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CHANGING THE STARS

By Etcetera Kit

Chapter Five: Troubled Waters I

Three of the five had come together. In sleep, a smile drifted over her face as their image came to her. One was sleeping on his stomach, stretched out on a bed. His long, elegant fingers curled around a pillow and his lips were slightly parted as he let out an intermittent sigh. For a human man, he was beautiful. The female was dozing, her back against the flimsy arm of an equally as flimsy chair. Her hand curled around the wrist of the one in the bed, her blonde hair spilling over her face. The third was another male, his head resting on the bed. One arm was extended and rested on the leg of other male.

Yes—these three would form the base for what was needed. Each one's element was grounded in the literal. Fire, water and earth were visual and concrete. Their animal spirits sang to their element and balanced them. The three were young, however, and did not have the experience. Yes, each had wielded ranger powers, but none had faced this. Lothor, Mesogog, Emperor Gruumm… those three were nothing compared to the true threat, a threat so inherent to the Earth that no one save for a select few could sense it.

The ancient warriors of Animaria had known of the threat, but the ninjas had always been there, communing with the Faerie and there had been no reason to assume that fragile connection would be lost. Instead of keeping a watchful eye and ear, the warriors concentrated their efforts on the Master Org. In that same process, they destroyed their world, saving only the animal spirits of the Earth. Only two from that time remained… she and one other. The ancient ninja masters watched over the elements and the Faerie, while the guardians of the Earth were preoccupied.

Now, the ninja students evolved with the times, until the stories of the Faerie became nothing more than myths along with the tales of ancient Animaria. The ninjas eventually stopped training those whose spirits sang to the fire. In that moment, the balance between the elements shattered. Without proper training, the fire ninjas went rogue and used their power in ways they saw fit. Some remained aligned with the Light, while other fell to the Darkness. Most dwelt in the Shadow, aligned with either Lightness or Darkness depending on the situation. The fire powers became warped and a myth, like the Faerie and Animaria.

There was still a chance to restore the balance. The three represented some of that chance. Each of the five had to intricately learn his or her element. Each had to know all the properties and uses and manipulations. Each had to know how the element reacted and interacted with the others. Each had to know where the element hid in landscapes where the element was not obvious. Each had to know how the five made a whole, how that whole could heal the Earth.

Two others were still out there. She sent out a tentative signal. One was on a planet far from Earth, aimless and wandering, feeling forsaken by friends and lovers alike. The other was closer to the three than was known, lost and alone, finding fleeting comfort in the arms of a friend. Both had spirits that sang to an animal spirit and an element. They needed to be called together, like the three that had been called.

Hawk, she called silently. Tiger…

The hawk, like many winged lords of the sky, sang to the air. That element gave them flight and majesty and the hawk was no different than many others. The bird was also fiercely connected to the forthcoming air ninja. That one needed to learn to fly, to be fierce and strong, to become a warrior once more and fight for what was right. The hawk would help.

The tiger was not the first animal spirit for the moonlight wanderer. The ninja had animal spirits before, but never the tiger. The tiger was like most large, predatory cats, sleek and graceful, devastatingly feline and beautiful, but powerful and deadly. Momentarily forsaken by all, this one needed to use beauty and power, already there, but also to learn about connections and family.

Princess, the animals answered.

Go to them. Bring them together.

Yes, Princess.

In a single moment, she felt them leave. The hawk descended for the Earth below, while the tiger was propelled upwards and through space.

They would succeed and the others would come.

They had to…


The sky was still that pre-dawn stone gray. He took a deep breath, watching the sky intently. The sliver of a crescent moon was still visible, but the stars had faded. Soon, the sun would rise and burn off the lingering signs of night. For some reason, that tugged at his heart in a way that he couldn't identify. He wanted the night to remain, so he could bath in the silver moonlight and drink in the energy that it offered.

Moving, he spread his arms, trying to capture the last of the fading beams. That light was sensual and not in the cliché, harlequin novel sense. He could feel that light on his skin, feel the power and the warm caress that was offered. It was like being in a warm bath and letting the water wash over him.

He lowered his arms, feeling the fading energy. For some reason, it had not occurred to him until now to inspect his surroundings. He was in a field—a practice field of some kind. There was a raised dais to one side, for demonstrations, he supposed. Colored flags and a fence enclosed the field. Each flag was red, yellow or blue and emblazoned with the same emblem. What the symbol was for, he didn't know. However, the field was devoid of life. He had never been in a training facility like this, but he knew that people got up before dawn to train.

Leather creaked as he turned. Looking down, he saw that he was wearing, well, a uniform he supposed. It was made of black leather, but the trim was white. He had no clue what the uniform was for and equally less of a clue what his affinity for the moonlight meant. A sharp breeze rustled the trees around the field. The sky had turned a light blue. He frowned, wondering what that meant. He had been a Blue Ranger… had been… and he had chosen to walk away from that path a long time ago.

The moon was still visible. That power was fading, but he could feel it trying to impart its way onto him until the next night. Like he had to store the connection and power during the day, when the moonlight power faded.

Moonlight… Gods, what was going on?

This was a dream—he knew that. He also knew that, unless something or someone jolted him from sleep, he was going to remain here for a while. However, this dream seemed a little too choreographed and planned for his liking. It made him uneasy. He hadn't spent years as a ranger to have his instincts reduced to nothing.

"Billy!"

He froze. That was his name, but it had been years since anyone called him by that. On Aquitar, he was known as William or just Will. No one used his childhood nickname—he had been trying to escape from so much, that shedding the name and Earth identity seemed as good as anything else, including the Aquitarian mead.

"Billy!"

He knew that voice, but could not place it. The voice was female and belonged to someone who he had loved once. The tone was from a distant, hazy past and he could remember snippets of conversation, but not the face that belonged with the voice.

"Billy."

Turning, he saw a female figure entering the practice field through one of the gates. She was tall and slender, with Asian features. Her black hair was loose, but had been brushed back from her face. A horrible cramping clenched his stomach. This was not right. He could not quite place who she was, but this was wrong. She should not be here, not in this world or any of the others. She was gone…

"No," he whispered, taking a step back.

Trust, another voice said, but he felt like that information was strictly internal. A disembodied voice… Gods, he was going mad!

"No!"

With a jolt, he yanked himself from sleep and fell out of bed. Sitting up, he scrubbed his hands over his face and through his hair. Perhaps he was, finally, going crazy.


"Must be a special training session," Tori muttered as she guided her van into a free space in the dirt parking lot.

Sky looked around aimlessly. A lot of cars were parked here, but there did not appear to be a building or grounds that the students would walk to. Well, Bridge had said that the Wind Ninja Academy was a secret school. Or more, their enrollment and location was a secret. The teachers came out and did seminars at SPD. God, Bridge… the first ninja martial arts seminar he had ever attended had been right after Bridge enrolled at SPD. The Green Ranger spent the whole seminar confused out of his mind and Sky hissed instructions out of the corner of his mouth for three hours on a Saturday morning.

It had been three weeks since he left his time. Unless he managed to get back within minutes of leaving, all sorts of warrants and alerts had been sent out on him. Since he was now a time criminal, SPD would have contacted the Silver Guardians, who, in turn, would have gotten in touch with Time Force. "Time fugitive" was a wanted criminal that escaped through time. "Time criminal" was a person whose only crime was jumping around the time-line. Time Force could forcibly return him to his proper time, where he was certain to be dismissed from SPD and spend the rest of his life in a cell or containment card.

And Bridge… Bridge would be implicated for "aiding and abetting." At the least, he would be dismissed from SPD. At the worst, he'd be serving time. Although, knowing Cruger, he'd probably just allow Bridge to resign, but still… he didn't want to think that he had forced his friend to do something so… stupid.

He wondered if Bridge would actually get that message to his mother and Syd. His mother would understand—understand the sense of duty and honor that was deeply ingrained in him and understand his need to go where he was needed. Syd would be the puzzled one. He hadn't even worked up the nerve to ask her on a date and, yet, he had asked Bridge to relay his undying love for her. Did he even love her?

Well, she had been in his dreams…

"Sucks to be a student," Ethan responded to Tori's statement.

"You pretty much are a student now," she retorted.

"Whatever," the Dino Ranger brushed off her comment. "Do I get a uniform?"

Tori rolled her eyes, a smile tugging at her lips as she killed the engine of the van and released her seatbelt. Sky released his own seatbelt, opening the passenger door and jumping out. Ethan pushed his backpack out. He caught it easily. Ethan hopped out, dragging a laptop case and a backpack. Tori's laptop case apparently was her backpack. Sky wasn't entirely sure what all the laptops were for, but, since it was Saturday, and the pair had made noises about doing research on Animaria and the Faerie, he wasn't questioning it.

She locked the van and motioned for them to follow her down a path. "So," Sky started, confused, in that, there didn't appear to be a path, just a route that Tori knew by heart. "Where is the school?"

"In the woods," Tori replied simply.

"We know that," Ethan said, picking up the thread of conversation, "but where in the woods? It doesn't look like a school is forthcoming to me."

"It's not where just anyone can find it," the Wind Ranger said.

"Then how are we going to find it?"

"You're my friends," Tori said softly. "All wind ninjas and those they name friends are welcome here."

Sky frowned as he trailed behind Tori and Ethan through the woods. Tori named him a friend? He didn't know her. Well, he sort of knew her from the dreams and that strange sense that told him she was the one he needed to follow. He had been following her and Ethan for three weeks, but had only started speaking to them in reality last night! That didn't seem enough time for anyone to consider him a friend.

Not like the others… the ones he left in 2025.

Bridge was his best friend—had been since he enrolled at SPD and they had been assigned as roommates. The Green Ranger had relied on his psychic powers at first and Sky knew that the original reasons for their roommate status had nothing to do with civilian powers. It was because Sky was relatively stable with his emotions, more so than other cadets his age. Most seventeen-year olds were still spastic, but he wasn't. Bridge, then fourteen, had been able to cope with his emotions more than the other cadets.

And Syd… she had been there before Bridge, but hadn't been on the same level as Sky. In fact, she hadn't reached A-Level training until just before they were made rangers. Being assigned to B-Squad together had been what jump-started their friendship and, even then, he'd venture to guess that they didn't become friends until after being made rangers. His feelings had grown in leaps and bounds, but he'd been loathed to admit it.

Then Z… and even Jack… they were his friends as well.

But Tori was claiming him as a friend this soon? Part of him was shocked, but the other part was pleased that she trusted him. Ethan had been hung up on the mere fact that they were going to the Wind Ninja Academy and that they might be given ninja training.

God, what was he even doing here?

The unmarked path through the woods soon opened up into a clearing. A waterfall rushed into a small pool and he could make out a creek running out of the lake. All right, there was still no school here.

"The portal's over the lake," Tori said.

Sky blinked. He didn't want to run the risk of sounding more inane, but he didn't see how they were going to get to the portal unless they swam. Oh, he was a more than capable swimmer from his SPD training, but the idea of going into water for something other than a shower had become, well, not the greatest feeling. Perhaps it was that fire was his element from the dreams or the fact that he didn't have an affinity for the water, but he still didn't want to swim.

"Give me your hands," she said softly.

Once she was holding his hand and Ethan's, he felt strangely light and floating. Tori led them out onto the water—walking on the surface of the water, instead of falling beneath it. He didn't ask how Tori was doing this. Before he knew it, they had walked through a portal and solid ground was under their feet. The bluff overlooked a school grounds.

The practice field below was identical to the practice field he had seen in his dreams. Had they all been called to this place for a reason?

They walked in silence to the main building. Sky assumed they'd get a grand tour of the grounds later, because there appeared to be a series of gardens and at least one maze, practice fields and training courses… more complex than SPD and more attuned to developing the spiritual as well as combat skills.

"Cam!" Tori called.

A man with Asian features, wearing a black ninja uniform trimmed in green stopped and nodded in acknowledgement. "Tori," he replied as they approached him. "Dad's had the south guestroom ready."

Sky didn't need to be told that the guestroom was for him, a place for him to stay since he was the one displaced on the timeline. He was the one alone…

"He'll meet you all in the library once you've settled in."

With that, Cam walked away, towards a group of students sitting under a tree. Tori moved towards the building. Sky tried to see what the students were doing, but had to follow Tori. The main entrance to the school building was impressive. High ceiling with a sun roof and a fountain and basic landscaping… more like a ritzy office building than a school. A balcony ran around, showing off the upper floors.

"This a hotel or a school?" Ethan asked.

Tori glared at him. "Library's over there," she said, motioning to a set of open double-doors on the right. "Ethan, can you start setting this stuff up while I show Sky to his room?"

The Dino Ranger nodded and wandered off towards the library. Sky was silent as Tori began some spiel about the guestrooms. All he caught was, "private bathrooms" and "service projects." Apparently, the students kept the rooms clean with fresh linens. Part of their learning to be humble and empathetic… His stomach didn't feel right and it was churning now. Tori led him to a large room. His heart stopped for a moment—the room was identical to the room in his dream. The same bed, curtains… even the candles…

"There's electricity in the bathroom," Tori said. "But Sensei wants the rooms to be less distracting."

"Oh."

"You know the way back to the library?"

He nodded.

"Meet us there in a little bit."

He nodded again, watching as she shut the door behind her. As if in a trance, he put his backpack on the bed and unzipped it, going through the few things he had brought with him. His morpher was back in 2025, as it had been the power source for the time machine. He had a change of clothing, his sleep-clothes, some toothpaste, his toothbrush and a comb. He also had his ID (which was no good here as, in this time, he was barely a year old) and some money. Ethan probably had more accessories for his laptop.

With a long sigh, he flopped face-first onto his bed, unable to identify the burning sensation in his chest.


Tori gently shut the door to Sky's room behind her, moving towards the staircase. He looked so lost this morning and… she let out a long breath, not able to articulate that strange longing in his eyes and his lethargic questions and movements. Her phone call to Sensei last night had been brief. She said she had a friend who needed a place to stay. Cam had relayed most of the information on the dreams, however, she hadn't yet told either Sensei or Cam the truth about Sky, his displacement in time…

Ethan was unrolling cords and hooking up cables when she got back to the library. "Is he okay?" the former Dino Ranger asked without preamble.

"I don't know," Tori replied.

"Tori," Ethan said seriously, looking up from his computer work. "He's homesick."

"What?"

He gave her a bored look. "I used to go to camp all the time as a kid—even the oldest kids at the camps still got homesick." He paused. "He's got all the signs of it—being quiet, talking quietly because any louder and he'll start crying…"

Tori blinked. "You went to camp?"

"Computer camp," Ethan replied. "But, seriously, think about it. He's twenty years in the past—he's got to be missing someone!"

"Yeah and he's also a time criminal."

"I don't know him well, but that's got to be freaking him out."

Tori shook her head. "I wish we could do something."

"We can—by figuring out what's going on and giving him something to do when we have to go back to class on Monday."

"Ethan James, I didn't know you were so perceptive."

Ethan tapped his temple. "Geek—I've spent a lot of time watching people."

She grinned and sat down at the table with him. "So what's first on the list of figuring out what all these dreams mean?"

"Once I get the Internet set up here, I'm messaging Doctor O. He should be able to upload all information he has on Princess Shayla, Animaria and the Wild Force Rangers to my computer." He paused again. "Then it's up to Sensei Wantanabe to fix us up with information or a place to look on the Faerie."

Tori let out a long breath. "We're still a long way from having anything."

"We're doing better than when we started."

"True."

They fell silent as Ethan continued tinkering with his laptop. Walls of scrolls and books lined the library and Cam had a database with all the information. She hoped that something would surface… and that was increasingly seeming like they'd be working against all odds before something dire happened.

To be continued...


Author's Note: Y'all, I apologize for not replying to anyone's reviews yet! But thank you so much for reviewing and leaving such great feedback. As before, please PM if you want to get directly in touch with me! You guys are great!

"Expression Faery -- This faery helps in modes of expression such as dance and body posture, and with skills such as cooking, writing, acting, drawing and making love." - Brian Froud's "Good Faeries"