A/N: Having seen the majority of "Trickster Treat" (I've only seen clips, not the whole ep), I have to say that I was not overly impressed. It also presented something of a conundrum for me, since I've already done a storyline with the Rangers being trapped in movies (Movie Madness). So, basically, I'm taking the script out back...and shooting it! This is going to be my own version of things to kill some time until the episodes come back to continuity. Hope you enjoy it.
Legal: I do not own Power Rangers or the associated names, places, events etc. Anything not covered by the above rights should be presumed to be purely the creation of the author.
Rating: T – may be some mild adult themes.
The weekend came around, and for the first time in a long time, the residents of the Shiba House had very good reason to be cheerful. Serrator, the Nighlock that had plagued them now for almost a year, and been the closest to bringing the entire world to its knees, had been destroyed. They had already checked, and not only had the geysers stopped, but the stress line they created had become stronger, like the Earth itself was healing itself. With Xandred still at the bottom of the Sanzu, it seemed like for the time being at least, they would have the ability to rest up and get over their greatest battle to date.
There were a few niggling injuries, but with Octoroo's distaste for direct action, they all had time to recuperate. For once, they could actually rest, and exercise in peace to heal properly. The fact was that after two years, with very little rest, aches and pains were pretty constant companions for the Rangers. It was rare that they were ever at 100 percent, generally 85 and above was considered a good day, 60 and up, often just a fact of life. In short, after a few days of being able to do things right for their recovery, and not have to cut corners or push things too early out of necessity, everyone was feeling pretty good.
Emily was in the sitting room, rummaging through a couple of boxes. One of the things that the reprieve offered by Serrator's destruction would give them was that they could prepare for Halloween. Emily had always loved Halloween, with the possible exception of the previous year when she had been so busy that she had forgotten to get a costume until the last minute, and ended up with the embarrassing pink bunny outfit. She still occasionally got a few comments about it when the team had too much time on their hands and started teasing each other to pass time. This time though, she had ordered her costume over a month ahead of time with the others, and so this year, there would be no repeat of the bunny incident.
Mike came into the Living Room, finding her looking through the boxes, and chuckled. He snuck up behind his fiancée, seeing that she hadn't noticed him yet.
"They're all still there!" He called out, causing her to scream and jump backwards into him. She looked around at him in alarm. "You keep checking on it, but no one's tampered with the decorations."
"Mike, don't DO THAT!" She shrieked, smacking him in the chest. "You know I hate that!"
"But you love Halloween?" He asked in response, taking amusement in Emily's fright. She just crossed her arms and sulked.
"I like the candy and the costumes." She grumbled. "But scaring people like that is just mean!"
"Well, tell you what. How about I make it up to you?" He asked her. He pulled out a couple of cinema tickets. "There's a great film in the cinema tonight. Nothing scary, I promise."
"I guess I can forgive you." She giggled, leaning over and kissing him. Serena, Terry, Kevin and Mia came into the room from the dojo, having heard the scream, coming to see what the noise was about. Seeing Emily and Mike in each other's arms, they all just groaned and looked away.
"Oh God, I should have known." Serena muttered. "Emily, you scared the life out of us!"
"Oh, sorry about that." Emily giggled. "Mike just played a mean trick, but we're heading to the cinema tonight, so it's alright."
"You know, they have a seriously weird relationship." Kevin stated as they all left in disbelief. "They can go from scaring the crap out of each other to hot and heavy in a heartbeat."
"Yeah, but not too hot and heavy I hope." Serena answered, shaking her head. "I'm not ready to be an aunt just yet."
"Still, the idea of going out for the night does sound like a pretty good plan." Kevin said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. "So, how about we make some plans of our own? It's been a while since we had a chance to date."
"That sounds pretty good handsome." Mia agreed, holding him tightly. "Ji and Brenda recommended a Chinese place; I'll just go and ask them where it is."
"They were out in the yard with Antonio and Jayden the last time I saw them." Terry informed them, at which they went to go and get the location of the restaurant. Terry just looked to Serena.
"You know, you've been working pretty hard with Kasamune." He told her. "There's no reason we should be the only ones left at home."
"What did you have in mind?" Serena asked him.
"Well, I've spent months here, but I've never actually been in that awesome amusement park." He told her. "I think now's about time."
"Well, they do have a few new attractions for Halloween." She recalled, coming over to him. "Let me just get my jacket."
As she left, Terry waited until she was in her room, before punching the air in excitement. He loved his time with Serena, but so far it had all been either helping her with her injuries, or helping her train with Kasamune. He was finally getting to spend some time with her outside of the Samurai thing. Heading into his room to gather his things, he couldn't help grinning.
Out in the yard, Ji watched as Jayden and Antonio trained on the sparring mats. Brenda was with him for support. He had something to tell Jayden, something he was sure would change everything. Up until now, they had Serrator to deal with, but now that threat had subsided, he knew that he had to give him the news.
As they watched, they could see that Jayden was a lot happier than he had been in quite some time. He smiled as Antonio helped him to his feet after scoring another point. Brenda knew that Ji was always reluctant to put more pressure on Jayden. He had grown up with the burden of leading the team, of taking up his fathers' war since he was a child. Ji had always tried to take as much of the burden as he could, to make Jayden's life easier, but there was only so much he could do. He jumped as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He saw Mia and Kevin standing over him.
"Um...we were just heading out for the night." Mia told him, seeing that Ji was decidedly jumpier than normal.
"Yeah, Mia remembered you and Brenda recommended a Chinese place." Kevin added. "We just couldn't remember which one."
"It was the Mandarin Dream." Brenda recalled. "It's on Evergreen."
"Is everything alright?" Mia asked. "You both seem kind of...jittery."
"Um...we just have something on our minds." Brenda assured them. "It's fine really."
"Are you sure?" Kevin asked. "We can always stay..."
"No, Brenda is quite right. It'll be fine." Ji interrupted him, seeing the others also heading out. Realising that the house would be empty apart from Antonio, he figured it would give him the privacy he needed to speak to Jayden.
"Order the tangerine chicken." Brenda recommended as they started to turn away reluctantly, still looking concerned. "It's fantastic."
"Um...alright." Kevin finally said. "Just call us if you need us."
As they left, Brenda just looked to Ji, holding his hand in a comforting gesture. Jayden and Antonio were just finishing up with their training, which meant he couldn't afford to put it off any longer. Taking a deep breath, he got up, heading for Jayden.
"Hey Ji." Jayden greeted him. "Where are the others going?"
"They're taking some personal time for the evening." He informed him. "Jayden, there's something important I need to discuss with you. It is...private, family business. Antonio, would you mind...?"
"Family business?" Antonio asked him. "Is this about...your secret?" Ji just sighed in response.
"I...I told him a while back." Jayden stated. "I'm sorry Ji, but I..."
"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you did." Ji said in a tone of resignation. He wasn't really angry at Jayden; he had no right to be all things considered. He had told Brenda. "Yes, it is regarding the secret. I have news that may change everything. I have told Brenda, so everyone here knows. Does anyone else...?"
"Antonio's the only one I told." Jayden assured him. "In this dimension anyway. Scott knows, but he hasn't told anyone. So, unless..."
"We're the only others that know." Brenda interjected.
"Then, perhaps we should move somewhere quieter to discuss this matter." Ji suggested, gesturing inside. They followed him to his study, knowing that whatever he had to say obviously had to be important.
At the cinema, Spike was pacing nervously, waiting for Vicky to arrive. He still couldn't believe his luck that she had actually asked him out. He had been desperately trying to pluck up the courage to do the same thing ever since he found out that she and Cody had called it a day.
He had been unable to think about anything else since it had happened. He had spent the whole of the previous night looking through his wardrobe for something to wear. He had tried on and rejected almost everything he owned, desperate to find something that would be suitable for the occasion. In the end, he had ended up going out to buy something. He had wanted this for so long; he was desperate to make sure the first date was perfect.
He was wearing a pale blue Ben Sherman shirt, with black pants, and black leather shoes. It wasn't really his usual style, but he wanted everything to be just right. He had arrived at the theatre early, almost an hour early, just to make sure he could book the premium seats for their movie. Now though, he had been waiting for so long, he was just making himself more and more nervous.
As he checked his watch again, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and almost jumped six feet in the air, shrieking loudly. As he turned around, he saw Emily and Mike behind him.
"Hey Spike." Emily greeted him. "You look...different. I wasn't sure it was you for a minute."
"Yeah, I got a new outfit." Spike answered nervously, looking around frantically.
"Well, it kind of suits you." Emily replied. "So, are you here to see a film? Let me guess, you're here for the horror special..."
"Not quite." Spike answered. "With all the monsters running around the city all the time, I kind of lost my taste for the whole genre."
"Well, Serena told me about what happened at the school." Emily told him with a smile. It had been some time since she had seen Spike. This was the first time since the raid that she had been able to catch up with him. "She was really proud, you did a great job!"
"I'll say you did, you're a hero dude!" Mike called out, slapping him on the back.
"I'm alright I guess." Spike said, a little embarrassed by all the praise. "I just wish Mal hadn't gotten hurt."
"Well, from what I heard, a lot more people would have been a lot worse off if it wasn't for you." Mike added. "So, what are you going to see anyway?"
Spike just pointed to a poster. Emily grinned brightly.
"That's what we're here to see!" She called out. "That's such a coincidence! Say, maybe we can get seats tog..."
A hand was clamped across her mouth, and Mike just pulled her away.
"Hey look, there's that game I was telling you about." Mike informed her, pulling her away. "We've got time before the movie for a quick game. Enjoy the movie Spike!"
He took Emily inside, before releasing her. Emily just glared at him.
"Mike!" She protested. "What was that about? I was just..."
"Emily, this isn't the kind of movie sixteen year old boys normally go to alone." Mike reminded her. "I'll bet he's already got his tickets."
"But he could always exchange..." Her words tailed off as she suddenly caught on to what he was saying. "Wait, you mean...?" Mike just nodded. He gestured back to him, at which Emily just leaned around the corner, taking another look.
She was just in time to see Vicky arriving. It was clear she had put a lot of effort into her outfit, and she had done something different with her hair. It wasn't as bushy as normal; looking like it had been straightened. She approached Spike, smiling nervously.
"Hey." She greeted him. "Um...you look nice."
"Yeah, you too." Spike rushed out. He stood before her for a long moment, trying to gauge what he was supposed to do, before finally showing her the tickets. "I got us some premier seats."
"That's great." She answered. "So...should we go and get some snacks or something?"
"I guess so." Spike stammered. He offered her a hand, which she took slowly, before heading inside. Emily pulled back, joining Mike by a video game, pretending she was playing.
"Well?" Mike asked with a smirk of satisfaction on his face. Emily grinned brightly and nodded her head.
"You were right." She answered. "I guess he could do without a couple of gooseberries."
"Well, I say we get to the concession stand." Mike told her. "I feel like nachos."
"That sounds perfect." Emily agreed, going with him.
Meanwhile, in the Netherworld, Octoroo was not using his time to relax. He knew that with Serrator gone, and Xandred out of action, the two most powerful remaining Nighlock were out of the war. Well, Dekker and Dayu were still around somewhere, but Dekker didn't care about the war anyway, and Dayu only concerned herself with pining over him, so he knew that they were not going to help him.
With the most powerful Nighlock out of the way, he knew that the way was largely clear for the Rangers to work on the seal, and end the war once and for all. His spying meant that he knew a lot more of their secrets than he had been willing to divulge to others, and knew that it would take them some time to arrange what they needed to; he knew that it was a matter of time, something he needed to buy.
Although he was glad to see Serrator gone, genuinely enjoying watching the Rangers destroy him once and for all, a part of him cursed him for being defeated. He was a distraction, something that would take a lot of the Rangers' attention. Now, he needed to give them something else to think about.
His only comfort was the thought that Serrator had double-crossed so many, that he would probably be the only resident of The Dark Zone that wouldn't be having a good time soon. The Feast of the Fallen, the legendary celebration enjoyed by all fallen Nighlock was only days away. He smiled as he imagined how many of those would have grudges against Serrator, and how many times he would be killed, only to return and be killed again since he was no longer a living Nighlock. The thought of his suffering was amusing to Octoroo.
It was then that he came across another thought. The humans had a similar celebration on the same night. It was called...what was it...Halloween? Although, instead of their fallen coming together to celebrate their battles, the mortals marked the occasion by dressing up in silly costumes and going to complete strangers' houses to demand candy and money under the threat of playing practical jokes on them if they didn't. While he appreciated the extortion, he didn't quite understand why it was only one night of the year the humans did this, and considered it acceptable behaviour.
He smirked as he got a plan in his mind. He summoned a flying Mooger, who knelt before him, awaiting instruction.
"I want you to find Trickster." He instructed the creature. "Find him, and bring him here. Tell him that I have an important mission for him, and I will make it worth his time."
The Mooger nodded, before flying out of the window. Octoroo meanwhile turned his attention back to his workbench, where he was working on the rest of his plans for the near future.
"I don't need long." He said to himself. "Soon, the Rangers won't know what way to turn."