A/N: Enjoy the chapter! Sorry you guys had to wait so long.
Disclaimer: I do not own Samurai/Shinkenger or Go-Onger/RPM. 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~
"It's been one year, and the RPM Rangers are still on the hunt for the remaining remnants of the Venjix virus. Meanwhile, Doctor K finds something that scares her, so much so that she ends up traveling to another dimension to protect herself."
Better Together
Power Rangers: Samurai REDO
Season 2, Special Episode, Part 1: Revenge of Venjix
RPM Dimension, Ranger Base
March 5, 2015
It had been approximately 358 days since the Rangers split up. K had kept in touch with all of them, and so far, things were going well.
Scott, Gem, and Gemma were doing well in the Eagle Squad, the group of soldiers that were fighting off any last remaining pieces of the Venjix virus that tried to attack the city. The attacks were getting far less frequent now, which was good news, so Eagle Squad had been helping Corinth itself to rebuild more often than actual fighting. Scott and his father were also getting along better than they had ever been, which was good news.
Flynn and his dad were building new computer systems for the city. They were doing well, despite Flynn wanting to see Gemma again, which was good news.
Summer, Dillan, and Tenaya were out in the world, helping other cities rebuild. Summer and Dillon's relationship had changed, K learned about two weeks ago, but they were still friends. Tenaya hadn't called K for a replacement set of eye implants, which was good news.
Hers and Ziggy's school for kids was doing well. K was a great teacher and Ziggy was great with kids, and the kids themselves were doing well. And Corinth itself had recently lost the dome, allowing its residents to see the real clear, blue sky for themselves. Everything was going smoothly, which was good news.
K sat in front of her computer one night, hot coffee in her hands as her blood-shot eyes scanned the data that was from Corinth's new security system (created by Flynn and his father). And just for fun, she was also studying the old morphers.
She didn't know why. She didn't know what she was looking for. Something just told her to check them out, and that same thing (called her gut) told her that she would know when she saw it.
That was when she found it.
Fear immediately ran down her spine, spreading throughout her body. This was the opposite of good news. This was bad news!
This meant...!
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RPM Dimension, The Wastelands
March 14, 2015
One week later, the seven RPM Rangers faced off Venjix's latest attack bot, Professor Cog. They were in the wastelands (the one part of the world that hadn't seen any green growth yet) in order to avoid casualties or risk breaking the rest of the world's hope that Venjix was gone for good.
Because he wasn't. That's what K said she had found that night one week ago.
Professor Cog and the SkyRev Megazord stood back to back.
"Okay, Professor Cog," Scott said. "Three paces. Then the duel begins."
"No cheating, Rangers," Cog told.
"That goes for you, too," Dillon shot back.
Cog said nothing as attack bot and Megazord began to step away from each other, and both began to count.
"One..."
"Two..."
"Three!"
Cog was fast when turning around, but the Megazord was faster on the draw, and the machine fired.
Cog was knocked down, as he said, "No, I'm down!" But then he caught himself, "But I'm not out."
"What?!" The Rangers cried.
"I know we hit him!" Scott said, confused (he wasn't the only one).
Cog shot lasers at the Megazord, and all the component zords went flying in various directions, each landing hard on the ground.
"Thanks for not cheating, humans," Cog told his seven (honest-to-a-fault-that-he-was-able-to-exploit) enemies. "But you should have known that I'd never make that promise." He took out a medallion, a hidden shield that had stopped SkyRev's bullet in his tracks. "All you losers hit was my shield."
Ziggy turned to his comm system, "K! K! Are you there? We'd like some help here!"
But there was no answer, when there usually would have been. For once, K, with her quick, timely, accurate answers, was not there.
"Time for me to go, Rangers! Ta-ta!" Professor Cog said.
"You can't escape us!" Scott ground out as Cog turned to leave. "We will track you down!"
"Even to another dimension?" Cog asked, confusing the Rangers. "See you later, Rangers! I'm off to make a deal to destroy two worlds!"
The Rangers could only watch as Cog left through a portal, laughing at his easy victory.
But Scott revved the Eagle Zord up to its full power, and before anybody knew it, he had managed to follow Cog right before the portal closed.
But Summer noticed, "Scott!"
It was safe to say that she wasn't the only one with questions.
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Samurai Dimension, City Square
Cog stepped out of the underground subway station, looking out at the city he had arrived in. There were no humans nearby, which was good news for him. No one had noticed him yet.
"So this is Xandred's dimension, huh?" Cog asked himself. "Pathetic. Now, Xandred, how do I get to your Netherworld from here?"
He was cut off by screaming people, and he immediately retreated. He couldn't blow his cover now, not when he hadn't found Xandred's base yet. But he didn't retreat that far. He just went into hiding, because the monsters that were attacking were Nighlock under Xandred's command.
That was when he saw five Rangers (fully morphed), but they weren't any of the RPM Rangers. Their suits were modeled after Samurai, and instead of a male Black Ranger, there was a female Pink Ranger. Red was in the middle, Pink and Yellow on either side of him, Green next to Yellow, and Blue next to Pink.
"It's just Marauders," the Green one said. "Thank you, Xandred, for just Marauders. This is our day off, after all."
"Be careful," Blue replied. "He may send more, or he may send a Nighlock during the fight."
"Or he could have already sent a Nighlock out," Pink added.
"Either way, they're all going down." Digusting. It looked like Yellow was the optimistic one.
"Let's go!" Red ordered, and the five Rangers charged.
And Cog watched them fight, occassionally looking behind them and telling the civilians they were saving to run to safety.
Red, Blue, and Pink were capable fighters, very serious and they obviously knew what they were doing. Green was obviously a jokester, yes, but he too knew what he was doing. It was Yellow that intrigued him.
She was a good fighter, as well as a sickeningly goody two-shoes, judging by her optimism earlier. But she was also special, in more ways than one. It was so painfully obvious that she was the best of them. Whether or not the other Rangers held her in that regard, Cog didn't know, and he didn't care.
All that mattered to him was that he knew.
"Let's turn up the heat!" Red called out, and all five Rangers gathered and spun the Disks hooked up to the hilts of their Swords.
"Spin Sword: Quintuple Slash!"
Most of the Marauders disappeared in the explosion that followed, and the rest (Cog watched carefully) retreated through red Gaps in the sidewalk.
The Rangers celebrated their victory before leaving the scene.
This left Cog to continue with his secret mission. For once, the Rangers were useful.
"Perfect," Cog said to himself. "Now that I know where the entrance is, I can now pay Xandred a visit."
~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
Lightening began to flicker as Cog stepped onto Xandred's ship.
"Who are you?" Octoroo asked.
"A mechanical trespasser," Serrator said, both he and Octoroo ready to fight.
"Greetings," their visitor said, "I am Professor Cog. My master humbly requests your assistance. I want to destroy the humans in our dimension."
Xandred stood up from his position on the ground. "What sort of help are you looking for?"
"It's nothing really," Cog said, growing a little too impatient. "We just wanted a small sample of your water. Give it to me."
"Oo-ah-oo!" Octoroo cried out. "Show some respect, would you?"
"You'll get my respect!" Cog stomped his foot on the ground, causing Octoroo to stumble. "When I get your Sanzu water, I will poison my humans with your evil water and be done with them forever!"
Serrator laughed, "Intriguing."
"Here's my offer," Cog continued. "You haven't yet succeeded in getting rid of the Power Rangers that plague you. If you help me, I will help you. All that's needed is for you to give me a sample of your beautiful water."
"And what makes you think you will succeed where we have failed?" Serrator asked.
"Because I'm not an enemy they would expect to attack them," Cog replied, bringing up a good point. "Now, what do you say, Master Xandred? Scratch my back and I scratch yours?"
After a moment of silence, Xandred replied, "Fine. Take as much water as you need."
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Harbor Village Park, Panorama City, California
The five Samurai Rangers were walking through the park, eating their ice cream to celebrate their (small) victory. Well, all except for one.
"Health freak~!" Mike sang, his mint chip ice cream in hand.
"Shove off, Mike," Kevin muttered, holding carrots and celery sticks in his hand. "I've been feeling a bit sluggish lately."
"Mike, stop picking on him," Mia said with a gentle smile, before taking a lick of her strawberry ice cream. "Let Kevin be Kevin."
"But he's eating veggies!" Mike replied, before waving his ice cream in front of Kevin's face. "Wouldn't you like a bite of mint chip?"
"Mike, please stop yourself before I'm forced to stop Kevin from killing you," Jayden cut in with his rocky road, referring to Kevin's current death glare. "I really don't feel like breaking up an argument right now. I'm exhausted."
"Sorry, Kev," came Mike's sincere apology.
"You're forgiven," came Kevin's honest reply.
Emily took a lick of her cookie dough ice cream, thinking about the strange dream she had last night.
She was sitting on the bench outside in the Shiba House's front training yard at night. She was just playing her flute in the dark of night (for whatever reason) and she discovered a ball of light coming towards her, asking her for help.
That was when she woke up.
"That's understandable," Mia replied to Jayden's comment. "I think we're all tired. Xandred's been pretty quiet lately."
"Yeah," Mike was back to his mature self. "No Action Commanders. Just Marauders for the past week."
"Ji didn't think anything was going to happen today," Kevin reminded them. "That's why he gave us the day off."
"Do you think they're planning something big?" Mia asked. "Like a big-scale invasion?"
"No idea–" Kevin, however, was quickly cut off.
"Watch out!" Jayden cried out as he pulled Emily to the side, Kevin pulling Mia the same way, as Mike fell.
Just then, a car slammed down right in front of them, nose pointed down. The car alarm blaring, Jayden could feel Emily trembling with fear in his arms.
He quietly, gently whispered to her, "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered.
"What the hell was that?" Mike asked as he stood back up, voicing everyone's thoughts. Kevin was patting Mia on the back, trying to soothe her and succeeding.
Kevin thought it through carefully. "It came from above."
"We should check it out. It could be another Nighlock attack," Jayden said.
The others nodded and followed him, their ice cream forgotten.
All of them missed a figure clad in red reaching in, turning the key and shutting off the car alarm.
"There are Rangers in this dimension too?" He asked himself.
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The five Rangers got on top of the bridge only to find weird monsters attacking the construction workers there.
"Marauders with lasers?" Mike was confused at the weird looking monsters, as Mia and Kevin ushered the workers to safety.
"I don't think they're Nighlocks," Kevin replied, as he and Mia rejoined the group.
"I think they're machines," Mia said. "It would explain the sounds."
"Whatever they are, it's our job to stop then," Jayden said before flipping open his Samuraizer.
"Go, Go, Samurai!"
After morphing, the five charged into the fight, but they're swords weren't working...
"Our swords don't work on them!" Kevin exclaimed as he struggled against his many opponents.
"That just means we gotta kick it up a notch," Mike said, as he slashed one of the robots off the bridge. "They're all wearing armor."
"They aren't wearing armor," Emily corrected, as she pushed one of the robots away from her. "They are armor!"
"It makes sense," Mia called back. "Swords can't cut metal!"
"Keep trying!" Jayden called back to them. "Use your Power Disks if you have to!" He turned around to face some more of the machines, but a few laser beams came out of nowhere and destroyed a few of them.
The five Rangers all turned around to see a figure clad in red, a Power Ranger whose spandex design did not match their own. "Another Ranger?" Jayden asked himself.
"Hey," The mysterious Ranger greeted. "It looks like you guys could use some help." He then went on to confirm Kevin's hypothesis. "They're called Grinders and they're made of metal, so your swords won't cut it. Laser blasters, on the other hand, work perfectly." Their new friend held up his own. "Leave it to me. You guys hang tight."
The Samurai Rangers watched as their new friend did a front tuck over, calling "Nitroblaster!" He shot a couple of Grinders to the ground before taking shots to the other Grinders around him.
"That dude's got some sweet hardware, man," Mike said.
While watching their new ally fight, Emily felt a strange sense of brotherly affection towards him that she couldn't quite explain.
"Who is he?" Mia asked. "He's not a Samurai Ranger like we are."
"Stay focused," Jayden snapped everyone back to attention. "We've got to beat these creeps."
"Right!" Kevin said, before moving to slash a Grinder near him, but the stranger blasted it before Kevin could.
"Watch your back!" the stranger told him.
"I had it covered?" Kevin questioned as the stranger ran in front of him and took down the Grinders surrounded Kevin by himself. Kevin ducked when the stranger swung his sword haphazardly. "Hey, hotshot, you almost took my head off!" He called as the stranger ran away from him.
"You guys really need to update your weapons," the stranger told Mike, taking down the Grinders near the Green Samurai.
Mike responded with, "Dude, we can handle this."
Mia and Emily stood back to back, fighting off the Grinders around them.
"Head's up!" the stranger called as he took down the Grinders. "You're welcome!"
"Thanks?" Mia asked, before the stranger got blasted by some of the Grinders, getting sent flying away from the Samurai Rangers.
"Time to get in gear!" the stranger said, before speeding up to the Grinders and slashing at all of them. He flew up into the sky before coming back down to where Jayden was.
In no time at all, all the Grinders were destroyed.
"And that's how it's done in this century," the stranger told the five Samurai.
The five de-morphed, fully intent on finding out who this stranger was. "Who are you?" Jayden asked.
"Y'know, I just saved you guys from defeat," the stranger replied. "A simple thank you will do."
"Sorry, but we have no idea who you are," Jayden calmly replied. "Until we get some answers, we're going to have to treat you like an enemy."
"That's understandable," the stranger said. "And here I thought you guys were mad at me because I stole your thunder."
He de-morphed as well, revealing an African-American man underneath, wearing a red t-shirt and a personalized black leather jacket, with blue jeans and red Converses.
"My name is Scott Truman," he said. "I'm a Power Ranger, just like you guys. Ranger Designation: RPM Red, or where I'm from, 'Ranger Operator Series Red'. The Grinders are the foot soldiers from my dimension, and I'm just here to chase them down and find out why they're here."
"From your dimension, huh?" Kevin asked. "Okay, say we buy all of that. If you're from another dimension, then how did you get here?"
Scott froze, looking as if he was unable to answer the question.
Whatever the explanation and reason for being here were, Emily knew that they were good ones, because she felt a strange sense of guilt, like she was at fault for everything.
The other four were waiting for an answer, all with stern looks (almost death glares) on their faces.
"Don't be ridiculous, guys," Emily quickly cut in, walking up to Scott and placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, a soft smile on her face. "He's obviously a friend."
Emily smiled wider when Scott returned her smile. Her smile was making him feel better. It reminded him of Summer's.
"Emily's right," Mia joined Emily on Scott's other side. "He can tell us everything when we get home. Are you hungry?" she asked Scott. "I can make some dinner for you. You are a guest, after all."
"Th-Thanks," Scott muttered, as he allowed the girls to lead (more like drag) him to the Shiba House.
The three boys stared after them (Jayden and Kevin feeling a twinge of jealousy), but following after them.
Could they really trust Scott?
~B~E~T~T~E~R~~T~O~G~E~T~H~E~R~~P~O~W~E~R~~R~A~N~G~E~R~S~~S~A~M~U~R~A~I~~R~E~D~O~
Shiba House, Gianni Forest, Panorama City, California
Ji and Antonio were outside in the front yard, Antonio on the bench working on his laptop, and Ji was tending to his Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
Today was yet another slow day amid a slow week, so that was the main reason the two were surprised when the other five entered through the front gate with a guest.
"I'll go get dinner started," Mia said before rushing into the house.
"Who's this?" Ji asked, referring to Scott.
"Woah, I thought you Samurai rode horses," Scott commented, his eyes on Ji's motorcycle. "That's more like it."
Antonio closed his laptop and stood up, "This is the modern age. Of course we're going to have technology." He walked over to Jayden, "Seriously, who's this?"
"We're about to find out," was Jayden's response before leading everyone else inside.
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The seven Rangers were in the kitchen. Mia was standing next to the stove, fixing dinner for all of them, while the other six sat around the table.
Scott was grateful for their hospitality and he knew that it wasn't fair on them that he was so quick to judge them. He had learned from Ji on the tour he was given that these Rangers' powers were the only ancient things in the House, while the Rangers themselves were very modern. Antonio was their tech wiz, so he had nearly every piece of technology under the sun, but everyone had at least one laptop and one smart phone.
He felt it right to apologize to them. "I'm sorry I misjudging you guys. I thought you'd be old school, but you've surprised me."
"Sorry doesn't erase the fact that you near took my head off," Kevin grumbled.
"Kevin, cool it," Mia warned from her position by the stove. "He's a guest."
Emily set down drinks by everyone's placemat as Jayden rolled his eyes (but not at her), "So, Scott, how about giving us some answers before World War III breaks out in my house?"
Scott immediately turned solemn, and so did everyone else when they noticed this, "You guys know nothing about war." Emily sat down as Scott explained everything, finally feeling safe enough to speak about it, "Venjix was a virus that attacked my dimension about two years ago, forcing every human on the planet to move into a domed city that served as humanity's last protection from the toxic air the robots caused. My team and I managed to defeat Venjix and all last year, we've been rebuilding our planet, and so far, it's going well. But last week, Dr. K called us back with news that she had found evidence of Venjix still being alive, evidence that evidentally scared her."
Emily felt a twinge of fear and of guilt, and she began to suspect that her dream last night probably had something to do with it.
Scott continued, "We can't let anyone else know Venjix is still alive. That would destroy their hope and everything we all built this past year. My team and I have vowed ourselves to destroy every piece of Venjix with extreme prejudice, until our dying breath." He looked up at the other team. "I must ask you guys to let me handle any Venjix remnants by myself. You guys should focus on our own enemy."
"Are you sure?" Jayden asked. "Because we're willing to help."
"Thanks for the offer," Scott replied, "but this is my fight. Besides, there's no proof that both enemies are working together."
"Yet," Antonio added.
"True," Scott couldn't deny that this could become a possibility. "If that dreaded alliance ever happens, I promise I will let you help me. But for now, focus on your home, not mine."
The six Samurai nodded.
"Thank you for understanding," Scott replied. "Is there a spare room I can use?"
"Yeah, third door down the hall on the left," Jayden replied.
After Scott left the room, Emily heard Kevin mutter, "You sure we should trust him?"
"He's given no reason for us to doubt him, Kevin," Jayden replied.
Emily paused, before getting up from the table. Nothing was telling her that Scott had some traumas to sort through. This was her own intuition. "I'm going to go see if he's okay."
~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~
Emily knocked on the door of the spare bedroom. "Scott? It's me, Emily. Can we talk?"
"Sure," she heard him say, so she opened the door, finding Scott sitting on the bed pretzel-style, his shoes and jacket off.
She stood in the doorframe, not sure if he would allow her to enter further. "I just wanted to make sure you found the room, and that you were okay. Also, Mia wasn't sure if you were coming back right away, so she saved you some dinner. It's in the fridge."
"I'm fine," Scott smiled at her. "Thank you."
"And," Emily continued, "if you need anything, if my team and I can help in any way, then all you have to do is ask. We Power Rangers have to stick together, after all."
Still smiling, Scott replied, "Right."
Emily then turned to leave him in peace, but before she could leave, Scott called out to her again.
"Hey, Emily, are you an expert in love?"
His question made her turn around, a confused look on her face. She shrugged, "Not really, but I'll try my best. What's going on?"
"Two of my teammates, Dillon and Summer broke up, but they're still friends. They didn't say why, and that's what concerns me. I mean I've had a crush on Summer ever since I first met her, but she's also my best friend. We tell each other everything."
"Well," Emily pondered, "I'd advise you to talk to her, as you'll never know otherwise, and if she doesn't want to talk about it, then respect her choice. If you two are best friends, then she needs to know that you'll support her no matter what choice she makes, that you'll always be there when she needs you."
Scott took a moment to think about Emily's words. When Summer left with Dillon and Tenaya, Scott had promised himself that he'd rather be Summer's friend than nothing at all.
"Thanks, Emily."
"No problem," Emily replied, before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.
Outside the room, Emily felt gratitude that wasn't hers. She wondered if it was her friend Lee, or if it was the soul that came to her last night.
She suspected that it was the newcomer. She was with Lee for years now, and she had grown accustomed to Lee's way of thinking and feeling, and it did not match the newcomer's at all.
Tonight, she decided to get some answers.
~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~
Emily's Dreamscape
That night, Emily returned to her dreams (the only place she felt safe enough to talk to Lee), which was on the front porch of her home in Montana, next to which was her favorite garden of daisies.
"Hello? Newcomer?" Emily called out.
A ball of light came out from within the daisies, "Yes?" It was a female, like Lee.
"I just want to get to know you," Emily replied. "Your feelings are quite strong. They came out a few times today."
Emily felt a twinge of guilt from the newcomer. "My apologies."
"That's okay," Emily smiled. "What's your name?"
"Kay," the newcomer replied.
"Kay..." Emily repeated. "That's a pretty name. So, how'd you find me? Last night, you said you needed my help."
"Yes," Kay explained, "I was running from an enemy, because I was..." Kay paused, and Emily could sense some hesitation because Kay apparently didn't like talking about her feelings. She was technological, and a scientist, "Because I was scared, and not just of the one chasing me." Emily wanted to ask what that meant, but she decided not to. "I was trapped in the darkness when I found your light. It was warm and inviting, a safe place to hide, so I accepted that invitation. I was just wondering if I could stay here until we're able to put myself back together."
"Of course," Emily replied with a smile. "You're always safe with me. And you're not alone. There's another soul hiding here. Her name is Lee."
"Lee," Kay muttered. "I assume she's the same boat as I am."
"Sort of," Emily replied. "You know how what happened to yourself, but she doesn't. She's lost and I'm helping her find herself, both physically and mentally."
"Right," Kay said.
"Before I go, do you know Scott?" Emily asked. "Whenever I saw him today, you'd give off a sense of familiarity."
"Yes, I do," Kay replied. "He doesn't usually act like that. He's usually much friendlier than he was today, but...I know the reason why."
Emily wanted to know that reason, but she felt it right not to ask, because Kay's guilt was returning at full blast.
TO BE CONTINUED...
~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~
Original Shinkenger Episode: Go-Onger VS Shinkenger, Act 28 (Marauder Fight)
Original PRS Episode: Clash of the Red Rangers, Something Fishy (Marauder Fight)
Note: Sorry (not really) about slipping in Scott/Summer shipping. I just always supported the Scott/Summer ship more than Dillon/Summer. Also, someone asked if "Lee" was Lauren, but I'm afraid I can't answer that right now. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review and tell me what you think!
The next chapter will be Part 2 out of 3 of the RPM crossover.
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, Special Episode, Part 2: "Revenge of Venjix"
"Professor Cog reveals his true form and proves that his bite is way worse than his bark. Both teams need to work together, but they can't do that unless K is found."