The first thing Cam became aware of was the pounding that seemed to invade his entire skull. Very slowly, he cracked open his eyes. A low ceiling made up of dark wood came into view. Cam moved his head a fraction of an inch, trying to take in as much of his surroundings as possible. He was lying on the bare wooden floor of what seemed to be a cottage. An open window let in rays of dull sunlight. A charcoal brazier sizzling a few feet away from him provided the only illumination; otherwise there seemed to be no other furniture in the room.
Suddenly there was movement next to his head, and a slender arm holding a cloth came into view. The cloth touched the side of his head, cool and wet. Cam looked up...and right into the beautiful face of a young Asian woman. She was dressed in a traditional kimono of vibrant orange with a pattern of falling leaves in red and green. Her glossy, raven-black hair was piled high on her head, held in place with two tasseled ivory combs. Her face was devoid of all make-up, yet it was impossible to judge her age; she could have been anywhere between fifteen and twenty-five.
Where am I? Cam thought, completely perplexed. Did I get sucked back into the past again?
The girl was not smiling, but Cam sensed no danger from her. She retrieved the cloth from his brow, and Cam could see streaks of red on the white material. Instinctively, he raised his hand to touch his laceration, but the girl put a hand over his, shaking her head wordlessly. Then she reached behind his neck, lifting his head from the floor while, with her other hand, she held a small cup up to his mouth, silently encouraging him to drink.
Still too dazed to think clearly, he simply followed her quiet orders. Green tea. The hot liquid was bitter, but not unpleasant.
"You are a pathetic excuse for a ninja sensei," a raspy voice suddenly sounded from behind him. Definitely not feminine.
Startled, Cam reflexively turned his head towards the voice, causing new pain to explode from his temples. He grimaced while the disembodied voice continued to speak.
"You are Cam Watanabe." It was a statement, not a question, but had it been, Cam would have had no intentions of affirming it. Something strange about this voice, though...
Then it hit him: The voice was speaking in Japanese.
"What?" Cam croaked, his voice hoarse from the lingering headache.
"You heard me," the voice replied, closer now. Suddenly, a shadow fell over Cam and a man walked into the periphery of his vision. From his short and stocky frame, Cam recognized him as the leader of the attackers on the school. He had taken off the black cloth that had covered his head and face earlier, and now Cam was staring into the weather-beaten visage of a Japanese man, about the age of his own father. His short, black hair was liberally streaked with grey and his only facial hair was a few thin, almost unperceivable strands hanging from a prominent chin. The same hard, black eyes from the other night were staring at Cam unblinkingly. The aura of authority surrounding the ninja was almost tangible, and Cam instinctively knew that this was a highly dangerous man.
With a wordless grunt and a quick jerk of his head, the older man ordered the girl out of the room. She immediately rose from Cam's side, gathered up the teacup and cloth, and left the room without looking back.
"Where am I? And who are you?" Cam asked in English while, very carefully, trying to sit up. He was fluent in Japanese, but he'd be damned if he conceded to speaking it to his captor.
The black ninja did not respond right away, but instead seemed to study the young man on the floor before him with interest. "It is highly impolite to ask these questions without first introducing yourself."
Cam looked up at the black-clad stranger. "Sounded to me like you had already safely established my identity a moment ago."
A hint of amusement played over the stranger's hard features. He continued to stare down at Cam for another moment. "I am Kozuhiro Kinaga, supreme leader of the Tiger Claw Clan," he continued their strange, bilingual conversation.
His name meant absolutely nothing to Cam, but 'Tiger Claw Clan' stirred a faint memory in the very back of his aching head, hovering just out of reach...
Cam finished pulling himself into a sitting position. A thousand questions were crying for answers inside his head, but first things first, because right now he was pretty pissed off.
"Has anybody ever told you that it's also highly impolite to launch unprovoked attacks onto the Thunder and Wind Academies, beat up my students, and take me from my home against my will?" he snarled at Kinaga, but the older ninja merely grunted.
He crouched down before Cam, sitting back on his heels. "A justifiable necessity."
"Justifiable necessity?" Cam echoed incredulously. "Necessary for what...?" Cam let his voice trail off. As much as the former Green Ranger wanted answers, something had just caught his eye. Now that Kinaga was at eye level with him, Cam could see a sheathed dagger fastened to the ninja's belt. His chance...
Although he was in less than the perfect attack position, Cam lunged for the weapon, but the older ninja barely moved as he effortlessly batted away his hand. Cam's foot shot out, aiming for the Japanese man's head, but before it could make contact, Kinaga had already caught his leg, twisting it sideways. Cam grunted in surprise, and the next second the older ninja was hovering over him, Cam's leg tugged under his arm in a vice-like grip, his elbow poised right above the ex-Ranger's trapped knee.
"You fool," Kinaga hissed, "your eyes gave you away long before you even made that stupid move." He glared at Cam intently. "It would take me about half a second to pulverize your kneecap right now, but I don't like to return damaged goods."
The elderly ninja looked almost disappointed. "You still have much to learn. Not to mention the fact that you never would have made it out of this room anyways."
With a disgusted exclamation, Kinaga suddenly let go of him and snapped his fingers. Immediately, the deep shadows on each side of the cottage's entrance door came alive, and two equally black-clad figures materialized out of the corners. They were upon Cam with unbelievable speed, each grabbing one of his arms, lifting him off the ground and slamming him backwards against the cottage wall. The fresh wave of pain in his head had him tethered on the brink of unconsciousness for a moment. Within a fraction of a second, it seemed, he found himself sitting once again on the floor with his back to the wall. On either side of him, a few inches above his head, two iron rings were imbedded into the timber of the wall. A short leather cord was dangling from each ring. The ninjas grabbed Cam's arms and tightly wrapped the cords around his wrists, securely tying him to the wall while Kinaga watched impassively.
Their work done, the ninjas retreated back to their stations by the door, leaving Kinaga and Cam to stare at each other. With an enraged growl, Cam yanked at the cords, confusion, headache, anger, all threatening to coalesce into a dangerous stew of emotions.
"Just what do you want from me?" he spat at the Tiger Claw ninja.
The dead, black eyes never wavered from his face. "From you, nothing," the older man replied. "But your father and I have unfinished business."
"My father...?" Cam was taken aback by this answer, genuinely surprised now. "What are you talking about?"
Instead of answering, Kinaga turned his head towards the window, watching as a sudden gust of wind tugged at the branches of the spruce tree outside the cottage. A thoughtful look had come over his leathery features; then, apparently, he made up his mind and once again locked eyes with his captive. "Quite some time ago, I rendered a valuable service to a member of your family. He gave me his solemn word that I would receive ample compensation after his master plan had been successfully implemented. Unfortunately, in the end, it wasn't meant to be." Kinaga was still watching Cam. "I believe you know who I am referring to."
And Cam did know. Didn't want it to be true, but couldn't deny it in light of all the now obvious evidence. He knew of only one person with a 'master plan' that had resulted in failure...the ultimate failure of now being stuck in the Abyss of Evil for all eternity. And then there was the portal technology Kinaga undoubtedly could have obtained from only this one particular person... "Lothor!" Cam's whispered the hated name.
Suddenly, for the first time, there was a spark of emotion in Kinaga's onyx eyes;
Utter contempt.
He balled his gloved fist. "He used me and the resources only I could provide him with, leaving me with nothing to show for it." The leather fist was now uncomfortably close to Cam's face. "But a deal is a deal, and since Lothor cannot be held accountable for his liabilities anymore, the debt has now passed on to his nearest family member."
Cam ignored the hovering fist. "My father has absolutely no obligations towards any deals Lothor ever made with anyone," he said firmly.
Kinaga's slanted eyes narrowed to mere slits. "Unfortunately for you, I don't quite see it that way."
"Just what resources did you provide him with, anyway?" Cam inquired.
At that, a complacent look came over Kinaga's face. "Where do you think Lothor's Kelzak Furies came from?" The ninja once again countered a question with a question.
Cam's forehead furrowed. "Kelzaks? They were Lothor's and Beevil's manufactured abominations. What do they have to do...?"
Kinaga cut him off. "Where do you think they learned their fighting skills? Who do you think Lothor modeled them after?" It was a rhetorical question.
"I provided him with dozens of test subjects from the ranks of my best ninja students," he continued, his sandpapery voice hoarse with anger. "By the time he finally constructed the perfect Kelzak Furies, he had used up almost fifty of my men, and I expect to be fully compensated for these losses. One way or another. And this is now your father's obligation; the honor of your family demands it."
Kinaga sat back on his heels, smiling grimly at the shocked expression on the young man's face before him.
Cam couldn't believe what he had just heard, let alone stomach it.
But he knew Lothor was evil enough to use human beings as his proverbial guinea pigs to experiment on. To prod and to probe them until he finally figured out how to acquire their skills and strengths, then use this knowledge, ripped from suffering minds and bodies, to program the Kelzak Furies. Yes, his uncle was capable of that.
But how evil did a human have to be to let these atrocities happen to his own men, and then to care about nothing else but the payment he thought he deserved?
Bile rose in Cam's throat, and for a few moments, he had to concentrate only on his breathing; otherwise he would surely have expectorated his disgust right over his kidnapper's boots.
"It's not gonna work, Kinaga," Cam said through clenched teeth, for he now finally knew where this was going. "You won't be able to force my father into honoring Lothor's debts, with or without me. Besides, Lothor has ceased being family a long time ago."
Seemingly untouched by his captive's animosity, Kozuhiro Kinaga rose, only to look down on Cam indifferently.
"Tell me, Cam Watanabe, are you familiar with Miyamoto Musashi's 'Go-Rin-No-Sho'?"
What is it with these unexpected questions? Cam thought, irritated.
Of course he was familiar with Musashi's 'Book of Five Rings'. It was a masterpiece of both physical and psychological warfare, written by 14th century Japan's most famed swordsman. Every self-respecting samurai studied this book, and Cam's own copy was well worn and book-marked. Where is he going with this?
"I've heard of it," he replied vaguely.
But Kinaga was not fooled. "Then you will remember what Musashi said about the most effective way to fight a distant enemy." He fixed Cam with another cold stare. "If you cannot attack your enemy's body on the battlefield, shift strategies, and instead attack his mind and heart. And that is exactly what I'm planning to do."
Suddenly, in one blurry motion, Kinaga was on him, and with a vicious jerk, ripped Cam's sensei badge off his uniform jacket. He held it up for a moment, as if to inspect it, then looked back at Cam.
"I believe your father will comply," he said with a smirk. Then he turned and, without another word, left the cottage, still clutching the cloth badge.
Watching him go, Cam desperately fought off the impending sense of horrible premonition threatening to make him sick again. If I could only get out of these...He gave his bonds a few more half-hearted tugs. They held, of course. Not that he had expected otherwise.
But even if he were able to free himself, there was still the ninja guard by the door to be dealt with, plus Cam had no idea where he actually was, other than in enemy territory.
With an exasperated sigh, Cam closed his eyes, resting his head back against the wall. It was still aching, but this time more from all the inconceivable and disgusting things he had been told by this human monster. He also hated the helpless situation he presently found himself in.
'God, I am so sick of getting tied up,' he mumbled.
First by CyberCam in the closet in Ninja Ops, then by Lothor on his ship, now here...
This was really getting old.
Meanwhile...
The tension in Ninja Ops was stifling.
Hunter was pacing furiously, while the rest of the Wind Ninjas and Blake had simply plopped onto the floor, dispirited.
"I don't get it, I simply don't get it," Dustin kept saying, as if reciting a mantra. "You said you guys saw a transporter portal, right? But how can that be?" The former Earth Power Ranger looked at Shane. "Wouldn't that mean that Lothor's back?"
"I don't think so," Shane shook his head. "Sensei would have known if he was. He would have...felt him, or something."
"Well, now at least we know how those ninjas got onto the Thunder and Wind academy grounds a few nights ago." Tori concluded.
"Yeah, but if Lothor's still in the Abyss, where did they get the portal technology from?" Dustin kept pressing to no one in particular.
Suddenly, Hunter whirled around. "I could care less about where they got the technology from. I just want to get Cam back from wherever he is! And I'm so ready to kick some serious butt at the same time." The ex-Crimson Ranger looked mad as hell, but the others knew that this was simply his way of masking his concern for his partner.
"You, and all of us, bro." Blake assured his brother.
"But why Cam?" Tori wondered out loud. "What do they want with him?"
"I don't know," Hunter spoke up. "But I'm pretty sure that this wasn't a coincidence."
"What do you mean?" Shane frowned.
"Think about it, man," Hunter continued. "That fight, it all seemed so...staged. And then the intruder in Cam's room a few nights before." The Thunder Ninja's face was grave. "I think Cam was targeted. It was him specifically they were looking for."
"But what about the attack on the Thunder Academy?" Blake countered.
His brother shrugged. "Maybe a diversion, who knows? Or maybe they just didn't know which school to search for him first."
A deadly quiet filled Ninja Ops as the ex-Rangers pondered this possibility.
After a while, Tori broke the silence. "So, anyone have an idea as to what our next move should be?"
She was rewarded with only more silence.
"We need help, guys." Shane finally said quietly.
"Who could possibly help us, Shane?" Blake said, subdued. "The only way to get to Cam seems to be through that portal, and the only one who knows anything about portal technology is Cam."
At this, Hunter's head suddenly snapped around and he fixed his brother with a wide-eyed stare. "What did you just say?"
Blake frowned at the older Bradley's strange expression. "I said the only one..."
But Hunter was already next to him, his hand on his shoulder. "Bro, you're a genius."
And he turned and ran towards the stairway.
The rest of the gang was staring at him, thoroughly perplexed. "Hey, where you goin'?" Blake called after him. Hunter whirled around. "There is someone else who can help, and you just reminded me of him. Stay here, y'all, I'll be right back."
And he was, just a few minutes later, carrying Cam's laptop under his arm.
He put it down on what was left of Ninja Ops' command table. While it booted up, Hunter explained, "Cam spent the last few months repairing CyberCam's program. Two nights ago, he was literally a click away from re-activating him. I think that, with all the time I've spent watching him fiddling with this program, I should be able to activate him myself now."
Shane scratched his head. "But if Cam was so close to activating CyberCam, why didn't he do it?"
Hunter would not look up. "He, uumm, got a little distracted."
"By what?" Dustin asked confused.
"More like...by whom?" Blake gave Hunter a knowing grin.
Hunter wouldn't meet anyone's eyes, but he grinned into the laptop screen.
"So, you know how to activate CyberCam?" Blake eyed his brother skeptically.
Hunter made a show of lacing his fingers together and cracking them.
"Cam owes me hours of watching me race on the track for this, believe me," he mumbled.
The others actually cracked a couple of smiles at that.
"All right," Hunter sighed, fingers poised above the keyboard. "Let's let genie out of his bottle."
He thought for a second, then tapped several commands into the laptop, and a moment later, CyberCam materialized next to the desk, wearing his customary silly hat and goofy grin.
"Hey, hey, hey, whazzup, dawgs? Whazzup, T.?"
Tori genuinely grinned for the first time in days. "Good to see you, CyberCam."
"Yo, whatcha doing at Cam's laptop?" CyberCam asked Hunter. "Speaking of, where is my main man C.?" The hologram looked around searchingly. His brows furrowed at the dismayed looks on everyone's faces. "What happened?" he asked, suddenly worried.
The ex-Rangers took turns filling him in on all the happenings of the past few days.
"Mega-bummer, dudes!" Cam's holographic twin exclaimed. "And how can there even be a teleportation portal? Lothor's gone!"
Hunter shrugged. "Baffles us as much as you."
CyberCam looked into the round. "So what're you gonna do?"
"Well, that's where you come in," Shane explained. "We were hoping you had any ideas or theories about this portal, because, frankly, none of us do."
CyberCam was quiet for a long time, thinking intently. Finally he spoke. "You said all this happened a couple of hours ago?"
He frowned at the nods all around. "Damn! Too late, then."
"Too late for what?" Blake wanted to know.
"To scan for ionic carbon particle residue, of course." He looked at the uncomprehending faces around him and sighed. "Never mind, it's a Cam-thing, I guess."
"OK, that was, like, way too Star Trek-ish for me," Dustin said. "English, please, dude?"
CyberCam made a show of more sighs and eye-rolling. "Back when Lothor was still bugging us, Cam and I constructed a scanner able to detect the ionic carbon particle residue trail of his teleportation portals. We hardly got to use it, though. You guys kicked his butt into the abyss before we had a chance to scan anything properly."
"That scanner won't do us no good anyways," Shane said downheartedly. "What we need is a remote control to re-open that transporter portal."
"Oh, we've got that," CyberCam said nonchalantly. "It's just not working."
That statement landed him wide-eyed stares from the rest of the gang.
"A remote control." Hunter said, highly skeptical. "You have one of Lothor's transporter controls."
CyberCam seemed surprised at the question. "Yeah."
"But, like, I don't get it. How...?" Dustin began.
"From Mara, or Kapri. I don't remember which one of those airheads."
The 'airhead' landed him a dirty look from Dustin.
"...I guess that, once Lothor was gone, they didn't know what to do with theirs anymore, so when they joined the academy, they gave it to Cam," the hologram finished.
"But you said it wasn't working." Blake reminded him.
"I said once Lothor was gone, there was nothing left to scan. For the remote control to work, it needs to be programmed with the proper wavelengths of the portal."
"And you could get the wavelength coordinates from the ionic particle residue," Tori concluded the trail of thought, her eyes going wide.
"Bingo." CyberCam nodded.
Shane didn't join the enthusiasm. "But how long after a portal has closed can you scan for that residue?"
CyberCam looked unsure. "A minute, maybe two. That stuff dissipates pretty fast."
"So much for that idea, then." A frustrated Hunter raked his hands through his hair.
"So, are we back to square one?" Dustin asked.
A collective sigh rose from the assembled Rangers.
"Isn't there anything you can do, Cam?" Tori said pleadingly.
The hologram stared at the laptop screen as if deep in thought. Then he turned to Tori.
"I'll think of something," he assured her somberly. "I promise."
Cam...
Cam's shoulders were on fire. Forced to keep his arms above his head, he felt like they were lead weights, which was contrary to the almost non-existent feeling in his hands and wrists.
From the way the last rays of sunlight fell into the room through the open window, he deduced that he had been strapped to the wall for the past six hours or so. He once again shifted uncomfortably, trying in vain to find a position to alleviate the pain. At least his headache was better, though. As a matter of fact, he hadn't felt the pounding in his temples for quite a while now.
Wincing, he rolled his shoulders and immediately, the ninja sitting immobile by the entrance door looked up. Cam had not been unguarded for a moment since his involuntary arrival.
The doors of the cottage opened, and another black-clad and masked figure entered the room. 'Changing Of The Guards,' Cam thought sarcastically, 'I'd rather be watching that at Buckingham Palace right now.'
As soon as the first guard left, the second took his place in the exact same spot. Less than two minutes later, however, the figure rose again and approached Cam, kneeling directly in front of him. Cam lifted his head to meet the guard's gaze...and found himself looking into two oblique, feminine eyes. The figure tugged on the headscarf covering her mouth and nose, and the face revealed was that of the girl who had served him tea a few hours ago. Cam blinked in surprise, but the girl gave him a slight smile, reached into her jacket and withdrew a small vial.
"I know you are in pain, Watanabe-san," she said, her voice quiet and musical. She held up the vial. "This will help." She unstopped the container and shook it slightly. A creamy liquid flowed into her palms, and she rubbed it several times in her hands before she reached for Cam. But he jerked away from her touch, eyeing her suspiciously.
The girl's hands froze in midair and she looked at him intently.
"I have seen men tied to this wall for days at a time, Watanabe-san. I do not know how long my father intends on keeping you here, but it will be as long as he deems it necessary. The pain will only get worse."
Kinaga's daughter! Cam watched the young woman wordlessly, contemplating her words, and after a moment she reached for him again. This time he did not pull away, and her warm hands slid into his uniform jacket and proceeded to gently massage the cream into his shoulders. When she was finished, she tugged on his jacket lapels, re-closing them carefully over his chest. The salve's effect was almost instant and Cam's muscles started to numb to the pain.
Cam closed his eyes for a moment, savoring the relief. "Thank you," he muttered.
The girl inclined her head wordlessly in acknowledgement.
When Cam opened his eyes again, he looked directly at her. "You have me at a disadvantage," he said, "you know my name, but I don't know yours."
At this, the girl looked at him uncomprehendingly. Unlike her father, she did not seem to understand English.
Cam sighed inwardly, and repeated his question in flawless Japanese.
The girl looked hesitant for a moment. "I am Aikiko," she said almost reluctantly.
"Is your head feeling better?" she asked suddenly, seemingly eager to change the subject. When Cam nodded, she seemed pleased. "Good. The herbs have been effective, then."
The tea... "Why are you doing all this?" he inquired.
"My father's sense of hospitality leaves many things to be desired, I'm afraid," she replied earnestly. "I cannot change this, but I can try to improve upon it."
"Would your sense of hospitality also include answering a few questions?" he asked carefully.
She gave him that intent look again. "That depends," she said cautiously.
"Where am I?"
Aikiko took a minute, as if she had to make up her mind as to how much she could tell him. "You are inside the Tiger Claw Ninja ryu, my father's school, located at the northernmost tip of the Aomori Prefecture on Honshu Island." She gave him that look again. "And if you expect to be discovered here, then I must disappoint you. This is a most secretive location. No outsiders have ever been able to find this school."
One of Cam's dark premonitions had just been proven right. He actually was in Japan. But if alien technology was able to transport from Earth into outer space, then why shouldn't it be able to transport anywhere on Earth?
He nevertheless held her steady gaze. "My friends will find a way."
Aikiko made no reply; instead she busied herself with re-stopping the vial and tugging it back into her jacket.
Sensing that she was getting ready to leave, Cam was frantically thinking of a way of delaying her departure. He had many more questions for her.
"You know, you really haven't answered my earlier question," he said quickly. At her quizzical look he continued, "The tea, the salve...why are you doing all this?"
Aikiko exhaled heavily. But instead of answering his question, she countered with one of her own. "Have you ever loved, Watanabe-san," she said in her quiet way, "purely and completely, with your heart, body and soul?"
He was surprised at this unexpected question, but surprised himself even more with his spontaneous answer. "I do right now."
"Then you are lucky, because, if all goes well, you will return to your love." She looked down onto her folded hands in her lap. "But mine will never walk these grounds again."
Cam peered at her curiously. What Aikiko had just disclosed to him was quite a revelation. To her he was, after all, only a stranger; probably even an enemy. Or at least her father thought so. He sensed that there was more to this story, and if he were Dustin or Shane, he probably would have just blurted out 'so what happened to him?' but since he was Eastern, he had to go about this a bit subtler. And suddenly, it hit him.
"Those ninjas your father sent to Lothor...you knew them?"
"Some of them," she said quietly, not meeting his eyes.
"One of them in particular, maybe?" he pressed carefully.
Now her voice was a mere whisper. "Maybe."
So there it was!
Aikiko sighed again. "My father was wrong to make this deal with the Evil One. He sent his own students to their certain death!" She hung her head. "Including Koichi."
The cottage was silent for a moment while Cam waited for her to continue.
"We were so careful to conceal our love, but somehow He found out about us anyway."
Aikiko looked everywhere but at Cam. "And when the Evil One walked through that flash of light to pick up the men he had been promised, Koichi was one of the first he took."
"But why was your father so against the two of you?" Cam asked.
Aikiko's eyes were misty. "My father never liked Koichi. He is used to absolute obedience from his ninjas. But Koichi was rebellious, even dared to question one of his orders once. If it hadn't been for the fact that Koichi was one of his best students, my father would have expelled him long ago. But then, when he showed an interest in me..." Aikiko let the sentence trail off.
Cam genuinely felt for her. And then, out of the blue, there was a need to say something, anything, comforting to her. Here he was, kidnapped by her father, tied to a wall, tired and aching, awaiting to be ransomed, and all that was currently on his mind was to find the right words to properly comfort her because of her devastating loss at the hands of that same man.
That would make us kindred souls, in a way, Cam thought. He opened his mouth, but Aikiko was already talking again. "Watanabe-san, I cannot go against my father, but I also cannot let him be rewarded for Koichi's and all the other ninjas' deaths. There is family loyalty, but then there is "
Cam had the distinct feeling she was trying to tell him something. He decided to make it easy for her. "Aikiko, will you help me get out of here?"
But Aikiko did not answer, and so, in the impending darkness of twilight, two pairs of almond eyes were silently looking at one another
Back at The Wind Academy...Shane was walking alone along the perimeter of the training plaza. He was so absorbed in his thoughts, mulling over the events of the past twenty-four hours, that he failed to notice the whirring noise speeding towards him.
Suddenly, a black arrow struck the ground directly in front of him, with a tightly rolled sheet of paper tied to its shaft. Shane's reaction was purely instinctive; he jumped sideways, rolled over his right shoulder and immediately shot back up, poised in attack stance. He looked around intently until he caught sight of a black-clad figure standing high up on his ledge, of all places.
Shouldering his bow, the ninja turned and quickly disappeared from sight.
Shane's mind was going into overdrive. Black Ninja. A portal!
He took two steps towards the retreating archer, then stopped suddenly.
'A minute, maybe two. That stuff dissipates pretty fast,' he heard CyberCam's voice in his mind.
The particle residue trail! Shane turned, ripped the arrow out of the ground and, with speed worthy of his element, he raced towards the Teachers' Building.
He yanked open Cam's door and burst into the room, where CyberCam was running diagnostics on the laptop. The hologram looked startled at his sudden appearance.
"Hey, what's going...?"
"The scanner?" Shane panted.
CyberCam held up a Y-shaped device. "Right here."
Shane was already next to the desk. Knowing from Hunter that CyberCam could not yet function independently from the laptop, he snapped the portable computer shut and tugged it under his arm. "Come on, we've got stuff to scan."
And he shot back out of the room, across the training plaza and towards the high rocky ledge.
CyberCam, being a hologram, matched his speed effortlessly.
They made it up to Shane's lookout spot in record time. There were no signs of the ninja anymore, of course. But he was not what Shane was looking for anyway.
"Right here," he gasped between breaths, waving his hands vaguely. "Scan. Quick."
CyberCam immediately activated the scanner and went to work. "I take it you saw a portal?" he asked Shane while waving the scanner in all directions.
"Yeah. Or at least the ninja who came through it." Shane held up the arrow he was clutching. CyberCam nodded in acknowledgement and turned his attention back to scanning the area. While the hologram was busy, Shane carefully untied the paper from the arrow shaft. As he unrolled it, a round piece of cloth fell into his palm. He instantly recognized Cam's samurai symbol stitched onto the badge.
The message on the paper was written in Japanese kanji, and unfortunately Shane was not versed well enough to decipher its contents entirely, but it was obviously not Cam who had written this.
"All right!" came the enthusiastic voice of CyberCam from a few feet away. Shane looked up to see Cam's twin hurrying towards him. "Awesome timing, dude." CyberCam grinned.
"Did you get any readings? Was there enough left?" Shane asked eagerly.
The hologram held up the scanner. "Yeah, man, I think I can calculate the coordinates with what I got here." CyberCam took the portable computer and tugged it under his arm. "I'm gonna head back to Cam's room and get right on it. I'll call you as soon as I have results."
Daring to feel a glimmer of hope despite the unknown contents of the message, Shane rolled the sheet of paper back up. "And I'll get this to Sensei."
TO BE CONTINUED...