"Tor, please hear me out!" Blake pleaded as she wordlessly turned on her heel and stormed away from him.
"Why should I, Blake? You made it PERFECTLY clear that you didn't want anything to do with me." Tori spat, the amount of venom in her tone surprised even her, and she felt a brief stab of pain and remorse as Blake physically flinched at her words.
"I ... I... " Blake started.
'I made a mistake ... I need you ... you're all I've thought about ... I love you.' his heart yearned to say, but he couldn't get the words out, not when she was looking at him with such venom.
"That's what I thought." She said, Blake's could feel his heart break as he saw the pain and the heartbreak swimming in Tori's stunning aquamarine eyes.
"Well? How did it go?" Hunter asked as Blake arrived back at the beach house Factory Blue had put them up in.
One look at Blake's expression and Hunter instantly knew, and his heart broke for his little brother.
"I'm sorry, man." He said as Blake sank into the couch, and rested his head in his hands.
"I thought I was doing the right thing, you know? I mean ... I was going on tour, I wasn't going to be around i mean ... what kind of boyfriend could I be? All of my focus was going to be on racing, it wasn't fair to her." Blake said, his words ending in a sob as he broke down.
Hunter didn't reply, he merely sat down next to Blake and put an arm around his shoulder, wishing he could take the pain away, he hadn't seen Blake in this much pain since their parents were killed.
"I love her, Hunter, and I don't know what I'm going to do ." Blake choked out through his tears.
"I know, bro, I know, and I wish I knew what to say to make this all better, but I don't, and I'm sorry." Hunter replied as he tightened his embrace around Blake's shoulders.
A tall, slender woman who looked to be in her early twenties approached a tall, shadowed, cloaked figure and bowed deeply.
" You sent for me, my master?"
"Yes, the time has come, summon the others and set our plan into motion. The figure said, his voice was silky , and deep, but it had a coldness that made chills run down a person's spine.
"As you wish." She said, and with a snap of her fingers, she was gone.
"Yes, it's time our people regained what is rightfully ours." He said with a menacing laugh.
Tori suddenly found herself walking through complete darkness, unsure if she was awake, or dreaming, or caught somewhere in between. She was still in the cobalt blue shorts and tank top she went to bed in, she shivered against the cold, dank air and rubbed her arms in an effort to ward off the chill.
"So you are the water ninja, hmmm, strange, I expected more than a insignificant little girl." A silky feminine voice said as a tall, slender woman stepped out from the darkness.
"Hey ...! who are you calling insignificant!" Tori said as she assumed a fighting stance .
"If you really think that brute strength will be enough to face what's coming, then this will be easier than I thought." She said as she let out a cackling laugh that reverberated through Tori's very soul.
Tori awoke with a start, bolting into a sitting position in bed, drenched in a cold sweat. She threw the covers back and padded into the living area, she was too shook up to even think about going back to bed, so she turned on the TV and glanced at the time, 3am.
She sighed wearily and scrubbed a hand over her face, she couldn't get the image of the woman's face out of her mind.
"Dreams, I have to say, it is nice touch, Endora, though I wouldn't have expected less from you."
"Oh, my dear Sione, that is only the beginning for our little water ninja. Dreams are the best way, because they must sleep ... And they can't escape me. Once they become deprived of sleep, they are easy targets in the physical world."
"This girl, she's a strong one, though." Sione mused.
"Yes, whether she knows it or not, she is the heart of their little group, we get to them through her." Endora replied.
Over the next few weeks, Tori's dreams became more and more intense and frequent, they had gotten so bad that she was averaging less than three hours of sleep a night ... And it showed, even the boys were starting to notice.
"Tori, is everything ok? You look like you've aged like ... Ten years or something." Dustin said
"Thank you, Dustin, I love you, too." Tori replied as she attempted a smile that didn't reach her tired eyes.
Shane, however regarded her shrewdly.
"Alright, Tori, out with it." He said as he raised his eyebrow at her.
Tori let out a sigh as she told them everything.
"Why you, though? Why not all of us?" Shane mused to no one in particular.
"I don't know, but I can't think about that right now, I have another demo tomorrow." Tori said as she rubbed her eyes.
"Tori come on, you can barely keep your eyes open, there's no way you're going to be able to surf tomorrow!"
"I have to, Shane, this is the chance or a lifetime, no way I'm going to risk getting chopped over a few silly dreams!" Tori fired back, the lack of sleep causing her temperature be uncharacteristically short.
"Hey ... What about we stay over tonight and take turns watching you, if we see you having a nightmare, we'll wake you up!" Dustin suggested.
Tori laughed in spite of herself. "Isn't there a movie about that?"
"Yeah, a horror movie." Shane said with a laugh.
"I really appreciate you doing this, guys." Tori said.
"Hey, what are brothers for, right?" Shane replied with a warm smile.
"I'll take first shift, since sleepy head here can't seem to stay up past ten." Shane said as he shoved Dustin playfully before following Tori upstairs.
"I'll be right here in this chair if you need me." Shane said as Tori slipped into bed.
"Thanks again for doing this, both of you. " she said again.
"Forget it, just get some sleep, okay?" Shane said with a reassuring smile, which Tori returned as she laid back against the pillows.
Blake awoke with a start and suddenly began to panic when he found himself in complete darkness, for a moment, he thought he had gone blind.
Then he heard it ... A woman's agonized scream coming from somewhere in the darkness. Without thinking, he jumped up and ran blindly torward where he believed the source was. Even though he was no longer a ranger, he still had a strong sense of duty to help those in need.
He heard the woman scream again, only this time it was strangled and fading, and he knew he was running out of time. Thinking fast, he skidded to stop, closed his eyes and used his ninja powers to locate the woman in distress.
Dread settled deep in the pit of his stomach as there was a familiarity in the energy he sensed. He was serene and fluid and it had that fresh smell that always happens after a rain.
"TORI!" He bellowed as took off running again, his intuition guiding him.
He careened around a dark corner and saw Tori being lifted off her feet by a tall, slender woman with a pale complexion and intense violet eyes.
Tori's body convulsed as the woman began stealing her energy.
"Get your hands off her!" Blake roared as, without even thinking, he surged forward. His act sent a blast of energy at the strange woman, sending her flying backwards.
"Tori...!" Blake choked out as he caught her in his arms. He looked into her face, so pale , gone was the Rosy tint her cheeks normally had.
"Tori, please, wake up." Blake pleaded as years welled up in his eyes.
His heart leapt as her eyes fluttered and slowly opened.
"B ... Blake? What are you ... How did you ..." She began
"I don't know how I got here but I'm damn glad I did." He said as he gently brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes.
"I don't give a damn how much you hate me, I'll always have your back." He said, the passion burning in his eyes took her breath away. She put her hand on his cheek as she smiled at him.
"Oh Blake, you damn idiot, I don't hate you, I am still pretty pissed at you, though." She said with a small smile.
Blake's eyes snapped open and he vaulted upright in bed, drenched in a cold sweat.
"A dream, oh god, it was just a dream." He said as he ran his hands through his damp hair.
"Tori! Tori, wake up!" Tori was suddenly aware of Shane's frantic voice.
"Damn it, Shane! Why didn't you wake me up sooner! I told you to wake me at the first sign of trouble!" She snapped at him.
"Hey I WAS! I've been trying to wake you for the last 10 minutes, but I couldn't!" Shane replied. As she kicked off her covers and threw her legs over the side of the bed.
As she walked out onto her balcony, she thought back to her dream. What was Blake doing there? Had she dreamed him, too? Was his appearance merely a manifestation of her subconscious mind?
She heaved an exhausted sigh as she rubbed her eyes. That was no ordinary dream, she was sure of it, and she knew that she would have to talk to him about it.
