Author's Note: I'm glad you like the story, JDTB90, but if you're torn wanting Dustin/Hunter but sympathizing with Dustin/Tobi, this chapter probably won't help. It's all about Dustin/Tobi. I'll throw the Dustin/Hunter fans something in a future chapter. This story is, after all, from Tobi's perspective. Personally, it's my favorite chapter so far. So, on to the story...

Has anyone noticed that my chapter titles are starting to resemble Magic Tree House book titles?

Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:

After some fighting foreplay, Tobi confesses that he's gay to Dustin and reveals that he thinks Hunter is too. He then accidentally exposes himself to Dustin and Hunter, who both freak out. Meanwhile, all the remains of Goldwinger are missing. Later, before Blake and Tori go on a date, Blake reveals that Hunter has a crush on Dustin. Since both Hunter and Dustin are at the track together, Tobi fears the worst, that he's scared Dustin off straight into Hunter's open arms. He then goes to his room and mopes...

Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 7 (Dustin in the Dark)

Tobi awoke with his head on the floor and the rest of his body twisted uncomfortably over the side of his cot in the training room at Ninja Ops. He had a habit of falling asleep in strange positions, so he awoke and wandered out to see what time it was.

As he walked, the events of a few hours earlier came back to him. Had it been a dream or had he really scared off Dustin (and possibly sent him to Hunter)?

When he entered Ninja Ops' main room, he wasn't surprised to see Cam sitting at his computer, but he was surprised by what was on the screen. It was a 3D model of Dustin and it was completely nude! As the model spun from his gorgeous backside to his front, Tobi gasped. Dustin was hung!

Cam fumbled nervously with his computer and the screen quickly changed to a map of Blue Bay Harbor. He spun around in his chair and sighed. "You scared me. I thought you were my father."

"Sorry," Tobi said, approaching Cam and leaning against his chair. "So, I see you're working on Cyber Dustin's essentials."

"Yeah," Cam said, embarrassed. "I feel kind of bad after all that's happened."

"So, I didn't dream scaring Dustin off," Tobi realized.

"No," Cam answered sympathetically.

"What time is it?" Tobi asked, looking for a clock somewhere on Cam's screen.

"It's a little after ten thirty," Cam answered. "You slept through the rest of the day. I guess you were pretty worn out."

Tobi's expression fell. "Yeah, guess so," he said. "So, did Dustin and—or Hunter come back while I was out?"

"No, just Shane, but he's gone now," Cam explained.

"I guess my sister went on her date already," Tobi suggested.

"Yes, she did," Cam replied coldly.

Tobi put an arm around Cam's shoulder. "Listen, I'm sorry about Tori. I'll try harder to hook you guys up."

Cam looked at Tobi's arm nervously and then down to his pink sweatpants. "At least you finally put on some pants, but pink?"

Tobi removed his arm and looked down. "Yeah, I had a little wardrobe malfunction. That's how Dustin and Hunter saw my Tobinator, aka Tobi's Tower of Terror, aka the Eiffel Tober, aka—"

"I understand," Cam interrupted.

"Well, don't let me interrupt your work," Tobi said, stretching and buttoning his shirt, as he was a little chilly. "Where is Dustin, by the way?" he asked casually.

"He's at his house," Cam answered after glancing briefly at his screen. Tobi studied the location carefully.

"And... Hunter?" Tobi asked cautiously.

"They're not together, if that's what you're asking," Cam said. "Hunter is at his and Blake's place."

Tobi let out a sigh of relief before considering something. "I'm going to go out for a walk," he said, turning around.

"At a quarter to eleven at night?" Cam asked suspiciously.

"Well, yeah, I slept so long that I need a little fresh air before I can get back to sleep," he replied.

Cam sighed. "At least take this." He handed Tobi what looked like a mock-up morpher.

"Oh, wow!" Tobi cried, taking it and immediately attaching it to his left wrist. "Does this mean I'm a Power Ranger now? How do you activate it?"

"It's just a communicator in case you get into any trouble," Cam explained.

"Oh," Tobi replied, disappointed. "Well, I'll be going now," he said, leaving.

Once ha was gone, Cam pressed a button and watched the map on his screen track Tobi's movements.

Tobi had studied the map on Cam's screen when he was tracking where Dustin was and figured out that he lived in the same house in this dimension that he did in the other, so Tobi had come up with the lame excuse of needing fresh air in order to find Dustin. He needed to know some things and talking to Dustin seemed his only option.

As he walked out of the woods and through the dark, he thought he felt someone following him, so he spun around only to find a deserted sidewalk. A couple cars drove past him and he shook off the feeling.

Dustin's house was in a neighborhood on the other side of an undeveloped field with some construction equipment scattered here and here, so Tobi cut across the poorly lit field in order to reach Dustin before he turned in for the night.

"Tobi," a familiar voice suddenly called out to him.

He paused and turned to see a figure standing in the shadows. A chill ran up his spine and he fought the urge to run. "Who are you?" he called out, trying to sound tough.

"It's me, little brother," the figure replied.

He squinted through the darkness. "Tori?" he asked, slowly approaching the figure. "What are you doing here?"

"Nevermind that," she replied hastily. "I need to ask you some questions."

"Okay, I guess," he said, stopping in front of the figure. It definitely looked and sounded like his sister, but something...

"First, who's the mayor of Blue Bay Harbor?" she asked.

Tobi thought about that. "I don't know," he confessed. "I only got here a couple days ago after all."

"Got here from...?" she asked.

"From my dimension," he answered. "Why are you acting so weird?"

"One more question," she continued. "How many kelzaks does it take to change a lightbulb?"

"Tori!" Tobi gasped, suddenly running the two steps separating them and grabbing her tightly.

"Ease up," she scolded, glancing around nervously.

"I knew you hadn't been 'canceled out'," Tobi said gleefully. "So, have you been in this dimension the whole time?" he asked, pulling away briefly. "Why didn't you come try to find me?"

"I told you it's him," came a voice from behind Tobi. "Like, what are you waiting for?"

Tobi spun around to see a girl with bizarre black hair and what looked like bug eyes attached to her forehead.

"Fine! We'll do this the hard way," the girl said.

Suddenly about a dozen kelzaks appeared out of nowhere and surrounded Tobi. He just stood there for a moment until it clicked that kelzaks were mean in this dimension instead of timid and helpful.

He took up a fighting stance, but the kelzaks were a lot stronger than he had expected and they easily grabbed him by the arms and legs.

"Just hold him there," the girl instructed as she removed the communicator from Tobi's wrist.

"What are you doing?" Tobi asked, trying to fight against the kelzaks, but their grips felt like iron.

"Just bringing uncle a little present," she said, reaching for something on her own wrist.

Before she could transport them all away, something struck her and she tumbled to the ground. At first, Tobi assumed it was his sister coming to his rescue, but then he heard the distinct sound of her gasping. The next thing he knew, the kelzaks that had been holding him down were flying in all directions.

Not wanting to seem like the poor damsel in distress, Tobi quickly jointed the fight, punching and kicking the nearest kelzaks.

Then, just as suddenly as they had appeared, they were all gone, including the strange girl and his sister. "Tori!" he called out, but he knew it was too late.

"No, it's me, dude," a voice answered.

He turned to see Dustin in his yellow Power Ranger suit with the visor on the front of his helmet open.

"You dropped this," Dustin said, holding out the morpher shaped communicator that Cam had given him.

"Thanks," Tobi muttered, taking the communicator and reattaching it to his wrist. "Did you see who was with the kelzaks?"

"Yeah," Dustin said. "I saw Marah and I assume the other was Kapri. But why were they after you?"

Tobi realized that Dustin hadn't seen the Tori from his dimension and he knew that—if she was working with someone who used kelzaks—she was probably working for Lothor, the sworn enemy of this dimension's Power Rangers. So, he decided to keep what he had seen to himself. "I don't know," he answered.

"Come on," Dustin said, looking around before morphing back into his regular clothes. "I live nearby. Dude, you're like so lucky I went out for a jog when I did."

"Yeah, thanks," Tobi replied, "but I had those kelzaks almost beat."

Dustin laughed. "You were about to use your Twilight Zone powers. Am I right?"

"Totally," Tobi agreed, following Dustin back to his house.

Once the two reached Dustin's house, Dustin snuck Tobi in quietly and escorted him to his room.

At first, Tobi thought Dustin must share his room with a little brother he had in this dimension or something. There were comic books and action figures scattered everywhere. Pizza boxes and dirty laundry littered the floor. On the walls there were a few motocross posters put up almost as an afterthought.

While Tobi looked around, Dustin used his morpher to call Cam. "Yeah, he's fine," Dustin assured Cam. "I still don't know why they were after him."

"I'll monitor the area," Cam replied from Dustin's wrist. "So, do you want us to come pick him up or do you want to swing by?"

"I'd feel... safer if I could stay with you," Tobi quickly chimed in, putting down a Power Ranger Time Force green ranger action figure.

Dustin looked at Tobi nervously. "I guess he'll be okay here," he told Cam.

"Alright," Cam said. "Let me know if you need reinforcements."

"Yeah, goodnight, dude," Dustin said before pressing a button and lowering his wrist.

"Nice room," Tobi commented.

Dustin looked around nervously. "Sorry it's a mess."

"No, it's cool," Tobi said, picking up a comic book with a picture of the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers running in the center and Rita Repulsa's face hovering over them ominously. "So, the Power Rangers are always the good guys?" he asked.

"Not always," Dustin said, taking the comic from him and flipping through the pages while he sat on the edge of his unmade bed. "There were like evil rangers and dark rangers and all that stuff too."

Tobi walked over and sat on the edge of Dustin's bed next to him. He moved aside the yellow blanket and found a stuffed lion.

"Oh," Dustin said, embarrassed. He set the comic on his bed and took the stuffed animal. "His name's Leo," he explained, stroking the lion's mane. "It's short for Leonardo da Vinci."

"I see," was all Tobi said. This Dustin was so different, but yet there was something still so compelling about him. "So, I see you have at least some posters for motocross," Tobi said, looking around.

"Yeah," Dustin said, also looking around the room. "I wasn't always into motocross."

"But Power Rangers?" Tobi asked.

"Yeah, pretty much," he admitted. "I like a lot of sci fi too. Like, here, dude, check this out." He set down Leo and quickly bounced over to what was probably a desk underneath all the miscellaneous junk. He pulled out a small robot.

"Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!" the robot said, lighting up and flailing its arms wildly.

Tobi giggled before noticing something. "Pinky and the Brain!" he shouted, grabbing two toy mice.

"So, they had Pinky and the Brain back in your dimension?" Dustin asked.

"Of course!" Tobi replied. "So, which one did you relate to?"

"Brain, of course," Dustin answered, taking the figures from Tobi.

"Right," Tobi said, giving him a suspicious look. "So, how many people get to see your room?" he asked, looking around.

"Besides my family, just Shane and Tori," Dustin answered. "It's kind of like... embarrassing."

"Well, I like it!" Tobi said. He looked at Dustin, the light from his bedside lamp making his features exaggerated. His eyes shined back at him and his skin looked darker. His hair looked black as night.

Dustin looked away suddenly and Tobi realized he had been staring.

"I was just... wondering if you're okay," Tobi said slowly. "I'm sorry about... exposing myself."

Dustin blushed enough to be seen even in the room's single light. "Yeah, dude," he said, looking away. "I'm fine. It just..."

"What?" Tobi asked.

"I guess I like got a little freaked," he said.

Tobi thought of something. "So, you went to the track? Did you talk to Hunter?"

Dustin grimaced and ran a hand through his already messy hair. "I... I didn't ask if he... likes guys."

"Oh," Tobi replied, relief clear in his voice.

"I guess I just thought he'd tell me if he wanted me to know," Dustin continued. "It's not any of my business anyway."

"Oh," Tobi said again. "So, you're not attracted to him?"

Dustin looked at Tobi and stuttered. "I like him and I like you and I like both of you, but I don't know if I like like Hunter or you." He wiped his forehead nervously. "He's… and you're… but I don't think I like guys, like as in like like them."

"So, you've never even once wondered what it would be like to be with a guy?" Tobi asked, rubbing Dustin's shoulder suggestively and breathing on his neck.

Dustin looked at Tobi's arm nervously. "I... I..." he stuttered.

Tobi could tell that he was making him uncomfortable, so he lowered his arm and walked over and sat back down on his bed. When he looked up, it almost looked like Dustin was about to cry. "Dustin?" Tobi asked. "Are you okay?"

Dustin looked away quickly.

"Look, I'm really sorry," Tobi said, standing and walking back over to Dustin. He reached out and carefully put a hand on Dustin's side in an attempt to turn him and see if he really was crying.

Dustin shook off Tobi's touch. "I thought you were different," he mumbled.

"Different?" Tobi repeated. "I am different. I'm from another dimension and I'm gay, remember?"

"Not that," Dustin said, turning around so that his shining dark eyes met Tobi's. "You just want to use me, to take advantage of me. I'm not stupid. You like guys and you want me to like guys because you like me. Like like," he clarified.

"Dustin, I—" Tobi began, but Dustin just looked away. For some reason, this frustrated him. "Look, I know you're not stupid!" he shouted. "I've always known there was so much more to you and yes, I like you—like like you—and I want you to feel the same way, but I'm not going to jump you in your sleep. I love you too much for that." He stopped himself suddenly and covered his mouth.

"You... love me?" Dustin asked, now surprise reflecting in his still wet eyes.

"Just forget I said that part," Tobi insisted. "The point is, I'm not going to take advantage of you."

Dustin's eyes fell to the floor and he walked over and sat on the edge of his bed. "I'm sorry, dude," he said softly, picking up Leo. "It's just that... a lot of people I've cared about have tricked me and used me. I just get so sick of it."

"Oh," Tobi said, sitting down next to Dustin. He looked at Dustin and then let out a long sigh. "I feel like I owe you the whole truth," he began.

Dustin turned to him and watched with impatient eyes.

Tobi nervously poked Leo in his open mouth, but Dustin moved Leo's arm and made it slap Tobi's finger away. "So, yeah," Tobi said, removing his finger. "The truth is that I've had a crush on you since we were kids. I mean, I had a crush on the other Dustin. And then I came here and you were so different that I thought I must only still like you because I was just superficially attracted to you. I mean, you're hot in any dimension!"

Dustin blushed and fidgeted.

"But then I got to know this you and you're not that different," Tobi continued. "You're just geeky in a different kind of way. Sure, there are some details like your eating habits that are totally different, but all the differences are unimportant things. Everything that makes you you is still the same. You're someone very special. It's kind of strange that I had to meet this different version of you to finally be able to admit to you and to myself that I love you. But you're just so… radiant… I don't know how to explain it." He paused, looking down. "And I feel... ashamed for trying to seduce you. Yes, I want to have sex with you." Now it was Tobi's turn to blush. "But, not if you don't want to. The truth is, if you flat out said you don't find me the least bit attractive and never want to so much as give each other hand jobs, I'll accept that. I'll just have to settle for a Cyber Dustin for those things, but I would never want to use you. I would never hurt you."

Dustin sat there, speechless.

"So, I just left the door wide open for you to tell me I'm an ugly dude and you don't like dudes," Tobi added.

Dustin smiled. "You're not ugly, dude," he said softly.

Tobi's eyes widened. Was this really happening? He felt faint.

Dustin brushed Tobi's hair aside. "You'd be really cute... as a girl," he said, now smiling wide.

Tobi's expression changed in an instant and he grabbed Dustin's pillow and smacked him with it.

"Dude!" Dustin protested, blocking him. "I thought you didn't want to hurt me!"

Suddenly a noise came from outside Dustin's bedroom door.

"Shhh!" Dustin whispered. "Hide!" He reached over and turned off the light.

With the room in darkness, Tobi couldn't do much more than dive into a pile of trash in the corner of Dustin's room.

Dustin's door creaked open and a figure peaked inside. "Waldo, are you alight honey?" a caring voice asked.

"I'm fine," came Dustin's response from the darkness. "I guess I was just having a nightmare."

"I thought they had went away," his mother's voice said with concern. "Do you want me to plug in your old nightlight?"

"No!" Dustin said quickly. "I'm fine, mom. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, honey. I love you."

"I love you too," Dustin said before the door closed.

"So, you love a girl, huh?" Tobi accused.

"Dude, she's my mom!" Dustin defended.

"At least you know that you can love someone and not want to trick them or use them," Tobi pointed out.

Dustin was quiet for a moment.

Tobi climbed out of his hiding place and stumbled in the dark.

"You okay?" Dustin asked.

"Yeah," Tobi said, sitting on the floor.

Dustin was quiet for a while and Tobi wondered if he had drifted off to sleep. He briefly thought about climbing into bed with him, but then figured he'd freak out when he woke up and accuse Tobi of trying to take advantage of him. Instead, he settled onto the floor.

He heard Dustin turn over and could feel him watching him through the darkness.

"I'm glad we're... friends," Tobi said quietly, just in case Dustin was asleep.

"So am I, Twilight Zone Tobi," Dustin replied.

Tobi smiled and tried to get comfortable.

"And," Dustin added, "if I were into guys, I'd defiantly like like you. Goodnight."

Tobi's heart leapt out of his chest as he drifted off to sleep.

To be continued...

Author's Note: I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I hope you enjoyed reading it.

ATTENTION: I've created a new poll. At the top left of this page, click on Rogue Ranger. My profile will load. At the top of that page it has a poll that asks: Who should Dustin end up with? Click Vote Now! Thanks!