"RJ! Wait up!" Fran continued to run, as fatigued as she had become. She could hardly believe that he, as badly wounded as he was, could still running at twice her speed. Even with the rain pouring down and dripping onto her glasses, her eyes focused on the flickering violet flames that danced across his body and hid his true self from sight.
After a few minutes, he stopped to rest, and she caught up and collapsed next to him. She gasped for air as the last bits of her stamina steadied itself to keep her from passing out. She found a relatively dry part of her clothes and began drying off her glasses. "Ya know what, RJ? I bus tables all day, and I walk all around town, but I can't run after you anymore!" She looked up and saw a black blur standing in front of them, one that had caused RJ to suddenly become defensive.
She put her glasses on and gasped as the blur filled out and sharpened, taking the form of a man in a black suit of lion-themed armor. She panicked and let out a terrified squeal as RJ put himself between the two of them.
The man laughed softly and sadistically, making Fran let out a smaller yet equally terror-filled whimper. "Pathetic little girl." He muttered in an unearthly tone as he approached them. RJ hunched up on all fours to try and lunge full force, but then promptly collapsed. "So we meet again, mighty wolf. It's a shame that we're here now with you in this condition; I've always seen you to be a strong and untamed beast, yet here you are, stumbling and guarding this human like you're the girl's hurt pet." RJ growled at him out of contempt.
He stood where he was, apparently looking the pair over. "I see that I'm just wasting my time here with the both of you. Go before I decide to tear apart what's left of you two." Fran cocked her head to the side, feeling severely confused. She was sure that this was Dai Shi, but he…wasn't going to kill them? She decided to not press her luck.
She stood up slowly and began to walk towards Dai Shi, continuing down the path out of the woods. RJ then sprang up and walked beside her, making sure to keep himself between her and Dai Shi until they had made it back into town.
Fran turned around to face RJ. "Where should I take you? It's your choice." She looked to the left, which would bring them to JKP and the loft, then to the right, which led to her home. "Left or right? Your place or mine?"
RJ looked in both directions, walked a circle around her, then ran down his chosen path. "Figures." She muttered as she began to run after him. "Wait up!"
Several minutes later…
"Fran!" Casey shouted, the trio now out of their suits and back in their color-coded uniforms. They wandered into the empty streets, looking around for her. It was a wonder that nobody besides Fran had asked about them being Power Rangers; they wandered around after the emptied streets and plazas so much when people were running…but now wasn't the time to think about such strange things. They had lost sight of Fran because of the Rinshi, and they still had yet to see her since.
"She couldn't have gotten this far away from us in that short a period of time." Theo griped.
"Maybe she went back to JKP." Lily suggested. "I mean, maybe she lost sight of the animal spirit too."
"And if she's still out chasing it, we'll see her, won't we…?" Casey slyly asked, grinning. "Let's go." The trio began to run to JKP.
Meanwhile, far away…
"My belts! My lovely belts!" Spindarella shouted, holding one up to show Camille how limp and lifeless it was.
"My eyes! My lovely eyes!" Camille replied, mocking her companion's tone in a way that let the arachnid woman know that Camille cared very little for her troubles and more about herself. The chameleon's eyes were bloodshot, and a pair of red rings around her eyes had begun to form.
"That human's toxin was about as potent as those blue child's fans…I'm impressed." Spindarella mused, looking Camille over.
"Shut up!" She hissed. "You just stay here and…recover or mope or…whatever. I'll talk to Dai Shi on my own."
Camille blinked several times on her way to the throne room, where Dai Shi sat, waiting patiently for her.
She grinned happily and took her usual position. "Dai Shi! You look…well rested today."
Dai Shi looked rather lost in thought as she continued. "I have great news! There's been a new threat in town, but Spindarella and I have-"
"Make an anti-toxin." He gave her a marginally blank stare. She stopped mid-sentence and her eyes widened as her joy melted into a mixture of confusion and rage.
"…Wh…what?!" Her face contorted into a pained and rage-filled visage. "This's the closest we've gotten to destroying any of the Pai Zhuq, and…you want me to reverse it?"
"If it was anyone but him, I would be pleased."
Camille gave him a concerned look. "I…am not sure what you mean."
Dai Shi smiled. "I didn't quite believe that it was him from the way you spoke of him…but I saw that untamed animal spirit bounding around the forest, I knew I was wrong." He laughed softly. "It's been years since I saw that brilliant and powerful being…" Camille sat down on the floor and paid attention as Dai Shi began his usual story-telling regimen by cracking his neck.
"Master, where are we going? Shouldn't we just go meditate with the others?" The young man tried to beg the slightly older male in the most respectful tone he could. After all, despite the closeness in age, the stiff-haired young man in the purple gi with the sleeves tied up above the elbows with muy thai cords was the officially designated leader of the pair, best indicated by him having his own insignia on the tail end of his twisted headband. The designated leader seemed rather adamant on continuing on with his motivated march around the academy, despite his subordinate's passive demands.
"This is not the time to meditate, young lion," The older male replied in a low voice. "we have work to do."
"Wait." The older man looked back at his rather worried cohort. "I still don't understand what we're doing."
"You don't?" He asked, sounding annoyed. "How could you not? Can't you feel it?"
"Feel what, Master?" The younger man looked confused.
The older man looked his student over, then grinned. "Maybe it's because you're but a lion cub. You don't have the ability to feel the things that should not exist around us, I suppose." He turned around and nodded. "I should explain, then. Young lion, there is a deep, dark entity within this den. I have sensed it on many occasions, and although it has not grown stronger, it still is very strong and still a great threat to this den of ours."
The younger man's eyes widened. "Why hasn't Master Mao taken care of such a thing?"
"Maybe he can't." The young master grinned. "Maybe he's too afraid to face it."
"And we're the only ones who're neither." The student replied.
"I've taught you well." The teacher beamed with pride. "Now, are you with me?"
"Of course, Master."
They continued walking through the torch-lit academy, the student's fears becoming greater as they continued. "…Master?"
"What?"
"Are…you alright?"
"I am fine."
"…Your arms are shaking badly. Are you afraid?"
"Afraid? Are you suggesting that I have any fear whatsoever?" The young master laughed. Wondering what his student meant, he held his arms out in front of his face. Much to his surprise, they were, in fact, shaking much like rattlesnake tails.
"…This one is weak…" He sounded disappointed. "The weak tremble, falter. The weak try to force whatever resistance they can…but the weak always fall." He closed his eyes and went through the steps in the technique he had done mere minutes before. As he went through the final step, a soft and nearly invisible purple fire spread across his hands and up his arms, soon consuming his body entirely, standing around it and warming the room considerably.
He then looked at his arms and smiled. "There. Better. This one should not need to be so trembling in the prospect protecting his den."
"You're on fire!" The student warned.
"Oh, it doesn't hurt." The young master grabbed his terrified student's arm, leaving him completely unharmed. "You feel that warmth? It is proof of my strength. I will never hurt my pack, unless they stand between me and the wicked." He smiled warmly. "Now, let us continue. Thank you for your concern." He ruffled his student's hair and continued forwards.
He had only walked a handful of steps before he stopped, looking over at a dimly-lit doorway belonging to the Third Rank dormitory/meditation room. He took a defensive stance as a figure stepped out, and to both their surprises, it was Master Mao. The elder master usually meditated with his fellow Arch Masters at this time.
Master Mao's eyes widened when he saw the young master. "I sensed that you two were here, but…what have you done to yourself, Randall?"
The young master growled. "Don't call me that."
"Master Mao," The young man bowed of respect. "have you been aware of the great danger that lurks here in the academy?"
Master Mao gave them both a look and seemed a bit surprised that they seemed to know of it. "Of course I have. It is well guarded and none of your concern. Now Randall-"
The fire grew in intensity around the young master's body. It became brighter and started becoming translucent, beginning to hide the young man's body beneath it. "Not only do you not honor my request, but you let that thing live willingly? You'd let a hunter sleep in our den? What kind of Arch Master are you?" He sounded completely disgusted.
"You've gone too deep into the Spirit Binding technique. Please stop before you cause too much damage to yourself or others."
"I will not harm anyone if they don't stand in my way. I will not let this thing sleep in my den!" The young master shouted, becoming more hidden in the continuously growing flames.
"Stop it this instant! If you don't maintain control of yourself, the damage you cause to yourself will be irreversible!" Master Mao warned.
"My well-being is second to the safety of my den!" The young master dashed at Master Mao. The student of the trio panicked, and grabbed his master's arm in an attempt to stop him.
"Wait, Master! Please!" The student clung tightly to his master's arm, knowing it was most likely the only thing keeping his master from getting thrown out.
The young master stopped and turned around, looking his student square in the eyes. "Are you turning against me?" He looked hurt.
"I can't let you hurt Master Mao! You'll be thrown out!"
"Sacrifices must be made to protect everyone, then. Even if it's you and me." His face contorted and, with a quick twist, yanked the student off his feet and sent him flying into a pillar and knocking him out cold.
"Well, he sounds nice," Camille faked a smile. "but what does this have to do with our current situation?"
Dai Shi smiled warmly, which scared Camille. "I owe him once for sparing my life, and for being such a wise teacher."
"Yes, quite wise…" Camille tried hard to smile at the sentiment.
"He taught me to pursue my inner power, to not let others degrade me while mingling with them, and that I should pursue my own path to greatness. I may have become a weakling without him, and he has made me the fierce warrior that sits before you. I now understand why the Rangers have been such a nuisance…" He stood up and began to approach her. "He must be opening their eyes as well. I wonder if he retained his teaching methods…he must have, considering how strong they've gotten…"
"Well, I'll go…begin making an anti-toxin, then." Camille replied. "I'll send Spindarella to keep the Rangers busy."
"No. When we depart to deliver your anti-toxin, we shall unleash her. The wolf is a creature of extreme hatred of evil and injustice, and even if we send her to the other side of the city, we may awaken it."
"…Right."
"And what happened to your eyes?" He stopped on front of her, giving her an odd look.
"The…human girl, had employed a powerful caustic concoction in her attempt to stop me…my face just broke out like this. I'm quite ashamed to admit it, but I'm impressed by the human girl's tenacity."
"Apparently my former master has rubbed off on her as well." He smiled as he walked out of the throne room and out towards her quarters.
Camille, finding her chance, growled and stamped her feet. "This's the worst humiliation of my entire life!" She shouted.
Meanwhile…
Fran unlocked her front door and looked at her watch she opened the door. "I guess it's not too odd that he didn't really run into anyone; I mean, it's not five yet, so no rush hour, and well, I guess some people might still be afraid that there's Rinshi about, so…hm."
She closed the door behind the limping RJ, taking her keys out of the knob. "Do you think you can make it up a flight of stairs really quick?" She asked him. He turned around and looked at the stairs. "I've got somewhere you can just conk out for a few days or whatever." She weakly smiled. He trudged up the stairs after her, slowing down quicker now than he had in the last twenty minutes prior.
She opened the last door on the left and revealed a rather wide open room and a queen-size bed which belonged to her. The walls were painted to look like a giant collection of trees in the forest, and from the ceiling hung hundreds of small pillows that were sewn up to like maple and oak leaves in the autumn. Her comforter was stitched to look like a collage of the same kinds of leaves, and her carpet was painted in the same manner as her sheets.
She quickly pulled her comforter off, revealing a plain brown cover sheet that sat above her actual sheets. "Bed's all yours. I'll be right back."
She ran to the bathroom and began rummaging around, looking for her mother's heavy-duty first aid bag. She opened the cabinet beneath the sink and rummaged through, finding the brown leather bag with ease. She grabbed a pair of allergy-free examining gloves as well and ran back to her room.
She had to stop in the doorway, as the sight before her terrified her. She knew that she would eventually have to see RJ, in the flesh, sprawled out across her bed and heavily injured, but this proved to be much more than she imagined.
From afar, Fran immediately thought that the indigo blotches snaking across his arms, face, and neck were just the wounds and the surrounding areas necrotizing from prolonged exposure. As she walked over slowly, however, she realized that the epidermis was unharmed and that all of the discoloration was underneath.
She sighed and put the gloves on, then reached into the bag and grabbed the scissors and cut straight through his shirt. She looked at the tag on the inside, memorizing his shirt size so she could get him another one later. As she peeled the shirt away, she saw that the murky non-necrotization had spread across most of his back as well, and that it was spreading from the wounds themselves. She shook her head, as she had no clue what to do about it.
As far as actual things she knew how to treat offhand, he had a long cut across his left cheek, a deep puncture in the back of his neck, another close by in his left shoulder, and a final one in his lower back, above his right hip. His hands and bare feet looked scraped up slightly from having to travel on them, but they were the least of her worries. Right now, she needed to try and work on the puncture wounds, as they looked to be a bit too deep for comfort.
She pulled out the antiseptic and the cotton balls, setting them aside as she reached over and grabbed her waste basket. She then began cleaning out the wounds as best as she could by just sticking cotton balls in the holes, making sure to soak up as much of the black fluid that she could. After she had mopped what she could, she sprayed in the antiseptic, which made him wince and inhale roughly with every spritz.
Once she had done what she could, she dug out the antibacterial ointment, gauze pads, and tape to patch him up. She wanted to sew up the shoulder wound badly, but she knew how painful it would have been if she attempted to sew him up without proper anesthesia. She quickly went through the process of patching up the wounds, antibacterial gel and all.
She set everything back in the bag and looked over at RJ, who seemed to be resting peacefully for the moment. She pulled off her gloves, softly pushed him completely onto the bed, then covered him up with her comforter.
Her mind then drifted over to how rain-soaked she was, and how pneumonia didn't need to be on either of their lists of problems. "He's probably drenching my sheets…" She muttered to herself, wondering what she should do.
Meanwhile…
"Have you found them?" Lily asked, sounding worried.
"They're nowhere to be found." Casey replied sordidly, darting between all of the TV sets.
"Hey! I got a dial tone!" Theo commented, handing Lily back her cell phone. Lily yanked the phone from his hands and eagerly awaited the sound of Fran's voice.
Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring.
Lily bit her lip. Fran typically picked up at least after the third ring.
Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring.
The tension was building.
Click. The good kind of click, in fact.
Lily lit up.
"Hello there, this's Fran."
"Fran! Fra-"
"Sorry, I'm out at the moment, so please leave a message."
"Dammit!" Lily growled. "That's it! We're going to her house!" Lily shouted, scaring her male companions. "I'm tired, I'm cold, I'm soaked, and I'm going to kill the both of them when I see them for making me so damn worried! We can hide their bodies and run this place ourselves!" She stomped out, leaving the boys to watch her march off in wonder.
"…We should probably follow her." Theo suggested.
"Great idea." Casey leaped up from the chair and followed Theo out.
Meanwhile…
Fran put on a housecoat after getting into fresh and dry clothes in the bathroom. She gathered up the bundle she had put together on the shelf behind her, and walked back into her room to find RJ sitting up on the bed meditating. "What are you doing up?" She was a little shocked to see him awake, let alone up and meditating.
He opened his eyes and looked over at her, a vacant and lost look on his face that Fran was unaccustomed to. His eyes seemed to peer through her, rather than look at her. "…Oh. You." He muttered softly and smiled weakly.
She wasn't sure quite what was wrong with him, so she approached him slowly, holding out the housecoat and towel out in front of her. "Well, I thought you were asleep, so I was going to try and dry you off a bit and try to keep you from catching pneumonia, but you're up and about, I guess, so you can do it yourself! That is…if you feel up to it. You still don't look very good, and you should lie down again after you meditate. I'm not going to tell you to not meditate, because it's pretty much your favorite activity, but you're…very hurt, and as your…acting doctor, I want you to lie down and recover."
"Don't be nervous." He took the towel and ruffled his hair with it, drying it quickly. "And don't worry about this one; the road to recovery will be very short, I promise." He set the towel down and went to crack his neck. Fran grabbed his hands at the wrists and pulled them away from his head.
"Stop!"
"What?"
"You have a hole in your neck! You shouldn't be doing that."
"But my neck hurts. It'll heal again, don't worry." He gave a wide grin.
"But I will." She replied. "I do worry. This…whatever it is-" She held his heavily blackened arms in front of his face. "it's all over you and it's spreading and I can't do anything about it."
"I know. I'm trying to deal with it myself, but…it's hard. It's hard to talk, hard to breathe, but I'm going to meditate and focus my energies and beat it myself."
"You know what it is?" Fran set his arms down. "What is it?"
"A paralysis toxin. I've managed to weaken it while it spreads, but it's still lethal if it concentrates in the right places. I've been managing to burn it away, even keep it from spreading at times, but now I can't do either without a great deal of meditation."
Fran bit her lip; if she let him stay up, he could fight off the toxin, but the rest of him wouldn't heal as well, but if she made him sleep, the toxin would continue spreading, but the puncture wounds would heal faster.
"…Can you meditate while lying down?"
"I…haven't done so in a while, but I could try if you want me to." He pulled his arms away from her and took a deep breath. He grabbed the housecoat and slowly pulled it on. "Oh, this's a nice robe." He smiled, turned around on the bed, then flopped face first onto the pillow. Fran took the towel and lied it over the back of her desk chair. She then began to walk out to the bathroom when RJ spoke up. "…Hey."
She stopped in the doorway. "Yes?"
"Can I…tell you something?"
She cocked and eyebrow and turned to face him. "…Sure. What is it?"
"Well, I need you to listen to me for a while. Can you do that?"
"Sure." She grabbed her desk chair and pulled it over next to her bed. "What is it?"
"Well…" He was interrupted by a heavy cough, but he continued on without missing a beat. "I want to clear out my conscious, and I feel that I can only tell you. " She smiled warmly. "This one trusts you very much, so don't let him lie about it."
"Okay…" Fran laughed nervously and gave him a funny look, feeling awkward about his wording. "It means a lot to me that you can trust me, though. I mean, this's obviously something important to you."
He looked up at her and smiled softly. "Well, where to start…? At the beginning, I guess. Well, I used to be a teacher at the Pai Zhuq Academy before I was unceremoniously thrown out…"
"What, whoa. You used to teach students? Like…a Master?" She gave him an odd look. "You're not that old, though…are you?"
"No, I'm not. I mean, I'm quite a few years older than you, but I'm still not that old." He looked up at the ceiling, feeling a little awkward. "Anyways, I was…yes. I was younger than Casey when I became a Master. My father was a Master, and I was a young prodigy whom everyone thought highly of. I spent my entire life in the Academy, learning everything I could from every Master and reading and memorizing every instructional tool in the library."
"Now this's a good fairy tale." Fran teased as she spoke in her teasing tone to let him in on the joke.
"Trust me, I wouldn't believe it either if I hadn't been there." He laughed, which was followed by a heavy cough. He took a few deep breaths, then continued. "The year I became an active teacher, the Academy brought in the only student I had. I took him in because…well, I was afraid of him." He looked at her with a pained looked on his face. "He was stronger than me, both through his physical build, and because of his animal spirit. Nobody around my age was close to my strength, and yet, this guy who was a couple years younger than me was already better. I was just…intimidated. So, I decided that I would take him on as a student because I wanted to train alongside him to learn his style and find ways to beat him. If I could beat him, I thought, I would have nothing to fear anymore."
"So…did you ever beat him?" Fran asked.
RJ's cheerful and nostalgic demeanor dropped. "No. I became so wrapped up in my little competition…I stopped caring about how hard I was pushing myself."
"Sounds a little like Theo." Fran commented.
"I was impatient and jealous and I just wanted to beat him-"
"…And a little like Casey."
"Yes, I do see my younger self in both the young tiger and the jaguar…" He mused. "But I'm losing focus on my confession. Let me go back." He coughed again, this time a bit rougher.
"Do you want some water?"
"No. Let me finish." Fran silently nodded, then he continued. "I continued searching for ways to overpower him with something he'd never think to use, and I fell upon a lost technique called the Spirit Bind."
"Sounds flashy."
"It allowed anyone with an animal spirit to summon it for a quick and massive boost in abilities."
"So, kinda like morphing with those sunglasses?"
RJ thought for a moment. "Well, kind've, I guess. But when I tried to do the technique…"
"You went all 'flame on', didn't you?"
"I wish it were as simple as that." RJ replied, apparently not as amused by Fran's comment as she had hoped. "I just pushing this one harder and harder, and then I just broke him. The damage I did can't be reversed, the physical, or the emotional. Everyone around felt betrayed by this one's impulsive desire, and feared another sudden strike. A lot of people suffered, and the sentence was unanimously voted; deposure and immediate expulsion to the nearest safe haven."
"Ocean Bluff."
"You catch on quickly." He smiled warmly. "But I'm straying again. I'm trying to get to the point that…today's been my fault. The last few days have been my fault, and…and I'm sorry." He reached up slowly towards her. "I've been doing well for seven years, but…I've gotten tired of sitting around. I can't let a bunch of kids fight for their lives anymore, no matter how much this one protests. You understand, right?"
Fran held his hand in both of hers. "Sometimes I wish I could just run out and help the Rangers, too. But really, we can't. At least not like this, and especially not you like this." She softly ran her top hand over his. "I want you to get better, okay?" RJ nodded. "You just lie there and meditate, and I'll take care of everyone, and everything will be fine."
To Fran's surprise, the front door suddenly slammed shut. RJ's eyes widened and he shot up into a sitting position almost immediately. He coughed heavily, then got up and limped over to Fran's desk, his eyes darting around in search of something. He picked up her dagger-looking letter opener and handed it to her, a terrified look in his eyes. "Please be careful." As she took the blade, he coughed once more before stumbling back into bed. Fran sighed and covered him up, then ruffled his hair lightly before walking out cautiously.
Fran wandered downstairs slowly, avoiding the creaky stairs on the way down to keep from being noticed. A pair of boots and a pair of high heels walked across the hard wood floor, warning Fran that she was outnumbered and likely overpowered.
"Go upstairs." A deep voice called out. Fran gasped, recognizing the voice from earlier. She retreated upstairs and hid in a blind spot. The high heels hit every stair, creaking with every hit, and Fran counted. As soon as she hit the appropriate number of steps, Fran leaped out with the dagger and lunged at Camille.
The pair flew back, tumbling down the flight of stairs and hit the bottom within moments, the dagger having lodged itself in Camille's arm. "Ow!" She shouted, pulling the dagger out. Fran, now disarmed, began trying to strike Camille with her bare hands. Her first punch was unfortunately her last, as Camille seized the balled-up fist of fury and tossed her back, giving her enough time to stand up and grab Fran by the arm and pull her close. "This's my good uniform! You're going to pay for that!"
A low growl distracted Camille, and Dai Shi walked over to the pair. "Let her go, Camille."
"As you wish, Master." She tossed Fran's arm away with enough force to send her stumbling into the wall.
"You said you'd let us go, so what do you want?" Fran asked Dai Shi as she curled up against the wall in a defensive position.
He grinned. "I've come to pay respects to an old friend. I suppose that he's upstairs?"
"You leave him alone! You two have done enough!"
"And what will you do if we don't? Hit us with your little toy dagger again?" Dai Shi growled at Camille, silencing her once more.
"I have a deal to make with you. I don't think you'll refuse."
"A deal? What kind?" Fran gave him an odd look.
From his cloak, Dai Shi revealed an antique glass perfume bottle with a chameleon-motif spraying mechanism. "I have an anti-toxin that will eradicate whatever amount of Camille's toxin is in your master's system. I am willing to give you a one-time opportunity to take this and save his life in the process."
"…There's always a catch." Fran replied.
"You're as wise as Camille says you are." He smiled, trying to be charming. Camille leaned in and muttered, "I said such a thing?" to him, which got her a glare in return. "There is one catch. You must promise me that you will encourage him to settle a match between us once he fully recovers."
"You mean, like a fight?"
"If you wish to call it that, then yes, a fight."
"That's not a fair fight. You have that armor and-"
"He has his animal spirit for protection. It's better than armor when it comes to my touch. His tenacious animal spirit repels all dark energies; I've seen it do so in battle today, and I doubt it would not in battle with me." Dai Shi grinned. "Especially me, as I am the one he pursued so many years ago, the reason he was exiled…he wanted nothing more than to crush me and nearly crippled the entire academy to get the chance to do so…" Fran's eyes widened. "I'm certain that even someone as noble as himself would want a little revenge for losing so much to a lost cause…wouldn't you?"
"No." Fran replied.
"I see. Well, the choice is yours, little human. I'll give you all the time you want…or all the time he has left. Whichever comes first." Fran could hear RJ coughing heavily upstairs. "He's starting to not sound so good."
Fran grimaced, looking ill and worried as she thought hard. It was either she let RJ die, or she forced him into a fight he may not want to have. She knew RJ well enough to know that he despised having to toss himself into verbal disputes, let alone physical altercations. She sighed deeply and took the glass bottle from his hand. "Fine. But don't say I didn't warn you if he does refuse."
"Camille, go upstairs with her and show her what she must do." Dai Shi commanded.
Camille's eye twitched as she followed the completely terrified Fran upstairs.