Elsewhere in the city, Lily and Luan were making their way back to the restaurant from the store. Lily had arranged for the majority of the delivery to be delivered directly to the restaurant due to the volume of produce they were buying, taking with them only what they needed that night.
As they made their way through the streets, Lily could tell her companion was a bit bothered about something, most likely his brother. She still couldn't believe Theo had kept the fact he had a twin from her for all those years.
"You know, you don't have to worry, we don't think any less of you." She told him reassuringly, putting her one free hand around his shoulders.
"What are you talking about?" Luan asked her.
"You don't need to be jealous of your brother." She replied. "His accomplishments and his exciting stories and his music are great and all, but you've done a lot of great things too." She continued. "You just can't talk about your accomplishments in the same way Luan can."
He suddenly got a look of understanding on his face. He had changed clothes because of the paint Dom had spilled on him; she obviously thought he was Theo.
"Lily, I'm Luan." He informed her with a laugh. "I borrowed some clothes from Theo, Dom spilled paint on me."
Lily suddenly became a little breathless and turned pink as she realised her mistake.
"Luan, I…"
"I'm glad you said something." He interrupted her, understanding her embarrassment. "I had no idea Theo was jealous of me, I always got the impression I wasted my life."
"He doesn't think that, I'm sure of it." Lily reassured him. "He told me he envies you."
"I've never really had a focus." He admitted. "I just was never able to sit still for too long. I kind of have to always be doing something. I just didn't have the discipline for something like school or Kung Fu or anything like that. In a lot of ways I wished I could be more like him."
"You know, you both are more similar than you think." Lily responded. "I think if you told him that instead of trying to impress him and everyone else it would mean a lot to him."
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"Well, think about it. How do you feel when Theo talks about his accomplishments and what's important to him?" She quizzed him.
"I guess it reminds me of what I've not been able to do." He conceded. "It can feel a bit like he's rubbing my face in it."
"How do you think he feels when you drift into town and start bagging on his interests and telling him what you've been doing?" She asked him.
"I guess about the same." He sighed. "I guess I never thought about it that way."
"I have a feeling if you just talked to each other you' sort a lot of things out." She commented. "You know you…"
Her words tailed off as they were confronted by the Spirit Rangers, appearing before them ready to act. Lily was beginning to reach instinctively for her morpher before catching a glimpse of Luan out the corner of her eye. She couldn't morph in front of him, it would blow their cover, on the other hand they were in danger.
"Two will have to do for now." Swoop remarked, eyeing up Lily and Luan in disgust. "I can't believe I wasted my time teaching this guy."
"Lily, who are they?" Luan asked her, gesturing to the Rangers.
"Luan, let's get out of here!" She yelled, gesturing for him to run, before turning and following him. It was pointless to face them; trying to fight them when they had these kinds of odds in their favour would have been pointless. They turned to flee, being intercepted from the opposite direction by Dynamir, Dai Shi's latest Phantom Beast.
"Two Rangers for the price of one!" He laughed, striking them both with energy waves, which imprisoned them inside mirror tiles. Lily and Luan slammed their hands against the glass in a futile gesture, somehow hoping to break free, but finding it impossible. Dynamir came over to them, collecting the mirrors. "Only three more left."
Back in the restaurant, the alert system bleeped, informing the others of the attack on the city. Dom, Casey, and RJ rushed to the monitors, watching the replays of the attack on Lily and Luan.
"That thing's captured Lily and Theo!" Casey yelled. None of the others had realised Lily's mistake yet, they knew she'd asked Theo to help her with the groceries. "We've got to save them."
"We can't rush into this." RJ interjected. "If he can capture us in those mirrors, then we have to be cautious."
"I really wish we had some backup." Casey commented. "Is there any word on the Overdrive Rangers?"
"Unfortunately they can't help." RJ told him, placing a copy of that day's newspaper in front of them. "Until the trial they're under house arrest at Dr. Hartford's estate. The court considered them a flight risk."
"Well can't he even offer us some technical support?" Dom asked him.
"Unfortunately part of their bail conditions is the confiscation of the Overdrive trackers and the sealing of Dr. Hartford's lab." He explained. "They couldn't help us if they wanted to."
"Guys, I'm just going out for a little while." Fran told them, putting away her cell phone. "I have a little errand to run."
"Fran, there's a monster attacking the city." RJ explained.
"That and the Spirit Rangers are back." Casey informed her.
"We need you here." RJ told her. "We'll be back soon."
With that, they grabbed their vines and rushed from the back room before Fran could say another word.
"What about Theo?" She asked.
Back in Ocean Bluff, the three Rangers arrived to find Dynamir and the Spirit Rangers awaiting them. Dynawir held up the two mirrors for the others to see.
"We already have two of your friends." He reminded them. "Do you want to surrender now? Or should I let the Rangers have another round with you?"
"We have no intention of giving up." Casey yelled in response, powering up into Jungle Master Mode. "Bring it on!"
With that, the three Spirit Rangers rushed to the attack, falling upon the Rangers as Dynawir stood awaiting the result.
In a nearby train station, Fran looked around nervously, hoping not to run into any trouble. It probably wasn't wise to run this errand alone, but she knew that it was important. Making her way over to the lockers, she pulled a key from her coat pocket and opened one of the lockers.
She found the package there, just as she knew it would be. Shoving it inside her jacket, she headed back towards the restaurant. She hated being so secretive, especially with her friends, but she knew that this was one secret she'd have to keep for the time being. The only thing that could keep her going was the thought of how her friends would react when they found out what she was up to, especially Theo.
Meanwhile in the restaurant, Theo was getting a little tired of operating the nail gun and opted to take a rest. Pulling off his ear protectors, it was only then that he noticed his morpher bleeping, indicating that the automated defence system was contacting him. He made his way upstairs and watched in amazement as he saw the battle unfolding. Dynamir had already captured RJ and Casey in addition to Lily and Luan, leaving Dom to bravely battle alone against the Spirit Rangers and Dynamir, though he was already coming under pressure.
Realising it wouldn't be long before Dom also fell into their clutches, he rushed from the restaurant.
"Fran, Camille, the guys need me!" He called out as he headed through the main restaurant, though he stopped short as he noticed something odd. Neither of them were there, the restaurant was completely empty.
"Guys?" He asked weakly. As his morpher bleeped again, he decided it was a mystery that would have to wait and left the restaurant, locking up as he went.
Dai Shi watched the battle unfolding, chuckling in satisfaction as the Spirit Rangers smashed Dominic to the ground, de-morphing him.
"Recall the Spirit Rangers." He commanded. "Scorch, now you can have them for as long as you wish to absorb the power of the eyes. Dynamir can handle them now."
Scorch recalled the spirit Rangers, powering them down as they arrived back in the throne room. Rinshi warriors pounced on them, shackling them together before they could regain their composure.
"So how does it feel to know that you were instrumental in my victory over the Pai Zhuq?" He taunted them. "The last of the Rangers is about to fall, and it's all thanks to you."
"There are still those who would oppose you Dai Shi." Finn snarled. "When we get out of here..."
"You will be my loyal servants." He interrupted. "Now there is no need for you to battle the Rangers, you'll be going back to your cell to absorb the last of the energies from the eyes. Once you do, you will be mine to control forever."
With that, he gestured to Scorch to take them away. He dragged the protesting masters through the corridors back towards the cell, though he stopped a little way down the hall and began looking around suspiciously. He couldn't help getting the feeling that he was being watched.
Seeing no one around, he dismissed the notion as mere paranoia and dragged the masters back to their cell, shackling them to the wall and left them to absorb the energy of the eyes. Locking the door, he observed them with a sense of satisfaction. His plan had worked far better than he could have hoped for. He hung the key up on a hook near the door and headed back to the throne room to watch the end of the battle. He once again got the feeling someone was watching him, but he still couldn't find anybody.
He decided that he was just being overly cautious and made his way back to the throne room. Now that the Rangers had been taken care of, he could concentrate on his new project.
Back in the city, Dynamir had only just finished capturing Dominic within a mirror tile when the Theo arrived. Without warning, he attacked in a fury with his Claw Booster, never letting up or giving him a chance to gather composure.
"What? I thought I'd captured you already!" He remarked as he rolled away from his furious assault.
"Release the others, NOW!" He roared as he readied himself to renew the attack.
"You have no power to threaten me Ranger." He sneered in response, holding up the mirror tiles. "Your friends can't help you now; you are on your own."
With that, an energy connected with his hand, shattering the mirror tiles and releasing the prisoners.
"What the hell happened?" Lily asked, looking around for their mystery saviour. "Who set us free?"
"We can worry about that later. Luan, step aside, we'll explain later." RJ called out. "Ready guys?"
"Jungle Beast, Spirit Unleashed!" They chorused together.
Back in the fortress, Dai Shi was less than amused as he watched his almost certain victory unravelling before his eyes.
"I thought you said the Blue Ranger was already captured." He screamed at the Avalonian Dragon. "What happened?"
"I have no idea my lord." He responded truthfully.
Dai Shi felt the anger rising in him as they watched the Rangers defeat the first of the Phantom Beasts, destroying Dynamir utterly with their Zords. He watched them gathering on the screen and powering down as Luan ran into view. Seeing Luan and Theo together, he realised what had happened.
"Your creature's arrogance had been its undoing." He sneered, failing to take any responsibility whatsoever for recalling the Spirit Rangers and leaving his monster undefended. "He took the Rangers lightly and it has cost us a fantastic opportunity at victory."
"Of course my lord, I apologise for his failure." He responded, restraining himself from taking out his frustrations on Dai Shi. He was still needed to assist in destroying the Rangers, so he knew he would have to tolerate him a little while longer at least.
The guys arrived back at the restaurant, finding Fran and Camille inside, applying wood stain to the booths.
"Where did you get to?" Theo asked, seeing them working. "When I left you were nowhere around."
"We ran out of wood stain, we had to go to the hardware store." Fran answered, holding up the tin. "You didn't hear us because of your ear protectors."
"Oh, right you said you were running an errand." RJ responded, remembering their earlier conversation. "I told you it was dangerous to go out, but I'm glad you got back safely."
"Anyway, Theo, you're a Power Ranger?" Luan exclaimed. "That's awesome, to think I used to rag on you for being boring."
"It's alright; I suppose I've been a bit dismissive of your pastimes too." He replied. "I guess just because you're different doesn't make what matters to you any less valid."
"What made you think that?" Luan asked, looking over to Lily who seemed to be trying hard not to smile as he almost quoted exactly what she'd told Luan.
"When I found out you'd been captured I realised that the one thing we both care about is each other." He responded. "That's where we're both really alike, and that's all that matters."
"I'm glad to hear that, I'm proud of you little brother." He told him, pulling him into a warm hug.
"You know I am only nine and a half minutes younger than you." He reminded him. "I guess we've got a bit of catching up to do."
"Yeah, that's going to have to wait." Luan told him. "I've been thinking about it and I figure what you're doing here is too important to get sidetracked. I'll be leaving tomorrow."
"But you just got here." Theo complained. "Why are you going?"
"Look, I'm no Ranger, and I'll only hold you back." He explained. "Now that Dai Shi knows about me, I'll be a target, and I won't be able to defend myself against him."
"But Luan..."
"I'll be a distraction you can do without." He interrupted. "I'll come back and we can catch up properly once this is all over, but right now, I'm a weakness he can exploit and you know it."
Theo wanted to protest, but he had to admit that Luan had a point. Regretfully he hugged his brother again.
"I love you bro, I'm proud of you." Theo told him. "Promise you won't be a stranger."
"I won't." He replied. "Besides, I have a wedding to attend at least."
"You can expect an invitation in the mail." RJ interjected. "Now, in the meantime, there's one thing I'd like to know. Who did help Theo smash those mirrors?"
"I never saw anyone, only an energy blast." Theo replied.
"I never saw anyone either." Lily told him.
"Well it's good to know someone has our backs." RJ stated. "I just wish I knew who, and for what purpose."
Back in the fortress, Scorch went to the masters' cell to check on them, finding the door lying wide open. He rushed inside; finding the masters still shackled to the wall and breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't keep the keys to their restraints along with the keys to the cell, and that was the only reason all was not lost. He looked around in horror, noticing that the eyes were gone.
"Who did this?" He roared. "Tell me!"
"Well I didn't see anything." Swoop chuckled at the general's misfortune. He strode over, kicking him hard in the side of the head.
"You shark master, what happened?" He demanded.
"I didn't see anything either." He replied. "You can control my mind if you like, but I will always give you the same answer. I literally saw nothing. One minute they were there, the next they were gone."
"Dai Shi cannot know of this failure." He mused, realising his position. "I can only hope the energy you've already absorbed will be enough."
Watching him go, locking the door as he went, Finn reached out with his mind, hoping to reach his son.
It was late in the night; RJ was meditating in the back room, when he heard his dad's voice in his mind.
"RJ, you must help us. They will send us against the Rangers again soon." He told him.
"Dad, you're still there?" He asked.
"Dai Shi in his impatience did not wait for us to absorb the full energies of the eyes." He replied. "He can control us, and we still have power remaining. We are still a threat. You must not let us destroy the Rangers."
"Someone stole the eyes?" He asked. "Who?"
Unfortunately by now Finn's mental energy was spent, and he could no longer connect. RJ found himself with more questions than answers.
The next day, the Rangers assembled to bid farewell to Luan as he gathered his belongings.
"I promise I'll stay in touch this time." He told them. "There's a dive spot off the coast of Blue Bay Harbour I want to check out."
"I'll write to you all the time." Theo promised, hugging him. "I'll see you again soon, I know it."
As he turned to leave, they saw a FedEx courier arriving at the door.
"Hey, great timing." He commented, handing a package to RJ. "Sign here please?"
RJ furrowed his brows and signed the docket, sending the courier on his way. He opened the packet and almost collapsed as he saw what was inside.
"RJ, what's wrong?" Lily asked as he charged up to the back room. The others followed him, arriving in time to see him throwing open the door to the safe. He pulled out the five crystal eyes and set them down on the table.
"What's going on?" She reiterated the question. RJ just wordlessly tipped the contents of the packet onto the table, causing the Rangers to recoil as they saw the remaining three fall onto the table, taking their place with their brothers.
"We have them all guys." RJ told them. "Someone stole the eyes and sent them to us."
"Who?" Theo asked him.
"I don't know." RJ replied, showing him the packet. "The sender's a PO box."
"So why would anyone steal the eyes if they didn't intend to use them?" Casey asked.
"More importantly, who could?" RJ asked.