Jayden felt Urumasa's agonising bite as his Nighlock self continued to fight both of the Red Rangers with a barrage that was nothing short of relentless. Were it not for the power of his Ranger suit, he would likely have lost his life, but as he tumbled backwards, he felt a burning pain in the ribs as he tumbled and slid away from the crimson armoured Nighlock.
It turned its attention solely to Scott, who very quickly faltered and started to back up under its assault. The creature hammered home attacks with the cursed blade, which he struggled to block, letting a few through, feeling every one slamming into him like a car crash. Eventually, he could take no more, and the Street Sabre was smashed aside, before he was kicked, almost thirty feet, smashing through a railing into the track itself.
The Nighlock Jayden just looked between the two of them, swinging Urumasa around skilfully, before standing, catching his breath. This Jayden knew exactly what his other self did. Never falter, never show weakness, no matter the pain. He had already endured a few attacks, and some of them had affected him. Only the power offered to him by Urumasa and his Nighlock form kept him on his feet. He was breathing heavily, the exertion of facing two of the strongest warriors he ever had telling on him, but he stood tall, shoulders high, preparing for them to return to the fight.
"So, this is everything the two Red Rangers can offer?" He asked them, before gesturing to Jayden. "This is what I became without Urumasa?"
"You became someone who has something to fight for!" Jayden responded.
"Something to lose you mean." He scoffed in response. Samurai Jayden looked to Scott.
"How are you holding up?" He asked.
"I'm still here." Scott assured him, hauling himself back to his feet. "Any ideas?"
"I have one." Jayden told him. "Burst Attack."
"I'm up for it." Scott told him. Jayden just looked to him, their eyes connecting. Beneath the helmet, he nodded as Jayden slipped a red and a white disk onto his spin sword.
"Ready?" Jayden asked, smiling beneath his helmet. Scott just nodded, preparing into a ready position. The Nighlock Jayden also readied a guard, staring him down, but keeping an eye on his other self. "NOW!"
Scott suddenly turned towards the Nighlock Jayden and rushed him, powering up his burst attack, and rushing towards Jayden. He turned, blocking the attack with his sword, holding Scott back.
"What's this?" The Nighlock Jayden asked. "You're attacking each other?"
The other Jayden had something he didn't though, experience, and more importantly, experience with others. A thought had occurred to him, one that he had communicated wordlessly to Scott, to whom he had spoken quite a bit. He remembered one of the battles Antonio had been involved in, one against Arachnitor, where he had bid the others to attack him, only to redirect it, adding his own power to the mix and directing it at the mutant Nighlock.
He struggled to hold it, his arms and legs shaking as he struggled to contain the power of Scott's attack, and the temperature building was incredible, causing him, the Fire Samurai, to sweat intensely beneath his suit. Setting the two disks spinning, adding his Fire Storm to the mix, he nodded to Scott, at which both of them turned sharply, casting the energy ball at the Nighlock.
The other Jayden was caught unawares, and could only pull Urumasa in front of himself in a vain attempt to block; however, it was much like trying to stop a freight train with a sheet of steel. Even with the blade in the way, such was the power of the blast; he was picked up off his feet, smashing backward almost a hundred feet, straight through the barrier, and the paddock, right into the stands dozens of rows back. Both Red Rangers swayed a little, feeling their power levels sinking with the exertion.
"Wow, that burst attack of yours really is strong." Jayden complimented him as Scott retrieved his Street Sabre. Scott just nodded, looking to him breathlessly.
"That Spin Sword of yours packs quite a punch too." He replied. "So...um...do you think he's...?"
"Scott..."
"No, I just mean, do you think it's over?" He asked. Jayden just looked to him, smiling. "I want to finish him, but if he's done, then let the military deal with him. I don't have the right to..."
Just then, the splintered wood of the stands started to shift. Jayden and Scott both turned towards the wreckage as it moved, raising and falling, before finally a red armoured fist smashed through it. They moved closer, keeping their weapons at the ready as the Nighlock Jayden pulled himself free, tumbling to the sand of the race track. He pulled himself to his feet, and the face portion of his Nighlock armour peeled back, revealing his bruised face. He coughed, before spitting out a large gob of blood, looking to them with a smirk through blood stained teeth as he clutched his ribs.
"Now, that was impressive." He stated as he lifted Urumasa. "How about we try for round three?"
"Still have something left in the tank?" Jayden asked, feeling his arms trembling with the strain of even holding the weight of the Spin Sword as he confronted his other self.
"You know it." Scott replied, just as the low energy warning flashed up on his helmet. "This guy's just another monster. We can take him!"
Back at the Garage, Kevin was in a bedroom by himself, lying in the darkness. He had broken off once the others had gone to help process the prisoners. He just couldn't face hanging around any longer. He barely noticed as the door opened, flooding light into the room.
"I kind of missed you at Central Command." Mia told him. He didn't bother to turn over as she came in, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Kevin..."
"I'm trying to rest." He told her. She just smiled.
"You know, you never used to object to having me next to you." She commented.
"Mia, please..."
"Summer and Gemma cleaned me up." She told him. "It doesn't look as bad now, and I can assure you..."
"Mia, please just go away." He whispered. She could see how badly upset he was, she had seen it from the moment he had hit her. Even though she asked him to do it, even though it was a part of the plan, an essential part, she knew that he was having a hard time accepting it. He hadn't even been able to look her in the eye since then.
"No." She said gently, but abruptly. "No Kevin, I'm not leaving you. We need to talk about this."
"Mia, I don't want..."
"Look at me Kevin." She told him. He just shook his head.
"I can't." He told her.
"Kevin, just look at me damn it!" She snapped. He eventually turned over and looked up at her.
She had taken off her shirt, letting him see the full extent of what he had done to her. Her arms and shoulders were covered in bruises. Her rib cage was a mass of discoloured flesh in varying shades of red, yellow and purple from where he had punched her to replicate the effect of her counterpart's injuries. Her face had a couple of cuts, the most pronounced above her right brow and on the right side of her lip, but her left eye was swollen, and had blackened by now. He felt sick to his stomach seeing her like that, and even worse knowing that he had been the one to do it. She cradled his face softly as he tried to turn away.
"Look at me Kevin." She told him. "I wanted to apologise."
"Apologise?" He asked, looking at her like she was mad. She just nodded.
"It wasn't fair of me to ask you to do this." She told him. "I knew it would hurt you, I knew you would beat yourself up over it, but if I knew it would do this to you..."
"Mia, you're the one that's hurt." He told her.
"This'll heal." She reminded him. "Dr. K ran some...thing over my ribcage. I didn't understand what she said, but apparently it helps fractures heal more quickly. You already know Mentor Ji will have remedies that'll help with the bruises, and it isn't like this is my first time getting my ass kicked."
"But Mia..."
"If I'd known how much this would hurt, I'd never have asked it of you." She assured him. "So, I think it's only fair that you know why I asked you."
He pulled himself up into a seated position, turning to face her as she moved into a more comfortable position.
"I needed someone that would be able to replicate the injuries, but that wouldn't hurt me enough that I couldn't fight. I needed someone whose control I could trust completely, so that already limited me to the Samurai." She began to explain. "I also needed someone roughly the same height and weight as one of the soldiers so that ruled out Emily."
"OK." He commented. Mia then just looked to him.
"I knew you'd never be able to accept any of them doing it." She told him. "Although you knew it was part of the plan, I know you. Would you really have been able to stay friends with Mike or Antonio if they had done this to me? How about Jayden? Can you honestly say you'd have looked at Jayden the same way? Been able to follow him unquestioningly if he had done this to me?"
Kevin hated to admit it, but in a lot of ways, he could see that she had a point. If anyone else had done it, he would have wanted to kill them. Even if it was someone he trusted implicitly, one of his best friends like Mike or Jayden, he would have always hated them for it. He hated himself for his part in her pain, if it had been someone else, he would have certainly taken issue. She held his hand to her swollen cheek tenderly.
"It had to be you." She told him. "I just wish it didn't hurt you so much, and I hope you can forgive me."
"There's nothing to forgive." He told her, forcing a little smile. "You are the most amazing person in the world."
"That's just the way I feel about you." She replied, moving over the bed to kiss him softly, bearing him to the mattress. She parted a little way from him, smiling. "I think we're missing something aren't we?"
He took a second to realise what she meant, before reaching across to his denims, pulling her engagement ring out of his pocket. He turned back to her, finding her holding her hand out, waiting for him to slide the ring back where it belonged. As he did so, she admired it, biting her lip a little.
"You know, this dimension does have certain privileges." She told him. Kevin just looked at her.
"Like what?" He asked her. She picked up a hand set, clicking a button, at which the door slid shut and locked.
"Privacy." She replied, pushing him back down. Kevin looked to her a little stunned.
"Uh...Mia, what about...?"
"I have it covered." She replied, pressing something into his hand. Kevin just smiled as she slid into bed next to him and pulled the covers over herself.
Meanwhile, in the main room of the Garage, the others were all watching the three way battle on the screen. Dr. K in particular was frantic, checking on all the systems in Scott's Ranger Rig.
"This is bad, this is very bad!" She called out. "All his systems are failing; all of them are dangerously low."
"It looks like Jayden's feeling it too." Mike remarked.
"But what can we do from here?" She asked. "Even with the vehicles, you'll never get there in time..."
"Maybe we can re-route power from the other rigs." Flynn suggested. "You know, give him a little jump start."
"I think we can work something." Gemma added, sliding a chair over to the computer beside Dr. K. "It should help."
"What about Jayden?" Antonio asked.
"I think we might be able to manage something too." Emily replied, pulling out her Samuraiser. "You remember how Antonio had you revive the ClawZord?"
"That's it!" Antonio called out, hugging her. "Mike, are you ready?"
"I guess I have to be." Mike replied, pulling out his Samuraizer. "Alright Antonio, on your lead!"
Back at the Race Track, Scott and Jayden were being beaten from pillar to post as their power started to fail them. The Nighlock Jayden, while injured, was simply too strong. His blade smashed into Scott, sending him into a heap by the side wall. Jayden didn't last much longer, before ending up crashing through the roof of a paddock a long way from the Nighlock.
"This has been fun." He rasped as they struggled to stumble back onto the track. "Unfortunately, even the greatest duel must come to an end."
Just then, a power symbol flew into the arena, and hit Jayden. He felt power racing through him, flooding through every aching muscle, lending him strength. He stood up straight, collecting his Spin Sword. Scott also leapt to his feet, readying his Street Sabre.
"It looks like our friends came through with a little power boost." Jayden stated.
"I didn't hear a bell." Scott answered as they prepared. Just then, a hail of fireballs fell into the stadium, landing periodically. Shortly afterwards, she appeared, the one that they had only seen in the recording from Scott's earlier battle. Jayden's grip on his Spin Sword almost failed as he saw her before him. She was a little shorter than him, but wearing the same pattern helmet, and the same colour uniform. Her costume had a skirt, and she was carrying a Spin Sword. She looked to the Nighlock Jayden who just stared at her.
"What is this?" He asked. The stranger didn't answer, instead pulling out a little black device. Jayden and Scott were both blinded by a huge flash of light, but when it dissipated, they saw her standing, wearing a long, flowing white coat over her Ranger Suit. She was holding a black device in her free hand, which she clipped to the back of her Spin Sword's handle. Jayden just looked to his own Spin Sword, seeing a couple of grooves on it that he hadn't really paid much mind to before.
"So that's what these are for." He murmured.
Powering up her sword, the mysterious Red Ranger surged forward, letting out a savage yell, and bringing it across the Nighlock. He tried in vain to block, but his armour, and Urumasa, completely shattered into millions of fragments. They watched as the Nighlock Spirit was ripped from him, disappearing into the Netherworld, presumably to the Dark Zone where it belonged. As the fragments of Urumasa came to rest, they stopped glowing, and their energy dissipated. The Cursed Blade had been completely destroyed.
The new arrival twirled her sword around, tapping it on the back to symbolically shake off the 'blood', before replacing it in her belt as the Nighlock Jayden fell to his knees. Jayden just approached.
"You." He whispered. "Are you...?"
He didn't get an answer; she just leapt out of the arena, leaving Jayden and Scott alone with the defeated opponent. Jayden saw Scott de-morphing, mopping some blood from his mouth with his wrist. The other Jayden looked up to him, pulling some hair, matted with sweat and blood from his eyes and laughing.
"So." He commented. "I guess this is where I get what I deserve. Go ahead. Give me what's coming to me."
The Samurai Jayden de-morphed, clutching his ribs as he watched on. He knew that no one would blame Scott, that no one would say that he didn't deserve to take his revenge. He could see the look in his eyes, the cold, hard look that indicated that he wanted to do it. He could even see him holding up a fist, preparing to strike. He prepared to move in, but Scott instead just shoved him over with his foot.
"No, you're broken already." He replied. "I don't need the karma of your murder on my conscience. Corinth Military can pick up the pieces."
"But..."
"I don't need your murder on my karma." Scott interrupted him. "I'm not like you, and I'm damned if I'm going to end up like you. Hicks will see that justice is done."
The Samurai Jayden just smiled; glad to see that Scott was able to put his anger aside. He was happy that things had turned out that way.
As Scott turned away, the other Jayden looked around, finding a piece of timber that had splintered into a sharp point, and gripped it. He ran forward, ramming it into Scott's back as hard as he could with a huge yell.
The other Jayden ran forward, grabbing his counterpart, only to be struck hard in the face as he swung around. The evil Jayden tried to stab him too, but the Samurai Jayden had a little more strength left, and grabbed his arm, twisting it around and ramming it back. He saw the evil Jayden's eyes bulge in his head as the point went in. He looked down to the stake, which had blood leaking down it onto his hands. He saw the angle it had gone in, and where it had entered. He knew that it would have at least hit a lung, probably his heart.
"Thank you." The Evil Jayden whispered, before falling to the ground. Scott ran over, but Jayden didn't need to check. He already knew what he would find.
"I'm sorry, I..."
"You didn't have a choice." Scott assured him, clutching at his back. "We gave him every chance."
"How are you?" Jayden asked.
"Hey, he tried to stab me through a leather jacket." Scott reminded him. "It hurts, but I'm sure I'll be fine. I'll let Dr. K look over me."
He then looked to Jayden.
"So, who was that?" He asked, referring to the other Red Ranger. Jayden just held him up, beginning to help him from the arena, looking away from him.
"Your guess is as good as mine." Jayden told him. Scott looked to him; a little unconvinced, but right now, all he cared about was getting home and getting his injuries looked at.