Chapter 37: Rangers vs Ami and Dekker

A/N: Revised Chapter

Antonio glanced between the two woman, confused on what was happening. "What do you mean, Maria?" Antonio asked, glaring at Ami.

The half-nighlok looked at the Gold ranger before glancing at the Purple ranger. "Oh? So, he doesn't know yet. Seems like he still thinks you're Tashiko-san, doesn't he?" Maria narrowed her eyes and tightened the grip on her Spinsword.

Ami chuckled, finding Maria's reaction amusing. She glanced at the Gold ranger and pointed at the Purple ranger. "This person here, Gold ranger, is not the Tashiko you once knew. She is the warrior of destruction, a cold hearted warrior, a killer. She lied to you and used you rangers. She was never once that sweet, innocent warrior you thought you knew."

"Isn't that the same thing you did, Ami?" Antonio shot back, his eyes darting back and forth between the two women.

"Cocky, aren't we?" Ami sneered at the Gold ranger.

"Alright Gold ranger," Maria told Antonio, who glanced at her. "You want to make this one out alive?" Antonio narrowed his eyes and stated, "What's that supposed to mean?" "Do you want to know where Jayden is?" Maria told him, glancing into his brown eyes. "Of course!" Antonio grunted. "Then you'll have to trust me," Maria replied. Antonio gave her a concerned look before the Purple ranger asked, "Do you trust me?"

"I'm growing impatient Uragiri," Dekker declared, glaring at the half-nighlok. "Are we going to find the Red ranger or not?"

Antonio watched the two half-Nighlok converse and looked at the Purple ranger. She had the same beautiful hazel eyes Tashiko once had, with that playful glint…

He gave a nod, making Maria nod back at him.

"Patience, Dekker," Ami told the latter before glancing at the Purple ranger. "We will draw the answer out of this bitch."

"In your dreams," Maria stated, grabbing Antonio's arm. The Gold ranger glanced at her in alarm as she took out her Samuraizer. Ami's eyes opened wide and ordered, "Don't let her cast the-!"

"Time Freeze!" Maria shouted, as a purple glow blanketed the area.

Antonio covered his eyes before uncovering, finding everything frozen in place. "Whoa, what, what happened?" he commented, looking at the Purple ranger. "It's my Time Symbol," the Purple ranger told him. Antonio noticed that she was still grabbing his arm and narrowed his eyes. "Are you going to let me go know?"

Maria glanced at him and snickered. "Unless you want to suffer the same fate." Antonio looked at the others that were frozen before snorting, "I don't trust you." "You don't have too," Maria replied. "Come on, we must get out of here, now."

Antonio gave a nod as the two rangers fled the area.

Time moved back to normal, making Ami scream out in rage. "Find them!" she roared at the moogers. She turned to Dekker and snarled, "They should've have gone far. Let's go!"

The War Horses galloped into the forest before stopping, finding moogers swarming the area. "Rangers!" Kevin told them, getting off his horse and took out his Samuraizer. The rangers stopped behind him, hopping off their horses.

"That's a lot of mooger activity," Serena commented, looking around the area. "We need to find out why they're here," Kevin told the rangers. "Spread out but don't stray too far." The other rangers nodded, morphing into action. Serena was about to head out, but Kevin grabbed her arm. "Wait," he ordered her, glancing ahead of them.

Serena looked at the Blue ranger before looking at his direction, seeing Dekker approaching them. "Dekker," Serena gasped, her eyes widening.

"Hello Blue ranger," Dekker declared, swinging his sword by his side. "It's been a while."

Serena morphed into the White Samurai ranger while Kevin morphed into the Blue Samurai ranger. "I guess we have no choice huh?" Serena commented, swinging her sword to her side. "If we run, he'll kill us," Kevin replied, clenching his jaw.

Maria and Antonio stopped after running for a while, making Antonio grab his arm in pain. "Dammit," the Gold ranger spat, grabbing his arm. "I'm slowing us down because of my injuries."

The Purple ranger scanned the area before looking at the Gold ranger. "It's fine, it seems we are safe for now." She approached him and stated, "I can heal your injuries, if you'll let me."

Antonio looked at her, examining her face, seeing that she was being sincere. He blushed embarrassingly, seeing that he couldn't feel angry at her. She had the same sympathy and charisma Tashiko had. "Um, okay," Antonio nodded, his face beet red.

The Purple ranger didn't say anything but kneeled down where he sat and touched his injured chest. Immediately, the Gold ranger felt his pain ease away, along with the slash he had on his forearm and his back. The Gold ranger watched the Purple ranger avoid his glance before letting out a sigh. "I'm sorry," he stated, making the Purple ranger glanced at him.

She blinked confused before saying, "Why are you apologizing? I'm the one who should be." Antonio glanced at the ground and sighed. "I'm sorry I approached you aggressively, before asking your side of the story. I shouldn't have yelled at you." The Purple ranger's eyes grew wide in shock before glancing away. "I'm sorry as well. I should've trusted you rangers but I was scared…"

Antonio looked at her, seeing her crestfallen face. "Why?"

"Because she doesn't trust any of y'all with her secret!" came a hiss.

Instantly, the two rangers got to their feet, finding Ami approaching them with a sneer. "Tell him who you really are, Maria Abukara. Tell him how you're from a apocalyptic future! How you're the Samurai of Destruction and how you left the future rangers to die to come here running into the past!"

Antonio clenched his jaw and stated, "I don't believe anything you say unless it comes out from the Purple ranger's mouth!"

"Is that so?" Ami growled, shooting towards the Gold ranger.

Antonio summoned his Broken Barracuda blade blocking her attack. Ami noticed his injuries and laughed, "Don't worry. I'll make this as painless as possible!" She drew her right hand back, extending her claws and tried to stab the Gold ranger.

She stopped as the Purple ranger's Lightning Kama stabbed her back, making her scream out in agony. Antonio smirked, getting out of Ami's way and said, "I may not have a complete blade, Ami, but that doesn't mean I'll fight alone!"

"That's what you think!" Ami stated, raising her claws once again at him but were blocked by Maria's other Lightning Kama. "Don't forget about me," Maria told her. "I didn't forget about you!" Ami replied, grabbing the Purple ranger by the throat and slammed her into the ground. Maria was caught off guard by that, gasping for air.

Antonio shot forward, yelling, "Barracuda Bite!"

The Gold ranger dashed around, slashing at the half-Nighlok with quick rapid slashes. He skidded the ground and turned to look at Ami, finding her laughing. "Do you really think that dull blade will injure me?"

"A dull blade that has no bite!" Ami screamed at him.

"That was just a distraction," Antonio told her, making Ami gasp before turning around to find Maria's Lightning Kama slashing at her rapidly. "Lightning Dance!"

The half-nighlok yelled in sheer pain before dropping to her knees, panting.

Maria wrapped her ribbons around her arms and looked at Ami in anger. "Pathetic," she spat at her. "All talk but no fight."

Ami's eyes went wide in anger, hating how she mocked her like that. "You think I'm all talk, don't you?" Ami cackled, getting to her feet. "I'll show you the true horror I can be."

"Symbol Power! Whirlwind!" Wind surrounded the half-ranger, throwing Maria off her and Antonio into the ground. The Purple ranger got to her feet once more, her hazel eyes burning in hatred.

Ami spun around, getting into a fighting stance. "Are we really going to fight, Maria? You know that Lightning is weak against Wind."

Her brown eyes flashed and declared, "Do you want another beating?"

"I'm going to destroy you," Maria answered her. "Really now?" Ami replied, raising her claws before shooting towards the Purple ranger. Maria raised her kama, blocking her attack. "You as well as I know, now each others weaknesses!" She pushed Ami off her kama, spinning around slashing at her. "Lightning Kamas! Lightning Dance!"

Ami staggered back, injured from her quick and deadly slashes. "Do you think with that weak attack, you'll defeat me?" Ami summoned a katana and snarled, "Your attacks do nothing to me!"

Maria converted her Lightning Kama back to her Spinsword, blocking Ami's slash. Sparks flew around them as the two women attacked each other.

Maria was beginning to take the upper hand, easily and surely pushing Ami to her limit. "Damn you!" Ami shouted, noticing that she was slowly getting tired while Maria seemed to have gaining more speed. "Lightning is faster than Wind, Ami!" Maria growled, slashing Ami's chest open. The half-nighlok staggered back, touching her injured chest before noticing Maria dashing forward towards her. Ami ripped off one of the small gauntlets from her neck and threw it at Maria's face.

Immediately the Purple ranger tripped, dropping her Spinsword, screaming in agony.

Ami began to laugh hysterically and shouted, "You may be fast but you don't have the element of surprise!"

Maria touched her face in agony. Ami had splashed her face with Sanzu Water and was burning her face. "Do you feel it Maria? Do you feel the agony? That's what I felt when I fell into the river!" Ami shouted. She kicked Maria into the ground, who tried to get to her feet but Ami slammed a foot into her back. "That pain you're agonizing, is the same I felt while I drowned in that river. The water that was slowly killing me! Poisoning me!"

Ami slammed her foot once more into Maria's rib, making the Purple ranger gasp in pain. "And you didn't give a shit!"

"We couldn't risk losing Kevin!" Maria cried out, glaring at Ami. "You know that if we sent Kevin after you, we would lose you both!" Ami clenched her jaw and grabbed her katana, driving it into Maria's shoulder, causing her to scream. "That's how I felt when I saw Kevin's face while I was being dragged by the river! You selfish bitch!" Ami shouted, turning into her human self.

Maria shakingly glanced at Ami, seeing that tears were forming in her chocolate brown eyes. They slipped down her scarred face and whispered, "You don't care what others feel! You only care about the timeline! You could've turned back time and saved us all!"

Maria spat, "You know that even I don't have that much power!" "You had the power and you didn't!" Ami shouted back, removing the katana from Maria's shoulder. "I have rules to follow! If I changed the timeline, there would have been dire consequences!"

"And where did that get you? A destroyed timeline! Everyone died and you didn't lift one finger to change it!" Ami screamed. Her eyes opened wide when she noticed that the wound her katana had done was healing. "Bullshit!" she whispered, taking a few steps back. Ami looked at Maria who looked shaken and weakened, but she did noticed the burned marks hadn't healed. "That doesn't keep you down! Then this will!"

Ami was about to shoot forward but Antonio slammed into her, pushing her away. Ami skidded the floor while the Gold ranger helped the Purple ranger to her feet. "Are you okay?" he asked her, worriedly. "I'm fine," Maria answered. "We need to get you you out of here," Antonio told her, seeing her badly injured.

"You're not going anywhere!" Ami yelled, extending her claws at them. The Gold ranger pushed the Purple ranger out of the way, making Maria land on the ground painfully. The Purple ranger spun around to find Ami's claws stabbing through the Gold ranger.

"NO!" Maria screamed, her hazel eyes wide in horror. The Gold ranger slowly turned to look at her, a sad smile in his face. "I'm sorry," he whispered, as a dark light began to envelop him.

Tears slowly slipped down her cheeks as a dark light shot out around them, sending a ripple of energy around the forest.

The Blue and White rangers were ready to slash at Dekker when a dark energy sent them flying to the ground.

Dekker skidded the ground as well, glancing at the direction the energy wave had come from.

Kevin and Serena got to their feet, confused and startled. "What was that?" Serena asked, getting to her feet. "I don't know," Kevin replied, his eyes wide in horror.

On the other side of the battlefield, Mia was standing in the middle of the battlefield, dead moogers surrounding around her feet.

"What do you think that was?" Mike asked the Pink ranger. "I don't know," Mia murmured, turning to the Green ranger. "I have a bad feeling," Emily told them, touching her chest. Her face was scrunched up in worry and looked at her friends in concern.

The light dispersed, revealing Ami, standing alone, laughing maniacally. She touched her cheek, crackling at what she had done before glancing at Maria. "That was easier than I thought! I knew he still had feelings for that bastard of Tashiko! He couldn't resist in saving you!"

The half-Nighlok looked at the Purple ranger who had her head down and was slowly clenching her hands into fists. A purple hue manifested around her, lightning crackling around her.

"What an idiot!" Ami continued. "Never knowing what he really was! The perfect key in destroying this perfect timeline!"

"Bastard!" Maria roared, glaring at the half-nighlok and got to her feet. "What'd you do to him?!" She extended her hand, her Lightning Kama appearing in her hand. She shot forward, lightning crackling behind her as she slashed at Ami.

The half-nighlok summoned her Spinsword, blocking the attack, cackling. "What I should've done the moment I came here into the past! I know what he is now!"

Ami leaned towards Maria's ear and whispered, "A key!"

Maria snarled at her, spinning around slashing at Ami with her Lightning Kamas. Ami blocked her attacks with ease and yelled, "Yes Maria! Feel the rage I felt seeing Kevin die!"

"I'm going to fucking kill you!" Maria roared, her hazel eyes burning in hatred. "Unless I kill you first!" Ami shot back, pushing her off with her Spinsword.

Hideo watched Jayden train intensely, making him sigh in nostalgia. What he would give to wield a Spinsword again, feel the power of the Samurai running through his veins….

Suddenly a pain shot through his chest, causing him to gasp out.

Jayden stopped mid slash, hearing the half-nighlok gasp out in pain and turned to look at him. "Hideo?" he asked, seeing that he was grabbing his chest in pain. "Is something wrong?"

Hideo grabbed his chest, feeling an ache that something had gone wrong. "Yes, I-I felt something," Hideo replied, looking at the Red ranger.

Instantly, the Red ranger's face turned grim and made his Spinsword disappear. "What's wrong? Is it Maria? The rangers?" "I don't know," Hideo answered, his face furrowed in worry. "We need to go to them, now."

The Red ranger gave a nod and stated, "Let us leave then."

Hideo nodded and grabbed Jayden's arm. "I'll teleport us there."

"Right," Jayden nodded as Hideo waved his scepter around them, disappearing in a swirl of magic.

Dekker swung his sword in front of him, readying himself to fight the rangers once more.

Kevin and Serena panted in exhaustion from fighting him and there were no signs of him getting exhausted.

"This is getting boring Blue ranger," Dekker declared, narrowing his eyes. "You're not like the Red ranger."

His eyes flashed and stated, "I should just finish you off."

Kevin steadied himself and got ready to attack the half-nighlok when there was a bright light. There was the sound of two swords clashing, making Serena gasp out, "Jayden!"

The Blue ranger's eyes went wide, seeing the Red ranger in front of him, blocking Dekker's attack. "Jayden! You're alright!" Serena continued in relief.

"Sorry to worry you," Jayden told them over his shoulder, giving them a smile. He turned around to face Dekker who smiled. "Well, well, Red ranger. It's about time you showed up." Jayden pushed Dekker off and swung his sword in front of him, ready to fight.

Mia, Mike and Emily, rushed towards them, smiles appearing in their faces when they saw Jayden. "Jay!" Mike called out. "He's okay!" Emily smiled.

Hideo scanned the area, counting all the rangers before noticing that one was missing. "Where's Antonio?"

"What a great question!" came a voice.

Ami appeared in between Dekker and Jayden, looking like she had seen better days. In her hands, she held a Spinsword, causing the rangers to look at her in horror.

"Is that…" Kevin began, his eyes wide in shock. "It's a Spinsword," Mia replied. "But the blade...it's black." Serena narrowed her eyes at the half-nighlok and tightened her grip on her Spinsword. Ami glanced at them, seeing the faces they were giving her. "I bet you're wondering why I have this, don't you?" Ami smiled before showing off the blood stained blade.

"Is that blood?" Mike whispered, his eyes wide in horror.

"Rangers blood to be exact," Ami laughed, throwing the blade at the Red ranger's feet. Emily gasped out and covered her mouth in terror, while the other rangers brought up their guard.

"Have fun figuring it out," Ami winked. She turned to Dekker and declared, "The job is done. Let's go." The half-nighlok narrowed his eyes before lowering his guard. "Till next time, rangers."

She and Dekker disappeared through a gap, before Jayden picked up the bloodied sword.

"Antonio," Jayden whispered, his teeth clenching in anger.

Hideo noticed an item in the ground and picked up the inactive form of the Wolf Zord. "Oh no," he breathed. "Maria…"

The Red ranger noticed what Hideo had in his hands and rushed into the forest.