Disclaimer: As a simple 21-year-old fledgling chef, dishwasher and fanfiction writer who is currently neck-deep in college debt, I doubt I could even afford the rights to Power Rangers, much less own them – so please, don't sue, because I really don't own the rights in question; that honour is Disney's, Saban's and so forth. Rising Sun Karate Academy is a legitimate martial arts school owned and operated by Jason David Frank; its presence in this fic is a cameo, and no – I'm not a student there; furthermore, most of the info I use in this fic is guesswork in that regard. The only thing tied to this fic that I own is an OC who you'll meet in this chapter. Here's hoping he's not too Gary Stu-like; if he is, let me know and I'll attempt to make the appropriate adjustments. Any similarities between this fic and others are purely coincidental; I neither dabble in plagiarism nor stand for it. Finally, if you're looking for professional-grade writing, why are you on FFN in the first place?
That said, on with the show. Oh, and can someone tell me if I'm writing RJ properly? It's been a few years since I wrote Zen...
Jungle Fury: New Arrivals
By
Titanium Gold
Chapter 1: Training and Travel, Meetings and Musings
"Oh, hell no!" – James Carter, "Rush Hour"
"I'm a warship – and I don't like running away from a fight." – 'Rommie', "Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda"
(October 4th 2009, 1800 hours)
Bowing to his sensei, Carter Sisko – a 21-year-old African-American adult, tall, broad-shouldered, bald-headed by choice and currently rather sweaty – couldn't help but grin; his latest tri-weekly training in Toso Kune Do at the Rising Sun Karate Academy had gone off rather well; supplemented with his personal daily workouts, the African-American man looked to be at the peak of his life. Of course, having just graduated high school and a one-year intensive culinary course back-to-back, all with honours, on top of acquiring his green belt in Toso Kune Do over the last 16 months, the young man certainly felt his best. His friends the world over would likely agree that he was at his prime and wasn't likely to leave it just yet.
However, for all his extraordinary physical and academic talents, Carter Sisko was an ordinary guy with a single vice. He was a fan of Power Rangers, among other fantasy-like fiction such as Harry Potter – thankfully, though, he wasn't a rabid fan; his life didn't stop at every new episode or book and he wasn't obsessed with meeting the actors, though the fact he was simply a fan of such things was a source of much amusement to all his friends. As Carter headed home through Santa Clarita after a relaxing shower, the young adult – watching his surroundings with a keen eye the entire time – mused on the final season of one of his favourite live-action shows. Power Rangers RPM, the finale having aired earlier that week, hadn't been everything he expected, but in his opinion it made for a fairly decent send-off for the entire saga. Despite that, Carter considered Jungle Fury the true finale, given how the planet hadn't... well, been slagged to get the story going in that season.
The culinary ties didn't hurt either. Carter mused. I mean, really – a kung Fu master and a chef as the mentor? That's awesome!
Little did the fledgling chef know that he was about to be dumped right in the middle of it all... or that it would result in some rather interesting consequences. As Carter headed past his former home/place of employment – a now-defunct building that was once a pizzeria, near the dojo he'd just trained at – he saw a flash of light and felt a small wind gust. Blinking away the spots in his vision, the young adult took subtle glances at his surroundings, looking around for the source of the light that had momentarily blinded him. As he headed towards the back alley next to his old 'home', seeing another weaker flash, the young martial artist was left agape for a moment as he saw the bright light of some kind of portal, which was showing images of what was on the other side.
"Oh, hell no," Carter breathed, "This can't be real – no way!"
Lily Chilman. A section of the chef's brain realized absently, ignoring his verbal musings. She's battling the Rinshi and Rantipede from 'A Taste of Poison'... and losing!? This isn't how it went – Lily fought Rantipede himself and won! She didn't fight the Rinshi; Casey did! But there's no sign of him or Theo!
It doesn't matter who fought the Rinshi in Ranger canon, Sisko.Another voice in Carter's head retorted. She needs backup, and her teammates clearly aren't coming as fast as they should. Two of them aren't even Rangers yet. Are you going to stand here and do nothing? You didn't spend ten years training in the martial arts just for the hell of it, did you? For 'shits and giggles', I believe the phrase is?
No... No, I didn't. I trained in fighting and culinary for the defense of others and of myself; to make a difference. Carter mused. It doesn't matter what universe they're a part of.
Then get your butt in that portal, man – go and help her out! The situation isn't supposed to be like this, and right now only you can change it! The other voice cried. Carter's expression turned feral as Lily was blasted enough to force her to power down; his jaw tightened, his muscles (however sore they were from the afternoon's training) went taut as blood started pumping and adrenaline began surging, and after tightening the straps of the backpack he had on his shoulders, the young warrior chef sprinted through the portal, landing on his feet and – despite the sand of the beach – executing a flawless roundhouse kick and sending a Rinshi flying into a group of its kin before settling into a relaxed battle stance. He barely noticed that unlike his home universe, it was the middle of the afternoon in Ocean Bluff.
These bastards look a lot creepier in person. Carter mused, before letting out a battle cry and lashing out at the first Rinshi to take a swipe at the Yellow Ranger behind him.
And thus, the battle resumed.
Lily, meanwhile, was agape with surprise as she slowly stood up, gripping her Solar Morpher in one hand.
What the...? Who is this guy? The Jungle Fury Yellow Ranger wondered. And why did he help me? Most people would run – heck, since Rangers started showing up on Earth most people have run from the monsters!
As she re-morphed and assumed her signature stance, Lily smiled upon seeing her saviour twist away from the energy attacks of the Rinshi before sending a pair flying with his fists alone.
Whoever he is, I think he'd make a good Ranger with guts and moves like that – and he looks... wow, he may have a shaved head, but he's cute! The former cheerleader mused as Carter locked eyes with her for an instant.
That was the Cheetah student's last conscious thought before she threw herself into the battle once more, dealing with the Rinshi in her way to get to Rantipede. Even the later reprimanding from Casey and Theo (upon their arrival) and RJ (once he noticed his workers were A.W.O.L.) couldn't overwhelm the thrill that ran through Lily at the thought of befriending the man that had helped her, nor the thought of another Ranger on the team.
By the time the Strike Rider had been revealed and the Zord battle had ended, all the Rinshi had been decimated at the Rangers' hands, Camille had been soundly defeated once again, Rantipede had been destroyed at the hands of the Jungle Pride Megazord, and Carter Sisko – battle-worn and sweaty, having fought Rinshi the entire time – looked on with a smile, keeping one hand on his ribs where a few Rinshi had gotten in some lucky strikes.
(J.K.P. Loft, 0600 PM)
"...and that's basically everything that happened between the dojo and my arrival." Carter finished explaining to R.J., who was leaning back in his chair while getting an explanation of who Carter was, and just why he had shown up at and fought in the battle. Casey and Lily, in the meantime, were handling pizza prep and dish duty respectively, while their friend Fran was helping with serving. Theo was elsewhere in the restaurant; Carter had already been introduced briefly to all four of them.
"So you chose to come through the portal?" RJ asked, "That seems kind of... bizarre to me, even accounting for the rest of your tale. If it were anyone else, they'd have stayed far away, I think."
"I doubt that – and as for why I did, it's actually rather simple, sir," Carter replied, conveniently ignoring RJ's interjection of 'call me RJ', "Lily was in serious trouble. The Rinshi and Rantipede had hit her hard enough to force her to demorph; she was surrounded, Casey and Theo weren't at her location yet... Lily needed backup, sir, and to the best of my knowledge I was the only one who could have supplied it before she was hurt – or before you were permanently down a Ranger. I doubt even you and your Wolf could have reached the beach in time; not from here."
RJ cringed at that.
"Okay, point taken," the Wolf Master replied, "But that still doesn't answer the question of 'why you?'"
"The area in my world that the portal showed up in... was a back alley next to my former place of employment," Carter admitted with a sigh, "A pizza-oriented, unorthodoxly themed restaurant much like your Jungle Karma – I worked there as one of the cooks, and had stopped at the building to pay my respects."
"Hold on – your former place of employment?" RJ echoed, "Why former; what happened?"
"Unlike JKP," Carter explained, "Which from what I remember survives years after Casey, Lily and Theo arrive – don't tell them that, by the way – the pizza place I worked at failed six months after my arrival; despite the fact it was a great place with great people working there, we got very little business because our boss picked a crap location. So he decided to shut down and move on as of about a week ago in my universe, right when everyone received their final pay checks. JKP actually reminds me of my old place of employment; the boss and my coworkers were all like you, Casey, Lily and even Fran in many ways. One co-worker was even like Theo – and despite how Theo's treating Casey and I, I still respect him."
"That's very mature, man," RJ smiled, "And those fighting skills of yours; where did you learn them? I've only seen moves like that from Pai Zhaq Masters or the odd Ranger; your moves in specific seem similar to Tommy Oliver's."
"Toso Kune Do, courtesy of the Rising Sun Karate Academy," Carter grinned, "Along with training from my father, with some self-taught stuff thrown in for flavour. As for moves like the good Doctor's, it makes sense they're so similar – his actor counterpart in my universe is the owner/operator of Rising Sun Karate."
"Well, how would you like to learn some more moves?" RJ threw a grin at Carter in return, "We can see if you have an Animal Spirit and maybe train you alongside my students."
"Sounds good – could use some new moves and new sparring partners." Carter's lips twitched. RJ nodded.
"Speaking of sparring partners, you did very well against the Rinshi – they only scored two hits on you."
"Those sorry bastards are uglier in person than they ever were in the show," Carter retorted wryly, rubbing the spot on his chest where he'd been struck by one of the Rinshi's lances, "But aside from the energy blasts they're no tougher than most of my Rising Sun sparring partners."
RJ whistled lowly.
"Must've been some heavy sparring you did back home."
"It was." Carter smiled, "Despite that, Rising Sun Karate doesn't let people go to green belt without making sure they're up for it – and I don't treat sparring like a hobby; for me, martial arts and cooking are areas of life where my limits are meant to be pushed, much to the chagrin of my teachers."
"Sounds like you'll be a real challenge, then." The Wolf Master's grin was feral at the mental image of fighting a strong opponent again.
"I don't know, man – I never trained with the Swoop Technique! With that alone you'll likely kick my butt!" Carter chuckled; RJ couldn't help but join in the laughter.
"That's very true – though you will learn it in time." The 'future' Wolf Ranger's expression suddenly turned serious – for RJ, anyway. "Okay, here's the plan – until we find a way to get you back home, you'll live here in the loft, and work at my humble restaurant with my students, myself and Fran; we've got a spare room you can use which I've had cleaned out for ages, and I might be able to round up some more clothes for you over the next few days. Two sets aren't nearly enough; I'm sure you know that as much as any of us."
"That's true," Carter murmured, "I've got what's on my back and the three sets of clothes in my gym bag, but those'll fall to pieces in no time... any chance you could stick to green shirts and loose-fit jeans? Green's one of my favourite colors – and I can't stand baggy jeans."
R.J. nodded.
"I got it covered. Anyway, since you've worked in a pizza place before, you'll be one of our main cooks – though you're not working a solo op in my kitchen, got it?" At Carter's nod, R.J. continued.
"This means that for now, during the rushes you'll have to stay here."
"I'm sure Fran will love the company." Carter grinned wryly.
"At least during your training, she'll have it." RJ replied, "When you're done training – and assuming we can't get you home by then – I'll talk to that connection of mine who made the others' Morphers; you might get one of your own. I hope you can work with Casey."
Carter's jaw slackened in shock at that prospect before he refocused.
"I can work with him, RJ; you have my word. On the subject of your Rangers, though, are Casey and Lily ok?" The dimension-hopping warrior asked, concerned for the dancing Cheetah student, "She looked pretty banged up when I started helping her out, and Casey... well, if I recall correctly he was hit with a poison sting yesterday."
"To the best of my knowledge, Lily's fine; Ranger powers come with a reasonable dose of accelerated healing, though I'm sure you know that. And Casey healed up this morning." RJ answered, "You're welcome to go check for yourself – they're both downstairs, though Lily's working dish duty."
"Let me guess," Carter mused, "Punishment for going off half-cocked like she did?"
RJ nodded. At that, Carter stood up.
"Better go keep her company, then." The teen smiled and headed for the stairs, "Punishments are all well and good, especially if there's a lesson to them; but believe me – solitude isn't. I speak from experience on that."
RJ smiled, nodding towards the stairs. As Carter headed down to the restaurant proper, the Wolf Master could only say one thing as he leaned back in his chair.
"Welcome aboard, dude... I've got a feeling we're not going to regret this."
(JKP Kitchens, 0830 PM)
"This is fun!" Lily laughed, splashing Casey with soapy water. Dodging an irate Theo as the Jaguar student headed upstairs, Carter couldn't help but grin at the antics of two of the Rangers who were slowly becoming his friends.
"Carter!" Casey choked out as he shielded his soap-drenched face with one arm, "Help me out here, man!"
"Sorry, Casey," Carter's grin widened, "You won't see me getting involved in this one."
"Besides," Lily added with a laugh, splashing Casey one last time before returning to the dishes, "It'd be like if Theo got involved in this – I couldn't fight him." At the boys' raised eyebrows the current dishwasher blushed fit to make a tomato jealous and hastily added, "Hey, Carter saved my life out there – I owe him one!"
"We'll call it even if you let me give you – both of you – a hand," Carter grinned, fighting back a blush of his own at Lily's praise, "And please, Lily, I beg you; don't go into the battlefield solo again like you did unless there's no other choice. We're all a team here, no matter what."
"All right, all right!" the dancer groaned good-naturedly, throwing soap suds at Carter, "I won't! Spare me, please – RJ lectured me for an hour about that!"
"So that's why... never mind," Carter smiled faintly, wiping his face off, "No worries, Lily – I won't say anything more on the subject."
"In the meantime, what do you say we get back to work?" Casey asked, towelling off his own soap-soaked face and arms, "Good thing we're closed – Carter, I hate to ask, but can you clean up here? I was working server duty when we got back, and I've still got to-"
"Cash out, I know," Carter smiled, "I worked the whole culinary gig back home, Casey; I know the drill. Go – I've got this."
Throwing his new friend a grateful smile, the current Red Ranger exited the kitchen to take care of his branch of the closing duties while Carter snagged a cleaning rag and some paper towel to clean the soap suds around the dish-pit and his face respectively. Discarding the paper towel in a nearby garbage bin, Carter got to work, placing the dishes Lily cleaned in their proper locations. Later on, he looked towards Lily... whose blue eyes were focused on him instead of the little work she had left. Slowly raising one dark eyebrow, the newest cook at JKP looked to his sides, wondering if he was bleeding from somewhere after the fight. When he finally realized that Lily was looking at him for no other reason than curiosity, Carter's other eyebrow started heading towards his nonexistent hairline before he locked eyes with Lily and spoke in a low voice.
"Something you want to tell me, Lily?"
Blushing much darker then she had when talking with Casey earlier, Lily turned away from Carter, looking away from the dark chocolate eyes of her newest friend as she decided just how to phrase her thoughts. As the dimensionally displaced warrior smiled warmly at her and took a step towards the restaurant proper, Lily grabbed his hand.
"You're a good man, Carter – you're interesting. It'll be nice getting to know you."
"And it'll be an honour getting to know you, Lily." Carter smiled, "Casey, too; fighting at the side of you both will be awesome. I only barely knew the cheerleaders and sports fans among my allies back home – and none of them were martial artists."
"What about Theo?" Lily asked, "He's part of this team too, and a good friend of mine."
"He also hasn't made the best impression on me yet; he nearly ran me over in anger as I came down here from the loft." Carter's smile turned sheepish, "Give it time, Lily."
Jungle Karma Pizza's current dishwasher nodded as her fingers interlaced with Carter's for a moment.
"I know we've all only known you all of twelve hours," Lily murmured, "And I know you and Theo don't see eye-to-eye yet – heck, he and Casey don't either. But whatever happens between all of us, Carter, I hope you and I can be friends."
"Always, Lily," Carter smiled, "I promise you that you and I will always be friends – always together in heart."
Sharing a somewhat lengthy hug with his newest female friend before leaving her to the last of her dishes, Carter headed upstairs for bed after ensuring Casey required no help. After a profuse amount of thanks to R.J. for all his help, Carter headed to bed, with concerns of home dancing in his mind. Besides his martial arts teachers, no one in his home universe would be looking for him; Carter's parents had died a year prior just as he had begun his foray into culinary college; he wasn't too close to his grandparents or other relations, and none of his friends from his school days were in Santa Clarita.
No use worrying on it now; that's not going to help. Carter mused, stripping down to boxers, slipping on a pair of pyjama pants and easily entering a meditative trance.
I'm here, in Ocean Bluff – and whether I like it or not, it looks like I'm here to stay for a while.
(Spirit World, time unknown)
"Fascinating," Mao smiled stiffly, "It appears that your plan worked, sir."
"I have asked you many times, Mao," a disembodied voice interjected, "no formalities. I have never been your master or leader; we are all equals."
"My apologies; force of habit," Mao replied, "I simply wished to inform you that your plan has worked; our young friend is now where he can do the most good."
Mao flipped a switch, revealing a room with many lit consoles and several groups of tubes on the walls; two of those groups held Ranger uniforms from several teams, both of those groups of tubes flanking a larger opaque tube. The opaque tube lit up, a large, disembodied, bald head appearing in it akin to a hologram.
"Well done, Mao," the voice spoke, coming from the head, "It appears Carter Sisko knows some of what to do. We can only hope he deciphers the rest."
A/N: With the muses dead or AWOL in the cases of my three latest projects, I've decided to delve into Power Rangers fanfiction again for the first time in years. With Jungle Fury and Dino Thunder being my two favourite seasons and with Stryker837 doing a Dino Thunder dimension-hopping fic, I've decided to start a similar fic of my own in Jungle Fury, thanks in part to inspiration from Stryker's works, pinkrangersforever's fic "Transported" (ID 4843628) and AnimeJunkieGrrl's own Jungle Fury saga. If any of you three read this, thanks for the inspiration – and to all who read this, here's hoping you enjoyed this first chapter, despite my creative liberties, and continue to enjoy this fic.