Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers Samurai

Dekker knew very well that he didn't have a shot. There was nothing left for him.

He had dueled the red Ranger and lost. He could no longer call himself the greatest warrior.

He was neither Nighlok nor human. The Netherworld didn't want him. Xandred wanted him dead and all the other Nighlok followed his command. The only Nighlok who didn't want him dead was Dayu, but he wanted nothing to do with her.

The human world didn't want him. They had never wanted him. He was a danger. Because he was a Nighlok, they couldn't trust him. He could barely trust himself anymore.

He couldn't go back to Dayu. The things she had done to him couldn't be forgotten. He understood her pain, he truly did, but that would never replace what she had cost him.

He couldn't go back to Serena, which was where he really wanted to be. She had threatened to kill him many times before but had never done so until their last encounter. Has he not jumped into the Gap when he did he would be dead. She would have killed him. She had made her point. She would not take him back.

But what hurt the most was that she also had his son. He didn't care what other people thought of him or what kind of parent they thought he would be. He wanted his son. He wanted the only thing left that belonged to him. But he had never been able to get close. Serena kept him at a distance because she couldn't trust him, because of the things Dayu had made him do. Everything kept falling back to Dayu. That day their house burned down was the day this started. Centuries ago he had been cursed, and he never felt the curse more than he did now. The curse was hurting him.

Dayu should have let him die, and he could kill himself, if it weren't for one thing. He had one reason left to live.

He stood in the shadows just outside the Shiba House. The symbols to keep the Nighlok out were still up from when Takeshi had attacked. It was smart of the Rangers to keep them there. It meant the Shiba House was safe from nearly all Nighlok.

Nearly all.

If Terran could slip in and out, so could he. The downside of having a part Nighlok baby in the Shiba House was that the Rangers always had a way for Dekker to get in.

But beyond the Gates and the shield of symbols, security was tough. Dekker didn't care for the secrets or weapons, he wanted to see his son. If he was going to live for eternity, from time to time, he wanted to see his son. Seeing Terran, though, meant getting past Serena. Dekker couldn't kill Serena. He didn't even want to see her hurt, but she would kill him. It made it impossible to get past her.

There was still an opening, though. Serena wasn't Terran's only caregiver.

Finally, Dekker saw someone coming out and he looked up at the moon. It was close enough to morning he knew he had his opening. Serena would need to leave for work so she needed sleep. To keep her from complete sleep deprivation, she never cared for Terran as morning approached. From 3:00 AM to 6:00 AM, if Terran woke up, he was someone else's responsibility.

Dekker could hear his son's screaming and he knew everything was lining up perfectly. The house his son lived in was so full of people, and Terran had a good set of lungs on him. When he cried at night, he annoyed the entire house. Sometimes, that meant whoever took care of him brought him outside to sooth him.

Just like tonight.

He stalked in closer, as quiet as he could be. He stuck to the shadows. He had to come up with a way to snatch his son, just for a couple of hours, without alerting the rest of the house that he was there. The minute anyone found out Terran was missing, they'd find him and he'd be dead.

But he had prepared for this and when he was close enough, he struck. In a shift motion he snatched his son, held him carefully in his arms while grabbing and silencing his caregiver. When he looked down to see who it was, he groaned.

"I'm screwed, aren't I?"

His captive nodded.

-Samurai-

Dekker had been living in a cave. It wasn't much, but he called it home. The burning fire warmed up the space and he had stolen blankets, pillows, and more from the stores in town to make the rocks and dirt a little more comfortable.

He wasn't surprised at how easily he managed to walk home. With Terran in his arms, he knew whoever he attacked would follow.

He set his son down on a blanket then pointed to a corner of the cave.

He didn't anticipate this, though. The minute he set Terran down and took his eyes off his captive, he was attacked. He was kicked hard in the ribs when he turned around but he didn't let that stop him. His attacker tried to kick him again but he grabbed and pinned his attacker to the ground.

He didn't have to worry about the arms. They were bound tightly under his captive. The feet still posed a threat. Just as Dekker was about to get up he was kicked in the stomach. What his captive didn't realise, though, was that when he was kicked in the stomach, he would double over and sit until the pain passed which meant there was no escape.

When Dekker could breathe again he reached out and grabbed a rope. He tied it around the legs, from the thigh down.

"Just until sunrise," he said. His captive signalled no. Dekker chuckled, "I didn't ask."

Terran started to stir and cry. He felt a little colder than normal and couldn't recognise his environment at all. He screamed for someone to pick him up and after quite some time, someone did. He didn't recognise the arms or the voice but he was comfortable.

"Shh," Dekker whispered to his son, "It's just daddy."

It took a while, but Dekker finally did get Terran back to sleep. He stared at his son's little face and couldn't believe what he was looking at. This was his boy. His little boy.

"You can't deny it," Dekker whispered and glanced up, "He is my son."

With Terran in his arms he got up and walked over to his captive. He pulled the gag from her mouth, "Please say it, Serena."

"I'll kill you," Serena struggled but her ropes were bound tightly around her, making it impossible to do anything but roll on the ground.

"You weren't supposed to find out," Dekker told her. "What were you doing with him?"

"He's my son."

"Your sister normally has him at this time of night," this statement only succeeded in pissing Serena off more. The only reason she was up with him was because she didn't need to be at school the next day. The kids had a P.A day and wouldn't be there. There was nothing for her to do that she couldn't do from home. So, fortunately, she had been up with Terran.

"I'll rip your heart out," Serena growled, "You'll be alive to see me do it."

"Again," Dekker looked down at Terran, "Please, Serena, we can figure something out. I'm not asking for you. I understand…"

"No."

"I could leave with him now."

"I'll hunt you down," Serena said, "You're both part Nighlok. There's nothing you can do to keep me from tracking you."

"I could take him to the Netherworld. He would survive. You never could, unless you traded your soul, of course."

Tears stung Serena's eyes, "Give him back, Dekker."

Dekker shook his head. He put the gag back in her mouth and walked back to the other side of the cave, "Not until I'm done."

He cuddled with his son while he heard Serena cry. It was times like these he wished he could be a selfish monster again. He wished he could do as he wanted and not care what happened to anyone else. The old Dekker would have taken what belonged to him and run. He may have even killed Serena.

But he couldn't do it. So he stayed with Terran until sunrise. If he was lucky, it would still be too early for the Rangers. He cradled his son gently and picked up Serena as well. He knew she'd kill him if she could, so he didn't give her that chance.

He carried her back to the Shiba House and snuck into her room. He set her down, still bound, on her bed and then looked at Terran, still sleeping in his arms.

The window was right there. He could go and never come back, and he could take Terran with him. He could keep his son in a secret place in the Netherworld. Somewhere not even Xandred would find him. The Netherworld was so big, surely a place like that existed.

But Serena continued to cry under the gag and he turned to look at her. Her eyes were begging him not to take her son.

"You're lucky," Dekker whispered as he set Terran down in his crib, "You don't believe me, but I've changed. I'm not who you think I am."

Dekker did use the window. He did run for the Netherworld, but he didn't take his son with him.

Terran began to cry. He cried and cried and Serena couldn't get up. The Rangers were probably still sleeping so until Terran's cries, which weren't unusual at this hour, woke them up and they realised something was wrong, there was nothing that could be done for Terran.

After almost an hour, there was a knock on the door and it opened.

"Serena, he's… Serena!"

Emily rushed over to her sister and pulled out her Samuraizer to make a knife. She cut the ropes. Serena jumped up out of bed and raced over to the crib. She picked Terran up and held him close to her chest as she sunk to her knees. Her face was already soaked in tears.

Emily approached her sister and knelt down beside her. She placed her hand on Serena's back, "What happened?"

Serena's didn't say anything. She leaned into Emily and buried her face in her little sister's shoulder. Emily wrapped her arms around Serena and held her comfortingly, "Are you okay?"

Emily felt Serena shake her head. She gently lifted her sister to her feet.

"What happened?" Emily asked again. Serena wiped her tears.

"Terran's probably hungry."

Emily sighed, "I guess you want me to leave?"

"No… I…"

"Tell me what happened. Who did this?"

"He's gone."

"Who?"

"He'll come back. I know he will."

"Serena!" Emily stomped her foot. Suddenly Terran was placed in her arms. "What…?"

Serena grabbed Emily's Samuraizer, "Don't leave the house."

"Serena…"

Emily watched as her older sister took off. She followed her outside.

Serena opened the gate and turned around. She glared at Emily, "Don't leave the house."

"Where are you going?"

Serena held up the Samuraizer and traced a symbol. A bright light flashed and surrounded the house, cutting between Serena and Emily, "I'll be back, I promise."

"Where are you…?" Emily stepped forward but walked into something invisible. She held one hand out in front of her and groaned as she recognised the symbol Serena had cast. She remembered, as a child, falling a lot. Her house had a number of stairs and everyone worried Emily would fall down (or up, it wasn't unheard of with Emily). Because baby gates didn't always work, Serena and Ellie had learned another symbol. They made a shield Emily couldn't walk or fall through; no one in the earth clan could walk through it. But now, instead of just a small baby gate, it surrounded the entire house.

"What's going on?" Emily heard from behind her and she turned around to see Kevin approaching her.

"Serena ran off and won't let me follow," Emily huffed.

Kevin looked around, "And that's stopping you…?"

Emily pointed to the floating symbols around the house, "She baby gated me! I outgrew that when I turned four!"

"Baby gated?" Kevin asked. Emily rolled her eyes, tried to walk through the shield but couldn't. Kevin decided to try and stepped through without a problem. He turned to Emily and chuckled, "Had we known…"

"Can you go after her?" Emily interrupted before Kevin had any ideas.

Kevin sighed, "Where did she go?"

"I don't know."

"What happened?"

"I don't know."

"What do you know?"

"Something happened and she ran off. She won't let me follow."

Kevin massaged his temples, "Alright, I'll try to look for her."