Author's Note: Hello! Wlecome to my first Whumptober fic! Each day will feature a different ranger. First up is...RJ! Enjoy!

Admittedly, RJ wasn't paying attention when the attack hit him. He thought he saw a Rinshi sneaking up on Casey. But luckily, the young tiger warrior was quick and knocked the monster away with one kick. 'He's really come a long way.' RJ thought fondly for a second. Unfortunately, that second was all the monster needed. A blast of energy caught him in the chest. It threw RJ through the air. He crashed through the window of a nearby store and de-morphed when he hit the ground. RJ coughed and gasped from the air knocked out of his lungs.

"RJ!" Dom yelled, running toward the wolf ranger. Behind him, RJ could see Casey, Theo, and Lily attacking the monster. The fall must've scattered his brain because he didn't see Dom until the white, horned helmet filled his vision. "RJ, are you ok, man?"

"Yeah…" RJ said slowly. He pushed himself to his feet, pain shot through his chest and torso when he stood straight. "Ah!" He doubled-over in pain, vaguely aware of Dom saying his name and catching him. "I'm ok. I'm ok."

"Sure, that's why you're doubled-over."

"I'm fine. Just…need a minute…" RJ took several breathes, each going deeper than the last. Slowly the pain subsided enough for him to stand straight. He grimaced again flashes of pain in his chest, but tried to smile at Dom. "See? Fine."

"Oh yeah? Do a jumping jack."

"Stop!" Theo yelled just as RJ started raising his arms, determined to prove Dom wrong. The other three rangers de-morphed as they reached them. "Don't be like that, Dom."

"Yeah, RJ's hurt," Casey agreed.

"I'm just a little sore," RJ reassured them. "Once my ranger healing kicks in I will be fine. Don't worry."

"You still need to rest when we get back to JKP," Dom said as he also de-morphed. "Do you need help getting home?"

"No. I'm perfectly capable of walking." While that was technically true, each step sent a new wave of pain through him. RJ kept rubbing his chest; a frown deepening on his face. 'What is this..?' he wondered. 'Something feels so…wrong…' It wasn't a broken rib or something similar, he was intimately familiar with what that felt like, but it was similar. Like there was something wrong inside of him. He was so wrapped up in it that he didn't notice his friends giving him worried looks.

By the time they walked through the threshold of Jungle Karma Pizza, RJ was extremely out of breath. Every time he breathed pain radiated from his chest, throughout the rest of his body. As soon as he saw the stairs leading into the loft, he nearly groaned.

"Are you going to be ok going up?" Dom asked, all façade of joking gone.

"I'm fine," RJ said in a clipped voice. 'I'm a Pai Zhuq master. I can make it up one flight of stairs.' He kept rubbing his chest with one hand, using the other to lean on the handrail to help him up. One step at a time. RJ focused on his breathing as he climbed the stairs. When he stepped to the top, relief momentarily flooded him. Then he took two steps into the loft and feet as if something snapped inside of him. RJ howled in pain, dropping to his knees with his arms wrapped around his torso.

"RJ!" Theo and Lily yelled, running to him.

"RJ, are you-" Theo stopped when he put a hand on his master's shoulder. Faster than he could comprehend, RJ's arm shot out, a hand grabbing the front of his shirt. "Ah!" Theo's brain slowly processed the claws where his fingernails should've been. Sharp pain pricked at his chest where they'd scratched him. "RJ?"

"RJ?" Lily asked, leaning down a little to look at his face. RJ's breathing was still fast and haggard. A growl reached her ears. Lily's eyes widened and she moved back, but wasn't fast enough. A clawed hand shot out at her and raked across her face. "Gah!"

"Lily!" Casey shouted, running at them.

The shout made RJ pause. He blinked, then saw Theo and Lily. "Oh no… Are you guys- gah!" Pain erupted in his chest again. Thankfully, this meant he released the blue and yellow rangers, but the claws didn't disappear. His vision had a purple haze to it. 'No, no, no! My wolf spirit! I- I need to control it… I can't let it hurt anyone-' Pain pushed away any thoughts he had. The purple haze thickened, completely overtaking his vision.

"Theo, Lily, get back!"

Dom, who'd come up the stairs behind RJ, didn't hesitate. He tackled RJ at the waist, using his slightly heavier frame to his advantage. However, his grip loosened slightly when RJ howled in pain beneath him. This fraction of a second allowed RJ to throw him off. Dom managed to snag one of his arms. Casey, who was the other closest ranger, grabbed the other one. Moving in sync, they swept RJ's feet from under him and pinned all their weight on his arms.

"What happened to him?!" Theo asked.

"It's must've been the attack," Dom said, needing to readjust his grip every few seconds to maintain it. "It's making his wolf spirit go berserk."

"RJ can radian control," Casey said with certainty. "We just need to give his a minute to-" The alarms sounded from the monitors. "Oh, really?!"

"Looks like the monster's back," Lily reported, still holding the sleeve of her shirt to her cheek.

"You guys go take care of the monster. We'll stay here and help RJ. But if you need backup call me."

"You got it," Theo replied. He and Lily each cast one last worried look at RJ before they swung out of the loft.

Casey watched them leave, then felt RJ go still under his hands. "RJ?" he asked, letting his grip slack for a second. "Are you with us- ah!" Casey had to roll away to avoid losing an eye as the clawed hand swung at him.

"Shit!" Dom swore as the claws scratched his face. He had to pull back for a second, which was all RJ needed to get on his feet. He made eye contact with Casey and mimed a hugging motion. Casey nodded, then ran at RJ. Dom was unable to protect himself while he wrapped his arms around his friend, so his shirt was shredded. Casey did the same, interlocking his fingers together once he'd wrapped his arms around both of them.

RJ threw himself back and forth, trying to throw them off, but it didn't work. With Dom's arms wrapped around him, and Casey's arms around both of them, he was thoroughly trapped. He snarled and growled, wiggling as much as he could. But nothing would throw the two rangers off. He howled in frustration. The pain and the purple haze were the only things RJ could focus on. Every movement that jostled his body caused a wave of pain through his body. Beyond that though, he could hear the snarling and howling coming from his throat. His thoughts shifted quickly between panic over what was happening; and pure anger that every wave of pain intensified.

"RJ!" A voice broke through the growing. "RJ, you need to focus!"

"Yeah, you're the wolf master! another voice added. "You've overcome your spirit before, you an do it again!"

"Come on, RJ! We now you can do it!"

RJ's thoughts shifted, overwhelming him with anger again, before they shifted back. 'Focus,' he thought. 'Focus on what?!' He desperately searched for something besides the pain that kept angering his wolf spirit. Another shift in his thoughts. When he had control of them again, he became aware of something squeezing him around the middle. It wasn't rough or even painful. It was strong and stable. Reassuring. RJ focused on that. He used the stable pressure around his middle as an anchor. Every time his thoughts shifted to the anger of his animal spirit, he clung to the pressure desperately. Trying to prevent getting drawn into the anger completely.

Slowly, but surely, it worked. Each shift became less strong, allowing him to control his thoughts for a few seconds longer each time. RJ kept breathing, now taking slow deliberate breaths. 'I am a Pal Zhuq master,' he thought. 'I am in control of my wolf spirit. I'm in control.' Slowly, the purple haze dissipated. He blinked a few times and his vision cleared. Dull pain still ebbed in his chest, but it wasn't as overwhelming as before.

"RJ?" Dom asked tentatively. "Are you with us?"

"Yeah…" RJ said quietly. "I- I am." He looked down at his hands to conform the claws were gone. "I'm good." There was a moment of hesitation, then their arms retracted. RJ kept his breathing even and measured. When he saw the blood on Casey's face, his twisted in a guilt. "Casey, are you-"

Before RJ could finish, Casey's solar morphers beeped. Casey put them on and pushed the communicator button. "I'm on my way," he said.

"I should-"

"You should sit down," Dom said sternly while Casey swung out of the loft. He corralled RJ over to his chair and sat him down. "You still feeling ok, man?"

"Yeah. Yeah." RJ rubbed his chest a little. "Did I- Are the others-"

Dom gave him a sympathetic look. "You got all of them at some point, but they'll live. Guarantee Dai Shi's monsters have given them worse."

"That doesn't really help." RJ eyed Dom's shredded shirt. "Sorry about that too."

"Huh? Oh." Dom glanced down at his shirt, then shrugged. "It's just clothes. The important thing is you're ok. Will you be alright if I go help the others-"

"Yes! Go. Go help them."

RJ's insistent answer took Dom by surprise, but he didn't have time to dwell on it. So, he nodded then took off.

Once he was alone, RJ collapsed into a ball on the ground. He rubbed his chest, feeling the lingering effects of the blast. Like a tiny ball of pain and anger under his skin. He closed his eyes as frustration and shame hit him. 'I work so hard to control it. To make peace with it. But even at my best… I'm still one beast spell away from becoming a danger to my own students.' An almost snarky voice in the back of his head marked that at least his father never needed to worry about accidentally killing is own students. 'I'm so pathetic. The worst Pai Zhuq master in existence. My students can't even count on me to provide them with basic safety.'

RJ didn't move until he heard the sounds of the team returning downstairs. Suddenly anxious at the idea of facing them (and even further ashamed by his own anxiety), he retreated to his bedroom. As soon as the door was shut, RJ slid down with his back against it. He curled up with his legs against his chest.

"Dom, where's RJ?" Theo asked, confused.

"I don't know!" Dom replied. "He was in his chair when I left."

"I'll check his room," Casey said. "Dom, can you get the first aid kit for Theo and Lily?"

RJ tensed as he waited. The soft knocking on his door still took him by surprise, making him jump. It never ceased to amaze him how quietly Casey could walk for someone so tall.

"RJ? Are you in there?"

"Y-Yeah…" RJ replied in a horse voice.

"Are you ok?"

"Just tired, Casey."

"Ok, well…you rest then. I'll come get you at dinnertime."

"No!" RJ took a breath, trying not to sound desperate. "I mean…that's ok. Don't worry about me. If I'm hungry, I'll come eat."

"O-ok."

RJ could hear the hesitation in Casey's voice. For as second, he held his breath, half expecting the red ranger to try coming in. But after a minute of silence, he relaxed. Casey was gone. RJ sighed, then pulled himself off the floor to collapse onto his bed. A sudden urge, maybe some wild wolf instinct, pushed him to burrow under his blankets. RJ curled into a ball on his side, pulling the blankets all the way over his head. 'Dangerous. Unstable. Coward,' he thought bitterly. 'Not only do I continually put my students in danger, I'm too much of a coward to face them when I do.' RJ closed his eyes. 'I don't deserve to be their master. I don't deserve a friend like Dom. I don't deserve any of them.'