As Kevin reached for his Samuraizer, Dekker laughed.
"Drop it, boy," he said, "We both know you don't need it."
"Let her go, Dekker," Kevin growled as he moved his hands away from his Samuraizer. He wasn't going to do anything that would land him or Emily in any trouble because right now there was nowhere to run.
"Before I do that, I would like to ask a favour," Dekker said. Kevin gritted his teeth. The more time he spent with Dekker the more his hatred grew. The creep wanted a duel with Jayden, threatened his girlfriend and was now holding his friend against her will and he had the nerve to ask him for a favour.
"Why would I…" Kevin stopped when Dekker gestured to Emily and he realised he wasn't in a position to argue. He growled, "Let her go."
"One of you must train me," Dekker demanded.
"What? You want us?"
"It's been a while since I've learned a new power," Dekker nodded his head. "It would be interesting to learn the Symbol Power. I know you don't need a stupid little toy to create symbols."
"What makes you think either of us could teach you anything?" Kevin frowned, "If I remember correctly, you told me we weren't skilled enough for you. What could you possibly learn from us?"
"I doubt you would defeat me in a duel," Dekker agreed with Kevin on that part, "however I do believe I can learn a little something even from those who are beneath me. I only need one of you to teach me."
"Let her go, I'll do it," Kevin told him but Dekker shook his head.
"Not so fast. How do I know you're the best teacher? I've seen you all fight before. I know that while Yellow may be young she fights with heart. You know about the heart, do you not, Blue?"
"Of course I know about the heart," Kevin nodded.
"It continues to beat until the day it dies. It never stops; it never takes breaks, no matter how much pain the body may be in. That's how I want to be taught."
Kevin clenched his fist and his muscles stiffened. There was no way he was leaving Emily down here with Dekker, not for a second.
"It's not worth it," he tried to sound convincing. He would say anything to get Dekker to choose him as a teacher. Not only would that ensure Emily could get away, but that also meant Kevin could keep his eye on him. After all, they always said "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer". If he was constantly by Dekker's side he would know his friends, especially Mia, were safe.
"Why's that?" Dekker asked. "Why would you make a better teacher?"
Kevin shrugged, "She's not really a Samurai. She wasn't supposed to be, anyways. She's only got a few years of training under her belt. She's just a replacement."
"She's much more than that if she's part of the team," Dekker pointed out. Kevin shook his head.
"What can I say?" he said, "our Megazord kinda needs a left arm; her family had the Ape Zord."
"I know of her sister," Dekker said and Emily renewed her struggled to break free, "I know she was destined to be the yellow Ranger until she got sick."
"How do you…?" Kevin muttered before he shook his head. That wasn't important. "Look, she's our friend. We don't want her to get hurt. But she's worthless as a Ranger. She would never be able to teach you anything. She's small, she's weak… it's pathetic. I've been training my entire life. Let her go and I'll stay with you."
"If that's what you want," Dekker let go of Emily and she dropped to the ground. Dekker looked up at Kevin, "Drop the Samuraizer and forget the girl. We're leaving."
"Kevin…" Emily coughed.
"I'm sorry for what I said, Emily," Kevin knelt down in front of her and handed her his Samuraizer. "Tell Mia I'll be back s… HEY!"
"If she is worthless you'll leave her," Dekker glared at Kevin after hitting Emily in the head with the hilt of his sword and Emily slumped forward. Kevin jumped to his feet.
"I also said we didn't want to see her get hurt."
"She's not hurt," Dekker shrugged, "She's sleeping."
"What?" Kevin furrowed his brow and shook his head, "You're mad."
"I also have much to learn," Dekker nodded. He grabbed Kevin's arm and pulled him to the exit, "Come with me."
-Samurai-
"He's not outside," Mia frowned as she glanced out the window. Mike shrugged his shoulders.
"What about Emily?"
"To be fair, Emily could have been swallowed by her bed," Mia answered him. "But no, she's not out here either."
"That's weird," Mike furrowed his brow and looked around. Both he and Mia had woken up without their roommates. At first they hadn't thought it was odd. They were normally the last two Rangers to be awake and on most mornings they would wake up alone in their bedrooms. However, there had been no sign of the blue or yellow Rangers anywhere in the house or outside training.
"Do you think maybe they're with Jayden?" Mia suggested to Mike, "I mean, Emily sounded a little worried last night. She may have gone to talk to him. Same with Kevin."
"Maybe," Mike nodded. It was worth a shot.
He and Mia made their way to Jayden's bedroom and knocked before they were called in. Jayden pulled his shirt over his head and looked their way.
"I figured we could take it a little easy today," he smiled at his friends, "After yesterday's workout our bodies could use some relaxation. We'll train later tonight instead of this morning."
"Cool," Mike nodded. He looked around the room, "Dude, you're not hiding two Rangers in here, are you? One of them is tall, dark, and sometimes a stick in the mud. He likes to pick on me."
"And the other bounces," Mia chuckled, "Just bounces."
"Have you lost your roommates?" Jayden frowned.
"They aren't in the house," Mia explained, "We can't see them outside either. And they didn't leave a note saying they went out or anything. I'm a little worried."
"The house is rather quiet," Jayden commented. He led the way out of his room, "We'll check the yard again before seeing if their Samuraizers can give us their location."
He took his friends outside and looked around the training yard. The swords were still sitting where they always were when they weren't in use, the towels were still folded and the mat looked like it hadn't been touched since the day before. There were no shoe prints on it either.
"That's a little weird," Jayden frowned as he regrouped with the other two, "Any sign of… anything?"
Mike and Mia shook their heads until suddenly Mike grabbed Mia's arm and pointed to the middle of the yard.
"Dude, zombie!"
"What?" Mia frowned as she turned to see what Mike was pointing at, "You've see way too many… Emily!"
The three rushed to the middle of the yard when they saw Emily trying to climb out from the underground. Jayden and Mike grabbed her arms and pulled her out from the tunnel before setting her down.
"Why were you sleeping in there?" Mike chuckled as he helped dust the dirt and mud off her. "Isn't that taking the Earth Samurai thing a little too far?"
"It wasn't exactly by choice," Emily coughed. She loved the dirt as much as the next country girl, but she would never recommend sleeping in it for a night.
"Did Alice fall down the rabbit hole?" Mike smirked.
"Mentor should have done a better job hiding that tunnel," Jayden shook his head, "I know it's a fort, Em, but if you're going to be falling down it all the time…"
"It was Dekker," Emily interrupted as she pulled out Kevin's Samuraizer. She gave it to Mia, "He was down there."
"Dekker was…" Mia turned away from Emily and looked at the hole, "Where's Kevin then?"
"I don't know," Emily shrugged, "He left with Dekker. Dekker wanted someone to teach him."
"What?" Mike frowned, "Em, are you sure you didn't hit your head in Wonderland or something? First of all, Dekker's ego is too big to fit through that hole. Second…"
"He was down there!" Emily cried, frustrated her friends weren't getting the picture, "Kevin and I went for a walk around the house! I went down there, Kevin followed and Dekker grabbed me! He told us he knew we didn't need the Samuraizers and he thinks Kevin can teach him how to use Symbol Power."
"That's impossible," Jayden shook his head, "The symbol power is a family thing. He can't learn it."
"He wants to try, though," Emily said.
"If Dekker grabbed you, though then why did he leave with Kevin?" Mike asked. He looked at Emily, "Not that I'm complaining, but…"
Emily lowered her head and remembered how Kevin convinced Dekker to let her go. She knew he didn't believe his own words and he had probably just said it to get Dekker to let her go, but it still hadn't been easy to hear, especially when she was still struggling with some of her issues. It was hard to be reminded that she wasn't anything special.
Mike could tell from the look on her face that something had upset her. He knelt down beside her and took her hand.
Mia was staring at Kevin's Samuraizer. She was still trying to figure out exactly what had happened. Why did Kevin go outside in the first place? Why did he go down the hole? Why did he leave with Dekker? Why did it sound like he left willingly?
She felt Jayden placing a hand on her shoulder, "We'll find him."
"I remember he said he would be back," Emily looked up at Mia and Jayden, "Before Kevin left or I blacked out or something… he told me he would be back. I don't think Dekker plans on keeping him for long. He just wants to learn."
"This guy drives me crazy," Jayden growled. Mia could feel his grip tightening on her shoulder. She turned to him.
"He wouldn't hurt Kevin, would he?"
Jayden relaxed his hand, "We won't let it come to that. We'll search everywhere for them."
