Timeframe: Set before 'The Samurai's Journey' and shortly after Blake and Hunter join the forces of light.

Disclaimer: No infringement intended, just too many nights of dwelling on exactly how time travel would work.

Terracotta Warrior

By: Dusha

      Carefully parking her van on the side of the deserted, overgrown roadway that was little more then a widened hiking path, Tori stretched lazily in her close-fitting Wind Ninja Academy uniform. After rushing from the surf contest of earlier that day, she had taken the prudent step of calling ahead to assure her Sensei that she would be late, rather then face his wrath. Guided by an inner sense, she took a meandering route to the waterfall entrance of the Academy, sure not to leave any path that would be easily followed by a curious hiker, or worse, one of Lothor's henchmen.

      Within a few yards of the picturesque, yet deceiving, portal the Blue Ranger halted as her honed instincts twittered within her. Instantly, she spun artfully into the cover of the fauna like a graceful wood nymph. Pawing her way toward the culprit with no more sound then a still lake she couldn't muffle her startled intake of breath as her muscles relaxed and her heart rate slowed with recognition of the figure before her.

      Cam stood in the clearing before the waterfall with the determined expression of a terracotta warrior accentuating the calm, fluid movements of the t'ai chi he practiced. Circling the air with his hands as he transitioned from one position to another flawlessly, he seemed to be the embodiment of oneness with his surroundings. All that the Wind Ninja Academy stood for: earth, air, and water, seemed to blend into perfectly balanced whole with the consequent tranquility reflected in the passionate man's eyes. The firm gentleness of his actions mesmerized Tori, and before she thought, called out his name.

      In a flash his hands dropped stiffly to his side and he turned with a look of self-conscious embarrassment to stare directly at her. "Tori, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in a meeting with my dad and the rest of the Rangers?"

      "I called ahead; said I would be late. Cam, what are you doing here?" Tori would not let the young man distract her with the fact that she was going to be a little later then she had planned.

      "Well, I do live here, you know," he stated matter-of-factly. Inwardly Cam was furious, not at Tori, but at himself for being caught unaware.

      Tori was persistent. "But that-that was beautiful. I never knew that you knew t'ai chi." The awe in her voice brought a startled shade of red to the Sensei's son's face despite his attempts at nonchalance.

      "Everybody needs a hobby."

      Confused by his vain attempts to dissuade her from furthering the conversation because of his obvious discomfort with her unearthing of his secret Tori could only muster a weak, "I guess so."

      Regaining his composure, Cam smirked, dispelling the awkwardness of the conversation with his trademark cynicism. "We'd better get inside, Tori. Knowing Shane, Dustin and the rest of those guys they're probably half way to blowing up Ops by now."

      Tori rolled her eyes, but didn't contradict the statement, as they disturbed the holographic projection of the waterfall into a blur of color, and Cam could only laugh good-naturedly.

      As Tori's eyes adjusted to the dimmer lighting of the Japanese-inspired room, dark shapes coalesced into the familiar figures of her friends. Cam's exasperated sigh alerted her to the fact that they were crowded around the mainframe computer talking animatedly about something.

      Before her companion could bodily drag the four men away, Tori glided over, tugging forcefully on Shane's training uniform to get his attention. "Um, guys," she advised, "you might want to run."

      "Wha-but why?" Startled by the feminine voice, the Red Ranger tore his face from the screen. When he saw the territorial peevishness in Cam's face he nearly fell off of his perch in his desperate attempt to scramble away, but merely landed gracelessly on the floor instead. Shane's movements rippled through the three remaining Rangers, startling them like minnows. They looked at the green-clad programmer, whose expression would have melted lesser men, guilt etched plainly on their faces.

      "What, pray tell, do you think you're doing on my computer?" Cam demanded. He didn't see what, apparently, was so difficult about his firm instructions to leave his computer alone. Despite his almost constant badgering to stay away, it seemed that the Ninja boys could not keep their grabby little hands away from Cam's belongings.

      Hunter shrugged dismissively, not intimidated by the upstart Asian. "We were bored," he explained. "Since Tori wasn't here yet we had to find something to do."

      "We didn't hurt anything," Blake backed up his brother. Cam cringed, remembering how words spoken along those lines by Shane had preceded a total systems failure once before.

      "Just-go away. Go…beat each other up, or whatever it is you do for training, okay?"

      "Look, you don't talk to my brother that way," Hunter warned, an all too familiar defensive sparkle in his eyes.

      Ignoring the warning gazes from both his father and the other Rangers, Cam stepped directly in front of the blonde-haired brother, proving that he would not back down either. "There's important information on this computer, more then you could possibly comprehend. I don't trust you all with it because you've given me no reason to." Calming abruptly, Cam shook his head with an air approaching betrayal. "None of you have."

      "Listen you self-centered-"

      "That's enough!" Sensei's words quickly ended the comment, but they did not diffuse the tension and the emotion in the room. Despite his form, the Master knew that both Hunter and Cam were strong willed and ardent fighters willing to sacrifice anything for what they loved. They had both already forfeited their childhoods: one for his brother, and one for his father's cause. Because of this, they took any comment or action against what they loved as a personal affront, rather then the benign observations they usually were. Their devotion to their respective causes was admirable, but often blind.

      "Come on guys," Blake urged, placing a restraining hand on his older brother's shoulder. His smooth face was blank; a lack of expression that Hunter recognized as one of fear. Unwilling to lose the precarious, safe, and new life he had found with the Wind Ninja Academy survivors, Blake didn't understand why Hunter seemed to be intent on provoking Cam, and vice versa. He simply wanted it to stop.

      Tori echoed Blake's movement, gently dragging Cam away from the Crimson Ranger. "It's okay, Cam. Your computer's fine."

      "It's not that," he protested, but did not elaborate.

      "Since you are all here," pulling the fractured attentions of the teenagers gathered, Sensei spoke, "and seem to have so much extraneous energy you may begin your training. You are to pair off and practice hand-to-hand combat. There may be times in battle when you have nothing to depend upon for victory but yourself, and a fear that you have become too dependent on your weaponry and take the ninja spirit in each of you for granted."

      "Um, Sensei," feeling awkward about being the first student to speak after Cam and Hunter's squabble, Shane felt it prudent to point out, "but there are an odd number of us."

      Seeming to ignore the question, Sensei continued, "Shane and Hunter will spar, and Dustin and Blake will also be paired. Tori, I want you to work with Cameron."

      The use of his full name was not lost on Cam, and he knew that a lecture on maturity and temperament would coming his way in the not-to-distant future, but he nonetheless backed into his partner in surprise. "Really, Father?"

      "Yes, Son." Cam's father was keen enough to have noticed Tori's naturally empathic nature and the calming influence it exerted on anyone she encountered. Though it hurt him to know that his son's reclusive nature was in part his own fault, he also knew that the only person who would have a chance of being drawn into the young man's confidence would be the accepting surfer. He was not disillusioned however; Cam had not opened up to anyone in thirteen years, ever since his mother had died so long ago.

      "Go now, and return when you feel you are finished," he concluded cryptically, expertly flipping himself to another location dark in the recesses of the room.

      As the others moved eagerly from Ops, Cam didn't miss the worried expression on Dustin's young face as he looked between Hunter and Cam. Exhaling deeply, the computer prodigy felt his shoulders slump forward, defeated, and could not keep guilt from reentering his heart.

      "I'm sorry," he said, unable to keep it from being spoken, yet not knowing exactly to whom it was addressed.

      "It's okay. They know," Tori consoled, speaking for all of the Rangers. Wonderingly, she asked herself how she managed not to notice how complex of a person Cam was, and how very little she knew about him. "Let's go practice."

      Returning to his well-known façade of indifference, Cam nodded. "All right. I can't guarantee much, but…sure, let's go."

~*~*~*~*~*~*

      Tori found herself chasing after Cam more then fighting him as she attempted to streak through the forest. Every time she attempted to take advantage of her specialized Ninja training she found that it hindered more then helped. For as the scenery flew by, so did any subtle sign of her prey.

      "Come on out and fight, Cam! We're supposed to be practicing!"

      Smirking from his perch high in a tree, Cam spied down at Tori as she fruitlessly searched for him on the ground. "I know I'm no match for you Tori, so I'm using my talents against yours."

      "I should just leave you out here," Tori grumbled, unable to discern where the faint voice had come from. Memories of unfinished hide-and-seek games with unsuspecting players left alone giggling about the wonderfulness of their hiding spaces floated back to her. "I've got half a mind to return to Ops and lock you out."

      That, apparently, was enough to jolt the young man from his survey. Landing gracefully on the ground despite the high drop, Cam rose his hands defensively. Balancing her weight, the Blue Ranger prepared to attack and it was only when she was within inches of his face while attempting a blow that she saw the fear that her jibe had kindled.

      "You okay?" she asked, but didn't abate in her assault.

      "Yeah," panting under the deluge of rapid-fire Ninja moves, Cam concentrated on evading and defending rather then striking back. "Ops is just all I have."

      Seizing the opportunity, Tori quipped, "Like how Blake is all Hunter has?"

      "That's not true," Cam defended himself. The sudden, desperate strength of his next blocks were enough to move his opponent several feet backward. "He's got you, the Ninja Rangers, and my father. And, though I hesitate to say it, me if necessary."

      "And you don't?"

      Finally admitting defeat, Cam let his hands drop and bowed in Tori's direction. "I don't know," he took the opportunity to wipe the sweat off his forehead and avoid the surfer's intent gaze. "I suppose so."

      The only thing that kept Cam from seeing the hurt expression on Tori's face manifested itself through a blinding flash of plasma-light as a clock-covered alien of Lothor's legion.

      "Why practice when you can fight the real thing?" it sneered as Tori began to circle it warily. Shifting the staff it held from one hand to another, the minion barely glanced in Cam's direction. Within a few seconds of whispering into her morpher, the rest of the team assembled like an infantry front behind the only female in the group.

      "I wonder if all of those watches are synchronized," wondered Dustin, masking his nervousness at fighting with humor.

      Despite the direness of the situation, Cam found himself rolling his eyes. Effectively blocked from the attacking monster, he decided to exercise the better part of valor and retreat. He would be of more use to the Rangers in Ops.

      "Kelzaks!" summoned Chronocon with an authoritative swing of his staff. Suddenly surrounded at all sides by chittering, clone-like Kelzaks, Cam knew that he would be forced to fight his way out.

      Turning to face the wall of black he heard the Rangers morph behind him. Cam didn't have that luxury, and with vigor began to attempt his fight to freedom. It became increasingly apparent to him that he would need help, but with Hunter attempting to distract Chronocon single handedly and the rest of the Rangers embroiled in their own petty battles, Cam knew that he was on his own.

      An explosion rocked his concentration and the young tactician spun around. He had always had more the heart, rather then the talent, of a doctor, but despite that reality he abandoned his own battle-crazed enemies to tend to the fallen Crimson Ranger.

      "Hunter, are you okay?" Through the open faceplate Cam could see lines of pain settling firmly on the blonde's face.

      "I'm fine," Hunter grunted, struggling to get up. He only increased his struggling against his own physical weakness as the alien concentrated its fire on his now unoccupied brother. "I've got to help Blake."

      Knowing it would be futile to argue, Cam dragged the Ranger unsteadily to his feet. They had turned to face the menace just in time to see Chronocon knock Blake to the ground and point its staff menacingly in the Navy Ranger's direction.

      As blue, swirling energy collected in the clock face on the staff, Chronocon smirked triumphantly. "When I'm done with you, there will be no Thunder Rangers. What never existed in the past will not exist now!"

      "No! Blake!" Hunter's cry came out weakly. Looking into the desperate eyes of Crimson Ranger, Cam let him sink to the ground as he rushed forward. Nothing but a startled gasp followed him as he ran to intercept the presumably deadly beam. Obviously having learned how important Blake was to his brother had disturbed him greatly.

      Held back by her own Kelzaks Tori recognized what Cam was attempting to do a moment to late to stop it. "Cam!"

      Releasing the pent-up energy in one massive blue fireball, Chronocon laughed maniacally. Anticipating the blow, but unable to avoid it, Blake shut his eyes tight against the blinding light. Abruptly the light was gone, and, Blake realized, he was not.

      "No! It can't be! I missed!" complained the monster as Cam intercepted the energy pulse. Enveloped in a wormhole of light and time, the Sensei's son heard none of this. The sounds of his whole life flooded his ears as he disappeared from reality.

      "Bro, you okay?" Hunter scrambled over to his fallen brother.

      "Yeah, but what about Cam?" Blake looked wildly over the terrain. Everything seemed to be getting darker.

      "What's going on?" Shane's voice could hardly be heard as the deafening, enveloping darkness claimed the world. Chronocon roared in rage. It wasn't supposed to be this way. His mission had been to delete one of the troublesome Power Rangers from the time stream, insuring that the team would never form to begin with. Their meddlesome friend, who had stupidly jumped in the way of his beam, had instead been removed from time itself.

      Vainly the world rearranged itself according to the new past it had acquired. A past without Cameron. The very fabric of reality shattered as lives were rewritten and reassembled. The last thought of the Rangers, before their own pasts were invariably changed, was whether or not Lothor had finally won.

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