THE REASON - Part Sixty-Nine: The Darkness of the Ninja
Summary: Tommy is suffering from some nightmares regarding his fellow ninja counterparts. But, each of them is feeling the changes, too. And what could it possibly be when the dreams reveal the destruction done by three unlikely ninjas-the Wind Ninja Rangers.
Disclaimer: Power Rangers is not mine, nor will it ever be mine.
A/N: Pre-"Thunder Storm" and again, I wasn't really hoping to go this far into the season with hopes to make it totally AU, but come closer to chapter 80, it will. But by that time, this series should finally be coming to a close. Either way, read and reply. Just hope I didn't completely confuse you. I'll explain it as much as I can. If you're still confused, just drop me an email and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.
"I thought it was a dream. I hoped nothing like this would happen. But when evil lurks in every corner, you gotta be open to anything." -Eclyptyk Neo
Days passed.
But nothing really seemed out of the ordinary. Adam, Rocky and Aisha had returned to their normal lives. That was all they really could do until there were more answers to the situation. It must have just been the air. Nothing more than that. Tommy would inform them if anything came up. And they were all at dead ends with this anyways. It wouldn't matter either way. The answers would just have to roll into place when need be.
Tommy felt fine now. He watched Kim closely, figuring she must be the one taking the worse beating if something really was going on. He informed Hayley of the news, who was well ahead to set up a program to monitor all energy activity within the state of California. But it was still in the test stages. Nothing was secure about it, or working properly.
Tommy was sitting in the lab looking through the filed regarding the last ranger team--the Ninja Storm Rangers. He read the reports that Cam had sent him, but found nothing that could link up his recent set-back of dizziness. And he had been far too busy to contact Shane or the others. Let alone, he just hope it wasn't anything serious. The last thing he needed was to deal with anything but the task at hand, getting rid of Mesogog once and for all.
"Then why do I see the strange colors residing around the ninja storm rangers go through my head?" Tommy asked himself. "Why do I feel so confused at the moment?"
"I wish I knew." a voice called out to him.
He turned around to see the petite woman he would eventually call his wife and sighed. She walked over to him, laid a gentle kiss on his lips and found a place on the arm rest of the chair.
"How are ya feelin?" Kim asked quietly.
Tommy shrugged. "I've been better. Okay, for now. How about you?"
"I'm okay." she said simply. She got to her feet, pulling him up to his feet. "But it's late, Tommy. You should get some sleep. You can't work yourself up over something that you haven't found any answers to."
Tommy forced out a breath, knowing she was right. He followed her toward the stairs. "We can try in the morning."
They headed up the stairs and into their bedroom, cuddling close before falling into a deep slumber.
Hours passed.
Sweat ran down the side of Tommy's face as he tossed and turned in bed.
----
Dream state.
Tommy's eyes flashed open as he found himself in the woods. He looked around slightly confused. "What's going on?"
He looked down at his chest, noting he was now in his newly modified ninja suit, similar to what Rocky, Adam and Aisha had worn during their stay in Reefside. The suit was like a jumpsuit, set in black with a streak of white to indicate the color his ninja powers were accustomed to.
He turned around, pulling away from an attack with an invisible force. He jumped into the shadows, only to be met by the attacks of another aggressor. He blocked each shot and turned to get back into the opening. The ninja followed just as another emerged from the trees. He leapt away just as the two came crashing into one another. And the battle raged on, as two more ninjas followed suit. Four against one. But he didn't mind, he was merely testing their skills. See how well they had improved.
Time passed.
The four ninjas surrounded Tommy like he was trapped in a box, bowing in turn to end the battle.
He forced out a breath as each of the ninjas removed their hoods. "Man, I gotta lot of work to do."
"You're getting better. I thought you were supposed to train us, Mr. Top Ninja." Adam teased with a smile.
"Don't start with me." He looked at each of his fellow teammates, the original ninja team, shaking his head. "This can't be real, can it?"
"It almost feels real." Rocky shrugged.
"Don't tell me this is some sick and twisted joke, because I'd rather not want to have you guys intruding my dreams. No offense." Aisha said.
"None taken, 'sha. Tommy, what's going on?" Kim walked over to him, pulling his hand over to her.
Tommy shrugged. "I don't know."
Then a blanket of darkness filled the land. What was once lighted, was eaten by darkness. The only light came from the radiant size of the moon shining down on the area.
"Okay, I don't assume this is part of the script." Rocky raised an eyebrow.
"I'm about ready to call it. I'm suppose to have a nice peaceful sleep. Not one filled with darkness." Aisha protested.
"I don't like this." Kim sunk closer to her lover.
Adam and Tommy turned to their left sensing another presence in the area. However, it was no good. They were all swept off their feet by an invisible force and thrown hard into the ground. Each groaned in turn, sitting up.
Three figured emerged from the guard of the trees to stand before the ninja team. Each wore the same attire as the ninjas on the ground, minus the additional hood. One was dubbed in teal, the female of the group. Another was in yellow and the leader, taking the center was in red. Each seemed to wear the suit as if they had for years, and a dark cloud loomed over them. It was the Wind Ninja Rangers.
Tommy's eyes widened as he slowly got to his feet. "Shane? What are you doing?"
Shane took a step forward and bowed. "So, we meet again, Falcon Ranger."
"Shane. It's me, Tommy. Remember, I was the one who helped you with your ninja powers." Tommy took a cautious step forward.
"Reasoning? Bad idea, T." Rocky said quietly.
Then, it was hard who made the first move. But one of the lead ninjas did from one of the teams. Each dished out a series of attacks hoping to throw the other off balance. Adam was there to right Tommy's slip ups hoping to push his aggressor back. That only pushed Dustin and Tori to follow suit and take out the other ninja rangers.
But it was hard to distinguish who would be the victor and who wouldn't. Three more figures emerged from the shadows to join in taking to older skilled ninjas down. Each dubbed in their given color; navy to Blake, crimson to Hunter, green to Cam.
There was no way to convince them otherwise, as Tommy could tell. There was something wrong with them, and it wasn't easy to tell if it was really a dream or reality. The five ninjas came in line in front of the young Ninja Storm Rangers unsure what to make of the attacks.
"You will be destroy. You don't stand a chance against us." Shane declared.
"What are you talking about?" Tommy caught his breath with confusion.
"Beware, Ninjas. You have been warned." Hunter said.
Then the Ninja Storm Rangers disappeared into the shadows just as Tommy collapsed to the ground. He felt a shortness of breath as he groaned in pain. The team rushed over to him, as Adam and Kim pulled him back onto his feet.
A silence fell over the team when they heard an evil laugh fill the area. An evil laugh that only went to one person--Lothor.
"It's only begun." Tommy breathed.
----
Tommy's eyes flashed open. He sat up catching his breath and turned to see Kim sleeping soundly next to him. He wrapped his arms around her and laid a kiss on her forehead.
She smiled lightly and turned to look at him, opening her eyes. "Hey, Handsome. Time to get up?"
He looked over at the clock, shaking his head. It was only 3:00am. "No, Beautiful. Just had a strange dream. Did you have one?"
She sat up and looked at her fiance with great concern. She wrapped her arms around his waist as he laid his head on her shoulder. She caressed his head gently. "You saw something, didn't you, Tommy? What did you see?"
"I don't know anymore, Kim." he said quietly. "I really don't know anymore. What if Lothor is back? We can't afford any risks like this."
"Relax." she said soothingly. "We'll figure something out."
"I really hope so, Kim."
A silence fell over the two of them as they laid back in bed and fell asleep. The echoing cry of their animal spirits intertwined and echoed through their minds as they fell into a deep slumber.
To be continued....
A/N: Something simple, I think. Okay, so here is the low down. Each ranger team has a unique mental connection with one another. But no team really shares it best unless you're under the original ninjas (aka Ninjetti–and I know it isn't really used in the TV series, just the first movie, but I like that name), the Dino Thunder Rangers (remember back in Chapters 39-42 where they had to contribute to the breaking of the pink dino gem) and the Ninja Storm Rangers (who has some significant connection with Tommy, Adam and Rocky–the three who helped trained them in one way or another). And any ninja ranger associated within the two groups has some connection with one another, and there is an imbalance in the morphing grid because the energy wasn't fully stabilized when the ninja storm rangers went through their last battle. Okay, I hope that clears some things up. But for now, g2g. See ya next chapter and may the powers protect you always.