A/N: Enjoy the chapter! Hope you guys didn't wait too long.
Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Samurai or Samurai Sentai Shinkenger. I just own most of the plot and the characters and things you don't recognize from the original versions.
~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~
"The Rangers all have varying opinions on what to do with Deker's threat, but to Jayden, there's only one person whose opinion he cares about, and she's the one who deserves to call the shots this time."
Better Together
Power Rangers: Samurai REDO
Season 2, Episode 4: Have a Nice Nightmare
Cortez Forest, Panorama City, California
February 5, 2015
Mia shielded herself to brace for the impact that Dayu was about to bring down.
But it never came.
"Mia!" Emily called out to her, and Mia looked up to see the Yellow Ranger blocked Dayu's sword with hers. "Snap out of it! She's trying to kill you!"
Mia could only watch as a morphed Emily blocked Dayu's repeated attacks with her Spin Sword, the Pink Ranger's hands shaking as she comprehended what just happened.
She had seen Dayu's tragic past, and she had lent the Nighlock some comfort, hoping to cheer Dayu up.
Dayu, a Nighlock! What was wrong with her?
But Dayu was a Nighlock that had once been a human and was still in love with Deker, her husband...
"B-But-!" Mia tried to say. "Dayu is–!"
"It doesn't matter!" Emily called back, still blocking Dayu's sword. "If someone is trying to kill you, you don't just stand there and let it happen!"
Emily shoved Dayu off of her before parrying, now being the one on the offense.
Dayu was irritated at Emily's intrusion, even though she had expected it. The Rangers never went anywhere unless they were in pairs, after all.
"You brat!" She growled before managing to disarm Emily and slashed the girl across her chest.
Mia watched as Emily demorphed and fell to the ground, no moving. "Emily!" she called out before getting to her feet and running over to check on the younger girl. "Emily, hang on!" She knelt next to the girl, cradling her in her arms, before glaring at Dayu. "To think I wanted to help you!" She shouted at Dayu as turned away from them. "I thought you still had a shred of humanity left, but I guess I was wrong!"
"Think of me whatever you like. Fighting naive little girls like you serves me no purpose," Dayu said. "I have better things to do with my time."
And without another word, Dayu turned and walked away, leaving only Mia and Emily left.
When Emily came to, the world around her was slow-moving and extremely disorienting. She lightly groaned, bringing Mia's attention to her.
"Emily, are you okay?" Mia asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Emily replied as she tried to get back to her feet.
Mia shook her head as she grabbed hold of the younger's shoulders, helping her back to her shaky feet. "No, you're not. No thanks to me."
Mia could never forgive herself for this.
~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~
"We can do this all day, Nighlock," Mike told Rhinosnorus, before summoning his Forest Spear and striking the monster's horn with it.
"Hydro Bow!" Kevin summoned his own weapon, before firing several blue-colored arrows at the Nighlock.
However, the arrows flew passed Rhinosnorus' head as he disappeared through a Gap in a nearby log.
Mike and Kevin both groaned.
"We just missed him!" Kevin complained.
Mike merely rested against his Forest Spear and looked around the empty clearing below them.
~B~E~T~T~E~R~~T~O~G~E~T~H~E~R~~P~O~W~E~R~~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~~R~E~D~O~
Waterfront Parking Garage, Panorama City, California
Jayden got to his feet, despite his exhaustion, standing directly in Deker's line of sight.
"Jayden!" Antonio called out, before following his friend, who was giving the half-Nighlock a glare (if looks could kill, then Deker would be dead already). Antonio turned to Deker, "What are you going here, Deker?!"
"It is time, Red Ranger," Deker replied, as he unsheathed his sword.
"No," Jayden said. "I already told you, Deker, that I don't fight just to fight. I'm not like you. I fight to protect the innocent."
"You will give me the battle I have desired for centuries," Deker replied, his calm voice showcasing his anger.
A garage door behind Deker suddenly opened upwards, stopping when it reached the top, revealed a small cluster of Marauders on the other side.
For once, Antonio sighed in relief at the appearance of Xandred's foot soldiers. He knew they were here to attack him and Jayden while they were weak, but he also knew that Deker would never let any threat within fighting distance of Jayden.
He wanted that duel with Jayden, and nothing was going to stop him.
"It seems that Master Xandred and his noodle-faced crony, Octoroo, has seen to it that we are interrupted yet again," Deker said, as he transformed into his Nighlock form in a flash of blue flames.
The Marauders snarled and charged forward at the two Rangers, but Deker stopped them, just like Antonio knew he would.
Antonio and Jayden could only watch as Deker defeated all Marauders before they even had a chance to get past him.
"He's relentless," Antonio muttered to Jayden, neither of them taking their eyes off of the fight, as the Marauders hit the ground and exploded. "They weren't even a challenge for him."
Deker sheathed Uramasa and transformed back into his human form. "Alright, Red Ranger," he said without looking at the two Rangers, "our time to duel has come!"
Jayden was about to respond when Antonio stepped in front of him. "No!" Antonio replied, intent on protecting his best friend. "How could want to duel him now?! We just got done with a fight and he's exhausted!"
"Out of the way, Gold Ranger," Deker growled.
Antonio shook his head, "No! Besides, we Rangers don't fight for the sake of fighting!"
"I'll give you twenty-four hours, Red Ranger," Deker said, pointing at Jayden. "But there will be no further delay. Tomorrow, at Limatore Beach, metal will meet metal!"
Jayden shook his head, thoughts of Lauren and Deker being connected still running through his mind. "Didn't you hear Antonio? I won't fight for fighting's sake! I only fight to protect the innocent!"
Deker smirked. "I know, you've said so once before," he said, looking down at his sword, "and with that in mind, if you don't show, then I will start with the city." He caressed the handle of his sword. "I doubt I'll be able to control myself."
"You'd threaten random people?" Jayden asked. "Then you're not half-human. You're all Nighlock. I don't care if you think I'm a better fighter than Lauren. She stood her ground, and so will I."
"Interesting that you say that," Deker replied, "since she ran after seeing her comrades fall. Like a coward. Guess the wolves scared her that much."
Jayden was quiet, still glaring at Deker, while Antonio looked confused.
"Wait, what?" the Gold Ranger asked.
Jayden replied with, "Lauren's journal, November 14th, 2004, 'Now that my team and I have finally settled in, we sat down and had a serious talk. Quite reluctantly, we all agreed to ensure that if we were ever ambushed, I, at least, had to make it out alive. I had the Sealing Power, after all. We also decided to codename an ambush as 'The wolves are coming'.' The only way Deker would know about the wolves is if he was there, leading the ambush himself."
Deker was quiet, as Antonio finally understood.
"You were right, Jayden. Deker is one of the wolves," Antonio muttered.
Deker said nothing, not denying it. Quietly, he said, "Twenty-four hours, Red Ranger. Noon tomorrow. Limatore Beach. Don't be late," before leaving.
~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
"So, Deker and the Red Ranger have decided to duke it out amongst themselves," Octoroo said. "What a headache..."
"I may despite Deker," Xandred said, as a Marauder poured him some more medicine, "but if he takes out the Red Ranger, that's one less pest for us to deal with."
"Of course!" Octoroo exclaimed. "Then nothing can stand in our way!"
"Exactly. The Rangers' misery will be the best medicine," Xandred replied, before taking a sip of his medicine.
"I'm the one who needs medicine!" Rhinosnorus suddenly yelled as he tried to use Sanzu River water to regrow his missing Mist Blower. "Those lousy Rangers cut off my Mist Blower! If I can't put humans to sleep, then how am I supposed to eat in the Dream World?!"
Rhinosnorus threw a fit, while Xandred let his temper rise. "'EAT'?! You didn't raise the River an inch! You completely failed your mission! I should let the Marauders eat you!"
"No! I can do better!"
"Then I suggest you go and really scare some humans," Octoroo replied.
"I will! This time I won't fail!" Rhinosnorus vowed.
~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
Mia led an injured Emily into the house, only for the two girls to be greeted by the four guys arguing.
"This is crazy, Jayden!" Kevin was yelling. "Take on Deker? Alone?!"
"Deker insists that's how it has to be," Antonio defended.
"No!" Kevin argued. "We Rangers only fight battles that are necessary!"
"This is necessary," Jayden quietly answered.
"He threatened to hurt innocent people," Kevin said. "Okay. I get that, but we'll handle him like any other Nighlock – as a team!"
Jayden groaned, "You don't get it, Kevin!"
"I do get it, Jayden! Unless you're alone, it won't satisfy him!" Kevin shot back. "Why should we let a Nighlock dictate how we battle?!"
Silence fell as Mike and Antonio shared the same concerned glance. Kevin never lost his temper at anybody, especially not at his own teammates, all of whom he respected as their own people who were capable of making their own choices.
"Look, Kevin, you're right," Mike quietly spoke up, making the Blue Ranger glances over at him, "but so is Jayden. These aren't normal circumstances."
Antonio nodded, "Yeah," but added, "but Kevin. Jayden's right. You really don't understand why Jayden's doing this, do you? Why Jayden's ignoring your side this time?"
"Because it's not Kevin's choice to make," came Mia's voice.
All four guys turned to face the Pink Ranger in the doorway, an injured Emily leaning onto her.
Mike immediately got to his feet to help them. "Thank god you girls are back. We were getting worried that something happened to you."
As Mike helped Emily sit down and Mia went to retrieve a first aid kit, Emily asked, "What's going on? Why are you guys fighting?"
Jayden sent a cold glance at Kevin before taking the seat next to her, not intending to sugarcoat anything about this. "Deker's one of the three wolves." Emily's hazel eyes widened. "That means that he has answers about Lauren and Serena, and the other three, about what happened that night, but Deker also threatened to hurt innocent people if I don't show up tomorrow to fight him. Alone."
Now she understood what Antonio and Mia meant. It wasn't Kevin's choice to make.
It was hers.
"Jayden–!" Kevin tried to protest.
"No!" Jayden immediately cut him off, before lowering his voice. "You don't have a bull entered in this fight, Kevin. Please, stay out of this."
Kevin was quiet, as he and the others stood by, waiting for Emily's answer. When she finally spoke, her voice was cold and hard, "Destroy him. Whatever it takes."
"But what about Serena?" Mia asked, standing next to Emily, holding a first aid kit that she was ready to use.
Emily shook her head, "The safety of the innocent comes before my feelings. Serena would say the same thing."
"Okay," was all Jayden replied with.
And with that, Jayden stood up, telling Kevin, "Sorry, Kevin, but my decision has been made."
And he left the room, leaving his teammates in silence.
~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~
Cortez Forest, Panorama City, California
Deker heard sobbing and he came upon Dayu crying, tightly embracing her Harmonium.
"What are you going in the human world?" Deker asked her.
Dayu abruptly stopped crying when she heard his voice and saw him standing there, "Nothing. What are you going here?"
"My eternal search for a worthy opponent finally ends tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Dayu asked. She was going to lose him tomorrow?
"Yes," Deker replied. "My thirst for the ultimate duel shall finally be quenched. Win or lose, I shall be free."
"I hope that's true," Dayu quietly said. "You should have been free centuries ago."
~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
Late that night, Kevin (unable to sleep) came up to the dojo, where Jayden was training. Jayden paused, sensing Kevin there.
"You can't change my mind, Kevin," Jayden said, not looking at the Blue Ranger.
"I know," Kevin sounded upset, as if he was going to cry. "I was just wondering if there was anything I can do to help."
Jayden finally turned to Kevin. "'Help'?"
"Yeah, I..." Kevin swallowed hard. "I realized that most of my arguments came from my concerns that...that Deker would be defeated at the cost of you...if you went by yourself."
"It's okay, Kevin," Jayden gently smiled, his heart warming at the Blue Ranger's words. "I appreciate the gesture, but you really need to learn to trust your teammates. I'll be fine, and so will you as long as you follow Emily's lead." Jayden picked up another practice sword from the rack and held it out to Kevin. "But you can help by training with me. There's a move I want to master."
Kevin smiled as he took the practice sword from Jayden.
Meanwhile, also unable to sleep, Emily entered the kitchen, where Mia was preparing tea. Emily knew it was for her, as it didn't take a genius to figure out that Mia was feeling sorry that Emily got hurt protecting her.
"Hey, Mia," Emily smiled.
Mia turned towards the doorway, startled to find Emily walking around. "What are you doing out of bed?" she asked. "You're still hurt."
"I'm fine, Mia," Emily replied, as she sat down at the counter. "Really."
"Well, I was just going to bring you some tea," Mia said, handing Emily a cup. "How are you doing?"
"I'm fine, thank you," Emily replied. "But you need to stop fussing over me. It's not good for you."
Mia was quiet as she glanced down at her tea, taking in what Emily just said. The Yellow Ranger was right.
"I'm sorry," Mia said, not meeting Emily's eyes. "When it was time to fight Dayu, I hesitated and you got hurt."
"Seeing Dayu's past in that Dream World must have been difficult," Emily said. "Don't be so hard on yourself. There's no shame in feeling sympathy for your enemy. Remember that."
Mia nodded, before remembering the other girl's own problems. "What about you?" Emily raised an eyebrow, confused. "Deker could have answers about Serena. You know, there's nothing wrong with wanting closure."
"I know," Emily replied, now being the one unable to meet the other's eyes. "But not at the cost of innocent lives, because Deker's not the type to joke around." Emily paused. "Besides, Deker is a threat and needs to be dealt with."
~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
February 6, 2015
Jayden entered the meeting room the next day at 11:30 AM to his team sitting around the table, just beginning to eat lunch. He knew this wasn't going to be easy, leaving his team like this, but seeing them on the way out was just impossible.
They all turned to look at him as he entered.
"Good luck, Jayden," Mia said, as they stood up.
"We have faith in you," Mike added.
"Thanks," Jayden softly replied as he bumped fists with the Green Ranger.
"Don't worry about us," Antonio said. "Just do what needs to be done."
Jayden nodded before meeting eyes with Kevin. "Kevin, it's gonna be okay. You guys are not going to lose me."
Kevin said nothing, only nodding.
But before any of them could say another word, the Gap Sensor loudly blared, and Ji tapped on the table.
"Rhinosnorus is back," he relayed. "City Square."
Jayden held out the Black Box to Emily.
"What?"
"I need you to lead the team, Emily, until I get back," Jayden explained. "You don't have to use the Black Box yourself, but it'll let you form the Megazord without me."
Emily took the Black Box from his hands, nodding. "Right. Okay. Good luck, Jayden."
"Thanks," he replied, before vowing, "Anything I manage to get out of Deker I'll be sure to share."
"I know you will," she replied before turning to the others. "C'mon, guys. Let's go kick some Nighlock butt!"
The others nodded and followed Emily into the city.
Meanwhile, Jayden and Ji exchanged looks, both of them hoping that this was not Jayden's final battle. Although, knowing Deker, it very well could be.
But Jayden knew what he was fighting for. If this was his last fight, then so be it.
~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
"Get back here!" Rhinosnorus growled as he chased retreating humans throughout the city strees. "If I can't tenderize you in the Dream World, I'll just wolf you all down uncooked. Maybe you'll even taste better raw, like sushi!" He grabbed a man from the ground and held him at arm's length, but quickly let him go as he was hit with a small metallic dragon.
Rhinosnorus watched the Rangers (minus the red one) run up and stop in front of him. "Alright, guys. Let's do this!" Emily said. "Samuraizers!"
"Go, Go, Samurai!"
"Go, Gold Samurai!"
"Rangers Together, Samurai Forever!"
Rhinosnorus laughed, "Unfortunately for you, Rangers, I called for backup this time!" A group of Marauders arrived through a Gap from the ground. "Marauders, attack!" he roared.
"Let's go!" Emily ordered as she led the charge.
Rhinosnorus did not sit well with the fact that his Marauders were going down easily.
"Come on, Rangers!" he whined. "Go away! I'm hungry!"
Emily charged at him. "Yeah? Well, eat this!" She yelled before slcing her Spin Sword across the Nighlock's chest.
She barely managed to dodge the Nighlock's parry before Kevin called out to her.
"Time to wake up, Nighlock!" Kevin said, locking swords with Rhinosnorus, allowing Emily to recover. "Your dreams are over!"
"Actually, my dreams are about to be your worst nightmares!" Rhinosnorus growled out, before spinning around and punching both Rangers in the chests, knocking them into the air and onto the ground.
"Kevin!"
"Emily!"
"We're fine," Emily reassured the other three when they ran up to see if she and Kevin were okay. "Can you three keep him occupied? I need to talk to Kevin."
"Sure thing," Mike said, before he led Mia and Antonio towards the Nighlock.
Meanwhile, Emily turned to Kevin and held out the Black Box.
"E-Em..."
"Take it," she encouraged him. "It's time to turn the tables."
Kevin took the Black Box in his hands. "Right," he replied, before letting her run to help keep the Nighlock busy.
"Antonio, grab him!" Mike said, locking his arm around one of Rhinosnorus' shoulders. Antonio did the same on the Nighlock's other side, locking the Nighlock in place.
This was his chance. After placing the Super Disk into the Black Box, Kevin held it out in front of him. "Super Samurai Mode!"He pressed a button at the top, and in a flash of white and gold, a white vest was added to his suit. He inserted the Super Disk onto the hilt of his Sword, and the Box onto his Sword as well. "Super Samurai Blue! Ready!"
Mike and Antonio were thrown out of the way, while Mia and Emily both rolled to the sides themselves, as Kevin charged in.
After landing a solid hit, he flipped over the Nighlock before landing another couple of good water-empowered hits on him.
Seeing that his opponent was down, Kevin opened his belt and placed his Dragon Disk into the Box. "Dragon Disk!" He spun the Super Disk. "Super Spin Sword: Super Dragon Splash!"
And with that, Rhinosnorus' first life was destroyed.
Mia ran up to Kevin after the Nighlock was defeated. "Nice job, Kevin!"
"Thanks," Kevin replied. "Super Samurai Mode is so powerful."
"Of course it is," Antonio said. "It has all of the Zords' powers combined."
Their tender moment was ruined with Rhinosnorus growing into his Mega form.
"Our problem just got a lot bigger," Mike said.
"Time to combine our Zords," Emily said, turning to Kevin. "This is where the Black Box will come in handy."
Kevin nodded. "Right." He then placed the Super Combination Disk into the Box. "Super Samurai Combination!"
~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~
Limatore Beach, Panorama City, California
Deker looked up to see that Jayden had arrived, as promised. "It took you long enough. Still, I knew you'd come. Just like me, you need this battle."
"No," Jayden shook his head. "I'm nothing like you. The only things I need are answers from you and for you to stop hurting anyone else."
"All that matters is that you're here," Deker raised Uramasa, before pulling the sword from its sheath and transforming into his Nighlock form.
Jayden held up his Samuraizer. "Go, Go, Samurai!" he said, instantly morphing into the Red Ranger.
"At last, the time has come," Deker breathed.
"Yes," Jayden agreed. "For you to fall!"
And both warriors delivered their first blow.
Pretty soon, the sound of metal on metal was the only thing that could be heard for miles, as Jayden and Deker clashed.
The two locked swords before Deker broke it. He swung at Jayden, slicing him across the stomach and sending him backwards into the sea.
Deker smirked and stabbed at the Red Ranger. Jayden managed to roll out of the way just in time and Uramasa struck nothing but wet sand and waves.
Meanwhile, Jayden quickly steadied his position once more.
This was for Emily, for him, for Lauren, for Serena, for Matthew, Daniel, and Blake, for all of their families.
Emily...he had gone to her, feeling that only she could make this choice, because only she deserved it. She wanted answers, but she also knew how dangerous Deker was.
It was a cruel choice he placed on her, he knew that, and he would apologize later, but he would never have forgiven himself if he had made this choice all on his own.
He remembered how Robtish got under his skin so deep, Jayden only saw Red until Deker had called him out for letting Emily get hurt because of him.
So, he vowed to never let that happen again.
Emily was his light within the darkness, guiding his way home. And he never hesitated to follow it.
"Excellent," Deker praised as Jayden matched his attacks perfectly. "Your instincts are superb. You are indeed proving to be my equal! I was right to choose you, Red Ranger."
~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
As the Megazord was being formed, Kevin activated Shogun Mode, adding gold armor to his and the others' suits (sans Jayden; the Black Box said he was too far away).
"Claw Armor Megazord, We Are United!"
"You ready, Kevin?" Emily asked, standing in the middle (the order being Mia, Mike, Kevin, Emily, and Antonio).
"Yeah, let's go it!" Kevin answered.
"You're still going to snooze and lose," Rhinosnorus taunted as he faced the five Rangers.
"Keep dreaming," Mike quipped. "We're teaming up to take you out!"
"I'm going to hop and bop until you drop!" Rhinosnorus said as he started to bounce all over the place. The Rangers watched him as he started to come closer, but he was moving so fast that they had no idea where he would strike first.
Kevin gasped. "Whoa!"
"Stay calm, Kevin!" Emily encouraged him. "I know you can handle this!"
"Right," Kevin replied. "Stay calm and be patient. We're gonna catch him off-guard."
The Megazord seemed to give up, so Rhinosnorus shrugged and went in for the kill, but a couple of twin katanas stopped him and made him keel over onto the street below.
"Got him!" Kevin said, the others celebrating.
"Nice one, Kev," Emily said. "Now, let's finish him off."
"Yeah. Super Samurai Artillery: Samurai Battle Cannon!"
After the targeting system locked onto Rhinosnorus, Kevin gave the signal to fire. "Katana Power: Battle Cannon Blast!"
"Nice one," Antonio exclaimed. "We put that Nighlock to bed, didn't we?"
"We sure did," Emily replied, as Mike and Mia shared a high-five. "But we still have something else to take care of."
Jayden.
~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~
Limatore Beach, Panorama City, California
Deker and Jayden's duel had moved them farther away from the beach and up onto the cliffs above the sea.
"I have waited for this duel for centuries," Deker said. "And you have not disappointed me!"
Jayden ducked as Deker swung at him again. He spun away to avoid another collision, as the half-Nighlock aimed a second hit for his stomach. "Haven't you had enough?" he asked, taking steps backwards away from the Nighlock. By now they had reached the edge of the cliff, one false move and they'd both go over into the raging seas below.
Jayden staggered on the edge of the cliff and Deker was immediately above him, raising Uramasa high above his head.
"And now, Red Ranger, I will defeat you," Deker said, "and bring this to an end!"
Jayden lowered his glare. "You're right about one thing," he said. "It is time for this to end!"
He jolted forward and froze. The tip of Deker's sword pierced through his suit and into his chest, just beneath his shoulder blade, making him drop his Sword.
And for a moment, Deker thought he really had won.
But Jayden caught his falling Sword with his uninjured hand before slicing it across Deker's chest.
The cursed man stumbled in shock, leaving himself open for a follow-up attack, which is exactly what Jayden did, slashing downwards with his Sword, slicing Uramasa in half.
The destroyed sword struck the ground behind the two, and Deker, breathing heavily, stared at Jayden in disbelief.
"A master move," he said, acknowledging Jayden's guts. "You let me wound you...so you'd get close enough to finish me!" he staggered towards the edge of the cliff. "Well fought Red Ranger, you have honored me and freed me from my torment...in return...your sister's fate is unknown to me..." Jayden turned his head to face Deker. "After she retreated, she was gone from my sights...and her team...was still alive when I left..."
Which meant they very well survived, but it really just led them back to Square One.
Deker tilted forwards, and as he fell from the cliff, he said, "Thank you..." before disappearing in a puff of black smoke as he fell into the raging sea below.
Jayden, meanwhile, grabbed his wrist and allowed himself to finally fall to his knees, demorphing on the way.
A pair of arms prevented him from passing out completely.
"It's okay, Jayden," Emily told him. "It's over. Rhinosnorus is gone, and so is Deker."
"We won..." Jayden said in a tone of slight disbelief.
"We did," Kevin replied, he and the other Rangers surrounding Jayden and Emily.
Jayden tiredly smiled as he wrapped his uninjured arm around Emily's shoulders, allowing her to help him back to his feet.
~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
With his Rangers home safe and sound, Ji felt it right to give them all the rest of this day and the next one off, even if was only to give time for their injuries to heal.
Jayden had his right arm in a sling. His arm wasn't broken, but it was severely sprained, and Ji was forced to bench him until he recovered.
Emily's fight with Dayu yesterday still left her sore, but she was dealing with it, and she was not hurt enough for Ji to bench her, which Jayden was relieved to hear, because he wouldn't trust anyone else to lead the team in his place until he recovered.
Now, the seven were all having dinner outside, made by Antonio, Ji, and Mia, made to celebrate their double-victory over Rhinosnorus and Deker.
But there was still something weighing heavily on Jayden's mind. His and Kevin's fight – he didn't mean for that to happen. He understood Kevin's side completely, and he completely agreed with it, but it was Emily's choice, one he forced her to make.
He didn't feel like a good leader right now.
"Everyone," he spoke up, making the other six look at him, "I just wanted to apologize for yesterday and today. I know I had to duel Deker to get answers and to stop him from hurting people, part of me also wanted to fight him for myself. To prove myself worthy of taking Lauren's place as the Red Ranger."
Emily simply smiled and shook her head, "No, Jayden. He forced your hand. He got under your skin, because he knew it would work."
"And we forgive you," Kevin added. "As long as you promise never to jeopardize our mission again."
"Yeah," Mike said. "Xandred's still out there. And it's going to take everything we've got to take him down."
Jayden smiled, grateful he had a team like this.
~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~
Original Shinkenger Episode: Act 26
Original PRS Episode: The Ultimate Duel
Note: Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review and tell me what you think!
A/N: Do review, please. If you guys have any ideas you want me to consider adding, please PM me. A preview for the next chapter:
Season 2, Episode5: "Scrambled Samurai"
"He was happy he didn't have to worry about his brother, but now, as Emily would discover, Mike had someone else to worry about."