Disclaimer: I don't own the Power Rangers. So don't try to buy them from me. Please don't get all offended because I mocked your favorite Ranger. I try to mock them all. Besides, it's just for fun. I really do enjoy the show :). 'Hi" to all from AFPR…especially my fellow Psychos. Please let me know if I make any errors. I have no difficulty with receiving constructive criticism. Thanks to Joe Rovang and SirStack for their Writer's Guide to the Power Rangers Universe which I rely on a lot.

If you haven't done so, please read the first fifty stories in "When Rangers Meet." Thanks.

This is story number forty-eight.

Cassie and Tori

by

Eileen (Psycho Tangerine)

"Thank you, thank you," Cassie told the exiting woman. "I'll call you when I buy an accordion and begin playing the 'Beer Barrel Polka.'" She sighed to herself. "Twenty-seven auditions and not one person who can dance to my songs. Perhaps I should just forget about having back-up dancers." She looked at her clipboard. "Next?"

The sole auditioner in the room looked to the left then to the right. She then pointed to herself. "Me?"

"No, the blue ghost on your right," snapped Cassie sarcastically. It really had been a long day. And having her feet stomped on by those clog dancers really hadn't helped her mood.

"Oh, okay," replied Tori looking a bit askance at the older woman, wondering if working for an insane woman was really worth it. But then she remembered that she had spent the year's budget on her surfboard collection and that she needed to earn some money before Blake got home from the racing circuit. If there was no money left at the end of the year for new motorbike decals, there would be hell to pay…she would be banned from surfing for two whole weeks. Tori shuddered at the thought. Then she looked to her right. "Good luck, uh, Mr. Ghost."

Cassie rolled her eyes. Great, just great, only one more dancer left and it had to be an idiot. "Get over here, Blondie."

Tori complied. "Actually, my name is Tori, Tori Hanson," she smiled as she held out her hand.

"Nice to meet you, Tori Tori Hanson," responded Cassie absentmindedly as she studied the clipboard. "Hmmmm…according to this, you were in a dance contest once…."

"Actually, it was a talent show. Totally Talented. I was on it with the other Power Ra….uh Raccoons," Tori finished lamely in an attempt to cover up her major slip.

"So what is that, some tenth-rate high school dance club?" asked Cassie, oblivious to what Tori had almost said. "Did you win?"

Tori paused in thought at that. "Oh, yeah, I won first place," she lied. "I was the best one there. So I won this big gigantic trophy."

"Really? Sounds great. When was this?" Cassie sat at her laptop and began to bring up some information about the show.

"Last year on October 16. And the other guys were horribly jealous. Hunter and Blake began rapping about how much I stunk. And I don't even want to tell you where Dustin threatened to stick his stupid saxophone." She leaned back against the wall. "Yeah, definitely jealous." Tori was so involved in her personal fantasy world, that she didn't even notice Cassie flipping through her laptop.

"Really?" asked Cassie disbelievingly. "Well, according to the Totally Talented web site, there was no winner. Seemed two evil space girls almost won, but they were caught cheating by a Power Ranger named Tori Hanson. And, the other acts were so stupid that the emcee decided that no one deserved to win."

"Ah, that wussy baby wanted to get out of there, just because Kapri and Marah were shooting a few little lightning bolts. If he had stayed, I would've been declared the winner."

"Sure, sure, keep thinking that. We all need our...Hey!" Cassie cried as something occurred to her. "That Power Ranger has a name similar to yours, Tori Tori. Isn't that something?"

Tori blinked at this. "Uh, sure, if you say so."

"Anyway, let's see you dance." Cassie settled herself on a chair and pointed to the empty floor area.

"Sure!" cried Tori with great enthusiasm. She ran into the middle of the room and began spinning and jumping all over the room.

"Stop! Stop!" hollered Cassie. "What the hell was that? You look like you're trying to shake sand out of your underwear."

Tori sheepishly kicked the small pile of sand to the side. She really shouldn't have gone surfing just before this. "Oh, uh, that was just a warm-up. Besides, I usually have music to dance to."

"Oh, of course," cried Cassie with great enthusiasm. She grabbed her microphone. "Are you ready?"

"Sure!"

"Confusion, confusion, confusion, confusion, confusion..."

Tori fell over with her hands clasped to her ears. "That's awful! Besides I heard you got rid of that song because it was hypnotizing people."

Cassie smiled at that. "Oh, no, I just had a lot of requests to bring it back." She decided not to mention that the real reason she had started singing it again was in the hopes that somewhere, somehow, the Phantom Ranger would hear it, get mesmerized, and come running to her...Then, she would rip the jerk's ruby out of his chest and toss it into the ocean. Imagine, making her wait so long for him to return.

"Well, it's horrible," complained Tori. "I can't dance to something so tuneless."

"You mean, you can't dance, period," retorted Cassie.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Ha!" sneered Tori, "My dancing is a hundred times better than your singing."

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Well then," said Cassie, "I challenge you to a singing-dance off!"

"I accept!" replied Tori.

For next two hours, all passers-by heard was the sound of caterwauling, thudding, and crashes emanating from the building.