The Seven teenagers were in gym class together. That day, the class was playing dodgeball. It had been a few days since Asher had joined the team. Since then, Asher had taken up residency in Jared's home, occupying one of the spare rooms - the excuse to both Cody and Melissa was that Asher was an exchange student. Though a bit aloof, Asher was able to meld seamlessly into the past.
The game had begun and everyone rushed everywhere.
"Wait, so we use these rubber balls to throw at the other team?" Jules asked, with a quizzical look on her face.
"Yeah." Liam answered, tilting his head. "You've never played dodgeball?"
"No..." Jules shook her head. "Actually, the closest I've ever come to this game was avoiding throwing knives. How hard could it be?"
A ball came sailing for her, but she bent backwards, like in The Matrix, and dodged it. She countered it with a quick shot and nailed the thrower in the shoulder. However, the ball that missed Jules hit Noah in the face, knocking him down and giving him a bloody nose. As he hit the ground, his necklace went flying off.
"Ow!" Noah gasped, "Son of a-"
"Nice shot, Jules!" Alicia complimented patting her friend's back.
"Thanks!" Jules giggled before helping the Blue Ranger to his feet, "Sorry, Noah!"
"Don't... worry about it. Ow..." Noah left the gym to clean up.
The game came down to Jared and Jules, Slayer Potential vs Slayer. Jared threw the ball, but Julianna back flipped and picked up a ball. She quickly threw it, but Jared did an aerial flip and threw his own ball. The two balls passed each other in mid air. The balls hit both Jared and Jules at the same time, ending the five minute game in a tie.
Jules's team mates ran up to her in admiration. No one had ever gotten Jared out in dodgeball.
"Nice throw, Jules!" Jared complimented.
"Thanks! But you caught me off guard there too! That was so much fun!"
Noah had finally washed up all the blood when he was about to leave the room. However, he felt a chill in the air, a supernatural aura. He materialized his morpher to connect with the others when he felt something kick him in the back and into the lockers.
"Argh! What's up with getting knocked around today?" Noah asked standing up. Staring at him was black fox.
"A fox?" I jumped in the air and glowed. When the light faded, it had transformed into Kamen Rider Decade.
"A shapeshifter?" Noah pondered.
The Fox took Noah by his shirt and dashed out the locker room doors that led outside. It threw the Blue Ranger into a parked car.
Making sure no one was around, he morphed.
"Legend Kwan Dao!" Noah sliced down but missed. He aimed a high kick, missed and then he swept low right on target.
The fox Decade growled and glowed again. It turned into Shadowlites.
Noah held his morpher to his mouth.
Inside the gym, the class was taking a break before the next game. However, their wristbands went off.
Noah's voice said, "Guys I-" then it was cut off.
"Noah." Sonia said with a worried look.
"Ok, we'll split up. We can't all leave the class." Jared said. "Jules and I will go look for him, you guys stay here."
Noah kept getting thrown around.
"Stronger than normal Shadowlites." He commented. Without noticing, a Shadowlite came from above and smashed his head, disorienting him. The last thing Noah remembered before blacking out was being sent flying into the bushes.
"Jared, look!" Jules pointed at the Shadowlites.
Jared was confused. "That's impossible. Dr. Bly said the Twilight used a lot of power to attack us a few days ago. They shouldn't be able to cross over like this right now!"
Jules agreed, "Something's up."
"Spirit Legend, Awaken!"
Jared and Jules jumped into battle, swatting the Shadowlites away. One of them hid behind a tree and transformed into his true self. He was a six foot humanoid monster whose right half was green and left half was red.
"Maybe I should cause a little mischief..." He looked down at Noah's unconscious body and got an idea.
Jared and Jules continued to fight when Noah stepped from behind the trees with a bored expression.
"Noah, you okay?" Jared asked as he kicked a Shadowlite away.
"Hurry and morph!" Jules beckoned.
"No. Don't feel like it, really. I'm not helping you!" Noah spat pointing at Jules.
"What?!" Jared asked.
"Later!" Noah ran off. When he was out of sight, this "Noah" transformed into his base form. The Shapeshifter was very pleased with himself.
"Blaze Assault!"
"Shadow Drive!"
In a burst of flames and shadows, the Shadowlites, or rather the Shapeshifter fragments, were gone.
The two de-morphed when the coast was clear.
"Why did Noah abandon us?" Jules asked.
Jared shook his head. "I dunno..."
At that moment, the real Noah emerged from the bushes with a gash in his forehead.
"Jared... Jules..."
"We did what you wanted." Jared said coldly. "We took care of them, no thanks to you."
Noah was confused. "What're you talking about, Jared? I-"
Jules cut in. "You didn't help us! I'm sorry for being harsh, but… Why would you leave us out to dry like that?!"
"I-"
"Save it, Noah." Jared finished. "We'll talk about this later."
~Cue Opening~
-HQ, later that day-
It was just six of the Rangers, Bobby, Tobias, and Lydia.
Alicia was just as confused. "Noah did that? Why would he?"
Jules shook her head. "Beats me."
"He left you hanging?" Bobby asked. "Doesn't sound like Noah at all."
"That's what's bothering me about it too." Liam agreed. Tobias listened intently until he noticed the quizzical look on Jared's face.
"Jared," Tobias nudged his best friend, "What's up? You good?"
Jared snapped out of his thoughts and replied, "Something just doesn't add up. I have a weird feeling."
Sonia asked, "Should we go look for him?"
Lydia suggested. "I think that's a good plan. I'll run a scan and see if I can locate his morpher. But it could take some time. And can it be quick? I kinda have an appointment at the mall today for my hair. Also, we have a special surprise in store for all of you!"
Rolling their eyes, the rangers went to all of Noah's usual hangout spots.
-Bayview Beach-
Liam and Sonia teleported to a sandy cliff.
"Not here." Liam said looking around.
"Guess we should report back."
Little did the two know, the Shapeshifter was following them. "More fun!" He turned into Noah. From out of nowhere, water balloons rained down on them. Liam tripped and fell into the water.
"Liam!" Sonia called.
"That had to hurt." 'Noah' said.
"Noah?! That was you?"
"Who else?" 'Noah' threw another balloon, but Sonia dodged it. However, the Shapeshifter had more powers. He snapped his fingers and the balloon combusted. Making Sonia lose her balance and fall down the cliff and into the water.
"That was hilarious!" With that, 'Noah' left.
"I'm gonna get him..." Sonia boiled with anger. "That jerk!"
"Noah... why?" Liam asked.
-Fro-yo Shack-
Alicia and Bobby took a break at the Shack. They sat outside talking about Noah while eating their yogurt cups.
"You've known Noah for a while?" Bobby asked.
Alicia nodded. "Yep. Noah, Sonia, Liam and I have been friends since we were five. So I know he wouldn't do this. There has to be a reason."
"I see."
"Noah... where are you?" Alicia asked, closing her eyes.
"Right here, love birds!" 'Noah' called.
"Noah?"
"Ding-dong! Correct!" 'Noah' super-sped over to them in plain sight. The Shapeshifter thought, "I'm accessing his powers! This is perfect!"
He took the cups from Alicia and Bobby and dumped it on their heads.
"Later, gator!" 'Noah' started to run away and knew the two would follow. And he also knew where to lead them.
-The Skatepark-
The Shapeshifter saw Noah sitting by himself on a halfpipe thinking. The demon faded away. Alicia and Bobby saw the real Noah and stormed to him. Alicia whipped wind around her and jumped high to the halfpipe half where Noah was sitting. Bobby, meanwhile, informed the others where they were.
"Noah, what was that?!"
"What was what?" Noah asked with a sad look.
"You dumped yogurt on us?!"
"When did I do that?! I've been here for-"
"Don't lie!" Bobby yelled, hitting Noah, making him fall over.
Noah held his cheek. "Why is everyone ganging up on me?!"
"We have a right to." Sonia's voice said as she and Liam teleported there.
Noah shook his head fighting back the tears. With that, he super-sped away to the Park.
-The LAX field-
Jared, Asher and Jules had been looking on the LAX field when 'Noah' attacked them. The three were in an intense fight.
The Shapeshifter grinned. "His powers are so dependable." He muttered as he froze a tendril of darkness Jules had sent out. Asher jumped up and kicked him, but Noah blocked it.
Jared kicked 'Noah' away. "Why are you doing this, Noah?!"
"Wanna find out? Too bad!" 'Noah' super sped away.
-The Park-
Noah stood on a bridge overlooking a wide pond.
"What's up with everyone today?"
Suddenly, Sonia slowly walked up to him.
"Noah."
"Sonia?"
"I'm sorry for the way we treated you."
"Really?" Noah asked with a monotone looking down at the lake.
"Really." However, this wasn't Sonia. It was the Shapeshifter. He thought, "I'll kill him and take his place." The demon materialized a sword as was going to go in for the kill.
The reflections in the water made Noah see something. He turned alarmingly around, but Sonia was still there, unarmed. Then it made sense.
Noah continued. "Oh, Sonia, I forgot to tell you. Jared found the ultimate power source."
"Power source?"
"Yep! It's supposed to give us the strength to vanquish all demons. I was going to decline our meeting at sunset in the quarry to find it, but I'll have you tell him. That okay?"
'Sonia' smiled. "Yeah, I'll tell him."
"Great, thanks."
"Okay, I'll do that now." The Shapeshifter walked away and when he was out of sight, went back to his true form. "So lucky! If I get that power source, I'll be invincible!"
Noah twisted his morpher dial to call mode.
-The Quarry, Sunset-
The six rangers stood in the quarry looking around.
'Noah' appeared in front of them.
"Noah!" Jules pointed.
"So, we came like you wanted." Liam said.
"Yes... And here, I'll kill you all!" 'Noah' snapped his fingers and Shiners appeared all around them.
"What?! Noah?!" Asher asked.
Suddenly, streams of water flew in all directions, destroying the Shiners.
"What the-" 'Noah' started.
"Stop!" The real Noah appeared on a hilltop. "Leave my friends alone."
"What? But how?"
"Back in the park. Your reflection revealed your true form. So, I put on the little act to lure you into this trap. I also told my friends about the situation."
"Why you little..."
Noah's friends were perplexed. Sonia said, "So if that's Noah..."
Asher completed it. "Then that's a shapeshifter."
The Shapeshifter laughed, "Power source or no, I'm still gonna kill you all!"
"Your cheap impersonation days are over!" In a streak of blue, Noah confronted his impostor and engaged him in an unmorphed fight.
His friends had to fight off the remaining Shiners.
The two Noahs clashed with great intensity. Both were firing off streams of water, which collided each time.
Noah was about to morph when his impostor knocked his Morpher off his wrist. The two dove for the device and touched it at the same time it activated. The power surge gave them the power to morph at the same time. The two got up and continued to clash.
Asher jumped into the air and fired off spheres of light destroying the remaining Shiners. The six looked up to see the two Blue Rangers clashing. However, something was wrong. Each time they struck each other, both would suffer from small blue explosions.
"What's wrong?" Jules asked, striking down another Shiner.
Dr. Bly's voice came through their Morphers, "They used the same morpher to morph. That's not supposed to happen and the Morphing Grid is disrupted. If they keep going, at this rate, they'll both be destroyed!"
Liam's heart began to speed up. "We have to stop this before Noah gets hurt!"
"I'll do it." Jared called out. "Alicia!"
"Right!" She jumped toward him, both dematerializing their helmets. Jared used his power and pulled out Alicia's Telekinesis. He jumped high into the air and held out his hand. He telekinetically grabbed Noah's Morpher and clicked it, making both demorph. Jared landed into a roll and confronted the two Noahs.
"Okay... I'm gonna find out which one of you is the real Noah, one way or another."
"Jared!" Noah said. "You know me!"
"No, Jared, don't believe him!" Noah interrupted.
Jared himself demorphed and let his eyes turn red.
He stared at both Noahs but couldn't find the difference inside their heads. Jared had to trust his instincts.
"Their stares are the same... their powers, mannerisms, True Souls..." Then Jared remembered from that morning...
He reached into his pocket and felt Noah's blue pendant.
"Noah!" Both reacted. "Something's missing on you. What is it?"
The real Noah's face widened. His hand darted to his neck. "My necklace is gone!"
Jared smiled and sent a telekinetic wave from his hands and knocked 'Noah' away. The real Noah ran to Jared and hugged him.
"Jared, thanks!"
"Don't worry about it." He gave Noah the pendant.
"Let's take him down."
"Right.
"Spirit Legend, Awaken!"
- Jared and Noah Morphing Sequence -
"Spirit of Fire! Red Legend Ranger!"
"Spirit of Water! Blue Legend Ranger!"
"Ancient Spirits Unite, Power Rangers Next Legend, Start Up!"
The two jumped down and attacked the impostor, who resorted back to his original form and summoned twin swords.
Using their X-Swords and Legend Staffs, the two clashed with the Shapeshifter.
The other rangers were gonna help, but were intercepted by more Shiners.
"Where are these guys coming from?" Asher asked.
"Let's take them down!" Sonia said as she sliced two down with her daggers.
Jared swung away, while the Shapeshifter blocked him. Noah came from above at fast speeds about to slash down. The Shapeshifter was going to swing his arms closed to slash, but Jared stopped this with his legs. His arms supported him.
Noah came down with a glowing blue blade.
"Spirit Slash!"
The Impostor went flying into a crane vehicle.
"Legend Burst Cannon!"
Jared and Noah loaded their energy into it.
"Fire!"
The blast destroyed the impostor and the remaining Shiners.
However, the Shiners turned into energy and fused with the Shapeshifter, making him grow.
"Guys!" Jared called.
"Right!"
"Legend King Megazord, Rising up!"
Jules's belt went off while Asher's Morpher rang.
Dr. Wells and Lydia were on the line.
"Jules and Asher, we've perfected your zords." Dr. Wells informed.
"Well, at least we think." Lydia added.
Tobias's voice came through. "Devon, Bobby, and I have been working real hard on it all week! Of course it's ready!"
Lydia said, "Whatever... I'm sending you a new ring. Asher, enter the Zord command into your Morpher."
In a purple light, a chain appeared. It was clipped to Jules's belt and held slots for holding her rings. Currently, only one ring was there. She pulled the right ring off and placed it in a slot and put on the new one, which had a gold crystal.
She scanned it, and the belt announced, "Bird of Paradise."
A gold and violet zord soared from the sky. It was rather huge. Jules jumped in.
Asher hit the Zord command on his Morpher, summoning a silver humanoid Zord called the Lunar Knight. When he got into the cockpit, plans appeared on his screen for his Zord to combine with Jules's.
"Ready, Asher?"
"Yeah, let's do it!"
"Combine!"
The Paradise Bird latched onto
"Lunar Wing Megazord, Descend!"
Dr. Wells then told everyone, "That's not the only new zord in our HQ hanger. You can thank Tobias, Marco and Lydia for their hard work."
"We're relaying the information." Lydia informed them. She then quipped, "Oh, and the ideas were all me."
"Ok, Lyd." Alicia laughed at her Best Friend's antics. "Summon! Tortoise Zord!"
A turtle zord appeared. It was a small magenta zord but it had a strong shell.
"Legend Armament!" The tortoise split into five parts. The central and biggest part stuck to Legend King's chest. The upper left and right parts stuck to the arms while the lower left and right parts attached to the legs. The tortoise head became a new helmet for the Zord.
"Legend King Megazord: Defense Mode!"
The Shapeshifter slashed away, but his attacks didn't work.
Jules and Asher flew in and struck the Shapeshifter with their Zord's foot. The Megazord then tossed the Shapeshifter around.
Noah announced, "Tiger Zord!"
A cyan and black tiger zord appeared from the sky.
"Legend Armament!"
The tiger's main body folded into a chest plate. The plate opened up and the tiger head folded up onto the face. The Tiger legs became armored plates for the hands and legs.
"Legend King Megazord: Speed Mode!"
At a blinding speed, LK struck the Demon over and over.
"Time for the finale!" Jared said. "Griffin Zord!"
A crimson and silver Griffin appeared from the sky.
"Legend Armament!"
The Griffin's wings attached to the phoenix wings. The upper body and head became a chest plate and helmet while the lower body split up to become arm and leg armor.
"Legend King: Striker Mode!"
"Griffin Sword and Shield!" A crimson sword and shield appeared in LK's hands as it and Paradise Knight pummeled the helpless Demon.
The two jumped into the air.
"No fair!" The Demon shouted, sending out beams of energy, which missed.
"Griffin Gatling!"
"Paradise Assault!"
The two zords let out an onslaught of strikes and knocked the Demon over, destroying him.
The seven cheered in victory.
-HQ-
"Sorry, Noah." Bobby said, holding his hand out.
"Don't worry about it." Noah answered by taking Bobby's hand with his own.
"To apologize." Alicia said, "We're treating you to yogurt."
"Guys, you don't have to..." Noah protested looking away.
However, Jared said, "Noah, they already teleported..."
Noah looked up. Jared was right, they were the only two left.
"Crap. Let's go, Jared."
"Right on."
In a swirl of red and blue lights, the two went after their friends.
A/N: And another chapter down! Just two more chapters until the next major arc! Because of the Twilight's actions, they won't be active for a while... So a new darkness will loom over Bayview. Stay tuned! REVIEW please!
