6-year-old Jayden Shiba wandered through his house, searching for something to do. It was his day free from his studies and he couldn't find anything to occupy the time. Looking outside, he saw his father training with the power rangers and his older sister, Lauren, practicing her kanji. Hearing someone approaching, he turned around to find his mother.
"Mom!" He greeted her with a hug. She laughing and hug him back. She wore a wool shawl to protect her from the chilly Fall breeze.
"How would my brave little samurai feel about going on a walk?" she asked. He nodded happily and ran off to get a jacket.
A few minutes later, they were walking along a forest path, Jayden stomping on fallen leaves while his mother watched him play.
"Look at what I found!" Jayden cheered, holding up a leaf that resembled a mooger's head. "It looks like the monsters dad fights!"
"You're right," she replied. Glancing at her son, she took the leaf and held it up in front of her face. "Booga Booga Booga, I'm an evil mooger. I'm going to get you!" Jayden screeched in laughter and ran off. His mother chased him until they reached a clearing. Both froze as they saw a group of moogers and a short, squid like nighlok turn to look at them.
"Oh ah oh, who are you?" The short nighlok screeched. "It doesn't matter, get them!" The moogers attacked, but Jayden's mother moved in front of her son and pulled out a katana. Countering one of the mooger's blows, she shouted for Jayden to run. Nodding, Jayden ran into the forest. He heard the nighlok's voice command "Don't let him get away!"
Twigs snapped underneath his little 6 year old feet. Knowing he couldn't out run the monsters, he quickly hid under a bush nearby. The sound of feet quickly approach until he could see the moogers feet. He heard them growl and talking to each other in another language.
He saw a pair of feet approach his spot, but before it could do anything, a sword sliced the air. The moogers gave out cries of surprise before they were destroyed. Gasps of breathes other than his own filled the air. He saw pair of white feet and the nighlock's feet close by.
"Oooh, how dare you attack us for that woman! Oh ah oh! You'll pay for it!" The nighlok screeched before disappearing in a glow of red light. The white feet gave out a grunt of annoyance before turning to his position.
"I know you're there, I promise not to harm you," a man's voice came out. Cautiously, Jayden crawled out to see purple flames surround the creature with white feet. When they died down, a human man stood in its place. The man smirked at him. "Your mother sent me to get you home."
"Where is she?" Jayden looked up at the man as he stood up. The man's smirk turned into a frown. After thinking of a good response, he answered.
"She was tired after all that fighting, so she went to sleep in meadow, someone can get her later, first we need to get you home," The man then looked around. Looking at Jayden, the man asked "Which direction do we go?"
"That way," Jayden pointed in the direction of his house. Deciding to show the way, he took the man's hand in his own and began to walk home. As they reached the half way point of their journey, they saw Jayden's father and his team running in their direction. Jayden immediately broke his grip on the man hand and ran towards his father. "Daddy!"
"Son!" his father ran over and embraced him. "Where's your mother?"
"She's sleeping in the meadow, this man told me so," Jayden replied, pointing to the man in white. Jayden father looked over at him. "Daddy! Daddy! This man took down this group of moogers before scaring off this ugly looking nighlok away!" Jayden smiled with glee. "He saved me from them and was taking me home!"
"Was he now?" his Auntie Rose, the yellow ranger, replied with a smile. Jayden nodded quickly.
"Your wife asked me to," the man in white stated. Jayden's father frowned before nodding. "You should get her, one of the moogers got a luckily shot before she finished them off. She's back in the meadow."
"I see, thank you very much," Jayden's father nodded to the man before turning to his son. "Jayden, how about you and this man here head home. We'll get go your mother."
"Ok! Come on mister, we're almost there," Jayden took the man's hand and began to walk home once more.
The sun was slowly setting when the pair had the home in their sights. As they neared the gates to the house, the man tensed. He trailed his eyes from the entrance to the sky, seeing different symbols create a dome over the estate. Jayden noticed the man's look.
"They're to keep the bad monsters out and protect us from their evil powers," he whispered with a note of seriousness in his voice. "Only humans and good things can past through."
"I see," the man replied with caution in his voice. As they pasted through the gates, the man's step slowed before returned to its normal pace. Jayden glanced up to see the man appearing troubled. Before he could voice his curiosity, his caretaker, Ji, rushed from the entrance of the house. He knelt before the boy and hugged him close.
"Jayden, take goodness you're alright. Your father and the others just ran off to find you and your mother the moment the alarm went off. Where is she?" Pulling away, he looked to the entrance gate and then to the man next to them. Ji quickly stood and pulled Jayden behind him. "Who are you?" The man opened his mouth to reply, but the young boy beat him to it.
"He's an ally, Ji. Mom sent him to protect me from the moogers. She's in the meadow taking a nap. Don't worry though, dad's going to get her," he answered, rushed to stand in between the two adults.
"You don't say?" Ji stared questioningly at the man before looking down at the child. Jayden quickly nodded his head in return. "Why don't we head inside, then, and get cleaned up while they're gone. I'm sure you're tired from today's events, so how about a nap afterwards while we wait for your parents to return." He gave the boy a smile as Jayden quickly nodded. The trio headed inside just as the last light of the sun gave awya darkness.
Jayden awoke to the sound of a tea kettle whistling down the hall from his room. The clock by his bed told him that some time had pasted he fell asleep. Carefully slipping out of his bed, he creeped silently down the hall towards the sound of chatter coming from the meeting room. Peeking around the corner, he saw that his father and the others had returned and were talking to the man with frowns on all of their faces.
"So you were just talking a walk in the woods, when you heard shouts coming from the clearing," his Uncle Nicholas, the blue ranger, questioned. The man nodded.
"Which lead you to discover the fight between Jayden's mother and the moogers," Aunt Mako continued.
"And when she finished off the group she was facing, she then noticed you," Uncle Miguel, the green ranger, picked up where Aunt Mako stopped. The man lowered his eyes and nodded without a word.
"Which gave a Mooger who had been hidden beforehand a chance to a get quick hit on her," Aunt Rose said in a soft voice, her eyes were filled with saddness.
"One hit was all they needed," the man stated with venom in his voice. With a sigh, he raised his glance and let his eyes begin to wander. "I realize now that had I been faster, had not stopped to watch what was happening, I probably could had maybe been able to save her," his eyes came to rest on the sight of Jayden peeked from hall. Not giving away the presence of the young boy, the man spoke once more, "and for that, I am sorry."
Deciding he had heard enough, Jayden had turned and ran as quietly as he could back to his room, where he slipped into his bed. He knew fully well what the conversation had revealed. His mother isn't coming back from that meadow. And with that knowledge, the young boy fell asleep with silent tears flowing down his face.