Chapter 40

Dayu stumbled over to her nighlok master, her strength fading by the second, "M-Master Xandred…" the nighlok king turned toward his minion as she fell before his feet, "Your harmonium brought me back Dayu…The final tune it played was…Powerful…" "My misery did it…"

"Your centuries of suffering unleashed all that power and now the Sanzu River is surging! I've never heard you play anything like it!"

"I didn't play it for you! I played for Deker…" with the last of her remaining strength, Dayu managed to stand back up on her feet, "T…This is the end of me…But it is also the end of my sadness…S…So many years I've held onto my sorrow…"

Xandred held Dayu up as she began falling back, he lowly growled as nighlok musician continued "But now…" "You should've embraced the nighlok life." "I was never truly a nighlok…My heart remained human…"

"Well…Perhaps you could still be of use to me…"

"Master!"

"Go be with Deker if you like."

Master Xandred then began to tightly squeeze Dayu who cried out in pain. "What's he doing to her?" wondered Nariko

"No stop!" cried Mia

The nighlok king simply ignored her plea and squeezed the last of Dayu's strength out of her, as she lay limp in his hold and began disappearing Xandred said "But part of you will stay with me!"

Right before their eyes Dayu disappeared only leaving a kimono robe draped over Xandred's shoulder. The article of clothing soon fell from the nighlok's shoulder as his injury on the upper part of his body healed. "What did he do to her?" questioned Mia

"Now for you Samurai Rangers!" snapped Master Xandred, he roared and took a couple of steps forward, "Where is the red ranger that deceived me all this time?! I want him! Red ranger!"

"Over here!"

Xandred turned to find Lauren and Antonio standing a few feet away, the female red ranger readied her sword, "I'm the red ranger and your downfall!"

"Ha! What can a little girl like you do? Today is the end of the rangers!"

"The only thing ending is you!"

"You're a fool!" roared Xandred, he swung his sword and fire shot out of it.

Antonio quickly tackled Lauren out of the way and into a little ditch with boulders surrounding them, "Look out!"

Nariko quickly rushed over to Lauren and Antonio just as Mike, Kevin, Mia and Emily did, "Antonio, Lauren are you all right?!"

"Nariko…What are you doing here?" asked Antonio

"Never mind that, neither of you have answered my question!"

"We're fine Nariko…Where's my brother?" questioned Lauren

"Last time I saw Jayden, he left to help you guys…"

"Then he's most likely making his way here…Nariko I need you to stay here and keep out of sight…It's a good thing Master Xandred hasn't seen you yet…"

Lauren looked to the rest of her fellow rangers, "Now I'm going to use the sealing symbol against Master Xandred but it takes time to write so I need for you to keep him busy, got it?"

"Got it!" answered Emily

Lauren pulled out the black box and handed it to the blue ranger, "Kevin take the black box." "Gladly." The female red ranger then turned to Mike and handed him a power disk, Mike grinned from behind his helmet "The shark disk! It'll help us cover you while you seal Master Xandred."

Everyone snapped their attention forward as they heard growling, to their dismay they found Xandred a few feet before them "Well, well, well…If it isn't my precious Yamada princess…I wasn't expecting to find you here…Saves me the trouble to go out and search for you."

The rangers immediately stood in front of Nariko to protect her, Lauren looked back at the Yamada heir "Nariko go now!" "Right!" the princess ran off just as Kevin and the others began to attack Xandred while Lauren began the process of writing the sealing symbol.

Nariko soon hid behind a nearby boulder and watched the rangers bravely fight against the nighlok king. Though as she watched the battle, the Yamada heir jumped a bit as she heard a voice call out her name "Nariko!" the princess looked behind and much to her relief found her fiance running towards her, "Jayden!"

She quickly ran over to her red ranger and tightly embraced him, "Jayden!" "Nariko what are you doing here?! I thought I told you to go back to the Shiba household!" "I was…But Master Xandred came back and…"

Jayden broke the embrace and looked at her, "That's all right…As long as you're safe…" he then looked over Nariko's shoulder and spotted his sister a few feet away, "Lauren…" Nariko turned to find that Jayden's sister is in the process of writing the sealing symbol, "She's already doing it…"

Much to the couple's surprise they were suddenly surrounded by moogers, Jayden drew his spin sword while Nariko pulled out her sais. The engaged couple looked at each other and nodded, thus the two began fighting off the small army of moogers that charged at them.

It didn't take Nariko and Jayden long to defeat the moogers, once making sure that the creatures were defeated the couple looked back on the battle to find Kevin, Mike, Mia, Emily and Antonio on the ground with Xandred standing over them. The nighlok king scoffed at the sight, "Pathetic…"

Xandred then turned his sights on Lauren who was still writing the sealing symbol, the nighlok leader began walking towards her. "Almost done…Almost done…" muttered Lauren, she then finished the symbol at the last second just as Xandred sent fire at her.

The female red ranger sent the symbol towards Xandred which successfully impacted him and sent him into the rocky wall covered in fire. Kevin and the others got back on their feet and stumbled over to Lauren watching the event unfold.

"Yes!" cried Antonio

"It worked!" said Mia

"He's gone!" said Mike

"She did it!" exclaimed Emily

"Amazing!" said Kevin

Nariko lightly laughed and tightly embraced Jayden, "She did it Jayden! Lauren did it!" "Yeah…She did…" Lauren who had fallen to her knees, looked at her father's samuraizer in her hand "I did it Father! I finally sealed Master Xandred…"

Though to everyone completely and utter horror, Master Xandred emerged from the flames unharmed. Nariko let go of Jayden and stared at the nighlok in disbelief, "Im…Impossible…Wh…What's with that white patch on his chest? I never saw that before!"

"This is far from over rangers!" told Xandred

"No…No you were sealed!" said Jayden

"But…No nighlok can stop the sealing symbol!" exclaimed Lauren

"This white patch…" said Xandred, "Dayu's human side is what saved me."

"He must've absorbed Dayu's body…" said Mia, "He's not pure nighlok anymore!"

Xandred placed his hand over the white patch, "And now I don't need Sanzu River water to keep me from drying out!"

Lauren looked at her samuraizer then back at the nighlok king, "How can we stop him now?!" Xandred evilly laughed at this, "Ha, ha, ha! You can't!" he then attacked the rangers with his powers and loudly roared injuring the rangers even more.

The group collapsed right where they stood, all of them groaning in pain from their injuries. "No!" cried Jayden, both he and Nariko rushed over to the rangers. As the Yamada princess checked on their friends, Jayden stood in front of them with his samuraizer in hand "I got this!"

The red ranger quickly wrote out a symbol, "Symbol power: Teleport!"

And just like that the group disappeared before Xandred in a thick cloud of smoke. The nighlok king lowly growled as he stared at the empty spot before him, "I'll finish you rangers later and capture my princess." Xandred turned and walked over to the fallen kimono robe, picking the clothing up "Dayu, Dayu, Dayu…You have served me well…Nothing can save the humans now." With that being said Xandred retreated back to the netherworld through a gap amongst the rocks.

Day had faded into night once more and at the Shiba household Mike, Kevin, Antonio, Mia and Emily were spread out in the living and dojo going over today's event. "Master Xandred beat us bad…" said Mike, "If the sealing symbol didn't work…What else can we do?"

Mia leaned her back against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest, "He's immune to the sealing power…He doesn't even need Sanzu water…"

"Can he even be beat?" questioned Antonio

Kevin growled in frustration and hit the punching bag before him, "We almost had him!"

"I feel so sorry for Lauren." Said Emily, "She spent her whole life learning the sealing symbol…And it was all for nothing…"

Little did the rangers knew Nariko was listening to their conversation from around the coroner, she sighed a bit and made her way to the guest bedroom where Takashi is currently resting. Upon entering Takashi opened his eyes and looked at his little sister, "Nariko…" The young Yamada sibling walked over and sat by her brother's side, "Hey…How are you feeling?" "Fine…You know you already asked that five minutes ago…" "I know…"

"How are the others?"

"They're fine…Somewhat…They're still upset by today's event…"

"I don't blame them…They almost got rid of Master Xandred…But we didn't know Xandred was going to absorb Dayu's body in order to make him half human, half nighlok…How's Lauren?"

"Still recovering…But she's fine…Though I have a feeling she's taking it harder than the others."

"I bet…"

"I'm going to head outside for a bit…Do you need anything?"

"Not right now…I'll probably get some more sleep." "Ok...Good night Takashi…"

"Good night Nariko."

And thus the Yamada princess left, though as she stepped outside Nariko quickly hid behind the wall once spotting Jayden and Lauren outside sitting on the bench together. "Lauren…Are you ok?" asked Jayden, she didn't answer for a few seconds as she gazed at the night sky then said "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Jayden also looked up at the night sky, "Yeah…" "Kind of reminds you what we're fighting for…" "Lauren…"

"You know what's coming next, don't you? That cloud of sorrow that Dayu released probably has the Sanzu River ready to burst…Nothing will stop Master Xandred from sailing his evil ship into our world…I let everybody down Jayden…You…The rangers…Nariko…Takashi…And especially Dad…"

Lauren took her gaze off the night sky and looked at her little brother, "I'm handing the leadership of the rangers back to you." Jayden was about to protest but his sister quickly cut him off, "I came here to seal Master Xandred but that didn't work…Now the right thing is for you to lead the team again. You have a great team Jayden, they need you now. The whole world needs you."

Jayden smiled a bit at this, "I'll do my best…It's time to finish what Dad started."

Lauren nodded and stood up from the bench, "I'll call a meeting right away and tell the others." As she made her way into the household, Nariko step out from behind the wall and approached her fiance. Jayden immediately looked to his side once hearing footsteps and was surprised to see his loved one outside, "Nariko…You were outside?" "Yeah…I kind of overheard your conversation with Lauren…" she took a seat next to Jayden and remained silent for bit before asking, "So…I'm guessing tomorrow is it then…The final battle…" "Yes…"

Jayden then placed his hand over Nariko's and tightly held it, "I want you to know that I will do everything in my power to protect you and the innocent lives on this planet…And if I don't happen to make it …" "Jayden don't…Just don't…We're not turning this conversation as our last good bye..."

The Yamada princess laid her head on her ranger's shoulder with a few tears running down her face, "B-Because I'm not saying good bye…Promise me Jayden…Promise me you'll come back to me…" Jayden wrapped his arm around Nariko and held her close, "I promise…I'll come back to you…"

5 minutes later in the living room everyone had gathered together for the meeting, Lauren sat at the head of the table and looked at the others "Tomorrow Master Xandred needs to be stopped…But before then…I have something to say…As you know the sealing symbol has failed to stop him…I wasn't able to get the job done, I'm handing the leadership of the team back over to Jayden."

"Really?" asked Mike

"I thought you might like that idea." Said Lauren, "Jayden is the best chance that we have."

The red ranger nodded at his sister, "Thank you Lauren." She stood up from her seat and stepped aside to let Jayden take her place. He studied his team for a moment and said, "All right listen up…Master Xandred is more powerful than ever…It appears that he's unbeatable…But I have a plan…We're attacking him with brute force."

"That's…That's you plan?" questioned Mike

"Lauren's attempt to seal Master Xandred didn't work, but it definitely weakened him. Dayu's human essence may have saved him but also created a weak spot that we can exploit. Forget sealing him, if we can hit that spot with a strong enough blow we may be able to stop him."

"Yeah but we'll need more power." Told Kevin

"And you'll have it." Said Takashi, Lauren pulled out a power disk and handed it to her brother, "All thanks to this." "The Shiba fire disk." Said Jayden

Lauren looked at the others, "I am too hurt to join you in battle but…I used every last ounce of my strength to pack that disk with as much symbol power I could…Hopefully it's enough for you to defeat Master Xandred, once and for all."

"Nice!" said Mike, "Thanks Lauren, for everything you've done to help us."

"No doubt it'll be a tough battle but we're a strong team and I believe together we can accomplish anything."

The rangers smiled and voiced their agreements, Ji couldn't help but smile a bit at this and softly said to himself, "Such spirit…I pray that they come back…"

The following morning all was peaceful in the city that is until Master Xandred began his invasion. At the Shiba household the gap sensor went off, Ji and Nariko were already in the living room looking over the virtual map of the city. "What…This looks like an invasion!" said Ji as he studied the blinking red dots that covered the map.

Jayden and the other rangers rushed into the room at this time to look at the map, "Whoa…Look at all those spots!" said Mike

"I've never seen so many go all off at once before!" said Mia

"The Sanzu River is flooding into our world…" told Nariko, she looked at the rangers "Looks like the battle for our world has begun…"

Jayden looked at his team, "It's time to make our stand and defeat Master Xandred for good."

The rangers nodded and as they rushed out of the household, Jayden stayed behind and turned to his fiance, "Nariko…" she smiled a bit and cupped his cheek, "Remember our promise…" "And I'll keep it…I'll come back to you…" Jayden then captured Nariko's lips in a passionate kiss, the two remained lip locked for a good minute until the red ranger reluctantly pulled away.

He cupped Nariko's cheek and wiped away the stray tear that ran down her face, "I love you Nariko…" "I love you too Jayden…" the couple shared one more kiss before Jayden finally departed the household with Nariko watching him.

Minutes later the rangers arrived a few feet outside the flooded city and took in the sight of the huge nighlok army of moogers before them. "Look at them all…" said Antonio

"This is it." Said Mia

"You still happy that you became a samurai?" asked Mike

Antonio looked at his fellow ranger, "Are you serious? Being a ranger is the best thing that ever happened to me! I wouldn't trade it for anything."

"Me neither."

"No place I'd rather be." Said Emily

"I guess I don't have to ask you if you're ready for this then." Said Jayden, Kevin looked at his leader "Jayden…As long as you're with us…We're ready for anything."

"No matter what we're up against…We're in this together, all the way." Told Emily

At that moment all the moogers spotted the rangers and readied their weapons, "Looks like they spotted us." Said Mia

"Right…Let's do this!" told Jayden

All the rangers pulled out their samuraizers and transformed, the six rangers thus drew their swords and charged at the massive mooger army. Though while they fought the moogers much to their surprise Master Xandred arrived on his ship roaring, "Rangers! The hour of your destruction is at hand! Prepare to meet your doom!"

All the rangers gathered at Jayden's side who said, "Take your best shot Master Xandred!" "Oh we will!"

As the moogers gathered in front of their nighlok leader, Jayden looked pass them and at a certain spot on Xandred's body, "There on his chest! That's where he absorbed Dayu's humanity. It could be his only weak spot…" he pulled out the Shiba power disk and equipped it to the black box which is attached to his spin sword, "I may only get one shot to strike him there so I've got to make it count! Super Samurai Mode!"

Once the white cloak appeared on his body, Jayden looked to his team "Get me in close!" Kevin nodded, "All right! Flanking positions! Mia and Emily in the front, Mike and I in the rear, Antonio watch our backs!"

The rangers immediately got into their positions, Kevin looked to his leader "Mike and I will shield you…" "You just focus on hitting that spot!" finished Mike

"It's time…" told Jayden, "Get me to Master Xandred, no matter what the costs!"

Thus the rangers began their charge and pushed through the mooger army protecting Xandred. Though while they continued to push towards the nighlok king Xandred scoffed at their efforts "Foolish rangers! Fighting onward to their doom."

The two female rangers quickly finished off the last mooger that stood in their way and turned to their leader, "All clear Jayden!" told Mia "Go for it!" said Emily

The girls quickly got out of the way just as Xandred sent a fire attack to the guys, Mike and Kevin immediately shield Jayden, taking the hit. As the two went down Jayden continued on forward activating the power disk which covered his blade in flames, "My sister couldn't seal you, but I can still destroy you!"

Jayden quickly dodged Xandred's attack and stabbed the nighlok's white patch hard. The rangers cheered as they witness their leader successfully hit Xandred. Jayden pushed his blade deeper into the white patch, "I knew that this would be your weak spot!"

Though much to his shock Xandred grabbed Jayden's blade and the fire immediately went out, "I see…Not a bad strategy red ranger…" "Huh?!" "But you won't defeat me that easily!" the nighlok king pulled the blade from his chest and threw Jayden over him.

The red ranger tumbled to the ground with the rangers quickly going to his side and helped him up, "Jayden!" exclaimed Antonio "Are you ok?!" asked Emily, Kevin looked at the nighlok leader in disbelief "Impossible!"

"You really think you could destroy me?" questioned Xandred

Jayden readied his sword once more, "This isn't over Master Xandred!"

Much to the rangers' shock the Shiba power disk broke apart in the black box and pieces of it fell to the ground. "The Shiba fire disk!" exclaimed Mia

"Ha! Your one chance at victory, now lies shattered on the ground!" told Xandred, "Nether Wind!"

Suddenly a huge powerful gust of wind came in and injured the rangers, though Xandred wasn't finished yet as he summoned another power of his, "Flames of the Netherworld!"

The nighlok king laughed evilly as he witnessed the rangers gets hit with his fire and power down from the intensity of the attack. As the rangers were lying upon the ground from the attack, Xandred said "Well? I'm waiting! Beg me to spare you, you worthless rangers!"

Jayden glared at the nighlok king while gripping his side in pain, "No matter what you do to us…We'll never bow to you!"

"Even now your spirit can't be broken." Said Xandred, "Perhaps you just lack the proper incentive if you won't beg for yourselves then I'll capture the other red ranger and the Yamada princess and see if you'll beg to spare them!"

Jayden immediately tried to get back up, "N-Nariko…Lauren…N-No!" though to his dismay the red ranger collapsed. He couldn't help but watch the nighlok king depart, feeling a sense of dread in his chest and worry for his fiance and sister.