I DO NOT own Super Sentai or Power Rangers.

Hey everyone, sorry for the wait! Enjoy this new chapter!

POWER RANGERS SAMURAI STRIKE

Chapter 9: Gone Fishing

Shiba Manor, morning...

Graydon was missing.

The Rangers, especially Tyson, felt guilty, as they had not spotted this at first. When they had returned to the manor after defeating Zuboshimeshi the previous evening, they had found his bedroom door locked tight, and he did not answer when they knocked. Though unusual, it was not unheard of; Graydon was known for getting so wrapped up in his search for the Ronin Spirits that he would not leave his room except for training.

Since he had previously informed them that he was on the verge of finding the next Spirit, the others simply thought he was working hard, and had not heard them knock. So, shrugging this off, they had gone to bed. Things didn't get worrying until they woke up the next morning.

At ten o'clock.

No matter how deep Graydon was in his work, he never, ever, forgot to wake up the Rangers for dawn training. This was serious. Something was definitely wrong.

Racing up the stairs, Chad hammered on Graydon's door while the others looked on. "Are you in there?" he yelled. "Are you sick or something?"

"Please Graydon," Karen called out, her face contorted in worry. "If you can hear us, please come out!"

But still, there was no response. Tyson , now seriously concerned, strode forward. "Stand back," he said to the others, summoning his Ranger katana to his side. Raising the blade, he prepared to slice down the door, when there was a metallic click, and the door swung inwards by itself. Carefully, the Rangers entered, Tyson still holding out his sword in case it was a trap.

None of them had ever been in Graydon's room before, so they were surprised to see the dozen or so computer monitors covering one wall, and all the takeaway sushi boxes strewn across the floor. Graydon was nowhere to be seen, and the only movement came from a glass case in the corner, where many tiny robotic arms were working on a strange device that none of them recognised.

After a few moments of silence, Tyson lowered his sword. "Well, he's not here," he said to the others. "Now what?"

As if in response to his question, the largest screen on the wall suddenly lit up. A series of numbers ran across it, then large green words appeared: VOICE PRINT IDENTIFICATION CONFIRMED: TYSON SHIBA. BEGIN MESSAGE.

The screen then flickered, and a image of Graydon's face appeared.

"Graydon!" Karen cried, running to the screen. "Is that you? Where are you?"

The image of Graydon did not react at all to Karen's query, and began to speak, staring straight ahead.

"Tyson," it said, "if this message has been activated, then what I feared has come to pass, and I have been kidnapped by the Gedoushu."

May and Karen gasped, clapping their hands to their mouths. Ryan and Chad exchanged shocked looks, while Tyson merely frowned.

"I have suspected that this might happen for a while now," Graydon continued. "I am sure that they know of my existence, as I have been assisting you in fighting them. I suspect they are trying to find a way to either destroy or gain control of your Zords, and since I am not a Ranger -" the image frowned for a moment, then it continued, "and I know quite a bit about your Zords, capturing me would be an excellent way to try and get information."

The image then smiled. "Don't worry; I won't tell them anything, I'm a tough nut to crack." Graydon's face then frowned again. "I'm not sure where they would have taken me, but I know it would not have been to the Sanzu River; normal humans cannot survive there, and they need me alive. So I suspect I'm still somewhere in our dimension, but I could be almost anywhere."

The image indicated with his hand the corner in which the glass case stood. "You won't have to worry about searching for me all over the planet, though," he said. "I've been working on a device that can open crevices from our side. The only problem is that it's not yet functional. It requires a sufficiently strong connection to the morphing grid, and the data I've acquired from your morphers, talismans and the Kabuto disk just isn't enough. I theorise that the data from at least two more Ronin Spirits should be enough."

The image on the screen then changed to an wireframe of the completed device, a strange claw-like gun. "After the device is functioning properly," Graydon's voice continued, "it should be able to open the crevice I was taken through, and allow you to trace it back to its origin to find me. I will have left a black box device outside the crevice, so if you track that down, you'll find the crevice."

Graydon's face return with a serious expression. "UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you attempt to fight any of Lord Doukoku's generals," he intoned. "They are far too strong, and you are not ready to fight them yet. Get in, rescue me, get out; that's all you do, got it?"

The Rangers looked at each other, then nodded. As if he could see this, Graydon seemed satisfied. "Good. I expect my rescue with all due haste. Don't make me wait!" He then tapped an off-screen button , and the video cut out, the words END OF FILE showing on the screen.

"I sure hope he's okay..." Karen said sadly, still staring at the screen.

"Graydon's tougher than he looks, don't worry," Ryan replied gently, Tyson nodding in agreement.

"So all we need to do is track down two more Ronin Spirits, right?" Chad said, pacing round the room. "That shouldn't be too hard. Chad himself said only yesterday that he was on the verge of finding another one." He glanced at the screens. "Maybe the location's in one of these computers."

"But how will we get to that information?" May countered. "Graydon's sure to have put passwords on everything, and he's the only one who knows how to use his programs."

"Well..." came an electronic voice from a speaker, "he's not the only one..."

As one, the Rangers turned to see all the screens flicker to life, Most showed strings of programming code, but the one in the middle had an image of a red, shiny, disk-headed robot, that looked all too familiar...

"It can't be..." Chad gasped with shock.

"Alpha 5?" Karen yelped, pointing at the screen.

"Just Alpha, if you don't mind," the robot replied politely.

"What are you doing in Graydon's computer?" Ryan asked, bewildered.

"Simple," Alpha replied. "I am not the real Alpha, but an AI program that Graydon designed himself, using Power Ranger data gathered from you and others. He made my visual representation look like the robot assistant to Zordon, which you know as Alpha 5." The robot paused, then added, "I guess you would call that humour."

"Wow," Chad said, eyes wide with amazement, "I knew Graydon was smart, but I didn't know he was this smart!"

"Alpha," Tyson said, interrupting the others' musing on Graydon's genius, "do you have a confirmed location on the next Ronin Spirit?"

"Affirmative," Alpha replied, one of the others screens changing to show a map of a massive lake. "Yesterday, I was able to locate a Ronin Spirit energy source, but moments later, I received an alert from Graydon, and, as programmed, shut down all systems until either he or you entered the room."

"So, we have the location of a spirit," Tyson said, nodding in satisfaction. "Which one is it?"

"Judging from its location, underwater, and from the small pieces of data I received from it," Alpha thought, lights flashing across his face, "I theorise that it is the Kajiki Spirit, otherwise know as a swordfish."

"A swordfish?" Chad said, interest piqued. "That sounds strong!"

"Indeed," Alpha nodded. "According to Shiba family records, the Kajiki's nose blade is stronger and sharper than any katana, even the one belonging to the StrikeBlade Megazord."

"Great!" May said, punching the air. "Then let's go get it!"

The alarm bells around the manor could not have picked a worse time to go off. The Rangers looked up, concern on their faces.

"Alert!" Alpha announced, red lights flashing around him. "An Ayakashi has been detected entering our dimension!"

"Perfect, just what we needed right now," Tyson replied, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

"Now what?" Karen said. "Do we fight that Ayakashi, or do we go after the Ronin Spirit?"

"We could split up," May suggested. "Tyson and Karen are our best fighters, so they could fight the Ayakashi, while the others find the swordfish..."

"No, that won't work," Tyson said. "Our forces here will be too whittled down, and the others won't be able to return quick enough if the situation gets bad."

"May I make a suggestion?" Alpha interjected, and the others turned to him. "As Ryan commands the Water element, and therefore would have the closest bond with the Kajiki, it being a fish, I suggest he go to the lake alone. It is unlikely that the Gedoushu have tracked its location, and therefore sending more than one Ranger would be unnecessary. Meanwhile, the others may fight the Ayakashi, and with only one of their number missing, instead of two or three, they should do well enough against the monster until Ryan returns."

"But how will I get there?" Ryan replied, pointing at the coordinates on the screen. "I'm not very good at map-reading, but I'm sure that's a loooooong way away from here."

"Not a problem," Alpha said. "Using the data he had procured from the Kabuto disk, Graydon was able to construct a long-range teleporter. It only works on those with morphers, however, so Graydon has not been able to test it, but all the calculations and simulations are promising."

A hatch opened in the ceiling, and a circular object with green-glowing prongs sticking from it descended into the room above Ryan's head, who looked at it apprehensively. "I'm not so sure about this..." he said, worried.

"Aww, come on," Chad said, patting him on the back, "what could go wrong?"

"Would you like the full list, or merely the highlights?" Alpha asked.

"Neither, thank you," Ryan frowned at him.

"We'd better get going," Tyson said. "Who knows how much damage that Ayakashi has caused while we were standing here." He and the others left the room, leaving Ryan to mentally prepare himself.

"One last thing, Ryan," Alpha added. "I suggest you take this. Without it, capturing the Kajiki will be quite difficult."

Another hatch opened, this time in the wall, revealing a rather fancy-looking fishing rod. It was rather longer and thicker than a standard rod, the line had a strange crystal lure on the end, and, instead of a handle, it had an Ranger disk mounted to the reel, white in colour, with kanji inscribed on it.

"Graydon was aware that one of the Ronin Spirits was a fish," Alpha continued, "and so designed this rod to capture it. Simply cast the line into the water, focus your elemental energy into the rod, and spin the disk as hard as you can. If you focus hard enough, the Kajiki Spirit should respond and come to you, allowing you to capture it."

"Sounds easy enough, I guess," Ryan replied nervously, taking the rod, and glancing at the teleporter above his head again.

"Beginning teleportation sequence," Alpha announced, and the the prongs glowed much brighter, their light descending around Ryan, spiralling and twisting.

As the light span faster, Ryan looked at Alpha. "Will this hurt?" he asked.

Alpha made a strange beeping noise, then replied. "Not at all."

"Oh, good," Ryan said, then he vanished in a flash of blue light.

Alpha beeped once again. "Lie Mode deactivated," he said to no-one.

A short while later, in Tovern City...

Tyson at the others rushed to the location of the disturbance, but when they got there, they saw nothing but a man collapsed on the ground next to his car. They quickly ran over to him.

"Hey, are you alright?" Chad asked him, but the man did not reply. He was grasping at his throat, and making horrible gasping noises, as if something was choking him.

"What's wrong with him?" Karen said, worried.

"The Ayakashi must have done this," Tyson said, indicating massive muddy footprints leading from the scene.

"Then where is he?" May pondered, following the footprints, but she could see anything.

"Over here..." said a bored sounding voice behind them, and they turned to see a hideous monster. He was covered in a dark green substance that looked like moss or algae, and had webbed feet. His small face was almost hidden behind the moss, and he carried a spiky sword in his hand.

Without a moment's delay, the Rangers whipped out their morphers and drew their symbols in the air.

"SAMURAI STRIKE! BLADES UNITE!" they chorused, and with a thunderclap, a rainbow flash and an unnecessary explosion, they morphed into the Power Rangers.

"Let's go!" Tyson shouted, and they charged the vile monster, blades raised high.

Meanwhile, in an unknown location...

Graydon yelled as pain shot though his body. He was strapped to a device that looked like a dentist chair from hell, with many nasty gadgets surrounding it, sitting in a shadowy room.

The pain intensified, then stopped. Graydon gasped, trying to get his breath back, as Tayu emerged from the shadows.

"Well, Umemori?" she hissed. "Will you give me the information my master wants, or shall we continue?"

"Do your worst!" Graydon spat, and Tayu sneered at him.

"Gladly," she replied, and pulled a lever on the wall. The pain returned, even worse than before. Graydon screamed and struggled, but could not escape that horrible chair.

A full minute of excruciating pain passed, then Tayu released the lever. Graydon fell back, panting.

"It seems you are more resilient than we thought," Tayu said. "I'm impressed. Unbearable physical pain seems to have no effect on your resolve."

A crack in a nearby wall expanded to reveal a crevice entrance, and Shitari looked through. "Any luck yet, Tayu?" he asked.

"Not yet," Tayu replied, glaring at the boy. "He's tough; he just won't crack, no matter how much I hurt him."

Shitari pondered this, then had an idea. "Perhaps physical pain is not enough," he said slowly. "Maybe emotional pain might work instead..."

"What are you suggesting, Shitari?" Tayu asked.

The squid-headed warlock turned to look at Graydon. "Your pitiful little Ranger friends are facing an Ayakashi right now as we speak," he hissed at him. "I fear that they might not win this time. Would you like to watch them die?"

Another crevice opened in the wall in front of Graydon. It acted like a TV, showing the Rangers fighting against the horrible monster.

"Enjoy watching your friends fail," Tayu said. "Or, maybe you might feel a bit more talkative? Tell me what I want to know, and I'll spare your friends."

"Like you won't just kill them anyway when you take over!" Graydon shouted at her. "Besides, the Rangers will win like they always do!"

Tayu's face twisted with anger. "We shall see..." she snarled, and retreated back into the shadows once more.

Meanwhile, at the Kajiki lake...

It was quiet, nothing disturbing the still air, animals drinking from the lake. All was peaceful.

Until a massive blue flash deposited a boy in his late teens, wearing a blue jacket and holding a fishing rod, onto the lake shore.

"OW!" Ryan yelled, not just from the landing. The journey had hurt quite a bit. "Stupid Alpha," he muttered, picking himself up and walking towards the lake edge. He had been fishing before, so he knew what to do. "Well, here goes nothing."

He cast the line into the water and focused hard, reaching out with his mind, trying to sense with his elemental energy the location of the Ronin Spirit.

Suddenly, a huge surge of energy came from nowhere, stunning him momentarily, and then an enormous swordfish broke the surface of the lake.

The thing was massive! It must have been at least thirty metres long! Its scales were a strange green-blue teal colour. The Kajiki's massive jaws clamped around the lure, and it dove back underwater.

Ryan gripped the rod with all his strength, desperately trying to stop the fish from escaping. "You're not going anywhere!" he shouted, focusing his energy and spinning the capture disk as hard as he could. "You're mine!"

Back at Tovern City...

The Ayakashi was extremely agile; the Rangers couldn't land a hit, he simply dodged all their attacks.

"I've got plenty for everyone!" the monster said in his slow voice. "Would you like some?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, but I'll pass, thanks!" Chad said, swinging his katana at the Ayakashi's face. The monster blocked it with his own blade, then brought his face close to Chad's helmet.

"Here you go!" he said, and breathed a sickly green cloud of gas into Chad's face. Chad fell back, choking and grasping his throat, the pain forcing him to de-morph.

"Chad!" Karen yelled, she and May running to his side. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

Tyson charged at the monster, swing his katana, but the Ayakashi blocked and dodged easily. "I'm strong, aren't I?" he asked, smashing his blade into the Ranger's body, sending him into a wall. "Here, you try some, too!" Another cloud of gas blasted forth, surrounding Tyson, who collapsed, gasping and de-morphing.

"Tyson, no!" May cried, she and Karen re-entering the fight, but before they could do anything, the Ayakashi breathed out his gas once more and they too fell to the ground, too drained to stay morphed.

The monster cackled with delight. "My breathe sure does stink, doesn't it?" he said, before happily wandering off to find more people to attack.

"St-stop..." Tyson choked, reaching out from the ground with one hand, before he passed out.

Later, on board the Rokumon, on the Sanzu River...

"Ah!" Shitari said, holding a measuring stick into the water. "The waters are definitely rising!"

"Excellent!" Lord Doukoku growled, pacing the deck. "That Ayakashi seems to be doing well."

"Where did you find sure a strange monster, if I might ask, my lord," Shitari inquired.

"He's a Yamiororo," Doukoku replied. "The are vile creatures, born in the depths of the River. He was found stuck to the underside of the ship. He was a bit spaced out, as they always are, but I sent him into the human world as I knew their breath caused great suffering." He grinned evilly. "Those Rangers never stood a chance against him. And now, his poison will spread, and the suffering will feed the river, so that I can enter the human world once more!"

Back at the Kajiki Lake...

Ryan, looking exhausted, shook his head as he stared at the rubber boot hanging from his line. "What the heck is a boot even doing in a lake in the middle of nowhere?" he said, exasperated, as he chucked it over his shoulder onto the pile of rubbish his line had hooked.

"Why do I keep catching this junk?" he continued, casting his line again. "Is my elemental energy level not high enough to catch the Kajiki Spirit?" He tightened his grip on the rod. "Well, I'm not done yet!" he yelled, spinning the disk once more.

Ryan focused his energy once more, but it was getting weaker. Constant usage was draining his energy, and he was quickly tiring. He wobbled a bit, then collapsed on the ground. "Maybe I should rest a bit," he muttered.

His morpher beeped, and pulled it out of his pocket and flipped it open. "What is it?" he groaned, holding the morpher to his ear.

"Lord Ikenami," he heard Hikoma say, "I have terrible news. The Ayakashi that attacked has infected the other Rangers with a terrible disease. They are unable to fight, and..." he paused, then continued sadly, "I fear they might not have long to live. A Yamiororo's poison is very effective; its victims usually only last a few days, and they suffer horribly during that time."

Ryan sat bolt upright. "Is there anything we can do?" he said, horrified.

"There is," Hikoma replied, and Ryan's heart leaped, only to be brought down again with the old man's next words. "Shiba family records suggest that the Kajiki Spirit's purifying powers of the sea can cure Yamiororo poison. Have you had any luck catching the Kajiki yet?"

"No, I'm sorry," Ryan said, hanging his head in shame. "I'm just not strong enough."

The was silence from the other end, then Hikoma answered. "Well, I'm sure you can do it," he said. "If Lord Tyson could master the Kabuto Spirit, then I'm sure you can do the same."

Ryan nodded, his hope restored. "You can count on me!" he said, and snapped the morpher shut.

Everyone's relying on me, he thought, readying his fishing rod again. I can't fail them.

"So what if I need more elemental energy?" he yelled at the lake. "Tyson doubled his overnight! If he can do it, so can I!" He cast his line into the water, and focused with all his strength. "I'll master you, Kajiki! Just you wait!"

Later that day, at Shiba manor...

Alarm bells were ringing all over the manor. Hikoma, using Tyson's morpher, was speaking to Ryan from the main room. "The situation is getting bad!" he said into the morpher. "The Yamiororo is attacking civilians now! You need to get that Kajiki Spirit! Now!"

"I'm trying, I really am!" Ryan replied, his despair evident in his voice. "I just don't have enough energy!"

The door behind Hikoma slid open, and Tyson staggered through. "Lord Tyson, what are you doing up?" Hikoma cried.

"Tyson?" Ryan said over the morpher. "You idiot, don't be reckless!"

Tyson wobbled where he stood, but the gaze he gave Hikoma was steady. "Give me my morpher, old man," he said, his voice shaky but firm.

"My lord, I cannot!" Hikoma said, holding the morpher away from him. "You are in no state to fight! You would have no chance against him!"

Tyson glared at his, then snatched the morpher from Hikoma's hand and held it to his ear. "Ryan, don't worry about me," he said. "Hikoma is exaggerating; I can hold him off for a while to give you some time, but not for long. Don't worry about me, you just focus on catching that swordfish! You're the Strike Ranger of Water! I know you can do it!"

"Tyson..." Ryan answered, worried. "You don't have to do this..."

"I must!" Tyson snapped at him. "That Ayakashi beat me once, and I must defeat him!"

"But, Lord Tyson," Hikoma said reasonably, as Tyson limped towards the front door. "You surely do not intend to face the Ayakashi alone?"

"He won't be alone!" said a voice, and Hikoma turned to see May, Karen and Chad also staggering towards them.

"If Tyson can fight, so can we!" Karen said, a determined look on her face.

"We won't let that foul monster hurt anyone else!" Chad agreed.

"We're Power Rangers!" May added. "We fight to the end!"

Tyson looked at them, eyes wide with shock, then he smiled. "Thank you," he said to them. "Let's go!"

In Tovern City...

The Yamiororo laughed slowly, as he walked through the city, spraying everything he saw with his poison breath. He saw a mother shielding her child and turned towards them.

"My breath is sweet," he said, walking slowly towards them, as they cowered in terror. "Why don't you try some?"

He breathed out and the gas flowed towards them – only to be blocked as a morphed Tyson jumped in the way, taking the full dose of poison.

Tyson, barely staying on his feet, shooed the mother and child away, and faced the Ayakashi, katana held in his shaking hands. I've already breathed the poison once, he thought to himself. A few times more won't change anything.

May, Chad and Karen, all morphed, charged in, blades held high. "Let's get him, Tyson!" Chad yelled, wavering slightly where he stood, the others also having trouble standing.

Tyson nodded, and they charged the Ayakashi, who laughed. "I'm too strong for you!" he said slowly. "Come and play!"

Back at the Kajiki Lake...

Ryan collapsed, his elemental energy drained once more. "I can't give up..." he muttered, hauling himself to his feet, using his rod to support him. "Everyone is counting on me!"

You can't do it, a little doubting voice in his head said to him. You're just too weak.

"NO!" Ryan yelled to the sky. "I WILL catch the Kajiki!"

Even Tyson needed to double his energy to master the Kabuto, the little voice said. How will you do that?

"I... I don't know..." Ryan said, his determination draining. Then he remembered what Hikoma had told him about Tyson's training.

"Tyson did not have enough elemental energy by himself, so he increased his output by drawing in energy from many fires. His element is fire, so the energy from the fires supplemented him own, building up and increasing his energy reserves, until he had enough energy to control the Kabuto by himself."

Ryan then realised what he had to do. He had an entire lake of water right in front of him; he could draw energy from that. But would it be enough?

Inspiration hit him, and he pulled out his talisman. "Origami, Come Forth!" he yelled. "Zord Mode!"

His mighty Water Dragon burst forth, expanding to enormous size. With his Origami Spirit to help him as well, Ryan was sure he could finally capture the Kajiki.

"Mighty dragon, lend me your strength!" Ryan called to it, and the dragon complied, water energy flowing from the Zord into Ryan.

"Now, let's do this!" he yelled, casting the line with all his might into the middle of the lake, and focused harder than he ever had before.

Tyson, Chad, May, Karen, Graydon, Hikoma, all the people of Tovern City and the world, he thought, energy surging through him, as he pulled in as much energy from the lake as he could. They're all relying on me! I will not fail them! I WILL NOT!

The massive Kajiki Spirit burst through the surface, the lure in its mouth, and Ryan pulled on the rod as hard as he could.

"KAJIKI!" he roared, spinning the capture disk as hard as he could, energy flowing into the rod and up the line to the swordfish. "YOU'RE MINE!"

The Kajiki Spirit erupted from the lake and flew through the air towards Ryan, who held the rod above his head, capture disk pointed at the great fish.

"Capture Disk, Activate!" he yelled, and the disk spewed forth a bright beam of blue light, hitting the Kajiki dead-on. The swordfish was drawn towards the disk, and its mighty nose blade made contact.

There was a blast of brilliant light, and Ryan was blown backwards, dropping the rod from his grip.

Then all was silent. Ryan's Water Dragon returned to its talisman, and tucked itself back in his pocket. Ryan got up and walking towards the fishing rod.

There was no sign of the Kajiki Spirit anywhere. Ryan was worried, until he noticed that the capture disk on the rod had changed. It was no longer white, but teal, and the kanji had been replaced by sword-like symbols.

Ryan, ecstatic, unclipped the capture disk, now the Kajiki Ronin Disk, and held it above his head. "I did it!" he yelled. "I captured the Kajiki Ronin Spirit!"

He quickly whipped out his morpher. "Alpha, do you read me?" he said into it.

"Reading you loud and clear, Ryan," Alpha's metallic voice responded.

"I've got the Kajiki Spirit!" Ryan yelled with delight. "Lock on to my morpher signal and teleport me back to the others ASAP!"

"No problem!" Alpha replied. "Beginning teleportation sequence!"

"I just hope I'm in time..." Ryan said, as he disappeared in a flash of blue light.

Back at Tovern City...

Tyson and the others were forced to de-morph as the Yamiororo blasted them with lazers from his eyes. "You're just too weak..." the vile monster giggled.

"Dammit..." Tyson spat, trying to climb to his feet, the poison finally sapping him of all his energy. "Where is Ryan?"

The Ayakashi continued to giggle. "Time to finish you!" he said, his eyes glowing, readying another shot. Tyson bowed his head, accepting the inevitable.

He heard the lazers fire, but they never reached him; instead they hit something else. He looked up to see the miniature Water Dragon zip around in front of them, blocking the lazers.

"The Water Dragon!" he said aloud. "Then that means..."

Right on cue, Ryan arrived, Water Bow held high. "Looks like I got hear just in time," he said to the Rangers.

"A few minutes earlier wouldn't have been so bad..." Chad said to him, grinning through a face twisted in pain.

"Ah, well, what're you gonna do?" Ryan shrugged. He pulled the Kajiki Disk from his pocket and clipped it to the bow, pointed it at the sky, and fired. A mighty teal arrow shot forth into the sky, and exploded like a firework, causing soothing rain to fall on the city. Some of the rain fell on the Rangers, and they felt their energy return as the poison was washed away.

"No!" the Yamiororo cried, as some of the rain fell on him too. "It's so disgusting!"

"We're cured!" May cried as they climbed to their feet.

"That swordfish is amazing!" Chad agreed.

"You did it, Ryan!" Karen cheered. Ryan smiled and nodded in reply.

"Okay, let's finish this!" Tyson said, pulling out his morpher once more, the others doing likewise. They drew their kanji in the air and span them around.

"SAMURAI STRIKE! BLADES UNITE!" they chorused, and with a whirl of colours and an inexplicable explosion they morphed.

"Strike Ranger Red, Tyson Shiba!"

"Strike Ranger Blue, Ryan Ikenami!"

"Strike Ranger Green, Chad Tani!"

"Strike Ranger Pink, May Shiraishi!"

"Strike Ranger Yellow, Karen Hanaori!"

"POWER RANGERS SAMURAI STRIKE!" they cried once more.

The Yamiororo fired his lazers at them, but the Rangers blocked them with their swords, then ran at the monster, blades at the ready, slashing away.

Unbeknownst to the Rangers, a strangely-armoured creature watched them, his eyes glowing from the shadows in which he hid. He did not join the battle, but merely watched, as if studying them.

"Ryan, it's time!" Tyson said, turning to him. "Show him the power of the Kajiki Spirit!"

"Right!" Ryan replied, summoning his Water Bow once more. He clipped the Kajiki Disk to the bow again and span it, causing the bow to shape-shift. Ryan flipped it on its side, holding it horizontally as the arms extended and the pull-back handle morphed into what looked like a gun, but with a slot running along its top, leading to the exact centre of the bow.

"Ronin Disk Activated!" Ryan called out. "Water Bow, Kajiki Crossbow Mode!"

One by one, the Rangers slotted their disks into the crossbow, and Ryan carefully pointed it at the Ayakashi, who looked perplexed by this chain of events.

"Kajiki Five-Sided Elemental Bolt!" Ryan shouted, and pulled the trigger. An enormous multi-coloured arrow fired from the crossbow and slammed into the Yamiororo. He screamed and sparked all over, collapsed and them exploded.

"Yes, we got him!" Chad yelled, punching the air.

"First life beaten!" Karen cheered.

Smoke erupted from the ground, and the Yamiororo appeared, his second life causing him to grow many stories tall.

As one, the Rangers pulled out their talismans. "Origami, Come Forth! Zord Mode!" they called out, and the talismans shifted into their Zord modes, the Rangers teleporting inside the command rooms.

Tyson immediately drew the combine kanji, and the Zords flew together, locking in place. "Formation Complete! StrikeBlade Megazord!" he shouted, the Megazord drawing its mighty katana to face the Ayakashi.

Meanwhile, in the Gedoushu dimension...

"Ah, so they've summoned the Megazord!" Shitari said, watching the battle through a crevice. "This is my chance to try that spell I've been working on!"

He waved his staff in the air, and black electricity crackled around it. "Commander Curse!" he yelled, pointing the staff through the crevice. The black electricity fired away and made contact with the Megazord, crackling all over it.

The Megazord froze momentarily, as if unsure what to do, and Shitari felt victorious. "It worked! StrikeBlade Megazord is now under my control!"

But then something went wrong. The electricity was suddenly rebounded, as if something had blasted it away. "What?" Shitari cried. "What happened? Why did my spell not work?"

Back at Tovern City...

"What was that?" Chad asked, as the black electricity receded.

"I don't know," Karen replied, "but it didn't come from the Ayakashi, that's for sure."

"Well, it doesn't seem to have done any damage," Tyson commented. "Let' just finish off this monster."

"Right!" the others said, focusing on the Yamiororo once more.

"Even when I'm big, I can still breathe!" the monster said. "Watch this!" He breathed out, and thick fog spewed from his mouth, blinding the Megazord.

"Oh, no!" May said, she and the others looking around desperately. "Where is he?"

"Right here!" the Ayakashi yelled, slamming his blade into the Megazord. The giant robot reeled from the attack, then tried to counter with its own blade, but the monster blocked it and struck again and again.

"It's no good!" Karen yelled. "We can't see him through this fog!"

"Tyson!" Ryan said. "The Kajiki can take care of this fog!"

"Good idea!" Tyson replied. "You caught him, so you can summon him."

"Right!" Ryan replied, teleporting onto the Megazord's shoulder, and spinning the Kajiki Disk on his blade, water spiralling around him like a tornado.

"Kajiki Ronin Spirit, Come Forth!" he called out. "Zord Mode!"

And from the tornado burst the Kajiki Zord, a might teal swordfish. Ryan teleported inside it as it swam through the air as if it were water.

"What the heck is that?" the Yamiororo said as the fish swam towards him.

"Swordfish Torpedos!" Ryan called out, and missiles fired from the Kajiki's mouth, exploding on the monster's chest. The Ayakashi fell back, and then was knocked over as he was rammed by swordfish's nose blade. The fog, deprived of its source, dissipated into the air.

"That Kajiki Spirit is awesome!" Chad yelled, and Tyson nodded in agreement.

"Ryan!" he called out. "It's time!"

"Right!" Ryan replied, and span the Kajiki Disk again. "Kajiki Zord!" he called out. "Initiate Megazord Armament Form!"

The Kajiki Zord flew in front of the Megazord, and its head detached from its body. Its body flew around to attach onto the Megazord's back, while the head folded into a helmet and sat itself on the Megazord's head, its nose blade pointing straight up.

"Armament Complete!" Ryan shouted, teleporting back the the main control room. "KajikiStrike Megazord!"

The newly formed KajikiStrike Megazord swung its katana at the Yamiororo, pushing him back. The monster blocked desperately, but another round of Swordfish Torpedos knocked the sword from his hand.

"And now to finish you!" Ryan said, drawing his sword from the control panel. The Megazord then raised its arm and threw its katana in the air above it. The Kajiki helmet's nose blade split open, and the katana's handle landed in the gap, locking in place, forming a giant blade atop the Megazord's head.

"Kajiki Finishing Strike!" the Rangers called out. "Fish-Splitting Cleaver!"

The blade on the Megazord's head glowed bright, and then it swung its head straight down, the massive blade slicing through the Ayakashi, neatly cutting him in two. The halves fell to either side, sparked and then exploded, finishing off the Yamiororo for good.

"Samurai Strike Rangers, mission complete!" the Rangers cheered in victory.

Meanwhile, in an unknown location...

Tayu shook with anger as she and Graydon watched the Rangers defeat the Ayakashi. Graydon grinned and looked at her. "Guess that didn't work the way you had planned, huh?" he asked her.

Tayu yelled with fury and retaliated by sending another surge of pain through him, and didn't stop until Shitari emerged through a crevice.

"Damn that useless monster," he muttered as he entered. "Why couldn't he stop them?"

"I told you," Graydon sneered at him. "The Rangers will never lose to the likes of you!"

"Shut up, you!" Shitari snapped at him, then had an idea. "You know why my controlling spell didn't work, don't you?"

"Of course," Graydon smirked in reply. "It's like I've been telling you; only Rangers have the power to command Zords. That's the way it's always been."

"Oh, really?" Shitari said, a truly evil idea coming to him.

"Yeah, that's right!" Graydon continued. "And since you don't have any Rangers on your side, you'll never get your hands on those Zords!"

Shitari grinned at him. "So, we don't have any Rangers on our side, do we?" he said, pointing his staff at Graydon. "Are you sure about that?"

Before Graydon could respond, black lightning shot from the warlock's staff. The last thing he heard was Shitari's evil laughter, before sinking into inky darkness.

Later, on the way back to Shiba Manor...

"You did great in that battle, Ryan!" Chad said, patting him on the back. "Thanks to you, the Kajiki Spirit is now ours!"

"That's right!" Karen added. "Now we're one step closer to rescuing Graydon!"

"Thanks, you guys," Ryan said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

"When we get back, make sure to give that disk to Alpha so he can analyse it," Tyson said to him. "With the added data from the new disk, finding the next Ronin Spirit should be much easier."

"You got it, Tyson!" Ryan replied.

"C'mon guys, let's go!" May, who was ahead of all of them, said. "The sooner we get back the sooner the search can begin!"

"Okay!" The others replied, and they all began running back to the manor.

Behind them, the strange creature emerged from the bushes. He was humanoid, but very tall, and completely covered in white bone-like armour. The front of his helmet was shaped like a skull, and was stained red with blood. A huge katana was slung over his back in a sheath.

"Power Rangers..." he muttered, before turning away and disappearing back into the shadows...

END CHAPTER NINE

Who is this strange new being? Is he friend or foe? What has Shitari done to Graydon? Will the Rangers be able to rescue him? Find out in the next exciting chapter!

For those of you who watched Shinkenger, you may have noticed a few major changes in this chapter, and I will give you my reasons for that.

I completely removed the fisherman character from this chapter. Personally, I really didn't like his attitude, and he just really didn't fit in to the story, as Ryan's reason for joining the Rangers was completely different in my version. No matter how I tried to work him in, it just didn't work, so I decided to just remove him completely. Please don't hate me too much for this, Shinkenger fans! :)

I also altered the Kajiki Bushido weapon, as Shinkenger's version was exactly the same to the Kabuto Bushido weapon (the bazooka), it just fired a differently shaped bullet. So I decided to make it change Ryan's bow instead, turning it into a giant crossbow thing. I'll admit it's not really that different, but I just thought it was boring having the same weapon again.

Also I changed the Kajiki's colour from light blue to teal. I just thought light blue wasn't different enough from blue. :)

Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and look forward to the next one, it's going to have some great stuff in it!

Any feedback would be appreciated, I haven't gotten any since chapter five! Any questions you want answered are welcome too, I'll try answer them as best I can!

Until next time, may the Power protect you!