The Forgotten Bradley

Chapter Thirteen: Karma, Pt. 2

by angellwings

The next morning she got up at about seven and woke the guys up about eight. She was currently heating herself a cream cheese danish, and staring at the microwave.

"You know some people say that fries your brain." Blake told her as he leaned against the counter opposite from her.

"And some people say Power Rangers don't exist." She replied as she stuck her tongue out at him.

He grinned, and then looked at her seriously, "So, what's got you all spaced out?"

"Shane." She said with a sigh.

"First fight?" He asked.

"Yep, and it's bugging the crap out of me." She said as the microwave beeped, "I should have stayed and talked about it some more. I can't believe I left things so...unresolved."

"No worries, you can talk to him today when we get to the beach." Blake told her reassuringly.

"Yeah, I guess." She said as she poured herself a glass of milk, "He's just been acting really strange lately, and...things with this relationship have been moving so slow. I feel like we're moving in ultra slow motion."

Blake placed a hand on her shoulder, "Don't stress over it, I'm sure everything is fine."

"You're right, I'm probably freaking out over nothing," She said with a nod, "I'm gonna go get changed. Don't eat my danish."

He grinned after her, "I would never..."

"Yes you would, and you know you would." She called as she rolled her eyes. She put on a black and magenta tie-dyed bikini with a grey and pink Reef Rashgaurd over it, and a pair of black board shorts. She slipped on her black water shoes, and grabbed several hair-ties on her way out of her room. The three of them were riding in her Xterra, and meeting Tori and the others at the beach.

She walked back into the living room to see Hunter and Blake dressed and ready. They were sitting innocently on the couch watching television. She glared at them suspiciously as she entered the kitchen, and then noticed that both her danish AND her glass of milk were gone. She glared at them and smacked them both in the back of the head.

"Let's go you're both buying my breakfast." She announced as she pulled them up off the couch.

"Hey, It wasn't me! It was him alright?" Blake said as she elbowed Hunter's side.

"No way, bro, it was totally you. You're exact words were 'I know what'll piss her off.'!" Hunter fired back.

"That's a lie!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Not!"

"Too!"

"I don't care which one of you did it, but SOMEBODY'S buying me breakfast." She announced as she shoved them out the apartment door.

She was standing on the beach with an orange juice in hand, and listening to the way the waves hit the shore. She smiled and turned to Hunter.

"Would you look at that swell? This is gonna be one awesome day to surf." She said with a wide smile as Tori's van pulled up behind them.

Dustin, Cam, and Tori hopped out of the van and started unloading.

"Has anybody seen Shane?" Tori asked as they headed over to help.

"Yeah, let's get this show on the road." Blake said excitedly.

"Hey, we can't leave with out him...he's bringing the cake!" Dustin stated.

"Hey guys!" Shane yelled as he sprinted to the group. Geenie looked away awkwardly and Shane glanced at her observantly before continuing, "Here, Tori, happy birthday."

Hunter stepped up and took the cake from Tori's hands, "Hey, that doesn't look like beach ware, bro."

"Uh, yeah, about that...um..."

Geenie looked up at him. He had to be here. She needed to talk to him.

"Don't tell me you're bailing?" Tori asked defensively.

He sighed, "Okay, look, I had that same dream again last night. I think it's trying to tell me something."

"Like how to ruin your friend's birthday?" Tori said in annoyance.

He sighed and glanced between Tori and Geenie. Both women were none too happy with him at the moment, "It's just I have a weird sense something isn't right. I gotta go check out the woods."

"Shane, I'm the first person to say duty before pleasure, but I left Cyber Cam online at Ninja Ops. If anything weird shows up he'll let us know." Cam said as he returned to the group by the van.

"Yeah." Tori agreed. Geenie said nothing, but she knew Shane was still going.

He wasn't going alone though. Not on his life.

"I'll catch up, okay? I promise." He said as he retreated.

"Alright, but you better!" She yelled after him.

Geenie gave Tori a side glance, and then looked back at Shane's retreating form.

"You want to follow him don't you?" Tori asked her.

"I just want to make sure he doesn't get into trouble." She told her friend almost pleadingly.

"Fine, go." She said with a disappointed sigh.

"We'll do our own girly birthday thing this weekend, I swear." Geenie told her adamantly as she ran after Shane.

"Hey!" She called to him as he stopped to wait for her, "I'm coming with you."

"Geenie..."

"Don't try and blow me off, I'm coming with you. You can't just run off into those woods on your own. What if Lothor targets you? Besides, I want to." She told him sternly.

He smiled softly at her, "Okay."

They walked onward in awkward silence. Geenie cleared her throat, "About yesterday..."

Shane glanced at her in his peripherals, "Yeah, about that..."

"I was a little harsh with you. So, you forgot. It happens. I mean if you got mad at me every time I spilled something on you..."

"You do spill things a LOT." He said with a grin, "But you're partly right though. I've been pretty rotten at the dating thing. Come to think of it, I've always been bad at the dating thing."

She chuckled, "I don't have the best track record either. I mean, you met Tyler."

"Yeah, I did." He said stiffly. Shane didn't like the subject of Geenie's ex. Partly because he had a feeling Tyler wasn't gone for good. There was this fear in the back of his head that Geenie would run off to chase after him, and leave him in the dust. Geenie noticed the tone, and then it hit her. They hadn't discussed Tyler since that first day they kissed.

"You do realize that Tyler is behind me, right?" She asked him suspiciously.

"Is he?" He asked her with a sigh.

"God, is this why you've been taking things so slow? Are you afraid I'm gonna leave you for him or something?" She asked him with concern as they reached the edge of the woods.

"I saw the look on your face that day on the beach. He almost had you falling all over him again. You can't tell me that there aren't feelings there." He said.

She sighed, "There are feelings there, but not for that Tyler. I fell in love with a completely different person a long, long time ago. Hell, I was a different person then too."

Shane didn't say anything, and they walked deeper into the woods. Looking for anything odd. After about twenty minutes of searching that patch of woods Shane sighed.

"What was I thinking? It was just a stupid dream." He said a loud. She sighed and looked over at him. Did anything she said get through to him? Did he even hear her? Suddenly a ball of light whizzed by her head and floated around Shane, and then disappeared into the sky. Geenie heard a rumbling and looked to her right. A huge black orb was rushing toward them.

"Geenie!" Shane yelled as he jumped in front of her and kicked the orb away. A shark like creature appeared in place of the black light, and growled at them.

"Whoa, now theres a face only a mother could love." He quipped.

"I could say the same about you, now step aside." He commanded.

"Lothor's goons don't scare me." Shane told him.

"I am Vexacus, and I work for no one. Now give me the Karmanian." Shark face announced.

Geenie's brow furrowed, "The what?"

"Have it your way." The alien sneered as he and Shane began to fight each other. Vexacus blocked every move Shane through at him and knocked him to the ground. Geenie glared at him and ran to stand in front of Shane.

"Back off, fish face!" She told him as she took a stance if front of him. She threw a series of kicks and punches that were also blocked, and Vexacus punched her hard in the stomach. She flew backwards and crashed in to Shane.

"Plan B." He told her as he stood, "Ready?"

She nodded.

"Ninja Storm-"

"Thunder Storm-

"Ranger Form, HA!" They called together as they morphed. They had just enough time to pose before Vexacus hit them with a blast that knocked them both out of Ranger mode.

"Foolish Earthlings, where is the Karmanian?" He asked them as he approached, "Tell me."

Suddenly a bright light appeared in front of them and they were in another section of the woods. Shane and Geenie stood up, and glanced around.

"What's going on?" He asked to no one in particular.

"Hey, are you okay?" A new voice suddenly asked. Geenie turned to see a very pretty girl headed their way.

"Where did you come from?" Geenie asked her in confusion.

"We thought we were out here alone." Shane said with a slight apologetic tone to his voice, and a reprimanding glare at Geenie. She sent him a questioning look in return.

"I guess not." The girl said with a smile and a shrug. That smile looked a little too flirtatious for Geenie's taste, and she turned to look around the area of wood they had landed in. She didn't recognize it. The three of them walked onward for a little ways.

"We need to get you home. It's not safe out here." He told the stranger.

"How do you know I even live this way?" She asked.

What was she doing all the way out here any way? It seemed a little suspicious to Geenie.

"Well, maybe you could help me out then?" Shane asked with an amused smile.

Geenie still said nothing, and just watched their interactions carefully.

"Alright," She said as she stopped and pointed to the sky, "Up there."

"Oh, let me guess, you're an alien right?" Geenie asked with a chuckle.

The girl laughed and headed on ward. Shane glanced at Geenie in shock and then back at the stranger.

"Hey, wait. You're serious?" He asked.

"Hey, you asked." She said with a shrug.

"Do you happen to have a name or should we just refer to you as 'hey you' all day?" Geenie asked with a hostile edge to her voice. This girl had gotten a hold of Shane's interest. Geenie was not happy.

"Skyla." She said mysteriously, "Call me Skyla."

Shane nodded and they all walked onward. Geenie was lagging behind them, and clicking her tongue in irritation. Okay, so she was jealous? That was normal right? It didn't mean she had anything to worry about. But with Shane's obvious fears about Tyler she began to wonder if she did have something to worry about. Skyla sped up her pace, and began walking further and further ahead of them. She and Shane were practically jogging to keep up.

"Hey! Wait up!" Shane yelled, "Would you slow down?"

"Then keep up, and don't be such a whiner." She said playfully.

"A whiner? Is that what you just called me?" He asked her in amusement. Geenie glared a head of her and stomped after them. She was pouting, and she knew it. But she couldn't help it. She saw Shane look around in sudden recognition, "Hey, I know this forest."

"You do. Look." Skyla said with a knowing smile.

What was going on here? Geenie was thoroughly confused.

He continued looking, "This was in my dream. Now this is really starting to trip me out."

Geenie's eyes went to Skyla worriedly. She knew about the dream? How? Suddenly a feeling of dread hit Geenie, and it had nothing to do with Shane or Skyla. She felt a presence heading their way. A none to friendly presence, and her morpher started to heat up again. She still hadn't figured that out. This was the first time since that day with Blake and Hunter that it had done that. She fought a wince as the heat on her wrist became more intense than the last time. She could hear Skyla and Shane talking behind her. She had her back to them scanning the trees warily.

Geenie turned to the old chimney. That was the source of the presence. Some one was there. She shot a kick out behind the chimney and Vexacus stumbled forward, but quickly righted himself as if the kick hadn't bothered him at all.

"What do you want here?" Shane asked.

"I already told you...the Karmanian." Vexacus said as he pointed to Skyla. Geenie glared at him. She didn't like Skyla, but she didn't like this guy even more.

Geenie turned to them, "You guys go, I'll hold off fish face."

Shane started to protest, but Skyla nodded and quickly transported them out before Shane had time to form a single word. As soon as they were gone she morphed, and stood before him in all her Thunder Ranger glory. This battle wouldn't last long. She wasn't strong enough to face him alone, but she could keep him from getting to Shane and Skyla. Besides Shane needed to figure out that dream, and if Skyla could help him...good for her.

"Get out of my way, human." He sneered.

"Make me." She glared.

"Happily." He answered as he sent a blast her way. She fell to the ground, but stood back up as quickly as she could.

"Ninja Source!" She called as her blades appeared in her hands. She got a few blows in this time before he sent her flying into the nearest tree. Her morph faded and he moved past her. She growled and stood up. She had to keep him off their trail. She decided to follow him. She was used to that after all. She crept in to the woods and followed a safe distance behind him. She was careful not to make any noise. The minute he got close to Shane is the minute she would distract him. She had to stay hidden until then.

Ta da! Yay! Part two!

Enjoy!

angellwings