After Mike's behaviour towards Mentor Ji, the remaining Rangers had no idea what to do. Mentor Ji had stormed out of the room and Jayden was quick to follow. While the red Ranger stood by his mentor and the decision made, he wanted to know if there was anything he could do, or anything Mike could do, to get the team back together. Mike may have been a wild card, but he was just as important to the team as anyone else, and the faster he returned, the faster they would be able to defeat the Nighlok.

Kevin, Mia and Emily sat outside, still in shock at Mike's behaviour. Kevin shook his head.

"I just don't get why Mike was acting so childish."

"To be honest," Mia said, "I think they both kinda were."

Kevin had to disagree, "Mentor wasn't childish. He's got every reason to be frustrated."

"Okay… Mike made a mistake," Emily didn't want to hear anyone talking badly about Mike, not when his actions could be justified, "But it really hurt him to be left out."

"I realise that," Kevin nodded, "but they had to choose the best person for the job."

"Sure," Mia said, "But if you ask me, Mike has more than enough symbol power to handle the beetle disk."

"So why did Mentor pick you over him?" Emily asked.

"He just made a choice," Mia shrugged, "That doesn't mean he made the right one."

Kevin furrowed his brow. He had no idea they were talking about the beetle disk specifically. He just assumed Mike was jealous that he wasn't chosen at all. He thought Mike only went after the beetle disk because Mia had lost it in battle.

"What do you mean?" he asked Mia. "You're perfectly suited for the beetle Zord. Mentor didn't make a mistake there."

"Mike's been working hard," Mia looked at her shoes in the grass, "I think maybe Mentor's been overlooking him. I don't think I'm up to the responsibility of piloting the Samurai Battle Wing."

"Of course you are," Kevin smiled. "You're strong, smart, determined and you don't let anything get in your way."

Mia blushed, "Thanks."

"Not to mention beautiful," the words slipped out of Kevin's mouth. That's what happened when he let himself compliment the girl he liked. Honest word vomit.

Mia blushed harder and smiled. "I… um…"

"I'm going to go…" Emily pointed over her shoulder before she got up. There was no point staying if things were going to get awkward.

Kevin rubbed the back of his neck, "Uh… well… I mean… what I meant by that was… uh… don't be so hard on yourself, Mia. If Mentor chose you, then obviously he sees something in you. Even if you're in the running, that means you have something inside you. You shouldn't let Mike's foul mood sway you to giving up what truly belongs to you."

"I won't," Mia grinned. "Thank you, Kevin."

-Samurai-

"So, mentor teaches you what it means to have the forest power symbol, and you teach him how to fist bump?" Emily asked Mike as she took her seat on her stool. Jayden, Mia and Mike followed and took their seats as well.

"That's pretty much how it happened," Mike nodded.

After a talk with Jayden, Mentor had realised that his approach to training wasn't going to work for the entire team, and that some of his Rangers needed to be taught differently. His new strategy seemed to work, and just in time. When the Nighlok reappeared in the city, Mike was more than ready for his Ranger powers to be returned and he had proven himself to Mentor and the rest of the team. In fact, Mia had gone against her word to Kevin and had given up the beetle Zord to Mike. After all the hard work he put in, she felt like he deserved it. Surely there were more Zords she could control and maybe the next one would be less… buggy.

The other Rangers all agreed with her decision. All but Kevin. When the Rangers walked to the common room, he stepped outside for some fresh air. He didn't really need it, as the battle had taken place outside, but if he spent one more second in the same room as Mike, he was afraid he was going to do something he would regret; something that would cost one, if not two Rangers to be permanently unable to fulfill their responsibilities as Samurais.

Mike had no right to the beetle Zord. It belonged to Mia, fair and square. The only reason Kevin could think of that would justify Mia giving up what belonged to her was the fact that she was a good person and always put others before herself, even if it meant an unnecessary personal sacrifice. She had a big heart. She was kind, caring, generous, sweet and very thoughtful. He loved that about her. He knew he would always be able to count on her and that she would always have his back. He loved how much she cared about her friends and that she was willing to do anything to see them happy.

Nothing angered him more than the thought of someone taking advantage of Mia's qualities. He knew the only reason Mike wanted the beetle Zord was because he knew he could steal it off her. No one would ever try to steal a Zord from Jayden. There was no way that would ever happen. Jayden was strong, much stronger than the rest of the team. And Kevin knew he could overpower Mike, both physically and verbally and he was certain Mike knew it as well.

He thought the green Ranger was his best friend, but Kevin was really starting to hate everything about Mike; from his taste in younger girls, to his carelessness regarding other people's feelings.

-Samurai-

"You did well today, Mike," Jayden complimented. "I think you taught us all a lesson on what it means to be a Samurai. You can achieve anything, even when the people around you have their doubts."

"Believe in yourself," Mike nodded and looked Emily in the eyes. "That's kind of the message I was going for."

Mia frowned, "Don't tell me you scripted this whole thing with Jayden and Mentor."

"That would have been interesting," Mike chuckled, "Sadly, I don't have a single acting bone in my body."

"Then what are you trying to get at?" Jayden asked.

"Crazy Mike logic," Mike said, "Hey do you guys mind if I talk with Emily for a second. I have a question about… organic eggs…"

"Okay," Jayden shot Mike a confused look as he got up and gave the two Rangers their privacy. Mia was just as baffled, but chose against asking Mike to explain. The question was already weird enough.

"Organic feed," Emily explained. "The chickens that lay organic eggs are fed organic feed. Don't worry; all eggs come from real chickens."

"That's not what I wanted to talk about," Mike chuckled.

"That's good because I don't know why you needed the others to leave for that."

Mike switched stools so he was sitting closer to Emily, "I know you've been feeling kind of upset lately."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't try to hide it, Em," Mike said. "You ran off crying last night. We all saw it. I know something's bothering you."

"Can you just leave it at that?" Emily asked. "I don't really want to talk about it."

"I've already figured it out," Mike smirked. "I may not be the smartest guy on the team, but I figured it out on my own."

Mike pulled the beetle disk out from his pocket. He had kept it after the battle, with the intention of returning it to Mentor Ji after he had this talk with Emily. He handed it to her.

"I earned that," he smiled. "I worked hard and trained until I knew I was good enough to have the beetle Zord. You saw that. I think everyone saw it. I'm not exactly proud of all my methods, but in the end, the beetle is mine."

"Your point?" Emily asked.

"I earned it for you."

Emily shook her head and handed the beetle disk back to Mike, "I can't take it! I'm not ready for the beetle disk, or any disk! I can barely control my ape as it is!"

"I don't mean it like that," Mike chuckled. "You're being way too hard on yourself Em. You're putting yourself down and coming up with these crazy theories that aren't true in the slightest!"

"Like what?" Emily asked and Mike felt like she was challenging him. She wasn't backing down and admitting her had figured her out. While Mike remained confident that he was right, it could have also meant he was on the wrong path entirely.

"You feel like you aren't suited for the yellow samuraizer, don't you? Like you aren't good enough to be here?"

Emily lowered her head in silence and Mike knew he got her. He scooted in closer to her and gently took her hands in his.

"Em, none of us believe that. We don't look down on you because you're younger or less experienced. We don't ever thing about that? Do you think Mia's holding back when she fights with you? Do you think Jayden and Mentor Ji treat you differently because they weren't exactly expecting you? Do you really think we don't value you as a strong member of the team?"

Emily shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. I guess it's just hard to watch all you guys get better while I feel like I'm always a step behind. I'm doing my best, but it never seems like enough. But you, Jayden, Kevin and Mia… you guys don't have a problem. You just slide right in and find your place on the team. I don't know what I'm doing here."

"You think we don't have a problem?" Mike frowned. "Kevin's always trying to live up to Jayden, and so am I! Mia… well, no one knows what's going on with Mia, but we know she's not perfect. And it's not like that's bad. We all have our own challenges. The only thing that's separating you from the rest of us is how much you want to be here."

Mike stood up, placed the disk back in his pocket and held out a hand for Emily to take, "What do you say, Yellow Ranger? Fancy a few extra hours of training? It'll do both of us a world of good, that's for sure."

"Do you really think more training is going to help?" Emily asked as she bit her lip in uncertainty. "We already train everyday and I still don't feel like I'm learning anything."

"Maybe Mentor and Jayden just haven't figured out how to teach you," Mike grinned. "C'mon. It's not like it could hurt… and if it does, we still have that labelled bag of peas."

Emily took Mike's hand and nodded, "Okay, I'll train with you. But one condition."

"Name it, Ems."

"Remember how you were trying to teach me that block in the video game," Emily smirked. "Could you teach me how to actually do that? It might help me in battles."

"Only if you show me how to knock your opponent down in a sword battle. That way, next time I'm against Kevin, I might be able to catch him off guard."

"Deal," Emily nodded. With a smile on her face, she held Mike's hand and rushed outside to train, pulling him along. "C'mon, before it gets dark out! We want to be able to see!"

"Slow down, Emily!" Mike laughed, "That's my good arm! You don't want to rip that off!"