Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Survival of the Fittest

Lily versus Rantipede

Only Lily and Rantipede remained in the center of the coliseum. The four other fingers of poison took seats on the west side of the coliseum while Casey and Theo took seats on the east side of the coliseum.

"Before we get started, let me remind you of some rules. First of all, both of you will morph. The battle is decided when one of you damages the other enough to cause him or her to de-morph. Secondly, to ensure that there is no outside interference, I will be casting a spell on the participants not competing that will only allow them to move two things—their lips and their eyes," Necros announced.

Lily reached into the pouch attached to her waist. She pulled out her yellow pair of sunglasses and put them on her face. Lily activated her morpher.

"Jungle Beast, Spirit Unleashed!" Lily shouted as she morphed into the yellow power ranger. "With the speed of a cheetah—Jungle Fury yellow ranger!"

"By the power of Dai Shi, inner beast arise!" Rantipede called out as he morphed into his more powerful form. "100 legs to strike you—Rantipede!"

A white explosion went off behind Rantipede at the same time that a yellow explosion went off behind Lily.

"So, is there like a gong or something that needs to be rung to start the match?" Lily asked.

"No," Necros answered simply.

"Then how do we know when the match is supposed to start?" Lily replied.

"It already has!" Rantipede exclaimed, as he charged forward, catching the yellow ranger off guard with a flurry of punches to her chest.

Lily tumbled to the ground. She kipped up, and ran straight towards Rantipede.

"So that's how you want to play, huh? Fine then! Let's play! Cheetah Jabs!" the yellow ranger exclaimed.

Rantipede wasn't about to be caught unawares though. He responded with a flurry of his own punches. The two matched each other punch for punch. That is until Lily crouched down, and attempted a jab to Rantipede's solar plexus. The finger of poison was prepared for this, and back flipped, kicking the yellow ranger square underneath her jaw, causing her to stumble backwards a few paces.

"You're going to have to do a whole lot better than that, yellow ranger! Remember, out of all the fingers of poison, it is I who know you best. I know what move you're going to make before you even make it," Rantipede boasted.

"Oh really? Well, did you see this coming? Jungle Mace!" Lily responded.

Master Phant's trusty weapon materialized in the yellow ranger's hands. She winded it up, and then launched it at Rantipede. It sailed through the air with such velocity that Rantipede was barely able to get his forearms up to block the attack. However, it still managed to send Rantipede rolling on the ground.

It was Rantipede's turn to rise to his feet. He retaliated with a rapid succession of punches. Lily threw her Jungle Mace to the side, and responded with more Cheetah Jabs. Rantipede broke the flurry of offense with an attempted leg sweep. Lily hopped over Rantipede's leg, delivering a strong kick to the back of Rantipede's head.

What happened next was unexpected. The bag that Rantipede was wearing fell off revealing his face that was literally crawling with black centipedes.

"Ew! I think I'm going to be sick!" Lily remarked.

The individual centipedes combined with one another forming one giant centipede head. Rantipede elongated his centipede head, wrapping it tightly around Lily's torso. The finger of poison squeezed as tight as he possibly could.

Lily struggled just to catch her breath. To her, Rantipede somehow seemed stronger this time around. Maybe she had underestimated the finger of poison. As she desperately tried to free herself, Lily thought about what was at stake. If she won, she could possibly gain freedom from this alternate dimension. If she lost, well…she didn't want to even think about that.

"Hang in there, Lil!" Casey screamed.

"You can break this!" Theo yelled.

Then, an idea came to her. Rantipede was wrapped around her torso, but her arms were free. That was how she would escape.

"Jungle Bo!" Lily called out beckoning forth the weapon she was a specialist in.

With as much might as she could muster, she relentlessly pounded on the large centipede head that was squeezing the air out of her. She gradually felt the hold loosen up, until Rantipede completely retracted his head.

The finger of poison was stunned. He tried to shake the cobwebs out of his head. Everything around Rantipede seemed to be spinning around at an alarmingly fast pace.

Lily saw how dizzy Rantipede was and took advantage of the situation. She charged her Jungle Bo, and dashed towards her adversary. A streak of lightning shot out Lily's weapon as she struck Rantipede in his midsection. He face planted, and there was an explosion. When the dust settled, Rantipede was back in his Rinshi form.

"Great job, Lily!" Casey shouted.

"I knew you could do it!" Theo hollered.

It wasn't easy, but Lily had pulled it off. She knew for certain that she would be in the semifinals. The giant monitor lowered again, and the remaining six combatants were being toggled through. The left image stopped on a picture of Stingerella.

"Well, well. Which ranger will have the privilege of losing to me? Blue? Or perhaps red?" Stingerella wondered out loud.

The right image stopped on a picture of someone who was not a ranger—someone who Stingerella had least expected—the right image stopped on a picture of Toady.

"My beloved?" Toady asked in utter disbelief.

To Be Continued…

A/N: So, now we know that the winner of the Toady versus Stingerella match will face Lily in the semifinals. There are still four combatants—Casey, Theo, Gakko, and Naja—who have yet to find out who they will face in their quarterfinal matches. Any guesses? Thanks to everyone who has supported me so far.