Power Rangers Reimagined: Neo-saban era

Episode 9: Red vs. Blue

Our episode opens up with Kenji and Nigel sparring in the dojo while sensei and the other rangers watch. Sadie roots for Kenji while Oscar bets on Nigel, however sensei tells them that the two are equally matched. he explains that while Kenji has been training his whole life in the art of samurai combat thus is more experienced however since this is only a sparring match he is clearly holding back. however sensei gives kudos to Nigel as he is clearly catching up to Kenji in his skills with the sword but Oscar points out that this may be due to the fact that Nigel has a tendency to overcompensate. sensei then tells Oscar that if those two were to lock horns for real who knows who will come out on top. after that, we cut to Akuma castle where we see Deker break into the castle only to be surrounded by marauders. Deker then slashes his way through marauders until he reaches the door to lord Ashura's throne room. Deker then bursts into the throne room and tells his father that the time has come to pay for what he did to his mother and his baby brother who was never even given a name followed by lord Ashura demanding his son to tell him why he dared stepped foot into the Akuma palace after he was banished. Deker then sees that lord Ashura has been reduced to a ghostly form and starts laughing at his father's current state saying that he's pathetic for losing his body to the Shiba clan and that he's done here now knowing that he's suffering a fate worse than death before leaving while Nocturna tells him to wait and she thanks him for saving her. he then tells tells her that he appreciates the affection as she's the only member of Ashura's motley crew who he actually likes before disappearing. after that, Octomancer summons a monster for lord Ashura: Eyezack, who tells lord Ashura that he has a weapon that can even the playing field against the power rangers: the tiger zord. after that, we cut back to the dojo where the rangers hear a gap sensor and the five morph and hop on their samurai cycles to speed onto the scene to confront the monster. Eyezack then cracks his whip to summon the tiger zord much to the ranger's surprise. Eyezack then explains to the rangers that when Kenji's ancestors the Shiba clan sealed away lord Ashura a crack between the two worlds opened and the tiger origami zord was caught in the landslide and fell into the netherworld and was "rescued" by Eyezack who put him under his control with his hypnotic spell. Eyezack then fires a hypnotic blast at Oscar only for Nigel to jump in the way and take the hit for him. Nigel then attacks the other rangers while Kenji goes for Eyezack, followed by the rangers retreating and Eyezack telling the brainwashed blue ranger to wait for him while he goes back to the palace to report to lord Ashura. after that, we cut back to the dojo where the rangers deliver the bad news to sensei. sensei is disturbed by the fact that not only does the monster have Nigel under his control but the tigerzord as well. Kenji then asks sensei what they're going to do, and sensei tells his nephew that when the time comes he's going to have to fight Nigel. after that, we cut back to Akuma palace where lord Ashura congratulates Eyezack for managing to take control over a ranger. Eyezack then tells lord Ashura to imagine the look on the red ranger's face when his own friend guts him like a fish and the two share a laugh before Ashura sends Eyezack back to the real world. Nocturna isn't paying attention however, looking out the window into the desolate netherworld landscape pining over her beloved Deker which makes lord Ashura sick as he detests the concept of love. Nocturna is offended by this, asking lord Ashura if he ever felt love for Deker's mother. lord Ashura then tells her that he never cared about her and that she was merely a means to an end and after she served her purpose in bearing his child she was no longer of use to him hence why he killed her. right on cue we cut to Deker wandering through the forest while monologuing about how he was exiled from the netherworld and was shamed by his kind and that he never asked to be born into the Akuma viewing his existence as a curse he must live with. he then transforms into his human form revealing him to have a tattoo on his arm that resembles the kanji for "evil" which is seen all over the walls and columns of Akuma palace as well as being tattooed on Nocturna's arm, being the symbol of the Akuma clan. we then cut to Eyezack and Nigel terrorizing citizens before Kenji arrives on his samurai cycle to confront Nigel. we then cut to the dojo where the other rangers ask sensei where Kenji is, and sensei tells them that he fears that he went to fight Nigel alone. the others are worried for Kenji and hop on their samurai cycles and drive to where Kenji's at. the four then hop off their bikes and ready their samurai morphers only for Kenji to stop them, Kenji telling them not to interfere as this is his fight, Kenji having flashbacks to his sparring match from earlier in the episode. Kenji morphs and both he and Nigel ready their spiral swords while the others are in disbelief of the fact that two friends are fighting. while Kenji and Nigel fight the others tell him to stop only for Eyezack to tell them to shut up and enjoy the show. Deker then arrives in his human form and the three ask just who the heck he is. Sadie then notices the tattoo on his arm is the same one that Nocturna has meaning he's half-Akuma. Deker then tells them that he didn't come here to fight as he isn't interested in his father's stupid vendetta against the Shiba clan. he watches Kenji and Nigel fight and tells the three that he admires the blue one's fighting style, however while moves like that may work in a dojo it cannot stand up to a real battle against the last surviving descendant of the Shiba clan, as his fighting stance is that of an experienced swordsman and that his grandpa taught him well meaning the red one has the upper hand. Kenji and Nigel then lock swords one more and Kenji spins a disc which activates the "resist" symbol freeing Nigel from Eyezack's control. Deker watches while monologuing that he admires the fire in Kenji's eyes and that he almost fights like an Akuma. Eyezack then summons the tigerzord and the other rangers morph. Kenji tells the other four to take care of the monster while he deals with the tigerzord and summons his lion origami (cue zord vs. zord fight from shinkenger episode 9). Kenji then hops into the tigerzord's cockpit and uses the same disc he used on Nigel freeing the zord from Eyezak's control and creating the tiger disc. meanwhile the rangers destroy eyezak with an elemental slash only for Nocturna to show up to play her shamisen to make the monster grow (cue shinkenger episode 9 zord fight). the rangers combine the tigerzord with their megazord to form the samurai tiger megazord to finish off the monster with a tiger drill attack. after that, we cut to Nigel sitting outside the dojo contemplating about how he almost killed Kenji only for sensei to cheer him up by telling him it wasn't his fault as he had no control over his body while Kenji looks at the tiger disc. Nigel apologizes to Kenji and the two shake hands while Deker watches from the nearby forest.