Legal Notice: I do not own Power Rangers or the associated characters, names, places, events etc. Anything not covered by the above rights should be considered purely the creation of the author.
Rating: T – may be some adult themes, violence etc.
Timeline: A few days following the events of Wolf Hunt. This will include some crossovers with the episode "No 'I' in team" to cover where the canon conflicts with my own stories, (mainly Camille's living with the Rangers) but will be kept as much as possible a self-contained story. Needless to say, where the script overlaps with the script of the show, Disney owns the rights, I don't.
Left Outside Alone
Lily woke up, again finding herself in RJ's arms and smiled. She'd known she'd made the right decision with him. There was a closeness, a connection there that she'd never felt with anyone before. She turned over to see him still sleeping and had to try hard not to giggle. He was usually a morning person, often waking long before she did, so it was funny that she was waking before he did now.
"Good morning." She greeted him as he finally came to. "Sleep well?"
"Of course I did." He told her, grabbing her and turning over, finding himself on top of her. "How could I not when you're beside me?"
"Well I guess you enjoyed last night then." She laughed, struggling against him half-heartedly. "I guess I should expect you to have so much energy since you're so well rested."
"Well I think it's obvious that I..." He was interrupted as he heard a chap at the door. He looked at Lily, remembering the embarrassment he'd caused her with his carelessness only a couple of weeks ago when he'd received his wolf morpher. "I'll be there in a minute." He called out, gesturing to Lily to gather some clothes and head into the en-suite. Originally the apartment had only had one bathroom, but the steadily-increasing number of residents had necessitated the introduction of a couple of en-suites. Not including Fran who technically lived at home, but spent so much time there that she may as well live with them, there were now five people living in the apartment, including two women. To say that the bathroom situation had become an issue would be an understatement. Thankful for the additional room for Lily to retreat to and spare her embarrassment, RJ pulled on a pair of jeans and opened the door.
"Can I help you Casey?" He asked. Casey was standing in front of him in his training gear.
"I was going for a run." He told the wolf master. "I was wondering if you'd like to come."
"Thanks, but I'll be fine." RJ replied, beginning to close the door. "I'll warm up later."
"OK, but remember training's at three." Casey told him, turning to leave. "I'll see you then."
"What did he want?" Lily asked as she returned to the room.
"He was just inviting me for a run." RJ told her. "That and to remind me about training."
"So you didn't want to go for a run?" She asked him.
"When you're here, what do you think?" He asked her playfully, pulling her onto the bed. He turned from her briefly as her top slipped, revealing a couple of dark red marks on her ribcage. Lily saw the reaction.
"I keep telling you, I'm fine." She reassured him again as he pulled away from her. "I'm nowhere near as sore as I was, and the cuts have closed. They're basically big bruises."
"I know." He sighed, sitting on the edge of the bed. "It still doesn't make me feel real good about myself."
"You've bruised me up before." Lily told him, putting her arms around him and holding him. "You'll probably give me a few fresh ones later today."
"It's not the same and you know it." RJ replied. "I know we've said everything about it that needs to be said, just forgive me if it's still a little hard for me to see them."
"Well you won't have to look at them much longer." Lily reassured him. "Besides, I'm sure I could think of a way to make them easier to look at." She picked up a pair of towels, offering one to RJ. "I need a shower. Do you fancy saving a little water?"
"I suppose I could use one too." He replied cheekily, accepting his own towel from her. He smiled at her, opening the door and gesturing for her to carry on.
In a secluded area of the fortress, Grizzaka made his way alone to an area only he was aware of. Dai Shi crept silently through the trees a little way above the Overlord. It galled him to be sneaking around like a frightened rodent. Sneaking and subterfuge was always more Camille's forte than his, he preferred to confront problems head on. His injuries at the Red Ranger's hands had all but healed, though he still hadn't recovered much of his energies, and he still struggled with harnessing the zukado powers. Making a move just now would be more to Grizzaka's benefit than his. Seeing that he had come to a halt, Dai Shi nestled down into a crouch, concealing himself behind some foliage out of sight as he watched.
"Zukado Power!" The overlord roared, casting out an energy wave which destroyed a rock face a little way ahead of him. Dai Shi looked on in confusion. Behind the wall was a series of terracotta warriors.
'What would he want with a bunch of statues?' He wondered to himself as he began to have doubts as to the bear's intelligence. Perhaps with a bit of thought, his superior power wouldn't be hard to overcome after all.
"Awaken my mighty guards!" Grizzaka called out as he revived a pair of the statues. Dai Shi could feel their power from his position several feet away.
'If I master the zukado power, then things are going to be very different around here.' He mused to himself. He took the opportunity to slide away unseen as Grizzaka gave the warriors their orders. While he was distracted with the Rangers, Dai Shi would be finding the secrets of his power. Perhaps letting the bear have the throne wasn't such a bad thing...for now!
In the main training area of the back room, Fran circled her opponent cautiously as she prepared to strike. She knew he was a tricky foe, one that could catch her unawares at any moment. She surged forward, catching his wrist and his elbow, forcing him to a knee.
"Is that it?" Theo chuckled from his position on the floor. Fran had begun as a force of habit coming to work a bit earlier each day so that Theo could give her a few lessons in self defence. She had seen some of the others training before, and had, unfortunately, been dragged into a couple of fights herself unwittingly since she'd found out about the Ranger's identities, so she thought it would be a good idea to get some pointers. The fact that it meant she got to spend more time with Theo was a bonus.
Theo twisted on the floor, catching Fran's feet in his own and bearing her face-first to the mat as he released the pressure on his arm. He turned her over, twisting her arm and applying just enough pressure for her to feel it without hurting her.
"Well you do have a few years training over me." She stated with a pout as he helped her back to her feet.
"Exactly, all it takes is time and practice." He reminded her. "Lily and I trained for years to get as good as we are."
"I know you did." Fran sighed. "I guess I just get a little frustrated."
"Well personally I think you're doing great." He told her, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her off the ground. "You've made a lot of progress over the past few weeks."
She brought her heels into the backs of his knees, causing him to lose balance, falling onto the ground, with her landing on top of him. He winced slightly as some of the air was knocked out of him, but it didn't take the edge off his sense of humour as he realised the position he was in.
"That one just came to me." She giggled, placing a soft kiss on his lips. "It's a new technique."
"Well I wouldn't mind being hit with that one a few more times." He laughed in response. "Tomorrow we'll work on the tonfa OK?"
Fran shifted a little awkwardly, letting him up. "Theo, I was wondering if you could talk to me about animal spirits." She began as he sat up. "I don't even know what mine is. Could you...?"
"Fran, I really shouldn't." He interrupted her sadly. "I'm not a master; I don't have the experience to teach you that. Besides, you haven't done enough mental preparation and meditation for that yet."
"Do you think I even have an animal spirit?" She asked him. "You can tell me if you don't, I..."
"Fran, everyone has an animal spirit." He told her. "Some people are more in tune with theirs than others, and it takes a lot of spiritual harmony to establish the connection, that's why most people live their lives not even knowing it exists. It takes years of training to channel the animal spirit, Lily and I trained for almost two years before Master Mao would even let us try."
Fran looked a little puzzled as he said this. "I thought you said Casey was only at the temple for a couple of weeks before all this happened?"
"He was." Theo said awkwardly. "He somehow channelled his tiger spirit when Jarrod was threatening him. It's like I said, some people are more attuned to their animal spirits than others. It's almost unheard of for someone to even be able to feel their animal spirit, never mind call it forth so quickly."
She still wasn't sure how much of what he was saying was true and how much of it he was saying to be diplomatic and not hurt her feelings, she just wanted to understand. She knew it wasn't something she should mess around with, the whole incident with RJ had made that perfectly clear, but she also knew that because of that RJ was unlikely to be particularly receptive to the idea of training her to use it. Of course now it looked as though Theo wasn't going to either.
"What's it like?" She asked him. "When you call the spirit, what's it like?"
Theo had to think hard about it for a while. He didn't really think about it much, he'd been in harmony with his jaguar now for years, so he wasn't usually thinking much about his feelings at the time, and he had in some ways come to taking it for granted. He cast his mind back to the first time he'd called it.
"The first time I called it, Master Mao had a few of us in deep meditation." He began his recollection with a bit of a nostalgic smile. "It came forth in a moment of clarity. We weren't channelling them into attacks or anything back then, we were just communing with them, just trying to establish a connection. When it came out, I was exhausted, but I felt really happy and empowered. When I saw the jaguar pacing the room, I felt amazing."
Fran smiled at him, feeling a little better about it. She still felt a little disappointed at not being able to fully understand, but seeing the grin on his face as he talked about it, she knew it was a huge part of him, something important in his life. "So do you talk to it and stuff?" She asked.
"Not really, it's more a kind of emotional connection." He explained. "We're both aware of each other, and we kind of communicate our thoughts and feelings with one another."
"You can use it in your attacks though, can't you?" She asked. "I've seen you do it, it can be used to attack an enemy can't it."
"It can." He answered. "But it exists as so much more than that."
They were interrupted as Camille, Lily and RJ came into the room. They quickly parted, getting back to their feet and composing themselves. Camille thought it was a little amusing that they still reacted like that when someone walked in on them.
"We're on the late shift." Camille reminded Fran. "Are you ready to set up?"
"I'll be there in a minute Camille." She replied, kissing Theo gently. "We've been working out; I just need to go for a shower."
"I just hope you didn't wear yourself out Theo." RJ chuckled. "We're starting at two today, remember?"
"Don't worry, I'll be fine." He replied. "I've got plenty left."
"I'll catch you downstairs Fran." Camille told her, making her way downstairs. Fran nodded and headed for the shower.
As she had her shower, Fran suddenly came across a thought. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought about it before. RJ wouldn't teach her to channel her animal spirit out of respect for RJ's position as a master. She guessed Lily and Casey wouldn't either for the same reason. Of course, there was one other person in the apartment that knew how to do it. Someone she was becoming pretty good friends with lately. She got dressed, making her way past RJ, Lily and Theo in the training area, beginning a serious workout. Making her way downstairs, she found Casey and Camille talking in the kitchen.
"Casey, I thought you'd be training with the others." Fran stated. Casey looked at her a little confused.
"But training isn't until three." He replied, checking his watch, finding that it was now 2:45. "I told everyone that."
"Well they've been going at it pretty hard since about two." Fran informed him. Casey looked at Camille who confirmed this with a nod. Looking a little annoyed, he made his way upstairs. Fran just shrugged off his reaction and decided that now was a good time to talk to Camille.
"How are things going?" She asked.
"Not too bad, it's becoming easier." She replied. Ever since leaving Dai Shi and moving in with the Rangers, Camille had refused to change into her beast form, and to access the dark energies of her animal spirit. It hadn't been easy at times; there was more than one occasion
she had wanted to let her resolve slide, especially when Casey was in battle. However, she was keenly aware of the tightrope she had been walking for so long that she had decided the easiest way to prevent herself being lost to her animal spirit was to stop using those energies. She still channelled it on occasion, but her days of changing were over.
"Camille, I was wondering about my animal spirit." She began thoughtfully. "Could you teach me how to channel it?"
They were interrupted by an alarm, and the Rangers rushed from the apartment. Camille took this opportunity to slip out of the kitchen without another word. Fran cursed her luck at the unfortunate timing. This was one conversation that would have to wait.
In a garden in the fortress, Dai Shi called forth dozens of Rinshi warriors, before pulling off his dressings.
"If Grizzaka will not teach me how to harness the zukado powers, then I will have to learn for myself." He stated, powering up into his armoured mode. "Perhaps I will harness them if my survival depends on it." With that, a fierce battle ensued.
Back at Jungle Karma, the team arrived back after the battle, before heading out again to train some more. For some reason, Camille and Fran got the feeling Casey wasn't happy about something. Of course, that wasn't really what Fran was concerned with. It wasn't long before the Rangers returned again, something had cut their training session short, and by the looks of Casey as he stormed through the kitchen, barely even registering Camille, it was something to do with him.
"RJ, what's going on?" Camille asked. "We've got a leaking sink, we're almost out of dough and Fran has some new recipe she wants..."
"Lily, Theo, why don't you help Camille and Fran?" He suggested, gesturing to them. Fran realised that she wouldn't get another chance to talk to Camille tonight, which annoyed her a little, but she was always able to accept the Ranger business was more important.
As RJ made his way upstairs with a troubled look on her face, she heard Casey bouncing the basketball on the floor of the back room, though it sounded almost as if he was trying to put the ball through the floor. Obviously something had gone down between Casey and RJ. She shrugged thinking about it. They always did have that kind of relationship. One minute they were best friends, the next they were at odds. It was unlikely to last long; most likely it wasn't anything serious anyway.
As the alarm sounded, Theo and Lily rushed back upstairs, before rushing out again on their own. RJ and Casey were obviously still talking about something, but since they were doing so in the middle of an attack, it would be a while before they were interrupted; she decided to approach Camille again.
"Camille, have you thought about what I asked?" She quizzed her. Camille looked a little uncomfortable at being asked, but she could see that Fran was serious.
"It's not something you should undertake lightly." Camille told her. "Are you sure you really want to do this? It's not an easy process; it'll take a lot of training and meditation."
"I understand." Fran replied. "So will you do it?"
Camille really wished she had someone else for support, but everyone else was busy. She didn't know how to answer. She knew from personal experience how hard the whole process was, but Fran had been really good to her since she arrived, and she kind of felt like she owed her.
"I'll do it." She replied before she could stop herself. "I'll take you through the training involved, but you have to be serious about this. You have to do exactly what I say, do you understand?"
"I do." Fran stated. "When can we start?"
As Dai Shi destroyed the last of the Rinshi attacking him, he snarled in frustration as he powered down. He could feel the energy coursing through him, he knew that every foe he destroyed had brought him one step closer, but he still hadn't mastered it.
"I have defeated them, yet I cannot harness the power!" He roared as he fell to his knees. He suddenly became aware of another presence. At first he was worried that Grizzaka had found him attempting to harness the zukado powers, in which case he was sure to be destroyed. However, the voice calling to him was not Grizzaka, and it used the name of his vessel.
"You must step off this path of evil Jarrod," Master Mao advised him, "in your heart you still have the spirit of the lion."
"Jarrod cannot hear you." Dai Shi sneered at the spirit of the fallen master. "I am Dai Shi."
"Jarrod's humanity and his lion spirit form a union that cannot be destroyed." He told him. "Even Dai Shi does not have the power to break that nexus." With that he disappeared. Obviously Master Mao knew that Jarrod still existed within him, and was hoping to strengthen his resolve enough to separate himself from Dai Shi. However, he had only succeeded in giving him an idea.
"A nexus more powerful than me," he mused out loud with a satisfied smile, "of course, thank you Master Mao."
Back at the restaurant, the Rangers had arrived back, having defeated the latest of Grizzaka's warriors. Fran had agreed with Camille that the first of their meditation sessions would take place early the following morning, long before the others would awake. In the meantime, Fran took the opportunity to present her latest recipe idea to the others.
Are you ready to try my special dessert?" Fran asked them.
"You bet!" Casey replied enthusiastically, a bit curious as to what she had come up with.
"The secret ingredients are chocolate and anchovies." She announced proudly. Theo, Lily and Casey all looked far from convinced as she laid the plate down before them. "Come on guys, just try it. We can all try just one!"
"I'm game!" Flit announced, flying out of Camille's mouth.
"Deal." Casey stated. "Let's give it a shot.
"If you can try one, then so can I." Theo added, picking up another. Although the look of revulsion on her face hadn't lessened any, Lily knew she couldn't be the only one not to try it and picked up another.
"I enjoy a healthy spirit of adventure; I'll go for a double." RJ announced, picking up two and dipping them in chocolate. Within seconds, all of the Rangers except for RJ were coughing and spitting the horrid concoction into handkerchiefs.
"Is it that bad?" Fran asked.
"Not really." Flit commented, heading back into Camille's stomach. Camille didn't really look convinced either, though feigned retching to distract attention from the fact that she hadn't actually taken one.
"Say Fran, didn't we say we'd ALL try one?" Casey reminded her, picking up a dish of chocolate sauce.
"Would you like one anchovy or two?" Theo asked. Realising the position she was in, Fran started to run, being followed in close pursuit by the others, all except RJ who actually seemed to be enjoying the remains of his dish. She just managed to get back out of the kitchen before being bundled playfully to the ground by Theo and Lily, pinned beneath them as they held her fast so that Casey could catch up and return the favour.
"Open wide Fran." Casey teased her, shoving one of the disgusting things into her mouth. Fran could now see why they had reacted the way they had, it tasted vile, but she couldn't help laughing despite the assault on her taste buds. She always enjoyed hanging around with the others and joking around with them. It was only then they turned to see RJ finishing off the last of the plate.
"I quite enjoyed that." He quipped as he wiped his mouth. "Not bad Fran."
"Well don't think you'll be having that regularly." Lily chirped playfully. "If you start tasting like that, then you're not coming anywhere near my lips."
"Like I said, it wasn't bad Fran." RJ stated. "It's just not what I'm looking for in the restaurant."
"No problems!" The others chorused together.
The atmosphere was light-hearted and full of laughter, but Fran couldn't help feeling a little sadness creeping up in her. Seeing her friends gathered sometimes just made her pointedly aware of the huge gulf between them. Even RJ, her closest friend of many years had been shown to have this huge side to himself that she didn't know about until recently, and just couldn't understand. She loved Theo, and she knew he loved her back, but he just didn't seem to understand how it made her feel when they turned to the subject of Pai Zhuq and their animal spirits. It wasn't easy being the 'bumbling sidekick' to a bunch of superheroes. Even Camille was a reforming super villain. Despite them being her closest friends, her family, sometimes she felt left out. Sometimes, being surrounded by those she cared about most was the loneliest place in the world for her.
Back in the fortress, Dai Shi was searching through scrolls in the library, tossing them aside in frustration. He knew where he could get the power he needed, but the map to the Rhino Nexus had been in the library for centuries, and he had no idea where he could find it. It could take months to search through all those scrolls. If only he hadn't been locked in that box for all those centuries, he would have had time to look through them all. Not even the other overlords would know where it was, they'd only just been revived after thousands of years, and Grizzaka wouldn't help him. It was then that he got the thought.
"She had centuries with nothing to do but crawl around these walls changing colours." He commented to himself. "I guess it's time to go and talk to my ex."