The Samurai had been to the Wind Ninja Academy once before, but they hadn't had time to look around. They had come quickly to bring Serena home after a very serious run-in with Dayu. They didn't waste any time looking at the big Academy, the training grounds and the beautiful view, so this visit was like their first time.

Though Leanne's emblem on her uniform didn't belong to the Academy, all the students seemed to know her and followed her command without question. The Thunder and Wind Academies worked together a lot since the Ninja and Thunder Storm Rangers had fought together to protect the Earth from Lothor, and being Sensei Omino's daughter, and a somewhat sister to the now head of the Thunder Academy Hunter Bradley, Leanne had quite the authority over the students. She beckoned two ninjas away from training.

"We've got a broken fibula. Get Emily one of the wheelchairs from the…"

"No," Serena shook her head and used her glare to send the two students back to training. Serena took Emily from Mike's back, letting him rest for a while without setting Emily down. "She's not heavy."

"No wheelchairs," Antonio whispered to Leanne who seemed to nod in understanding. Cam and Emily had both shared what had happened when Serena had last been to the Academy and it only occurred to Leanne now that a wheelchair wasn't to be mentioned or seen by Serena.

"Sorry, my bad," Leanne said and then pointed down a trail, "Ninja Ops is down that way. The others are expecting you. I've got a few calls to make."

"You sound like Mentor," Mike chuckled. Leanne gave him a smile and then hurried off towards the Academy while Serena took the lead. She remembered the way to Ninja Ops and though she wasn't excited to see it again, she did want to be able to rest safely.

"Serena, are you okay?" Emily whispered in her sister's ear.

"I'm fine. Why?"

"You're tense. And given what happened last time you were here…"

"Stop talking, Emily."

"You hated being paralyzed and I get it. I know how places can scare you."

"This place doesn't scare me," Serena shook her head. Emily sighed.

"Serena, we've had this talk many times already. Lean on me."

"Later. Promise," Serena came to a stop in front of a wooden board on the floor. The Samurai gathered around it and stared, as if waiting for it to magically open. Serena rolled her eyes and kicked the door open with her foot. The Samurai gasped, but there was nothing to see but stairs.

"You guys are pathetic," Serena rolled her eyes and started to walk down. Mike was right behind her.

"Dude, Ninjas are ten times awesomer than Samurai! They have weapons and tricks, and they're trained, deadly assassins."

"Not assassins," a voice said and Serena recognized the voice as belonging to Shane, the Air Ninja and former red Ranger for his team. She tried to force a smile, knowing what had happened between her and the Ninjas had been a misunderstanding and was in the past, but she couldn't do it. The Wind Ninja Academy made her feel weak.

"And underground hideout! This place is so cool!" Emily was bouncing on Serena's back, testing her sister's strength as she looked around in awe, "We need an underground hideout!"

"And you've got one," Shane gestured around the room, "Until things settled down for you guys, you're more than welcome to stay here. Make yourselves at home."

"Riley! Don't touch that!" Mia had set Riley on her feet and already the little girl was pushing buttons on what looked to be a very complicated and very important computer. Shane chuckled and shook his head.

"Cam childproofed it before you got here. Dustin reminded us you had kids. Though I'm sure he mentioned a boy."

"Terran," Jayden pointed to the baby asleep in James' arm.

"You guys look tired. Why don't you rest for a bit? There are rooms in the back, and we've put a mini-fridge in the corner for snacks and drinks and stuff. If you need anything else, you're welcome to come upstairs. Everyone on the grounds is sworn to secrecy, and they know why you need to be hidden. Secret identities do kind of suck sometimes."

"Thank you… Shane, right?" Jayden asked, trying to remember the last time he had met the Ninjas.

"If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask."

"A bed," Mike was already headed for the backrooms, where he had been promised a place to sleep.

Lauren looked around Ninja Ops. She was a little tired, but excited more than anything. She had been to places like the Wind Ninja Academy before. Some of those places had been even more remote and even more impressive. But she had never gotten to stay and look around and enjoy herself. She usually spent her time training, unable to do any sightseeing.

"I'm going for a walk. We might be here for a while. It'll be nice to know our way around.

"I'll go with you," Jayden said, sharing the same feelings as Lauren. From time to time with Ji he had travelled, but they had never stayed anywhere long enough to enjoy it. It had mostly been business, and then back home before he missed too much training.

And any excuse to spend time with his sister was a good one. She had been so excited for New Years and it made Jayden happy to see her coming out of her shell a little more. He knew it was tough getting used to being part of a family.

"You guys look tired," Emily looked to Mia, Kevin, James, and Antonio and nodded her head to the backrooms, signalling to them behind Serena's back that she wanted some privacy with her sister. Antonio caught on to what Emily was saying. He yawned and pretended to stretch.

"I'm exhausted. I call biggest bedroom."

"No way!" Riley shouted and shoved her way past Antonio, "I get biggest bedroom! Mia, hurry up! He's going to steal it!"

"Coming, coming," Mia groaned as she, Kevin, Antonio, and Riley disappeared into the backrooms. James started to follow, but looked back to Serena.

"Are you okay?"

"Go find a room. Terran's tuckered out," Serena nodded. James was hesitant, but he left to see if the Ninjas had prepared a room with a crib.

Serena set Emily down on the table and asked her to lie still. They had traveled, and Emily had complained once or twice about her leg being sore. Serena removed the brace and then the bandages, hoping all the bouncing around on someone's back hadn't done any damage.

"Last time, you were lying on your back," Emily said. Serena shook her head.

"I know."

"It's okay to be scared."

"Don't move. This might sting a little bit," Serena reached into her bag, where she carried a first aid kit. Emily tried her best not to let the stinging get to her.

"Stupid bullet…"

"You know, you're supposed to avoid them, right?"

"Don't change the subject," Emily shook her head and looked to her sister, "I know how you feel. I was scared of Panorama City."

"I'm not scared of this place."

"Why don't I believe… OW! OW! OW! Serena, stop it! Ow! That hurts!"

"Sorry!" Serena moved her hands away from the wound and grumbled when it started to bleed, "Dammit! Sorry, Emy."

As she tried to work on fixing her mistake, Emily said up and grabbed her wrist, "You're preoccupied."

"Emy…"

"No. Stop. What are you thinking about? Why does this place and Leanne getting me a wheelchair bother you so much? Because I would kind of like not having to rely on piggy back rides to get around all the time."

"I felt vulnerable in the wheelchair, remember?"

"But you learned to kick butt! Remember?"

"That doesn't change the fact that I was vulnerable and scared and… this place just reminds me of that. Okay? Now can I treat you before you bleed to death?"

Emily nodded and lay back down, letting Serena get to work. She let out a sigh.

"Sorry we have to come here."

"Em…"

"I'm glad Riley's okay and stuff… but it's my fault. Those guys saw I used my Symbol Power and… they're jerks, but they aren't stupid. I guess they recognized me from… you know, last time I nearly blew my cover."

"Em, it's not your fault. You did a good thing. If it weren't for you…"

"Those guys wouldn't have shot at Riley if I wasn't there. They maybe would have pushed her around a bit and taken the money, but that's not as bad as this."

"Riley ran away. That's not your fault. You got her home, and thanks to you those guys didn't get away with all that money they stole. You should be a hero."

"Shouldn't we all? But we're here, underground, hiding from the world."

"It's not your fault," Serena shook her head, finished with Emily's leg and put her brace back on. She gave her sister a kiss on the forehead, "I'll talk to Leanne about that wheelchair, okay? Though, it's not hard getting around on crutches, you know."

"You can't pop a wheelie and make Antonio jealous on crutches," Emily gave Serena a little smile, "Thanks."