Sorry the updates haven't been as frequent lately, I've been pretty busy, and I will admit I've been neglecting this story for my House of Anubis fic, Sky and Stars (Please check it out if you get a chance!)
I will update part two by the end of the week, and hopefully get a bit more written by then!
Anyways, enjoy!
Chapter 14: Ghost of a Chance Part 1
"Yes! Run!" the Rinshi that had been chosen to terrorise the city yelled as people fled from him. "Your fear makes me powerful!" he declared. Nearby, Camille and Minos watched.
"Good boy Mog, make your new Master proud!" Camille called, before suddenly starting to cough. Minos whacked her on the back, and she immediately spat up Flit.
"What's going on here? I take a power nap, and all of a sudden, you are a Master?" Flit scoffed in disbelief.
"Well...technically no."
"'Technically'?" Minos snorted, earning a glare.
"When Mog destroys the humans, I'll be rewarded," Camille smirked.
"Or Option B: Mog will fail and Jellica will make you an appetiser," Flit told her, making Camille's confident smirk drop.
"He's got a point," Minos snorted. Camille grabbed Flit and began to shake him furiously. Minos took a step away from his sister in alarm.
Nearby, Mog was suddenly kicked away from the fleeing people by Casey, who flipped and landed beside the other Rangers. Camille stopped shaking Flit, and both she and Minos looked over.
"We're not afraid of you!" Theo taunted the monster.
"Come on guys, let's hop to it!" Lily cheered.
"Man that was lame," Ari sighed, but the four then ran at the Frog Rinshi, easily overpowering him as they worked together to knock him about.
"Maybe this will scare you!" Mog tossed several explosives at them, but Theo intercepted.
"Jungle Fan!" he knocked them all out of the way.
"Jungle Mace!"
"Jungle Whip!" Lily and Ari attacked together, wrapping their long range weapons around the monster. Leaping onto the chain, Casey leapt into the air.
"Shark Sabres!" he attacked Mog repeatedly, slashing him with the powerful blades. Mog leapt at him, only for Casey to strike him and knock him to the ground.
"Let's see if you can handle this!" Mog grew much larger.
"Animal spirits unite as one! Jungle Pride Megazord!" the Rangers formed their Megazord, calling on the Elephant Spirit Zord as Mog goaded them.
"Jungle Mace! Spin Attack!" they broke through his shield, and Mog leapt into the air.
"Spirit of the Bat! Unite!" the Rangers called on their next Zord and flew up, knocking him out of the sky. "Spirit of the Spider Monkey, Unite!" as Mog hit the ground and pushed himself back up, the Megazord switched formations. Spinning, they used the long tail to slam into him and wrap around him, tossing him back into the air. "Spirit of the Shark, combine!" the Rangers called on their last Megazord formation.
"Mega-"
"Rotation-"
"Launch!" the Rangers finished Mog off with one final, powerful attack, and Camille sighed.
"Frogs..." she muttered irritably.
"Knew it wouldn't work," Minos chuckled.
Returning to the temple, Minos and Camille walked in to where Jellica was training Dai Shi.
"Another of my warriors has failed," Camille announced weakly. "But it really wasn't my fault this time, I had a perfect plan," she insisted.
"Yes, but as usual you came up short. This time it will cost you!" Jellica ran at them, swinging her staff. Camille stumbled back in alarm, and Minos instantly called on his brown armour, meeting Jellica's staff with his hammer. The two fought fiercely, and Jellica was surprised by Minos' strength as she was pushed back from one of his strikes.
"Dai Shi, help!" Camille pleaded, but her master didn't look at her, watching the fight. Finally Jellica slammed her staff into Minos' gut, and as she made to finish him off, a gold light lit up the room, and Dai Shi grabbed the end of her staff, wearing his armour.
"I ask that they be spared, Overlord Jellica," Dai Shi requested as he forced Jellica's staff down. "They can still be of use," he told her.
"Most impressive," Jellica nodded her approval. "I think you've reached a new pinnacle of power. Very well, I'll allow them to live. The Bull has impressed me with his strength, but the lizard...she has not," she scoffed, knocking Minos to the ground. They looked around as Carnisoar suddenly landed in the temple with a low laugh.
"Carnisoar," Dai Shi growled.
"Yes. You have done well Jellica," the Hawk told his fellow Overlord.
"Of course I have," Jellica rolled her glowing blue eyes. Their hands began to glow, and they blasted the two statues that had stood on either side of Dai Shi's throne.
"The time has come! These are my Shadow Guards. Take them with you, and destroy the Power Rangers once and for all!" Carnisoar ordered.
"My pleasure!" Dai Shi growled happily. Minos forced himself to stand as his armour faded, an arm around his stomach as he shook his head.
"We rule!"
"We are not afraid of anything!" Theo laughed as the four walked back into Jungle Karma Pizza.
"You said it Theo!" Lily cheered.
"They set them up, we knock them down," Casey grinned. Ari rolled her eyes, closing the door behind her. Her teammates had been getting increasingly cocky after each battle they won, and it was worrying her.
"Um...knock what down?" Fran called as they walked through the restaurant. They looked around in surprise. "Where have you been? Bowling?" she asked.
"Bowling...yes, yeah, bowling," the three said quickly as Ari shook her head.
"Casey bowled a turkey, so we were excited," Theo lied as Fran didn't look impressed in the slightest.
"Actually, it was a frog," Casey corrected him, and Theo and Lily started laughing.
"I would appreciate it if you would inform me before going on break?" Fran requested, clearly upset.
"Casey, Lily, Theo, Ari, loft," RJ ordered as he walked in, pointing up the stairs.
"We're going on break," the four chorused, following their boss up the stairs as Fran shook her head.
"Did you see that Frog-whooping RJ?" Casey asked their Master.
"He didn't stand a chance against us!" Theo grinned.
"Yeah! When do we get our Master Tattoos?" Lily asked.
"Masters?" RJ repeated as he went to the fridge. He laughed loudly, before realising they were serious. "Not quite," he told them, opening the fridge.
"Yeah dudes, there's no way we're ready for that," Ari walked over to their Master and sat at the counter where she had abandoned her sandwich to go fight.
"What do you mean? We're fearless fighting machines! We're unbeatable!" Casey argued. Theo and Lily nodded in agreement.
"Confidence is good, but overconfidence is dangerous," RJ warned the three. "It's time to go back to basics," he decided.
"Basics?!" the three repeated in horror.
"But we've come so far!" Theo argued.
"I want you to practice your stances," RJ decided. Ari got up and walked off to change, while the other three looked to each other, baffled. "Now would be an appropriate time," he told them when they didn't move. Confused, the three walked off to change as well.
The four Rangers practised their stances as RJ requested, when the alarms went off. They all hurried over to the monitors as Dai Shi and several others showed up on the monitors.
"Face me Power Rangers, if you dare," Dai Shi goaded.
"He wants a fight, we'll give him one," Casey smirked confidently.
"There's something different about him...he's calling us out for a reason," Ari frowned.
"She's right, the sensors are off the charts," RJ nodded as he studied the various systems.
"Don't worry RJ, we're not afraid of him," Casey told their Master, whose worried look grew.
"We're not afraid of anything," Theo corrected. Ari shook her head.
"Let's do it!" Lily smiled. She, Theo and Casey grabbed vines and leapt through the exit.
"RJ, this could be a trap," Ari told their Master as she waited behind. "Dai Shi is planning something, and those three are too overconfident to keep their guard up," RJ looked up at her, worry in his expression.
"You're right. Be careful Ari," RJ told her. Ari nodded, and hurried to join her team. RJ looked back at the TV, hoping the four would be ok.
The four Rangers ran to the quarry where Dai Shi was waiting for them, and he looked around as they arrived.
"I didn't think you were gonna show," Dai Shi laughed.
"You and your buddies are going down!" Casey warned him. Dai Shi laughed.
"I highly doubt that," he replied. He grabbed his cloak and tossed it off, before leaping down to their level. Dai Shi called on his armour, which surrounded him as he landed, and he fired a blast of energy that immediately through them off their feet. "On your feet Rangers!" Dai Shi roared as the Shadow Guards stood on either side of him.
"Come on guys!" Ari shouted as she pushed herself up. The other three did the same, and they grabbed their Morphers.
"Ready?"
"Ready!"
"JUNGLE BEAST, SPIRIT UNLEASHED!"
"With the Strength of a Tiger! Red Ranger!"
"With the Speed of a Cheetah! Yellow Ranger!"
"With the Stealth of a Jaguar! Blue Ranger!"
"With the Agility of a Sparrow! Gold Ranger!"
"We summon the Animal Spirits from within! Power Rangers Jungle Fury!" the four ran at Dai Shi, and as Theo and Casey were blocked by the Shadow Guards, Lily and Ari continued towards Dai Shi. Lily stopped, looking to the other two, but Ari kept going.
"The end is near, Gold Ranger!" Dai Shi taunted.
"Not a chance!" Ari leapt over his punch, flipping mid-air and using his outstretched arm as a springboard, bouncing and landing behind him. "Jungle Blades!" she called on her swords as she landed and swung at him. Dai Shi blocked her strike with his armour and grabbed her wrist, throwing her into Lily as the Yellow Ranger ran to help. The two were tossed off their feet, and Dai Shi blasted the two so they crashed to the ground, groaning. Theo ran to stop Dai Shi, but was quickly defeated as well.
"Theo!" Lily cried out, getting to her feet, only to be attacked by the remaining Shadow Guard.
"Hang on buddy!" Casey yelled as he struggled against his own enemy.
"Say goodbye, Blue Ranger!" Dai Shi taunted, lighting up energy in his hand. He hurled it at Theo, who was knocked aside at the last minute as Ari threw up a shield. It smashed through her shield instantly, and she was hit by the side of the blast, landing heavily again.
"Ari!" Casey yelled. "Jarrod, stop!" the Red Ranger ran to stop him as Theo and Ari tried to get up.
"So, we meet again," Dai Shi taunted.
"Yeah! And this time, you're going down!" Casey vowed. Dai Shi just laughed. "Master Mao trusted you, and you threw away everything he taught you!" he yelled.
"Master Mao never understood the power!" Dai Shi scoffed. Growling with fury, Casey called on his Shark Sabres and attacked, but was no match for Dai Shi's power. Even the combined power of his sabres was blocked easily.
"Now, I will finish this!" Dai Shi declared.
"With the strength of a Tiger! Strike Rider Cruise!" Casey yelled, summoning his bike. He hurtled towards Dai Shi, going into attack-mode, but Dai Shi leapt over it, blasting it. Casey cried out as he tumbled off his bike, and rolled along the ground as his bike did the same.
"Guys!" Lily ran to help as the other three got up.
"Claw Cannon!" they summoned their powerful weapon. "Engage!"
"Oh please!" Dai Shi scoffed. The two Shadow Guards stood in front of him, ready to protect him, but Dai Shi pushed them out of the way. The four fired the powerful blast, but Dai Shi caught it in one hand.
"What?!"
"But how?!"
"That's impossible!" Casey groaned.
"He's too powerful for us guys, his evil energy has skyrocketed since we last fought," Ari told her team-mates, worried. The last time she had clashed with Dai Shi, he had easily defeated her.
"As I said, I am more powerful than you can possibly imagine! Spirit of the Mighty Lion!" he summoned his animal spirit, which hurtled at them and slammed directly into the four. They were blasted off their feet, and as they hit the ground, the four demorphed. "Victory!" Dai Shi laughed, his armour fading. He walked towards them as the others stood behind him.
"I won't...give up," Ari pushed herself to her feet, barely able to remain on them. Her hands began to glow with golden energy, and she fired it at them. However, Dai Shi batted it away.
"Even a legendary Mystic can't hold a candle to my power," Dai Shi taunted. Ari fell to her knees, exhausted as her heart pounded and tears stung at her eyes. She had no idea how to beat him. He was too powerful. "Say hello to Master Mao," Dai Shi told them as he called on his own energy. Before he could fire it, he was kicked away by RJ.
"RJ?!" the four cried out as their Master landed in front of them.
"So...the Wolf Master returns," Dai Shi smirked.
"Why fight warriors when you can fight...a Master," RJ asked as he fell into a fighting stance.
"Why indeed..." Dai Shi nodded thoughtfully. "But your skills are no match for my power and you know it! Surrender yourself, and I will spare your students," he smirked.
"No! You can't!" Ari pleaded.
"You know what to do," RJ told them quietly. He then lowered his hands in surrender.
"Seize him!" Dai Shi ordered, turning away. The Shadow Guards grabbed RJ, and he was hauled away.
Walking into Jungle Karma Pizza, the four Rangers were much quieter than before.
"Wait...don't say a word, lemme guess!" Fran approached them. "Sorry Fran, we were on break during the lunch rush and now we have to go up to the loft while you finish cleaning up," she said for them. The four looked around, and her anger faded at their expressions.
"Yeah...that's about right," Casey muttered.
"Sorry Fran, we'll make it up to you," Lily told her.
"Hey, it's ok, don't sweat it," Fran smiled weakly, and without a word, the four turned and disappeared up the stairs. "I've already apologised to myself anyway!" she suddenly rushed after them. "Where's RJ?" she asked curiously, and they looked around quickly. "I haven't seen him all afternoon," she mused.
"He'll be back soon," Ari spoke up for the first time since Dai Shi had disappeared with their Master. With that, she turned and ran up the stairs, and the other three followed.
Dai Shi returned to the temple with Camille and Minos, and the Shadow Guards pulled RJ in with them. Jellica and Carnisoar, who had been speaking quietly, turned to them.
"What do we have here?" Jellica laughed in amusement.
"Well done, you are truly an agent of evil," Carnisoar praised.
"A Pai Zhuq Master, as I live and breathe!" Jellica exclaimed. RJ smiled back at her.
"Please, compliments embarrass me," he told her. Minos shot him an odd look.
"I want to destroy him in front of you, as a gift for my training," Dai Shi told his teachers proudly.
"Whoa, I've never been a gift before," RJ laughed, sounding excited.
"You're an odd one, aren't you?" Minos muttered as Camille glared at the Wolf Master, whose smile faded.
"How sweet!" Jellica exclaimed. "We'll make a Gala event! Camille," she looked to the Chameleon.
"Yes, Overlord Jellica?" Camille responded respectfully.
"Make yourself useful! Prepare the stadium for battle!" Jellica ordered. The doors opened, and with a bow, Camille left.
"And what of the Power Rangers?" Carnisoar asked.
"Without their Master, they're irrelevant," Dai Shi smirked arrogantly as Camille stood in the doorway.
"With all due respect my lord," Minos folded his arms. "The Power Rangers shouldn't be underestimated even without their Master. They have found ways to best us before," he reminded Dai Shi, who glared at him.
"What if they find new Masters?" Camille sided with her brother.
"They have already trained with the last four on Earth," Jellica dismissed the idea. "There are no more living Masters!" she laughed. Dai Shi did the same, and Minos shook his head. He caught RJ's gaze, staring at the Master, who just smiled back pleasantly. "Minos, take the prisoner to his room!" she ordered.
"Of course," Minos bowed to her, and with a rough hand grabbed RJ, pulling him away.
"Guess we're not Masters after all," Theo muttered as he stood on the mat that only an hour ago they had been training on. Lily sat on the ground, and Casey was sitting on a small seat, both silent.
"I could have told you that," Ari told them.
"We have to save RJ, whatever it takes!" Lily exclaimed as Theo glared at Ari. The Gold Ranger was using RJ's monitors to try and locate him.
"Yeah, but without a Master, how can we learn to defeat Jarrod?" Theo demanded as he turned to Lily. "He's like super evil now!" he exclaimed.
"What do you think RJ meant when he said 'you know what to do'?" Lily wondered.
"Knowing RJ, it was more cryptic than what you think," they looked up to see Master Swift leaning against the railings.
"Master Swift? What are you doing here?" Casey stood, surprised to see her.
"Ari called me. Master Finn's in Blue Bay Harbour at the moment, so I came to help," she smiled, walking down the stairs to join them.
"I figured she might know how to help," Ari walked over.
"What was the last thing RJ said to you guys before your battle with Dai Shi?" Master Swift asked, looking to the four with a small smile.
"He had us practising the basics," Theo shrugged. "I don't see how that's important," he dismissed it.
"But it is!" Casey suddenly exclaimed. "We go back to basics, all the way back to the beginning," he told them, his smile returning.
"The beginning?" Master Swift's smile grew.
"The Forbidden Room!" Lily realised, getting to her feet.
"That's where all of this started!" Ari nodded.
"Yeah, I'm all for it. But if I remember correctly, the room is empty," Theo reminded them. He shrugged, looking away. "I don't see how that can help us," he told them.
"Knowing RJ, he's telling you to go there for a reason," Master Swift told them.
"Master Swift is right. We have to try. It may be our only hope," Casey said.
"RJ needs us right now. He saved us, now we have to save him. Let's go guys," Ari told her friends, and they nodded. The five hurried out, hoping that they'd find something to help.
Minos shoved RJ into a cell, and slammed the red door closed behind him. The Master stumbled before righting himself, and smiled.
"Well well well, first class accommodation," RJ laughed as he turned around.
"You're awfully calm for someone who's slated to die soon," Minos snorted. RJ's smile just widened.
"I may be defeated, but your master has made a grave error," RJ told him. Minos' frown lessened in his confusion. "He does what you haven't. He underestimates the Power Rangers," the Wolf Master told the man standing on the other side of the cell door. Before Minos could speak, he then took a seat on the ground, and began meditating.
Reaching the Pai Zhuq Academy that had been abandoned after Dai Shi's release, the group of five headed straight for the Forbidden Room.
"So this is it huh? I was never allowed down here when I was a cub," Master Swift mused as they pushed the doors open. They walked inside, and Lily instantly gasped.
"Spiders..." she whimpered, seeing a large spider crawling across the box that had held Dai Shi's spirit.
"Well...we're here," Theo still sounded doubtful.
"Look around. There must be something that can help," Casey told the team.
"Yeah, but how? There's no light," Theo complained, and jumped as Ari began to glow.
"Gotta love being a night-light," she giggled as they all stared at her. After recovering from their shock, they began to search the room, before Lily called them over to the wall that had several dozen half-melted candles in front of it that had long been extinguished.
"That must be Master Phant in his animal form," Lily smiled as she saw her other Master engraved onto the wall.
"And there's Master Swoop!" Theo spotted the Bat Master.
"And Master Finn!" Casey spotted his own Master.
"And there's you," Ari pointed to the Spider Monkey Master, glancing to Master Swift as she stood beside the glowing Gold Ranger.
"And RJ," Master Swift smiled as she saw the Wolf Master engraved. Noticing Ari's smirk, she blushed and looked away quickly.
"But who are these guys?" Casey asked, pointing to the four others that were engraved.
"That's a Gorilla, an antelope, a penguin...and a squirrel!" Lily realised with a smile.
"Master Rilla, Master Lope, Master Guin and Master Rel," Master Swift smiled. The four Rangers looked at her in surprise. "They were legendary Pai Zhuq Masters," she explained.
"She is correct," they spun around as an orange glow filled the room, mixing with Ari's own glowing.
"Master Mao!" Lily smiled widely as the glow took the shape of their Master. He landed in front of them, and the five bowed respectfully as he smiled.
"How can we find these other Masters?" Theo asked quickly. "RJ's been captured and we need more training," he explained.
"Yes. I know," Master Mao nodded. "But these Masters cannot be found," he told them gravely.
"Why not?" Ari asked, confused.
"They were destroyed long ago," Master Swift explained sadly. "They fought in the Great Beast War long ago, and sacrificed themselves to help defeat Dai Shi," she told them as the four Rangers looked to her curiously.
"They reside in the Spirit World now," Master Mao said as they looked back at the wall.
"Then we'll just have to go there," Ari said determinedly, and her friends nodded in agreement.
"No-one has ever returned from that realm," Master Mao frowned. "It's a place unlike anything you've ever seen," he told them.
"Master please, we can do this," Casey insisted. "We'll find a way back," he told the Master.
"It's too risky...I'm sorry," Master Mao apologised when they deflated. "The answer is no."
"If you don't take us there, then we'll find another way there," Ari stepped forwards, frowning at the Master. "I mean no disrespect, Master Mao, but RJ is in danger and we have to save him before Dai Shi destroys him," she told him. "We can do this, there's no other option," Ari insisted.
"Ari's right. We're not scared," Casey told him.
"Once I open the door, you will be," Master Mao warned him. The five looked to each other, and Master Mao began to glow golden, summoning a huge portal that caused a wind to pick up.
"There's no turning back now!" Lily shouted over the wind.
"Master Swift, stay here just in case anything happens," Ari called to her Master, before grabbing a piece of paper from her pocket. "Call this number and let him know what's happened, he'll know what to do!" she shouted. Master Swift took the paper, and nodded.
"Good luck!" she called. The four Rangers walked through the portal, and yelled as they were sucked through it.
As suddenly as they were yanked through the air, were the four tossed back down unceremoniously, landing in what seemed to be pink grass.
"Not exactly a vacation resort," Theo groaned.
"Master Mao did warn us that this place isn't what we're used to," Ari reminded him as she got to her feet, brushing blades of grass from her gold and white uniform. "It's better than the Underworld. Or the Abyss of Evil," she told them.
"How do you know these things?!" Theo groaned.
"Guys, let's get serious, RJ's counting on us," Casey told them, before they heard a stick snapping. Spinning around, they spotted a figure emerging from the fog around them. An older-looking man approached with a scowl. On another side, a woman with black hair and a yellow streak walked towards them. On another, a man with a goatee and a blue shirt under a brown tunic stepped from the fog. The final figure, who seemed the youngest of the group and barely older than Ari, leapt down from a tree. Her hair was black and tied back in a ponytail, and she grinned widely where the other three looked serious.
"Uh guys..." Ari gulped, before the four broke out into a run. They each took on one, and Ari faced against the young woman who laughed as she danced around Ari's attacks, even faster than the Gold Ranger, whose every attack missed.
"Come on, you can be faster than that," she giggled, catching Ari's punch and delivering one of her own, shoving Ari back. Ari scowled, and pushed forwards again, moving even faster as her opponent's smile widened. She dodged Ari's next attack, and kicked her in the stomach before spinning, using her other leg to kick the back of her knee, forcing Ari to the ground. Ari pushed herself straight back up, but the young woman dodged her entirely, catching her arm as Ari passed, and swung her. Ari was tossed to the ground with the other three Rangers, who had been beaten just as badly.
"You should not have come here," the old man warned as the four stood together, over the Rangers, who knew they had walked straight into trouble.
Let me know what you think!
Thanks to all who reviewed and answered the question last chapter! I may have another competition by the end of this fic.
Please review!