Standard disclaimer.
Chapter 2: Return of an Old Foe
"You all should get back to your daily lives," Sensei said, the six nodding in agreement.
"I'm hitting the track!" Dustin called, then looked over at the Bradleys. "You guys wanna come?"
"I'm for it," Blake replied, "Hunter?"
"I'm always up for it," he answered.
The three raced out of the cave, not knowing what the other three had planned.
"I'm going to the skatepark. Gotta keep my skills up, ya know?" Shane said, smiling.
"There probably aren't any good waves, so I'll keep you company. You coming, Cam?" Tori replied.
"No, thanks. I'll stay here and get some work done. The Zords were damaged a little."
The next day found the Rangers enjoying a free day in Blue Bay Harbor. Tori watched Shane at the skate park while Blake, Dustin and Hunter had to work. It was just after the store closed when their morphers went off.
"You need to get to the beach. An old foe is back. Cam's already on his way," CyberCam announced.
The two groups morphed, then went to the beach where they met up with Cam to find the alien. The group of six Rangers just stared at their newest opponent.
"I'm all for recycling, but this isn't funny," Dustin said when he saw the resurrected Squirrel.
"If he calls himself Super Squirrel, I may just have to start laughing," Tori commented, making a reference to the last time they face a resurrected foe.
"My name does not matter, all that matters is that I will destroy you all!" Squirrel yelled, running to attack the Rangers.
"Ninja Shadow Battle!" Blake called.
The shadow battle worked well, but not well enough. Although it did weaken the monster, it also weakened the Ranger team, especially Blake and Dustin. The two stayed back while the other Rangers battled the Squirrel. After a few minutes, the Rangers gathered together, several yards from the Squirrel.
"Ok, this isn't going so well," Hunter commented. "Any suggestions?"
"Thunder Blaster and Storm Striker?" Blake said.
"Let's put 'em together!" Shane called.
With the two weapons together and aimed, both Hunter and Shane called, "Fire!"
Two orbs of energy went straight to the alien, who was ready for it.
"Not this time," the Squirrel said, deflecting the two orbs back to the Rangers.
Six bodies flew through the air, with Hunter, Shane and Cam meeting the side of a cliff before crashing into the sand.
"That wasn't supposed to happen," Dustin said as he slowly got to his feet.
Blake got to his knees, then looked back at Hunter, who was barely moving.
"Now you know what's in store for you. I will return, with reinforcements of my own!" the Squirrel taunted just before disappearing in a flash of light.
Dustin knelt by Shane, who was already sitting up. Tori was helping Cam to his feet while Hunter leaned against Blake for support as he tried to stand. The second that Hunter was on his feet, he dropped to his knees.
"Not good," he mumbled, leaning against Blake.
"Let's get back to Ops, I can look at him there," Cam said.
"I don't think he can ninja streak back," Blake replied, "He can't even stand."
"I'll have CyberCam teleport you both," Cam said.
Once back at Ninja Ops, Hunter was lying on the floor with Blake nearby. The Winds were sent home to rest with a promise that they would be called once Cam determined Hunter's condition.
"No more crashing into cliffs for you, bro," Blake commented as he watched Cam use some sort of scanner on his brother.
"Didn't mean to," Hunter replied, his voice soft.
Blake saw Hunter's eyes close, his brother groaning softly and shifting slightly.
"Bro, those eyes need to stay open," Blake said.
"Easy for you to say. You don't have the headache and nausea that I do," Hunter replied, his voice the same as before.
"He's still right," Cam said. "You have a concussion."
"Wonderful," Hunter muttered, turning his head so he could see Blake.
"There goes that wild night of partying you were looking forward to," Blake laughed.
Cam let the sarcastic comment go, just as Hunter did. "There goes any more alien battles for a few days," he added.
"No problem, don't want to move," Hunter replied.
Cam got to his feet, facing Blake. "With the obvious exception of his concussion, Hunter's fine. He just needs plenty of rest. And no sleeping for a while."
"Can he go in our room? I think he'd rather be in there than on this hard floor," Blake asked.
"No reason why he can't," Cam answered, moving to the Hunter's opposite side from where Blake was standing.
"And you don't need to tell me to keep an eye on him. I plan on keeping two on him," Blake added as he knelt by his brother's side.
"Floor bad, bed good," Hunter said.
Blake grinned down, "Scramble his brain and he gets all pushy."
Cam and Blake helped Hunter slowly get to his feet, then guided him into the bedroom that the brothers shared. They got Hunter into the bed nearest to the door, although it was Blake's. Cam turned the desk lamp near the bed on, turning out the lights to the room. Blake was seated on the bed by Hunter, with Cam lingering in the doorway.
"I'll come back in an hour to check up on you," Cam said to Hunter. Then he added to Blake, "He stays awake. If anything comes up, I'll be in the main room. Just yell."
Blake nodded just before Cam left, shutting the door behind him.
"So, bro, how am I going to keep you awake?" Blake asked, only receiving a roll of the eyes in response.