Prelude to a Storm
Year: 2009
Exact place: Blue Bay Harbor University, Blue Bay Harbor, California
Almost a week before my term paper on the history of Ancient Mesopotamia was scheduled to be turned in, I gathered all the notes I would need to write the 24 page essay and walked toward my dorm in the heart of Blue Bay University, intending to type the assignment up on my computer. Unlike my roommate, I hated to procrastinate when given assignments as intensive as this. The earlier the paper was done, the more free time I would have to go out on dates, ride horses, talk with Sensei Watanabe and his son Cameron, or hang out with my three new friends: Shane Clarke, Tori Hanson, and Waldo "Dustin" Brooks. Unfortunately my plan couldn't be put into action right away, because the moment I opened my door I found it occupied not only by my roommate but also 10 of her friends. And two of them were on the computer.
"What in the world is going on here?" I wanted to know in a loud voice. At once the room quieted a bit as everyone turned to look at me, and Hannah, that idiotic drama queen who roomed with me started whining.
"Oh they begged me to let them into our room, and I couldn't refuse!" she said in a dramatic high pitched voice that fell harshly upon my sensitive ears. Behind her some girls swooned while admiring a picture of Hunter Bradley and me riding horses on the beach.
"He is so hot!" one of them, Kelsey, I believe, commented. I didn't like matching names to faces of people I do not like, so that's why I can only guess who Hannah's friends were. "I can't believe he's your boyfriend! Actually, I want him. Could you please, please, please let me have a night out with Hunter, Laura, the next time he comes to visit us here at the University?"
"No, you may not." I answered. "I'm not going to be your matchmaker. Go find your own boyfriend, dude." With that said, I began to search through the closet for my ninja uniform, which was hidden behind my prom dress. Because the two girls sitting at the desk didn't look like they were going to get off the Internet soon, and the library was closed because it was Sunday night, I realized the only place where I would be able to get any work done was in the basement of the Wind Ninja Academy. After changing in the bathroom, I then reentered the room and was attacked by a water balloon. Angry at Hannah for letting such unruly classmates into our dorm, I deflected the balloon by projecting a gust of wind using the palm of my hand before ninja streaking out of the building in a huff.
Ninja streaking is a very cool ability, one that I use a lot in order to get from one place to another, especially if Point A and Point B are very far apart. Basically you turn yourself into a colorful blur so you can bounce around faster than the human eye can follow. It was this ability I now used in order to get to my school. In just a minute I stood in front of a spectacular waterfall which served as the entrance and exit to the school. Calling this time on my inner ninja powers of water, I slowly made my way across the pond by walking upon the surface as if the liquid was solid ground, and it wasn't long until a portal opened up in front of me. I raised my right hand to widen the opening before letting the gate suck me through it.
Invisible but hot steam was still pouring out of my ears when I finally entered Ninja Ops in order to borrow Cam's computer for my report. However, my plans were foiled yet again when I discovered Sensei Kanoi Watanabe was currently having a conversation with his rival Sensei Omino from the Thunder Ninja Academy and thus couldn't be disturbed.
"Dude, this is so aggravating!" I hissed quietly, and prepared to leave, but Watanabe heard me. "Sorry for interrupting, Senseis." At this moment I bowed deeply to the two teachers before proceeding to run back up the steps of the secret room.
"Wait." I heard Omino call out, and I returned. "May I ask you a question?"
"Of course, you may ask me anything you want." I replied, and took a seat on the navy cushion upon the floor next to the low table when asked to do so. "Fire away."
"I want to know, young lady, why you chose the Air class. It is predominately male, is it not? Why wouldn't you want to choose the Water class, a predominately female ninja class?"
"I guess it's cooler than the Water class?" I replied with a shrug. "Though Air techniques are just as fascinating, so I'm a pupil in both classes."
"That's right." Said Sensei Watanabe with a soft smile. "And I'm considering the possibility of transferring her to your school, Sensei Omino. The Thunder Ninja Academy's work load is a lot heavier than it is here at the Wind Ninja Academy, but Laura can handle it. She's a spunky little girl with lots of potential. What's more, I'll let you know now that she is a former Power Ranger. Last year in Turtle Cove City she helped protect the world with the Wild Force Rangers. You can see why we at the Wind Ninja Academy are proud to have her here."
"That's right, I was the Lunar Wolf Ranger." I said proudly, and showed Omino the Lunar Caller strapped upon my wrist. Omino smiled before showing me a black rectangular box with the Thunder Ninja Academy symbol on the top of it (two lightning bolts inside a circle, one of which is facing up and the other facing down) Two beetle shaped morphers lay inside. "So, who are the lucky two boys who will get them eventually, Sensei?"
"I was thinking about giving these to Hunter and Blake in a few months' time." Said Omino in a serious voice, and I wanted to dance around for joy. My boyfriend was going to be a Power Ranger, so he could join me in the fight against evil! "The Thunder powers were always meant for them. The ancient scrolls have foretold this. I have just one other question: what brings you here to the Wind Ninja Academy today? Class is not in session."
"Oh yes, I forgot." I said, and showed the teachers my backpack with its many papers stuffed inside. "I am here to do a report on Ancient Mesopotamia. My roommate's currently having a party so I can't use my personal computer in the dorm. Hope Cam won't mind if his machine is, you know, taken for the night."
"I'll tell him about your situation, so go ahead and use it to your heart's content." Said Kanoi, and motioned toward the computer sitting against the far wall. "Now Sensei Omino, is there anything else you would like to discuss with me?"
2 weeks later…
On a fine Saturday that bode no imminent danger from the weather, I dropped off my friends at the beach, skate park, and motocross track and sat down to do some serious studying with a famous historian named Jacob Weinstein. Jacob, like me, was a history geek and loved everything to do with ancient civilizations. His best friend was, no surprises there, Mr. Chan, the curator of the Blue Bay Harbor Museum of Asian History.
"The Ancient Egyptians were cool people. They had those awesome pyramids and stuff, see. By the way, boy am I glad you could find time to see me in my office! Shall we talk a bit more about how religion shaped the Egyptian society five thousand years ago?"
"Oh no, I've got to go!" I yelped upon noticing it was almost five o' clock. "My friends and I are so busted. I'll call you later, Mr. Weinstein, okay? Maybe after Spanish class tomorrow morning, when I'm eating lunch at the University."
"But we haven't—" Mr. Weinstein complained, but I insisted it was time for me to go.
"Sorry! Anyway, have I ever told you what a radical historian you are? No, great, because now you know I love you so much, dude. See ya!" Immediately after excusing myself from his presence, I rushed outside and made a dash for my car in Mr. Weinstein's garage.
Blue Bay Harbor Beach
"Victoria Hanson, if you don't get out of the water right now we're doomed!" I shouted at the pretty blonde surfer in blue trying to ride another wave. Notice I didn't use her shortened name, Tori, because I was too angry to call her that. "Sensei Watanabe is going to kill us if we are late again!"
"One minute!" Tori screamed back over the roar of the incoming wave. "It's the big one, and I'm not leaving till I break my previous record!" At that moment her dream of surfing the monster wave failed because I used my Air ninja powers to push the wave away from the beach. "Darn, there goes my wave. Okay, okay, let's go. Geez, you're so hard to please sometimes, you know?"
"Yeah, I know." I answered, and started walking toward my car. "Come on!"
Skate Park
Shane Clarke was in the middle of doing a cool trick on the half pipe when I came up to let him know it was time to go to ninja class. After seeing me, the Samoan kid got off the rail to talk to me, and that's when his friend ran over.
"Hey!" said the boy, whose name I did not know. "That was awesome, dude. That's why you have tons of fans, Shane."
"Ha, ha!" said Shane. "I know. Say, I really nailed it, didn't I?"
"Yeah, that's great. Hey, want to hit that new rail?"
"Oh no, I can't." Shane's face instantly fell. "Gotta go. Have a class today, dude."
"Class?"
"Yeah, class. But I'll talk to you later, okay? Laura and I have to go now, or our teacher will have us cooked for dinner."
"Ha, ha, now that was funny, Shane." I laughed as we walked back to my car. "Very funny indeed."
Motocross Track
"Figures Mr. Brooks would be here." I said to myself when I saw Dustin's motorbike come toward me. "He loves this place so much he cries if I don't drop him off here every single day. Hey Waldo, that's enough biking, dude!"
"Lap time's about two seconds off." Said Kelly after the boy slowed down to stop next to us, and I rolled my eyes.
"Oh sure. Whoo-hoo." I said this very unenthusiastically because it was now well after five o clock. "Hey Dustin, did you know it's thirty minutes after five?"
"Oh man, I am so busted." Said Dustin, and noticed just how angry I looked. "I mean, we're so busted. Sensei's gonna go wacko if we don't hurry up and get to school."
"Darn right he is. Now put your bike away and let's go."
"Belts on." I said to the trio once we were in my van. "Anyway, how could we be late every time? This wouldn't have happened even if I had actually planned it."
"That's because you're the reliable one." Said Shane as I was pulling out of the parking lot, and Dustin laughed in response.
"Huh. Explain that, mister."
"Well, in any group there are different kinds of people. Want to add to that, Dustin? Help me out here."
"Yeah, okay. Think of people like, um, the Power Rangers." Upon hearing that I snickered. You know why.
"Power Rangers?" Tori interrupted. "You must be joking."
"No, no, I'm not. There's always like, this mellow, reflective dude."
"Then there's the risk taker." Said Shane. "The adrenaline guy." Here he reached forward and twisted the rearview mirror to admire his black hair. "That would of course be me."
"Guys, I need to switch lanes now." I said, and twisted the mirror back to its original position. "Next time no touching anything up front, okay? That mirror is important to drivers, you know. It helps us see if we have enough room to change lanes and stuff. Now sit back in your seat before that police officer on my tail decides to give me a ticket for letting you fool around in a moving vehicle."
"Sorry."
"And lay off on the comic books." Tori added. "Power Rangers? Whatever!"
"Sorry!"
A half hour later we were out of Blue Bay Harbor and driving through a dense forest whose trees were so tall and the grass so thick Dustin hated to think about what kind of strange animals could be hiding here.
"Now just relax." I had to say to him because his nervousness was making everyone feel uneasy. "I know this place is creepy but at least—"
"I heard that." Shane interrupted, causing me to shoot him a very angry glare.
"You guys are so lame." Tori snorted, and that's when I opened the van doors while the car was still in the process of slowing down. "Hey, what's the big idea?"
"It's time for the three of you to get out of my car, that's what." I replied, and put the car in the 'parking' gear. After pulling the key out, I opened my own door. "Come on, dudes! We're late enough already."
A few minutes later, the four of us stood before a spectacular waterfall that was the entrance and exit to the Wind Ninja Academy. Happy to be finally here, Dustin rushed forward, only to be knocked down by a black blur that came out of nowhere. Startled, Tori turned to find out exactly what had pushed her friend down, and was pushed backwards by another black blur. Seconds later, Shane also hit the ground, and the black blurs turned into the other students of the Wind Ninja Academy. All shouted 'Ki-yah' in unison before dropping into defensive positions.
Having regained his footing, Shane then nodded to both Tori and Dustin, and together the three of them ripped off their outer clothing to reveal their ninja garb. Shane's uniform was trimmed in red, Tori's in blue, and Dustin in yellow. At this time I whipped out Cam's video camera to record the imminent battle, and shimmied up a tree to watch the ninjas duke it out in safety.
Tori's strategy was to lose her fellow students by running toward the waterfall. Because she was a Water student, she could run on water as if it was solid ground without slipping. Unfortunately for her the other Water students saw what she was doing and charged across the water too before launching themselves into the air just inches from Miss Hanson. Not prepared for this assault, Tori fell forward, then backward, and finally hit the water with a big splash. From my seat on the tree, I roared with laughter as she tried to brush her soggy hair out of her eyes.
Next I decided to film Dustin. He tried to attack his fellow Earth students by delivering them roundhouse kicks, but the older students were faster and easily dodged his offensive moves. Hoping to trip him up, two students made the kanji symbol for Earth in the air before diving into the ground and running toward him from below the surface (I knew where they were because white smoke coming out of the forest floor gave away their location).
"Not good." Dustin said, and at that moment the two students popped out of the ground like jack in the
boxes to attack him. Dustin countered, and then realized he could do something similar. He also made the Earth symbol in the air and pointed toward the ground: this produced yellow smoke that obscured him from view for a moment. Eventually the smoke cleared, and we all laughed when we saw Dustin had trapped himself in his own element and couldn't get out. "Pfffft! Now I'll never get the taste of dirt out of my mouth! Laura--!"
"No can do, buddy!" I called from the tree, and looked down to see a stolid Water student leaning against the trunk. Water students are predominately female but there are a couple of males in the class who don't want to have anything to do with Earth or Air. "Hey Omar! Where's Shane?"
"You will want to aim the camera over there." Said the Indian ninja. He pointed to the trees at the edge of a green meadow so I knew exactly where to look. "See, there he is. Now don't thank me, just film. Tomorrow we can present this video to Sensei Watanabe so he can see just how pathetic these three kids are."
"Hmm."
Through the camera, I could see Shane was currently battling his fellow Air students. He smirked, thinking three opponents would not be hard to defeat, but I secretly knew these older, more experienced students would trounce him quickly enough. As I watched, the ninja Shane had picked on launched himself into the air, and Shane followed his example. Then came the inevitable mid-air collision, and as I predicted, Dustin's childhood friend ended up hitting the ground with a loud but satisfying thud.
Having filmed everyone's unfortunate battles, I chose that moment to shut off the video camera and hop back onto the ground, because in the distance I could hear a flying raptor shriek 'Sensei is coming, Sensei is coming'.
"Let go of me, man!" Dustin protested as two Earth students roughly pushed him toward his equally crestfallen friends, and I snorted while yanking Tori into position. The older ninjas only laughed in reply, and at that moment an eagle screeched loudly. "Let me guess, we're in trouble."
"Big trouble." Tori mumbled.
"Aw man!" This came from a very unhappy Shane.
A second later, the eagle landed, and transformed into a disappointed looking Sensei Watanabe, head teacher of the Wind Ninja Academy. At the same time Dustin tried to cower behind Shane, but I kicked him back into place with a light tap of my foot. One of the Earth students then came up to help me onto a black horse whose mane had been decorated with red, blue and yellow ribbons. The ladybug like symbol of the Wind Ninja Academy could clearly be seen on its tack. Horses were not as prevalent at the Academy as they were in the past, but Sensei Watanabe still kept animals in the stable, because traditionally all teachers get a steed. I wasn't a teacher, but as a favorite student here at the Academy, I had privileges.
"That's enough for today." Sensei said after a moment of silence, and the other students ninja streaked away with a loud 'hi-yah'.
"So, how did they do, in your point of view?" I asked sarcastically, only to be silenced by a glare from Sensei. Watanabe then turned to face his remaining students, who all bowed their heads in shame when he looked at them.
"Tori. Shane. Dustin. I am very disappointed. I'll expect a visit from you so that we may discuss your lack of commitment to your ninja training."
"Yeah, okay." I heard Dustin mutter while yanking a twig out of his hair. "Ow! Hey, where did Sensei go?"
"He went to school." I said, pointing to the waterfall. "And we had better follow him. But first, you guys had better run home and clean up."
"Well that wasn't so bad, huh?" Dustin added. I then came over to help him pick the rest of the twigs out of his hair, and the others turned to glare at him. "What? It wasn't. Ow! Okay, I'll tell you what. You guys can blame this all on me."
Tori slowly smiled. "Okay. We will."
Sensei was still peeved when we went to visit him on the training grounds an hour later, but he did not yell because he hated to do so. Instead he gave us a lecture, and as he spoke, I couldn't help but roll my eyes. Man, these students were so dumb. I still don't understand why I never fail to pick them up for school each and every day, and get myself a bad attendance record as well.
"You have been students at the Wind Ninja Academy for nearly a year, and yet you fail to see the importance of punctuality. I would suggest you find a way to change that before you return tomorrow. Otherwise I will have no choice but to expel you."
Shane instantly looked like he was going to cry because his dignity was at stake here. "Wait, you can't!" He cried out with a voice that threatened to break. I noticed this, and tittered loudly.
"Aw Shane, is that a tear coming out of your eye? Come here, let me give you a hug. Sister Laura will have you feeling better in no time." Without his permission I rode over to the Samoan teen and reached down to give him a reassuring squeeze from the saddle.
"It's not anything." Shane protested while prying my fingers off of him, and Dustin pasted a grin on his face before the boys returned their attentions to Sensei, who continued.
"You all have great potential. It would be a shame to waste that. Now go. You must have other studies."
"Thank you." I told the teacher, and watched as the three kids bowed to him before leaving. I stayed behind on the horse, and was soon joined by Cameron Watanabe, who came galloping up on a white stallion decorated with only green ribbons. Green was his favorite color, he always wore at least one article of clothing that had a splotch of green on it. In fact, today's outfit consisted of a green polo shirt and gray pants. "Oh, hello Cam. Good afternoon."
"Good afternoon to you too." Cam replied, reining in his horse the moment he got within a foot of me and Sensei. "Anyway, I don't know why you put up with them."
"Well then Cameron, I suppose that's why I'm the Sensei, and you're the Sensei's son." Sensei Watanabe said with a smile. But his smile quickly faded when he looked up at the sky and noticed a purple thundercloud heading toward us.
"What's wrong Dad?"
Meanwhile, more than a thousand miles above Earth, a spaceship slowly drew itself closer to our lovely green planet with its lovely nature full of grace and majesty. Inside, an evil space ninja wearing a horned black mask chuckled evilly as he began formulating plans to destroy both the Wind and Thunder Ninja Academies and get himself two evil Power Rangers who would do his bidding without question.
The next day, Shane had his handy red alarm clock set to four-thirty so we could get to the Wind Ninja Academy earlier than usual, and thus avoid the possibility of being expelled from school. It was also a work day, but nobody bothered to tell Kelly we were going to be getting off our late afternoon shift before it usually ended because Dustin was too scared to say anything. He obviously didn't want to make our boss unhappy, so Tori suggested running flat out the door the moment the clock rang. This would spare us the wrath of Miss Holloway.
4:30 came soon enough, since our shift didn't start till 1 in the afternoon. When the alarm rang, Dustin was screwing something on his bike, Shane and Tori were watching skateboarding videos, and I was giving a ton of Moto X papers to a Factory Blue member who wanted to sign himself up for 20 races all at once.
"You're crazy, dude, you know that?" I asked the young man, who only smiled in reply. "Yep, definitely crazy. Anyway, thank you for stopping by Storm Chargers. Come back anytime!"
"Come on!" Dustin abruptly yelled, and yanked me toward the direction of the door just as I finished talking with the motocross enthusiast.
"Dustin!" Miss Holloway hadn't missed us running out from under her nose at all. This was quite the opposite of what we had thought would happen. "You aren't going to leave me here to clean up shop!"
"Sorry! Have I ever told you what a cool boss you are? Bye Kelly!" And he dragged me out the store without further ado. Once outside, I rushed into my van and heard doors slam as the others piled in as well. We then hit the road, while Kelly looked out the window and rolled her eyes.
"Man, soon they'll all wish I was able to give out detentions!"
"And these continued atmospheric disturbances has the weather service baffled." The radio announcer said loudly as I was driving down Lionel Avenue for the fourth time that day in our hurry to get to the Wind Ninja Academy.
"So are we on time?" Dustin asked, and I nodded while stopping before a traffic light.
"Yes, we're early. This is a good thing." At that moment the light turned green and I made a left turn onto Griffin Lane. Almost immediately I noticed an old, sad looking couple and their overheated car on the shoulder, and stopped my vehicle to help the senior citizens get back on the road. "Hey, these guys look like they need some young heroes who know a lot about car engines. Dustin, get the tool box. Tori, you grab the wrenches. And Shane, keep an eye on the time."
The Samoan protested almost instantly, but the others did as they were told and began to rush over to the couple, who immediately started praising them before anything was even done. "Dude, this is crazy. We can't stop."
"We can't just leave them here. What if something happens to them? That purple thundercloud over the mountains in the distance doesn't bode well for Blue Bay Harbor, ya know. I've seen worse back in Turtle Cove, but this is just as nuts."
"All I know is, if we're late again today something's definitely going to happen to us—"
"Two minutes, dude!" This was Dustin trying to calm his friend down.
"—And it won't involve fun and fabulous prizes!"
Dustin's estimate of two minutes was way off: by the time we finished the repairs on Mr. and Mrs. Oliver's car it was way past five. This meant we were late, again.
"Oh boy." I said with a huff after saying goodbye to the old couple, and opened the door so the boys could return to their seats in the back of the van. Tori returned to her own seat next to mine, and just as I was pulling back onto the road Dustin piped up.
"Are you sure we're in trouble?" he asked. "Because there just might be a small chance Sensei's own alarm clock failed to ring. Maybe he won't even notice we're late today."
"He's a ninja master, dude." Shane answered haughtily. "They don't oversleep."
"Really?"
Wind Ninja Academy, 15 minutes later…
The moment we stepped through the portal in the waterfall all of us were instantly buffetted by a strong wind that was probably near hurricane strength, judging by Cam's broken anemometer on the ground next to a tall tree whose leaves were being blown off their branches. While covering my face with an arm to shield myself from flying soil, leaves, and sharp wood splinters, I looked up to find a huge purple transparent tornado sucking my beloved school and everyone in it into the sky.
"Something's attacking the school!" Shane cried out over the roar of the gale as we watched the Academy start to distinigrate before our eyes. "This is bad, people!"
"Oh man, I am too young to die!" I wailed in a high pitched dramatic voice that had won me a place in the Drama Club in Blue Bay University, and clung to a tree trunk to prevent myself from flying away with the rest of the Ninja Academy. "This is so not happening!"
"Look out!" Tori yelled at this time. As if on cue, the Earth shook, the rest of the school disappeared along with the tornado, and we all fell down onto the hard twig covered forest floor. Once all was calm once more, Shane crawled over to the edge of the cliff and looked down with a look of disbelief on his face.
"It's gone!" He finally cried out after a moment of silence. "All gone!" He was right, of course. All that was left of the Wind Ninja Academy was a big crater in the ground, a few disoriented horses, and a charred drawing of the Animarium Princess Shayla had found for me in the Temple of the Wild Zords.
Lothor's Spaceship
"Okay, now that the ninja schools have been wiped out I'm going to get the Northern Hemisphere and you'll get the the Southern Hemisphere." Marah said to Kapri as they were watching the captured ninja students in their bubble prisons cry and scream for help. "That's good, right?"
"No, no, you get Antarctica and I'm getting California!" Kapri immediately interjected. The two began to squabble after this, but were interrupted when their uncle Lothor burst into the room with his samurai general, Zurgane. Seeing the nieces instantly caused Lothor's cold blood to heat up for a moment, and he started to berate them.
"Quiet, you bumbling idiots!" he snapped. "Or I'll throw you both off my ship. Zurgane, see for yourself why I never suggest working with family."
"Sorry Uncle." The girls chorused, and waved to the ninja students as they were tossed toward the cargo bay in the back of the ship. Lothor then crossed the room and sat down upon his throne.
"Now where was I? Zurgane, please remind me."
"The final phase of your plan to conquer Earth, sir." The samurai-with-no-mouth-and-only-one-gold-eye replied with a stately bow.
"Of course. Let us now proceed to split the planet in half, or three fourths, or one sixteenths. Or whatever fraction we want, for that matter. Shall we, ladies?"
"Uh, what's a fraction?" Marah almost instantly asked, and was given a scowl in reply. "Oh sorry, it must have been a stupid question, huh?"
"Well duh!" Kapri said. She then pulled her sister aside when Zurgane brushed past them in his hurry to deliver some news from Lothor's other general, the green skinned Choobo.
"Sir. It appears there are four students from the Wind Ninja Academy still unaccounted for. One of them is a former Power Ranger so we have to keep an close eye on that pupil."
"How about we destroy them all instead? This would be so much easier, don't you think? General Zurgane, ready the laser beams. I want nothing left standing, you hear? Nothing!"
Meanwhile, back on Earth…
"And here you can see what is left of the library." I said to the others while picking up a charred scroll from the scorched earth so the others could see it. A horse then chose that moment to neigh, and Tori ran off to capture the beasts before they could canter away confused and upset. Once she returned with the animals, a rock pile not too far away from where we were standing began to fall apart, revealing a dirt covered hand and a bit of a green sleeve.
"It's Cam!" Shane cried out, and rushed over to be the first rescuer. The rest of us quickly ran over to assist him, and Cam coughed as we freed him. The Sensei's son then tried to explain what had happened while we were gone, but his story was interrupted when suddenly a huge laser beam from outer space came shooting toward us. Quickly Shane and Dustin each wrapped an arm around Cam and helped him run away from the many laser beams which followed the first. Tori latched onto my hand so I could help her, and together we followed the boys toward the giant hole in the ground which was all that was left of the Academy. Upon sliding into the crater, the Sensei's son broke free from us and rushed over to a trap door. He proceeded to yank it open before motioning for us to get in the tunnel.
"Get in here, Shane Clarke!" I had to yell when everyone else followed Cam but not Shane, who had turned his face skyward in an effort to see if this new danger had passed. I grabbed the student by his collar about the same time I said his name out loud and after we had gotten in I slammed the trapdoor behind us. One last laser beam shook the ground as Cam led the way deeper into the hidden chamber
ahead.
Once underground, Cam stopped to point and show my friends around. "To your right is a portal leading to a floating sky island called the Animarium, and to your left is a tunnel leading to Ninja Ops, a secret underground room Dad uses to hold his meetings with Senseis from other ninja schools. It also serves as Laura's homework room, my bedroom, and living room. Now don't ask any questions because I can't answer them. Just so you know, this place was built for an emergency. And now it's about to be used to its full potential."
Dustin scratched his head at this time. "Okay dude, that's cool and all, but we simply must know more. What exactly is the Animarium, and why are we here?"
I grinned at this while Cam pushed deeper into the tunnel without bothering to light up the way. The ninjas protested because of this, so the computer geek retraced his steps before handing everyone a flashlight. Now that everyone could see, walking was easier. "I'll answer that, since Cam doesn't look like he wants to reveal any secrets. Answer to question number one: The Animarium is what's left of the once grand kingdom of Animaria, which used to be present day California. Humans and animals lived in harmony in this land, and all respected the importance of nature. Then the evil Master Org arrived and started to destroy everything in his path, so the ancient warriors—the precessors of the Wild Force Power Rangers—lifted their Princess and the sacred Temple of the Valley of the Wild Zords into the sky so evil could not reach it. You'll all get to see the Animarium eventually, and meet Princess Shayla personally as a result, so don't worry about that. As for your second question Dustin, we're here to see if Sensei Watanabe's okay. In times like these, he promised he would meet us here in Ninja Ops if something like this happened."
"Thank you so much for revealing all I didn't want these kids to know just yet." Cam's sarcastic voice snapped the moment I finished explaining. "It figures you would ruin everything, Laura."
"Oh be quiet." I shot back. "They deserved to know anyway. Open the door." Cam proceeded to do so, and the portal decorated with a huge symbol of the Wind Ninja Academy lifted up to reveal the familiar room I spent time in when my dorm back at school got too noisy or crowded. The others then gasped as they took in the state of the art equipment in the room, as well as the neat low table, the color coded cushions, and the blue wall panels with awe in their eyes.
"Is this some big secret?" Shane wanted to know a moment later, when the initial shock had worn off and the trio started to come into the room with the horses in tow. Cam then opened the far right wall panel to reveal 4 horse stalls, and Tori led the animals into the spaces, which were clean and tidy. Fresh hay and cool water excited the horses, who quickly broke free from their handler and cantered into the stalls without guidance. Once in, they all began to loudly munch on the food before them, and it was at this time that Cam turned to answer Shane.
"Yes, Shane, it's like some big secret." He said sarcastically. Man, does he have to be Mr. Wise Guy every time? Geez. After working with the tech geek for so long, I was starting to become annoyed by his remarks, which were almost always cynical, even when he was in a good mood.
"But sometimes even the best kept secrets must be revealed, Cam." Sensei's voice suddenly said, and we all turned to see a little guinea pig dressed in a tiny duplicate of Sensei Watanabe's customary clothes on a pushcart that was slowly making its way toward us. Even the horses were curious and threw up their heads when they heard their master's voice.
Dustin was the first to comment on this strange turn of events. "Whoa!" he cried out, and elbowed Shane, who frowned.
"Hey, uh, that big rat sounds just like Sensei."
"Yeah, I know. Doesn't really look like him though, huh? I mean except for the clothes."
"My father is not a rat." Cam immediately snapped. At the same time I went to the cabinet in the far left corner of Ninja Ops and began to sift through the things on the shelves. "He's a guinea pig. And he's stuck."
"Stuck?" Tori asked, her face showing that she was just as confused as Dustin was.
"Yes Tori, stuck. Observe." And with that Sensei Guinea Pig did a little backflip so that he landed upon the computer Cam had programmed to hold vital Wind Ninja Academy information. Immediately the screen showed a little movie of Lothor destroying the Wind Ninja Academy and Sensei's transformation into a rodent. "This is Lothor. Once a great ninja, he was banished from the earth when his hunger for power turned him to the dark side. When our energy fields collided in our last battle, I was transformed into what you see before you. Now he has returned and has brought an army who will do everything to take our planet for their own. Unless they are stopped!"
"And who's going to be dumb enough to try and stop that crazy dude?" Dustin wanted to know after this history lesson, and Sensei turned to face me. "Good question, Dustin. Laura, have you found the morphers? If so, please bring them here. We have to distribute them now."
"Uh, no?" I called back. "I mean, hang on a moment. The box is currently hidden underneath a pile of last year's final exams. Gimme one second so I can dig it out before we proceed to solve the equation." This is a reference to the fact that distribution is one way of solving an Algebra problem.
"You're not serious, are you?" Cam immediately interjected with a wave of his hand toward the troublesome trio. "I mean, those guys are so lame!" One of the horses suddenly snorted when he heard this, and Cam gave him a look. "No, not you, Silver Moon! I was talking to Shane, Dustin, and Tori." I laughed at this, and the satisfied equine reburied his nose in his hay. Unlike me, Cam could not understand animals, but the horses had been with us all long enough to know Cam's cynical personality. So they didn't bother to cause trouble in his presence, though on Valentine's Day last year one of them snatched the cowboy hat he owned off his head and threw it into the lap of a young woman in the local park in an failed attempt to get him a girlfriend.
"It is time, Cam, and that is something none of us can deny." Sensei insisted, and I strode over with a polished wooden octangonal box whose cover was decorated with the Wind Ninja Academy and Power Ranger Wild Force animal totem symbols.
"That's right. Now guys, these are your brand new Power Ranger Wind morphers." I told the trio, and opened the container so my fellow ninja students could see them. These morphers were basically long rectangular wrist communicators that came with a red, blue, or yellow Power Disc containing the powers of Air, Water, and Earth.
"Oh yeah!" Dustin took one look at the devices and clapped Shane on the back before picking up the yellow morpher. "I always knew there were Power Rangers. One look at Laura on our first day here immediately confirmed my suspicions, and now I'm going to be just like her! We all are, for that matter. This totally rocks, dude!"
"Yeah, right." Tori answered, and picked up the blue morpher. Shane took the last one with a frown, and Cam closed the box after taking it out of my hands. The newbies then proceeded to strap their morphers onto their wrists, and as they all started to admire their new devices, Sensei introduced them all one by one while I ran back to the cabinet to find another box.
"Dustin, child of Earth, true to your heart, you will have the powers of the Yellow Wind Ranger. Tori, fluid and graceful like the water, you will be the Blue Wind Ranger. And Shane, reaching for the stars, you will command the powers of the Red Wind Ranger. Together you three symbolize hope for Blue Bay Harbor. From this moment on, you will all be known as the Ninja Storm Power Rangers, protectors of the galaxy and defenders of the Earth." There was a grand moment in which all three of them stood there proudly, and then it all fell apart with Dustin's question of "hey, does this thing have any games or what?"
"No, it doesn't have any games." Tori immediately answered. "Where's the switch?"
"Hey, hey, dudes..." Shane also said, and Cam groaned loudly.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the Guardians of the Earth." He said, and walked over to bury his face in the neck of Blazing Lion—a chestnut gelding I had named after Cole Evans—and pretend to cry.
"What's that?" Tori asked, pointing to the multicolored orbs in my hands. "Are they for us?"
I nodded. "Yes. These are animal crystals that formerly belonged to my Wild Force teammates. Now I pass them on to you. Tori, I now entrust you with the Shark and Giraffe animal crystals. Shane, the Falcon is yours, and Dustin, you will be in charge of taking good care of the Bears as well as the Rhino and Armadillo. I will hold on to my Wolf, Hammerhead, and Alligator, as well as the Elephant and Deer."
"Oh, and one more thing." Cam's father said in his wise guinea pig voice as the Rangers pocketed their new crystals into their ninja uniforms. "The call to morph is 'Ninja Storm, Ranger Form'. Now go, Lothor's army is attacking."
"Lothor's what is attacking?" They cried out, and looked at the computer screen to see ugly foot soldiers at the rock quarry bouncing around like kangaroos. They looked dumb, but what grossed me out the most was the fact that these Kelzaks had no faces. Even if they could see, hear, and speak, I saw no orifices or anything that might allow them to use the five senses normally. Once he was sure the trio had forseen the danger to Blue Bay Harbor, Sensei pointed toward the door, and the new Wind Rangers ninja streaked out to follow his instructions.
The Rangers arrived at the rock quarry and were about to take on the monster whose name was very appropriate for his face: Blue Face, when I suddenly realized there was one teensy problem: two of them, sans Dustin, had forgotten the morphing call!
"Ninja Storm, Ranger Form?!" Cam yelled out sarcastically by my side, and at that moment, as if the Rangers could hear him, they suddenly remembered the words.
"Okay dudes, watch and learn!" Dustin shouted out with glee, and raised his right arm and two fingers into the air to commence the morphing sequence. "Ninja Storm, Ranger form! Ha! Power of Earth!" At the word 'ha', Dustin extended his left arm and spun the Power Disk upon his morpher. He then turned into the Yellow Wind Ranger, and shook his arms up in the air for joy.
"Woo-hoo!" He laughed loudly. "Yeah baby, yeah! Haha! Well, I guess no one's laughing at the comic book geek now, are they?"
"That's very nice Dustin." Tori observed, and she and Shane copied his movements. After morphing, they shouted out 'Power of Water' and 'Power of Air' respectively before turning to face their enemies.
Back at Ninja Ops, I watched as my friends slashed the Kelzacks with their ninja swords, blasted the foot soldiers while running on water, tried out their hang-gliders, and correctly performed a Earth trick. Kelzacks went boom all over, prompting Cam to high five me every time he saw an explosion.
"Good job!" I cheered, and decided to dial Shane's communicator using my Lunar Caller. "Hey guys, it's me, Laura. Now that you've got Blue Face all to yourselves, try out those new weapons Cam and I got for you."
"Hawk Blaster, fired up!" Shane replied, whipping out a hawk shaped gun from out of nowhere.
"Sonic Fin, sound off!" Tori yelled, holding up a blue megaphone shaped weapon.
"Lion Hammer, ready to roar!" Dustin finally finshed, and held up his own weapon.
"Ooh, I'm so scared!" Blue Face sarcastically taunted the group, and from his cozy chair in outer space Lothor's face turned red.
"Power Rangers?" he snarled loudly. "Nobody told me there would be Power Rangers!"
In the safety of the Ninja den, Cam whooped and I cheered as the Rangers used their weapons to intimidate Blue Face, who fell on his face twice in the assualt. We then saw the three put their weapons together and blast the monster to bits with a huge fireball from the Storm Striker.
"Thanks for stopping by!" Shane yelled out after the explosion, and his childhood friend Dustin laughed. The three new Rangers then opened their visors so I could see their happy faces.
"Now that...was awesome!" he cried, and grinned from ear to ear before grasping Shane's hand and pumping it in joy. "Laura, did we do this okay?"
"You guys were awesome." I answered. "Now come back to Ninja Ops so Sensei and I can talk to you."
"Later days, dude!" Shane told the burning chunks of monster flesh, and did a little victory dance on the battlefield with his teammates before obeying my command and ninja streaking back to our base.
Dustin came back looking all excited. The others were also happy, but none of them were as enthusiastic as he was, judging by the looks on each of their faces.
"I told you, I told you Power Rangers were real! And you were like 'nah, it's not true, it's an urban legend, man!'" He laughed, and put his helmet down upon the low table as he said this.
"Nah, it wasn't me!" Shane tried to say. "It was Miss Fluid Water babe over here. She was the one who denied Power Rangers even existed in the first place, remember?"
"Okay, it was me." Tori admitted with a smile. At this time, Cam felt an headache coming on and asked for some tea, which I ran off to prepare. As if to protest that they needed something too, the horses' leader, Silver Moon, whinnied loudly, and I laughed before telling him I would give him an apple as soon as I finished getting the tech guy's tea.
"You did very well today." Sensei said after the Rangers had finished celebrating their first victory over evil. "I congratulate you all, but there will be more battles in the future, so from tomorrow onward we shall prepare for the unexpected by undergoing a special training program I perfected with Laura should this kind of event occur. Remember, the future is in your hands, Power Rangers."
"And don't forget there's a field trip tomorrow, so come here as soon as the sun rises in the morning." I said. "Bring all your animal crystals with you. Not to mention a notebook. You will be taking notes on the history of Animaria so you can appreciate what the Ancient Warriors did for their country long ago."
Dustin's happy face instantly fell flat. "Dude, you're not serious. This is like ninja class all over again. I take it there will be a quiz on all this stuff afterwards?"
I nodded, and the others groaned when this all sank in. "All right, all right, I won't give you all a quiz. But do pay attention to Princess Shayla as she tells you her story. This will count as a grade for this year, despite the fact that class won't resume until we've rescued those poor classmates of ours from the grasp of evil Lothor."
More groans followed this announcement. From his new stall, Silver Moon snickered in his horsey way as the Rangers bowed to Sensei and proceeded to go home. He found the antics of the three Wind Rangers quite amusing, and was eager to find out what would happen the next day.
