Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Samurai

As much as Ji wished he never had to do this, he was starting to realise the best thing to do was be prepared.

Xandred was getting stronger. There hadn't been too many Nighlok attacks recently, but after Takeshi had left the team on the brink of death, Mentor Ji knew the Rangers were going to need help. They couldn't afford another hit like that.

And while everyone was sure Dekker wouldn't come back for Serena or Terran, they had no idea what he was up to anymore. Emily had taken his memory but they couldn't be sure how much. How far back had she sent him?

All the Samurai, Serena included, were gathered in the common room for a meeting. No one knew what it was about, not even Jayden.

Mentor Ji hesitated slightly before he finally stepped forward and placed the Black Box on the table. Suddenly the room was tense. So far, that Black Box had only proven that it was trouble. Mia could still remember Kevin's horrible screams as the Black Box tortured him. Mike remembered how the Black Box had caused Jayden to betray him and lie to Emily. Emily remembered having to sit through hours of hearing Mike screaming from the pain, thinking it would never end.

Jayden looked up to his Mentor, "Ji…"

"I have thought long and hard about this," Mentor assured the Rangers, "This needs to be done."

"We don't even know if it'll work," Kevin shook his head and took Mia's hand. Only she and Jayden needed to program their Stones into the box. Kevin didn't want to see that happen, "It's not worth the risk."

"The Nighlok are getting stronger, and I fear they will continue to do so. You Samurai have come a long way, but there is no doubt in my mind that the Sanzu River is higher than it has been in centuries. We have already seen it beginning to seep into our world."

"All the other Rangers have defeated the Nighlok without help from the Black Box," Kevin argued. He couldn't remember his own pain, but after witnessing what the Black Box and the Stones had done to Mike and Emily, and after hearing Mia tell him the story of what happened to him through his tears, there was no way he was going to the Box torture her. "We don't need it."

Jayden looked down at his hands. The Black Box had nearly cost him his friendship with his friends. He hated it, but he knew it was worth it.

"My father had to sacrifice himself to defeat the Nighlok, and that wasn't even permanent," he said. "Many other teams have lost one, if not more Samurai while fighting the Nighlok."

"My grandfather didn't die on the battlefield," Mike said, "but my father told me he did die of his injuries afterwards."

"My great-grandfather died as well," Mia said and she received a few looks, "What? We didn't have eighteen generations of just women."

Ji looked to the Rangers, "You are all risking so much already. If the Nighlok continue to get stronger and we don't, I fear it will be inevitable that we lose someone. We've come close already."

Emily felt all eyes turning to her. She lifted up her notebook, "Shut up."

"You just keep that one handy, huh?" Mike teased her.

"We've all had some close encounters," Serena said. "As much as I hate it, I think I'm with Ji. If we don't do it we're increasing the odds that one of you does die and reducing the chance that we seal the Nighlok away permanently. I remember mom crying for weeks over Jayden's father's death. It was a huge sacrifice but it almost wasn't worth it because the seal wasn't complete. I couldn't imagine losing any of you, then training Terran to be a Samurai when I know…"

"It might kill him," Mike whispered.

Serena nodded her head, "I've had to pass my powers on before," she said as she looked to Emily, "It's a shitty feeling. It's not something you guys want to do. Your parents are scared for all of you. You need to do what you can to protect yourselves, and if you have any humanity in you at all, you'll want to protect your kids. You'll want to give them a normal life."

Mia let out a deep breath, "I'll do it."

"Mia…"

"The Black Box doesn't kill," Mike promised Kevin before he could protest Mia's decision, "You wish you were dead, but it doesn't kill. She'll be perfectly fine when it's all done."

"But…"

"Would you rather I increase the odds of dying on the battlefield?" Mia asked Kevin. "What about you or the others getting killed? It has to be done."

"I'll be doing it as well," Jayden nodded his head and then he looked to Mia, "but I have to ask you to go first. I could use the painless symbol, but only if I have enough energy to do so. If I go first, I won't…"

"I get it," Mia nodded her head. Kevin got up from his stool and walked out. Understandably, he couldn't be in the same room while Mia was programming her Stone. Then, the Rangers heard the front door slam. Kevin couldn't even be in the house.

"He will be back for you," Ji assured Jayden and then he nodded his head, "You will do it now."

-Samurai-

The painless symbol couldn't be used unless someone was in pain. That meant Mia had to, for a moment, feel the effects of the Stone as it was programmed into the Box. That meant everyone in the Shiba House had heard her scream.

Serena was in her bedroom, rocking Terran gently after Mia's scream woke him up and startled him. Emily had followed her and was sitting on the bed with her hands pressed to her ears and tears in her eyes.

Mike was sitting right behind her, hugging her close. He didn't have to cover his ears because there was no more screaming, but he knew what had happened. He hoped Mia's reaction to her Stone and the symbol would be the same as Kevin's. He hoped she wouldn't remember her pain when she woke up. He himself started to tear up when he thought about what could happen.

Just then the door to the bedroom opened. Emily couldn't hear anything because her hands were still pressed tightly to her ears, but Mike and Serena did. They turned to the door and saw Mia standing there. She looked exhausted but she still forced a smile.

"Are you okay?" Serena asked as she walked over to give Mia a hug. Mia nodded her head and as she and Serena parted, she took Terran into her own arms and hugged him.

"That was… different from what I expected," she answered. She walked over to Mike and Emily. She placed her hand on Emily's back, "You can let go of your head now, Emy."

Emily opened her eyes and pulled her hands away from her ears only slightly. She looked at Mia then nudged Mike.

"Oh, right," Mike said and reached for Emily's notebook. He showed it to Mia.

"You're okay?"

"I'm fine," Mia nodded. She hugged both Mike and Emily and took a seat on the bed with Terran.

"What happened?"

"It stung… a lot," Mia answered.

"That's an understatement," Mike muttered. "Any side effects?"

"When the symbol hit me I got violent," Mia said. "I didn't feel the pain, so it worked, but the Stones must mess with the symbols. That must be why we're getting weird side effects."

"They didn't mess with Kevin's."

"How do you know?" Mike chuckled to Emily, "Maybe Kevin's side effect was sleeping."

"That's what the symbol did to both my mom and Serena," Emily explained, "That's what Jayden expected when he used it on them."

"Kevin forgot everything," Mia pointed out. "Everything before the symbol was used."

"My memory was intact when I woke up," Serena said, "Mom's too."

"You and I remembered everything too, Emy," Mia pointed out.

"I wonder what would have happened to me," Mike said.

"What about Jayden?"

"We'll have to wait and see," Mia answered. "The Box need a few hours with my Stone before we put Jayden's in."

"You should call Kevin," Mike suggested, "Let him know you're okay."

Mia nodded her head and pulled out her phone, "Good idea."

-Samurai-

Jayden stared at the Black Box. Now he knew there was no more hiding. He had asked the team to do something, he was going to have to do it too. If they suffered, he would suffer.

"You okay, amigo?" Antonio asked. Jayden looked up and nodded his head.

"I'm a little tired," he answered, "but I'm ready to program."

Antonio shook his head, "Kevin's not back yet…"

"Do you remember what I did to them when I first asked them to do this?" Jayden said.

"That was a long time ago. We've forgiven you…"

Jayden sighed, "I haven't forgiven myself. I'll never ask you guys to do anything I wouldn't do myself. I'll never ask you guys to sacrifice yourselves for me. I know it'll hurt… but I have to do this."

"Why?" Antonio asked, "Why put yourself through hell when you don't have to?"

"I just… I feel like I need to do it. Start programming, the Box is ready."

"But what if this really hurts you, Jay? We…"

"It'll be fine," Jayden promised.

Antonio let out a heavy sigh and lifted his Samuraizer. He pointed it to the Stone, "Whatever you say, fearless leader."

It took a while for the pain to kick in, just like everyone else. But when it hit, Jayden felt it. He felt it and he understood the reason the Rangers hated him. This was hell.

He could hear Antonio insisting he stop and they wait for Kevin, but Jayden pushed through until he blacked out.

When he woke up he was in bed. His team was all around him.

"You're suicidal, you know that?" Mike asked as Jayden tried to sit up but couldn't because of the pain. He quickly realised being alive hurt.

"You did the exact same thing."

"I didn't have someone I could trust to use the symbol on me," Mike said, "My case was different."

"Did it work at least?" Jayden tried again to sit up. Antonio pushed him back down."

"I don't know. Now that we've got all the Stones in, the Box is… loading?"

"It may take a few days before we see results," Ji said, "But we know we're one step closer."

"Hopefully that's the final step," Kevin nodded, "And it better be worth it," Kevin gave Jayden a very light tap on the shoulder, "You need to rest up though. Programming the Black Box without me?"

"You're nuts, dude," Mike added as he walked out, the other Rangers were right behind him.

Serena and Ji stayed behind for a moment. Fortunately no one seemed to notice.

"Jayden…"

"I knew it wasn't going to kill me," Jayden said. "I can't let them cover for me all the time."

"They are going to be pissed when they find out," Serena nodded her head and looked to Ji. He had a similar look on his face. He knew Serena was speaking the truth, "I wasn't even really involved and I wanted to rip your insides out when you first told me."

"When the time is right, we will tell them," Mentor promised Jayden, "No sooner, no later."

"Just keep me out of it," Serena said, "If Emily ever finds out I knew and never told her…"

"If we break the news the right way…"

"Mentor, when does anything ever really work out the way it's supposed to?" Serena asked as she gave Mentor Ji a knowing look. "Name a single time something went according to plan."

"Dayu kidnapping the brides," Jayden pointed out.

Serena shook her head, "If the story was told to me correctly, you staged three weddings before that fell into place," she gave Jayden a smile, "Rest up. You'll need it."

She walked out to tend to Terran who was starting to make a fuss in the baby monitor.

Jayden looked to Ji, "I guess this is why dad always used to tell me lying was bad."

"We will need to handle this carefully," Mentor nodded his head.

"We'll leave Serena out of it," Jayden said, "They'll always have each other but they'll need someone to fall back on. Serena was great when you stepped down. If they won't trust us…"

"They'll have her," Mentor sighed, "I agree."

"But the moment the right time comes, we tell them," Jayden insisted.