A/N: Alright, kind of a long one here, just to explain a few things. In my storyline, Bulk actually has quite a bit of money, so the plot of "Runaway Spike" really doesn't fit mine AT ALL! I'm going to do a storyline that does fit, and does include some of the key scenes in the episode, but for the most part, the script is being burned!

Secondly, to publically answer a question in a review, in my fic, Cody is around 14-15 years old, the same age as Jimmy, and a freshman in High School. He may have looked like a 'little kid' in the episodes, but I am planning to write him as merely small for his age.

At the Shiba House, Mia and Kevin were working to prepare something for dinner for later in the evening. Although Mia tended to do a lot of the cooking duties, especially now that she was considerably better at it, they were starting now to notice exactly how much Ji did around the house. Although they rarely saw him doing much, they quickly noticed how quickly dust and dirt started to lie, how the ingredients didn't magically appear in the fridge already prepared, and how the laundry by the washing machine just seemed to sit there.

Mia kept casting glances over to the main room where Mike and Emily were playing a video game. Kevin just nudged her.

"Maybe they should help." He suggested.

"That's not what I was looking at." Mia told him. Kevin just furrowed his brow.

"Jayden ran off with Antonio to work." Kevin reminded her, waving a kitchen knife in their direction. "I know we're engaged, but I didn't expect to have a couple of teenagers quite yet."

Mia just sighed and looked to Kevin.

"Emily's going through a lot. You've seen how she's been since Serena left." Mia told him. "I just don't think pushing her too much right now is..."

"So instead you give her time to stew over everything?" Kevin asked her. Mia just groaned.

"Don't think it hasn't occurred to me that she needs stuff to take her mind off things." Mia told him. "I just thought, maybe Mike could keep her distracted..."

"Emily, you're not even trying!" Mike complained. "Seriously, I've taken you out four times in a row with the riot shield. You could..."

Emily just ripped the handset out of the console, causing an error message to come up on the screen to inform them of the complication, before shoving it roughly into Mike's chest.

"Mike, I told you I didn't want to play in the first place!" She yelled at him. "I hate guns, I hate Modern Warfare, and I hate..."

"Whoa, calm down." He begged her. "You liked it..."

"Mike, video games are your thing, I get it! Just don't think that they're mine!" She screamed at him. She crossed her arms defiantly as he put the handset aside, coming towards her. He was trying to keep her mind off everything in the house, but it seemed like something had set her off.

"Emily..."

"Do you think I like you showing off all the time?" Emily grumbled. "I know you're good at video games. I know you play them all the time; I don't need to spend the whole day bored out my skull while you kill me over and over..."

"Mike!" Mia called out. Kevin watched as she took a herb jar and, under the counter so he couldn't see, emptied it into the trash can. She held up the empty jar. "I've run out of oregano. Could you go to the store and get some?"

"But..."

"The sauce will be ruined without it." Mia told him. He looked to Emily, seeing she was still seething, and thought better of it. Gathering his jacket, he went in search of the missing herb.

"Kevin, didn't Ji say he wanted you to do some filing in his study?" She asked her fiancé. He knew her well enough to know that this was a subtle hint to just go and leave her alone with Emily. He just kissed her on the cheek and left. Mia wasn't especially subtle though given the look Emily gave her. She knew that Mia wanted to talk to her.

"Emily..."

"He started it!" Emily told her. "I don't like that game!"

"Emily..."

"Brenda was only shot a couple of weeks ago and he wants me to play...?"

"So you expect him to stop playing fighting games too?" Mia asked her. "Maybe he should throw away all his Final Fantasy games because of all the real monsters..."

"Alright I get it." Emily muttered as she sat down. Mia just reached out to her, taking her hand.

"He's trying Emily, he really is." She told her. "Maybe you should cut him a little slack. At least don't let it get to the point where you're assaulting him with joypads."

"I guess." Emily grumbled. "He is sweet. I know he's trying his best, but sometimes, I just...I don't know what I want."

"Well, maybe that's something you should think about." Mia suggested. "You did spend a lot of time with Serena. Now she's gone..."

"She's not GONE!" The Yellow Ranger screamed at her. "She's coming back!"

"Alright." Mia answered, realising she had said the wrong thing. "But until she comes back, maybe sitting around doing nothing isn't the best use of your time."

"Then what do you suggest?" Emily asked her.

"Well, I can't say, that's up to you." Mia told her. "But until then, there is a load of laundry sitting there that isn't doing itself."

Emily just huffed, before heading to the washing machine and starting to load it roughly. Mia knew it wasn't ideal, but until she could figure out some way to keep Emily occupied, it was the best thing she could think of.

The evening trade was going well, and spirits were high in a lively pub near the Firth of Forth. As a few men left, they saw a bright red glow under a nearby car, before three figures shot out, appearing on the ground before them. One of them, and Asian-looking woman, staggered against a car, while another, a man with heavily-pronounced facial tattoos, shot like a torpedo, slamming head-first into the side of a van, denting it. They all just stared at the three, open-mouthed.

"What are you looking at?" Jindrax snapped, rubbing the crown of his head. The three men ran off, and by the sounds of their screams, they seemed to be vowing not to drink again. Jindrax sat up, still rubbing his head as Toxica came over to check on him.

"How was it for you?" He asked her.

"I feel a little woozy, but I'm fine." Toxica told him.

"Travelling by Gap takes some getting used to." Dayu assured them. "What is this place? I thought you said..."

"Uh, we thought just waltzing into the site of a country's strategic defence would be a little bit premature." Jindrax told her. "We figured we might take a little while to consider our options."

"Alright." Dayu replied. "So, we're going to observe the base?"

"I think that might be a little easier if you weren't so...conspicuous." Toxica commented. Dayu looked down, seeing herself in her Nighlock form. So far, she had twice changed back into her human form, though neither time was at her own volition. To the best of her knowledge, she could not change back without an external power.

"Perhaps I can scare..."

"You can scare us into a butt load of trouble." Jindrax interrupted her. "There's at least one Ranger at the base."

"There's a Ranger here?" Dayu asked them.

"Not one of yours." Toxica clarified. "We've only seen him once before, but we know he still has power."

"Then perhaps blending in for the time being would be for the best." Dayu replied sadly. "Is there anything you can do?"

"Toxica, what do you say?" Jindrax asked her.

"One magical make-over coming up." She replied, hitting Dayu with a beam from her staff. Dayu shifted form, turning into her human form once more, this time dressed in local clothing. She shifted a little as she tried to get used to the unusual clothing.

"This is a little uncomfortable." She commented.

"It's what everyone nearby wears." Jindrax assured her as Toxica recalled her staff. "Alright, let's see about something to eat, I'm starving!"

"He's always hungry." Toxica assured her, rolling her eyes. "You get used to it."

With that, they went inside.

Spike arrived at his Uncle's place, slumping down onto the couch. Bulk wasn't far behind him, grinning broadly, though clearly exhausted. Cody's dad was something of a taskmaster when it came to training. Indeed, compared to Serena, he was more akin to Torquemada than a sensei, but as he sat down, he let out a satisfied little breath.

"That was amazing!" Bulk commented. "I haven't worked out that hard in ages!"

"Yeah, Cody's dad is pretty great." Spike agreed in a subdued way. He pulled out his cell phone and searched it for any messages or missed calls. Bulk just looked up at him wearily.

"You've been pretty quiet." He commented. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine Uncle Bulk." Spike rushed out to reassure him, continuing to look for non-existent messages. He wasn't especially happy, but he couldn't quite understand why. He had been genuinely thrilled when Cody and his dad offered to train them until Serena came back. Cody was a pretty cool kid all things considered. He was a loner, much like Spike had been, but just like Spike, he hadn't become bitter or isolated with it. He wasn't totally closed off from the idea of others coming into his life if that's what they wanted. Indeed, given how long he had spent alone, he was actually surprisingly friendly and sociable.

It was only when he mentioned the dance that things started to bother Spike. He wasn't interested in his own school dance, but he wanted to go to Central's. More specifically, it was when he mentioned that he wanted to ask Vicky to go to the dance with him.

Spike liked Cody, and he liked Vicky. They were both really quite sweet, thoughtful people, but there was just something about the whole deal that just didn't fit for him.

Unless Cody had gone straight from training to Vicky's place, something he doubted very much since Cody had said something about staining some furniture for his father, then he hadn't asked her yet. It wasn't really an issue yet as far as he was aware, after all, he didn't even know if she would be interested...

That was when he paused. What did it really matter to him if she was? He knew that Cody would treat her well, so why did the thought bother him so much. If they did go out, and they did decide that they had something, that would be a good thing wouldn't it?

His phone bleeped, and he checked the message. It was from Mal.

'Heading to the arcade with the others, tonight's the night I get the high score on dance hero. Want to come?'

"Uncle Bulk, is it alright if I go to the arcade?" Spike asked him. Bulk just waved it off.

"As long as I don't have to move, fine." He told him. "Get something while you're out."

"I'll be back later." Spike told him as he left.

Meanwhile, in a forest outside the city, Dekker was sitting by a campfire, cooking himself up a meal. Occasionally, he cast a glance at the Bane of Life, while he tried to make sense of his thoughts.

He knew that trusting a Nighlock was Folly. Indeed, he was certain that it was only a matter of time until Serrator would double-cross him. He had already sold out at least two of his own Nighlock to further his own agenda, whatever that was, so Dekker, one who had no loyalty to him other than one of convenience, would not be of any concern to him.

He prodded some coals with a long stick and he thought about some of the things that troubled him in particular. For one thing, Skarf, one of the Nighlock that Serrator had sold out to his plans; Dekker had been personally ordered to destroy. He was no stranger to having blood on his hands, but this was one that did trouble him. He was raised on the tenants of bushido. He was raised to believe in the purity of the fair fight, of honourable combat. While he rationalised it that Skarf was a Nighlock, and as such had no heart and would have done the same to anyone if it was in his best interest, at the end of the day, he had turned on an ally in battle and cut him down, all for the promise of what he sought. He was no mercenary, no dog of war, but now he was not so sure.

He also remembered what had happened before he had left. The Yellow Ranger had confronted him, not even trying to fight. She didn't even bring a sword to bear. He could hear her words echoing in his mind.

"You WANT to die?" Emily asked him incredulously. "You're sick! You're insane!"

"Perhaps..."

"No, you are!" She screamed at him. "You got something almost nobody else gets! You got a second chance! You got to come back! Serena would give anything to get Stephen back! Why would you fight so hard if all you want is to die? Why would you struggle and keep going if your life meant nothing to you? Why keep going if there's nothing worth going on for? WHY?"

He didn't know Stephen. He knew OF him, he knew that he was connected to the Samurai, and he had a strong connection to the Yellow Ranger's sister.

He could remember a battle, a while ago now, where he had taken the Yellow Ranger's sister to draw Jayden into battle. He hadn't bargained on her coming to him instead, and he certainly hadn't banked on the power she had shown that day. By the end of it, he was buried under hundreds of tons of rock, only the power of his Nighlock form keeping him from being crushed into oblivion.

Thinking back now, he felt that power flaring up in her again. He could not believe the strength in her, but instead of fighting, she was so much more passionate about questioning him on his decision to seek his own destruction.

He knew that Serrator had killed this 'Stephen', and in a strange way, he mourned the loss. He didn't know him, but he knew that he was an innocent, that he was harmless, and that he was not a warrior. He smiled as he thought about this. He had a warrior's spirit.

He vaguely remembered a battle, in which Stephen had thrown himself onto his back, trying to wrestle him away from Serena and Jayden. His heart far exceeded his skill, and Dekker easily threw him off, but appreciating his bravery, he was careful to only wound him. Yes, it was a sad loss that one so brave was gone. His bravery exceeded his skill with a sword, something that undoubtedly was a factor in his demise.

As his thoughts went back to the Yellow Ranger though, he was struck by something odd. Although he could sense sadness and anger at the loss, it was like there was something even stronger in her, something that was reflected in her venomous tirade...it was disgust. She was offended by his insistence on seeking his own destruction. She didn't understand why anyone would seek to die when, as she put it, they would give anything to bring Stephen back.

He also couldn't stop thinking about something else she had made him think about. Why had he kept going? Why had he come back? Why had he tried so hard to defeat oblivion to come back to a cursed existence? He could remember facing The Judge, and he remembered defeating him, but after that, he couldn't remember anything of note. All he could remember, all he could focus on was...

The Bane of Life. It was not Urumasa. It was not his sword, the one that had driven his existence for centuries. It felt wrong in his hands. He didn't know where Urumasa was, or why he no longer possessed it, but the Bane of Life, while a powerful sword in its own right, was not his.

"Is something wrong with it?" Serrator asked as he arrived, seeing Dekker staring at it.

"It is a cumbersome blade." Dekker commented. "My preference was the nodachi, though I was also skilled in the katana. The broadsword..."

"I give you a weapon of power and you complain?" Serrator asked him a little incredulously. Dekker just looked to him.

"I merely mention that the broadsword is a style I am not accustomed to." Dekker assured him. "I have always said that it is the swordsman, not the sword that makes the difference. It just takes some getting used to."

"Well, I am sure you will have plenty of time." Serrator told him. "I will dispatch a Nighlock into the city. You are not to go with this one."

"I'm not?" Dekker asked him.

"Use this time to familiarise yourself with the Bane of Life." Serrator told him. "I wouldn't want you to be anything but your best for your duel."

"Serrator!" Dekker called after him as he was leaving. Serrator just turned to face him. "Are you sure that you cannot find Urumasa?"

"Why would I want you at anything but your best?" Serrator asked him. "Practice Dekker, your time will come soon enough."

Dekker just watched him leave, waiting a little while to ensure he was gone and not waiting to see what he was doing. He then turned back into the forest, ditching his robes, and snatching up the Bane of Life, running his hand along its blade. He knew that Serrator would not lie about one thing at least. His time was near. If he was to meet his end, he would ensure it was well earned, regardless of who struck the final blow.