He ignored them as long as he could. It took about three and a half seconds for them to drive him completely insane. Slamming his hands down on either side of the keyboard, he spun around in his chair. "Someone tell me what's going on!"

They were all too eager to comply, talking over each other in their haste. It reminded Cam of the Winds. The Thunder Rangers almost never spoke over each other--they seemed able to read each other's minds, finish each other's sentences. They didn't need to interrupt.

Today was different, apparently. Today they were squaring off, everything in their postures saying they were one step away from physically laying into each other. He could barely distinguish their words as they both shouted at the same time.

"Blake high-sided me at the track!"

"I beat him and he's freaking out!"

"Stop it!" Cam demanded, caught up in the effort to be heard and shouting back at them. "This is ridiculous! What happened to being brothers before racers?"

Blake tucked his hands under his arms, frowning, and Hunter turned away. "Brothers race fair," he snapped, raking his eyes over Cam. "He shouldn't have forced me off the track!"

"I didn't--" Blake aborted his forward motion, but his expression was furious. "If you'd seen the race you'd know how ridiculous that is! I passed him! That's all!"

How had he ended up in the middle of this? What were they doing here at all? He had thought the day's events would keep all of the Rangers out of his hair for a while, but apparently he was getting the exact opposite of his wish. There didn't seem to be any alternative but to tell them what he thought.

"Blake," he said with a sigh. "It doesn't really matter what happened. You can't expect me to side against Hunter."

Blake's eyes widened, but Cam didn't give him a chance to reply. "Hunter," he continued smoothly and as calmly as he could, "You're being a jerk. Have you ever considered a course in interpersonal relations?"

Hunter glared at him. "I'd hate to see you when you're not on my side," he said sarcastically.

Cam countered glare for glare. "Do you hear yourself? You're accusing Blake of cheating! If I didn't know better I'd think you were both under some kind of spell!"

"He kept me from going to nationals," Hunter informed him coldly. "I think that's reason to be upset."

"If you can't beat Blake you don't belong at nationals," Cam retorted. "Would you expect any other rider to let you win? It's a race, Hunter; the fastest person wins!"

"I can beat Blake!" Hunter insisted.

Cam cut him off before he could get any further. "Then why didn't you?" he demanded. "Because he cheated? Is Blake a cheater? Has he ever cheated before? Have you?"

Hunter opened his mouth, but Cam ignored him. "Blaming your brother is the stupidest excuse I've ever heard! You weren't fast enough. You lost. Get over it."

"Excuse me," his father's voice cut in. "Is there a problem, here?"

"No," Cam said firmly, a little surprised to hear Hunter and Blake come up with the same reply at exactly the same moment. A chorus of "no"s. Great. That would be convincing.

"I see." His father paused just long enough to let them know that he did, indeed, see exactly what was going on. "It has been my observation that tempers have been more heated than usual lately. Perhaps you should all take a step back from whatever situation is causing your current conflict and attempt to look at it more objectively."

"Sure, Dad," Cam muttered. He knew he wasn't the problem here, but trying to explain that to his father would probably cause more trouble than it was worth.

Hunter and Blake both responded with "Yes, Sensei," and then glared at each other as though they had stepped on each other's toes.

A chime from behind him caught his attention before the automatic surveillance system could zero in on the latest threat. He was almost relieved by the distraction, turning back to the computer as the system brought up an image of the forest. Complete with unfamiliar zords.

Just what they needed right now.