A/N: So here we go, next update, this is kind of more a filler chapter, and because of that fact I will be uploading the next chapter tomorrow. Hope you enjoy :)

Chapter 17

Ji looked around the garden with sigh, had it all become too much for Jayden. He debates going to look for him, but realises he needs to give the room to come back from this on his own. And find the strength he needed in order to do it.
He looked down at the note in his hand and he dreaded having to give it to Evie, he hadn't read it, but he had a feeling he knew what was in it. He'd found it in Jayden's room after he'd asked the others if they'd seen Jayden.
He walks back into the room where the three were resting, Mike was asleep on the spare bed in case they needed anything while Mia was in her own room.
Ji walks over and shakes Evie awake gently.
She grumbles and turns before wincing as she aggravates her ribs, but is still groggy.
"Evie" he says gently sitting on the bed next to her.
"No, my blankets" she murmurs cuddling Gordon.
Ji shakes his head and shakes her shoulder again and her eyes open, "Ji?" she asks wrinkling her eyes as she rubs her head.
"Evie I need to tell you something, about Jayden" he says gently.
Evie's eyes open with a bit more clarity, "what's he done?" she asks.
Ji sighs, "he's gone Evie" replies Ji.
Evie sits up abruptly and hisses in pain clutching her ribs, "what?" she hisses through gritted teeth.
"He's gone, he left you this" explains Ji handing her the note.
Evie grabs it and opens it reading it through quickly and Ji sees her eyes taken on a sheen as she tries to prevent the tears falling.
"What does he say?" asks Ji gently.
Evie cuddles Gordon tightly her lip trembling as she tries to not let her tears fall and wordlessly hands it to him.
Ji looks at it and sighs as he begins to read.

Evie,

I know you told me not to do anything stupid, and not to be a noble idiot as you put it. But I can't let you or the team keep suffering for me. This is my choice and it has absolutely no reflection on you. Nothing has changed between us, but I know you'll keep trying to protect me, and this is my fight. You've already taken too many hits for me, and this is not something you should have to protect me from, you or anyone else. You're willing to give up everything for me, and I won't let you do it. I'm not anymore important or special than you or the others, and I won't let you treat me like I am. They obviously can't put that aside, and I won't be that burden.

I love you, but this is not your battle to fight. Lead the team for me, I know you'll do your duty.

Jayden

Ji looks at Evie who takes a shuddering breath that he recognises as when she was trying to keep control and not cry.
He sighs and wraps his arm around her, and she leans against him with a hiccup.
"Noble fucking idiot" she mutters.
"I know" replies Ji resting his head on top of hers.
"I need to find him" she says as she tries to get out of bed.
Ji pulls her back, "Evie you're in no condition to be doing anything of the sort" he chides.
"He's being stupid, I need to bang his head off of something" argues Evie.
"This is something Jayden needs to come back from on his own, you cannot fight this particular battle for him" counters Ji.
"But he's being a stupidly noble martyr, and we're weaker when we're apart. We're stronger together, we always have been" reminds Evie.
"I know that Evie, but Jayden has to come back because he has decided too. And it has to be as the red ranger" answers Ji, the unspoken not as your boyfriend hanging in the air.
Evie slumps back against the pillows, "but he's meant to be here, we need him, he needs us. He's hurting I can feel it" she says.
"He will come back, but for now you need to focus on getting better. So do not even think about trying to use your kanji to find him, or of even trying to leave the house or the bed" warns Ji.
Evie goes to argue but Mike is woken by their voices.
"What's going on?" he asks in confusion.
"You have a job, keep this one in her bed, and don't let her leave the house" says Ji pointing to Evie.
"Uh, okay" replies Mike in confusion.
"But Ji" starts Evie.
"No, this is his decision, you are no good to him or anyone else if you aggravate your injuries. If you want to help him, focus on healing and getting better, especially since right now, I'm pretty sure if you got out of that bed, you'd be on the floor or crashed into something before you made it out the door. You said don't be stupid, so now you don't be stupid. And do as he has asked" replies Ji firmly but gently, as he hands her back the note before walking out.
Evie slumps back against the pillows and sighs.
Mike sees the dejected look on her face and walks over, "squidge over" he says.
Evie shifts over slightly and Mike sits down next to her, keeping one foot on the floor so he didn't fall out of bed and wraps his arm around Evie who was initially tense.
"Hey this is a friend hug, I'm not that much of a jackass" says Mike.
Evie relaxes, "sorry still getting used to other people" she says.
"Understandable, you're used to Jayden and Ji" assures Mike, "I'm sure he'll come back" he adds looking at Evie.
Evie sighs and leans against his shoulder, "he thinks he's doing the noble thing, fucking idiot" mutters Evie.
"You've been calling him that a lot today" notes Mike.
"Cause he's being one" snaps Evie.
"Hey, I kind of get where he was coming from. He was terrified today; I could see it the way he was trying to bring you round. You took that entire blast and when you fell, I wasn't sure if we'd be able to wake you up" says Mike. "Its clear you two care about each other, a lot. Cause I heard concern in Kevin's voice, when we saw Jayden in trouble, but what I heard in yours was terror, complete and utter terror for someone who means a lot. And he obviously feels the same, and he might be being an idiot, but he thinks he's protecting you and all of us" points out Mike.
"Is the world ending because you're sounding very Kevin like" notes Evie.
"You take that back" orders Mike.
"Nope" smiles Evie.
"Alright I suppose on this matter I should probably sound a bit Kevin like" admits Mike.
"He needs us, he's vulnerable on his own. Too vulnerable, like I said, idiot" sighs Evie before wincing and rubbing her ribs.
"Yeah well you weren't exactly thinking smart today" notes Mike, "usually you'd have done some fancy manoeuvre with your whip or something. But you just divided right in there" notes Mike.
"So did Kevin and Emily" points out Evie.
"Yeah but you're usually the one with some tricky or jazzy move up her sleeve" replies Mike.
"Jazzy move?" asks Evie.
"Yep" nods Mike.
Evie sighs, "I wasn't thinking" admits Evie.
"He'll come back, or we'll find him and bring him back. But either way, Ji is right, you're in no position to help anyone, you've got a great egg on the back of your head. And your ribs mean you're nowhere near your usual flexible self. So heal, and then you can bounce Jayden's head off of something" smiles Mike.
"You weren't awake when I said that" notes Evie.
"No but it sounds like something you would say" replies Mike.
"You are getting to know me" smiles Evie.
"In some aspects, you're a very uncomplicated person" chuckles Mike.
Evie laughs, "thanks" she says before she feels her eyes starting to get heavy.
"Go back to sleep Evie, we need the supreme commander of sneak at her best" says Mike as he stands up and pulls the blanket over her.
"Thanks Mike, you did good today" she murmurs as she lets sleep claim her.
Mike smiles, then he sees the letter in her hand.
Part of him wants to look at it knowing it was no doubt from Jayden, but he pushes his curiosity aside and turns looking down at Emily he pulls the blanket up over her properly. Before he walks back to the other bed and crawls into it falling asleep in moments.

Jayden walked through the streets on autopilot, not even paying attention to where he was going, his mind going a mile a minute.
What had happened to the other rangers, to people he was starting to see as friends and to the person he loved most in the world. He couldn't let it happen again, the Nighloks wanted him, but the others would keep trying to protect him. He couldn't see them get hurt like that again. It was why he'd tried to keep the sealing symbol quiet; he didn't want them to be willing to give up anything for him, or for the idea of the power. And that was what he hated most, the fact they didn't even know the full story, and because of that they couldn't understand, not even Evie.
With a sigh he continued walking, he couldn't put them at risk, not for this, not when they didn't know the truth.

Ji sat in his office; he knew he had to give Jayden room. And he knew he'd need to keep an eye on Evie especially with this new development.
His gaze landed on one of the pictures and he picks it up.
It was Jayden and Evie, both aged ten. Beaming smiles on their faces, looking to all the world like perfectly ordinary ten-year olds. Rather than two people who would one day hold the fate of the world in their hands. He'd worried about their parents, taught them as best he could, helping them. But they'd never been especially close, all of them already grown adults with spouses and children of their own to return too. And while he'd still spoken to them over the years, it had been courtesy calls or checking up on progress and the like.
But Evie and Jayden, he'd raised Jayden since his father had been killed, and while he had tried to be a mentor to him. He'd also become a parent, Jayden was like his own child, and he loved him and he worried about him, he'd tried to balance raising a person as well as a samurai ranger. And sometimes he truly hated what Jayden was forced to bear.
Evie was a different kettle of fish though, through no fault of her own. The relationship he had with Evie was different to the one he had with Jayden. She'd been extremely distrustful of him when she'd arrived, not that he'd blamed her for it. The adult in her life who should've loved and cared for her and abandoned her in the cruellest fashion imaginable. And it had made her wary of all adults at that time.
He'd had to work far harder at his relationship with Evie than he ever had with Jayden. In fact, as Jayden had pointed out he'd had to come up with a whole new approach to not only train Evie, but to try and form a bond with her. Biting the hand that tried to help her was an extremely accurate description. It had taken a few weeks to get her to even pick up a sword, and that he knew was far more down to Jayden than it was too him. But over time, with effort and work, on both their parts, they'd formed a far stronger relationship than Ji had ever hoped for. And Evie mattered to him just as much as Jayden did. He loved them both, and he hated having to send them out into danger. Danger that had claimed more lives than he cared to think of over the centuries.
This would be a true test for Evie, initially he'd been worried that Evie would become overly dependent on Jayden. But as she'd gotten older, she'd shown herself to be an extremely strong-willed, self-sufficient and unique individual. And while their bond and their relationship, as well as the extended amount of time the two had spent together meant the two were extremely close. He wouldn't call either of them overtly dependant on the other. They balanced. Evie had been able to pull a more carefree and fun side out of Jayden, willing to try new things and make him think outside the box. While Jayden had been able to keep Evie on track with her training, pushing her forwards when she waned, as well as providing a steady and calmer counter to some of Evie's volatility. And while Evie was still very much a force of nature, she was far better a curbing it now than she had been she was younger.
Ji set the picture back down with resignation, he hated this. He hated that Jayden felt so much pressure, but he knew he had to give him room to figure things out for himself. And he also hated the fact Evie was currently suffering in more ways than the others would realise. But he had faith she would be able to hold things together until Jayden returned, if there was one thing he knew, it was that Evie did not give up. With that thought he stood up and after checking on the three injured rangers he headed for bed himself. Things were likely only going to become more complex from here.

The next day Mike walks into the room and sees Kevin hasn't touched his breakfast and decides to poke some fun.
"You know a young samurai once told me that breakfast is the most important meal of the day" smirks Mike walking over.
"I told you that" says Kevin as he sits up with a groan his arm still in its sling.
Mike just chuckles sitting down on the end of Evie's bed.
"I'll eat once I've finished this. While I've been laid up, I've been working on this. A way to combine the megazord and the samurai battle wing" he explains turning the notebook around to show them.
"Last time I had a sick day, I played video games, drank ginger ale and ate chicken soup" snorts Mike.
"Jayden still isn't back" sighs Mia.
Mike wordlessly rests his hand on Evie's leg squeezing it comfortingly.
"When he does you should show him that, the sketching is really detailed Kevin. He'll be impressed" replies Evie.
Then Ji walks in with a creepily chipper attitude.
"Hello everyone. Hi Emily, hope you're feeling better" he beams.
"Ji you're being seriously creepy, they know he's gone" says Evie as she eats her yoghurt.
Ji sighs, "he'll be back. The rest of us just need to focus on our mission" says Ji.
"Mhm" replies Evie as she continues to eat her yoghurt.
Ji nods and walks back out.
"Mike give me my samuraiser" says Evie.
"I'm not supposed to do that" reminds Mike.
"Trust me this'll help" replies Evie holding out her hand.
Mike sighs but grabs it and hands it over.
Evie flips it open, and draws a quick symbol, "heal" she says as she spins it and it disappears into her.
Instantly she breathes in relief.
"Better" she says rubbing her ribs.
"Did you just heal yourself?" asks Mia in awe.
"Not completely no, but breathing no longer hurts as much" she replies but leans back on the bed the symbol having taken energy out of her. The symbol added with what Jayden had channelled to her the previous day she was in a much better state than she would've been without either, but she was nowhere near one hundred percent yet.

A while later they were all starting to move around, the bandages having come off, Kevin and Emily both stretching out their injuries.
Evie meanwhile was out of bed and slowly bent herself backwards into a bridge, wincing a little bit.
"Well good to see you guys are at least feeling better" notes Mike as he keeps an eye on Evie in case she's still hurt worse than she wants to admit.
She kicks herself up into a handstand and instantly drops out of it staying in a crouch as she rests her hand on her ribs. Her breath coming out in soft hisses for a few moments.
Mia goes to move forwards but Evie waves her off and stands up.
"I remember how messed up I felt when a Nighlok attacked my buddies. Just because they were hanging out with me" sighs Mike.
"Yeah times that by ten for what Jayden's feeling knowing every single one of us is ready to take hits for him. It was the one thing that worried him the most when Ji told us it was time to call you to battle. Whether he was ready to have your lives in his hands and now with everything else, it finally took its toll yesterday" says Evie.
"And it must be so hard to know he's the only one with the sealing power" agrees Mike.
"I know, imagine holding the fate of the entire world in your hands" nods Mia.
"Technically we do" offers Evie coming to her feet.
"How, we can't seal Xandred away" reminds Kevin.
"Maybe not, but we can a) give him the time he needs to master that symbol and b) we defeat the Nighloks as they come, thus keeping the civilians safe, and c) that means the Sanzu river doesn't rise. We're not useless, we're not pointless here. We might not have that particular symbol power, but we are so much more than sidekicks or arm candy. Jayden needs time, then fine, but like Ji said, we focus on the mission. Nighloks will come, moogers will come. And it us up to us to protect the world from them. Jayden will come back, but until he does, we have trained our whole lives for this. So, we do our duty regardless, we make a difference and we make it count. Jayden might be the red ranger but he isn't almighty, we're not helpless or directionless without him. We do our duty same as we would if he were here" says Evie confidently, Jayden had asked her to lead them and she would. She wasn't letting this go without a fight and she wanted them ready for when Jayden got his head out of his ass and came back.
Kevin nods, "Evie is right, we do our duty, we hold down the fort" he says.
"Agreed, we don't let our families down" concurs Emily.
"Until Jayden comes back" agrees Mia.
"Looks like we're following a new colour into battle" smiles Mike as he looks at Evie.
Evie nods, "good, so rest up, because when that sensor goes, we do too" she says pointing to the gap sensor.
Everyone nods and Evie smiles.
She heads back to the kitchen to grab another yoghurt and finds Ji stood outside with a smile on his face.
"That was well done" he nods.
"Just because Jayden wants to be the noble idiot doesn't mean he gets to bench us. We're here, we're still standing, and I do not intend to follow in my mother's footsteps" answers Evie.
"You could never be mistaken for following in Nia's footsteps Evie, that I can promise you" assures Ji. "You've come a long way, there was a time Jayden leaving would've crippled you" he notes.
"I know this isn't about me, Jayden wants to be a martyr, fine he can have it this time around. Mike's run off, now Jayden's run off, we can all have our melt down moments. But until he comes back, he asked me to lead. So, I am going to cover his ass until he gets back, because he might be a stupid idiot. But he's a stupid idiot that I do love" says Evie.
Ji smiles, "now that sounds more like the Evie I know" he says.
Evie just smiles and grabs her yoghurt before sighing, "I just hope he figures his shit out sooner rather than later" she admits wincing as she aggravated her ribs, the symbol could only do so much, especially for something that was aching rather than a physical cut or wound than could be healed.