So I predict only having about two chapters left in me for this story, as this was always intended on being a short story designed to show what life is like between Jungle Fury: The Sun Sparrow and SPD: A New Sun Warrior with hints to upcoming stuff and introduce the new characters for the second arc of this series.

Hope you like it!

Chapter 8: Bonded

Rolling off the sofa, Annie flailed her fists in an almost windmill-like motion. Her opponent covered his face with his arms, before grabbing her hair and pulling. Annie let out a wail of pain.

"Let me go!" the four year old cried as she continued to batter Spencer with her fists.

"You let go!" he yelled back, continuing to pull on her blonde curls.

"Stop copying me!" Annie shouted.

"I'm not!" Spencer argued, pulling even harder as Annie punched him.

"Oh for the love of..." a pair of strong hands grabbed Annie and hauled her into the air, forcing Spencer to let go of her. Spencer got up, jumping at her before someone grabbed him.

"Honestly you two, can't you get along for five minutes?" Ari rolled her eyes as she lifted Spencer into her arms.

"He started it!" Annie yelled.

"Did not!" Spencer shouted back.

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Okay!" Ari spoke loudly as the two struggled, trying to fight each other again. "I don't care who started it. I'm finishing it," she told them. "You'll wake the babies," she warned.

"And you don't want that, do you?" Zoe asked Annie, raising an eyebrow at her.

"No..." Annie mumbled, looking at the ground.

"Why can't you learn to get on?" Zoe asked her daughter as she set her back on the ground. Annie just huffed, folding her arms and pouting.

"Oh, I really see Hunter in her at times like this," Ari grinned, setting Spencer down. He clung to her, shooting Annie a glare.

"Maybe that's why they can't get along," Zoe sighed, resting her hands on her hips. "Too much of you and Hunter in them," she complained as Annie glared back at Spencer.

"Stop it!"

"I'm not doing anything!" Spencer snapped back.

"Enough," Zoe warned them. Huffing again, the two looked away, and Ari laughed. "Don't make me come back in here. If you can't get along, then just don't talk to each other. Just play by yourselves," Zoe told them sternly. The two nodded, and the women went back into the kitchen.

"Slept right through it. Honestly, they sleep like rocks," Ari commented as she went to check on the sleeping twins. Both with mops of dark hair, they were larger than Spencer had been when he had been their age, but they had been born late, and were growing fast.

"Probably a good thing with those two," Zoe sighed, taking a seat again.

"Spence and Annie still fighting?" they looked around as another voice spoke up, and Ari smiled as Jenna knocked on the back door lightly.

"When aren't they fighting?" she shrugged. "It's good to see you Jenna, what brings you here?" Ari asked her as Jenna walked in, a baby carrier in her hand. "Hey JJ," Ari smiled down at the baby not much older than her own children. He blinked up at her with bright blue eyes.

"Hey, it's bad enough RJ calls him that, stop it," Jenna warned as she set his carrier up on the counter beside the other two. "It's Jeremy," she corrected Ari, who grinned to Zoe.

"I tried that with Annie, and nobody listened," the Moon Ninja shrugged.

"You named your daughter Annabelle, it's unsurprising she was nicknamed," Jenna retorted. Zoe went red as Ari hid her laugh.

"Well JJ is Jeremy James, it's unsurprising he got a nickname too," Zoe rolled her eyes. The Master sighed. "Besides, his dad goes by RJ instead of his actual name," she pointed out.

"RJ suits his name. But by that logic, I should be JJ as well. Which I'm not," Jenna added sharply.

"RJ calls you JJ," Ari muttered, earning a glare.

"Why did I come here?" the Spider Monkey Master muttered, before turning to the babies. "How's Chase and Teddie doing?" she asked, smiling at the sleeping infants who were almost 2 months old already.

"They're fine. Still no sign of showing genetic enhancements," Ari replied as she took a seat as well.

"Were you expecting them to?" Jenna glanced at her, looking amused.

"Spencer started glowing when he was a month old," Ari shrugged, and her teacher's eyes widened. "But Rose and Mack's son Tyler didn't develop his own powers until he was six months, so who knows," she added, seemingly oblivious to the stunned reaction.

"He's also able to use Ari's Dino Powers," Zoe added with a smirk, noticing the reaction herself.

"Learned the shield at about 2 years 5 months, the offensive power came a month later," Ari nodded. "Let me tell you, it's not fun teaching a child going through the Terrible Twos not to use the powers on people," she chuckled as Jenna took a seat, her blue eyes still wide.

"Annie was his first victim," Zoe nodded, unable to stop her small grin. It certainly taught the little girl not to call him names, even if they did still fight like cats and dogs.

"They really don't get on, do they?" Jenna recovered from her shock to give a small laugh. "I'd have figured from how close you two are, they'd get on better," she commented. Zoe huffed, looking away.

"Those with Sun and Moon affinities normally get on pretty well, like we do," Ari told her, and grinned. "Unfortunately for Zoe, Annie has an affinity for Thunder," Zoe huffed again at Ari's words.

"And Sun and Thunder don't get on?" Jenna asked curiously. While it had been a few years since Pai Zhuq and Ninjas began to work closer together, there was still a great deal that each side didn't know about the other.

"Sun Ninjas generally get along with everyone," Zoe shook her head. "But Thunder Ninjas are generally a little more standoffish and stubborn, so it's a little harder for them to get along with others," she explained. Jenna nodded, fascinated by the lesson.

"Moon Ninjas are a little fussy as well, but they get on best with Water, and Sun and Fire normally get on well," Ari continued.

"What about-" Jenna went to speak, before hearing a mumble. They glanced around to see Spencer and Annie sitting on the counter, peering at the three babies curiously. The three women watched them silently, wondering what they were doing.

"See?" Annie whispered to Spencer, both unaware that they were being watched. "Super boring," she shook her head. Ari covered her mouth to hide her quiet laugh.

"You're right," Spencer nodded in agreement, staring down at his twin siblings. The two older kids watched them for a moment longer, still unaware of their own audience. "Wanna go play?" the dark haired boy asked, looking up.

"Sure," Annie nodded, and they jumped down from the counter easily, sneaking off.

"Huh," Ari couldn't stop her giggle. Zoe laughed, leaning her head in her hand as she balanced her elbow on the table.

"That's new," the Moon Ninja commented.

"What was that about Thunder Ninjas being standoffish?" Jenna grinned.

"You have to break them slowly," Zoe looked at her, and smirked. "How do you think I got Hunter?" Jenna couldn't help but laugh as Ari rolled her eyes. She got to her feet, and walked over to the three babies. As if sensing her presence, Teddie opened her dark eyes and blinked up at her. After a moment, she squirmed, and Ari lifted her, kissing her nose.

"Let's hope your brother isn't as easily led in other aspects," she grinned at the baby. She then looked over her shoulder at the other women. "Fancy a walk? Lee's been dying to see these two," she suggested.

"Putting Spence and Annie's new-found friendship to the test already?" Zoe asked, but stood anyway. "Sounds good to me," she nodded. "Leelee might just explode when we show up with five cuties," she laughed.

"Jeremy prefers being outside as well, maybe waking up on a walk will make him less cranky," Jenna mused.

"Wonder if he's gonna be a wanderer like you," Ari teased as she walked off to find Spencer and Annie.

"RJ was the same too!" Jenna frowned at her, offended by the teasing. "Why do I visit that brat?" she wondered aloud.

"It's the Sun Ninja thing," Zoe grinned. "No matter how much of a brat she is, you can't help but like her. Besides, even now she's adorable," she sighed, and Jenna laughed, unable to argue.

Creeping down the hallway as quietly as he could, Spencer tip-toed past his parents room, using the light of a small torch to find his path.

"I got a postcard from Dom and Fran today," he stopped, hearing his mother's voice right on the opposite side of the door.

"Oh yeah? Where are they now?" his father asked, sounding sleepy.

"Still in Europe, they stopped into Zandar," Spencer gulped, knowing he'd be in trouble if Ari opened the door and found him out of bed. "Went to the parade for the Prince's first birthday," Spencer continued on quietly, hoping that his mother wouldn't hear him as she spoke. She had incredible senses, which made it impossible to do anything without her knowing.

Quietly, he pushed open the door to the nursery that had been his room until he was old enough to sleep out of a cot, and peeked inside. Green and yellow lights in the shape of stars illuminated the room just enough to see, allowing Spencer to creep in without the use of his torch.

Fast asleep in the cot, Teddie and Chase didn't even stir as Spencer shuffled over to them, wrapping his small hands around the bars as he peered in, watching them with big green eyes. He tilted his head slightly. Annie was right, they really didn't do much. All they'd done since his parents had brought them home was sleep and cry and eat.

As he watched them, Chase suddenly shifted and opened his eyes. He blinked slowly, before shifting again and letting out a whimper. Knowing that the babies crying would bring their parents into the room, Spencer panicked.

Golden light filled the room as Spencer began to glow. Able to do it as long as he could remember, the action came naturally to the toddler, who couldn't understand why he wasn't allowed to use his powers in front of anyone other than those who his mother gave approval for. At that moment, it seemed to do the trick, and the baby boy instantly quietened down, his eyes going to Spencer. Dark brown in colour, they made him look much more like their father, whereas Spencer's black hair and green eyes made him look more like their mother.

"It's okay," Spencer whispered to his younger brother as Teddie stirred, opening her eyes and looking at Spencer as well. Neither made a sound, seemingly fascinated by their glowing brother. "Don't worry, I'm here," Spencer whispered to the two, who gurgled back in their own language. "I'll protect you," he smiled, still glowing. Slowly, their eyes closed again, and they drifted off. Breathing a sigh of relief, Spencer's glowing faded and he crept back out of the room.

"See?" Ari smiled to Xander as he sat back down on the bed. "He does like them," she set down the monitor on the bedside table again.

"You said he called them boring this morning," Xander pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

"To a toddler, they would be," Ari argued. "He can't play with them. Maybe that's why he and Annie started getting along," she mused aloud.

"Hopefully it stays that way," Xander muttered. He still had the burn on his arm from the last fight he'd had to break up. Spencer definitely had a temper at times. Ari got up, stretching.

"Better go get him before he's up half the night," she decided, still smiling in amusement at her older son.

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