Chapter 20: Attacked

A/N: Revised Chapter

Tashiko painted the kanji for Lightning with slow, delicate strokes. She had painted it the kanji for lightning faster but it ended up exploding in her face. Mike had told her that with symbol power, it was to be slow, precise and with a calm mind.

Ever since finding her symbol power drew from the Lightning element, Mike had ordered her to practice it over and over the last two weeks. She side glanced at the rangers, seeing them as they surrounded Jayden, their wooden katana's in hand. The Red ranger tightened the grip on his wooden katana and stated, "I want you to hit me with everything you got."

The rangers gave him a surprised look and even Tashiko raised an eyebrow. "But Jayden," Kevin began. "Just do it!" Jayden barked at them, making them flinch. What the hell? Tashiko thought, seeing that Jayden's behavior was strange. He usually didn't act like that and it was weird for Tashiko seeing him so….aggressive. It was also strange that Jayden was challenging all the rangers to fight him at once.

Ami narrowed her eyes at the Red ranger and didn't question his tactics, instead immediately attacked him. Jayden instantly blocked her attack, knocking her into the ground with ease. Kevin and Mia attacked next but Jayden blocked their attacks, hitting them hard with the wooden katana. Mike, who was still limping, but decided to train with the rangers anyways, attacked him next. He was flown towards the ground painfully, making the rest of the rangers wince. "Mike!" Emily shouted, dropping the wooden katana and rushed towards the Green ranger.

"Are you okay?" she asked making the Green ranger nod. "I'm fine Em. No worries," Mike winced, painfully getting to his feet. He wasn't going to lie, that hit actually made him land on his leg wrong and probably hurt it again. Antonio attacked the Red ranger, followed by Ami.

Suddenly Jayden summoned his Fire Smasher making Antonio dodge the attack but Ami got hit full on, sending her flying towards the side. She screamed in agony, holding a burnt arm. "Dude! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Mike screamed, seeing how Ami had gotten hurt with Jayden's Fire Smasher.

Tashiko dropped her paintbrush not believing her eyes. How could Jayden be hurting his teammates? She quickly rushed inside of the Shiba house to grab a bag full of frozen peas.

"Ami! Are you okay?" Mia asked, helping the Purple ranger to her feet. "No," Ami whimpered, showing the Pink ranger her burnt arm. "Jayden! You burnt your teammate!" Mike seethed, glaring at the Red ranger. "This is training! Not a battlefield!" Antonio could see how Jayden was getting angry and got in between the Red and Green ranger. "Whoa, whoa, let's cool our heads," he began.

"Get out of the way," Jayden growled at the Gold ranger, pushing him away before turning to Mike. "Well maybe you should all act like it," Jayden snarled. "We are fighting a war against the Nighlok! We are not in a fucking playground." "But we aren't your training dummies!" Mike shouted. "We are your teammates!" "Enough!" Kevin yelled, catching everyone's attention. "Mia, tend to Ami. Mike head inside. Now." The Green ranger scoffed, glaring at Jayden once more before limping away. Emily followed the Green ranger, not being able to look at Jayden in the eye after the incident. Mia took Ami back inside of the Shiba house bumping into Tashiko who was going outside with the bag of peas.

"Oh! Here Mia, I think you'll need these," Tashiko stated, handing the Pink ranger the peas. "Thank you Tashiko," Mia replied, giving the peas to Ami who glanced at Tashiko with a small smirk. She had to do something with this, Tashiko thought as the Pink and Purple rangers disappeared down the hallway. Wouldn't be a surprise. She made herself back to the backyard before stopping seeing Jayden in the middle of the backyard with Antonio confronting him. Not wanting to pry, Tashiko headed back inside of the house.

"Jayden, what the hell is wrong with you?" Antonio asked the Red ranger who was glancing at the ground. "Nothing is wrong," Jayden replied, glancing at Antonio. "I'm simply stating the truth. We need to get our act together unless we want to die." "By being a jerk about it?" Antonio pointed out, shaking his head. "Jayden, there are many ways you could have approached this problema and you chose to be a dick about it. You even got your Fire Smasher involved and hurt Ami! You threw Mike too hard on the ground as well."

"Then they shouldn't be rangers," Jayden scoffed, turning away from Antonio. The Gold ranger gaped at his friend in shock before grabbing the Red rangers shoulder and spun him around. "Jay, I know you well. You aren't like this. What. The. Hell. Is. Wrong?"

Jayden disummoned his weapon and covered his face with his hands. "I can't do it. I can't take it Ant. It's too much!" the Red ranger whispered, tears beginning to flow down his cheeks. "I don't know what to do anymore." He collapsed to his knees beginning to weep as Antonio kneeled down and rubbed the Red rangers back. "So that's it," Antonio murmured quietly. "You're still having those nightmares." "Ant, they keep getting worse. I see deaths everytime I close my eyes. They're so real I can feel their pain, taste the blood flowing in my mouth," Jayden wept. Antonio embraced the Red ranger into a hug, hugging his best friend tightly. "It's going to be okay Jay. We got your back," Antonio whispered into the Red rangers ear.

Suddenly Jayden pushed the Gold ranger away. "That's the problem!" the Red ranger spat getting to his feet. "You all have my back! I don't want to have y'all in my back! I don't want you to die for my sake!" He shouted angrily. Antonio's eyes went wide in confusion and hurt. Why didn't Jayden want them to help him?

The Gap Sensor went off making the Red ranger wipe away his tears and left a puzzled Antonio on the ground.

Tashiko watched the rangers leave through the gates before stepping out of the house as well. She walked into the forest, wondering why Jayden was being so aggressive lately. She heard footsteps and turned around to find Hideo a few feet away from her. He was back into his Nighlok form and gave her a warm smile. "Hello Raikou-Hime. Long time no see."

"Hideo," Tashiko smiled, seeing the half-Nighlok. She rushed towards him and hugged him tightly. She smiled as he chuckled. "I haven't seen you roam the forest," Hideo pointed out. "What's up with that?" Tashiko sighed and crossed her arms, pouting. "The rangers been keeping an eye out for me, after Dayu tried to kill me." "Sorry to hear that," Hideo responded. "How's Ami doing?" "She's blended well," Tashiko answered with narrowed eyes. "She hasn't touched Emily." She knew she had to reassure the nighlok, knowing Emily was special to him. "Relieved to hear that," Hideo sighed before noticing that Tashiko seemed worried.

"I see your troubled," Hideo stated beginning the walk once more. Tashiko sighed, grabbing one of her pigtails and played with her hair.

"It's Jayden."

That made Hideo perk up and glance at Tashiko in worry. "Is he alright?" Hideo asked making Tashiko shake her head. "He's...It's hard to explain," Tashiko began, glancing at Hideo. Her hazel eyes were shining in worry, catching Hideo's full attention. "He's...I think he's losing it," Tashiko replied, biting her lip.

Hideo roared in laughter before stating, "You mean he's going crazy?" "It's not funny!" Tashiko snapped, glaring at the half-nighlok, showing him she wasn't joking around. "He keeps having these recurring nightmares that keep him up at night. I'm terrified to think that these nightmares will come true and that he'll snap." She glanced at Hideo and whispered, "I don't want him to snap. I don't want him to be hurt anymore. Can you help me to why he's having these nightmares?" Hideo bit his lip, clenching his staff tightly. He knew why Jayden was having these horrible nightmares.

He was the cause of what the Red ranger was going through.

Hideo placed a hand on the crystal ball that was on top of his staff. He knew that the moment Tashiko made her appearance into the rangers lives, the Red ranger was suffering of the consequences. Having Tashiko's memories trapped in his crystal ball was having bad side effects to the Red ranger. The curse I placed on my staff probably landed in the Red ranger, Hideo thought. He probably felt my magic. This is not good. I can heal him but that would guarantee in Tashiko in gaining her memories back. That'll ruin my plans.

"Hideo?" Tashiko's voice interrupted his thoughts making him glance at the young teen. He smiled at her and took her hand. "Don't worry Tashiko. I'll find something to help the Red ranger." "Thank you," Tashiko replied, giving him a warm smile, one that shattered Hideo's heart. He knew he was lying to the young, innocent girl, but he had no other choice.

He was doing it for her own good.

Hideo suddenly felt weak, making him touch his head. "Are you okay?" Tashiko asked worriedly, noticing him touching his head. He nodded at her and said, "Some Sanzu Water will fix me up. I'll see you soon then, Raikou-Hime." Hideo gave the younger girl a hug before disappearing through a gap. "Goodbye," Tashiko murmured before heading back to the Shiba House.

"Ami saved our asses, again," Antonio grumbled as the rangers made their way back to the Shiba House. "Oh come on, lighten up," Ami smirked, walking backwards while facing the Gold ranger. "You're just mad because we girls, are better than you," Mia replied as well, elbowing Emily. The Yellow ranger forced a smile but quickly disappeared when she saw the gates. "I just remembered!" she gasped, rushing towards the Shiba House, leaving the other rangers confused.

Emily reached the backyard first and panted, biting her lip, not wanting to burst out crying. She hated how Ami was slowly making the rangers her friends. She hated how well she got along with Mia. She hated how everyone is happy around the one who captured her for days and no one had noticed. She wiped the tears that were threatening to stream down her face, before finding Tashiko walking towards her.

"Wow, you guys are early," Tashiko stated as she hopped down to the ground. "The Nighlok left before we could defeat him, that's what," Emily replied, wiping her eyes. Tashiko noticed her red eyes, knowing the Yellow ranger had been crying and asked, "Are you okay?" "Yes, I mean, no," Emily whispered, glancing at the younger teen. She didn't know why, but she felt so at ease around the hazel eyed teen. Tashiko always had this calming aura around her that made her feel, so calm. "Do you want to talk about it?" Tashiko asked, cocking her head to the side. Emily gave a nod, just as the others walked in towards the Shiba House.

"Hi, Tashiko," Antonio greeted her, earning a blush from the latter. "Hi Antonio," Tashiko shyly replied before Emily grabbed her hand. "We'll be in the forest. Tashiko wants me to help her with her symbol power." She pulled the younger teen away making the other rangers exchange glances. Mike shrugged, walking inside of the Shiba house, followed by the others.

Ami stayed behind and eyed the two teens, before slinking after them.

Tashiko slowly painted the kanji for Lightning as she heard Emily's rant about Ami. "We need to do something Tashiko," Emily stated, glancing at the teen. "I'm tired that they treat her like a friend when in reality, she's our enemy!" "We can't do anything at the moment," Tashiko sighed as she put her paintbrush down. "We don't have proof. The Gap sensor doesn't go off when she crosses the Shiba gates. Besides, do you really want to put her against us more? She won't hesitate to kill us."

"In deed I won't," came a voice, making the two girls grow alarmed.

They turned around, only for Tashiko to receive a blow to her face, sending her flying towards the ground. Emily immediately morphed, seeing a Nighlok standing before them. "I told you Emily, I told you not to tell anyone," the Nighlok snarled, approaching the Samurai ranger.

Tashiko got to her feet, blood dripping down her mouth. She wiped her lip with the back of her hand and turned to glance at the Nighlok, who extended it's claws at the Yellow ranger. The Yellow ranger summoned her spin sword, blocking Ami's attack. "Seismic swing!" Emily shouted as her sword glowed yellow and swung in an arc at the Nighlok.

Tashiko grabbed the paintbrush from the floor and slowly wrote a kanji in the air. "Lightning Strike!" Tashiko yelled, spinning the symbol around. A lightning bolt shot towards Ami, which Ami dodged with ease. "Never attack without knowing your enemies attacks," Ami stated, writing a few symbols in the air before shooting them towards Tashiko. "NO!" Emily shouted, shooting towards the younger teen and pushed her out of the way. The symbols hit Emily making her demorph as a symbol was marked in her forehead. She collapsed to the ground unconscious.

"Of course. Emily always has to save the poor innocent Tashiko," Ami sneered. "Emily! Are you okay?" Tashiko asked but Emily didn't respond making Tashiko glare at Ami. "What did you do?" "I simple put a pain symbol," Ami answered. "The moment she thinks of me, she would suffer immense pain."

Ami smirked, seeing Tashiko so invulnerable and said, "And as for you." Ami extended her claws and approached her. "Today, I'll give you a taste of my true power." Tashiko quickly got to her feet, but Ami shot towards Tashiko too fast for her to react, stabbing her in the chest.

The younger teen gasped out as Ami ripped her claws out of teen chest making her collapse into the ground. Tashiko began to spasm, twitching on the ground. "W-What did you do to me?" Tashiko gasped. Her body felt heavier and she felt weakened. "Well, if I would tell you, then it wouldn't be my secret power, would it?" Ami smirked before shapeshifting back into a human. She turned around and left Tashiko and Emily laid on the ground.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Mia asked Emily as she nodded. "I'm fine. I'm glad Tashiko and I made it out alive," Emily stated as Mia bandaged her arm. She had banged it up during the fight with Ami but it wasn't anything too bad. "That Nighlok sure caught us off guard," Tashiko stated, slowly gazing at Ami who glared at her back. "I'm just glad y'all made it alive," Jayden responded. "I'm glad too," Mia smiled at the Yellow ranger.

"What happened?" Mike asked Tashiko who glanced at the Green ranger. "Ami attacked us in the forest," Tashiko told him in a low tone. "She did something to Emily." "What?" Mike asked in worry. "I-I, don't know," Tashiko stated before clutching her chest. "She also stabbed me in the chest. I don't know what she did to me either." Mike glanced at Tashiko in sympathy before glancing at Ami who was giving him a smirk.

Mike clenched his jaw before Jayden cleared his throat, catching the rangers attention. "Rangers, I want to apologize for my behaviour earlier," he declared, glancing at them guilty. "That was uncalled for and it was stupid. I placed your lifes in danger for having a bad day. I hope you can all forgive me."

The rangers exchanges glances before Emily smiled at him. "No worries Jayden. I know being the Red ranger has it's burdens. It can be hard and you're going to have bad days. I forgive you." "I agree with Emily," Mia nodded. "Just remember, we're your teammates. We'll have your back, whether is about fighting side by side or just talking about a problem," Kevin shrugged. "See Jay, I told you they would understand," Antonio stated, patting the Red ranger's shoulder. Jayden gave them a small smile and said, "Yes, I see. Thank you."

"Thank you."