Chapter 18: Trapped In Time
*() – Brackets indicate that a character speaks a foreign language. In this case, Japanese.*
Early in the morning out in the woods, Seiji yawned loudly as he stretched his arms out and woke up. Seiji opened his eyes and saw Jirou glaring at him on the other side of the remains of the campfire. Seiji sighed as he rose to his feet.
"I see you're still here," Seiji said to Jirou as he looked away.
"I'm still waiting for you to make the right decision," Jirou told Seiji as he crossed his arms.
"Jirou, I know you want me to come with you, but I just can't," Seiji explained to Jirou as he grabbed his jacket off a branch.
"Hiding from Galvanax isn't an excuse," Jirou said to his brother as he rose to his feet. "He will find you and we won't be able to help you if you keep hiding,"
"At least let me tell you something," Seiji sighed as he sat back down.
"Fine, go ahead," Jirou grunted as he rolled his eyes.
"After you were sealed away, I left the village a few years later," Seiji told Jirou. "While I was out on my own, I was possessed by Ripcon's spirit,"
"Why did you leave?" Jirou asked Seiji.
"Everything was going to crap at the village," Seiji informed Jirou. "Barely any food and rebuilding houses was torture,"
"You could've stayed and helped," Jirou said as he rose to his feet.
"I wasn't the only one that left, many people did, including Kiyomi," Seiji told Jirou.
"I know about Kiyomi," Jirou answered as he looked down.
"But after I was possessed, I was taken in by a samurai," Seiji continued. "That samurai raised me like I was his own child, until it finally happened,"
"You killed him and his family," Jirou answered as he saw the horror in Seiji's eyes.
Seiji nodded as his eyes began watering.
"Once Ripcon fully took over, I returned to our village," Seiji muttered as he cried.
"Seiji, please don't tell me you did it," Jirou responded as he approached Seiji.
"I did," Seiji cried as he looked down. "I killed nearly everyone,"
"Nearly?" Jirou said in confusion.
"Uncle Shinji was the only survivor," Seiji informed Jirou. "He escaped and continued his life somewhere else in Japan,"
"Seiji, that wasn't you," Jirou comforted Seiji as he placed his hand on his shoulder. "That was Ripcon,"
"I know, but he still used me," Seiji whimpered.
"He's gone, you're in control now," Jirou told Seiji. "You can turn your life around if you come back to Dorado Bay with me,"
Seiji looked up at Jirou and wiped the tears from his eyes.
"Will the others even accept me after what Ripcon caused?" Seiji asked Jirou.
"I'm sure they will," Jirou smiled as he held his hand out to Seiji.
Seiji grabbed Jirou's hand and was helped to his feet. Seiji instantly hugged Jirou as he began crying again.
"I've lived for centuries because of Ripcon, but I'm glad you're here with me this time," Seiji cried as he hugged Jirou.
"I'm glad you're here too," Jirou said to his brother as he hugged him.
Onboard the Galaxy Warriors ship, Madame Odius entered her lab with a shuriken in hand. Odius looked over at the clock-like device she had been working on and began snickering. As Madame Odius hurled the shuriken towards the device the shuriken began glowing with a black aura. The shuriken struck the device causing the black aura to surround the device.
"That's right, return to us," Madame Odius said as the black aura began forming a body.
A shockwave filled the room as the black aura dissipated from around the large cat-like monster that was formed. The cat monster lowered his arms and revealed an enlarged version of Madame Odius' device embedded in his chest.
"Welcome back," Madame Odius greeted the monster.
"What's going on?" The cat monster said in confusion.
The cat monster placed his paw on his chest and felt the clock-like device on his chest.
"What is this thing?" The cat monster asked Madame Odius.
"That is the key to defeating the Power Rangers," Madame Odius snickered.
Later that morning, the other Rangers were sitting in class working on an assignment. Beth laid her head down on her desk and sighed in boredom. Jun noticed Beth had her head on her desk and lowered her pencil.
"I'm sure he's fine," Jun whispered to Beth.
Beth turned her head towards Jun as she rose back up.
"I agree, but we have no way of checking on him," Beth told Jun as she picked her pencil back up.
"Dad can easily track down his Ninja Power Star," Jun informed Beth as she continued working. "We can find where he's at and go check on him later,"
"Ladies, save the chatting for lunch," Logan requested as he stopped working.
Beth threw her pencil at Logan and pegged him in the back of the head with it. Logan glared back at Beth and saw her looking off in a different direction.
"Knock it off," Logan grumbled at Beth.
Beth rolled her eyes and pulled out another pencil from her bag and continued working on her assignment.
"You're sure taking this assignment seriously," Mason said to Logan as he leaned over towards him.
"I just want to finish it before the end of class," Logan told Mason as he erased an answer off his sheet.
"Just stay calm," Mason advised Logan. "It will help,"
Mason showed his sheet to Logan and revealed that he was finished with his work.
"I shouldn't have stayed up so late," Logan sighed as he continued working.
Out in the city, Jirou and Seiji were walking up the street as a trolley came by stunning Seiji. Jirou looked back at his brother and saw him watch the trolley continue up the street. Jirou began chuckling and caught Seiji's attention.
"What's so funny?" Seiji asked Jirou.
"Have you never ridden one of those?" Jirou asked Seiji.
"No, but I don't really want to," Seiji told Jirou as the two of them continued walking up the street.
"Anyway, we're heading to the shop real quick," Jirou informed Seiji.
"I figured that," Seiji chuckled as he followed his brother.
"Yeah, we need to see if Hitoshi is okay with you staying with us," Jirou said to Seiji.
"He's family, I'm sure he'll be fine," Seiji assured Jirou as he patted on Jirou's back.
"You were also controlled by a demonic spirit that tried to kill us countless times," Jirou pointed out to Seiji. "However, Hitoshi isn't the type of guy that would continue blaming you for that,"
Seiji stared to smile as a cop car sped by blasting its sirens.
"What's going on?" Seiji wondered as he and Jirou turned the corner while people ran past them screaming.
Jirou looked up ahead and saw a line of Kudabots marching towards the cop cars blocking the road.
"He found us!" Seiji gulped as he hid behind the corner.
"No, I don't think they're searching for you," Jirou responded to Seiji as he pulled out his morpher.
"Come on out Rangers!" A large orange cat-like monster hissed as he climbed on top of a cop car. "I know you'll try and save these men!"
The cat monster grabbed a police officer by his collar and pulled him on top of the car with ease.
"This man will look perfect after I claw his face off!" The cat monster screamed as the Kudabots kept the other officers from helping.
A shuriken flew through the air and struck the cat monster in his hand causing him to let go of the police officer.
"I knew you would show up," The cat monster chuckled as he turned around and saw the Red Ranger running toward shim.
"Get to safety officers," Jirou commanded the policemen. "I'll take care of this fur ball,"
"Thank you Red Ranger," A cop thanked Jirou as he ran by him.
"My name is Cat O'clock," Cat O'clock informed Jirou.
"I don't care what your name is," Jirou retaliated as he readied his sword. "I'm just here to stop you from harming the people of this city,"
Cat O'clock leapt off of the car and swiped at Jirou with his right hand. Jirou jumped back and evaded the attack.
"I just realized that you're the only Ranger here," Cat O'clock told Jirou as he faced him.
"I'm more than enough to send you six feet underground," Jirou replied as he took off running towards Cat O'clock.
Cat O'clock swatted Jirou's sword away as Jirou took a swing at him. Lasers shot out of Cat O'clock's eyes and hit Jirou in the chest causing sparks to fly off of his body. Jirou fell to the ground and quickly rose to one knee using his sword as leverage.
"Is that the best you've got?" Jirou antagonized Cat O'clock.
"Oh, I've got a lot more than that!" Cat O'clock shouted as he began running towards Jirou with his claws extended.
"If I had Masaru with me this would already be over," Jirou whispered to himself.
Jirou ducked and avoided Cat O'clock's claw and swiftly struck Cat O'clock in the leg with his sword causing the monster to fall to one knee.
"That little scratch won't stop me," Cat O'clock hissed as he slowly rose back to both feet.
Up the road, Seiji was peeking around the corner watching Jirou fight Cat O'clock.
"Why isn't Jirou attacking?" Seiji asked himself.
Seiji began thinking to himself as Jirou evaded Cat O'clock's claw once again in the distance.
"Is Jirou stalling?" Seiji wondered as he continued watching.
At the high school, Ben sat down at the lunch table with Mason and Logan as the two were eating their lunch. Mason scooped up a spoonful of the peas off his plate and gagged in disgust. Beth and Jun joined the guys as Mason sat his spoon down on his plate.
"Are you not eating?" Mason asked Beth as he noticed she didn't have a plate.
"No, I'm not hungry," Beth told Mason.
"You need to eat something," Ben said to Beth as he picked up his fork. "You'll feel awful before we get out of school,"
"I'll be fine," Beth sighed in annoyance. "I'll eat a fiber bar or something to hold me over,"
Beth heard a video playing behind her and turned around to see what it was. Two girls sitting at another table were watching a news video showing the Red Ranger fighting Cat O'clock.
"Guys, check that out," Beth announced to the others as she pointed at the girl's phone.
Ben turned around and saw the video playing on the phone.
"Why didn't we hear from Hitoshi about this?" Ben asked the others.
"I don't know, but Jirou needs help," Mason answered Ben as he rose from his seat.
"We can't leave in the middle of school!" Logan exclaimed as he grabbed Mason by the arm.
"Jirou is out there fighting that furry freak by himself," Jun told Logan. "We will return to school as if we never left,"
Mason pulled his arm away from Logan and headed towards the exit alongside Ben and Beth.
"I don't want to miss chemistry though!" Logan groaned as he ran after the others.
A few moments later in the city, Cat O'clock and Jirou were still battling each other surrounded by Kudabots. Cat O'clock grabbed Jirou by his right arm and slammed him into the side of a car leaving a dent where he hit. Jirou fell to the ground holding his shoulder as Cat O'clock laughed evilly.
"Come on, I'm not finished with you!" Cat O'clock shouted as he picked Jirou back up.
Cat O'clock slashed Jirou across the chest with his claws making Jirou fall back on to the hood of the car.
"Do something Jirou!" Seiji cried out as he stepped out around the corner.
Cat O'clock looked over and saw Seiji glaring at him.
"Who does this guy think he is?" Cat O'clock asked himself.
"Seiji, get out of here!" Jirou yelled at his brother.
"I'm not going to stand around and watch you get pummeled!" Seiji argued with Jirou. "Not again,"
"Kudabots, go make that brat shut up," Cat O'clock commanded the Kudabots.
The Kudabots began creeping towards Seiji as Cat O'clock turned his attention back to Jirou.
"Now, where were we?" Cat O'clock asked Jirou.
"Leave my brother out of this," Jirou demanded Cat O'clock as he got off the car.
"He's the one who decided to get involved," Cat O'clock told Jirou.
"Don't worry about me Jirou," Seiji said to Jirou as he kicked a Kudabot in the chest. "I can handle this!"
Cat O'clock's claws extended as he readied to attack Jirou.
"Your time is up!" Cat O'clock cackled, as the sunlight reflected off his claws.
As Cat O'clock went to attack Jirou, multiple blasts began hitting Cat O'clock pushing him away from Jirou. The other five Rangers drove by Seiji on their Mega Morph Cycles and wiped out the Kudabots around him with ease using blasts.
"Sorry we're late," Mason apologized to Jirou as he and the others walked over to Jirou.
"It's fine," Jirou chuckled as Cat O'clock rose back to his feet.
"Yes, they're all here now," Cat O'clock whispered to himself. "I can now use Odius' secret weapon she created,"
Seiji looked over at Cat O'clock and noticed the digital timer on his chest began faintly glowing.
"What is that cat doing?" Seiji wondered as the time on the digital device began changing rapidly.
"It's time to send you Rangers somewhere else!" Cat O'clock shouted as his chest began glowing brighter.
"He's using some kind of attack!" Seiji screamed to the others as he took off running towards them.
Jirou noticed the digital clock on Cat O'clock's chest moving rapidly.
"We need to move!" Ben ordered the others as he ran aside.
"Come on Jirou!" Beth said to Jirou as she grabbed his arm.
Cat O'clock fired a powerful beam from his chest and hit Jirou and Beth. In an instant Jirou and Beth vanished leaving a portal behind in their place.
"Jirou!" Seiji yelled in horror.
"Seiji hold on!" Mason shouted at Seiji as Seiji continued running towards the portal.
"Don't go near that thing," Logan warned Seiji. "You don't know what's on the other side,"
"My brother is on the other side!" Seiji cried out as he jumped towards the portal as it began shrinking.
Seiji narrowly made his way into the portal as it disappeared before the other Rangers.
"Man, that took a lot of energy out of me," Cat O'clock muttered as he breathed heavily with sparks shooting out of his chest.
"How do we get the others back?" Jun asked the others.
"I say we take out the cat," Mason said to the others as he pointed his Ninja Star Blade at Cat O'clock.
"Go ahead and kill me!" Cat O'clock snickered. "Then you'll never see your friends again,"
"I doubt that," Mason disagreed as he shook his head.
"Hold on Mason, he might be telling the truth," Ben responded to Mason as he placed his hand on Mason's shoulder.
"All we can do is hope Jirou and the others find their own way out," Jun told the others.
"I've got an idea," Logan announced to the other Rangers as he looked up. "We'll need that device on Cat O'clock's chest though,"
"I'll pry it out for you," Mason assured Logan.
"I'd like to see you try blue boy," Cat O'clock cackled as the digits glitched out on his chest.
In the middle of the sky, a portal suddenly appeared and spat out Jirou and Beth causing them to begin falling towards the ground below. As Beth began screaming in horror, both her and Jirou crashed into tree branches and demorphed as they fell to the ground. Jirou slowly rose up and gasped when he saw Beth lying on the ground unconscious. As Jirou began crawling towards Beth, Jirou heard a scream in the distance coming closer. Jirou looked up as Seiji fell through the branches and slammed into the ground near him.
"Seiji!" Jirou gasped as Seiji struggled to get up.
"Where are we?" Seiji asked Jirou as he leaned up slowly.
"That's not important right now," Jirou told Seiji as he checked on Beth.
Seiji looked over Jirou's shoulder and noticed Beth lying on the ground. Seiji then saw blood seeping through Beth's shirt near her hip.
"She's hurt, bad," Jirou said to Seiji.
"What do we do?" Seiji asked Jirou as he rose to his feet.
Jirou quickly jumped to his feet as leaves began rustling near him. An arrow shot out of a bush in an instant startling Seiji. Seiji caught the arrow with ease as he leaned out of the way.
"Show yourself!" Seiji shouted as he turned towards the bush.
As Jirou turned towards the bush, a group of ninja rose out of the bushes. Jirou's eyes widened as he noticed the symbol on each of the ninja's headbands.
"Seiji, it's our people!" Jirou exclaimed to his brother.
The ninja leading the group gasped in disbelief as he looked over at Jirou.
"(Impossible!)" The ninja responded.
"(Is it really him?)" One of the other ninja asked his ally.
"(I apologize for firing the arrow at you,)" Another Ninja said as he knelt down.
"(Who's in charge?)" Jirou asked the ninjas.
The ninja with a red headband stepped forward as he began removing his mask.
"(I'm sorry my nephews,)" The ninja apologized to Jirou and Seiji as he removed his mask.
"(Shinji!)" Seiji burst out as his eyes widened.
"(Yes, it is I,)" Shinji nodded as he approached Jirou and Seiji.
"(You're bearing our family insignia again,)" Jirou pointed out to his uncle.
"(That's because I was asked to return after Seiji went missing,)" Shinji informed Jirou. "(But, not only has he returned, you have as well!)"
"Then that means we've travelled over four hundred years into the past," Jirou whispered to himself.
Shinji looked behind Jirou and saw Beth lying on the ground badly wounded.
"(Who is this?)" Shinji asked Jirou as he went to check on Beth.
"(A friend, but she's hurt,)" Jirou answered Shinji.
"(We need to get her back to the village then,)" Shinji said as he examined Beth's wound.
"(I'll carry her then,)" Jirou said to his uncle as he knelt down beside Beth. "(You just lead us back there,)"
"(Let's get going,)" Shinji smirked as he rose back to his feet.
As Jirou picked Beth up off the ground, Seiji began following Shinji and his allies into the forest.
"Hang in there, we'll fix you up," Jirou promised Beth as he followed his brother.
Back in the present, Cat O'clock was still battling the other Rangers on his own. Cat O'clock clawed Ben using his metallic claws knocking him away with ease. Mason placed his Ninja Element Star on his sword and activated it as Cat O'clock turned towards him.
"Ninja Metal Attack!" Mason shouted as a chain flew out of the tip of his sword.
"You can't restrain me!" Cat O'clock gloated as he destroyed the chain with ease using his claws.
Logan leapt over Mason's shoulder and landed right in front of Cat O'clock.
"I'll be taking this!" Logan said to Cat O'clock as he went to grab the digital clock embedded on Cat O'clock's chest.
Cat O'clock swiped at Logan and hit him causing Logan to split into four other versions of himself.
"What the heck?" Cat O'clock cried out in astonishment.
The four Logan's leapt onto Cat O'clock and began holding him back.
"Let's get that clock now," Ben said to Jun as he readied his Rockstorm Guitar.
Ben and Jun began running towards Cat O'clock as the clones of Logan distracted him. Cat O'clock swatted one of the Logan's away and noticed Ben and Jun running at him.
"Stay away from me!" Cat O'clock screeched as he fired a powerful laser beam from his eyes.
The laser beam hit both Ben and Jun and exploded on contact blowing them back with ease.
"This cat is getting on my nerves," Ben groaned as he punched the ground angrily.
Back in the past, Shinji led Jirou and Seiji up to the entrance of their village. The gate slowly began opening and revealed Jirou and Seiji's father, Ichirou, on the other side. Ichirou's eyes widened as he saw Seiji and Jirou standing beside Shinji.
"(How is this possible?)" Ichirou asked Jirou.
"(It's a long story,)" Jirou told his father as he approached him while carrying Beth. "(We can talk after my friend is taken care of,)"
Ichirou looked down at Beth in Jirou's arms and saw the wound on her side.
"(Take her to our home,)" Ichirou ordered Jirou. "(I'll go find someone to help her,)"
Jirou nodded and continued on into the village with Seiji following behind him.
"I just realized that dad is so astounded to see us that he and the others haven't mentioned our clothes yet," Seiji whispered to Jirou as they approached the largest building in the village.
"Once we get Beth taken care of, I'm sure they'll start asking questions," Jirou assured Seiji as they entered the building.
Seiji looked around as Jirou continued on through the house and was shocked at the renovation.
"They really fixed this place up since I was last here," Seiji said in amazement.
Shinji entered the castle and came up behind Seiji.
"(Your father is on his way now with someone to help your friend,)" Shinji informed Seiji.
"(Thank goodness,)" Seiji said in relief.
A few moments later, Ichirou slid open a door to a room and revealed Jirou sitting beside Beth who was lying on a mat in the floor. Ichirou stepped out of the doorway and let a woman walk past him. Jirou looked over and saw the woman sit down beside him with a basket full of supplies.
"(Go be with your father,)" The woman told Jirou as she began digging through the basket. "(I'll take care of your friend,)"
"(Thank you,)" Jirou nodded to the woman as he rose to his feet.
Jirou stepped out of the room and closed the door behind him.
"(Kou will make sure your friend lives on,)" Ichirou said to Jirou as he walked alongside him.
"(I'm sure you want to know how I'm here now,)" Jirou sighed as he leaned against the wall.
"(Let's go meet your brother and Shinji at the entrance before we talk,)" Ichirou told Jirou as he continued walking.
Jirou followed his father and headed downstairs where Seiji and Shinji were waiting. Jirou sat down near a table beside Seiji as their father and uncle sat down across from them.
"(Seiji, you've been gone for a few years now,)" Ichirou told his younger son. "(And today you return with your brother,)"
"(It's not what you think,") Seiji stated as he looked down. "(I left because this place was getting worse over time,)"
"(Things definitely turned around apparently,)" Jirou told Seiji.
"(After you ran off, I had to send many of our men out to find your uncle,)" Ichirou explained to Seiji. "(We were defenseless for a few weeks,)"
"(When I returned I helped with a few of my men and repaired damages done to the village,)" Shinji informed Seiji.
"(That's good to hear,)" Seiji sighed in relief.
"(Now Jirou, why aren't you still sealed away with Norio,)" Ichirou asked Jirou as he turned his attention to him.
"(I'm not sure,)" Jirou lied as he shrugged his shoulders. "(I woke up in the forest one day and Seiji was there with me,)"
Seiji placed his left hand over his face in disgust.
"(Maybe the seal couldn't hold Jirou for as long as a demon?)" Shinji guessed as he looked over at Ichirou.
"(That is possible I suppose,)" Ichirou nodded as he thought to himself.
"(It doesn't explain the girl though,)" Shinji pointed out to Ichirou.
Jirou and Seiji nervously looked at each other and gulped.
"(She was a prisoner we found at another village,)" Seiji confessed to his father and uncle.
"Good grief," Jirou whispered to himself in embarrassment.
"(Where was this village?)" Shinji asked Seiji.
"(Far north,)" Seiji told his uncle. "(Very far north,)"
Ichirou sighed as he rose to his feet.
"(I'm just glad my sons have returned,)" Ichirou smiled as he looked down at Jirou and Seiji.
As Ichirou started to walk around the table, a loud horn began blasting from outside.
"(What's going on?)" Jirou asked his father.
"(It's a warning horn,)" Ichirou explained to Jirou. "(Someone is coming,)"
Seiji's eyes widened causing him to begin sweating.
"No, did we really end up here on this date?" Seiji wondered as Jirou looked over at him.
"You know who's coming," Jirou whispered to his brother.
"It's Ripcon," Seiji whimpered as he shivered.
Jirou turned back around and saw that his father and uncle were gone.
"We need to warn them now!" Jirou exclaimed to his brother as he headed for the door.
"We can't!" Seiji shouted at Jirou. "Ripcon has to win Jirou,"
Jirou groaned in frustration.
"I don't care if he wins!" Jirou burst out at Seiji. "I just don't want him to kill our father,"
Jirou stormed outside and left Seiji alone inside.
"Jirou's going to ruin the future if he tells dad," Seiji murmured to himself.
Seiji ran out the door in a hurry and went after Jirou.
Out near the entrance gate, Jirou saw his father and uncle on top of the wall looking out into the distance. Jirou climbed up the ladder and reached the top of the wall and noticed the black clouds out in the distance. Ichirou looked over his shoulder and saw Jirou gazing out at the black clouds.
"(You and Seiji need to go prepare,)" Ichirou ordered Jirou.
"(There's something I need to tell you first,)" Jirou told Ichirou.
"(There's no time for that,)" Ichirou said as he turned away. "(Go get Seiji and get ready,)"
Jirou groaned in frustration and started climbing back down the ladder. As Jirou reached the ground, Seiji ran up breathing heavily.
"Did you tell him?" Seiji asked Jirou.
"No, he won't listen," Jirou muttered as he walked past Seiji.
"Where are you going?" Seiji asked Jirou as he began following him.
"To prepare for battle," Jirou informed Seiji. "Ripcon isn't going to kill my father,"
"You can't kill Ripcon though Jirou!" Seiji told Jirou. "If you do, I could end up not existing and you would change the future,"
"I never said I was going to kill him," Jirou said to Seiji as he walked inside his home.
"Things could still change if you save dad too," Seiji pointed out to Jirou.
"I don't care what changes as long as my father gets to live his life and die naturally!" Jirou shouted at Seiji as he slid a door open.
Jirou walked across the room and opened another door in the wall revealing many weapons and suits hanging on the wall.
"I'll help protect this village, but I won't let you change history," Seiji assured Jirou as he began grabbing equipment.
"Try and stop me," Jirou snickered while grabbing his suit off the wall.
Minutes later, a warning horn began roaring through the village. Kou gasped as she rose to her feet. A ninja slid the door open and ran inside. As the ninja whispered in Kou's ear, Beth began waking up. Beth tried to lean up but fell back down grasping her side in pain.
"(She's awake!") Kou shouted in astonishment.
Beth looked over at Kou in confusion as she couldn't understand Kou.
"What did you say?" Beth said in confusion.
Beth reached for her Ninja Comm on her wrist and pulled a small device off of it. Beth placed the device in her ear as Kou knelt down beside her.
"We need to get to safety," Kou told Beth.
Beth nodded and held her hand out to Kou. Kou took Beth's hand and slowly helped her to her feet.
"We don't have much time," The ninja said to Kou as he helped Kou walk Beth out of the room.
"What's going on here?" Beth whispered to herself.
Up on the wall, Ichirou and Shinji were gazing out in the distance at the black clouds moving closer to the village. Ichirou suddenly noticed something out in the distance and squinted to see what it was. A large flaming boulder was flying towards the village.
"(Get away from the wall!)" Ichirou shouted as men began climbing down the ladder.
"(We don't have time to use the ladder!)" Shinji screamed as he grabbed Ichirou by the arm and leapt off the wall with him.
The large boulder struck the wall creating a gaping hole with ease.
"(Father!)" Jirou shouted as he and Seiji ran up to Ichirou and Shinji who were lying on the ground.
Ichirou rose up and stared at the wall in horror.
"(Another boulder could come flying in at any second,)" Shinji cautioned the others as he rose to his feet.
"(They want us to come to them,)" Jirou explained to his father.
"(Then I'll head out there and destroy the catapult,)" Ichirou responded as Jirou helped him up.
"(No, you need to stay here and make sure no one gets into the village,)" Jirou disagreed with his father.
"(Let us take care of the catapult,)" Seiji begged his father.
"(Fine, just be careful out there,)" Ichirou nodded. "(You'll be outnumbered out there,)"
"(Use the tunnel to get out of the village without being seen,)" Shinji informed Jirou and Seiji.
Jirou and Seiji hurried off towards the entrance to the tunnel and left Ichirou and Shinji behind.
"(Grandmaster, we have enemies approaching!)" A ninja shouted as he ran in through the gaping hole.
"(It has begun,)" Ichirou sighed as he covered his face with his face mask.
Back in the present, Jun and Mason were fighting with a group of Kudabots while Ben and Logan were dealing with Cat O'clock. Cat O'clock continuously fired beams from his eyes at Logan and Ben as they ran towards him. Ben deflected a beam with his Rockstorm Guitar and sent it back towards Cat O'clock. The beam hit Cat O'clock causing sparks to surround his body.
"I can't move now!" Cat O'clock screamed slowly as his body froze in place.
"Now Logan!" Ben shouted as Logan continued running towards Cat O'clock.
"Ninja Battle Morpher, Claw Mode!" Logan shouted as he stabbed his Battle Morpher into Cat O'clock just above the clock in his upper body.
Logan began prying the clock as Cat O'clock stood motionless.
"I almost have it!" Logan yelled as he continued pulling.
Ben placed a Power Star on his Rockstorm Guitar and took aim at Cat O'clock. Mason stabbed a Kudabot through the head causing it to collapse as he looked over at Logan. Logan pulled the clock off of Cat O'clock and jumped away as Ben fired a powerful lightning blast from his Rockstorm Guitar. The blast struck Cat O'clock causing him to scream loudly.
"My time is up!" Cat O'clock shouted as he exploded in the blink of an eye.
Logan walked over to Ben holding the clock as Jun and Mason came up.
"Will that thing save the others?" Jun asked Logan.
"If we can fix it," Logan nodded.
"Then let's get it to the shop and get it fixed," Mason said as he kicked a Kudabot head aside.
Inside of the tunnel leading out of the village, Jirou was leading the way with a torch in his hand. Seiji sighed as he continued following Jirou down the tunnel. Jirou glared over his shoulder and saw that Seiji was worried.
"Seiji, I know you only came to keep me from killing Ripcon," Jirou said to his brother.
"No, I came to keep you from screwing things up," Seiji grumbled as he crossed his arms.
"You mean like killing Ripcon?" Jirou antagonized Seiji.
"If you kill Ripcon, you could lose everything," Seiji warned Jirou. "Even your friends in the future could end up not existing anymore,"
The tunnel began rumbling as Jirou and Seiji came to a halt.
"There's something you need to know Seiji," Jirou sighed as he turned towards his brother. "What you told me isn't true,"
"What are you talking about?" Seiji said in confusion.
"I know what happens today," Jirou told Seiji. "I've read about it in a book about our family,"
"Then why am I remembering killing our father as Ripcon?" Seiji wondered.
"Ripcon is the one unleashing the attack, but he doesn't kill our father," Jirou informed Seiji. "I'm just making sure none of the outcomes change,"
"You could've told me this earlier when we were in the forest," Seiji said to Jirou.
"Ripcon or someone did something to you," Jirou explained to Seiji.
"Are my memories just lies?" Seiji asked himself as Jirou continued walking.
"For now don't worry about it," Jirou insisted. "Focus on winning here today,"
Seiji nodded and continued following Jirou through the tunnel. Jirou and Seiji came up to the end of the tunnel where daylight was barely shining in. Jirou peeked outside and saw that the dark clouds were still above them in the sky.
"Do you see anyone?" Seiji asked Jirou.
Jirou looked in a different direction and gasped as he noticed an army of demonic soldiers marching by.
"There's so many of them!" Jirou uttered as he hid back in the tunnel.
"How many is that exactly?" Seiji asked as he looked outside.
Seiji's eyes widened as he froze in fear. Ripcon was sitting in a throne being carried by a group of demonic soldiers wearing armor similar to the Kudabots.
"It's Ripcon!" Seiji responded to Jirou.
"What about the catapult?" Jirou asked Seiji.
"Yeah, it's being pulled by some of the soldiers in the back," Seiji told Jirou.
"That's good," Jirou sighed in relief. "It will be easier to destroy it,"
"When do we make our move?" Seiji whispered to Jirou.
"When they pass," Jirou informed Seiji as he peeked outside.
As the army passed by, Jirou and Seiji snuck out of the tunnel and began approaching the catapult.
"(Prepare the next launch!)" Ripcon shouted as he held his hand in the air.
"Crap!" Jirou whispered as a demonic soldier began walking towards them.
"We're screwed Jirou," Seiji said to his brother.
"I'm counting on you," Jirou smirked at Seiji.
"What're you doing?" Seiji asked Jirou as he watched Jirou pull up his face mask.
Jirou ran out of hiding and threw three shurikens at the soldier heading towards him and Seiji. The shurikens stuck in the soldier's chest as it screeched in pain catching the attention of other soldiers.
"(Where did that ninja come from?)" Ripcon said in confusion.
Ripcon leapt off his throne and landed on the ground as Jirou began fighting off the soldiers around him. As Jirou was distracting the soldiers, Seiji began cutting through a rope on the catapult with his kunai knife.
"Don't get yourself killed brother," Seiji whispered as he continued cutting the rope.
Jirou stabbed a soldier through the chest with his sword and kicked it off as another soldier came to attack him. Jirou blocked the soldier's sword with his own sword and shoved the soldier back.
"(The rest of you keep marching towards that village!)" Ripcon commanded his soldiers. "(Leave this ninja to me!)"
The soldiers began falling back away from Jirou as Ripcon pulled out his swords.
"(How can one ninja be such a pain for my men?)" Ripcon asked Jirou.
"(I saved this village before, I'll do it again,)" Jirou assured Ripcon.
"(Then here's a warning for you,)" Ripcon warned Jirou. "(Norio is nothing compared to me,)"
Jirou chuckled as he prepared for an attack.
"(You're a joke,)" Jirou said to Ripcon.
Ripcon groaned in frustration as he began running towards Jirou. Jirou dodged Ripcon's swords repeatedly as he backed away from Ripcon. Seiji looked back over at Jirou and saw that he was fighting Ripcon.
"Wait, where did all of his soldiers go?" Seiji said in confusion.
Seiji looked up ahead towards the village and saw the army of soldiers approaching the village.
"Dad can't die," Seiji told himself as he stopped cutting the rope.
"(Be still!)" Ripcon shouted at Jirou as he continued swinging at him.
Seiji looked over at Jirou and saw him narrowly avoid Ripcon's sword.
"Hang on Jirou," Seiji muttered as he pulled a chain out from around his waist.
Seiji climbed onto the catapult and stabbed a knife on the end of the chain into the wooden post of the catapult. Ripcon looked to his side and saw Seiji standing on the catapult.
"(Another one!)" Ripcon gasped as he stopped attacking.
Jirou kicked Ripcon while he was distracted causing him to tumble to the ground.
"(You'll pay for that!)" Ripcon assured Jirou as he rose back to his feet.
A chain suddenly wrapped around Ripcon's right arm.
"(What's this?)" Ripcon said in confusion.
Ripcon turned towards Seiji and saw him standing beside the rope of the catapult.
"(See you later,)" Seiji snickered as he cut the rope with a shuriken.
The catapult launched and sent Ripcon flying into the air screaming. Jirou watched as Ripcon was sent flying towards the village.
"Seiji, he's going to reach the village now!" Jirou shouted at Seiji.
"Then let's get to the tunnel and hurry back," Seiji said as he ran over to Jirou.
Jirou and Seiji hurried into the tunnel and began heading back to the village leaving the damaged catapult behind.
In the village, a group of male ninja were leading children and their parents away from the danger at the wall. Kou and Beth stepped outside and heard people screaming as they were lead to safety. Beth looked out towards the wall and saw smoke and flames rising into the air.
"We just had to end up here," Beth said to herself.
"Follow the others, they'll lead you to the caves to hide," A ninja told Kou and Beth as he turned towards them.
"We need to hurry," Kou said to Beth as she began walking away.
"Jirou, where are you?" Beth wondered as she began following Kou.
Back at the wall Ripcon crashed into the wall and fell to ground in pain. Shinji stabbed one of Ripcon's soldiers and noticed Ripcon slowly rising to his feet. Shinji pulled his sword out of the demon soldier and began slowly backing up towards the wall.
"(Ignorant brats!)" Ripcon shouted angrily.
Ripcon glanced over and saw Shinji sneaking back into the village through the damaged wall.
"(Where do you think you're going ninja?)" Ripcon questioned Shinji as he approached him.
Shinji froze in fear and slowly turned towards Ripcon.
"(Once I finish you, I'll head into that village and kill every last one of your people,)" Ripcon told Shinji.
"(You'll have to get through me to do that,)" Shinji snickered as he readied his sword.
"(That won't be a problem at all,)" Ripcon chuckled as fallen soldiers around him began rising up.
Shinji gasped in horror and began backing away as Ripcon laughed evilly. Shurikens began hitting the fallen soldiers stunning them for a moment. Ripcon groaned in frustration as he looked over and saw a group of ninja run up behind Shinji.
"(Are you alright brother?)" Ichirou asked Shinji.
"(Yes, thanks,)" Shinji nodded as Ichirou stepped up beside him.
"(This is your last warning demon,)" Ichirou warned Ripcon. "(Leave our village, or join the rest of your kind in hell,)"
"(I'm not going anywhere,)" Ripcon growled as he pulled out his two swords.
"(Then prepare for your defeat,)" Ichirou said to Ripcon.
Ripcon's swords suddenly began glowing as he raised them into the air.
"(This is for Norio!)" Ripcon shouted as he prepared to attack.
As Ripcon went to swing his swords, Jirou leapt towards Ripcon and punched Ripcon in the side of the head with a flaming fist. Ripcon was sent careening into a boulder as Jirou stood before his father and uncle breathing heavily with his right fist engulfed in flames.
"(Leave my people alone!)" Jirou screamed at Ripcon.
"(How did he do that?)" Ichirou said in confusion as he stared at the flames surrounding Jirou's fist.
Ripcon rose from the rubble and looked over at Jirou as his eyes glowed brightly.
"(Where did a ninja get that much power?)" Ripcon asked himself.
Seiji caught up to Jirou gasping for air without noticing the fallen soldiers around them.
"Jirou, we're surrounded now!" Seiji warned Jirou.
Jirou looked around him and saw the fallen soldiers approaching him with their swords ready.
"(Father, leave the one in charge to Seiji and I,)" Jirou said to his father.
"(No, I won't let you risk your life like that,)" Ichirou disagreed as he shook his head.
"(Ichirou, you saw what Jirou just did to that demon,)" Shinji told Ichirou. "(I guarantee you he'll be fine,)"
Ichirou sighed as he looked down at the ground.
"(Fine, but please don't get yourself killed,)" Ichirou said to Jirou as he looked back over at Jirou.
"(I'll be fine, I promise,)" Jirou nodded as he began walking towards Ripcon with Seiji right behind him.
"(That leaves the rest of that demon's soldiers to us,)" Shinji said to the ninja standing behind him and Ichirou.
"(Let's save our village!)" Ichirou shouted as he readied his kunai.
Inside the lab of the Rangers' Base, Logan was inspecting the digital clock taken from Cat O'clock. Logan cracked open the clock and saw many circuits burnt out and cringed in disgust. Mason sighed in boredom as he and Ben sat across the room from Logan at a table.
"Come on Logan, you've got to have a way to fix that thing," Mason said to Logan as he looked over at Logan.
"If you would stop bothering me, I could probably find a way to fix it," Logan muttered as he began taking the clock apart.
"If anyone can fix it, it's you Logan," Ben encouraged Logan as he took his hat off and sat it on the table.
"I hope so," Logan sighed as he picked up a tool.
Jun stepped into the lab and saw that Logan was now working on the clock.
"How's he doing?" Jun asked Logan and Ben.
"He pretty much just started," Mason said as he crossed his arms.
"If Logan doesn't hurry, Jirou and the others could be trapped in the past forever," Masaru warned the Rangers as he floated into the lab.
"Are you serious?" Mason asked Masaru.
"And now I'm even more nervous," Logan groaned as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.
In a forest near the village, Ripcon was cautiously walking through the forest with his two swords in hand. Ripcon heard leaves above him rustling and instantly retaliated by firing a blast from his eyes into the air. The blast struck a tree branch turning it to ash.
"(You can't hide from me forever,)" Ripcon warned Jirou and Seiji as he continued through the woods.
Up in the trees above, Jirou and Seiji were watching Ripcon as they hid from him.
"Can't you just morph and beat him that way?" Seiji asked Jirou.
"No, I'm not going to risk that," Jirou whispered as he began climbing down.
"What're you doing?" Seiji questioned Jirou as he watched him climb down.
"Getting things started," Jirou said to Seiji as he pulled out a kunai knife.
Jirou landed on the ground silently behind Ripcon and quickly kicked up a flurry of leaves off the ground. Ripcon gasped and turned around as he was surrounded by leaves and couldn't see anything through them. Ripcon swung his sword through the leaves blowing them away.
"(Your tricks won't fool me,)" Ripcon chuckled as he saw Jirou standing in front of him.
Ripcon swung his sword at Jirou only for it to be blocked by Jirou's kunai knife.
"(That little kunai won't stop my blades!)" Ripcon shouted at Jirou as he swung his other sword at him.
"(Then let's use two!)" Seiji yelled as he dropped down from above and blocked Ripcon's other sword with his kunai knife.
Jirou and Seiji kicked Ripcon in the chest knocking him a few feet back. Jirou leapt towards Ripcon as his right fist was engulfed in flames and went to punch Ripcon. Ripcon blocked Jirou's flaming fist as he crossed his swords causing Jirou to hit the blades. Sparks flew off of Ripcon's swords from the attack and hit the ground.
"Oh no!" Jirou said in astonishment as the dry grass around him and Ripcon went up in flames.
"(Looks like this battle is getting heated up,)" Ripcon chuckled as the flames continued spreading.
"(Those flames will reach the village if we don't put them out,)" Seiji informed Jirou.
"(I know, but we can't do anything right now,)" Jirou explained to Seiji as he backed away from Ripcon.
While Ichirou and Shinji were fighting the fallen soldiers trying to enter the village at the wall, Kou was watching from the entrance of the cave at the chaos that was occurring. Kou gasped as she noticed a smoke cloud beginning to rise over the village. Flames began swallowing the trees near the village leaving Kou speechless.
"Our homes," Kou muttered as a man stepped up beside her.
"Not again, please," The man said as Beth looked over at the man and Kou beginning to cry.
Beth placed her hand over her wound and slowly began rising to her feet.
"I can't sit here and do nothing," Beth said as she cringed in pain while taking a step.
Beth squeezed pas Kou and the man and began walking out towards the village.
"Girl, get back here!" The man shouted at Beth as he watched her walk away.
"I'll go get her," Kou said to the man as she began running towards Beth.
As the fire began entering the village, Beth picked up a bucket filled with water and instantly dropped it as her side began hurting. Beth grasped her side in pain as Kou ran up and grabbed her arm.
"We need to get back to safety," Kou told Beth as the flames grew closer to them.
Beth shook her head and pulled her arm away from Kou. Beth reached down and picked up the bucket once again and dashed the remaining water inside of it on the flames approaching them.
"We can't stop the flames, so let's head back now," Kou insisted as she saw Beth refill the bucket in the nearby pond.
"Do not give up," Beth cringed in pain as she struggled to carry the bucket of water towards the flames.
"What was that?" Kou asked Beth. "I couldn't understand you,"
Beth poured the water onto the flames stopping them from spreading towards her for a moment. A fallen soldier suddenly crashed through the wall startling Beth. The soldier landed on the ground with a thud and lied motionless on the ground.
"Kou, why're you still here?" Ichirou asked Kou.
"This girl ran off, so I tried to stop her," Kou informed Ichirou.
Ichirou looked over at Beth and saw her refill the bucket at the pond.
"She's injured, but still trying to help save our village," Ichirou said as he watched Beth pour the water on the flames.
Ichirou looked over at Kou and saw the worried look on her face.
"Kou, go get more people and help this girl put out these flames," Ichirou ordered Kou.
"Yes sir," Kou nodded as she turned away and ran back towards the cave.
Beth glanced over and saw Ichirou watching her put the flames out.
"Jirou really looks a lot like his dad," Beth whispered to herself as she continued refilling the bucket.
"Ichirou, we need a little help!" Shinji shouted from the wall.
"I'm coming!" Ichirou responded as he dashed off leaving Beth by herself.
Inside of the blazing forest, Jirou was blocking Ripcon's attacks repeatedly with his kunai knife as he backed away from Ripcon. Seiji hurled a chain at Ripcon and wrapped it around his right arm easily disarming Ripcon as he pulled his arm back.
"(This damn chain!)" Ripcon shouted in frustration.
Ripcon sliced the chain with ease using his other sword and freed himself. Ripcon started walking towards Seiji ignoring Jirou.
"(I'm not finished yet!)" Jirou yelled as he ran towards Ripcon.
Ripcon spun around and shoved Jirou to the ground. Ripcon quickly scooped up a handful of ash and embers off the ground. As Jirou rose to his feet, Ripcon hurled the ash and embers into Jirou's face blinding him. Seiji watched Jirou fall to the ground grasping his face in pain as he screamed.
"(He won't interfere for a bit,)" Ripcon chuckled as he turned towards Seiji.
"(You monster,)" Seiji said in disgust as he prepared for Ripcon to attack.
Ripcon dashed towards Seiji and rammed into him with his shoulder and sent Seiji crashing into a tree. Seiji collapsed to the ground gasping for air as the smoke from the flames began growing stronger.
"(Soon none of us will be able to see a thing because of this smoke,)" Ripcon told Seiji as he walked over to him.
Ripcon grabbed Seiji by his collar and picked him up off the ground. Ripcon pulled the kunai knife out of Seiji's hand as he began snickering.
"(However, I think your reason will be a little different,)" Ripcon growled as he pointed the knife at Seiji's right eye.
Jirou rose to his feet reaching his hands out to grab onto something as he heard Ripcon cackling.
"My eyes are useless right now," Jirou whispered to himself. "I need to use my ears for now,"
Jirou slowly began walking towards the sound of Ripcon's laugh while Ripcon prepared to attack Seiji.
"(Go ahead and do it,)" Seiji demanded as he stopped struggling. "(You'll regret it,)"
"(Oh, and why is that?)" Ripcon asked Seiji.
"(Once you see who I am under this mask, you won't hurt me,)" Seiji chuckled.
Ripcon pulled off Seiji's mask revealing his face.
"(You're just a brat,)" Ripcon cackled as he tossed Seiji's mask aside.
"(I'm you!)" Seiji shouted at Ripcon. "(I know you're my past self behind that ugly face!)"
Ripcon suddenly screamed in pain causing him to let go of Seiji. Ripcon reached towards his shoulder and pulled a kunai knife out of his shoulder.
"(You annoying little pest!)" Ripcon lashed out at Jirou as he quickly turned towards him.
Seiji looked at Jirou and saw that his eyes were closed.
"(Are you sure you can keep fighting?)" Seiji asked Jirou.
"(As long as my heart beats, I'm still capable of fighting,)" Jirou told Seiji as he prepared for Ripcon to retaliate.
"(I'll cut you into pieces!)" Ripcon screamed as he ran towards Jirou.
Jirou began smirking and dashed a handful of ash into Ripcon's eyes.
"(My eyes!)" Ripcon yelled in pain as he dropped his swords.
"(Now we're even,)" Jirou said as he hit Ripcon with a swift kicking knocking him to the ground.
Seiji walked back over to Jirou as Ripcon lied on the ground rolling back and forth holding his eyes in pain.
"How are your eyes doing?" Seiji asked Jirou.
"It hurts to open them," Jirou said to his brother as Seiji put Jirou's arm over his shoulder.
"Let's get you to some clean water then and see if that helps at all," Seiji responded as he helped his brother walk back towards the village.
Underneath the antique shop, Logan was putting finishing touches on the clock as the others sat around passing time. Mason looked over at Logan and saw him rise up from his seat. Logan shouted out loud in excitement startling Jun and Ben. Logan picked up the clock and turned towards the others with a smile on his face.
"I've done it!" Logan shouted in excitement.
"Good, now get that thing started," Mason demanded Logan as he walked over towards him.
"Hold on, we don't know exactly what this thing will do," Jun told Mason.
"Yeah, we need to figure out where in time Jirou and the others were sent first," Logan informed Mason.
"How do we do that?" Mason asked Logan.
"I'll just connect this thing to the computer and have it search for screwed up moments in time," Logan told Mason as he plugged the clock into the computer.
"That will take too long," Jun said to Logan as she walked over to the computer.
"What're you doing?" Logan asked Jun as Jun began typing on the keyboard.
"I'm bringing up footage of our fight with the monster from earlier," Jun explained to Logan. "We'll be able to see if anything indicates where he sent the others,"
As the video began playing, Jun watched as Cat O'Clock began preparing to activate the clock on his chest. Jun paused the video on Cat O'Clock and saw the time on the digital clock.
"If that time represents the year they were sent to, then Jirou and the others were sent back to when his family was still alive," Logan told the others.
"Ben, go grab Jirou's book from his room upstairs," Jun ordered Ben.
"Sure thing," Ben nodded as he stepped out of the lab.
"What's that book going to do?" Mason asked Jun.
"It'll help us figure out what's going on where the others are," Jun answered Mason.
In the Takayama Village, Beth and the villagers calmed down the flames saving the village from further damage. Beth sat down on the ground breathing heavily as she grasped her side in pain. As Kou came over to check on Beth, Ichirou returned and saw that the flames were under control.
"Ichirou!" A ninja shouted as he ran into the village. "Jirou and Seiji have returned!"
"Already?" Ichriou said in disbelief as he turned towards the wall.
Seiji walked into the village with Jirou's arm over his shoulder helping him walk. Ichirou looked closely at Jirou and saw that his eyes were closed.
"Jirou," Beth muttered as she saw Seiji walking with Jirou.
"What happened to him?" Ichirou asked Seiji as he hurried over to help with Jirou.
"The demon threw ash into his eyes," Seiji told his father. "We need to clean his eyes before the demon returns,"
"So, the demon is still around?" Ichirou asked Seiji.
"Yeah, but we did the same to him to immobilize him for a moment," Seiji explained to his father.
"Get him to the stream," Ichirou told Seiji.
"Right," Seiji nodded as he began walking away with Jirou.
Beth rose to her feet and hurried over to Seiji.
"I'm sorry you're involved in all of this," Seiji apologized to Beth.
"It's fine," Beth said to Seiji as she put Jirou's other arm over her shoulder. "Let's just get Jirou to the stream,"
"Wait, when did you learn Japanese?" Seiji asked Beth as they carried Jirou.
"Hitoshi upgraded our Ninja Comm's and added an earpiece that pretty much makes everyone sound like they're speaking English," Beth told Seiji as she pointed at her ear.
"And you still can't speak Japanese though," Seiji chuckled as the two continued helping Jirou towards the stream.
As Seiji and Beth approached the stream, the two sat Jirou down beside the stream.
"Get that gunk out of your eyes Jirou," Seiji told Jirou as he helped Jirou lean up.
Jirou dunked his head into the water and opened his eyes.
"Hopefully that ash didn't do any permanent damage," Seiji sighed as he crossed his arms.
Jirou rose his head out of the water gasping for air and wiped the water from his face.
"Everything is still a little blurry," Jirou said to Beth and Seiji as he turned towards them.
"You just need to let your eyes adjust," Beth told Jirou. "You probably had them closed for a while with that ash in there,"
"Keep washing them if you need to," Seiji smiled to Jirou.
"Hopefully Ripcon doesn't attack while we're out here," Jirou said to the others as he continued to wash his eyes.
"Ripcon is here?" Beth said in confusion.
"Yeah, he's the one leading the attack," Seiji informed Beth.
"Then we need to make sure he doesn't attack the village again," Beth told Jirou and Seiji.
As Jirou rose to his feet screaming could be heard coming from the village.
"Are your eyes good now?" Seiji asked Jirou.
"I should be fine now," Jirou nodded as he and Seiji began running towards the village.
"Hey, slow down!" Beth shouted at Jirou and Seiji. "I can't run right now!"
"Jirou, it might be time to bring out the big guns," Seiji said to Jirou as he ran alongside him.
"If it's the only way to run Ripcon out of the village, I'll do it," Jirou told Seiji.
Back in the village, Ichirou was tending to an injured ninja while Shinji was standing guard. Ichirou wrapped a bandage around the injured ninja's arm and slowly helped him to his feet. While looking out in the distance from the top of the wall, Shinji noticed something approaching the village.
"(Brother, we've got trouble!)" Shinji shouted as he looked down at Ichirou.
"(What is it?)" Ichirou asked Shinji.
"(It's the demon in charge!)" Shinji informed Ichirou as he climbed down from the wall.
"(Then the archers better be ready,)" Ichirou said as he clenched his fist.
An explosion suddenly went off blowing another hole through the wall surrounding the village. Ichirou gasped in horror as he saw an energy wave fly through the hole and strike a building causing it to explode in an instant.
"(He's here!)" Shinji gasped as he readied his kunai knife.
Arrows began raining down over the wall onto Ripcon causing no harm to him at all. As arrows continued bouncing off of Ripcon, he began snickering as he walked through the hole in the wall.
"(I will make this village burn to the ground,)" Ripcon growled as his eyes glowed brightly.
Ripcon swung his swords sending two energy waves flying towards other buildings nearby. A building behind Ichirou and Shinji exploded causing debris to begin falling down towards them. Ichirou and Shinji quickly leapt out of the way and avoided the chunk of the building safely.
"(The archers had no effect on him!)" Shinji said in disbelief.
"(I see that,)" Ichirou grunted as he and Shinji began running towards Ripcon.
"(That's right grandmaster, come right at me!)" Ripcon laughed maniacally as he saw Ichirou and Shinji running straight at him.
Ripcon's swords began glowing as Ichirou and Shinji continued running towards him.
"(Double Sword Doom Strike!)" Ripcon shouted as he prepared to attack.
Ripcon gasped as he felt the ground beneath him begin to rumble faintly. A tower of flames shot out of the ground engulfing Ripcon.
"(What was that?)" Shinji asked his brother.
Ichirou turned around and saw the Red Ranger crouching on the roof.
"(Impossible!)" Ichirou gasped as the Red Ranger jumped off the building.
Jirou landed in front of Ripcon as the flames around him died down.
"(No, it can't be!)" Ripcon exclaimed in disbelief.
"(It's one of the Legendary Ninja!)" Shinji said to Ichirou.
"(But why now?)" Ichirou wondered. "(Why didn't they come when Norio attacked?)
Jirou swung his Ninja Star Blade at Ripcon but was easily blocked by Ripcon's two swords.
"(Leave while you still can,)" Jirou threatened Ripcon as he continued pushing against him.
"(Your threats don't scare me,)" Ripcon chuckled as he shoved Jirou back.
Ripcon fired a blast from his eyes at Jirou but the attack was blocked with ease by Jirou's sword. Seiji ran up to Ichirou and Shinji and saw Jirou fighting Ripcon.
"(Incredible!)" Seiji said in amazement as he watched Jirou and Ripcon continue attacking each other with their swords.
"(Seiji, where is your brother?)" Ichirou asked Seiji.
"(He's still at the stream with his friend cleaning out his eyes,)" Seiji told his father.
Behind Seiji, Beth peeked out from behind a building and saw Jirou fighting with Ripcon.
"If only I wasn't hurt, I could help," Beth whispered to herself.
Jirou quickly pulled out his Ninja Battle Morpher and blocked one of Ripcon's swords.
"(Now I've got you,)" Jirou snickered as he kicked Ripcon's feet out from under him.
Ripcon fell to the ground and quickly rolled away as Jirou swung his sword at him. As Jirou struck the ground with his sword, Ripcon jumped back to his feet and fired another blast at Jirou from his eyes. The blast hit Jirou in the chest causing him to fall back to the ground.
"My eyesight is still blurry," Jirou whispered as he began to get up.
Ripcon kicked Jirou knocking him back to the ground.
"(Alone you are nothing!)" Ripcon shouted as he began kicking Jirou.
Beth looked away as Jirou continued being kicked by Ripcon.
"I don't have a choice," Beth gulped as she pulled out her morpher. "I just hope my injury doesn't hinder me too much,"
Beth placed her Ninja Power Star on her Morpher and quickly activated it. As Ichirou and Shinji watched Ripcon kick Jirou, Ichirou noticed a white blur blast past him.
"(And here's another one!)" Ripcon shouted as he went to kick Jirou again.
Ripcon let out a cry in pain all of a sudden causing him to back away from Jirou. Ripcon looked back over at Jirou and saw the White Ranger standing between him and Jirou.
"(Another Legendary Ninja!)" Shinji shouted as he saw the White Ranger.
"What're you doing?" Jirou asked Beth as she helped him up. "You're still hurt,"
"Yeah, so are you apparently," Beth chuckled.
"So there's another one now," Ripcon grumbled.
"We need to finish him now," Jirou said as he prepared his sword.
"I'm not going down that easily," Ripcon snarled as he stabbed his two swords into the ground.
More soldiers resembling the Kudabots began rising from the ground around Ripcon.
"This isn't good," Beth said as she looked over at Jirou.
"In your condition, I doubt we'll last much longer," Jirou told Beth.
"Destroy them and every last person in this village!" Ripcon shouted as the horde of fallen soldiers began screaming and running towards Jirou and Beth.
"Here they come!" Jirou cried out as he readied his sword.
As Jirou and Beth began running towards the fallen soldiers, blasts began hitting the fallen soldiers holding them back.
"No way, it can't be!" Jirou shouted in disbelief.
Over on a rooftop, Mason, Logan, Jun and Ben were aiming down at the fallen soldiers with their Battle Morphers.
"(The others have arrived!)" Ichirou smiled as the other Rangers leapt off the rooftop.
The other Rangers landed next to Jirou and Beth and lined up next to them ready for battle.
"How did you guys find us?" Jirou asked the others.
"Logan repaired that stupid cat's clock that created the portal you guys were sucked into," Mason informed Jirou.
"Then we used your book to help find you while searching for time distortions," Jun told Jirou and Beth.
"We even brought Masaru along," Ben said as he revealed Masaru in his hand.
"Thanks guys," Jirou nodded as he took Masaru from Ben.
Jirou placed Masaru on his left wrist and turned back towards Ripcon.
"You're not wiping out this village," Jirou said to Ripcon. "Not while I'm here!"
"Try and stop me," Ripcon snickered.
"Lion Fire Mode!" Jirou shouted as he activated the Lion Fire Morpher on his wrist.
The Lion Fire Morpher became engulfed in flames causing Jirou to begin glowing.
"What's this?" Ripcon said in confusion as he watched armor form on Jirou's body.
"Lion Fire Red Ranger!" Jirou cried out as he dashed towards the fallen soldiers.
Jirou instantly vanished causing a shockwave blowing the fallen soldiers aside.
"Where did he go?" Ripcon wondered as he looked around.
Jirou instantly appeared in front of Ripcon and began pummeling Ripcon repeatedly with his fists.
"(He's so fast!)" Ichirou said in astonishment.
"(He possesses the legendary Lion Fire Armor!)" Shinji said in disbelief.
Behind the building nearby, a mysterious person wearing a hooded robe was watching Jirou battle Ripcon.
"(Odd, I didn't expect to see the Legendary Ninja here,)" The person whispered.
Seiji looked over his shoulder and noticed the person hiding around the corner. As Seiji began to turn around, the mysterious person disappeared.
"What was that?" Seiji asked himself.
Jirou kicked Ripcon sending him crashing through the wall. With ease, Jirou leapt over the wall and went after Ripcon as the other Rangers continued fighting the fallen soldiers.
"We can't stay here forever," Logan warned the others. "If we do we'll be trapped,"
"Then we better clean this place up before it's too late," Mason said as he stabbed his sword into the ground causing geysers of water to shoot up blasting the fallen soldiers away.
"That won't take long!" Ben shouted as he quickly ran past a group of fallen soldiers striking them with his guitar sending electrical bolts through their bodies.
Logan erupted from the ground below the fallen soldiers and attacked them one after another using his sword. While standing back, Beth shot down fallen soldiers with her Battle Morpher in Bow Mode.
"I can't risk fighting with close combat," Beth said to herself. "Long distance is all I can do for now,"
Beth looked up ahead and saw Jun taking out the fallen soldiers around her with ease using her Ninja Star Blade and Battle Morpher in Blade Mode.
"Come on Jirou, beat that freak again," Beth said as she aimed at another fallen soldier in the distance.
Outside of the village Jirou was still pummeling Ripcon repeatedly with punches. Jirou then hit Ripcon with one powerful punch and sent him skidding along with the ground. As Ripcon struggled to rise to his feet, Jirou pulled his sword out from over his shoulder and placed the Lion Fire Morpher on it.
"(This is the end,)" Jirou nodded as he activated the Morpher.
Jirou's sword began growing as flames surrounded it. Ripcon rose to his feet staring up at the sword as it continued growing longer.
"(Please, I'll leave now," Ripcon begged Jirou.
Ripcon's body began glowing and transformed him back into a human. Jirou gasped as he saw an old man standing in Ripcon's place.
"(You're not Seiji!)" Jirou exclaimed.
"(Even if you do kill me here, I'll just move on to the next vessel I find fitting,)" Ripcon warned Jirou.
Jirou began screaming as he swung the sword downward towards Ripcon.
"(No!)" Ripcon screamed in horror as the shadow of the sword covered him.
The sword slammed into the ground next to Ripcon leaving Ripcon frozen in horror.
"(Leave now before I change my mind,)" Jirou said to Ripcon as his sword returned to normal.
Ripcon transformed back into his demon form as he slowly backed away from Jirou.
"(He's actually letting me go,)" Ripcon whispered to himself as he began coughing.
Ripcon turned away from Jirou and the village and began walking away.
"(This old body is running on fumes any way,)" Ripcon said to himself. "(I should go search for another vessel for now,)"
Jirou watched Ripcon walk away making sure he didn't turn back. As Jirou demorphed, people began screaming in the village. Jirou quickly turned towards the village and began running back as fast as he could. As Jirou ran through the hole in the wall, he noticed people gathered up around something. Out of the corner of his eye, Jirou noticed a mysterious person running on top of the wall.
"(Hang in there Ichirou!)" Shinji shouted as Jirou walked closer to the commotion.
Jirou's eyes widened as he heard Shinji.
"No," Jirou said in horror as he squeezed past the people in front of him.
Jirou gasped in disbelief as he saw Seiji hugging their father's lifeless body. Jirou looked at his father's chest and saw a hole where blood was gushing out. Seiji looked over at Jirou as tears ran down his face.
"(They came out of nowhere,)" Seiji told Jirou as Jirou knelt down beside him. "We were all distracted,"
"(Who did this?)" Jirou asked Seiji as his eyes began watering.
"(Some person in a hooded robe,)" Shinji answered Jirou.
"(I should've been here to protect him,)" Jirou cried as he punched the ground in frustration.
"(Jirou, we don't have much time left,)" Masaru whispered to Jirou from inside of Jirou's top.
"(I'm not leaving until I find out who did this,)" Jirou sobbed.
Up on a rooftop, the other Rangers watched as Jirou and Seiji mourned their father's death.
"We could've saved him," Beth said to the others.
"It was supposed to happen," Jun told Beth as she placed her hand on Beth's shoulder. "Even if we did stop it, there's no telling what would change in the future,"
A beeping noise suddenly began going off and caught Logan's attention. Logan pulled out the clock device and saw that its battery was low.
"Guys, we need to get back to the future now," Logan alerted the others.
"I'll go tell Jirou," Beth said as she demorphed.
Beth slid off the roof and safely landed on the ground. As Beth walked over to Jirou, she saw him hugging his father as he continued crying.
"Jirou, it's time to go," Beth told Jirou as she placed her hand on his shoulder.
Seiji looked at Jirou's face and saw that he was gritting his teeth.
"(I'm sorry Shinji,)" Jirou apologized to his uncle as he gently sat his father down.
"(What is it?)" Shinji asked Jirou.
"(Seiji and I must go,)" Jirou sniffled as he wiped the tears from his eyes.
"(You can't leave already!)" Shinji shouted at Jirou. "(Especially after your father's death!)"
"(We don't have a choice,)" Jirou told Shinji as he hugged his uncle. "(Take care of our people,)"
Shinji's eyes widened as Jirou let go of him and walked past him.
"(Goodbye uncle,)" Seiji said as he bowed to Shinji.
Shinji turned around and watched Jirou walk away with Seiji and Beth beside him.
"(Ichirou, father, I will do my best at keeping our family safe,)" Shinji said as he looked up in the sky. "(I will make sure our family name lives on,)"
A faint flash appeared for a split second over the wall catching Shinji's attention.
"(Hopefully I'll see you boys again one day,)" Shinji said as the sun began setting behind him.
Out in the woods near the Takayama Village, Ripcon approached a person wearing a hooded robe as he snickered. The mysterious person turned towards Ripcon and saw that he was still alive and began giggling.
"(I'm surprised you're not dead,)" The person said to Ripcon.
"(I am as well,)" Ripcon said as he sat down against a tree.
"(Then I guess it's time I do as I promised you,)" The hooded person said as they went to remove their hood.
Ripcon looked over at the mysterious person and snickered when he saw that it was Kiyomi.
"(That's right,)" Ripcon nodded. "(You promised to lead me to that runaway Takayama child,)"
"(And I will,)" Kiyomi smirked as she tossed her knife covered in blood aside.
"(Good,)" Ripcon chuckled as he rose back to his feet.
As Ripcon walked away, Kiyomi looked down at the bloody knife.
"(Who would've thought that Jirou would return?)" Kiyomi asked herself. "(And to think I used to love him,)"
Kiyomi began laughing evilly as she began catching up with Ripcon as the moonlight shined down through the trees.