Things were quiet at last, Sensei thought. The past few days had been good for the team. He looked over at the twin bent heads of Shane and Dustin, urgently checking and rechecking a list of supplies. Both had come back from their long walk seeming much more relaxed. Sensei Omino chuckled quietly so as not to draw attention. The joys of youth, he smiled.

Speaking of…He turned to observe the other resident pair. Tori and Blake were curled up on the other bed, watching television. The two fought playfully for the remote, until Tori employed dirty tactics and tickled Blake. He worried for a moment that the shrieking might wake the boy next to him, but there was no need.

The last member of the team was curled up against Sensei's hip, while Sensei pretended to meditate. Now that Hunter's energy was back in balance, he was quickly gaining back his strength. Even though his son had tired from the short exercise today, he would have more than enough energy for the part that he meant for the young man to play.

Tomorrow, the whole team would attack Lothor's liar and retrieve Cameron Watanabe. Tori, Shane, and Blake would be the frontal assault. Dustin and Hunter would act as look outs and back-up. Sensei would be the one to enter the cave and rescue Cam while the team distracted the guards. Tomorrow would be a difficult battle, but Sensei had every faith in the success of this team. Tomorrow, they would fight and they would win.

Tonight, they would spend time rediscovering why winning was so important.

The day that the team set out to attack Lothor was a beautiful Northern Californian day. That is to say, the fog was as thick as pea soup with the promise of a sunny afternoon once the cloud cover burned off. Until then, the ninjas had the perfect cover for their assault.

Hunter shivered in the sea breeze. He and Dustin were sequestered in a small stand of trees just feet from the cliff's edge. Far below was the beach where they had abandoned Cam so few weeks ago.

He watched as the others slipped down the cliff face. Dustin seemed to be tracking a very particular figure in red, while Hunter had to split his time three ways. Tori, after all, was practically family.

Together the small force disabled the front guard without a sound, allowing Sensei to slip inside the cave system. Hunter remembered that Lothor's troops liked to sleep in. With any luck, he thought, they could be in and out before Lothor knew what hit him.

Of course with that thought to jinx them, that would be the moment that everything went to hell. Guards came pouring out of nearby tunnels and the small force was soon surrounded.

Dustin and Hunter snapped into action. Dustin leaned down to immerse a hand in the dirt. A small earthquake roared down the cliff face, dumping rock in front of many of the cave mouths and stopping the flow of enemy fighters. With a glance at Tori, the two of them combined their power. Tori funneled water in a circle around them, while Dustin funneled rock and hard earth out of the circle. Together, they quickly create a deadly moat of quicksand around the beleaguered trio.

Hunter, meanwhile, was playing sniper. He snapped sharp bolts of light at any kelzak foolish enough to stand still long enough. Blake and Shane joined in, crushing the minions between equally hard walls of sound and air. They succeeded in making the number of enemy fighters a little more manageable.

That of course was when Lothor showed up. With a snap to his black cape, Lothor strode out to greet them, dragging to captives behind him.

"Looking for these?" he taunted.

Sensei had a bloody gash over one eye, but Cam was who worried Hunter the most. He didn't seem to notice that he was in the middle of a rescue. Then Hunter noticed Cam's right hand flickering over and out and Hunter relaxed. That was their sign that he was up for whatever came his way.

Lothor eyed the reduced group, then searched the cliffs around the camp.

"Thanks so much for the RSVP, but we seem to be shy a few guests. Let's get this party really hopping!" Lothor shouted until his booming voice filled the space between them. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

Hunter nodded at Dustin to hide and then stepped out into a patch of sunlight. "Speak for yourself Lothor. Where is your back-up?"

Lothor slow smile was not as broad as it should have been. "Who needs back-up to practice a little pest control?"

The others weren't coming, Hunter deduced. He could only hope they had been caught in Dustin's cave-in.

"You have something that belongs to me." Hunter somersaulted down to beach below. He had to fight not to stumble after that foolish move, but it was worth the look on Lothor's face.

"Feeling better, I see."

Hunter let a small bit of liquid fire slip out and rolled it over his knuckles like a coin. "Much, thanks for asking."

Hunter spared a quick glance at the other Rangers. Without Dustin's ability, the moat was filling in with dirt. The kelzaks were soon crossing over and challenging the trio once more. Hunter watched as Blake threw a particularly vicious upper cut and then turn his attention back to the monster in front of him.

He was just in time to see Dustin sneaking up behind Lothor.

"It's too bad this Happy Meal doesn't come with yellow," Lothor smirked. "He was always my favorite."

With a sharp jerk, he twisted out of the way of Dustin's windmill kick. The two traded blows, Dustin keeping his own for the moment. Most importantly, he had gotten Lothor to release his hold on the hostages.

As soon as both men realized they were free, they made a run for it. Hunter pointed to the cliff top where he and Dustin had been hiding and then turned back to help Dustin. They managed to push Lothor back towards the caves and then Dustin was able to seal the mad wannabe dictator inside.

They turned to help the others finish off the kelzaks. When those were defeated, the rest of the team streaked up the cliff side to join their teammates.

Hunter took a moment to look Sensei over, but soon left him to Tori's tender mercies.

He walked to Cam's side with a purpose and then pulled him so hard into his body that their impact resounded in the air. He stopped to meet Cam's gaze and then the two devoured each other. Relief added fuel to the fire of their absence and it was several minutes before they could bear to part.

"Hello," Cam blinked.

"You okay?" Hunter tried to look Cam over without giving letting him go.

Cam only moved one shoulder when he shrugged, which meant a busted shoulder for sure, Hunter figured. "I'll live."

That was Cam code for he could walk and talk, so why was Hunter even bothering to ask.

"What happened to you?"

Hunter imitated Cam's one armed shrug. "Sensei gave me a tune-up."

"That's really good news…" But then the rest of what Cam was going to say was lost when a large foot collided with Hunter's back. Cam went flying, but Hunter's momentum was stopped by a fist in his collar. A black gloved hand ripped into his hair and pulled him back hard. His cheek hit a belt buckle and it left behind a small gash.