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"Man, oh man, I'm worked," Dustin said, flopping down at the table at Ninja Ops.
"Something is happening on Lothor's ship," Cam reminded him, sitting down beside him. "We're all tired and on-edge."
"Hey, aren't you chatting with Trini tonight?" Hunter asked lazily from his position across the table. He pried off his morpher for Cam to look at. It had been damaged in the fight with Lothor's forces.
Cam accepted the morpher. "Yeah. I'm tired. I hope I come up with a good excuse...."
"There's always 'your Dad ran you ragged', dude," Dustin suggested, lying down on the floor, as if to demonstrate that's how *he* felt.
"Or you could just talk to her and try not fall asleep." Tori leaned against Blake, clearly trying to follow her own advice. "At some point she'll understand that you want to go to sleep."
"I just hate being tired when I talk to her," Cam confessed, fiddling with Hunter's morpher.
"You'll be fine." Shane clapped his shoulder. "Just remember she doesn't know."
Cam nodded. "I think I'll have to use the 'took Dad out for medical tests' excuse again. She's heard it before, though."
"Ties in well with the 'Dad's really sick' excuse," Hunter reminded him. "I'm sure she'll understand."
Cam sighed, not thrilled at the prospect. "I hope so. She's been so understanding, lately. It's just that I'm getting tired of lying to her."
"I know, bro," Blake said, patting his shoulder.
"Maybe we should take you out somewhere," Shane offered as he leaned against a wall. "Give you a chance to remember you have a life outside the team."
"Thanks, Shane, but she'll be expecting my call." Cam shook his head as he closed the panel to Hunter's morpher. He was so not looking forward to lying to Trini again. He gave Hunter his morpher back.
The alarm blared, and CyberCam materialized in the chair. "Whoa, dudes!"
The Rangers gathered around him, craning their necks to see the screen.
"A giant *nose*?" Tori nearly whined at the concept.
"Lothor's scraping the bottom of the bottom of the barrel, isn't he?" Shane pointed out with a groan.
"Let's cut off his nose to spite his face," Dustin grinned--adrenaline all ready giving him a second wind.
"Let's go!" Shane exclaimed.
"Yeah, before I have to explain to Trini why I'm tired *and* why I didn't call her on time," Cam groused, hoping for a short fight.
"Right," Tori said, obviously eager to get this over herself.
"Ninja Storm!"
"Thunder Storm!"
"Samurai Storm!"
"Ranger Form!"
The six of them rushed to battle, but as they arrived, the nose monster seemed to be stirring up some soup with a pair of chopsticks. "Ah, Rangers, you've arrived," it purred. It stood there, not attacking them.
It was a comical monster, really. Head shaped like a nose, a pair of glasses wedged on. Pompoms on either side. It looked... really, really stupid.
"What do you want?" Cam demanded impatiently.
"Ah, Samurai Ranger," the monster taunted. "Is that anxiety I smell?" It cackled. "Perhaps you just need some music to brighten up your girlfriend's life!" He ceremoniously lifted the chopsticks over his head, and garbage can lids rained from the sky.
"Thunder shields," Blake and Hunter chorused, turning their shields against the rain of garbage cans.
Tori dragged Dustin with her to Blake's side, leaving Shane and Cam to scramble under Hunter's shield.
"Didn't anyone ever tell you it was bad form to be nosey?" Cam snapped.
"Once or twice," the monster crowed. "But the Nose Knows!"
"Great, now we have a Shadow rip-off," Hunter muttered.
"Let's just take him down," Cam grumbled.
"Sonic Fin!" Tori exclaimed. She activated her megaphone. "Stop those garbage can lids right now."
Nose Knows waved the chopsticks and the rain of lids came to a halt.
The Thunder threw away their shields, drawing their weapons instead.
"Crimson Blaster!"
"Navy Antlers!"
"Let's give him double trouble." Shane nodded at Dustin. "Hawk Blaster."
"Lion Hammer."
"Put 'em together," Shane called.
"Lightning striker!"
"Thunder Cannon!"
"Ah, ah, ah," Nose Knows taunted, waving his chopsticks. "You can't get rid of me this easily!" A hail of feathers started falling down, obscuring everybody's vision. When the feathers had stopped falling, the monster had disappeared.
"Great," Cam groused.
"Where'd he go?" Dustin added.
"I'm sure he'll show up again," Shane said, clearly not thrilled with the concept.
"I have a chat to attend." Cam sheathed his Samurai Sword. "I'll talk to you guys later."
With that, Cam streaked towards Ninja Ops.
Dustin opened his visor, revealing a furrowed brow. "Who is that dude and what did he do with Cam?"
"Yeah, what got into his head?" Shane asked, still staring after the Samurai.
"Which one?" Hunter quipped.
"Man, he really needs some time off," Dustin said.
"Blake and I will drag him out after he talks to Trini," Hunter said, making up his mind. "He needs it."
* * *
Cam ran into his room, fumbling the iSight onto his PowerBook, and as a result, taking several minutes to do so. He hoped Trini was still there. With trembling fingers he started the program and waited for her to appear.
Once Trini appeared, he launched the viewer. "Hi," he said breathlessly, vaguely aware that he'd failed to put a sweatshirt over his training uniform. At least his amulet was tucked in under his shirt.
Trini's eyes shot up in surprise as she took in Cam's outfit. "Did you just come from a costume party or something?"
"Dad and his um, partner are looking at some new gi designs," Cam explained, tugging at his collar. "I didn't have time to change."
"Oh," Trini said. Her voice projected nonchalance, but her eyes narrowed a bit in skepticism. "Is your father all right?"
"We just came back from an appointment that ran really late," Cam said apologetically.
"An appointment that involved trying on new gis?" Trini asked.
Cam nodded. "The guy was late. I'm sorry, Trini."
Trini sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. It was clear she was gathering her thoughts.
"So, what's going on over there?" Cam prompted, eager to turn the conversation somewhere else. Anywhere else.
"My friend Billy's coming to visit," Trini said breathlessly.
"Oh?" Cam asked. He'd heard of Billy, but was under the impression that the other man was doing some kind of technology setup somewhere in Africa or Asia. Trini had never been specific, and he'd never been that curious. "How long is he going to be there?"
"About a week," Trini said brightly, her smile warming her entire face. "Which is brilliant 'cause he's been abroad so long. I haven't seen him in years."
"Oh," Cam said, without enthusiasm. Here he was, stuck in Blue Bay Harbor because of his stupid Uncle, and Trini had a guy over. He had to wonder what was going on there.
"Cam?" Trini asked, her face growing concerned. "Is something wrong?"
"Just tired." Cam yawned, as if to illustrate the point. "Dad had a medical appointment before the gis."
"You're not getting the wrong idea about this, are you?" Trini asked.
Cam shook his head. He didn't want Trini to think he was getting jealous. "I just miss you so much."
"I miss you too, honey," Trini said. "The um... do the doctor's have any idea when your Dad's going to get better?"
"I don't know." Cam sighed miserably. "I wish I did. I know it's hard, it's hard for me too. But please, don't give up hope. I *will* meet you out there, Trini. I just don't have any idea when."
He stared at the keyboard, he didn't think it'd be enough to kill Trini's excuse for a fling, but he could hope, right? Right?
"I know," Trini said gently, with a rueful smile. "I wish I could be out there for you. I know how tough some things can be, sometimes."
Cam stared. Was she really saying that?
"It's been really tough," Cam responded finally. "I'm really tired. I just wish it was me instead of your 'friend' out there." Oh, god, had that sounded as bad as he thought it had? It probably had.
Trini stared at him, as if he'd accidentally let CyberCam have this chat instead of himself. "Cam, Billy really is just a friend. Like Tommy. A lot like Tommy."
"Except smarter and more up to your caliber," Cam said.
Trini's voice softened. "Cam...."
"Never mind, Trini," Cam said shortly. He shouldn't have hurried. He should have made his excuses in an e-mail, or something. That stupid monster had him on edge. He started tapping the track pad nervously.
Trini kept her gaze steady at the camera. "Billy really is just a friend. Maybe in high school he might've become something more, but then I left for the peace conference and... Well, it's ancient history."
He wanted to be reassured that it really was nothing more than that, but he couldn't ask without feeling stupid. "Have fun."
Trini's eyes flicked down from the camera, towards where Cam's face likely was on her computer monitor. It was like she was trying to stare across thousands of miles of fiber optic cable and see his soul.
Cam shifted uncomfortably under the scrutiny, but didn't say anything. He lied to her. Daily. What right did he have to ask this of her?
"Cam, are you all right?" she asked finally, obviously worried.
"Fine," he said, dully. Maybe this Billy would be good for her. After all, he didn't have to worry about the bad guys messing up his life. "Have fun, Trini. I mean it."
Trini sighed, as if she had been trying to get through to him, but couldn't. "Fine, I will."
The sirens began to ring in the background, making Cam tense and wondering how he'd explain them to Trini... when he got back. "I've got to go, Trini."
Trini winced, but nodded, seemingly understandingly. "Be safe."
Cam launched from his seat without even bothering to close his Powerbook.
"May the Power protect you," Trini said quietly. The chat window faded away as she logged out of iChat AV.
* * *
"He's baaack," CyberCam said.
Cam winced, wondering when CyberCam had seen Poltergeist.
"Great," Shane said sarcastically. "Where?"
"Blue Bay University amphitheater, man." CyberCam punched up the satellite image, and displayed an image of an open-air amphitheater.
"Let's take care of this creep," Cam said enthusiastically.
Too enthusiastically.
"'Creep'?" Tori asked, staring. "Cam, are you all right?"
"No," Cam said shortly.
Blake and Hunter exchanged glances. This wasn't the Cam they normally lived with. Or at least it was a new side to him.
"Bro, if you need to sit this one out..." Hunter started. He wasn't sure he wanted to allow Cam into battle, and started looking for Sensei.
"Let's just go, OK?" Cam abandoned all convention and enlarged his morpher. "Samurai Storm! Ranger Form!"
He morphed and streaked out of ops, leaving the others stunned.
"We'd better follow him," Shane said with a frown, apparently not sure what to do with Cam. "Ready?"
He was greeted with four nods.
"Ninja Storm!"
"Thunder Storm!"
"Ranger Form!"
* * *
"Hey, Cam, wait for us!" Hunter called as the five of them landed outside the amphitheater.
Ignoring them, Cam charged in, Kelzaks rapidly falling victim to his Samurai Saber.
"What the hell happened with Trini?" Blake muttered, his frown hidden by his helmet.
"We got a plan, Shane?" Dustin asked, eyes never leaving his green teammate.
"Get in there and keep Cam from getting himself killed?" Shane suggested, arms spread wide in defeat.
"Works for me," Hunter said, drawing his thunder staff. "And after that, he's not going back to Ops until he calms down."
"No kidding," Blake added, his tone indicating he was *not* happy with his oldest brother.
The Ninja Rangers charged in after their Samurai teammate, trying desperately to keep him out of trouble.
"Ah, you're back, Rangers," Nose Knows said cheerfully, as if their first encounter was a fond memory. "Do you like my new home?"
"Just stay still and...." But Cam's tirade was interrupted by Hunter.
"Let's just blast the nose and get out of here," he said, pushing forward. "Before Cam pummels him to pieces."
"Ah, but that's not too befitting of a Samurai by blood, is it?" Nose Knows teased.
"You..." Cam spin kicked it.
"Sonic Fin."
"Hawk Blaster."
"Lion Hammer."
While the Winds were keeping the Nose and Cam distracted by their weapons, the Thunders had snuck up on the Green Ranger
"Stupid big brother," Hunter grumbled, nodding at Blake. They each grabbed one of Cam's arms and hauled him away.
"Let go of me you little brats!" Cam groused. "Just 'cause I've accepted this whole older brother gig doesn't mean you get to act like a couple of little pains in the neck."
"Pie striker!" Nose Knows called cheerfully, and pies started falling on the Wind Rangers, disrupting their concentration.
"Thunder shield!" Blake called, shoving Cam at Hunter (and completely ignoring Cam's tirade). "I'll protect the Winds, you get Cam out of here."
"Right!" Hunter responded, hauling Cam away from the stage.
"Hunter, let me go," Cam said, struggling in Hunter's arms.
"Never, bro," Hunter said, dragging Cam outside.
"Hunter, LET ME GO!" Cam jerked loose and ran off again, back into the battle.
Hunter swore, chasing after Cam before the Samurai could get into any more trouble.
At that moment, a 1000 ton weight dropped on Nose Knows, ending Hunter's worries.
Cam cursed. In several languages.
"Don't let Sensei hear you, you'll have a ten-mile jog," Hunter said to the Samurai, as Cam stopped abruptly.
At that point, a scroll descended, reviving and enlarging Nose Knows.
"CyberCam, Zords please," Shane said, backing up to dodge a giant foot. "And teleport your programmer back to Ninja Ops before he gets someone k--destroyed, OK?"
"Right away, dude," the program said cheerfully. Cam disappeared in a teleportation effect while their Zords appeared.
Hunter could hear some choice words in his helmet.
"Sorry about Cam, dude," CyberCam said, voice still completely cheerful. "He's, like, not too happy right now."
"Tell us something we don't know," Shane muttered. "Cam, it's for your own good."
"You obnoxious little meddling kid," Cam snapped.
"Team leader privilege," Shane replied evenly. "We'll take care of Nose Knows, you have one of your ice cream bars and relax."
Cam continued to grouse as the Rangers leapt into their Zords.
* * *
"That's the end of Nose Knows," Shane said as the team came into Ops.
"Thank goodness," Tori added.
"Right," Hunter said, only one thing on his mind. "Blake and I will take care of Cam."
"Sure you two want to go in alone?" Shane asked, looking at Hunter. "I've *never* seen him that pissed--not even when we thrashed the Zords."
"We don't want him to have to treat the whole team afterwards," Hunter joked weakly, not looking forward to the confrontation himself.
"If you're sure," Tori started, but Hunter nodded.
"I'm sure," he said simply.
"Call us if you need us, dudes," Dustin said, accepting what had to be done.
"We will," Hunter promised. He hoped he wouldn't need to.
"Right." Shane's tone was less than sure.
The Winds headed up the stairs in the direction of the holographic entryway.
"Do we have a plan?" Blake asked, putting a hand on Hunter's shoulder.
"No," Hunter said, frowning. "But I'll pick him up bodily if I have to."
"OK," Blake said with a sigh. "Let's go."
* * *
Hunter knocked on Cam's door. "Cam?" he called.
"Go away," Cam said, through the door.
"No," Hunter said, simply.
"You talking to Trini again?" Blake asked hopefully--maybe Cam was fixing things on his own.
"No," Cam said, sounding petulant.
Blake and Hunter exchanged glances. It sounded, almost, like this was the problem.
"Want one of us to talk to her for you?" Hunter asked. He wondered if Trini would mind if he e-mailed her. It might solve the problem.
"No!"
Okay, obviously, not the answer.
"Will you at least open the door?" Blake pleaded.
"No," Cam said. "Go away."
"I could get CyberCam to force-teleport you out," Hunter threatened.
"No, you can't," Cam countered. "I've got baffles."
"I can break the lock on the door, though," Hunter said petulantly.
"No need, Hunter." Sensei leapt onto Hunter's shoulder. He punched a code into the lock and the door slid open.
Cam was huddled on his bed, only his face visible from the blanket, though he was leaning against his headboard. He glared at his father and the two Thunders.
His father leapt from Hunter's shoulder to Cam's. Blake and Hunter sat on the bed, flanking their older brother.
"So, big bro, want to talk about it?" Hunter offered gently, his tone exactly the same as it would have been if Cam had allowed them in voluntarily.
"No," Cam said, trying to push the Thunders away, and not really succeeding.
Hunter and Blake each grabbed an arm, restraining him.
"Will you two just leave me alone?" Cam snapped, trying to get loose.
"No," the Thunders chorused, concentrating on their task.
Cam just glared at the two of them, resolutely ignoring the guinea pig on his shoulder. "Great."
Hunter shrugged, as if it didn't matter. "Hey, isolating yourself is not going to work here. Either you talk to us, or I figure out how to use the iSight and talk to Trini *for* you."
"Don't you dare!" Cam snapped. He made a lunge towards his desk.
"Then call her yourself." Hunter carefully picked up Cam's laptop, careful to keep the webcam mounted on it steady. He handed Cam his computer.
"She'll just deny it." Cam stared at his laptop as if it were a foreign object--like a Dell.
"Deny what?" Blake asked, rubbing Cam's shoulder.
"It," Cam said unhelpfully.
Blake collapsed against Cam's free shoulder. "You're not helping, dude."
"Never mind," Cam snapped, pushing Blake away.
"I do mind, dude, I've never seen you this upset." Blake frowned in concern and sat up.
"Did Trini freak when you had to bail?" Hunter asked, searching for the cause of Cam's distress.
"No," Cam said, sounding confused. "Of course, I really didn't *notice*, given there was that stupid monster of Lothor's and all."
"Does he have any other kind?" Hunter asked grouchily.
"Hunter, you're channeling Dustin," Blake said to Hunter, squinting at him. "Stop it, it's scary."
Cam ignored Blake and handed the laptop back to Hunter. "I'll take care of it on my own."
"Why am I having problems believing that?" Hunter asked, raising an eyebrow and putting the laptop back on the desk.
"Look, this is something I have to work out for myself," Cam snapped.
"You promise you will?" Hunter asked, trying his best to imitate Blake's puppy dog eyes.
"I promise," Cam said, meeting Hunter's gaze for the first time.
"Good," Hunter said, putting a hand on Cam's shoulder and leaning in close. "'Cause if you don't, I *will* be talking to Trini."
"Great, that'll fix things," Cam said sarcastically, pushing Hunter back.
"Your choice," Hunter said, pointing a finger at Cam's chest.
"Cameron, sometimes it helps to work things out by explaining them to others," Sensei cajoled.
"Look, Trini and I are having a problem, all right?" Cam snapped.
His father moved closer to Cam's neck. "Does this have something to do with your Ranger duties detaining you from graduate school?"
Cam let out a frustrated sigh. How could he phrase what was going on without sounding totally jealous?
"That a yes bro?" Hunter asked, leaning in again.
"Yes," Cam said, sounding strangled.
"Hey, Trini understands," Hunter said, smiling slightly and patting Cam on the shoulder not containing Sensei. "I mean, she doesn't understand the Ranger thing, but I think she understands that you have to be here."
Cam sighed. He was going to sound really stupid. "Yeah, but one of her friends from high school is coming to visit her."
Hunter looked at Cam with a blank expression of confusion.
"And this is bothering you why?" Blake asked, brow furrowed in equal confusion.
"He's probably...." Cam sighed.
"What?" Hunter interrupted.
"Probably... well, sometimes I wonder if Trini's moved on and hasn't told me." Cam's voice was so quiet the Thunders had to strain to hear him.
Hunter gawked. "Dude, I mean, I met her for what--a couple hours? But she totally doesn't seem..."
Cam let out a breath. "I know. But maybe it's time to let her go."
"Cam, you are tired and angry, this is not the time to be making such rash decisions," Sensei said, patting Cam's neck.
"Sensei's right," Hunter pointed. "We just did battle. You know how cranky we all get after a battle."
"Some help you are," Cam said, getting up and starting to pace. "Go away."
"Not unless you rest and go nowhere near the iChat... or an internet connection." Hunter quietly thought of confiscating Cam's PowerBook and e-mailing Trini to let her know Cam wouldn't be coming online for awhile. However, separating Cam from his baby was the equivalent of trying to separate a wolf from her cubs--not a good idea.
Cam sighed in defeat. "Fine. I'll read. Happy?"
"Yeah," Hunter said. "You promise?"
"I promise. Shoo," Cam said, pulling out a book and sitting down.
Hunter patted his teammate on the shoulder once again, and as if by unspoken agreement, Sensei jumped onto his. "Have a good evening, Cam."
No reply was spoken as the door closed behind Hunter.
The End