Sealed

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers in any way, shape or form.

The moon hung high in the sky, shining beams of light hitting the Shiba household. The rangers slept comfortably in their beds, enjoying what little time not spent battling Nighloks or training to sleep. All seemed well with the rangers, save for one. Jayden wasn't in his bed like the others. Instead he stood firm and still in the outer training area, deep in focus. His eyes were closed in thought. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his Samuraizer. Saying nothing and opening his eyes, he threw the morpher open, drawing a complex red symbol in the air in front of him. He hesitated for a moment, inhaling deeply and then slowly exhaling. Jayden then glared at the symbol before hitting it as hard as he could with a grunt of effort. Upon doing so a large black gash appeared in the space in front of him. He remained still as a large gush of wind blew from behind him. Immediately feeling the draining effects of using Symbol Power, he forced himself to stay standing. His arm holding the Samuraizer was still firmly extended. When he felt himself begin to slip, he grasped the object even harder, digging his feet into the ground. The sounds he made were hard breaths that soon turned into a loud scream of determination. A moment later, a black crackle of electricity emerged from the gap and zapped Jayden, violently throwing him backwards. He landed hard on the gravel beneath him and rolled to a stop. Groaning, he forced himself to sit up, not surprised at the results he had just experienced.

"Why…why can't I get the hang of this sealing Symbol Power?" he thought to himself.

He mustered enough strength to stand, grabbing his left arm that he had just landed on. When he stood he found himself facing the opposite direction from where he had started. There, he saw the five easels he and his team used to practice their Symbol Power. Mike's green symbols with the power of the forest, Mia's pink symbol that signified the sky, Kevin's blue markings with the fluid power of water and Emily's yellow etchings for her earthly powers. He felt himself smile. But thoughts soon after made it fade just as quickly as it came.

"They all work so hard to protect me, and yet I continue to lie to them." Jayden said sadly to himself. "But…if I don't do this, someone else would. And I refuse to let someone else carry this burden. It's my destiny."

Suddenly he felt rage fill his body. "All of this is because of him." He said in disgust. He being none other than the lord of the Nighloks Master Xandred. Jayden then picked up his Samuraizer and gazed at it. "I am going to master this power and finally seal him away for good." He looked forward at the easels once more. "No matter what."

The red ranger then drew the red symbol in the air in front of him again and smacked it. Unfortunately, he found himself being hurled through the air, receiving the same results as his previous attempt. He crashed down into the gravel on his back. His Samuraizer clattering down beside him. Too exhausted to even move his arms to retrieve it, he simple just looked at it in shame. All he could do was lie there and try to catch his breath.

The next morning was hot and muggy. The high humidity in the air signified that rain was coming at any moment. Clouds speckled across the sky fading from grey to white. The rangers were in the middle of a grueling training session with one another with their katana props. They jumped and ducked the blows that their opponents were dealing in swift ease, it was clear the fruits of their labors were paying off. A few minutes later, Master Ji came in holding a music box sized oak case.

"Can I please have your attention, rangers?" He asked, his students immediately halting their training and running over to him.

"Ooh, looks like something sweet is hiding in there!" Mike said, grabbing for the box and trying to lift the lid. Ji swatted his hand in response. "Ow…" Mike whined.

"Soooo, what's inside?" Emily asked, trying to contain her excitement.

"Your next lesson." Ji answered, flipping the golden latch open, revealing six glass orbs, one each in color for the rangers. The spheres where translucent with sparkles on the inside. Each was the size of a baseball. Ji nodded at the rangers, signaling it was now okay for them to take their orb from the box. Mike hedged as he reached for his in fear of being slapped again, so he grabbed it from the box as quickly as he could.

"How pretty!" Mia observed, looking at her orb in awe.

"What are these, Mentor?" Kevin asked, ready for any use the mentor would tell him.

"These are called your Samurai Globes. They're to help take your training to the next level. These orbs contain a great power that, in time, will be yours to claim." Mentor Ji explained to his eager students.

Antonio looked at his orb in confusion, he, unlike Mia, didn't think they looked so intimidating. "Ummm…no offense, Mentor but, how are these globes going to escalate our Samurai training?"

"Seriously," Mike chimed in, "it feels like its going to break right in my hands."

"That's because they will if you don't know how to use them properly. Ji explained, he then reached out a hand to Mike. "Your globe please."

"Okay, sure…" Mike said, hesitantly handing his jade colored orb to Ji.

"Now, show me what you've got." Ji added with a small smirk. Mike smiled in honor and nodded. He always loved a good sparring match, especially with the mentor.

The spar began with Mike throwing a punch at Ji's face, which Ji dodged with fluid-like motion. The green then answered with a spin kick that flew right over his mentor's head. He continued to try and land any sort of blow onto Ji. And before Mike could even do his next move, Ji threw the orb into the air with such grace, then flipped Mike over onto his back, then catching the orb in his hand—out of the ranger's line of sight.

"Did it break?" Jayden asked in pure amazement.

"It had too!" Emily exclaimed.

Ji remained silent with a grin on his face. He turned towards the rangers and pulled the orb from behind his back and showed it to the rangers. It was in pure mint condition.

"Wow. Mentor you're amazing." Jayden said with an approving smile, extending a hand to the defeated green ranger.

"You said it, Jayden." Mike said, grabbing the red ranger's hand and standing. "He dodged every one of my moves without even getting a nick in my globe."

Ji then handed Mike back his globe. "Thank you, rangers. You see, in battle, there's always something that needs to be protected. Whether it's a teammate, or something as simple as this globe—and the only way you can do that is to be in perfect sync with your physical and mental rhythms."

Emily simply looked amazed and walked over to Mike, closely examining his green globe. "It's flawless, and you didn't even break a sweat." She said. "You're so in harmony with yourself."

"That is exactly your test, Emily. You and the rangers will go into the forest and train until you can master the protection of your globes." Ji told them.

"Why in the forest?" Kevin asked.

"There are fewer distractions there than here in this city and it'll be a test of endurance as well." Ji answered.

"A lesson's a lesson. You won't hear me complaining." Jayden said, tossing his orb into the air slightly and catching it.

"I…hope I have a pair of shoes fit for a week in the mud…" Mia sighed, looking back at her black, laced up ballet flats. She then, followed behind Jayden.

"This globe won't break on my watch!" Mike boasted, holding the green sphere up proudly. It then slipped from his hands and into the air, he reached out for it and caught it right before it hit the ground. "Not on my watch." He said once more with a weak chuckled and then followed Mia.

Kevin looked at his sapphire orb in stern determination. "I shall study this day and night until I perfect it for you, master." He smiled at Ji whom returned one. Then he went out behind Mike.

Antonio chuckled as he spun his globe around on the tip of his finger. "I'll make sure my globe is golden." He said, heading out of the room after Kevin. Now only Emily remained, she still stood there stunned as to what she had just experienced.

Ji looked at her in concern. "Emily, shouldn't you join your comrades?" He asked the yellow ranger.

She looked side to side nervously, "Shouldn't we wait until this gloomy weather passes? I mean we could get sick, or slip and fall, or—"

"Emily!" Ji yelled, cutting her off. "What is it that's really bothering you?"

The yellow ranger answered with a sigh and sat on the chair next to her. "It's just…I don't think I'm cut out for all of this. I mean, I wasn't even supposed to be the yellow ranger. It was meant for Serena, but then she got sick…"

"And now the burden of yellow ranger falls on you?" Ji finished for her.

Emily looked up at him in disappointment and nodded. "Well…yeah. It's not really so much of a burden as it is such a intimidating responsibility. I didn't mind giving up my normal life to take my sister's place as yellow ranger, but I can't help but feel that she would be mastering this a lot better than I would." She told him.

"Emily," Ji began, placing a kind hand on her shoulder. "we all have our crosses to bear in life. And it's not always as easy as we'd hoped it would be. But being yellow ranger ended up being your destiny—not your sister's. You'll get the hang of it, you just need to train and have confidence in yourself."

"Confidence…right." She answered, not quite swayed yet by her mentor's words. "Well, I should catch up to the others." As she began to walk away, she felt Ji grab her arm.

"The day will come when you accept your fate, and when you do, everything will fall into place." He said, hoping to ease her fears.

"How will I know when I'm there?" She asked.

Ji just sighed and shook his head. "You'll just know." He said with a smile. Seeing Ji smile brought out a small smile of Emily's own. She nodded and ran to catch up with her fellow rangers.