Jayden looked around the Shiba house, periodically recalling memories from so long ago that made him smile. The day the team assembled, when Mike learned to beat that one Nighlok's attack, Emily's drastic improvement. He also remembered the noise at that time, and knew that soon, that would come to be once again.
He was pulled out of his reminiscing by the sound of the gate opening, and poked his head out to see his sister, Lauren, and his nephew, Mark, arriving. Mark had on his training uniform, and a backpack with a training sword sticking out of it. He was also carrying a wooden box that held the next gen Samuraizers.
"Hey uncle Jayden! We've shown up early because mom wanted you to see the new Samuraizers." He said, holding the box out to Jayden. "We even heard about the odd color change with Irena's zord so hers is orange."
Irena was Mia's daughter, and when Mia passed her down the Turtle Folding Zord, the color of the Sky kanji on it changed from pink to orange, for unknown reasons. As Jayden looked at the four Samuraizers in the box, he smiled.
"I trust that you have yours, come on, let's put these inside."
Lauren grabbed Mark's shoulder. "I'd like to talk to you, real quick." She said, pulling him off to the side. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out the Lion zord. "I'm officially making you Red Ranger. I've been waiting to do this because I didn't want to make you nervous." She pressed the zord into her son's hands. "You've got this." She gave him a hug before turning to leave, "I'll bring your stuff by later."
Mark watched the gate close behind her, before he ran up into the house. He'd had several visits here for years, so he knew the house well. It was eerie, though, walking through it as Red Ranger.
"I know how you feel." Jayden said, having felt the nervous energy rolling off the 15 year old. "When I was Red Ranger, right before we called the others, I had the same feeling, that energy of how it's going to be dangerous, yet thrilling. You've got this though. We're all here to support you."
Mark smiled at that, he wasn't going to have to learn this alone, "thank you. Are the others coming here?"
Jayden shrugged. "I haven't been able to confirm the Nighloks are back yet. We're getting a lot of Gap Sensor ghosts though." He tapped the surface of the table, bringing the map up. "For now, just get settled, we'll talk about that after you do."
Mark nodded, walking down the hall to what would be his room. Sliding the door open, he stepped inside, letting out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. As he slid the door closed behind him, he smiled. Though the room was sparse, it was cozy. He took his bag off, tossing it on the bed. Sitting down in the chair, he leaned his elbows on his knees, looking at the floor.
He'd known this was coming, his mom hadn't hidden it from him, but he'd been hoping that the phone call would never come. He'd have to miss his sister's dance recital that was that night. She wanted nothing but to make him smile, and now he had to stay away to protect her—and the whole family—from danger.
After a few minutes, Mark walked back out into the main room, where Jayden was watching the map. "Anything concrete yet?"
Jayden shook his head, "not yet. I'm hoping it will go off soon so we can go check it out. Together."
Almost as soon as he finished talking, the blaring sound of the Gap Sensor went off, causing both of them to look up at each other. Jayden pressed the table to bring up the map, and there was a lot of ripples extending out from various points in the city.
"Let's go." Mark said, nodding at Jayden as he ran out into the courtyard. Jayden chuckled and shook his head as he followed.
As they arrived at the first spot, Mark looked around as Jayden checked the sensor itself. He drummed his fingers against his Samuraizer nervously, then he heard it. "They're not Nighloks."
"What do you m-" Jayden began to respond, only to get a sword jammed in his face by what looked like a cross between a Mooger and a Bear. More off them appeared out of the gap, then Jayden understood as he saw how fast they moved how he hadn't found them.
"GO GO SAMURAI!" Mark shouted, morphing. The Next Gen suits were different from the ones that Jayden and his team wore. They didn't have the Kanji on the faces, instead having a more traditional look to the visor.
"Look upon the 19th Red Samurai Ranger! The son of the great Lauren Shiba and the one who will defeat you!" Jayden said, before Mark scoffed.
"You take too long." He said, placing his disk on his spin sword. "Red Samurai Ranger, Ready!"
He charged into battle, slashing at the ones hovering over Jayden first. "Get back. I've got this" he said, turning the sword blade so it reflected the light, before charging back into battle. Spinning the disk, he summoned the Fire Smasher. "Fire Smasher!" He called, engaging the Lion disk in the space.
He hefted the sword onto his shoulder, and Jayden noted that he seemed to have some trouble holding it. As Mark swung the sword around, he was awkward with it, but made short work of the foot soldiers.
"We need to work on your handling of the Fire Smasher." Jayden said, stepping out from his hiding place and grabbing the giant sword from his nephew. "For one, I know the handle is abnormally long for this size of sword, but you're going to need it due to the weight. So use your lower arm to assist you in swinging it." As he spoke, Jayden demonstrated the techniques.
A small while later, the two stood in the courtyard, Jayden watching Mark work with the Fire Smasher, when his Samuraizer rang. Answering it, Jayden said. "Hey Kevin. Yeah, unfortunately we're going to have to. It's something more than Nighloks."
After listening for a while, he sighed. "I know. I never wanted it to come to this either. But you know we're the only hope the world has."
"Yeah, thank you." After he hung up, he walked over to Mark, grabbing the sword from him. "Go take a break, the rest of your team is on the way."
Mark grabbed for the sword. "No. Fire Smasher is one of my weak spots. I need to work on it."
"No. While you do need to work on it. It can wait. If you train yourself too hard, you're not going to be able to effectively lead. I know you want to be the best you can be, I did too, but you also need to conserve your power right now." Jayden said, making the weapon vanish, and pushing Mark inside.
Jayden cooked up lunch, and the two ate in a relaxed silence for a good 10 minutes before Mark spoke. "You were a stand-in, right? Does that mean I'm the same." Jayden immediately knew who—and what—Mark was referring to. "No, Garret isn't going to be Red. Lauren's line is the official Red Ranger line. I'm not going to demote you just because my son wants to be a Power Ranger. You've worked too hard for this."
Mark smiled, and as he opened his mouth to speak, the Gap Sensor went off, causing both of them to run into the living room.
Jayden tapped the table. "Down by the pier. I'll call the others and let them know where to go." He said, flipping open the box and putting the Samuraizers in a bag, tossing it to Mark.
Catching it, Mark pulled out his own, flipping it open. "Symbol Power! Horse!" he called, drawing and striking the symbol. A jet black horse appeared outfitted in the Shiba reverie. Climbing on, Mark rode off quickly, a hundred thoughts running through his head.
The other four were slowly converging on each other, Thomas and Lily were traveling together, being siblings. Cooper was on foot, having been somewhat nearby when his dad called him. Irena had been spending time with the students her mom teaches at the park when her call came in, so she was in a Shiba SUV.
As their paths met, Cooper flagged down the SUV. "I wasn't aware the Red Ranger was going to travel this way in a—" he was quickly cut off as Irena rolled down the window. "I'm Orange, not Red, and I'm guessing you're not either."
"No, I'm Blue."
About that time, Lily and Thomas ran up to the pair. "Which one of you is Red." Thomas asked, looking at the two.
Before anyone could answer, Mark rode up.
"I'm assuming him." Lily said, getting a nod from Mark.
"I'm the Red Ranger. I'm going to guess you guys are my team." He climbed down from the horse, noting that they weren't far from the pier. "If you are, I want you guys to think long and hard about what you're about to do. This isn't regular Nighloks like our parents fought. These are somehow worse. Either we beat them and save the world, or we fall and lose. There's no going back if you want this." He held up his Samuraizer.
After a few minutes, all four had agreed and Mark threw them their samuraizers. "Let's go. They're at the pier."