Chapter 13: One Master Too Many
Cracking her Whip, Ari practised the moves that Master Swift had taught her as Theo and Lily did the same. Nearby, RJ watched as Casey balanced on one foot on top of a large pile of books. The three were quickly growing more confident with their new weapons, and were able to use them with greater ease as a result.
Jumping back as Lily swung her Mace towards her, Ari then moved to the side and swung her whip, narrowly missing Theo as the young man leapt back, using his new-found levitation to fly out of range. He then leapt back forwards, swinging at Lily as she moved out of the way.
The three continued this way for a while, and Ari glanced around as she heard Casey speak. He grumbled to RJ, whose bright smile became slightly forced. Ari then dodged Theo's attack, swinging her whip back so it wrapped against the railing, and pulled herself out of the way. As she reached the wall, she pushed forwards, swinging her whip at Lily, who blocked and allowed it to wrap around her mace. However, before she could attack, they heard a yell and a loud thud, and the three stopped what they were doing to look around, where they found Casey lying on the ground.
"So much for perfecting your balance," Ari teased as the Tiger groaned, sitting up and rubbing his head.
"Shouldn't you be off sulking somewhere about your boyfriend leaving?" he grumbled.
"Casey, that's not nice," Lily scolded him. Casey shrugged, not feeling guilty, before yelping as the tip of Ari's whip slapped against the floor, right beside his hand.
"Either you have really good aim, or really bad aim," Theo commented as Ari smirked back at the alarmed Tiger.
"I'll let you guys figure that out," she told them, tossing her whip from hand to hand.
Not long into starting their shift at JKP, were the Rangers interrupted by what seemed like an earthquake. Picking up a disturbance by the beach, the four Rangers hurried their, Morphing on the way.
"What is that?" Ari cried out as they reached the beach and found what seemed to be a tornado of water hurtling into the sky.
"Not good, whatever it is," Theo frowned.
"Come on guys, let's get out there!" Casey yelled to his team.
"Hope you're good swimmers," they were interrupted by Camille, who approached with a group of Rinshi.
"But before we get to that, you're going to have to deal with us," Minos finished with his usual smirk. Camille snapped her fingers, and the Rinshi hopped forwards, then followed by Minos and herself.
"Jungle Whip!" Ari called on her new weapon, dodging the Rinshi and taking them out with well-placed hits. She then swung it forwards, and it wrapped around the handle of Minos' hammer.
"Where's your boyfriend? He never comes to play with us," Minos commented as he pulled Ari towards him effortlessly.
"That's because I can handle myself, creep," Ari retorted, suddenly moving with him and leaping up to kick him in the chest. As she landed, she frowned under her helmet. She didn't like that Minos had taken an interest in Xander, and she wasn't about to let it get any farther. Suddenly a blast echoed across the beach as it wiped out the Rinshi around Casey, and Camille's smirk faded. A man emerged from the smoke, carrying twin blades.
"You..." Camille whimpered. Minos looked over, and cursed, taking a step back in alarm. Ari tilted her head, watching the man curiously as he made quick work of the Rinshi. He was powerful, taking out everything in his path with sabres that glinted blue in the light. He then walked towards the huge water tornado, and his swords began to glow.
"Power of the Shark!" he roared, and created a blast of energy that destroyed the water and sent the monster inside flying. The monster shrieked, coming to a stop beside Camille.
"Camille, we're out of here, now!" Minos shouted to his sister. She growled, but turned and walked away, disappearing as she did. Without turning to Ari, who was standing behind him, Minos stomped his foot, and disappeared.
"Wow! That was something!" Casey laughed as the four Rangers then ran over to the man.
"Who are you?" Theo asked the man, who had pale blonde hair tied back in a ponytail.
"Pai Zhuq Master Finn," the man introduced himself with a frown. Surprised, Lily, Theo and Ari bowed respectfully as Casey smiled widely.
"My new Master!" he cheered with excitement.
The four Rangers led Master Finn back to base, welcoming him to their temporary home.
"Would you like anything to eat?"
"Or drink?" Lily and Theo offered.
"Surprise me," Master Finn replied.
"RJ, you won't believe it," Casey smiled as they approached the young man messing with his TVs. "I found my new Master," he told RJ happily. RJ looked up, and with a small sigh walked over.
"Hello dad," he greeted, taking them all by surprise.
"Dad?" Casey repeated, stunned as the others looked to eat other. Ari frowned, sensing the tension between them.
"Well look at this," Master Finn sighed as he and RJ walked around the loft. The others had left them to get reacquainted, and RJ watched his father warily. "You're a Master and you still need me to clean up after you," Master Finn commented as he lifted a paper bag and began cleaning.
"I like my loft the way it is," RJ replied. "Things are where I want them," he explained.
"Yes, so I see...potato chips...dirty socks...comic books," Master Finn rolled his eyes. "All the tools of a great Master," the Shark Master commented sarcastically.
"In my defence, those are Ari's, not mine. I like things my way. It shouldn't affect you," RJ defended, fixing a cushion so it sat how it had been before.
"Of course it affects me! Everything you do reflects me, you're my son!" Master Finn reminded him.
"Yes, that I am...what's it been, six, seven years since we last spoke?" RJ rolled his eyes. Master Finn looked up and frowned at him.
"That was your doing, if I remember," he accused.
"Well...let's not get into it," RJ sighed.
"All I ever wanted was to teach you the ways of your father, my father, my father's father and so on!" Master Finn exclaimed.
"Can we drop it?" RJ groaned.
"I agree, it's a little awkward," they looked around in surprise to see Ari sitting in the rafters with a book in hand.
"Ari? What are you doing up there?" RJ frowned at his student, who grinned.
"I was practising with my Jungle Whip while you guys were off downstairs. I decided to take a break," she explained, her legs swinging as Master Finn watched her curiously.
"The Jungle Whip? I see Jenna has been around," Master Finn shot his son a look.
"Ari...are you sure you can get back down from there?" RJ chose to ignore his father, and Ari's grin widened.
"RJ, what do you take me for?" Ari stood up on the rafter, balancing easily. RJ gave a small laugh, and Ari leapt to the next rafter before leaping down to the higher level where RJ and his father were standing.
"With that skill, you must be Ariel Raynes," Master Finn realised, and Ari frowned.
"I go by Ari, but yeah, that's me," she nodded as RJ gave a very small smirk, seeing her discomfort.
"A Ninja as a Pai Zhuq student helping to fight Dai Shi, it is not something I would have expected," Master Finn commented. Ari shrugged.
"Not something I would have expected either, but I'm used to it," she replied, and took a step back. "I'll leave you guys to your uh...conversation," she told them.
"It's fine Ari," RJ told her. They looked around as Casey came into view.
"I hate to break up this reunion, but I was just wondering if you had some time to train me," Casey requested.
"Sure, I'll be right with you," RJ nodded.
"Uh no...I meant your dad...Master Finn," Casey told him. Ari slapped a hand to her face. Master Finn glanced to his son before walking off with Casey, and RJ sighed.
"Well...you've still got me RJ," Ari cleared her throat and nudged her Master.
"Thanks Ari," RJ nodded weakly.
"RJ?" Theo waved his hand in front of their Master, who sat on his chair with his feet up. He had an alarmed look on his face as Theo, Lily and Ari stood around him."RJ!" he called, but the man didn't respond.
"He's been like this for an hour. I figured he was trying a new way of meditating but..." Ari shrugged.
"I think he's asleep?" Theo shrugged.
"I'm not asleep," the three jumped when RJ suddenly moved. "I'm trying to visualise a positive future for me to live in," he explained.
"Does that work?" Lily asked curiously.
"Is my dad gone?" he asked, looking up at her.
"No," Lily shook her head.
"Then it's not working," RJ sighed, making Ari giggle. He suddenly got to his feet. "I dunno, maybe I have to get used to losing Casey," he walked away.
"You're not losing Casey," Ari told him. "We all got new Masters, but you're still our Master," she reminded RJ.
"If you ask me-"
"He didn't," Lily interrupted Theo as Ari put a hand over his mouth. "So zip it," the Cheetah growled at him.
"No...it's ok to talk," RJ sighed.
"Good. Look, RJ, you mean a lot to Casey, to all of us," Lily told him as RJ opened the fridge. "You're not losing Casey because your dad's teaching him," the Yellow Ranger said.
"Yeah...maybe you're right," RJ agreed. "I'm letting old baggage get to me. I'm still Casey's Master," he smiled, and the three nodded in agreement.
"RJ! Your dad is the bomb!" they looked around as Casey and Master Finn returned. "He started teaching me the Shark Sabres, whoa! Amazing!" RJ's smile fell as Casey told him everything. "I never thought I could do stuff like that," he admitted. Ari slapped a hand to her face again.
"I'm glad you're so...happy," RJ cleared his throat.
"Let's not get carried away," Master Finn smiled. "There's still a lot of hard work before you can truly master the Shark Sabres," he told Casey as RJ walked away.
"I know, I know," Casey nodded eagerly. "RJ, how come you never took on your dad's..." he trailed off when he realised that RJ was gone, and the three Rangers standing above were frowning. "Skills..." he finished. "It was something I said...wasn't it?" he asked.
"Oh yeah," Ari nodded. Lily and Theo nodded in agreement. "I'll go talk to him," she decided.
Walking along the beach, Ari looked around for the Master who had gone off on his own.
"RJ? Dude, I'm the Ninja here, you can't go all stealthy and hide!" she complained as she walked along a rock formation. Leaping down, she landed in the sand. "RJ?" she called again, before stopping. She turned to face Camille and Minos, who were smirking as they stood with the monster from before.
"Will we do?" Camille asked as Ari frowned.
"Not really, but I have no choice," she grumbled, grabbing her Morpher from her pocket. "JUNGLE BEAST, SPIRIT UNLEASHED!" she Morphed into her Golden suit, and called on her Jungle Blades. "Well? Come on!" she called, and leapt at them. Crustatio met her, fighting her, but he was too slow, and Ari easily fought him off. Spinning, she slashed across his chest and as he stumbled, she kicked him back. He recovered, and swung a punch that she easily deflected with the back of her hand. "Call to the beast inside! Uncage the Sparrow!" she called on her animal spirit, which flew into the air. Her Sparrow chirped before flying back down, slamming into Crustatio and throwing him back.
"You're having fun without us?" Ari looked around as the other three Rangers joined her.
"Well maybe if you were faster I wouldn't have to," she laughed.
"Come on guys!" Casey called to his team. "Claw Cannon!" summoned their weapon.
"Powered by Animal Spirits! Fire!" they fired a powerful blast at Crustatio.
"Yikes!" he yelped, and leapt into the sea. The blast slammed into the water, and exploded.
"Did we get him?" Theo called, before Crustatio burst from the sea, much bigger.
"You're like an annoying piece of sand under my shell!" he roared as they stepped back in surprise.
"Let's cook this crab!" Casey yelled.
"Animal spirits unite as one! Power Rangers Jungle Fury!" the Rangers formed their Megazord. The two much larger forms began to fight, and Crustatio knocked the Rangers back.
"Activate your Shark Zord!" Master Finn yelled as he reached the battle.
"Come on Rangers! Follow my lead!" Casey yelled.
"Calling on the Spirit of the Shark!" the Rangers summoned the large Shark Zord, that was cloaked in a pale blue aura. It landed in the water, and snarled as Crustatio cried out in alarm. The Zord flew past him, blasting him before disappearing under the water. It suddenly surfaced near the Rangers, and bit their leg. The Rangers cried out as the bite caused the Megazord to spark.
"Crustatio did it," Minos chuckled.
"He controls the Shark!" Camille smiled at their chance. The Rangers were tossed back to land, where they called on their Elephant Zord to combine with them. As the Shark flew at them, they used the Mace to slam it, and the Shark crashed into the water as Crustatio was blasted away.
Returning to JKP, Ari found RJ sitting on the steps, tossing cards at a hat in front of him. Each card missed, landing around the hat with the others.
"You're good at a lot of stuff RJ, but tossing cards into a hat is not one of them," Ari commented, making him look up in surprise. The Gold Ranger sat down beside him with a small smile.
"Depends how you look at it. What if the purpose was to avoid the hat?" RJ replied.
"Then you've got another thing added to the list of stuff you're good at," Ari couldn't help but chuckle. "Did you watch the fight?" she asked softly.
"Yeah. My dad's Spirit Zord was turned against you," RJ got up and walked over to clean up the cards. "The battle could have been a lot worse. You could have been killed," he commented as he looked up. "My dad makes mistakes, he's not perfect you know," he told Ari.
"Something tells me that you're not just talking about the fight," Ari leaned forwards, watching him.
"He never got over me wanting to find my own animal spirit," RJ rolled his eyes as he walked away.
"I thought that you were born with your animal spirit?" Ari asked curiously, following him. RJ nodded.
"Yeah, you are. But most inherit their animal spirit from their parents, and if their parents are also Pai Zhuq, they can learn the techniques they've mastered over the years," RJ explained. "All my dad knew was to work me over and over into the Shark Technique, he wanted me to do it his way," he told Ari.
"Ah," Ari nodded in understanding. "But it wasn't your way. It wasn't your spirit," she said, and he nodded.
"Exactly," RJ confirmed. "It didn't fit me. So I went to find my new Master, to train, and that was it between me and my dad. He doesn't get it! It's his way or the highway."
"And you chose the highway," Ari realised. RJ nodded silently. "Huh..." Ari folded her arms. "RJ, do you know I do for a living, at least when I'm not busy saving the world from an ancient dragon monster possessing a Lion student?" she asked, making him frown.
"You're a skateboarder, aren't you?" he asked, and Ari nodded.
"I am. It's been my dream since I was a kid, to become a professional like I have done," she explained. "My dad is a doctor. My mum is too. My eldest brother, Joe, he's a doctor too, and my other brother is in law school. My sister studying to become a marine biologist. All pretty well respected jobs," Ari turned away as she walked slowly around the TVs.
"And your dad never approved of your choice," RJ said slowly, catching on as to why she was telling him this.
"Not in the slightest. I graduated high school two years early, and for two years he put me under constant pressure to start looking at colleges," Ari nodded. "After he found out that I was the Gold Mystic Force Ranger he kinda eased off, and then after Mr. Hartford hired me for his skateboarding company, my dad stopped going at me about it. He was worried that my dream wouldn't amount to anything," she explained.
"Why are you telling me this?" RJ asked curiously. Ari turned back to him and frowned.
"Because regardless of how often I fought with my dad about it, he was my dad and we love each other. Same with you and your dad," she told him firmly. "You should talk with your dad about it," she said, and RJ looked away. "Are all Masters as stubborn as this?" Ari wondered with a groan.
"Whoa, is everyone bummed out today or what?" Ari asked, making the other three Rangers and Master Finn look around in surprise.
"You need to stop sneaking up on people," Theo complained.
"You need to be more observant of your surroundings," she retorted. Lifting a rock, she skipped it across the lake, and it bounced several times. Casey lifted one, and threw it. It bounced multiple times across the lake before sinking, making the others stare in shock.
"Nice skip, huh? You know how RJ taught me that?" Casey looked to Master Finn. "By ironing his shirts," he laughed. "Go figure. Guy's a little off-centre, but his training really works," Casey smiled, and the others nodded in agreement.
"Yes...he is good at what he does," Master Finn agreed.
"So how about talking to him?" Ari suggested.
"What's this?" before Master Finn could speak, another voice called out and made them look around in surprise. "A Pai Zhuq Master teaching his students how to feel sorry for themselves?" Camille taunted. "Very unbecoming," she mocked.
"Not to mention vulnerable. Get them!" Minos ordered the Rinshi, who leapt at them.
"Ready?"
"Ready!"
"JUNGLE BEAST, SPIRIT UNLEASHED!" the four Rangers Morphed and began to fight the Rinshi. Casey made short work of his enemies using his new weapons before chasing after Crustatio, as the others used their new weapons too.
"Jungle Whip!" Ari cracked a Rinshi in the face before catching another around the wrist, swinging it into more. As she finished them off, she looked around to see Dai Shi fighting Master Finn.
"Guys! Master Finn's in trouble!" she yelled to Lily and Theo.
"So are you!" Minos called as he leapt at Ari from behind. She dodged his attack, using her Whip to keep him back. When he swung his hammer, she snapped the tip of the Whip against his hand, making him growl in pain as he was moved off course, missing Ari by miles. Nearby, Casey finished off Crustatio, who then grew much larger.
"I'm getting tired of this," Lily sighed, and they called on their Megazord. Crustatio dove back into the water, and the Rangers called on their new Spirit Zord, combining with it to dive under the water. Crustatio swam at them, his weapon spinning as he hurtled towards them.
"Let's put our own spin on this!" Casey cheered. They began to spin, and slammed into the monster, destroying him as they leapt from the water. "Come on guys, we need to help!" he called, and they hurried back to the battle just in time to see RJ summoning his Wolf Spirit, cloaked in a deep purple aura, and chasing off Dai Shi.
"Or not," Ari laughed as they marvelled at the strength of their Master.
Walking into the kitchen of JKP, the four Rangers found RJ teaching his father how to make pizza.
"Nice to see you two working together," Casey smiled as they looked up. "Kind of a father-son project," he commented.
"You know, if it wasn't for you guys, I'd never have known what a good son and what a fine Master RJ has become," Master Finn smiled as he clapped his son on the shoulder.
"I was right. All Masters are stubborn," Ari sighed, making them laugh.
So today marks the 10th anniversary of me being on this site! I realised this a couple of days ago, and it blew my mind. 10 years...my god.
So anyway, I figured I'd do something kinda special, and have a competition. Anyone can enter, just by reviewing and answering the following:
Name all of the people who Ari is related to (bonus points for future relations, but these aren't necessary) in this series.
If you get them all, then I will PM you a sneak peek at a future story, either SPD: A New Sun Warrior, or the oneshot that will lead into Dino Charge: Prehistoric Rising that shows how Teddie finds her Energem. When you answer, I'll PM you and ask which you'd prefer. You will need to review with an account, not as a guest though, since I'll need to PM you. I'll leave it open for answers until Sunday night, so you have until then to answer!
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me known what you think!