Savage Force: Power Rangers Jungle Fury
Fan Fiction by: Spirit Reader and Serpentdragon
Power Rangers original creator: Haim Saban
Prologue
In the beginning, there was nothing but death and destruction. For over 10,000 years, the world has been in a constant state of war as powerful monsters roamed the land, destroying anything and anyone that they happened to come across. Eventually, things were becoming so chaotic that the human race was practically brought to the brink of extinction. It was a bloodbath, pure and simple, and the cause of all of this was due to the machinations of one powerful entity. Its name…was Dai Shi.
Dai Shi was considered to be the strongest creature to ever exist in the world. A mere twitch of its muscles is enough to blow away several mountain tops while one blast of its fiery breath was powerful enough to metal even the hardest of substances with ease. It's because of the strength that Dai Shi possessed that allowed him to amass a large number of followers, all of whom were willing to lay die their lives for him and his beliefs. For them, Dai Shi was God, one to be both respected and feared.
As time passed by and Dai Shi continued to grow in power, it became clear to him that there was thing that needed to be taken care of before he could obtain complete and total control of the world. That something was the destruction of each and every human being. Dai Shi despised humans, believing them to be weak and cowardly. It's because of that reasoning that he found it completely ridiculous that animals, a far stronger and superior class of being, playing second fiddle to creatures who were less than the dirt that they walked on. Because of that, he decided that the time had come for animals to take their rightful place as the dominate creatures on the planet and thus launched an all-out attack on the humans.
The initial battle between the two sides was nothing more than a complete and utter annihilation. Dai Shi and his forces were strong and the humans were weak. All the later could do was run and hide as the army of powerful monsters hunted them down. Even when some of the most prominent figures of the world offered themselves as a sacrifice in order to spear everyone else, Dai Shi killed them before moving on towards the rest. Soon, in almost no time at all, Dai Shi's control over the world was practically complete as the remaining few humans that were still alive were forced into hiding. To them, they would rather live in disgrace than to die for nothing. It was a dark time for the human race and for a while, it seemed like there was nothing anybody could do to stop Dai Shi and his forces. However, even in the deepest depths of darkness, a light can always find its way through. For the humans, that light came in the form of a man known simply as Asura.
Ever since he was a little boy, Asura had a strong connection with the animals. Unlike most people, who considered them something to be feared, he believed that they were simply understood. It's because of that belief that he found himself not being afraid of them. He wanted to get to know them, be friends with them, and love them. Other humans found Asura to be crazy, but the little boy didn't care. He believed in what he was doing from the bottom of his heart and vowed one day to stop the needless fighting between humans and animals.
As for the animals that Asura got to become friends with, all of them were simply amazed by the kindness exhibited by this young boy. Not only did he not fear them, but he also treated them the way any creature should be treated, with respect. This wasn't like the way other humans treated them at all. It also wasn't the way Dai Shi treated them. The reason behind that is because Dai Shi simply used the reasoning of wanting to prove the superiority of the animal species as an excuse. In truth, all he wanted was power and he was even willing to destroy his most faithful followers in order to get it.
While many animals believed in this resolve and followed Dai Shi regardless, others clearly did not. Those few believed in the same thing Asura did, that humans and animals can get along and live together in harmony. For them, that was a much better world than the one Dai Shi was trying to create. So, it's for that reason alone that the strongest of those peaceful animals made their way towards Asura, informing him of their plight and willing to teach him the means to end this pointless conflict.
Upon hearing their request, Asura immediately agreed to help the animals and thus spent the next few decades of his life honing himself both physically and spiritually. Eventually, as he continued to grow in strength, lessons that Asura was receiving from his animal friends started to bear fruit. The youth's strong connection with the animal world allowed him to develop a powerful Animal Spirit from within his body. This spirit manifested itself in the form of a Red Tiger and it was considered to be the strongest of any known Animal Spirit. With its power, Asura believed that there was a chance to stop Dai Shi and end his pointless attack. However, there was still one last thing that needed to be done first and Asura knew what it was.
So, after mastering the power of his Animal Spirit, Asura made his way towards the few humans who also believed that animals and humans could work together in harmony. He began teaching them the same lessons that the animals first taught him. With his help, Asura watched as his comrades began manifested Animal Spirits of their very own. The most powerful of who were those who carried the spirits of the Blue Jaguar, Yellow Cheetah, Violet Wolf, and White Rhino. With their powers combined, along with Asura's and his Red Tiger Spirit, they were able to obtain the power needed to give humanity a fighting chance.
At first, when Asura and his group first made their presence felt against the massive army of monsters, Dai Shi simply laughed at them. He found it completely inconceivable that humans, with their weak and frail bodies, could possible amass the strength needed to challenge him and his army. However, it was that arrogance of Dai Shi's that led to his first ever defeat. With the power of their Animal Spirits, Asura and his time were able to repel Dai Shi's forces, proving their strength to the overlord. It was that action on that particular day that began the conflict that would become known as…the Beast War.
During the war, Asura and Dai Shi's forces fought day in and day out, neither side willing to give an inch. Both sides knew that this was a war to would decide the fate of the entire world and they had every intention of coming out the victor. In order make sure that their side would be the one who comes out victorious, Dai Shi granted more power to his armies, granting them knew abilities that would allow them to turn the battle back into their favor. As for Asura, he created a school devoted to the practice of training humans to properly control and mature their Animal Spirits. This school became known as Pai Zhua, otherwise known as the Order of the Claw.
Eventually, as the years passed by and the conflict of the Beast War continued to grow more and more intense, it was becoming clear that the Order of the Claw were on their last leg. For every victory that they managed to obtain, they would end suffering 3 more defeats. It was soon reaching the point that even if they manage to produce more fighters, the battle would ultimately end in defeat. All the higher ups believed this to be true, but more importantly, Dai Shi knew it to be true as well.
When saw that his victory was at hand, the overlord decided to launch one devastating attack on the Order. This battle was so horrific and no one could go anywhere without seeing a puddle of blood and bones. Even though the Order was able to somehow survive this battle, most of their members were gone and they knew that if Dai Shi launched one more attack against them, it would be end of the human race.
It was during this moment in his life, that Asura found himself questioning everything he ever stood for. All he wanted to do was to bring peace to both humans and animals. He believed that by establishing the Order of the Claw and challenging Dai Shi was the means of doing this. However, as he watched more and more of his love ones die right in front of his eyes, Asura's faith in his cause began to disappear. Then, after Dai Shi killed both his wife and his son, Asura quickly found himself in the depths of despair. He was about to give up, but was at that moment that he heard someone calling out to him.
Asura…is this the end for you? Are you going to give up now…after coming so far?
Upon hearing the voice that was calling out to him, Asura was left completely flabbergasted. The voice seemed so familiar to him, but he knew that he had never heard it before. He started questioning himself, wondering if he was going insane. But, upon looking deep inside himself, it became clear to him who speaking to him.
The voice that he was hearing was none other than his Red Tiger Spirit. Because he was in tone with the spirit for so long, the connection between it and Asura became strong enough for the master to finally hear the spirit's voice. It was amazing, if he hadn't seen it there would be no way he would've believed it. Asura had a lot questions for his spirit, but the Red Tiger wasn't in the mood for them. All it wanted was to hear Asura's answer. Would he give up and let Dai Shi take over the world…or would he fight?
"I…I don't know…" Asura told his partner. "I don't want to give…but how am I suppose to win if my opponent's stronger than me?"
It is not the strongest opponent who wins…but the strongest will.
"The strongest will…?" Asura was confused, didn't know what the Red Tiger meant. "What are you talking about…what does that even mean?"
The Red Tiger didn't say anything. If Asura couldn't understand the meaning behind its words, then all the battles that they went through together was pointless. It then decided to leave, but before it did, the powerful spirit imparted these final words to its partner.
You know what you have to do, Asura…but you must make a decision now.
Once that was said, the Red Tiger Spirit faded from Asura's consciousness, leaving him alone to ponder everything that it said to him. With nothing but his shadow to accompany him, Asura thought long and hard, but wasn't able to come up with any real answers. Soon enough, he started to believe that all his Animal Spirit did was just speaking nonsense. This frustrated Asura to know end, so much so that he soon found himself leaving the Order of the Claw, running off in an unknown direction.
Asura ran. He ran and ran and kept on running. Eventually, he found himself falling off a cliff and the rockslide that resulted from that caused him to be trapped under a large number of heavy boulders. He struggled to free himself from them, but he simply wasn't able to. Soon enough, things reached the point where Asura began resigning him to death. However, before he could let himself die, something happened to Asura.
For some reason, he started thinking about all of his friends and loved ones. The image of their smiling facing each appeared within his mind, one after the other. The powerful warrior couldn't understand why this was happening. It didn't make any sense. But, for some strange reason, he could feel a powerful surge of strength build up inside of him. Somehow, just thinking about his friends was giving him strength and Asura soon found himself trying to break free from his imprisonment. He didn't want to die. He wanted to live on for his loved ones, those who gone and those were still here. It was at that realization that he finally realized what the Red Tiger Spirit was telling him.
It is not the strongest opponent who wins…but the strongest will.
In life, there is always going to be obstacles to get in the way of what you want. This applies to every living creature, from plants, animals, and even humans. There are going to be times in which you want to give up, believing that there's nothing you can do. However, it's when you start thinking that you truly lose. Strength can only get you so far. You must have the will and the heart to go along with that strength. Only then could one be able to overcome the obstacles that get in the way of their goals.
That was what Asura realized as he struggled to free him. He knew that if he died here, not only would everything he did up to this point would've been for nothing, but everything his friends had to fight and sacrificed for would've been pointless as well. Asura didn't want that. Even if he lost to Dai Shi in end, he couldn't stop fighting, not for himself and especially not for the people he cared about. It's through this strong resolve, that Asura managed to channel his Animal Spirit to the very limit, allowing him to break free from his confinement. After that, he began making his way to the Order of the Claw, preparing himself for what he believed to be the final battle.
When Asura finally made it back to the Order, all of the members who had survived Dai Shi's recent attack were amazed at how much their leader had changed. Just the other day, his eyes were filled with dread, but now their filled with hope. Seeing him like this and watching him encourage everyone to fight gave them all the strength they needed to stand up and keep going. With that, they worked together with their leader in order to come up with a plan good enough to stop Dai Shi and end his horror.
Soon enough, after some careful consideration and planning, the Order was able to formulate a plan that could allow them to finally achieve victory. So, with the help of their finest craftsman and spiritual shamans, they were able to construct a powerful magic box, one strong enough to contain any creature. If the Order of the Claw managed to weaken Dai Shi to such an extent, the power from the box would suck him inside, trapping the overlord for all time. It was a risky plan and the chances of success were very slim, but with the way things were now, they had no choice but to give it shot. So, after spending one night with their loved ones and preparing themselves for what was ahead, Asura and his strongest warriors left to confront Dai Shi.
Upon reaching his liar, the final battle of the Beast War finally got underway. Dai Shi's forces fought strong, but Asura and his side refused to let that stop them. This was their last chance. If they fall here, then the human race is done for. With that in mind, the Pai Zhua members channeled their Animal Spirits to the brink, utilizing their strength in order to fight back against their oppressors. Eventually, it soon reached the point in which both sides were left completely exhausted and the only ones left who could fight was Asura and Dai Shi. Both knew that this war began with the two of them and it's through them that the war would end.
The battle between the two of them was intense. Mountains were destroyed and the landscape around them began to crumble by the sheer force of their attacks. It was an incredible battle, one the lasted for 7 days and 6 nights. For a while, it seemed like their conflict would last forever. However, on the 7th and final night of their battle, it was becoming clear to everyone that Dai Shi was on the verge of victory.
No matter how hard he fought or what techniques he used, all of Asura's attacks were unable to bring down his massive opponent. Not only that, but as the battle waged on, it seemed like Dai Shi was going in strength while Asura was beginning to lose strength. The Order couldn't believe what they were seeing. For the longest time, they've been fighting Dai Shi, trying their best to overcome him and save the world and they all knew that it was Asura that put them on that path. But now, right before their eyes, the beloved leader was losing and there was nothing that they could do to stop it.
Soon enough, after playing around with his opponent for a while, Dai Shi was becoming bored with this battle and decided to put an end to it. To that end, grabbed Asura with one of its massive claws and held him high in the air. The overlord then prepared himself to devour his opponent in the same way he devoured both his wife and son. However, before he could do so, Dai Shi decided to taunt his hated foe one last time.
"Do you see now, human?" Dai Shi asked as he started crushing Asura. "You never had a chance of defeating me! All you and your pathetic species has done is delay the inevitable. Humans never had to strength to stop me and they never will. Now…I will kill you and prove once and for all my superiority over all of you!"
Dai Shi squeezed Asura one more time, wanting him to suffer before he finally put an end to him. He then prepared him to devour the powerful human and finally put an end to the Beast War. However, just before the overlord could do so, he noticed that Asura was smiling to himself. Dai Shi was about to question Asura about this, but stopped when he saw a bright and powerful red aura begin to surround the human.
"It…it is not the strongest…opponent who wins…" Asura spoke as the aura began to intensify. "But…THE STRONGEST WILL!"
At the very moment he said that, Asura's body erupted from the power of this red aura, causing Dai Shi to let go of him and step back. The overlord looked on in disbelief, watching as the aura surrounding Asura began to take shape. Somehow, either by luck or choice, Asura was able to channel his Animal Spirit to the highest level possible. As a result, the powerful warrior managed to transform himself into a giant ethereal version of his Red Tiger Spirit. Although he was shocked by this development, Asura knew what he had to do and thus charged towards Dai Shi one last time.
With this new power, Asura was finally able to take control of the battle and push Dai Shi back. Each of his attack managed to caused massive damage to the overlord, something that shocked all of Dai Shi's followers. Seeing their master on the brink was something they couldn't comprehend, causing them to lose morale. When the other Pai Zhua members saw this, they knew that they had to act now. To that end, each of them channeled their Animal Spirits and together, they were able to vanquish the evil army.
Back at the main battle, it was becoming clear that Asura was on the verge of victory and was prepared to finish Dai Shi off. Not wanting to lose to a bunch of humans, Dai Shi threw himself at Asura, intending to destroy him with one final attack. However, Asura saw this move coming and was able to counter it with his ultimate attack, a beam of spirit energy so intense that it had the power to part the clouds in the sky. When Dai Shi got struck by this blast, he was sent flying through several mountains, rendering him completely exhausted.
When Asura saw this, he realized that now was his chance to finish this. With that, he grabbed the magical box that he and his allies constructed and proceeded to open it. Once he did, a powerful surge of light shot out from it and struck Dai Shi. The light from the box then began to pull Dai Shi into it. Although the overlord tried his best to overcome the power of the box, his battle with Asura simply left him to weak. Because of that, Dai Shi couldn't fight back and thus wasn't able to do anything. But, just before he was trapped inside the box, the overlord gave Asura a final warning.
"This…is not the end!" He yelled. "I swear, even if it takes an eternity, I will return and finish what I started! Just you wait…"
Once that was said, Dai Shi was sucked completely inside the box and Asura closed the lid, trapping the overlord inside. Finally, it was over. Dai Shi was defeated and his army was vanquished. The world was finally at peace. This realization brought smiles to those surviving member of the Order of the Claw as they could now live their lives free from the fear of Dai Shi. Unfortunately, despite their victory, the price they had to pay was deep. A lot of their friends died, but none more important than one certain individual.
To the horror of the Order, all of them watched as Asura suddenly transformed back to normal and crashed on the hard ground. When they made their way to him, they all noticed that he was extremely weak and was on the verge of death. By reaching the highest level of his Animal Spirit, Asura expended all of his body energy. As a result, he no longer had the strength to keep going. His efforts allowed him to save the world from Dai Shi, but it ultimately cost him his life as a result.
Knowing his time was at an end, Asura used what little strength he had left to impart a final request to his comrades. Even though they were able to defeat Dai Shi and trap him inside the box, there was always a chance that he could break free one day. It's because of that lingering threat that his tasked his friends with the responsibility of maintaining the Order of the Claw. With it still around, the world could always be protected from evil and could never again return to plague it.
The Pai Zhua members, with tears running down their faces, happily agreed to fulfill the final request of their friend. After everything that Asura had done for them, it was the least that they could do. Upon hearing that, Asura let out a small smile and thanked all of his comrades for everything that they've done. He then closed his eyes and took his last breath before speaking his final words.
"Farewell…my friends…" He said. "Know that…my Tiger…Spirit and…I will always…be…with…you."
With that, Asura passed and the world lost its greatest hero. After making sure that he had a proper burial, the Order of the Claw began fulfilling the final request of their friend and began watching over the box that contained Dai Shi. At the same time, other members continued the teachings of the school, increasing the number of members until they were far greater than they were at the start of the devastating Beast War. Asura's life and death taught all of them a valuable lesson and the Order all vowed to never forget it, no matter how much time passed.
10,000 years later, in the present day, the world has entered a state of peace. The human race was finally able to get back on their feet and once again become the dominant species on the planet. However, unlike in the past, they were able to learn from their mistakes. Although a small fraction of them still treat other unkindly and with prejudice, almost everyone else strove to preserve peace in the world, knowing from the bottom of their hearts that was the right thing to do.
However, even if the world is in an era of peace and prosperity, there are still those who wish to conquer the Earth for their own twisted and evil desires. As a result, several battles, some just as devastating as the Beast War took place and lives were lost. Fortunately, a group of certain individuals stepped up in order to preserve the balance of the world. Through their combined efforts, the world was saved over and over again and the peace humanity was able to establish remained. Those individuals became known to the general public as…the Power Rangers.
Over the years, the Power Rangers have formed several different teams, each of which specializing in their own particular style of combat. This included advanced martial arts, technological weaponry, and even magic. However, despite splitting up and even using different methods, every Ranger team believed in the goal of keeping the world safe from harm. It was the promise that they made to themselves and they swore to fulfill it, no matter what the cost to themselves.
As for the Order of the Claw, they continue to follow Asura's last order by watching over Dai Shi these last 10,000 years. However, because they didn't want to stir up the populace, they agreed to keep their existence as secret. As a result, the world soon began to forget them entirely. Not even the stories of their epic battles managed to survive the passing of time. Even when the Earth was under attack by evil, the Order didn't step up and simply let the Power Rangers handle those threats. They believed that the Rangers held the beliefs of the Order and thus allowed them to protect the world while they continued their mission.
This was the way things were in the world for a long time, there was peace and stability. However, even though he was sealed, Dai Shi was still alive, still waiting for the day that he could break free…and get his revenge against humanity.
I will return!