I DO NOT own Power Rangers or Super Sentai.

Hi everyone, sorry for the long wait. I've been doing some major re-tooling of upcoming plots, so I've had trouble finishing this chapter, but don't worry; after this the chapters should be released far more often.

So, sit back, and enjoy!

POWER RANGERS SAMURAI STRIKE

Chapter 8: Sticks and Stones

Shiba Manor, morning...

The Rangers were once again practising kendo, under the supervision of Graydon. Ryan had been paired up with May, and Karen, who was easily the best, was facing Chad, who was slowly improving. Tyson and Hikoma sat on the back porch nearby, Tyson quietly meditating, Hikoma watching the others with interest.

As he watched, Karen delivered a combination of confusing moves which pushed Chad back, finally ending with a thrust which jabbed him in the stomach, causing him to trip over and land hard on a rock behind him.

"Ow! That hurt!" Chad yelled as he clambered to his feet, wincing from the bruises on both his behind and his stomach.

"Sorry!" Karen replied, helping him up. "I guess I got a bit too serious there..."

Hikoma glanced at Tyson. "Karen's sword technique is impressive," he commented. "Excellent skill, with no hesitation."

Tyson opened his eyes. "It's no surprise that he is no match for her, then," he murmured in reply, loud enough for Chad to hear him. Chad glared at him in return, then had to shake off Karen, who was prodding at him, trying to she if she had hurt him.

"I'm fine, Karen, cut it out!" he said to her.

"Are you sure?" she asked anxiously, an expression of worry on her young face. "Maybe I should take a look at it, just to be sure..."

"No, quit it!" Chad replied, struggling to run off, as Karen clung to the back of his kendo robe.

Hikoma smiled as he watched them walk off. "It seems, though, that Karen still has much to learn about other things," he said to Tyson. "Martial arts seems to be the only thing she's good at."

"That's true, I guess," Tyson replied, closing his eyes again.

Later that morning...

"Here you go, Chad!" Karen said happily, holding out a bandage the size of a sheet of paper, coated in white goo.

"Um, thanks..." Chad replied, not taking it. "What is it?"

"It's a flour compress," Karen explained. "My sister taught me how to make them. They help heal bruises. You can put it on your bruised bottom-"

"N-no thanks!" Chad stammered, quickly backing away, then running as Karen followed him.

"But it won't heal quickly if you don't use it!" she called after him as Ryan and May looked around to see what was happening.

"I'll take that risk!" Chad yelled back, as he turned and ran back the other way, dodging around her.

"But – ahh!" Karen's reply was cut off as she tripped over the bowl of flour goo she had used for the compress, spilling it everywhere. She fell forwards onto the floor, and her face landed in the compress, splattering her with the goo.

"Oh, no!" she said, getting up, looking at the ruined compress, and the large puddle of flour goo on the floor.

"Isn't that way too much for a compress?" Ryan asked, staring at the mess.

"I couldn't remember how much it needed," Karen mumbled sadly, "so I made a lot, just in case."

"I said I was fine!" Chad said to her, holding up the dripping compress. "I really don't need this thing!"

"Hey, that's not very nice, Chad!" May scolded him. "Karen was just worried about you!"

"No, it's okay," Karen said to her, smiling sadly with her white-coated face. "I was stupid; the compress probably wouldn't have worked anyway." She looked at the puddle. "I'd better get a mop to clean this up."

Saying so, she stood up, and then accidentally stepped in the puddle, causing her to slip and crash to the floor once more.

"Karen, are you alright?" May asked as she sat up.

Karen nodded. "I'm just such a klutz," she replied, with that sad smile again. Chad looked on, a concerned expression on his face.

Meanwhile, in the Gedoushu dimension...

Shitari looked over the rail of the Rokumon as an Ayakashi's hand appeared. "Ah, I've been waiting for you, Zuboshimeshi!" he said to the creature.

Zuboshimeshi was a typically nasty-looking monster. He was wearing a shell-like suit of armor, and spines stuck out all over the place. But it was his face that was particularly hideous; his abnormally large mouth was stretched into a horrible grin, and a third eye gleamed on his forehead.

"Long time no see!" he said in a high-pitched voice, a pattern of three eye-like symbols on his back lighting up. "As usual, Shitari, you are-"

Before the Ayakashi could finish, Shitari clapped his hand over the monster's large mouth. "Don't say it!" he hissed. "You mouth is the source of calamity!"

He took his hand off Zuboshimeshi's mouth and pointed at a crevice entrance on the bank of the Sanzu River. "Just go over to the human world already," he directed. "Say whatever you want over there."

"Of course, that's my plan," Zuboshimeshi replied, "but as always, you-"

"I said don't talk!" Shitari shouted, blocking the monster's mouth again. "You know the damage your words can cause! Now go, cause those humans to despair, and flood the Sanzu River with their sorrow!"

"Okay, okay!" the Ayakashi replied, speaking around Shitari's hand.

Back at the Shiba Manor...

Karen was standing in the kitchen. She had managed to wash off all the flowery goo, and was drying her face when she heard Chad behind her.

"Did you clean all that off yet?" he asked, walking towards her, carrying a bucket of water and a cleaning cloth.

Karen nodded in reply. "Yes. Luckily, it wasn't too hard to clean."

Chad indicated her clothes. "You might want to change, though," he suggested. "You're all wet."

With dismay, Karen looked down, and, sure enough, her clothes were drenched, from both the goo and water from the sink. "Oh, no!" she moaned. "These will take forever to rinse out!" She then noticed the bucket and cloth in Chad's hands. "Did you clean up the leftover goo I spilt?" she asked, feeling guilty.

"Yeah," Chad replied, emptying the bucket into the sink. Seeing the sad look on the girl's face, he quickly added "Don't worry, it was easy; some of Tyson's household staff helped me out."

"Sorry," Karen said to him. "It's all my fault this happened."

"Stop apologising," Chad said, dismissing this with a wave of his hand. "Besides, none of this would have happened if I hadn't lost to you."

"See? It is my fault!" Karen retorted. She shook her head sadly. "I'm useless; the only thing I'm good at is kendo." She then smiled wistfully. "I wish I was like May; she's so smart and beautiful. She can even cook!"

"I wouldn't be so sure about the cooking part..." Chad muttered, staring at the scorch marks on the ceiling and shuddering.

"Still," Karen continued, "compared to her, I'm just pathetic and stupid."

"Don't say that!" Chad snapped, surprising her. "You're talented in your own way!"

Before he could continue, the alarm bells began to ring out. Karen and Chad glanced at each other, then raced out the kitchen door to find the others.

Meanwhile, in a Tovern City construction site...

Several construction workers were busily moving about, transporting poles and wooden boards here and there. One overweight man stopped to take a break, mopping his brow with a handkerchief, when suddenly he heard a crackling noise behind him.

"Hey, you," a voice hissed, and the man turned. There stood Zuboshimeshi; the man froze in fear.

The sinister Ayakashi sneered, and his eye-like symbols glowed. "FAT!" he intoned, in an eerie, echoing voice.

The man's face fell, sadness etched all over his features... and was then violently blasted backwards in an explosion of purple electricity.

The monster grinned, and turned to see the other construction workers running. A policeman who had been walking past, however, started towards the monster, drawing his gun as he went.

Zuboshimeshi's eyes glowed again. "I SAW WHAT YOU DID," he echoed again, "YOU LOWLY MAN!" Again, the Ayakashi's words caused an explosion, sending the policeman flying.

The vile monster continued his rampage across the city, blasting away with insults and taunts, sending people fleeing.

"VAIN!" it roared at it went. "PERVERT! MINIMUM-WAGER! LONER! GOOD-FOR-NOTHING! DISLOYAL!"

Cars swerved and crashed into one another as their drivers were blasted, and Zuboshimeshi continued on, cackling to himself.

But then, Tyson, already morphed, leapt at the monster swinging his sword as he went. The Ayakashi narrowly dodged the swing, and turned as the other Rangers arrived. "I was having so much fun until you showed up," he sneered at them.

"Shut your mouth and take what's coming to you!" Chad yelled, racing at the monster, katana held high.

But suddenly, the monster was right in front of him, moving with incredible speed. Chad was thrown off-balance by his sudden appearance, and Zuboshimeshi struck.

"I SAW YOU!" he echoed."YOU CHEATER!"

Chad stopped dead in his tracks. H-how does he know-? was all he was able to think before he was catapulted backwards by the blast, smashing into a building.

"Chad!" Karen yelled, running towards him as he struggled to rise, rubble from the wall dropping on top of him. "Are you okay?"

"What was that?" May said, staring at Chad, before turning back to the monster. "What did you do to him?" she shouted at him.

"This!" Zuboshimeshi replied, and with his amazing speed suddenly appeared before Ryan. "DISSAPOINTMENT TO YOUR FATHER!" he bellowed, and Ryan, shocked rigid, was blasted backwards as well, to join Chad and Karen in the rubble.

"Ryan!" May yelled, then, enraged, struck at the monster. He easily dodged around her attacks, then got in close, his face right in hers.

"SINGLE FOR LIFE!" he roared, and May froze.

"N-No..." she whispered, and the purple electricity launched forth once more, sending her flying back to land near the others.

Only Karen and Tyson now remained. Karen glanced at the others on the ground. "How is this possible?" she asked Tyson. "All he's doing is insulting them!"

"Don't let your guard down," Tyson replied, drawing his elemental disk from his belt. "There must be some trick to his attacks."

"Trick?" Zuboshimeshi said, overhearing them. "No such thing; I merely tell the truth. If the truth hurts you, that's your fault."

Saying so, he launched himself at Tyson and knocked aside his blade. "DOOMED TO FAIL!" he roared, right in Tyson's face.

Purple lighting shot across Tyson's armor, but he held his ground, only barely. The Ayakashi sneered, and opened his mouth once more, his eyes glowing brighter than ever before. "DOOMED TO LET ALL YOUR FRIENDS FAIL! DOOMED TO FAIL YOUR FAMILY!" he screeched.

This last sentence did the trick; Unable to withstand the barrage of taunts, which struck to his very soul, Tyson could no longer resist, and was thrown back harder than any of the others.

Standing alone, Karen faced the monster. "Only one left?" he cackled, as she trembled with rage. "This should be easy!"

Karen snapped. "Everything you say is nonsense!" she screamed, rushing at him, swinging away madly. "Chad is not a cheat! Ryan is not a disappointment! May won't stay single! Tyson will not fail!"

"If it's all nonsense, then why does it hurt them?" Zuboshimeshi said, dodging her attacks. His eyes glowed. "Try it for yourself... KLUTZ!"

Amazingly, this had no effect, and Karen's blade finally struck, smashing into the monster's face. The Ayakashi looked genuinely surprised as her blows continued to land. "How is this possible?" he hissed.

Trying again he turned to face her. "IDIOT!" he spat, but, once again, Karen's sword hit true. Reeling from the continued blows, he span and tried again.

"USELESS!" he yelled, but still, Karen continued on slashing.

"STUPID...?" he tried, getting desperate, but still nothing.

"How is she doing that...?" Chad asked in awe, slowly picking himself up.

"Why won't you stop?" Zuboshimeshi hissed. "You SLOW, DUMB MORON!"

"Bushido Super Weapon! Earth Slicer!" Karen yelled in rage, summoning her giant shuriken to her side.

"Uh, oh," Zuboshimeshi gulped, as Karen flung her slicer right at him, landing a direct hit on his torso.

The young Ranger nodded in satisfaction as the Ayakashi scrambled to his feet. "This can't be!" he hissed, and saying so, he leapt through a crevice in the cracked footpath and disappeared back to the Sanzu River. Karen looked on, breathing heavily, her expression hidden behind her visor.

Later, back at the Shiba Manor...

"Truly an onslaught of words," Hikoma mused, as the Rangers patched themselves up from the battle, Graydon sitting nearby, typing away on his laptop. "The mental damage becomes physical damage. As long a you keep a calm presence of mind, though, you should not be hurt again."

"I was merely caught off-guard," May muttered. "It won't happen again."

Chad glanced at her. "Are you really that worried about being single?" he asked, a hint of ridicule in his voice.

May glared back at him. "What about you, cheater?" she snapped back.

Chad's face fell, becoming sullen. "It's a shame on my name," he muttered. "Me, the Game Guru, having to cheat on a video game! I feel terrible every time I think about it!"

"Disappointed father," Ryan growled to himself. "He was the one who wanted me to quit school to help work at his store! So what if I refused!" He then shook his head. "I still feel kinda bad about it, though."

Tyson sat apart from the others, consumed in his own thoughts. He only showed interest in their conversation when Chad spoke again.

"But... why wasn't Karen affected?" he asked, and the all turned to face her.

"Me?" she asked, surprised and a little embarrassed by the sudden attention.

"Yes, you," Chad pressed. "That Ayakashi spouts words that cause us the most pain, but they had absolutely no effect on you."

"It certainly is unusual," Hikoma commented. "Perhaps Lady Hanaori has some kind of special power that helps her resist..."

"It's no special power," Karen objected, her shoulders slumping. "I'm just... used to it."

"What do you mean?" Chad asked.

Karen smiled sadly, staring at the floor. "Ever since I was little, kids at school would call me 'slow' or 'stupid'," she explained. "It doesn't bother me that the Ayakashi calls me those names... because they're true..." she ended with a weak laugh.

"Don't laugh like that," Chad said to her quietly. Karen turned to face him, and was surprised to see anger in his face. "You always call yourself stupid, and laugh about it," he continued. "But I know you're not really joking at all."

He stood up. "The way you just sit there and agree with every insult thrown your way..." he said, with sadness in his eyes, "...it just annoys me that you think you're stupid." He turned to face her. "If you really think that you're stupid, then maybe you really are stupid!"

"Chad!" May said, shocked. "That's going too far!"

Karen stood, tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry..." she said, before fleeing from the room and running outside. Chad watched her go, a guilty weight in his stomach.

Meanwhile, on the Sanzu River...

The Rokumon shook violently as Zuboshimeshi let loose another blast, slamming Tayu against the wall.

"What did you say?" she hissed, pulling out her razor-sharp plectrum. "I dare you to say it again!" Saying so, she flung the metal blade, only for Shitari to catch it with his staff.

"Tayu, must you fight with every Ayakashi we have on-board?" he asked her.

"My eyes never lie," Zuboshimeshi said. "I can see what words will hurt the most." He then frowned angrily. "But that Yellow Ranger..." he hissed. "How was she not affected, when my words still affect other weaklings?"

Tayu growled, her plectrum at the ready again. "You dare call me weak?" she snapped, and she would have thrown the blade if Lord Doukoku's sheathed sword had not emerged from the shadows to block her hand.

"Enough!" he roared, stepping out from the darkness. "Endure his insults for now, Tayu."

"I will not!" Tayu spat back, struggling against the blade, but stopped as it went to her throat.

"I said enough," Doukoku said, his voice deadly quiet. "Favourite or not, even you..." He drew the blade slightly, showing its wickedly sharp blade. "...can anger me."

Tayu lowered her arm and backed away, her head bowed. Doukoku then turned to Zuboshimeshi.

"The Sanzu River's waters are definitely rising," he said, a note of sinister pleasure in his voice. "Continue your good work, and we will return to the human world in no time!"

"Certainly, my lord," the Ayakashi replied, bowing deeply. "One quick recharge in the River, and I'll be ready to go!" He turned to the rail of the ship and looked out. "No matter who it is, my words will hurt them," he muttered, then his face twisted in utmost contempt. "Even that Yellow Ranger brat will rue the day she crossed me!" Chuckling, he dove into the water, and began to plan...

Back at the Shiba Manor...

Chad had searched the manor high and low, but he could not find Karen. He could tell that his words had deeply affected her, and he really wanted to talk to her and explain. But she was nowhere to be seen. He was about to give up, when he heard the soft tune of some flute-like instrument being played.

Following the sound, he went into the forest outside the manor, and after a few minutes walked into a clearing. Sitting on a rock in the middle of the clearing was Karen, playing a wooden flute and staring into the sky, away from where Chad stood.

He slowly walked up behind her. She heard him approach, stopped playing, and turned towards him. When she saw it was Chad, her face became worried. "Oh... it's you..." she said.

There was an awkward pause, the Chad scratched the back of his head exasperatedly. "I'm sorry about what I said earlier," he apologised. "I didn't mean what I said."

Karen shook her head in reply. "No, you were right" she said back.

"Well, yeah, but... I didn't mean to be so..." Chad tried to explain, but Karen smiled at him.

"When I was a kid, I used to cry all the time," she said, looking into the sky again. "I was no good at studying, and all the others used to tease me." She then looked at the flute in her hand and gripped it tight. "But then, my sister would play this flute, and the music was so good, it always cheered me up. No-one could play the flute like Beth did."

Karen's wistful expression, as she remembered her sister, then turned sad. "But then, Beth became very ill. She had to leave school, and could no longer work at our mother's store." Her face then became determined. "I decided, even though I was still young, that I would take Beth's place at the store, helping out however I could. It was tough, and when Beth found out, she asked me to stop, that I didn't need to do it for her. But I kept at it; she had supported me in the past, and I wanted to pay her back."

Karen then pulled out her triangular talisman and stared at it. "It was the same when Graydon left the scroll at the hospital," she continued. "Beth could tell that this was important, and wanted to go herself, sickness or no sickness. But I couldn't let her do that; I had to do it for her. She had helped me, now I would do the same for her, no matter what."

Her story done, she turned back to Chad and smiled. "I knew that I was stupid, so it didn't matter when others called me that," she said. "But, what you said earlier, if you think that you are stupid, then you really are stupid, that never occurred to me."

Chad winced with guilt. "I didn't really mean it like that..." he said.

Karen smiled again, looking away. "If I think I am stupid, and I do, then I really am a failure, aren't I?"

"No," Chad said, and she turned back to him. "I'm the stupid one for being so annoyed with you and saying those things. You're so strong, and you always said you were stupid. That just bugged me."

He turned, and placed his hand on a nearby tree. "I decided that I would surpass Tyson, that I would beat him and make him respect me." He then smiled at Karen, and shook his head. "But you're younger than me, and you still defeated me, but then you go and call yourself a failure." He then grinned. "If you're a failure, then what does that make me?"

Chad stared at Karen, then they both burst out laughing, the tension between them gone. "Thanks, Chad," Karen said happily. "I really like your straight-forwardness. I'm sure you'll get stronger!"

"Thanks," Chad replied, embarrassed. Then, right on cue, their morphers began to beep. Chad pulled out his and flipped it open. "What is it, Graydon?" he asked.

"That Ayakashi is back," Graydon replied, sounding frantic. Chad could hear hurried typing and clattering in the background, and a strange electronic voice reading out figures. "You'd better get moving!"

"Uh, okay," Chad said, intrigued by the commotion. "What all that noise?"

"I think I'm close to locating the next Ronin Spirit," Graydon said back, the typing getting faster. "I'm just having trouble with my satellite signal."

"That's great!" Chad replied. "You'd better get that fixed pronto!"

"I will!" Graydon shot back, annoyed, "now get moving!"

"Roger that!" Chad said, and, snapping his morpher shut, he and Karen ran towards the city.

Moments later, at Tovern City University...

"CHEATED ON EXAM! NEVER PASS ANYTHING!" Zuboshimeshi's voice boomed, and students were blasted in every direction as the vile monster strode out the front door.

"It's clear my power still works on the mortals," he muttered to himself, "but why, why wasn't that yellow brat affected?"

"Why don't you find out?" Karen's voice yelled, and the Ayakashi turned to see the Rangers standing side-by-side.

"Ayakashi!" Tyson declared, pointing at him. "Your reign of terror ends here!"

He whipped out his morpher, the others doing likewise. Flipping and folding them, they drew their kanji in the air and span them round.

"SAMURAI STRIKE! BLADES UNITE!" they yelled in unison, and with a whirl of colours and an explosion for good measure, the Rangers morphed.

"Fools," Zuboshimeshi hissed. "Shall I tell you about your true selves again?"

"Don't underestimate us, you monster!" May snapped. "We won't fall for that this time!"

"You got that right!" Ryan agreed. "As lost as we focus our minds, you can beat us!"

The Ayakashi sneered and shot towards him. Before Ryan could react, the monsters eyes glowed.

"NEVER GOT GOOD GRADES!" he yelled, and, once again, Ryan was blasted back through a wall.

"Not again..." Tyson sighed, clapping his hand to his visored face.

"I say we plug up his big mouth first!" May suggested, brandishing her sword at the Ayakashi.

"You others stand aside!" Zuboshimeshi bellowed, pointing at Karen. "I've got a score to settle with that yellow brat!" He then looked over his shoulder. "Come forth, Nanashi!" he yelled. "Stop those others from interfering!"

The cracks in the ground behind him glowed, and crevices opened, spewing out hundreds of Nanashi footmen. The horrible creatures swarmed at Tyson, May and Chad.

"Fire Buster Sword!" Tyson called out, and his massive blade slashed into the ranks of Nanashi, downing dozens with each swing, but still more rushed forwards.

"Wind Fan!" May shouted, swishing away with her giant fan, blasting Nanashi away with gusts of wind, but they just kept coming.

Ryan managed to pull himself out of the wall, shouting "Water Bow!" as he went, firing masses of arrows into the oncoming horde.

Chad charged headlong at them, shouted "Wood Spear!", and crashed into the crowd, slamming through Nanashi like paper with his razor-sharp spear point. Clearing a path to Zuboshimeshi, he looked back. "Karen!" he called to her. "Go for it!"

"Right!" Karen replied, charging the Ayakashi with her sword, and the fight began again.

"IDIOT!". Crash! "STUPID!" Slash! "FOOL!"

"That doesn't work on me!" Karen yelled, slamming her blade into his face.

Zuboshimeshi backed away, and Karen followed him. "My words are absolute!" he threatened. "I'll find your weakness eventually!"

His eyes lit up. "LAUGHING STOCK OF THE SCHOOL!" he snarled. Karen seemed to hesitate slightly, but kept going.

The Ayakashi tried again. "DIM-WITTED FAILURE!" he screamed, but the Yellow Ranger merely attacked once more.

Zuboshimeshi roared in fury. "Why don't my words work?" His eyes glowed even brighter. "Maybe there's something hidden deep..." He paused, the his smiled became truly evil. "Ah, I've got you now!" he cackled.

He took a deep breathe, and bellowed "REPLACEMENT FOR YOUR SISTER!"

Karen stopped dead as these words hit her. The Ayakashi had hit her worst feeling dead-on. Her suit began to crackle with purple electricity.

"What the HELL do you think you're saying to her, you BASTARD!" Chad roared, charging in out of nowhere and smashing his spear into Zuboshimeshi's third eye.

The monster screamed and reeled from the blow "Stay out of this!" he spat at Chad, grabbing Karen's arm.

Chad merely raised his spear above his head. "Karen, dodge!" he yelled spinning his spear like a helicopter rotor. "Wood Spear! Leaf Tornado!"

A whirlwind of leaves erupted around Chad, and launched itself at Zuboshimeshi. They weren't meant to do any damage, only to distract him long enough for Karen to escape, and for Chad to get behind him and grab his arms in a full nelson. "Karen, now!" he yelled.

"Thanks!" Karen replied, drawing a yellow circle in the air with her sword tip, which became a large rock. "Stone Plug!" she yelled, and the rock shot forward and jammed itself in the Ayakashi's mouth, blocking it completely.

"Nice one!" Chad cheered, running over and giving her a high-five.

Karen the turned to the monster. "Using words to hurt people," she said to him, her voice full of hatred. "Guys like you are the worst!"

Spinning the disk on her sword, she powered up her final attack. "Elemental Katana Mode!" she shouted, yellow energy surging up the blade. "Earthquake Blade!"

Karen swung her sword, and a massive blast of energy fired forth, scoring a direct hit on Zuboshimeshi's big mouth. The Ayakashi let out a muffled scream and fell to the ground, where it struggled to get up.

The other Rangers ran over. "Tyson, it's your turn!" Karen called out.

"Right!" Tyson replied, whipping out the Kabuto Ronin Disk and spinning it on his buster sword. "Ronin Disk Activated!" he yelled, the blade shape-shifting as he spoke. "Fire Buster Sword, Kabuto Bazooka Mode!"

As Zuboshimeshi rose, the Ranger slotted their disks into the bazooka. "Kabuto Five-Disk Elemental Blast!" Tyson shouted, and pulled the trigger. The disks fired forth, combining into a giant sphere of shining light, and blasted the Ayakashi in his third eye.

Unable to withstand such a powerful hit to his weakest point, the monster toppled and then exploded.

"Yes!" Chad cried, punching the air with his fist, and then turning to Karen. "Good work," he said to her, "you really showed him!"

"Thanks, Chad," Karen replied, but they were then interupted by the arrival of Zuboshimeshi's second life.

"Curse you, Rangers!" he roared, growing hundreds of feet tall. "You'll pay for this!"

"Time to call on the Zords!" Tyson said, and the Rangers pulled out their talismans.

"Origami, Come Forth! Zord Mode!" they called out, and the talismans expanded to full size and unfolded to become their Zords; the Fire Lion, Water Dragon, Earth Monkey, Wood Bear and Wind Turtle. The Rangers teleported inside, and Tyson wasted no time in drawing the 'Combine' symbols to bring the Zords together. "Formation Complete! StrikeBlade Megazord!" he shouted, the Megazord drawing its mighty katana to face the Ayakashi.

Zuboshimeshi turned his back to the Megazord, revealing the eye-like symbols, which blasted lighting at the Rangers. The Megazord took damage, causing it to drop its sword. The Ayakashi took advantage of this to charge at them, drawing a nasty-looking blade from his belt as he went and swinging it at the Megazord's left shoulder.

But the blade never made contact, as the left arm was Karen's Monkey Zord, and, thinking quickly, she folded up, detached from the Megazord and flew out of the way. Expecting resistance, but meeting none, Zuboshimeshi was thrown off-balance.

"Nice one, Karen!" Chad cheered, and his Bear Zord, being the right leg, kicked out, slamming into the Ayakashi, knocking him back.

"Chad, you know what to do!" Karen said, her folded-up Zord landing in from of the Megazord's foot.

"You're not serious!" May cried, realising what she meant.

"You got it!" Chad grinned, and the Megazord's right leg kicked out again, smashing into the Monkey Zord and firing it forward like a soccer ball straight at Zuboshimeshi, crashing into him and knocking his sword from his grip.

"Thanks Chad!" Karen said, her Zord re-attaching. "That got him!"

"And now to bring out the big guns!" Tyson said, teleporting onto the Megazord's shoulder and spinning the Kabuto Disk on his sword.

"Kabuto Ronin Spirit, Come Forth!" he yelled, flames spinning around him. "Zord Mode!" And from the flames came the Kabuto Ronin Zord, the giant orange beetle.

"What the heck is that thing?" Zuboshimeshi cried as Tyson teleported back inside.

"Kabuto Zord!" Tyson commanded. "Initiate Megazord Armament Form!"

The Kabuto Zord flew into the air and broke apart. Its legs wrapped around the Megazord's arms, while the rest of it became a gigantic helmet which landed on the Megazord's head."Armament Complete! KabutoStrike Megazord!"

"That just looks stupid..." Zuboshimeshi commented, before being blasted by a round of Kabuto Lasers. The Megazord then seized its sword from where it had fallen, and slashed away at the Ayakashi. The monster gave ground, until the Megazord shoulder-barged him, sending him flying.

"And now, to finish you!" Tyson said, spinning the Ronin Disk once more. The Kabuto Helmet's lower horn closed, and its head began to spin around, faster and faster.

"Kabuto Finishing Strike!" the Rangers yelled. "Ultimate Revolving Cannon!"

The quickly spinning cannon pulled in energy from all around it, glowed with a brilliant orange light, and blasted forth a massive energy ball that smashed into Zuboshimeshi.

"Noooo!" the defeated monster screeched, as it collapsed and exploded once more, this time permanently.

"Samurai Strike, mission complete!" the Rangers cheered... except for Karen, who suddenly fainted.

"Karen!" Chad cried, rushing to her side. "Wake up! What happened?"

A bit later, on the way back to Shiba Manor...

"I guess those attacks were doing damage to her after all," May said, glancing at Karen, who was still out cold, and was being carried on Chad's back.

"She was just really good at hiding it," Tyson replied. "Once the battle was over, she could relax, and that's when it all caught up with her."

"She sure is strong, though," Ryan commented. "Far stronger than me. I got taken out twice by those attacks."

"Don't remind me," Tyson replied, rolling his eyes. "Extra focus training for you from now on."

Ryan agreed, and they continued to walk, Ryan and May talking, Tyson in silence.

Chad looked over his shoulder at Karen on his back. "Man, now look what you've got me doing," he said to her quietly. "You really are stupid sometimes, aren't you? Bottling up all that emotion until it overcame you; not exactly a good move, was it?"

He then smiled. "But you really are amazing, you know," he said.

He was positive he heard a quiet "Thank you..." in reply.

Meanwhile, back at Shiba Manor...

"Alpha, why can't you get a lock on it?" Graydon said angrily. They had narrowed down the location of the next Ronin Spirit to a two-hundred-mile radius area, but that was still a LOT of area to search. But for some reason they could not get a closer lock.

"I don't know why it isn't working," Alpha replied, scratching his domed head. "All the programs are operating correctly. I think perhaps your receiving dish may be damaged."

"Alright, I'll go check it," Graydon replied, leaving his room.

Carefully climbing the room to where the dish was on the roof, he saw that it had indeed taken damage; it was all crooked and wonky, and if something had hit it.

"That's odd..." Graydon murmured. He pulled a few tools from his belt and went to work. Soon the dish was re-aligned and receiving a correct signal again.

"Did that work, Alpha?" Graydon asked, speaking into a walkie-talkie, the other one being connected to his computer.

"Affirmative," came Alpha's reply. "I have now pin-pointed the exact location of the Ronin Spirit."

"Excellent!" Graydon said. "I'm on my way back." He then turned off the walkie-talkie.

But that was as far as he got, for suddenly, strange ropes glowing a sinister red shot out from the cracks between the tiles on the roof and wrapped themselves around his ankles, and dragged him into the crevice.

Knowing he had only seconds, Graydon pulled a small black box out of his belt, pressed a button on it and just managed to drop in on the roof before he was sucked entirely into the crevice.

And then both he and the crevice were gone. All that was left was that strange black box on the roof, a green light on it flashing away...

END CHAPTER EIGHT

Well... that was interesting :)

This little epilogue part is the start of the new storyline I've decided to introduce as part of my major plot adjustments I mentioned at the beginning. Hopefully, you fans of Shinkenger won't hate me for this major deviation...

What has happened to Graydon? Will the Rangers be able to save him? What will the newly discovered Ronin Spirit be? All these questions and more will be answered next chapter, so stay tuned!

Once again, any feedback (positive or negative) is more than welcome. Also, if you have any questions you would answered about the series, feel free to ask.

Also, if you would like to ask any of the characters in the series questions about themselves, no matter how silly, send them in too! If I get enough I might devote a special chapter to them... :)

So, until next time, may the Power protect you!