Disclaimer: I do not own anything
Jayden tossed and turned in his bed. He had been ripped from his sleep by a nightmare and the lingering images were keeping him from falling back asleep. He tried to find a comfortable position, hoping his mind would just drift off into a slumber, and when that didn't work he tried to count sheep. His thoughts continued to stray back to his nightmare, though, no matter how hard he tried to forget it.
Urumasa was in his hands and a voice was screaming in his ears for him to deliver the final blow. He was craving the blood of a challenging opponent, just like Urumasa's former warrior. One swing, one slice, one hit, was all he needed to satisfy his craving and move on as the world's strongest and most powerful Samurai in existence.
But he couldn't do it. His eyes looked down at his fallen teammates, all struggling to get back to their feet. Even without him in charge they were a force to be reckoned with, and Urumasa had deemed them worthy opponents, but what little humanity that was left in Jayden stopped him from listening to the words of the sword. The Rangers were his friends, his family. He couldn't hurt them.
Jayden felt a shiver travel down his spine and his sat up in bed. He dragged his hands down his face and let out a deep sigh as he glanced across the room at Antonio. The gold Ranger had fallen asleep with the Black Box wrapped tightly in one hand and Mike's power disk in the other. The bear was now finally cooperating with the gold Ranger, but getting Mike's symbol programmed was proving to be a difficult task. There was very little room left in the black box with everyone else's symbols inside, and Antonio was working extremely hard to fit all the energy and power into the small box. He had fallen asleep on the job, again, though he needed as much rest as he could get. Jayden pulled the box and the disk from his best friend's hands and set them down on the night table before leaving the room quietly.
He made his way to the kitchen, hoping to fix himself a cup of tea thinking maybe it would put him to sleep. Even just a few hours would do him a world of good. He hated being awake all night. But he saw the kitchen light was already on and smiled for a moment. At least if he did have to stay awake he wouldn't be alone all night.
He saw Emily and Mike were sitting at the table. Mike was gently stroking Emily's hand with his own and whispering softly to her. He glanced up at Jayden for a quick moment and offered the red Ranger a smile before looking back at Emily.
Jayden hated to see his friends upset, but right now he was a little relieved someone else seemed to be having trouble. He could focus on whatever was keeping Emily awake and maybe it would take his mind off his nightmare. He put water in the kettle and turned it on before taking a seat.
"Why are you both up?" he asked them. Emily wiped away the few tears in her eyes and shrugged.
"It's nothing. It's stupid…"
"It's not stupid," Mike squeezed her hand. He turned to Jayden, "She went back to the beach today."
"Mia told me that's where she found you," Jayden nodded. "What took you there?"
"Urumasa," Emily muttered. Jayden's heart sunk. He had been thinking about Urumasa a lot lately as well. He had seen Serena toss it into the ocean, but he had a feeling the sword wasn't gone for good. If Emily felt the same way, maybe there was a reason to be concerned, and it wasn't just paranoia.
"It's gone," Mike assured Emily. "You saw Serena throwing it away. No one's ever going to find it again."
"But it's… what if…"
"Stop worrying," Mike now held both of Emily's hands and he was trying to look her in the eyes, but she kept her gaze fixed on the table. He reached across the table and gently, with his finger, lifted her chin, "The sword's not coming back. It won't find Dekker and turn him evil again, it won't come for Jayden, and it won't try to get revenge on your sister. I promise that."
"What do you know?" Emily mumbled. She pulled her hands away from Mike and crossed her arms over her chest. She leaned back in her seat. "You can't make that promise."
"Urumasa's been on my mind as well," Jayden nodded his head. "It's the reason I'm awake."
"You guys are seriously paranoid," Mike shook his head as Jayden got up to pour the boiling water into some mugs and make the tea. "It's a sword. It can slice through boulders like they were butter, yes, but I doubt it knows how to swim back to the surface and walk to a new master. It's too heavy to float and it doesn't have legs. By the time it washes up on shore, if it ever does, it'll be old, rusted, and we'll all have died of old age. Stop worrying."
"I can't," Emily whimpered as Jayden brought the three cups of tea to the table. He set two of them down for Mike and Emily and kept one for himself as he grabbed his seat.
Just as Jayden got comfortable he heard footsteps approaching the kitchen. Now someone else was awake. He turned to the doorway as Kevin walked in, dragging his feet across the floor. The blue Ranger was surprised to see most of the house was already awake, but he didn't let it show. He saw some tea had been made and went to pour some for himself.
"What are you guys doing up?" he asked his teammates.
"Urumasa," Jayden answered. "Emily and I have a bad feeling."
"Which is understandable," Mike nodded his head, "but there's nothing to worry about. I can assure you both, Urumasa and Dekker have been taken care of. All we need to worry about is Master X."
"Why are you up?" Emily asked the swimmer. Maybe Kevin could take her mind off her problems. Kevin shrugged his shoulders as he picked up his mug and took a seat at the table.
"I've just got a bad feeling," he said. "Remember Tori and Dustin."
"Yeah. Why? Are they okay?"
"Yeah, don't worry," Kevin nodded his head, "I just… I remember what Tori told me when she trained me. How we're all connected to our elements. I've got a bad feeling and I think it's got something to do with the water."
Emily turned to Mike, "See! Even Kevin feels it!"
"He never said it was Urumasa," Mike told his girlfriend before turning to Kevin, "Maybe someone left the tap on in the bathroom or there's a leak or something somewhere."
"Nope," Kevin shook his head. "It's nothing like that… maybe it is Urumasa. Serena did throw it into the ocean. What if it's trying to find its way back?"
"It's… ugh," Mike lowered his head and massaged his temples. He could understand why his friends were worried, but worrying wasn't doing anyone any good. Urumasa was gone. Though it would take a while for their nerves to calm and their fears to subside, they all needed to take a deep breath and remember that it was just a sword and it was now sitting at the bottom of the ocean. He glanced across the table at Emily, "Didn't you talk to Mia about this? I thought she helped you."
"She did. But I had a nightmare and now my worrying's back," Emily huffed. She gestured to Jayden, "He's worried about it too and Kevin's got a funny feeling. This can't just be coincidence."
"Urumasa's not coming back."
"And if it does, it doesn't stand a chance against us," Mia's voice chimed softly as the pink Ranger entered the room and took a seat on Kevin's lap. When he got out of bed he had woken her up, and when he didn't come back right away she got up to look for him. "It's just a sword. It's only as skilled as the man who wields it. Dekker's trying to change, so he'll never take Urumasa back…"
"He's trying to find himself," Emily reminded Mia. "What if he finds out he really is a bloodthirsty murderer and he comes back for the sword? What if someone else, twice as good as Dekker…"
"Stop worrying," Mike sighed.
"We have to find the sword," Emily slammed her fist down on the table. "We have to find it and lock it away. That way, even if someone wants it, no one can get it."
"You need more sleep," Mike muttered, rolling his eyes and he saw Mia doing the same. Jayden and Kevin appeared to agree with Emily, however.
"She's got a point," Jayden nodded. "In the ocean anyone can find it."
"Yeah, anyone with a set of gills and mad swimming skills," Mike said. "And dude, Kevin's good, but I doubt he could swim down to the ocean floor and retrieve a sword without drowning."
"If a Nighlok gets his hands on Urumasa we're all done for," Jayden continued, ignoring Mike's comment. He heard Emily whimper softly when he announced their doomed fate so he jumped to his feet. "We need to get that sword before it falls into the wrong hands. I for one won't be able to sleep until it's guarded."
"We could send it to the Tengen Gate," Kevin suggested. "Serena's guarding the most valuable Samurai stuff already. One more sword wouldn't kill her."
"Mia, I think they've all lost it," Mike turned to the only teammate who was making sense to him and she nodded. She nestled into Kevin's arms, trying to make him feel safe.
"Kev, right now it's being guarded by sharks. Who's going to be stupid enough to go after it when there are hundreds or other swords lying around, free for the taking?"
"Is that supposed to make us feel safe?" Emily asked.
"It's just a sword. A very sharp sword, but a sword."
"And immortal sword," Jayden reminded Mia. "First thing in the morning, we're going to find it."
With a plan in mind, the three worried Rangers headed off to bed to try and get some sleep. Mia and Mike were left alone in the kitchen and they exchanged frustrated looks. They knew their friends had a right to worry. Urumasa had been dangerous when it had been with Dekker. But it was so far underwater that it no longer posed the same threat as before.
"Maybe Antonio can talk some sense into them," Mia suggested.
"Hopefully he's not as batty as they are," Mike nodded. "If he agrees with them, something tells me we're going deep-sea diving."
Mia bit her lip and turned to the doorway where her friends had all left.
"Even if it's three against three, I think those guys are still going to get their way," she said. She turned back to Mike, "I hope you like swimming."
"I hope a Nighlok attacks," Mike dropped his head on the table, "See Master X, this is what happens when you don't challenge us. We slowly begin to lose our minds."