"Hey, guys, guess what?"

Aliyah looked up as she entered the dojo carrying Penelope on her hip. "The doctor saved you from self-inflicted brain damage?" she teased.

"No, and that was an accident!" Mike protested. "Stupid wall got in the way."

Aliyah smirked

Mia and Emily shared a look.

"What are you talking about?" Kevin asked, also confused.

"Nothing!" said Mike quickly as Aliyah attempted to reply. He shook his head and turned back to his friends. "I just saw Ji and he told me that he wants us to take the day off."

"Really?" Emily asked excitedly.

"This isn't a joke?" Mia asked, excited but confused.

"But we just started our workout," said Kevin. He whipped around and kicked a punchbag, sending it swinging into the air.

Aliyah stared, surprised at Kevin.

"Dude, you're telling me that you're going to disobey a direct order from your Samurai mentor?" Mike asked. He was just as surprised at Kevin as the others were.

"Well…" Kevin looked around at the others and shrugged. "I guess not."

Mike chuckled and looked at Mia as she started pacing.

"What to do?" Mia murmured thoughtfully. "I could shop for shoes that are designed for fighting monsters, or I could catch a flick?"

"You want to spend your one free day indoors?" Aliyah asked. "Wow, you're only a few years younger than me, and even I think that is boring. It's such a lovely day outside."

"She's right," Emily agreed.

"Em, I can teach you how to shred," Mike said, gesturing to his skateboard excitedly.

Aliyah smirked.

"Temping," Emily said. "But I was thinking maybe we could hit Rainbow's End? I've never been on a rollercoaster before."

"Seriously?" Mike asked. "Never ever?"

Emily shook her head. "They don't have amusement parks out where I'm from," she said.

"Then it's settled," Mia said, draping her arm around Emily's shoulder.

"Rainbow's End, here we come!" Mike grinned.

Aliyah smiled as she watched the four youngster's head towards the main doors. They stopped as Jayden entered the other side.

"Hey, Jayden, we're going to the amusement park," Kevin said.

"Wow, way to sell the excitement, Kevin," said Aliyah. "I'm almost drowning in it."

Mike chuckled and headed outside.

"Have fun," said Jayden, passing the others and heading for the back of the house.

Kevin stopped. "Wait, you're not coming with us?" he asked his leader.

"Not this time," Jayden replied. "There's something I need to do."

Aliyah frowned as she stared at Jayden.

"He's so mysterious sometimes," said Mia. "I wonder what is so important?"

"Our day off is a-wasting," said Mike sticking his head back inside.

Aliyah turned back to the others. "You guys go," she said. "I'll check on Jayden before I head out."

"You're coming to the amusement park?" Emily asked. She looked and sounded hopeful.

"I'll stop by later," Aliyah said with a nod. "There's something I need to do first."

"You're starting to sound like Jayden," Kevin said. "What if this is a test? What if Mentor is testing our decisions?"

Aliyah rolled her eyes. "It's not like that, Kev," she said. "All work and no play makes for a very dull life. When you're a Power Ranger, you need to know how to balance your personal life with your professional one."

"Then why aren't you coming straight to the park with us?" Kevin challenged.

"If you must know," Aliyah sighed, shifting Penelope to get a better grip. "A friend of mine set up a Kung Fu dojo on the other side of town, he's asked me to stop by and give a few pointers on the Tiger technique."

"Wouldn't that fall under personal settings?" Emily asked.

Kevin nodded. "Which is against our rules as a Samurai," he said.

"You worry about your life," Aliyah said. "I'll worry about mine. Come on, P, let's get you ready."

Kevin watched as Aliyah walked away. "She's continuously breaking the rules," he huffed. "It's almost like they don't apply to her!"

"Dude, why do you care what she does?" Mike asked.

"Because it reflects badly on us," Kevin insisted.

Mike shook his head. "Don't be such a stick in the mud!" he said. "Now come on, Jayden and Aliyah can take care of themselves."

~*The Lightning Samurai*~

"Alright, class, fall in," Casey called, clapping his hands and waving the beginners closer. He looked around at all the terrified faces and tried his hardest not to smile. He could remember his first day at the Pai Zhuq academy, and how totally nerve-wracking it was. He felt for them.

The door opened at the back of the room and a few students turned to see who had arrived late. Casey also looked up and smiled briefly.

"There is no need to look so worried," said Casey, earning himself the classes attention again. "This is just a beginners class. We'll go through a few little moves, and work our way up. I won't have you to do something that you feel is outside your depth, and I won't call on you to present to the others if you don't want too. Today is about helping you."

Casey looked towards the back of the class again and smiled.

"Now, let's start off with a few basic manoeuvres," said Casey. "I'll do it first, and then you copy me. Alright?"

The class murmured in agreement and watched as Casey took to the centre of the mats. He executed a perfect high kick, followed by a twist of the hips and finished with a scissor-kick. As he finished, he straightened his shirt and turned to the others.

"Who would like to come and demonstrate?" Casey asked.

A boy with short brown hair, and an air of confidence, held up his hand.

Casey pointed at him and stepped off the mat. The boy took his place. He executed the first two moves with ease but failed on the second as he lost his footing and hit the mat with a crash.

A chuckle rippled through the room.

The boy did not look pleased. "The mat moved!" he snapped at the others.

"It's alright if you get it wrong," Casey said, despite the boy's attitude. "Like I said before this is a beginners class, and I'm not expecting you to get it right away. Would anyone else like to demonstrate?"

No one raised their hands.

Casey nodded. "Alright then, we'll move on," he turned his back on the class and smiled at the latecomer. "This is Aliyah Logan, she's an old friend and she's going to help me with the paired demonstrations."

"I know you!" a small voice squeaked from the middle of the group. It parted and a girl with long mousy blonde hair appeared. "You teach Parkour in Blue Bay Harbour! My older brother attends your lessons!"

Aliyah tilted her head to the side. "What's your name?" she asked.

"Sally. Sally-Anne Johnson."

"Your brother Greg Johnson?" Aliyah asked.

Sally grinned and nodded.

"He's a good student," Aliyah said. "Fast learner. Are you?"

Sally shrugged.

"Let's find out," said Aliyah. She turned to Casey and pointed to the mat. "How about we demonstrate our first sparring match to them?" she asked.

Casey groaned and subconsciously rubbed his arm. "I'd rather not," he said. "I was hoping you had forgotten about that."

"How can I forget about putting you, Lily, and Theo on your asses all at the same time?" Aliyah asked, grinning. "And before you say anything, yes, it was using a skill set that is aimed at beginners."

Casey grumbled and took his place opposite her. "I'm going to regret this," he said, as Aliyah jumped forward.

~*The Lightning Samurai*~

People ran screaming from the amusement park as Casey and Aliyah pulled up outside. The two stopped and shared a look before Aliyah jumped out of the car, she paused and turned back. "Stay here with Penelope," she told Casey. "I'll be right back."

"Got it," Casey nodded.

Aliyah slammed the door and took off at a run, pushing her way through the people trying to escape. There was only one thing that could cause mass panic like this, and that was a flea-bitten monster.

Free of any possible suspects, Aliyah reached for her Samuraizer and traced her Kanji through the air. She spun it as fast as she could and morphed, mid-run. "This is starting to get old," she grumbled, spotting the monster ahead. He had her new team-mates trapped and was powering up for another blow.

Reaching the monster, Aliyah swung her sword up and froze as it went straight through the monster. Did that really just happen? Swinging her sword around again, Aliyah was less surprised when the weapon sailed straight through the monster for the second time.

"Hey! That's my power!" Aliyah complained.

"Oh yeah?" the monster asked, turning on the white ranger. He took her momentary surprise as an advantage and punched her in the stomach, knocking her back.

Aliyah coughed and rolled back her knees. "What's your deal?" she snapped. "How do you have my powers?"

"Your powers?" the monster asked. "I've had these powers since I was born."

"Oh, that accent is just wrong!" Aliyah said, shaking her head.

"Hey!" the monster yelled.

Aliyah smirked and stood again. "Let's try this again," she said, unlatching the clasp on her belt and taking out her disc. "I know, from experience, that you can't maintain that phase for long. You'll have to solidify sooner or later."

"You think so, do you?" the monster asked.

"Spin Disc!" Aliyah yelled. "Lightning Fury!"

Aliyah rolled her sword between her hands and threw it out at the monster. A bolt of lightning escaped the tip and hit the monster, only to sail right through him.

"What -?" Aliyah yelled in surprise. That wasn't meant to happen.

The monster laughed and run forward, barrelling into Aliyah and knocking her off her feet. The white ranger groaned and tried to stand, using her sword as leverage.

"Why don't you call it quits?" the monster asked. "You can't beat me."

"Oh yeah?"

Aliyah looked up as Jayden jumped over her. He landed just beside the monster and slashed at him with his own sword. It sailed straight through, just like the others.

Multiple times Jayden tried, but yet nothing happened to the monster. Not even a tickle.

"Hey, what gives?" Jayden asked.

"It happened to us all, too," Kevin called.

The monster smirked and held up a blaster. "You attack like a toothless gator," he said, pointing the blaster at Jayden. "Check you later!"

Flipping back, Jayden kicked the blaster out of the monster's hands and regrouped with the others.

"Guys, let's attack together!" Jayden said, reaching for his spin disc. The others followed suit, and Aliyah powered up her own sword for a second attack.

The monster smirked, cockily as the team unleashed their six attacks at once. They hit, and the monster stumbled, but he didn't go down.

"Ooh, your rainbow rage just tickled my tummy," the monster growled. He powered up his blaster and took aim.

Aliyah swung her sword, deflecting the blasts as the others hid behind Jayden and his fire smasher.

"You can't faze me," the monster said, striding forward. "So all that's left for you now is the crying."

He fired again.

"This is serious!" said Kevin. "What are we going to do?"

Aliyah growled and took a step forward, clutching her sword tightly in her grasp. How dare this monster use her power for evil?

"Wait," said Jayden, catching her shoulder. He held up an orange disc but hesitated in attaching it to his fire smasher.

"Woah, what is that?" Emily asked, spying the disc also.

"I've never seen that before!" Mia said, shaking her head.

Aliyah stared at Jayden from the side. She could sense his hesitation in using the disc, and could only guess it was because of the high-levels of energy readings coming off it.

"Oh, feels like I ate cactus needles," the monster groaned, leaning over and clutching his stomach. "I'm drying out." He lifted his head and glared at the Rangers as grey flakes started to spread rapidly over his body. "Next time you won't be so lucky!" he said, before disappearing into a crack.

As the others collapsed from the beating they had taken, Aliyah turned back to Jayden and demorphed. He knew how much she hated secrets.

~*The Lightning Samurai*~

"Man, that monster was working some bad mojo," Mike grumbled, pushing open the door to the Shiba house. He led the team into the living room and collapsed onto a stool.

The others followed suit.

"I don't mean to sound like that Nighlok, but our spin swords and symbol powers were, well, useless," Mia sighed.

"It's scary to think what he could've done to us if he hadn't have dried out," Kevin agreed.

"No thanks," Emily interrupted. "I'd rather think about how we're going to beat him."

"Exactly, Emily," Ji said, standing up. "Fear is the enemy. If you believe in yourselves, you can win any battle. Confidence is what brings power."

"You weren't there," said Mike, shaking his head. "Our weapons couldn't touch him."

"That's not true," Jayden interrupted. "Don't forget, we did injure him."

"For a measly five seconds," Mike scoffed.

Leaning against the wall, her arms folded and her eyes trained on Jayden, Aliyah spoke. "What is it?" she asked.

The others gave a start, having seemingly forgotten she was even there. They looked at her and then followed her line of gaze to Jayden.

Jayden looked away.

"You can try and deny it all you want," Aliyah said. "But we all saw it. So, spill, what are you working on behind our backs? What secret are you keeping from us?"

Jayden locked gazes with Aliyah. "It's a new power," he said, after a long pause. "I've been working on mastering it for some time now." He reached into his shirt and pulled out the orange disc from earlier.

"That answers all but one of my questions," said Aliyah.

"It's known as the Beetle Disc," Ji answered. "It is one of many. They're passed down from Samurai to Samurai."

"Most have been lost in battle," Jayden added. "This may be the only one left. With this, we at least stand a chance of beating the Nighlok."

"If that were the case you would have used the disc already," said Aliyah, pushing off the wall. She stared long and hard at Jayden, searching his eyes and face for any emotions or conflict. She then smirked. "You haven't mastered it yet."

"It's a work in progress."

Aliyah shook her head. "What exactly were you going to do with it today then?" she asked. "Wish real hard? Hope and pray that it would give you the strength to defeat the Nighlok? Or maybe you were looking to take yourself out of the equation altogether? Because that's what would've happened if you aren't ready to handle the power that comes with that disc!"

"Hey, who do you think -" Kevin started.

"I can feel the power radiating off that thing from here," said Aliyah, interrupting Kevin. She didn't care if he thought she was out of line. It was in her best interest, and the interest of the rest of the team, that she prove that she wasn't one to just accept a Red Ranger's decision based on his suit colour. If she felt that something was putting her and the others at risk, she would step up and challenge that risk.

Jayden lowered the disc.

"And I can sense your hesitation in using it," Aliyah added as Jayden avoided her gaze. "You're not ready. Using it today wouldn't have been the 'trial and error' scenario you were hoping for, Jayden, it would've been life or death for you and your team. Pulling stupid stunts like this, especially stunts that are built on secrets, is the foundation for a teams downfall."

She left the room. Allowing her words a chance to sink in.

~*The Lightning Samurai*~

The Nighlok laughed as he tore through downtown, blasting at innocents and causing a ruckus. He knew his arrival would be met by the Rangers, and this time he was ready for them. If he hadn't have dried out yesterday, he would've put an end to them by now.

"You can't run far enough to escape my wrath!" the monster called, blasting another innocent nearby.

A blur run across and the next second the innocent was gone.

"Huh?" the Nighlok murmured, looking around in confusion.

The innocent, a young boy, blinked and looked up at the white ranger as she set him down out of sight. Aliyah recognised him as the over-confident kid from Casey's class yesterday. "Get out of here," she told him, pointing in the direction of safety.

The kid nodded and took off.

"Ha! So, you came back for more, eh?" the Nighlok asked as Aliyah stepped into his line of sight.

Aliyah shrugged. "You won't be saying that for much longer," she said.

Over her shoulder, the others arrived.

"How did you get here so fast?" Emily asked.

"Ninja Streak!" Mike said. "You're going to have to teach me that, Aliyah."

"Maybe if we get another day off," Aliyah said. "Right now, we've got work to do."

Mike nodded and looked over at the Nighlok.

"Ready?" Aliyah asked.

"Who put you in charge?" asked Kevin.

Aliyah rolled her eyes. "You want to do this now?" she asked.

"Just drop it, Kev," said Mike, holding up his Samuraizer. The others followed suit and drew their Kanji's into the air.

"Go, Go, Samurai!" they called, spinning their marks as fast as they could. The symbols entered their chests and morphed them into Ranger mode.

The monster growled and held up his blaster. He opened fire.

Aliyah swung her sword around, blocking the blasts. "Go!" she told the others.

Still grumbling at his self-appointed leader, Kevin followed the others into battle. He jumped over the monster along with Mike and aimed his sword at the beast's body. It slipped straight through.

"Hey, Blue, here's some for you!" the Nighlok shouted, firing his blaster at Kevin as he came back for a second attack. The blast hit him in the chest and knocked him back.

Struggling to their feet, the others regrouped around Kevin.

"There's no point in trying to stand up, dude," the Nighlok said, prepping his blaster for another attack. "'Cause I'm about to knock you all down for good."

"Hey, useless!"

The monster turned to see Aliyah running towards him in a fast-paced. "That's my word!" he growled, turning his blaster on her.

"Yeah, and phasing is my power!" Aliyah shouted. She struck him with her blade.

The Nighlok laughed as it went straight through him. "What were you hoping to do?" he asked.

"This!" said Aliyah. She ripped her disc around, powering it up and allowing ripples of lightning to electrify it. "Lightning Fury!"

The monster gulped as energy rippled through him. He wrenched himself off Aliyah's sword and stumbled back, away from the Rangers.

He sparked and fell to one knee.

"How did you do that?" Emily asked, running over.

"Experience," Aliyah said.

Breathing heavily, the Nighlok raised his head to glare at Aliyah. "I'll make you pay for that!" he said.

"You can't afford too!" Aliyah shot back.

As the Nighlok rushed forward to attack, he was knocked back again by a small black and red flying lion.

"It's Jayden!" Kevin said, breathing a sigh of relief. He looked around to see his leader standing nearby, the fire smasher leaning on his shoulder.

The Nighlok laughed. "That big blade of yours ain't buying you no respect from me," he said. "If you want to tangle, suit yourself."

Jayden stood silently still.

"Well? I'm waiting," the Nighlok goaded.

Aliyah watched as Jayden still refused to move.

"Why doesn't he charge?" Kevin asked, confused on why Jayden still wasn't attacking.

"He's nervous," Aliyah said.

"Jayden is not nervous!" Kevin snapped. "He's the Red Ranger. He doesn't show fear."

Aliyah smirked. "Red Ranger or not," she replied. "Jayden is still human, and humans are prone to fear and hesitation. If he fails to execute this battle…"

"He won't!" Kevin said, stubbornly. "You don't know him."

"You're right, I don't!" said Aliyah. "But I know what a failed attack looks like, and I know the problems it causes. Jayden will only move when he is positively sure that he can pull this off perfectly."

Aliyah could feel the glare that Kevin was giving her, but she brushed him off.

"Sheesh, I've seen glaciers that move faster than you," said the Nighlok. He loaded his blaster and aimed it at Jayden.

Still, despite the imminent threat of danger, Jayden didn't move.

Aliyah let out a sigh. "Patience yields focus, Jayden," she called. "Remember that!"

At her words, Jayden fixed the Beetle Disc to his fire smasher, he spun it around several times as flames spiralled out of control. Jayden then forced the handle down, into a trigger, and the blade became a cannon.

"Now, that's hot!" Mike commented.

"Hey, you guys, lend me your power discs," Jayden called to the others.

The others nodded and run over, inserting their discs into the cannon.

"What you got there?" the Nighlok asked, looking curious. "A rainbow pea shooter?"

"Six disc Beetle Cannon!" Jayden called, prepping the cannon against his shoulder and level the Nighlok with it. "Fire!"

He unleashed the six discs onto the Nighlok, causing him to explode.

~*The Lightning Samurai*~

"Mum, mummy, I wanna go!" Penelope said, bouncing excitedly on the balls of her feet. She was pointing at a miniature version of the carousel at the Rainbow End arcade.

"Alright, let's go," said Aliyah, scooping up her daughter and placing her securely on an empty horse.

Penelope squealed in delight as she held the pole and the ride started, turning her in a slow and steady circle.

Aliyah smiled and hung back. For a few minutes, she watched alone, before sensing someone behind her. "You did good today," she said, without looking back.

"Daisuke said you were good at that," said Jayden, falling into step beside her.

"I'm a Ninja Master, Jayden," said Aliyah, glancing to her left. "I may have flunked out of the Academy the first time but being a Ninja is everything to me. It's part of the reason I didn't want to come here."

"Why? Afraid to see that the way of the Samurai is better?" Jayden challenged.

Aliyah scoffed. "You wish," she said. She turned back to Penelope as the ride continued. "It's good to see you here, though. I had you pegged as the type to always put training first."

"There is always room for training," said Jayden. "But a person needs to find balance in his life if he is ever to succeed in his endeavours."

"You keep thinking like that and you'll be a Samurai master in no time," Aliyah said proudly. The carousel stopped and she stepped forward to take Penelope from the horse.

She turned back to Jayden.

"I wanted to say thanks," Jayden said.

"For what?"

"For being hard on me," Jayden said. "I know the others don't understand, especially Kevin, but sometimes I need a little reminder that I'm not perfect."

Aliyah smirked. "No one is perfect," she said. "Not even me. We can try to be, but perfectionism will always put us on our asses because it is unattainable." She paused and looked down at her daughter. "Look, I'm not purposely trying to give you guys a hard time, but I have five years worth experience on being a Ranger. I've seen what happens when Rangers try to be better alone than relying on their teammates, I've watched teams almost fall apart because of secrets that other rangers have kept, believe me when I say that being open and honest with your friends is the best way to be."

"What if someone gets hurt because of the truth?" Jayden asked.

"What happens if they get hurt because of a lie?" Aliyah challenged. "Look, I know what your biggest secret is… and it's not that you're afraid of what could happen if you don't master your samurai powers soon."

Jayden's eyes widened.

"The only reason I haven't said anything is because it's not my secret to tell," said Aliyah. "That and because I made a promise to Daisuke to not mention her. But," she added, before Jayden had a chance to speak, "if I feel that the secret is coming close to putting the others in danger, or it's on the cusp of taking me away from my family, I will tell them."

"That's breaking your own promise to an elder guardian," said Jayden.

Aliyah shrugged. "I don't care," she said, shaking her head. "I have worked too hard to get to where I am today, Jayden, I won't let your family destroy mine."

She walked away, leaving Jayden to watch her as a feeling of dread settled in his stomach.