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Chapter Ten: Trying to Remember

A/N: Hey! Ready for another chapter? Of course you are! Well get to it!

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." -Martin Luther King Jr.

I lay on the bed, staring off in the direction of 'Tonio's staggered breathing. Ji voice sighs. "Antonio, why did you break your arm and collar bone again?"

"Didn't do it on purpose. Just kind of happened."

"Well for now on, if I tell you to stay in bed...stay in bed! The rangers aren't strong enough for the healing symbol this time. You'll have to heal normally."

"Dammit."

"Language."

"I see you watching us Jayden," Tonio says. "You still look at things

like a hawk." I put my head down and looked away. "No, it's ok."

I hear footsteps coming towards me. Ji runs his fingers through my hair, untangling a few knots. "You're looking a lot better," he says. "Fever's gone, and your breathing sounds stronger. Do your eyes still burn?" I shake my head. "Ok. I think we can count on you eating normally pretty soon."

"You're still thin," 'Tonio says.

"You be quiet," Ji tells him. "You're still in trouble. Jayden, are you up for going outside?" I nod enthusiastically. "Alright then." He helps me sit up and I swing my legs over the edge of the bed. "Don't be scared now Jayden," he says. "Easy now." He wraps one of his arms under mine, and helps me stand. I stumble a little, but he helps me stay on my feet.

We walk around the house slowly. I lean on Ji the whole time. Whenever I lose my balance he's there's to catch me. Soon I feel the smooth stones beneath my feet. Ji helps me sit down, and I run my hand over whatever it is I'm resting on. It's a smooth bench. "Stay put," he tells me. I nod.

I take in my other surroundings. I hear the sound of practice katanas against dummies. The sounds of breathing and grunts of surprise and pain. They remind me of something. Like a fight, I think...

I catch a mooger off guard and destroy it with a single swing. I see Serrator blast Antonio away and into the trunk off a tree. I run to his side and crouch down beside him. "You ok?"

He nods. "Yeah." I see Serrator run off and follow him.

"Jayden! Stick to the plan!" someone shouts behind me.

"Jay don't!" Antonio yells.

I ignore them and run after Serrator. I dodge trees easily as I run. 'He's not getting away this time,' I think. I follow him to a place where a cliff face stands. He faces me and I attack. He stops my blow sends me back into a tree trunk. The tree shakes with the impact. I stand up and attack again. This time I try to wait until the last minute to swing my sword.

Serrator is still ready though and hits me in the chest with enough force I can audibly hear my ribs crack. I fell to the ground in pain. I stand up and face him again, doubt starting to cloud my mind...

I hear footsteps coming towards me and wrap my arms around myself. I tense up and move away slightly.

"It's ok Jayden," Ji says. "I have something for you. Something I should've returned to you already." He takes my hand and I pull it back. "No no. It's ok. I won't hurt you. Promise." He take's it again and unclenches my fingers one by one. He places something hard in my palm. I warp my fingers around it. "It's your lion-folding zord," Ji explains gently. "When you went missing...the others found it smashed to pieces. Antonio managed to fix it though, but it took him a few weeks."

He stops and puts his hand on mine. "A few weeks," he laughs bitterly. "Anyways, your samuraizer was destroyed too, and Antonio's still working on it. Not that you'll need it anymore." His voice shakes a little at the end. "I just thought, maybe having you old friend could help you." I hear him get up and open my hand again. I tap the object sitting on it nervously. I feel it shift around and suddenly it feels different.

I reach my finger out cautiously. I'm aware of the fact that the sounds of training have stopped. I feel the...lion folding-zord rubbing against my finger. I hear a small roar and jump a little. The roar sounds friendly though. And familiar. I trace my finger along the zord curiously. I nod my head slowly. "Hey buddy."

The zord roars again and rubs my finger again. I bring it closer to my body and hold it close...

I was starting to realize that maybe I'd made a bad decision. Serrator threw me into the cliff side mercilessly. I feel pain rush down my spine as I drop to the ground.

"Jayden!" I turn my head towards the noise. "Jayden! Where are you?!"

"Antonio," I whisper. I look over at Serrator who somehow looks smug.

"Get the gold ranger," Serrator says to some moogers standing off to the side. "I have no use for him. Get rid of him."

"No!" I say desperately. I try to push myself to me feet. I stand unsteadily. I pull my lion folding-zord out and activate him. "Go help- ah!" Serrator attacks me again, pinning me into the cliff. I kick and squirm, but his grip is too tight. Moogers come over and replace him so he can stand back. They rip the lion folding-zord out of my hands before I can resist. "That's mine! Give it back!"

I suddenly hear a scream of pain from not too far off. 'Antonio!' Serrator smiles. He grips my lion zord and crushes it against the rocks. I can only watch in horror as it shatters to what looks like a million pieces. "No!" I shout. I feel as though he's just crushed a piece of my soul with it. The moogers pull my samuraizer off of me and hand it to Serrator.

I gulp in fear. If it's one thing Antonio's made clear to us, nighlocks getting a hold of our morphers is a bad thing. Serrator merely smiles again, making my blood run cold. He smashes it into the cliff face, destroying it into even more pieces than my zord. I try to throw off the moogers even more, but it's useless. There's too many of them and I'm too weak to do anything...

I feel tears slipping down my face as I'm forced to remember that day. I can feel it all now. How angry I was that they destroyed my most prized possession. How scared I was when Serrator had circled me; smiling like he'd won. How terrified I was when I'd heard Antonio's screams of pain. And the others, a thought comes to me as I'm unable to stop it. Others...? I blink and put my zord down, resting my head in my hands.

My zord nudges my leg with its head. I move one hand down so it can climb up onto it. I sit up so I can hold it against my body. The others...what others? I can feel the memory like a car that won't start. The others...what others? Other...people? Yes. Other...samurai?

"Other samurai?" a voice in my head scoffs. "Do you even get the right to call yourself that anymore?"

In their eyes, maybe.

"Not even in their eyes."

So what are they then? What kind of others? What other people should I remember? I hold my zord with two hands now. It roars again and rubs against the palm side of my thumb. I feel a little...lighthearted at the encounter. I bring my face towards it cautiously and feel it nip my nose. I actually smile a little when it does this. It roars and nudges my hand with it's paw.

I missed you, I think. I missed you so much. You and everyone else. I pause for a moment. Everyone else? The others? Who are these others? Why does it feel so important that I remember them? They mean something. That much I'm sure of. Right before the monsters took me I thought of them. 'Tonio is one of them. I stroke my zord as I contemplate it...

Serrator is still smiling at me. It chills me to my very core. "Tie him up," he orders.

I struggle and resist as the moogers pull me from the cliff face. They trip me and one even kicks the back of my knees. I'm force to the ground, grunting in pain. I feel them tying my wrists together. I'm still morphed though. 'I can get away I think.' I try to knock them away, but their grip is too strong. One of them holds it's sword against my throat and I stop resisting. 'I can't escape if I'm dead.'

They tie my ankles next. The rope on my wrists is uncomfortable and tight. I try to move my feet, but they're restrained to tightly. I realize now that I won't be able to escape. I look at Serrator in defiance as I de-morph. The mooger with the sword at my throat tilts the sharp part up towards my chin, forcing my head up even more. "Afraid to die, red ranger?"

"Never," I lie. "You don't scare me."

Serrator laughs. "Oh, but I will eventually. I will scare you so much you'll beg and plead for me to end your life. And I will deny it, just to watch you suffer."

His words have no effect on me, but I don't like the way he sound so sure. "Doubt it," I reply.

Serrator merely shakes his head and nods to the moogers. They lift me up again and pull me to the cliff face. 'What are they-' is all I think before they smash my head into the stones and my vision turns black...

I wrap my hands around my zord as I remember that day. If only I'd known then what I know now, I think sadly. Maybe I wouldn't run off. Maybe I wouldn't leave the other... I struggle to remember the word I'd used in my memory. Rangers. Maybe I wouldn't have left the other rangers behind. The other rangers... I gasp as a thousand thoughts and memories flood my mind. People laughing and joking. People talking too me and helping me when I'm hurt.

"Jayden?" Ji asks. I feel his hands on mine; still clutching my zord. "Jayden are you ok?"

Tears start to slip down my face as I shake my head. I'm not ok. I can never be ok. Because I can remember. I remember everything now.