Chapter 6: Path of the Rhino
Today was yet another strange day.
A guy walked in with a backpack and walked straight into the kitchen, claiming he was a health inspector. The guy was a jerk. He kept getting up in our faces and practically doing very... Jerkish things, like squashing tomatoes so that the juice could squirt in someone's face. Namely, me.
Then RJ walked in.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" He said, "We had an inspection just last wee-"
Then he spotted the guy and grinned, "Dominic? Dom! I should've known it was you!"
The two laughed and hugged, much to our confusion.
"This is my old friend from Pai Zhug," RJ explained, then turning back to Dom, "Dom, this is Casey, Lily, Stryder, Fran, and Theo."
"Hey..." He said kind of awkwardly, "Gotcha."
I noticed the others giving him dirty looks and for good reason.
'This guy must love pranking,' I thought.
"Come on upstairs!" RJ invited, "Where've you been? Last I heard, you were wandering the world like a nomad."
"Well..." Dom said.
"Oh, and you've gotta hear about Dai Shi."
"Dai Shi?"
We all stared, more confused than ever.
So I said what was on everyone's minds: "What the crap just happened?"
XXX
"So," RJ asked when we got to the Loft, "How long can you stay?"
"Only a day or two," Dom answered, "Too much time in one place and I get antsy."
"Well then, we can catch up more later. Right now, we've got work to do."
We began to walk back when Dominic said, "I could help out if you want. Yeah, I'd love to make pizzas!"
I gave my partners a knowing look and said, "Sure. I can find you a job."
After giving him the job of scraping gum under tables, I began to walk away and I saw Dom talking to Fran. He appeared to be talking about a book he was currently reading. I raised an eyebrow when I saw how flustered Fran looked when talking to him and I smiled and shook my head.
XXX
Later on, me and Casey got a call on our morphers and left to help the others fight this crocodile-like monster. We morphed and began fighting.
But despite having it outnumbered, it sliced us down and was about to finish us off. But before it could, Dominic showed up. He actually lasted a bit longer than we expected, but his antics almost got an innocent civilian killed.
XXX
After getting back to the Loft, Dom said he wanted to join the team since he feels like he's found his purpose.
"I feel like I've wandered in the dark for six years," Dom said, "And today the sunlight finally hit my face."
"I don't think that's a good idea," Casey said.
"Yeah," Theo agreed, "Everything's a big joke to you. Someone could get hurt."
I personally didn't agree with them. Even though he was a joker, more unlikely people have become heroes before. Dr. O once told me that these two guys at his high school, dumb bullies named Bulk and Skull, actually helped the Rangers out on occasion. Although they were about as dumb as a sack of rocks, they actually led the charge against the alien invasion when the Space Rangers were in action.
But the others shook their heads and walked away. Me and RJ walked up to him.
"Sorry," RJ said, "But you can't join the team-"
"I know," Dom frowned, "Unless they want me."
I gave him a little nod.
"... So I'll make them want me."
XXX
All of his plans ended in failure. In the end, Dom left without a word, not even a goodbye.
"Dominic left?" Fran asked when she found out, sounding very disappointed.
"It was for the best, right?" Casey said, not sounding very sorry, "We gave it a try and it didn't work out."
"Did you?" Fran asked, causing everyone to stare at her, "Did you really... Try? So he jokes around. I kind of liked it..."
I raised an eyebrow and smiled.
"I did too," Lily said.
"Did you ever give him a chance for him to show you what he was really made of?" Fran continued, "Even once?"
Before anyone could answer the phone rang and Fran picked it up. Someone ordered pizza, so she, Casey, and I left.
XXX
We arrived at a busy construction site and spotted a familiar figure sitting on a bench.
"Look," Fran exclaimed, "There's Dominic!"
She got out of the jeep and walked over to him. Casey was about to follow, but I stopped him.
"Just let them talk," I said, "Something tells me she wants to be alone with him anyway."
We watched as the two talked. I couldn't make out what was said, but I could tell that Fran was telling him words of reassurance. When she walked away, Dom looked back at her and then looked up in alarm. He began to run towards her.
I looked up and saw that a giant sign was being lifted up by a crane and one of the links snapped. The second link snapped just seconds later and the sign fell towards Fran. Before she could be crushed, Dom's hand glowed orange and he grabbed Fran and sliced a hole in the sign so that the sign fell harmlessly around them.
"You okay?" Dom asked her.
"Y-Yeah!" She stuttered, "Thanks to you."
He turned to us and said, "Hey Casey. Hey Stryder."
"Hey," I replied, "How did you do that?"
"It was just my rhino spirit," he answered plainly.
"Dominic," Casey said, "Wow... I made a mistake. I'm sorry. For, you know, thinking you were just a goof-off. I mean... You are a goof-off, but you're also a lot more. You've got the rhino spirit and the Ranger spirit. And I think you should join us."
I clapped Casey on the shoulder and said, "I knew that all along, so, I agree."
Dominic smiled and our morphers beeped. The croc monster we fought before was back. So we dropped Fran off at the restaurant and went to fight.
XXX
We arrived and me and Casey went into Jungle Master Mode.
"Dominic?" RJ said, "I thought you left."
"I almost left," Dom replied.
"Well right now," Theo said, "You'd better step aside."
"Hey!" Casey said, "Give him a chance. You're in for a surprise. Right Dominic?"
Dominic nodded and RJ walked up, "Dom. This will Ranger up your rhino spirit."
He gave Dom a small bracelet.
"Thanks," Dom said and got in position.
The small bracelet then turned into a large morpher/weapon. He turned the monster.
"Jungle Beast! Spirit Unleashed!"
He then morphed in a white Ranger.
"With the Power of a Rhino! Jungle Fury Rhino Ranger!"
And he fought the croc and beat the crap out of it. The morpher/weapon slashed it and the horn on the helmet actually hurt quite a bit. And with one final super slash, the monster was destroyed.
XXX
And the Rhino Ranger is here! Next up, the saga for getting his Zord. Till next time guys!
