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CHANGING THE STARS

By Etcetera Kit

Chapter Ten: Searching Starlight II

The world whipped past as he leaned his head against the window of the bus. Everything seemed so peaceful and surreal, going by so fast. He didn't have time to analyze the bad things—the things that made him think that life was one cruel joke. Sometimes, sitting at the edge of the pool or on the stand at the beach, the world just looked so beautiful… he couldn't reconcile his ideas of the world anymore than he could reconcile the shattered pieces of his life.

Shattered… like a mirror… His father pulled him in one direction, while his older brother urged him to go to law school and join his firm. Being a ranger and his friends from that time tugged him in another and Kelsey… no, she didn't demand anything from him, except that he offer reasons and be rational. Not that she was over-rational at times. A faint smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. He just wanted… what did he want? He wanted to go on a boat trip to the Caribbean and go scuba-diving to see the fish.

Chad closed his eyes, feeling the vibrating window and the bumping bus.

It wasn't that things hadn't worked out quite like he wanted. In the end, he had done what he had wanted, even if it meant an awful, gnawing feeling about not speaking to his father any more. Perhaps… he wanted to think that his family would lend an ear to listen when he explained what he truly wanted to do. Listening… that was an activity that he seemed to do well. He never asserted himself, just watched others and life go on. Dana had once told him that he was really empathetic and in touch with himself. Sometimes he wondered about that…

God Dana… the others…

The first time in his life he had felt really happy had been as a ranger at Lightspeed. He had actually been doing something for others. Sure, working at the water park and doing tricks with the whales had given him a fleeting sense of appreciation and acknowledgement, but to save people from demons? That had been exhilarating. There was something about knowing that the people in Mariner Bay depended on him that made him feel… he couldn't quite pin down a word for it. Courageous? Appreciated?

He grinned, remembering when he had tried to show Kelsey tai bo—his grandfather had set up trust funds for him and his brother. Before his death, his grandfather had told them to use the money on what they wanted when they turned eighteen. After dropping out of college, he had used some of the money to support himself for a little bit while studying tai bo and traveling. That had been a good time—doing what he wanted, when he wanted.

The bus ground to a halt, the brakes hissing.

Chad picked up his backpack, slinging it on one shoulder and leaving the bus. The driver was smiling and thanking all of them. He vaguely returned the smile, stepping off the bus into a light rain. Skies were gray and the rain pattered over the metal roof of the bus stop. He looked around. Life seemed to have slowed down to compensate for the weather. Glancing around, he searched for a map or sign to tell him where he was, why he had just gotten off the bus.

A large sign over the ticket kiosk read, 'Welcome to Blue Bay Harbor.'

Blue Bay Harbor? That was ironic. He adjusted his backpack on his shoulder, moving towards a large street map of the town. The place wasn't very large as a beach was marked along with a forest and "downtown." He thought for a moment—the forest would probably be his best bet as most of his dreams had taken place on a bluff with a forest behind him. The others and the hawk had come out of the forest, hadn't they?

Slipping his other arm into his backpack and wishing he had brought an umbrella or a poncho, he stepped out of the bus station and into the rain. The streets, like the station, were moving slowly, devoid of the bustling of a city. This place seemed small enough to fall into the rhythm that the weather set.

Going down what must have been a main street, he passed a bakery, a handful of restaurants and a shop called "Storm Chargers." There had been a little sandwich shop in Mariner Bay that he and the others frequented—Delectable's. It brought back memories of Friday afternoons away from training where they could just be friends, not rangers. There was always a vague, subconscious thought that the demons might decide to attack and they had interrupted a few lunches, but, for the most part, all he remembered was laughing and having fun. Joel always told jokes and flirted with their waitress, while Carter would roll his eyes and shoot Dana looks when he thought no one else was paying attention. Chad had always had to make sure Kelsey didn't knock anything over.

Two guys were sitting on a bench, under the overhang at Storm Chargers. One was wearing a yellow t-shirt, while the other had on a maroon shirt. They weren't doing anything, just watching the rain. Both looked up as he passed and the yellow shirt guy waved. He returned the wave, continuing to trudge forward.

"Hey man! Where you headed?"

Chad turned back. The yellow shirt guy had stood up and was looking at him expectantly. How to answer where he was headed? He wasn't even sure of that. "I'm not entirely sure," he replied.

"Maybe I can help," the guy offered enthusiastically. "I know this town like the back of my hand!" His companion just rolled his eyes.

Chad almost had to laugh—they just assumed that he was lost. "Thanks," he called. "But I'll find it eventually."

"Can we drop you off somewhere? I mean, with the rain and all…"

He walked over to them. "I appreciate the offer…"

"Really, it's no big deal! Hunter's truck is just around back!" The guy in the yellow shirt slapped his companion on the back. Hunter looked less than pleased at his truck being offered up, but wasn't vocalizing anything. "What are you looking for?"

There was no escaping this guy. "I think it's a school."

"Well, there's Blue Bay Harbor High School a couple blocks from here." He paused. "Then there're the junior highs and elementary schools…"

"It's more like a boarding school."

The two guys looked truly stumped. "There's not a boarding school around here, man," Hunter said. "There's a magnet school for the arts just outside town."

"Wooded area? There's a practice field. I think it might be a martial arts place."

"Dude… are you a ninja?"

"Dustin!" Hunter shot him a warning look.

"What?" Dustin squawked. "He's a ninja! If you'd concentrate for a minute, you'd be able to sense it too!"

Chad watched a look pass between the two. Both of them knew something that he didn't and, for whatever reason, he felt a strange sense of kinship between himself and them. Dustin was staring at him. He knew… this total stranger knew. "I can take you to Tori," he was saying. "She'll know what to do."

Tori… the name from his dream…


A gong sounded from somewhere deep within the building. Sky straightened momentarily, pulling the wristwatch from his pocket and checking the time. It was noon. Billy merely raised an eyebrow as he took one last drag on the cigarette. Someone had placed an ashtray out here shortly after Billy arrived that morning—Sky really wanted to know how Kanoi did that. Cigarette smoke didn't bother him, having spent a lot of free time helping to interrogate criminals, most of whom smoked. He preferred pipe smoke—it was sweet and not as acrid. He had an uncle on his father's side of the family who smoked a pipe…

"I'm guessing that gong meant something," Billy commented, grinding out the cigarette butt in the ashtray.

"Lunch time," he replied simply.

"Oh, that was the buffet in the main dining room." It wasn't a question.

Sky nodded, the sound of students clamoring inside. There weren't many here, considering that it was a weekend. A few members of the academy guard had been taking their turn feeding and grooming the horses, while some air students were doing some of their extra hours. For what, Sky didn't know.

He hadn't been here long, but he found that the ninja academy, during the week when all the classes were going on, didn't bother him. It was simply like SPD, where cadets and officers zoomed around, going about their daily business. The weekends weren't peaceful as Ethan and Tori spent the whole weekend here, helping with research and training. He gave Billy a sidelong glance—the other ranger had no idea what he had just gotten himself into. Not that any of them had any idea when this insane scheme started.

"Yeah," he replied, although he didn't need to.

"What do they serve?"

"Sandwiches."

Billy shrugged, pale blue eyes focused on the horizon. "They don't tend to eat sandwiches on Aquitar. Everything is either liquid or really hard. Stuff like bread goes bad almost immediately there."

"Really?"

"Really." The original Blue Ranger turned to him. "You've never been off planet?"

"Just for SPD business—interrogating criminals and things like that."

"Huh," Billy snorted. "I didn't know SPD had grown that much."

"It hasn't—I'm from the future."

"Well, that's awkward."

They lapsed into a silence. Tori and Ethan must have gone inside through one of the many side doors in the building. Wouldn't surprise him—Kanoi would insist that they clean up before coming into the dining room. The rain continued, keeping a steady pattering against the earth. While it didn't bother him to be in the rain or to shower, he felt uneasy around something that could so effectively wipe out his element. The others could still conjure their elements in the rain and, he supposed, that he could as well, but it was a little overwhelming. The one exception was Billy—he didn't see how moonlight could be called during the day.

"Dudes!"

He turned to see Dustin tramping along the edge of the practice field, dragging someone Sky vaguely recognized from history lessons and a blonde guy that he knew was the head teacher at the neighboring Thunder Ninja Academy.

"This is Chad!" Dustin called, motioning to the unknown guy. "I think he's looking for you guys!" Chad's face held a neutral expression, but Sky knew the hidden impulse to tell Dustin to shut-up when he saw it.

Billy gave Sky a sidelong look. He shrugged. "Maybe he's the air ninja," he suggested.

"That makes sense."

The trio came onto the porch, all looking wet and bedraggled. "Chad Lee," the guy introduced himself.

"Sky Tate," he responded. "And this is Billy Cranston."

"Pleasure," Billy said dryly.

"Have you had dreams—"

"—About a hawk and someone calling me an air ninja and all of you? Yes."

They fell into a silence. Someone was clattering just inside the door, before Tori burst onto the porch, using a towel to get the worst of the mud off. "Hey, are you guys going to eat lunch or sit out here all day…" She trailed off as she saw Chad. "Who are you?"

"I'm Chad." Sky bit his tongue, knowing that Chad would have to explain himself yet again when Ethan appeared.

"Air ninja?"

Chad nodded. "I'm Tori," she replied. "We're just about to have lunch. Maybe you can explain why Billy and Sky are still standing on the porch."

"I don't know—I just got here."

"Oh well… why are you two standing on the porch?"

Sky fought a smirk as Billy shoved the crumpled partial pack of cigarettes into his pocket. The original Blue Ranger just shrugged, clearing his throat. "We were just coming in," he replied, clapping Sky's shoulder and steering him into the building.

Ethan was inside. "Hey, what are you—"

"Chad's out there," Billy said, over his shoulder. "He's the air ninja. Just introduce yourself and spare him having to introduce himself again."

"Nice subterfuge."

"Hell, I have no idea what's going on, but him being the air ninja seemed to be significant, so I went with it." He paused. "Basic deception."

"Use what's there and don't elaborate."

"Exactly and if you do have to elaborate, keep it simple."

Sky snorted as they headed into the dining room. There was a small line of students near the buffet, making their own sandwiches and salads. Kanoi nodded at them as they entered. Cam and Shane—the air teacher—were already eating and discussing something. Sky assumed that Tori and Ethan would bring Chad in here.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, the other three appeared with Dustin in tow. (Hunter must have decided he needed to do something at the Thunder Academy.) Chad looked kind of surprised at the situation and more than a little puzzled. Sky just shook his head. They were all, still, confused about what was going on.


Chad sat on the end of his bed. For the size of this place, he shouldn't have been surprised that each guest room was large and had a private bathroom. Kanoi had said that, as ninja, all of them had the resources of the Wind Ninja Academy at their disposal. He wasn't sure what that had meant, but Tori had explained that each of them were ninjas, singing to a different element. The ninjas had stopped communing with the Faerie—the moonlight—and most of the fire ninjas had fallen to the Shadow. Apparently, that meant an imbalance of the elements.

His room was close to the rooms that Sky and Billy had. Their fledging bond had been entertaining—the fire ninja and the smoker. Well, Billy was the moonlight ninja—had spent all afternoon telling Cam off for his networking methods. Chad had gotten settled and dried his clothes (the washer and dryer were in the kitchen) and made the inevitable phone call to Kelsey. She had sounded distant, guarded, but happy that he was safe.

"Need to go into town tomorrow," Billy's voice came from the hall.

"To get more cigarettes?" Sky asked.

"No, because if I buy more it'll just be temptation." There was a pause. "I need to find a computer store and pick up some stuff."

"Hacking into stuff?"

"Jesus Christ, you are suspicious about everything. It's so I can organize the database and have it accessible from remote computers."

"Oh, so Ethan and Tori can access it in Reefside?"

"You catch on fast—I'm going outside for a bit. Coming?"

"I'll be down in a minute."

Footsteps echoed down the hall. For a minute, he felt himself sag in relief. He wasn't sure that he was ready to face these guys. Supposedly, Billy had only been here since this morning, but the other Blue Ranger appeared to be staunch in his purpose as well as his cynicism. But that moment was over when a loud knock came on his door. He visibly jumped, before sliding off his bed and opening the door.

Sky was standing out there, wearing jeans and a blue button-up shirt. "Hey," he said, the forced casual tone prominent. "Uh… we were just going to be on the porch, having some hot chocolate before we turned in. Want to come?" Chad blinked, not sure how to reply. "Or I can drag everyone up here," Sky added quickly. "Well, Billy once he's done smoking."

For someone who seemed so standoffish, Sky seemed to genuinely have a knack for communicating with others or maybe it was just his bizarre bonding with Billy. Whatever the case, Chad found his room invaded by four other people, bearing hot chocolate and smelling faintly of cigarettes. After some mindless chatter, Ethan finally said what was probably on everyone's mind.

"We're all here now… maybe we should try another collective dream."

Tori nodded, looking a little doubtful. "I'm not sure I can bring all of you into the dream, but I can try." She paused. "We'll all have different access points when we enter. It may take a few minutes to find each other."

"Maybe we should establish where everyone else will be entering?" Sky suggested.

Chad listened as the others named their "access points" or, in Billy's and his case, what they assumed would be their access points. Tori would be by the pool outside the portal, while Ethan was in the woods beyond the portal. Chad was pretty much convinced his would be the bluff just beyond the portal. Billy was in the practice field and Sky was in his guest room in the actual building.

Trying to get comfortable with four other people on his bed, Chad realized that their placement in proximity to the school couldn't be a coincidence, from what the others had said. Billy was in the practice field just adjacent to the school—and his element lay sleeping. Sky was inside the building—his element had fallen to the Shadow. He, Tori and Ethan were all further away because their elements were still sung to, ninjas were trained to manipulate those elements. But he felt sleep overtake him before he could vocalize that…

Gray, morning light filled the horizon. Chad sat up, realizing that he was lying on the bluff that overlooked the school. Dawn had not yet broken and the thin, sliver of the moon was still visible. He pushed himself to his feet, absently dusting grass from his leather uniform. The yellow trim was the same as from the earlier dreams. He could see Billy in the practice field, looking up towards him.

Rustling came from the trees behind him. Turning, he saw Ethan and Tori stumble onto the bluff. Ethan was wearing a uniform identical to his, except with green trim. Tori had on a blue uniform, the feminine version. He knew now that the uniforms were for the Wind Ninja Academy, but their colors were the ancient colors, not the ones used now. "Sky will be in the building," Tori said. "We'll meet him there."

The three of them descended from the bluff. Billy joined them at the entrance to the school. His uniform was the same, except it had white trim. It made Chad wonder if the moonlight had ever been trained as a formal element. Sky was waiting for them just inside the entrance. Everything looked dim and eerie in the pre-dawn light.

"She wasn't there."

"Who?"

The question was out of his mouth before he could stop it. Billy looked like he had been about to ask the same thing. The pair of them had been given a lot of information in a short time and Chad knew he didn't have things straight right now.

"Princess Shayla," Ethan supplied. "We can here in a collective dream earlier and she was asleep in one of the guest rooms."

"She was the princess of ancient Animaria," Tori picked up. "The other group that communed with the Faerie."

"Okay…" Billy sounded skeptical.

"Rangers."

All of them turned. While nothing was going to attack them in a dream, they landed into defensive positions anyways. Chad felt himself relax when he took in the slender woman before them. She was wearing a white dress and had long brown hair. He supposed that she was the one that Ethan, Tori and Sky had been talking about.

"Greetings," she said with a smile. "I'm Princess Shayla."

"You're three thousand years old," Billy commented.

"Have faith, Tiger," she said gently. "You, of all, should realize that things are not always as they seem." She paused. "I will be able to join you in the flesh soon. I will explain all things when we are united in waking as well as dreams." Her tone turned serious and grave. "The earth and it's ancient enchantments are falling into chaos. You are the chosen ones—your animal spirits will protect and guide you. Goodbye. We will meet soon."

To be continued...


Author's Note: Been a while... here I am! Thank you to readers and reviewers. People seem to have been dropping like flies lately, but must finals and final papers and all that jazz. I know it's kicking my rear. Blargh! Well, review or not as time permits -- and don't let finals completely and totally massacre you.