Fealdor watched with great impatience. What he wanted, what he needed was for these three humans to go to sleep; but they seemed to be inclined to talk all night. Mesogog had only given him until the morning to gather data on the three former Rangers, and though the data he'd already gathered was intriguing, what he wanted was to scan them in-depth. And for that, he preferred for them to be asleep. Pacing, he continued to watch the viewing monitors for any sign that the Rangers were headed to bed.
The walk back to the hotel was not far, but it was long enough for Dustin to regain his equilibrium. Seeing that girl with Marah's face was just too weird; Dustin just wasn't prepared for it. For a split second, he thought Marah'd put on one of those wacky disguises she used to use so she could spy on them this weekend. It wouldn't have been totally out of character for her, although she'd tried to change.
Dustin been right in his assessment of Marah's true nature, as evidenced by her change of heart and attendance at the Wind Ninja Academy. But, he'd never gotten over the way she'd betrayed him. Even after a year, he wasn't comfortable around her. She tried to be low-key and let him have his space, but the academy wasn't large and whenever they'd run into each other, it was awkward. Dustin was pretty mellow about a lot of things, but dealing with Marah was something he'd never been able to work out.
"That was pretty freaky," offered Shane. He didn't need to explain – they knew what he was talking about.
Tori made an exasperated face at him. "The whole day's been weird."
Dustin grunted noncommittally, then stated, "Yeah, but…weird in a good way."
Tori grinned to herself, all they had to do was get Dustin to start talking about the other Rangers. His "Marah moment" would be far overshadowed by his excitement about them. She wondered how long it would take.
"Can you believe we just ran into them like that?" Dustin asked.
Tori stifled a giggle. That didn't take long at all. "It was kind of cool," she responded, "and, it was just what you were hoping for."
"Yeah, I'm kinda glad…because I kinda wondered, you know?"
Shane and Tori exchanged glances. Tori gave him a look that said "your turn". Shane dove in. "Wondered about what, dude?"
"Would they like us? I mean, I thought they kind of would, but what if they didn't? That would've been harsh." Tori nodded thoughtfully.
"I don't know," she said, "Maybe we're programmed to like each other." She made a face. "That's not the right word. But you know what I mean."
Shane nodded as well. "Yeah. Not programmed…more like fated. Destiny, you know?"
A grin had spread across Dustin's face as he listened to Shane. "That's it, yeah. Destined to connect – maybe that's why I knew this would happen. I'm like, psychic." Tori giggled and Shane let out a loud guffaw. "What?" said Dustin looking perplexed. "Sensei can do it…"
That pronouncement led Tori and Shane to laugh even harder. It was contagious - Dustin gave in and laughed along with them. The desk clerk gave them an accusatory look as they crossed the lobby. That made Shane laugh even more. The three of them hustled into the elevator, but the doors were very slow to close. In fact, it took so long Tori wondered if the elevator was broken. This gave the desk clerk ample time to glare at the trio. Shane was laughing so hard he could hardly breathe. Dustin tried to turn away to avoid the desk clerk's gaze, but found himself staring at his reflection and the reflection of the clerk in the mirrored back wall. With nowhere else to look, Dustin raised an eyebrow and waved half-heartedly. Tori, seeing this, was sent into a fit of giggles.
By the time the doors finally closed the three of them were holding each other up and waiting for the desk clerk to call security. When they arrived at their floor, the three sprinted to Shane and Dustin's room. Crashing through the door Dustin hurled himself across the room and onto his neatly made bed. "Did you see the look that guy was giving us? I thought he was going to call out the National Guard or something. Like laughing is a crime against the state or something."
Shane had managed to get to his own bed and lay there as he laughed himself out. Tori was attempting to get herself under control sitting on the end of Shane's bed. "That was too funny…" she gasped. "I wonder if he'll call the police for us starting a riot."
"Yeah…a laugh riot." added Shane. That sent everyone off again.
After a few false starts, and a number of infectious episodes later, silence reigned in the room. Tori listened to Dustin and Shane breathing and thought to herself just how grateful she was for these friends and this day. But if we don't get some sleep, we'll never get Dustin up in the morning. Unfortunately, I've got to be the one who moves. Too bad I'm not already in my own room like the guys.
Tori levered herself up from her position on the foot of Shane's bed. "Well, I'm going to bed. Someone's got to get enough sleep to get us up in the morning."
Shane winked at her. "Think you'll need another "special" wake-up call, Dustin?"
A hurled pillow was the only response from Dustin's side of the room. "I think that's a no." smiled Tori.
"You're not getting this back," Shane tossed over his shoulder as he got up to walk Tori out.
Tori glanced across the room – it appeared the Dustin was already asleep. Shane knew better. "G'night Tor." he said as he gallantly opened the door for her. "G'night!" she responded and gave him a quick half-hug before scooting out the door. "See you bright and early!"
Shane watched until Tori's door had closed behind her, then he closed the door he'd been holding open. He knew without even looking that though Dustin hadn't moved, he wasn't sleeping. Shane could tell he was awake and lost in his own thoughts. To give him time, Shane went about his routine getting ready for bed – Dustin would start talking when he was ready.
As much as the three of them could talk about everything, Dustin was a little hesitant to talk about Marah in front of Tori. Tori got weirdly protective and more than a little hostile when it came to Marah. It wasn't easy for Dustin to talk about trying to forgive Marah when any mention of her caused Tori's teeth to clench in anger on his behalf. So, he tried not to bring her up often, at least not when the three of them were together. But talking to Shane alone was a different story.
Shane walked out of the bathroom and saw that Dustin had changed into cut-off sweats and a shirt to sleep in. At least he's moving. That's a good sign. Dustin quietly went about his routine, and Shane left the silence alone – it was not the time for more banter.
By the time Dustin was finished, Shane had already climbed into bed. Dustin turned out the light and settled down. Shane waited; it didn't take very long. In the dark he could hear Dustin rolling onto his side to face him; Shane rolled as well so they could talk to each other over the gap between the beds.
"That was so weird tonight," began Dustin softly. "That girl had Marah's face." He sighed softly. "You know, at first I thought it was her. Like she was trying to join us for the weekend. I felt kind of sad for her, and angry, and happy too. Then I realized it wasn't her, but I was still frozen, you know? Then Tori got involved…" Dustin sighed again. "I mean, I'm glad she did, but still…Tori and Marah. Even Tori and girl who isn't Marah…not a good mix."
Shane nodded though Dustin couldn't see him in the dark. This wasn't the first time Dustin had expressed feeling upset about the Tori/Marah dynamic. And not for the first time Shane wondered if Dustin really had forgiven Marah, but couldn't tell her because he didn't want to make Tori mad. Or, if he hadn't even acknowledged to himself that he'd forgiven her, for the same reason.
Shane pondered exactly what he wanted to ask. "Well, if it had turned out to be Marah, how would that have made you feel."
"Oh," Dustin snorted, "Tori would've freaked!"
"That's not what I asked you. If it really had been Marah at the café tonight, how would you have felt?" Shane waited. He could almost feel Dustin's tension. He could also sense that Dustin was really thinking about what he asked, not blowing the question off.
Shane could hear Dustin roll onto his back and guessed that he was staring at the ceiling. "I think…I think I would've been mad that she was being sneaky and trying to intrude on our special weekend. But maybe…"
Shane waited again wondering if Dustin would actually verbalize what Shane had guessed. "I don't know…." Dustin admitted softly. He sighed much more deeply. "I really liked her, Shane…but after what she did…" Dustin rolled back in his direction. "I know, better than anyone, the bad things she's done. It still hurts when I think about it. I don't know if I can ever really forgive her…but then, what sort of Ninja teacher would I be if I can't deal and move on?"
That surprised Shane – this particular train of thought had never occurred to him. He snapped his attention back to Dustin who was still talking. "I don't know if we can ever be more than just casual friends, but casual friends is way better than weird "not talking to each other in the hallway". I just don't know how to do it. When it comes to her, I have a hard time trusting my heart." Dustin fell silent.
That last statement led Shane to believe that Dustin's heart was prompting him to forgive Marah. He silently vowed to talk to Tori about backing off. It was time for a little healing, all the way around. And Dustin would probably be the one to put things in motion once he got a little breathing room from his blue teammate.
"Dude, if there's anyone who should be able to trust his heart, it's you." Shane attempted to lighten the mood by sniffing loudly and feigning wiping away a tear. "That was a total Sensei moment…he would be so proud…"
Dustin chuckled softly. "Thanks, Shane."
Shane answered seriously, "Anytime, Dustin."
Lost in their own thoughts, the boys eventually fell asleep.
Fealdor was practically dancing with excitement. The information he was getting from the data analysis was phenomenal. He'd started with the girl because the boys were chatting like old ladies and he thought they'd never fall asleep. The girl on the other hand was asleep almost before her head hit the pillow.
The readings he'd done earlier were surface scans – just used to compare the energy output of regular people compared to Rangers. He'd hit the jackpot scanning these three. Fealdor had learned while listening to their conversation with the Dino Rangers that they were from Blue Bay Harbor. It intrigued him that they might be from the number of people he'd scanned there but had not registered on his instruments. Why did they register at Reefside? Or on the other hand, what was interfering with the scans in Blue Bay Harbor? Fealdor privately cursed Elsa again for rushing this project; he fervently wished he had more time to research to find out the answers to those very questions.
Something interesting had happened once the girl fell asleep, and Fealdor was eager to see if it happened with the boys as well. Not only were her energy readings stronger while she was asleep, which was unusual in itself, but the energy seemed to move around her in a soft blue haze. The power around her swirled in waves and eddies. It was a spectacular light show to watch.
Fealdor switched his focus to the boys. The darker-skinned boy had fallen asleep, though the other was still awake in the dark. The power around the sleeping boy acted much like it had with the girl. His power potential was even greater while he was unconscious, and the power moved around him in red swirls as if being moved by a gentle breeze.
After some time, the last former Ranger drifted off to sleep. Fealdor was pleased to see that his energy readings were similar to his friends. All three were very strong, but the power behind this boy seemed to be the strongest. The power around him did not fluctuate as it did with the other two – it was a steady, glowing yellow force around him. The potential energy behind all three was staggering – Mesogog could take his pick, or take all three for a smorgasbord of energy.
Satisfied with his work for the night, Fealdor was eager to make his report in the morning. We're going to have a big day tomorrow.