A/N: The next couple of chapters will overlap with the episode "Maryl and the Monkeys." Wherever the script overlaps with the script of the show, Disney owns the rights, I don't.

Dom came into the main room of the apartment, taking a seat on the couch and burying his face in a comic book, attempting to read. Fran and Theo were sparring, while Lily and RJ were busy in the kitchen making some breakfast.

He peeked over the top of his comic book every so often, seeing them all together. Sometimes it was hard to hang around the apartment with them. At present, he was the only one of the group who wasn't in a relationship. Lily and RJ were currently preparing some scrambled eggs, but it was clear that the food was the furthest thing from their minds as they took every opportunity and excuse to touch each other and flirt openly. Fran and Theo were not entirely concentrating on the task in hand as they were sparring.

He was happy for his friends that they had all found people that were so special to them, but sometimes the 'couple stuff' could be a little overbearing. Being the third wheel, or in Dom's case, the seventh, was a little wearing at times. He normally didn't mind being alone, it had been years since he'd had any significant relationships. When he was travelling, he didn't stick around long enough most times to get beyond friendly dating with anyone, but since moving into the restaurant, he was kind of surrounded by it. If it wasn't Lily and RJ making out in his chair, it was Theo and Fran hugging in the restaurant. Even though she was currently in Dai Shi's clutches, even Camille and Casey had their moments.

Dom gave up on trying to read the comic and made his way down into the restaurant to help Casey with the stock taking. He genuinely felt good for his friends that they were happy, but seeing them all the time just kind of hammered home the fact that he didn't have anyone he could be that close to. Sometimes he felt more than a little lonely when he was surrounded by them. He knew it was just jealousy, but it was still not a good feeling to be on his own around them, it always made him self-conscious.

He arrived in the kitchen, finding Casey counting through the meat section of the walk-in fridge. Ever since Camille had been abducted by Dai Shi, he'd been burying himself in work to keep his mind off it. Seeing him, Dom immediately forgot his own petty jealousy and felt sympathy for his plight. He cared for Camille deeply and he blamed himself for her being taken. Dom realised that this was the down-side of being in a relationship. In some ways, seeing what Casey was going through, he realised he was the lucky one.

"Need a hand?" He asked. Casey looked up from his clip board, seeing the Rhino Ranger coming into the kitchen.

"Sure, could you count the tomatoes?" Casey asked him. It wasn't the greatest of jobs, but if the alternative was going back upstairs into the love-nest that was forming, then he'd gladly take the tomatoes.

Meanwhile in Dai Shi's fortress, Camille was sitting in her cell as Snapper arrived, throwing open the door.

"Dai Shi has called for you." He informed her, gesturing to the hall. Camille got up and made her way to the throne room without protest. She had no intention of giving him any excuse to harm her. She arrived in the room, finding Dai Shi sitting on his throne, casting his gaze over the remaining Phantom Beasts.

"I think we may need to bolster our numbers." He stated. "Camille!"

She took a couple of steps forward and knelt before him, bowing her head. She knew she was about to be forced to do his bidding again. She looked to the ground, hoping she wouldn't have to face the Rangers again.

"It has been rumoured a scientist in Ocean Bluff named Maryl Sneider is developing a cloning serum." He told her. "I want you to get it for me. Power up!"

Camille felt the power of the phoenix spirit rising in her again, taking over her body and trapping her within her armoured form once more. Rising, to her feet, she teleported from the fortress, simply hoping that whatever Dai Shi had planned would somehow fail without anyone getting harmed.

Maryl was just leaving the lab as she heard her phone ringing. She groaned as she realised it was her friend.

"Sylvia, I told you I'm on my way." She groaned, fumbling with her keys. It wasn't easy juggling the large, secure case handcuffed to her left wrist, her cell phone and her keys, but she was just about managing.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like me to send a couple of guys to escort you?" She asked. "I mean, it wasn't that long ago that Dai Shi guy tried to steal the crystal eyes I was researching. I only got them back from safe storage last week. This town isn't what it used to be."

"No way, I'm not letting this thing out of my sight until I get them there personally." She responded, arriving at her car.

"You can trust campus security." Dr. Jennings told her.

"Sylvia, you know I never trust anyone." She reiterated. "I never have."

Hanging up, she began sorting through her keys until she found the one for the door.

"I wouldn't bother with that." Camille stated, announcing her arrival. Maryl noticed that she appeared to be holding a distributor cap. "I don't think your car will work without this."

"What do you want?" Maryl asked her, panicking as she found herself surrounded by rinshi.

"Give me the formula." Camille instructed her.

"I can't, it's chained to my wrist." She replied, showing her the handcuff. "I don't have the key."

"Well there are ways around that." Camille said menacingly as she called forth a dagger. The rinshi held her still, one of them holding her arm out as Camille approached. She levelled the dagger at her wrist as Maryl struggled to break free. "This is going to hurt."

Maryl closed her eyes as she saw Camille raising her hand. Inside her mind, Camille struggled for control, hoping to stop herself from striking. Her hand was about to come down as it was seized, and she found herself being launched through the air. She breathed a sigh of relief as she picked herself up off the ground, seeing the Rhino Ranger battling the rinshi. The other Rangers arrived not long afterwards, joining the battle. Maryl took refuge behind her car. Camille was glad he'd stopped her before it was too late.

"Camille, stop this!" Casey called out; trying to reach the woman he loved. "Let us help you!"

She wanted nothing more than to stop, but Dai Shi's control was too strong. She sent Casey flying with a powerful kick, before she turned her attention back to Maryl. She powered up her rinzin power, preparing a blast.

Dominic saw the peril Maryl was in and sprinted across, throwing himself at her and knocking her aside. The blast connected with the chain securing the case to her wrist, snapping it. Maryl looked up in time to see Camille picking up the case.

"Thanks." She sneered, before teleporting back to the fortress.

"She took it." Maryl shrieked, seeing her leave.

"At least this way you got to keep your hand." Dominic stated, helping her to her feet. "Are you alright?"

"Just some bumps and bruises." She replied.

"Good, because I thought you might be..." His voice trailed off as he finally got a look at her. She was incredibly attractive. She had long, dark hair that came down over the shoulders of the business suit she was wearing. He caught a glimpse of her dark brown eyes, and felt his face beginning to get a little warm. He was glad that he was wearing the helmet, he was sure he'd be bright red. "Beautiful...uh...hurt."

"I'll be fine." She told him. "Please, I've got to go."

Dominic watched as she ran off, feeling his thoughts straying from the situation at hand. RJ came to his side, clapping a hand on his friend's shoulder, bringing his attention back to the present.

"Earth to Dom!" He teased him, waving a hand back and forth in front of his visor, before knocking on his helmet. "You in there?"

"Yeah." He said a little unconvincingly. RJ had to try hard not to laugh as he saw this. Dom had never exactly been the smoothest of guys when he was attracted to a girl. Clearly Maryl had made an impression on him.

"She's cute." RJ commented as the others arrived.

"Well...uh...I...I never really noticed." He stammered out unconvincingly.

"We all believe you." Lily said sarcastically. "Of course millions wouldn't."

"Guys, I think we should all leave him alone." Casey chipped in. "Dom's a professional, and he kept his mind on the job."

"Thank you." He breathed in an exasperated gasp.

"I'm sure he didn't even notice her beautiful blue eyes." He continued.

"Actually they were brown." He responded. He suddenly realised he'd been led into that one. The others enjoyed a laugh at Dom's expense.

"You guys suck!" He grumbled as he left. "I don't even know who she is."

The others followed, but RJ held Lily back a second. He knew Dom didn't have the best of luck with women, and he also knew he was a little hesitant to get into anything since he had a habit of moving on when things were getting serious, but he just had a feeling that a little romance might be a good thing for him.

"You know, we really should find out why Camille wanted that briefcase." RJ suggested, gesturing to her car as he de-morphed and started taking down her number plate.

"I think you have a point there." Lily conceded putting an arm around him as she also de-morphed. "One of us should find out who she is and ask her what was in that case."

"I have a feeling we're going to be busy in the restaurant." RJ continued. "And it has been a while since Dom's had a day off."

"I guess the Rhino's going to be doing a little recon." Lily stated as they headed back towards the restaurant.

Back at JKP, they all assembled around the monitors as Dom was being made to watch the security footage.

"So why are we watching this again?" Dom asked as they paused on an image of Maryl.

"We've found out who she is." RJ stated, handing a dossier to Dominic. "I ran her licence plates through the DMV database."

"Some people would call that illegal hacking." Dom reminded him. "And a lot of courts would think it's stalking."

"Her name's Maryl Sneider." He told him.

"Dr. Maryl Sneider." Lily injected. "She's a genetic engineer."

"Really?" Dom asked.

"She's the top in her field apparently." RJ told him. "So we just need to know what Dai Shi wanted from her."

"We need someone to find out what was in that case." Lily pressed on. "What's Dai Shi so interested in?"

"Of course we're all going to be busy today, aren't we guys?" RJ asked. Casey and Theo took the hint from Lily's frantic nodding behind Dom's back.

"Yeah." They chorused together.

"It looks like it's down to you." RJ stated, clamping a hand down on Dom's shoulder.

"So you need me to find her?" Dom responded, looking through the dossier.

"We already know where she stays and where she works." RJ told him, pointing out the relevant parts of the file. "It shouldn't be too hard to find her."

"And I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to get her to talk." Lily suggested, raising an eyebrow.

"OK, that was as subtle as getting my Rhino Steel Zord to tap dance on my head." He grumbled. "Guys, I told you..."

"Hey, we really are all busy today." Casey interrupted him. "Besides, I think we all know you thought she was attractive."

Dom smiled as he remembered her from earlier in the day.

"She was kind of attractive." He conceded. "OK, I liked her."

"Well, this sounds like a mission for you then." RJ remarked with a cheeky grin. "And if you get a chance, maybe you can even ask her out."

Dom looked down and fidgeted in the chair uncomfortably.

"What would she want with me?" He sighed. "I mean, she's beautiful, and she's a genius and I'm...well...not."

"You're a pretty good-looking guy." Lily complimented him, gesturing to the guys to leave them. She knew it was now time to bolster his confidence or he'd let her slide through his fingers. "I have to admit, from a woman's perspective you are kind of cute."

"But..."

"You're also funny, thoughtful and kind." She continued. "Fixing my dress like that was really sweet."

Dom looked up at her as she said this. He hadn't told her he'd done that. He'd fixed it himself and paid for it to be professionally cleaned, returning it when she was asleep to make sure she didn't know. He'd returned her safely to RJ like he had promised, but he still felt so badly about the fact the dress got damaged and how upset she was about it that he felt duty-bound under his promise to RJ to return it to her.

"I know it was you." She said with a bright smile, grabbing the sleeve of his shirt and pointing to a set of tiny, intricate stitches. "RJ told me it wasn't him, Casey doesn't seem like the domestic type and I used to have to do Theo's repairs. I've seen your clothes, I guessed you can sew."

"Travelling on a shoe-string budget you can't really replace your clothes that often." He replied. "I didn't want to make a big thing out of it."

"Well it was a big thing for me." Lily told him, kissing his cheek and hugging him warmly. "Maryl would be lucky to get a guy like you. Don't sell yourself short."

"You really think so?" He asked her. Lily smiled at him.

"You'll do fine." She reassured him. "Now, you know where to find her, why don't you go and find out what was in that case?"

"I will." He told her, getting up and heading out the door.

"Dom!" Lily called after him, causing him to turn back as he reached the door. "Ask her to lunch. She might say yes."

Dom smiled and nodded, determined to find out what Dai Shi had planned. That and impressing a certain genetic engineer.

Camille handed the vial to Dai Shi in the throne room as Scorch and Snapper watched on.

"You see, I told you Camille could be relied upon." He commented. "Power down."

Camille's phoenix spirit released her back into her human form, leaving her powerless among the Phantom Beasts again.

"This cloning formula will give us a tremendous advantage over the Rangers." He stated, looking at it thoughtfully. "Of course it only works on primates, so that severely limits our options. "Grinder!"

The Phantom beast carrying the monkey spirit stepped forward nervously awaiting his instructions.

"How would you like to become an army?" He asked him.

"Well actually..."

"That was a rhetorical question." He interrupted his henchman. "When the time is right, I will send you into the city to destroy the Rangers."

Grinder took the vial and left the room. Dai Shi turned to Camille.

"You've done well my lovely." He complimented her, stroking her hair gently. She pulled away from his touch, flinching from him as the other generals watched on. He turned to Snapper.

"Take her back to her cell." He commanded. "She has served her purpose for now."

Snapper took Camille by the arm and dragged her from the room. He turned his attention to Scorch and sneered at him in contempt.

"Are you still here?" He asked. Scorch bowed and left the room, growling under his breath at the dismissal, leaving Dai Shi alone.

It was then that the strain came back to him again. He felt the memories coming to him with more potency and power.

Jarrod was about 16 at this time, and had once again ended up being forced to run punishment drills. Mao had stood over him and made him do over 1000 push ups. Now his chest and shoulders burned like hell and his arms felt like they were about to fall off. He made his way quietly into the teacher's dormitory, sneaking through the hallways until he found what he was looking for, Master Mao's bedroom.

He began rifling through his drawers and cupboard, throwing his clothes around the room in a rage. He searched for everything he could find that might mean something to Mao in order to punish him for his treatment. As he turned out a drawer, an old wooden cigar box fell on the floor and fell open. Jarrod bent down to retrieve the contents. As much as he felt aggrieved at being forced to do so many exercises, he respected Mao and didn't want to go through his private papers. Just as he was about to shut the box, something caught his attention, something he recognised from his own parent's records. It was a marriage certificate.

"Master Mao was never married." He said to himself, looking through the form. He saw that indeed, the groom's signature was Mao's. He knew what he was doing was wrong, but he sat on the floor and continued to look through the papers. He was surprised to find a pair of birth certificates. He opened them both and read them, almost collapsing in shock. Throwing one aside, he stared at the other, completely dumbfounded.

"19th of October 1987?" He questioned. "That's my birthday."

"Yes it is Jarrod." He heard Master Mao's voice from the door. He turned on him, tears already beginning to fall. He had also read the name given to the child.

"You..."

"I wish you hadn't found out this way, but yes Jarrod, I am your father." He interrupted him. "Your mother died a few weeks after you were born."

"You lied to me!" He screamed, snapping to his feet. "You lied to me!"

Before Mao could say another word, he sprinted from the room in tears, heading for the woods. He was so hurt he never even stopped as he slammed into Master Finn, sending him to the floor. He made his way out into the woods, where he found a spot under a tree and slumped to the ground, leaning back against it and let his tears overcome him.

His entire life had been a lie. While his parent's neglect and disinterest in him had hurt, it now made sense. He wasn't their son. He now knew why it seemed like they didn't want him, they didn't. He was given to them to look after, a chore.

"Jarrod?" A female voice said, rousing him from his sorrow. Looking up, he saw Lily standing before him. "Is everything alright?"

He looked at her, unable to answer. He had worshipped her from afar almost as long as he'd known her. The punishment drills he'd been subjected to that day were in connection to picking some of Master Mao's beloved orchids to give to her; however he had seen her leaving the temple with Theo.

Without another word, he put his arms around her and pulled her in closely; hugging her with the desperation of despair as he mourned the life he had believed to be true.

He came back to his senses, finding himself back in the throne room and held his head in his hands.

"What is wrong with me?" He asked himself. "Am I really losing control?"