I don't own PRNS or any of the characters, nor do I make any money from this work of fiction.

Pairings: Hunter/Cam (not yet), Blake/Tori

This chapter: Shane arrives late yet again and wonders just what has happened to his school. More suspicion is cast on the choice to retain Cam as interim headmaster.

Notes: I decided to hold off on writing Tori and Dustin's POVs. They will, of course, appear later. In this chapter they're just part of Shane's world, which has been flipped upside down since he was last at the Academy. It pays to be on time…

The Choices We Make

Chapter Three: Confusion Abounds, Frustration Follows

He was never going to be late for class again. Seriously.

Shane knew that helping the couple with the car trouble had been the right thing to do, but when they finally got to the Academy and saw the smoking battlefield, he wished they had just called AAA or something. What had happened?

He spotted a fellow air ninja and waved her over. "What happened here?" he asked, as Tori and Dustin stared at the damage around them.

"Aliens attacked the Academy," answered the air ninja.

Shane stared at her. "Seriously?" he asked skeptically. "Aliens?" Because ninjas were one thing, but aliens were something completely out of this world—no pun intended.

"Aliens," confirmed the ninja, as she used her power to move debris away from the training fields. Shane wished that his control was as good as hers.

"Where's Sensei Watanabe?" asked Dustin, looking around.

The air ninja's expression became solemn, and Shane's stomach twisted. Sensei wasn't…he couldn't have been…suddenly the idea of aliens didn't seem so funny as much as it did terrifying.

"He was hit pretty badly, by the leader of whoever those freaks were," she told them quietly. "The last time I saw him he was being taken to the med bay by the other sensei and his son."

"Oh, no," breathed Tori, horrified. "Do they know if he's going to be okay?"

The air ninja shook her head. "No one knows," she murmured sadly. A pause, and she asked, "Where were you guys when this happened? Why aren't you informed?"

"We helped some people with car trouble on the way here," said Shane, running a hand through his hair. "Oh, man. I can't believe all of this happened."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" asked Tori.

"Water ninjas are over there, cleaning off scorch marks," answered the air ninja, pointing. "The earth ninjas are fixing the destroyed fields. The air ninjas are clearing up debris."

The three of them split up and Shane tentatively flicked his wrist, thankful when the air around him obeyed, the rubble on the ground lifted and moved toward the growing pile.

He tried to keep focused, but his mind was racing. Sensei Watanabe was injured? What were the other teachers going to do? Who had attacked them, and what did they want?

Maybe Cam would let him see the security footage, if it existed. The sensei's son didn't like him much, and the feeling was kind of mutual, but maybe asking would at least distract Cam from his dad's situation. Shane didn't know what he would do if one of his parents had been attacked. And Sensei Watanabe was pretty much the only family Cam had, right?

He stuck around until the air ninjas were mostly finished and then walked around trying to find Cam. But the technician was nowhere to be found.

"Have you seen Cam?" he asked the nearest student. "I wanted to see the footage of the attack." He wanted to be informed.

"Cam? Good luck," scoffed the student. "Between Sensei Watanabe, the other sensei, and the Wind morphers, he'll be lucky if he makes it through the day without passing out."

"What?" asked Shane, confused.

"Didn't you hear Sensei Watanabe's last orders?" demanded the student, staring at him in disbelief. "What, were you under a rock or something?"

"I was late," said Shane defensively. "Can you fill me in?"

The student sighed. "Before Sensei Watanabe was…y'know," he said, gesturing vaguely.

"Yeah?" prompted Shane. Because that was the one thing he did actually know.

"He basically told Cam that he was in charge," finished the student.

"In charge?" repeated Shane. "Of what?"

"Of everything," replied the student. "Sensei said that Cam was his successor, and that he's in charge of the Wind Academy and the Wind morphers."

"The Wind morphers?" asked Shane, feeling like a parrot.

"Yeah, I know, right?" asked the student, assuming that he knew what Wind morphers were. "I never believed in Power Rangers either, but we've all seen Cam carrying around that box and the teachers aren't trying to keep it a secret. Cam's in charge of picking the Wind Power Rangers."

"Power Rangers? Yeah, right!" laughed Shane, sure that this was all some big joke. "Power Rangers are in comic books, dude. Not real life."

"Tell that to the sensei and Cam," replied his informant, shrugging. "In any case, this place has been chaos ever since…" He trailed off, his attention caught by something else.

Shane followed his gaze and spotted an exhausted-looking Cam being escorted across campus by all four of the remaining sensei. And there was a box tightly gripped in the technician's hands. He was sorely tempted to catch Cam's attention, to ask for the footage, but he wasn't completely stupid. Something important was going on, and he wasn't about to interrupt.

"They're probably going to talk to him about Sensei's last words," murmured the student, as everyone around them stopped and stared at the procession. "I mean, Cam's got no ninja training. How's he supposed to be the headmaster? And how can a non-ninja give out ninja ranger powers?"

Shane was still trying to get past the whole Power-Rangers-exist thing. Dustin was going to freak when he heard about this.

"You think they're going to disobey Sensei?" he questioned.

The student shrugged. "I would, if I were them," he replied honestly. "Cam's a freaking genius, but he's no sensei. He's not a ninja, and putting him in charge is a stupid idea. It's like inviting those aliens to come get us."

Shane nodded absently, his eyes still on Cam as the older male vanished into the main building. "Power Rangers…" he murmured, shaking his head. "Weird."

He met up with Dustin and Tori near the edge of the fields. Most of the damage had been cleared, but it was still obvious that whoever had attacked them had been powerful.

"Dude, did you hear anything about Sensei?" asked Dustin.

"I heard that he's alive," said Tori, looking relieved, "But I think he's in a coma. They can't wake him up."

"Did you guys hear about Cam?" Shane asked them.

"Sensei's son?" questioned Tori. "No, what's up?"

"Sensei apparently left him in charge of the school," said Shane, shaking his head. "And get this—apparently Cam is in charge of giving out the Wind morphers."

"Wind morphers?" repeated Tori, puzzled. "What are those?"

Dustin got it first. "Dude, Power Rangers?!" he demanded, practically hopping with excitement. "We've got Power Rangers?"

"Not yet," hissed Shane, motioning for him to be quiet. Tori looked skeptical and he told her, "I know, I didn't believe it either. But did you guys see Cam pass by earlier with the other sensei? He was holding a box, and that box is supposed to contain the morphers. For Power Rangers."

"That is so sweet!" said Dustin, though he remembered Shane's warning and kept his voice down. "I can't believe we've got Power Rangers!"

"I can't believe it either," said Tori dryly. "Who do you think Cam's going to choose?"

"Who says he gets to choose?" retorted Shane. "Word is that the sensei are going to take charge."

"But dude, Sensei Watanabe left Cam in charge, right?" asked Dustin. "Wouldn't that be like, ignoring orders?"

"They're kind of strange orders," said Tori thoughtfully. "I mean, Cam's smart, but he's not a ninja, right? Why would Sensei leave him in charge of the Wind Academy?"

"Question of the hour," replied Shane, right before Sensei Tanaka and Sensei Garcia appeared, ordering the advanced and intermediate students to come with them.

"What's going on?" wondered Tori, as the sensei began talking to the other students. The beginning students just stood there watching, all of them confused. Then Sensei Hayashi appeared and gestured to them.

"Sensei, what's going on?" asked one student, as the beginners flocked around him.

"The aliens that attacked the school are now attacking the city," Sensei Hayashi told them. "Sensei Garcia and Sensei Tanaka are leading them into battle."

"Why can't we go?" demanded Shane before he could stop himself. Tori and Dustin gave him 'shut up' looks, but it was too late and Sensei Hayashi's attention was drawn to them.

"The aliens have very strong energy readings," said Sensei Hayashi. "Unfortunately, you are not yet prepared to face their strength."

"But Sensei, we fought before," protested someone off to the side.

"And there are three students in the medical bay to attest to that fact," said Sensei Hayashi gently. "The decision stands. I know you wish to help, but you are not ready. We cannot afford to lose our numbers."

More students made discontented noises, and Sensei Hayashi held up both hands. Immediately, everyone fell into line and fell silent.

"In time, you will be ready to fight," he said calmly. "Until then, you must train. If you would please divide according to your affinity, I will assign you training exercises."

Shane gave Tori and Dustin a grimace as they separated, not happy at all with their orders. What crap! He knew he could fight, he just needed to concentrate a little more…how was he supposed to train when the other students were out risking their lives against an unknown enemy?

He wished he had been there when the aliens attacked the Academy. He wished he had been able to fight, that he hadn't been too late—again.

If the aliens hadn't attacked, if Sensei Watanabe had been present, he would have been kicked out. Expelled. The idea was…well, he couldn't even think about it. And now, to have missed something so important that it had turned the Academy upside down and put them on the receiving end of attacks from an unknown enemy…it was frustrating.

He wanted to help. He wanted to make up for missing the first attack. Even if his help wouldn't have made a difference, he still could've been there. He could have fought.

And he would. Somehow, eventually, Shane was going to fight.

Another one bites the dust…this chapter wasn't as long as the previous one, but the series does focus on Cam, so Shane's part isn't so long. Besides, not a lot has happened yet, at least, nothing that Shane knows of. All he knows is that he missed the action and even though he was late for a good reason, he was still late. He feels like he's let the school and Sensei Watanabe down, and so he's going to try to make amends.