Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers: (Super) Samurai. This is purely fan-made.

Serena woke up to someone pounding on her door. She couldn't remember falling asleep, but given how tired she still was, she was sure she had needed the nap. Pulling herself up from the floor, and wondering why she hadn't walked the extra few steps into her bed, she opened the door. Kevin was standing in the hallway with a concerned look on his face.

"Are you okay?"

Serena nodded her head, "Yeah, why?"

"I thought I heard…" Kevin trailed off as he glanced over her shoulder, into her bedroom. Serena saw he was trying to peek into her room and she glared at him.

"Do you mind?"

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, Kevin. If I weren't okay, don't you think I would tell you?"

"No," Kevin answered honestly with a shake of his head. Serena rolled her eyes and started to close the door.

"Goodbye, Kevin."

"But…"

She cut him off by closing the door and locking it so he couldn't get in. He didn't even bother to try. She could hear his footsteps walking away from her room. She knew he was probably going to share his concerns with the others, but she didn't care.

Rubbing her eyes, she walked to where she had fallen asleep and she picked up her Samuraizer and a piece of paper. She had copied the symbol from the book down on a sheet of blank paper and then returned the book so no one would know what she was up to. She didn't think she was doing anything wrong, but she knew if the others found out, they would try to convince her to stop.

But she wanted to help. She needed to help. She would never forgive herself if she didn't help. She had asked so much of Emily, and she had taken so much away from Emily that she needed to give something back. She needed to make Emily's life better. It didn't matter what Emily told her, because Serena knew the truth. Emily had had a heart-to-heart with Mia, where she had shared her feelings to the pink Ranger in a way she never would have shared with Serena.

"Serena basically went from being my mom and being there for me whenever I needed her, to too busy to…"

"Play dress up with you during the day."

Too busy. Those words hurt Serena in a way she never thought they would. At two years old, Emily thought her sister was too busy for her. That there wasn't enough time in a day for Serena to waste any on Emily. That there were more important things for Serena to do than spend even a moment with her only sister.

She knew what that felt like. When Emily had been born, Serena had felt a bit neglected by her parents. They were always fussing over the new baby. Everyone fussed over Emily. They all wanted to play with Emily, and cuddle with Emily, and hold Emily, and feed Emily, and there was never any time for Serena. Never any attention for Serena. It had hurt her, and it had hurt her badly, but after a while – definitely not after sixteen years, though – Ellie started to pick up on Serena's hurt. So Ellie had taken Serena aside one day and she had explained everything. Serena learned why there was so much attention on Emily, and why there was less time for her. It was that day Serena learned just how fragile her baby sister really was, and how much help and guidance she was going to need in her life. Serena knew she needed to protect her sister, and give her the best life possible. Back then, Serena thought she was going to be yellow Ranger, and Emily could live a normal life. Serena wanted that for Emily. She wanted to give her sister everything she didn't have.

Looking down at the piece of paper, Serena knew it was time. She had been practicing this symbol for a while now and was certain she had it perfect. With a shaky hand, uncertain of how exactly this would work, Serena lifted her Samuraizer and started to trace the symbol. Very carefully she traced out each line, making sure not to make a mistake. When it was complete, she stared at it for a moment. This was it. With a strong swipe, she spun the symbol, activating it. The symbol disappeared into the air and Serena closed her eyes. She wasn't sure what would happen, but it had worked. She could feel it.

After a few moments of waiting, she opened her eyes and left her room. She walked carefully down the hall, joining the others in the common room. Mike and Antonio were playing a video game – a racing one by the looks of it. Kevin and Mia were going over their wedding plans, working out a few of the kinks and getting excited for after they defeated Xandred, when they could really get things started. Mia, obviously, was more excited than Kevin.

Jayden, Antonio, and Emily were playing keep-away with Storm. They were rolling a ball back and forth between each other while Storm tried to catch it. They rolled the ball so quickly that Storm could never quite get it, and they changed directions so Storm never knew where to go next. Watching as Storm ran around like a lunatic was funny, but Serena paid no attention to the dog, nor the wedding plans, nor the video games. Her eyes were focused on Emily.

"You wanna play?" Emily held up the ball. Serena shook her head.

"No, just watching."

"Playing is better," Emily insisted with a grin. Serena refused again and then glanced at the time on the wall. She had to wonder how long it would take the symbol to take effect, if it hadn't already, but so far, everything seemed normal.

"Emily, how do you feel?" Serena asked and for Emily it was out of the blue. She looked to her sister curiously and then shrugged her shoulders.

"Normal. You?"

"I'm fine," Serena nodded. She caught the stare Kevin was giving her and assumed he was finding this behaviour strange as well. She just brushed him off.

Suddenly, Emily snatched the ball as it rolled by and got up to her feet. She looked at Storm excitedly.

"Wanna walk?"

Storm started to bounce and ran for the door. She knew her leash would be hanging there and was ready to get it on and go out the door. No matter what time of day it was, she was ready for a walk.

"Mike…"

Without taking his eyes off the screen, Mike waved her off, "Storm hates me anyways. Go have fun. I'll see you in a few."

Emily gave him a kiss on the cheek while trying not to distract him too much. It was his game time and she knew better than to interrupt. She followed Storm to the hallway to get ready for the walk.

"Serena," Kevin looked to her strangely again, "are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You look like you have something to hide," Kevin said. Mia looked curiously between the two and then shrugged.

"Kevin, leave her alone and help me pick colours. I don't want to do pink and blue. That's for baby showers when you don't know the sex. I want something nicer."

"I'll go with Emily," Serena pointed over her shoulder and followed her sister. Once Storm was on her leash and Emily had a plastic bag and a water bottle, they were ready to go. Serena checked her Samuraizer quickly as they walked out the door. She had definitely cast the symbol, and it had definitely worked, but so far nothing seemed different. Was it possible Emily was actually living the best and happiest life possible? Was there really nothing Serena could do to help her sister? Was this it?

Those questions raced through Serena's mind for almost the entire walk – until they made it to one of the business intersections in the city. Serena knew Emily wanted to take Storm to the leash-free park, and to get there, they needed to cross this crazy intersection. Not only was it the busiest, but it seemed to be where drivers were at their stupidest as well.

A bad feeling started to bubble in Serena's stomach. Growing up in the country, busy intersections like these were rare. In fact, the busiest intersection in Serena's hometown was a four way stop sign, where you usually had to wait for a tractor to crawl by before you could go. Though Serena had learned to navigate through the big city, the chaos still had a way of freaking her out.

"We should detour," Serena touched Emily's arm, "You know, cross at the next set of lights and then come back up."

"Serena, people cross this intersection everyday. As long as we obey the road signs we should be fine."

"But…" Serena started but the light turned green and it was safe for pedestrians to cross. The crowd started to move, and Emily started to go with them. Serena found herself standing still and to her surprise, Storm refused to move as well. She started to whine – like she was scared of something.

"C'mon, Storm. We're going to the park," Emily pulled on the leash but Storm would budge. She pulled back and the leash slipped out of Emily's hand. Serena quickly stepped on it and then picked it up so Storm couldn't run off. Given the chance, Serena knew the dog would love to explore the city.

Emily rolled her eyes and started to back into the middle of the street. By now, most people had made it across, and the warning to get off the streets was flashing.

"C'mon, you two. It's not like we don't get enough exercise. We don't need to detour. We can just…"

Emily never finished her sentence. A car, desperate to turn left before the light was red, swerved over almost as fast as he could – much faster than he should have been going. All Serena could do was watch as the driver ran his car right into Emily and then it was like time slowed down and sped up all at once. Serena watched the impact happen in slow motion, but before she knew it, her sister was on the street, very badly injured. The car that hit her came to a screeching stop, and the car behind him was forced the break quickly as well to avoid another accident. Before Serena could will her body to move, she saw a symbol, the same symbol she had used, leave her sister's body.

"EMILY!" she screamed as loud as she could, like it was going to make any difference. Without thinking of her own safety, she ran out into the streets and fell to her knees next to Emily. On the sidewalks and in their cars, people were already calling 911.

Serena touched her sister's face. There was blood everywhere. Emily's eyes were open and she was struggling to breathe. It seemed she knew exactly what had happened. When she saw Serena, she locked eyes with her sister and then that was it. She didn't move at all except to keep her focus on Serena.

"I'm not going anywhere," Serena promised her. She could hear the ambulance sirens in the background already. They were on their way. Help would be there soon. "You're going to be okay, Emy."

It took a lot of strength, but Emily managed to shake her head back and forth. She knew she wouldn't be okay. Serena let out a sob and took her hand, squeezing it gently.

"Emy, yes. Don't you dare give up…"

Emily looked miserable, but then she gave Serena a comforting squeeze and forced her lips to smile.

"Em…" before Serena could say it, Emily's body was limp. The ambulance, at this point, was fighting its way through traffic, but Serena knew they were already too late. She closed her sister's eyes and just stared at her until the paramedics finally made it over. Though Emily was dead, they started to work on her. Serena got up and walked off to the sidewalk. Storm was sitting dutifully, waiting on news. Serena sat beside her on the curb and then pulled the dog into a hug. At that moment, someone came over with a blanket and draped it over her shoulders.

"Do you want me to call someone for you?" it was a police officer who had seen Serena leaving Emily's side. Serena shook her head. If anyone was going to tell the Samurai what had happened, it would be her. She pulled out her Samuraizer and then felt like smashing it against the street. It was the Samuraizer's fault. If it didn't exist, Serena never would have used the symbol that apparently killed her sister. But she held it together long enough to make the call.

Jayden would be the best to tell the news. Mike would be too heartbroken, Mia would start crying before she could tell the others. Kevin would be pissed, and Antonio… Serena wasn't sure how he would react. But Jayden was leader. All his life, he had been preparing himself for this news.

The wait felt like an eternity, but he finally answered and Serena started spilling the news out to him. The words just flooded out of her mouth and she couldn't stop them or the tears. She was crying so hard, she barely heard Jayden's question.

"What were you doing with your sister?"

Serena took a moment and calmed herself down to ask, "What do you mean?"

"The no contact rule, Serena: the most important rule to follow if you want to keep you friends and family safe. What were you doing with your sister? How did you get home so quickly? You just left the house."

"Jay, I went on a walk with Storm and Emily. You were playing with them half an hour ago!"

"I've never met Emily, Serena. Come home, we'll talk about this here."

"Come home?" Serena shouted. She saw Emily's body being loaded into the ambulance and she shook her head, "I'll be at the hospital with my sister. You can meet me there."

"Ser…"

Serena hung up on Jayden and then jumped up and went after the ambulance as the paramedics started to close the door. She insisted she ride with them to the hospital, and then remembered about Storm. She brought the dog into the back of the truck and when the paramedics tried to argue she gave them hell. They trembled in their boots and quickly learned this was not someone to be messed with. For their own safety, they let the mourning sister and the dog ride in the back while they continued to work on Emily, uselessly trying to bring her dead body back to life.