Hi everyone :)
It's a Tori/Dustin romance! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Am I the only one who thinks they would be soooo cute together? Now, I know there are some people out there who won't like this, (someone who reviewed my last story even said not to write a Tor/Dustin) but I had to write it. The idea just kept circling my head, screaming out, "You know you want to write me!" I tried it with Tori/Blake but it just didn't seem to gel right. So, it's Tori/Dustin. I also tried Tori/Shane but I lost interest in that since Shane isn't my favourite character in the world and I tried Dustin/Shane as well but as I've said before, I just cannot write slash well. It's just something I can't do lol.
Only thing I have to say is that I don't own Power Rangers Nina Storm. I might someday when I'm Queen of the World but right now, I don't so you can't sue me :)
Prepare to visit the dentist, the sweetness may cause cavities :)
It was a cold, rainy day as Tori and Dustin ran through the forest near the entrance to Ninja Ops. Shane had gone with Blake and Hunter since the three of them and Dustin had met up at Storm Chargers earlier. Tori had, strangely, not shown up and Dustin had been the one to volunteer to go to her apartment to see what was up. When he got there, he found Tori running around, desperately trying to get ready after she had slept in late having forgotten to set her alarm clock the night before. They had got themselves stuck in traffic on the way and were now several minutes late for training.
"You know what the best thing about this is?" Dustin called over the sound of the pounding rain as they ran through the trees.
"What?" Tori called back, not slowing down her pace.
"For once, we're not going to be late because of me." He laughed. Tori just scowled at him and continued to run. They eventually reached the waterfall and quickly ran through the portal. They dashed across the wasteland of the destroyed achademy and skidded to a stop just beside the trap door that led to the underground control room. Dustin crouched down and opened it. "Ladies first." He yelled. Tori quickly jumped down and Dustin followed, pulling the door shut as he fell. Completely soaked from head to toe, Tori and Dustin slowly walked down the stairs, panting due to their marathon of a run they just had.
"About time you two showed up." Blake grinned as they walked in.
"Dude, it's suicide out there." Dustin muttered as Tori rung out her hair sending a splash of water falling to the floor.
"Let me get you two some towels." Cam said as he left the computer screen.
"How come's you didn't meet us Tor?" Shane questioned as he came over to them.
"She forgot to set her alarm clock." Dustin answered for her as Cam came back and handed them each a towel. "Found her running around her apartment desperately trying to get ready."
"Hey, at least I was trying to make up for it." Tori defended. "I had to skip breakfast. Do you know how hungry I am right now?"
"How many times have I told you not to skip breakfast Tor?" Dustin said suddenly. "You'll crash like you did that time at school."
"Ugh, don't remind me." She muttered. "That has got to be one of the most embarrassing moments of my life."
"Yeah, it was classic though. You guys should have been there." Dustin grinned. "It was like, one minute she was standing next to me and the next minute she was just gone."
"If I remember correctly, you didn't find it so funny at the time." Tori grinned back, poking his ribs. "From what I remember, you totally freaked out."
"I don't remember you ever fainting at school." Shane said in confusion.
"Didn't it happen when he was off with the chicken pox?" Tori pondered to Dustin.
"Yeah, I think so. Anyway, don't distract me." Dustin ordered. "The fact is, you still skipped breakfast. I don't think you should push yourself too hard today. Not until you eat something."
"Dustin, relax. I'm fine." Tori reassured, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Dustin has a point Tori." Sensei's voice came suddenly. The rangers all turned around to see their Sensei come into view in his little house. "Breakfast provides an essential boost of energy when your body most needs it. Not taking in this energy boost can have serious effects on how well your body functions."
"Seriously, I'm fine." Tori insisted. "I've just run through the forest at top speed and I feel perfectly normal."
"All right. However, if you feel fatigued you must rest at once." Sensei instructed her.
"Yes Sensei." Tori agreed with a small bow.
After a few more instructions and a short lesson from Sensei, the six rangers all relaxed. Hunter, Blake and Shane sat at the table and talked, Cam sat at the computer as usual and Tori and Dustin were sparring. They were doing it half heartedly at first, not really putting much effort into it but they gradually got more energetic and before long, they were jumping and back-flipping. After a while, they caught the attention of the others who began to watch them in amazement though not because of their energy but because of their moves. They seemed to know what each other was going to do before they did it. Dustin made a jab at Tori stomach which she easily blocked. She went to do a round-house kick but stopped suddenly when she noticed Dustin was ready to catch her leg. Instead, she went to the floor and swept her leg, intending to trip him. Once again though, Dustin seemed to know it was coming and jumped up in plenty of time to avoid it.
"Woah!" Shane cried suddenly, standing up. Tori and Dustin both froze in the same position, with their left legs lifted, half way through a kick. "How are you guys doing that?"
"Doing what?" Tori asked as she and Dustin lowered their legs at the same time.
"Fighting like that." Shane elaborated. "You seemed to know what the other was going to do before they did it."
"I've never seen anything like that before." Hunter put in. "It flowed like it was all planned out or something."
"Dude, what would be the point of that?" Dustin asked as he and Tori sat down next to each other at the table.
"Don't get too comfortable guys." Cam warned suddenly. They all turned their heads to look at him over at the computer. "Looks like Lothor's sent out another one of his aliens." They all gathered around the computer screen to see an alien that kind of looked like a mutated cat with really big paws.
"We're on it." Shane said as they all stood in a line."Everyone ready?" He asked like he always did before they morphed.
"Ready." Everyone chorused.
"Ninja Storm..."
"Thunder Storm..."
"Samurai Storm..."
"Ranger Form! Ha!" Light surrounded them all. "Ninja Ranger Power!"
The six rangers arrived on the scene as streaks of coloured light. They landed behind the alien and took up their fighting stances.
"Ah, Rangerssssss." The monster hissed, turning around to face them. "Sssso glad you could make it."
"Dude, what's up with your voice?" Dustin taunted. "You might wanna get some speech therapy for that lisp."
"Ha ha, sssso funny I forgot to laugh." The alien sneered as it shot several purple laser beams at the rangers. They all dove out of the way with cries of surprise and rolled to the side.
"Lets go." Shane ordered as they stood up. He charged towards the alien baring his sword with Tori and Dustin following not too far behind. They all struck the creature, sending sparks flying from it's chest. They quickly moved away to let Blake and Hunter have a turn and then they spun out of the way so Cam could hit it. They all stood in a line again as the falled alien got back to it's feet.
"Hey, sssssix againsssst one issssn't fair!" The monster whinned pathetically. "Mind if I double up?" It laughed as it split into two.
"Humph, one more of you won't make any difference." Shane growled. "C'mon guys." They all charged at it again, Shane, Hunter and Cam going for one and Dustin, Blake and Tori taking the other. They quickly discovered though that for some reason, nothing they did quite worked and soon they were getting hit more than they were hitting. They all backed off slightly and the two aliens laughed at them.
"You'll never beat me unlessssss you work as one." The two mosters cackled.
"What does that mean?" Blake asked.
"No idea." Shane answered. "Let's try it again. Give it everything you've got." He ordered as they all once again charged. As they ran, Tori suddenly felt a little dizzy. She slowed down a little and shook her head slightly before carrying on her charge. Soon, they were all fighting again, but it was still in vain. No matter what they tried, nothing was working. Now, Shane, Dustin and Cam were working together while Blake, Hunter and Tori were helping each other.
Just as Blake and Hunter were hit to the side slightly, another dizzy spell came over Tori. She held her head with one hand as she bent over slightly, her vision clouding. "Get it together Tori." She scolded herself mentally. "Don't faint, don't faint, don't faint." She chanted but it wasn't working, she could feel herself slipping away from reality...
Dustin, Cam and Shane all took turns to hit the monster they had targeted. Just as Dustin moved away from stricking a blow, a strange sensation washed over him which knocked him off balance slightly. He lowered his head a little and took a few deep breaths. He couldn't describe it. It was like a feeling that something was happening...Something not good...Something which was happening to...
"Tori!" Dustin suddenly cried, his head shooting up. His cry caught Shane and Cam's attention and they looked at Dustin, their masks hiding the looks of surprised confusion on their faces. Dustin's head snapped to the side just in time to see Tori fall backwards and land on the floor with a thump. A few seconds later, her ranger uniform was gone leaving her only in her ninja uniform. Dustin immediately ran over to her and sat her up slightly. "Tori?" He called desperately, gently patting her cheek. "C'mon Tor, wake up!" The other four rangers came over and stood in front of Tori and Dustin protectively.
"I say we bail." Hunter suggested as the two aliens approached them all.
"Yeah, we're getting worked anyway." Blake agreed.
"All right then." Shane nodded before standing up straight. "Ninja Smoke Screen!" He cried, throwing his hand down. The group suddenly vanished in clouds of red, yellow, blue, crimson, navy and green smoke leaving behind the alien who just let out a cackle of triumph.
She first became aware of the hardness of what she was laying on. Then she realised that various parts of her body were going numb. With a small groan she scrunched her eyes up and brought her hand up to her head. She attempted to sit up and felt her hand on her chest which pushed her back down. She slapped it away irritably.
"Let me up. My butt's asleep." She grunted groggily as she began to push herself up.
"Fine, but not too quickly." She heard Dustin's voice come as a hand came to her back and helped her up. She sat up completely, her back slumped over slightly and she rubbed her eyes tiredly. She heard the sound of other people settling around her and she knew the other rangers had come into the picture. "You want a glass of water?" Dustin suddenly asked.
"No, I'm okay." She muttered as she slowly opened her eyes. She saw everyone around her before she closed her eyes again to stop the brightness of the surrounding area offending them. "What happened?" She inquired tiredly, rubbing her eyes once again.
"You passed out." Shane's voice answered.
"Did we win?" She asked.
"We had to retreat." He told her somewhat reluctantly.
"Oh." Tori sighed lamely. "Because of me?"
"Partly." Shane admitted. "But also because we were fighting a loosing battle. There's a special way to beat that thing. Cyber Cam's working on it right now." Tori nodded and a suddenly felt someone pull her chin up.
"Tori, I need you to open your eyes." She heard Cam order. She slowly inched them open only to be greeted with the intense bright light of a little torch. She immediately shut them again and hid her face.
"Ugh, what are you trying to do? Blind me!" She groaned.
"Don't be such a baby." Cam chidded, forcefuly pulling her face back up. Tori knew she couldn't avoid it and reluctantly opened her eyes and kept them open. Cam held up his hand in front of her face.
"How many fingers?" He questioned.
"Four." Tori answered. He let his hand drop and nodded approvingly.
"No sign of a concusion. She'll be fine." He concluded as he moved away. All the boys visibly relaxed and Tori moved herself off of the table. She slumped on one of the blue pillows and Dustin was by her side immediately.
"You see? I was right wasn't I?" He scowled like a concerned mother. "Don't you ever scare me like that again! You made my heart perculate!" Everyone kept in a laugh at Dustin's choice of words and decided against telling him that perculate is actually what coffeee does.
"Hey Dustin, how did you know something was going to happen to her?" Shane inquired from across the table. "You weren't even looking at her and you just suddenly called her name out."
"I don't know dude." Dustin admitted in his usual confused tone. "I just got this really weird feeling come over me and I just kinda knew something bad was going to happen to her."
"Can you explain it Sensei?" Blake asked the rodent who was watching them all from the side.
"There could be many explanations." Sensei told them. "It is impossible to say without further experimentation and evidence."
"Which will have to wait for later." Cam spoke up from over by the computer. He was leaned over Cyber Cam's shoulder and watching the monitor curiously. "We've figured out how to beat that monster." The other five rangers all gathered around the computer, Dustin making sure to stay close to Tori. "It seems it can only be defeated when it splits into two and then, it can only be damaged when both forms are hit with synchronised, simultanious attacks." Dustin glanced around a little, scratching the back of his head.
"They have to be hit at the same time in the same way." Tori murmured to him.
"Ohhh." He nodded slowly.
"So we have to actually figure out a routine for the fight?" Hunter concluded.
"Yes. And here's the other thing, only two if us will be able to do this." Cam explained.
"How comes?" Shane frowned.
"Ever heard of the expression, 'too many cooks spoil the broth'? That's basically the case here. If all six of us went out there to fight it would never work. It can be done with only two people and that's how I recommend we do it." Cam justified.
"Who's going to do it then?" Tori asked, adjusting her standing position slightly, making Dustin glance at her just to make sure she was all right.
"That's what we'll find out now." Cam told them. "Cyber Cam has designed a test that will help us find out which on of us has the strongest link with another. Those two will be the one's who fight."
"So what do this test involve?" Shane queried.
"I hope it's multiple choice." Dustin said.
"Well, the test will help us to see how synchronised we all are with each other." Cam told them before disappearing through a door for a moment. He came back carrying two rolls of black plastic under each arm. "These have five touch sensitive pads attatched to each of them." Cam explained as he rolled them out on the floor next to each other. "When the pads light up, you have to touch them with any part of your body as soon as possible." He looked at Blake and Hunter. "Do you guys want to start?" They nodded and stood on the plastic sheets. "Ready?...Go!" Cam ordered as he turned the power on.
Each sequence lasted for as long as they could keep going with a reasonable level of success. They had all lasted about three or four minutes before loosing it, finding it too hard to keep up with the lights, falling out of sync or they just felt completely drained. Cam explained that the lower their average of seconds between hits were, the better. Soon, almost everyone had done it together and the result so far was Hunter and Blake had the best average while Hunter and Tori had the worst.
Now, the only pair that hadn't done it together was Tori and Dustin. They stepped onto the sheets and after a few seconds, motioned to Cam that they were ready. He started the lights and Tori and Dustin began. The lights started off slowly so at the beginning, they had all done well and Tori and Dustin were no exception. However, the lights gradually sped up and the rest had all found in impossible to keep up with it together and that was when they had fallen apart. That didn't seem the case with Tori and Dustin though. They moved with ease and in perfect sync. They didn't appear to be waiting for each other or anything like that. They reacted at the same time in the same way. Soon, the lights were appearing rapidly and would have disappeared just as rapidly, but somehow, the two were able to keep up and keep in time. Soon, it looked more like they were performing a break dance routine rather than doing a spontaneous test. They were using their feet and hands, crouching down, bending over forwards and backwards, jumping and spinning, all in perfect time with each other like they were programmed that way or something. After seven minutes they were still going but it was getting more apparant that Tori was tiring.
"That is enough." Sensei instructed. The two ninjas stopped their actions and Tori wobbled slightly. Dustin was immediately by her side, an arm coming around her to help support her. "Tori, you are to sit down until you are told you may rise." Sensei told her strictly. Dustin led Tori over to the table and sat down with her, putting his arm around her comfortingly. She rested her head on his shoulder and snuggled into the crook of his arm a little.
"This is unbelievable." Cam gasped as he looked at the sheet of paper that Tori and Dustin's results were on. "I don't even need to take an average. It says you had perfect timing throughout the whole exercise."
"Is that good?" Dustin asked.
"It's pratically impossible." Cam told them all. They all looked at each other un-surely for a moment, not sure how they should be feeling.
"Soooo, does that mean we win?" Dustin prompted, not getting what the big deal was.
"If you want to look at it as winning, then yeah." Cam replied. Dustin gave a laugh of triumph and punched the air with his free fist. "Dustin, have you not absorbed the fact that what you and Tori have just done isn't natural?"
"It isn't?" Dustin said in confusion.
"No it isn't." Cam sighed, getting slightly irritated. "Have you noticed anything different about you and Tori recently?"
"I think the way they are at the moment sort of shows that something is definately up with them." Hunter stated, referring to their cosy position cuddled up on the edge of the table.
"Dude, she's not feeling well!" Dustin reasoned, trying to hide his embarrassment at his suggestion that something was going on. He paused and looked at her for a second. "She's asleep anyway so it doesn't count."
"Though she was not asleep when you first put your arm around her." Sensei suddenly countered.
"Oh no, not you as well!" Dustin groaned, trying not to move in case he disturbed Tori.
"All I am saying is that recently, you and Tori have grown closer." Sensei told him calmly. "And have you not noticed that you are both more aware of each others feelings now? Plus, you knew she was in trouble before you even saw it with your eyes. You're un-natural ability to synchronise your actions is also very parculiar."
"So what are you saying Sensei?" Shane questioned. "Do you mean that Dustin and Tori have some kind of bond?"
"Let me tell you something." Sensei said as he paced up and down his small house. "When I was younger and Cam's mother was still with us, we began to feel certain things. Somehow, we were able to sense things about each other, things we did not know and could not have found out by other means. We discovered that we shared a special bond. One that is un-comman even amoung ninjas."
"What, like soul mates or something?" Blake inquired.
"No, nothing as committing as that. It was a bond that grew from years of knowing and caring for each other. To know someone on such an intimate level, that you can tell their emotions without seeing them and accurately predict their actions, usualy takes more than a lifetime to develop. However, there are cases where it can develop much more rapidly as it did with me and Cam's mother and as, I believe, it has with Dustin and Tori."
"So you're telling me that Tori and I are meant to be together...Romantically?" Dustin managed to ask out, wishing the furious blush on his cheeks would go down.
"If the bond is nurtured, then yes, you find you do have the un-deniable urge to love her and protect her as she will with you." Sensei informed. Everyone was silent as they all took in the information. Dustin and Tori were going to fall in love? How soon would it happen? Would it last forever? And if it didn't, would it ruin their friendship? Would it change their relationships wth everyone else?
"Erm, hate to interrupt dudes." Cyber Cam interrupted the silence suddenly. "But are you gonna tell them the second part of the plan?"
"Oh right." Cam remembered though it seemed so much more awkward to say now they knew all this. "You and Tori are going to have to spend the next 48 hours together."
"That doesn't seem too bad." Dustin shrugged.
"I mean together on your own. For the next 48 hours you need to eat together, work out an attack pattern together, basically do everything together, including sleeping together." Everyone let out small choaked gasps and Dustin almost fell off the table. "I don't mean it like that!" Cam muttered. "I meant just in the same bed. You need to spend as much time together as possible. It's the only way to make sure you're both on top form for when we try to attack again."
"So it'll just be me and Tori, alone, for a whole two days?" Dustin asked, just wanting to make sure he'd got everything perfectly clear.
"Pretty much." Cam confirmed. "We'll all drop by at some point to give you a break and see how you're doing but other than that, you'll be together all the time. Also, I wouldn't recomend leaving the house for the two days so make sure you stock up on activities and food." Dustin nodded at each thing Cam said, mentally making a note of it in his mind.
"I guess we'd better get going then." Dustin said un-surely.
"Dude, aren't you fogetting something?" Shane pointed out.
"What?"
"Tori's still asleep. She doesn't know."
What do we all think? I know that was kind of a dumb place to stop but I really couldn't let this chapter get any longer. Anyway, I'll be back with the next chapter soon.
Catch ya later dudes :)
Huggles
Wings of a Dream