Sorry for not updating in a long time; I've been busy and things just got in the way. I've just manage to catch Double-edged Blake recently, and so apologies for the previous chapter where I assumed Leanne was a senior student. And oh, to clarify - all teachers are called Masters, where the head of the academy/grandmaster is called Sensei. This will be the naming system for this and future fics hint, hint. ; )
JuseaPeterson – Thanks for you kind reviews. I'm glad you really like this fic. You'll just have to keep reading to see how it all turns out in the end!
footychick, hieiko, lovelinelivelong – Thanks!
TorinBlake4ever – Thanks. And oh, this chapter is on the Trial!
And to everyone else, thanks for your reviews and support!
Next morning, a sizeable crowd of excited Thunder ninjas had gathered near the Thunder Woods before 9 am. How they found out so quickly though, can only be explained by the efficiency of teenage gossiping, which seemed to function equally well in ninja school. Most of them were eager to meet Blake, especially the newer students who had so far only heard of the Master Hunter's younger brother. When Hunter and Blake arrived, there were more than a few excited gasps and finger-pointing, with others craning to get a better look. Blake glanced around the crowd, smiling slightly. A few of the female students blushed slightly; and Hunter stifled an eye-rolling - his bro was always the more charming one of the two. Suddenly Blake's smiled grew wider as his eyes caught something, and Hunter turned to look. He saw Shane, Dustin, Tori and yes, even Cam, standing in the middle of the crowd, waving at them. Both Hunter and Blake waved back, feeling somewhat glad by the presence of their former comrades.
Sensei Omino arrived a few minutes later, and Lexton was there too, with… Justine? Hunter's eyebrows quirked slightly. The siblings exchanged glances.
"Looks like Lex decided to get a tag partner," Blake remarked casually.
Sensei Omino lifted his staff, and a silence descended on the crowd. Hunter and Blake rapped their knuckles together as they usually do, before stepping up in front. Lexton and Justine also stood up.
"Since the entire school is here today, I see no point in conducting the morning classes," This drew a few quite snickers from the crowd, as he continued. "The trial is simple - I have placed the Thunder morphers in the deep clearing of the Thunder Woods. The objective is to be the first to retrieve the morphers and return. Caution though – there are obstacles along the path. Are you all ready?" Sensei Omino looked down intently at the 4 ninjas standing in front of him. All four of them nodded, their face set in determination.
"Very well, let the trial commence." And with that, all four of them scampered to the path familiar to them. Junior students usually trained at the edge of the woods, while some of the senior students occasionally ventured in slightly for the advanced classes, or for self-training. But they never ventured in alone.
Two streaks of crimson and navy darted and bounced along the path with ease, both of them avoiding the thicker undergrowth. From the corner of their eyes, they could see Lexton and Justine to their left, streaking in blur flashes of black. Finally, all four of them came to a halt when the trees beginning to get denser, and twisted gnarled roots threatened at every corner to snare and trip the unwary.
Both sides give each other a cursory glance before making their way, pushing aside some low branches. They've already crossed the "safe zone", and now they're venturing into deeper territory - where the senior students always dared each other to see who had the guts to go. Of course, Sensei Omino strongly forbade the senior students against it; but it never stopped the Bradley brothers from trying. Blake smiled as he recalled the time when he and Hunter once almost got lost when they took a wrong path. Luckily they managed to find their way out, though they were quite terrified during the entire time. The shadows among the thick canopy shifted eerily, and there were many eerie sounds which they could not be entirely sure weren't just the wind.
Blake snapped out his thoughts as he was stopped abruptly by Hunter who held out his arm in front of him. Blake narrowed his eyes and glanced at his brother, who seemed to be listening intently at their surroundings. A few feet away from them, Lex and Justine was also slowing down; either because they too sensed something wrong or were just mimicking the brothers.
All four of them ducked and rolled; reflexes built upon years of skill and training, before they even knew what was happening. They were greeted with the sight of several brownish humanoid figures leering in front of them, with more of them somersaulting down from the trees. The strange figures were devoid of any facial features; and their brownish skin was exactly like tree barks. The four ninjas stepped back slowly, with their backs facing each other as their opponents circled them.
"Any idea what these creatures are?" Justine asked, while eyeing them closely and her fists clenched in an attack position.
"I'm guessing they're the guardian spirits of the woods or something. And they don't seem to be in a talkative mood," Blake replied
"What, you guys scared of them? I can take them down, no sweat," Lexton added arrogantly, to which Hunter snorted slightly. In the next moment, the brown "freaks" charged at them and they immediately ducked and delivered blows, felling the first wave of their attackers.
Blake and Hunter stood back-to-back, each skilfully dodging and delivering attacks; while always keeping an eye for stray attacks towards the other from behind. Lexton and Justine on the other hand, prefer a more solo approach. Both of them fought well, but occasionally got thrown down or hit several times, before they saw what Blake and Hunter was doing and copied them. A few minutes later, all four of them stood triumphant over their attackers, who promptly vanished in puffs of brown. They relaxed their stances, relieved that danger is over.
"Well, I'm not sticking around to be a loser," Lexton shouted before streaking, with Justine, Blake & Hunter quickly following suit. They encountered a few more of the brown attackers, but it was just the occasional few.
The dark arching trees began to thin now, and finally they arrived at a clearing. Almost a clearing, anyway; there were still a few trees that dotted the area. More importantly however, was a pedestal in the middle, and even from the distance they could see the red and blue sparkle cast by the sunlight.
They dashed towards the pedestal, when all of a sudden they were knocked hard by another object streaking perpendicular to them. They went flying awkwardly, but quickly rolled back onto their feet to meet their new foe. A large dark brown monster was lumbering ahead, its entire body seemingly made up of bark, and its limbs covered with leaves.
"Me Thunderwood guardian. You ain't no getting shiny stuff." The monster spoke while pointing to itself.
"Bad grammar much?" Blake quipped.
"Well, at least it makes sense compared to Bopp-A-Roo," Hunter shrugged in response.
"Shoots!" The monster shouted and laughed as he fired a blast of sharp leaves from his arms towards the ninjas. They rolled and ducked, managing to avoid the worst as the leaves exploded around them.
"I'm not letting some doofus stop me," Lexton said determinedly before somersaulting ahead.
"Wait!" The brothers called out simultaneously. If there's one thing they learned from all their battles with Lothor's monsters, leaping ahead in front of a monster is NOT the smartest thing to do.
True enough, as the monster swiped its right arm across Lexton, and the razor-sharp leaves cut through Lexton's uniform. He tumbled down ungracefully, clutching his right in pain as dots of red began to surface.
"Lex!" Justine yelled as she ran towards him, rolled and narrowly avoided a second swipe from the monster. Hunter and Blake looked at each other and nodded, they have to distract the monster to give Lex and Justine some time.
"Yo ugly and leafy!" Hunter shouted as he and Blake launched their attack. They exchange a few blows which were easily dodged by the monster, and they in turn were careful to avoid any hits; without their ranger suits they could be severely injured.
"Oh no, you don't!" The monster cried suddenly as he noticed Justine approaching Lexton. He stamped his feet on the ground and shouted "Quicksand!" A pool of brownish mud materialized between them, and Justine managed to push Lex aside before leaping to safety.
In the moment of distraction, Blake caught the monster's left arm and swung it around, pinning it to its back. While Hunter quickly swiped the monster's leg from below it and the monster fell down flat. But the monster had another trick up its sleeves – two thick vines sprouted unnoticed from behind and wrapped around the two. They struggled briefly as they were lifted into the air and tossed a short distance away.
"Ow!" Both the brothers grunted as they landed on top of another in an undignified manner.
"Quake!" The monster shouted and jumped up and down a few times. The earth trembled, before several cracks appeared on the ground. Blake and Hunter quickly rolled to safety. On the other hand, Justine was channelling her ninja powers onto Lex to mend his wounds, and was caught off-guard as she lost balance and fell into one of the cracks.
"Justine!" Blake and Hunter shouted, as both of them dashed towards her. She was hanging, barely, on a small jutted handhold in the crack. Hunter reached out to pull her up, as Blake flipped and launched a kick towards the monster to distract it. It didn't go too well though, as Blake's attacks barely affected the monster's thick skin, and Blake was hard-pressed avoiding the oncoming blows.
"Uh Lex, a little help here?!" Blake cried out.
Lex looked around him – Hunter struggling to pull up Justine, while the monster was busy with Blake. Behind it, the morphers sparkled temptingly. A thought came to him – with an expert leap he could just grab the morphers. It wouldn't be too hard; the cuts he had weren't so bad as to hinder him much.
Grinning, he ran towards Blake, ("About time," Blake gasped, even as he blocked a left hook by the monster, and was pushed back several steps) and leaped over them and grabbed a morpher as he landed. Both of them actually paused a few seconds as they stared at Lex with their mouths open.
"Adios, losers." Lex grinned cheekily before leaping off and streaked away. The monster bellowed and launched a flurry of sharp leaves, but it was too late. Frustrated, it turned around and punched at Blake, who didn't quite manage to duck in time, and flew back as he landed near Hunter who had just gotten Justine out.
"You ok bro?" Hunter asked as he reached out his hand to Blake, who gingerly pulled himself up.
"Where's Lex?" Justine asked.
"He took a morpher and bailed," Blake answered bitterly.
"He what?! That jerk!" Hunter pounded his fist angrily. It was then Blake realised Justine was still lying on the ground.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"My leg hit the ground pretty hard when I fell in before I managed to grab hold. I… think my ankle's broken."
"Oh man."
"Hate to break the therapy session bro, but I think we got bigger problems," Hunter said, backing warily. Blake and Justine glanced to their side; the monster was charging at them. Blake and Hunter looked at each other; there was no way they could destroy it; and the chances are slim indeed for one of them to hold it off long enough while the other help Justine to get away. Plus there is the question of retrieving the morpher on the pedestal.
Hunter's eyes darted to one of the cracks on the ground, and an idea came to him. Blake caught his brother's eyes, and he smiled in comprehension. Without hesitation he leaped ahead and landed a few quick blows on the monster. It retreated a few steps from the barrage of attacks, but recovered and started retaliating. Blake broke off though, leaping back and landed with one knee down…
…and his hands put together; whereby Hunter leapt from behind and Blake gave him a boost forward. Hunter turned in the air, his legs positioned to give a powerful sidekick. The monster grunted and stumbled back carelessly, and let out a surprise yelp as it slipped into the crack.
"Yeah!" Blake and Hunter exchanged hi-fis. They didn't want to stick around though to find out how long the monster will take to get out; Hunter helped Justine up and Blake dashed to the pedestal. Only the Crimson Thunder morpher was there. Blake bit back his disappointment as he grabbed it and handed it to Hunter.
"It's ok bro, I'll help Justine out of the woods. You go ahead, you may still be able to cut Lex off," Hunter suggested.
"No way bro. I'm not gonna leave you here with Justine. What if you guys get attacked by the brown creature freaks? You'll have to fight them off, while protecting Justine too. She's deadwood, and won't stand a chance against them. Uh, no offense Justine. "
"None taken." An obvious lie, as she rolled her eyes.
"But…"
"No buts, bro. I'm sticking with you all the way out of here." Blake answered in tone of finality. Hunter was slightly taken aback, but he kept quiet. As it turned out, he was secretly glad though with Blake's decision. They did get attacked several times by the guardian spirits; Blake held off most of them, and Hunter took care of the few that got too near him and Justine. Deep down he knew there was no way he could have fend them off with just one hand and Justine clinging on the other.
The trio manage to make their way out about an hour later, their journey much slower as they couldn't streak. As they exited the woods, the thunder ninja students cheered. Then gasps ensued as they noticed Justine limping and being supported by Hunter. From a distance, Blake could see Lex standing near Sensei Omino, morpher in hand and grinning like a Cheshire cat. His knuckles tightened as they walked on.
As they approached Sensei Omino, he signalled two students who rushed forward to help Justine, and Hunter released her gently. Both of them helped her up the stage, followed by Blake and Hunter. A huge silence descended on the crowd.
"The objective of this trial was to brave the Thunder Woods and retrieve the morphers. Obviously it was no easy task and I applaud the efforts and skills displayed by each of you. And now I shall declare the results." Sensei Omino spoke, while looking at each of them.
"The Crimson Thunder morpher, as in Hunter's possession," Sensei Omino nodded to Hunter before continuing, "will stay with him. He had proven himself once again in this trial." The crowd cheered and clapped, and Hunter smiled a little as Blake put a hand on his brother's shoulder and gave it a small squeeze.
"As for the Navy Thunder morpher," Sensei Omino looked at Lexton for a moment before he continued, "it will not go to Lexton." Lex's jaw dropped, his face clearly shocked. Murmurs of confusion and surprise could be heard from the crowd.
"But I got the morpher first, fair and square. Just like you asked!" Lex protested.
"Indeed. However the trial itself was not merely a test of skills, it is also a measure of your actions and choices. I've been keeping an eye throughout your trek in the woods."
"I don't understand… I got the morpher…"
"And to do that, you choose to abandon your fellow ninjas. Have you not learned that power is not an end to itself, but a means to protect others? True power comes from using and controlling your skills wisely, and not succumb to greed and temptations. In your great desire for power, you have chosen to power over life." Sensei Omino spoke, while shaking his head sadly.
"The morpher itself is a symbol that embodies the very values of a ninja – a tool to protect the innocent. Yet you choose to ignore the plight of others to obtain it. By sacrificing those values, you have shown that you have yet to fully the whole concept of ninja training. Perhaps you should take some time off your teaching duties to contemplate." He took the morpher from Lexton's hand, as Lex just stood there gaping.
Lexton was fully shocked. He couldn't understand what was happening. He got the morpher and returned first; he was supposed to be the new Navy Thunder Ranger. And now, not only Sensei Omino had denied him his morpher, but his position as a teacher is being reconsidered….
"As for Blake, he has demonstrated not only courage, but willingness to sacrifice. He chose to remain to help protect others, when he could have gone ahead to attempt another chance for the morpher. In that, he has strongly upheld the way of the ninja. With that, I hereby declare Blake Bradley as an honorary teacher of the academy."
"Way to go bro!" Hunter cheered as he slapped Blake on his back, while Blake stood there grinning sheepishly. The crowd cheered and clapped, and he could see Dustin putting his fingers to his mouth and whistling wildly.
Sensei Omino raised his hand the crowd silenced, as he continued. "However, there is the matter of the Navy Thunder morpher. As both you and Justine returned at the same time, both of you have an equal claim to it. Perhaps another trial…"
"Pardon me Sensei, if I may," Justine spoke up suddenly. All eyes turned to her and she shifted a little uncomfortably as she spoke. "I fully believe the morpher belongs to Blake. He is an excellent ninja, and I've seen how he and Hunter have this incredible bond. There is just something on how they understand each other so well and the way they work together is simply amazing. I humbly decline any further claims for the morpher."
"Very well then. As was before, Hunter and Blake will resume their roles as Thunder Rangers." Sensei Omino declared, handing the morpher to Blake. As he bent closer to them, he said softly, "Congratulations, boys. I'm very proud of you both."
The crowd went wild again, and Blake was suddenly spun around and caught in huge bear hug by Hunter. Both of them could see their Shane and the rest pumping their fist in the air, before they too came down.
"That's awesome man!" Shane shouted as he clasped Hunter and Blake's shoulder.
"How stoked is this?!"
"I've never doubted both of you."
"Well done guys," Cam added. All 6 of them exchanged hi-fis and hugs.
"Now the whole team is back." Shane said, beaming. Standing nearby, Sensei Omino smiled and nodded.