BlueDolphinz - Yeah, it hit me last minute to put the 'I don't get paid at all!' in, and it seemed like a Zurgane thing to say. LOL, Hunter's the main character, I wouldn't turn him into a Zombie. Besides, Zombie Hunter? Not so cute. LOL. I'll turn him into a baby dragon, or a human with dragon wings, but not a zombie. LOL! Glad it helped :) Thanks for the idea.
Pinklen98 - Hahaha! I wanted just that point. Hunter's jealous that Kendra didn't come to him, but doesn't want to show it, and doesn't really realize it. LOL And yes, yes, those are the man eating trees. There's an image, huh? Lothor gets killed by a Caro Tree, the Rangers go to defeat him only to find thir job done and stand there not really sure what to say or do. LOL! Oh, they'll both turn into baby dragons at some point. LOL. Just imagine, this adorable little baby dragon that has crystal clear blue eyes, or dark honey eyes, that acts like a cat. Stretches, purrs, groans, huffs, glares, snickers, curls up in a ball to sleep, and so much more.
GinaStar - I love the Dragons, generally. They're adorable, but have it in them to be dangerous... Hm... Kind of like the Bradleys... :P LOL
JuseaPeterson - LOL Yeap, I don't know what to say to this review because you got it all down. LOL It's Hunter. He wouldn't give up on Blake and of course he's not going to miss a chance to tease his little brother! LOL.Ok, so I cleared up about the island, it's similar but not the same. I was looking for something a little different, so I ended up going a little more into Kapri and Marah's heads, too. Their thoughts on what's going on. Um... Well, Lothor DID blast Zurgane, but not severely! LOL.
Hahahaha! I'm so evil! LOL Of course I wouldn't give it away so easily! LOL. I wanted Blake to be more wary, you know. I think he'd be more terrified for his brother, and the obvious would pass right by him in his worry. I don't know what it is, but ever since I came across the idea of Dragon Clan Thunder Brothers, it's been so stuck in my head. Whenever I day dream to help me relax, or think up more story ideas, it's now always about the Dragon Clan.
Hey, I'm even coming up with ideas of SENSEI Hunter Bradley, after the series, as a secretive Dragon Clan. His brother, the Rangers, Leanne, Sensei Amino and Sensei Watanabi all know, but no one else, until a student comes upon either him transforming, or an adorable little dragon that's injured and needs help.
But again, my mind is also on Stargate and Stargate Atlantis. I currently have written a couple very short one-shots that I thought were cute (but I haven't posted them).
OK, so this is an early update, because I have a busy week ahead of me. I didn't want to forget to post, so I thought I'd get it done ahead of time. Thanks for your reviews and glad you like this. Enjoy!
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Last Time
"Oh yeah." Rubbing my stomach gingerly, I grimaced a little and looked worriedly at the little red dragon. "Cause the last room was just so safe." With a sigh, I walked over and gently took the covers, thankful when they held together. Placing them over the dragon, I leaned against the headboard and allowed myself to relax, letting go of the energy and waiting for my eyes to get as adjusted to the dark as possible.
Not much time left and who knows how far yet to go.
This Time
(With the others, Kendra's POV)
"You're sure they're ok?" Tori asked for what seemed like the millionth time that day. "I mean, who knows what else they've run into?"
"Do you really have so little faith in them?" Carly challenged in irritation. "I know you're worried, but trust them to know what they're doing."
With a sigh, I looked out over yet another storm outside. In this part of the woods, it was rarely ever sunny, so storms were a usual thing for me, but today my mind just wasn't on it. When I'd seen Hunter, he was blind. When I saw Blake, he was cut, and I know Hunter was, too. Like Tori said, who knew what else they'd run into? I didn't even know the Coeurls were still around.
But, did that mean that other supposedly extinct creatures still existed?
"Carly." I finally spoke up, causing everyone to go silent. "What do you know of the extinct monsters? The ones that just seemed to vanish?"
Frowning deeply, she shrugged. "I don't know, why do you ask?"
"Because Blake mentioned running into a zombie version of a Coeurl." I told her grimly. "Which means that one of the Ghouls bit it, and it got away and turned. But Coeurls in general are supposed to be extinct, and I was thinking, if they're obviously still around…"
"What's to keep others from still existing?" she finished in shock. "Like the Cerberus, you mean?"
I had a bad feeling about this task. I'd had it all along, but now it was worse. "The Guardian of the path. If it's still around…"
Looking to the confused Rangers, Carly sighed and looked about as worried as I felt. I also noticed Tori's gaze get more afraid upon seeing that. "Cerberus is the guardian of the path they have to go through. Or, was. It's supposedly long extinct, but if Kendra's theory is right, it could very well just be in hiding."
"It's impervious to most elemental powers, so their ninja powers and dragon elements very likely won't help them." I continued. "It's also very strong and very fast."
"So, you're saying they could be in trouble?" Dustin asked in confusion. "Dude, why are we still sitting here, then?"
"This is their task, if we interrupt it, they'll fail." Carly muttered quietly.
Standing up, I gave her a pointed look. "From what I saw, they were already getting used to their newer senses. Mission accomplished, right?" She still hesitated and I crossed my arms over my chest. "Look, if they die, mission failed. Which would you rather it be?"
I knew that would get her. Immediately, she was standing with her eyes closed, by the edge of the cliff. Muttering a few words, she held her hand out and moved a single finger in an intricate pattern in the air, green energy flowing through her as she did so. Another green portal appeared, but instead of leading to the beach, where she'd let the boys off, this one led to a heavily misty wasteland with old stone ruins.
"Wow, it's been a few years since I last saw this place." I muttered quietly to myself, noticing that there was no mist last time I was there. There should have been green grassy fields, with lots of wild flowers. Instead, it looked like the entire place had just up and died. "It's changed." Massively.
"They won't be far when we cross-"
"Wait, we??" Cam questioned with a raised eyebrow. "We can handle this."
"Oh, so you suddenly know where all the monsters are." Carly stated as she stalked forward, her spell complete and waiting for us. "You know everything we're going to face? All their quirks and weaknesses? You know where the place is they're staying? Can you sense their presence?"
"Carly!" I scolded. "Look, we're going. You can't stop us, so don't bother trying." I plainly told the Rangers with a pointed look before I turned and stomped right through the portal. When I got to the other side, I turned and waited for the others. I could clearly smell the last remaining scent of blood and burning flesh, and knew we probably wouldn't run into many Ghosts.
That's what the monsters out here were. More or less like Ghosts of their former selves, and as far as strength, they had some sort of resistance to elemental powers, and physical seemed not to work so well, but otherwise…well, compared to a lot of other monsters here, they were weak.
It didn't take them long before they approached. Carly looked peeved, no doubt at their stubborn insistence. And the Rangers themselves looked disturbed as they stepped through the portal.
I couldn't help but giggle. I knew that for them, it was an unusual experience, stepping through an energy portal like that. It felt almost like…well, walking through water.
"So? Where to now?" Shane asked, looking creeped as the portal disappeared. "And uh, how do we get back?"
"Well, I open another portal when we're ready." Carly stated completely seriously. "As for where next…" Closing her eyes, she seemed to be concentrating. "I'm not sensing their presence, they haven't been here in a while."
I nodded and looked around. "Well, there's really only two directions they could have gone in, but they're in a building and that eliminates one." Turning to where the nearest buildings were, I used my enhanced sight to look at them from where I stood.
I could clearly see two buildings, either one of which would have made a good hiding place. One had closed doors, and most of the windows were relatively intact, and I couldn't get a sense from either building. Not to mention, I never had to get the Eye, so I didn't know which of the buildings had the opening to the path.
"Carly, which building is the path under?"
Frowning, she looked in the same direction. "The one on the left, and if you really concentrate, you can pick up a faint smell of blood and decayed flesh." She made a face and stuck her tongue out.
Blood? Immediately, I took off towards the building, being beyond worried about the boys. Who knew how many Coeurls and Ghouls were in the building? Who knew if there was something more there? As I neared an open window, the smell of blood seemed to heighten and I recognized it as human. That meant Blake or Hunter were hurt, maybe badly.
Once I reached the window, I carefully leaned in and looked around the rooms. The skeletal remains of a Ghast lay on the ground, blowing away into dust as I watched, and there were obvious scorch marks.
"Ok, the lighter couldn't have done that kind of damage!" Carly exclaimed from behind me.
Turning to her, I raised an eyebrow. "Gee, you think?" I questioned sarcastically, before sighing. "I smell human blood." A lot of it. "One of them is hurt." Turning back to the window, I hiked up my skirts, beginning to really get tired of the whole gown thing by now, and braced myself on the ledge, noting that the glass was cleared away. Once I was in, I very carefully looked around.
A hole in the ceiling, little tufts of dust and dirt showed it was an old hole. Then there was a hole in the wall. I could sense a fading heat signature, as well as spotting a small puddle of blood on the ground beyond. Luckily, it was still fairly dark out, and the Rangers likely wouldn't notice it. I didn't want them panicking when being calm may be our best bet at the moment.
"I don't like the looks of this." Tori muttered worriedly. "Look, the door's open."
Following everyone's gaze, I smelled burning cloth and wood, and that the scent went passed the door, into the hallway. "We better check it out, but be careful. Who knows what kind of monsters are beyond?"
"Besides zombie Ghouls and Curls and things?" Shane added with a look.
"Coeurls." I corrected absently.
We carefully made our way to the door, only to be ambushed by two Coeurls, and a couple of Ghouls. Working together, they didn't last long against us though, and I stepped out into the hallway.
There… Smelling a trail of blood leading down to the floor below, and a faint heat trail as well, I followed it quietly, fully aware the others would follow me. I made it to the top of the stairs and heard growling and raspy moans from below. Not good. "There must be a small group just down at the bottom of the stairs." I stated to the others. Frowning for a moment, I thought fast. "Fire's our best bet against the Ghouls, but we don't have that…"
"But we have a girl with a lighter." Carly stated with a grin, holding up a metal lighter.
I couldn't help raise my eyebrows. "What is it with you and metal lighters? Are you trying to get a collection going or something?" I asked incredulously. Then, shaking my head, I sighed. "Not like we have much choice."
"Why don't we just morph, like we did with that corrupted dragon before?" Tori asked the others with a look.
Shrugging, the others nodded and stood back.
Um, should I tell them…? I wondered for a moment before pushing the thought aside. Nah, they're about to find out anyways.
"Ninja Storm!" Tori, Shane and Dustin called out in sync.
"Samurai Storm!" Cam called out, whipping his necklace from his neck.
"Ranger Form! Ha!" They called together, taking their final stances.
They held them for a moment, but nothing happened and they looked at their wrist morphers, or in Cam's case, his hand held, softball-sized morpher in confusion.
"Nothing happened." Tori muttered with a frown. Looking to Cam, her look of worry grew. "What's going on?"
"It's this place." I told them quietly, carefully keeping an eye out for any dangers. "There's an energy in the air that interferes with everything."
"So we're not going to be able to morph." Shane muttered. "We'd better come up with another idea, and fast."
"Use your powers. Dustin, you're the Yellow Wind Ranger." I spoke out, thinking as quickly as I could, while still being worried about the boys. "Yellow is earth, right?"
He nodded quietly.
"Ok, so we have broken debris and such around here. You can use your powers to hit them with it, or open up sink holes and stuff." Next I looked to Shane. "And you're Red. That's air. So you can use the force of the wind to make them stumble back, and to throw smaller debris at them."
"And Tori's water." Carly added. "She can use her powers to soak the floor and make it slippery for them. Or find a dirt patch and turn it to mud, which would help us by blinding the enemies. Or just plain hit them with a water bomb."
"Basically, play to our strengths as ninjas." Cam finished thoughtfully. "The three of us can fight them hand-to-hand."
"If we really have to, but the more time we spend fighting them, the more time we lose, getting to Blake and Hunter." I pointed out. "They're close, I can smell the blood stronger, and the heat trail isn't that old here. But we'd better hurry, who knows what condition they're in."
Nodding, the group of us headed down the stairs. Like I'd guessed, there were multiple Coeurls and Ghouls in front of a single closed door, and I could sense Blake and Hunter on the other side. But…There was something wrong. Hunter's scent wasn't as human as it should have been, and it was weaker, stained with blood.
Looks like I finally figured out who's hurt. I thought grimly, feeling my heart ache in worry. I knew this was a bad idea from the start, why'd I go with it??
"So what now, there's an awful lot of those guys." Dustin muttered with a face, making a disgusted face at one of the zombified Coeurls.
"Maybe one of us can distract them?" I asked quietly.
We all thought on it a moment before Tori nodded. "I know we're not supposed to use our powers unless we have to, but I think now kind of counts as 'have to'." Turning, she zipped away in a flash of light blue energy. A moment later and her voice called out from across the room. "Hey uglies! Over here!"
The monsters all spun to face her, standing across the path from them. We were hiding, so they had no idea we were here. Quickly, they began shuffling towards her, the Coeurls running, but before any of them could reach her, she disappeared again and reappeared next to me.
"Ok, it's now or never." She whispered.
"You so have to teach me how to do that." I muttered back. Facing the door, I held up a hand and quietly snuck over. I grabbed the knob and turned, relieved the door was unlocked, but when I pushed it, it stuck. "What?" Pushing again, I heard something on the other side of the door scrap across the floor, and the creaky movements of rusty metal joints. "Blake?!" I hissed as loudly as I dared, marveling that the Ghouls and Coeurls hadn't seen me yet. "Hunter!? Are you guys there??"
There was the sound of footsteps on the other side of the door, and I faintly smelled the blood stronger.
"Who's there?" A quiet hiss came back.
"Blake!" Sighing in relief, I smiled a bit. "Backup's here."
"Back-wait… Kendra?"
"Yeah, come on! We can play the guessing game later, let us in!"
"Us?" I heard the squeaking movements on the other side of the door and knew he was moving whatever was on the other side.
Frowning, I turned and dashed behind the stairs, having no idea how long it would take him and not wanting to be out in the open if the monsters happened to look back. Sure enough, I'd just managed to pull my skirt into hiding when one of the Coeurls turned back. It sniffed at the air a bit before turning blindly back towards the direction Tori had been.
"We need to keep them distracted." I muttered to the others. "Shane, can you use your wind powers to throw a rock against the far wall?" I asked, pointing to a farther point along the path.
He nodded quietly and performed a few hand movements before closing his eyes and concentrating. A rock slowly and shakily rose from the air, but immediately I noticed a faint electrical aura around Shane. Whatever was in the air around the cavern, which I had always sensed, was stronger here. And whatever it was, it seemed to not only interfere with their morphers, but also their powers.
Still, he frowned deeply and seemed to sink deeper into concentration, and the rock rose higher. A moment later and it whipped across the room, hitting the far wall with an echoing thud, and causing the group of monsters to rush farther along the path.
Unfortunately, it also disturbed an even larger group on the far side, that had been hidden behind a wall.
"Pleasant." I muttered sarcastically. "Let's hope we can avoid them all together."
Hearing the doorknob turn, I spun back to the door as it opened, and watched as a rather battered looking Blake stuck his head out. "Here!" I hissed, moving quickly from my hiding spot. Carefully taking his shoulders, since I noticed him favoring his chest and stomach, I gently pushed him back into the room as the others jumped out of hiding and followed me in.
Blake!" Tori cried, practically jumping on him.
"Ah! Tori!" He cried out as she hugged him tightly, her arms around his waist. Choking in obvious agony, he returned her hug briefly before pushing her to arms length and taking a few deep, careful breaths.
Giving him a sheepish, pained and apologetic look, Tori gingerly took his arms to help brace him a little.
After watching Shane and Cam push the small dresser back in front of the door, I turned to Blake and frowned deeply as my eyes passed him and scanned the room. Quiet, safe. One small window, too small for monsters but large enough to give some light when the sun comes up. No holes in the walls or ceiling, and a sturdy door that's blocked. "Where's Hunter?" I asked, smelling the strong scent of his blood practically flooding the room.
"Well, you see, that's the thing." Blake muttered, frowning in worry. He pointed to a small lump on the old, rusty bed, and leaned against the wall, trying to ignore the pain he was in.
I walked over to the bed, and carefully reached down, laying my hand very lightly on the lump. Immediately, I noticed a faint movement, and the warmth it gave off. He changed? So soon? It must be bad. I thought as I carefully unwrapped his form and looked him over. It might not have been the time or place, but I was instantly struck with the thought of how cute he looked, curled up in a ball with his snout buried under his tail, but I immediately pushed that thought back as my eyes settled on the deep gashes on his side, from claw marks.
Not good, but not as bad as I thought, either.
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Um, LOL, sorry about the very long chapter? LOL! Well, I got carried away. I had no idea where to switch POVs so… But next chapter will be in Blake's POV.
Hope you like it.
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"Will he be ok?"
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R+R please.
Thank you.
Tenshi