Cam walked solemnly along the pebbled pathway that led him towards his destination, Sensei Watanabe's meditation pagoda. He was hoping his father would be there. Before Lothor's attack, this particular spot was Sensei's personal sanctum sanctorum, and since the schools' reconstruction, Cam had found his father here more times than not.

Cam rounded the corner, and there was the object of his quest, sitting on the simple stone bench beneath the gabled terracotta roof, eyes closed, posture relaxed.

Cam waited silently at a respectful distance. There was no need to make his presence known; he knew his father had sensed his approach long since. After a few moments, Sensei opened his eyes and wordlessly inclined his head. Cam stepped forward to sit on the bench next to the older man, and for a long moment, both men simply looked straight ahead and over the grounds below them, taking in the familiar scenes of black-clad students performing a Wind kata exercise in flawless synchrony. Cam couldn't help himself as a content sigh escaped his throat; he had lost count of how often he had sat here with his father over the years, but only after the attack had he realized just how important a scene like this was for the health of his mind and soul.

As if he had read his son's mind, Sensei suddenly spoke up. "One of the things that have kept me sane this past year, my son, was the hope of seeing a view like this again."

Cam grinned. "And here I was, thinking you were clinging to your sanity because six rambunctious teenagers were in desperate need of your wisdom and guidance."

The corners of Sensei's mouth flicked upwards as he threw a side-glance at his son. "Wrong, it was despite those six rambunctious teenagers that I kept my sanity."

Father and son shared a chuckle before Sensei turned his head and fixed Cam with an all-too-knowing look. "And I sense that one of those 'teenagers' now has something on his mind he would like to share?"

"You could say that." Cam exhaled. "It has to do with Hunter."

Sensei Watanabe cast his son an inquiring glance, but he was way too Eastern to just plain out ask Cam what the problem was, so he simply waited.

Cam shifted in his seat. "Hunter would freak out if he knew I'm going to talk to you about this, but frankly I can't seem to come up with an answer myself, so I was hoping you could help him."

Sensei's brows creased just a fraction of an inch. "You might have to elaborate a little more here, son."

"Of course." Cam rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying to decide just where to begin. "You see, Hunter has this problem…"

Memories…

"And Hunter has had these nightmares all his life?" Sensei asked almost fifteen minutes later when Cam had finished relaying Blake's account of The Dream, together with a recollection of his own experience from the previous night.

Cam nodded solemnly. "Blake said he's had it as far as they can think back."

With a grave expression on his face, Sensei Watanabe looked out over his school and for a long moment, neither of them spoke. Cam waited, imagining the gears turning in his father's head just as they had in his after witnessing last night's highly disturbing episode. He was also hoping that the old man would arrive at the same conclusion for a possible cure for Hunter's condition as Cam had last night - for Kanoi Watanabe possessed a very unique skill.

Sensei Watanabe was not only a ninja master, but also a teacher of several types of meditation; this was a fact that made him adept in dream analysis and – to a much lesser-known degree – hypnosis. But very few people knew that he was quite proficient in one type of hypnosis in particular.

Cam was one of those few, and judging by the intent look his father was directing at him he had no doubts that the old teacher knew what Cam was going to ask him next. Might as well do it… "Dad…"

A steady hand on his arm stopped him. "Cam, it's been quite a long time since I've exercised this particular skill." Sensei's onyx eyes bore into him. "As a matter of fact, I haven't used it since that one time you witnessed all these years ago."

It had been many years ago indeed; however, when the memory had rushed back to Cam last night, it had been as vivid as if it had all happened just last week.

He didn't remember how old he was, but he could not have been more than twelve. He happened to cross the training plaza when a commotion by the edge of the forest caught his attention.

A small crowd had gathered around a Water ninja student. The young man was on the ground, his body convulsing in uncontrolled spasms, eyes rolled so far into the back of his head that only the whites showed. Cam had recognized him as one of his father's best students, a promising pupil in his last year at the academy. While Cam was still trying to figure out what had happened to the ninja, his father had suddenly stepped into the midst of the throng, an island of calm in the storm. He took one good look at the young man, knelt and simply placed the palm of his hand on his forehead with a look of intense concentration on his face. The student's reaction was stunning; his violent spasms subsided to random jerks of his limbs until he finally went completely still. Sensei Watanabe had turned to one of his students and quietly rattled off a list of items to be fetched from his study. While they waited for the ninja to return, his father continued to kneel by his fallen pupil, touching him in various places on his head and torso, all the while whispering words in a language that sounded ancient, not to mention incomprehensible, to Cam.

When the student returned, he handed Sensei a glass vial and Kanoi promptly forced the murky liquid inside down the unconscious Water ninja's throat. He offered no explanations to anyone and neither did any of the mortified young men and women surrounding him dare to ask any questions. Everyone simply stared and waited. Sensei continued his strange chant for a few more minutes before he switched to English and set out to coax his student back to reality with a mixture of gentle commands and directions. When the Water ninja regained consciousness a few minutes later, his eyes were clear and focused, and a collective gasp went up from the assembled students.

Sensei, however, simply helped his pupil up and led him away towards his study, leaving behind scores of unanswered questions.

Cam had taken the first opportunity, which happened to be their evening meal, to assault his father with a virtual arsenal of questions about the events of the afternoon.

Sensei finally relented and explained to his son that the Water ninja had attempted to control more than one of the elements of the Wind Ninja Academy, an experiment that most obviously had gone horrible wrong. The student, although talented as he was, had been unable to keep the multiple elements within him in a harmonious balance and the result was a complete overload of body and mind, forcing Sensei to 'purge' the warring Air and Earth elements from the Water ninja's body by means of a highly unconventional form of hypnosis called Senshibankou.

According to his father, Senshibankou was believed to have its origins in China and somehow eventually made its way into ninjitsu. It was not taught at any ninja academy and Kanoi had not revealed to him how he had acquired his skills at this secret technique. It wasn't like Cam didn't want to know, but some things simply weren't discussed between them. Ninja secrecy was deeply rooted in Cam's upbringing, after all.

That event had had a profound impact on Cam, but since Sensei had never had to resort to this type of treatment again since that fateful afternoon, the memories had eventually receded to the back of Cam's mind. But they had come back full force last night.

Now Cam returned his father's carefully blank look with a pleading one until the old man finally expelled a heavy breath.

"I cannot guarantee success, Cam," he said quietly, his gaze transferring back to the training grounds below them.

"You said Blake told you that Hunter once stopped breathing while dreaming?"

"Yes." Cam noticed the concerned tone in his father's voice. "Do you think that could happen again? While he's in the trance?"

"I don't know." Sensei Watanabe was nothing if not honest. "There is no way to predict any physical or mental repercussions this procedure might have on him."

Cam suddenly noticed that the palms of his hands had become clammy. He rubbed them on his pants legs. "I'm aware of the potential of danger, Dad, and I don't like it any more than you do, but frankly…" he shrugged. "I can't think of any other way to rid him of this…this mental crippledness."

And that was the frustrating truth; he really couldn't come up with anything else, but that something had to be done was not even a question. There was no way he could stand idly by and let the man he loved go through this again next year, or any year.

Sensei must have seen the dismayed look on Cam's face, for he suddenly rose from the bench and straightened his teachers' robes. "I will make a trip into the forest to gather some herbs necessary for the potion that will induce the level of deep trance required for this procedure." He suddenly locked eyes with Cam. "But the mere potion is not enough, Cam. It requires the voluntary submission of the afflicted. Ultimately, it is Hunter's decision, and his decision alone, whether he is willing to undergo the treatment. All I can do is make the preparations. And all you can do is extend the offer to help. There cannot be any pressure involved."

Cam nodded solemnly. "I understand."

Sensei put a hand on his son's shoulder, looking down on him with a mixture of pride and concern.

"Talk to him. And if Hunter is ready to face his demons, you know where to find me."

Then he turned and made his way down the pebbled walkway, leaving Cam on the bench to watch his retreating form.

Convincing Hunter…

When Cam returned to Hunter's room around noon, he found the blond ninja kneeling on the floor, surrounded by the jackets and pants of two of his leather training uniforms. A bottle of mink oil and several cloths were sitting next to him, and Cam watched as Hunter ran a stained rag over his jacket sleeve, working the oil into the material. Conditioning the leather with mink oil was something he himself had done countless times on his own uniforms, but for some reason the domestic quality of that scene touched something warm inside him.

The warmth of the moment, however, was clearly lost on Hunter, who looked up at him with an exasperated expression.

"I think I'm going to put in a petition with the teacher's council to open a dry-cleaner on the grounds here. One that specializes in leather." He put the rag down with a grunt. "This is so tedious."

Cam gave an amused shake of his head and lowered himself to the floor, Indian-style, picking up the oil bottle and a cloth in the same motion. He picked up the other jacket, draping it across his lap.

Hunter threw him a quick glance. "You don't need to do that."

"I know," Cam gave his partner a slight grin. "But since samurai don't wear leather uniforms I need to stay in practice." He squirted some oil onto the rag. "Just in case Dad decides to change our suits sometime in the future. How would it look if I couldn't remember how to keep my uniforms in shape?"

Hunter replied by means of a half-amused snort and for a while the two young men worked in silence, with only the sounds of nature coming through the open window serving as pleasant background noise.
"So you still want to grab some lunch?" Cam asked after a while.

Hunter kept his eyes on the cloth he was running over the lapel of his jacket. "I'm not really hungry, but you go ahead."

Cam put his own rag down, put his elbows on his thighs and steepled his fingers. "Hunter, would you just look at me, please?"

Hunter hesitated, but then their eyes met and he saw genuine concern in Cam's.

"Can we talk about this?" the samurai wanted to know.

"About lunch?"

"You know what I mean."

Hunter let out a deep, almost exasperated sigh. "There's nothing to talk about, Cam. Last night, tonight…It's just something I need to put up with a few nights a year, and then life's back to normal. I really just want to get this over with and then not think about it again until next year, okay?" He cast his boyfriend a rueful glance. "I'm just sorry you had to be dragged into it this time."

"I told you it was fine. I don't mind helping out," Cam said. "And even though I know you are much more comfortable with Blake helping you…"

Now Hunter looked up sharply. "Wrong. I'm not comfortable with his help, never have been. But it's not like I ever had a choice in that matter. I'm not comfortable with anyone having to help me with this, because I'm not comfortable with the very reason I have to ask for help in the first place!" He shot up from the floor only to stand indecisively in the middle of the room for a moment before he threw himself facedown on the bed.

"Okay, okay, calm down." More deliberately than his tetchy partner, Cam rose from the floor and sat on the edge of the bed. He placed his hand onto the middle of Hunter's back and just waited until the Thunder ninja finally pulled his face out of the pillow and turned to Cam. When he spoke, his voice was calmer – and smaller.

"Who knows, maybe it's the punishment for something I did at one point in the past."

Cam stared at him for a long moment before he spoke. "Hunter, how long have you had those nightmares?"

Hunter sat up. "I already told you…"

"Then tell me again."

The blond ninja let out an audible sigh and grumbled, "All my life. As far back as I can remember."

"Be more specific," Cam pressed. "How old were you when Blake had to wake you up for the first time?"

"I don't know, five or six."

Cam crossed his arms before him. "And what kind of horrendous crime do you think a five-year old could have committed that would justify being punished with nightmares for the rest of his life?" he said, calmly hammering his point home without ever even having to raise his voice.

Hunter had no answer for this, but the hard look in his eyes softened a bit. The two partners gazed at each other silently until Cam reached out and clasped Hunter's shoulder. "No, I don't think it's anything you did."

Hunter didn't look particularly relieved at Cam's reassurance, but he swung his legs over the edge of the bed to sit next to the samurai. Elbows on his thighs, he hunched over, staring at the floor.

"You have no idea how this feels, Cam. I've battled countless monsters as a Ranger, yet a damn dream makes me break out in a cold sweat. Explain this to me, will you?"

Cam could only shrug. "If I could, I'd have a diploma in psychology hanging on the wall in my room instead of a Zen calligraphy scroll.
"All I know is that you seem to be resigned to letting this dream dominate a part of every year of your life," he added pensively.

Hunter kept staring at the floor as if there was anything interesting to see in the indistinct pattern of the wooden floorboards.

Cam was not deterred. "Why?" he pressed and the silence stretched between them until finally, Hunter sighed.

"Because I'm a coward," he said so quietly that Cam had to strain to hear him.

Cam started. The young man next to him suddenly had nothing in common with the obnoxious, sometimes arrogant 'I don't care what anyone thinks about me' Hunter he had met a little over a year ago.

"Why would you say that?" Cam wondered.

"It's easier just to let it run its course every year, knowing that somebody will be there to pull me out in time." Hunter shook his head sadly. "Of course it sucks, and it scares the hell out of me every night, but it's become…familiar over time. Does that make any sense?"

Cam nodded in sympathy, his eyes fixed on Hunter's drawn face. "But being afraid doesn't make you a coward, Hunter."

Hunter just shrugged. "I sure as hell can't think of another word for it."

Cam looked pointedly at his partner. "A wise man once said: Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear."

At Hunter's wry look he added, "Mark Twain."

His blond partner cocked an eyebrow at him. "Funny," he said, "for some reason I would have imagined an old, crusty Zen master saying that."

A hint of a smile came into Cam's face. "There's most likely some crusty old Zen master out there somewhere who might've said the same thing at one point."

"Probably because he read Mark Twain, too."

They shared a brief chuckle and Cam scooted close enough to him to nudge his shoulder.

"It takes a lot of courage just to go through this year after year and come out of it okay every time."

"Not like I have a choice," Hunter said.

That was the opening Cam had been waiting for. He reached out, the backs of his fingers brushing Hunter's cheek, and the Thunder ninja looked at him at last.

"What if you did?" Cam said solemnly. "What would you do to be rid of it? To unravel the mystery of this dream and then to finally be able to move on with your life?" Cam put every ounce of persuasive power into this, willing his words to penetrate Hunter's mental wall. "To be free from this once and for all?"

Hunter stared at him hard, and Cam waited, letting it all sink in before he continued. "I might know a way to do just that, Hunter. It would involve a lot of trust on your part, but I really think there's a good chance this could work."

Hunter continued to peer at him mutely for a long moment, then he abruptly got up from the bed and walked towards the window. Leaning against the wall with one shoulder, he stared out onto the peaceful scenery of the deserted Thunder academy training plaza. After a moment, Cam followed him and settled himself on the windowsill across from his partner to begin the detailed outline of his father's special talent. He deliberately did not mention his earlier conversation with Sensei. Hunter listened without interrupting, but his frown increased steadily throughout Cam's illustration.

"So now we're back to psychotherapy again," he concluded with a hint of sarcasm after Cam had fallen silent.

"It's more than that," Cam corrected him. "It's actually a kind of hypnosis."

"And how much would he charge for that?"

Cam rolled his eyes at that question. "Come on, Hunter, you know better than to ask that."

"Sorry." Hunter pushed away from the wall to sit on the deep sill beside his boyfriend. "I appreciate the offer, Cam, I really do, but…" Hunter blinked, and the uneasy expression on his face was getting visibly more pronounced. "There's no waking up from a hypnotic trance."

Cam knew where Hunter was going with that train of thought. "You would be facing your entire dream, yes. All the way to the end," he concurred, but placed a hand over Hunter's. "But it's not true that you can't wake up from the trance. Dad will be able to pull you out if it gets too hairy. He won't let anything happen to you. And neither will I." He squeezed Hunter's hand. "But since you will be going further into the dream than ever before - it will be more intense for you." Not to mention unpredictable since we'll be heading into unknown territory, Cam added silently. Seeing the dark look that came into Hunter's eyes, he quickly continued. "We will both be there with you. You wouldn't be facing this alone."

Hunter's azure eyes bore into his. "Yeah, I would," he said quietly and unfortunately, Cam had nothing to refute this truth. Once the procedure was underway, Hunter would not be aware of Cam's presence anymore. There was really nothing Cam could do then other than hold Hunter's hand – a gesture the blond man would never notice.

He did so now, reaching out and Hunter reflectively closed his hand around Cam's as the samurai's fingers interlaced with his.

"Look, I'm not saying make a decision right here and now, but do think about what Dad can do for you," Cam said. "You know I love you. But right now I'm offering you my help not as your lover, but as your friend: Let us help, Dad and I. Please." He drew closer, closing his eyes when their foreheads touched. Hunter said nothing, and Cam took the silence as a good sign.

They stayed motionless for a moment longer, then Cam placed a quick, chaste kiss on Hunter's lips. "I've got to get going, my class starts in a half hour. See you tonight." He cast him a deep look. Hunter mumbled a goodbye and watched until the door closed behind his partner before he took a long breath.

'To be free from this once and for all…' Cam's words echoed through his mind, filling him with an anxious excitement. Definitely not an unwelcome feeling. He couldn't, however, suppress a shudder at the thought of what he would have to do in order to finally break the chains of The Dream.

And for a long while, Hunter continued to stare at the door without really seeing it at all.

Decisions…

The sun was sitting low in the sky by the time a dusty and tired Cam was finally able to return to his room. He was looking forward to a long shower after having spent half the day in the woods doing tracking exercises with his samurai class.

When he pushed open his door, however, he saw Hunter sitting cross-legged on his bed, his boots neatly lined up at the foot of the frame. His boyfriend raised his chin in silent greeting, and Cam cocked an eyebrow, not because of his presence - they had exchanged keys to each other's rooms a few weeks ago - but because he hadn't expected to see him here.

Even all the way by the door, Cam could feel the tension radiating off the blond ninja. His shoulders slumped as a dark feeling rose inside him. 'He's not going to do it,' Cam thought dejectedly. 'He's come here to tell me he's not going through with it.'

Nevertheless, Cam stitched a smile onto his face while he crossed the room, shedding his dirt-crusted samurai robe along the way. Now in thin cotton training pants and a black t-shirt, he approached the bed.

"Hi. Wasn't I supposed to meet you back at your place again later on?"

"Yeah, but I thought I'd spare you a trip," came Hunter's low-voiced answer.

Cam's spirits hit the floor. He plopped down onto the mattress, readying himself to receive Hunter's rejection of his offer.

"After you left, I couldn't help thinking about what you said," Hunter said. Cam stayed silent, waiting.

Hunter sighed heavily and leaned his back against Cam's headboard. He rubbed his hands across his face, and Cam couldn't help but notice just how tired Hunter looked. Weary, both in body and soul.

The blond ninja's gaze refocused. "You said 'see you tonight'."

At Cam's confused look he elaborated, "I'm no good at explaining things, but...when you said that, I realized that it means you'll be seeing the same thing again tonight that you saw last night and I..." Hunter shook his head, a look of abject dismay on his face. "I don't want that, Cam. I can't have you see me like this again. Not ever. With Blake it was different; it was something we had gotten used to, but with you...with you there, this thing has now gone from barely bearable to absolutely unbearable."

"I'm sorry, I..." Cam began.

"No, no, it's not like that!" Hunter cut in quickly, leaning forward to lock eyes with Cam. "This isn't about anything you did, okay? Not at all. See, if it had been Blake who made the suggestion about the hypnosis, I know I would have waved it off, but because it's you who has to see me like this...It made me realize that I can't let this happen again tonight, Cam. And if that means getting hypnotized and facing the dream then I'm willing to do that." Hunter paused and a muscle in his face twitched. "Don't get me wrong - I'm scared shitless, but this has now turned into the proverbial lesser one of the two evils." He slumped back against the headboard and closed his eyes as if exhausted from his speech.

Cam smiled; this was probably the longest sentence he had ever heard from Hunter. He was also glad to hear that his initial thought of the reason behind Hunter's presence in his room had been proven wrong. Hunter was ready to brave his nightmare and Cam had every intention of seeing this thing through with him to the end.

He leaned forward, kissing the blond ex-Ranger on the lips. "You're going to be all right," he said after their mouths parted again.

Hunter nodded, but there was no conviction in his eyes. He stared at Cam's amulet for the better part of a minute before he said, "So…when can we do this?"

Cam's gaze went from Hunter's face to the window, where the purple shadows of twilight were already gathering. "How about now?" he suggested softly.

Hunter's already pale face lost some more of its color, but the Thunder ninja nodded resolutely. "Then let's go."

It was a quarter to six in the evening when they knocked on the door of Sensei Watanabe's quarters.

To Be Continued…