"Hello, Victoria." Said one of the people. She was a pretty looking Asian woman with long dark hair. Tori recognized her from the picture in Ninja Opts.
"Mrs. Wantanabe?" Tori whispered, truly astonished. It was Cam's mother. "But I.." She looked at the other two people, recognizing them from the cavern earlier. It was Blake and Hunter's parents. "…I don't understand." She whispered.
"You died." Hunter and Blake's mother said softly. Tori jumped to her feet.
"WHAT?!" She exclaimed. "I…..I can't be dead.." She stammered.
"What are the last things you remember?" Mrs. Wantanabe asked. Tori took a deep breath.
"Lothor…He was about to blast Blake, and I jumped in and………" She paused. "Oh man." She breathed. "I am dead."
"You did a very brave and courageous thing by protecting our son." Blake's father said. Tori looked at him.
"I…I had to." She whispered. She blinked and looked down slightly. She couldn't bare the thought of Blake dying. She looked back up. "I mean..It was the least I could do. He protected me when Hunter tried to.." She said, letting her voice trail off. The three smiled.
"Just as you thought you could not bare the thought of Blake dying, he can not bear your death." Blake's mother said softly. Tori's eyes widened.
"How did you…?"
"The look in your eyes." She said. "And, well, we heard your thoughts." Tori paused.
"All right, so I have to watch what I think around here?" She asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Wonderful." She sighed as she sat back down. "So, now what?" She asked.
"Well, normally, when one dies, their spirit goes to the next spiritual plane." Blake's father said.
"You mean, like, Heaven? Reincarnation?" Tori asked.
"It is not our place to tell." Cam's mother said. Tori was silent for a bit.
"Wait a second, you said 'normally'. Am I missing something here?" She asked. The three were silent.
"You are a important aspect of the power rangers." Cam's mother began. "You, Blake, Hunter, Dustin, Shane, even Cam." Tori was silent, waiting for her to continue.
"Cam is the knowledge. The brain. Shane and Hunter are both strength, fighting hard and tough. Dustin is the optimist. He makes jokes and such in times of no hope in attempts to raise spirits. Blake is the loyalty and protection. He stood by his brother, but in the end knew he had to protect the one he loved." Tori's eyes widened slightly.
"Love?" She stammered. "Me?"
"Yes dear." Blake's mother said.
"And you, Victoria," Cam's mother continued, "are the heart, the love, the hope. You are the soul of the entire group."
"Wow, never really thought I played such an important role in this whole thing." Tori muttered.
"You do." Blake's father stated.
"Well," Tori said. "Not to be disrespectful, but, what does that do now? I seem to be in a position where I can't be of much help..You know, being dead and all." The three of them looked at one another, then at Tori.
"As I said, you are an important part of the group. Without you, without any member of the group, it falls apart." Cam's mother said.
"And we refuse to stand back and allow Lothor to win and conquer all." Blake's father said. Tori looked at them.
"What are you saying?" She asked. No answer came. Instead, all Tori saw was a blinding white light.
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Tori slowly opened her eyes. She could feel something soft, like a bed, under her. She also felt strong arms around her. She knew instantly it was Blake. She looked around briefly and saw she was lying in the backroom of Ninja Opts. She saw Shane, Hunter and Dustin sitting against the wall asleep. She turned slowly so as not to disturb Blake and looked at him. He was fast asleep at her side. She smiled softly. Cam's mother's words stayed in her mind. Blake loved her. That thought only made her smile more. The truth was, she loved him too. She got closer to him and kissed his lips gently. Blake's brow furrowed as the kiss awoke him. Blake's eyes opened to see Tori……Awake. Blake's eyes widened and he sat up quickly.
"Tor…How…" He stammered as he sat up. Unfortunately, he had been on the edge of the bed. His quick movements resulted in him toppling off the bed onto the ground. "Ow." Tori gasped and sat up, she tried her best not to laugh. The crash awoke Hunter, Dustin and Shane.
"Blake, man, what is wro-" Dustin began as he rubbed sleep from his eyes. He stopped as he looked over at the bed. "Uh guys.." Dustin said. Hunter and Shane, who were barely awake at the moment blinked.
"What?" Shane asked, looking at his friend. Dustin silently pointed to the bed. Hunter and Shane's eyes followed where he was pointing. Tori looked at them and smiled, giving them a little wave. The two of them gasped and jumped to their feet.
"Tori!" Shane exclaimed. Dustin got up as well. Tori leaned over to the side of the bed to look at Blake.
"Blake, are you all right?" Tori asked worriedly. Blake scrambled to his feet and stared at Tori with wide eyes.
"Guys, what's all the como-" Came Cam's voice as he walked into the room, rubbing his eyes. He froze as he saw Tori. Tori looked around the room and saw they were all staring at her. She snickered softly.
"Stop staring at me like that, you're going to give me a complex." She said.
"How……I……." Dustin stammered.
"You………..How……….." Hunter sputtered. Cam and Shane remained in shock silence. Blake slowly sat down next to her. He touched her face gently.
"Is it really you?" He asked in a whisper. Tori smiled.
"In the flesh." Tori replied.
"Am I dreaming?" Blake said. He stared into her beautiful eyes. He couldn't believe she was alive. "OW." He muttered as he felt someone pinch his arm. He turned his head to see Hunter. "What was that for?" Blake hissed.
"To see if you're dreaming." Hunter reasoned. Tori laughed softly. Cam walked over to Tori and looked at her.
"How did you……?" He began. Tori looked at them.
"I." She began, unsure how to tell them. She blinked and looked at Cam, Blake and Hunter. "I saw your mom, and your parents." She said to the three guys. They all looked at her strangely…well, stranger then before…
"What?" Hunter said.
"What do you mean?" Blake asked. Tori took a deep breath.
"I woke up in this like…..place…..And there they were."
"Are you sure?" Cam asked skeptically. Tori gave him a look.
"Cam, I was dead no more then an hour ago. I think we've exceeded the boundaries of what's possible and what's not."
"Well, what happened?" Hunter asked.
"They said that we're each important parts of this whole thing. Cam, you're the brain, but of course that's no news," Tori said smiling gently. "Hunter, you and Shane are the strength, Dustin's the optimism, Blake's the loyalty and protection, and I'm the heart. They said that without one part the entire group couldn't function. And that they weren't going to let the group fall apart like this and let Lothor win. So, they sent me back I guess." The others were stunned into silence.
"It is good to see that you are all right, Tori." Came Sensei's voice as he walked into the room. "And they were right. Each of you are important to this group."
"So that's why Lothor didn't want us to bring you back." Blake muttered. Sensei nodded.
"That is correct, Blake. Lothor also knew of how much each of you means to one another. He figured that with the loss of one, the rest of you would be too grief stricken to carry on the fight against him and his army."
"Well, we just threw a monkey wrench in his plans, didn't we?" Dustin smiled. Tori laughed.
"Yup." Blake simply gazed at her. She was alive. She was all right. It seemed like everything was now right and just in the world in Blake's eyes. Tori caught him staring and reached over and took his hand in hers. She paused for a second and looked at Dustin and Shane somewhat franticly. "Uh, I just remembered something." She stated. "I've been gone for like a few days. Please tell me my parents didn't totally freak or something."
"Your mom came by Storm Chargers looking for you, but don't worry, we covered for you." Shane said. Tori eyed him suspiciously.
"How?" She asked.
"Told her you were at some surfing expo in Malibu." Dustin said.
"And she bought it?" Tori asked, somewhat astonished.
"Well, not at first, but thanks to quick thinking by yours truly, we were able to convince her it was a real last minute thing and you'd call once you had the chance." Dustin boasted.
"Kelly was a little suspicious though." Shane pointed out. "But she didn't really hassle us about it."
"So, I'm going to have to go talk to both Kelly and my folks, and assure them both that I'm fine?" Tori asked.
"Yeah." Shane said.
"Well, that'll be fun." Tori said sarcastically.
"Hey, at least you're all right." Blake said. Tori looked at him and smiled.
"All right, you've got a point there." She said. Blake smiled and hugged her.
"Group hug!" Dustin yelled. Everyone laughed as Dustin, Shane, Hunter, even Cam joined in on the hug. Sensei stood by smiling.
"All right, all right!" Tori laughed. "I get it, you guys are glad I'm OK! Now get off!" She laughed as her friends hugged her tightly.
"Glad doesn't even begin to cover it." Shane laughed. Cam, Shane, Dustin and Hunter released her after a while. Blake loosened his hold on her a bit, but didn't let her go. Tori couldn't help smile at that. She leaned against Blake. Hunter smirked.
"OK, everyone out." He said as he started herding the others out of the room. "I don't think these two want us watching any moments of theirs again." They all shuffled out of the room, leaving Blake and Tori alone. Tori smiled and looked up at Blake.
"Your brother doesn't rely much on subtly, does he?" She smirked.
"Yeah, he redefines blunt." Blake smiled. He looked into her eyes. "I thought I had lost you." He said softly.
"You were pretty close." Tori replied truthfully.
"Why did you jump in the middle of Lothor and me anyway?" Blake asked. Tori raised an eyebrow.
"You really think I wanted to just stand there and let Lothor kill you?" Tori asked.
"So instead you let him kill you?" Blake asked.
"Yeah, well I really wasn't thinking about myself at the time." Tori said. "All I cared about was making sure you were OK." Blake looked at her.
"Why? I mean, after how I treated you on the island thing?" He asked. "I didn't deser-" Tori placed a hand on his lips to stop him.
"Hunter's your brother. Besides, in the end, you swooped in and protected me. I couldn't actually stay mad at you." She smiled. She leaned her head against his shoulder and sighed. "Jumping in between you and Lothor was just like, instinct, or something. Like, the sheer thought of you getting hurt was not good. I had to stop Lothor from hurting you, no matter what it took." She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. "Blake, I love you." She said softly. Blake blinked; hoping he heard her correctly, hoping this wasn't just a dream. He smiled.
"I love you too." He said. Tori grinned and kissed him.
"Mrs. Wantanabe?" Tori whispered, truly astonished. It was Cam's mother. "But I.." She looked at the other two people, recognizing them from the cavern earlier. It was Blake and Hunter's parents. "…I don't understand." She whispered.
"You died." Hunter and Blake's mother said softly. Tori jumped to her feet.
"WHAT?!" She exclaimed. "I…..I can't be dead.." She stammered.
"What are the last things you remember?" Mrs. Wantanabe asked. Tori took a deep breath.
"Lothor…He was about to blast Blake, and I jumped in and………" She paused. "Oh man." She breathed. "I am dead."
"You did a very brave and courageous thing by protecting our son." Blake's father said. Tori looked at him.
"I…I had to." She whispered. She blinked and looked down slightly. She couldn't bare the thought of Blake dying. She looked back up. "I mean..It was the least I could do. He protected me when Hunter tried to.." She said, letting her voice trail off. The three smiled.
"Just as you thought you could not bare the thought of Blake dying, he can not bear your death." Blake's mother said softly. Tori's eyes widened.
"How did you…?"
"The look in your eyes." She said. "And, well, we heard your thoughts." Tori paused.
"All right, so I have to watch what I think around here?" She asked, cocking an eyebrow. "Wonderful." She sighed as she sat back down. "So, now what?" She asked.
"Well, normally, when one dies, their spirit goes to the next spiritual plane." Blake's father said.
"You mean, like, Heaven? Reincarnation?" Tori asked.
"It is not our place to tell." Cam's mother said. Tori was silent for a bit.
"Wait a second, you said 'normally'. Am I missing something here?" She asked. The three were silent.
"You are a important aspect of the power rangers." Cam's mother began. "You, Blake, Hunter, Dustin, Shane, even Cam." Tori was silent, waiting for her to continue.
"Cam is the knowledge. The brain. Shane and Hunter are both strength, fighting hard and tough. Dustin is the optimist. He makes jokes and such in times of no hope in attempts to raise spirits. Blake is the loyalty and protection. He stood by his brother, but in the end knew he had to protect the one he loved." Tori's eyes widened slightly.
"Love?" She stammered. "Me?"
"Yes dear." Blake's mother said.
"And you, Victoria," Cam's mother continued, "are the heart, the love, the hope. You are the soul of the entire group."
"Wow, never really thought I played such an important role in this whole thing." Tori muttered.
"You do." Blake's father stated.
"Well," Tori said. "Not to be disrespectful, but, what does that do now? I seem to be in a position where I can't be of much help..You know, being dead and all." The three of them looked at one another, then at Tori.
"As I said, you are an important part of the group. Without you, without any member of the group, it falls apart." Cam's mother said.
"And we refuse to stand back and allow Lothor to win and conquer all." Blake's father said. Tori looked at them.
"What are you saying?" She asked. No answer came. Instead, all Tori saw was a blinding white light.
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Tori slowly opened her eyes. She could feel something soft, like a bed, under her. She also felt strong arms around her. She knew instantly it was Blake. She looked around briefly and saw she was lying in the backroom of Ninja Opts. She saw Shane, Hunter and Dustin sitting against the wall asleep. She turned slowly so as not to disturb Blake and looked at him. He was fast asleep at her side. She smiled softly. Cam's mother's words stayed in her mind. Blake loved her. That thought only made her smile more. The truth was, she loved him too. She got closer to him and kissed his lips gently. Blake's brow furrowed as the kiss awoke him. Blake's eyes opened to see Tori……Awake. Blake's eyes widened and he sat up quickly.
"Tor…How…" He stammered as he sat up. Unfortunately, he had been on the edge of the bed. His quick movements resulted in him toppling off the bed onto the ground. "Ow." Tori gasped and sat up, she tried her best not to laugh. The crash awoke Hunter, Dustin and Shane.
"Blake, man, what is wro-" Dustin began as he rubbed sleep from his eyes. He stopped as he looked over at the bed. "Uh guys.." Dustin said. Hunter and Shane, who were barely awake at the moment blinked.
"What?" Shane asked, looking at his friend. Dustin silently pointed to the bed. Hunter and Shane's eyes followed where he was pointing. Tori looked at them and smiled, giving them a little wave. The two of them gasped and jumped to their feet.
"Tori!" Shane exclaimed. Dustin got up as well. Tori leaned over to the side of the bed to look at Blake.
"Blake, are you all right?" Tori asked worriedly. Blake scrambled to his feet and stared at Tori with wide eyes.
"Guys, what's all the como-" Came Cam's voice as he walked into the room, rubbing his eyes. He froze as he saw Tori. Tori looked around the room and saw they were all staring at her. She snickered softly.
"Stop staring at me like that, you're going to give me a complex." She said.
"How……I……." Dustin stammered.
"You………..How……….." Hunter sputtered. Cam and Shane remained in shock silence. Blake slowly sat down next to her. He touched her face gently.
"Is it really you?" He asked in a whisper. Tori smiled.
"In the flesh." Tori replied.
"Am I dreaming?" Blake said. He stared into her beautiful eyes. He couldn't believe she was alive. "OW." He muttered as he felt someone pinch his arm. He turned his head to see Hunter. "What was that for?" Blake hissed.
"To see if you're dreaming." Hunter reasoned. Tori laughed softly. Cam walked over to Tori and looked at her.
"How did you……?" He began. Tori looked at them.
"I." She began, unsure how to tell them. She blinked and looked at Cam, Blake and Hunter. "I saw your mom, and your parents." She said to the three guys. They all looked at her strangely…well, stranger then before…
"What?" Hunter said.
"What do you mean?" Blake asked. Tori took a deep breath.
"I woke up in this like…..place…..And there they were."
"Are you sure?" Cam asked skeptically. Tori gave him a look.
"Cam, I was dead no more then an hour ago. I think we've exceeded the boundaries of what's possible and what's not."
"Well, what happened?" Hunter asked.
"They said that we're each important parts of this whole thing. Cam, you're the brain, but of course that's no news," Tori said smiling gently. "Hunter, you and Shane are the strength, Dustin's the optimism, Blake's the loyalty and protection, and I'm the heart. They said that without one part the entire group couldn't function. And that they weren't going to let the group fall apart like this and let Lothor win. So, they sent me back I guess." The others were stunned into silence.
"It is good to see that you are all right, Tori." Came Sensei's voice as he walked into the room. "And they were right. Each of you are important to this group."
"So that's why Lothor didn't want us to bring you back." Blake muttered. Sensei nodded.
"That is correct, Blake. Lothor also knew of how much each of you means to one another. He figured that with the loss of one, the rest of you would be too grief stricken to carry on the fight against him and his army."
"Well, we just threw a monkey wrench in his plans, didn't we?" Dustin smiled. Tori laughed.
"Yup." Blake simply gazed at her. She was alive. She was all right. It seemed like everything was now right and just in the world in Blake's eyes. Tori caught him staring and reached over and took his hand in hers. She paused for a second and looked at Dustin and Shane somewhat franticly. "Uh, I just remembered something." She stated. "I've been gone for like a few days. Please tell me my parents didn't totally freak or something."
"Your mom came by Storm Chargers looking for you, but don't worry, we covered for you." Shane said. Tori eyed him suspiciously.
"How?" She asked.
"Told her you were at some surfing expo in Malibu." Dustin said.
"And she bought it?" Tori asked, somewhat astonished.
"Well, not at first, but thanks to quick thinking by yours truly, we were able to convince her it was a real last minute thing and you'd call once you had the chance." Dustin boasted.
"Kelly was a little suspicious though." Shane pointed out. "But she didn't really hassle us about it."
"So, I'm going to have to go talk to both Kelly and my folks, and assure them both that I'm fine?" Tori asked.
"Yeah." Shane said.
"Well, that'll be fun." Tori said sarcastically.
"Hey, at least you're all right." Blake said. Tori looked at him and smiled.
"All right, you've got a point there." She said. Blake smiled and hugged her.
"Group hug!" Dustin yelled. Everyone laughed as Dustin, Shane, Hunter, even Cam joined in on the hug. Sensei stood by smiling.
"All right, all right!" Tori laughed. "I get it, you guys are glad I'm OK! Now get off!" She laughed as her friends hugged her tightly.
"Glad doesn't even begin to cover it." Shane laughed. Cam, Shane, Dustin and Hunter released her after a while. Blake loosened his hold on her a bit, but didn't let her go. Tori couldn't help smile at that. She leaned against Blake. Hunter smirked.
"OK, everyone out." He said as he started herding the others out of the room. "I don't think these two want us watching any moments of theirs again." They all shuffled out of the room, leaving Blake and Tori alone. Tori smiled and looked up at Blake.
"Your brother doesn't rely much on subtly, does he?" She smirked.
"Yeah, he redefines blunt." Blake smiled. He looked into her eyes. "I thought I had lost you." He said softly.
"You were pretty close." Tori replied truthfully.
"Why did you jump in the middle of Lothor and me anyway?" Blake asked. Tori raised an eyebrow.
"You really think I wanted to just stand there and let Lothor kill you?" Tori asked.
"So instead you let him kill you?" Blake asked.
"Yeah, well I really wasn't thinking about myself at the time." Tori said. "All I cared about was making sure you were OK." Blake looked at her.
"Why? I mean, after how I treated you on the island thing?" He asked. "I didn't deser-" Tori placed a hand on his lips to stop him.
"Hunter's your brother. Besides, in the end, you swooped in and protected me. I couldn't actually stay mad at you." She smiled. She leaned her head against his shoulder and sighed. "Jumping in between you and Lothor was just like, instinct, or something. Like, the sheer thought of you getting hurt was not good. I had to stop Lothor from hurting you, no matter what it took." She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. "Blake, I love you." She said softly. Blake blinked; hoping he heard her correctly, hoping this wasn't just a dream. He smiled.
"I love you too." He said. Tori grinned and kissed him.