Simon armed his morpher. "Ninjetti change! Ha!" Black energy twirled around him like a cyclone as he morphed into his armor.

Hurricane Black unsheathed his sword. "You don't know what you're getting involved with, Yellow."

"I just watched you kill that man," Faiz said.

"He was possessed," the Black Ranger said.

"Fine," Faiz said. "So kill the demon. Don't suck it up after you kill the man."

Hurricane Black shook his head. "You're too stubborn to understand..."

"Fine..." Faiz said. "The hard way it is."

Kamen Rider Faiz rushed to attack, and Hurricane Black returned the charge.

Faiz lunged with a flurry of punches the Black Ranger blocked. Hurricane Black stepped back and reverse sidekicked Faiz in the chest. The Black Ranger followed with an upward swing that slashed Faiz with a burst of spark.

Kamen Rider Faiz staggered back but quickly snapped into a defensive stance. "Your fighting style's different."

"Yours too," Hurricane Black said.

Suddenly, explosions sparked against Hurricane Black and whipped him off his feet. An armed robot flew through the air and landed at Faiz's side before transforming into a motorcycle.

"Oh, by the way, I have a super-robot-fighter bike now," Faiz said. He unsheathed a red-bladed saber from the bike's handle. "Do you have a super-robot-fighter bike?"

Hurricane Black tightened his grip on his sword and rose to his feet. "You're still an asshole."

The opponents charged and clashed swords. Hurricane Black swung with powerful arcs and slashes. But Kamen Rider Faiz favored shorter, efficient swings and parries.

Kamen Rider Faiz sidestepped and slashed Hurricane Black's chest with a burst of spark. The Black Ranger spun with the blow and swung wide. But Faiz blocked the blow and sidekicked the Ranger's chest. 

The blow knocked Hurricane Black back a step. But he stood his ground and thrust his hand forward. "Ki!"

An invisible energy blast burst against Faiz and hurled him through the air. He smashed against the side of a building, and then crashed against the pavement.

Kamen Rider Faiz climbed into a crouched position and pulled a barrel-shaped device from his belt. He attached the device to his ankle, and his buckler spoke the command: "EXCEED CHARGE."

A charge of energy glowed from the device and spread across the red line of the Rider's leg armor. Faiz crouched, leapt forward, and somersaulted through the air while aiming a flying kick towards Hurricane Black. A cone of digital energy formed around the Rider's leg and aimed its point at the Ranger. 

The energized kick shot against Hurricane Black with a massive burst of electricity and fire that hurled him through the air. Hurricane Black crashed against the street and skid across the pavement.

Faiz landed in a crouched position and armed a fist weapon. His buckler spoke: "EXCEED CHARGE." A pulse of red energy bled from the fist weapon and traced along the red line of his arm.

Faiz lunged forward and swung an energized punch. But Hurricane Black grabbed the Rider by the wrist, twisted, and bashed a roundkick against his gut.

Faiz staggered backward, and Hurricane Black hurled a bolt of shadow energy that exploded against his chest and whipped him off his feet. The Rider crashed against the ground and stumbled across the pavement.

"Not bad," Hurricane Black said. "You get points for effort."

"You taunt now?" Faiz asked as he pushed himself to his feet. "Or was that one of the demons in your head talking?"

"I absorb their energy," Simon said. "That doesn’t mean they possess me."

"Of course not," Faiz said. "Because that would be ridiculous."

Hurricane Black cursed beneath his breath, held back his sword, and charged.

Faiz stepped into a defensive stance. "Still fighting with your emotions? That always did hold you back."

Hurricane Black swung his sword through a flurry of lightning quick strikes that streaked with black energy. The attack took Faiz aback. He took several steps back while parrying and blocking the blows. One strike slashed his hand, knocking his sword from his grasp.

The Black Ranger spun forward with a reverse sidekick that bashed Faiz backward. The Rider crashed against the ground, and Hurricane Black leapt through the air towards his fallen opponent.

Faiz armed his blaster and fired red energy pulses that sparked against Hurricane Black and whipped him from the air.

Hurricane Black twisted to land in a crouched position. He slapped his right fist against his left palm. "Shadow hawk jutsu!"

A wave of hawk-shaped shadows flutters from Hurricane Black and streaked towards Kamen Rider Faiz. The shadows slashed the Rider with bursts of spark that singed his armor and knocked him off his feet.

The tornado of dimensional energy twirled in the Angel Grove West docks. The energy column extended wide enough to engulf half the docks and spread into the ocean itself. The distortion sprayed massive waves onto the shore, and bolts of lightning crackled from the cyclone.

The three members of the Royal Court tried to focus the uncontrollable energy. They stood on rooftops scattered across the docks and lifted their hands towards the distortion. Their palms pulsed with multicolored energy, and the cyclone mimicked the flashes of color.

The four Power Rangers arrived on the scene through four streaks of motion. They landed on a rooftop at the edge of the docks and looked out at the giant tornado, which swelled with power and water from the ocean. The tornado thrashed violently from side to side as if struggling to break free from the Royal Court’s control.

 Hurricane Green shook his head. "This could be a problem."

"Yeah, we noticed that," Navy Thunder said. "If you’re going to be on the team, please contribute more."

"Just look," Hurricane Green said. "They’re containing the distortion. If they let go, the distortion spreads like an actual tornado, only it doesn’t stop."

"You’re right, Kou," Byakko said. "You must find a way to defeat the Royal Court while still containing the distortion cyclone."

"Even contained, that thing is going to puncture through the Earth, and reality," Hurricane Green said.

"So what the heck do we do?" Hurricane Yellow asked.

"They’re harnessing the power of the elements," Byakko said. "Water, Air, Earth, Fire. I suggest you do the same while you battle the Royal Court."

Navy Thunder shook his head. "There are so many holes in that plan, the plan itself is a hole."

"Let’s call the Samurai team," Hurricane Blue said. "We don’t have to do everything separate all the time…They can use their elemental powers to hold the distortion while we fight the Royal Court."

"How do we even know they can do that?" Hurricane Yellow asked.

"Have any other ideas?" Hurricane Blue asked.

"Yes, we run away to Florida," Navy Thunder said. "We’ve been over this."

Hurricane Blue activated her communicator. "Tommy…"

"One step ahead of you, Rachel," Tommy said. "The Samurai Rangers are on their way."

Kamen Rider Saga armed his baton and lunged at Kiva with a flurry of strikes. The advance forced Kiva backward as he blocked and dodged each blow. Saga moved with a furry and speed that surprised Kiva. He didn't realize his brother's strength increased so drastically.

Kiva dodged, stepped closer to Saga and grabbed him in an arm lock. But Saga pulled free and slashed Kiva with a burst of spark. The evil Rider swung another flurry of blows that sparked against Kiva's armor, and then sidekicked him in the chest.

Saga bashed the back of his fist across Kiva’s helmet. The blow whipped Kiva off his feet, and he crashed against the rooftop. Saga dropped and slammed his elbow against his brother’s chest with a burst of spark. Then he bashed his brother’s chest again.

"You would be wise to stay down," Saga said.

Kiva rolled aside, rose into a crouched position, and lunged. He tackled his brother and smashed him against the rooftop. The Rider dove aside, rolled across the roof, and rose to his feet.

Kamen Rider Kiva looked to see the growing pillar of energy to the west.

"This battle of ours will have to wait," Kiva said.

Saga climbed to his feet. "You can’t stop the ceremony. Instead of relying on the power of the full moon, we are relying on the power of the elements themselves."

"For no purpose," Kiva said. He opened a distortion field and stepped through.

Saga leapt just in time to follow his brother through the field.

The Samurai Rangers morphed and joined the Power Rangers at the docks. The five Rangers spread out in a fan formation across the rooftops while facing the energy cyclone.

Samurai Green shook his head with disbelief. "They don’t seem to realize we have no idea what we’re doing…"

"They’re depending on us," Samurai Blue said through their communicators. "I know we can do this."

"Do you always have to be so optimistic?" Samurai Green asked.

Samurai Red spoke up. "Stay focused, guys," he said as he unsheathed his sword. "Get your Spin Swords and Symbol Discs ready."

Nearby, the four Hurricane Power Rangers split up and leapt across the docks. Hurricane Green leapt towards Fang Lion, Navy Thunder leapt towards Fang Horn and Hurricane Blue and Hurricane Yellow leapt toward Fang Pearl.

"Get ready, Samurai guys," Hurricane Green said.

Samurai Red spun his Symbol Disc. "Fire Disc!" Strands of fiery energy wove upward along his blade.

The other Samurai Rangers did the same.

"Water Disc!"

"Forrest Disc!"

"Earth Disc!"

"Wind Disc!"

They focused their elemental power and reached outward, grasping onto the energy cyclone. They could feel its energy tear and rip through the fabric of reality itself, with more power than a raging storm.

Samurai Red felt the energy threaten to sweep him off his feet with the force of a tornado. He cursed beneath his breath. This is going to be harder than I thought…

Nearby, Hurricane Green pounced at Fang Lion.

"Slicing sound wave!"

The Green Ranger fired a wave of sonic energy blades that blew towards the Fangaira like the wind. The blades sliced the monster with massive bursts of spark that knocked him off his feet and broke his concentration.

The energy cyclone immediately lurched and started to spin farther onto shore.

"Now, guys!" Samurai Red shouted. "Grab hold!"

The Samurai Rangers strained but managed to weave their own elemental power with the forces of the distortion tornado. They could feel the other two Fangaira still doing their part to hold the distortion, but that wouldn’t last.

Navy Thunder pounced at Fang Horn.

"Lightning blades!"

Blades of lighting extended from his fist. He dove and stabbed the monster’s back with bursts of spark and lightning that knocked the monster off his feet. The creature crashed and tumbled across the roof.

The cyclone lurched again, and the Samurai Rangers nearly lost their grip.

"Hold on!" Samurai Red shouted. He spun his Symbol Disc again, summoning more power through his body and blade.

The other Samurai Rangers did the same.

Nearby, Hurricane Yellow and Hurricane Blue pounced at Fang Pearl.

"Water darts!"

"Avalanche!"

The Blue Ranger fired a wave of hydro-energy darts. And the Yellow Ranger smashed his feet against the rooftop, summoning boulders of concrete that he punched to hurl at the monster.

The darts and blocks of earth smashed against Fang Pearl and knocked her off her feet.

The energy cyclone lurched and distorted with waves of lightning, wind and water. The shockwave knocked the Samurai Rangers off their feet, and the force threatened to blow them from the rooftops. But they slid their swords into the rooftops to keep from blowing away.

"Keep it together, guys!" Samurai Red shouted through his helmet’s communicator.

His sword in the roof, he spun his Symbol Disc again. The other Samurai Rangers did the same. Their elemental energy twirled and lashed around their blades.

They focused, reached out, and held the cyclone in place.

Nearby, Hurricane Green unsheathed his sword and slashed Fang Lion with a burst of spark.

The monster growled and blew a wave of jade flame. But Hurricane Green leapt over the flame, flipped through the air and aimed his descent towards the monster. The Ranger's blade energized with green power and slashed the monster with massive bursts of spark.

The blow knocked the monster backward, and Hurricane Green continued his advance.

The Green Ranger pulled a ball from behind his back. "Sonic Style!Spinning Barrage Jutsu!"

He tossed the ball upward as he would a baseball, and the ball created dozens of sonic echoes that dropped in front of the Ranger. Hurricane Green spun like a tornado and swung his holstered sword like a bat to knock the spheres towards Fang Lion. The sonic spheres exploded against the monster with massive bursts of spark.

Nearby, Samurai Red tightened his grip on his sword. He knew if he let go, he’d let go of the cyclone too, and that couldn’t happened. Sweat dripped down his forehead beneath his helmet. He spun his Symbol Disc again.

A few rooftops away, Navy Thunder roundkicked Fang Horn in the gut and smashed the back of his fist across the monster’s head.

The monster growled and charged at Navy Thunder. But the Navy Thunder Ranger grasped onto the monster by the horns, held his ground, and hurled the monster off its feet.

"Thunder Staff!" Navy Thunder shouted.

The Navy Thunder Ranger armed his Thunder Staff and swung the weapon over his shoulder. His Stag Breaker attached to the end of his staff with a burst of navy-tinted lightning.

"Lightning Style!" Navy Thunder shouted. "Thunder Strike Jutsu!" Navy Thunder channeled his energy into the staff, which crackled with bolts of electricity.

Navy Thunder swung the weapon through an x-shaped pattern that streaked with lightning and slashed Fang Horn with bursts of spark. The Navy Thunder Ranger speared his weapon at the monster, used the Stag Breaker to grab the creature, and lifted Fang Horn off his feet.

The Navy Thunder Ranger poured streams of lightning along the staff, and the lightning lashed against the monster's body, sparking on impact and tearing apart its armor.

Meanwhile, the energy distortion swelled and pulsed as it struggled to break free from the Samurai Rangers’ grasp.

The force nearly knocked Samurai Yellow away from her blade. "I…I can’t do this much longer!"

"You can, Kirsten!" Samurai Green shouted. "Just hold on!"

The Green Ranger spun his disc. And again. And again a third time as he tried to wrestle the cyclone under control. "Come on!"

Samurai Red spun his Symbol Disc. But a wave of vertigo suddenly slammed against him with a force stronger than the tornado. The energy he expended proved too much for him to handle.

"No…" he whispered as he grasped tighter onto his blade. His body screamed in protest, but he refused to let go. "I won’t…I won’t!"

Suddenly, a multicolored distortion ripped across the rooftop behind the Ranger. Kiva and Saga tumbled through the distortion with a shockwave that knocked Samurai Red off his feet.

The Red Ranger crashed against the rooftop and dropped his sword. "No!"

The energy vortex tore from the grip of the other Rangers. The distorted tornado spun farther onto shore, ripping through buildings and streets.

The four Hurricane Power Rangers barely managed to leap to safety. But the Royal Court members were not as lucky. The cyclone of power swept them away.

Quickly, Samurai Red scrambled to his feet and grabbed his sword. He spun his Symbol Disc. But he couldn’t get another hold on the cyclone. Neither could his teammates.

"Come on…" he cursed beneath his breath as he spun his Symbol Disc.  Wind and water sprayed around him as the energy cyclone intensified and thrashed out of control. "Come on!"

Kamen Rider Saga sidekicked the Ranger in the back, knocking him forward. The Red Ranger rolled into a crouched position and spun while swinging his sword. The blade slashed Saga with a burst of spark, knocking him back.

Saga laughed as smoke sizzled from the chest wound. "You’re too late," Saga said. "The vortex has taken a life of its own. Through its power, my father will be reborn."

Kiva tackled Saga aside, and for the first time, he shouted. "He! Never! Died!"

The Rider turned towards the vortex. He sensed the cyclone rip through the fabric of space and time. He knew he needed to stop the distortion. And to do so, he needed to get inside the vortex itself.

Kiva leapt towards the cyclone, and Saga followed. The tornado swept them into its currents. 

Kamen Rider Faiz roundkicked Hurricane Black in the gut and slashed his chest with a burst of spark. The Black Ranger spun with the blow and bashed a hook kick across the Rider's head.

Faiz stumbled backward but managed to stay on his feet.

Hurricane Black shifted into a fighting stance and held his blade back. "It's not too late to back off, Yellow. I didn't ask for this fight."

"You really did..." Kamen Rider Faiz said as he twisted his grip on his sword.

The opponents charged at each other and held their blades forward.

Before they could strike, a wave of pale-blue energy sliced across the street with a shockwave that knocked them backward. Hurricane Black crashed against the street and skid backward. Kamen Rider Faiz smashed against the side of a parked car.

Hurricane Black climbed to his feet and looked to see a young man holding a samurai sword that glowed with pale-blue light. Simon knew him as Shirogane, formerly Gao Silver.

"You too…? I thought you dropped off the face of the Earth."

"I have gone where I always have," Shirogane said. "Wherever the wind has taken me."

Faiz climbed to his feet. "Pick a side, Silver."

"There is no right side here," Shirogane said. "You two are comrades. You should not be fighting…"

"He-" Faiz started to say, but Shirogane interrupted.

"Red, you’ve allowed the demons of the Earth to corrupt your heart of justice," he said. "Yellow, you’ve allowed yourself to become a pawn of evil shrouded with good intentions. There is no outcome worth this fight."

"Silver, just back away," Faiz said.

"Or what?" Shirogane asked. "Will you fight me too?"

"You didn’t see what he did, Silver," Faiz said.

"But I know," Shirogane said. He looked to Hurricane Back. "I once surrendered my soul to evil to fight for those I cared about. I spent the next 1,000 years as Zena'ku. An animal. You know this…"

"This is different," Simon said.

"Is it?" Shirogane asked. "My sin was to put on a mask. Yours was to absorb the essence of demons and slaughter their hosts."

"They were possessed," Hurricane Black said. "I couldn’t have saved them."

"Did you try?" Shirogane asked.

Hurricane Black hesitated. "I haven’t heard from you in years and you drop in to lecture me? Both of you?"

"You don’t understand," Shirogane said. "Since last we met I have been hunting and fighting demons across the world. The wind sent me here to face my next threat. I did not realize it until now…but that threat is you, Red."

Hurricane Black tightened his grip on his sword. "You two have no right to judge me…" Hurricane Black said as tendrils of black flame started to flicker across his armor. "You have no idea what I’ve been going through!"

Nearby, Eiji looked to Zadie with concern. "That doesn’t look good."

Zadie and Eiji rushed towards Simon.

"Simon, stop!" Zadie shouted. "We’re wasting our time."

She moved next to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. The Black Ranger relaxed and lowered his blade. He powered down his armor and looked to Shirogane. "You say you're a demon hunter now? Well guess what? The demon I’m after is trying to break the Dark One loose from his prison. Why wouldn’t I do anything possible to keep that from happening?"

"You would sacrifice your soul?" Shirogane asked.

"Yes…" Simon said. "I would. I’ve felt too many people die. Too many people give into despair. I won’t stand by and let that kind of pain continue. I just won’t…"

Shirogane lowered his blade. He knitted his brow thoughtfully. "Then let me come with you."

"What?" Faiz asked.

"You need a moral compass…" Shirogane said. "And I question your current company."

"I know I should be offended by that," Eiji said. "But I can’t say I blame him."

"No," Faiz said. "Silver, back off. I can’t let him walk away."

Shirogane looked to Faiz. "Do you trust me, Yellow?"

"At the moment?" Faiz asked. "No."

"I ask you to trust me," Shirogane said. "There is a way to solve this other than fighting."

Faiz sighed with frustration. He un-clipped his buckler and powered down his armor. "Fine," he said. "But I’m coming along too."

"No way," Zadie said. 

"It’s OK," Simon said. "Let them come. Besides, we’re going straight to Azmodai. We could use the help now."

"You’re forgetting one important thing," Zadie said.

"What’s that?"

"I don’t like people," Zadie said.

Simon shook his head. "They’re coming…" He looked to Ryan. "Just remember one thing…this is my mission. That means I’m in charge. What I say, goes."

"Fine…After you…leader." He said the title with the same hint of mocking contempt as when they first met.

The energy vortex twirled like a giant tornado across the sea. Kiva and Saga plummeted through the center of the vortex, as the winds and currents of energy snapped them around.

Saga flipped through the air and landed on a current, which he rode like a wave. The evil Rider pounced off the wave and leapt towards Kiva with a flying sidekick. The kick smashed Kiva upward and knocked him into the vortex waves.

The energy waves swept Kiva into their currents and nearly tore his body to pieces. He felt the energy pull and tug his body in different directions, almost ripping him apart at a molecular level.

"Die!" Saga shouted as he leapt into the energy waves. He tackled his brother deeper into the currents and grasped him in a chokehold.

Kiva knocked the villain’s arms loose and smashed a kick against his chest. The blow shot Saga upward into the currents, which swept him away.

Kamen Rider Kiva lost sight of his brother, as the currents pulled him deeper and deeper into the fractures between dimensions and realities.

"Saga!" he shouted.

From behind, Saga tackled Kiva in the back with an elbow blow that hurled him downward. Kiva twisted and smashed the back of his fist across his brother’s head. The blow snapped Saga back, and the currents swept him from sight once again.

The currents intensified and tore at Kiva. The Rider tried to ride the waves back towards the center of the vortex, to safety, but he lost all sense of direction. Despair welled in his throat. He knew he failed, and the vortex would expand until it destroyed the mortal realm.

No…Kiva told himself. I will not give into despair. Despair was a feeling, and only that. A sensation, with as much power as he chose.

He thought of Rachel and her friends. His friends. He thought of the world he grew to love, despite its flaws.

I will not fail them…

His body started to glow with red light.

Rachel…

His armor pulsed with light and transformed. Golden plating covered his arms and legs. Red plating snapped into position across his chest, and a red cape flows from his back. A golden headpiece snapped into place above his bug-like visor. The transformation completed with a final burst of multicolored energy, as Kiva assumed his Emperor Form.