Thunder Storm Odyssey
Part of the Power Rangers: Worlds, Times and Distances Apart Universe
A Power Rangers Fanfiction
Chapter 4: The Fountain of Healing Light
by Lauraac2110
Somewhere near Blue Bay Harbour, Wind Ninja Academy, Ninja Operations, mid-afternoon, some time later
"... So let me get this straight," Shane said as he paced. "You actually dreamed of the Fountain of Healing Light?"
Cam nodded. "Yes."
"And, according to your dream, it lies through the forest, across a distant stream with a white stone in the middle of it and at the top of a mountain devoid of all life within a golden plaza?" Shane continued
"Yes, Shane," Cam replied calmly.
"I'm having a hard time believing this," he admitted as he stopped pacing. Cam sighed at this.
"We believe you, Cam," Conner said with a grim smile. "Mainly because a similar thing happened to Dr O. once."
"You forgot to mention the fact that Dr O. was fighting for his life at the time, Conner," Ethan reminded Conner, who grimaced sheepishly at this fact, before he continued with, "Although we do still believe you, Cam."
Sensei Watanabe grimaced.
"I also believe you, Cam. It is no coincidence that you dreamed of the Fountain of Healing Light," he assured.
Cam sighed.
"I know. We desperately needed a way to restore our morphers, and our Zords, so that we wouldn't be at a disadvantage if Lothor enlarges his minions into giant monsters again," he said grimly. "And it was provided for us."
"As we were taught at the Thunder Ninja Academy, legends are just truths that have long been forgotten or concealed for important reasons," Blake said with a smile. "So I believe you, Cam."
"And so do I," Hunter assured.
Tori and Dustin also put in that they believed Cam as well. Shane sighed.
"If everyone else believes you, Cam, then I believe you as well," Shane grudgingly admitted. "Although I'm still having a hard time getting my head around the whole idea."
Silence prevailed for several moments before Cam broke it.
"So what are we going to do?" he demanded.
"I think that it would be best for you to go to the Fountain of Healing Light whilst we stay behind to protect the Wind Ninja Academy in case Lothor decides to show up again whilst you are gone," Hunter said grimly. "You were the one who dreamt of the Fountain of Healing Light in the first place so you are probably the only one amongst us capable of utilising its power to restore your Samurai Amulet. This would also restore our morphers as well since our Ranger powers seemed to have been linked directly to yours."
"Very well, I'll go," Cam reluctantly agreed. "However, I do not want to go alone."
"Take Marah or Kapri then, Cam," Sensei Watanabe suggested.
"Why can't I take anyone else?" he countered.
"Marah and Kapri are the only people that we can spare here, Cam. We need everyone else to be ready to defend the Wind Ninja Academy from Lothor's forces at a moments notice right now," Sensei Watanabe explained. Cam nodded.
"I'll fetch them and my Samurai Amulet then," he said before he left the room.
As soon as Cam was gone, Sensei Watanabe's expression turned grim as he looked at the floor.
"Sensei, what is it?" Tori asked.
"It will be a great test of Cam's skills to get to the Fountain of Healing Light. And an even greater test of Cam's skills will likely be waiting for him at the fountain to ensure that he is worthy of using its powers," Sensei Watanabe confessed. "There is a high chance..."
He trailed off at that moment.
"Sensei?" Dustin asked hesitantly.
Sensei Watanabe closed his eyes.
"There is a high chance that Cam might not come back alive," he admitted quietly.
Everyone else paled at this as a grim mood descended upon Ninja Ops at that moment.
Somewhere near Blue Bay Harbour, Wind Ninja Academy, late afternoon, some time later again
The mood, despite Marah and Kapri's excitement, was quite grim as they gathered outside the doors into the Wind Ninja Academy to see Cam off. Once he had fetched his Samurai Amulet and his cousins, he had returned to Ninjas Ops to be tightly embraced by all of his friends. Cam was quite confused by their behaviour since they were treating him as if they might never see him again.
He was even more confused by the grim expressions on their faces and the sad expression on his father's face. However, he never got a chance to ask about what was wrong since Marah and Kapri distracted him when they grabbed his arm to drag him off.
"Come along, Cam," Marah said. "The fate of the Wind Ninja Academy depends upon how quickly we can get to the Fountain of Healing Light, restore your Samurai Amulet and return here with it to restore the other Ranger's powers."
"But..." Cam began.
"You wouldn't want Lothor to destroy everything here, would you?" Kapri demanded.
"No, but..." Cam began again.
"Then, come on then," Marah said in irritation as she and Kapri started to drag him off as several of Rangers started sniggering at Marah and Kapri's overenthusiastic behaviour.
"Good luck, Cam. You're going to need it!" Conner called before Cam vanished into the forest with Marah and Kapri. Sensei Watanabe took on a grim expression as he turned to address the Rangers when he was sure that his son was gone.
"With Cam gone, Lothor will almost certainly send some of his minions here to attack us whilst we are weak," he said grimly.
"We're ready for him and his minions, Sensei," Shane assured. "Although we're not at full strength after the events of this morning, we've recovered enough to have enough strength to fight Kelzaks and lesser minions now."
The others Wind and Thunder Ninja Rangers voiced their agreement with Shane's words as Ethan grimaced.
"I've recovered quite well too," Ethan admitted. "However, I'm not at full strength either so we're going to be at a disadvantage."
"Then we must make some preparations to even the odds a little," Sensei Watanabe said grimly. "Come, we can discuss this further in Ninja Operations."
With that, he turned and left for Ninja Ops with all of them following in close pursuit behind him.
Somewhere near Blue Bay Harbour, Lothor's Secret Underground Hideout, late afternoon, at that very moment
"Choobo!" Lothor yelled as he paced endlessly up and down in the cavern.
At Lothor's shout, Choobo instantly rushed to Lothor's side.
"Lothor, you called?" Choobo asked. Lothor took on a serious expression at that moment.
"Choobo, I want you to take some Kelzaks and destroy the Rangers," Lothor commanded. "In their weakened state, they should not be too much of a problem for you, I'm sure."
"Yes, Lothor," Choobo replied. "I'll leave right away, Lothor."
With that, Choobo rushed away as Lothor turned to the figure that had, up until now, been concealed in the shadows. Completely cloaked in black, and fitted in black armour, he was Lothor's newest minion and Lothor wanted to test his worth.
"I want you to keep an eye on Choobo," Lothor commanded. "And make sure that he doesn't mess up either."
"As you command, Lothor," the figure said as he left after Choobo. Lothor smiled as soon as he was gone.
The Rangers are in for a nasty surprise. Lothor thought with a malicious grin. Especially if it becomes necessary for my newest minion to step in...
Somewhere near Blue Bay Harbour, Wind Ninja Academy, Ninja Operations, early evening, some time later
"Sensei! Sensei!" a panicked ninja exclaimed as he rushed down into Ninja Ops. "We're under attack from Choobo and an army of Kelzaks."
Sensei Watanabe paled at this as Shane issued orders.
"You will stay here and protect the Sensei," Shane barked to the ninja. "Dustin, Tori, Blake, Hunter, we'll take the Kelzaks so that we can clear a path for Conner and Ethan to get to Choobo. Conner, Ethan, you'll..."
"Take on Choobo and either destroy him or force him to flee," Conner finished. "Right."
"Choobo isn't very smart," Tori warned them. "But he is powerful so be on your guard against him."
"We will," Ethan assured.
"Be careful, all of you," Sensei Watanabe warned. "You'll be vastly outnumbered out there."
The Rangers nodded before they rushed out of Ninja Ops.
Somewhere near Blue Bay Harbour, Wind Ninja Academy, early evening, several minutes later
Outside, they were quickly set upon by the Kelzaks. The five Thunder and Wind Ninja Rangers quickly spread out to keep the Kelzaks occupied so that Conner and Ethan could make their way directly to Choobo.
"Choobo, you've made a big mistake coming here today," Conner warned. "You're delusional if you believe that we're going to let you destroy us and take over the Wind Ninja Academy without a fight."
"I will destroy you on Lothor's behalf, Rangers," Choobo replied confidently.
Ethan rolled his eyes.
"That really does get old, you know," Ethan replied. "The last minion that Lothor sent here said that. And we destroyed it."
"I am more powerful than that Buzzinator so I will be able to destroy you," Choobo declared firmly.
"We'll see," Conner replied as the held the hand with the bracelet upon it to his chest. "Ready?"
"Ready," Ethan agreed as he copied Conner's gesture. The Blue and Red Dino Morphers appeared on their wrists.
"Dino Thunder, power up! Ha!" both of them called as they activated their morphers. Seconds later, they had morphed.
"Tyranno Staff," Conner called as he summoned his weapon from his belt.
"Tricera Shield," Ethan called as he too summoned his weapon from his belt.
"Now," Conner exclaimed as they both charged into battle against Choobo. As they fought, neither of them noticed the figure cloaked in black watching from the nearby forest with a smile upon his face.
Soon, I'll be able to get my revenge... the figure thought.
Somewhere near Blue Bay Harbour, Wind Ninja Academy, Forest, Northern Section, early evening, at that very moment
"Come on, Cam. We need to hurry," Marah and Kapri said simultaneously as they ran through the forest.
"I am hurrying," Cam replied as they ran. "If I go any faster, I won't have any energy left for later on when I'm going to need it most."
Both of them sighed but nodded as the three of them continued to travel through the forest at a rapid pace. As they ran, all of them hoped that they would reach the Fountain of Healing Light before it was too late.
Somewhere near Blue Bay Harbour, Wind Ninja Academy, mid-evening, some time later
"Duck!" Shane exclaimed. Tori and Dustin obeyed just as several Kelzaks were thrown over their heads by gusts of air to take out several of the Kelzaks that the pair had been fighting moments before. However, a number of other Kelzaks quickly took their places.
"Damn!" Shane cursed as the three of them took on the new Kelzaks. "The Kelzak horde appears to be endless. I honestly don't know how much longer I can keep this up for."
Hunter and Blake, who were fighting nearby, wore grim expressions.
"We keep fighting them for as long as it takes, Shane," Hunter replied. "Besides, you should really be thankful that we're only fighting Kelzaks and not Choobo as Conner and Ethan are."
"Yeah," Blake agreed. "Just look at how intense it is over there."
Shane took a moment to glance towards the fight between Choobo, Conner and Ethan where blows were being dodged, landed and thrown all over the place. Conner and Ethan were fighting brilliantly together and Choobo seemed to be faltering considerably because of their flawless teamwork. Lothor's lieutenant could barely keep up with them as they wove their way around him in an intricate dance whilst taking all the opportunities that they had to attack or support each other.
"All right, I get the point," Shane conceded as he took out one of the Kelzaks he was fighting. "Choobo is exceptionally dangerous, especially to us without our Ranger powers, yet they're making him look like he is a weakling over there."
"That's because he is a weakling, Shane," Dustin pointed out rather loudly as he dodged a blow from another Kelzak. "Choobo has, and always will be, the weakest link in Lothor's chain of minions."
Choobo, who had heard this from where he was fighting Conner and Ethan, was furious about this comment.
"I'm not a weakling!" he protested rather loudly in reply as he turned away from his opponents, the Dino Thunder Rangers, towards Dustin.
Conner and Ethan, however, proved that he was a weakling at that moment when they took full advantage of the welcome distraction to knock Choobo to the ground.
"Now, Conner!" Ethan exclaimed.
"Agreed," Conner replied as the tip of his staff opened. He fired at Choobo at that moment.
With startling agility, the figure cloaked in black rushed from where he had concealed himself in the nearby forest to deflect the shot away from Choobo by using one of the swords he carried. At the same moment that he deflected the blow, a gust of wind knocked his hood off to reveal his face.
Concealed behind their helmets, both Dino Rangers had shocked expressions upon their faces.
"Eric?" Conner said in horror.
"Hello, brother," Eric replied coldly.
Somewhere near Blue Bay Harbour, Wind Ninja Academy, Stream, mid-evening, at that moment
They had arrived at the stream moments ago and, now, Cam was cursing freely in unrestrained fury and frustration as he stood in the stream.
The pure white stone was there, right in the middle of stream, but there were no signs of the ash grey mountain slopes anywhere. It appeared that their desperate last chance hope for salvation had been completely dashed.
His cousins, Marah and Kapri, were watching silently in something akin to shock since they had never seen Cam so truly angry before. Of course, he had lost his temper a fair few times over the years but they had never seen him get so angry as he was now.
"Cam, what are we going to do now?" Marah asked hesitantly.
Cam didn't reply as he paced up and down in the stream for a moment.
"Honestly? I don't have a clue," he admitted. "This was supposed to be how we were going to recharge the Samurai Amulet and the other morphers. Alas, though, it appears not to be."
"Cam..." Kapri began. He ignored her as a renewed bout of frustration came over him.
"Damn it," he exclaimed furiously. "The others are probably fighting one of Lothor's minions right now and, without our powers, Lothor's going to destroy us all."
He kicked the stone at that moment as he let out a string of curses. Within a few moments, the ground began to tremble wildly. Before he could react, though, there was a brilliant flash of white light and everything went black.
Mountain of Ashes, No Time
When Cam returned to consciousness, he found Marah and Kapri hanging over him with concerned expressions upon their faces.
"Cousin, are you all right?" they asked hesitantly.
"I'm fine," Cam assured as they helped him to his feet. He instantly took a look at his surroundings.
They were now standing on the slopes of the ash grey mountain from his dream. It was completely devoid of all life as he had dreamt it to be.
"It seems that your frustration actually got us somewhere, Cam," Kapri admitted with a smile. "When you struck the stone, all of us passed out and we found ourselves here."
"So, the fountain is at the top of the mountain, right?" Marah asked. Cam nodded.
"Come on, then," Kapri exclaimed excitedly as he grabbed his arm and, together, the three of them rapidly began to climb the grey slopes of the mountain.
Mountain of Ashes, Golden Plaza, No Time
"The Fountain of Healing Light," Cam breathed as they entered the golden plaza. "We made it."
Marah and Kapri, who were slightly out of breath at that moment, smiled at him as he gazed at the silver fountain in the centre of the plaza.
"Well go on then," Marah urged.
"Yeah, go on, Cam," Kapri urged.
Cam nodded as he took off his Samurai Amulet and slowly made his way to the Fountain. Before he could restore his Samurai powers, though, he was stopped by a low threatening growl which made his skin crawl.
"Cam, look out!" Marah and Kapri simultaneously warned.
Cam ducked instinctively at that moment to avoid a powerful blow to the head. Then, he tumbled out of the way before he got to his feet so that he could take a good look at the monster that was guarding the plaza.
He almost gulped when he saw the powerful grizzly bear equipped with silver armour towering over him. It growled threateningly again as it lunged for him.
"Cam!" Marah and Kapri exclaimed as he dodged the attack. They took a step forward as if they were about to help him.
"No!" Cam stated firmly as he dodged another blow. "I was the one who dreamt of the way to the Fountain of Healing Light. I have to be the one to pass the test on my own so that I can restore my morpher. Don't interfere!"
He had to dodge several blows at that moment by diving out of the way as the bear tried to take several powerful swipes at him. He quickly got back to his feet again, with his two cousins watching anxiously, before he continued to dodge all of the blows that the bear was trying to land upon him without harming it.
"Cam, why don't you just kill the bear?" Marah exclaimed.
"No," Cam replied firmly. "It is the guardian of the Fountain of Healing Light, and utterly innocent, so I will not harm it. I have only come here to restore my Samurai Amulet not to spill any innocent blood."
At that moment, the onslaught of blows suddenly stopped as the massive grizzly bear submissively lay down where it had been standing moments before beside the Fountain of Healing Light. Cam instantly realised that he had been found worthy by the bear to use the fountain by proving that he would not harm innocents with what he planned to use its power for beyond a doubt to it.
"Looks like you've been found worthy, Cam," Kapri said with a smile. "You've probably shown it that you will not abuse the great powers of the Fountain of Healing Light."
Hesitantly, Cam moved towards the Fountain of Healing Light again. This time, the grizzly bear made no moves to stop him so he took up his Samurai Amulet and gently lowered it into the crystal clear water.
For a few moments, nothing happened until both the fountain and the amulet began to glow. For several moments, Cam held the Samurai Amulet in the water until the glow vanished once again. Then, he took up his Samurai Amulet and put it around his neck once more.
As soon as the amulet was around Cam's neck, there was a massive unexpected burst of white light from the fountain which caused Cam, Marah and Kapri to pass out again.
Somewhere near Blue Bay Harbour, Wind Ninja Academy, Stream, mid-evening, several minutes later
When they came to again, they found themselves back in the stream again. All three of them were soaking wet but none of them complained since they all knew that they had more important things to be worried about at that moment.
"We had better get back to the Wind Ninja Academy," Cam said grimly. "The other Ninja Storm Rangers are going to need their powers back as soon as possible."
Marah and Kapri, despite the fact that they were weary, nodded.
"We'll streak," Kapri said firmly. Marah nodded in agreement.
Just hold on, guys, I'm coming. Cam thought just before the three of them vanished in their ninja streaks.
Somewhere near Blue Bay Harbour, Wind Ninja Academy, mid-evening, at that very moment
"Why, Eric?" Conner asked to break the oppressive silence that had occurred between them as the battle raged on around them. Choobo remained on the ground where he had fallen, with a gleeful expression on his face, whilst he watched the tense stand-off between the two twin brothers.
"Why?" Eric snarled. "Because you betrayed me. I was your twin brother, Conner, and we were supposed to tell each other everything. You never saw fit to tell me about your secret. You never saw fit to tell me that you were a Power Ranger yet I bet that you've probably told that nerd everything."
"Some secrets cannot be shared," Ethan said firmly from where he stood behind Conner. "You're delusional, Eric. I can assure you that Lothor is only using you for his own gain."
Eric grew furious at this.
"Lothor understands me which is more than I can say for my own brother and you," Eric snarled. "He would never use me for his own gain."
"Keep telling yourself that, Eric," Ethan replied as he rolled his eyes. "But you know deep inside yourself that Lothor is using you."
Eric was about to lunge for Ethan at that moment when Conner put himself in front of his friend.
"I don't know what has gotten into you, Eric," Conner said with a pained expression upon his face. "But this is not my brother. If you will not see sense, I have no choice but to consider you my enemy."
Conner raised his Tyranno Staff into a defensive position at that moment.
"Which leaves me with only one choice," Conner continued. "You're quite clearly delusional..."
"And still a jerk," Ethan added.
"... so I will defend myself appropriately," Conner finished.
"So be it then," Eric replied coldly as he drew his other sword. Seconds later, both of them became locked in a titanic duel with each other as Ethan looked on helplessly as the twin brothers clashed.
Poor Conner... Ethan thought. This must be tearing him up inside to be fighting his own twin brother to protect the Wind Ninja Academy. Lothor's definitely going to pay for this...