Disclaimer: Not ours. Here's the final chapter on our first collaboration. Hopefully the first of many, we'll see. Please, read, review, enjoy. Angel Mouse and MzDany.

Deception of a Samurai

By Angel Mouse and MzDany

Kami growled in impatience. The auto-repair system was taking it's time fixing the remote. She had returned to her ship to find a message waiting for her from the Emperor and he wasn't happy she hadn't completed her mission and returned yet. His tone had sent shivers through her and she had to work hard to regain her composure after watching the message. The Emperor wasn't one to be trifled with and that only served to enhance her determination. She had to get that Amulet; Cam was just the icing on the cake.

Suddenly the auto-repair pinged that it was complete and she yanked the door open with glee, snatching out the remote. Growling in the thought of the pleasure she was about to allow herself in destroying the Thunder Ninja and getting Cam as her play toy she stepped out of her ship and activated the remote.

A stirring of the air above them alerted Cam and Hunter to the approaching presence a moment before the grey/purple vortex re-appeared. They shot to their feet and immediately fell into defensive positions as the slim form of Kami stepped through the portal - which immediately closed behind her again.

"Well, it was getting a little boring..." Cam quipped dryly. Hunter pointed at Kami with his chin as he spoke, his own voice sarcastic.

"Hey, did you bring our McDonald's order? We're getting kind of hungry in here." Kami threw him a disdainful glance.

"You will soon be much hungrier. There is nothing edible around here and I wouldn't advise drinking the water here, either." She then transferred her gaze to Cam, staring at him across the short distance of unhopeful surroundings between them. "I've come for the amulet." Cam pointedly ignored her request.

"Just exactly where is 'here'?" he demanded to know. "What is this place?"

"You're inside a specially created subspace dimension, bestowed upon me by Emperor Akaar himself for some very valuable services I have rendered to him in the past." Kami chuckled and waived her arms in an encompassing gesture. "Do you like it? Everything you see in here - and everything you haven't seen yet - I created. It's my own personal playground." She re-directed her gaze towards Hunter. "I told you I was the emperor's best warrior and the elite get rewarded in abundance. I can't even begin to imagine what riches are awaiting me once I have used the amulet to open the Abyss of Evil and freed the Emperor's generals."

Cam and Hunter exchanged a pointed look as understanding dawned on them at last. Hunter had told Cam earlier that Kami spoke about a 'mission' during their fight. Now they finally knew the details of that assignment. Cam was itching to ask more questions, but Kami was already speaking again.

"You were a fool to come after him," she said and gave a snidely jerk of her head into Hunter's direction. Her gaze, however, remained on Cam and that look was turning intense. "You have no idea what you are missing, Cam. I could give you everything you need. I could make you feel things you've never felt before…" Her voice turned silky as she took one step towards the samurai. "But I'm giving you one last chance, Cam. Give me the amulet and I will take you out of here with me. We can still have a good time together." Cam was unmoved and his voice was as hard as nails.

"The only thing I want from you is this." He nodded towards the remote she was still holding and Kami's salacious smile froze on her face. "You want the amulet...come and get it," Cam growled and raised his fists a few more inches. Next to him, Hunter did likewise, stepping closer to him. Kami nodded slowly, her expression turning cold and determined.

"If that's how you want it..."

And before they could react to her words her hands blazed, and bright beams of energy shooting from them. With dual cries of pain, Cam and Hunter were thrown sideways into opposite directions. Kami immediately followed up on her attack and somersaulted in between them, lunging for Cam. The samurai, however, was more agile than she had anticipated; using the momentum from the fall, he rolled backwards and bounced back up in one fluid motion, ducking away as she made a grab for his collar. The next thing she knew, the heel of his boot was coming towards her and she was forced to throw up her arms in defense.

Now the Thunder ninja was back up on his feet, too, and joining the fight and for the next few minutes, the three warriors were engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat.

Kami scowled; the Humans were good and working well as a team, delivering blows and kicks in lightning-quick successions. But Kami was not so easily defeated. Summoning the Zakaarian powers within her, she suddenly whirled and - with an inhuman battle cry - caught Hunter in the chest with such a powerful kick that the blond man was lifted off his feet and flung several feet backwards where he collided with a large boulder.

"Hunter!" Cam cried, but did not let himself be distracted as Kami had hoped. Instead of rushing towards his boyfriend, he jumped back, getting a few feet of distance between them, and then dropped to one knee.

"Ninja beams!" Instantly, half a dozen green blurs of energy were speeding towards Kami. She was able to ward off two of them, but the other four struck her in the chest, shoulder and upper arm. Kami cried out, more in annoyance than in pain, as sparks shot from her arm. The transformer!

Cam saw her gaze go to her injured limb, and then suddenly her expression changed to incredulity. A moment later, Cam started in astonishment when Kami's body began to change in a peculiar transformation. Before his horrified eyes she suddenly grew until she was about two feet taller and a bit wider than him. While she retained a humanoid and even female shape, her appearance metamorphosed from Kami Amigosa to an otherwise doubtlessly alien look. A dark, tight-fitting uniform materialized around her body and whatever flesh remained visible was covered in silvery scale-like body armor. Her hair was replaced by four tentacle-like appendages and her eyes took on the yellow glow that Hunter had briefly glimpsed in the forest. But the most alarming part of her transformation was that she had sprung another set of powerful arms directly beneath the sockets of her original ones. She let out a roar and raised her four fists, her golden gaze now burning into them.

"Your mistake, Sensei," she snarled, her voice now deeper and raspier. A metallic echo seemed to follow her words. "You think I was tough as a Human? You have seen nothing yet!"

Cam took a deep breath and resolutely squared his shoulders, trying to keep his rising dismay at bay at the sight of Kami's menacingly metamorphosed body. Hunter had come up next to Cam and they shared a look of 'let's do this' before they simultaneously jumped into action. They attacked Kami from both sides, but the alien warrior simply batted Hunter away with dual swipes from her left arms, flinging him into one of the stagnant pools of water nearby. It turned out to be deeper than it looked and the former Crimson Ranger promptly sank beneath the surface. For a heart-stopping moment, he couldn't orient himself in the inky blackness, but he forced himself to stay calm until he spotted a patch of darkness not quite as black as the rest. He kicked, propelling his body towards it and a moment later, his head broke through the water again. Frantically, he looked around for Cam and what he saw made his blood run cold.

Somehow, Kami had gotten a hold of Cam and was holding him by the throat, several inches off the ground. Cam's hands were wrapped around her wrist, but his struggles clearly had no effect on the alien woman. Seemingly effortlessly she held him up, and her cold, metallic laughter echoed through the swamp. Hunter hurled himself towards the edge of the pool, grabbing at anything that could be used to pull himself out of the water, desperate to come to his partner's aid. Meanwhile, Kami's hold on Cam's throat tightened, her lips curving into a predatory smile as Cam's air flow was effectively cut off. Her grip was crushing – and cold, like frozen steel.

Cam clawed at her fingers with one hand while with the other he tried to fend off her other arms reaching towards the amulet. The edges of his vision were beginning to turn fuzzy, but before he could pass out Cam pulled up his knees, planting his booted feet firmly in her chest and pushed with all his remaining strength. It hurt like fire, but slowly the merciless fingers around his throat slipped as they slowly lost their grip around his throat. Then, abruptly, he was free and falling backwards, air rushing back into his burning lungs with a whoosh. Kami was already reaching for him again – only to suddenly rear up and howl in fury when a fist-sized stone bounced off the side of her scaled head. A series of fierce kicks from Hunter drove her back a few steps, just far enough for the Thunder ninja to squeeze by her and hurry to his partner's side.

"You pathetic fools, you think you can defeat me with sticks and stones?" Kami hollered. One of her hands went into a hidden flap in her uniform and a moment later, she was holding up what looked like an oblong shard of shiny onyx. Her eyes flared in a golden flash and suddenly, the shard began to change shape, elongating to sword-length. A hilt materialized and a moment later, Kami was brandishing a vicious-looking blade of black steel. "It's high time to dispose of you both once and for all!" At the sight of the weapon, Cam and Hunter backed up, but only a few steps. Shoulder to shoulder they stood their ground, fists raised again in preparation for the next attack. The odds, though, were now definitely stacked against them; Hunter was wet and cold and Cam was still somewhat weak from Kami's choking attempt. Without their Ranger powers and lacking any kind of weapon of their own, they wouldn't last against her much longer. They knew this, and they knew that Kami knew it as well as she laughed evilly and pointed her sword at them. If they couldn't think of something soon then they were done for.

A jagged flash of light suddenly flickered across the sky off to his right and Hunter's head jerked up. The lightning! And suddenly, a plan began to form in his head. Kami was advancing on them, and they backed up a few steps. Hunter's mind was working furiously. Risky, no way to gauge any potential reactions but it's not like we have a lot of options do we. Lightning once again scarred the sky. He knew what he was about to try was dangerous, but there was no other choice. Without taking his eyes off Kami, he mumbled low enough for only Cam to hear,

"Talk to her, draw her attention to you; I have an idea." Cam only cast him the briefest of glances, then fixed their opponent again with a resolute stare, but Hunter had seen the trust in that minute look; he hoped he could live up to it.

"Why are you so adamant on getting the amulet?" Cam cried. "It's no use to you. Its power has been drained months ago and there's nothing that can re-energize it."

"I have means of reactivating that energy again." Kami growled.

"Do you have any idea of the magnitude of evil that will be released if you unlock the Abyss?"

"That is not my problem, Human."

"Even if you manage to get the Abyss open again, what makes you think your people are even down there? During the last battle with Lothor, we destroyed scores of monsters and aliens. They could have all been amongst them."

"Maybe but maybe not. I will find out very soon."

Not heeding Kami and Cam's heated exchange of words, Hunter looked up. 'The lightning might be otherworldly and evil, but I might still be able to use it…' Hunter took a breath, concentrating on calling upon his element and the moment he felt the familiar connection, he thrust up his hand in silent summons, drawing the other-dimensional bolts towards him. He sensed the response and steeled himself and a moment later, a force unlike any other he had ever felt before entered his body. The power almost brought him down to his knees and he couldn't help but cry out as the alien lightning coalesced with his own element inside him, increasing in magnitude with such speed that he barely managed to aim his other hand towards his inhuman opponent before the electricity shot from his fingers and towards Kami in a seemingly endless streak of supercharged currents. It felt to Hunter like his skin was getting ripped from his arms and his vision blurred, but judging from the agonized shriek coming from the alien warrior, the plan seemed to be working. He channeled the charge for a few more precious seconds until his legs simply wouldn't hold him any longer and he felt his consciousness fading. Suddenly, the electricity was gone and a moment later, a pair of arms, familiar and very human, wrapped around his waist.

"Whoa, Hunter, are you all right?" Cam's voice was right by his ear. "It's okay, you can relax. She's down that was great…"

Abruptly, his body was coming down from the adrenalin-induced rush, leaving him weak-limbed, dizzy and tired and he sank to the ground, holding on to Cam.

"The remote…" he rasped and Cam's arms suddenly withdrew.

"Right. I'm on it!" He heard Cam move and blinked frantically to get the blurriness out of his eyes. When his vision cleared he saw Cam straightening up from bending over Kami who was motionless on her back on the ground. The samurai was now holding Kami's sword in one hand and something that Hunter could only hope was the still functioning remote control device in the other.

Smoke was curling up from the alien's body and the scent of charred cloth came floating towards him. He climbed back to his feet, still somewhat unsteady, but stoically staggered towards Kami's body. Leaning onto Cam for support, he stared down at her just as a tremor was running through the fallen warrior and her eyes opened. She drew in a rattling breath and moved to sit up, but Cam pointed the tip of her sword to her throat, making her freeze in mid-motion.

"Don't even think about it." Cam bent forward a bit and his eyes locked with hers. The samurai's voice was eerily calm, but there was steel in his eyes. "You've hurt my family. I don't take kindly to that."

At that, Kami's gaze flickered between the two young men and her shoulders slumped as she finally and silently admitted her defeat, both in combat and in her pursuit of Cam Watanabe. Her eyes came to rest on Hunter and she rasped,

"That was a dirty trick. "Hunter, however, only folded his arms across his chest and fixed her with a pointed look.

"All is fair in love and war, Zakaarian," he said and his gaze never wavered as he echoed her words from earlier on in the forest. Kami only snorted, her gaze transferring back to Cam.

"Kill me, then!" she cried. "What are you waiting for?"

"No." Cam shook his head. "I am samurai and I do have a code of honor. And one of the key points of that code is that I will not kill an enemy in cold blood. But you have been defeated and therefore the terms of your surrender are up to us to dictate. So I am giving you two choices: You are free to go, but you will swear a solemn oath to leave Earth immediately and never return. And that means neither you nor any other Zakaarian.

Or – you choose to take your chances in here, in your own dimension. But we are of course taking the remote with us. And we will not be back, Kami. Once we step through this portal, you're on your own."

"So choose," Hunter chimed in. "You have one minute, 'cause I'm really itching to get out of here."

For a long moment, Kami was quiet, her gaze fixed on a spot on the ground. When she finally did look up, the golden light in her eyes was nearly extinguished.

"A Zakaarian soldier's victory is richly rewarded. Her failure, however, is severely punished." Her voice was low and dejected a far cry from the boasting warrior from only a few minutes ago. "And the penalty that will await me for botching up this important mission would be no less than death. So no matter whether I stay or go, doom will be my fate. Therefore the only choice I really have is the way I die and I choose a soldier's death." Slowly and deliberately, she rose, and Cam let her.

"I have only one last request: Will you stay and witness my passing? I do not want to die alone." Cam and Hunter exchanged a grave look; neither of them had any desire to watch Kami destroy herself, but it was a last request from warrior to warrior and therefore a matter of honor. Before long, Cam nodded.

"We will stay." Kami inclined her head in acknowledgement and as before, her hand went into another pocket of her uniform.

"Don't worry," she said when she saw Cam's hand tightening on her sword.

She pulled a dark, metallic disk from her pocket and held it up for them to see. "This is a self-destruct device. On Zakaaria, only high-ranking officers are allowed to carry it and are expected to use it when capture or defeat is imminent." She lifted it to her chest, fitting it into what Cam suddenly realized was a round, shallow indentation in her uniform. It must have been incorporated into her armor for just that purpose. As soon as the disk was fit into the slot, a small yellow light appeared. It flickered for a moment, then turned red and Kami lifted her head at the exact same moment. The golden glow was back in her eyes.

"But I still mean what I've said before: If I can't have you, no one can!" And with that, she made a last desperate lunge at Cam, but Hunter launched into a ninja-streak at the same time and pulled Cam out of her path, dodging her clawing fingers by a hair's breadth. They came to a stop several yards away just in time to hear Kami's furious screech before the sound was abruptly cut off by an ear-splitting explosion.

The resulting shock wave promptly lifted them off their feet. Hunter was knocked flat on his back whereas Cam managed to get himself turned over in midair and hit the ground with his chest and a smack that must have forced all the air out of his lungs. For a moment the two young men lay dazed and motionless before they slowly pulled themselves up into sitting positions. As if on a silent cue, they looked towards where Kami had been just a moment ago, but there was nothing there now; nothing save a small pile of smoking something neither Cam nor Hunter had any intentions of approaching. Hunter blinked.

"She's gone," he said quietly. "It's over." Cam nodded slowly.

"Yeah…" Suddenly, the ground shook.

Hunter's head whipped around, a motion that was unintentionally copied by Cam.

"Whoa, what was that?" The Thunder ninja exclaimed. "An aftershock of the explosion do you think?" Cam pulled himself to his feet, a look of worry in his eyes.

"No, I don't think so. Felt more like an…" The ground rumbled again.

"…earthquake!" Hunter finished his partner's sentence as he staggered up himself, leaning on a boulder for support as another tremor ran through the earth.

"The molecular structure of the other-dimensional atmosphere is destabilizing," Cam cried through the clamor of the now constant rumbling all around them.

"Meaning?"

"The whole place's getting ready to implode on itself!" Cam whipped out the remote control from where he had tucked it into his jacket pocket. "High time to get out of here!"

"Can't argue with you there!" Hunter yelled, jumping back as a pile of boulders next to him became dislodged and came crashing down onto the ground. Cam held up the remote and could honestly say that he was never happier to see the grey and purple vortex appear almost immediately right above them. He motioned for Hunter to go first, then – with one last look back at the smoldering pile that used to be Kami – he leapt up and through the portal.

They landed on the ground with a hard thump and soft ouch from Hunter. Cam scrambled to his feet, literally dragging Hunter away from the now closing portal. He stood ready, just in case, but nothing came through and the portal closed and disappeared. He let out a long sigh and relaxed. Hunter slowly groaned his way to his feet and stood next to him, glancing down at the remote in his partner's hand.

"It's over?" Cam shook his head.

"Almost over. Do you mind?" He held up the remote and Hunter grinned as he got his meaning.

"Never." Cam gave him a tiny grin and threw the remote into the air. Hunter raised his hand and suddenly, lightning blasted from his finger tips and hit the remote, shattering it into a thousand pieces. As the fragments rained down on them, the samurai said,

"Now it's over." They stood there for a long moment and then Hunter clapped Cam gently on the shoulder.

"Come on, time to go home."

With that, they turned and made their way back through the forest into the direction of the Thunder Academy. And judging from the way Cam kept casting speculative glances at Hunter's shoulder, Hunter had no doubt that the first place they would end up at upon their arrival was back in the infirmary. For quite a while they walked in companionable silence, both occupied with their own thoughts on the events of the past few hours. They were about a mile from the Thunder Academy when Hunter slowed down his pace, a hand on Cam's shoulder indicating that he should do the same.

"Cam?" The halting tone of his voice made Cam cast him an inquisitive look, his eyebrows going up at the wary expression on Hunter's face. "What you said to Kami back there…" Hunter gave Cam a look from under lowered eyelashes. "Do you really think of me that way? As part of your family?" The almost timid inquiry made Cam grin and his gaze never wavered from Hunter's face.

"Yes, I do." The smile he received from Hunter at that could have easily powered Blue Bay Harbor for an entire day. Nevertheless, though, Hunter obviously felt the need to play devil's advocate.

"Your father might argue that point," he said, but Cam resolutely shook his head.

"I don't think so. I think he's come to realize how good we are for each other. And how much I…I love you." Hunter's reply was a hand in Cam's hair and his body pressing up against him with obvious intention of kissing the last bit of breath out of the samurai. And just to make sure Hunter wasn't changing his mind about this, Cam's head surged forward and upwards, capturing his partner's lips with an urgency that must have surprised the former Crimson Ranger - and surprised himself even more.

Epilogue – a few weeks later…

The small glade was quiet and out of the way. There was a small rock pool that had a tiny waterfall flowing gently down the rocks into the pool. The sounds of the water hitting the rocks filled the clearing with a soft tinkling sound that suited the surroundings perfectly. The water was sweet tasting and was always cold. The surrounding trees filled the small glade with sweet smells of fresh leaves and tiny flowers. The soft grass surrounding the pool was gentle and green, inviting even. Rock walls surrounded the small out of the way clearing, guaranteeing privacy for those who wanted it. And the two people that came to this small, quiet, serene clearing always appreciated the privacy.

The two men were lying on a blanket, the sun streaming through the leaves, water glistening off their bare bodies. They were lying in the sun, eyes closed, both breathing hard, their hands entwined and chests heaving. The tall blonde Ninja stirred after a long moment and opened his eyes.

"Mmmm. This is the one good thing that came out of this whole Kami mess." Cam turned to him, pushing himself up on one elbow and resting his head on his hand, absently tracing circles on Hunter's bare chest with his free hand.

"And that would be what?"

"You, me, here, like this, hopefully for the first time of many" Cam gave him a small smile that was just for Hunter. He pushed back a strand of damp hair off Hunter's face.

"I think something can be arranged." Hunter reached up and pulled Cam's face down to his, kissing his lips gently. After a moment they separated and Cam scooted closer, resting his head on Hunter's chest, wrapping his arm around his waist. Hunter had been surprised by how much Cam enjoyed feeling the touch of his hands and how he felt with Cam's hands on him. It had been a learning and loving experience for them both. But Hunter frowned slightly, a dark thought suddenly coming to him.

"Cam, what if these Zakaarians get suspicious after a while when Kami doesn't return and decide to come to Earth and look for her?" Hunter looked down at the top of Cam's head on his chest. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Which I hope will never be." Cam's voice was hard and determined and Hunter instinctively wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's bare torso. Cam continued to speak softly. "But no matter what, we'll stop them just as we stopped her. Nothing is ever going to come between us Hunter, nothing and no-one." Hunter just smiled and closed his eyes, lifting his face to the sun.

"Now I like the sound of that."

THE END