Chapter Ten: Trouble in Blue Bay

"Dude, you don't look so good," Cyber Cam said to Hunter as they entered Ops. Hunter growled, snapping at the cyber clone, only to have Shane forcefully jerk him back. They entered the main room and Hunter dropped to the ground, hiding his face in his forearms.

"Don't bother him," Shane said softly to the others: Tori, Cyber Cam and Sensei. Dustin had gone off in search of Cam. "He's not really himself at the moment."

"How's Blake?" Tori asked, her concern evident in her voice. Cyber Cam opened his mouth to answer, but closed it again when another voice answered for him.

"I'm fine," Blake said, coming into the room. "Just have a headache." His eyes were on his brother, and he dropped to the ground beside him. Hunter looked up at him, and then collapsed into his little brother's embrace.

The others all watched the two of them for a moment before turning away, feeling as though they were snooping. A few minutes later, Shane turned around to find Hunter asleep, sprawled in his brother's lap, his head resting against Blake's shoulder and bicep. He was being supported by Blake's arm, snaking around to wrap across his chest, the navy ranger's hand at his waist.

"Hmm," Shane hummed. "Who's older? Aricudo or Alchmed?"

Blake sighed, rubbing at his face with his free hand. "Aricudo. He's older by two years."

"Um," Tori murmured. "That doesn't make sense. Cam's twenty-four. Hunter's seventeen? And Hunter's older than him?"

Blake sighed again, looking down at his older brother. "Reincarnation's a fickle thing…" he quoted with a grimace. There were unasked questions shining in Shane and Tori's eyes and Blake went ahead and answered them. "Kaido explained everything to me…kind of."

"So…Cam's kinda your middle brother in a strange sort of way," Shane reasoned. Blake shrugged.

"Dude," Dustin's voice echoed from the stairs as he leapt down them. "That's just a little too confusing."

"You find Cam?" Tori asked immediantly.

Dustin frowned, marring his otherwise handsome face. "I found this," he said, holding up Cam's amulet. "And a very dead Kaido and footprints…" he paused, running a hand through his brown locks. "Zurgane's footprints."

Blake felt Hunter tense slightly, knowing that his brother was only half asleep. But then he relaxed again, and the navy ranger figured that he'd worry later. "So," Blake asked. "What now?"

"We get Cam back," Shane replied. "Heck, we've done it before. It's not like Lothor knows how to hold captives very well…"

Blake grimaced and Tori sighed. Cyber Cam shrugged, seating himself at the computer and flipped it on. "Dude," he commented, his fingers flying over the keyboard. "I'll find Cam and then ya'll can go and, like, rescue him. Sound good?"

"That's great," Dustin muttered. "Thanks."

Cam groaned, immediantly not liking the situation he was in. Of course, not many people enjoy being chained to a wall in a deep pit in the middle of Lothor-knows-where. And it was obvious that this was Lothor's doing because he was the one laughing at the samurai from his vantage point at the top of the pit.

Cam's dark eyes watched his uncle, not bothering to hide his pain. He hurt, and that was that.

"Well, dear nephew, it looks as though you are going to die very soon. How do you feel about that?" Lothor asked, smirking slightly.

Cam stared up at him, the words taking a while to sink into his fuzzy mind. It was hard to think due to the pain, but he could come up with a sarcastic retort. It was a talent of his, after all. "Bite me," he muttered.

"Oh, I don't plan too," Lothor replied with a wave of his hand. "I'm going to have my monster do that for me." The chains released Cam then, and he collapsed to the ground, not even bothering to try and push himself up. He hurt way too much.

Aricudo… His mind was but a fragile whisper, but he persisted anyway.

Hunter exited the room, head towards the ground, claws clicking against the flooring. He had heard his brother's weak cry, but had lost contact after that. Dustin was in the front room, watching as Cyber Cam typed away, searching for the lost Samurai Ranger.

"Hey man, somethin' wrong?" Dustin asked, catching sight of the tan wolf. Hunter sat himself down, his tail wrapping around his paws as he gazed at the wind with unnervingly clear blue eyes.

I heard Cam, he said.

Dustin blinked in surprise. "Do you know where he is?" The wolf gave a single shake of his head before getting back to his feet and leaping up onto the couch. "Tori and Shane and Blake are in the back, training. You can join them if you like."

Hunter didn't move, just standing and watching Cyber Cam impatiently. He wanted to find his brother. It wasn't much of a tradeoff, saving one brother to have the other kidnapped by his evil uncle.

"Got it!" Cyber Cam suddenly exclaimed, just as the other three rangers were entering the room. They all ran forward, questions about the location flowing from them, but Dustin and Hunter, who had seen the screen, had already run out of the room.

Cam gave a cry of pain as he was thrown aside by the giant monster again. He couldn't fight it, not in the state he was in. Although, on any good day, it didn't look as though it would be too hard to beat. It was just a large lizard…monkey…thing. Okay, so maybe it wasn't all that easy to beat, but it sure was getting the better of Cam.

"What? Surely you're not giving up, nephew," Lothor called down to him. And then the alien's eyes widened and he turned around. "No! Not the other rangers!"

Cam didn't bother to get up, he just gave a sob, half out of relief, and half from the overbearing pain. Hunter was kneeling in front of him, and he looked up at the crimson clad ranger, eyes glassy from his agony. "It hurts," he whispered.

"Shh…we're gonna get you outa here," Hunter murmured, gathering his brother in his arms and grimacing as Cam gave an involuntary cry of pain. He turned just in time to see the winds destroy the large creature but no scroll appeared. They all gave a collected sigh of relief and streaked off.

"Um, guys," Blake said as soon as Cam had been settled in. "You might want to take a look at this." Having been forced behind due to just having gotten rescued himself, Blake had been watching the news, since the computer had suddenly shut itself off.

The other rangers turned towards the TV set and everyone frowned. "Due to the death of Ed Stamps," the news reporter was explaining. "A large wolf hunt has begun. These animals are killers and must be stopped…" Hunter shut off the power and glanced at everyone, one eyebrow raised skeptically.

"So…not only do we have to deal with Lothor and the Ashnazi, but now we've got the citizens against us as well…" he sighed. "Oh is life ever hard." Hunter gave a grimace than and turned towards Cam's room once again. "Goodnight…" and with that, he walked off.

"So," Dustin said, dropping to the floor and crossing his legs Indian style. "What now?"

End Chappie…what chapter is this? Oh yeah…Chappie Ten.

I am sooo sorry about not updating earlier! I was working on my book, and I've just finished it. So, if any of you know where I can find a publisher who likes fantasy stories involving three worlds and one heck of a war, let me know. Anywho, this fic seems a long way from actually being finished…I have a lot of ideas left! Hehe…so…

Signing off;

Hikaru Kosuzaku