House of Rangers

Chapter 11: There Go the Brides

A/N: Skipping to this chapter since "A Fish Out of Water" is kinda dull. I also don't plan on doing "Forest for the Trees," so don't expect that chapter. Anyway, now that Nina knows the Nighlok knows she's the Chosen One, what will that mean? Could it mean nothing as of yet, or could it mean they know about the cup and elixir? What'll happen when a new enemy enters the picture?

Also, for this and the next chapter, Mia isn't posing as the original fake bride, and Kevin isn't going to be turned evil.

Disclaimer: I only own things not originally in the show.

The six samurai rangers were all dressed up, participating in a plan they had come up with to lure the Nighlok out. The most recent Nighlok was kidnapping brides, and they had yet to find out who. Their idea was to put on a fake wedding, with Jayden acting as the groom and Nina acting as the bride. Of course, Nina had not wanted to do so since it would be awkward, considering her brother was playing the fake groom, but Ji had insisted that it would be easier for them to make it more realistic if the two who worked best together posed as a marrying couple.

"This is extremely awkward," Nina whispered as the fake priest began.

"I know it is," Jayden sighed. "But we have to do this."

"Once this Nighlok is taken down, we never mention this again," Nina hissed quietly.

In the pews, Ji sat on one side with the other four rangers on the other. Mike and Emily sat in the front in their best wedding attire, Mia and Kevin doing the same in the row behind them. "Dudes," Mike whispered. "Check out Mentor with the waterworks." He noticed Kevin was crying as well.

"It's just allergies," the blue ranger defended. "The flowers."

"Wow," Emily breathed. "Nina looks so beautiful."

"Someone get me out of here," Mike muttered. Mia, having heard the comment, smacked him upside the head. The priest continued on, trying to stall it as long as possible to see if the plan would work.

It wasn't until he got to the "speak now or forever hold your peace" part that Ji got a call. "They took the bride?" he stood up. They all turned to him. "Okay. The Nighloks didn't take the bait," he informed the team.

"I thought our fake wedding would have worked for sure," Mia huffed.

"Not this time," Ji shook his head. "The moogers stormed the church downtown and kidnapped another bride.

After getting back to the Shiba house, everyone had changed back into normal clothes. Nina was glad to be out of the wedding dress and out of the awkward situation she was put into earlier. The dirty blonde had no doubt she would have nightmares about it for weeks to come. Once everyone was settled, they gathered in the common room, sitting in the chairs in a circle once more. Ji stood at one end. "That makes it five brides kidnapped," he spoke as they pulled it up on the map.

"Hey, look," Mike got their attention. "It's in a pattern. In the shape of a star."

"You're right," Kevin observed. "Have you studied maps in crime patterns before?"

"Sorta," the green ranger shrugged. "I watch a lot of cop shows."

"Too much was left up to chance," Jayden stated. "We have to make sure we lure them in before any more brides are taken."

"I can't even begin to imagine what those poor girls are going through," Mia commented. "I mean, this is supposed to be the happiest day of their lives."

Emily had a thought. "Do you think they would have taken those brides to the Sanzu River?"

"No," Ji denied. "The living can't survive there for long. The moogers must have used the gap to take them somewhere else."

"Wherever they are," Nina sighed. "If our sting operation had worked, I could have helped those poor brides."

"We have to try again," Jayden suggested.

"But how do we get them to come to our wedding?" Kevin wondered.

Ji held up a stack of papers. "Here's a list of the weddings scheduled for our area."

"There's so many weddings," Emily noted. "That's the problem."

"I have an idea," Jayden sat up.

The next day, the samurai rangers were ready to proceed with their plan. The previous night, Jayden had managed to convince all but one couple to put their wedding on hold because of the Nighlok attacks. They knew which wedding was going to be attacked, but they had to act fast to get it done. Their back up plan was also all set to go, and they were hoping it would work this time.

After mimicking the real bride's dress with a bit of symbol power, Nina, Mia, Kevin, Mike, and Emily helped hide the bride and groom away, explaining practically nothing, but ensuring their safety. Now, Nina found herself walking down the aisle outside, her arm looped with her brother's as they posed as the marrying couple once more. "Why do I get the feeling you are going to owe me big time after this?" she whispered, noting how none of the people in the crowd seemed to be phased by people they didn't recognize taking the spot of the real couple.

"Because of creepy dreams that could possibly occur?" he answered. "If this all works out, then you won't have to do this again."

"Yet if it fails," Nina sighed. "I'm asking Mia to take over as bride bait. I just hope the moogers show up soon." Then she thought about that statement. "Wow. That's something I'd never thought I'd say."

"They will," Jayden chuckled softly as they neared the end. "And we'll get them." The two looked completely serious as they walked, stopping before the minister.

"Friends," she began. "We've been invited here today to share a very important moment in the lives of these two young people. Their love and understanding of each other has grown and matured, and now they've decided to live their lives together as husband and wife."

Noises caught their attention and everyone turned to see moogers crashing the wedding. All the guests scream, and Jayden and Nina did their part to act like the terrified, clueless couple. Nina gave her brother a nod before she was kidnapped and Jayden was held back.

After being kidnapped, Nina was brought to where the other brides were being held. The moogers dropped her to the floor of the dusty old room before the head of the operation. The orange ranger was almost afraid to look up, but she knew she had to. As she began to look up, she spotted the Nighlok in charge. "Nicely done, moogers," the Nighlok spoke. Nina sat on her knees and hid her face. "Welcome."

Dayu, Nina muttered in her mind. She's part of Xandred's crew. I remember reading about her in the archives.

"Now," Dayu began, moving toward Nina. "What's the best way to welcome you…Orange samurai ranger? Or should I say…Chosen One?" The veil Nina wore was thrown off and she quickly reached for her morpher. Dayu pulled her arm behind her back, snatching the samurizer out of her hands. "Well, now, what little bobble have you brought me? You thought you'd trick me, didn't you? Oh, you think we haven't been watching you and your pathetic pals? Now I've got you and the real bride as well."

Moogers dragged the real bride in and threw her into the trap that held the other brides.

"No!" Nina gasped. "But we hid her!" A mooger took Dayu's hold on her so Dayu could face Nina.

"Now you're going to call your friends," she stated. "Just like you planned. Tell them you found the brides, then tell them to go to warehouse thirty two near the docks." The samurizer was open and pressed to her ear.

"Forget it," she spat. "I won't help you send my friends into a trap!"

"Oh, I think you will," Dayu corrected. "Because if you don't, then I'll really give those brides something to cry about." Nina caved and knew it was time to put on a good act.

The samurizer dialed Jayden's and he picked up a moment later. "Are you all right?"

"Yes," she replied. "I'm with the brides. We're in Shoretown near the docks, warehouse thirty two. And Jayden, please hurry."

"Okay," Jayden confirmed. "We're on our way." Dayu moved the device away and closed it.

She smiled. "Very good.

A short while later, after having sat in silence and wondering what was going on, Dayu smirked. "Kaboom," she continued. Nina was still being held back by the mooger who had a rather tight grip on her arm. "You samurai rangers are no match for me. Ah. I haven't felt this good in a long time. Look at this gown," she motioned to the one behind her. "All the dashed hopes and dreams it symbolizes. Oh, how good it feels to throw a bridal shower, a bridal shower of tears that will raise the Sanzu River and flood your pathetic world. This is the end for you."

Dayu lifted Nina up by her arm so the dirty blonde was in a standing position. She threw Nina to the ground and the girl hit it. "Go on, moogers," Dayu ordered. "Get rid of her." Before they could move, a flying red object came in and knocked all of them back, Nina's samurizer in hands. It dropped the samurizer so Nina caught it before flying back to where Jayden now stood with Mike, Emily, and Kevin. "What? How in the world…How did you escape the warehouse?"

"I think it's your turn to cry," Nina stood straight, glaring straight at Dayu. "I'm not the only samurai ranger that's been kidnapped today." The trap behind her burst into pieces, revealing Mia with her spin sword out and in the dress Nina wore the day before.

"No!" Dayu gasped.

"Two samurai ranger brides are twice as nice," the pink ranger commented. "Don't you think?"

"How could this be?" Dayu frowned.

"Pretty easily, actually," Emily explained. "When Nina traded places with that real bride to protect her, we made sure she had double-bride protection. So when you came back to kidnap the real bride, guess who you ended up kidnapping instead."

Dayu was getting mad. "But the warehouse. Who went there?"

"Our doubles," Jayden answered. All of the brides that weren't rangers ran out, anxious to get out of there. Nina and Mia went to stand with their teammates.

"Looks like your dress making days are over," Nina declared.

"Oh yeah?" Dayu huffed. "We'll see about that!" she fired something at them. Jayden cast a symbol that caused them all to vanish before it hit them.

Outside, all the rangers remained morphed and hidden, waiting for Dayu to make her appearance. They didn't wait long as the Nighlok quickly made her way outside with her horde of moogers following her. They knew it was time to get this fight going. "Show yourselves!"

Jayden made his appearance first by stepping out from behind a few trees. "Samurai ranger, ready."

"Samurai ranger," Kevin jumped out from behind a tree. "Ready."

"Samurai ranger," Mia stood in the next tree over. "Ready."

"Samurai ranger," Nina stood on the porch of the building behind Dayu. "Ready."

Mike faked a yawn before getting up from his sitting position on the steps. "Samurai ranger, ready."

"Samurai ranger," Emily appeared in the last open spot of the circle they had formed. "Ready."

"Dearly beloved," Mia jumped down from the tree. All of them walked closer to Dayu, making the circle tighter. "We're gathered here for one thing."

"Rangers together," they chorused, getting ready to fight. "Samurai forever."

Dayu stretched out her arms. "I have but one thing to say. Moogers, attack!"

"Bad choice," Jayden huffed as the rangers charged the oncoming moogers.

All six of them began fighting off the moogers as the moogers split them up. The only weapons they were using at the moment was their spin swords, and it wasn't long before the fight was dragged to the nearby quarry. Dayu was nowhere in sight, and that greatly worried the team. If she wasn't there, it could spell big trouble for them, and that was something they didn't need. As they wondered about it, they saw Mia and Kevin had finished off their group of moogers and were now attacking Dayu, who had reappeared before them.

Jayden was first to notice this and defended the two rangers from an attack. The red ranger and the Nighlok engaged in a fight as the others went to join Mia and Kevin. Jayden was holding his own pretty well until Mike, Emily, and Nina jumped in and blocked what was being fired. Kevin and Mia then stepped up and combined two of their attacks to hit Dayu. Jayden brought out his fire smasher and put it in cannon blast mode. They all lent him their power discs, and he fired the cannon.

However, before it could hit Dayu, an unfamiliar Nighlok appeared in front of her and defended her. The rangers all stood confused and watched as the smoke cleared. "Red ranger," the new Nighlok spoke. "You shall be my sword Urumasa's greatest challenge."

"What does that mean?" Mia frowned.

"Dekker," Dayu looked at the Nighlok before her. "You came to save me?"

"Not quite," he replied. "Red ranger, we sill duel soon. Until then…" he grabbed Dayu's hand and ran off, the two suddenly appearing at the top of the cliff.

"You're running away?" Kevin called.

"Cowards!" Mia added. The new Nighlok said something and half a dozen giant moogers appeared.

After the long fight, the rangers found they had time to relax. Ji had let them go out into town and hang out for a while. They were all heading down to the local bakery to get some cupcakes, Emily's idea. As usual, they had taken down the Nighlok of the day by using the megazord, and they used the swordfish sword Kevin had caught the previous week. It proved to be very helpful in their situation. Now, things were back to normal and they could all relax until the next Nighlok attack. Kevin, Mia, Mike, and Emily were walking a bit ahead of Nina and Jayden.

"What's on your mind?" the red ranger asked her. "And don't say nothing because I can tell something is."

"It's nothing you need to be concerned about," Nina sighed. "Yet."

"Yet?" Jayden raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"

"Nothing," Nina shook her head. "Right now, it's something that only I should worry about. Now come on. Let's head into the bakery before the others come out and drag us in."

"As long as it's not wedding cake," Jayden shrugged. Nina elbowed him in the gut.

"I thought we agreed we wouldn't talk about this once it was over?"

A/N: Ending it here. Up next is another HOA chapter. What'll happen with that?