Cliff drove his car to an older part of town – a dirty part of town. He had dropped out of college and decided to come back to Harwood County to find Gia, take her back, and they would stay at the house he bought. No matter how much Gia protested in the car, saying she didn't want to be with him, saying she wanted to go home, Cliff knew what she really wanted.

He stopped the car at an older, run-down home. He didn't have much money on him, so this was all he could afford to rent. It had all he needed and he didn't mind that some of the walls were cracked and the appliances were likely older than he was. As long as they worked, he was okay.

He got out of the car, closed the door and walked around to help Gia out. She was frozen in her seat. He had to pull her out. She tumbled on the driveway at his feet.

"Get up," he grabbed her arm, pulled her up, and then held the back of her neck and walked her towards the house.

"Cliff…"

"No one was as good as you, babe," Cliff leaned over and gave Gia a kiss. When she turned her cheek, Cliff squeezed her neck tightly.

"Like you mean it."

Gia kissed him back. When he was satisfied, he opened the door and pushed her inside, "We've got a lot of catching up to do."

Across the street, standing right in plain sight and watching was Serena. She had followed the couple using her Samuraizer and a Symbol that tracked them, and never let the car out of the sights. When Cliff pulled up into the driveway of a house, she decided to watch from there. If possible, she wanted Cliff to know someone was coming for Gia, but it seemed he was too caught up in his own world.

And it seemed if Gia wouldn't do what he wanted, she was in for a world of pain.

"Guys like you disgust me," Serena muttered. She put her Samuraizer to her ear, "Ji, your friends…"

"On their way. What do you need them to do?"

"Surround the house and watch my back. When I go in, I want to know I've got back-up in case I need it."

"Serena, how dangerous is this kid? You're four months pregnant, you shouldn't…"

"I need to do this, Ji," Serena insisted. "If I'm working with Gia for a while, which it looks like I will be after this, I need her to trust me."

"Some trust exercise."

"I know what I'm doing."

"Make sure you do. We don't need another screw up."

"Ha-ha… good one…" Serena rolled her eyes and hung up, "I'm good at my job…"

-Megaforce-

Though Emma's rage was strong, her search for her best friend was looking dead. Harwood County was a big place, and Gia and Cliff could be anywhere – separate or together. Emma knew that the more time that passed the more Gia would need her help. Cliff was dangerous, and it he got the chance, he would destroy her all over again. That was how he liked his women: weak.

She and Jordan walked to the park, where Noah, Jake, and Troy were already waiting for them after their own failed search. Each of the boys looked almost as worried as Emma.

"Nothing?" Jake asked.

"I've tried calling her, but it goes straight to voicemail," Emma said, "There's got to be a way to find her. I mean… he can't just take her away, right?"

Jordan wrapped his arm around Emma and he pulled her in closer. Emma was very thankful she had Jordan, especially at a time like now. Though she had no idea what she would do if anything happened to Gia – if anything came between them – she knew she could count on Jordan. She knew he would stay by her. She leaned into him, asking him to hold her a little closer. He did. Emma felt a little better, but the first thought on her mind was Gia.

Noah had taken to sitting on the park bench and worked on his laptop. He had been looking for a way to find Gia, either by tapping into the city's cameras or by tracking her cell phone, neither of which had panned out. So instead, he tried something different. Instead, he had chosen to work on finding the signal of her morpher, and tracking her that way. The morpher was a communication device, and so it had to give off some kind of signal.

Fortunately, it did. Noah pulled up a map of the city and saw one dot over a house in the older part of a town. A part the kids rarely ventured to because there was nothing there. The people were mean and the stores were too run down to be cool or to sell anything of interest to teens.

"I might have her," Noah took down the address and then closed his laptop. He put it back in his bag and then smiled up at his team.

"Where is she?" Jake asked. Noah handed his best friend the address.

"I'm getting a signal from her morpher from this house. It could be slightly off, and she may have been separated from her morpher but… Emma, is everything okay?"

"She's with Cliff," Emma's face was white as a sheet, "She… she has no reason to go there… she… she's with him." She had considered this possibility, but now that it was actually real, now that her friend was actually in trouble, and had been for a while, Emma was terrified.

"She's fine," Jordan assured her with a gentle squeeze, "Gia's a tough girl."

Emma shook her head. She took the address from Jake and started to run. The boys followed her.

-Megaforce-

Gia was on the couch. Cliff was on top of her. He was kissing her and touching her, and as of now, doing what he could to unhook her bra. It seemed he was still bad at that.

His touch felt like sandpaper. His touch made her feel dirty. Gia did what he expected from her, but her eyes were wide open and looking around for something she could use to defend herself. Her fists weren't enough. She had tried and failed, and earned herself a black eye and a spank on the butt. She still hurt. He still knew how to humiliate her.

"Why don't we take this up to the bedroom?" Cliff asked her between kisses but Gia knew it was a demand. He was not to be defied. His weight came off her and then he grabbed her and pulled her up. He wrapped one arm around her to insure she wouldn't go anywhere, and then Gia felt his hand slipping down her back, into her pants. Fear came over her and she pushed him away. Cliff grabbed her arm to steady himself and then he pushed back. He pushed her into the wall and then punched her in the stomach. Gia doubled over in pain and fell to her knees.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Cliff shouted. He grabbed her hair, pulled her up, and then shoved her into the stairs, "Get upstairs!"

Gia did as she was told, only faster. She ran up the stairs and into the nearest bedroom. She closed the door and could see it had no lock. Cliff would come in, he would come after her, and if she wasn't where he wanted her, he would throw another fit.

Gia glanced over to the bed, took a step forward and then heard a voice in her head, "You're better than this, Gia."

It was hard to believe. Bad things like this kept happening to her. It had started with Cliff, and then came the stares that wouldn't stop. The thoughts in people's minds. No one gave up. No one took no for an answer. Not from her. This was all she was. A prize to be won. The whole school saw her that way. Cliff saw her that way.

Cliff came into the room, saw Gia wasn't on the bed like he had asked and he was furious. He stormed over to her. Fear kicked in again. Gia pulled away. Cliff managed to snag her arm, pulled her back, punched her in the stomach, and then when she fell down, he put his foot on her head.

"You and I have a bit of a problem," he pushed down on her head and then moved his foot away. Gia got up on all fours, so Cliff kicked her.

"Get on the bed!" he shouted. He knelt beside her, "Get up!"

"Stop it!"

He got back to his feet and had a look around the room. He saw an old wooden child's chair in the corner of the room. He picked it up and launched it at Gia.

He had been the quarter back on the high school football team. When he threw anything, it went exactly where it needed to go. Gia had been on her knees, trying to get up either to run or get on the bed, when the chair hit her and knocked her down. It broke apart when it hit the floor, so Cliff looked around for something else.

"I said get up!"

-Megaforce-

Serena stood across the street and glared at the house. Ji's friends needed to come faster.

Finally, cars came down from both sides of the street, and when they stopped, a group of men and women came out. They wore jackets, all of which bared the Shiba Family crest on the shoulder.

"Took you long enough!" Serena cried and ran towards the house. She had no idea what was going on inside and wasn't sure how much time Gia could afford. She didn't know Cliff. She didn't know what he wanted, and how long he would wait for it. Some men were patient, some were quick tempered. When Serena reached the door she tried it, and wasn't surprised to find it was locked. It took her a minute to pull out her Samuraizer. In that minute, she heard glass shatter and a scream. She turned around as a body hit the ground.

"Fuck!" Serena ran on the lawn and dropped down beside Gia.

Cliff stumbled out of the house, saw Gia on the ground, and seemed somewhat shocked. He stumbled slightly as he took to the streets.

"Don't let him go!" Serena screamed to Ji's friends who chased after him. Some ran, others went for their cars. If Cliff tried anything, they would be able to follow.

But as he reached the end of the street, Cliff was knocked off his feet. A weight landed on top of him and suddenly he was punched in the face – several times.

"You hurt her, didn't you?" Emma screamed. She grabbed Cliff's collar, lifted him from the ground and then slammed him down again. There was some blood on his shirt and some on his hands. Emma noticed when he grabbed her wrists to try and get her off. It was either his blood, but Emma knew it was more likely Gia's.

When Cliff didn't answer her, Emma pulled her fist away to ready herself for another punch. Cliff deserved it. Someone grabbed her wrist before she could bring her hand down. Someone else grabbed her and pulled her away. As she was lifted from Cliff, two men grabbed him, rolled him to his stomach and then pulled his hands behind his back. They were secured there with handcuffs.

Jake watched as Jordan and Troy tried to hold Emma back. Naturally, the pink Ranger wanted to take matters in her own hands. Cliff deserved to be punished, and Emma wanted to be the one to make sure he got exactly what he deserved. A few punches to the face didn't seem like enough.

So Jake had a look around. If Cliff was here, and Gia's signal had come from a house on this street, she had to be nearby and she had to be scared. Emma had told him what Cliff had already done to Gia and he was sure that an older, stronger Cliff would only be worse.

He saw someone lying on the lawn in front of one of the houses. The blond hair, black boots, and yellow shirt were giveaways. While the boys took care of Emma, and the police, or whoever the men and women were who were taking Cliff away, dealt with him, Jake ran to Gia. He fell down beside her and the woman looking over her.

He was careful as he reached out to her. Gia had made it clear before Cliff's return that she wasn't comfortable with the stares, the looks, and the touches. Jake had managed to wrap his arm around her comfortingly a couple of times, but he doubts this would be a time to push his luck. However, she wasn't conscious.

"She fell," Serena explained, hoping this kid was a friend and not another Cliff. "I've called for the ambulance already."

"The… the ambulance?" Jake had ridden with Gia in and ambulance once before, but only when he was sure she would be okay. She had lost consciousness briefly, but had been awake for the entire ride over to the hospital, and joking with him after the doctors cleaned her up. This time, he wasn't sure what had happened to her, and the woman looking over her seemed to have a worried look on her face.

"I've seen this before," Serena told Jake as she very gently inspected Gia's head. There were bruises and cuts, and Gia looked a lot like the Rangers after they got out of a nasty fight against the Nighlok. She hoped the younger girl had as tough a head as a Samurai. She had certainly been stubborn for as long as Serena had known her. "If we get her checked out fast enough, she'll be fine. Don't worry."

The ambulance pulled up on the street. Jake could only watch as Serena helped the paramedics get Gia in the car. Then Serena turned to him.

"I have my guesses about what happened," she said, "but do you know exactly what Cliff's capable of?"

Jake shook his head fearfully. Emma had shared with him and the others what Cliff had done in the past, so he had an idea, but he couldn't get in the ambulance this time. This time felt bad."

Fortunately, Emma's attention shifted away from trying to avenge Gia and over to the ambulance one she heard the sirens. She ran into the back of the truck and sat down beside her best friend. Serena recognized Emma. They had met at the school. She was Gia's best friend.

When the doors closed, the ambulance sped off. Jake sat on the grass and watched, completely terrified. Anything could happened. He had been told his grandmother, his aunt, and his cousins would be okay, but they had died.

Noah and the boys came over. The blue Ranger put his hand on his best friend's shoulder.

"Emma said we could wait at her place. She'll call when something happens."

Noah helped Jake up on his feet, and kept a comforting hand on his shoulder as they walked off. Jordan and Troy looked to each other sadly. The men had taken Cliff away and had promised it would be a long time before he was seen again. That left the red Ranger and Jordan alone in the yard.

"So…"

"I want to check out the house," Troy said as he walked inside. He found Gia's backpack sitting in the hallway and picked it up. Then he walked up the stairs. Jordan followed him around.

"He beat her up. The doctors will see the bruises, Gia's babysitter will be a witness, and he'll be locked up. What do we need?"

Troy had a look around the bedroom with the broken window. He could tell the fight had taken place here. Gia had struggled. Cliff didn't like it. By the state of the room, with the broken or overturned furniture, it was obvious what Cliff did when he didn't like something.

"I got it," Troy gestured to Gia's bag and then they walked out of the house.

"Some guys are real jerks," Jordan muttered as he walked with Troy. The red Ranger nodded his head.

"Some people think they're better than everyone else. Some people think they can always get their way."

"I knew this kind of stuff happened all the time," Jordan said, "but I never really thought. I mean… Gia's always been tough. Sure, Mick and Alex got in, but she was drunk or whatever, right?"

"You really never know," Troy nodded. "I was bullied when I was younger."

"No way," Jordan shook his head, "Aren't you, like, a black belt?"

"Now. Let's just go home."