The girls did indeed feel much better with full stomachs, Emma especially. She hadn't been eating much since money was tight and thought Gavin needed food more than her, so it felt like the first time she had eaten a full meal in a while. Their spirits lifted considerably, and they headed back to Emma's place to grab the bikes.

They made the journey to the forest, with Emma in the lead. However, twenty minutes into their ride, Emma looked back then started speeding up for no reason, and Gia lost sight of her completely. She tried to catch up to her friend, and became worried when she saw Emma's bike laying on the floor.

As Gia hopped off to check out what happened, she noticed she was back to that clearing where she had been with Jake when Vrak attacked them. Emma knew the woods far better than her and always guided her, so it was an immense relief for her to see familiar territory.

When she looked around the clearing, she saw Emma's distant form sitting on the same bench Gia had been on weeks ago, staring out into the water. The yellow ranger started jogging, and was about to confront Emma about why she had sped ahead, potentially endangering both of them, when she saw her friend's shoulders shaking ever so slightly.

Immediately, any anger about her friend's recklessness dissipated and turned into concern. Gia approached slowly, so as not to startle her, and when she finally made it to the bench, she instantly held Emma as tears escaped her eyes.

"Emma, what's wrong? We were supposed to be riding to escape from the pain, not make it worse."

Her friend spoke, with a slight shake in her voice. "We've been riding for only thirty minutes, and all I can think about is Gavin. I feel worried that I might not make it back on time to take him to his appointment. I can't stop worrying that us being out here is going to make me late for my shift at Ernie's. I keep thinking about how Vrak keeps getting stronger, and my mind keeps replaying our battle with Metal Alice today.

BMX was such a strong passion of mine, and it was my escape from everything going on at home. But now, I can't even enjoy it. I've lost passion for it. And when we were riding, I looked back at you, and you had this bright smile on your face. The same one I used to have when I rode. But now, while I'm consumed with all these things, it feels like you're enjoying my passion more than me.

You learned it so we could spend time together. I loved you for that. I always wanted to be with you, because that meant I wasn't with my father. Being with you made me so happy, and the fact you learned this sport just to hang out with me made me so grateful. You were one of the first people to ever show me that I was loved, and our time as kids was sometimes the only thing that kept me fighting.

Now when we're out here doing something I used to enjoy not even six months ago, and should still be enjoying, I'm instead stuck thinking about how I'll never have a normal life. About all my responsibilites I have to take care of when I get home. About how I'm going to make enough money for Gavin to eat something tonight, let alone my dinner too. About how I'm ever going to get caught up on my school work, or how we're ever going to beat Vrak and end this war. It's so hopeless."

Emma turned to her friend. "I have lost all hope that things are going to get better for me. And I look back to the person I used to be. I was passionate and caring, and I wanted to save the environment. I loved nature and BMX, and I loved photography. My love for all those things has just been sucked out of me. I look at the old Emma, and I don't even recognize her. I don't know who I am anymore. And I can't remember the last time I felt happy, without a worry in the world. Was that before my dad started hitting me? Have I really not been happy since then?"

The tears started rolling down faster. "I don't even have a life of my own anymore. I need to provide for a whole human being, who is cancer-ridden and might die anyways. Then what? All of this will have been for nothing? We go through all this pain, just to lose him anyways? I go to school, then I take Gavin to an appointment. Then, I have to go work to put food on our table and make sure he can get treatments to stop him from dying and really making this all for nothing. I come home, skip my meal, and never sleep. I'm living the same day over and over again, and even on top of all that, we are constantly fighting monsters and trying to stop the world from being taken over by aliens.

The worst part is that I'm happy to do it. I put my entire life on hold to take care of him, and given the opportunity to go back, I wouldn't change anything. Him coming back has been the best thing to happen to me, and I love him so much that I'd gladly take on all this responsibility to see him live and thrive. But we're graduating this year, and I won't be going to college. I have already decided to take a gap year so I can keep working. Hopefully, by the time Gavin graduates, I'll have saved enough to get him into a good university. He is the brightest kid I've ever seen, and he deserves to have a normal life and go to college and do everything he wants to.

He can change the world with a good college education, and I want him to have that opportunity. Maybe that means the end of my life as I know it, and I'll be working horrible low-paying jobs until the end of time, but I'd happily sacrifice it all for him. But I don't even know how I'm going to survive this. Honestly. I don't even recognize myself, I don't know who I am. And between all these responsibilities and fighting for the entire human race constantly, I genuinely don't even know if I'll make it out of this war alive."

Hearing all of her friend's pent up feelings had been a shock to Gia. She was crying along with her friend, feeling so horrible for what she was going through. She didn't even know what to say. What does someone say to that?

This was the breakdown Gia knew had been coming. And the yellow ranger was just as unprepared for it as she knew she would be.

"Emma, I..."

As soon as she heard her friend's voice, Emma let her defenses down. It felt like she had been fighting for so long, since she was just a child, and she couldn't keep fighting anymore. Emma leaned into Gia's embrace and started sobbing uncontrollably. It was all Gia could do to just keep holding her.

When Emma finally calmed down, she tried to speak, but she was too exhausted with the effort of actually talking. Her voice came out in a whisper, but it was still heartbreaking for Gia to hear.

"I'm not enough. I don't feel like I'm enough. Not for Gavin, not for my parents, not for anyone. My dad hated me so much that he beat me everyday until I bled. Until my bones broke. And when given the opportunity to be free from it all, I still told my mom to take Gavin with her instead of me. And she just went. She didn't love me enough to fight for me. I know I told her to go to save herself and Gavin, but how hard would it have been to sneak me into the car? I could just run downstairs while she took Gavin. All we'd have to do is make it to the car, then we'd be safe. We could just drive and leave, and never look back. But I wasn't enough for my mom, either.

Even now, I'm not doing enough for Gavin. He never complains, and I love him so much for it, but I can hear his stomach grumbling all day. I try my hardest to get meals for him, and do everything for him, but sometimes the best I can do is some berries from the market. And he'll feel sick because of his tumor on some days, but he won't tell me because he feels like he's already burdening me enough. I'm doing my best for him, but that's not good enough. I don't even know what more I could do, but I know I have to do more.

He deserves to have a good life and be happy. He's my little brother and I want to give him the world, but I can't. Do you know how frustrating that is? No matter what I do, I am never going to be good enough to give him what he needs and deserves. There's already so much pressure.

I'm not even eighteen yet, and I have to provide entirely for someone else. If I miss even a single shift, my brother will go hungry and could potentially die if we can't afford treatment for the week. I am still just a kid, so why does it feel like sometimes I'm struggling more than most adults ever will? I'm only human, and I can only do so much. When is that going to start being enough?"