Copyright © 2003 If it's not seen in PR or NS, it's ours!
Authoress Note: Here's the next chappie. Sorry it took so long to get up. This one is a bit shorter, but they'll be coming faster now.
Enjoy and REEEVIEW!
~~**~~
With Cam's talk fresh in Hunter's mind, he went off to find Rika. He poked his head into her room, but she wasn't there. He didn't really expect her to be. Hunter had a hunch as to where Rika had gone. Rika had told Hunter that she loved to go sit on top of a cliff that overlooked the ocean sometimes to just think or get away from everything. Hunter walked along the trail that led up the mountain. As he approached the top, he saw Rika's stiff form standing at the edge, staring hard at the ocean.
"Rika?" Hunter asked stopping several steps behind her.
Rika didn't answer, but continued to look at the ocean. Even if she didn't say anything, Hunter could almost sense her thoughts. Rika was steaming angry with Lothor and herself. She also blamed herself for Clare's capture. Hunter knew the feeling; the feeling of individual responsibility, and the gut-twisting sense of guilt when you fail to protect those whom you've sworn to do so. But he also knew that it wasn't Rika's fault.
"It wasn't your fault. There was no way you could've known."
Rika whirled, glaring at Hunter, "You should talk! What if it was Blake?" She glared furiously at Hunter, outraged at his blatant overlooking. She knew how loyal and fiercely protective Hunter was of Blake; she knew that she had failed to protect Clare.
Hunter stopped, surprised at the amount of self-loathing and anger he saw in Rika's eyes. The older brother in him understood what Rika was feeling, but his better commonsense knew that it would do neither of them any good to beat themselves up for it. He also saw fear in Rika's eyes. Rika was scared to death for Clare.
Hunter sighed, "Rika! You have to stop this! Stop beating yourself up for this! It wasn't your fault!"
Rika continued to glower at Hunter. "I drove her away! If I hadn't yelled at her, she wouldn't have left and then . . . " Hunter started to walk forward. He reached out to hug her. Rika stiffened and pushed him slightly away, but Hunter refused to let go. He held on to her, shaking her, "Common Rika! Pull yourself together! It wasn't your fault! You're not helping Clare or anyone if you act like this!"
Hunter forced Rika to look at him. Rika's eyes caught Hunter's and she glared at him for a bit before giving in. Her shoulders slumped, her former stiff posture broken as she released her tensed up emotions. "I can't lose Clare. She's all I've got." She cried softly as Hunter simply held her. He wasn't going to let her go through this alone.
"You've got me. Shh. We'll get her back. I promise."
Rika continued to cry softly into Hunter's chest. The two of them stood there. As Rika broke down, Hunter felt his stomach twist in anger. He was furious. What had Rika and Clare done to deserve this? They've already lost their parents! They only had each other! Hunter's body tensed as he thought about his own parents whom Lothor had killed.
Rika felt Hunter's body tense as she stopped crying. Looking up, she saw Hunter's gaze staring out at the ocean. Hunter looked down at Rika's tear- stained face feeling the anger tighten and harden.
"I swear we'll make Lothor pay for all the pain he's caused us."
Rika nodded, leaning into Hunter's protective embrace.
~~~~~~
That night, both Hunter and Blake tried to sleep, but with little success. Each tossed and turned with worry for their friends. Blake had nightmares about Clare and never finding her, or worse. Finding her . . . /No, he couldn't think about that now./ He shoved the thought out of his head even before it had time to fully form. Throwing his covers off, he looked around for his clothes, which he had strewn everywhere when he came in last night, too tired and upset to care. There. His pants were on the floor, half hidden under the bed. Blake reached down and pulled them on, glancing towards Hunter's side of the room. Only then, did he realize that Hunter's bed was empty. He sighed, /Probably went out to blow off some more steam./ Not watching where he was going, Blake tripped over his shirt thrown carelessly on the floor and cursed. Rubbing his knee, he sighed, /its going to be a long day./
~~~~~~~~~~~
The cool crisp air of the morning refreshed Hunter as he trekked through the forest, just trying to clear his buzzing mind. He hadn't slept well last night. Admittedly, he didn't think Blake had either for that matter. He felt the prick of anger as it started to rise. He hated being helpless. Muttering threats of what he would do when he got his hands on Lothor, he hiked down the last bit to the beach. He hadn't even realized where he was going. His steps just took him there. Reaching the beach, he heard grunts and kiyaa from somebody. Hunter wasn't surprised to see the older Lightning Ranger there. The roar of the ocean waves resounded with the barely suppressed anger that surged through him as he watched Rika train. No, it wasn't training. She was beating herself up. Throwing herself into a training routine that would rival his own. Hunter stood quietly and watched for a couple minutes before interrupting. He finally made his presence known, unable to bear further watching Rika take out her anger on air.
"Hey. Mind if I join you?" Hunter asked, walking forward.
Rika stopped, looking up at Hunter. He saw that her face was flushed and shiny with sweat. /How long had she been out here?/ Gesturing with a shrug, she nodded, "If you want."
Awkward silence hung in the air. Rika avoided looking directly at Hunter although he was trying to get her to look at him. He sighed inwardly, but asked, "Wanna spar?" He knew that Rika had some major frustrations to get out, as did he.
That made Rika look up. She studied Hunter carefully before replying, "You sure? We both have a lot to release here."
Hunter nodded, grinning slightly, "I know, but we're both good enough to watch ourselves."
Rika didn't respond but simply assumed a guarded fighting stance, as did Hunter. Both Rangers circled each other, looking for an opening. It would have been exciting for anyone to watch, as both Rangers were quite adept at their art and their skill and power nearly equal. Hunter had more power than Rika, but she had the speed. She was one of the fastest people Hunter had ever sparred with, and he, had a lot of power, Rika reflected. At an unseen signal, both ninjas charged, meeting each other in a flurry of arms, legs, and fists.
For a long time, Hunter blocked all of Rika's punches and kicks, as did she. Rika spun aiming a 360 Roundhouse kick at Hunter's side, which he promptly batted away while spinning, going into his own retaliatory tornado kick. Rika ducked under this one and swept her foot forward in an attempt to trip Hunter, but he saw this and swiftly jumped, Rika's foot sweeping harmlessly under him.
Hunter back flipped away from Rika as Rika watched him dispassionately. So far, this sparring match had been in the preliminaries. Neither had broken so much as a sweat, and both knew that they would need more intensity if they were to release their stress.
Rika commented, "Not bad, but I thought you had more than this."
Hunter smirked, "Oh, I've got plenty. Come and get it."
Rika cocked her eyebrow, smirking back, "It would be my pleasure."
Once again, the two clashed in a furious whirl as each blocked, attacked, simultaneously. It was quite even, but Hunter could see that Rika was getting increasingly frustrated. He decided to up the ante. Throwing in a quick fake, he faded to the left and when Rika had fallen for it, quickly snapped a roundhouse to her side, throwing her off balance. Rika feeling Hunter's foot hit her, doubled over as if in pain but didn't release his leg. She rolled in a somersault and still holding Hunter's leg, flipped him neatly to the ground. Hunter had no time to see, Nevermind parry Rika's move. He crashed to the ground on his back.
He heard laughter. He kipped up to see that Rika was laughing at Hunter. He rubbed his back. "That was good. Never saw it coming."
Rika smiled prettily, "Oh, there's plenty more, if you think you can take it." Her expression was sweet and innocent, but her voice held a challenge- a challenge, which Hunter was more than glad to oblige.
Hunter readied to charge again, but was stopped when the ground exploded in a shower of sand and sparks around the two rangers. Hunter ducked, shielding his eyes as he saw Rika do the same. Coming to their feet, both Rangers stumbled toward one another, each quickly sweeping their eyes up and down the other's form, checking to see if they were all right.
"What the heck was that?" Rika yelled.
"I don't know, but it can't be good." Hunter responded, his senses alert, listening for anything unusual.
"There!" Rika's shout made Hunter jerk his head towards the top of the bluff as they saw Choobo standing there, laughing and pointing. He glared at Choobo as he and Rika stood looking at him.
"What the hell do you want Choobo?" Rika asked glaring daggers. She was not in the mood for this. So not in the mood.
Choobo looked unfazed by the two Rangers glaring at him. "I want you!" Cackling, he called, "KelzaKs!"
A dozen of KelzaKs appeared around the two Rangers as they stood back to back as the black and red striped pinheads swarmed them. Rika glanced at Hunter, both thinking the same thing.
"You want me? Fine then. I've got a lot of steam to blow off." Rika taunted Choobo as she sprang into action. Hunter whirled to dodge a kick and smiled grimly at Rika. /Steam? He had plenty of that. They both did and they were more than willing to release all of it on the stupid KelzaKs./
Rika and Hunter worked seamlessly together; their fighting complementing the other. It was a stark difference from the last time they had fought the KelzaKs. Rika indulged herself in a moment remembering that particular fight. Both of them had been more preoccupied with the other, rather than the KelzaKs. She spun to slam a spinning tornado kick into two more KelzaKs, while ducking under another jab. She saw Hunter hurl another KelzaK straight over his head even as he blocked another's kick to his stomach. Her eyes met Hunters and she was sure the excitement and flush from the adrenaline on his face was mirrored on hers. She grinned and Hunter responded likewise.
"These KelzaKs for once had perfect timing. I was worried about having to hold back on you."
Rika snorted while neatly flipping another KelzaK to the ground and retorted, "Holding back? You couldn't afford to. You're just lucky these KelzaKs showed up instead."
Hunter rolled his eyes at Rika's cockiness, but smiled. The two Rangers were having the time of their lives. Meting out harsh punishment and releasing stress on the hapless KelzaKs left and right. Soon, it was all over. The KelzaKs lay defeated and Rika and Hunter had barely worked up an appetite. With a flash, the KelzaKs disappeared and the two Rangers stood crossing their arms as Choobo descended from his perch to the beach.
Casually Rika asked, "Is that it? I'm still here." To the untrained eye, Rika looked quite calm and relaxed, but Hunter knew better. He knew that it was only a testament to how well Rika was trained. She was poised and calm, but all her reflexes and instincts were on edge, ready for anything Choobo had up his sleeve.
Rika glanced sidelong at Hunter who was merely crossing his arms and dispassionately observing Choobo, but she knew. Hunter was just as the alert as she was, if not more. The only hint of his tension was in the occasional eye muscle that twitched that showed his concentration.
Choobo laughed at the two Rangers. He wagged his finger at Hunter and Rika. "Uh uh uh.Not this time. You won't get away so easy!"
Hunter tensed as he felt, rather than saw a blur land beside him. He whirled in time to see a blast of energy coming directly at him and Rika. /Shit./ Even as he moved to push Rika out of the way, he felt something push him aside as the blast threw both Rangers high into the air. Hunter landed on the sand with a thud; he was thankful for the sand, but it didn't do much to lessen the impact. Groggily, he looked around for Rika and found her, struggling to her feet some 15 feet away from him. Their eyes met and he nodded.
Standing, both simultaneously morphed,
"Thunder Storm, Lightning Storm, Ranger Form!"
The beach lit up temporarily in a bright flare of crimson as the two older teens morphed into their Ranger forms. Hunter and Rika stood side-by-side facing Choobo and another contingent of KelzaKs, fully morphed as the Crimson Thunder and Lightning Rangers, respectively.
Both Rangers stood coldly appraising Choobo, waiting for his next move when without warning, the air shimmered around the two Rangers, and each felt a cold blast move through between them. Rika shuddered as she felt the cold air grip her and looked over to see Hunter struggling the same. She looked down at her legs and was horrified to see ice slowly and steadily trickling up her legs. She was firmly stuck and now the ice had reach to her chest. It was getting harder to breathe because the ice was constricting her as it formed. Slowly she felt her body numb as she fought the blackness that threatened to overcome her-a result of her air slowly being restricted. Hunter was in no better shape. The ice had reached to about his waist, as he was taller than Rika, and he raised his arms to keep them above the ice that was slowly creeping towards his chest.
"Rika! Hang on! Don't fall asleep!"
"I'm s-so cold. I can't breathe!" Rika gasped out.
Hunter thought desperately, trying to force his brain, now sluggish with the numbing cold and restriction of his breath. /If he could just get the morpher to his mouth, he could alert the others./ The ice was now slowly licking up his chest, towards his neck. Hunter knew that if he couldn't get in touch with someone before the ice had reached his mouth, he and Rika were finished. No one would miss the two frozen Rangers. Shivering from the cold, he gathered his strength to try to force his arm upward. If Rika could try warming the ice, they might have a chance. He looked over to Rika and what he saw nearly made him panic. The ice had reached up to her mouth now and her head was drooping. /No! Rika stay awake! Fight it!/
"Rika! Wake up!!! Fight it! If you can try calling on a little of your powers.I might be able to reach my morpher!"
Rika lifted her head weakly, as much as the ice would allow and nodded. Hunter gritted his teeth and started to lift his arm as a small crimson light streaked out of the ice surrounding Rika and started to burn into Hunter. It hurt, it felt like a laser beam, but he blotted out the pain and continued to raise his arm. /Just a little more./ There!
"Cam! Blake! Hurry!" That was it. Hunter couldn't lift his arm anymore and Rika wasn't conscious enough to continue the beam. Now Hunter just closed his eyes and he waited.
"Whiirr! Whiizz.Boom!"
Bright light filled Hunter's vision as he saw the other Rangers ninja streak to the beach. Shane had blasted Choobo with his Hawk Blaster and the others had set to trying to free Rika. Cam turned his Samurai saber to Fire Mode and blasted it at Rika. It thawed the ice around her and Rika flopped to the ground, unconscious and as limp as a ragged doll. Cam turned to Hunter and did the same. He fell to his knees, panting as Blake kneeled and helped him up.
"Bro! Are you ok?" Blake asked worriedly, helping up Hunter.
Hunter staggered to his feet, "Yeah, I'm ok. Check Rika though."
Shane and Dustin mopped up the KelzaKs while Hunter stumbled over to Rika's side. He opened her visor, checking to see if she was still breathing. Her breath was shallow but there. He turned to Cam, about to tell him to take Rika back to Ninja Ops, when he was caught by surprise. A blast of lightning threw him several feet from Rika's side. Jerking his head up, he caught sight of a frosty white being, leering at him. Snarling in fury, Hunter charged the being, but found himself badly outmatched.
SLAM!
Hunter felt himself flying through the air, having caught the backend of a vicious whirlwind kick. He slammed into the sand several yards away. Raising his head groggily, he saw the being walking steadily towards Rika's prone form.
"No! Stay away from her!"
Hunter tried to struggle to his feet, but he was still weak and tired from lack of breath. He stumbled a few steps, but saw that he wouldn't make it in time. Blake was furiously slicing into the KelzaKs when he heard his brother call out. Whirling away from the KelzaK, Blake looked around to see Hunter take a vicious slash across the chest. At the same time, a bright light filled Blake's peripheral vision and he saw Rika disappear.
Hunter recovered and ran half stumbling and staggering to where Rika had been. Falling to his knees, he pounded the ground, screaming his defiance and anger, in one long heartfelt cry, "RIKA!!!"
Authoress Note: Here's the next chappie. Sorry it took so long to get up. This one is a bit shorter, but they'll be coming faster now.
Enjoy and REEEVIEW!
~~**~~
With Cam's talk fresh in Hunter's mind, he went off to find Rika. He poked his head into her room, but she wasn't there. He didn't really expect her to be. Hunter had a hunch as to where Rika had gone. Rika had told Hunter that she loved to go sit on top of a cliff that overlooked the ocean sometimes to just think or get away from everything. Hunter walked along the trail that led up the mountain. As he approached the top, he saw Rika's stiff form standing at the edge, staring hard at the ocean.
"Rika?" Hunter asked stopping several steps behind her.
Rika didn't answer, but continued to look at the ocean. Even if she didn't say anything, Hunter could almost sense her thoughts. Rika was steaming angry with Lothor and herself. She also blamed herself for Clare's capture. Hunter knew the feeling; the feeling of individual responsibility, and the gut-twisting sense of guilt when you fail to protect those whom you've sworn to do so. But he also knew that it wasn't Rika's fault.
"It wasn't your fault. There was no way you could've known."
Rika whirled, glaring at Hunter, "You should talk! What if it was Blake?" She glared furiously at Hunter, outraged at his blatant overlooking. She knew how loyal and fiercely protective Hunter was of Blake; she knew that she had failed to protect Clare.
Hunter stopped, surprised at the amount of self-loathing and anger he saw in Rika's eyes. The older brother in him understood what Rika was feeling, but his better commonsense knew that it would do neither of them any good to beat themselves up for it. He also saw fear in Rika's eyes. Rika was scared to death for Clare.
Hunter sighed, "Rika! You have to stop this! Stop beating yourself up for this! It wasn't your fault!"
Rika continued to glower at Hunter. "I drove her away! If I hadn't yelled at her, she wouldn't have left and then . . . " Hunter started to walk forward. He reached out to hug her. Rika stiffened and pushed him slightly away, but Hunter refused to let go. He held on to her, shaking her, "Common Rika! Pull yourself together! It wasn't your fault! You're not helping Clare or anyone if you act like this!"
Hunter forced Rika to look at him. Rika's eyes caught Hunter's and she glared at him for a bit before giving in. Her shoulders slumped, her former stiff posture broken as she released her tensed up emotions. "I can't lose Clare. She's all I've got." She cried softly as Hunter simply held her. He wasn't going to let her go through this alone.
"You've got me. Shh. We'll get her back. I promise."
Rika continued to cry softly into Hunter's chest. The two of them stood there. As Rika broke down, Hunter felt his stomach twist in anger. He was furious. What had Rika and Clare done to deserve this? They've already lost their parents! They only had each other! Hunter's body tensed as he thought about his own parents whom Lothor had killed.
Rika felt Hunter's body tense as she stopped crying. Looking up, she saw Hunter's gaze staring out at the ocean. Hunter looked down at Rika's tear- stained face feeling the anger tighten and harden.
"I swear we'll make Lothor pay for all the pain he's caused us."
Rika nodded, leaning into Hunter's protective embrace.
~~~~~~
That night, both Hunter and Blake tried to sleep, but with little success. Each tossed and turned with worry for their friends. Blake had nightmares about Clare and never finding her, or worse. Finding her . . . /No, he couldn't think about that now./ He shoved the thought out of his head even before it had time to fully form. Throwing his covers off, he looked around for his clothes, which he had strewn everywhere when he came in last night, too tired and upset to care. There. His pants were on the floor, half hidden under the bed. Blake reached down and pulled them on, glancing towards Hunter's side of the room. Only then, did he realize that Hunter's bed was empty. He sighed, /Probably went out to blow off some more steam./ Not watching where he was going, Blake tripped over his shirt thrown carelessly on the floor and cursed. Rubbing his knee, he sighed, /its going to be a long day./
~~~~~~~~~~~
The cool crisp air of the morning refreshed Hunter as he trekked through the forest, just trying to clear his buzzing mind. He hadn't slept well last night. Admittedly, he didn't think Blake had either for that matter. He felt the prick of anger as it started to rise. He hated being helpless. Muttering threats of what he would do when he got his hands on Lothor, he hiked down the last bit to the beach. He hadn't even realized where he was going. His steps just took him there. Reaching the beach, he heard grunts and kiyaa from somebody. Hunter wasn't surprised to see the older Lightning Ranger there. The roar of the ocean waves resounded with the barely suppressed anger that surged through him as he watched Rika train. No, it wasn't training. She was beating herself up. Throwing herself into a training routine that would rival his own. Hunter stood quietly and watched for a couple minutes before interrupting. He finally made his presence known, unable to bear further watching Rika take out her anger on air.
"Hey. Mind if I join you?" Hunter asked, walking forward.
Rika stopped, looking up at Hunter. He saw that her face was flushed and shiny with sweat. /How long had she been out here?/ Gesturing with a shrug, she nodded, "If you want."
Awkward silence hung in the air. Rika avoided looking directly at Hunter although he was trying to get her to look at him. He sighed inwardly, but asked, "Wanna spar?" He knew that Rika had some major frustrations to get out, as did he.
That made Rika look up. She studied Hunter carefully before replying, "You sure? We both have a lot to release here."
Hunter nodded, grinning slightly, "I know, but we're both good enough to watch ourselves."
Rika didn't respond but simply assumed a guarded fighting stance, as did Hunter. Both Rangers circled each other, looking for an opening. It would have been exciting for anyone to watch, as both Rangers were quite adept at their art and their skill and power nearly equal. Hunter had more power than Rika, but she had the speed. She was one of the fastest people Hunter had ever sparred with, and he, had a lot of power, Rika reflected. At an unseen signal, both ninjas charged, meeting each other in a flurry of arms, legs, and fists.
For a long time, Hunter blocked all of Rika's punches and kicks, as did she. Rika spun aiming a 360 Roundhouse kick at Hunter's side, which he promptly batted away while spinning, going into his own retaliatory tornado kick. Rika ducked under this one and swept her foot forward in an attempt to trip Hunter, but he saw this and swiftly jumped, Rika's foot sweeping harmlessly under him.
Hunter back flipped away from Rika as Rika watched him dispassionately. So far, this sparring match had been in the preliminaries. Neither had broken so much as a sweat, and both knew that they would need more intensity if they were to release their stress.
Rika commented, "Not bad, but I thought you had more than this."
Hunter smirked, "Oh, I've got plenty. Come and get it."
Rika cocked her eyebrow, smirking back, "It would be my pleasure."
Once again, the two clashed in a furious whirl as each blocked, attacked, simultaneously. It was quite even, but Hunter could see that Rika was getting increasingly frustrated. He decided to up the ante. Throwing in a quick fake, he faded to the left and when Rika had fallen for it, quickly snapped a roundhouse to her side, throwing her off balance. Rika feeling Hunter's foot hit her, doubled over as if in pain but didn't release his leg. She rolled in a somersault and still holding Hunter's leg, flipped him neatly to the ground. Hunter had no time to see, Nevermind parry Rika's move. He crashed to the ground on his back.
He heard laughter. He kipped up to see that Rika was laughing at Hunter. He rubbed his back. "That was good. Never saw it coming."
Rika smiled prettily, "Oh, there's plenty more, if you think you can take it." Her expression was sweet and innocent, but her voice held a challenge- a challenge, which Hunter was more than glad to oblige.
Hunter readied to charge again, but was stopped when the ground exploded in a shower of sand and sparks around the two rangers. Hunter ducked, shielding his eyes as he saw Rika do the same. Coming to their feet, both Rangers stumbled toward one another, each quickly sweeping their eyes up and down the other's form, checking to see if they were all right.
"What the heck was that?" Rika yelled.
"I don't know, but it can't be good." Hunter responded, his senses alert, listening for anything unusual.
"There!" Rika's shout made Hunter jerk his head towards the top of the bluff as they saw Choobo standing there, laughing and pointing. He glared at Choobo as he and Rika stood looking at him.
"What the hell do you want Choobo?" Rika asked glaring daggers. She was not in the mood for this. So not in the mood.
Choobo looked unfazed by the two Rangers glaring at him. "I want you!" Cackling, he called, "KelzaKs!"
A dozen of KelzaKs appeared around the two Rangers as they stood back to back as the black and red striped pinheads swarmed them. Rika glanced at Hunter, both thinking the same thing.
"You want me? Fine then. I've got a lot of steam to blow off." Rika taunted Choobo as she sprang into action. Hunter whirled to dodge a kick and smiled grimly at Rika. /Steam? He had plenty of that. They both did and they were more than willing to release all of it on the stupid KelzaKs./
Rika and Hunter worked seamlessly together; their fighting complementing the other. It was a stark difference from the last time they had fought the KelzaKs. Rika indulged herself in a moment remembering that particular fight. Both of them had been more preoccupied with the other, rather than the KelzaKs. She spun to slam a spinning tornado kick into two more KelzaKs, while ducking under another jab. She saw Hunter hurl another KelzaK straight over his head even as he blocked another's kick to his stomach. Her eyes met Hunters and she was sure the excitement and flush from the adrenaline on his face was mirrored on hers. She grinned and Hunter responded likewise.
"These KelzaKs for once had perfect timing. I was worried about having to hold back on you."
Rika snorted while neatly flipping another KelzaK to the ground and retorted, "Holding back? You couldn't afford to. You're just lucky these KelzaKs showed up instead."
Hunter rolled his eyes at Rika's cockiness, but smiled. The two Rangers were having the time of their lives. Meting out harsh punishment and releasing stress on the hapless KelzaKs left and right. Soon, it was all over. The KelzaKs lay defeated and Rika and Hunter had barely worked up an appetite. With a flash, the KelzaKs disappeared and the two Rangers stood crossing their arms as Choobo descended from his perch to the beach.
Casually Rika asked, "Is that it? I'm still here." To the untrained eye, Rika looked quite calm and relaxed, but Hunter knew better. He knew that it was only a testament to how well Rika was trained. She was poised and calm, but all her reflexes and instincts were on edge, ready for anything Choobo had up his sleeve.
Rika glanced sidelong at Hunter who was merely crossing his arms and dispassionately observing Choobo, but she knew. Hunter was just as the alert as she was, if not more. The only hint of his tension was in the occasional eye muscle that twitched that showed his concentration.
Choobo laughed at the two Rangers. He wagged his finger at Hunter and Rika. "Uh uh uh.Not this time. You won't get away so easy!"
Hunter tensed as he felt, rather than saw a blur land beside him. He whirled in time to see a blast of energy coming directly at him and Rika. /Shit./ Even as he moved to push Rika out of the way, he felt something push him aside as the blast threw both Rangers high into the air. Hunter landed on the sand with a thud; he was thankful for the sand, but it didn't do much to lessen the impact. Groggily, he looked around for Rika and found her, struggling to her feet some 15 feet away from him. Their eyes met and he nodded.
Standing, both simultaneously morphed,
"Thunder Storm, Lightning Storm, Ranger Form!"
The beach lit up temporarily in a bright flare of crimson as the two older teens morphed into their Ranger forms. Hunter and Rika stood side-by-side facing Choobo and another contingent of KelzaKs, fully morphed as the Crimson Thunder and Lightning Rangers, respectively.
Both Rangers stood coldly appraising Choobo, waiting for his next move when without warning, the air shimmered around the two Rangers, and each felt a cold blast move through between them. Rika shuddered as she felt the cold air grip her and looked over to see Hunter struggling the same. She looked down at her legs and was horrified to see ice slowly and steadily trickling up her legs. She was firmly stuck and now the ice had reach to her chest. It was getting harder to breathe because the ice was constricting her as it formed. Slowly she felt her body numb as she fought the blackness that threatened to overcome her-a result of her air slowly being restricted. Hunter was in no better shape. The ice had reached to about his waist, as he was taller than Rika, and he raised his arms to keep them above the ice that was slowly creeping towards his chest.
"Rika! Hang on! Don't fall asleep!"
"I'm s-so cold. I can't breathe!" Rika gasped out.
Hunter thought desperately, trying to force his brain, now sluggish with the numbing cold and restriction of his breath. /If he could just get the morpher to his mouth, he could alert the others./ The ice was now slowly licking up his chest, towards his neck. Hunter knew that if he couldn't get in touch with someone before the ice had reached his mouth, he and Rika were finished. No one would miss the two frozen Rangers. Shivering from the cold, he gathered his strength to try to force his arm upward. If Rika could try warming the ice, they might have a chance. He looked over to Rika and what he saw nearly made him panic. The ice had reached up to her mouth now and her head was drooping. /No! Rika stay awake! Fight it!/
"Rika! Wake up!!! Fight it! If you can try calling on a little of your powers.I might be able to reach my morpher!"
Rika lifted her head weakly, as much as the ice would allow and nodded. Hunter gritted his teeth and started to lift his arm as a small crimson light streaked out of the ice surrounding Rika and started to burn into Hunter. It hurt, it felt like a laser beam, but he blotted out the pain and continued to raise his arm. /Just a little more./ There!
"Cam! Blake! Hurry!" That was it. Hunter couldn't lift his arm anymore and Rika wasn't conscious enough to continue the beam. Now Hunter just closed his eyes and he waited.
"Whiirr! Whiizz.Boom!"
Bright light filled Hunter's vision as he saw the other Rangers ninja streak to the beach. Shane had blasted Choobo with his Hawk Blaster and the others had set to trying to free Rika. Cam turned his Samurai saber to Fire Mode and blasted it at Rika. It thawed the ice around her and Rika flopped to the ground, unconscious and as limp as a ragged doll. Cam turned to Hunter and did the same. He fell to his knees, panting as Blake kneeled and helped him up.
"Bro! Are you ok?" Blake asked worriedly, helping up Hunter.
Hunter staggered to his feet, "Yeah, I'm ok. Check Rika though."
Shane and Dustin mopped up the KelzaKs while Hunter stumbled over to Rika's side. He opened her visor, checking to see if she was still breathing. Her breath was shallow but there. He turned to Cam, about to tell him to take Rika back to Ninja Ops, when he was caught by surprise. A blast of lightning threw him several feet from Rika's side. Jerking his head up, he caught sight of a frosty white being, leering at him. Snarling in fury, Hunter charged the being, but found himself badly outmatched.
SLAM!
Hunter felt himself flying through the air, having caught the backend of a vicious whirlwind kick. He slammed into the sand several yards away. Raising his head groggily, he saw the being walking steadily towards Rika's prone form.
"No! Stay away from her!"
Hunter tried to struggle to his feet, but he was still weak and tired from lack of breath. He stumbled a few steps, but saw that he wouldn't make it in time. Blake was furiously slicing into the KelzaKs when he heard his brother call out. Whirling away from the KelzaK, Blake looked around to see Hunter take a vicious slash across the chest. At the same time, a bright light filled Blake's peripheral vision and he saw Rika disappear.
Hunter recovered and ran half stumbling and staggering to where Rika had been. Falling to his knees, he pounded the ground, screaming his defiance and anger, in one long heartfelt cry, "RIKA!!!"