Chapter 14
Today was just any other day but it happened to be really quiet and empty at the household, except for Emily and Nariko who were wandering the hall together looking for the others, that are mysteriously missing. "Hello? Where is everybody?" called Emily, they went into the living to find no one there and the yellow ranger turned to the princess "Did they go out without us?" "Not sure, let's keep looking." while the girls continued their search, the door leading to the kitchen and Kevin cautiously poked his head out. Once seeing that it's clear, he quickly made his way to the dojo where Mike and Mia were preparing decorations. "This is gonna be tough to pull off!" admitted Kevin, Mia pass by him carrying a box of paper chains "Have a little faith Kev, once we get this stuff ready all we have to do is hide it." Mike soon finished up writing a birthday sign for Emily and Nariko "Tomorrow is going to be great, it's Emily's first birthday without her sister and Ji said that Nariko really hasn't had a real birthday party in a long time. It's so cool that we're doing something special for the both of them, I'm just surprise to learn that their birthday is on the same day." suddenly there was a knock upon the door causing the 3 to freeze in their spot. The door then slid open to reveal that it was only Jayden, having Kevin and Mia sigh in relief making Mike smile "You should've seen your faces it looked like Master Xandred was at the door." "Ha, ha we just didn't want Emily and Nariko to find us." said Kevin, Jayden chuckled a bit "The coast is clear both Emily and Nariko went outside, what about the cake?" "I've got all the ingredients for an awesome cake, I just need to bake it without them noticing." said Mia only to have the guys exclaim "No!" noticing how Mia was looking at them Kevin quickly said "We don't want to risk it! Antonio already ordered it from the bakery." "Oh…Ok…"
Meanwhile with Antonio, he happened to be located at the river, patiently sitting there fishing. After waiting for a long time he sighed "Come on fish! Bite! Of all the days for Bass to be hiding!" the gold ranger then looked back at the Clawzord who happened to be sitting on top of the cooler "They're Emily's favorite and Nariko well she loves any type of fish…Emily is so cool I mean she accepted me right into the group from the start and Nariko…Oh she's still a sweetheart to me! I just want to catch them an awesome gift for their birthday tomorrow." the Clawzord made some noise having Antonio lightly pet him "Aw…That's right buddy I'll get you up and running on full speed in no time you…Can come to their birthday party too!" the Clawzord made a happy noise making the gold ranger smile and continue on with his fishing.
With Nariko, she was with Kagu and her fiancé Kenji roaming around the city happily chatting with one another. "So Nariko…What are you going to do for your birthday tomorrow?" asked Kagu "Um…Not sure…" "What do you mean not sure? Aren't Jayden and the others planning something special for you?" "Well that's just it…Neither Emily or I have seen Jayden and the others today." "Huh…That's strange…" "Maybe they just had something to do." said Kenji "Maybe…But Ken-chan and I are definitely visiting you and Emily tomorrow to wish you both a happy birthday!" "Kagu…Again with the Ken-chan?" "But that's my nickname for you." "Couldn't my nickname be at least Ken-kun?" "But that wouldn't be fun at all!" "Kagu!" Nariko just laughed at the couple "I see you two are still funny when you're together." "Hey! What's that suppose to mean Nariko?" asked Kagu, Kenji then looked at his watch "Oh man…I knew I forgot to do something…" he looked at the princess "Sorry to leave you like this Nariko but there's something I've got to do." "No it's quite all right, see you two later?" "Of course. Come on Kagu!" as Kenji began leading Kagu away she couldn't help but whine a bit "But Kenji!" Nariko laughed a bit and continued on her way but as she did, the princess soon heard screaming up ahead. She quickly head towards the commotion to find a Nighlok by the name of Splitface stealing people's spirits "What in the?" "Well, well look what we have here another spirit to steal!" Nariko began backing up as the Nighlok began approaching her "Now no need to be afraid all I want is your spirit." the princess tried to quickly turn around instead she tripped and fell upon her back. "Now you simply just made it easier for me!" said the Nighlok, Nariko sat up and began backing away again. To her relief the rangers arrived to stop the evil creature "Snack time is over for you Nighlok!" said Jayden, Emily quickly went over to the princess and helped her up "Nariko are you ok?" "Yes I'm fine…" as Mike and Antonio tried attacking the Nighlok, it used its ability body swarm and slip right pass the rangers and over to the girls. "Mm! You both will make a fine dessert!" said Splitface, Emily quickly got in front of Nariko to protect her unfortunately she got her spirit stolen by the Nighlok. The yellow ranger then fell to the ground and Nariko quickly knelt by her side "Emily!" Splitface then grabbed the princess by her throat and made her face him "Now for yours!" he soon stole Nariko's spirit right out of her body and once Splitface obtained it, the Nighlok simply let the princess go who immediately fell to the ground right by Emily.
Not believing at what just happened Jayden angrily charged at Splitface, his spin sword drawn "What did you do to Nariko and Emily?" Mia quickly went over to the girls, she gently patted Nariko's cheek "Nariko! Nariko are you ok?" she then turned to Emily pulling the yellow ranger into her arms "Emily! Emily wake up!" Splitface then landed a few feet away from the rangers after dodging Jayden's attack "Mm! I have to say their spirits were delicious! And in 24 hours they'll be mine forever! Of course if you defeat me you can have all their spirits back but you won't have the chance because I'm heading back to the Netherworld where no mortal can follow!" shocked by what they just heard Mia yelled "Guys we have to stop this creep!" "All of you try and enjoy you last day with your friends because I'm leaving and I won't be coming back!" announced Splitface "No! We won't let that happen!" said Jayden and the guys charged at the Nighlok who then did his body swarm and injured them. To their dismay Splitface managed to make his escape into the Netherworld through a gap. "Oh no…Poor Emily and Nariko…The sun is already setting by this time tomorrow they may never wake up…" said Mia, Jayden quickly went over to his fiancé's side and gently picked up her unconscious form "Come on let's get Nariko and Emily back to the household this instant." the rangers nodded while Jayden carried off Nariko, Mike was the one who picked up Emily and carried her away with Mia, Kevin and Antonio closely following.
That night at the household both Emily and Nariko were tucked away in bed, peacefully sleeping. Ji simply just watched as Mia sat by Emily's bed and Jayden sat by Nariko's while Kevin and Mike stood off to the side, after a minute passed in silence Ji said "54 people including Emily and Nariko have their spirits stolen, official hospital reports say that the patients are resting comfortably but we know better…" "I can't believe that by tomorrow night Emily and Nariko including all those people could be asleep forever…We have to defeat that Nighlok before that happens!" "But he said he won't leave the Netherworld…What can we do?" said Mia "We have to do something…No matter what it takes we have to save them." said Mike, Jayden just remained quiet through out the whole conversation. He gently grabbed Nariko's hand and held it tightly as the red ranger watched his sleeping fiancé, trying to figure out a way to save Nariko's and Emily's spirit.
The next day inside the room the girls were resting in Mia sat by Emily's side, gently wiping her forehead with a wet towel with Mike by her side. Though as she did this the yellow ranger quietly groaned and slowly opened her eyes "Emily!" said Mia, she then looked over at Nariko to see she was waking up also "And Nariko! She's awake too!" mike towards the door calling out "Hey! Emily and Nariko are awake!" as the girls sat up in bed Mike quickly fix Emily's pillows while Mia fixed Nariko's just as Ji, Jayden and Kevin came running in. "Sorry guys…I'm let him get me." Emily tiredly said, Mike shook his head at her "Don't be silly, we're just glad you're ok." while the green ranger handed her a cup of water, Jayden went over to Nariko's side "Hey Nariko…How are you feeling?" "Not myself…Jayden…I'm so sorry for being a burden to you like this…" "What are you talking about? You're no burden to me." "Yes I am…I can't even defend myself from a Nighlok without having you or the others there to protect me now look at what has happened to me…Even to Emily…" "Nariko you're going to be fine." "Thanks for putting on the brave face for the both of us Jayden…But we know we're not ok…" Emily slowly nodded "Nariko is right…I feel very empty…" "Don't worry…We'll figure it out." assured Mia "We're not going to let the both of you down, we'll save you…Just hold on until then…I promise I won't let anything happen to you Nariko." said Jayden who then grabbed his fiancé's hand and laid a gently kiss upon it. She just gave him a small tired smile before slowly closing her eyes, falling back asleep. Emily did the same thing also causing Mia to exclaim "No! They're falling back to sleep!" "Emily!" exclaimed Mike, automatically the yellow ranger didn't respond causing the green ranger to storm out of the household. "Mike!" exclaimed Kevin, he ran after his friend along with Mia, Jayden gently let go of Nariko's hand and looked towards Ji "Look after them." the samurai mentor just nodded, the red ranger then laid a kiss upon his fiancé's forehead and quickly ran out of the household to catch up with the others.
Back at the area where the rangers fought Splitface, Mike arrived with his spin sword in hand and approached the gap that Splitface escaped through. "Nighlok! Come out you coward! You can't do this to Emily and Nariko! You hear me?" he began attacking the pillar, Kevin and Mia quickly arrived in time to see this. The blue ranger then grabbed Mike by the shoulder and pushed him away "Calm down! That won't do anything!" told Mia "Then what should we do? Tell me what should we do?" questioned the green ranger, Jayden soon arrived at the area also only to quickly stop in his tracks once Deker appeared before him "You!" "It seems that I have bad timing, I thought we could finally duel but you're obviously preoccupied." "If you know that then go away! I don't have time for your games stranger." just as Jayden pass him to join the others Deker said "There is one way for humans like you to enter the Netherworld." this quickly caught Mike's attention "Really?" "Simply trade your human existence to become a Nighlok willing give yourself over to them and pass through the gap." told Deker "Wait…Are you saying you made that choice?" questioned Jayden "I don't remember how it happened to me but I'm living proof that it could be done." Deker then turned into his Nighlok form which surprised the rangers, he looked back at them "I dare you to do it, you can then fight in ways no living human can it'll make our impending duel more glorious." Deker immediately took his leave from the area and once he was gone Mia lowly said "Become a Nighlok?" the rangers then looked at the gap upon the pillar for a bit and Mike nodded his head "I'll do it." "Wait…It's our mission to save the entire world you can't just…" started Kevin only to have Mike interrupt "Then you stay behind…Both Emily and Nariko are the best of us…They have the most sweetest and caring spirits and I won't let that Nighlok keep it." Jayden then grabbed the green ranger's shoulder "Mike…I know how much you care about Emily, we all do…But remember it's our duty to protect and save the many!" "What I want to save right now is Emily! And I'll do whatever it takes!" "We also need to save all those other poor people in the hospital…I'll go with you Mike…" said Mia, the green ranger then looked at his leader "You know Jayden…I thought you would be one of the first people to join me concerning this involves Nariko…Do you even care about her?" "Of course I do! I care deeply care about her! Which is why as a team we're doing this together come on!"
As they began to approach the gap a voice immediately stopped them in their tracks "Wait stop!" the rangers looked to see Antonio standing there on the side "Mentor told me you guys were here." "Antonio?" wondered Jayden, the gold ranger approach them "I think I may be able to draw that Nighlok back through the gap." "For real? How?" asked Mike "It will take a lot of symbol power and the Clawzord." told the gold ranger who went back over to his cooler and let the Clawzord out. Jayden and the others then pulled out their spin swords while Antonio pulled out his morpher and typed in the symbol power "Let's do this guys!" the rangers spun their disk which cause their sword to glow and together they all said "Symbol power live!" and the power went straight to the Clawzord who began to glow "Again!" said Antonio, they did it again and the Clawzord grew some more. The gold ranger looked at his friends "More! We need more symbol power for it to fully activate!" the group did the same thing two more times and the Clawzord grew to the size its suppose to in turn it fully activated. Because of this Splitface suddenly shot out of the gap and towards the Clawzord only to be hit by its claw. As the Nighlok landed hard on the ground he couldn't help but wonder "Hey! What's going on? W-What is that?" "That's my buddy Clawzord and he's new in town!" answered Antonio "But I was in the Netherworld how did you get me here?" "It's simple when we came in contact I marked you with a symbol the same symbol I've been working with to program the Clawzord." "What? You marked me?" "Yeah and after I finished programming the Clawzord I just needed the other rangers to help me activate him once we did that I knew you would be drawn out of the Netherworld just like a magnet and it worked like a charm!" "This is outrageous! I refused to believe you can beat me like this! No, no, no!" "Shut your mouths! You're gonna pay for what you did to Emily and Nariko!" told Mike "It's time to end this!" said Mia "We're gonna take back every spirit you've stolen!" said Kevin, Jayden took out his morpher "Enough talk it's time to light you up!"
The rangers quickly morphed and began fighting with Splitface, to their delight the Nighlok couldn't do his body swarm thanks to Antonio's marking. Seeing that he was in deep trouble Splitface tried making an escape only to be stopped by Kevin's and Mia's weapons. Mike then charged at the Nighlok with his Forest Spear and threw Splitface towards Jayden who easily destroyed the Nighlok with his Fire Smasher. Though of course Splitface returned as a giant, seeing as the rangers couldn't form their megazord without Emily, Antonio handle the battle with the Clawzord which turned into a megazord by itself. He soon defeated the nasty Nighlok with the help of Jayden, Mike and Kevin's Battle Wing, once Splitface was destroyed all the spirits he stolen immediately returned to the people's bodies who immediately woken up from their slumber.
That night back at the household, Emily and Nariko were their normal selves after their spirits returned. Currently they were being led down the hall eagerly by Mia who said "Come on you two!" "Mia! What's up?" asked Emily "Don't worry we're fine now." said Nariko "I know but the both of you are about to get even better!" said Mia, the girls soon reached the living room only for Emily and Nariko to find it beautifully decorated in yellow and silver. Both girls immediately smiled and said "What is all this?" then the guys jumped out from their hiding spots yelling "Surprise! Happy birthday!" "Are you both surprised?" asked Kevin, both girls happily nodded while Mike went over and handed a envelope to Emily from her sister Jayden approached his fiancé with a present which he handed it to her "Happy birthday love." though once she opened her present the princess gasp "Oh my! Jayden it's beautiful!" "I know how much you adored music boxes so I got this for you with a little help from Antonio and Ji." "Oh I love it thank you!"
Nariko gave Jayden a sweet kiss on his lips before going over to Antonio and Ji to give them a hug. Then Mike covered Emily's eyes while Jayden covered Nariko's and both guys led the girls over to the table. "And what's a birthday without a cake!" said Antonio, both Mike and Jayden uncovered the girls eyes for them to see their nicely designed cake. Soon Kevin realized there was another name on the cake and wondered out loud "Clawzord?" "It's his birthday too." said Antonio, Clawzord who was on the table happily made some noise making everyone laugh. "You guys are the best!" declared Emily "No Emily…Mike is right both you and Nariko are the best we're just so happy and relieved to see the both of you are ok, today victory really is ours." said Jayden, Mia then grabbed the knife "Well…Who wants cake?" both girls realized something and looked at each other, Nariko then looked back at the pink ranger "Oh…Uh…You baked us a cake?" "No…Sorry…We got this cake at the bakery." "We understand you were busy." said Emily "Well let's dig in!" said Nariko "Well you girls blow out your candles!" reminded Kevin "Make a wish first!" added Mia, both girls leaned in and blew out their candles making everyone cheer. Nariko and Emily smiled at each other and together they both hugged one another thus continuing to enjoy their birthday party with the people they love dearly by their sides.