Jay, and if she should even let it happen.
"We're down here now." Mal declared, trying to put this mission back on track. No date or flirting should really be happening at this moment. Too many unknowns to feel comfortable about it. She looked to Evie. "Any new assessments E?"
"These are natural formations M." The blue haired girl responded. "Made hundreds of years ago, long before all of this sand buried the place, I think."
"So we have natural and unknown places under here." Ben noted. "This has to be discussed at the next meeting. We need to know what's going on and we shouldn't leave this place unexplored." He wondered briefly if Sermaya knew about this.
"Okay, so assuming this is where Paradias and his entourage went to, how do we know which direction they went?" Lonnie asked.
"That's easy." Evie said as she took out her hand held mirror. "Mirror, mirror in my hand, show me the path last traveled." This time the seven teens let the blue haired girl lead the way to on what they hoped would be the right path. Mal continued to do her best to map the area so that way whatever happened with Ben's planned exploration they would have something to work with beforehand.
After what Lonnie figured was about twenty more minutes it came to the point they didn't need Evie's mirror to guide them as the area started to take on a more greenish hue, which seemed to be the signature color that went along with Paradias, his powers and his energies.
"I hear chanting of some sort." Carlos said. "But I don't recognize the language."
A small flash of insight passed through Ben as he remembered Paradias doing that several times during his time as the evil leaders 'champion'. "He's casting a spell." Ben said.
"For what?" Mal wondered.
As they took a few more steps they saw again that there were a bunch of soldiers acting as guards. Toward the center was Chad, Nerissa and Reviveslime. In the center was Paradias himself but no one could tell from that position what he was doing down there.
"What are waiting for?" Jay asked as he reached for his iPhone.
"Hold up." Evie said as she stopped him, placing a hand on his arm. "We have to be careful. We don't know how stable these underground caverns are."
"She's right." Audrey agreed. "With whatever rock we have over our heads and a bunch of sand too, we'd get buried to death."
"Not that I'm particularly upset over this, but where is Red Magi?" Carlos asked. "I mean he is Paradias's monster."
None of them really had a good answer for that one.
As they watched Mal couldn't ignore this horrible feeling that was invading her fiber of her being. She unconsciously found her hand reaching out and clutching Ben's arm. "I…don't like this…this situation, this feeling I have." She said softly.
"What feeling?" Ben asked her softly.
Mal hesitated. "I don't know. If I've ever felt it before I don't know what it is." She replied and tried to think. "It feels…like I was sick, my stomach is kind of twisted in a knot." She looked to Ben. "It's like the feelings I felt when I thought we'd have to kill you."
"Fear." Audrey said to her softly, almost sympathetically. "Fear and dread."
"What makes this different from any other time?" Jay wondered.
In a small voice that Mal barely recognized she said, "I want to stop this now."
"What about the risk?" Carlos asked. "The collapsing and the burying?"
Mal knew that was indeed something to remember. "We have to stop this; I feel it in every fiber of my being." She insisted.
Then they noticed something else from another cave corridor. It looked like a dragon at first but they realized that it wasn't a flesh and blood dragon. It was literally composed of gears and other electronics. It took a few steps and then looked up. In a mechanical voice it stated, "We have company." Then he looked directly at the cave entrance where the eight teens were.
Chad, Reviveslime and several warriors looked in their direction too and then started toward them.
"Ah snap." Carlos muttered.
"Time to go." Mal decided. But when the eight of them turned they found that they had soldiers behind them now.
"Why don't you join us old friends?" Chad said mockingly from behind Ben, Jane, Lonnie and Audrey. "You're just in time for the ceremony."
For the moment the eight of them played along as they were brought to the center of the chamber. Nerissa smiled at them. "Welcome. You're going to love this. Especially you Mal." She stated.
"Somehow I doubt that." Mal replied icily.
"You should actually thank us Mal." Reviveslime said with a smirk. "We're going to do something that otherwise could take years, or even decades to make happen any other way."
Paradias finished his chant and then stepped back. "Welcome Mal, Ben, power rangers." He said simply and glanced at Jane. "I suppose congratulations would be in order for you." He said to her and shrugged. "If it weren't for the fact that becoming a ranger guarantees your death."
Then the green light flared again in long oval pattern and when it extinguished Mal let out a gasp as she saw what had occurred. Paradias had restored… "Mom." She whispered.
Maleficent laughed. "How nice to see you again, daughter." She said though she sounded somewhat condescending. She looked around. "Ah, it's been a while since I've seen the chamber of restoration."
"Welcome back to the land of the living, sort to speak." Paradias said with a smile.
"It's been a while indeed." Maleficent agreed. "And I don't mean being free from that little state." She strolled up to Paradias. "It has been a while since you graced this world with your presence. If Zordon hadn't interfered this world would be a far better place."
"And despite his death," Paradias started, which drew a small smile of delight from Maleficent. "His meddling continues on." He looked to the eight teens. "And your daughter is part of that. She has become a power ranger."
Maleficent looked to them. "Mal, a power ranger?" She questioned. When Mal stared back evenly she tsked at her daughter. "Oh, Mal. First you fall in love with a prince, then you choose 'good' and then you insult further by becoming one of those 'defenders of justice'." She lectured mockingly. "You've become quiet the disgrace but not in the way I would have wanted."
"What you've wanted." Ben repeated. "Not what Mal wanted."
"Yeah, yeah." Maleficent said dismissively.
Audrey looked to Chad. "You were livid at Ben and all of us for giving villain kids a chance but you support Paradias bringing back one of the most dangerous villains in our history?" She asked incredulously. "How could you?"
He reached out and again slapped Audrey in the face hard "You just don't learn to shut up, do you?" He snapped. Jay moved to attack him for it but was held back by three soldiers holding him back, one on each arm and one across his chest.
"Ooh, I see that not all changes have been for the bad, sort to speak." Mal said delightedly. "Someone here has learned the joys of being bad."
"I had some good incentives." Chad said with a glare at the four Auradon teens.
"Then you are truly lost." Ben said with a shake of his head.
Paradias looked to Maleficent. "We'll make sure you're properly brought up to speed." He promised her. He looked to the mechanical dragon. "Gadgetron Dragon, bring this cave down around the rangers." With that Paradias, Maleficent, Nerissa, Reviveslime, and Chad vanished. The soldiers stayed behind as the mechanical dragon started toward them.
Mal wasn't sure what part of her made her feel so sick, or so numb, or even fearful. But right now she only knew one thing. She had to protect her team. "Time to act, let's get going."
Each of the teens fought free of the soldiers and then started toward the way they had come from. The other soldiers and the Gadgetron Dragon were behind them as quickly as they could. The mechanical dragon even shoved by the henchman.
As the eight teens made their way toward their entrance and exit point they saw sand already there. "It's time to morph guys." Mal said. The six teens pulled out their iPhones, input their numbers and morphed. Ben formed his sword and shield and combined them to transform. Jane used the magic wand to morph too.
"Hang on guys." Jane advised to them as she made sure they all got on the sand before charming it to act as a geyser and carry them all the way up to the surface. They had gotten up and were already starting out of the Badlands when Gadgetron Dragon rose to the surface.
Then the green glow followed an Gadgetron Dragon grew to enormous size.
"Time for the zords." Mal declared as she took out her crystallized dragon and brought it to life and normal size. Ben did the same thing though it required Mal in order to bring his horse zord back to its original state.
Meanwhile the other five rangers summoned the Auradon Megazord. The five of them entered the cockpit and placed their iPhones in their proper slots.
Mal and Ben boarded their zords. Mal's shifted to the Chinese dragon form and then input her iPhone into the proper slot. Ben called out, "Jane, plenty of room in here." The white ranger nodded and joined the knight.
The three zords surrounded the mechanical dragon but he lashed out and slapped all the zords hard with his tail. It then launched an attack on all three of them, already causing a massive amount of damage.
The dragon zord shot into the sky and unleashed several blasts at Gadgetron Dragon but it didn't seem to do much damage to him.
Jay and Lonnie placed their weapons in the combined spot on their consoles to form the sword for their battle zord. They brought the sword down on the mechanical monster but were dismayed that it didn't seem to do anything more than scratch the surface.
Ben had his horse zord try to give the monster a good kick but the impact also seemed to have very little effect. "This thing is as hard as…" Ben started but stopped, not really sure how to finish the sentence.
"Metal?" Carlos suggested.
"Our zords are metal too, or at least constructed with a similar composition." Evie reminded him simply. "That shouldn't be causing so much trouble."
Jane was watching the battle from Ben's zord as she wasn't able to do much else at that point. She did reach over to check some of the readings on the console. "This monster isn't just metal, it's coated with some sort of alloy that seems to be acting a protective shell." She reported. "We have to increase our power levels to compensate for the armor."
"So it's either the Auradon Champion Megazord or the Auradon Defender Megazord." Audrey voiced. "Which do you think is the best idea here Jane?"
Jane thought a moment before coming to her recommendation. "Go with the Auradon Champion Megazord." She advised. Then Ben noticed her return to the console.
"Let's do it then." Mal and Audrey said in unison. The Auradon Megazord got on the dragon zord's back, the tail wrapping around the battle zord. A spot was made in between Audrey and Carlos for Mal to take her place in.
"Let's see what that toy of yours can do." Gadgetron Dragon growled and launched itself out at the new battle zord combination. It struck the Auradon Champion Megazord hard but it managed to recover.
They soared toward the mechanical monster and struck it with the wings. It stumbled back a little, proving that they did have the power to damage it now. Ben just wondered if it would be enough power.
They swerved around again and slashed it with their sword, then turned around for a repeat performance. Then Mal said, "Let's finish this off." The Auradon Champion Mega descended into the sky as it gathered up power and then rapidly descended down on the monster, intending to finish it off.
Gadgetron Dragon's wings lashed out and caught the sword in between the tips of its metallic wings. It then unleashed a close range energy blast at the battle zord, causing it to fall back and land hard. It seemed only sheer luck kept this battle combination together.
"That did a lot of damage." Carlos told his team mates. "Integrity is down by fifty five percent, power levels are sixty and dropping." He pressed a couple of buttons. "Auxiliary power is diverted to those but it won't last and it's not stopping the decline."
"Maybe it's time to try the Auradon Defender Megazord." Jay suggested.
"Dude, it won't have the physical power to defeat that monster." Carlos replied.
"Maybe we don't need power." Jay surprisingly retorted. "Maybe we need the defensive strength instead."
"That thing seems to be already packing huge defenses." Lonnie replied. "We can't expect to beat that monster with the same tactic."
"We've got to pull it together guys." Mal said. "We have to find a way to defeat this thing."
Ben was hoping Jane was working on an idea. Sure enough he heard her speaking to the others now too. "We have a new combination to try here guys." She announced. "Bring the Auradon Champion Megazord on top of this zord. I think we can turn around and make the Auradon Champion Defender Megazord."
Evie placed her mirror shield into the slot and the Auradon Champion Megazord took off and then arced in the sky before making a landing on the back of the horse zord. The saddle seemed to clamp onto the underside of the battle zord, and two more slots were made in the cockpit on either side of Audrey, one for Ben beside Mal and one for Jane beside Jay.
Gadgetron Dragon shot out a huge stream of energy at the newly created battle zord but the shield was raised, combined with the defense of the dragon scales and the power from all the zords combined to block the shot and deflect it harmlessly.
"Deflection is one thing, defeat is another." The mechanical dragon warned as it ran straight for its opposition.
"That it is." Mal agreed. "So let's see what this baby has got." Again the shield was used to block the slashing attacks from the Gadgetron Dragon and then the horse zord's head rammed into the monster hard enough to send it flying back.
The battle zord brought the sword down on the monster hard and then took to the skies as the Champion megazord would do, the shield was brought down around them as what happened with the Defender megazord and then they came down just before hitting the monster as speed was further increased by the horse zord's rapid pace. It struck the monster hard and that resulted in its huge fiery explosion of defeat.
"They've always managed to pull it out in the end." Paradias said with a shake of his head. "I often wonder how such pathetic life forms managed to do that."
"Careful, one of those pathetic life forms is my daughter." Maleficent scolded though it didn't seem like she really meant it. "Oh, Mal. Such energy put to waste on the side of good."
"They will endeavor to trap you again." Nerissa said to her. "You must be careful about what actions you take."
Maleficent waved her off. "We'll see about that." She declared. "Now that I'm out and about, away from the Island of the Lost, I'm free to implement whatever plans I dream of." She gave a wicked smile. "And it's time for me to check up on the coup I implemented not long before my capture and placement on the island."
"Watch yourself Maleficent." Paradias warned. "The rangers should not be overestimated, a lesson I learned the hard way."
"We'll see just how good they really." Maleficent promised.
"Are you okay M?" Evie asked Mal on their way back to Auradon Prep. She recalled talking as they prepared for her purple haired friends first date with the boy who was now king. She had confessed of being afraid of her mother sometimes. Mal had sidestepped the issue by saying she just wanted her mother to be proud of her, but she read in between the lines. Sometimes Mal had been afraid of her mother too, she was just too proud to admit to even herself.
"Sure, just great E." Mal said with a shrug. "My mom is back and really hates what I've become, but hey that's really nothing new."
Ben wrapped an arm around his girlfriend's shoulders. "Things are different now." He promised her. "Together we can defeat Maleficent too." He gave a slightly uneasy laugh. "We've already fought and defeated things that rival her."
"Except that was before Paradias, and all of those 'rivals' sprang from him." Mal reminded them all. "And now my mom seems to be working with him."
"Anyone else find that strange?" Audrey asked.
"That evil sided with evil?" Carlos questioned. "Let me think." He pretended to think hard about it for a second. "Nope, nothing strange."
"Not that you dork." Audrey said, with just enough affection in her voice that the others knew she was teasing. Mal and Evie had even exchanged glances, silently agreeing that he had even all but asked for that response. "How come Maleficent seemed to know Paradias?"
"Now that you mention it, my mother had said that he had shown up when they were getting people on the island." Jane mused. "But she never said anything about one of the most feared villains of our history having anything to do with the one villain that required outside help to even chase away."
"Maybe they didn't know about it." Jay suggested. "My father suggested that Aladdin had some kind of outside help from someone that wasn't even known about by anyone until he showed up, except for maybe Jordan's father."
"Like what?" Lonnie asked.
Jay shrugged. "Didn't get real specific about it. Probably hated to think about his first defeat, if not his last one." He replied.
"I think Maleficent's return shouldn't be told to anyone outside of our circle." Ben said. "No council, no parents aside from Fairy Godmother and no students aside from Doug and Jordan should know about this."
"I don't know how long that can really stay a secret." Evie reminded with a shrug. "It won't be long before Maleficent makes her restoration known." She looked to Mal. "Unless you think otherwise."
"You're right." Mal replied simply. "We can't keep this thing a secret for long. But maybe inciting a general riot with no more proof than our word wouldn't be a smart idea either."
"Also, think about yourselves." Audrey reminded. "How will people take it to learn that the ones who found out about it were from the Isle of the Lost, and one of them being her daughter to boot?" She asked.
"We might end up with more Chad's on our hands." Jay noted.
"Either way, if it we didn't before now we definitely have some rough times ahead of us." Mal said grimly as she leaned against Ben's side. "Really rough times."