Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers: Samurai

He had thirty minutes to find her.

Thirty minutes before everything good in his life suddenly blew to pieces.

He had no idea how this had happened. He had gotten himself into some serious trouble before, but never anything like this. Never anything that would put the woman he loved in so much danger.

"You give me what you owe me, or she's resting in pieces."

Mike slung the backpack over his shoulder. He wasn't proud of what he had done but he had to do it. Emily didn't deserve this.

In his bag was everything that needed to be delivered. He had triple checked the contents and he wouldn't let the bag out of his sight until he had Emily back in his arms; safe and sound.

If he left now, he could make it before his time was up. He could make it, do the exchange, and get her back home without anyone having to get hurt. Maybe a punch to the jaw to the bastard who thought it was smart to mess with his fiancée, but no one innocent had to get hurt.

He was just about to leave when he heard Kevin calling his name. He was going to ignore it; he had to go; but the blue Ranger called his name again.

"There's another way," Kevin said, though he had a tone of uncertainty. He limped out further into the yard, "We can always find another way."

"Thirty minutes, Kevin," Mike growled, "You're wasting my time."

"You didn't have to do this."

Mike clenched his fist around the shoulder strap and held back his tears, "Tell them I'm sorry."

"You know I can't."

"They fought back," Mike whispered then didn't stick around for another reply from Kevin.

Now it was twenty minutes. If he ran the entire way he could still make it.

Halfway there, he ran into Dekker. Mike couldn't remember the last time he had seen the mad Nighlok, but it had been a while.

"That was my son," Dekker growled and drew Urumasa.

"Get out of my way," Mike said and slipped the bag's other strap onto his other shoulder as he pulled out his Samuraizer and traced the first stroke, "Not even my father knows I learned this symbol."

"You don't have the power to use it," Dekker scoffed and charged at Mike, but the green Ranger simply completed the symbol and Dekker fell forward into the dirt. Death in seconds. The symbol was forbidden and was sure to banish him and his entire family, past, present, and future, to the Netherworld for life, but he didn't care.

He checked his watch. Fifteen minutes.

"Dammit."

He ran as fast as his legs could carry him. The backpack was holding him back. He could run much faster without it. Without it, he was sure to make it and Emily could live. But without it, Emily would die.

So he kept it on, ignored the burning pain in his lungs and kept running.

From a gap a few yards away he saw Xandred appearing. He traced another symbol with his Samuraizer. He didn't have the time for a fight. He was already late. He summoned his Forest Spear and as he ran by, he pierced Xandred in the heart. The Nighlok Master cried out in pain and was left to die.

Mike saw the time again: five minutes: the building was in sight.

Four minutes: he was inside.

Three minutes: the elevator would take too long so he took the stairs, leaping up two, three, four steps at a time.

Two minutes: he found the floor he needed and ran out of the stairwell, into the hall.

One minute: he found the door and smashed it open. He dropped his bag on the ground and ran into the center of the room. Emily was tied to a chair, a bag over her head and a bomb strapped to her chest. Mike pulled the bag off, held her face softly in his hands and kissed her.

"I love you," he whispered and then looked down at the bomb. He was panic stricken when he saw the numbers flashing 00:00:00.

-Samurai-

Mike gasped and sat up on the couch. He breathed in heavily as he took in his surroundings. He was back in the Shiba House. There was popcorn all over his chest and an empty bowl beside the couch. The common room was dark; the only light was coming from the TV. The end credits were rolling on the screen. The movie he had been watching was over. He had fallen asleep.

He ran his hands through his hair and let out a huge sigh of relief. He had always wanted to be like the heroes in the action movies he watched. Fearless, strong, and a real badass; but not anymore. Not after that nightmare.

He picked up the remote from the table and turned off the TV. The common room was a mess but he would clean it up in the morning.

"No more movies," he muttered to himself as he walked to his room, "Not alone and not in the middle of the night."

His heart was still pounding and he was covered in sweat. His nightmare played over and over in his head. He wished it had a better ending.

On the way out of the common room he nearly tripped on something. He picked it up to see what it was and rolled his eyes. He had seen all the movies in his collection many times, so he had gone through everyone else's collection in hopes he would find something of interest from each of them. Fortunately Antonio had something that seemed interesting (though Mike wished it had a better ending).

But while searching for a DVD, he had left all the rejects on the floor. The one he nearly tripped over belonged to Mia. In hindsight, maybe he should have chosen one of her movies to watch instead of Antonio's. A romantic comedy, no matter how cheesy, always had a happy ending.

Always.

"Rub it in, Mia," he grumbled and tossed the DVD over to the couch.

He dragged his feet the rest of the way to his room. It was 3:30 AM and everyone was sleeping, so he slowly, and very quietly, slid the door open, snuck inside, and slid the door shut.

Emily had never been one to sleep in total darkness. Like most kids, she had slept with a nightlight for most of her childhood. Even sharing a room with Serena couldn't keep the monsters away quite like a light. Then, when she finally reached the age where the dark was less threatening, her sister had gotten sick, had been forced to move out of their room and left Emily alone. The nightlight stayed, even as Emily got older. When she was finally comfortable enough to fall asleep in the dark, she still didn't like it. She would have to get up in the middle of the night to care for her sister and needed the light to see where she was going. The light was needed for her then, and right now, the light was needed for Mike.

Instead of a nightlight, Emily just slept with the curtains open slightly. The stars and the moon were always so bright, because the house was far from the city, so the glow lit up the room and Emily.

There she was, sleeping soundly. No bomb, no danger, no death. Just peaceful dreams. Mike smiled and crawled into bed next to her. He pulled her into his arms.

"Hm?" she moaned tiredly and stirred as she was pulled from her sleep. Mike kissed her.

"Sorry. Go back to sleep."

"How was the movie?"

"Stupid ending."

"Why?"

"The hero couldn't save her."

"Who?"

"The woman he loves. She died. So did he."

"I don't know why you watch those movies," Emily snuggled into him and laid her head on his chest. "Do you not get enough adventure?"

"Plenty," Mike nodded his head. "They're usually pretty cool, though. You've got to admit, those heroes are pretty awesome."

"That's stupid."

"Hey!"

"You're so much better than they are," Emily looked up at Mike and smiled. He looked to her curiously.

"How so?"

"For starters, you wouldn't let me die."

As Emily snuggled back into Mike's arms he smiled at her and hugged her warmly as he closed his eyes to sleep.

"Never, Em."

-Samurai-

00:00:10.

Mike sighed in relief as the timer stopped. The bomb had been deactivated. He unstrapped it from her chest, untied her from the chair, and lifted her into his arms.

"I love you too," Emily smiled. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss.