Chapter 36

Minutes ticked by after the energy surge emitted from the wedge and knocked out the rangers and Nariko. Out of the group Antonio is the first to regain consciousness; the gold ranger groaned in pain and looked at the wreckage around him. He soon spotted his barracuda blade a foot away from him and went to pick him up.

Just as Antonio picked up his weapon, much to his surprise he found an unconscious Deker lying a few feet away from him "Deker…" the gold ranger then slowly crept towards the cursed swordsman and thought to himself, "Deker is the key to Serrator's plan…This is my chance to stop him…"

Once Antonio was close enough to Deker, he slowly pulled out his blade from its sheath. And yet as he stood over the cursed swordsman with his weapon ready in hand, the gold ranger couldn't bring himself to harm Deker.

Tried as he might, Antonio refused to bring his blade down upon his enemy "I…I can't do…Not when Deker is like this…" and just like that the gold ranger placed his blade back in its sheath, leaving the half human nighlok to check up on his friends.

The first person the fisherman found was his childhood friend, Antonio stood by the red ranger's side and began shaking his shoulders "Jayden! Jayden! Jayden wake up, man! Can you hear me?"

The ranger leader gave a low groan and slowly opened his eyes, "An…Antonio?" "Yeah it's me Jay…You all right?" Jayden carefully lifted himself up and sat back on his feet, rubbing the back of his neck "Yeah…I think so…"

At that moment a thought struck the red ranger, sending him into a panic mode "Nariko!" he quickly got on his feet and looked around "Nariko!" Antonio began looking around too and soon spotted the princess a few feet away, he grabbed the red ranger's shoulder and pointed "Look Jayden there she is!"

The ranger leader quickly made his way through the wreckage with Antonio closely following behind. They soon reached the unconscious Yamada princess and Jayden immediately began to push some pieces of rubble off of her.

He looked back at his fisherman friend, "Antonio I want you to check on the others, I've got this handled." "You sure Jay?" "Yes I'm sure." "Ok."

As the gold ranger left to check on the rest of his teammates, Jayden managed to push all the rubble off his fiance. He gently pulled her close to him and began to shake her, "Nariko! Nariko wake up! Come on open your eyes for me, love!"

And much to his relief, the Yamada princess gave a soft groan and opened her eyes "Ja…Jayden?" the red ranger smiled and cupped her cheek, "Yeah it's me…Are you all right?"

"I…I think so…" just then Nariko shut her eyes in pain as she placed her hand on her stomach and tightly clench her clothing. This immediately wiped the smile off of Jayden's face and he gazed at her in concern, "Nariko…You're hurt…"

"I…I'm fine Jayden…"

"No you're not! It's no use trying to hide it from me, we need to get you back to the household."

With that being said the red ranger picked up the Yamada princess just as Antonio returned with the other rangers. Jayden observed his team before asking them, "Are you guys all right?"

"Yeah we're fine." Told Kevin

Mia then noticed the princess' condition and asked, "Nariko are you ok?"

"S…Somewhat…" she then winced in pain again, causing Jayden to tighten his hold on her "Come on you guys we need to return to the household and inform Ji on what has happened."

It took no time at all for the group to return to the Shiba household, upon entering through the gate they found the samurai mentor already waiting for them on the front steps. Ji immediately became concerned once spotting the Yamada princess in her fiancé's arms, he hurried his way over to the couple "Jayden! What happened?"

"From what Mike, Antonio and Kevin told me on the way here, Nariko tried to stop Serrator but he ended up kicking her in the gut hard. Her injury got worse when we were sent back by the energy surge from the wedge."

"I see…All right bring her inside and I'll tend to her injury."

The red ranger immediately did what he was told and once inside the household with the others, Jayden gently set Nariko down on the living room seat. Ji soon kneeled in front of her after retrieving some medicinal ointment and a roll of bandages, "Ok Nariko let me see."

She let out a sigh and slowly rolled up her shirt to reveal a huge bruise on her stomach, the sight of her injury immediately put a frown upon Jayden's face. Ji observed the bruise for a bit and lightly touched it causing Nariko to wince in pain.

The samurai mentor then began to dab the medicinal ointment on the princess' bruise, "Well…It doesn't look like Serrator gave you any serious damage except for the nasty bruise on your stomach, Nariko….How are you feeling?"

"All right…Though it kind of hurts to breathe and move."

"Well you won't be able to move around much until this bruising fades away."

"Of course…"

Once Ji had wrapped Nariko's stomach up with the roll of bandage, they turn their attention on Antonio who is currently telling his team what happened when he first woke up, "After the blast…I found Deker…He was laying there defenseless…And…I couldn't bring myself to attack him…"

"Wow…" said Emily

"I know…I blew it!"

Jayden shook his head at this, "No…Samurai never attack defenseless opponents."

"Still…"

"Dude…You made the right choice." Said Mike, he patted his friend's shoulder "Even I know that."

"Antonio…There's no need for you to beat yourself up over this." Said Mia

"I still should've done something!" told the gold ranger who then ran out of the Shiba household

Time passed since Antonio had left the Shiba household, currently in the living room Kevin was sitting upon the chair putting on his shoes while cautiously looking around. Once making sure no one was around he resumed putting on his shoes, though Mike showed up at this time and quietly approached the blue ranger.

Once standing by his side Mike loudly questioned Kevin, "Going somewhere?!"

The blue ranger cried out in surprise and fell off the seat, Kevin then sighed in relief "Oh Mike…You surprised me…" the green ranger held out his hand and helped his teammate up who then patted his shoulder, "Oh Mike…"

Though before Mike could reply to Kevin, he immediately noticed an object right behind his friend "The light zord?" the blue ranger turned around to find that Mike is right, "What's that doing there?"

Kevin rushed over to the light zord and grabbed the note that's on top of it, he began reading the note aloud "Dear guys…I'm sorry for letting you down…I now know what I have to do…Signed Antonio…"

"You don't he…" started Mike

"Went after Deker himself?! We've got to find him!"

Though before the two rangers could go after their friend, the gap sensor went off causing Ji, Jayden, Mia and Emily to rush into the room. The samurai mentor pressed the samurai symbol on the table to reveal the virtual map of the city, he studied the blinking dot and looked at the rangers "It's a strong reading…Most likely Serrator…"

Jayden looked to his team, "Let's go this maybe our last chance to stop him."

Just before they could leave the room, Kevin immediately stopped them in their tracks "Wait! I think Antonio went after Deker alone."

"Oh no!" said Mia

"Kevin take Mike and go find him!" told Jayden "Mia, Emily and I will take on Serrator."

The red ranger then turned to the samurai mentor, "Ji…" "Go Jayden, I'll look after Nariko." Jayden nodded and quickly left the household with Emily and Mia following after while Kevin and Mike left to find Antonio.

Meanwhile with the devious Serrator, he was walking through a field when he came upon a pile of boulders with smoke leaking from its cracks. The nighlok approached the formation with Deker's sword in hand, "Ah…This is the spot…The gap to the netherworld is weakest here…Once our half human, half nighlok friend: Deker slashes this open this world will finally give way to the netherworld."

Serrator held the sword up and gazed at the blade, "It's time for Deker to claim his prize."

With that said half human nighlok, he was calmly strolling through the forest area when he felt the presence of his sword reaching out to him. "My sword Uramasa is calling me…" thought Deker, he then stopped in his track once noticing Antonio standing a few feet away from him with his barracuda blade in hand.

Deker took a few steps towards Antonio and stopped, "Well…If it isn't the fisherman…"

"So…Are you on your way to help Serrator rip open the Earth?"

"If you're worried about that then why didn't you stop me when you had the chance?"

Antonio stared at him in surprise, "What?" Deker simply just smirked at the gold ranger who then got into a fighting stance, "It doesn't matter…I'm here to stop you."

Back at the Shiba household, Nariko was in her room resting in bed though she couldn't help but look at the Yamada clan letter that was sent to her earlier. While doing so, she failed to notice Ji enter her room carrying a tray of food and drink. The samurai mentor noticed the letter in the princess' hand and said, "Couldn't help but look at the letter again?"

Nariko looked at the ranger's mentor in surprise, "Ji…" she then sighed and placed the letter back in the envelope just as Ji placed the tray on the table and knelt by her side, "Nariko…Does it really bother you that he actually sent a letter to you?"

"Yes…Ji you know how much I admired him…And yet…That night…"

"Nariko…"

"Look Ji can we stop talking about this?"

"Of course…"

"Where are Jayden and the others?"

"Jayden, Mia and Emily left to handle Serrator while Kevin and Mike went to look for Antonio."

"Why are Kevin and Mike looking for Antonio?"

"Apparently Antonio went after Deker."

"By himself?! He can't beat Deker by himself…And Serrator…Jayden!"

Nariko sat up in bed only to wince in pain from the bruising on her stomach, Ji gently pushed the princess' shoulders and had her lay back down "No you need to rest Nariko." But Ji…"

"Jayden and the others will be fine…You need to rest."

Nariko sighed in frustration and remained in bed, though she couldn't help but thought in worry "Jayden…I really hope you and the others are all right…"

Meanwhile with the devious nighlok, he started to grow impatient as he waited for Deker's arrival "Ugh…Deker what is taking you so long?!" "Serrator!"

The nighlok turned and much to his distaste found Jayden, Mia and Emily running towards him, "Rangers!" the three rangers stopped a few feet away from Serrator. "Hand over the sword!" demanded Jayden

"I didn't forge this sword for it to be wielded by you!"

Jayden, Mia and Emily quickly dodged the attacks that Serrator sent towards them and morphed into their ranger forms. "Moogers! Keep these pests away!" ordered Serrator, immediately the nighlok's minions appeared and charged at the trio.

While Jayden and the girls were dealing with Serrator, Mike and Kevin were still searching for Antonio in the woods. The two rangers stopped in their tracks and looked around, "Where could he be?" wondered Kevin and as they continued their search, with Antonio he was getting ready to fight Deker.

The half human nighlok simply stared down the fisherman, "Go ahead…Attack me I'm unarmed…" Antonio continued to stare at Deker before sheathing his blade and falling to his knees. The cursed swordsman calmly walked past the ranger, "I didn't think so."

"I'm begging you please!" said Antonio

Deker stopped in his tracks as the gold ranger continued, "Forget about your sword Uramasa and walk away! I know you want to lift your curse but if you do what Serrator asks…Millions of people will suffer a horrible fate…"

"I knew it…You're no samurai…You haven't the guts to stop me!"

Thus Deker quickly turned around and drew his temporary sword to attack Antonio who began to turn around. At that moment Deker's attack was stopped by Kevin and Mike's spin swords, the two rangers and cursed swordsman fought it out for a few seconds before abruptly stopping.

Deker glared at the rangers, "This is a waste of time…You're not worthy opponents!" he then charged at Kevin and Mike who charged back. Though they were completely caught off guard by Deker jumping over them and resuming his trek towards Serrator's location.

Mike quickly turned around and yelled to Deker, "You're wrong Deker! Honor and compassion aren't Antonio's weaknesses! His heart is his greatest strength!"

The green ranger then knelt by Antonio's side along with Kevin, the gold ranger sighed in sadness "I was a fool to think Deker could be reasoned with…"

"No! You were really brave! You're someone who belongs on this team…You know what we stand for." Told Kevin

The gold ranger seemed to brighten up by this and looked at the blue ranger with a smile upon his face, "Let's go stop Serrator once and for all!"

Back with Jayden and the girls, they were fighting with Serrator after getting rid of the annoying moogers. Mia and Emily immediately went to their leader's side as he was hit by Serrator's claw, "Jayden!" suddenly they all noticed someone approaching the battle and much to their surprise they saw that it's Deker.

"What Deker?" said Jayden

Serrator turned to the cursed swordsman, delighted to see that he was finally here "Finally Deker! I knew you'd come…" Serrator held up Deker's sword, "Here take your sword Uramasa."

"Don't do it!" exclaimed Jayden

Serrator abruptly turned around and attacked the rangers with his powers, "Stop meddling!" the attack hit the rangers dead on and sent them onto their backs. Serrator turned back to Deker, "At last…The reunion you have been waiting for…I return this sword to its rightful owner."

Deker took his sword from the devious nighlok and looked at the blade as it brightly shone in the sunlight, "It seems Uramasa is happy to be with you again." Said Serrator "Now it's time…Quickly! Slash through the barrier!"

Though as Deker stood in front of the boulders he just remained still, "Go on! Once you complete this task you will be free of your curse forever! Do it! Split this world open, you'll be free and I'll be ruler of both worlds!" said Serrator

At that moment Kevin, Mike and Antonio arrived in the ranger forms, rushing towards them. "No!" cried Antonio

"Stop!" yelled Mike

"Don't do it!" exclaimed Kevin

Serrator growled and used his powers on the guys, he trapped them and then sent them flying overhead. The trio soon landed in front of Jayden, Mia and Emily, the girls immediately checked on them while Jayden stood and aimed the bullzooka at Deker "Drop that sword!"

He fired the weapon though its attack was soon stopped by Serrator who growled, "Enough of these games! This is the end of the line, literally!" he sent the attack back at the rangers who were ultimately hit by the attack.

As the rangers lay on the ground groaning in pain, Serrator turned back to Deker as the boulders began glowing, "It's time, do it!" The rangers watched in horror as they saw Deker raise his sword up high.

Though much to their surprise the group witnessed Deker abruptly turned to Serrator and slashing him with his sword. The devious nighlok dropped to his knees in shock, "Why?! How could you betray me like this?!"

"You had what I wanted…Your mistake was thinking I shared the same hatred of humanity…I care only for the sword…You made me that way…Remember?"

"You're as heartless as any nighlok!"

"And so it ends here."

"No!"

Just as Deker placed his sword back in its sheath, the energy emitting from the wedges went away. "200 years of planning, ruined in an instant! Now you will feel my wrath!" exclaimed Serrator

The devious nighlok began to fire a series of massive attacks towards Jayden and the others, though before the attacks could hit them Nariko showed up just in team and wrote out a kanji with her brush, "Symbol power: Shield!"

A white glowing force field suddenly appeared and deflected most of Serrator's attacks, Jayden looked at his fiance in surprise "Nariko! What are you doing here?" "Checking to make sure you and the others were all right! And it's a good thing I came."

"Rangers!"

Jayden and the others looked to find Deker standing a few feet away from them, "I trust you'll finish this."

As Serrator's attacks let up, Nariko looked at the rangers "You guys might want to morph right now…It looks like he's not done yet…" Jayden kissed his princess' head, "Thanks for the save, love. Now get to safety we'll handle Serrator." "All right…Be careful Jayden."

Once the shield faded away the rangers summoned the five disc octo cannon while Jayden brought out the Bullzooka and as Serrator slowly walked towards the group, they immediately fired the cannon. The attacks hit Serrator dead on but the devious nighlok wasn't finished yet, he came back as a giant causing the rangers to form their megazord.

And with their teamwork along with the powers from their megazords, the rangers were finally able to defeat Serrator once and for all. As Serrator was destroyed Deker took his leave from the battle though he was then confronted by Dayu who had been secretly watching the whole thing from the start.

"Deker…I saw what you did back there…" said the female nighlok

The cursed swordsman simply walked pass her having Dayu turn around, "So have you finally turn your back on the nighlok once and for all?"

"We were never after the same thing…" answered Deker, "I will end my curse on my own terms and not at the cost of this world…" he stopped in his tracks, "I'm nothing like you nighlok…Then again…I have this strange feeling our fates are intertwined somehow…"

And with that being said Deker took his leave with Dayu sadly watching him, "Oh Deker…If only you knew the truth…"

Little did they know, Nariko had been watching Deker and Dayu from a far and thought to herself "Looks like this isn't the last we've seen Deker…Or Dayu…" thus the princess took her leave and went to find the rangers.

With the rangers they were walking down the path together , feeling very happy that they finally defeated Serrator. Though Antonio stopped in his tracks causing the others to walk ahead of him, Mia happened to notice this and stop also then walked towards the gold ranger, "Antonio are you ok?"

The others stopped too and approached their golden friend who gave them a smile, "I was just thinking about what Deker did…The choice he made…"

"You made a choice too." Said Jayden, "You stood up for what's right."

"And unlike the nighlok…We will never betray each other." Said the gold ranger

The others happily smiled at this and soon turned around once they heard a familiar voice call out, "Hey you guys!" standing a few feet away, the rangers spotted Nariko waving at them.

The group quickly made their way over to the Yamada princess who gave them a smile, "Congratulations you guys! You've finally beaten Serrator!"

"Thanks Nariko." Said Mike

Jayden then proceeded to gently hug his princess, "I thought you would be still at home resting." "Well I couldn't help but worry about you and the others."

The red ranger broke the embrace and looked at her, "And your injury?" "Still hurts but I can bear it…Just give it a few days and the bruising will go away then I'll be good as new."

"Nariko…About that letter…"

"Let's not talk about it right now Jay…Besides we should get back to the household and tell Ji what happened, he'll be delighted to hear of your victory."

Nariko then looked at the other rangers, "Once we get back home, I'll cook something special for you guys! All of you deserve it!"

Kevin then stuck out his hand and looked at the others, "Rangers together!" immediately they placed their hands over each other and loudly cheered, "Samurai forever!" and thus the group made their trek back home to their awaiting samurai mentor, all of them happy at the turn out of today's event.