A/N: Enjoy the chapter! Sorry you guys had to wait so long.
Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Samurai or Samurai Sentai Shinkenger. I just own most of the plot and the characters and things you don't recognize from the original versions.
Also: I don't know if the canon episode ever says the name of the island the Rangers visit, but official sources say that it's "Monalua".
~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~
"Serrator clouds the minds of some islanders, Maldan renders the Spin Sword obsolete in one move, while Jayden appears to be hiding something from Emily."
Better Together
Power Rangers: Samurai REDO
Season 2, Episode 12: Trust Me
Island of Monalua
April 14, 2015
Several miles of the coast of southern California laid an island. The island wasn't large enough for cruise ships or airplanes, so ferries were often the go-to method of reaching the island.
But not for the Nighlock. The Gaps were far more superior than human transportation. They were essentially portals from one place to another.
Six Marauders knelt at attention while Serrator stood over the altar he had built himself. Octoroo's recent failures, while laughable, had given him the time to perfect his own plan, and he could easily thank the small Nighlock for that.
And he did, by letting Octoroo's rifle squad be just the first gust of wind that shook the calm water. Octoroo would be the wind that first stirred everything, while Serrator would be the storm that followed.
He burned incense at this altar, and the ash that resulted from this fire spread all over the island.
He chuckled, "As long as this fire keeps burning, humans will never trust each other again."
~B~E~T~T~E~R~~T~O~G~E~T~H~E~R~~P~O~W~E~R~~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~~R~E~D~O~
City Square, Panorama City, California
Maldan emerged from a Gap on a set of stairs and looked around at the people who apparently didn't see him yet (granted, he was out of sight). "Now, time for some target practice. Master Blasters!" A squad of Marauders stepped forward, rifles in their hands.
With Maldan in the middle, the squad walked up the stairs. When they stopped at the top, sure enough, people quickly noticed them and started running away.
"Ready, Aim!" Maldan commanded, and the Marauders followed. "Fire!"
But the Green and Blue Rangers immediately jumped in and pushed people out of the way, while the other four Rangers blocked the bullets with their Spin Swords, all six of them giving civilians cover as they all ran to safety.
"Samurai Rangers!" Maldan said. "We've been waiting for you. You will be target practice for my Master Blasters. Fire!"
The Marauders opened fire on the Rangers, who blocked the attacks, before Mike leapt up in the air to attack.
But Maldan revealed his own Blaster and fired on Mike, who fell to the ground with a thud (though not de-morphing).
Antonio knelt as his side, as Mia produced her Fan, "Sky Fan!"
Pink wind hit the Marauders hard. "Stand your ground!" Maldan commanded.
"Barracuda Blade!" Antonio said, before he charged in as well. He used his Blade to block the bullets coming at him as he ran forward.
"Where are you losers aiming?!" Maldan asked his rifle squad.
The Marauders continued firing, and they finally hit Antonio, the sudden hit and pain it caused dragging him to the ground.
"Do you see now, Rangers?" Maldan asked, the Marauders' rifles in a neutral position. "The era of the sword is over. My Master Blasters will pave the way to a better future! Fire!"
The Blasters fired again at Antonio, but the shots were blocked this time by Jayden, who let his weapon take the hits, "Fire Smasher!"
From behind him, Kevin and Emily jumped up and fired their own weapons.
"Hydro Bow!"
"Earth Slicer!"
The two weapons hit all the Marauders and Maldan dead on, making them falter.
Maldan growled, "I see that we still have training to do, men. Rangers! Meet us on Monalua Island to settle this once and for all!"
He then retreated, leaving the Rangers to nurse their wounds.
Kevin sheathed his Sword, "Monalua Island?"
Mike put a hand to his chest, where he got hit, "I don't think the next round will be any different. We got beat."
"You okay?" Emily asked him.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Mike replied.
"Whoever had the idea to given Marauders blasters," Mia said, crossing her arm, "deserves an award. They almost beat us."
"Back to the House," Jayden said. "We need to determine our next move."
He led them back to the Shiba House.
~B~E~T~T~E~R~~T~O~G~E~T~H~E~R~~P~O~W~E~R~~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~~R~E~D~O~
Shiba House, Gianni Forest, Panorama City, California
Ji had the Gap Sensor map open, and he was focusing on Monalua, the island Maldan had told them to head to.
"There is some strange activity on the island," Ji revealed. "No Nighlock prescence that I can see, but there is a disturbance there. I tried to call our allies there, but the connection didn't go through, no matter who I called. There appears to be some field jamming communications both in and out."
"They have to be there, then," Jayden said. He turned to the others, "Let's go!"
Before they could walk out the door, Ji quickly spoke up, "Wait!" They stopped and turned back to face him. "Since the Nighlock specifically told you to go there, I'd stay on guard. I have a feeling this may be a trap."
"So do I," Jayden replied. "But if there is a Nighlock on that island, we have to help."
Ji agreed with this, and he nodded, "Good luck." He could only watch as the six Rangers left the House.
~B~E~T~T~E~R~~T~O~G~E~T~H~E~R~~P~O~W~E~R~~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~~R~E~D~O~
Island of Monalua
The moment the Rangers stepped foot on the main dock, they all immediately felt the eerie aura surrounding the island, and it put them all on edge.
There were no people walking the streets, no one at their jobs or on the docks. They were all in their houses, peaking at the newcomers from behind their blinds and curtains, before fearfully hiding again.
This definitely was a trap, but it was their job as Rangers to fix this problem, no matter what was going on here.
"We need to investigate," Kevin said.
"I say we split up," Antonio suggested. "We'll cover more ground that way."
"Good idea," Jayden replied. "Split into three duos, and don't leave each other alone. It's too dangerous to go solo."
They all nodded and split into duos, Mike with Antonio, Kevin with Emily, and Jayden with Mia, and went down separate paths.
~B~E~T~T~E~R~~T~O~G~E~T~H~E~R~~P~O~W~E~R~~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~~R~E~D~O~
Jayden and Mia were walking through town. Every house they passed was the same. Someone inside peered at them through a covering before quickly going back behind it.
"Why are they so afraid of us?" Mia quietly asked, almost whispering.
"It's not fear, and it's not just us," Jayden softly replied, as he observed something interesting. "This feels more like...some form of distrust. See, if they were only afraid of us, they wouldn't be hiding in their houses from each other."
"But how did this happen? The residents of Monalua are always kind and hospitable, to both each other and to outsiders. Something had to have happened to them to make them this way," Mia told him, her tone still soft. "But what?"
After seeing a little girl hide within her house, Jayden replied, "Good question."
~B~E~T~T~E~R~~T~O~G~E~T~H~E~R~~P~O~W~E~R~~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~~R~E~D~O~
Kevin and Emily were walking through the park, where the benches and various playground equipment sat there cold and lifeless. Even the fountain in the center of it all was emoty, void of its usual water.
"Seriously, where is everybody?" Kevin asked.
"I don't know," Emily replied. "But someone's watching us."
Kevin was immediately on edge, as he reached for his Samuraizer, "Who?"
"A little boy," Emily quietly said. "In those bushes over there."
The said bushes rustled and an Asian boy, about the age of nine, in a tan jacket, immediately ran away from them. He was clearly caught and he didn't know what they'd do to him, nor did he want to stick and around and find out.
He ran through the nearby woods, ignoring their calls and pleas for him to stop.
"Wait!" He stopped when the girl in yellow suddenly stepped in front of him, blocking his path.
He turned and saw the man in blue behind him. He made to run to his left, but the man stopped him again, "Hold on! Please," he quieted down. Now calm, he continued as he and the girl held up their hands in surrender, "Look, neither of us have any weapons. We're not going to hurt you. We just want to talk."
"What's your name?" the girl asked.
"T-Timothy," he replied.
"Hi, Timothy," she smiled, as the man in blue stood at her side. "My name is Emily, and this is Kevin. We're here to help. Okay?" Timothy nodded, his position still fearful, but he was no longer ready to run away from them. When she smiled, some part of him immediately started to trust her. "There we go, that's much better."
The two Rangers knelt in front of him, humbling themselves in order to help him stay calm.
"So why were spying on us?" Kevin asked, quietly and calmly. He didn't mean any harm by this question. He was just curious.
Timothy hesitated before stuttering out, "B-Because...you're the enemy. Aren't you?"
Emily calmly shook her head, while Kevin replied, repeating, "No, we're not. We're here to help."
Emily then noticed a couple of black spots on the boy's face. "What is this?"
"What is what?" Kevin asked, as he tried to look where Emily was.
Emily tried to rub one of the spots off of Timothy's cheek with her thumb, but it refused to come off.
Kevin then understood what she was so intrigued by, "It looks like some kind of...ash."
Timothy spoke up, very quietly, "The ash fell from the sky this morning. I felt different before then. We all did. Then, we were happy and comfortable, but after it fell, we were all suddenly afraid of each other. My mom...locked the door and wouldn't let me back in the house, so I decided to stay at the park, because I don't have anywhere to go."
Kevin and Emily glanced at each other, both thinking the same thing. This couldn't be a coincidence.
Kevin pulled out his Samuraizer as Emily tried to comfort the boy, who had started tearing up, "Guys, Emily and I may have found the cause of all this. According to a boy we found, some weird ash started falling from the sky and made everyone distrust each other, neighbors and friends, even families were turned against each other."
"So we're looking for a fire of some kind?" Mia asked.
"That would be my guess," Kevin replied.
"It would have to be a big one," Antonio pointed out, "for ash to rain down over the entire island."
"Start searching for places where the Nighlock could easily hide without detection," Jayden ordered. "Once you find the place, let the rest of us know first. Don't charge in on your own."
"Got it!" Kevin said, as did everybody else in the call, before he hung up.
"Well?" Emily asked him.
"We need to find a place where the enemy could easily hide," Kevin told her.
Emily nodded, "Let's go then." She turned to Timothy, "Listen, we have to go now. Do you think you could head back to the park? And stay there until this is fixed?"
The boy nodded just as a rustle of leaves caught the three's attention, and they turned to face that direction.
Standing there was Dayu, "Hello, Rangers. Congratulations on being gullible. This was a trap the entire time." She brandished her dagger, as Kevin and Emily pushed Timothy behind them.
~B~E~T~T~E~R~~T~O~G~E~T~H~E~R~~P~O~W~E~R~~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~~R~E~D~O~
"A fire, huh?" Mike asked.
"Yeah," Antonio said, before thinking, "Now where could the Nighlock hide a fire that big?"
The two were stopped by a familiar-sounding laugh, "Welcome, Rangers, to your own personal apocalypse."
The two Rangers immediately morphed, "Go, Go, Samurai!"
Mike held up his weapon, "Spin Sword!"
"Barracuda Blade!"
Serrator scoffed, "You're attacking me with common swords? Apparently, you haven't heard the news. History is repeating itself. The era of the sword is over, and a new one has begun. And it starts right now."
He then blew, from his palm, some black dust at the two.
The two de-morphed and saw that it was the special ash that Serrator had blown at them.
"My ash breaks apart the bonds of humans, sowing into their hearts seeds of distrust and doubt. Soon, the world will be remade into one where people do nothing but fight each other. And you Rangers will help it happen."
Mike turned on his long-time friend, "Antonio, are you working for Serrator?"
"No, you're the traitor," Antonio replied, lifting up his Barracuda and Blade and slowly unsheathing it.
Serrator watched as Mike lifted his Spin Sword to an attack position, "By all means, don't let me interrupt you."
The two Rangers missed him retreating through a Gap, completely engrossed in their own fight.
~B~E~T~T~E~R~~T~O~G~E~T~H~E~R~~P~O~W~E~R~~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~~R~E~D~O~
As they fought against Dayu, Kevin and Emily (completely morphed) both hoped that the others were fairing better than they were. Dayu was tough, which made sense (she wasn't a ex-General for nothing).
Timothy watched from behind a nearby tree as Emily was shoved away, but she got up just as quickly and charged in to help Kevin.
Dayu, however, noticed him after landing a hit on both Rangers. She scoffed before lifting her dagger up to strike the boy down.
Dayu slashed at the boy, but she only hit air, as Emily had pushed him out of the way, on top of Timothy, shielding him with her body, as Kevin blocked Dayu's next attack with his Spin Sword, before pushing back and retaliating.
Emily turned to Timothy, "Get out of here! It's too dangerous!"
Timothy nodded and ran away, happy to do so.
Meanwhile, Emily re-entered the fight, only for Dayu to push Kevin to the ground and immediately start pouncing on the blonde, "Your Red Ranger is hiding something from you."
Emily growled before pushing back against Dayu's dagger, "He's allowed to!"
But Dayu slashed at her again after dodging Kevin's swing, "How do you know? It could be something important."
Kevin's next attack was blocked, but this time, he caught Dayu's wrist and led her to the shores of the river nearby, "Leave her alone!"
Emily followed, and she and Kevin attacked together, but Dayu blocked them both.
"Your heart is a prison, Yellow Ranger!" Dayu said, before slashing at the two one last time, sending them into the water below.
~B~E~T~T~E~R~~T~O~G~E~T~H~E~R~~P~O~W~E~R~~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~~R~E~D~O~
Jayden and Mia were facing Deker, and he was just as relentless as he was the last time they fought him.
However, as they were fighting him, Deker said something interesting, "Yellow's philosophies are really getting to you, aren't they, Red Ranger?"
"What?" Jayden asked, before Mia took a hit and went down. Deker went to strike at her but the attack was swiftly blocked by Jayden, who demanded, "What are you talking about?!" as he pushed back.
"You rely on your teammates to fight your battles now?" Deker asked as the two fought. The lone warrior is the strongest. You've lost your edge."
"Shut up!" Jayden said, before Deker looked up to see Mia jumping into the fray again.
Jayden pushed Mia out of the way, successfully avoiding and blocking another strike. Jayden was then quickly forced to his knees as he blocked Deker's sword with all his might.
"I know what you're hiding from Yellow," Deker revealed.
"What?" Jayden asked, before Deker struck at him. Jayden rolled across the ground, using his Sword to block Deker's. "You don't know anything!" he decided to call Deker's bluff.
"Do I?" Deker asked, before Mia rushed in.
"No, you don't!" She said, before Deker's strike forced her to the ground. She glanced up and got back to her knees in time to see Deker and Jayden's respective swords pointed directly at the others' throats. "Don't let him get to you, Jayden! He's obviously trying to ruin our team dynamic! Don't let him win!"
But Deker struck Jayden three times, before one more slash caused the Red Ranger to go flying, landing in the field below them, de-morphing on the way.
"Jayden!" Mia yelled. Still morphed, she ran to him.
Deker, in the meantime, said, "Pathetic. You're not worth fighting anymore...not when you're like this."
Mia raised her Sword to protect Jayden, but she was surprised (and grateful) when Deker just walked away.
~B~E~T~T~E~R~~T~O~G~E~T~H~E~R~~P~O~W~E~R~~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~~R~E~D~O~
The two were in an abandoned shack now. Mia had given Jayden her scarf so he could use it as a sling for his injured arm.
She was also trying to convince him of the truth, "Deker's wrong, Jayden. We're all stronger together. Letting words like his get in the way of our bond is what makes us weak. And he's your enemy. There's no need to prove yourself to him."
Jayden nodded, knowing she was right. He had lost to Deker just now only because he let Deker's words get to him.
Mia then added, "And you and Emily don't hide anything from each other. You have no reason to."
"But I am," Jayden quietly admitted.
Mia turned back to face him, shocked, "W-What?"
"Deker's right, Mia," he continued. "I am hiding something from Emily, but I don't believe that he actually knows what it is."
"Neither do I," Mia said. "But honestly, I wouldn't put it past him. He is rather observant."
"True. And to be honest, I don't think Emily would understand if I told her."
"Jayden, listen," Mia began, intending on giving him advice.
"What is that?" Jayden suddenly cut her off. Mia turned to the window he was facing.
"It looks like smoke," Mia said.
There was a great big smoke stack coming from the mountains.
"Wherever there's smoke," Jayden began.
Mia finished, "There's fire. Could that be where the Nighlock are?"
"It has to be," Jayden replied, before getting to his feet. "Call the others. Tell them to meet us there."
"Right!"
Jayden raced out of the building, and Mia followed, as she called the others.
But she got no answer from any of them.
~B~E~T~T~E~R~~T~O~G~E~T~H~E~R~~P~O~W~E~R~~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~~R~E~D~O~
Shiba House, Gianni Forest, Panorama City, California
Ji opened the front door when a knock came to it, and revealed the person who stopped by.
"Cody!" he greeted with a smile. "How are you? You did get permission to visit this time, right?"
"I did," Cody replied. "But I can't stay long, because I still have some chores to do. I have a surprise for you, one that I hope will help the Rangers."
~B~E~T~T~E~R~~T~O~G~E~T~H~E~R~~P~O~W~E~R~~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~~R~E~D~O~
Junk Ship, Sanzu River, Netherworld
The squad of Marauders lined up on the shores, holding rifles in an upright position. Maldan walked back to the line after setting up two dummies. Xandred, Octoroo, and Serrator watched from the boat.
"Ready, aim," Maldan said, "Fire!"
The Marauders fired their rifles at the two dummies, destroying them in no time at all. They held their rifles back in a neutral position.
"Their training is complete," Maldan announced to the three on the boat.
"That's good," Octoroo said. "What do you think, Master Xandred? Any tips to improve them?"
Xandred merely scoffed and walked away from the window.
Serrator stepped up, "Swords are outdated, Master. Blasters are the current trend."
"And besides, this is only the beginning," Octoroo added. "The Master Blasters are just a distraction for Serrator's plan."
Xandred stepped back up, "I'm not optimistic about this, given our most recent failures, but you two appear to be working together on this. That will greatly increase our chances of success. If either of your plans succeed, I will be happy."
Serrator bowed, "Both plans will succeed."
~B~E~T~T~E~R~~T~O~G~E~T~H~E~R~~P~O~W~E~R~~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~~R~E~D~O~
Island of Monalua
Jayden arrived at the mountain he and Mia had deduced was where the Nighlock were hiding.
Immediately, a whole platoon of Marauders greeted him.
In the back of them, Dayu turned to Deker, "He's here. If you won't strike him down, then I will."
Deker faced her before looking away, "Go ahead. He's not worth the effort."
Dayu scoffed before charging to attack Jayden. But Jayden could react, however, a blur of pink flashed in front of him.
"Mia! What are you doing?" he asked.
"Don't let anyone tear apart your connection with Emily," Mia finally told him the advice she wanted to say. "The bond between you two is stronger than that. So trust her, Jayden, to understand. Don't assume she won't, because it's not fair on her. Trust her," she repeated, "and trust us, because we put our lives in each other's hands, and you trusted us enough to put yours in ours. That promise is not a weakness." She turned back to face him, "I'd say more, but I owe Dayu some payback." She turned to face Dayu and morphed, "Go, Go, Samurai! Havoc Mode: Engage!" straight into Havoc Mode, letting her Windstorm Arrow do the talking.
"Mia..." Jayden breathed, as he tightly clutched his Samuraizer in his hand. She was right. He stood up, facing the Marauders that raised their rifles at him. "Go, Go, Samurai!"
"Master Blasters!" he heard Maldan say, "Fire at will!"
"Super Samurai Mode!" He used the Black Box to morph into Super Mode, which temporarily blocked the bullets that came his way.
He charged in, trying to move so fast that it was next to impossible to hit him, but he quickly found himself overwhelmed by the Master Blasters. His Spin Sword flew up into the air and landed a few feet away from him.
Just then, the roar of a motorcycle was heard. Jayden and Mia both turned to see a man, Ji, get off the bike before fighting off the three Marauders surrounding him. After taking down the third, Ji held up the rifle it was carrying, "You call this a Blaster?" He tossed it onto the ground next to the Marauder, before reaching behind him and bring forward a large bull-motifed blaster from behind his back. "This is a Blaster!"
"Ji, what are you doing here?" Jayden asked.
"I tried calling you all ten times after you left," Ji explained. "No one replied, and I got worried. Besides, Cody has a gift for you." He tossed Jayden the Blaster, and it landed in his arms. "It's called the Firebull Bazooka, and more powerful than your Spin Swords. With it, you should be able to defeat those Master Blasters in no time. Go ahead and fire it up!"
He then tossed Jayden a white and gold colored Power Disk, which the Red Ranger caught perfectly, before inserting it into the Blaster.
He then aimed and fired at all the Marauders surrounding them, destroying the ones on the cliffs above them, before firing it at the ones in front of the altar (a group that included Maldan).
More Marauders surrounded Jayden, as Ji quickly moved himself and his bike to a safer place. Jayden picked up his Spin Sword, the Bazooka in his other hand, ready to fight with both weapons at once.
He first fired at the ones in front, before using his Sword to slash down the ones on his right. He glanced at the altar, his primary target, before continuing the fight. He was fortunate that Mia was holding off Dayu, and that Deker didn't want to stop him right now, but he didn't know where Serrator was, and that concerned him.
He struck down the last one and fired the Bazooka at them one last time, before he turned around and let them all explode behind him. The Master Blasters were taken care of.
He glanced at Mia real quick. She didn't seem to need any help, which was good for him, because he needed to destroy that altar and put out the fire somehow.
It was a clear path, but he was suddenly blocked by Deker (seriously, he chose now of all times to stop him?).
"So you fight with a Blaster now?" Deker asked. "Just how weak have you gotten, Red Ranger?"
"Deker, I have nothing to prove to you," Jayden coolly said, as he hooked up his Super Spin Sword to the Firebull Bazooka. He inserted the Bazooka Disk into the Box, before spinning the Black Power Disk and lifting it up, aiming it right where he needed it. "And you have a problem with that, then deal with it on your own time."
Deker surprised him by lifting his arms up. He was surrendering. "If this is really how you fight now, then go ahead. Pull the trigger, and end me right here."
The Bazooka was finished charging up. "Sorry," Jayden apologized, "but I have more important concerns than you, Deker. Fire Strike!" And he pulled the trigger.
The bull made of fire blazed past Deker, following the red screen, and destroyed the altar. Deker took in a deep breath as the explosion went off behind him, and he couldn't help but wonder why he felt a mix of pride and betrayal (all Jayden did was choose to destroy the altar; why did that matter so much to Deker?).
From the ashes of the altar rose sparkles of light, which rained down on the island below. The spell was broken, and the islanders could go back to their normal life.
Ji, from the sidelines, decided to call the other four, sincerely concerned as to why they weren't here yet.
He breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Mike's calm voice on the other end.
Deker raised his borrowed sword, "Heh, you've gotten a lot more interesting, Red Ranger. Perhaps I was wrong about you, after all."
Underneath his helmet, Jayden smirked, "How ironic," but he kept the Bazooka raised and ready to fire again.
Jayden breathed a sigh of relief when Serrator stepped in between them, "That's far enough. We must go, Deker, Dayu. Our plan has failed. Action Commander Maldan, we leave the rest to you."
The three Nighlock grouped up and left through a cloud of smoke.
Mia ran up next to Jayden, "That was epic, Jayden!" He let her give him a high five, and she continued, motioning to the Bazooka, "So, Cody made that thing, huh? It packs quite a punch, doesn't it?"
"It sure does," Jayden replied, before his voice went quiet. "Mia? Thanks. For everything."
Underneath her helmet, he could feel her smile, "No problem. That's what friends are for."
The two were interrupted by Maldan, as the Nighlock got to his feet, "You Rangers will pay dearly for that. Two against one? I think I can handle this myself." Once standing, he produced his own rifle.
"Wrong!" came Kevin's voice. "Six against one!"
Beside Jayden landed Emily and Kevin, and beside Mia landed Mike and Antonio. All four of them were morphed into Havoc Mode, like Mia.
"Sorry, we're late," Antonio apologized. "Serrator and Dayu got us sidetracked."
"It's okay," Jayden replied, honesty filling his voice. "We knew you'd come." He finished his sentence by glancing at Emily, who he could tell was looking at him. And he knew that neither of them let the helmets get in their way of knowing what the other was thinking and feeling, that both were relieved to know that the other was okay. "Just follow my lead."
"Right!"
Maldan growled before aiming his blaster at them, "I'm not backing down, Rangers!"
And he fired. Jayden ran forward, through the blasts, his Sword and the Bazooka now separate. He let himself be the distraction.
He jumped up and fired the Bazooka at Maldan, who faltered. After landing a couple of strikes with his Sword, Jayden stepped back.
Mia fired her Windstorm Arrow into the air, "Flower Hurricane!" A shower of energy arrows all landed on Maldan.
"Riptide Strike!" Kevin used his Diamond Wave Trident to send a rush of ice cold water at the Nighlock.
Out of the flower petals and the frost cloud that ensued, Antonio and Emily leapt into the fray, using the Spiral Earth Drill and the Light Zord's baton to land a dual strike.
The two leapt out of the way, on opposite sides, and let Mike use his Forest Hammer and hit Maldan like a baseball.
Maldan landed on the ground a fair distance away, unable to get up right away. Jayden took his chance to hook up his Spin Sword and the Bazooka. "Super Firebull Bazooka!" After placing the Disk into the Black Box, Jayden spun the black Power Disk attached to the hilt of his Sword, "Energize!" He aimed the Bazooka directly at Maldan, who was finally getting to his feet. "Fire Strike!" And he pulled the trigger once it had fully charged up.
Maldan saw red, and then a second later, he felt a fiery bull hit him square in the chest, and his first life ended in an explosive cloud of fire.
The Rangers cheered, giving each other high fives, as Maldan grew into his second life.
"We're not done yet!" Jayden said. "Summon Bull Zord!"
Antonio turned to the others, "Guys, LZ and I have an idea. Summon your main Zords, and I'll take it from there."
"Right!"
"Activate Samurai Light Megazord!"
The Light Zord enlargened before letting the Dragon and Bear Zords become his legs, while the Turtle and Ape Zords became his arms.
"Bullzord Transformation!" After the Bullzord shifted its parts to form a humanoid, the two were ready, "Bull Megazord, Armed for Battle!"
Jayden was alone in the Bull Zord cockpit, while the other five Rangers were also alone in their own cockpits, but they were controlling the Light Zord all together.
"Shogun Mode: Power of the Ancestors!" Jayden activated said Disk, and now the six Rangers all gained gold armor over their spandex, ready to fight the enlargened Maldan.
"Don't get so cocky, Rangers," Maldan said. "You haven't seen my Battle Cannon yet."
Four Giant Marauders held up a giant cannon, and it took all four of them to keep it steady.
"Giant Master Blasters," Maldan ordered, "advance!"
The four Marauders walked forward, not running, due to the heavy weight of the cannon they were carrying.
"Fire!" Maldan ordered, and the two Megazords scrambled to dodge them blasts in time.
But they failed. Multiple blasts hit them over and over.
Ji called them over the comm system, "Jayden, let the Bull Megazord use the Bazooka too."
Jayden was confused at this, before looking down at the Bazooka in his hand. He then understood what Ji was suggesting and with his Samuraizer, he drew the kanji for 'Big' over it.
It quickly appeared in the Bull Megazord's hand, and with its original Laser Blaster in its other hand, Jayden aimed both at Maldan.
"Don't falter now!" Maldan said. "Fire!"
The Battle Cannon fired, but the Bull Megazord managed to dodge and weave every shot, shooting both the Laser Blaster and the Bazooka at the Giant Master Blasters.
After enough shots, the squad of four exploded, finally defeated.
Maldan raised his rifle and fired a barrage of bullets at the two Megazords.
"Battle Disk: Scatter Shot!" The Samurai Light Megazord threw a multitude of Power Disks at each of the bullets, destroying them all before they reached their target. The last Disk hit the rifle out of Maldan's hand.
Jayden stepped up, "Bull Disk: Power Up!" Jayden and the Bullzord both charged up for the final strike.
"Katana Power: Revolving Laser Blaster!"
The great burst of energy that followed was, thankfully, enough to defeat Maldan once and for all.
As the Nighlock exploded and burst into flames, Jayden announced, "Samurai Rangers, Victory is Ours!"
~B~E~T~T~E~R~~T~O~G~E~T~H~E~R~~P~O~W~E~R~~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~~R~E~D~O~
The group was heading back to dock, where their ferry was waiting for them.
Mia softly was telling Jayden, "Don't leave her hanging, Jayden. You don't have to tell me anything, but she deserves to know."
"I know," Jayden quietly replied. "I'm just trying to find a way to tell her."
"Just tell her, and don't worry about her reaction so much," Mia advised. "If she flips out, then let her."
"Right. Thanks, Mia," he softly said, before letting himself and Mia listen to what the other four were talking about.
"I'm sorry, Antonio," Mike was saying, "for raising my Sword against you."
"I'm sorry too, amigo," Antonio replied. "I can't believe both of us were driven to do that in the first place."
"Don't worry about that," Kevin quickly stepped. "It's not either of your faults."
"He's right," Emily added with her usual smile. "The ash took over your minds." She then decided to change the subject (a smart choice), "I wish I could've seen Ji take out those Master Blasters!"
"Me too," Mike added. "For an old dude, Mentor can really kick butt when he wants to."
Emily suddenly gasped and held him back by covering his mouth with her hand. The others quickly followed her gaze and soon saw why.
Sure enough, there was Ji, leaning against his bike. He stood up and turned around, an unamused look on his face. "'Old'?"
"You know I didn't mean it in the sense of 'retirement home', don't you?" Mike honestly replied. "I mean more like 'retro cool'."
Ji's glare eased up into a smile, and he smiled, "I know what you meant, Mike. I'm just messing with you. Thank you for the compliment."
Mike smiled, before the six Rangers moved to get on the ferry together.
But as the ferry left the dock, with the Rangers on it, Emily couldn't help but ponder over Dayu's choice of words.
'Your heart is a prison, Yellow Ranger!'
What did that mean? And was Jayden really hiding something from her?
She couldn't stop her mind from being clouded by doubt.
TO BE CONTINUED...
~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~
Original Shinkenger Episode: Act 38 & Act 39
Original PRS Episode: Trust Me
Note: It's time for the endgame, or the beginning of it, at least. And no, I'm not putting in the Shogun Spear, not when it only lasted for one episode.
The main focus here was Jayden and Emily, if you didn't figure it out yet. What Deker and Dayu said to them both relate to the twist that I'll reveal two chapters from now (though, some of you have already figured out what the twist is).
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review and tell me what you think!
A/N: Do review, please. If you guys have any ideas you want me to consider adding, please PM me. A preview for the next chapter:
Season 2, Episode 13: "Mutiny"
"Master Xandred demands Serrator return Dayu's Harmonium, as Jayden and Emily's minds are clouded with doubts."