Roses and Thorns
Chapter Twenty-Three
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
DarkAngel: -Sighs- You'd think that with DarkCat back, our author would ditch Apollo... But no
RedFox: She's probably just doing it to annoy you
Apollo: -Shrugs slightly- She likes the ideas I give her. What more can I say
DarkCat: -Looks at the other three muses, and sighs, and then sends the author a telepathic picture of all of them fighting each other
Replies to reviews:
BlueAngel07: Glad you liked it
garnetred: Well, that will be revealed later on... Like much of everything else in this fic. Lol. Thanks for reviewing
Jorgitosbabe: Well, if you had seen that coming, I would have been worried. I was trying not to give anything away about that. Thanks for reviewing
CamFan4Ever: Well, I'm not using the original concept for vampires... But Blake is, for all intents and purposes, an example of my modified form of vampires
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Tori stared at the person who had just knocked her to the ground. "Blake?" she repeated.
It was Blake... But also, at the same time, it wasn't him.
Tori couldn't say exactly how she knew that. Partly, it was to do with the way he had just knocked her to the ground for no reason. But it was also partly to do with his eyes.
Blake's eyes had always held a special warmth for Tori, even when Lothor had made him and Hunter believe that the wind rangers' Sensei had destroyed their parents. The only time the warmth hadn't been there had been when Lothor had changed Blake and Hunter's memories to make them think that Tori, Shane, and Dustin were their enemies.
And now, the warmth was gone again.
Did Lothor do something to Blake? Tori wondered. But how can he have? And Blake's dead. I saw his body. So this can't be Blake.
But if it's not Blake, then who else could it be?
"Yeah, that's my name," Blake replied, his voice cold. "But how do you know what my name is?!"
He doesn't remember me, Tori realised with a trace of sadness. Oh, great. This is going to be so difficult to deal with. Psycho Blake is starting to get really old.
"Well, we do kind of know each other," Tori muttered. She almost said that they were sort of dating, but decided that that probably wasn't the best thing to say under the circumstances.
"Well, we're enemies," Blake responded in a cool tone. "Thunder Storm, Ranger Form!" The navy thunder ranger morphed. "Power of thunder!"
Tori glanced around, and saw that there weren't many people around. Those that were around didn't seem to be paying much attention to what was going on.
"Ninja Storm, Ranger Form!" Tori morphed into her Power Ranger form. "Power of water!" There's no other way, Tori knew. I'm going to have to fight him.
Blake raced towards the blue wind ranger, and lashed out at her in a kick that connected with her right arm.
Tori blocked a punch, and punched with her other fist, hitting Blake's shoulder. The navy thunder ranger grunted a little, and stepped back, but quickly retaliated with a kick to Tori's hip.
The fight seemed to go on for ages, but probably only lasted for a few minutes. Tori wasn't doing very well against Blake, not least because she didn't want to actually hurt him. Then, of course, there was the fact that Blake was a slightly better fighter than she was.
Blake caught hold of Tori's arm, and yanked her off balance against him.
"Blake, stop!" Tori pleaded, twisting out of his grip. "What's gotten into you?! Why are you fighting me?!"
"You wouldn't understand," the navy thunder ranger answered in a flat voice.
"The Blake I know would never try to harm me!" Tori declared, conveniently forgetting that he had tried on a number of different occasions.
"I am not the Blake you know," Blake replied. "I have become more powerful. Much more powerful than anyone could have possibly imagined!" A laugh escaped him, but it wasn't a nice laugh.
Tori felt icy fingers of fear trail up her spine, and glanced round. Where are Shane and Dustin when I need them? She was pretty sure that this Blake would be perfectly happy to hurt, even kill, her. It didn't matter that there were witnesses around. Blake was different now.
I have to get away from him! I can't let him kill me, or make me like him, if that's what he's planning.
Tori backed away from the navy thunder ranger, and spoke into her morpher. "Dustin, Shane, I need you!"
Almost immediately, the other two wind rangers, already morphed, streaked towards the scene. Cam must have seen what was happening and warned them.
For just a moment, Blake seemed surprised to see the yellow and red wind rangers arrive. Then, he started to laugh. "Oh, this is going to be sweet!" he exclaimed. "I get to kill three birds with one stone. My master will reward me well."
Master? What does he mean by master? Tori wondered. Is he talking about whoever's made him act like this?
"Well, dude, there's, like, three of us, and only one of you," Dustin pointed out.
The navy thunder ranger didn't seem to be too bothered by that. "My master has imbued me with more power than you can possibly imagine," he replied. "I am more than a match for you three."
"What master are you talking about?" Shane wanted to know.
"You'll soon see," Blake answered. Then, he gave a horrible laugh. "What am I saying? You won't see who my master is, because you'll all be dead!"
Tori felt afraid. Very afraid. And she had to wonder. If Blake was like this, did that mean that the other people who had supposedly been murdered were like this as well?
The thought scared Tori more than she would ever admit. On the one hand, it meant that at least the people were still alive, and that there could be a way of bringing them back. But on the other hand...
Tori dreaded to think what would happen with a whole load of people all serving a particular master. And how could one individual have amassed such power as to have control over every person killed?
The logical conclusion to make is that every one of these poor people who have been killed have been brought back as vampires, Tori thought to herself. If that was what killed these people, that is... If it was, then that would mean that the whole thing about vampires burning in direct sunlight isn't true, because, as far as I can see, Blake isn't burning at all.
Unless, of course, this creature is something that's similar to a vampire, but not quite like one.
"Tor, we're not going to be able to fight him," Shane said in a low voice. "Even if we could... Well, I'm pretty sure that none of us want to have to fight Blake, no matter what he appears to have become."
Tori nodded her agreement, not taking her eyes off of the navy thunder ranger, who was hesitating, apparently unsure of just who to attack.
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Sharon and Jim waited until Peter returned with the drinks to start questioning the silver silk ranger.
Peter sat down next to Lila, but didn't say anything. He was there for support, but he wasn't going to interfere unless his sister actually wanted him to.
Sharon sipped her drink for a moment or two before asking, "Just how well did you know the victim, Miss. Kenring?"
"Please, call me Lila," the silver silk ranger murmured.
Sharon smiled gently. "Lila, then," she replied.
"We were sort of dating," Lila explained. "Not for very long, though."
"How did you first meet Mr. Bradley?" Jim questioned.
"Um..." Lila shot Peter a slightly apprehensive glance. Not because she had been doing anything that she thought he might disapprove of, Peter realised. He knew that look. She didn't want to tell him for a reason, a good reason.
"Would you like me to leave the room?" Peter asked in a soft tone.
Lila quickly shook her head. "No, it's all right," she responded. She then looked at the two police officers. "I went into Storm Chargers, which is where Hunter was working," she told them. "I was looking for a birthday present for my brother." Lila nodded towards Peter, presumably in case the police officers thought that they had another brother.
"I see." Sharon nodded. "I assume that your brother is into bikes, then?"
Lila nodded slowly. "Yes, he is," she answered.
Peter cleared his throat in order to remind the two women that he was still in the room.
Jim grinned at the brown silk ranger. "Yeah, I know what that's like," he commented. "Sharon talks about me like I'm not in the room all the time."
Sharon smiled, and poked her partner lightly in the side. "That's because you always stay so quiet," she joked. Then, abruptly turning serious again, she asked Lila, "Was your relationship with the victim serious?"
Lila flinched, and Peter knew why. She wasn't happy with Hunter being referred to as 'the victim'. It was almost like, now that he was dead, Hunter wasn't worthy of being referred to by name or even 'he'.
"Well, we didn't have sex or anything like that," Lila admitted in a low voice, blushing a little. "But we did kiss a lot. I once stayed round his house because it was too late to go back home, but I slept in the spare room." She paused, and then added, "We got into an argument the next morning."
"What was the argument about?" Jim questioned, suddenly leaning forward.
Peter bristled slightly. He didn't like the officer's tone. They weren't going to start accusing Lila of murdering Hunter just because she had a row with him, were they?
Sharon noticed Peter's expression, and reached out to touch him lightly on his arm. "Take it easy," she told him. "Jim is just asking your sister a question."
Peter met and held the officer's gaze. "My sister did not kill Hunter," he said in a sharp tone.
Sharon moved back slightly, her expression a little confused. "We don't think that she did," she answered.
Peter slowly shook his head. "That's a load of bull," he replied. "I can see the look on your partner's face. He's thinking that the whole argument thing gives my sister a motive for murdering Hunter. Lila is not a murderer." Never mind that they had been told to kill the other Power Rangers for Lothor in order to get their parents back. That was different.
"We really shouldn't tell you this, but there was something which looked a lot like bite marks in the victim's neck," Jim explained to Peter. "He was drained completely of blood. And there are not many people who would be able to do something like that. We are guessing that the murders are gang-related."
"There have been other murders?" Peter demanded sharply.
"Hunter mentioned that when I saw him last," Lila murmured. Then, she apparently seemed to think of something, because she asked, "Have there been any children reported missing at all?"
Sharon thought for a moment, and then slowly shook her head. "None that I know of," she answered. "Why do you ask?"
"Just before Hunter turned up, I saw a little boy," Lila explained. "He was probably around eleven or twelve, with white-blonde hair. He left when Hunter arrived, though."
Sharon nodded slowly. "I'll look into it, and let you know if I find out anything," she told Lila. Then, she stood up, and said, with some regret, "We had better get going now. We've got quite a lot to do."
Jim nodded, and stood up as well after draining his drink. The two officers shook hands with Lila and Peter, and then left.
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Later that evening, Lila lay in her bed, unable to get to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she could see Hunter's face.
Lila sat up, and buried her face in her hands. "Why'd you have to die?" she whispered. The last thing she needed was for Peter to overhear her and ask why she was talking to herself. He'd probably understand, but the silver silk ranger still felt self-conscious doing so.
At that moment, Lila felt her parents' loss keenly. She wished that they were here, so that she could hug them and hear them tell her that everything was going to be all right.
Of course, if Lila and Peter's parents had still been around, then Lila and Peter would never have come to Blue Bay Harbour, and Lila would never have met the one person she felt who truly cared about her besides her family. Who would love her no matter what she did.
Is it better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all? Lila wondered. It wasn't a question she had asked herself at all before... But then, nothing like this had ever happened before.
I wish that Peter and I had never become Power Rangers! Lila thought with sudden vehemence. None of this would have happened if we had never even heard of the wretched Power Rangers! I would never have met and fallen in love with Hunter... But then, I never would have lost him, either.
Lila drew her knees up to her chest, and pressed her face into them, shaking a little. She wanted her parents more than anything. She wanted to hug them and believe that everything would be all right again.
Lila.
Hearing her name being called, the silver silk ranger glanced up, wondering how her brother had gotten into her room without her noticing. Then again, that wasn't really that surprising considering the state she was in at that precise moment. A whole herd of elephants could rampage through her room, and she probably wouldn't even notice them.
There was no one there.
Lila frowned, and wondered if perhaps she was going mad. But then, she heard the whisper again.
Lila.
It was coming from the window. Lila was sure of it. Frowning, she glanced towards the window, and thought, for just an instant, that she saw a pale face outside. Then, it was gone.
Lila trembled, feeling suddenly and inexplicably scared. "Go away," she whimpered, curling into a ball on her bed.
Lila please let me in. I love you.
"Go away," Lila repeated, rocking slightly. "I know that I'm just imaging you. Please go away!"
Lila.
The silver silk ranger glanced up again, and turned white.
Hunter was hovering just outside her window.
"No, go away," Lila whispered. "You're dead!"
You can see that I'm not, Lila. Please let me in?
"But your body..." Lila began.
Hunter waved one hand impatiently. A trick. Surely you must realise that. You know that I would never leave you. I love you too much. His eyes were filled with love.
Lila hesitated. Then, she got up, and slowly unlatched the window. "Please come in," she said in a soft voice.
Hunter stepped over the sill, and pulled Lila into a tight hug. The silver silk ranger began crying.
"Shh, don't cry," Hunter murmured. "It's going to be all right. Everything's going to be fine."
"How can you know that?" Lila whimpered, holding tightly to Hunter, never wanting to let him go.
"Because everything will be," Hunter replied. "You can trust me, Lila. I'll look after you."
Lila suddenly felt something sharp brush against her throat, and stiffened. She remembered what Jim had said about the bite marks on Hunter's throat, and the way he looked as though he had been completely drained of blood. She remembered, and her thoughts told her, Vampire. Hunter's a vampire. Or, if not a proper vampire, something quite close to it.
Lila opened her mouth, and screamed.
Hunter's teeth bit into Lila's throat, and the silver silk ranger felt a wave of dizziness spread throughout her entire body. She screamed again, for her brother, as she felt her lifeblood being drawn out of her.
Suddenly, Lila felt a tearing pain as she was pulled away from Hunter. She clapped one hand to her neck, feeling dazed. How much blood did he take? Enough to turn me into something like him?
"RUN!" Peter yelled at his sister as the angry vampire began to stalk towards him. "I'll distract him."
"But what about you?" Lila cried.
"Just go!" Peter yelled. He backed towards Lila, and shoved her hard out of her bedroom door. "Run!"
Lila ran, but not before seeing vampire-Hunter grab her brother and lower his head to the brown silk ranger's neck.
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As they followed the two unicorns, Andros and Cally took the opportunity to get to know each other a little better.
Andros told Cally about his friends, including Ashley and Karone. In return, Cally told him about her friends, though Dustin could hardly be classed as a 'friend'.
Cally was fascinated by the fact that Andros was from another planet. She asked him a lot of questions about what his planet was like, what he thought of humans, what his culture was like, and a lot of other topics. Andros answered all of the violet light ranger's questions patiently, asking his own about the Ninja schools and what Cally knew of Lothor, which wasn't a lot other than that he wanted to take over the entire earth.
The two were so caught up in conversation that they didn't realise that the unicorns had stopped until one of them said, with a slight trace of amusement, "We're here."
Cally and Andros glanced up, and saw that the unicorns had led them to a small hut.
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