Roses and Thorns

Chapter Twenty-One

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Power Rangers, Ninja Storm or Power Rangers in Space, and I'm not making any money from this fic. I also don't own the original concept of vampires

RedFox: -Glares at the author and Apollo- They're not giving the characters a break...

DarkAngel: Did you expect them to? Once the author started bringing vampires into the story... Well, it gave her a whole load of new ideas. At least it means that she's not focusing the entire story on what's happening to Cally and Andros

RedFox: -Stares at him- You don't really mean that, do you?

DarkAngel: Nope

Replies to reviews:

garnetred: Hm, it would be, wouldn't it? This isn't your typical vampire, but a lot of the same rules apply to it. And the vampire wouldn't necessarily have to go into the house –Grins-. Yeah, I know. Cliffhangers are evil, aren't they?

CamFan4Ever: I'm updating

BlueAngel07: Glad you liked it

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"Are you all right?" Andros asked with concern, helping Cally to her feet.

"I guess so," the violet light ranger replied slowly. "I was dead, wasn't I?" She sounded calm... But she really wasn't.

"If you were, it was only for a few moments," Andros answered. "You're all right now, though. Do you remember anything of what happened?"

"Yes, but it wasn't a lot," Cally responded. "I was busy filling up the buckets... And then someone grabbed me and pushed my head underwater."

"Any idea of who it could have been?" Andros wanted to know.

Cally gave him an odd look. "Not unless someone who hates me in my world followed me here... That's probably not very likely." Not that I don't have loads of people hating me in my world.

"Yeah, it probably isn't," Andros agreed. "But why else would someone try to kill you?"

"I don't know." Cally shrugged. "Do you think that the unicorns know anything about what happened?"

"I doubt it," Andros replied. "When the fire was put out, they both collapsed. I think that carrying those buckets backwards and forwards tired them out quite a bit."

"Well, my arms ache from filling up all of those buckets," Cally muttered. "I guess we'd better go and find out what else we have to do from our unicorns." The quicker I get out of this place, the better.

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Blake stared at Cam and Faye. "Wait. So, what you're saying is that Cally was actually dead?"

"No, she stopped breathing," Faye corrected him.

"Same difference." Blake shrugged.

"Actually, it's not," Cam responded. "If someone's stopped breathing, it is possible to bring them back using CPR. Like if someone's been underwater for a long time, and has stopped breathing. Providing that you can get all of the water out of their lungs, that is."

"Well, it certainly wasn't my CPR which brought her back," Faye said. "She definitely wasn't breathing when I left."

"Are you sure that she wasn't breathing when you left?" Cam questioned. "Because if she wasn't, then how on earth did she manage to start breathing again? She certainly couldn't have on her own."

"I don't know about that," Faye replied. "But I do know that Cally was definitely not breathing when I left her side to come here. I checked again and again, because I thought of how stupid I'd look if I came to get you and it turned out to be a false alarm."

It did anyway, Cam thought to himself. Then again... Is there any way that Cally could have stopped breathing in the Forest of Feelings, and then been brought back somehow? No way. That's impossible. The Scrolls were perfectly clear on that point. Failing a challenge is certain death. There's no way for a person to be brought back once they've failed a challenge.

"You're not exactly a certified First Aider," Blake told Faye. "Maybe Cally was breathing, but it was so faint that you didn't notice?"

"I have taken a couple of First Aid lessons," Faye said. "I might not know a lot about First Aid, but I do know how to check if someone's breathing or not. And Cally definitely wasn't."

Blake frowned slightly, and then looked at Cam. "Any way that she could have somehow been brought back in the Forest of Feelings?" the navy thunder ranger asked.

The green samurai ranger slowly shook his head. "If someone fails a challenge, then they die," he reminded Blake. "There's no coming back for them. No second chances. That's it."

"But what if it wasn't a challenge?" Blake wanted to know. "What if someone there actually wants Cally dead?"

Cam stared at Blake, wondering just what the implication of that was.

All of the colour drained from Faye's face. "You mean that Cally may have even more enemies than the ones she already knows about?"

Cam frowned slightly. "It appears so," he replied reluctantly. "But who in the Forest of Feelings could be twisting the Forest's true purpose? Because that is what they're doing."

"Maybe it has something to do with this vampire-type creature that killed Kelly?" Blake suggested.

"I'm not entirely sure how likely that is," Cam said slowly. "It could just be that they are totally unrelated incidents." Of course, the green samurai ranger didn't really believe that. It seemed like too much of a coincidence that Cally would end up in the Forest of Feelings, and then something very similar to a vampire would appear in Blue Bay Harbour.

Cam said as much out loud.

The orange light ranger frowned. "You mean that Cally may not have been supposed to end up in the Forest of Feelings at all?" she asked.

Cam nodded slowly. "At least, not at this moment," he added quickly. "It appears that someone might be tampering with the Forest, twisting its true purpose to meet their own ends."

"But why Cally?" Blake wanted to know. "Could she hold the key to what's going on with this vampire? Maybe whoever's been using the Forest for their own ends has deliberately put Cally out of the way for some reason?"

"But what if it's the Forest itself which has pulled Cally into it?" Faye suggested. "Maybe she wasn't meant to go now, but the Forest decided that it needed her for whatever reason."

"That could be possible, I suppose," Cam admitted. It makes a lot of sense. After all, if someone was deliberately trying to get Cally out of the way, then why would they then attempt to kill her? It wouldn't make any sense. Not unless they wanted to make doubly sure that she couldn't do anything that might stop them from achieving their goals.

Blake sighed. "We need a way of seeing through Cally's eyes while she's in the Forest of Feelings," the navy thunder ranger commented.

Cam's eyes widened. "Blake, that's actually a good idea," he said excitedly. "Scientists have developed a way of watching someone's dreams. If we did that with Cally, then we stand a good chance of figuring out what could be going on, maybe even preventing something disastrous from happening."

"Can you actually set up something like that?" Faye asked. "And what about the other Power Rangers? Won't they find out Cally's true identity if you do something like that?"

"Not if I put her in the rec. room," Cam answered. "I can just tell the others that I'm doing some kind of experiment in there. They usually run a mile when I mention anything remotely scientific, so it should be all right."

"Oh, yeah," Blake laughed. He looked at the orange light ranger. "When Cam starts talking about technology, that's usually the time to get away as quickly as is humanly possible."

Cam opened his mouth to deliver a sarcastic reply, and then caught sight of the computer screen. "Oh, no!" he exclaimed. "Shane's just outside the secret entrance! He'll be inside in a few moments."

Faye's face blanched, and she looked around for somewhere to hide.

"Get under the table," Blake told Faye quickly. "Shane doesn't usually notice anything suspicious."

The orange light ranger slid under the table just in time as Shane raced into NinjaOps. She couldn't see his face, but she could tell, by his voice, that he was seriously worried or unhappy about something.

"Oh, good, you're here," Shane said shortly to Blake, sounding a little out of breath.

"Whoa, Shane, what's up?" Blake asked lightly. "What's the big rush?" Even as he spoke, the navy thunder ranger moved discreetly so that he was standing in front of the table, effectively hiding Faye should the red wind ranger suddenly decide to look there.

"There's a huge rush," Shane answered, closing his eyes for a brief moment. "Blake, I figured that you should be the first to know this"

The navy thunder ranger frowned. "Know what?" he asked. "Shane, what's wrong?" Has something happened to Hunter? Or Tori?

"It's Hunter," Shane said to Blake. "He's, well... Blake, the same thing happened to him that happened to Kelly."

Blake's face blanched. "NO!" he cried. "Hunter can't be dead! There's been some kind of mistake! It's not possible!!!!!!!!!!"

Shane shot a quick glance at Cam, looking for help but finding none. He was the leader. It was his job to help the other Power Rangers.

"It is possible," Shane told Blake in a soft voice.

"NO!!!!!" Blake wailed. A couple of tears slid down his cheeks. "They have to be mistaken! Hunter can't be dead! He can't! He's my brother! He's always been there for me! HE'S NOT DEAD!"

Shane flinched a little at Blake's shout. "Blake, he is dead," he said quietly. "I saw his body. He looked just like Dustin said Kelly's body looked like – drained completely of blood."

Blake lowered his head, his shoulders shaking slightly. "He can't be dead," he whimpered. "He just can't. He promised me he'd always be there for me."

Shane exchanged glances with Cam, and then looked at the sobbing Blake. "Blake, I'm supposed to take you to the morgue," he said quietly. "I'll wait outside for you."

As soon as the red wind ranger was gone, Blake dragged Faye out from under the table, and, with his face right up close to hers, hissed, "You'd better hope that you and Cam can find out what happened to my brother! I can't help getting the feeling that this is all to do with your friend. You get me justice, or I'll make you pay. Understand me?"

Without waiting for an answer, the navy thunder ranger shoved Faye against the table, and then stormed out of NinjaOps.

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"No, it wasn't one of your challenges," Cally's unicorn told the violet light ranger.

"I knew it," Andros muttered.

"Is it even related to one of my challenges?" Cally wanted to know.

The two unicorns slowly shook their heads. "We don't know anything about why someone would try to kill you," Andros' unicorn told the two Power Rangers.

The red space ranger thought for a moment. "I think you do," he responded. "I don't think that you knew about Cally having an attempt made on her life now... But I think you knew that it was possible."

Cally stared at the red space ranger. "Andros, are you sure?" she wanted to know.

"Positive," Andros answered. He stared hard at the two unicorns who were supposed to be their guides. "I think that you know way more than you're letting on," he told them.

"We can't tell you," Andros' unicorn said. "We're not allowed."

Cally's eyes widened. "I was never supposed to be here, was I?" she whispered, suddenly realising.

"No, you weren't," Cally's unicorn admitted after a moment's hesitation. "At least, not yet. But then, something happened, and you had to be brought here."

"What happened?" Andros wanted to know. He glanced quickly at Cally. She looked calm, but the red space ranger couldn't tell for sure.

"We're not allowed to tell you," Andros' unicorn told them both. "It's against the rules. We could get into serious trouble."

"Is there something that I have to do?" Cally wondered.

The two unicorns exchanged glances again.

Andros sighed. "I guess we're not going to get any more information out of you two," he muttered. "Just... one thing. Is there anything either of you two can do to ensure that this won't happen again?"

Cally's unicorn shook its head.

"In that case, I think that it should be made one of the challenges," Andros told them. "Otherwise, it isn't fair."

"Done," Andros' unicorn responded after a moment's hesitation. "You will have to follow us to the area, though."

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Blake collapsed on the couch, feeling all cried out, though his eyes felt gritty, like they were filled with sand.

Blake had just got off the phone to Lila. She hadn't taken the news very well, but had at least tried to be sympathetic towards the navy thunder ranger. She had asked if it would be all right for her and her brother to come to the funeral. Not wanting to be rude, Blake had said yes, but had told her that the funeral couldn't take place for a little while as the coroners were still looking into some things.

How am I going to go on without him? Blake wondered, wiping at his eyes. Guess he wasn't so cried out after all. More tears were sliding down his cheeks.

The navy thunder ranger's thoughts flashed briefly on Faye and Cam. They'd better find out who killed my brother! I have to avenge his murder. Hunter would do no less for me.

Blake heard the doorbell go, and got up. For a moment, he considered leaving it. But what was the point? There was no point in anything now.

Blake opened the door, and stared in shock. "What are you doing here?"

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