A/N: Enjoy the chapter! Sorry you guys had to wait so 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.
Get settled, everybody! We're in the endgame now!
~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~
"As Emily tries to deal with the loss of her sister, Lauren deals with a problem of her own and Octoroo makes a dangerous sacrifice."
Better Together
Power Rangers: Samurai REDO
Season 2, Episode 17: Missing Link
City Square, Panorama City, California
November 4, 2015
The Marauders paused in their ravaging the streets when the six (fully morphed) Samurai Rangers arrived. This allowed the frightened citizens they were terrorizing to scramble to their feet and run away to safety.
Emily unsheathed her Spin Sword, and the others quickly followed suit, and ordered, "Let's go!"
She led the charge, and the others were right on her heels, but Lauren had remained behind. The female Red calmly watched the other five fight off the hoarde of Marauders with relative ease, before walking forward herself, her heart filling with tranquil fury.
She easily struck down the first Marauder that dared to cross her path. She took a couple more steps, before striking down the next two.
She walked forward again, her Sword in front of her, and the Marauders backing away in apprehension.
Lauren struck down a few more Marauders, before summoning her weapon, "Fire Smasher!"
To be honest, she didn't really like using this weapon, because it was rather heavy and she was only fifteen the last time she used it, but she was pleasantly surprised to find it weighing slightly less than the last time (probably because she had grown up).
She swung her Fire Smasher down before flipping it over and getting another hit. She then used it to block an attack on her right, before swinging it around her in a giant circle.
She then used her foot to kick it over her head and it landed back in front of her.
Mike got enough time to sneak a glance at Lauren (something all of them had quickly learned to do; it was a great method of checking if anybody needed any help) and was glad to see that she was doing just fine. Kevin and Antonio both followed suit, and the three paused for a moment before turning back to the enemies surrounding them.
Mia and Emily did the same, and Mia commented, "She's pretty good!" before the two resumed the fight.
Emily then called out, "Guys! Havoc Mode!"
"Engage!" She and the other four cried, and the five transformed into their Havoc Mode, using their individual weapons to take down the Marauders each of them were facing.
Lauren swung down her Fire Smasher one last time, destroying the Marauders in front of her.
Eventually, the area was completely clear, mostly thanks to Lauren.
The six regrouped and de-morphed once it was safe enough to do so, and Mike immediately said, "You're amazing, Lauren!"
"Yeah, that was awesome!" Mia agreed.
Lauren's face automatically turned red, and Emily was quick to note how the elder blonde hid within herself, shyly saying, "Please, I-I'm not that great..."
Emily also noted how hard Lauren was trying to not get close to them. Anyone could chalk it up to Lauren being an introvert, even moreso than Jayden (her little brother), but Emily knew it wasn't just that.
Then Lauren changed the subject by asking, "What was the power you guys used?"
Antonio immediately jumped in and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, explaining as the six began to walk home, "It's a power up granted by an act of amazing courage."
As he continued his explanation, Emily quickly found herself delving deep into her thoughts for the hundredth time since she found out.
Serena was dead. Gone forever.
"I'll be back to visit for the holidays, little sis. I promise," were her last words, both spoken and written on a piece of binder paper.
She obviously never did, and now, she would always be a sore subject for Emily and their mother.
Everyone at the Shiba House knew that she was now in mourning, but none of them had any idea when she would recover.
At least she wasn't the only one grieving.
~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
As the others prepared for training that day, Emily decided to visit Jayden. Ji wasn't that strict on training and whether or not you were late, especially not after that one incident with Mike and the Beetle Disk, but now, he was more laid back now that Emily and Lauren were both grieving.
So he had agreed to let Emily be a few minutes late today, as long as she actually showed up.
Ji had also prepared soup and ginger tea for Jayden, and Emily had volunteered to bring it to him. Ji had admitted that Jayden had specifically requested that Emily bring it anyways, so now here she was.
She gently knocked on the door with her foot, since her hands were full, and when she heard a "Come in", she opened the door with that very same foot.
"Hey, Em," he gently greeted, as she walked into the room and set the tray on the bedside table.
"Hey," she quietly replied. "You wanted to see me?"
"Yeah," he admitted, before his voice went silent. "I'm sorry for not being able to save your sister."
This caught her off-guard. Why was he blaming himself?
"It's not your fault," she quickly said. "Y'know, I knew this day would come for...a few years now. Everyone was telling me that she was dead. I was preparing for it this whole time, and yet I was still caught off-guard."
"We'll get justice for Serena, Em," he vowed. "I promise."
"How?" she solemnly asked. "How do we that?"
Jayden paused for a moment digesting this, "It's not like you to be so pessimistic, Emily."
"I'm not turning a pessimist," Emily gently argued. "It's just..." She swallowed to lump in her throat, "'Promise' is a really big word, Jayden." She was just trying to be realistic.
"I'm aware," the two met eyes, and she immediately relaxed by the gentle determination that his blue orbs held. "I say it because I mean it."
And Emily felt herself smile.
Jayden smiled back, and two held the moment for a few more seconds before he changed to subject, "So, how's Lauren doing?"
"She's doing just fine," Emily admitted. "She likes to let me lead, while she stays in the background. She's an amazing fighter though. Took out most of the Marauders this morning like they were nothing."
Jayden let slip a tiny, knowing smile, "That's Lauren for you. Excels at nearly everything she does."
"But she's very humble about it," Emily recalled. "She doesn't really take praise to heart."
"No, she doesn't," Jayden agreed.
Emily continued, "But there's another factor to that now. I've noticed that she's avoiding getting too close to us."
"Because she lost her old team," Jayden quietly answered. "Lauren's never found it easy to make friends, and the first friends she did make all died to ensure her safety. She probably feels like she's cursed."
"So she's keeping her distance now," Emily realized, "because she doesn't want the same thing to happen again. To us."
"Exactly."
Emily's heart went out to the elder blonde. If only one of them could have a normal life after this, she would definitely say Lauren's name first. Lauren Shiba was the most broken amongst the seven of them.
"I kinda feel bad for her," Emily spoke up, and Jayden perked up with interest. "Lauren managed to succeed where no one else has before. She managed to master all six pieces of the Seal, but that came with a burden that no one could have expected."
"Yeah," Jayden agreed, before explaining, "and now, even stronger Nighlock will attack her, attack us, just to get their hands on the Seal now that they know all six pieces are currently in the hands of one person. At least before, each of us had one of the fragments - we still do - but now, they will start to go all out to ensure their victory."
"Right, so how do we ensure ours?" she asked, genuinely curious.
"I hate to say it, but that answer solely lies with Lauren," he confessed. "Not only does she hold our trump card, but she's also the only one who knows what really happened that fateful night. There's a lot of answers that she can give us. Yesterday, she told me that, while she can force herself to give the answers to us, there's still one fragment that's still missing, a memory that hasn't returned to her yet: the why."
"She doesn't remember why the three wolves attacked them?"
Jayden didn't correct her, only adding, "Nor does she remember if they succeeded or not. That's the thing we need to focus on."
Emily paused, before shaking her head, "My clairvoyancy won't tell me anything right now. Which makes sense, since the mystery is all but solved at this point. So there's nothing left to tell me."
"True, but there's a second piece out there."
The two said simultaneously, "Deker."
~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~
It was ten minutes later by the time Emily joined the others outside, dressed in her training uniform. Lauren was given a similar outfit to Emily and Mia's, only with red highlights instead of yellow or pink.
Antonio, Mia, Mike, and Kevin were resting on the side benches, watching as Light Zord fired multiple Disks at Lauren, all of which was easily blocking with her Spin Sword.
"Hey," Emily quietly greeted, as Lauren trained away. She sat down next to Antonio on nearest end of the bench, "you guys just watching her?"
"No, we're taking turns. Mike and Kevin both went before Lauren," Mia admitted. "How's Jayden?"
"Doing just fine," Emily replied. "Not ready to walk around just yet, though. Fiera really messed him up."
"At least he's still alive," Mike said.
"Yep," she agreed, before turning to watch Lauren.
"You know," Kevin quietly spoke up, "I kinda wish she didn't do things all by herself. We're a team."
Emily quickly spoke up, "Jayden told me something interesting about that."
"Which is?" Kevin asked.
"Lauren's afraid of getting close to us," Emily relayed what Jayden told her, "because she lost her old team. They were also her very first friends, so imagine how she must feel, how afraid she must be, fearing that the same thing may happen twice."
"That's true," Antonio added, listening intently up until this point. "She's never found it easy to make friends, and her journal indicates that she thought very highly of her old team."
"There's also the pieces of memory that she's missing," Emily brought up.
"Yeah," Mia commented. "She must feel more alone than ever."
The five were quiet for a moment, before Mike smiled and said, "Let's change that."
Kevin stopped him from standing up, "Hold it, Mike. Don't push it. Lauren may not want company right now."
"Kev, humans are naturally social," Mike told him something his mother once told. "We thrive around friends. Being alone will not help Lauren at all."
Kevin let Mike stand up, and Lauren paused in her current exercise when she saw him approaching from the side.
"Hey, Lauren, you wanna spar with me?" Mike asked.
Unbeknowest to the others, Lauren had overheard the others talking about her, and she had decided that maybe, just maybe, if they were willing to help her recover, then she could give them a shot and open her heart to them, one piece at a time. Jayden trusted these five with his very life, and if her little brother could, maybe she could do the same.
She smiled, "It'd be a honor." The other five returned her smile. "I haven't trained with someone else in a long time."
Now, both of them were on the mat, holding wooden swords. The two saluted each other (as was standard etiquette), before lowering into their individual fighting stances.
Mike attacked first, but Lauren easily blocked his strike, before sidestepping the next two.
In the middle of his next swing, he quickly found her sword in his face. He glanced up in time to see her sternly raise an eyebrow.
When she lowered her sword, he attacked again, only for her to sidestep him and he once again found himself with her sword pointed at his neck.
And he immediately realized that, if this was a real fight, he would've been dead twice over already.
But he quickly swiped at her feet, which she jumped to avoid, and he backflipped to avoid her next strike. He thrusted, which she twirled around to dodge, and he, once again, found her sword against his neck.
Make that dead three times over.
Lauren finally claimed quick victory when she swiped at his feet and knocked him to the ground, his own sword a fair distance away.
While lying on the ground, all he could say was, "Wow, you're awesome. What the hell have I been doing all this time?"
Lauren giggled, before offering him a hand, "Your fighting style is exactly like Matthew's." He took her hand, as he stood up, she added, "Your greatest strengths, Mike, are your unpredictability and relentlessness. I just managed to counter you because Matthew had the exact same strategies."
"Ah," he understood, "so I just need to surprise you next time. Challenge accepted."
She raised an eyebrow, this time in jest, "Good luck with that." She then swung her practice sword over her shoulders, "So, who's next?"
Mia immediately nudged Kevin, who stumbled forward, reluctant. But then he remember Emily's words, and the conversation that had followed. They were right.
Lauren didn't deserve to be alone.
So he smiled, "I guess I am."
Ji watched all of this from a side door with a smile. He didn't mean to eavesdrop; it was sincerely by accident. But he was grateful that Lauren was making new friends, and that the others were only making that easier.
~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
"Master Octoroo, I didn't know you had this kind of power!" Gigertox exclaimed, Octoroo's tentacles wrapped all around him and giving him energy.
"Be grateful," Octoroo warned, "because I can only do this once. I'm giving this to you specifically in order to ensure our victory. Your job is to take out the Rangers, all of them, and don't worry about the Seal."
"Yes, Master!" Gigertox replied.
"Octoroo," Dayu spoke up from the sidelines, "you are aware that you are giving up your second life, yes? The end of your first one is the permanent end of you now."
"Yes, I am fully aware, Dayu," Octoroo said. "Don't worry about me. This is my choice and mine alone. Xandred needs more misery to completely reawaken, and it's our task to do just that."
He then collapsed to his knees, exhausted.
"Octoroo!"
"I'm fine, Dayu," Octoroo replied. "We must hurry before that female Red has the chance to Seal us all down here for good."
Dayu couldn't deny this. So she stayed silent until she remembered something, "You know, Octoroo, Serrator told me something rather interesting. Something I never knew and you never told me."
Octoroo was breathing deeply, almost at his limits, "What's that?"
"You were the original Nighlock master, but Xandred de-throned you," Dayu revealed. "I'm sure it's not true, though. Serrator did like to spread lies."
"It's not lie," Octoroo replied, and Dayu turned back to face him. "But I hold no negative feelings towards the Master. He managed to keep all rogue Nighlock under my command in line when I was not able to, simply by his prescence. He did me a huge favor, and now I am forever in his debt."
"So the two of us are not so different," Dayu realized, "are we?"
Xandred did something...kind...for both of them in exchange for their loyalty.
Octoroo said nothing, only getting back to his feet and continuing the power transfer.
~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 had left training early in order to make lunch, and the other five joined her thirty minutes later.
As the entered the kitchen, Kevin complimented Lauren, "You're amazing, Lauren. You must've trained day and night."
"That's not too far from the truth, actually," Lauren replied, not denying the praise, but not acknowledging it either. "We were preparing for an ambush, after all. We had to be ready."
"We know it's not over yet," Antonio told her as the five sat down at the kitchen counter, "but at least, you don't have to face it alone. We have us now."
Lauren smiled and nodded.
Emily was glad that Lauren was opening up to them. It had taken half the day, but Lauren was fitting in like she had always been here.
The Yellow Ranger was also smiling because Antonio had grabbed Lauren's hand, and Lauren wasn't pulling it any or anything that signaled her being uncomfortable. She was just letting it happoen.
Oh yeah, there was definitely some sparks between the two.
Mia finally turned around with two plates in her hands, "Lunch is ready."
She set the first plate down in front of Lauren and the second in front of Emily.
Lauren took a good look at the amazing looking and smelling food the Pink Ranger had made. It was caesar salad and...
"Macaroni and cheese?" Lauren asked.
As Mia set down the next two plates in front of Antonio and Mike, she replied, "You said it was your favorite, right?"
"Since I was three," the female Red replied. "And it's made with chicken, just like Mom used to make." Lauren's eyes held a little bit of tears, and she smiled, "Thank you, Mia."
Mia set the last two plates down in front of Kevin and herself, smiling, "You're welcome, Lauren. Things may be vastly different from now on, but you never have to go through it all by yourself."
Lauren took the first bite, and her smile got even wider, if it was even possible.
"Looks like she likes it," Mike told Mia, who nodded back.
The other five began to eat as well, but in that moment, Ji entered the kitchen, making them pause.
"Hello, Rangers," he greeted, before asking, "Have any of you seen Jayden?"
"Jayden?" Emily asked. "He's supposed to be in bed. Resting."
"He's not," Ji revealed. "I just checked. His bed is empty."
This is when they began to panic. Where could he have gone? And why? He was still injured from Fiera's attack yesterday.
Yes, Jayden had always been stubborn, but he knew the right time to rest and the right time to fight.
Antonio stood up, "You five stay here in case of emergency. Ji and I will go out and search for Jayden."
"Right," Lauren accepted this. "Good luck."
As the two left, Emily closed her eyes and whispered, "Please be okay, 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~
Rosland Plaza, Panorama City, California
Ji and Antonio had split up to cover more ground. Ji would take the forests, and Antonio the city streets.
Now, he didn't find Jayden at all, but he did find a Nighlock.
He was horrified to see a random stranger telling other people to run, only for the Nighlock to pick him up with a tentacle that came from its hand and lift him into the air, along with several other people that the stranger was trying to save.
Antonio had escorted many others to safety, before stepping up himself. Enraged, he said, "Let those people go, you stinkin' Nighlock!"
The Nighlock turned around, "'Stinking'? What you smell is my new unbeatable power. I, Action Commander Gigertox, will use it to cause misery and destroy all the Rangers!"
Antonio pulled out his Morpher, "Go, Gold Samurai!" Once morphed, he unsheathed his Blade, "Time to hang you out to dry!" before charging in, knowing that the others would be there to back him soon.
It became clear right off the bat that something was different with this Nighlock. He was a lot stronger than all the Action Commanders that had come before him, and he was easily blocking Antonio's attacks nor was he giving the Gold Ranger the chance to use his speed.
Antonio managed to land a strike, only for Gigertox to blow a cloud of smoke at him, smoke that really hurt him.
Gigertox didn't give Antonio a chance to catch his breath, only firing blue energy blasts at the Ranger from his shoulder. The force sent Antonio flying back and tumbling to the ground.
As he struggled to get back to his feet, he asked himself, "Why is this Nighlock so different?"
Gigertox laughed aloud, "One puny Ranger, all by his lonesome. Whatever will he do to defeat me?"
Antonio sheathed his Blade, replying with, "Jokes on you, Nighlock! Wherever one Ranger is, the others are not far behind them!"
"We'll see about that," Gigertox countered, before launching his hand tentacles at Antonio.
The tentacles immediately wrapped around Antonio and lifted him high into the air. Gigertox slammed him against the nearby building twice before releasing him.
Antonio fell straight to the ground, and his injuries forced him to de-morph.
"Ha! That was easy!" Gigertox boasted.
"Back off, Nighlock!" came Lauren's voice. Antonio turned his head around just far enough to see her and the other four standing there in standard formation, all five of them ready to fight.
And he smiled at the sight.
Lauren led the morph this time, "Samuraizers!"
"Go, Go, Samurai!"
Once the five were fully morphed, Lauren also led the rollcall, "Samurai Fire, Power Ranger Red!"
"Samurai Water, Power Ranger Blue!"
"Samurai Wind, Power Ranger Pink!"
"Samurai Forest, Power Ranger Green!"
"Samurai Earth, Power Ranger Yellow!"
"Rangers Together, Samurai Forever!"
The rollcall, to some, may be redundant or a waste of time, but to be honest, it gave people time to run away without looking back. It certainly, just now, gave Antonio the chance to painfully crawl out of the way. Now, he could rest without putting himself in even more danger.
"Ooh!" Gigertox exclaimed. "Color-coded target practice!" He then charged forward, and the five Rangers did the same.
Mike fought with the other four for a few seconds, before letting them cover him while he knelt next to Antonio.
"You okay, buddy?" Mike asked.
"Yeah," Antonio managed to get out. "Be careful," he nodded to where the others were fighting Gigertox. "That Nighlock isn't like any other we've ever faced before."
"Noted," Mike replied. "Just stay here. We'll take care of him."
Antonio watched as Mike then ran back into the fight, just in time for Gigertox to block Lauren's strike for slashing her across the chest.
She fell to the ground, and the other four immediately stood in front of her to guard her.
"Lauren, you okay?" Mia asked, before facing forward.
Gigertox summoned his hand tentacles and sent them out to the four. Lauren recovered in time to see the four struggle to block them all, before being struck down and sent to the ground.
"Guys!" Lauren stood in front of them this time. She glanced around all four of them, before turning back to the Nighlock. "Nobody hurts my friends, Nighlock! Super Samurai Mode!"
"You don't scare me, Red!" Gigertox summoned his hand tentacles again, and this time, Lauren easily blocked all of them.
This caused Gigertox to stumble backward in pain, and Mike led the next attack, "Our turn!"
"Spin Sword: Quadruple Slash!"
The combined force sent him tumbling to the ground, and Lauren stepped forward to deliver the final blow. She hooked up her Spin Sword and the Bazooka.
"Super Firebull Bazooka!" After placing the Disk into the Black Box, Lauren spun the black Power Disk attached to the hilt of her Sword, "Energize!" She aimed the Bazooka directly at Granitor, who was finally getting to his feet. "Fire Strike!" And she pulled the trigger once it had fully charged up.
Gigertox saw red, and then a second later, he felt a fiery bull hit him square in the chest, and his first life ended in an explosive cloud of fire.
Kevin gave Lauren a slight bow, saying, "Excellent shot."
"Thank you," she replied. "Now that felt good. Super Mode is exhilarating."
Antonio watched as Gigertox grew into his second life.
The five Rangers turned around, and Lauren placed a Power Disk into the Box, "Air Strike Combination! Zords Combine!"
"Battlewing Megazord! We Are United!" This time, Mia was controlling Beetle, Emily controlling Tiger, and Kevin controlling Swordfish.
"Shogun Mode: Power of the Ancestors!" Lauren promptly activated said Disk, and now the five Rangers all gained gold armor over their spandex, which would help them a great deal, since it would be tough without Antonio.
Gigertox began to glow a dark purple before firing blue-colored blasts at them.
The cockpit shook, before Lauren motioned the Megazord to strike back. After a few clashes, Gigertox began to summon his hand tentacles again, but the Megazord flew up before he could.
The five Rangers spun their respective Disks, charging up the Megazord for the final blow. "Katana Power: Super Aerial Strike!"
One downward slash later and it was clear that Gigertox's second life was done.
But Antonio couldn't help but think, 'That was way too easy.'
Granted, Lauren was really strong and very talented, but he had a gut feeling that wouldn't go away.
He was right, as just then, right as the second life ended, a dark cloud appeared through the resulting explosion, revealing a dark purple-colored giant serpeant.
"What?!" the other five Rangers exclaimed in shock.
The Nighlock had a third life.
~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
Dayu raced to Octoroo's side the moment he collapsed again, clearly drained.
"That embecile," he growled out. "He took more than half. I feel like fried calamari..."
"You fool," Dayu gently replied, as she knelt next to him. "You should have known this would happen. Never trust a Nighlock."
But she hoped that this surprise would be enough to catch the Rangers off-guard long enough for Gigertox to finally finish them off.
For Octoroo's sake, if not for Xandred's.
~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~
Rosland Plaza, Panorama City, California
Antonio watched the third life bite and snap at the Megazord, before pushing it down to the ground.
He forced himself to ignore his injuries and stand up. "Go, Gold Samurai!" Once morphed, he called Lauren.
"Lauren, this requires way more power than you can give the way you are now."
"I assume you have something in mind," Lauren guessed.
"Summon the Ultrazord," he told her. "I'll be joining you."
"You sure that's a good idea?" Mike immediately asked. "You're really hurt."
"We don't have a choice,"* Antonio reminded them. "Beating this guy will take all of us."
"He's right," Lauren told the others, before turning back to Antonio. "We trust you, Antonio." She placed a crimson-colored Disk into the Box, "Ultimate Samurai Combination!"
"Samurai Ultrazord, We Are United!"
Sure enough, Antonio had joined them, now in Shogun Mode, and all six Rangers were now all in the same cockpit.
The third life immediately attacked the Ultrazord, and while the cockpit didn't shake as much, Gigertox was still able to force the Ultrazord back several feet.
"This is our last chance," Antonio then said. "We need everyone's Symbol Power now."
"Right!"
"Lion Zord, Bullzord!" Lauren announced, drawing the respective kanji.
"Dragon Zord, Swordfish Zord!" Kevin announced.
"Turtle Zord, Beetle Zord!" Mia announced.
"Bear Zord, Octo Zord!" Mike announced.
"Ape Zord, Tiger Zord!" Emily announced.
"Clawzord!" Antonio announced.
"Symbol Power: Ultimate Combination!"
The Ultrazord powered up with all eleven Zords, all eleven elements.
"Katana Power: Final Kanji Strike!"
And Gigertox, thankfully, saw no more.
"Samurai Rangers, Victory is Ours!"
As soon as Lauren said that, Antonio immediately fell to his knees, hurting all over and completely drained. Lauren and Mike, being the two on either side of him, both rushed to him.
"Don't push it, buddy," Mike quietly said.
~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
Meanwhile, Ji was never faced with such a distraction. In fact, he didn't find out about Gigertox's attack until much later that evening. Thus, he was able to cover way more ground that Antonio, but to be honest, it was through pure luck that he managed to find Jayden.
Jayden was fully dressed, but he was just standing there. Ji was about to announce himself, but he decided not to the moment he saw someone else arriving on the scene.
Deker.
"Red Ranger," the half-Nighlock greeted. "Fancy meeting you here. Were you, perhaps, waiting for me?"
"And if I am?" Jayden didn't deny this, Ji quickly noted.
If Ji had to admit Deker for anything, it was the fact that he always cut right to the chase, even if he liked to be cryptic, "Your words are calm and quiet, but your facial expression screams anger and revenge. Why? Your sister has been returned to you, and all the pieces you need have been collected. All you must do is place them all in the correct order."
But Jayden did not waver once, "I'm not doing this for me."
He was doing this for Emily, Ji immediately realized.
"I see," Deker said, understanding the same thing as Ji. "You are fighting me on behalf of your Yellow Ranger. Perhaps we are not as similar as I once thought. You come to me now on behalf of someone else, someone you care about deeply, while I am here due to a curse someone else placed upon me, someone I still despise long after his defeat."
Jayden revealed his Spin Sword, but did not morph.
Deker continued, "My cursed existance was due to a loved one's attempt to rescue me from the jaws of life and death, while you are here to avenge the dead. You are truly a worthy opponent, Red Ranger. I was right to choose you."
"To be honest, I'm still not sure if those last words are true or not," Jayden replied, and Ji noticed how quiet and defeated he sounded, "but I will not argue with you. However, I do know one thing for certain, Deker, and that's the fact that the world would be a better place without you, without all Nighlock. It's time to finish this once and for all."
"To that, I agree," Deker replied, before unsheathing his own sword. "A final duel to the very end."
"Yeah, your end."
And the two immediately started fighting.
Ji really wanted to interrupt the two and bring Jayden home, tell him that fighting Deker wasn't worth the pain it would cause for anybody. But that wasn't true. It would be true if Jayden was fighting for himself, but...he wasn't fighting for himself.
He was fighting on behalf of Emily, in order to avenge Serena and make the pain her death had caused all better.
Jayden really would do anything to ensure Emily's happiness, wouldn't he?
So, instead, Ji chose to go back to the House alone and relay the news to the others.
~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
Mike and Kevin gently set Antonio down across the cushions in the meeting room, which Mia had pushed together to create a makeshift bed.
Antonio winced in pain when Mia placed a bag of ice on his forehead, "Ow, ow! Easy on the caregiving, guys!"
"Sorry, Antonio," Kevin replied. "We're just worried. You got beat up pretty bad."
"I appreciate it, amigos. I really do, but I'll be just fine."
This is what Ji returned to, but before he could ask about Antonio's injuries, Lauren came up to him and asked, "Did you find Jayden?"
Ji saw down on one of the seats not taken by Antonio, and solemnly replied, "Yes." He then turned to face Emily and told her, "You need to help Jayden fight Deker."
"What?!" Mia asked.
"He's fighting Deker alone?" Kevin followed. "Again?"
But Emily had a different reaction. She was confused as she asked, "Why me?"
"Because you're the only one who has a bull entered into this particular fight," was Ji's answer.
It seemed cryptic, but Emily immediately understood.
"Serena..." she breathed, before turning tail and running out of the house like it was on fire.
The others could watch her leave, and Mike turned to Ji, "You sure it's a good idea for her to go alone?"
"Yes," Ji replied, standing firm in his decision. "Jayden and Emily first bonded over losing their older sisters, and now, it's time for the two to get closure together."
~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
The sun was setting now, meaning a significant amount of time had passed since their duel started.
Just as Deker assumed his Nighlock form, Jayden pulled out his Samuraizer and drew his Fire Symbol, morphing in a flash of red.
He wasn't able to use it before because Lauren was using it, probably to fight a Nighlock, but now, the power was fully charged up once again.
This time, Deker would go down, permanently.
TO BE CONTINUED...
~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~PRS~REDO~
Original Shinkenger Episode: Acts 45 (opening fight scene) & 46 (rest of the chapter)
Original PRS Episode: The Great Duel
Note: Lauren's missing fragment is a very important memory, and yes, it ties into what Fiera remembered the previous chapter. Next chapter will dive deeper into that fateful day, complete with flashbacks.
In this story, Lauren would have her own morphing sequence, both for Default Mode as well as Super Mode, just like the other Rangers. If you want an idea on Lauren's rollcall, just refer to Shinkenger (again, just like the other Rangers).
Also, Octoroo backstory for once!
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, Episode 18: "Pulsations"
"Dayu and Emily both rush to the Ultimate Duel, wanting to ensure that their man doesn't die. However, none of them are aware that the turnout of this fight could drastically change the Earth's fate."