Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Samurai.

Warnings for mentions and allusions to past child abuse

A/N: This is part of my 'I refuse to accept cannon Samurai' 'verse. It is now officially crossed with The Rainbow Brotherhood verse and will include in further chapters stuff about each of them having one on one with other Rangers of their color. Also a sequel to Golden Moment and screws around with the cannon of episode 'The Tengen Gate', spelling probably not accurate. Mrs. Johannasson is Kim.


It all started with an overheard phone call. Antonio had to take a break from programming the black box; or rather, Mentor Ji had forced him to take a break. He took a seat in the back garden and dialed a familiar number. "Bradley household, this is Tori."

Antonio grinned, "Sensei Bradley, its Antonio."

"Tony," Tori said, "seriously, you don't have to call me Sensei any more. You graduated."

"But you are a Master," Antonio replied, "and my teacher."

"How are you?" Tori said with a sigh, clearly not ready to run through that old battle.

"I'm good," Antonio replied, "I'm a little tired right now, but isn't that how it works?"

"What happened?" Tori asked.

Antonio hesitated for a moment, before he sighed, "Jayden's been kidnapped by a Nighloks, the rest of my team is down and out with injuries and I have to program symbol power into a device that no one has ever been able to complete."

"That's terrible," Tori said, she hesitated and Antonio could hear someone, probably Blake, in the background. "No," she said, clearly responding, "I will not ask him when he's going to get his stuff."

Antonio bit his lip, because Tori and Blake had promised to keep his stuff, but with their third kid on the way, they could probably use the space. "I'm looking for a place," he told Tori, "but every time I start looking, we get another attack."

"Don't feel guilty," Tori told him, "Blake's just grumbling about his work space again."

"I'll find a place soon," Antonio said, "if it's really a problem, I'll rent a storage shed up here and ship it up."

"You don't have to," Tori said.

"It's no problem," Antonio replied, "with the trust fund, I can afford it. Just let me know if you need me to."

"I'm not saying it won't help," Tori hedged.

"It's done," Antonio said firmly, "as soon as I've finished the box, I'll get the storage space."

"Ok," Tori said, "I'll get a hold of Hunter and Dustin to help us bring it up there."

"You really don't have to do that," Antonio said.

"How else are we going to meet everybody?" Tori said teasingly.

"I," Antonio hesitated, "I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Why?" Tori asked.

Antonio dropped his head, "The Power, it's different for them then it is for me. I don't think they realize that yet."

"What do you mean?" Tori asked.

"It's just, Tori, I broke my arm in battle. By the time we finished the debriefing, it wasn't even bruised. Kevin and the others were unconscious and they're still bruised. Mike has broken ribs and they haven't even begun to heal. It's almost like those, those SPD morphers I've heard about. Ranger abilities but not all the extras."

"That's not possible," Tori said.

"I know," Antonio replied, "but that's what I think of ever time one of them gets bandaged. It's not like their colors don't match either. Jayden's a red, mission oriented, but still a red. Kevin's got that logical, analytical blue thing going. Not sure, on the genius part, but he's definitely the logical one. Emily's a healer, in fact, she reminds me of Ashley in that she's got a little bit of everything. Mia's a lot like Mrs. Johannason, and a little like Rose. She's a real sweet heart. Then there's Mike, and don't tell Sensei Cam this, but half the reason I'd rather pay to ship is that I shudder to think what would happen if the greens got their hands on Mike."

"It can't be that bad," Tori said with a laugh.

"It will be," Antonio replied, "That one needs little to no encouragement and the greens? They'll help him get worse."

"But at the same time, if you're really concerned about their powers," Tori trailed off.

"Jayden was poisoned," Antonio said, "of course I'm worried about their powers."

"Ok," Tori said, "you need to call Cam. You know he doesn't go in for all that without being egged on. If there are problems he'd be the one to fix them."

"I will," Antonio said, he looked down. "I'm doing my check ins to get away from that stupid black box."

"Take care," Tori said, "and call more often. You have friends here, Tony, don't forget that."

"Only if you forget Tony," Antonio replied. "Bye Tori."

"Bye Antonio," Tori said.

Antonio hung up his phone and stared down at it with a fond smile. It was nice to have real friends.

"Did you just spill our secrets to someone?"

Antonio jerked up and spun, finding Kevin standing behind him, staring. "Kevin," he said, "what are you doing up, you shouldn't be up yet."

"I'm fine," Kevin said. His knuckles were white as he clung to the door frame. "Who were you talking to?"

"A friend," Antonio replied, "just a friend." He thought for a moment before choosing his path. "She and her husband are storing some stuff for me and I was trying to arrange for them to ship it here. They just found out she's pregnant again and Blake wants his work shop back anyways."

"You were talking about us as Rangers, Antonio," Kevin said.

"Tori can be trusted," Antonio said, he glanced down, "I promise. None of them are going to go spreading your identity."

"Them?" Kevin said, he stepped out the door, "how many people know about us, Tony?"

"People who can be trusted," Antonio said, "people who would never tell an outsider. People who could help us if we asked."

"Help us?" Kevin repeated, "Antonio, you can just randomly tell people about us."

"They're Power Rangers," Antonio said, and shut his mouth. For good measure, he added his hand, because he wasn't supposed to tell. Shane was going to kill him. Jason was going to kill him. Cam was going to reprogram his morpher. If he whimpered, he'd deny it.

"They're Power Rangers," Kevin repeated incredulously, "you know Power Rangers?" The gap sensor went off and Antonio shook his head, "This isn't over yet, Antonio. You have a lot of explaining to do."

Antonio sighed, because now the cat was out of the bag indeed. He hurried inside with the others because he was a Ranger and he had a duty. Sorry Cam, he thought, I'll call you later.

As it turned out, he didn't have to call Cam. Because Cam called him as they were heading back to the compound. "Hello," Antonio said, conscious of everyone staring at him in surprise.

"I heard you were incapable of dialing my number," Cam said.

"Hi Cam," Antonio said, "no, I'm not incapable. We've been busy."

"Busy," Cam replied, "I know what busy is, Tony."

"What is with you guys and calling me that?" Antonio asked.

"Probably because we've known you, oh, all your life," Cam replied. "You are always going to be Tony to us, kid."

"That's probably even worse," Antonio muttered. "I'm glad you called though, I have a friend I'd love to have you talk to." He glanced at Kevin, who was frowning at him. "Although I think friend might be a stretch at the moment. But, listen, Tori already said she was going to have Hunter and Dustin help move my stuff. Why not make it a team thing and bring," he hesitated, "not Vida, please."

"Not Vida, huh, can I ask why?"

"I think she still wants to kill me," Antonio said, staring out the window. "Bring Rose. Rose still likes me and Mac's out of the country right now so she's probably bored enough to take some time off."

"And Mac won't kill you for borrowing his girlfriend either," Cam said with a laugh.

"That's the bonus." Antonio said as the SUV came to a stop. He scrambled out of the car and walked away, allowing Mike and Kevin to help Jayden into the house. "God, Cam, this isn't going well."

"What happened?" Cam asked.

"Kevin heard me talking to Sensei Tori," Antonio replied, "about everything. He doesn't like me anyways."

"You do have a knack or that, Tony," Cam said.

"He told me that I was a computer nerd, not a Samurai," Antonio admitted after a moment.

Cam hissed, "I'm definitely coming up there. I'd love to hear him say that to my face."

"I'm looking forward to it," Antonio replied, "it was the only thing that helped me keep my temper when he said that." He glanced at the house and saw Kevin approaching. "I have to go, Cam. I'll call you later."

"You do that," Cam replied. "I want to know what's going on."

Just for Kevin, he laughed, "I'll send you an email tomorrow. There's a café with free wifi in town."

"You do that," Cam said.

Antonio hung up the phone and slid it into his pocket, "I used a cell phone for my morpher," he said, not looking at Kevin, "to combine my communicator and morpher in one. It has the added bonus of free long distance."

"You have a lot of explaining to do," Kevin said.

"Maybe I do," Antonio replied. His phone vibrated and he checked it, a text from Shane. Go ahead and tell them everything, Tony. We'll deal with the fall out later. "Maybe I do."

They walked into the house and Kevin rounded everybody up, including Mentor Ji. Antonio faced the wall, not looking at them. Then Jayden said, "What's going on Kevin?"

"Ask Antonio," Kevin replied in a hard voice.

Antonio sighed, but he didn't turn around, "Antonio?" Jayden asked.

Antonio turned slowly and looked at each of them in turn, "I haven't been honest with you." He said finally. "I didn't tell you everything when I came here."

"What do you mean?" Jayden said.

"Well, some of it I didn't expect you to actually believe," he shook his head, "my teachers, they cry over your willful blindness." Seeing the confusion on all their faces he sighed, "I didn't learn all this on my own, Jay. I had help."

"What kind of help?" Mentor Ji said.

"My dad moved us to Angel Grove and I started taking lessons at the local youth center. There were some teenagers who did community karate classes there. My instructors there, well, one of them recommended me to a special academy when I was old enough. The Wind Ninja Academy." Antonio sighed, "I didn't know at first, but Sensei Park was a Wind Ninja and he saw my potential and sent me. This was after the Ninja Storm Rangers dealt with Lothor, so I trained with the Ninja Storm Rangers." He glanced at the team and then stared at the wall beyond it, "My first training was as a Water Ninja, because my ninja element is water. My second year I was able to transfer to a different discipline. You see, one of the special teachers at the academy was the Green Samurai Ranger, and he agreed to teach me to be a Samurai."

"Wait," Mike said.

"Mike, you are the second Green Samurai Ranger. Cam was the first. His mother Miko was from a different house, but she bequeathed an amulet to Cam that not only made him the Green Samurai Ranger, but also imported to him the legacies of their family. Cam, in turn, taught me. My third year there, I introduced them to Octo, and told them about Jayden and my promise to go back. Cam helped me make it happen. We built the morpher together, and Shane helped me learn my color, Gold, and Jason taught me about being a Gold Ranger and we did everything we could. I don't have the history you guys do, the generations to back my abilities that help you. That's why my phone is programmed the way it is. I'm learning to do things the traditional way, with the drawn symbols, but I, we, you didn't have the time it would have taken for me to learn it all the long way. I would have been in Ninja Ops, painting symbols, instead of fixing the black box or saving Jayden."

"So you're really a ninja," Kevin began.

"No," Antonio said, "I'm not. I never finished my training as a ninja. I'm a Samurai. I'm just trained differently. I was trained to be a Samurai as well as a Ranger, which is different from being just a Samurai. You are a Samurai first and a Ranger second, Kevin. I'm a Ranger first and a Samurai second." He looked at each of them for a long moment, "You guys are my team. My morpher was designed to be compatible with Octo, who is a part of your power structure. My Power is geared to Master Xandred. If you can't accept that, then I'll leave. Octo and Claw are free to stay or go as they chose, but I'll go. I'll stay out of it. I'm sure Sensei Cam would love a secondary teacher or the Thunders might."

Antonio was afraid to look at his team, he turned around and walked out, heading for the door before any of them could say anything. "Antonio," Jayden said.

Antonio hesitated, but he didn't look, "This is a team decision, Jayden. I never questioned my loyalty to you, but if everyone else doesn't trust me, it isn't going to work." It hurt, Antonio thought, surprised at how much it hurt to walk away from the compound. Kevin had never trusted him, he would probably rejoice that he finally could get rid of him.

"Hey Tony."

Antonio spun, "Jason?" He asked, stunned.

His first karate teacher smiled as he slid off his truck bed. "You haven't been calling anyone. I came up to check on you."

"Oh," Antonio said, "I, uh," he glanced at the walls of the compound, "I was just, telling them everything."

"How did they take it?" Jason asked, resting his hand on Antonio's shoulder.

"I left so they could talk about it," Antonio replied. "I don't think they're happy with me though."

"Maybe," Jason said, "maybe not. I'm starving, where can I get something to eat around here?"

"I don't know," Antonio said, "I haven't exactly had much of a chance to look around."

"You've been living off the land again," Jason said. "Antonio, you shouldn't do that."

"I prefer it," Antonio muttered, not quite able to meet his mentor's eyes.

"Because of your dad? Tony, seriously, just because your dad was a waste of oxygen doesn't mean you can't use the trust to live off." Antonio flinched slightly, and Jason pushed his chin up and caught his eyes, "What your dad did was wrong, Tony. You did nothing to deserve that. Leaving you the trust instead of your dad was the only thing your grandfather could do for you. Don't think of it as your dad's money, it's yours."

Antonio stepped back, "I was planning to use it, Jason."

"When?" Jason asked.

"When I found a place," Antonio replied, "it's just, we've been busy." Before Jason could say anything else, the gate to the compound squeaked open.

"Antonio?" Jayden called as he stepped out, followed by the other Samurais.

"Excuse me," Antonio said to Jason with a slight bow. He then jogged over to the team, "What's up?" He asked.

"We want you on the team," Kevin said.

"Don't go," Mia added.

"We have questions," Mike added.

"We'd like to meet the other Rangers to," Emily said.

"But you're one of us," Jayden said, "and we aren't letting you go that easy."

Antonio looked at each of them, and behind him, he heard Jason cough. The older Ranger was probably laughing at them. "Are you sure?" He asked.

"You're staying," Kevin said. "Even if we have to tie you up to keep you here."

He couldn't help it, he tilted his head, spread his arms out and said, "Now this, is a golden moment." He turned and gestured, "Jason, come here please."

"Antonio," Jayden said quietly.

"It's ok," Antonio said, "trust me." He grinned, "I take it you heard," he said to Jason.

"I never doubted," Jason replied.

"Then, Jason, I would like you to meet the Samurai Rangers," Antonio said with flourish, "Jayden is Red, Kevin is Blue, Mia is Pink, Emily is Yellow and Mike is Green." Antonio turned to his stunned team, "Everyone, this is Jason Lee Scott, Senior Earthian Red Ranger and temporary Gold Zeo Ranger."

"It's nice to meet you," Jason said in the silence that followed. "Antonio is lousy at phone calls so I'm sure I haven't heard half as much about you as I'd like."

"It's an honor to meet you," Jayden managed finally. "Come in, would you like something to eat. You can meet Ji, our mentor."

Jason laughed and clapped Jayden's shoulder, "How about I take all of you out to eat instead? I'm half expecting some other people to show up to check on Tony."

"I already talked to Tori," Antonio protested, "and don't call me Tony."

"I was thinking about Cam, actually," Jason said. "Considering he called to ask me if I was here yet."

"Oh God," Antonio muttered, "um Kevin, hide."

"Why?" Kevin asked.

"Too late," a voice behind them announced.

Antonio turned slowly to find all of the Wind Rangers and Cam standing in the middle of the street. As he watched, the two Thunder Rangers arrived as well. "Jason," Shane said with a slight nod.

"Shane," Jason said as he stepped to one side, "I take it you want this one?"

"No," Shane said, "but Cam does."

"Sensei," Antonio said, "it's a misunderstanding, please." He didn't really expect anything to happen, but he felt he had to say something.

"No," Cam said, stepping forward. His calm measured stride and polite tone really didn't make Antonio feel any better. "I think this is something that needs to be done." He stopped in front of Kevin and looked at him for a long moment. "Kevin, Blue Samurai Ranger, I presume," he said finally.

"Yes?" Kevin said nervously, but he didn't move.

"My name is Cameron Watanabe," Cam said, "and while the Watanabe family has been associated with the Wind Ninja Academy specifically and the ninja traditions in general for generations, my mother was from a traditional Samurai family. I served as the Green Samurai Ranger in my time and continue tradition in teaching other Samurai." He crossed his arms and tilted his head slightly, "I also have a Ph.D. in computer engineering and while I could name my other degrees all it boils down to is I specialize in robotics and nanotechnology. I work for the government on projects that most of the American population will never hear about. During the period we were active, I was responsible for repairing the Zords our team used. Two years ago, I worked with other Rangers to reconnect our morphers to the morphing grid. I've been on government watch lists since I was twelve because of my skill with a computer. I am, in your words, a computer nerd. I am also a Samurai. If you want to challenge that statement, I'd be happy to provide ample demonstration."

Kevin looked terrified, and Antonio really wished he had a camera. "That won't be necessary," Kevin said after a moment.

"Good," Cam said, "because as much as Tony likes to shrug it off, he's better than I am with Ranger tech. In fact, if he had just been a ninja, or a samurai student, I would have sponsored him to Eltare for Ranger tech training. He's also the best Samurai student I've ever had. My grandfather, my mother's father, even spent six months teaching him specific Samurai techniques. He's never made that offer to any of my students." Cam stepped back, "You are all lucky to have Tony. He could have had the world, but he's loyal to Jayden."

"He's a Gold," Jason said bluntly, "through and through."

"And I'm not better at Ranger tech," Antonio added, "and for the millionth time, don't call me Tony."

"Why not?" Mike asked.

"My dad called me Tony," Antonio muttered.

Shane stepped closer, "I'm Shane Clark, I'm Earth's senior Red Ranger. Antonio, are you ok?"

"Mostly in one piece," Antonio replied, "but the bruises will be gone soon enough." He gestured to Jayden, "Jayden's Samurai Red. I know you've wanted to talk with him."

"Or," Hunter said in an exceptionally dry tone, "you know talk with him. I'm Hunter, Crimson Thunder."

"Not right now," Antonio said helplessly, "he's not well yet." Jason coughed something, it sounded like 'gold', but Antonio ignored him. "Tori, Blake, that's Kevin. Kevin, Tori and Blake are the Blue Wind and Navy Thunder Rangers. Emily, that's Dustin, he was the Wind Yellow. Mia, I'm sorry, I was hoping we could get a Pink in on this 'meet the Seniors' event but apparently not."

"That's ok," Mia said, looking a little stunned at the idea of meeting so many Rangers at once.

"And Cam, that's Mike, our green ranger. Please, don't encourage him." Antonio finished.

"Don't worry," Cam said, pushing his glasses up his nose as he studied Mike, "I'm sure he doesn't need any encouragement at all." Mike gulped and flushed, Antion decided to ignore whatever else Cam told Mike. At least it was Cam and not, say, Doctor Oliver.

"It might be best if all of you come in," Mentor Ji announced from the gate. "I do not put it past Master Xandred to have spies in the area."

"Right," Jason said, "you must be Mentor Ji. I want to talk to you about taking Antonio's morpher." Antonio flushed, he'd forgotten that email. It had been rather wordy, but still, it was his morpher.

They all walked inside the compound and Mia dropped into step beside him, "Are you ok?" She asked quietly.

"I'm fine," Antonio said. "I know my friends are overwhelming, and I'm sorry that Rose or Vida or Mrs. Johannason or one of the others couldn't be here. I really wanted to make that happened."

"It's ok, Antonio," Mia replied. "I'm not upset." She glanced ahead as Emily laughed, "Maybe a little jealous, but not upset. Do you know a lot of Rangers?"

"I've met a lot of them," Antonio replied, he shrugged, "I was the first chance Earth's Rangers had to train a Ranger so everyone had something to say. Mostly they don't get to know Rangers until after they're already Rangers. I was the novelty, an actual Ranger-elect."

"Seems like a lot of pressure too," Mia said, "with all of them watching you."

Antonio shrugged, "It's not that bad. Jason is the only other Gold, so it's not like I have sixteen Rangers in my color judging my every move. Jason's more concerned with the Reds anyways, given he's Elder Red and only honorary Gold."

"Come on you two," Jason called, "We have stories to tell."

"That is not promising." Antonio muttered. Mia laughed.