On Fire (Power Rangers Samurai)

102 - Concern / Chase

"Both of you need to take a deep breath." Ji noticed how panicked the two rangers were. "I assume you've encountered Mentor Ito, right?"

"Yeah, and he tried to kill Mia ten times just now." Antonio didn't breathe as instructed. How could he possibly calm down right now? "That guy can't be a mentor, he's a monster."

"Really Mentor, what's going on?" Mia could barely swallow her emotions as she spoke. "Jayden isn't dead, isn't he?"

"Listen, I visited Jayden not too long ago. Jayden is alive, but unwell." Ji clenched his teeth.

"You just visited him? How?!" Antonio yelled, becoming suspicious of Ji. "Why couldn't you save him?!"

"Even though the monks have the keys to all the cages here, leaving or communicating with Jayden means death." Ji calmly explained to Antonio. "You've seen how deadly Ito is.

"We could only check on him and smuggle him food." Ji sighed.

"Then what is Ito's plan?" Mia couldn't imagine why anyone would harm one of the hopes of humanity.

"It takes a great amount of power to rip a soul out of one's body. But when the body is weak or dying, their spirits are easier to retrieve. And when someone dies naturally, their spirits leave their body gently." Ji explained.

"What are you even saying?" Antonio didn't know why Ji was going on about spirits.

"I'm saying, the monks have theorized that Ito May be planning to steal Jayden's spirit." Ji tried to hold back how worried he was. "The spirit of one who is born with symbol power is unlike a regular person's spirit. It's special.. but we are unsure of what he would do with it."

"Now, where are the other rangers? You didn't come here alone, did you?" Ji changed the subject.

"Mike and Emily came with us, but Emily felt sick." Antonio replied. "Mike is looking after her."

"It's good that Mike is with her." Ji's concern for the rangers only increased, knowing that they were forced to split up. His hand met the wrinkles on his forehead as he himself took a deep breath.

Antonio and Mia were already worried about whether they could turn the situation around. Especially with just the two of them together.

"Listen," Ji's expression became serious. "Jayden is being held in a cage in a different room. You'd have to head out, then further down the hallway and take a right. It's a metal door."

"You need to get Jayden and leave as quickly as possible... But if you can't save Jayden, the four of you must leave and save yourselves." Ji instructed them. "Ito will try to kill you on sight, but he is prolonging Jayden's death."

"If you do encounter Ito, you'll have no choice but to kill him."

~~~

Mike frowned, noticing Emily's discomfort as she slept. Besides wishing she wasn't sick, he was pretty bored.

He wasn't so worried about Mia and Antonio, assuming they'd be fine simply exploring the area.

Maybe they had found where all the monks were hiding. And maybe Jayden was meditating with them.

He hummed to himself until he heard something odd, prompting him to stand up and listen closer.

The thuds of footsteps became louder and louder until they stopped at the sliding door.

"Antonio? Mia?" Mike was about to slide the door open until it was broken down, revealing a masked servant who was fully dressed in black.

Five more black clad followed the first into the room as Mike backed towards Emily.

He quickly noticed one was holding a roll or rope while the others were reaching for their swords.

"Damn." Mike whispered under his breath as he morphed. Immediately, he went to shake Emily awake.

"We're in danger!" He felt sorry for having to help her onto her feet even before she fully opened her eyes.

The threatening figures ahead appeared blurry to Emily as she stood up too quickly.

"Stay back here." Mike helped her brace against the wall before approaching the black clad with his spin sword. He was determined to keep her safe.

Mike fought them back but remained on the defensive as the black clad bombarded him with attacks. It wasn't exactly a fair fight with six people trying to capture him.

He couldn't land a single hit on either of them, especially while trying to preserve as much energy as he could.

As Emily watched, she knew she couldn't just be helpless the entire time, so she whipped out her samuraizer and painted her symbol. However, she stood there unmorphed.

All she could manage to do was summon her spinsword.

Emily immediately felt sorry. It seemed as though they had already lost as she watched Mike dodging and counter, acquiring little cuts here and there.

"That's it!" Mike was tired of being pushed around, finally taking out his forest spear. He spiraled it over his head, creating a leafy whirlwind that blew back the black clad.

The 6 masked figures all bumped their backs against the wall, then curled in pain.

"Let's get out of here." As the opportunity to escape presented itself, Mike took Emily's hand and charged for the window.

Mike understood that they didn't have much of a chance against the black clad, whose goal seemed to be capturing the rangers even at lethal costs.

They needed somewhere to hide, but the monk's temple wasn't trustworthy. Heading out into the forest seemed like the best option.

The two rangers hopped out of the window, swiftly tumbling onto the grass.

"Come on," Mike helped Emily up immediately after they landed, making her head whirl even more.

As they just began to run, Mike noticed the black clad jumping out of the window, one by one continuing to chase.

Emily poured everything she had into staying conscious and keeping up with Mike's pace but she couldn't.

"I can't." Emily could barely get the words out, but Mike understood her. He sheathed his sword and lugged Emily over his shoulder, continuing to run away from the black clad.

Fortunately, Mike was in good shape since he continued to train even after the temporary seal. Emily's weight didn't hold him back much as they was about to escape into the forest.

But his heart dropped when he noticed a line of black clad waiting for them at the entrance.

As they spotted Mike and Emily, they unsheathed their weapons and ran up towards them.

As Mike and the new group of black clad were at a standstill, the 6 figures that were chasing them from behind had finally caught up.