A/N: I hereby present to you all my own version (yes, another one) of Power Rangers: Samurai. It does have a much darker theme to it than Saban's version (which I do not hate, as you can obviously tell by my other PR stories). There were some flaws, yes, and I'm still going to use some terms you are familiar with.
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 version.
~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~PRS~
"Emily finally reaches her stress limit for her visions, leading them to a secret that Xandred just so happens to find out at the same time."
Better Together
Power Rangers: Samurai REDO
Season 1, Episode 11: Test of the Leader
Emily's Room, Shiba House, Gianni Forest, Panorama City, California
June 9, 2014
Misty the Water Guardian ran through the forest in order to get away from the three wolves chasing after her. She had come here, to this forest, in order to find a treasure her older sister, Sirena, had buried here ten years earlier. Not just any treasure.
A very powerful treasure that had the potential to destroy or save the universe, depending on who got it first.
And it was the Water Guardian's duty to protect this treasure no matter what. Sirena hid it here somewhere before the wolves mauled her to death, but she left no clues as to where she hid it.
Hence why Misty was here.
But she had run into three very hungry and very angry wolves, the very same ones who had killed her sister. She could feel it.
But she had no weapons, no defensive capabilities, no special powers besides her special empathic connection with the water, which was nowhere in sight.
So she did the only thing she could: she ran.
Her heart was beating with fear as she weaved in and out of the trees, low branches giving her scratches as her lungs demanded a repreive, as her legs ached with throbbing pain, due to running for so long.
She didn't see the tiny rock in the dirt road until it made her trip and fall flat on her face.
Feeling a nasty bruise on her knee and her ankle hurting, Misty heard the wolves' snarls come closer and closer, and her mind immediately went to her sister.
If she fell here, just like Sirena, she'd be letting her sister down. Though gone from this world, Sirena was counting on her. The whole world was counting her. She couldn't fall here.
She wouldn't.
So Misty ignored the pain and got back on her feet. But she didn't run, because she could hear a soft flute sound gradually getting louder. Her legs trembling from exhaustion, her breathing deep and hard, her hands trembling with adrenaline, Misty glanced around, trying to find the source of this flute sound.
Misty's eyes them came across a hollow tree that had a soft glow within it. She slowly walked towards the tree, hearing the flute sound grow louder.
Yes! She found it! She found her sister's treasure!
The trio of wolves snarling at her from a distance that was getting shorter and closer snapped her out of her victorious reverie.
The enemy was closing in. Fast.
So Misty did the only thing she could think of: she climbed inside and hid herself within the hollow part of the tree.
Holding her breath, she heard the wolves in the same area, right on top of her. Through the narrow opening, she saw two of the wolves slowly slink by. As she waited for the third one to walk by, her heart pounding less and less with each passing moment.
Just then, the third wolf suddenly jumped out at her.
Misty screamed aloud, unaware that someone else from another reality was screaming for the exact same reason.
Emily screamed aloud, fully aware of what that girl from her dream was screaming about (as she herself was screaming from the exact same thing).
Her heart was pounding a mile a minute, her breathing was hard and deep, her body was shaking like a leaf, and she was covered in a cold sweat.
Pardon her language, but...what the hell was that?!
Her forest house dreams were back with a freakin' vengeance. She had never had one that scared her this much before, not even the one she had the night before her dad's death.
This one has shaken her to her very core (and the fact that she found this girl in her dream very familiar only made it weirder).
Something within her told her that this was her punishment for trying to ignore the visions before...
Emily heard a pairs of frantic footsteps rush towards her room, but she was hardly paying attention to that. She didn't even look up when she heard her bedroom door open.
"Emily, are you okay?" she heard Antonio ask.
"I'm fine." Emily's answer was short and absolute, despite the trembling in her voice and the tightening in the back of her throat (that was made obvious when she spoke) telling Antonio (and whoever was with him) otherwise.
"You're not fine, Em," she heard Mike speak up.
Emily glanced from her gaze at her yellow fleece blanket up to her bedroom door, and she immediately curled up into a tight ball, her knees to her chest, when she noticed and realized that she had woken everybody up. She glanced back at the clock on her bedside table, which read 4:30 AM, but it only made her feel even guiltier.
"I'm fine," she repeated, her emotion in her voice more obvious that time. (She didn't mean to wake up the entire Shiba House, early in the morning no less.)
"Mike's right. You're not okay," Kevin swiftly, calmly cut in. "You were screaming like someone was attacking you."
"I'm fine," Emily repeated, wincing at how much emotion her throat was holding back.
Mia had walked over to her and sit next to her on the side of her bed. Placing a gentle hand on Emily's clammy shoulder, "If you want to talk about it–"
"–No, I don't want to talk about it," Emily replied, unable to stop the tears from welling up in her eyes, before repeating once again, "I'm fine."
"Emily," Ji calmly spoke up, (surprisingly) easing Emily's tension, "why don't you go on to the kitchen and I'll make you some tea? The rest of you go back to bed."
Emily gratefully nodded (as he gave her to perfect excuse to leave the room and escape everyone's gazes) and got up out of bed. She refused to meet anyone's eyes as she escaped the confines of her room and found freedom on the fresh air-filled walls of the kitchen.
Jayden had not spoken a single word during that whole exchange, but he was there, and Emily had found his gaze very familiar.
Sympathy...
He had given the same gaze to her when they first met.
Emily didn't know how she felt about that.
Antonio gazed after her, feeling the others' obvious worry and blatant confusion at Emily and what just happened.
He felt a little guilty. After all, they had no single clue as to what was going on, while he did.
But he did promise Emily he wouldn't tell them.
But this one was bad. Worse than any other vision she's had before. He could tell.
If this wasn't a sign to tell the others, Antonio wasn't sure what else it was.
~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~
Kitchen, Shiba House, Gianni Forest, Panorama City, California
It was now 7:45 AM, Ji noted as he glanced up at the clock on the kitchen wall. Which meant the others would be getting up any minute now if they had actually gone back to sleep after what happened with Emily earlier that morning.
"I have to start on breakfast now," Ji told Emily as the girl took another sip of her tea. "The others will be up any minute."
"They're already awake," Emily said, nonchalantly.
Ji's head immediately turned to the kitchen doorframe and immediately understood Emily's vocal tone while she said that.
"What on earth are you five doing out of bed?!" Ji demanded to the five teens who were peering their heads from the kitchen doorway. "You're supposed to be sleeping, not eavesdropping!"
"We're sorry," Mia said, as the five stood up and slowly filed into the kitchen. "We were worried about Emily, and so we couldn't sleep."
"That's very noble of you," Ji replied, his voice less loud and more gentle. "But I don't believe eavesdropping is the right way to get answers." Ji paused, taking in a deep breath before saying, "Now, I have to fix breakfast for you rambunctious, mischievous kids. The right way to get answers is to ask." Ji motioned towards Emily, who was still sipping her tea.
The room was quiet as Emily waited for someone to 'ask' her about her nightmare earlier this morning.
Antonio, surprisingly, was the one who stepped forward. "Em, I think you should go back to the house."
"NO!" Emily's answer was immediate. Antonio was the only one who she told all of this to, but that didn't mean she was going to take his advice.
And it was now that all hell seemed to break loose.
"Wait–!" Kevin held up his hands in a 'stop' motion. "House? What house?"
"Did we miss a step?" Mike asked.
"Don't worry about it," Again, Emily's answer was immediate.
"Go ahead and worry," but Antonio's was just as quick. "Emily's being a little stubborn about this."
"Can you blame me?!" Emily shot back. This was her secret, right?! Then, why was Antonio making this choice for her?!
Antonio knew he was being rather unfair, but he had his reasons. These visions of Emily's were just getting worse. If she continued ignoring them like she's always done, who knows what they would do to her?
How worse would they become?
Today, it was just a nightmare. Tomorrow, it could be something a lot worse.
Like severe brain damage...
She had to check these visions out.
"Stop," Jayden's voice cut the through the tense atmosphere like a knife. Emily inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. "Please, somebody explain what's going on. I don't care who."
There was a intense moment of silence where Antonio and Emily glanced at each other in the eyes. Emily reluctantly nodded, giving her friend permission to disclose all of the details of Emily's secret.
Antonio glanced back at Jayden, who merely raised his eyebrow as an 'I'm waiting' gesture. He and the other three wanted answers. They deserved answers.
"Sorry, Em," Antonio finally spoke, softly, genuinely apologetic. "I really am. You know the day Negatron attacked us?" The other Rangers nodded, remembering that day perfectly.
How could they forget? That was the day Emily received her Havoc Mode.
"Well, after Emily ran out, I ran out after her," Antonio continued. "And while we were talking, she…asked me if I could keep a secret. I told her I could, but that was obviously a little white lie." He sounded and felt supremely guilty, Emily noted. "But, anyways, she told me that she has these dreams that are…not normal."
"What?" Kevin was the first to speak up. "That's not possible."
"Shut it," Emily's voice was hard and emotional, and immediately made the other Rangers quiet down. She didn't look at them, but not out of fear alone.
Fear and sorrow.
"She told me that some of her dreams predict the future, some explain what really happened in the past, and some don't make sense at all," Antonio continued, not taking his eyes off of Emily. "And lately, she's been having these kinds of dreams about this house in the forest."
"Keller Forest," Emily corrected, and Jayden's mind immediately wandered to a house he remembered his sister talking about once.
No...it couldn't be that house, could it?
Yeah, on the outside, it all seemed a little far-fetched, but this was Emily, someone he had grown to trust and care about, both a great deal.
Besides, the house in Keller Forest was obviously important to his sister (though, he didn't know why). Maybe this was his chance to find out what really happened to her.
But a part of him felt sad and a little jealous that Emily told Antonio about this and not him.
The room was quiet as Jayden kneeled in front of Emily and gently asked her, "Why didn't you tell us about this sooner?"
"Because no one ever believes me," Emily's answer was immediate and confident, like she knew this for a fact. "Everyone I've ever told has told me that I was crazy and that it's 'just my imagination'."
"I see...You've also gone to this house before," Jayden replied, "but you haven't gone back for a while, at least that's the way you guys are making it sound, so please, correct me if I'm wrong. Why not?"
"Because I'm always scared by and chased away by three wolves every time I get close," Emily's eyes still won't look directly at his. They're still glued to the ground.
"Em," Antonio softly spoke up, "your visions are obviously getting worse. I know the house scares you, but if any one of those visions of yours was an indication to visit that house for answers, it was this one."
Emily refused to answer, the room becoming unbearably quiet.
"What if we come with you this time?" Mike suggested.
Emily finally looked up at them, obviously considering Mike's solution.
She then glanced at Jayden for help, who merely replied, "Six heads are better than one, Em."
Meaning, he had no issue with Mike's solution to all of this.
And if Jayden was confident about it, then...Emily guessed she could give it a try.
"...O-Okay..."
The others gently smiled at her with sympathy and kindness as Jayden held out a hand to help her back on her feet.
Emily took it with a fake smile wavering on the brink of a scared frown.
~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
"ARE YOU CALLING ME WEAK?!"
Everyone in the Sanzu River covered their ears and cowered in fear as Xandred's temper roared.
"Not at all, Master," Octoroo replied, he and Dayu being the only ones who didn't back down, despite the fact that Xandred had just drawn his sword on them. "I'm just stating facts. Deker definitely knows more than he's letting on."
"Do you really think I'm going to listen to Deker?! He's a traitor! Traitors and humans have no place here! You know that!" Xandred roared.
"Of course I do, Master, but please hear me out," Octoroo pleaded. "Deker knows more information about the Seal than we do. Somehow, he knows that the Seal has six parts, instead of one like we've been assuming this whole time. He also knows that the Seal has weakened you to the point where you take medicine to keep the Seal from taking full effect. Up until now, we've been assuming that you take your medicine because your own anger gives you those headaches. Think about it, Master. Deker knows more than he's letting on," he repeated.
"So, he's not calling me weak!" Xandred roared. "He's calling me STUPID!"
"Or he's just relaying information that he's found out since he got kicked out of the Sanzu River," Dayu offered.
"No, he's calling me an IDIOT! WELL, HE'S NOT GETTING AWAY WITH IT!"
Octoroo and Dayu shared a wary glance before glancing out of the ship's window, where rock formations on the shore were turning into Marauders, both giant and regular sized, all of them responding to their Master's anger.
~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~
Keller Forest, Panorama City, California
Kevin checked his watch as Emily led them through the forest to this house she's been dreaming about.
8:15 AM
They'd been up for about four hours now. To be honest, Kevin didn't really believe that Emily's dreams could predict the future or explain the past, or whatever else they could do. (Seriously, did this house even exist?)
But if it made Emily feel better, he would play along.
That thought immediately left his mind as soon as Emily stopped the group and directed their attention to the building in front of them.
"We're here..." Emily spoke up, very hesitant. (What if it really was just her imagination?)
Kevin was immediately left speechless. (Because Emily was right.)
Because there stood in front of them an old, abandoned house, with a rusty door and lock, cracked and broken windows, and the entire left side of the house was burned black as if a fire had started and occurred there...
Emily was about to speak up and ask in a small voice if the others saw the house too, but Mike spoke up first, "Don't worry, Em. You're not crazy. We see it too."
He and Mia immediately walked up the porch steps to the front door. Mike jiggled the rusty doorknob.
"And the door is locked," Mike muttered.
Emily nodded, "Yeah." She walked up to the front porch, but she went for the window next to the door instead. Lifting up the window pane, she continued, "But the window is not."
Emily was feeling a little better knowing that the others could see the house too. As she climbed into the house through the window, her mind went to a conversation she had with the Ape Zord:
"Do you think I should go back to the forest house? I mean, if it really is all just my imagination, then what's the point?"
"The house is real," Ape informed her. "I found you there, remember? I could see everything you could."
"Yeah, but you're a Zord. You have special sight, don't you?" Emily's head and heart were both filled to the brim with doubt.
Ape couldn't argue with that, so she replied, "Maybe the house and the wolves are invisible to others and only we can see them."
Ape was right: the house was very real, as proven by the others climbing in through the window after her.
Not to mention, the wolves had showed up (right in the open), but they did not attack them. Emily thought back to how Jayden could not see the wolves when they first met.
Maybe she wasn't crazy after all.
"I can see why you didn't want to come back here, Em," Antonio gently spoke up. "This place is creepy."
"If by creepy, you mean, the shadows in this place are a little too jumpy," Mike replied, "then, yeah, I agree with you."
Now that Emily didn't have immense fear like she did the previous two times she came here, she could concentrate on what the house actually looked like inside.
The inside of the house almost perfectly mirrored the outside. The entire left side of the house was burned black, with the kitchen on the right side (so that left the mystery of how the fire started of it didn't start in the kitchen). There was dust all over the place and cobwebs littered the corners. Not to mention, Mike was right. The shadows in this house were 'jumpy', meaning at times, there were too much shadows, and others, there were too few.
Something strange was going on in this house.
Jayden's foot accidentally stepped on what sounded like broken glass. His and the others' heads immediately went down to what he had stepped on.
It was a broken picture frame.
Jayden carefully picked it up as the others gathered around him to read the caption of the photo within the frame, which read: "Happy Holidays from the Martinez's!"
The family shown was a family of four, all Hispanic (like Mike).
"Who are the Martinez's?" Mike asked.
"You mean you don't know them, Mike?" Kevin asked. "I thought you would have some idea. You seem to know everyone in this city."
Mike simply shook his head and said, "Sorry."
Emily, meanwhile, followed this powerful urge that told her to go upstairs.
Mia saw her and immediately asked the others, "Uh, guys? Where is Emily going?"
The four guys turned to see what Emily was doing. Jayden softly told Mia, "Keep an eye on her, will you? There's a reason this house is like this."
Mia nodded and immediately ran up the stairs after the younger girl.
Which meant that Jayden didn't feel comfortable enough to let any one of them walk around this house by themselves, and Mia agreed with him. Something strange happened here to make this house like this: abandoned and 'jumpy', to use Mike's words.
Mia caught up with Emily in no time, considering the latter wasn't walking very fast. The former slowed down once she caught up with Emily. "Hey, Em. What's so special about up here?" Mia asked.
"I don't know," Emily muttered, "but something tells me we're about to find out."
The more she thought about it, the more Mia suspected that Emily had special psychic abilities. What kind, Mia had no clue, but Emily had been dreaming about this house, for God knows how long, for a specific reason (despite no one knowing what that reason was).
Turns out the upstairs was where the bedrooms were, and if Mia knew anything about bedrooms, it was that how your bedroom looked determined who you really were as a person. The downstairs didn't mean anything really. The upstairs here was the real jackpot.
Mia turned to face Emily, and both girls immediately knew that the other was thinking the same thing as them.
"Well, there's five bedrooms here. How should we tackle this?" Mia asked.
"Should we…split up?" Emily quietly suggested.
"Jayden doesn't think that's a good idea," Mia replied, "hence why I'm here with you and not just you by yourself."
"True," Emily admitted. Jayden did have a point there. After all, Emily did feel a lot better knowing that all six of them were experiencing the same things. "Then, let's tackle one bedroom at a time."
"Fair enough," Mia agreed. "Which one first?"
"Your choice?" Emily suggested.
"You're the one who's been dreaming about this house, not me," Mia also brought up a good point. "Follow your instincts, not mine."
"Good point," Emily paused, before walking towards the bedroom with an aqua-colored raindrop painted on the white-painted door (even though the paint was chipping away). "This one," Emily said, her hand resting on the rusty doorknob.
"Alright, let's go in," Mia added, noting the rusty door hinges, "if we can."
After Mia leaned a good majority of her weight on the door, it finally budged and slowly swung open.
"After you," Mia offered, but she soon regretted it.
As soon as Emily stepped foot inside the room, the familiar sensation of being transported out of this reality and into another swept over her. Feeling extremely dizzy and disoriented, she could barely comprehend Mia catching her and placing her against the wall before she could collapse to the ground. She could barely comprehend Mia called out to the guys downstairs before she let her 'dream' overtake her.
Misty managed to cover her mouth when she realized that the flute sound was throwing off the wolves' senses of sight, smell, and sound.
She kept breathing deeply as the wolf continued to use its faulty senses to try and see if Misty really was there. It felt like an eternity before the wolf finally slunk away, the flute sound continuing to protect Misty.
That sounded like her sister's flute, Misty realized, as her pounding heart eventually came to a calm beat. It was like her sister was protecting her even in the afterlife.
Taking great care not to bump her bruised knee or bother her twisted ankle, Misty twisted her body so that she could carefully, comfortably dig in the leaves beneath her. Eventually she came across a small wooden chest.
Misty opened the chest, which inside held a bright light, it seemed.
So that's what really happened to her sister, Sirena…
Slowly, bit by bit, Emily began to come to her senses, realizing that her name was not Misty, but Emily, and she was not the Water Guardian, but the Yellow Samurai Ranger.
She opened her eyes to a blurry sight of Mia staring at her worriedly, her heart pounding a mile a minute.
She heard heavy footsteps rush into the room and Mia hold out her hand towards the door. "Hold it," Emily heard Mia say, and it then occurred to her that Mia was talking to the four guys that were just downstairs (but had come upstairs when Mia yelled for them). Mia's blurry face turned back to Emily, as the former asked, "You okay?"
Emily leaned her head back against the wall behind, waiting for her heart to stop pounding so hard and her cold sweat to stop.
"Em?" She heard Jayden's voice coming closer.
Emily swallowed the lump in her throat before answering, "I'm fine." Jayden offered a hand of sturdy support and Emily gratefully took it.
"What did you see this time?" Kevin asked.
"It was a continuation of last night's dream," Emily muttered out, completely honest this time. "It felt like something, or rather someone, was trying to lead me to a tree..."
"Like that one?" Mike pointed at a poster on the wall near the door, a poster of a tree.
Emily immediately paused as soon as she laid eyes on the poster's tree. "Exactly like that one." Emily quickly rushed over to the poster and pulled it down, revealing a hole in the wall. But the big surprise was the thing hidden inside the hole in the wall.
"W-Wha…?" From within the hole, Emily reached in and pulled out a familiar-looking doll, one that looked exactly like the girl she was portraying in her dreams. She turned around the face the others, not taking her eyes off the doll in her hands. "M-Misty?"
"Who?" Emily assumed it was safe to say that she wasn't the only one who was confused.
"Misty the Elf, or the Water Guardian," Emily continued to explain why she found this doll (and essentially the girl in her dreams so familiar), "Serena gave her to me when I turned seven, and I gave it to her when she moved here, to Panorama City."
"Another mystery to solve," Kevin spoke up.
However, Antonio turned to face Jayden, his facial expression saying it all. Antonio leaned towards his friend's ear and whispered, "We can't hide it anymore. We have to tell her."
Jayden quietly whispered back, "I know."
All thoughts were interrupted by Jayden's Samuraizer going off. Jayden immediately picked up, "Yes, Ji? Okay, we'll be right there." He hung up and turned to his team, "Marauders at City Square. Let's go."
Emily turned to Antonio and reluctantly handed him Misty. "Take good care of her, okay?"
"I will, Em, I promise," Antonio replied as the other five ran off to face the Marauders that had shown up.
This was it.
The truth was about to be revealed...
~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
Bravery and heroism...
That's what Spike Skullovitch was taught about being a Power Ranger. So, without thinking, he rushed in and saved a little girl from being bullied by those fish-faced monsters, but at the cost of his own safety.
So as his Uncle Bulk swiftly carried the little girl to safety, the monsters slowly surrounded Spike from all sides. Unable to move, Spike closed his eyes and waited for his end.
"Spike!" He heard his uncle call.
"Back off!" came an unfamiliar voice.
Spike immediately opened his eyes to see the Pink Samurai Ranger as she flipped over one of the monsters and began to strike down the entire group without stopping or getting tired. Spike watched as she struck down one, sent a kick towards a second, and struck down a third with her sword within three seconds flat.
Spike didn't notice that all the monsters around him were gone until she knelt next to him. "Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah..." Spike felt butterflies in his stomach, love butterflies.
"Good, you've got to get out of here. Now," the Pink Ranger continued.
"Right now?" Spike asked. He didn't want to leave yet. He just met her.
Meanwhile, Angela Cruz tried to stop her shaking wrist long enough to unlock her cafe door in order to let people in, to keep them safe from the monsters all around them. She didn't notice all the monsters around her (and the small group she was trying to save) suddenly disappear until a gloved hand gently placed itself upon hers.
"Easy now," the Yellow Ranger calmly spoke to her. "It's gonna be okay."
And with the Yellow Ranger's guidance (while she kicked down another monster), Angela was finally able to insert the key and turn it, opening the cafe door. Angela let the other civilians nearby go in first before her.
Before she did, she turned to the Ranger who had helped her, "Thank you, Miss...uh..."
"Samurai Yellow," the Ranger replied. "Now, go inside and stay there until the coast is clear, okay?"
Angela nodded, and the Yellow Ranger took that as her cue to run towards her pink-colored teammate, who was guarding a guy who had apparently fallen.
Meanwhile, Bulk dropped down next to his nephew, and he took a quick glance at who had saved him.
"You!" Bulk exclaimed. "You're a Power Ranger!"
"And you're both in danger!" the Pink Ranger replied as she shifted Spike until he was sitting up in his uncle's arms. "Please, get to safety."
As the Pink Ranger rushed off to fight the enemy and save more civilians, Spike tried to follow her but was swiftly held back by his uncle.
"She's right, Spike," Bulk said. "C'mon, we'd better get going."
And Bulk watched as Spike blew the Pink Ranger a kiss before letting himself be led away by Bulk.
As Emily and Mia both fought the Marauders harder than ever before, Emily asked, to nobody in particular, "Man, what's taking the guys so long?! Summoning the Battlewing should take no time at all!"
"I don't know!" Mia called back. "I hope they didn't run into some kind of problem!"
"Nope, no problem at all," Mike called back, in the Beetle Zord cockpit, with Jayden in the Tiger Zord cockpit and Kevin in the Swordfish Zord cockpit.
"Sorry, we're late, ladies," Kevin said. "Jayden, we've got Giant Marauders dead ahead!"
"I see 'em," Jayden replied as he pulled out his Samuraizer, writing the 'unity' kanji. "Get ready. Zords Combine!"
"Samurai Battlewing! We Are United!"
The Giant Marauders prepared themselves once they saw the Battlewing flying towards them.
"Punch it!" Jayden commanded.
Soon, all the Giant Marauders were gone with a simple Super Speed attack with the Battlewing.
Mike and Kevin cheered as Jayden steered them upwards. "Now's not the time to celebrate," Jayden swiftly cut in. "The girls are still fighting down below."
Down below, Emily and Mia were currently being overly crowded with all the Marauders that had appeared.
Emily struck down two of them at once before running over to cover Mia's back. "Man, these creeps never get tired!"
As Marauders surrounded them on all sides, Mia told Emily, "Yeah, this isn't looking good."
Emily tried her hardest not to let the fact that she was experiencing that familiar out-of-her-reality-and-into-another sensation show through her helmet. Emily could feel that familiar feeling that they should prepare for the absolute worst very, very soon.
Just then, Jayden struck down one Marauder in order to allow him, Kevin, and Mike room to join the girls.
"Hope we're not too late," Kevin said, as the five Rangers stood in a circle, with their backs all to each others'.
"Not at all, you're just in time," Mia replied.
"Wow, there's a whole lot of ugly here," Mike spoke up.
Jayden, however, could see right through Emily's mask (literally and figuratively), "What are you seeing now, Em?"
"I don't know," Emily immediately replied, "I just feel like something bad is about to happen."
"Stay strong, Em," Jayden said, hooking up his Red Lion Disk to the hilt of his Spin Sword. "That's why we're a team. Spin Sword: Blazing Fury!"
The others quickly, happily complied with Jayden's suggestion.
"Spin Sword: Dragon Splash!"
"Spin Sword: Airwave Strike!"
"Spin Sword: Forest Vortex!"
"Spin Sword: Seismic Quake!"
And just like that, all the Marauders were gone, but the feeling Emily was having did not go away.
And Emily was right, because from the gaps that led to the Sanzu River, more Marauders appeared.
"Wait, what?!" Mike exclaimed, as Kevin and Mia both sighed in annoyance.
There was usually only one batch. One batch of Marauders and that was it.
But this? This was just insane.
"They're like roaches," Mia complained.
"Then, we have to be the exterminators," Kevin followed up.
And within one split second, the Rangers were engaged in battle with Marauders a second time.
Jayden paused after striking one down, suddenly hearing "Red Ranger...Red Ranger...Red Ranger..." being chanted over and over again.
The Marauders were all blinking red before returning to normal, but they were ambling toward Jayden now.
"Jayden, look out!" Emily shouted, as apparently she was the first to notice this (so this was the bad thing that was happening). "The Marauders are after you!"
But why?
Mike tried to stop one, but this certain Marauder downed the Green Ranger with a pretty strong right hook. Mia immediately ran to him to check on him.
"You okay, Mike?"
"Never better," he answered, pure sarcasm staining his voice. "That Marauder is going to pay!"
"Red Ranger, you're in danger..." the voice continued.
"Trust me, he will," Jayden was the one who replied, who chopped down a Marauder near Kevin like it was nothing. "There's been a certain Symbol Power Combination I've always wanted to try. I guess now's the time to do so." He glanced over at Emily. "Sorry, Em, but I need to borrow this."
"Hey!" Emily cried out as Jayden took way her Spin Sword straight from her hand.
Mia let out a small yell of fright as a Marauder closed in on Emily, but the former didn't need to worry as Emily quickly used her leg to swipe the Marauder off its feet and used her hand against its chest to slam it into the ground.
Emily heard the other three breathe a sigh of relief, and she explained, "Believe it or not, this isn't the worse situation I've been in! Try having a horse stomp on your back!"
"Everybody, duck!" Jayden suddenly yelled. They all immediately complied as Jayden swung both Swords around, "Spin Sword: Blazing Storm!" And with that, all of the Marauders were destroyed in a storm of fire and lightning. Jayden handed Emily back her sword. "Thanks, Em. That oughta do the trick."
"No problem. Wow..." She couldn't help but be in awe. Jayden had managed to take down that many Marauders with one go.
She wasn't sure if Jayden chuckled at this, and at this point, she didn't care. She was focused solely on an evil voice saying, "You may think you're protecting your team, Red Ranger...but you have only just sealed their fates..."
It was then that the voice stopped. Any of the other Marauders nearby retreated back to the Sanzu River.
Jayden merely sheathed his sword. He walked over to a nearby crevice, de-morphing on the way. His face was solemn. Emily had a feeling that something bad would happen and she was right.
"Jayden?" Emily asked, de-morphing, her face showing genuine concern. He did not turn to face her.
The others had de-morphed as well.
"Okay, anyone care to tell me what the hell that creepy voice was?" Mike asked.
"I've never heard anything so evil," Emily softly said. "It was so full of anger and misery..."
"Who was that?" Mia summed it up.
"Jayden," Emily repeated, softly. "That was…Master Xandred…wasn't it?"
Jayden turned his head back to her slightly and nodded slowly.
"What did he mean by that last bit?" Mia asked, before quoting, "'You may think you're protecting your team, but you have only just sealed their fates'? This combined with the house Emily's been dreaming about? I think it's time for answers."
Jayden only replied, "Back to the Shiba House. We can't discuss that here."
But he agreed with Mia, one hundred percent.
~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
Octoroo breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Xandred asleep on the floor, medicine bottles all around him. They all had a long day, but Xandred's temper was his greatest weakness.
"When will the Master learn?" Octoroo asked Dayu. "His temper makes the Marauders stronger, but it also tires him out faster than anything else."
"I understand his anger," Dayu replied. "The Core Five Samurai have reassembled and every Nighlock we send their way have been eliminated without a second thought, and now history could repeat itself if they find their Gold Ranger before we can find out what that Seal is."
"More medicine..." Xandred grumbled before going back to sleep.
Immediately, yellow-colored fur balls dropped down from the ceiling, annoyingly repeating, "Medicine, medicine, medicine!"
"Pipe down, you furry warts! You're just pests!" Octoroo cried out.
"Just pests, just pests, just pests!"
~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~
Meeting Room, Shiba House, Gianni Forest, Panorama City, California
"I understand that you want answers, Rangers," Ji was quick to say, "but you have to understand that–!"
"Ji," Jayden swiftly cut in, a stern look on his face. "We need to tell them everything."
Ji glanced over at Antonio, who simply nodded, agreeing with Jayden.
Seeing this exchange, Mike asked, "What do you guys know that we don't? And why only you guys?"
Ji took a deep breath before beginning, "As you already know, four centuries ago, the Grand Shogun, the original Core Five plus the Light Thief, the original Gold, were only able to win against Xandred by sealing him away. But what you don't know is that the Seal actually has six parts, instead of one, like the Red Shogun had the Nighlock believe, in order to protect his team from future Nighlock attacks."
"That's why they were after Jayden," Mia connected that particular piece of the puzzle, "and why they told him that him protecting us, his team, had only placed us in more danger. But why six parts instead of one?"
"The Grand Shogun believed it would be the best way to create a balance of power among the six of them, thereby creating a fail-safe card should the Nighlock hold one of them hostage or anything similar in order to get the information on the Seal," Ji explained. "However, it is possible for only one Ranger to master all six parts. Extremely dangerous, but very possible."
"Someone mastered the Seal?" Mike asked. "Who was it?"
"Lauren Shiba," Jayden was the one who answered. "The Red Samurai Ranger before me, and…my older sister."
Something happened to Lauren, Emily realized, something that was so traumatizing that Jayden couldn't bear to think about it.
"Now, moving onto the house you found in Keller Forest," Ji continued after a moment of silence (presumably to honor Lauren). "Lauren also had a team: Blake Stone, the White Ranger, Matthew Hodges, the Purple Ranger, Daniel Martinez, the Orange Ranger, and..." Ji glanced at Jayden again, unsure if he should continue.
"And?" Mike urged them to continue.
Jayden glanced at the doll, Misty, sitting on the table, as he finished, "Serena Shields, the Aqua Ranger."
"W-What?" Emily was shocked, to say the least.
"Serena?" Kevin repeated. "As in Emily's older sister?"
Antonio was the one who confirmed this, "The very same."
"You three knew about this and didn't tell us?" Mike asked, slightly angry. "Didn't tell Emily?" he corrected.
"Shut it," Emily immediately spoke up in their defense. "This is obviously very hard for them to talk about," she quietly explained. "I mean, something very bad happened to that team in that house. I knew that way before I even left Montana. Now, let them continue."
The room was quiet for a bit after Emily's rant, and Ji was the only one who dared to break it, "Thank you, Emily. We have no idea what happened to them. Whether it was a Nighlock ambush or something else, we simply do not know. We are just as confused as you all are."
"What's the deal with that house in Keller Forest?" Kevin asked.
"Yeah, there's a reason Emily's been dreaming about it," Mia said. "The question is why."
"It was the team's old hideout, much like this one," Ji continued. "It's very possible that Emily's visions can lead us to the answers we need and very much deserve."
Emily couldn't help but look over at Jayden, who was quiet. Too quiet.
She could feel his emotions:
Deep sorrow, deep depression, deep anger...
His usual calm, content emotions weren't there.
Emily felt tears well up in her eyes.
~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
"What do you mean the Rangers are still vulnerable?" Dayu asked, once she and Octoroo managed to silence the furry warts, Xandred still asleep on the floor.
"I mean that the Seal has six parts, and they're only a team of five," Octoroo repeated. "Which means they're one Ranger down."
"Which means they'll be easy to beat," Dayu said, before reminding him, "but the Zords are what gives them power."
"Oh, sweet-and-sour-est Dayu," Octoroo replied, shaking his head, "there's a reason the other Zords are taking a long time to return to the current Rangers. That female Red and her team were all brutally ambushed and defeated by three of our strongest Nighlock. If we can get one of those three to defeat the current team of Rangers in the exact same way, then we'll be on the road to victory!"
"Then, by all means," Dayu replied.
Octoroo banged his staff on one of the ship's window sills two times, and called, "Robtish! We have a job for you!"
~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~
Training Yard, Shiba House, Gianni Forest, Panorama City, California
Jayden tied his training belt as he walked towards the training yard. Antonio had just talked to him and convinced him to come out and, at least, train with the others if nothing else, and not lock himself in his room.
He was about to make his presence known, but the conversation the other four were having stopped him in his tracks.
"You okay, Em?" Mia asked, she and Mike sitting down on a bench, while Emily and Kevin were standing.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Emily replied. "Why?"
"Well, considering what was just revealed before lunch earlier," Mike said, "it's understandable if you want to take a break to clear your mind."
"I'm fine," Emily repeated, being honest this time. "It's just...I think this whole thing with my visions and that forest house is hitting Jayden a little too close to home."
"And you're completely unaffected by all this?" Mike asked, the other three not believing her when she said she was fine.
"Of course it's affecting me," Emily replied. "It's just...affecting Jayden a whole lot more."
"Don't worry," Mia said, "Antonio's currently talking Jayden into not locking himself in his room. He'll be fine."
"Emily, just remember," Kevin quietly spoke up, "whatever the Nighlock did to your sister, it's reason before revenge."
"I know," Emily quickly replied. "It's Jayden I'm worried about."
He couldn't take this anymore. He was worrying his team too much.
"Don't be," Jayden finally decided to make his presence known. "I'm fine."
"And we're really supposed to believe that?" Kevin asked.
"You're supposed to trust me," Jayden retaliated, his voice hard and stern (unlike before when he was telling Emily not to worry about him).
"And you're supposed to trust us," Mike returned the bite. "That's how a team works. We carry each others burdens and watch each others' blind sides."
Jayden had lost his temper and had used his practice sword to fiercely strike a dummy. "NO!" The other four immediately recoiled in fear. "Let's just protect the innocent like we've always done! That's all we need to do!"
Now it was Jayden's turn to back off as he winced at the volume of his voice. He hadn't realized he was shouting...
Fortunately, the Gap Sensor chose this time go off.
~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~
Parkside Trails, Spiral Forest State Park, Panorama City, California
All five Rangers stopped in the middle of the dirt and gravel field.
"He should be around here somewhere," Emily muttered, neither one of them seeing any unusual activity.
"Hey, you, down there!" They all looked up to see the Nighlock standing on a cliff, a Nighlock that had a Scottish accent. "You five are the Samurai Rangers, correct?"
"Who's asking?" Mike asked.
"Me, Action Commander Robtish! I'm here to destroy you all, starting with the glue that holds the group together!" The Nighlock replied, before Jayden suddenly growled and stepped forward, taking a protective stance in front of his team.
"You're not touching either one of them!" Jayden yelled out, no trace of mercy or happiness anywhere in his voice.
"I take it you're the leader, then!" Robtish unsheathed his sword. "Shall we?"
Kevin and Mike were quick to grab each of Jayden's arms.
"Jayden, don't," Mike growled.
"He's right," Kevin replied. "This is exactly the type of battle you should avoid."
Emily was confused as to what Jayden's motives were. "What's going on?" She asked before finally looking at Robtish square in the eyes. She paused, unable to shake the feeling that she had just uncovered another piece of the complicated puzzle they were given to solve. "You're one of the wolves."
"Huh?"
"Sorry, 'wolves'?" Robtish asked, as the other four Rangers were confused as to what she meant.
So Emily explained, "'Wolves' as in you're one of the three responsible for what happened to Lauren and her team."
"Oh, those 'wolves'," Robtish replied. "Why, yes, little lady. I am."
Suddenly, something within Jayden roared, like a lion, demanding retribution.
This guy knew what had happened to Lauren. This guy had to pay.
But he was more bothered by Kevin and Mike tightening their grips on his forearms, and Mike telling him, "Protecting the innocent comes way before revenge, Jayden. You know that."
"Mike's right," he heard Mia say. "We know you care about Lauren, and we know you want answers, but there's a much better to get them."
They were right. All four of them.
And Jayden felt the fire within him slowly quell and calm down.
Meanwhile, Emily knew that Robtish was side-eyeing Jayden, as if the Nighlock knew exactly how to push Jayden's buttons, as if he knew that Lauren and Jayden were closely related.
The other four Rangers were caught off-guard by Robtish leaping down and landing in front of the group, but even more so by Emily immediately stepping out in front of them, her Sword drawn and out in a defensive position.
"Back off," Emily's voice was hard and stern, much like Jayden's not a minute earlier.
"Heh," Robtish let out a soft laugh, "I remember those eyes. Your sister had the same ones. Y'know, the ones filled the fire of determination and the ice of fear at the same time?"
Jayden's temper began to flare again, and this time, he had no idea why.
All that he could process was that Robtish knew Serena and was using her to push Emily to her breaking point, and any action of harm against Emily was not allowed. Not on his watch.
"You're not touching Jayden," and Emily mentally added, 'or any one of them.'
"Whoever said it was your precious leader I'm after?" Robtish asked before reminding them, "I said 'starting with the glue that holds the group together'. Believe it or not, pumpkin, that's you. Just like your sister..."
Of course Serena was the heart of her team. That was a given. But Emily?
No way.
And that was it: Jayden's breaking point that made something in him snap. He rushed forward, letting his rage consume him.
Jayden rushed forward. "Oh, so that's how it's gonna be, huh, Red?" Robtish commented before sending a few blasts at Jayden, who simply ran through them, his urge to protect Emily and his entire team giving him the strength to withstand any damage he sustained.
Jayden pulled out his Samuraizer and morphed in mid-jump. "Go, Go, Samurai!"
In a flash of red, Jayden drew his Sword and attacked Robtish without a second thought.
This isn't what she wanted, Emily realized with a sickening start. This was the exact opposite of what she wanted!
"Jayden's gonna kill himself!" Emily told the others as she pulled out her Samuraizer as well. "We have to stop him!"
Emily then felt a sturdy hand on her shoulder. It was Kevin. "Then, let's do it."
"Samuraizers! Go, Go, Samurai!"
Fully morphed, the other four Rangers ran forward into the fight in order to help their leader.
Well, they tried, and they would have succeeded had a horde of Marauders not gotten in their way.
No one noticed a familiar white-colored, red-skulled Nighlock watching the commotion, growling when he saw Robtish continuously swing his sword at the Red Ranger.
Jayden and Robtish clashed swords and paused to give themselves a little breather. "This is kinda fun, actually. You're good, Red," Robtish admitted. "Not nearly as good as your sister, though. She was one heck of a riot."
Of course, Lauren was better than him. She was better at everything...
"Save the compliments!" Jayden said, spinning around to avoid a hit before coming to his knees to block another one.
Great, just great, Mike thought. If this kept up, Jayden would be toast by the time the others got there.
This may not have been what Emily wanted, Kevin thought, but it is what Robtish wanted. That Nighlock knew about the puzzle the Rangers uncovered just this morning. He knew how painful this was for Jayden and Emily both, and he certainly knew which of their buttons to push. That Nighlock certainly put them on the trap.
Emily, Mia thought, in the meanwhile. Jayden's one definite berserk button was Emily. Robtish knew that Emily was the team's center and not once was he hesitant to exploit that. This Nighlock was definitely a smart one, for sure.
"Guys!" Emily called, catching the attention of the other four. "Havoc Mode–!" she began.
"Engage!" The four all called out together. After a brief flash, each in their respective colors, the four Rangers in their Havoc Mode best. The Marauders stepped back in fear, knowing what was coming at them now.
"Diamond Wave Trident!" Kevin called. Catching one Marauder's sword with the Trident's three-pronged spearhead, he then flipped the Marauder over, which landed on one of its buddies. Kevin then swung his Trident in a circular motion, "Riptide Strike!" And a wave of ice-cold water took all of his group out.
"Windstorm Arrow!" Mia called, raising her Bow over her head. "Flower Hurricane!" And a shower of arrows quckly took out her group.
"Forest Hammer!" Mike called before finding his footing and smacking a Marauder in the chest with the said weapon. He twirled it behind his back, before hitting at least three more Marauders. He then smashed his hammer into the ground, causing the rest of the Marauders around him to explode in a giant fireball.
Emily saw all the Marauders surrounding her, blocking every possible escape. She narrowed her eyes in determination. "Spiral Earth Drill: Energize!" Using her Drill to spin her around, Emily used a perfectly executed hurricane kick with both feet, and all the Marauders surrounded her were destroyed.
However, one upwards strike to the chest was enough to get Jayden on the ground. Jayden immediately got to his knees and looked up at his opponent just in time to see Robtish point his sword directly at him. "Down and you'll soon be out!"
Jayden went back down on the ground in order to avoid another of Robtish's swings and instead, Red got a hit this time.
Seeing that Robtish was off-guard, Jayden immediately got to his feet and went for the hit.
But Robtish's sword had a little mouth on its blade, and that caught Jayden's sword mid-swing.
"This fight ends for you now, Red," Robtish said before striking Jayden hard enough to disarm him. "Double Slash!" From his ears came a shockwave, before he swung his sword three times.
The attack hit Jayden dead on, and he flew several feet into the air before landing on his back in the valley below.
Kevin watched this following scene in (seemingly) slow motion:
Robtish jumped down and landed near Jayden (a little too close for Kevin's comfort). "Is that all you've got, Red?! One Double Slash is all it takes to take you down?!"
Slowly, but surely, Jayden eventually got to his knees, gritting out, "Down, but not out..."
"I honestly thought you'd be tougher than that weak girl you call your older sister, but you're crawling around like a bug, and I love to crush bugs," Robtish said, without a thought to what Jayden just said. "Any last words, Red?"
The rage within Jayden flared up again. "Don't call Lauren weak!"
Lauren was the strongest person he knew, mentally, emotionally, and physically.
"I'll take that as my invitation to kill you now," Robtish said. "See ya, Red!"
This time, something inside Kevin snapped when he saw Emily rush forward without a second thought. He immediately chased after her, already knowing what she was about to do.
"Emily, no!"
"Double Slash!"
Jayden expected physical pain from Robtish's attack, but when he glanced up, he got emotional pain instead.
Jayden's heart leaped out of his chest when he saw Emily suddenly rush into view, Kevin following soon after, seemingly trying to stop her.
But boy did Kevin fail.
Not only was Emily hit full blast, but Kevin was hit too (not as much as Emily, but still enough to greatly injure him).
Mike and Mia's head immediately turned to see what had just happened.
And they and Jayden could only watch as the explosion that occurred because of this made the two Rangers in front of Jayden de-morph, their Havoc-Mode-weapons-turned-Spin-Swords dropping to the ground as they both fell to their knees and face-planted into the dirt and gravel below, Emily already out cold and Kevin barely hanging on to consciousness.
Mike picked up his pace, trying with all his willpower not to get angry (in his mind was memories of David getting hurt on his watch, because of him). Mia seemed to sense his anger and urgency, because she too was working harder than ever.
Jayden's entire body was trembling, unable to take his eyes off of his two fallen friends.
"Those fools must really care about you," he heard Robtish, the Nighlock, say. "Too bad I couldn't care less. If they want to throw their lives away for a leader who can't control his temper, that's perfectly fine with me. That's their mistake."
Why did they take that hit for him?! All he wanted from his team was for them to trust him and to take care of themselves and of the innocent! This is exactly what he didn't want to happen!
But it had...
Jayden looked up to see Robtish slowly walking towards him. Feeling unshed tears in his blue eyes, Jayden quickly flipped over and positioned himself over the out-cold Kevin and Emily, valiantly covering them with his own body.
Just as they did for him.
"Don't touch them!"
And he would protect them with his own life.
"Windstorm Arrow!"
"Forest Hammer!"
"Full Power!"
The rest of the Marauders were destroyed in a flurry of green and pink energy, and Mike and Mia was flipped out mid-air and had landed in front of Jayden within seconds.
"We're here, Jayden," Mike exclaimed. Jayden glanced back, looking at Mike and Mia with mixed emotions. One the one hand, he was happy to know he wasn't the last one standing.
But on the other, he didn't want them to end up like Kevin and Emily.
"Oh, five for the price of one!" Robtish exclaimed. "This must really be my lucky day!"
The Nighlock then raised his sword, ready to attack one last time.
Mike and Mia raised their swords, ready to defend and attack Robtish.
But his attack was held back by another sword, and it wasn't Jayden's.
The white-colored Nighlock had jumped into the fray, his sword drawn. He wordlessly attacked Robtish, before turning around to block Mike and Mia's duo attack. After pushing Robtish back, he struck at Mike and Mia one last time, knocking them both back, de-morphing them on the way.
Jayden quickly grabbed a Spin Sword, which happened to be Emily's (seeing as how he lost his), and used it to block this new Nighlock's sword.
"Deker?!" Robtish exclaimed after he got his bearings back. "What gives?! I thought we were on the same side!"
"The Red Ranger is my opponent, not yours," the Nighlock (who was named Deker, apparently) calmly replied. It sent chills down Jayden's spine. "I'll ask you once. Please, leave."
"And what if I don't want to?!" Robtish asked, before charging into the fight once again.
Jayden quickly rolled out of the way, grabbing Kevin's Sword as he went. He then used both Swords to block both Nighlocks. After pushing them off of him, he carefully stepped in front of Kevin and Emily, in a protective stance.
"C'mon, I'll take both of you on if I have to," Jayden said. "Whatever it takes to protect my friends."
This time, Jayden was the one who charged first. Deker and Robtish quickly followed.
Mike and Mia stirred, both regaining control over their bodies. The two glanced up in time to watch Jayden's fight with Deker and Robtish begin.
Jayden blocked both Deker and Robtish's attacks at the same time, intermixing his attacks with the other two's, not only aimed at Jayden but also at each other.
"Buzz off, Deker! I'm the one who's in charge here!"
When Robtish aimed for the kill at Jayden, again, Deker stepped in before he could move another inch. "Stand aside, Robtish!"
"Both of you need to back off," Jayden growled, pointing both of his Swords at his two opponents.
After Robtish blocked one of Jayden's attacks with his wristbrace, he decided he couldn't take it anymore.
"That's it! It's time to destroy you!"
"Wrong!" Jayden called. "It's to get fired up. Havoc Mode: Engage! Twin Fire Daggers: Full Fury!"
Morphed in Havoc Mode, and both of his Daggers engulfed in flames, Jayden once again charged.
Mike and Mia both watched as Jayden's strikes at Deker and Robtish sent literal shockwaves throughout the battlefield. Mike was irritated that all he and Mia could do was watch, as Mia wondered where Jayden was finding the strength to hold both of Nighlocks off.
The trio then had to take a break. The moment was intense as Jayden then calmly said, "Okay, boys. Your move."
A cracking sound occured and Robtish stepped away. "You're both in luck. I'm dried out. Watch out, Deker. Master Xandred won't be happy when he hears about this!"
And Robtish left through a gap in one of the nearby rocks.
Jayden and Deker both lowered their weapons pointed at each other, as the former asked, "Why did you help me?"
"I'm what they call a rouge Nighlock," Deker replied. "I only act upon my own interests. And right now, my only desire is fight someone worthy and skilled enough to be my opponent." Deker raised his sword, while Jayden slung the Dagger in his left hand over his shoulder while he raised the one in his right. "Someone worthy to fight against my sword, Uramasa."
"Jayden, don't!" Mike called out.
Too late, Deker and Jayden had already engaged in combat.
It was short, however. Despite Jayden using two Daggers, Deker only landed one hit, against Jayden's right shoulder, and it caused Jayden to drop the Dagger in that hand and fall to his knees in pain.
"NO!" Mia cried.
"That was too easy. This isn't the battle I want," Deker muttered. "Robtish's Double Slash took too much out of you." Deker pointed his sword at Jayden once. "Next time, Red Ranger, you will taste this slash!"
Jayden barely moved out of the way in time. He looked back in time to see that Deker's slash at cut the rock behind cleanly in half.
"Wait!" Jayden called as Deker walked away.
"Take care of your team, Red Ranger," Deker replied, without looking back. "Revenge is never the answer. Control your anger. Isn't that why your friend in yellow took that hit for you?"
Jayden's heart jumped in realization.
Kevin had just followed Emily, trying to move her out of the way in time, but Emily...
Emily knew what she was doing the entire time.
Deker then leaped up onto the cliff above, morphing into a human along the way.
A familiar-looking human.
"You'd be wise to listen to your team, Red Ranger," Deker advised. "Because they're right."
Mike caught Mia's attention. "Mia, isn't that guy the same one who came to spectate Jayden and Kevin's fight when we fought that creep Madimot?" Mia's eyes connected with Mike's, both thinking the same thing. The two ran forward, standing next to Jayden, as Mike called out, "Hey, you! Who are you?! Are you a human or a Nighlock?"
"I am Deker," was all the man said. "Nothing more, nothing less."
And Deker left without another word.
Kevin stirred, and Mia immediately noticed.
"Kevin!" She ran over to him. "Are you okay?"
Mike soon followed, pulling out his Samuraizer, "Antonio, hey. Listen, get all the first aid kits in the house ready. Kevin and Emily are beat up pretty bad."
Jayden glanced over at his broken team. De-morphing, Jayden walked over to them and kneeled next to Emily. "You guys take care of Kevin. I've got Emily."
Careful not to tousle her, Jayden picked her up bridal-style and began carrying back to the house.
Emily was still out cold, but that didn't mean she couldn't feel an immense sadness coming from Jayden.
Their tough leader was crying because Emily had to get hurt just to teach him a simple, but important lesson.
~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
No tears came to Jayden's eyes. Nope, he was all cried out. He had shed any tears he had when he was covering them all, when he was fighting both Robtish and Deker both at the same time, when he was carrying Emily back to the House.
He had left his Samuraizer and the Lion Zord behind.
All four of his teammates were injured because of him.
He knew that he couldn't face them, none of them, not even Ji.
This was all his fault.
As he left the House that night, Jayden felt his heart clench with painful sorrow.
Why did this hurt so much?
TO BE CONTINUED...
~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~PRS~
Original Shinkenger Episode: Act 11
Original PRS Episode: Test of the Leader
Note: Next chapter should be out very shortly.
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 1, Episode 12: "Seeing Red"
"With Jayden gone, the Rangers struggle to stay afloat without him. But there's only person who can bring him back."