On Fire (Power Rangers Samurai)

81 - Theory / Beneficial

"Be well, be well. Oo ah oo, be well." Octoroo muttered to himself as he peered down into the sludgy Sansu to check on Xandred, poking him ever so slightly with his staff.

He would do this often when Velos was not around to mind what he was doing.

As a matter of fact, Velos was often not on Master Xandred's ship.

Velos spent a lot of time with his two newborn servants.

One of them was Zakyr, a beige colored nighlok with two flames burning at the tips of her pointy shoulders. She had no hands, but golden sharp blades as arms.

She was plagued by heartbreak and loss. Her sorrow made her cold, envious, and ruthless.

The other was Tiaram, a gentle nighlok that contrasted Zakyr's persona.

Her body was cloudy and pillowy, looking as if she couldn't hurt anyone. She was colored white with streaks of blue with swirls that were reminiscent of the Starry Night.

Velos took these two under his wing, convincing them the only way they could live was by serving him.

Naturally, Velos was furious that the portal was closed. His plans to obtain new nighlok underlings and storm the human world while Xandred was out were ruined.

It would've been fun for him to feel on top of the world. On top of both worlds.

Ultimately, Velos decided to not stay upset. He made a promise to himself to keep it classy.

"Humankind is the true evil." Velos told Zakyr and Tiarem. "They're easily fooled and swayed by appearances. Their ignorance and heartlessness towards their own kind are unmatched by any animate species."

Velos stepped towards the Sansu and peered at Xandred's ship in the distance, letting the gentle tides dampen his feet.

"There is no way for their world to progress because ignorance is rampant."

"You know a lot about humans." Tiarem listened to Velos with respect and appreciation.

In contrast, Zakyr was angered by ignorance Velos spoke of.

"Nighlok are evil too. At the end of the day, there's just no escaping evil." Velos told them. "That's why we should be concerned with pleasure."

Velos seemed knowledgeable and influential to Tiarem and Zakyr. They were interested in his every word.

"The humans have a theory about how the world came to be, called the Big Bang. It's sheer comedy." Velos stopped to laugh a bit.

"They believe a grand explosion created the world. How void of logic must you be to believe a perfect and intensely intricate system was birthed from complete destruction!" Velos chattered with a lively tone.

"The Big Bang is a foolish look on humans, but this theory is your reality." Velos told his subjects.

"Your human forms were completely destroyed so that your body and soul could be reborn into powerful nighlok. This sets you apart from other nighlok." Velos empowered the two nighlok.

Velos decided to spend all his newfound free time raising two warriors.

It was only a matter of time before he could unleash them on the human world.

There was no literal or logical way to explain it, but he could feel the seal dissipating, even if it was just at a sloth's pace.

"Until then." Velos smirked.

~~~

"I just want to reaffirm that you are all aware of the legends of Xandred and the black ranger." Ji inquired, to which the rangers confirmed.

All of the rangers except for Lauren sat in a circle on the floor of the living room.

"Alright, that's good." Ji cleared his throat before speaking more.

"I don't know how Antonio possibly came up with that symbol on the spot. Who knew that even the nighlok had spirits." Ji rambled, making sure to avoid directly praising Antonio.

"Now that the seal is up, you will have time to rest and heal physically and mentally. The monks will consistently check the status of the seal. Right now, they believe will last 2 months at the very least."

The rangers were pleased. Two months with no nighlok. Could they finally be at ease?

"Unfortunately, there is a list of concerns I must discuss with you... It may hinder your ability to rest well during this time."

Mike, Antonio, and Emily sighed aloud in unison. A couple of months with nothing to be concerned about was too good to be true.

"In the process of the sealing, not only did Antonio's samuraizer break, but Lauren's tiger zord went loose. It'll likely be hard to find and recapture it."

"What should we do about the tiger zord then?" Kevin asked.

"Lauren and Jayden will handle it." Gi dismissed the question.

"Another issue is the black box. Antonio has not been able to open it yet, so I urge all of you rangers to try. You all have 2 weeks before we hand it over to Lauren so she could try."

"Now," Ji's demeanor changed. "The next few things I'm about to tell you will unsettle you. But these are commands from the monks, so please allow me to relay their words to you without interruption."

With Ji's warning, the rangers had already become unsettled. They braced themselves for bad news.

"I will start by saying, we decided that you all should move out of this household. We think it will be beneficial for you to move to the temple where I am staying."

The rangers were in disbelief and disagreement.

They had just settled into a new home. It didn't seem fair that they were being asked to live with a bunch of old farts in a boring temple.

Before the smoke from the first bomb cleared, Ji threw a second one.

"I'm sure you've been wondering why you haven't seen Lauren in a while."

It was true. The rangers haven't seen her since she was stabbed by Velos.

"We had Lauren return to the house she lived prior to the Shiba House. Once again, she will live in isolation."