Roses and Thorns
Chapter Eighteen
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Power Rangers, Ninja Storm, and I'm not making any money from this fic. I also don't own Andros or anything else from Power Rangers in Space
Replies to reviews:
garnetred: Actually, I was originally trying to decide between bringing Karone into this fic or Andros. The only reason I chose Andros was because I've seen more episodes with him in, so would have a better chance of remaining true to his character (seeing as the site which I was using for Power Rangers information has now shut down -Sniffs-)... 'sides, I figured that Andros would probably feel guilty cos in Countdown to Destruction, he sent Karone's attack back at her. Anyways, thanks for reviewing!
CamFan4Ever: Thanks for reviewing, and I'm glad you liked it! Yeah, time differences suck, don't they? I roleplay with a number of people from the US and other countries, and it's really difficult getting on at the same time --. Actually, it seems that it's only when I feel really down that I think my characters might be Mary Sues. Oh, well. At least I know four people who like this fic. Hurry up and write the next chapter of FYL II!!!!!
Jorgitosbabe and BlueAngel07: Glad you liked it!
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Cally followed Andros through the trees, glancing around a little nervously. Despite the unicorns' words now, she couldn't help remembering what her unicorn had said earlier.
The area through the trees was completely silent. No bird song, no animal sounds, nothing. Cally felt a little freaked out. She'd never been in a dead silence before.
Andros flicked a glance over his shoulder at Cally. "You ok?" he asked.
The violet light ranger nodded slowly, and tried to smile. "Just a little nervous," she admitted.
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Andros responded. "At least this way, though, we're not just stuck doing nothing while we wait for our unicorns to sort out the whole us teaming up together."
"I think that stuck doing nothing would be much better than just walking headlong into danger," Cally muttered.
Andros raised his eyebrows at the violet light ranger. "Why didn't you say anything?" he wanted to know.
Cally merely shrugged. Talking in this silence felt strange. Kind of like trying to speak through cotton wool. "I guess I'm curious about what might be through here," she admitted finally.
"Yeah. Me too." Andros turned his attention back to the area in front of him.
Cally's head whipped round as she suddenly thought she saw something moving. She narrowed her eyes, trying to make out vague, tantalizing shapes moving just outside her vision.
Cally.
The voice was female and sounded familiar to the violet light ranger. Cally peered harder. Then, her eyes widened as she glimpsed the form of a dark-haired, dark-skinned woman. "Mum?" she whispered.
Cally.
Andros took Cally's arm. "Whatever you're seeing, it's not real," he told her.
"But..." Cally began, her eyes filled with longing, her hand outstretched towards the figure she could see.
Andros shook her a little. "It's not true," he repeated.
Cally blinked several times, shaking her head slightly, trying to clear her thoughts. She knew that Andros was right. But...
Cally. Please come to me. I love you.
The violet light ranger's eyes widened, and she turned her head against her better judgment.
Cally was sure that she could see Dustin standing some distance away, but it wasn't clear. She started to take a step forward, but Andros stopped her.
"It's not real!" the red space ranger snapped, shaking Cally. "Will you listen to me?! It's not real!"
"But... That's Dustin," Cally protested.
"No, it's not," Andros told her. "This place is playing with our minds. It's making us see things that aren't there. No, it's more than that. This place is making us see what we truly want to see, deep in our hearts."
Cally hesitated for a long moment, and then lowered her head. "I guess you're right," she whispered. "I should have known. There's no way Dustin could still love me after what I did."
"You'd be surprised at how much people who love us would be willing to forgive," Andros responded.
"Well, Dustin would definitely not forgive me for cheating on him," Cally replied. She rubbed a little at her eyes. "Ok. I'm ok now... I think."
Andros nodded slowly. "Good." He moved his hands from Cally's shoulders, and started walking again.
The violet light ranger hurried after him. "Hey, wait up!" she cried. "Shouldn't we maybe go back to where our unicorns are?"
"Why?" Andros asked without turning round.
"Well, because of what just almost happened," Cally answered. "Maybe carrying on walking this way is a bad idea. It would be just like walking into the lion's den."
Andros looked at Cally then, slowing down his walking but not coming to a complete stop. "Well, we could go back, if you really want to," he said.
Before Cally could reply, Andros' eyes went curiously blank. The red space ranger turned sideways, and started walking.
Cally blinked. "Andros?"
The red space ranger ignored her. He could see Ashley, beckoning him towards her. With her, he could see the rest of his friends, including his sister Karone.
Cally ignored the voices calling her name, reminding herself that it wasn't real. They weren't really her parents and Dustin. But it was so hard, though. She could feel a couple of tears slip out of her eyes and roll down her cheeks.
The violet light ranger angrily dashed away her tears, and ran over to Andros, grabbing his arm to bring him to a stop.
Andros turned his face to Cally, apparently in a trance. She shifted in front of him, blocking his way. "Andros, stop," she told him.
"Get out of my way, Cally," Andros replied. "Ashley's over there."
"No, she's not. It's not real," Cally reminded him, repeating Andros' earlier words to her when she had been in danger of becoming lost.
"I..." Andros began. Then, he shook his head, attempting to clear his mind. "Of course. You are right. Come on. Let's get out of here, before either or both of us get deceived enough to actually get stuck here."
Cally nodded, and the two quickly exited.
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"It's called the Forest of Feelings," Cam told Blake as soon as the navy thunder ranger entered NinjaOps.
Blake blinked. The Forest of Feelings? "What is?" he asked out loud.
"The place that Cally is trapped in," Cam answered. Seeing Blake's uncomprehending expression, he explained, "It's her spirit that's trapped in there. Apparently, the Forest of Feelings is a place where people who have a particularly strong negative feeling, say anger, and can't shake it off get trapped."
Blake frowned a little. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"Well, put it this way," Cam said. "Have you ever felt really angry or unhappy about something?"
Blake thought for a moment, then nodded slowly, not entirely sure what the green samurai ranger was getting at.
"And you've been able to shake off the feeling, right?" Cam questioned.
"Yeah..."
Cam nodded. "What if you couldn't shake the feeling of sadness or anger off?" he wanted to know.
"Well, I guess..." Blake blinked, then shrugged. "I don't know," he admitted. "I'd guess that the feeling would overwhelm me until I could think of nothing else. Like, if you're really mad at someone and won't forgive them, then it'll fester until something that's probably quite small to begin with becomes really big."
"Yes, that is true," Cam responded. He glanced down at the Ninja Scroll lying on the table in front of him, then looked up at Blake again. "Except, in some instances, the person is given the chance to work through their negative emotion, if you like. To deal with it and come to terms with it."
"By entering the Forest of Feelings," Blake guessed.
Cam nodded. "That's what I've been trying to explain to you."
"So... What exactly is the Forest of Feelings?" Blake asked, sitting in one of the chairs opposite the green samurai ranger.
"It's a forest where a spirit will travel," Cam explained. "Once they arrive in the forest, they are met by a guide, apparently a unicorn, and they have to travel to the particular gate that leads to their body, completing different challenges along the way."
"Does this forest really exist outside of people's minds?" Blake wanted to know.
Cam hesitated for a long moment. "I don't know," he admitted finally. "The Ninja Scrolls aren't totally clear on that. But my opinion is that it is a real place... Though it exists on a different plane of existence."
Blake blinked. "You mean like another world?" Then, he shrugged. "I guess it would have to. Unicorns only exist in myths here, right?"
Cam raised his eyebrows. "This from a Power Ranger?"
"Good point," Blake laughed. Then, abruptly becoming serious again, he asked, "So, what about Cally? Could she have just suddenly started feeling a really strong negative emotion?"
Cam thought for a moment, and then slowly shook his head. "No, I don't believe so," he answered. "I think that something probably triggered her body slipping into the coma and her spirit into the Forest of Feelings. Quite possibly, the crystal was the cause. She would have had to be feeling this particular emotion for quite a while, though she probably would have pushed it to the back of her mind."
Blake frowned. "Anger? Sadness?" He hesitated, then, "Guilt?"
"Probably a combination of the last two," Cam said.
"No way," Blake replied, shaking his head. "Dude, there's no way that Cally could be feeling guilty."
"Why?" Cam wanted to know.
"She cheated on Dustin," Blake pointed out. "If she had truly cared about him and loved him, she would never have done that to him."
"And you've never made mistakes?" Cam was amused.
Blake scowled. "That's not the same," he responded.
"And why isn't it?" Cam questioned. "I don't pretend to know anything about Cally or even her friend Faye. I don't pretend to know if Cally truly is sorry for what she did to Dustin. But why should she be any different to you when it comes to making mistakes?"
"Because she made a huge one," Blake muttered. "And she really hurt Dustin. And why should he forgive her for that?"
Cam raised his eyebrows. "She also brought your brother here when he got hurt during that fight with the tentacled monster," he pointed out. "But, Blake, I don't want to argue about this. Neither of us know much about Cally or even enough about her personality to decide that we know what she's truly like. The fact is, Faye asked us to help out, and that's what we're supposed to be doing."
"I guess you're right," Blake mumbled. He gave a soft sigh, then asked, "So, have you found out if you can remove the crystal from Cally's chest or not?"
"I don't believe I can," Cam answered. "I think that it would probably be better to remove it once she wakes up from her coma."
"How soon will she wake up?" Blake wanted to know. "Have you got any ideas?"
"No," Cam admitted. "She has all of these challenges to complete."
"What happens if she fails a challenge?"
Cam was silent for a long moment, apparently not wanting to answer.
"Cam, what happens if she fails a challenge?" Blake repeated.
"She dies," Cam muttered.
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"You told us it was safe!" Andros accused the two unicorns.
"Well, it was," Cally's unicorn defended herself.
"Except then that they decided to make that into one of your challenges," Andros' unicorn put in.
"So that's why you told us to go through there?" Cally asked.
"We didn't know," Cally's unicorn told them.
"But it does mean that you've completed one challenge," Andros' unicorn said.
"One out of how many?" Andros wanted to know.
"We can't tell you that."
"There's a surprise," Cally muttered. "I suppose you can't tell us anything else about the other challenges, either? Like, for example, what they may entail?"
"You know we can't," Cally's unicorn responded sharply. "It's against the rules."
"What rules?" Andros questioned.
"Rules made by them." The two unicorns glanced around almost fearfully, as though expecting to be overheard, or for someone to suddenly appear out of nowhere.
"Oh, great," Cally sighed. "That tells us a lot. So where should we go now?" she addressed that question to Andros, seeing as the two unicorns clearly weren't going to be of much help to them.
"I guess forwards," Andros replied with a shrug. "We might as well keep following the path. I just hope that we're going the right way."
"You are," Cally's unicorn told them.
Cally raised her eyebrows. "Oh, so you can help us with some things."
"Only with the direction you must travel," Andros' unicorn replied.
"Ok, let's go," Andros told Cally.
The two humans and two unicorns started walking, Andros leading with Cally pausing every so often to look at an unusual flower or plant.
Suddenly, Andros stopped dead, almost causing Cally to run into him, and sniffed the air.
The violet light ranger blinked. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"I'm... not sure," Andros answered. The air smells like smoke... But that would mean that there's a fire ahead of us, and that can't be right. There's no way that we could manage to go through a fire. It would mean that we'd have to turn round and retrace our steps, and the unicorns told us that we had to come this way.
The four rounded a corner, and stopped.
There, in front of them, blocking the path, was a blazing fire.
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