Gia stepped out of Serena's car and on to the Shiba House property. She had been to the house once before when she had run away from home and bumped into Ally, but she hadn't needed to return since. It was a bit of a weird feeling being at the Shiba House again given the last time she had seen it, suicide had been just a fleeting, but present thought.

This time it was real. Though Gia had asked for and desperately wanted help, the longer she waited, the more she wondered why she was still alive and what she had to live for.

"Why are we here?" Gia asked. "We're not going to meditate or beat up dummies, are we?"

"Lauren and Ally offered to let us have the place while they're baby hunting," Serena smirked. Gia turned her head.

"What?"

"Ally wants a baby, Lauren's happy to start a family, so… yeah," Serena said. "They're kind of… looking around. Personally, I don't ask too many questions about how my nieces or nephews arrive; I just smother them with love when they do."

"Lauren and Ally want to start a family?" Gia asked.

Serena nodded. She unlocked the door with her key and then invited Gia inside. The yellow Ranger stepped into the big house, then she followed Serena to the common room. Serena reached for the bookshelf.

"Before we start talking," she said, "Can I show you something?"

"I… guess," Gia nodded her head. Serena picked up a book and set it down on the table. Gia grabbed a stool and sat down to flip through it with a sigh, "I know I'm… smart, but I can't just read Japanese."

"I'll read it for you," Serena said. "As you know, the Samurai fought the Nighlok for centuries. It was crucial in the ongoing war that we record everything that happens, everything we've learned about the Nighlok for future generations. Now, even though the Nighlok are gone, we still keep track of everything. The books you see around you are history books, from the very first Samurai Ranger right down to Sammie and Jessie."

"The babies?"

"We keep everything," Serena said. "And every Samurai has a book. Every Samurai has a story. This is Lauren's. Normally, we translate everything into English because we are in America now, but Lauren couldn't bring herself to go over these memories again. They were all too painful."

Serena looked up at Gia with a smile, "The whole time I'm reading this to you, I want you to keep in mind that now, Lauren's got great friends, an amazing new set of surrogate parents, a beautiful wife, and she's ready, no, excited, to start a family of her own one day."

"Okay."

Serena nodded and pointed to the first page, "We start the day Lauren was told about her responsibilities as the future head of the Shiba Family…"

-Megaforce-

Although the Rangers had a tremendous victory under their belts, Emma couldn't sleep. It wasn't the thought of the coming invasion. She was more than ready to kick butt. She wanted to show the aliens that Earth was one planet they couldn't claim, and they were making their biggest mistake by trying.

She was worried for her best friend, and was wide awake trying to figure out what was going on with her. Emma liked to think she knew Gia the best. She liked to think there was nothing Gia could hide from her. Unfortunately, that was being tested today. Though Emma had seen a broken look on the yellow Ranger's face, no matter how hard she thought, she couldn't think of what had happened to hurt her. She couldn't figure it out and it scared her.

She had long since accepted the fact that she wasn't always going to be the one Gia needed for help or advice or just to talk. She didn't like knowing there were parts of Gia's life that she wasn't the first to know about, but she knew it was a good thing. It meant, finally, Gia was branching out, and opening herself up to new people and experiences.

What she wouldn't, and didn't accept, was not always been open for Gia to come to her. She wanted Gia to know and feel that if there was ever a problem, she would be there to help her. No matter what it was, no matter the time of day, Emma would be there.

Seeing Gia walk out of the command center and having absolutely no idea what it was about made Emma feel like she had let her best friend down. She couldn't stand it. She couldn't stomach the thought.

"Em, get some sleep," Jordan whispered as he rolled over in bed and looked up at her. Emma sighed. She pulled her knees to her chest.

"I can't."

"She's in good hands with Serena. You know she'll be okay."

Emma shook her head. Jordan decided he wasn't going to be able to talk her down. He sat up and wrapped his arms around her. Right from the start he knew the bond that Gia and Emma shared was deep. He hadn't been ready for the exact depth of it, but it was a part of Emma that he had learned not just to accept, but love. Emma had grown up with Gia. They were as close as sisters, but only because there was really no other word to describe what they meant to each other. Each had their own struggles, and the other was always there to help. Emma never had a story or a memory that didn't mention Gia at least a couple of dozen times.

So if there was something wrong with Gia, Emma was always strongly affected by it. And knowing there was nothing she could do to help was killing her.

As he held her, there was a gentle knock on the door. It opened and Jake slowly stepped inside, but seeing Emma and Jordan were both up, he shut the door and walked in.

"Anything?" he asked. Emma shook her head.

"She probably won't call or text while she's gone," she whispered.

"She promised to tell us what was going on when she got back," Jake said, "But I don't think I can wait that long. I'm getting sick just wondering what it could be. Serena never comes for good news and with Vrak still on the loose…"

"You guys are going to drive yourselves crazy trying to figure this out," Jordan looked to both of them. "Serena's never let us down before. More importantly, she's never let Gia down. Whatever it is, I'm sure she can handle it."

"We're not worrying for nothing…"

"I never said that," Jordan shook his head and offered a reassuring smile to Jake. "Obviously it's something, but it's something that's being taken care of."

"I can't sleep," Emma said. "Not until she's home. Not until I know she's okay."

Jordan sighed. He rubbed his face with his hands and then climbed out of bed. "I'll get the coffee started…"

-Megaforce-

"… The city, and many parts of the world were flooded with Sanzu Water. It seemed like the end for the Samurai Rangers and the Earth. The Nighlok were confident they were going to win, and with Lauren Shiba's failure with the Sealing Symbol, there was no hope left for the Rangers."

Serena closed the book. Gia still couldn't read Japanese, but she had noticed enough of a pattern to know Serena hadn't finished reading. She looked up at the Samurai curiously.

"Wait, what?"

"Well, you know what happens," Serena shrugged her shoulders. "I mean, we're here."

"Yeah but… what the hell was I supposed to take away from that?"

"No hope," Serena said. "Isn't that how you feel right now?"

"I…"

"Why did you want to step off that ledge?" Serena asked. "After all you and I have worked through, after everything your friends and family have done, why even consider giving up?"

Gia lowered her head in shame as her eyes started to water. Serena put her arm around her.

"I'm not trying to make you feel bad," she said. "You feel this way for a reason. I want to know why."

"I can't beat him," Gia shook her head. "I can't beat Vrak, there's a new invasion coming… I just… I don't feel like I'm meant to be winning. Between my dad's murder, mom's train crash, Vrak always getting the better of me…"

"The Samurai were at war with the Nighlok for centuries," Serena said. "I mean, say what you want about the red guys, or even the Shiba family, but you've got to admit, even in the darkest of times, they never gave up."

"I…"

"We pushed," Serena said. "We pushed, and pushed, and pushed to defeat the Nighlok. We gave it everything we had, even when we had nothing left to give. Many of our ancestors died on the battle field. Lauren and Jayden's father knowingly put all he had into the Sealing Symbol just to give his children a chance."

"You're telling me about a suicide to stop me from trying to kill myself?"

"I'm telling you how tough our battles got," Serena said. "Dayu left me paralyzed for a couple of months. Many of us are still complaining about old injuries. Mia can't have kids because of how badly she was hurt in the final battle, and if you know anything about Mia, you know that was enough for her to stop living."

Serena held Gia's arms and looked the younger girl in the eye, "We all felt the way you do now. At one time, for all of us, this war felt hopeless. Now look at us. We're Nighlok free, we're all raising or thinking of starting beautiful families. My biggest worry right now is you, and I'm really hoping that once we're done talking, I'm not going to have much to worry about."

Gia shook her head, "This feels… different."

"How?"

"I feel… I just, I know it," Gia sighed. She looked down at her hands, which were fidgeting as a sign that she was using all her willpower to hold back her tears. "I used to have that hope you're talking about. Even… even when I thought my life was shit, there was always this little bit of hope deep down inside me that something would happen and my life would turn around. Even if I didn't always believe in it, it was there."

"What happened to it?"

"It's gone," Gia said. "When Vrak came back… I gave him everything I had. I put all my strength, all my powers, all of me into that attack and he came out the winner. I don't know how I'm still alive now, but I know I shouldn't be."

Gia looked up at Serena, "Next time he and I meet, I know he's going to kill me. After everything he's put me through, I don't want him to have that satisfaction. He'll still win if I kill myself, but at least he won't get the glory of doing it himself."

"You're scared?"

"No, I know what's going to happen. I…"

"You're scared," Serena said. "You're scared the worst is going to happen."

"I know it's going to happen!"

"No one knows what's going to happen. No one knew when we would beat the Nighlok, or if we ever would. But we gave every battle everything we had because we knew that was the only way we would have a chance," Serena grabbed Gia's arms again and looked her dead in the eye. "Nothing in life is a guarantee. Just like it's not guaranteed you can beat Vrak, it's also not set in stone that you're going to lose."

"But…"

"You're handing him his victory, this planet, and all your friends and family if you take that step off the cliff," Serena said. "Without you, this world is going to crumble. You're the only thing standing in Vrak's way. You're the only thing standing between the invasions … well, invading!"

"No pressure…"

"That's all the pressure in the world! It's literally all on your shoulder's Gia. Forget the your Rangers. Forget all the other Rangers, this war is up to you."

"It's not…"

"Every life matters," Serena stood up and walked to the bookshelf. This time, instead of grabbing a book, she took a box from the shelf and opened it. Gia watched her take out her Samuraizer.

"What are you doing?"

"Addressing the real issue here," Serena said. She traced a Symbol and let it hang in the air while she explained to Gia. "You're scared. That's normal. You're worried you're not going to be good enough to win. You're scared you're going to let yourself down. Do you see a pattern here?"

"You're not going to hit me with another Symbol, are you?"

"You're your own worst enemy, Gia. You always have been," Serena smirked. "You're more like me every time we meet. That might be a bad thing, now that I think about it."

"Vrak is my worst enemy."

"Vrak's your opponent. Vrak's just some alien. He's not the one doing this to you. He's not the one planting thoughts of suicide in that annoyingly stubborn head of yours. You are. You're the one beating yourself up. You're the one who's got yourself convinced you're not up to the challenge."

"So?"

"You wanted to kill yourself?" Serena spun her Symbol and Gia watched as, right before her eyes, a mirror image of herself appeared, "Have at it."

Before Gia could question Serena's logic, the mirror image morphed into Megaforce Yellow and attacked. Gia was instantly on the defensive.