This story is a collaboration between Cmar and MzDany. While it is action/adventure, it also contains slash, in the form of Wes/Eric and Cam/Hunter. It's based on background events in MzDany's C/H slash series and Cmar's 'Red Fire' slash series.
"...and then we looked up your addresses and came looking for you." Cam indicated that his report was finished by letting his hands fall into his lap. He and Hunter were sitting on Eric's couch, Wes poised on the edge of the chair across from them. Eric was hovering in the background, pacing behind Wes' chair. During Cam's elaborations, Hunter had cast surreptitious glances at the scowling man and he did not like the suspicious look on Eric's face.
Now that Cam had finished speaking, Eric suddenly stopped pacing and faced them, arms crossed before him. "Some things don't add up here."
"Like what?" Hunter hadn't meant to sound snappy, but the thinly concealed hostility in the Silver Guardian commander irked him.
Said commander now fixed them with a penetrating look. "First of all, Frax was destroyed. We blew him to smithereens almost four years ago."
"Well, obviously he has been rebuilt by someone," Cam interjected.
Eric kept ticking off his fingers. "Secondly, if this Luther..."
"Lothor."
"...Lothor has this big score to settle with all of you ex-Rangers, why weren't you two taken as well?"
"We weren't there," Cam replied. "We were away for the weekend."
"Yeah, saved by The Mouse," Hunter mumbled.
"Huh?"
"Never mind."
"We didn't get back to the Academy until a few hours ago and by then, everything had already happened," Cam finished.
Wes and Eric exchanged a glance, but before Wes could pick up Eric's questioning, the dark-haired man suddenly shook his head once again. "I don't buy it. Frax is destroyed."
Now it was time for Hunter and Cam to trade exasperated looks; Cam reached for his oversized green windbreaker he had folded over the arm of the sofa and withdrew a VCR tape from an inside pocket. He wordlessly handed it to Wes, who took it with a puzzled look, and popped it into Eric's VCR player. As the ambush on the school re-played on the TV screen, Eric and Wes watched without commenting, but the look that passed between them at the sight of Frax and the cyclobots didn't need to be put into words.
"The man Lothor took last is my father," Cam said quietly and the look he received from Wes was warm and empathetic.
Eric, however, apparently remained unconvinced. "Okay, that looked like Frax," he muttered. "But that tape could have been faked..."
"So what do you want from us?" Hunter demanded, not caring anymore if the anger he felt showed in his voice. "Signed affidavits? Signatures in blood? Or are you going to wait for Lothor to show up and take us too, before you believe it?"
"I'm not that hard to please, kid. There's one way to prove you're Rangers." Eric's voice was soft, and an unpleasant smile was on his face.
Cam held out a hand to stop Hunter's angry response and said reasonably, "We said we're former Rangers. In our last battle with Lothor, the power was drained from my amulet and the rest of the team's morphers. We can't morph."
"So all you can show us is some fancy jewelry."
"Find me a crimson crayon and I'll draw you a picture!" Hunter growled. "That should be about on your level!"
"More like on yours, kid. And what's with the 'Crimson Ranger', anyway? Red wasn't good enough for you?"
"Eric, come on," Wes interrupted. "Give them a break. Why don't we just go to this Wind Ninja Academy and see for ourselves?"
"Yeah, well. Could be a trap," Eric insisted. "Even though I vaguely remember hearing about the Ninja Storm Rangers, I've certainly never heard of secret ninja academies." Eric drawled out the last three words to make clear what he thought of the whole concept.
"That's the whole idea of 'secret'," Hunter snapped and pointed at the TV. "Besides, you've seen it on the tape."
"Like I said, that tape could be fake."
Hunter threw his hands up in an I give up gesture. Cam took over. He fixed Eric and Wes, who was by now also wearing an expression of growing doubt, with a penetrating look.
"I give you my word that it's not a trap, all right? Once we get onto the school grounds, we'll show you some interesting robot-garbage we've raked up after the attack. That should convince you."
Wes looked up, holding his partner's eyes for a moment, something unspoken passing between them that softened Eric's expression just a little.
Eric still frowned, but he said grudgingly, "All right."
Hunter pushed himself up from the couch, obviously eager to be out of Eric's house. Cam grabbed his jacket, pulled a notepad out of one of the pockets and began to write down directions which he handed to Wes. "These are the coordinates of the holographic entrance portal, together with my cell phone number. Since we're ninja-streaking, we'll be there way before you, but we are going to be waiting right outside the portal."
"Try not to get pulled over for speeding on the way," Hunter said, but Eric ignored him while he glanced over Wes' shoulder. A mysterious little smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.
"Oh, don't worry about us," he said, studying the coordinates on the paper in his partner's hand. "We have our own transportation – so we'll probably be waiting for you there."
And they did. By the time Cam and Hunter arrived at the familiar pond with the holographic waterfall, the two figures in their navy blue uniforms and red berets were already lounging in the soft grass by the water's edge. Wes merely grinned at them while skipping a stone over the pond's glistening surface whereas Eric, wearing a smug expression, greeted them with, "About time. We were about to break out our fishing gear."
Hunter put his hands on his hips. "All right, how did you..."
"Being Time Force Rangers has a few advantages, kid," Eric exclaimed, still smirking. "One of them is transportation with a 30th century twist."
Hunter clearly wanted to know more, but Eric just as clearly wasn't going to elaborate any further, so Cam broke the stalemate by turning towards the pond. "Let's go, everybody. We all made good time getting here; let's not waste any now."
With that, he walked right out onto the water, towards the waterfall and through a quickly widening circle in its midst. Now it was Hunter's turn to smirk at the astonished looks on the Time Force Rangers' faces.
Once on Academy grounds, Cam led Wes and Eric right towards the main training plaza, which, despite the clean-up efforts of the Wind ninja students, still showed some of the signs of battle – the most obvious was the large pile of bronze metal scraps heaped several feet high off to the side under a tree. Eric bent down, picking up a few pieces, including a lasergun-blade. For several long moments, he wordlessly inspected various random parts before he finally lifted his head and gave Wes one curt nod.
Wes never touched anything; his partner's concession was proof enough for him. He turned to Cam and Hunter. "All right, they were cyclobots. That means we can now safely assume that Frax is real as well," he said gravely, then shook his head. "It just doesn't make any sense: Where did he come from; where did all those cyclobots come from? I could have sworn we destroyed them all in the final battle. It certainly seemed like they were all in Silver Hills that day, kicking my butt." He ran a hand under his beret, scratching his head.
"Sensei Cam, Sensei Hunter!" The voice belonged to an older Asian man in a black robe striding towards them. He came to a halt in front of them, then bowed first to the two ninjas, then to the Silver Guardian Commanders.
"Senseis, I am glad to see you. I was worried when you were suddenly gone. In light of recent events..."
Cam smiled. "Thank you for your concern, Sensei Chan. We went in search for some help to locate Dad and the others. Has there been any news while we were gone?"
The old teacher looked rueful. "I'm afraid not. We have doubled the perimeter patrols and sent scouts through the immediate area, but no clues to Sensei Watanabe's and the others' whereabouts have been discovered."
Cam, Hunter and the Wind teacher exchanged a few more words before Sensei Chan excused himself, leaving the blond and the black-haired man standing in the grass with sagging shoulders and dispirited expressions.
Wes turned to them. "Senseis?" he asked, eyebrows raised in question.
Hunter nodded towards Cam. "He's the head teacher of this academy."
Cam mirrored his partner's head movement. "And Hunter is head teacher of the Thunder Academy."
Wes showed his astonishment openly, but Eric remained blank-faced. Hunter thought he could see a trace of new, grudging respect in those dark Asian eyes, though.
Eric straightened up and tossed the severed robotic arm he was holding back onto the pile. "So now we know that Frax and his boltbrains are back, where do we go from here?" He looked between the two blonds and Cam. "We're still on square one."
Depressing silence hung over the four men for a moment until Wes sighed. "Okay...obviously the most pressing question at this point is where Frax and Lothor's new base could be, because that's where they would be building their cyclobot army and..." he fixed Cam with a look. "...most likely that's also where they would be holding your dad and your friends."
"Well, where was Lothor's old one?" Eric wanted to know.
Cam rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "The last time we battled him was after he had turned the Wind Rangers evil. I remember Tori saying afterwards that he had been using the Cave of Souls as a hideout."
Hunter shrugged. "Might as well check it out. Not like we have any better ideas right now."
Since Cam and Hunter only knew the path by memory and couldn't give directions, and Wes and Eric couldn't ninja-streak, they all decided to walk this time. It took almost two hours of steady hiking through the woods of the Blue Bay Mountains to get to the Cave of Souls and by the time they finally reached its hidden location by the concealed beach cove, they were all due for a rest. Eric and Wes sank down onto the leaf-covered ground by the edge of the forest, panting heavily.
"Jeez, I thought I had left forced marches behind when I got discharged from the Army," Eric murmured. Wes didn't have the breath left to answer. Their dark blue uniforms, utility belts and heavy boots had been anything but beneficial for this trek.
Next to him, Cam pointed. "The cave entrance is on the far side of the beach. Why don't you guys stay here and rest for a bit while Hunter and I go check out the surroundings?" Without waiting for consent, the two ninjas took off, vanishing stealthily between a row of pine trees.
Crouched low, they crept silently from trunk to trunk until they were hidden behind a big boulder from where they knew they would have a clear view of the cave entrance. Cam moved to peak around the boulder, but Hunter's sudden grip on his arm stopped him. He turned to see his partner peering at him intently.
"I just wanted to say...I'm sorry," Hunter said.
Cam cocked his head, puzzled. "For what?"
"If I hadn't dragged you off to Disneyland..."
Cam held up a hand. "Whoa, stop right there. None of this is your fault, okay?"
"But if we had been here..." the blond ninja began, but Cam once again cut him off.
"If we had been here, we'd have been captured right along with them, Hunter."
"At least we'd be with them, though."
"And have no hope of outside rescue." Cam shook his head in emphasis. "Don't you think they're banking on us to find them? You know they're keeping their spirits up knowing that we'll move heaven and hell to rescue them." The samurai reached out, running the backs of his fingers over Hunter's cheek. He was suddenly very close. "So no, don't beat yourself up over this, okay?"
Hunter nodded feebly. "Okay."
Their lips met for a gentle kiss that would have continued longer if a noise from the beach hadn't suddenly caught their attention.
They carefully peered around their respective sides of the boulder and onto the beach – where a large cluster of very familiar helmeted figures in black and red suits were scurrying to and from the entrance of the cave like worker ants. Each one was carrying pieces of equipment in various sizes and shapes, dumping it all onto a rapidly growing pile at the beach a few yards away.
Hunter and Cam pulled their heads back behind the boulder just in time to see Eric and Wes creeping towards them. Cam made a 'stay low' motion with his hand, alerting them to the enemy presence. Both Silver Guardians took their own careful peek from behind the big rock. "Lothor's goons," Wes hissed. "Have you seen him yet?"
Hunter shook his head. "I dunno what's going on down there, but it looks to me like they're cleaning out the old headquarters rather than moving in."
Cam looked between Hunter and the Time Force Rangers. "Well, why don't we just ask them what they're doing? Nice and polite, of course." He nodded towards the kelzak-assembly. "Wanna do the honors?"
Hunter grinned. "With pleasure. Man, just like old times!" With that, he jumped up and skidded down the short decline onto the beach, Cam hot on his heels. Wes and Eric lingered long enough to exchange an exasperated glance before they took off after the two ninjas.
Cam took on the nearest two kelzaks while Hunter went barreling towards a cluster of four drones a few feet further away. Cam wasn't worried that his partner would be outnumbered; Hunter had his elemental powers, after all. And the former Crimson Ranger promptly made use of them as he sent a bolt of dark red lightning at two of the black/red clad creatures while taking out the other two with one flying kick.
Cam turned his attention to his drones; he didn't possess an elemental power, but he wasn't completely 'unarmed'. He jumped over one kelzak, ramming his elbow into the goon's back and immediately moved on to deliver a fierce drop-kick to the second drone's shoulder. His opponent went down like a sack of flour.
Spotting movement at the periphery of his vision, he went down on one knee and flipped a few ninja beams at his next attacker. The fallen drone was immediately replaced by two more coming up behind it and Cam scrambled back to his feet, meeting their dual attacks with a combination of kicks and punches. He lunged at one of them, grabbing the drone by the tuff of black hair on top of its helmet, spinning it around and sending it staggering into the arms of its twin. He followed up with a kick into the kelzak's back and was about to deliver a finishing blow when he heard a disturbingly familiar cry behind him.
Hunter was in a bind; he wasn't exactly sure how it had happened, but somewhere between punching a kelzak to his right and kicking another one to his left, a few more had snuck up on him from behind and now a rough circle of black and red clad bodies had formed around the blond Thunder ninja – and they were closing in.
With an audible growl, Hunter thrust his fists into the air, calling upon his thunder powers, and promptly his arms lit up, crimson electricity crackling and running from his fists to his shoulders and back.
The spectacle had the desired effect; the kelzaks' charge slowed, then stopped altogether, the drones suddenly keeping a respectful distance from the charged-up young man they had planned on overrunning.
A few yards away, Eric happened to catch Hunter's pose.
"Christ, he looks like a one-colored Christmas tree," Eric mumbled to himself before he jumped over a kelzak's sword as the goon went for his legs. The drone received a kick in the faceplate for its efforts and it hadn't hit the ground yet before Eric already moved on to the next opponent.
Wes was also holding his own fairly well. He had floored three of his attackers already and was going for the fourth, sending the drone flying into its twin with a swift kick to the chest. "Hey, this isn't so hard," he exclaimed with a smirk as he flipped another kelzak over his shoulder. "Matter of fact, this is kind of fun."
"Or at least a good work-out." Eric dodged a sword-slice to his side, faked a punch at his opponent's head, then sent him tumbling to the ground with a lightning-quick roundhouse kick. "And we're beating them without any fancy extra powers." He pulled his blaster from his holster and fired, sending two more drones flying, their suits crackling where they'd been hit by the blaster's energy. The noise of a similar discharge behind him told him that Wes had drawn his own weapon.
"Yeah, not too shabby, if I may say so myself."
Eric grinned at the mirth in Wes' voice.
Suddenly there was another crackling noise, unfamiliar this time, and Eric turned his head just in time to see Hunter stepping out of the midst of a ring of smoldering kelzaks. His arms were at his side, now no longer glowing with crimson power, and Eric could imagine where all that energy had ended up. He almost felt sorry for Lothor's fallen goons. Almost.
Eric turned to see a kelzak land a lucky kick into Wes' back that sent him flying a few feet further down the beach. Eric punched the drone into oblivion, then went to help his partner back to his feet when his eyes happened to fall onto the cave entrance. They were about thirty feet from the cave, with Cam and Hunter much closer.
A masked figure emerged from the shadows of the entrance tunnel, black coat flapping about his legs. He raised his arms, pointing them in Cam's direction, and before the green-clad young man could react he was hit with two beams of purple energy that promptly lifted him off his feet, hurling him backwards into the air. Cam cried out in pain, then crashed onto the sand where he lay unmoving.
"CAM!" Hunter was by his side almost instantly. For a moment, the blond man looked as if he was going to charge at the evil space ninja, but then he dropped to his knees and pulled Cam halfway into his lap, his worried eyes running over his partner's pain-filled face while Lothor's evil cackle filled the air.
"This is certainly a pleasant surprise, nephew. Saves me from a tedious Easter egg hunt for you two."
Hunter gave Lothor a furious glare. "Where are Sensei and the others?" he demanded, but the masked man just laughed.
"In a safe location far away from here where I can toy with them at my leisure. But I'm still two pawns short of a full Ranger set before my game of revenge can begin." Lothor took two steps closer to them, pulling a remote control out of his coat pocket at the same time. He was just pointing the device at the two ninjas when the sound of two voices drifted towards them all.
"Time for Time Force!"
"Quantum Power!"
Suddenly, Hunter's view of Lothor was obstructed by the sight of two shapely posteriors clad in red spandex as the Time Force Rangers planted themselves protectively in front of him and Cam.
"And that's how it's going to stay, creep," came Wes' voice from behind his helmet.
"As a matter of fact, I think we'll relieve you of a few game pieces," Eric's voice added.
"Ah, some new playmates, I see," Lothor snarled. "For crying out loud, don't you Rangers ever become extinct?"
Wes and Eric's blasters were in their hands in lightning-quick moves. "Where are you hiding them and Frax?"
"You don't seriously think I'm going to tell you, you fools?" Lothor was unimpressed by the weapons loosely pointed at him. He actually took two steps closer to the Rangers and Eric aimed his blaster.
"Looks like we'll have to use some more effective methods of persuasion," he said, but before he could pull the trigger, Lothor let out an angry growl and leapt into the air, bringing his leg down onto the Quantum Ranger's chest. Eric stumbled, but managed to stay upright. His and Wes' blasters, however, were now useless in such close quarters, so a fierce and rapid fistfight ensued instead between the two Time Force Rangers and the evil space ninja. It didn't take long until it became obvious that the Red and the Quantum Rangers were gaining the upper hand on their opponent, but by now half a dozen of the fallen kelzaks had pulled themselves back together and were rushing towards their master's aid, effectively diverting the Red Ranger's attention away from the masked ninja.
Some of them were also coming for the two young ninjas still crouched on the sand. Cam was in no condition to fight, so it was up to Hunter to defend them both against the fresh wave of Lothor's drones.
A few feet away, Eric and Lothor found themselves just about evenly matched. Neither gained nor gave much ground, but Eric was pretty sure that the masked man was already thinking about pulling some dirty tricks from under his sleeves. He had seen how those purple energy beams had felled Cam and he didn't want to be on the receiving end of the same treatment. He executed a backwards flip to bring some distance between them and converted his Quantum Defender to blade mode.
Lothor promptly froze and scowled at the sight of the impressive saber. The battle now quickly took a serious turn in Eric's favor as he drove the evil space villain back with a series of slashes and stabs until Lothor leapt up onto a tall boulder out of reach of Eric's weapon, growling as he saw Wes shake off the kelzaks around him, summon his twin chrono-sabers, and rejoin the main battle. Lothor pointed a gloved finger at the Quantum Ranger.
"This is not over yet, you hear? I will have my revenge," he cried, eyes ablaze with fury as he directed them towards Hunter and Cam. "Don't make the mistake of thinking you're safe!"
And with that, he teleported away in a flash of light, taking his kelzaks with him. The sudden silence of the beach was deafening.
Wes hurried across the sand and knelt by Cam's side. "You okay?"
The samurai's face was still strained, but he managed a weak grin as he rubbed his chest. "Yeah, it's just that without the Ranger suits, those beams really sting."
"Think you can get up?" Hunter asked, already slipping an arm around the Asian man's waist. Cam nodded and pulled himself to his feet with the blond ninja's help. When they both stood, their heads were quite close together and Cam suddenly raised his eyes to cast a quick look at the slightly taller man; a gaze Hunter promptly returned. It lasted only a second, but by then Wes had already recognized it for what it was: the same look he occasionally saw on Eric's face in their more private moments.
'Interesting. How come I haven't picked up on those two earlier?' he wondered to himself.
Footsteps were drawing closer from behind him and a moment later, Eric's voice sounded from over his shoulder. "Back to square one. Again."
To Be Continued...