Previously in Parallel Realities Ninja Storm:
Without Dustin, Tobi's energy continues to drain, so Sensei, Waldo and Lia pilot the Wind Megazord to attack Lothor's Zord. They destroy their zord to take out Lothor's, but Lothor survives and the Abyss of Evil opens, bringing forth all the rangers' former enemies. Skyla borrows Tobi's healing ability, but it does little to stop Tobi's decline, so the spirits of Hunter and Blake's parents offer to guide Tobi's spirit to Dustin abord Lothor's ship. The others are against the idea, but Tobi goes anyway when they leave to fight off Vexacus, who has their families hostage, with the exception of their sisters Ali and Maya, who find Kelly and enlist her help. But Vexacus knows Lothor plans to destroy him and the Power Rangers using a bomb Lothor attached to Vexacus' head, a head that Lothor doesn't know is actually a helmet. So, when Lothor goes to destroy Vexacus and the rangers, Vexacus teleports his helmet and the bomb back up to Lothor's ship just as it explodes, a ship where their friends are trapped...
Parallel Realities Ninja Storm: Chapter 46 (Cutting Connections)
Lothor's finger hovered over a button on his PAM that would trigger a detonator attached to Vexacus' head. He grinned as he pictured the bounty hunter exploding and taking the last of the Power Rangers with him.
"How did you get Vexacus' helmet off?" Shimazu asked as he scurried about on the bridge of the space ninja's ship.
"What are you talking about?" Lothor asked as he checked to make sure the DVR on his viewer was cued up. "Ah, ready."
He then pressed the button.
"When I was with Vexacus getting the gem fragments from the ocean, he took off his helmet," Shimazu explained. "I thought it was his head sitting—"
"What?" Lothor snapped, shoving him aside as he reached for the panel behind him, but Motodrone was closest.
"I'm redirecting all incoming transports—now!" Motodrone stated just as—
Boom!
The ship shook violently and the three were thrown to the ground.
"Get off me!" Lothor growled, again shoving Shimazu aside, where he promptly scurried to a safe distance.
Motodrone scrambled back to the controls.
"Well?" Lothor asked impatiently as the room continued to creak and rumble.
"I managed to redirect the transport and block all new incoming transports, but not far enough away," Motodrone explained. "The ship has suffered damage and the energy core is unstable."
"Well see to it!" Lothor yelled, turning to Shimazu. "And you too!"
As the two left the bridge, Lothor played back the footage. This time, rather than the wide shot in which he'd hoped to see the remaining rangers destroyed, he zoomed in on Vexacus and saw his head—no, his helmet in his hand, a transport chip attached just above the detonator.
"Clever fish," he muttered aloud. "But, if you think I'm dead... I can use that to my advantage." He squinted at the screen before panning down and left. "Speaking of dead," he muttered as he saw Sensei was the red ranger. "So you survived, Kanoi... and are human." He thought for a moment before grinning. "I have a surprise for you, brother. I won't be the only one to betray you tonight."
He then turned and left the bridge, heading for the control room and the trapped ninjas and rangers.
Just as Dustin reached for the lever to release the other ninjas and rangers, the room exploded.
Dustin was thrown across the room so quickly that Tobi's spirit slipped out of his body. The moment that happened, Dustin's energy began draining rapidly.
Now separated, Tobi's spirit could once again see Hunter and Blake's parents. "What's happening?" he yelled as a chunk of ceiling fell right through his spirit form.
"Lothor's plan to destroy Vexacus must have backfired," Mr. Bradley guessed.
"And my sister and the others?" he asked while making his way to Dustin.
Mrs. Bradley glanced at her husband. "We don't know."
He found Dustin unconscious under a fallen pillar and quickly entered his boyfriend's body. The moment he did, they both became aware of the crushing weight on them. "You're going to need to morph," he realized.
Dustin reached for his morpher and activated it. "Ninja Storm, Ranger Form!" But nothing happened.
Waldo must be morphed or have used up the energy, Tobi realized before trying to concentrate on sending a wave of energy out from Dustin's body, but instead the pillar became covered in ivy.
The room vibrated more as a wall panel exploded.
"Look!" a voice called as Shimazu scampered into the room, followed by Motodrone.
"The explosion must have set him free," Motodrone said before pressing a series of buttons on a nearby panel.
Instantly, a bubble formed around Dustin's body, which was sucked up into the air so quickly that it left Tobi's spirit behind.
"Tobi, your body needs your spirit and you are running out of time to return to it," Mr. Bradley said.
"But I have to save—" Tobi began as the vibration increased and the room rumbled.
"The core's overloading and we're going to die—again!" Shimazu panicked.
Motodrone just tried to ignore him as he worked.
"We will stay here," Mrs. Bradley told Tobi. "You can return once Dustin can morph. Now that you've been here, you should be able to return."
He looked up at the bubbles overhead, at his trapped boyfriend and friends and promised, "I'll be back. And I'll save you all." And, just as he concentrated on returning, he felt another explosion. But, by then, he was no longer on the ship.
Vexacus drew his sword and pointed it toward the Power Rangers in front of him.
Sensei, Waldo and Lia were still staring up in shock at the series of fading explosions.
"Ah, this will be so easy," Vexacus gloated.
Lia was the first to look back down. "Skyla," she growled. "Take him out."
Skyla turned the pink crystal in her morpher and instantly morphed, becoming the pink ranger. She stood protectively in front of her three morphed companions.
Vexacus lunged forward, but she easily moved aside and, when he went to slash at Sensei, she slid him aside before the sword had a chance to reach him. This only seemed to anger Vexacus, who began slashing more viciously.
"What are you doing?" Lia called. "Take him out! Kill him!"
"I—I can't," Skyla replied, again dodging the attacks.
"He killed them all," Lia yelled. "The bastard needs to die." She started toward the bounty hunter, but Skyla pushed her back just as Vexacus shot a blast of yellow energy that just missed them.
"She can not take a life," Sensei told Lia.
"But—" Lia choked.
"Yeah," Waldo agreed, fighting back tears.
"I grow weary of this," Vexacus grumbled. "Choobo, it's time to—"
"Lia! Dustin!' a pair of voices called and the group turned to see Ali and Maya near Kelly, who was getting out of a van labeled Storm Chargers.
"Meddlers," Vexacus grunted, beginning to streak toward the three newcomers, but Skyla anticipated his move and had already streaked into his path.
She had been reaching out when they collided and there was a flash of light as something happened when they made contact.
Vexacus growled and again made an effort to move toward the newcomers, but Skyla raised her arms and a blast of yellow energy shot from her hands, throwing him back, where he skid across the ground.
As Choobo helped him up, his body was smoking.
Skyla looked at her pink gloved hands as if scared by the fact she could borrow Vexacus' powers.
"I'll be back," the bounty hunter growled, clutching his still smoking side. He pressed the transport button on his arm, but nothing happened. "Right," he realized with a grin. "Well, it looks like today wasn't a total loss. Choobo, come," he called and the two aliens left quickly.
The others turned to Skyla, impressed.
"You could have killed him," Lia pointed out.
"I know," Skyla said, deactivating her morpher and staring at her now bare hands.
"I understand the difficulty in accepting your powers," Sensei said, "but there are times when force is necessary."
Skyla just continued to stare at her hands until she looked up at the sky in time to see fragments of debris burning up in the atmosphere, presumably the remains of Lothor's ship.
Lia and Waldo followed her gaze and were silent too.
"Dustin, what happened?" Kelly asked as she approached with Ali and Maya. "And, Tori, your hair...?"
"This could take some explaining," Maya commented.
"And now there's a pink ranger," Ali noticed. "I wanted to be the pink ranger."
The others looked to Skyla as she continued to fight against her unease, but, as she did, she concentrated, seeming to sense something. "Tobi," she said, giving the others worried glances.
"I am sorry, but we must go now," Sensei apologized before nodding to the others. The four then streaked off.
Kelly just stood, staring.
"Well, at least we found your brother and one of my sisters," Ali commented before noticing the other two. "Don't worry," she said. "You'll get used to this kind of stuff."
The others finally turned to stare at her and she just offered them a shrug before noticing their house behind the two. "Mom! Dad!" she yelled, immediately running toward the destroyed front of the house, Maya close behind.
The two girls looked around the house, but there was no sign of their family.
"Do you think they made it out?" Ali asked.
"Given the lack of remains and that the back door is open, most probably they did," Maya concluded.
"Thanks, Maya," Ali said, patting her shoulder. "I need your level head."
Maya blushed.
"What were you trying to tell me earlier?" Ali asked suddenly. "About your feelings?"
"Oh," Maya said, for a moment losing her generally collected composure. "I, uh, experience strong emotional and physical responses when I'm around you."
"You experience...?" Ali began, before realizing. "You mean you like me as more than just a friend."
Maya nodded.
Ali sighed. "I'm sorry, Maya, but I'm not into girls that way."
"Oh, of course," the brunette replied quietly. "I mean, statistically speaking, the probability was quite low."
The blond patted her friend's shoulder. "But I still like you as a friend. Is that enough?"
Maya just nodded, not trusting her voice.
Kelly cleared her throat and the two turned to see her standing where the front door had once been. "Maybe one of you can explain what's going on."
Ali looked back at Maya. "Long story," she said, before adding, "Can we get a ride to Dustin and Maya's house? Our parents might be there."
"Alright," Kelly agreed slowly, "but I still expect and explanation."
"I guess it's a day for confessions," Ali agreed, winking at Maya, who blushed, before the three headed back to Kelly's van.
The four rangers streaked into Ninja Ops to find the pale and lifeless body of Tobi lying in the center of the debris-strewn room.
"Tobi!" Lia cried, running to him.
Waldo followed quickly and put two fingers to the pale blond's neck. "No pulse," he gasped.
"Skyla," Sensei called.
She seemed to still be shaking off the shock before kneeling and touching Tobi's chest, but nothing happened.
"What's wrong?" Lia asked.
"I don't know," Skyla replied, concentrating again. "I'm not borrowing his powers... His spirit is no longer in his body," she realized, looking around. "He must have went with Hunter and Blake's parents to Lothor's ship. I should have sensed that," she scolded herself quietly.
"Damn your stubbornness," Lia cursed as she grabbed Tobi's lifeless arm and cried.
"Skyla, can you sense if the others made it off somehow before..." Waldo asked, his voice trailing off.
She shook her head. "I'm sorry. I don't sense them. But I didn't before either," she offered.
"Because of the stasis," Waldo realized, his eyes moist. "And that would have been broken if they did...survive. I had so many things I wanted to tell them."
Lia patted Waldo's shoulder, too choked up to speak.
"Tobi's spirit would not have been affected by the explosion," Sensei said soberly.
Waldo looked up. "He's right."
Lia wiped her eyes. "We can at least save Tobi."
"I'll work on getting us to morph," Waldo said, standing. "Skyla, can you get the gem fragments alone?"
"It is dangerous to send her alone," Sensei interrupted.
"We don't have a choice," Lia snapped, turning to Skyla. "Go. Save my brother. We'll come when we can."
Skyla looked to Sensei, who nodded silently.
She morphed before streaking out of Ninja Ops.
As Waldo immediately got to work, Lia held her brother's lifeless hand. "Hang in there." She looked to Sensei. "Should we tell him about... what happened?"
"In his weakened state, it may be... harmful to know he will not see Dustin again," Sensei replied, watching Tobi's body, "but, if he was on the ship..."
"He'll figure it out," Lia realized. "I can't believe this..."
"Even with Lothor's destruction on his ship, it will be very difficult to defeat Vexacus and Lothor's army," Sensei continued, his usual confident tone gone.
"When Skyla gets back, we'll follow Waldo's plan to sever Tobi's connection to Dustin," she said. "That stupid connection is pointless now." She wiped her eyes. "Maybe, with Lothor finally dead, those aliens will be easy for Tobi to take out."
"Revenge will not bring them back," Sensei reminded her.
She grit her teeth. "I know, but they deserve it."
By the time Skyla streaked to a stop near the Abyss of Evil, night had fallen, but an eerie glow hovered in the air. Most of the reborn aliens had moved on to take over other cities, which was a relief because she didn't want to be forced to hurt anyone. Borrowing Vexacus' powers combined with the destruction of Lothor's ship created a cloud of thoughts in her head. She focused, concentrating on trying to locate the fragments of the Gem of Souls, but her feelings were so confused.
Could Shane and the others really be dead? Would she soon be the only one to see them—as spirits? She felt something she hadn't felt so far being human, an intense sense of loss. But was it her psychic senses or just her human emotions? She didn't know. If only Shane could help her figure it out. He always seemed to know her better than she knew herself.
But he was gone.
She felt a dampness on her cheeks and she reached up to touch her face, but her gloved hand was stopped by her visor.
"Ah!" she screamed as she found herself skidding across the ground. Her distraction had left her open to an attack. It was a rare first for her, but she quickly jumped to her feet and looked up to see Zurgane. She took up a fighting stance even though she didn't want to fight. "I used to be an alien before I became human," she said, taking a step back. "I know what it's like to be a stranger to this world and what it's like to die and be reborn. I don't want to hurt you."
Zurgane removed his two swords from his shoulders. "But I intend to hurt you," he said, lunging forward and slashing at the former Karminion.
Now more focused, she anticipated his attack and quickly dodged his sword. "There's been too much death tonight," she told him as she avoided another attack.
Zurgane hesitated for a moment. "So... the explosion was Lothor's ship after all?" he asked before continuing his assault.
"The other Power Rangers—Shane," she choked, "they were on the ship too."
Suddenly she was knocked backwards as one of Zurgane's swords sparked along the surface of her suit. She shook off the pain, trying to control her human emotions. They were still new to her and they were a dangerous weakness.
"So the Power Rangers sacrificed their own in order to defeat Lothor," Zurgane theorized as he slashed at her. "I had no idea you could be so ruthless."
"It wasn't us," she defended, jumping aside. "It was Vexacus."
Zurgane again hesitated. "I knew he could not be trusted."
She used his momentary pause to streak over to the giant chunks of metal that were the remains of the rangers' and Lothor's zords. Closing her eyes, she again tried to focus on finding the gem fragments, but she sensed Zurgane just in time to dodge his blade as it sliced against a towering metal arm. This knocked some smaller pieces loose and they rained down on the two as they once again faced off.
That was when she sensed she was close to the gem fragments. Her human emotions had forced her to be practically on top of them to sense their energy. But, no, it wasn't that. There was very little energy left. Lothor had almost completely exhausted the Gem of Souls.
"Vexacus will be next," Zurgane said, stepping over the fallen debris, "after you." He then threw both swords toward Skyla.
She anticipated this and just barely managed to avoid both, but the swords turned around in mid-air behind her and flew back. She only had a moment to dive behind a chunk of metal as the blades sliced the top of the metal above her in half. She rolled away from the chunk as it fell and then—
She saw the gem fragments.
She dove for them and scooped them up just as Zurgane rounded the corner, both swords back in his hands.
"Time to finish you," he said, but she had what she came there for and had no intention of continuing the battle.
She closed her eyes and vanished, teleporting away and leaving a cloud of dust in the debris-strewn wreckage.
Zurgane lowered his swords. "Later then," he huffed, adding, "after I avenge my master." He then stomped off in search of Vexacus.
As the Storm Chargers van pulled into the driveway of Dustin's house, the girls saw a curtain push aside and a face peer out of the living room window.
Ali was the first out of the van, but Maya was close behind, followed by Kelly.
The front door opened just as Ali reached the porch and Mrs. Hanson ran out, grabbing her daughter. Mrs. Brooks quickly did the same to Maya.
Mr. Brooks noticed Kelly. "Thank you for bringing them here, Kelly."
"You girls really had us worried," Mr. Hanson said.
"Yes, thank you," Mrs. Brooks said, finally releasing her daughter. "Did you see Dustin?"
"Yes, I did," Kelly said slowly.
"And Tori?" Mrs. Hanson asked.
Kelly nodded.
"Were they..." she began, trailing off. She exchanged looks with the others.
"She's asking if you, um, noticed anything, uh, different about them," Mr. Hanson clarified for his wife.
Kelly looked between the pair before Mrs. Brooks interrupted. "I know you won't believe this," she began, "but Dustin and Tori are Power Rangers."
Kelly finally smiled. "Actually, I already know." She looked away for a moment. "I suspected for a while, but I thought they should be the ones to tell me. I hoped Dustin would be honest with me," she added, her smile fading.
Ali gave her a sympathetic look. "They couldn't tell you without putting you in danger. Look what happened today."
Kelly nodded before addressing the adults. "I know they have their reasons, so maybe we should all just keep what we've seen to ourselves until they're ready."
The others exchanged surprised looks before Mr. Brooks said, "We just want them to be safe."
"Somehow I suspect they want the same thing from all of us," Kelly said with a smile.
The others nodded, knowing they had given their children as much reason to worry as their children had given them.
"I'm headed home, but I'll stop by Storm Chargers again," Kelly said. "I have Dustin's home number and here's mine." She pulled out a business card and wrote her home number on the back before handing it to the others and leaving.
As she returned to her van, Ali turned to her parents. "Since our house is totaled, it looks like we're staying here." She looked over to Maya. "If that's okay."
Maya nodded, sliding her glasses up on her face. "Sure, yeah."
Ali leaned toward the brunette and whispered, "Just try not to reach over during the night, if you can help yourself." She pulled away and winked, causing her friend to turn red as everyone went inside.
Waldo climbed out from under the console he was working on and addressed the others. "I've tied the remaining three morphing sequences into the reactive buffers and paired one with each of our sub sequences."
"Wow, someone's spent too much time around Cam," Lia commented before stopping herself. She choked back tears and grunted, "In English."
Waldo hesitated before continuing. "I combined Hunter—I combined the crimson ranger, navy ranger and samurai ranger energies with each of our morphing energy so we can stay morphed longer."
"That will be very useful," Sensei said, unusually distracted. "Thank you for your diligence, Waldo."
Just then, Skyla entered Ninja Ops and Lia quickly intercepted her. "Did you get them?"
"Yes," Skyla said, opening her hands. She looked over at Sensei. "Sensei, I need to speak with you about—"
"Later," Lia interrupted, grabbing the gem fragments and taking them to her brother's body.
"Skyla, is Tobi's spirit nearby?" Sensei asked.
She looked around. "Yes, but he's alone."
"Where are Hunter and Blake's parents?" Waldo asked.
"He says they stayed behind," Skyla explained before adding, "And he says he's sorry. He had to try."
Lia wiped her eyes. "I know," she said quietly.
Waldo helped Lia place the fragments on Tobi's chest.
"They're almost completely drained," Skyla noted before looking up. "Tobi, you're going to need to hover into your body." She paused, watching the spirit.
Suddenly there was a flash and Tobi's body shuddered and gasped. As he did so, the gem fragments crumbled to dust and fell to the floor. He fell back onto the table and fell unconscious, his breathing uneven.
Skyla didn't need to be told what to do. She touched Tobi and tried to heal him, but all it did was steady his breathing. He remained unconscious.
"The energy drain," Lia realized, now gripping her brother's hand tightly.
"If he dies again, we'll have no way to bring him back," Waldo pointed out, gesturing to the gem dust.
"Okay, how do we sever his connection?" Lia asked.
"His connection is already severed," Sensei replied. "It is a matter of restoring his body to what it was before he gave Dustin a body. But it should be his decision."
"He can't make that decision," Waldo reminded him. "And, if we don't do this now, it might be too late."
Sensei sighed. "Agreed."
"What are we doing?" Skyla asked.
"Yeah, what do we need to do?" Lia added.
"We need to use each of our elemental powers," Waldo explained. "Sensei?"
"I will use the power of air," Sensei instructed, "Waldo earth, Lia water, and Skyla, you will need to borrow Tobi's power of sunlight. Focus on your element and project it toward Tobi's body. I will also be focusing on controlling all our energies. Skyla, your ability to borrow powers can also be used to control them. Just focus on—"
"I can't," Skyla interrupted.
The others looked at her, surprised and confused.
"I have been having trouble focusing," she explained. "I can't stop thinking of Shane and the others."
Lia grit her teeth. "You think it's different for any of us?"
"I'm sorry," Skyla apologized.
"Skyla, we need you to do this," Sensei said, adding, "and we believe in you."
She gave him a weak smile.
"We can't tell him," Waldo said suddenly while staring down as Tobi's breathing shallowed.
"What?" Lia asked.
"If this works," Waldo continued, "we can't tell him about Dustin if he doesn't already know." He looked up at Lia and recognition dawned in her eyes.
"Because he set you on fire and killed himself after Dustin died before," she realized.
"Rangers, we can not—" Sensei began.
"For the good of the team," Waldo interrupted.
Sensei looked down. "We will discuss this later. We must begin."
The others nodded and concentrated on their elements as Sensei instructed them.
A red glow began to flow out from Sensei, meeting a yellow glow from Waldo and a blue glow from Lia.
"Skyla, focus," Sensei called.
She closed her yes and a gold shimmer formed around where her hand touched Tobi's shoulder.
Sensei was focusing so hard that beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
Then, as the four elements intertwined around Tobi, his body began to glow as strings of multicolored energy enveloped him, lifting his body slightly off the table.
Flash! Then his body flickered and fell back down and the four around him were thrown backwards.
Tobi slowly opened his eyes, blinking heavily. He could hear the voice of his sister calling his name. "I feel like I ran a marathon," he said, his voice sounding raspy and unrecognizable.
"Tobs," he heard Dustin's voice say and he felt a hand gripping his own. But something wasn't right. He could only feel the contact from his perspective.
"Waldo?" he realized outloud. He tried to sit up, fighting the fatigue.
"Take it easy," Waldo said. "Your body needs a chance to heal itself."
Heal itself? Without Dustin, his energy would just keep being drained. "We need to get the morphers charged so I can return to the ship as a spirit," he said.
The others looked away, hiding something. Pain? Fear?
Finally, Waldo said, "You can't leave your body again. The Gem of Souls was used up bringing you back." He gestured to a trail of fine powder.
"We have to do something," Tobi insisted.
The others were silent and their faces held pained expressions. Even Skyla's face was a mask of despair.
"Skyla, can you see Hunter and Blake's parents?" he asked.
She shook her head and gave the others a nervous look.
Why weren't they back? "Can you sense if Dustin's okay?" he asked quickly.
She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Tobi." Tears formed in her eyes and he knew something was wrong.
That was when he realized that his energy wasn't being drained.
He looked around at the faces of the others. "What aren't you telling me."
Waldo exchanged a look with Lia before she said, "Just get some rest, little brother."
He bit back pain as he turned to Sensei. "Sensei, I know you'll tell me. Did something happen after I left Lothor's ship? I tried to come straight back here, but I ended up at the abyss at first." He turned back to Skyla before Sensei could even respond. "Did Hunter and Blake's parents tell you something? Did you see..." He took a breath. "Dustin's spirit?"
Skyla shook her head and began crying into her hands.
He looked around frantically. He couldn't sense Dustin, but he also couldn't feel the energy drain and he could only think of one thing that meant. "Tell me he's not dead," he whispered. When the others were silent, he spoke louder. "Tell me! He can't be dead! I was just—" His breath heaved with tears and exhaustion. "Please," he whispered.
Their silence told him everything he didn't want to hear. He had just been in Dustin, been one with him. He could almost feel that lingering relief Dustin had felt the moment he felt Tobi's presence inside him, but that memory was quickly turning bittersweet. And, even though the pain of the energy drain was gone and his body was healing itself, he never felt worse. At least the energy drain connected him to Dustin.
"Why did you bring me back to life?" he asked bitterly.
"Because we love you," Lia said, again taking his hand.
Waldo shifted away from him as if he was afraid.
"Tobi," Sensei addressed seriously, "we need you. We are the last Power Rangers and the Earth's last hope."
"The last—" Tobi began before stopping himself. "Tori? Cam? Hunter? Blake? Shane? Mara? Kapri? Even Geo and Destiny?" He looked around quickly at their faces, each name triggering a flinch or whimper. He put his head in his hands before realizing something. "Skyla, are you sure you can't see Dustin's spirit?"
She made a point of looking all around, but still shook her head.
"Then he can't be dead," he insisted. "He'd be here with me." He choked on his tears. "He'd... he'd never leave me."
"The Bradleys stayed with you when you died," Skyla reminded him. "That may be why they're not here. They're... busy. A lot of people died." She fought against her tears.
He turned to the others. "Can't you be wrong?"
Lia exchanged a look with Waldo before he said, "I can work on the sensors. We'll need them anyway to see what we're up against." He backed away from Tobi, his eyes never leaving the blond, before finally turning around and beginning work on the console behind him.
Lia leaned toward her brother and lowered her voice. "We saw it happen."
He couldn't speak to respond.
"You have to know," she continued, "if there was anything at all we could have done to stop it, we would have. But... not everyone can be saved."
He knew she was referring to the day she had saved him from the zord that crushed their mother. Once again, he had survived at the expense of someone he loved.
"When you feel recovered—" Sensei began.
"I can never recover," Tobi snapped. "I'm not just going to move on."
"When you are ready," Sensei corrected, "we will need the gold ranger to defeat Vexacus and the army from the Abyss of Evil." He gestured around. "It is just us."
Tobi looked down. He felt stronger, but he had never felt so defeated. Five against an army? It seemed pointless. He had tried revenge before, but it didn't bring Dustin back then and he knew it couldn't now. "Wait," he realized. "We may not be alone."
"If you are referring to your dimension's rangers," Sensei began, "when Lothor entered here, Circuit was the first object he destroyed." He looked away. "I was... unprepared for his attack."
Tobi leaned forward. He realized Sensei had just lost his son. He had to be hurting as much as Tobi. He just hid it well underneath the formality of being a ninja master. "It's not your fault, Sensei," he assured him before sighing. "I guess you were right after all. It wasn't in your brother's destiny to change."
"None of this was supposed to happen," Skyla said. It was unnerving to see her so hopeless.
"Hunter and Blake's parents told me that this dimension's Leanne Omino might be able to help," Tobi recalled.
Sensei nodded. "She could prove to be a valuable addition to the team, but, in this dimension, the Thunder Ninja Academy was destroyed and its students captured by Lothor, just as with this dimension's Wind Ninja Academy."
"Blake was training with Leanne," Tobi continued. "At the time everyone thought he was secretly meeting with me because of the closet incident."
"When you kissed Blake," Lia realized.
Tobi nodded. "But Hunter and Blake's parents said she was at the Thunder Ninja Academy now. Or, I guess, what's left of it."
"Making the journey to the Thunder Ninja Academy using ninja streaking could prove dangerous," Sensei replied. "We risk one of us to gain one more ninja."
"I went to the Thunder Academy in the other dimension," Skyla offered.
"And you have a sustained morphing ability," Sensei agreed. "But it may not be wise to go alone... and how will you convince her to follow you?"
"I've been to the Thunder Academy in my old dimension too and I met the other dimension's Leanne," Tobi explained. "Maybe I can convince her."
"We can not risk our only two rangers with independent morphers," Sensei argued.
"And like hell if I'd let you go," Lia added.
"I knew Leanne's father," Sensei continued. "I will go with Skyla. Her psychic ability should aide our journey." He looked at the former Karminion. "And I believe she has something to ask me."
She gave him a surprised look before nodding.
Waldo approached with a laptop. "I managed to find Cam's laptop," he explained. "Surprisingly, it still works and picks up at least television broadcasts, but Lothor was exact and really thorough in his destruction. The sensor grid is permanently down. But..."
"But what?" Tobi asked.
"See for yourself," Waldo said, turning the screen to face them.
On the screen was a newscast of aliens attacking cities and their growing path of destruction. The only bright side was that it seemed to lessen just slightly as night fell.
Sensei looked at Skyla. "Then we will leave tonight, before Leanne leaves the Thunder Ninja Academy, and while there is a lull in alien attacks. We will endeavor to be back with Leanne as soon as we can." He stood. "We will remain in contact and formulate a plan to defeat the army as soon as we return."
"I'll continue repairs," Waldo volunteered.
"What about us?" Lia asked.
"Get some rest," Sensei advised. "We will need to be ready when the time comes to fight, perhaps even as soon as tomorrow morning."
"I'll work through the night then," Waldo said, already getting to work.
Sensei approached the earth ninja. "Your diligence is not unlike my son's, but do what you can and rest."
The brunette looked at him. "I know I can't replace Cam. I just... I need to keep busy."
Sensei nodded. "I understand." And, with that, he turned to Skyla and the two left Ninja Ops.
"Let's go, little brother," Lia said, leading her brother toward the training room they had slept in the night she betrayed him, what felt so long ago now.
Before leaving the room, Tobi walked over to Waldo, who paused in his work to stare up at the blond. He leaned down, giving the brunette a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving without saying a word. It was the closest to a goodbye kiss he'd be able to give Dustin.
The moment the twins entered the training room, Lia turned back to her brother. "Without the Gem of Souls, you can't leave your body again."
Tobi frowned, looking down.
She turned his shoulders, forcing him to face her. "You have to promise," she said earnestly.
He looked at his sister, tears clouding his view.
"Promise, Tobi," she pleaded. "For me," she added in a whisper.
He watched the emotions in her eyes, but he couldn't make that promise. If leaving his body was the only way to see Dustin again, he'd do it. But was that fair to his sister, Waldo, Sensei and Skyla? He remembered when he'd collapsed the cave on himself to see Dustin's spirit after Zurgane killed the earth ninja. Dustin had wanted him to live. He told him to "live for them and live for me. Shine like the sun." Before he knew it, he was crying into his sister's shoulder.
"I know," she whispered, patting his back. "I know."
After a while of crying, he finally whispered back, "I promise." In his thoughts, he added, "for you, Dustin."
With the combination of nightfall and that the reborn alien army had spread out to take over more areas, Sensei and Skyla managed to make it to the petrified woods that held the portal to the Thunder Ninja Academy without needing to confront an enemy.
After landing their streak and approaching the geyser, Sensei paused to catch his breath.
"Are you okay?" Skyla asked.
"I am merely not used to this much physical activity," he replied, pausing to sit on a rock. "I have not used the ninja streaking ability this much since my youth."
She nodded, sitting to join him.
"So," he began, "after the advice you were able to give me regarding destiny, it seems it is time for me to return the favor. What is troubling you?"
She looked down, fumbling with her hands. "I borrowed Vexacus' powers," she began. "And... I could have become like him."
"You could not have," Sensei assured her before prompting her to continue.
"When Lothor's ship... When they... died, I couldn't focus," she explained. "I almost didn't even sense Tobi was in trouble and I almost lost to Zurgane. I feel... lost."
Sensei nodded. "You miss them. You feel lost because you are overcome with a sense of loss."
"I've never felt this way before," she continued. "Shane gave me so much confidence, but now that he's gone... it's gone too."
"Others can not give us confidence," Sensei corrected. "Your confidence comes from within you. Shane merely helped you find it."
"But how do I find it again?" she asked.
"If you do not believe you are capable of something, you will find yourself incapable," he explained, "but, if you believe you are capable, you will find a way to accomplish it that you would not have sought if you did not believe. Belief gives you confidence to try."
"Shane believed in me," she whispered.
"He did so for a reason," Sensei said. "You know what you are capable of because you have seen it, so do not doubt what you know to be true."
She sighed. "When I was facing Zurgane, I couldn't always predict his moves. I know I should be able to sense things, but it's all confused in my head. Even now, I almost think I can sense Lothor, but then it becomes you." She sucked in a breath. "I don't know."
"It sounds like you are merely distracted," Sensei theorized. "You are unaccustomed to the emotions, but it will be easier if you let yourself release your feelings, to cry."
She looked at him. "I have cried. I didn't understand it at first, but I know I was crying."
"That is a start," he told her, "but I sense there is far more where those tears came from."
"Have you cried since Cam..." She trailed off.
"No," he admitted. "There has not been time. Although, I have experience in this area, as I lost my wife when Cameron was very young. When I saw the other version of her in the dimension you and Tobi came from, I was... emotional. But I have worked for many years to control my emotions."
"Don't you need to release your emotions too?" Skyla asked.
He nodded. "I do, but I prefer to do so privately during my meditation time. I prefer my students not to see any... weakness."
She gave him a surprised look.
"But, yes, I have weaknesses," he confessed, offering her a small smile. "We all do."
"Thanks, Sensei," she said. "I'll take your advice when we get back." She stood before pausing.
"What is it?" Sensei asked, standing to join her.
"You said you knew this dimension's Sensei Omino?" she asked.
"Yes," he agreed. "We will be delivering unpleasant news of his and his students' deaths to his daughter."
"Oh," she said, thinking.
"What is wrong?" he asked.
"I thought I saw you hurt him," she said, shaking her head. "Maybe it was the other dimension's you and him."
"Perhaps so," Sensei agreed. "I will ask my counterpart if we can contact them at some point. He had some... issues to resolve. But, now we must go. The world is counting on us."
She nodded before joining Sensei as they stepped through the geyser and through the portal to the Thunder Ninja Academy.
"TZT! Come back to me!" Dustin's voice called through the darkness as Tobi held onto a thin rope that dangled over an endless black abyss. He tried to climb the rope to get higher, through the clouds to where he heard Dustin calling, but the darkness pulled at him like the weight of water pushing him under, threatening to drown him.
"I'm coming!" he called, but then his hands slipped and he slid down the rope until—
He awoke on a cot next to his sleeping sister in the training room, his heart still pounding.
The dream had felt so real. He could almost reach Dustin. But, no, he'd never reach him again. He couldn't even leave his body to be with his boyfriend's spirit.
He placed his head in his hands and thought of his bond to the earth ninja, how it could be stretched to a string. Maybe Dustin's spirit was calling to him. But how could he answer?
He looked over at his sister, tears streaking her cheeks as she slept, and decided to get up quietly without disturbing her.
He found Waldo in the main room of Ninja Ops with his head lying on a pile of wires. He didn't want to wake him, so he turned to go.
"It's okay, Tobs," Waldo said, a slight raspiness to his voice, before turning over to look at the blond. His eyes were red, possibly from crying. "I'm not asleep. I was just... thinking."
"Oh," Tobi mumbled, kneeling to sit next to the earth ninja. He took a moment to collect his thoughts. "You remember when Dustin's spirit ended up in my body?"
"Yeah, I do," Waldo replied, his expression unreadable.
"Is there a way to do that again?" Tobi continued. "To put Dustin's spirit in my body so we can be together. It won't be the same, but... I need him."
Waldo sighed. "Dustin's spirit ended up in my body and later in yours because of the Gem of Souls. It bonds spirits to bodies. We can't do that without it. We used it to bring you back to life, me back to life, and when you made Dustin's body. I'm amazed it even had enough energy left to open the Abyss of Evil."
"Oh," Tobi mumbled, wiping his eyes. He hadn't realized he'd even built up so much hope. "Is that what you were thinking about?"
"Some, yeah," he admitted. "I wasn't sure I was ready to have Hunter share my thoughts, but... there were so many things I never told him or any of them."
Tobi looked down. "You had so many secrets. I remember that from the memories Dustin got from you."
"And now they'll never know any of my secrets," Waldo continued. "I should feel relieved, right? I'm sick of all these secrets."
"It's okay," Tobi whispered, trying to calm the brunette. "I know how hard it was for you."
Waldo looked at him sharply. "No, you don't know."
Tobi gave him a surprised look.
"Look, I know you shared Dustin's thoughts after I had him in me," Waldo explained, "but you're like him. Dustin and you always had... hope. Even after your mom died and we were all jerks to you, you put up with it."
"I didn't have a choice," Tobi reminded him.
"Yes, you did," Waldo insisted. "You could have did your own thing, made friends, but instead you held onto hope I'd stop treating you like crap and like you back. You can't know what it's like to be hopeless, to believe that things aren't going to somehow magically get better. You don't know what it's like to fake it. To... to act like someone you're not."
"I do understand," Tobi replied defensively. "You think that punk was me? I acted like someone I wasn't every day and it did me no good."
Waldo sighed, his gaze softening. "I'm sorry, Tobs. It's just... after you bonded with Dustin, you had my memories and parts of Dustin were left in me. I didn't even know who I was, but Hunter helped me figure that out. He got me."
"No, I understand," Tobi said, patting Waldo's knee. "I'm not a brooder like you and Hunter. But I'm here for you." He looked down. "I can't leave my body. I'm not going anywhere."
Waldo watched the blond. "Before I realized it was impossible, I thought of bonding Dustin's spirit with my body."
"I thought you didn't like sharing minds," Tobi said, looking at the brunette.
Waldo shook his head. "I'd let him have my body. I'd be a spirit with Hunter and the others."
Tobi gasped out of surprise.
"I've had Dustin in my head," Waldo continued, staring at Tobi. "I know you're meant to be with him. He's your soulmate."
Tobi wiped tears from his eyes.
"Dude, I'm sorry," Waldo hastily apologized.
Tobi stared at the earth ninja intensely. "You sound... and you look just like him."
"You can... pretend I'm him, if it helps," Waldo offered.
Tobi shook his head. "No, I can't."
"Oh," Waldo mumbled, turning away.
In one swift movement, Tobi wrapped his arms around the earth ninja, hugging him.
Waldo was caught off guard before returning the hug.
"I love you," Tobi whispered into his side.
"I love you too, Tobs," Waldo replied.
"I know you're not my Dustin," Tobi continued, "but I want you to know you still matter to me." He pulled back from the hug to look into the brunette's eyes, those all to familiar golden brown orbs.
Waldo stared back at him, brown clashing with blue, before leaning forward and kissing him on the lips.
Tobi returned the kiss, their lips united in a familiar dance until the brunette pulled away and Tobi whispered, "Dustin..."
Waldo bit back emotions. "I should... I should get back to work."
Tobi nodded, looking around. He almost felt like he had cheated on Dustin and wondered if his spirit was there watching. "I'll get back to sleep." He paused before standing. "You're a good friend, Waldo."
"Yeah," the earth ninja replied before also standing.
Tobi nodded again before leaving the room and returning to his cot, where he laid thinking about Dustin, but feeling Waldo's lips against his own.
Sensei and Skyla emerged in front of a giant hole lit by the portal and the moon overhead. The chasm had obviously once held the Thunder Ninja Academy, but oddly, while the area around the Wind Ninja Academy was littered with debris, there was an absence of other debris. Then they noticed an area to their left lit by torches, where debris was arranged by type and there were crimson and navy flags on poles nearby.
As they approached the setup, Skyla grabbed Sensei's arm, pulling him back. "Watch out!" she shouted just as a shadow jumped out at them, revealing a figure in black ninja attire brandishing a double sided sword.
"How did you get here?" the figure demanded. But then the figure paused, reaching up and removing a face covering to reveal a young woman with dark hair. "Sensei Watanabe?"
Sensei nodded. "And this is Skyla."
"How did you escape?" she asked, lowering her weapon. "I thought the Wind Ninja Academy was destroyed too."
"That is a long story," Sensei replied.
"Blake said the same thing when I asked him how he escaped," Lean said, a hint of suspicion in her voice. "He also told me he was certain my father would be back. That's why I came back here actually." She gestured around. "I wanted to try to give him something to come back to."
Sensei glanced at Skyla. "We came here to enlist your help."
"Help?" she repeated.
"This may take some time," Sensei said, gesturing for them to sit on a pile of wood. As they did, he raised his wrist. "Sensei to Waldo. We made it safely to the Thunder Ninja Academy and have found Leanne. We may be a while, so now would be the time to rest."
"Alright," came Waldo's voice in reply. "Good luck."
"How did you know to find me here?" Leanne asked as she watched Sensei lower his arm. "I never told Blake I was coming back. ...Where is Blake?"
Sensei took a breath. "In addition to a request for help, we come bearing unfortunate news. Blake, as well as the other ninja students are... dead."
She gasped. "What? Is this some kind of a joke?"
"Sadly, no," he replied. "And there is more. Your father, Sensei Omino, is also dead."
Leanne was at a loss for words as she choked.
"No, he's not," Skyla interrupted suddenly.
"What?" Sensei asked, turning to her, confused.
"She's right," came a voice. "I'm not dead."
The three looked over to see Sensei Omino approaching from the portal.
"Father!" Leanne called, standing.
"Leanne, get back," Omino warned, though his eyes never left Sensei's, his pupils burning with reflected fire from the torches. "I'm alive, no thanks to you, Kanoi." He then raised his arms and lightning flew from his hands.
To Be Continued...
Author's Note: So, does it work to constantly end on cliffhangers? Was Lothor's ship really destroyed and all the other rangers killed? I actually removed a lot of what I originally wrote for this chapter and changed a lot, so does it still flow well? Please review if you are able. Although I have plans for future chapters, I am open to suggestions. I may also do a poll for this question: Should the rangers keep or lose their morphing powers at the end of Parallel Realities Ninja Storm? As a reminder, in the tv series, they lose their morphing powers at the end of the series. Thank you for reading this and I hope you are enjoying the story as it approaches its conclusion. There's still lots more left to happen though!