The Netherworld, a world existing parallel to our own. It is the home of the deadly Nighloks an enemy that once threatened the Earth. 25 years ago the 18th generation of Samurai Power Rangers led by Jayden Shiba were able to defeat Master Xandred and seal away the remaining Nighloks with the help of his sister Lauren Shiba and her powerful sealing symbol. Since then the Earth has been at peace and the Nighlok have been stuck in the the Netherworld until today. Octoroo one of the renaming survivors of the Nighlok invasion is shown on the wrecked remains of Master Xandred's ship.
"Ooh-ah-ooh it's been 25 years all alone for Octoroo." He said looking out at the Sanzu River. "Even if I could somehow gather enough renaming Moogers and Nighloks the Red Ranger's sealing symbol makes it impossible for any Nighlok to enter the human world through the gaps." Octoroo said dismayed.
"Perhaps I can be of assistance?" He heard a mysterious but distinctly female voice said out of nowhere.
"Ooh-ah-ooh who are you?" Octoroo asked the mysterious voice.
"Who I am isn't important what matters is I can help you break the sealing symbol and once again invade the human world to raise the Sanzu River." The voice told him.
"How exactly would you do that? To break the seal you'd need to attack from the human world but no Nighlok no matter how strong can get there anymore." Octoroo said doubting this mystery voice.
"Not a full Nighlok but a half Nighlok can still enter the human world." The voice said before laughing menacingly.
"So then your a half Nighlok like Deker and Dayu?" Octoroo asked trying to figure out more information about his potential ally. The voice merely laughed again.
"I'm nothing like those two pathetic humans. I might not be a full Nighlok but I'm no human either. What I am is the ultimate being who will destroy those Samurai Rangers and led the Nighlok to take over the Earth."
"I suppose helping you is better than being stuck on this boat forever. Though if we're going to be working together I should probably have a name for you." Octoroo said after having thought over the offer.
"Just call me Invidios." It said before disappearing. Meanwhile on Earth the 18th generation of Samurai Rangers were gathering together for the first time in years since it was the 25th anniversary of the day they defeated Master Xandred and the Nighloks.
Jayden is seen at Shiba House. He hasn't changed much in the 25 years. He still had the same hairstyle and was a bit taller. He wore a simple red shirt and blue jeans.
"Is the table ready yet?" He asked heading towards the kitchen. "They're going to be here any moment now." He said looking at the clock. Jayden ran over to the main hall where he saw his son Brenden sitting down.
After the Nighloks were defeated Jayden stayed with Mentor Ji at Shiba House. One day an amateur reporter named Lia showed up having tracked the last known sighting of the Samurai Power Rangers to that spot. Jayden tried to deny any association with them but Lia had proven to be a persistent reporter. After enough time Jayden relented to a single interview where she could ask any questions over dinner. That dinner sparked a new interest in Lia not for the Samurai Rangers but for Jayden, and she asked him on another date shortly after. A few years passed with the two frequently seeing each other before Jayden finally proposed to Lia. Jayden also revealed he was the Red Samurai Ranger. Lia chose a life with Jayden over writing a story on his identity and the two married. It would seem they'd live a happy life until tragedy struck. When their son Brenden was 5 years old, Lia died in a car accident. Unable to fully cope Jayden dedicated himself and his son to samurai training. Their relationship is slightly strained and has not recovered since. Today would be the first time since Lia's funeral that all the Samurai Rangers would be together.
"Everything's taken care of dad there's no reason to be so anxious." Brenden told him. At first glance Brenden was quite different from his parents. Whereas Jayden and Lia were both light skinned with brown hair Brenden had tan skin and black hair. He also had brown eyes. These traits were often attributed to his grandparents on Lia's side of the family. He wore an open red jacket with a white shirt underneath and jeans.
"I just want today to be perfect. It's an important day." Jayden told him anxiously walking back and forth. Brenden put a hand on his dad's shoulder and gave him a smile.
"I know dad you've told me. 25 years ago today you and the other rangers beat Master Xandred to save the world. Today's a big deal for you and the others but don't worry so much. Everything will be fine." He said reassuringly. Just then the front door opened. Mike and Emily entered into the main room. Emily had grown a bit in the time since they were Rangers but was still far shorter than Mike and the shortest of all the rangers. She wore a yellow sundress and had her blond hair loose reaching past her shoulder. Mike on the other hand wore a stripped green shirt and jeans. His hair was relatively unchanged and he didn't look too far off from his days as a ranger.
"Jayden it's so good to see you again." Emily said hugging Jayden.
"Its great to see you both as well, but where are your kids?" Jayden asked surprised to see the two of them alone.
"They're unpacking some gifts we brought you and the others from the car. We only brought the twins though the others wanted to stay with Serena." Mike told him.
Mike and Emily had started dating shortly after Master Xandred was defeated. Mike moved to be with Emily in the country and to help her care for her sick sister Serena. At first it seemed Serena wouldn't get better and once some years passed with her illness showing no signs of improvement several doctors had given up hope of ever curing her. Emily never gave up on her sister though and Mike was always there for her. Serena miraculously recovered one day after fighting for several years and to celebrate Mike proposed to Emily. The two had the surprise of their life when their first child ended up being twins, one boy and one girl. Though unexpected they cared for the two and would have two more children some years later, both girls. The twins were trained as samurai but they decided not to train their youngest two daughters letting them live normal lives.
"Dad where should we put the gifts?" His son Emilio asked him. Emilio had inherited his father's brown hair that was in a Pompadour hairstyle. He was wearing a plaid yellow shirt with a green blazer over it.
"We're the first ones here so just put them in the corner of the room for now." Mike told him.
"I thought you said we were late dad?" His eldest daughter Michelle asked him confused about being the first to arrive. Michelle had her mother's blond hair though it was slightly darker due to her father's genes. Her hair was short and in pigtails. She wore a green shirt with a medium length green skirt and a yellow cardigan. She also had yellow glasses which she needed to see and was very short, just barely over 5 feet.
"Your mother likes to be early so even if we arrive on time it's considered late for her." Mike told her chuckling.
"Come on Mike it's the first time we're all together why wouldn't you want to be here early?" Emily asked excited for the reunion.
"I know I'm just surprised Kevin isn't here yet. I'd figure he'd have been here hours early with how strict his schedule is." Mike said jokingly. Little did he know Kevin had just arrived and was standing behind him.
"I guess you don't know everything about me after all." Kevin said startling Mike. The others laughed at Mike's surprise and greeted Kevin. With Kevin was his son Baron.
Kevin returned to his swim team once his samurai duties were fulfilled. He managed to qualify for the Olympics after enough training and dedication. Kevin quickly became an Olympic star winning several gold medals. It was at the Olympics that he met a girl named Amy who was competing in gymnastics. It was love at first sight and the two formed a long distance relationship. The two rarely ever saw each other in person and at times their relationship seemed doomed until by chance Kevin's swim team competed in Amy's hometown. Kevin had once given up swimming for his samurai duties and he was now ready to give it up to spend his life with Amy. Thankfully he didn't have to as Amy was willing to compromise so they could be together and neither had to permanently give up the sport they loved. When his first and only child was born Kevin told Amy about how he was once a samurai ranger and that their son would have to become the next blue ranger. They both trained Baron in the best of their abilities to get him to become the perfect samurai warrior.
"How come Amy's not with you?" Mike asked noticing it was just Kevin and his son.
"She's out of the country right now practicing for her next big competition." Kevin told them. "Baron why don't you go off with the others." He told his son noticing that the other kids had somewhat split apart from their parents. His son Baron was the splitting image of Kevin when he was a ranger. He was dressed very formally, wearing a white collar shirt with a blue vest, a blue tie and navy slacks.
"As you wish." He said before bowing and heading with the others.
"Wow your kid is even duller than you were as a ranger. I didn't think that was possible." Mike said laughing. Emily lightly shoved Mike.
"Mike don't be mean." She scolded him. Jayden smiled fondly at the three of them.
"You guys never change do you." He said thinking about how they were still the same people that were all those years ago.
"Us no but you know what I hope has changed Mia's cooking." Mike said remembering how bad Mia's cooking was when they were rangers. Unfortunately, similarly with Kevin, Mia arrived just as Mike opened his mouth.
"I thought you all liked my cooking why would you want it to change?" Mia asked Mike. Even though Mia had known for a while that the other rangers didn't like her food, she appreciated they were kind enough not to say anything so she continued pretended she didn't know.
"I just meant I'm sure we'd all like to try something different. Whatever you make will be good though." Mike said trying to save himself. Emily rolled her eyes at his poor attempt at fixing his statement.
"Well I can't cook anything until Antonio gets here since he's providing the fish. Mako can you help me put these groceries in the fridge until he gets here?" Mia asked her daughter. Mako had her mother's black hair in a medium length pixie cut with her hair close to her face. She was wearing a pink crop top with a blue denim jacket and a pink miniskirt.
"It's just you and Mako?" Emily asked Mia. Before she could answer though Mako did.
"Dad's still really scared of this place and mom still hasn't told him about all this samurai stuff so it was best to leave him and Sammy at one of the hotel's our family owns." Mako said putting the groceries away for Mia.
Mia went to Culinary School after Master Xandred's defeat. There she learned how to improve her cooking skills. Mia was still missing her prince charming though. One day she visited the music school near her culinary school to talk with a professor who taught at both. There she met up with a familiar face from her days as a Samurai Ranger. It was the guy she'd met at the Nighlok attack on a factory. It turns out his name was Spike Skullovitch he was the son of Eugene Skullovitch a famous pianist know better as Skull who was giving a presentation at the school. Along with being a renowned pianist Skull owned a few hotels he inherited from his grandparents and he had his own resort called Bulkmeier's named after his best friend. Mia was confused as to why Spike was having money problems when they first met if his dad was so rich and Spike offered to explain the situation over dinner. Mia was a bit reluctant at first. Spike seemed like a nice guy but he was pretty young and a tad strange. She decided to be nice though and accept his offer. Spike was desperate to see Mia again after that dinner so he had his dad help enroll him in the music school as a rap artist. Mia went over to the music school every once in a while to visit Spike but she always considered him as just a friend. In one last attempt to win Mia over Spike had his dad play something he wrote while he expressed his feelings for her through song. It was here Mia realized Spike wasn't just some kid with a crush he really admired her and cared for her. Sure he was goofy and a bit of an oddball but she could tell he was sincere and genuine about his feelings towards her. She decided to give him a chance and the two started dating. It wasn't long before the two married. Spike always felt nervous around the other samurai rangers, especially Emily who had an eerie similarity to the drill sergeant that still haunted his nightmares. Due to this Mia never told Spike about her being a samurai or the identity of the rangers. She also never told her eldest son Samuel, nicknamed Sammy since he was far too much like his father and couldn't keep a secret. Only her daughter Mako knows since Mia had to train her to be the next pink samurai ranger.
"Is Spike still scared of us. I feel so bad for him." Emily said knowing it was mostly her fault he didn't like being over at Shiba house.
"He's not scared of you guys he's just scared of this place. I'm sure he'll get over it someday. Besides he said he was going to see if his uncle still lived in the city." Mia told them.
"I'm glad you're here anyway Mia. Now all we have to do is wait on Antonio and Lauren to arrive." Jayden told her.
"Great the guy who's bringing the food had to be the last one to get here." Mike complained as he was getting hungry.
"Maybe next time we have a reunion we should tell him the wrong hour so he'll be here on time." Jayden said knowing his best friend had a tendency to be late.
While the adult rangers were waiting for Antonio to arrive with their fish the kids were in the training room together. They didn't see each other that often and therefore didn't have as close of a friendship with each other as the adult rangers.
"So how's all of your guys's training been going?" Brenden asked them trying to start a conversation.
"It's been difficult but my parents have expectations and I strive to be the best." Baron answered him.
"What's so difficult all you have to do is draw some fancy lines and swing a sword. I could do it in my sleep." Emilio said confidently.
"Is that a challenge because I believe you'll find me to be the superior samurai amongst us." Baron confidently told Emilio.
"I'm sure you're a great samurai Baron but you should see Emilio in action. He never needs to practice and everything comes so easy to him. On the other hand I have to practice day and night to get anywhere close to his level." Michelle said backing up her brother.
"Mom and dad agree I'm a natural at this. They've told me that I'm much better than either of them were when they were my age." Emilio bragged to the others.
"Why don't you prove it to us then?" Mako asked Emilio handing him a practice sword and Baron another one.
"You know we aren't supposed to use these without one of our parents supervising us." Brenden reminded them.
"Oh come on were not kids anymore. We've all been training for years and if we're ever going to be ready we need to practice without them babysitting us. There's no reason they should have to be here." Mako complained.
"I'm inclined to agree with Brenden. We should respect our parents' decisions and if they believe us not ready to train alone there is a reason for it." Baron said putting down the practice sword Mako gave him.
"Seriously we're all around the age they were when they became Power Rangers so why do you guys let them treat us like children." Mako said frustrated.
Emilio turned and smirked at Mako. "You have a point you know. Why don't we forget about them and do our own training session." He said tossing Mako the practice sword Baron put down. "Come on let's go just me and you. If you think you can keep up that is." He taunted.
"Emilio what are you doing?" Michelle asked Emilio shocked. Emilio would always mess around during practice but that's just because of his natural talent. This however was different. He was completely disobeying their parents and the rest of the former samurai rangers.
"She's right about this Michelle. If we're all supposed to become Power Rangers someday then why don't our parents trust us enough to train on our own. Maybe it's because they already defeated the Nighlok so there's no reason for us to ever become Power Rangers." Emilio said.
"Its not a matter of trust but safety. Now put the training swords back before we get in trouble." Brenden told them strictly.
"What's the matter are you scared of what will happen?" Emilio asked taunting Brenden.
"Emilio stop this isn't like you." Michelle shouted at him. Emilio ignored his sisters please as Brenden stopped forward. He firmly put one of his hands on the practice sword Emilio was holding.
"I'm going to ask you one more time to put the sword back." Brenden said staring down Emilio.
"What's going to happen if I don't?" Emilio asked unintimidated.
"Believe me you don't want to find out." Brenden answered.
Neither of the two moved and there was a lot of tension in the room. Suddenly Emilio started laughing and shook his head as he gave the sword over to Brenden. Seeing that nobody else laughed caused Emilio to laugh harder.
"Wow you guys do not know how to take a joke." Emilio said still laughing.
"That wasn't funny Emilio someone could've gotten hurt." Michelle scolded him.
"Come on Michelle lighten up I thought today was supposed to be a celebration." Emilio said. "What's the point of all of us getting together if we aren't allowed to have a little bit of fun." He said.
"I don't know how you put up with him. Almost makes me glad we won't have to become Power Rangers." Mako told Michelle.
"Oh he's not that bad. You know once you get used to his sense of humor." Michelle said nervously as she rubbed the back of her head.
A moment later Jayden walked into the training room to find the kids. "Antonio and Lauren are here so why don't you kids come and eat." He told them. They headed out, but as they were leaving Jayden noticed something was wrong with Brenden. "Something bothering you son?" He asked.
"It's nothing don't worry about it." He said not wanting to talk about it. Jayden however frowned knowing something was wrong with his son.
"Come on I know when something is bothering you so tell me what wrong." Jayden persistently said as he put his hand on Brenden's shoulder.
"It's just well ... why do you and the other samurai rangers treat us like children?" Brenden asked Jayden.
"What are you talking about Brenden?" Jayden asked him not sure what he meant.
Brenden sighed and shook his head. "Dad you just called us kids. Plus we aren't allowed to train unless someone is supervising us. When you and your friends were our age you became Power Rangers so why do you all treat us like children?" Brenden asked him again.
"Where's this coming from?" Jayden asked Brenden.
"Mako and Emilio. They said you and the other rangers treat us like children and they're right about it." Brenden said.
Jayden paused for a moment to think. "I guess it's just hard seeing you all so grown up. When I was your age the world still needed Samurai Power Rangers, but now even though you're trained you're not needed. The Nighlok threat is gone. There hasn't been an attack in 25 years so we were able to be lenient with your training. I'm sorry if I made you feel bad, but you're a great Samurai and you'd be a great Red Ranger." Jayden said.
"Not as good as you or Aunt Lauren, but thanks dad." Brenden said hugging Jayden. Antonio walked in looking for the two of them.
"Jayden, Brenden come on food is ready and everyone's starving." He told them.
"We're coming Antonio." Jayden said heading towards the kitchen. Brenden looked at the practice sword that was on the floor. Luckily Jayden hadn't noticed it, or hadn't cared if he did notice it. He put it back where it belonged and went to join the others in the kitchen where Antonio and Mia were preparing the fish and burgers.
Antonio might not have been a true samurai but through determination he found a way to join his best friend as a Samurai Power Ranger. Antonio went on a cruise after everything was over to find new and exotic fish. On one of the cruise's stops he found Lauren, Jayden's sister. She was off seeing the world since she missed out on a lot of experiences while perfecting the sealing symbol. Antonio had only spoken to Lauren once before and he always felt nervous around her. He figured he should at least attempt to get along with her. She was his best friend's sister and he couldn't avoid her forever. He invited her to go fishing with him and she agreed seeing as how it was something she wanted to learn. Lauren learned quickly and managed to catch more than Antonio much to his chagrin. After fishing Lauren asked to see Antonio's gold morpher. Antonio tried to explain how it worked to Lauren but she only understood about half of what he said since she spent most of her life without much technology. The two spent the next few days together bonding and becoming close friends. When Antonio's cruise was set to depart for its next destination the two were sad to say goodbye. Lauren really enjoyed the time they had spent together and decided to get herself a ticket so she could keep spending time with him. By the time the cruise ended and they returned to Panorama city the two had decided along the way to start dating. Jayden was unsure how to feel about this. Antonio was his best friend and he had always seen him as a brother, now though he was dating his sister. In the end however, Jayden was happy for the two of them. They dated for a few years until Lauren took the initiative and proposed to Antonio. They had a daughter named Olivia. Lauren and Antonio both decided not to train her as a samurai. Antonio wasn't a true samurai to begin with and Lauren had lost her life to her samurai duties. She didn't want that for her daughter. The world was at peace anyway and the Nighloks were gone forever there was no need for another gold ranger or another female red ranger.
"Antonio you might not be the best at arriving on time but man do you know how to get the best fish." Mike told him as everyone was finished eating.
"Wish I could take the credit but this was Olivia's catch. She's on her way to becoming the next Garcia fishing expert." Antonio said looking at Olivia proud. Olivia wore a red and blue stripped dress with a sparkling gold jacket and a scarf similar to the one her father always had. Her hair was dark blond and in a long ponytail. "Either way it doesn't matter how good our fishing skills are we wouldn't have this meal if it wasn't for Mia. Her cooking skills are fantastico." He compliment.
"Dad's right Mia we might be able to catch the fish but your cooking makes this meal fabuloso." Olivia said with a noticeably better accent and pronunciation compared to her father.
"Now that we're finished eating Mike and I got all of you gifts." Emily said getting up from the table and heading to where Michelle and Emilio left the gifts.
"That's so thoughtful. I wish I had gotten you all something." Lauren said.
"Lauren just being here is a good enough gift. I'm glad you consider us your friends even if we didn't make the best first impression." Emily said before hugging Lauren.
"Friends right." Lauren mumbled while awkwardly hugging Emily back. In all honesty Lauren only felt comfortable around Jayden and Antonio. Sure she liked the other Samurai Rangers but wasn't sure if she'd call them her friends. Lauren had difficulty making friends, and she had even more difficulty expressing herself.
"Well we've waited long enough go ahead and open your gifts." Mike said anxiously. Unfortunately they wouldn't get a chance to open their presents. Their good time and their reunion was about to be interrupted as they heard a sound they'd hoped never to hear again. The gap sensor. After 25 years of peace the Nighlok threat had returned.
Author's Note: Been far too long since I've written a fanfic, but I got busy with starting my first year at university as well as starting a part time job as a waitress. Still I love writing stories about my favorite fandoms. I have many more ideas to come, but for now I'm starting off with this next generation fic. I've wanted to do a next generation Power Rangers Samurai fic for so long, and I hope you guys enjoy it. My current writing goal is 250 words a day and going up as time continues. At that pace it shouldn't be too long for new chapters of this.
As for the OCs featured here Brenden, Michelle, Emilio, Mako, Baron, and Mia are my own creations. The same goes for the OC parents Lia and Amy. I'll briefly go over the personality of the OCs as well as why I decided to go with the parings I chose. Starting with Jayden's son Brenden he's very unsure of himself. He has a lot to live up to considering his dad and his aunt's reputation as the red rangers. I chose to make Jayden a single father to have some parental struggles with Brenden. Kevin's son Baron is very similar to Kevin in personality. He strictly follows the rules and doesn't have much fun. I'm going to have a lot of fun with him and getting him to open up more.
Michelle and Emilio are very similar to their parents in personality. Michelle is shy, nervous, and unsure of her abilities when fighting. Emilio on the other hand loves to have fun, never takes things seriously, and has the added bonus of being naturally gifted in skill. He doesn't have to practice because he's just good. Putting Mike and Emily together just made sense since they're a canon couple.
Moving on to Mia's daughter Mako they're the most different in personality. Mia was always very kind and friendly while Mako is a little more cold and distant. She doesn't like other people much and is a bit of a rebel. Putting Mia and Spike together was a last minute decision, and a favor to my sister since she likes them together. They're not one of my personal favorite ships, but I don't hate it either. They can be cute. What is my favorite ship however is my OTP Lantonio. Antonio and Lauren belong together and you can't convince me otherwise. They're daughter Olivia takes after both of them a lot. She has Antonio's personality in that she likes to have fun and loves fishing. She also has Lauren's drive, passion, and devotion. She's not trained as a Samurai since her parents didn't want that for her but that doesn't mean she can't become a ranger later in the story. I'm going to love developing her the most.
That's the basic rundown of the OCs and the pairings. I'm going to try and update this every other week and hopefully episodes will feel like short episodes of the show. I don't have the writing time to commit to a full length episode, but it'll follow the basic Power Rangers pattern of the rangers having a problem, a monster attacking, the rangers solving the problem, and destroying the monster. Let me know what you think of this introduction chapter or the OCs in general. Hope you enjoy, and I'm glad to be writing again.