Disclaimer: I do not own anything

Mike was pulled roughly from his sleep and sat up straight in his bed. His breathes were quick and deep and there was a layer of sweat covering his entire face and neck. His hands shook and his heart raced as he looked around the room and realised he was in his own bedroom, safe and sound.

Things had not been smooth in the Shiba House since Jayden's lies had been exposed. The Rangers didn't feel like they could trust their leader and that caused most of them to feel threatened. Mike didn't feel safe. With the team so divided and angry something terrible was going to happen.

It had been a few days since Jayden had come out of his room and Kevin had struck him. Even before then Mike had been getting nightmares, but since that day they had gotten worse. He was worried about what could happen to the team now that they were all so broken. If Jayden, the big hero, the man who would save everyone, could hurt his team so badly, there was no telling what he or the others were capable of. He felt like his team was headed straight for hell and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

His nightmares usually consisted of him watching one of his friends betray the team. It started with Jayden aligning himself with Master Xandred, but as the days passed the betrayal spread to the other members of the team. Mike had dreamt of Kevin turning his back on everyone, including Mia, and joining forces with the Nighlok to ensure the death of the red Ranger. Mike had to watch Kevin slay Jayden before his very eyes, and then, Kevin had no choice but to kill Mike, Antonio and the girls so Master Xandred could have his way and flood the Earth with the Water from the Sanzu River.

Another nightmare he had was of Antonio betraying the team. Not all was forgiven, but Mike was a lot more comfortable around Antonio than he was with Jayden. He could understand why Antonio felt he had to program the box, even though he didn't want to. Jayden was ordering him to do so, and just like everyone else, Antonio had put his faith in Jayden and hoped everything would work out like the red Ranger promised.

Mike's nightmares about Antonio were just as bad as the ones with Kevin. In his nightmares, Antonio felt so guilty for the pain he caused the Rangers that he left himself become a Nighlok and felt he had no other choice but to continue on a path of death and destruction. Antonio was so stricken with grief he assumed he was no longer one of the good guys and condemned himself to a life of evil. Again, Mike had to sit and watch as each of his friends were picked off one by one by Antonio.

Then there came the nightmares of Mia's betrayal. In the nightmares, Mia wouldn't permanently align herself with Master Xandred or turn herself into a Nighlok. Instead, she would give away the Samurai secrets to the lord of the Nighlok, essentially giving him the key to the destruction of the Rangers and a free pass to taking over the world. She would usually die along with the Rangers in Mike's nightmare, but that didn't make her betrayal any less shameful. She was still the reason Mike and the others all died.

Finally, Mike's most recent nightmare was of him betraying the team. These were the worst for him and shook him to his very core. He was forced to watch himself turn into the most despicable monster he's ever seen. A ruthlessly monster who would stop at nothing to get what he wanted, and what he wanted was to feel safe. His nightmares always began with him killing Jayden in cold blood. To Mike, this was disgusting, but it made sense. He didn't feel safe around Jayden, and the only way to keep Jayden from betraying him again was to kill him. He hated himself for even thinking it, but at least he could understand what his mind was trying to tell him.

But that would always be where things got worse. Mike would always realise that everyone was capable of betraying him and he would move onto his friends. Kevin would usually be the next to kill. Of everyone left on the team, Kevin was the most likely to turn on Mike and cause him pain. After Kevin it would always be Antonio and then Mia.

Mike always wished he would wake up here, but he never did. No matter how lucid the dream he could never stop himself from attacking his next victim. The worst part about this was that he would always use his hands. With Jayden, Kevin, Mia and Antonio there was always a weapon involved. But when it came to Emily, Mike would literally squeeze the life out of her until she hung lifeless in his arms.

With shaking hands, Mike threw the blankets off and hung his legs over the side of the bed. He rubbed his face with his hands and took a few deep breathes. He had threatened to hurt his friends many times, but he was not a murderer. No matter how hurt he was by Jayden's betrayal, he would never kill Jayden, or the other Rangers for that matter. He wasn't completely sure they would never hurt him, but given how close he felt to them, and how close he assumed they felt to him, he knew it was a smart move putting his trust in them.

He got out of bed and walked to the door, completely ignoring Emily sleeping in her bed on the other side of the room. He could still feel her lifeless body in his arms and he didn't want to go near her just yet. He walked to the kitchen and turned on the light. He suddenly jumped with fright when he saw Jayden sitting at the table.

"Dude," he growled, "you're not helping yourself! Don't fucking scare me like that!"

"Sorry," Jayden actually sounded apologetic, "this is the only time I can come out of my room… But I guess I'll just go now that you're here."

Mike watched Jayden gather up his cup, plate and book as scurry for the door. Before the red Ranger disappeared into the dark hallway, Mike called his name. He waited for Jayden to turn around before speaking up again.

"Why?" he asked. "Why did you do it? Why did you think it was smart to lie to us? Why couldn't you be honest?"

"I'm not easy, Mike…"

"Damn right it's not!" Mike shouted, though he kept his voice low enough so he wouldn't wake the rest of the house. "Betraying your entire team, your team of friends, shouldn't be easy! It should be so hard, it's impossible!"

"This wasn't what I intended," Jayden explained. "I wasn't lying to betray you. I was lying to keep you all calm. What I hoped for…"

"I don't care!" Mike shook his head, "I don't care about what you think was going to happen. I don't care about what was supposed to happen. What if you had killed one of us, Jayden?"

"I wouldn't have…"

"The Stones could have done anything!" Mike screamed. "Opening a fucking box nearly killed Emily! After watching Kevin suffer did you think she was just going to breeze through her programming?"

"I just thought…"

"You didn't think it through! You were careless, Jayden, and you put the entire team in so much danger!"

"I…"

"Kevin should have been the only one to suffer," Mike gritted his teeth. "What happened to Kevin was truly an accident and if you had any kind of respect for Kevin, or anyone else on the team, you would have protected us from suffering like he did. Mistakes happened, but trust me, dude, they aren't worth shit if you don't learn from them."

Jayden lowered his head and sighed, "I'm sorry, Mike…"

"Don't apologise to me, you monster," Mike clenched his fists. "I volunteered for my programming. That was my choice. I'm not mad at you for that…"

"I'll apologize to Emily in the morning…"

"No, you won't," Mike shook his head. "That ship has sailed. You had plenty of time to apologize to her before now and you didn't. That speaks volumes, dude. You obviously don't give a damn about her or anyone else on this team…"

"I do…"

"Shut up!" Mike felt the tears welling up in his eyes as he glared at Jayden. "You hurt us all, Jayden. I'm scared of you and I'm scared of what's going to happen now that we're falling apart. I don't worry about these things… not normally. You haven't done anything to fix your mistakes. How can we learn to trust you again?"

"I'm really sorry, Mike. I promise…"

"Don't lie to me," Mike shook his head and turned to leave before he really made himself vulnerable in front of a man he couldn't trust. As he walked through the dark hallway he could have sworn her heard Jayden crying. He ignored it, though, and opened the door to his bedroom. He glanced over at Emily's bed and slowly made his way over. He crawled in next to her and wrapped himself up in the blankets before pulling her into him and holding her close. This woke Emily up and she looked at Mike. Her eyes told the green Ranger she was worried and he was sure she had seen his tears.

"Mike…"

"Just a nightmare, Em; go back to sleep."

"Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?"

He pulled her in even closer and kissed her, "No… just stay with me."