A/N: The hiatus is over! I'm back from the con, and just setting up for the remainder of the season (which is now only a couple of weeks away! Yay!). Expect my main storyline to re-start then, but until then, here's a little something to keep the background stories going. Hope you like it.

Legal: I do not own Power Rangers or the associated names, characters, events etc. Anything not owned by the above rights is to be presumed to be the invention of the author.

Rating: T – may be some mild adult themes.

Mentor Ji, Serena and the Rangers all found themselves re-appearing in the yard of the Shiba House after a couple of days. After the recent trial they had been set by the Shogun, they had all been rewarded for their success. Not only had they had their powers returned to them, they had all received a kind of reward of their own. Since meeting the RPM Rangers, they already knew that other dimensions existed, but they were completely taken aback by what they found when they were taken to another.

"Morphicon was freaking awesome!" Mike exclaimed, hopping around excitedly. "Man, that was so sweet!"

"Yeah, I can't believe we're a TV show over there." Antonio stated. "Still, it's good to get home."

"Yes, it is!" Kevin agreed, grabbing Mike and holding him down. "Now maybe we can take the lesson we learned about taking our powers for granted and get back to training?"

"Lighten up Kevin, you geeked out just as much as we did." Mia giggled.

"I did not!" He protested. Emily just grabbed his backpack off his shoulder and ran away from him.

"Oh, so what's this then?" She asked him. "One Samurai Megazord sighned by...Najee...what a surprise, you!"

She threw the bag to Mike, turning it into a game of keep-away as Kevin almost caught her. Mike pulled out something and laughed.

"A Blue Ranger action figure...also signed by you!" He teased him. As Kevin ran towards him, he looked around, seeing Antonio gesturing to be next. Antonio caught the bag, and pulled out a poster.

"Aw...and look at this, a poster...also signed by you." He stated, beginning to read. "Live by the code of the Samurai, and always..."

Kevin tackled him as he got distracted, and finally took back his possessions. He started to walk away a little sheepishly.

"You're just sore that your actor wasn't there." Kevin muttered.

"Hey, neither was Mentor's." Antonio reminded him, pointing to Ji. Mentor Ji just sighed and shook his head.

"We all had a good time, but I feel that perhaps Kevin is right. This was our reward for learning not to take our powers for granted." He told them. "I suggest you put your souvenirs away and get ready for training. We will begin in ten minutes."

Serena brushed past all of them briskly. Of all of them, she was the only one that hadn't enjoyed herself. It was torture being forced to share a hotel with the others after what had happened between her and Terry. They hadn't had a chance to talk about it since then, and so the weekend had largely been spent finding excuses to not be around the others, especially Terry. Jayden and Ji just looked to each other, then back to the path Serena had taken.

"What is with her?" Jayden asked. "She's been like that all weekend."

"Um..." Terry started to stammer. The others quickly rallied around him. They had all tried in vain to get Serena to talk to them about what she had done. In the end though, Serena could be stubborn when she wanted to be, especially when it came to keeping pain to herself. "I...I..."

"I guess she's still a little shaken up from that last attack." Mia offered as an explanation. "The Grand Shogun didn't exactly hold back on her."

"She will no doubt come to us in time." Ji sighed, shaking his head. "Trying to make Serena talk when she doesn't want to is as pointless as trying to smash a boulder."

As they walked away, Mike pulled another poster out of his own bag.

"You know what I still think is crazy?" He asked. "Dekker used to be a Power Ranger! How weird is that?"

"It would make things a lot easier if he was on our side." Emily remarked. "When this is over, we so have to go to Turtle Cove and find that Cole guy."

As they left, all extremely happy with their reward, and ready to get started on training, Ji couldn't help being grateful for this trial. Although the Rangers were a huge deal in Panorama City, having their own merchandise, appearing on billboards, and even rumours of a movie being green-lit based on them meaning that they knew how much people appreciated them, it wasn't really the same. Because of their secret identities, at times they were denied the opportunity to get that gratitude face-to-face. Now, they knew there was a place where they had a very real and dedicated fanbase. More than a few people who assumed they were cos-players with a very good likeness to the actors that played them had posed for pictures with them and taken autographs, which they were happy to sign. Even Ji, it appeared, had his fans.

He opened up his cell phone and dialled, smiling as he saw it ringing. He knew they had been gone a couple of days in the other dimension, he could only presume that he had been away a couple of days here too.

"Brenda." He greeted her. "I'm sorry I haven't been in contact."

He loved to hear her voice. Knowing his secret, she knew that sometimes it wasn't possible for him to check in with her, meaning that there were sometimes nerve-wracking times when all she had to go on was whatever limited information the news had on Ranger battles, which as a result of Ji's friends in the media, often wasn't much.

"I'm fine, we all are. In fact, I have some tales to tell you that are hard to believe." He told her. "However, right now, I just want to know how the two of you are."

In another part of town, Spike came down the stairs. He was enjoying his last days of freedom, and long lies before he began his Junior Year in High School. He already knew that he had a lot of work to look forward to, and so he and his friends were starting to gear up for it. All except for Cody and Jimmy, who missed no opportunity to remind them that they still had another year before they needed to worry about exams that could shape their future.

He got into the kitchen, where his uncle was busy preparing him an omelette. He smiled as he saw Spike.

"Hey there, I was just about to call you." He told him.

"You know the smell of eggs is better than any alarm clock." Spike reminded him, grabbing a plate from the cupboard.

"So, are you ready for the career fair?" He asked him. Spike just groaned. "Spike, you agreed..."

"I know, I know, it's just...School starts next week." Spike tried to explain.

"That's exactly why you should go." Bulk stated emphatically. "Look, I know it doesn't seem like it now, but the decisions you make now could really affect the decisions you can make when it comes to your career. Two years seems like a long time, but by the time the exams and everything start piling up, you'll find yourself out in the world before you know it."

"I know, I've heard this speech from my guidance counsellor." Spike groaned. "And mom, and dad, and my teachers, and..."

"I know, I felt the same way at your age." Bulk sighed, reaching over and patting him on the shoulder. "Things worked out for me and your dad, but seriously, it wasn't easy. Do you know how many careers I had to try before we got that restaurant?"

"Let's see, junior police officer, private detective, alien hunter..."

"That was more of a vocation, we didn't actually get paid." Bulk reminded him, remembering his embarrassing time with the professor. It was just one of many mistakes he'd made in his youth.

"Then you were a barman on Terra Venture." Spike stated. "All that before coming home to start Bulkmeyers."

"Maybe if I'd thought a bit more about it when I was your age, I'd have had more options and not had to rely on fate." Bulk told him. "You've seen my diploma, it's more like confirmation of attendance."

Spike just nodded weakly. It wasn't something he brought up often. Things had worked out well for Bulk and his dad. They had been fortunate with some of the things that had happened to them, and while they now both had money, Bulk enough to retire and spend his time looking after Spike while Skull furthered his other business interests, they were both well aware of exactly how fortunate they had been given how little they had cared for their education. It was something that they had both drilled into Spike from an early age, driving him to concentrate as much on his school work as he could.

"You know, I have heard from a little birdie that you were considering following your mom's footsteps." Bulk told him. "And since Panorama doesn't have a Junior Police Service for you to join, don't you think it might be worth talking to someone at the Police Academy's booth to find out what they look for in recruits?"

"You know I always hate it when you make sense." Spike replied. "Alright, I'll go, but let me call my friends first. Maybe it won't be so boring if they're going."

"Yeah, it must be a whole...eight hours since you saw them." Bulk chuckled. "Go ahead and make the call."

Spike went into the hall, after shovelling more omelette into his mouth, and headed into the hall to start calling around his friends. Bulk just smiled. He had never had kids of his own, and in many ways he always satisfied that side of his life, living through Spike. He couldn't believe how much he had grown, and he was proud to be a part of helping him become a man and find his way in the world.

The Rangers were training hard, making up for lost time, determined to ensure that their lesson was not learned in vain. None of them knew how long it would be until Serrator came back, not to mention Dekker. As they were training, Brenda came into the yard. Ji saw her and started to make his way over, leaving them to their hard work. Seeing her again, he couldn't help greeting her with a long, warm kiss and hold her to him. She was slowly starting to make her way into the third month of her pregnancy, and was just beginning to show, something that delighted Ji to see. He had already seen a scan, but now he was starting to see the change in her, it finally all seemed real. He was going to be a father.

"I was so glad to hear you call." She told him. "Where have you all been?"

"Believe me, there is plenty of time for such tales." He told her. "I'm more interested in hearing how you've been."

"Things have been pretty quiet all things considered." She told him. "I've not had many inspections, so I've caught up on the paperwork. I've actually been spending a lot of time thinking about what we'll be doing when the baby comes."

"Yes, I had been meaning to help you with that." Ji said apologetically. Unfortunately, even though Nighlock activity had been severely reduced since the battle with Xandred, recent events had taken a lot of the Rangers' time and attention. For one thing, they had intended to at least start looking for somewhere else to live once the baby arrived, but so far, he hadn't managed to do any of it. He sometimes felt guilty that he couldn't spend as much time as he'd like with the preparations. "I am sorry, hopefully we will get some time before Serrator comes back to deal with some things."

"Well, I had an idea how to get some time." She told him, handing him a flyer. He looked at it, before looking up to her curiously.

"The career fair?" He asked her. He was aware that there was some kind of event on nearby, but it was something that hadn't really crossed his mind.

"Well, I've been thinking about it a lot because of the baby and everything. You know, we're going to have to think about schools and stuff like that." She started to explain. "Then that got me thinking, with the exception of getting Emily her High School Diploma online, the others have been kind of busy to sort out anything about their future."

Ji was going to answer, but he realised she was right. Emily had indeed graduated online, and all of the Rangers had High School diplomas, but given their age when they came to the Shiba House, none of them had really had time to think about much else. All going well, there would come a time when they would all leave the house and make their own way in life.

"I know that there's still a long way to go before this is all over." She told him. "But maybe it wouldn't hurt if they all went and got some ideas what their options are?"

"I suppose it would not harm them to see what is out there for them." Ji agreed. He quickly checked his watch, and decided that they had worked hard enough for one day. He saw in particular that Serena seemed completely distracted, having been taken to the mat more times than he could normally recall.

"Alright, everyone line up." He announced. They all quickly assembled, Terry and Serena a little way behind the others. Despite nursing her shoulder, Serena seemed to refuse Terry's offer of a hand to her feet as they came over. They all looked to Ji. "Brenda has pointed out to me something I have been neglecting. I thought it would be an idea for you all to attend this."

He handed Emily the pamphlet, and they all just looked at it, before looking back up at him.

"Ji?" Jayden asked him. "Is there something you're not telling me? I get the bank balances here, and we have plenty of money..."

"While the war has always been a priority, I am perfectly certain none of you are intending to be here forever." Ji reiterated. "I think perhaps a day here would allow you some time to think about what you want to do with your future."

"Well, I really don't need to work." Jayden stated.

"I already have a business." Antonio reminded them. Ji just gave him a little look.

"Well, as great as that is, would you not like to perhaps think about expanding?" He asked him. "Perhaps even consider a restaurant?"

Antonio was about to answer, but stopped as he considered it. He hadn't really thought much about expanding beyond the cart. It suited him for now, and he was always thankful for the flexibility offered by not having a fixed business location and being able to work when he wanted, but the thought of an actual restaurant...somewhere with the name Antonio Garcia over the door in bright lights...was that even possible?

"Well, my future's pretty much set." Terry announced. "Once I go back to medical school, I'll just finish out my degree and become a doctor."

"And you haven't thought about what you might like to do beyond that?" Ji asked him. "Have you considered if you would like to go into a specialty? Or perhaps even be a GP?"

He then looked to Kevin.

"I understand you were planning on a coaching career after you've finished competing." He told him. "Now don't you think that you might want to find out what kind of qualifications and qualities are desirable for that kind of job?"

"Alright, alright, you made your point." Mike grumbled. "We'll go."

"I don't know, I think this might be a good thing." Mia stated. "Who knows, maybe it'll be fun to see what the future could hold."

"Let's get cleaned up and go." Kevin stated. As they all started to go, Terry followed Serena to her room.

"Serena, hold up." He told her. He got his hand around her arm. "Please, you haven't talked to me all weekend."

"Terry, just...can we not do this?" She begged him.

"Serena, how can you expect me to just ignore this?" He asked her. "You know what you did."

"Yeah, I was kind of there!" She reminded him. "So was everyone else! How do you think it was being trapped out there...?"

"Wait a minute, trapped?" He asked her.

"Yeah, trapped!" She answered. "I had to have that room to myself because I knew anyone I shared with would only want to talk about it. Don't you think I noticed the way they were looking at me all weekend?"

"Serena, I didn't know what was going on." Terry told her. "One minute you're kicking my ass, then the next minute you're kissing me, then you're in hysterics!"

"Don't you think I know what I did?" She asked him. "It was a mistake, now please just drop it!"

"Drop it?" He asked her incredulously. "How do you expect me to...? Serena, I can't just ignore this."

"What do you want me to say Terry? Do you want me to say that I'm a disgusting, selfish, horrible person? Don't you think I know that?" She screamed at him. "Now, Mia's only going to need about another week, then we can get the cast off and you can just go and we can pretend this never happened."

"You...you are unbelievable!" He said, his voice sounding more than a little infuriated. "You want me to leave?"

"Well, aren't you going back to Medical School?" She asked him.

"I've already missed the start of term, I won't be going back until next year!" He reminded her. "Clearly you've been paying attention!"

"Terry..."

"I'll bet you just wanted me to head on home so that you can go on with your life and pretend none of this ever happened didn't you?" He said angrily.

"I'm in love with Stephen!" She reminded him. "I'm in love with my boyfriend, and I...I kissed someone else. Do you have any idea what I've been feeling? Don't you think this is tearing me apart, knowing that I've been betraying..."

"Alright, then I guess there isn't anything else to say." Terry interrupted her. He just rubbed his hands together, indicating that he was washing his hands of the situation, before turning and storming off. "If you want to attack people who want to help you, then go ahead and be miserable and alone, then that's fine with me!"

As he stormed away, Serena just rolled her eyes, before heading towards her room. She paused as she saw Mia standing in her way though.

"Mia, I really..."

"He's right about one thing, you really are unbelievable." Mia said a little coldly.

"Mia please, I can't bear to have you judging me..."

"You don't get it do you?" Mia asked her. "You lost Stephen six months ago! No one expects you to just shake that off..."

"I know I'm horrible..."

"You are, but not about Stephen." She told her. "You're hurting, and you're confused, I get that, but did you stop for one minute to think about what this might mean to Terry?"

Serena now felt even worse. She and Terry had been growing close over the time he had been at the Shiba House. It had likely been one of the things that had led to her confusion over what she wanted, what she was feeling...when she had kissed him, she hadn't for one moment considered what she meant to him. It was yet another thing she hadn't thought of.

Mia stepped a bit closer.

"For the sake of everyone involved, I think it's best we talk about this when you've had a chance to get your head together, but I'm warning you right now, Terry's my brother." She reminded her. "Don't make me choose, you know how that will end. Now, unless I'm very much mistaken, we all have a career fair to attend."

With that, she left, leaving Serena to go and get changed. She started to take off her training uniform, looking out something to wear, finding her eyes beginning to tear up. This was exactly what she feared. She was losing everyone that mattered to her over this. She doubted it would be long before Emily forced her to talk, and realised the same thing Mia had. Mike and Kevin, she knew would side with Terry. As if she needed any more confirmation, she looked to the octagonal power disk on her dresser. It was solid black, and none of the symbols were glowing. Picking it up, it was completely inert, she couldn't feel any energy from it at all.

"Now even you've turned your back on me." She muttered, placing it back down. She straightened herself out as much as she could, before Emily came in.

"Are you coming?" She asked. "Kevin was wondering..."

"Alright, let's go." She said, forcing a smile. "Let's see what the future holds."

Meanwhile, in the Netherworld, Dayu got up onto the deck of the Junk. After weeks of soaking in Sanzu water, her wounds were now almost completely healed. She felt her strength returning to her, but even now, she knew it was not enough to deal with Serrator. Octoroo came waddling up to her, looking out over the rail with her.

"I really hope you and Dekker know what you're doing." He told her. She just nodded.

"Without Xandred, the only hope now is to find out what that grinning maniac is up to." She told him. "I do not doubt that it will not be long before we find out."

"What about Dekker?" He asked her. She just smiled and looked to the banks. Octoroo's eyes grew wide as he saw him standing, just glaring at the ship.

"What do you think?" She asked him. "When the chips are down, who can possibly stand against The Cursed Warrior?"

Dekker just nodded to confirm that he had seen them, before turning and heading back to his cave to await Serrator's instructions. The deceptive games would not last much longer, of that much he was certain. Soon, Serrator would finally make his move, and he could get back to concentrating on the Red Ranger.