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CHANGING THE STARS
By Etcetera Kit
Chapter Eight: Troubled Waters IV
The sun had set, taking with it the pleasant warmth of day. The breeze had grown colder and sharper, but that seemed all the more powerful to him. He was on the bluff from previously, lying on the grass, now cool and damp with dew. The wind blew again, covering him in it gentle embrace. He wanted to contemplate that interplay of air and water, the way the earth seemed like a cocoon to find sanctuary in. Sitting up, he glanced down at the school, taking in the feel of it at night. Lights gently glowed from the main building. Three students sat on the large front porch, sipping something from mugs.
He glanced down at his clothing, the uniform from earlier. Whatever the designation of yellow meant at the school, he was fairly certain that he belonged to their ranks. It was peaceful up here—and he felt more at ease than he had in a long time. Perhaps he truly did need to just pack up and move, go somewhere that no one would know him, start with a clean slate, a slate not smeared with childhood failed opportunities and ranger powers.
The night sky was navy blue and studded with stars, twinkling like diamonds. This was the perfect night for a moonlit stroll or walk on the beach. If he had actually lasted at law school, he could imagine building a bonfire on the sand and roasting marshmallows, laughing at the drunk people. For some reason, that felt like an activity the three students seated on the porch would enjoy. They were conversing, but were too far off for him to make out their conversation.
A screech pierced the stillness.
He frowned, his heart hammering a little more quickly than normal. That had sounded like it could belong to any variety of animal, but he wasn't sure. All his experience with animals had been aquatic animals, all trained to work with and obey humans. This sounded far too feral and wild to be something he'd encounter at Sea World.
A bird landed on the bluff next to him. It was fairly large, but not overly so with glossy brown feathers, each tinged a shade of blue. A hawk? The bird primly turned to face him.
Air ninja, it said, voice echoing into his mind. I am at your service
"What?"
The others have arrived—they wait for you.
"What others?"
Tiger, Wolf, Turtle and Bear.
He blinked, not comprehending what those animal designations meant. Who was he supposed to find and how was he going to find them with no names? His older brother might help him with that, but still.
"How do I find them?"
You already know. Go. They are waiting.
With that, the hawk took flight. He frowned, staring after the bird. What others needed his help? Did that explain these crazy dreams? Slowly, almost like incense, he felt another presence fill the bluff. It was not harmful or malign, just present. "Chad…" He was not afraid of this, like he would have been by a demon who wouldn't show itself.
"You sing to the air, Hawk. Can you bring it from chaos?"
"Chaos?"
"Yellow belonged to the air ninjas—it is yours now."
The presence began to fade. "Wait!" he called. "I don't understand."
"You do—I will be with you soon."
She faded—the presence had been female and vaguely familiar, yet foreign at the same time. He let out a long breath, feeling like he didn't need this on top of… everything else. But he wanted an adventure, he wanted an excuse to get away…
A branch crackled in the forest. He spun around, looking for the source of the noise. The people from his previous dream were there. He wasn't sure why he hadn't been able to place their names before, since he felt like he knew them so intimately. Their names burst into his memory as they stood before him—Carter, Joel, Dana and Kelsey… there was something about Kelsey, something he knew would come to him in waking, but that he could not remember at this particular moment.
"Good luck," Carter said seriously.
"We're always here for you, man," Joel added.
Dana walked forward and embraced him. He returned the hug, knowing that Dana was the most affectionate of the group. "We're your friends," she whispered. "We'll always love you." Her words warmed his heart. He had known that somewhere in the back of his mind, but hearing it made all the difference in the world. Dana released him and walked back to the others.
His dark eyes fell on Kelsey. Her gaze was guarded and a distant smile graced her lips. Love shone purely from that gaze, but… too much had happened. He stepped towards her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "We'll work this out," he whispered.
"I know," she replied.
They turned and faded as they stepped back into the forest. He turned and gazed down on the school once more. The trio was still sitting on the porch, laughing about something. Without memory, their names came to him. Sky was the one in gray sweatpants and a blue t-shirt. Tori was the girl, sitting next to him, wearing pajama pants with blue clouds or sheep on them. The other guy was Ethan, wearing blue plaid pajama pants.
His stare moved to the practice field. A lone man was lying on his back, arms and legs spread out as the moonlight shone on him. Billy… He was wearing a tank top and loose pants, both in a shade of blue.
"Chad!" one of the trio on the porch suddenly called.
He sat up quickly, scrubbing his hands over his face. All he knew was that he had to get to them and quickly.
Princess… it is done.
A smile floated over her features as the tiger and the hawk came to her. They had been successful in their missions to call Tiger and Hawk to the others. Their journeys would begin soon and each would join the others. In a short time, the five would be together. Turtle had already put some of the pieces together. She, herself, would add the rest of the pieces once they were all together at the ninja school.
"Good… call the others."
Yes, Princess.
The animal spirits went off to gather the other three—wolf, bear and turtle. Each of them had spent their time divided between the Animarium, awaiting more orders from her and at the ninja school, looking over the humans they were protecting. The spirits would return here and she would send them to their humans once and for all. The five needed that protection and assurance to begin training for their elements.
In a matter of moments, the five animal spirits were before her. The hawk had landed on one shoulder of the bear, while the turtle was born by the same animal. The five animals spirits were diverse, but represented five human dreamers. These animals knew the intimate wishes of their humans' hearts, wishes that the humans were not aware of.
"Stay with them," she commanded. "Protect them. I will join them soon."
Princess, they whispered, falling into a bow. She was still the princess of Animaria and one of the ancient warriors still walked the earth. He had his own path to follow now and he could not sense the unbalance, the chaos… he had to forgive himself before he could open up to the world and she could not help him. Their paths had permanently diverged. The animals would listen to her, she knew that, trusted their loyalty.
She watched as the animals took off to join their human dreamer.
And it was time for her to awaken and rejoin the Animarium from her waking state. The animal spirits responded to her as she slept, but she needed her full powers once the five came together, in order to help them and guide them.
She blinked. The sun was bright and eyes that had slept for years were not used to that intensity. Immediately, she squinted, the process of getting used to the light a slow one. She had fallen asleep in her hammock. Flower petals and leaves had fallen onto the stone courtyard in front of the old temple. The trees were changing colors, bending towards fall. In the distant fields, she could hear the animals playing and… living.
It always amazed her that, while she could sleep for centuries uninterrupted, she had no need of sleep once she awakened. That was a bonus. She would be able to appear to the five in their dreams, learning their hearts as most guards went down with sleep. Souls hesitant of attachment… she had known so many like that, but these five were unique in the task that had been set before them.
Blue… blue as the sea… blue skies…
The world… their world…
She stretched her arms over her head, feeling the joints protest and snap. Her fingers brushed a stone pillar and a vine. The foliage would sort itself out once her full power began to flow once again. Moving as quickly as her stiff body would allow her, she swung her feet to the stone floor, wiggling her toes and smoothing down her dress. The wrinkles would need to be washed out and her hair had become matted, the flowers smashed together.
Stretching again, she walked towards the temple where her few personal possessions were—a wooden comb, some scented oil… the other towels and linens had been left by the Wild Force Rangers when they gave up their powers. She was sure they all wondered about a missing pillow, favorite towel or old shirt from time to time, but gave up puzzling where it had gotten to. She would wash those articles and return them when she descended to earth, but that was still some time off. The five were not even together yet.
In the temple, she picked up her comb and the small vial of oil. Selecting a pale pink towel, she headed towards the lake. The process of picking the flower petals out of her long hair was tedious, but soon done as she ran the comb through her hair, detangling it and starting to resemble a princess rather than a wayward street girl. Her dress she washed and lay on the grass to dry.
Lying back on the shore of the lake, she stared at the blue sky.
Who was it shouted with joy when blue was born?
"William!"
Billy Cranston turned. The ship was nearly loaded—a few supplies and survival kit in case he crash-landed somewhere, his few personal possessions… He found it ironic that everything he held dear could be placed into a shoulder bag and the bag could be thrown around, nothing would break. Pictures, a few letters, some cheap trinkets that reminded him of better days, a paper fan that she had given out as a party favor at her ninth birthday… Really, the items were nothing of consequence to anyone else.
Aurico was striding past other ships in the loading bay, looking concerned. The Red Ranger had become a close friend and had remained the fighting force of Aquitar for all these years. For whatever reason, being around the Aquitarian rangers had not bothered him, but when Aurico brought him news of other rangers on Earth… that was when the old pain set in.
"You know where you are going?" he asked.
"Earth," Billy replied. "California. I'll land near Angel Grove and do the rest on foot."
"You are certain your destination is near?"
He let out a short, mournful laugh. "I'm not sure of anything."
Aurico gave him an appraising look. "You have great faith," he replied shortly. "I do not know anyone that trusts his instincts like you."
"Either that or I'm the world's biggest fool."
"There is a fine line between the Fool and the Magician," Aurico said gravely. "Travel lightly, my friend, for what you bring with you becomes part of the landscape."
It was an old journey blessing on Aquitar and he knew that he should have been flattered that Aurico was imparting it on him. But he couldn't stop himself from mulling over the implications of 'travel lightly.' He knew that he had been harboring deep feeling of resentment, couldn't quite bring himself to let go. There were times when he didn't think about old times and he felt lighter, more at ease. Going to Earth just brought all those feelings into sharper perspective. Cestria had said, once, that he hadn't allowed himself to feel angry or to mourn, since all those feelings made him feel guilty.
What he and Cestria had had ended years ago. Part of him felt vaguely bad for jumping on the chance to leave. Besides, Cestria had shown him all the feelings he had wanted from someone else. For a while, it felt like love. For a while, he felt like he'd be truly happy. He had been too naïve and Cestria ended their brief relationship. Sometimes, he felt like she knew him better than he would ever know himself.
"Can you tell Cestria that I said goodbye?" he asked softly.
Aurico nodded. "I will." He paused. "Do not leave here with burdens."
"Cestria and I made our peace years ago," Billy replied softly.
"Goodbye then, my friend," Aurico replied. "Travel lightly."
"And you."
The last of the supplies had been loaded and the cargo bay doors had been shut. Billy nodded towards his closest friend, getting into the pilot's seat of the ship. The computer had pre-set coordinates for Earth. He could manually override those at any time. He just hoped that Angel Grove was close enough to his final destination.
He hoped that he wasn't too late.
"You're going where?"
"I don't know… there, somewhere…" Chad Lee gestured vaguely towards an undefined area somewhere south of Mariner Bay. He looked between the knapsack on his bed and his open dresser drawers, not sure what to pack or even what he would need. Everything was so undefined and so elusive…
"Chad," Kelsey said, stepping towards him. "What's going on?"
What was going on? He had that very same question himself. Letting out a long breath, he wondered how his life had come to this, how he had ended up losing contact with all the other Lightspeed Rangers with the exception of Kelsey and how he could remotely explain any of this. He had two dreams—just two and he was convinced that he had to find four other people. There had been a lot of blue in the dreams and he had been attuned to the ancient elements, the air, and he had a yellow uniform. Now he was getting on a bus that was heading south, down the coast, passing through several small coast towns. He had a feeling that he would find what he was looking for in one of those places.
"It's hard to explain," he said slowly.
"Like, are the demons back?" Kelsey asked, looking genuinely confused.
Chad sighed as he began to stuff random articles of clothing into the knapsack. He cared about Kelsey, he really did, but he felt like he had to center himself and get his life back on track before he could truly let her in. He had dropped out of college after half a semester of pre-law undergraduate work. He hadn't been able to do it. Maybe if he had been allowed to major in Marine Biology like he had truly wanted to…
No, he took the trust fund money his grandfather had left him and moved to California, learning to work with whales. Now he was taking a random class or two to get back into the swing of college, so he could finally get his degree.
"I don't know," he said honestly.
"Is it about the rangers?"
That question had been pointless and both of them knew that. Kelsey seemed to see the others all the time—she and Dana did things together and, consequently, she saw Carter and Ryan. Joel stopped by occasionally with Angela, but he always seemed to be at work or class or… somewhere else. He hadn't seen or spoken to any of them in a long time.
"It might be," he replied evasively. "Look," he continued, adding a comb and some toothpaste to the bag. "I'll call you when I get there."
"Where?"
"I'll tell you when I get there."
That hurt look in her blue-gray eyes ate at his heart. He wanted to be able to tell her where he was going and what was going on, but he didn't know either. God, she had been there for him through hard times and… he did love her, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. Instead he went to work, class, hiding from the world…
"Chad?"
"Kelsey, I—"
"Don't say it. Just, be careful."
Her arms were crossed over her chest and she looked like she was fighting to keep her composure. He didn't blame her, but there was nothing more he could say. He just left, hoping he found what he was looking for before time ran out.
Sky sat on the porch outside the main building. The porch was long, wrapping around two sides of the building and housing various benches and chairs. This was the hang-out spot for the students, before and after classes. Sometimes classes met in a garden or teachers went there to talk. But it seemed that all the serious social activity happened on the porch. He had read somewhere a long time ago that society needed more porches—something about encouraging people to enjoy the outdoors and their neighbors.
He planted his feet on the floor, absently flipping open his lighter, striking it and extinguishing the flame—all in one fluid motion. If nothing else, he had gotten good at that in the week that he'd been at the academy. Well, less than a week… and the Wind Ninja Academy had begun to feel like home, more so than SPD ever did. He found that feeling strange and disconcerting. For so long he had aspired to SPD, but he had never considered it home. Home was his mother's house in the suburbs of Newtech City.
"Hot chocolate?"
Ethan was carefully walking along the porch, balancing two mugs of hot chocolate, one in each hand, and holding a bag of cookies under his chin. "Midnight snack?" Sky asked mildly, taking the bag of cookies and a mug so Ethan could sit down.
"It's not midnight," was the reply. "I believe Conner would have referred to this as a munchie run." Ethan shrugged. "But I never try to figure out Conner."
Sky smiled slightly, remembering Conner from his brief stint in 2025. The Red Dino Ranger had seemed level-headed, loyal to a fault, but also distinctly individual. It was clear that he and Ethan were close friends, but neither would admit to that. It reminded him of Bridge and himself. Bridge might have loudly professed their friendship, but Sky wouldn't have, just like he couldn't articulate anything regarding Syd.
"Why are you guys hiding on the porch?"
Tori came towards them, holding her own mug of hot chocolate and a bag of marshmallows. She perched on a low folding chair across from their bench. "What is it with you guys and the junk food?" Sky muttered.
"Don't talk to me about junk food," Tori said with a grin. "Talk to Dustin—he's the junk food master around here."
Sky let out a long breath. It was rare that he and the other SPD Rangers spent an evening together like this, just sitting around and talking. Granted, their schedules were sometimes unpredictable, but they had always been encouraged to function as a team, a unit, but never encouraged to become friends. He supposed that friendship was the natural outcome to getting to know another person, but he didn't believe that was absolute.
"By the way," Ethan said, elbowing Sky. "Nice bonfire this afternoon."
"Thanks," he said dryly.
"Yeah, I don't think Sensei was expecting that," Tori replied, smiling into her mug.
"He's the Human Torch!" Ethan ribbed.
Sky rolled his eyes. "Shut-up," he retorted. "I'm not the one that made a sculpture out of dirt and then named it."
"At least Mr. McFluggster had a sense of humor," Ethan replied delicately.
It was hard, being here and still not being sure what their purpose was. Sensei kept telling them to be patient, but patience never had been a strong suit of his, Sky reflected. Air and moonlight had to come. He hoped they'd arrive soon.
Until then, he'd enjoy the hot chocolate and the companionship.
To be continued...
