Troy slammed into the wall behind him and groaned loudly. He sunk to the floor and rubbed the back of his head.
"Ow…"
"You're lucky," Jayden told him, "If I were a real bad guy, you'd be doomed," Jayden tossed a bottle of water to his student, letting him know he was getting a five minute break. Troy grumbled.
"I don't get it," he said. "When I practice at home I can do this perfectly. When I fight against you…"
"Training and a real battle are different. Here, when you tire, I let you take breaks, and honestly, I'm holding back. In a real battle, against monsters or bad guys or whatever's attacking you, they aren't going to take you into account. War is dirty."
"When am I ever going to be caught up in a war?" Troy chugged his water down and looked to his sensei.
"You never know," Jayden answered. "I'll bet the people who used to live here never thought they would have to face the monsters themselves. But that final battle proved otherwise."
"Yeah… the Rangers did good, though," Troy said. He got to his feet and looked to Jayden curiously, "Look, can I talk to you about something?"
"Sure, have a seat," Jayden and Troy walked to Antonio's kitchenette. Antonio was out for the day catching and selling fish so the two men had the dojo to themselves until Lauren and Riley showed up. It was plenty of time and space for Jayden and Troy to talk.
"You know how Panorama City's the latest city to be hit by a series of monster attacks. Ocean Bluff before that, and San Angeles…"
"Yeah, I've heard of the other places. Why?"
"Well, you know how there's always a team of Power Rangers or whatever that fights them off. Lately, more often than usual, I dream about those teams."
"Really?" Jayden frowned. He had never heard of that before. From time to time he had dreams of the Samurai Rangers, but he knew those were drawn from his life. They were anxiety dreams about what would happen if he failed, or involved his friends just in general because they were people in his life.
"Yeah, and it's not just like, crazy-fan boy dreams either. It's… these dreams feel different, and they're happening more and more. The other day, I had a dream of a bunch of red Rangers, all from different teams, fighting evil on the moon. Is that even possible?"
Jayden shrugged his shoulders. He had never heard of it, but he wasn't about to dismiss anything Troy was saying.
"And more often than not, I get these dreams of the Samurai Rangers. The red ones – both of them."
Now Jayden was really intrigued. He leaned in slightly, "Really?"
"Last night, I saw the girl drawing a Chinese symbol or something and hitting that big, bad monster that tried to take over the city."
"Japanese," Jayden corrected which earned him a look from Troy. He shrugged his shoulders, "Sorry, I know a little Japanese and… doesn't matter, you were saying."
"These dreams feel real. Some of them feel like memories and others feel like… like they're going to happen. More and more I dream of a team I've never even heard about. The Mega… I don't know. They're just… I don't know what to do about them. Have you ever had weird dreams like these? I mean, it's not like I'm a big Power Ranger fanatic. I've heard of them, sure, and when those monsters were attacking the city I kept an eye on the news all the time, but… I'm not obsessed. And my dreams… they're always focused on the red guy. Why red? It's not like I've got anything in common with those red guys, right? They're the leaders and I'm not exactly leader material, am I?"
"You never know what you're made of until it's time for you to dig deep," Jayden said, "I never thought I was strong enough to be a leader. One day, I found myself in that role and I learned to embrace it. You've got to have faith in yourself. Working with your team doesn't hurt, either."
"Okay, but what about my dreams?"
"I don't know, Troy. Maybe you need to pay attention to them. Your mind could be telling you something important."
"Really?"
"Or you could just be going bananas," Jayden chuckled. "We'll hope it's the former."
"Yeah."
The bell rang to alert the boys someone was coming in. Lauren had finally arrived with Riley in tow. It was Riley's first time in the dojo and because the work on the inside was finally done it was an amazing sight for her. Riley dropped her bag and started running around.
"Whoa! This place is so cool!"
Jayden put his hand on Troy's shoulder, "If you need to talk again, you know I'm here for you."
"Thanks, Sensei Jayden," Troy smiled. He got up and bowed respectfully to Lauren, "I hope you don't mind, I showed up a little early."
-Samurai-
Serena was upstairs, helping Emily pack. Mike, James, and Kevin's parents were downstairs loading some of the heavier things into the car.
Emily and Mike had agreed to move. With the month of February free of rent, they wanted to try living on their own for as long as possible. They had made a deal with Kevin's parents that was sure to help them get on their feet eventually, and would give them a place to stay while they saved up enough money for the future.
Doing that meant moving as much of their stuff over as possible. The bigger furniture pieces, like the babies' crib, was going to stay until Mike and Emily made their final decision, but everyone insisted their temporary home feel like home.
"I know you want to be independent," Serena looked to her sister as she taped a box shut, "but for the next few weeks, when Mike and I are at work, can you come by and help James with Terran."
Emily looked a little offended, "Serena, I can take care of myself…"
"I know, I know. I'm not doubting that," Serena said, "It's just… after last night. Until you get this anemia under control, if you pass out and no one's due to come home for hours… you're going to be alone."
"I guess it would be really scary, but… can James and Terran come to my place? You'll have to pick Mike up anyways to get to school. It'll be easier, right?"
"Alright. I'll talk to James about it. I'm going to miss you, you know."
"Miss having your little sister mooch off you every night and day? Yeah, right. It was bound to get old…"
"I love you, Emily," Serena kissed her sister's forehead and then picked up a box. She carried it down the stairs, leaving Emily with her own box. The yellow Ranger smiled, grabbed the box and raced after her sister.
"You know, you're not getting rid of me this easily," she teased. "I'll find ways to annoy you, even from a different house. You're going to wish I moved out of the country!"
Emily passed Serena and raced outside. She walked by Mike and gave him a bright smile, "That's everything for now."
"Awesome," Mike said. He turned to Christina and Patrick, "Mind showing us the place so we can get settled?"
"Storm! Come on!" Emily called the small dog who raced out quickly and jumped into Emily's arms.
Serena put her box in the trunk and closed it as Patrick, Christina, Mike, and Emily piled into the van and slowly they pulled out of the driveway. Serena watched them leave and felt tears stinging her eyes.
"They'll be back," James chuckled as he came over and wrapped an arm around his wife. "You heard Emily, we're not getting rid of her that easily. I say we pack up and get the hell out of dodge. That's the only way we're going to…"
Serena nestled into James' arms, buried her face in his chest and started to cry. James hugged her tightly.
"She's twenty minutes away. She's going to be fine. You always say it, you're sister's tougher than you are."
James led Serena back inside and had her sit on the couch. He turned on the TV to distract her and then went upstairs to check on Terran.
As he walked to the boy's room, he passed Mike and Emily's old bedroom. Most of the furniture was still there, but the room looked bear. All of Mike and Emily's belongings were gone from the room.
Downstairs, the TV couldn't distract Serena. Her sister was gone – moved out possibly forever and living on her own. It was the strangest feeling, and left Serena very unsettled.
Suddenly, the front door flew open and a blur dashed through the house and jumped on Serena on the couch.
"I love you too," Emily told Serena before getting off her. She gave her sister a smile then walked back out again.
Serena was still unsettled, but she knew it would be okay.