Emma was used to being in the woods by herself. However, this time it was different.

After another dream, Troy had the idea of having a team training lesson. He was worried about what would happen if, in a battle, one of the Rangers got hurt and thought it was a good idea to train for that possibility. Every other Ranger had pretended to be hurt or missing and now it was Emma's turn. Her story was that the Loogies had caught her off-guard and they had taken her somewhere the Rangers couldn't find her.

How it played out in training: The Rangers counted to a hundred while Emma hid. This was a big game of hide-and-seek, and Emma was bored with it already.

She had to keep low and so had been lying on the ground and looked up at the sky. The trees clouded her view, but she loved to look up and admire the leaves and listen to the singing birds. Her mind would wander off at times like these, leaving her in a state of complete peace.

Until she heard a twig crack. Nothing in her missing case said she had to pretend to be unconscious so without moving around too much she sat up and had a look around. She assumed one of her teammates was close to finding her and she would do what she could to help.

"Gia?" she called, assuming her best friend would find her first. Whenever she was in trouble she knew she could count on Gia. She didn't get a response.

Her heart started to race. Rarely did anyone venture this far out into the woods, and there had been one time Emma had been alone and she had run into one of the aliens she was now fighting against. She got lucky that time, as Gosei as summoned her and she had been teleported out of danger, but that wouldn't always be the case, and if the aliens were back and she was alone, she was in danger.

She stayed low but got to her feet. She crouched behind a bush and followed the trail of sound. All her time spent tracking animals for picture-taking or observation as developed her ear and she could pick up on sounds most people couldn't. More than that, she was better at locating a sound that most other people while also keeping quiet. Many of the animals she liked to observe were easily spooked and would run if they heard a twig snap and picked up on her scent.

But this was no monster. However, he was an animal. When Emma spotted who had come this far out into the woods she stood up straight. The bush she had been hiding in rustle and he turned to her.

"Emma?"

"You're back?" she glared at him. He nodded his head, rubbed the back of his neck, and shrugged slightly.

"Just in town for the weekend. Thought I would stop by for a visit."

"Who do you have to visit this far into the woods?" she asked.

"Didn't Gia love coming out here? You know, animal pictures and stuff like that?"

Emma rolled her eyes and scoffed, "You didn't even have the decency to get to know her, Cliff. Just get lost."

"Emma…"

"Fine, I'll get lost," Emma turned her back to Cliff and stormed off. She didn't get very far as he came after her, catching her wrist. He spun her around.

"I want to see her."

"She left," Emma pulled her wrist from his grasp and looked him in the eyes. "She told her parents about you and they moved to get her out of here. No one wants to see you again. Not after…"

"Where did she move to?"

"Angel Grove," Emma answered. Cliff put his hands in his pockets and sighed.

"That's… far."

"Not far enough for my taste," Emma muttered. She turned her back to Cliff one more time and managed to get far enough away from him.

Only not far enough before Gia emerged from the bushes looking a little tired but then relieved she managed to find Emma. Gia looked to her best friend with her arms crossed over her chest.

"You're supposed to be hurt."

Emma shrugged her shoulders, "Sorry… I uh… got bored."

Gia rolled her eyes and gave her friend a light tap on the arm, "You're it. Training's over. Troy promised to buy us all smoothies so…"

Emma's ears picked up on danger. It wasn't hard for Cliff to follow her trail, and the noise was coming from his direction. Not wanting Cliff to know Gia was anywhere in or near the city; Emma grabbed her best friend, covered her mouth with her hand so Gia wouldn't cry out in protest and pulled her into a thick bush. She had to pin her down to keep her quiet so she could listen to Cliff's footsteps. She needed to know when he was gone and far enough so he wouldn't hear Gia yelling at her, which given the way Gia was looking up at her, Emma was in for an earful.

Cliff walked right by the bush without a clue the girls were hiding inside. He spent some time looking around but eventually gave up and walked away. Emma waited for his footsteps to be gone and then waited a little longer. She let out a breath and let go of Gia. The yellow Ranger pushed her off and then shoved her again before getting up.

"What the hell was that?"

"I'm sorry, Gia, I…"

"No! Just… No!" Gia slapped away Emma's hand as the pink Ranger reached out to try to comfort her. She wouldn't have it, "I'm going home."

"AHA!" Jake, Troy, and Noah emerged from the bushes and smiled when they found Emma, but then noticed Gia running off. Jake looked to Gia's retreating figure curiously while Troy and Noah turned their attention to Emma.

"What happened?"

Emma sighed, "I thought I heard… a Loogie," she lied. "Ranger instincts haven't sunk in so I pulled Gia into the bushes to hide. I kind of had to pin her down. She didn't like it, obviously."

"Uh… okay," Jake turned to Emma, "Should we maybe…"

"I'll go after her," Emma said, "You guys go to Ernie's. Don't worry about it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Emma nodded and started to take off. She didn't want Gia getting too far. Not when Cliff was nearby. If the two ran into each other… Emma didn't want to imagine what would happen.

She took off and ran as fast as she could. She knew Gia was headed back to her house and Emma knew the path Gia would take. It was one of the perks of being best friends forever.

But instead of running into Gia, the path to Gia's house led her right back to Cliff. She stopped in her tracks and looked startled. Something Cliff picked up on right away.

"What's the rush?" he asked her. Emma tried to leave but he was just a little faster, catching her by the arm. When she tried to pull free, he grabbed her other arm and pulled her in closer. There was a smirk on his face. "Gia's not in Angel Grove, is she?"

"She moved out a year ago."

"You two keep in touch?"

"You're not seeing her."

"That should be her call to make. I want to see her. At least give me her number."

"Fine," Emma sighed dejectedly, "but I'll need my arms to write it."

"Fine," Cliff answered and he let her go. Emma wasted no time getting away, however Cliff had sharp reflexes. He grabbed her again but wasn't as gentle as before. He pulled her back and then shoved her into a tree. Emma needed a minute to catch her breath and when she did, she tried to run again. Cliff grabbed her again and punched her in the stomach. When she was down, he gave her one more kick to the ribs before turning away.

"Whatever. I'll find her myself," he muttered. Emma watched him walk away before she tried to get up to her feet. It was a task that seemed impossible as a sharp pain in her ribs caused her to drop back to the ground.

She tried to take a deep breath but it hurt too much and even more if she called out for help. It would be stupid to call for help anyways. Cliff would hear her and Emma wasn't ready for a round two.

She hoped there was never a round two.

Instead, she reached for her phone in her back pocket and decided to call one of the guys. If they were headed to Ernie's, they wouldn't pass this way and find her on their own, and Gia was likely long gone. Just as she was about to dial Troy's number, she heard the bushes rustling again. Thinking it was Cliff, she had to put the phone away, knowing he would be smart enough to know she had Gia's number in her phone.

"Emma?" the voice didn't belong to Cliff, but Gia. Emma looked over and tried to sit up as Gia rushed over to help. "What the hell…?"

"Loogies," Emma lied. Gia didn't need to know Cliff was in town. She didn't need to know Cliff had done this. With help from Gia, she got to her feet. "I thought you were mad at me."

"Yeah, and I still am, but that doesn't mean I'm going to let you get hurt… or stay hurt," Gia muttered. She let Emma lean on her as they started to head back, "About earlier… was that…"

"Loogie," Emma nodded. "Ranger instincts haven't set in yet. I guess my brain hasn't changed the flight to fight. I'm really sorry."

Gia had no reason to believe Emma would lie to her, "No, I'm sorry. I just…"

"Panicked."

"You don't just get over it, you know," Gia sighed. "Cliff, Mick, and Alex, that's what they did. They made me feel helpless and weak. I know you wouldn't hurt me."

"Never… ah," Emma hissed and had to stop moving. Gia lowered her down. She saw Emma clutching her ribs and so she moved her arm, lifted her shirt, and had a look for herself.

"They might be cracked," Gia said, "Do you want me to take you to the doctor's?"

"No… I'll be fine. If mom and dad find out, what'll I tell them?"

"Biking accident?"

"And have them tell me I can't go biking because it's too dangerous? Besides, the doctor will just tell me what you just did, and then I'll be told to rest and take pain medication. It's a waste."

"Alright… but let me know if it hurts too much or you have trouble breathing or… something," Gia helped Emma up once more as they started to walk back, "I guess I'm spending another night at your place."

"We'll order pizza," Emma said, "Make a movie night. Turn off our cell phones, hide out in my room and just watch movies all night."

"Yeah, sounds fun. After I check out your ribs, though."

"Yeah, naturally," Emma laughed and then regretted it. Gia looked at her with a shake of her head.

"Seriously? Loogies?"

"And how did you end up in the hospital again?"

"Shut up…"