Casey had left the room, and indeed the restaurant some time ago, leaving the other Rangers and the masters in the apartment. The masters all looked around each other nervously as they Rangers just sat there silently. Fran came into the room carrying a tray of champagne glasses.
"Congratulations guys!" She yelled out excitedly. "I know I should have waited but..." her voice trailed off as she saw the subdued atmosphere in the room. She was a little confused; she knew the trial was a big deal. Theo had talked to her many times about how much it would mean to him to attain the rank of master.
The others all just looked at Fran a little sadly. In all the chaos, they had forgotten about Fran. She had obviously been planning to surprise them. RJ just breathed a sigh of relief that Casey was not in the apartment at the time. Fran didn't mean anything by it, but he was sure that he'd take it as a slap in the face. He could be quite sensitive when he was upset.
"What happened?" She asked weakly. She felt badly looking around the room. She was expecting them to be celebrating. "Where's Casey?"
"We all passed." Lily breathed gently. "Casey didn't."
Fran set down the tray and joined them on the couch, sitting next to Theo, accepting a hug. She could understand now the mood in the room. She understood how much it would have meant for them to earn their stripes, so she could sympathise with the disappointment Casey must be feeling at failing the trial.
"We all feel bad about what happened to Casey." Swoop finally managed to say, shifting uncomfortably on the couch to make himself a little more comfortable. Casey's final attack had taken a lot out of him, and he was sure his ribs were bruised. "But Fran was right; this is a time of celebration. It's an important time for all of you."
"We're all happy we passed." Dominic told him. "We just don't really feel much like celebrating."
"I never thought I'd feel this badly if I passed." Lily sighed. "Isn't there anything we can do?"
"He passed all the trials." Theo reminded them. "He got to the temple. He beat Swoop..."
"But he didn't get to the crystal in time." Finn replied. "He didn't complete the trial. We can't pass him."
"But he missed out by seconds." Dom protested. "Surely allowances can be made."
"You're talking about throwing thousands of years of tradition out of the window!" Phant yelled. "We all feel badly about what happened to Casey, but if we just ignore the fact that he didn't pass the trial, it demeans the efforts of every master there's ever been!"
"I'm going for some air." Dominic grumbled, getting up and heading downstairs.
"Dominic, we still have to perform the ceremony." Swoop reminded him.
"We'll be back in time." Theo replied, going with him. Fran and Lily followed on. RJ held up a hand as Swoop was about to get up.
"They have to have a little time to themselves." He told them getting up. "What happened today wasn't just a blow to Casey. It was a blow to all of them. He's their friend."
"RJ, we all sympathise with what happened to Casey." Finn stated. "But we've all been through the trial. We test our masters so stringently for a reason."
"I know we do dad." RJ sighed. "That doesn't mean we have to like it."
"Casey will make a fine master. We can all see that." Phant told him. "But it isn't his time yet. There will be other days."
RJ nodded and left the room. He knew the masters weren't going to be swayed in their decision. He made his way downstairs to find them gathered in the restaurant. Breathing a sigh, he headed inside. He knew they needed to talk.
Back at the Fortress, Snapper and Scorch had finally deemed it time to put their plan into action.
"Are you certain this will work?" Snapper asked him.
"Dai Shi is losing control of the human he possessed. We both know that." Scorch stated. "Until we can gather enough power to destroy him ourselves, we need to buy time. The human seems strongest around the woman."
"How will destroying her give us that power?" He asked. "Even if we take her rinzin, it would not be enough."
"We each gave him a portion of our rinzin power to make him the Phantom Beast King." He reminded his fellow General. "Then we split our power further to make Camille a General. And yet Dai Shi has since absorbed the rinzin from our brother Whiger."
"I know all of that." Snapper continued. "So his power exceeds ours."
"Exactly." Scorch replied. "So we sic the remaining Phantom Beast Warriors on Camille."
"He would destroy us if we harm Camille." Snapper stated. "And Camille's power exceeds theirs. Like it or not she is a general."
"You are not thinking far enough ahead." Scorch replied. "Firstly, Camille cannot access her chameleon spirit because of the phoenix, and even if she could it wouldn't be powerful enough."
"But the phoenix spirit..."
"The phoenix spirit is completely under Dai Shi's command." Scorch interrupted him. "Camille has no control over it; she cannot call it forth without his orders."
"So she will be destroyed." He stated.
"Then our rinzin will be returned to us because of her destruction." Scorch replied. "And because it was not US who destroyed her..."
"Dai Shi will not blame us." Snapper concluded. "Unless one of them talks."
"We just make sure they don't." Scorch responded coldly. "After all it is no offence to destroy a traitor."
"We destroy them ourselves." Snapper chuckled. "I'm glad you are loyal to me Scorch."
"We will claim their rinzin for our own." Scorch finished. "Then when the time is right, we will use our power to reclaim that which we gave him, and avenge our fallen brother Whiger."
They entered a room finding the remaining three Phantom Beasts training as they awaited orders. Seeing the Generals enter the room, they all lined up and bowed, awaiting their orders.
"Sonimax, Osiris Lepus, it is time for you to prove yourselves." Scorch told them. "Dai Shi has special orders for you. He has found a traitor in his midst."
"A traitor?" Sonimax asked as the three began eyeing each other suspiciously. Scorch looked to Snapper in a wordless gesture of triumph.
"It is no-one in his room." He replied. "Camille has gained control over her phoenix spirit, but rather than simply escaping, she is undermining Dai Shi's plans, that is how the Rangers knew how to destroy Grinder."
"You know what to do." Snapper continued. "Destroy her!"
With that, the three Phantom Beasts left the room, preparing to carry out the orders they had received seemingly from Dai Shi himself. Snapper smiled.
"Maybe we should stick close by." Snapper suggested. "After all, we should be there in case..."
Scorch silenced him with a gesture as Dai Shi strode into the room. He appeared to be quite dishevelled, and he appeared to be heading in the direction of the cells.
"This is bad." Snapper whispered. "If he gets there..."
With that, Scorch struck a section of the wall, causing a secret door to open.
"This will get us to the cells before all of them." He replied. "I have a plan."
At this, Snapper followed Scorch into the tunnel. Things were looking more than a little bleak right now, but Scorch had gotten him this far. He trusted the Dragon Master to steer him through this crisis.
Meanwhile, Casey was wandering the streets of Ocean Bluff, completely oblivious to the cold. He had left the restaurant to gather his thoughts as soon as the trial had ended, and so he hadn't even gathered a jacket. Living in California, it wasn't that cold, but it was still a little less than comfortable. He wrapped his arms around himself as he leant on a railing a little way from the edge of the harbour and looked out into the night.
He felt his chest tightening as he thought about his failure in the trial. He had a good idea what had caused him to fail, his head couldn't have been further from the trial. It pained him to think about how much he had been through to get to this point. While he was disappointed at not getting his stripes, the biggest thing that hurt was not failing. It was feeling like he had failed those who had supported him. He'd failed his father, his mother, Master Mao, Master Finn, RJ...most of all he had failed Camille. She had sacrificed herself for him, and he had let her down. She deserved better than him. She deserved someone who could save her in return, and yet he couldn't even pass this test.
"Maybe Theo was right all along." He sighed. "Maybe I am just a cub."
He proceeded on his long, lonely journey, heading for the woods. He always found the peace and quiet there calming. He often went there when he had to think, and tonight he had a lot to think about. He needed to find a reason to carry on fighting.
Back in the fortress, Camille was sleeping as soundly as she could in the cell when she heard a shuffling outside the door.
She lifted her head up, straining to see in the low light of the evening. The fortress was dark at the best of times, but during the night, and lit only by a few wall-mounted candles it was incredibly hard to focus. Still, she could just about make out a dark shadow on the wall opposite her. She heard the distinctive clunking sound of the locking mechanism, before the shadow disappeared. She made her way over to the door, peering between the bars to see who was there, but seeing no-one. It was then that the door moved. Shoving it, she found it swinging open without resistance. Whoever had been outside had unlocked her cell. She stepped out into the hall nervously, looking up and down the corridor; she found no signs of her mysterious saviour. Deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth, she began making her way along the corridor.
"There she is! She's escaped!" Osiris yelled, causing her to turn around in fright as she saw the Phantom Beast Warriors approaching. "It seems Dai Shi was right."
Her heart pounded as she realised her predicament. She was alone in the dungeon, she couldn't access her chameleon spirit because of the phoenix, and even if she could, she would still be no match for any of them, much less all three. Seeing no other option, she turned and ran, hoping her greater knowledge of the layout of the fortress would help her escape.
"After her!" Sonimax screamed as she rounded a corner out of view, with her would-be assassins in hot pursuit.
Dai Shi arrived in the dungeon a short time later, to see Lupus rounding the corner rather quickly. He was curious as to what she was even doing down there, much less why she was running. Making his way down, he noticed a cell door hanging open. Rushing over, he confirmed his fear. Camille's cell was empty. Rage burned inside him as he realised what had happened. Without another word, he rushed off in hot pursuit of his treacherous warriors.
Camille stumbled through the corridors as quickly as she could, making her way through the maze of tunnels leading through the fortress, finally finding her way into the northern clearing. Looking around, she looked for somewhere to hide. Seeing the gnarled old oak tree that had at one time been the portal, she headed towards it, throwing herself into the hollow, though finding herself surprisingly being transported into Ocean Bluff's woods.
She finally rolled to a stop at the foot of a hill, looking around in confusion. Someone had re-opened the portal to allow her to escape, no doubt the same someone that had opened her cell. Struggling to her feet despite a few minor injuries, she looked around for some indication of which direction to go to the city, before being blasted off her feet.
"So, you're helplessly under his control are you?" Sonimax stated as he arrived on the scene. "Dai Shi will reward us richly when we destroy his traitor."
"He may even make us generals." Lupus responded arriving from another direction. Camille headed towards seemingly the only other path available to her, stopping short as she saw Osiris before her.
"Looks like you have nowhere else to run." He taunted her. "Now, which of us will get the honour?"
"Please, let Lupus do it." Camille said nervously, her voice cracking a little. She knew she was no match for her without the power of her phoenix spirit, but she wasn't in control of it, only Dai Shi could order it to come forth. Of course, she knew there was another way, a way to force it to defend itself. "Her talons are razor sharp. I will not suffer. Please, let her do it."
"Normally we'd like you to suffer a little." Lupus replied, coming over to her. "Bit since you want to give me the privilege..."
Her voice tailed off in shock as Camille did something she could never have anticipated. She grabbed the Phantom Beast's wrist, and plunged Lupus' talons deep into her own abdomen. She fell to her knees feeling weak as the Phantoms watched in surprise.
Casey was running through the woods when he heard a blood-curdling scream reverberating through the cold night air. His heart and his mind immediately focussed on only one thing as he recognised the voice. It was Camille.
The Phantom Beasts looked at Camille in surprise as she knelt on the ground, bleeding heavily from the self-inflicted wound to her abdomen.
"You are so desperate to die that you do this to yourself?" Osiris sneered. "Well, you won't suffer much longer."
"Nor will you!" Camille roared, looking up at them, her eyes glowing. "You do not understand the nature of animal spirits, but I do. Now the odds are a little more even!"
With that, the phoenix spirit, sensing its survival under threat burst forth, forming the phoenix armour around her. Camille got back to her feet, her injury still telling on her, but by now the phoenix had taken over. Now she had a chance. She fell upon her startled opponents with a furious assault, one born out of sheer instinct. Now they realised they had no simple hunt on their hands. Now they had a fight.
Casey pushed through the forest, making his way towards the direction of the scream, not even noticing the branches and thorns whipping and tearing painfully at his flesh. The terrain was not his friend, making progress slow going, he just prayed he wasn't already too late.
Back at the site of the battle, Camille was thrown roughly to the ground, her strength quickly failing her. Even the phoenix spirit hadn't proven to be enough to overcome her attackers. As she watched them approaching her ready to strike the final blow, she consoled herself that at least they knew they'd had to fight for it.
That was when Dai Shi arrived, battering his hapless and confused warriors to the ground with dismissive ease.
"Leave her!" He growled. He came to Camille's side and cradled her gently.
"You saved me." She said weakly. "Why?"
"You mean too much to me to let anything happen to you." He said in an uncharacteristically soft voice. He placed a hand gently on her abdomen and she saw a couple of tears beginning to run down his face. "We shared something precious together, even if it was only for a few weeks."
"Jarrod?" She asked. He nodded in response. He turned and faced the Phantom Beasts with an expression of rage on his face.
"You dare to touch her?" He snarled.
"But we heard you said..."
"Not another word!" He interrupted Sonimax as he brought forth the Griffon armour. Camille looked on in amazement. Jarrod shouldn't have been able to control the power of rinzin, no human should have. But she knew it had to be Jarrod that was fighting in her defence. He surged forward, dashing his warriors this way and that in a display of awesome power that left them quaking in fear.
"Good luck!" Lupus shrieked as she turned tail and fled in desperation. "I'm leaving."
Casey finally arrived in time to see Dai Shi power up his attack, utterly destroying Sonimax and Osiris, before returning once more to Camille's side.
"Leave her alone!" He shouted, leaping from the nearby ridge he was on, confronting Jarrod. Powering down, Jarrod held his hands up defensively.
"I mean her no harm." He told his enemy. "I only wish to help her."
"Casey, its Jarrod." Camille told him weakly, her strength quickly leaving her. "He saved me."
"Casey, I know you care for her, but let me take her." Jarrod implored him.
"Are you serious?" He shrieked. "She's been your prisoner for..."
"Casey, her wounds are life-threatening." He told him. "She will not survive if I do not take her back to the fortress. The power of rinzin can restore her, but it is not safe here."
"Casey, I love you." She whispered. Casey looked down into her eyes, seeing her beginning to fade. He knew what Jarrod said was true, she would surely die before reaching a hospital, and the phoenix spirit was still inside her. With a few fresh tears, he took the engagement ring off his necklace and gave it to her.
"Hide that, if Dai Shi knows you have it, he'll use it against you." He told her. Camille shoved it away in a pocket. Casey placed a warm kiss on her lips before releasing her.
"Take her." He implored Jarrod. "Please, take care of her."
"I'll do what I can." He replied. "She is too precious to Dai Shi for him to allow her to die, so whichever one of us is in control when we get back to the temple will heal her I promise."
"I believe you." Casey responded. "Thank you Jarrod."
"Thank you too Casey." He replied, picking up Camille's limp, weak body. "I know you'll save her."
Casey watched them go, feeling a sense of regret. He knew he'd made the right choice to let Jarrod take her; she didn't stand a chance of surviving if he didn't. Of course it still wasn't easy to let her go. He was shaken from his thoughts as a power blast sent him flying.
"Perhaps if I destroy the Red Ranger, Dai Shi will forgive me!" Lepus suggested, the desperation obvious in her voice.
"Trust me; this is SO not the day to piss me off!" Casey yelled, activating his morpher. "Jungle Beast, SPIRIT UNLEASHED!"
Back in the apartment, the others were still discussing what they planned to do about Casey when their morphers bleeped. The Masters arrived a short time later from the back room.
"Casey needs our help in the woods." Finn told them. "He was in battle with a Phantom Beast, but Scorch and Snapper have arrived."
"Looks like it's time to even up the odds." RJ commented. "So Fran, are you ready for your first official battle as part of the team?"
"You know me RJ." She responded. "Always ready for a challenge."
With that, they all morphed and left to help their friend.
Back at the fortress, Jarrod laid Camille gently on his throne.
"Thank you." She said softly as he laid a hand on her wound. Rinzin power glowed gently, causing the mortal wound to close and heal in seconds. "Another moment and I'd have been destroyed."
"I'd never let that happen." He whispered gently, stroking her cheek. She smiled at the warmth of his touch. There was an unspoken connection between them both, one that could never be broken. Although Camille's heart was with Casey there was a love between them that only they could understand, the love that came from the creation of a life.
She shuddered as she saw him flinching and his eyes glowing. She knew what this meant. Jarrod had finally lost control back to Dai Shi. His face changed from an expression of comforting to one of rage.
"Get off of my throne!" He snarled, throwing her across the room. She looked at him from the floor, saddened by the shift back to the man who had abused her for thousands of years. "Sit in the corner and don't move." He told her. "I have to wait on some real traitors."
Scorch and Snapper returned, noticeably shaken and weakened by the battle. They had seen the inevitability of Lepus' destruction at the hands of the Rangers, and had decided to concentrate on damage control as an alternative to noble sacrifice.
"Speak of the devils." He sneered, casting aside his cloak. Scorch and Snapper looked to each other awaiting their punishment. They knew there would be hell to pay.
Back at JKP, the team returned after their battle. Fran froze up for a second, seeing the champagne glasses on the table and covered them with a service cloth.
"Rangers, I know this isn't the best time, but the moon phase is almost over." Phant told them. "I'm sorry Casey, but we must perform the ceremony..."
"Actually we've been talking, and we won't do it." Lily interrupted him. "If Casey isn't getting his stripes, none of us will either."
"RJ?" Finn asked. RJ just shrugged and shook his head. He had explained to them what this would mean, but they were more concerned for Casey's peace of mind than their master's marks.
"Guys, you shouldn't miss out on my account." Casey told them. "Seriously, I'll deal with it."
"Casey, our master's tattoos will be a permanent reminder of what happened." Theo reminded him. "Are you sure you're cool with that? We'd much rather have a functional team than a tattoo."
"Guys, you earned your stripes, you should be proud." He told them, pulling the service cloth off the champagne glasses Fran had hidden. "Sure I'm bummed, but there'll be other days. Perform the ceremony. I'll be cool, I promise. I'm happy for you."
RJ went first to Dom and took his right forearm in his hand.
"Dominic. Do you promise to be at the ready to serve the Pai Zhuq temple in times of need, and to pledge yourself to the fight against Dai Shi?" He asked.
"I will." Dominic replied. RJ's hand glowed brightly, forming into a claw, which he used to slash Dominic's forearm, before dragging one claw back across it. Dominic winced in pain as they saw his wound glowing brightly, almost burning, before forming into his tattoo. He pulled down his sleeve and stepped aside, accepting a glass from Casey. Theo stepped up next.
"Theo. Do you promise to be at the ready to serve the Pai Zhuq temple in times of need, and to pledge yourself to the fight against Dai Shi?" He asked.
"I will." Theo replied. RJ again powered up his claw hand, slashing his forearm. Theo looked to be on the verge of crying from the pain of the ritual scarring, but once his master's mark formed, the pain seemed to subside. He went over to Casey, accepting another glass. Lily stepped up next. RJ looked a little hesitant as he looked at her. Finn got up from his chair and made his way over, gesturing RJ aside before taking her forearm in his hand.
"Look at me and don't think about it." He told her. "Lily. Do you promise to be at the ready to serve the Pai Zhuq temple in times of need, and to pledge yourself to the fight against Dai Shi?"
"I will." She replied. Finn powered up his own claw, slashing her forearm, causing her to yelp as she felt the energy claws plunge into her flesh, before the wound started burning painfully. Her stripes formed, causing the pain to subside, but having felt it, she could understand why RJ hadn't wanted to do it to her. She accepted a glass of champagne from Casey.
"I propose a toast. To those who earned their stripes today," Swoop announced, "and those who will receive them another day."
"To the team!" Everyone chorused. Dominic nudged Casey and gestured for him to follow him outside.
"Dom, I'm really OK with this." He stated. "Sure I'm bummed, but I'll be fine."
"I just wanted to show you this." He said, pulling up his sleeve and showing him his mark. It was just like the insignia on his uniform, a claw mark, overlaid with a tick. "My insignia's different because I took a different path."
"Why are you showing me this?" Casey asked him. Dom smiled.
"To remind you there's more than one way to become a master." Dominic replied. "Now, feel like celebrating?"
"I really do." Casey responded with a smile. Today might not have gone as he'd hoped, but in some ways he felt like he'd gotten something far more valuable than a master's mark. His hope of freeing Jarrod and Camille had been renewed.
Back in the fortress, Scorch and Snapper threw Camille back into her cell, locking her inside. Dai Shi had given them a ferocious beating for betraying him, and they weren't keen to repeat the experience. Their plan had failed, leaving them desperately seeking another. Camille lay in the corner of her cell, turning so that she couldn't be seen from the door and pulled her engagement ring back onto her finger, smiling as she did so. She too had renewed hope of getting out of this nightmare.