The Rangers were all out in the training yard, getting some practice in after breakfast. Mia and Emily were in the corner, working on some grappling techniques, while Jayden and Antonio were sparring. Kevin was working on a sword kite while Mike went to the side, snatching an apple out of a bowl of fruit, and took a big bite. Kevin just shook his head in disbelief.

"I can't believe he's still hungry." Kevin said quietly, not knowing that he wasn't speaking as quietly as he had believed. Mike could actually hear him, and just ignored him. "We just had breakfast, and I'm still working off the stuff that last Nighlock made us eat."

"Kiev, it's an apple." Mike called over his shoulder. "It's healthy."

Kevin realised Mike had heard him. He knew that the Green Ranger hated it when he constantly questioned everything he did, and regretted the fact that he had heard, but then he was unrepentant on this. He just straightened up.

"You know, if you keep eating, eventually you won't fit into your suit." Kevin teased him. "Even Spandex only stretches so far."

Mike was about to answer, but looking to the apple in his hand, he got an idea and a little smirk came to his face.

"Tell you what, I bet you I can beat you with one hand." Mike told him, stepping onto the mat, tossing and catching the apple as he went. "If you win, I'll do all your chores for a week."

Kevin smiled as he heard this. He couldn't remember the last time Mike was able to beat him with a sword. Now he was trying to do it with only one hand? He just waved Mike forward.

"If I win though," Mike continued, "you have to wear that Prince Charming costume Mia got you for Halloween all day tomorrow."

"You're on!" Kevin told him, taking up a guard. The other Rangers stopped what they were doing to watch. Kevin and Mike were always the two most competitive of the Rangers. Even though they were a lot closer and friendlier than they had been at first, there was still a lot of competition between them.

They watched as Kevin led off, having his first couple of strikes parried by Mike. He looked decidedly less than amused though as Mike just took a bite from his apple, almost like he wasn't trying. Kevin drove the sword away, taking advantage of the fact he had the strength advantage of having both hands on his sword to throw Mike off-balance, before smashing his Spin-Sword out of his hand. He was lifting his own Spin Sword up to claim the point and the match, when Mike did something unexpected, and jammed the apple onto the point of the Sword.

Kevin just lifted up the Sword, looking at the apple in disbelief. Emily had to stifle a little snigger at the move, and Kevin's reaction to it. Then, quick as a flash, Mike flicked his Sword back up into his hand, and brought it to Kevin's throat, and tapped him under the chin.

"That's the point, and you got schooled." Mike taunted him. "Not to mention you lost the bet."

He smiled as he stepped off the mat, to a chorus of laughs from the other Rangers. Kevin seemed decidedly less than amused though. He hated losing, he especially hated losing to Mike, and he most DEFINITELY hated losing when he felt like he had been tricked or defeated by nefarious means.

"That doesn't count!" He protested.

"It counts Prince Charming." Mia giggled. Kevin just glared at Mike, but he just shrugged as he took another apple to replace the one he had used on Kevin's sword.

"Hey, I can't compete with your technique, one or two handed." Mike conceded. "I had no choice but to outwit you."

Kevin was about to protest again, but he paused as he caught onto what Mike had said.

"Was that a compliment?" He asked him. Mike just laughed.

"Me compliment you?" He asked. "As if!"

"You know, if you guys could co-operate as well as you compete, you'd be twice as strong." Jayden told them, finally able to stop laughing long enough to speak.

"Hey, if they could co-operate as well as they compete, they'd be able to beat Master Xandred all by themselves." Emily chipped in.

"Why can't we all just get along?" Mia joked, putting her arm around Emily. Just then, the Gap Sensor sounded. The Rangers all started to run inside, but Kevin paused for a second.

"Mike!" He called out. As Mike stopped and turned to see him, Kevin put the point of his Spin Sword to the ground and drove it down, slicing straight through the apple. "That's not much of a defence. If that was real..."

"Hey, you're right." Mike told him. "Of course, you thought of that WAY too late!"

With that, they sprinted into the house to find out the location of the Nighlock and join the others in battle.

Over at the farm, Serena's mother was busy preparing some breakfast, when her husband came in, having just milked the cows.

"Your breakfast is on the table." She told him. He just put down the bucket and went to the table, but he noticed she was still working.

"I take it that's for Serena?" He asked her.

"She has to eat sometime." Her mother told him. "I heard the bowl smash as I left last night. She'll be hungry..."

"Why don't you just strap a nose-bag to her face?" He asked her. His wife just slammed her hands down on the counter.

"Damn it..."

"What are you going to do? Keep her locked up in the barn forever?" He asked her. "That's our daughter! She's not some animal...!"

"What else was I meant to do?" She sobbed. "Do you think I wanted to do this?"

"She's our daughter!" He reiterated.

"And I just got her back!" She screamed at him. "You know what it did to me to watch her wasting away in that bed. You know what it was like every time the doctors did more tests just to tell us she was getting worse."

"I know, because I went through it too." Her husband reminded her.

"Now, she's healthy and she's strong...and you're telling me I just have to watch as she runs off to get herself killed?"

"She lost someone she loved." Her husband reminded her.

"So did we, so I know what it's like." She sighed, wiping her eyes. "I know that this isn't the right thing to do, but I can't do anything else. I can't watch her 24 hours a day. I know the minute my back's turned, she'll run off."

"She loved him..."

"And I hate him." She told him flatly. "I know it's terrible to say, but if she hadn't met him, if she hadn't loved him...if he hadn't given her that damned disk! It's like he's trying to take her from us!"

"You know that he couldn't possibly have meant for all that." He told her.

"She won't talk to me." His wife sniffed. "She hasn't talked to us since she came back."

"Well, do you really think she's going to talk to us now?" He asked her sarcastically. His wife just turned to face him, tears running down her face.

"Then tell me what I'm meant to do." She pleaded with him. "Please, tell me."

"I think for now the best thing you can do is keep your distance." He told her with a sigh, picking up a plate of toast his wife had made for Serena. "I doubt she'll be particularly happy to see you right now do you?"

With that, he went out of the house, leaving her in the kitchen.

He made his way across to the barn, and unlocked the door, making his way inside. As he did so, he heard a crunch. Pieces of the bowl her mother had brought her were being crushed under his boot, and he could see stains from the stew on the floor and the door. He just sighed, looking up to see his daughter sitting in the corner, looking at him. He had always doted on his girls, and while their mother was always the strict one, between being their sensei and being the main disciplinarian, their father usually came home tired, and just wanting to spend time with them. He was the softer touch of the two parents, something both Serena and Emily knew.

"I guess you're going to be hungry then." He suggested. Serena just glared at him.

"That's all you have to say?" Serena asked him. She grabbed the chain holding her in place and rattled it. "Get this damn thing off me!"

"I'm sorry, I can't do that. Your mother has the keys." He told her. "When she doesn't want me to find something, I'll never find it. Remember when I was struggling to give up smoking and she took my cigarettes? I still can't figure out where she put them."

"Dad, she chained me up in the barn!" Serena reminded him. "She's clearly gone insane!"

"Well, I can't say that I think she's going about this the right way, or that I exactly like this." He conceded. "But I can understand where she's coming from doing this."

"Dad, you have tools." Serena reminded him. "A hacksaw, a crowbar, hell, an axe, anything! Just let me..."

"Serena, I'm not going against your mother on this." He sighed. Serena's mouth fell open wide.

"But...but..."

"Serena, you're not going anywhere for the foreseeable future, so perhaps you should take advantage of that." He suggested.

"I can train..."

"Not exactly what I meant." He told her. He sat down next to her, reaching out for her, but she pulled away from him, wrapping herself in her blanket. He was a little hurt, but could understand her reaction in some ways. She was obviously hoping her father would release her.

"Serena, you have to understand, you're not the only one that's hurt." He told her. "When someone hurts us, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that we're not on our own. Our actions affect everyone around us."

"I just want..."

"You want to go and get this Serrator, I know." He told her. "It's a natural feeling. He took something from you, something precious. Now, you just want to take it out on him. The problem is, you aren't thinking about everyone else."

"I know what happened with Cody was wrong. That's why I came here!" She screamed. "I know that my actions will put the Rangers in danger, that's why I don't want to be there..."

"Damn it Serena, this isn't about the Rangers!" Her father snapped. "I know that there are bits you don't remember about when you were ill..."

"I'm not ill dad." Serena reminded him. "I was healed remember?"

"Your mother..." He told her. He took a long pause as he thought about it. "You have no idea what your mother went through. If she'd read any more about your condition, she'd probably have qualified for a medical licence. She had to lift and lay you, she checked on you every day..."

"I know she took care of me." Serena sighed. "But that doesn't give her the right..."

"The minister came around so many times we might as well have made him up a room." He told her, reaching out and taking her hand. He looked to her eyes. "He and your mother prayed, they prayed like I've never seen anyone pray before. Your mother even made a lot of promises, anything as long as she wouldn't have to lose you. Even still, we said goodbye to you so many times, our hearts died a little every day watching you waste away."

"Dad..."

He handed her a sheet of paper. Serena looked at it, realising it was a bank statement. A couple of transactions were highlighted. Serena just looked to him. Their farm had always given them a comfortable life. They were never especially rich, but they never struggled. She couldn't believe the size of the transactions.

"But..."

"One of the promises your mother made was that if you lived, she would give whatever we could to charitable causes, do what we could to help other families." He told her. "She kept that promise. When you called and told us that Kevin had healed you, that you'd be fine, she was over the moon. It was a miracle."

"Dad, it's my life..."

"A life that Kevin risked a lot to give back to you." He reminded her. "A life that your mother prayed for; and a life that Stephen risked his own to be a part of."

"Stephen..." She started, her eyes beginning to sparkle a little. "He deserves..."

"Your life is precious, doubly so since you got a second chance that so many people risked everything to give you!" He roared at her. "Now you want to just throw it away? You just want to run after one of the most powerful Nighlock there is?"

Serena could feel a distinct shift in the way her father spoke to her. He wasn't soft or gentle anymore. Now, he was harder. He was angry with her, angrier than she had ever seen him. She quailed a little in fear. She didn't know her father had such anger in him.

"That is the most selfish thing I've ever heard!" He told her flatly. "I may not agree with what your mother did, but since you're not going anywhere, maybe you might try and think about all the people that you'd be hurting if something happened to you."

She looked to him wide-eyed as he continued. She could already feel a lump forming in her throat.

"You want to throw away everything because you lost Stephen?" He asked her again. "Well, what do you imagine your mother would want if we lost you too? What about Emily? You remember her right? Your little sister who put her whole life on hold because of you? How do you think she'd feel? What do you think it would do to her?"

He set down the toast near her, looking at her in a way that made her stomach twist inside her. She felt shame in his gaze. He looked away from her, unable to even look at her any longer.

"Now, you can eat that or throw it away." He told her. "But since I won't be back from the field until dinner time, you'll be very hungry if you do."

As he left, slamming the door closed and locking it, Serena reached for the toast. She was still as mad as hell about the way her mother was treating her, but now, her father had given her a lot to think about. All of a sudden, her simple wishes didn't seem so simple anymore. Outside though, her father wiped the tears from his eyes. He hated seeing his daughter that way, and he was disgusted at himself for the way he yelled at her, but he knew it was what she needed to hear. Now, all he could do was leave and hope that by the time he had finished his work, he would have calmed down enough to speak to her again.

Back in Panorama City, the Rangers arrived, finding a Nighlock and some Moogers attacking a bunch of civilians. As they arrived, ploughing into the first wave of Moogers, the Nighlock looked to them. They were coming at him fast, dealing with his vanguard with startling speed! When he had been sent to the human realm, he knew he would have to deal with the Rangers, but no one warned him how quickly they'd come, or how quickly they'd deal with his entourage! As Mike and Kevin came towards him, screaming as they swung their Spin-Swords, he squealed in terror and fired something at them, before being smashed backwards.

Kevin surged to follow up the attack, but found something heavy holding him back.

"Whoa!" Mike called out as he stumbled forwards, falling to his knees. Kevin felt his hand and arm almost being wrenched clean out as he did. He looked to his wrist, finding it linked to Mike by a lump of gunk, which had hardened, creating what could only be described as a set of short, barely flexible shackles.

"What the...?" Kevin muttered as he pulled Mike up, looking to the gunk. The creature fired off another lump of gunk, which sealed their other hands together, leaving them facing each other, with very little freedom, or personal space.

"Hey!" Jayden called out as he rushed forward. The creature fired a much larger glob of goo, which he incinerated with a fire blast, but by the time he regained his vision from the smoke, the Nighlock was gone. Jayden turned back to Kevin and Mike, seeing them pulling against each other.

"What is this stuff?" Mike asked. "It's kind of like rubber, but it just...it won't...we can't get out of it!"

"Here, let me try." Mia stated, bringing up her Spin Sword. Kevin and Mike held their hands back, leaving as much of the gunk exposed as possible, giving her a couple of inches clearance.

"Just...be very careful." Mike warned her as Kevin looked to him.

"I have every confidence in her." He replied.

"Of course, you have to say that!" Mike snorted. Mia just ignored their bickering and brought her Spin Sword over her head, screaming as she brought it down. It rebounded harshly though, sending her backwards onto her butt. She just looked up at them.

"Alright, not a good move." She muttered. Emily checked out the gunk, which had hardened into a rubber-like state.

"It's not even dented!" She stated, inspecting it for signs that Mia's attack had done anything at all.

"Try de-morphing." Jayden suggested. "See if that gets rid of it."

Mike and Kevin looked around to make sure no one was watching, before recalling their suits. They looked to each other, then to their wrists, before realising to their horror that the gunk was still there.

"OK, now we have a problem." Jayden stated as he shook his head in disbelief. "Alright, let's get back to the house. Maybe we can figure something out there."