Chapter 3
It was at that moment that the door of the restaurant seemed to come off its hinges and cave when something huge hit it hard. All the occupants started at the half broken door and one exchange of glances set all but Laura to work. Casey, Lily, Theo (who had joined them only a few minutes back) and Dominic opened what was left of the door while Fran attempted with the help of RJ to drag the still-in-shock Laura inside the kitchen. As soon as the two were in the Kitchen RJ too ran outside to see the problem and soon regretted it, because as soon as he set foot outside the restaurant he felt as if a truck had run straight into his gut and he was tossed against the Pizzeria wall so hard he fell down unconscious. The rest of the Rangers seeing this formed a blockade before him and rushed up on the monster.
"Rangers, why don't you surrender now before I blow up this entire building? Surrender already to Dai Shi or else I will destroy you." The huge boulder like monster shrieked.
"Blockhead you are going to pay for that. You hurt one of us you get the rest of us and I can promise you we will not go easy on you by no means, Jungle maze!" Lily replied.
Casey took the opportunity to run to RJ and see how he was. When he got there he found RJ unconscious on the floor which was scattered with the splinters of the broken door. He turned around to find Fran and Laura and was grateful to see their feet behind the kitchen door. Sparing a glance behind him to see the rest of the rangers tackling the talking boulder he grapped RJ and hauled him over his shoulders and walked towards the kitchen thinking "That's it RJ, you have got to cut down on the pizza, you weigh much more than you look". He went through the doors to find Fran and Laura holding the pizza remover and a spatula at his face. Once they saw who it was they quickly helped Casey put RJ down on the floor and after getting a promise that the two were to take him into the food closet and stay there till it was safe and one of the other come to get them. Laura started to argue that he too should come but Casey had already gone out the door and Fran was trying to get her to help with RJ because one she knew her colleagues' alter egos and knew that they would defeat the monster if they didn't also have to worry about them and two, RJ was really heavy for someone small like Fran to do it all by herself.
Once Casey left the two of them to take care of it, he ran out the door and got there in time to see the giant rock throw Lily to the wall. Yelling "Jungle Beast! Spirit Unleashed!" He transformed into the Red ranger and tackled the boulder from behind. The other two took this as a cue to morph into their outfits and helped Casey. After Lily got up and better she used her speed to deviate the attack that the monster had for Theo and got a good kick in herself. All of them got the monster in a corner and were about to blast it with the cannon when the monster decided it did not want to be evaporated and decided to escape to the monster's lair. The ranger's let out frustrated sighs and synchronised shouts of "NO!"
The four de-morphed and went inside the restaurant to assess the damage and were thankful that the only thing immediate thing was the blasted door and the broken glass of the vases that RJ had put that day as a special change of atmosphere with various coloured flowers. While Theo and Lily volunteered to clear up the mess Dominic and Casey went to get the girls and RJ. Dom went to go help RJ as he was surprisingly skilled at healing techniques of the Pai Zhua that were only taught to high ranking students who were extremely skilled, even some masters didn't know it till later when they had more discipline and learnt to be one with their spirit.
Casey went to get Laura and try to make sense of the situation. He found her standing aside still in shock as she watched Fran and Dom hoist RJ up the stairs. So much so that it took her a few moments to realize that Casey was lightly shaking her. She came back to earth, looked around, and then at Casey, repeated the procedure one more time before completely exploding and shrieking at the top of her voice. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?! CASEY! YOU ... YOU, WHAT THE HELL?!" Casey waited for her to stop, wincing from her volume thinking how the heck does someone of her size have such a loud voice? After getting Laura to sit down and drink a glass of water he started explaining.
"Laura, you see when I said I was moving to a new school, it wasn't an ordinary school, it was a Pai Zhua Academy, and before you interrupt let me finish then i'll do my best to answer all your questions, okay? This academy is sort of like a martial arts school where the students learn to fight, discipline and control themselves and a part of them that is called their Animal Spirits. Animal Spirits are inside all of us, they are a reflection of your personality in the form of the animal that most closely resembles it. For most, they go throughout their lives never aware of these spirits but a select few get in touch with them, for one reason or another. Everyone who works here but Fran also went to the academy. A few months ago something happened that caused the academy to be destroyed and the Master there told us to come here to find our new master. Are you following me to this point?" Casey asked questioning her with his eyes. Laura took a deep breath and nodded and signalled for Casey to go on. "When we arrived here monsters like the one you just saw started coming out and when they appeared so did the Power Rangers. As to why this monster chose to attack us, I can't tell you, at least not now, but he wanted something from us. What I can't be sure but what I do know is that he will be back and I don't want you to get caught up in this mess, so while before I meant for you to go home because you were annoying albeit in a sisterly way now I am begging to go because I can't risk you getting hurt. You said you wanted to see what became of me and now you've seen me and can see that I'm fine and everything is ok. So can you please go home?" Casey pleaded.
At this Laura shook her head and responded " Kiddo, I care about you and you are right I am protective of you, but that is because you need protection. I came here to check up on you and while I am glad to see you healthy and with a home and people who care about you, I am not going to go home after witnessing a demon from the depths of the underworld try to kill all of you. No, you've lost your mind if you think I am going to leave you like this. Since when I am more mature than you I have no idea, especially since I am only a few months older than you. But you are right, you are my brother, I care about you and love you and I am not going to abandon you in the middle of this mess, no either I stay till the mess is over or you come with me and we return home." Laura finished firmly.
Casey looked stunned but then said "Laura you don't understand, these people they are as much my family now as you and Uncle so I can't abandon them. They need me and ... I have my own life now, here with them. Thank you for caring for me so much but you need to go back it is the best thing to do. Please."
"No can do, I you insist on staying then I won't stop you but the same applies in that you don't get to stop me and I am going to stay here with you, no resistance. You may have gone to a fancy martial arts school but I went with you to sleepovers and camping and know all the ways to make you squirm and squeal. What do you say?" Laura ended with a devious grin. Casey for himself looked defeated but before he could come up with a good reason why he couldn't let that happen Fran answered for him.
"I think that sounds reasonable, Casey think about it, in her shoes would you leave you behind?" Casey slumped and shook his head. "Exactly, I agree that it is not good for you to stay Laura but I understand where you come from. And I know it is not my business but I think we can come to a compromise here." At this both Laura and Casey turned to Fran and waited for her to propose it. Fran on her part sporting an unusual sly smile said "Seeing as Laura is determined to stay and Casey being uncomfortable with her here, how about Laura does stay but with me back in my apartment. God knows I need help when the rest of you rush out in the middle of the day somewhere and I am left all by myself to run this place, I think we could use an extra set of hands. As for RJ I am pretty sure I can convince him. This way everyone wins, Laura gets to stay, Casey gets to know that she is away from this danger zone and I get help." Both of them were grinning by the end of the speech and broke out into smiles when Fran put on a pose of standing with her hands on her hips.
"Well well Fran, look how far we've come" Casey said with a wink that caused Fran to drop the pose and blush slightly instead. "I guess I have no choice then, Laura you ok with this?" he asked turning to here. "Sounds good to me Casey, but Fran just so you know I have never worked in a pizzeria or anything like it before so if something happens keep that in mind." Laura said with a chuckle and a wink. Fran got a huge smile on her face and clapped a couple of times in enthusiasm at the prospect of having a roommate and a new friend. Casey tilted his head slightly and asked "Just one last question, since when do you have ideas like this? Not telling that you are dumb or anything, but it is just so spontaneous for you."
At this Dom came up behind Fran and wrapped his hands around her waist, scaring her and making her jump. "Relax Fran it's only me and Casey that would be yours truly, I have been instructing Fran in the ways of the jungle and how to survive." Dom boasted. Casey shook his head and said "I should've guessed." He then became alert and inquired "Dom, how is RJ, is he alright?" Dom nodded and replied "RJ is fine, tired but fine. He is sleeping but he'll be back to himself in no time flat promise." Casey looked relieved and something else but it disappeared quickly, yet not quickly enough that Laura missed it.
The mood lightened after that and they all went to help Lily and Theo who were almost done anyways and after clearing the debris and updating them on Laura's decision and Fran's proposition which Lily thought was great and Theo took as surprised that Fran would do that, they all made themselves ready for the next wave of customers who were due to arrive at any moment now.