Poison

Chapter Two

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

Replies to reviews:

SapphireRayne: Well, it's still difficult for them . And if I didn't put in cliffhangers, would you still want to read the next chapter? If I leave it hanging, at least people would probably be curious enough to read the next chapter. Thanks for reviewing, and I'm glad you liked it

garnetred: He has forgiven her, don't worry . Yeah, David and Faye have impeccable timing, don't they? Mind you, considering David's reaction when he and Faye walked in on Cally and Dustin kissing, what do you think would happen if he and Faye walked in on them going even further? -Lol-. Thanks for reviewing

CamFan4Ever: I take it that means you're happy that I updated? -Waves finger- Now that I'm updating, you have to as well. I'm still waiting for the next chapter of Finding Your Love II! Anyways, thanks for reviewing

Jorgitosbabe: o.o I take it you haven't read Soul Battle... That is awful, and quite obviously a Mary Sue -.-. -Still worried about these characters being Mary Sues- Please don't make me think that I have to write everything perfectly. Lol . Thanks for reviewing, and I'm glad you liked it

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

Author's Note: Before you start reading this chapter, guess what?!

I managed to find pics to go with all of my original characters! (Lia was really difficult -.-). Most of them are based on actors/actresses, with the obvious exception of Lia. If anyone's interested in seeing any of the pics, or knowing the names of the actors, e-mail me, or ask on here. Also, is anyone good at editing pics? Only, I really want to make pictures with the original characters in, but I have no idea how -Pleading look-

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Blake stared at the computer screen, eating a slice of pizza. "Dude, this film is really boring," the navy thunder ranger commented.

"Yeah, I know," Hunter replied, snagging another piece of pizza. "I can't be bothered to change the video, though."

"Hm." Blake yawned. "I'm kind of wondering what Lothor's got up his sleeve next. He's been pretty quiet lately, and that's never a good thing."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Hunter said. "He won't have given up, so he must be planning something really big."

"But we'll beat him, bro," Blake smiled. "After all, nothing can stand against the combined might of all of the Power Rangers."

"Yeah," Hunter responded, not really appreciating the reminder. It made him think of Lila, and he didn't really want to think about the silver silk ranger right then.

Right at that moment, both of their communicators went off.

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All of the Power Rangers gathered in NinjaOps, causing the main room to become quite crowded.

"We really need to find a bigger place to meet," Shane muttered. "We can't all keep on crowding in here like this."

"This is the only place with the technology needed to observe the city," Sensei said.

"He's got a point," David told the red wind ranger.

Cally found her attention drawn to the computer screen, and her eyes widened slightly. She pointed to the huge black snake-like thing shown on the screen. "What is that?"

"One of Lothor's aliens," Cam answered. "I must have fallen asleep at the computer, because when I woke up, that monster was showing on the screen." The green samurai ranger paused, then continued, "I switched over to one of the news channels, and reporters were talking about a strange epidemic which people have been coming down with."

"You think that this new alien of Lothor's might have something to do with it?" Blake asked, frowning slightly.

"Aren't some snakes poisonous?" Peter wondered out loud.

Lila rolled her eyes, and elbowed her brother in the side. "Of course some snakes are poisonous," she said.

Hunter shot a quick glance at the silver silk ranger, then looked away again. Unlike Dustin and Cally, Hunter and Lila weren't dating, or even attempting to. The crimson thunder ranger was still having problems working out just what he felt for Lila. He cared deeply about her, he knew that much, but he didn't know how much he trusted her.

I guess now I know how the others felt when Blake and I attacked them so much, Hunter thought to himself. Not that Lila had known who he was... But that wasn't really the point.

"You want us to go and battle it?" Faye asked.

Before Cam could respond, Sensei answered, "If Lothor's creature is responsible for the epidemic, then you are all likely to be at risk. Your Power Ranger abilities will not necessarily be able to protect you."

"But we can't just leave it to attack people," Tori protested.

Sensei gave the blue wind ranger a look. "And what will you do if you all get poisoned as well?" the guinea pig demanded. "Earth would be defenceless against attacks, and that is undoubtedly what Lothor wants."

"I'm working on finding some kind of antidote, or at least a vaccine," Cam put in. "I haven't had much luck yet, but it could well be suicide to rush into a battle unprepared with this alien." The green samurai ranger winced, realising his mistake as both Faye and David looked worriedly at Cally.

"Oh, give me a break," the violet light ranger groaned, rolling her eyes. "You don't have to worry. I'm not going to try to kill myself again."

As Cally spoke, Dustin gently squeezed her cold fingers. The yellow wind ranger knew how badly what had happened had hit Cally. Even though he had found it difficult to forgive her, he still knew what she had gone through.

Cally squeezed back, and shot Dustin a grateful look. She liked having him give her support. Despite the fact that they had resumed dating again, the yellow wind ranger hadn't done so until now.

Tori's eyes dropped to Cally and Dustin's linked hands, and she smiled, glad to see her friend happy again. She hoped that Cally wouldn't hurt the yellow wind ranger a second time. Dustin was way too gentle, and he didn't deserve the sort of pain Cally's betrayal would bring him.

Hunter's eyes tracked towards Lila again. This time, the silver silk ranger looked back at him, though her expression did not change. She had already agreed to give the crimson thunder ranger all the time he needed to work out his feelings.

Hunter looked away again, unwilling to get into a staring match with Lila.

"You all need to keep an eye out," Sensei was saying. "If you find yourself facing this monster, then you must call for the others to help you. Do not try to face it alone. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Sensei."

"I'm going to carry on trying to find out more about this new alien," Cam said. "If, when, I find out more, I'll call you guys back here."

Dustin glanced down, realising that he was still holding onto Cally's hand. Then, he looked at David and Faye.

"Are you two planning on going back out this evening?" he asked.

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Cam came to, and found himself being led by the hand by Lia.

Not again, the green samurai ranger groaned silently.

Lia's grip was gentle but firm, and her hand was warm in Cam's, though that was probably because of her fur. She seemed to know exactly where she was going, which was just as well because Cam had no idea.

Cam looked around, taking in the lovely woodland around them. A sense of utter peace came over him. He had the feeling he was coming home. It was indescribable. He felt almost as if the very plants themselves were reaching out to welcome him.

Cam gave himself a mental shake, and decided that, when he woke up, he was going to read up on dreams. He was pretty sure that having continuous dreams wasn't exactly normal.

Unless, of course, he hadn't really woken up at all, just dreamed it. And there was no snake of Lothor's invading Blue Bay Harbour, and possibly poisoning people.

Cam was pulled out of his thoughts as Lia led him into a small village. There were a lot of people around, and some of them even looked like Lia. No exactly, of course, but they were obviously of her race.

"Cameron!"

Cam glanced up, and felt his eyes widen.

Approaching him and Lia was a young woman. She had long blonde hair, and green eyes. She was very pretty, and was also giving Cam a sultry, seductive look from beneath long eyelashes. A smug smile played around her lips.

Lia stiffened slightly. Cam didn't have to see her face to know that she was upset, and he wondered why.

The other woman turned hard eyes on Lia, and reached out to run sharp nails down the side of her face. "Where are you taking him?" she asked, her tone deceptively sweet.

"To my father," Lia answered after a moment's hesitation. "Please get out of my way, Riana." Her voice shook just a little.

Riana stared at Lia for a long moment, her expression unreadable. "He's not yours yet," she told her. Then, she looked at Cam. "As soon as you get bored with little Lia, come and find me. I'll show you what a real woman is like." She gave a flirtatious smile, then turned and walked slowly away, swinging her hips a little.

Cam let out a breath he hadn't even realised he'd been holding as Riana moved out of sight. Something about her made him nervous. He was pretty sure that she wasn't a nice person.

Lia was just standing there. Cam blinked. "Um... Are you all right?" he asked cautiously. If this was a proper dream, then he might as well make the most of it. If not...

Well, he would worry about that later.

Lia took a deep breath, and straightened her shoulders. "I'm fine," she responded. But she let go of Cam's hand, and, for some reason, that bothered the green samurai ranger.

"Follow me," Lia said shortly, and started walking again.

Not sure what else to do, Cam followed her.

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Dustin's lips grazed Cally's as they sat on the sofa, curled up closer than they had been for quite a while. There was a film on, but both had stopped paying attention to it a while ago.

Dustin's hands slid over Cally's back, pressing the violet light ranger closer to him. He pulled back from kissing her, only to return a moment later with more force.

Cally felt a little giddy from the sensation of being kissed by Dustin. She'd forgotten what it felt like to be kissed by someone who loved you as much as you loved them.

Cally wasn't sure what had changed that night. She had originally promised herself not to bring up the subject of their relationship until Dustin did, but something had snapped inside her earlier.

"You ok?" Dustin murmured against her lips.

Cally nodded slightly. She didn't want to ruin the moment, but she had to ask, "Does this mean that you've forgiven me?"

The yellow wind ranger laughed a little, but his arms tightened around Cally, showing just how important he felt her question was. "Yes, it does," he said firmly, sincerely. "It took me a while to properly be able to forgive you... But I have now." Even as he said it, Dustin realised that it was the truth. No false reassurances.

Cally stared at Dustin for a long moment, then her eyes filled with tears. She leaned into Dustin, feeling his hand gently stroke her hair. She felt a wave of relief wash over her, and her mind was finally able to relax.

Forgiven.

Before, Cally had never really seen what the act of forgiving could do to people. She had understood that forgiveness was a good thing, but she had never got why it seemed to make people act so free, like a great weight had been lifted from them.

Now, though, Cally understood. She guessed that it was like being on death row, and then finding out that your life was going to be spared. It was somewhat more than that, but that was the best way the violet light ranger could think of to describe how she felt, having been finally forgiven by Dustin.

Dustin kissed the top of Cally's head, and then rested his forehead against hers. "I love you, Cally," he whispered. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," the violet light ranger responded.

Dustin continued to hold Cally for a while. Then, he gave a soft sigh, and released her. "I'd better get going," he said. "It's getting quite late."

Cally hesitated, then nodded slowly. "Be careful," she said. "Don't get into any trouble, ok?"

"I won't." Dustin kissed her. "You really need to get some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow." The yellow wind ranger stood up, and walked out of the front door.

Outside, it was really dark. Dustin shivered a little, kind of wishing that he'd thought to bring his car with him. He'd thought that he'd be all right walking, but it was really late. He couldn't exactly use his speed abilities, because they weren't allowed to use their ninja powers for personal gain.

Dustin was some distance away from the house Cally, Faye, and David shared when he realised that he was being followed.

The yellow wind ranger turned round, his fingers already moving towards his communicator so that he could call the others to come and help him.

However, before Dustin could do so, whatever was following him lunged. The last thing he felt before he lost consciousness was sharp fangs piercing his throat.

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Read and review, please!

Ok, I wasn't going to ask this, but if I don't, I'll really lose interest in this fic.

Anyone reviewing, I'd like you to do something for me. Could you please write what you like about this fic? Then, for each of the original characters, could you write, in your opinion, one good quality they have, and one bad quality? Please.

It would be a tremendous help to me if you could