Nearing the finish: what's everyone thinking so far huh? Before i get to the final part I just want to Thank jameis who gave me the idea and inspiration to continue to write this fic-also for putting up with the long delay on the creation of his vision. Next thank you to all my reviewers and followers, i didn't think this would even get five reviewers so it came as a shock to see just how many people are following this creation: you keep my muse alive thank you.
One thing that as a traveler Zen-Aku had always loved and taken advantage of whenever he could was the speed that he was gifted with: the way he could cross states in only a hour if he unleashed in long bounding limb in a flurry of movement and energy that would send him flying across the ground that he needed to cross. It was this same speed that he was hating and trying to reign in and yet at the same time needing to go faster at the very same time, because while with each bounding step and bound that he took just put him that little bit closer to the end of his time with Justin he knew that his young companion needed help and that he couldn't give him that help. He knew that he should have said no to Justin the minute he had asked to come with him, the boy was still too young to travel into the different lands and climates that he was unaffected by and the wolf org was just happy that he hadn't taken Justin to the amazon like he had been planning at first and had instead stuck to the American states instead because if this was how sick Justin got by just being rushed through two states he didn't want to know how sick the young boy would get from being sent to a different climate all together.
Jumping of a log in front of him the warrior glanced up at the horizon and had to hold back a growl of frustration when he saw that the sun was peeking above the horizon and that it was going to beat him before he reached his destination that was at least another forty minutes flat running. It wasn't that he was getting tired because he had great stamina on top of his speed and he could easily keep running all day it was more the fact that his original plan was the put Justin on the doorstep of one of the rangers houses-if he could remember where they lived-and leave a note telling them that he hadn't done anything to harm the boy and that he was ill and needed assistance but by the way the sun was rising it wasn't going to happened because he knew that at least several of the rangers would be awake in twenty minutes at the most and that if he entered their city the others would be awoken by their teammates.
Turning his attention to the shivering and yet burning bundle in his arms the wolf org let out a displeased whine at the distress that was wracking the young boy in his arms who had yet to drag himself from his fitful sleep that Zen-Aku was more than sure was anything but restful in the least despite the fact that he was running and jumping through the forests and the jungle before that. He knew that Justin was ill probably terribly sick at that if the blood staining the corners of his mouth were anything to go by but he didn't know how anyone could stay asleep through all the jostling he was putting him through: because it didn't matter how smoothly or swiftly he ran Justin was being jostled even if that was not his intention.
It had been seven hours since he had first heard Justin cough and Zen-Aku was thinking back trying to find the warning signs that he had missed earlier that his young companion was getting sick anything that would have missed his normally sharp sight. He could remember a week back when the boy was complaining about being cold despite the fact they were in the middle of the jungle and the sun was beating down on them being the middle of the day, that was strange and the warrior org knew that it was a tell-tale sign that the person is getting sick: something he had overlooked as the boy just needing something to complain about what with him being at that age.
Then of course there was his sudden lack of appetite that seemed to just appear from nowhere, one day he had been tearing into the leg of a deer he had caught for them and then the next he hardly touched the stew he had made with a hare announcing that while it was nice of him to make him the food every night that he was just simply not hungry. It never occurred to him that Justin was falling asleep he had just thought that maybe the boy didn't like hare's and that he should avoid cooking with it as much as possible-kinda hard when you're traveling all the time and the only way you could eat was if you ate what you caught.
The only other sign he could think of would have to be the strange body temperature fluctuations he seemed to be going through: which he knew was a sign of an oncoming fever. One moment Justin would be burning to the touch and yet never seemed affected by it in fact stating he was a little on the cold side whenever he bought it up to him and then the next he would be chilling and freezing and yet complaining that he was boiling. This had caught his attention as strange and that day he had called travels off early and made the boy rest for the night and afternoon, when they had broken camp the next day the boy seemed to have returned to normal so he had forgotten about it: which in hind sight seemed to have been a terrible thing.
Jumping onto the top of a short cliff that he could remember helping Justin down only a few weeks earlier when he had been completely healthy the wolf org didn't pause in his step only increased his speed knowing he was only a few minutes from the entrance to Angel Grove where he was going to need to catch the rangers attention quickly, and for the first time since he had ever been close to the city and the rangers had been called into battle against their foes he prayed there would be a battle so he wouldn't need to go actively seeking them out. When he reached the overlook to the city he stopped and opened the hearing to find any noises that would indicate that he could find the rangers in a certain part of the city.
It took only a few moments but Zen-Aku felt victorious when he heard the red ranger's voice yelling out the green rangers name and telling him to take the opponent down. Thanking whatever power was looking out for Justin at that moment in time the wolf org bounded down the overlook and towards the direction of the battle just in time to see the green ranger take out their enemy before it suddenly grew and they were force to call their Zords and make the warrior take cover. Never before had Zen-Aku hidden from a zord fight by he wasn't alone this time and he couldn't take the chance that he could get Justin injured, and the one thing the boy didn't need on top of the illness that was plaguing his body.
When the opponent exploded in a shower of sparks-that had always confused the wolf org, why the hell did they explode again?-he crawled from his hiding spot and quietly approached the rangers who had yet to de-morph and were all congratulating each other on a good battle and that they were just relieved it was over. Despite being a good fighter and knowing how to be an even better assassin when he tried Zen-Aku was soon spotted by the blue ranger who froze and the tapped his green garbed friend on the shoulder gaining his attention. "Adam" he said slowly and then pointed to him who was approaching them slowly.
"You" the green ranger breathed out in shock and what Zen-Aku could also tell was a little bit of awe at his impressive form-he did tower of the small fighter which he could tell impressed the green ranger more than he liked to show or reveal. "Why are you back?"
Stopping in front of the ranger team so that he was at least ten meters away he looked down at Justin in his arms and then angled the boy down so that they could see him which drew gasps of fear and shock from the yellow and pink rangers and made anger start flowing from the red and blue rangers while the green ranger only stared at him waiting for an explanation. "He is ill" he said making the green ranger nod slowly. "He needs help"
That seemed to be the last straw for the red ranger who took a step forward snarling "Yeah well you shouldn't have taken him!" he snarled about to take another step forward only to be stopped by his second in commands hand on his chest "Adam?"
"That is enough" the green ranger said in a low and calm voice which made Zen-Aku proud that he had chosen the ranger he trusted most well: he knew very well that this 'Adam' probably liked him just as much as he did the others but it also seemed that the green ranger had enough sense that the others seemed to be missing to at least to hear him out. "We can get him the help he needs" he called out to him making him nod. "But you knew that didn't you?"
Straightening his shoulder the wolf org nodded once making the green ranger glance at the tense forms of his teammates surrounding him. "Yes I came back across several states to find you" he spoke evenly without skipping a beat and telling the full truth. "It took me all night"
Not even thinking that he was lying about running across several states in one night the green ranger took a step forward but making sure to keep the others behind almost as if he knew that he wouldn't let any of the other rangers approach him and that he only trusted the green garbed ranger. "You didn't take Justin didn't you" he said softly making the wolf org actually shocked at the understanding he heard in the fellow warriors voice-even if it was slightly muffled by the stupid helmet he wore hiding his face from view. "He went willingly didn't he" he finished drawing gasps from his fellow rangers.
"Adam what are you talking about?" the blue ranger demanded about to take a step towards his friend but then re-thinking it and keeping his place behind him. "Why would Justin just leave?"
Zen-Aku knew the green ranger was smirking under his helmet and he also knew that the blue ranger knew and let the two of them talk out their problems while allowing the young fighter take another two steps towards him closing the distance between them to six meters. "Remember the final entry in Justin's journal when we looked through his room, it stated he had found someone he wanted to spend the rest of his life with: I think this is him"
"But he's not even human!" the red ranger exclaimed while the blue ranger seemed to understand and relaxed his tense stance but kept his gaze on the back of the green ranger like a guardian.
Taking another three steps back and closing the distance to two meters the green ranger stopped completely and then turned his head back slightly back to his team and focused on the red ranger completely "Sometimes that doesn't matter, I mean Billy's in love with a fish isn't he?" he said his voice laced with amusement which shut the leader up before he turned his attention back to the wolf armored warrior in front of him. "Can I take him now?" he asked in respect.
Looking down at Justin one more time Zen-Aku leaned down and nuzzled his hair one more time taking in his sweet scent and then stepped forward-ignoring the way the other rangers tensed-and then placed the frail body in the green ranger's arms carefully like Justin was the most valuable thing in the world: to him that boy was. "I am trusting him with you green ranger: do not betray that trust" he growled.
Understanding the warning the green ranger nodded and tightened his grip on the boy "I will protect him with my life" he said locking gazes with the wolf org for a moment before Zen-Aku turned around and then ran back into the forest electing yells from the other ranger "Leave him…he won't hurt anyone" Adam said softly "Plus Justin needs a hospital" he said turning around and striding off in the opposite direction.
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