Riley poked at the splint on her arm and sighed. Not even the ice-cream at the table could make this day any better.

She was back at home with her Aunt Lauren and Uncle Jayden looking after her. Antonio and Kevin were still upstairs. Kevin couldn't show his face, too consumed by guilt and shame for what had happened. This time, his hurting Riley had been even less intentional. She had pushed him and then tripped over his feet. But she was the child, he had been put in charge of keeping her safe. The failure was his.

Riley, for obvious reasons, refused to talk to Kevin, look at Kevin, or even be in the same room as Kevin. She was convinced he was the meanest man around and wanted absolutely nothing to do with him.

"You're going to be fine," Lauren assured her as she brought a bag of peas back to Riley and placed it over her splint to cool her sprained wrist. "The doctor even gave you a pink one, to match your pink Ranger costume."

Riley sighed loudly again, "Why does Mia have to get married?"

"She loves Kevin," Jayden said with a little smile, hoping that would help cheery Riley up but she shook her head to tell him it wouldn't work. It would never work. Nothing about Kevin would ever make her happy or cheer her up.

"He's a meanie."

"He's a really nice person, actually," Lauren corrected Riley while trying to be as gentle as possible. "He's been nothing but nice to all your aunts and uncles…"

"You're not actually my aunt," Riley shook her head and let out a little groan, "My auntie is dead too. Mommy said she was very sick, and right before the monsters comed, mommy goed to see her to say goodbye."

"What was she sick with?" Jayden asked.

"Mommy said cancer," Riley took bite of her ice-cream and sighed again. For some reason, this ice-cream didn't taste the same. She moved her fingers and tried to get used to the splint. She was only four years old, but she had hurt herself before. Her visit to the emergency room hadn't been the first. It had been the third, and she had had less urgent injuries that her parents had taken care of outside of the hospital. She always remembered her mother wrapping her up warmly in her arms and snuggling her closely after she got hurt, when she was scared, or when she felt sick. Tears started to well up in Riley's eyes as it dawned on her she was never going to get one of those hugs again.

But instead of crying, Riley pushed her bowl of ice-cream off the table. The ice-cream hit the floor and the bowl shattered as Riley stormed out of the room angrily and jumped on the couch in the living room. There, she grabbed her pink Ranger teddy bear, hugged it to her chest and distracted herself with TV.

Jayden and Lauren both looked to each other. They knew exactly what was wrong with Riley. She was still grieving. Though Christmas had been a good distraction for her with all the presents and the excitement, it was over now, Riley was home, and she was back to playing her game of house with Mia and Kevin. It was back to her regular life, only without her parents and her brother.

"She's four years old," Lauren whispered to Jayden, "She's got no idea what to do anymore."

Jayden nodded his head and sighed. He remembered what it had been like after he had lost his father, and he had been older than Riley at the time. He didn't know what to say to Lauren, or what to do for Riley that could help. All he remembered was the grieving process had been quite painful.

Just then, the door opened. Mia had been looking at wedding venues just out of town when she got the call that Riley had been taken to the ER. She gotten the details in the car over the phone from Antonio and Kevin and she knew what happened, but it still didn't keep her mind from worrying the entire way.

And she looked the part. She was a frazzled mess as she rushed into the house and found Riley curled up on the couch. She saw the splint on her little hand and gently took the girl in her arms.

Riley wrapped her arms and legs around Mia and kept her close, "I don't want you to marry meanie Kevin."

"I'm sure it was an accident."

"No it wasn't," Riley shook her head before she buried it in Mia's shoulder, "Meanie Kevin hates me. I hate him. I don't want a new daddy. I want my mommy and my daddy!"

"I know you do," Mia said and rocked the girl in her arms. "I wish you could have them back too. But that's not going to happen."

"But I don't want meanie Kevin!"

"I'll take care of you," Mia promised, "And I'll talk to Kevin. We'll see if we can figure this out, okay?"

"No," Riley shook her head, "You can't leave me. Promise?"

"Pinky promise."

-Samurai-

It had been a long night for Jack as he spent every moment watching over Emily. It could have been the sleep deprivation acting up, but he swore the Symbol was doing the opposite of helping her. More and more Emily showed pained expressions, tossed and turned as she slept, and more bruises, cuts, and burns appeared on her skin.

He didn't want to leave her side, but he had to wake himself up. Slowly, he walked downstairs and made himself a coffee and sat down for breakfast. Eventually, Ellie joined him, awake early to get started on the farm work.

Jack heard her coming down the stairs and he looked up. He pounded his fists against the table and got to his feet, "Undo it."

"Jack, it's rough, but Emily's got to this for herself. If she's going to face her fears she's got see this through…"

"It's going to kill her!" Jack shouted and pointed upstairs to Emily's bedroom, "Have you seen her? Eleanor, any longer in this torture coma and we're going to lose her just like we almost lost Serena! This isn't working. You can't do this. Undo it!"

"I know it's hard," Ellie decided to do as he asked. She did want to check up on Emily. She knew she could expected to see something that would hurt her as a mother, but it was for the best in the long run. Emily needed to see she had done her best, she was stronger than she gave herself credit for, and she had already sacrificed more than enough for the city. This was the only way Ellie could think of doing it that would get through Emily's thick skull.

But she wasn't prepared for what she did see. Jack's eyes hadn't been deceiving him. More and more, Emily looked like she had after she had been in the final battle with Xandred. She was badly beaten, tossing and turning in pain, and from the looks of things, she was having trouble catching her breathe. Ellie hadn't expected Emily to be this stubborn. She thought that before it got to this point, Emily would have seen the point. She had underestimated her daughter's passion, strength, and stubbornness.

Jack came up behind her with his arms crossed, "Undo it…"

"This isn't something I can undo," Ellie shook her head, "Emily's in control. She's got to figure this out for herself."

There was a tone of panic in her voice with did nothing to comfort Jack. It only made his temper flare.

"What the hell did you do to her?" he growled.

"If I'm right, she's fighting Xandred again. She's supposed to see there is no way she could have saved everybody. She had to see that she did her best in that fight, and there was nothing she could do for the people who didn't make it."

"She's fighting Xandred?" Jack screamed. Had Ellie not been the muscle of the family, she would have feared her husband, but she knew she could take him and she knew he would never lose his temper enough to ever lay a hand on her.

However, there was no underestimating his fatherly instincts. He would protect his daughters, Emily especially, like a mother bear would protect her cubs.

"You sent her after Xandred? What made you think it was a good idea?"

"She was supposed to realize she couldn't save everyone…"

"We're talking about Emily!" Jack shouted, "The daughter who made us nurse a dying bird long after it sang its final note! The daughter who convinced us to keep that one-legged goat! You were expecting that daughter to give up trying to save people?"

"I…"

"Why is this hurting her so badly?"

"Symbol Power is complicated, Jack…"

"It's going to kill her!" Jack scooped Emily up in his arms and took her from the room in a dash. Ellie followed them and just barely made it into the passenger seat of the truck as Jack drove off. There was no hospital in town. The closest one was in Panorama City which was still three hours away.

But Jack sped off the property and down the dirt road. He wasn't sure what the hospital could do for Emily when it was Symbol Power that was hurting her so much, but he sure as hell wasn't going to leave her in Ellie's care anymore.

"Jack…"

"Shut up, Eleanor. I know you meant well but you have to think before you act! Everything you do affects this family! Using Symbols, running away, it's all got to stop."

Ellie sunk into her seat and looked out the window. The car was zooming down the road and Ellie was sure Jack had doubled the speed limit, at the very least.

She had tried, and she had meant well. She was sure that if Emily did wake up soon, everything would work itself out, but Jack was right. She had screwed up.

In the backseat, Emily let out a pained groan. In her dream, she had just been blasted into a wall before she fell and hit the ground. She had convinced herself that this would be the last run. In this final battle, not a single civilian had died, and she knew that because of Xandred's anger and frustration. After convincing her team she was calling the shots, and placing herself strategically in time to evacuate the entire city and hide those who refused to leave, she had managed to keep the people safe.

Now it was just a matter of keeping her friends safe. To do that, she couldn't let them take a single hit. If she had learned anything from repeating this dream so many times, it was that anything could lead to death. A momentary distraction or a simple wound could mark the end.

So Emily took every hit and used her passion to win to keep herself going. As she picked herself up, she saw Xandred charging towards her friends.

"Earth Slicer!" she launched her Shuriken across the battlefield and it cut between Xandred and Lauren, slicing the king of the Nighlok so Lauren could get away. The other Rangers then blasted Xandred with Symbol Power and they managed to knock him down.

But like Emily, nothing could keep him down for long. He gave up his quest on destroying the red Rangers and turned his attention to Emily. Though it was her dream, Xandred could also learn, and he had come to realize that if he wanted to be able to touch the other Rangers, he was going to have to go through yellow.

A fireball ripped through the sky and crashed down on top of Emily. She felt the flames through her suit and it burned at her skin, but she had already faced that dream and came out of it alive. Knowing fire could only hurt her if she let it, she pushed down her fear, brushed off the ashes and got to her feet again.

But it was too late. She took a moment too long to get up and Mike did as he always did. He jumped in front of her to protect her as Xandred tried to seize this opportunity to destroy her. Emily watched and let out a scream as Xandred's sword pierced Mike through the chest and killed him instantly. He removed the sword and was instantly under attack by the other Samurai.

Emily ripped off what was left of her helmet and pulled Mike into her arms, "Please don't do this. I'm trying so hard. The city's safe, you just need to be safe too."

Mike didn't answer her. He couldn't answer her. He was dead.

With the back of her hand, Emily wiped her eyes and watched as her friends finished Xandred off. Killing Mike was the straw that broke the camel's back for the team as they let Xandred feel their fury.

You have to look on the positive side. Sure, Riley's parents and her brother are dead, but thanks to us, Riley's not. "Thanks to us, kids all around the world still have their whole lives ahead of them. They can be doctors or lawyers or clowns or CEOs or teachers or…"

"I get it," Emily whispered as Mike's words rang in her head and she hugged him closer. "I did everything I could, over and over again, and I still couldn't do it. I couldn't save everyone. I did my best… that's all I can ask for. I get it, Mike. I get it! Wake up!"

"Emily? Emily, can you hear me?"

Her world went black for a moment but she blinked it away and was suddenly blinded by light and she could hear a voice. It sounded like her father's voice. She continued to blink, finding it hard to keep her eyes open with all the light.

"Shh," her father's voice said reassuringly and a rough, but gentle hand touched her cheek. It was her father's hand. He was right beside her, leaning over her even. She couldn't see just yet but she knew.

"Daddy?"

"You're okay… SHUT UP, ASSHOLE!" her father's voice was louder than the horn honking at him and Emily realized she was on the road. Her eyes finally adjusted to the light and she could keep them open long enough to look around. She was in the back of her parent's trunk, and her father had left her side to yell at the car behind them who continued to honk.

Ellie climbed into the back seat and leaned over Emily, "I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I thought it would work."

Emily sat up and threw herself into her mother's arms, hugging her tightly, "I couldn't save them."

"I know, Em, and I know it hurts but…"

"I get it, mom. I really do. I couldn't save them. I tried, and I tried, and I did everything. Nothing worked. I did my very best. I know I did."

Ellie hugged her daughter and let out a deep sigh of relief. At the very least, the risky Symbol had done what Ellie needed it to do, making the risk worth it, but now Emily wasn't the only one who had learned a lesson. Never again was Ellie using powerful Symbols on her daughters or anyone, no matter how confident she was it would all work out.

"We can go home and talk about it," Ellie assured Emily and helped her to sit up. Emily shook her head.

"Mike? Where's Mike?"

"He's in Panorama," Ellie flicked her thumb over the shoulder. Jack had stopped the car when Ellie noticed Emily was starting to come to, and they had stopped just at the border of Panorama City. Unsure of what her daughter wanted, or how she would react to being back in the city, Ellie didn't want to tell her.

"I want to see Mike. Where are we? Can I go home?"

"To Panorama?"

Emily nodded her head, "I can do it. I think I can. I need to see him, mom. I need to make sure he's okay."

"He's okay?" Ellie asked and then shook her head. She wouldn't question it. She just helped Emily sit up straight, got her seat belt on her so it was comfortable and wouldn't hurt her, and then hopped out of the truck.

"Jack," she called to her husband as she pulled him away from the driver who had rudely been honking at Jack for blocking the road, despite Jack having shouted how sick his daughter was. The driver, now terrified, seemed very thankful Ellie had come to take the big, scary farmer away.

"She wants to go home."

"Of course she does. She's probably traumatized after what you did…"

"Maybe. Most likely. But she wants to see Mike."

"He's welcome to visit…"

"We're going to visit."

"What?"

"It worked."

"Don't think this gives you any rights to say I told you so," Jack shook his head and climbed into the driver's seat of the truck. He looked over his shoulder and saw Emily leaning against the window looking like she was ready to pass out again, "Where to, sweetheart?"

"I need to see Mike. I don't care if he's in Panorama. I have to make sure he's okay."

"Whatever you say," Jack said to her comfortingly and then glared to wife, "You, call Ji and explain everything. I want him at the house to make sure none of Emily's injuries are too bad."

Ellie nodded her head and pulled out her cell phone as Jack started the truck and drove down the street and into Panorama City. Emily looked out through the window. She could feel her stomach turning and could still see some ghosts haunting her in this dead town, but it wasn't as bad as she thought. She had done everything she could. It was unfortunate the people had to die or get hurt. It was unfortunate so many had to suffer, but she had done her part. She and the other Samurai, as well as all the generations before them had sacrificed more than anyone should. If she wanted to continue helping, there was more she could do, but she no longer felt the guilt or the obligation to keep fighting for the city.

After a half hour drive, Emily recognized Serena and James' house, and stumbled out of the truck before her dad could fully stop the vehicle. She raced inside the house, limping slightly as she did and called Mike's name.

"What the…?" Mike came down the stairs, unable to believe his eyes. He had only just left Emily on the farm, convinced she wouldn't be coming back to him anytime soon.

Emily leapt in his arms and hugged him tight. He caught her and had to double take, seeing all the cuts, bruises and burns on her body.

"Em, what happened? Are you okay?"

Emily buried her face in Mike's neck, "We did it. We saved the world. We did our best and it worked!"

"Yeah, Em, but what happened to you. Why are you…?"

"I get it, Mike," she put hand behind his neck and pulled him in for a kiss, "I finally get it!"

"Okay, but are you…?"

"I'm really tired," Emily's excitement finally settled. She continued to hold Mike, not wanting to let him go, but rested her head on his shoulder, "I've had about eighteen years' worth of war crammed into a day."

Mike held her up but walked to the living room and sat down on the couch. He kept her in his arms and rubbed her back soothingly until she fell asleep in his arms. It didn't take her very long. Just as she passed out, her parents walked into the room. Mike gave them both a glare.

"What did you do to her?" he gestured to the cuts, bruises, and burns on her body.

Ellie started to back away slowly, "Alright, can we all agree that it did work out in the end? And the reward was certainly worth the risk?"

"No," but Jack and Mike answered.

Ellie took Emily's Samuraizer out of her pocket and set it down, "What if I promise to never ever touch that thing again."

"It's a start," Jack muttered.