Disclaimer: I do not own PRJF. I am not making a profit by writing this.
A/N: This is a far cry from the "cute" stories I'm known for, but I'm trying something different.
Survival of the Fittest
Win or Don't Go Home
The rangers were in downtown Ocean Bluff up against their toughest adversary yet, a powerful necromancer named Necros. The necromancer was unlike any Rinshi beast the rangers had ever encountered, and that was because the necromancer wasn't a Rinshi beast. In fact, the necromancer didn't even work for Dai Shi. Necros operated off his own agenda.
Casey, Theo, and Lily couldn't even get close enough to Necros to inflict any real damage on him. The crafty necromancer was using his wand to keep the rangers at bay with a barrage of immobilizing spells. They were only temporary, but they kept the necromancer from being attacked.
"This is really starting to get annoying!" Lily remarked while making a fruitless effort to move her limbs.
"How are we supposed to beat him if we can't even hit him?" Theo asked frustrated.
The rangers watched as Necros drew a circle with his finger. A portal opened up, and he stepped through it, but not before saying, "Follow me if you dare, rangers!"
As soon as he stepped through the portal, the rangers found that they could move again. Casey made a beeline for the portal, which was starting to gradually get smaller and smaller. Theo grabbed hold of his arm.
"Wait, Case! For all we know, it could be a trap!" Theo stated.
"I don't care. The portal's closing, so it's now or never. I don't know about you, but I don't want that guy running amok in Ocean Bluff," Casey said before shaking himself free from Theo's grasp and running into the portal.
Theo was surprised when he saw his best friend, Lily, head off in the portal's direction as well.
"Lily! What are you doing? Not you too!" Theo commented.
"I don't know what's in there, but I'm not letting Casey face it on his own," Lily said before stepping through the portal.
Theo shook his head in disapproval. After letting out a deep sigh, he reluctantly decided to follow his teammates, and step through the portal.
The three teenagers found themselves in a completely desolate area. They were surrounded by some stone architecture. After walking a bit further, they realized that they were in a large coliseum.
Casey, Theo, and Lily were in the center of the coliseum on the ground floor. At the very top row, where the spectators sat, they saw Necros.
"Welcome rangers. The three of you are in an alternate dimension. It's no use trying to escape. There's only one way to do that. You see, the three of you are going to take part in a tournament. The winner plain and simple gets to escape from this alternate dimension," Necros explained.
"What makes you think we'll play your game?" Casey shouted.
"You have no choice. If you don't play my "game," then you don't escape. If you don't escape, then who is going to save Ocean Bluff from Dai Shi?" Necros replied.
The rangers got into a little huddle and had an impromptu team meeting to devise some semblance of a game plan.
"I hate to admit it, but I think we're going to have to play his 'game,'" Theo stated.
"There can only be one winner though. If one of us is the winner, what about the other two?" Lily asked.
"There's only one way to find out," Casey said. "Fine Necros, we accept!"
"I knew you would. Now I bet you're wondering who your opponents will be. Let me put it like this—there's a reason I'm a necromancer," Necros said.
The rangers watched as he held up his wand in the air and started chanting some kind of spell. Moments later, a purple lightning bolt rained from the sky creating an explosion several feet away from the rangers. After the smoke cleared, the rangers saw five figures walking side-by-side. They were none other than the five fingers of poison.
"What?" Casey asked.
"No—" Lily started to say.
"Way!" Theo said finishing Lily's sentence.
"Impossible! We already destroyed them!" Casey exclaimed.
Overhead, a giant television monitor lowered. It was so humungous that it made a movie theater screen look like an iPod Nano. On the screen, the display rapidly toggled through profile pictures of the eight combatants. To the right of that image, was another image in which the eight combatants were being toggled through as well.
The left image stopped on a picture of Lily. The right image stopped on a picture of Rantipede.
"Well, well. It looks like our first quarterfinal match is set. It will be the yellow ranger versus Rantipede. Oh, and fingers of poison, if one of you happens to win the tournament, I will bring you to life outside this alternate dimension. If you lose, you will only exist in this alternate dimension," Necros explained.
"Come on, Lily!" Casey said encouragingly.
"You got this, Lil!" Theo added.
Lily swallowed a lump that was beginning to form in her throat. She really didn't want to go first, but someone had to. Her heart was racing.
"As for you, rangers, remember, win or don't go home," Necros stated before laughing evilly.
To Be Continued…
A/N: Who will emerge victorious: Lily or Rantipede? What are the rest of the tournament brackets? Stay tuned to find out. Let me know what you think by leaving a review. Thanks for reading!