A/N: Just to let you know, I tried not to make this story so "Colt-centric" since it seems half the stories on here are about Colt, Even though he is my favorite of the 3. My goal is to capture the feeling of the first movie, while giving all the characters time to develop. Let me know if there are any suggestions!

The day was bright and sunny, with a touch of humidity in the air, a perfect day at Grandpa Mori Tanaka's cabin in southern California. A lone figure clad in black and wearing a red mask was darting around the foliage surrounding the cabin, trying to remain silent. Silence was no problem for this man, as he was a ninja with many years of training under his belt. The old ninja looked toward the sky and determined the time of day; the sun struck and tickled the black outlines of the red mask design.

The ninja was in fact, Mori Tanaka himself. He was about to move on when something behind him on his right caught his attention. Something had moved near the small shrub, and he was sure of it. Thoughts went through his head; Tum Tum had pulled this trick many times before, but it would not work this time. Grandpa slowly crept up to the bush, and when he was close enough, he swiftly whipped his hand out and lifted the bush up about a foot. Instead of finding Tum Tum, much to his surprise, a squirrel jumped out. It was a good thing that Mori was on his guard, or else the small creature might have been dead.

Standing up, grandpa Mori breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that there was no little ninja underneath the shrubbery. However, his rest was brief as a split-second after he stood up he sensed something behind him. He quickly leapt about ten feet to his right and did a somersault behind a boulder to avoid the two ninja stars that embedded themselves in the ground where he once was, making a thwock sound each time they struck.

"Tum, why do you always use those? You know we're just trying to beat him, not kill him, right?" Rocky and Tum Tum had taken refuge behind a small pile of firewood that was stacked up on their grandfather's property to conceal themselves, and Tum Tum was getting a lecture for almost giving themselves away.

"Aw, you know he can't be beaten Rocky," Tum Tum wined.

Rocky squinted his eyes underneath his mask and surveyed their surroundings. He made a fast calculation and determined their strategy. "Either way, did you see where he went? I have an idea but I can't see him anywhere."

Just as the two brothers had thought that their grandfather had escaped their vision, a worn black and red mask popped up right in front of their pile would they were hiding behind and scared the daylights out of them.

"Ahh! It's him!" Tum Tum screamed like a rat.

With a swift kick, Mori caused a small dust storm to send firewood and dirt flying everywhere. He had knocked down the wood pile completely. Rocky and Tum Tum started coughing furiously as they tried to regain their composure. When the dust settled, grandpa was nowhere to be found.

Mori had taken refuge behind a small tree next to the cottage. He was getting old, so he often needed to catch his breath. His three grandsons usually gave him a run for his money, but not once in his lifetime would they ever beat him. He started walking around the side of the cottage with the windows, and at the same time a mysterious figure was creeping along the shingles of the roof watching his every move.

Just a few more feet, Colt thought. He waited the agonizing last few moments before he was about to make his move, but he could not wait any longer. It was as if his legs had been electrified! He jolted off the roof, he raised his bo staff in the air with his arms as far as he could and he and started the descent. He was right on target, he was going to get him. He would finally get him.

"Nope!" Grandpa said, as he ducked, rolled, and tossed a rock at Colt's mask.

Whack. "Ow!" Colt screamed at the pain and agony that had just breached his nose, and in turn he then landed in the garden about four feet away from his grandfather. He had missed.

Colt shook off the pain and got up to see his grandpa take off toward the forest at breakneck speed. He leapt to his feet without even thinking and ran off in his direction as fast as he could.

Mori had a head start so he was further ahead, but he turned around and could see that Colt was not far behind him. Mori grinned a satisfied smile underneath his mask. He had strained his wrist on his last somersault, his muscles were starting to ache, but the wind was blowing in his face, and he still loved every moment of what he was doing. He loved his grandkids. He turned around while running again to see Colt being joined by Rocky and Tum Tum running behind him but slowly catching up to where Colt was. All four of them were running off a northwest direction, and it seemed as though the three ninjas had grandpa cornered. Mori knew that the boys were younger, and would eventually catch up to him, but he had a trick up his sleeve.

Mori bent down while running to pick up a small stick that he saw. He did not want the kids to think that he was going to throw it at them, so he hid it in his belt in front of him while he ran. He kept checking behind, and as soon as the boys got within ten feet of him, he took the stick in his right hand. He bent his arm back, and whipped it is hard as he could at the oak tree to his left. The stick knocked a stake out of the ground that was holding a tension wire, activating the trap, and causing the camouflage rope net to be rocketed up in the air, tripping up the three ninjas and securing them safely in the air.

"Ahhh! Grandpa, how'd you do that?"

"Colt, get off me!"

"We're sandwiched in this net together, what do you really expect me to do, Tum?"'

The bickering of the three boys went on for a few more moments before their grandfather interrupted them with his chuckling. He was standing directly underneath the net, laughing at the sight of the indistinct pairs of legs and arms sticking out of the large net, slowly spinning ten feet above the ground. "Ah, hah, haa…you still have much to learn boys. This is merely one lesson out of many. Rocky and Tum Tum, you need to find better hiding places. I spotted you two before I even left the cottage this morning!"

Rocky cursed under his breath. Hiding behind the firewood was Tum Tum's idea, and it would be the last time that he would take one of his little brother's ideas.

"What about me, grandpa? I swear I had you in my sights!" Colt quipped from underneath the pile of bodies in the net.

"Oh, Colt. You need to learn to stop being so impulsive, so wild and free. It is your greatest quality, but it is becoming your weakness to be so impatient."

"So what's the lesson here? You always seem to have one," Rocky asked while shifting a leg out of his face.

"Lesson? Ha ha, no lesson," Grandpa was strolling around the net area with no interest in mind. A second later, his head picked up as he got an idea. "Well perhaps…perhaps this should be your lesson today!" Mori took out a small knife from his belt and sliced through the rope holding the net from the oak tree. A loud snap was heard and all three boys started screaming as they fell to the ground.

"OOF!"

"AHH!"

"CRAP!"

All three bodies slammed into the dirt in one giant, net-tangled mess. The boys groaned on the ground for a while, because they had the wind knocked out of them. Eventually one by one they got up, dusted themselves off, and made the humbling walk back to the cabin.