[Title] Have A Little Faith In Me
[Author] Alexandra Oliver
[E-Mail] crazyrangerfan@yahoo.com
[Genre] Drama
[Rating] PG or PG-13
[Timeline] Around lunchtime, a day 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!
~This chapter is dedicated to Jennifer Collins, the best ever [Dustin/Tori] friendship fic author in the world!!! She inspired me and helped me figure out how to go about developing the whole [Dustin/Paige] dynamic. You've been a big help!
~I was also inspired by Anne McCaffrey's Saga Of The Talents so I decided to use To Ride Pegasus, Pegasus In Flight and Pegasus In Space as reference books to help develop Paige's backstory and her special powers. I highly recommend those three books; they're great!
*****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 3] Paige Unmasked
"Are you sure you want to do this right now?" Blake questioned Paige the next day at her place as he and Hunter returned that afternoon to play a motocross racing game on her Playstation 2.
Paige replied, "Guys, I'm not gonna jump off a bridge or anything. I'm just gonna go and talk to Dustin again. I know our first conversation wasn't exactly what I hoped it would be but I really wanna be his friend."
"Uh, maybe you should give him some space," Hunter suggested, knowing how persistent Paige could be.
"There is such a thing as trying too hard," Blake chimed in.
Paige replied in an assured tone of voice, "Okay, so I didn't win him over on the first try. Since when have I ever backed down from a challenge?"
Hunter and Blake gave each other nervous glances and shook their heads as Paige tossed the apartment keys to Hunter with a smile.
"Lock up when you're done with my video games and my food," she said on her way out, "And put the games in the right cases, for crying out loud!"
The door slammed shut and the brothers sighed, then they went back to their game.
~*~_*_~*~
Dustin didn't know what to do with himself. Work had been exhausting and the thought of Paige made him feel nervous. He just knew he had to do something to stop feeling the way he felt. He just wasn't sure what. He decided that after his shift, he had to hit the track to clear his head.
"Uh, Dustin, your shift was over fifteen minutes ago; what are you still doing here?" Kelly's voice interrupted his thoughts.
Dustin hadn't noticed the time go by. He cleaned up his work area and took his bike out, saying goodbye to his boss as he walked away.
The bike ride over to the track was peaceful for him. It gave him some time to relax by himself and clear his head of his distracting thoughts.
"Relax, pretty boy, I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm just gonna feed you. Here."
He couldn't get Paige's voice out of his head and it drove him crazy. He didn't know if it was because it seemed like she didn't have a care in the world and that had inadvertently gotten on his nerves but she bothered him like a pesky mosquito bite. He wasn't sure how but she sure had a way of getting under his skin. Maybe it was the after-effects of Marah's betrayal but he just didn't feel like trusting another girl again.
As he pulled up to the track, he noticed Paige standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. There was going to be a race starting up and she was standing right in the middle of the track. He sped over, got off his bike at a safe distance and rushed over to push her out of the way.
"PAIGE, WATCH OUT!!!" Dustin yelled as he pulled her away right on time.
The pair took their time to regain their balance and their composure. Dustin took a bit longer, remembering the way he had done the same thing for Marah about a week ago. He covered his exasperated expression with his right hand as he caught his breath and sighed heavily.
"Dustin, are you okay?" Paige asked worriedly.
Dustin snapped coldly, "I'm fine, Paige. You could have gotten killed. Just watch where you're going next time."
As Dustin walked away, Paige followed him to his bike. "We need to talk. It looks like ever since we met, you've had a problem with me. If you've got one, let's solve it right now because I think you're worth getting to know better. I don't know what your deal is but I wanna know what I'm doing wrong!"
Instead of climbing his bike, Dustin turned around to face Paige, taken aback by her little speech. "Listen, there are some things you just can't talk about," he said sharply.
"You can talk about anything at all; you just choose not to. It'll eat you up inside until you're not able to function...but it's your deal, your choice if you don't wanna tell me."
Dustin saw the combination of resolve and kindness in Paige's emerald green eyes, willing him to trust her. Seeing that, he gave her a quick half-smile before reverting to a serious expression. "Meet me at the beach in front of lifeguard tower 12 in an hour and a half and I'll tell you exactly what's going on."
"Okay..." Paige replied as she watched him get on his bike and head in the direction of the starting line.
~*~_*_~*~
Over at Ninja Ops, Cam was sitting at the super computer, picking up where he left off, continuing his research from the previous day, while Tori and Blake were sparring with Hunter and Shane.
"Hey, Blake, Hunter, what do you guys know about the Golden Scroll Prophecy?" Cam asked as he typed away.
Hunter and Blake exchanged glances before the younger of the two Bradley brothers replied, "Huh, just the basics. 'The Protectors of the Universe: Crimson, Navy and Gold unite; send the Thunder Force to fight for everything that's right'...that's the only part of the legend we were taught."
"There's another section that describes the Source Of Ultimate Power," Cam said as he read the rest of what he had found, "It says 'While the Crimson Ninja gives the team a direction and the Navy Ninja provides physical strength, it is the Golden Ninja, the heart of the team, that fuels the power from within'..."
"If we're a part of the Thunder Force, then I'm the brains while Blake's the brawn," Hunter pointed out, "Uh, okay, so that's two down. Who's to say that the Gold Thunder Ranger will join us?"
"We have to find out who that girl is and convince her to join us..." Shane said, "Not to mention the fact that we need to convince Dustin that this is important."
Tori sighed. "I haven't said anything before but do you guys think that it's too coincidental that Paige happens to swing into town the same day this new Ranger arrives?"
"We don't know for sure," Blake replied, lying to everyone, "If it is, then we would totally vouch for her. She's been loyal and she's been a great friend. She would make a great ally."
"Guys," Cam said, "C'mon, we don't know if it's Paige...we can't just go and ask her because she won't tell us. It's a habit of any Ranger to keep that part of his or her life a secret."
It was back to square one for Cam as he kept doing his research while the other four kept sparring.
~*~_*_~*~
Waiting in front of lifeguard tower 12, Paige kept looking at her watch every thirty seconds. It was 12:01 and she was afraid he wouldn't show up but at 12:05, Dustin finally arrived.
"I'm here, Dustin, so talk," Paige said firmly, "Tell me what's going on."
"Before I do, tell me something," Dustin quickly countered, "How do I know you can be trusted?"
Paige's eyebrow furrowed as she gave the question some thought. "You don't think I can be trusted...so that's the issue. Okay, fine. Let me tell you something: trust is a two-way street. I'm gonna trust you with a secret of my own and hopefully, that'll be enough to convince you that I'm not out to get you. I know your feelings have been hurt but you don't have to take that out on me."
Dustin frowned. "How'd you..."
"I'm a telempath, I feel other people's emotions and project my own emotions...whenever they aren't being blocked..."
Dustin looked completely horrified. "You WHAT? Are you some kind of mind-reading freak!?"
"I don't read thoughts, just emotions," Paige said calmly, trying not to sound offended, "I know this sounds really weird but I would never do anything to hurt you. We just met and I..."
Dustin shook his head. "Listen, forget we ever had this conversation. I have to go meet up with some people," he said coldly.
Paige let out a soft frustrated grunt as she watched Dustin walk away. She didn't stop him; she knew she couldn't, not after her revelation. Instead, she followed him closely then when he hopped onto his bike, she went into her convertible and followed him. She had no idea why, but she felt compelled to do it.
~*~_*_~*~
Dustin was headed on his way to Ninja Ops on his motocross bike when he was attacked by a mutated bear monster in the forest.
Paige parked her car at the end of the road before she walked into the forest. She used her Ninja powers to streak around until she arrived right behind Dustin. "Whoa, that guy has a serious case of the uglies!" she exclaimed playfully.
"What are you doing here?" Dustin exclaimed, "This is NOT a good time!"
"You're in trouble and I'm here to help," Paige said firmly after she pulled her civilian clothes to reveal a Thunder Ninja Academy uniform. She stood next to Dustin and said, "Thunder Storm, Ranger Form, Ha!"
Dustin's jaw dropped as Paige finished her transformation and her helmet visor opened. "There! That's why you should trust me. C'mon, morph already!"
Dustin quickly morphed. "Ninja Storm, Ranger Form, Ha!"
Paige's visor closed and the pair fought the mutant bear monster together as the other Rangers arrived.
"Hey, you guys okay?" Shane asked as they fought.
Dustin replied sharply, "Yeah, fine."
"Hmmm, yeah!" Paige replied.
The seven Rangers attacked the monster but then they were ambushed by Marah, Kapri and an army of Kelzacks. Shane and Hunter fought the monster while Cam, Dustin, Paige, Tori and Blake took on the Kelzacks.
As they watched, Kapri whispered to Marah, "I know you have a soft spot for the Yellow Wind Ranger."
"I DO NOT!" Marah denied vehemently.
With a challenging tone, Kapri replied, "So prove it! Attack him with your best shot!"
From the corner of her eye, Paige caught Marah just as she was preparing to attack Dustin.
"WATCH OUT!!!" she yelled out as she pushed the Yellow Wind Ranger away and absorbed most of the blast from Marah.
Dustin watched Paige fall right in front of him as he finished off the last of the Kelzacks. When he was done, he knelt down to check on her as the other Rangers kept Marah, Kapri and the monster occupied.
"Paige," Dustin said urgently, "you need to wake up!"
"We need you to form the Megazord," Shane said behind him.
Dustin said insistantly, "I'm staying with her. You guys need to fight that thing before it destroys the city."
"All right," Shane said before heading off to summon the Zords.
Dustin opened up his visor and watched over Paige in her Gold Thunder Ranger spandex uniform. Because she had been badly injured, she couldn't keep her Ranger Form. Dustin gasped as her Ninja uniform was revealed to have blood stains on its sleeve. He decided to take her to Ninja Ops. Maybe Cyber Cam could help her...
~*~_*_~*~
"Cyber Cam, how's she doing?" Dustin asked, sitting at the table in the center of Command Central in Ninja Ops.
Cam's holographic replica replied, "Dude, she's just chillin' in the infirmary. She'll be all right; it's just a few scrapes and bruises. The Gooseegg's had some majorly weird readings but you don't have to worry." He was referring to the electroencephalograph, a machine the real Cam had put together to monitor brain activity in case someone got seriously injured.
"That's good," Dustin said casually, "I just don't wanna be held responsible for her injuries...she chose to take the hit for me..."
"Relax, Dustin, she will be all right," Sensei said, "Her inner strength will pull her though."
"What's going on?" Hunter's voice came from behind Dustin.
"I had to take Paige to the infirmary; she couldn't keep her Ranger form," Dustin explained.
"WHAT?!" Shane's jaw dropped as he put two and two together.
Tori said, "So Paige is the Gold Thunder Ranger?"
"Trust me, guys, I was just as surprised to find out...but when I watched her morph, I knew she was the real deal," Dustin said.
Hunter and Blake exchanged nervous glances as Tori approached the brothers and gave them curious looks. "Did you guys know about this?" she asked.
Blake's eyes fell to the ground to avoid Tori's gaze as he said, "Hunter, did we know?"
Hunter explained, "She told us not to tell anyone; sorry, guys."
"That is the unspoken code of any Ranger," Sensei said slowly, "She seems to want to do what is right but is simply torn between the code and the truth."
"I feel bad that she got hurt because of me but...I still don't feel comfortable with a new addition to our team, not at this point," Dustin said quietly, thinking about Paige's revelation.
"You guys don't have to be nervous," Paige's voice came from the doorway to the room.
Every Ranger turned around to face the girl. Paige's eyes met with Dustin's as she spoke. "Listen, you guys, I owe you an explanation."
"You don't owe anyone anything," Dustin said coldly, "You don't belong here."
"You don't mean that," Paige said calmly, "I know that."
Cam deactivated his holographic counterpart then moved aside with Hunter, Blake, Shane and Tori as Dustin and Paige had their confrontation.
"Were you ever planning on telling me about any of it?" Dustin asked.
"Didn't think you cared. I was gonna tell you everything at the beach but when you freaked out, you didn't wanna hear me out," Paige explained, "All I wanted was to be your friend...I tried to understand your feelings and with my telempathy, I thought it would be easier. I was hoping that maybe for once, my Talent wouldn't get in the way of a new friendship. I guess I was wrong..."
Cam looked up from the EEG readings he was scanning and said, "Your brain patterns have been odd. This Talent of yours, does it occur at regular intervals?"
"No...it's been occuring a lot more recently," Paige said to Cam before studying Dustin again and telling him, "Listen, you're just trying to find a reason not to trust me and not to get close. Fine. I can deal with that. What I can't deal with is you attacking me. I have known Hunter and Blake forever and they want me on this team and Shane and Tori don't seem to have any problems with me. You're just gonna have to deal with me 'coz I'm not going anywhere."
Dustin swallowed and went to say something but was interrupted by Shane, who said, "That's enough, you guys!"
"Remember, we have to work as a team here," Blake added firmly.
"This is exactly what I'm talking about; having Paige join us is going to put a dent in the trust I have in the team," Dustin said sharply.
Paige sighed; she wondered why she felt so strongly about Dustin and the connection she felt. Her telempathy seriously messed with her own emotions at times and sometimes, it overwhelmed her. She decided just to leave Ninja Ops and give Dustin some space.
~*~_*_~*~
Some time later, Dustin decided to sit against the wall to the left of the supercomputer while the rest of the team discussed having Paige join them and her telempathy.
"So then we are all in agreement that Paige belongs on our team?" Sensei asked.
"Most of us anyway..." Shane said, glancing at a distracted Dustin who seemed like he was still too caught up in his own thoughts to realize that the team had made a decision without him.
Hunter and Blake simply nodded while Tori and Cam voiced that they agreed.
"Sensei, what's telempathy?" Tori asked as she sat at the table in the middle of the room with Shane, Hunter and Blake while Cam was at the supercomputer.
"She can feel your emotions and adapt to them," Blake explained, "She can also project her own emotions to counteract them."
"She can control your emotions?" Shane said, puzzled.
"Not exactly," Cam said as he read something on the computer, "She can use her own positive emotions as a shield against negative ones...sometimes, when the negativity bounces back, it takes parts of the positive shield along with it, and depending on how much it can absorb, it can affect a person in different ways." He paused for a minute then asked Dustin, "Did you notice something different about the way Paige has acted around you?"
"Well," Dustin replied, "At the track, she was angry at me at first but then she softened up...I tried to stay cold and distant but when I looked into her eyes, I...felt something...pulling me gently..."
Hunter shook his head. "Gently? That's not like Paige; usually, she's got a firm hold. Her shields are usually so strong that when the positive and negative attract each other, it brings about somewhat drastic changes."
"Bro, you think maybe she was subconsciously putting a block on her Talent?" Blake asked.
"Maybe...if she is, it's not gonna be good for her mental health," Hunter said quietly, "You wanna call her and check on her?"
"Uhhhhh..." Blake was hesitant; Paige seemed exhausted and the confrontation with Dustin made her feel uncomfortable at Ninja Ops. He didn't want to be on the receiving end of her frustration.
Hunter sighed as he grabbed the cell phone he left on the table earlier and dialed up Paige's cell phone.