When Dekker woke up his blood instantly ran cold. He remembered falling asleep with Serena in his arms. This morning she was nowhere in sight.

He pushed himself up and bolted out of the dojo, barely taking the time to open the door. He had to search the entire house before he let his bad thoughts get the better of him. Relief washed over him when he found her sitting in the kitchen with the Rangers. She was telling them everything that had happened to her (leaving out a few details for her sister's sake, of course), and the Rangers were doing the same by telling her what they knew. He wanted to grab her in his arms, but assumed that would be a little inappropriate at this time. Instead, he sighed loudly and placed his hand over his heart.

"You cannot continue to disappear like that, Serena," he said, interrupting the conversation. "I was worried."

"Consider it payback for yesterday," Serena shrugged. "You know I'm safe here, anyways."

"I can never be sure," Dekker answered while quickly casting a glance out the kitchen window. He didn't like Serena being in plain sight. If she could be seen, she could be found and Dayu would waste no time killing her.

"Dayu wouldn't dare come here," Jayden shook his head. "She's outnumbered and overpowered."

"Overpowered?" Antonio rubbed his chest, where a bruise had formed overnight after his beating from Dayu, "Jay, Dayu kicked all our butts yesterday and she didn't even break a sweat. It was like a walk in the park for her."

"She is a fierce warrior in her own right," Dekker nodded. "It is a wonder Master Xandred hasn't asked her to finish you all off."

"Not questioning it and I'm definitely not going to plant that idea in his head," Mike leaned back in his chair. "I prefer facing the regular Nighlok. You know, the ones we can destroy."

"Don't worry about Dayu," Serena muttered and started getting up from her seat, "She'll be too busy hunting me to focus on any of you."

"Where are you going?" Dekker asked her, worried when he saw her starting to leave the room. As Serena walked by him she tapped his cheek.

"Shower. You've seen me in the morning enough times to know I don't wake up completely perfect."

"But… you will be alone," Dekker frowned and his worry continued to grow. Serena nodded her head.

"That's usually how a shower works."

"I will…"

"Ew, no," Emily interrupted and shook her head. She glared at Dekker and stuck out her tongue in disgust before letting her head hit the table, "Ew, now there's an image stuck in my head."

"None of the bathroom walls are outside walls," Kevin assured Dekker. "Serena will be perfectly safe in the bathroom for ten minutes."

"But…"

"Dekker, I'll be fine," Serena assured him and the pointed to her sister, "Besides, you're kind of breaking my sister. What's the point of me living if you've damaged her?"

Dekker looked over at Emily and saw she still had her forehead pressed to the table and her hands were pressed against the side of her face as she tried to drown out the shower conversation.

"Ten minutes," Dekker told Serena. "Do not take too long."

"After ten minutes I'll come check up on you," Mia assured Serena, just for Emily's sake. She looked over at Dekker who sighed loudly and then nodded his head.

"I'll be fine," Serena promised Dekker as she kissed his cheek. "We're at the Shiba House. We're safe."

Dekker let Serena leave to shower and rubbed his face with his hands before looking over at the Rangers. Mike pointed to the fridge.

"Help yourself to breakfast, dude," he told the warrior. "We would have made you something if we knew you were here."

"I'm not hungry," Dekker told the Rangers and set off for the back door. "I have to make sure we are truly safe."

"And I thought you boys were protective," Mia whispered so Dekker couldn't hear her.

Dekker stepped outside and scanned the yard. The atmosphere was quiet and peaceful. If Dayu was nearby, she was doing an excellent job at hiding. He walked further out into the yard and wished he had brought a sword or any other kind of weapon with him. He was skilled at unarmed combat, but a weapon would have been an extra defence against his enemy.

As he reached the trees he felt a presence. He turned around swiftly and saw Dayu standing before him. He charged at her but she stepped aside. He tackled the thin air and landed on his face in the dirt.

"You're losing your touch," Dayu said and offered a hand to help Dekker up. "Normally that would have been the death of me."

Dekker swatted Dayu's hand aside and got to his feet. He glared at the half-Nighlok.

"I will not let you escape this time," he growled. "You're threatening Serena."

"Is she worth it?" Dayu asked. "You'll fall so deeply for her and suddenly fate will have its way with her. You're going to lose her eventually, Dekker. Why delay the inevitable?"

"You know nothing about love!"

"Shows what you know," Dayu scoffed and turned away, hiding a smirk from Dekker. He had sworn he would kill her, and yet he was standing right in front of her, unmoving. "There must be some part of you that remembers."

"No," Dekker growled. "I remember nothing of my past. All I live for now is this life."

"Surely that human can't make you happy," Dayu said.

"I have never been happier."

"Are you sure?" Dayu stepped in closer to Dekker and he flinched. She smirked and placed her hand on his chest, "If you only knew…"

Finally, Dekker grabbed her wrist and twisted it painfully, "I care not about my life before Serena. She is everything to me. You will not rob me of her."

Dayu whined in pain and fell to her knees as Dekker continued to twist her wrist. He looked down at her with the eyes of a monster, which both terrified and delighted Dayu.

"You told me she keeps you human," Dayu muttered through the pain. "And yet, all I see now is a Nighlok."

"Shut up!"

"She turns you into something you're not. She will make you unhappy. I won't rest until…"

"Shut up!" Dekker twisted Dayu's arm further and pushed her down harder. Dayu winced and glared up at Dekker.

"I will rid you of her, Dekker," Dayu promised. "There's nowhere you can run. Are you sure she's safe now?"

Dekker's eyes widened and instantly he let go of Dayu and raced back inside the house while Dayu disappeared through a portal. Dekker stormed through the house, racing past all the Rangers who watched him curiously as he ran. He knocked the door down and quickly looked around the bathroom.

"Serena?" he called when he saw she was nowhere in sight.

"She's in our bathroom drying her hair," he heard Mike say once the Rangers were gathered behind him. He pushed through them, knocking Antonio and Mike over, and ran as fast as he could to the other bathroom. The Rangers were hot on his trail.

Suddenly, the seven of them heard a scream that was quickly muffled. Dekker charged through the door, knocking it right off the hinges. The last thing he saw before seeing red was Dayu with her arm around Serena's neck. Dekker tackled Dayu and Serena to the floor and ripped Serena from the Nighlok's arms before transforming into his Nighlok form. With one arm he held Serena tightly and the other grabbed Dayu by the neck and squeezed as hard as he could.

Before Dekker could end Dayu's life she was pulled into a portal. As soon as Dekker noticed Dayu was gone he pounded his fist into the floor, smashing the tiles to pieces. He then wrapped both arms around Serena and got to his feet.

"You are not safe. There are too many opening," Dekker said as he carried Serena from the room.

"Where are you going?" Emily asked as she followed Dekker into her bedroom. "You can't leave!"

"We must…"

"No!" Emily shouted.

"Dekker," Serena coughed, "I don't want to go."

"You have no choice," Dekker growled. He walked over to Emily's night table and grabbed both pictures sitting on top. He handed them to Serena and then grabbed the flashlight that had been sitting next to the pictures. "You will be kept safe."

"Where are you…?" Emily was about to ask before Dekker and Serena were gone in their own portal.

-Samurai-

Serena felt sick to her stomach when she felt Dekker landing back on solid ground. She never loved traveling through the Netherworld's portals, and was now growing to hate them even more after using them several times in the span of twenty-four hours. She was being carried by Dekker down a long, dark hallway before they reached a small door.

"You will be safe in there," Dekker told Serena. "There are no gaps and no way to open up portals. Dayu will never find you."

"No gaps?" Serena asked. Dekker nodded his head and kicked the door open.

"I was imprisoned here for several days. It is one of my very first memories."

"How did you get out?"

"Urumasa. I woke up with the sword in my hands. He instructed me on how to escape," Dekker had to duck to pass through the doorway. When they were in the room, Serena looked around. There were no windows, no cracks in the walls or floors. Everything was perfectly sealed. A Nighlok couldn't create a portal into this room if they tried. Serena knew this meant Dayu couldn't suddenly appear like she had in the bathroom.

Serena felt Dekker setting her down on the stone cold floor and looked up at his curiously. He dropped the pictures and the flashlight he had taken from Emily on her lap and turned to leave. Serena's eyes widened and she raced after him but Dekker slammed the door shut before she could leave the room with him. She pounded her fists on the door.

"Let me out!"

"You will be safe in there," Dekker said, locking the door and then taking a seat on the ground. He leaned against the wall and stared down the hall. If Dayu did somehow find him, she would never make it to Serena.