Cassandra's Legacy:
Book 3: My Bloody Valentine
Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own NinjaStorm or any other part of Power Rangers, which I suppose is a good thing for Tori. I also don't own the song "My Bloody Valentine", by Good Charlotte.
**Added Disclaimer: In this storyline, for reasons which will become obvious, Thunder Storm never happened/will happen (as much as I love that episode).
This is the sequel to The One I Love, which is the sequel to My Last Breath. It takes place about a month after TOIL, and it starts maybe a week after NS ended.
Before I begin, I would also like to extend a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has reviewed the last 2 installments, added them to story alert, and/or added me to author alert, including: BellaVision, damonXelenaXforever, Jaina87, JasonLeeScottFan, MidnightMoonWarrior, Neon765, FallenAngel-OnyxAmethyst, IAmTheBoss, iceprincessforever, PlantyPie, xotiptopxo, XoxMountainGirlxoX, DragoonShana, FreakYouOut, SydSue1206, PinkGurl110, a.k.a xxsakurarokzxx, ToastedMarshmellow08, PurpleWildcat2010, and Ava256. It is a major confidence boost and really means a lot! Major thanks are also due to anyone who is still even remotely following the storyline at this point. Family matters, planning for a major cross country move , and applying to/paperwork-ing for graduate school have made life more complicated even than usual over the last few months - not to mention some major writer's block with a problematic part of this chapter. :-) Hopefully (as I feel I've had to say several times with this series), the twist at the end will be worth waiting for!
Finally, as always please Review! The further I get into this series, the more shaky I am as to the quality of my writing, so any and all constructive comments, good or bad, are greatly appreciated!
Chapter 1: Good Times
Tori Hanson smiled indulgently as she drove her blue van down the road out of the woods. For the past week, she and her friends had been camping in the woods near Ninja Ops, and now it was time to come home. You would think that, after a week of 'roughing it', the team would have been exhausted, ready to get home and relax. Goodness knows, she was. But you couldn't say the same for Dustin, Shane, Hunter, Blake, and Cam, who were having a heated debate over which female Ranger was hottest.
"No way, dude, Mighty Morphin' Pink was definitely the hottest. Man, she was so hot…." Dustin trailed off, a dreamy look in his eye.
"Bro, don't even think of drooling on me," Hunter warned, holding up his hands in disgust. "Anyway, I think we all know the only babe in Ranger history was Astronema. The way she looked in those leather suits….Man, that was sick dudes. Nothing can compare. "
"I'll be sure to let the Red Space Ranger know that," Cam snickered. "I'm sure he'd love to kick your ass." A chorus of laughs rang around the small space.
"No, way, man." Shane said. "I mean, she was cool and all that, but…you want to see hot? Check out the Yellow Space Ranger, man she was a beaut! I totally envy Space Red."
"Not a chance," Blake laughed. "Space Yellow? C'mon Shane, you can do better than that."
"No!" Shane persisted. "I swear, dudes, I lived for those comics.
"Uh uh," Cam said.
"' 'Uh uh' what?" Hunter asked.
"The hottest Ranger chick…was most definitely Pink Lost Galaxy."
"Her!" His friends practically screamed in disbelief.
"No way, dude! She was like, a geek girl extreme!" Dustin said,
"Well, I'm a geek guy, so I guess it fits. " Cam smirked back.
"What about you, Blake?" Shane asked, nudging the Navy Ranger, who had been extremely quiet.
"I know who he thinks is hottest," Hunter snickered, nodding his head towards the front seat. The other three burst into hysterical laughter.
"Oooh-oooh!" Shane teased.
"Blake and Tori…" Dustin chanted quietly. Cam just smirked.
"Dustin!" Blake grunted, elbowing his friend. Tori, who hadn't quite managed to hear what they were saying but still got the gist of it, rolled her eyes at them in the rearview mirror.
"Are you guys done drooling yet? I just had that seat cleaned before we left, y'know." Her teammates started laughing again.
"How close are we to home?" Blake asked, eager to change the subject. Hunter grinned knowingly and jabbed him with an elbow. Blake returned the gesture.
"We're about fifteen minutes from Storm Chargers, I think."
"Great!" Hunter said. "That means we still have time to discuss dumbest Ranger moments!"
"I nominate everything Dustin's ever said!" Shane immediately shouted.
As she dropped Cam off at Ninja Ops and pulled back onto the main roads, Tori felt a warm wave of happiness wash over her. This past week had been one of the best of her life. She'd gotten to spend time with her friends, finally be normal again after so many months of Ranger duties, and most importantly, she hadn't had any dreams. In fact, she hadn't had dreams of any kind since the incident outside of Ninja Ops a month ago. It seemed a little strange that things had stopped so suddenly, and Cam had monitored Tori's sleep and the overall battle situation for awhile after. But then things had remained normal and quiet, and gradually, the dreams had slipped to the back of the Rangers' minds. Even Tori rarely let herself think about them anymore – a few freak accidents, to be sure, but nothing that was likely to happen again.
This trip had been special for another reason, she thought less happily as she dropped Dustin and Shane off and continued to the Thunders' apartment. It had been one last adventure as a team before Blake left. A few days before their final battle with Lothor, Blake had received another invite to join Factory Blue, and after Lothor was gone, well….What was keeping him from taking it? It was his dream, and all of his friends—Tori included—had encouraged and supported his decision to take the offer. But inside, Tori was tense at the thought of Blake being gone. Blake has real talent, she sternly lectured herself, as she had before. He was born for this. And I'm really happy for him. But. There was always a but. But I wish that 'Factory' and 'us' were two words that went together. Tori shook herself from her thoughts as she pulled up to the Thunders' apartment. She should just enjoy what time they had .Smiling, she gave Hunter and Blake friendly hugs good-bye, although a careful observer—like Hunter, for instance—would have and did notice that she hung onto Blake a little bit longer. Hunter glanced back over his shoulder and shook his head smilingly as he and Blake made their way to the apartment.
I don't know what she'll do once you're gone, little bro, he thought to himself as he looked at his visibly-saddened brother. Blake was always a little down after saying good-bye to Tori.
A few hours later, having excitedly told her mother all about their camping trip, Tori glanced at the clock and saw that it was getting pretty late.
"I'm gonna head up to bed, Mom. It's late and I didn't get much sleep this week." Her mother nodded and offered a good night kiss.
"Good night, honey." Tori smiled and headed up the stairs to her bedroom. Sighing contentedly, she changed into a pair of blue pajamas with dolphins on them, ran a brush through her hair, then climbed underneath her covers and was soon fast asleep.