Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:

Tobi finds himself in a strange world with nothing but humans. When he confronts Dustin, Hunter and Blake, they claim not to know him and he's taken to Ninja Ops unconscious. After a battle, the Power Rangers (who are good in this dimension) return and Tori meets her twin brother...

Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 3 (Twins)

"My twin brother?" Tori repeated in disbelief. "What are you guys talking about?" She laughed a little, like it was some kind of a joke.

"He's from a parallel dimension," Cam explained.

"Wait a minute," Tori commented. "That giant moth we just beat sent me to a parallel dimension where the Power Rangers were bad and Lothor and his gang were good. Marah and Kapri were hippies and everything."

"Sounds like a totally chillin' place," Cyber Cam said, "except for the whole Power Rangers being bad part."

Cam walked over and deactivated Cyber Cam, causing him to vanish in a fading set of horizontal lines. "It does sound like the same dimension to me," the real Cam commented.

"So, he's like Tori's evil twin?" Dustin asked.

"Sounds like one of Lothor's tricks," Hunter suggested.

"Why are you guys talking about me like I'm not even here?" Tobi demanded.

"Sorry dude," Dustin replied. "So, are you like... evil?"

"I wish," Tobi muttered.

"I'm not sure we can trust him," Tori said. "I mean, the other versions of us were total creeps."

"All of them?" Blake asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah," Tori replied. "Especially you."

"Tor, Blake began, "I—"

"We should at least like give him a chance," Dustin offered.

"Dustin, dude," Shane warned. "Don't forget about—"

"I haven't forgotten about Marah," Dustin replied hotly. "I just think..." He looked at Tobi, making him feel like he might melt. "We should give him a chance, that's all."

The others may have still been jerks, but this Dustin was different. He trusted Tobi and that meant a lot to him.

"If he doesn't belong in our dimension," Hunter began, "maybe we can send him back."

Tobi thought about that and he wasn't sure he wanted to go back just yet. Sure, everything was strange and everyone acted weird, but there was something to these new Power Rangers—especially Dustin.

"With Goldwinger destroyed, I don't know that we can send him back," Cam explained. "If that's what he wants." He looked questioningly at Tobi.

Tobi looked from Cam to the others. "I'll stay," he finally said.

"Why are we giving this guy a choice?" Hunter asked.

"We gave you and Blake a choice and you two have proven invaluable to the team," Sensei explained.

"Maybe Sensei's right," Shane said. "I'm just not sure if this is one of those times to trust or be cautious."

"Me neither," Tori agreed.

Tobi knew that he needed to get his sister alone if there was any hope of getting her to trust him. He wasn't sure about the others, but (except for Dustin) he didn't really care a whole lot about them. "Tori, I need to talk to you... alone," Tobi said.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Tor," Blake immediately spoke up.

"I think I can handle myself," Tori said with a grin, "but thanks for your concern."

"Maybe one of us should go with you," Shane offered.

"What part of alone doesn't make sense to you?" Tobi asked, rolling his eyes at how ridiculous it was that these wimpy Power Rangers thought he was such a threat. He would have felt flattered if he hadn't seen that it took six of them to beat one alien.

"A ninja's strength comes from one's ability to assess a situation and then follow one's instincts," Sensei advised. "What do your instincts tell you, Tori?"

Tori stared at Tobi for a moment. "My instincts tell me he's definitely my twin." She looked him up and down. "And I can take him."

A grin curled up on Tobi's mouth. This was his sister alright.

"Let's go in the training room," Tori suggested. "Nothing can break in there."

Tobi stood up and his sister led him toward a door.

"Watch your back, Tor," Blake warned.

Once they were alone, Tori turned to Tobi. "Okay, I'm listening," she said.

"It's nice to finally be with you, Tori," he said, an obvious sense of relief in his voice. "You wouldn't believe what I've been through."

She smiled. "I probably would."

"Right," he said. "What did you think of reality—I mean, the other reality?"

"It was... interesting," she said, making a face. "I wouldn't want to live there."

Tobi looked surprised. "Why not?"

"Well, for one, the Power Rangers were just a bunch of trouble makers," she said as if it was obvious.

"Yeah, they can be real jerks, but at least it doesn't take six rangers to defeat one alien," he pointed out.

"It was kind of weird helping Lothor and a bunch of monsters defeat the Power Rangers," Tori admitted.

"What?" Tobi asked. "I thought the mayor was too afraid of the Power Rangers and everyone knows monsters are even wimpier than kelzaks."

She laughed. "I convinced Lothor that it was his job as mayor to protect the city. It was really weird, but now I'm back to a world where the Power Rangers are the good guys and monsters don't play with beach balls."

"And that's so much better?" Tobi asked skeptically. "I mean, I don't mind that not all of you guys are jerks, but every alien, kelzak and monster is evil? What, do animals attack too? Puppy dogs peeing in people's faces and all that?"

"Not yet, thankfully, but I wouldn't put it past Lothor," she said with a nervous laugh.

"Tori," he began, trying to find the right words, "this Dustin is really different and I was just wondering if he's different in a certain way."

"If you mean, is he an air head instead of 'the smart one,' then yes,," she explained. "But he's also very trusting, so I'm probably not letting you alone with him just yet."

"Oh," Tobi replied. "I just thought... maybe this Dustin was into guys?"

She stared at him blankly for a moment. "Oh my god," she gasped. "You have a crush on Dustin."

"Since we were kids," he replied.

"What? How—Oh, right," she realized. "So, you're... gay? Bi?"

"Gay," he answered. "But, what about Dustin?"

"I haven't caught him checking any guys out," she admitted. "You know, you don't really seem gay. Well, maybe except for the hair."

"What's wrong with my hair? Cam said the same thing. The real—the other Cam that is." He paused. "This is so weird."

"Tell me about it," Tori said with a smile. "I have a twin brother. And he has a crush on one of my best friends." Something occurred to her and her expression changed. "Are we—you and the other me—close?"

"Of course," Tobi replied. "If it wasn't for your crush on Blake, it would have probably been just the two of us."

"Wait, the other me has a crush on Blake?" she asked.

"You mean, you don't?"

"I guess he's kind of cute and he can be nice at times…" she admitted, blushing.

"Not as cute as Dustin when he's frustrated, though," Tobi added.

"I don't know about that," she argued. "Not to knock Dustin or anything. He's really nice and he'd be a great catch for any girl—or guy, but Blake has a better butt."

"I so disagree!" Tobi scoffed. "Dustin's butt is legendary!"

"If you say so," Tori said with a grin before straightening up. "The others probably think you killed me by now or something."

"Right," Tobi agreed, a nervous look in his eyes.

"You're afraid of them," she realized.

"No," he replied defensively. "That's stupid. I'm not afraid of those punks. Just because they don't trust me—"

"I'm starting to think the whole tough guy thing is just an act," Tori accused. "Maybe you had to be that way before, but you don't now."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Tobi defended. "I am tough."

"Of course you are." She smiled. "Let's go."

As the twins retuned to the others, the remaining rangers turned around from their position of being huddled around Cam's computer monitor.

"I'm surprised one of you didn't try to break down the door," Tori commented.

"Cam put you guys on monitor so we could see you were alright," Shane explained.

Both Tobi and his sister gave the group a quick, panicked look. "You mean you were listening to our conversation?" Tori asked.

"Dude, we would never do that," Dustin replied defensively, but the look from the others suggested that's exactly what they wanted to do.

"I had the volume off," Cam assured them.

"Right, then," Tori replied, relieved. "I don't think Tobi is a threat, but he'll still need a chance to prove himself." Her eyes wandered to Blake for a moment as she thought about her conversation with Tobi. "What do you guys suggest?"

"We could tie him up," Hunter offered.

"What is it with you and bondage?" Tobi asked.

Hunter just glared at him.

"Cam can make a lie detector," Shane said.

"Thanks for your faith in me," Cam replied, "but—"

"I know! We could do a test of endurance or something like that," Dustin suggested.

"What are you into, man?" Shane asked.

Tobi immediately thought he was asking him what gender he preferred. Maybe Shane was even coming on to him. He felt his cheeks flush, so he tried to regain his composure.

"Dude, you're like turning red," Shane pointed out. "I was just asking if you were into any sports or that kind of thing."

"Oh," Tobi replied. "I'm good at surfing and wakeboarding."

"What about skateboarding?" Shane suggested.

"Skateboarding and surfing aren't real—" Blake began before he noticed Tori watching and added, "Well, surfing's okay, but what about a real sport like motocross?"

"Since when is surfing not a real sport?" Tori defended, looking at Tobi and mouthing something, as if to say, "I'm supposed to have a crush on this guy?"

"What's Dustin into?" Tobi suddenly asked.

"I'm totally into motocross," Dustin replied.

"You know, I don't know much about motocross," Tobi admitted. "That's with motorcycles or bikes or something like that, right? Maybe you can teach me." He grinned suggestively toward Dustin.

"Smooth," Hunter mumbled with a roll of his eyes.

"Sure!" Dustin replied excitedly. "You'll totally love it!"

"Then it's settled," Tori announced. "While you guys get dirty, I'll be practicing an almost real sport—surfing." She intentionally glared at Blake.

"Wait up, Tor," Blake replied, standing. "I'm sorry about what I said. Can I come too?"

"If you want," Tori agreed, hiding a grin.

"You're not coming with us?" Hunter asked his brother.

Blake put a hand on his shoulder and seemed to be conveying something without words to Hunter. "I'll catch you later," Blake finally said.

Before they left Ninja Ops, Tobi caught his sister. "They're acting even stranger now," he whispered. "How do you know they weren't listening in on our conversation earlier?"

"Because Dustin never lies," Tori replied.

"He doesn't?" Tobi couldn't help but be shocked.

"Well, he does play dumb sometimes to avoid the truth," she admitted. "Now you have me wondering if Dustin has secrets or if he's really as open as he seems."

And, as Tori and Blake left, Tobi hoped Dustin had at least one secret he was keeping and—if he did—Tobi was determined to find out if it was what he hoped it was.

To be continued...