Tori was sitting next to Dustin at Ninja Ops, "Sensei, those ninjas who helped us, is there anything else on them?"
"Just what you know," Sensei told her, "I didn't learn about them until I saw them on the screen."
"Who are they?" Blake asked, "I mean they didn't come out of the sky."
"From what I heard, they've been after that villain Cragore for quite sometime. He jumped portals, they followed and they came to Blue Bay Harbor," Sensei said, as he walked across the counter, "From my resources and what I have gathered here with the help of Cam and Cyber Cam, they are from the Fire Ninja Academy, but I was not told where that was located."
Shane looked at the others.
"But I thought Lothor destroyed all the Ninja Academy's?" Hunter asked," And all the students and Sensei's went missing."
"Lothor wasn't able to find the Fire Ninja Academy, I'm pretty sure it is well hidden from those who try to take over," Sensei said.
"This is a little hard to believe," Blake said.
"Yeah," Tori added, "I thought we were the only ones."
"I thought so myself," Sensei said to his students, "But if Cragore is as evil as Lothor, you rangers will need all the help you can get to bring down their alliance."
Shane nodded.
Blake looked down at his watch, "Oh great I got to get going. I am supposed to meet someone at Storm Chargers this afternoon and I am already late."
"I'll tag along," Dustin said as he stood up, "I wanna test out my new brakes."
"I'll come too if Sensei doesn't need us for anything else," Hunter said.
Sensei shook his head, "No, you may be excused. When I learn more I will let you guys know about our new guests."
"Thank you sensei," Tori said as she followed the guys out.
"Are you coming with us Tori?" Hunter asked as they walked out of Ninja Ops.
"No, I thought I would head down to the beach and catch some waves," She said.
"I think I'll join Tori," Shane said.
"Okay guys, we'll catch you later," Blake said.
"Bye guys," Tori said as her and Shane went their separate ways from Dustin, Blake and Hunter.
ººº
Joey was shopping with Aly. "Come on Al, I need to get going. I am supposed to meet Blake at Storm Chargers."
"I'm almost finished," Alysson said as she finished trying on the purple and silver swim suit. She looked herself over in the mirror in the dressing room, liked what she saw, stripped out of it, put her clothes on she had already purchased when they first arrived at the clothing store and opened the dressing room door, "You are so impatient, you're just like mom."
"Well I am sorry. We were supposed to be there half an hour ago." Joey had some nice summer dresses and a few tee shirts and shorts.
"I'm sure he'll understand why we're late," Alysson said as they started walking to the front counter, "Just tell him we got lost."
Joey scoffed, "Sure," She said as she went to pay for her stuff, "What are we going to do with this stuff?"
"We'll see if we can leave it at the Storm Chargers and pick it up on the way back," Alysson said as she placed her items on the counter."
"Okay, I need to pick up some gear there anyway," Joey said, "And the helmet I bought yesterday."
"Yeah you'll need that," Alysson said, "I know I need to pick up one...safty first is what mom always said."
Joey rolled her eyes, "She still hated that I was doing motocross." She said as she frowned at the thought of their mother not coming to terms with her choice of sport before she had left her and her sister.
"She didn't like me skateboarding; but she got over it..." Alysson said as she handed the woman the money she owed, "...eventually."
Joey placed the garments on the counter, "Yeah, she did eventually."
"But at least we had one parent that was supportive...Dad," Alysson said, "He never gave us much crap about being into guys sports. Now that I think about it, I think Dad wanted boys but instead he got us and turned us into sports freaks."
Joey laughed and paid the clerk, "You're right, Dad did get me into motocross."
"He bought me my first skateboard," Alysson added and then thanked the clerk, grabbed her two bags from the counter and started for the door.
Joey thanked the clerk also and walked out with her sister with her two bags full of stuff.
"I'm so glad Sensei Lee gave me my allowance early," Alysson stated flatly, "I'd hate to have no money and be here in the same clothes all those days because after a while, I'd be starting to smell kinda not so fresh."
"And I have to be with you," Joey said smirking.
"Hey you shouldn't be talkin either; you'd be in the same boat as me too if Sensei Chen didn't pay you."
"At least I brooought all of my money," Joey bragged.
"At least I know how to save my money."
"I have been saving also. This is the first time in a long time that I have been shopping," Joey said with an innocent look on her face.
Alysson laughed, "You are such a liar. I saw you at Spencer's the other day buying a t-shirt."
Joey stuck her tongue out at her as she tried to hide the truth that was written across her face. Alysson was right; she was at Spencer's the other day buying a shirt, "What, are you stalking me now?"
"Of course," Alysson giggled, "That's what sisters are supposed to do."
ººº
Joey and Alysson reached Storm Chargers. They headed in and walked over to one of the tables, "Looks like we are the first ones here," Alysson said as she placed her bags on top of the table and flopped down in one of the chairs.
"Hmm, I wonder why he isn't here," Joey said, as she wandered off not far from Alysson and looked through the motocross gear. When she found an outfit and gloves that she wanted, she removed it from the rack, "I wonder if my helmet is still here."
"Go find out," Alysson said, "And can you check to see if my board is here too? I think I'm gonna have to clue it to myself to keep from losing it."
"You mean Glue?" Joey said.
"Yeah that's it," Alysson giggled as she realized her mistake.
Joey rolled her eyes and went over to the clerk, who they came to know as Kelly, "Hi Kelly, I was wondering if my sister and I left our stuff that we bought here yesterday."
"Let me check," Kelly said as she checked under the counter. She walked down a little ways and spotted the skateboard and helmet, "Yes you did." She pulled the items out and walked back to where Joey was waiting and handed her the stuff, "Dustin found it by the door yesterday."
"Thank you Dustin," Joey said. "We were wondering what happened to them." She said. Joey placed the motocross gear she was buying on the counter.
"Would that be all?" Kelly asked as she started taking the gear off the counter to ring it up, "You find everything that you were looking for?"
"Yes I did thank you."
"Your total is $45.83," She told Joey as she placed the items in a bag.
Joey handed Kelly the money.
"Out of $46.00." She pushed the buttons on the register and handed Joey her change, "Have a nice day."
"Thanks Kelly. By chance have you seen Blake?"
"No I haven't," Kelly told her, "But if I see him before you do, I'll let him know that you're looking for him."
"Thanks," Joey said as she made her way back towards Aly.
"You're welcome," Kelly said as she went about her business.
ººº
Joey sat down by Aly, "Here," She said handing the skateboard to her.
"Thanks," Alysson said as she took the board from her sister and placed it on the table, "So, I did leave it here. Where was it found?"
"By the door. Dustin found it," Joey said.
"Oh, remind me to thank him the next time I see him," Alysson said as she rested her arms on the board, "So, any sign of him?"
"No not yet," Joey said, "I'm guessing he is not going to show up."
Alysson looked over at her sister and saw the disappointment on her face, "I'm sure he'll be here," She reassured her, "I'm sure something came up that he had to take care of and that's why he's running a little late."
"You know those Rangers; I could have sworn that one sounded like Blake," Joey said.
"I wouldn't know, I was too busy turning Gorelocks into extra crispy ninjas with a side of dust," Alysson smirked.
"You didn't even notice when we were just talking to them?"
"Nope," Alysson said and shrugged her shoulder, "I never really gave it any thought."
Joey sighed. She went to her own little world to think.
Alysson yawned as they sat and waited for Blake to show up.
Joey played with her amulet as she waited, "Are you sure we were suppose to meet them here?" She asked.
"I think he did say 2:00 at Storm Chargers," Alysson said, "At least I think so. How would I know? I was by the ramp. I only caught a little of it."
"Great," Joey said.
"But I think that's what he said."
"If someone comes let me know."
"Where you going?" Alysson asked.
"I'm going to go outside," Joey said as she got up and went outside. She needed to be alone to clear her head.
"Oh okay," Alysson said as she rested her head on the board.
Alysson sat at the table bored. She had flipped her skateboard over and started to spin the wheels, watching them as they spin, "Wow, this is so much fun," She said and yawned again.
ººº
Joey stepped out from the air conditioning building into the warm sunny outside. She walked over to the ramp, seeing that no one else was out back; she sat down on the edge of the ramp. She turned so that she was on it all the way and lay back, resting her head on her arm. She sighed heavily as she let her mind wonder, "This was a big mistake," She finally said as she sat up and swung her feet around and placed them on the ground. It ate away at her knowing that Blake wasn't going to show…she hoped that he would, but knew that he wasn't.
She sighed again as she let her emotions get the best of her and then she remembered something that Sensei Chen had taught her, that when things got the best of her, all she had to do was do the breathing excise he had taught her and she would feel better afterwards. So, Joey crossed her legs in front of her, closed her eyes and tried to rid herself of the sadness that filled her heart.
ººº
Blake and the others showed up at Storm Chargers. He spotted Aly sitting at the table and headed in her direction as Hunter & Dustin followed him, "Hey Aly, where's Joey?" He asked as he looked around the store and didn't see her sister.
"Huh what?" Alysson said nearly jumping out of her skin. She turned to see Blake with Hunter and Dustin right behind him, "Gosh, you scared the beejeezes out of me."
"Sorry," Blake said as he smiled slightly.
"Trying to do, give me a heart attack?" Alysson said as she placed her hand over her rapid beating heart, "Joey's out back. She thinks you were going to pull a no show."
Blake grimaced, "Sorry I got a little sidetracked." He said as he went out to the back.
Alysson shook her head as she watched Blake go out back and then turned her attention to the other two, "Well what a surprise," Alysson smiled, "Care to join me at the boredom table?"
Hunter smiled and sat across from Alysson while Dustin grinned as he pulled up a seat next to her, "I see that you got your skateboard back."
"Yes I did," She told him, "Joey told me that you found it and had Kelly...I think her name is...hold on to it for me, I thank you."
"It's not a problem," He told her, "I found it by the door with your sister's helmet. Did she get that back too?"
"Yes she did."
"That's good. Hunter here is the one that identified it because I was gonna put them back on the shelf."
Alysson turned to Hunter and smiled, he returned her smile.
"Well, thank you both," She said as she spins the wheel again.
"So Aly, how long have you been skateboarding?" Hunter asked as he watched her spin the purple wheel over and over again.
"As far back as I can remember. My father bought me my first skateboard and since then I haven't been able to stay off one."
"That's cool," He said, as he looked up and met her gaze.
She blushed slightly and felt her face grow warm, "Did you guys wanna go out back? Blake and Joey seem to be out there for a long time."
"Yeah," Dustin said as he felt awkward sitting there with them, and stood to his feet.
Alysson got up and left her stuff on the table, knowing that no one was going to steal it and followed Dustin and Hunter out to the back.
ººº
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Blake said after a few minutes of watching Joey.
Joey's eyes bolted open. She quickly turned around to see Blake, "I was wondering if you were going to show."
"Yeah, sorry about that," He told her as he walked over to the ramp and sat down next to her, "I had some things to take care of. They ran a little later then I expected."
"Same here," Joey said, "I thought you were going to chicken out on me."
"Me, chicken out, nah," He said, "And pass up the chance to race a pretty girl like your self."
"Who are you calling pretty?" Joey asked as she looked around to see who he was calling pretty.
Blake looked around and then turned to look at her and smiled, "Well you seem to be the only girl here so I must be talking about you."
Joey stared him down, "Are you trying to butter me up, because it's not working."
"Well it was worth a try," He said and smirked, "But you're still pretty."
"Thank you," Joey said.
To Joey's relief, she heard the doorbell on the door ding and she looked up to see her sister, Dustin and Hunter walk out.
"Hey sis," Alysson said as she walked over to the two and smiled.
"Hey Aly," Joey said with a sigh of relief.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
"Nope," Joey said as she turned and looked at Blake.
"No, we were just talking," Blake told Alysson.
"So where do we race?" Joey asked.
"There's a track a few blocks from here that we usually use," Blake said, "We can go there."
"It's where all motocrossers go," Dustin added, "And they hold the championships there also."
"That's cool, let me grab my stuff and we can head over there," Joey said smiling.
"Alright," Blake said and got to his feet, he offered his hand to her.
Joey took his hand and got up.
Alysson stood there out on the ramp and watched the two love birds. She smiled to herself as she knew that her sister had it bad for him and he had it bad for her. She giggled at the thought of her sister getting all mushy over some boy.
Joey bit her lip and walked back inside the shop. Dustin followed.
Alysson followed but before she headed in, she turned to Blake and smiled the cheesiest smile possible at him and then quickly hurried in after her sister.
Blake looked at Alysson strangely and turned to his brother, "What was that about?"
Hunter shrugged his shoulders, "No clue," He said as he went inside.
Blake shook his head, still confused by that smile Alysson had given him. Was it obvious that he liked Joey? Was it written all over his face and Alysson noticed? Those were the thoughts on his mind as he headed inside.
ººº
Joey walked over to the table that Alysson was sitting at before and where she had left her gear and grabbed it and headed to the bathroom to change.
Alysson picked up her bags and turned to Dustin, "Do you think we could leave our stuff here so that we wouldn't have to carry it around with us and come by later to pick it up?"
"I am sure it will be fine," Dustin said, "I'll take them and go put this stuff someplace until we come back."
"Thanks," Alysson said as she handed him her and Joey's stuff.
Dustin smiled as he walked away and went to the back room behind the counter, where he was going to place the bags until later.
"So, when do we leave?" Alysson asked as she rested against one of the chairs.
"Finally, ready to go?" Joey said, as she came out of the bathroom just as Black and Hunter came in from outside.
"Yeah," Blake said, "Let's go."
"Lead the way," Joey said.
ººº
The 5 teenagers left the Storm Chargers and since it was a nice day out, they decided that they would walk to the track.
Joey looked over at Blake and bit her lip. She had wanted to tell him how she felt, but couldn't tell him. She was never really that good about telling someone how she truly felt about someone without getting all shy and babbling. She looked over at her sister and sighed. Sometimes she wished that she was like Alysson, able to speak her mind without feeling all stupid in the end, like she usually did after letting someone know how she feels. She sighed again as she looked straight ahead and knew that some things at the moment were meant to be kept secret.
ººº
It took them almost an hour to reach the dirt track that was set up in Blue Bay Harbor. Some of the locals had come as well to the track, so they weren't alone.
Joey's face lit up as she watched the people on the track. Her smile was as wide as a Cheshire cat and she couldn't wait to get back on a bike after it had been many months since she had been on one…being a 'ranger' had took much of her time and she was anxious to be able to feel the feelings she would get whenever she road her bike again.
"This looks fun," Alysson said as she watched one of the bikers jump a hill.
"It is fun. God I can't wait to get going," Joey said.
"You do that and I'm gonna go find a place to sit," Alysson said.
"Okay," Joey said not taking her eyes off the track as a few more of the riders did jumps over the hill that was placed on the track.
ººº
Alysson walked away from the group and walked a little ways down and onto the grass until she found a nice shaded area to rest. She sat down under the tree, propped herself up against it and watched as riders took their turns out on the track, but that had only lasted for a few seconds…watching the riders go around and around doing the same thing over and over on the track, kinda got boring to watch. She rested her head back against the tree and looked up into the many green branches of the tree. She could see a blue bird nesting in her nest, trying to keep her young eggs warm and so often she spoke softly warding off any enemies that might be lurking around.
"Such a peaceful sound," Alysson said as she sighed, listening carefully for the soft sound the bird was making, but soon she had got bored of that and did the only thing that was felt to do while she waited for her sister to finish…she picked the green grass.
ººº
Blake smiled, "We can rent our bikes and take them for a test drive before we actually do the race if you want."
"Sounds good to me," Joey said.
"Cool," He said, "We can go over to the renting tent to rent a bike. Come on."
"I'm gonna go check out some of the riders," Dustin said, "My dad should be by soon."
"I'll go keep Alysson company," Hunter said as he turned to Alysson who was sitting under a tree, "It looks like she could use some."
Joey nodded to Dustin and Hunter before she followed Blake over to the bike rental tent.
ººº
Hunter walked away and headed over to where Alysson was sitting. She sat underneath the tree with her legs stretched out in front of her and she was picking at the grass, "Looks like fun," Hunter said.
Alysson looked up as Hunter joined her by the tree and smiled, "Yeah, loads of fun, not like every day I get to sit and pick grass," She laughed, "Care to join me in all the excitement?"
Hunter smiled, "Sure," He said as he sat down next to her beneath the tree, "So how long has Joey been racing?"
"7 years," Alysson told him as she picked some more grass, "She's one of the best riders that I've encounter so far. She's even won 2 awards for best freestyle rider 2 years in a row."
"Wow, Blake will have his hands full with her."
"Possibly, but it's been a few months since she's been on a bike. She might be a little rusty."
Hunter nodded, "I bet once she gets on the bike it will come back to her."
"Yeah, just one of those things that you don't forget."
Silence filled the air between Hunter and Alysson. She looked out past him and looked at the track awkwardly, "You know, my sister has a crash on your brother," Alysson said breaking the silence.
"Really, never could tell," Hunter said.
Alysson laughed, "Yeah, I think it's cute. Joey's very shy when it comes to guys that she likes unlike myself where I'll tell you to your face whether I like you or not, but I'm glad that she's interested in someone."
Hunter smiled, "I can be that way to sometimes."
"And very blunt about it too," She added, "Makes me wonder now, does he like her too?"
"He hasn't told me anything about it."
"Well, I can read him like a book, the way he looks at her...he smiles a lot...but I could be wrong though."
Hunter laughed.
"He's not very secretive about hiding his feelings for her, just look at him," Alysson said as she pointed to where Blake and Joey were at, "He's got the 'I have the hots for her' look written all over his face. It's kinda strange when he hasn't known her that long, but I guess some things you just can't help."
"You know your right, he does like her."
"It's so obvious and look, Joey even has it too."
"Your sister seems anxious though too."
"Yeah, it's been awhile since she's been on a bike or to have a guy like her. I wonder if she knows..."
"It doesn't look like it."
"Hmmm...Looks like me and my dear ol sister is gonna have to have a talk later," She smirked.
"So will I, with my brother," Hunter said.
Alysson laughed, "Yeah, I'm so gonna be in trouble for talking about her."
"Well I am glad I won't be there," Hunter said laughing along with Alysson.
"Anyways, what do you do for fun besides Motocross?" Alysson asked as she turned to look at him, "I mean, Motocross can't be the only hobby."
"Martial arts. Really good at that."
"Cool, how many years?"
"About 6 years."
"That's cool."
"Yeah, Blake is actually in the same class as me."
"Cool," Alysson said, "Joey and I go to the same school but we specialize in a different class."
"Really? What?"
"She's more into the bigger weapons, like Bo staff, double blades, the bigger stuff and I'm more in the smaller weapons like Sais."
"So you guys are more ninja types?"
"I wouldn't say that," Alysson said, "We just prefer to specialize in one thing."
"Ah okay," Hunter said.
"Our parents sent us away when I was 10 and Joey was 11 to Martial Arts school and we've been living there ever since..." But her words trailed off as she looked down at the patch of grass she had been picking at since Hunter had joined her.
"Do you even know what your parents look like?"
"Yeah, they would come to visit us often but the last time they never made it to the school."
"Really?"
"Yeah, they were killed in a car accident. On the way to the school it started to rain and my dad lost control of the car and crashed. My mom survived until we made it to the hospital to see her and an hour later she died."
"I know what you mean, our parents also died," Hunter said.
"It was hard on us both but our Sensei's helped us channel our pain and anger into our Martial Arts and without it, I think both of us would be still pretty messed up by the accident."
"And I am glad it helped."
"Me too," Alysson said as she rested her head against the tree, "You learn a lot in Martial Arts and you would be surprised on how it can help you out in the toughest times in your life."
Hunter just listened," That's true."
"And of course, it helps you stay in shape. I was never this fit before and now I can do things that I never thought I could do, like run a marathon and not break a sweat or walk a few blocks without getting tired."
Hunter laughed, "I wonder what's taking Blake and Joey so Long?"
"I can think of a few things," Alysson grinned, "But let's not go there. How about we go find out? My foot fell asleep and it's not feeling that great, feels like someone is sticking hot pokers in my foot."
"Sure let's go," Hunter said as he got up.
Alysson got to her feet and started walking to where she had last spotted Blake and her sister.
ººº
Joey was on a bike she had rented, it didn't take her long to find the perfect bike she liked. She looked up as Aly and Hunter were walking their way towards her. Her smile grew at what she saw.
"Nice bike sis," Alysson said as she looked at her sister weird from the look that she had on her face.
"Yeah well this isn't my bike, but it will do," She said.
"Well, maybe we can have Sensei Chen bring it down among other things that we will need."
"I hope he can."
"We'll call him when we get back, right now isn't the time. It's time for you to show Blake what you can do and that he doesn't stand a chance against you."
"You got that right sister."
"What is this, gang up on me day?" Blake laughed as he listened to the girls plot.
"Hummm... I remember seeing something like that on the calendar," Joey said laughing.
"Okay, then lets see what you got," Blake said as he put his helmet on and started up the bike."
Joey smiled as she places her helmet on and revs up her bike.
Blake revved up his bike, did a burn out before he took off towards the starting line.
Joey followed right behind him.
"Watch this," Alysson said as she took off for the announcement booth, told them what was to take place and went to stand by the sidelines.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, it has just come to my attention that we have a little one on one competition going on here at the start up line. We have Joey Potter from Coppertown in lane #2 and your very own Blake Bradley from Blue Bay Harbor in lane #4," The Announcer said over the microphone.
"So, let's give it up for them and wish them luck," The Announcer finished.
Joey closed her eyes. She took a deep breath, 'Oh Aly, this is embarrassing,' Joey thought to her self as she looked at the track ahead.
Alysson waved to her sister and gave her the thumbs up.
Joey looked over and gave her the thumbs up. Her heart pounded in her chest and her blood raced through her body. She played around a little with the throttle on the bike before the lights on her right turned on, marking that the race was about to start.
The light hit red, then yellow and then green and both riders pushed on the throttle and took off from the starting line and down the dirt track.
To Be Continued...