[Title] Have A Little Faith In Me
[Author] Alexandra Oliver
[E-Mail] crazyrangerfan@yahoo.com
[Genre] Drama/Romance
[Rating] PG or PG-13
[Timeline] Right after the previous chapter
[Disclaimer] I do NOT own Power Rangers or any of the characters except for Paige Adams.
[Summary] Marah's betrayal has a lasting effect on the Yellow Wind Ranger. Will an old friend of the Bradleys be able to break through the walls Dustin built around his heart and prove herself worthy of his trust?
[Author's Note] All About Beevil is my favorite episode of Power Rangers Ninja Storm and I've seen it plenty of times. Dustin is my favorite Ranger too. Hmmm, yeah! I decided to write like a crazy madwoman so enjoy!
*****NO flames, just constructive criticism, please. I'm always open to suggestions but I ignore senseless bashing. I believe writing is an art and should be respected no matter what.
[Chapter 2] Thunder Talks
Paige eyed Blake then asked, "Game over?"
Blake nodded.
Paige called out, "I'm gonna go and chill at my parents' rental apartment. Catch y'all later!"
After Paige left and the gang gathered around him, Shane answered the signal. "Go for Shane."
"Yo, bro, there's a nasty lookin' reptile downtown. I suggest you guys start puttin' some serious hurt on it before it eats up the joint," Cyber Cam's voice came out.
"Did you let Dustin know about this?" Hunter asked.
Cyber Cam replied, "Dude, he's already there and he needs some serious help."
"All right, we're on it!" Shane replied.
The teens morphed into their alter egos.
"Ninja Storm..."
"Thunder Storm..."
"Samurai Storm..."
"Ranger Form, Ha!"
When the Rangers arrived, they found exactly what Cyber Cam had said would be there waiting for them, attacking Dustin with a group of Kelzacks. What they didn't expect was a Gold Thunder Ranger fighting with him.
As soon as they approached, she left, yelling over her shoulder, "I'll leave this to you guys now. I gotta go!"
As the Wind, Thunder and Samurai Rangers fought, the mysterious Gold Thunder Ranger was being followed by Kelzacks. She held them off until she got an alley nearby. She made sure that the Rangers fighting wouldn't be able to see her and she demorphed.
"Power Down!"
Paige sighed as she fought off the Kelzacks. She yelled out, "Ugh, LET ME GO, YOU CREEPS! AHH!"
Back at the battle scene a hundred meters away, Hunter heard her yells and said, "Guys, Paige's in trouble! I'm going to help her."
Hunter rushed off to Paige's rescue and began to help her fight off the Kelzacks.
"Thanks," she said after they had finished, "Listen, H..."
"I don't know what's going on but you've got some explaining to do, Adams," Hunter said quietly, cutting her off, "We'll talk about it later."
Paige watched as Hunter returned to the battle. While the Rangers went off into their Zords, she decided to bolt.
~*~_*_~*~
After the battle, the Rangers reconvened at Ninja Ops.
"Did you see that, Father?" Cam asked, "There's a Gold Thunder Ranger we didn't know about."
"Yes, the legendary Golden Thunder Warrior," Sensei replied, "Her strength is unprecedented and as a part of a trio of warriors, she is unstoppable."
Tori glanced at Hunter and Blake and asked, "Did you guys know about her?"
Blake shook her head. "I know of the story of the Gold Thunder Ranger Powers. It's part of the Thunder Force..."
"Yeah, but we had no idea they actually existed or belonged to anyone. We were told it was all a Thunder Ninja legend," Hunter added, "We're supposedly part of this Ninja Super Team...if it was real, we could have stopped Lothor from kidnapping everyone from the Ninja Academies."
"You think we could convince this new Ranger to join up with us?" Shane asked.
Dustin remained silent. He had the opportunity to fight alongside the mystery Ranger and she seemed like a solid warrior but he knew that if there was ever a missing element of trust in their team again, it would never work out. At that point, he wasn't ready to trust anyone else besides the current members of the team and his Sensei.
"Dustin, one who is lost in thought is still lost. Is there anything you would like to share with the group?" Sensei asked.
"Do you guys know why we keep beating Lothor the way we do?" the Yellow Wind Ranger asked his teammates.
"It's definitely because we're a million times stronger," Shane answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Cam added, "Don't forget my technological genius with the Zords."
Tori observed her best friend and replied, "That's true, but I think what he meant is that it's because we're finally at the point where there's complete trust in our team. Remember how chaotic it was when we first met Hunter and Blake?"
"Oh yeah..." Shane's voice trailed off.
Tori finished off her thought. "Our team is the way it is now because we learned to completely trust each other."
"Exactly," Dustin said, "If we invite this new Ranger to join the team, she'll have to earn our trust, right?" After everyone nodded, he went on, "After what happened with Marah, I don't know if I could put it all aside and trust someone as quickly as I would have before. Our team won't be as solid and it'll be my fault."
"But if all those legends are true, Hunter and I could really stick it to Lothor with her help," Blake told him.
"We're strong enough to beat him right now but if the teamwork's not all there, all the strength in the world can't help us," Dustin said quietly, "I just don't think this is a good idea."
"We have plenty of time to discuss this but Blake and I promised to meet a friend for lunch," Hunter announced, "We're gonna have to bail right now."
"Good luck selling the whole seventh Ranger thing," Blake commented as he followed his brother out of Ninja Ops.
"I'm going to the track," Dustin said, leaving Ninja Ops.
Shane and Tori shrugged. "You mind if we stick around and train, Sensei?" Shane asked.
Sensei replied, "No problem. You must remember to keep a balance of work and play. Do not train for too long without taking a break."
"I'll work on trying to figure out the Golden Scroll Prophecy," Cam announced as he worked on the supercomputer.
~*~_*_~*~
"You figured it out, didn't you?" Hunter asked as Paige let the Bradley brothers into the apartment she was living in.
Leading them into the living room, Paige replied, "Yeah, the Golden Scroll Prophecy...it confirms the legend's for real. What I don't understand is why Sensei Amano gave it to my adoptive parents to give to me on my birthday..."
"Because you're the legendary warrior," Hunter replied, "You're the Gold Thunder Ranger, aren't you?"
Feigning ignorance, Paige replied, "What?!"
"It was way too much of a coincidence that you showed up in town the same day this Gold Thunder Ranger shows up," Blake pointed out.
Hunter eyed Paige, who sighed. "Yeah, it's me. I found the morpher here in Blue Bay Harbor in the forest, right before I headed to the beach."
"We were just talking about asking you to join the team. The Wind Rangers are cool and so is the Samurai Ranger," Blake pointed out.
"Yeah, although the Yellow Wind Ranger might be a hard sell," Hunter commented, "Well, the team's ready to meet you and see where you might fit in..."
"No...I don't wanna mess up the team dynamics or anything," Paige said with a sigh, "I'll pop in and help but I'm not ready to join the team. I'm not sure how everyone would react. I don't know who they are and they don't know who I am...I think it would best if things stayed that way for now."
Blake and Hunter exchanged looks before Blake replied, "Okay, we'll keep your little secret...but we won't do it forever. You'll have to tell the truth eventually. You'll have to figure out what your next move is. You need to tell us if you wanna join the team or not."
Paige sighed. "It's bad enough that Dustin's not that welcoming...what if the team hates me too? I'd hate to have four other people think that I can't be trusted."
"Lies don't build trust, Paige," Blake told her, refraining himself from correcting her, "We had to learn that the hard way."
Paige smiled lightly. "I hate it when you're right..how about some food?"
Both brothers accepted her offer and she disappeared into the kitchen to get some sandwiches and some soda.