Emma sat frozen, completely in shock. Ernie saw what was going on and hurried over.

"Emma, you guys can talk in the back. I'll clean up."

The pink ranger, still dumbfounded, nodded and walked to the storage room in a trance. As soon as Olivia closed the door, she held out her arms to her daughter. Emma was torn between running straight into them, or heading for the hills in the opposite direction. She knew there were adverse feelings to her mother, but she didn't realize how bad until her mother shown up in person.

Emma decided on the latter and took a step back as she shook her head. "Mom, what the hell are you doing here? Does Gavin know?"

Mrs. Goodall deflated at the reaction, but knew it was justified. "I've been trying to get in contact with him for a week, but he's been ignoring my calls and my messages. I would have let you know, but I don't have any way to reach you except through him. A couple months ago, I applied for a job as a nurse at Harwood Medical Center, and they just got back to me letting me know I got it. I tried to tell Gavin, but he wouldn't answer, so I just got on a plane.

I checked the house earlier, but no one was there, so I came here. I asked around the mall to see if anyone knew you or where you might be. This was going to be my last stop before heading back to check the house again. I'm sorry I sprung this on you, I just didn't know what else to do when I couldn't talk to either of you."

Emma was still so shocked she couldn't move. The pain in her neck was throbbing from where her mother had accidentally hit her, though, and without thinking, she reached up her hand to rub it. Olivia saw the movement and immediately stepped forward. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hit you, I didn't even know it was you. I was in such a rush to leave that I didn't see you. Let me take a look."

The pink ranger knew what her mother would find under the turtleneck and desperately protested, but her mother was persistent and pulled down her collar. Her face went completely white with shock. There was severe bruising on her daughter's neck, accompanied by angry hand imprints. She barely forced out. "What- What happened?"

Emma quickly rolled the collar back up and tried to placate her mother. She obviously couldn't tell the truth, but there wasn't really any lie that would sound believable. "It's nothing, Mom. Just drop it."

"Drop it?! Have you seen your neck? Who did this to you? I thought Ben was gone. And even if he was still here, he wouldn't choke you."

"He's gone, don't worry about it. I'll heal soon and it'll be like it never happened."

"No. Who did this to you?"

Emma couldn't take the questioning anymore, and she said the first thing that came to mind. "I got into a fight with someone at school." She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth, knowing how bad they sounded.

"You're telling me someone at school choked you? And from the looks of it, nearly killed you? What the hell is going on?"

"Mom, can we please talk about this later?" As much as Emma recognized that they needed to talk, she couldn't think clearly. She was still getting over the shock of her mom just turning up out of nowhere, and was telling lies that were digging holes for herself. "I'd love to catch up and all, but I kind of have to finish my shift. Gavin should know you're here, and once you guys have caught up, we can all talk. You should go see him right now."

"No, I'm not leaving until you tell me what is going on. Is someone hurting you? Does anyone-"

Her mother was cut off by a quiet alarm ringing in the back room. Panic set in immediately for Emma, knowing what that sound meant.

"That's the silent alarm. Mom, you have to get out."

"Get out? I'm not leaving you here."

When the Harwood County Mall had first been built, they had paid for silent alarms inside all of the stores. If there was some kind of burglary or robbery attempt, a store owner could activate the silent alarm and alert the authorities without letting the perpetrator know. In the Brainfreeze, the silent alarm alerted the employees in the back room, to let them know that there's danger out front.

Emma knew she had to help, but couldn't do anything when her mother was in the back with her. She started pushing her mother out the back door, trying to keep her safe.

"Mom, I promise we'll talk later. I have to go help and I can't do that if you're here. Please go back to the house. Gavin is there right now, and I'll be there as soon as whatever this is blows over."

Mrs. Goodall kept refusing and Emma had to physically shove her completely out of the doorway. As soon as her mother was outside, she turned and left the back room to peak into the store. When Emma turned the corner, Olivia stuck her foot in the door and stopped it from closing behind her. She quietly re-entered. Her daughter was putting herself in harm's way and she would be damned if anything happened to Emma on her watch. After all that time apart, Mrs. Goodall couldn't abandon her.

In the front of the store, one man with a gun stood at the door while two accomplices went around taking wallets and jewelry from the customers. Once they were finished, one went and emptied Ernie's register, as he tried to diffuse the situation.

"Please, just take the money and go. No one needs to get hurt."

The man with the gun smiled. "You're right. As long as no one moves, we'll be out of your hair."

On the right side of the store, a young child had been separated from his mom. Not understanding the severity of the situation, he tried to make a run for it across the shop to his mother. The gunman was startled by the sudden movement and pointed the gun at the kid, and Emma couldn't stand back and watch anymore.

She hurried out of cover with her hands up, inching slowly towards the man with the gun. She subtly moved herself between the gunman and the boy. "Hey, you can put it down. He's just a kid, he can't do anything to stop you. I know deep down, you don't want his blood on your hands, and I know this isn't who you are. You are a good man who made a bad choice. But you're better than this, and you're not going to shoot him. Just drop the gun and go."

Olivia's heart was in her throat as she watched her daughter come closer to the barrel of a gun, and did everything in her power to withhold a scream. She watched as the man looked back and forth between the kid and her daughter with bated breath. Then, by some kind of miracle, he started lowering the gun. Even he was slightly shocked by the fact he had pointed a gun at a child.

Emma held out her hand gently, encouraging him to give her the gun and leave. Right as the man was about to hand it over, the kid made a run for it to the other side. His mother screamed at him to stay, but it was too late. The man with the gun immediately took the gun and aimed it. Emma knew she couldn't morph, so she did the first thing that came to mind.

She lunged for the man with the gun and drove her shoulder into him to keep him from shooting anyone. They both fell hard to the floor, wrestling for control of the weapon, and eventually the man got hold of it and rolled on top of Emma. He pointed it at her and was about to fire it, and at the last moment, Emma redirected the barrel of the gun back inward. He ended up shooting his own leg and screamed in pain.

The gun clattered to the floor and she kicked it out of the way, before smashing his head to the ground, knocking him out cold. Emma's mother stood half in awe, and half in horror, as her daughter completely subdued a crazed gunman. But before the action could calm, she watched in fear as the two men approached her daughter from behind. Unable to hold it in anymore, she screamed for her daughter.

"Emma, behind you!"

Without hesitation upon hearing her mother's warning, Emma reached for the gun and whirled around just in time to pistol whip the first man. He fell to the floor, reeling from the blow. The distraction was enough to allow the second man to jump onto her though, and he was able to knock the gun from her hand.

He punched her hard in the face and she fell into a table. She had been rocked from the impact, but had just enough awareness to roll out of the way from another strike before it could knock her out, and she grabbed an empty tray from the adjacent table.

As hard as she could, she slammed the tray into the back of the man's head, and he was knocked out cold as well.

The customers all stared at the scene, afraid that if anyone moved, something would happen.

The cops arrived one minute later to the carnage of the Brainfreeze, and Emma panting with a tray clutched in her hands.