Roses and Thorns
Chapter Seventeen
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Power Rangers, Ninja Storm, and I'm not making any money from this fic
Apollo: -Sighs- Again with the disclaimer...
RedFox: Well, she never listens to us when we tell her that one disclaimer per story is plenty
Replies to reviews:
garnetred: Ooh, idea! -Grins- Thanks! Well, you'll find out why Andros is there in this chapter
CamFan4Ever: Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad that DarkCat is happy. I hope you do update FYL II soon... I really don't like cliffhangers. Why do you think I rarely use them? (Technically, if I do use them, it doesn't count cos I'm updating pretty much every day or every other day... Proof that I have nothing else better to do. Lol. I'm sad, I know)
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Cally blinked at Andros. "Um, sure," she replied, a little cautiously. I wonder what he wants to talk about.
Andros took Cally's elbow, and steered her away from the unicorns. "I think that we should talk about this out of their hearing."
Cally nodded slowly. "All right. Whatever you want."
Andros sat down on the ground, and, after a moment's hesitation, Cally sat down next to him. "So...?"
"I have a suggestion to make," Andros told her.
"What is it?" Cally wanted to know.
"How do you feel about us teaming up together in this place?" Andros asked.
Cally blinked. "Is that actually allowed?" she wondered.
Andros shrugged, and gestured towards the two unicorns. "We could always ask them," he replied.
"I don't think they're about to let us work together," Cally muttered. "My unicorn told me that it couldn't help me at all... Did your one say the same thing?"
"Pretty much," Andros answered. "But we'd have more chance of completing our challenges if we can learn to work together."
"That's true, I guess," Cally admitted. She then tilted her head curiously. "So... Why are you here?" she wanted to know.
"Well, my sister was turned evil," Andros explained. "I tried to get her to remember who she really was, but I ended up hurting her. And I've been feeling really bad about it." The red space ranger paused, then asked, "Why are you here?"
"I cheated on my ex-boyfriend," Cally replied. "But I've been feeling really guilty about it for ages now." Ever since Dustin asked asked me if I had a good reason for what I did.
Andros blinked at that. "Do you have any idea why you came here now?" he questioned.
"Actually, I do," Cally answered. "I had a strange crystal shot into my chest which made me feel really ill. Then, that evening, I had loads of memories replaying over and over again in my head... And then, everything went black."
"Well, then you'd better hurry up and complete the challenges and return to your body," Andros replied. "So that you can apologise to him."
"I already tried," Cally muttered.
"Then you have to try harder," Andros told the violet light ranger. He then got to his feet. "Come on. Let's go and see what our unicorns have to say about us teaming up together."
Did we actually agree to that? Cally wondered, standing up as well. Oh, well. I suppose we did. In any case, maybe it would help to team up for this. After all, it does make sense.
Andros glanced at the dark-haired girl walking beside him. Truth be known, he had no idea why he had proposed teaming up together to Cally. Maybe it had been because she had had no idea how to sort out the animal caught up in a trap. It would make sense for them to work together anyway.
Andros hoped that his friends, especially Ashley, were getting on all right without him. Since he had arrived in the Forest of Feelings, he had only been worried about how his friends were coping. He had no idea whether time in the forest ran differently to time in his home world, and he wanted to finish his challenges as quickly as possible so that he could see Karone and Ashley and the rest of his friends again.
"Are you finished now?" Cally's unicorn asked them.
Andros glanced at Cally, guessing correctly that she was going to let him do the talking, at least to bring up the idea.
Andros looked at the two unicorns. "We want to team up," he told them.
Andros' unicorn blinked. "That is not possible," it replied.
"Why not?" Cally wanted to know.
The two unicorns exchanged glances. "It's just not done," Cally's unicorn spoke.
"So... Technically, it's not against the rules?" Andros asked.
"It's not done," the unicorn repeated.
"Is it actually allowed?" Andros asked.
Andros' unicorn tilted its head to the side for a moment, as though it was listening to something, then it slowly nodded. "It is allowed," it responded. "But, Andros, that does mean that the challenges you've completed before no longer count."
Cally looked at Andros. "Are you sure that you still want to do this?"
Andros hesitated, considering. On the one hand, teaming up with Cally would mean that they would get both sets of challenges completed quickly. But, on the other hand, it meant that his own challenges could take longer.
I guess it falls down to this, Andros thought to himself. Which would be more advantageous to us both? Probably teaming up together... But can I really risk staying away from my friends any longer? What if they need me?
"Andros, we don't have to do this if you'd rather not," Cally told the red space ranger. But there was disappointment showing in her eyes despite her words.
She is offering me a way out, Andros knew. But he couldn't abandon her. He may have only just met her, but she was a Power Ranger as well. Andros figured that he kind of had to help her. It wouldn't be fair to just leave her to face the challenges on her own. In any case, two heads were bound to be better than one.
"I agree," Andros told his unicorn.
Cally frowned slightly. "Andros, you don't have to do this," she told him.
"I know," the red space ranger replied. He looked at the two unicorns. "Well?" he asked.
"It will take a little while for this to be sorted out," Cally's unicorn told them.
"What should we do in the meantime?" Cally wanted to know.
"Why not just look through the trees?" Andros' unicorn suggested. "It'll be safe for you for the amount of time it'll take to sort things out."
"But you may have to fight off some monsters through there," Cally's unicorn put in. "It could still be a bit dangerous."
Cally looked at Andros. "What do you think?"
Andros shrugged. "Well, it's something to do, I suppose," he replied.
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Shane walked into Storm Chargers. "Hey guys," he commented to Dustin and Hunter. "What's up?"
Hunter just shrugged, and turned back to tidying the shelves.
Shane blinked at Dustin. "Dude, what's up with Hunter?"
"He had an argument with Lila," Dustin explained in a low voice. "I don't know the details. Hunter isn't talking to me about it. I would have asked Blake about it, but I don't think that he'd tell me either." The yellow wind ranger shrugged helplessly. Air head he might be, but he still worried when his friends were unhappy.
Blake walked out of the storeroom at just that moment, carrying a few boxes stacked up on top of each other, nearly blocking his view of the shop. "Hey Shane," he greeted the red wind ranger.
"Hey Blake," Shane replied. "Do you need help with those?"
"No, I'm f... Ah!" Blake's foot had caught on a bit of rucked-up carpet, and he stumbled, the boxes falling out of his grip and just missing Shane and Dustin.
Suddenly, Blake's arm was grabbed, and he was steadied. Seeing the commotion, Hunter had run over to help.
"Thanks, bro," Blake said, bending to pick up some of the boxes which had, miraculously, not banged into anything breakable.
"Next time, don't carry too much stuff," Hunter responded, grabbing some of the boxes too. "It wouldn't kill you to have to make two trips instead of just one."
Blake made a slight face. "Yeah, but I really wanted to get this finished quickly," he replied. "Luckily, these boxes are empty."
Shane slowly shook his head. "Dude, I asked if you needed any help."
"Well, that'll teach you not to accept offers of help," Hunter commented to Blake as they took the boxes outside.
"Ouch." Dustin shook his head. "That's as close as I've ever heard to Hunter snapping at Blake."
"Yeah, I know," Shane replied. "That argument with Lila must have really gotten to him, huh?"
Dustin nodded. "Man, I really wish that I knew what it was about," he muttered. Then, he smiled as he saw Kelly walking over to them. "Hey, Kel. What's up?"
"Have you seen Cally around at all?" Kelly asked curiously.
Blake and Hunter were walking up to them, but Blake paused as he heard Kelly ask Dustin that. Shoot. Well, he's not going to have seen her around. She's in a coma, after all. I wonder if Cam's found anything else out? Probably not. He wasn't having much luck when I left. Still, I should have asked him to contact me if he did manage to find anything out... Actually, if he did contact me, then the others would probably find out about Cally's identity as the violet light ranger, and Cam and I promised not to reveal it.
"Hey, bro, are you all right?" Hunter asked Blake.
The navy thunder ranger managed a half-hearted attempt at a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine," he answered.
Hunter wasn't convinced, but he didn't press his brother. He knew, from previous experience, that Blake would tell him things when he was ready, and no amount of asking would get him to change his mind.
Blake was relieved when Hunter didn't press the matter. He really didn't want to have to lie to his own brother, though he was probably lying by omission already.
Dustin's face blanched at the mention of Cally's name. "No, I haven't," he answered. "Why? Should I have?"
"No, I was just wondering," Kelly replied. "I just saw that she was in the shop the other day."
Apparently, you talked to her enough to find out her name. What else did she tell you? Dustin wondered. What she did to me? Probably not. That girl doesn't have a conscience. No matter what she says, I know that she doesn't feel guilty for cheating on me. She didn't even have a reason for doing it. No reason at all. I can't forgive her... I thought that I could, but now I know that I can't. She hurt me too much.
"No, I haven't seen her," Dustin repeated out loud.
That seemed to satisfy Kelly, for she nodded and walked behind the counter to serve some customers.
"You all right, bro?" Shane asked, resting a hand on Dustin's shoulder.
The yellow wind ranger took a deep breath. "No," he admitted in a low voice. I'm not even angry with her anymore. I'm too hurt. She can beg me on hands and knees, and I still wouldn't be able to forgive her. I think... If I do see her again, I'll have to tell her to leave me alone. Her presence has opened up too many old wounds. It was easier once she left town.
But the really hard thing is that I still love her. And I have no idea why. She fooled me, and I still care about her.
"We're still here for you," Blake told Dustin softly. "I know that it must be hard to deal with."
Dustin managed a smile. "Thanks, guys," he said softly. "That means a lot. But... I can't really talk about it at the moment. I'm sorry."
"No need to apologise," Hunter replied. "I can understand how you feel."
Dustin nodded slowly. "Yes, I suppose you do," he replied. "If you excuse me, I need to be alone right now." And the yellow wind ranger ran out of the shop, leaving the others stunned.
"Well, I should probably get going to skateboard practice," Shane commented after a long moment. "See you guys later."
"Bye," Blake replied.
"Yeah, bye," Hunter echoed.
Shane left the shop, passing Lila as he did so.
Hunter flinched visibly as he watched the redhead approach slowly, as if unsure of her welcome. "Oh, great," he muttered under his breath. "What do I do now?"
Blake grinned. "Why don't you just talk to her?" he suggested. With those words, he moved off, effectively leaving Hunter alone with Lila.
Lila stopped a few paces away from the crimson thunder ranger, biting her lip. "Hi," she said softly.
"Hey," Hunter responded, his tone soft but icy.
Lila flinched. "Can... We talk?" she asked.
Hunter shrugged. "I suppose so," he answered. "I haven't really go anything better to do."
Lila hesitated a moment, gathering her thoughts together and trying to work out exactly what it was she wanted to say. "Hunter, I admit that I overreacted badly," she said at last.
"That's an understatement," Hunter replied coolly.
"Hunter, please." Lila's eyes were shimmering with barely-held back tears. "This is hard enough for me as it is. You have every right to be angry with me... I won't deny that."
"Good," was the response. "It should be hard. I'll admit that we moved into things quite fast... But why the hell would you immediately assume that I don't care about you?"
Lila looked down. "I don't know," she admitted. "I just... When I realised that you had brought other girls home with you, I just lost it."
"I told you that you would be the last one. Why didn't you believe me?"
"I guess... You're the only good thing that's happened to me in a long time," Lila whispered. "I was scared that I was going to lose you."
The crimson thunder ranger paused at that. He could see exactly what Lila's fears were. He and Blake had had the same fears for quite some time. Of losing people that they cared about, especially after the death of their parents and the loss of their Sensei and all of their friends at the Thunder Ninja Academy.
Knowing what Lila's fears were didn't change what she had said, though it did allow Hunter to understand and forgive her.
Hunter hesitated for a long moment. Then, he pulled Lila into a tight hug.
Lila hugged back just as tightly, relieved that he had forgiven her. After what she had said to him, she had been convinced that he wouldn't forgive her.
After a few moments, Hunter lifted Lila's chin, and gently kissed her.
Blake smiled as he watched Hunter and Lila. At least there was one couple who had managed to sort out their problems.
Suddenly, Blake's morpher went off.
The navy thunder ranger turned so that the other people couldn't see him apparently talking into his watch, and whispered, "Blake here. What's up?"
"Blake, it's Cam," the voice of the green samurai ranger answered. "I think I've found something."
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-Eyes this chapter suspiciously- You'd tell me if they sounded like Mary Sues... Right?