Gia's back and head smashed into the wall as her mirror image fought her aggressively, taking as many opportunities as she could to pummel the real her into the ground. Gia couldn't quite understand this exercise. She had just confessed to Serena that she had tried to kill herself by jumping off the cliffside in the forest, and now Serena was making her fight for her life.

A huge part of Gia didn't want to win. She wanted to fail this exercise; to let her clone beat her up so bad she couldn't survive. She wanted this blow to the head, and every other blow, to be the decisive one.

Suddenly, the attacks stopped. Gia was on the ground and looked up at her mirror image disappeared. Serena stood over her, shaking her head.

"You didn't even try."

Gia wiped the blood from her nose and lip as she sat up. Her head was pounding and her muscles ached. She just wanted it all to stop.

"Why would I try?"

"Because you don't actually to die," Serena said. She offered Gia a towel – a red one. Any other colour would stain. Gia sighed.

"It's just easier."

"For who?" Serena asked. She sat down next to the yellow Ranger and sighed. "I guess it's easier for you. Easier for Vrak, too. He doesn't even have to do anything…"

"He's not going to get the chance to kill me."

"Does he really care?" Serena asked. "I'm sure he'd love the glory, but he doesn't give a damn how you die, just that you're out of his way. And the Armada, they don't even know you, yet."

"Prince Vekar is Vrak's brother," Gia stated. "He doesn't want me to die."

"Well, for once, I agree with the evil guy," Serena shook her head. "Gia, I'm sure you've heard this a million times, but the easy road isn't the one worth taking."

"But I can't beat him!" Gia clenched her fists and smashed the floor. "I literally gave that fight my all. I nearly killed myself just to see him gone, and he fucking walks away!"

"Gia…"

"I've tried, and I've tried! I've done everything! I've tried senselessly going after him, I've tried restraint. I've tried going in alone. I've attacked him with my team! I can't do it! Nothing works!"

"Gia," Serena grabbed her arms and spun her slightly so she was looking her in the eyes, "Mountain Boarding."

"What?"

"You ride?"

"Yeah."

"Are you any good?"

"I'm getting better."

"Were you always good?"

"I fell."

"How much."

"A lot."

"What did you do?"

"I… I tried again," Gia answered and then shook her head. "Serena, that's just a sport. This is…"

"This is no different," Serena answered. "This is a competition. A battle of wills. The stakes are much higher, but the rules are the same. You don't win by getting the fastest time, the most points, or the most kills. You win by not losing, and you lose when you give up on yourself. The only person who can ever make you feel like a loser is yourself."

Serena stood up and then pulled Gia up to her feet, "I know it's hard. I know you feel like you've tried everything. But you can't give up. You have a whole world counting on you."

"Yeah, but what if I can't do it?"

"You have friends who want the best for you, and are willing to help you every step of the way. Troy, Noah, Jordan and Rebecca… Doesn't their support mean anything? Can't you see how much it'll hurt them to see you quit on yourself? They believe in you. They know that if you just get back up, one more time, you can do it. Are they wrong?"

"I don't know."

"What about your mother? Or Mrs. Goodall?" Serena asked. "Both of them want to give you the world. They're making sacrifices every day so you can have this amazing life. Now, just because times are hard, you want to throw that all away? Those years your mother spent doing everything for you? The sleepless nights, the tears, the grey hairs, the heartbreak… is there no value to that?"

"Don't talk about mom…"

"Fine, what about Emma?" Serena could see she was breaking through Gia. She just hoped it was in the best way. Tears were coming down the younger girl's face, but Serena wasn't going to give up. It was clear this needed to be a permanent fix. If she couldn't get Gia to re-evaluate her decision and her goals for herself as a person and as a Ranger, Serena wouldn't be able to sleep at night from worry. She wanted Gia to have a second chance and the embrace her life. She wanted the current yellow Ranger to face her coming challenges with confidence, and to rise up even when her opponents knocked her down. Being a Ranger was a dangerous job and the only thing that could keep her alive was her spirit. If Gia wanted it enough, she would come out of this war with her life and a victory over the invasion.

But she had to want it. Serena needed to rekindle that flame, and she was going to use everything she had to get the fire burning inside her again.

"Don't," Gia shook her head but Serena pressed on.

"Emma, you remember your best friend? Probably the one person on this planet who's been there for you right from the start? Who's gone above and beyond in everything just for you?"

"Stop it…"

"She's saved your life countless times, in many different ways, and not without pain or sacrifice to herself. You just want to throw that all away?"

Gia shook her head and placed her hands over her ears. Serena pulled them away.

"Or Jake?"

"No…"

"Of all the girls; the easy ones, the pretty ones, the simple ones, he chose you. He'll do anything for you. He'll fight, with everything he has for you. He'll move mountains for you. He'll protect you from anything. You want to pretend like none of that means anything?"

Gia closed her eyes. Serena pulled her in closer.

"What about your dad?"

"Stop it!" Gia screamed and her knees buckled. She collapsed on the floor. Serena knelt over her.

"He sacrificed his life for you. He's always supported you, always loved you, always wanted everything for his little girl. He's dead now, and the only thing that can make his death count is you giving this your all. You want to ignore that?"

"Shut up!"

"No!" Serena shouted back. "You're doing to disappoint all the people who love and believe in you because you think killing yourself is the easiest thing you can do?"

"I don't want Vrak to win…"

"Dying isn't going to do anything to stop him. In fact, it's going to be easier. While your friends are worried over you or mourning you, Vrak, or the invasion, is going to swoop right in and take them out. They aren't going to stand a chance!"

Serena let go of Gia and rose to her feet. She recreated the mirror image.

"The biggest enemy here is you," Serena said. "And if you let yourself fall, if you lose, you're only going to hurt the people you care about most."

Serena pulled Gia up to her feet, "I'm not going to help you. I can't make you want to live. This isn't a Symbol trick. This isn't an exercise. There are no redoes. She is trying to kill you. What do you want me to tell your friends tomorrow when they come to take your dead body home? Is there anything I can say to them that'll take away this pain?"

Gia looked down at the floor. Serena held her face and forced her to look up.

"You've already seen the future without you. You've seen what your death will do to your friends. I promise you, nothing of that future is going to change. Is that really want you want for them?"

Gia shook her head.

"Is that what you want for yourself?" Serena asked her. "Do you really want to be taken out the easy way? Gia Moran, Miss Perfect, the fierce and powerful tiger… just a yellow-bellied coward?"

Gia shook her head again. Serena smiled and kissed her forehead.

"All your feelings of hate, anger, and fear are trapped inside this mirror. You've got to destroy them before she destroys you. That is, if you want to live."

Serena stepped aside and in an instant the mirror image lunged for Gia. At first, she was thrown back into the wall but then she felt something burning inside of her. She didn't want to go down this way. She didn't want to be remembered for giving up. She wasn't a quitter, especially when times were rough. If she was going to die, she wanted it to give the fight her best chance. If she had to die, she wanted to die fighting for something she believed in. She wanted to die fighting for the people she cared about, and for the people who cared for and loved her.

But more than that, she didn't want to die at all. She looked up at the sick smirk on her mirror image's face and could just see Vrak with that same smirk. She could see the Prince's smirk when he found out there was no yellow Ranger to deal with, and one less Ranger to get in his way of taking over the Earth.

And she wanted to see the smiles on her friends' faces, and feel their joy when she returned home and told them she was happy to be alive, and ready to fight alongside them in the greatest war of their lives.

And if she had to die – if there really was no other choice – she wanted it to be for them. She wanted her sacrifice to give them the opportunity they needed to stop the invasion, end the war, and live the rest of their lives peacefully. It was the only thing she could do to help them.

A fire burned deep within her, and grew more and more powerful as she rose to her feet. With her morpher in hand, she transformed into Megaforce, and then Super Megaforce Yellow, and then into the White Samurai Ranger.

Serena's jaw dropped as she watched the fight, as Gia, with her Spin Sword, struck the mirror image with so much power it cut through her without hesitation. Dark smoke rose from the lethal wound until the mirror's body was gone. Gia stood and watched the body disappear and then powered down from white to yellow, and then from Super Megaforce down to Megaforce. Finally, she powered down out of her Ranger suit and dropped to the floor. Serena was just fast enough to catch her and lay her down gently.

"Way to rep the white Samurais," Serena smirked.

Suddenly, there was a loud, angered cry and heavy footsteps echoed through the halls and rooms.

"SERENA!" Lauren stood in the common room doorway looking more angered than Serena had ever seen her. The white Ranger chuckled nervously.

"Hey… you're home early…"

"What the hell did you do to my… is she dead?" Lauren pointed to Gia. Serena looked down at the yellow Ranger, and then up at the destruction Gia's first fight with her mirror image had caused to the room and the hallway. The mirror had no respect for personal belongings.

"I was going to clean this up," Serena said.

"Whoa…" Ally walked in behind Lauren, looking more in awe than angered by the mess. "What happened in here? I didn't think the aliens got to Panorama."

"How was baby searching?" Serena asked.

"It was great!" Ally smiled. "We found an agency and registered ourselves. It could be a while before there's any interest, but…"

"Don't change the subject," Lauren growled to both her wife and cousin. "I said you could borrow the Shiba House! Not tear it apart! And did you forget about the dojo?"

Serena glanced across the hall where the dojo, the room built for battle training, had been left completely untouched by the fight. Serena shrugged her shoulders nervously and then pointed to the book she left out on the table.

"I needed that."

Lauren massaged her temples, then groaned loudly and walked to the kitchen. Serena looked up at Ally, who could only shake her head and shrug her shoulders.

"It's nothing a little… renovation can't fix."

"I promise, I'll pay for it all," Serena said. "Though, I might have to pay you back over time. Teaching doesn't pay as well as it should."

"If you live long enough," Ally chuckled. "Lauren might just kill you when she calms down."

"I can handle her," Serena shrugged casually. "Besides… Lauren and I have a bond."

"Okay," Ally answered and then pointed to Gia, "Uh… should I offer her something…? I… I mean, I've never come home to an unconscious houseguest before… I guess I should have seen this coming at some point."

"Water and painkillers for when she wakes up," Serena answered.

"Can do. Oh, and her parents and friends know she's here this time, right?"

"They know she's with me."

"Was she like this when you took her?"

"I fixed her," Serena smirked. Ally nodded her head slowly and backed out of the room.

"Uh… okay. Um, just for future reference… My doctor says I can't break so even if it looks like I need it, don't fix me."

"Do you have a doctor's note?"

"I… I… uh, What's that, Lauren? We don't have ice? I'm coming!"

Serena chuckled and shook her head as she watched Ally run from the room.

"You have an ice-maker!" she called after her. "There's always ice!"

"It's… uh… broken!" Ally answered from the kitchen.