What's more disturbing here? Mal wondered as she and her team mates got up and looked up at the large creature with the mechanical wings and the belly of literal furnace fire that Ally had identified as the Jabberwock; the feared right hand of the tyrannical Red Queen. That we have to figure out how to take this thing down or the fact that he might have just killed Ally, Aziz and Jordan?
"Oh no." Lonnie whispered, the tears in her voice. "Jordan, Aziz, Ally…it can't be…they can't be…" She felt her knees shaking and wasn't sure what was keeping her on her feet.
"Keep it together Lonnie." Jay stated firmly. "They aren't dead. They're just fine. We're going to take out this overgrown fire bug and then we're going to find them." He raised his scimitar. "You're not going to break us."
Audrey fought back her own mounting fear and sorrow. "Jay's right." She declared with more confidence than she admittedly felt at that moment. "You're going down."
The Jabberwock laughed heartily. "You really think you can take me?" He questioned as he narrowed his large orangish eyes. "The eight of you combined are like an appetizer to me. I would need a gryphon or something to even have a chance of filling my hunger."
"Try and eat me." Carlos said as he made a taunting 'come get it' gesture with his right hand, equipped with the dagger claws. "You're going to get heartburn."
Jay couldn't help but look at the yellow ranger and smirk. "Dude, really? That's your best line?" He had to question.
"Let's see you do better." Carlos retorted.
"Guys." Mal interrupted. "Can we focus on the big fire bug thing over there?"
"You hope to defeat me when you quarrel among yourselves?" Jabberwock questioned. "It will take more focus than any of you, even together, possess to defeat me." With that his wings rose up and blasted a huge gust of wind at the eight warriors. Even that sent forced them back a little.
"Carlos, Jane, Evie." Mal said as a plan tried to form itself into her mind. "Stay back and be ready." She looked to Jay, Audrey, Ben and Lonnie. "Come on guys, let's move in." The Auradon Knight moved in along with the purple, red, black and pink rangers and they all tried to bring their weapons down on Jabberwock only to realize he was heavily armored.
He laughed again. "Nice try fools." He then lashed out his head, his enormous beak striking all of the rangers hard. Lonnie was the first to rise from that attack and aimed her tessens at the huge creature's eyes but a slight movement of its head knocked her weapons off course.
"My turn." Audrey said and fired an arrow straight at its eyes but a small beam from the socket took out the arrow. "Oh, come on." She moaned. "How are we supposed to scratch this guy?"
"When I figure it out I'll let you know." Mal promised her second in command as she jumped up to try to jab it into some part of its body that didn't seem so heavily armored. Jabberwock moved and caught Mal in its beak, putting pressure on her body and causing her to gasp out in pain.
"Let her go." Ben demanded as he took energy into his sword and launched it at the huge monster. A mechanical wing blocked the attack and sent it colliding with one of the nearby houses. He then obliged the knight by tossing his purple clad girlfriend right into him hard.
Jane powered up a magical blast and sent it at Jabberwock. It struck with very little impact and he turned to face the three rangers that Mal had ordered to stand in reserve. "That's enough out of you bird brain." The white ranger stated. "Leave them alone."
"Of courses." Jabberwock said compliantly, too much so for the blue haired girls taste. His eyes then glowed and he shot the eye beams at the three of them. The blue ranger raised her mirror shield and reflected the energy back at him. A huge plume of smoke followed.
"That had to have done it." Evie said hopefully. "If that was strong enough to hurt all of us then he shouldn't be able to dish out what he delivers." The three rangers started toward their recovering friends only for a large mechanical clawed paw to shoot out and gash the three of them hard.
"You really thought that would help?" Jabberwock questioned as the smoke cleared. "That's the kind of energy I heat for breakfast, the kind of fire that travels through my body." He laughed, a sinister sound now. "You can't possibly hope to burn me."
Ally moaned softly and started to sit up but had to stop as she felt she was spinning. Then Jordan was by her side. "Take it easy Ally." The genie girl said to her gently. "I think you've got a mild concussion." She made Ally lie down again. "I'm making something to take care of that, but it would still be better if you didn't try to get hit in the head again."
"I don't remember getting hit in the head a first time." Ally pointed out weakly.
She heard Jordan get up and move away a little bit, presumably to where she was making her potion. "I think it happened after we were swept away by the rushing water. We were washed up in this cave, there are some rocks poking out of the water." She heard some shuffling. "I've repaired both of the blasters, they were pretty water logged."
"Aziz?" Ally asked softly now.
"He's fine." Jordan said. "He already took his blaster and is looking around a little to make sure we're safe, at least as safe as we can be." She heard some slight banging, like something stirring in a pot. She surmised it was part of the potion mixing. "You got the worst of the fall."
Ally took a deep breath and was glad at least that didn't cause pain. "What about Ben and the rangers?" She asked now.
"Probably kicking Jabberwock up, down and all around that village." Jordan said a little smugly, unaware that the battle was not going well at all for their friends. "Then they'll find us." She heard the stirring stop. "And as soon as you're on your feet again and Aziz is back we'll be on our way and we'll probably run into them halfway."
A few moments of silence fell before Ally asked, "Do you…do you think that Jabberwock was telling the truth? Is my mother dead?"
Jordan bit her lip. She wanted to reassure her friend, the idea of her parents dying petrified her more than she would ever admit to anyone. Still, she hated to lie too. "I don't know Ally." She finally answered softly. " I wouldn't be surprised if Jabberwock lied about it to try to unbalance all of us. He and Red Queen might want her dead but I'm sure they would want you there to see it."
"How delightful." Ally drolled softly.
They both turned their heads, causing Ally a bit of dizziness, when they heard someone approaching the tunnel end they had temporarily hid in but relaxed when they saw Aziz coming around the bend. "It's okay, we're clear." He told them and then came over to sit next to Ally. "How are you?" He asked the blonde.
"Dizzy." Ally said. "Jordan is making something for the concussion now."
"So there's nothing between the grotto and here then?" Jordan asked him.
Aziz shook his head. "Nope, nothing. I don't know if these are natural formations or if it's just a tunnel that the wasps will never have to use again." He replied. "But I think that village used to be inhabited by someone other than those wasps."
"Why do say that?" Ally asked him.
"There's evidence that these tunnels were used by others a while ago." Aziz answered as he pulled out a small book. "A diary I think. I haven't look at it yet."
"Might as well now." Jordan told him. "We're going to be here another few minutes."
Aziz opened it up. "Looks like the village used to belong to…believe it or not grasshoppers." He revealed.
Jordan shrugged. "Why not?" She asked nonchalantly. "We got here on a boat captained by a walrus with a penguin staff, after having tea with a mouse, a turtle and a mad man in a hat."
"Looks like the writer was big on rebellion." Aziz announced as he flipped through the journal and skimmed the pages. He didn't spend a lot of time reading but he had been taught how to skim well enough to get vital information. He attributed that to the fact that his mother Jasmine was part of a book club with Ben's mother Belle, who was known to be an avid reader. "Not long after Jabberwock resurfaced he looked into what killed him the first time."
"What was that?" Ally asked, flinching a bit at the sound of her own voice. She hoped Jordan finished up with that soon.
"Not too clear on what this means." Aziz warned the two girls. "It just mentions it as a vorpal sword that was used by the original hero to kill the Jabberwock. I think it means sharp or deadly."
"It's more than that." Jordan told them both as she was pouring some potion in a glass for Ally. "Vorpal is also a mythical coating that can be placed on offensive weapons to increase their power and pierce most types of armor."
"Where can we find the vorpal sword, blade, whatever?" Aziz asked as he looked at the genie girl.
"I don't know." Jordan answered with a shrug. "Maybe in Wonderland. Maybe in space. Maybe that journal will tell you." She waited for him to answer that one.
Aziz skimmed the journal a moment and then shook his head. "Nope, doesn't say what happened to it." He answered. "So hopefully the rangers and Ben are able to take that thing out." He thought a moment. "Unless their weapons are already coated in that vorpal stuff."
"Nope." Jordan answered. "I studied the compositions of those weapons and that's not in there."
Aziz nodded, not entirely surprised. He then moved on. "Apparently the Red Queen rose to power after the discovery of some unknown source of power. On top of that some things, including the Jabberwock itself, were modified by various things." He looked at the next page. "Whoever this guy is thought of Jabberwock as a real threat; most of this is about him. According to his information Jabberwock was upgraded by an alien life form named Darkconda."
"Well he is the reason we're down here." Jordan noted lamely. She came over to Ally's side and helped her to sit up. Aziz set down the journal and the two helped lean the blonde against the wall. "Drink up." The genie girl said as she handed Ally the cup. "It should take effect after a few minutes."
Ally nodded and took a sip. It tasted like peaches and she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Still it was better than some medicines she'd had in her life. "What else does it say?" She asked Aziz.
"Magic was also interspersed with Jabberwock. That accounts for that fire in his belly that he also used to try to kill us." Aziz said. "He notes the Red Queen as formed an army called the Card Guard." He laughed a little. "They look like man sized playing cards with arms and legs."
"Cute." Jordan noted dryly. "Does that mean there are only fifty two of those things?"
"We're not that lucky." Aziz answered simply. A moment of silence followed and then he muttered a choice curse word. When the two girls looked at him he elaborated, "That big thing that chopped out magic carpet ride? It was a larger card guard called a Guardian. He says it's nearly indestructible."
"And just our luck, we'll probably get to test that theory out in person." Jordan drawled with an eye roll. "We have to get this information to the rangers, they're going to need this so we can figure out how to deal with Jabberwock and be ready to deal with Red Queen and her little card army."
Ally had finished her potion and leaned her head against the wall a moment. She could already feel her nausea dwindling. "We can get going now." She said.
"We'll give it another minute." Aziz said to her. "We don't want to rush things." He looked to Jordan. "So how do we find vorpal coating?"
"I don't know." Jordan answered simply as she shrugged. She stood up to pace. "I've heard about it from my dad in the past but even he didn't know where to find it." She turned back to the two teens. "Odds are the only source is somewhere here in Wonderland, but the odds of us actually finding it are basically nonexistent." She frowned. "But there is one thing other thing I did pick up."
"What's that?" Ally asked.
"Darkconda. I recognize the name. It's from the stuff Fairy Godmother got during the Psycho Ranger incident. He was a ruthless bounty hunter who worked for Dark Specter, and he was involved in several schemes in his life time that would affect the Space Rangers." Jordan explained. "That technology probably came from Dark Specter himself before they were both destroyed."
"When did he have time to do this then?" Aziz wondered.
"Probably about the same time that Zordon was helping our parents to chase Paradias away the first time and then establishing the powers that Ben, Mal and the rest of the rangers use right now." Jordan speculated.
"Come on." Ally said as she stood up. She felt a little wobbly but she pushed it down. They had other concerns to worry about right now. "We need to get going, meet back up with the group."
Aziz picked up the journal. "I know where to start." He announced. "I found a passage we can follow, I just don't know what we're going to run into." He handed Ally the other blaster. "Let's be careful guys." They left the grotto and started down the path Aziz indicated.
"I think it's time to try to bring our weapons together Mal." Lonnie said to their leader. She had a horrible feeling that it wouldn't work. She also feared that the Triangle Spark wouldn't have worked either.
Mal nodded. "It's worth a try." She agreed.
"It's really not." Jabberwock said, very amused. He then shot another burst of fireballs at them and it sent each of them sprawling around the area, landing in very painful positions.
Jabberwock now started to charge full tilt at the rangers. They had to stand and try to dodge quickly. One of the wings smacked Audrey hard and she hit one of the rock walls hard. She was sure that if she hadn't been morphed it probably would have snapped her neck.
The Jabberwock turned and part of its body slammed into Carlos, who went flying through the walls of one of the houses. It looked very ready to collapse, possibly onto the yellow ranger.
Jane flew up into the air with her little white wings and tried to attack him with her own magic but his clawed appendage came up and smacked into Jane hard. The white ranger plummeted to the ground hard. She almost swore that her arm broke and she let out a gasp.
"I won't let you continue to hurt my friends." Mal warned him as she picked up her staff. "I'll find a way to stop you."
"There are some things even you cannot do, purple ranger." Jabberwock said. He looked forward to presenting Maleficent with her daughter's badly broken body, to be only matched by her broken spirits.
"We'll find a way." Ben agreed as he approached another side.
Jabberwock laughed. "You presume much, young king." He replied and that drew up all of the rangers short, except Carlos and Jane who were a bit preoccupied with their painful injuries. "The powers of Wonderland did not make the same mistakes as your own people in Auradon. We kept careful watch over you." He looked around to where Jay and Evie were helping up a still half stunned Audrey. "Your little isle escapades, the attempt at rehabilitation, the coronation. That knowledge will be used when my empress decides to take over your world."
"Then it's not just about saving Wonderland and rescuing Mrs. Liddell." Lonnie realized with a shudder. "We have to prevent the invasion of Auradon."
"I can't help but notice how much everything wants to invade and/or destroy Auradon." Audrey noted distastefully. She saw that Carlos had extracted himself from the half devastated house and was going to help Jane.
Ben charged up his sword and unleashed the energy charge at Jabberwock. His weird armor skin seemed to dissipate it almost instantly. He grit his teeth, knowing somehow he had to give the Mal and their friends the time they needed in order to assemble the Auradon Blaster. He just wasn't sure how to, not against this thing.
"I'm sure you pathetic beings still want to try to assemble your little blaster." Jabberwock said with amusement. "The question really is; am I generous enough to give you that chance?"
"Somehow I doubt it." Carlos noted as he helped Jane up. "Are you okay?" He asked her.
Jane frowned just a bit. "It really hurts." She said softly. "I've never had a broken limb before." She laughed a little. "It really makes me wish that Jordan were here. I don't know a spell to heal myself."
"Maybe Mal will have one." Carlos suggested. He let her lean on him. "We just have to get to her first."
Jane took a deep breath though the yellow ranger couldn't tell if the white ranger was struggling to find a solution or struggling to stay conscious. Finally with her unbroken arm she raised the magic wand. "When in doubt, make time slow." She chanted.
They all noticed that Jabberwock slowed. Jane called out, "Everyone come here." She instructed. "This spell is only going to last as long as I can keep my concentration." That was followed by a flinch of pain. Mal and Evie exchanged glances as Ben and the five rangers gathered together. Both girls were sure it wouldn't last long.
Carlos gently but reluctantly handed Jane to Ben. "We have to form the Auradon blaster before Jane's spell wears off." He said to his friends.
Mal nodded. "You're absolutely right." She agreed and looked to the team. "Let's bring them together. And let's throw in our neon power for extra effect."
Mal's staff was placed first, then Audrey placed her silver bow underneath it. Evie placed her shield behind it. Jay placed his scimitar in the middle, followed by Lonnie placing her tessens on either side of the scimitar, and last was Carlos placing his clawed daggers next to both of the pink ranger's tessens.
They took their positions just as Ben felt Jane slacken in his arms as the pain briefly overwhelmed her. It was enough to free the Jabberwock. The monster turned around to see the blaster turned at him. "Nice trick, white ranger." He laughed seeing that Jane was fighting to stay conscious. "Very well, rangers. Take your best shot."
The six rangers unleashed all of the energy they could from the Auradon blaster, combined with their own neon boosted energy. It struck Jabberwock and even managed to do a little bit of damage but ultimately to no avail. Once the blast ended he stood there in gloating triumph.
"I told you it was all for nothing, little ones." Jabberwock stated. Then he opened his mouth and unleashed a torrent of fireballs and fire beams from his eyes. It struck all around the rangers, not even Evie's shield could have protected them from that blasts.
Ben saw Jane land hard, finally losing consciousness as she hit the ground. One of the houses collapsed on Evie. One of his feet landed hard on Audrey's lower leg and she screamed in pain as she heard the bones snap, but she had passed out a moment after that.
Jay tried to go to her aid and the mechanical wing lashed out and slammed into him hard. He hit an outcropping that also resulted in an avalanche falling on him. Lonnie tried to get up as well to help Carlos and felt a hand slam into her hard, knocking her and Carlos unconscious.
Mal limped over to try to help Ben. "We have to stop this." She said weakly. "Somehow."
"There is no way." Jabberwock repeated as his tail slapped out and slammed into the two lovers hard. He then looked down at the eight beaten down warriors. "I win, and you will all pay with your lives."
It seemed as if the path kept on twisting and turning. "Are we sure we're going the right way?" Ally asked.
"No, no I am not." Aziz answered simply.
"It feels like we've gone in circles." Ally noted softly. "How are we going to get this information to Mal and the others? How are we going to rescue my mother?" If she's even still alive. She couldn't help but muse softly.
Jordan stopped. She felt something odd, powerful. She didn't see anything at first until she realized that just off the path was a collapsed pathway. She went over with the two of them following her. She touched the rocks. "This has been collapsed a long time." She mused.
"It looks like mud has been used to try to seal up any chance of exposing this path." Ally noted as she looked around too. "Look, this is an appendage from one of the samurai wasps." She pointed out.
"There's writing on this wall." Aziz said, pointing to the left side where this mystery passage was.
"I don't recognize it." Ally said.
"I do." Jordan told the two teens. "More tidbits from that information from Alpha." She leaned closer to examine it. "It's Edenoite. I took the liberty of learning a lot of that recently." She laughed. "Rather ironic considering the wasps and grasshoppers that were around here." She noted. That drew looks of confusion from the two teens but she didn't elaborate.
They watched as Jordan went back to the blocked pathway. "I hope this works." She mused. She unleashed a magic burst of energy that shattered the rocks. Aziz raised his hand to block Ally from any blasted rubble though he needn't have bothered as Jordan made sure to put up a small reflective shield around them. "Come on." She said and started down the passage way.
The two of them exchanged looks of uncertainty before following the genie girl. "We really have to get back to the others before something bad happens." Aziz called to her.
"It's too late for that." Jordan said, suddenly realizing she was right about this. "Their weapons aren't vorpal coated and Jabberwock is too well protected. If he hasn't already defeated them he unfortunately will very soon."
"Are you saying that we've lost?" Ally asked her quietly. It was so quiet that Aziz barely heard it and for a moment he suspected that the genie girl hadn't heard the blonde speak.
Then from seemingly nowhere Jordan responded, "Oh no. We haven't lost. In fact we're about ready to change the nature of this fight." They stopped at what seemed like a dead end and Aziz felt himself getting frustrated with it all. Before he could vent that Jordan reached out the middle and brought up a secret switch. "Alright then, what do you have for us?" She wondered out loud.
She pulled up the secret switch, only for a holographic shape to start materializing…