Is Love For Real?

Chapter Fifteen – Fire

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Power Rangers, Ninja Storm, and I'm not making any money from this fic

Replies to reviews:

garnetred: Glad you liked it, and thanks for reviewing

SapphireRayne: She is helping… Honestly. I can't really tell you how, though you'd probably be able to work it out by the end of this chapter . Anyways, thanks for reviewing, and I'm glad you liked it

Yellowcrimsonforever: Heh, it makes up for leaving so long before I updated this fic again, at least . Thanks for reviewing, and I'm glad you liked it

BlueAngel07: I'm glad you liked it, and thanks for reviewing

CamFan4Ever: Here's the next chapter . Thanks for reviewing

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Dustin suddenly stopped.

He didn't know why he stopped. It was like something else was controlling what he was doing.

The yellow wind ranger barely noticed the fact that he was no longer holding onto Cam. He was past being surprised at what was going on in this strange world he was trapped in.

"This is the place of the final test."

Dustin jumped and whirled round, his heart pounding. "Wah!"

Alessa was sitting there, calmly washing herself. She looked up at Dustin. "Why are you looking so surprised?"

Dustin opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it. He tried again. "Why… How did you get here?"

"I have my own ways of getting around," the white cat answered. She flicked her tail once then pounced on a blade of grass waving slightly in the breeze.

Dustin folded his arms across his chest. "All right," the yellow wind ranger said. "I want some answers, and I want them now. Just why are you helping me?"

"We don't have time for this!" Alessa snapped. "You do remember that you have a time limit, don't you?"

"There's only one test left," Dustin replied. "I'm sure there's enough time for you to tell me why you're here with me."

"Do you even know how long you've been here for?" Alessa demanded.

"Not really," Dustin shrugged. "But I'm sure it can't have been that long."

"You didn't come here straight away," Alessa reminded him. "And time moves differently here in the spirit world."

The yellow wind ranger frowned slightly as a sudden thought occurred to him. He gestured towards the surrounding area. "Is all of this… everything in this world… Just memories?"

"This world is made up of ghosts' memories," Alessa admitted. "But memories can still harm you."

"Well?" Dustin asked, referring to their previous topic of conversation, the whole reason he had stopped in the first place.

Alessa looked steadily at him for a long moment. "You helped me out once," she answered at last. "I'm repaying my debt to you."

Before Dustin could question the white cat further, he heard someone call his name.

The yellow wind ranger walked in the direction of the voice, not really paying attention to the fact that Alessa was following him.

Dustin stopped dead as he came to a huge ravine gaping in front of him. A step further, and he would have fallen.

"Dustin!"

The yellow wind ranger looked up, and saw Hunter on the other side of the ravine. The crimson thunder ranger had a sad look on his face, like nothing was going right for him.

There was a rope bridge stretching across the ravine, a few metres away from where Dustin was standing.

"Dustin, be careful," Alessa warned as the yellow wind ranger started towards the bridge. "There's a fire pit in that ravine. Your weight could well lower the bridge enough to burn it before you could get to the other side."

"I don't have a choice," Dustin replied. "I have to get to Hunter." And the yellow wind ranger stepped onto the bridge.

Immediately, it sagged beneath his weight. Dustin felt the heat hit him. It was nearly unbearable. He started to look down, but then stopped himself.

If he saw where the fire was, he was sure that he'd never make it across to the other side.

Dustin fixed his eyes on Hunter, his goal, and started walking.

Dustin was about halfway across when he heard something snap behind him. He knew, without looking, that at least one of the ropes had been burnt through.

Dustin grabbed onto one of the sides, and started edging along.

Suddenly, the whole bridge broke beneath him.

Dustin held on tightly to the rope, and was swung into the other side of the ravine. Hard.

The heat from the fire below him almost made Dustin cry out. He had to fight to not give up and let go of the one thing preventing him from falling and being consumed by the flames.

"Here, grab hold of my hand."

Dustin looked up, and saw the same girl who had helped him with Shane. She was leaning over the edge of the ravine, her arm stretched down as far as it would go.

But Dustin was worried about letting go of his only handhold. "You won't be strong enough to pull me up!" he protested.

"Trust me," the girl replied. "I will be able to pull you up."

Dustin hesitated, and then grabbed hold of the girl's hand, and she pulled him up with little difficulty.

Of course, when Dustin managed to clamber over the edge, he saw that Hunter had helped the girl, which explained her sudden strength.

Feeling suddenly dizzy, Dustin held tightly onto the man he loved. Just before he lost consciousness, he saw, dimly, the form of the girl shimmer into a white cat.

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