[	Tags	|	creation, ff100, fic, pr	]
[	Current Mood	|	apathetic	]
[	Current Music	|	Rod Stewart - Maggie May	]

Title: Journey
Fandom: Power Rangers - Ninja Storm
Characters: Hunter Bradley/Shane Clarke
Prompt: 061. Winter
Word Count: 803
Rating: PG
Summary: Hunter starts a journey.
Author's Notes: Part of a series.

Hunter did his best to fight off the chill that pervaded the Mountain of Lost Ninjas, which he wasn't sure was due to the weather. He kept his senses open, expecting an attack at any moment. It was certainly protocol for the place.

He made it all the way to the Cavern of Spirits, however, without incident. Not that that was much comfort to him.

With a deep breath, he sat before the altar that once held the Gem of Souls. He fished out a piece of paper and read its contents again. It was an anonymous letter, but its contents were enough to make him believe it.

"Mom, Dad," he began, knowing full well his words fell on deaf ears. It was the talking that gave him peace. "I hope I'm not betraying your memory by doing this, but I feel I have to. I have to find my birth parents, and this letter has given me clues. For once I'm listening to my heart, and it's saying to follow this."

He sighed and stood up, retrieving a small parcel wrapped in burlap from his pack. It was the last shard of the Gem of Souls. Cam had let him keep it after he'd snuck onto Lothor's ship. Hunter stared at it for a long moment before dropping it onto the altar. He certainly didn't need it anymore.

Hunter stepped back out into the cold mountain air. The shock was almost refreshing. He started back down the mountain, when he was suddenly very aware of his footsteps crunching in the snow. A chilling breeze nipped at his face, freezing the slightly wet cheeks. He could almost hear the mountain talking. He was not alone. He didn't slow down; he kept moving with a desire to put as much distance between himself and the creepy mountain as quickly as possible. Still the feeling persisted. Hunter set up his defenses, so as to not be caught off-guard by an attack.

"God damnit, Bradley, will you slow down?!"

The blond whirled around. Much to his surprise, he found one of his former teammates standing a few feet behind him. The last one he wanted to see right now, really. "What are you doing here?"

Shane Clarke came closer, but still kept some distance. "Cam called me when he caught your signal out here."

Hunter looked suspicious. "He called you, huh?"

"Actually...well, you know Cam's smarter than that. He called Blake first. And guess who he called? I didn't really think it was the best idea for me to come out here, but part of me wanted to."

"What is this, the Ranger equivalent of a suicide watch?"

Shane shrugged. "We were worried, man. That's what friends do."

Hunter wanted to say that they were past friendship at this point, but kept quiet. Though they had never officially broken up, their mutual distance during the Dino Ranger incident made it clear that it was over.

"So, what are you doing out here? I thought you hated this place," Shane wondered.

"Just came out to do some thinking, I guess."

The former Red Ranger crossed his arms. "Right. Because everyone comes all the way out to the Mountain of Lost Ninjas to think. Even if that wasn't the case, I know when you're lying, Bradley. What's going on?"

Hunter had almost forgotten Shane's uncanny ability to see right through people and their fronts, especially him. "I got this...letter a while ago. It was anonymous, but it made mention of my birth parents. Well, not who they are, but where they are. I just wanted to make sure I was doing the right thing by trying to find them, and this was the best place I could think of to find out."

Shane nodded his understanding. "So, where are they? Your birth parents."

"This is the slightly crazy part."

"Just that?"

Hunter glared. "Yes, trust me. This is the crazy part. They're on some planet called Chronite."

Shane's eyes widened. "So you're saying you're possibly not human?"

"No less human than Sensei or Marah, I guess," Hunter said with a shrug.

A silence stretched on until Shane found the words that Hunter was almost afraid to hear. "Are you going?"

Hunter sucked in a breath. "Once I find a viable way to get there, yeah."

The wind ninja turned, eyes downcast. "We should get out of here. This place is starting to creep me out." He started down the mountain.

Quietly, Hunter followed him. He wanted to ask Shane about his reaction, make him explain, but he let it go. Despite all the bad blood and mistrust between them, the two shades of red still knew how to do one thing very well--wrap themselves in a mutual silence that all at once betrayed everything and nothing.

END