Just want to give a big THANK YOU! to pinksakura271 for faithfully reviewing each and every chapter to date . It's very encouraging to see even one review and I have yet to be disappointed.
Audrey opened her eyes and didn't recognize where they were. Then she panicked as she realized she was tied up against a pole, again. It might seem weird that she would panic but she had been bound four times in her ranger career so far, and two of those instances were with Chad around. The first time he had slapped her, but the second time he had not only hit her but he had acted more intimate to her than she would have liked. This brought up those less than stellar memories for her.
"Calm down Audrey." She heard Lonnie say from near her. "You're not alone."
She looked to see Lonnie in the same situation as well as Carlos, Evie, Ally and Ben. Not being alone made her feel better, but not by much. "Where are Jay and the others?" She asked her friend.
"I don't know, they're not here." Lonnie answered her. When she saw Audrey shudder again she asked the brunette princess, "Are you okay?"
The truth was she was not okay. She had found herself bound four times in her ranger career, the most of any of them to date. Granted Lonnie, Carlos and Ben shared the next highest record at three because of the Psycho Rangers, the Red Queen and, now this situation but none of them had been harassed the way that she had been. It did make a difference. But with Mal not here she was the leader and knew she had to play the part. "I'm fine Lonnie." She said.
The Asian princess had a feeling Audrey was lying but didn't want to press the issue if her friend didn't want to. "So far we haven't seen anyone come in." Ben told his best friend, startling her a little. "No one to brag or anything."
"I think we're in the Black Sands place that the sultan was talking about." Evie revealed. "I can feel the dark magic that permeates the place, probably from Mozenwrath's rule, or whoever is ruling this place."
"My money is on Mirage." Ben said. "She's the one who struck at me before retreating from the palace and bringing me here. She hits pretty hard, or her spell did at any rate." He would have been rather embarrassed by that revelation if he hadn't been bound.
"They'll come for us." Carlos promised. "It's only a matter of time."
Audrey glanced around but could not see their iPhones or Ben's equipment in the room. She hoped they were outside or something because otherwise their powers were gone who knew where.
"I've decided that I hate crossing deserts." Will announced. It was partial truth but it was also a way to try to minimize the tension that was also coursing through his body and he was sure the others were feeling it too.
Aziz shook his head. "Sorry to disappoint you then man, but that's basically all we're going to find out here." He replied and shrugged. "Maybe an oasis or two if we're lucky."
"So much for a vacation spot." Gregory said dismissively.
The remaining rangers, the three boys, Aladdin and Carpet were surrounded by over two dozen guards from the palace as they made their way to the Black Sands to rescue the rest of their ranger team and teach whoever attacked them not to mess with Agrabah.
"Oh Ben, I hope you're okay." Mal whispered softly. "I hope all of you are."
They were all kind of looking around the desert for any signs that something would be trying to ambush them. Mirage or whoever she might be working for undoubtfully knew they were coming and were trying to be prepared. There was also the chance of something else showing up that could cause problems.
Carpet seemed to perk up and fly further up ahead. It landed and its tassels dug into the sand. As the others rushed to catch up Carpet found what had sparked interest and flew back over to Aladdin, dropping two small gold objects in his hands.
"What is it dad?" Aziz asked him.
Aladdin chuckled softly. "The thing that turned my life into what it is." He answered simply and showed him the two pieces of the golden scarab that Jafar had used to summon the Cave of Wonders; where he had found the lamp that contained his friend the Genie.
Aziz took them from his father and looked down on them. He had to admit to feeling a tiny bit of gratitude, after all if not for these two pieces his mother and father may never have gotten together and he would have never been born. "They've been out here all these years?" He wondered.
"Seems like it." Aladdin said with a small laugh. "I want to hold onto these and take them to Jasmine." He patted his son's shoulder softly. "I think she'll appreciate them in the same way that we do."
They continued along for a little while when Aziz felt something vibrating. He looked down to see it was the two pieces of the scarab. "What's going on?" He asked.
"It looks like it's active." Jordan noted. "Is the cave around here somewhere?"
"I don't really know." Aladdin said. "It's been so long, and honestly it's all desert without it."
"Do we reassemble it?" Doug wondered.
"We don't have time, our friends need us." Mal reminded them all as gently as she could but firmly as well. "Who knows what's going on?"
"Mal, I'm just as worried about them as you are." Jane said to her softly. She suspected she was especially as worried for her boyfriend Ben as she was for her crush Carlos, in addition to the rest of their friends. "But we're down half our team, more realistically. If somehow this leads to something we could use, we should pursue it."
The purple haired girl bit her lip uncertain.
"She's right Mal." Jordan agreed. "Remember the last time we were in another place? Remember what happened?" She questioned. Mal remembered all too well, they had gone to Wonderland to help Ally find and rescue her mother and that had been a huge but dangerous adventure. One of the benefits from that, aside from rescuing her mother Alice Liddell, was that Jordan, Aziz and Ally had become the gold, silver, and crystal rangers.
Mal hated to delay rescue of her friends but knew that if there was any chance something could happen to help them now this might be it. "Unless Sultan Aladdin has any objections, I say we do it." She decided softly.
Aladdin thought about it a moment before looking to his son. "Make it so." He confirmed.
Aziz put the two pieces of the scarab together and it hummed to life as it dashed out of its hand and flew off. "We'll go after it." Mal said to Aladdin. "Get the guards to the Black Sands and we'll meet you there. If we don't show up in two hours after you get there go in without us."
He only nodded, realizing what Mal had realized; the mission was more important and they needed to attend to the hostages first. If they could solve it without the rangers so much the better. "Carpet, go with them." He instructed his friend though, remembering his own trip through the Cave of Wonders, if that was indeed where they had gone. Without Carpet he never would have lived long enough to find Genie.
The six teens ran as fast as they could to keep up with the scarab. They were just about ready to ask Carpet if they could hitch a ride when the two scarab pieces separated and dug into the sands. It began to tremble and they came to a stop as they saw a large sandy tiger head emerge, the glowing scarab pieces serving as its eyes. "WHO DARES DISTURB MY SLUMBER?" He demanded to know.
"Okay, how do we answer this guy?" Gregory questioned.
"I have absolutely no idea." Mal answered truthfully.
Will took a deep breath, not sure what else to do and took a deep breath. "We have nothing to lose." He decided and after a nod of approval from Mal he started, "My name is Will Darling and we…"
"YOU MAY ENTER." The booming voice interrupted him and then went still with the wide mouth open.
"Do we go in?" Jane asked worriedly. It still seemed like it could be a trap.
"I'd advise you not too." They heard from behind them. They turned, Mal and Jay letting out a groan of annoyance as they saw Reviveslime and a seeming army of soldiers behind them. "It could be rather hazardous to your health."
"We so don't have the time for this." Jane sighed.
"Will, find out what exactly made this thing return after such a long time ago." Mal said. "We'll keep these guys out of your way." He started in and Gregory, not really wanting to fight and equally curious about the answer to Mal's question, went with him. She looked to her remaining team; Jordan, Jane, Jay, and Aziz. "Let's get to work." Jane used the magic wand to transform while the remaining rangers took out their iPhones, input their numbers and transformed. Mal handed Doug her blaster. "Keep us covered." She said to him.
"You really think you can fight us with such low strength?" Reviveslime asked with amusement. "Then bring it on." He pointed his sword at the soldiers. "Get by them and into the cave." He ordered. They charged toward them as did Reviveslime.
Meanwhile Will lead the way down the stairs into the treasure room. He wondered why Gregory had come with him for a moment until he decided odds are it was better than fighting the monsters that had shown up. He might be willing to fight when the situation called for it but Will was sure jumping into a fight was not that man's idea of a good time.
"What do you think is down here?" Gregory asked him.
"Another genie in a lamp." Will replied deadpan. "I don't know, maybe a weapon to help Mal and the others fight." It was all he could think of. The two boys wouldn't know it but as they moved into the treasure room it looked exactly the same as it had when Aladdin had come down there so long ago, piled high with gold coins and other assorted treasures.
"Think we can take some?" Gregory asked, only half joking with him.
"Somehow I doubt that." Will answered. "Ever read the history behind Aladdin's rise to sultan?" When he had entered he was instructed to touch nothing but the lamp. There hadn't been any such instruction here but it was better not to test fate if they could avoid it.
The rangers fought bravely against the soldiers but they could feel the dwindling numbers. Even Doug taking out the soldiers he could with the blaster was of very little compensation against six missing team members. Mal also had moved on from the soldiers to deal with Reviveslime.
"You don't seem like such an effective leader with half of your team missing." The slime general taunted with amusement. "I'm not quite sure how you lost them but seeing this, trying to get into the mythical Cave of Wonders, I just had to show up and see what I could do to help." He slashed his sword at the purple ranger.
Mal blocked it with her dragon's eye staff. "You're not helping at all, just so we're clear." She stated icily. It didn't surprise her too much to realize that whatever Mirage and anyone else behind her was doing had no bearing on what Paradias or Sermaya were doing.
"I figure I'm doing a lot to help." Reviveslime said and gave an eerie grin. "Just not for you."
Jane kept as many of the soldiers back as she could with a combination of magic and physical prowess but numbers were still a huge problem for them all. Jay, Aziz and Jordan just did the best they could with physical force and relied on Doug to try to help keep the soldiers back.
"Will the Cave of Wonders even let them enter?" Jay asked. "I mean it didn't let my father enter since he wasn't considered worthy and all." He slashed down a couple of the soldiers with his soul scimitar.
"I don't know." Aziz answered simply as he took out a soldier with his spear strike.
"I don't know either." Jordan answered as well. "But I think it would be best if we didn't find out the answer to that." She couldn't use her lamp cannon at close range but was glad it could be used as a blunt instrument. She was equally glad all of this movement didn't actually disturb anything inside since it was still her home.
"Hey, look." Jane said and pointed to the skies where they saw Carpet coming toward them. Carpet seemed to take one look and realize something could go wrong and flew past the fight and into the Cave of Wonders.
Will and Gregory entered the next chamber, which again though the two boys had no way of knowing it, was exactly the same as when Aladdin had entered it long ago, a path of rocks leading up to a place in the center and all of it surrounded by lava.
"That looks fun to cross." Gregory noted blandly. "You want to go first or should I?"
"I'll go." Will told him. "You stay here and make sure if anything gets down here that they don't get whatever it is we were sent here to get." He knew that fighting was probably not what Gregory wanted but was sure it would be more welcome than crossing narrow stones surrounded by lava.
Gregory nodded and turned his back to keep an eye out for anything coming up on them.
Will started to cross the stones. If he had ever had any doubt that it was fake he quickly had that illusion shattered as he could feel the intense heat coming off of the lava. He remembered when he was younger he and his little sister Whitney had crossed stones in a creek near their village and she had lost her balance and fallen in. He was glad she wasn't here for him to worry about that now. It took a minute but he managed to cross the stones and then got to the other side. He turned to see Gregory waiting for any signs of pursuit.
With that taken care of he started up the steps toward the light. He thought of Lonnie and hoped she was okay. "You better be okay, sweetie." He said to himself though it was technically directed at the Asian princess. "We have a hip hop routine to work out and I have skills to teach you."
As he got to the top he saw in the center on the pedestal a small sized golden looking box. It definitely confused him as he approached it.
He moved to pick up the box when hands reached out and grabbed for it as well. In surprise he looked up to see a soldier. How did he get down here? Will wondered. He turned briefly to see that Gregory was fighting three of them now.
Just as Will slammed his hands into the soldier's chest and grabbed the box they heard the roaring of a lion. "YOU HAVE VIOLATED THE SANCTUM AND NOW YOU SHALL PAY!" The Cave of Wonders exclaimed. Will reflected that was great in theory but the soldiers wouldn't care. The only ones to suffer would be him and Gregory.
As if reading his mind the small rocks in the lava started to pop like bubbles. Some of the objects around Gregory started to burst as well. Then the pedestal area and ground around it burst and it all fell became lava. For a moment Will panicked as he fell but then landed suddenly as Carpet swooped in and rescued him, miraculously dodging the falling lava.
"Great job Carpet." Will said appreciatively. "Let's get Gregory and get out of here before we get swallowed up or burnt to a crisp." Carpet had to dodge a few falling stalagmites as he headed toward Gregory and the three soldiers.
"What is he talking about?" Jay asked. "Who violated the sanctum?" He took out another soldier.
"Did any soldiers get by us?" Jane asked urgently as she glanced around. She couldn't tell the difference in honesty, there were just too many of them.
"I don't think so." Doug answered her. He was in a bit of a better position to see the fight even as he blasted the soldiers that got too close to getting past the team.
"Do you honestly think our soldiers can't get under the sands and into the caves?" Reviveslime questioned rhetorically as he slashed at Mal. She blocked with her dragon's eye staff but the force of the impact forced her back a few steps. "Our soldiers are pretty much expendable, but are your little friends so valueless?"
"Oh no." Mal whispered. "You freaky little…freak." It was clear she was too afraid for her friends to really think of a better come back.
"Doug, can you go get them?" Aziz asked as he used his spear to knock back several soldiers.
Doug turned to take a look and saw the stairs that the two boys had descended only minutes earlier into the tiger mouth were gone. He could just make out the sight of them turning back into sand. "There are no more stairs to follow down." He said. "We have to hope Carpet will get them."
"If you don't then I guess it sucks for all of you, but especially your little pink ranger." Reviveslime said with a laugh. "Assuming she's even still alive."
Gregory was doing his best to keep the three soldiers at bay and even try to figure out how to defeat them, but then he felt the ground underneath him give way and he started to plummet into the lava. His outstretched hand was suddenly grabbed and Will pulled him on top of Carpet.
"You okay?" Will asked him.
"Just fine." Gregory answered and gave him a small nod. "Nice save." Then he saw the box. "That's what we're risking our lives for? What's inside of it?"
Will nodded. "This would be it and I don't know." He answered. "But I think we should find out."
Carpet made it into the treasure room but the gold was gone, in its place were streaming bursts of lava. Carpet angled them up toward the exit even as it dwindled. Will opened the box and said, "Wow, surprise surprise."
"Luckily for us, because we're going to need these." Gregory said. "Ready?"
"Ready." Will agreed. Together they reached into the box.
With a roar the tiger head made of sand crashed down back into the desert, sealing off the entrance. Mal could only imagine how crushed she would be if Ben had been in there and applied that to Lonnie. It was enough for her to let out a loud, "No!"
Reviveslime took that chance to slash her in the back hard and she fell to the ground, losing her grip on her weapon and her focus enough to force her to power down.
On the other side the soldiers were getting closer to overwhelming the remaining team. They were so close now that Doug could no longer use his blaster to fight them. He was relying on Jay and Aziz to keep him safe.
The slime general placed the tip of his sword against Mal's throat. "This is over, you have lost and we have won. Your friends are doomed, but they have more time than you do." He gloated and then was about ready to drive it into her throat.
A small part of the sands burst open and Carpet emerged. Both the good and the bad could see two figures riding Carpet, but it was not Will and Gregory they were looking at but rather power rangers like themselves; one in green and one in gray.
The green ranger formed a sword in his hands, but it was not like any short, long, or broad sword they had ever seen. Instead it was curve shaped and had four blades on the ends of the weapon. He held the handle of the weapon in both hands. The gray ranger formed a one handed short axe, almost similar to what the oxen warriors that Sermaya commanded used.
Green ranger jumped off of Carpet and hooked the two blades on the left side of his curved sword around Reviveslime's blade and flipped it away from Mal before turning and slashing the general hard across his chest. Then he held a hand out to Mal, "This is no time to lying down on the job." He said.
A small smile lit up her features. "Will?" She asked in only a little shock. "Wow, that's what the Cave of Wonders had in it. Somehow Zordon must have gotten those powers in there the way Alpha got Jordan, Ally, and Aziz's powers in Wonderland." She surmised as she took out her iPhone.
As Gregory jumped off of Carpet himself and brought his axe down on one of the soldiers before engaging another one Jordan had an idea; she floated up onto Carpet. "Come on Rugman, I have an idea but I need a bit more air for it." Carpet moved a tassel in acknowledgment and then started to float up. After a moment she called down to Jane and the guys, "Head's up." She then unleashed as massive of an energy cannon from her weapon as she could and it brought a downpour of energy onto the soldiers, causing those that weren't destroyed to flee.
Mal looked to Reviveslime. "Looks like you've lost this one too." She stated.
For reasons Mal couldn't figure out and wasn't sure she wanted to know he didn't seem all that disturbed about this loss. "Yes, it would seem that way daughter of Maleficent." He relented. "But I promise you we're not through yet." With that he vanished as well.
"That almost sounded ominous." Jane noted.
"Because it was probably meant to." Mal answered before taking in a breath and then looking back at her team, which now included two new rangers. That was good as far as the purple haired girl was concerned because with the team still down about half, the odds were still against them. "We have friends to rescue, and boy are they now in for a surprise."
They all powered down and moved to catch up with the Aladdin and the guards on their way to the Black Sands.
The doors opened and Audrey had to resist the impulse to scream or anything, for fear that it would somehow be Chad, intent on hurting her again. It was only a mild relief to see that instead it was Mirage being accompanied by a few Mamluk guards.
"Look who finally showed up." Evie remarked. "Finally let out of the kennel?"
Audrey thought that was kind of good but Mirage clearly disagreed. "Smart mouthed little brat." She snarled. "If I could tear your throat out right now I would. But we have other uses for you all at the moment."
"Aziz and the others will be coming for us." Ally reminded their feline captor simply.
Mirage laughed. "Indeed they will be. In fact they're already on their way here. We'll be ready for them when they do show up, and we'll take them down. Then we will take all of your powers and see just what it takes to make them ours." She revealed.
"Like that will happen." Carlos commented. "These powers fight for good."
"How little any of you understand." Mirage noted dryly. "Everyone has their price or their limit." She looked to him and Evie. "Just look at you two. A taste of the 'good life' in Auradon and you've all but turned your back on your own parents and on that little island you called home for so many years."
"They turned their backs on evil, on causing pain and misery and suffering on others to do what's right. To help and care for others. To learn all about true friendship, true family, and how to love." Audrey retorted simply. "Something their parents sadly may never understand."
"Too each their own." Mirage replied waving a dismissive hand at the brunette princess. "But your powers…they may have been created by good but they are simply things. And any object can be made to bend to a stronger being's will. When the Mamluk rangers kill you with your own powers you'll understand. But first we need the rest of them."
There was one thing Ben didn't understand. "If that were true, why did you leave Mal and the others in the desert when you kidnapped Audrey and the ones here?" He asked her.
Mirage laughed. "I told you boy, we needed all of them here. Doing that wouldn't have accomplished our goals." She answered, though it sounded kind of cryptic to them. "Don't worry, your questions will be answered soon enough. It should make your ends that much easier to accept."