It was very obvious now that there was something they needed to address. Emily had lied to everyone about her life, and if she thought she had to lie about something so serious, the Samurai all wanted to know why.

But first, there was something else that needed dealing with. Once Emily was calmed down enough, Serena asked the other Rangers to take her away, both for Emily's sake, and to keep the identity of the other Rangers a secret. Serena had planned on revealing her secret to the teens that were tormenting Emily, but she knew her face was a lot more comfortable and trustworthy than the face of the yellow Ranger. She was Emily's hero, not the yellow Samurai.

"Serena…"

"Go with them, Storm," Serena shooed the dog away. She didn't care what life she was in. No one bullied her baby sister. No one put her life in danger.

When Storm was gone, the teens all jumped to their feet and raced over to Serena. With the exception of her helmet, she was still in her Ranger uniform, thus reinforcing the fact that the teens weren't dreaming. The town's IT girl had moved on to bigger and better things. She was a hero know nationwide, and perhaps even worldwide.

"You just went so high up on the cool scale!" Stephanie grabbed Serena's arm, feeling the spandex suit and bragging to her friends that she was the first of them to touch a Samurai Ranger. Serena muttered to herself and the grabbed Stephanie's wrist in a tight grip, warning the teen to let her go and back away slowly. Stephanie just looked up at Serena. "It's me, remember? You and my sister were best friends in elementary."

"You were friends with all out older siblings," Alexandra nodded her head, "and you were always so nice to us when you came over? Remember that? Remember us?"

Serena shoved the girls away and then gave all the teens a dirty look.

"If any of you ever think of hurt my baby sister in any way, the next monster I defeat will be you."

"C'mon, Serena. We were all just having a little fun…"

Serena turned to the boy talking, Brian, and stepped up so their faces were inches apart. She was just a little shorter, but she was so much more intimidating, even without the yellow spandex.

"I don't like your face," Serena said to him, "I trust you the least. Stay away from my sister."

"Serena…"

Serena shook her head and held up her hand, cutting them all off. Then she pulled out her phone. She did remember all of them, and the unfortunate part of living in a small town was she knew all their families by name, and she remembered how to reach them. Well, it was unfortunate for them. Serena loved every minute of what was coming up next. She pulled out her Samuraizer, which acted like a cell phone when the Rangers needed it to, and started dialling the number of their houses. If she didn't reach their parents or an authority figure, she left a message on the answering machine. When the phone calls were done, the kids all had their jaws on the ground.

"You ratted us out? We thought you were cool!"

"If I find out you were anywhere near my sister…" Serena let out a frustrated cry and then shoved Brian backwards, "Just stay away from her."

"But…"

"And not a word to anyone about who I am."

"But…"

Serena grabbed Brian's shirt and lifted him up off his feet. All her years of uninterrupted training made her very strong. Brian tried to squirm away, but he was suspended up in the air and Serena showed no signs of putting him down.

"What did I say?"

"Not a word about who you are," Brian replied fearfully. Serena nodded and set him down on the ground. Then she smoothed out his shirt and gave him a pat on the head.

"Good. Now your parents are waiting for you at home. Go."

"But…"

"GO!" Serena screamed and the kids took off running. Serena breathed a frustrated sigh, powered down, and followed the kids down the cliffs so she could find her sister and the other Samurai. When she finally found them, they were in the old field Serena and Emily used to play in when they were younger. Emily saw Serena and ran into her arms. Serena hugged her close and sat down in the grass.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Mia's nurturing side was coming back. She sat down right next to Emily and was looking her over for any injuries. Emily tried to pull away, but it was already too late. Mia had rolled up her sleeves and there was nothing but black and blue where her arm was supposed to be. Serena gasped when Mia showed her the bruises.

"Emily!"

"Farm work. I…"

"Don't you dare lie to me again," Serena shook her head, "It was those kids, right?"

"They don't do it on purpose. I just… I bruise like a peach… you just touch me and…"

"Emily, stop it," Serena grabbed Emily's other arm. She saw her little sister wince and already her suspicions had been confirmed, but she wanted to see it for herself. She rolled up Emily's sleeves and to her horror she saw more bruises. "You're only protecting them by lying, Emily. Do they hurt you?"

Emily nodded her head, "Just when I don't listen to them… or when I start crying…"

"How can you let people do this to you?' Kevin asked her. "Don't you have more respect for yourself than that?"

Mia punched him hard in the chest, "Maybe she says stupid things like a certain blue Samurai."

Kevin rubbed his chest and groaned, "That's exactly what I mean. She's a Samurai…"

"I'm the family Samurai," Serena shook her head, "Emily wasn't trained to fight."

"Mom taught me a bit," Emily looked down at her hands, "but I gave up on her lessons a long time ago. What's the point, right?"

"Self-defence?" Jayden rolled his eyes. Serena wanted to hit him but she controlled herself and kept her focus on Emily.

"Kevin was a little rude about it, but he does have a point. You're better than this, Emily. Why do you let them hit you and boss you around like that?"

"I'm not better than them," Emily shook her head. "You just have to say that because you're my sister."

"I'm not your sister," Mia looked at Emily warmly, "And I think you're better than them."

"You're my sister's friend," Emily pushed herself to her feet, "I just want to go home."

"Emily, stay here and talk to us," Serena reached up and grabbed Emily's arm. Emily ripped herself away but Serena made one more attempt. She grabbed the back of Emily's shirt. Her pull lowered the collar, exposing the top of Emily's back. There were more bruises. Instead of saying anything, Serena just let go and Emily walked off. Serena hugged her knees to her chest. The bruises were everywhere.

Storm climbed up into Serena's arms, pretending to cuddle with her but really she wanted to talk.

"On the bright side, Emily doesn't feel like she has to protect you from Dekker. She also doesn't have to worry Dayu will…"

"Shut up," Serena shoved the dog away and started to head off in the opposite direction of home. The Samurai weren't too sure where to go next, but common sense and experience told them to leave an angry Serena alone, so they followed Emily to find their way back to the house. Once there, Ellie and Jack gave them an odd look.

"You kids wouldn't happen to know why the town is calling and apologizing for Emily, would you?" Jack asked and he held the phone tightly in his hand.

"Or why Emily just stormed upstairs to her room?" Ellie added.

"Emily's had a rough day," Mia said quickly, before the boys could tell the parents what really happened. It wasn't their place to give the worried parents the news.

-Samurai-

Several hours later, long after dinner, Serena was making her way back to the house. She got inside without anyone hearing and she tip-toed upstairs.

Having never fallen ill, Serena had no reason to move out of hers and Emily's bedroom and was still sharing a space with her sister. Serena could hear the chatter downstairs as her parents entertained the Samurai, but knowing the day Emily had had, she could assume her sister wasn't having fun with them.

Serena opened the door and then knocked. Emily was on her bed with her face buried into her pillow. She had changed her clothes, choosing something a bit more summer appropriate and allowing Serena to see bruises collected on Emily's arms, legs, and back. Seeing them all at once nearly made Serena sick to her stomach.

Serena sat down on the bed and gently placed her hand on Emily's back, "Emy, why didn't you tell mom and dad…?"

"Do you really think it's that easy? Their firstborn is the best yellow Samurai in generations! I'm just the flop."

"They love you, Emily, no matter what you are," Serena gently stroked her hair, "but you are not a flop."

"I just… couldn't talk to them."

"Why not?"

"I didn't want to disappoint them. I didn't want to disappoint you. Before you left you told me I had to stay strong so I did, but I couldn't hold it. They just got meaner and meaner that… well, if you can't beat them…"

"Join them," Serena sighed. "Emily, no one deserves to be treated that way."

"People have treated me that way my whole life. You're the pretty one. You're the popular one. You're super smart, super talented, and you always do everything right."

"Sometimes, Emy, I screw up pretty badly."

"You never do. You've never made a bad mistake. If you do make a mistake, you always learn from it right away and it makes you better. I'm just the screw up," Emily sat up and looked right at Serena, like she was about to say something but then stopped and turned away.

"What?" Serena asked, hoping to pull it out of her. Emily just breathed a heavy sigh.

"Sometimes, I wish I could take your place. I wish I could be the cool, Samurai Ranger. I know I would be no good at it, but your friends all seem nice, especially Mia and… don't tell anyone but Mike's kind of cute. They wouldn't pick on me, would they?"

Serena shook her head and she could feel the pieces of her heart slowly falling off. In this world, Emily wanted what she already had in Serena's home world. She wanted to be the yellow Samurai.

"It's not all it's cracked up to be," Serena tried to warn her. "The Nighlok come after you and they try to kill you. They hurt the people you care about… it's torture…"

"I just spent the day carrying a bag full of rocks up a cliff, and then hanging off the side of it while my so-called friends laugh at me. Every day I meet up with them and pay for their snacks, their meals, their tickets, whatever they want. Then they make me sit around like a loser and…"

"And…"

"And… well… I entertain them."

"Em…"

"Not like that!" Emily quickly blurted out. "They just make me do embarrassing stuff, you know. Stuff that'll make them laugh. The other day, I had to dress up like a dog and… well, let's just say Mr. Davis doesn't like stray dogs running around on his farm."

"Mr. Davis has a dog."

"That's why he doesn't like strays. The guys made me drink out of the dog's water bowl while they took pictures. They said it was funny."

"Emily…" Serena wrapped her arms around her sister.

"When I got caught, Mr. Davis couldn't recognize me, and apparently, from where he was standing, my costume was very real. So he pulled out the shotgun and…"

"He shot you?"

"At me," Emily nodded. "I jumped to my feet and ran, and that's when he saw I was just a stupid teenager and he let me run away. My friends didn't like how I didn't stay in character. So they told me I was a bad dog and trained me to walk like one. Whenever I complained or tried to get up they hit and pushed me back down."

"Emily…"

"My legs are from when they kick at my knees to try to make me trip into lakes or the dirt. My arms are from when they grab me or if I try to leave. Then they push and shove me all the time. Their favourite game is blindfolding me and having me do stuff. Last time they made me walk into stuff. Other times they push me around so I keep falling over. They do anything they want, really."

"And there's no one around to help you? The neighbours, the other people in town, they…"

"They used to ask questions. If I said too much, they would tell the guys to knock it off, but it was my word against theirs so no one really did anything about it. Then the guys would be mad at me."

"You mentioned a boyfriend last night…"

"Brian," Emily sighed heavily again, "He's not actually my boyfriend. I just tell mom and dad that so they leave me alone. But we do make out. Stephanie watches."

"She does? Doesn't she…?"

"Brian is her boyfriend, but Brian likes to… have a little fun. Stephanie lets him mess around with me. They both enjoy it, and they don't consider it to be wrong."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm not pretty enough to be considered a threat. Even Brian says so. He just puts up with me because he likes to mix things up, but doesn't want to deal with the drama of having two real girlfriends."

Emily lay back down in her bed, "I'm tired, Serena. Can we just talk about this tomorrow?"

Serena nodded her head. She didn't want to leave, but she didn't think she could hear anymore. She had no idea anyone's life could be so miserable just by having things work out as it was all originally planned. It seemed that without Serena's support, without true friends, and without the confidence that came from finding her own family, Emily was completely vulnerable and miserable. Without the yellow Ranger's responsibilities as her calling, Emily really had nothing to work for. She was too small to take over the farm by herself, and though she had gotten into a college, it wasn't a big time college; just a community college for the kids of the small town who didn't want to venture too far from their homelands.

"I'm so sorry, Emy," Serena whispered and kissed her cheek, "I love you."

"I love you too," Emily muttered and pulled the blanket over her head to try to get some sleep. Serena turned to the door and walked out of the room, quietly making sure the door closed so Emily could have some privacy. Just as she turned around, Mike came up the stairs with a plate of apple pie. Serena was instantly jealous. It seemed she had missed the evening serving.

"You're home?" Mike asked when he saw her and then shook his head. It was a stupid question. Obviously she was home. He gestured to the plate in his hands, "I would have brought up two if I had known."

"She's kind of tired," Serena whispered, "She's had a rough day."

"She's probably tired of this pie anyways," Mike shrugged his shoulders and then started to chuckle, "Who am I kidding? This is freaking amazing. I could eat this for the rest of my life and never get bored."

Mike walked past Serena and reached for the doorknob. Serena grabbed his wrist.

"What are you doing?"

"Cheering her up," Mike gestured to the plate, "This pie is freaking magic, Serena. I'm sure it'll work."

Serena was about to suggest Mike take it back downstairs but stopped herself. Storm had mentioned that what was meant to be will be, and Emily had just confessed she thought Mike was cute – which basically meant she had a crush on him. Serena also knew the kind of person Mike was around Emily. If she couldn't cheer her up, Mike could at least give it a shot.

"Go for it," Serena nodded her head.

Mike gave her a little smile and then stepped into Emily's room with the pie. It was dark so he turned on the light. Emily groaned in protest and thinking Serena had told her parents what happened, she buried herself deeper into the blankets and grumbled for her parents to leave.

"They scare me too," Mike chuckled as he approached the bed with the pie. "I mean, I don't know which one is scarier. Your lumberjack of a father, or Samurai mother."

Emily poked her head out from under the blankets and looked up at Mike nervously, "What are you doing here?"

"I thought I would cheer you up with some pie," Mike placed the plate down on Emily's bed. She sat up and looked at the pie hesitantly. Serena had promised the Samurai were nice, but after the day she had had with her own friends, she felt she had a right to be a little hesitant. Deciding a Samurai could be trusted, Emily reached for the plate. Mike, for the first time, got a full view of the bruising on her arms and chest. Tears stung his eyes. He hadn't known Emily for long, but Serena spoke of her constantly, and from what he had seen at the dinner table the night before, Emily was exactly who Mike thought she was.

No, he was wrong. She was better. She had been so sweet and kind, and very excited to meet the Samurai. She had been polite and even laughed at his jokes when no one else would. And to top it all off, she was cute. His friends back home would be jealous if he showed them a picture of her.

So to see her hurt pained him. She didn't deserve this, "Sorry you had to go through that, Em."

Emily looked down at her bruises, "These aren't that bad. Physical pain only last so long. Sticks and stones."

"You don't deserve this."

"According to my friends…"

"Those jerks aren't your friends. I've been a bit of a dick, but I never would have made my friends climb a mountain. I wouldn't have done that to my worst enemy. Unless, you know, it was a Nighlok. But if we're talking humans, then that's different."

Emily bit her lip nervously, "They told me if I did it, I would be one of them. If I'm one of them, they'll stop picking on me…"

"Why do you want to be one of them?" Mike looked Emily in the eye and then scratched the back of his neck and stared at her forehead. He was nervous as well, "You're so much better than they are."

"How do you know? We've only known each other for a day."

"I just know. And Serena talks about you all the time. From what I've seen, and what I've heard, and from what I can tell, you're a really beautiful person, Emily. Inside and out. The only thing that makes you ugly is those people you hang out with."

"You… you think I'm beautiful?" Emily was blushing but she managed to make eye contact with Mike and locked it. Mike found he couldn't look away. He was also blushing.

"Well, yeah. Of course you are. I mean… look at you."

"You're just saying that," Emily finally looked away and Mike could breathe again. This was harder than he thought, but there was a little smile on her face, so it was worth it.

He decided to just go for it. She needed the encouragement, and it wasn't like he was lying to her. So he leaned over and kissed her cheek.

Then he got up, reminded her that the apple pie was amazing and hurried out of the room. Emily sat in her bed and touched her cheek. She kissed a boy before, so this wasn't her first, but it was the first time a guy had shown any interest in her. She finished up the pie with a smile on her face, and then set the plate aside so she could lie down. Just when she thought she would end her day on a positive note, her cell phone beeped. She had a text message from Brian. She reached out hesitantly and looked at it.

Y didn't u tell me ur sis was a ranger?

Emily rolled her eyes, You can't tell anyone.

BTW we're meeting up 2morrow the pond B4 sunrise.

What are we doing?

U got us all in trouble, fucking crybaby. U know better. Bring the Mask.

Okay… sorry…

U better b. Just remember what happens if u dont show. Sissy wont always b around 2 protect u.

Emily didn't respond after that. She turned her phone off and tucked it away in her night table. She didn't want to go meet up with Brian and the others, but she didn't really have a choice. Though Serena and the Samurai were here now, they eventually needed to go back. Emily wouldn't be safe from her friends once they were gone, and her punishment would only be worse.