As promised, here is the next chapter for you guys! I am super glad you're enjoying this so far!
I hope that continues!
Let me know what you think!
Chapter 4: Sigh of the Tiger
"Alright," RJ stood in the middle of a large mat, with Lily and Casey circling him slowly. He wore a thick blindfold over his eyes, and slowly turned. "Dude, and dudette," Ari smirked from the railings where she sat, watching. "In order to defeat me, you'll have to be in complete harmony with your animal spirits," he told them. "And get very lucky," he added with a confident grin.
"Come on Lily, he's all ours," Casey wore an equally confident grin.
"Are you sure about this RJ? I don't wanna dent your metaphysical zen," Lily said, worried about fighting someone who couldn't see. RJ laughed.
"I'm using the Swoop technique. Eyesight is a bonus, not a necessity," he told them brightly. "Now...hit me with your best shot," RJ goaded. The two ran at him and attacked, but he blocked each of their moves easily, throwing them back each time they rushed at him. He tossed Casey out of the way, and the Red Ranger rolled into the speakers. They groaned, and began to fall on him, only for RJ to run over and return them to a standing position.
"I get it..." Ari whispered, and Casey growled, leaping up and attacking. Casey blocked his hit, and Lily leapt in with a yell, only to be grabbed as well. She went to shriek in pain as RJ twisted her arm, only for Casey to cover her mouth. "Oh, have they got it yet?" she smirked as he put his finger to his mouth. Lily nodded, and Casey swung an arm with a yell, but RJ dodged it and threw Casey through the air. He landed in RJ's chair, and Lily flinched sympathetically, only for RJ to drop and sweep her feet out from under her.
"You were distracted, and defeated," RJ smirked. He tilted his head as Ari landed with a small thud beside him. "Oh, I see I have a new challenger," he smirked.
"Well I've got to have a go now," Ari shrugged as they moved onto the mat.
"Careful Ari, he's really good," Casey warned from RJ's chair.
"Well duh, he's a Master," Ari smirked at him.
"Come on then, let's see how you do," RJ braced himself, and Ari's smirk widened. A golden ball of energy lit up in her hand, and she threw it to the side. It hit the mat with a small noise, and RJ's head tilted to follow it, only for Ari to leap into the air and swing a kick at him silently. She caught him with her foot, and he reacted quickly, catching her foot as he stumbled, and twisted. Ari followed with it, and she landed easily on her hands. Moving again, she forced RJ to let go of her, and moved around him, still silent as he stopped, listening for any sound of her.
"Whoa..." Casey breathed as he and Lily stared at the fight, which was much different to their own. RJ suddenly sniffed, and spun, catching Ari with an open-palm strike. She moved back several paces, before pushing back, getting under his strike and striking out with one of her own. However, RJ moved around it, and caught her arms, forcing her to one knee as he restrained her arms.
"Ok, I give," Ari laughed, and he released her. "That technique is amazing, I've never seen anything like it," she commented as he pulled off the blindfold.
"You catch on quick as well," RJ told her. "I could only hear you at the last second. And the distraction at the beginning was very clever," he praised, and Ari blushed.
"Yeah, what was it?" Casey asked curiously.
"Dino Powers. My DNA was altered when I was 16, by the Gold Dino Gem with the power of the Plesiosaur, and I can harness my inner sun power to do that, and create shields," Ari explained with a grin. "Oh, and thanks to Mr. Hartford's genetic enhancements last year, I can also glow," she added. They stared at her as she turned back to RJ. "So what gave me away?" Ari asked.
"I can smell your shampoo a mile away," RJ smirked, and Ari groaned.
"Betrayed by my own hair," she complained, making them laugh.
"That's enough for right now, I want you guys to take some time and internalise your defeat, while I watch Judge Jamie," RJ decided. With nods, both Lily and Ari jumped up and left RJ to it, but Casey wasn't quite done yet.
Hurtling into the air at a high speed, Ari spun multiple times and flipped, landing on the top of the ramp on one hand, before pushing herself back up. She righted herself and flipped her board, before it made contact with the ramp. She skated back down and across to the other side, pleased with the trick she had been working on before she had joined the Pai Zhuq academy.
Ari had been happy to find the skatepark so close to Jungle Karma Pizza, meaning she could get in some practise when she wasn't working or training. Mr. Hartford, while amused by Ari becoming a Ranger for a fifth time, had suggested that instead of putting off her demos until she was done as a Ranger, she perform only in Ocean Bluff demos. Ari had agreed, but had warned him that if necessary, she would run out on them to fight the Rinshi. Andrew had sighed, complaining that she made a lot of work for him, but agreed. He owed her, after all.
Skating on past the group of teens who gaped at her, Ari rolled slowly towards her bag to grab her water. Her Morpher beeped as soon as she crouched beside her bag to get her water. Lifting her Solar Morpher and placing them over her eyes, she pulled down the small mic.
"What's up?" she answered, taking a quick drink.
"Camille and Minos had swiped something from a museum, the others are already there," RJ reported as he showed up on the lens.
"Ah, the old museum heist huh?" Ari nodded, slipping her water into her backpack and throwing it onto her shoulder.
"Exactly!" RJ nodded with a grin.
"I'll meet them there," Ari told him, dropping her skateboard and stepping onto it, heading away from the skatepark as she pulled her Solar Morpher off and headed to the museum.
Casey, Theo and Lily were already Morphed and fighting off the Rinshi when Ari reached them.
"I bet you're not just gonna give that back," Camille and Minos looked around to see Ari standing behind them, pulling off her helmet. She looked to the small pouch in Camille's hand, and raised an eyebrow.
"Perfect," Minos smirked, calling on his hammer. Ari smirked, pushing her things aside and slipping her Morpher on.
"JUNGLE BEAST, SPIRIT UNLEASHED!" she Morphed into her Gold suit and met Minos' strike with her own blades. "What, not satisfied with our last battle?" Ari called to the man with a bull spirit as they pushed against each other. Ari then leapt back, and Minos' hammer hit the ground with enough for to crack the path where Ari had been standing.
"I don't take kindly to my prey escaping me," Minos smirked back darkly, and lunged for Ari again. She dodged as his armour surrounded him, and nearby, Camille made a break for it, followed by Casey.
"Sorry buddy, but I ain't your prey," Ari told him as she leapt forwards, swinging her swords. Minos blocked, swinging again, but his hammer was slow, and Ari kicked his arms so the Hammer's path was redirected. She then caught his armour with two painful slashes, and spun out of the way of his attack, before his hammer slammed the ground directly in front of her, throwing her off long enough for him to kick her hard. Ari rolled backwards, and leapt to the side to avoid his hammer.
"Oh, really?" Minos laughed as he swung again, with Ari now on the run. She backflipped and pushed to the side as his hammer slammed into the side of the building, causing a huge crack to run up the side. Gritting her teeth, Ari tried to regain her focus as she dodged each of his blows, and Minos laughed.
Ari raised a shield, and as soon as he had broken through it, Ari was moving under his hammer and slamming into his chest with her shoulder. Minos staggered backwards, and straight into Lily's strike as her bo hit his shoulder. He let out a roar, and fell to one knee as Ari glanced to the Yellow Ranger.
"Ari come on, Camille's getting away!" Lily called. Ari nodded, and ran past Minos, who held his shoulder as he watched them leave.
"I can't believe she got away!" Casey growled, furious with himself for letting Camille escape. He had chased the chameleon down, only for her to overpower him and escape.
"Don't take it so hard Case, she's slippery...slimy..." Theo hissed as he struggled to find a third word.
"Smelly?" Lily offered, and Ari giggled.
"Thank you," Theo nodded.
"You're not the first to make a mistake dude, we'll stop her next time," Ari smiled at him. Casey shook his head, and saw RJ messing with his chair. He walked up to him, and their Master looked up.
"I think you broke my chair man," RJ complained.
"Forget the chair," Casey snapped as he approached. "I need more training," he told him firmly. Lily, Theo and Ari glanced to each other as RJ looked around. He grabbed a screwdriver, and held it out to the Red Ranger.
"Fix my chair," RJ decided, and Casey stared at him.
"But-"
"Remember!" RJ interrupted before Casey could protest. "Whatever I say," he reminded the Cub, and walked away. Casey groaned, and got to work.
"Huh. I think I remember Sensei Suguira doing this to a dude," Ari commented, watching as Casey turned RJ's chair upside down, and began to work.
While Casey fixed the chair and RJ meditated, Ari, Lily and Theo were sent to help Fran, who was trying to serve a birthday party on her own. While Lily and Theo cowered behind the door, horrified by the sight of the screaming children, Ari came to Fran's rescue, pulling the woman out of the way as a boy tried to spit juice through a straw at her.
"Th-thank you," Fran gulped.
"No problem dude, let's get this sorted," Ari grinned at her, and caught a handful of spaghetti before it could hit Fran. The young woman blinked in surprise, startled by Ari's reflexes, before nodding. Fran found that as they got the pizza out and refilled the drinks, she was calmer, thanks to Ari's presence. "Whoa, watch it," the girl who seemed about her age laughed as she caught the drink that another boy attempted to spill on Fran when she wasn't paying attention.
"You're really good at this," Fran commented enviously as she set down the last pizza and moved out of the way as the kids tore into it immediately.
"Not really, I just have some experience working in a busy place. Let me tell ya, teenagers in a Cyber-café are demanding," Ari rolled her eyes good-naturedly. Carrying a tray of empty glasses, Ari walked back into the kitchen, amazed that the parents who were there hadn't told the kids off for behaving the way they were.
"Honestly, aliens have better manners than they do," Ari muttered.
"Ari!" she heard a hiss and looked up the stairs. Theo stood at the top of the stairs, looking wary.
"And just where the heck did you and Lily go?" she demanded, raising an eyebrow.
"Doesn't matter, we got trouble in town," he warned her, and disappeared again. Ari groaned, and pulled off her apron and cap, running up the stairs to join the others.
"You see RJ? We've been wasting time!" Casey yelled to their Master as Ari reached them, tossing her things away. She raised an eyebrow at the cub, who had been cleaning RJ's yoga mat, and he led them out to fight.
The four arrived already Morphed to find a group of Rinshi chasing away civilians, including one Rinshi wearing a red coat.
"Welcome Rangers!" he greeted with a snarl.
"That thing looks really angry!" Lily commented.
"You're going down!" Casey yelled, still angry with RJ as he prepared to fight.
"Attack!" the one in red snarled, and the Rinshi leapt forwards to attack them. Leaping over one, Ari landed surrounded by a small group of Rinshi, and dodged easily as they attempted to hit her. Grabbing one by the arm, she swung it hard and knocked them all back, before raising an arm to block a swing that would have caught her shoulder.
"Call to the beast inside! Release the Sparrow!" a gold aura surrounded Ari, before her bird spirit flew from her and flew through the air. Much smaller than the Tiger, Cheetah and Jaguar spirits that she fought alongside, the Sparrow spun and cut through the Rinshi with no less power than they possessed. Before long, the Rinshi were gone, leaving only the one in red.
"The Rinshi are strong, but I am even more powerful!" the Rinshi declared, suddenly changing form. He became a huge, buffalo-like monster with a long red cape. "I am Buffalord!" he roared, and with a snort, charged at the four.
"Guys move, now!" Ari yelled, sensing the power level of the monster rise dramatically. She, Lily and Theo moved out of the way, but Casey instead braced himself to try and stop Buffalord as he bent low, slamming his head directly into the Red Ranger. Casey cried out as he was forced back, completely powerless against the move. Buffalord smashed him through multiple pillars, before tossing him into the air and butting him again.
"Casey!" Lily cried out in horror.
"Jungle Tonfa!" Theo ran to help their fallen leader, knocking Buffalord about easily.
"Let me get in on this!" Lily grinned as Buffalord rolled along the ground. With much greater speed, Lily blocked each of Buffalord's attacks and punched him repeatedly.
"Lily's amazing..." Casey breathed, amazed by the skill that the two students possessed.
"Jungle Blades!" Ari leapt in as Buffalord was shoved backwards by the attack. Slashing down, Ari cut across the buffalo monster's chest, making him cry out in pain. She then dropped to the ground and tripped him up, and as he fell, she kicked him hard. He staggered back as purple energy surrounded him, returning him to his original form.
"I need more time to harness the true power of the buffalo!" Buffalord declared. "I will return!" he promised, before disappearing through a huge hole.
"Stop! Come back!" Casey yelled. "I'm not done with you yet!" he made to follow, only for the other three to stop him.
"Casey, stop!" Lily pleaded.
"He's gone!" Theo pointed out. Casey continued to struggle, and they pulled him away.
"Easy hothead, rushing in blind is the quickest way to get us all killed," Ari warned him, and Casey growled, but followed as they headed back to base.
Buffalord bellowed, and smashed through a huge boulder in his path. Looking around to see the destruction, he snorted.
"Perfect!" he declared. "I have now harnessed the full power of the buffalo!" he declared. Hearing movement behind him, he turned and went on the offensive, only to find himself grappling with Minos. He snorted, his buffalo instincts surfacing as he shoved Minos, whose blue eyes gleamed. Buffalord let out a cry as he was lifted off his feet, and tossed several meters away.
"Even with the power of the buffalo...you're not strong enough for me," Minos sighed heavily.
"Did we say you could go on break?" Camille asked as she approached the groaning Rinshi.
"I've been harnessing my power to destroy the Rangers, as Dai Shi commanded!" Buffalord told her as he got back to his feet.
"Fine, but let's have a little less harnessing, and a little more destroying!" Camille snapped. "My booty's on the line here!" she snarled at him. Minos rolled his eyes. He knew what Camille didn't. Dai Shi wouldn't destroy them. Not until he had some sort of power that could replace them. They were far too loyal, and far too useful.
"Right! I'll destroy them!" Buffalord ran off with a laugh.
"Faster!" RJ goaded as Lily, Theo and Ari walked down to see Casey rushing around the floor, crouched as he cleaned with a red cloth. "Come on, faster!" he called.
"And they call me a neat freak," Theo commented, amused. Casey finally stopped, gasping for breath. "Come on, no rest for the weary," he called.
"Come on Casey," Lily smiled.
"Uh, no. Casey needs to finish the floors first," RJ told them. Ari snickered as Casey gaped at him.
"Really?" Lily stared at him. RJ nodded with a bright smile.
"RJ, we're under attack! If I don't help them, they could be destroyed!" Casey yelled at RJ.
"Then they'll be destroyed," RJ shrugged. Casey stared at him blankly, unable to comprehend their Master's words.
"Whoa, way to show your faith in us dudes," Ari folded her arms and raised an eyebrow at them both. "We do know what we're doing you know," she muttered. "Come on guys, let's leave the lemming and his teacher to it," Lily and Theo frowned as RJ smirked and Casey shot her a glare as Ari ushered her two teammates away to fight.
Running through town wearing their Morphers, Theo, Lily and Ari hurried to where Buffalord was waiting for them.
"Rangers!" he snarled as he spotted them. The three stopped, standing together. Ari pressed the button on the side of her Morpher, and grinned.
"Ready?" she called.
"Ready!"
"JUNGLE BEAST, SPIRIT UNLEASHED!" the three then ran at Buffalord, who raced to meet them. Ari leapt over his head as he caught Lily and Theo, shoving them backwards.
"Let them go!" Ari kicked him, and Buffalord tossed the two aside. Rinshi suddenly surrounded them, and the three were forced to focus on them instead. Grabbing one by the arm, Ari kicked it, when Buffalord suddenly barrelled through, taking out both the Rinshi, and Ari. She slammed into the crates behind her with a groan, and Lily and Theo shortly followed. "He's gotten way stronger!" she groaned.
"No kidding!" Lily nodded as they pushed themselves back to their feet. Buffalord charged at them again, and Ari hurled an energy-ball at him. It struck him in the head, but didn't even slow him down. The three were thrown through the air again, landing heavily.
"Nothing can stop me!" Buffalord declared with a laugh, before letting out a growl as he heard footsteps.
"Casey!" Theo grinned in relief as they saw their Red Ranger running at them.
"Hey freak! Ready for round two?" Casey challenged confidently. This time, he didn't sound angry, but determined. Ari grinned. It seemed he'd finally seen through RJ's training.
"You again? No problem!" Buffalord charged at him, and Casey easily overwhelmed him with the moves he had learned from RJ's bizarre methods. He grabbed Buffalord's horns, and twisted, before tossing him overhead. He then got low, and raced towards Buffalord, knocking him off his feet.
"Jungle Chucks!" Casey called on his weapon, and with multiple powerful strikes, finished Buffalord off.
"Wow, you did it Casey!" Lily cheered as they ran over to him.
"I guess you learned something after all," Theo nodded.
"Pretty good moves from such strange techniques, I gotta admit," Ari commented, folding her arms as Casey nodded, laughing himself.
"Yeah, RJ's smarter than he looks," he told them.
"That's no surprise!" Lily smiled.
"Rangers!" they looked around in surprise as Buffalord staggered towards them. "You have proven you have power, but that will not save you! I summon the full power of the buffalo!" he yelled, beginning to grow.
"And there we go," Ari sighed.
"Animal spirits unite as one! Power Rangers Jungle Fury!" the four summoned their spirits, and combined to form the Jungle Pride Megazord.
"A truly awesome spectacle!" Flit declared as he buzzed around Camille and Minos. The man swatted him with a snort, glaring at the fly. "Ranger versus Beast! But who will prevail? Let's find out!" he yelled, avoiding Camille as she swatted at him to get out of her view.
Above, the Jungle Pride Megazord easily dodged Buffalord's attacks, and with a grunt, he ran at them. The Rangers braced themselves, only for Buffalord to suddenly veer out of the way. They looked around, trying to keep a close eye on him as he raced around. Eventually he blasted his way through a building, and slammed into the Rangers. They hit the ground hard, groaning.
"We have to get back in the fight!" Theo yelled.
"We have to use all of our spirit energy!" Casey suggested.
"Sounds like a plan to me!" Ari nodded, pushing herself up on one foot.
"Yeah! Let's do it!" Lily cheered and they spun, getting back up. Buffalord yelled in shock, and ran at them. They ran to meet him, and Buffalord tossed them into the air. However, they righted themselves easily.
"Super Kick!" Theo yelled, and the legs of the Megazord began to glow as they spun.
"Spin Attack!" they hurtled back down at Buffalord and struck him, bouncing away and landing easily as Buffalord was destroyed.
"Oh boy..." Camille gulped as Minos sighed.
"Another down...well, so much for that plan," Minos shrugged.
Fran slumped against the counter, completely exhausted as the screaming children were finally ushered out, leaving behind a restaurant covered in spaghetti and pizza.
"That went well..." she mumbled, slipping on juice spilled on the floor.
"Whoa, careful," she was caught from behind, and looked around with wide eyes at a young man grinning at her. "You alright?" he asked.
"F-fine," Fran nodded, blushing as he lifted spaghetti from her cap. "I'm so-sorry, but we're closed," she spluttered.
"Oh, I'm not here to eat. I was here for-" he stopped as they heard laughter approaching, and Casey, Theo, Lily and Ari walked in. Ari stopped her laughter, and smiled widely.
"Xander!" she launched herself at the young man, who laughed as he caught her in a tight hug. Wrapping her arms around him, she pressed her face into his chest, smiling brightly.
"Miss me?" he teased, and she looked up.
"Not at all," she let go and folded her arms as she looked away stubbornly. Laughing, he just pulled her close again.
"Oh...now you show up..." Fran gave an exhausted laugh as the other three saw the mess left behind. "How convenient," she muttered.
"I'm sorry Fran, I had to run out," Ari apologised, looking at the brunette guiltily.
"Yeah...we were a little busy," Theo gulped.
"Not so busy that you and Lily couldn't lend a hand," RJ commented as he walked over, taking care to avoid the mess all over the floor.
"Sorry Fran..." Theo and Lily chorused, looking guilty.
"It's alright," Fran deflated, no longer annoyed. "I needed some crash course training anyway," she smiled to RJ, not wanting Theo and Lily to get into trouble.
"So for not helping Fran, you two get to clean this place up..." RJ frowned at the mess of his restaurant. "While the rest of us go get ice-cream," the two stared at him in horror as Ari cheered loudly.
"I love ice-cream!" Fran cheered, and went to walk out the door before stopping. "Oh...I should probably go clean myself up, huh?" she laughed as they grinned.
To the guest who asked, Minos' Animal Spirit is a Bull. His character was originally named Ursus and had a Bear Spirit, but it was too similar to Grizzaka, plus the Bull suited the character I was going for with him! I hope you guys are liking him so far, he will show up more frequently soon!
I will also be updating the sidestory Deleted Scenes tomorrow with the first Jungle Fury chapter, which will be about Ari's reaction to her own Animal Spirit, so I hope you enjoy that too! I got one more chapter finished than I expected on my way to Dublin, so I will update by Wednesday.
Please review!