Blake propped himself up on his elbow and gazed upon the love of his life. Images of their lovemaking consumed his mind as he looked at her sleeping, naked form. The only thing that covered her was a sleeping bag, and she wore only the charm her Gram had entrusted her with... the charm that they were all trying to save.
The sun had yet to rise, but Blake couldn't fall back to sleep. Ever so softly, he trace a line with his index finger from her bare shoulder to the bend of her elbow and back again. He couldn't believe that he had almost let her get away. Today was going to be one of the most trying in his life.
He didn't like the idea of her being 'bait,' as she had put it, and knew that both he and Tori were in more danger than the others... their powers were gone. Even with their ninja powers, they were still vulnerable. Why couldn't Lucas be the bait? He had the same charm...
Tori felt a light touch on her skin and opened her sleepy eyes. Blake saw her eyes open and leaned down to kiss her softly on her lips.
"Hey," she breathed softly. She looked into his eyes and instantly saw the worry he had. "What's the matter?"
Blake placed his hand over her heart, where the charm was. "Why do you have to do this?" he asked. "Why can't Lucas?"
Tori rolled on her back and stared up through the netting at the top of the tent. The stars were still out, but she knew morning would soon come.
"Lucas doesn't have the power yet," she answered.
"But he has the necklace, so doesn't that-"
"Let me rephrase. He doesn't have the power IN THIS TIME. Technically he hasn't received it yet."
Blake sighed and lay down next to her. "I just get this really weird vibe about all this... like we're TOO prepared-"
"And he's expecting that," Tori finished for him. He smiled a little and draped an arm across her. "I just hope that this works," she said as she yawned and closed her eyes for a brief moment.
Blake kissed her cheek and pulled himself closer to her. "It will Tor... go back to sleep," he said softly. Tori smiled and did just that.
(((((())))))
"I want every one of you ready at my command," Uric hissed at his minions. There were nearly one hundred of his creatures, each varying in appearance, yet they all had similar scales and body types.
They all bowed in one large group and disappeared in a splash of water. Uric looked out one of the many portholes in his ship and saw the water becoming brighter.
"Today is the day I finally complete my plan. Regardless of which ranger I destroy, the family line will be broken and that Time Force weakling will never have existed. Victory will be mine..."
He walked to the helm of his ship and concentrated his powers in order to find who he was after. After some time he found her and called his creatures back.
"There is an island off shore where the girl is now... find her and I will join you shortly." The creatures cheered and took to the water. As they swam off Uric smiled to himself and began to launch his ship from the reef, following his minions. 'Not much longer now.'
(((((())))))
Tori was dreaming again, except this time it wasn't any ordinary dream... it was a vision. Her sight was cloudy at first, but then cleared to show Uric talking to himself.
'Regardless of which ranger I destroy, the family line will be broken and that Time Force weakling will never have existed...'
Her vision once again became cloudy and they went black. Her eyes opened and sunlight was seen outside the tent. Sitting up, she saw that Blake was still sleeping peacefully. She carefully got up, dressed into her ninja suit and headed out towards the rest of the camp.
The words she had heard were still echoing through her head... 'Regardless of which ranger... the family line will be broken...' She stopped dead in her tracks and inhaled sharply.
Uric was after her, this she knew, but he was talking about another ranger... another ranger that was with them and had a tie to Lucas... one person came to mind and she thought she was going to faint from the shock.
"That's... impossible," she stuttered.
"What's impossible?"
She turned quickly and saw Justin walking behind her. She took a deep breath and smiled. "Nothing, I'm just, uh, thinking," she stammered. Justin gave her a crooked smile.
"Okay Tori, whatever you say." They walked together until they reached the rest of the tents. Everyone was up by now and prepared for the mission.
Lucas walked out of the tent and received a glare from Tori. "What?" he asked in defense.
She walked right over to him and whispered sternly so that only he could hear. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Lucas was confused. "Tell you about what?"
"Guys! We got trouble!" Everyone turned and saw Blake running towards them in his ninja uniform. Tori looked from Blake right back at Lucas. It was then that Lucas felt like he got socked in the stomach... she knew.
Before he could say anything though, Blake told them what he had seen. "I was looking over the cliff and I saw these, things swimming right for us. There was a bigger thing right behind them too."
Lucas turned away from Tori, who was now right next to Blake and addressed the others. "Alright guys, this is it."
The Blue rangers all stood tall and ran towards the beach. As they were running, Rocky laughed.
"So much for our plan!" he yelled as they continued to run to the beach.
The others all smirked at him and began to set up as best they could when they reached the sand. The figures could be seen in the distance and they were coming faster and stronger than before.
Billy, Justin and Lucas prepared the capturing device while the others prepared themselves for the onslaught of creatures.
Within a matter of minutes, the first group of creatures emerged from the surf. The rangers watched as, one by one, they got out and stood in a sort of formation.
The rangers stood at the ready. Billy and Justin stood near Rocky and TJ, while Lucas took his place next to Tori and Blake.
Blake took Tori hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "I'm not letting anything happen to you," he said.
Tori saw the emotion in his eyes and squeezed his hand. "Same here."
Lucas listened to the exchange and smiled. Everything was going their way... for now. He was pulled out of his thoughts when the creatures charged at the ten blue rangers.
"Let's go!" Billy called. All ten of them charged down the beach and began to do battle with the slimy things.
They were outnumbered easily ten to one, but they couldn't stop. After a few hard punches and kicks, the creatures seemed to dissolve into water and were consumed by the sand. Everyone worked extremely well together and soon almost all of the creatures were either destroyed, or retreating back to the sea.
The Rangers all gathered together, panting for breath as they saw a ship emerge from the foaming sea.
Uric watched from inside as the rangers continually defeated his creatures. 'Silly humans, thinking they can save their friends,' he snarled.
He glanced out and saw Blake and Tori fighting near each other. With a sick grin on his face, he punched in a few controls and watched as an energy ball began to form around the bow of the ship.
Aiming his shot he smiled. 'Goodbye Navy Ranger.'
At that very moment Tori began to feel very nervous. Her stomach turned and she felt her heartbeat increase. She dispatched of the remaining creatures around her and turned her eyes to the water.
She saw the light forming around the front of the ship and saw where it was heading.
Blake punched a creature in his chest, causing it to dematerialize. He too got a nervous feeling and looked at the water. His eyes went wide when he saw a large, white ball coming towards him.
He braced himself for the impact, but felt his heart stop when a flash of blue light jumped in front of him, blocking the blow.
The light was intense and all the guys saw what had happened... Tori had ninja streaked to Blake and took the hit for him.
When the light faded, Tori's lifeless body was face down in the sand.
"NO!" Blake cried as he ran over to her. The remaining rangers were livid. They had seen what uric had done to their friend and took it out on the remaining creatures.
Blake reached her and rolled her over to face him. He gently cradled her in his arms. "Tori... Tor... please open your eyes," he pleaded. Her chest was slowly rising and falling, but her eyes remained shut. Tears threatened Blake's eyes. Her breathing slowed more and Blake could feel her limbs relaxing little by little.
All the emotions inside of him came out then and he let the tears fall. He couldn't lose her... he wasn't going to let Uric get away with this. No matter what happened next, he knew he would get him back for what he did to her.
Tori slowly opened her mouth and Blake thought he heard something. "Tor?" he asked nervously.
Her eyes slowly open and she coughed. Her eyes focused and she gave him a weak smile. "I... told you... I wasn't," she scrunched up her face in pain. "I wasn't going to let anything happen to you."
Blake smiled at her through his tears and caressed her face. "You're going ot be alright," he said. Tori coughed again and settled into his arms. She culd feel her eyes slowly closing, and Blake held her tighter. "No, you, you can't leave me..."
She touched his face. "I'm sorry Blake," she whispered as her eyes closed.
Blake was in a state of shock. "Tori?" he paused for a moment, waiting for her to respond. When she didn't he felt his heart break into a thousand pieces. "Tori," he sobbed as his hand landed in her chest, where it had been this morning. Her hand was holding the gem and his rested on top of it.
Lucas felt a pain like no other shoot through his body, sending him to the ground. He clutched his chest and watched as his hands slowly began to disappear. 'Oh no,' he thought through the pain. He looked over and saw Tori lying in Blake's arms...
The sun had yet to rise, but Blake couldn't fall back to sleep. Ever so softly, he trace a line with his index finger from her bare shoulder to the bend of her elbow and back again. He couldn't believe that he had almost let her get away. Today was going to be one of the most trying in his life.
He didn't like the idea of her being 'bait,' as she had put it, and knew that both he and Tori were in more danger than the others... their powers were gone. Even with their ninja powers, they were still vulnerable. Why couldn't Lucas be the bait? He had the same charm...
Tori felt a light touch on her skin and opened her sleepy eyes. Blake saw her eyes open and leaned down to kiss her softly on her lips.
"Hey," she breathed softly. She looked into his eyes and instantly saw the worry he had. "What's the matter?"
Blake placed his hand over her heart, where the charm was. "Why do you have to do this?" he asked. "Why can't Lucas?"
Tori rolled on her back and stared up through the netting at the top of the tent. The stars were still out, but she knew morning would soon come.
"Lucas doesn't have the power yet," she answered.
"But he has the necklace, so doesn't that-"
"Let me rephrase. He doesn't have the power IN THIS TIME. Technically he hasn't received it yet."
Blake sighed and lay down next to her. "I just get this really weird vibe about all this... like we're TOO prepared-"
"And he's expecting that," Tori finished for him. He smiled a little and draped an arm across her. "I just hope that this works," she said as she yawned and closed her eyes for a brief moment.
Blake kissed her cheek and pulled himself closer to her. "It will Tor... go back to sleep," he said softly. Tori smiled and did just that.
(((((())))))
"I want every one of you ready at my command," Uric hissed at his minions. There were nearly one hundred of his creatures, each varying in appearance, yet they all had similar scales and body types.
They all bowed in one large group and disappeared in a splash of water. Uric looked out one of the many portholes in his ship and saw the water becoming brighter.
"Today is the day I finally complete my plan. Regardless of which ranger I destroy, the family line will be broken and that Time Force weakling will never have existed. Victory will be mine..."
He walked to the helm of his ship and concentrated his powers in order to find who he was after. After some time he found her and called his creatures back.
"There is an island off shore where the girl is now... find her and I will join you shortly." The creatures cheered and took to the water. As they swam off Uric smiled to himself and began to launch his ship from the reef, following his minions. 'Not much longer now.'
(((((())))))
Tori was dreaming again, except this time it wasn't any ordinary dream... it was a vision. Her sight was cloudy at first, but then cleared to show Uric talking to himself.
'Regardless of which ranger I destroy, the family line will be broken and that Time Force weakling will never have existed...'
Her vision once again became cloudy and they went black. Her eyes opened and sunlight was seen outside the tent. Sitting up, she saw that Blake was still sleeping peacefully. She carefully got up, dressed into her ninja suit and headed out towards the rest of the camp.
The words she had heard were still echoing through her head... 'Regardless of which ranger... the family line will be broken...' She stopped dead in her tracks and inhaled sharply.
Uric was after her, this she knew, but he was talking about another ranger... another ranger that was with them and had a tie to Lucas... one person came to mind and she thought she was going to faint from the shock.
"That's... impossible," she stuttered.
"What's impossible?"
She turned quickly and saw Justin walking behind her. She took a deep breath and smiled. "Nothing, I'm just, uh, thinking," she stammered. Justin gave her a crooked smile.
"Okay Tori, whatever you say." They walked together until they reached the rest of the tents. Everyone was up by now and prepared for the mission.
Lucas walked out of the tent and received a glare from Tori. "What?" he asked in defense.
She walked right over to him and whispered sternly so that only he could hear. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Lucas was confused. "Tell you about what?"
"Guys! We got trouble!" Everyone turned and saw Blake running towards them in his ninja uniform. Tori looked from Blake right back at Lucas. It was then that Lucas felt like he got socked in the stomach... she knew.
Before he could say anything though, Blake told them what he had seen. "I was looking over the cliff and I saw these, things swimming right for us. There was a bigger thing right behind them too."
Lucas turned away from Tori, who was now right next to Blake and addressed the others. "Alright guys, this is it."
The Blue rangers all stood tall and ran towards the beach. As they were running, Rocky laughed.
"So much for our plan!" he yelled as they continued to run to the beach.
The others all smirked at him and began to set up as best they could when they reached the sand. The figures could be seen in the distance and they were coming faster and stronger than before.
Billy, Justin and Lucas prepared the capturing device while the others prepared themselves for the onslaught of creatures.
Within a matter of minutes, the first group of creatures emerged from the surf. The rangers watched as, one by one, they got out and stood in a sort of formation.
The rangers stood at the ready. Billy and Justin stood near Rocky and TJ, while Lucas took his place next to Tori and Blake.
Blake took Tori hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "I'm not letting anything happen to you," he said.
Tori saw the emotion in his eyes and squeezed his hand. "Same here."
Lucas listened to the exchange and smiled. Everything was going their way... for now. He was pulled out of his thoughts when the creatures charged at the ten blue rangers.
"Let's go!" Billy called. All ten of them charged down the beach and began to do battle with the slimy things.
They were outnumbered easily ten to one, but they couldn't stop. After a few hard punches and kicks, the creatures seemed to dissolve into water and were consumed by the sand. Everyone worked extremely well together and soon almost all of the creatures were either destroyed, or retreating back to the sea.
The Rangers all gathered together, panting for breath as they saw a ship emerge from the foaming sea.
Uric watched from inside as the rangers continually defeated his creatures. 'Silly humans, thinking they can save their friends,' he snarled.
He glanced out and saw Blake and Tori fighting near each other. With a sick grin on his face, he punched in a few controls and watched as an energy ball began to form around the bow of the ship.
Aiming his shot he smiled. 'Goodbye Navy Ranger.'
At that very moment Tori began to feel very nervous. Her stomach turned and she felt her heartbeat increase. She dispatched of the remaining creatures around her and turned her eyes to the water.
She saw the light forming around the front of the ship and saw where it was heading.
Blake punched a creature in his chest, causing it to dematerialize. He too got a nervous feeling and looked at the water. His eyes went wide when he saw a large, white ball coming towards him.
He braced himself for the impact, but felt his heart stop when a flash of blue light jumped in front of him, blocking the blow.
The light was intense and all the guys saw what had happened... Tori had ninja streaked to Blake and took the hit for him.
When the light faded, Tori's lifeless body was face down in the sand.
"NO!" Blake cried as he ran over to her. The remaining rangers were livid. They had seen what uric had done to their friend and took it out on the remaining creatures.
Blake reached her and rolled her over to face him. He gently cradled her in his arms. "Tori... Tor... please open your eyes," he pleaded. Her chest was slowly rising and falling, but her eyes remained shut. Tears threatened Blake's eyes. Her breathing slowed more and Blake could feel her limbs relaxing little by little.
All the emotions inside of him came out then and he let the tears fall. He couldn't lose her... he wasn't going to let Uric get away with this. No matter what happened next, he knew he would get him back for what he did to her.
Tori slowly opened her mouth and Blake thought he heard something. "Tor?" he asked nervously.
Her eyes slowly open and she coughed. Her eyes focused and she gave him a weak smile. "I... told you... I wasn't," she scrunched up her face in pain. "I wasn't going to let anything happen to you."
Blake smiled at her through his tears and caressed her face. "You're going ot be alright," he said. Tori coughed again and settled into his arms. She culd feel her eyes slowly closing, and Blake held her tighter. "No, you, you can't leave me..."
She touched his face. "I'm sorry Blake," she whispered as her eyes closed.
Blake was in a state of shock. "Tori?" he paused for a moment, waiting for her to respond. When she didn't he felt his heart break into a thousand pieces. "Tori," he sobbed as his hand landed in her chest, where it had been this morning. Her hand was holding the gem and his rested on top of it.
Lucas felt a pain like no other shoot through his body, sending him to the ground. He clutched his chest and watched as his hands slowly began to disappear. 'Oh no,' he thought through the pain. He looked over and saw Tori lying in Blake's arms...