《Power Rangers Ninja Fury》


 Chapter 0: Is Normal Too Much to Ask For?

    2018, California


    A young man walked through some leaf covered forests with a backpack slung over one shoulder. He was wheat complexioned, had dark eyes and blonde hair that was cut short on the sides. Thanks to his parentage, he felt he looked like an east Asian idol with a bad dye job. He was a long way from home.


    He didn''t run away exactly. He preferred to think that he was on walkabout. That sounded better. After all there was no reason for him to run away. He was a perfectly healthy and happy alien-hybrid living in a realm of magical creatures with his magical sorceress mother and his giant-mace wielding father. They loved him, he loved them; his extended family, his mother''s sisters and their significant others; and his grandmother, the mother of all magic (it was a title).


    He was curious about the wider world, however. Places where spellbooks weren''t people''s first readers, and arcane language arts wasn''t required schooling. Somewhere normal. Yeah, normal. So, he crept out of his home one late night with all of his worldly possessions stuffed in his backpack, which held more than one would think. He knew that his mom would probably freak out a little bit, but he was fairly confident they wouldn''t come after him too quickly or send the calvary. Afterall, at his age, his father and his twin sister were travelling through dimensions, hunting interdimensional criminals for the bounties on their heads.


    A walk around California was a walk on the beach in comparison. Sometimes literally. Besides, the young man was skipping problematic areas where there were Power Rangers once upon a time. So, he avoided Angel Grove like the plague. That was almost his second home anyway. Been there, done that.


    He stopped walking, a sound penetrating his thoughts. He had heightened senses and perceptions. It would be his luck to inherit the spidey-senses some members of his family had. Not that he was complaining when they saved his hide. He dropped to his knees as something flew over his head and exploded a tree in front of him. He covered his face and rolled into a ball to protect himself as pieces of wood and splinters showered down over him.


    He stood and turned around. "Dude! What was that?" he demanded, dusting himself off. He and another creature blinked at each other. The creature was a white nine-tailed fox demon that wore a mask and dressed in baggy yellow and gray pants. A deep sleeved kimono was covered in leather, fur trimmed armor. Its arms ended in claw-like hands, but the feet were too animal-like for shoes. The mask it wore over its face that had red markings under the eyes, and a mane of dark, greenish hair was pulled into a long braid that hung down it''s back. For all that, it was short, and slim, like a young boy. The decorative hammer that returned to its hand looked almost too big for it, but it held it with ease.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    The fox-demon flattened its ears and snarled under the mask. "Tremble before me, human! Leave here! You are trespassing!" it said in a voice that sounded like a young kid trying to appear older.


    The young man dropped his head back. "Is it because I ran away from home or because I''m a Goldsmith?" he asked the heavens but got no answer.


    The fox-demon snarled again. This time it ran forward and jumped up, holding the hammer above its heads, preparing to crush the young man. "Ogre Summoning Hammer!" it yelled.


    Van Goldsmith jumped backwards a few feet, but he still felt the earth shake under him as the hammer met the ground. The fox-demon was moving again. Van barely managed to avoid being crushed. Whatever his initial thoughts were about the thing, it was fast and strong. "Okay, kiddo. You wanna play?" he asked. He dropped his backpack and held out a hand. A large spikey mace appeared in it.


    The fox-demon narrowed its eyes. It took in a deep breath as it scented the air. "What are you supposed to be, anyway?" it asked as it warily circled the young man.


    "Didn''t you hear me? I''m a Goldsmith," he said and ran toward the demon with his mace. The demon charged forward. The two weapons met. They strained against each other, eye to eye. Van''s eyes widened when his mace gave out. Even as a dark exoskeleton formed over his skin, the hammer crashing into him was still one of the most painful things he''d ever felt. He flew off his feet and crashed into another tree, taking it down in the process.


    The demon rested the hammer against one of the tigers'' heads that adorned each shoulder of its armor. "So, a Goldsmith isn''t that spectacular after all," it scoffed.


    Van sat up and shook himself, the exoskeleton disappearing. He sighed. "I just wanted to try out the normal thing. Was that so much to ask? I mean I know I''m not. I just wanted to try it out," he complained as he got to his feet. He knocked some dust and debris out of his hair. His friendly face had lost all humor and his glared at the demon.


    The fox-demon slunk back warily. Maybe a Goldsmith wasn''t something it wanted to trifle with after all. "Stay out of my way. Next time you won''t like what happens," it warned him. It threw something on the ground that erupted a cloud of greenish dust. When the dust cleared, the demon was gone.


    Van collapsed on the ground with a sigh. "Augh," he said and flopped backwards. He was more tired and hurt than he let on. "This is not going to end well," he groaned. Grumbling to himself, he got to his feet again and looked for his backpack. When he found it and picked it up, there was something stuck to it. It was a blue shuriken made up of four triangles fitted around a circle. It was a key chain clipped to his backpack. He frowned and groaned again. "Here we go," he grumbled. He unclipped the shuriken and it began to glow. It grew in size to fit his palm. It began spinning, throwing off a blue light that engulfed him. He didn''t know where he was going to end up, but he knew normal was no longer part of the equation.


    And So It Begins

 Chapter 01: Shinobi Start!

    Ferrant Heights, CA ¨C 2018


    Quarks was the place to be in Ferrant Heights for the teenaged crowd. Its campy space/science theme was throwback to another time, but it had a great atmosphere, the best food, and room for the occasional event. It was run by a quirky woman in her thirties with a mass of wild red curls, lots of freckles, and large square glasses that magnified her pale blue eyes. She preferred to be called Ms. Frisbey, though there were some who simply called her Ms. Frizz.


    Ms. Frizz was a woman of many talents, several degrees in the sciences, arts, and philosophy. Somehow, she ended up spending her days running Quarks and writing down whatever musings passed her thoughts.


    For the past year or she''s also been the guardian of an independent nephew. Ms. Frizz had never been married, and never around kids as much. Suddenly having a teenaged boy staying with her took some getting used to. But she''d grown up with Grayson boys, and this one was not much different.


    The reason Brenden Grayson left Mariner Bay was because Ferrant Heights was the place that was testing a new program for junior firefighters and other rescue services. It was a bit like an ROTC program attached to the local school, but for emergency and rescue services rather than military. Ferrant Heights High was a top-notch school itself with high academic and athletic standards. It was one of the only reasons his parents allowed their then sixteen-year old to attend the school.


    Brenden did miss his family, and old friends, but he''d quickly made new ones. Aunt Frizz was a unique guardian. He never let himself believe she had no idea what he was doing despite her penchant for seeming scatterbrained.


    He was hanging out with his friends at Quarks on a day when everything changed. Galen Kulbart was the first friend he made when he moved in with Aunt Frizz. He lived two floors down in the apartment building they lived in. They also ended up in the same class.


    Galen was a cheerful friendly guy. His dad drove a dump truck for a local company, and his mother was a nurse at the hospital. He''d spent his early years in Stone Canyon, but his mom''s new job brought him to Farrant Heights. He enjoyed dancing, rapping, mixing music, and karate.


    Misty Falk and her newly divorced mother moved into the building about six months after Brendon. Recently employed as a scientist at S.P.D., Mrs. Falk''s expertise landed her a high paying research job with a local biochemical company. Misty was a year younger than they were, but she was highly intelligent and ended up in their class at school.


    As they sat at a table with a mobile of a galaxy class starship circling above their heads, eating French fries, and sipping milkshakes, they had no inkling what sort of day they were going to have. That somewhere in Ferrant Heights, a group of space-faring criminals had set-up a base of operations. That they were here to wake a great evil that was trapped below the city. That outside Ferrant Heights, a dimensional bubble was forming bringing with it a house and a family looking for a missing child.


    ? ? ?


    There wasn''t a noise. No shimmer. No shake. No warning. Not far from the city of Ferrant Heights, a house and some landscape appeared. A woman with long dark hair poked her head out of window then dashed outside. "Did we end up in the right spot?" she asked, looking around. "I don''t see Donny," she said. "What about Shing?"


    A tall man followed her outside. "Shing got stuck outside the perimeter," he said. Something jangled at his side. He pulled a device out of the pocket of the pants he was wearing. He pulled the high-tech device open to reveal a screen. The face a man with thick black glasses appeared on it. "Sorry I couldn''t be there to greet you. Family emergency," he said. "Did the transfer go smoothly?" he asked.


    Dex Ro, Chieftain of the Ninjetti Clan of Shogunatta nodded. "We made it in one piece, except for Shing. One of the transmitters was malfunctioning. He was on the wrong side of it when it activated," he said. "Thank you for all your help," he said.


    Mai Li, his wife, pushed her face into the frame. "Yes, thank you, Donny," she said.


    "You''re both welcome. Shame about Shing, but if anyone can figure out another way to get there, it''s him. Good luck with finding Mika. If you need my help, you know how to contact me," he said and the screen went black. Dex closed the device.


    Mai Li rubbed the back of her neck. Dex saw the movement, brushed her hand away and took over casually. "Getting to Earth was the hard part," he assured her.


    She sighed and leaned against his chest. "I actually think that was the easy part. The hard part will be finding the Strange Clan, stopping them from awakening an ancient evil ninja spirit that was even banished from Youkai Mountain thousands of years ago, and getting our daughter back from them," she declared.


    Dex smiled somewhat sadly. His dauntless wife was verging on hysteria. The unshakable Mai Li Yeoh hadn''t quite been the same since their daughter disappeared. Learning more about her abductors hadn''t helped matters. He kissed her temple. "But that, my dear, is why we came prepared," he reminded her.


    She nodded and they went back inside the house. There was a workshop in the back of the house. That was their destination, but they got waylaid by two small entities barreling down a hallway. One was chasing the other. Dex scooped one up, a wiggling young girl of about eight. She squealed and giggled when he draped her over his shoulder.


    Mai Li snagged the other one, a boy around eleven. "What the hurry?" she asked.


    "Milo said that we''re on Erf and that there are monsters here and that they were gonna eat me," the girl said.


    With dark hair falling in his face, Milo pouted. "Miru''s exaggerating. I was just telling her about the monster we''re here to stop," he said.


    "Are you exaggerating, puss?" Dex asked the girl as he set her on her feet.


    "Maybe a little," she said and gave an unabashed smile, which made a dimple pop out of one cheek very much like her mother''s. "But we wanted to see Erf," she declared.


    "I''ll take you both outside to see <i>Earth</i> in a little while," Mai Li said. "You two go to the court yard and do your morning drills," she ushered.


    They both gave disappointed groans, but did as they were asked. The house was a series of rooms arranged in a square around a central courtyard with a gate. The courtyard had many purposes. One of the main ones was ninja training.


    Mai Li sighed. "I get the feeling that Miru isn''t wrong about the monsters," she said.


    "Not if the Strange Clan are planning to awaken Gengetsu Kibaoni. If what I''ve learned about them is true, they''ll need to gather a lot of fear. Human fear. Since they also have the Ogre Summoning Hammer, there will be monsters," Dex said grimly.


    Upon entering the workshop, Mai Li skipped over to an ornate wooden box, and opened it. "Luckily my brilliant husband had the foresight to use the power of the Star Furies to create these," she said.


    He walked up behind her and looked down at the box. Five shuriken of varying colors and designs were settled into the padded interior of the case. There was a red one, a white one, a blue one, a pink one, and a yellow one. They about the size of the palm of a hand.


    Dex closed the case and took it out to the courtyard with Mai Li following behind them. The children stopped in their training and snuck closer, eventually attaching themselves to each side of their mother. Dex sat the case on the ground and opened it. He touched a device on the back of his hand. The shuriken floated out of the case and hovered around his hand in a circle. He flicked his hand forward and the shuriken shot into the sky over the fence, and disappeared in winks of color-coordinated lights.


    "I just hope we aren''t already too late," he said. He turned toward his family. "We may have visitors soon," he said. "Who wants to help prepare a welcome for them?" he asked. If nothing else, that got the children''s attention, who had many a farfetched idea for their first encounters with Earthlings.


    ? ? ?


    A new city, a new start for Bianca Florentine. She was pretty, blonde girl, a bit on the tall side. She looked airheaded, slightly vapid. She was the perfect example of why one shouldn''t judge a book by its cover. She''d been acting since she was five, starting out in commercials. Around ten she began to play roles in more action-oriented programs. The younger versions of main characters usually. Eventually she landed a small role on an action program slated for younger children. It was cancelled.


    That led her to her breakout role when she was twelve, the female part of a trio of ninjas. The program lasted four years, and finally ended. During that time, she didn''t just learn basic pantomimed moves of martial arts. No, the studio and network hired a professional stunt and fight coordinating company and the head of the company did not cut the young stars of the series any slack.


    The series ended when the intrepid ninjas defeated their worst enemy, graduated high school, and went off to live their lives in a peaceful world.


    Bianca decided to do something similar. She decided to take a year off, finish high school, train more, and then go on to be the female action star of Hollywood. Though she started her career in San Angeles, her hometown, she relocated to Ferrant Heights for some anonymity, and to finally process the death of her mom, for both her and her dad. He thought it''d be good for them to get away from the spotlight and the memories for a while, and she agreed wholeheartedly.


    She was headed toward what she''d recently learned was the place to be if you were a teenager in Ferrant Heights. It appeared to be a hokey diner with the best food. She looked down at her phone to make sure she was in the right place. "Across from the north entrance to Ironside Park," she murmured. She looked up and around. She saw the quaint sign proclaiming Ironside Park. Across the street, she saw the neon sign proclaiming Quarks.


    In the middle of the street she saw blue and black checkered creatures in wide pointy hats. Some carried spears, others carried flintlock-esque pistols. Some carried both. There appeared to be an entire squadron of them. Leading them was a more ornate creature without a pointy hat. Instead it seemed to wear a griffon''s head as a helmet and had a more ornate spear.


    Other people noticed them now, and began to panic, to scream, to run, to call for help. Bianca froze.


    The leader of the cohort raised his spear and made an inarticulate sound that the others seemed to understand. Some got down on their knees and began firing ghostly balls of energy at people. Others fanned out to attack others.


    One of the creatures came toward her. She shrieked, and pulled can of mace out of her purse and hit him full in in the face with it. He led out a garbled sound of pain and outrage as he staggered back. Then, years of martial arts choreography kicked in. She turned in close, elbowed him in the chest, twisted his arm, pulled the spear from his hand in a nearly expert whirl, and jabbed him with it.


    Although he didn''t exactly have a face, he seemed surprised as his looked down at the spear sticking out of his chest. He made a whine and then whooshed into a spectral figure that seemed to be sucked into an other-world. Bianca didn''t have too much time to get over her shock of what had just happened, because now she''d become a target and needed to find somewhere to take cover.


    She hid behind a tree, just as a ghostly bullet hit the tree, she felt it shudder. She shuddered. As she caught her breath, she realized there was something stuck to her purse. It was a small white throwing star that seemed to have been clipped on to it. She didn''t get a chance to wonder about it because another of the creatures found her hiding spot. She yelped and rolled, thrusting his captured spear upward just as his came down. She cried out when it hit her shoulder. It seemed to go through her, but not in the typical sense, as it didn''t tear her flesh. But it was stuck in her regardless, and she was seeing stars as blackness edged her vision.


    ? ? ?


    Brenden, Galen, and Misty had finished their meals. They were heading outside when they saw the creatures appear. "You kids get back in here!" Aunt Frizz shouted, her magnified eyes going even wider behind her magnified specs.


    However, it was too late. The attacking creatures turned their attention to the building full of scared young people. Brenden slammed the doors behind him. "You guys run for it. I''m not letting these things in this building," he declared, his protective, rescuer instincts kicking into gear. He dodged a blast of the ghostly energy the musketeers fired.


    Galen and Misty went in opposite directions to take cover.


    Brenden rolled to his feet, landed a spinning back kick to one of the creatures with the spears. It sent him flying into a line of musketeers, disrupting their targeting skills. Another spearman came at him, and he ducked, jabbed the creature under the arm, effectively disrupting his ability to use the spear. Unfortunately for Brenden, the creature also had hand to hand combat skills as well. A knee to his head sent him crashing to the ground and made his ears, ring.


    "I''m rustier than I realized," he complained. He got to one knee. He shook his head to clear the ringing and saw a strange key-chain sized throwing star clipped to one of his high-top sneakers. He didn''t have time to investigate. He got to his feet and bounced on his toes lightly. "Let''s see if this still works," he said. He blew out a breath, gathered his thoughts, and energy. He focused his Ki and thrust out a hand toward a creature coming at him. The creature jerked back, shook himself and kept coming. "A whole lot rustier than I realized," Brenden muttered. "Basics it is," he said and launched himself at the creature. The more he fought, the more past training came back to him, but he was still pretty rusty.


    Misty dodged behind a piece of shrubbery. The firing stopped when Brenden amazingly threw one of the creatures at the others. Still, there were a lot of the creatures. She saw a couple of younger kids being chased out of the park by a couple of the spear wielding ones. Without thinking, she ran toward them. She hadn''t had a chance to tell anyone, but she''d undergone an extensive training regimen for the inaugural "Junior S.P.D." program. She tended to be a bit competitive and always had to be the best at whatever she tried. She finished the program at the top.


    She got between the kids and the creature. "Go to Quarks. Hurry," she shouted at them. Despite her compact frame, she rammed her shoulder into the creature''s chest, grunting from the pain of it. She grabbed its wrist, hook her foot behind its ankle and threw him over her shoulder. She grabbed the spear and jabbed him with it. He disappeared in a whooshing flash, startling her so much she almost lost the plot. But she didn¡¯t. She moved on because there were more of the creatures and more people in danger.


    She missed another jab. The creature grabbed her spear, jerked her forward, and knocked her on her rear. Groaning, she climbed to her feet. She dusted off her bottom and found a pink star clipped to her belt loop. With no time to spare, she ran at her enemy, now wielding two spears. She jumped, using the spears as a landing zone. Stunned the creature found himself balancing her. She jumped again, hooking her legs around his neck, grabbing the spears. She used her momentum to throw him, but kept the spears.


    Galen poked his head around the plastic trash can he''d hidden behind when the shooting stopped. Several Spearman were coming toward him. He may have been a free styling b-boy to most people, but he''d spent years as a pupil at the Stone Canyon Scott Dojo. Combining his two skill sets was sometimes pretty impressive.


    Using his wrists, Galen spun himself, kicking the trash can into the spearmen. He whirled to his feet. He bounced, kicking out at one creature, punching another in the throat all while midair. His body spun horizontally midair before he landed, going to one knee. When he straightened the cap he wore, he realized a strange yellow thing was clipped to it.


    He bent backwards, avoiding a spear swipe. He placed his hands on the ground behind him, twisted, spinning his body in a display of physics defying skill. As he whirled in circles, he kicked many of the creatures off their feet. When he came to his feet, Misty tossed him a spear. He grinned. ¡°You guys are in for it now. I actually know how to use this thing,¡± he warned them, giving the spear a well-executed whirl.


    Having acquired a spear of his own, Brenden joined his joined his friends. They all finally noticed the blonde girl get attacked, but between them and her were still nearly a dozen of the creatures. They looked at each other, and seemed to understand that they needed to help her.


    Bianca rather wished someone would help. She wasn¡¯t sure what the spear was doing to her, but it seemed to be draining something out of her. A flash of blue light made her wince. She found herself peering up at a pretty young man with the most ridiculously unnatural blonde hair that even a K-pop idol would steer away from.


    Somehow, he didn¡¯t even seem phased to suddenly be appearing in a war zone. If anything, he seemed rather annoyed. He threw his hands up. ¡°Of course!¡± he complained. He cracked his knuckles, then kicked Bianca¡¯s surprised tormenter, sending him crashing several yards away.


    He adjusted the backpack he wore. ¡°Let me help with that,¡± he said. He knelt and put a hand on her shoulder near where the spear was stuck. She groaned. He grimaced apologetically. ¡°Sorry,¡± he said. ¡°Good news. It may hurt, but it won¡¯t kill you. It¡¯s just sucking up your fear that it¡¯ll kill you,¡± he stated. He got to his feet. He gripped the spear. ¡°Brace yourself. Ready?¡±


    Bianca sucked in a deep breath, gritted her teeth, and nodded. He pulled on the spear. It came out easily enough, but it did not feel great at all. He tossed it aside and helped her to her feet. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said.


    ¡°No sweat,¡± he said. ¡°You should get somewhere safe,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll help those industrious heroes,¡± he said, meaning the outnumbered trio valiantly fighting off the creatures.


    Something happened before she object, or he could do anything. A dark hooded figure appeared. Seeming to wink in and out of existence, he tacked wards onto the creatures. He stood off to the side as the creatures explode.


    Spectral blue energy obscured everything on the street. When it cleared, if anyone remembered seeing five teenagers and a hooded man, they weren¡¯t there now. They¡¯d vanished along with the creatures and left everyone in Ferrant Heights wondering what exactly just happened.


    ? ? ?


    Ferrant Heights, back in the early 19th Century, used to mine for iron ore. There were a number of abandoned mines, and even an old mining shack or two. It as a dangerous area that neither the city nor the state knew what to do with. It was so far away from the city, that even bored hooligans didn¡¯t bother to go there.


    It was also rumored to be haunted.


    In a way it was. Mining shut down for reason. It was if they were beginning to dig out something ancient. Something evil. The locals at the time believed it was ancient Native American burial places.


    The Chinese laborers who also worked the mines thought it was the spirit of an ancient mogwai. They¡¯d often burn paper money to appease it before beginning work. In the end, the mine shut down when it no longer produced enough ore to be profitable. Or so says the official account. Its rumored that they were no longer able to hire enough people to work there.


    This was exactly the right place for a troupe of no goodnick space ninjas to set up a base of operations. Because there was a mogwai deep, deep into the mines and beyond this world. And these no goodnick space ninjas intended to wake it up.


    The Strange Clan were a brutal, widespread group. Their criminal activities were well known in certain parts of the galaxy. They were human, but where they originated was something lost to the ethers of history. Not that they were a backwards gazing bunch.


    No. They were focused solely on their future and their power. At least the current patriarch was. Laird Gennus Strange was a big, burly man with a face almost as red as the long braid that fell from the top of a head that was bald otherwise. Blazing blue eyes were sharp, and something of a family trait.


    Accompanying on this venture was his brother Ryzo. Ryzo was the baby of the Clan¡¯s elder siblings. He had a shock of white-blonde hair, the only man of the Clan whose head wasn¡¯t mostly shaved. He also had two different colored eyes. The right was blue, the left was gold. He wasn¡¯t very bright, but he was fiercest, most loyal warrior in the clan.


    Juno Strange was the sister just younger than Gennus. She was his right hand. As shrewd as she was skillful, he often followed her advice when given. They also fought like cats and dogs over trivial matters like most siblings. She was the only brunette in the elder clan, her hair something akin to a pixie cut, but much shorter on the sides and in back. She tended to talk down to Ryzo. She also highly disapproved of one member of their little quartet.


    Gennus had married a young, pretty, conniving little gold-digger. At least that¡¯s how Juno saw her. Aradne was a skilled thief and con-artist. Gennus fell for her and had to have her as soon as they met. Tall, slender, warm skinned with oval brown, nearly black eyes, she looked like a Persian princess. Her black hair was long and stylish. She was highly pregnant, but Gennus didn¡¯t want to wait to reach his goals.


    They¡¯d converted one of the old mines into something of a home, with rooms, a kitchen, and study of sorts. It was where they gathered to make their plan and keep an eye on their progress. It was also where an alter had been set up to gather human fear. There was a series of cascading bowls. When the bottom, largest bowl began to overflow, that meant they¡¯d succeeded in awakening the ancient spirit of a being so powerful, so terrifying, that the Youkai Royal Family of Shogunatta had banished it to the furthest depths of reality.


    Gennus had learned with enough human fear, the entity would begin to awaken. Then he¡¯d just have to crack open the fabric of reality to finally free it. He¡¯d spent a long time finding everything he needed to fulfill his destiny.


    One of Juno¡¯s skills was summoning onizaks, restless spirits of disgraced, fallen warriors, and controlling them. She¡¯d finally sent them out to the nearest human population. For a while, fear had poured into the into the alter. Then it stopped.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Gennus demanded.


    Juno was also able to see what any of the onizaks could. She¡¯d been watching through the eyes of the daionizak, the cohort commander. ¡°Some of the Earthlings fought back, but that¡¯s wasn¡¯t the problem,¡± she said grimly. ¡°There was a man. Dressed in black. He used some wards to banish the onizaks,¡± she said.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°You should have let me go,¡± Ryzo stated.


    ¡°It sounds to me like you need something a bit stronger than an onizak,¡± Aradne said with a serene smile. She ignored Juno¡¯s glare with grace.


    The final member of their group joined them. A small fox-demon with nine-tails. It was compact and thin. It wore a leather and fur vest, baggy pants, and a fox-demon mask. It had a long greenish-black braid. It also carried a hammer that seemed ridiculously large for it.


    ¡°Gumi!¡± Aradne cooed, and waddled over to the creatures. ¡°How¡¯s my fuzzy-wuzzy little smooshums?¡± she said and scratched the demon¡¯s soft furry ears.


    Gumi snarled and flattened its ears back. ¡°Stop doing that!¡± it said in a young but low voice. ¡°I was scouting the area. We may have a problem, laird,¡± said the demon.


    ¡°I was just learning about a hooded man who knew how to vanquish onizaks,¡± Gennus said in a deceptively conversational tone.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about that. I ran into something that called itself a Goldsmith,¡± Gumi reported. ¡°It was...impressive.¡±


    Ryzo scoffed. ¡°Anything that can give this scrawny little bag of fur trouble isn¡¯t worth paying attention to,¡± he declared. ¡°Let me go to the city and force these weaklings to fear me!¡± he asked.


    Gennus was quiet a moment. ¡°Juno, I want you and Gumi to supervise the youkaiza,¡± he said. Ryzo made a discontented sound, but a glare from Gennus shut him up quickly.


    Juno paled slightly. ¡°I haven¡¯t ever summoned a youkaiza,¡± she said.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that part of why we obtained the Ogre Summoning Hammer?¡± Aradne said helpfully.


    Juno sighed through her nose and got to her feet. ¡°Gumi. Let¡¯s go,¡± she said. Bouncing gleefully, Ryzo headed out behind his big sister. Gumi skulked out behind them, not looking forward to whatever they had planned.


    ? ? ?


    The five teenagers appeared in the central courtyard of a gated, walled, eastern influenced house. There was a banner strung from the overhanging roof of the central room that read ¡°Welcome Heroes of Erf!¡± with a big smiley face painted as the dot of the exclamation mark.


    A young girl threw a handful of glitter confetti into the air, and a little boy pulled a party popper which showered them with multi-colored paper strings.


    The hooded man chuckled. ¡°Nice sign,¡± he said. Pulling back his hood, Dex grinned at the expressions on the faces of the teens. ¡°Where¡¯s your mother?¡± he asked his children.


    ¡°Getting the cake,¡± Mai Li announced as she appeared from the kitchen was a cake that had the five multicolored throwing stars adorning it in icing. ¡°Oh, you poor dears. We didn¡¯t expect things to happen to so quickly. We¡¯d hoped to be able to explain things before the Strange Clan made its move,¡± she said, setting the cake down on a picnic table.


    ¡°Things happen when they¡¯re meant to,¡± Dex said.


    ¡°Explaining things would be nice,¡± Brenden said, finally finding his voice.


    The blonde guy crept over to the cake. ¡°Indoctrinate those guys. I know the spiel already. I¡¯ll have cake,¡± he said.


    Mai Li slapped his hand before he could get a taste of icing. ¡°Oh, no, mister. You listen, too. It¡¯s very important,¡± she scolded him.


    He rubbed his hand. ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± he said.


    Misty and Bianca couldn¡¯t suppress giggles at his expense but Brenden frowned sternly.


    Dex hid his amusement. ¡°First of all, I am Dex Ro, Chieftain of the Ninjetti Tribe. This is my wife Mai Li. My son, Milo. My daughter Miru. We''ve come a long way. Since the Shinobi Power Stars found you, that means you can help us,¡± he said seriously.


    ¡°We gotta beat up a monster and find my sister,¡± Miru declared.


    ¡°There''s a bit more than that, puss,¡± Dex said.


    ¡°Tell us over cake,¡± the blonde boy said.


    Brenden looked at him with a bemused frown. ¡°How can you keep harping--¡±


    ¡°A great idea,¡± Mai Li said. She ushered everyone to sit at the table. She fussed over them, made sure they weren''t hurt badly or too uncomfortable. She made sure they all had cake and milk. When they were settled, whether they wanted cake or not, Dex told them why they were there.


    Then he explained that the Star Furies were a crystalline energy source found on one of Shogunatta¡¯s moons. They began using them to power homes and other technologies. The most abundant source was furium. The Star Furies themselves were rarer. Small, highly concentrated crystalline deposits that naturally resembled stars. They were meant to be used for defense purposes.


    When the Ogre Summoning Hammer disappeared, the Star Furies were utilized for new Morphing technology. ¡°The Stars were designed to seek out and locate compatible partners. You five were chosen.¡±


    Misty studied her pink star. ¡°AI?¡± she asked, wide-eyed.


    ¡°Eh, not really. There was technical stuff about bio scans, mentality, and physicality,¡± Mai Li said.


    ¡°Whoa,¡± Misty said.


    ¡°So, what are your names?¡± Miru asked, wanting to stop dwelling on the boring stuff.


    ¡°Brenden Grayson.¡±


    ¡°Misty Falk.¡±


    ¡°Galen Kulbart.¡±


    ¡°Bianca Florentine.¡±


    ¡°Van Goldsmith.¡±


    Before anyone could marvel over Bianca, as both Misty and Galen were fans, a strange sound erupted from one of the rooms. Dex to his feet and ran into the dojo. Brenden and Van weren''t far behind him. There was a map at the back of the dojo. He tapped on a blinking red dot and the map changed to a video image of a creature rampaging in Ferrant Heights.


    ¡°Looks like we''ll learn about our new powers on the fly,¡± Van said.


    ¡°Tap the back of your hands three times. Clicking the left button will take to a source of disturbance or back here. The right button is a communicator. To morph, connect the Stars and the Starter together. Good luck,¡± Dex said.


    Tapping on their hands revealed a device they hadn''t even realized had been implanted there.


    ¡°We really doing this?¡± Galen asked.


    ¡°You bet your buttons. I feel like this is what Master Park whipped me into shape for,¡± Bianca declared.


    ¡°You can''t outrun destiny, no matter how much you might want to,¡± Van declared.


    ¡°I''d hate to think I finished top my class in the SPD junior program was for nothing,¡± Misty said.


    Brenden nodded. ¡°My whole life has been about doing the right thing. I won''t stop now,¡± he said.


    Galen nodded. ¡°Let''s go then.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± they said together. They clicked the left button of the Shinobi Starters and disappeared in puffs of ninja smoke.


    Mai Li blew out a breath. "They''re younger than I thought they''d be,¡± she said.


    Dex draped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his side. He gave her a slight squeeze. ¡°They''ll be fine. They wouldn''t have been chosen if they weren''t ready,¡± he assured her. She nodded and rested her head against him as they watched to see how things would unfold.


    ? ? ?


    The Ironside Mall was busy on a Saturday. Events earlier that day seemed far removed from people going about their business. Some shopped. Some sat around an open-air food court and sipped coffee or got a snack. They never expected an Onizak attack.


    So when the creatures began appearing, seemingly clawing their way out of the ground, the ghastly creatures achieved maximum fear mongering. Afraid and panicked people began trying to get away from them.


    Meanwhile, on the roof of one of the buildings that made up the Mall, Juno and Gumi were engaged in something else. Juno held a slip of paper between two fingers and was chanting something lowly under her breath. The paper began to glow, slipped away from Juno, and began to form a ball of ghastly light. "It''s ready," Juno said.


    Gumi nodded and hit the ball of light with the Hammer. The light seemed to solidify, then crack. The glowing shell seem to fade away revealing a throwing star. "That''s it?" Gumi snarled?


    Juno smirked. She took the star and tossed it.


    The five teens appeared in the courtyard of the mall. "These guys again," Brenden complained.


    "Get back!" Van said suddenly, flinging and arm out before anyone could step forward. A streak of something flew past them.


    "That guy again," Gumi snarled.


    The youkaiza summoning star cut through anything in its way and then bonded to a chainsaw that someone had just purchased from a hardware store, but had been left behind when the onizaks attacked.


    "Object devoid of will of your own, let the Youkaiza give you purpose," Juno incantated.


    Dark energy exploded outward from the saw and it began to move, to change shape. It grew into a monster that resembled a weasel in a hockey mask, but with sickle shaped chain saw blade growing from it. "Aaah! This is nice," he declared. She spun in a circle and threw energy from his blades that cut off the tops of trees. He threw another at a van. It exploded on impact.


    "Hey!" Brenden shouted. It was time to put a stop to this nonsense.


    The youkaiza whirled toward them, throwing more energy blades. The quintet lunged out of the way. Bianca barely made it. Part of her brand-new skirt didn''t make it. She gasped and sputtered. First her shoulder, now her skirt.


    Weasel Sickle laughed. "Fear the blade. Be afraid. Be very afraid," he said, and ignoring them, started to attack more people.


    "I think it''s time," Brenden said, as he started to get to his feet.


    "It''s way past time," Bianca agreed, and got up in a huff.


    "If you guys are sure about this," Galen said from where he sat. That thing was very scary.


    Van put a hand on his shoulder. "It''ll be a cake walk," he said.


    "I think you just want another piece of cake," Misty declared as she stood.


    "That''s true," Van said as hopped to his feet. He held a hand down to Galen. The other boy grabbed his hand after a brief hesitation. Van effortlessly helped him to his feet.


    "Then we''re agreed?" Brenden asked without looking behind him.


    Van pulled out his Power Star and clicked it. It grew larger, and an image of a helmeted figure appeared on it. "We are agreed," he said.


    The others did the same.


    Brenden nodded and pulled his out. He held his hand fisted in front of him. "Shinobi Start!" He placed the Star against the Starter. It hovered slightly and his flicked it, it began spinning


    As one the other four repeated the actions. "Ninja Fury Power!" they called in unison.


    The Stars flew forward, attacking several of the onizaks before flying back to them. In multicolored streaks, the Stars flew around them, producing nearly solid colored powersuits on the boys, with white boots, black arms, colored gauntlets and black gloves. The girls formed skirted powersuits with the legs being black with faux thigh high white boots, and white booties. Black sashes with colored shuriken motifs forms, then golden belts, frog themed sidearms, and finally yellow and silver bladed swords strapped to their backs.


    The last things to form was the helmets. The Stars spun front of their faces as the helmets began to appear.


    A mostly flat topped yellow helmet formed to match the main color of Galen''s suit. A star with for rectangular points appeared as his visor. "The shimmering calm, Yellow Shinobi Ranger!"


    A slightly more pointed pink helmet formed to match the main color of Misty''s suit. A star with slightly rounded triangles as the points appeared as her visor. "The wavering haze, Pink Shinobi Ranger!"


    A slightly flatter topped blue helmet formed to match the main color of Van''s suit. A star with long sharp triangles for the points appeared as the visor. "The soaring clouds, Blue Shinobi Ranger!"


    Another more pointed white helmet formed match the match the main color of Bianca''s suit. A star with slightly rounded pentagons appeared as her visor with an outline of gray around it to match the gray bordering her sash. "The flower in the wind, White Shinobi Ranger!"


    A pointed red helmet formed to match the main color of Brenden''s suit. A shuriken in motion appeared as his visor. "The roaring brilliance, Red Shinobi Ranger!"


    Sickle Weasel stumbled back in surprise. "What? What''s this?" he demanded.


    Juno clenched her fists. "That''s a good question," she said. Gumi crouched, watching. The fox-demon snarled. It knew that Goldsmith thing was bad news.


    "We are what''s going to put an end to you today. We''re Power Rangers," Red Shinobi stated.


    Sickle Weasel and the Onizaks tilted their heads. "Power Rangers?"


    Red drew his Star Blade. "Prepare to feel the fury," he said, and jumped. He flipped in the air, and came down in front of Sickle Weasel. The youkaiza threw one of its blades up to block the sword''s slash. The began to trade blows, all the while he was also fending off onizaks with spears.


    Blue drew his Blade. He began flipping through a series of onizaks. He rolled and came to his feet in front of a confused creature and revealed that he''s used a wire from the base of the blade to string a line of them together. He drew his side-arm. "Surprise!" he fired on the creatures and they disappeared in ghostly blue puffs.


    Yellow was fighting onizaks that had spilled out into a parking area. He jumped on cars, and kicked out at them before moving on. Suddenly he jerked back. There was one of the musketeers on the mall''s tall sign sniping at him. He back flipped from one car onto another, then flung two copies of his Star at the side with wires attached to him. They worked like both grabbling hook and wenches. They pulled him up to the sign where he threw the onizak off. He pulled out his Shooter and fired, disintegrating him on the way down, and took out a few more that were after him.


    Red lost the youkaiza while he was fighting the onizaks. He''s ended up on another building of the mall complex. Onizaks were after him. He slashed at them with his sword and jumped onto a shorter, building. Onizak musketeers were shooting at him, but he flipped through a crowd of them, and unleashed several red stars, that lodged in the concrete beneath the creatures that were above and around him. He dove off the building just as the stars exploded.


    With her blade in hand, Pink was fending for herself, but there were still plenty of onizaks after her. She let out a deep breath and jumped, gracefully sailing backwards in the air before flipping and landing. She stood and waited. The onizaks came after her. As they came forward, the concrete opened beneath them. "Pitfall Technique!" Even if the ones in front wanted to stop, the momentum of the ones behind send them all tumbling into the hole. She drew her side-arm and fired on them. When she turned, the concrete reappeared as if there''d never been a hole.


    White found herself on a catwalk connecting two construction sites nearby where they seemed to be expanding the mall. A couple of onizaks had followed her up. She slashed at one with her blade, whirled on one foot and kicked the other off. Onizaks on the ground were firing at her and she used the blade to deflect the shots. "When are you guys going to realize I''m more than just a pretty face?"


    She jumped down from the catwalk. She landed on one the onizaks and rolled to her feet. She kicked out at some, used her blade on others. One of the spearmen got a lucky shot at her sore shoulder, which threw off another spin-kick. She toppled to one knee and the Onizaks tried to take advantage.


    Red came along, and handled them. "Are you, okay?" he asked, blocking her from any other attackers that may try to get to her.


    "Ego''s a bit bruised. Master Park would have my hide for that screw up," she declared sourly as she got to her feet.


    "We won''t tell," Blue assured her as he, Pink, and Yellow converged on them.


    Sickle Weasel found them. "Yo, ninja wannabes," he called out. "I''ll make you all cower in fear!" he said was shaking in rage at their defiance of his fearmongering.


    Red stepped forward. "You''ll have to do a lot better than that to frighten me," he said. He didn''t mean to sound cocky, but his training had prepared him for fear.


    "What! How''s this?!" Sickle Weasel used his bladed to throw slashes of dark energy at the Red Ranger.


    Red held up his sword. The energy met it, and he used the blade with a deft wrist movement to hurl the energy back at the youkaiza. "And this is just the start!" He lashed forward with his sword again as the youkaiza brought up his blades to defend himself.


    "Transtarter Bow!" White and Pink each summoned a large star-shaped weapon which they used as a bow, and pulled back on it.


    Red swirled around and jumped out of the way as energy formed in the center of the bow. The girls released and the energy blasts flew into the creature. He cried out when he stumbled back. He growled and his bladed arms began to glow.


    "Boo!" Yellow appeared beside him. He also held a star shaped device, but his had a small dagger like blade on it. "Transtarter Blade!" He stabbed at the youkaiza and sent it rolling.


    Before the creature could even properly get to its feet, Blue jumped from the catwalk. "Transtarter Claw!" he fell into the creature with a star weapon with two blades. Electrify arced and Blue pulled away. The explosion sent Sickle Weasel flying backwards, and crashing into the ground.


    Red attached his Power Star to his Star Blade and pressed a button neat the hilt. "Ninja Fury Power!" he spun the Star on his blade and red energy emanated from it. He ran forward at a great speed. His slashed streaks of red. He jumped up a great height and came down hard. "Furious Ninja Slash!" A final slash of energy had the monster arcing like crazy.


    "You shinobi need to chill out a bit," he said weakly. Red jumped free just as the energy exploded.


    He landed and whirled around with the others coming up behind him. "We don''t chill when it comes to saving people from monsters," he declared.


    The heap that was the monster began to smoke purple as the energy that created him began to dissipate. Just then a nine-tailed fox demon landed out of nowhere.


    "You again!" Blue sputtered.


    Gumi ignored him. The fox demon put a star on the hammer and twisted it. Without saying anything, the creature hit the air above the youkaiza. It jumped free when energy exploded out from the creature and it grew to enormous proportions. The explosion knocked the unprepared Rangers off their feet.


    "Now you should be afraid. All your fear are belong to me!" he crowed He began using his blades to tear up the buildings he could get to.


    "Now what?" White huffed.


    "Did Dex''s speech cover summoning Zords?" Blue asked.


    As if on cue, five more Stars were thrown from the top of catwalk, the man in black. They landed in the concrete near them.


    "Didn''t think he''d let us down, did you?" Pink asked as she took her pink star.


    "Nah. Guy''s a pro," Blue said, taking his. The others took theirs as they got to their feet.


    "Zord time," Red said, replacing his Power Star with his Zord Star. He pressed another button on his Blade. "Hidden Shinobi Zord!" he summoned, spinning the Star. As if appearing from nowhere, a red and silver humanoid Zord came running through the city.


    Pink spun her Zord Star. "Hidden Express Zord!"


    White spun her Zord Star. "Hidden Wolf Zord!"


    A shimmer in the sky preceded the appearance of a pink and black bullet train. A white wolf Zord with a black head and golden throwing knife in its mouth jumped out of the back compartment with a howl.


    Blue spun his Zord Star. "Hidden Drago Zord!" A blue dragon glowed into existence with a proud spread of its wings and an arrogant roar.


    Yellow spun his Zord Star. "Hidden Dumper Zord!" A large yellow dump truck shimmered into existence and rolled down the street.


    The Rangers watched as the Zords approached. "Wow. That''s some collection," Blue whistled.


    "They''re awesome!" Pink declared excitedly.


    "How did--how did they know my dad drove a dump truck?" Yellow asked.


    "Mine''s adorable," White declared.


    "Come on. No time for gawking," Red said and the Rangers jumped onto their Zords.


    Sickle Weasel turned, saw the Shinobi Zord coming at him. He slung energy blades, but the agile Zord jumped and spun, avoiding the blast. Sickle Weasel tried several times to strike at it, but the dodge dodged, even at one point leaping over the giant youkaiza. "Take this!" he threw several throwing knives at the Zord, but it jumped back, seeming to pull up a slab of street which the knives hit instead.


    When concrete slab settled back into place, the Dumper Zord was on top of it. It drove toward the weasel, and launched several star shaped grenades that exploded around the monster''s feet.


    The Express Zord seemed as if it could use anything as a track, zoomed along and launched several throwing stars at the monster. The Wolf Zord attacked with throwing knife in its mouth then landed in the Express Zord''s empty car.


    With the youkaiza distracted, Shinobi Zord appeared with a piece of metal scaffolding and hit the monster. But as he pressed the advantage, it tripped, and went down.


    "Ha! You''re open!" Sickle Weasel said and went in for the attack.


    Drago Zord swooped in and with a might roar, blew flames on the furry chainsaw. The creature flew back and crashed. "No, it was me who was open," he complained.


    "Zord lessons are probably in the offing," Blue commented.


    "I hope so," Red said. His Zord Star began glowing. "Time to bring them together," he declared and gave it another spin. "Shinobi Star Megazord!" The Zords began to transform and come together to create a giant robot with Shinobi Zord using Dumper Zord like a throne holding a sword made of Drago''s tail. The Rangers appeared in a shared cockpit where they all stood in front of podiums that they inserted their swords into.


    Red stood at the central podium. "Wow. This is kind of epic," he declared.


    "Sweet," Yellow declared.


    "Come on guys, get your heads in the game," Blue warned them.


    "Oh, come on. We aren''t all as strangely calm as you are," Pink declared.


    "I don''t think he''s as jaded as he pretends to be," White stated.


    "Okay, everyone, he''s right. Let''s go!" Red said and pushed his Blade forward.


    The Megazord lunged forward, swinging the Drago Blade. Sickle Weasel blocked with his arm blade. They traded blows while the Rangers struggled to maintain control. Red pulled his Sword and left the main cockpit and appeared in the Shinobi Zord and it jumped off the Megazord. It ran around the youkaiza, who whirled around trying to get a swipe in.


    "Too fast," the monster complained, wobbling dizzily.


    Shinobi Zord jumped back onto the Megazord and Red reappeared in the cockpit. "Now the finisher," he declared.


    "Right!" the others agreed. They drew their Blades. "Splendid Slash!"


    The Drago Blade began to glow. The Rangers slashed their Blades. The Megazord slashed the monster with an explosion of multiple colors as it slid by him. It came to a stop as he exploded behind him, nothing left but the youkaiza shuriken that landed in the concrete roof where Juno and Gumi were watching. It cracked and disintegrated as they watched.


    Juno pursed her lips sourly. "Come, Gumi. Let''s go see what our Laird wants to do about this," she said. She turned and jumped off the building. Gumi glowered at the heroes for a moment before joining her.


    ? ? ?


    Ms. Frizz shrieked when her nephew walked into Quarks. She ran to him and clutched him close. "Are you okay? Never do that again, you rotten boy? What would I tell your father if something happened to you?" she demanded, hovering between hugging him and smacking him on the arm.


    Brenden winced, hugged her back, and had the decency to look chagrined. "I texted you that I was helping with the clean-up," he reminded her.


    The other teens came into the building, and behind them were the Ro family. "This is such a cute place," Mai Li declared, looking around at all the decorations.


    Forgetting her troublemaking nephew, Ms. Frizz beamed. "Thank you. I decorated it myself. I don''t believe I''ve seen you around. Welcome to Quarks," she said.


    "This is Dex and Mai Li Ro," Brenden said. "They''re new in town and were volunteering at the clean up as well. That''s where I also met Bianca Florentine and Van Goldsmith," he said.


    "And I''m Miru and this is my brother Milo. He doesn''t talk much," the little girl declared, and kept staring at Ms. Frizz''s hair.


    "Well. Welcome to Ferrant Heights," Ms. Frizz said. With that she bustled off to see about feeding everyone. Ferrant Heights might never be the same again, but that didn''t mean she''d let anyone feel unwelcome. This was her town after all and she''d do whatever she could to protect it.


    ? ? ?


    End


    ? ? ?

 Chapter 02: Natural Born Shinobi

    Five teenagers were laying on the ground, head-to-head, fanned out in a star shape. Each of them had had some sort of training. But none of them were prepared for Dex Ro. They''d assembled upon his request, every day for over a week. He''d outfitted them with form-fitting black suits and chest covering with a hood that was a dark version of their Ranger colors. Then he began the training.


    At first it hadn''t been so bad. A few basic katas to assess them. He slowly ramped things up a notch at a time. All their styles were different but were rooted in the same basic principles of Karate. Even Van''s unorthodox style was mainly a mixture of whatever his dad had picked up along the way and Kovarian martial arts he''d learned from his uncle. Misty''s S.P.D. training had used karate as its basic hand-to-hand combat. Galen had been a student at the Stone Canyon Scott Karate Dojo. Bianca''s Master Park had also used karate as the basis for his fight choreography. As for Brenden, he never said where he''d acquired his early training, and no one pressed him to divulge, but it was apparent to Dex that he was out of practice.


    Finally, Dex had noted that Galen and Bianca were the two who were in the best shape, which had surprised them. Galen never competed in Karate, and hadn''t trained much since moving to Ferrant Heights. He wouldn''t have thought himself that way. Bianca was a bit proud, but also surprised. She only did the basic katas she was taught to stay in shape for the show. She only utilized the choreography she was taught.


    "You do it well. You have a natural aptitude, and you learn what you''re taught. Same goes for Galen," Dex had told them. "As long as he doesn''t try to freestyle too much," he added with a slight smile.


    Galen grinned, "That''s my thing, though," he said.


    "Maybe for fun, but not in this dojo," Dex declared. Galen nodded. A stern sensei wasn''t anything new to him.


    Van, he''d said, was strong and fast. "Maybe too strong, and too fast. Undisciplined. Your style is all over the place." Van could see that. Maybe the way he fought worked for his dad, but he was young, inexperienced, didn''t have the edge to make it work. "But, your swordsmanship is some of the best I''ve ever seen," Dex had added. Van was proud of that. His uncle was one of the best swordsmen in the world. He''d also spent more than one stay in Angel Grove learning from another of the greatest swordsmen in the world.


    Misty was the least experienced. She was only really taught some basic self-defense and very little offense. "The suit will help, but it''s still just a suit. You learn quickly. You should catch up with the others with the right training regimen." Misty hadn''t been sure about that one, but she was committed and she didn''t like lagging behind when she committed herself to learning something.


    Brenden was out of practice. "When did you stop training?" It had been Mai Li who asked him this question.


    "When I was eleven or so," Brenden answered. "I didn''t want to learn anymore," he added.


    "And that''s also part of your problem. Part of you still doesn''t want to," Mai Li said. "Sometimes kindling just refuses to burn," she added a bit mysteriously.


    "We''ll work on that," Dex had assured him.


    Which brought the five teens to an exhausted state they were in on a Friday afternoon. Aside from the regimen Dex had designed for them, they were also given practical exercises for building strength and stamina. They''d come back from a seven-mile trek through rocky terrain, underbrush, and scraggly animal trails, all with backpacks full of rocks. There was a weird moment when they realized that only Van didn''t have rocks. He had iron weights. He didn''t explain as he started jogging. Figuring he would when he was ready, the rest of them had set out behind him. Matters were made worse when Miru and Milo had caught up with and passed them and didn''t seem to be anywhere as exhausted as they were.


    Van rubbed his stomach as he stared up at the sky. "Man, I''m starving," he complained.


    Misty and Bianca snickered. "Dude, you''re always hungry," Galen told him.


    "I''m a growing boy," Van stated with a grin.


    "Where are you from, Van?" Bianca asked him, realizing they didn''t know much about him. He just kind of showed up to practice and disappeared afterwards. He didn''t go to school, which Bianca had just started. He didn''t even seem to come into town.


    "Briarwood," Van answered.


    "The place where people dress up as fairy-tale creatures?" Misty asked, coming into a sitting position.


    "Who wants lemonade?" Mai Li popped out of kitchen before Van could clarify her statement. She wasn''t the first person to think that the creatures in Briarwood were a hoax. In fact, most people seemed to think so outside of the city. "I also have apple slices for everyone except Van," Mai Li added. She sat a tray on the picnic table. She transferred a large pitcher of lemonade, several glasses, a plate of cut-up apple slices, and a small plate with a cut-up reddish fruit from the tray.


    "Why don''t I get apples?" Van asked curiously and he and the others got to their feet. Miru and Milo stopped doing katas in tandem and ran over the picnic table.


    "You''d eat them all," Brenden stated.


    Mai Li chuckled. "I have something else for him. It''s called a fire apple," she said.


    Van was stunned. "Where did you get a fire apple?" he asked as he approached the table. He took the fruit and bit into it.


    "Your mother. Somehow, she had a whole box of them delivered. Along with a letter explaining some things. I also had Dex retrieve your belongings from your campsite while you were on your jog. You''ll be staying here with us," Mai Li stated.


    "What exactly is a fire fruit?" Galen asked, eyeballing the fruit the blonde kid was wolfing down.


    "Dragons eat them. They''re one of the few things I can eat in moderation. Packed with proteins, nutrients, carbs. If anyone else tried to eat them, their metabolisms wouldn''t be able to keep up," Van said. He wasn''t surprised his mom had found him and arranged things for him. She was his mom after all. "Thank you, for allowing me to stay with you guys," he added.


    "We tend to take in strays," Dex declared, coming out of a room. "Your room is ready," he said.


    Galen was still trying to make sense of the dragon thing. He didn''t think Van was joking about that.


    "She also signed you up for school so that you can be with your team mates more. You''ll start Monday," Mai Li explained.


    Van rubbed his forehead. "Man," he said. "I''ve never been to school before," he said.


    "Never?" Misty asked, shocked.


    "I was home schooled," he said. Somehow, he was more nervous about the prospect of going to high school than he was about fighting an evil clan of space ninjas.


    "I have something for each of you. When you all go home tonight, I want you to study how you think it should work. Meditate on it. We''ll see how well you use it in the morning," Dex said, he passed out five more shuriken. They were identical but there was one for each of them. They had five blades, each representing a different element; water, fire, earth, wood, and metal. "Elemental Stars will allow you to harness the power of nature," he explained.


    They took the Stars and looked at them.


    "Without having to devote your entire discipline to a particular one?" Brenden asked.


    "There are many types of ninja styles. Elemental arts are just one subsection. These stars won''t replace years of learning and devotion, but they''ll allow you to tap into nature for a short time. Still, you must master it," Mai Li explained.


    "Can we try?" Miru asked excitedly.


    "Sorry, puss. They''re made to work with the Star Blades and only the Rangers can use those," Dex explained.


    "Told you," Milo muttered at her as she pouted.


    Mai Li smiled. "Now that you''ve got your new toy and your assignments, it''s probably time to start heading home. It''s getting late, and it''s almost dinner time. Besides, it''s Friday night. I remember Friday nights when I was teenager even as a ninja cadet," she said.


    "We should help you clean up," Misty said.


    "Don''t worry about that. I''m a mom. It''s what we do," Mai Li said.


    "If you''re sure," Brenden said. He straightened his body, placed a fist against the palm of his other hand and bowed first to her, then Dex. The others copied the gestured. The elders returned the bows. Four of the teens activated their Starters. The limited teleports were defaulted to take them home if there wasn''t an attack.


    "I''ll help. Least I can do since you''re allowing me to stay," Van said, and began to gather up dirty glasses and take them to the kitchen. Mai Li didn''t object or complain.


    Dex looked at her a for a moment. "What were you doing on a Friday night as a teenager on Earth?" he asked her suspiciously.


    She grinned at him. "Not realizing my soulmate was on a planet far, far away," she said. She kissed his cheek. She gathered up her two rug rats so that they she could get them to clean themselves before she started supper.


    "I''ll remember you said that later," he called after to before retiring to the workshop to the sound of her laughing at him.


    *****


    Van followed behind Bianca as she led him through the streets of Ferrant Heights while she continually checked her phone for directions. "I thought we were supposed to be meditating on our Elemental Stars," he said. She''d called him earlier to meet up in town.


    "And Mai Li said it was Friday night. C''mon, Misty said it should be nearby. Besides, if you''re starting school Monday, you should at least show up to a party at least once and show your pretty face around," she said.


    "If you say so," he said, trying not to show how nervous he was. He usually just hung out with his cousin at the Rockporium, a local record store, if he didn''t have anything else to do. A party with a bunch of strangers...just the thought made him queasy.


    Bianca giggled at him. "Stop being nervous. It''ll be fine. Not only are you cute as a button, but you''re hanging out with a celebrity. Besides, Misty, Galen, and Brenden will be there," she said. She sighed and looked at her phone. "If can ever find it," she groused.


    Van smiled. "This way," he said. He could hear the music, voices of teenagers, and smell the acrid scent of a fire. She followed him since he seemed to have confidence he knew where he was going. Before too much longer, they arrived at an empty lot where lights had been set up, a fire was roaring in the middle, music was blaring, but they were far enough away from any homes or apartments to be bothering anyone.


    When Van hesitated approaching, Bianca grabbed his arm and pulled him along. Misty bustled over to them with a big grin. "You guys are just in time," she said excitedly.


    "Just in time for what?" Van asked.


    "Galen issued an open challenge," Brenden answered.


    "Open challenge?" Bianca asked.


    There were several pieces of cardboard on the ground, and an old fashioned-looking boombox. It only looked old school, it was quite modern and digital. "Step up and take on the undefeated, if you dare," he said loudly.


    "Break-dancing," Misty said. "He''s amazing. I think. I honestly don''t know for sure, but it looks impressive," she admitted.


    Galen had one challenger. Someone who was always trying to take him on. He did well, but when Galen''s turn came, the music suddenly changed. From the energic mix he was using to a Michael Jackson compilation.


    Without missing a beat, Galen spun in a circle and began dancing like MJ. "Cheater," he mouthed to Brenden, who was behind the sudden change in music, holding on to Galen''s phone which was connected to the boombox. But the mood of the party was lightened greatly and practically everyone began to dance along with their own best moves. Bianca even managed to drag Van into it. But hey, Van knew MJ. Eventually his nerves melted away and the strangers he met weren''t as intimidating as he feared.


    At some point in the evening, while drinking a cup of iced cola, something caught his eye on the outskirts of the party. He turned his head but even he didn''t see anything else. This happened a few times. Finally, he decided that he wasn''t imagining things and headed away from the lot.


    "Where you off to?" Brenden asked, noticing him slipping away.


    "I''ll be back," Van said. "Don''t worry," he added. He slipped into the darkness. Brenden tried to keep an eye on him, figuring it wasn''t the call of nature that had him slipping away, but he hadn''t seemed particularly worried either.


    "What''s that about?" Bianca asked as she approached him.


    "Not sure," Brenden said with a frown.


    Bianca sighed. "If he needs help, he''ll call," she said. "This is my jam, come dance with me, handsome," she said and pulled him back into the throng.


    Van wandered into the darkness. He was sure there was something out there, somewhere. He sucked in a deep breath and jerked to the side, narrowly avoiding being pounced on. Gumi quickly adjusted, rolling to a crouch with fangs bared. The sliver of moon made the creature''s white fur gleam. That''s what Van had been seeing.


    "What are you up to?" Van demanded.


    "I don''t answer to you, Goldsmith," Gumi snarled. "I just really don''t like you."


    "Feeling is mutual," Van said. "You caught me off guard last time, but you really don''t want to tangle with me," he warned.


    The fox-demon growled and charged forward. Van dodged again, but a hand tipped in sharp claws managed to make four horizontal tears in his shirt. Gumi slid around. "Aren''t you going to put on your shiny suit?"


    "I don''t need to do that, my furry little friend," Van said. He cracked his neck and then transformed. His alien form was mostly an anthropomorphic wolf, with a pair of cold blue eyes, black feathered wings, and a sectioned scorpion tail. He was also a bit larger than the fox. He bared his own large white fangs.


    Gumi hadn''t expected that. Not at all. Strategic retreat was best in this situation. "This is not fear." The demon threw something on the ground. Green smoke obscured Van''s vision briefly, and the fox demon was gone. Van sighed and transformed back into his human form. It felt good to stretch all his muscles sometimes. He picked at his shirt. He couldn''t go back to the party looking like that. He fished his phone out of his pants, and sent a group text that he was heading back to the Ro house. He privately thanked Bianca for dragging him out. He decided to walk back instead of spell-porting.


    Oddly enough, his encounter with the fox put him in a pretty good mood. He whistled as he walked.


    *****


    The laird and master of the Strange Clan was rubbing his pregnant wife¡¯s feet when Gumi skulked back into their base. "Where have you, been, poodle?" Aradne called out.


    "Getting some air," Gumi answered and skulked down to where the fox-demon had made a place to sleep.


    Ryzo made a scornful sound. "Why do we keep that mangy thing around? It sheds. Everywhere," he said, and sneezed.


    Juno kicked him in the shoulder. "Can you use the Ogre Summoning Hammer?" she demanded.


    "No," he grumbled, and sneezed again.


    Aradne pouted. "Love dumplin'', don''t let them be mean to my precious widdle poodle," she told her husband.


    Gennus growled. "Both of you, quit prattling. We haven''t gathered any fear for the master''s revival.  Juno, prepare another youkaiza tomorrow," he commanded. He stood, scooped his wife into his arms, and left his siblings. They glared at each other and began fighting again.


    *****


    After a series of exercises, Dex led the five teenagers into the woods. They lined up in front of a straw dummy. Dex stood in front of them. "Did you all do your homework?"


    "Yes, sensei," they answered in unison, though some were less certain than others.


    "Very well. Present arms," he said. The teens drew their Star Blades from their backs and produced the Elemental Stars. They attached the Stars to the Blades. He very pointedly marked the straw dummies with different colors saying an element as he placed the markers. "Good luck," he stated. He threw something on the ground, and he and the dummies all disappeared in a puff of smoke.


    The five dark clad youths ran for it, looking for their targets. Galen jumped, flipping through the air and landed in front of his when it sprang up in front of him. He twisted the Elemental Star until "wood" was at the stop. "Wood Technique!" he said and pointed the blade at the dummy. A root under his foot undulated and sent him flipping backwards. "Augh!"


    Misty calmly came to a halt when her target appeared. She twisted her star and pointed at it. "Earth Technique!" Nothing happened at first, then the ground seemed to spit up the dummy, and continued to crack under it opened under her feet. "Eek!" she scrambled back.


    Brenden thought he had some experience at directing his inner energy. When his target dummy appeared, he twisted the Star to "metal". "Metal technique!" He pointed at the dummy. His sword vibrated and a small metal pail landed on his head. "Ow!" he danced around, rubbing his sore spot. "How did that even happen?" he complained.


    Bianca was too focused on her task to laugh at him. When her dummy sprang up, she rolled sideways, twisted the Star to "water" and pointed. "Water technique!" Water exploded as if a firehouse just burst, soaking her and sent her crashing into Brenden. He hastened to dampen her fall, but they both hit the ground. "Sorry," she said.


    Van had a little more luck. He twisted his Star to "fire" as he ran. He stopped and spun around when the dummy popped up behind him. "Fire technique!" he thrust forward. There should have just been a small fire ball that set the dummy ablaze, instead, the dummy exploded in a glorious blaze that sent the others scrambling for safety.


    The fire seemed to snuff itself out. "Ooh, sweetie. More self-control," Mai Li said as she came out of a stance. "Just a little," she said and patted him on the cheek. "But, all in all, not bad. Trust me, it could have been worse," she assured the slightly worse for wear Rangers.


    "That''s, um...good?" Brenden said as he helped Bianca to her feet. She smiled and rung out her wet braid. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    "That''s why I''m in charge of your training. Perhaps, ''not bad'' but assuredly nowhere near ''good''," Dex declared. His wife was definitely too soft on them. "I hope no one had any plans for the afternoon," he said.


    "No, sensei," the dejected group said as one and assembled again.


    He smiled. "Good. Again," he said, once again marking five dummies with different colors and calling out an element before making the them and himself disappear.


    *****


    After a grueling afternoon of practicing with their Elemental Stars, the ninjas-in-training were allowed to leave. They were in Quarks, chowing down on food. Aunt Frizz fluttered over and alighted next to them. "My dear nephew, where have you been keeping yourself lately?" she queried.


    Brenden had an answer for her, and it wasn''t even a fib. He didn''t like to fib to his aunt. "I''m taking karate lessons from Dex Ro. The one you met the other day?" he said.


    "Oh, yes. How marvelous. The rest of you as well?" she asked, blinking at them with her magnified eyes.


    "Yes, ma''am. I''d been looking for a new dojo since comin'' to Ferrant Heights," Galen answered.


    "Splendid. I always was jealous that the boys got to go off and play ninja warrior when we were younger. As long as you''re all having fun together," she said. She looked up when door chimed and some new customers came in.


    The kids watched her go. Van swallowed a bite of the hamburger he was eating. "Your aunt is human, right?" he asked.


    Brenden raised a brow. "Pretty sure, why?" he asked.


    "Just thought she might''ve been a fairy. Maybe a Mothran. Wasn''t sure," he said.


    Before Brenden could decide how to react, their hands beeped. His Starter appeared and he pressed a button. "Brenden here," he said, while eyeballing Van.


    "A youkaiza has appeared," Dex told them.


    "On our way," Brenden said. The five of them got up from their table and slipped out of the eatery while Aunt Frizz was distracted. They teleported as soon as they were sure nobody could see them do so.


    *****


    An odd creature had appeared at a picturesque area by Ironside Springs where a walking bridge connected the two banks. It looked like a turtle in a helmet that was also part fire-extinguisher. "Fear me, baby!" Extinctortoise crowed at the people. He ran up one side of the bridge, throwing people over his shoulder and into the water. Onizaks were running around, poking people with spears and generally creating panic and fear.


    "This should be fun," Juno declared from where she watched, hidden.


    Gumi hunched and bared its teeth. That Goldsmith thing would show up soon. There was no question about that.


    As if just by the thought of them, they appeared. Darkly clad ninja. One with splashes of red jumped through and slashed one of the onizaks with his Blade and the creature disappeared. One splashed with yellow sprang through a series of Onizaks and landed feet first on one''s shoulders and threw him as he rolled. He also slashed as he rolled by. One splashed in pink elegantly slipped into the fray, slashing with her sword, freeing tormented people. The one in blue slid on his knees in front of a child. He held up his sword to block a menacing jab. He pushed her to her mother''s waiting arms and rolled to his feet, slashing the onizak. The one in gray and white, back flipped in and slashed at several onizaks when she came to her feet.


    Even if their hoods came down, the quintet still wore dark masks around their eyes to hide their identities. They were ninja after all. They gathered under an arch nearby, blocking off Extinctortoise.


    "This is where your brief reign of terror stops," Brenden said. He spun out his Power Star and clicked it. He held up his other fist. "Shinobi Start!" He placed the star on top of his hand and spun it. The others mimicked his actions.


    "Ninja Fury Power!"


    Stars spun all around them, some shooting out to attack onizaks before coming back to them and forming their power suits and weapons. They ran into their enemies and attacked. Red went for the youkaiza. They grappled.


    "I''ll teach you fear!" he snarled. He grabbed Red by the belt and threw him over his shoulder with a mighty grunt. Red rolled to his feet and attacked the monster with his Blade. The monster lost ground, and retreated to an area near the edge of the water. He beckoned the Red Ranger tauntingly. "Come, little boy," he goaded.


    Red struck out again. The youkaiza used his armored arms to deflect. He spun, butting him with his back. "Shell shock!" he cackled. He completed his spin and grabbed the Red Ranger and tossed him through the air toward the water.


    "Whoa!" He went with his momentum, and managed to right himself mid-air to land on top of the water. Dex''s lessons in action. He turned, gripping his sword. He started forward and jumped back onto the bank. He slashed at the creature. He tried to keep his distance. Getting too close to it wasn''t a good idea.


    They attacked at the same time and bounced off each other. Red slid back, braced his foot, and raised his Blade. "Not bad, red guy. Not good either," Extinctortoise said. He took a deep breath and blew a blast of freezing energy at him. Red went down cold.


    Yellow sprang into help, sword raised jumped at the youkaiza. White went to Red. "Are you okay?" she asked, but he signaled he was. She and Pink joined Yellow in attacking the monster.


    "Ha-ha!" Extinctortoise cackled. He spun around, blowing them with his freezing energy, sending them flying in all directions.


    Blue rushed up, having gotten further away than he intended. He spun out his Elemental Star. He clicked it into his Blade. "That looks cold. Let me warm you up a bit!" he twisted the Star. "Fire technique!" he pointed the Blade at the monster.


    "Eh?" Extinctortoise turned just in time to get enveloped in a plume of flames produce by the Blue ninja''s sword. "Ayayayay! Hot! Hot!" he danced around. "I can''t handle this heat. I''m gettin'' out the kitchen!" he shouted, and jumped, still aflame, splashed into the water, and disappeared.


    Juno''s faced tightened. "Where did it go?" she snarled. "Guess I''ll have to go find it," she spat scathingly. She also ninja''ed away.


    Gumi stayed behind watching the Rangers assemble from their near defeat.


    "We owe you one," Yellow told Blue as they dropped their Morphs.


    "Maybe you should have blown him up," Bianca teased.


    "Yeah, at this rate he''ll be back," Brenden said, not teasing at all.


    Misty didn''t comment, her eyes had gone wide as the creature with nine-tails slunk toward them. "Guys," she said quietly.


    They all started and turned to look at the fox-demon and took up defensive stances. It just propped the hammer on its shoulder, and slumped casually. It looked them over dismissively and concentrated on Van. It bared its fangs at him. "Good save, Goldsmith. Wouldn''t want anything to happen to your human pets, would you?" it taunted.


    Van clenched his fists. "What''s that supposed to mean, flea bag?" Bianca demanded.


    Gumi snarled and snapped its jaws at her. Then it laughed. "Oh, I see. They don''t know you''re not even human. That''s just too sad," it said. It threw its head back and guffawed. It shook its head, and threw something on the ground. A puff of smoke erupted and the fox disappeared.


    There was silence and Van felt heat creeping up his neck. Oh, that scraggly little demon so had it coming.


    "Dude. Are you, like, an alien?" Galen asked, finally breaking the taut silence.


    Van closed his eyes briefly. He cleared his throat. "No. I am a second generation, non-human terrestrial," he stated tightly. He cleared his throat again. He checked his watched, not really considering the time. "I have some things to take care of, I''ll check you guys later," he said, and he was off before anyone could really say anything to stop him.


    *****


    Van didn''t have anything to take care of. He just sat on a bench in the park and fed the squirrels some peanuts. He wasn''t even sure you were supposed to feed squirrels peanuts, but he had some in his pocket.


    "I knew you were acting a bit squirrelly." Van was startled when Bianca appeared and sat next to him the bench. She was grinning at her clever pun. He had to chuckle at that one. "So, do you really think we care that you''re a second-generation non-human terrestrial?" she asked him. She crossed her legs, and stacked her folded hands on top of her knee and looked at him patiently.


    He shook his head. "No," he said. "I was going to tell you guys. I mean, obviously the Ro''s know. But I wanted to tell the rest of you myself, but there hasn''t been an opportunity to say ''Hey, guys, I''m an alien,''" he stated and gave some sarcastic jazz hands with his statement.


    Bianca giggled. "Well, it does explain a few things. Any more secrets you''re keeping from us?" she asked.


    "I have really sucky magical powers," he said. He cleared his throat, held out a hand, muttered an arcane word and a fragrant white flower appeared in his hand. She gasped and took it gladly when he handed it to her. "My mom blames my dad. He has really sucky magic powers, too," he said.


    Bianca sniffed the fragrant bloom. "Well, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. I don''t even have sucky magic powers," she pointed out.


    Van smiled and tilted his face toward the sun. "My aunt says that she thinks everyone, human and non-human alike, has their own sort of magic. It may not be showy spells, but something as simple as a smile brightening someone''s day," he said.


    "Wow. Does your aunt write corny greeting cards?"


    Van chuckled. "Maybe she should. She probably read it in a manga." He slowly sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees, propping his chin on his hands. "We need to regroup. It won''t be long before that youkaiza comes back," he said.


    She nodded. "We can talk about the kitsune some other time," she said as she got to her feet. Van stood as well. Her phone rang and she excused herself to take care it. She had to take the call. Van decided to wait on her and give her privacy by wandering off the ways. The hair on the back of his neck stood up. "Catch up to me?" he shouted at her, and began running.


    Bianca frowned and clenched her fist, but couldn''t follow. Her dad was on the phone, and she couldn''t just say she had to go fight a monster. At least she knew Van could take care of himself.


    *****


    Extinctortoise slowly raised his head out the pool of a water feature in the park. A young couple snuggling on a bench was a prime target to exact a little fear.  He jumped out of the water. "Rawr!" he shouted.


    They turned and screamed when they saw what was behind them. He grabbed them by their clothes and tossed them into the water behind him. "Ahaha! That was fun. Onizaks, get to it!" he said as the blue creatures began appearing to terrorize other park goers.


    "I knew I smelled something fishy."


    "Eh?" Extinctortoise looked up to see the blue ninja standing on a decorative wall. "You again?


    "Shinobi Start!" Van morphed as he jumped off the wall, landing, with his Blade drawn. He slashed at the youkaiza and the onizaks. He threw several blue stars that took care of the other onizaks and concentrated his attack on the monster. The creature was quick, and strong, and managed to parry each attack. It fell on its back and kicked up with its feet.


    Blue stumbled back. Extinctortoise sprang to his feet. "Take this!" He sucked in a deep breath.


    "Trying that again, huh?" Blue spun out his Elemental Star and placed it on his Blade. "Fire Technique!" The monster blew out it''s freezing energy but met a plume of fire.


    The monster held up one of its arms, and from a nozzle, another blast joined the first. Blue felt himself sliding back, but put more energy into the fire. It burned brighter.


    The monster made an enraged sound and brought up his other arm, and more energy met him. The extra burst of power exploded. Blue crashed backwards, and lost his morph. He rolled. Frost covered his skin, chilled to his bone.


    "All that big talk for nothing," Extinctortoise scoffed. "Nice meeting you, Blue Ranger," he took in another breath, preparing to finish him off.


    "Fire technique!" Four other plumes of fire from four different directions engulfed the creature.


    "Aahh! Hot! Hot! Hot!" He cried, running around in circles.


    Van looked up as his team mates joined them. "Thanks, you guys," he said.


    Brenden held a hand down. "Alien, second generation non-human terrestrial, whatever. We''re a team," he declared.


    "I''m from New Tech City, so..." Misty shrugged.


    "My bad, dude. I didn''t mean to sound like a jerk," Galen declared.


    Van took Brenden''s hand and the other guy helped him to his feet. "Not a problem. I''m not mad or anything. At you guys anyway," he said. He shook himself, the frost covering his skin was finally beginning to melt. "You know, for a fire extinguisher monster, he''s kinda flammable," he stated, nodding toward the youkaiza that had finally stopped, dropped, and rolled.


    Extinctortoise got to his feet. "I''ll make you all pay that!" he shouted. Onizaks began appearing.


    "Oh, it''s on," Bianca declared.


    They spun out their Power Stars and took up a stance facing the monster. "Shinobi Start!" Brenden shouted.


    "Ninja Fury Power!" Stars flew out and crashed into the monster, making him stumble back each time before spinning back to the dark clad ninjas. The Stars formed powersuits, weapons, and helmets.


    "The roaring brilliance, Red Shinobi Ranger!"


    "The wavering haze, Pink Shinobi Ranger!"


    "The shimmering calm, Yellow Shinobi Ranger!"


    "The flower in the wind, White Shinobi Ranger!"


    "The soaring clouds, Blue Shinobi Ranger!"


    They threw smoke bombs on the ground in front of themselves and disappeared. The monster and the onizaks looked around. "Where did they go?" Extinctortoise demanded. "Augh!" Red sprang up from behind a rock feature and, slashed at him.


    Yellow, White, Pink, and Blue appeared and began fighting with onizaks. Several of them converged on Blue. He quickly slashed and jabbed, and kicked. More came at him. He took a spear from one of them. He tossed it in the air. When they looked up, a single sweeping slash took them out.


    White was surrounded, but she was kicking at them. An onizak got behind her and slashed her across the back, but what fell over wasn''t her, it was a straw dummy. Confused, and irritated they didn''t noticed her sitting on a ledge nearby. She calmly placed her Power Star on the back of her Star Shooter. "Furious Strike!" The frog-like mouth opened wide, and a tongue-like blast out energy shot forward and took out her would-be attackers.


    Yellow was fighting with a spear in one hand and his Blade in the other. He was also dancing out of the way when he needed to. He grinned under his helmet. He jumped, stuck the spear into the ground, and pun around it, with one hand, running on the onizaks sideways, and slashing others.


    Pink found herself also on a ledge. "Transtarter Bow!" She aimed into the sky and let lose the energy bolt. Energy rained down on the onizaks, especially ones sneaking up behind White. They exploded in ghostly blue bursts.


    Red fought with Extinctortoise. He kicked out with two feet to knock the monster back. He threw some red stars into the ground at the monster''s feet that made the monster dance and spin. He spun the Elemental Star on his sword. "Fire Technique!" The stars explode in bursts of flame. Leaving him soot covered. Extinctortoise coughed.


    "Water technique!" A gush of water sparkling with ice crystals crashes into the youkaiza as Red scrambles out of the way.


    "Argh! So cold!"


    Red jogs over to where Blue points his weapon at the monster. "Guess we''ve both about had it with this guy," he said.


    "Yep. Let''s put an end to him," Blue ran forward, turned a flip and slashed at the monster. Red came behind him, flipping and slashing the monster as well. They double-teamed him. Taking turns, kicking and slashing at him. Red got behind him, and Blue kicked. The monster stumbled back and Red knelt so that the monster would fall over him.


    Extinctortoise scrambled to his feet. Blue and Red stood side by side and twisted their Stars. "Elemental Star Power!"


    "I''m not falling for that again!"


    "Metal Technique!" The Rangers slashed forward.


    The monster was braced for fire, possibly water, but iron weights crashing into his head was unexpected. He fell over, his helmeted head cracked. His legs twitched. "Didn''t see that coming," he admitted weakly.


    Red and Blue replaced their Elemental Stars with their individual Power Stars. "Ninja Fury Power!" They spun their stars. Energy glowed around their blades. "Furious Ninja Slash!" They slashed at the monster several times in blurs of speed that left the monster crisscrossed with red and blue energy. They jumped free as the energy exploded.


    The other three Rangers joined them. "Good work. That was awesome," White told them.


    Gumi snarled quietly from where the fox-demon watched. It didn''t have to get close to the monster to use the Hammer, and it decided not to risk another confrontation with the Goldsmith. The fox demon put a star on the hammer and twisted it. Without saying anything, the creature hit the air. Energy exploded outward around the youkaiza and it grew to enormous proportions.


    "Alright. Zord time," Red stated. They nodded and placed their Zord Stars on their Blades and spun them. "Hidden Shinobi Zord!" he summoned, spinning the Star. As if appearing from nowhere, a red and silver humanoid Zord came running through the city.


    "Hidden Express Zord!"


    "Hidden Wolf Zord!"


    A shimmer in the sky preceded the appearance of a pink and black bullet train. A white wolf Zord with a black head and golden throwing knife in its mouth jumped out of the back compartment with a howl.


    "Hidden Drago Zord!" A blue dragon glowed into existence with a proud spread of its wings and an arrogant roar.


    "Hidden Dumper Zord!" A large yellow dump truck shimmered into existence and rolled down the street.


    Red gave his Star another spin. "Shinobi Star Megazord!" The Zords began to transform and come together to create a giant robot with Shinobi Zord using Dumper Zord like a throne holding a sword made of Drago''s tail. The Rangers appeared in a shared cockpit where they all stood in front of podiums that they inserted their swords into.


    "Let''s teach this turtle how to ninja," Red suggested. He pushed the Megazord forward. Using the Drago Sword, it slashed the giant youkaiza.


    "Ha! I''ll be the one doing the schooling," Extinctortoise declared and tried to blow his freezing energy at them.


    "Drago Shield!" Blue jerked his Blade, and the Drago Zord''s wing shield blocked the attack.


    The youkaiza scoffed. "I''m out of your league!" he said. Nozzles appeared out of his shell, and his freezing energy shot him into the sky. "And outta your reach!"


    "Now that''s straight up cheating," Pink declared.


    "Since when do turtles fly?" White demanded.


    "Since when do fire extinguishers?" Yellow pointed out.


    Red left the cockpit and the Shinobi Zord jumped out of the Megazord in an attempt to jump and reach the flying monster. "Hahaha," Extinctortoise had the advantage and kicked and held on the Zord.


    "Maybe this wasn''t a good idea," Red complained as he was jerked around.


    "I''ll help!" Blue said. He left the Megazord and the Drago Zord disconnected. It flew toward the monster and blasted him with a plume of flames. It lost the grip on the Shinobi Zord, but the Zord was falling and flailing. Drago swooped in and caught him.


    White let out a breath she was holding. Pink slumped. "Man, that was intense," Yellow muttered.


    "I have an idea," Blue said. He spun his Zord Star. "Drago Star Megazord!" The Shinobi Zord became the left arm of the Megazord, and the Drago Zord took Shinobi''s place on front, but it''s wings, tail and head attached to the back and top of the Megazord. It roared. Blue and Red appeared back in the cockpit.


    "Thanks for the save," Red said.


    "No sweat. Now, let''s finish this once and for all," Blue stated and pushed on his Blade. The now winged Megazord took to the sky.


    "Oh, ho! That''s not good," Extinctortoise tried to speed away, but the new and improved Megazord was fasters. It began spinning around the monster, using its wings as blades. The monster sparked, crackled, and crashed into the ground a good distance from the city.


    The Megazord landed and roared as Extinctortoise got to his feet. The Megazord whipped around and crashed into it with its tail. "It''s done!¡± Blue said. He and the others drew their Blades. The mouth of Drago Zord began to glow. "Drago Burst!" They slashed with their Blades.


    The mouth opened and roared as a bright burst of blue energy shot out. It hit the monster and he exploded. "Shinobi End!" Blue declared as the Megazord triumphantly turned away from the explosion.


    *****


    Gennus Strange saw the trickle of fear stop. He growled.


    "What''s wrong, dumplin''?" Aradne asked. She waddled over, and stood on her toes to peer at the bowl. "Not bad. A little more and it''ll spill over into the next bowl," she stated.


    "In other words, Juno screwed up again, huh?" Ryzo drawled. "Let me go next time, laird. I''ll teach those Rangers who they''re messin'' with," he said.


    "I''ll think about it," Gennus said as he ushered Aradne to sit back and rest her feet. She was carrying precious cargo after all.


    Grinning to himself, Ryzo took out his blade and began to sharpen it, looking forward to matching blades with a worthy opponent.


    *****


    The five ninjas lay in a circle in the Ro''s courtyard again. They''d finished their days exercises, and were resting.


    "The iron weights suddenly make sense," Galen declared suddenly.


    "So does the fire apple,¡± Misty stated.


    "Yep. It''s cuz I''m an alien," Van said.


    Misty suddenly sat up, and looked over at him. "Wait, you said dragons ate those," she said.


    Van chuckled. "Briarwood isn''t a hoax any more than New Tech City is," he stated.


    "But...aliens are science...fairy tales are...fairy tales," Misty said helplessly.


    Bianca laughed and stood up. "I think Misty''s brain just exploded," she said.


    "I definitely see smoke," Galen stated. He got up and bounced on his toes. "I''m hungry," he said.


    Brenden sat up. "That means Van''s starving. Let''s head to Quarks," he said.


    Van groaned. "As a matter of fact...I am starving. Quarks sounds good." He popped to his feet.


    Bianca helped drag Misty to her feet. "Eat my dust, guys," she said, and suddenly took off running, eventually disappearing in a long white streak. The three boys took off behind her. Misty groaned. She was an intellectual, not an athlete, but she began running along behind them.


    Mai Li smiled to herself as she watched them go. Her smile slipped a little. If only Mika were there, things would be perfect. Shaking herself out of her funk, she headed to her husband''s workshop where he was bent over a work bench. Miru colored in a coloring book at his feet, and Milo was handing him tools before he could ask for them. She stood in the door, smiling as she watched. Yes, the picture was incomplete, but it was still a nice one.


    *****


    End 02


    *****

 Chapter 03: Shinobi in the Wind

    Bianca hurried into Quarks to meet her friends after school. For once they weren''t required to go train with Dex immediately, yet she was running late. They''d agreed to meet at Quarks, have a snack, and do homework together. "Sorry. I''m late. Madame Hayes wanted to see me after last period," she explained.


    They all sat at a semi-circular booth. Brenden on one end, Van on the other with Galen and Misty between them. Books, food, and smoothies littered the table. Bianca scooted Van over and sat down.


    "No problem. We ordered your faves," Misty said and handed over a plate containing two small veggie burritos. Bianca wasn''t a fad-following Hollywood vegan or anything. She believed in protein, but honestly, Aunt Frizz''s veggie burritos were to die for. One of the waitresses brought her a vanilla smoothie.


    "Madame Hayes? The drama tea--er, professor?" Galen asked.


    Bianca nodded. "He wants me to join the department and headline his production of Sleeping Beauty," she explained.


    "I thought you were on a break from acting," Misty said. "What did you tell him?"


    "Only if I get to be the prince," Bianca said. "It''s Sleeping Beauty, right? Aside from a little bit at the beginning, the princess is asleep while the prince goes on an adventure to wake her up, depending on which version. If I were to do it, that''d be my requirement. Well, Madame Hayes flipped out and went into what I can only describe as conniptions of pure joy," she said.


    "Now he wants the princess and the evil fairy to be played by guys. So, I volunteered Van as the princess," she said.


    Van, who''d only been half listening while he was eating, and reading a passage from his geography textbook, nearly choked. "You what?"


    Bianca grabbed his face with one hand and smooshed it. "Look at this face. It''s perfect for a sleeping beauty. Right?" she asked the others. There was a general agreement.


    Van pulled his face away from her. "So much for keeping my head down," he grumbled.


    "Exactly. It''s school. Don''t just keep your head down. Do things and make new friends. Not just us," Bianca said.


    "When it comes to friends, quality should trump quantity," Van retorted.


    "Fine. Make new acquaintances then. Since you''ve been in school, how many other people have you spoken with? Not counting teachers," she demanded.


    Van didn''t have an answer for that. He grumpily took another drink of a his fire-apple smoothie.


    "I also recommended the evil fairy for Galen, but Madame Hayes says he wants an open audition for her and the other few characters once he finishes the script," Bianca said.


    "Sweet. So there''s a chance," Galen said.


    "We should get to work on out homework before we head out to Dex''s," Brenden stated before Bianca could start recommending parts for him. Misty was equally as enthusiastic about doing their homework.


    Bianca let them have their way. There was still plenty of time to pester them about joining the production.


    *****


    Later when they arrive at the Ro house, it was deserted, but they could hear voices and laughter nearby. In a field not far away where they often trained, the two children were flying around on swords while Mai Li and Dex supervised. Milo rode his like a skate board, while Miru was perched on hers side-saddle and holding it like a witch''s broom.


    "Whoa. That looks like fun," Galen commented.


    "It takes a lot of concentration to control the wind mode of the Storm Star to remain airborne," Dex stated.


    When she went too high, Miru started giggling, and lost her concentration and dropped. Dex seemed to flicker and appeared under her to catch her in his arms. He sat her down. He gestured for Milo to come to a halt as well.


    "We''re getting a new Star?" Van asked eagerly.


    "I actually debated whether or not to give it to you yet. You''re all still beginning to learn to control the Elemental Star," Dex said.


    "In elemental ninja arts, Thunder and Wind are two of the most powerful schools. For different reasons. Lightning is one of the most powerful forces in the world. To harness such a thing, a Thunder ninja must never let their concentration waver when using these techniques. Wind on the other hand is the most nuanced, most dynamic, most difficult to master. A Wind Master can live their entire lives learning and never claim to know every technique that can be utilized," Mai Li explained to them. "Using the Stars are a shortcut, but never think you''ve mastered anything," she warned them and handed out the Stars.


    "That''s why we are starting simply. You''ll notice there are two modes; Wind and Thunder. You are not to touch the Thunder Mode yet," Dex warned them. "You''ve all been working hard and I thought we''d have a bit of fun today and do some sword riding," he said.


    "All right!" Galen said.


    "I''m not entirely sure about this whole prospect," Misty said warily.


    "You''ve never wanted to fly?" Bianca asked her.


    "That''s what nice, safe airplanes are for," Misty answered.


    "It''s not exactly flying. Just sort of gliding," Van guessed, looking at the Star.


    "Well, let''s try it out," Brenden suggested. He drew his Blade and placed the Storm Star on it. "Wind Technique!" he said locking it into place. He held out the Blade and when he was sure he was in control, he let go of the hilt. The Blade floated to about a foot off the ground and he jumped onto the blade.


    He wobbled but didn''t lose it. He gave a sigh of relief that for once he managed not to look like an idiot. His friends clapped for him. Locomoting was a bit trickier, but he managed to get the hang of it fairly quickly.


    The others decided to give it a try. Misty felt the safer option was to sit and grasp the hilt like Miru had been doing. Soon they were all zooming around on their Blades. Even if it wasn''t training as heavily as usual, they were still learning important skills.


    *****


    Gennus grumbled to himself when he realized his little brother was missing. Ryzo was always a hothead. Who knew what kind of trouble he''d get into without supervision. "Has anyone seen Ryzo?" he demanded of the family at large.


    Gumi flattened its furry ears and snarled, "I was enjoying the peace and quiet." Although, quiet was relative as it''s foxy fingers were currently playing a handheld video game.


    "Not me, punkin''," Aradne declared with a shake of her head. She''d been reclining with her feet up to help the swelling in her ankles go down.


    Juno scoffed. "Who really cares? He''s a big boy," she pointed out. She wasn''t overly concerned about her little brother. He was a pain in the neck on the best of days.


    Gennus shook his head. "He''ll make trouble. We should take advantage of it if he does," he said. "Take the pet and gather some fear," he told her.


    Barely suppressing an eyeroll, Juno gave a slight bow. "Aye, m''laird," she said. "C''mon, furball, you heard the laird," she said and gestured sharply for the fox demon to follow her.


    The creature gave another snarl of annoyance. "I''m almost at the boss level," it complained..


    Juno scoffed. "Where''d you even get that annoying thing?" she demanded.


    "Oh! I''ll play for you!" Aradne volunteered eagerly.


    The fox demon saved the game''s progress and slipped into one of the inner pockets of the vest it wore. It skulked out of the mines. Juno smiled smugly in response to the dark haired woman''s pout. She left the couple to themselves.


    "I don''t think your sister likes me," Aradne said.


    Gennus scoffed. "Ignore her. She doesn''t like anyone. However, she''s family and we share the same goals," he declared loftily.


    Aradne hesitated a moment. "Doesn''t a portion of the Clan disagree with this decision?" she asked. She immediately regretted it.


    Gennus turned purple with rage. " I AM LAIRD!" he roared. "The Clan is not a democracy!" He declared. "My son will the next Laird!" His tirade didn''t seem directed at her, and his last explosion piqued her interest.


    "Of course, honey bun. Who else would the next laird be if not the son of the current laird?" she asked and rubbed her baby bump tenderly.


    He snarled. "I know you''re new to the Clan and don''t know how things work. We''re family but we can also be bitter enemies. The next laird can sometimes be the eldest son of the next generation. Some of the elders have been whispering a name," he literally spat after saying so. "Out of their bloody minds!" he shouted.


    She scrunched up her face in thought. "Was he at the wedding?" she asked. The marriage of the Laird had been an important affair and practically every member of the Clan had been there.


    He scoffed again. "No other members of the Clan has even seen the boy since he was fourteen. He''s the son of one of my sisters and an outsider who tried twice and failed to conquer this puny misbegotten planet." he said, disgusted.


    "Which sister?"


    He clenched his teeth. "I''m not worried about this. Once the power of Gengetsu Kibaoni is mine and our son''s, there will never again be anyone to question our right to rule not only the Strange Clan, but the whole galaxy!" he declared.


    She smiled and patted her belly. "Hear that, sweet pea? You''re not even here yet and your Papa is already doing so much for your future," she cooed. Gennus smiled and went to her. He sat and began to rub her feet as he waited for the fear to come trickling in.


    *****


    After a long Saturday, the teens split up and the left the Ro homestead. Bianca caught up with Brenden by himself. "Hey," she greeted with a smile.


    He smiled back. "Hey."


    She linked her hands behind her back and turned, walking backwards in front of him. "So, like, I know how hectic things have been, what with school, ninja stuff, evil  monsters, and the like, so we haven''t really had a chance to talk since that party the other day...but I''m starting to get the impression you''re avoiding being alone with me," she said. She held up her hands. "I''m not trying to say anything bad, I mean. Just because two people have a moment and kiss doesn''t automatically mean--"


    Brenden cleared his throat, and she stumbled to a stop, verbally and physically. He reached out to steady her, pulling her close to him in doing so. She blinked and stared up at him. "I just wanted to clear the air," she finally said and stepped back. She was trying to not blush, and probably failing miserably.


    Brenden nodded. "I was slightly avoiding you," he said. "I kinda feel like I should apologize, but I don''t want to," he said. "Since I wasn''t sure what to do...I avoided it. Not cool, I know," he said sheepishly, looking around everywhere but at her.


    She smiled widely and gave something a relieved laugh. "Like I said; <i>Two</i> people had a moment. It was a good moment, don''t you think?" she said. She faced forward again and linked her arm with his.


    She snickered. "Why? You jealous?" she asked.


    "A bit," he confirmed.


    She was quiet a moment. Then finally, she took on a serious tone. "First of all. It''s Van. He''s like the little brother I never knew I wanted. Second, of all, it''s a peck at most. It''s a school play. And the final, most important thing is that I am an actress. I''m taking a break, but I intend to start auditioning again soon. There will doubtlessly be roles with kissing. If that''s not something you can handle, then we may as well stop here and just be friends," she said.


    "Never said I couldn''t handle it. Just a bit jealous," he said.


    She nodded. "I can live with a bit jealous. I think complete apathy would bother me more," she admitted. She cleared her throat. "Ah, I feel awkward now. Can we go do something? Is there a place in town to roller blade? Can you roller blade? Let''s do something fun," she said, rambling a bit.


    Brenden couldn''t help smiling again. At least the air was clear now. "Like a date?" he teased a bit. "Roller blading sounds good. I know the perfect place," he said. He shifted his arm until he could link their hands. She couldn''t stop the smile that spread over her face again.


    *****


    Gumi picked a bit of meat out of its teeth with a claw-tipped finger. Juno made a disgusted face at the creature. If they didn''t need the mangy thing, she''d have a brand-new fox-fur stole by now. The demon flicked the piece of meat away. It noticed Juno''s look and bared its teeth in a simile of a smile.


    Juno made a sound. "Do your job, fleabag," she ordered. She held up two fingers and a slip of paper appeared between them. She began chanting under her breath.


    Gumi licked its teeth and made an annoyed sound. It readied the Hammer and together they created a summoning star. Juno tossed the star. The star whipped through trees, a lamp post, a mail-box, a parked car until it found a home in the Ironside skate park. It landed on a broken pair of in-line roller-blades.


    "Object devoid of will of your own, let the Youkaiza give you purpose," Juno incantated.


    *****


    Bianca and Brenden arrived at the skate park and rented a pair of roller-blades each from the vender. Although there were any number of places set up for trick skating, with blades or boards, they decided to stick to the circular course where you can just skate. It allowed them to skate side by side for the most part. After awhile, they skated over to a concession stand and bought something to drink and snack on.


    They sat at a umbrella shaded table. Bianca was picking at a fluffy white cloud of cotton candy. Brenden watched her quietly. "You''re staring at me," she said. She pinched off a bit of the cloud and held it out to him.


    He smiled. "I was just enjoying watching you enjoy yourself," he said and leaned forward and ate the proffered treat.


    She gaped at him and then giggled. "Good line, Grayson," she said. He smiled sheepishly.


    "That''s so cute it''s disgusting!" A flamboyant, roller blade schemed youkaiza with rings sticking out of his face rolled past them on in-line wheels. As he glided past his put two fingers on each hand up. Other people noticed him and reacted as planned, with fear and panic.


    "Youkaiza!" the teens stood.


    The youkaiza twirled on his wheels. "The name is Spinferno and don''t you forget it," he said, briefly made finger guns, and began skating away.Stolen story; please report.


    Brenden triple-tapped the back of his hand. "We have a bogey," he said as he and Bianca skated after the youkaiza. Spinferno sped away from them. He crashed into a cart selling balloons. He quickly righted himself and skated away off. He grabbed at a child, but Bianca managed to get between them, shielding the kid behind her.


    "Erk! That''s a no-no," There was an awkward moment when the youkaiza suddenly stopped himself just short of grabbing at her chest. She gasped and kicked him in the face, knocking him backwards. He flipped midair and landed on this wheels with a flourish.


    Brenden skated to a stop beside her. The others appeared behind them in their black garb. "Let''s go!" he said. They each spun out their Power Stars. "Shinobi Start!"


    "Ninja Fury Power!" Stars flews around the teens and formed power suits, weapons, and helmets.


    Spinferno slid back. "You guys were Power Rangers? In that case," he flicked his arms forward, "get them!" he cried as onizaks began to appear.


    The Rangers jumped into action. Red kicked at the onizaks and turned flips, slashing with his Star Blade. Blue jumped into a group and slashed at them. One tried to grab his blade but he kicked it in the chest and slashed him. They decided to go for the youkaiza.


    Yellow bounced on top of a couple of spear wielding onizaks, and kicked another in the face before flipping backwards. He landed and slashed with his Blade. White blocked the attacks of several spearmen with Pink backing her up. Pink bonked one on the head with the flat of her Blade. "This may be the wrong timing," she started, taking a minute to duck under a spear swing and slash at its tender underbelly, "but were you guys on a date?"


    White turned a one handed flip to kick an onizak and slash at another before settling on her feet. She tilted her head. "You''re right. Wrong timing," she said, which in itself was answer enough for the other girl.


    Red ran at the youkaiza, jumped and bounced off a wall to give himself momentum, and slashed, but the monster spun on his wheels out of the way. He skated way, but had to quickly pivot again when Blue jumped down from and overhang and slashed at him. Blue and Red converged on him, but he proved too quick on his wheels. He just managed to duck or dodge, finally grabbing the blades, spinning around, throwing the boys off-balance.


    "Better luck next time!" he called as he skated away from them.


    White saw him on the move, and made an attempt to get in front of him and slash with her Blade. He ducked under in just the nick of time and knocked into her legs on the way past. She fell against a wall with a grunt as he got away.


    The other ran to where she was rubbing her leg and grumbling. They powered down to their ninja forms. "Are you okay?" Brenden asked Bianca.


    She managed a weak smile. "Fine but a bit embarrassed that he managed to get passed me," she complained.


    "Let''s split up and look for him. He can''t have gone too far. He''s not that fast," Brenden said. The others agreed. They took on in different directions.


    Bianca ran a ways, then took a beat to think. Where was the nearest place to the skate park to terrify a few more people? Unfortunately she didn''t know the city well enough. Screams and people running caught her attention. She nodded to herself and began running in that direction.


    She found the monster skating around and showboating. "Found you," she said. "I have eyes on the target," she said into her communicator. She began running, and spun her Power Star as she went. "Ninja Fury Power!" She morphed as she ran. She jumped kicked him in the back. He fell forward and she rolled her feet.


    He shook himself as he got to his feet. "Ha, lucky shot," he said, rotating his neck. "Oh, all alone?" he asked with a laugh.


    "Never," White said.


    "How about a race? Mano y...er..not mano?" he suggested.


    "Sounds to me like you''re a bit afraid of my friends catching up," she taunted.


    "You got it, baby," he said with a sniff and began skating away.


    "Shoot," she grumbled. She spun out her Storm Star and attached it to her Star Blade. "Wind Technique!" She locked the Star into place and hopped on the Blade and took off after the youkaiza.


    They traveled through a forest path. Whenever he noticed her gaining on him, he sped up even more. There was a sharp turn and she lost sight of him for the briefest moment. She hopped off her Blade in the middle of a semi-active excavation site. She looked around. "I know he''s here somewhere," she mumbled.


    Spinferno slid up behind her and knocked her forward. "You is right," he said with a laugh. While she was sprawled on the ground, he turned around and produced a ring. There was a dump truck coming their way. He held up a hand and the truck stopped.


    A decent looking, early middle-aged black man honked his horn. "Hey!" he shouted out the window. The Youkaiza laughed and tossed the ring at the truck. There was a flash of flames and the truck was enveloped as the ring took control of it. The blast trapped the driver inside even as the truck began speeding forward toward the Ranger who was now her feet.


    The truck came right at her despite the driver''s best efforts to turn the wheel or stomp the breaks. She began running. "Guys, could really use the help," she said into her communicator. The truck continued to come at her, no matter which way she turned or how fast she ran. She suddenly stopped and threw something on the ground.


    The truck ran over a straw figure dressed in white as she hid behind a dumpster. She blew out a breath. But her relief was short lived as the truck came rumbling toward her hiding spot. She rolled out of the way as the truck hit the dumpster. The impact caused the driver to hit his head on the steering wheel and fall unconscious.


    She could hear the monster laughing as she ran. "How about a choice, Ranger? Me or that guy?" he taunted.


    The truck stopped chasing her and veered off. Van, Galen, and Misty appeared on the scene. "Sorry, Onizaks kept appearing randomly," Van explained.


    "Hey, that''s my dad''s truck!" Galen cried.


    "Get him! I''ll get the truck!" White shouted. She held up her Blade and locked the Storm Star into place. "Wind Technique!" she called and jumped on her Blade and began to chase after the truck.


    "Hey, guys. Can we like, talk this out?" Spinferno asked the new rangers.


    "Not a chance," Galen said and spun out his Power Star. Van and Misty did the same. "Shinobi Start!"


    "Ninja Fury Power!"


    They morphed as they ran toward him. Blue slashed him on the way by. Yellow and Pink slashed him on either side. He knocked Yellow aside and grabbed at Pink. She kicked high kicked him in the face and twirled out of the way. Yellow jumped in and slashed him. Blue rolled up and slashed as well. The youkaiza fell back and rolled.


    Blue attached the Storm Star to his Blade. "Wind Technique!" He locked the star into place and began spinning. Blue energy surrounded him as he moved like a spinning top and bashed into the youkaiza from all sides before spinning off and stopping, though he still stumbled around dizzily. "Whoo, Mai-Li is right. I need to work on control," he said as Spinferno went crashing into the ground.


    "Little bit," Pink agreed, holding her thumb and index finger a space apart. Yellow steadied his teammate. They stiffened when a new figure walked past the prone youkiza. A muscled guy with a shock of white blond hair wearing a horned mask stood before them. He wore an ornate vest that fell open, paggy pants, and red boots. He carried two swords at his side.


    Spinferno bounced to his feet. "Ha! You guys are in for it now that Lord Ryzo is here," he taunted from behind the big guy.


    Ryzo let out a harsh breath. Piercing blue eyes could be seen from behind the horned mask. "I am so sick Juno''s beasts," he growled. He drew one of his swords. He spun, arcs of blue energy following him as he slashed the youkaiza. He faced the Rangers once more as it exploded behind him.


    "Who is this guy?" Blue wondered.


    The only answer he received was the warrior using his sword to throw energy at them. It knocked them off their feet and disengaged their morphs.


    "Is that all you can muster? This is so boring," Ryzo complained. He threw another blue arc of energy at them. Brenden ran in and held his Blade up like a shield. "Metal Technique!" and indeed a shield did form between them and the blow. "Sorry, I''m late," he said.


    "Onizaks. We get it," Van said.


    "Huh, looks like onna you punks have some fight in ya," Ryzo declared.


    "Where''s Bianca?" Brenden asked.


    "Oh, crap. Dad!" Galen said and scrambled to his feet.


    "Go! I''ll keep this guy busy," Brenden told them.


    "You sure? He''s strong," Van said.


    "Go," Brenden stated.


    Van nodded. He, Misty, and Galen began running in the direction the truck disappeared.


    Ryzo grinned under his mask. "You think you got what it takes to fight me, boy?"


    Brenden spun out his Power Star. "Ninja Fury Power!" He ran forward as he morphed. He slashed at Ryzo, but the warrior deflected. He passed him up and turned, running at him again, Ryzo running at him as well.


    *****


    White Shinobi finally caught up with the truck. She jumped off the Blade, grabbing the hilt on the way down. She ran along the edge of the trailer and jumped on the cab. Up ahead she could see a sheer drop off as they headed for an open ravine or small canyon of some sort.


    "Okay, Mr. Kulbart, we need to get you out of here ASAP," she said, crouching. She checked the windows carefully on each side, but they were both rolled up. She tried to use the hilt of her blade to knock the passenger side window out, but it was deflected. She tried the windshield, but it didn''t work either.


    The edge was coming ever closer and she gritted her teeth. She put her Star to her Blade and spun it. "Ninja Fury Power!" she called. The Star spun, shooting off white energy that enveloped the Blade. She planted her feet and plunged the Blade into the roof of the cab, the sound of metal wrenching hurt her ears, but she finally managed to cut a hole in the roof and slipped through it.


    Once inside she was able to kick at the driver side door, but the edge was creeping up faster than ever. Finally the door kicked away. She freed the driver from hid seatbelt and jumped out.


    "Wind Technique!"


    A funnel of yellow wind caught them up. It not only eased their fall but made sure they didn''t go over the cliff with the truck. They landed with a thud. She let out a long breath and fell backward. "I really hope your dad''s company has insurance," she said to the Yellow Ranger as he, Pink, and Blue approached her.


    He gave a relieved laugh and checked on the driver who was starting to come around.


    *****


    Red Shinobi held his own against Ryzo, but found himself retreating further and further into the forests around them. He was overmatched and he knew it, but he couldn''t give up. He slashed at the warrior again, but Ryzo dodged and kicked him in the chest. He fell backward. When he tried to get up, Ryzo planted a foot on his chest.


    Ryzo snorted. "Tch," he spat. "You ain''t no thing, boy," he said derisively.


    Red grunted. "Never said I was," he said. He pressed a button on his blade. Smoke replaced him with a straw dummy dressed in red. He tried to attack again, but Ryzo kicked the dummy at him. He slashed through it, but Ryzo slashed him. He went flying back and crashed into the ground again.


    "This is getting boring," he declared. "But, I have to say, you got spirit, boy," he added.


    Red grunted and propped himself up. "I''m a Power Ranger," he said and got to his feet. "It''s kinda our thing." He took a deep breath, let it out slowly, then another. He spun the Power Star on his Blade. "Ninja Fury Power!" Red energy spun out from the star, engulfed the Blade and him. He short forward, slashed just in front of Ryzo''s feet, making the warrior jump back. When the man looked again, the Ranger was gone. "Ninja Flash!" Then, he fell from the sky. Ryzo barely managed to get his sword up.


    The blades met. Ryzo and Red both strained. Red pushed forward, and continued his downward slash. A red line of energy was left in his wake. Ryzo crackled and red electricity sparked around him as Red stood up from the crouch he''d landed in. He was breathing hard, holding his sword low.


    Ryzo had a black soot mark across his chest, and it was smoking. He began laughing, making Red very nervous. "Now, that was a move, boy!" he praised. He tilted his neck back and forth, cracking it audibly. "Now we can really fight!"


    "What!"


    Ryzo laughed again. The eyeholes of his mask began glowing, and dark energy surrounded him. Red stepped back as he could feel the power from the other man.


    "Water Technique!" A thick fog suddenly surrounded them. Red was startled to see Dex beside him holding a Star Blade. He was also relieved.


    "Trying to run, boy?" Ryzo demanded, waving his hands, trying to see through the fog.


    "Let''s go," Dex said to Red.


    "Is it okay to just leave him?" Red asked.


    Dex nodded. "That''s Ryzo Strange. He''s a hot head that likes to fight. The only thing redeeming about that is, he prefers his opponents to be strong. He won''t bother civilians. If you aren''t here to engage him, he''ll go away," he said.


    "You''re right about that," Ryzo called through the mist. "I got me eye on you, boy. I expect you to be stronger next time we meet!"


    "Let''s go. This isn''t over yet," Dex said. He and Red Shinobi retreated without responding to Ryzo''s challenge.


    "Hey, y''hear me? Hey!" Ryzo demanded. "Boy!" the fog began to dissipate and he discovered he was alone. He grumbled and rubbed the soot off his chest. He suddenly felt hungry and decided to go home.


    *****


    Juno was so mad at her brother was messing things up with her youkaiza and that there was a happy ending. "Can I finish my game now?" Gumi demanded.


    Juno glared at her, her eyes burned wildly. She clapped her hands together and a large piece of paper appeared between her fingers. "Prepare the Mallet," she commanded and began chanting. The paper ignited in a dark flare.


    Gumi put a star on the Hammer and twisted it. The creature hit the dark flame. A dark cloud spun in the sky and from it piles of demonic bones and skulls spilled out, creating a humongous humanoid-ish/lizardish thing with a sword. "Onigaiju!" Juno crowed triumphantly.


    *****


    The Rangers met up while the foursome where looking for Red. "Are you okay?" Red and White asked each other at the same time. They nodded, feeling slightly sheepish.


    "How''s your dad?" Red asked Yellow.


    "Mai-Li is taking care of it," Yellow answered.


    "What is that?" Pink pointed up at the vortex vomiting bones to make the Onigaiju.


    "Something to take care of," Red said grimly. "Everyone ready?" he asked. They agreed. "Zord time!" They put their Zord Stars on their Blades and spun them.


    "Hidden Shinobi Zord!"


    "Hidden Wolf Zord!"


    "Hidden Dragon Zord!"


    "Hidden Express Zord!"


    "Hidden Dumper Zord!"


    Red gave his Star another spin. "Shinobi Star Megazord!"


    The Zords came together and created a Megazord. The Rangers appeared in a shared cockpit where they all stood in front of podiums that they inserted their swords into. "Let''s Dundee this crocodile," White said.


    The Megazord moved forward, slashing the Onigaiju with the Drago Sword. It let out a shriek and slashed back. The Megazord brought the Sword up. They strained against each other. The Megazord swung the Drago Shield and bashed into the creature.


    "Let''s finish it!" Red stated.


    "Right!" the others agreed. They drew their Blades. "Splendid Slash!"


    The Drago Blade began to glow. The Rangers slashed their Blades. The Megazord slashed the monster with an explosion of multiple colors as it slid by him. It came to a stop as he exploded behind him, nothing left of the creature.


    *****


    Juno stormed into the hideout and jumped on Ryzo''s back while he was eating a meaty leg of some animal. She grabbed at his hair. "Who gave you permission to destroy my youkiaza?" she screamed shrilly.


    Gumi slid under the fighting siblings and grabbed the animal leg. It slunk off to a quiet corner to eat its pilfered meal and finish it''s game.


    Aradne watched with wide eyes but Gennus rubbed his forehead. "Enough!" he finally roared. Juno and Ryzo broke apart, but glared daggers at each other. "We got almost half of the second bowl," he said calmly. "Watch yourself in the future, Ryzo," he warned.


    Ryzo grumbled and bent to scoop up his food, only to find it gone. Juno smirked and stormed off.


    Gennus sat down with his wife and pampered her for a bit, ignoring his tiresome family. There was time to do away with those irritating Power Rangers.


    ******


    Brenden and Bianca held hands on the way to Quarks. They''d returned their rented skates, some of the few people that had done so. "Are you sure you''re okay? You look pale," she told him.


    He gave a weak smile. "That Ryzo guy is tough, but I''m okay," he assured her. "Some food will do me good," he assured her.


    "One of Van''s fire-apple smoothies?" she suggested teasingly.


    He laughed. "No thanks. I can''t even imagine what one of those things has in it to actually feed him," he said. She giggled. "What about you? You saved Galen''s dad," he said.


    She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "Just what I needed to do, but we''d have been out of luck if Van hadn''t magicked everyone to where we were," she said, her voice slightly shaky now. She''d had nerves of steel before, but now she felt kind of deflated.


    Brenden looked around a moment. He tugged her behind the dumpster beside Quarks. He let go of her hand and wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her close to him. She sighed and snuggled close to him. That felt nice. She wasn''t sure how long they stayed like that, but she didn''t care.


    *****


    Leaving her two rapscallions playing ninjutsu hide and seek, Mai-Li found her husband in the workshop. "Brenden really faced down one of the Strange Clan?" she asked.


    He nodded as he looked over some schematics. He sat them aside and she hopped into his lap, draping an arm around his shoulders. "How bad was it that you had to intervene?" she asked.


    "Pretty bad. I only intervened to run away. That mask he wears is a powerful artifact. I can''t even begin to imagine its origins. If I''d have tried to fight him, well..." he trailed off, shaking his head. "Without a power suit as protection I wouldn''t have stood a chance. Imagine, Gennus is even stronger than Ryzo," he said heavily.


    She looked at his face a long moment. "You''re worried about the kids," she said.


    He gave a slight smile. "A bit, but I have faith in them. The one that actually worries me most is the fox demon who uses the Hammer. Something about it tells me it could be more dangerous than Gennus," he said.


    Mai-Li nodded. "We weren''t much older than them when we tackled Youkai Mountain. Have faith. They''ll get better with training. I think we have a great little group. I think when all is said and done, they''ll be even better than we were," she said.


    Dex raid a brow. "That''s a high bar," he declared.


    "Very," she agreed. She kissed his cheek. "It''s your turn to cook supper. I''m going to play hide and seek," she said, and hopped to her feet and went to play with her kids. Dex watched her go. He had to admit, he agreed with her. These kids had untold potential. They''d need every bit of it before this was over.


    *****


    End 03


    *****

 Chapter 04: Calm Before the Shinobi

    Dex Ro paced in front of his students. They were lined up, waiting for him to begin the day''s training after their initial reps. He inhaled and exhaled slowly. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but didn''t, shaking his head and pacing again. They watched him curiously.


    "Is there something wrong, Sensei?" Brenden ventured to asked.


    Dex stopped and looked at them. A wry grin formed. "No. No." He cleared his throat. "After careful consideration, I decided to let you all try Thunder Mode on your Storm Stars," he stated. That surprised them. "You''re all coming along well. I trust you. But only under my supervision are you allowed to try it," he said.


    "Is that why Mai-Li and the kids aren''t here?" Misty asked.


    Dex shook his head. "No. They went to a dentist," he answered. "Who wants to go first?" he asked.


    "I''ll try it," Galen volunteered.


    Dex motioned for him to step forward. There was a lightning rod in the middle of their training field for safety. "Thunder mode is extremely volatile but also powerful. If you can''t summon it at first, don''t be discouraged," he said. He stepped aside and motioned for Galen to attempt it.


    Galen spun out his Storm Star and locked it to his Star Blade. "Storm Star! Thunder Technique!" He locked the Star into place and thrust the Blade toward the Lightning rod. There was a crackle of sparks along the blade. After a brief pause which made Galen think he hadn''t managed to do anything, a static backfire blew him off his feet. Brenden and Van scurried to catch him before he hit the ground. He coughed as his clothes smoked from being singed.


    Dex smiled. "Not a bad first try," he declared. That made Galen feel a lot better. "Who''s next?"


    Each of the teens took their turns, to varying degrees of success, though no one had actually managed to succeed when it came Van''s turn. As he stepped forward, Dex and the others moved back several yards.  He blinked when he saw that and pouted. "Nice vote of confidence. Thanks," he said. But, surprising even himself, the lightning he summoned wasn''t overkill and it was safely grounded by the lightning rod. "See, I''ve been working on control," he said a little cockily.


    "Don''t expect praise for doing what you should," Dex said, completely bursting his bubble. But, that was totally something that would come out of any master''s mouth. He gave a brief bow and stepped aside.


    The rest of the session was spent working with the Storm Star. Galen just wasn''t getting it and it frustrated him. Dex assured them that they would train more and that "You are absolutely forbidden to use it in battle until I say so. Using a technique, especially one as powerful as Thunder mode, that you can''t control is dangerous for yourself and your teammates. Understood?" he said.


    "Yes, sensei!" they answered and bowed to him. He returned the bow and dismissed them.


    *****


    Juno looked at the bowls of fear, a frown on her face. "It''s all Ryzo''s fault," she declared sourly. She scrubbed a hand through her dark hair. She spun around, glared at her baby brother, and looked around for Gumi. She frowned. "Where is that mangy animal?" she grumbled. She stalked off to look for it.


    "Maybe you should stay out of Juno''s way today," Gennus told his brother.


    Ryzo grunted, crossing his arms over his chest. He didn''t argue, however. He knew when he had pushed his big sister too far. "Fine, I will simply train until the next time I find that red kid," he said, stalking off to the chamber within the mines where he liked to train.


    Aradne scrunched her nose. "How admirable is it to defeat a teenager?" she wondered.


    Gennus sighed. "He''s my baby brother but sometimes I wonder if he''s all there," he said, tapping his temple. He turned his attention to the bowl tower. He wished Juno luck in hoping that she gathered a lot of fear.


    *****


    Galen was using what at some point in its life was most probably a dance studio. It was a big building with a specially made floor and a small stage meant for recitals. Aunt Frizz bought it along with the building she used for Quarks because they were on the same plot of land, but she hadn''t done anything with the building. It''d been used for mostly storage.


    Brenden and Galen had cleaned up about half of it for training or practicing. That day he was rehearsing for his audition for Madam Hayes'' play. It was going about as well as his attempts at using the Storm Star. He kept tripping over his own lyrics while attempting his choreography. He''d already submitted the lyrics and music to Madame and got it approved for the audition but nothing was working out.


    Drenched in sweat, losing daylight, still getting stuck in the same spot, and tripping not only on his words but his own feet, he fell over. He stayed on the floor. He covered his eyes with his arm and attempted to settle his breathing. He suddenly sprang up, rolling into a crouch. Dex was sitting beside him cross-legged. "You let me get too close," he chided.


    Galen looked around. "Sensei? How did you get here? Why? How long? Is it a test?"


    "Do you think I have time to randomly pop in and test my students?"


    "Yes?"


    "Maybe," Dex conceded. "But that''s not why I''m here. Mai-Li wants to rent this place and offer karate lessons in exchange for money," he said. "I came to look it over. I was here for a while. Maybe I should start random testing," he mused.


    "I wasn''t offering ideas," Galen said. He''d settled down into a cross-legged position as well.


    Dex smiled slightly. "I admit that I don''t know much about that lyrical sing-song style of music, but from what I noticed, you were rushing," he said, getting to his feet. "It''s very similar to your trouble using the Storm Star," he added.


    Galen groaned and got to his feet to get his phone and the portable speaker he was using to rehearse. "This where I''d lay some Mr. Miyagi reference in a sarcastic tone, but I doubt it would land," he commented.


    "This isn''t wax on, wax off. This is someone older and more experienced pointing out a problem," Dex said.


    "Well, I am surprised and impressed," Galen admitted with a grin. He wiped some sweat off his face.


    "Using the same technology that transported Mai-Li and her team between Earth and Shogunatta, I was eventually able to open communications between the two planets, and later managed to access other communications and media. I have seen all five of those movies," Dex explained.


    "You''re just a big ol'' nerd masquerading as a super mysterious ninja master, huh?"


    "I never claimed to be mysterious," Dex pointed out. "We''re losing light," he said, the windows that provided light in the electricity-free building showed the sun was going to set soon. "The best thing to do right now is to take a moment. Don''t think about the performing or the Storm Stars," he suggested.


    "So, basically, the teacher is telling me not to do my homework?"


    Dex shook his head and they walked out the of the building. Dex locked up behind them.


    "I couldn''t help but notice you didn''t seem to thrilled about opening a dojo," Galen said. The older man eyed him. "What? You said don''t think about the other things for a while, yeah?" Dex shook his head again.


    *****


    "Object devoid of a will of your own, let the Youkaiza give you purpose." A glowing star stuck to a refrigerator that had been set outside of a building being remodeled. The fridge glowed and contorted, turning a spider monster with black and yellow legs, some tipped with ice skates, with a refrigerator for a thorax.


    When people saw it, they began running and screaming, trying to get away from it.


    *****


    Dex began beeping. He pulled his communicator out of a pocket and pulled it open. There was a map displayed with a beeping dot on it. "That''s near here," he said. Galen nodded, he began running, leaving Dex behind as he took a beat to contact the other Rangers, then he was behind Galen in a flash.


    *****


    The youkaiza chased after the people running from him. Galen, in black garb, ran up and skidded to a halt. Dex, also black-clad, appeared nearby. Tangle web suddenly spit spider webbing at the people and wrapped them up in spider silk and sticking them to a large web. Galen spun out his Power Star. "Shinobi Start! Ninja Fury Power!"


    He began running even as he morphed. When his Blade appeared he slashed through the spider web, freeing the occupants, even though they were still wrapped up and continued toward the youkaiza. "How dare you! Frigerantula''s webs are something you aren''t allowed to touch. Guess you don''t know much. So come at me, bruh. Frigerantula gonna get ya," he said as he side-stepped the Yellow Ranger''s attack. Yellow compensated and slashed at it''s back.


    That was the trap. The legs tipped in skate blades could be used behind him. One slashed at the Ranger, making him cry out. Two others pulled him against the creature''s body, and while two above him repeatedly struck him as he struggled to get free.


    "You can hit or kick me. You can''t get free. So what''s it gonna be?"


    Yellow headbutted the creature in the back, surprising the monster enough to get himself free. He staggered back. "I don''t know what hurt worse. That hit or those rhymes," he complained, rubbing his helmet.


    "Did you just disrespect me, bruh?" Frigerantula didn''t like his rhymes being dissed. Just as the other the four Rangers appeared, the youkaiza changed before they could join the fight. He spun around, dark energy formed as he was sucked into the sky. A black portal behind him, only his head seen as he began pulling in everything it could.


    "Hang on to something! Don''t let anyone get taken!" Red shouted, trying to keep himself and a woman tangled up in the silk from being caught in the vacuum. The other Rangers followed suit, but Yellow was too close to the vortex and his grip on a concrete trashcan holder was slipping.


    "Galen!" Dex tried to get to him just as he lost his grip, but they were both sucked into the vortex.


    The monster returned to its true form. "Ah, that was yum-yum yummy in my tum-tum-tummy," he said, patting his fridge door belly.


    The Rangers used their Blades and freed the people still wrapped in webbing. "Did that monster just eat Dex and Galen?" White demanded.


    "Probably just sent them to a pocket dimension, but still, not good," Blue answered.


    "Definitely not good," Pink agreed.


    *****


    Once inside the youkaiza, Galen lost his morph. He got to his feet. He was in a weird nowhere space that seemed to glow vaguely red. There was a junk covered in cobwebs. Not all of it was from today. He could hear a faint trickle of water. He followed it to a broken fountain of a weird demonic looking head that was barely trickling water from its mouth which caused a little pool. He reached out, but Dex caught his hand. "Don''t touch it," he warned.


    "Why?" Galen asked, jerking his arm back.


    "If that''s what I think it is, it''ll turn you into a demon called a gedoushu if you drink it," he said.


    "Don''t drink the demon water. Good call," Galen said. "Where are we?" he asked.


    "A remnant. A place where lost things collect. Somehow the youkaiza wrapped itself around a piece of the Sanzu River that survived when it was destroyed." Galen wasn''t sure what exactly that meant, but it didn''t sound like a good thing.


    *****


    The Rangers attacked Frigerantula, but his bladed legs fended them off. He slashed at them, throwing up sparks and sending them rolling.


    "Ugh. He''s tough," Blue complained, getting to his feet.


    "Any ideas?" White asked.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "If we hold down his arms, maybe I can use Fire mode," Red suggested.


    "You''re welcome to try but your friends are gonna fry," Frigerantula declared gleefully.


    "We have to be careful if Dex and Galen are still in there," Pink said.


    The monster laughed again. "Well, if you''re not going to try, guess you''ll all just have to fly!" His legs extended growing larger and crashed into the Rangers before they could move out of the way. They did fly, losing their morphs as they landed.


    "We need to regroup and think of a plan," Van said and the four of them poofed away.


    *****


    Dex and Galen glanced around the place they found themselves. "I don''t think it''s infinite. In fact, it seems rather small, trying to appear large. Let''s find the edge," Dex stated.


    "Getting away from the demon water is probably a good idea," Galen said. They picked a direction at random and began walking. "So," he said after a minute or so of silence. "What''s wrong with opening a dojo? It was one of my major cons about Ferrant Heights that there wasn''t one," he said.


    Dex sighed through his nose. "I''ve only ever trained for war. The thought of training for sport or recreation is strange to me," he answered. "I''d feel like I was training children for war again. This time for compensation," he said.


    "You train your kids," Galen said.


    "Yes. There may be peace now, but the Youkaitto Tribe will one day try to rise to power again," he answered. "It''s their responsibility as the future leaders of the Ninjetti to protect our Tribe," he answered.


    Galen nodded. "Aside from fighting, there are other things you learn from martial arts. Non-violence was a big one my old sensei was always pushing. He said he''s teaching us to fight in hopes we never have to."


    Dex paused and looked at his pupil. "Your sensei was wise. But don''t call him as if he''s no longer your teacher. A teacher for a day is a teacher for a lifetime," he said.


    "See, that''s what I''m talking about. That''s the kinda thing you learn through martial arts. It''s not all war and fighting to the death. That''s not all your master taught you is it?" he asked.


    Dex smiled wryly. "My master was a lazy old hack, but I suppose he imparted some wisdom when he wasn''t paying attention," he said. "Ah, here we are," he said when the junk suddenly ended. It still seemed as if there was infinite space, but tossing a piece of wood in front of them confirmed there was a barrier before them.


    "Now what?" Galen asked.


    "Now we give it an upset stomach."


    *****


    The Rangers crouched behind a wall where they''d appeared. "Oh, Rangers! It''s a lovely day, let''s go play!" Frigerantula called out.


    "We can''t hide forever," Brenden said.


    "Can you use magic and teleport inside?" Bianca asked Van.


    Van shook his head. "I need to know where I''m going," he said, wishing it was different.


    "We could make him swallow a noodle," Misty said. They all glanced at her. "What? Am the only one who''s ever swallowed part of a noodle before?" she asked. "It''s kinda gross if you don''t know what I''m talking about," she said.


    "I know what you''re talking about," Van said. "Question is, who''s the noodle?" he asked.


    "Me," Brenden said. "We''ll make him swallow me. You can use Wood Mode to wrap my legs with vines. I''ll definitely need Van on the outside to pull us out," he said.


    "That''s really dangerous sounding," Bianca said. "But we don''t have any other choice," she stated. "Let''s try Operation: Noodle," she declared. They agreed, though reluctantly.


    *****


    "Fire Technique!" Galen locked the Elemental Star into place on his Star Blade and slashed at the barrier, throwing a large fireball at it. Nothing happened. He tried a few more times. Breathing hard, he stepped back. "This isn''t working," he said.


    "I see that. The one time I didn''t carry a Blade or a Star with me, I get eaten by a youkaiza," Dex complained.


    "You didn''t learn any fire-jutsu from Mai-Li in 15 years?" Galen asked.


    Dex rubbed the back of his neck. "I never had much of an affinity for fire," he admitted. "But, I''ll try," he said. He placed his fingers together in front of him, closed his eyes and concentrated. He finally managed to create a small flame.


    He opened his eyes and nodded at Galen. "Fire Technique!"


    They released their flames at the same time. They hit the barrier, a much larger conflagration, but again, nothing seemed to change.


    Galen sighed and sat down. "Let''s take a minute. Your advice," he suggested.


    Dex sat down as well, and they sat in silence.


    *****


    Blue and Pink Shinobi fired at the youkai as they chased it down an alleyway. It skirted at of the way and ducked behind a bend. White Shinobi dropped a concealment cloth and slashed at him. He sparked and staggered out into the open, where Red appeared and slashed him as well. He tried to strike with his ice blades, but Red slashed him twice more and kicked him, sending him flying.


    The youkaiza crashed into the ground.


    *****


    "There''s no choice. You''ll have to use the Storm Star in Thunder Mode," Dex finally concluded.


    Galen nodded. "Yep. What about you? There''s no lightning rod in here to protect you," he said.


    "I know a little thunder-jutsu. I should be able to make sure I don''t get struck," Dex answered.


    "Should?"


    "You can do this, Galen. The only thing stopping you is you."


    Galen nodded. He got to his feet and spun out the Storm Star. He replaced it on his Blade. "Storm Star! Thunder Technique!" He locked it into place. He took several deep breathes and let them out just as slowly. Static began to crackle along the Blade. He let it build more and concentrated his energy deliberately. He took one last deep breath.


    He slashed forward as he released it, an electrical storm swirled all around them, sparking the barriers, arcing from metal surface to metal surface. His and Dex''s hair defied gravity. The barrier exploded.


    *****


    The monster suddenly staggered and sparked, it grew into the dark vortex, the Rangers ran forward. "This is it!" Red said, gathering his courage and rushing forward.


    When the spider opened its mandibles, electricity erupted and Galen and Dex came flying out as the monster retched. Galen crashed into Red and they both hit the ground, but Dex landed almost gracefully.


    "Galen! You''re okay!" Red said in relief.


    A grin split his face. "Yeah. And I didn''t electrocute Dex," he said, hopping to his feet, pumped. In the spur of the moment, he broke into his rap and did the pivot move he kept screwing up in practice. "Yes!" he said.


    The Rangers clapped and cheered.


    "Let''s not get too cocky," Dex said. "There is still a youkaiza," he reminded them.


    The monster had moved away, hurling other bits and pieces from the inside of him. "Oh snap, the demon water," Galen said.


    "That won''t come out, but you still need to finish him," Dex said.


    "Right," the Rangers agreed and ran off to catch up with it.


    "Hey, eight-eyes!" Galen shouted to get the monsters attention. "How''s your stomach?" he asked as he spun out his Power Star.


    "Onizaks! Get them! Spare no attacks!" Frigerantula shouted.


    Onizaks appeared and began to attack the Rangers as Yellow morphed. He jumped into the fray, slashing with his Blade. "You can''t handle this, I''m electric," he said as he jumped and kicked at an onizak and slashed again.


    Pink slashed several of the creatures. She jumped, and kicked off of Yellow''s shoulder, coming down in a spin, taking out a few more of the creatures.


    White and Blue teamed up. He tossed her around like a baton in a well-coordinated attack, that allowed her to slash and kick at onizaks at they encroached. She was slightly dizzy after a spin and he set her on her feet. "Now that''s teamwork," she declared. He gave her thumbs up.


    Red slashed his way through onizaks and the quintet regrouped and faced the youkaiza. "You''re the only one left," he said.


    Frigerantula stumbled back. "Impossible. I''m invincible!"


    "Yeah, not really," Pink said and put her Elemental star on her Blade. "Wate Technique!" she locked the Star into place and slashed her sword, creating a cloud of mist around the monster.


    Frigerantula waved his arms around trying to clear his vision. "You may have my eyes clouded, but my skills will still be lauded," he called.


    "Transtarter Bow!"


    Frigerantula pivoted toward the voice and avoided an energy bolt lobbied at him. "There you are!" he headed toward the source of the attack, but when he got there, there was no one. "There you aren''t?"


    Yellow flipped through the mist cloud and slashed him from behind. He jerked around but there was nothing. White and Blue jumped from behind with their Transtarter Blades. He sparked and went crashing out of the cloud of mist. He rolled to his feet.


    "This is over," Yellow stated as the Rangers prepared their weapons, placing their Power Stars into their Transtarters and locking them into place.


    "Transtarter Bow!" White and Pink shot energy bolts toward him.


    "Transtarter Blade!" Blue and Yellow Slashed and produced energy that joined with the bolts.


    "Transtarter Claw!" Red gathered the energy with his weapon and jumped, the multi-color energy swirling in front of him. It coalesced into star shape that he flung at the youkaiza.


    "I don''t care whacha say, this will still be my day!" he exclaimed as he exploded.


    "Not if I have anything to say about it," Yellow said.


    The youkaiza exploded into his large size. "Zord time," Red said, spinning out his Zord Star.


    "Hidden Shinobi Zord!"


    "Hidden Wolf Zord!"


    "Hidden Drago Zord!"


    "Hidden Express Zord!"


    "Hidden Dumper Zord!"


    The Rangers jumped onto their Zords as they appeared. Drago swooped low and blew fire on the giant youkaiza. Dumper threw grenades and Express Zord threw shurikens at him as they sped past. Wolf Zord howled and jumped, crashing into it''s back and then slashing with the knife in its mouth as it landed in the back of Dumper Zord.


    Shinobi Zord attacked, kicking and jumping, hanging onto it''s back and flipping away.


    The youkaiza gave a frustrated roar. "Enough of your shenanigans. It''s time for me to win again," he shouted and blew spider silk at them. Drago Zord managed to get above the stream but the other Zords weren''t so lucky.


    "Ick! What now?" Pink demanded, trying to get free of the webs.


    "Brace yourselves," Blue warned them. He swooped low and unleashed another blast of dragon fire that burnt the webs, being careful not to burn his teammates to a crisp in the process.


    "I''ve had enough of this," Red declared. He gave his Zord Star another spin. "Shinobi Star Megazord!" The Zords came together to form the Megazord, and the Rangers appeared in a cockpit and put their swords in consoles before them.


    "Let''s finish this once and for all!" Yellow said with determination.


    The Megazord swung the DragoSword crashing into the Youkaiza. In swift succession it had delegged him, leaving on the basic two to stand on.


    "AAHH! How am I supposed to a spider like this? This is one heck of a diss," he complained.


    "Time to drop the mic," Yellow said and seemed to take the lead and drew his Blade. The others drew their Blades. "Splendid Slash!"


    The Drago Blade began to glow. The Rangers slashed their Blades. The Megazord slashed the monster with an explosion of multiple colors as it slid by him. It came to a stop as he exploded behind him, nothing left but the youkaiza shuriken that cracked and disintegrated as the sun began to set behind them.


    *****


    Gennus watched the trick of the bowls stopped and blew out a frustrated breath. "This is going to take forever," he complained.


    "Now, now sweet knees. Nothing worthwhile was ever. Just imagine the power you''ll have to hand down to our widdle princey-wincy," Aradne said and patted her belly fondly.


    Gennus managed a smile. "Of course, my dear. Even if it takes months, it''ll all be worth it," he agreed. She beamed at him.


    Juno dragged the fox demon into the lair and threw it against a wall. "This was your fault, mangy demon," she stated.


    Gumi snarled and bared its teeth.


    Aradne gasped and went over to the demon. "Now, now. That''s way to treat our sweet little fuzzy wuzzy," she said and talked in a low voice to calm the demon down. Gumi barely let itself be calm, but it glared daggers at Juno.


    "Yeah, Juno. You should stop blaming others for your own faults," Ryzo jabbed, unable to resist getting on his sister''s nerves.


    "Enough!" Gennus shouted, making all of them wince. "Juno, go calm down. Ryzo, don''t agitate Juno. Please, you''re all enough to give me a headache," he declared. "We did enough for today. We''ll do better next time," he said calmly.


    Ryzo, Gumi, and Juno all glared at each other but listened to their Laird. Ryzo went to train. Juno went to meditate, and Gumi slunk off to play its video game. Aradne got up to pamper her husband.


    *****


    Dex officially decided to follow his wife''s plan and open the dojo. So they signed a contract with Ms. Frizz, turned on the power, and started cleaning up the building. He, Mai-Li, the kids, Van, Misty, Galen, and Bianca were helping when Galen burst into the building. "Who has two thumbs and is playing the evil fairy in Madame Hayes'' production of Sleeping Beauty?" he said. He held up his thumbs and pointed at himself. "This guy," he declared.


    Misty snorted. "You''re so corny," she declared and went back to spraying windows and wiping them off.


    "Was there really ever a question?" Brenden asked.


    "I guess that means Bianca is definitely going make me join," Van groaned.


    "Was <i>that</i> ever a question?" she said.


    "Congratulations, sweetie," Mai-Li said and then put some boxes in his arms. "Now take these to the dumpster," she ordered.


    "Yes, ma''am," he said and walked out of the building again. He didn''t mind. He was in a good place at the moment. So, too, it seemed, was Dex as he looked forward the immediate future. He wanted to see what it would be like to not have to train children for war, but for enjoyment. Even if a battle still loomed, for now, for the moment, there was a calm. He''d do whatever it took to protect that calm. So would the Power Rangers.


    *****


    End 04


    *****