Disclaimer: Buena Vista owns the Power Rangers. "I'm With You" is by Avril Lavigne from her album, Let Go.

Timeline: after "The Wild Wipeout".

Author's Note: yay Ferry Beach! howdy Kat! thanks TJ, Red, Sugarplum, and Starhawk. :)

They weren't spying. Really they weren't. They had been there first after all. They had been on the cliff for quite a while before the two figures in different shades of blue had appeared below.

Tori and Blake had settled on a blanket on the beach. Dustin and Marah sat high above them at the cliff's edge, overlooking the ocean. It was actually the same cliff that the Thunder Rangers had faced off against the Perry version of Motodrone on. But Dustin didn't feel the need to mention that.

And Dustin didn't feel that bad about being there. Tori and Blake had like, walked into their view and all. So they weren't spying. They just were watching while they weren't leaving.

Another pebble went over the edge. He leaned over, trying to see if he could make out where it hit the water from there.

"Your turn," Marah said, handing him a rock. He gave it an overhanded toss, watching it soar oceanward. Below them, Tori and Blake still appeared totally preoccupied with each other.

"Dude, they're ninjas. You'd think they'd, you know."

"See us?" Marah finished for him. "Yeah, I wondered about that."

And as if that were some kinda clue, they looked at each other and realized that their position wasn't exactly the smartest one to be in and not be seen. They pulled their legs up and scooted out of sight from the cliff's edge.

He knew Tori and Blake probably wouldn't be going anywhere any time soon. Blake was kinda freaked, what with Tori having been missing and all. Dustin had been a little freaked too. For a while his best friend had just disappeared. Then to find out he and the others had tried to kill her in some bizzaro world. Yeah, way not good.

But as weird as that world seemed, there had been interesting things there too. Like Lothor leading the good guy team -- a team Marah had been a part of. When Marah had called to meet that afternoon, Dustin had jumped at the chance to discuss it all with her.

"So I was a good guy, huh?" Marah asked, with a tone that said she wasn't sure she quite believed anything he was saying.

"Yup," he nodded. "You were like, a folk singer. And you and Kapri took Tori to meet with Mayor Lothor. Then you fought with him against the bad guys."

"And that was the Rangers?"

He nodded again, reaching for another pebble.

"Yeah, this so does not sound right. I mean, you, a bad guy? Seriously? I so don't see that."

"Dude, I wasn't just a bad guy. I was the smart one! Like inventing weapons and stuff. Way weird, ya know?" He tossed the pebble after the others.

She shook her head. "I so could never imagine a world where you were evil. You're just..." she shrugged, "not."

He shrugged too, staring out over the ocean. "I could see a world where you were good."

She turned and stared at him, but he didn't look her way. Letting her take from his comments whatever she wanted. She followed his gaze as a silence settled between them. Not awkward. But thoughtful.

"It doesn't sound like a really bad world," she concluded. "Just different."

He smiled.

Below them, Tori was dragging Blake toward the water. It looked like she might have been trying to teach him to surf. In a drowning kinda way. He would have to tease Blake later. Only he couldn't. 'Cause to tease he would have to have seen it. And he didn't. 'Cause he wasn't there. Or at least, he wasn't spying.

"It doesn't have to be a different world," he said, leaning back on his hands. He saw her glance over at how close they were before she answered.

"I don't want to see you go all evil in this one though."

He grinned again, knowing she had known what he meant. "Yeah, me neither."

The silence settled again, but it was good. It was occasionally broken by Blake's water-logged yelps and their laughs as his plight. But it was good.

It's a damn cold night, trying to figure out this life
Won't you, take me by the hand
Take me somewhere new
I don't know who you are but I
I'm with you

THE END

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