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CHANGING THE STARS
By Etcetera Kit
Chapter Six: Troubled Waters II
The sun was just peeking over the horizon. He closed his eyes reveling in the sensation of being completely relaxed—he hadn't felt this in… years. Life had gotten so hectic and he had felt so alone, but this was paradise. And he couldn't quite identify what it was about this, lying on a grassy bluff, watching the sun come up. This was normal for him. Going to a secluded beach to think had become the norm. Even she didn't know about that…
A sharp breeze blew, forcing his eyes open. He could feel the cool morning mist riding on that wind, but he could also feel… the wind. The air was wrapping him in a caress, more sensual than anything he had ever felt before. This was amazing. He wanted to strip off his clothing and feel that caress all over his skin. It was light and gentle, an exquisite sensation, more intense than sex, yet promising much more than an orgasm.
Sitting up, he took in his clothing—more than he normally wore since his day jobs were training whales and life-guarding. This was a uniform of some sort, made of black leather, but had yellow trim. However, he was not sure what the uniform was for… something. Maybe it had to do with his sudden affinity for the air. He had always been a water person, feeling like a fish out of the sea when he couldn't swim, but this air felt right. And he realized, he hadn't loved swimming, so much as diving. That plunge off a diving board or cliff, feeling the air rush around him for a precious few seconds until he hit water. Amazing…
The bluff he had been lying on looked down over a school. Or, at least, he thought it was a school. There was a large building that looked like it could hold students' and teachers' quarters, a library and a dining hall, enough classrooms for a place of this relatively small size. There was a practice field surrounded by a fence and banners, along with several gardens and a maze. God, he was reminded of his own boarding school days—he would have loved to go to a boarding school like this, but his father had sent him to the East Coast…
He let out a long breath, taking in the air and shutting his eyes briefly.
"Chad!"
His eyes opened at the sound of the voice. That was his name, but who was calling? The voice was male and sounded familiar, but he couldn't call up a face to go with it. Standing up, he brushed pieces of dead leaves and grass off his uniform.
"Chad!"
Another male voice joined the chorus. For some reason, he believed that the two men were his friends, but he couldn't explain how or why. He had close friends once, years ago, but it had been a long time since he had spoken to any of them, except her…
"Chad!" two female voices called. He had heard them calling together once before, but where? Why did he feel like he knew all of these people? And why did he feel like it had been too long since he had seen them.
He turned. Four people were coming out of the woods behind the bluff. His heart leapt into his throat. He knew them, but where? Certainly not from boarding school or either one of his jobs! But where then… he wished he could remember.
The tallest one, a man, had a shock of sandy blonde hair and clear blue eyes. And he wore a red shirt. That should have been significant, but he didn't know why. None of these people were wearing the uniform he was. The other man had a cowboy hat and chocolate brown skin. One either side of the men were two women. One was blonde with a pink shirt. The other had curly brown hair in a high ponytail.
Who were these people? Friends? That didn't seem enough…
He sat up in bed, abruptly leaving sleep and the dream. Bright sunlight streamed through his bedroom window and crossed the floor. A warm female body shifted beside him. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and ran his fingers through his disheveled hair. The dream didn't make much sense and he wasn't sure that he'd ever make sense of it.
Ethan looked up from his computer to see Sky walk into the library. Well, he wasn't walking, so much as he was stumbling. He had been checking to make sure all the connections on his computer were good—Cam had indicated some high-speed internet jacks in the floor under the table. Apparently, the library, the kitchen and the bathrooms (and Ninja Ops once it was restored) were the only rooms in the school building with full electricity.
Sky looked little better than death warmed over. His eyes were bloodshot, which meant he had probably broken down in his room upstairs, then hurriedly washed his face before he came down here. Ethan wasn't going to mention it—that had been the code of honor around the guys at the camps he had gone to, one didn't mention someone else's homesickness. Ethan, himself, never got homesick, because being at computer camp meant spending all day on a computer without his parents nagging him. But he had learned how to recognize the signs of it in someone else.
He did know that, by Sunday evening, he wanted to have enough research left in order for Sky to have something to do. Ethan knew that he could probably skip all his classes on Monday—physics, he could probably take the exam now and ace it. He also had his English roundtable and Calculus. And he could get away with both of those. Who knew, maybe Sky would be interested in coming to class with them?
"Sky?" Tori asked.
The other ranger waved off her concern and sank into a chair at the main table. The library had one long table down the center of the room. Ethan gave him a commiserating look as his computer brought up the connected network information. Scanning his buddy list, he saw that he was in luck—Doctor O was on line. He was probably entering grades or something.
Can you send me a copy of the Wild Force folder?
He typed the message quickly and sent it. The reply was almost instantaneous.
Sure. What's going on?
Long story. I'll explain soon.
Ethan clicked on the sent file and waited for it download. He was ready to bless Cam for his foresight in having high-speed internet installed in the school. "Doctor O's sending me the file on Wild Force," he announced. "If he's got any information on Princess Shayla or Animaria, it will be there."
"Doctor O?" Sky asked, looking up from the pen he had been toying with. In another stroke of ingenious foresight, Cam had trays with paperclips, white-out, pens and various and sundry other office supplies on the table.
"Tommy Oliver."
"Oh." The simple phrase said more than Ethan could have thought. Sky had obviously run into Doctor O before and had heard of him. But what person involved with ranger-powers, now or later, wouldn't know about the man? He was pretty much a legend.
"Welcome."
He looked up to see Kanoi Wantanabe, otherwise known as Sensei, walking into the library with Cam in tow. Cam immediately went to the large computer set-up in a corner and began typing furiously.
"Sensei," Tori said, standing up and embracing the man. She released him and motioned to himself and Sky. "You know Ethan."
"Yes," Kanoi said with a smile. "It has been too long. You have been well?"
"Yeah," Ethan replied with a grin. "Freshman year at college, can be brutal, so I guess everything's normal." He paused. "Oh, and thanks for letting us come here."
"You are welcome at any time."
"And this is Sky," Tori added.
Sky made a move to stand up, but Kanoi held up a hand, stopping his movement. "Welcome," he said simply, before moving to the table and taking the seat across from Ethan. "Tori, you've said that all of you have had dreams."
"Yes," Tori said quickly, taking her previous seat next to Kanoi. She quickly gave him the Cliff's Notes version of what their dreams had been. Ethan noted that she omitted mentioning that each of them had seen their closest friends or, in Sky and Tori's case, semi-girlfriend and boyfriend. That seemed like it had major significance, but not in terms of what the dreams were calling them to do. He had feeling it would be important before too much longer.
"The animals you have seen are most probably animal spirits of the earth," Kanoi said thoughtfully. "The ancient warriors of Animaria called on their protection and power."
"Did the ninjas?" Ethan asked.
"No. The ninjas relied on the elements for their power and protection." The ninja master paused. "Long ago, before the fall of ancient Animaria, the ninjas communed with the Faerie."
"Isn't there a legend that said the Faerie helped the ninjas keep the elemental balance?" Tori piped up, leaning forward on her forearms.
"The Faerie is not so much an entity or multiple beings as it is a spiritual force. The force allowed magic to enter the human realms. Because the ninjas communed with that force, the Faerie had gifted the ninjas with the protection of the moonlight, their fifth element."
"What happened?"
Kanoi looked distant and sad. "The fire ninjas began to leave the ninja orders. Once the ninjas lost the balance of the elements in their ranks, they also lost communication with the Faerie—and they lost the protection of the moonlight."
"So how does Animaria and the Faerie coincide?" Ethan questioned.
"I do not know for certain, but the ancient ninjas spoke of the animal spirits of the earth being manifestations of the Faerie. Ancient Animaria and ancient ninjas both called upon different aspects of the Faerie for their protection and power."
"That makes a little more sense," Ethan commented.
"Unfortunately, that is all I know." Kanoi motioned towards his son. "Cam is bringing up some of the legends, but I don't know how much they will tell you." He stood up. "But this school is open to you at all times, not just during this quest." He smiled. "You are all ninja, even if you do not realize it yet."
"Thanks," Ethan said sincerely.
"Sky," Kanoi said, looking at the forlorn ranger from the future. "May I speak with you for a moment?"
Ethan watched as Sky stood up and followed Kanoi out of the library. He met Tori's gaze. What was that all about?
"Sensei and Sky have been talking for a really long time," Tori commented as she and Ethan trooped out across the school grounds in search of Dustin. They had each brought enough clothing with them for an overnight trip and had changed into workout clothes. Tori had opted not to wear either her student uniform or teacher uniform. Both would indicate that she here in a capacity that she wasn't.
Cam had suggested that they begin rudimentary training with the elements from their dreams. Tori was already a water ninja and a teacher, but Ethan needed to begin training for an earth ninja. Dustin was supposedly on the grounds somewhere, but didn't have formal lessons scheduled until that afternoon. So, it was off to find Dustin and get him to begin training Ethan in the ways of the earth ninja. Ethan, for his part, seemed elated at this turn of events.
"Yeah," Ethan responded. "But Sensei's not stupid—he's probably figured out that Sky's not from this time and that he's really homesick."
"He also doesn't have his morpher, so he probably feels even more vulnerable," Tori added, craning her neck down the path of one of the gardens. The last time she and Ethan had seen either of them, they had been walking down a path in one of the gardens. Sensei was like a father to she and the rest of the Ninja Storm Rangers. Well, he actually was Cam's father… Right now, it seemed that Sky needed that kind of stability.
"That's not the only reason he'd feel vulnerable," Ethan muttered.
"Really?" Tori asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Come on, he pretty much has to rely on charity here, since he has no money that works in this time, his ID is no help, he's got pretty much no clothes… I'd feel really vulnerable."
"He must have had so much faith to do this."
"That doesn't stop anything he'd be feeling."
"True."
They continued on in silence until they passed a group of earth students. "Where's Dustin?" she asked them.
"He was near the maze," one of them answered.
"Maze?" Ethan asked.
"Helps with focus and relaxation," Tori explained. "The students like to walk it right before their classes and the teachers right after."
"Is there a Minotaur in the middle?"
"Very funny," she replied dryly. "Unless Dustin can be considered a Minotaur…"
The maze was situated between the old garden and one that the earth students tended to. The earth students' garden was overflowing with flowers and herbs, small bushes and small trees, like they wanted to put as much plant life in as possible. The paths wove in and out of the greenery and one had to constantly duck from the overhead foliage. The old garden was simple with flowing paths, stone benches, a fountain and a few flowers.
Dustin was sitting in the center of the maze. Most of the students would assume he was meditating, but Tori knew he was dozing, probably from a late Friday night and an early morning, from when Cam would have wanted him here.
"Dustin!" she called.
The earth ninja snapped to attention, scrambling to his feet. "Tori! Dude! You so didn't tell me that you were going to be here today!" He blinked and took in Ethan. "Hi Ethan… Dude, what are you doing here?"
"Long story," Ethan replied with a snort.
"Dude, we've got time!" Dustin said, motioning to some low benches situated just outside the last ring of the maze. He walked over the stones laid into the ground, not bothering to follow the maze again to get out.
Tori smirked as Ethan proceeded to give Dustin the extreme abbreviation of what had been going on and what had brought the former Dino Ranger here. "So, you, like, need me to train you?" Dustin asked at the end of the summary. Ethan nodded. "Cool!"
For someone who had become a ninja master—an earth ninja master, Dustin still refused to grow-up and adopt the finesse of other, older ninja masters. It worked well with his students, Tori reflected. They trusted their teacher without a doubt and took after his example of absolute trust in his friends and in his elemental powers.
"This is great!" Dustin was saying. "My second level class is meeting this afternoon for some serious help sessions. You can sit in on them." He paused. "And I can start showing you this basics before they show up, but, dude, we've got to grab lunch first, because I'm starving! Sensei's got, like, this awesome buffet set up on the weekends."
Trust any conversation with Dustin to end up at food. Tori shook her head as Ethan and Dustin headed off for the main building. Dustin was talking animatedly about training, while Ethan was asking equally as enthused questions. Literally, Ethan and Dustin were different sides of the same coin. Both had an enthusiasm for life and little things that far outstripped the rest of them and both had a deeply ingrained sense of trust. Ethan's was placed in technology and teachers, while Dustin's was placed with his friends, but, still, trust.
She glanced at the stone courtyard that had the maze etched into it. Tori placed herself at the starting point and began walking the twisted path. In a distant garden, one of the additions to the old garden, she could see Sky walking with Sensei. The other Blue Ranger appeared a good deal calmer from the distance, but she couldn't make out any expressions or hear what they were saying.
Instead, she let herself focus on her feet traveling the maze. The twisting and turning required concentration and allowed her to center and focus. Cam was printing out the information he had on the Faerie in the database and Tori had promised Ethan she'd thoroughly go through the Wild Force folder while he was training.
The pieces were starting to fall into place, but there were still gaps.
The Faerie… the life blood of the earth…
She turned her energy from the clouds and her sanctuary towards the earth. Cracks had begun to appear in the protective magic that the ancients had woven. The balance was off. Fire had fallen to the Shadow. No one sang to the moonlight. The five had to restore the balance and work together. Not only did they need to know their elements, they needed to know each other. They had to know each other better than themselves and that was not something that would come naturally to these souls. Each was hesitant of attachment, having had something near and dear ripped from them.
Tiger had fled in an attempt to ease his broken and bleeding heart. The woman he had loved had left him alone and, soon, all contact between them stopped. He willingly gave his ranger powers to another in a true act of altruism and, still, his friends slowly began to fall from his side. Other ranger powers were denied to him and, with the one being that had shown him kindness, he left. Now, he was alone, far from his home planet and drowning in his own grief. His heart, his soul-mate, had died. He knew that and the knowledge was killing him.
Wolf had experienced loss at too young an age. His father, the man he had admired, looked up to, imitated, torn from him by a rogue criminal. His mother had to work hard to make ends meet. His dream had been to follow in his father's footsteps and, even that, had been denied to him. He had the potential, but he still needed to learn and grow. One woman loved him from afar, but his heart was not ready to accept her love. Afraid of losing her as well, he pretended ignorance and went about his life. But he had faith… only that would have brought him to the others.
Bear had always been a loner, but he fiercely protected his friends, just as a bear protects its young. His two closest friends were not those he would have chosen for himself, but they loved him nonetheless. He had great faith in logic and science, convinced that each would come through for him in the end. He had grown in leaps and bounds, but he had to learn to open his heart to strangers, while being a rock for them to rely on.
Turtle knew and trusted her ninja and elemental powers. She loved her friends, life and nature. She was the most open and willing to listen. But her heart, her soul-mate, was the one that needed to be shown the path. He followed his mind, while she followed hers. Both had to come together eventually, but not now. That wait was making her impatient and antsy. She had to center herself and help the others flow with their elements and each other.
And Hawk… she did not know when his heart had gone astray. He had always had a natural affinity for the outdoors—the ocean and animals. After his time as a ranger ended, he went back to what he had always done, but he had been alone, bereft. When an old friend came to him, he went to her, willingly and did not understand why the ache was still constant. He needed the base of friendship before he could fully accept the love he was being offered. But he also needed to learn to soar and trust that his friends and his lover would be at his back, waiting for his return.
Shadows in the garden…
Fire had fallen to the Shadow, but Wolf understood all too well the shadow side of himself. He would know to embrace the shadows in himself before he could bring his spirit and the fire back to the Light. Moonlight was sleeping, dormant. Tiger had to learn to awaken the sleeping parts of himself, to feel again and to feel pain in order to awaken the moonlight and bring its protective balm back.
The other elements were in chaos without fire or moonlight. Bear, Turtle and Hawk would be able to control their elements. Trust was key. Once the five were in harmony with themselves, each other and their elements… their task would be easier. But that still did not prevent the long, arduous journey after that had been achieved.
The road was long and hard.
But the earth needed to heal before Darkness overtook the Shadow and evil reigned.
To be continued...
Author's Note: Moving right along here! Continued thanks to everyone for your support and comments. In many ways, you are the lifeblood behind these pieces getting completed in a timely fashion. So thank you, from the bottom of my heart!
"Faery Eyes -- Faery eyes cane truly be said to be windows of the soul, but it is our own souls they reflect back to us, mirrors of our inner state. This can be disquieting if we are not at ease within ourselves. Faery eyes can seem inhuman, for they are fathomless. Just as the sea is very cold at great depths, so faery eyes can seem cold as they gaze at you from the deepest mysteries of the universe. Yet their eyes can also reveal great wisdom, hilarity or sorrow -- and depths of compassion that are far beyond our mortal understanding." Brian Froud, "Good Faeries"
