A/N: As much as I loved the episode, this will be a pretty heavy re-imagining of "The Tengen Gate", interspersed with my own storylines. Hope you all enjoy it.

Legal: I do not own Power Rangers or the associated names, characters, places, events etc. Anything not covered by these rights should be presumed to be purely the creation of the author.

Rating: T

In the Netherworld, Master Xandred's junk rocked horrendously on the Sanzu river as lightning arced into it. Despite the Rangers' best efforts and many victories, the tears of humans had indeed caused the Sanzu River to rise, and by extension, for his power to grow. He was locked away in his cabin to absorb his new power.

"If the ship doesn't stop rocking like this, I'm going to be sick." Dayu drawled in a defeated sigh as she approached Octoroo.

"The time has come for Master Xandred to absorb his power." Octoroo stated. "We always knew this would be a hard time. Just as well he's locked away."

Despite popular opinion, Master Xandred did not command the loyalty of the Nighlocks, even though he was their 'lord'. He, like many before him, had assumed that mantle through power, cunning, fear and brutality. While he had been the Lord of the Nighlocks almost as far as the written history of the Samurai extended, the fact was he was lord through shedding the blood of the previous lord, as had been the way of the Nighlocks for as long as they had existed, he had earned the position by usurping his predecessor.

Octoroo was both terrified and excited by the latest developments. He was not without his own power, but the fact was as far as martial strength went, he was far from the most powerful of the Nighlocks. He had the position he had through cunning and political machinations.

He had a keen tactical mind, and always thought ahead of the game. He had been the tactical advisor to Xandred's predecessor, and survived the elimination of his court by switching sides when it became clear to him that Xandred was clearly going to end up the winner of that war. It wasn't that he wasn't ambitious and didn't have thoughts of ruling all worlds himself eventually, he simply knew that miring himself in bloodshed was not the way to accomplish it when far better warriors were out there. Better to let the butchers kill each other off and then claim the throne when those that were left were far too weak to stop him!

Of course, he also knew that meant other Nighlocks were thinking along the same lines. Knowing that Master Xandred was vulnerable while he absorbed his powers would likely bring the ambitious to the barge seeking to destroy him. Dayu just muttered something under her breath and went back to her chambers to rest, preferably until the storm was over. Octoroo heard a sound on the port side, and his fears were confirmed as he saw a Nighlock climb aboard.

"You?" He asked. "But...you were banished!"

"I should have been executed." The Nighlock replied. "I have business..."

"Master Xandred is too powerful!" Octoroo shot out, hoping to allay this with words. This arrival was an unforeseen element, something his plans could ill afford. "Even in his current state..."

"I do not intend to destroy him." The Nighlock replied. "But he can be sealed away. I need your help."

Octoroo inspected him thoughtfully. While unexpected, it presented him with an interesting opportunity. If this Nighlock truly did what he wanted, and sealed Master Xandred away for good, he could potentially advance his own agenda by centuries. Of course, if he failed, and Octoroo could ensure his proverbial fingerprints weren't on the scheme, then he would be rid of a powerful rogue element that could upset his plans at a later stage.

"Tell me what you have in mind." Octoroo told him. "I'm listening."

Over in the real world, Dekker was practicing on a secluded beach with Urumasa. It had taken him a long time to recover from the injuries he had suffered at Emily's hands, even despite his immortal state. Having been essentially buried under a mountain, he knew it was sure to take its toll, and indeed it had. His agenda had been delayed, but also changed. He now knew that there were two worthy foes in the world. His primary goal was the Red Ranger, the finest swordsman that he had ever seen, but his battle with Emily had shown him that if pushed just enough, just the right way, she was one of the most amazing foes he could ever face.

He stopped as he heard a slight hissing sound and turned his attention to the cliffs. He saw a distinctive red glow from the gaps in the rock face. It would have been invisible to any human eye, at least any untrained human eye, but given his state, he could see it. He smiled as he heard the chaotic sounds within and knew what was going on.

"Master Xandred is gathering his power." He commented. "Without leadership the Moogers will run wild."

He put Urumasa in its scabbard and started to roll it into his bedroll.

"This will be the perfect opportunity to duel the Red Ranger unchallenged." He told himself. "Of course, there is one thing I need to do first."

He rose his head up and started to sniff the air, before looking to a track a little way off.

"I must eat." He stated, before heading off.

Back at the Shiba House, the Rangers, all except for Antonio, were in a meeting. Although they had accepted him on the team, they still had an understanding that there were certain secrets that could be dangerous for someone outside one of the bloodlines to know, and also that he did, strictly speaking, still have a business to run. While he didn't have to pay rent on his room since he was bunking with Jayden, and he rarely had to pay board since he caught or foraged a lot of his own food, he still had expenses he needed to accommodate, and he always wanted to feel like he was contributing to the household and not freeloading. Mentor Ji called the meeting to order.

"Despite our best efforts, Master Xandred's power is growing." Mentor Ji began. "We all know this."

"We've fought of attacks all over the city, and they're still coming." Emily replied, reaching for Mike's hand, finding it and holding it gently. "The Sanzu River's steeping through."

"We can do all we can to stop him shedding more tears." Kevin sighed. "There's nothing we can do about those he's already shed."

"That is why we must consider new tactics." Mentor Ji told them. He looked to Jayden, who put a book on the table. Mia looked up.

"Kasamune?" She asked. Mentor Ji looked at her a little curiously.

"What are you talking about?" He asked her. He didn't know how she would know that name, or how much she could possibly know, but it was unconnected to what he was currently sending them after. Kasamune was Serena's quest, and so far, as far as he knew, the others were unaware of that quest.

"Sorry, it's just...I read about...never mind." She replied. Mentor Ji looked at her for a moment, trying to figure out if she did indeed know anything, or if she had as she said simply stumbled on the name as part of her reading. He eventually decided just to return to the point in hand. It was far too important to deal with this for now.

"The Black Box." He told them. Mike just put up his hand.

"Uh...what does an airline flight recorder have to do with this?" He asked. The others just glared at him. "What? I'm the only one that's heard of a Black Box?"

"It was a powerful talisman created by the first Red Ranger." Jayden began, pointing to a picture of it in the book. "It was said to be able to unite the powers of all the Rangers' spirit power into one."

"Great, so lets' fire it up." Mike stated.

"It's not that simple." Mentor Ji sighed.

"When is it ever?" Mike grumbled in response, before realising Mentor Ji was glaring at him. "Why not?"

"It was never finished." Jayden informed him. "No one had the symbol power or the talent to finish it."

Emily suddenly started bouncing excitedly on her seat as she waved her hand. A thought had occurred to her as they said this.

"Yes Emily?" Mentor Ji asked.

"Kind of like how no one had the symbol power or talent to repair the Claw Zord right?" She asked. "What about Antonio?"

"Emily..."

"Seriously Kevin, if he can use texting to programme a zord, why can't he use it to programme our symbol powers into it?"

"You know how much it takes out of us when we use our symbol power!" Mia reminded her. "Emily, you were out for almost a whole day when you beat Dekker."

"I've been to the Netherworld, I know what's down there." Mike told them. "It ain't pretty. If it means stopping that coming here, I'm up for it, regardless of what happens to me."

"I am too." Emily chipped in. "We already know there were Rangers before us, and you know there'll probably be Rangers after us. If we end up sacrificing ourselves to keep the Netherworld in the Netherworld, then what else matters?"

"I really want a normal life." Mia sighed. "But I'll never have that if Master Xandred wins anyway will I? I'll go with it."

"I guess I'm going too." Kevin replied. "We're a team right?"

"Then it's settled." Mentor Ji replied. "You have an hour to get packed."

"Packed?" All of them but Jayden chorused. Jayden just sighed.

"Did we mention that the Black Box is at the Tengen Gate?" He asked. "That's near Mount Fuji."

"We're going to Japan?" Kevin asked in a mixture of excitement and indignity. A part of him always wanted to go there. The Samurai legacy began in Feudal Japan, and while the bloodline had spread and become mixed with other cultures since then, he had always hoped to go to the historical home of that legacy at some point.

"What about the city?" Emily asked.

"Antonio will stay here." Mentor Ji told them. "You five will go."

"I guess we better pack then." Jayden told them. "The lunch rush is nearly over. Antonio will be back soon, we can say goodbye then."

Meanwhile, on a board walk a little way from the Shiba House, Antonio was doing a great trade. While there were hot dog stands and the likes in the area, the sea air seemed to bring out people's taste for seafood. He just finished grilling a kebab and handed it to a young woman.

"Here's your baby bass kebab." He told her.

"This just smells amazing!" She replied with a little smirk, handing him a piece of paper. "Um...here's my phone number by the way. I was hoping maybe...?"

Antonio got a little awkward smile on his face.

"Uh...sorry, but...I don't play for that team." He told her, handing it back. "Still, enjoy the kebab."

The young woman looked disappointed, but accepted what he had said. She then just smiled at him as she saw another man approach him, standing closely behind him.

"Well, I guess if he's that hot I can't blame you." She commented, leaving Antonio looking confused, paying for her purchase. "Thanks for this."

"I heard the bass here was good." He heard a low, raspy voice from behind him. He spun around, finding Dekker behind him. He reached for his morpher, but Dekker just shook his head in warning.

"You wouldn't want to start a scene here would you?" Dekker asked him. "So much of your stock would be ruined, not to mention all these innocent bystanders."

"What do you want?" Antonio asked.

"First of all, I'd like a kebab." He answered. "The one you gave her smelled good."

Antonio was tense, not wanting to escalate things, and just prepared one for The Cursed Warrior. Dekker just took it as Antonio handed it to him.

"Your friends are in danger." Dekker told him.

"No shit." Antonio spat sarcastically. "Master Xandred's out there, and of course my best friend has some skull-faced lunatic after him..."

Dekker just laughed, interrupting him.

"There's a big move in power in the Netherworld." He told him. "Someone's moving on Master Xandred's throne."

"Well excuse me if I don't shed a tear." Antonio snorted. "I would say hope he rots in Hell, but since he's already there, I guess it's kind of redundant."

"Better the devil you know." Dekker stated as he started to walk away. Antonio just threw his hands up.

"What is it with you?" He asked. "Don't you ever want to fight?"

"All the time." Dekker said honestly. "I just want to make sure it's worth my time when I do."

With that, he walked away. Antonio just started to pack up his gear. He had no interest in continuing his trade today.

Meanwhile, on a Trans-Atlantic flight, Serena was sitting uncomfortably. She had removed her hidden blade for comfort and placed it in her luggage, knowing it wouldn't be detected. There was no metal in it, and more importantly, with Mentor Ji and Hayley on the case, she was sure she would have been ushered through customs without question by some men on the inside working for them anyway.

It was dark in the cabin, all except for the overhead lights. Most of the people in the compartment were sleeping, but she couldn't settle. She had never been on a plane before, so that unsettled her in itself, but as well as that, she was separated from any source of Earth, her element, by several thousand feet. She banged her shin on the seat in front as she tried to lean back and cursed once again their decision to send her in coach. They had all those contacts to get her through customs, hack security systems, and even, she imagined, infiltrate Government, but they still couldn't spring for a decent seat for her 16 hour flight.

She decided to pass some time by checking on her mission status. The laptop Hayley had given her had nothing on it, other than a secure line to her, so she knew it would be updated as soon as Hayley had anything to tell her. She opened the laptop and booted it up, tapping the keypad so it could read her fingerprint. It opened up.

"It's a while before you reach Rome Serena." She heard in her earwig. Serena sighed as she heard Hayley's voice. "You do know time difference..."

"I'm crossing the time zones, I know the difference." She muttered. "What are we looking at?"

"Alright, there was a notorious duellist in the area who was known as Calabrone." Hayley told her. "It means 'Hornet'."

"Alright, what does that have to do with an ancient Japanese legend?" Serena asked.

"He was a known...um...shall we say...he was...popular with the ladies." Hayley began. "Unfortunately, he was also one of the best duellists in Italy. Many noble families lost sons to his blade as a result of honour duels. By all accounts he had several vendettas against him, and many bounties, including from prominent families like the Borgias..."

"Look, sorry to sound like all this isn't fascinating, but could we get to why I'm going here?" Serena asked her. "My ass cramped up hours ago, I have jet lag and a serious case of sleep deprivation."

"He was also known for collecting swords." Hayley told her. "He was said to have thousands of blades, most of which were taken from victims, but many of which he bought from traders from numerous countries."

"You think...?"

"We know he bought at least one blade from a Japanese traveller." Hayley assured her. "We also know one Masamune went to Italy. We think..."

"You think that might have gone to him." Serena sighed. "So...what difference does it make? The guy must be dead by hundreds of years."

"His family crypt houses the treasures of his family." Hayley told her.

"Great, so first you have me try to rob a museum, now you want me to go grave robbing?" Serena asked sarcastically. "I'm really starting to regret this mission."

"If Mentor Ji thinks it's this important, then I'm sure it'll be worth it." Hayley sighed.

"Sometimes, being a Samurai sucks." Serena grumbled as she shut down the laptop and put it away.