In Blue Bay Harbour, Brody and Levi were taken to some guest quarters. Tori opened the door, showing them inside.
"Cam, the Academy Headmaster is currently working on some things." Tori told them. "You can wait and freshen up here until he's ready to see you."
"How long do you think that'll be?" Levi asked her. She just shrugged.
"Cam can be a little tunnel-vision when he's working on his tech." Tori told them.
"We really need to get back to Summer Cove, we have commitments there." Brody said, hoping to spur them into action a little faster. "I appreciate you seeing us, but we have to get back. There's a lot going on in Summer Cove right now."
"I promise you I'll send for you as soon as Cam's ready." She answered. "In the meantime, rest up. I know it's not an easy hike up here."
"Thanks." Levi replied, putting his bag down on the bed. As Tori left, Brody stared at Levi.
"What was that?" He asked. "I thought you wanted answers!"
"I do." Levi told him. "But its not like we can find out much more until we talk to this Cam guy is it? If he's the one with the records, then we just have to be patient."
"But you were here…"
"I was a kid in my memory, it could be twenty years ago! There's a good chance that no one that's here now even knew me." Levi reminded him. "People do move on you know. I mean, your dad did."
"Yeah, not that much." Brody said with a smile, looking around. "Check this out…this looks just like my bedroom back at the farm!"
"It does?" Levi asked, before taking a quick glance around.
"Yeah, it does…same colour, same Kanji wall-hangings…It looks like he re-created this place on the farm!" Brody stated, going to one of the wall-hangings. "Violence is the first answer of the fool…"
"…and the last resort of the wise man." Levi completed. Brody just looked to him and nodded.
"Yeah, that's right. Dad had these hanging in my bedroom, I learned to read these before I learned to read English." Brody told him. "How did you know?"
"I…guess something in the back of my mind remembered it." Levi answered. He sat on the edge of the bed and looked up at Brody. "Say Brody, a thought occurs to me. If I was here when I was a kid, and you and your dad only left when you were two…do you think it's possible we were here at the same time?"
"I guess it's possible." Brody said with a shrug. "I don't remember a whole lot about the Academy. I was only two when I left. I remember reading somewhere that most people don't have any real meaningful memories from the first five years of their life."
"I wish it only was five years." Levi commented. "Man, it's wild to think we might have known each other before and not even know about it."
They were interrupted as a kid arrived, carrying a pitcher of iced water and some glasses.
"Sensei Hanson asked me to bring this for you." The kid told them.
"Just leave it on the side there." Levi told him, dismissing the kid. Brody poured himself a glass and took a sip while was still considering the room.
"Yeah, I guess that is strange." Brody answered. "So, do you want to take the first shower or the second?"
"Go ahead." Levi said, laying back on the bed. Brody went into the shower room to get cleaned up. Levi poured himself a glass and took a sip.
Meanwhile, in Ninja-Comms, Tori arrived, finding the rest of the team already assembled. Cam was sitting at the computer, taking a look at the screen.
"Alright, I did what you asked." Tori commented. "But I want it on the record, I think a lot of this is just super-creepy."
"It's a necessary precaution." Cam answered as he viewed the screen. On the various monitors were different angles of the room Levi and Brody had been shown into. While the last Headmaster, Cam's father, had been more focused on the old ways, Cam was a little more flexible with the adoption of technology, including an extensive surveillance network around the Academy. They could see Levi lying on the bed, while the sound of a shower running could be heard. "We'll know pretty quickly if they're on the level. That's Sensei Romero's old quarters. The one claiming to be his son should recognise it if he's telling the truth."
"He seemed to recognise those hangings." Hunter commented.
"That only means he knows how to read Kanji. There are a few million people who can do that as well." Cam reminded him. "Which is why I had Jason deliver some refreshments. When he goes to collect the glasses, we can run a DNA analysis."
"You brought your kid in on this?" Dustin asked. "I'm sorry to say Cam, but I'm kind of siding with Tori on this one. This is basically an infringement of…"
"You can lay off the lawyer stuff Waldo! As far as the world knows this place doesn't exist which means the laws don't mean jack shit once someone crosses the waterfall." Cam told him. "You want due process, you head back out to your firm."
"I'm really not sure that's how it works." Hunter chipped in.
"Whatever." Cam replied gruffly. "Don't you all have classes to teach or something?"
"My schedule's clear, I'll stick around." Shane said, pulling up a chair.
"Yeah…I think I'll just…go teach my students…something." Dustin replied.
"Yeah, me too." Tori agreed as she followed him.
"Well, I have some business at the Thunder Ninja Academy." Hunter told Cam. "Call us if you need us. Blake, you coming?"
"Hey, you're Head Sensei, I'm just freelance." Blake remined him as he also pulled up a chair. Hunter just sighed and shook his head.
"It's at times like this I know we're adopted." He answered as he left.
Over in Summer Cove, the rest of the Ninja Steel team had gotten down to the lake and were busy settling in for the night. The tents had already been set up, and Calvin was in the middle of setting up a fire-pit.
"Cal, I thought you wanted to get this grill going." Preston teased him. "You were really enthusiastic about it at the top of the mountain."
"Maybe if I had a little help, it would go a little faster." He replied as he started to rearrange the wood to get the smaller kindling into good position to light.
"You want a little help?" Preston asked him.
"Yes, that's what I said." Calvin replied. Preston threw out his hands at which a jet of flame erupted forth. Calvin jumped back several feet as the flames leapt up from the fire pit. "WHOA!"
"Sometimes these powers can be really handy." Preston commented, blowing on his fingers like a gun. "And since you guys will be eating, technically it's well within the 'not for personal gain' category."
"Yeah…I think that's being more than a little flexible with the rules there Presto." Hayley commented. "But since I am kind of hungry, I suppose I'm cool with it."
"So how long do you think this should take?" Sarah asked.
"I don't know…I just need to let the fire die down a bit so we don't cremate the outside and leave the insides raw. I guess….we can get started in about half an hour?"
"Think you can do without us for a little while?" Hayley asked. "Sarah, you fancy a little dip in the lake before dinner?"
"Yeah, sure that sounds great!" Sarah answered. "I'll just get my suit!"
"I'll stay here and keep Calvin company." Preston told them. "I'm not really a huge swimming fan."
"Alright, we'll be back in about half an hour." Hayley answered, kissing Calvin softly. "Try not to burn the forest down while we're gone."
"See you later!" Preston answered, high-fiving Sarah. She and Hayley left to go and get changed. As the left, Preston looked to Calvin, who was shaking his head as he looked at the fire.
"So, think we have all the wood we need?" Preston asked him.
"Yeah, we should be fine as far as that goes, we just need the flames to die down a little." Calvin answered as he sat down. "In the meantime, I guess that gives us a little time to relax after all that hiking!"
"Now that sounds like a great idea!" Preston told him as he set up his deck chair.
In Blue Bay, Brody was just finishing up with his shower and came back into the room, finding Levi beginning to look around. He wasn't too surprised, it had now been a while since Tori had left them, and it wasn't as though they had outfitted the Academy accommodations with a TV, but when he returned to the room, Levi wasn't just looking around. The kid from before came in and picked up the tray, taking it out of the room. Levi just stared at the wall hangings.
"Hey Levi, what…what's happening?" Brody asked.
"I don't know, I just felt a little restless." Levi answered. "I can't help feeling like I know this place."
"Well if you were here as a kid, I'm sure you probably stayed in one of these units." Brody concluded. "Most of the units look the same."
"Yeah, but when we were coming through here I couldn't help noticing most of the units had about half a dozen people coming and going. They're basically dorm rooms." Levi told him.
"So?" Brody asked him.
"Well, this room only has a couple of beds. It looks like only a couple of people lived here." Levi told him. "Maybe someone important?"
"Like a Sensei." Brody surmised. "Wait…Levi, did you notice that?"
"Notice what?" Levi asked. Brody gestured to him to be quiet, and he looked up to a vent near the ceiling. After a moment, there was a small, barely noticeable red flash. Brody went across, getting up on a chair and pulled off the vent. Sure enough, he found a camera. Levi saw it and tensed up.
"They've been spying on us?" Levi asked. "Brody, I don't know about you, but I'm done with these games!"
"Definitely!" Brody agreed, ripping the camera out and tossing it across the room. "Looks like we're going to the Headmaster's office!"
Meanwhile, in Ninja-Ops, Shane was watching the cameras while Cam was just returning from the bathroom.
"Uh…Cam, it looks like they found your cameras." Shane told him.
"What? How?" He asked.
"The one claiming to be the Romero kid found the camera in the vent." Shane told him. "And from what I saw, he looked pissed!"
"Then I guess we're having that meeting a little earlier than I anticipated." Cam replied as he gestured to them to follow him. "Let's head them off, bring them in here before they cause a scene."
Back in Summer Cove, Sarah was enjoying a gentle swim when Hayley broke through the surface. She looked to the White Ranger.
"Alright, I think we've found a limit to my power." Hayley told her. "It seems I can't talk to fish."
"Really?" Sarah asked.
"I can hear them alright, but it just comes through all distorted and I can't understand it." She told her. "Not to mention talking underwater really doesn't work."
"I guess I'm not the only one that likes experiments." Sarah chuckled.
"Well, some experiments anyway." Hayley stated. Sarah just looked at her a little confused.
"What's that meant to mean?" She asked him.
"Sarah, I couldn't help noticing, when you left the camp you high-fived Preston." She stated.
"Yeah, what's wrong with that?" Sarah asked. "We do stuff like that all the time!"
"You also high-five me, Calvin, Brody…you were able to do it to Levi too once you got over your fan-crush on him." Hayley reminded her. "I just thought maybe you'd be, you know, a little further along the track?"
"I'm not sure I follow." Sarah said.
"You guys are, well…if I didn't know you then I wouldn't even know you two had dated." Hayley commented. "Have…have you guys even kissed?"
"I'm not sure I'm entirely comfortable talking about…"
"Oh my God, that was a 'no' if ever I heard one." Hayley replied with a small chuckle. Sarah fell very quiet as she heard this. It was true, she and Preston hadn't kissed yet. It was something that had never really occurred to Sarah, or something that she'd ever really paid terribly much mind to. Sure, she was with Preston and she had an idea that's where things were heading at some point, but it never really occurred to her that there was any kind of timetable or anything. She and Preston loved hanging around together, practicing his tricks, running her experiments, and just goofing around. It was fun, but was there something she was missing? She would consult with Shelby or Kendall when there was something outside her area of expertise that she wanted a more informed opinion on. Calvin and Hayley had been together a lot longer than she and Preston had, would it be such a bad idea to get a second opinion?
"Well, speaking completely hypothetically of course, if that was the case, would that be weird?" Sarah asked her. Hayley gestured to the shore.
"Perhaps we should take this back on land." She suggested. "You know…somewhere that if we get distracted we don't forget to tread water and drown."
"Alright, that's probably a good idea." Sarah conceded as they headed back towards the shore.
In Blue Bay Harbour, Levi and Brody made their way up to the main Academy building. When they got there, they found no guards, but there was a very secure looking door. Brody placed his hands on it and shoved, trying to open it, but to no avail. Brody lost his temper and started pounding a fist into the door.
"Open up!" He demanded.
"Brody, you might want to ease up on that." Levi suggested. "You don't want to attract the guards again."
"I'm done playing these games!" Brody snapped, pounding the door again.
"Wait, what's this?" Levi asked, seeing a podium next to the door. On the top of it was a kind of sliding tile puzzle that had been jumbled. Levi started sliding the tiles.
"Maybe there's another way…" Brody started to say, before he was interrupted as the door suddenly opened. He backed away. OK, what just happened?"
"I'd say it was this." Levi said, gesturing to the tile puzzle.
"How…how did you know how to do that?" Brody asked.
"That's an excellent question!" Cam asked as he got to the door with Blake and Shane. "That code is only given to the sensei! How could you possibly have known that code?"
"I…honestly have no idea." Levi admitted. Brody just looked straight at Cam.
"You're the headmaster?" He asked.
"Yes, I am." Cam answered.
"Then I suggest we move this inside." Brody told him. "Unless you want to discuss it out here in front of your students."
"That won't be necessary." Cam replied, gesturing them inside as he looked around, seeing that the commotion had indeed drawn the attention of guards and nearby students. "Shane, do something about this."
"Anyone that's still here in thirty seconds cleans every toilet in the academy for the next six months!" Shane called out. He smiled as within moments everyone was gone. "Works every time."
Back at the edge of the lake in Summer Cove, Hayley and Sarah were just finishing getting dressed.
"Look, I know that Preston and I we're not exactly…normal people." Sarah said nervously as she pulled on her t-shirt. "I'm not even sure what a normal person is if I'm honest."
"Yeah, you two are unique alright." Hayley told her.
"But…we're not that unique, right?" Sarah asked her. "I mean, when I was in Amber Beach, I saw my friends. Tyler and Shelby, Kendall and Matt, Koda and Alessandra…I can't deny that I was a little jealous by what they all had together. I know there was a part of me that wanted that for myself."
"I think most people do." Hayley told her. "I mean, I know things never worked out between my parents, but they had a lot of good years, and mom's really happy with Trevor now. It's taking a little longer, but I know dad's looking again."
"So, you think Preston will want that stuff too?" Sarah asked her.
"I really doubt he'd have asked you out if the thought hadn't occurred to him." Hayley said as she looked to Sarah. The Pink Ranger started to get a little more uncomfortable.
"So, we should probably…I mean…I guess we should…" Sarah started to say, trying to collect her thoughts. "I really like Preston, and the last thing I want is for him to think that I don't."
"Well, the good news is that you're in a pretty good place for it." Hayley told her. "Maybe after dinner you and Preston could go for a nice moonlit walk? I'm sure Calvin and I can find something to do at the camp to give you both some privacy."
"Yeah, that…that sounds…yeah, that's the thing to do." Sarah said, trying to psych herself up. She took a few deep breaths. "I mean, moonlit walks, that's what couples do right?"
"I'm sure it'll be perfect." Hayley assured her. Just then, they heard something in the undergrowth.
"Hey, are you two dressed?" They heard Preston yelling.
"Yeah, we're dressed!" Sarah yelled back.
"Calvin wanted to tell you that he's got the food on the grill." Preston told them. "In fact, his exact words were 'tell the girls to get their butts here before I eat everything'."
"Now THAT sounds like Calvin alright!" Hayley chuckled. "Come on, let's get some food."
As they headed back towards the camp, Sarah couldn't help thinking about what Hayley had said. Maybe a little shove in the right direction could help her figure out something she hadn't been able to on her own, and Hayley and Calvin seemed to know what they were doing, who was she to question?