Audrey woke up with a scream of fright and glanced around her room fearfully. At first it seemed blurry but then she realized it was from the tears building in her eyes. She knew why too but she wiped them away in frustration.
There was a knock on the door and she got and looked outside. She was surprised to find Evie there. "Hi, what are you doing here?" She asked the blue haired girl.
"I was getting some water and I heard something from your room." Evie explained to her as she held up the small bottle of water. "Is everything okay?" She asked.
Audrey shook her head a bit. "It was just a nightmare." She answered.
"Did you want to talk about it?" Evie asked her. "I heard it helps…from someone who wasn't my mom." She added with a small disarming smile.
Audrey gave her a small one in return. "I don't want to keep you awake. We have classes tomorrow." She replied.
"It's alright." Evie said. "I don't mind."
Audrey hesitated a moment. Then she asked, "Do you really think we'll get to classes tomorrow?" She asked as she stepped to the side so Evie could come in. "I mean every time we turn around it's one crisis after another, and we have a few still on the horizon."
"Pending any problems, yeah I think so." Evie said and laughed as she sat one of the chairs. It was very comfortable. She set her water bottle on the table. "Poor Amy still hasn't taken the exam to get out of remedial goodness 101." She remarked with a smile.
Audrey sat across from her, her legs curled under her. "She might shoot me if I said this to her, but after working with her I can safely say that exam has got to be just a formality." She replied. "Even most of us here in Auradon don't always act that polite."
"Don't I know it." Evie said with a small wry grin. The two laughed again, both finding it odd that in a roundabout way they could joke about their early adversarial days in Auradon. It showed just how much things have changed. "So want to tell me what woke you up?" She asked more somberly.
Audrey hesitated again and then said quietly, "I…I think I'm losing my mind."
Evie found that very hard to believe, not after everything the entire group had been through. "There's no way Audrey. Why would you even think that?" She inquired.
"For like a week now I've been hearing Chad's voice, calling me in my sleep." Audrey revealed to her softly. "It's been kind of scary, but then yesterday afternoon…I was getting ready for our dinner with the samurai rangers and I looked in the mirror and thought I saw Chad there but when I turned no one was there."
"He's been playing mind games with you for over a month." Evie reminded her gently, placing one of her hands on Audrey's. "He's been trying to get into your head and it's only natural that as much pressure as he's putting on you that you would start to feel paranoid about him."
"Jay knows about the voice thing." Audrey told her. "I heard the voice once and left my room, it was the night we all stayed in Ben's castle." She looked into the darkness as sighed a bit. "But he doesn't know that I thought I saw him last night, and…" She drifted off.
"And what?" Evie prodded gently.
"What woke me, just now…" She said. "The most proof I have that I'm losing my mind. I woke up because I swore I felt someone touching me." She shuddered after she said it making Evie think it wasn't a friendly touch.
"We have to tell the others." Evie said to her. "If this isn't just your imagination running away with you then we need to determine what it is before something worse happens."
"No." Audrey said. "Not yet. I don't want to panic anyone if I don't have too."
"But Audrey…" Evie started.
"Listen, E…Evie." The brunette princess started and had to stop herself from using the same nickname that she had heard Mal used with the blue haired girl countless times. "We both know from previous experiences that if Chad had been here…been touching me, that me waking up wouldn't have stopped him. It was all in my head."
Evie bit her lip a moment in doubt but made a decision. "Okay, look. Here's the deal. I will keep this from the others, but if this happens again you have to continue to keep me informed about this. If it's getting worse we'll reevaluate it then." She stated and squeezed her hand again. "We all care about you Audrey, and we want to help you."
"Alright, deal." Audrey agreed. "And if I tell anyone else, I'll let you know too."
Evie patted her hand softly and then got up with her water. "I'll see you later today." She said and took headed toward the door. "Remember, if it happens again text me." With that she reluctantly slipped out. After leaving Audrey's room Evie bit her lip, hoping she did the right thing.
At the first hint of sunrise Amy slipped out of bed to grab a quick shower. After that she found what she was waiting for. She left a note for Mal saying she would see her at breakfast and left her room. Then she met Melody outside. "So let's do it." She said happily.
"Right." Melody agreed with a smile. The two headed past the gymnasium and to the pool area. Melody knew she shouldn't do it but she used the trident to give her and Amy a small layer over their bodies that would protect them from getting their school clothes wet while they went for their early morning swim.
"It's not quite as fun as swimming in the ocean, but we have to take what we can get." Amy said happily as she ran dived into the pool with a loud splash.
Melody laughed and dived in after her. Amy rose to the surface and Melody rose a moment later. The two spent a moment splashing each other with water but after that settled down and swam to one of the edges.
"Any problems with the deep end?" Melody asked Amy.
Amy shook her head, her rose colored hair splashing water droplets as she did so. "Not anymore." She answered. "When Mal and I were almost twelve there was this lake we were starting to swim at. I made a mistake and almost drowned but Mal was there to save me." She told her. "After that I made sure I was ready for all the depths."
Melody smiled. "Your sister is definitely cool." She noted. "Makes me wish I had one. It's odd when you think about it too since my mom is the youngest of seven." She shrugged a bit. "Anyway, let's race. Here and back, first to touch this," She patted the wall they were leaning against. "Wins."
"You're on." Amy said. "Might be unfair to me since you part mermaid." She added and they both laughed. "But you're on." And with that the girls started their swim race.
Mal waved as her sister and Melody came joined them for breakfast an hour later. "Even if you hadn't left me a note I would have known where you went anyway." The purple haired girl remarked to her twin as she picked up a strawberry. "I can smell the chlorine from the pool."
"If any of the staff caught you in there without a lifeguard you would probably get in big trouble." Ben offered mildly as he scooped up some hash browns into a plate. He personally thought they could take care of themselves after all the ranger things they'd done.
Alex held up a plate that had some toast, a chocolate donut, a donut with pink frosting and sprinkles and bacon. "Hungry?" He asked Amy with a small smile.
"Starved, thank you." Amy said with a bright smile as she reached for the pink donut. She took a bite of the donut and then set it down. "Okay, let's do some quick review." She said to him. "I'll have to take my test today for remedial goodness 101."
"You'll do fine." Evie said and then laughed. "Just remember; you give a baby a bottle, don't curse it. You turn poison over to the authorities, not paint in on an apple. And you give a dog a bone, not take it to get skinned."
"Really?" Mal said with an amused look.
"Gee, maybe I should write this down." Amy joked deadpan.
"Oh, and remember that you do return lost items and you don't lure forest animals into a slaughterhouse." Carlos added with some laughter.
"But it's okay to take candy from strangers, right?" Amy asked innocently.
"Oh sure." Jay said with a smirk. "As long as it's not gummy based."
"Okay that's enough." Mal said between giggles. "I think we all know Amy has a better idea of these things than we ever did."
"Besides if mom knew that you were giving her answers she'd change the test." Jane added with a smile and wink at Amy, who laughed a little herself.
"You seem tired Audrey." Lonnie observed. "Are you okay?"
"I just didn't sleep very well." She answered her friend. She laid her head against Jay's shoulder and he kissed her head gently. He had no way of knowing he now only knew the half of it but Evie felt a bit of guilt about not letting him know what had changed.
Jay leaned and whispered, "The voice again?"
"Hm-mm." Audrey murmured softly. It almost looked like she was ready to fall asleep right then and there. Evie hadn't found any texts from Audrey that morning and could only assume that nothing else had happened last night. Evie figured that meant that Audrey had never really gone back to sleep last night, which she felt she could understand.
"You've been having sleeping problems a lot recently if I remember right." Jordan remarked with a slightly raised eyebrow. "Do you need me to try and whip something up to take care of that?"
For an instant Audrey thought about but brushed it off. She was sure nothing short of literal unconsciousness could erase these seeming nightmares. "I'll think about it and let you know." She said instead, seemingly trying to make herself wake up.
Amy looked up as she held a flame in front of Alex, where he was working to channel energy into her flame. "You could try some Pepsi or something , the caffeine might help." She suggested.
"Thanks for the idea Amy." Audrey said as she stretched a little. "I might just try that out."
They had finished breakfast quickly after that and started their school day.
The morning was the same as any other school day where an attack didn't come up. As everyone expected Amy passed the Remedial Goodness 101 exam with flying colors and hadn't needed the class. She had a few days though before she had to pick a class to replace it.
Magic class went well and Fairy Godmother complimented Alex on his progress and Amy in her teachings. He seemed pleased while Amy blushed. Fairy Godmother also complimented Ellie as she had gained more control without having a tutor like her cousin had. Elle chalked that up being the dame of ice.
Evie had reluctantly decided to try the class since she had again recently used her magic that time to help heal Audrey from a good shot from the bow using samurai, and had received a text from Jay saying that Audrey had fallen asleep during their research class. She seemed to sleep peacefully at least and it made Evie start to wonder if Audrey's 'delusions' were that after all. She wondered if somehow Chad was finding a non-spiritual way to stalk her. She couldn't say that to Jay though since he didn't know about the last two incidents.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully and they decided to spend some more time in the commons area. Audrey did seem to be more awake and Evie sat next to her. "Jay said you'd fallen asleep. Any problems?"
"None." Audrey answered simply. "Maybe it was because I wasn't alone." She mused.
"When was the last time you had a roommate?" Evie asked her.
"I've never had one." Audrey said. "Maybe it's time I got one then. Especially if it will keep these delusions away."
"Audrey, if your ability to sleep with others around proves anything to me, it's that these might not be delusions after all." Evie replied.
"You mean Chad has actually been calling to me? That he did touch me last night?" The brunette princess asked.
"Well, it's possible anyway." The blue haired girl replied. "Look, I get why you have your doubts. If Chad had been in your room last night, I don't know why he didn't just keep you quiet, but if it was all in your mind it wouldn't matter if you were alone or not."
Audrey frowned as she tried to process it all. It was very confusing and not for the first time she wished Chad would just go away and leave her alone. But that didn't seem like a possibility.
Fairy Godmother approached them with Doug by her side. Jane noticed that she seemed somewhat excited. "What's going on mom?" She asked her.
"We just detected zord signatures." She told the team. "We're going to have to send you all out to get it."
"Missed school again." Carlos said with a laugh.
"Missed school again?" Evie asked incredulously. She happened to love school after all.
"I guess that the ups and downs of the job." Mal said with a smile. She didn't hate school but she didn't have a problem with missing it either. "So where are we going for this zord anyway and what is it?"
"We're not entirely sure what it is." Doug said to them as he sat by Evie and took her hand with the idea it might make her feel better about missing school. "As to where it is, we're going to be taking a trip to your home Melody, your father's home I mean."
"When do we leave?" Melody asked.
"As soon as everyone is ready." Fairy Godmother said.
"We have to pack, but that should only take about thirty minutes." Mal said. Truth was since they had left Auradon Prep three times already very recently they already had stuff set aside in case it ever happened again.
"Well actually, all of us means all of us." Doug said.
"So you're coming with us too then." Evie surmised.
"Yeah." Doug said. "But I mean that we're not going alone."
Amy felt confused as she looked around. They were all present now. No one else had really been in the command center except for the power rangers, their mentor and Doug. "Are the earth rangers joining us?" She asked.
"No." Fairy Godmother replied. "What he means is that many of your parents will be coming with us for this." She explained.
They all exchanged looks of uncertainty. They loved their families of course but the idea of worrying about them that close to the combat zone was more pressure than they really felt comfortable with. "Why is that?" Ben asked in his most even tone.
"It must be some kind of diplomatic thing." Melody mused. "I told my mom about that Tyrant Neptune monster and she was going to tell granddad about it. Maybe trying to present a unified front here in Auradon over any further hostile actions."
"That's the gist of it." Fairy Godmother answered.
"But that doesn't make sense." Will said. "Ben is the king after all."
"He is also the Auradon Knight." Doug pointed out reasonably. "We need to present a united front without necessarily presenting a threatening front. Having the power rangers do that would count as such, but not the other royals."
Amy figured the meant Belle would be going. She was almost happy about that until she remembered that it put her in direct danger.
"Both of your parents will be coming with us." Fairy Godmother said to Ben and he nodded in resignation. She looked to Aziz. "Sultan Aladdin and Queen Jasmine will be joining us as representatives of Agrabah." Aziz found himself exchanging worried looks with Jay and Ally touched her boyfriend's hand gently. "Your mother will be coming with us Audrey." She then looked to Will. "Your mother will be joining us as well; Cinderella has agreed to let Whitney stay with their family for that time frame."
"It's too bad my mother is too far off." Miranda noted. "It would be nice to have her with your parents."
"I agree." Fairy Godmother replied. "That being said; Lonnie your mother will be going with us as well, Ellie your mother will come with us as well. Alex your mother will stay in Arendelle while her sister is here with us." She looked to Evie. "Snow White wishes to come with us as well. However she doesn't need to come for representation. She wants to leave the okay to you."
Evie looked startled. She didn't know what to say. The idea of her step-sister being in danger didn't sit well with her at all. But she to spend some time with her was appealing. She looked to Mal and Ben.
"Do what your heart tells you E." Mal said softly. She looked at Amy and thought about the time they had missed because of their mother's cruelty. But because of the Evil Queen's cruelty they had missed over a decade and a half of time.
"We already have to worry about protecting our families." Ben said to her reassuringly as he placed his hand over Mal's. "One more won't make a difference Evie."
"I'll call her and let her know I want her to come with us right now." Evie declared. She gently patted Audrey's hand and smiled at Ben and Mal. "Thanks Ben, M." With that she moved to the wall to call her step-sister.
Amy smiled happily as well and then leaned over to hug her own sister. Mal laughed a bit and hugged her back.
Evie didn't have to wait for more than one ring, she was sure Snow White had been waiting for her. "Hi." Evie said to her. "Fairy Godmother just told me about what was going on. I think it kind of sucks that I'm missing school again."
She heard Snow White laughing. "You have to be one of the few students I've ever seen who would say that." She replied. Then her voice turned softer. "So I'm guessing you want to try to talk me out of going with you guys."
"The thought had crossed my mind." Evie admitted as she leaned against the wall. "But I think it would be a losing battle and…I want you to come with us. We lost so much time, the idea of trying to make some of that up sounds really good."
"Are you sure?" She asked her younger step-sister seriously. "I don't want to make your job harder than it will likely already be."
"I'm sure." Evie promised her. "I want you to come with us. We'll keep all of you safe."
"Thank you." Snow White said softly. She had had the same worry about how much time the two step-sisters had lost. "I'll call Aurora and let her know. She said she would pick me up on her way."
"See you then." Evie said and then after a second she added, "I love you sis."
That seemed to take her off guard, at least judging by the moment of silence. "I love you too Evie." She replied. "I'll see you soon." With that she hung up. The blue haired girl came back to the table a little misty eyed.
"Are you okay?" Amy asked her.
"Yeah." Evie said. "I just…what you and Mal have had forever, I'm only just getting it now. It's kind of overwhelming sometimes." Both Amy and Mal smiled at her.
"Well that means we have a couple hours before we're going to be leaving then." Jordan said. "We better enjoy it while we can." She wondered where her parents were. She suspected they would have to stay in Agrabah.
"I guess that means we'll be traveling along the coast." Miranda noted. "At least the view should be pretty."
"It's too bad we won't actually be able to visit Atlantica." Amy noted wistfully. "It must be a beautiful city."
"Unfortunately most of the merpeople are skittish when it comes to the people who live on the surface." Melody noted with some dismay. "Some relations of course were established because of my mom but it's hardly an ideal diplomatic situation."
"How are they supposed to get in contact with these people that Tyrant Neptune came from then?" Audrey asked.
"I guess my granddad is going to help with that. Since most of the representatives aren't mermaids they'll have to come to the surface ultimately." Melody replied.
"Maybe it's me but it seems like an awfully big party for a diplomatic confrontation." Jay noted. "I mean I get having different representatives from different places but we have a lot of people from Auradon going."
"To impress the gravity of the situation I would think." Ben said to him. "I mean if that thing had gotten off the beach then it could have caused a lot of destruction."
"I still have to wonder if this diplomatic route will work." Mal voiced now. "I mean for whatever reason Undine has already seemed to strike some kind of deal with them, otherwise they wouldn't have sent their executioner to fight us."
"We still have to try." Lonnie reasoned. "The alternative is probably a sustained conflict and we're already having the problem with Paradias and Maleficent." She took a small breath. "One has to wonder how many conflicts we can possible be involved in before we fail."
"Let's not write any of us off just yet." Mal said. "We still have our allies and we still have each other. We've ultimately won every single conflict we've been involved in."
"Or at least survived it." Carlos added. "Anything that can be walked away from could easily count as a victory."
"Well I just hope this zord hunt goes better than the last one did." Ally said softly. "The last thing we need is for Paradias to have access to two of them."
"Alright children, get your things together." Fairy Godmother said. "We're hoping to reach Melody's place by nightfall. All of your parents and Snow White will be here anytime now." They got up to do just that.
"I'll come with you Audrey." Evie announced to the brunette princess. "Just in case you need an extra pair of hands grabbing all of your stuff." She smiled a small smile at her, indicating it was just really a cover to try to stop any random Chad appearances.
"Alright, if you want." Audrey said with a shrug. "Not the first time I had to manage my tons of clothing and accessories." She added with a smile, keeping up the front.
Jay looked to Mal. "Ever feel like you're missing something?" He asked. He could only assume that everything was okay with his girlfriend since she didn't tell him anything else.
"Sometimes." Mal agreed with a laugh. "Don't worry if it was anything big you know E would tell us."
By the time the team had gotten their stuff together they found that their families had indeed shown up. Belle embraced her son and the two girls. Audrey was happy to see her mother, somehow it was comfort through all of the stuff with Chad. Aladdin and Jasmine embraced their son and Ally, also saying a warm hello to Jay.
Cinderella had come by to pick up Whitney, allowing her to wish her mother and older brother a safe journey. Will only hoped it would be that easy. Mulan fell into easy conversation with Wendy, which was probably just as well since their children were dating.
Last to show up was Queen Elsa herself. She hugged her daughter and her nephew. "I see you took up powers of your own." She noted. "Perhaps a bit earlier than intended, but if it's helping you to gain the control that you need then so much the better."
"Amy has also been helping me to learn to use my power." Alex said as indicated the rose haired girl, making her blush a little. "She's a very good teacher." Ellie had to restrain herself from making any comments since they hadn't really figured out if there was more than friendship between the two.
"We should get going then." Adam announced as he clapped a hand on Ben's shoulder. "We have a good few hour journey ahead of us."
"Yeah, and then after that the real fun begins." Aladdin said with grim laughter.
Mal only hoped that the adults could handle the diplomatic contact because she was sure the zord retrieval wouldn't be nearly as easy as they were all hoping it would be.