They transported to the coordinates of the impact site in a flash of light and warily approached the object. It turned out to be a wide, rectangular stone crate, not quite waist-high. There was no visible lid, but even from a few feet away, Lothor could make out the faint glow that emanated from the top of the container.

Flanked by Marah and Kapri, the evil space ninja peered inside the crate and his eyes narrowed, whereas at the same time, his nieces' eyes nearly popped out of their heads.

"OOOOHHHHHH..."

"He...is...so...DREAMY!"

The stone sarcophagus was split into two equal compartments by a narrow stone divider. On either side of that insert lay the unmoving body of a man. Both were the same height and build and were roughly the same age which Lothor judged to be mid to late twenties. But that's where the similarities ended. The body closer to them - and the one that Marah and Kapri presently ogled with undisguised rapture - was dark-haired and hard-faced and clad in black from head to toe, whereas the other body was the direct opposite. Golden-blond hair, fair skin and dressed in flowing garments of such a brilliant white that it made the space ninja's eyes hurt. An aura of purity seemed to surround the young man and Lothor made a noise of disgust while he turned his attention back to the darker body. Here the vibes were different, and much more to his liking. The kid literally radiated negative power like pheromones and Lothor was drawn to it like a tiger who had caught the scent of his favorite prey. His face split into a smirk as the wheels turned inside his head; he sensed a special kind of power surrounding these strangers and he had every intention of finding out just what that power was. Wherever these two came from, surely there was a way to use at least this young man to his advantage somehow...

"Are they sleeping?" Marah suddenly piped up, already reaching towards the dark-haired man, but when her hand touched the faint glow just above him, it sizzled. With a sharp cry she jerked her hand back.

Lothor, completely unaffected by his niece's painful expression, cast a long, contemplative look over the sarcophagus. "Interesting. Seems to be a force field of some kind. That's probably what's keeping them in stasis, too." Suddenly, he pointed. "Ah!"

Carved into the side of the crate was a round indentation surrounded by strange symbols. The same faint glow from the inside of the box was also visibly emanating from the middle of the hole. Lothor ran a leather-gloved hand over it. "This must be the lock. Let's see if we can wake up the sleeping beauties, shall we?"

He did not get to follow through on his intention, however, for suddenly a voice behind him called out.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?"

Marah and Kapri whirled around with a yelp, but Lothor merely blew out a puff of exasperated air before he turned to face the cause of the unwelcome interruption.

"Nephew! What an unpleasant surprise." He folded his arms across his chest and glared down at the glowering samurai. "You're early," he sneered. "The family reunion isn't until next week. Didn't you check the date on the invitation?"

Cam didn't even grace the taunt with an answer. Instead, he pointed at the stone crate. "Get your vile hands off...whatever that is."

"Don't even think about it." Marah stepped forward. "You can't have them. We saw them first."

Puzzled, Cam cocked his head, then craned his neck, but he was still too far away from the stone container to make out anything that was inside. "Them?"

"Yeah, them." Kapri chimed in. "Finders, keepers! And we definitely wanna keep HIM!"

"Ladies," Lothor said in an exaggeratedly polite tone, "if you wouldn't mind keeping our bothersome family member here occupied, I can get back to this lock..."

"With pleasure," the girls chorused and immediately advanced on Cam. Kapri drew her sword while Marah summoned her bo's and Cam did the only thing he could do now that he was faced with deadly weapons – he backed up a few steps and yanked his amulet from around his neck.

"Samurai Storm, Ranger Form!"

The girls attacked.

He barely managed to draw his samurai saber in time to deflect a slash to his chest from Kapri's sword, but her sister made up for the missed hit with twin blows to his back and shoulders that sent sparks flying from his suit. Gritting his teeth against the pain, Cam launched into a fierce counterattack. The clearing reverberated with the sounds of their battle cries and clanking of steel on steel as they traded sword slashes, kicks and punches.

All the while, Lothor was fervently trying to determine how to deactivate the stone crate's force field. There were no visible switches, plugs or buttons, however, and after a few minutes of fruitless searching, Lothor let out a growl of frustration.

"Looks like I have to do this my own way," he barked and straightened up, flexing his fingers.

"There isn't a spell in existence that I can't break," he snarled, then took a deep breath and thrust both hands towards the seal. Twin beams of purple energy shot from his gloves, sending a cascade of sparks over the container and the forest floor. The seal shattered into microscopic fragments and a moment later, the force field flickered and disappeared.

A few yards away, the Green Ranger and his two opponents paused in their fight at the sound of all the noise, and Marah and Kapri broke out in victory cries.

With a roar of triumph, Lothor reached inside the sarcophagus and a moment later, pulled something up that looked to Cam like the unmoving form of something disconcertingly human. As the evil space ninja slung the body across his shoulder, Cam's eyes widened behind his visor. Definitely human! And there was no way he could let Lothor kidnap a helpless human being!

"No!" he cried and raised his saber again, running towards his uncle, but his cousins blocked the way and sent him reeling with renewed double attacks. He scrambled back to his feet in time to see Lothor opening a transportation portal behind him. Noticeably unsteadier than before, Cam staggered towards his enemies once more.

"You…are not going to…get away with him."

Lothor was unperturbed. "As much as I'd like to stick around and watch the girls demolish you, nephew, I have neither the time nor the interest today," he said, shifting the unmoving body across his shoulder slightly. "I want to check out my new toy, you see. Marah! Kapri!"

At the sound of their names, the girls retreated to their uncle's side like obedient puppies. He smirked as he addressed them. "Ladies, let's cut this short and get going, shall we?"

And in perfect synchrony, the three space villains thrust their hands out towards Cam. The samurai ducked, but not fast enough, and triple beams of purple, pink and orange energy hit him dead on, lifting him off his feet. He slammed against a huge pine tree with such force that the great trunk actually split down the middle. The force of the impact would have killed any ordinary man, but Cam was saved by his Green Ranger suit. Nevertheless, the raw power of the combined energy beams did demorph him and he was unconscious before he even hit the ground.

The girls high-fived each other happily and Lothor took another moment for a self-indulgent smirk before he turned back towards his portal.

When Marah turned to follow him, her gaze grazed the white-clad man who was just now beginning to stir inside the stone crate. "What about him, Uncle?" she asked, but Lothor hardly even looked back.

"If you want to carry him, be my guest. But I got what I came for." And with that, he transported back to his ship.

Marah and Kapri exchanged several looks between each other and the blond man inside the casket until the pink-haired girl said, "He's not really my type."

"Mine neither. Too blond," Marah agreed, then took her sister's arm. "Come on, let's head back. I want to be there when Dream Boat wakes up. Maybe where he's from guys fall in love with the first girl they see when they wake up."

"Oh, then it'll definitely be me!" Kapri squeaked

Marah huffed indignantly. "You wish! It's sooo gonna be me, of course!"

Still bickering, they disappeared into the flash of light without wasting another look towards their fallen cousin.


Awareness returned to Cam before he opened his eyes in form of an insistent, yet strangely pleasant buzzing sound inside his head. For a moment he simply lay there, waiting for the inevitable splitting headache to begin; an aftereffect of pretty much every time he got knocked out by his uncle. But there was no headache this time, only that odd buzz…

"Stranger! Awaken!"

Cam's eyes snapped open at the sound of the unfamiliar voice right next to him and before he knew it, he was sitting up, fists already raised. The young man who had bent over him jerked back, obviously startled at the sudden movement, but raised a hand in a calming gesture. "Peace. I mean you no harm."

Cam blinked in bewilderment; the guy before him was a complete stranger, about his own age - and one of the oddest sights Cam had ever seen.

Even in his half-kneeling position, the stranger was obviously tall; fair-skinned, with long, golden-blond hair a shade lighter even than Tori's. It was pulled back from the sides and the top of his head and seemed to hang in one long braid over his back. A pair of bright green eyes regarded him with a mixture of wariness and concern. But the most distinctive part of his face was the dark tattoo that ran from above the brow of his right temple to his cheekbone in an intricate design of spirals, swirls and other softly flowing forms that blended together to form an undeniably beautiful and aesthetic pattern.

He was dressed in all white. It appeared to be some sort of tunic and matching wide pants, held in place by a leather belt. His feet were clad in grey leather boots and draped across his shoulders was a light-grey cloak, held in place at his neck by a silver clasp. Embroidered on his chest was a repetition of the tattoo which, on second look, reminded Cam vaguely of a Celtic Knot.

The guy looked like he had stepped right out of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings novels.

"Move not, friend," the stranger said. "You will be recovered before long. You were unconscious when I found you, but my healing crystal should have relieved you of any discomfort." He held up a small diaphanous globe for Cam to see, effectively solving the mystery of the buzzing sound in Cam's head.

Cam blinked. Great, now we can add the speech pattern to the whole Lord of the Rings spiel as well. This was beginning to feel distinctly surreal. "Thanks, but..."

But the stranger was already rising to his feet. "Will you fare well without my further aid?" he inquired. "I cannot linger, I fear." He tucked the crystal into a pouch that hung from his belt. "I have need of great haste for I pursue a grave Evil and I sense that I am no longer in the place of my origin. Therefore I must move swiftly in order to orient myself in this strange land."

He moved to go, but Cam was already scrambling to his feet. "Wait," he called. "What Evil are you talking about? If you mean Lothor..."

The blond man turned back towards him. "The one I pursue is not called such, but I am afraid I cannot elaborate, for time is of the essence. I must go." He gave Cam a half-bow and turned, but Cam could still hear him mutter, "He must not elude me."

"Hold on, wait." Cam exclaimed. "Maybe I can help you. You said you're not in your place of origin and I think that means you're not from around here. You will need help to find your way around." Probably a lot of help, he added silently, eying the blond man's out-of-place clothes once more.

The stranger paused, and Cam could virtually feel the urgency radiating from him. Quickly, he asked, "The person you're looking for – was he dressed in all black, dark hair…" he never finished his sentence before the stranger suddenly came striding back towards him, his green eyes boring into Cam. "You saw him? Was he the one who smote you?"

Cam shook his head. "No, he was still pretty much unconscious when I arrived here. I surprised Lothor while he was busy breaking what seemed to be a seal on the crate, and it was he who knocked me out. I tried but I couldn't prevent him from taking your friend…"

At that, the stranger's eyes suddenly blazed. "He is no friend of mine," he said sharply. "I am the Dark Sorcerer's guardian and it was…is my duty to prevent the malice of his evil powers from spreading over the lands once again now that the sleep spell is broken." He regarded Cam with such intensity that the technician felt a chill of dark premonition run down his spine. "I am certain that the Dark Sorcerer has recovered from his slumber by now, just as I have. This man Lothor…he has no inkling of the menace he has released. For all I know he has already perished at the hand of the Dark Wizard by now."

"Lothor's not that easily destroyed, trust me," Cam replied, but the stranger shook his head.

"If he is still among the living, it is by the Dark Sorcerer's good will only." He suddenly cocked his head. "Pray, tell, who is this…Lothor and where can I find him?"

Cam scratched his neck. How to explain the concept of an evil space ninja to someone who was quite obviously from some sort of alternate dimension or timeline? Tolkien's way seemed to be the best… "Let's just say he is the leader of the Evil Powers of this world and in perpetual pursuit of world domination," he said, feeling slightly sheepish, but the blond stranger nodded gravely.

"All the worse for this world to have these two evil wizards join forces. It must not come to be!" The young man suddenly turned on his heels and strode back to the sarcophagus where he held his hand over the sorcerer's empty half. He stayed motionless for a long minute, a look of intense concentration on his face. Cam decided not to interrupt.

After a while, the guardian slowly withdrew his hand and let out a heavy sigh.

"I sense no trace of his presence any longer. He is far from this place by now and I must now utilize means other than eyes and ears to track him." He spoke in a voice mixed with barely contained despair and determination and Cam took a few steps towards him.

"Well, one thing I'm very familiar with is the resident Evil on this world, trust me," the samurai said resolutely. "And I'm pretty sure that they are both now on Lothor's ship, which means that, for the moment, they are out of reach for us. I'd say you need my help with finding him."

"It is too perilous."

"Look, my father, my friends and I...we know a bit about unusual situations." He looked from the stone chests to the blond warrior, and his expression grew thoughtful. "And from what I'm starting to deduce has happened here...if anyone can help you with your predicament, we can, uh…" Cam trailed off and the young man caught the inquisitive intonation in Cam's voice.

"My manners are lacking – forgive me." He stood before Cam, placed the palm of his hand over his heart, then bowed formally. "I am Mithrandos, son of Angaroth who is son of Hatherios. Captain of the Exalted Guardians of The Light of Ithrandar. And you are?"

Cam blinked at the lengthy and archaic introduction. "Cam," he said, looking at the tall stranger thoughtfully. After a moment, he added, "Son of Kanoi."

The young man nodded. "Well met, Cam son of Kanoi."

Cam felt the corners of his mouth quirk before he said, "You are definitely not from around here!"

Mithrandos' eyes traveled to the sarcophagus, then back to Cam. "To be truthful, I do not know where I am," he said. "But I can tell that I am far from home for the manner of your speech and dress is strange to me. Also, I sense an otherness surrounding this place." His gaze was grave. "I cannot fathom how we came to be here, but this is not the realm of Ithrandar."

"Ah, no," Cam confirmed. "This is Blue Bay Harbor." Seeing the stranger's uncomprehending gaze, he added. "California."

A few eye blinks was all the reaction he received.

"The United States of America?" he elaborated, but it was evident that Mithrandos had no idea what he was talking about. It confirmed Cam's notion from earlier on; this strangely dressed man was definitely either from another timeline or another dimension, maybe even from another planet or universe altogether.

"Yeah, I figured you wouldn't know what I'm talking about," he said and scratched his head. "Oh boy."

He slowly lowered himself back to the ground, his back against the stone crate and waved a hand at Mithrandos to join him. "We better start talking about what happened here. For starters: Who's the guy who was in the container with you?"

Mithrandos crouched but did not sit, and Cam saw his jaw tightening. "I am afraid these elaborations come with grievous tidings. They are not for the faint of heart."

"I can handle it, believe me," Cam said, intoning his words with an unblinking gaze, but Mithrandos was still hesitant. Sighing, Cam realized that a few revelations of his own would be necessary in order for this other-dimensional guardian, or whatever he was, to accept his help.

"Look, from your introduction – and since you were guarding an evil sorcerer - I think I can safely assume that you are a warrior for the forces of Good in your world, right?"

Mithrandos studied Cam for a moment, but finally nodded. "It is so."

"Okay, so that would make us…'what would be the proper Tolkien word?'…brothers in arms. My friends and I have fought against Lothor's evil for quite some time now."

Mithrandos' eyebrows shot up. "So you are Guardians as well, then?"

"Sort of. We are ninjas."

"Ninjas." The word was clearly a new one for Mithrandos, and the young warrior repeated it once more, rolling it on his tongue as if to taste it.

Cam looked around the clearing. "Well, Mithrandos, you better come with me and meet my father and my friends. Sounds like we need to do some serious exchanging of information, and then we all better start making some plans."

TBC…


A/N: Enter the other-dimensional Guardian! And yes, Mithrandos' strange lingo is deliberate. Oh, and as a visual aid - I picture him as a cross between Legolas from Lord of the rings and Merrick from Wild Force :)