Ninja Storm: Rise of the Eclipse- Chapter 33: Storm Before the Calm: Part I
Disclaimer: Saban owns all Power Ranger line and anything from the shows.
Copyright: All unrecognizable parts and characters are under December's Phoenix's copyright.


"Hunter, the last time I checked, my sister has green eyes, not gold." Lucy fought.

Early in the morning, Hunter knocked on the sisters' door with some disturbing news that Lucy didn't want to believe. It had been a few days since he and his brother made up, and Hunter caught a glimpse at golden eyes and an evil smirk on Crystal's face. He didn't have the heart to tell her about her eyes…leaving the younger Brewer in the dark about what was happening. So, after Hunter explained everything, the two stood in the kitchen. Lucy was facing Crystal's door, just in case, her sister stepped out to do yoga or something like that she had been developing for the last few weeks.

"I understand that," Hunter protested. "But I saw them. Golden irises. Then she blinked and it was gone."

Lucy pursed her lips. She stirred her mug of tea slowly while she tried to make a connection to anything. "Now that I think about it, the fight in the Megazord battle was pretty odd for Crystal. Especially punching her controls."

"See, I wasn't the only one who thought that it was weird she did that." Hunter sighed. He was finally getting Lucy on board because there was something wrong with her sister. "Look, I love your sister, but something is wrong."

"The fight over the gem pieces must have weakened Crystal enough for something to slip through. She was pretty weak when we found her." The brunette ninja placed a hand under her chin as she nursed her cup of tea. "Here's what's gonna happen. We don't tell anyone about this,"

"Why not?"

"Because we don't have all the facts yet. Plus if we try to confront whatever is in Crystal, it might retaliate."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Hunter agreed.

"Until then, try and act normal around her and the team until we know for certain,"


"I ordered four-stroke oil, and they send me this two-stroke stuff." Dustin groaned. He walked into Storm Chargers with a cardboard box full of oil bottles. "What I am supposed to do with this?" He glanced over at where Shane, Crystal, and Kelly were stationed. The three were laughing. "What's so funny?"

"Forget the oil and pack your bags, dude." Shane patted him on the shoulder while heading over to the couch area.

"Why? Where are we going?" Dustin fired off again, his eyes trailing his best friend.

Kelly walked over to him with a small packet of papers. "You wanted freestyle. Well, guess what? You're gonna get your chance. Fill this out and sign it. We have to get it in straight away if you wanna make the deadline," The redhead handed him the forms.

Dustin scanned over the papers, a smile lighting up his whole face. "This is for the US Action Games. Are you serious?"

"Yep." Kelly nodded in agreement. "And, by the way, under sponsors, write Storm Chargers,"

Dustin smiled, turning around to face Shane. He held the papers up. "Hey, did you know about this?"

Shane climbed up on the couch, smiling. "I'm going to." He announced. "For skateboard, baby," He cheered.

"Hey, Tori!" Dustin smiled after cheering with the Red Ranger. "Check it out,"

"Oh, Kelly's sponsoring you to go to the US Action Games in freestyle." The Blue Ranger pointed out.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"She and Crystal already told me this morning." Tori shrugged, moving to the couch area where Shane was already relaxing.

Crystal stopped beside him. "Congrats, Bub." She patted his shoulder.

"You going?"

The blonde raised an eyebrow. "Under the sponsorship of Storm Chargers,"

The Yellow Ranger caught sight of the Crimson and Navy Rangers walking in. "Guys…!" He called.

"Yeah, the US Action Games." Blake patted Dustin on the shoulder.

"Congrats." Hunter followed suit. He then wrapped his arm around his girlfriend and led her over to the couch, where the rest of the team was settled.

"Wait, did everyone already know about this?" Dustin questioned. "Except for me? Is that about right?"

Tori leaned on her hand. "Yeah, that's about right," She agreed.

Dustin sat down across from Blake. "Hey," He hit the navy ninja's knee with the paper. "Did you test for Roger Hannah today for the Factory Blue sponsorship?"

"That's right, how'd that go?" Tori smiled at her crush.

Hunter answered first. "There was a photographer there from Dirt Works Magazine. Said he hasn't seen anyone test that fast since McGrath in '91,"

"So, what's the deal?" Dustin eagerly asked.

Blake grinned, ear to ear. "Factory ride if I want it," he announced.

The moto Rangers congratulated him. Crystal didn't miss the faltered smile on Tori's face that was immediately replaced with a fake one. She turned back to Blake. "Why wouldn't you want it?" She questioned, knocking shoulders with him.

"Come on, don't ya think I'm a little busy here," Blake shot back.

"Yeah, but how can you pass up an opportunity like that?" Shane questioned.

"That's what I told him." Hunter smiled.


"Question, did anyone tell Sensei that we were going to the Action Games?" Tori fired off an hour later.

The boys in the garage stopped and looked at her. Shane glanced around. "Uh oh, not me,"

"Hey, what about Cam?" Dustin added to Tori's question. "Didn't anyone ask him if he wanted to go?"


Cam turned around in his chair the second he heard another groan come from the Lunar Guardian at the library. "That's nine groans in 5 minutes." He noted. "What are you looking for?"

Lucy glanced up from the book in her lap. "I'm gonna tell you, just because you can keep secrets from my sister, right?"

"Deal, what's up?" Cam shifted from his seat to stand in front of Lucy.

"Hunter believes that something took possession of Crystal's body for a few seconds after the race a few days ago. He mentioned that she had golden colored eyes."

"What do you think it is?"

"Well, the only other Guardian that I can ever remember learning about with golden eyes was Kyrah, the last Solar Guardian, before Crystal. And everything kinda adds up." Lucy spent the next 10 minutes explaining everything to Cam from recent days. She filled him in on the legend of the Guardians and the story of the Solar and Lunar Guardians.

"So, you think the Kyrah is trying to take over the world with Crystal?"

"Yes,"

"But there's not much evidence to support that theory with these books." Cam motioned to the books behind the silver ninja.

Lucy shook her head. "No, but there might be some in what's left of the Eclipse Master library. But the only person who has ever seen those books is our mom."

Just then, the rest of the Ranger team barreled into Ops. All with smiles on their faces.


"It just slipped your minds?" Cam questioned after listening to the Rangers. "I mean, Dustin I can believe."

Dustin glanced around. "Hey, I was the one who remembered."

"It's true, he was." Shane patted his shoulder.

"I can understand how this could have happened," Sensei spoke up. "It is a great honor to compete in such event. I can only guess that the excitement can be quite a distraction,"

"So, is it all right if we go?" Tori questioned, biting her lip.

"Yes," Sensei nodded.


Days later, the Rangers were bouncing with energy. They all climbed out of the Storm Chargers van and Crystal's jeep, looking around at the crowd heading into the makeshift arena.

Hunter pulled Crystal to him to avoid having her smushed by a dirt biker. "Thanks," She muttered up to him. He returned it with a squeeze of her hand. The shorter blonde turned to her sister. "We try not to lose each other until I race, okay?"

Lucy knocked fists with her. "Deal,"

"You guys go get checked in." Kelly told the team. "I'll check on your gear."

"We'll check the place out for…uh…." Shane trailed off.

"Let me guess, chicks?" Crystal teased him.

Cam jumped off the van. "I'll cruise with you,"

"Cyber Cam?" Dustin fired off.

"Not Cyber Cam. Who says real Cam can't cruise?" The Green Ranger joked.

Crystal, Tori, and Lucy shared looks while laughing. "If you say so, Cam!" Lucy called back to him, linking arms with her sister.


The entire event was full of teens competing and teens cheering for each other. Hunter, Cam, and Crystal were by a booth, getting some of the information for Crystal and Hunter to ride. "You should come to the track sometime," Hunter smiled at them.

Crystal sighed. The two girls looked at her with confused expressions. "Excuse my boyfriend. He's an idiot,"

"Do you ride?" The redhead questioned, scanning the blonde.

"Yeah, that's how this one and I met." Crystal motioned to Hunter. "I currently hold one of the fastest lap times in Blue Bay,"

"She does,"

"Hunter, Crystal," Cam called.

The Guardian turned to him. "What's up?" She asked, then followed his pointed finger to find Marah, Kapri, and a pod of Kelzaks scaring the crap out of people. "Man, one day. I want one day where I don't have to smash Marah and Kapri's stupid faces into the ground." She turned to Hunter. "Babe, we gotta go,"

Hunter caught sight of what the other two Rangers saw. The three immediately took off, running towards them.


"Oh, great," Kapri complained.

Crystal stopped in front of the two boys. "You lost?" She teased.

"Do we look lost?" Marah snapped back.

"What a pain." Kapri pulled the PAM from behind her, pressing a few buttons. "Kelzak furies."

The three fell into stances. "I think a few extra hands wouldn't hurt, would it?" Crystal questioned.

A Kelzak charged the three, splitting them up from each other. Each Rangers ended up taking their own pod of Kelzaks. Crystal threw a punch while blocking another one. She threw her leg up, hitting one in the chest, but all that did was send it back.

Hunter blocked a punch but was shoved forward by another. He flipped another one, but more Kelzaks kept coming.

Cam wasn't having any better luck. He was kicking and punching, but none of the furies were falling.

What made it even worse was three unknown teenagers coming into the fight and taking on the regular Kelzaks. They fought tooth and nail to take them down while the Rangers faced the furies. At one point in time, all six were held by Kelzaks. Kapri and Marah were no where to be found.

"You need to get out of here," Cam called to the three.

"We're just trying to help," One of the boys responded.

"You can help by standing aside," Hunter added. "And getting out of our way."

After intensely fighting them for a few more minutes, the Kelzaks disappeared. Hunter yanked Crystal up off the ground, helping her brush grass off her back. Cam came over to the couple, nodding his head towards the three teens helping each other up.

"What were you thinking?" Hunter fired off first.

"We were think you guys were in trouble," The kid that was helped off the ground answered. "You should be happy we were here,"

"Happy?" Crystal scoffed. "I think I'm more mad than happy. You were luck those guys decided to dematerialize. Otherwise, we would have had a bigger problem on our hands."

"I'm gone," The second boy said.

"Me too," The blonde agreed.

The last boy frowned. "Later dudes,"


"They were interested in this area," Cam glanced up at the gaggle of Rangers standing at the top of the hill.

Dustin glanced around. "There's nothing here,"

"Hey, what's wrong with your amulet?" Shane motioned down to the Samurai amulet Cam wore.

Cam raised an eyebrow. "What about my amulet?" He glanced down, seeing it glow white.

Crystal stumbles back, losing her balance in the process. She crashes to the ground, her focus on her breathing. Lucy isn't any better. She is leaning heavily on the fence, staring up at the sky. She tilts her head in pain. "Does anyone else hear ringing?"

A yelp from Cam brought everyone's attention to them. "It's frozen,"

"How can it be frozen?" Dustin asked. "It's like 80 degrees right now,"

Cam yanked the amulet off his neck, lifting it to his face. "No kidding," he glanced up at the team. "Better get back to Ninja Ops and do some tests on it there,"

The team turned around to find the sisters gone. "Where'd they go?" Tori questioned, her eyes scanning from the spot they were sitting around the arena.


Hunter found Crystal wandering around the empty Action Games lot a few minutes later. Her body language told the crimson ninja that she had no idea where she was. Nevertheless, she was wandering around, a hand grazing almost everything.

"Crystal!" Hunter called, stopping a few feet from her. "Babe, you okay…?" He stopped suddenly when Crystal turned around.

The blonde had the same gold eyes as before. Golden eyes with a dark gold ring around the outside. A Fleck of brown was scattered in her irises. A frown accompanied the eyes. In one move, Crystal had her boyfriend pinned to the ground. "I don't know who you are. But don't ever call me that again," She released his arm and was gone a second later.


"Hunter, did you find Crystal?" Tori questioned.

The Crimson Ranger sighed shortly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sort of." He answered. "I found her then I…uh…I was taken out and left alone,"

"Did she seem okay?" Shane questioned, joining in the conversation with the rest of the current team at the Action Games.

Hunter shook his head. "No," He replied. "A few days ago, I saw her with golden eye and Lucy with silver ones."

"I wasn't the only one," Blake snapped. "I thought I was seeing things cause you didn't say anything about it."

"Well, whoever it was inside her is out again.." Hunter placed his hands on his hips. "Any luck with Lucy?"

Dustin shook his head. "Nothing. Man, those two take ninja to the max,"

Tori glanced around. "Well, they're starting to let people back in, so we should go meet with Kelly."


An hour later, the Rangers finally caught up with Kelly at one of the moto heats. The redhead glanced around. "Where's Crystal and Lucy?" She questioned.

"Crystal forgot one of her riding pads at home, and Lucy went with her," Hunter covered. "They'll be back before her race."

The Rangers went on to cheer for the motocross racers currently on the track. Only it was stopped by the beeping of all their morphers. The Rangers glanced at each other, sighing. "Go for Shane," The Red Ranger called into his morpher.

"Rangers, I'm sending you the Zords," Cam reported. "There is a big fish in a little pond you need to deal with,

"Where are you guys going?" Kelly questioned, watching her team disappear.

Dustin patted her on the shoulder. "To the bathroom,"

"All of you?" Kelly returns.

Shane smiled at her. "We'll be back,"

The Rangers fell into formation the second that they were alone. "Ready?" Shane questioned.

"Ready,"

Ninja Storm, Ranger Form

Thunder Storm, Ranger Form

Ninja Ranger Power.


Cam turned around for a second, jumping when he caught sight of Lucy holding up a weakened Crystal. Both sisters looked exhausted, but it seemed to be taking more of a toll on the older of the two Brewers. The Samurai made his way over to the two, taking half of Crystal's weight and directing them to the med bay to lay down.

"I don't understand what's happening," Crystal muttered, flopping down.

Lucy sat on the edge of the bed. "I might," She slumped backward, pressed against her sister.

"Are you guys ready to roll?" Shane questioned from the mainframe computer.

Cam returned to his seat. "Guys, I have the sisters in Ops with me,"

"How?" Tori questioned.

"They just appeared,"

In an instant, the Thunderstorm Megazord is standing against the larger version of Lothor's general. The fish laughs maniacally, ready for another. The Rangers throw a punch at Vexacus. The general dodged and drew his swords. The Rangers couldn't avoid it fast enough. Vexacus slashed them twice, causing sparks to fly everywhere. The Megazord crashed to the ground.

"You should watch your step." Vexacus laughs.

The Megazord climbs right back up to its feet. "Come on guys!" Shane rallies.

"Lion Blaster!" The five call.

The Megazord pulls the cord on the lion blaster, pulling in all the energy it needs. They watch as Vexacus blocks all of the blasts from their cannons. "All right. Strumming his pain with my finger." Shane jokes, pulling the Mammothzord guitar out. He plays a few cords, calling on the mammothzord to come forward. The Rangers land on top, calling on the rest of their power for the battle.

"Mammothzord!" The five call, using everything they had in their artillery to take Vexacus down.

Finally, the blasts hit, sending Vexacus back. The explosions and the landing cause the ground to shake, but not for long. Vexacus come out alive. "Land Shark!" He calls, swimming toward the Rangers. Instead, he collides with the Megazord.

The Rangers hit the ground roughly, sparks and electricity crackling everywhere. Then, the Thunderstorm Megazord crashed so that the Thunder and Wind Megazords were standing. All five groan as the Megazord and the Mammothzord settle.


"Cam, something's happening." Lucy calls, moving out of the Med-bay.

Cam turns to her. "Do you know what it is?"

"The abyss."


"Victory!" Vexacus laughed.

The two Megazords climbed to their feet. "I done't think so." Hunter announces, pushing his eyepiece away from him.

"It's thunder time!" Blake chimed in.

"Power disk. Locked and Dropped." The brothers announce, calling on the serpent sword. They charged.

Vexacus turned to see the Thunders stomping toward him. "Ready for more?"

The Thunder Megazord swung, slashing Vexacus in the chest. They flip over him, wrapping their arms around him. They have him in a chokehold. Then, turning towards him, the Thunders hit Vexacus.

"Goodbye, Thunder Rangers." Vexacus laughed, throwing his hand back. He laughed as purple energy-filled Vexacus up.

"Get out of there!" Shane ordered.

But it is too late. Vexacus laughed maniacally as his body exploded into a million pieces. Taking the Thunder Megazord and the Thunder Rangers with him. One last victory for the general. In one final explosion, Vexacus is gone. Purple energy exploded from the wreckage of the Thunder Megazord and Vexacus, flying over to the US Action Games site.

Right in the Abyss of Evil.


"Cam, we've reached the Thunder Megazord wreckage. It doesn't look good." Shane reported.

"Might not want to tell Crystal that." Cam sighed.

"Any sign of Hunter and Blake?" Tori asked.

"I'm getting infrared in the area, but there's a lot of interference. So I can't pinpoint an exact location."

"Keep trying to establish contact. We'll head to ops and regroup." Shane announced.


"This is so frustrating." Cam groaned. "Still can't get a fix on Hunter and Blake." He stopped typing. "That's weird. Cyber Cam's gone too."

"What do you mean Cyber Cam's gone?" Lucy asked, sitting at the table.

"Keep trying. Keep trying." Sensei urged him.

"Yes, Cam." Both ninjas whirled around, seeing Lothor, Kapri, Marah, and a hostage Cyber Cam at the foot of the stairs. "Keep trying. Hello nephew. Hello Guardian."

Lucy moved to stand next to Cam. Cam pointed at him. "How did you get in here?"

"You're reprogrammed cybernetic replicant led us inside." Lothor informed the two.

Marah and Kapri threw him to the ground. He crawled on the floor, disappearing right under the table.

"Then I used my DNA handprint, same as my brother's…or what it used to be, to take us the rest of the way."

"I am no brother of yours." Sensei spoke. "Our family tie has long been broken."

"You'll never get him out of here." Cam sternly told him.

"I didn't come for him, nephew."

Cam chuckled. "You're dreaming, Lothor."

"Perhaps. Or is it so wrong to dream of a world where the ultimate evil rules over all those who in habit it? Where I, Lothor, command an army of thousands and all those who live in my shadow will bow do to me. Is that so wrong?"

"Oh, I won't be bowing to anyone." Lucy snarls, rapier in hand.

"I'm with Lucy. And…yes." Cam answered him.

"Fine, have it your way." Lothor sent a blast at Sensei and Cam, making the two scramble away.

Cam hits the ground and is immediately pulled to his feet. He turns to see Lucy standing in front of him…except it wasn't Lucy. Silver eyes replaced her usual mixed brown. An evil spark gleams in her eyes. "Lucy?" He backed away from her.

"I'm not Lucy." The Lunar Guardian smirked. She charged Cam, rapier drawn. She swung down, hitting the ground when Cam dodged it. He tried for a hit, but Lucy ducked, tackling him to the ground. "My name is Zira." She grounds out. She flips over to her feet and stares at Lothor. "Are you going to fight a guinea pig all day or destroy this stupid place?"

Lothor cackles, firing a blast at Cam. The ninja scrambles away, just for the shot to hit the computer mainframe behind him. He continues to fire blasts, destroying every section of Ops. Marah and Kapi sluice through the rocks on either side of the entrance, causing even more destruction. "Get up!" Lothor barks at Cam, yanking him to his feet.

"Let him go!" Sensei orders, flipping to the ground near the two. He tries to attack, but Lothor stops him, sending him flying back into the bookshelves behind him.

"No!" Cam yells, watching his father disappear in the yellow explosion.

When the four return to the surface, they find Lucy - Zira as Cam heard - standing before them. "Who would have thought? An old ninja like yourself has a few tricks up his sleeve."

Marah and Kapri level their swords at the Guardian.

Zira laughed. "You really think you can hurt me?" She laughed again. "I locked Shimazu away the first time…without Zord."

"What do you want?" Lothor asked

"I want the world to bow to me."

"Deal."


Everything was either smoking or destroyed when the Wind Rangers returned to ops. Shane entered first, seeing the wreckage of all their hard work. "What happened?" He asked, looking around.
"It's trashed." Dustin breathed.

"No." Tori cried.

"Cam? Sensei?" Shane shouted. "Lucy? Crystal? Cyber Cam?"

"Where are they?" Shane walked further into Ops.

"Is anyone can survive this, it's Cam, Sensei and the sisters." Tori assured her teammates.

A groan brought the attention of the Rangers. A shadow shifted, and Crystal stood before the Rangers in a second. "They're gone." She muttered, leaning against what appeared to be the only stable wall left.

Tori ran over to her, moving to support her. "What happened?"

"I was in the med-bay, but Lothor managed to get in. He took Cam." Crystal told them, moving to sit down. "But that's not the worst part."

"How can this get worse?" Dustin turned to her.

"Lucy's joined them."


Next Episode: Storm Before the Calm: Part II