At the age of twenty-one, Kevin has his entire life figured out. He trained daily for his Samurai responsibilities, as well as for his dreams. The Olympics weren't that far away anymore and he was sure to qualify this time if he kept to his schedule.

He knew he was supposed to one day become a Samurai Ranger, but he hadn't yet gotten the call. He was starting to think the day would never come. Maybe the former red Ranger had succeeded with the sealing symbol. Maybe the Nighlok had given up. Still, even with his doubts, he continued to train. It helped him keep in shape for swimming and it helped him feel connected to the water, his element, as if that boosted his chance of being the best swimmer he would possibly be.

He swam and swam until he touched the wall and pulled his head out of the water. He felt his hand touching something that didn't feel like it belonged in a pool and looked up to see his father.

"Son," his father usually stood by the pool to help him train. He would tell him what he needed to improve and how to be better. He helped Kevin with his dream of swimming, but today, he seemed to be here for a different reason.

"Dad?" Kevin pulled himself from the pool and removed his goggles and cap. He walked over to the towel and began to dry himself off while his father spoke.

"I wanted to wish you good luck," this was nothing new; his father had always supported him, "for your final meet."

"Final meet?" Kevin turned to look at his father.

"Ji, the Mentor to your red Ranger, told me the time is near," Kevin felt his stomach turning slightly as his father presented him with his dragon Zord. It couldn't have been time to be a Samurai. He had a swimming meet coming up and he was going to qualify for the Olympics. Still, Kevin took the Zord from his father's hand. "You have always trained with discipline and honour, knowing that it is your destiny to join the Power Rangers."

"Proudly," Kevin nodded his head. It wasn't that he didn't like his duties as a Samurai, they just seemed to have extremely bad timing.

"Now, you must stand united with them, no matter how great the challenge," his father continued. "You will not be alone. There are others who also await the call."

Kevin clutched his Zord in his hand as he nodded to his father again. "I won't let you down."

"I know you won't," his father placed a hand on his shoulder and then gestured to the pool, "Now, let's make sure you win your final swim meet. We can't have you leaving with a loss, can we?"

Kevin set his towel down and the Dragon Zord before he jumped back into the water to show his father how he had been practicing all day. He couldn't believe the time to be a Samurai had come now, and truth be told, he didn't want to go, but he knew it was important. The fate of the entire world rested in his hands and he needed to live up to his responsibilities as the blue Ranger. There was nothing more important that the safety of the planet.

-Samurai-

Mia loved to work with children. There was something about their innocence and their spirit that made her want to get up and go to work every day, no matter how she was feeling. While most of the other workers at the day-care found it extremely annoying with the kids would latch onto their hands, arms, legs and clothes, Mia loved it. She could sit and play with the children found hours and always knew exactly how to get them to wind down for their nap, no matter how excited their got.

And she always returned home to her grandmother with a smile on her face. There was never a bad day when she had to go to work. Even though it was only a part-time job, something for her to do when she wasn't training to be the pink Ranger, it was something she considered doing for the rest of her life.

As she stepped inside the house she noticed it was silent. Normally he grandmother was in the kitchen coming up with a new recipe for dinner, but today it sounded like there was no one home. Worried for the elderly lady, Mia set her bag down.

"Sobo?" she called, hoping to hear a response.

"In here, Mia," she heard from the living room and followed her grandmother's voice. She walked into the living room and saw her grandmother was sitting on the couch, playing with the turtle Zord as it sat on the coffee table. When the turtle saw Mia, it flew over to her, folding up and landing in her hand.

"What's going on?" Mia asked. She rarely ever saw her grandmother bonding with the turtle unless they were in training, and even then, Mia was usually the one to bond with the animal.

"The time is near," her grandmother answered. "I was simply saying goodbye to an old friend."

"You mean…?"

"Any day now you will be called into battle," her grandmother told her. "When that happens, you will need to drop all of your current responsibilities."

"But the kids…"

"Being a Samurai is more important that playing with the children."

Mia lowered her head and looked at her turtle. She knew her grandmother was right. If she didn't become a Samurai she was putting the whole world in danger, the children especially.

"I never thought this day would come," she admitted to her grandmother. "It's been so long since…"

"Would you like to invite your parents over for a goodbye dinner? Once you are gone, there will be no contact. I cannot communicate with you and you will not be allowed to talk with me or your parents."

"Call them," Mia nodded and took a seat on the couch. "How long do you think I'll be gone for?"

"Back in my day, I was gone for five years. My mother spent three fighting the Nighlok. Your mother was gone for one. It really depends on the team you're with and the strength of the Nighlok you are facing."

"Hopefully they're ready," Mia felt slightly sick. She was nervous about leaving soon. She knew it was important, but she didn't think she was really ready to be a Samurai. She had the entire world's fate resting on her shoulders. A simple slip up and humanity could be wiped off the face of the planet.

"I'm sure they are," her grandmother smiled.

-Samurai-

"Again, Michael?"

Mike looked to his father with a frown, "What? It's my money?"

"Forty dollars? You spent forty dollars at the arcade? What do you have to show for it? Nothing!"

"Dude, high school in Bear Chaser! Tomorrow I'm going to beat it! I'm a legend!"

"Don't call me dude," his father rubbed his forehead in frustration. "Mike, you seriously need to smarten up! When you dropped out of school I thought you would focus on your training! Do you not remember the stories I told you?"

"Dad, I'm ready, I know I am! I could kick anyone's ass! None of the jocks at school used to mess with me because they knew I was the champ!"

Mike kicked and punched the air to prove his point and then smiled at his father, "I'm ready, dad."

"Are you ready now?" his father presented him with the Bear Folding Zord. "Any day now you will be called by Mentor Ji and you will have to fight the Nighlok. It's serious business, Mike. They won't hold back."

"I've got this, dad."

"You can't let your team down like I did."

"Dad, so you screwed up a few times, big deal? Nothing happened."

"The red Ranger died!"

"And I'm not going to let that happen."

"You need to understand this isn't some video game."

"Dad…"

"Lives are at stake, Michael. Innocent lives, as well as the lives of your teammates. If you aren't ready you'll be putting them all in danger."

"Trust me, dad. They'll all be admiring my skills when I show up and they'll be begging me for private lessons."

"You're already at the disadvantage," his father shook his head. "The other Samurai have at least a couple of years on you. Your red Ranger has been training since he could walk. The blue and pink Rangers have likely been training non-stop for fifteen years. The yellow Ranger's been in training for longer."

"They don't have natural talent," Mike smirked. "Besides, I'm sure they aren't that great."

"You better hope they are," his father told him. "Because they will be your team. You will protect them and they will protect you."

"I'm ready for this," Mike nodded his head. "I promise, dad, I won't let you down."

"Then how about one final lesson with your old man before you leave?"

"Actually," Mike held out his hand, "can I borrow some money? Like I said, tomorrow I'm going to beat my high school and I'll be a legend at the arcade."

"But…"

Mike reached into his father's pocket, where he knew there was always money and smiled.

"Thanks dad! I'll make you proud!"

His father watched his run off with a loud groan until he felt two arms wrapping around his shoulders from behind. He turned around and saw his wife.

"Like father, like son."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

"He's a lot more responsible than you think. Just give him a chance. He makes mistakes, but he learns from them."

"I just hope he's as skilled as he thinks he is."

"I'm sure he is."

-Samurai-

Emily held out her sister's medication and a glass of water. Serena was very sick, and had been for years. Her condition had started out pretty serious and had only gotten worse from there. Only a year ago the doctor had told her that her illness was going to kill her, it was only a matter of time.

When Serena first showed signs of illness, her mother began to worry and had started training Emily. Once it was clear that things were getting worse, her mother had to make a difficult call. Until Serena showed signs of improvement, Emily was going to take over the role as yellow Ranger. She was young and painfully behind in her training, but she would be a much better Ranger than her sister, who at times could barely breathe without help from a machine.

As soon as the doctor had announced Serena's illness would kill her, the decision was final. Emily was going to be the yellow Ranger when the time came. There was no way they would send off a sick and dying Samurai to be a Ranger, even if she was the firstborn and this was her birthright.

As Emily held out the medicine, the only thing keeping Serena going for this long, she noticed her sister seemed upset.

"Serena, please, you have to take these," it wasn't uncommon for Serena to fall into depression now that she was ill, and every once in a while it was difficult to persuade Serena to take her medication and follow her doctor's orders. No one in her family could blame her. They were only delaying the inevitable, and asking her to suffer longer was a selfish thing to do, but they couldn't bear to lose her so young.

"Mom heard from Ji," Serena whispered. Emily set the water and the medicine down by Serena's night table and took a seat by her bed.

"Why didn't she come talk to me?"

"She probably will," Serena said.

"Do I need to leave?"

"Not right now," Serena shook her head, "but you should start packing."

A tear dripped down Serena's cheek and she turned away from her sister. She couldn't bring herself to look at Emily, knowing the danger she had put her sister in by getting sick. She was already going to die, but she couldn't let the same thing happen to Emily.

"Serena, are you crying?" Emily touched her sister's hand. She could feel Serena trembling slightly so she squeezed, offering comfort. "I'm going to be fine. Mom trained me well."

"I'm still going to worry."

"You're going to worry?" Emily asked. "I'll have a Ranger suit, a sword and a team protecting me. You're the one who's…"

Emily trailed off and pulled her hand away from her sister, "I'm going to come home. And you're going to be waiting for me, right?"

"Of course," Serena nodded. "I'm not leaving you, Emy. Not like this. You go save the world; I'll be waiting for you once you've won."

Emily smiled and crawled up on her sister's bed. She laid down next to her sister and wrapped herself in Serena's arm. Her parents usually discouraged her from doing this but Serena and Emily both ignored them and did this whenever they could.

Emily reached over, picking up the pills and the water and handed them to her sister, "Please, Serena."

Her sister took her medication and then kissed Emily on the forehead.

"I wish you didn't have to take my place," she said.

"I'll make you proud. I promise."