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Chapter Text

Disclaimer: Power Rangers, all related concepts and anything you recognise do not belong to me. I am merely borrowing them to bring you this story - and for my own personal enjoyment - as they actually belong to their rightful owners: Saban, Hasbro and Disney. 

Rating: Teen

Pairings: N/A

Genre: Fantasy/Adventure

Warnings: Violence, occasional bad language.

Story Summary: Leaving Magic behind, Chris's adventure continues when he finds himself working at a pizza parlour and dragged into an adventure to stop Dai Shi and the evil Rinshi from obtaining World Domination.

Thank You: Thank you to Twix3780 for brainstorming with me and helping me dangle my feet into this fandom. If you like this, then go and read her stories. They're brilliant!

Chapter I: Welcome to the Jungle

Our story this time does not begin with the intrepid hero that we all know and love. Fear not, this is his story, but for now, our story begins with three unlikely heroes.

We are the vision in your dreams. We do not exist, yet we have been here since the beginning. We are Pai Zhuq, the Order of the Claw. We train only the best, both physically and mentally, swearing them to secrecy. All Masters of their skills, never knowing their true purpose…

Until now…

~*~*~*~*~

The Pai Zhuq academy sat peacefully atop a mountain, hidden by even larger mountains. It was very peaceful, with grass, rocks and flowers everywhere. A water fountain bubbled gently at the edge of the paved courtyard; paradise for anyone who loved peace and quiet.

“Theo,” said Lily to her aforementioned friend. “What is going on?”

Theo, who was deep in meditation, like Lily should have been, creaked open one dark eye. “Lily, no talking!” he scolded her in a whisper.

“Lighten up,” she said. “We’ve been sitting here since last night!”

“Just try and enjoy the silence,” retorted Theo.

“I hate silence,” grunted Lily.

Their mentor, a man called Mao, stopped at the small set of steps a few feet ahead of them. He was elderly, but not yet past his time, and wore robes of yellow and a headband; a symbol of a wildcat adorned the left breast pocket of his robes.

Another of the mentors at the academy, a man dressed in yellow with a purple belt around his waist, bashed a gong mallet against a gong adorned with the three clawed symbol.

It rang out, echoing around the academy, though the mountains all around prevented it from being heard anywhere else.

Theo, Lily, and four other students all stood up at the sound of the gong.

“Stiff,” Lily moaned. “Hey, Theo, did my butt get up with me. I can’t tell,” she added, seeing the confused look on his face. “I’m numb.”

“You,” said Master Mao, eyes flicking left and right between the six students. “Are the six finalists. I’m looking for three.”

He clapped his hands together, just once, to indicate to the six to begin.

Theo split off with his opponent, Lily with hers, and the two remaining with each other; all six sank into their fighting stances.

“Begin!” barked Master Mao.

So, they did.

Lily and her opponent were equally match, both fast, both lithe, both skilled, but Lily was more creative. She backflipped away from her opponent’s kick, landed, kicked him in the chest and, before he could recover, made a movement with her hand and launched her Animal Spirit – a cheetah – at him, knocking him to the ground.

She had won her bout.

Theo was close to winning his too, managing to catch his opponent by the wrist only for her to take his wrist in her own grasp and flip him into a cartwheel. He’d planned for that.

He flipped her back, sending her cartwheeling backwards herself, and then finally managed to overpower her by elbowing her in the stomach when she got to close in her advance to strike at him again. He made a movement with his hands and launched his Animal Spirit – a jaguar– at his opponent.

He, too, had won his bout.

The remaining twosome were interesting. One was fast, flailing and kicking, causing the second to dodge his attacks. The second, a youth with a face that screamed evil and untrustworthiness, managed to overpower the first, knocking him to the floor.

He chuckled evilly under his breath to himself, then made a movement with his hands, and launched a black, yellow maned Animal Spirit – a lion – at his opponent.

He was about to go in for a second attack, when Master Mao spoke.

“Jarrod, Lily, Theo, join us in the Great Hall this evening.”

All three placed one hand over the other and bent into a bow, as a student of Pai Zhuq did when acknowledging a mentor.

Lily and Theo cheered, clapping a hand together in a one-armed fist as the gong rang.

The mentors began to head inside; Jarrod spread his arms wide and addressed a young, blonde boy near the towels.

“Where my towel, Cub?” he asked petulantly, walking past one of the other Cubs – the term used to refer to a first-year trainee – who was tending to the flower beds. “Go get me a towel! Move it!”

The boy didn’t move.

Master Mao stopped and turned to watch.

“That’s a direct order from a senior student!” barked Jarrod, face angry, as he leered down at the youth.

He smacked aside a large basket of towels on the bench nearby.

“Here’s a towel,” said the first-year trainee who had been tending to the flower beds, rushing over to hold one out for Jarrod.

Jarrod turned to him, a sneer on his face, nose scrunched up in disgust, and took the towel.

“Look,” said the flower tending first year. “I don’t want any problems.”

“Too bad,” said Jarrod, shoving him. He crashed down into a bench nearby and glared up at Jarrod with a face etched with fury. Both Theo and Lily glanced across anxiously.

“Oh, is little cub going to do something?” mocked Jarrod.

The first year roared, the roar of a tiger exploding from him. Jarrod, caught off guard, was thrown backwards across the courtyard and crashed down onto the steps.

“What did I just do?” asked the first year, looking at his hands in confusion.

Mao, who had watched the entire event unfold, glanced from Jarrod to the first year. Jarrod stood up angrily.

“I’m sorry,” said the first year, putting up a hand to try and stop Jarrod. “I don’t know what happened!”

Jarrod made the movement with his hands, intending to launch his lion spirit at the first year, only for Mao to clap. Jarrod turned and stared over his shoulder at him.

~*~*~*~*~

Ten minutes later, Theo, Lily, and the first year sat outside Mao’s office.

“Why are we here?” asked Theo. “Where’s Jarrod? Why is that recruit here?”

Lily turned to look at the first year, who smiled weakly at her, then turned back to Theo.

“Why do you always have to know what’s going on?” she asked. “You have control issues.”

Mao emerged from his office; all three leapt to their feet and bowed to him.

“Follow me,” said Mao, striding past them. They fell into line behind him.

He led them through the academy, down a long corridor, through a large set of doors, out of the academy, down the mountain, and into a secret hidden staircase.

He pushed open the large blue doors, adorned with red panelling, at the bottom and entered the large cave, with carvings on the walls and torches in holders adorning the corners of the room.

“This is so cool!” exclaimed Lily in a whisper. “Where are we?”

Mao, who had not spoken since telling them to follow him, turned to face the three of them. “It’s called the Forbidden Room.”

“Forbidden?” questioned the first year. “That doesn’t sound good.”

“Jarrod has been dismissed,” said Mao to Lily and Theo. “In your hearts, you know why. Casey,” he added, addressing the first year by name. “You have the heart to stand up for others. You also have the potential to be a tiger master. I have decided to choose you in Jarrod’s place.”

Theo and Lily, both gasping, turned back to look at Casey, who looked confused and concerned in equal measure.

“Listen closely,” said Mao. “Over ten thousand years ago, there was a great evil…” he turned to the carvings on the wall behind him, then back to the threesome before him. “Named Dai Shi. He believed that animals should rule the planet, and humans were to be erased. Brave warriors channelled their Animal Spirits, and, after a great battle, they were able to capture the Dai Shi…” he turned to the rock plinth in the middle of the room and picked up a box, holding it in his arms as he approached them. “Inside this box.”

He held up his right fist, showing them the three clawed tattoo on his arm. “The Pai Zhuq, The Order of the Claw, was formed to train students in Kung Fu and to serve as protectors if the Dai Shi were ever to escape. You three have been selected to take on that task.”

“Yeah, well, the evil hasn’t escaped, so all’s good,” said Casey, quickly. “And look, I’ve just been here a week, and there must be someone better –”

He was cut off by the arrival of Jarrod, who was furious and fuming. “I’ve spent ten years in training! You just can’t kick me out for no reason!”

“Agreed,” acknowledged Mao, the box containing Dai Shi still in his hands. “But I have a reason.”

Mao turned back to the plinth and Jarrod did exactly what Mao expected him to do – he reacted in anger and leapt to strike at Mao, who’s hand came up to catch him. He twisted around, Jarrod’s hand in his grip, a face like thunder. One by one, for fifteen attacks, Mao dodged Jarrod’s strikes.

He cartwheeled back after dodging the sixteenth strike and thrust two fingers forward, hitting Jarrod in the chest. Jarrod skidded backwards, panting.

“Now, go,” said Mao sternly.

“Yes,” said Jarrod. He strode away, stopping just before he reached Lily, Theo, and Casey. He whirled around, blasting his lion spirit at Mao, who was thrown backwards onto the plinth.

“No!” Lily cried, watching the box soar into the air and crash down onto the ground.

The lid flopped open, and mist began to rise from within. Something enormous and powerful exploded from within, yellow and red filling the air.

Lily, Casey, Theo, and Jarrod were thrown backwards; Jarrod flew out of the room and crashed down on the stairs.

“Free!” boomed the voice of Dai Shi. “At last! Mao!” said the spirit, turning to Mao and forming a vaguely human shape. “My old friend. I have thought about no-one else for centuries! But, before I destroy you, you will be a witness to my destruction of those dear to you!”

“Who’s he talking about?” asked Theo.

“That’d be us!” exclaimed Lily.

Dai Shi turned to attack them; all three scrambled to their feet, ready for a fight.

“NOOOO!” cried Mao, leaping to his feet from the plinth.

“Yes, Mao!” cried Dai Shi. Mao had done exactly what he had expected, and Dai Shi caught him around the waist and drained his energy.

He smashed Mao down onto the plinth, leaving Mao struggling for breath, defeated and dying.

“Mao is defeated!” boomed Dai Shi. “You are not worth my time!”

And he soared away, forcing the three of them to jump aside.

“AAAAAH!” moaned Mao from the plinth.

“Master!” cried Theo as he, Lily, and Casey rushed over.

“My time in this form has ended,” said Mao, staring into the air. “Shed no tears, there are important things to do. The evil that is Dai Shi will return to where he was captured. You must destroy him.” Mao fumbled inside his robes, then pulled out a yellow envelope with a red seal on the front; he handed it to Theo. “Go to this address in Ocean Bluff. There you’ll meet your new Master.”

“We don’t want a new Master!” protested Lily.

“Remember the first rule I taught you,” said Mao, smiling at Lily. “Don’t be attached to the Master, but to the lesson. Now go.”

“Wait!” interrupted Casey frantically. “I’m not your guy! I can’t destroy evil! I haven’t even mastered handing out towels!”

“Listen to me!” boomed Mao. “All of you. You three are the world’s only chance.”

Before their eyes, he faded away; his wildcat spirit formed above where he’d faded, then soared off into the air.

~*~*~*~*~

“I gotta get out of here!” said Jarrod to himself, rushing away from the academy.

“Jaaaaarrrrroooooodddddddd,” taunted a voice on the wind.

He whirled around, backing up against a tree. “Who’s there!?”

Getting no reply, and now seriously freaked out, he took off in a run.

“Jaaaaarrrrroooooodddddddd,” taunted the voice again.

Jarrod stopped and turned, only for something to smash into him, and everything went black.

~*~*~*~*~

JUNGLE KARMA PIZZA, said the sign over the door and on the bonnet off the jeep outside. It sat on a pizza with leaves sticking out of the sides.

“A pizza parlor?” questioned Theo, disbelievingly. “This can’t be the place.”

They opened the front door to find themselves in the middle of the hustle and bustle of a busy pizza place. The majority of the tables were crammed with people. A woman sat on a stool nearby, eating pizza and reading a book.

Theo glanced around, finally catching sight of an elderly man sat in a booth nearby. He slapped Lily in the stomach.

“That must be him,” he said, gesturing to the old man. They approached and bowed to him. “We’re here,” began Theo, introducing the group. “I’m Theo, this is Lily, and this is – this is someone who is in way over his head.”

“We’re from the Pai Zhuq school, ready to take on evil and defeat it,” said Lily. “You have our total obedience. We’re eager to learn everything you have to teach us, Master.”

“Yes,” agreed Theo. “Treat us to your words of wisdom.”

The man looked at them as if they had grown two heads, then raised a hand. “Check!”

“Okay, wrong guy,” said Theo.

They turned away and Lily chuckled, pointing out a woman sat at the desk with a book and pizza. “Probably not her either,” she suggested, seeing the woman drop cheese from the pizza on her face.

Something exploded in the back room and a chef staggered out of the kitchen, covered in pizza dough.

“Whoa,” he exclaimed, pulling the pizza dough off his face. He was young, with bright eyes and uncontrollable hair. “Intense. So much for my Mount Kilimanjaro pizza experiment.” He spotted Lily, Theo, and Casey. “Whoa, new customers!”

He rounded one of the raised tables near the kitchen, handing out a flyer to each of them. “Welcome to Jungle Karma Pizza, the name’s RJ.”

“No, no, we’re not customers,” protested Theo rudely.

“We’re looking for…” Lily looked around, making sure that no-one was listening and leaned in, speaking in a whisper. “Our Master.”

“Aren’t we all?” asked RJ.

“I say we go,” said Theo, turning and passing between Lily and Casey.

“I’m hungry,” said Casey.

“Me too,” admitted Lily.

RJ gestured to the table nearby, allowing them to sit down.

“Oh, great,” muttered Theo, who had just pushed open the door.

~*~*~*~*~

“Well, how’s the pizza?” asked RJ ten minutes later.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was amazing,” said Theo, flippantly.

“Ahh,” said RJ happily, clasping his hands together.

“But,” continued Theo, leaning across the table to RJ and Lily. “That’s not why we came here…”

“Right,” replied RJ. “You’re looking for your Master. If you’re supposed to meet him here, then I suggest you wait. You can work here until he shows up.”

“Work here?” suggested Theo, rudely. “No, no, we don’t work for anyone. Right, guys?”

“Okay,” said RJ, raising his hands and walking away.

“Look, Theo, we’re in the real world and there are things to get, things to have; we need money to do that!” retorted Lily. “I am not gonna spend another day in these pyjamas.”

“Okay, fine,” replied Theo. “I’ll be a manager or something reasonable, but only until our Master arrives, not a day more.”

A shriek and an explosion outside wrenched their attention away.

“Come on, we better check it out,” said Lily, leaping from the table with Theo.

“Uh, yeah, well, maybe I should just stay here until I get my bearings?” suggested Casey awkwardly.

“Hey,” said Theo, putting a hand on his shoulder. “If you’re gonna be part of this team, now’s the time!”

He heaved Casey to his feet and dragged him away.

~*~*~*~*~

In the town, JiangShi-like warriors that travelled by hopping were attacking civilians.

“Yes!” boomed their leader, who was stood high up on some steps, watching the fight. “Gather their fear, Rinshi, it makes us stronger! It makes me stronger!”

A youth wearing sunglasses was already there, fighting the creatures as Casey, Theo, and Lily arrived.

“What are those things?”

“No idea!” admitted the youth, cartwheeling back to join them. “They’re ugly and a nuisance, whatever they are.”

“My guess – friends of Dai Shi,” replied Lily.

“Lovely,” said the youth. “Good to know. No idea who that is, mind you!”

“Let’s do it!” said Theo. “You should probably get out of here. This is no place for amateurs!”

He, Lily, and Casey rushed into the fight.

“Amateur!” bristled the youth. “Of all the cheek!”

He charged into the battle after them, helping Lily wrench open a car door to free a trapped woman.

Lily rushed back into the fray, vanishing into the crowd of Rinshi as Casey was hurled over the bonnet of a car. The youth led the woman away.

“Now for my true form!” boomed the Rinshi above; his costume ripped open, revealing a large Mantis inside.

“Well,” said Theo, back-to-back with Casey. “Look what crawled out from underneath a rock!”

“Pound for pound humans are no match for a bug!”

The Mantis-Rinshi slammed into the ground, throwing Theo and Casey into the air; they smashed down, unable to fight, a short distance away.

“Hey!” cried Lily, rushing over to help, only to be caught by the Mantis-Rinshi.

“Would you care to join your friends?” asked the Mantis-Rinshi, tossing her aside; she crashed down near Theo and Casey.

“And now to finish you little pests!” barked the Mantis-Rinshi, advancing.

“I don’t think so!” The youth from before had returned and was stood before them, arms stretched wide.

“Must you always pick a fight?” asked RJ, also arriving. “Whoa, step back.” He glanced down at Theo, Lily, and Casey. “I think it’s time for your first lesson: Can’t judge a book by its cover.”

He pulled up his sleeve, revealing the three clawed symbol of the Pai Zhuq academy. He made movements, sinking into the fighting stance of a wolf, expelling flour into the air.

“Flour?” asked the youth. “If you’ve detonated something else in my kitchen –!”

“Fight now, argue about the kitchen later!” suggested RJ.

“Oh, very well,” said the youth, sounding like he’d enjoy nothing more than a good argument. He grinned and took off his sunglasses. “Ready to fight?”

He didn’t get a reply, but his eyes turned white; he seemed to take that as an answer and cartwheeled into battle. “Excellent.”

“ATTACK!” roared the Mantis-Rinshi.

Theo, Casey, and Lily watched as the youth and RJ defeated the Rinshi in combat.

“What!?” cried the Mantis-Rinshi as RJ made a hand movement and blasted a bolt of purple energy at him as the youth fired a blast of pure white energy from his eyes.

The two met and smashed into the Mantis-Rinshi, which exploded, transforming back to his pre-Mantis form.

“I’ll get you!” barked the Rinshi, rushing off.

RJ and the youth turned to face Theo, Casey, and Lily.

“You’re him,” said Casey. “You’re our Master.”

The three bowed before him.

“Ohhh, uh, just call me RJ,” protested RJ. “Now, my students, the real journey begins.”

~*~*~*~*~

“Oh, yeah, that was great!” said Lily as Casey opened the door to Jungle Karma Pizza.

“Where was everyone!?” exclaimed the pizza and book woman from before. “The door was open, and people were waiting so I ended up taking orders and making pizzas and stuff and I took money and I put it in the register, and I clean, and I turn off the oven!”

“Oh, remember to breathe, Fran,” said RJ. “Uh, Fran, this is Theo, Lily, and Casey. And Chris, you already know.”

“Mornin’ Fran,” said Chris, raising a hand casually.

“Morning, Frannie,” chimed Lily.

“Fran is our best customer,” said RJ. “She’s here every day.”

“Oh, but, it’s not like I have nothing else to do,” protested Fran quickly, curling the handles of her bag inside her fingers. “I do, it’s just – I love pizza. All the topping and the smell and the taste! I like spaghetti as well, you know, the sauce and the meatballs and I also –”

“Oh, breathe, Fran!” said RJ. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, bye,” said Fran, rushing away awkwardly.

“Follow me,” said RJ, pushing open the door to the kitchen.

“My kitchen!” exclaimed Chris, seeing how clean it was. “You should be glad Fran was here, RJ, or I’d boil you alive like a lobster on a spit.”

RJ rolled his eyes and led the four youths upstairs.

“Look at the size of this place!” exclaimed Theo as they emerged into an attic loft conversation that was much bigger than the outside of the Pizza Parlor suggested.

“Wow!” exclaimed Casey, picking up a basketball. “This place is great.”

“Check it out!” exclaimed Lily, turning on a jukebox as Casey began shooting hoops.

“It’s nice,” said Theo, running his hand over the top of the television set. “But it needs a cleaning.”

“Hey!” protested RJ. “Thanks for volunteering, Theo.”

“Hey, I didn’t –!”

“Mi casa, es tu casa,” said RJ, striding past him. “This is where you’ll be living, training, playing, and working. Everything is yours.” RJ whirled to Lily. “Except that chair!” He rushed over to the chair. “My chair. It’s mine. It’s off limits. Got it?”

“He’s serious, you know?” said Chris. “I sat in it once and I had to sleep on the floor for a week. I had back ache for days!”

“Got it!” chimed Lily, Casey, and Theo.

“Okay, next order of business it to get you out of those pyjamas.”

He handed them three folded bundles of clothes – red for Casey, blue for Theo, yellow for Lily. Chris’s – pink – were hanging up on a washing line nearby.

“Hey, new training gear, gotta love that!” exclaimed Casey, examining them.

“Look at all those TVs,” exclaimed Lily. “I haven’t watched TV in years.”

“TVs?” asked RJ. “No, these are much, more more.”

“Oh, God, you’ve set him off,” grunted Chris, face palming.

“It’s a state-of-the-art city-wide monitoring system,” continued RJ. “Uh, plus 1253 cable channels. Pretty sweet, huh?”

The TV fizzled on. “Looks like our friends are up to no good again,” said Theo, catching sight of the bouncing Rinshi on the TV.

“No rest for the wicked,” said Chris, sighing. He plucked his pink training outfit off the washing line and slipped it on. “Let’s go!”

They stopped, seeing RJ had not followed. They turned back to face him.

“Come on, RJ,” said Theo encouragingly.

“Ah, no, no, I have a pizza store to run,” admitted RJ, looking incredibly awkward. “Fighting evil is your job.”

“You have no idea…” muttered Chris to himself.

“But I did notice you were a little over-powered last time… so, I got a gift for you,” said RJ, rushing to a nearby chest of drawers and opening the bottom drawer. Sunglasses, in four colours, sat in the bottom: yellow, red, blue, and pink. “Even out the odds.”

“Oh, don’t tell me it’s sunglasses this time?” asked Chris, eyes lighting up as he worked out what they were. “Chip will be so jealous.”

“Sunglasses?” queried Lily, not yet having come to the same conclusion as Chris.

“Not just sunglasses,” said RJ, smiling gently. “They’re Solar Morphers. You ever hear of the Power Rangers?”

“Yeah,” said Casey. “Who hasn’t?”

“Well, guess what?” encouraged RJ. “You… Be… Them.”

“No way!” gasped Theo. “Ever since I was a little kid, I always wanted to be a –!” he trailed off, seeing the others were starting at him. He coughed and straightened up. “If that’s what it takes…”

“The Power Rangers aren’t part of the Order of the Claw,” said RJ. “But I figured we needed everything we could get to fight the Dai Shi. So, I knew this guy, who knew this other guy, who had an uncle, who had a connection…”

“This connection,” began Chris. “It wasn’t a slightly prickly man called Tommy Oliver, was it?”

“You know him?” asked RJ.

“Oof, better than you could possibly imagine,” admitted Chris; Theo, Lily, and Casey all stared at him. “What?” he asked, rubbing the back of his neck. “He was my science teacher back at Reefside!”

“Anyway,” said RJ, bringing the conversation back to the point. “He tapped into the Morphing Grid, and voila…”

He held up the blue pair of Solar Morphers. “Your Morphers,” he said, handing the blue pair to Theo, followed by the yellow pair to Lily and the red pair to Casey. “Once you activate them, all the knowledge that comes with them will be instantaneously entered into your cellular makeup. Gnarly, huh?”

He held out the pink pair for Chris.

“This look like they’re your colour,” he admitted.

“Doctor Oliver knows me too well,” said Chris, taking the pink Solar Morphers from RJ.

“Now, go out there and beatdown evil!” encouraged RJ. “And now you’ll look good doing it.”

~*~*~*~*~

The Rangers raced away, reaching the town as a large chameleon arrived with some hopping Rinshi.

“Go Rinshi! Feed on the fear of the people!” She turned at the sight of the Rangers, rushing into combat. “Look!” she exclaimed to the Rinshi. “Humans!”

“I don’t know about you three, but I think it’s time to show them what we got.”

Theo stepped forward with Lily and Chris, though Casey did not, anxiously watching. The threesome reached into their pocket, whipped their Solar Morphers onto their faces, tapped the side of the Morphers to activate them, and sank into a fighting pose, hands resembling claws.

“Ready!” they exclaimed in Unison. “Jungle Beast, Spirit Unleashed!”

The Solar Morphers flashed, morphing them into their Ranger Forms. Chris looked down – his Ranger Form was, once again, pink, with a large Snake head helmet.

“Ahh, that feels better,” he said. “Pink is definitely my colour. Doctor Oliver really does know me too well.”

“Attack!” shouted the Chameleon.

Chris, Lily, and Theo charged into battle, hacking and slashing at the Rinshi.

“Oh ho, wow, that’s awesome!” breathed Casey, reaching into his pockets for his own Morpher. He put them on and tapped the side. “Guess it’s my turn now!”

He repeated the pose that the other three had done. “Spirit Unleashed!”

Nothing happened.

“You know,” said Chris, fighting with Lily; both ducked an attack from the Rinshi. “Of all the Hench-creatures I’ve fought, these are the least annoying. At least they can’t talk!”

“Fought many, have you?”

“Three!” replied Chris, spinning into a kick. “Tyrannodrones, Putrids, and Hidiacs! The first were ugly, the second were even uglier, and the third were just annoying. Although, the Putrids could form out of goop, which was also annoying!”

Lily kick-flipped over some of the Rinshi and landed elegantly. “Call to the Beast inside! Bring out the cheetah!”

An enormous yellow cheetah exploded from her.

“So that’s how we’re doing it, is it?” asked Chris. He spread his arms wide. “By the Seven Bells of Hell, I have at thee! Basilisk, I summon thee!”

An enormous pink snake exploded from Chris, and together the Basilisk and the Snake charged down the Rinshi before them.

Lily’s cheetah faded, returning to her.

“What’s wrong with your Animal Spirit?” she asked, seeing the large snake in front of Chris.

“Oh, he sometimes has a mind of his own,” he said. He turned back to the snake, who briefly transformed into a human. “Alright then, go have some fun.”

The Basilisk bumped fists with Chris, gave a nasty smile, and vanished into the fray of Rinshi nearby.

Meanwhile, Casey, who had wandered off trying to make his Solar Morphers work, heard someone screaming.

The Mantis-Rinshi was looming over someone.

“Fran!” he cried, rushing forward to help, only to be caught by a group of Rinshi, who held him firmly in place, refusing to allow him to help.

He fought with all his might, finally throwing the Rinshi from him as the roar of a tiger exploded from within. “Jungle Beast! Spirit Unleashed!”

At last, he morphed, the Rinshi around him exploding from the force of the Morph.

The Mantis-Rinshi threw Fran high into the air; he leapt, catching her safely in his arms.

“Get out of the way,” he said, depositing her. “I’ll take it from here.”

“Right,” she said, trotting away, vision still swirling from being thrown through the air.

The Mantis-Rinshi charged at Casey, only to be smashed back by Casey’s punch. The Mantis-Rinshi flew through the air, smashed into the side of the building, and vanished out of sight.

“Not bad,” admitted Chris, arriving with the others.

“He’s amazing!” gasped Lily.

“You’ll pay for that!” shouted the Mantis-Rinshi, returning and throwing blades of white energy at Casey.

The ground behind him exploded and Casey leapt at the Mantis-Rinshi.

“I’ll pay in full!” he shouted, descending at the Mantis-Rinshi.

“Ahh, his first explosion,” said Chris, a whimsical look on his face as he crossed his arms. “How I fondly remember mine…”

Casey kicked at the Mantis-Rinshi, knocking him backwards. He dodged every attack, until, finally, he found an opening.

“You’re in for a shock!” he exclaimed, smashing a hand into the Mantis-Rinshi’s chest.

The Mantis-Rinshi skidded backwards, before charging back into the fight, which continued; the Mantis-Rinshi attacked while Casey dodged, peppering the Mantis-Rinshi with attacks. He leapt off the side of a building and kicked down at the Mantis-Rinshi, knocking him back.

“Now I’m angry!” boomed the Mantis-Rinshi, charging forward to attack.

Casey leapt into the air, kicking the Mantis-Rinshi in a backflip.

“Call to the Beast inside!” commanded Casey, landing; fiery red energy began circling him. “Free the Tiger!”

An enormous red tiger exploded free and charged down the Mantis-Rinshi. It caught the Mantis-Rinshi in its jaws and jumped into the air, throwing it aside.

It smashed down and exploded.

“I did it!” cried Casey, punching his hands together excitedly. “I can control the power! I did it! Ye-heah! How did I do it?” he asked, taking Lily’s excited hands as the other Rangers reached him.

“Now that was impressive,” admitted Chris, patting Casey on the back. “You’ll do well with us, I think!”

“I knew you could do it!” exclaimed Lily.

“I gotta admit,” said Theo. “You’re one tough tiger.”

“Thanks, guys!”

The ground shuddered and the Mantis-Rinshi stood up. “You think you have destroyed me!? I’ll show you what real power is.” He waved his arms. “I’m gathering people’s fear, and it makes me stronger! It makes me grow!”

He grew to the size of a twenty-storey building.

“I was wondering when that would happen!” admitted Chris, backing up with the Rangers.

“Run!” shrieked Lily as one of the large feet of the Mantis-Rinshi smashed into the ground, missing them by mere inches.

“No!” cried the Rangers as Chris readied himself to hold up the second foot that was smashing down at them.

He did not need too – the sky above them filled with orange and the figure of a fast-moving man struck the Mantis-Rinshi, sending him flying off into the distance.

“Go Master Mao!” exclaimed Theo.

“Yeah!” agreed Casey, cheering in agreement.

The golden energy circled around the foursome and whisked them away; Master Mao’s voice echoed. “It is not safe here.”

The Rangers and Chris landed in the city nearby, the orange force finally releasing them. They de-morphed, Master Mao forming before them out of the orange.

“Master Mao!” exclaimed Casey. “I thought you were gone forever?”

“The spirit of a Pai Zhuq can never be destroyed,” replied Master Mao. “My body no longer exists on this Earth, but I will be watching over you.”

“Okay, that answers my first question,” admitted Casey. “Now can you explain how that Mantis grew the size of Dodger’s Stadium?”

“It’s an advanced level of battle technique,” admitted Master Mao. “Your enemies have mastered it. Now you must fight them on that level.”

“We’d be happy too,” exclaimed Lily, arms spread wide in annoyance. “Except for one little thing: you never taught us how!”

“You have a new Master,” admitted Mao. “He must teach you now.”

And he faded away before them.

~*~*~*~*~

RJ was meditating when Casey, Theo, and Lily burst into the upper floor of Jungle Karma Pizza, followed by Chris, who walked with a slow, casual walk.

“RJ, you won’t believe what happened!” exclaimed Theo.

“Listen to me, this is crazy!” cried Casey. “He just came out of nowhere.”

RJ sat up in frustration. “Okay, now, everybody take a deep, cleansing breath and then tell me what happened. Calmly.”

The three of them took a deep breath and then began talking again, all three chatting over one another, their words intelligible.

“If I was ever like that to Doctor O, God, I owe that man an apology,” muttered Chris.

RJ made a movement to silence them all, then gestured to Casey, who began to speak. “Master Mao came back –” RJ gestured to Lily. “And saved us from a massive Mantis!” RJ gestured to Theo. “Now he wants you to teach us how to fight these ginormous monsters.”

RJ’s expression took on a look of thought for a moment, his head tilting. “Heavy,” he admitted. “But you’re not ready for the growing ginormous technique.”

He stood up. “Sorry, Rangers, no way. Only Chris is ready. And he could succeed in that with his eyes closed, I’m sure.”

“Probably,” admitted Chris, blushing and rubbing his neck. “But I always like to see the Megazordification, so I usually keep my eyes open for it.”

~*~*~*~*~

“Come on, RJ,” said Casey later that afternoon as he, Theo, and Lily stood before RJ in the loft. “We don’t have a chance if we don’t learn the growing technique.”

“Once you all master your assigned weapon, then we’ll talk,” said RJ. He took two sticks, both with perpendicular handles attached a third of the way down the length of the stick, off the wall and handed them to Theo. “Theo.”

“Tonfa?” asked Theo, taking the items from him. “No sweat. I learned these bad boys my second year.”

He performed excellently with them, bounding around the room.

RJ handed Lily a bow staff.

“Sweet,” she said, taking it from him and whirling it around expertly. “I’m a pro with a bow.”

“Doctor Oliver gave me these,” said RJ, handing two large double-sided hammers to Chris, who smiled brightly. “A very scary lady with him said these would probably be more to your style.”

“Oh, my Spino Smashers!” he exclaimed, twirling them in his hands, the handles easily sliding between his fingers; a warm feeling danced down his arms, as if old friends were being reunited. “Hayley made ones not linked to my powers! Come here, babies, Papa’s missed you!”

He whirled on the spot, arms spread wide, and held the hammers out. The tornado that followed almost rattled the room.

“Ahh, yes,” he said, landing expertly from the spin. “This suits me. Though, when I get home, I am so telling Hayley you called her a scary lady.”

“And, for Casey,” said RJ, returning to the wall. “The ancient and, if I may say, highly dangerous, Nunchaku.”

“No problem,” said Casey, taking one in each hand. He pulled them tight, then began spinning them frantically around the room.

“Five bucks says he hurts himself,” said the Basilisk, fading in next to Chris.

“As a Ranger, you know I can’t take that bet.”

“Ten bucks?”

“Done.”

Casey recoiled in pain a moment later, hand flying to his left arm, which had just been smacked by his Nunchakus.

“Bugger,” muttered Chris, handing ten dollars to the Basilisk, who smiled and pocketed it.

“OK, I admit it,” said Casey, groaning in pain. “I’ve never used these before.”

“Those are only supposed to be used by trained Kung Fu students,” replied Lily.

“Sorry,” said RJ. “But, until you’re all up to speed, you can’t get to the next level…”

“Man, just because Casey’s a cub, doesn’t mean we should be held back in our training,” groused Theo. “It’s not fair.”

“Hello!” said Casey, somewhat angrily. “I’m standing right here.”

“I don’t mean to sound harsh,” retorted Theo. “But that’s just the way it is.”

“Theo,” said RJ. “A team is a lot like a stool. You four are the legs, all equal. What happens if all the parts aren’t equal.”

Theo smirked; RJ span on the spot and kicked one of the legs of the stool. The leg shattered, the stool toppled, and Theo crashed to the ground.

“That’s right,” said RJ. “The team falls on its butt. The team’s not ready, then none of you are ready. Namaste.”

RJ clasped his hands together, nodded, and walked away.

Casey, smiling, looked between Lily and Theo, only to see both of them glaring at him.

His smile faltered.

~*~*~*~*~

Later that afternoon, Casey was expertly throwing pizzas in the kitchen.

“Check out Casey,” said Theo to Lily and Chris. “When it comes to tossing pizza, the guy’s a genius, but he’s all thumbs when it comes to handling his own weapon.”

“Give him a break, Theo, he’s just starting out,” retorted Lily, moving some refilled salt and pepper shakers to a nearby table. “Need I remind you that, not too long ago, you were a cub too.”

“Yeah, but that’s my point.”

“Yeah, but, nothing,” retorted Lily. “Remember when you first started out? You didn’t always have made skills.”

“I really hope you’re not using a Z on the end of skills,” admitted Chris. “And she’s right. Up until just a few months ago, before I arrived here, the Basilisk and I often butted heads. We’re on more common ground now.”

“But, hey, I practiced and got good,” retorted Theo to Lily, ignoring Chris. “You gotta give me props for that.”

“True,” admitted Lily. “But before you could practice, someone had to teach you.”

“I learned from the best,” admitted Theo, thinking back to his training with Master Mao.

“Too bad Casey doesn’t have someone amazing like that to teach him.”

“Lil, do you ever get tired of being right?” asked Theo, turning to her.

“Not so far,” she admitted, smirking back at him.

“Everyone to their stations,” said RJ, striding over to them. “The 12:32 lunch rush is about to begin.”

“Ah,” said Chris, his eyes widening. “Oh, this is not going to be good. Sorry, Boss, Casey and I have some training to do.”

“Hey, that was my idea!” said Theo.

“Age before beauty, Theo,” said Chris, dragging Casey away.

“Uh, wait, who’s gonna help me serve all these people?”

“Me!” said Fran, who was sat nearby, hand thrust into the air as she bounded to her feet.

“OK,” said RJ, handing her an apron. “You’re hired.”

~*~*~*~*~

“Now,” said Chris, leading Casey into the nearby woods. “This is more my kind of thing.” He closed his eyes, spread his arms wide, and took a deep breath. “Reminds me of the Animarium. And Briarwood too. I must visit them all again one day. Now,” he turned back to Casey. “Let’s get you up to speed.”

He whirled on the spot, the tornado building, Spino Smashers swinging. “Sometimes, a good defence is a better offence. Now it’s your turn.”

“Why bother?” grunted Casey, sadly. “I’m still just a cub. They’ll never approve of me.”

Casey swung his Nunchakus, knocking his helmeted head seven times.

“Watch it, watch it,” said Chris. “Alright, I see we’re going to have to use a sterner approach.”

He strode forward, so that he was stood behind Casey, and put a hand on each shoulder, leaning his head over Casey’s left shoulder. When he spoke again, there was a sharper, harsher tone to his voice, and a growl rolled through it.

“Casey, you don’t need anyone’s approval. Whoever it is that’s made you feel this way – Theo or someone else, I really don’t care – that you are somehow flawed or unworthy, you need to take that pain, the fear that they were right, and use it. It’s the route of your power, let it drive your abilities, and PROVE THEM ALL WRONG!”

Casey roared and leapt, swinging his Nunchakus. They whirled around his head but did not hit him.

“It’s an extension of you. It’s not a weapon. It’s a longer arm. What do you want to hit? Think it, find it, hit it. Like this.”

Chris picked up his Spino Smashers and turned to Casey.

“See that fallen stump over there?” he asked.

“Yeah,” said Casey. “There’s no way you’ll hit it.”

“Oh?” asked Chris, raising an eyebrow casually. “Is that so?”

He closed his eyes and threw his Spino Smashers into the air. Casey gasped; both of Chris’s Spino Smashers had impaled themselves into the tree trunk.

“How’d you do that?”

“Simple,” said Chris. “I thought it, I found it, and I hit it. I know what I can do, what you can do. Now, close your eyes. Look deep inside yourself and channel your Animal Spirit. Let it flow through you, let it breathe. It is not just something inside you, it is you. With enough training and practice, one day you might even be able to do this.”

Chris held up both hands and clicked his fingers. The Spino Smashers vibrated, quivered, and then launched themselves, spinning vertically through the air, straight into Chris’s awaiting hands.

“Feel what you are Casey,” said Chris, voice breathless. “Feel why Master Mao picked you, feel why Fate has such a destiny in store for you!”

Casey closed his eyes. “Calling on the Spirit of the Tiger!”

He swung the Nunchakus, which glowed a bright red, and whirled them around his body, and over his head.

“Open your eyes!”

Casey did, just in time to see the final smash of his Nunchakus smash into a rock, which exploded into pieces.

"Oh!" he gasped, staring at the nunchakus. “I did it!”

“That is some serious strength,” said Chris. “You know, for a beginner, you ain’t half bad.”

“Thanks,” said Casey. “And you’re a pretty good teacher for an egocentric, prickly, walled-off Californian.”

“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with being prickly!” snapped Chris, sharply. “Or Californian, for that matter! Both have saved my life on more occasions that I care to admit. Or maybe that’s just experience, who knows?”

“How many times have you done this?” asked Casey.

“Teach or be a Ranger?” asked Chris. “Once – namely now – for the former, three prior for the latter.”

Their Solar Morphers beeped; they glanced at each other and put them on.

“Things are about to get wet and wild,” said RJ, reflected on the screens in their glasses. “Meet Lily and Theo at the City Plaza. They’ll give you the details.”

“On our way,” said Chris.

“We’ll never get there in time,” said Casey once they had closed communications.

“Not a word of this to Theo,” said Chris. “He’ll be so jealous, and I can see he already doesn’t trust me, but there is a way… Hold tight.”

He took Casey by the arm, closed his eyes, and vanished.

The two crashed down into the town centre as Lily and Theo came running. A huge torrent of water was streaming towards them, smashing cars aside.

‘The streets of the whole city are flooding!” cried Lily, rushing up to them. “Watch out!”

They leapt onto the roof of a nearby care, then scurried up the side of the nearby building. It was where Master Mao had deposited them earlier.

“That was too close,” admitted Theo.

“Whoa!” exclaimed Casey, turning at a rumble of noise. The Mantis-Rinshi, enormous and giant, was casually wading through the water. “Giant Mantis alert!”

“How are we gonna stop it!?” cried Lily.

“Come on!” cried Casey, taking off into a run; they skidded around the side of the building, only to find themselves face to face with an attractive woman and a horde of Rinshi.

The woman struck the ground with her tongue, an enormous chameleon like tongue that whipped from her mouth.

“Not the time, Rangers,” she said as the explosion held them back from approaching. “I’m Camille, and I’m here to make sure you don’t get in the way: special orders from Dai Shi.”

“A chameleon?” asked Lily. “So, you can change your appearance at will, and that’s the look you’re going with?”

Camille laughed mockingly. “Funny,” she groused. “But we’ll see who gets the last laugh.”

The Rangers stared her down, accepting the challenge, morphing.

“Pretty colours,” said Camile. She addressed the Rinshi over her shoulder. “Now, keep them busy while Mantor cleans out the city.”

The Rinshi rushed forward; Chris roared and leapt high, spinning as he descended, Spino Smashers gleaming in the sun. He smashed through three Rinshi as he landed; he looked around, saw two more approaching, and dived into the fray.

Two more fell to his hand, and, before he knew it, he was before Camille.

The two met in combat, both equally matched, neither able to make ground.

“Isn’t pink meant for girls?” taunted Camille.

“A real man can pull it off,” retorted Chris, snidely. “I’d ask what yours is for, but I already know: it’s for making you ugly.”

He turned, leaping away as he saw Casey address Mantor. “Hey, Bugbreath, you’re next!”

“I’ll deal with you, later!” he shouted to Camille.

Manor turned as Chris landed next to Casey; he smashed through a building, which exploded, showering Chris and Casey in rubble.

“Chris, Casey, you OK?” asked Lily.

“We can’t beat him from down here!” exclaimed Casey.

“If we could only use that growing technique…” sighed Theo.

Their helmets chimed.

“Listen up,” said RJ’s voice. “It’s time to go big!”

“But we don’t know how!” protested Theo.

“Sure you do,” said RJ’s voice. “You just don’t know that you know how.”

“What!?” gasped Lily.

“The stool,” said RJ. “I mean, the team, is in balance now.”

“I think I get it now,” said Theo. He turned to the others. “Lily, you’re the heart of the team.”

“And you bring the brains,” she replied. “And Casey –”

“Has the strength,” finished Theo. “And Chris brings the experience.”

“Excellent,” said RJ’s voice. “You’re ready for the next level. Combine your Animal Spirits and see what happens. Chris, want to show them how?”

“We can combine them?”

“Yeah,” said Chris. “We can do it guys; I know we can. I’ve seen other Ranger teams do it before. We unite, together as one, to fight. All our strengths combined; our weaknesses covered by one another.”

“ANIMAL SPIRITS, UNITE AS ONE, POWER RANGERS JUNGLE FURY!” roared the Rangers, launching their Animal Spirits into the air. “JUNGLE FURY, BEAST SPIRIT MODE!”

The Animal Spirits charged, running Mantor down.

“ANIMAL SPIRITS, UNITE!”

Before their eyes, the Megazord formed.

Lily and Theo became the legs, Casey the head and body, while Chris became a large belt wrapped around the waist.

“JUNGLE PRIDE MEGAZORD!”

“Oooh, I like it in here,” admitted Chris. “This is niiiice.”

The Megazord splashed down into the water flooding the town.

“Let’s bring on the fury!” exclaimed Lily.

Mantor charged forward; so, too, did the Megazord. They met in combat in the middle of the town, water splashing around them.

The Megazord raised its fists and punched Mantor in the chest, making him stagger; he regained his footing, then turned back to them and attacked. Theo dodged the Megazord aside and jabbed Mantor in the ribs.

The Rangers leapt in unison, kicking with a foot; the Megazord leapt and swung its own foot, kicking Mantor in the face.

Mantor advanced, hacking and slashing frantically at the Rangers. They backflipped, dodging the attack; the Megazord landed on the roof of a nearby building. They leapt forward, front flipping over Mantor, and landed behind him.

The Megazord summoned a Setsukon, a massive rope-like weapon.

“It’s just like I taught you, Casey,” said Chris. “Use it like your Jungle Chucks. Think it, find it, hit it.”

“All over it!” retorted Casey, swinging the Setsukon to block each of Mantor’s attacks. Eventually, he managed to overpower him, jabbing the Setsukon into his stomach.

Mantor toppled, before struggling back to his feet.

“SAVAGE SPIN!” cried the Rangers, spinning rapidly on the spot inside the cockpit of the Megazord. The Megazord thundered forward, arms and upper body spinning wildly.

The attack sliced through Mantor, who turned to stone and began to form purple cracks down his body. Moments later, he exploded.

The Rangers had won.

~*~*~*~*~

“I gotta get this place cleaned up before the five twenty-seven rush!” said Fran that evening as she mopped the floor.

Casey was teaching Theo how to throw and spin pizzas nearby. “You gotta twist, then toss.”

Theo attempted, only to fail and have the pizza splash down onto his face. Casey chuckled.

“Man, this is harder than it looks,” growled Theo, jaw set as he glared at Casey.

“Keep at it,” said Casey, patting Theo on the back. “You’ll get the hang of it.”

“I’m glad those two got it together,” said Lily to RJ and Chris. “You know, Camille and her army aren’t gonna let up.”

“Well, yeah, it’s not her I’m worried about,” admitted RJ. “It’s Dai Shi.”

“Ah, OOH, OW!”

Chris leapt, hand plunging into his pocket. He pulled a pink gem from his pocket; it was glowing faintly in the palm of his hand.

Everyone turned to look at him.

The Basilisk phased in next to him.

“It must react to you being a Ranger,” he said. “Three months we’ve been here and nothing – one day as a Ranger, and the Dino Gem is glowing again. That explains why it takes so long. Every time we’ve been a Ranger, it’s been about a year, give or take. It must take that long to charge.”

“So, you think these jumps aren’t random?”

“Either the Dino Gem is broken, which is unlikely - if it was going to break, just coming into contact with me would have shattered it – or there’s something that powers it.”

“Or someone,” said Chris.

“You think someone’s dragging us through time and space?”

“Yes,” said Chris. “Think about it. We’ve always fallen from the air, but that’s because we were fighting the jump. This time, we found ourselves appearing out of nowhere in a garbage skip! Why? Because we were accepting it was our time to move on.”

“So, who wants us?” wondered the Basilisk.

“And, perhaps more importantly, why?” wondered Chris.

“I suppose we’ll find out one day.”

“Yes,” said the Basilisk. “Let’s just hope we don’t live to regret it.”

“Mmm,” agreed Chris. “Indeed.”

Chapter Text

Chapter II: Sigh of the Tiger

“Alright, Dude and Dudette, to defeat me you’ll have to be in complete harmony with your Animal Spirits,” said RJ.

Chris was stood watching from the upper level. RJ was stood on a green crashmat adorned with red edges, a blindfold over his face as Casey and Lily circled him.

“And get very lucky,” he finished.

“Come on, Lily,” said Casey. “He’s all ours.”

“Are you sure about this, RJ?” asked Lily. “I don’t want to dent your metaphysical Zen.”

“Ah ha,” replied RJ. “I’m using the Swoop technique. Eyesight is a bonus, not a necessity. Now,” he clasped his hands behind his neck. “Hit me with your best shot.”

“I know you don’t take bets, but this is going to be a curb stomp, isn’t it?” asked the Basilisk, fading in next to Chris.

“You bet your bottom dollar it is,” he replied.

Casey and Lily charged into battle, only for RJ to dodge attack after attack, easily leaping over Lily’s punches and kicks, knocking Casey back with ease.

Casey charged past, knocking into one of RJ’s large speakers, which began to topple. RJ was there in seconds, easily flicking it back up. Casey leapt up to attack him again, only for RJ to dodge it again.

Lily and Casey came in together, only for RJ to throw Casey into the air; he crashed down into RJ’s chair, and Lily was knocked to the floor.

“You were distracted and defeated,” said RJ, standing up. “Remember guys, the enemy is merciless. And just as graceful as – Whoa!”

He fell over, tripping over the edge of the mat and faceplanted it. “Me,” he finished, getting up. He took off the blindfold he was wearing. “Alright, that’s enough for right now. I want you guys to take some time to internalise your defeat, while I watch Judge Janey.”

He flopped himself into his chair.

“Come,” said Chris, leading Lily away.

“How come you aren’t training with RJ?” asked Lily.

“I’d kill him if I did,” said Chris. “If I trained in the same style as him, without using my eyes, there’s no guarantee either the Basilisk or I would be able to hold back.”

“You know from experience?”

“Not since I arrived here, thankfully,” admitted Chris, descending the stairs to the kitchen. “But some years ago, yes.”

“You never said,” began Lily. “How did you get here?”

“It’s a long story,” admitted Chris. “One that would take me days to tell you all. But, one day…”

~*~*~*~*~

THREE MONTHS EARLIER.

“WHOA-OOF!”

RJ, who was opening a window to his loft above Jungle Karma Pizza, yelped as a body crashed from the sky, smashing down into his dumpster.

“Another landing perfectly executed…” moaned the youth inside. “Could have been worse. At least it was only building height this time and not several miles in the sky.”

“Can I help you?”

“Oh!” said the youth who had smashed into his dumpster, struggling out of it; he rolled over the side and hit the ground. “Sorry. I’m in your dumpster. My bad! I wasn’t aiming for the dumpster. I wasn’t aiming for anywhere around here at all. I think I mis-aimed a bit. How far are we from California?”

“About eighty miles,” admitted RJ.

“Damn!” swore the youth, brushing his long hair out of his face.

“Listen,” said RJ. “Why don’t you come in? You look starved.”

“Oooh, food,” said the youth; his stomach gave an audible rumble. “The last thing I ate was –” his face crinkled in remembrance and RJ was sure he saw disgust dance across his face. "Clare’s cooking. Mungbean stew. Three days ago now? Four? I forget. Been very busy.”

The youth pushed open a door and found himself inside a Pizza Parlour.

“Nice place,” he said, glancing around.

“Thanks,” said RJ, arriving from the kitchen. “If you’re from Calfornia, you’re a long way from home.”

“Don’t I know it,” said the youth. “Listen, this is a bit of a weird question, but what year is this.”

“2008,” said RJ. “Why?”

“Damn,” swore the youth again, this time under his breath. “Wrong way. I was aiming for 2005.”

“Think you might be a tad out,” admitted RJ. “Look, if you need somewhere to stay, you can work here for bed and board if you want?”

“Why not?” asked the teen, examining a pink orb in his hand; he threw it into the air and caught it. “I can’t go anywhere for a while yet. Oh, I haven’t introduced myself. I’m being rude again, aren’t I? Sorry. Hi,” he held out a hand for RJ to shake, a smile gracing his handsome face. “I’m Chris Haynes.”

“RJ,” retorted RJ, shaking his hand. “Are you any good with kids?”

“Yes,” said Chris. “Why?”

“We have a birthday party planned in ten minutes if you’re able to serve and keep them in hand?”

“I can handle Ned,” said Chris. “So, I should be able to handle some kids.”

~*~*~*~*~

Later that afternoon, Chris, RJ, Theo, Lily, and Casey were all in the loft when the TV security detection system blared into life, revealing Camille and a group of Rinshi emerging from a museum.

“Ah, yes, the old museum heist,” said RJ, rolling his eyes. “Typical.” He glanced back at the Rangers. “Go get ‘er. And be ready for anything! She’s a feisty one!”

~*~*~*~*~

“Not so fast, Lizard Lady!” shouted Casey as the Rangers arrived in the town, ready for battle.

“Oh, Power Rangers,” said Camille, turning mockingly to them. “How sweet. ATTACK!” She raised a hand and clicked her fingers; the Rinshi began to advance, hopping forward in rows.

Seeing her chance, Camille turned and ran.

“I got her!” spotted Casey, seeing her flee. He charged after her, knocking several Rinshi aside.

~*~*~*~*~

“I can’t believe she got away!” barked Casey as the Rangers returned to the loft sometime later.

“Don’t take it so hard, Case,” said Theo. “She’s slippery, slimy, ssss…”

“Smelly?” suggested Lily.

“Thank you,” added Theo.

“If it’s any consolation, the first time I used the Basilisk, properly, in battle, I ended up unconscious on the bonnet of a truck,” added Chris. “I still have the scar.”

RJ was stood up, frowning, moving his chair.

“I think you broke my chair, man,” he said to Casey.

“Forget the chair,” said Casey, somewhat sharply. “I need more training.”

RJ picked up a screwdriver, twirled it above his hand, and handed it to Casey. “Fix my chair.”

“But…”

“Remember, ‘whatever I say’,” replied RJ, walking away.

~*~*~*~*~

“Not again!” exclaimed Chris, hiding behind Theo and Lily. “The demon children. They’re back. Hide me!”

“Look at those little monsters,” said Theo, watching the children in the restaurant causing chaos. “I’m not going out there.”

“Don’t you think we should help Fran?” suggested Lily.

“No!” exclaimed Chris, bounding to his feet in between them. “She’s already dead. The demon children will have killed her.”

He took Lily by the shoulders and shook her, face pale and anxious. “I speak from experience! I barely survived the birthday party on my first day!”

One of the children sprayed soup over Fran’s glasses and laughed.

“I think she’s fine,” said Theo, meeting Chris’s pale, horrified face.

“Me too,” agreed Lily, now definitely not desiring to go out into the restaurant and help. “Oooh!”

She, Chris, and Theo leapt away from the door as an enormous wad of spaghetti smashed against it.

~*~*~*~*~

“Fran has it under control,” said Theo as he, Chris, and Lily returned to the loft; Casey was holding a yoga mat above his head, twisting it to rinse all the water out of it.

Everyone jerked to attention as RJ’s TV detection system blared into life.

“You see, RJ?!” bristled Casey. “We’ve been wasting time! Come on, guys, let’s go!”

~*~*~*~*~

“Hey!” cried Casey as he and the Rangers reached the horde of Rinshi in the town.

“Welcome, Rangers!” barked the Rinshi before them – it had a small, silver clasp attached to its head: a buffalo.

“That thing looks really angry!” exclaimed Lily, ponting in surprise.

“You’re going down!” barked Casey.

“ATTACK!” roared the Buffalo-Rinshi.

“HUP! HUP! HUP! HUP!” exclaimed the Rinshi, bouncing into combat with the Rangers.

“I smash you, and I smash you, and I smash you, and, oh look, I smash you too!” exclaimed Chris, swinging his Spino Smashers down as if he was playing a human sized game of whack-a-mole. “And I duck to avoid you!”

He ducked, just in time, to avoid a Rinshi that Theo had kicked backwards into the railing.

“What’s this?” he asked, seeing more Rinshi crowd round him. “More? Very well. Basilisk Spin!”

He span on the spot, speaking as he did so, Spino Smashers raised to keep back the Rinshi. “The Seven Bells of Hell, I summon thee; Basilisk, I release thee!”

The Basilisk exploded free from him in an enormous roaring flash of pink and the Rinshi exploded on contact.

“Ahh, I love winning the day.”

He rushed over to the Buffalo-Rinshi with the others.

“Rinshi are powerful,” said the Buffalo-Rinshi. “But I am even more powerful.”

His Rinshi form exploded open, revealing a minotaur wearing a cape with eyes for nipples and a bull’s face with a nose ring on his stomach.

“I AM BUFFALORD!” boomed the Buffalo-Rinshi, sinking into a charging position and scraping his foot across the ground like an actual bull about to charge did.

Buffalord charged forward, catching Casey in combat, his horns trapping Casey in place as he kept running.

“CHARGE!” boomed Buffalord, continuing to advance. He smashed Casey through three building supports and into the side of a car.

“Over the top!” exclaimed Buffalord, throwing Casey into the air.

“Ooh, that hurts,” said Chris, watching Casey smash down onto the bonnet of the car, before being smashed across the plaza by Buffalord. “I speak from experience. Smashing down onto a car bonnet is never anything other than painful.”

Theo rushed forward to help, his Tonfa spinning in his hands as he slashed at Buffalord’s leg and sent him tumbling on one knee. He leapt, avoiding Buffalord’s attack as he returned to his feet.

He slashed again, Tonfas glistening with lightning, and sent Buffalord tumbling to the ground.

“Let me get in on this!” exclaimed Lily, rushing forward as Chris moved, catching Casey who had staggered over to him.

“Easy,” he said. “You took a knock. Let us take a bit of the fight, eh? DO YOU MIND!?” he bristled as Buffalord attacked. “TOUCHING MOMENT HERE!”

He whirled around, leaping into the air, Spino Smashers descending, and clunked Buffalord on the head. Buffalord staggered back, tumbling into the open air, and transformed into his normal Rinshi form.

“I need more time to harness the true power of the buffalo!” exclaimed the Buffalo-Rinshi. “I will return!”

He began to descend into the ground, drilling through it.

“Stop!” shouted Casey, rushing forward. “Stop! I’m not done with you yet!”

“Casey, stop!” exclaimed Lily as she and Theo caught an arm each and prevented him from moving.

“He’s gone!” added Theo.

~*~*~*~*~

“Faster!” commanded RJ. “Come on, faster!”

“And they call me a neat freak,” said Theo as he, Lily, and Chris watched from the stairs. Casey was down on all fours, running a towel rapidly along the floor, backside in the air. “No rest for the weary.”

“Come on, Casey!” called Lily.

“Uh, no,” said RJ, interrupting. “Casey needs to finish the floors first.”

“Really?” squeaked Lily.

“Yeah,” retorted RJ, meeting her eyes.

“RJ, we’re under attack!” exclaimed Casey, eyes wide, jaw set in worry, anger, and determination. “If I don’t help them they could be destroyed.”

“You’re aware of how stubborn I am, yes?” asked Chris. “I’m not dying at merely twenty-two.”

“Then they’ll be destroyed,” retorted RJ.

~*~*~*~*~

“Hello, Ham Bone!” taunted Chris as he, Lily, and Theo rushed into battle.

“Rangers!” boomed Buffalord, turning to face them, already in his buffalo form rather than his Rinshi form.

The three Rangers morphed and charged into battle, meeting Buffalord in combat.

“You know, up close, you’re even uglier!” exclaimed Chris, grasping with Buffalord’s horns and holding his ground. “Oh, and here’s the cavalry! I should have expected ugly, ugly, ugly, ugly, ugly, ugly and ugly! Hello, Rinshi! Have a hammer to the face! Boom!”

“Ready!? Jungle Beast, Spirit Unleashed!”

They transformed into their Ranger forms and raced into battle. Buffalord caught them, shoving them backwards, and threw them high into the air. They smashed down onto the ground nearby, only to leap to their feet.

Buffalord charged.

“Look out!”

The Basilisk’s cry came just in time. While Buffalord did collide with him, and he was, indeed, thrown high into the air, Chris was able to prepare himself for the impact.

That did not, of course, mean that smashing into metal barrels hurt any less than smashing into normal barrels would have done.

“Chris!” cried Theo.

“You!” boomed Buffalord, turning and charging at him. Two of the Rinshi were smashed aside and defeated as Buffalord charged. He collided with Theo and Lily, throwing the two of them backwards. They smashed through a wall of cylinder bricks behind and toppled out of sight.

Buffalord picked Theo up with his horns and threw him aside, causing him to smash down onto the floor.

“Are you OK?” asked Chris, scrambling to his feet and rushing over.

“Your power cannot compare to the power of Buffalord!” bragged the Rinshi. As if on cue, the ground exploded behind the Rangers, throwing them high into the air.

They smashed down onto the ground nearby.

“Right!” barked Chris. “I’ve had just about enough of this!”

He stood up, staring down at the Buffalord.

“Nothing can stop me!” boomed Buffalord as he stepped up, menacingly, to face them in battle.

“Look!” cried Lily.

“Ah, about time!” exclaimed Chris, catching sight of what Lily had seen: Casey was running towards them to help.

“Hey, freak, ready for round two?” barked Casey. Chris leapt, landing next to him.

“Together?” asked Chris.

“Yeah,” said Casey. “Stay low and get ready to strike.”

“An undercut?” question Chris, his Spino Smashers appearing in a flash of pink. “Now that sounds more like my thing. Lead on!”

“You again!?” boomed Buffalord. “No problem!”

He began to drag his foot backwards and forwards, like a bull ready to charge at a matador’s red flag. “Charge!”

Casey and Chris moved on his shout, the twosome clashing with him in combat.

Casey caught him by the horns and leapt over his head, followed quickly by Chris, who’s Spino Smashers crashed down repeatedly onto the head of Buffalord.

Casey landed first, hacking and slashing at Buffalord. He caught hold of Buffalord’s arm as he struck out at him, managing to catch it and twist, as if wringing a wet towel.

Buffalord thew him high, knocking him back.

“Down low!” cried Casey; he and Chris charged in unison.

Chris’s Spino Smashers hit Buffalord in the stomach and sent him flying into the air.

“Jungle Chucks!” cried Casey, summoning his nunchakus. He fired a blast at Buffalord, who promptly exploded.

“Yeah!” laughed Theo as he and Lily rushed over.

“You guys did it!” cried Lily.

“I guess you learned something after all,” stated Theo to Casey.

“Yeah, RJ’s smarter than he looks!” admitted Casey.

“That’s no surprise!” admitted Lily, laughingly.

“Mentors usually are smarter than they look,” said Chris. “I should know, I’ve had numerous. My first was a science teacher who wore leather, my second was a 3,000-year-old Princess who wore flowers, and my third was a mourning mother who wielded magic. All of them taught me things I would never have learned in life.”

“Rangers!” boomed Buffalord, staggering out of the remnants of the explosion that had struck him.

“What!?” gasped Casey.

“You have proven you have power,” continued Buffalord, making a fighting pose. “But that will not save you. I summon the full power of the Buffalo!”

And, before their eyes, he grew to the size of a twenty-story building.

“Animal spirits!” they cried, sinking into the pose. “Unite as one!”

The Megazord formed out of their animal spirits, each of them jumping inside. There they stood, opposite sides of the battlefield, Buffalord waiting for the attack he knew was to come.

The Jungle Pride Megazord charged, racing into battle. Buffalord clashed hard with it, the two bouncing off one another from the force of the impact, almost as if two magnets had been put together with the negatives facing one another.

The Megazord charged again, rolling over the top of Buffalord, and landed casually behind him.

Buffalord seized his chance. He charged, rushing at the Megazord, only to change direction at the last moment; he raced in every direction, zooming up and down the streets.

Then, with the Megazord confused, he exploded through a building and knocked the Megazord to the ground.

“We gotta get back in the fight!” cried Theo.

“We have to use all of our spirit energy,” replied Casey.

“Casey’s right!” agreed Lily. “Come on, let’s do it!”

“If we do this, we do it right,” said Chris. “You guys get ready. I’ll provide the juice.” He stood up, brushed his pink ranger suit, and touched the wall. His eyes turned white.

The Megazord leapt to its feet.

“But how!?” cried Buffalord, charging forward to meet the Megazord in combat. He caught it, tossing it over his shoulders. It flew high into the air and, too late, Buffalord realised he’d been caught in the trap.

“Super kick!” cried Theo.

In unison, Theo, Lily, and Casey all jumped. The legs of the Megazord began to spin, and the Megazord descending towards the ground, resembling a flaming meteorite and a drill at the same time.

Down, down, down, it descended.

“So long, Buffalord!” cried Casey.

There was a blinding flash and, suddenly, the spinning legs were surrounded by black and white plumes of energy.

The spinning drill-like legs of the Megazord smashed into Buffalord’s face. He staggered back, groaned, transformed into stone, and then exploded.

Defeated.

~*~*~*~*~

The Rangers returned to Jungle Karma Pizza, all laughing together.

“What... in the name of all that is sane and holy happened in here?” gasped Chris. “Who exploded a bomb?”

“Ah, now you show up,” sighed Fran, turning to them, covered from head to toe in spaghetti and sauce. “How convenient.”

“Yeah, we were a little busy,” admitted Theo.

“Not so busy that you and Lily couldn’t lend a hand,” interrupted RJ. “Chris, I understand. Technically, he doesn’t work here. Not officially. But you two…”

“Sorry, Fran!” said Theo and Lily, looking at one another.

“Well, it’s alright,” replied Fran. “I needed some crash course training anyway.”

“So, for not helping Fran, you two get to clean this place up, while the four of us go get ice-cream.”

“Oooh, double fudge ripple marshmallow delight for me,” suggested Chris. “You’ve gotta try it, Case. It’s soft and sharp and squishy all at once!”

“Ooh!” squealed Fran, patting RJ’s shoulder. “I love ice-cream!”

She headed for the door, only to stop, seeing that the others had turned to face her.

“Oh,” she realised. “Yeah, I should probably go and clean myself up first, huh?”

Chapter Text

Chapter III: A Taste of Poison

“Sometimes I just can’t believe my life,” admitted Casey, who was grating cheese on a standing cheese grater as long as his arm. “Shredding cheese one minute, shredding evil beasts the next!”

“Hey, this whole thing came out of nowhere for you, Casey,” agreed Lily. “It’s gotta be majorly intense. Especially for a cub.” 

“And get very lucky,” he finished.

“Well, I’m not a cub anymore,” retorted Casey. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

A clunk behind them made them turn. Fran had opened the other side of the oven and was staring through at them.

“One large thriller gorilla pizza, extra banana!” called Fran, voice echoing in the metallic interior of the oven.

“Thriller gorilla coming up!” replied Casey, pointing a hand to show Fran that he had it all under control. Fran closed the oven with a clunk.

“Bananas?” Casey queried to Lily.

“RJ says ‘everything is better with bananas,” replied Chris, mimicking RJ’s finger motions as he descended the stairs into the kitchen. “Not sure I believe him, truth be told. I hate bananas.”

“Where is RJ anyway?” queried Casey.

“Good question,” replied Chris. “No clue. Lily?”

Casey charged past, knocking into one of RJ’s large speakers, which began to topple. RJ was there in seconds, easily flicking it back up. Casey leapt up to attack him again, only for RJ to dodge it again.

“No clue,” she admitted. “He’s been working on something in the garage for days.”

“Oh, God,” muttered Chris, letting his head fall into his hand. “If he’s trying to make that automatic pizza topping placer again…”

Lily chuckled and picked up a ball of dough. “You get the board. I’ve got the dough.”

“Whoa!” Casey cried as she threw it into the air. It sailed down and landed casually on the circular board he held out.

He picked up some flower and began to sprinkle it onto the pizza, before throwing some at Lily.

“Oops!” he said, cheekily. “My bad!”

“Oh, no, you didn’t,” replied Lily, pulling at her shirt to get rid of the flour on her.

She reached for a salami.

“Use the cheese!” hissed Chris. “It squishes better in your hands so you can hold more.”

“Thanks, Chris!” said Lily, happily. She picked up a huge wad of cheese and began to climb over the table between her and Casey.

“Lily!” he scolded. “Now, wait. You’re a reasonable person, I -”

Lily took Casey’s hat off and sprinkled the cheese into his hair.

“Oops,” she said, laughing. “My bad.”

“Oh, laugh it up,” he hissed. “Because you’re going to be so sorry for that one!”

For a moment, both with their hands pressed to the table, they stared at one another and huffed, then instantly began having a food fight.

“May I suggest we get out of here before we end up covered in condiments?” suggested the Basilisk, phasing in.

“Good idea,” agreed Chris, pushing open the door to the restaurant floor. “Kitchen chaos!” he called back to Fran. Lowering his voice, he added: “Mainly my fault. Sorry!”

Chuckling to himself, he headed out of the restaurant.

Moments later, his Solar Morpher beeped. “Oh, here we go,” he grunted. “So much for our day off.”

“Let’s make it quick.”

“Yeah,” agreed Chris, taking off in a run. “I’m looking forward to my nap in the park. It’s been years since I slept in nature.”

“We literally slept in a tree three and a half months ago.”

“Well, yes,” agreed Chris. “But at least it was sealed and warm. We literally slept in a cave on the Animarium, or have you forgotten?”

“Sadly, no,” said the Basilisk. “No matter how hard I try…”

~*~*~*~*~

Down in the town, a Rinshi with a snake pendant on its head stood on the top of a building, watching people run around below, chased by several other snake Rinshi.

“Ahh, the smell of fear!” exclaimed the Rinshi, breathing in deeply.

“Surprise!” exclaimed Casey as he and the others landed on the top of the building near the Rinshi. “We’re here to stop you!”

“Surprise!” said another voice nearby, and six Rinshi, identical to the one before the Rangers, leapt onto the building and surrounded them. “Think again!”

“Seven on four,” muttered Chris, moving his weight between his feet. “Hardly fair. Bring it.”

“Urgh, so these are the Pai Zhua students?” taunted the Rinshi. “I’m so not impressed.”

“They are,” said Chris, gesturing towards the others with his head. “Not me.”

“They look pretty sorry to me!” taunted one of the other Rinshi.

“And ugly,” taunted another.

“Yes,” agreed a fourth. “Let’s get this party started.”

“By the power of Dai Shi!” cried five of them, transforming. “Inner Beasts arise!”

Before them stood five entirely different creatures, still definitely Rinshi, but more powerful. One resembled Ooogie Boogie, with a burlap sack on its head, torn to allow visibility.

“A hundred legs to strike you!” declared the Ooogie Boogie-esque Rinshi. “Rantipede!”

“Fangs, full of venom!” declared the second, who resembled a large, walking snake and had fangs on their head. “Naja!”

“Queen of the Toxic Dance!” announced the third, flailing its arms menacingly. “Stingerella!”

“Master of Trickery and Deceit!” announced the fourth. “Gakko!”

“Skin stronger than armour!” barked the fifth. “Toady!”

“We are the five fingers of poison!” they declared in unison.

“Poison!?” exclaimed Casey.

“Oh, this can’t be good,” sighed Chris.

“Get them!” declared Naja, clicking his fingers.

Together, the Five Fingers of Poison raced forward, charging at the Rangers.

Rantipede managed to overpower Theo, punching him repeatedly into the chest. He fell off the side of the building, through the air, and smashed down through a plastic table below.

Chris backed up, in battle with Naja, Spino Smashers spinning. “Oh, this isn’t going to end well!”

He reached the edge of the building. His heels hung off the edge and he rocked on the spot, trapped between Naja and the floor.

“Well, if you have to fall, do it of your own accord!”

And he jumped from the building, knocking Naja back with a well-timed strike to the face.

He curled himself into a ball as he tumbled through the air, Naja descending to follow him. He smashed down through another plastic table of his own.

“Well,” he said, straightening up and brushing himself down. “That was ungraceful.”

“Above us!”

Chris leapt back just in time to avoid Naja’s attack; the shockwave buffeted him backwards, sending him skidding across the courtyard they’d landed in.

Nearby, Lily was fighting Stingerella.

“Too slow!” taunted Stingerella, whirling into a spin to knock Lily backwards. She struck Lily in the back of the leg, causing her to sink to her knees, attempting to block the attacks from above.

Finally, Stingerella got the better of her; a well-placed kick to the face sent Lily tumbling down a flight of stairs behind her. She groaned painfully as she hit the bottom.

Theo had re-joined the fight with Rantipede, who managed to overpower him, punched him frantically in the chest, and sent him flying backwards. He smashed down painfully to the ground.

“Theo!” cried Chris and Lily, rushing over to help.

“Get up!” barked Rantipede, striding towards Theo.

“Back, demon!” declared Chris, bashing Rantipede’s hand away as Lily dragged Theo backwards. “Begone, unless you want a fight?”

“With pleasure!” taunted Rantipede; together, both he and Chris struck at one another, hand blocking hand, attack meeting attack.

Finally, Rantipede struck Chris in the chest, and he skidded backwards, dust rising around him.

“Heavens,” breathed Chris, his head rattling inside his helmet. “And they say I’m dangerous.”

“Well, watch me!” exclaimed Stingerella, purple and blue energy rising behind her. She cartwheeled forward, kicking Lily, Theo, and Chris in the chest.

They smashed down to the ground nearby and de-morphed. A short distance away, Casey was fighting Gakko, who was advancing on him menacingly. Gakko leapt over him, kicked him in the face, and bounded to the ceiling.

“Up here!” he taunted.

He launched three mint-green beams of energy at Casey, which sent him flying backwards. He smashed down, hard, into a nearby plastic table, which crumpled under him.

“Ranger!” boomed a voice and Casey looked up in horror as, claws drawn, Toady was descending from a jump to attack him.

Casey whirled and twirled, cartwheeling backwards to avoid attacks from Toady’s claws.

“Come on!” taunted Casey.

“OK!” agreed Toady in retaliation.

Casey leapt and kicked at Toady, bouncing backwards off his chest.

“Whoa, that’s one tough toad,” he muttered, skidding to a halt.

Toady leapt, slashing Casey across the chest with a blinding flash of purple.

“You wore them down, now I’ll do the rest!” exclaimed Naja, advancing with two swords drawn. He linked his two swords together to make a pattern and leapt at Casey. “Cobra strike!”

He slashed at Casey – once, twice, thrice, so fast that no-one even saw him move.

Casey staggered, leg giving out under him, and smashed to the ground; his Solar Morpher bounced off his face and skittered across the ground.

Casey, Theo, and Chris rushed over.

“They’re too strong!” exclaimed Lily as she and Theo helped him up. “We have to regroup.”

“That’s it,” taunted Naja, evilly. “Give up!”

Casey grasped his Solar Morpher in his hand just in time, for Chris clasped a hand to both Lily and Theo.

“I think it’s time I got us out of here!” he said, and, with a pink flash, the Rangers had vanished from the pavilion and smashed down into a nearby rock and sand filled quarry.

They scrambled to their feet and took off in a run.

“I liked it better when we were just fighting one at a time!” admitted Casey.

“I… figured… that…” panted Theo.

Chris’s head snapped up just in time – the ground erupted in front of them, sending them all flying into the air.

They smashed down, painfully, into the gravelly sand below.

The Five Fingers of Poison were back, but they weren’t alone. They leapt over the heads of the Rangers and created a pyramid.

Lightning of black and gold struck the ground nearby and, in a whirling dervish of black, a menacing looking man in elegant black leather and sumptuous black furs landed on top.

“Whoa!” cried Casey. “Is that –?”

“You know him?” asked Chris.

Casey answered him by ignoring him. “Jarrod?!”

“Jarrod?” asked Lily as the black clad man jumped from the top of the pyramid and the lizard-lady from before, Camille, stepped out of the portal to join him. “What are you doing here?”

“The one you call Jarrod is gone,” said the black clad man as Camille smirked evilly at his side. “I am now filled with the evil of Dai Shi.”

“Great!” barked Casey, snidely. “It was bad enough when you were just a jerk who got kicked out of our school!”

“And you were responsible for that humiliation!” barked Dai Shi. “Now… you will pay…”

“So, it is a personal vendetta?” retorted Chris. “Colour me unsurprised. You evil villains really must get more creative.”

“Ooooh, this is gonna be good!” growled Camille as Dai Shi – Jarrod – whatever he was now – reached up and threw off the sumptuous black furred cloak.

He transformed before them, becoming clad in black and gold armour, adorned with a lion head helmet and one on his chest.

“I challenge you to a battle!” boomed Dai Shi.

“I beat you once, I can do it again!” retorted Casey, stepping forward.

“No, Casey!” cried Lily. “Not if he’s got the power of Dai Shi!”

“Can’t back down!” he shot back, whipping his Solar Morpher from his pocket. He transformed before their eyes and raced into combat with Dai Shi.

“With the strength of a tiger, Jungle Fury, Red Ranger!”

“I call forth the spirit of the Mighty Lion!” boomed Dai Shi, purple energy whirling around him.

“Call to the beast inside, free the Tiger!”

Purple Lion and Red Tiger met in combat above the twosome.

Casey and Dai Shi charged at one another; Casey got the first hit, only for Dai Shi to grab his wrists and flip him into the air. He landed, scrambled to his feet, and returned to combat. He turned and ran, Dai Shi leaping after him.

“Running away, Scaredy cat?” taunted Dai Shi, leaping after him.

The two bounced off a nearby rock face and landed back before the Rangers, both fighting their hardest.

Dai Shi blasted Casey back towards the cliff.

“Rebound!” cried Casey, launching himself at Dai Shi, who casually struck him. He toppled and rolled, defeated.

“Too easy!” boomed Dai Shi, turning and blasting a purple ball of energy at Casey.

“No!” cried Casey. The blast hit him, sending him flying into the air. He smashed down onto the ground with a painful thud.

“Ha!” laughed Dai Shi. “The Tiger’s tamer than I thought. He’s not worth my time. This will be easy.”

Dai Shi sent another blast shooting at Casey.

“Shield!”

Dai Shi’s second attack exploded against an enormous purple shield, smoke filling the air; it wasn't an actual shield, but the force of Chris's spinning Spino Smashers kept the attack at bay.

“What!?” boomed Dai Shi, leaping to strike at Chris. He clicked his fingers as he soared through the air and struck down at Chris.

Chris leapt, meeting Dai Shi in mid-air, Spino Smashers swinging; the two collided, blasting both backwards.

Seizing her chance, Stingerella leapt forward and struck Casey in the chest. He toppled to the ground, writhing and moaning in pain.

“Her poison is in your blood stream!” boomed Dai Shi. “It is not fatal, but the pain will be punishing.”

In a flash of gold, Dai Shi, Camille, and the Five Fingers of Poison, were gone.

~*~*~*~*~

Later that night, Casey lay in a hammock; Lily was fussing over him, placing a cold cloth over his forehead.

“Thanks,” croaked Casey. “I feel…” he descended into a coughing fit. “Much better.”

“Are you sure?”

“Lily, he said he’s fine,” retorted Theo, swaggering over. “Leave the guy alone.”

“Freaky that Jarrod turned out to be Dai Shi,” commented RJ, seemingly appearing from nowhere. “But standing up to him took a lot of guts.”

“Or not a lot of braincells,” retorted Theo, smirking down at Casey.

“Theo, I’m ignoring your negative energy,” said RJ, holding up his hands to block out Theo from his field of view. “Casey, I’m working on something new for you that you’re just gonna love. You just power it up with your Tiger Spirit – it’ll blow your mind!”

“Is it dangerous?”

“Casey already has one llama, he doesn’t need two,” interrupted Theo.

“You don’t hear me complaining,” retorted Casey, adjusting the cold washcloth on his head and snuggling down into the hammock.

“Lights out, team,” said RJ, ducking under Casey’s hammock and rising on the other side. “We’re up against some major badness here. We all need some rest.”

“You know, it’s not really that strange,” interrupted Chris, trotting after RJ. “The thing about Jarrod being Dai Shi, I mean. It’s happened several times before for me: Dr Oliver’s friend, Dr Mercer – actually a very nice man when he’s not being controlled by his deranged dinosaur other half that desired world domination; Merrick, poor guy, spent three thousand years trapped in a coffin – it’s a wonder he didn’t go mad – then Cole’s parents’ former bestie, Dr Adler; then Imperious, and what a joy he was. It’s becoming a running trend – at least for me.”

“Not Doctor Anton Mercer?” inquired RJ.

“That’s the one,” said Chris.

“He worked on your Morphers with Doctor Oliver.”

“Oh, well, I’m surprised they didn’t explode. The last time they worked on anything together they quite literally sunk an island.”

“Sunk an island?” retorted Theo. “Impossible.”

“Having been on it, I can assure you, it isn’t impossible.”

Casey chuckled, listening to the combination fade away, Theo and Chris arguing as they left.

~*~*~*~*~

“Hey, Lil, you planning on coming to work today or what?” asked Theo as he, Casey, and Chris returned to RJ’s loft.

Casey headed towards her room, only to stop at the sound of fighting on TV.

“Looks like she’s already at work,” he replied, eyes flicking up from the TV to Theo and Chris.

“What is she doing?” muttered Chris, watching the TV himself. “She’s gonna get herself killed. Come on, let’s go.”

~*~*~*~*~

Lily had just defeated Rantipede in combat when Theo, Casey, and Chris arrived.

“Hey,” greeted Casey.

“What’s the deal, going off on your own?” barked Theo, sharply.

“I seem to be doing just fine!” retorted Lily.

“Not for long!” retaliated Rantipede. He stood up and spread out his arms. “Rinshi Warriors! Charge!”

“Me and my big mouth!” sighed Lily.

“We got this,” said Chris, summoning his Spino Smashers.

“I got these guys covered,” confirmed Casey. “Time to try out RJ’s new invention. With the strength of the Tiger! Strike Rider Cruise!”

An enormous red motorbike exploded from within his Tiger Spirit and armour formed around him.

“Let’s ride!” he exclaimed, leaping into the saddle as the motorbike roared towards him. “Full throttle! Tiger Strike, full throttle!”

He twisted the handlebars and released the break. The Strike Rider roared forward, soaring past the blasts of purple energy released by the Rinshi.

He skidded to a halt and kicked the Strike Rider in a wheelie. One of the Rinshi charged at him, and he leapt, kicking the Rinshi in face, using the handlebars of the Strike Rider to launch himself higher and do more damage.

The Rinshi smashed into a nearby rockface.

Casey began performing donuts on the Strike Rider, shooting at each of the Rinshi as he circled on the spot.

He roared away, only to circle round and descend on another horde of Rinshi that had formed out of nowhere.

“You know?” said Chris, leaping over the Strike Rider to strike and Rinshi in the face; he had returned to give Casey backup. “It’s at times like this that I miss my Dino Cycle.”

Two of the Rinshi leapt; Chris landed on Casey’s shoulders. “Drive! I’ve got an idea!”

He lowered himself into the sear behind Casey and began to spin the Spino Smashers. They surged forward, slicing a path through the Rinshi, Chris’s Spino Smashers working like two giant blades. All down the line, one by one, struck by Chris’s weapons, the Rinshi exploded.

“Nice bike,” said Camille, landing in her morphed form. “I almost hate to destroy it.”

“Just try it!” barked Casey. He twisted the handlebars. “Full throttle!”

Together, the Strike Rider and Camille roared towards one another.

Casey move his hand to make the Strike Rider fire.

“Wait!” said Chris, taking his hand. “Let me. You just drive! FIRE!”

His eyes flashed white, and two blasts of pure white energy exploded free from the front of the Strike Rider, which Casey barely kept level. The blasts of energy exploded from the air, hit the ground behind Camille, and erupted into a plume of fire and smoke.

The explosion knocked Camille into the air. Casey kicked the Strike Rider into a jump and, together, he and Chris swiped at Camille. Casey’s claws slashed her stomach and Chris’s Spino Smashers hit her in the face.

She hit the ground and staggered, painfully, to her feet.

“STRIKE RIDER, HIGH SPEED!” shouted Casey, sinking down in the seat to allow a cover to close over him.

“SHURIKEN SMASH!”

Chris flew into the air, as it he’d been thrown backwards off the Strike Rider, and an enormous shuriken of Spino Smashers began to form above his head.

“ATTACK MODE, GO!” shouted Casey.

“UNLEASH!” boomed Chris.

Down came the shuriken, spinning wildly through the air, resembling the spokes on the inside of a wheel as it rolled.

Together, both Casey and the Shuriken smashed violently into Camille, who toppled to the ground.

Nearby, another explosion rumbled, and a plume of fire and smoke filled the air.

“Nice work, Lil!” laughed Casey as he and Chris rushed over to join her and Theo.

“Now you’ll see who you’re really dealing with!” shouted Rantipede, ripping off his Ooogie Boogie-esque head and throwing it aside.

An enormous millipede made up his head.

“Eww, nasty!” exclaimed Lily.

“His face is crawling!” cried Theo.

“Ugh!” cried Casey.

“You know, when you make Mesogog look pretty, you’ve definitely hit the bottom of the barrel in terms of looks,” said Chris to Rantipede. “And let me be clear, Mesogog was ugly.”

“Your fear makes me stronger!” barked Rantipede, glowing purple and enlarging to the size of a twenty-storey building.

“How is it possible,” asked Chris, as he and the Rangers created the Megazord. “For someone to get even uglier when they’re twenty-storeys tall?”

“Take this!” cried Lily, punching frantically; Rantipede blocked every punch, meeting it with his own.

“hold him tight, Rangers!” cried Casey. “Aargh!”

Something large and sharp had struck the Megazord; it was the head of Rantipede, which had uncurled into an enormous millipede.

“Oh, man!” cried Casey as the millipede struck the Megazord once, twice, thrice, and sent it staggering back. “This guy’s out of control.”

The millipede smashed into the Megazord several more times, knocking the Rangers around, before enclosing around the waist of the Megazord.

“Don’t give up, guys!” exclaimed Casey. “Come on!”

“We gotta break his grip!” agreed Theo.

“We can do it!” added Lily.

“Yeah!” agreed Chris. “I got an idea. Guys, have your animals Spirits support the Basilisk. I’m gonna need an extra juice!”

“What are you thinking?” asked the Basilisk.

“Trust me?”

“Always.”

“Then this is what I’m thinking,” thought Chris back.

An image flashed across the Basilisk’s mind. “Oh,” he said, forming into view over Chris’s shoulder, a malicious smile crossing his face. “That’s good.”

“On three!” ordered Chris to the others. “One… two… three…”

Chris summoned the Spino Smashers, which began to grow in size, bursting free from the Megazord, who caught them. It raised them high into the air and brought them smashing down onto Rantipede’s head.

His grip broke, freeing the Rangers.

The Megazord raced forward, the arms spinning. The Spino Smashers slashed through Rantipede as if he was made of butter.

“You’re going down!” exclaimed Casey as Rantipede turned into stone, cracked purple, and exploded.

~*~*~*~*~

Later that afternoon, Lily and Casey were having a bubble fight in the kitchen, after RJ had made Lily clean all the plates by hand as punishment for running off on her own.

“Guys, must you?” exclaimed Theo, who had emerged with Chris from the upper residence.

“You ruin my kitchen, and I will hurt you!” said Chris, leaning over the banister behind Theo, only for a splattering of soap to hit his face.

Lily and Casey chuckled. Chris’s eyes flashed white, and a blast of energy struck the sink; bubbles and water splashed everywhere.

“My victory, I think?” beamed Chris. Moments later, seeing Casey and Lily armed with soap suds, his smile faltered.

“Ohhh, no,” he said, backing up the stairs. “Take Theo first!”

He shoved Theo towards them and ran.

“I – what!?” exclaimed Theo, staggering down a step. “Chris, wait for me!”

He took off in a run after Chris, quickly pursued by Lily and Casey.

“Save me!” cried Chris, diving behind RJ.

“What-?”

RJ promptly received a face full of suds.

“Oops,” said Lily, anxiously. “Sorry!”

Chapter Text

Chapter IV: Can't Win Them All

Casey and Lily held Theo by an arm each, attempting to hold him in place. He, for his part, did not seem at all bothered by the fact that they were attempting to prevent his movement.

“Come on!” he taunted. “Is this the best you can do?”

“Well, someone is feeling garrulous this morning, aren’t they?” asked Chris, who was watching from the upper balcony.

“You know, you could be down here, helping!” added Lily.

“I mean, yeah, I could,” admitted Chris. “But I have a simple training technique of my own.”

He leapt over the banister and landed casually before them. “It’s called meditation. It keeps me in balance, stops the light from overpowering the darkness and vice-versa.”

“In other words, you’re not helping?” commented Casey.

“Well, I mean, I could,” said Chris. He reached out a hand and flicked Theo in the face. For a moment, Theo went limp, only to jerk awake. “But your first loss is always a rite of passage, I think.”

“Stop your jabbering, both of you,” interrupted Lily, returning her attention to Theo. “And get out of it. If you can?”

“If being the operative word here,” added Casey.

“You gotta be kidding me?” questioned Theo, glancing up at Chris. “This is child’s play. It’s not even worth breaking a sweat over.”

“I knew it,” retorted Lily, smugly. “Theo can’t get out.”

Theo rolled his eyes at Chris, who settled himself onto a stool to watch.

“Ten bucks says he does it,” whispered the Basilisk, quietly, leaning on the wall.

“That’s no bet,” whispered Chris back. “Of course he’s going to get out.”

Theo performed a series of intricate moves and, mere moments later, Casey and Lily were groaning in pain on the floor of the mat.

Theo whirled his hand to his ear, waiting for the phrase he knew was coming.

“He got out of it,” groaned Casey.

“Ohhh, yeah!” cheered Theo, dancing and wiggling one finger, which he held up.

~*~*~*~*~

Later that day, Theo entered the restaurant floor of Jungle Karma Pizza, spinning two pizzas on sticks, as if he was spinning plates at a circus.

“Get ‘em while they’re hot!” he announced, striding to the middle of the room. He stopped and jerked the sticks into the air. The pizzas flew through the air and landed on the waiting boards that he summoned from within his pockets.

The sticks landed in an elephant shaped umbrella holder near the door and the metal trays on which the pizzas resided landed in the nearby pile to be washed later that evening.

He threw the boards casually to the two nearby tables, obtaining gasps from the audience.

“He’s amazing!” grunted Casey in annoyance as he watched Theo whip a pizza cutter from his pocket and expertly cut the pizza for one of the two tables nearby.

“That’s Theo!” agreed Lily. “When he does something, he does it better than anyone.”

“Guys, make yourself useful,” said Theo, striding over. He whipped the cheque from Fran’s hands and returned to a table.

“Thanks for coming to JKP!”

He skidded to another nearby table, taking their payment from them. “Thanks, hope you enjoyed your meal.”

He swaggered over to the cash register and hip bumped Fran aside.

“I wonder how he does it?” asked Lily, beaming happily.

“I wonder how he’s so good?” questioned Casey.

“I wonder if he could teach me?” queried Fran.

“I wonder if he’s the only employee I need?” questioned RJ, arriving with Chris.

Lily, Casey, and Fran all whirled to stare, horrified, at him. “I joke,” he added, as Chris elbowed him, rolling his eyes. “I joke.”

The Solar Morphers beeped, and the Rangers raced away.

~*~*~*~*~

The Rangers raced into town, ready for the battle.

“Up there!” cried Lily, pointing to a nearby building.

She was right – there, staring menacingly into an office block window, standing vertically on the wall as if he was Spiderman, was Gakko.

“How predictable you are!” laughed Gakko, running partway down the building before leaping and landing on the ground, level with the Rangers. “What a joke!”

“Let’s Ranger up!” commanded Theo, head turned to look at his teammates, jaw set firm.

The Rangers whipped their Solar Morphers from their pockets, placed them over their eyes and ears, and tapped the sides.

“Jungle Beast, Spirit Unleashed!” they cried, summoning their Animal Spirits and transforming into their usual-coloured forms.

They summoned their weapons.

“Bring it, Kiddies!” laughed Gakko, gesturing with his hand to goad them into attacking. He did not, however, wait for them to give into his goading.

He charged forward into battle and met them in combat, hacking and slashing, smiting and kicking.

Theo was knocked aside, then Chris, followed by Lily and Casey.

Theo rolled aside and clambered to his feet, returning into battle with Gakko. He swung with his weapons and Gakko dodged, allowing Theo to roll past him and escape from combat.

“Come on!” barked Gakko, turning to face them, shifting his weight between his feet, as if he was a boxer waiting for an attack.

“With the Spirit of the Tiger, Jungle Chucks!” cried Casey, whirling his Nunchakus around. Blasts of golden energy whirled all around him, forming into one large wave of energy that soared towards Gakko.

Gakko leapt, avoiding the attack, and landed on the side of the building.

“Come up here, Kiddies!” laughed Gakko, mockingly.

“Come and fight on the ground, coward!” shouted Casey angrily.

“What’s the matter?” taunted Gakko, spinning on the spot on the side of the wall. “Did you lose your roar? You may be able to fight on the ground, Rangers, but on the side of a building, that’s where real warriors battle!”

“What?!” huffed Lily.

“Fine!” barked Casey, preparing his Nunchakus. “I’ll come to you!”

He leapt into the air, but that was exactly what Gakko wanted. He leapt, feet swinging out to strike, and hit Casey straight in the chest.

“Casey!”

Chris moved, surging forward to catch Casey just before he hit the ground.

“Thanks,” groaned Casey.

“Any time,” replied Chris. “Although, I’d rather not have to hold you like this again, OK? This pose should be saved for my boyfriend, when I get back to him.”

“Casey!” exclaimed Lily, rushing over with Theo. “Are you alright?”

“Just a little sore,” said Casey, hopping from Chris’s arms and rubbing his chest. He whirled around to the building. “How can we fight him up there?”

“With immense difficulty,” retorted Chris.

“Now, pay close attention,” called Gakko, shoes glowing green. “Geckos have an uncanny ability to stick to anything they walk on.”

“If you want a fight up there, tell you what – I’ll bring it on!” shouted Theo. He put his feet together and bounded into the air.

Gakko span into a backflip, kicking Theo in the chest. He fell through the air, managing to catch himself on a window ledge below.

“Not even close!” laughed Gakko. “Apparently, you have no stick-to-it-ness!” He held up a large shuriken like object and threw it at Theo. “Here, catch!”

It struck Theo, who fell from the building towards the ground.

“Chris, catch him!” shouted Lily.

“I can’t!” barked Chris in reply. “He’s flailing too much for me to get a solid grip. Casey fell like a brick, so he was easy to catch!”

THUMP

Theo hit the floor.

“Theo!” cried Lily, rushing over with Chris and Casey. “Are you alright?”

“I’m clearly superior!” taunted Gakko. “You’re lucky, Rangers! Cause us no more problems, or I’ll return and show you no mercy. Bye bye!”

And Gakko strode casually away out of sight, up the side of the building.

“Another day, Gakko!” shouted Casey after him.

“Ahhh,” sighed Theo, sagging in defeat.

“Good try, Theo,” said Casey, clapping a hand onto Theo’s shoulder as Theo sadly shook his head. “You almost got him.”

“No, he made a fool of me,” replied Theo. He turned and walked sadly away.

“What?” breathed Casey, not believing his eyes.

“Theo!” shouted Lily.

“Oh, boy,” sighed Chris. “Someone has a case of the blues. No,” he added, as they both looked at him. “That pun was not intended.”

~*~*~*~*~

“Hey, what’s up with Theo?” asked Lily to Chris and Casey later that afternoon. “He ordered that pizza an hour ago and he still hasn’t even taken a bite.”

The threesome headed over to the table in the corner of the room, where Theo was holding a slice of pizza sadly between his hands.

“What’s up, Theo?” asked Lily excitedly, chattering away at a million miles an hour. “You wanna do something? Have some fun? Go for a-”

“Go,” said Theo, voice lifeless and flat as he stared at her. “Away,” he added, seeing that she had not yet moved.

She sighed and got up, waking over to Casey. He glanced at her, then slid into the seat she’d vacated.

“You know, Lily drives me crazy sometimes,” he said to Theo. “Always trying to be so peppy. Oh, by the way, can you show me how to spin pies like you were doing before?”

“No,” said Theo, who’s mouth had twisted into a downward curl; he shook his head, having seen through Casey’s attempted plan.

“Snap out of it, T!” snapped Lily, thudding her hands down onto the table. “If RJ finds out you’ve just been sitting here all day, he could fire you!”

“Good,” sad Theo, turning to look at her, hands clasped under his chin. “Fire me. Please.”

“Look,” said Casey. “I’m just the new guy here, and I may not have the right to say this, but you lose a fight. We lost a fight,” he added, glancing up to Lily and Chris, who had arrived. “It’s not a big thing. You can’t just fold your tent and go home.”

“You’re right,” replied Theo. “You don’t have any right. And, yeah, I can fold my tent and go home. Just watch me.”

He went to rise.

“Sit down!” barked Chris, shoving him back into his chair. None of them had ever heard Chris speak in such harsh tones and stared in shock at him.

Chris lifted up the side of his shirt to reveal a long scar running vertically across his flank.

“Do you know how I got this?”

“No,” said Theo.

“No, you don’t. I got it after I lost a major fight as a Ranger. Got smashed into a metal pipe which scrapped down my side. I nearly died.”

“And?”

“If I’d given up then, given in, the world would have been doomed. As much as I wanted too, my friends didn’t allow me to do so. We’re Rangers, we have a duty to the world, to keep it safe.”

“And we lost!” barked Theo.

“So?” retorted Chris, slamming his hands down onto the table; Casey, Lily and Theo jumped as Chris’s voice sank into a growl. “We’ll probably lose again. What we do is pick ourselves up, learn from those mistakes, and grow.”

“And what was your mistake all that time ago?” drawled Theo, boredly.

“Simple. I was fighting the darkness in me, rather than accepting I had both,” said Chris, smiling ruefully. “When I accepted that, things went much better for me and the others. I grew and changed as a person, truly became who I was meant to be, began a journey I never thought I’d go on. So, you lost? Suck it up and get back in the fight. Win next time – and keep that failure as a reminder for the next time you fail.”

He whirled on the heels of his feet and marched away, the door to the kitchen slamming shut behind him.

“That went well,” grunted Casey, nodding his head in annoyance, nose scrunching in frustration.

~*~*~*~*~

Later that day, RJ was dancing upstairs in the residential area, jigging along to a song that boomed from a large, thumping radio.

He leapt, twirling elegantly through the air.

“Brava!” cried Chris, clapping.

RJ frowned, glancing over to the corner of the room; up on the higher entrance area, Theo was sat on a large purple ball, hand to his chin, deep in contemplation.

RJ glanced at Chris, who’s eyes followed RJ’s gaze up to Theo, and then clapped himself – the music and lights died.

“Theo?” asked RJ, standing and heading towards him. “Theo?”

No response.

RJ waved his hand and arms frantically in front of Theo’s face, trying to break him out of his stupor. “Theo?”

He nudged the purple ball with one sockless toe. Theo flopped off of the ball and onto two large beanbags nearby, one orange and one white.

“I pay you for… working… right?” questioned RJ.

“Yep,” replied Theo.

“Aren’t you supposed to be working?”

“Yep,” replied Theo, getting up sadly.

“Are you going to work?” queried RJ.

“Why bother?” retorted Theo. “You can get someone better.”

“Possibly,” admitted RJ. “But, right now, I’ve got you.”

“Yeah, too bad for you,” agreed Theo. “I got beat in that fight.”

“Yes, you did,” agreed RJ. Chris began to move his hands behind Theo’s head, as if indicating to RJ that he should shut up. “Beat pretty badly. I saw it on all five screens. It was ugly. Recorded it, played it back, it was still ugly.”

Chris sighed, face flopping into his hand. “Oh, I’m working for an idiot – of my own volition. What has my life come too?”

RJ ignored him, still focused on Theo. “You’re not gonna let that stop you, are you?”

Theo flicked his fingers as if shrugging. “Yep.”

“I see,” said RJ. He clicked his fingers and began to walk down the stairs. “Come on, we’re going on a road trip. Care to join us, Chris?”

“Why not?” replied Chris. “My shift ended an hour and a half ago, so I’m free until Monday.”

“Help me with the chair!” called RJ to Theo.

“Your chair?” moaned Theo.

“You’re not taking the chair, RJ!” called Chris, after him.

“I let you keep the Basilisk!” called RJ back.

“That’s different. We’re literally bound together!” retorted Chris. “You can, have, and do get out of that chair.”

“Give me a hand?” asked Theo.

“He asked you to get the chair,” replied Chris. “Not me. Yo, RJ, do we need the sodas?”

“Ooh, yes!”

~*~*~*~*~

Later that afternoon, RJ was reclining in a chair in the middle of a forest, the sun poking through the canopy above him.

“RJ, it’s Casey!” echoed Casey’s voice through a walkie-talkie that RJ had packed. “Where are Theo and Chris?”

“They’re with me.”

“Good!” replied Casey. “Lily and I are engaged in a battle with the Rinshi, Gakko! Camille’s here too.”

RJ briefly look concerned and glanced across to Chris, who was stood below Theo, watching him struggle to climb up a rope to the top of a tree.

“Well, fight on my man,” said RJ to Casey down the walkie-talkie.

“Oh, we need Theo!” exclaimed Casey in return.

“You do not need him,” replied RJ. “You may want him.”

“Fine!” barked Casey’s voice. “We want him!”

“Sorry, not possible,” replied RJ. “Theo is… occupied… at the moment.” He lowered the antennae of the walkie-talkie and threw it over his shoulder. “How’re you doing?” he called to Theo.

“Oh, just great,” retorted Theo, who was holding on with dear life. “Can I come down now?”

“Not until you get to the top!” barked Chris, hands on his hips as he stared up at Theo with a frown on his face. “Mush, Theo, mush!”

“Was that Casey and Lily?” asked Theo, staring down at RJ. “Are they in trouble?”

“Big trouble,” admitted RJ. “But what good are you? You lost your confidence in that last fight.”

“I can try,” retorted Theo, slipping slightly down the rope.

“Trying without confidence is called dumb luck!” said RJ, harshly. “Now get up there, then we’ll consider you joining them.”

Moments later, Theo reached the top and pressed himself against the tree, standing on the small platform at the top. “There. I made it!”

“Oh, oh, let me, let me!” said Chris, bouncing up and down like a child. “Theo, walk across!”

“Oooh, that’s a good idea!” admitted RJ. “Yes, do that!”

“Walk across?” gasped Theo, horrified.

“I’ll be in my chair. Chris, smoothie?”

“Ooh, gimme!”

He plopped himself down into the chair next to RJ as Theo began to slowly walk across the rocking beam between two large trees. He flailed and almost fell, wobbling several times in the middle, but finally made it.

“There,” he said, grabbing a role pullcord hanging above him. “I made it. Are you happy?”

“Most of the time,” admitted RJ. “But not quite yet.” He reached for a sack next to him and pulled a string. “Incoming!”

From inside the sack, large oranges flew towards Theo.

“Well,” said Chris, lowering his sunglasses to watch the oranges fly. “That’s going to hurt.”

Theo caught the oranges and began to juggle with them. “This is ridiculous,” he groaned. His legs began to wobble. “I can’t do this!” he cried, clutching the oranges to his chest and diving for the pullcord again.

RJ got up and turned to face Theo.

“Two days ago, before you lost the fight to Gakko, you had all the confidence in the world. You could fight with the best of them. You had strength, balance and control. You could do anything you wanted because you had confidence.”

Theo sank to his knees, failing to notice Chris climbing easily up the rope. “I was beaten.”

“So, what, Dude?” asked Chris, striding across the rolling beam towards him. “We all lose at some point in our lives.”

“He’s right,” said RJ, watching Chris take the oranges from Theo and balance all three on his nose, before rising into a one-legged pose. “What makes great warriors is not winning every fight. It’s what we do with ourselves when we lose. You had what it takes before that loss, you still have it. You just don’t know where to look for it. Here’s a hint: it’s not a thing – it’s a state of mind.”

“Catch!” said Chris, throwing the oranges to Theo, who caught them and flailed. Chris leapt, descending into a swan dive into the bushes below. “You know, that is fun. I owe Cole an apology.”

“What if I can’t find it again?” quivered Theo.

“What if you can?” asked RJ, brushing down Chris as he arrived at his side. “Your choice. Confidence is a state of mind. Choose it. Chris and I have all day. Lily and Casey? They may not.”

Something flicked in Theo’s eyes, and he huffed in a breath, nostrils flaring, then stood up, and juggled the oranges with ease. He threw them into the air, leapt, and landed before RJ. He caught one orange, then the second, then kicked the third into the air so that RJ could catch it.

“Not bad,” admitted Chris. “Not bad at all. Now, shall we go and give the others a hand?”

“Yeah,” said Theo.

“Well then, hold on!”

Chris took Theo’s arm, and, with a flash of pink, they were gone.

When they emerged from the flash, they were back in the town, on top of a building. Below them were Casey and Lily.

“I’ll go left,” said Chris. “You go right.”

Theo nodded, crouching down, ready to strike.

“Come down and fight like a monster!” hollered Casey.

“You come here!” retaliated Gakko. “And where are the blue and pink kitties?”

“You bellowed?!”

“Right here, Gakko!”

Gakko whirled around on the edge of the building to face Chris and Theo.

“Ha!” laughed Gakko. “I see you need another lesson about fighting on my turf, do ya best!”

Together, Theo and Chris leapt; Chris summoned his Spino Smashers and held them close to his chest, building up momentum.

Theo dove past him, dodging Gakko’s leaping attack.

“That’s nothing!” barked Gakko. “You just got lucky!”

He turned and charge; Theo scrambled aside, narrowly missing Gakko’s attack.

“Looks like Theo’s back!” exclaimed Lily excitedly, bouncing on the heels of her feet.

“Yeah!” agreed Casey, watching Theo bounce casually around Gakko, dodging attacks with ease. “Way to go Theo!”

“He’s done it!” cried Lily, excitedly, tapping Casey’s shoulder. “Theo’s got his game back!”

“Come on, Theo, show him what you’ve got!” shouted Casey.

Theo swung one handed, to look down at his teammates.

“You got it!” he shouted back.

“Yes, show me,” said Gakko. “There’s no way to beat me up here. This is my world!”

“That’s where you’re wrong!” called Theo. “Your world or my world, you’re history!”

“Let’s go!”

Theo leapt – but it wasn’t too attack. He dodged the descending Chris, who spread his arms wide and, spinning like a whirling dervish, smashed into Gakko.

“WHAT!?” cried Gakko, as Theo began to charge in every direction, grabbing the end of one of Chris’s Spino Smashers. Together they swung, left and right, left and right, like a set of weights being lifted in each direction, descending towards Gakko.

“Look at them go!” cried Casey. “That’s it, guys!”

“Alright, Theo, you’re back!” whooped Lily.

Gakko took a final hit and toppled onto his hands and knees.

“Gakko!” boomed Theo. “You beat me before because I didn’t have confidence in myself! Well, I do now!”

“This isn’t possible!” cried Gakko. “This is my domain, my speciality!”

“Enough playing, I’m going to finish this!” exclaimed Theo. He glanced across to Chris, next to him. “With me?”

“You know it,” replied Chris, smirking. He handed one to Theo. “Ready?”

“Always!”

Together, he and Theo dropped, descending from the building to smash into Gakko. Together, Chris and Theo each swinging a Spino Smasher, the three of them dropped towards the ground, wind whistling past their ears.

WHAM!

Gakko hit the ground, Chris and Theo landing casually on top of him.

“That should take the fight out of him!” exclaimed Theo, throwing Chris his Spino Smasher.

“You were great, Theo!” exclaimed Lily. “You too, Chris!”

“Well, duh,” said Chris, fist bumping Theo. “It’s what we do.”

“Great isn’t the word for it!” disagreed Casey. “You two were awesome!”

“Uhuh!” agreed Lily. “Oh, yeah!”

“That does it!” barked Gakko, rising from the pile of rubble he’d created on his impact with the ground. “Now I’m mad! I’ll get you two, and your little friends too!”

He summoned two throwing stars. Theo blasted them away, followed by two more.

“I’ve got all your tricks!” he barked to Gakko.

The two met in combat, hacking and slashing and rolling aside.

“Theo!” shouted Chris, eyes glowing white. “Get him over here!”

Theo smashed Gakko aside, sending him cartwheeling into the air.

“Had enough?” asked Theo.

“Had enough?” questioned Gakko, angrily. “HAD ENOUGH?! I’m just getting started with you!”

“You’re done!”

BANG!

White energy exploded from Chris, surging through the air in an arch. It smashed down violently onto Gakko, who exploded into pieces.

“Not this time, ugly!” barked Chris, eyes returning to normal. “You’re done. Dai Shi will have to do better than you if he wants to beat us!”

~*~*~*~*~

“Looks like he’s back to being Theo,” said Fran as she, Chris, Casey, RJ, and Lily watch Theo expertly throw to pizza doughs into the air and catch them.

“Confident,” said Lily.

“Self-assured,” added Casey.

“Working!” sighed RJ in relief.

“About to be splattered by dough,” finished Chris.

He was right. Theo had thrown the two pizza doughs into the air; one came down, landing on his hand. The other did not.

He looked up – and it splattered down straight onto his face.

“You forgot,” he said, pealing the pizza dough off to look at them, a smile crinkling his face. “Only human.”

“Yes, I suppose that’s true,” added Chris. “Although you and I must train later. That swinging thing we did with my Spino Smashers was powerful. If we created a link with your Tonfa, we could swing all four of us in one go!”

“Yeah,” agreed Theo. “And if we build up power-”

“-And all four launch it at once? Oohoho, that’ll be good!”

“And they’re off…” sighed Lily.

Chapter Text

Chapter V: Dance the Night Away

Theo paced up and down the restaurant floor of Jungle Karma Pizza, wringing his hands anxiously.

“Where is she?” he wondered, pacing slowing. He stopped and turned, looking up to the red clock on the wall. “Twelve oh five.”

He glanced down at his watch to make sure that the time was, in fact, correct. 

“Lost someone?” asked Chris, who was sitting at a nearby table with a book.

Fran was approaching; he wrenched her arm upwards to look at her watch, causing her to spill the rubbish she had on the tray.

“Is this thing right?” he asked anxiously, pointing at her watch.

“No,” admitted Fran, shyly. “It’s twenty-four hours ahead. Helps me keep on time.”

Theo dropped her arm and passed to the door as Chris picked up the rubbish and placed it back onto Fran’s tray.

“Well, what’s so important that you have to make a mess?” asked Fran. “Thanks,” she added to Chris.

“Welcome,” he said, turning with her in unison to look at Theo.

“Sorry,” replied Theo, turning back from the door to address both of them. “It’s the second Tuesday of the month. Lily and I always try a new lunch spot on the second Tuesday of the month. She’s supposed to meet me here at twelve o’clock.”

“Aww,” said Fran and Chris in unison, giggling to one another. “You two have a standing date!”

“It’s not a date,” replied Theo mockingly, twisting his hands.

“Whatever!” laughed Fran teasingly, under her breath.

“We just like hanging out.”

“Mmhmm,” muttered Chris to Fran. “Sure… And I’m the Queen of Sheba.”

“It’s not a date!” retorted Theo sharply. “It’s so not a date. No date.”

“Yep, sure,” said Fran to herself as she returned to the reception desk and began stacking all the rubbish.

Theo turned away from them, eyes widening as he caught sight of RJ entering Jungle Karma Pizza. He raced over to RJ, almost knocking him flat on his back. “Have you seen Lily?”

“Yeah, man,” said RJ, dancing on the spot. “She’s upstairs, getting her groove on with Casey.”

“So that’s what they were setting up when I came down here?” questioned Chris. “I did wonder.”

Theo’s eyes widened in abject horror, and he raced off into the kitchen.

“We’d better go make sure that doesn’t implode in on itself,” said Chris, getting up. “Back in a few, Fran.”

He and RJ followed Theo upstairs, arriving mere moments after him.

“Lil, did you forget something?” asked Theo as Chris and RJ arrived.

“Oh, right!” exclaimed Lily, turning to Casey. “I was going to do a triple flip at the end, but my ankle’s not feeling it.”

“No,” interrupted Theo, before Casey could reply. “I meant our lunch… appointment.”

“Theo,” said Lily soothingly. “Of course I didn’t forget. I even picked out the perfect place.”

“Hmm hmm, my chair,” said RJ, clapping a hand to the back of his chair, which Casey was currently sat in.

Casey shot to his feet, eyes wide in terror, as RJ wandered off to a nearby table adorned with objects to continue working on something. “Oops.”

“You guys are gonna love it,” said Lily.

“Oooh, I get to come too?” asked Chris. “Cool. I’m starving. For some strange reason, I was up early this morning. Hope it’s not a bad omen…”

“Guys?” asked Theo, glaring at Casey.

“Great, I’m starving too!” admitted Casey.

“But, before we go, I wanna show you another move. It takes four. One to catch me, one to throw me, and one to boost me higher.”

“I’ll catch you!” said Theo and Casey in unison, both glaring down at the other when they realised that they had both spoken.

“That’s a good idea, Lily,” admitted RJ. “Teamwork’s the name of the game. The new claw cannon, here, will take all four of your animal spirits to work. Three to charge it, one to shoot.”

“I think I should catch you,” said Theo to Lily.

“No,” said Casey, rejecting the idea. “I was the catcher on my baseball team. I’ll catch you.”

“Now you’re a big strong tiger!” barked Theo angrily. “You should throw.”

“I don’t wanna throw, Theo,” retaliated Casey. “You throw.”

“I’m not throwing, I’m catching.”

“You’re throwing!”

“You’re throwing!”

“Look,” said Theo, as Casey turned angrily away, arms crossed. “Lily and I go way back. We have history. You’re just the new guy!”

“Theo!” hissed Lily.

“So that’s how it is?” asked Casey, turning back. “I’m just the new guy.”

“Yeah,” said Theo, sharply. “That’s how it is.”

“Fine!”

Their argument was cut off by the blaring of the two alarms on top of RJ’s television sets.

“Oh, here we go,” said Chris, turning quickly to the others. “Let’s get going, guys. And someone think of an excuse for Fran!”

~*~*~*~*~

Down in the town, Stingerella had arrived; people were running and screaming as, with a pack of Rinshi behind her, she advanced into the town.

“Scare these fools and get us some power!” she ordered the Rinshi.

They all, Stingerella included, began to dance. “And turn! One, two! Hup! That’s right – it’s all in the rhythm!”

“Hey!” shouted Casey, rushing over with the other Rangers.

“A dancing Lobster…” noticed Chris. “Well, now I have officially seen it all.”

“Huh!?” gasped Stingerella, twirling mid-dance move to face them. “Rangers! You are no match for my Rhythmic Rinshi.”

“Great…” muttered Theo, annoyed. “Dancing devils.”

“Nice alliteration,” complimented Chris. “But this won’t be easy. I’ll be the first to admit, I have two left feet unless it’s anything other than a Reel, The Dashing White Sergeant, or Hamilton House.”

“You don’t know the half of my power!” shouted Stingerella, pointing up to them with a crab-clawed hand. “Attack!”

In unison, all still dancing, the Rinshi advanced.

Casey and the Rangers dove into battle, but their normal fighting styles didn’t work; the dancing meant that the Rinshi were just out of range and position every time.

“Oh! What’s going on?” exclaimed Theo, struggling with his own set of Rinshi. They parted to form a line, revealing a Rinshi who danced towards Theo and kicked him in the face.

He flew into the air and smashed down to the ground.

“Man, they’re tough!” he exclaimed, struggling to stand from the pain.

Lily too, failed to keep tempo with the dance, and staggered backwards, tripping over her own feet and falling to the ground with Casey and Theo.

“Watch this step!” exclaimed Stingerella.

“I don’t think so!” said Chris, leaping from his own Rinshi to land in front of the other Rangers. “Yo, Rinshi, you like to dance?”

He clapped his hands and several of the Rinshi fell into line. “And a one, and a two, and one, two, three!”

Music began to blare from out of nowhere as Chris danced forward. He took one Rinshi by the hands, they circled, and then separated, allowing Chris to dance back to another.

“Enough of this!” barked Stingerella, blasting at Chris.

He and several Rinshi were thrown into the air and smashed down onto the ground near the others.

“Golly!” he exclaimed, head rattling inside his helmet.

Stingerella leapt, kicking and slashing as the Rangers stood, attempting to block her attacks. She kicked them back. They rushed in for another attack, only for Stingerella to hack and slash, blocking their attacks with kicks and punches, crab-clawed hands whirling.

One by one they were knocked aside; Stingerella kicked Lily in the face, flipped Theo to the ground and kicked Chris in the chest, causing him to stagger back and trip over Casey. She cartwheeled through the air and lunged for Casey, who ducked and dove to avoid her attacks.

Theo, Lily, and Chris leapt to their feet, charging at Stingerella, who dove into a handstand and kicked wildly, sending the three tumbling backwards. Casey attacked, punching at Stingerella, who used her legs to smash his attacks away with ease.

She leapt back, landing on her feet again as Casey and the Rangers staggered to a halt. “Bring it!”

“Alright!” said Chris, summoning his Spino Smashers and leaping into the air. He brought them whirling down through the air, only for Stingerella to attack them. His attack struck hard, but the shockwave threw him high into the air.

He smashed down painfully nearby.

“Well,” he moaned, standing painfully. “That went well…”

Lily, Theo, and Casey rushed back into battle, hacking and slashing. Stingerella leapt into the air, feet wide, and kicked Casey and Lily in the face. She leapt and twirled, again and again, striking and smiting the Rangers, who crashed to the floor near Chris.

“Now, Blue Ranger, I’ll finish this!” hissed Stingerella, heaving Theo into the air.

A roar echoed from behind; Stingerella whirled around – “Huh? What?” – and dropped Theo to the floor.

Behind them, now the size of a twenty-storey building, was Toady.

“Whoa!?” gasped Lily and Casey.

“Oh, boy!” gasped Chris. “Two at once. Well, this is not going to be fun today, guys!”

“Toady?!” cried Stingerella, rushing forward. “Toady, what are you doing!?”

“I’m saving you from these colourful fools!” boomed Toady, who had large Wolverine-like claws.

He smashed the claws down to the ground. Stingerella leapt, dashing out of the way. The Rangers, too, by the skin of their teeth, jumped away in time.

“It’s Zord time!” exclaimed Casey.

They summoned their animal spirits and leapt into them, forming the Megazord. “Animal Spirits, unite as one! Jungle Pride Megazord!”

They had barely formed the Megazord before Toady attacked them, arms flailing wildly.

The Megazord toppled, crumbling to the floor.

“Come on, Rangers!” boomed Toady, charging at them again as they stood. His hard head crashed into the Megazord chest and sent them staggering backwards.

Once, twice, thrice, Toady leapt, striking at the Megazord.

“Ugh,” said Stingerella, watching from the ground. “He’s finally lost it.” She turned to the Rinshi. “Let’s get back before things get out of hand.”

“Enough of this!” barked Casey. “Spin attack!”

The Rangers began to spin on the spot inside the Megazord as, outside, the arms of the Megazord span wildly, becoming just a blur of colour.

Toady, who was mid leap, could do nothing to stop them.

He smashed into the spinning arms of the Megazord and was thrown across the battle arena, where he crashed to the ground.

“Stingerella!?” cried Toady, looking around for her. “Where have you gone?”

“Hey, what’s his problem?” asked Theo.

“Odd,” said Chris. “I think he’s in love.”

“I’ve ruined everything!” wailed Toady. He raised his hands to his head and covered his face, running from the battle in peals of sobs. “NOOOOOOOO!”

~*~*~*~*~

“That freaky dance group had some moves, I’ll give them that,” said Lily as she and the others strode into the living quarters above Jungle Karma Pizza.

“And so do you, Lily,” said RJ, swivelling in his chair to face them. He held three black devices in his hands. “I think it’s time to face fire with fire. I want you to teach your new dance to Chris, Casey, and Theo, and then incorporate it into your fighting styles.”

“No, no,” said Theo, smirking. “I don’t dance.”

“Great, more dance time for the new guy.”

Lily led Theo and Casey through the dance, RJ watching as they messed it up.

“I said for you to learn too,” he added to Chris.

“I am,” replied Chris. He smiled and performed the first half of the dance, correct though somewhat broken in movement. “Learning the dance isn’t the issue. How do we incorporate it into a fighting style?”

“Well, why not add something you’ve learned over the years?” asked Lily. “Then we can learn it all.”

“Good idea,” said Chris. “Now, what to add…”

~*~*~*~*~

Three hours of dance training later, finally, they had their dance.

“Alright!” exclaimed Lily, happily. “You guys got it!”

“No thanks to him!” said Theo and Casey, to one another, about one another.

Sighing, Lily looked to Chris and rolled her eyes, only for the two red-domed alarms on RJ’s television set to begin blaring.

“Oh, here we go again!” said Chris. “Come on, guys! We’ve got a fight!”

~*~*~*~*~

Down in the town, Stingerella and the Dancing Rinshi were back.

“This time,” began Stringerella, flicking one of her dreadlocks back. “That annoying toad better not interfere!”

The Rangers arrived.

“Let’s show these fools, again, what true rhythm looks like! Dance, ha ha, and turn!”

Stingerella and the Rinshi whirled on the spot, performing a series of intricate dance moves.

“It’s time to dance to a different groove!” exclaimed Casey, thumping his fist into the palm of his other hand, as if offering a challenge to Stingerella.

“Let’s show ‘em!” suggested Theo.

“Roger that!” agreed Chris.

“Yeah, let’s do it, guys!” agreed Lily.

The Rangers began to dance on the spot, fingers tapping to the rhythm of Lily’s dance.

“I got the rhythm!” exclaimed Theo.

“Great, Theo!” exclaimed Lily. “I knew you could do it!”

“Come on!” shouted Casey, rushing forward. “Ha!”

“What!?” exclaimed Stingerella, dreadlocks flailing. “Oh, so you think you can dance? Attack!”

All hopping and dancing, the Rinshi began to advance towards the Rangers, who rolled into combat and began to dance, their dance avoiding the attacks of the Rinshi’s dance.

The Rangers whirled around, raising a foot to kick the Rinshi in the face. The Rinshi fell to the floor and exploded in a flash of purple smoke.

“But how!?” cried Stingerella.

“It’s all in the beast!” retorted Casey. “Let’s get her!”

“I won’t let them destroy you!”

“This thing again?!” exclaimed Chris. “Oi, Pumpkin-looking-frog-thing, get lost or I’ll have to tell Theo here to guard the gourd. No? Too soon?”

Toady emerged from nearby, a sword drawn. “You are my responsibility.”

“Since when!?” exclaimed Stingerella. “You are just a worthless toad!”

“Enough!” barked Toady. “This is my destiny! I love you and, together, we will destroy the Rangers!”

“Ohh,” tittered Stingerella. “That’s so chivalrous.”

Theo moved, whirling his tonfa. “Jungle Tonfa, go!”

His attack bounced off Toady’s chest as Lily raced forward to attack, Chris leaping with her.

“Jungle Bow!”

“Spino Smashers!”

“Weaklings!” exclaimed Toady, striking both of them several times across the chest. They flew into the air and smashed down onto the ground nearby.

“Call to the beast inside!” cried Casey, summoning his Animal Spirit. “Call to the Tiger!”

The Red Tiger descended on Toady.

“Toad power!”

A gloopy shield, resembling frogspawn, erupted around Toady.

“What!?” cried Casey.

“No way!”

“Try this on for size! Basilisk Blast!”

As Chris fired, Lily and Theo summoned their Animals Spirits. The two animal spirits and the Basilisk Blast smashed into Toady, only to be reflected off his shield.

“My love!” said Toady to Stingerella. “Together, we will be unstoppable! Stingerella, attack!”

He stepped aside, allowing Stingerella to dance her way into a spin; she resembled a spinning-top as she whirled across the battle arena at the Rangers, smashing into each of them hard.

“Yes, well done!” cheered Toady.

“Yes, you were so right, Toady!” agreed Stingerella, hands clasped affectionately in front of her. “Together we can rule.”

“Side by side!” agreed Toady, taking her arm.

“Let’s go!”

“It’s not over!” moaned Lily.

~*~*~*~*~

Stingerella and Toady were walking down an alleyway together, both laughing happily.

“I’m so happy!” exclaimed Toady.

“Hey!”

“Hmm? Do you hear something?” asked Toady, turning with Stingerella.

“Let’s see,” she agreed.

The two turned in unison as the Rangers skidded into the rain-soaked alleyway behind them.

“Going somewhere?” asked Theo, sharply.

“Uh!” exclaimed Stingerella.

“Follow us to your doom!” barked Theo. He raised two fingers to the side of his helmet and pressed down. “RJ, send us the cannon!”

Out of nowhere, the claw cannon appeared, landing in the outstretched arms of Chris, Lily, and Theo. “Claw Cannon!”

Casey stepped in front of them.

“Wait!” he commanded.

“Casey, teamwork, remember?” asked Lily as the Claw Cannon began to whirr, building up power.

“Yeah,” he agreed. Then, because he couldn’t resist, he spitefully continued. “Tell that to Theo.”

“What!?” barked Theo as Casey rushed towards Stingerella and Toady.

“Oh, boy…” muttered Chris. The Basilisk phased in over his shoulder and face palmed. “Thank you. I’m a little… busy… to be able to facepalm.”

Casey met Stingerella and Toady in combat, both of them hacking and slashing at him. He ducked and dodged, managing to avoid Toady’s attacks, before bringing up a foot to kick him backwards.

Stingerella took her chance; she dove to the floor and stuck out a foot, which Casey tripped over. He back flipped through the air and crunched down to the ground.

“It’s almost charged!” exclaimed Lily, red sparks bouncing off the Claw Cannon. “But it won’t work without Casey!”

“We don’t need him!” snapped Theo back.

“RJ said it takes all of us!” retorted Chris, sharply. “Look out!”

“Whoa!”

Stingerella had leapt into the air and descended at the three of them. Spino Smashers flashing, Chris dropped the Claw Cannon and dove backwards, avoiding the attack.

Theo and Lily were not so lucky; Stingerella’s attack sent them rolling back across the floor. Nearby, Toady’s attack struck Casey across the chest and stomach, sending him crashing back down to the ground.

Casey clambered back to his feet and charged into battle again.

“RJ!” said Chris through his headset. “This cannon – could it be used as a funnel? To aim and control something launched through it?”

“Figuratively, yes,” replied RJ’s voice. “What are you planning?”

Casey was still fighting Toady, ducking and dodging. Toady sliced him, three times, across the stomach and chest, and then threw him over his head.

Theo and Lily were fighting with Stingerella. Chris dove, dragging the Claw Cannon away and heaving it into his arms.

“We need to give them time to regroup!” he thought in his head. “Give me whatever we’ve got to get us out of here!”

His eyes began to glow white, the Claw Cannon rumbling in his grip.

Stingerella kicked Lily aside, then smashed Theo into the wall nearby, causing him to topple to the floor.

“Theo!” cried Lily.

Casey was smashed aside by Teddy, who smashed down behind Theo and Lily.

“Look!” cried Toady, dancing around Stingerella. “We did it. I told you – together, we rule!”

“You were right all along!” exclaimed Stingerella, jumping into Toady’s arms. “I love you!”

“Let’s get married!” he agreed, carrying her away bridal style. “Then finish the Rangers.”

“Then we’ll honeymoon in Vegas!”

Laughing, the two disappeared from view.

“I don’t believe it!” exclaimed Theo, standing. “Casey, we could have had them!”

“So, which is it, Theo?” asked Casey, sharply and snidely. “Are we a team, or am I just the new guy?”

“Right now, you’re lucky I haven’t chosen to unleash the Basilisk on you!” barked Chris, firing the cannon. White Energy sucked in Theo, then Casey, then Lily, then Chris himself, before it twisted in on itself.

~*~*~*~*~

The Rangers crashed down into the back courtyard of Jungle Karma Pizza.

“Even through a cannon, I still can’t control the damn teleporting…” groaned Chris, heaving himself to his feet. “You know what, you know about this stuff – we’re going to do some work, find out why this isn’t working properly.”

He trundled inside. “Oh, and guys, work this out.”

“We-”

“NOW!”

He whirled in the door, hands clasped over either side of the frame, eyes flashing white, and a dustbin in the corner exploded. “Oh, go and deal with them. I’ve had enough of them right now. If I get involved, I can’t promise we’ll have a Blue or Red Ranger left.”

~*~*~*~*~

Later that afternoon, Theo and Casey, who had put aside their differences, entered the Living Quarters with Lily.

Chris was stood in the middle of the room, talking into a floating bubble, through which a kindly, red haired, elegantly quaffed woman was speaking.

“Well, have you accommodated for the power of your other Ranger Abilities?”

“No,” said Chris. “I thought, when I finished on each Ranger Team, that I’d be unable to use the powers again. When I left the Wild Force Rangers, for example, I had to give up my Morpher. And you have my Morpher from that team.”

“Well, you may not have access to the Morphers anymore, but the latent power is still there,” said the woman. “It always remains inside. If you haven’t been factoring it in-”

“Then I have four different powers wrenching me every which way.”

“Exactly,” said the woman inside the bubble, smiling.

“Thanks for the help, Udonna,” said Chris, smiling. “So, how is everyone? Chip and Xander? Vee and Maddie? You, Daggeron, Nick? Clare?”

“We’re well, thank you,” said Udonna, beaming. “We found Apollo. He’s been living in Texas with his adoptive family since the Basilisk and Phineas smuggled him and Nick into the Mortal World.”

“That’s great!” exclaimed Chris.

“Clare has become a wonderful sorceress, Xander and Chris have been exploring the Magical Realm for anyone who fled during the Great battle and hadn’t returned after the defeat of the Master, and Vida and Maddie are moving into their directing career.”

“Great!” exclaimed Chris, breaming. “Give them all my best, won’t you?”

“Yo, Chris!” said Casey, descending the stairs with Lily and Theo. “Who’s this?”

“Oh, sorry – Casey, this is Udonna, Lady of Snow, Defender of the Magical Realm. Udonna, this is the Jungle Fury Red Ranger, Casey… uh… actually, I never asked your surname.”

“Rhodes,” said Casey.

“Casey Rhodes,” said Chris. “Lil, Theo, this is one of my old mentors – old as in former, not in age -” he added quickly. “She was my mentor when I was a member of the Mystic Force Rangers.”

The alarms blared.

“Gotta go, Udonna!” exclaimed Chris. “Speak soon!”

~*~*~*~*~

“This is so nice!” exclaimed Stingerella as she and Toady strolled together on a clifftop.

“I love a walk in the woods,” admitted Toady.

“Why don’t you blast open that volcano, so we can see the city melt?” suggested Stingerella, gesturing to the volcano nearby.

“Wonderful idea, my love!” admitted Toady. He summoned four orange balls into his hands and threw them towards the volcano.

They did not hit their target for, out of nowhere, the Rangers appeared, swinging their weapons to launch the orange balls at each other; they collided with a large explosion.

“Stop right there!” they barked, all landing and turning to face the two Rinshi before them.

“Those Rangers again?” squawked Stingerella. She and Toady transformed, leaping down from the cliff to land before the Rangers.

“So,” began Toady. “You’ve come back for a final beating!”

“Only this time, you’re the one who’s getting beat!” threatened Casey, taking a singular step forward. “Right, guys?”

“Right!”

“Ready for the Claw Cannon?” asked Theo.

“You know it,” replied Casey, twirling his weapon and turning back to Theo with a nod.

Lily, Chris and Theo summoned the Claw Cannon while Casey charged forward to meet Stingerella and Toady in combat.

He was thrown backwards several times, skidding through the gravelly sand below them.

“Come on, Casey!” cried Chris.

“Hold them off!” added Theo.

“It’s almost charged!” exclaimed Lily.

Casey stood up. “You’re as weak as she is!” he snapped, addressing Toady.

“Don’t talk about her!” shouted Toady, rushing forward into combat. His long-clawed hands closed around Casey, who fought to hold him back.

“I’ll end this once and for all,” bragged Stingerella, striding towards Chris, Theo, and Lily.

Casey broke free of Toady’s grip and raced towards Stingerella, who leaped into the air to avoid his attack. She landed in a crab-walk stance.

“Get away from them!” he barked, moving left and right with her to stop her from advancing. Toady rushed forward and flipped Stingerella over, so that she was in a standing position, where she promptly resumed fighting with Casey.

At the same time, Toady rushed forward to overwhelm Casey, who was knocked backwards again. Toady leapt, pinning him down.

“Charged!” breathed Theo.

“Charged!” breathed Lily.

“It’s ready! Casey!” shouted Chris.

“Get… off… me!” groaned Casey, heaving Toady off. He kicked him, sending him crashing into Stingerella, and then leapt back to the others. “Let’s do it, guys!”

“You think that little weapon can hurt us?” bragged Toady. “I’ll use my forcefield!”

“Engage!” exclaimed Casey, pulling back the pink lever of the Claw Cannon; the mouth of the blue and red lion head opened.

“POWERED BY ANIMAL SPIRITS!” they roared as Casey thrust the lever forward; a yellow circle on the back filled with energy and with a deafening bang, the Claw Cannon fired.

It smashed hard into Toady’s shield and began to slowly dig through it.

“AAAH!” exclaimed Toady. “Please, hold!” Cracks began to form across the front of his shield. “Oh, NO! AAAAARRGH!”

The shield exploded and the Claw Cannon blast smashed into him; he transformed into rock and exploded. The explosion sent Stingerella flying.

“You destroyed my beloved!” she cried, staggering to her feet. “For that, you will fall!”

~*~*~*~*~

“You know, I have never hated Scorpions more than I did in that battle,” said Chris to Udonna.

“I can imagine not,” admitted Udonna. “I’ve got Clare and the others on alert, just in case things spread any further.”

“Thanks,” admitted Chris. “They shouldn’t, but it’s nice to know you’re around.”

“Don’t be a stranger,” said Udonna.

Chris smiled. “I won’t. There’s a tornado warning for next week, so I might bring the Rangers – and RJ and Fran – up to Root Core for safety.”

“You know you’re always welcome.”

“I know,” said Chris, smiling. “I know. I can’t wait to see Theo’s face when he learns about-”

Behind Udonna, something exploded.

“Is everything OK?”

“Just Apollo learning magic,” replied a voice. Clare’s blonde-haired head appeared next to Udonna. “Oh, Chris! Hi!”

“Hi, Clare. How does it feel to be in Udonna’s position with an apprentice blowing things up all the time?”

“Stressful,” admitted Clare. Her head turned to Udonna. “Was I ever that bad?”

“Worse,” said Udonna. “But it was worth it.”

BANG

“I’ll let you get on with it,” chuckled Chris, smirking as a fire-ball exploded behind them.

“See you soon,” said Udonna, nodding. With a click of her fingers, she closed the connection.

Chris chuckled. “History does repeat…

Chapter Text

Chapter VI: Pizza Slice of Life

“See ya, au revoir, adios, ciao, see you in a few days.”

Fran, Theo, RJ and Chris all turned from their positions in the kitchen as RJ, dressed in a fly-fishing outfit, descended the stairs with a tackle box in hand.

“What?” asked Theo, unable to hide the laugh from his face. “You’re going fly-fishing?” 

“No,” replied RJ, turning back from the door. “Why would you think-?” he looked down at took in the sight of his clothes. “Oh!” he laughed. “This get-up. I’m just going to a flyfishing contest.”

“RJ, you’re such an animal right guy,” began Lily. “I just don’t see you fishing.”

“I’m not going to fish,” replied RJ. “I’m going to disturb the fish, so the fishermen don’t catch the fish.”

“That sounds like the RJ we know,” admitted Chris, chuckling.

“Hold on there,” said Theo. “You can’t just go without leaving someone in charge. Someone bright, resourceful, and very responsible.”

“I’m flattered,” said Chris, chuckling. “But no. I am not cut out for power. If I had power, I’d be horrifying…”

“I meant me,” corrected Theo, glaring up at Chris.

“If you don’t say so yourself,” added Lily, smirking.

“What do you know about running a business?” hissed Theo to Chris. “You’re, what, 20?”

“Twenty-one in June,” said Chris. “Although I should, technically, be twenty-four if I had lived to this time in my own time period without hopping around. And, I’ll have you know, I helped at the family bookshop in the summers – and weekends – so I know how to keep a business afloat.”

“Theo’s right,” said RJ. “We need someone in charge.”

The door to the kitchen opened from the restaurant floor, revealing Casey in his green uniform and orange hat adorned with JKP.

“Casey, you’re in charge,” said RJ.

“Me?” asked Casey, looking up in shock to make sure that he had heard RJ correctly.

“Good,” said RJ. “Then it’s settled. Ta ta.”

“But – I –”

But RJ was gone.

“Alright,” said Lily. “What’s the plan, stan?”

“Beats me,” admitted Casey. “I didn’t actually agree to being in charge.”

“I’ll do it,” said Theo, shrugging happily.

“NO!”

Theo looked back; the exclamation had burst from Lily, Chris and Fran.

“Tell you what,” began Casey. “I don’t want the responsibility, so why don’t we all split it? We’ll all be in charge. Lily and Chris can run the kitchen, I’ll handle meeting, greeting, and seating.”

“What about me?” asked Theo. “What am I going to be in charge of?”

“You, my friend, can be the waiter,” replied Casey.

“Oh, so I’m just the waiter?” asked Theo. “What if I don’t want to be the waiter?”

“Great!” exclaimed Lily. “I’ll switch with you. You work in the sweaty kitchen, and I’ll get the big tips!”

“My bad!” retorted Theo. “Forgot about tips. Vice president in charge of tips is fine with me.”

Casey saluted.

“Oh, uh, what about me?” asked Fran.

“You’ll be our floater,” replied Casey, making a motion with his hands to indicate squeezing a spray bottle. “Great. Everyone’s in charge and everyone’s happy, especially me.”

~*~*~*~*~

“Fran!? Fran?!”

Casey threw open the front door of Jungle Karma Pizza, looking for Fran, who had been suspiciously absent in the last few hours.

“What’s she doing out there?” asked Chris.

“As Maitre d’, filling the tables is my responsibility, right? So, I’ve got her helping me.”

Fran tried to enter the door, only to get stuck on the sides; she was wearing an enormous costume in the shape and style of a pizza slice.

“What is that?” asked Lily, barely able to keep the laugh out of her voice.

Chris was not so lucky; the door to the kitchen swung open, revealing him from inside. “Yo, Lil, what’s keeping you… out… he-he-he. Eh-he-he-he!”

At the sight of Fran, he began to giggle. His giggle broke into a full-scale cackle and, arms around his stomach, he descended into a fit of cackles. “Oh – oh my stomach – oh, I can’t – laughing!”

“I am the Jugle Karma Mascot!” exclaimed Fran, trying to appear happy. “Pepperona! And I hate it! It’s garlicky and my cheese is melting in the heat.”

“Well, Chris and I need you and your pepperonis in the kitchen, now! Chris, stop laughing and help!”

Lily began dragging Fran towards the kitchen.

Still giggling to himself, shoulders shaking, hair bouncing, Chris saluted and joined Lily. “Yes, Ma’am.” He sniffed. “Eww, you’re right, Fran. It does small of Garlic. Where did you even find this?”

“And I need you out here,” said Theo, intercepting Chris and Lily.

“Well, I need her more!”

“I looked for her first!”

Fran slipped from Lily’s grip. She and Chris, who was still dragging her, spun on the spot, wobbled, and then toppled into a table; Fran was able to stop herself from falling over while Chris was not. The two customers at the table leapt up; the plates skidded and smashed to the floor, Pizza toppings splattering into Chris’s face.

“Casey!” yelled Chris, Lily, and Theo.

“Don’t ask me!” retorted Casey. “That’s why I didn’t want to be in charge. You’re a fourth of the boss too, guys.”

“I need her in the kitchen-”

“Look, if we don’t get her outside-”

“You decide,” said Casey, sadly, turning and leaving.

“Aaaaah!” exclaimed Fran, toppling.

“Gotcha!” said Chris, catching her before she hit the floor. “You alright? Other than smelling of garlic, I mean. Oh, my eyes are watering.” He sniffed, face crinkling at the smell of ingredients covering him. “Is this stilton and bananas and peanut butter? On a pizza? Really? What is wrong with people these days? That’s repulsive!”

Lily and Theo were still arguing.

“- Then who’s going to do the dishes!” exclaimed Lily, shouting over Theo.

“-There’s no point in taking orders!” exclaimed Theo, shouting over Lily.

“Oh, let’s get you cleaned up, Fran,” said Chris, struggling to his feet and helping Fran to stand. “I’m covered in food that should never be mixed together, and the two love birds out here are too busy arguing to notice.”

“Thanks,” said Fran.

“So,” said Chris, leading Fran into the kitchen. “We’ve never really had much of a chance to talk. Tell me everything about yourself.”

~*~*~*~*~

“What will it be?!”

Lily, Casey, and Theo had all arrived together at the same table, intending to take the order of the two guests sitting there.

“Hey, this is my table!” barked Theo.

“Yeah?” asked Lily, sharply. “Well, it’s about time! You didn’t cover your last three tables!”

“You’re talking about not doing your job?” commented Casey. “I’ve covered for you all day!”

“Because I’ve been covering for him!” snapped Lily, jabbing a pencil in Theo’s direction.

“Because I’ve been covering for him!” snapped Theo, teeth bared, voice barely below a growl.

“Me?” questioned Casey, sharply. “Let the truth be known - I’ve covered for both of you! And, if it was up to me, I’d probably fire the both of you!”

“Well, it’s not up to you!” snapped Theo.

“Because you didn’t want the responsibility!” snapped Lily, gesticulating wildly.

“Look!” whispered Casey in a growl. “We will get into this later. Right now, I have customers waiting for me.” He raised his voice as he spoke, not realising the table was empty. “Can I please take your order?”

Lily, Theo, and Casey glared angrily at one another.

~*~*~*~*~

“Whoa, Lily, you look wiped,” said Casey, plopping down into a booth opposite Lily. “Want something?”

“Yeah,” admitted Lily. “A mute button for Theo! I am tired of all his complaining.”

The door to the kitchen burst open, revealing Fran.

“Did one of you move the fire extinguisher?” she asked, looking around frantically.

“No,” replied Casey and Lily.

“Well, if no-one wants charred pizza, we’d better find it soon.”

BANG!

Something in the kitchen exploded, black smoke erupting onto the restaurant floor. Fran, Lily, and Casey all came running.

When the smoke cleared, Chris was stood there, mid motion, covered head to foot in soot. He turned to them, eyes narrowing. “Which one of you replace the cumin with custard powder? You know it’s explosive!”

Fran spotted the fire extinguisher and dove for it; heaving it up, Casey yanked open the soot covered oven door and Fran plunged the fire extinguisher inside, squeezing the nozzle heavily.

“Ohhhh!” exclaimed Fran, spotting who she had actually sprayed; the group burst from the room and onto the restaurant floor. “Sorry, I’m so, so sorry!”

“Yeah, well, I’m gonna clean up…” sighed Theo, who looked like he’d been buried head to foot in whipped cream.

“You know if that was whipped cream, it’d be a good way to go!” suggested Chris. “Hold on… Drowning in cream! Hmm, Fran, I’ve had a pizza idea…”

Their solar Morphers blared. Casey stepped out of site and whipped them on. Moments later, he turned to the others. “Better put that on hold, guys! Fran, you’re in charge!”

“In charge?” asked Fran as the Rangers raced away. “Of what?!”

“Everything!” shouted Lily back at her.

~*~*~*~*~

Camille was waiting for them at the beach when they arrived.

“OK, Camille, what kind of trouble are you up too this time?” asked Chris.

“I need to borrow something from you,” admitted Camille, summoning her small daggers and twirling them with her fingers. “Your power!”

“Good chance of that!” admitted Lily as the Rangers all charged in unison.

Camille whirled and twirled, dodging their attacks. Knocking the Rangers back, she leapt into the air and launched giant spikes at them; the spikes struck the ground around the Rangers and exploded, sending the Rangers flying as the explosion rattled the ground behind them.

Camille fired again, but the Rangers were prepared this time; they leapt into the air and descended, legs ready to kick, towards Camille. She was thrown backwards, staggering to her feet.

“CLAW CANNON!” roared the Rangers, summoning the cannon. “Charged! Powered by Animal Sprits!”

They fired. Camille took the attack and staggered to her feet. “Is that all you’ve got?”

“Try again!” commanded Lily. “Fire!”

Camille took the second attack and rolled away. She staggered to her feet again.

“We got her!” exclaimed Casey.

“Come on!” cried Camille, spreading her arms wide. “Give me some more!”

“It’s like she wants to be attacked!” exclaimed Lily.

“Why on Earth would she want that?” asked Chris.

“Focus!” commanded Theo.

They charged the Claw Cannon again and fired for a third time. Camille caught the attack, swirling it above her head.

“I feel it!” she breathed, throwing the attack aside. “I’m getting stronger!”

“How did she do that!?” cried Theo.

“Thanks, Rangers!” exclaimed Camille, front flipping away. “I’ve got it!”

~*~*~*~*~

The Rangers burst in through the back door of Jungle Karma Pizza.

“Yo, Fran!” exclaimed Casey.

Fran, who was halfway across the room with a pepperoni and garlic pizza, yelped and jumped. The pizza flew high into the air.

“Hit the deck!” cried Chris, ducking. The pizza flew over his head and smashed Theo in the face.

“Whoa!” exclaimed Theo, voice muffled behind the pizza that had landed on his face. He pealed it off, frowning. “Did I do something terrible to you in another life?”

“What happened here?” asked Lily, seeing the piles of plates resting on the table before the Rangers.

“Did a hurricane blow through?” asked Chris.

“Well, you try seating, waiting, cooking, bussing, and collecting at rush hour!” barked Fran. “Alone! Again!”

Theo sniffed his fingers. “Yuck,” he groaned. “I hate garlic pizza. Now I’m gonna stink for an hour…”

“Well, at least I won’t have to smell it!” hissed Fran, whipping a towel off her shoulder in anger. She slammed both it and the paddle she was using to carry the pizza to the floor.

“I quit!” she barked, marching away.

“Oh!” huffed Casey.

~*~*~*~*~

“If I’d been left in charge this would never have happened,” said Theo later that afternoon as he and Lily collected rubbish from two of the nearby tables.

“Now you’re blaming Casey for this mess?” asked Lily.

“Well…” grunted Theo, gesturing with his arms.

“I don’t see your fourth of the business doing any better,” retaliated Lily.

“Oh, look,” retorted Theo, carrying a pile of plates almost as big as him. “I think I see your fourth of the business still smoking!”

“Guys, stop!” huffed Casey. “This is my fault, all of it. RJ left me in charge, I didn’t want it. If I’d taken on the responsibilities instead of splitting them up then we would have, at least, have had a leader. One game plan, like when we’re Rangers.”

“Yeah,” agreed Chris, cleaning a table nearby. “It works there.”

“And we lost it here,” grunted Theo, turning back to the table and putting down the plates.

“Great,” agreed Casey. “We all agree. So, with the agreement of my three former business partners, I’m taking back my responsibilities.”

“Go for it, boss!” agreed Lily, beaming.

“OK,” said Casey, hands on his hips. “First things first: we gotta hire Fran back.”

“Easier said than done,” agreed Chris quietly to Lily and Theo.

~*~*~*~*~

Later that afternoon, Casey was cleaning the front door of Jungle Karma Pizza, closing the OPEN side to read CLOSED.

Then he frowned and pushed open the door.

“Heeeeey!” he said in greeting. There, dressed in a white and pink spotted dress and a pink cardigan, was Fran. “Guys!”

“OK, what’s so important that you had to leave five messages on my cell phone?” wondered Fran, stepping into the restaurant.

“Careful!” called Chris, who was mopping nearby. “Floor’s wet! Don’t trip over!”

“You forgot to hear our apologies,” said Casey to Fran. “I’m sorry, Fran. I was the one who let you down. Won’t happen again.”

“And I’m sorry too,” admitted Lily. “I wasn’t a good co-worker and, more importantly, a good friend. Theo!” she hissed, smacking his side with a mop.

“I’m sorry too,” he added, standing. “Really sorry. You didn’t deserve this.”

“Technically, I don’t work here,” added Chris. “But I’m sorry too. I miss my friend. Who else will I have to play scrabble with, in the quiet times?”

“CA-CHING!” said Casey. “You hear that, Fran? That is the sound of your new salary. Double what you make now.”

“Double?”

“Did I say double?” replied Casey. “I must have misspoken. Triple. But I’m not holding the offer open for much longer. Five, four, three…”

“OK!” interjected Fran. “OK, I’ll do it…”

“Cool, great, welcome back.” Casey’s solar Morpher blared. “OK,” he said, thrusting the cleaning supplies to Fran. “Gotta go, you’re in charge.”

The Rangers rushed away.

~*~*~*~*~

The Rangers arrived in town and came face to face with a familiar sight: Gakko, who they had destroyed mere days ago.

“Rangers!” he boomed.

“Gakko?!” exclaimed Casey, surprised.

“They’ve sunk to resurrection already?” questioned Chris. “Heavens, Dai Shi must be desperate.”

“You won’t destroy me again!” threatened Gakko.

“Let’s give him something to talk about!” hissed Casey.

The other Rangers nodded and whipped out their Solar Morphers. They put them on, pressed the button on the side, and morphed. “Jungle Beast, spirit unleashed!”

The Rangers charged into combat; Gakko leapt, bouncing off a wall nearby, and attacked again.

Gakko kicked Theo and Lily in the face, knocking them both backwards. They scrambled to their feet and went to charge.

“Wait!” commanded Chris, summoning his Spino Smashers. “Here, use these.”

He handed one to Theo and the other to Lily. “Leap, think of what you want to hit, and the Smashers will do the rest.”

“Right!”

They took a Spino Smasher each, turned, charged, and leapt, bringing the Spino Smashers crashing down onto Gakko, who staggered backwards.

Theo and Lily took their chance, leaping from the battle; they landed next to Chris – handing him his Spino Smashers back – and Casey.

“Casey, you’re the leader, it’s your call,” said Theo.

“Thanks, Theo!” replied Casey, thumping a fist against the palm of his hand. “Cannon time! Powered by Animal Spirits, FIRE!”

They summoned the Claw Cannon; it whirred and charged – Casey slammed the lever forwards.

“NOOOO!” cried Gakko – but it was too late. The blast from the Claw Cannon soared through the air and smashed into him, shattering him into pieces.

“One leader, one direction, one less bad guy!”

~*~*~*~*~

“I’m back!” exclaimed RJ the next day, returning with his tackle box. “And proud to report not a fish was caught.”

“Congratulations,” said Chris, who was mopping a table.

“Looking good here too,” said RJ, looking around the room and catching sight of the clean and efficient restaurant, guests all seated and served. “I’m impressed.” He approached Casey. “I didn’t think you had it in you. I guess I was wrong.”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself, RJ,” replied Casey, a gentle smirk gracing his face. “Now you know you can always leave me in charge.”

“Excellent,” replied RJ. “Because it’ll take a long time to repay off the raise you gave Fran.”

Fran chuckled. 

Chapter Text

Chapter VII: Way of the Master

“This way!” cried Casey as he and the Rangers raced for their lives. An enormous yellow, scale covered boulder was racing after them. It smashed into them, knocking them to the ground. “Look out!”

They leapt, one by one, bouncing over it. It reverberated off the walls, bouncing left to right, then left again, before coming to a halt. 

It glistened and transformed into a large, vaguely hedgehog-like creature.

“You think your other fights have been tough?” boomed the creature. “I’ll show you tough!”

Theo and Lily summoned their weapons and charged into battle, striking their weapons against the creature. It sparked and their weapons bounced off, failing to do any damage to it. The creature slammed a large hand into them, sending them flying.

They crashed back down in front of Chris and Casey.

“Guys!” cried Casey, rushing forward to help them.

“He wasn’t kidding about tough!” exclaimed Theo.

“Our weapons didn’t even scratch him!” cried Lily.

“That’s because nothing can get through my armour!” bragged the creature.

Camille emerged from nearby, the flaps of fabric hanging from her waist blowing in the breeze. “Never mind about those brats! You’re here to clear out the city. Now get too it!”

“I’m all over it!” boomed the creature, growing to enormous size.

“This early?” moaned Chris. “It’s seven in the morning and we’re Zording already?”

The Rangers summoned their Animal Spirits and formed the Jungle Pride Megazord. Casey charged the Megazord forward and swung a fist, which bounced off the scales of the creature as it turned to block the attack.

“Rolling attack!” boomed the creature.

“This calls for a Megazord Savage Spin!” commanded Lily.

The others nodded and, in the cockpit, spread their arms wide, spinning on the spot. The Megazord began to pick up speed, whirling faster and faster.

The creature hit the Megazord, the fists bouncing off again and again in sparks.

“I think I’m gonne be sick!” moaned Theo.

“Not in your helmet, Theo!” scolded Lily.

The creature finally broke through the spin attack, smashing the Megazord. The Rangers toppled to the ground, Megazord clattering to pieces, as the creature rolled away.

“He got away!” exclaimed Casey.

~*~*~*~*~

The Rangers were back at Jungle Karma Pizza.

“Talk to me, team,” said RJ.

“So, then, this giant anteater-”

“-hedgehog,” said Casey and Chris in unison, interrupting the rant Lily was about to go on.

“I thought it was an artichoke with legs?” queried Theo.

“It was a Pangolin,” said RJ, swivelling to face them from his chair in front of his computer desk in the corner of the room.

“Panga-what?” asked Theo.

“A Pangolin,” repeated RJ. “The name means ‘something that rolls up’. It has plate like armour that’s almost impossible to break.”

“We found that out the hard way,” grunted Lily. “None of our weapons worked.”

“Learn, young cheetah,” said RJ to Lily. “I said ‘almost impossible’. You just don’t have the right weapon.”

“You mean there’s something that might work?” asked Theo, who had retrieved a weapon from the wall nearby.

“There is a legend in the Order of the Claw,” admitted RJ, rising from his chair. “About a Master who wielded a weapon that could break through steel. His name was Master Phant.”

“OK,” replied Casey. “So we just call this Master Phant dude and ask him to borrow his weapon. Done deal.”

“Deal not done,” admitted RJ. “When Master Phant retired, he moved to a remote forest to live a life of solitude. No-one’s heard from him in years.”

“Wonder why he dropped off the grid…” wondered Theo.

“No-one knows,” admitted RJ. “But he’s lost all contact with the Order of the Claw.”

“Well, the Order of the Claw is about to contact him,” retorted Lily, sharply. “Come on, guys. We’re going to find Master Phant.”

“Oh boy!” exclaimed Chris. “Road trip!”

~*~*~*~*~

“This is ridiculous!” cried Theo, skidding on the ground sometime later as the Rangers walked through a dark, creepy, rock filled forest. He flailed, almost tumbling to his feet. “Are we almost there?”

“What’s the matter?” teased Casey, leading the group. “Is the Mighty Jaguar getting tired?”

“No,” replied Theo, picking up a small trowel that had fallen off his backpack. “The Might Jaguar is getting eaten alive by Mighty Mosquitos.”

“Well, don’t scratch them!” said Chris from behind him. “It’ll only make them worse.”

“Chill, The,” said Lily as Theo dropped to a rock, batted a mosquito away, and scratched angrily at his leg. “We’re almost there. Let’s keep focused on our mission, OK?”

“OK, guys, break time’s over,” said Casey. “Let’s go.”

“No problem there,” admitted Theo. “This forest is giving me the creeps.”

~*~*~*~*~

“Come on guys,” said Lily, sometime later. “Let’s keep going. I think we’re almost there. Stick close to each other.”

A shout echoed from behind and the Rangers whirled on the spot; a figure in a grey cloak leapt from behind a tree and attacked.

One by one, in what was a curb-stomp battle, the Rangers fell at the hands of the grey cloaked figure.

“You are not wanted here!” said the figure. “Go away!”

And the figure leapt out of sight behind the tree it had emerged from.

“What was that about?” asked Theo.

The Rangers looked amongst themselves and continued with their journey.

~*~*~*~*~

“What a dump!” exclaimed Theo, as he and the the Rangers emerged from the edge of the forest. Before them sat a small, ramshackle house that was slightly lopsided. A fire crackled in front of it. “Don’t tell me a Pai Zhuq Master lives here?!”

“Well, there’s only one way to find out,” replied Casey.

Together the foursome advanced, trudging up onto the small porch that sat before the small, square patterned front door.

Lily knocked on the door, then pushed it. “Hello?” The door clunked slowly open, sounding very old as it squeaked and creaked. “Anyone here?”

“Yes,” said an elderly man with long white hair who was sat in a chair in the dark corner of the room.

“We’re looking for Master Phant,” said Lily.

“I was once known by that name,” admitted the man. “Why do you disturb my solitude?”

The foursome bent into a bow, performing the hand to palm motion of the Pai Zhuq school.

“Master, we need your help,” admitted Casey.

“Impertinent children,” said Master Phant, leaning forward in his chair. “You were not invited here, leave me be.”

“No,” replied Lily. “Please, we’re not children. We’re students – with the Order of the Claw.”

“Well, they are,” interrupted Chris. “I’m… an associate? If that’s the right term?”

“I see,” said Master Phant, ignoring Chris. “Well, that’s no matter to me.”

“Really?” asked Theo. “Well, if you really were a Pai Zhuq Master it might matter to you that Dai Shi has escaped.”

“What?” breathed Master Phant, rising from his chair. “No, no, that cannot be.”

“It’s true,” replied Casey. “And we’re the new Guardians who are trying to stop him.”

“Well, that is unfortunate,” admitted Master Phant. “But there’s nothing I can do to help you.”

“Yes, there is,” replied Lily. “We need you to teach us how to use your special weapon.”

“The Jungle Mace?” queried Master Phant. “I – I haven’t even looked at it in years. It’s the weapon of a warrior, not a useless old man.”

“Useless my foot!” barked Theo, striding forward and picking up a cloak from Master Phant’s chair. “You were the one who kicked our tails before!”

Master Phant ripped the cloak out of his hands.

“I do not tolerate intruders!” he barked, throwing the cloak down. “I just want to be left alone, to live out my days in peace.”

Theo picked up his backpack and stormed out, seething with anger. “Can you believe this guy?” he spat, aware that Master Phant could still hear him. “He’s the only one who can help us and all he does it sit around feeling sorry for himself.”

“Theo, he’s a Pai Zhuq Master,” said Lily gently. “Show some respect.”

“I’m with you on this one,” admitted Casey to Theo. “Master or not, I’m not going to stand here and beg for his help when people are in danger.”

“I’m sorry,” said Master Phant, picking up some logs from the bottom of the stairs that led to the door to his house. “There’s nothing I can do.”

Their Solar Morphers whistled at them.

“Come on, guys,” said Theo. He, Casey, and Chris turned to leave. Lily did not follow. Theo turned back to face her. “Lil, you coming?”

“No,” replied Lily, shaking her head. “Master Phant is going to show me how to use that Jungle Mace.”

“Stubborn girl, I said no!” barked Master Phant.

“And I say, I’m not leaving until you do!” retorted Lily. Master Phant turned and entered his house with the logs. Lily brushed down her trousers and sat down in front of his house. “You guys call me if you need me.”

“Roger that!” replied Chris. “Come on, let’s get back to town.”

He took Casey and Theo by the arm, and, with a flash of pink, they were gone.

~*~*~*~*~

“This is the perfect spot!” exclaimed Pangolin, now in Rinshi form, as he crouched down in a tiled courtyard. “I’ll drill right into the fault line!”

“Yes!” hissed Camille happily. Her expression changed on a dime. “But hurry, before the Rangers find out our plan.”

“Too late!” exclaimed Casey as he, Theo, and Chris leapt into battle.

“I knew it,” growled Camille, leaping to meet them in combat. She caught Theo and Chris by the wrist and stepped on Casey’s foot, preventing them from advancing. “Hurry, Pangolin!”

“Yes!” exclaimed Pangolin. He leapt into the air, transformed into his non-rishi-hedgehog-like-form, spun in the air, and burrowed into the ground.

Chris and Theo wrenched their hands out of Camille’s grip and punched her in the face; she skidded backwards, still scrapping with them as she did so.

“Rinshi!” cried Theo as a horde of Rinshi appeared out of nowhere to aid Camille in the battle.

Camille morphed into her Chameleon form and charged forward into the battle.

Theo and Chris, back-to-back, fought against a herd of Rinshi surrounding them.

“This is getting us nowhere!” grunted Chris. “I’ve got an idea. Get ready to kick. Oh, and try not to vomit.”

“Try not to -? Whoa!”

Chris heaved Theo into the air via his armpits and began to spin on the spot. Theo kicked wildly, feet smashing into the Rinshi as he whirled through the air.

Sparking, the Rinshi toppled to the floor and exploded.

“Rangers!” shouted Camille, leaping into battle and striking at Theo, who staggered back to avoid her attack and crashed into a nearby abandoned car. She slashed at him with her daggers; he lightly reflected every attack with his Jungle Tonfa, but it was clear that, in this situation which left him weak, she had the upper hand.

He rolled away to avoid an attack, causing Camille to slash across the bonnet of the car.

He blocked her daggers, once, twice, thrice, before she whirled on the spot and slashed him across the stomach, sending him smashing back into the car. She leapt, spinning vertically in the air, and slashed him again.

He crashed down nearby, and Camille raised her dagger, intending to strike again. She brought it crashing down, only for it to collide against something pink and metallic.

“Back off, Lizard Lady!”

It was Chris. He leapt into the air, spinning horizontally, and descended towards Camille like a drill, Spino Smashers glistening as he spread his arms wide.

Camille caught the attack head on, blocking it with her daggers. Chris roared – an explosion ruptured between them, sending them both smashing backwards; Camille flew over a pile of barrels and Chris hit the car, then went flying backwards over the roof and crashed down on the opposite side of it.

“Well,” he moaned, standing. “That still hurts, I see.”

Moments later, moaning in pain, Theo smashed down behind him.

“You’re mine, Blue Ranger!” threatened Camille, advancing menacingly at him.

“Back off!” cried Casey, putting himself between Chris and Theo and Camille. She laughed and blasted him, sending him smashing to the floor.

“It’s been fun, but now it’s time to say bye bye, kitties!”

She raised her dagger, intending to strike.

“JUNGLE MACE!”

A black mace, adorned with a green elephant, wrapped itself around Camille’s right wrist at Lily’s shout.

“Lily!” cried Casey.

“She’s back!” exclaimed Theo.

“And she has power too!” announced Chris.

“You!” hissed Camille, as Lily yanked on the handle of the Jungle Mace and forced Camille to turn in her direction.

“It wouldn’t be a party without me!” Lily retorted. She laughed and flipped Camille using the Jungle Mace, sending her crashing to the floor. “Let’s dance!”

She began to advance on Camille, spinning the Mace before her like a helicopter blade – a whir of black proceeding a Ranger of Yellow. Camille hacked and slashed, trying to break through the whirling dervish advancing towards her.

Lily span the jungle mace around her leg, using her foot to give it more power as she kicked with all her might, sending it soaring towards Camille.

Camille staggered backwards as the Jungle Mace smashed into her, sending red sparks flying from her chest.

She advanced, ducking just in time to avoid Lily’s onslaught. She span the Jungle Mace over her head like a helicopter blade, sending it spinning frantically.

She brought it smashing down into Camille again and, as Camille staggered, Lily managed to wrap the Jungle Mace around her leg.

“What!?” gasped Camille.

Lily yanked the Jungle Mace and Camille went flying, soaring high into the sky; she crashed down into a nearby courtyard with a painful moan, Lily surging after her.

“Give it up, Camille!” roared Lily as Camille stabilised herself by descending into a roll.

“You’re too late!” retorted Camille. “My plan is already in action.”

She lunged her tongue at Lily, only for it to be smashed aside by Theo and Casey.

“Theo! Casey!” exclaimed Lily.

Camille twisted her daggers and intended to charge forward into the fray.

“No, you don’t!” interrupted Chris, intercepting her with a well-aimed swing of his Spino Smashers. One of Camille’s daggers flew high into the air, causing her to leap back for it.

“Lily, hurry!” cried Theo. “Pangolin went down that hole!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of him,” said Lily, swinging her Jungle Mace as Theo and Casey raced forward to help Chris in battle. She turned to the hole, swinging her Jungle Mace threateningly. “You can run, but you can’t hide!”

She whirled it above her head and threw it; it descended the hole after Pangolin.

“Oh, yeah!” she cried, moments later, feeling her Jungle Mace snag on something. “Got a bite! I’m reeling you in!”

She leapt high into the air, cartwheeling backwards, and began to pull Pangolin out of the hole.

“Nooo!” cried Pangolin, smashing down. “I haven’t reached the fault line yet!”

“Hey! Over here!” she barked, turning to Pangolin, who was struggling to his feet.

“You little pest!” hissed Pangolin, arms flailing angrily.

“This little pest is big trouble!” retorted Lily, beginning to spin on the spot, whirling her Jungle Mace above her head. “Jungle Mace! Hyah!”

She launched it at Pangolin, who turned to block it with his scaley back. The Jungle Mace smashed into his back and the scales exploded, revealing an enormous hole in his back. Lily whipped the Jungle Mace back and forth and launched it at Pangolin again. It hit him in the stomach, and he sparked and exploded.

“Your armour’s not so tough!” she barked.

“Nice one, Lil!” cried Casey as he, Theo, and Chris rushed over.

“You got the Jungle Mace!” exclaimed Theo. “No way!”

“Even though Master Phant gave up on himself, I didn’t!” replied Lily.

The group’s celebrations were cut off as Pangolin began to roar and, before their eyes, enlarged to the size of a twenty-storey building.

“Ready for the big time, Guys?” asked Lily.

“Yeah!” agreed Casey.

“Totally!” acknowledged Theo.

“Let’s do this!” agreed Chris.

~*~*~*~*~

That afternoon, after Master Phant had used his Animal Spirit to contact Lily and the Rangers had created a new Megazord to defeat the enlarged Pangolin, the Rangers had returned to Master Phant’s small shack.

“Now, this is a place fit for a Pai Zhuq Master!” said Theo, who had painted the black windows of Master Phant’s shack bright red. Casey had cleaned up the yard, Lily had sorted the flowers and the interior, and, with the help of the Basilisk, Chris had managed to make Master Phant’s shack stand straight.

“Yeah,” agreed Casey. “I think we did a pretty good job.”

“Guys, here he comes!” exclaimed Lily.

The foursome turned to face him as he approached from across the grounds.

“Wha-wha-what is this?” stuttered Master Phant.

“A little thank you present,” admitted Lily. “Wait until you see the inside.”

Taking him by the hand, she led Master Phant back into the house, the other Rangers following.

The interior looked beautiful. It was still, undoubtedly, a shack – but now it was a stylish shack built for a Pai Zhuq Master. The archway into the living area had been cleaned, furniture had been repaired, and pots of plants adorned the numerous small tables.

“Well, Master?” asked Lily, anxiously. “What do you think?”

“It seems, in this case, the Master has learned from the student,” admitted Master Phant.

“It was an honour,” said Lily, bowing. “And we may need your help again sometime, so don’t forget to keep in touch.”

“Oh, I have the spirit of the Elephant,” replied Master Phant, smiling cheekily. “I remember everything.”

Chapter Text

Chapter VIII: Good Karma, Bad Karma

“RJ are we gonna have enough dough?!” exclaimed Theo, looking around the restaurant floor at the enormous gaggle of children that filled all the tables.

“You mean enough drinks,” corrected Lily.

“Real question is: where did all these kids come from?” asked Casey, staring around in horror at the sight before him.

“It’s the perfect storm!” admitted RJ, beaming happily. “The new toy store down the road has revitalised the pizza business. Not that I care about money, but I’ll be out of the red in five years!”

“Fran, no, not that –!” Chris’s voice echoed from the kitchen.

Moments later an ear-splintering explosion, followed by the sound of clattering pots and a loud squawk from Fran, echoed from the kitchen as a puff of dough emerged from the door.

Casey, Lily, RJ and Theo jumped in shock at the sound.

“Sorry!” said Fran, who was covered head to foot in dough, as she emerged from the kitchen. “My bad!”

Moments later, Chris appeared in the door behind her, caked in even more dough than Fran was. He coughed, sending an explosion of dust onto the restaurant floor, and then glared between all of them.

He took a deep breath, nostrils flaring, the expression on his face scary enough that it could have made Dai Shi die of fright on the spot.

“If you’ll kindly excuse me, I’m going to take a bath… You bother me, you die.”

He stalked away.

~*~*~*~*~

Later that afternoon, a kid entered Jungle Karma Pizza as two paying customers put a tip down on the table. He put his hand in his pocket and sighed at the lack of pocket money he had.

He swaggered slowly and sadly to the game machine in the corner of the room, only for Casey to spot him over his shoulder.

“No, wait!”

He rushed over as the kid dropped a quarter into the machine and pressed the button on top. The kid frowned, then pushed the button again and again.

“This game totally swiped my quarter!”

“Yeah,” agreed Casey, holding up a sign labelled OUT OF ORDER in large green letters. “Sign must have fallen off.”

“What about my quarter?”

“Sorry, Kid,” admitted Casey. “No refunds. House rules.”

The kid turned as Casey returned to a nearby table and began to clean up.

“HIT THE DECK!” shouted a voice from inside the kitchen as something exploded and a puff of pink smoke emerged from within. “Oh, Fran, not again!”

With the distraction, the kid seized his chance.

He dove for the table, snatched the tip, and ran out of the open door of Jungle Karma Pizza.

“Hey! What are you doing!?” shouted Casey, racing after him. “Hey, that’s my five bucks!”

“I heard a commotion,” said Chris, leaning out of the kitchen door, face covered in soot and dough. “What did I miss?”

The Solar Morphers buzzed.

“Oh, boy! Fran, we’re off out! Don’t destroy the kitchen! Again!”

~*~*~*~*~

A few minutes later, the Rangers raced into the pavilion in town and morphed, ready for battle.

Two cards skidded towards one another: Casey and Chris intercepted one, Lily and Theo the other.

“That was close!” exclaimed Casey. “Come on!”

“Let’s see how you like this!” laughed the Rinshi before them, sinking to the floor and starting to do the worm dance.

“Just when I think these monsters can’t get any weirder…” admitted Lily.

“You said it, Lil,” agreed Theo.

“Yeah,” agreed Casey. “Come on, guys.”

Before their eyes, the Rinshi transformed into a slug-headed monster.

“Jungle Chucks!” cried Casey, summoning his Nunchakus. In unison, the Rangers charged into battle, only for their attacks to bounce off.

The slug-headed Rinshi laughed and threw them aside.

“Our attacks are slipping right off him!” exclaimed Lily.

“It’s the slippery slime on that slug!” retorted Casey. “Jungle Chucks!”

He whirled them, summoning blasts at the slug-headed creature. The slug-headed creature blasted them away.

“How did he do that!?” gasped Casey.

The slug-headed Rinshi dove to the floor and did the worm dance again. “Ha ha, prepare for a slippery situation!”

“This guy’s a freak!” said Lily, rising to her feet.

“Let’s send him back to where he came from!” agreed Casey.

The slug-headed Rinshi summoned a tidal wave of slime, sending the Rangers surging away.

~*~*~*~*~

RJ, who was sat in his chair with a bowl of pretzels, looked up as the secondary door – the one not from the kitchen – burst open and Lily and Theo came sliding in.

“RJ!” cried Lily, then Theo, both dripping slime and slipping all over the place.

“Must you two slip around like a bumbling band of baboons?” asked Chris, sliding casually in as if on skates.

“Ohh, wipe your feet man!” whined RJ. “This is my home.”

“Sorry,” said Chris.

“This slippery eel guy is impossible to beat!” huffed Theo as he and Lily took off their shoes, thick ropes of slime dripping from them. “He’s covering the city in slime.”

“Where’s Casey?”

“He said he had something important to check on,” said Chris, shrugging casually.

“Well, we better figure out a way to de-slime this slippery serpent before the city slips away!” retorted RJ, chuckling. He fist bumped with Chris, who had taken his shoes off, and strode across the room to join him.

“Certainly,” replied Theo, who slipped around with Lily.

~*~*~*~*~

An hour later, the slug-headed Rinshi was back, terrorising a group of people in town.

“And here we go again,” said Chris. “Prepare to stand your ground! CHARGE!”

Their attacks slipped and slid off the slug-headed Rinshi as they had before until, moments later, Casey arrived with a kite in hand.

“Hey, slimey!” he cried, landing in front of Theo, Chris, and Lily.

“Nice of you to join us!” said Chris, somewhat sarcastically.

“We need to de-slime him,” Theo informed Casey. “Any ideas?”

“Yeah,” said Casey, whipping the kite from around his neck. “A secret weapon!”

“This time, I bought some friends!” laughed the slug-headed Rinshi, as several more Rinshi arrived. “Attack!”

“HUP HUP HUP!”

The Rinshi began advancing.

“We’ll deal with these guys!” said Theo to Casey. “You deal with the slime ball.”

“Right!” exclaimed Casey, as Theo, Chris, and Lily raced forward to confront the slug-headed Rinshi. “Time to clean up!”

~*~*~*~*~

“I bop you, and I bop you, and I bop you too!”

Chris bounced around from cartwheel to cartwheel as he attacked Rinshi. Lily leaped over a handrail in between the staircase they were fighting on, kicking a Rinshi off over the railing and following it down, as Chris slid under the handrail and smashed several Rinshi into the wall.

He turned and leapt himself, Spino Smashers whirling, to join Lily in combat. Dozens of Rinshi surrounded them; they dove into the crowd, hacking and slashing at them.

“With me!” bellowed Chris; Lily scrambled back to him just in time. His eyes flashed golden white. “Duck!”

He whirled on the spot and blasted the Rinshi into pieces.

“Consider yourself clean!” shouted Casey nearby as the slug-headed Rinshi flailed in the air and smashed down to the floor.

“Oh no!” cried the slug-headed Rinshi. “I’ve lost my slippery style!”

“Success!” exclaimed Casey.

“The Rinshis are toast,” Lily informed him as she, Theo, and Chris arrived back at Casey’s side.

“And how are you doing?” asked Theo to Casey.

“Great!” he replied, throwing aside the kite. “Let’s send this eel back to the drink!”

“Eel?” asked Chris, frowning under his helmet. “I thought it was a slug!”

“CLAW CANNON, CHARGED!”

The Rangers summoned the cannon.

“NOOOOO!” cried the eel-headed Rinshi.

“Powered by Animal Spirits!” commanded the Rangers as Casey plunged the lever inwards. “FIRE!”

The eel-headed Rinshi exploded as the blast struck him.

“Toasted eel!” exclaimed Casey, turning round and thrusting his hands into the air in a star-like pose. “Yeah! That got it!”

“Think again!” burbled the eel-headed Rinshi, enlarging.

“It’s not over yet!” agreed Lily.

“Guess not!” agreed Casey.

The Rangers summoned the Megazord, forming it out of their Animal Spirits, and prepared for battle.

They were the first to hit, knocking the eel-headed Rinshi back with the Jungle Pride Megazord’s staff.

“While I’m down here!” giggled the eel-headed Rinshi, sliding forward and wrapping himself around the Megazord.

“He’s got us!” cried Lily.

“I’m no good at Yoga!” agreed Theo.

“Kindly get off!” barked Chris and he and Casey moved in unison, the hands of the Megazord throwing the eel-headed Rinshi off.

“Hey!” cried the Rinshi as he flew backwards and hit the floor.

“Calling on the Spirit of the Elephant!”

Placing their hand into their fist and willing it with all their might, the Rangers summoned the Elephant Spirit. It worked and, trumpeting, the Elephant Spirit appeared before them.

“Spirit of the Elephant, combine!”

The elephant did, creating soldier pads, a chest plate, and a new headpiece for the Megazord.

“Jungle Pride with Elephant Power!” exclaimed the Rangers, spinning the Jungle Mace in their arms; it swung menacingly in front of them.

“Jungle Mace, savage spin!”

The Rangers whirled on the spot inside the Megazord cockpit, the mace spinning faster and faster before them.

“Now!”

The eel-headed Rinshi hit the floor and exploded, defeated.

~*~*~*~*~

Later that afternoon, the employees of Jungle Karma Pizza were hard at work.

“Coming through, coming through, very hot pizza – watch out, Fran, I don’t want to drop it on your head – coming through!”

Chris slid the pizza off the enormous wooden spatula into the box that Fran had opened.

“How is it that all of your tables are clean and all of ours are a mess?” asked Theo nearby; he was addressing Casey, who was sat at the reception bar, arms behind his head, leaning back casually.

“Easy,” said Casey, grinning. “I have a helper today.”

He turned, and clasped hands with the boy from before, wearing an orange JKP emblazoned hat of his own.

“Clever,” admitted Chris. “One double stuffed, triple thick crust, banana, bacon, donuts and peach pizza to go!”

Someone approached, paid, and took the pizza. “Have a good day!”

“Another quarter,” said Casey, handing the boy a coin. “That makes two fifty.”

“Awesome!” exclaimed the boy. “You know, the right choice feels so much better than the easy choice.”

“I want a helper!” exclaimed Lily, looking at Theo.

“Me too!” he agreed, looking back.

“I’d hire you,” said Chris to the boy. “But this is an incredibly hot job, and I don’t want to burn you.”

“It’s a quarter a table!” replied the boy.

Lily and Theo looked between themselves, nodded, and then each high-fived the boy. “You got it!”

The boy grinned and bounded off to help Theo, who was following, to clean another table.

“We’ll make a business man out of that boy yet,” admitted Chris, smirking.

Chapter Text

Chapter IX: Blind Leading the Blind

“Hey, Theo,” said Lily approaching him one morning, Chris by her side. “How’s it going?”

Theo looked up from the table. “Couldn’t be better,” he replied. “One more cheese shaker to fill before I stamp this last napkin and finish the final chapter in the Art of War.” He gestured to the book that was open on the table to his left. “Not only will I be the world’s greatest warrior, but quite possibly the Employee of the month.”

He winked at her, then resumed his work.

“Well,” replied Lily. “You might want to read the Art of Filling Cheese Shakers. Because this –”

“Oh, Lil, no!” exclaimed Chris, wincing, as Lily put her finger in the jug that Theo was filling the shakers with, then licked it. She blew air from her mouth, trying to get rid of the taste.

“It’s salt,” continued Lily to Theo.

All around the restaurant, people were groaning in discomfort, wiping their mouths on napkins.

Theo lifted the funnel he was using to fill the shakers and glanced inside; it was, indeed, salt.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” cried Fran, rushing to one of the tables. “What’s wrong with your food?”

“See?” asked Lily, jug of salt still in hand. “That’s what happens when you try to do too much at the same time.”

Theo slid out of the booth and put on his glove.

“I think I’ll read upstairs,” he whispered, passing Chris and Lily.

“Idiot…” chuckled Chris, head in his hand, shaking with laughter as Theo sneaked away.

~*~*~*~*~

Later that afternoon, Theo entered the living quarters above Jungle Karma Pizza. RJ and Casey were sat on stools, surrounded by candles, fingers pinched as they meditated.

“What are you doing?” laughed Theo.

“We were meditating,” said Casey, somewhat annoyed at the interruption. “You should try it some time. It helps the mind to stay focused and on task.”

“You should try it,” said Chris, smiling. “Keeps my Darkness in check – well, somewhat, anyway. It helps.”

“No need,” said Theo, tapping his head with two fingers. “My mind is a well-oiled machine. I can juggle two jobs, read a book, and save the world, all before the lunch rush.”

“Yeah,” said RJ. “About the lunch rush. Apparently, when you restocked the kitchen last night, you forgot to close the fridge.”

“Oh,” said Theo. “So that means all the perishables-?”

“Perished,” concluded RJ.

“I wondered what that smell was this morning,” admitted Chris, sniffing an armpit. He smirked at Casey. “I thought it was me.”

“Whoops,” replied Theo, looking awkward.

Casey lowered his head, hiding his smirk.

“You see, I was working on my inverted battle technique,” replied Theo, swinging down into a handstand. “So, I did the whole job walking on my hands.” He bounded back to his feet. “Pretty cool, huh?”

“Impressive,” admitted Chris. “Useless, but impressive.”

“Not if you’re a carton of milk,” replied RJ.

“Mmm, yes, true,” agreed Chris. “Do you need me to go to Chang’s before the evening rush?”

“No,” replied RJ. “Casey went earlier.”

“Ah, wonderful,” said Chris. He rubbed at his cheeks. “Mrs Chang always pinches my cheeks and calls me adorable.”

“Look, I know you guys have a lot on your plate,” said RJ, addressing the trio. “But you need to stay focused on what you’re doing, while you’re doing it.”

“Sorry, RJ,” apologised Theo.

The alarm blared; the group whirled around to RJ’s tv.

“Oh, that’s not good,” noted Chris. He turned to Casey. “Here we go again.”

“Let’s grab Lil,” agreed Casey, nodding at Chris.

The threesome turned and ran off.

~*~*~*~*~

In the town, two Rinshi – one black that resembled a crow, and one white that resembled a crane – were terrorising victims. While the rest of the town fled in terror, a man clad in a leather jacket and sunglasses watched, intrigued, from nearby.

“How cute!” laughed the crane one as the two leapt into battle. “Colourful fools.”

“Get ready!” ordered Casey.

“Blades!” cried the crane Rinshi as he and the crow Rinshi charged at the Rangers.

The group separated. Chris rushed one way with Lily and Chris, meeting the crow Rinshi in combat, while Theo met the crane Rinshi in combat.

They knocked the crane Rinshi off his feet, only for him to leap into the air and slice at them with his sword, knocking them backwards.

They scrambled to their feet, summoning their weapons.

“Ready?” asked Casey.

“Roger!” nodded Chris, his Spino Smashers spinning casually in his hands.

“Go!” agreed Lily.

The crow Rinshi leapt into the air, knocking Lily to the floor with a pained grunt.

“Hey!”

Both the crow Rinshi and Casey turned at Chris’s shout. “Over here!”

The crow Rinshi had turned barely in time – Chris’s Spino Smashers smashed down heavily onto the crow Rinshi’s sword.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, there was a bang and a flash, and the power of the Basilisk exploded from Chris.

The crow Rinshi swung his sword, then staggered back; the Sword hit Chris directly, and he flew high into the air and crashed down onto the ground nearby, thrown backwards by the force of his own attack and the Rinshi’s blade.

He clambered to his feet.

“Well,” he said to the Basilisk in his head. “That’s not good. This Rinshi can withstand you.”

“Fall back,” said the Basilisk in reply. “I have a plan for next time. It obvious we need something… more… to defeat this one. Regroup and recuperate.”

“Yeah,” agreed Chris, watching as Casey charged at met the crow Rinshi in battle. “I can do that.”

He leapt forward. “Guys, together!”

Chris, Lily, and Casey attacked at once, managing to knock the crow Rinshi backwards.

The crow Rinshi leapt into battle, meeting them slash for slash.

“No!” cried Theo, turning to help. “Guys, I’m coming!”

“Theo, keep that other freak off us!” commanded Casey.

“I’ll help you first, then go back!” retorted Theo.

“No, Theo!” shouted Lily.

The crane Rinshi seized its chance. It leapt high into the air; Theo turned at the last moment to block it, only for the Rinshi’s feet to hit him in the face and knock him to the floor, followed, one by one, by Chris, Lily, and Casey.

“Why is it always the face?” moaned Chris. “It’s my second-best feature!”

“Let’s show them what we can do!” laughed the crane Rinshi.

Both Rinshi grew to the size of twenty-storey buildings.

“Come on guys!” exclaimed Theo.

“ANIMAL SPIRITS, UNITE AS ONE!”

The Jungle Pride Megazord formed before them, and they leapt inside.

“Attack!” cried the crane Rinshi and both crane and crow leapt into the air, descending to attack.

With an opportunity before them, the Rangers seized their chance.

“SPIRIT OF THE ELEPHANT, UNITE!”

The Elephant Spirit erupted from the foursome, whirled high into the sky, and merged with the Megazord.

“Let’s use the Jungle Mace!” exclaimed Lily.

“Jungle Mace, bird attack!” shouted Casey.

The mace lunged into the air but missed the crow Rinshi; it retracted and surged again, only to miss the crane Rinshi.

“Missed me!” laughed the crow Rinshi.

“You missed!” laughed the crane Rinshi.

The mace lunged for a third time, only to be smashed back into the Jungle Pride Megazord, which sparked and toppled as the two bird Rinshi began to repeatedly attack it.

“They are defeated!” boomed the crane Rinshi, raising a sword in victory. “Let’s get some more power to open the vortex!”

“Right behind you, Carden!” said the crow Rinshi and, together, the twosome flew off.

~*~*~*~*~

“Who were those things?” asked Casey as the Rangers returned to the loft above Jungle Karma Pizza.

“And, more importantly, how do we beat them?” asked Lily, looking between Casey and RJ.

“Their names are Bai Lai and Carden,” replied RJ, swivelling in his chair to face them. “Insanely powerful creatures.”

“Yikes,” agreed Theo. “You guys want to figure this out up here?” he began to turn and walk away. “I’ll think downstairs. I need to make some pizza sauce.”

“Pizza sauce?” retorted Lily, a squeak in her voice. “Theo, we need you to focus on defeating these beasts.”

“Okay, okay,” agreed Theo. “You’re right. Let me think.”

“Chris?” asked Lily, as Chris suddenly jerked to attention after immediately stepping into the room. “Are you alright?”

“Someone’s here,” said the Basilisk inside his head. “Someone powerful.”

“HYAH!”

Chris leapt, Spino Smashers spinning, to knock a man with a fan from the ceiling. The man avoided the attack, but barely, bouncing off the back wall and soaring across the room. He landed elegantly, as Chris backflipped across the room, and blocked the attack.

“Whoa!” exclaimed RJ, raising to stop Chris from attacking again as the Rangers rushed forward to help him. “Uh, wait, stop!” he stood up, bouncing an orange between two hands. “Master Swoop.”

“Greetings, RJ,” greeted Master Swoop. Though his voice sounded stern, the gentle smirk on his face indicated that he and RJ got along.

“You know this guy?” asked Theo.

“Oh, swoop was my favourite master,” replied RJ. “Taught me the swoop technique of fighting without eyesight.”

“You taught this blind master a few tricks yourself,” retorted Master Swoop.

“Well…” retorted RJ bashfully.

“So, I can put these away?” asked Chris, holding up the Spino Smashers.

“You can,” said RJ.

Chris nodded and the Spino Smashers vanished.

“You and your animal spirit have good reflexes,” said Master Swoop. “It took you not even a second to realise I was here.”

“Oh, you can thank the Basilisk for that,” said Chris, as the Basilisk formed in beside him.

“I’ve heard of you before,” said Master Swoop. “Powerful, dark, stubborn.”

“Sounds a lot like me,” admitted Chris. “I suppose that’s why we work well together. He’s not really my Animal spirit. He’s an ancient being from the dawn of time that’s missing a body and is bound to me until one becomes available for him to inhabit. I wonder what I’d be without him.”

“Well, Child, I’m not going anywhere any time soon.”

“Indeed,” said Chris, nodding. “We have to get home first.”

Blocking out the conversation, which continued behind the Rangers, Theo stepped forward and raised a hand in front of Master Swoop’s face.

“Yes, Theo,” said Master Swoop, removing his glasses from his face. “I’m blind. That doesn’t mean I enjoy you waving your hand in my face.”

Master Swoop replaced his glasses on his face.

“You always did like to make an entrance,” admitted RJ. He looked down at the orange in his hand, then at Chris.

“Think fast!” he exclaimed. Chris summoned a Spino Smasher and batted the orange away, into the direction of Master Swoop, who caught it casually in one raise hand. The symbol of mastery, three tiger stripes just above his right elbow, glistened.

“OK, I officially like him,” grinned Chris, barely able to keep a laugh of enjoyment out of his voice.

“Ooh, still got it,” appreciated RJ. His voice and expression turned stern. “I can only guess why you’re here.”

“Indeed,” retorted Master Swoop, walking between the Rangers. “My bat spirit picked up a sonic disturbance in the skies. Bai Lai and Carden have returned. Can I have a word with you, RJ? Alone?”

“Sure,” replied RJ. He whirled to the Rangers. “Uh, guys, do you mind?”

“Not at all,” said Chris.

“Not you,” said Master Swoop. “You stay.”

“Great,” said Theo, not noticing that Chris hadn’t followed. “You two masters catch up. Gotta make some sauce, figure out how to defeat those beasts and –” he tripped on the top step, tumbling over. He staggered to his feet. “Make some sauce…”

“Theo is scattered,” said Master Swoop. “His mind is not focused on the task at hand.”

“Tell me about it,” said Chris, grunting, his arms crossed.

“Yeah,” agreed RJ. “I’ve noticed.”

“In this state, he is of no use to Casey, Lily, and you, Chris.”

“With those flying freaks on the loose…” continued RJ.

“I think I know how to help him,” replied Master Swoop. “And that is where you come in, Chris. May I borrow your services?”

“If RJ can excuse me, sure,” replied Chris, glancing back at RJ.

“I can,” said RJ, nodding his head.

“Then, Master Swoop, I am all yours,” replied Chris, bowing. “How may I help?”

“Come,” said Master Swoop. “We must retrieve Theo, and then his training begins.”

He turned and began to walk away. Chris followed him.

“Oh,” he said, turning back to RJ briefly. “If Theo has botched up the sauce, there’s some in the fridge up here… just in case.”

RJ nodded, waving him away with Master Swoop.

~*~*~*~*~

Later that afternoon, Master Swoop walked with Theo, who was holding Master Swoop’s fan, through the forest towards what looked like the entrance of an old farm ranch, a sign swinging creakily above. Several more adorned the path before them.

“Alright, let’s do it,” said Theo, swaggering along next to him. “You’re going to teach me how to fight with my eyes closed, right?” He swung into a handstand and began to walk on them. “Don’t be surprised if I pick it up right away. I’m a master at doing three things at once.”

“Even a man with sight still needs to focus,” replied Master Swoop, not even bothering to look at Theo.

Theo flipped out of the handstand, to resume walking.

“What do you mean?” he asked, laughing. “I’m focused.”

“Look around,” said Master Swoop. “Tell me what you see?”

“I see woods,” said Theo, looking around casually. “So what?”

“I see harmony,” replied Master Swoop. “The dirt, the trees, the sun. All focused on a single goal – like an orchestra of life perfectly in tune.” He turned to face Theo. “It is this type of focus you will need to defeat Bai Lai and Cardin.”

“I know that,” said Theo. “I’m focused on everything.”

“Yes,” replied Master Swoop, turning away and continuing to walk. “And that is why you’ll fail.”

Theo frowned. “Wait!” he exclaimed, running after Master Swoop.

~*~*~*~*~

“The bird are back in town?” asked Casey as he and Lily rushed into the loft from the backroom.

“Where are Chris and Theo?”

“Theo’s off training with Chris and Master Swoop,” replied RJ. “Until they get back, it’s up to you two.”

“I hope Theo trains fast,” retorted Lily as she and Casey rushed off into the fight.

~*~*~*~*~

“Wait! Master Swoop!”

Theo rushed after Master Swoop, who hadn’t stopped walking and was starting to descend a hill. “I can’t fail. I can’t let down Lily, Chris, and Casey.”

“But you are letting them down,” replied Master Swoop, reaching the clearing at the bottom of the hill. “They’re battling Bai Lai and Cardin as we speak, and they need your help.”

“Then I have to help them!” shouted Theo.

“No!” barked Master Swoop, whirling to face him, cloak and long hair flapping in the movement. “In your state of mind, you’re of no use.”

“Look, enough Master talk,” hissed Theo, striding forward to Master Swoop. “What do you want me to do? You want me to stare at the tree? Whatever it is, I’ll do it. I can do anything.”

“Good,” said Master Swoop. “If you really want to help Casey and Lily, do this.”

Master Swoop rose into the air, flew high, then descended to float just above the surface of the water.

“Focus, Theo,” said Master Swoop. Something glistened next to him, and Chris faded into view, floating next to him. “Your friend managed it quite easily.”

“I can do this,” said Theo. “I can do anything.”

He flicked his wrist to open the fan but did not leave the ground. He looked down at his feet, still firmly planted on the ground, and then back up to the fan.

“Clear your mind,” said Master Swoop. “Only when you’re truly focused can the impossible become possible.”

Theo growled, opened the fan, and flapped his arms, trying to take off.

“While he’s over there doing that,” said Chris, leaning over to Master Swoop. “I don’t suppose you could offer me some advice, could you?”

“How can I help?” inquired Master Swoop.

“Well, it’s like this,” began Chris. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the Dino Gem. “This thing has sent me dancing all over time. Two thousand and two, two thousand and six, and now here. Yet, wherever I land, I always appear in the air and plummet several feet to the ground.”

“Intriguing,” said Master Swoop. “Every time?”

“Yep,” said Chris, popping the P. “Without fail, every time I land – there I am, sixty feet in the air!”

“Hmm,” said Master Swoop. “I do not know. But now that you have informed me, I shall investigate it for you.”

“Wonderful,” said Chris. He pocketed the Dino Gem and then turned back to watch Theo, who performed movement after movement.

“It’s not working!” he said, twenty minutes later. “This isn’t fair, you have the spirit of the bat. Jaguars can’t levitate.”

“But I don’t have the spirit of the bat,” said Chris, hovering down to the ground before Theo; he landed mid-stride and walked over to him. “I have a snake. Snakes don’t fly.”

“Well,” interrupted the Basilisk, fading in next to him. “Some do.”

“Earth snakes,” corrected Chris. “That serpent thing that Cole destroyed with Doctor O back in ’02 isn’t from Earth.”

“I taught RJ how to fight blind,” said Master Swoop. “And I taught Chris to levitate. I can teach you how to levitate, but you must manage your mind, release your anxieties, focus on a single goal. Try again.”

Theo closed his eyes, raising his hand before himself to focus, and rose off the ground.

“Good,” said Master Swoop as Chris followed Theo. “Block everything out. Excellent.”

“See, I can do it!” retorted Theo. “Now I have to help –”

Theo fell from the air, splashing down into the ocean. Chris summoned a shield before him and Master Swoop to avoid both being splashed by the water.

“Not bad for a first attempt,” said Master Swoop, floating across to land with Chris. Theo clambered onto dry land and shook himself dry.

“I know what you want from me,” said Theo, glancing back at him. “And I can’t do it.”

“Giving up so quickly?” asked Master Swoop. “That’s not like you, Theo.”

“Not just the levitating!” retorted Theo sharply, a harsh snap to his voice. “You want me to focus on a single task and block everything else out. Look, all my life I’ve been juggling everything at the same time, that’s what everyone expected: my parents, my teachers. It’s what I’ve always done.” He stood up and turned to Master Swoop. “I can’t just change who I am overnight. Maybe I’m not cut out to be a superhero after all…”

“You are a superhero,” said Master Swoop. “Would you like to tell him, Chris?”

“Of course, Master Swoop,” replied Chris, bowing to him. “Look, Theo, it’s simple. No-one is asking you to change who you are inside. Trust me on that – I’m stubborn and argumentative, and I really don’t like taking orders, completely unsuitable to being a Power Ranger. Yet, somehow, Fate settled on me; no idea what being out there decided on that, but it has. It’s done the same to you. Your abilities and work ethic are not in question. You just have to learn to be present and in the moment.”

“Listen,” said Master Swoop, stepping forward to join Chris. “Life is a series of obstacles. It’s not a question of can we manage them, but how.”

“Too many obstacles,” admitted Theo.

“Yes,” agreed Master Swoop. “Sometimes they can come all at once, but we can’t conquer them all at once.”

“So, what do I do, Master Swoop?”

“How can I focus on one goal with so much else going on in my head?”

“You relax,” said Master Swoop, turning and walking in a circle; Theo followed him. Chris watched with a gentle smile as Master Swoop led Theo through the calming exercises. “You release, you find your centre. Only then will you be successful. Focus on the exercise, block out the rest of the world, only feel your breath. Allow the impossible to become possible.”

Eventually, together, up they rose.

“Well,” said Master Swoop, watching Theo soar around. “I think he’s got it, don’t you?”

“I do,” said Chris. “We’d better get back to the fight.”

“No,” said Master Swoop. “This is Theo’s time. You and I will return to RJ.”

“Very well,” said Chris, watching as Master Swoop waved Theo over. “You’re to go back to the fight. I’m taking Master Swoop to RJ’s.”

Theo ran off to join the others.

“Come,” said Master Swoop. “We are to watch.”

“Very well,” said Chris. “As much as I love a fight, this is Theo’s time today.”

~*~*~*~*~

By the time Chris and Master Swoop had reached the battlefield, the Jungle Pride Megazord had formed and was in combat; an enormous purple portal above them was causing massive suction and making it rain.

“Theo,” said Master Swoop, voice echoing in both Chris and Theo’s heads. “Channel the spirit of the bat.”

“Use the bat?” came Theo’s voice back.

“Focus,”

“Yes, Master.”

High above the Megazord, a Bat spirit formed; it fired two rockets at Bai Lai and Cardin, knocking the portal out of action, then swirled round and merged with the Megazord.

The Megazord flew high into the air, Bai Lai and Cardin soaring after them.

~*~*~*~*~

“Have you seen Theo?” asked Lily as she, Chris, Casey, and Master Swoop approached RJ, who was trying to get signal on his television sets.

“I would like to say goodbye,” admitted Master Swoop.

“Oh, he should be around here somewhere,” said RJ, eyes flicking up.

“Right here,” said Theo, hovering down before them. “I was just doing a little meditation. It helps the mind to stay focused and on task.”

“I’m proud of you – both of you,” said Master Swoop, acknowledging Chris too. “You are excellent students, and I will miss you.” Theo nodded, bowing to Master Swoop; Chris gave a two fingered salute. “But, don’t forget, you have to sweep out the stockroom, roll some pizza dough, and focus on saving the world.”

“Right,” said Theo, turning and walking away. Moments later, he stopped and turned back to Master Swoop, who smirked.

“Gotcha,” he laughed. He turned to Chris. “As for you, leave your little problem with me. I will investigate it.”

Chris nodded, bowing to Master Swoop. “Thank you. Let me know what you find?”

“I will,” said Master Swoop.

“What problem?” asked Lily.

“Nothing to worry about,” said Chris. “Stuff for me. Like Theo, I know to compartmentalise it for now. What happens will happen, as it does every time, so no point worrying.”

“Good,” said Master Swoop. “You have learned well.”

Chris grinned.

Chapter Text

Chapter X: One Master Too Many

“Nice,” said RJ, from his chair; he was reading a book with the title of YOU CAN PUT THAT ONE A PIZZA. “Nice.”

“Nice?” queried Casey, who was standing on a pile of books, arms outstretched.

Both RJ and Casey were watching Theo and Lily, who were fighting with the Jungle Fan and Jungle Mace respectively. “Nice? Whoa – it’s more than nice,” he noted, almost falling off the books. “Theo and Lily are rockin’ the loft”.

“Let’s see how you take me!” cried Chris, summoning his Spino Smashers and leaping into the fray. “Oh ho ho, I love a good fight! I suppose that explains a lot, doesn’t it?”

“Come to think of it, RJ,” said Casey, glancing across to RJ rather than the fight. “When am I getting a new Master, a new weapon?”

“You have a Master,” said RJ, smiling cheekily over the top of his book, which he had lowered a mere inch or two. “Me. And your weapon is you. Stop worrying about what you don’t have, and concentrate on what you’re doing!”

“And what is it that I’m doing?” asked Casey, standing on one leg. “Whoa – whoa!”

And, before the eyes of Theo, Lily, and Chris, Casey tumbled off the pile of books.

“Working on balance,” said RJ, lowering his book again.

“Hit the deck!” cried Chris, one of his Spino Smashers being knocked out of his hand by Theo’s fan. It wheeled through the air and impaled itself in the wall.

“Tommy, what have I told you about behaving!” barked Chris, striding over to the wall and pulling it free. “We do not impale ally walls! Bad Spino Smasher! Bad!”

~*~*~*~*~

Later that afternoon, RJ and Chris were working in the kitchen. Chris was cleaning the sink, while RJ was spinning a pizza dough at the work bench.

The door to the restaurant floor opened and Casey entered, trying to ignore the squeaking of Chris’s cloth on the metal of the sink.

“RJ, can I ask you something?” he asked, crossing the room to RJ’s side.

“Oh,” thought Chris, hearing the conversation begin. “I should not be listening in to this. Oh, well, since I’m here…”

RJ held up a hand, putting it to his head. “Six horses, a toilet plunger, and a wireless mouse.”

“Huh?” asked Casey.

“Sorry,” replied RJ. “I thought that might be the answer to your question. Go ahead.”

Chris’s sponge squeaked on the edge of the sink. Both RJ and Casey turned to look at him, but seeing that he was apparently focused on cleaning, resumed their conversation.

“I know this is a sore subject –” began Casey.

“Sore like in muscle pulls or sore like in subjects I don’t want to talk about?” asked RJ, retrieving a ball of dough from the fridge and slamming it down onto the table.

“I just cleaned that…” groaned Chris, glaring up at RJ, who looked apologetic. Chris sighed in annoyance and returned to an incredibly stubborn mark that refused to budge in the sink.

Casey opened his mouth to speak, the expression on his face indicating it was definitely the latter of the two. “You trust me, right?”

“Yeah, sure,” replied Casey, smiling. “You’re my Pai Zhuq Master.”

“Then why do you want another?”

Casey didn’t get to reply, for the whole room shook.

“Holy Mother of Mabelthorpe!” cried Chris, falling backwards from the sink, the sponge flying into the air.

The door to the restaurant floor flew open; Lily and Theo, barely able to stand, rushed in.

“Let’s check it out!” Lily shouted, over the cacophony of noise that echoed as the room shook, pots and pans tumbling to the ground.

“RJ, we’ll talk about this when I get back, OK?” called Casey, rushing up the stairs after Lily and Theo. Chris scrambled to his feet and rushed after them, failing to notice RJ’s disapproving look.

As Chris vanished up the stairs, the sponge he’d thrown into the air when he’d fallen over came tumbling down, landing on RJ’s face.

~*~*~*~*~

Down at the beach at the edge of Ocean Bluff, the Rangers realised what had caused the entire restaurant to shake; there, spinning wildly in the middle of the ocean, was a typhoon.

“That’s not good!” exclaimed Theo.

“Come on, guys!” cried Casey. “Let’s get out there!”

Before they could move, a familiar voice interrupted them.

“I hope you’re good swimmers!” Approaching them, a horde of Rinshi bouncing behind her with the familiar “HUH HUH HUH!”, was Camille. The smirk on her face faded. “But, first, I have a little welcoming party for you!”

She clicked the fingers of her right hand, the crack echoing in the wind of the ocean.

They charged forward into battle; Camille glared and leapt, landing before Chris and Casey.

“Jungle Fan!” cried Theo, which he’d mastered a week earlier when Master Swoop had come to visit Jungle Karma Pizza. What a wild couple of days that had been, what with Theo obtaining a new weapon and the Rangers successfully managing to defeat Bai Lai and Carden in battle.

He whirled, slicing a Rinshi in half with the Jungle Fan.

“Jungle Mace!” roared Lily, racing forward and striking several Rinshi, who toppled to the ground.

Two Rinshi caught Casey around the arms, and Camille kicked him back, narrowly managing to avoid a sideways spinning attack from above by Chris. Casey toppled backwards and Chris leapt, landing before him and spinning his Spino Smashers to block the advancing Rinshi.

Suddenly, around them, something exploded.

“What on Earth?” asked Chris, seeing the explosions erupt around them; he glanced back at Casey, still on the floor. “That wasn’t me!”

“What?!” gasped Casey. “No way!”

Out of the fog created from the explosions a man emerged from the fog, charging at the Rinshi. In each hand he had a katana, resembling the ones from the Disney Movie Alladin. The one in his right hand was raised, while the one in his left scraped through the sand, leaving a thick indent.

“You!” gasped Camille.

The Rinshi blasted purple balls of energy at him; they missed and hit the ground behind, exploding. As if it hadn’t happened the man completely ignored the explosion and continued charging, hacking down the Rinshi.

Dozens and dozens of Rinshi fell at his hands without the man even breaking a sweat.

The Katanas glistened with symbols of the water adorned on the blades.

“Oh, that guy’s incredible!” exclaimed Casey as Chris helped him to his feet; both turned to watch as the Rinshi fell like putting in the man’s hands.

The man strode to the enormous typhoon raging in the sea, raised his Katanas above his head, and whirled them, launching a ball of blue energy at the typhoon.

“POWER OF THE SHARK!”

The ball of blue energy smashed into the typhoon, which exploded, launching the Rinshi inside onto land. The Rinshi smashed down in front of Camille, rolling to a stop at her feet.

“Hey!” he cried, staggering to his feet. “What happened?”

Camille grunted and stalked away; a moment later, so did the Rinshi.

“Wow!” cried Casey as he and the Rangers rushed over to the man’s side. “That was something!”

“Who are you?” asked Theo.

“Pai Zhuq Master Finn,” said the man. Theo and Lily instantly dropped their heads, making the hand movements of Pai Zhuq.

“Oh! My new Master!” exclaimed Casey.

~*~*~*~*~

“Can I give you something to eat?” asked Lily, descending the stairs in the loft with the Rangers and Master Finn.

“Or drink?” added Theo.

“Surprise me!” suggested Master Finn.

“RJ!” exclaimed Casey as Lily and Theo passed him; RJ, who was adjusting the aerial on his television set looked up; his jaw slackened slightly, and instantly both he and the other man seemed somewhat more defensive, though Casey, too excited at getting a new Master, failed to notice – he was too busy looking at his new Master. “You won’t believe it. I found my new Master.”

Master Finn had stopped before RJ, who was no longer adjusting the aerial on his television set.

“Am I the only one who senses tension here?” questioned the Basilisk in Chris’s head as Chris stopped and folded his arms, watching the conversation unfold with a growing sense of dread.

“No,” said Chris. “It’s like me and my – Oh. OH!”

“Heavens,” said the Basilisk inside Chris’s head. “This won’t end well…”

RJ turned, stepping away from his television set – one foot, then the other clacking on the floor slightly louder than they normally did, indicating he was putting more force in his steps.

“Hello, Dad,” he greeted, a sigh in his voice.

Casey’s head jerked up to stare at RJ.

“Aaand the penny drops,” said Chris, audibly.

“Dad?” gasped Casey, jaw dropping and eyebrows raising.

Lily and Theo looked at one another, slightly confused. Neither of them had expected this to be how RJ would react.

~*~*~*~*~

“Well, look at this,” said Master Finn, following RJ up the stairs to the raised level of the living quarters. He picked up a large brown bag and began cleaning up. “You’re now a Master and you still need me to clean up after you.”

“I like my loft the way it is,” said RJ. “Things are where I want them.”

“Yes, so I see,” said Master Finn, scooping them into the bag. “Potato chips, dirty socks, comic books.” He stopped at the red bar in the upper living quarters of the loft, dropped the bag onto it, and then turned back to RJ, disapprovingly. “All the tools of a great Master.”

“I like things my way,” retorted RJ. “It shouldn’t affect you.”

“Of course it affects me,” replied Master Finn. “Everything you do reflects on me. You’re my son!”

“Yes,” agreed RJ. “That I am. What’s it been – six, seven years since we last spoke?”

“That was your doing if I remember?” replied Master Finn.

“Well, let’s not get into it,” replied RJ.

“All I ever wanted was to teach you the ways of your father, my father, my father’s father, and so on.”

“Can we drop it?” asked RJ. “I know why you’re here.”

Casey emerged from the back stairs, passing the wall décor of two dragons devouring each other’s tails that was hanging over a small red table with a box and a bear holding a candle perched on it.

He stopped; both of them turned to look at him. “I hate to break up this reunion, but I was just wondering if you had some time to train me?”

“Sure,” said RJ. “I’ll be right with you.”

“Uh, no,” said Casey. “I meant your dad, Master Finn.”

Master Finn looked at RJ and smiled, then headed off with Casey.

Distraught, RJ watched them go.

“OK,” said Master Finn’s voice, carrying up to the upper living quarters as he and Casey left. “We’ll start from the beginning.”

If RJ had been paying more attention, he would have seen a pair of eyes open on the wall; as it was, he didn’t. He strode downstairs, failing to notice Chris emerge from the wall and creep away.

“Bleurgh,” said Chris, quietly once he was out of sight. “So that is what grout tastes like…”

~*~*~*~*~

Later that afternoon, Chris, Theo, and Lily found RJ, sat in his chair, eyes staring and unfocused, completely lifeless.

“RJ?” queried Theo, waving a hand in front of his face. “RJ?”

“Maybe he’s dead?” suggested Chris.

“I think he’s asleep,” said Theo, shooting Chris a look.

RJ blinked and looked up to Theo. “I’m not asleep. Or dead,” he added, looking across to Chris, who rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “I’m trying to visualise a positive future for me to live in.”

“Does that work?” asked Lily.

“Is my Dad gone?” replied RJ.

“No,” said Lily.

“Then it’s not working,” said RJ, bounding from his chair and starting to walk. “I dunno. Maybe I have to get used to losing Casey.”

“You’re not losing him,” replied Theo as he, Chris, and Lily followed after him up to the higher living quarters. “Lily and I have new Masters, but we’re still with you. If you ask me, the same thi –”

“Well, he didn’t,” said Lily. “So zip it.”

“Uh, no, it’s OK to talk,” said RJ, turning to them. He smiled sadly, then turned away and headed to the fridge, picking out a lime juice.

“Good,” said Lily. “Look, RJ, you mean a lot to Casey, to all of us. You’re not losing Casey just because your Dad’s teaching him.”

“Yeah, maybe you’re right,” replied RJ, returning to them. “I’m letting old baggage get to me. I’m still Casey’s Master.”

“RJ, your dad is the bomb!” replied Casey, returning with Master Finn. “He started teaching me the Shark Sabers. Whoa! Amazing! I never thought I could do stuff like that.”

“I’m glad you’re so…” Rj trailed off, face twitching as he looked for the right word. “Happy.”

“Let’s not get carried away,” said Master Finn. “There’s still a lot of hard work before you can truly Master the Shark Sabers.”

“I know,” said Casey. “I know. RJ, how come you never took on your dad’s…”

Lily and Theo stared down disappointedly at him. RJ was gone.

“Idiot,” muttered Chris.

“…Skills?” finished Casey, looking around in confusion. “It was something I said, wasn’t it?”

“No, duh,” said Chris.

“I’ll go find him,” said Casey, heading off after RJ.

~*~*~*~*~

“Nice, Casey!” exclaimed Lily as she, Theo, and Chris arrived at the beach to help Casey fight Crustaceo, the Rinshi from before.

“Having fun without us?” inquired Theo.

“How very dare you!” breathed Chris, a hand to his chest in mock-disappointment.

“All of us can play!” exclaimed Casey, nudging Theo’s chest with his elbow. His new Shark Sabers glistened in the sunlight.

“CLAW CANNON! POWERED BY ANIMAL SPIRITS! FIRE!”

The blast exploded from the Claw Cannon and soared through the air.

“Yikes!” cried Crustaceo, leaping away into the ocean.

“No!” cried Lily.

“Did we get him?” asked Theo.

He got his answer a moment later when the surface of the water erupted outwards and Crustaceo, the size of a twenty-storey building, emerged from within.

“YOU’RE LIKE AN ANNOYING PIECE OF SAND UNDER MY SHELL!” he boomed, crab claws flailing.

“Let’s cook this crab!” exclaimed Casey.

They summoned the Megazord, their Animal Spirits leaping into the air and merging together to form it before them.

The Megazord stabbed at Crustaceo, who dodged and struck it hard in the chest.

“Summon your Shark Zord!” shouted Master Finn, who had followed the others.

“Come on, guys, follow my lead!” cried Casey.

“CALLING ON THE SPIRIT OF THE SHARK!”

The Shark Spirit formed out of the Megazord, leapt high into the air, and transformed from Spirit to Zord. It landed in the ocean before them.

“Huh!?” gasped Crustaceo.

The Shark Zord lunged, striking hard. Crustaceo fell, knocked into a spin, face down into the ocean beneath him.

Moments later, the Shark Zord emerged from the ocean and bit one of the legs of the Megazord. It heaved the Megazord into the air, threw it high, and watched it smash down before zooming into the air and descending at the Megazord itself.

“Let’s do it!” cried Casey.

“SPIRIT OF THE ELEPHANT, COMBINE!”

As the Shark Zord zoomed towards them, they swung the giant wrecking ball created by the combining of the Megazord and the Elephant Zord and smashed the Shark Zord away into the ocean.

Crustaceo flew from the Shark Zord and smashed down into the ocean.

~*~*~*~*~

“Where’s Casey?” asked Master Finn, once the Rangers had de-morphed and rushed over to him.

“He went to find Casey,” said Theo. “To tell him about the fight.”

“I see,” said Master Finn, striding past them; he stopped and turned back to them. “You fought a great battle, but I let you down, I let Casey down. You had to fight my Spirit Zord.”

“That wasn’t your fault,” Lily assured him. “Things happen.”

“And trust me,” added Chris. “I’ve done far worse.”

“Yes,” agreed Master Finn. “But not to me.”

He turned and walked away.

~*~*~*~*~

Casey found Chris, Theo, Lily, and Master Finn skipping stones at a small pond on the beach.

He stepped up next to them and skipped one of his own. It went further and faster than any of theirs did.

“Wow!” exclaimed Theo.

“Nice skip, huh?” asked Casey, grinning. “You know how RJ taught me that? By ironing his shirts.”

“So that’s why the loft was full of shirts!” exclaimed Chris. “I thought RJ was having a clean out…”

“Go figure,” continued Casey. “Guy’s a little off centre but his training really works.”

Lily nodded in agreement as the Rangers all turned to look at Master Finn.

“Yes,” he agreed. “He is good at what he does.”

“What’s this!?”

The group whirled around; Camille had returned with more Rinshi. “A Pai Zhuq Master teaching his students how to feel sorry for themselves? Very unbecoming. And very vulnerable. Attack!”

The snap of her fingers echoed again.

“Ready?” asked Theo, as the Rinshi began hopping towards them with the familiar “HUH! HUH!”

“Ready!” agreed the others, morphing with Theo.

They charged forward, meeting the Rinshi in combat.

“Spino Smashers!”

Chris leapt, spinning through the air like a horizontal tornado, slashing several Rinshi as he did so.

Nearby, as Theo and Lily fought Rinshi and Casey fought Crustaceo, Master Finn watched.

Something near him roared and landed. Dai Shi.

Dai Shi attacked, knocking Master Finn back.

“And I thought this was going to be a bad day!” growled Dai Shi, whipping off his cloak. His Lion Spirit whirled around him, and he morphed into his usual black clad armour.

He and Master Finn began to fight, disappearing out of sight of the Rangers, as Casey combined his Shark Sabers into one long sword and dispatched Crustaceo, who crashed back into the ocean.

He emerged again, moments later, enormous once more.

“I’m getting tired of this!” exclaimed Lily.

The Rangers formed the Megazord out of their Animal Spirits and combat began. “CALLING ON THE SPIRIT OF THE SHARK! SPIRIT OF THE SHARK, COMBINE!”

It did so, splitting open and transforming to create enormous Sabers for the Megazord to hold. The head of the shark opened, transforming into a helmet. “JUNGLE PRIDE MEGAZORD! WITH SHARK POWER!”

“Let’s swim, guys!” suggested Chris. “Budge up, I’m taking us for a spin!”

He nudged Casey aside with his hip, stepping into the command spot. “Ooh ho ho, hope you can swim little crabby!”

And they descended beneath the surface to meet Crustaceo in combat. Crustaceo smashed them back; they bounced off a nearby wall, the edge where the ocean met the shore, and began to swim upwards, before whirling to descend.

Crustaceo’s crab claw began to spin.

“Using my own tactic against us?” gasped Chris. “Oh, that’s so offensive! Anyone for crab Linguine?”

He began to spin with the Rangers, the Shark Saber hands of the Megazord whirling and twirling in the water.

They surged forward, smashing through Crustaceo as they did so. He groaned and roared and exploded as the Megazord leapt and landed on the shore.

~*~*~*~*~

Later that afternoon, the Rangers entered the kitchen of Jungle Karma Pizza and stopped at the sight before them; Master Finn and RJ were stood at the work bench, RJ teaching his father how to make pizza.

“Now, even pressure,” said RJ, watching his father roll the rolling pin. “Good.”

“It’s nice to see you two working together,” admitted Casey, smirking, as he and the Rangers plodded over. “Kind of a father-son project.”

“You know, if it wasn’t for you guys, I would never have known what a good son, and what a fine Master, RJ has become,” admitted Master Finn, clapping a hand onto RJ’s shoulder.

“Well, it’s nice to see you’ve come to your senses,” admitted Chris, smirking. “My father never did – what an – ahem, anyway,” he added as Theo nudged his side. “We hope you’ll come back soon. Don’t be a stranger!”

Chapter Text

Chapter XI: Ghost of a Chance

“Ha ha ha!” laughed Casey as he and the others returned to Jungle Karma Pizza. “We rule!”

“We are not afraid of anything!” bragged Theo.

“You said it, Theo!” agreed Lily, waving her hands as if shooting finger guns.

“They set ‘em up, we knock ‘em down!” agreed Casey.

“Um, knock what down?” asked Fran, clapping her hands.

“Oh, uh, no, her I’m scared of,” admitted Chris, yelping and ducking behind Casey, peering anxiously over his blonde hair friend’s shoulder at Fran. “Think fast, guys. Excuse, quick!”

“Where have you been?” asked Fran, shrugging. “Bowling?”

“That’ll do,” whispered Chris. He raised his voice back to normal. “Um, yes, bowling. Pretty much!”

The others were all agreeing – “Casey bowled a turkey, so we were excited!” added Theo, holding two lemon juices in his hand.

“Actually, it was a frog,” added Casey.

The inside joke, their defeat of Mog just minutes more, set them all giggling.

“I would appreciate it if someone would inform me before you go on break,” replied Fran, crossing her arms.

“Casey, Theo, Lily, loft!” said RJ, entering from the main entrance and striding past Fran. “Can you give Fran a hand, Chris?” he asked, stopping for a moment. “This won’t concern you – we’ll train later, given your… specialist… studies.”

“Of course.”

“Good,” said RJ, nodding. He headed off into the kitchen.

“We’re goin’ on break!” chimed Lily, Theo, and Casey, smiling cheekily as they followed after RJ.

“Hmmph,” sighed Fran. “What do they do up there?”

“Oh, it’s very boring, I assure you,” said Chris, picking up a notepad and pen. “Nothing to worry about. Shall we?”

~*~*~*~*~

Sometime later, the Rangers had not returned. RJ had gone running off into battle after something had gone wrong, ordering Chris to stay behind, and neither he nor the Rangers had returning since.

“Ohh, something’s wrong, I know it,” muttered Chris, pacing up and down. “What happened out there? Oh, RJ, I should’ve come along too…”

Moments later, the door opened.

“Wait, don’t say a word,” began Fran. “Let me guess: Sorry, Fran, we were on break during the lunch rush and now we have to go up to the loft, while you finish cleaning up, hmm?”

“Yeah,” said Casey. “That’s about right.”

“Sorry, Fran,” said Lily, sadly. “We’ll make it up to you.”

“Where in the name of RJ’s old worn socks have you been!?” bristled Chris, stalking over to the Rangers. The furious expression on his face changed at the sight of their faces.

“Oh, hey, it’s OK,” said Fran, concerned expression slipping onto her face. “Don’t sweat it.”

“Upstairs,” said Chris, sharply. “Now.”

“Where’s RJ?” asked Fran, trotting after them. “I haven’t seen him all afternoon.”

Lily, Theo, and Casey turned back to her, looking anxious.

~*~*~*~*~

“Right!” said Chris, a few minutes later, watching Theo, Casey and Lily moping around. “Speak. What in the name of all that is sane and holy happened?”

Theo and the others ignored him.

“Guess we’re not Masters after all,” grunted Theo.

“We have to save RJ,” replied Lily. “Whatever it takes.”

“Save RJ?” asked Chris, gasping. “What in God’s name happened?”

“Yeah,” agreed Theo in response to Lily, ignoring Chris. “But without a Master how can we learn to defeat Jarrod? He’s like super-evil now.”

“What do you think RJ meant when he said, ‘you know what to do’?” asked Lily, looking up to Theo.

“He meant, do exactly what he told us to do,” said Casey, rising from his chair. “We go back to basics, all the way back to the beginning.”

“To the Forbidden Room,” agreed Lily, realising, as she stood from the floor.

“Hey, I’m all for it,” agreed Theo. “But if I remember correctly the room’s empty. I don’t see how that can help us.”

“Yeah, well, we have to try,” replied Casey. “It may be our only hope.”

“Well, since I appear to be Chopped Liver,” said Chris, interrupting. “I’m coming too. I was already here when you lot turned up and I have a sneaking suspicion that RJ is crucial to me returning home.”

The Basilisk phased in next to him.

“Go,” said Chris. “Find RJ.”

The Basilisk nodded and vanished.

~*~*~*~*~

“Creepy old ninja school? Check,” said Chris, looking around as they strode across the main courtyard of the Pai Zhuq School. “Guys, I have the hee-bees.”

Lily led them down a flight of stairs and through a pair of red doors adorned with a thick, chunky lock and blue wood accents, then strode inside. She froze, gasping.

“Spiders!” she squeaked, rushing off to look around the room for anything that could help.

“Well,” said Theo, looking around and lifting his lantern. “We’re here.”

“Look around,” said Casey as Theo strode off to another corner of the room, opposite Lily. “There must be something that can help.”

“Uh, guys,” said Chris, catching sight of something opposite the table in the middle of the room. He vaulted over it, lantern in hand. “Check this out…”

“That must be Master Phan in his elephant form!” exclaimed Lily, catching sight of one of the drawings.

“And there’s Master Swoop!” added Theo, pointing to another.

“And Master Finn!” added Casey, spotting a third.

“But who are these guys?” asked Chris, raising his own lantern. “It’s a Gorilla, an antelope, and a penguin.”

“Those are the other Pai Zhuq Masters,” said a voice. The Rangers whirled around. There, forming before them, was Master Mao.

“Master Mao!” cried Lily. She, Casey, and Theo rushed around the table.

It was. There, floating gently to the ground from a few inches in the air, was Master Mao. Casey, Theo, and Lily all bowed, clasping their hand to their fist.

“How can we find these other Masters?” asked Theo, before Master Mao had even finished his bow back to them. “RJ’s been captured and we need more training.”

“Yes,” said Master Mao, gravelly, watching them closely. “I know. But these Masters cannot be found. They were destroyed in a great battle. They reside in the Spirit world now.”

“Can you take us there?” asked Casey. “We have to save RJ.”

Instantly, Master Mao looked incredibly serious. “No-one has ever returned from that realm. It’s a place unlike anything you’ve ever seen.”

“Master, please!” interrupted Casey. “We can do this! We’ll find a way back!”

“It’s too risky,” said Master Mao. “I’m sorry, the answer’s no.”

“Please!” exclaimed Lily. “You have to take us!”

“It’s our only hope!” agreed Theo.

“Master, we can do this,” said Casey. “You trained us, and RJ picked up where you left off. We won’t let you down. Please. We’re not afraid.”

“Once I open the door, you will be.”

Master Mao raised his hands, as if making the L symbol with each thumb, and yellow energy began to surge around him.

With a roar, the magic exploded free from Master Mao, whirling into an enormous light blue tornado.

Master Mao met their eyes and vanished.

“There’s no turning back now,” said Lily over the cacophony of noise.

“Then let’s go,” said Chris as the Basilisk surged down the stairs in a puff of black smoke and smashed into him.

“Found him,” said the Basilisk, speaking inside Chris’s head. “Dai Shi’s lair.”

“As to be expected,” replied Chris. “Lots of guards?”

“Naturally.”

“Mmm,” retorted Chris.

“So, what are we doing?” asked the Basilisk. “What’s the big tornado?”

“Entrance to the Spirit World.”

“Oh my.”

“Indeed,” agreed Chris.

Chris stepped into the hurricane and vanished before the other Rangers’ eyes.

The blue tornado threw him in every direction, and he smashed down into a thrush covered field that was tinged pink.

“I thought I was only me that made us crash-land like that?” grunted Chris, struggling to his feet and brushing himself down.

Shouts echoed behind him, and he found himself flopping into the thrush again as Casey, Lily and Theo tumbled out of the hurricane behind him and knocked him to the floor.

“Would you kindly get off?” he grunted.

“Not exactly a vacation resort,” grunted Theo, standing up and helping Chris up.

“It’s a netherworld of ghostly spirits,” replied Lily. “What did you expect? Palm trees and hula girls?”

“Guys!” interrupted Casey. “Let’s get serious here. RJ is counting on us.”

“Be on your guard,” said the Basilisk in Chris’s head. “I spent a lot of time here after the Mystic War before I found you. This place is dangerous.”

The crack of a twig made them turn.

Three people – an old grey bearded man with a beard, a black-haired woman dressed in black and white with a yellow streak in her hair, and a man dressed in a yellow kimono – emerged from the fog swirling around them.

“Oh boy,” said Chris in his head. “I’d suggest we duck, yes?”

“Yes,”

Chris flipped backwards, ducking to avoid the attacks. Lily, Theo, and Casey fell with ease at the hands of the three people who had emerged from the fog.

“You should not have come here,” said the man with the grey beard.

“Ah,” said the man in a kimono. “These must be our new students.”

“This is Master Rilla,” said the woman, looking at the man with a beard. She looked across to the man in the kimono. “Master Lope. And I am Master Guin.”

“With all due respect, we don’t have much time,” said Casey.

“Patience,” said Master Rilla. “You must prove yourself worthy before you can be rewarded.”

“Then let’s get too it,” said Casey. “What kind of test do we need to pass.”

“Monsters, ghouls, demons?” asked Theo. “We’re not afraid of anything you throw in front of us.”

“Oh, you should be,” said the Basilisk, phasing in. The three Masters before the Rangers were smirking. “Everyone is afraid of something.”

“True courage, as the Basilisk says, comes from facing those fears,” said Master Guin, looking from the Basilisk and Chris down to Lily. “You will be the first to be tested.”

Lily looked anxiously between Theo and Casey, then stepped forward. “What do you want me to do?”

“Close your eyes,” said Master Guin.

Lily did so. Master Guin performed the Pai Zhuq bow and Lily faded away.

“Huh!?” gasped Casey and Theo, twisting around in surprise, looking for their friend. “Lil? Lily?!”

“What have you done with Lily?” asked Theo.

“She has gone on her journey,” said Master Lope. “And now it’s time for you to go on yours.”

Theo looked anxiously at Casey.

“Better do as he says, Theo,” said Casey.

Theo looked back anxiously to Master Lope, then nodded. Master Lope performed the Pai Zhuq bow, and, like Lily, Theo disappeared leaving only Chris and Casey behind.

“Guess I’m next,” said Casey, stepping forward with his arms outstretched. He glared up at Master Rilla. “Bring it on, Master.”

“Very well,” said Master Rilla, quirking an eyebrow. He performed the Pai Zhuq bow. Casey closed his eyes, and, like Lily and Theo, was gone.

“They’re going to be put through hell, aren’t they?” asked Chris.

“Probably,” said the Basilisk, looking across at Master Guin. “They will have to face their worst fears and go through hell if they want to survive.”

“And me?” asked Chris.

“You?” replied the Basilisk. “You wait. Nothing to do with us. We’re just here because you chose to be. Moral support and the likes, you know?”

“Tell me,” said Chris, turning to Master Guin. “Does this Spirit Realm have a connection to the Magical Realm?”

“Yes,” said Master Guin. “Why?”

“I may have to make a call,” said Chris. He turned to the Basilisk. “Can you find a portal to Briarwood?”

“Yes,” said the Basilisk. “Why?”

“Udonna may be able to help with the fight against Dai Shi,” said Chris, smiling. “I’ve had an idea and I need to contact them as quickly as possible.”

“Very well,” said the Basilisk, turning and beginning to float away. “Come on.”

“Righto,” said Chris, following the Basilisk as they trudged through the thrush.

~*~*~*~*~

It felt like they had been walking for hours when, at last, the Spirit World began to resemble something Chris recognised. “These – these look like the trees in Briarwood. And – is that –?”

He followed the Basilisk through a portal and sniffed heavily, a warm and fuzzy feeling dancing down his spine as he took in the clearing before him and the Basilisk faded away, reuniting with him.

The portal warped closed behind him, cutting him off from the Spirit World.

“It is,” he said, closing his eyes and smiling; the wind whipping at his cheeks felt familiar, comforting, warm, like the thought of memories long since passed. “Cinnamon and nutmeg. Udonna’s soup. Oh, now I’m hungry. Now, which way was it to Root Core again?”

He stepped into the clearing and looked around, catching sight of the town in the distance. “If the town is that way then –” he held up a finger and frowned. “Then Root Core is over that way.”

He trudged onwards, trees and villagers becoming more and more common as, finally, looming into view was the enormous red eyed dragon door of Root Core, standing tall and proud over the forests of Briarwood.

He reached up and touched the dragon head.

“Hello, you,” he said, smiling sadly, stroking the snout. “Been a while. Got a new team now – been getting attached again, even though saying goodbye always hurts. Udonna home?”

The dragon head opened, mouth rising.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

He stared for a moment at the familiar stairs inside the dragon head and could picture it vividly – the crystal ball adorned table, Udonna’s shelf of books, the steps up to the sleeping area and Udonna’s private rooms, Jenji’s lamp sat on the desk, Clare blowing something up – and wiped at his cheek, not even realising that he had been crying.

He trudged up the stairs and in through the main doors.

“Clare, is that – Oh!”

Udonna had entered the main room from the little side kitchen, a book in hand. At the sight of Chris she gasped, dropped her book, and the two were hugging and crying before they knew it.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, parting from the hug, his face in her hands. “You’re sleeping better, I see.”

“I am,” said Chris, stepping back. “Oh, it’s good to see you, Udonna. Sadly, while I wish this could be a social call, it is not. What do you know of Dai Shi?”

“The initiator of the Beast Wars?” asked Udonna, summoning a book off the shelf, making Chris smile. Evidently, she’d found a way to restore her Sorceress powers in the time he’d been gone. “Not much, why?”

“He’s back,” said Chris. “The team I’m on now – we’re down in Ocean Bluff – a new set of Power Rangers – yes, I know,” he added, seeing her eyebrow rise. “I was meant to be retiring – anyway – we’re fighting Dai Shi and need something he’s never seen before.”

“So, you came to see me?”

“Yes,” said Chris, rubbing the back of the neck. “I’ve been feeling and smelling it ever since I arrived. The cinnamon and nutmeg of the forest, the tingling feeling of magic. Though the others and I may not be active anymore, we’re still Rangers, yes?”

“Yes,” said Udonna. “Once a Ranger, always a Ranger.”

“Good,” said Chris. “Then I’ll get right to the point. Udonna, I need my Mystic Morpher.”

“Your Mystic Morpher?”

“Indeed,” said Chris. “It fell off my arm when I left. I assume one of the others returned it to you?”

“They did,” said Udonna, picking up a box on the table and flicking it open. Inside, the familiar phone shaped Morpher glistened up at Chris. “Here it is.”

Chris reached for it, the feeling of power surging through his hands again. His eyes glazed as he did so.

Udonna snapped the box shut and Chris blinked, shaking his head. “What-?”

“Power is still your weakness, I see?”

“Yes,” said Chris, rubbing his neck and flushing red. “Yes, I suppose it is. This could be just what I need. The Power of the Black Mystic Ranger, the perfect weapon to use against Dai Shi.”

“Very well,” said Udonna, somewhat anxious at the desire for power sparkling in Chris’s eyes. “But I will be keeping an eye on you and it with regular updates from your mentor. RJ, you said, wasn’t it?”

“Yes,” replied Chris. He opened the box again and picked up the Mystic Morpher, which hummed and glistened in his palm. “Come to Papa. Thank you, Udonna.”

The Basilisk phased in next to Chris.

“Home,” said Chris. “And don’t spare the seconds. Can we get out back to Ocean Bluff from here if the old Masters have closed off the Spirit World?”

“It’ll be quite a walk,” admitted the Basilisk.

“Walk?” asked Chris. “Why walk, when we can fly?”

He stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled. There was a bang and a crash and one of the coloured windows of Root Core swivelled around. Chris’s old Mystic Racer soared across the room and into his hand.

He swung himself on it and smiled at Udonna. “I’ll bring them back when the fight is over and Dai Shi is defeated. You have my word on it.”

“See that you do,” said Udonna, smiling gently. “I’ll give your love to the others, shall I?”

“Tell them I’m sorry I missed them, but something more important came up, and I hope to meet up with them again one day,” said Chris.

He pushed himself off the ground and soared out of the open entrance at the top of Root Core.

Udonna waved him off from the balcony.

“Be safe, Chris,” she said quietly, once he was out of sight.

~*~*~*~*~

By the time Chris arrived back at Ocean Bluff, Theo, Lily, and Casey were fighting Dai Shi in combat and RJ was tied to a nearby tree stump with red rope, guarded by Camile. One by one, the Rangers fell at Dai Shi’s hand.

He laughed, front flipping forward.

“Hey!” called Casey. “I’m not through!” He charged, dodging Dai Shi’s blast. “Power of the beast inside, free the Tiger!”

His Tiger Spirit descended to attack Dai Shi, who casually batted it away, before leaping into the air and striking Casey.

“Spirit of the Mighty Lion!” cried Dai Shi, sending his Lion Spirit to attack Casey. It hit him hard, smashing him into the ground, and, high above, Chris leapt from his Mystic Racer.

“We’re still not strong enough!” cried Theo.

“Hey, remember what Master Rilla said,” began Casey. “We’ve got more power than ever before! Well, I’m gonna see just how much we’ve got.”

“Yes,” agreed Chris, landing before them; he straightened and brushed himself down. “You do. MAGICAL SOURCE, MYSTIC FORCE!”

He whipped out his Mystic Morpher and performed the old, familiar movements. An enormous summoning circle appeared above Chris and descended over him; before their eyes, he transformed into the Mystic Force Black Ranger, his long staff in hand.

“Shadow Spirits!” he called, feeling and seeing the darkness swirl around him. It rose higher and he breathed heavily, darkness ascending his nostrils and turning his eyes black. “ATTACK!”

Thousands of spirits, all cackling and reaching, wrenched themselves out of the ground, swirled around Chris, and blasted at Dai Shi as the Rangers stood up.

“You handle Dai Shi,” said Chris, voice booming and echoing from him as if from inside a fan, two voices speaking at once. “I’ll get RJ!”

Behind him, Casey morphed into a new style, red and white, adorned with sharp angles. Holes adorned the fabric, through which jet streams emerged.

Camille ordered Dai Shi’s two bodyguards to help him, leaving her and RJ unguarded.

“Ooh, nice,” said Chris, watching the three transform. “My turn now, I believe.”

And, before their eyes, he melted away, disappearing into the ground. He re-emerged behind RJ. “Shush!” he whispered, seeing RJ tense slightly. “Not a word. I’ll have you out in a moment.”

He waved his hands and the ropes binding RJ to the nearby tree stump faded away.

Camille heard them fall and turned.

“You!” she gasped.

“GALWIT NERAMAX AEROTAN!” shouted Chris. The wind above began to whistle, surging down and throwing Camille high into the sky.

“RJ, are you alright?” he asked, turning to RJ.

“Totally,” said RJ. In the distance, the two bodyguards that the Rangers had defeated erupted to the size of twenty storey buildings. “Whoa! Shocking…”

“Yes,” said Chris. “I should help.”

“No, no,” said RJ. “Watch!”

The Rangers summoned three new Animal Spirits – Casey summoned the Gorilla, Lily summoned the Penguin, and Theo summoned an Antelope. Though they did not merge together, they did proceed to attack; Lily used the Penguin Spirit to create a large rope for Casey to swing across while Theo used the Antelope spirit to charge into the other bodyguard.

Using the combined powers of Theo’s Antelope Kick and Casey’s Gorilla Chest Bang, they launched Lily’s Penguin spirit forward; the reverberation from Casey’s attack, combined with the strike from Lily made the two creatures explode.

One rose again, absorbing the power from his fallen friend.

“Combine all your animal spirits!” exclaimed RJ. “You’ll be out of control!”

Together the three animal spirits merged together, creating a new Megazord with the body and head of the gorilla and the penguin and antelope as each leg. “Jungle Master Megazord!”

The enormous bodyguard blasted at them, only for them to swing violent punches at him and smash him to the ground, defeated.

“I knew they could do it!” exclaimed RJ.

~*~*~*~*~

“Guys, that was unbelievable,” said RJ as they returned to the loft. “You really saved my hide.”

“You would have done the same for us!” retorted Lily.

“And where did that new power of yours come from?” asked Casey to Chris.

“Oh,” said Chris, twirling his Mystic Staff in his hand. “While you guys were off training, I visited an old friend. The Lady Udonna, Lady of Snow, Defender of Magic. She let me borrow my old Morpher, just for a while. I’ve missed the feeling, I admit.”

“Well, whatever it is, it’s cool.”

“Yeah,” said Chris. “And corrupting. Short bursts are fine, like a battle or two, but if I keep it on long term.” He raised his hand and flexed his fingers, feeling darkness briefly surge through him. “Been there, done that, not again, thanks.”

“Ah, loft, sweet loft,” said RJ, reaching his chair. “It’s great to be back home.”

He picked up his television remote, only to frown at the bowl of chips on the small table next to his chair. He picked several up, sniffed them, and then licked them.

“Someone’s been eating my chips!” he exclaimed. He moved to the TV, seeing the aerial had been shifted slightly. “Someone’s been watching my TV!”

Finally, he flopped down into his chair. “Somebody’s been sitting in my chair,” he said, making a movement with his hand as if saying ‘I knew it’ without actually saying it.

“Hmm hmm,” coughed a voice from the upper living quarters; the heads of everyone in the room snapped in the direction of the voice. “Hello, Rangers.”

 It was Fran, sat on a bar stool at the bar in the upper living area.

“Power Rangers.”

“Oh, Dear God, she knows!” breathed Chris. He glared up at RJ, who rose to stand behind the Rangers. “You forgot to turn off the TV before going after these three, didn’t you?”

Chapter Text

Chapter XII: Bad to the Bone

Theo splashed a ladle full of sauce on the pizza base he was making at the workstation, using the ladle to spread it thinly around, making sure to cover the entirety of the base’s surface in thick, gloopy, splodgy, spicy sauce.

It was a new recipe that RJ had invented: his Blow Your Head Off And Your Bowels Out Super Spicey Hot Sauce Of Super Spicey Spiceyness. So far, for the citizens of Ocean Bluff, it had been a great success.

“Not entirely sure why people like their faces being blown off by hot sauce,” admitted Chris, eyeing the pizza with a weary glance. “But each to their own, I suppose. Maybe later, in the safety of the rooms upstairs, I’ll try one. Where there’s water. And ice-cream. And several fans. On second thoughts, perhaps not…”

“Rangers!” said Fran, entering the kitchen and throwing her tray into the air; she caught it expertly as it came soaring down at her. “Party of four, your table is ready.”

“Fran, you don’t have to announce it to the world,” replied Theo sternly, catching Fran’s eye.

“Relax, Theo,” said Lily. “I can understand her excitement.”

“Yeah,” agreed Chris. “Imagine finding out that your best friends and fellow employees at a Pizza restaurant are Power Rangers?”.

“Thank you, Lily, Chris,” replied Fran, glaring down at Theo.

“Hot!” exclaimed Caey, using one of the giant spatulas to remove the pizza from the oven. “Coming through! Yikes! Very hot!”

He tipped the pizza onto the table and turned back to the oven, accidentally knocking over the enormous bucket of sauce nearby. It clattered down onto the table with a ring and splashed sauce everywhere.

“Ohh!” he exclaimed.

“No problem!” Lily assured him. “I can make more sauce.”

“Uh, Theo, you were supposed to put on extra sausage, not pepperoni,” said RJ, picking up the small piece of paper that the order was written on.

Theo closed his eyes, sighing in annoyance.

“Come on,” said Lily, in her bouncing-bubbly-bimbette voice. “I’ll help you make a new one.”

Casey began cleaning up the sauce mix with what appeared to be a small, pink rag.

“He-ey!” exclaimed Fran, reaching for it and holding it up with two fingers. It was not, in fact, a rag – it was her jacket. “I just bought this.”

“Ohh, sorry,” replied Casey, sounding anything but sorry. “I was wondering why a rag would have buttons on it…”

Theo, over in the corner of the room at the sink with Lily, glanced over his shoulder and chuckled.

“I think you guys need to be a little more considerate!” snapped Fran. “Like Lily.”

“No, we don’t,” replied Theo as he and Lily turned; he flung an arm casually over her shoulder. “Lily’s considerate enough for all of us.”

The phone on the wall, a lurid aubergine coloured one, began to ring. Fran scrambled around the group and reached it, picking it up and placing the receiver to her ear.

“JKP!” she greeted. “Ohhh, I’m sorry – it’ll be there right away!”

Placing the mouthpiece to her chest so that the person on the other end could not hear her speak, she whirled on the spot, speaking to Casey. “Guys, this order to go was meant to be a delivery.”

“Don’t worry,” said Lily, seeing RJ’s anxious face. “I’ll take it.”

“No, no,” said Casey. “Let me. I want to be considerate too.”

He lifted up the board that he’d slid the pizza onto when he’d gotten it out of the oven and the pizza slid into one of the white JKP boxes in the corner of the workbench. He closed the lid and began to head off as Fran put the phone down.

Suddenly, RJ shouted, practically bending double as his hand flew to the right side of his chest. The Rangers – and Fran – stopped on the spot, all whirling to face RJ.

“RJ!” exclaimed Theo, rushing over.

“Are you OK?” asked Chris as both he and Theo placed a hand onto one of RJ’s shoulders.

“Y-Y-Yeah,” said RJ shakily, straightening up. “Yeah, I pulled a muscle yesterday, so – I’m gonna go upstairs and take a break.”

RJ turned and limped away, clasping the railing as he clambered painfully up the stairs, grunting and wincing in pain the entire way.

“RJ?” gasped Theo.

“That…” said Chris, watching RJ disappear out of sight. “Is not good.”

~*~*~*~*~

The Rangers arrived just as Casey was thrown into a pile of barrels.

“Casey!” shouted Lily.

“Lily!” he shouted back.

“We got your back!” exclaimed Theo as he and Lily arrived and helped Casey to his feet. Chris was moments behind them.

Before them stood a giant pig Rinshi armed with flailing sausages that he was using as a whip.

“OK, it’s official,” said Chris, taking in the sight of the Pig Rinshi before him. “I owe Mesogog an apology. At least he never resorted to using evil, demon pigs as his minions! Yo, Pork Chop, what is this? Seriously? A pig?”

“We’re fighting a pig?” gasped Theo.

“A pretty gnarly pig at that,” replied Casey. “Let’s tighten things up!”

“JUNGLE MASTER MODE!”

Casey, Theo, and Lily morphed again, transforming into the Jungle Master Mode forms; their spandex becoming half and half, white and red, white and blue, white and yellow respectively.

“MAGICAL SOURCE, MYSTIC FORCE!”

Chris, too, morphed, transforming into his Black Mystic Ranger form. “Anyone for braised pork?” he asked, lowering his staff as if readying to fire it.

Using their Jungle Master Modes, Casey, Theo, and Lily leapt into the air, as the Pig Rinshi charged at them, swinging his sausages like a whip.

Casey struck the Pig Rinshi, knocking him back into Theo’s attack, which sent him flying back towards Chris.

“Prifior Mejor Unios Unithos Fire!” shouted Chris.

The spell exploded from the end of his staff with a deafening bang and a blinding flash. The ball of fire, whirling and expanding, grew in size and smashed into the Pig Rinshi, who went flying across the room, and smashed down into a nearby box.

“I’ve got an idea!” exclaimed Chris, front flipping over the box. “Casey, with me! Prifior Mejor Unios Unithos Ice!”

“Need a push?” taunted Casey, lifting off the floor, swinging his Claw Booster, as ice began to surge from the end of Chris’s staff. Casey’s Claw Booster  smashed into the side of the box and both the box and the Pig Rinshi went surging across the room, sliding as if the floor was made of ice – which, in fact, due to Chris’s spell, it was.

“Come on, swine!” barked Casey, charging forward into battle as the Pig Rinshi got to his feet and began swinging his sausages again.

One by one, the Rangers charged, slicing through the Pig Rinshi, who flew back across the room.

“CLAW CANNON!” shouted Casey, summoning it out of thin air. The others fell into place next to him, all supporting it. “Let’s smoke this ham!”

“Mmm,” said Chris. “Smoked ham. One of my favourites!”

“POWERED BY ANIMAL SPIRITS! FIRE!”

The blast hit the Pig Rinshi. Despite taking the attack head on, he did not explode; in fact, he began to swell and enlarge, growing to the size of a twenty-storey building.

“Hoo, that’s a lot of bacon!” exclaimed Theo.

“Animal Spirits, unite!”

Theo, Casey, and Lily summoned the Antelope, Penguin, and Gorilla spirits, a Megazord that Chris could not merge with, and met the Pig Rinshi in battle. “SPIRIT OF THE SHARK!”

“Come and get it!” boomed The Pig Rinshi.

“Dinner time!” exclaimed the Rangers, blasting at the Pig Rinshi.

“I’m smoked!” cried the Pig Rinshi, finally exploding.

~*~*~*~*~

“No use wasting this pizza on a bad delivery,” said Casey as the Rangers walked along after their fight; he was eating a slice of pizza, the box held closed under his arm.

He threw the remainder of his slice, the thick crust, over his shoulder.

“Holy hot sauce Christmas cake!” exclaimed Chris, fanning at his mouth as he bit into his slice of pizza and yelped, almost dropping the pizza. “Ooh, that hits you like a tonne of bricks! Mother of God, has RJ got any taste buds left at all or has he fried them all? My face, it burns!”

“I call that littering,” said Lily, leaning down to pick up Casey’s leftover Pizza crust.

“And I call that feeding the birds!” chuckled Casey as he and Theo stopped and turned back to Lily, who dumped the pizza crust in the nearby bin.

“I call that considerate!” whooped both Casey and Theo. Lily rushed forward, grabbed the pizza box from Casey, and began beating him and Theo with it.

All three laughed, only for a scream to wrench the Rangers out of their games.

“Let’s Ranger up!” exclaimed Lily, turning to the others, eyes wide, hair flapping gently in the slow breeze wafting through the alleyway behind the large Pishkin Building.

~*~*~*~*~

“Things are about to get a little prickly!” boomed the Rinshi that was terrorising the citizens of Ocean Bluff.

“Hold it right there!” shouted Casey as the Rangers rushed into battle.

“Two in one day?” queried Chris. “Dai Shi is either getting desperate… or has something else planned.”

“Be on your guard,” suggested the Basilisk in his head. “There’s something… odd… about this one.”

“Yes,” agreed Chris. “I sense it too.”

The Rangers rushed forward into battle, only for the Rinshi to dodge their attacks and step back.

“PORCUPINE POWER!” he bellowed; his body bulged, and the outer Rinshi tore apart, revealing the porcupine form inside; humanoid and large with claws and spikes.

“Well, smack a duck and call me Virginia,” breathed Chris. “That’s a new one. Very animal themed today, aren’t we? A Pig Rinshi, now a Porcupine Rinshi.”

“Yes!” agreed the Rinshi. “And with plenty of spikes with your names on them!”

The spikes smashed into the Rangers, sending them smashing to the ground. Lily grunted and huffed, staggering to her feet. “I’m not going to be considerate to this quill bag!”

“Lil, you don’t have to prove anything!” cried Casey as he, Theo, and Chris got to their feet.

Unfortunately, he was too late. Lily charged into combat, meeting the Porcupine Rinshi in battle, hacking and slashing at him. “Cheetah Jab!”

The Rinshi briefly overpowered her, throwing her backwards to the other Rangers, and transmogrified his hands into long, shark spikes.

“Get my point?” he asked, leaping into the air.

Lily reacted just in time, narrowly managing to avoid the attack of the Porcupine Rinshi as he landed. She managed to dodge all of them until the tenth attack, which hit her hard in the stomach. For a small moment she glowed purple, then flew through the air and smashed down onto the ground, rolling to a stop in front of Theo, Casey, and Chris.

“Lily!” cried Theo.

“One down, three to go!” bragged the Porcupine Rinshi. “I hope you others are tougher than this one!”

The Rinshi turned and ran, narrowly avoiding a blast from Chris’s eyes.

“OK, take it easy,” said Casey to Lily, who was groaning painfully and trying to stand.

~*~*~*~*~

Up in the loft, Lily was sat on a stool; behind her, sat on a stool of his own, RJ stared down through a magnifying glass held in place by an enormous white ring of plastic attached to a movable base.

He lowered the pair of tweezers, so large that they were bigger than his head, and clasped one of the large black spikes sticking out of her back. “Nyah!”

He yanked it hard, making Lily wince.

“Did you even give her pain medicine?” asked Chris as Lily rubbed her shoulder painfully.

“Oh!” exclaimed RJ as Fran arrived with a large ham sandwich on a plate; he put down the tweezers next to a bowl of six spikes, including the one he’d just removed from Lily’s back, and took the plate. “Rare?”

“Practically raw,” replied Fran as RJ took an enormous bite out of it, grunting and moaning in delight, practically orgasmic. “Just like the last one.”

“Can’t you wait until you’re done with me before you eat another sandwich?” snapped Lily.

RJ picked up the tweezers again. “Sorry,” he said through a mouthful of ham sandwich as he put the plate down and grasped another quill sticking out of Lily’s back. “I’m starving.”

“That’s all I can see,” he said to Lily, depositing the next quill down into the bowl. “Do you feel any more in there? Those things are poisonous; we need to get ‘em all.”

“Nope, you’re done,” replied Lily, whipping her jacket back up and letting her hair tumble down her back again. “I feel fine.”

“Chill, Lily,” said Theo, JKP hat in hand as he stepped forward. “He’s just making sure.”

Lily’s head turned so violently that it was like her neck had snapped in two. She rose from the stool and, hand at her side and turned outwards slightly, like Carrie White in Heathers, she walked towards him.

When she spoke, her voice was dark. “Don’t tell me how to act, Blue Boy.”

“Blue?” mouthed Theo.

“Uh, alright guys,” said RJ, walking over and putting a hand on Lily’s shoulder. At her monstrous glare, he released it. “Relax. I have some work to do. I need the four of you to help Fran.”

“There you go, telling me what to do again,” said Lily, head turning to look at RJ. Her hair flapped over her shoulder as it did so, like the hair of one of the girls in Mean Girls would have done. “I have had enough of your grief today. Me? I’m outta here.”

“What’s up with her?” asked Theo.

“Well, somebody’s on their time of the month,” muttered Chris. “Almost as bitchy as my Aunt Mabel. And I thought that was impossible.”

RJ glanced at Theo, then cried out in pain, clutching at his chest.

“You sure that’s just a pulled muscle?” asked Theo, anxiously.

“Afterschool rush!” chimed Fran’s voice from the kitchen downstairs.

“Yeah,” replied RJ. “I-I-I’m alright. You go on.”

“Come on, Blue Boy,” said Casey, leading Theo away.

Chris trotted after them.

Groaning silently to himself, RJ turned away, both hands clasped over his chest which began to glow with menacing purple energy. He clawed at the front of his shirt, tearing it open and shouting loudly in pain.

~*~*~*~*~

“Cheque for table five,” said Theo, striding over to Casey, who was at the reception desk. “Eight needs drinks.”

A roar of an engine echoed from outside and, moments later, the front door of Jungle Karma Pizza opened and Lily, clad head to foot in black leather, entered. She had a thick, black helmet in her hands.

“Lily?” questioned Fran.

“She looks so… so…”

“So, whoa whoa, not Lily!” agreed Casey.

Lily strode to a table, picked up a jar of cinnamon on the table, and tipped it over the pizza in the middle of the table. Two of the guests began to protest.

“It’ll put hairs on your chest!” barked Lily.

The four guests at the table bounded up and ran, terrified of the sight of her.

She wrenched the chair out from under the table and sat in it, leaning back. With two heavy, jangling thumps, her feet landed on the table.

“I’ll take care of her,” said Fran, pointing over to the kitchen. “You guys go check on RJ.”

For a moment, both somewhat entranced, Theo and Casey didn’t move.

“RJ!” barked Fran again; both Theo and Casey jumped and rushed off.

“I’ll stay,” said Chris to Fran. “I’m scarier than those two and you never know when you need some muscle.”

Fran nodded quickly and strode over to the table at which Lily was sat; she stopped before her, hands on her hips. “Hey. Slick. Good Lily, Bad Lily, I don’t care. But no food until you get your feet off the table!”

Fran threw Lily’s feet off the table. Lily crossed her arms and glared at Fran, who crossed her own arms, raised her chin, and glared back.

~*~*~*~*~

Lily rummaged through an entire pile of chicken legs, looking for one that she had not chewed to the bone already as her Solar Morphers chimed in her pocket. She bit into the chicken leg and ripped it off the bone, before throwing the bone casually over her shoulder.

Fran caught it, then turned to Lily, who had put on her Solar Morpher and was examining her reflection in the back of a spoon. “That’s Theo and Casey. Aren’t you gonna help them?”

“Nah,” said Lily, picking up another chicken leg. “They’re big boys. They can look after themselves.”

Fran huffed; Lily glared at her. “More wings!” she barked.

~*~*~*~*~

Fran whipped Lily’s feet off the table again and slammed two cheques down where her feet had once been.

“Hey!” barked Lily.

“Your cheque!” retorted Fran.

“What about my other order of wings?” asked Lily, bitchily.

“No way,” retorted Fran. “Pay up and get out.”

“Well,” said Chris to the Basilisk; the two were sat in a booth nearby. “Looks like Fran’s got this. You go help the others – they sound like they need it. I’ll give Fran any back up.”

The Basilisk nodded and faded out of the wall.

“Oh yeah?” asked Lily, snidely, challengingly. “Just give me one good reason.”

“How about eight?” retorted Fran, stretching out her neck and leaning closer and closer to Lily with each word. “Your motorcycle is illegally parked. Your feet were on the table. Your mood. You’re rude. You’re crude. The way you eat your food. Bad attitude. And the most important reason of all: your friends are in danger, and you won’t even help.”

“You’re so worried, you help ‘em,” replied Lily.

“Fine,” said Fran, picking up the glasses and showing them to Lily. “I will.”

“Hey!” erupted Lily, rising to her feet and shaking off her leather jacket. “Those are my glasses.”

She threw down the leather jacket and pounced on Fran, knocking her into the reception desk.

“No!” exclaimed Chris, leaping to his feet and yanking Lily back, Lily’s arms flailing the entire time. “Bad Lily! Bad! Don’t make me spray you!”

Lily’s glasses flew across the reception desk, skittering amongst plastic cups that toppled from the impact of the two women colliding with the reception desk.

Lily screamed and elbowed Chris in the face.

“D-ohh!” he grunted, recoiling as Lily dove for Fran and leapt on her again, kicking and swinging violently. Fran caught her around the legs and flipped Lily into a table, Lily glaring furiously at her. Several customers tumbled from their chairs as the table flipped sideways under the combined weight of Lily and Fran.

“Nothing broken,” muttered Chris, cracking his nose.

Lily flipped Fran forward, the twosome collapsing down towards the floor; they smashed into Chris, who toppled back with them.

“You know, I’ve been harmed more than I’d like today!”

Lily sat up, spotted her Solar Morpher on the reception desk, and dove for them. She failed to reach them as Fran leapt and descended into a body slam, crushing Lily to the floor.

With a pop and a whistle and a flash of yellow, one last remaining poisonous Porcupine Rinshi quill flew out of Lily’s neck, soared across the room, and embedded itself into the snout of the wooden horse head statue hanging on the wall.

“Fran?” questioned Lily, demeanour and voice returning to normal. “What are you doing on top of me?”

“You’re back!” cried Fran happily.

“What am I doing in these clothes?” asked Lily, tugging at her shirt and examining the leather that she was wearing.

“You were both sides of psycho town, Lil,” said Chris, who was wiping his bloody nose with a tissue. He pointed up at the quill impaled in the wooden horse head statue hanging on the wall. “You had another quill inside you, that’s what changed you!”

“OK,” said Lily, retrieving her Solar Morpher from the reception desk, and turning to Fran. “Well. Sorry for whatever I did.”

“Come on,” said Chris to Lily. “We’d better give Casey and Theo a hand. You know they’re practically helpless without us.”

“Yeah,” agreed Lily.

The twosome turned to the door to head out, only for the door to open and RJ, clothes heavily ripped, to appear in the doorway.

“Oh!” exclaimed Lily. “Hi, RJ.”

“What on God’s green Earth happened to you?”

~*~*~*~*~

“I’m getting tired of this!” huffed Casey and the Porcupine Rinshi whirled like a tornado and knocked him and Theo to the ground at the docks.

“I’M BACK!” roared Lily, racing to help on the back of her yellow Motorbike. She popped a wheelie and jumped the motorbike into the air, descending to attack the Porcupine Rinshi.

“You two alright?” asked Chris, helping Casey and Theo to their feet. “Sorry we’re late. Fran and I had to bring Lily back from working both sides of Psycho Street. She’s fine now. Turns out she had a quill left in her.”

Lily collided with the Porcupine Rinshi, her foot sending him flying. He smashed down into a wall of mortar bricks and metal barrels behind them, the wall collapsing in and tumbling down on him as he collided with it.

Lily landed on her motorbike, which had just landed on the ground itself, and screeched it to a halt.

“Cool!” cried Casey.

“That’s better!” agreed Theo.

With Chris in tow, the twosome rushed forward to help.

“My point!” barked Lily, swinging herself off the motorbike and whipping off her helmet. Her blonde hair cascaded down her back in waves.

“Lil!” exclaimed Theo as he, Casey, and Chris reached her.

Lily, who was taking off her gloves, looked at them, then glanced back to the Porcupine Rinshi who was staggering to his feet.

“Looks like you could use a little help!” she exclaimed.

“You think?” queried Casey.

The Porcupine Rinshi was now back on his feet, laughing nastily.

Lily whipped her Solar Morphers onto her face – “Jungle Beast, Spirit Unleashed!” – and morphed into her familiar yellow visage.

“Yeah,” she said. “This is me.”

“Welcome back, Lily,” said Casey, clenching a fist.

“Yeah!” agreed Theo.

“Jungle Master Mode!” exclaimed Lily, morphing into her half yellow, half white Ranger outfit, the jet holes adorning her sides.

“Guys, I’m sorry,” she said, turning to Theo and Casey.

“Want to forgive her?” asked Casey to Theo.

“You bet!” he agreed.

“There’s nothing broken on my end,” said Chris. “Just a briefly bloody nose, so I forgive you too.”

“Thanks!” barked Lily. “Now, let’s get him.”

“We’re with you!” said Casey and Theo, stepping forward.

“With pleasure!” added Chris, morphing into his Pink Jungle Fury Form. His Spino Smashers whirled gently in his hands, spinning round and round as they did so.

“You’re going down!” roared Lily as she, Casey, and Theo rushed forward.

The Porcupine Rinshi fired blasts of quills at them, but they smacked them away with ease, powered up by their Jungle Master Modes.

Lily bounced off Theo and Casey’s shoulder and slashed at the Porcupine Rinshi, knocking him to the ground.

As he grunted and attempted to stand, wind began to pick up behind them and Chris rose into the air, eyes flashing in a blinding, blistering white. His Spino Smashers began to spin before him, linking together to create a squared holstered, four-pronged spinner, almost as if the front of an olden time airplane was spinning rapidly in front of Chris.

“COMBINE!” roared Chris, Lily, and Theo charging at the Porcupine Rinshi. They smashed into him, striking in unison, and sent him flying across the docks.

“Had enough, spikey?” boomed Lily menacingly.

“You kidding?” asked the Porcupine Rinshi. “You just made me mad!”

The Porcupine Rinshi did not get a chance to act on his reply. With a monstrous ear splinter, earth-shattering, bone rattling roar, Chris exploded. The blast from the Basilisk and the whirling spin off his Spino Smashers soared into the air in a curve like The Gateway Arch before descending with a frightening whistle.

The blast hit the Porcupine Rinshi head on. For a moment, nothing happened – then, with a groan and a shout, he exploded.

Defeated.

The Rangers rushed over to Chris as he landed.

“That was awesome!” cried Casey.

“You alright?” asked Theo. “You look a little – whoa!”

Chris sagged forward slightly.

“Never… gets any easier…” he panted, a hand to his head. “I’ll be fine after a good night sleep – or a rest. Whichever comes first. Now, home.”

~*~*~*~*~

“See you guys later,” said Fran, saying goodbye to several customers who were illuminated by the JUNGLE KARMA PIZZA sign outside the door.

“Thank you,” said one of the customers as the door swung closed behind them.

“Have you seen RJ?” asked Lily, picking up a leftover plate.

Fran stopped for a moment, leaning on the wall as she turned the lock of the door and flicked the OPEN sign to CLOSED.

“Not lately, no,” she admitted. She caught sight of Lily’s older leather jacket, thrown over one of the empty booths. “Ha ha ha, cool jacket!”

She rushed over and put it on. Lily and Chris chuckled, shaking their heads as they caught each other’s eye over the table.

“Kind of hot and squeaky, no?” asked Fran, examining herself awkwardly in it.

“Yeah, well, my head was a little crazy when I got it,” admitted Lily.

“A little?” asked Chris. “It looks like something I would have worn back in my rebellious days.”

“A little crazy?” asked Fran, untying her hair from the bun that she had to tie it up in every day. “Lily, you were the Queen of Mean. ‘BRING ME MORE CHICKEN WINGS’” she began to mock. “HEY, I DON’T DO DIET SODA!’”

Fran flicked her hair and tilted her head, as if portraying some Regina George type character.

“That was me?” asked Lily, gasping.

“Totally,” agreed Chris. He crossed his arms and began to imitate Lily himself. “This pizza is too cold! How do I get service around here?!’”

“ – I said, hey, we don’t have burgers!”

Theo was seemingly finishing a joke to Casey as the twosome emerged from within the kitchen.

“You’re not done!” barked Fran, crossing her arms. “Have you finished the dishes? Grated the cheese? Sliced the pepperoni?”

“Well, uh, we –”

“Well, get back out there and scrub the floor while you’re at it!” barked Fran, pointing.

Theo and Casey scarpered, almost tripping over their feet as they fled back into the kitchen.

“Guys!” squeaked Fran. “I’m just kidding!”

“No, no,” said Chris, smirking to Lily.

“Let them work a bit,” agreed Lily. She eyed Fran. “I’m thinking maybe we should keep this outfit around!” The threesome began to laugh. “Did you see how fast they ran?”

“She’s right,” said Chris, smirking. “You never know when you’ll need those two to be frightened of you. Gods, how I wish I’d intimidated Cassidy with mine – my life might have been a bit better if I had. Alas, all in the past now. Pizza? I’ll cook.”

“Ooh, extra pepperoni!” said Lily.

“Coming right up!” said Chris, mock saluting as he headed off to the kitchen. His voice carried back out to Fran and Lily a moment later. “Didn’t Fran say to mop the floor too? Well, go on – mush, mush! I’m makin’ a pizza for me, Fran, and Lily.”

Chapter Text

Chapter XIII: Friends Don't Fade Away

“Coming through!” exclaimed Lily, holding two wooden plates – one with a baguette on, the other with a supersized pepperoni pizza on it.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” exclaimed Fran as Lily accidentally stepped into the suds that she was cleaning the floor with.

“Oh!” gasped Lily, realising her mistake and looking genuinely apologetic. “Sorry!”

She stepped out of her shoes and away from the suds; Fran, who was holding a large scrubbing brush, sighed. “It’s OK.”

She began brushing down the soles of Lily’s shoes as, nearby, the front door of Jungle Karma Pizza opened and a handsome twunk wearing grey shorts, a grey shirt, with a grey and pink stripy shirt underneath entered.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!” said Theo, stepping out from behind the reception desk. “You need shoes. No shoes, no shirt, no pizza!”

“Well, she doesn’t have shoes!” said the youth, pointing at Lily as she scurried past to a nearby table, placing the baguette and pizza down onto it.

“Lily!” barked Theo.

“Yeah?” asked Lily, turning to him. “What?”

“Put on some shoes!”

Lily nodded and rushed away to find some shoes.

“See?” said Theo, tapping a sign. “No shoes, no shirt, no…”

The door behind the handsome twunk swung open revealing RJ, who’s shirt was horribly torn. He stopped at the handsome twunk, who stared at him. “You call that a shirt?”

“Sit wherever you like!” said Theo, watching RJ scurry away.

He burst into the kitchen.

“Oh!” exclaimed Fran, spotting him as he began to trudge up the stairs. “I’ve been – I was worried! This is the third morning you weren’t here, so I opened up and -”

“Breathe, Fran!” said RJ, swivelling on the stairs to face her. “It’s burning.”

“What is?”

RJ put his hand on the top of Fran’s head and swivelled her around. Her eyes widened at the smoke billowing from the oven. “Ohhhh!” she cried, rushing down the stairs to save the pizza.

“You look terrible,” said Chris, as RJ entered the loft; he was reclined on a weight training bench and was shirtless, abs glistening from the sweat of his exercise. His clunked the weights back into place and sat up, watching as RJ scurried into his wardrobe to change. “You look like you’ve had a hump in a hedgerow!”

RJ ignored him, pulling on a shirt as he emerged from the wardrobe.

The TV in the corner of the room, in front of RJ’s personal recliner, was playing: “We’re at the scene where several Ocean Bluff residents were injured last night.”

RJ picked up the remote and turned the television up; scenes of paramedics tending to injured people shone on the screen. “Witnesses say it was just past midnight when they heard strange noises and then screams, but by the time the police arrived, the beast was gone. Victims say that the strange animal attacked without warning. Too fast to see clearly, all accounts report that it had long teeth, was completely covered with fur, and had very sharp claws.”

RJ, who had collapsed in shock into his chair, raised a hand, which glowed purple as his eyes flashed. “What have I done?” he thought.

“Sounds to me like a werewolf,” said Chris, who was leaning on the back of the chair. “When are you going to tell the others?”

RJ whirled around in horror.

“I’m not stupid,” said Chris, crossing his arms as RJ, slack jawed, stared at him. “Three nights you’ve gone missing, and three mornings you’ve come back looking like you’ve banged in a belfry! I put two and two together quite quickly – especially when Theo and Casey mentioned the hair they found in here during that whole incident with Lily and the porcupine Rinshi quills.”

“You won’t tell them?”

“No,” said Chris, raising an eyebrow at RJ. “That’s your job. I’ll just let them think you’ve had a shag in a shack or a tap in a telephone booth, whatever euphemism they want to use.”

RJ nodded, turning and beginning to load up a backpack with items from a safe on the wall.

He opened a small box and, from inside, glistened a deep purple glow.

“RJ,” said Fran, happily swaggering into the loft, not realising that she’d walked into RJ running away.

He slammed the safe and whirled to her, backpack on his back.

To her credit, Fran worked it out incredibly quickly.

“Are you going somewhere?” she asked, unable to hide the hurt in her voice. RJ shifted and sighed as Fran continued. “Hey, I’ve been coming to Jungle Karma for over a year, and I’ve seen you on good days and – and I was even here when the whole kitchen caught fire, so…”

“Yeah, bummer,” said RJ, deflecting heavily. “But I invented the smoked and crispy combo, ha!”

“Yeah…” Fran sagged. “Please… tell me what’s going on.”

“It’s my animal spirit,” said RJ as Chris stepped up behind Fran, still shirtless and muscled, and crossed his arms. “Ever since Dai Shi attacked…” he grunted in pain and squeezed his chest. “I can’t control my animal form.”

“Your animal form?” asked Fran. “Well, couldn’t the Rangers help?”

“No,” said RJ, meeting Chris’s face with a sharp glare of his own. “But they’d try, which means they wouldn’t focus on Dai Shi.” He strode past the two of them. “I just need some distance, just until I’m back in balance. Until then, trust me, I’m a major hazmat around here…”

~*~*~*~*~

“No monkeying around!” exclaimed the Rinshi Monkey before RJ.

A blast sent it flying and Casey, on his Strike Rider Cruise, came skidding down the railings of some stairs above.

“RJ, you OK?”

“Me?” asked RJ, who was on the floor. “Yeah.”

“I’ll get you!” roared the Monkey Rinshi, bounding to his feet and charging. He did not get very far for, in jumping kicks, Lily and Theo knocked him back.

“Oh, you found him!” cried Chris, rushing down the stairs after them. “Thank the seven bells of hell…”

Casey rushed forward to help, while Chris helped RJ to his feet. RJ’s eyes widened and, a moment later, he shoved Chris aside. The punch from the Monkey Rinshi, who had knocked the Rangers aside, hit RJ right in the chest.

He staggered for a moment, hand to his chest, right where the Monkey Rinshi had hit him, and staggered to his knees.

He shouted in pain, huffing and gasping, and before the eyes of the Rangers he transformed into a werewolf.

“Whoa!” cried Theo.

“No way!” gasped Casey.

“No!” cried Lily.

Werewolf RJ stood up and turned, growling, ready to attack.

“RJ?!” gasped Casey. “Oh man, he’s the wolf we fought before!”

“Yeah!” exclaimed Theo.

Werewolf RJ charged forward, knocking the Monkey Rinshi aside, and began attacking the Rangers.

“No!” exclaimed Chris, summoning his Spino Smashers and jumping into the fray. “Bad RJ! Down, doggy! Sit!”

“Looks like I’ve got some help!” hooted the Monkey Rinshi, getting back to his feet. “Banana break!”

He turned and ran as Werewolf RJ pinned Casey to the wall.

“RJ, stop!” cried Lily, grabbing an arm and yanking him away.

“Hold on tight!” cried Theo.

“I am!” retorted Casey.

“RJ, it’s us!” cried Chris, who was holding one of RJ’s legs with Theo. The foursome were thrown aside, rolling to the floor. Werewolf RJ sagged, sinking to his knees, a hand on his chest.

Moments later, he was human again, panting heavily. It took him a moment to realise what he’d done but, seeing the Rangers on the floor before him, his eyes widened in horror.

~*~*~*~*~

“Being in the animal form is too powerful for the human spirit to handle,” said RJ to the Rangers. They were back in the loft; RJ was reclined in his chair and Fran was folding a moist towelette on his head. “If I stay there too long, that fur doesn’t go away.”

“You mean, you’d be stuck?” asked Theo. “As a werewolf?”

“Exactamundo!” replied RJ.

“Then we have got to find a way to get you back in control!” barked Casey.

“Well, unless you can crawl into my head, this is one mess only I can undo,” replied RJ. “And, until then, I’m a danger you’ve got to steer clear of.”

He moaned in pain, a hand flying to his head.

“Crawl in your head,” said Chris. “Crawl in your head…”

The idea hit him like a tonne of bricks, and he whipped out his Mystic Morpher. He dialled a number on it, then pressed the ring button and placed it to his ear. “Udonna?”

“No, Nick here,”

“Oh, Nick, hi! It’s Chris! When did you get back to Briarwood? How is everyone? Maddie? Xander? Little Chipstick?”

“They’re all good!” replied Nick’s voice. “You have to come by soon and meet my brother!”

“I’d love too. Listen, sorry, this isn’t a social call… Is your mother home?”

“Yes,” said Nick, concern tinging his voice. “Why?”

“It’s urgent. I need her help.”

There was the sound of someone standing, footsteps, then Udonna’s voice.

“Hello?”

“Udonna, tell me, what do you know about literally travelling inside someone’s head via magic?”

Udonna’s reply was cut off by the blaring of the alarms in RJ’s office.

“Sorry, Udona,” said Chris. “I’ll have to get back to you. Chewbacca is back.”

He disconnected the call.

“Chewbacca?” asked Theo. “Who’s that?”

“And you call yourself a nerd?!” scoffed Chris. “Not saying I’m judging you, but I am, in fact, judging you.”

“Lil, stay with RJ,” said RJ.

“I’ll stay,” said Chris. “You’ll need all the help you can get, I know, but this is important. Go. I’ll stay here with RJ and Fran, just in case he transforms again.”

“Alright,” agreed Casey, nodding at Chris. “Let’s go.”

The Rangers rushed away.

RJ reached for the glass on the small table next to his chair; his fingers shook so violently that he could barely lift it. It shuddered in his hand, then slipped out and smashed on the floor, spraying water over the rug.

“Oh!” he gasped.

“Oh, I’ll get some more!” said Fran, scooping up the remnants and rushing off to the kitchen.

RJ staggered to his feet, clutching at his chest and moaning in pain. He sank to his knees.

“Easy,” said Chris, kneeling before, hands on his shoulders. “You need rest.”

RJ raised a hand, which transformed into a wolf hand before their eyes.

“Ah, shit,” said Chris. “Well, this is gonna hurt!”

RJ transformed into his werewolf form, heaved Chris by the hair, and hurled him across the room. He hit the wall with a heavy crunch.

“Hey, RJ,” said Fran, returning from the downstairs kitchen some minutes later. “Maybe I could make you a pizza, because you know how you always say that the best thing to – RJ?”

She stopped, hearing the roar and growl behind her, and whirled around. There, high on the living quarters above, was Werewolf RJ.

“OK, OK!” she gasped; the new glass of water slipped from her hand and smashed on the floor. Fran began to back away. “I’m not afraid of you, RJ.”

In the corner of the room, right where he’d slid down the wall, Chris was beginning to stir. “Oh, what hit me?” he moaned, rubbing at his forehead.

Fran tripped over the mat and began scurrying away. “This isn’t you! You – you are the kindest person I know. You took me in, huh?” she began to stand. “You gave me a job. You and the Rangers are my family.” Fran began advancing towards RJ. “You wouldn’t hurt a fly and you won’t hurt me!”

Werewolf RJ leapt over the balcony, descending towards Fran.

“Child! Fran!”

Chris moved on instinct as Werewolf RJ pinned Fran to the floor. “Hey, American Werewolf In London, try this!”

Chris’s punch hit Werewolf RJ in the face, causing it to recoil. It leapt forward, knocking Chris backwards and pinning him down.

“Hey, get off him!”

Fran smashed a dumbbell over Werewolf RJ’s head. Werewolf RJ roared and pounced on her, knocking her to the floor again. It raised a clawed hand to strike, and Fran winced, looking terrified.

Then, before the eyes of her and Chris, Werewolf RJ stopped, clawed hand quivering. Fran seized her moment and summoned all the strength she had, pushing down her fear. She raised her own hand and placed it against the paw.

Moments later, Werewolf RJ transformed back to Regular RJ, who was kneeling over Fran as if straddling her.

“It’s gone,” said RJ, standing and helping Fran to her feet. “I’m back.” He pulled Fran into a deep, tight hug. “Thank you!”

“Well, maybe, next time you have a problem you will run to your friends, instead of away from them?” suggested Fran, jabbing RJ’s chest.

“Now who’s the Master?” asked RJ, appreciatively. He turned to Chris. “Oh, are you alright?”

“Nothing broken,” grunted Chris. “Though I’ll have a lump on the back of my head for a week. What do you do, life five-hundred-pound dumbbells? I thought we were friends?!”

“Again, sorry,” said RJ. “Speaking of friends – come on – I have some friends I – we – should run to right now.”

He turned and began to run up the stairs, only to stop halfway. He turned, rushed back past Chris and Fran, and opened the safe on the wall; he retrieved the box inside, opened it, and, smiling at the sight of something inside, was bathed in purple light.

~*~*~*~*~

The Rangers were down when Chris and RJ reached them.

“He’s tough!” groaned Casey.

“You got that right!” agreed Theo.

“HEY!” cried RJ, getting the Monkey Rinshi’s attention as it advanced menacingly at Theo, Lily, and Casey. “SPIRIT OF THE WOLF!”

The enormous wolf burst from RJ and slashed at the Monkey Rinshi, sending it flying across the battlefield.

“Maybe I can give you the challenge you’re looking for?” boasted RJ, flicking open the box under his arm.

“Thrash ‘im, RJ,” said Chris, stepping aside.

Inside the box was a purple Morpher in the shape of a wolf. RJ slapped it to his wrist. “Jungle Beast, Spirit Unleashed!”

With a blinding flash, he morphed – identical to the Rangers, only purple with a wolf shaped mask. “With the courage of a wolf! Jungle Fury, Wolf Ranger!”

“RJ, you’re a ranger!?” cried Lily as she and the Rangers stood up.

“The wolf Ranger!” exclaimed Casey.

“What?” gasped the Monkey Rinshi. “Another Ranger? Rinshi, attack!”

RJ leapt into the fray, hacking and slashing and kicking, defeating the Rinshi.

“Come on!” he exclaimed, knocking two more Rinshi to the ground. “Who’s next? Alright, time for some extra wolf power!”

He flicked open his Morpher and pressed two fingers to it. It began to glow with purple flames and, moments later, he launched a flaming purple ball of energy at the remaining Rinshi, who promptly exploded.

The Monkey Rinshi leapt back into battle; while he was quick, RJ was equal to him, ducking and dodging every attack as they came from the Monkey Rinshi.

“Come and get me!” boomed the Monkey Rinshi, leaping off the side of a building nearby. He launched himself off the building and over a metal grate fence, landing behind it.

RJ, without using the building, leapt over the fence too, landing before the Monkey Rinshi. He caught the Monkey Rinshi and kicked him back over the fence.

“Oh, I’m not finished yet!” bragged RJ, jumping after him and landing casually. He flicked open the Morpher and put two fingers to it again. “Wolf Morpher!”

An enormous wheel of energy, like an enormous saw blade, exploded from the Morpher and struck the Monkey Rinshi.

The Monkey Rinshi flopped to the ground, and promptly exploded.

“Monkey out of business!” exclaimed RJ as the Rangers rushed over.

“Awesome!” exclaimed Lily.

“Talk about a Master!” exclaimed Theo.

He and Lily bowed their heads and made the Pai Zhuq hand movement, fist to palm.

“Not bad for your first morph,” admitted Casey.

“Oh, you like that?” retorted RJ, shoving Casey’s chest.

Behind them, the Monkey Rinshi erupted to full height.

“This Monkey doesn’t know when to quit!”

~*~*~*~*~

The Rangers had won the day with RJ using his Wolf Spirit to merge with the Megazord to defeat the Monkey Rinshi after it had managed to bring down the Megazord.

“Hey, where’s RJ?” asked Casey as he and the Rangers entered the kitchen. Fran was lowering pizzas into the oven with the enormous spatula.

“He went upstairs,” said Fran.

The Rangers rushed up the stairs, stopping halfway as they heard growling. Fran, hanging the giant spatula back on the wall, twisted to glance up, anxiety painted on her face.

The loft was trashed – feathers and bones scattered the room.

“RJ?” asked Theo.

A dog emerged from behind the TV, half a torn pillow in its mouth.

“Oh no…” breathed Casey anxiously.

The dog whimpered, rushing into the middle of the room.

“RJ!” cried Fran. “Oh, he’s in the animal form forever!”

“Uh, don’t worry, RJ,” said Casey kneeling before the dog. “I’ll brush you every day.”

“And you can have all the pizza you want,” added Fran, stroking the dog’s face.

“And a flea bath once a month,” said Theo, blowing at his fingers.

“Uh, Ixnay on the flee bath,” said RJ’s voice from behind. The group whirled around to see him standing in the upper living area. “But the pizza and getting brushed every day? That sounds great!”

RJ descended the stairs and crouched before the dog, fussing over it. “Come on, Nikki, it is definitely time to go home. I’ve just been dog sitting. Not very well by the looks.”

“Yes, it is quite a mess in here,” admitted Chris. “Fran, fetch a broom. I’ll get a bucket.”

“On it,” said Fran, bounding away to fetch a broom.

“Why did you leave a dog in here alone?” asked Chris. “They tend to tear up the place.”

“Not a dog person?”

“I’d rather have a cat,” admitted Chris. “It can just sit on my lap while I do work, and I never have to worry about it. Conner would want a dog though – at least three. Maybe four.”

Chapter Text

Chapter XIV: No 'I' in Leader

Chris emerged into the upper living area of the loft above Jungle Karma Pizza and caught sight of RJ fighting Lily and Theo.

“Do I want to know?” he asked, seeing Theo by RJ’s crotch and Lily on his back.

For a moment all three stopped fighting and looked at one another, then spoke in unison: “Nope.”

“Very well,” said Chris, stopping to watch. “Carry on.”

So, they did. Moments later, Casey emerged from the bedroom area, picking up the Jungle Nunchakus that were on the desk.

“Didn’t I tell you guys three o’clock?” he asked.

“Yeah,” agreed Theo, being flipped by RJ. “But RJ changed it to two.”

“In my defence, I didn’t know either,” said Chris, briefly getting Casey’s attention.

“Did you find what you were looking for?” asked RJ, deflecting an attack from Lily.

Chris sighed. “No. Udonna had no idea on merging two sets of Rangers Powers together – and I have no idea if a future me makes it home, so I can’t ask Doctor O. Hayley would love it – super nerd, literal rocket scientist. Anyway, I’m waffling. Udonna said she’d keep looking, so if any of you see a human sized cat or an enormous blue train, don’t worry – I’m expecting them.”

“Right,” said Theo, nodding to Chris. He looked back to the somewhat disgruntled Casey. “No-one told you RJ had changed the time?”

“No,” said Casey. RJ defeated Lily. “So, I was thinking we could do some weapons practice, just too-”

“Oh, we already did weapons,” said Lily, as RJ released her from his tight arm grip and immediately set about checking that she was unharmed. It was training, after all, not a genuine battle.

“I thought we could get into some light one on one sparing,” said RJ.

“Sounds cool!” replied Lily. Chris leapt down to join them as Theo swaggered casually over.

“Alright,” said RJ, dropping into position.

~*~*~*~*~

An hour later, the alarms on the back of RJ’s television blared into life, shrill ring filling the room.

“Looks like it’s time for a little on the job training,” said RJ, nodding to Casey as he passed. The Rangers picked up the vines on the wall and swung out of the secret entrances of Jungle Karma Pizza.

When they reached the town, people were fleeing and screaming; two red samurai, one with an enormous left shoulder that jutted up into a spike, the other with an enormous right shoulder, were advancing towards them, cackling menacingly.

“RUN!” boomed the one with the large left shoulder.

“YES!” agreed the right.

“Samurais?” asked Chris. “Oh, this is going to suck.”

“Let’s show these two who they’re dealing with!” suggested Casey; he, Theo, and Lily rushed forward. RJ rushed after them.

Chris held back a moment, whipping out his Mystic Morpher. “MAGICAL SOURCE, MYSTIC FORCE!”

He transformed, the enormous summoning circle descending over him, and the black armour and cloak formed around him. “Galwit Mysto Neramax Prifior Ice!”

He waved his staff and pointed it at the floor, then leapt onto it; before he knew it he was sliding, ice surging from the front of his staff to create a path for him to slide on.

He surged high into the air, and landed on the roof of a nearby building, then waited and bid his time.

One by one, Casey, Lily, and Theo fell to the samurai. RJ met one in combat and Chris seized his chance. He raised his staff high into the air and began to spin it around his head.

“A torrent of ice shall be his tomb! Borne through the skies on a fog of doom! Now go with the curse, and serve me well, round RJ and the Samurai, CAST MY SPELL!”

The skies above began to rumble, and thick black clouds formed overhead. Moments later, they opened, and bombs of ice began raining down from above.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The torrents of ice pouring down from above gave RJ his chance. He saluted a two fingered salute up at Chris, who nodded back, and leapt away, dodging the blast from the samurai. He kicked out, knocking the Samurai back. It landed casually and easily in a stand of seats nearby.

Theo, Casey, and Lily shouted, being blasted back by the other samurai, who they’d clashed in battle with after returning to their feet.

“Those guys are strong!” exclaimed Theo, staggering to his feet.

“Casey, what should we do?” asked Lily, also standing.

“Well, uh, we should –”

“What?” asked Theo.

“We should what?” pressed Lily.

“We should –” Casey trailed off again, only for RJ’s hand to land on his shoulder. “Let’s attack in sync.” He whistled, summoning Chris from the roof. “Theo, go left; Lily, go right. Casey, you and I are from the front. Chris will do an aerial.”

“OK!” agreed Lily.

“GO!” shouted RJ.

“Wait!” cried Casey; RJ, Chris, Theo, and Lily either didn’t hear him or chose to ignore him. Chris soared high on a stream of ice.

“WOLF BEAM!” shouted RJ, his Morpher glowing bright purple.

“ICE STRIKE!” roared Chris, whirling his staff over his head.

Theo and Lily heard the shouts and moved from their positions. Each of them had taken a samurai and distracted them to allow Chris and RJ to get into position.

They moved just in time.

“LOOK OUT!” cried Casey, rushing forward to help his friends.

The crescent wave of ice from Chris’s staff soared over his head, collided with RJ’s attack, and both began to spin, splitting off and smashing into the samurais before them.

The explosion threw Casey to the ground. The two samurai staggered and vanished in whisps of red smoke.

“Voila!” said RJ, landing in front of Casey with his arms outstretched vertically.

“Not bad,” said Chris. “Though, next time, we must make our attacks combine earlier. More spin as they’re in motion will create more impact when it hits.”

“What now, Wolf Master?” asked Theo as he and Lily rushed over, bowing their heads and performing the Pai Zhuq movement, fist to palm.

“Now, more training,” said RJ as Casey stared up at him from the floor, then stood up grumpily. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Alright!” exclaimed Theo happily.

“Yes!” agreed Lily.

Together the twosome rushed off ahead.

“Yeah!”

“Come on!”

“Practice makes –”

“Yeah!” grunted Casey, stalking angrily past RJ.

“What’s up with him?” asked RJ to Chris. Chris tilted his head and shrugged. “Teenagers.”

~*~*~*~*~

“Alright now, give it your best,” said RJ. “I don’t want any sore losers.”

Casey quirked a mocking smile, for all of two seconds, before his face fell back into its grumpy position again.

“Not quite!” said Chris, interrupting. RJ turned; Chris, Mystic Staff in hand, was approaching from the field behind. “I’m taking the lesson for today.”

He stopped before them as RJ stepped aside, allowing Chris to step into his position.

Chris waved a hand, nodding thankfully at RJ, and summoned a magic staff for each of them – one red, one purple, one blue, and one yellow. He threw them, one at a time, to their respective owners.

“Now!” he said, sharply. “Look sharp! I’ve contacted Udonna to check if this is alright, and she says it is, so: what you have in your hands are simple – these are Mystic Staffs. Now, to her credit, she’s never been to the Pai Zhuq academy before, but she has read rumours about it. With the help of Daggeron, Clare and Jenji, she made these for us. Well, you. I have my own already. Mystic Staffs can, when wielded properly, channel great power – like the ice storm I made in the fight. Watch.”

He turned, talking over his shoulder. “See that fence over there? The old run down one in the corner?”

“Yes,” said Theo, looking confused. “What about it?”

Chris turned back to them and casually flicked his Mystic Staff over his shoulder. With a bang, the fence erupted into flames. A second flick, and a blast of ice put the fire out.

“Now, you try,” he said. “Casey, step up. Deep breathe, and focus.”

Casey aimed his staff, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and drew on everything he had. A blast of flame exploded from the end of his staff, whirled high into the sky, and then smashed down nearby.

“Not bad,” said Chris. “But there’s something holding you back. What is it?”

“I don’t know,” growled Casey under his breath.

“Again!” barked Chris, walking around Casey in a circle. “Casey,” he growled, stopping behind Casey, hands on his shoulders, voice barely above a whisper. “You don’t need anyone’s approval. Whoever it was that made you feel this way, that you are somehow flawed or unworthy, you need to take that pain, the fear that they were right, and use it. It’s the root of your power. Let it drive the magic and prove them all wrong!”

Chris stepped back as, chest heaving, Casey raised his new Mystic Staff and screamed. The explosion that erupted from his wand was blinding and deafening and the force of it sent Casey and Chris flying.

Nearby, the fence they were using as target practice exploded into a column of fire. Chris’s eyebrow shot into his long hair.

“It worked,” breathed Casey, barely believing his eyes. “It worked.”

The others, even RJ, rushed forward, clamouring to be taught.

As they day rolled on, the training transformed into the Rangers learning to deflect an attack with the Claw Cannon. They took their positions and summoned it, as RJ lowered the power on his Morpher.

“Let’s see what that new Morpher can do!” called Theo.

“Ready, RJ?” asked Lily.

“WOLF MORPHER, HA!”

RJ flicked open his Morpher and pressed two fingers to it; it began to glow and glisten, purple fire whirling around his arm.

“Fully charged!” said Theo. He and Lily looked to Casey, who nodded. “FIRE!”

He slammed the lever forward and the Claw Cannon fired.

“BEAM BLAST!” shouted RJ, launching a blast of fire from his Morpher at the Rangers. It smashed hard with the blast from their Claw Cannon and exploded in an enormous blast of fire that sent everyone flying.

“You guys, OK?” asked RJ as the smoke from the explosion faded, blown away by the wind of the day. Casey made a look of apology to them and rushed forward to pick up his bag.

Chris sat up, hair wild and spiky, face covered in soot. “Fine,” he said. “I feel like I’ve been dragged through a hedge backwards. And I look like it too!” he added, summoning a mirror and looking into it.

“I’m OK,” said Lily, helping him up. “But I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck.”

“Not surprised,” admitted Chris. “That was one hell of an explosion. Even the explosions when we morph aren’t like that!”

“What went wrong?” asked Theo. Casey, meeting no-one’s eyes, heaved his bag onto his shoulder, as Theo continued. “I thought you adjusted your Morpher.”

“It wasn’t my Morpher that was too strong,” said RJ, meeting Casey’s eye. “One of your Animal Spirits wasn’t up to strength.”

Casey stalked away; training bag slung over his shoulder. The others watched him go, RJ’s face twisting with disappointment.

~*~*~*~*~

“RJ!” exclaimed Fran, rushing into the upper living area. “RJ! I think the sink has a leak, and we’re almost out of dough, and I have an idea for a new pizza recipe.”

“Ah, Fran -!” interrupted RJ. “Sink, dough, new pizza recipe. No worries.”

Fran sighed in relief. Downstairs, Lily and Theo were crossing the lower living area. RJ swivelled on his heels, looking down the stairs at them. “Lily, Theo, why don’t you help Fran?”

They rushed off after her as, in the lower living area, Casey smashed a baseball so hard into the backboard of the net that the entire pole rattled. It hit the floor with a heavy thud and bounced back up into his waiting hands.

“You know, they never go in when you’re angry,” said RJ, casually.

“I’m not angry,” replied Casey, though the force with which the basketball smashed off the floor as he bounced it betrayed his lie. He threw it again, missing the net again. “Just -”

“You’re what?” pressed RJ. BANG went the basketball on the floor. “Come on, man, you’re what?”

“When we first came to Ocean Bluff, I felt I was so far behind Theo and Lily, but I worked hard – you and Chris helped me – and I became Team Leader. Then you join us and take over! I feel like a cub again!”

Another shot to the backboard – another miss.

“Maybe I got a bit excited about being a Ranger,” admitted RJ. “The Tiger leads this team, man, not the Wolf.”

The alarms behind RJ’s tv blared.

“They’re back!” exclaimed Theo as he and Lily returned from the kitchen. RJ and Casey looked at one another and rushed over to the TV screens.

On the screen, people were running around frantically as, cackling, the two samurai advanced at them.

“Let’s go,” said Theo.

“Uh, Casey, Chris, and I’ll catch up!” said RJ, holding out a hand.

“See?!” spat Casey, turning to RJ. “You’re calling the shots now.”

He hurled the basketball at the backboard again and turned to RJ, huffing angrily. RJ bit his lip anxiously, knowing Casey was frustrated.

Reluctantly, Casey stayed behind. Nearby, on a small chair in the corner of the room, Chris lowered his newspaper, folded it up, and got up, walking over to Mentor and Leader.

The fight began.

“We should go help Theo and Lily,” said Casey, bouncing the basketball between two hands, leg twitching anxiously.

“A bent arrow doesn’t fly straight,” replied RJ, stepping up next to him.

“I’m not a bent arrow!” growled Casey through barred teeth.

“Fine,” said RJ, looking at him. He made a movement with his hands, indicating he wanted the ball. “Gimme the ball.”

Casey shoved the ball at him, and RJ walked over to Chris, handing him the bell; their eyes met, and Chris nodded, almost imperceptibly. Only someone looking for the nod would have seen it.

“Here’s the deal,” said RJ. “To beat Dai Shi, Chris has to make that shot, period.”

“From there?” asked Casey, crossing his arms. “Good luck.”

“Casey, he’s serious,” said Chris. “No luck involved. I have to make it or Dai Shi wins.”

He shifted on his legs, then leapt into the air and threw the basketball. It soared through the air, and it was clear it was not going to go into the net. Chris met RJ’s eyes as Casey, watching the ball soar through the air, moved by instinct.

He leapt, caught the ball, and slammed it into the net, swinging from the metal circle.

“Ha ha!” laughed RJ, as he and Chris strode over.

“Slam dunk! What did I tell you?” asked Chris.

“But I got it in,” replied Casey.

“Exactly,” said RJ. “I knew your instincts would kick in and you’d made it happen. That’s what leaders do. No luck involved. Casey, everyone has moments when they get kind of unsure, you just have to trust your instincts and your friends will trust them too.”

“We’ve gotta go,” said Casey, dropping the ball.

“I can think of a faster way,” said Chris. “Trust your instincts? Well, I’m trusting mine. Here, both of you!”

He took each of them by the shoulder and closed his eyes. The next thing he knew, they’d landed, much more gently than he’d ever landed before, on the ground near the battlefield.

Nearby, Lily and Theo went flying, hit by blasts from the Samurais. One Samurai brought his enormous staff smashing down onto the rubble that Lily had landed on.

She jumped to her feet, reacting just in time to avoid the attack, and met the Samurai in combat again.

The Samurai deflected her Jungle Staff, causing Lily to tumble. She landed on his staff and gasped; he thrust it upwards, and she went flying, smashing down into a car, which exploded in a puff of fire and dust.

The Samurai whirled and twirled, attacking Theo next. Theo ducked just in time and the Samurai’s weapon hit a load of scaffolding above Theo. Both he and the Samurai moved to avoid it, the scaffolding smashing to the ground with a heavy thump and a rattling clang.

Theo and Lily met their respective Samurai in combat again, only to be blasted away; both hit the ground and demorphed.

“HA HA HA!” laughed the Samurai, advancing menacingly on the two defeated Rangers. “You are defeated.”

“I don’t think so!” Chris morphed and leapt forward into battle, Spino Smashers spinning, as Casey and RJ rushed forward to help. “Pick on someone who can’t fight back, you knock-off Jackie Chans!”

The Samurais raised their swords to strike; both Chris and Casey saw it at once. There was no way Chris could block a double attack. Sure, the weapons could be deflected, but the force of the attack would smash Chris into the ground.

Casey didn’t even think – instinct kicked it.

“CASEY!” cried RJ as Casey rushed forward to help.

The two Samurai laughed and fired identical blasts from their Samurai Staffs.

Casey skidded in front of Chris.

“What are you doing!?” cried Chris, watching the blast from the two Samurai surge towards them.

“No idea!” shouted Casey back.

“CASEY!” shouted RJ again, throwing an enormous satellite dish at him. “Catch!”

Casey caught the satellite dish just in time and whirled it round; the blast built up inside the dish as it hit, and Casey roared, struggling to fight the strength of the beam.

“I got you!”

Chris stood, and threw his arms around Casey, both heaving with all their might.

Combined, they were enough. The blast from the Samurais exploded out of the dish and smashed back into them with an explosion that send them flying.

Casey threw the satellite dish aside as Chris released him.

RJ laughed and rushed over to them group.

“Thanks, Case,” said Theo, struggling to his feet.

“That was brilliant,” said Chris, beaming, to Casey, who grinned back at him with a dazzling, white toothed smile and a gentle bounce in his step. “Insane and bloody stupid, but brilliant. It’s something I would have done, so, naturally, I completely approve of it.”

RJ and Casey looked at each other and nodded, finally on the same page, finally having come to an understanding.

At the sight and sound of the two Samurai returning, the Rangers morphed and attacked in unison, slicing through the Samurai, who fell to the ground.

“RJ, we’ll attack them with the Claw Cannon, you boost it with your Wolf Beam!” said Casey.

“Sounds like a plan!” agreed RJ.

The Rangers summoned the Claw Cannon and fired; RJ’s Wolf Beam collided with their attack, whirled together, and smashed into the two Samurai, who had just stood up.

Moments later, the two Samurai exploded, only to erupt to the size of a twenty-storey building.

“Uh oh!” said RJ, stepping forward. “This game just got a little uneven!”

The Rangers created the Mergazord and RJ summoned his Wolf Zord and the fight began.

~*~*~*~*~

“Ready for my special desert?” asked Fran later that day after the Rangers had returned to Jungle Karma Pizza, having been victorious in their fight against the Samuras.

“Sure am!” said Lily.

“You bet, Fran!” replied Theo.

“OK, why not?” asked Casey.

Fran emerged from the door to the kitchen, a wooden plate in one hand and a bowl in the other. “My secret ingredients are chocolate and anchovies!”

She put the plate of anchovies down, with the bowl of chocolate in the middle.

All the Rangers looked sick, except RJ and Chris who seemed inquisitive.

“Oh, I’m not eating that,” said Lily, nose wrinkling in disgust.

“No,” agreed Theo, shaking his head.

“Well, come on…” squeaked Fran, suddenly looking terribly sad. “Please? How about we all try just one? Deal?”

Casey shrugged his head.

“Deal,” he said. Theo looked at him as if he’d grown two heads. “Let’s check it out.”

He picked up and anchovy and dipped it into the chocolate, swirling it around.

“If you can eat one, I guess I can too,” said Theo, never one to shy away from a challenge. He leaned forward, dipped his anchovy into the chocolate, and swirled it around.”

“I like a healthy sense of adventure,” said RJ, shrugging and leaning forward at the same time as Lily. He picked up two anchovies. “Make mine a double.”

“Once you’ve survived Clare’s stews, you can eat anything,” said Chris, picking up an anchovy and drowning it in chocolate. “I’m not kidding by the way – Clare’s stews were so repulsive that even Udonna wouldn’t eat them.”

Casey, Theo, Lily, Chris, and RJ ate the anchovies.

“Well?” asked Fran.

Casey, Theo, and Lily spat the anchovies covered in chocolate into green napkins on the table, gagging and wretching.

“That bad, huh?” asked Fran, sagging sadly.

Lily looked ready to cry as she looked up at Fran and nodded.

“Hey, Fran,” said Casey, standing up. “The deal was we all try one.”

Theo smirked and stood up too, picking up an anchovy, which dangled from his fingers. “Would you like one anchovy or two?”

“Oh,” said Fran.

“You gotta taste one,” said Lily, picking up an anchovy of her own and standing up.

“No, no, no, no!” cried Fran, backing away.

“It’s all part of the deal!” cried Lily as Fran took off in a run, vanishing into the kitchen. She, Casey, and Theo chased after her.

“You know what?” said Chris, summoning a mirror and examining his teeth. “That’s not half bad. Another, RJ?”

“Why not?” said RJ, smiling. He and Chris picked up an anchovy each, knocked them together, and ate them as Fran erupted from the kitchen, the other Rangers still shouting and chasing her.

“If you’ve made a mess of my kitchen, you can clean it up!” shouted Chris after them.

Chapter Text

Chapter XV: True Friends, True Spirits

RJ’s Megazord glowed yellow, and he keeled over inside, clutching at his chest – just like he had when he’d been inflicted with Werewolfism.

“RJ is everything OK?” asked Theo as the Rangers Megazord stopped next to him.

RJ’s Megazord turned and began beating up the Rangers’ Megazord, crouching down and kicking out a leg to send their Megazord toppling to the ground. Inside, the Rangers toppled, falling to the floor.

“Did we just get blindsided by our own teammate?” wondered Casey, sitting up.

“It must have been a mistake!” cried Theo.

“He does know which one is the bad guy, right?” asked Lily.

Moments later a loud howl echoed from RJ’s Megazord, and it charged, thundering towards the Rangers’ Megazord, striking and smiting.

“RJ!” cried Casey as the Rangers wobbled and jiggled inside. “What’s wrong? We’re your friends!”

RJ’s Megazord raised a foot and performed a sideways kick, knocking the Rangers’ Megazord to the floor.

They staggered back to their feet as RJ’s Megazord continued attacking. They ducked and dodged his attacks, until one hit the Megazord in the chest. Both Megazords, RJ’s and the Rangers’, began to spark.

The flash was blinding and the two Megazords exploded.

~*~*~*~*~

“I was so sure I had control over my animal,” said RJ as he and the Rangers descended from the upper living area to the lower living area. “If we don’t get control of this, I could put all our lives at risk.”

“You can’t morph,” said Theo. “Not until we figure this out.”

Chris stopped and looked at Casey, who met his eye. Both of them had heard the buzzing. They looked up – there, floating above them, was what looked to be a combination of a microphone and a fly: Camille’s little stomach bug, Flit. Flit was frequently announcing during their fights, but they were usually so busy that they rarely paid attention to him or heard him.

Casey walked off, only to throw the basketball in his hands at Flit, who yelped and fell to the floor as it collided with him.

“Got it!” said Casey, crouching to catch Flit just in time.

“Ah, that hurts!” cried Flit as Casey lifted him up by a wing. “No, put me down, leave me alone, that’s my wing!”

“You’ve got five seconds to tell us why you were spying!” growled Casey.

“Me? A spy?” questioned Flit as Casey stood up. “No, no, no, no! I was just following me new friend!”

“What friend?” asked Casey.

“Uh, I think he means me,” said RJ, striding over. “My name’s RJ, and I’m not your friend, little fly dude.”

“But – you -”

“I kind of pulled him out from under some concrete!”

“Yes!” trilled Flit. “You saved my life!”

“So, you saved his life and now he thinks you’re friends!” said Lily, walking over with the others. “Oh, I think that’s so sweet!”

“Of course he’s being sweet,” said Theo, sharply. “So, we’ll let him go.”

“Which we can’t do,” replied Casey. “He heard us. He knows RJ can’t morph. He’ll tell Camille, and then -”

“No, I won’t!” trilled Flit, who was laying in Casey’s hands. “Honestly, if I had another chance, I’d rid myself of that loathsome chameleon once and for all.”

“Loathsome?” queried Lily. “That’s a big word for such a cute little fly.”

“No, I’m not really a fly, any more than my friend RJ is a Werewolf,” said Flit. “I’m a human, just like you but, centuries ago, I was battling Camille when suddenly she cast ancient larvae dust over me, changing me into a fly! Ever since the day she cursed me, I’ve been a fly, kept prisoner inside Camille’s yucky stomach.”

“A place no-one wants to be,” acknowledged Chris.

“So, I guess you really know her inside and out, huh?” asked Casey. The others looked at him, wondering if he had, in fact, just made such a pun.

None of them notice RJ, clutching at his chest, stagger away.

“Poor little guy,” said Lily. “Maybe we can help break Camille’s curse?”

“Well, my new friend better get rid of that evil spirit fast, or there is gonna be big trouble!” exclaimed Flit, flying out of Casey’s hands.

“What evil spirit?” asked Casey.

“Grizzaka sent an evil spirit into him, made his animal spirit go haywire!”

“That’s great!” exclaimed Theo. “Then you didn’t lose control… RJ?”

Werewolf RJ, growling, turned to the Rangers, who began to back away.

“LOOK OUT!” cried Theo as Werewolf RJ leaped, striking at them.

The foursome charged, each grasping onto a different body part to try and hold him back. Casey was thrown off, then Lily, who charged back into battle.

“Don’t hurt him!” cried Casey.

“Hurt him?” cried Chris, eyebrows raising. “Have you noticed he’s trying to kill us right – whoa!”

He and Theo were thrown off too.

“Ohh, this is worse than I thought!” cried Flit.

Werewolf RJ leapt, catching the railing of the upper living area, then backflipped over Casey and caught him by the arm, bending it backwards and making Casey cry out in pain.

Seizing his chance, Werewolf RJ turned and leapt away, vanishing through one of the secret exits that the Rangers used.

“RJ!” cried Lily.

“Let’s go!” agreed Casey.

The Rangers rushed after him, swinging out of the exits after him.

“Hey! Hey! Wait for me!” cried Flit, buzzing after them.

~*~*~*~*~

The Rangers chased Werewolf RJ downtown, leaping over cars that had skidded to a halt to avoid the oncoming beast charging at them.

“RJ, STOP!” shouted Casey.

“HE’S FAST!” shouted Chris. “VERY FAST!”

RJ raced away. The Rangers skidded to a halt as Casey’s Solar Morpher’s rang. He whipped them onto his face.

“Yeah, Fran?”

Fran’s voice echoed. “Uh, that overgrown fish has shown up again. He seems pretty unhappy.”

“We’re on it!” Casey assured her.

“When it rains, it pours,” said Lily.

“We’ll go after RJ,” said Casey to Lily and Theo. “You two have got bigger fish to fry.”

“Be careful,” said Theo, looking sternly between the two.

Theo and Lily rushed off. Flit exclaimed, spotting Werewolf RJ, and zoomed after him.

“RJ, get back here!” cried Chris as he and Casey took off in a run, following Flit.

~*~*~*~*~

Several minutes later, having chased Werewolf RJ down an alleyway and through a restaurant, which had sent several people screaming, Flit caught up to RJ and launched a sonic boom down at him. He staggered and clutched at his head, allowing Chris and Casey to catch up.

“RJ, it’s me!” cried Casey, grasping an arm.

“What am I?” asked Chris, sharply. “Chopped liver? Ooh, that sounds nice actually – remind me to have that for dinner!”

“Hold him still!” cried Flit.

“What are you gonna do?” asked Casey.

“Wait and see!” cried Flit, blasting several sonic booms at Werewolf RJ. A few moments later, the sonic boom ended, and Casey and Chris flipped Werewolf RJ so that he was lying flat on the floor.

Flit was talking, but neither Chris nor Casey could hear his words, which were evidently meant for RJ alone.

“Whatever you’re doing, do it faster!” ordered Chris.

Flit launched another sonic boom and began talking again; moments later, RJ transformed back into a human again, panting heavily.

He sat up, retching.

“RJ?” asked Chris. The yellow spirit that had entered him before, Grizzaka’s evil spirit, faded away. “Man, I’m glad you’re back.”

“Yeah, me too,” admitted RJ.

“Ohh, I don’t feel so good… Wheo-oof!”

Flit flopped down heavily onto a table nearby.

“Whoa, Flit, are you OK?” asked RJ, picking Flit up.

“Yep,” said Flit. “Just a little woozy… You?”

“I’m great, thanks to you.”

“Then… we’re friends?” squeaked Flit.

“Exactamundo!” agreed RJ.

~*~*~*~*~

The others joined the battle against Barrakouzza, who had the spirit of the archerfish, and had summoned a hoard of Rinshi to attack Lily and Theo.

RJ leapt into battle, while Casey charged in on his Strike Rider.

“Wind!” cried Chris, waving his Mystic Staff and blowing some Rinshi backwards. The others morphed into their Jungle Master Mode behind him.

“Two Rangers weren’t enough!” boomed Barrakouzza, approaching menacingly. “And neither are five!”

Barrakouzza blasted at RJ, who cartwheeled over all of his attacks, and kicked him in the face. RJ flicked open his Wolf Morpher and blasted Barrakouzza to pieces.

Naturally, as usual, the fight was not over.

“Welcome back, RJ!” exclaimed Lily.

“Thanks, guys!”

Behind them, Barrakouzza erupted to the size of a twenty-storey building. The Rangers summoned the Megazord and RJ summoned his Wolf Zord, and the fight began.

~*~*~*~*~

Later that afternoon, after Barrakouzza had been destroyed by the Megazord’s spin attack, Flit hit the ground, hard.

“Hey, little buzz buddy, you OK?” asked RJ picking him up after rushing over with the other Rangers.

“This is all part of Camille’s curse over me,” said Flit, microphone jutting back and forth. “I can’t be out of her stomach too long or I – I fade away…”

“We’ve gotta get him back to Camille!” exclaimed Theo.

“Are you crazy?” retorted Lily. “He’s not like them.”

“RJ, it’s OK,” said Flit. “I have no choice. Maybe, someday, I hope, we’ll team up again?”

“It would be an honour!”

There was a snap behind them, and Flit was ripped out of RJ’s hands. They whirled around; there, reeling Flit back into her stomach, was Camille.

“Picking on a poor, defenceless fly!” she barked, catching Flit in her hand. “Now that’s really scraping the bottom of the barrel!”

And, still holding Flit in one hand, Camille turned and stalked away.

“Take care, Flit,” said RJ as Camille vanished with Flit.

~*~*~*~*~

Later that evening, Chris came downstairs with RJ. A fly was resting on Casey’s nose; Lily, Theo, and Fran, all armed, were about to swat it.

“HAI!” exclaimed RJ, catching the fly in his hand. “Oh, chill out, Dudes.” He raised his fist to his mouth, to speak to the fly. “Come on, little fell, restaurant’s closed.”

And he left.

“He really needs to get over Flit,” said Theo.

“And you need to clean this kitchen,” said Chris, staring at the thick coating of flour that covered the kitchen. “You’ve covered it head to foot in flour!”

“Ooh,” said Theo. “Yeah, sorry.”

Chapter Text

Chapter XVI: Path of the Rhino

A small boat pulled up in the inner harbour of Ocean Bluff; the employee on the shore tied it to the bollard, preventing it from going anywhere until its next journey was due.

A handsome youth jumped off the boat, bashing down onto the shoreline. He swung his bag over his shoulder and made his way out of the harbour.

He reached into his pocket, opened a letter with an address on it, and took in the words. Then he folded up the letter and made it disappear in a magic trick.

He had somewhere to be – a youth on a mission. This youth was Dominic Hargan.

Sometime later that same afternoon, Dominic Hargan, blonde and handsome, strode through the open door of Jungle Karma Pizza. Within seconds, the idea of a massive prank he could play hit him like a tonne of bricks.

He smirked, took off his bag and jacket, and smoothed down his hair, before striding over to the reception desk, where Lily was waiting.

“Hmm hmm,” he coughed; Lily, who was cleaning, turned to face him. “Doctor Fuller, Health Department.”

He flashed an ID so quick it was basically unreadable, as planned. “We’ve had some complaints.”

He strode past her into the kitchen; eyes wide and looking utterly terrified, Lily bolted after him.

“Guys,” she said. “This is Doctor Fuller, from the Health Department.”

“My, my, my,” said Dominic, looking around. “This is gonna be ugly. You’d better get the owner.”

Lily rushed away; Dominic ran a finger over the work counter. “These counters are filthy.” He showed the finger to Theo, then pointed to the oven. “Let’s get this cleaned pronto!”

Theo picked up a cloth and began scrubbing as Dominic picked up a tomato and sniffed it.

“They should be fresh,” said Casey, standing to attention.

Dominic put the tomato down onto the table, then picked up a paddle and brought it whizzing down through the air. It struck the tomato, which exploded, spraying Casey with tomato innards.

Fran yelped and leapt back just in time, the bowel of dough in her hands clutched closely to her chest.

Dominic licked the remnants off the paddle as Casey groaned, tomato juice splattering down his face. “You are right.”

Dominic walked to the fridge. Fran took one look at him, held her hands up, and scarpered out of his way. “Let’s check out this milk, here, and this cheese.” He sniffed it. “Smells bad.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, what’s going on here?” asked RJ, Lily following him down the stairs. “We had an inspection just last – Dominic?”

Dominic gave up the act; beaming cheekily, he turned to RJ.

“Dom!” exclaimed RJ, laughing and advancing towards Dominic with his arms open. “I should have known!”

They parted from the hug and RJ turned to the group. “This is my old buddy from Pai Zhuq. Uh, Dominic, this is Casey, Fran, Theo, and Lily.” He pointed them out in turn. Fran waved a hand awkwardly.

“Hey,” he said. “Gotcha.”

“Oh, hey, come on upstairs, man,” said RJ. “Where have you been? Last I heard, you were wandering the world like a nomad!”

“Well…”

“Oh, and you’ve got to hear about Dai Shi!”

“Dai Shi?”

“So,” asked RJ, when they reached the top of the stairs. “How long can you stay?”

“Only a day or two,” said Dominic. “Too much time in once place and I get antsy.”

“Well, then, we can catch up more later,” said RJ. “Right now, we’ve got work to do.”

“Well, I could help out if you want?” asked Dominic, watching Casey, Theo, and Lily stalk past him. “Yeah, I’d love to make pizzas.”

“Sure,” said Casey, turning back and smirking nastily. “I can find you a job.”

~*~*~*~*~

A few minutes later, Casey held up a large metal scraper in front of Dominic’s face. “I’ll inspect when you’re finished.”

They crouched together. The underside of the table was covered in wads of chewed gum.

“You want me to scrape gum?” asked Dominic.

“Well, I’m cleaning the toilets, so…” said Casey, trailing off. He stood up and walked away, putting his Solar Morpher inside his hat on the desk near where Fran was folding napkins.

“So,” asked Dominic, getting up and walking over to her. “Did you to Pai Zhuq too?”

“Me?” asked Fran. She sunk her head bashfully. “Oh, no. I’ve hardly even left Ocean Bluff. The only places I have been too are in books.”

“Books?” asked Dominic. “Seriously?”

He slid the set of towels aside, unknowingly knocking Casey’s hat and Solar Morphers off the desk and into the bin.

“Why?” asked Fran. “Is that weird?”

“I always have a book with me,” replied Dominic, whipping a book out of his back pocket. “When I’m alone, they’re kinda like my friends…” he leaned down onto the desk and held up the book he was reading. “Here: The Pirate’s Skeleton. Arr, why don’t you give it a read, Matey, or ye be a scurvy dog.”

Fran chuckled and took the book, both she and Dominic laughing gently.

~*~*~*~*~

“Dominic was one of the best,” said RJ; he, Theo, and Lily had met Chris in town. He’d gone on ahead to start shopping for them. “Master Mao was gonna choose him to be a protector.”

“Why didn’t he?” asked Chris.

“Ah, because Dom had a curious streak,” admitted RJ. “He wanted to see everything, do everything. Master Mao sent him out to find a focus and, years later, he’s still looking.”

“Hmm,” said Chris, putting the supplies in the back of RJ’s truck. “Sounds like I’m gonna like him. Can’t wait to meet him.”

Moments later, the town rocked on its hinges.

“Holy Mother of Mabelthorpe!” exclaimed Chris. “Here we go again!”

“Come on!” agreed Lily, calling back to Theo as she and Chris took off in a run. Theo, who had been helping Chris load supplies into the back of RJ’s truck, jumped out of the back and rushed after them.

“That’s right!” boomed the Rinshi. “Run scared!”

RJ rushed after them.

~*~*~*~*~

Back at Jungle Karma Pizza, Casey crouched down under one of the tables, saw it was still full of gum, and stood up again. Dominic was still stood with Fran, who was chuckling gently in her usual Fran Squeak.

“Dominic, you missed a few,” said Casey. “Hundred.”

Dominic met Fran’s eyes and she made an expression indicating that she considered Casey grumpy; it was silly and mocking and sent Dominic chuckling. “And have you seen my sunglasses, I-?”

Fran, who was in on the secret of the Power Rangers, glanced down as Casey approached. The familiar whoot whoot whoot of the Solar Morphers, ringing out, was coming from below. She glanced all around looking for them but, finally, Casey spotted them – in the bin next to the desk.

“Oh, sorry, I –”

Casey lifted up his hat and whipped the Solar Morphers out of the bin. “How long have these been in the trash?”

“Uh, I dunno,” admitted Dominic. “I – I can wash ‘em?”

Casey did not reply. Both he and Fran knew what the ringing of his Solar Morphers meant: a fight was occurring, and he was needed.

“What’s up?” asked Dominic, turning back to Fran as Casey burst out the front door.

“Oh, there’s trouble,” replied Fran. “Oh, forget about the gum – go!”

Dominic rushed after Casey.

~*~*~*~*~

In town, Chris and RJ leapt into combat, both kicking the Rinshi in unison, sending him rolling away.

“You don’t stand a chance, Rinshi!” barked Lily as she and Theo landed behind RJ and Chris.

“Not just any Rinshi!” retorted the Rinshi, making a handmovement above his head. “I am Crocovile!”

He ripped apart, revealing the crocodilian form underneath. He had enormous spikes on his arms and scales all over his body.

“Oh my!” exclaimed Chris as Crocovile leapt into battle and landed before him. Crocovile advanced while Chris backed up, Spino Smashers spinning in his hands.

“Get ready!”

“Always am, Child.”

Chris’s eyes glowed white and blasted at Crocovile. Lily, RJ and Theo advanced at the same time.

Chris’s Basilisk Blast hit Crocovile hard, only to rebound and send Chris cartwheeling backwards through the air. He landed with a skid, sliding across the floor, smoke erupting from his feet.

“Holy Basilisk, he’s strong,” said Chris. The Basilisk’s head phased in over his shoulder as Lily, RJ, and Theo were blasted back.

“HA!” laughed Crocovile. “Had enough?”

“Focus, guys!” exclaimed RJ, struggling to his feet. “This is one vile crocodile.”

“I’m here now!” cried Casey, finally arriving; he heaved Theo and Lily to their feet.

“Where were you?” barked Theo.

Casey didn’t reply; he whipped his Sunglasses out of his pocket and Morphed. Unbeknownst to him and the others, Dominic was stood nearby and had seen everything.

“The odds just changed, buddy!” exclaimed Casey.

“May I suggest a somewhat more offensive approach?” suggested the Basilisk over Chris’s shoulder.

“Good idea,” suggested Chris. He whipped out his Mystic Morpher and transformed into his Black Mystic Ranger force.

He rose into the air, pointed his staff, and blasted down at Crocovile. The blast hit Crocovile, only to rebound and smash hard into Chris. He whirled in the air and smashed into a building behind, slumping down.

He staggered to his feet as RJ, Casey, Theo, and Lily were knocked to the floor by Crocovile.

“Now for the knockout strike!”

But it didn’t come – out of nowhere, Dominic emerged; he caught Crocovile around the waist and began to hold him back.

“Dom! Get out of there!” cried RJ.

“Ah, the new one!” exclaimed Chris, straightening up.

“Don’t mess around!” shouted Casey; Crocovile flung out his arms and threw Dominic off. He crashed into a nearby car, only to regain himself.

“Over here!” he cried, jigging left and right. Crocovile raised an arm to strike, only for Dominic to smash him with the door and slide through the car.

“Hey, come back here!” roared Crocovile, rushing around the car.

“Hey, wrong way, over here now!” said Dominic, diving over the car to return to his original position. Crocovile leapt after him, caught him by the arm, and threw him back against the car.

Nearby, though none of them had noticed yet, a skater in a helmet came zooming out of the nearby entrance on a skateboard.

Dominic ducked – Crocovile jabbed – the car went skidding backwards, right towards the skateboarder.

All Dominic could do was watch. The skateboarder raised his hands to try and stop the skidding car, only for Casey to appear out nowhere and yank him aside.

Crocovile turned and left.

“You alright?” asked Casey to the skateboarder.

“Yeah, yeah!” said the skateboarder, who picked up his skateboard and ran.

“Dom, you OK?” asked RJ as he, Theo, Chris and Lily rushed over; Casey was stalking towards them.

“Never better,” replied Dominic. “You should have told me you guys were Power Rangers!”

“Sorry I was late,” said Casey, finally reaching them. He glared at Dominic, though his glare was hidden by his helmet. “I got held up.”

~*~*~*~*~

“How could you not hear us call?” asked Theo, smirking, as the group returned to the loft above Jungle Karma Pizza.

“Dominic knocked them in the trash!” retorted Casey frustratedly. “It’s not my fault.”

“Alright, Dudes, cool your jets,” said RJ. “It’s all water under the bridge. Let’s just concentrate on the real enemy here, shall we?”

“Yes,” said Chris, a hand to his chin. “Few things have been able to withstand a blast from the Basilisk. Oh, sure, there are things it hasn’t defeated before, but complete immunity? That’s new – and worrying. They’re getting stronger.”

“I want to join you.”

The Rangers stopped and turned, RJ some steps behind them, to face Dominic, who had stopped just inside the door, fists clenched. “Help you fight Dai Shi. Master Mao told me I’d find my path when I least expected it and, man, I didn’t expect any of this. I feel like – like I’ve wandered in the dark for six years and, today, the sunlight finally hit my face.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” admitted Casey.

“Everything’s a big game to you,” agreed Theo. “Someone would get hurt.”

“Please,” said Dominic. “Give me a chance.”

RJ looked back to the Rangers. Casey and Theo huffed and stalked away; Lily trotted after them, glancing sadly back at Dominic for a moment. “You guys!”

“You can’t join the team –” began RJ.

“I know,” finished Dominic. “Unless they want me too.”

RJ shrugged and nodded sadly.

“So,” concluded Dominic. “I’ll make them want me.”

“If it’s any consolation,” said Chris, stepping up to RJ’s side. “I’m all for it. I wouldn’t be where I am – or who I am, actually – if I hadn’t been given a chance. Give them time, they’ll come round to the idea. Or, if they don’t, I’ll beat them with my Spino Smashers until they do. Three Rangers on one? Child’s play. Now, RJ, have you got a satellite uplink?”

~*~*~*~*~

“Cheques on two and four, water on seven,” said Dominic, whirling the plate over Theo’s head later that afternoon.

“The guy’s all over it, huh?” asked Theo, the corner of his mouth quirking impressed.

As the lunch rush ran on, Dominic approached Lily, who was shaking a pepper shaker over the top of a mushroom and pepperoni pizza. “You know, I don’t know why everyone always panics about the lunch rush?”

On a nearby table, three customers leapt to their feet, blowing at their mouths with their hands.

Theo looked around anxiously. “Water on the double!” he ordered.

Lily vanished into the kitchen as Casey tried a slice of pizza for himself. “Ugh!” he gasped, rushing into the kitchen after Lily. “Ohhh!”

“I said pepper!” erupted Casey, returning a moment later with the empty can that Dominic had used to fill the pepper shakers. “Not hot Chilli pepper!”

~*~*~*~*~

Later that afternoon, Theo and Lily were training in the loft.

“That’s good balance,” admitted Dominic, walking over to Lily, a bowl of greasy chips in his hand. “But let me show you something. When you strike like this,” he did the movement Lily had been practicing, taking her Jungle Staff in his hand. “Rotate your wrist like this. More power. And when you shift from side to side,” he took Theo’s Jungle Tonfa in his hand and performed a movement. “Loosen your fingers, you’re gonna see a big difference.”

“Thanks!” said Lily, happily.

The twosome performed the movements, only for their weapons to go flying.

Lily’s Jungle Staff flew through the air, spinning line a vertical airplane propeller, and nearly decapitated Casey, who was stood at the top of the living quarters, and Chris, who had just emerged.

“Duck!” shouted Chris, yanking Casey down with him. The Jungle Staff hit the wall hard behind. Chris stood up and straightened up. “You know, I always thought it would be my father who killed me, not an out of control stick! Ooof, exhilarating!”

Theo’s Jungle Tonfa hit the enormous cooling fan on the wall; RJ, sat in front of it, working on something on one of the tables, yelped in shock as the fan sparked and the Jungle Tonfa clattered to the ground.

“I couldn’t hold it!” exclaimed Lily.

“There’s grease on them!” exclaimed Theo, looking at his greasy hand.

Dominic sighed in annoyance, dropping the chips back into the bowl as Casey stood up and spread his arms wide, as if wordlessly asking ‘What the hell, guys?’

“Sorry to interrupt,” said Chris, turning to from the group to RJ. “Any reply from –”

“Nothing yet.”

“Hmm,” huffed Chris. “That’s worrying. The Animarium should’ve got back to me by now…”

~*~*~*~*~

Later that afternoon, RJ entered the kitchen and caught sight of Dominic, descending from the stairs with his backpack in one hand.

“Ahhhh,” groaned Dominic, annoyed.

“Come on, man,” said RJ. “Why don’t you stick around? Just another day or two?”

“I know what you’re trying to do,” said Dominic, clapping a hand to RJ’s shoulder. “And I appreciate it. But I’m not gonna fit in here, so, it’s back to the path.”

Dominic turned and left.

“Shame,” said Chris, quietly from the top of the stairs. “I could have done with another outsider in the group.”

“Yes,” said the Basilisk, phasing in over his shoulder. “How very disappointing.”

He faded back into Chris’s mind before Cris could ask whether he was disappointed with Dominic or the Rangers.

~*~*~*~*~

“And, so, he made his decision and decided to leave,” said RJ to the Rangers and Chris that afternoon, unaware that Chris had seen it all from the top of the stairs.

Behind RJ, the door to the kitchen swung open and Fran entered. Her gentle smiling face changed, falling into a sad and disappointed frown as she took in RJ’s words.

“Dominic?” she asked. “Left?”

“It’s for the best, right?” asked Casey, straightening up. “We gave it a try, it didn’t work.”

“Did you?” Fran asked, barely able to keep the mocking laugh out of her voice; RJ turned to her, a closed box of pizza in his hand. “Did you really… try? So, he jokes around, I kinda liked it.”

“Me too,” admitted Lily.

“He reminds me of Ethan,” admitted Chris wistfully, rubbing at the back of his neck. “Gods, I haven’t thought of Ethan in ages…”

“Did you ever give him a chance to show you what he was really made of?” continued Fran. “Even once?”

The phone rang behind her before the others could answer. She turned to it and answered it.

“Jungle Karma. Yeah, I-I’m sorry, I will get those pizzas to you right away, bye.”

And she put the phone down and turned back to the group; she picked up the large green bag that RJ had put the pizzas in and, with a nod to Chris, who followed, left for the truck outside.

Casey emerged after them moments later.

~*~*~*~*~

The Jungle Karma Pizza Jeep pulled up at a construction site near the docks on the edge of town.

“Look!” exclaimed Fran as Casey stopped the engine. “There’s Dominic.”

She stepped out of the car, put the bag of pizzas back down onto the passenger seat, and strode over to Dominic.

“Hey!” exclaimed Casey. “Where are you going?”

Chris slid through the open window and followed after Fran. “You too?”

Fran and Chris sat down behind Dominic, on either side of the double seated bench and Fran punched his arm gently; he turned to look at her. “You didn’t even say goodbye.”

“Didn’t think anyone noticed,” admitted Dominic, turning away from Fran and staring out at the ocean.

“Of course we noticed!” interjected Fran. “OK, well, Chris and I noticed.”

Dominic smiled gently. Chris and Fran rounded the bench and sat down either side of him.

“Hey, when I first came to the pizza parlour, I was kinda lost,” admitted Fran. “But then they opened their hearts, and the Parlour became my purpose. Well, for the time being anyway.”

“I’m lost too,” said Chris. “More than I’m ever willing to admit to anyone else – tell them I told you and you won’t see the light of day again, I swear - I am a long way from home with no idea how or when I’ll make it back. Being a Ranger has become my purpose, my being. Finally, when I can’t talk about it with him, I truly understand Doctor Oliver…”

“I wonder if I’ll ever find my purpose?” asked Dominic.

“Just – just don’t quit looking, yeah?” suggested Fran gently. She tapped him on the shoulder and bounded to her feet. “Bye, Dom!”

Above, a sign labelled OCEAN BLUFF FERRY SERVICES was being lifted high into the air.

Then, it happened – one of the chains holding the sign snapped; all Fran, below, could do was scream as the sign swung violently above her.

“Holy!”

“Fran!”

Chris bounded from the bench – Casey leapt from the Jeep - but Dominic had beaten them both too it.

“RHINO POWER!”

With a flash and whoosh, Dominic’s right hand turned into an enormous drill. He reached Fran’s side and pulled her close to him, ducking with his arm in the air. The second chain snapped – the sign came smashing down – and Dominic drilled an enormous hole above himself and Fran just in time.

“You OK?” asked Dominic as Fran, barely able to believe she was alive, laughed.

“I am,” she said. “Thanks to you.”

Dominic helped Fran off the sign and to safety, nodding to Casey who had finally reached him. “Hey, Casey.”

“That was stupid!” barked Chris, who had reached the group too. “Stupid, reckless, and completely and utterly stupendous! I’d’ve personally smashed the sign away, but an enormous hole works just as well! Are you alright, Fran?”

Fran nodded, relieved and still a little flustered.

“Dominic,” said Casey. “Wow, I made a mistake. I’m sorry. You know, for thinking you were just a goof off. I mean, you are a goof off, but, uh, you’re also a lot more. You’ve got the Rhino Spirit, and the Ranger spirit. And I think you should join us.”

Casey’s Solar Morphers rang out, echoing; he whipped them on. “Yeah?” he asked. The reply was unheard by the others. “We’re on it.”

He took the Solar Morphers off, then looked to Chris and Dominic. “You ready?”

~*~*~*~*~

“Finish them, Crocovile!” exclaimed Camille, watching from above as Crocovile loomed over the defeated forms of Theo, Lily, and RJ.

“STRIKE RIDER, HIGH SPEED!” shouted Casey. His motorbike crumpled down into its other form, the front and back linking by a large sheet of protective plastic, and he smashed hard into Crocovile. “ATTACK MODE, GO!”

Crocovile roared as an explosion of fire erupted from the collision. Casey leapt high into the air and landed next to the others. With a flash of pink, Chris and Dominic appeared.

“Told you I’d get us here,” said Chris. “And you doubted me!”

“Hey, guys, miss us?” asked Casey as Dominic took a fighting stance.

“Dominic!” exclaimed Lily. “I thought you left?”

“I almost left,” admitted Dominic.

“Well, right now you’d better step aside,” said Theo.

“Hey!” barked Casey. “Give him a chance.”

“You’re in for hell of a surprise!” admitted Chris, smirking under his helmet. “Right, Dom?”

Dominic nodded.

“Dom, this will Ranger Up your Rhino Spirit,” said RJ, holding out a bracelet with two silver buttons on it.

“Thanks,” said Dominic. He took the Morpher, put it on his wrist and stepped forward. He pressed the two buttons and thrust his hand down. “Rhino Morpher, initiate!”

He Morphed before their eyes; his outfit was white with black shoulder pads and belt, all etched and adorned with orange.

“Ooh, fancy!” admitted Chris.

“With the power of a Rhino, Jungle Fury, Rhino Ranger!”

“Rhino Ranger?” spat Camille. “Ugh! Rinshi!”

The Rinshi appeared, an enormous wall of them.

“Shall we?” asked Chris, stepping forward to join Dominic.

“Oh, yes,” said Dominic. “Let’s.”

And, together, both roaring, they charged into battle.

~*~*~*~*~

“OK,” said Casey that afternoon, watching Dominic juggle some glass cups in front of a table of customers. “So, he has a certain charm.”

“And business is up since he started,” replied Lily, who was mopping the floor.

“And I’ve had time to catch up on my reality shows, ha!” laughed RJ.

“How on Earth you stomach Love Island, I’ll never know,” admitted Chris. He turned and chuckled, seeing Dominic approaching them all at the reception desk.

Dominic placed a gift in front of Casey.

“Something you wanted me to get,” he said, a gentle and somewhat apologetic smile on his face. “But it took me a while.”

Casey frowned as Dominic headed back onto the serving floor. He turned, briefly, watching Casey, and smirked.

“What is it?” Casey wondered, opening the box. He frowned, not believing his eyes at what was inside the box, before tipping it upside down and expelling what was inside.

“The gum?” he asked, holding up the enormous wad of gum, a look of disgust on his face. “Ugh, Dom!”

And the family of Pizza Making and World Saving Rangers – and Fran – now one member larger, all laughed.

Chapter Text

Chapter XVII: Dash for the Dagger

“Morning!” greeted Lily one morning as Dominic, a week into staying with the Rangers and joining the team, walked into the upper living area.

“Thanks,” replied Dominic, taking an orange juice that Casey offered him, and sittng down on one of the stools. “Last night, I dreamed of Master Mao.”

“Master Mao?” asked Theo, swinging himself up from his position on the bench nearby; the book he’d been holding above his head to read fell forgotten at his side.

“What did he say?” asked Lily.

“It was more like a memory of the day I left Pai Zhuq,” said Dominic. “He gave me a control dagger.”

“A what dagger?” asked Casey, face scrunched up in confusion.

“A control dagger,” replied Dominic. “It’s an ancient blade about… oof, yay big?” he indicated the length with his fingers. “All he said was ‘someday it will guide you on your path.’”

“Maybe it’s not just a legend?” wondered RJ. “Hmm…”

“What’s… not just a legend?” asked Dominic as he and the Rangers turned to face RJ, who was sat on the mat on the lower floor in a position of meditation.

“The Dagger,” said RJ, standing up. “It controls the Rhino Nexus. You see, in the Jungle of Spirits, there’s this massive tree and at the top? The Powers of the Rhino. And without the dagger, no-one gets through, but if you have the dagger, you’re sweet, you go straight in. That’s the legend anyway.”

“And I possess the Spirit of the Rhino,” said Dominic, turning to the others. “So, unlocking the Powers of the Rhino is my destiny.”

“So… where is the Dagger?” asked Theo.

“Oof, don’t worry,” said Dominic. “I keep it in a very, very safe place. I’ll be back.”

The other Rangers nodded in relief.

“Maybe I’ll just go with you!” added Theo, walking off after Dominic.

If any of them had been watching closer, they would have seen the Basilisk’s eyes open on the wall behind them and would have seen him fade from view. A gentle pink flash didn’t even register with them.

~*~*~*~*~

“Mornin’,” said Chris, sitting in a booth of the restaurant as Dominic walked in, Theo trotting behind him. “Breakfast?” he asked, holding up a plate of omelettes.

“What are you doing?” asked Theo as Dominic flopped into the booth next to Chris. “We’re not eating. We’ve gotta get the Dagger!”

“I’m starving,” said Dominic, taking a plate from Chris. “Discovering your destiny can give you an appetite.”

“Don’t you take anything seriously?” asked Theo in a hissed whisper, leaning over the chair on the otherside of the booth. “When Master Mao appears in a –”

He trailed off as a waitress came over. “What can I get you?”

Dominic looked to Chris and pointed at something on the menu; Chris nodded. “A number 4 please,” said Dominic to the waitress. “Extra tomato.”

“Sure,” said the Waitress.

“To go!” barked Theo. He whipped the chair aside and sat down on it. “As I was saying: If Master – are you even listening?”

Dominic had reached down the back of the booth and pulled out a large object wrapped in a cloth; he moved the cloth aside to reveal the Dagger.

“Voila,” he said to Theo. “My destiny.”

“That’s your very, very safe place?” asked Theo as Dominic reclothed the Dagger and hid it from view. “Under there with old French fries and dead cockroaches?”

“Genius, huh?” asked Dominic. “No-one’s gonna put their hands down there.”

“New rule,” said Theo, standing up and taking the dagger. “You are not allowed to touch the dagger. Period.”

And he stuffed it inside his jacket and marched away.

“Hey, where are you going?” asked Chris, rising and thundering after him.

~*~*~*~*~

Outside, Dominic caught up to Chris and Theo, who was talking to a woman carrying her laundry into a taxi. “Hey, we’re in a big hurry. Can we share the ride?”

“Sure,” said the woman. “Get in.”

The three slid into the taxi with her and it rolled away.

~*~*~*~*~

“I’ve had that thing for six years,” said Dominic to Theo, who was examining the dagger. “I could have gone to the Rhino Nexus a long time ago.”

“Like Master Mao would say, everything happens for a reason,” retorted Theo.

Moments later, the Taxi reached the Laundromat in town and Theo and Dominic dove out of the taxi, thrust the laundry at her, then rushed back into the taxi, which screeched away.

Theo’s Solar Morphers rang. “Yeah?” he said, putting them on. “We’re coming, we got the dagger.”

He took his Solar Morphers off then realised something terribly important. His hands fumbled on the sofa. “Where is it!?”

“Don’t look at me,” said Dominic, holding his hands up in surrender. “I’m not allowed to touch it!”

“Oh no!” gasped Theo.

“You lost it, didn’t you?” asked Chris, letting his head fall into his hands. “Why is it always the hyperactive squirrel brains that lose things?”

He closed his eyes, allowing them to flash white for a moment. “It’s with the Laundromat lady…”

~*~*~*~*~

“Where’s that lady!?” cried Theo, rushing into the Laundromat with Dominic and Chris. The Taxi had dropped them off at the corner and was now driving away. Theo held a hand up to Dominic’s chest, indicating he was talking to him. “Look everywhere!”

Together, the twosome rushed off.

“Are you sure it’s just one hyperactive squirrel brain?” asked the Basilisk, fading in.

Theo’s Solar Morpher blared, and, with a cry of disgust, he dropped the underwear he was holding.

“Yeah, Case?” he asked, holding it to his ear.

“We need you guys!”

“We’ll be there as fast as we can.” He turned to Dominic. “Dominic?”

Dominic shrugged.

~*~*~*~*~

“Oh!” gasped Dominic, sometime later, staring through the entrance of a washing machine. He threw open the front and yanked something out. “I got it!”

He slid the fabric down, just to check it was and then, relieved, threw it to Theo and sagged against the washing machines.

“I owe you one,” admitted Theo. “Thanks.”

“Nobody’s perfect.”

Theo nodded and handed it back to Dominic. “Take it straight to the loft. Take Chris with you, just in case.”

“You can count on me!” Dominic assured him, rushing over to Chris.

“To the loft!” exclaimed Chris as he and Dominic turned and left the laundromat.

~*~*~*~*~

As they walked down the road, a woman was dragged past them, screaming; she vanished down an alleyway with her two attackers.

“Hey!” barked Dominic, taking off into a run with Chris.

“Let her go!”

“HEY!” erupted Dominic, as he and Chris burst into the alley. “HOLD IT!”

The two attackers let go of the woman and turned, lowering their hoods menacingly. The woman, too, turned menacingly.

“You!” breathed Chris. “The evil one!”

“Oh, great,” muttered Dominic.

“Ready for this?” asked Chris, sinking into a fighting pose.

“GIVE ME THE CONTROL DAGGER!” boomed the woman, transforming back into her original form: Camille, Dai Shi’s servant.

~*~*~*~*~

“I bop you on the head, and you, and you, and you!” exclaimed Chris, whirling and twirling in his Ranger form. “Oooh, and what’s this? Oh, yeah, I bop you on the head too!”

Finally, all the Rinshi fell at their hands and the Rangers turned. Camille was charging towards them, blades drawn.

Camille bashed Dominic aside, then whirled and struck him a second time. The Dagger flew into the air, clattering to the floor.

“No! The Dagger!” cried Dominic.

“It’s mine!” roared Theo.

“No, you don’t!” exclaimed Chris, vanishing in a flash of pink light. He emerged to block Camille just in time –

RJ’s shout of “SPIN FURY, ATTACK!” sent Camille flying as the attack hit.

“Don’t worry, guys,” said Dominic, scooping up the dagger and holding it in one hand, as he turned to the other Rangers, who had arrived. “I still have it safe and sound. I’ll let you know if I need help.”

“Oh, yeah?” asked Casey, crossing his arms. “You would have lost if we hadn’t shown up and if Chris’s reflexes had been slower!”

“And thank you very much!” replied Dominic. “But I’ve got everything under control.”

Something grey and slimy wrapped around the dagger and yanked it away. Camille’s long tongue whipped the dagger back to her.

“Yes!” she exclaimed, examining it. “Why didn’t you just gift wrap it for me, Rhino Ranger?”

“No!” cried the Rangers as Camille warbled and vanished.

“Good to know you’ve got it all under control,” said Casey, stepping forward and putting a hand on Dominic’s shoulder.

“She’s going to take it straight to Dai Shi!” exclaimed Lily.

The ground rocked.

“Looks like we got more trouble!” exclaimed RJ.

“Let’s go!” exclaimed Casey as he and the Rangers took off in a run; Dominic, behind them, lagged behind.

“Hey, wait – aargh!”

~*~*~*~*~

“What is that!?” gasped Casey as the Rangers reached the source of the rumbling. An enormous egg in the ground.

“Hello, Rangers!” boomed the creature stood before them; it was covered in feathers and had an ostrich head sticking out of its chest.

“That’s no Whirnado!” exclaimed Lily. “That’s a chick!”

“I’m more powerful!” boomed the chick. “I have new powers too! Wanna see them or are you chicken?”

The chick sprouted a dozen wings and charged, knocking the Rangers to the floor before they could react.

“Take two!” he cried, surging forward and sending the Rangers tumbling like nine-pins.

RJ leapt forward into battle, only to be thrown aside. The others charged forward into battle and Lily was knocked to the floor.

“GET AWAY FROM HER!” shouted Dominic, striking the creature.

“FIRE!” roared the chick, launching an explosion behind Dominic. He dodged it, followed by the second, then a third, whacking the chick aside in a flurry of yellow strikes.

“This bird brain can’t handle my power!” boasted Dominic. “See what you think of this! RHINO MORPHER, STAMPEDE!”

The chick was blown back, allowing the Rangers to jump into battle and attack, weakening him further.

But it was Dominic who got the final strike. He leapt high into the air behind the Rangers as they attacked.

“RHINO MORPHER, SUPER BLADE ATTACK!”

He descended, slicing the chick in half. The chick groaned, moaned, sparked, then toppled and exploded.

Defeated.

Moments later, it bulged to the size of a twenty-storey building.

“We’ll take it from here!” said Casey to Dominic.

“Alright!” agreed Dominic.

The Rangers summoned the Megazord, and the fight began.

~*~*~*~*~

“Dom, wait!” said Casey, following Dominic up the stairs into the upper living quarters of Jungle Karma Pizza. Dominic turned to him. “I kind of wanted to say sorry. You know, for coming down on you so hard. If Theo can lose a dagger, I guess anyone can.”

He tapped Dominic on the shoulder, and they descended into the lower living area.

“There’s only one reason to have the control dagger,” said RJ, flopping back into his chair.

“To get the Rhino Power,” finished Theo.

“And you get that from the Rhino Nexus,” added Lily.

“Don’t get too comfortable,” said RJ, standing up. “Looks like we’re going on a field trip.”

Theo, Casey, and Lily rushed off.

“RJ, Master Mao said the Dagger was to help me find my destiny, not Dai Shi’s.”

“Perhaps they’re intertwined.”

Casey, Theo, and Lily stopped at the door, turning at the twinkling melodious voice. Chris too, turned, recognising it.

There, with long flowing dark hair, a crown of flowers, and a mass of flowing white dresses and cloaks and robes, was someone incredibly familiar to Chris.

“Princess Shayla!” he exclaimed, sweeping into a bow, face almost ripping apart with a smile. “You came!”

“Well, you did call,” said Princess Shayla, smiling happily as she and Chris stepped forward to embrace one another. “Oh, you look so well. That pesky darkness gone?”

“Gone, no,” said Chris. “In balance, yes.”

“Who’s the broad?”

“Casey!” scolded Chris sharply, whirling on the Red Ranger. “This is Princess Shayla, Guardian of the Animarium, Queen of the Ancient Kingdom of Animaria, Mentor to the Wild Force Power Rangers! Show some respect!”

He turned back to Princess Shayla, seeing Casey make an apology in his shrug. “How is everyone? Taylor? Cole? Alyssa?”

“All well,” said Princess Shayla. “They send their love. And their support, if you need it.”

“You mean?”

Princess Shayla held out a shining, familiar device.

Chris picked it up and a roar rang out around the loft of Jungle Karma Pizza. “My old Growl Phone.”

It felt warm to the touch, the power dancing across the palm of his hand.

Princess Shayla began to glow.

“Whoa!” exclaimed Casey.

“Alas, I must go,” said Princess Shayla to Chris. She smiled and held his hands in hers, just for one small moment. “You know where to return that when you’re done with it.”

“Ma’am!” said Chris, saluting. “Give my love to Merrick and the children!”

Princess Shayla smiled and flounced in that familiar manner she always had done, then faded from view before them.

“Now we’re ready to race Dai Shi to the Nexus,” said Chris, turning to them. “Let’s go kick some Rinshi butt!”

Chapter Text

Chapter XVIII: Race to the Nexus

“Everybody ready?” asked RJ, descending the stairs with Dominic and Chris. Casey, Theo, and Lily were heaving large green backpacks onto their backs. “Keep in mind, there are good reasons why no-one gets into the Nexus. They say there are hidden dangers, protectors, so…keep your guard up.”

Theo nodded anxiously and RJ continued. “Alright, let’s do it. Today, we’ll be travelling first class.”

“You heard him,” said Chris to the Basilisk in his head. “Be on your guard. Anything could come for us on this journey.”

“Ready for anything, Child,” said the Basilisk, humming gently inside Chris’s head.

With a nod to RJ, the Rangers were off.

~*~*~*~*~

Later that day, as the Rangers soared through the air in the Flying Jungle Pride Megazord, something black smashed into the Megazord as the Rangers soared towards the Nexus.

“What was that?!” asked Casey.

“The overlords!” exclaimed Lily. “They passed us!”

“Oh man!” exclaimed Casey, realising. “They’re heading to the Rhino Nexus too! We have to beat them there!”

“Hold on to your butts, then,” said Chris. “I wonder…”

He raised his hands, summoning, and a caw echoed – from high in the sky the clouds opened, revealing the Pigeon from the Animarium.

The Pigeon heaved the Megazord into the air and threw it high, surging it in speed. “WOOOOOOOOOOOO!” screamed Chris as the other Rangers held on for their lives. “Hello, what’s that-?”

Down below, one of the Overloads, Grizzaka, was enormous. “Oh, good, an easy target!”

The Megazord smashed into Grizzaka, knocking him back.

“Rangers!” boomed Grizzaka as the Megazord landed and the Pigeon Zord vanished into the sky, returning to the Animarium.

“You’re not getting the Dagger, Grizzaka!” snapped Casey. “Right, guys!”

“Right!”

Down below, Dai Shi and Camille took their chance and fled, while Grizzaka and the other Overlords were distracted.

“Hpph!” huffed Casey, spotting Camille and Dai Shi disappearing into the distance. “They’re getting away!”

“I will destroy the Rangers with my bare claws!” boomed Grizzaka, slicing his claws through the air. He struck the Megazord hard, sending the Rangers inside wobbling.

“We need extra power!”

“CALLING ON THE SPIRIT OF THE SHARK!” boomed the Rangers in unison. The Wings of the Megazord separated and the Shark Zord merged with them.

Casey swung the arms of the Megazord into an attack.

“You don’t scare me!” boomed Grizzaka, catching the arms mid-swing. “ZOCATO!”

The blast from Grizzaka’s chest sent the Megazord sparking wildly. It exploded and the Rangers hit the ground hard.

Grizzaka, who had been the size of a twenty-storey building, shrunk down to normal size and was joined by the other two Overlords, Carnisoar and Jellica, stepped up to join him.

“There’s nowhere to hide!” boomed Grizzaka, spreading his claws. “This is your end! I will enjoy eliminating you!”

“Look!” gasped Dominic, pointing behind them. The three Overlords turned and gasped; enormous piles of dirt were rushing towards them, as if something large was burrowing under the ground.

“Sand Snakes!” cried Carnisoar as he, Jellica, and Grizzaka were sucked underground.

Dominic bounded to his feet.

“We’re running out of time!” he exclaimed, taking off in a run.

“That won’t hold them for long!” exclaimed RJ.

“Then may I suggest we do something that a wise general would do and make a tactical retreat and follow Dominic?” suggested Chris.

“Good idea!” agreed Casey.

The Rangers bounded to their feet and took off in a run after Dominic. They burst into a quarry moments later, only for the ground to explode behind them. Dominic, some distance ahead, managed to avoid it.

Carnisoar was stood before them. RJ made a movement with his hands; Dominic nodded and took off running again. Carnisoar, seeing RJ’s hand movements, turned and blasted at Dominic – but he was faster and avoided the attacks.

“You have proven yourself resilient,” said Carnisoar as the Ranger struggled to their feet. “But I am the Overlord who will finish the job!”

“You’ve picked the wrong day to mess with us!” barked Casey. He and the Rangers morphed, glistening in their numerous colours, and charged into battle.

~*~*~*~*~

As Dominic disappeared into the distance, the remaining Rangers were left behind with one simple task: defeat or delay Carnisoar for as long as possible.

“WILD ACCESS!” roared Chris, morphing from one form to another. He whipped his Sabre from his belt and leapt forward into combat.

Carnisoar blasted the Rangers back, kicking each of them to the ground, and caught Casey’s arms inside his own tight grip as he charged forward. Lily rushed forward to save Casey, only to be kicked backwards herself; she went rolling across the ground.

A few moments later, Carnisoar hurled Casey aside too. Theo and Chris were blasted aside, landing together in a heap, as RJ leapt forward into combat.

Lily and Casey – both back up and in combat again – were thrown aside again. Casey bounded back up and caught Carnisoar’s arm. “Gotcha!”

Carnisoar hurled him easily aside.

Lily, Theo, and Casey all landed together and bounded back to their feet. “JUNGLE MASTER MODE! CLAW CANNON!”

“WOLF BEAM!”

“BASILISK BLAST!”

The Rangers launched the Claw Cannon, Chris fired a blast of energy from his eyes, and RJ fired from his Morpher.

Carnisoar spread his arms wide and took the blast as the powers of the Rangers and the Basilisk merged, whirling together. The blast exploded in a plume of flames.

“Yeah!” exclaimed Casey. “That got ‘im!”

It had, in fact, not got him. He floated into the air in a plume of purple smoke.

“Your playthings can’t hurt me!” he boomed, spreading his arms wide and firing blasts of energy at the Rangers. The blasts sent them flying and Carnisoar landed gently before them.

“After today, you and your Masters will finally be out of the way!” threatened Carnisoar.

“We’re not going down that easy!” exclaimed Casey, staggering back to his feet with the Rangers.

In unison the Rangers charged; Carnisoar leapt high over the heads of Lily, Theo, and Chris, and smashed Casey aside as he jumped to meet Carnisoar in combat.

Carnisoar landed and smashed RJ aside, sending him spiralling horizontally through the air.

“MAGICAL SOURCE, MYSTIC FORCE!”

Chris changed form again, enormous Mystic Staff forming in his hand and leapt forward, meeting Lily’s eye. She nodded and he lowered the Staff. Carnisoar lunged for Lily and Chris pushed down on the staff like a seesaw. Lily flew into the air only for Carnisoar to leap after her, smashing her back down to the ground with a painful, sandy, thud, like a banana split without a bowl.

“Hey!” cried Theo, leaping forward, jetpacks from his Jungle Master Mode roaring. Carnisoar blasted at him; the purple beam hit Theo in the chest, the jetpacks failed, and he smashed to the floor.

“Let’s try this again!” exclaimed RJ, twisting his Morpher.

Carnisoar turned to him and the twosome blasted in unison. RJ’s blast hit Carnisoar’s, and the two blasts collided, sparking and flying to one side; the sparks from the blasts lit the ground and explosions rang out, sending RJ flying.

Casey leapt forward, using his jetpack to propel him, only for Carnisoar to blast him aside.

“WIND!”

Chris swung his Mystic Staff over his head and blasted it at Carnisoar, who turned and deflected the blast. It surged high and then back at Chris.

“Oh, bugger, this is gonna -”

He did not get a chance to finish his sentence for the blast of wind, made even more powerful by Carnisoar reflecting it, hit him in the chest and sent him flying.

Casey leapt back into combat, only for Carnisoar to block it again.

“Not even your highest power can destroy me, Red Ranger!” boomed Carnisoar, throwing Casey backwards.

He cartwheeled backwards through the air until –

“Oof!”

He smashed down onto Chris, who had just stood up.

“I know we’re friends, but with all due respect Casey, get off!”

“Casey, Chris!” exclaimed RJ as the others rushed over.

“Fighting you is tiresome,” said Carnisoar, raising his clawed hands; he began to slowly twirl his arms in front of their faces. “Perhaps you should fight each other in my world of illusions!”

He sprayed feathers everywhere, filling the air with them. When the Rangers’ vision returned, they were in a dark field in a dark skied realm in the complete middle of nowhere.

“Look sharp!” said Casey, glancing around. “This is Carnisoar’s game!”

Chris turned to him, only for Casey to smash him in the face and send him crumpling.

“Are you utterly nuts?!” barked Chris. “I know Dominic is a hyperactive squirrel brain, but I didn’t think you were nuttier than squirrel poo too!”

“Sorry, I thought you were Carnisoar,” admitted Casey, clutching at his head.

“Be careful,” said what appeared to be the actual Carnisoar, appearing briefly to heave Casey into the air. “Your mind will play tricks on you here in my world!”

“JUNGLE BEAST, SPIRIT UNLEASHED!”

And Chris leapt, Spino Smashers whirling; Carnisoar whirled, dodging the attack, and unintentionally released Casey. Now it was two on one!

Chris and Casey whirled, hacking and slashing at Carnisoar, who met every attack with a block and attack of his own.

They struck hard, only to find that it was RJ they had just attacked.

“What!?” gasped Casey. “RJ!”

RJ staggered back, only for what appeared to be Carnisoar to emerge from behind him. He whirled around and struck hard. Moments later, the Carnisoar caught his arm and transmogrified into the form of Lily.

“RJ!?” she cried, releasing his arm. “Sorry, I thought you were -!”

“Are we having fun?” asked the real Carnisoar, forming before them. He leapt and, suddenly, there were dozens of him. Theo smashed down nearby as the Carnisoars surged and whizzed and zoomed in all directions.

Attack after attack came, knocking the Rangers every which way. Carnisoar landed and blasted at them, knocking them to the ground.

“I can’t wait to turn this bird into carrion!” barked Chris as the Rangers hit the ground.

Dozens of Carnisoars landed next to Carnisoar. “You will have to choose, Red Ranger, which of me is real and which is illusion?”

“Hope my tiger instincts are right on this one…” breathed Casey, fists clenched as he struggled to stand. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and leapt, flipping backwards over himself, slashing at Carnisoar.

“What!?” cried Carnisoar as the illusion shattered and the Rangers were returned. “My illusion! I don’t need an illusion to destroy you! I have the most powerful trick of all!”

He whirled his hands around, as if turning two steering wheels at once and as expected, he suddenly became gargantuan, whirling a staff.

“Ready to do this?” asked RJ.

“Let’s go,” said Chris, allowing a nasty grin to cross his face. The Rangers summoned their Animal Spirits and merged together to create their Megazords; the Rangers and RJ’s “Anyone for Buzzard Baiting?”

As they strode forward to enter battle, none of them noticed a small bird, a merrily marauding marauder marauding merrily nearby. As if to hint at how the fight was going to go, the blast from the Megazords being formed fried the bird completely and a tiny, cooked chicken flopped to the ground, three tiny bones sticking out of it.

Carnisoar leapt into the air and landed on each Megazord, one leg resting on the shoulder of each of them, as if he was spanning the tracks between two speeding trains.

He swung his staff down, striking and smiting at the Megazords, causing the Rangers inside to be knocked around, heads rattling in their helmets.

The Megazords stumbled back.

“SPIN FURY!” shouted RJ and his Megazord summoned a circle of purple energy, which it kicked towards Carnisoar like it was rolling cheeses down a hill.

“JUNGLE MASTER, SPIN ATTACK!”

The Rangers’ Megazord began to spin, only for Carnisoar to smash both attacks away with his staff; RJ’s Spin Fury and the Rangers’ Spin Attack rebounding, crashing into them like a wrecking ball into a wall.

The Megazords exploded, sending the Rangers crashing to the floor like marionettes with their strings cut.

“Your pitiful powers are no match for me!” boomed the still gargantuan Carnisoar as he loomed overhead, striding menacingly towards them, each footfall rattling the ground like King Kong in New York on his search and rescue attempt with Ann Darrow.

He raised his staff, ready to strike, but the attack never came. Carnisoar looked up – thundering towards him was something horned and white.

“What is that?” asked Casey.

“I don’t recognise it,” admitted Lily.

“Grizzaka?” suggested Theo.

“Nah, I don’t think so,” admitted RJ.

“Is that?” gasped Casey, seeing the person stood on top of the large object thundering towards Carnisoar. “Dominic?”

“No!” boomed Carnisoar, turning to face Dominic. “The Rhino Ranger!”

“Big Momma has entered the chat!” whooped Chris. “You can work out for yourselves whether I mean the Rhino Spirit or Dominic.”

Carnisoar leapt to attack.

“POWER OF THE RHINO!” boomed Dominic, thrusting the control dagger forward. The enormous horn of the Rhino Spirit, an already bright yellow, began to glow iridescently.

“GO, DOM!” shouted Lily.

“ALRIGHT, DOM!” whooped Casey.

Carnisoar leapt to attack Dominic on the back of the Rhino Spirit, only for the Rhino Spirit’s horn to raise and smash into him, sending him flying.

He tumbled to the ground behind the Rhino Spirit, which skidded to a halt as Dominic, Control Dagger raised, boomed: “Halt!”

“Nice work, Dominic!” shouted Chris up to him.

“Incredible!” agreed Casey.

“I’ve reached my destiny!” shouted Dominic. “Rhino Spirit, transform!” The Rhino Spirit transformed into a Megazord of his own – it was white and blue with adornments of yellow and red throughout it. “Rhino Warrior Mode!”

“Another Megazord!” exclaimed Theo.

“The Rhino Warrior Mode!” agreed RJ.

“It’s magnificent!” said Casey.

“And so shiny!” added Chris.

“Carnisoar, you’re in for it now!” said Lily, uncaring as to whether Carnisoar could actually hear them.

“So, you reached the Nexus!” boomed Carnisoar. “No matter!”

He whirled his staff and fired at Dominic’s Rhino Warrior Mode Megazord, lasers soaring towards him. It was like a fly bashing into a window; the lasers casually bounced off Dominic’s Megazord.

“Let’s see how you like this!” retorted Dominic. “RHINO STEEL POWER!”

The Megazord raised it sword and stabbed it into the ground, which wrenched open, sparking heavily.  The attack his Carnisoar hard, sending him staggering backwards.

“RHINO STEEL BLADE!” roared Dominic.

The Megazord whipped the sword high into the air, then brought it swooping down; the yellow blade created a crescent of energy, which crashed down hard onto Carnisoar, who groaned and screamed.

“You may have won this battle!” boomed Carnisoar. “But this is far from over!”

With a shout, he threw his arms wide and exploded in a blinding flash of yellow.

Down below, the Rangers whooped.

Chapter Text

Chapter XIX: Arise the Crystal Eyes

“Hey, guys,” said RJ, walking into the main floor of the restaurant from the kitchen. “How about a little pow-wow?” He slammed a newspaper down onto the desk and the Rangers – and Fran – crowded around; ARCHAEOLOGIST ANNOUNCES RARE FIND read the headline. “This archaeologist has found five Crystal Eyes.”

“Five what?” asked Theo, confused.

“Crystal Eyes,” replied RJ. “During the Beast Wars ten thousand years ago, the phantoms were the baddest beasts around. One by one, the Masters destroyed all eight of them, saving the human race. When each beast was destroyed, a Crystal Eye was left in the ashes.”

Dominic picked up an apple and went to bite into it, only for RJ to snatch it off him. “About this size,” continued RJ. He picked up a torch and held it in one hand. “Tonight, the stars are in a very are alignment. If the starlight shines through the eye, bingo, bango, bongo, the Phantom Beasts are brought back to life.”

“If Dai Shi gets his hands on those Crystal Eyes,” began Lily.

“We’ve got a whole army of Phantom Beasts to worry about,” finished Theo.

“Precisely,” said RJ. “There are eight Crystal Eyes. She only has five. That means Dai Shi may already have three.”

“Doctor Silva Jennings,” said Dominic, picking up the newspaper and reading the words on it. “She’s probably got no idea what they are.”

“We’ve got to make sure those Crystal Eyes are safe tonight,” agreed Casey.

RJ nodded.

~*~*~*~*~

At the Doctor Jennings Research Center, Silva Jennings and her male colleague were trying to determine what one of the eyes was.

“The Retinal scan was negative for Crocodile.”

“Iguana,” said a voice.

Doctor Jennings and her colleague turned; walking casually towards them, long haired and handsome and clad in leather, with a newspaper in hand, was a young man of approximately twenty.

“Pardon me?” she asked, holding up the retinal scan in her hand.

“I read that you hadn’t identified one of the eyes,” said the youth, holding up the newspaper. “That one,” he gestured to it. “Is an iguana’s eye.”

“I’ve been trying to determine that for a long time,” admitted Doctor Jennings, her hands on her hips. She put the retinal scan down and leaned over the desk to shake the young man’s hand. “I’m Silva Jennings. How did you know?”

The youth sat down. “A friend of mine went to a school that specialises in Animal Spirits,” he admitted, leaning casually back in his chair. “Their teacher used to say that everyone has an Animal Spirit inside.”

“Really?” asked Doctor Jennings, sitting opposite him. “My father used to say: Live in harmony with your Animal Spirit, and you’ll be in harmony with yourself.”

“Oh, how right he was,” said the youth; his smile sparkled and his eyes glistened, almost as if he was hiding a little secret of his own. He examined the photograph on her desk – a group of people splashing water over each other in a rock pool. “Gentle, playful, likes water. Your spirit is a dolphin.”

“Right again,” admitted Doctor Jennings.

The youth looked around, making sure that no-one was watching. A door creaked shut nearby and a gentle tinkle emanated from him.

“Listen,” he said, leaning forward. “I know this sounds crazy – hell, a few years ago, I wouldn’t have believed it myself, let me tell you – but there are certain people who would do anything to get their hands on your Crystal Eyes.”

“Why?” asked Doctor Jennings.

“The eyes have powers,” said the youth. Doctor Jennings raised an eyebrow inquisitively. “Powers that are dangerous in the wrong hands.”

“What kind of powers?”

“Well, I can’t tell you,” admitted the youth.

“OK, then,” said Doctor Jennings. “Who’s after them?”

“I can’t tell you that either,” admitted the youth. “I’m asking you, please, give me the Crystal Eyes, just until the danger passes.”

Doctor Jennings leaned back in her chair and chuckled. “You must be kidding? I’ve spent my entire life searching for them, so did my father, and now you’re asking me to hand over my life’s work?”

“None of that will matter if they come,” said the youth, voice sharp but kind. “OK? And nothing you can do will stop them.”

“The answer,” began Doctor Jennings, rising out of her chair. “is no. Now, I have other appointments.”

The youth stood up and walked away, stopping at the door. He turned back to her. “Oh, and for the record, you’re not done yet. There are eight Crystal Eyes in total.”

She watched the youth disappear around the corner, followed by a flash of pink.

~*~*~*~*~

“No way she’s giving them up,” said Chris to RJ, as he appeared at the bottom of the stairs in a gentle flash of pink. “If Dai Shi comes here, she’s gonna get hurt. We’ll stay and keep watch.”

“Chris, if Dai Shi gets those eyes, everyone’s gonna get hurt,” replied RJ. He put a hand on Chris’s shoulder and led him away. “Listen, Theo called: Rinshi trouble, I have to go. Whatever happens, you’ll protect the eyes first, right?”

“Yeah,” agreed Chris, meeting RJ’s eyes. “I’m stubborn, not stupid.”

“OK,” agreed RJ, rushing away.

“Well then,” said Chris, rubbing his hands together. “Let’s plan this little stakeout, shall we?”

~*~*~*~*~

Later that afternoon, Chris was sat at a table behind Doctor Jennings Research Center when a commotion began.

“Stop right there!”

His head snapped up; Camille, in her Chameleon form, was stood before two guards with a birch-coloured case in hand.

“Or what?!” barked Camille, smashing them away with a casual flick of her tongue.

Chris broke into a run, leaping for the birch-coloured case in Camille’s hands. She saw him coming and moved, sending him into a roll as he landed behind her. Though he did not get the birch-coloured case, he did manage to knock it out of Camille’s hands.

“NO!” she cried as it skidded away across the brick flooring.

Moments later, a shout came from Doctor Jennings; she appeared around the corner, being dragged by some Rinshi. “Let me go!”

“Ah,” said Camille, smirking.

Chris looked to the birch-coloured case, then to Doctor Jennings, then back to the birch-coloured case, then back to Doctor Jennings and, finally, came to a decision.

“Oh, I know I’m gonna regret this!”

He leapt to his feet and ran towards Doctor Jennings and the Rinshi.

“The perfect diversion!” laughed Camille, picking up the birch-coloured case and running.

One by one, the Rinshi fell at Chris’s hand.

“Are you OK?” he asked her, rushing forward to check on her.

“I’m fine,” she assured him. “But the eyes!”

“Next time someone tells you to give them the Crystal Eyes for their protection, maybe you’ll do so,” said Chris. He nodded at Doctor Jennings and ran after Camille.

“RJ’s gonna have your head, you know?”

“I gathered that, thanks. Get ready, we’re gonna need everything we’ve got. Camille will put up a fight for those eyes, and you know it.”

~*~*~*~*~

Chris caught up with Camille in the forest; as she stepped into a clearing, he pushed himself against a tree and let the Basilisk gently form, peering through the tree.

Camille strode into the clearing where a familiar man in black leather and feathers was waiting: Dai Shi.

“Show me!” he boomed.

Camille, smirking maliciously, flicked open the birch-coloured case to reveal the five green eyes sat within. Dai Shi laughed menacingly.

“That’s not good,” breathed Chris to himself.

“Yes,” said Dai Shi, unwrapping three more eyes from within a cloth. “All eight.”

He met Camille’s eye and wrapped up the three he held; she, realising the situation, did the same, gently closing the lid on the five she had sat within the birch-coloured case. She handed the case to him and bowed, slinking away.

The Basilisk vanished and Chris adjusted himself behind the tree.

CRACK!

He stepped on a twig beneath his feet; Dai Shi whirled around, looking for the sound of noise. Chris went completely still behind the tree, but his plan to remain undetected did not work. Dai Shi put down the birch-coloured case and the eyes within the cloth and prepared for a fight.

“BASILISK BLAST!”

Dai Shi barely blocked the attack in time, whipping off his cloak and morphing. He leapt, dodging Chris’s attack, and then had Chris on the back foot, making him back up as he advanced towards him.

“What are you doing so far out in the woods, Pink Ranger?” asked Dai Shi threateningly. “You must be lost.”

“Far from it!” retorted Chris. “I know you have the Crystal Eyes, and you’re not leaving here with them!”

He and Dai Shi leapt back and, when Chris next spoke, his voice was harsher, sharper, darker, his movements more fluid. “The Phantom Beasts are not coming back!”

“Never say never!” boomed Dai Shi.

The Basilisk, in control of Chris’s body, charged into battle with Dai Shi, managing to block all of his attacks bar the last one, which blew him backwards, though not off his feet.

Dai Shi leapt forward; the Basilisk rolled under him, and the fight continued, the twosome whirling and twirling.

“Take this!” boomed Dai Shi, landing before the Basilisk. He blasted at him, sending him flying into the air.

He heaved himself into a standing position and rushed back into battle.

“The Phantom Beasts will return!” boomed Dai Shi.

“Not without a fight, ugly!” scoffed the Basilisk in reply.

“And a fight is exactly what you’re gonna get!” boomed Dai Shi.

A laugh chuckled from nearby; Jellica had the birch-coloured case in her hands.

Dai Shi and the Basilisk blasted at her in unison, sending her flying.

“Jellica!” boomed Dai Shi, intending to march after them.

“No!” barked the Basilisk, catching Dai Shi’s arm.

“Your friends have been destroyed,” said Dai Shi.

“My friends can defeat your Rinshi!” spat the figure in the Ranger Outfit, now back to Chris, rather than the Basilisk.

“Rinshi, yes,” agreed Dai Shi. “But they are battling Grizzaka. They haven’t a chance against him!”

“Grizzaka?” gasped Chris.

Dai Shi wrenched himself out of Chris’s grip and began to glow purple. “ZOCATO!”

The eruption of darkness sent Chris flying, tumbling to the floor.

“They’re mine,” breathed Dai Shi, picking up the birch-coloured case from where Jellica had dropped it. Moments later, there was a flash of pink and Chris ripped the birch-coloured case out of his arms, before vanishing in another flash.

“This isn’t over yet!” boomed Dai Shi.

~*~*~*~*~

“You have destroyed all of my warriors, my royal guards, and the Great Overlord, Carnisoar,” began Grizzaka, walking around the defeated Rangers. “Finally, I shall destroy you.”

Grizzaka blasted a ball of dark energy at them; they ducked to avoid it but did not need too. A flash of pink erupted before them –

“Chris!” gasped Theo.

“You’re about to get a dose of your own medicine!”

The ball of energy had not hit the Rangers – instead, it smashed into Chris’s chest and seemed to be absorbed. Chris tilted his neck – crack, crack, when the bones – and seemed somewhat more menacing as he spoke.

“Demon hands!”

Enormous hands erupted all around, made of pure-shadow, fingers twisting and opening and closing, all waiting for their target. In unison, they plunged with Chris, who surged forward and struck Grizzaka in the chest.

Grizzaka took the hit and flew backwards across the battle arena, smashing hard into the wall behind. It crumpled like a droplet of water through paper.

“Dom!” said Chris, whirling around to face him. “Let me have your Morpher!”

“Really?” gasped Dominic. He threw it high into the air towards Chris. “OK!”

Chris caught it and impaled it on the end of his Mystic Staff. “Magic and Basilisk and Rhino combined!

Dominic’s Morpher and Chris’s Mystic staff glistened and morphed together to create a long, pink staff with white rhinoceroses coiling around it.

“Hey, how did you know that would work?”

“I didn’t know until now!” replied Chris. “But I got clever and asked a friend if it was possible.”

~*~*~*~*~

Princess Shayla looked up as a flash and a bang echoed and Chris tumbled from the sky, crashing down heavily into the Moon Poo, spraying water heavily into the airl.

“Oh, for the love of – every damn time,” he grunted, staggering to his feet, dripping from head to toe, looking rather like a drowned rat. “Must it always be in to the pool? Why can’t it be next to the pool?”

“Chris?” she asked. “What are you doing here?”

“Forgive me for dropping in,” said Chris, shaking himself down and stepping out of the moon pool. “And pardon the pun. I made a quick getaway – I thought of here and, well, here I am. Look, I need to ask a favour.”

“How can I help?”

“It’s not you I need the favour from. It’s Merrick.”

“Me?”

Chris jumped and yelped, almost falling over, a hand flying to his chest. “Jesus, don’t do that!”

“Sorry,” said Merrick, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “You needed a favour? How can I help?”

“I need information,” said Chris. “Without being offensive, how shall I phrase this? Hmm – you’re old, yes? – have you ever seen a Ranger combine two weapons together?”

“We’ve done that before –”

“– With only one Ranger using the weapons,” finished Chris.

Merrick’s eyes widened. Princess Shayla gasped.

“Never,” said Merrick, finally. “Never in person.”

“But, fundamentally, in theory, it’s possible?”

“Well, yes, I suppose,” said Merrick. “Of course, they’d have to be of equal power and opposite type, but yes, I suppose, in theory, it is possible.”

“So that rules out Theo, Lily, and Casey,” admitted Chris, gently pacing before them. “Perhaps RJ? No, too volatile. Which leaves…”

“Dominic,” said the Basilisk, phasing in.

“Yes,” agreed Chris. “You, me, and Dominic. The power behind the Jungle Fury Rangers. It’ll have to be Mystic Mode though – no other way of channelling it successfully. My Wild Staff would explode, and the Spino Smashers don’t stop spinning long enough to charge quickly enough.”

“You have your plan?” asked Merrick.

“I do,” said Chris. He smiled at Merrick and bowed to Princess Shayla. “Princess. Merrick.”

And, with a flash of pink, he was gone again.

~*~*~*~*~

“Ha!” laughed Grizzaka, striding into battle. “It won’t work!”

The two broke into a run and Chris swung his new Mystic Rhino Staff. Everyone of Grizzaka’s attack was blocked, his clawed hands deflecting off the shaft of the staff.

Grizzaka swung once more, this time in an uppercut, and Chris leapt; Mystic Wind whirled around him, pushing him high into the air. Moments later, staff swinging like a giant hammer, he smashed it down onto Grizzaka.

Grizzaka groaned and moaned in surprise, staggered back, then resumed the battle again.

For what felt like hours, but was probably only minutes, Chris and Grizzaka led each other a merry dance, striking and blocking at each other’s attacks.

Grizzaka charged forward, only for Chris to bring the Mystic Rhino Staff swinging down like a sword; the slash struck Grizzaka hard, the energy backlash of an immovable force meeting an unstoppable object exploded behind Chris in an enormous wall of fire.

Now it was Chris on the attack. He advanced forward like an unstoppable object, spinning his Mystic Staff in front of him. The blast of wind formed by its spin sent Grizzaka flying. He surged backwards across the arena and crashed through a large pile of rubble.

He was back up – he and Chris charged, surging at one another. Weapons hit, Chris moved, and Grizzaka fell forward into a roll.

“Aargh!” roared Jellica, who was watching. “Finish this, Grizzaka!”

Grizzaka staggered back to his feet; Chris leapt and slashed, striking hard into him – once, twice.

Grizzaka stumbled, then charged again, slashing violently. Grizzaka’s slash hit Chris across the stomach, only for Chris to slash back twice, before Grizzaka’s next slash knocked him back into a roll.

Still crouched, using one hand to support himself, Chris watched as Grizzaka sparked violently and exploded.

“Alright!” cried Lily as she and the Rangers rushed forward. “Chris, how did you do that?”

“Well, I figured Grizzaka’s too powerful for any of us alone,” admitted Chris. “But now we have Dominic’s Rhino Power.”

“Yeah!” agreed Dominic.

“Chris is right,” said RJ, wiggling in hands in that vaguely Jack Sparrowesque way he always did when he was explaining supremely important things. “That’s what made the difference.”

“It’s all about the Rhino!” boasted Dominic, holding out a hand. “But I’ll need my Morpher back.”

“You got it,” said Chris, unmerging the two weapons.

“Hey, Chris, I’m glad you didn’t hurt yourself with this thing!” admitted Dominic, taking the sharp weapon from Chris.

“Ha ha, yeah right,” said Chris. “Not likely. Been through too much for that. You ready to do this?”

“Yeah!” said the others.

“You’d better be ready!” boomed Grizzaka; he staggered back to his feet and threw his arms wide, power whirling from him.

“CLAW CANNON!” roared the Rangers.

“WOLF BEAM!” roared RJ, activating his morpher.

“RHINO BLADE!” cried Dominic. His morpher began to glow, energy spinning around it.

“FIRE!”

The beams launched, soaring towards Grizzaka, who took the hit. He toppled backwards and exploded.

The group cheered.

“Hang on,” said Chris, sharply. “We have seen this before.”

“That was nothing!” spat Grizzaka, standing; Zocato power erupted from him in huge plumes of darkness. “I won’t let it happen again. I’m the strongest fighter there will ever be!”

And, as if to prove a point, which he definitely was, Grizzaka grew to the size of a twenty-storey building. The Rangers created the Megazord, and the fight began.

At first, it seemed like Grizzaka was on the back foot as he took attack after attack from the Rangers’ Megazord, but then the battle changed: “ZOCATO!” roared Grizzaka.

The blast of power sent both the Rangers Megazord, and RJ’s, which had joined them in battle, flying.

Grizzaka turned; Dominic was thundering into battle on the back of his Rhino Spirit.

“RHINO POWER!” he boomed; the Rhino Spirit horn lit up. “RHINO ZORD, WARRIOR MODE!”

“Weak!” boomed Grizzaka, seeing the newly created Megazord. He charged forward, only for Dominic to blast him back.

Grizzaka stumbled backward, only to regain his footing and charge back into battle. He caught Dominic’s Megazord’s sword in one hand and pushed back against the Megazord’s shield.

“It is your turn to learn the same lesson all of my enemies have!” boomed Grizzaka. “There is no-one as powerful as Grizzaka! And never will be!”

“Guys, you ready to end this?”

The two other Megazords clunked up behind, pressing a hand to the back of Dominic’s.

“Let’s do it!” agreed Lily.

“Right with you, Dom!” added Theo.

“Light and dark, awaiting your command!” replied Chris.

“All at once!” ordered RJ. “Come on!”

The Rangers put all of their power into the attack; the light that erupted from Dominic’s Megazord was so bright that it was like looking into the sun.

Grizzaka flew backwards, smashing through five enormous office blocks as he did so.

“ANIMAL SPIRITS!” roared Casey, and the three Megazords began to transform; RJ’s Wolf Spirit and the Rangers’ Megazord sat on the back of Dominic’s Megazord, now back in Rhino Form. “STAMPEDE!”

“JUNGLE MASTERS, SPIN ATTACK!”

The Arms of the Megazord began to spin and, one by one, all of their Animal spirits flew at Grizzaka and attacked, followed by several swipes of the Rhino Spirit’s horn, and ten punches from the Megazord arms.

Grizzaka flew back and smashed to the floor.

“Impossible!” he breathed, staggering back to his feet as the familiar blue lightning danced across his body, as it did with every defeat the Rinshi and Dai Shi’s forces suffered at the hands of the Rangers.

He sank to one knee, too weak to stand, then managed to stand for a moment, his arms spread wide. “I am invincible! No-one is stronger than… Grizzaka!”

And he exploded.

~*~*~*~*~

“I don’t know how to thank you,” said Doctor Jennings as Chris presented the birch-coloured case, open with the eyes glistening inside, to her. He shut the lid and handed it to her. “I never thought I’d see them again. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you before.”

“No problem,” admitted Chris. “A perfect stranger walks in and wants your life’s work. I’d probably do the same thing.”

“Well, you’re not a perfect stranger anymore,” admitted Doctor Jennings. She handed the box back to him. “Keep them safe for me, please, just until the danger has passed.”

“Thanks,” said Chris, smiling gently. “I was hoping you’d ask.”

“No,” said Doctor Jennings. “Thank you.”

Chris smiled and, holding the box tightly, turned and began to walk away.

“Oh, and by the way, I figured it out.” Chris turned back to her; an eyebrow quirked. “Your spirit is the Basilisk.”

Chris chuckled and left her office, striding into the lift. The doors opened on the bottom floor.

“She wants us to take care of them,” he said to RJ.

“Ah, smart lady,” replied RJ, who was sat at the bottom of the numerous flights of stairs. He stood up. “You know, when you were fighting Camille, and you decided to save Doctor Jennings, you could have lost the eyes.”

“Maybe,” admitted Chris, smiling gently. “But my instincts told me it was a gamble I could win.”

“Ah, well then,” said RJ, leading Chris away. “You got some sharp instincts. And you might have been a little lucky too. I just wish I knew where those other three Crystal Eyes were…”

“Mmm,” agreed Chris. “Knowing our luck, they’ll show up again – to beat the snot out of us. They usually do.”

If he or RJ had been paying more attention, they would have seen Chris’s Dino Gem, tucked away inside the pocket of his jeans, glisten brightly.

The time for Christopher Haynes to move on to his new adventure was coming.

Chapter Text

Chapter XX: Fear and the Phantoms and Blue Ranger, Twin Danger

Neither Chris nor Theo knew what made them so concerned that morning, but both had gone running, detecting something had happened to Master Swoop.

“What the hell happened here?” gasped Chris, seeing the utter devastation before them; the enormous arches that adorned the land of Master Swoop’s house lay in ruins, burned and charred as they lay flat on the floor, bushes crumpled underneath them. He broke away from Theo and dashed off exploring.

“MASTER SWOOP!?” shouted Theo, hoping with all his heart for a reply.

He got one, but it was not the reply he was hoping for. “THEO! THEO, COME QUICK!”

Theo broke off into a run at Chris’s shout, stopping dead at the sight before him; Chris was knelt down before something white that was charred and burned, his long, dark hair tumbling into the reedy grass beneath.

“He dashed over, his heart realising what it was before his mind could put words to it. Chris held up the white object; Master Swoop’s Fan, charged and burned and broken into pieces.

“Something is very wrong,” said Chris, meeting Theo’s gaze. Never before had Theo seen such terror shining behind Chris’s eyes – even in their darkest day there was always a twinkle, sometimes a frightening one, behind everything.

But not today: today his eyes sparked with worry and anxiety. “Master Swoop would never leave home without his fan. He’s either be taken by surprise… or he’s left this for us as a message, a warning.”

“Yeah,” agreed Theo, taking the remnants of Master Swoop’s fan into his own hands.

Moments later, Chris gasped and leapt to his feet.

“What is it?” Theo asked.

“The others,” said Chris, turning back to him. “Master Phant and Master Finn – they could be in danger too. We have to get back to JKP, pronto! We’ve gotta warn the others!”

~*~*~*~*~

Lily rushed down the stairs into the living quarters with Casey. Before them, at the bottom of the stairs, both looking ashen and terrified, were Chris and Theo, both pacing. Theo was gnawing at the inside of his cheek and Chris had picked one finger completely raw around his nail, leaving throbbing red tears in the skin.

“Master Swoop is missing,” said Theo, holding up Master Swoop’s charred and blackened fan. “Looks like he ran into trouble.”

Lily’s eyes went wide as the reality of the situation – that something or someone was able to defeat the Masters – sunk in.

“RJ went to check on his dad,” said Dominic, interrupting briefly.

“I’ll check on Master Phant,” said Lily, instantly realising the gravity of the situation. She whirled on the heels of her feet and rushed away, back up the stairs, to take the secret exit.

Chris paced again, raising his thumb to his mouth to chew and tear on it again. Dominic smacked his hand away and Chris glared daggers at him, fire roaring behind his eyes.

He turned and marched up the stairs. “Lily, I’m coming too! I can get us to Master Phant quicker by teleporting us there. The others can handle any issues here.”

~*~*~*~*~

Chris and Lily appeared in a blinding pink flash in the forest outside Master Phant’s house. Judging by the chaos that lingered before them, they were just in time.

Master Phant flew through the air and smashed heavily into his fruit stand, one that the Rangers had built for him when they’d managed to lure him out of seclusion to teach Lily to use the Elephant Spirit.

A large creature, adorned in sumptuous robes, with the head of a snapping turtle jutting out of his chest advanced menacingly towards him.

Moments later, the creature stumbled – for Lily’s Jaguar spirit came soaring through the air and struck it hard, roaring loudly as its claws slashed through fur.

“You dare attack a Phantom Beast General?” boomed the creature as Chris and Lily rushed over, putting themselves between Master Phant and his attacker. “Silly children.”

“So, you’re a Phantom Beast!” declared Chris. He and Lily whipped out their Solar Morphers and Morphed, ready for battle.

“JUNGLE BEAST, SPIRIT UNLEASHED!”

“Jungle Mace!” roared Lily, rushing forward with her Jungle Mace, the technique that the injured Master Phant had taught her, swinging wildly.

Chris roared and, spinning at a forty five degree angle, as if he was the top of a Naboo Starfighter, leapt into battle, Spino Smashers whirling and glistening in the sun.

The Phantom Beast General met Lily and Chris in combat; Chris’s Spino Smashers hit him – and it was like an immovable object meeting an unstoppable force. He was thrown backwards through the air and smashed down next to Master Phant.

Moments later, Lily was thrown aside, smashing down through a trellis of flowers.

“You shouldn’t play with me!” boomed the Phantom Beast General, walking menacingly towards Lily.

Master Phant and Chris heaved themselves to their feet and whirled; Master Phant dodged around the Phantom Beast General and reached Lily’s side, Chris next to him.

“You alright?” asked Lily, quickly, to Master Phant.

“Yes!” he replied, nodding. Together, the threesome charged into battle.

Master Phant swung his Jungle Mace, only for the Phantom Beast General to catch it. Moments later, the same happened for Lily; the Phantom Beast General heaved them high into the air and threw them over his head.

Chris, too, was knocked aside as he charged in, attempting to strike with the Phantom Beast General was distracted – to no avail. He crashed down, groaning painfully, next to Lily and Master Phant.

“Pitiful humans!” laughed the Phantom Beast General.

“No!” exclaimed Lily, jumping to her feet as she spotted that Master Phant, next to her, was unconscious. “Master Phant! JUNGLE MASTER MODE!”

She morphed, jets adorning her body, yellow and white suit glistening in the sun. She leapt, slashing at the Phantom Beast General, who knocked her aside and fired at her: once, twice, thrice, four times – the fifth blast was intercepted.

Chris took the blast directly. It smashed hard into his chest and threw him backwards; he smashed hard into Lily and the two flew backwards and crashed down hard onto the ground.

“Master Phant, you’re coming with me!” boomed the Phantom Beast General, heaving Master Phant off the floor.

Lily and Chris leapt to their feet, racing forward; but they were too late – Master Phant and the Phantom Beast General disappeared in a rippling flash of golden light.

“No…” breathed Lily.

“Go and help the others,” said Chris. “I have something important to do.”

“What is it?” asked Lily.

“If the Phantom Beast Generals are abducting powerful people, then Udonna and Princess Shayla could be in danger. I have to warn them. Go!”

With a clap and a bang and a flash of pink, Chris disappeared in a blinding flash.

~*~*~*~*~

“Udonna?!”

Udonna and Clare looked up as Chris burst into Root Core, face wild, hair frazzled and ruffled in all directions; at the sight of them, he positively sagged in relief. “Oh, Thank God.”

“Chris, what is it?”

“Daggeron, you’re here too,” acknowledged Chris, thankful that everything seemed to be OK at the moment. “Are the Rangers safe?”

“Why wouldn’t they be?” asked Clare. “Is something going on?”

“Yes,” said Chris bluntly, meeting Clare’s gaze head on. “Have you ever heard of the Crystal Eyes?”

“I have!” chimed a voice and, in a puff of smoke, Jenji appeared before him.

“What are they?” asked Daggeron. “What’s happening?”

“The Phantom Beasts are resurrected by Crystal Eyes,” said Chris. “There are eight of them, and several Generals. Imagine three Necrolais and Eight LeeLees all at once and you get the picture.”

Clare shuddered. Chris nodded in agreement, continuing: “They’ve been kidnapping powerful Rangers – powerful people, I think – and I thought…”

“That we’d be in danger?” finished Udonna.

“Exactly,” said Chris. “You and the Rangers. I don’t think the Phantom Beast Generals know of you, not yet at least, but it can only be a matter of time.”

“And if they know of us, they’ll come for us,” said Clare.

“Yes,” agreed Chris. “Summon the Rangers, the small-folk, Toby, anyone you need too, and get them hidden to safety. Lock Root Core down, open it for no-one. No-one goes in or out until I’m absolutely certain they won’t come for you.”

“We’ll see to it,” said Udonna.

Chris nodded, patted her arm in thanks. “Good, good. Now, forgive me, but I have to make another call. I have others to warn.”

He whirled on the spot and vanished in a clap and a bang and a flash of pink.

~*~*~*~*~

Merrick and Princess Shayla looked up as a flash of pink and the sound of a gun going off erupted around the Animarium. Chris splashed down into the Sacred Water Fountain.

“Again?” he groaned, clambering to his feet and shaking himself down. “Really? This is getting ridiculous.”

He stepped out of the Sacred Water Fountain and smiled in relief at the sight of the Princess and her husband in front of him.

“Not a social call,” he said, not even stopping for breath. “The Rangers could be in danger. You know the Phantom Beast Generals we spoke about? Well, they’re back.”

“Resurrected?” asked Merrick.

“Yes,” said Chris. “Well, possibly. We’re not sure how many yet. We think it’s three generals and eight foot soldiers, but we’re not yet positive.”

“And you’ve come here to warn us?” asked Princess Shayla.

“Yes,” said Chris sharply. “They are kidnapping powerful people. Take your children, the Zords, the Rangers, anyone you need too – and get them hidden away up here. The Phantom Beast Generals don’t know of you yet – of that I’m certain – but it’s only a matter of time. And when they come for you, they’ll come with all their might. Only with all the Rangers up here will you be truly safe.”

“We’ll see to it,” said Merrick, nodding, eyes alight with fire and determination. Princess Shayla was already talking into her necklace, sitting over the Sacred Water Fountain as she did so.

“Good,” said Chris. “I cannot, due to being out of time, but can you get a message to these addresses?” He scribbled five addresses down onto a piece of paper that he pulled out of his pocket and thrust it to Merrick. “The Dino Thunder Rangers, my brother, and Doctor O. They’ll all be in danger.”

Chris turned to leave, beginning to glow pink. “Oh, and warn Joe and his sister, would you? Thanks!”

With a clap and a bang and a flash of pink, Chris was gone.

~*~*~*~*~

Lily smashed Sonimax, a Cetus themed Phantom Beast who held the spirit of the Boar and was a master of sound attacks, to the ground.

“Lily!” gasped Casey as he and the other Rangers, injured from the fight, staggered over.

“Guys, a Phantom Beast grabbed Master Phant!” she exclaimed, informing them of the situation.

“They must have taken Master Swoop too!” gasped Theo.

“I hope Dad’s OK?” breathed RJ quietly.

“Where’s Chris?” asked Dominic, seeing that the remaining Rangers was absent.

“He’s –”

“– right here,” said Chris, appearing in a flash of pink, the sound of a gunshot echoing on the wind.

“Come on!” suggested Lily. “Let’s finish this fight so we can find our Masters!”

“Who are you?” boomed Sonimax, staggering back to his feet.

“We’re your worst nightmare,” said Chris, nodding to Lily. “We’re the Rangers you’re gonna wish you’d never met!”

Sonimax charged forward; the Rangers thundered into battle. Lily reached him first, striking and smiting, several attacks from Sonimax’s fists sparking as she smacked them back, successfully managing to block and dodge his attacks.

Two shockwaves echoed from him, then Casey and Theo were there slashing, then Dominic’s Rhino Blade hit him, followed quickly by Chris’s Spino Smashers.

Sonimax lunged, but Chris and Dominic leapt back in unison, managing to avoid the attack just in time as RJ and Lily aimed kicks to Sonimax’s stomach.

He staggered and whirled, now fighting Casey and Theo, who had been attacking from behind.

“Cheetah Jab!” cried Lily, leaping forward; at the same time, Casey and Theo charged forward. She slashed into his chest, and they slashed each side of him, causing him to topple and roll to the floor.

“Come on, guys!” barked Lily. “Let’s finish this!”

“SONIC ATTACK!” boomed Sonimax, standing. He fired at blast at the Rangers, who charged forward in unison, slicing through the shockwave that had exploded from Sonimax.

“SPIRITS UNITE!”

Coloured balls of energy, in the colours of each respective Rangers, exploded from the Rangers, merged together, and smashed down at Sonimax, who began to disintegrate before exploding with a shout.

Sonimax roared and erupted to the height of a twenty-storey building.

“We’ve seen that trick before!” barked Lily.

The Rangers, RJ, and Dominic created their three Megazords and the battle began.

Sonimax smashed RJ’s Megazord aside with ease, followed quickly by the Jungle Pride Megazord.

“Man, this guy’s too tough!” exclaimed Casey as the cockpit of the Megazord rocked and rattled and the Rangers were thrown around.

“It’s time for a little help!” exclaimed Lily. “I call on the Spirit of the Elephant!”

The Elephant Spirit emerged from the sky and merged with the Megazord, creating the enormous Jungle Mace that the Megazord used.

The Megazord raised it high and swung it, wrapping Sonimax in the chain the Jungle Mace was attached too. Moments later, the Megazord heaved Sonimax into the air and smashed him down on the ground, like an angry elephant throwing a log.

Sonimax staggered back to his feet, shaking himself down like a dog that had just had a bath.

“Let’s see you handle this!” cried Dominic, the horn of the Rhino Spirit glowing bright yellow. “RHINO STEEL ZORD, SUPER BLADE!”

“Rangers!” boomed Sonimax. “Feel my power!”

Dominic’s Megazord wobbled and flopped to the floor.

The air rippled, like a pebble had just been dropped in a pond, and a Phantom Beast General familiar to Chris and Lily descended from within it.

“Oh, great, who’s this guy!?” snapped Casey, barely able to believe his eyes

“Oh!” cried Chris. Both he and Lily had recognised the Phantom Beast General before them.

“That’s the Phantom Beast that took Master Phant!”

“Behold, the ancient might!” boomed the Phantom Beast General, placing his hands together as if creating the steeple of a building, as he began to glow an iridescent gold. “RINZIN POWER!”

“Rinzin power?” gasped Theo. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

All around the Megazords – The Rangers, Dominic’s, RJ’s – the ground began to explode and spark.

“Rinzin is the power of Phantom Beasts!” boomed the Phantom Beast General. “It will rule this world! You will be left to watch!”

And the Phantom Beast General turned away to leave with Sonimax as the Rangers’ Megazord crashed to the ground.

“STOP!” boomed Casey, as the Megazord creaked back to its feet.

“You’re not getting out of here that fast!”

RJ had managed to get his Megazord back to its feet and had joined them.

Sonimax and the Phantom Beast General turned back to face them. The Rangers’ Megazord and RJ’s charged in unison.

“RINZIN POWER!” boomed the Phantom Beast General, thrusting his hands forward. The palms of his hands hit the chest of each Megazord respectively and they flew high into the air, spinning wildly.

~*~*~*~*~

“My Dad’s gone too,” said RJ later that afternoon as the Rangers regrouped in a construction yard and Lily, who had been teaching Master Phant’s niece to dance, rejoined them.

“Looks like they took all three Masters,” said Chris.

“I say we go to Dai Shi’s temple,” suggested Theo, angrily.

“And fight Dai Shi and the Phantom Beasts?” retorted Casey. “That’s crazy!”

“We don’t even know if the Masters are there.”

“The bigger question is why?” asked RJ. “Why would they take the Masters in the first place?”

“I have a few suspicions,” said Chris to RJ. “Each one worse than the last. I just hope I’m wrong.”

The ground around them began to spark. The Rangers turned, frowning and watching it.

“I have a feeling we’re about to find out,” announced Lily, darkly. She was right. The sparking on the ground whirled into the air, formed a star, and then exploded around the Rangers, sending them all crashing to the ground.

Out of the fog that was created from the explosion, three new Rangers emerged – one blue, one black, one green.

“They look like… Power Rangers?!” gasped Casey.

“Oh, how I hate being right…” muttered Chris to himself.

The new Rangers strode forwards, stopping a few feet away from the Rangers.

“Let’s Power Up!” exclaimed Casey.

“Oh, this is gonna suck, isn’t it?” Chris said to himself, whipping out his Solar Morphers. “Be ready.”

“I am, Child.”

The Rangers morphed and charged into battle with the new Rangers before them.

Theo and Chris engaged the Black Ranger in battle, only to be easily thrown aside. Theo crashed down into a pile of pallets as Chris smashed down into a pile of barrels.

“Golly!” he breathed, his vision spinning as he blinked rapidly.

The Blue Ranger threw Casey and RJ aside as the Black Ranger summoned his own Jungle Fan and, as Theo did the same, leapt back into combat.

RJ was thrown aside, smashing down near Chris.

Casey summoned his Shark Sabres and raced forward into battle – so did the Blue Ranger.

Lily and Dominic flipped over the head of the Green Ranger, only for him to smash them casually back, meeting Lily in combat with a Jungle Mace of his own.

Theo and the Black Ranger were on one of the numerous metal roofs of the construction yard that the Rangers had reunited in.

The Black Ranger blocked Theo’s attacks and smashed him backwards; he flew through the air, descending towards the ground, and smashed into a chain link fence nearby, which crumpled under the force of impact.

Lily rolled aside, managing to dodge a strike from the Green Ranger’s Jungle Mace as it smashed into a barrel, which exploded.

He turned, throwing the Jungle Mace. It surged forward and wrapped around Lily’s leg. Moments later she was hoisted into the air and hit the ground with a loud thump.

High above, Casey and the Blue Ranger whirled and twirled around one another, striking and smiting with all of their might.

They leapt to the ground, smashing through a wall, smiting and striking at one another as they descended. They landed in the exact same pose, sank into a fighting stance, and charged at one another, their identical Shark Sabres glowing.

Casey and the Blue Ranger struck at the same time, but it was Casey who fell. He stood for all of two seconds after the attack before sinking to his knees, his Shark Sabres clattering to the ground at his side.

“Case, you alright?” asked Chris as he and the other Rangers crowded around.

“They know every move we’re gonna make!” exclaimed Lily.

“They’re Power Rangers!” exclaimed Theo. “Except they fight us with our Masters’ Spirits.”

“I really hate being right…” muttered Chris again, rubbing at his head only to realise that he had a helmet on.

“Fan Technique, Shark Technique, Elephant Technique,” said Lily, as each of the Rangers opposite summoned the weapons.

“They’re Spirit Rangers!” gasped RJ, realising.

“JUNGLE MASTER MODE!” shouted Casey, Lily, and Theo, morphing.

“BASILISK BLAST!”

The blast exploded around the Rangers, protecting them as they morphed, and they charged forward into battle.

Dominic was thrown casually aside by the Green Spirit Ranger, rolling painfully over the top of a nearby car and clattering to the ground.

The Green Spirit Ranger swung his Jungle Mace at Lily, who leapt to avoid it. The Green Spirit Ranger watched her leap high over his head and, as soon as she landed, she was knocked to the ground by his Jungle Mace.

The Green Spirit Ranger slammed his foot to the floor; an enormous shockwave rumbled around the floor and Lily and numerous nearby obstacles, such as a pallet and several barrels, flew into the air.

“I got you!” shouted Chris, rushing forward, only for the Green Spirit Ranger to lunge at him, Jungle Mace flying.

Nearby, jets roaring, Theo leapt at the Black Spirit Ranger – they met in the air and the Black Spirit Rangers smashed him aside with ease. He landed and twisted, striking his Jungle Claw at the Black Ranger. The explosion sent the Black Ranger flying.

The Black Ranger landed and launched a shockwave at Theo. It hit him direct, expkoded, and sent him flying.

Nearby, Casey, The Blue Spirit Ranger, and RJ were fighting on top of two cars, leaping back and forth as they struck and smote at one another.

RJ was thrown aside, followed by Casey.

Moments later, Lily in his arms, Chris smashed down nearby too.

RJ leapt back into battle, blocking the Blue Spirit Ranger’s attack.

Moments later, he gasped: “Dad?”

The Spirit Rangers vanished, almost as if something had broken the connection between them and whatever was powering them.

“What was that all about?” asked Casey as he and the Rangers all limped over to RJ.

“I’m not sure,” admitted RJ. “I may have an idea.”

~*~*~*~*~

Back at Jungle Karma Pizza, later that afternoon, RJ was talking with the Rangers.

“So you think the Spirit Rangers are being remote controlled from the Masters?” asked Casey, who was holding a decide that RJ had created – it resembled a Portal Gun from the video game of the same name.

“Yeah,” said RJ. “Mental radio waves, if you will?”

“That would explain why they can fight just like our Masters,” agreed Lily.

“You’ve lost me completely,” admitted Dominic. “Just tell me how to destroy them!”

“Destroy them?” questioned RJ. “I have no idea.” Fran tapped Theo on the shoulder, handing him a piece of paper as RJ continued talking. “Right now, I’m just hoping to slow ‘em down…”

“So, explain to me,” began Casey. “How’s that thing going to slow the Spirit Rangers down?”

“It can detect a signal,” said RJ, standing up and walking to the TV. “And then, if my math is correct…”

He pointed the device at the TV and activated it. The TV screen turned static. “It’ll jam the radio waves.”

“Great!” exclaimed Casey.

“Yeah, not so great,” replied RJ. “Until we rescue the Masters, the Spirit Rangers will keep coming back like a bad rash.”

The Rangers went to follow RJ out of the loft; Lily, Dominic, and Chris stopped – Theo was talking quickly on the phone nearby.

“Sorry, Luen, but I’m way too busy.”

Lily, Dominic, and Chris looked at one another, then turned to Theo; RJ and Casey hadn’t heard. Casey had left the loft while RJ was working on his Signal Stopping Device.

“Call me. Don’t just show up. Bye.”

Theo slammed the phone down and turned, intending to leave, only to stop dead at the sight of the threesome stood behind him.

“Who’s Leun?” asked Lily.

“My brother,” said Theo, holding up a folded letter between two fingers. He began to walk past them, intending to leave. “He wants to visit.”

Lily caught him by the arm, preventing him from leaving. “I didn’t know you had a brother! Older? Younger? Is he cute?”

“Nothing like me!” said Theo, cheerfully. His expression twisted. “We’re day and night.”

“I like him already!” laughed Dominic, striding past Theo and clapping a hand on his shoulder as he did so.

~*~*~*~*~

‘It worked on television waves, radio waves, light waves, will it work on the Spirit Rangers?” asked Theo as, later that day, he, Chris and RJ entered the courtyard of Jungle Karma Pizza via the gate.

“Well, I guess we’ll find out the hard way,” admitted RJ, mouth quirking into a frustrated smile.

Music was echoing gently from within Jungle Karma Pizza. Chris turned and frowned. “Did you hire a band?”

“No,” said RJ. “Odd…”

They headed inside. Sitting on top of a table in one of the alcoves of Jungle Karma Pizza was a slightly chubbier Theo, playing a guitar. Where Theo was serious and stern, he was playful and flirting; where Theo was t-shirts and sweats, he was flannels and jeans; where Theo’s hair was flat and lifeless, he was wild and quaffed.

The crowd roared their applause as the person – evidently Theo’s twin brother, Luen – finished strumming on his guitar.

RJ looked between Theo and the newcomer in confusion and Theo sighed in annoyance, crossing his arms and setting his jaw. RJ and Chris clapped, somewhat confused.

Luen, for his part, seemed to be utterly blossoming under the attention, basking in the praise and adulation that was being given to him.

Casey walked past, slapping Theo’s chest in solidarity.

“Theo!” exclaimed Lily. “You didn’t tell us he was your exact twin brother! How cool!”

Her voice squeaked at the end of her sentence, and she rushed off to serve a nearby table, a pizza tray in each hand.

Luen, for his part, had just caught sight of Theo. He made his apologies to one of the girls he was flirting with, bounded off the table, spread his arms wide, cried “TTTHHHEEEOOO!” and hugged his brother tightly. “Dude,” he said, parting from the hug. “Your friends are great. They thought I was you.”

RJ blinked, staring confusedly at the two brothers, then shook his head, decided he didn’t want too know, and left.

“After you got an extreme makeover, guitar lessons, and fashion sense!” continued Luen, unaware of Theo’s frustrations.

“And a few extra pounds…” muttered Theo, quiet enough that only Luen, who sucked in slightly, could hear. He raised his voice as he spoke. “How are you, Luen?”

“Theo, your brother is amazing!” exclaimed Fran, face alight as she spoke. Luen looked back at Fran, smirked, and then shrugged at Theo. “He has been telling us these great stories, like that time you jumped out of a plane and your parachute wouldn’t open!”

“Yeah, he’s quite a thrill seeker,” replied Theo.

“Big deal,” muttered Chris, quietly to Theo. “I fall from the sky every time I jump to a new Ranger team. You don’t see me bragging about it.”

“I’ll say!” agreed Fran, heading off to the kitchen to make a pizza for a nearby table.

“I missed you!” said Luen, squashing Theo’s cheeks with his hands; he threw an arm around his twin’s shoulder. “You don’t mind if I take him, do you? Didn’t think so. Let’s go catch up.”

“Actually –”

“I’d love too,” said Theo, pulling out of Luen’s grip and placing his fingers together. “But could we do it later? Right now, I’ve gotta work.”

Luen looked disappointed, then smiled gently, and spread his arms wide, flannel flapping by his side. “Maybe I could help?”

Theo looked like he wanted to disagree, only to school his face quickly before Luen could see.

“Oh, this is going to end well,” muttered Chris, overhearing the conversation. Something exploded in the kitchen, black smoke billowing from the oven. “Which one of you blew up my oven!?” he barked, leaving Theo and Luen and storming off towards the kitchen.

“Sorry!” echoed Fran’s voice from within.

~*~*~*~*~

“Sometimes,” said Theo to Luen as they stood together making pizza in the kitchen later that same day. “We train twice a day. Just depends.”

Theo finished putting anchovies onto salad on top of a pizza. “And that is an RJ special. Our top seller.”

“To my surprise,” admitted Chris, emerging from the top of the stairs leading to the living area. “Why on Earth people want fish on salad on pizza, I’ll never know? I’ll also never understand how RJ’s brain could think of making it. Then again, Fran did make that chocolate anchovy pizza a while back… maybe it’s this place making us all nuts?”

“Reminds me of when I was in India,” said Luen, who had completely ignored Chris. He sniffed the garlic in his hand. “Except, I’d add some garlic. Here.”

“No! No garlic,” interrupted Theo. “It’s fine, thanks.”

“So,” began Luen as Theo scooped the pizza into the oven with an enormous spatula. “That’s all you’ve been doing since I saw you last? Kung Fu training and making Pizzas?”

“Yes,” said Theo, hanging the giant spatula back onto the wall and turning to Luen. “It is. Why?”

“Nothing,” said Luen, shrugging. “Just wondering.”

“You’d rather I’d waste my time jumping out of planes or scuba diving with sharks?” asked Theo, rounding the table. “And then telling everyone the fantastic stories, which you greatly exaggerate!”

“So, you think I’m wasting my time?” asked Luen, holding up a finger. “You’re the one doing Kung Fu for years on end! You’d have to exaggerate to make that sound good.”

Chris’s head turned each direction, as if he was watching a tennis match.

“Nothing’s changed!” barked Theo, striding past Luen to the fridge. He ripped it open, pulling out a bowl of salad cream. “Tell you what, you lead your life, and I’ll lead mine.”

He turned back, only for the bowl of salad cream to splatter onto Luen’s chest.

“I’m gonna need to borrow a shirt,” huffed Luen.

“Upstairs,” said Theo, jaw set in frustration and disappointment. He looked up and met the gaze of both Chris – now at the bottom of the stairs to allow Luen to pass – and Lily, who was stood in the door of the kitchen.

He shot them both a look of anger, daring them to say something.

“I kind of heard,” said Lily.

“Me too,” admitted Chris.

Theo gave a frustrated, guttural sigh.

“Anything we can do?” asked Chris.

“No,” said Theo, rounding the work bench so that he was stood before the twosome. “It’s my own fault. Ever since we were kids, all I ever heard was ‘Luen’s so popular!’, ‘Luen’s so funny!’, ‘Luen’s so talented!’ I’m not really mad at him. I’m jealous.”

Lily opened her mouth to speak.

“I try not to be,” admitted Theo. “I just can’t help it.”

“Let’s get out of here for a while?” suggested Chris, throwing an arm around Theo. “Help me get the groceries? I could use a hand. RJ wants…” he glanced down at the list in his hand. “Shaving cream, apparently... Oh, I hope he’s not putting that on a pizza…”

“Sure,” said Theo. “Give me a sec to change.”

He headed upstairs.

“Lil, would you be a dear and see if Fran needs any napkins?” asked Chris. “I can’t remember if she said she had bought some or not.”

Lily nodded and left.

Moments later, Theo descended the stairs.

“That was quick,” said Chris, pocketing the list. “Ready?”

“For what?” asked Theo, frowning.

“To help me,” said Chris. “Groceries, remember? Come on.”

Fran watched them go, chuckling.

~*~*~*~*~

“I’ve been thinking about what you said in the kitchen,” admitted Chris as he and Theo walked through town.

“The kitchen?” asked Theo.

“Yeah,” replied Chris, wistfully, sighing as he shoved his hands in his pockets; when he spoke, it was clear he was talking about himself as much as Theo and Luen. “You shouldn’t be jealous of your brother. His adventures, his musical talent, his football championships, they’re great – but you have your own accomplishments. Difference is, you can’t talk about yours.”

“Uh, Chris, I’m Luen,” said Luen, shrugging his shoulders and swinging his arms. “Not Theo. I borrowed his shirt.”

“Oh dear,” said Chris, grinning sheepishly. “Well, that’s embarrassing.”

“No, it’s OK,” replied Luen, smiling gently. “I’m glad you said something.” His expression twisted and he walked slowly forward, pondering what he’d just heard. “Theo’s jealous of me? I thought he figured I was wasting my life?” Luen turned back to Chris. “Ever since we were kids, he was always striving to make himself better, training, studying. But I never had a focus. I always wanted to be more like him.”

“You guys are more alike than you think,” admitted Chris, a gentle smile dancing across his face.

The sky above them began to darken, lightning bolts dancing across the ground. Chris knew exactly what that meant – the last time it had occurred, the Spirit Rangers had shown up, and Luen would be less than useless against them.

“Come on!” he exclaimed, dragging Luen aside. He led him down a side road and underneath a bridge, only to skid to a halt with Luen as, laughing nastily, the three Spirit Rangers appeared before them.

Luen raised a finger to ask a question, only for Chris to smack it down and drag him the other way. A Phantom Beast, one different than before, appeared before them in a golden flash.

“What’s that thing?” asked Luen, popping the collar of his blue shirt.

“Two at once!” boomed the Phantom Beast. “Hold still!”

He threw a ball of yellow energy at them, and they disappeared inside a mirror each, the small silver frames clattering to the floor with a gentle tinkle.

For those inside the mirror, everything went black.

~*~*~*~*~

Then, moments later, it was black no more: the Rangers exploded from the mirrors they had been trapped in, falling to the ground.

Luen, seemingly, had already been released for he stood there, gaping, as Theo, who had just retrieved the mirrors from the Phantom Beast, returned to normal.

“Theo?” he gasped.

Theo rushed over. “You OK?”

“You’re a… Power Ranger?” gasped Luen.

Theo nodded; a gentle smile graced their faces – and, for one sweet moment, the two brothers were finally on the same page, a secret that could never be shared, just be theirs to savour.

The Phantom Beast stood up, growling, and erupted to the size of a twenty-storey building.

Chris’s eyes narrowed and he straightened himself up and brushed down his clothes. Next to him, Dominic, Lily, and Casey did the same.

“Breaking mirrors is bad luck!” snapped Casey. “For you!”

“Imprison me in a mirror, will you?” barked the Basilisk, taking over Chris; he shifted on each foot and cracked his knuckles. “Oh, I think not!”

With a blinding flash of pink, he morphed; nearby, the other Rangers morphed too, creating the Megazord.

The battle began.

“I’m bigger!” boomed the Phantom Beast, summoning a large yellow crescent in the air. “And so are my boomerangs!”

The Rangers Megazord faded away and they landed gently on the floor.

“We’re out!” gasped Casey.

Dominic’s Megazord was about to fall at the onslaught of crescent boomerangs being launched at it when, out nowhere, Theo and RJ descended in their flying Megazord and smashed into him. He tumbled backwards.

“Right, give me your best shot!” barked the Phantom Beast.

“He doesn’t know what he’s asking for,” said Chris, swaggering over to Luen, who was watching. “Watch.”

The Megazord leapt and, legs spinning like a drill, sliced through the middle of the Phantom Beast. Moments later, Dominic’s Megazord slashed.

The blast hit the Phantom Beast and, with a scream and a shout, he exploded.

Defeated.

“Yeah!” whooped Luen, leaping into the air and punching with his fist. “TTTHHHEEEOOO!”

~*~*~*~*~

“Luen, your taxi’s here,” said Chris, a short time later, popping his head into the upper living area of the loft above Jungle Karma Pizza.

“Be right down,” said Luen, sniffing a pair of his trousers to make sure they didn’t smell too bad.

“How do you get your fingers to stay in the right place?” asked Theo, who was sat on one of the stairs at the other end, trying to play Luen’s guitar.

“You practice for years, that’s how!” replied Luen, miming a guitar. “And you guys fly through the air and kind of flip around and hit that warrior. How –?”

“Practice,” said Theo, smirking over his shoulder as he put Luen’s guitar back in its case. “For years.”

Luen chuckled and strode over to him, picking up his guitar case. Crouched, and face to face with Theo, he spoke what was probably the most honest thing he’d said to Theo since his arrival. “I’m sorry I called your King Fu a waste of time. I couldn’t have been more wrong.”

“Yeah, well, I shouldn’t have dissed on your adventures,” said Theo. “Or called you fat.” Luen flushed and sucked in slightly. “Truth is,” continued Theo. “I’ve always been proud of you.”

The two brothers hugged, both patting each other on the back.

Though it was only for a minute, it felt like hours for them, everything they’d wanted to say for years poured into one, long hug.

From the stairs, Chris smiled, watching the two brothers reunite.

Chapter Text

Chapter XXI: One Last Second Chance

“It looks the same to me,” said Dominic, placing his elbow onto RJ’s shoulder, after RJ introduced the new and improved Claw Cannon to him and the Rangers.

“Well, it is the same,” said RJ, looking from Dominic to the others. “But instead of using Tiger, Jaguar, Cheetah Spirits, I tuned it to Elephant, Bat and Shark Spirits. Fear not, Chris, it will still work with your Basilisk.”

“Ah, because the Spirit Rangers are connected to the Masters, who possess Elephant, Bat, and Shark Spirit,” replied Theo.

RJ made a motion with his hands, acknowledging he was right.

“It’s either crazy, or brilliant,” finished Theo.

“Well, neither,” said RJ. “It’s simply fighting fire with fire.” He stood up and began to walk around them, twirling a screwdriver between his fingers. “Now, I tuned the wavelength so that the cannon blast should cancel your opponent’s spirit.”

“By cancel, you mean destroy the spirit?” questioned Lily.

The Rangers all turned to him, surprised. For a moment, RJ didn’t reply. Then, tipping his head down to meet all of their faces, finally, he did.

“Yes,” he said.

“Whoa, did I miss something here?” asked Casey. “If you destroy the Spirit, couldn’t you destroy the Master?”

“I…” replied RJ, trailing off. “Don’t know…”

~*~*~*~*~

“Keep your eyes open,” said RJ as he and the Rangers walked through the forest in Ocean Bluff a few hours later. Suddenly, he twitched and stopped dead.

Next to him, instantly alert, Chris did too.

“Wait!” commanded RJ. “I sense something.”

“Me too,” said Chris. “It’s all… tingly.” Lightning danced the ground before them. “Oh, here we go…”

Out of nowhere, almost as if they were the Velociraptors from Jurassic Park attacking Robert Muldoon from the sides, the Spirit Rangers were there.

The battle began in earnest; RJ and the Black Spirit Ranger met in close combat – in such a small clearing in the forest, how could it be anything but in this particular situation. RJ ducked and dodged, attacking when he could, only to get kicked in the stomach by the Black Spirit Ranger, which sent him toppling.

Dominic smashed down nearby too, having fallen at the hands of the Green Spirit Ranger.  He hit the ground, the reeds underneath crumpling.

Casey fell at the hands of the Blue Spirit Rangers, rolling backwards; he bounded to his feet, hand in a fist.

“Guys, let’s do it!”

“Right!” agreed Lily.

The other Rangers rushed over, summoning the Claw Cannon; they all held it as usual, feeling the new Spirit Powers inside hum in their hands. Theo pressed the button on the side, beginning the charge.

The Blue Spirit Ranger did not move, challenging them to fire, daring them to actually do it.

“Oh, I hope this works,” said Lily as the Blue Spirit Ranger began menacingly approaching them.

“Steady…” added Casey. “Fire!”

“RANGERS!” shouted RJ, fighting the Black Spirit Ranger again.

“FIRE!” roared Chris, slamming the lever forward.

The blast that exploded from the Claw Cannon was not the usual orange, but a bright emerald green. It soared through the air, made a hole in the trunk of two trees, and struck the Blue Spirit Ranger straight in the chest.

The Blue Spirit Ranger exploded in an almighty bang, rocks and rubble flying everywhere. The blast sent the Rangers flying, knocking them to the floor.

RJ and the Black Ranger, too, were sent crashing to the ground.

“Guys!” gasped Dominic, seeing them all hit the ground.

With a flash of green and purple, the other two Spirit Rangers groaned and vanished.

“It worked!” gasped RJ, scrambling to his feet. Then, he remembered – if Casey was right then…

“Dad?” he questioned quietly under his breath.

The Ranger demorphed and, with RJ, began walking forward to the smouldering remains of what was the Blue Spirit Ranger.

Something – or, rather, a someone – emerged from the fog: Camille, looking terribly displeased.

“So, you figured out how to destroy a Spirit Ranger!” she spat, Flit hovering around. “Hmm. Congratulations, you’ve also destroyed your Master Finn.”

RJ’s head sank slightly.

“Oh, no, RJ!” exclaimed Flit, hovering down to land on the tree-branch nearby.

“FLIT!” barked Camille, grabbing him by the head and stalking away into the fog.

RJ sank to his knees, breathing heavily.

~*~*~*~*~

“Hey,” said Chris gently, later that afternoon as he walked up a metal staircase in the town pavilion, to where RJ was leaning against the railings, looking sad. “It wasn’t your fault. You did your best.”

“Did I?” asked RJ, hands outstretching in one of his usual motions. He pushed himself off the railing and turned away. “I keep thinking – I must have missed something. Maybe there was another way.”

“RJ, we all feel terrible about your dad,” said Chris, putting a hand on RJ’s shoulder and squeezing it. “He’d be the first to say: lessons of the past will guide you in the future. If it’s any consolation, you’re a stronger man than I am.”

Chris turned away this time, leaning against the railings himself. “I couldn’t do it. If I was in your position, having to risk destroying my brother to save the world? I couldn’t.”

He chuckled ruefully, then turned back to RJ. “As for there being another way? Well, maybe there was, maybe there wasn’t. There was in my past, but I don’t think there was here.”

~*~*~*~*~

“Well?” asked Casey as Chris strode into the upper living area above Jungle Karma Pizza.

“Did you find him?” asked Dominic.

Chris nodded sadly. “He needs more time.”

The alarms on RJ’s television blared; the Rangers swivelled, watching the red lights flash.

“Time is the one thing we don’t have,” said Theo.

Reluctantly, knowing Theo was right, the others nodded.

“Let’s go,” said Casey.

The Rangers rushed off – another fight to save the world awaited.

“You go,” said Chris. “I’ll wait here and fill RJ in on what’s happening – he’ll be in too much of a state to answer or hear his Solar Morpher.”

“Good idea,” agreed Casey, nodding. He turned to Lily and Theo. “Come on, guys, let’s go!”

And they were gone, Tarzan jumping and swinging through the hidden holes in the wall so that they could come and go as Rangers unseen.

Chris watched them go, then turned to the door and gently began to pace – up and down, up and down, up and down, along the length of the workout area, waiting for RJ to return.

He wasn’t there for long – twenty minutes later, he heard it.

“Casey? Lily?”

RJ had returned.

“There you are,” said Chris, emerging from the bedroom area. “Feeling better?”

A buzz filled the room and Flit plopped out of the air and bumped down gently into RJ’s chair. Something green and eye-like was sat next to him on the chair.

“Flit?” asked both Chris and RJ, frowning. “What are you doing here?”

“Hello, my friend,” said Flit, buzzing happily, twitching wildly as always. If Chris was honest, he couldn’t blame the little fly. If he was forced to spend that much time in Camille’s stomach, he’d probably be jittery too. “I brought you the crystal eye!”

RJ leaned forward to pick it up.

“Your father wasn’t destroyed,” continued Flit. “His Spirit is captured inside.”

“Captured?” asked Chris.

“Yes!” buzzed Flit, microphone nose moving in and out.

“You mean like the Phantom Beasts?” continued Chris.

“Yes!” buzzed Flit again. “Dai Shi had a warrior throw it into the ocean so that RJ would never find it. But I caught it for you, my friend.”

RJ sighed, lowering the Crystal Eye, in which stars sparkled. He settled himself into the chair, Flit buzzing up onto his shoulder. “Even if that was true, it’s too late – the starlight’s passed. What can I do?”

“RJ, you and your father are Pai Zhuq Masters,” said Flit. “There are no problems you cannot solve, only problems you have not solved yet. Now I must hurry back to Camille. Good luck… my friend.”

“Thanks, Flit,” said RJ as Flit buzzed rapidly away.

“Nice fly,” admitted Chris, watching him go. “When this is all over, we have to find a way to get him out of Camille’s stomach – permanently – and back to a human – also permanently.”

“Yes,” agreed RJ, clearly not paying attention. He stared down at the Crystal Eye. “There are no problems you cannot solve.”

He stood up. Chris smirked; the expression on RJ’s face had changed – disappointment had been replaced by determination. “You’re a Pai Zhuq Master…”

He began to pace. “Ach, I took the risk, but I can’t find the answer…”

He trailed off again, as something his father had once said to him came to him. “We will find the answer. We. But how could we find it? You can’t help me, Dad. Unless?” he raised the Crystal Eye to look at it. “You already did.”

“Care to explain?” asked Chris.

“I’ll explain on the way,” said RJ. “Come on.”

~*~*~*~*~

“This is where your father lives?” asked Chris, taking in the ramshackle hut on the beach. It was wooden inside, almost as if the whole room was made of birch flooring. Several boats adorned the beach and a blue six seater sat outside.

“Yes,” said RJ.

“Did you grow up here?”

“I did,” admitted RJ. “It was quiet and peaceful – and boring. Just me and Dad, and the ocean too, I suppose.”

He put the Crystal Eye down onto the shelf in his father’s house.

“So, what’s the plan?” asked Chris.

“Watch,” said RJ, tilting his father’s telescope on its stand so that it pointed at the Crystal Eye. “My, I hope I’m right, and you captured the starlight. Chris, ready?”

“Ready,” said Chris, leaning round to pull the front hatch off the telescope. Blinding white light erupted from within, shooting down onto the Crystal Eye below.

The Crystal Eye began to glow yellow, vibrating rapidly on the shelf, which began to shake, almost as if an earthquake had hit it.

“Oh! Dad!” cried RJ as the Crystal Eye grew in size and began to glow blue; moments later, it formed the shape of a human, and his father was stood before him.

“RJ!” beamed Master Finn, hugging his son tightly. “You figured it out! I knew you wouldn’t give up!”

“Well,” said RJ. “I had the help of a few friends.”

“Hello again, Master Finn,” said Chris, nodding at him.

“From a few friends, or from one’s own son, we all need a little help now and then,” admitted Master Finn.

“RJ, Chris, we’re taking a beating here!” Casey’s voice echoed through RJ’s Morpher.

“We’re on our way,” said RJ, turning and heading off.

“RJ!” said Master Finn, intercepting him before he could leave. “The only way to save your friends is to rescue the other Masters. You, Chris, and I can do that. We know the way to the temple.”

“He’s right,” said Chris, stepping forward so that he was nearer to father and son. “Even if we stop them today, the Spirit Rangers will just keep coming back. The only way to end this for good… is to find – and rescue – Masters Phant and Swoop. I’m ready if you are, Master Finn?”

~*~*~*~*~

The Rinshi were bouncing around outside Dai Shi’s base when, up the lane, ready for a fight, came the two Pai Zhuq Masters and the Vessel of the Basilisk.

It took them all of two minutes to slice their way through the four dozen Rinshi on guard. Nodding at each other, the three rose from their battle stances and headed inside.

“Be on your guard,” said Chris to the Basilisk. “React without me if you have too. Bringing you here was a bad idea. If Dai Shi gets us…”

“He won’t,” said the Basilisk in reply. “Not even the Phantom Beasts would be able to successfully channel my power into a Spirit Ranger. Full power would destroy you – and they would need you alive to be a new Spirit Ranger.”

“Still, just in case…”

~*~*~*~*~

“Out of the way,” said Chris as he, Master Finn, and RJ reached a tightly sealed door, through which they could hear Masters Phant and Swoop fighting.

His eyes flashed bright, and the door flew off its hinges, splattering several Rinshi against the wall behind.

“Age and experience before beauty,” he said, gesturing for RJ and his father to enter.

RJ and Master Finn dove into the fight.

“Child!” said the Basilisk in his head. “The board, against the wall. Use it on the crystal eyes!”

“Good idea!” agreed Chris, swinging it over his head. It smashed down hard onto the Crystal Eye before Master Phant, who’s chains yanked him violently back to the wall. His Crystal eye clattered to the floor.

Chris roared and swung the board again, bringing it whistling down onto Master Swoop’s Phantom eye. His Crystal Eye, too, hit the floor.

He did not hit the wall, but sagged to the ground, completely devoid of energy.

“Master Phant!” cried RJ, rushing over. “Are you OK?”

“I think so,” said Master Phant, using the wall to stand.

“Can you stand?” asked Master Finn to Master Swoop.

“Yes.”

“Let’s get out of here.”

“The Four Pai Zhuq Masters and their little apprentice,” said Dai Shi, emerging from the fog. “You’re not so mighty now.”

“Dai Shi,” began Master Finn. “If you could, you would destroy us as you blow out a candle, but Jarrod’s Black Lion’s Spirit cannot be crushed.”

“Jarrod is buried deep in my darkness,” boomed Dai Shi.

“Buried, maybe,” agreed Master Phant. “But lost, never.”

Dai Shi’s face twisted, taking on a look of disbelief as Master Phant continued. “His humanity is an antidote to your poison and, someday, Jarrod will cast you out!”

Dai Shi roared, sending the Masters, RJ, and Chris, flying backwards across the room. RJ was the first to his feet, Dai Shi meeting him in battle.

While RJ was more creative in combat than Dai Shi was, he was not more powerful – Dai Shi smashed him back; he crashed to the floor in front of the others.

“RJ!” cried Master Finn.

Dai Shi advanced menacingly, only for a blast to explode from Chris. Dai Shi staggered back, but eventually managed to block it, causing it to arc upwards.

The room began to shake, and the roof began to collapse.

“LET’S GO!” cried Master Finn.

“Good idea!” said Chris, snatching Master Phant’s hand.

They vanished in a flash of pink as Dai Shi vanished under rubble and smoke and fire.

~*~*~*~*~

“With you gone, the Beasts shall rule the world!” boomed the latest Phantom Beast that the Rangers were fighting – Unidoom.

“HEY!”

“What?!”

Unidoom turned slightly; there, approaching, was RJ and Chris.

“That’s not gonna happen!” retorted Chris.

“RJ, CHRIS!” exclaimed the Rangers, down on the floor, defeated from their battle.

“I’ve already beaten four Rangers,” said Unidoom, long unicorn horned hands gesturing casually to them. “Two more is no challenge.”

“How’s this for a challenge?” asked Chris, spreading his arms wide; the Spirit Rangers stepped up beside him.

“Whoa!” gasped Casey.

“What?” gasped Theo.

“Ho!” exclaimed Lily.

“No way!” breathed Dominic.

The sight of Chris surrounded by four other Rangers suited him and Dominic knew it. If Chris ever decided to obtain world domination, nothing would ever be able to stop him.

“That’s nothing,” smirked Camille, striding over to help Unidoom. “RINSHI!”

She snapped her finger, the crack echoing like a whip in the air; hundreds of Rinshi appeared out of the ground and she morphed into her Chameleon form.

“GET THEM!” boomed Camille as the Rangers stepped up to join Chris, RJ, and the Spirit Rangers.

“Let’s get them!” shouted Casey, and everyone thundered forward into battle.

Master Phant destroyed several Rinshi will a well-placed stamp to the floor, causing the ground to ripple like a stone into water.

Back-to-back, as Master Swoop went leaping over them, Chris and Casey whirled and twirled, ducking and dodging, weapons flailing and whirling and spinning, smashing into Rinshi as they approached.

Nearby RJ fought Camille; he leaned as she jabbed, he ducked as she thrust – he was running circles around her. They cartwheeled backwards, once, twice, thrice, Camille leading and RJ following. After the fourth cartwheel, RJ swung his foot horizontally through the air and leapt into a spin, bringing his foot smashing down into Camille’s face.

He leapt, kicking for a second time as she jabbed her dagger at him. His foot collided with the dagger and knocked it out of Camille’s hand – it flew into the air, cartwheeling over itself, and came surging down to the ground, right near Chris.

Legs spread wide to support himself, he was only an inch away from becoming a Eunuch as the dagger impaled itself into the concrete.

“How bloody sharp are her daggers?” he gasped, leaping to his feet and kicking the dagger as he did so.

It flew into the air, still cartwheeling, and twanged down off the back of Camille’s head, knocking her to the ground.

Bouncing off Camille’s head, the dagger whirled high into the air, bounced off Master Swoop’s helmet, and careened violently towards Theo. He hadn’t seen it coming but, to his fortune, he whirled and struck at the nearby Rinshi. The dagger bounced off the hilt of his weapon and flew through the air.

Only to be smashed away by Lily’s Jungle Mace.

It whizzed through the air, and finally came to a halt, having impaled itself in the side of a lamppost; it twanged there, like a ruler bent over the edge of a table and released.

"RINZIN POWER!" roared Unidoom as the three Masters surged at him, each striking him hard.

With a shriek and a groan, he toppled to the ground and exploded.

Defeated.

~*~*~*~*~

“Oh, Master Phant!”

Lily broke from the group, rushing forward to embrace the elderly man who was stood, with the other Masters, in the loft.

“Lily!” he greeted, hugging her back.

“Welcome back, Master Swoop,” said Theo to the blind master, who held out a hand for him to shake.

“Ha ha, what a relief to see you again!” admitted Casey as he and Master Finn shook hands, arms wrapped around one another. “We thought, after we fired the Claw Cannon…”

“Hey,” interrupted Master Finn. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

“From now on, you’ll have the Spirit Rangers to help you battle the Dai Shi,” said Master Swoop.

“Fight strong, fight together,” added Master Finn.

“And take the risk,” added RJ.

He and Master Finn, now on the same page with no more issues between them, smiled at one another, Master Finn’s eyes narrowing in approval as he appraised his son.

“Well,” said Chris, stepping forward and placing his hands together into a steeple. “As good as this is, none of us are dumb. Dai Shi will throw everything he’s got at us now – and, because we’ve got more power, so will his minions. Oh, the Rinshi will be as easy as pie, they always are, but the Phantom Beasts? You can bet your bottom dollar that they’ll increase in power.”

“Chris is right,” said Master Finn. “We’re going to have to be prepared for everything.”

“Well, then,” said Chris. “Let’s get too it. What do we know, what don’t we know, what can we find out, and what can’t we find out?”

“Well, we know there are Eight Phantom Beasts,” said Casey.

“Eleven,” corrected Chris. “The three generals, Scorch, Snapper, and Whiger, then the eight Beasts, of whom we have destroyed three.”

“Eight,” said Casey, smugly.

“Left,” said Chris. “Not in total. Anything else?”

“Numerous,” said Chris. “They know we have the Masters back, and they will come for them if they can.”

“But we shall be ready for them this time.”

“Yes,” agreed Chris. “But that might not be enough. I hope it will be…”

And so continued the discussion.

Chapter Text

Chapter XXII: Tigers Fall, Lions Rise

The Rangers walked through the woods together. It was rare that they got a day off but having been thrown into a television show against Camile and the Rinshi just days ago, it was something that was, in fact, much needed for the group.

“So, Casey, how’s teaching the Kung Fu class coming along?” asked RJ. He and Casey were at the front of the group. Dominic and Chris trailed behind them, with Theo and Lily walking and talking happily at the back of the group.

“Yeah, it’s coming along,” admitted Casey, happily. “The kinds remind of me of when I first started.”

“I’m sure you’re a great teacher,” said Dominic; an idea hit him, and he smirked. “Hey, maybe we could sign up Theo? His moves are getting a little rusty.”

Chris and Casey laughed.

“Hey, I heard that, Rhino Boy!” shot back Theo from the back of the group.

“Ooh, at least his hearing’s OK!” laughed Dominic.

Theo rushed forward, making a Kung Fu noise, and began to scrap playfully with Dominic. The twosome toppled to the ground, locked together, fighting and scraping and laughing.

“Come on, guys,” said Casey, smirking gently. “Save it for the Phantom Beasts. Break it up.”

“Ah, you really got that teaching thing down cold,” said RJ, stopping and turning to Casey with a gentle smile. The Rangers were outgrowing the need for him, and he knew it. Once Dai Shi was defeated, would they stay? He had no clue.

He knew Chris would go – whatever force had brought him here would take him just as quick – but he hoped they’d see each other again at some point. And Dominic, friends though they were, was too much of a nomad to stay in one place permanently without a mission.

But the others? Who knew?

“So, what’s the first lesson, Sir?” he asked, laughing gently.

“The element of surprise,” replied Casey. Moments later, he lunged at RJ and the two were off, scrapping in a fight.

RJ managed to win, knocking Casey into the air. He flew backwards, spinning vertically, and crashed down in a bush nearby.

“Guess I learn fast,” said RJ, chuckling.

A red flash echoed from the bush nearby and, out of the bush he’d landed in, Casey leapt at RJ.

“Lesson’s not over!”

“Ready?” asked RJ.

“Let’s boogie!” said Chris.

Together, the other Rangers morphed and charged forward; they were not all fighting Casey. Chris and Dominic fought, both equally matched, each dodging the others attacks, while RJ and Casey and Lily and Theo alternated their attacks.

Dominic rolled away from Chris, lunging at Casey.

“Come on!” he laughed, dodging Casey’s attack by crouching and nipping at his ankles. “Too slow!”

Casey threw him back, followed by Theo, who tumbled into the group of Rangers. Casey turned and charged.

“Oh, this won’t end well!” exclaimed Chris.

Nearby, racing through the forest, a pre-teen boy called Jimmy skidded his bike to a halt. He retrieved his water bottle from his bag and opened it, intending to take a drink, only to hear the fighting occur nearby.

He scrambled off his bike and ducked behind a tree, staring through the bush nearby at the Rangers fighting.

“Basilisk Blast!”

A blast hit the ground nearby and nearly friend him.

~*~*~*~*~

Jimmy had told his friends what he’d seen only for one of his classmates, a fluffy haired blonde boy called Todd, to mock him. The rest of the group chuckled.

“Class,” said Casey, clapping his hands to get their attention. They filed into lines, four groups of three. “Today, we have a guest.”

“Yo!” said Chris, entering the room. “Your teacher said I could join you. Just go on as normal, ignore me, pretend I’m not here.”

~*~*~*~*~

Later that lesson, Casey had divided the group into groups of two, who were challenging each other in sparring matches. Jimmy fell at the hands of his opponent.

“You cannot fight laying on your back, Nerd Ranger,” said Todd, swaggering over.

“I like jokes, Todd,” said an angry voice behind him. Casey and Chris had both arrived; Casey’s face was furious, etched witb anger. “Want to share it with the class?”

“No, Sir,” replied Todd. He scurried away to rejoin his partner and Chris held out a hand to help Jimmy up.

~*~*~*~*~

“I can’t believe you were attacked by a Phantom Beast, out of nowhere!” gasped Chris as RJ returned to the Loft with Casey and lowered him into a chair.

“I can’t believe he has a Tiger Spirit, just like yours!” admitted Lily.

“I can’t believe RJ’s letting you sit in his chair!” exclaimed Theo.

“Uh, don’t get used to it!” said RJ, quickly as Theo and Chris smirked. “I’m having a moment of weakness. You alright?” he asked Casey.

“I’m fine,” said Casey. “Just a little…”

He broke off, groaning in pain.

“I’m not so sure, Amigo,” admitted RJ, frowning. “I think you took a little tiger out of your tank. Try unleashing your Spirit.”

Casey stood up, brushed himself down, and then tried to release his spirit.

Nothing happened.

He tried for a second time, still to no avail.

“What do I do?” asked Casey, face etched with horror.

“We get your Spirit back,” said Dominic. “That’s what we do. Who’s this Whiger?”

“Ah,” said RJ, walking over to a nearby desk and unrolling a scroll. “During the ancient Beast Wars, Whiger and his ugly compadres, Scorch and Snapper, they fought against the humans, but they also tried to overthrow Dai Shi. Now, if Dai Shi forgives them and they all join powers, Dai Shi could be unstoppable.”

“It’s just as we suspected,” said Chris, crossing his arms. “When the Masters were here, I mean. Dai Shi has joined with the Phantom Beasts; but why? What do they want?”

~*~*~*~*~

At the Kung Fu class at the Town Center Community Park later the next day, Casey was teaching another class. Chris too, had joined him.

“What I do is follow my Spirit,” said Casey to Jimmy, as the two stood near a sparring pole. “And let that guide my moves. You got it?”

Casey made a fighting stance and lunged repeatedly against the pole – it was an action that left him panting.

“Are you OK?” asked Jimmy.

“Yeah,” said Casey, nodding his head and meeting Chris’s gaze. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He took a deep breath and strode back to the rest of the class. “OK, Class, let’s finish up with some sparring.”

The students all filed aside, allowing Casey to walk between them. “First: Jimmy – I want you to spar with Todd.”

Jimmy sighed, unable to hide the disappointment on his face.

“Hmm, this is gonna be fun,” bragged Todd to himself, face quirking into a smirk.

“Remember,” said Casey to the group. “Find your Spirit and let it lead you.”

The rest of the group backed away, allowing Todd and Jimmy to take their places.

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” said Chris in a whisper as he stepped up next to Casey.

Todd and Jimmy both made the movement of a Pai Zhuq student, bowing to one another with their fist in their palm.

“Begin!”

Both were off in a fight. It lasted all of a few moments, before Todd had thrown Jimmy to the ground.

“Concentrate, Jimmy!” scolded Casey.

Jimmy got to his feet and Todd resumed his attack; Jimmy ducked Todd’s foot, which surged through the air in the exact position that Jimmy’s head had once been.

This time, managing to grab Todd’s arm, Jimmy threw him backwards.

Casey smirked as Jimmy looked surprised.

“He thinks he can hurt me!” grunted Todd. He stepped forward and thrust a few times at Jimmy, only for Jimmy, animal spirit in tune, to knock him to the floor.

Jimmy met Casey’s eye and nodded. Casey smiled gently.

Todd, on the floor, was having none of it. He crouched and twisted, swinging a foot through the air. It hit Jimmy’s legs and sent him toppling to the floor.

Todd pinned him down.

“You can’t beat me!” barked Todd, a hand on Jimmy’s chest to prevent him from standing. “You’re nothing!”

Casey clapped his hand, and the match ended.

Chris’s eyes narrowed as he watched Todd laugh with some of his friends and swagger away. It was clear to anyone with a brain that the arrogant blonde had been seconds from defeat and only unfair tactics had won the day.

~*~*~*~*~

“Jimmy,” said Casey, later that afternoon as the group were all filing away to leave. Jimmy turned to him. “Todd’s words are beating you, not his fighting.”

“Whatever,” grunted Jimmy. “I’m still a loser.”

“No, you’re not,” said Casey, eyes flashing. “I saw it in you today, for the first time. You’ve got the Tiger Spirit.”

“Spirit of the Tiger?” questioned Jimmy.

“Yes!” agreed Casey. “Just like the Red Power Ranger.”

Jimmy smiled and then turned and left. Casey smiled after him.

“Nice kid,” said Chris, who had been listening from nearby. “Shame the other one is an ass.”

~*~*~*~*~

Chris and Casey arrived back at Jungle Karma Pizza after the sparring was over; RJ had just turned the OPEN sign to CLOSED.

“Good timing,” said RJ, a broom in hand as they entered. “We’re almost done.”

“How are you feeling?” asked Lily.

“Yeah, OK,” replied Casey. He groaned in pain, bent double at the reception desk, hands flying to the side of his head.

“What’s wrong?” asked RJ as the group arrived at Casey’s side.

“I heard Whiger’s voice in my head,” replied Casey. “Calling me. I could see him too. He’s at the quarry! I’ve got to go! I’ve got to get my Spirit back!”

“In your condition, bad idea,” replied RJ. “We’ll check it out.”

“I’ll stay with Fran,” said Chris, meeting RJ’s eye. “To look after Casey.”

RJ nodded and he, Lily, Theo, and Dominic rushed away.

~*~*~*~*~

“I should have been there to help!” said Casey.

RJ and the others had returned, and the Rangers were all sat in the loft, sat in chairs around a small square table.

“No, it wouldn’t have made a difference,” admitted RJ.

“They threw us around like ragdolls,” admitted Theo, rolling his shoulder.

“I’m useless without my Tiger Spirit,” said Casey sadly. He huffed and began to stand. “We gotta go, my class is waiting for us.”

“Whoa, wait a minute,” scolded RJ. “You got it all wrong. Your Spirit doesn’t make you stronger, you make your Spirit stronger. Think about it.”

Casey nodded gently, then stood up and left with Chris.

~*~*~*~*~

“Did Nerd Ranger get a little pep talk yesterday?” taunted Todd, approaching Jimmy with two of his friends.

“Oh, leave me alone, Todd,” grunted Jimmy.

“You’re nothing,” said Todd, stepping in front of Jimmy. “Just admit it.”

He turned to leave, only to fall to the floor in shock; stood before him and the group, growling gently, was Whiger.

“Run!” boomed Whiger.

Chris and Casey arrived at the shouting. People were rushing around, panicking and fleeing.

“At last!” said Whiger, catching sight of Casey, who whipped out his Solar Morpher.

“I’ll get the kids to saftefy,” said Chris, vanishing in a flash of pink. He landed just out of site nearby, then rushed over to Casey’s students.

“Back here,” he said to them, ushering them out of sight behind a van nearby. “Stay here!”

Casey had vanished out of sight, intending to Morph without being seen.

“Show yourself, Red Ranger!” boomed Whiger, advancing menacingly after Casey.

He didn’t get very far for, out of nowhere, Theo arrived, already Morphed, to strike Whiger, knocking him aside.

“Well, well,” said Whiger as the others arrived.

Todd, Jimmy, and the others were so focused on the fight that none of them notice Chris vanish in a flash of pink. When he landed in the fight, he was already Morphed, Spino Smashers spinning around him.

Theo was thrown aside.

“Where’s Red Ranger?” wondered Jimmy, watching the fight.

Whiger went into a handstand, knocking RJ and Lily back, then blocked the three-pronged attack from Theo, Dominic, and Chris combined. He leapt, fist growing, and punched Chris in the face.

He staggered backwards, head rattling inside his helmet.

“Right, now I’m angry!” barked Chris, leaping forward and lunging. His strength, combined with those of his whirling Spino Smashers, sent Whiger skidding backwards.

Theo and Lily leapt in, pushing Whiger further backwards, only for him to smack them backwards; the threesome toppled, Chris tumbling to the floor as Lily and Theo collided with him.

“WHIGER!” burst a voice from nearby as the Rangers all fell at Whiger’s hand. “It’s me you want!”

Whiger whirled around. If his ugly masked face could have smirked evilly, it would have done so.

“There he is!” exclaimed Jimmy, grinning and watching from nearby.

Casey leapt, slashing at Whiger, who stumbled backwards; Chris seized his chance and smashed him in the face with a Spino Smasher, before the fight began again.

“Casey are you alright?” asked Chris as he, Lily, and Theo rallied around their Team Leader.

“I think so,” replied Casey, who was panting.

“CLAW CANNON!” exclaimed the Rangers, summoning the cannon. It buzzed and whirred.

“What?” gasped Theo.

“It’s not charging!” exclaimed Lily.

“It’s me!” cried Casey. “I don’t have enough Tiger Spirit.”

Dominic and RJ fell at Whiger’s hand.

“It’s your turn, Red Ranger!” boomed Whiger, advancing menacingly towards the group.

“I have Tiger Spirit,” said a voice.

It was Jimmy.

“Get out of here, kid!” commanded Theo.

“No!” interrupted Casey. “Wait! Maybe he can help.” He turned to Jimmy. “Put your hand on mine.”

Jimmy did so. He and Casey looked at one another, nodded, and closed their eyes. The Tiger Spirit roared from Jimmy, and the Claw Cannon charged.

“You’re mine!” boomed Whiger.

“Oh, come on!” exclaimed Lily.

“It’s working!” cried Theo as the Claw Cannon began charging.

“Ready? FIRE!”

Together, Jimmy and Casey thrust the lever forward.

The blast exploded from the Claw Cannon and smashed heavily into Whiger, who flew backwards.

“Whoa!” exclaimed Todd nearby. “Jimmy helped the Rangers!”

“Thanks!” said Casey, holding up a hand for Jimmy to clasp. He did so, smiled, and then rushed away, knowing the rest was out of his hands now.

Whiger grew to the size of a twenty-storey building, and the Rangers summoned their Megazords.

The fight began.

Casey barely made it through the fight, his spirit drained. Though not destroyed, Whiger had been returned to normal size.

~*~*~*~*~

“I just put my hand on Red Ranger’s, and it felt like electricity!” admitted Jimmy to the rest of the students at the Town Center Community Park.

“Okay, everyone,” said Casey, arriving with Chris. “Warm up.” The group filed aside, making two lines of six. “I believe we have a genuine hero in our midst. Well done, Jimmy. You get first pick of the training partners today.”

“I choose… Todd,” said Jimmy, looking around the group. Todd’s floppy haired head jerked upwards.

“Me?” asked Todd, arms crossed. “I don’t wanna fight you.”

“I don’t wanna fight you either,” said Jimmy, as he and Todd stepped forward. “But I thought if we sparred together, we could teach each other a few things.”

Casey smiled.

“And thus,” said Chris in a whisper, leaning over to Casey. “Peace is restored.”

“Friends?” asked Jimmy, holding out a fist for Todd to punch.

He did so, smiling gently. “Friends.”

Chapter Text

Chapter XXIII: The Spirit of Kindness

“Ugh, long day,” sighed Casey, sliding a pizza onto the reception desk between him and the Rangers.

“Long day,” agreed Lily, putting down a fistful of coins onto the reception desk between herself and Theo’s chairs. “Low tips. Nine dollars and ten cents.”

“Who gave you the ten cents?” chuckled Theo, smirking up at her. 

“Every table!” grunted Lily.

Dominic, who was halfway through a bite of pizza, jumped at the sound of nearby squeaking.

“What was that!?” he asked.

Fran, who was sat opposite him, yelped and dropped her book as she turned. “I think I saw something too…” In unison, the Rangers and Fran rose from their seats and headed towards a booth nearby. “Over there… Whatever it was, it went under the table.”

Moments later, they spotted it. A tiny, white, red eyed rat was squeaking in front of them.

They shrieked in unison and leapt backwards – “RAT!” – and dove onto the reception desk, all arming themselves with weapons.

“Shouldn’t one of you go get the rat?” asked Fran, who had an umbrella in her hand as a weapon.

The rat, for its part, had no care in the world; it sat there, casually squeaking. “You’re Power Rangers.”

Lily nudged Theo, indicating he should go.

Theo looked to Dominic and jerked his head, indicating he should go.

“Well, depends how you look at it,” said Dominic. “Fighting unspeakable evil is one thing, but rats? Eeek!”

“Casey’s our leader,” said Lily. “He should do it.”

“Me?” asked Casey, looking across at her. “They didn’t teach me anything about this at Pai Zhuq!”

“Alright, I’ll do it!” said Theo, dropping the bar stoor he was holding onto the ground. He stepped on to it, crouching, and turned back to look at all the others. “I am ashamed of all of you.”

He stepped down onto the floor, advancing slowly towards the rat.

“Oh, oh, careful Theo!” said Fran. She looked around the others. “Does anybody know whether rats leap?”

“Leap!?” cried Theo, vaulting off the floor and back onto the chair.

“EWW!” shrieked Lily, leaping off her stool and onto the top of the reception desk.

“You know, I heard if rats are left alone, they eventually get bored and leave.”

“Mighty Power Rangers,” said RJ, arriving. “Your fearless mentor has come to save you.”

He held up a rat trap – a box with a slidable door. “Ah, now, I just need some bait. Ah, everyone loves a slice of pepperoni pizza.”

He put a slice into the rat trap and put it down on the floor and slowly advanced forward. “Our furry friend will crawl in for a nibble of our delicious and famous pizza… and then I’ll slide in from behind and safely and humanely close the cage.”

RJ put the cage down near the rat, which crawled inside.

“Then I might just keep him as a friend!” he finished, laughing.

“You do, and I will literally kill you,” said Chris, who was armed with a newspaper.

“And, after I get him, the six of you will scrub every inch of this place. And, in the morning, I will retrain you in the fine art of something all of you have forgotten: courage.”

There was a clunk behind RJ. He leaned down and picked up the rat box. The rat was trapped inside, large tail wiggling through one of the holes.

“If you keep that rat, RJ, I will regress in my person to what I was and find a way to chargrill both you and the rat alive,” said Chris. “I have a body count to my name, and, in this particular instance, I am willing to raise it to two bodies… and a rat.”

~*~*~*~*~

The following morning, the Rangers were playing a game of football in the loft; Theo kicked the ball to Chris, who flipped backwards and kicked it at Casey, who headered it to Lily. She caught it expertly, bouncing it with one foot, and then sent it whizzing through the air towards Dominic. Lily’s kick was so hard that the ball began to smoke and whistle from the strength of surging through the air.

Dominic leapt into the air, kick flipping backwards, and the ball whizzed through the air and smashed hard into the back of the net.

“Ha ha, yeah!” laughed Lily.

The alarms over RJ’s television began to blare. The Rangers, game abandoned, rushed over and watched; two Phantom Beasts – Badrat and Rammer – were terrorising the city.

“Let’s do it,” said Casey.

“Go,” said Chris to the others. “I’m coming in my teleport.”

They nodded and began to leave, each jumping through their respective exits in the walls to head off to the fight.

All, that is, except Casey.

“Uh, how about watching the store?” asked RJ to Casey, stopping him from heading off.

“I may not have my Tiger Spirit, but I can still fight, RJ.”

“No, I need you to keep Maurice company,” replied RJ.

“Maurice?” asked Casey.

“Yeah,” said RJ. “My new rat friend. I think he’s French.” He leaned over to the cage on the table next to his television. “Bonjour!” The rat, surprisingly, reacted. “See? Besides, without your Spirit, you’re weaker. You might not be able to morph.”

RJ rushed over to Chris, who took him by the arm. “You named the rat?”

“Yeah, so?”

“Oh, we are so talking about this later! See ya later, Case!”

Chris whirled on the spot with RJ and the two vanished in a flash of pink light, leaving Casey alone in the loft with Maurice the Rat.

Casey stared at the empty space that they had formerly inhabited and, turning back to the televisions, crossed his arms and let his face crumple in disappointment.

Moments later, he bent double, a hand flying to his head.

“Red Ranger!” boomed Whiger’s voice in his head. “Come to me, Red Ranger.”

He set his jaw and stalked away.

~*~*~*~*~

In town, Badrat, an addanc-themed Phantom Beast Warrior was terrorising people, sprinkling dust over them to make them vanish.

“Hey!” barked Theo.

Badrat, who was jumping on the spot and hooting in delight, stopped and turned to face them. “Hey!” he said. “The VIPs are here!”

“What’d you do with everyone?!” boomed Theo.

“You’re about to find out.”

“Great!” said Lily. “Another rat.”

“And here I was hoping we could do this the easy way,” said Chris to Lily.

In unison, the Rangers thundered forward into battle. Badrat intercepted their attacks and sent them cartwheeling to the ground.

Dominic was the first up, striking twice at the large hump on Badrat’s back.

“Okay,” said Lily, heaving herself to her feet and preparing to charge again. “This is one rat I’m not afraid of!”

“You know what?” asked Chris, smirking. “I agree!”

He and Lily charged forward into battle, meeting Badrat in combat.

Chris swung his Spino Smashers down at Badrat, who knocked it back, sending him flying through the air; he collided hard with Lily and the two went rolling past Theo and RJ.

“Chris, Lily!” gasped Theo. He, Dominic, and RJ heaved themselves to their feet. “Playtime’s over!”

“Yeah!” agreed RJ.

The three remaining Rangers summoned the Claw Cannon. “FIRE!” roared Theo, shoving the lever forward.

It had been a surprise to the Rangers, a few nights ago, when RJ revealed he had modified the Claw Cannon to work with any combination of the Rangers’ Animal Spirits.

The golden blast formed in the mouth of the lion head on the front of the Claw Cannon, surged through the air, and smashed into Badrat.

Badrat flew backwards and landed in a roll.

“Yikes!” he cried, rushing to his feet. “That’s got a punch to it! Bye bye, now!”

And he leapt into the air, zooming away in a small brown tornado.

“No!” cried Theo as Dominic grunted and punched his fist into the palm of his hand.

“We’ve still got to find all those people!” exclaimed Lily as she and Chris approached the group. She nodded at Chris, and pushed past RJ, Theo, and Dominic. “Come on!”

The group took off in a run.

~*~*~*~*~

“No-one touches Badrat, the baddest rat here!”

Badrat was dancing on a circular dock on the edge of town.

“Except me!”

Badrat turned, only to find himself toppling backwards as RJ’s foot collided with his chest and knocked him to the floor.

“No more games, Badrat!” boomed Lily. “What did you do with everyone?!”

“Nyah, I forget,” said Badrat, rising and putting a hand to his head.

“Careful,” began Theo. “This beast is up to something.”

He was right – Badrat spread his arms wide and whirled into a spin, charging through the Rangers before they could react.

They flew into the air and crashed back down, landing where Badrat had once been. He turned to face them and wiggled his fingers. “Bye bye!”

A snowlike substance emerged from his fingertips, almost as if a fire extinguisher was spraying from within him and covered the Rangers. “Go on, disappear! Oh, yeah, their Animal Spirits are stronger than normal. We’ll have to wear them down.”

“He thought that dust would make us disappear!” exclaimed Lily as she and the Rangers stood up.

“Guess our Animal Spirits protected us!” agreed Theo.

Badrat stamped his feet angrily. “Don’t go anywhere, I’m not done yet!”

“Good!” agreed Chris as he and the Rangers sank into their fighting poses. “Neither are we!”

The ground rattled and Badrat and the Rangers turned, all surprised, to stare up at the giant twenty-storey high Phantom Beast Ram that was looming over them.

“You wanna tangle?!” he boomed. “Then mess with me!”

“I’ll fight the ram with Rhino Steel!” said Dominic, turning to the group, his sword glistening in his hands.

“And I’ll use Wolf Pride Megazord!” agreed RJ.

“OK!” agreed Lily as Dominic and RJ rushed off towards the Phantom Beast Ram – Rammer, who they’d briefly seen on the television screen before arriving to battle. Dominic turned back to Theo.

“Theo!” he shouted. “Catch!”

He threw his weapon, the large, clawed device that was on his hand, to Theo, who caught it. It looked like an enormous hand, red palmed and silver fingered, that was made out of Lego parts.

“Whoa! Thanks, Dom!” exclaimed Theo. He slipped it over his hand. “Let’s see what this can do!”

RJ and Dominic created their Megazords and, high above the other Rangers, the fight began. Down on the ground, Lily, Theo, and Chris all whirled and struck at Badrat.

Badrat leapt high, landing on a roof nearby. The Rangers jumped after him, striking and smiting. He smashed them back, and Theo linked his own giant hand with Dominic’s weapon.

“RHINO MORPHER! CLAW POWER!”

It glowed a golden glow and formed a giant sword. Theo swung it through the air, and sent a crescent shaped blast at Badrat, who was fighting Lily and Chris.

The blast hit Badrat, sending him tumbling to the floor.

“Now I’m annoyed!” boomed Badrat, staggering to his feet. The rat eyes on his chest glowed red.

“FIREY JETS!” exclaimed Theo, leaping into the air. He kick flipped backwards and then descended to Badrat, smashing hard into him.

Meanwhile, behind Badrat, RJ and Dominic had defeated Rammer. Both Badrat and Rammer sparked green and exploded.

But, to the surprise of the Rangers, they were not defeated. Once the green smoke had cleared, what had happened was clear for everyone to see.

Badrat and Rammer had swapped places – Badrat was now twenty-stories tall, and Rammer was now small and stood before Theo, Chris and Lily.

“WHOA!” gasped Lily. “They switched placed.”

“What kind of game is this!?” grunted Dominic.

“Hey, Rammer!” said Badrat. “Think they’re worn down enough?”

“Maybe a little more, just in case!” said Rammer, turning to look up at Badrat, then charging at Lily, Theo, and Chris.

“Time to turn the tables!” boomed Badrat, spinning into a tornado; he smashed into both Megazords hard.

“Round and round we spin!” laughed Rammer, sending the weapons of Lily, Theo, and Chris flying. “Let loose of your weapons, so I can win!”

Rammer did what his name implied – and smashed hard into Lily, Theo, and Chris. They smashed to the ground.

Up above, Badrat spread his arms wide and launched a blast of energy from each arm – the two Megazords sparked and exploded.

The twosome hit the floor, just as Lily, Theo, and Chris smashed down next to them.

“Hey, Rammer, do you think they’re worn down enough now?” asked Badrat.

“There’s one sure fire way to find out!” admitted Rammer. He rubbed his hands together. “Let it rip, Badrat!”

“OK!” agreed Badrat, reaching into a large pot that he’d summoned out of this air. He thew dust into the air. “Bye bye!”

“It’s that dust again!” cried Theo. “But this time I feel weak!”

“I don’t think I can even stand up!” gasped Lily.

“What’s happening to us?!” exclaimed Dominic.

The Rangers glowed yellow and faded away.

~*~*~*~*~

When they came too, they were in a large grey box with numerous sets of six square holes all over the walls.

“Where are we?” asked Lily, peering through one of the holes.

“In some kind of a box!” replied RJ.

“I can hear people yelling for help,” said Dominic. He was right – all around, voices were carrying.

“I see a lot of traps hanging from the ceiling!” gasped Theo, peering through a square hole on his side. “They must be in there!”

“They must be trapped, just like us!” exclaimed Lily. “In this – this –”

She turned, horror struck, and met Chris’s face. He, too, had realised.

“We’re in a rat trap!” they said in unison.

“Oh, that’s karma for you!” groused Dominic. “Help trap a rat and now we end up caught in a trap, like rats!”

“Actually, we didn’t trap it,” corrected RJ. “I did, but at least I was humane about it. They didn’t even leave us pizza!”

The rat trap, hanging by threads from the ceiling, rocked and rattled, sending the Rangers tumbling.

Moments later, Badrat and Rammer arrived.

“Scream, Rangers!” said Badrat, sticking a stick through one of the holes. “We want your fear too!”

“They’re really huge!” gasped Lily.

“Au contraire,” corrected RJ. “I think that we’re really small, that dust must have shrunk is so that we’d fit in these cages!”

“Well, there’s nothing wrong with being small!” barked Theo, striding forward to the hole that Badrat had shoved the stick through when taunting them. “Even this small!”

Badrat shoved the stick back into the hole, and Theo struck, slicing the end off.

“Hey!” boomed Badrat.

“It won’t work, rat!” barked Chris, staring over Theo’s shoulder. “We’re not afraid of you!”

“You will be!” chimed Badrat and Rammer in unison as they left.

“I sure hope Casey can find us.”

“Agreed,” said Chris, looking to Dominic. “Because I really don’t want to die in a rat trap.”

~*~*~*~*~

Sometime passed and sat on the floor of the cage in meditation, Chris’s eyes snapped open; they were glowing white.

“Someone’s coming,” said the Basilisk.

“They’re in that trap,” said a voice.

Then, in their vision, Casey’s face appeared.

“I’m here!” he said, taking the rat trap in each hand. “I’ll get you out.”

“How pathetic!” said a familiar voice – Camille – and Casey dropped the rat trap, turning to her as she emerged from a passageway nearby. “A Ranger with no Spirit and a General with no Rinzin! A stiff wind could blow you over!”

The Rangers watched as Whiger and Casey met her in combat, only for Casey to be thrown backwards and smash into a rock nearby.

“CASEY!”

Whiger fell at his side shortly after.

“Two Tigers, no problem!” bragged Camille.

She charged forward to strike, only for Whiger to intercept the attack. He stood before Casey, back to Camille, his arms spread wide.

Her strike struck him in the back, slicing down. He flew forward and smashed down onto Casey.

“We have only one hope of defending ourselves!” he boomed. “You have to trust me!”

“What do I have to lose?” asked Casey in reply, giving his agreement.

Whiger took Casey’s hand and put it to his chest, red energy glowing from Casey’s grip.

“A pity, Whiger,” said Camille, flicking several of the rat traps, including the one the Rangers were in; they rocked and fell over. “The Rinzin that once made you great will now destroy you!”

She turned back and charged; Casey and Whiger, both on their feet, met her in combat.

Casey leapt off Whiger and, fist glowing red, punched Camille.

“SPIRIT OF THE TIGER!”

“AND THE WHITE TIGER!”

Two Tiger Spirits formed and charged down Camille. She fell and, whimpering and gasping in shock, fled, disappearing into one of the caves.

Whiger, completely spent, sagged to one knee.

“What’s happening, Whiger?” asked Casey, crouching next to him, a hand on his shoulder.

“I’ve used up my energy,” replied Whiger. “Without my Rinzin, I will fade away.”

“Why?” asked Casey. “Why did you help me?”

“Dai Shi has proven to be my enemy,” said Whiger. He put a long, clawed hand onto Casey’s left shoulder. “You? You have proven to be my friend. You must destroy them for all tigers!”

And then, he was gone, fading away into nothingness.

Casey morphed, summoned his Shark Sabres, and slashed at everything in the room.

The Rangers reappeared, back to normal size, back in the cave in front of Casey.

“Hey!” he exclaimed, rushing over. “You guys, OK?”

 “We are now,” admitted Chris.

“Come on,” said Casey. “We’ve still got a pair of beasts on the loose.”

“OH NO!” cried Badrat, panicking with Rammer. “The pigs got out of their traps!”

“We’ve got to get busy again!”

“Not so fast!” boomed Casey as he and the Rangers arrived.

“Well,” said Rammer, rubbing his hands together in enjoyment. “I guess we’ll catch them again too!”

“Not gonna happen!” retaliated Casey. “Jungle Master Mode!”

He, Theo, and Lily all transformed and, together, the Rangers all charged into battle, hacking and slashing at Rammer and Badrat. In unison, the Rangers stepped back and launched their Animal Spirits at Rammer and Badrat.

The attack hit direct, and they sparked and exploded.

Badrat and Rammer erupted to the size of twenty-storey buildings.

“Oh!” gasped Casey. “It’s time to go big or go home!”

The Rangers created the Megazords, and the fight began.

~*~*~*~*~

“Au revoir, Maurice,” said RJ, handing Maurice, now in a large pink rat house, to a young girl and her mother.

“Aww, that’s lovely,” said her mother.

“Maurice?” asked Lily.

“Well, it’s a long story,” admitted RJ. “But I heard about this girl who lost her pet, so I thought…”

“You’re a nice guy, RJ,” Lily assured him.

“Yes,” agreed RJ, smiling gently. “I am. Oh, wait, where’s the box?” He dashed to the desk and picked up a pizza box. “Wait, Maurice, I made a king sized for the road!”

He rushed after the girl and her mother, who had just left.

“And that’s what separates humans from beasts,” said Lily as she and the Rangers chuckled. “Kindness.”

“Yeah, I agree,” said Casey. “But where would we have been today if it wasn’t for Whiger?”

“True,” said Chris. “But if RJ brings another rat into here as a pet, I will obliterate it without a second thought. I hate rats more than ever, especially after today.”

Chapter Text

Chapter XXIV: To Earn Your Stripes

“OK, crew, ready for business?” asked Casey, turning the sign on the door from CLOSED to OPEN.

Lily nodded; Theo twirled his notepad and pen in one hand. Chris grinned and adjusted his hat, cracking his fingers afterwards.

However, they did not get to work that day: the door from the kitchen swung open, revealing RJ. 

“Uh, not quite,” he said, pointing to each of them in turn. “Casey, Lily, Theo, Chris, we’re going on a little trip today.”

“Is this one of your ‘it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey’ kind of trips?” asked Theo.

“No,” said RJ, drawing out the N. “This time, it’s about the destination.”

“Where are we going?” asked Lily.

“You’ll find out when we get there,” retorted RJ. “Fran, you and Dom okay to handle things here?”

“Oh, sure,” said Fran, holding a tray in her arms as if she was hugging it. “Dom and I make a great team.” She flushed bright red and realised what she’d said. She adjusted her glasses. “Yeah, I mean, no problem.”

“We got it covered, Boss,” said Dominic.

“Let’s go,” said RJ to the others, offering a nod to Dominic. He turned and walked away with Casey, Chris, Lily and Theo following after him.

“Wonder where they’re off to?” asked Fran, walking up to Dominic.

Once he was sure that the Rangers were out of earshot, he looked back to Fran and told her. “RJ clued me in. Believe me, this is major.”

~*~*~*~*~

“Pai Zhuq school!” exclaimed Casey as RJ led the Rangers through the courtyard. “RJ, what’s going on?”

The sun beat down on them from above and, though the school was currently empty, they were far from alone.

“Today is a very special day,” said RJ as Master Phant, Master Swoop and Master Finn strode towards them. They stopped before them and clasped their hands behind their backs.

“This is the day all Pai Zhuq students have worked hard to reach,” said Master Phant. “Your Master’s test.”

Lily and Theo looked excitedly at one another, excited that the day had come at last, after so much training under RJ and the late Master Mao.

“So,” said Chris under his breath. “That’s what this is all about…”

“Yes!” exclaimed Theo, touching Lily’s arm excitedly; neither he nor Lily had heard Chris speak. “We’re finally gonna get our Master’s Stripes.”

“Only if you pass the test, Theo,” said Master Swoop.

Theo tilted his head in acknowledgement and smirked confidently. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s do it.”

“Yeah!” agreed Lily, excitedly.

“I’m in too,” said Chris.

Lily, Theo, and Casey all looked in his direction. RJ smirked gently.

“You?” asked Theo. “But you’re not a student.”

“Given the circumstances, we thought we’d make an exception,” said a familiar voice.

Chris gasped, barely able to believe his heard, as Theo and Lily looked around for the voice, only for a blinding flash of snow to explode next to Master Finn. Out of it stepped a person incredibly familiar to Chris.

Red quaffed hair, dressed entirely in white, with her Snow Staff twirling casually in one hand, she was impossible to confuse for anyone else.

“Udonna,” he greeted, setting his jaw. “Well, this won’t be easy!”

“Hey, time out here,” said Casey. “Are we ready for this?”

“That’s what we’re here to find out!” replied Master Finn gravely.

“Take a few moments to mentally prepare yourselves,” said Master Swoop in his usual stern, baritone voice. “And then we’ll begin.”

Theo and Lily sat down and began to meditate, and Chris closed his eyes, mentally trying to remember all the old magic books he’d read when a student of Magic under Udonna.

“RJ,” began Casey, rushing over to his mentor. “You gotta help me here. You’ve taken the test before, what have I gotta do to pass?”

“I’m sorry, Casey,” said RJ. “I’ve taken you as far as I can.” He raised his voice as he spoke to the others. “The time for your Master Test has arrived.”

Lily and Theo opened their eyes and got up. Chris turned back, stabilising his shaking hand.

“To pass,” continued RJ, who was holding a long, thin handled mallet. “You will have to defeat your Master.”

~*~*~*~*~

The Masters and Udonna took the Rangers aside to a nearby battlefield. RJ stood some distance away by a large gong, ready to declare the fights had begun.

The Masters and Udonna bowed to the Rangers, who bowed back.

The Rangers and Masters all sank into their fighting stances, ready to charge into battle. RJ slammed the mallet against the gong and the noise rang out through the jungle.

Master Phant, Master Finn, and Master Swoop charged into battle, meeting Lily, Casey and Theo in battle.

Udonna did not – she stepped back, swung her Snow Staff through the air, and began blasting magic at Chris, who leapt aside, narrowly avoiding her first attack, which froze one of the flags on sticks behind him.

“So that’s how we’re playing this is it?” he asked, cartwheeling sideways to avoid two more blasts from Udonna, this time of fire and water.

He had nowhere else to go – behind him was the ringed edge of the arena and Udonna was advancing ever closer, Magic flashing on the end of her wand.

He’d never been frightened of Udonna before – oh, he knew she was powerful as he’d seen her fight – but at this particular moment, seeing the look on Udonna’s face as she advanced towards him, spells smashing around him, he couldn’t help but feel terrified.

Udonna roared and swung her Snow Staff over her head.

The blast of magic exploded from the end of it with a deafening bang that made everyone, even RJ stood in the distance, stop and stare.

The blast of magic hit Chris hard in the chest and he skidded backwards, crashing hard into the ringed edge of the arena.

The blast of magic was still coming, still smashing hard into him. He had no idea what it was that welled up inside him, but he thrust his arms forward and began to advance. The blast of Magic recoiled, rebounded, and went surging high into the air.

Udonna leapt to avoid it.

“No, you don’t!” shouted Chris. He leapt and kicked the blast of energy, an enormous ball of white magic, and sent it surging down at Udonna.

Her eyes widened imperceptibly, so slight that if you didn’t know it had happened and weren’t looking for it, you’d never see it. Fortunately for Chris, he was looking for it, and did see it.

She raised her Snow Staff, intending to block it, only for Chris to dive at her and knock her to the ground.

He stood moments later, Udonna’s Snow Staff humming gently in his grip. Udonna looked from him, to her hand, and her eyes widened, but it wasn’t imperceptible this time. They flew wide – and with good reason.

She leapt to her feet, but it was too late. Seconds later, her own magic hit her hard and sent her smashing across the arena. She hit the ringed edge with a hard thump and fell to the floor, defeated.

Chris had won.

Nearby, Master Swoop’s Bat Spirit had just fallen under the might of Theo’s. Master Swoop nodded, making the hand movement of Pai Zhuq at him, a smile gracing his face.

Theo, too, had won.

A shriek and a trumpet echoed and both Chris and Theo turned to watch, along with Udonna, who was staggering weakly to her feet, and Master Swoop. Lily’s Cheetah Spirit had just defeated Master Phant’s Elephant Spirit.

Master Phant barely nodded at her, but his usually downturned mouth quirked up into a smile.

She, too, had succeeded.

Three down, one to go.

Casey, watching, nodded. “Guess that’s what I have to do.”

He made the Pai Zhuq hand movement, and launched his Tiger Spirit at Master Finn, who roared and fired his back.

Casey’s Tiger Spirit defeated Master Finn’s Shark Spirit.

He nodded a few times, happy with himself; Master Finn watched him closely, frowning.

In the distance, the bong from the gong echoed; the test was over.

~*~*~*~*~

Back up at the school, the Rangers and Masters bowed in the Pai Zhuq movement.

“Theo,” began Master Swoop. “I am very proud to tell you, you have reached the level of Pai Zhuq Master.”

Theo laughed in excitement as did Lily, Chris, and Casey.

“All right!” whooped Lily.

Theo looked down. A glow was echoing under his shirt. He pulled up the arm of his shirt and, with a roar, three black claw marks appeared on his forearm. The Symbols of a Pai Zhuq Master: Theo had his Master’s Stripes.

“Lily,” said Master Phant. “I have the honour to be the first one to address you as Cheetah Master.”

Lily laughed in excitement too.

“I knew you could do it,” said Master Phant.

Lily’s arm glowed and she, too, slid up the arm of her shirt. Three black claws marks appeared on her forearm too.

“Oh, I can’t believe it!” she cried. She thrust her arm out so that Theo could see it. “Check it out, T!”

Udonna smiled at Chris. “And it falls to me to give you the greatest honour of all, your Master’s Stripes. Congratulations, Master Chris. You have become a fine student of Pai Zhuq and, if I may say so yourself, that’s quite a kick you’ve got on you. I’ll be stiff for days.”

Chris smiled and hugged her as, in a flash of pink, his own forearm was etched with the marks of a Pai Zhuq Master.

“Thank you, Udonna,” he said, bowing. “Oh, this belongs to you too.”

He reached into his pocket and held out his Mystic Morpher. “I will not need it anymore. What I needed it for is gone. It is better that it remain with you, in case I end up popping off somewhere else before I can return it. After all, you never know when I’ll need to pop in and see you and borrow it again, eh?”

“Indeed,” said Udonna, taking the Mystic Morpher back from Chris. With a smile, he held out her Snow Staff for her.

“It suits you,” she said. “Should you ever settle down and want a change, I may consider you as my successor when I retire.”

“Not Nick or Apollo?”

“Oh, I’m sure they’d be perfectly wonderful Masters,” said Udonna. “But neither of them would ever be content to stay in one place for so long, nor would they ever accept it.”

“Too true,” said Chris, stepping back into line again.

“Casey,” said Master Finn; Casey, who had been smiling over at his friends, turned to look at his Master. “I’m afraid you haven’t passed.”

“What?” gasped Lily.

“But he did everything we did!” gasped Theo.

Chris met Udonna’s eye, and she nodded a small, imperceptible nod, confirming to him that his theory as to why Casey had failed was correct.

Chris made a movement of disapproval, face twitching, then resumed his former position. The others, too busy protesting Master Finn’s words, missed it.

“I’m sorry, the decision is final!” said Master Finn.

“Sorry, mate,” said Chris, a hand on his shoulder. He turned to Udonna. “I fear I may have hurt you a fair chunk, Udonna. Would you like me to teleport us back to Root Core? Your magic must be drained, I’m sure?”

Udonna smiled and took his arm. “I would be honoured.”

“See you back at JKP, RJ,” said Chris. With a flash of pink, he and Udonna were gone, transforming into a small pink ball of energy that danced across the sky and soared off.

“Other way!” said Udonna’s voice.

“What? Oh, yes, right, so it is! Sorry!”

The ball of light screeched to a halt in the air and soared off in another direction.

~*~*~*~*~

“Hey, what’s with the long sleeves?” asked Casey, later that afternoon as he, Lily, and Theo made pizzas in the oven on the restaurant floor of Jungle Karma Pizza.

“Oh, well, you know, it’s always kind of chilly in here,” said Lily.

“Yeah,” said Theo, rubbing his arm. He pretended to shiver. “Brrrr.”

“Yeah, it’s real cold with all these pizza ovens,” said Casey. Both Theo and Lily stopped dead, turning to him slowly, anxious worry on their faces. “Listen, you don’t have to hide your Master’s Stripes from me. You should be proud. You earned them.”

“Ah, don’t feel bad, Case,” said Dominic. “Not everyone’s cut out to be a Master. Look at me. I’m fine, just the way I am.”

“That’s because you have the attention span of a gnat and can’t stay in one place for more than six months!” retorted a voice as Chris appeared in a flash of pink.

“Uh, can you guys cover for me?” asked Casey. “I’m gonna take my break and go for a run…”

The others nodded and Casey left through the door into the kitchen.

~*~*~*~*~

“Casey’s been gone a while now,” said RJ, carrying over to empty pizza trays to the Rangers.

“Well, I think he was pretty bummed,” replied Lily, sadly.

“I still don’t get it,” admitted Theo, frowning as he turned to RJ. “How come we passed the test, and he didn’t?”

“Oh, Casey’s an amazing fighter, and a great leader,” replied RJ. “But a Pai Zhuq Master doesn’t ask, he knows.”

Moments later, the door to the kitchen exploded open, revealing a terribly anxious looking Dominic, who was holding a towel.

~*~*~*~*~

“Oh, man,” sighed Casey, scrambling to his feet. “This day just keeps getting worse!”

The Rangers arrived at his side, ready to help him in the battle. Three Phantom Beasts were before them – Lepus, and two Generals, Scorch and Snapper.

“Nice timing!” said Casey, staggering to his feet and putting a hand on RJ’s shoulder. “These guys are brutal.”

“There’s more help where that came from!” exclaimed RJ.

Casey, Lily, and Theo stepped forward and summoned the Spirit Rangers, launching into battle with the Spirits of the Masters.

The Three Spirit Rangers fell quickly at the hands of Lepus, a Phantom Beast that resembled a rabbit. Casey, Chris, and Lily knocked Lepus back as RJ, Theo and Dominic leapt into the air and blasted at her.

The blast sent Lepus flying.

The Spirit Rangers rose and met the two Phantom Beast Generals in battle, while Lepus staggered back into battle with the Rangers.

The battle began.

The Rangers launched every single Animal Spirit that had at Lepus.

“FINAL STRIKE!”

Each of the Animal Spirits launched a different coloured beam of energy at Lepus, who screamed and exploded as the blast hit her.

Lepus was destroyed, but Snapper and Scorch had escaped.

~*~*~*~*~

“I’m telling you, I saw him,” said Casey to Lily, Theo, and Chris later that afternoon. “I saw Jarrod, the person we used to know.”

“Well, if memory serves me, Jarrod wasn’t that great of a person, even before he was possessed by an evil dragon spirit,” retorted Lily.

“Believe me, I know,” retorted Casey. “But this time he was different, almost kind. What if there is some humanity, some part of Jarrod, that’s still in there?”

“Our job is to protect people,” said Theo. “Dai Shi, Jarrod, or whatever you want to call him, tries to hurt people. That’s all I need to know.”

“Look,” hissed Casey, sharply. “Just because I don’t have my Master’s Stripes, doesn’t mean I don’t know I’m talking about.”

“Casey, this isn’t about that,” said Lily. “You know I always try to see the good side in people, but even I can see that Dai Shi has taken over completely. Now, you need to face the facts: Jarrod is gone.”

Lily and Theo left.

“If it’s any consolation,” said Chris, patting Casey’s shoulder as he passed. “I believe you. I had a friend who was once possessed by the evil of his Dino Gem and we saved him. Perhaps we can do the same to Jarrod too?”

Chapter Text

Chapter XXV: Now The Final Fury

The sun had not even risen when Casey, who had thick black bags under his eyes, entered the restaurant floor of Jungle Karma Pizza to begin preparations for opening that morning.

“Morning, Case,” said a voice. Dominic and Chris were sat in a booth in the corner of the restaurant floor.

Casey, who had just reached one of the chairs, which was placed upside down on the table, as it was every night, turning to look back at them. 

“Hey,” said Casey, turning back to the table to lower the chairs.

“Man, you look wrecked,” said Dominic. “Did I miss a battle or something?”

“Of sorts,” grunted Casey. “I didn’t get much sleep last night. My brain’s been going a hundred miles a minute.”

“What’s on your mind?” asked Dominic.

“Everything,” retorted Casey.

“You should try reading sometime,” said Dominic, gesturing to the book he was reading. “It’s a great escape. Fran gave me To Kill A Mockingbird; it’s a classic story of redemption. One guy stands up for what he believes in even though the whole town is against him.”

“Mmm, a bit preachy for my liking,” grunted Chris, who appeared to be reading a doorstopper. WAR AND PEACE said the writing on the front. “War and Peace is my sort of thing. RJ gave it to me, then remembered it was literally holding open the door to his bedroom.”

“Can I ask you something?” asked Casey, picking up a chair. He flipped it around, so that he would be sitting on it backwards when he sat down and placed it in front of the table that Chris and Dominic were sat at.

“Shoot,” said Dominic.

For a moment, Casey looked anxious, only for determination to dance across his face. “You knew Jarrod at the academy, right?”

“Yeah,” said Dominic. “We were roommates together when he first arrived.”

Casey shook his head briefly and then ploughed on. “What was he like?”

“Well,” said Dominic, considering things in his head. “He didn’t seem to fit in. Sometimes he’d talk about his childhood but it’s pretty rough. His parents weren’t around. Didn’t seem like anybody cared about him. He wasn’t a bad guy, though, it’s – it’s funny how some things just… Pfft. Why do you ask?”

Dominic looked up, only to see the chair that Casey had been sat on was empty.

“He’s been gone since you mentioned that it seemed no-one cared about Jarrod as a child,” said Chris, smirking to himself behind War and Peace.

~*~*~*~*~

“Casey’s really taking this Master thing hard,” said Theo later that morning as he ate some pringles. He was floating off the ground, Lily walking in circles underneath him. The twosome and Fran were up in the loft.

“Wouldn’t you?” she asked. “He’s been working his tale off, just like us.”

“Yeah,” agreed Theo. He glanced down at Lily. “I’m sure he’ll figure out what to do.”

Lily took a pringle off Theo as he held one down, offering it to her. “Well, just because he isn’t a Master yet doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate our accomplishment. You know, it’s the second Tuesday of the month. What are we gonna do?”

“We’re Masters now, Lily,” said Theo seriously. “We should probably stay focused and on task.”

“Oh,” said Lily sadly. “OK.” She reached up and placed the pringle into Theo’s mouth. “Well, I guess I’ll help open the Pizza Parlor.”

She turned and left, heading up the stairs of the upper living area to descend to the kitchen.

“Theo!” hissed Fran, who had been brushing the floor with a straw bristled broom. “Why would you pass up a date with Lily? Everyone knows you like her!”

The corner of Theo’s mouth twitched upwards, and he looked away, only to look back to Fran moments later, flushing bashfully. The corner of his mouth was no longer twitching upwards. “OK, I admit it, I liked her, but she made it painfully obvious we’re just friends, so why chase something that’s never gonna happen?”

He turned and stalked away.

“The only thing that is painfully obvious,” interrupted Fran as he reached the stairs that Lily had walked up. “Is that you never really asked her out. Did you?”

Theo sighed and left.

“Romance,” said a voice; Fran jumped and whirled around. Chris was sat in the corner of the room, eyes closed, head leaning back against the wall. “It’s never easy, is it? I know mine wasn’t.”

“How long have you been there?”

“Eighteen minutes, six seconds,” said Chris, smiling gently. He seemed almost wistful as he stood up and patted her arm.

“Just mentally taking this place in,” he said, before heading after Theo. “You never know when you might leave it behind.”

“Casey’s been gone a long time,” hissed Lily to Theo as she, Theo, Chris and Dominic made pizzas later that day.

“Yeah, I’m starting to worry a little,” replied Theo quietly back.

The door to the kitchen burst open with such force that it thumped off the wall behind. Fran, pale faced and looking terrified, emerged from it. “Guys, you need a break.”

“Fran, we’re working,” replied Dominic.

“It’s Casey!” she hissed.

Instantly, the Rangers dropped what they were doing, looked at one another, and rushed after Fran, who led them up to the loft and down the stairs of the upper living area. Fran leapt the bottom two steps.

“Come on, hurry!” she exclaimed, rushing round to the television sets and grasping the remote; her words came a mile a minute, tumbling out uncontrollably. “You guys are not gonna believe this, it is -” she fumbled for a word. “Unbelievable.”

“Fran, slow down,” said Chris.

“Just tell us what’s going on,” suggested Theo.

“Where’s Casey?” asked Lily.

“He is at Dai Shi’s temple!” exclaimed Fran, arms flailing wildly.

“WHAT!?” exclaimed Dominic.

“Look, this was recorded just a few minutes ago from the geo-centric satellite.”

Fran pressed a button on the remote and the nearest television stirred into life, flickering with static, before revealing the footage of Casey passing under the arch of Dai Shi’s temple.

“What’s he doing!?” gasped Chris. “Idiot’s gonna get himself killed!”

“Whatever it is, we have to help him!” exclaimed Theo. “Come on!”

The group turned in unison to leave.

“Uh, no, not yet,” said RJ, approaching them. When he stopped before them and spoke again, his eyes were alight, and he was sterner and more serious than any of them had ever seen him before. “This is Casey’s destiny.”

What seemed like hours passed, and all the Rangers could do was watch the footage as it fizzed with static and flickered, revealing no trace of Casey’s emergence from Dai Shi’s lair. Fran had chewed all her fingernails and was now anxiously chewing one of Chris’s; Dominic couldn’t stop twitching anxiously; RJ paced up and down behind the Rangers, thumb and fist to his mouth, watching the screen intently; Lily whipped off her hat and began twirling her hair around her finger to try and distract herself; Theo was nodding and chewing his inner cheek.

More time passed.

Then some more.

And then, finally, even more, until, at last, the footage flickered and three people emerged from Dai Shi’s lair: Jarrod, Camille, and behind them, Casey.

“Thank God,” breathed Chris, letting out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding as Dominic chuckled in relief.

“Casey’s done his job,” said RJ. “Let’s do ours.”

~*~*~*~*~

“Touching moment,” said Scorch as he and Snapper advanced towards Camille, Casey, and Jarrod, who had been knocked to the floor by an explosion. “Pity it will be your last. It ends here!”

Out of nowhere, from behind the three, Lily and Theo emerged; in their Jungle Master Mode forms, they used their jets to leap over their heads and knock Snapper and Scorch back.

Then the others were there, already morphed, heaving Casey, Jarrod, and Camille to their feet.

“You OK?” asked Lily.

“Never better,” replied Casey. He turned to Jarrod, who was smiling. “You up for this?”

“Absolutely,” said Jarrod and, for the first time since Chris had known him, there was no malice in his voice, just breathlessness.

Jarrod, Camille, and Casey all stepped forward and morphed.

“We’re gonna settle this now, Snapper!” boomed Camille.

“Now witness the full Lion Spirit, Scorch!” boomed Jarrod.

“Rangers let’s give them a hand,” said Casey.

“I thought you’d never ask,” admitted Chris, summoning his Spino Smashers in a flash of pink. They began to whirl in his hands, his fingers nimbly spinning them. “We’re fighting to kill, yes? Then this is gonna be fun!”

With a roar, Snapper and Scorch charged at the Rangers, and the fight began.

Chris was there first; he, Jarrod, and Casey all danced around Scorch, whirling and twirling and ducking and diving to avoid his attacks.

Scorch smashed them back; Casey used his Jungle Master Mode jets to stop himself from flying back any further as Chris and Jarrod landed near him. They were on the ground for mere seconds before they were back in the air.

Chris ascended, spinning in a barrel roll, Spino Smashers pressed close to him. Then, Scorch fell into his trap; he blasted at the Rangers and Chris made his move.

With a monstrous, shrieking roar and his eyes glowing white, he descended, taking the explosion head on. But the explosion didn’t hit him – it began to whirl around him, merging with his own Spirit Energy.

He smashed straight into Scorch as both Jarrod and Casey struck hard, striking Scorch themselves.

Chris landed next to Jarrod and Casey as Scorch attacked again; their energies met, a ball of energy forming and expanding between the foursome, explosions erupting around them.

Casey looked to Jarrod and nodded; he, Chris, and Jarrod all pushed with their might. The ball of energy between them exploded, throwing Scorch back.

They struck, throwing Scorch into the air, then struck again as he landed, knocking him backwards.

Nearby, in a five-pronged attack, Snapper fell at the weapons of RJ, Lily, Camille, Theo, and Dominic.

“Good riddance!” barked Camille as Snapper exploded.

“SPIRIT OF THE LION!”

“SPIRIT OF THE TIGER! CLAW CANNON!”

“BASILISK BLAST!”

Jarrod’s Lion Spirit threw Scorch high into the air; Casey summoned the Claw Cannon and, in unison, he, Jarrod, and Chris launched their attacks.

They whirled round one another, merged, and smashed violently into Scorch with a deafening bang.

“Yes!” exclaimed Jarrod as Scorch hit the floor, rolled, and staggered to his feet. Moments later, he flopped and exploded.

The other Rangers rushed over, Camille putting a hand on Jarrod’s arm. “Are you alright?”

“I-” replied Jarrod.

“Jarrod, what’s wrong?” asked Casey.

“YOU THOUGHT IT WOULD BE THAT EASY!?” boomed Dai Shi, an enormous yellow spirit forming above them; it transformed into a golden, armour-clad figure which descended to the battlefield with a heavy thump. “THINK AGAIN!”

“This isn’t over yet!”

The Rangers formed a Megazord made from all their Animal Spirits; the usual Megazord, riding on the back of Dominic’s Rhinoceros, with Camille’s Chameleon Spirit on its shoulder and Jarrod’s Lion Spirit as chest armour.

“HA!” laughed Dai Shi as the Megazord examined its sword. “You’re no match for a Phantom Beast General!”

The Megazord advanced, only for Dai Shi’s eyes to flash; the Megazord began to spark, staggering and flailing, the Rangers struggling to stay standing.

“SO, YOU THINK YOU CAN DEFEAT ME NOW?!” boomed Dai Shi.

“We can do better than that!” barked Casey. “Come on, guys!”

Every attack the Megazord had exploded from it at once, smashing heavily into Dai Shi. He was knocked into the air and fell back down, smashing into the Megazord which had begun to spin.

With a shout and a groan, he exploded in green flames.

~*~*~*~*~

Down on the ground, the Rangers whooped and hooted and hollered at what seemed to be their victory, all hugging each other in delight.

“What?” asked Lily gently as she and Theo parted from a hug.

“Nothing,” he replied, smiling brightly. “I’ll tell you later.”

Jarrod and Casey shook hands, both looking determined. Moments later, Casey frowned and looked down. His forearm was glowing – three black claw marks formed: his Master’s Stripes.

“Look!” he exclaimed, holding up his arm. “I’m an actual Master, I got my stripes!”

“Ye-heah!” laughed Theo.

“Why now?” asked Casey, turning to RJ. “Why not before?”

“A Master cannot be a follower,” replied RJ. “When you chose to defy Master Mao and believe in your own convictions, your path to Masterhood became your destiny.”

Jarrod sank to one knee before Casey.

“Tiger Master!” he said, not looking at him. “I am prepared for whatever punishment you deem appropriate!”

“No punishment necessary, OK?” replied Casey, looking up to meet Chris’s gaze. He nodded gently. “We’re gonna need you guys to help save humanity.”

Jarrod stood up, looked between Camille and Casey, and then began to walk away. “I think we’ve done enough.”

Taking Camille by the arm, he led her away.

Casey started to go after them, only for Chris to take his arm.

“Let him go,” he said, smiling grimly. “He just needs time.”

~*~*~*~*~

“Eat up guys,” said Fran, descending the stairs of the upper living area with a tray of pizza. “You’ve been in a tough fight. You need to recharge.”

“Ah, Fran, what would we do without you,” said Dominic as the Rangers all took a slice of pizza; he kissed her cheek.

“Wish we knew what Dai Shi’s plan was,” admitted Theo.

“Well, he’s been gathering fear and growing stronger,” replied RJ. “If he gets enough power, he could raise all the spirits of his fallen army…”

“And start a new Beast War,” concluded Dominic.

“Great,” replied Lily sarcastically. “We barely made it out of the last battle.”

“Right,” replied Casey. “If it weren’t for Jarrod… That’s it!” He jerked to attention. “We don’t have a chance if we don’t have his Lion Spirit on our side again. We’ve gotta convince him to help us.”

The alarms on the television began blaring.

“Go talk to Jarrod,” said RJ. “Dom and I will check this out!”

The Rangers rushed away, Theo stuffing in his slice of pizza.

~*~*~*~*~

“I told you, it’s too late for me!” barked Jarrod to Camille.

“No!” interrupted Casey as he, Chris, Lily, and Theo arrived. “It’s never too late to start over.”

“And whatever happened in the past, the fact is that we need you now,” said Theo.

“The human race needs you!” added Lily. “We can’t defeat Dai Shi alone!”

Jarrod looked away, then back at Casey, and sighed. “No. I’m sorry, but with all the harm I’ve caused with it, I will never call on my Lion Spirit again.”

Casey’s Solar Morpher whistled in his pocket. The Rangers, disapproving, turned and left. Camille refused to meet Jarrod’s eyes.

“You know,” said Chris, who had remained. “No-one is beyond redemption. Besides, if you weren’t worthy of it, you wouldn’t have the Lion Spirit.”

And, with that, he turned and left.

~*~*~*~*~

“You are Masters of failure!” boomed Scorch, who had somehow survived the last battle. “The Pai Zhuq way is over!”

“Not yet!” boomed Casey as he, Theo, Lily, and Chris arrived to help RJ, Dominic and the old Masters.

“So, you’ve come to protect your Masters!” boomed Scorch. “But who is protecting the city from the Rinshi invasion?”

“You go, we’ll take care of Scorch,” said Casey.

“I’m going too,” said Chris. “They could use some extra power. You guys will be alright here?”

“Yeah,” said Casey. “Go.”

Chris nodded and turned to RJ and the old Masters. “Room for one more?”

“Come on,” said RJ, nodding to Chris.

“We’re with you!” cried Master Finn as he and the old Masters rushed after RJ, Dominic and Chris.

~*~*~*~*~

Reaching the town centre, RJ, Dominic, Chris, and the older Masters rushed into battle, fighting the hordes of Rinshi that had spread far and wide.

“We’ve gotta calm this crowd down,” said RJ, once the Rinshi fell; people were screaming and scattering. “This is exactly what Dai Shi wants.”

He turned at the sound of running; the other Rangers had arrived.

“Scorch?” he asked Casey.

“Scorched,” replied Casey. “We struck out with Jarrod.”

“HA HA HA HA!” boomed Dai Shi, forming in Spirit form above them. “I have harvested your fear! Now I have power enough for my final stand! The portal to the Spirit World has opened! The time for the final Beast War is here!”

The sky opened above them and all the strongest Rinshi and Phantom Beast the Rangers had defeated descended from within, landing on the ground a few meters away.

“They’re back!” gasped Casey.

“The worst of the worst!” exclaimed Theo.

“Come on, team, let’s show them who we are!” barked RJ.

The Rangers morphed. The dozens of Rinshi and Phantom Beasts before them charged forward into battle.

“Watch my back!”

“Always do!”

Chris made his call to the Basilisk as he leapt forward into a horde of Rinshi being commanded by Rantipede.

“Must we do this?” he asked, landing in the middle of the horde. The Rinshi attacked. “I guess we must them! BASILISK SPIN!”

He began to spin like a tornado, whirling on the spot – faster and faster he span, Spino Smashers grasped firmly in his grip. They smashed through Rinshi upon Rinshi with a thick, heavy clang, almost as if a mallet was hitting a gong.

He couldn’t see what was going on – all around him were explosions, shouts and roars and grunts from the other Rangers.

Moments later an explosion rent the air and he, Lily, Casey, and Theo went flying, as did several Phantom Beasts and Rinshi.

“Whoa!” they all gasped in unison as the explosion died down. There, standing before them, were Master Mao, Master Rilla, Master Guin, and Master Lope.

The Rangers rushed to their feet, scrambling over to the Masters.

“When Dai Shi opened the portal, we came through it as well!” boomed Master Rilla.

“I wouldn’t miss this battle for the world!” admitted Master Mao.

With a shrieking roar, the former Masters charged into battle, each destroying a Rinshi Warrior with ease.

They leapt back into line with one another, made the Pai Zhuq movement with their hands, and transformed into humanoid versions of their animal spirits – all with enormous manifestations of their Animal Spirits’ heads.

With a roar, they fired in unison, and all the Rangers could do was watch as the Phantom Beasts and Rinshi were all destroyed.

“Good Riddance, evil beasts!” said Master Mao, who had an enormous Wildcat head.

“I’LL TAKE THOSE ANIMAL SPIRITS!” boomed Dai Shi – and the energy began rising from the Masters, who transformed back into their human forms.

Dai Shi, high above, transformed into an eight headed golden dragon.

“LOOK AT YOU!” he boomed. “HA HA HA HA!”

He blasted a bolt of lightning at the floor, which sent all the Rangers flying high into the air. They smashed down painfully.

“FOR TOO LONG THE PAI ZHUQ SCHOOL HAS STOPPED MY PLANS FOR ULTIMATE RULE!” boomed Dai Shi. “TODAY, I WILL GET MY REVENGE, STARTING WITH THE RED RANGER!”

Casey leapt aside, avoiding the head as it smashed down.

“Casey!” cried Lily and Theo, bounding to their feet and rushing over as Chris rose to his feet and began ushering the weakened Masters to safety.

“THERE’S NOWHERE TO RUN!” boomed Dai Shi, blasting Theo, Casey, and Lily high into the air. The long dragon neck extended, lowering a head. “NOW FOR THE FINAL STRIKE!”

“NO!”

Out of nowhere, Camille was there; she blocked the attack, blasting one of her own at the head, which caused it to retreat.

“Please, I’d like to fight with you now,” she said, turning to the Rangers.

“Of course,” agreed Lily.

High above, RJ and Dom had created a Megazord each and were on the attack. Dominic’s Megazord attack was knocked aside as RJ’s Megazord leapt onto Dai Shi’s back.

RJ’s Megazord leapt off Dai Shi’s back just in time as Dominic’s Megazord slashed hard, slicing Dai Shi twice in a diagonal X.

He heaved himself to his feet and launched a blue blast at them. Moments later, their Megazords were gone, and they were tumbling to the ground.

“Nothing we do can even weaken it!”

“He can!” said a voice. They turned – there, approaching, was Chris. At his side was Jarrod.

“Jarrod!” cried Camille.

“We Pai Zhuq have to stick together,” said Jarrod, striding past the Rangers as Chris stopped at their side.

“Imagine my surprise to find Jarrod helping me get the Masters to safety,” said Chris to the Rangers. He nodded to Jarrod, who nodded back, then morphed in front of them and strode forward.

“I’m here, Dai Shi!” he boomed menacingly as Chris stepped back to the old Masters.

“AHHH, THE LION HAS RETURNED!” boomed Dai Shi, turning to face Jarrod, who had reached the top of the nearby hill that RJ and Dominic had fallen down. “HAVE YOU FINALLY COME TO YOUR SENSES?”

“Yes!” shouted Jarrod back. “You told me I had the strength of the lion but not the heart, but I’m here to show you you’re wrong! The heart of a lion is noble and good! I can be too!”

He began to glow purple, then leapt into the air, and merged with Dai Shi.

“Oh my!” exclaimed Chris.

“He’s weakening!” shouted Jarrod. “Hit him now!”

“Only the three chosen protectors can destroy Dai Shi forever,” said Master Mao.

Theo, Lily, and Casey de-morphed, closed their eyes, took a deep breath, and began to make the movements of a Pai Zhuq student. They were working completely by instinct, in complete harmony and unison with themselves.

With a deafening shout, the blasted an enormous ball of energy at Dai Shi, who screamed and exploded.

The shockwave sent everyone staggering backwards and the Masters received their Spirits back.

Moments later, Theo, Lily, and Casey found themselves heaved off the floor. Laughing and crying, Chris heaved them into the air. “You did it, you brilliant idiots!”

Nearby, Jarrod smashed down to the ground.

“JARROD!” cried Camille, de-morphing and rushing over to him. “Are you OK?”

“I’m better than OK,” he replied as she rolled him over. “I’m good.”

~*~*~*~*~

“Hey, Casey!”

Lily and Theo emerged from the kitchen. Dominic had a backpack on his back; he was leaving for adventures and pastures new.

“Looks like I got here just in time!” acknowledged Casey, who had gone back to the Pai Zhuq academy, this time as a teacher, rather than a student.

“By everyone,” said Dominic.

“See ya, Dom,” said Lily, hugging him.

“Don’t be a stranger,” said Chris. He handed Dominic a piece of paper. “My address. Look me up when you get back. I hope to be home by then, eh?”

“RJ,” acknowledged Dominic, shaking his hand.

“Take care, my friend!”

“Theo.”

“Stay out of trouble.”

He and Dominic laughed. Dominic turned and headed for the door.

“Have an awesome time!” laughed Casey as confetti and sparklers exploded everywhere, marking Dominic’s goodbye.

“Wow, what a farewell,” said Lily, watching the door close behind Dominic.

None of them had noticed Fran, sat at a table nearby with a book, wave sadly as he left.

Moments later, Dominic had returned. “You know what? I forgot something.”

“Oh, yeah, what’s that?” asked RJ.

“That I got Fran a ticket too,” said Dominic, holding up a second train ticket. He strode over to her as she dropped her book and stood up. “Fran, how would you like to backpack through Europe with me?”

“Yes!” exclaimed Fran. “I would love too. Oh, but first I’ve got to go home and get my backpack, and my camera, and my journal, and some extra socks in case it’s cold –”

“Breathe, Fran!”

~*~*~*~*~

Later than night, RJ looked up as Chris stepped into the loft.

“You’re up late,” he said.

“Yeah,” said Chris, turning to him. A somewhat guilty look danced across his face.

RJ, smiling knowingly, stood up. “You’re off too, aren’t you?”

“I am,” admitted Chris. He reached into the pocket of his jeans and held up his Pink Dino Gem. It sparkled gently in the palm of his hand. “I couldn’t bear to say goodbye to the others. Lily would cry, and then I would cry, and that would set Theo off – and, well, you get the idea.”

“I do,” said RJ. He hugged Chris gently. “I’ll give them your love, shall I?”

“Oh, please do. I’ll check in when I get back home,” admitted Chris. He smiled. “Now, I need to get onto the roof.”

RJ led him outside via the fire door on the top floor.

“This will do nicely,” said Chris. He smiled at RJ and held out a hand. “Until the next time, Teach. Oh, by the way, I left my Solar Morpher in my bedroom for you.”

RJ shook his hand. “Until the next time!”

Chris stepped back. “I wonder where next?”

He span on the spot and, before RJ’s eyes, transformed into a pink ball of energy and went whizzing through the night sky.

The story of the Jungle Fury Rangers is over, but the story of Christopher Haynes goes on.

~*~*~*~*~

With a flash and a bang, Chris emerged high above the ground, as per usual. But, this time, something was different. Still in the form of a ball of energy, he barely had time to take in his surroundings before something large and purple smashed into him, and he vanished.

The large purple object that had collided with him was a special object – the Ninja Nexus Prism – and it had done what it needed to do for now. One of the Ninja Steel Rangers was out of place and time, and it would make sure they were not.

But, for now, it had work to do. It spiralled violently in the air, careening out of control, and smashed into a nearby garden.

~*~*~*~*~

In the garden, a few days after the Ninja Nexus Prism had smashed into Earth, a ten-year-old boy was training: Brody Romero.

Something large and frightening stepped on his toy truck, shattering it into pieces. And Brody Romero did what any ten-year-old boy would do.

“DAD, AIDEN, HELP!”

“Brody’s in trouble!” said Dane Romero to his elder son, Aiden, handing him a large container. “Take the Ninja Steel and hide it. Aiden, until I come back, you stay hidden too, like a ninja.”

“Okay, Dad,” said Aiden, holding the container like his life depended on it.

“And don’t worry,” added Dane, squeezing his son’s shoulder gently. “I’ll save your brother. I love you.”

“I love you too, Dad,” said Aiden, as his father crushed him in a hug, then turned and erupted into the garden, swords drawn.

He, however, was not the only one: the Ninja Nexus Prism vibrated and glowed, expelling someone from inside it.

“So, you are the Ninja Master!” boomed the creature in the garden, who had Brody in his grasp.

“Let Brody go!” ordered Dane.

“Of course,” said the creature, letting go of Brody, who rushed over to his father. “You’re surrounded anyway.”

“You’re not going anywhere!” said a second creature, emerging from behind.

A large female humanoid-fox covered in furs emerged too, chuckling nastily.

“Now,” boomed the creature that had once held Brody hostage. “Give me the Ninja Nexus Star.”

Dane reached into his pocket and pulled out the Ninja Star he’d taken from within it.

“You can’t give it to him, Dad!” said Brody.

“He has no choice!” boomed the creature that had once held Brody hostage. He blasted at Dane, who shoved Brody back and held up the Ninja Star to deflect the attack. It glistened and vanished and then, before Brody’s eyes, his father was the Red Power Ranger!

“What!?” gasped the first creature.

“The legend is true!” breathed the female humanoid-fox excitedly. “He’s become a Power Ranger!”

“Brody, stay back!” warned Dane.

"Need a hand?" asked a voice; Brody gasped. A handsome youth with long dark hair was stood next to his father, fists raised, ready for a fight. "Chris Haynes, Power Ranger four times over. Hey, ugly, back off!"

The first creature charged forward, meeting Dane and Chris in combat. They hacked and slashed at one another, dancing around like a well conducted ballet.

“Hand over that star!” boomed the creature.

“Never!” retorted Dane, leaping away.

“Huh, you’re coming with me, Rat Bait!” said the third creature, grabbing Brody and dragging him away.

“DAD!” he cried.

“Brody!” cried Dane, whirling around and rushing to his son’s aide. “Get away from my son!”

"I got him!" exclaimed Chris, rushing forward to rescue Brody. "Let go of him!"

His eyes began to glow.

The first creature, who had been defeated by Dane, staggered to his feet, picked up his staff, and blasted at Dane.

The explosion sent him flying. The Ninja Star went spinning into the air, almost as if someone had thrown a penny, and Dane hit the floor, de-morphed.

Chris, who had just blasted a beam of energy at the creature who was trying to kidnap Brody, was caught in the explosion too. He went flying, beams of energy slicing the ground in the garden uncontrollably, and then crashed down to the ground.

“Yes, the Ninja Nexus Star is mine!” boomed the first creature. “Once I absorb it’s power, I’ll rule the universe!”

“With the Ninja Nexus Star, you’ll be invincible!” bragged the female humanoid-fox as she and the other creature approached the first, who was evidently their leader.

The first creature began absorbing the power of the Ninja Nexus Star.

“That Star came to me, so I could protect it from evil like you!”

Dane picked up his Ninja Sword and leapt, smashing the Ninja Nexus Star into pieces.

"Not good!" exclaimed Chris, twisting and watching with horror as the Ninja Nexus Star exploded. "Here we go again!"

The explosion that emanated sent everyone flying and, when the clouds and smoke parted, Dane Romero was gone. So, too, was Chris.

“Dad?” cried Brody, standing up and looking around. “DAD?!”

Where his father once was, the Ninja Nexus Prism now stood. Inside, he watched the seven shattered pieces of the Ninja Nexus Star transform into seven Ninja Power Stars.

He reached for one, only to be knocked aside by the leader of the creatures.

“Back off! They’re mine!”

He began smashing at the Ninja Nexus Prism.

“It can’t be broken,” said the female humanoid-fox.

“I’ll find a way to get those stars out!” boomed the leader. “And once I do, the universe will grovel at my feet. Bring the Prism to the ship and put that brat in chains.”

“You’re Galvanax’s prisoner now, Rait Bait!” said the third creature, heaving Brody over his shoulder and walking back towards their ship.

“Aiden! Aiden!”

Meanwhile, the Ninja Nexus Prism chuckled to itself at the sleeping Chris inside. He would awaken again, of course, when the correct moment required him too.

For now, he would sleep.

CHRIS WILL RETURN IN THE BOY WHO FELL FROM THE SKY

Coming 2025