Category: TV Show ยป Power Rangers

Author: Twix3780

Language: English

Rated: Fiction T

Genre: Fantasy/Family

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers.

Author's Note: Welcome to Phase Two of the Hellhound's Universe. If you are new around here, I would suggest reading Phase One (links are on my profile) before continuing, as some plotlines may be confusing.

Enjoy!

It was already midday in Panorama City, and eighteen-year-old Rune Winters was sitting cross-legged on her bed, tapping furiously at the keys of her Playstation controller as she raced her avatar around the world in Assassins Creed. She'd been playing the game for the last six-years, and while today was her birthday, and she had received new games to play, she was a sucker for nostalgia.

"Mum says you have to come eat," said her little brother, Charlie. Technically he was her adopted brother, but she wasn't about get all pedantic over a minor issue. Charlie had been with her since his father had passed away six years ago, and his mother was still in rehab. Rune's mother, Rhea, had been best friends with Charlie's father and agreed, on his death bed, to take the child in until his mother was well enough to come collect him. She never did, and after a few weeks Rhea adopted Charlie as her own.

"I'll be there in a minute," said Rune, her eyes glued to the screen. She blocked a sword attack with her own and shoved her opponent back with her free fist. While he regained his footing, Rune twisted the joysticks on her controls and hit several buttons at once resulting in her character's signature move where they twirled once of their swords in a circle - like she did a pencil between her fingers - and then slide-flipped. As she straightened up, her opponent turned and Rune's avatar slashed from left to right, taking them out entirely.

Charlie smiled as he watched her. "Are you ever going to use that move when the Nighlok appear?" he asked.

Rune shrugged. "Mum seems to think I've missed the bullet," she said. "I mean, she was my age when she was ending her term as a Samurai."

"True. But, if they do appear, will you use the move?" Charlie asked. "It could be as a token to me. You know, since I'll be the only one who knows where and how you learned it."

Rune smiled. "Sure, why not?" she asked.

"Yes!" Charlie grinned. "But, still, Mum says get your ass to the kitchen."

"Such a foul mouth," Rune teased. "Tell mum I'm finishing up and I'll -"

Crash.

Charlie and Rune stared at one another, their eyes wide and mouths agape.

"Mum?!" Rune called.

When Rhea didn't reply, Rune tossed aside her controller and followed her brother out of the room. They both raced down the hall, Rune sliding around the corner at the end, her sock-covered feet slipping on the wooden floor, and into the kitchen where Rhea was standing, pulling an arrow out of the wall.

"What in the -?" Charlie gasped. "Did someone seriously fire an arrow through the window."

"It's not just any arrow," said Rhea. She untangled the silver ribbon on the end and handed it to Rune. "It's a summoning."

Rune took the ribbon and stared at the crown-shaped emblem on the side. It belonged to the family of Red Rangers - the Shiba. "I thought you said -" she started, looking back at her mother.

"I was wrong," said Rhea. "I honestly thought you had missed this bullet, and I'm sorry for leading you on, Rune, but you have trained for this exact day your whole life. You can do it."

"But -"

Cupping her daughter's face, Rhea smiled gently. "I have believed in you from day one," she said, reassuringly. "So have so many others. Do you remember what Kali said to you when she learned the truth?"

"She said to be the best I could be," said Rune. "That I shouldn't try to be anything more than me."

"Exactly."

"But what about my training?" Rune asked. "My routine? Do they even know that I'm -"

"I've been in contact with the Samurai mentor," said Rhea. "His name is Ji, and while he's a little old school in terms of no distractions, he's agreed to allow me to bring your things over to the house. I'll have everything set up by the time you get there. Okay?"

Rune took a deep breath and nodded. This would be the first time that she would be parting from her mother and brother for longer than a few days. To say she was nervous would've been an understatement, especially given the circumstances. Unlike most Samurai throughout the generations, Rune had been diagnosed with Autism at a young age, her training regime had changed drastically since that diagnosis, and she didn't train the same way her mother had done.

"I can do this," Rune muttered. "I can do this."

"This says 'Your help is required'," said Charlie, taking the ribbon from his sister and reading a second strip. "It has coordinates, and if I'm not mistaken, it's downtown."

Rune furrowed her brow and inspected the numbers. "Is this where the attack is or where the others are meeting?" she asked.

"Guess you'll have to go and find out," said Charlie.

Rune breathed deeply.

"I believe in you," said Charlie, nudging his sister. "We all do."

Rune smiled and hugged Charlie. "Thanks," she whispered. "Wish me luck."

"You don't need it, but in case you do, good luck!"

Kissing her mother's cheek, Rune headed for the door, pulled on her boots, and left the apartment, clutching the silver ribbon and it's coordinates in her hand.

She could do this.

~X~

Still clutching the ribbon, Rune skirted the corner, three blocks away from her home and stopped short seconds before colliding with another person running from the opposite direction.

"Whoa!" the guy said, catching her shoulders as he, two seconds to late, smacked into her. "You alright?"

Rune nodded and looked up at him. He was of Hispanic descent, with short-cropped brown hair and brown eyes. He looked to be about two years older than her and smiled softly as he released her shoulders.

"My name's Mike," he said, holding out his hand.

"Rune," she replied.

"Where you running to, Rune?"

Rune shrugged. While she only knew his name, she felt compelled to tell him the truth, like some part of her was telling her that he could be trusted. But her mother had drilled it into her from a young age, that no one was to know the truth about her; there were a few exceptions to the rules, but those that did know had secrets of their own.

"Are either of you the Red Ranger?" asked a quiet voice.

Rune stepped away from Mike and looked to her left. A blonde girl, wearing a yellow jumper and a backpack, stopped short a few feet away.

"Wait," said Rune, looking from the new girl to Mike, and then back again, "you're asking about Power Rangers to two complete strangers. Are you both Samurai?"

Mike looked surprised. "Yeah, are you?" he asked.

"I'm Silver," said Rune. "I'm guessing you're Green?"

Mike nodded. "Yellow?" he asked the girl.

She nodded. "The name's Emily," she smiled.

"Mike."

"Rune."

Emily smiled. "Do either of you know where the Red Ranger is?" she asked. "I got this, this morning," she produced a yellow ribbon from her backpack, "and the coordinates led me here."

"I got the same message," said Rune, showing her own ribbon.

Mike nodded.

"Hey, over here!" called a distant voice.

Rune looked around as two more people hurried towards her, Emily, and Mike. One was a tall, dark-skinned male and the other a pretty, Asian female. Both had dark hair and dark eyes, and their run slowed to a gait as they drew nearer.

"Before you ask," said Rune, interrupting the tall guy in Blue, before he could speak. She'd already guessed what his question was going to be. "Neither of us are the Red Ranger. My name's Rune, and I'm Silver."

"Mike. Green," said Mike.

"Emily. Yellow."

The guy nodded. "Kevin," he introduced. "I'm the Blue Ranger. This is Mia," he added, indicating to the girl with him. "She's -"

"Pink," said Rune. "Kinda guessed that from the pink sweatshirt. So where is Red Ranger?" she asked, looking around for any sign of the sixth member, and the leader of the team.

"I -" Kevin broke off as the sound of hooves echoed in the air. The group of five turned, their eyes widening as they each took a step backwards from the magnificent white horse ground to a halt before them. Atop the horse was a guy, around the age of twenty-four, with dark-blond hair, and dark blue eyes.

"I think we found the Red Ranger," said Mike. He nudged Rune and nodded at the awestruck look on Kevin's face.

Rune bit her lip to keep from dissolving into a fit of giggles.

Holding up a pentagon shaped folding Zord with the fire kanji on the front. "My name's Jayden," he said, swinging himself down from the horse.

"We're your team of Samurai," said Kevin, almost stumbling over himself to get to Jayden,

Rune quirked an eyebrow and glanced at Mike. It wasn't difficult to find the teacher's pet in their group.

"Let me warn you now," said Jayden. "If you follow me, there is no turning back. Either we defeat the Nighlok together, or they will take over the world."

"That's not entirely true," said Rune, shaking her head. "We do have backup, just like our ancestors did before us, they just never thought to use it."

Kevin turned quickly to Rune. "You're talking about the Mystic Warriors," he said. "They were called on once before, the team before us called on them for help, but they were preoccupied with other business to come help."

Rune rolled her eyes. "Do you even know how much responsibility it is to be a Mystic Warrior?" she asked. "Because I do. I've seen it. I've met the Mystics. The Hellhound -"

Kevin scoffed.

"The Hellhound," Rune continued, pushing her agitation at Kevin aside. "She told me that, if there ever were a time that I needed her, all I had to do was call and she'd be there. Since the Nighlok fall within the borders of the Mystic Realm, if there is ever a time where we fail, then they'll be there to back us up."

"But the fight is, first and foremost, ours," said Jayden. "I will only give a Samuraizer to those who are ready for the fight ahead. We're not here to rely on other teams, we're here to fight the fight that our parents fought. Can you do that?" He met Rune's gaze.

Rune nodded. She had only mentioned the Mystic Guardians to establish that there was more than one team out there concerned with protecting the world. Kali, the Hellhound's guardian, was more than just a legend to her, she was a friend, and she had sworn a promise to be there when Rune needed her.

"Do not accept because you were trained to do so," Jayden continued. "Accept only if you are willing to commit and fight as Samurai Power Rangers with all your heart."

Clenching his hand, Kevin nodded and stepped forward. "Without hesitation," he said, taking a Samuraizer. from Jayden.

"I've been planning for this since I was a little girl," said Mia, following Kevin and taking a Summarizer from Jayden.

"I'm ready to give it all I've got," Emily said, smiling. She, too, stepped forward and took a Samuraizer.

Mike looked around at his teammates as he stepped up. "Okay. Okay, do we have to be so formal?" he asked. "Let's do this thing."

Rune smiled at Mike and then met Jayden's gaze. "Someone once told me that I should stop trying to be the best and just be myself. She was right," she said, stepping up and taking the last Samuraizer. from Jayden. "I wouldn't be here if I wasn't ready."

Sweeping his gaze around at them all, Jayden nodded. "Alright then," he said. "Let's go."

~X~

A short distance from the rendezvous point, Rune and the others found the Nighlok, and a horde of foot soldiers known as Moogers, terrorising innocent civilians in the city plaza. Clutching her morpher tightly in her hand, Rune gave the Nighlok the once over, racking her memories for any glimmer of recognition.

After learning that Kali Briar, her appointed big-sister had revealed herself as the Black Mystic Ranger from Briarwood, she had invited Rune, after she had finished with the Ninja Storm Rangers of Blue Bay Harbour, to join her in the Mystic Realm and learn all that she needed and wanted to about the monsters that went boo , while there, Kali also trained Rune in the art of using Darkness for Light.

While staying at Root Core a few nights a week, Rune had read the whole of the Mystic Library, including the section on Nighlok, but she couldn't remember ever coming across one that was described as an upside-down mushroom with a mouth on its skirt.

"That's enough!" Jayden called, alerting the Nighlok to their arrival.

Startled, the Nighlok stumbled away from the innocent man it was about to attack, and looked up to the top of the stairs, narrowing its beady eyes at the team of six looming over him. "Who are you punks?" he asked.

"We're the Samurai Rangers," said Jayden, holding up his morpher. "Samuraizer."

"Go, Go, Samurai!" the others echoed, snapping open their own morphers.

Using her morpher, Rune drew two vertical lines opposite one another in the air, and then connected them with three horizontal lines across the centre. The Japanese Kanji for Moon. She felt a surge of power travel up her arm from her palm and encompass her whole body, she closed her eyes, breathing deeply until the energy dwindled away. When she reopened her eyes, her vision was clouded for a moment by a dark tint, that she soon realised was a visor.

Looking down, Rune gasped as she took in the silver spandex that covered her whole body. A smile came to her face as she looked from the white gloves on her hand, to the belt around her waist, and the sword attached to her hip. Granted, she had been training for this moment her whole lives, and while she had seen pictures of her mother and the last Samurai teams in their Ranger Forms, it amounted to nothing when feeling it for the first time herself.

Opening the case on the front of her belt, Rune took out her spin disc and slid it over the handle of her sword, hooking it just beneath the hilt. Grasping the handle, she unsheathed it and rolled it between her hand, just like she had practised all these years. It felt natural, as the handle swung back into her palm, and she wrapped her fingers tightly around the pads.

"Samurai Ranger, Ready!" the team echoed. "Rangers together, Samurai Forever!"

The Nighlok laughed and called for his Moogers to surround him. "Get them!" he yelled, pointing at the team.

The Moogers garbled and rushed forward, racing up the steps towards the team.

Pushing off from the top step, Rune flipped over a Moogers and landed on the metal bars. She spaced her feet evenly, balancing herself on the two as she kicked and flipped to avoid the Moogers swords hitting her ankle. Flipping over and off the bar, Rune landed amongst several Moogers and spun in a full circle, slashing her blade against the whole group in one fell swoop.

Rune stumbled as, out of nowhere, a Moogers appeared and kicked her in the chest. She whined and stumbled back, colliding with Jayden as he fought behind her. "Sorry," she muttered, dragging herself away from him and rolling her sword in her hand. She struck the ground at her feet and sent sparks racing across the pavement at the Moogers.

"Is this the best they can do?" Jayden asked, chopping down the last of his Moogers.

Rune's eyes widened as many more Moogers appeared, this time carrying crossbows and bows armed with sharp arrows. They unleashed a load of tiny missiles into the air, where they arched and showered down on both Rune and Jayden, forcing the pair into a huddle.

"Whoa," said Jayden, slicing through three arrows at once.

"You had to ask!" said Rune,

Jayden gasped and grasped an arrow out of the air, just as Kevin, Emily, Mia, and Mike fought their way through the barricade and circled around them.

"Oh, no," said Emily. Her head swivelling from right to left and back again. "There's dozens of them,"

"Yeah, but we can hold them off," said Kevin, confidently.

"But they keep coming," said Mia.

Kevin placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I will help you," he said. "Just hang tight."

"We can do this together," said Jayden, raising his sword. He grasped the spin disc at the base of the hilt and spun it, transforming his Samurai blade into his primary fighting weapon. "Fire Smasher!" He gripped the hilt tightly and rushed back into the fray, taking out Moogers left, right and centre.

"Jayden's amazing!" Emily said, dreamily.

"Yeah, but there's to many of them," said Kevin.

Raising her sword, Rune spun her disc and watched as it spun out of her control. The sword glowed silver and became rounder and thicker until a silver, sparkling whip with a leather tether appeared in her palm. She opened the clasp on her belt again and removed a second disc, attaching it to tether.

"Moon Beam!" Rune called, pushing her way past Kevin, and snapping the whip against the ground. A spark of glittering lights erupted, and the Moogers that were nearest screeched as the light blinded them for a moment. Pulling her arm back, Rune thew the whip out, lassoed it around a Moogers leg and yanked it out from underneath him.

Glancing over at her, Jayden nodded his thanks.

As more Moogers swarmed around, Rune lost sight of Jayden in the fray and turned her attention to the situation at hand. She trusted Jayden to be able to look after himself, and she needed to be able to do the same, cracking her whip against the floor, Rune sent up more glittering stars, the weak sunlight bounced off the reflective surfaces and shone into the eyes of the surrounding Moogers.

Snapping her whip again, Rune threw it out at the Moogers and circled it around the whole group, herding them into a tight circle as the whip wrapped around them like a rope. She pulled it tight and twisted the tether, sending an energy pulse down the band and electrifying the Moogers. They all squawked as they disintegrated.

"Booya!" Mike cheered, running over and nudging Rune's shoulder. "Did you see how I rocked those Moogers?" he asked.

"But what about Jayden?" Emily asked, her voice soft and feathery. Rune rolled her eyes, it sounded like the Yellow ranger was either star struck or had already developed a crush on her new team leader.

"Yeah, we all did great," said Mia, impatiently.

Being the last to join his new team, Kevin looked from each of them to the next, and then turned to Jayden. "Nice moves," he complimented. "You really are a Master Samurai."

"Thanks," said Jayden. "But we're not done. Each Nighlok has two forms. You saw the first, now get set for the Mega Monster."

"Mega Monster?" Emily repeated.

The ground rumbled as the flames surrounding the destroyed body of the Nighlok were sucked in and then blow out, much bigger than they had been originally. Has the flames disappeared, a giant version of the Nighlok they had just fought towered over them and the city.

"Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum!" he bellowed. "Time to crush some Ranger bums." He raised his hands above his head and slammed them down onto the ground, narrowly missing the team as they threw themselves aside at the last second.

Mike braced himself against the wall of a nearby building. "Whoa!" he gasped. "Look at the size of him,"

"How are we supposed to fight him now?" Mia asked.

Rune glanced at her. "Did you only do physical training?" she asked.

"Is there any other kind of training?" Mia asked.

"What about the Historical side of where you came from?" Rune asked. "Reading about the past Samurai generations leading up to us? Didn't any of you talk to your parents about what they were like as Rangers?"

"Some of our parents didn't make it out of the last battle," said Mike.

"True, and I'm sorry," said Rune, apologising. She hadn't really thought through her last response and could see how and why she had come across as insensitive. Mike's father had been the Green Ranger before him, and she could remember reading that the former Green Ranger hadn't made it home after the final battle against Master Xandred. He had left behind a wife and son.

Mike waved her off. "My mum trained me as best she could," he answered. "My grandfather helped where he could, but neither of them wanted me knowing about how my dad died. I was taught about the physical aspect of fighter Nighlok and was given the Bear Zord. Apparently, I was supposed to know when to use it."

"And you don't think that time is now?" Rune asked.

"She's right," said Kevin. "Remember your training, even if it is only the physical side. Think of all the other Rangers teams, not just the Samurais, who came before us. What was the one thing they all had in common?"

"They all had Zords," said Emily.

Rune nodded at the Yellow Ranger. "So do we," she said, holding up her heptagon shaped Folding Zord. It had her Kanji for the Moon in the centre.

"We can each use our symbol power to morph into Megamode," said Kevin. He turned to look at Rune, he was at least a foot taller than her.

Jayden nodded at the pair. "Follow my lead," he said, snapping open his Samuraizer. "Lion Folding Zord, Megamode Power!"

"We're right behind you," said Kevin, following his lead.

Throwing her sword into the air, Rune placed her Folding Zord on the ground and snapped open her Samuraizer. "Owl Folding Zord," she called, tracing a symbol over the top of the Heptagon, and activating it by pressing the middle button on her morpher. "Megamode Power!"

Folding one arm across her chest, Rune pushed off from the ground, caught her sword in mid-spin and looked down as her owl zord appeared beneath her. She fell, easily gliding through the top and landing on a podium in the cockpit. Rolling her sword over in her hand, Rune pushed the blade down and folded it in half, before slotting it into the crevice on her controls and pushing it forward.

The Owl screeched as it beat its wings against the air and glided forward, hovering a few inches above the red Lion Zord.

The Nighlok laughed and fired lasers from its skirt at Lion.

"Here goes," said Jayden, racing through the attack and circling around onto the Nighlok.

"Bad Kitty!" the Nighlok growled, swinging its swords at the Lion Zord.

Swooping down, Kevin circled the Nighlok coming in from the left and firing a blue flame from the Dragon's mouth.

"I got him from the right," said Emily, pounding the fists of her Ape Zord together. She hopped over to the Nighlok, attacking at the same time as Kevin.

"My turn to give it a whirl," said Mia. She swooped in, avoiding a collision with Emily and pulled the head of her turtle back into its shell. She whipped around, pulling up debris from the ground, whipping it around into a whirlwind as she zoomed towards the Nighlok.

"Ahh, I better get busy making you dizzy," said the Nighlok, turning to the turtle. He slammed his fits onto the top of the zord, knocking Mia off track and then dragged her into his mouth.

"I'm stuck!" Mia called.

"Hold on, Mia," said Mike, ambling up in his Bear Zord. "Spit her out, skirt breath," he demanded, pulling the bear Zord back onto its hind legs and using its front ones to maul at the Nighlok.

Annoyed, the Nighlok grabbed the bear and lifted it into the air.

"Put him down!" Rune called, swooping in with her Owl Zord and clawing at the Nighloks face. He dropped the bear, raising his arms to protect his eyes, and inadvertently dropped Mike directly on his foot. He howled and released Mia at the same time.

Mia sighed in relief. "Thanks, guys," she called.

As the others pulled back, Jayden urged his tiger Zord forward. "Mega blade," he called, "Pentagonal fury!"

Rune watched as flames encased the Lion Zord and it leapt into the air, slammed into the Nighlok, and sliced through its midsection.

With a howl of defeat, the Nighlok collapsed and exploded.

"Samurai Rangers, victory is ours," said Jayden.

~X~

"Welcome to the Shiba house," said Jayden, leading his new team through the front gate. He looked around at them as they all took a minute to take in their new surroundings and then motioned for them to follow him up the house. The front doors opened, and ji stepped out, followed by a woman that Jayden barely recognised and a boy he didn't.

"Bravo," said Ji. "Such energy, such grace."

"Who is that?" Mike asked.

"Ji, right?" Rune asked, glancing at her mother.

Rhea nodded.

"You're the Samurai Mentor," said Rune, smiling at the older man. "I've read all about you, and those that came before."

Ji savoured a smile and glanced at Rhea. "I see what you mean," he said,

Rhea chuckled and Rune frowned in confusion. They'd been talking about her.

"Mum was just saying how you're like a sponge when it comes to information," said Charlie, jogging across the gravel to his sister.

"Oh," said Rune.

"I saw most of the fight," Charlie continued. He grinned. "You used a move."

Rune smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Move?" Mike asked, curiously.

"The sword roll," said Charlie. "Over the back of the hand and into the palm?" He added, recreating the move with a training sword. He managed to get the sword halfway around, but it lost balance on the back of his hand, and it dropped.

Rune caught it before it could hit the ground and replicated the move perfectly.

Despite rolling his eyes, Charlie grinned. "Show off," he teased.

"Your backwards swing needs more work," said Rune.

Charlie mimicked her silently, earning himself a sharp jab with the training sword. He laughed and slung his arm around her shoulder, hugging her to him.

"Wait, you're -" Kevin started, pointing at Charlie.

"My brother," Rune answered. "That's my Mum."

Kevin's eyes widened and he turned quickly to Rhea. "It's an honour to meet you," he said, bowing to her.

"You're Carl's boy," said Rhea. "You have your father's eyes and fighting style. He'll be proud of you when he learns of your accomplishment today. Unfortunately, one battle doesn't mean you win. There's always tomorrow."

Charlie rolled his eyes and tried, but failed, to turn his scoff into a cough. He winced as Rune elbowed him in the stomach.

"Stop it!" Rune hissed while fighting back a smile.

Mia watched the pair with a smile of her own. She knew what it was like to have a younger sibling with which you were close.

"As Jayden said," Ji spoke, drawing everyone's attention to him. "This will be your new home. You've all come from different places and families but share one noble goal. I'm proud of how you've come together."

"We just followed some good advice and worked as a team," said Jayden.

"That's good," said Rhea. "Because, if that Nighlok was anything to go by, you're going to need good old-fashioned teamwork. The Nighlok you just fought was called Tooya. I've never met him before, but I had read about him. He was in a stronger league than the Nighlok your parents and I fought eighteen years ago. If they're all going to be like that, you'll need to be stronger than we were."

"Is that possible?" Emily asked.

Rhea glanced in her direction and cocked her head to the side. She didn't recognise the young Samurai that adorned the Yellow spandex. The last time she had spoken with the Emilia, the former Yellow Ranger, she had said that her 21-year-old daughter Serena would be joining the team, this youngster looked to only sixteen, at least two years younger than Rune.

"Yes, it is possible," said Rhea. "It just means you're going to have to train that little bit harder. But it shouldn't be a problem for you."

"Why?" Mia asked.

"Because you're not just any team of Rangers," said Rhea. "You're the eighteenth generation of the Samurai."

As the others shared a look, Rune smiled at her mother and then looked up at Charlie. He winked at her and drew her into a side hug. Knowing it would be the last one for a long time.

Thoughts?

This story will be updated every Wednesday evening.

Stay safe

~Twix