Whoa, what a response to the first chapter! Thank you all for your lovely reviews, and also to everyone who favourited and followed! You guys are the best!
Enjoy the first real chapter, when Casey, Theo and Lily make their first appearances!
Chapter 2: Welcome to the Jungle Part 1
"Theo, what is going on?" Ari was woken from her nap by a quiet whisper to her left.
"Lily, no talking," another voice whispered back as Ari attempted to remain impassive, her eyes closed. Over the years, she had become very good at napping instead of meditating, and almost never got caught.
"Lighten up, we've been sitting here since last night," the first voice whispered back, sounding bright despite having been meditating all night. Ari wondered just why they had been sent to meditate in the grounds all night.
A month had passed since Ari had joined the Pai Zhuq temple, and she had harnessed the power of her animal spirit. She was now able to send the spirit out to fight, and despite the laughter from the other cubs, she had grown stronger much faster than the rest. However, she was not on the same level as the other 7 that sat around her, all of them having been at the temple for several years.
"Just try to enjoy the silence," Theo sighed, sounding irritable.
"I hate silence," Lily muttered back, and a small smile tugged at Ari's mouth. Hearing footsteps approach, her green eyes opened and she looked up at Master Mao as he approached. A few other Masters stood around, watching as well. The group of 8 got to their feet as Master Mao stood in front of them.
"Hey Theo, did my butt get up with me?" Lily asked as she stood up, shaking it out. Theo looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "I can't tell, I'm numb," she shrugged, bowing.
"You are the eight finalists. I'm looking for four," Master Mao informed them, and Ari looked with wide eyes at the one who was facing her. With the spirit of the ox, he was powerful, and judging from his smirk, he didn't expect much from Ari. "Begin!" Master Mao instructed.
Ari met the young man in the middle of the courtyard, but as soon as she reached him, she darted to the side. Her opponent had not expected it, and so his powerful punch sailed through the air, allowing Ari to catch him from behind with a spinning kick. He stumbled forwards, and the golden aura surrounded Ari as she summoned her sparrow spirit. As the young man turned to face her again, the Sparrow shot at him, hitting him several times and throwing him to the ground. After bowing, she walked over and held out her hand.
"That was impressive, I didn't think a sparrow would have it in them," the young man laughed, accepting her hand.
"Jarrod!" they heard Master Mao's sharp voice as Jarrod tormented his opponent with his Lion spirit. "Lily, Theo, Ari. Join us in the Great Hall this evening," the Master instructed them. The four bowed, and Master Mao walked off.
"Seriously, you've been here a month," the young man who still stood with Ari was stunned that she had been able to take him on and beat him easily. "You have some serious skills," he laughed, and Ari grinned back.
"Thanks, but it helps that I've been practising martial arts for years," she laughed lightly.
"Where's my towel, cub?" they looked around as Jarrod approached the new student base. "Move it! That's a direct order from a senior student!" he snarled at the young boy. With a yell, he then knocked the towels from the table.
"Here's a towel," Ari frowned when another boy spoke up quickly. Jarrod turned around with a raised eyebrow, and snatched the towel from him before tossing it aside. "Look, I don't want any problems," the boy spoke softly.
"Too bad," Jarrod shoved him to the ground.
"Leave him alone," Ari stepped in, scowling up at Jarrod. "If you want to bully someone, try me," she challenged him.
"Don't get cocky just because you won that fight. You've been here, what, a month?" Jarrod squared up to her, standing very close.
"I may only be a cub but I know when to stand up to bullies," Ari replied coldly. Jarrod then shoved her, and she stumbled over a fallen towel. She hit the ground hard, and groaned.
"Leave her alone!" the boy on the ground yelled, and Jarrod was thrown back as the boy's yell carried power behind it, along with a spirit. Ari ducked, but had no reason to go on the defensive, as the spirit leapt over her head and slammed into Jarrod, throwing the boy back several metres. The spirit snarled again, before fading, and when Ari peeked up to find Jarrod on the ground, looking utterly bewildered, she couldn't help but laugh. "What did I just do?" the boy looked down at his hands in shock. Jarrod got to his feet, looking more furious than before. "I'm sorry! I don't know what happened!" he insisted. Ari scrambled to her feet, stepping between them again, but as Jarrod went to attack, there was a loud clap. They looked around to see Master Mao watching warily. The two turned and bowed to him, and as he turned away, Jarrod shoved past Ari.
"You ok?" after shooting Jarrod a glare, Ari turned to Casey and offered a hand.
"Yeah, I'm fine thanks," he took it, and got to his feet. "You didn't have to do that," he told her, and Ari tilted her head, watching him with her deep green eyes.
"And you didn't have to stand up for that other kid," she pointed out. "Don't worry about it dude," she smiled, and walked off to get a well earned nap.
Ari's nap was interrupted by a messenger calling for her to go to Master Mao's office, where she was joined by Lily and Theo, and then the boy she had helped out before.
"Why are we here? Where's Jarrod? Why is that recruit here?" Theo was asking questions non-stop. Lily and Ari glanced over to the boy, who gave a small smile before looking back at his hands.
"Why do you always have to know everything?" Lily turned to her best friend with an amused smile. "You have control issues," she told him. Theo frowned, before glancing to Ari as she stifled a laugh.
"You've only been here a month, why did Master Mao choose you as one of the finalists?" Theo asked her, and Ari shrugged.
"Dude, I don't even know what I was chosen for," Ari shrugged. They all looked up as Master Mao emerged from his office, turning to them. The four jumped up and bowed respectfully.
"Follow me," he instructed, and led them through the temple, coming to a flight of stone steps that reminded Ari of the entrance to Ninja Ops. They walked down the steps, with the new recruit slipping and almost bowling them all down, before Ari caught his arm. Master Mao pushed open the large wooden doors at the bottom, and revealed a large room with a box on a stone table in the centre, with candles of various heights lit around it.
"This is so cool," Lily was practically bouncing as she looked around.
"It's a little creepy," Ari muttered. "What is this place?" she asked, looking to Master Mao.
"It's called the Forbidden Room," Master Mao told them as he bowed to the picture carved into the wall.
"Forbidden? That doesn't sound good," the boy muttered behind Ari.
"Eh, the forest in Briarwood was 'forbidden'. It turned out to be pretty awesome," Ari shrugged, earning three weird looks from the other students.
"Jarrod has been dismissed," Master Mao turned to them. "In your hearts, you know why. Casey, you have the heart to stand up for others. You also have the potential to become a Tiger Master. I have decided to choose you, in Jarrod's place," Casey's eyes widened in alarm as Lily and Theo looked at him in alarm. Ari just looked slightly amused. "Listen closely. Over 10,000 years ago, there was a great evil, named Dai Shi," he turned to the picture, that was illuminated by the candles. "He believed that animals should rule the planet, and humans were to be erased. Brave warriors channeled their animal spirits, and after a great battle, they were able to capture the Dai Shi, inside this box," Master Mao lifted the chest from the table, and the four watched warily. He then held up his arm, revealing his Master's tattoo. "The Pai Zhuq, Order of the Claw, was formed to train students in kung-fu, and to serve as protectors were to ever escape," he explained. "You four have been selected to take on that task," he told them.
"Master Mao, with all due respect," Ari interrupted. "I've been here a month, and it was from a favour from-"
"I spent ten years in training!" Jarrod's snarl made them look around as the young man stormed into the room. "You just can't kick me out for no reason!" he yelled furiously.
"Agreed. But I have a reason," Master Mao told him calmly. He turned to place the chest back on the table, and with a furious yell, Jarrod launched himself at Master Mao. The older man easily fought him off, and Ari put a hand to her face as the other three students watched in alarm.
"This is just stupid," Ari muttered, and Master Mao knocked Jarrod flying backwards.
"Now go," Master Mao told him in a low voice.
"Yes..." Jarrod growled, turning and walking away. However, as he reached the others, a gold and black aura surrounded him.
"No!" Ari cried, realising what he was doing, but it was too late. Jarrod's lion spirit flew from the furious young man. Taken by surprise, Master Mao dropped the box, causing it to burst open as Master Mao slammed onto the table. For a moment, nothing happened, and everyone managed to breathe, before a roar echoed through the room and smoke flew from the box, knocking everyone flying. The candles were extinguished as the smoke formed a spirit that floated in front of Master Mao.
"At last! Mao, my old friend, I have thought about no-one else for centuries, but before I destroy you, you will be witness to the destruction of those dear to you!" Dai Shi laughed in his low voice.
"What's he talking about?" Theo asked slowly.
"I believe that would be us dude," Ari groaned, pushing herself up and preparing to fight. The other three jumped up to fight too, and Dai Shi roared.
"No!" Master Mao yelled, jumping up. Dai Shi caught him, and blasted him before tossing him onto the stone table again. "Mao is defeated, you are not worth my time!" Dai Shi declared, and blasted past them, knocking them to the ground. Hearing Master Mao's pained groan, they got up and rushed over to him.
"Master!" Theo cried as they gathered around the fallen teacher.
"My time in this form has ended," Master Mao told them gravely. "Shed no tears, there are important things to do. The evil that is Dai Shi will return to where he was captured. You must destroy him," he pleaded with the four, before pulling a card from his pocket. "Go to this address in Ocean Bluff, there you will meet your new Master," he told them, handing Ari the card that had been sealed over.
"We don't want a new Master!" Lily cried, tears filling her eyes.
"Remember the first rule I told you," Master Mao gave a weak smile. "Don't be attached to the Master, but to the lesson," he told them. "Now go," he told them.
"Wait! I'm not your guy!" Casey told him. "I can't destroy evil, I haven't even mastered handing out towels!" he yelled at the fallen master.
"Listen to me! All of you! You four are the world's only chance!" he told them, before his body disappeared, becoming a spirit that flew from the room.
"Master Mao..." Casey breathed.
"Come on," Ari sighed, opening the card. "We've got a long journey ahead of us," she led the way from the Forbidden Room, glancing back with worry as a familiar feeling hit her.
"A pizza parlour?" Theo frowned as they walked through Ocean Bluff, following Ari's directions. "Are you sure this is the place, and that you're not just following your stomach?" he asked, snatching the card from Ari.
"Dude, did nobody tell you that snatching is rude?" Ari quirked an eyebrow at him.
"And did nobody tell you that nobody says dude anymore?" Theo shot back.
"Wrong," Ari just hummed and walked into the pizza parlour. They walked inside, and looked around at the crowd eating pizza. "These pjs suck," Ari muttered, feeling ridiculous.
"That must be him," Theo nudged Lily as he noticed an older Asian man sitting at a table with the remnants of pizza in front of him.
"That isn't him," Ari shook her head.
"How do you know?" Theo challenged her.
"Cause it ain't him, that's how I know," Ari replied, rolling her eyes.
"Look, no offence to you," Theo gave a condescending smile that made Ari bristle. "You're new, just like Casey. I think me and Lil would know a little more about this than you," he told her, and he and Lily walked over to the man. Giving a weak smile, Casey followed, and Ari rolled her eyes before looking around. Nobody seemed to fit.
"Check!" she glanced around as the man the others had approached called out. She snickered as the three returned to her.
"Back so soon?" she asked innocently, and Theo glowered at her.
"Probably not her either?" Lily giggled as she noticed a young woman eating a slice of pizza, only to get the cheese on her glasses. Casey and Ari laughed, before there was a small explosion in the kitchen, and a figure bust from the kitchen with dough covering his face.
"Whoa, intense..." the man breathed as he pulled the dough off to reveal his flour covered face. "So much for my Mount Kilimanjaro pizza experiment..." he sighed, rolling the dough up and tossing it away. "Whoa! New customers!" he realised as he spotted them. "Welcome to Jungle Karma Pizza, the name's RJ," he grinned, holding out menus.
"No, no, we're not customers," Theo told him quickly.
"We're looking for...our Master," Lily whispered to him.
"Aren't we all," RJ laughed, and Ari smirked as the other three sighed.
"I say we go," Theo turned away.
"I'm hungry," Casey admitted, and Ari's stomach growled in agreement.
"Me too," Lily nodded with a smile. RJ's smile returned, and he gestured to an empty table, handing the three menus.
"Oh great..." Theo muttered, and as RJ bounced off to get them drinks, he sat down. "Uh, guys, just how do you expect to pay for this?" he asked with a raised eyebrow as he took a seat as well. Casey and Lily suddenly looked worried, but Ari just opened her menu.
"Don't worry, I got this one," she told them.
"How?" Theo narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her.
"Theo," Lily hissed at him. "Stop being so rude," she scolded, and he looked abashed.
"Because I have money in here," Ari lifted her backpack with a raised eyebrow. Lily and Theo remembered seeing her carrying it around almost constantly. "So just chill, there's no point searching on an empty stomach. This way we'll be refreshed and alert," she told him. Theo seemed to bristle, but Ari looked down at her menu again as if ending the conversation.
As Theo finished off the last piece of pizza, RJ walked back over with a smile.
"Well? How was the pizza?" he asked hopefully.
"Yeah yeah, it was amazing," Theo rolled his eyes, unable to deny that he had enjoyed the large pizza the four shared. RJ's smile grew, and Theo turned back to his companions. "But it's not why we're here," he told them sternly.
"Right, you're looking for your Master," RJ nodded. "If you're supposed to meet him here then...I suggest you wait!" he told them. "You can work here until he shows up," he suggested with a wide smile. Lily looked excited, as Theo seemed to become even more annoyed at the idea.
"Work here? No, no, we don't work for anyone," he snapped. "Right guys?" he looked to the other three.
"Give us a minute here RJ?" Ari smiled at him, and with a nod, he went off to help other customers.
"Look, Theo, we're in the real world now. There are things to get, things to have, and we need money to do that," Lily told Theo sharply, annoyed at his refusal at the offer. "Now I am not gonna spend another day in these pyjamas," she growled at him. Ari laughed at his startled look at the usually gentle girl.
"Ok, fine," Theo sighed. "I'll be a manager or something reasonable. But only until our Master arrives," he told them sternly. When Ari giggled again, he frowned at her. "And what is so funny?" he demanded.
"Come on, isn't it obvious?" she asked, resting an elbow on the table and looking amused.
"What's obvious?" Casey asked, looking at the dark haired girl curiously.
"We've already met our Master," she told them lightly, making their eyes widen.
"We have?!" Lily hissed excitedly. "Who is it?" she asked, and Ari just shrugged. Before they could press her on the matter, there was a loud explosion outside, and screams reached them. As Theo, Lily and Casey looked around in surprise, Ari jumped from her chair and bolted out of the door.
"Hey!" Theo yelled, but she was already gone. Racing down the street, Ari weaved around the screaming crowd who were running in the opposite direction, and found a group of strange creatures bouncing around, destroying their surroundings.
"Discover their fear Rinshi! It makes us stronger!" she looked up to see another, similar to the rest, only in a red coat, standing over them laughing. "It makes me stronger!" he declared, only to be hit in the face by a golden ball.
"Sorry dude, you're not gonna find any fear here!" Ari called as she alerted the rest of the Rinshi to her presence.
"Pai Zhuq!" he snarled, getting to his feet and looking down at the girl. "Get her!" he ordered, and the rest of the Rinshi raced towards her. A small smirk graced Ari's features, before she met them, dodging each of the monsters and letting her animal spirit guide her. With kicks and punches, she easily fought them off.
"What are those things?!" she heard Casey's yell, and glanced around to see the other three had joined the fight.
"Friends of Dai Shi!" Ari called, and spun, kicking another one in the head. "Now quit staring and help out these people!" she told them. The three nodded and ran to fight, helping the fallen people who were surrounded by the monsters. However, she noticed the three quickly being overwhelmed, and more Rinshi began to swarm her, seeing her as the biggest threat.
"Time for my true form!" the one in red declared, and suddenly transformed into a large monster. "Now for some real destruction!" he roared, laughing loudly.
"Look what crawled out from under a rock," Theo narrowed his eyes at the monster.
"Pound for pound, humans are no match for a bug!" he told them, and blasted Theo and Casey off their feet.
"Hey!" Lily leapt at him, but he easily dodged her moves and grabbed her.
"Care to join your friends?" the monster laughed, before tossing her to the ground beside the two.
"Enough!" Ari landed a kick to his side, but he just laughed it off. "I need my Morpher...dammit," Ari had left her bag in Jungle Karma Pizza. She glanced around at the other three as Casey and Theo helped Lily up. Before she could decide whether to reveal her powers to them or not, the monster caught her and threw her to the ground.
"And now to finish you little pests!" they looked up as the monster approached.
"Ok, not much choice I guess," Ari pushed herself up, before a familiar figure ran onto the scene, standing in front of the four.
"Whoa, dude, step back," RJ told the monster, who was surprised by his appearance. "I think it's time for your first lesson," he turned to the four. "Can't judge a book by its cover," he pulled up his sleeve to reveal the Master's Mark.
"I told you people still say dude!" Ari laughed as the others looked stunned. RJ grinned, and demonstrated a series of moves.
"Attack!" the monster ordered, but within seconds the Rinshi were defeated. A purple and silver aura began to surround RJ, and he blasted the monster with his animal spirit. Returned to his original form, the monster jumped to his feet. "I'll get you!" he promised, running off.
"You're him," Casey breathed as they got back to their feet. "You're our Master," he laughed in disbelief. The four bowed respectfully, and RJ grimaced.
"Uh, just call me RJ," he told them quickly. "Now, my students, the real journey begins," he told them, leading them back to his restaurant.
The four students talked animatedly with their new Master, returning to JKP, only for the young woman from before to approach them.
"Where was everyone?" the laughter stopped as she spoke up, looking frazzled. "The door was open and people were waiting, so I ended up taking orders and making pizzas and stuff, and I took money and I put it in the register and I cleaned and turned off the oven and-"
"Remember to breathe Fran," RJ interrupted her quickly, alarmed by her rambling. Ari giggled, putting her hands to her mouth. "Fran, this is Theo, Lily, Casey and Ari," the four smiled at her as she waved awkwardly. "Fran is our best customer, she's here everyday!" RJ told them proudly, making her smile drop.
"Well it's not like I have nothing else to do...I do, it's just...I love pizza," Fran admitted with a smile. "All the toppings, and the smell and the taste...I like spaghetti as well – the sauce and the meatballs and-"
"Breathe Fran," RJ told her again. "We'll see you tomorrow," he laughed, and she nodded, blushing a little as she realised she had gotten carried away again. With a quick goodbye, she rushed off. "Follow me," RJ led the way upstairs to his home.
"Look at the size of this place!" Theo exclaimed, amazed as they looked around.
"This place is great!" Casey laughed, grabbing a basketball. Ari leaned on the railings, looking around as Lily started dancing to the music she put on.
"It's nice...but it needs a cleaning," Theo commented as he ran his finger through a layer of dust.
"Hey, thanks for volunteering Theo," RJ smirked, walking down the stairs with Ari. "Mi casa, es su casa," RJ told them, ignoring Theo's protests. "This is where you'll be living, training, and working. Everything is yours. Except that chair," RJ's smile dropped as Lily took a seat in a recliner. "My chair, it's mine, it's off limits, got it?" he asked as Lily stepped away.
"Got it," the four nodded, with Lily and Ari laughing. "Ok, next order of business is to get you out of those pyjamas," RJ decided, and Ari cheered. However, it faded as she noticed the colour scheme of the uniforms he gave them.
"Hey, new training gear; gotta love that," Casey grinned as he received his, which consisted of black trousers, and a red and black jacket.
"Dude, you've had that one for like a week," Ari pointed out, and he shrugged. She took hers, which had a dark yellow jacket with white instead of black, with a black skirt and white leggings instead. She studied it for a moment with a raised eyebrow, planning on making some changes to her uniform if she was going to be using it for a while. Lily received a uniform like Ari's, only black where Ari's had white, and a lighter yellow where Ari's was more golden in colour, and Theo got one like Casey's, only in blue.
"Look at all those TV's, I haven't watched TV in years!" Lily smiled, excited.
"TV? No, these are much, much more," RJ told her proudly. "It's a state of the art, city-side monitoring system...plus one thousand two hundred and fifty-three cable channels," he added with a goofy smile. Ari looked up from her uniform with a raised eyebrow. "Pretty sweet, huh?" he laughed, before one of the TVs suddenly flickered to life, showing the city as the Rinshi attacked.
"Looks like our friends are up to no good again," Theo frowned. "Lets get them!" Theo, Lily, Ari and Casey hurried to the stairs, before realising RJ wasn't following. "Come on RJ," Theo called to him.
"Ah no, no, I have a pizza store to run. Fighting evil is your job. But, I did notice you were a little overpowered last time, so I got a gift for you to even out the odds," RJ grinned widely, turning to a drawer to retrieve something for them. Curious, the four walked back over to see four sets of sunglasses in different colours.
"Sunglasses?" Lily raised an eyebrow.
"They're not just sunglasses," RJ told them.
"Please don't say they're Morphers," Ari whispered, closing her eyes.
"They're solar Morphers," Ari slapped a hand to her face. "You ever hear of the Power Rangers?" RJ asked, ready to burst with excitement.
"Yeah, who hasn't?" Casey grinned.
"Well guess what. You. Be. Them," he told them, and Ari sighed as the other threes' eyes widened in awe.
"No way!" Theo laughed in disbelief. "Ever since I was a little kid I wanted to be a..." he trailed off when he noticed the looks he was getting. He then cleared his throat, blushing. "If that's what it takes," he said in a lower voice.
"The Power Rangers aren't part of the Order of the Claw-"
"Makes a change," Ari muttered.
"But I figured you needed everything you could get to fight the Dai Shi," RJ smiled, not hearing her mutter. "So I knew this guy, who knew this other guy, who had an uncle, who had a connection-"
"Andrew Hartford by any chance?" Ari asked, and RJ looked at her in surprise.
"Yeah, it was...how did you know?" he questioned curiously as the other three looked at the young woman.
"He had a team of Rangers last year, duh," she reminded them.
"Anyway, he tapped into the Morphing Grid and...voila," he held up the pair in blue. "Your Morphers. Once you activate them, all the knowledge that comes with them will be instantaneously downloaded into your cellular make-up," he told them as he handed them out. "Pretty gnarly, huh?" RJ grinned. "Now, go out there and beat down evil! And now you'll look good doing it," he added proudly.
"I always look good beating down evil," Ari smirked, and ran out before the others could question what she meant.
The four raced into the city in their new uniforms, as the Rinshi destroyed everything in sight as they were led by two figures.
"Hey, take a look," the taller figure, dressed in brown and black armour with long horns, nudged the one in green and purple armour.
"Ohh, humans?" the green one laughed.
"I don't know about you three, but I think it's time to show them what we've got," Theo looked to the others confidently.
"Totally," Ari smirked. Casey watched as the three stepped forwards, pulling their Morphers from their pockets and putting them on.
"Ready! JUNGLE BEAST, SPIRIT UNLEASHED!" they morphed into their suits, with Theo in Blue and black, Lily in Yellow and black, and Ari in Gold and white.
"With the Speed of a Cheetah, Jungle Fury Yellow Ranger!"
"With the Stealth of a Jaguar, Jungle Fury Blue Ranger!"
"With the Agility of a Sparrow, Jungle Fury Gold Ranger!"
"Now that's different," the figure in brown armour commented, not sounding overly concerned.
"Attack!" the female in green ordered, snapping her fingers. Theo, Lily and Ari ran to fight them, leaving Casey to morph. When he tried, nothing happened, and he looked down at his hands in confusion, not understanding at all.
So as you'll probably have noticed, an extra character has been added in! He is one of the major changes to this series, and will be very important, so I hope you like him!
Anyways, let me know what you think!
Please review!