Author: Jadelyn Tate
Story: Begotten
Characters: RJ, Kim
Disclaimer: I own no one, the idea of RJ and Kim being siblings is all Tara's over at PRU's, I'm just expanding it into a fic.
Summery: A Shark. A Crane. A Wolf. And you thought your family had issues.
Author Notes: Hee.
"Oooh, I don't feel so good," Kimberly muttered from where she was laying next to Adam. Ignoring the exclamations of shock around her, she gingerly looked over and smiled at the amused expression on Adam's face.
"By the way, thank you for getting me," she whispered, pecking his lips quickly. Adam's face turned red and Kim's eyes crinkled. Looking up, she smiled at the amused looking Tommy.
"Hey Falcon, help a fellow bird up?" she asked. Tommy chuckled but obligingly hauled her to her feet and then helped her to a seat when she wobbled.
"Remind me not to do that for a while," Kim murmured as she gingerly sat down in the chair by the supercomputer. Looking around, she wasn't surprised to see she was in the Dino Lab; they almost always conducted ranger business down here since it was easier to get to than the still demolished Power Chamber.
"Here," Hayley said gently, handing Kimberly a water bottle. The pink ranger shot her a grin of thanks and chugged down the liquid. She hadn't realized how thirsty she was till Hayley had offered the drink.
"Feel better?" the tech asked amusedly and Kim grinned as she nodded.
"Still wobbly but that should pass soon, I hope," she murmured and the redhead nodded. Kim turned to Tommy, Rocky, Aisha, and Billy. "What'd we miss?"
"Evil rangers are attacking RJ and kids," Tommy immediately answered. He smirked slightly. "I think one of them is your dad."
Kim blinked as that news settled in. "My dad's evil?" she asked. "Will the irony never end?"
"Not exactly," Jason said, amused, as he walked into the Lab. Nearby, Adam tensed slightly as he leaned against Rocky and Aisha. Kim raised an eyebrow but ignored the green and black ranger.
"Splainy?" she asked her oldest friend and Jason smirked.
"From what Rage told me, Dai Shi is controlling them and using their spirits to create Spirit rangers out of the three Masters," he told her. "The kids are currently battling the Bat and Elephant Rangers; I don't know what happened to the Shark."
"Zordon said the Shark Ranger had been freed from the power of Rinsien," Adam remembered. Kim frowned even as the others exchanged stunned looks.
"Yeah, but he didn't seem very happy about that," she pointed out. "I think something else is up."
"Wait, wait, wait," Rocky said, looking rattled. "Did you say Zordon told you this?"
Adam and Kim exchanged slightly guilty looks. "Adam can explain," Kim finally decided, looking at her pole-axed friends. "I need to go do the mentor thing and beg forgiveness for going Charlie's Angel on them."
Grinning at them all, she quickly blew Adam a kiss before bending her head down and disappearing in a flash of pink.
"Rage!" Kim shouted, hurrying into their father's beach house. Finn and RJ separated from their enthusiastic hug to stare at her. After a minute, Rage shook off his surprise and lung forward to hug his sister.
"Oof!" Kim muttered as she staggered back under her brother's assault. "Rage, I love you, but you can let go anytime."
"Sorry," he apologized, releasing her. Without warning, Finn swooped down and engulfed her in his arms. Kim froze, unused to being hugged by the man.
"I thought you had been killed," he whispered into her hair. Kim, still frozen, was unable to reply. Finally reassured she was okay, Finn let her go and stepped back. The pink ranger studiously avoided looking at her brother but she knew he was smiling.
"What happened?" she finally asked, looking up at the ceiling. She frowned a bit at all the white dots before realizing they represented stars.
"I ordered the kids to possibly kill dad," RJ told her, his voice amused. That snapped Kim out of her thoughts and she gaped at her smiling father and brother.
"Huh?"
RJ smirked slightly. "Then he got stuck in the crystal eye but I got him out cause he captured the star light" he added. Kim continued to gape.
"He took a chance and it worked out for the best," Finn added, looking decidedly amused at her reaction. Kim finally seemed to snap out of it.
"Let me get this straight," she said, staring at the men. "You ordered the kids, our kids, to kill dad and then he got stuck in a glass eye and you freed him using starlight he captured?"
"Crystal eye," RJ corrected her. "But yes, that's about right."
Kim stared at the two masters a minute before throwing her hands in the air. "I can't leave you alone for a MINUTE!" she yelled accusingly. RJ simply smirked. A sudden beeping caught their attention.
"RJ! We're taking a beating here!" Casey yelled out. The three masters all looked at each other before RJ frowned.
"I'm on my way," he said into his morpher before making to leave.
"RJ!" Finn said, moving to stop him. Kim crossed her arms, suspecting she knew what her father's idea was going to be.
"The only way to save your friends is to rescue the other masters," he told his son. "You and I can do that, we know the way to the temple."
"Hey!" Kim yelped, moving to standing by RJ's side. "We will go to the temple, not just you two," she informed him. Finn looked ready to argue but Kim glared at him. "I spent three days there with almost full free reign of the grounds," she pointed out. "Do you remember how to get to the dungeon once you're actually inside cause I do."
"Kim's right," RJ agreed, looking at their father. "She can help us navigate once we're inside."
"Consider it our first family bonding trip," Kim said with a small grin. Finn rolled his eyes but nodded his agreement to the plan. With a smirk, RJ took off, Kim hot on his heals. Finn just sighed as he moved after them.
"Kids."
Getting past the Rinshi had been crazily easy, as had getting to the dungeons. As RJ bust down the door to where Swoop and Phant were and the three rushed in, Kim couldn't help wondering when the other shoe would drop. Shaking away the thought, she moved with her father, calling forth Lily's Bo using her guardian powers.
Even as she jabbed and twirled the weapon in her hands, Kim couldn't help but notice how seamlessly she and her father worked together. Sweeping the Rinshi to the floor, she instinctively ducked as Finn swung his swords across the chest of two Rinshi's behind her. Sensing her brother release the other Masters, Kim finished with the Rinshi she was fighting and moved to help her father support Swoop. The Bat Master looked startled the moment her hand touched him.
"Wing?" he asked, surprised and Kim smiled.
"You're not getting rid of me that easily, ya old Bat," she quipped and her father chuckled.
"Let's get out of here," Swoop said, ignoring the comment.
"The Five Pua Zhua Masters," Dai Shi said, stalking in as they moved to leave. The five adults all froze. "You're not so mighty now."
"Dai Shi," Finn started. "If you could, you would destroy as you blow out a candle."
"Don't give him ideas," Kim muttered under her breath. If he heard her comment, Finn ignored it.
"But Jarrod's Black Lion spirit cannot be crushed!" Finn finished fiercely.
"Jarrod is buried deep in my darkness," Dai Shi growled.
"Buried, maybe, but lost, never," Phant said. "His humanity's an antidote to your poison and someday Jarrod will cast you out!"
Kim barely had time to register the odd struggle in Dai Shi's eyes before he called on the power of Zukado and she and the four men went flying. Groaning, she struggled up. "I hate it when he does that," she grumbled quietly.
"Soon, your power will be mine, Crane, and nothing will defeat me," Dai Shi growled out. Out of the corner of her eye, Kim saw RJ's expression go dark at the threat and no doubt the memory of his death match and before she could stop him, he lunged forward.
Kim struggled to her feet beside Swoop as RJ and Dai Shi fought. "I hate it when he goes big brother and avengy on me," she muttered darkly. Finn snorted but didn't say anything. When her brother landed at her feet, Kim and RJ called on the Wolf and Crane spirits to attack. The two animals attacked as one and within seconds the walls and ceiling were starting to cave in.
"Now would be a good time to book it, Rage!" Kim yelled, dragging her brother to his feet. The five adults took off, Kim dragging the semi-struggling wolf set on revenge. As they ran through the temple, Kim vowed to have a long talk about her brothers' need to kill Dai Shi once they were all safe. Or as safe as they could be, being mentor and ranger.
"With you gone, the beasts shall rule the world!" Unicron gloated.
"Hey!" RJ yelled, running up. "That's not gonna happen!"
"RJ!" the teens yelled out in relief.
"I've already beaten four rangers," Unicron shrugged and from she was hiding, Kim knew that was her and the spirit rangers cue. "One more is no challenge!"
"How's this for a challenge?" RJ asked as the three Spirit Rangers and Kimberly, using her alternate's morpher she had summoned, stepped up.
Kim smirked behind her helmet as the teens exclaimed in surprise. Next to her, she could just hear Phant chuckle as well.
"That's nothing," Camille said, moving to stand beside Unicron. ""Here's a challenge; RINSHI!"
Kim rolled her eyes when Camille transformed. "For the record, the fashion travesty is mine!" she hissed as the nine rangers stood in line.
"With the Strength of a Tiger, Jungle Fury Red Ranger!"
"With the Stealth of a Jaguar, Jungle Fury Blue Ranger!"
"With the Speed of a Cheetah, Jungle Fury Yellow Ranger!"
"With the Courage of a Wolf, Jungle Fury Wolf Ranger!"
"With the Power of a Rhino, Jungle Fury Rhino Ranger!"
"With the Agility of the Crane, Jungle Fury Crane Ranger!"
"With the Spirit of the Bat, Jungle Fury Bat Ranger!"
"With the Spirit of the Shark, Jungle Fury Shark Ranger!"
"With the Spirit of the Elephant, Jungle Fury Elephant Ranger!"
"We summon the animal spirits from within! Power Rangers, Jungle Fury!"
Kim grinned as the explosions sounded. This would be the only time she'd use this morpher unless she could help it and she planned on doing the best she could. She'd rather not go down that path much but she was feeling the need for a ranger fight after everything that had happened.
"Get them!" Camille screamed and the small army charged.
Ignoring everything else, Kim and RJ went after Camille. As RJ attacked her using his fists and knees, Kim calmly summoned her old bow. Once her brother was clear, she rushed forward, firing arrows before slashing with the sharpened edge as she ran past the chameleon. Camille flipped to the ground, groaning in pain as Kim left her brother to go help the three masters with Unicron.
The moment Phant had finished his attack, Kim went into her own. It was if all her powers had melded together for this one attack. Flying through the air, lightning flowed around her and fire sprang from the ground before she herself transformed into a dark pink crane covered in flames. Flowing through the Phantom warrior as her old firebird zord used to do, Kim could only smile as she and the other three Masters landed and posed as the monster exploded behind them.
Kim sighed as she placed the morpher back in the subspace pocket. While Swoop, her dad, and Phant had all decided to remain spirit rangers, she had told the stunned group that she was putting the morpher away. Despite their protests, Kim had stood firm and her father had, surprisingly, backed her up. While she would help as Guardian, she felt using the morpher again was wrong somehow, like it wasn't meant to be used by her. RJ believed it was because it wasn't meant to be used by her; it was, after all, her alternate's morpher. With that insight, the others had agreed to respect her decision. Casey had had the hardest time accepting it, and Kim knew he was still a bit miffed by her choice. She didn't blame him.
"Kimberly?"
Kim turned around at her father's voice, a look of surprise on her features. She figured he'd have left for his beach house by now.
"What's up?" she asked and was a little startled when he moved inside her bedroom and closed the door firmly behind him. His face set, he stared at her.
"I think it's time we talked."