Serena sat in the back of the van, pondering over what Storm had told her. The symbol hadn't done anything to change Emily's life. Instead, the symbol had changed Serena's, and that had a strong influence over Emily's life. Many of the mistakes Serena made when it came from Emily were all rooted to the same cause: her illness. Had she not gotten sick, she knew a lot wouldn't have happened the way it did, and assumed life would be better. Storm – or rather, the symbol – was giving her the chance to see if she did prefer a life without illness, or if she wanted to go back to reality. She had a few days to decide.

"You weren't kidding when you said you come from a small town," Mike had his nose pressed against the window as the van drove by wide open spaces. Serena knew it to be land for the farmers, but to the others, it was all nothing. There was nothing around.

Looking to the front, Serena watched all her friends, and was starting to pick up on littler differences in their personalities. It was amazing to see all the small things that were different without Emily, and how big an impact they made on the whole team dynamic.

Jayden was cold and distant. He had grown close to his team, but there was still somewhat of a wall between him and them. Serena couldn't exactly explain why, but assumed that without Emily's bubbly, always happy demeanour, and Antonio around to pull Jayden out of his shell, he stayed the same old Jayden Serena had always heard the others talk about.

Kevin hadn't changed too much in who he was, seeing as a lot of his personality came from his own growth and spending time around Mia, but his relationship with Mike was completely different. Without Emily as a common ground between the two, there seemed to be nothing to bring them together. Serena had heard that Kevin had been protective of Emily when he first heard Mike had a thing for her, and that he thought Mike wasn't good enough for her because Mike was a selfish, lazy, reckless, mess. Without Emily around, Mike never got the chance to show off his kind, warm, thoughtful self. He never got the chance to prove to Kevin that when he wanted to, he could get his head in the game and he could be one of the best Samurai the world had ever seen. Without Emily, Mike didn't have to try at all.

Without Emily, Mike was still the reckless, rebelling, green Samurai that pushed everyone's buttons. He did what he could to help, but that was it. When the going would get tough, Mike would get going. He had no reason to stay. Jayden was distant, Kevin didn't believe in him, and Mia wasn't as nurturing as she used to be.

Mia had change quite a bit, Serena had noticed. It seemed that without a little sister to look out for and guide at the start of her Samurai career, she was a lot more reserved before everyone except for Kevin. Though Mia did have a Ranger sister in Serena, it was much different than what she had with Emily because Serena was older, she was stronger, and she was a lot more confident. Unlike Emily, she hadn't needed to be taken under Mia's wing. Mia rarely felt the need to mommy the group, never bonded with any of the boys except for Kevin, and was withdrawn from all of them.

Had this just been an experiment for fun, Serena would try this out with each of the Samurai. What would Mike be like if Kevin never existed? What would Jayden do without Mia? Would Kevin be a better leader than Jayden? Would Mia feel completely useless on a team without a goofball like Mike for her to occasionally reel back in?

And where would Antonio be? Was it really just because of Emily that he was on the team, or was it a full effort bringing him in, and Emily's pep-talk was just an important part of that effort? It was all very interesting.

"You could try it out on everyone," Storm crawled up on Serena's lap. Serena had learned that while she could hear the dog speak, no one else could. To them, Storm was just a regular dog.

Serena jumped a little at Storm's voice. She was still getting used to the fact that Storm could read her thoughts. Then she shook her head and sighed. All she wanted now was to go home to her reality.

"It's not all bad," Storm insisted. "This team does work well together. You, Jayden, Kevin, and Mia are improving each and every day, and you're taking out Nighlok much faster than you did in the other world. Because you came, and you were so far ahead in your training, you forced the team to train harder and push themselves a lot harder than Emily did. At first, she held them back."

"Just shut up," Serena whispered.

"And your sister is safe and sound back home. With her parents keeping an eye on her. She's not in danger."

"Really, the team is no less happy than any other team was. They are friends. They do have fun together. It's just not as… family-like as you remember."

"Serena," Kevin looked into the rear-view mirror as the car came to a stop, coincidentally, at the busy stop sign Serena had compared the city intersection to right before Emily had gotten killed. Today there was no traffic, so she told Kevin to take a left and he went without any problems. No accidents, no stray pedestrians. Not even any stray livestock. No one died as he took a left.

"Alright, who farted?" Mia rolled down her window and plugged her nose, "Seriously, we're almost there, Mike. You couldn't wait?"

"Dude, I did not fart! That wasn't me!"

"It smells nasty," Kevin also had to roll down his window, "This is why I told you that stop at Taco Bell was a bad idea. But you insisted."

"For once, will you guys stop blaming me…"

"It's the manure," Serena said. "Someone just laid down manure."

"Manure is poop, right?" Jayden looked over his shoulder at Serena. She nodded her head.

"And it's excellent for plants. The earth has a way of taking care of itself. It feeds the animals, and then they feed the earth," Serena explained and then told Kevin to take a right.

The rest of the drive continued in near-silence, with only a few complaints of the smell. Finally, Kevin pulled onto Serena's family farm and stopped the van by her father's truck. The Rangers got out of the van and looked around in awe at the scene. Serena, meanwhile, looked around for her sister.

"Emily's out," she heard her mother say and turned around to see her coming from the house. She had her apron on, which meant she had been at work. While her father spent most of his days in the field, tending to the plants and animals, her mother usually worked in the house, cleaning, cooking, and taking care of the girls.

"CHICKENS!" Serena heard Storm shout and instantly the dog took off running, chasing the chickens like the hunter she was born to be.

"Don't kill them!" Serena called to Storm and then looked to her mother. Ellie did not seem very happy.

"I don't recall there being a big, final battle with the Nighlok," she said. "Why are there five Samurai Rangers on my property?"

"Serena needs some time at home," Jayden then went on to explain the accident that happened in Panorama city, and how it had shaken Serena up badly. When he told Ellie they brought her home for a few days so she could see Emily was okay, and the girl who had gotten hit only looked like her, Ellie invited them in. It was as good a reason as any for breaking the rules, and she would never turn her back on her daughter. When she said that, Serena scoffed. Then she remembered Terran didn't exist, and the fight between her and her mother had never happened. Ellie had never abandoned Serena or Emily.

"It's another good thing," Storm came back from chasing the chickens and walked beside Serena, "Emily will never know what it's like to have her mother abandon her."

Serena thought back to Emily's week of silence and remembered how tortured her sister had been. It was definitely a good thing.

"She also never met Frankie," Storm added, "And she never punched Howie. She never had to worry about losing you…"

"I'm a Samurai."

"You're the best samurai she's ever known. She's confident you'll come home. She's also never had to worry about Dekker, or Serrator, or Dayu."

"Yeah, yeah, I know life is better here…"

"I never said that," Storm shook her head; "I said those were good things. There's a difference."

"When the good here outweighs the good there, no it's not."

Ellie invited the Samurai to sit on the couches in the living room and then offered them a drink and something to eat. It was a long drive from the Shiba House and she would be damned if her guests didn't feel cared for.

"So, where is Emily?" Mia asked as she was handed a slice of apple pie. Serena could feel herself starting to salivate as she waited for her plate to come around. Based on the smell, her mother's apple pie was no different here than back home.

"She went out with a group of kids from her school."

Serena choked on her water as she drank it. Emily was hanging out with other kids? Emily had never been accepted by her friends, no matter how many times Serena had tried to intervene. She couldn't imagine how bad the bullying would have gotten if Serena had been cut from Emily's life completely. At least when she had been sick she had still been someone who Emily could talk to and ask for advice.

"A lot of things changed after you left," Ellie finally handed Serena her slice of pie. "Emily said she started getting along with the kids at school a lot more."

"Don't believe everything you hear," Storm muttered to Serena.

"I always told you, Serena, you've got to give Emily a chance to grow. She's flourished since you've left. All the kids in town are asking her out every night."

"So, she's out with her friends right now, and not hit by a car?" Kevin asked and then gave Mike a dirty look for holding his plate out and asked for seconds. The green Ranger had wolfed the pie down like he hadn't eaten in months.

"No," Ellie shook her head while she grabbed Mike's plate, more than happy to give him another piece. "You're in more danger of getting trampled by a herd of cowst than hit by a car when you're out here."

"Kids are idiots," Kevin was still staring at Mike.

Ellie shook her head again, "But the drivers here are not. Besides, it's rare kids ever need to cross the busy roads. Most just walk along the dirt paths until they reach town and there everyone's careful. As for the drivers, news spreads quickly around here, and you don't want your neighbours speaking poorly of you for hitting someone."

"What busy roads?" Mike looked up from his plate, "The most traffic we ran into here was when cows crossed the road, and given how slow they were going, I don't think anyone's in danger of being trampled by them."

"You would be surprised," Ellie chuckled. Then the door opened and all eyes turned to see who was coming into the house.

"I'm home!" Serena recognized Emily's voice immediately and jumped out of her seat. She raced across the house to meet up with Emily, who noticed her running and met her halfway. Emily jumped into Serena's arms and neither looked like they wanted to let the other go.

"See, Serena," Mia said as she and the other Samurai joined the girls in the kitchen, "Emily's safe and sound. It was Katie Stone you saw. Not your sister."

"What are you doing home?" Emily pulled away from Serena just a little bit to look at her. "You're supposed to be at the Shiba House."

"I came home to see you, squirt," Serena hugged her sister again. Though she knew the accident was no longer real, for her it was. Watching Emily die had hurt her, and getting her back again felt like a second chance.

"Serena can explain why she's home over dinner," Ellie said. "Emily, come help me set the table for our guests. Serena, why don't you show your team around the farm. I'm sure they would love a tour."