[Title] Have A Little Faith In Me
[Author] Alexandra Oliver
[E-Mail] crazyrangerfan@yahoo.com
[Genre] Drama
[Rating] PG or PG-13
[Timeline] The morning after the end of 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!
~Props to hartfelt for helping me out with this chapter…she really helped me put together the whole quest…I am so grateful for her help!
~As much as hartfelt tried to help me, I decided to cut the original version of this chapter into two parts because I had trouble figuring out how to end the whole quest…so this is Part I. 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 6] Quest For The Eagle – Part I
"Are you okay?"
Paige turned to face Dustin and answered, "Yeah. I'm just not sure if I'm ready to face what's in there."
Dustin nodded as he glanced at his watch. "It's 9...are we going in right now?"
Paige replied, "Yeah but we have to gather up our stuff..."
"I took care of that. I even streaked to your car to put it all away. I know we gotta get this done."
Paige sighed, hoping that the excuse would delay the inevitable. Unfortunately, while he was being helpful, Dustin eliminated the need for her to clean up. She pulled off her street clothes and revealed her Thunder Ninja uniform. Dustin did the same to reveal his Wind Ninja uniform and stood behind her.
"Ladies first," he said with a grin.
Paige let out a frustrated grunt as she stepped into the cave, followed by Dustin. The place was dimly lit by a couple of torches at the entrance. Each of the teens picked up one of the torches then they walked deeper into the cave.
"You scared yet, Paige?" Dustin asked semi-teasingly.
Confidently, Paige replied, "Why would I be?"
Dustin shrugged as they came across a dead end. "So now what?" he asked.
Just as Dustin finished speaking, a rock began to glow, emitting a green light and a silver portal appeared out of nowhere.
"I guess we're supposed to go in that way," Paige said, pointing at the portal.
Dustin nodded. "Lad..."
Paige interrupted him, "Oh no, not this time. You first, buddy!"
Smiling, Dustin said, "I kinda figured that. It was worth a shot though!" He took a deep breath and walked through the portal.
Paige took a deep breath as well and followed Dustin. Once she arrived, she found her companion standing against a tree, watching a Thunder Ninja and a Lightning Ninja, going through a few motions from their forms. It seemed like the girl in the Thunder Ninja Academy uniform was helping the guy in the Lightning Ninja Academy get a few moves down. She slowly walked towards Dustin and stood behind him to watch the two Ninjas.
"Are those two your biological parents?" Dustin whispered to her, "They look awesome!"
"I think so...Sensei Amano showed me a picture of my mom so I guess the guy's my dad...but what does this have to do with my mission?" Paige looked confused as her head begin to throb again.
"You don't look like you're up for this yet," Dustin said firmly, "Maybe we should go back."
"The portal closed behind me so there's no turning back," Paige replied, "We need to figure this out!"
Dustin turned to face Paige and told her, "Relax! You need to take it easy, take the whole thing one step at a time."
"What?"
"You're projecting again, Paige, and you're making me nervous at the same time."
Paige chuckled as an explosion was heard and the face of evil arrived.
"Lothor!" Paige whispered in a panic, "We gotta help them!"
Before they could move, Paige's headache intensified. Dustin wrapped his arms around her to prevent her from going after Lothor.
"You gotta let me go!" Paige mumbled, her face buried against her partner, "I need to help my parents…please…"
"I'll be damned if I let you go out there like this," Dustin said in a serious voice, "I'm not gonna let that creep hurt you!"
Dustin began to get nervous as he felt Paige's tears seep through his uniform and onto the skin on his chest. He knew that if he let her go, she would be in trouble so he tightened his grip, even though a part of him wanted to let fight. He led her to a bigger tree to block her view of the fight. He had a feeling neither one of them wanted to see the outcome. He sat down and she followed, still relying on the curly-haired guy to guide her. He positioned her on his lap as she leaned against him, her eyes closed.
A couple of minutes later, Paige opened her eyes again. "I don't know what the deal is with these headaches but I hate them," she mumbled, not moving from her spot for a moment.
"Listen, Paige," Dustin said gently, "You can't fix everything. You're only human…you're Talented, but still just human. You have limitations. I don't want to see you get hurt."
"That's a LIE! You don't care! If you did, you'd let me save my parents, they're in trouble!" Paige stood up and headed for where they had seen the fight begin.
Dustin followed suit and found Paige standing there, holding a yellow baby blanket. He stood behind her for moral support.
"They're gone," Paige said, choking up, "My second chance just slipped away."
"Your parents made a sacrifice for you," Dustin said soothingly, "I may not know much, but I have a feeling they wouldn't want you making rash decisions. They would want you to fight and win your battles…this time wasn't your battle to fight."
"You're right, Dustin, you don't know much! How am I gonna save the Eagle Zord if I couldn't save my parents?" Paige said softly as she used the small blanket as a bandanna for her hair.
Dustin reached for her right hand and held it gently. "C'mon…you can do this. I'm right behind you."
Feeling the warmth of Dustin's touch like a surge all the way up her arm, Paige snapped out of her trance and they began to move forward.
"I know you're upset but I couldn't let you fight…" Dustin began but was silenced by Paige when she put her finger on his lips and stopped walking.
"Shhhh! Do you hear that?" she whispered to him, their faces only inches apart.
The pair listened carefully and heard some faint laughter from three different children, two boys and a girl.
Paige followed the sound of the laughter and Dustin knew he had to follow her to keep her out of trouble. They took a right turn onto a path and they walked through the thick forest.
"Ha ha, c'mon, last one to the club house is a big weenie!!!" the girl exclaimed, squealing in delight.
"You're always the weenie!" a boy exclaimed back.
A slightly older sounding boy added, "You're too slow!"
Paige chuckled as she realized what was going on. She followed the sound of the children towards a cabin where they had retreated to, stopping behind a nearby tree. Dustin followed closely behind her, looking around curiously.
"What's going on?" Dustin whispered to the redhead in front of him, "What's with the kids and that cabin?"
"Stay back here and watch out for danger," Paige instructed him, "I'm gonna take a look at what those kids are up to."
Dustin didn't argue. He knew that they were still on a quest and despite being sidetracked, he half-expected some danger to come their way. "All right but hurry back!" he replied, "We still have a Zord to release."
Paige nodded and then she headed to the cabin. Just as she was about to knock on the door, it swung open to reveal a miniature version of her with red hair, standing in the exacting same fighting pose she used while miniature versions of Blake and Hunter were standing behind her.
"Who are you?" she yelled out, "What are you doing out here?"
Paige chuckled as she used her telempathy to calm the child down. "Relax, Munchkin, I was just walking by," she said to her younger self soothingly.
The young girl's face and her stance relaxed as the younger version of Blake said, "See! There are no evil space ninjas out there."
"We've got cookies, wanna come in?" the younger Blake asked the older Paige with his signature grin.
Paige walked into the cabin to join the children for a snack.
As they sat around the table and had cookies and milk, Blake said, "We're not used to sharing this club house with anyone. This is our special place..."
"It's a club for people without parents," Hunter said bluntly.
The younger version of Paige looked at her with a hopeful look and added, "Maybe you could be my pretend Mom! Hunter and Blake are my pretend brothers and you could ask your friend outside to be my pretend Dad."
Paige was taken aback at her younger self's suggestion. "Uh...wow..." she said, shocked.
"By the way, I'm Blake, that's my brother Hunter and the Munchkin's our best friend Paige."
"My name's Paige too."
"Wow..."
Paige saw her own green eyes looking back at her as she said, "This is really cool of you guys to let me into your cabin. Do you wanna meet my friend Dustin?"
"Sure!" her miniature look-alike replied, "We could be a family!"
"Paige!" Hunter hissed, being the same brooding guy he had always been, "Stop that!"
Before Blake could say anything, Dustin burst through the door and said, "Paige, we gotta get outta here!"
"Huh?" both girls responded.
"No!" the little Paige yelled out, "We're supposed to be a family! NO ONE'S LEAVING!"
Paige recognized the stubbornness she harbored as a child and felt it coming back somewhat. "No, Dustin, I'm staying. I can't leave her behind."
"No...you can't stay. We have something important to do right now!" Dustin couldn't think of anything more convincing to say as his gaze went from the younger versions of the Bradleys to the two versions of Paige standing in front of him.
"Dustin...think about the children...they need someone to look out for them here," the tall redhead said calmly, "We can't just leave them here."
"We can take care of ourselves," Hunter said firmly, using an older brother's superior tone of voice.
"You gotta focus on what's important!" Dustin exclaimed as he grabbed Paige's shoulders and turned her to face him, "Have you completely forgotten why we're here!?"
"I don't know..." Paige said in a quiet tone of voice, "I just..."
"You need to walk away right now, Paige...if there's ever a time we needed to trust each other, it's right now."
"But you don't...trust me, I mean..."
"Now's as good a time as any to take a leap of faith. All you have to do is take my hand and we'll make it." Dustin extended his hand out, waiting for Paige's response.
Paige looked at Dustin then her younger self. She was torn between going with Dustin to finish her mission and staying with the children. If she stayed, she knew she wouldn't have to worry about failing. She would be giving herself the best gift, the gift of a family. If she could convince Dustin to stay, it would be perfect…
"C'mon, Paige!" Dustin pleaded with her, "This is an illusion! This isn't real! You have to come with me right now! We have to go!"
"Wait, you don't know that!" Paige shot back.
"Someone was telling me something out there, Paige…you gotta believe me!"
Paige remained hesitant. Just as she was about to turn to the children again, she felt Dustin's hands grab her shoulders and turn her around like he had earlier. He pulled her close to him.
"I can't let you go," he whispered when their faces were merely inches apart. He slowly moved in and placed his lips on hers to prevent her from arguing. The kiss was soft and gentle and only lasted a short moment, but it was enough to snap Paige from her trance.
Paige gasped as everything around them vanished. The children, the table, and the cabin…soon, they were standing in the middle of the forest again.
"Okay, that was just way too weird!" Paige commented as she took a look around while they walked down the path they had been taking.
Agitated, Dustin said, "Something's out here…I saw a shadow while you were in the cabin and I heard a woman's voice." When Paige took his left hand with her right one, he felt himself relax as he added, "Listen, I know things haven't been going your way…"
"Some of them…but…did you really mean what you said about taking a leap of faith?" Paige found herself asking him softly.
"Mistakes in the past shouldn't affect a bright future, right?" was Dustin's reply.
Paige nodded. "Does this mean you're gonna tell me what happened to get you so wound up before?"
"Maybe some other time," Dustin answered with a grin.
Paige didn't say another word. She continued to hold Dustin's as if she were afraid to lose him if she let go. "I think you may be right, someone's following us," she said with an urgent whisper after a few minutes of walking.