The team makes its way back to the Shiba House. During the walk, Antonio notices that Tracy is still on edge despite the victory. He walks over to her and places his hand on her shoulder. As she leaps back and descends towards the ground, he swiftly reaches out and catches her wrist, gently pulling her back towards him.
"Thanks for the save," Tracy says.
"You're welcome, angelfish. What's wrong? You still seem a bit jumpy," Antonio says, concern evident in his voice.
"I'm furious with myself for not being able to discern the imposter," Tracy admits, her voice tinged with self-reproach.
Mike looks at Tracy with a puzzled expression. "I don't get it, Tracy. Why are you so upset about not being able to pick out the clone of Ashley from the real one? It's not like anyone could have easily done that."
Tracy sighs, her frustration evident. "I know, Mike, but I should have been able to figure it out. Ashley is my best friend, and I feel like I let her down by being unable to tell the difference."
Mike shook his head, trying to reassure her. "Tracy, it's not your fault. The situation was complicated, and even I couldn't tell them apart. You're being too hard on yourself."
Tracy's disappointment in herself is like a heavy cloud, casting a shadow over her. 'I know, but I just can't shake this feeling of disappointment in myself. I'll repeat myself: Ashley and I are best friends; I should have thought of something," Tracy snaps, as she yanks her hand away and flees from the team, her footsteps echoing in the silence.
"Why did she just run off? I was trying to make her feel better," Mike says.
"She knows that dude, but Tracy is overwhelmed. That battle had to be very stressful for her," Chris says.
"Chris is right, Mike. She needs some space to cool down." Jayden says.
"So, who is going to go after her?" Ashley asks.
'I'll go after her unless you want to, Ashley. I think she needs her best friend right now,' Antonio says, his voice filled with understanding and concern for Tracy.
"It's okay, Antonio. You can go. I'll head back to the Shiba house with the others, " Ashley says.
Antonio runs off to try to catch up with Tracy. After he is far enough away, Chris notices that Mike suddenly looks frustrated, and jealousy rises in him.
"Mike, what's up, dude? You are acting weird. I mean, first, you tried to set up my sister and Antonio, and now you get jealous and frustrated when he ran off to go find her," Chris says.
"I'm not jealous, dude; I just know they'll end up hanging out together after this," Mike says.
"Are Tracy and Antonio dating?" Ashley asks.
"Not yet, Ashley, but they will soon," Chris says.
Emily notices Mike's uneasiness as he ponders Tracy and Antonio getting closer and becoming more than just teammates and friends. Emily decides to distract him. She leans closer and whispers in his ear, "You know, jealousy doesn't suit you, Mike. I much prefer your charming smile." She flashes him a playful grin, hoping to lighten the mood. "Besides, you and I make a much better team."
Chris shakes his head, watching Emily walk away, and realizes that Mike is blind to what happened. Ashley tries not to bust a gut laughing, and she quickly walks away from the group to get a few down the path. Chris runs to catch up with her.
"So, how long has Emily and Mike been a thing?" Ashley asks.
"Not too long, but I'm not even sure Mike knows that Emily likes him," Chris says.
"Typical guy behavior," Ashley says, shaking her head.
Tracy finds a quiet spot in Spring Valley and sits by the water, trying to gather her thoughts. As she watches the ripples in the water, she hears someone walk up and then smiles, seeing Antonio's reflection in the water.
"Is it okay if I sit here?" Antonio asks.
"Sure, there is plenty of space," Tracy replies.
"You know running away wasn't the best way to deal with your frustration," Antonio says.
"I know, but I let my best friend down; instead of helping her, I just froze," Tracy says.
Antonio gently places his hand on Tracy's shoulder, prompting her to turn her head and look at him. He tries to reassure her that the situation would have stressed and overwhelmed anyone, speaking with a comforting tone and understanding expression. Tracy stands back up. She knows Antonio is right. However, as she tries to regain her balance, her foot slips, and she splashes into the water.
"Angelfish, are you okay?" Antonio asks, holding out his hand.
"Yes. I'm fine. I'm a good swimmer," Tracy smirks, "The water's great. You should see for yourself," Tracy continues as she playfully pulls him into the water.
"What's so funny?" Antonio asks, trying to suppress a smile as he wipes the water from his face.
"I can't believe you let me do that, but you do look even cuter with wet hair," Tracy flirts, teasing Antonio with a mischievous smile.
"Oh, really, you do, too," Antonio says.
Tracy's first thought as she swims away is, "Why does being around Antonio make me feel so happy and act like a fool? I don't hate it; I like it."
As she exits the water, Tracy feels her friendship bracelet slide off her wrist and hears a tiny splash as it falls into the water. A few seconds later, she sees a Spanish Water Dog jump out of the bush and dive into the water. It comes back up with the bracelet in its mouth and swims over to Tracy. After shaking off, it walks over to Tracy and sets the bracelet down in front of her feet.
"Hey, boy, where did you come from? Thank you for getting my bracelet," Tracy says, picking up her bracelet.
"Hey, Angelfish, this is the second random puppy to show up today. Is this why Ashley calls you T-dawg?" Antonio asks.
"Kind of, but I think this was just a coincidence," Tracy says.
"Does this little guy have a name?" Antonio asks.
"It doesn't look like it. This cute little guy doesn't have a collar either; we should call the animal shelter, " Tracy says.
Antonio takes out his morpher and dials the number to Panorama Oasis Animal Shelter. He hands his morpher to her.
"Panorama Oasis Animal Shelter, this is Carlos, how can I help you?" Carlos says.
"Hi, Carlos. Do you know if any family is happening to be looking for a beige Spanish Water dog?" Tracy replies.
"You've met Dulce; he isn't a family pet. That friendly, cute pup is actually up for adoption. He and his best friend Thunder, a border collie puppy, escaped from the adoption fair earlier this morning," Carlos says.
Back at the Shiba House, the border collie puppy that helped the team pick out the real Ashley, followed the group back. Ji is picking tomatoes from the garden when he spots the pup in Ashley's arms.
"Hey, guys, it looks like you found Thunder," Ji says.
"So, this cute fella does have a name after all," Ashley says.
"Yes," Ji says as he walks over to them and pets Thunder on the head. "My friend Carlos runs the local shelter. He called me to tell me the Thunder and his best friend Dulce ran away from the adoption event he was hosting this morning," Ji says.
"I bet Tracy found Dulce," Ashley chuckles as the group enters the house and sits in the living room.
Ji goes to the kitchen to get a bowl of water for Thunder. After the Samurai mentor places the bowl on the floor next to Ashley's chair, Thunder jumps off Ashley's lap and happily laps up the water.
"So, Ashley, why do you call Tracy T-dawg?" Mike asks.
"Honestly, there isn't a reason behind it; I called her that one day in third grade, and the name just stuck," Ashley says.
"So, why are you so late?" Kevin asks.
"I didn't know how to get to the Shiba House," Ashley says.
"Okay, but why couldn't you attend Tracy's father's funeral? I thought you grew up in the same neighborhood," Ji asks.
"We did, but the summer before we entered high school, my parents decided we needed to move to a different city. It was so early in the morning I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to my best friend." Ashley says.
"When did Tracy find out?" Mia asks.
"I tried to text her, but I never got a response," Ashley says.
"Sorry, Ashley. We were visiting our Aunt Elena and Uncle Matias. They live on a farm, so there isn't good cell service," Chris says.
The group looks down at Thunder and sees the puppy happily wagging his tail. They hear the faint clicking sound as Dulce walks down the hall. Dulce happily barks then jumps down and runs over to Thunder. The two puppies start to play with one another.
"Hey, great timing, you two," Jayden says as he greets Tracy and Antonio as they walk into the room.
"Why is your hair wet?" Ji asks.
"Yeah," Tracy blushes, "We went for a quick swim at Spring Valley,"
"You two should change before we talk some more," JI says.
They nod and go to their room to change. When the duo returns, Tracy notices only one chair left as they walk into the living room.
"You can sit in the chair. I'm okay with sitting on the floor," Tracy says.
"Or we could share," Antonio says.
"I guess we could," Tracy blushes.
They go over to the chair; Antonio sits down first, and he gently pulls her to him. Tracy blushes more when she realizes when Antonio offers to share, he means that he wants her to sit in his lap.
"So, Ashley, if you met in kindergarten, did you ever argue about who was the cute one?" Mike asks.
"No," Ashley says.
"She right we never did, but we did joke about it whenever we went through the pics of us when we were kids," Tracy says.
"T-dawg, did you go to prom?" Ashely asks.
"No, my boyfriend Miles broke up with me at school the day before the dance," Tracy says.
"What was the jerk's reason for breaking up with you?" Ashley asks.
"I didn't look Latina enough for him since my skin tone is super light," Tracy says.
"That boy will be shocked if he ever visits Mexico," Antonio says.
"Why?" Mike asks.
"Because our ancestors were Spaniards, Africans and Taino, and we have skin tones ranging from dark to light and everything in between," Chris says.
"Ashley, do you know how the nighlok made that copy off you," Jayden asks, changing the subject.
"No, sorry, I don't; it all happened too fast," Ashley says.
The team spends the next few minutes developing different strategies for fighting the nighlok. Tracy quickly makes her way to the gap sensor on the wall in the hallway outside her room, determined to silence it. Now that the gap sensor is silenced, she hits the button and moves on to the next task. Opening the city map, Tracy pinpoints where the nighlok would likely attack next. With a resolute expression, she takes her Samuraizer out of her pocket, quietly returns to her room, and sneaks through the window. Once outside, she draws a symbol in the dirt; after she finishes the last stoke, she stops her foot, and then several giant walls surround the Shiba house.
"Lo siento, chicos, I'm sorry guys, I have to do this alone; I can't risk freezing up again if the nighlok uses its special power again," Tracy says.
Tracy took off at full speed, determined to confront the Nighlok alone. She knew the danger ahead, but her determination to protect her new friends, best friend, and older brother burned within her. As she raced towards the Nighlok's location, her resolve was unyielding, ready to face the upcoming challenge.
Mia was in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on a delicious lunch for everyone. Ashley walks out the front door to see a colossal wall of ice, "Hey guys, you need to come see this," she says.
"Why would Tracy create a gigantic ice wall around the house?" Emily asks.
"She must have ventured off to locate that nighlok to confront it alone," Chris says, concerned about his little sister's well-being.
"Why would Tracy do something so reckless?" Kevin asks with a hint of worry, clearly unsettled by the situation.
"She did feel guilty about freezing up earlier," Ashley adds.
"I did tell her that she shouldn't beat herself up about that since anyone would have gotten overwhelmed being put in that situation," Antonio adds.
"Tracy knows you were right before Antonio, but if she feels like she has made a mistake, she'll do what she believes is the right thing to correct it," Chris says.
Tracy arrives at the location where the map says the nighlok is, but she doesn't find the one they fought earlier; it is different. The one she and the others encountered earlier had the muscular body of a leopard, its fur patterned with vibrant rosettes. Its tail is a long, menacing scorpion's tail, tipped with a venomous stinger. It has a human face like this one does, but the other nighlok's face retained a predatory expression with sharp eyes, while this one has a fearsome expression. This creature combines the powerful body of a lion with a muscular build and a mane that radiates strength. Its tail is a scorpion's tail, ending in a deadly stinger.
"So, Silver Ranger, you've met my brother Doppelganger. I'm Mimic," Mimic says.
"Mimic, I'm not here to fight you or doubt whether you and Doppelganger are truly related, so why don't you just go back to the nether world," Tracy says.
"That's not going to happen, ranger," Mimic says.