Casey wanted desperately to die. He had long since given up hope of escape. The only things that filled his mind were thoughts of pain and of his friends. He wanted to help his friends, let them know what was going on but he wanted most to die.

If one would look at our hero, our Red Tiger Ranger, they would sympathize with him in an instant. Lately, the Overlord had been getting more and more punishing. Let's start at the top of our hero. Casey's hair was always plastered to his head now; he was always sweating because the Overlord liked to keep the temperature in Casey's cell right at a very pleasant one hundred degrees Fahrenheit. Casey's face was marred by a long gash that went from his left temple down to his chin. Blood would occasionally leak from this gash, but it wasn't his worst injury by far. With his shirt gone, Casey's wounded torso was easily seen. Raw strips of flesh hung from his chest but his back was crisscrossed with gashes, some beginning to scar over and some still bleeding freely. His legs were equally as bad. At first look, it was a wonder that he was alive at all.

He tried to sleep but the pain wouldn't let him. He was forced to stay awake and focus on the screen in front of him, the screen that showed him RJ, his mentor, approaching the warehouses where Theo and Dominic had been captured. Casey wished he could warn his Master to stay away but all he could do was watch what was unfolding…

RJ was being cautious. He walked slowly, carefully. He had his phone pressed to his ear and was trying to get in touch with Hayley.

"Cyberspace Café." a voice finally answered.

"Yes, yes! May I please speak with Hayley?" RJ asked excitedly.

"I'm sorry, she's out right now. May I ask who is calling?" the male voice on the other end asked.

"Who am I speaking to?" RJ asked suddenly. Perhaps it's one of the Rangers… He had taken it upon himself over the years to gather a database on the different Ranger teams. So far, all he knew were the names of each Ranger in each team. He knew a little more about some teams and a lot less about others. For instance, he knew of the Mystic Force team but he didn't know which Ranger was which. Was Nick the Red Ranger or the Green? He didn't know.

"This is Trent." the man replied, clearly confused.

RJ nearly grinned. He knew the name Trent. Trent had been the White Drago Ranger. RJ had hoped that his information was correct and that the Ranger worked at Hayley's Café…and his gamble had paid off. Now he just had to convince this guy that he knew what he was talking about.

"Trent Fernandez. You are the White Drago Ranger, are you not?" RJ asked and then plowed on, not waiting for an answer. "Listen, my name is RJ. I own Jungle Karma Pizza and know Hayley. I'm also a Power Ranger. I'm the Jungle Fury Wolf Ranger and my team is being wiped out. We need more help and I thought Hayley might could convince her Ranger friends to help me."

"Well, look…how about I have her get back to you? I don't even know where most of the Rangers are…and we're kind of busy right now…" Trent kept talking but RJ wasn't listening anymore; he had a feeling he wasn't alone.

"Don't hang up, Trent. I need to check something out. Please, just hang on." RJ held the phone in his hand and looked around. There was someone else here. He could feel it.

And then he could feel nothing but pain as something struck him on the back of the head. He called on the strength of the wolf to keep him on his feet as he stumbled around in a circle to face his attacker.

"Where are my students?" RJ called. His gaze was wobbly and blackness was creeping at the edge of his vision.

"Three of your students are in my grasp already. Soon I will have their Master and then I will take the Cheetah." the monster that had taken Dominic and Theo stood looking at RJ, a broadsword in his hand.

"Three? No, we got Casey back. He escaped you, pal." RJ chuckled. He began to reach for his wolf morpher, trying to reach it before the monster got him.

The monster lunged forward and slammed the flat side of his sword against RJ's head. RJ collapsed to the ground but before he lost consciousness, he heard the monster say, "That's not your Casey…he's Dai Shi's."

RJ uttered a final, "Please," snapped his phone shut and faded out into darkness.

Trent Fernandez stood at the counter at Hayley's Cyberspace Café, staring at the phone in his hand. Something inside him told him that the guy on the phone had been telling the truth. Dropping the phone back on its charging stand, Trent ran from the Café.

He got to Dr. Oliver's lab ten minutes later and found Kira, Connor and Dr. Oliver there. When he ran in, everyone looked up at him in surprise.

"What's going on, Trent?" Kira asked, putting down her guitar.

"I think it's time to break out the Gems again." Trent said and quickly recounted all he had heard.

Dr. Oliver looked at Trent with surprise evident in his face. "Now? It's been over four years. A lot has changed. Are you guys even ready to fight still?" He threw a significant look at Kira but Connor, apparently oblivious, interrupted.

"Dr. O, have you ever even heard of these Jungle Fury Rangers?"

Tommy nodded. "They're the newest team of Rangers. I've been gathering information on them for the database. Their Red Ranger, Casey, is said to be the strongest ever. Each of them has an Animal Spirit which gives them power. Casey's is a Tiger, Lily, the Yellow Ranger, has the spirit of a Cheetah. Theo, the blue Ranger, has the spirit of a Jaguar. RJ, the Wolf Ranger, has the spirit of a Wolf and Dominic, the Rhino Ranger, has the spirit of a Rhino."

Trent spoke up. "I think they really need us, Dr. O. That monster said something about their red Ranger, Casey, not being one of them but being a Dai Shi's. I don't know what that means, but it sounded as if they had an evil Red Ranger copy in their base. And it sounded as if there was just one Ranger left to defend himself against this evil."

Tommy held up a hand. "Well, why would they have called us?"

"The guy said he knew Hayley. Dr. O, we gotta help them." Trent yelled.

"We can't all go. This would be the perfect ruse if someone were aiming to attack Reefside. Someone's gotta stay here." Tommy countered.

"Fine. I'll go alone." Trent declared.

"No, not alone. If this is a real threat, you won't be able to do it by yourself. Trent, you and Connor go. I'll see if I can get in touch with Ethan." Tommy decided.

"What? Dr. O, I'm going with them. If this is bad, they'll need all the help they can get." Kira waved her hand angrily.

Tommy looked at Trent and Trent looked at Kira, who stared back defiantly. Connor looked completely lost. Trent shook his head. "Nuh-uh, babe. You stay here; I don't want you to get hurt."

Wrong thing to say. Kira stood and pushed her finger into Trent's face. "Hurt? Get hurt? Pal, I can still kick your butt. I'm going. End of story."

Trent sighed. "Fine. But if you don't feel good, you sit out. Understand?"

Kira nodded and headed for the door. She paused only to grab her Dino morpher from the chest near the door. Connor and Trent were right on her heels.

I hope this isn't a trick…Dr. O thought as he watched three of his one-time students run out of the lab.