"Are you going to be okay?" Serena asked Mike as she helped get Emily back onto his back. They had taken a break after getting far enough away from the hospital to get Emily changed out of her hospital down and into sweats Serena had brought from home. They were much warmer to wear in the cool, fall night, and would draw a lot less attention if they were seen. They stuck to the shadows and abandoned alleys to keep out of Dayu's sight, but they didn't want to run the risk of anyone seeing them and assuming they had taken a patient. Once Emily was back on Mike's back, Serena wrapped the blanket back around her. Mike nodded his head at her question.

"She's not that heavy, I'll be fine."

"I can walk," Emily suggested but both Mike and Serena were against that idea. Emily pouted and laid her head on Mike's shoulder. He was rather comfortable and there was nothing much to do but sleep.

"How much further until we get home?" Serena asked Mike, getting rather impatient with their twisted road home. They were terrified Dayu may have seen them and were taking the less obvious roads and questionable turns to try and lose her. It was futile if she wasn't following them, but they weren't going to take that risk.

"Hopefully not long. Once we get to the forest we should be able to go straight to the Shiba House. Mentor will probably be waiting for us."

"And the other Rangers?"

"Should be on their way to fighting Dayu."

"I want to kill her myself," Serena said to Mike as she looked at her sister, "but I hope they finish her off now. I'm tired of her haunting me."

"Next time I see her, I'm forming the Megazord and stepping on her," Mike nodded his head. "She won't survive that, I can guarantee it."

Mike gazed over to the blonde locks resting on his shoulder and he could feel Emily's hold around him loosening slightly as she fell asleep. He hoisted her up higher on his back and leaned forward further so she wouldn't fall back or slip off. He was already worried about the injuries she currently had and didn't want to add more to her list.

"The forest is there," Serena pointed down the road that went off into the trees. "We're almost there."

-Samurai-

Dayu hadn't seen Ranger attacking coming and had no idea how they had found out she was in the city. They must have seen her before she could see them, because she hadn't caused any trouble and she hadn't done anything that would set off their alarm system.

The pink Ranger's attacks were the strongest of them all, but she had to admit, all the Rangers were kicking her ass. She skidded along the ground after being kicked in the chest by the gold Ranger, and as she pushed herself up into a seating position and coughed, the red Ranger slashed at her, his sword burning thanks to his symbol power. The flames were put out by the blue Ranger's attack, but he followed through with slice after slice against her body, nearly tearing her apart. Finally, the pink Ranger attacked again, her symbol burning bright as she traced in in the air and a tornado touched down and set Dayu flying into a building. The winds pressed her there, keeping her pinned against the stone wall.

"I surrender!" she cried, wanting nothing more than to leave and recover, even if it meant letting the Rangers win this battle.

"You surrender?" Mia screamed, ripping off her helmet. She threw it to the ground and approached Dayu as the winds ceased, dropping the Nighlok in a heap on the ground. "After what you did to Emily, you think I'm going to let you surrender?"

A cold wind blew, chilling Dayu to the bone and she trembled as she looked up at the pink Ranger. She was now too weak to defend herself and at the Rangers' mercy. If they wanted, they could kill her now. Judging by the look in the pink Ranger's eyes, they wanted to see her destroyed.

"Mia," Kevin called to his fiancée, running up beside her and placing his hand on her shoulder. Dayu thought for a moment he was going to stop the pink Ranger and tell her she was a better person than this, but he didn't, "Slow and painful?"

The human part of her didn't want to die, so Dayu was willing to try anything, "Master Xandred will not be happy when he finds out!"

"I'm pretty sure he's already pissed at us," Antonio responded, resting his arm on Jayden's shoulder as he stared through his helmet at Dayu. "We don't have anything to lose. In fact, with you gone we…"

Suddenly, the city street began to glow a dark red as every crack and crevasse light up. The Rangers stood in terror. The last time they had seen gaps brighten up Master Xandred's voice had broken through to their world. This time, the lights seemed brighter and were occupying a much bigger space. They knew part of it was because the Sanzu River was slowly filling up and was at a much higher level than the last time, but they were terrified to see it had progress this far.

"Dayu!" Master Xandred's deep voice shouted before Dayu was pulled away into one of the gaps. Mia screamed and stabbed her sword into the spot where Dayu had been only seconds before.

"Dammit!" she shouted, wishing she had killed Dayu when she had the chance. Now the half-Nighlok had gotten away and would live to torment her further, leaving Emily and everyone else in danger.

"We should head home," Jayden said, brushing Antonio's arm from his shoulder. "It's not safe out here."

Kevin nodded and took Mia by the arm. He had to pull her away from where she was standing. She didn't want to leave, not when she had been so close to winning.

"C'mon," he tugged a little harder than he liked, but he knew he had to. Mia turned to him teary-eyed.

"I hesitated…"

"It's okay, Mia."

"No it's not. Someone always gets hurt when I hesitate."

"This time, it won't be us," Kevin wrapped his arm around her. "Xandred seemed pissed with Dayu. This time, I think she's the one who's going to suffer."

"We need to go," Jayden called to the couple, wanting to get the out of the city before Xandred or another Nighlok broke through again. "Hurry up."

-Samurai-

Mentor brought Serena and Mike some tea and sat with them on the couch as they kept their eyes on Emily, who was sleeping across two stools. They didn't want to leave her in her room, terrified something would happen to her if she was left alone. The common room was a lot more open than her bedroom, but everyone could keep an eye on her that way.

Mike took the cup of tea, but Serena didn't. Mentor had to set it down on the table while Serena leaned over and checked Emily's temperature. The hospital had been worried about Emily getting an infection, and now that Emily was no longer being cared for by a doctor, Serena was sharing that worry too.

"She'll be fine," Mentor assured her. "And if she does get sick I will be able to care for her."

"You understand her worry though," Mike looked to Mentor and motioned to Serena with his head. "Infections aren't really welcomed in that family."

"I guess not," Mentor nodded.

Serena finally relaxed after checking for herself that her sister would be fine and leaned back against the couch, grabbing her tea from the table as she did. Just as she made herself comfortable, the Gap Sensor blared and the room light up. This lasted for only a few seconds before everything was calm again. Everything except the Samurai, that is.

"What the hell was that?" Mike asked as Mentor jumped to his feet and raced to the map. He opened it up and searched for any sign of Nighlok, but they were all gone. Even the small symbol that indicated Dayu was around was gone. The city was completely free of Nighlok.

"That is strange," he looked to the Samurai and saw they were all staring at him, the alarm having been loud and bright enough to wake up Emily. "There seems to be nothing on the map."

"Nothing doesn't do that," Mike indicated to the Gap Sensor. "Either it does that when the batteries need to be changed, or we've got a serious problem on our hands."

Serena took Emily into her arms, holding her protectively as she looked to Mentor.

"Where's Dayu?" she asked.

"Gone. She must have gone back to the Nether…"

"If she's gone, why would the Gap Sensor do that?" Serena shook her head. "Check again! You have to be mistaken."

"Serena. There is nothing in the city," Mentor assured her but Serena didn't take comfort in his words as her hold around Emily tightened.

Mike got up to check for himself and shook his head at Serena, telling her that Mentor was somehow right. "There's nothing. You can let Emily breath now."

Serena looked down and her sister and let her go slightly, but still kept her arm wrapped around her. She pulled the blanket up over Emily and let her rest against her body so Emily could fall back to sleep comfortably.

"It is natural to be worried," Mentor said to Serena, "but for now the danger has passed."

"Maybe the guys know what happened," Mike also said, "They'll tell us when they get home."

Mike took seat back on the couch next to Emily and waited with Serena and Mentor for the others to come home.

It didn't take very long for the others to storm into the house. Mia, rather, stormed in and threw her jacket on the ground, wishing she had something with a little more weight so it would make a little more noise. She was still frustrated that she had missed her chance at killing Dayu.

"Keep your eye on her," Serena said to Mentor as she laid Emily down on the couch and got up with Mike to join the others. Mentor nodded, taking a seat beside Emily on the couch and wrapping the blankets back around her, keeping her safe and warm.

"What happened out there?" Mike asked the returning Rangers while he and Serena met up with them in the hallway. "The Gap Sensor went crazy on us for a minute, but there was nothing."

"Master Xandred saved Dayu," Mia growled through clenched teeth as Kevin took her hand to calm her down. He was just as angry as she was, but getting angry wouldn't do anyone any good.

"Master Xandred?" Serena asked, eyes wide. She turned to Jayden, "He came here?"

Jayden shook his head, "He broke through, but not physically. The Sanzu River's getting higher and he's getting stronger."

"I guess that means you didn't kill Dayu," Mike sighed and lowered his head. Jayden shook his.

"No."

"I should have," Mia grumbled. "I had her and I stopped."

"You had her begging for mercy," Antonio reminded Mia. "Something tells me she's going to think twice before going near Emily again."

"I'd think twice before going near Kevin," Jayden pointed out. "If that's how pissed off Mia gets when someone threatens Emily, I don't want to see what she turns into when Kevin's threatened."

Kevin smiled and kissed his fiancé, "I feel protected."

Mia wrapped her arms around him and squeezed lovingly. She kissed him again and then broke away to check up on Emily. Kevin let her go and turned his attention to Serena and Mike, "How are you guys?"

"Stressed, and will continue to be stressed until Emily's safe," Serena answered, glancing back to the common room.

"Dayu's not going to hurt her," Jayden promised, "She won't hurt any of us."

"We keep promising each other that," Serena muttered, "and then things get worse," she looked down at her stomach, "this sucks."

"Why don't you go get Emily a bowl of ice cream?" Kevin suggested to the oldest Samurai and pointed the kitchen. "That'll probably cheer her up."

Serena sighed and nodded, "Fine."

She walked off as Mentor walked into the hallway and tapped Jayden on the shoulder, "We need to protect this place," he said. "No one gets in, no one gets out."

"What if a Nighlok attacks?" Kevin asked. "We need to be able to leave."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there. For now, we're in lockdown until we're ready to fight again," Mentor gestured for Jayden to head outside and the red Ranger followed his orders. Mentor was right behind him.

Mike, Kevin, and Antonio were the only ones left in the hallway and Kevin noticed the two boys had a solemn look on their faces. He furrowed his brow in curiosity, "What?"

"I think Serena's right," Antonio said. "Things are just getting worse. We're fight the Nighlok, but the river keeps rising, they're getting stronger, and we're just falling apart. What's the point?"

"What do you mean, what's the point?" Kevin frowned. "Protecting the innocent; stopping Master Xandred…"

"Ever stop to think that maybe he's unstoppable?" Mike asked Kevin. "Maybe this was a losing battle from the start."

"You guys are kidding me, right?" Kevin looked between the two boys, "You can't give up."

"We're not giving up," Antonio shrugged, "We just… don't see the point."

"Can you and Mia keep an eye on Emily for me?" Mike asked Kevin. "I really need a proper sleep. So does Serena. Send her to bed when you see her."

"Same here, amigo," Antonio nodded his head and followed Mike to the bedrooms. Kevin sighed loudly and shook his head as he walked into the common room. Serena was just handing Emily a bowl of ice-cream. She looked to him, a tired expression on her face.

"Kevin, can you and Mia…"

"We'll keep an eye on Emily," Kevin finished for her. "Get some sleep."

"Thanks," Serena kissed her sister's head before heading off to bed. Kevin sat down on his stool and rubbed his face.

"What's wrong?" Mia asked, feeling a little better now that she had seen Emily and knew she was okay. Kevin groaned.

"Is this a losing battle?" he asked. "Is there no hope?"

"No hope for what?" Emily frowned.

"Stopping Master Xandred; is there no hope left in defeating him for good?"

"Kevin…" Mia sighed.

Emily looked to Mia and Kevin, "I thought we were the hope."

"What do you mean?" Kevin asked her.

"Well, as long as we're around Xandred can't win, right?" Emily shrugged her shoulders. "So, really, if you think about it, we are hope. Master Xandred hasn't won yet."

"Look at you, Emy," Mia breathed, "if Dayu, a servant, can do that to you, imagine what Master Xandred can do."

"I don't care what he can do," Emily set her bowl down in her lap and crossed her arms, "We defeat him or we die. Those are our options and, personally, I prefer the former. So as long as I'm alive, I'm going to keep fighting, and as long as I'm fighting, Xandred can't win."

"But Master Xandred…"

"Don't call him master," Emily glared at her older siblings. "He's not our master, he's not our king. He's a Nighlok, and one way or another we're going to destroy him, just like any other Nighlok we're going to face."

"Em…"

"If you're giving up, drop your Samuraizer and get out," Emily glared at Kevin. "We're the only hope and if you give up on that, we don't need you."

Emily held out her hand, waiting for Kevin to turn over his Samuraizer, but praying he wouldn't. Kevin just stared at her, completely surprised by her words before a smiled appeared on his lips. He shook his head.

"I'm not giving up."

"Good," Emily said. She held out her bowl of ice-cream, "sprinkles please."

Kevin rolled his eyes and took her bowl to top her ice-cream with sprinkles, "Glad you're feeling better, Em."

Emily smiled brightly and turned to Mia. The pink Ranger hugged her.

"You're right, Emy. You're so right."