Mal set her head on Ben's shoulder as they sat together on the beach. The sun was setting and they had strawberries and bottle water spread out on a picnic in front of them. By all accounts it this was certainly a great way to end the day but the purple haired girl couldn't help but be distracted by the day's events. The discovery of the warzord and Gregory's betrayal still sat heavily with them all. The only small ray of light was the discovery that Will was still loyal to them despite the situation he was forced into.
"You're not entirely feeling this, are you?" Ben asked as he hugged his girlfriend against them.
"I really want to be." Mal said as she reached for a strawberry. "It's just…" She didn't feel that she could express it.
But Ben knew what Mal was thinking and unlike his girlfriend the young king had been preparing for this his entire life. "It's the burden of leadership Mal." He assured her soothingly as he rubbed her back softly. "No matter what happens in our lives we get drawn into the burdens of our people, especially those we love."
"Paradias and my mother have the edge right now and they know it." The purple haired girl mused softly. "And I don't know how to lead us out of it. Not you, not my chosen sister, not my friends. No one."
"I really want to say an option will present itself." Ben said. He leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "And logically one probably will…but like you I don't see it either."
"I feel kind of guilty about this." She said as she indicated their abrupt beach date; the strawberries and the water spread over a blanket on the sands overlooking the setting sun. "We're out here enjoying ourselves while Carlos, Jane and Doug are trying to find a solution."
"I understand." Ben assured her, taking her hand. "I wouldn't have brought you out here if Jane hadn't practically insisted that we might as well spend time together because otherwise we'd just be in their way." They were not the only ones out and about this evening; Audrey and Jay were out as they were on a date of some sort. Lonnie and Will had borrowed the gym so that Will could start teaching her the martial arts he had promised her. Ally and Aziz were on a date of some sort as well. Only the unattached Jordan and Evie were dateless and that had prompted the two of them to volunteer to pick up the gem they needed in case Jane was able to create a new ranger power.
That was only one of four options they had to try to deal with the threat of the warzord; though they had the problem of who they would give the powers too. The second option was to try to find a new zord themselves, which was what Doug and Carlos were doing but so far they had found nothing. The third option was to somehow steal the gray ranger powers from Gregory but they knew he would not be fighting alone. The last one was to allow Will and Jane to attempt to commandeer the warzord from Gregory but that had problems as well. The first was that the treacherous gray ranger would not likely be alone; he would have Chad and Marcellus with him. The second was to try that meant they would face the warzord despite their own zords being in the process of repair and regeneration.
Mal sighed. "I must be the worst leader in ranger history." She groused as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"I doubt that but I'm sure you're the prettiest leader in ranger history." Ben said with a endearing smile but when Mal didn't fall for that one he went on with, "Come on, don't get melodramatic." Ben said with a light laugh as he wrapped his arms around her. "You're a fine leader in a bad situation. I don't need to know the history of the power rangers to be sure that every leader faces at least one harsh situation in their careers, and probably more."
Mal looked up at him and smiled a little. "You think so?" She asked.
"I'd bet my crown on it." Ben assured with a smile and then brushed her lips gently. Mal returned the kiss for a moment before pulling away. "But you'd still feel better if we had something a bit more concrete to work with though I'd bet. I can't blame you, I would too."
"I would." Mal agreed. "I just…I want to give us some kind of hope to hang onto. Something more concrete than what we have."
Audrey and Jay were having basically the same conversation though over a candle lit dinner on a table in the back of the outside commons area. "It's amazing how things change." Audrey mused. "There was a time something like this happens and I'm just fine with running away and letting someone else take care of the solution." She was stirring the straw in her grape soda. "And now I just wish I could help find that solution."
"When the time comes we'll have our work cut out for us." Jay tried to reassure the brunette princess as he cut into his pork chop. "Don't worry so much about it." He knew that was easier said than done though.
Audrey sighed a bit. "I kind of feel like this is my fault." She admitted softly.
"Don't be so conceited." Jay tried to joke but saw she was being serious. "Really Audrey, there's no way this could be your fault." He reached over to take her free hand and held it in between his own hands.
"Are you sure?" She asked. "Look at how well things worked out for them with Chad. He got the way he was because…"
Jay cut her off. "Because he wouldn't let go of the past like you did and now he's become the very thing he despised and possibly even worse than some of those who were exiled to the isle." He responded firmly. "It was his decision to hit you, it was his decision to beat you for those powers, and it was his decision to become obsessed with you. You didn't facilitate any of that. That is on him Audrey, not you."
Audrey frowned a little but Jay could see in her eyes that she had to admit Jay was right about everything he said. "Furthermore, I think they had to have planted Gregory here a while ago, probably long before any of us isle brats showed up."
Now she did laugh. "Isle brats, huh?" She asked with a flirtatious smile. "If you had admitted that the first day maybe we wouldn't be here right now."
Jay laughed too. "Or maybe would be." He countered as he leaned in toward her. "Looks to be like you like brats. Maybe because it takes one to know one."
Audrey leaned in and brushed her lips against his. "Maybe I do, maybe I don't." She said softly through her flirtatious smile. They stayed that way and held hands for a minute before Audrey cocked her head. "Wait, I have an idea. I want to run it by you first." She said. Jay nodded and she began to talk.
"This is the finest jewel that they've mind so far." Snow White said as she handed a small box to Evie. "I hope it helps you and your friends out."
"I hope so too." The blue haired girl said to her step-sister as she placed the small box into her purse. Behind her and to the right Jordan leaned against the wall looking at one of the books with half interest.
"Can you two stay a while?" Snow White asked them. "I can make us some tea or something."
Evie thought for a moment they should get back to the command center but knew that Jane wasn't going to be ready for the jewel until morning at least, Doug and Carlos were busy and that the rest of their friends were on impromptu dates or whatever. "I'd like that." She said. She looked to Jordan. "Is that okay with you?"
"You two go ahead." Jordan said. "If we're going to be here awhile I'll go outside and give my dad a call."
"Feel free to go upstairs where you'll be more comfortable." Snow White offered the genie girl.
Jordan thought a second and nodded. "Okay, thanks." She headed upstairs
Evie and Snow White headed to the small breakfast nook and the blue haired girl sat down as Snow White went into the kitchen and got some peanut butter cookies on a plate. She then asked, "Would you like some juice instead?"
"That sounds good." Evie replied. "Orange juice?"
"Of course." Snow White said and a few moments later brought out a pitcher of orange juice along with the cookies and two glasses. She then sat down across from her half-sister. "Is making a new power source your best option for this situation?" She inquired.
Evie had reached for a cookie and took a bite out of it and chewed slowly as she thought about it. After swallowing she replied, "All of our options are kind of risky. We're relying on finding someone we trust, which seems to be a small commodity right now, or relying on a sense of luck that seems to show up when we need it but not necessarily when we want it."
Snow White poured some juice for her and Evie, then set the pitcher down. "What about the zords you have now? If they don't attack until after they're ready, would that make a difference?" She asked now.
Evie didn't need to hesitate on this one. She had helped Doug with the math herself. "The only way we stand a chance against the warzord is with the Auradon Champion Defender Megazord, and only in a one on one fight." She answered. "No Reviveslime, no Jabberwock, no other monsters helping them." She reached for her glass of juice. "The Auradon Falcon Battlezord can serve as a distraction if needed against one but after that we have a problem there too."
"And you have no way to combine your two highest zord combinations?" Snow White asked and her younger step-sister shook her head softly.
Only a few minutes had passed before her iPhone buzzed. She looked at it and rolled her eyes a bit. "Speaking of not having the time to wait." She murmured. She looked at Snow White. "Jordan and I have to go. Reviveslime, Chad, Gregory and Jabberwock have appeared in front of the school." She explained as she stood up. She heard Jordan coming down the stairs too. "We're doing what we can to make sure they don't get too far or hurt anyone." She and her step-sister exchanged hugs.
"Be careful." Snow White said to her.
"Time to go Evie." Jordan said softly and the blue haired girl nodded, both of them waving good bye again before they left.
Ally and Aziz were the first ones to show up as they had stayed on campus. With them was Carlos and Jane. They expected Will, Lonnie, Audrey and Jay to be along shortly. It would be their other four team mates that was a bit more of a question.
"A little short aren't we?" Chad asked them condescendingly.
"Like you should talk." Aziz replied with a glare. "You don't even have any powers."
"Oh, about that." He said nonchalantly as he drew his new sword, Maledict's blade.
"Um, that looks worse than the sword he originally had." Carlos noted uneasily. "I don't suppose it's all about looks."
"Don't count on it." Jane advised him.
"As Mal would say, let's get to work." Aziz said. He, Ally and Carlos pulled out their iPhones and transformed as Jane used the magic wand to transform herself.
Gregory pulled out his iPhone and transformed into the gray ranger. Chad combined his sword with the shield. "Where is my friend anyway?" Gregory asked him. "I thought he might be interested in this reunion."
"He's probably out with that evil little girl of his." Chad said derisively. "We should have gone to that enchanted lake first."
Jabberwock unleashed a stream of flame at the four of them and they all rolled to the side. That was what they needed though as Jabberwock slammed into Ally hard, pinning her against the wall.
Chad brought his new blade down on Carlos hard, sending him sprawling and barely avoiding hitting the wall himself.
Gregory swung his axe at Aziz. He barely was able to block it with his spiral spear. The two started to clash.
Reviveslime attacked Jane with his sword. She dodged it but he brought the weapon up instantly and struck her hard.
From the gates the other four rangers showed up. Audrey felt a slight tremor at seeing Chad transformed and ready to fight again before she forced the reaction down. They had to help their friends. The four of them pulled out their iPhones and transformed.
"Will, I bet you'd like a shot at Gregory." Audrey said. He nodded. "Just like Jay would like a shot at Chad I'm sure." She could imagine her boyfriend with a wicked grin on his face. She looked to Lonnie. "Give Ally a hand, I'll give Jane a hand." The three rangers nodded and went about their attack pattern.
Gregory barely heard Will coming and he raised his axe to block the green ranger from attacking with his curved blade. "Nice to see you as well old friend." Gregory said with a laugh.
"We're not friends." Will told him. "We never were."
Chad saw Audrey and wanted to turn to attack her but was intercepted by Jay. "Looks like you got a new blade." The black ranger noted. "Let's see if you remember how to use it." He slashed at him with the soul scimitar but Chad was able to block the attack.
Lonnie slashed Jabberwock with her hurricane tessen's. The attack did some damage but it was clear that despite the vorpal covering it was clear that Paradias and Maleficent had upgraded his armor. He swung at her and she barely rolled out of the way toward Carlos. "Are you okay?" She asked him.
"That wasn't the most fun landing." Carlos noted. "But I'm alright."
Audrey was behind Reviveslime and she brought the edged end of her elemental bow through the general, cutting from the head down to his lower back, or would have if he hadn't been a giant slime monster that reformed itself.
"Thanks Audrey." Jane said.
"Anytime." Audrey replied.
"It's always one thing or another with you rainbow clad fools isn't it?" Reviveslime noted with amusement. "I suppose one has to give you credit for persistence." He then leapt back onto the wall. He was followed moments later by Jabberwock, causing Lonnie to almost lose her balance as she had aimed a strike at him. Then the two monster generals combined sword and metal wing to unleash a stream of energy at the rangers as Chad and Gregory rolled out of the way of the attack.
Audrey barely had time to catch her breath before Chad's foot was on her chest, digging in deeply. "I believe I promised you a few things my dear." He said as he placed his sword below her throat. She could feel the evil radiating from the sword. "First, this is going to have to come off though, so I can see your pretty little face."
"Not today Chad." He heard, looking up in just enough time to be sent flying back from a magical burst of energy from Mal. Standing beside her was Ben, who had just formed his own sword and shield. She then had her own iPhone out.
Gregory heard noise from behind him and turned to see Evie and Jordan emerge from the forests on the other side of them now. They both had their iPhone's out as well. The last four members of the team transformed.
Will lashed his foot out and tripped Gregory. He rolled up instantly beside Chad but now they were surrounded, from the purple ranger and the Auradon Knight on one edge. In between them were the red ranger and the white ranger, the black ranger and the silver ranger, the pink ranger and the crystal ranger, the green ranger and the yellow ranger, and the blue ranger and the gold ranger.
"Give us back those powers, now." Mal demanded of Gregory. In truth she was sure it had no chance of working but she had to try, they did have the numbers advantage after all.
"You think you have the advantage over me Mal, how pathetic." Gregory said. They couldn't see it but he was wearing a dismissive sneer on his face. "But you don't. Not so long as I possess this."
As if on cue a crash was heard from behind them and they turned to see the warzord. They were sure that Marcellus had to be inside of it, and they were equally sure he wasn't alone. The warzord unleashed a flurry of rockets from either side of its shoulders and sent them all flying.
"Maybe I shouldn't have said that." Mal said dryly.
"You think?" Audrey questioned rhetorically a bit sassily. Evie was sure the two girls were shooting each other slightly challenging looks that would none the less be forgotten in a few seconds when something more pressing happened.
"We better come up with something lightning quick here." Jay said to them. "Or else the next blast will finish us all off."
"You're out of time rangers." Reviveslime gloated. "Your time has come."
This time the warzord let the blades form in place of its hands and then unleashed a stream of energy toward them.
Evie stood up and placed herself in front of her friends, raising her mirror force shield.
"What…is she crazy?" Aziz wondered.
"I can't imagine that she could use a zord's own power against it." Ally agreed. She knew that was how it worked in principle but an average size monster was one thing, a large object was another entirely.
But when the stream of energy was near the blue haired blue ranger raised her mirror force shield and tried to collect as much energy to deflect as possible. She already felt herself losing ground against the overwhelming power. Then the shield seemed to reflect the energy all on its own and there was a blinding flash of light and a huge explosion.
Mal felt the wind brush against her face and she realized that she had been forced to power down. All of her friends had. But she saw that Chad and Gregory had as well.
"Stupid girl." Gregory spat out. "What did she do?"
"What's going on with the warzord?" Reviveslime demanded.
They couldn't hear the response, but could guess well enough from the scowl on the slime general's face. "Then get it out of here while you still can Marcellus." He ordered.
"I'd guess that the main power was depleted, overwhelmed like all of our powers were by the blast." Jane said to Mal from beside her. "The warzord's auxiliary power kicked in but if they want to keep the thing they had to use that to retreat it back to where they have it to recharge it."
"That buys us a day at least." Carlos noted.
"It's only a delaying tactic rangers." Reviveslime vowed, and then the four of them vanished.
"Mal!" She heard Audrey call out in a panic. She turned to see why. Unlike the rest of the team that was getting up, Evie was not one of them. She was unconscious. The brunette princess had moved the blue haired girl's head onto her lap. "She's barely breathing."
"We have to get her to the command center." Jordan said as she used her magic to gently levitate the blue haired girl up. Together they made their way there.
"Please stop, too loud." Evie whispered as she opened her eyes to see Audrey and Mal on one side of her. On the other side was Carlos and Doug, the latter of whom was wiping a wet cloth against her forehead. She had them whispering. "What…"
"You're okay E." Mal said relieved as she leaned down and squeezed her hand gently. "You had us worried."
"It worked?" Evie asked softly, not having much of a voice.
"It did." Audrey said as she leaned across to the table and got a water bottle, opening it up and handing it to Doug to help her take a sip. "Jane said it short circuited all of our powers and drained the main power on the warzord."
"Well, good." Evie managed to say before taking a sip from the water bottle Doug offered her. She wondered why they had all been so worried.
"You've been out of it for almost three hours." Carlos revealed to her, making the blue haired girl almost choke on the water she had been drinking. "We were starting to wonder if you had been permanently damaged by taking the brunt of that attack."
"No way." Evie gasped.
"We can all confirm that sister." Jordan said as they all came over to see her.
"That was gutsy." Will said to her. "I'm glad you're okay."
"I am too." Evie saw that Fairy Godmother was there too. "Please don't do that again dear. We have to find less suicidal ways to handle these kinds of things."
Evie laughed a little. "I'll try not to." She promised. That had not been one of her more fun moments after all. She brightened a little and saw her purse on the table. "Lonnie, get in there and find the small wooden box. It has the gem Jane said we needed."
"Where do we stand on those 'don't let Evie do something like that again' options?" Mal asked as Lonnie did as their blue haired friend requested.
"Nothing on energy signatures for zords." Doug answered as he stroked Evie's arm gently and let her take another sip of water.
"With that gem I can try to make a new power but it's still up in the air as to how well it'll work." Jane told her.
"We also have the candidate problem." Jordan added. "I'm not sure exactly who we could try to trust."
"Audrey had a pretty good idea actually." Jay said to them. "Something she brought up to me at dinner."
Mal and Lonnie couldn't help but exchange glances. They were each thinking they had to find the time to harass their friend about how that date with Jay went. "What idea did you have Audrey?" The Asian princess asked.
"Think about this a second guys." Audrey said. "Where did we get all of our extra powers from?"
"Simple." Carlos said off handedly. "Jordan, Aziz and Ally got theirs from Wonderland. Will got his from Agrabah, along with the gray ranger powers." He didn't want to note that Gregory had gotten those powers back when they thought he was on their side.
"Precisely." Audrey said with a wink. "I think that means if we want to get new rangers for the team, we're going to have to look outside of Auradon."
"That makes a lot of sense actually." Ally agreed. "There are plenty of other cities around here that we could go look into."
"But how do we know that all of these cities would have ranger powers?" Aziz wondered. "I mean, it seems like we could be looking at a needle in a haystack situation here."
"We did already find two needles, sort to speak." Evie pointed out.
"True." Carlos agreed. "But with that in mind what are the odds that we can find another one so easily?"
"We can't even scan for them." Jane added as Lonnie took out the gem and handed it to her. "They don't seem to register that way." She looked to Fairy Godmother. "What do you think mom?" She inquired.
Fairy Godmother frowned a bit as she considered it. "Audrey has a point, at least in theory. In practice I can't say where else we would look to find such powers." She replied. "None the less I'll look at some of the records and find some likely candidates."
"We don't have the time to wait on that." Mal replied gently but firmly. "Jane, see if you can get that gem energized with power. We'll have to see about a holder once we know that works." The purple haired girl looked to Audrey. "That was some good thinking though, let's hope we survive the warzord thing long enough to implement it."
With Evie conscious, after a hand squeeze between the two, Doug went over to help Jane work on that. "Have to say, that was gutsy but very dangerous E." Mal said.
Evie laughed softly. "You would have done the same thing M." She replied.
"That's odd." Jane murmured.
"What?" Aziz asked her.
"I just tried to infuse the gem with the first energy stream I had on reserve, an aqua coloring." Jane revealed. "It refused to make the bonding."
"So?" Jay asked.
Audrey looked to him. "Remember what Jane said. The only reason it wouldn't allow that is if there is an aqua ranger out there somewhere already." She reminded him.
That gave them all pause as they considered what that meant. A ranger who hadn't shown up yet. They wondered if that meant they were evil like Gregory had been. Or if meant that it was hidden out there, as the other powers had been.
"Even zordless those rangers have proved to be more than annoying." Nerissa said. "How can we hope to combat them?"
"We may not have too." Maleficent said with a laugh. "I have a new spell that will make it so those rangers never even existed." She looked to Chad. "Prepare to return to Auradon Prep, Chad Charming. It's time to change the course of history."