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

Pairings: Hunter/Cam (yes, I'm aware that they still don't know each other…), Blake/Tori

Summary: A continuation of the last chapter. Cam's got a plan, but will it end in disaster? Every action has its consequence…

Notes: This picks up right where the last chapter ended. Tori, Shane, and Dustin will be appearing pretty consistently from here on out, I think. I tossed Sensei Nakamura in as well, just for fun :)


The Choices We Make

Chapter Eight: And Believing is a Start

Cam had timed his appearance just right. As he arrived on the training fields the next afternoon, Shane, Tori, and Dustin had just finished basics training and were leaving.

"Can I talk to the three of you for a minute?" he questioned, catching their attention.

"We aren't in trouble for last night, are we?" asked Dustin. "We were just trying to help out, y'know?"

"You aren't in trouble," Cam assured him. "Actually, I need to ask a favor of you three…and it needs to be under the radar." Meaning that the sensei couldn't find out.

Shane studied him suspiciously. "Under the radar?" he asked skeptically. "Why can't anyone else know?"

"Because it's technically something I'm not supposed to be investigating," answered Cam, showing them the seed from the previous night. There had been two. The sensei had one, and he had kept the other for himself.

"I need you three to cover for me while I go visit a botanist," he told them. "I'm hoping he can tell me what this seed does, and why Kelzaks would be planting them."

"And you're not supposed to go there?" guessed Tori.

"Exactly," confirmed Cam. "I'm not even supposed to have this seed."

"Why?" asked Dustin.

Cam hesitated. But if he wanted their help, he was going to have to tell them the truth. "I don't actually know," he admitted. "For some reason I'm not supposed to directly involve myself in the fight against Lothor. When I was approved as headmaster, it was part of the arrangement that the sensei and I made."

"And you think this is important enough to break the rules?" asked Tori.

"I don't know anyone else at the school with enough background to do this research," replied Cam. "This requires someone who actually has a clue about botany." He couldn't help the scornful edge that crept into his voice. How did they expect a student to know enough about plant physiology to get the information needed to analyze this thing?

"Just so you know? Not a good pickup line," teased Shane, before sobering. "…Why us?"

"You wanted to help," Cam reminded him. Knowing that wasn't a good enough reason, he added, "And…I think you can do it." Because even though they were more than a little immature, their intentions were good, and he was sort of beginning to…trust them. Maybe.

Tori studied him carefully. "…I'll help," she said, after a moment.

"Yeah, okay," agreed Dustin.

Shane scrutinized him, still a little suspicious. "…Alright," he said at last. "But will you keep us in the loop? Tell us what you find?"

"When I come back from the botanist's I'll find you," promised Cam, a little relieved. His plan had hinged on their help, and now that he had it, hopefully everything else would go smoothly.

The plan was basically one of interference. Shane would ask Sensei Garcia questions about their shared air affinity. Dustin would request help from Sensei Tanaka about some of the beginning techniques taught in class, and Tori would ask Sensei Hayashi about the extra training they had been going through.

The one weak link in the plan was Sensei Nakamura. But Cam was counting on Sensei Nakamura not coming to find him, and if he found out that Cam had gone, then not reporting it to the other teachers. It was a risky gamble, but one he had to take. Sensei Nakamura had offered to train him, after all. Maybe he wouldn't object to this expedition. Besides, it wasn't like anything was going to happen.


Famous last words. He got to Dr. Bellram's lab alright, and got the answers he wanted—yes, the plant was dangerous, it could possibly devour everyone and everything in sight if grown correctly, and of course there was a spring with exactly the right combination of minerals and nutrients to breed disaster in plant form. Because things could never be easy.

So he went to Turner Springs in an attempt to get a water sample to work with. If he could figure out how the plants grew, he could figure out how to stop them from growing as well. That was when he ran into the Kelzaks. Apparently they had figured out the spring's properties as well.

And they fought. Cam managed to keep the water he had collected away from the Kelzaks, but before he could defeat all of his opponents Sensei Nakamura and a group of students arrived on the scene. It was over quickly and as the students left Sensei Nakamura turned to him.

"I may be old, but I can still recognize a diversion tactic when I see one," he told Cam, crossing his arms. "And I was expecting as much. I did not, however, forsee you allying yourself with the three beginners. Please explain."

Cam sighed. "I don't understand why I'm not allowed in the battlefield," he said, meeting Sensei Nakamura's gaze. "Surely the Wind Academy can use all of the fighters it can get. And I'm at least on par with the intermediate students in terms of skill, if not some of the advanced students. Just because I haven't formally trained doesn't mean I'm not capable."

"It is not because of a lack of skill that we prohibit your participation," said Sensei Nakamura mysteriously. "We are aware that you are a skilled fighter."

But Cam was through with non-explanations.

"Then why?" he pressed. "Why was that part of the deal we made after the first attack? You and the other sensei…you have a reason, right?"

Sensei Nakamura sighed. "You are seeking the right answers to the wrong questions," he said. "Every action in this world is a result of the actions that preceded it, Cameron."

"You aren't explaining anything," said Cam, exasperated. "Sensei, you're speaking in circles."

"The only explanation I can give you will not satisfy you," Sensei Nakamura warned him. "In fact, it may only serve to further confuse you."

"I think I should reserve the right to make that judgment," replied Cam, meeting his gaze unflinchingly.

"Very well," acquiesced the elder man. "Cameron, your father knows very well that you are a capable fighter. However, he has been forbidden to let you train."

"Forbidden? By whom?" asked Cam.

"Bywhat," corrected Sensei Nakamura. "When you were very young, your mother asked your father for a promise. An oath, to never train you as a ninja. It is a promise that your father has taken very seriously ever since."

"A promise he made to my mother?" repeated Cam, stunned. "That's why I wasn't allowed to train at the Academy, even when he knew what I could do? Why would she ask that of him? Why would he agree?"

"That is where my knowledge ends," said Sensei Nakamura. "There are, of course, speculations about why Miko requested such a thing, but those speculations differ. As for why your father has continued to uphold that promise…he takes honor very seriously, Cameron. A promise to a loved one is very sacred to him."

"He didn't have the right to decide that for me," said Cam, a dull anger suffusing through his chest. "I should have been allowed to decide whether or not I wanted to train."

"He is your father, and he made the choices that he thought were best for you," said Sensei Nakamura simply.

"Yeah, like sticking me in charge of an Academy I didn't even train at," muttered Cam bitterly. A thought occurred to him and he eyed Sensei Nakamura in suspicion, things slowly clicking into place.

"You and the other sensei agreed to my position as headmaster because it would keep me busy and away from the battlefield, didn't you," he stated flatly. Because his father would've sooner let him run the school than fight for it.

"If that had been our sole purpose, there were other means by which we could achieve it," said Sensei Nakamura, a bit sharply. "I will not deny that it was taken into consideration, but had we not thought you capable we certainly would not have let you decide how to distribute the Wind morphers, nonetheless agreed to your assignment as headmaster."

"…You didn't agree with it," realized Cam, studying him. "That's what you meant. That's why you offered to train me. You don't agree with the decision to keep me off the battlefield."

"Your father was very insistent on keeping you out of danger. While I obeyed his wishes before, I feel that if you are the headmaster, you are already in danger," stated Sensei Nakamura, frowning, "And that you should be prepared for when that danger emerges. You have the skills, but you need refinement. Honing."

Cam considered it, considered everything he had just learned. "…Is that offer to train me still open?" he asked at last.

"I will not break my word to your father," said Sensei Nakamura. "You will not train in the way of a ninja."

Cam sighed. It figured.

"You will meet me every day after your visit to your father's room," Sensei Nakamura continued, causing his head to jerk up. "We will train for two hours."

"But you just said…" trailed off Cam.

"There are other ways than those of the ninja," said Sensei Nakamura mysteriously. "We will start tomorrow. For now, return to the Academy and research the plant you discovered."

"The other sensei—" began Cam.

"I will speak with them," said Sensei Nakamura, cutting him off. "Go, Cameron."

So he went, still somewhat in bewilderment but at least now he had a few answers. Sort of. As Sensei Nakamura had warned him, however, he didn't know if he was more or less confused than before. Why would his mother ask for him not to be trained? The most obvious answer was for his protection. The life of a ninja was a dangerous one, and certainly not something a mother would want to choose for her only son.

And he could easily picture his father being stubborn enough to keep a promise made when he wasn't even old enough to know what the word 'ninja' meant. How angry would he be if he woke up to see that Cam was training behind everyone's back? How angry would the other sensei be? What would happen to Sensei Nakamura?

Well, obviously the elder man had already taken those risks into account with his decisions. Cam remembered what he had said before. Sensei Nakamura really wasn't the type to lightly deceive his colleagues. So Cam would train…for now, at least.

He spotted Tori, Dustin, and Shane waiting for him by the edge of the training fields.

"We kept them for as long as we could," said Tori apologetically, "But then they got a page on the communicators and left. Did you get what you needed?"

"Partially," said Cam, and that was the truth in so many ways. "I've got some research to do still. Thanks for your help."

"What did you find out?" asked Shane.

Cam glanced around. Students were still milling about, some giving them very curious or suspicious looks. They couldn't speak out in the open like this. The sensei were sure to be in the main building, and he couldn't run into them right now...

Did he trust these three enough to show them Ops? Well, it looked like he didn't have a choice. They had kept enough secrets for him so far…he would just have to trust them with another. And it wasn't like they would be able to get into Ops without him anyway.

"We can't talk here," he told them. "But you have to swear never to say a word about the place I'm going to take you to."

Tori, Dustin, and Shane glanced at each other, a bit uncertain. Did they really want to get any more involved in this?

Shane was the first to decide. "Alright. Not a word," he agreed. He wanted to know what was going on more than he cared about sharing whatever secret Cam was about to show them.

"Yeah, bro. I won't say anything," agreed Dustin.

Tori studied him for a moment. "Okay," she said at last. "We won't tell anyone."

Cam led them to the fringes of campus, past the buildings and more towards the woods. Only when he was certain that no one else was following them did he stoop down and pull up the trapdoors concealed by the ground.

"Woah…" murmured Shane, as they followed him down the stairs.

Cam stopped at the inside doors, scanned his hand, and the doors slid open. He hit another switch and the screens slid down, the monitors exposed themselves, and the bookshelves opened up.

"Dude! Totally secret-agent!" exclaimed Dustin, as the three ninjas stared at the room in shock.

"Cam, what is this place?" asked Shane.

"This is Ninja Ops," said Cam, gesturing to the area around him. "It's supposed to be the base of operations for the Wind Rangers…once they're chosen." A decision that was becoming more pressing by the day.

"Who built all of this?" asked Tori, looking around in awe.

"The bunker has been here for years," said Cam, allowing himself a momentary surge of pride, "But I added all of the equipment and updated everything. My father…he wanted a safe house in case anything ever happened to the school."

"It's wicked, man," complimented Dustin.

"Thanks. But back to the point," said Cam, wanting to get to the matter at hand, "I went to Dr. Bellram…" He explained what he had found out.

"Okay. Killer plant," said Dustin, scratching his head. "Dude, this keeps getting weirder and weirder."

"Tell me about it," muttered Cam, sighing. "In any case, there's no real way to stop the Kelzaks from getting the water. We can't guard the whole spring. All we can do is prepare for when the plants start growing."

"What can we do to stop them?" asked Shane.

"We do nothing," Cam replied. "Unfortunately, Sensei Nakamura found me. I'm sure the other sensei know that I disobeyed their orders. I can't do anything but give them the tools to take down those plants. And you three can't draw any more suspicion on yourselves by helping me. We're lucky enough that only Sensei Nakamura realized what you were doing."

"And he's not going to tell the other sensei?" asked Tori curiously.

"I have no idea," replied Cam, sighing. "I'm counting on it, but it's not a sure thing."

"So what are you doing to stop the plants?" asked Dustin.

As Cam explained some of his research to them, none of them noticed the seed quivering in its beaker, tiny root tendrils snaking up the glass and into the flask of water next to it.


So when I first started writing chapter seven, I envisioned it as a two-chapter storyline. But now I've decided that this plot is going to lead up into...well, you'll find out. Next chapter. Oh, you don't want to miss the next chapter...BIG things will happen. I hope you enjoyed the eighth installment; comments and such are always appreciated!