A loud beeping filled the halls of the subterranean Wind dojo, summoning its two remaining Rangers to the affectionately dubbed 'Ninja Control', Cam's wall of computer gizmos. "Did we find Dustin?" Tori asked as they came into the room. Still trapped in the form of a guinea pig their sensei stood on his son's shoulder, glancing their way briefly before turning back to the large central monitor.
"The computer has detected the morpher's signal. Cam is bringing it up now."
With a distracted button push the Asian youth cancelled the alarm. "It's weird, but his morpher just appeared on radar. In the Atlantic."
"The Atlantic, as in ocean?" Tori's eyebrows climbed.
The monitor fuzzed then showed an empty expanse of water. "Almost two hundred miles out, four hundred and sixty feet down and sinking." A manipulation of the mouse and their camera plunged beneath the surface. Everyone in the room leaned forward, eyes straining to catch sight of their missing friend.
"There!" Shane's finger stabbed against the hard plastic of the monitor. The picture slowed, letting everyone see what the Red Ranger's eagle vision had zeroed on: a wrist morpher. "Where's Dustin?"
"I thought these things couldn't come off," Tori commented looking at her own morpher with mild suspicion.
Cam couldn't think of an answer for Shane so he addressed Tori instead. "Of course they can be removed. You just have to know how. Which Dustin most certainly did not. I wanted to make sure he wouldn't forget it somewhere."
"So how do we find Dustin now?" Tori asked, voicing the question on everyone's mind.
It was close to evening when the brunette finally stirred, his nonsensical mumblings pulling Hunter from his light meditation. Uncurling from where he'd retreated to the corner of the room, he crossed to the bare mattress and knelt, reaching out to gently card the haphazard black curls. Without opening his eyes the Yellow Ranger leant into the caress, humming softly in pleasure, and the blond fought a smile of his own.
"Alex?" He called the new name he had chosen softly, sounding it out to his own ears. The newly christened Alex tossed his head, coming more awake. "C'mon, baby, time to rejoin the living." His voice prompted further humming, but the chocolate brown eyes gradually opened. There was no recognition in them, but Hunter didn't expect there to be. He'd prepared for panic and fear, but the younger teenager just gave him a trusting dimpled smile and stretched.
"Hey. Did I sleep long? My head's real fuzzy." A frown wrinkled his forehead, but it cleared when Hunter stroked the side of his face, eliciting another innocent smile that took tenacious hold of the Crimson Ranger's heart.
"Everything's fine, Alex. We were in a battle and you got hit pretty hard by one of Lothor's aliens. Do you remember any of that?" Doubtful since it had never happened, but Hunter's expression stayed hopeful and concerned. The spell he had written up the Yellow Ranger's spine was two-fold: it erased his memories and left him open to Hunter's suggestion. Whatever Hunter, and Hunter alone, told him Alex would believe, about himself and anyone else.
"No, sorry, man. Everything's a blank." He struggled to sit up and Hunter moved to help, slipping an arm about him and practically pulling the smaller youth into his lap.
"You did take a pretty hard hit, but I'm sure it'll all come back." In a million years, he silently added. "But hey, you remember me, the love of your life, right?"
"Oh!" Alex squirmed and looked away, a red flush staining his pale cheeks. Strong fingers caught his chin, however, pulling his elfin face up to let Hunter see his shining eyes. "I-I'm sorry."
"Oh no," he breathed, leaning in to lightly claim that quirky mouth. Alex stiffened at first but when Hunter didn't push for more he gradually relaxed, began to respond. Leisurely Hunter mapped the slender teen's mouth, only drawing away when Alex had completely given himself to the kiss. "It's okay, baby."
"Wow," the brunette panted, "I wish I remembered more kisses like that!"
Hunter smiled, barely keeping the euphoria of his triumph in check. "Then we'll just have to make new memories, won't we?"
A week later.
"We can do this. Alex, close your eyes." The three Thunder Rangers stood in a rough circle within the central hall of their demolished dojo, just out of arm's reach of each other. While Alex's memory had yet to return, he found he could remember some things about his past life with Hunter's prompting. Like being able to fight. The martial arts came easily, his body seeming to remember what his mind could not. Being told about their fight to free their fellow ninjas and protect the Earth against an alien horde had sounded straight out of a comic book, but when he'd been shown how to activate his morpher, he began to believe. He was the Thunder Ninja Gold Power Ranger, dedicated to the war against evil. Soon, Hunter promised, they would rejoin the fight. But first he wanted to return their home to its former glory.
Doing as bid he closed his eyes, then, starting to feel a fidget coming on, cracked one eye open. "Maybe we should hold hands? To channel or something?" Somehow, Hunter's touch always calmed him, helped him to concentrate.
Hunter stared at him for a long minute, then smiled slightly. "Okay."
They all took the necessary steps closer and clasped hands, Alex grinning as his boyfriend gave his slender fingers a reassuring squeeze. Then Hunter ordered them to concentrate, to open themselves to the power that they tapped into to become Thunder Rangers. Easier said, but Alex trusted his boyfriend, realizing he didn't have to merge with some awesome force, just Hunter, who would do the rest. Hunter's mouth on his, his arms wrapped about him, his strength and love, and Alex gasped as he felt the blond there, around him, inside him, pulling him towards something loud and huge. Blake was there too, a cool ribbon of bluish light, weaving about the red and yellow until everything went white.
They were one.
Outside their circle the young men appeared frozen, heads bowed, not even the slight rise and fall of their chests noticeable. Nothing seemed to be happening. Until, with no warning of thunder, a bolt of lightening struck the middle of their circle and exploded outwards. Heads flew back, their Ranger armor coming unbidden to protect them from the energy they had unleashed. It swept through every hall and into every room, leaving no corner of the dojo untouched.
"Whoa," Blake breathed, letting go of his teammates to stagger back and drop gracelessly to his butt. "That was,"
"Way cool!" Alex whooped, throwing himself into his boyfriend's arms. Slightly unbalanced himself, Hunter careened but visibly struggled to keep his feet, determined to not drop his boyfriend. Their helmets clunked together, belatedly making them realize they were all in armor. A thought to banish the uniform and the brunette was kissing his Hunter, a wriggling bundle of happiness that was graciously received.
Snorting at their display, Blake purposively looked in another direction only to exclaim in surprise. "Guys! Guys! Get off each other! We did it!"
Setting Alex back on his feet, Hunter kept an arm about his waist as they took in the changes their spell had wrought. "It worked," Hunter shook his head in amazement, staring at their restored dojo. The rice paper and bamboo walls were once more intact, the dirt and invading vegetation gone, the shattered statues and broken weaponry restored to their stands and wall mountings. The Thunder Dojo was as it once was before.
TBC.