The day was warm, but a breeze stirred the papers in his hand. He flipped the page and continued scanning the upcoming dates. After the race two days from now, he might have a break long enough to come home again, if he blew off the extra races along the way. Then he was going to be out of state again for about two or three weeks before his next break. About a month from now, he’d be in Missouri, then Kentucky, and finally Indiana. He counted the days. He was already supposed to be in Reno for the race two days from now, before dropping back over to Frisco. He was glad he had decided to stay in Blue Bay when Factory Blue had pulled out to prep things in Reno.

It had been a split decision. His discussion with Jesse replayed in his head.

“Yeah buddy, it’s Reno! I love Reno!”

“Sounds like fun,” Blake’s words echoed. He had been thinking of Tori, of ancient evils, of cracks in the Earth, of his brother who had wanted to see him off. He had told Hunter he’d catch him when he came back for Frisco, instead. It took mondo convincing, but Hunter finally raised his hand to end the debate, and then hugged him.

“So what do you want to do the first night we’re there?” Jesse’s voice had exploded with excitement. One would think that he had never been to Reno, but Blake knew Jesse had been there several times.

“I don’t know. Tell them I’ll meet you all there. I have some personal stuff to take care of before the next race… I’ll catch the red-eye.”

Jesse’s face shifted into disbelief, “Dude! Reno?”

“Party without me this time… I’ll make up for it in Frisco.”

Now, Blake only felt he had to make it good with the multiple Sensei on his use of Ninja Skills outside of an emergency. But, his heart was heavy. There was just so much running through his head.

He loved Factory Blue. He loved riding. He loved winning. He loved the sport like few others. Winning a race was a rush of power, a challenge of skill. It was wonderful to live out childhood dreams, especially after the loss of his Ranger Powers.

Rangerhood was also a rush of power. It was a feeling of doing great things and helping people. It was like living out a Jackie Chan movie. It was a place for more personal contests between the bad guys and him. Unlike racing, where he was competing, here he was defeating evil. Sure, Ninjahood has that, but Rangerhood amped that up immensely. And now, that power was back. This was not dreams, this was duty.

And one thing he could never forget, nor ever had planned for upon leaving the Thunder Academy, was falling in love. He loved Tori. He hated leaving her all of the time. He knew she was building her own life between school and teaching. It was always a challenge for each of them to make their schedules mesh.

Three elements of his life pulled at him. He had been making it work now for several months, but after the argument at the Abyss, his nerves were beginning to eat at him. He needed to sort this all out. He needed to see Hunter… He needed his brother.

The wind rustled his tassels as he scanned the horizon. Shimazu’s thoughts recounted the last battle and the disappearance, or even the never appearance of his master.

It had seemed so glorious… his plan. He was going to rid the land of a few Samurai, and he was going to help his master take down the Power Rangers… even those new ones. Instead, he lost not two, but three Wolf Blades. And he expended a bunch of his personal stash of Kelzaks.

The Kabukified Kelzaks, he could replace. Sure, he had lost nearly twenty in total. However, the greatest lost was his precious Blades. In sending them to his master’s aid, he had set them in the path of the other Samurai. His plans have always worked better with the Blades. Now, he was going to have to continue on without his precious ones. And with his master mysteriously gone…What could he do now? Except for wipe out every one of those Samurai, and then go for all of the Power Rangers?

The breeze picked up.

Blake trailed into the Academy dorms, seeking out the places Hunter tends to frequent. A quick scan led him to realize his brother was not there. He began searching the training fields.

He hadn’t really wanted to drop in unannounced, but he had left for the Thunder Academy before he had thought about calling. Forefront in his mind was talking to Hunter, behind that had been finding Hunter. Letting Hunter know he wanted to find him was an after thought that had occurred after he had realized that Hunter didn’t necessarily know he needed to talk to him.

Blake stopped and closed his eyes. He was doing it again. Just like those other times. The popcorn bucket. The stamp. He immediately jumps to a full force charge before working out a solution. Taking a deep breath, Blake opened his eyes again. He was not two dimensional. He was not in artificial butter flavoring. He was just needing to talk to his bro. His bro would show… His bro couldn’t unknowingly hide from him forever. But it is really amazing how well the elder Bradley could be so difficult to track down sometimes.

He paused after searching the final training ground. Nothing. He really wanted his brother’s advice, but he also was missing out on time with Tori. Maybe calling Hunter and setting something up, while catching up with Tori was the way to go. Blake began his streak to the University, landing behind the cafeteria. He walked out and scanned the campus. It was exam week, he recalled Tori mentioning this. She’d be in the library. He headed left.

He smiled as he passed the circulation desk. To them, he was sure he looked like a student. Hmmm… maybe he could be a student… Naaahhh… He snickered as he climbed the steps to the closest study area. He had way too much on his plate. If he added school, his mind would frag.

He rounded a large plant and approached Tori’s favorite study spot, a corner by the large window overlooking a beautiful fountain. And as predicted, he was graced with the image of a very studious Water Ninja Sensei. He sat down in an opposing chair. He leaned back and watched quietly. After a few minutes, she looked up, smiled, and returned to her book.

So, the answer is always to get more power… Shimazu thought to himself. What could he use this time? He had managed to catch the Blades years ago. What could he do now? Certainly, after all of this time, after all he had seen, after all he had learned… there had to be something.

‘Deepest realms, far from the sky Where fearless and mindless stride Within the shadows, ‘Kroiya-ai!’ I cry For me, alone, the portal opens wide’

What was this? Where was this coming from? These words seemed familiar, but from where? A book. No, a scroll. A scroll he had once stumbled upon. This wasn’t the whole thing… There was more… What was the rest?

“And as the shadows welcome me I step to where the darkness foams A mire of evil wanting free A greater force that still roams”

Yes! Yes! That’s it…Now what was the last verse. It was the key. His thoughts raced as he tried to force his mind to hold onto the passage. This was a key to power. He had memorized this poem once in hopes of using it some day. But that had been before he had become imprisoned.

“And standing deep within the bog I cast my hands toward the fold And summon forth out from the fog An army much greater now I hold”

Excellent! Shimazu began to dance. He recited the chant once again, as he continued to dance about. He felt the air shifting around him. He danced up towards a rocky outcropping and recited the poem one last time. As he finished the last line, a dark portal materialized onto the outcropping. Dark mists drifted from its edges. Shimazu nearly danced the whole way into the hole. The sunny hillside that had surrounded him, he left behind as he approached an expansive mire. He was in ecstasy, as the magic of the poem and the power of his words seemed to be granting what it preached. He recited the poem once again, as he reached the third stanza, he reached his hands out. A fog drifted toward him. Wolves howled in the distance. They sounded like the Wolfblades, but not his Blades.

Three Wolfblades entered into view, just as he finished the stanza. He looked down and then back to them. They were Wolfblades. They were of the packs that were running wild in space, of the ones he had thought he had caught the last three and trained. But these were bigger. And these radiated with more power. Shimazu kept his hands in front of him and walked slowly toward the closest, the one who also seemed to be the leader. He must win him to win the others. The leader watched him as he reached out and stroked the fur on the Blade’s head. Shimazu smiled as the leader bowed its head in what seemed to be temporary submission. Another howl in the distance alerted Shimazu, as well as his new three. More were out there, and he had his hands full training these. He remembered the poem now, he could return, if he needed. Every good warrior knows when to walk away with the goods. Shimazu led the three out of the mire and back through the portal.