Sorry, this took so long. I have about four more fics in the works and cleaning up the next chapter of "Love Across Time"...take time to read that one, and review, too. ;) I know, shameless plug. :P I hope it was worth the wait.
Oh, and for the one who thought my last chapter was a bit short...this should hold ya. ;) Nothing but love!
Disclaimer: I own no Power Rangers, Disney or anything associated with the two. But my eposides I recorded off my tv should count, right? :P
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Camille paced back and forth in the quarry impatiently waiting for her victim. After the verbal abuse she took at the hands of Carnisoar, she was bound and determined to prove her worth to both Dai Shi and the quote unquote 'pompous cockatoo'.
"Pathetic?! Shameful!? How dare that no-account chicken hawk belittle me! Bald Eagle...Balding Eagle's more like it!" She thought, seething with anger. "Here, kitty, kitty! I'm right here!" Shouted Camille. "Come out and face me...unless you're chicken!"
And to further coax her prey into coming out, she started clucking like the chicken she thought Gwen was for not showing up. Not surprising, her tactic worked as she spied the ranger in question walking across the gravelly path.
"You didn't have to show me your true animal spirit, Camille. I always suspected it was a chicken." Gwen smirked as she appeared in her black jeans and purple vest top with a long-sleeved undershirt.
The chameleon fumed as she let out a growl. Ever since she crossed paths with Gwen, she would always be bested by the black ranger either physically or in a battle of wits. Now that they were face to face, she had all the confidence in the world that she would come out on top in this encounter.
"It's about time we ended this little feud we have going on. Don't you think?" Camille asked coyly.
Gwen just looked at Camille as if she grew antlers...and considering some of the monsters the rangers have encountered, that might not be too big a stretch.
"No, the Hatfield/McCoy skirmish was a feud. What we have going on...this is war!" She explained with steely resolve. "Now, you just interrupted my lunch to call me out here. What do you want?"
"I want to destroy you!" Camille answered with a glare. "And this time, I won't lose!"
Camille transforms into her shiny green armor and whips out her pair of deadly sais, poised and ready for battle. Gwen just rolled her eyes and reached for her pocket.
"Looks like this cat fight's gonna roll on!" Gwen quipped.
The black ranger pulls out her shades, places them on her face and taps the left side once before going through the moves.
"JUNGLE BEAST! SPIRIT UNLEASHED!" She calls out.
She quickly changes into her uniform and takes out her own pair of sais as Camille charges full force. The two amazons fight as furiously as two males competing for mating rights as they exchange blows. Hidden behind boulders, Casey, Lily, Keenan and Theo, clad in their ranger uniforms, were scattered throughout the quarry and staked out their friend and hated adversary as they fought.
"Remember, if you guys see anything make a move towards Gwen, we intercept it." The tiger leader relayed through the helmet comlinks.
Keenan had an excellent vantage point on one of the ledges above the fighting women.
"Don't worry. These eagle eyes are trained to catch anything that moves. They won't get past me." Keenan whispered to his friend.
Lily kept her eyes open as she hid behind a boulder a few yards away. With her speed, she could take down anyone who tried to interfere.
"If anything gets too close, I'll tackle them, Case." Lily reassured in a soft voice.
Theo kept silent as he kept up his surveillance from the other end of the quarry. If anyone could see his posture as he hid behind the boulder, they could tell that something was bugging him.
"I know we have to keep an eye on Gwen; you don't have to repeat it, Casey." Theo thought bitterly.
When Casey didn't hear Theo check in, he called to him.
"Theo, are you there? Come in." Casey hailed quietly.
"Yes, I'm here. And chill. I won't let anything happen to Gwen." He replied stoically.
When he heard Theo cut off the connection, he became put off by his attitude. He was going to have to confront the blue jaguar about this later. Right now, he had a fight to watch. In the middle of the large crater, Gwen and Camille kept throwing and blocking punches and kicks as they continued fighting. During one exchange, their sais locked making the two warriors face each other.
"Is that all you got, Medusa!?" Gwen insulted.
She could swear that Camille's facial armor was starting to steam from her anger.
"How dare you insult me! Snakes are beneath me!" Camille ranted. What Camille didn't realize was that Carnisoar had a backup plan...and it was skulking amongst the boulders for its chance to strike.
As the battle resumed to its fever pitch, the creature, who was lurking in the background, begins to slither towards Gwen at breakneck speed. RJ, who was watching everything on his five screens stands up from his chair and shouts.
"Gwen, look out!"
The rangers hear RJ's cry over the comlink and turn their attention to Gwen only to see a figure accelerate towards her. It's speed was surreal; it was faster than Lily can move or Keenan can follow.
"I won't reach her in time!" Lily stressed in panic.
"Neither can I." Keenan mirrored.
The panther was oblivious to the impending sneak attack and was about to be struck when...
"Jungle Fans!!!"
Two golden fans sliced through the air and sailed towards the creature, striking him nanoseconds before it could reach Gwen.
"Whoa! What the heck was that!?" The black ranger asked as she looked around in shock
Gwen turned her head to see a large serpent flying backwards from Theo's attack and into a boulder shattering it.
"Who are you!? Show yourself this instant!" Camille demanded angrily.
The creature pulled itself out of the rubble and revealed himself. It was a large dust brown snake with horn formations over its eyes. The coloration of its scales helped it blend in with its surroundings almost as well as Camille did. The only distinction it had was the black ninja-style outfit it had, complete with headband, two-toed shoes and mask over its mouth. The chameleon warrior fumed as she marched towards the invader.
"You've got a lot of nerve butting in my fight! Who are you!?" Camille demanded again.
"The name'sssssss Velociviper! My master, Carnisoar sent me as reinforcements and from the looksssss of your battle, you needed it!" The snake hissed in a faint Asian accent.
As Camille glared at her new rival, the other rangers crowded around Gwen.
"Gwen! Are you okay?" Theo asked.
"Yeah, I owe you one." Gwen said as she nodded to her comrade.
Camille and Velociviper slunk away with their tails between their legs as the rangers saw to their ebony friend.
"Are you sure you're alright, sis? That snake got kinda close to you. Man, he was fast!" Keenan remembered.
"I'll say. Even I couldn't follow him!" Lily added.
Gwen appreciated her friends' concern, but it was getting to be a bit much.
"Guys, I'm fine." Gwen replied as she tried to convince her friends.
"Let's get back to the loft. RJ can check you out." Casey ordered. "Of course, he checks you out every time you come to JKP." He thought smirking.
"But...oh, okay!" Gwen sighed as she gave in.
Meanwhile, the rangers made their way up the stairs into the loft where RJ ran to Gwen's side.
"Oh, Gwen. Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you? No broken bones?" He asked frantically.
The Pai Zhuq master examined Gwen from head to toe which just made her roll her eyes. It was sweet of him to be so concerned; she had to admit that.
"RJ, I'm fine; chill. No harm, no foul." Gwen reassured.
RJ was tempted to just take her in his arms and never let her go again. He never felt this way about anyone before.
"I was so worried." RJ sighed.
"You're really a sweetheart." She thought. "But, I really am okay. Thanks to Theo." She said looking back at the blue ranger.
"Don't mention it." Theo said with a grin. "At least someone gives me some credit." The blue jaguar thought.
"Oh, and you have to tell me where you got those cool fans!" Gwen wondered.
"It's a deal." The blue jaguar agreed.
As the others were about to dote on the black panther even more, her pager beeped. She looked down at the number and discovered that it was the hospital calling her and her brother back for an emergency.
"I never thought I'd be so glad to go back to work." She thought as she looked to her brother. "Bro, we're needed back at the hospital."
"Without lunch?" Keenan asked in horror as his sister shook her head.
"Girls and food. Is that all you ever think about?" Gwen thought with a heavy sigh.
But as usual, RJ saved the day by wrapping the pizza slices up for his vet friends to take out.
"I guess this order's to go." RJ joked with his swagger.
"Good ol' RJ." Casey chuckled.
Gwen smiled up at the tall master as she took her pizza. This was one of the reasons that made her start falling for him.
"Thanks, RJ. I'm sorry we have to cut this lunch so short." Gwen said with regret as she turned to the other rangers. "We'll see you guys later, okay?"
"No problem." Lily answered with her cheery smile.
"Come back anytime." Theo offered.
"Our doors are always open." Casey replied.
"Thanks. Come on, sis. We better book." Keenan rushed.
"So, you can eat your pizza?" Gwen asked.
"So, I can eat my..." He stopped his sentence to grimace at his sister. "I hate you." He said quietly.
Everyone laughed at how easily Gwen manipulated her brother into sticking his foot in his mouth. The siblings were about to leave when...
"Gwen, wait." RJ called out.
As soon as Gwen turned to face the pizza chef, RJ leaned down and planted a soft kiss on her right cheek. The boys smiled and Lily giggled at the sight as Gwen blushed and gently placed her hand on the spot where RJ's soft lips were.
"What was that for?" Gwen asked softly. "Not that I'm complaining." She thought.
RJ just grinned as he once again enjoyed the soft lilt of her voice.
"Just something I wanted to give you for a while now." RJ replied. "I just wish it was more than just a simple peck on your cheek." He thought wistfully.
Gwen just smiled back as her brother playfully pulled towards the stairs.
"Animals? Hospital? Pizza?" Keenan droned as he tugged at his sister's shirt.
"Alright! I'm coming! Geez!" Gwen conceded. "Later, guys!"
Everyone said their farewells as the siblings left the loft. About an hour later, after they finally had the chance to eat, the black and silver rangers were back to their civilian jobs as head vets for the Ocean Bluff Animal Hospital. As the two made their rounds through the facility, Keenan noticed that his sister was not moving as swiftly as she usually did. His first concern came when Gwen almost mistook a vial of antivenom for a vial of vaccine. Another was when she zoned out when a pet owner asked how much medicine to administer to her dog. Now that they were in the big cat compound where they kept the animals the rangers met, his worry grew. As Gwen checked Tahj's heart rate, he noticed that she was sweating profusely.
"Sis, are you alright? You don't look so good." Keenan observed.
Gwen quickly wiped her brow and tried to stand up straight so she wouldn't worry her brother even more.
"Y-yeah, I'm okay. You know you and the others have been asking me that all day." Gwen said, now growing more annoyed.
"Because we care." He retorted as he went to his sibling. "I think you need to sit down. Come on." He gently coaxed as he took her hand.
Gwen gently pulled her hand away and tried to focus her blurring vision on her taller brother.
"Keenan, I told you, I'm fi-"
Before she had the chance to finish her sentence, her brown eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fell to the floor with a hard thud in front of Keenan and the animals. He knelt down and felt for a pulse. When he found a weak one, he tried to shake her awake.
"Gwen? Gwen! Come on, you're scaring me, sis!" Keenan pleaded.
Kiva, Gwen's pet panther, went to her side and licked her face in an attempt to revive her master. When that failed, she sniffed her and the black feline growled because she sensed something was wrong with her fallen owner...something evil. Keenan tried to shake his sister one more time before he took out his cell phone and dialed Casey's number. He couldn't risk using his Solar Morpher for fear of someone walking in on him.
Back at the loft, the three rangers were going through their weapons training as Casey's cell phone went off. Flipping it open, he saw Keenan's number and thought his friend was going to invite them to the hospital to hang with the animals.
"I bet he's calling for another pizza." The tiger chuckled to himself. "Hey, Keenan. What's going on?" He asked cheerfully.
"Casey, I need you guys at the hospital, quick!" Keenan answered.
Casey noticed the sense of urgency in his friend's voice and knew this wasn't a social call.
"Keenan, what happened?" The red leader prodded.
"We were working in the big cat compound and Gwen just fainted! Im trying to shake her awake but it's not working!" Keenan spoke hurriedly as he kept trying to rouse his sister.
Casey was so shocked that he nearly dropped his phone. When he regained his composure he spoke.
"Keep trying to wake her. We're on our way!"
"All of our rooms here are being used so I'm taking her to the Ocean Bluff Memorial Hospital! Meet me there!" Casey replied as he hung up the phone.
The others only heard part of the conversation and grew just as concerned as their leader. Lily was the first to speak up.
"Casey, what's going on? What did Keenan say?"
Casey looked to the blonde cheetah and grabbed his jacket.
"He said Gwen fainted and he can't wake her up. He needs us at the hospital like yesterday!" The red tiger relayed.
Nobody said another word and just ran downstairs to go to the hospital. They told Fran to close up shop so she could go with them to the hospital. They explained to the pigtailed girl that Gwen had passed out and that Keenan couldn't revive her.
"Oh, my goodness. I hope she's okay!" Fran wished.
"We all do, Fran. We all do." RJ said as he drove the group in their jeep. "Please be okay, Gwen." RJ thought.
A half hour later, Keenan, was already in the ICU room with his sister and offered his services to the doctor since he knew his sister better than anyone. Once the doctor agreed, he went into his medical bag. Just as the eagle was about to grab his stethoscope, three very worried rangers, their master and their bespectacled friend rushed into the room to see the fallen panther hooked up to a multitude of tubes and needles. The girls gasped at the sight as the guys kept their emotions in check. But all four teens turned to RJ. They knew seeing her in this state must be devastating to him.
"Gwen..." RJ whispered.
Lily looked at RJ sympathetically. She couldn't possibly imagine what he was going through.
"Poor RJ." She thought. "Keenan, do you know what's wrong with her yet?" The yellow ranger asked.
The Silver Ranger shook his head as he checked his sister's heartbeat.
"Not yet. I need to run some tests on her before I know anything." Keenan explained as he recorded her vitals.
RJ slowly walked to her bed and his eyes looked up and down her body. She looked so frail and helpless. As his green eyes went to her left side, he noticed some odd puncture marks.
Hey, Fran, Could you get us some sodas?" RJ asked. He wasn't thirsty, he just needed Fran to leave the room so she wouldn't be able to hear any ranger conversations.
"But the soda machine is out of order." Fran pointed out.
"Well, can you go to the cafeteria for them? Please?" RJ wasn't in his usual jovial mood and Fran felt bad for him. She knew how much he cared for Gwen; it wasn't like it was a big secret.
"Sure, boss. I'll be back soon. You let me know the second you find out about her condition, okay? Fran stressed.
"That's a promise." Keenan replied.
Fran gave a weak smile and headed out to pick up the sodas. The minute he felt the coast was clear, RJ spoke again.
"Hey, dudes. Take a look at this."
Everyone watched as RJ lifted Gwen's black shirt to reveal the set of dual puncture wounds. Everyone was surprised when they saw them and wondered how they got there in the first place since they were almost positive that the creature didn't get close enough to touch Gwen.
"It kinda looks like a snake bite." Theo observed.
"Velociviper. He must have bitten her while she fought Camille." Casey recalled.
"But how? Theo stopped it with his fans, didn't he?" Lily asked.
"I'm not sure. He did move really fast. Even I couldn't follow his movements." Keenan confessed.
RJ barely said a word as he took a seat in a chair beside Gwen's bed. He took her right hand and held it in his...a small gesture to let her know he was there.
"We need to stop that snake before he poisons anyone else." RJ added calmly. His gaze never left Gwen's face as he spoke. "Please, open your eyes for me." He begged silently.
Casey watched as RJ kept vigil over the lady vet as she laid motionless on the hospital bed.
"You made me leader, RJ. I promise I won't let you down...for Gwen's sake and yours." The red tiger mused. "You're right. RJ, you stay with Gwen. Keenan, we're gonna need you on this one.
"If it'll help my sister, anything." Keenan would give his life for her if it came to that. "But we'll have to wait for them to make a move. If we go out looking for them, we could get jumped."
"Okay, we'll head back to the loft and keep a lookout." The Jungle Fury leader planned.
"Be careful, guys. That snake's proven to be extremely fast. Keep your eyes open so you don't get bitten. I don't think I can handle another ranger being laid up." RJ said quietly, again, his eyes not leaving Gwen's face.
Everyone's heart went out to their master and friend. They've never seen him so somber.
"We'll watch each other's backs. Let's go, guys!"
Casey gave the order to move out. Nobody noticed Theo rolling his eyes in annoyance...well, almost nobody. As Fran returned with the sodas, she noticed Theo's expression but kept it to herself. She set the bag of sodas on a table next to the door and saw RJ holding Gwen's hand in his. Her heart broke for him as she watched him nuzzle his facial hair against her fingers.
"I don't know what happened to, but you have to pull through, Gwen. I doubt RJ would recover if anything happened to you." Fran thought to herself.
Back at Dai Shi's lair...
The Black Lion Lord continued his rigorous training with the Sky Overlord, he was determined to bend, but not break under his master's harsh regime. During a critical exchange, Camille bursts in with Velociviper in tow. Judging by the look on her face, she was less than pleased with the outcome of the previous battle.
"What news do you bring for me, Camille? They better be good." Dai Shi bellowed.
At this point, Camille didn't care if Dai Shi yelled at her or not. Okay, she did care. Disappointing the man she loved for over 10 millennia was not on her to-do list.
"This aggravating excuse for an earthworm that...he sent into my fight, failed. The rangers managed to protect their precious black cat." Camille answered through her teeth.
Still feeling bold, she walks up to Carnisoar and looks him dead in the eye.
"You had absolutely no right to stick you misshapen beak into my business! I didn't need or ask for your help; I had the situation well in hand!" Camille shouted.
"I doubt that seriously, Camille. From what Dai Shi told me, this isn't the first time you had defeat handed to you by the black ranger. And I assume she had the upper hand in this battle as well. That's why I sent my warrior to give you some backup." Carnisoar replied in a haughty tone. "And for the record, you are skating on very thin ice, little girl! If you value your insignificant life, you'd better learn to hold that tongue of yours."
"Well, your attempts to eliminate her didn't pan out, either. Velociviper didn't even make contact with her." Camille replied smugly.
The serpent in question stepped forward and shoved Camille out of his master's face and turned to look at her with his eerie yellow eyes.
"That'sssss where you're mistaken, my dear." Velociviper hissed. "I did manage to take a bite out of the black ranger, sssso to ssspeak. Thankssss to my blinding speed, my movements went undetected by you and the rangers until it was too late. As we speak, the black cat, as you so quaintly call her, is succumbing to my toxic venom."
"Excellent, my warrior. You've proven my judgment to be correct in sending you into battle." Carnisoar praised before turning to Camille. "Well, Camille, it seems that my fighter succeeded where you repeatedly failed."
Camille narrowed her eyes at both the Sky Overlord and his hired hitman. She didn't appreciate the fact that he took it upon himself to mess up her battle.
"Enough! Camille, you should be thankful that Master Carnisoar even thought enough of you to give you a hand with the rangers. Now that their forces are weakened, we can continue our assault." The Lion explained. "With Velociviper's speed, he'll be able to take out the rangers one by one."
"But, Dai Shi..." Camille tried to interject.
"This discussion is closed, Camille. I want you to accompany Velociviper as he goes out and wreaks havoc on the humans!" Dai Shi roared.
"Of course. As you wish." Camille, defeated, bowed submissively and walked out with Carnisoar's serpent warrior.
Back at the JKP loft...
Casey and the others were doing everything in their power to keep from going insane. They were itching to get their hands on the slithering snake that hurt their friend and also they were praying for good news with Gwen's condition.
"Okay, it's just a matter of time before that snake rears its scaly head again. We just have to be ready for it."
Theo grabbed his training tonfa and started to go through a complicated kata with them. He figured anything was better than listening to Casey give out more orders. Keenan noticed how hard the jaguar was going with his weapons and walked over.
"Okay, he looks like his arms are about to fly out of their sockets. Something's bugging him; I'm sure of it." Keenan thought silently. "Hey, Theo. You okay?" He asked.
Theo kept his concentration on his katas but spares some time to answer Keenan.
"I'm fine." He replied curtly.
Keenan just looked at the blue ranger with a raised eyebrow and tilted head.
"Um, no. I don't know how you're feeling right now, Theo...but one thing's for sure-you're not 'fine'." The silver Eagle quipped. "If something's on your mind, tell us. We're all friends here, right?"
Theo didn't cease his movements as he quickly looked over to the one RJ picked to be their leader and back to Keenan.
"Maybe not, Keenan. Maybe not." He thought. "It's nothing, okay?" He replied quickly as he set his tonfa down.
Keenan sighed and left Theo alone to his own devices. If he wanted to talk, he knew he would...eventually. Needing a friendly face, he decided to join Lily as she watched the screens for any sign of the snake that bit his sister. As they waited for what seemed like an eternity for the sirens so blare, a thought entered the yellow ranger's head.
"I just thought of something. Since it is a snake, maybe we should get a sample of its venom. Then we could analyze it and make an antivenom to save Gwen." Lily suggested.
"Good call, Lil. Now we just need..."
At that very moment, the sirens blare and Velociviper appeared on the screen that showed Downtown Ocean Bluff.
"Speak of the Devil." Lily quipped.
"There's no time to waste, guys. Gwen's life depends on us getting that venom." Casey spoke like a true leader.
He and the others grab vines and swing out of the loft, ready to milk the large snake.
XXXXXXXXXXXX
End of Chapter 2
XXXXXXXXXXXX
Oh, man! What's gonna happen? How can they fight something that moves so fast? And what is Theo's malfunction? Read and leave lots of reviews and I'll tell you.