The next day, Brooke found herself at the city swap meet with Antonio. It was a little crowded and somewhat overwhelming, but she ignored it, for the most part, trying to block out the slight headache she had. Other than that, it was enjoyable, and it was a nice change of pace from hitting the floor. Or the wall. But, that also meant she had to work on the despair symbol tonight- and that would be less than ideal. But still, it needed to get done, and Brooke knew she was the only person who could do it. It was what she was made for, after all.
Shaking those thoughts out of her head, Brooke focused on just having a good time with Antonio. "Thanks for inviting me, Goldie." She thanked, sitting at the small wooden table next to Antonio's booth, where, to nobody's surprise, he was making fish and burgers. The normalcy of it was relaxing.
"It's my pleasure, I figured you could use the break," Antonio replied, and Brooke nodded, a small smile on her face.
The bruises on her arms still weren't gone, but they were hidden by a thin grey hoodie. Which wasn't unbearable, but it wasn't the most comfortable thing. Still, the bruises also reminded Brooke of living with James, as they were similar to the ones she used to get because of him. She would rather deal with being somewhat hot than going on a trip to trauma-land. Anything was easier than that.
"I dunno how you got the black box programmed so fast. I'm kinda struggling with the cage symbol, not gonna lie." Brooke confessed, tracing a grain in the wooden table with a claw.
"Hey, don't be like that," Antonio chided, looking up from the small grill. Brooke quirked a brow in response, her eyes flashing. "I mean, you're doing something that usually takes years to complete, and you're not slacking off about it, Brooke. You're overthinking things." He reassured Brooke, who nodded faintly.
"Anyways, what is Master Chef Goldie making today?" Brooke teased, grinning when Antonio rolled his eyes at the nickname.
"You're horrible with the nicknames," Antonio stated, pointing a bottle of sauce at Brooke, who snickered and stuck out her tongue playfully in response. "To answer your question, it's my habanero hollandaise herring burger." He answered, and Brooke's eyes flashed.
She leaned back in her seat some, letting out a low whistle. "I mean, it already smells better than Mia's cooking, so you're doing fantastic in that regard," Brooke stated matter-of-factly, and Antonio laughed, shaking his head.
"Mia sets the bar pretty low." Antonio retorted, and Brooke laughed, nodding with a grin.
Being out with Antonio and bit having to worry about being a ranger was nice. Of course, Brooke still had her samuraizer and zord on her- they were the essentials, after all. But, other than that, she almost forgot about her samurai duties, just talking with Antonio about nothing in particular. The silver and gold rangers just enjoyed each other's company, Brooke people watching as Antonio made food. She had somewhat gotten over her jealousy of wanting to be fully human, it was still there, just easier to shove down now. She watched civilians go about their normal lives- and it made her wonder what life would be like if they didn't have to fight the war. Regardless, Brooke was happy with how things were playing out now, even with the looming threat of Xandred's return. She tapped her fingers on the table, her happy mood falling somewhat as she sniffed the air.
Nighlok. It was extremely faint, almost getting blocked out by the other smells, but still present. Brooke's eyes flashed as she scanned the area, her claws growing in subconsciously. Still, everything seemed relatively fine, so she convinced herself that it was just her mind playing tricks on her. Brooke forced herself to relax, turning her attention back to Antonio.
"Wow, what is up with that guy?" Antonio muttered, and Brooke felt the corners of her lips twitch.
"I think that's bullying- oh," Brooke cut herself off, her eyes flashing and settling on grey-gold when they landed on the man Antonio was talking about. "Uh, I don't think this is just people playing pretend." She thought aloud, furrowing her brows.
The man seemed to be pretending to be the mailbox he was standing next to. He was on his knees, his hands held up to represent the slot, and Brooke tore her attention away from the man when she heard a faint zap. A bicyclist was next, getting on his hands and knees and pretending to be his bike, and Brooke rose from her seat. The smell of nighlok was stronger now, and her eyes snapped around the area, lips curling around her canines. She knew she should try to keep her wolf features discreet, but at this point, she didn't care. It wasn't the weirdest thing right now.
Well, there goes that sense of normalcy, Brooke thought bitterly, turning her attention to Antonio. "Fuck." She muttered, running over and crouching down next to the gold ranger.
Antonio was lying on the ground, his hands pressed to his sides and his knees slightly bent. Brooke looked around, and she almost laughed. Almost. Of course, the fisherman was a fish, it was ironic. Still, it wasn't good, and that meant that Brooke was the only ranger in the area. She rose from her crouch, honing in on the nighlok's scent and jogging in that direction, taking her samuraizer out of her pocket and flipping it open. She called Jayden, and he picked up on the first ring.
"Everything alright?" Jayden greeted, and Brooke grit her teeth. As the smell of nighlok got stronger, the number of people who were presumably random objects increased.
"Not necessarily," Brooke replied, her voice hard. "There's a nighlok here," On cue, she heard the gap sensor go off, and Jayden presumably running to the meeting room. "It's turning people into objects… or something like that. Goldie's a fish," She explained, spotting the nighlok.
"We'll be right there. Stay safe." Jayden advised, and Brooke smiled weakly as she crouched behind an old couch, staying out of sight.
"Always am," Brooke replied, ending the call. She summoned her Wolf Kunai, sliding the moon disk on the weapon. She felt Amaris' presence in the back of her mind, and it was strangely comforting at times like these. Steeling her nerves, she stepped out from her hiding spot, spinning the moon disk. "Crescent Slash!" She yelled, sending the purple attack hurtling towards the nighlok and causing it to fall on the ground.
The nighlok had a lion's head on its stomach and pointers on its arms. "Ah, silver ranger," The nighlok greeted and Brooke morphed into her suit without saying a word. "Have you come to join the fun?" The monster cackled, and Brooke went into her soldier mentality.
"This isn't my type of fun, so I'm gonna put an end to it." Brooke challenged, drawing her katanas and running forward.
It was actually pretty easy, for the most part. The nighlok sent a pointer hurtling towards her, but the silver ranger just cut through it, swinging at the nighlok. Which it blocked with its weapon, which was a naginata with blades at both ends. Brooke had settled into a routine, blocking the nighlok's attacks and returning with her own. Soon, she saw red out of the corner of her eye, and with a discreet nod to Jayden, she stepped back some.
"Surprise!" Jayden yelled, jumping up and landing a strong downwards strike, the silver and red rangers then regrouping. "We got here as soon as we could. Glad to see you're alright." He remarked, and Brooke smiled underneath her silver helmet.
"Don't feel like getting turned into an inanimate object today. Let's end this." Brooke challenged, and Jayden nodded, the two running forward.
The pair soon settled into their unspoken routine, defending each other's weak points and blocking the nighlok's pointers. They weren't making much progress on the nighlok, sure, but they weren't inanimate objects yet. That was better than nothing, but the two eventually ended up getting hit, Brooke in the shoulder and stomach, and she hit the ground with a hiss of pain. Jayden didn't end up in a much better situation, as he got slashed in the stomach and staggered back.
Brooke felt her eyes widen when the nighlok raised an arm at Jayden. She left her katanas on the ground, shifting and lunging at the nighlok. Still, the monster had other ideas, firing a blast at the brown wolf. However, before the blast could make contact, a translucent purple shield blocked the blast, Amaris appearing in a flash of silver. The two wolves were white and brown puffballs, their fur bristled.
"I think it's time for a change!" The nighlok cackled, and before wolf-Brooke could move, the pointer was already embedded into Jayden's chest. The red ranger instantly froze, his spin-sword clattering on the ground.
Brooke shifted back, steeling her nerves. It would end up okay, it was just a minor setback. Right. The team seemed to be on it anyway, the four others running forward, but the nighlok seemed to have a better idea. "Switch Blast!" The monster called, firing a blast that would surely knock the four rangers off of their feet. The four prepared themselves for the impending pain, but it never came.
Instead, Amaris teleported over to the four, setting up another purple shield that blocked the blast. Still, nobody could find the voice to thank the white wolf. They could only just watch in shock for a moment as the nighlok fired another pointer. It embedded itself into a garden gnome, surprisingly not breaking the ceramic figure.
"Time to make a switch!" The nighlok exclaimed, and yellow energies traveled from Jayden and the garden gnome. The energies ran up the pointers and into the nighlok's body, presumably transferring them.
Jayden made something akin to a noise of pain, his ranger suit disappearing in a flash of red and the kanji for fire. He then seemed to twitch for a moment, his mouth breaking into an uncharacteristically wide smile. He went into a pose identical to the one of the garden gnome and went rigid, unmoving beside the faint rise and fall of his chest and him blinking. Brooke instantly ran over, sheathing one of her katanas and waving a gloved hand in front of his face, flicking him in the forehead for good measure. His blue eyes were dull, not showing a hint of emotion, and it was unnerving to Brooke. This whole thing was unnerving- and the fact that both of her childhood friends were inanimate objects didn't sit right with her. Still, she shoved that aside as she faced the nighlok, Amaris at her side, the white wolf in a defensive stance, her ears flattened to her head.
"Haha, Switchbeast, you've done it again," The nighlok, Switchbeast, congratulated itself, and Brooke felt her heart stop somewhat as the nighlok sauntered over to the garden gnome. Its naginata was surely sharp enough to break the gnome with ease, and that's what the nighlok presumably wanted to do. "Time to finish him off! Just one blow and the red ranger is history!" The monster cheered, and Brooke went into autopilot.
Her thoughts were getting too rampant, so Brooke shoved them aside as she blocked the nighlok's naginata with a katana. "Your defeat is going to be in the history books- not ours!" She growled, pushing the nighlok away from the garden gnome and landing strong strikes against the monster.
It felt weird not having Jayden by her side, and Brooke missed it. Luckily, Amaris was here, and while the white wolf couldn't fight, she could defend. She was putting up purple shields whenever Switchbeast attacked where Brooke couldn't block or dodge. It helped out immensely, as she still had someone to cover her weak points, and she silently thanked the wolf for being around. Still, Switchbeast landed a hard swing on Amaris' side that sent the white wolf to the ground with a sharp whine.
"Amaris!" Brooke called, her voice filling with worry, and this time she couldn't block the Switch Blast. It hit her head-on, and the silver ranger fell to the ground with a groan. It felt like she had stuck a fork in an electrical socket, and Brooke's back throbbed from the amount of force he hit the ground with.
Mia and Kevin also got hit by Switchbeast's blasts, the pink and blue rangers tumbling into a pile of boxes. Then, Switchbeast's pointers shot out, collecting what were presumably the two rangers' spirits, switching them into objects. That fact alone caused Brooke to bite back a scream of frustration. Well, that was four down, she thought bitterly, ignoring the tension headache that had started to surface.
"Oh no, you don't!" Emily threatened, running forward and rushing Switchbeast. The yellow ranger managed to land a couple of strikes on the nighlok, who staggered back.
Switchbeast's body started to grey, and cracks started appearing. Brooke cursed under his breath at that, her eyes flickering to the garden gnome and then Jayden. She silently apologized to the red ranger- as he was a garden gnome. And he would be stuck that way for a while, it seemed like.
"Dried out already?" Switchbeast exclaimed as more cracks started to appear on its body. "I need Sanzu River water to recharge! This isn't over yet, rangers!" The nighlok exclaimed, disappearing into a crack in a flash of dark red.
"You won't get away with this next time!" Emily challenged, sheathing her spin-sword and turning her attention to the pile of boxes that Mia and Kevin fell into. "Mia, Kevin!" She called, and Brook and Amaris were at her side, sifting through the boxes.
The two were demorphed, but Brooke and Mike set the pair on their feet, then retrieving Antonio and the fish that he was. Brooke did a headcount. Antonio was a fish, Jayden was a garden gnome, Kevin was a ballerina on top of a music box (which Mike got a kick out of), and Mia was a fan. So, it was pretty much half of the rangers down, and the three remaining rangers, and white wolf, shared a worried look.
"I'll call Ji," Mike announced, flipping open his samuraizer and calling the older man.
When the Samurai SUV showed up- which was the funniest thing about this, Brooke popped open the trunk. The driver just looked deadpan, and it made her wonder if he was just numb to the ranger business by now. Or if he was just getting paid enough to act numb.
"So," Mike started, glancing at the trunk of the car and then the four tranced rangers. "Are we just going to, like, throw them in there? Or…" He trailed, and Emily tried her best to put on her normal cheerful attitude.
"Hopefully more gently than throwing them, but that's the plan," Emily responded, opening the back door, and setting fish-Antonio, who was now in a container on one of the seats.
"I'll take Red if you take Kevin?" Brooke asked Mike, and her eyes flashed when he grinned.
"Not into Kevin like that, but you can take Jayden all you want." Mike snickered, and Brooke shot him a deadpan expression while Emily told him to be nice.
"You know what I meant. C'mon, before someone sees this and calls the cops," Brooke retorted, her eyes flashing, and Mike laughed but complied. She walked over to Jayden, chewing on her bottom lip as she came up with a game plan. "Sorry, Red." She muttered, lifting him over her shoulder. It was partly wolf strength, as brown and white fur sprouted on her hands, but Brooke was still struggling somewhat.
Mike did the same with Kevin, and the silver and green rangers shared a look of worry when the yellow ranger spoke. "Are they going to fit?" Emily wondered, and Brooke cringed.
She thought about posing them like dolls, but Brooke didn't even know if they had the ability to do that. Or if they were just rooted in their positions because that seemed to be the case. Plus, she didn't want to be "posing" Jayden, even if it wasn't him. It was still his body, and the fact that Brooke had him hoisted over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes was awkward enough. She shot a glance back at the gnome, and really hoped the others couldn't see this, and that they were unconscious or something like that. Because this? This was awkward.
"I think he can fit- MIKE!" Brooke cut herself off, shooting a glare at Mike, who had burst into laughter. "What are you, eight?" She spat, and Mike seemed to not care.
The green ranger responded to the silver ranger's glare by raising his eyebrows, a grin growing on his lips. "Go on, can Jayden fit?" Mike snickered, and Brooke shot an exasperated look at Emily, who returned it with a small smile and a shrug.
Eventually, the three rangers got the four others in the car. It was a tight squeeze, but they managed to get the rangers, and the objects they were into the trunk. Amaris was curled around gnome-Jayden, laying on the back row of seats, and Brooke crawled in, sitting next to the white wolf. Emily and Mike followed suit, the green and yellow rangers sitting next to each other a row ahead of Brooke.
"How the hell did it come to this?" Mike wondered aloud as the driver, who was still deadpan, started driving towards the Shiba House.
"I'd give you an answer if I had one," Brooke responded, running a clawed hand through Amaris' fur and glancing at gnome-Jayden. This was the most absurd thing yet, and she let out a quiet groan of annoyance, leaning back on the headrest. It was just bad luck, and nothing more.
--
After awkwardly unloading the rangers from the car- Ji watching Mike, Brooke, and Emily in concern the entire time, the three stood in the meeting room, radiating worry. Amaris was still present, the white wolf sitting next to Brooke with her fluffy ears pressed to her head and violet eyes shining with worry. She didn't say anything, but the wolf's body language showed her concern.
"So, uh…" Brooke trailed, making a random motion with her clawed hand as if to say "I don't know".
"Do you think they're… awake in there?" Emily wondered as she tapped on gnome-Jayden's hat, waving a hand in front of his face.
Ji shot a look at Brooke, whose eyes flashed. "The nighlok switches people's spirits into objects, and then their bodies take the shape of the object." She explained, glancing at Antonio, who was lying on three seats pushed together and then Jayden. She really wished they were back in their bodies. It's not because she didn't dislike Mike or Emily- but she fought better with Antonio and Jayden. Brooke knew that they would have to get rid of this nighlok quickly before the entire team is objects, and the war is lost because Jayden's a garden gnome or something like that. That would be a way to lose the war, if any.
"What should we do?" Emily asked, Brooke and Mike, well, now just Mike because Brooke had left the room.
"That nighlok tried to smash the gnome after Jayden was switched into it," Mike blurted, pointing at gnome-Jayden for emphasis. "I think if the object is destroyed, the person is to." He concluded, and Brooke nodded as she walked back into the room.
"It's a sound plan, in actuality," Brooke stated, setting her notebook, a pen, and her family's archives on the coffee table. "They can't fight back and are defenseless. The nighlok knew what it was doing." She explained, sitting at her usual seat- which felt empty without Jayden beside her. However, Amaris took the empty spot, the white wolf hopping up and sitting next to Brooke.
"So, is it like your wolf form?" Emily questioned Brooke, whose eyes flashed as she propped a chin on her fist.
"I suppose so?" It was more of a question than an answer, and Brooke furrowed her brows, chewing on her bottom lip. "My spirit, technically, gets moved into a new form. But it's different because my body has completely changed, but their human counterparts are still here. And it does take a lot of mental capacity and energy to switch forms, so it would probably harm them since their bodies aren't made for switching. You have to have a certain bone structure, and I had it even before I went under the experimentation." She rambled, and the two were listening intently. But she cut herself off, the three remaining rangers all coming to the same thought.
"All those people, we have to save them!" Emily urged, and Brooke let out a heavy sigh as she flipped open her notebook and the archive.
"I'll see if there's any symbol that can reverse this," Brooke muttered, motioning to the inanimate objects for emphasis. "But I think defeating the nighlok is our only hope." And with that, she got to work.
Emily and Mike left in a couple of minutes, and Brooke now had her headphones in, flipping through one of the archives about symbol power. She was translating as she read, skimming the pages for anything useful. It didn't seem to be the case, and she just spent the next thirty minutes staring at the pages without retaining any information. Amaris was resting her head on Brooke's thigh- and it was almost domestic, even though her leader and one of her childhood friends was staring at her as a garden gnome.
This also gave Brooke a time to just think and sort through her thoughts. Most importantly, her thoughts about Jayden. She didn't want to admit it to herself- sleeping in and waking up in his arms made her feel more loved than she's felt in a while. And while she had developing feelings for him, it's not like she acted on them. They were the silver and red rangers, and they were just friends. That was fine, Brooke would take it over nothing, and she also knew if she survived this war, she would want a normal life. And while she wanted Jayden by her side, she didn't know what he wanted to do with his life. And that was all speculation, there was a chance that they couldn't make it out of the war alive. She didn't even know if he would want her around for that long. Still, Brooke shook those worries out of her mind- Jayden was here now, and that was enough. That was more than enough.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mike walk into the room, so Brooke focused on that. Pausing her music, she took out her headphones, raising her eyebrows at the tutu in the green ranger's hand. "Is that for Kevin?" She asked, her eyes flashing as Mike grinned.
"We really need him to play the part," Mike snickered, walking over to where Kevin was standing. "You find anythin'?" He asked, and Brooke shook her head as she watched Mike force the tutu on Kevin.
"No, it's never easy," Brooke replied as Mike stepped back, admiring his handiwork. The blue ranger had a large pink tutu around her waist and even Amaris seemed amused. "He's gonna kill you once this is all over. You know that, right?" She warned with a snicker, and Mike shrugged, grinning.
"It's worth it," Mike responded, flipping open his samuraizer and taking pictures.
Brooke just shook her head with a small grin, petting Amaris. "It's your funeral." She replied, and Mike laughed, flipping his samuraizer shut.
"Like I said, it's worth it," Mike repeated himself, and Brooke rolled her eyes, returning her attention back to the archives.
Eventually, Brooke gave up. She made a noise of annoyance, throwing her pen on the table. "Son of a bitch." She muttered, running a clawed hand over her face, and Amaris sat up fully, nuzzling Brooke's cheek.
"You are doing fine, my dear," Amaris reassured Brooke, who just let out a heavy sigh and glared at her notebook. It was all aggravating to no end, and it seemed to be never-ending. Her notebook was starting to fill up, actually, and Brooke couldn't even be proud of it.
She just looked at the blue pen ink smudged on the side of her hand, her eyes flashing. "I know, it's just frustrating," Brooke complained, standing up from her seat and walking out of the meeting room. Amaris followed her, the white wolf padding next to the silver ranger.
The two reached the outdoor dojo, Emily and Mike turning their head at the sound of Amaris' claws on the wooden floor. "How's it going?" Emily greeted, and Brooke shook her head.
"Nowhere," Brooke confessed, her eyes flashing. "I couldn't find anything. I'm sorry." She apologized, and Emily shook her head, the yellow ranger shooting the silver a warm smile.
"It's okay, you did what you could," Emily stated, and Mike was about to chime in when Brooke's samuraizer started beeping.
Not soon after, the gap sensor started blaring as well. Ji appeared at the doorway, black box in hand. "Mike, before you go, I think you're going to need this." He advised, holding out the black box.
"The black box?" Mike wondered, looking down at the talisman and then back up at Ji. "I'm not sure I can handle this. Why not Brooke?" He asked, and Brooke's eyes flashed as she broke into a grin.
"Not my time yet, Mike. You can handle it, I'm sure of it." Brooke reassured Mike, who nodded and took the black box out of Ji's hand.
"Alright, I have a plan," Mike announced, staring down at the black box for a moment. "It's gonna be a little bit risky- and a little bit crazy." He added, and Brooke raised her eyebrows as Emily smiled.
"Sounds like a Mike plan. What is it?" Emily mused, and Brooke could hear the hint of adoration in her voice. Which was great, because she now had something to hold over the yellow ranger's head when she asked about Jayden. Anything to deflect that mess of emotions was good.
Mike explained his plan and then turned his attention to Brooke. "Thoughts? You're basically the second Jayden when he's not around." He teased, and Brooke rolled her eyes with a small smile.
"Sounds like fun," Brooke agreed, hooking her thumbs on her belt loops. "Rangers, let's move out." She commanded, taking one of Jayden's usual lines, and the three sprinted through the Shiba House, bursting through the front doors.
--
The three found Switchbeast just walking around, civilians screaming in terror and running away. Which was valid- as the nighlok was one of the less scary ones, but it didn't look harmless. It made Brooke wonder why people even stayed in Panorama at this point, the city had more cons than pros. Almost every day there was a nighlok attack, and surely that must be somewhat traumatizing. The actual architecture of the city got damaged from time to time as well, so it was a miracle that the city was still bustling with life. However, Brooke shook those thoughts out of her head as the three made their pseudo-line-up, the silver ranger in the middle of the green and the yellow, Amaris having returned to Sweetbrier Mountain.
"Ah, they're singing my favorite song!" Switchbeast sneered as more civilians ran away screaming.
"Well, we're changing this soundtrack to the song of your defeat!" Brooke threatened, flipping open her samuraizer and activating the brush portion. "It's showtime!" She called, and Mike and Emily followed suit.
"Samuraizer: Go Go Samurai!" The three yelled in unison, drawing their respective symbols. The kanji for wolf hung in the middle of the kanji for forest and earth, the three rangers activating their symbols. "Samurai Ranger: Ready!" The three then leapt towards the nighlok, the battle commencing.
Switchbeast didn't even have moogers, which was something Brooke found nice. Still, she didn't like the fact that she had to allow herself to get hit, falling to the ground. It made her feel weak, but she knew it was for Mike's plan, so she grit her teeth and bared it. Speaking of, the green ranger now had one of Switchbeast's pointers embedded in its chest, and the silver ranger sheathed her blades and shifted.
"Okay Greenie, let's see what we should switch you with! Something nice and easy to smash!" Switchbeast snickered, firing out its other pointer. But before the pointer could make contact with anything, wolf-Brooke lunged.
The brown wolf clamped its jaw around the pointer, landing on all for paws and wagging her tail excitedly. She dropped the pointer, Emily instantly grabbing it and running forward, sticking it to Switchbeast. The green ranger and the nighlok's spirits switched bodies, Switchbeast-Mike letting out a cheer. He sounded like himself, despite being in a nighlok's body, and wolf-Brooke found that amusing as she ran over to Mike and Emily. The taste of nighlok was now present in her mouth, and it made her gag some, but she tried to ignore it.
"What? What did you guys do to me?" Mike-Switchbeast growled, the green ranger having a strange hold on his spin-sword. His posture was also off, his shoulders hunched and stance wide.
"Yeah, my plan worked!" Switchbeast-Mike cheered, the nighlok and yellow ranger high-fiving each other. "Okay Mr. Nighlok, now that you've had a taste of your own medicine, how about you tell us the quick and easy way to switch everybody back!" He demanded, the yellow ranger and brown wolf readying themselves into fighting stances.
"You sneaky snakes! Ugh, I feel all gross and hero-y!" Mike-Switchbeast exclaimed, looking down at the green ranger's body in disgust. Then, Switchbeast seemed to have an idea. "As loathsome as this body is, I bet you don't want anything to happen to it! Back off, or Greenie gets it!" It threatened, holding the green ranger's spin-sword up to its neck.
"Oh, you don't like my body?" Switchbeast-Mike mocked, holding up an arm. "Then we'll just put you somewhere else!" The pointer hit the green ranger in the chest, Emily connecting the other one to the soccer ball.
The ball and Switchbeast switched spirits, Mike's body curling up into a ball. "Brooke! Fetch!" Emily called, and the brown wolf seemed to roll her eyes.
Still, wolf-Brooke ran after the ball, acting like, well, a dog. She kicked the ball around with her paws, scratching at it and biting at it with her teeth. She made sure not to pop the ball, but she sure as hell got her revenge. The brown wolf played with the ball for a couple of moments, then sent it rolling towards Emily and Switchbeast-Mike with a bark. As Emily picked up the ball, Brooke shifted back, jogging over to the yellow ranger and the nighlok again.
Which, it was strange, just seeing a nighlok walk around and not attack them. But, Brooke found it amusing in some way, even if she had to play fetch. She watched with a small grin underneath her silver helmet as Switchbeast-Mike connected a pointer to the ball and the green ranger's helmet. It swapped their souls back, and Mike-Switchbeast instantly uncurled from his ball position with a groan.
"Ugh, that was just cruel! I think you broke a rib!" Mike-Switchbeast complained with a groan, and Brooke crossed her arms over her chest, raising her chin slightly.
"We can make your life a living hell," Brooke threatened, drawing her Wolf Kunai and spinning it in her hand. "Or you can switch everybody back. Which one will it be?" She questioned with a mocking tone, tapping a silver booted foot on the ground.
Mike-Switchbeast let out a growl, grumbling to itself for a couple of moments. "Fine, I'll do it!" The nighlok turned green ranger snapped, picking up the green ranger's discarded spin-sword. "Alright, hold completely still!" The green ranger then ran forward, slashing horizontally.
Sparks flew from where the sword made contact, and also a large yellow ball of spirits flew out of the nighlok. Mike and Switchbeast then changed back, the green ranger and nighlok back to their normal selves. The nighlok seemed to grow annoyed at this, and Brooke flipped open her samuraizer as it fired a blast.
"Switch Blast!"
"Protection!"
The silver shield protected the three rangers, the silver looking back at the green. "Now's your chance! Go for it, Mike!" Brooke urged, and Mike did just that.
As the green ranger went into super samurai mode, the yellow and silver rangers ran forward. They tussled with Switchbeast for a moment, until Brooke saw the gold Shiba crest appear and turn into the forked cape. Mike seemed pretty stoked about this turn of events because the enthusiasm was evident in his voice. "Hey nighlok, how are you? I'm feeling super. Super Spin-Sword!" The green ranger called, attaching the black box to his spin-sword and running forward. "Let's finish this!" He challenged, and Brooke and Emily stepped away.
"With pleasure!" Switchbeast retorted, running forward as well, but Mike easily overpowered the nighlok.
His moves were slightly less flashy than Jayden's but they were still just as strong. It wasn't long until the green ranger fired off his super forest vortex move and the nighlok was defeated, dying in a large explosion. Brooke and Emily ran up, congratulating Mike for a moment, and then Switchbeast went into its second form.
Mike formed the Super Samurai Combination, the three rangers controlling the surplus of zords the team had. It took little time before Switchbeast was overpowered, the three rangers performing the double katana strike and the nighlok being defeated in a large explosion. The megazord struck its victory pose, Brooke letting Mike and Emily do the final call.
"Samurai Rangers-" Mike started, pumping his fist in the air excitedly.
"Victory is Ours!" Emily finished, and Brooke as the two rangers went into an adrenaline dump, panting.
She felt fine, and Brooke just dreaded working on the despite symbol tonight. Still, it needed to get done, and she shoved down her feelings of inadequacy. "Good job you two." She congratulated, leaning against her control panel, and Emily nodded.
"Let's never do that again." The yellow ranger stated, and the silver nodded with a faint laugh.
Brooke missed Jayden, strangely enough. It was her first battle in awhile where she didn't have him by her side- and it was almost foreign. But, something in her mind told her it was a weakness. That she needed to hold things on her own without Jayden by her side, and Brooke's eyes flashed underneath her helmet. She needed to get stronger. It wasn't a choice at this point, and she needed to get the despair symbol done. She needed to do her job, and it was only a matter of time before she stepped up to the plate and had to use the cage symbol. And she wouldn't be like her mom. She would try to see the war to the end.
--
Still, she tried to be normal Brooke when she returned to the Shiba House. She saw the way Jayden brightened some, and that made her happy, her having a small smile on her face as Mike gave the team a rundown on what happened. The seven rangers were now having a normal lunch- which is something that usually never happened, seated at the table that was by the outdoor dojo. It was almost like a picnic, in a strange sense, and it was strangely domestic.
"I can't believe you changed bodies with Switchbeast. I never would've thought of that." Kevin stated, sitting down at the table, and Mike shook his head with a small grin.
"I didn't want to, and it was way creepy," Mike replied, and Brooke just listened to the conversation around her for the most part.
"And you did it by yourselves, just the three of you," Mia remarked sweetly, her gaze then flickering to Brooke, who quirked a brow, her eyes flashing. "Did you ever fight any nighlok before you joined the team?" The pink ranger asked the silver, who swallowed her mouthful of food and nodded.
"Yeah, I did," Brooke responded, flashing back to prom night with Casper. She didn't bring that up, only changing the subject somewhat. "I mean- I stole your guys' kills from time to time, so…" She trailed, her voice having a teasing tone as she grinned at Jayden, who rolled his eyes.
"If it weren't for you, I'd still be a gnome," Jayden started, mostly ignoring Brooke's teasing look. He knew that was going to happen, so he just let her have her fun. "So, thanks." He thanked, and soon the banter returned to normal.
After a couple of minutes, Brooke nudged Jayden's foot with her own. "Y'know, I did your job for you today. Maybe I'm the red ranger after all." She snickered, and Jayden shot her a deadpan expression, which soon became a small smile.
"You sound awfully proud of yourself," Jayden retorted, and Brooke nodded, grinning. "I'm surprised you're not having a field day over the whole gnome thing." He mused, and Brooke's eyes flashed as her grin grew wider.
"I'm changing the nickname, it isn't Red anymore," Brooke blurted, and Jayden raised his eyebrows as he took a sip of his water. "It's Gnome now." She announced, and he let out a fake groan of annoyance, which Brooke pretended to be hurt at.
"I like Red. Gnome doesn't have the same ring to it." Jayden replied, and Brooke nodded slowly, chewing on another bite of her burger.
She never got Antonio's burger- and that made her somewhat annoyed, and Brooke made the mental note to try to get Antonio to cook for her again. "True, we gotta stick to the original ten-year-old Brooke, here," She agreed after she took a sip of her water. "I missed you fighting by my side. It was kinda weird, not gonna lie," Brooke confessed, and when Jayden presumably choked, she raised her eyebrows at him, her eyes flashing. "What? Don't choke to death." She advised as Jayden coughed.
"It's nothing," Jayden replied quickly, and he inwardly cringed at the heat rising to his cheeks. He didn't know why that made him flustered, but it did. And he really wished it didn't, because Brooke silently called bullshit, pursing her lips slightly and raising her brows.
"Whatever you say, Gnome," Brooke replied, and when Jayden scowled at her in response, she laughed. "Relax, I'm fucking with you. You're fun to mess with." She stated, turning her attention to Kevin and Mike. The blue ranger was chasing the green, who was holding out his samuraizer, the pictures of him in a tutu presumably pulled up.
"You said the exact same thing to me when we started walking back home the first time," Jayden recalled the memory with a small smile- even if Brooke did throw acorns and bark at him. "It's changed a lot, hasn't it?" He thought aloud, and Brooke hummed.
She propped a chin on her fist, her eyes flashing. "If you told me that day that I would end up here, I'd call bullshit. I didn't even have a plan, I just enjoyed watching you get frustrated," Brooke confessed, and Jayden rolled his eyes. "But still, it's only been months but I've felt like I've been here for longer. It's strange. I'm not complaining, it's…" Safe here. "Nice."
"I'm glad you're here," Jayden responded, and the two sat in comforting silence, just watching the team. It was a found family for the two people who never really had a true family to begin with.
"Heya, Red," Brooke broke the silence, and Jayden raised his eyebrows in response. "Imagine if I called you Jayden all the time. It would be a dark timeline." She stated, and Jayden laughed faintly.
"Red's fine with me," Jayden replied softly, and Brooke discreetly held his hand under the table.
"I'm glad." I'm glad I have you.
--
That night, Brooke stood in the middle of the outdoor dojo, her open samuraizer in her hand. She still had plenty of symbol power left- as the battle didn't take a lot, and she knew what she had to use it on. It was almost ten, and the sky was dark, the moon being covered with clouds. So, all that illuminated Brooke was the yellow light from the door lamp on the wall of the Shiba House. Not that she really cared, her wolf senses helped with her seeing in the dark. Training at night was always nice- it was always quieter and less overwhelming. Still, Brooke knew her training now wouldn't be nice.
Mentally preparing herself for the clusterfuck the despair symbol was going to cause, Brooke took a deep breath. She activated the brush portion of her samuraizer, slowly drawing the symbol. It soon hung in the air in a brilliant silver, and Brooke tensed, subconsciously preparing herself for the symbol's self-destruction. "Despair." She called softly, activating the symbol, and it instantly self-destructed.
Brooke got sent flying backwards, tumbling and landing on the gravel on her back. She let out a quiet sigh, picking herself up off of the ground and walking towards the middle of the outdoor dojo again. The cycle repeated itself again and again, and Brooke now wiped away some of the blood that dripped from her nose as she picked herself off of the ground. It seemed like no matter what she did- it wasn't going anywhere. And it might just be the exhaustion setting in, but it made her want to cry out of frustration. And that was a weakness.
So, she just shoved it down. Every time Brooke got knocked down, she picked herself up, ignoring the gravel dust that was covering her body. "Despair." She choked out, making a mix of a whimper and a sob as she hit the ground again. Her entire body throbbed, and Brooke just stared at the sky for a moment from where she was lying on her back. It was pretty, and she used it as a distraction so she didn't burst into tears. After catching her breath, Brooke picked herself off of the ground again, staggering over to her samuraizer.
After more failed attempts, Brooke felt herself going numb. Everything just felt fuzzy, and she didn't mind it. It was better than feeling the pain of her body hitting the ground or the headache that was now present. She wiped away more blood from her nose with the back of her hand, drawing the symbol again. It needed to get done, but Brooke couldn't find the strength as she hit the ground again, her samuraizer flying out of her hand and landing somewhere. She should probably care about that- but she didn't feel anything. It was all just numbness, and she started counting the stars.
Was Jayden going to come to help her? Brooke really wished he did- but she also didn't want to bother him. So she just picked some of the gravel out of the palms of her hands. Her nose had stopped bleeding after a couple of minutes, and that was good. Eventually, Brooke found herself falling asleep, and she almost did, until she heard footsteps across the gravel.
"Brooke, we've talked about this." Jayden started, helping Brooke sit up. She instantly clutched her head, letting out a groan as her nose started bleeding again.
"Red." It was the only sentence Brooke could form coherently, and she stared at Jayden with unfocused vision. She didn't feel anything- and her brain had just decided to turn off. Which was fine, in its own way.
"You're working yourself too hard," Jayden muttered, and Brooke shook her head, obviously not all there.
"It's what I need to do. I don't have a choice." Brooke stated, her voice monotone as she wiped away more blood from her nose. Her eyes landed on her samuraizer, which was lying a couple of feet away from her. Something in her mind told her to work on the despair symbol more, but physically? She couldn't.
"Brooke, you've done enough. At least for tonight, okay?" Jayden pleaded, cradling Brooke's face in his hands. "I know it's important. But you can only do so much at a time, and it's not going to be helpful if you work yourself to death-" He was cut off by Brooke wrapping her arms around his torso and pulling him into a tight hug.
"I don't wanna lose you," Brooke mumbled, and Jayden felt his eyes widen. "I wanna end this war with you by my side, Red. I want you around for as long as I can have you." Her voice was barely above a whisper, and Jayden pulled away for a moment.
"I'll always be here, Brooke. I promise," Jayden vowed, pressing a faint kiss to her forehead and hugging her tightly. The two sat there for a couple of minutes until Brooke let out a yawn. "Let's head to bed, I can stay with you if you want?" He offered, and Brooke nodded faintly.
The two rose to their feet, almost mirroring each other front the night Jayden worked on the beetle disk cannon. After he picked up Brooke's samuraizer, he offered himself as support, Brooke instantly falling into his side somewhat. He wrapped his hand around her waist, her throwing an arm around her shoulders. With that, the two walked, well, staggered back into the Shiba House.
After Brooke had taken a shower- which had shocked her brain into working again, she laid in Jayden's arms. Which was becoming a common theme, but she wasn't complaining. Amaris was also curled up at the foot of the bed, flickering due to the fact Brooke was running low on symbol power and was fast asleep, her snout tucked under her tail. She enjoyed it- it made her feel extremely safe and loved.
"You're a handful." Jayden blurted, his voice quiet, and Brooke let out a yawn.
"If you've come to just point me out on my flaws, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Brooke retorted teasingly, her voice groggy and eyes half-lidded.
"Hey, you know how I meant it," Jayden chided, and Brooke laughed faintly, nodding. "You just have a tendency to destroy yourself, and I'm trying to prevent that from happening. You don't make it easy." He explained, and Brooke let out another yawn, rolling on her side so that her head rested on his chest.
"I know. I appreciate it," Brooke murmured, hearing Jayden's heartbeat. It was slow and even, and the smell of smoke and the forest filled her senses. It caused her to break into a weary smile, closing her tired eyes. "I appreciate you." She added, her voice barely above a whisper.
Jayden smiled faintly, pulling the blankets up around them more. Which was slightly difficult due to Amaris, and the white wolf opened a violet eye in annoyance of being woken up. So, he soon gave up on that, burying one of his hands in Brooke's hair. "I appreciate you too." He replied, and he felt as Brooke fell asleep in his arms.