Jayden couldn't believe what was happening. He jumped back, dodging the golden blade by mere inches.
Too unreal.
The man was relentless, his swordplay was light and precise, unlike anything Jayden had seen.
But that would make sense since this was the man that wrote the book Jayden spent his entire life studying.
Takeshi Shiba, the first Samurai Ranger.
"You have even abandoned the family armor," The Samurai spat, "Instead you've donned the attire of a heretic."
With only one hand holding his blade, Takeshi used his free hand to graph symbol magic into the air, creating a rush of fire and heat that blasted Jayden backward.
His body hit the wall, sending him sliding to the floor with a ringing in his ears.
"I wasn't even supposed to be the Red Ranger," Jayden said, "That right belonged to my sister."
"And yet you wielded the power exquisitely," The warrior spat, he approached Jayden, pointing his spin sword right at Jayden's throat. "So tell me how you're betrayal is any less of a waste?"
Jayden swallowed hard, pulling up his Gosei Morpher and sliding a card inside.
"Comprethunder!" He screamed as a blast of lightning shot from the Morpher and forced the opposing Ranger away.
"Cheap tricks," The Samurai Ranger said, "I'd expect no different from the one who disregarded everything he was taught."
"I haven't disregarded anything!" Jayden snapped, he grabbed his sword, pulling it close to himself as he charged forward.
The boy swung down, clanking his blade against the ancient warrior's. He continued to swing, following basic kata, as rhythmically as he would when teaching the other Rangers.
The Samurai followed suit, easily deflecting each attack.
Then Jayden let go, allowing the fluidity of the blade to guide him. His hands moved through the air as if carried by a strong breeze and sliced into the samurai's armor. No sparks poured from the wound, instead, wisps of fiery energy flew from the glowing cut.
"I spent my entire life fighting the Nighlok," Jayden said, "But now they're gone, and I've continued the fight elsewhere."
The Samurai Ranger summoned a jetstream of fiery waves, but Jayden blocked them with a well-timed Defenstorm card.
"I haven't forgotten my past, I've just moved past it," Jayden said.
"You have perverted the Shiba legacy," his ancestor spoke, his spin blade swirling with flames. "Corrupted it with your own naive ideals," the sword transformed into the giant Fire Smasher zanbato. "And spit into the very face of tradition!"
The sword came right for Jayden, and despite using it his entire life, he had no idea it would hurt that much.
Smoke and fire poured from his body, as his morph flicked in and out of existence. Every inch of his body burned, the fire energy he had spent his \life mastering had betrayed him, flaying his skin raw.
Yet he mustered enough power to stand.
"Master Xandred is gone," Jayden breathed, "Destroyed by the true heir to the Shiba clan. The hundreds of years fighting, done. You don't have to hold on by a haggard thread." Jayden could feel himself losing control of his form. Takeshi raised his weapon one last time, preparing for the finisher.
"You can finally let go, and allow the clan to move forward. You don't have to be afraid anymore."
The blade froze, inches away from Jayden's head, his armor since melted away. Blood ran down his nose, and his left eye was puffy and swollen.
"Maybe you're right," The spirit said. His blade fell to his side. "It's so easy to lose one's self in a goal. It can swallow you, encompasses your entire being, and blind you from the rest of the world."
His armor flicked away, leaving the Asian face, so similar to Jayden's yet so different.
"The world may not need samurai, but they will always need warriors."
The man put his hand on Jayden's shoulder, looking him hard in the eyes.
"And you are a true warrior."
At that moment everything melted away, leaving the young boy in a new room, now accompanied by the other Rangers.
"So did anyone else just fight some freaky spirit?" Jake asked, "Or was that just me?"
"I fought a phoenix," Emma said.
"Yeah, I fought a snake," Jake said. He looked over at Jayden.
"I-uh- fought a dragon," Jayden lied, catching that everyone else fought a version of their suits motif. He wasn't even sure how to explain what he'd just faced.
"Very good!" A goofy sounding voice exclaimed, "All of you passed your trails excellently."
In a puff of smoke, a new figure appeared. His armor was large and bulky, but still similar to the Rangers.
"Now tell me," The figure said, "What the hell are you doing in my temple?"
Gia groaned as her Morpher beeped. Just when she'd been looking forward to a relaxing night.
"The rogue Ranger has made a reappearance."
Gia frowned, it was bad enough that she was talking through the Morpher. Now she'd have to put her binge-watch on hold to get her butt kicked again.
Still, she had a responsibility.
"Where?" She asked softly as she threw her familiar leather jacket over her body.
"A beef processing plant just outside the city," Kimberly replied. "Karone can teleport you over there."
Who? She thought but didn't bother asking. "Let me get my shoes on." She said and headed to the living room.
Where Brad sat on the couch, the T.V supplying noise as he scrolled his phone.
"Where are you going?" He asked.
"Out."
"Sheesh," He replied. "No need to be so testy. I wasn't trying to be nosey."
"Whatever," She said, trying to swallow the brimming venom in her chest. She grabbed her shoes and turned around.
"No seriously," He said, grabbing her arm before she could get further than the couch. "What's wrong with you. You've been weird all week."
"You're the problem!" She spat. Then felt her stomach drop.
I don't have time for this.
"What does that mean?" He asked.
"We'll talk later," She said and tried to tug away.
But he held firm. Even with her enhanced strength and endurance, she had to admit he was gripping pretty hard.
"Talk." He said in a voice that shook her chest.
"Brad," She managed to choke out.
She tugged again. This time he didn't hold on.
"Later." She said simply.
She then moved into her room and looked at her morpher, holding back her tears.
"Ready," She said before becoming enveloped in bright yellow light.
"Hmmm," Ninjor said slowly, concealing every thought drifting through his ancient head. "So the little rookie Gosei needs someone to pull him out of the void."
"Yeah," Emma said, the words of the Phantom Ranger drifting through her head.
"Well," Ninjor said. "If Phantom was serious enough to imprint his psychomorph onto you then it seems like you're really out of options."
"What does that mean exactly?" Noah asked. "I mean I know he was able to talk in her dreams."
"More than that," Emma said. "He's been guiding me since Vrak turned the city into Loogies."
"Much like Gosei, Phantom Ranger is a Morph Spirit captured and put into a robotic shell." Ninjor explained. "Because of that, he was able to pull a piece of himself out of his form and put it into Emma." The ninja master shook his head. "It's a very risky move. Too much Phantom Ranger and he could override Emma, not enough and he won't be able to communicate. Or worse, he could overextend himself and begin to destabilize."
"So what do we do?" Jayden asked.
"Nothing," Ninjor replied with a shrug. "Things have worked out so far. We just have to hope that Phantom Ranger doesn't get a sudden jolt of Morphing energy from an outside source." He then turned away from Emma and looked at the other three. "For now we need to focus on Gosei. To bring him back we'll need to do a similar technique, though instead of splitting Gosei apart we need a human host to become a beacon."
"I'll do it," Emma said, "I'm already connected to the Phantom Ranger so it shouldn't be a big deal."
"No," Ninjor said. "That's a big deal. Having two different Morph Spirits bouncing around in your psychomorph would destroy your entire spirit."
"I'll do it," Noah offered.
"You?" Ninjor said, "You're psychomorph is already too unstable.' He then looked over at Jake. "And his is too weak to secure a connection."
Jake and Noah both looked rather offended but neither of them replied.
Instead, everyone looked to Jayden.
"There's nobody else. So it's not like I have any choice."
"Is there anything you want to say to everyone?" Ninjor asked in a darker tone. "Just in case something goes wrong?"
Silence fell like a felt blanket, as eight sets of eyes focused on the former samurai.
"I-I just want to say…" he looked over at Emma, feeling his stomach twist into a knot. "I'm glad I joined this team."
Before he knew it Emma had her arms wrapped around him. She pulled him in, holding him as hard as her strength allowed.
And Jayden didn't understand the feeling in his chest.
But he didn't want it to end.
"You'll be okay," Emma said.
"Yeah," Jake said. "You've taken a punch from yours truly and survived. This will be easy."
Jayden nodded, feeling a strange anxiety wash over his body.
Sure he had felt fear before, slaying demons tended to bring that out. This was different though. Far to primal for his liking.
"Are you ready?" Ninjor asked.
"Yeah," Jayden said, cringing at how unsure that sounded.
"Okay," Ninjor replied. Seeming to ignore Jayden's wavering voice. "Keep focused," the ninja said as he placed his hands on Jayden's shoulders. "the longer you're in the void the greater the chance you'll get lost over there."
"Got it," Jayden replied.
Ninjor began to chant. His strange voice breaking into a hum. A language lost to the universe.
As Jayden felt a strange tingling sensation behind his eyes he realized the source of his gnawing chest.
For the first time in his life, he was scared of death.
Or, more accurately, scared of someone having to deal with his demise.
The Stingwingers grabbed several boxes of meat at a time before being teleported back to the Warstar ship. They buzzed happily, the thought of a fresh meal bouncing around their primitive skulls.
Barron paid no notice, and would just as carelessly stomp them out.
Of course, that might rile up the escort.
"I don't even know why they sent you here," Baron muttered to the red insectoid.
"Insurance," Creepox sang. "You've shown the King that you can deliver. Now I'm here to ensure you do."
Baron sighed as he watched the disgusting creature next to him examine his mandibles as if they were brand-new.
"Look alive," Creepox mused. "I smell trouble."
Suddenly a bright beam of yellow light hit the ground.
Baron smiled as he raised his morpher. "I was just getting bored." His morpher ignited with a golden hue as he rushed towards her.
Gia dodged the blade and blasted the oncoming warrior in the side. He fell over smoke rising from his smoldering armor.
"Hope your bruises from last time haven't healed," The armored Ranger barked. "Because I'm about to reapply them."
He then raised his morpher and summoned a large boulder.
Though Gia was prepared and summoned a rock wall that deflected the boulder.
"Why weren't you this feisty last time?" He asked.
"I wasn't this pissed before," Gia grunted as her claw weapon materialized in her grip. Her blades ranked against his chest, pulling sparks from the lion on his chest.
The armored warrior growled and sprang forward, his blade raised and ready to chop into Gia. But the Yellow Ranger raised her weapon and they collided with sparks.
"It doesn't matter how well you master your powers," he growled. "Because I can do everything you can plus more."
Baron summoned a blast of lightning that struck Gia's chest and knocked her out of her armor.
He then raised his morpher and summoned a jet of water that froze her legs to the ground.
Gia struggled against the ice to no avail, all the while Baron watched with she could only assume was sadistic glee.
"So what now?' He asked as his helmet melted away. "Should I crush you with a giant boulder? Should I drown you? Maybe I could create a whirlwind around you that would take away all of your oxygen." He leaned in the smile on his face; a mask of pure venom.
"Get away from me," she spat.
"What's wrong?" He asked. "There are women all over the galaxy that would kill to be in your place."
"I could be from a planet of garbage eating slug monsters and I wouldn't want you this close."
"Ouch," Baron muttered. When Gia attempted to push him away he grabbed hold of her wrists with bone-breaking force. "I'll just have to soften you up a bit first."
"Fat chance, creep." a voice proclaimed from behind the warrior. Sparks erupted from his back as he fell forward.
Gia looked over and to her surprise found herself staring at Kimberly Hart with a futuristic blaster in hand.
"Thanks for the lend," she said into the headset she was wearing.
"No problem," The other female replied. Through the comline.
Baron growled and summoned a bolt of lightning, but Kimberly easily dodged it and fired into him again.
"You may have snuck up on me last time," She said, "But let's see how you handle a fair fight."
The warrior drew his blaster and fired a few stray shots at Kimberly, but she quickly found cover behind a large piece of equipment.
She then popped up, fired a few more shots, and ducked again.
"What the hell are you-" Gia exclaimed as the realization hit mere moments after.
Kimberly was buying her time.
Gia pulled out her morpher and slid her morphing card inside of it.
Baron caught up to Kimberly, rage painted across his face. "I'm going to do what I should have done the first time we met," he growled. "And dismantle you limb from limb."
Gia fired into the armored warrior's side and got his attention.
"Oh yeah, I forgot we were fighting," he muttered.
"Maybe I can jog your memory," she said and slashed her claw weapon across his chest.
"Alright, that's enough of that," Creepox said and jumped at the Yellow Ranger, slashing her in the chest with his scythe-like appendage.
"What are you doing?" The armored Ranger asked.
"Making sure you stay on track," The insectoid grunted and grabbed hold of Baron and they both teleported away.
The entire room grew quiet, and Gia looked to Kimberly.
"You're welcome," Kimberly said and dusted her clothes off before turning around.
"Why'd you come to help me?" Gia asked. "You don't even have powers."
"You needed help," Kimberly said. "It's just what I do. Zordon taught us to help everyone, regardless of our opinions. I wish Gosei had passed on that sentiment."
And she teleported away without another word.
A/N: For those looking for more consistent updates from me I'd suggest checking out my Jurrasic Knight series since that's where most of my attention is currently