Hello people of fanfiction and beyond! Thanks so much for the great comments on the last chapter! Arigato-goizamasu! Please allow me to present the next chapter of "Samurai Forever".
Oh, and I would like to say that I would appreciate any corrections in the Spanish for Antonio. I don't really know the language that well, so any and all help is appreciated. And speaking of corrections, I forgot that Genta was in France instead of Japan. I fixed that little detail, but if you guys spot any spot any other small details like that, please let me know.
Not too many Shinkenger references this time. I'll find some way to incorparate them into the chapters later on. Maybe a guest appearance or two.
Disclaimer: Same as last time. I do not in any way own Power Rangers Samurai or Samurai Sentai Shinkengers, though I do love listening to the latter's theme. It's really catchy, even if I can only understand a few words.
Chapter 2 – No Rest for the Weary
The three were stunned, to say the least. The Gap Sensor's continued blaring rang throughout the household. It was like the trio were trapped in a trance. And just like that, it was broken.
"De ninguna manera," muttered Antonio, the first to recover. Emily was in complete agreement, even if she had no idea what he just said. Although, at this point, he could've said that cats had stolen his pants and were using it to make a hot air balloon and she would've agreed.
"Should've known better than to assume that they wouldn't return," Jayden said, mostly to himself. He opened the city map. "Guys, whatever tripped the sensor is attacking the middle of town."
Emily nodded. "It looks like 'Samurai Forever' is more than just a saying." Both Jayden's and her expressions were grim. Antonio, sensing that the atmosphere of the room was rapidly deteriorating, tried his best to lighten it.
"Hey, chill mi amigos! It's probably just some Moogers that we haven't yet met. It should be a walk in the park after taking down Xandred! No hay problema!" Antonio cheerfully exclaimed. He ran out before running back in. "What are you waiting for? Let's go!"
"Yeah," Jayden agreed. "Come on Em."
"Right!" The three rushed out of the Shiba house, past the gate, and into town. The buildings were naught but a blur as they passed them. Other people instinctively got out of the way of the three young adults that sped past. It's been a while since that happened, they thought.
[Scene Change]
In no time, the trio arrived at midtown only to find it completely devoid of, well, everything. No people. No Nighloks. Nothing. Even the air was absolutely still.
"It's like this place is frozen in time…" Emily noted.
"Close, but not quite." The arrival of a new voice automatically put all the Rangers on edge. From the shadows of one of the buildings emerged what appeared to be a woman swathed in a kimono and ice. "It is actually what you might call a temporal field coupled with a repelling spell. As long as it is up, everybody who tries to enter will automatically feel the urge to go in the other direction."
"Who are you? Are you related to the Nighloks?" Jayden was reaching for his Samuraizer. Something about this lady made him feel uneasy. It was an almost familiar kind of anxiety. Not a good memory either. A quick glance told him that his friends were following his example and readying themselves for a fight.
The frozen lady seemed to be unaware of that fact. "Nighloks? Ah, I guess that's what you called them. I suppose that calling them that is simpler. In that case, you may call me Yuki." She strolled towards the Rangers, leaving a patch of ice with every step. She stopped as soon as she was right in front of them. "Much better for talking, don't you think? Now, as for the other question, I am not with the Nighloks, as you call them. Rather, it is they who are with us."
"And who is us?"
"We call ourselves Akuma. We are what your kind would identify as demons," Yuki said rather casually. "Those Nighloks were only a part of our forces. And Doukuko, oops… sorry, I meant Xandred was merely another soldier. Granted, he was fairly powerful, but there are easily a dozen others who could match up to him."
The Rangers were utterly astounded. Their greatest foe, whom their ancestors have been fighting for centuries, was merely a foot soldier to these people?!
"That's… impossible," Emily managed to say.
"Well, he did go rogue some time back and became utterly fixated with taking over your world. So I guess I should thank you for taking care of him." Yuki continued. "It might've taken quite a few of our own to detain and eliminate him, especially since we don't know if he's gotten stronger after all these years."
"Enough with the meaningless chatter!" snapped Jayden. "Are you here for a fight?"
"My, my, so violent," Yuki said in a disapproving tone and made a tsk-tsk gesture. "I was only here to pass on the message, but I see that I have to take a few… disciplinary measures. Such behavior is not befitting of a young lord, now is it?" From the folds of her kimono, she broth forth an icy naginata and leveled it at the Rangers.
"Samuraizers! Go Go Samurai!"
"Samurai Morpher! Gold Power!"
In a flash, three Samurai Rangers stood in place of the three young adults, weapons held at their sides and poised to strike.
"Red Samurai Ranger, Jayden! Ready!"
"Yellow Samurai Ranger, Emily! Ready!"
"Gold Samurai Ranger, Antonio! Ready!"
"Rangers Together, Samurai Forever!" The three cried in unison before settling in their respective postures. Yuki merely watched with a mild interest.
"Listen, are we gonna fight now, or are you going to continue with the posing?" She asked, sounding bored. Two Spin Swords and a Barracuda Blade pointed at her was the reply. "Ah, good answer." She leapt back as the Rangers charged. The battle was on.
Antonio, being the fastest, reached their freezing foe first. He utilized his speed to send out multiple attacks, only to have them avoided entirely. Yuki seemed to almost dance a deadly waltz as she advanced. He ducked to avoid the frosty blade sweeping towards him, but was caught by the blunt end of the weapon and was sent flying back. Jayden and Emily attacked in tandem, one would slash at the enemy before retreating and the other would follow up with another blow. Then one blocked the oncoming attack while the other struck back. Antonio recovered in no time and rushed back in to add a third sword into the fray.
They were working very well together, despite having not seen each other for the better part of a year. However, their teamwork was for naught. They couldn't seem to hit anything other than the naginata. Every attack was parried and deflected, and they barely managed to bring their weapons back up to block the counterattack that followed. The pattern continued for a while and despite it being three-on-one, Yuki was keeping cool while the trio was starting to show signs of exhaustion.
A mighty swing repelled the Rangers back a good distance, and Yuki yawned as they got back up. "Is this all you've got Rangers? It seems that your reputations are rather, what's the word, overrated," she taunted.
"Spin Swords! Double Slash!"
"Barracuda Blade! Barracuda Bite!"
The multitude of slashes followed by two Symbol Power charged attacks were deflected without so much as a second glance, and all they resulted in was a large cloud of dust that obscured the entire field. Yuki coughed and rubbed the dust out of her eyes. She had lost sight of the Rangers. Had they fled?
"Fire Smasher!"
"Earth Slicer!"
"Barracuda Blade!"
Apparently not. The three had surrounded her and were in the process of bringing down their respective weapons on her at full force. She fell to one knee and held the naginata above her, catching all three attacks. The Fire Smasher emitted a searing heat that even her ice couldn't endure. It melted clean through, allowing their attacks to connect for the first time in the entire fight.
What happened next could only be described as an anguished howl by Yuki. The Rangers had stepped back, feeling suddenly feeling the temperature drop several degrees despite the protection offered by their suits. Yuki slowly rose, ice and various frozen objects whirled around her. Her glare was absolute zero cold, causing the Rangers to shiver. Steam seemed to pour out from her body via a wound, but it was quickly enveloped by ice.
"YOU TORE MY KIMONO!" Yuki screeched, losing the cool air she had earlier in the fight. "THAT'S IT! NO MORE HOLDING BACK!" Ice and frozen wind swirled around her hands, and in a few moments, she was holding a beautiful katana with a snowflake pattern carved on the blade and on the hilt.
In a single sweep, Antonio and Emily were frozen in place, literally. Jayden had just barely managed to avoid being frozen with his Fire Symbol Power, though he was shivering uncontrollably. "Emily! Antonio!" He cried out, seeing his two friends reduced to ice sculptures. He took out the Black Box. "Super Samurai Mode! Super Red Samurai Ranger!" As Jayden felt his strengthened Symbol Power restore feeling in his extremities, he glanced at the sword Emily dropped before looking at Emily herself. "I'll be borrowing this again," he told her. Somehow, he knew she could hear him and would've nodded if she could.
"You might be able to resist being frozen because of your Mojikara, young lord, but you would do well to remember that even fire can be frozen," Yuki all but growled at him. Jayden just stared at her with a combination of rage and slight confusion. Mojikara? And there was that "young lord" again? Just what did those mean?
Jayden shook his head. No time to think about that now. He settled into what was dubbed as his 'Dual Blade' stance. Yuki got into her own stance. The next exchange would decide the outcome of this fight, both sides knew it. Their elements were the exact opposite of one another and a single blow from their current power would be enough to incapacitate the other. The first one to land a clean hit would win, simple as that.
Silence. Each side tensed and silently counted down. Now! Both sides charged and…
…
…
…
…
…
Yuki panted as she glared at the prone and frozen form on the ground. Even though he was completely entrapped within a layer of ice, Jayden was slowly but surely thawing out at a significantly faster rate than his two friends. It wouldn't be long before he could move again, she knew.
She wheezed slightly. She hadn't used that much power in a long time. They was apparently a bit more resilient than she had thought.
"Listen up Red," Yuki addressed him. "I know you and your friends can hear me. Here's the message: Xandred was only the beginning. You have garnered the attention of the organization Akuma, so you had better be prepared. This is your only warning." Yuki began to walk away, but stopped before turning back. "And here's a little warning from me: Next time – and there will be a next time, I assure you – I won't be so merciful as to hold back most of my true strength."
She swished around, and a miniature blizzard erupted around her. In a flurry of snow and ice, she was gone.
If Jayden could move, he would've slammed his head against the concrete. Darn it! He was just so frustrated.
Review please! Thanks for reading!