The following morning, Kevin was already out in the training yard as the others came out from breakfast. He had gotten up early, but then that was because he had an early night. With the exception of Kevin, who had spent a lot of time by himself, making the excuse he was minding the picnic, they had all come back from the beach drenched and covered in sand as a result of their fun day on the beach. When they all went to get cleaned up afterwards, they had come back wearing their pyjamas and dressing gowns for comfort. Having spent the whole day watching Mia running around with Jayden, Kevin had made his excuses and went to bed deciding that he'd had enough.
"You went to bed early." Jayden commented as the others went to collect their training swords. "You missed a great games night."
"I wasn't really in the mood." Kevin told him honestly, without getting into too much detail. "I guess the sea air must do something to me."
"I suppose if I'd had your last day at the beach, I might not be too keen." Jayden chuckled. Kevin couldn't help feeling like he was patronising him. Both of them had their own hard day reclaiming a Zord, but Jayden's had been a day spent swinging the Fire Smasher again and again until he collapsed from exhaustion. Kevin had just fainted from heat stroke while fishing. At least, that's what it seemed to Kevin like he was saying.
Mentor Ji came out, causing them all to look around. He hadn't said that he would be overseeing their training today. They all lined up before him as he took his place on the porch.
"Yesterday you all enjoyed a day of rest, so I expect you all to step up a bit today." He began, looking to Jayden. "Jayden and I were talking last night, and he agreed that today we would try something a little different."
"Kevin, you're up." Jayden declared, gesturing to the mat. "We will have one match at a time, one on one."
Kevin grabbed a training sword and went to the mat, but Jayden just shook his head and pointed to the practice weapon.
"You won't need that." He told him, pulling out his Samuraizer. They all watched him curiously as he traced his symbol, morphing before them. "Today we're going to ramp it up a little."
"Wait a minute. You want us to fight morphed?" Mike asked him.
"Our enemies are ready to take it to the next level at a moment's notice." Mentor Ji explained as he gestured to the mat. "We must be ready to do the same. A wooden sword is a substitute for a katana, but it is not exactly like the real thing. Nor is fighting without your powers."
"So what do you say Kevin?" Jayden asked him. Kevin gave him a little smirk as he caught a slightly concerned look from Mia. Jayden was a great swordsman; Kevin knew that, but then, so was he.
"Anything you say." He replied, before morphing himself.
Some way off though, a stranger was watching them. He had long, white robes, and a wooden, beaded necklace. His hair was dark, and shoulder-length and he had a small beard and moustache. His eyes were intense, and predatory, rarely blinking, and his gaze never shifting from the battle as he watched them. He clutched the wrapped up sword he had with him tightly as he watched.
"They are both impressive warriors." He commented to himself. "Perhaps I was premature in believing the Red Ranger is the best test of my Uramasa."
He continued to watch as Jayden and Kevin continued their bout. He was impressed by Jayden's skill, he had been ever since he had first seen him in battle, but now that he had a chance to see Kevin in action, he was starting to wonder if perhaps there was another test of his own prowess waiting for him.
"It's a shame I have business with Lord Xandred." Dekker sighed as he turned back into his Nighlock form and headed for a gap back to the netherworld. "Perhaps I will get the chance to observe you both again and make my choice."
Kevin was in the sitting room of the Academy following sword training, studying some of the footage from his bout with Jayden. They had fought for some time, and he had heard more than a few compliments from the others, both for himself, and also for Jayden, but although he had scored a few points on the Red Ranger, in the end, Jayden had scored more and beaten him, showing him up once again.
He still couldn't understand how he lost. He had practiced the sword just as long as Jayden had. He kept pouring over the videos, looking in desperation for some flaw in his technique. It was so frustrating trying to find where he had gone wrong. He had done every stance, every swing, every movement thousands, possibly millions of times since he was a kid to be precise to the last millimetre, and yet somehow Jayden had found gaps in his defence. He didn't notice as Mia came in behind him.
"Are you still at this?" She asked him. "Mentor Ji told you not to obsess over it."
"I just don't understand it; I have to be doing something wrong!" He told her. "If I mess up in battle..."
"It's not like there are any of us who don't mess up." She told him. "Look, we all know that you're good, you're the best I've ever seen..."
"I'm not as good as Jayden though." He interrupted her before he could stop himself. She didn't really know how to take that. He sounded a lot harsher than he normally did when he said it, almost as though he was angry or bitter. She could never remember hearing him sound like that before. Just then the Gap sensor sounded and Jayden showed up.
"There's a Nighlock in the woods." He rushed out. "Come on guys, let's go!"
Kevin just got up dutifully, with a barely registered snarl of frustration as he shut off the recording. Mia watched him go, feeling a little odd about what she had seen. What was wrong with him? Although he was hard on himself, he never beat himself up this much before when he was bested in training.
A little while later, they arrived in a clearing a little later, finding people running screaming from the latest Nighlock. He was a strange looking thing, with a large, spiked shield strapped to his back, rising over his large, shiny black head. He was carrying a whip, which he wrung in his hands, expectantly as he awaited them.
"Give it up, Nighlock!" Jayden snapped as they arrived. "You're not hurting anyone here!"
"And who's going to stop me?" He cackled as he saw them. "I am Metamont, the baddest of the bad!"
"Like we haven't heard every other freak claim the same thing." Mike scoffed in response, a little bit of a smirk crossing his face as he drew his Spin Sword. "Back up Metamont!"
"You know calling back-up doesn't sound like a bad idea!" He replied as he smashed his whip to the ground. The Rangers all stood, trying to maintain their balance as the ground shook ominously.
"Why do I get the feeling this isn't good?" Mia asked as Jayden caught her, holding her up as she stumbled. Just then, they all looked up in awe as the long lost Tiger Zord burst forth from the earth. It had been lost in battle back when Xandred and his army had been sealed in the netherworld. The then Red Ranger had sacrificed it in order to seal the crevice that they had fallen into, but at the cost of being sealed inside itself.
"The Tiger Zord?" Jayden gasped as he saw it. "I thought it was destroyed!"
"No, it was only sealed in the Netherworld with me." Metamont corrected him. "Now, I've tamed him, and he's my little pet!"
"He tamed the Tiger Zord?" Emily asked. "Is that even possible?"
"Why don't we ask him?" Metamont screeched as he snapped his whip. The Rangers scattered as it launched a breath attack on them, sending them to the ground. Kevin started to get to his knees, looking around as the others also prepared for the next attack. He glanced across, seeing Mia's ankle was caught up in a root, and she was struggling to free it, distracting her somewhat and slowing her down. Metamont got a sick little smirk on his face as he looked over to her.
"You know my pet is working out so well, I think perhaps I should get another." He commented, reaching his hand back to send his whip out in her direction. Kevin could see that she wouldn't free herself in time, and that he was too far away for him to stop him. Instead, he ran across, slicing through the root with his Spin Sword as he threw her to the ground. The glowing whip smashed down across him, and he felt a wave of energy penetrate him deeply.
His body was racked in pain as the energy coursed through him and he fell back to his knees. His mind and his heart flashed with agony and anger. Thoughts of the last few days were pulled to the fore of his mind especially. He looked over to where Mia was getting back up, being helped up by Emily, when he felt a pair of hands on him. He looked around seeing Jayden.
"Kevin, are you alright?" He asked. Kevin's teeth clenched and his blood boiled as he saw the man who had taken her from him. He was the one to save her, and yet she still worshipped him. He still took every opportunity to show him up in front of her, and make himself look good at his expense. Kevin snapped up, grabbing Jayden and threw him off him, slamming him into a tree and stunning him.
"What was that about?" Mike asked as he came to Jayden's side, checking on him.
"Say hello to my new pet." Metamont declared, gesturing to Kevin. "Blue Ranger, attack!"
As he smashed his whip to the ground, Kevin rushed forward, his sword raised as he charged Emily first, knocking her sword aside as he scythed a blow across her chest. He turned towards Mia, and his hand paused for a second as he stared at her, holding her sword before herself defensively, but it shook uneasily in her hand.
"Kevin, please!" She shrieked. "We don't want to fight you!"
As Metamont re-asserted his control with another crack of the whip, he was about to strike when Mike leapt onto his back, grabbing him tightly. He held him with all his strength, trying to restrain him.
"Snap out of it!" Mike yelled, trying to get Kevin to see sense. Kevin however, managed to roll the shoulder, dumping Kevin over his shoulder onto the ground. As the three Rangers got up, he placed the blue disk on his Spin Sword.
"Dragon Splash!" He yelled savagely, swinging wildly, scattering them to the ground. They de-morphed as they landed, clearly injured on the ground. As he came closer, he saw Mia looking up at him, bleeding from a split in her right brow. He found himself pausing as he looked down on her.
"Blue Ranger!" Metamont called out as he was sent flying by Jayden's attack. The Red Ranger had left the others to deal with Kevin, reasoning that the best way to get Kevin back onside was to break the hold over him at the source. Kevin turned and leapt through the air, narrowly missing Jayden with a slash as he landed, cutting off his route to Metamont. Kevin stood facing Jayden, preparing a guard.
Jayden came to the side of his fallen friends, and realised his position. He was now standing alone against a Nighlock, the Tiger Zord, and one of his own Rangers. Although he had beaten Kevin earlier, it was far from an easy battle. Placing the Red Disk on his Spin Sword, he activated it, bringing it down, casting up a blast that covered their escape. He knew that he would have to regroup to find another way.
"Coward!" Metamont taunted him as the smoke cleared, certain that Jayden hadn't gone far enough that he wouldn't hear him. However, he felt a cramp and looked down as he felt himself beginning to dry out. He needed to return to the Sanzu River. "I guess my luck's holding out. Blue Ranger, wait with the Tiger Zord. I will call on you soon enough."
Kevin placed his Spin Sword back on his belt and did as he was told dutifully.
Meanwhile, from a vantage point a little way off, Dekker was watching. He sneered as he watched Metamont disappear into a crack.
"The Blue Ranger finally found some passion to fight with." He commented. "The Red Ranger's tactical withdrawal has saved his strength for their next battle. Perhaps then I will know which one will be the greatest test of my Usamara."
He turned back into his human form as he left to follow Kevin and the Tiger Zord at a safe distance, being careful not to be seen. He was confident that the two Rangers would meet again soon enough, and when they did, he would be watching.
Over at the academy, Mentor Ji was helping Emily, Mike and Mia with their injuries. It was only good luck and Jayden's quick thinking that had stopped things being worse. Mike was busy strapping up Emily's wrist.
"Are you sure...?"
"Trust me, I've hurt myself enough times to know the difference between a sprain and a break." She assured him, looking a little sheepish. "I told you I was accident prone."
"I just can't believe Kevin bushwhacked us like that." Mike answered. "I mean, I know Metamont did something to him, but we're his friends!"
"That's why you got hurt." Mentor Ji chipped in as he finished cleaning the cut over Mia's eye and placed a band aid over it. Mike and Emily just looked at each other a little surprised to hear him talk that way.
"Are you saying we should have taken him out?" Mike asked him. "In case you hadn't noticed, we're all on the same side."
"Sometimes sacrifices have to be made." Mentor Ji told him. "That's what Jayden's predecessor knew when he ordered the Tiger Zord into the crevice."
"And look how that turned out." Mike said sarcastically.
"Jayden's resist symbol protected him from Metamont's powers." Mentor Ji told them. "It is possible to get Kevin back, but it is unlikely that he will just stand there and let us break the spell. You all know from direct experience how dangerous he can be."
"But when he was fighting us, he paused." Mia told him. "When he saw me, he didn't finish me when he had the chance."
"It is possible that Metamont's power was not total, but he has been under his spell for some time now." Mentor Ji reminded them. "It is possible that next time we may not be so lucky."
"So we just treat him like an enemy?" Mike asked him.
"Can you afford not to?" Mentor Ji asked him. "You hesitated because Metamont used your friend against you, and you ended up injured, weakened as a result. Next time, you may not have a choice. Next time your lives may be in danger."
He got up, taking a blank disk from a box in the corner.
"Jayden and I are going to prepare for the next battle." He told them. "I suggest you all do the same."
As he left, Emily came to Mike as he threw his hands up in disbelief.
"He really wants us to take out one of the best swordsmen we have now?" Mike asked him. "Sometimes I think he's been sitting around in the Academy a little too long."
"Mike, he's only doing what he thinks is best." Emily said, putting her arms around him.
"So you'd do it?" He asked her. She just looked away, unable to answer him. She had no desire to face any of her friends in battle. Training was one thing, but an actual fight was a different matter.
"He stopped; you both saw it didn't you?" Mia asked them. "He could have finished us, but he didn't."
"He was interrupted..."
"No, it was more than that." Mia interrupted her. "Yes, Metamont called him off to save him, but before that, he had a good ten, maybe twenty seconds. With how good he is, if he really wanted to destroy us; that would be nineteen seconds longer than it would take to decide where to stick a sword. He could have chosen which organ..."
"We get it Mia." Mike told her, looking to Emily. "And we believe it too."
"So we're all agreed. If we have to face Kevin again, we stop him, but we don't hurt him." Mia answered. Mike and Emily just looked to each other, turning into each other and holding each other.
"Agreed." Emily told her.
"Agreed." Mike replied, leaning in and kissing her softly. "Come on, we need to scan the city. Something tells me with a Ranger and a Zord; it won't be long before we hear something."
