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CHANGING THE STARS
By Etcetera Kit
Chapter Three: Out of Time III
She was standing beside the waterfall at the Wind Ninja Academy. Beyond the waterfall, she knew, was the portal that led to the school grounds. However, she remained beside the water, letting the rhythm move through her, soothing her shot nerves and acting as a healing balm. Sensei had always said that one's element could be used to destroy, but also to heal. She was far from becoming a healer, but she could calm herself and her own mind. During midterm exams, that had made the difference between sanity and madness.
The sun peeked over the trees, casting a golden glow on the earth below. A fine mist hovered over the ground, waiting to be evaporated by the light and heat. The waterfall rushed into the lake below and the water rippled. She closed her eyes, letting her element move through her. Wind ninjas sang to a certain element and, when in tune with that element, could draw power from being around it. Her love of surfing and the ocean made sense the moment she enrolled and was declared as water. Instinctively, she had been drawn to the water.
She knelt beside the lake, hearing the creak of leather. One hand went to her abdomen as she glanced down. Her ninja uniform, and not the one she had worn as a teacher, but the one she had worn as a student. The leather smelt new and the blue was as bright as the day she had been given the uniform. It had been a long time since she donned her uniform. She was still a wind ninja—would be until she died—and would always be welcome at the academy, but she had been busy with school and work.
Cupping her hands, she drew a small amount of the clear, sparking liquid towards herself. It pooled in her hands, not dripping, like the water would have with a normal person. The water sang to her as she sang to the water. Like sings to like… Those had been Sensei's constant words throughout her early training.
But what was she doing here?
She had not come here since the beginning of the semester, right before she had to leave for Reefside—she had come to say goodbye and make plans to visit over Christmas break. Why would she be here now, without a purpose? Yes, Blue Bay Harbor was not far from Reefside—a weekend trip—but had she come here to be with the water? She could go to the beach or any numbers of lakes, creeks and fountains in Reefside. Water remained water, no matter where it was or what it did.
The water was so deep that, instead of appearing clear, it appeared blue.
"Tori!"
She raised her head, listening for the voice. It was familiar, but the name and face that went with it would not appear. She frowned. The owner of the voice was not a stranger, but she did not want to face the unknown.
"Tori!" The voice called again, this time a little more insistent and worried.
A breeze blew, cool and damp. She smiled. This was the perfect kind of breeze—refreshing but without the added burden of humidity. She stood up, feeling that light wind on her face, feeling the water and air intertwine to create harmony, beauty. Stronger as one… another one of Sensei's lessons. While each element was strong and unique in and of itself, the elements had to work together to create harmony and keep peace—keeping evil at bay.
"Tori."
The voice was soft and near. She turned away from the water, watching the figure walk slowly into the clearing around the lake. He was slightly shorter than her, but not so much that she dwarfed him. He was a smaller guy, but wearing the uniform of the Thunder Ninja Academy. He meant something to her—he was someone special.
She wished she could remember who.
"Sensei, it just doesn't make sense. Ethan's been having weird dreams about being a ninja and now I start having them and I've got a guy following me." She paused and shook her head. "I know I'm supposed to pay attention to my dreams, but I can't figure this out."
The Wind Ninja Academy was quiet on a weekday afternoon. Tori was glad that she had decided to ninja streak and get here quickly. Sensei had been meditating, but welcomed her interruption. So far, she had not seen the others—Shane, Dustin or Cam. The three were around somewhere, but she wanted to reveal the dreams without their inquiries. Well, Cam was the most perceptive and knew when things were related to something bigger or when paranoia had decided to strike.
Sensei looked thoughtful as they strolled down the path. "What does your heart tell you?" he asked simply.
"I don't know," she replied honestly.
"You say that Ethan also had dreams. What were his?"
"He was a ninja—in the woods somewhere—but his uniform was green." Tori wracked her memory, trying to recall the details Ethan had told her. "A bear talked to him and told him that the fire ninja—the wolf—was coming. He also saw Kira and Conner."
"The bear is an ancient spirit of the earth, as is the wolf." Sensei paused, sitting down on a bench in the garden and motioning her next to him. "Ninja history is long and much of it is fraught with strife."
"I know that," Tori said. She had attended to her ninja history studies.
"Do you know why we stopped training fire ninjas?"
"I didn't know there ever were fire ninjas."
"Fire ninjas are strong—but few and far between. However, their allegiance is not to the forces of Light or Darkness—their allegiance is to the Shadow. They are a balance point between light and dark, but they are bound to the codes in their own hearts." He let out a long breath. "Their honor is a personal honor and many left the ninja ways, listening to their hearts."
"Shouldn't everyone have a code in their heart?"
"Yes, but the codes change and grow. Fire ninjas, once realizing their code, remained fiercely loyal to it and did not change it. Most, not all, left." He paused. "Now fire ninjas are not trained or they band together in small groups—rogues, almost. Long before most ninjas remember, the colors were changed."
"What were they before?"
"Fire wore red, Earth had green, Blue belonged to water and Air donned yellow."
"So water never changed colors?"
"No. That is what makes water ninjas so solid and unshakable. Their loyalty and steadfastness is to be commended."
"But what does all this mean?"
"Tori, you said earlier that Ethan had two dreams, each different?"
"Yes."
"And you have only had one. I would suggest you welcome that dream and pay close attention to it. It could well tell you everything you need to know."
Tori stood up, smiling faintly. "Thank you, Sensei."
"You are a wind ninja—you and those you name friends are always welcome here."
"I know, Sensei."
She was back by the lake, but it was dark. Shivering, she tried to draw comfort from the nearness of the water. Never before had she been here after dark. The one time she had, she had been with Shane and Dustin. Their ninja training had taken place during the day, so that they could get back to the road and home safely before their parents started to wonder where they had been. Sensei had learned the fine arts of running a secret ninja academy with teen students long ago. However, this bothered her. Something was not right.
Taking a deep breath, she concentrated on the running water. The rhythmic night noises were soothing, as was the water. She let it run through her as she calmed her racing pulse and pounding heart. The leather of her uniform creaked like it had when it had been new. In the faint, silver moonlight, she could make out the blue trim. Sensei had said that water ninjas were the only ones to not change colors. That simple and seemingly insignificant fact was the basis for their strength, fluidity and loyalty.
Sitting down on the shore of the lake, she took off her shoes and socks, letting her feet rest in the water. There, she sang to the water and the depths became a protective embrace. If she felt threatened, she could retreat into the lake and nothing could harm her. That was something that forces of darkness knew—an elemental ninja needed to be taken from his or her element in order for destruction. Wind ninjas knew to always be near their element, in case someone tried to use it against them.
Something peered from underneath the water, just a head poking up, observing and retreating. Tori smiled. There were fish in this lake, but she had not run into any other creatures, though she presumed there were more. The small blue-green head came up once more, before the turtle hauled himself through the waters to the shore. He was a little guy and in the moonlight he appeared blue-green, more blue than green. She watched him—she hadn't known that there had been turtles in the lake.
The turtle was not evil—on the contrary, she got the feeling that he was her friend, her protector in a strange sense. He lumbered to her and settled by her side.
Water ninja, the turtle said in greeting, although he didn't articulate words.
"Turtle," she replied.
No, you're the Turtle. I am just your protector.
"What?"
You'll find out soon. The Wolf has arrived. The Bear is with you.
"The Wolf and the Bear?"
The fire ninja and the earth ninja. Air and moonlight will not come for some time.
"Moonlight?"
The fifth element of the Faerie.
"Are you of the Faerie?"
I am of the earth. Goodbye, Turtle, and good luck.
With that, the turtle heaved himself to his feet and lumbered back to the lake. He disappeared into the navy blue depths with a splash. Tori could have sworn that the splash was his form of a wave. The breeze picked up, blowing sharply. Tori shivered. Something foreign filled the night air. The presence was not harmful or dark—it was light, helpful. She wished that it would take a form.
"You will see my form soon enough. You are a water ninja, Turtle. You have mastered those elements. Help the others master theirs."
"The Wolf and the Bear?"
"Yes…"
Like a whisper on the breeze, she was gone.
Something rustled beyond the shore. She stood, standing the shallow water, keeping her element connected to her. The man, from before, moved out of the trees and towards her. She frowned and then smiled as his name came to her. Blake, he was Blake. But what was he doing here? He was supposed to be on tour with Factory Blue. Besides, they hadn't even decided if they were actually dating yet, a key reason she never referred to him as her boyfriend.
"We'll talk when your task is over," he said softly.
"What?"
"I care about you, always remember that."
"Blake!"
But he had retreated into the woods and she did not want to leave the water, not with the strange forces gathered here tonight. Blake was gone, but two more figures began to move into sight. Ethan was one of them, wearing a green uniform, identical to the ones that Shane and Dustin had worn. There was another guy with him, wearing a student air uniform—but he was not air, he was fire. Her stalker… Sky… his name came to her, even though she knew she did not know his name.
"Tori," Ethan said, taking a step forward.
Without thinking, she turned and dived into the water. Ordinarily, she could filter oxygen from the water so she could breath, but the further down she went, the more the water filled her lungs instead. She could not breath, her lungs burning. Why was she drowning? Water was her element and her protector! Unity…
Strong hands grabbed her arms and dragged her to the surface. She coughed, sputtering and wrapped her arms around her rescuer's neck. At the last moment, she realized that it was Sky. As a fire ninja, it must have been against every instinct in his body to jump into a lake, but he did it anyways. He dragged her to the shore, collapsing next to her. He needed to be around fire to recuperate from being in the water, but she had no source of fire.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he said softly, as Ethan joined them on the shore.
"I know that now."
"We all need to meet outside a dream," Ethan added.
"Will you two remember this?"
Sky shook his head. "No. I've been tracking you and Ethan because something told me that you were the ones I needed to be with."
"I have to initiate this?"
"No one is going to be hard to convince—I'll know you."
Tori buried her head in her arms, willing herself to stay awake for the last few minutes of her English roundtable seminar. It was Friday and her last class—she should have been awake and raring to go for the weekend. But the dream last night had drained her. She had woken up close to four in the morning and hadn't been able to get back to sleep. The wee hours of the morning had been spent thinking of ways to get Ethan and Sky together and how the three of them were going to figure out what was going on, what was calling them?
"Miss Hanson, what do you think?"
She snapped to attention. "What?"
"Plant imagery in Macbeth?"
"Oh… uh… I—"
"I suggest you come to class a little more prepared," the professor snapped, calling on someone else. Tori frowned, feeling frustration. She had read the play and taken copious notes over it. The professor knew that she was studious—was she not allowed to have a day where she was distracted?
The professor ended class and she gathered her books, darting from the classroom. Ethan was getting together with some of his geek friends—Angela and her bunch. He had gone to the prom with Angela, but the pair wasn't dating, they were just good friends. He had invited her to go along with them, but she had been indecisive. Glancing at her watch, she quickly calculated the time. They would already be at the cyberspace café.
She started down the hall, but hadn't taken one step before she plowed into someone. "Sorry!" she apologized, watching her books scatter across the hall.
Then she took in who she had run into. "It's all right," he said quickly, moving to pick up the books and papers. Tori bit back a hysterical laugh. The guy was tall, built without being overly so—the dark blonde spiked hair, blue eyes… her stalker, Sky…
"Sky?" she asked.
He looked up, a smile on his face. "Yeah. Tori, right?"
She had been so intent on confronting him someplace public that she nearly couldn't comprehend that he was here, in front of her. With a slightly hysterical giggle, she sank down onto the floor. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Sky had gathered all her things together and crouched on the floor next to her, looking concerned.
"Tori?" he asked tentatively.
"I'm sorry," she replied. "I know who you are and what you are, but I still don't really know who you are—if that makes any sense."
He nodded, looking thoughtful. "I'm Sky… Tate." He added the last name as an afterthought. "I'm not from around here."
"Where are you from?"
"The future." She laughed. "No, I'm serious," he protested. "Have you ever heard of an organization called Space Patrol Delta?"
"I think so. They're the one working on the interplanetary immigration laws."
"Yeah. I'm their Blue Ranger in 2025."
Tori shook her head. "So many weird things have been happening that I'm not even going to question that. I'm just going to believe you."
"What are we supposed to do?" Sky asked softly, his blue eyes reflecting worry and uncertainty. "Right now, I'm pretty much considered a time criminal. I can be forcibly brought back to my time and locked up."
"We're all ninjas," Tori replied. "And we all have an animal spirit and an element. I don't know what's going on—only that we all must have been called together for a purpose." She looked down, seeing the speckled tile and not seeing it. They had all been called together for a singular purpose. But none of them knew that purpose, at least, not yet.
Sky gently touched her arm. His fingertips were warm, as if his skin wanted the contact with his element, but was lacking. Tori met his gaze, startled for a moment by his eyes. They weren't a striking shade of blue—not electric, cornflower or navy. There was a liberal amount of gray, making the blue light, but piercing and intense. He didn't seem like the type of guy to carry around a lighter—from the khaki pants to the neatly tucked in shirt, she would assume he didn't have a need for a lighter, as he looked like he would never be caught smoking.
"How did you find me?" she asked.
He looked thoughtful for a moment. "You were in Blue Bay Harbor for a weekend. I saw you at Storm Chargers. I had gotten there the night before."
"That was nearly three weeks ago!" She paused. "I only realized that you were following me about a week ago."
"I was getting tired, careless."
Tori stared at him in a renewed light. He had a pinched, slightly unhealthy look about him, like someone who had either not had much food and sleep for a long period or someone who had just gone through a growth spurt. With Sky, she was going to bet on the former. Dark circles ringed his eyes and those same, beautiful eyes were bloodshot. Although, despite all the evident exhaustion and hunger, he appeared clean, like he had bathed regularly. She wondered how he had accomplished that or if he was just used to sponge-bathing in public restrooms.
His stomach let out a mournful growl. Tori smiled, in spite of herself.
"Food's been kind of scarce," Sky said reluctantly. "I've had to ration the stuff I brought with me. Money from 2025 isn't exactly worth anything here." He paused. "Although I have discovered that the change will work in the vending machines."
"Come on," Tori said, standing up and taking her books from him. "The cafeteria on this campus is pretty good. You can use my meals—I've got a ton."
He got to his feet, slowly, as if he had been having frequent dizzy spells. Of course, Tori knew that she got dizzy when she didn't eat properly—Sky was probably experiencing something similar. He adjusted a navy blue backpack on his shoulders. Tori blinked, not having realized that he had a backpack before.
They walked to the cafeteria in silence. Tori gave Sky a sidelong glance. Something told her that he had been so intent on finding them and surviving that his actual situation hadn't really dawned on him yet. She said as much to him.
"I'll probably have an anxiety attack later tonight," he replied. His tone was serious. Tori wondered if he often panicked about things. Then again, if she was in his situation, she would have panicked a long time ago.
Getting into the cafeteria was no problem. The guy who ran the register was used to people borrowing meals from their friends or students using their meals on visiting family members. Sky ate with gusto, although she noticed all the choices were insanely healthy—must be something of a health-food nut. Tori took care of herself, but didn't obsess.
"Ethan's at the cyber café," she said. "We can catch him there."
Sky nodded. "We all need to talk."
"I just hope we're not too late."
To be continued...
Author's Note: More amazing feedback, I can only say THANK YOU! You guys are awesome! Stay tuned...
