Thanks Ghostwriter for another review. Glad you like it and hope I'm churning them out fast enough. Don't get used to this after the holidays are over though!
Thanks Magichalo for another review. It's like a soap opera! And, yes, I know Tobi keeps meddling with Dustin/Hunter, but that's what happens when you're in love. It's like an addiction. Kind of like me not wanting to ever reach the end of this story.
Thanks YellowPrincess for not wanting to kill me after chapter 14. I did try to warn you. I hope your heart is still working properly. So, yeah, will Tobi turn traitor to the others or to his own twin sister? In the position we left him in last chapter, he's going to have to make a choice. Will he realize that and... What am I talking about? Let's just get on with the story and find out!
Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:
After finding out that Tori had sex with Blake, Tobi decides to check in on Dustin, but he has no plans of having sex with Hunter. Meanwhile, Cam is depressed and Tobi sympathizes with him. After Tori and Blake have sex again, Tori says she wants to spend the night with Tobi. She seems to be in a hurry to get him to fall asleep. After a heart to heart where she says he belongs in this dimension, they go to sleep. Then, during the night, Tobi awakens to find his sister having Cyber Dustin hide any entry made into this dimension. Tobi confronts her that he knows the truth. She's his dimension's version of Tori But she says he would never betray his real sister...
Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 16 (Two Toris and Two Traitors?)
Tobi continued to stare at his sister with his arms folded across his chest while she grinned back at him. She had a point. She was his real twin sister and he had swapped morphers for her, but he regretted that. "I betrayed this dimension's version of you once," he told her. "I'm not going to do it again." He tried to make his voice sound confident.
"Of course you are!" she insisted. "Besides, didn't you just tell me how heartbroken you are here? Sure, you may fit in with the wimps here, but they'll never fully accept or trust you because you don't belong here."
"You're wrong!" he yelled. He hadn't meant to yell and wasn't sure why he had, so he covered his mouth.
"That's the Tobi I know," she said, playfully slapping his arm.
He glared at her.
She shrugged and took another approach. "So, Tobi, tell me which of these losers—I mean, these people," she corrected, "in this dimension love you?"
He thought about that but didn't have an answer.
"Exactly," she said. "Who has always been there for you? Who saved your life during the last Zord attack?"
Tobi frowned. "You didn't save everyone, but thanks," he relented, changing his tone. "Just tell me that this dimension's Tori's okay." He gave her a pleading look.
She sighed. "She's fine. I just wish you cared about me as much as her."
"I do care about you," he insisted, "but there's something about this dimension..."
"Yeah," she agreed. "Blake's easier to bed. Apparently even you made out with him."
"Besides that," he scolded. "So, what's your plan?"
"Why do you want to know?" she asked, narrowing her eyes, "because you care or because you want to tell these guys?"
"Because I care," he declared.
"Well," she began, thinking, "that's good because, if I don't complete my plan, you'll never see this dimension's version of me."
He stared at her in disbelief and horror.
"I'm not making threats," she defended. "I'm just saying I doubt Lothor will let her go without me."
He thought about that before asking again, "So, why are you here? Sabotage? Or just Blake?"
She grinned. "Well, Blake was a bonus," she admitted,, "but otherwise I'm just bait."
"Bait?" he asked.
"In case our Power Rangers need a reason to attack these guys," she explained.
"So, they 'rescue' you?" he asked.
"If it comes to that," she replied.
"And me being here wasn't good enough?" he suggested.
"Well, okay, so I do have some things to take care of while I'm here," she admitted.
"And what's that?" he asked her.
"You'll find out soon enough," she replied, smiling. "I'd hate to spoil the surprise. You know how much you like surprises."
"It depends on the surprise," he pointed out.
She shrugged. "Now, let's get some sleep," she insisted. "We're going to be woken up really early."
"How do you know?" he asked as she proceeded to lie down on her cot.
"I guess it depends on if things go according to plan or not," she said, getting comfortable. "Either way, I've done my part."
Tobi stretched out on his cot and watched his sister. He was tired, so it was easy to pretend like he was sleeping, but when he closed his eyes, he thought about what to do. Cam would discover the changes she had Cyber Dustin make no matter how well she covered her tracks, but she seemed to be implying that something was going to happen before morning, and before Cam woke up. He had to warn the others, but if he did and she didn't complete whatever she was up to, would this dimension's Tori really be in worse danger? And, was he really going to betray his sister? She was right. She had been there for him.
Like him, his sister wasn't really a heavy sleeper and getting caught sneaking off would mean she'd never trust him again. It was like he was being forced to choose between this dimension's Tori and his dimension's Tori.
He needed advise, but Sensei was convinced he didn't belong here. He thought of Dustin, but he wasn't much for advice. Comfort, yes, advice no. Besides, he didn't want to wake him. Cam was pretty smart, but he was also in a bad mood about Tori already and seemed completely incapable of keeping a secret, especially from Tori. Blake was way too close, especially after unknowingly bedding his dimension's version of his sister. That left Shane and Hunter. Hunter had kept his feelings for Dustin a secret for a long time and he seemed to trust Tobi. So...
After what felt like an eternity of fighting his own fatigue and his body's desire to sleep, Tobi finally felt his sister must be asleep. He tested that theory by pretending to toss in his sleep. His sister didn't so much as flinch.
He sat up, stretched and pretended to be shuffling off to the bathroom. Instead, he went to the main room. Once there, he approached Cyber Dustin, still hard at work. "Cyber Dustin," he whispered, "has anyone entered this dimension from mine?"
"I'm unable to answer that question," Cyber Dustin replied.
"Why?" Tobi asked.
"I don't know," Cyber Dustin admitted.
"Well, let's say that someone set up a masking program and wiped your memory," Tobi suggested.
"That would explain a lot," Cyber Dustin agreed.
"Then undo it and keep monitoring the dimensional rift," Tobi advised.
"Anything for you," Cyber Dustin said, typing away.
While Cyber Dustin worked, Tobi went up the cavern passage out of Ninja Ops and stood in the dark night. He lifted his communicator. "Hunter," he addressed.
After some sounds of movement from the other end, Hunter's sleepy voice replied, "Yeah? Don't tell me Lothor's attacking now."
"No," Tobi told him. "It's me. I need to talk to someone and you're the only person I thought would be able to help and I knew I could trust."
There was a moment of silence.
"Are you there?" Tobi asked.
"I'm here," Hunter replied. "I'm just... surprised is all."
"Yeah, well, I surprise myself a lot too," Tobi agreed. "Anyway, I don't know what will happen if she finds out, so just promise me you'll keep this to yourself."
"She?" Hunter asked. "What are you talking about?"
"Promise," Tobi insisted.
"Yeah, I promise," Hunter agreed.
"Okay..." Tobi took a breath. He was about to betray his sister, but possibly save another version of her. Possibly, anyway. "The Tori you brought back with Blake from Lothor's ship isn't this dimension's Tori. It's my sister."
"What? Are you sure?" Hunter asked.
"Yeah," Tobi said. "I've been... meeting with her. She's been here for as long as I have but she's working for Lothor for some reason. She reprogrammed Cyber Dustin to try to make it so that Cam wouldn't detect anyone entering this dimension but I think I fixed that. But she says that unless she completes her mission, she thinks there's no way of getting this dimension's Tori back."
There was another moment of silence.
"Hunter? Did you hear me?" Tobi asked.
"Yeah," Hunter replied. "Why didn't you tell Cam?"
"I don't want my sister to find out... to know I betrayed her," Tobi admitted.
"And Cam can't keep a secret?" Hunter asked. "It doesn't matter. We call the others and we can take her. I got Blake and Tori—one Tori anyway—off Lothor's ship once already. I can do it again."
"It's not just that," Tobi explained. "She's my sister. If she trusts me, she might tell me her plan. Plus, I think Lothor wanted you to rescue Blake and Tori to bring her back."
"I get it," Hunter agreed, "but I don't like keeping everyone else in the dark."
"I know," Tobi replied, "but speaking of the dark, I think the other Power Rangers are going to try to cross over some time before morning. I have to get back to bed and act surprised when the crossover is detected."
"But what if that's too late?" Hunter suggested. "I'm at least staying morphed and warning Blake to do the same."
"What will you tell Blake?" Tobi asked. "That he had sex with the wrong Tori? Besides, without knowing how to realign their morphers, there's not a danger."
"And, with Tori and her morpher in Lothor's possession, how long until they figure that out?" Hunter pointed out.
"With my dimension's Dustin, not long," Tobi reluctantly admitted.
"Right," Hunter said. "Is the Tori with you in contact with Lothor?"
"No," Tobi replied. "I don't think so. She seems to think she did her part and just needs to wait."
"Good," Hunter told him. "Stay with her. I'm going to rescue Tori—this dimension's Tori. I'm telling Dustin what's going on too. I'll... wait to tell Blake though."
"Okay," Tobi agreed. "Thanks."
"No, thank you," Hunter insisted. "I'm glad you're on our side."
"Yeah," Tobi agreed, lowering his communicator. So, why did he feel so guilty?
Tobi decided to check on Cyber Dustin before returning to the training room. "Cyber Dustin, has anyone entered this dimension?"
"Nope," Cyber Dustin replied.
"Good," Tobi said, beginning to walk off. "Wait. Has anyone left this dimension?"
"I don't know," Cyber Dustin admitted.
"The other masking program," Tobi realized. "Can you undo the program?"
"Yes," Cyber Dustin replied, typing away.
"What's that?" Tobi asked, pointing at the screen.
"There's someone near the dimensional fissure," Cyber Dustin explained.
"Who?" Tobi asked.
"Choobo," Cyber Dustin replied, studying the readouts.
"He's just standing there?" Tobi asked before realizing something. "He's waiting. Lothor's already sent someone to my dimension to get the Power Rangers."
"I have no way of knowing if that's true," Cyber Dustin admitted.
"Let's assume it's true," Tobi suggested. "Can we close the hole on them?"
"And leave them trapped in your dimension, Tobi?" Cyber Dustin asked.
"Yeah," Tobi agreed.
"Well, I did figure out a way to close it, but Cam won't like it," Cyber Dustin explained. "It will take an enormous amount of focused energy for a permanent seal."
"How much?" Tobi asked. "Like a nuclear bomb?"
"No," Cyber Dustin replied. "That would actually make it worse. One of the Power Rangers will have to permanently exhaust their ability to even morph or command a Zord again."
Tobi grew wide-eyed. "Once Cam knows, he'll want to be the one to make the sacrifice, won't he?" Tobi asked.
"According to my and what I was able to recover from Cyber Cam's memory banks, yes," Cyber Dustin agreed.
"Even though he was the last one to become a Power Ranger," Tobi commented.
"You're so caring, Tobi," Cyber Dustin said, running a finger along Tobi's chest.
"Please keep your mind on your work," Tobi warned. "And can we keep the way to seal it a secret from Cam for now?"
"You know I'd do anything for you," Cyber Dustin said, "but my programming wont' let me do that. The fissure poses too much of a danger to both dimensions. I can just provide him with the data and let him figure it out on his own," he offered.
Tobi realized something. "What if I use Tori's morpher to morph and sacrifice my own powers?"
"You'd be my hero," Cyber Dustin said with a wink, "but you'd really be sacrificing the blue Power Ranger, meaning Tori would never be able to morph."
Tobi lowered his head in defeat.
"What are you doing up, Tobi?" a voice came from behind him.
He literally jumped at the sound. When he turned around, he saw Sensei waddling toward him. At least it wasn't his sister. "Uh, I was, uh, just talking to Cyber Dustin," Tobi replied lamely.
"A poor substitute for the real thing, I'm sure," Sensei commented, hopping onto a nearby counter.
Cyber Dustin made a face, but otherwise continued his work.
"Sensei," Tobi asked, trying to find the right words. "How do you think the Power Rangers would do against Lothor if there were one less Power Ranger?"
Sensei studied him for a moment. "That is a strange question and one I hope we never have to face." He gave Tobi a serious look, though it was hard to tell on a guinea pig's face. "As it is, Lothor is getting bolder and it takes more and more each time in order to stop him. If we lose just one Power Ranger, we could lose the Earth."
Tobi sighed, knowing the Earth could be lost either way because of the expanding dimensional rift and what was necessarily to close it before it destroyed both Earths.
"You should return to bed," Sensei advised, watching him suspiciously.
"Uh, yeah," Tobi agreed. "So, why are you up?"
"Late night munchies," he explained, reaching for some guinea pig food. "I wonder if these mini meals you speak of are more filling…" he pondered outloud.
"Oh, I don't know," Tobi replied, slipping off and returning to the training room.
He quietly lowered himself onto his cot and looked over at his sister. She seemed to still be asleep. He yawned and quickly joined her.
He was woken up shortly after falling asleep by Cam's voice coming through his sister's morpher. "Morph now!" he ordered. "Several people have just entered this dimension. Get to Ninja Ops now."
Tori yawned and looked around confused for a moment before casually getting off her cot and morphing, in no real hurry. "Wake up, Tobi," she said. "If I have to get up at his ungodly hour, so do you."
Tobi felt exhausted and needed a lot more sleep, but he still stood up and followed his sister.
Cam was wearing his Samurai Power Ranger suit while standing over his computer. Just then, morphed versions of Blake and Shane entered.
"Dustin!" Cam called to his morpher.
"I'm here," Dustin said, streaking in as well.
Cam looked around, surprised. "Where's Hunter?" He raised his morpher again. "Hunter?" he asked.
"I'm on my way," came Hunter's voice in reply. "I've already morphed."
Dustin looked nervously toward Tori and Tobi knew that Hunter had told him.
Tobi then looked at his sister, but couldn't tell much with her helmet on and visor closed.
"Okay," Cam said, the fatigue heavy in his voice, "a few minutes ago, Cyber Dustin tracked several individuals crossing into our dimension. Some of them are aliens, probably Lothor's goons, but the rest are definitely human, probably our counterparts."
Tori looked around, but Tobi pretended to be as surprised as everyone else.
Cam opened his visor and rubbed his eyes. "I should have had Cyber Dustin monitor when Lothor's goons left this dimension. I can't believe I could have overlooked something so obvious, especially now that I think I've found a way to seal the fissure."
"How?" Blake asked.
"I'm going to expend my morphing energy to seal it," Cam replied.
"Huh?" Dustin asked.
"I will never be able to morph again and the Samurai Power Ranger can not be passed on, but it would be more than enough energy to permanently seal the fissure."
"You can't!" Dustin protested. "Cam, dude, we need you."
Cam grinned weakly.
"Dustin's right," Tobi spoke up. "You can't sacrifice yourself for—" but he was interrupted by Hunter entering Ninja Ops and he was not alone. Another Tori was with him.
"What?" Shane immediately snapped, looking from one Tori to the other unmorphed Tori. "It's one of them."
"No," Hunter insisted. "This is the real Tori."
The others looked between the two Toris. The morphed Tori next to Tobi shook her head. "Can't you tell an evil Tori when you see one?" she asked. "Or... is this a different Hunter too? It is kind of suspicious how he took so much longer to get here."
The others looked at one another, not sure what to do. Shane crossed his arms. "Yeah, how do we know you're the real Hunter and," he looked between the two Toris, "which is which Tori?"
Hunter sighed in exasperation. "Ask Tobi," Hunter said, gesturing toward him.
The others turned to Tobi, including his sister.
There was no chance of her trusting him now. "This is my sister—my real sister," he explained. "I stole Tori's morpher and swapped it with hers so she could morph, but Cam was able to realign the one I gave this dimension's Tori. I betrayed all of you because of her and I'm sorry." He couldn't help but look at his sister when he said that. "But I had to make a choice and I chose..." He looked at Dustin, remembering his choice. "I chose you guys. Hunter rescued this dimension's Tori because I told him the truth. I trusted him. I'm asking you to trust me."
His sister immediately opened her visor so that he could see how disappointed she was with him, but then she turned to the others. "He lied to us all before and he's doing it again now," she insisted. She looked at Dustin. "I feel worst about you Dustin. Or should I say, Waldo? It's me, Tori," she whispered.
Dustin opened his visor and looked at her, surprise in his eyes. Then he looked toward Tobi, this time with confusion.
"She knows your real name, dude," Shane told Dustin before looking at the others. "It does seem a little hard to believe," he admitted, "especially Tobi trusting Hunter over any of the rest of us."
Cam nodded. "Yeah." Tobi knew Cam felt personally betrayed that Tobi hadn't trusted him.
"Maybe we should ask this Tori," Tobi's sister suggested. "She seems awfully quiet."
"Tori's right," Blake spoke up, looking from the morphed Tori to the unmorphed Tori near Hunter. "Which Tori are you?" he asked the quiet Tori.
Something seemed to spark in her eyes and she turned to Cam. She raised her arms and... blasted the entire computer consol with water. Sparks began flying, followed by smoke.
"No!" Cam gasped, diving to block his computer. As he moved, his Samurai Power Ranger suit disappeared, returning him to a green tank top and pair of white briefs.
Meanwhile, Shane and Dustin were quick to grab Tori by the arms. As they did, they too demorphed, along with Tobi's sister. The only two left morphed were Hunter and Blake.
"How could you betray us like this?" Tobi's sister accused in a convincing tone.
"You lied to me so that I'd bring your Tori back to Ninja Ops," Hunter said, his brother still looking at him suspiciously. "We trusted you."
"Yeah..." Dustin mumbled, looking away from Tobi quickly. He could see tears forming in Dustin's eyes and sensed the past betrayals bubbling to the surface of Dustin's mind. He had been so afraid of being used again.
"Don't you see what she's doing?" Tobi yelled. "She's trying to turn you again me!" He felt tears forming in his own eyes and he knew he was shaking.
"I know the real Tori," Blake insisted, causing Tobi's sister to grin, satisfied.
"You have to believe me!" Tobi continued. "Dustin!"
Dustin continued to hold Tori by the arms and turned away, refusing to look at Tobi.
Tobi felt himself breaking down, so he turned away. Nearby, sparks continued to fly from Cam's computer as the water evaporated.
"He can't even face the truth," his sister accused.
He spun around, tears on his face. "Just because I betrayed you doesn't mean I don't love you," he yelled at his sister. "I care about you, but I care about other people too. Maybe you should try that sometime! Sure, you've always been there for me, but when you saved me, you let our mom die! I love you and you'll always be my only real sister, but right now I'm ashamed to call you that."
The look on his sister's face revealed a deep internal struggle. She was fighting hard not to yell at her brother.
Behind Cam, his smoking computer began to glow, though the screen was blank.
"Everyone calm down, "Sensei interrupted. "We should place the other dimension's Tori and Tobi in the training room for now."
"Right," the others agreed.
"And, with that, they proceeded to lead Tobi and the clearly brainwashed silent Tori to the training room together.
"Dustin," Tobi whispered.
Dustin didn't say anything, but he finally let their eyes meet. Tobi could see the indecision in his brown eyes. He looked from Tobi to the two Toris and back to Tobi. He bit his bottom lip, but didn't say anything as Tobi and Tori were locked in the training room.
To be continued...
Author's Note: Oh, the drama continues!