So I skipped two episodes as I couldn't find ways to effectively fit them into this series, plus I've made one big change later that meant I was able to without it no longer making sense. This chapter always went radically different to how I had originally planned to write it, so I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 19: Path of the Rhino

Humming to herself as she made more pizza sauce, Ari thought about how life had been since RJ had joined the team as the Violet Wolf Ranger. He was powerful, and had made their fights a lot easier, which was a relief since Dai Shi's army was only growing stronger.

"Guys!" she was snapped from her thoughts as Lily burst in, making everyone look around. "This is Inspector Fuller, from the Health Department," she introduced a young man with pale blonde hair who stood beside her.

"My my my," the man frowned as he studied the kitchen. "This is going to be ugly. You better get the owner," he told Lily as the others frowned. Lily ran off as the man wiped a finger along the counter. "These counters are filthy, get this cleaned pronto," he ordered, gesturing to the oven. He then lifted a tomato from a bowl beside Ari and sniffed it.

"Those are fresh, they only arrived this morning," she told him. The man didn't reply, simply setting down the tomato on the counter. He then grabbed a pizza board, and slammed it down, making Fran shriek in alarm. Ari managed to avoid the splatter, but unfortunately for Casey, and another person who had chosen that moment to walk in, they were not so lucky. The man licked the tomato from the board.

"You are right," he nodded.

"Uh, bad time?" Xander asked as he looked down at the tomato that now coated his shirt.

"Let's check out this milk here," the man opened the fridge, and Fran moved away quickly. "And this cheese..." he took a sniff of the bag of cheese. "Smells bad," he concluded.

"Whoa whoa whoa, what's going on here?" RJ called as he and Jenna arrived, followed by Lily. "We had an inspection just last..." RJ trailed off as the man turned to him.

"Dom!" Jenna broke into a wide smile and ran over to him, throwing her arms around him in a hug.

"I should'a known!" RJ laughed as he walked over, hugging the man as Jenna freed him. "This is Dom, he's an old buddy from Pai Zhuq," he introduced the man to the group. "Dominic, this is Casey, Theo, Fran, Ari, Lily and Xander, who I didn't realise was back," he introduced everyone.

"I wouldn't have minded a little heads up," Xander commented, and Ari laughed as she walked over, handing him a towel.

"Hey...gotcha," Dom laughed.

"Come upstairs man, where you been?" RJ asked as he and Jenna led Dom up the stairs.

"Last I heard, you were in Italy trekking up a mountain," Jenna smiled to him.

"Come on, we'll find you a shirt," Ari giggled, taking her boyfriend's hand and leading him upstairs as well. Casey was scowling as he cleaned the tomato off his face.

"Did you see Casey's face? He wasn't too happy with that Dominic guy," Xander commented as he found himself helping collect supplies.

"Yeah, Casey can be a little closed off at times," Ari agreed. "So RJ, what's the deal with Dominic?" she asked as he walked out with Lily and Theo. Casey was working in JKP with Fran, Dom and Jenna. Since she was sticking around for a while, Jenna had offered to help out, especially since Fran was now the only employee who didn't run the risk of having to run off at a moment's notice.

"Dominic was one of the best," RJ told them as they loaded the last of the supplies into the truck. "Master Mao was gonna choose him to be a protector," he said.

"Why didn't he?" Lily asked curiously.

"Ah, because Dom had a curious streak, he wanted to see everything, do everything. Master Mao sent him out to find a focus, and years later, he's still looking," RJ gave a small chuckle.

"Kinda sounds like Zoe. As soon as she graduated, she started travelling around the world," Ari was reminded of the Moon Ninja, who had returned to become the Silver Ninja Ranger. "He seems nice," she smiled.

"Yeah, when he's not squishing tomatoes with a pizza board," Theo muttered. As he leapt into the truck to store everything away, the ground suddenly began to shake.

"Come on!" Lily yelled as people fled from what seemed to be the source of the quake. "There!" they spotted a Rinshi chasing people away as he laughed.

"Let's Morph guys," Ari called, grabbing her Solar Morpher. Lily and Theo followed suit, and RJ flipped his own.

"JUNGLE BEAST, SPIRIT UNLEASHED!" the four Morphed, and Xander grabbed his Mystic Morpher from his pocket as they ran to fight the Rinshi.

"Well well well, I've been wondering where you've been," Xander looked around to see Minos leaning against the side of the building. "We're overdue a rematch," he smirked.

"If you insist," Xander frowned, flipping his Morpher open. "MAGICAL SOURCE, MYSTIC FORCE!" he Morphed and called on his axe as Minos summoned his own armour. They began to fight as Ari, RJ, Theo and Lily fought off Crocovile, who had changed forms to a more powerful one.

"Where's Casey?" Ari called, before leaping at Crocovile as he struck Lily and Theo hard.

"No clue! I hope he's okay," Lily gulped. They ran at Crocovile again, and grabbed him, but the Rinshi kicked RJ backwards, and threw the others into him.

"Guys, I'm here now!" Casey suddenly arrived, standing beside them as they got back up.

"Where were you?!" Theo demanded.

"I'll tell you later," Casey told him, stepping forwards and pulling on his Morpher. "JUNGLE BEAST, SPIRIT UNLEASHED!" he Morphed as well, and began to fight Crocovile as the others got back up.

Nearby, Xander and Minos were fighting, equally matched as their weapons met, causing a shockwave. Minos chuckled as they pushed against each other, struggling to gain the upperhand.

"Looks like your friends aren't having as much fun as us," Minos commented, and Xander glanced over to where the Rangers had fallen, overwhelmed by the Rinshi. Suddenly another figure raced in, grabbing the Rinshi from behind. "Well well, another player has joined the fray," Minos chuckled, before suddenly pushing up. Xander felt his own weapon being forced up as well, leaving him open to Minos' boot slamming into he gut.

"Dom, get outta there!" RJ yelled to his friend, who was then thrown aside by Crocovile. He began to taunt the Rinshi, dodging each of his moves.

"Is he crazy? He's going to get himself hurt!" Ari groaned as she pushed herself up.

"Looks like you're not as strong as me," Minos commented as he approached Xander. "It's a little disappointing that you're not more of a challenge," he complained. The Green Ranger pushed himself back to his feet, and grabbed his axe, swinging hard. Minos blocked it, shoving against him, before a brown aura began to surround him.

"What are you doing?" Xander frowned, before Minos' animal spirit rose from him and slammed into Xander. The young man cried out as he slammed into a wall, and demorphed as he slid to the ground. Dom noticed as he stood in front of a car, and his eyes widened in horror. He sprinted towards the two as Crocovile struck the car, sending it flying into a young man who had been skateboarding past, unaware of the fight taking place. Casey leapt over, tackling him out of the way.

"Time to finally take what's mine," Minos grabbed Xander by the front of his shirt, hoisting him into the air. His hand began to glow brown, and he pressed it to Xander's chest, making him cry out in pain.

"Stop!" he glanced around as Dom ran at him, before smirking.

"You're too late," Minos told him, and suddenly moved, throwing Xander into him. The two crashed to the ground, and with a loud laugh, Minos' brown aura returned, only this time, green was mixed in with it.

"Xander!" Ari noticed the fallen Mystic on the ground and sprinted over. Minos stomped his foot, and disappeared as Crocovile walked off as well. "Xander, are you okay?" Ari skidded to a stop and fell to her knees, helping Xander sit up as Dom crouched on his other side.

"What happened?" Theo asked as the others ran over, and Xander groaned as pain flooded through his body.

"What's happening to him?" Ari asked fearfully as she looked up from the cot that had been set up for Xander. "My healing isn't working," she looked up at RJ, who sighed.

"I was afraid of this happening," he admitted. "Minos has stolen his animal spirit," he explained.

"What? But I don't even..." Xander groaned in pain as he tried to move.

"Remember what Master Phant said?" Lily spoke up. "You're not Pai Zhuq, but everyone has an animal spirit," she reminded him.

"I'll be fine. I just need to take it easy for a while," Xander caught Ari's hand and squeezed it. Tears stung at her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I should have tried to help sooner," Dom, who had been leaning against the wall beside Jenna, spoke up.

"You didn't realise, it's not your fault," Xander told him.

"You should have been more careful," Casey turned to Dom, whose eyes widened in surprise. "A guy nearly got killed because of you messing around with Crocovile," he told the young man.

"That's enough," he turned in surprise at Ari's annoyed voice. "There's no point in starting fights," she said, and to Casey's shock, her frown was directed at him.

"But-"

"Uh, come on guys, let's let Xander rest for a bit," RJ spoke up quickly. The others let the room, and Ari turned back to Xander.

"I'll get your Animal Spirit back," she promised him.

"Just don't get yourself hurt in the process," Xander replied, closing his eyes as the need for rest became too great for him to resist. The tears in Ari's eyes grew, and she put a hand to her stomach again, feeling the long scars that she had kept from him. She'd told him all about RJ becoming the Violet Wolf Ranger after his brief stint as a werewolf, but hadn't said anything about him lashing out at her. To know her own Master, who Ari trusted greatly, had caused such an injury, would not go down well.

"You're going to have to be careful," Jenna warned, making Ari look around. "With a second spirit, Minos will be a lot more powerful," she said. Ari's face scrunched up in a scowl.

"I don't care. He's going down," she stormed out to join the others. Jenna sighed, worried for the girl who didn't tolerate anyone messing with people she cared with.

"How could you not hear us call?" Theo smirked as they walked out into the main room.

"Dominic knocked them into the trash!" Casey defended, going red. "It's not my fault!" he complained.

"Alright dudes, cool your jets," RJ spoke quickly, not wanting an argument to break out when Ari was already on a short fuse. "It's all water under the bridge. Let's just concentrate on the real enemy here, shall we?" he asked with a frown.

"I want to join you," they all looked around in surprise at Dom's words. "Help you fight Dai Shi," he clarified. "Master Mao told me that I would find my path when I least expected it. And man, I didn't expect any of this!" he exclaimed with a wide grin. "I feel like I've been wandering in the dark for six years, and the sunlight finally hit my face."

"I did no such thing," Ari said immediately, earning several looks. "Sorry, force of habit," she smiled weakly, going red.

"I don't think it's a good idea," Casey told him. Dom's smile fell.

"Everything is a big game to you. Someone would get hurt," Theo shook his head, looking worried. Both Casey and Lily nodded in agreement.

"Please...give me a chance," Dom asked softly, the desire to join them obvious. RJ looked over at the others. Theo shook his head, and walked off with Casey.

"You guys!" Lily hurried after them.

"You can't join the team..."

"I know. Unless they want me to," Dom finished for RJ.

"Well, I think you'd be a good addition to the team," they looked to Ari as she spoke. Her gaze was on the door they had just walked through, as her worry for Xander was clear. She then looked back with a smile. "You're Ranger material, that's for sure, but I'm not the only one you need to convince," she reminded him.

"So I'll make them want me!" Dom decided.

Jenna shook her head in exasperation, her mouth still burning. In an attempt to impress Casey, Theo and Lily, Dom had helped in JKP, and had been doing a fantastic job, until he accidentally filled all the pepper shakers with hot chilli pepper instead. Needless to say, Casey's limited patience with the young man was shrinking by the minute.

"Ari! I heard the others mention something," Dom rushed over to the girl, who was meditating beside Jenna.

"What's up Dom?" she asked, not opening her eyes.

"They said you're a Ninja," Ari's eyes opened, and she nodded.

"I am. My Sensei asked me to join the Pai Zhuq academy as a way to link the two schools," she smiled slightly. Dom's eyes widened in an almost childish awe, and he sat down on the ground in front of her. Jenna opened one eye and smiled in amusement as the two talked about Ninjas. Dom had been so determined to prove himself, that he hadn't taken the chance to talk properly, and it was taking Ari's mind off Minos and Xander.

"So which school did you go to?" Dom asked, a bowl of chicken wings on his lap as they talked.

"The Celestial Academy, in Briarwood. Though I finished up my studies in Blue Bay Harbour with the Wind Ninja Academy five years ago," Ari told him proudly.

"So you know the Ninja Storm Rangers then?" Dom asked excitedly. "I was in France at the time, Europe didn't cover anywhere near as much on Power Rangers as America does," he complained. Ari gave a small laugh.

"You could say that," she nodded, and Jenna couldn't stop herself from laughing as well. Dom frowned, and looked from the Master, back to Ari, before his eyes widened at her lazy smile.

"No...you were one of them?" he gasped in realisation.

"Gold Ranger. I like to stick to the same theme," Ari nodded with a laugh.

"Awesome..." Dom breathed. "You know, I met a Ninja once," he commented. "Maybe you know them," he grinned with amusement.

"There's a lot of Ninja Academies out there, and even more Ninjas," Ari laughed. "But okay, let's hear it," she said.

"What was her name..." Dom thought back to his encounter. "Oh yeah! Zoe Suguira!" he remembered, and Ari's eyes widened, her jaw falling open. After a moment, she burst out laughing, falling over. "You know her?" Dom smiled at her reaction.

"Zoe's one of my best friends. She was our Silver Ranger," Ari giggled as she managed to compose herself, sitting back up.

"No way!" Dom started laughing as well.

"She's Zoe Bradley now. She was here about a month ago," Ari told him, and Dom whistled.

"Hey Dom, how about you go do something productive instead of distracting my student?" Jenna finally asked, though the amusement in her voice betrayed her true feelings.

"Technically, she's RJ's student. Why are you even hanging about here? You're almost as bad as me for sticking around the same place," Dom teased, and Ari giggled as Jenna went red. "Ohh, he finally asked you out, huh?" Dom's grin widened, as Ari's giggles grew.

"Oh shut up," Jenna sighed. "And go bother someone else," she told him.

"Fine, fine," Dom got up and walked off to watch Lily and Theo training with their weapons. Ari and Jenna shut their eyes again and began to meditate, until they heard cries and looked up. Ari raised a shield just in time, and Lily's Bo bounced off it. RJ let out a startled yell as Theo's tonfa slammed into what he was working on.

"I couldn't hold it!" Lily glanced to Theo, who was looking at his hand.

"There's grease on them," he realised. Dom looked down at his hand, which he had held their weapons in, and groaned.

"So he made his decision and decided to leave," RJ explained as the four students stood in the kitchen with him. Fran, who had walked in at that moment, stopped.

"Dominic? Left?" she asked slowly. RJ glanced around, and gave a small nod.

"It's for the best, right?" Casey asked as he looked to them. "We gave it a try, it didn't work," he shrugged. Ari frowned, but before she could speak, Fran did.

"Did you?" she gave a small laugh. "Did you really try?" Fran looked at everyone. "So he jokes around...I kinda liked it," she admitted.

"Me too," Lily admitted, and earned a frown from Casey.

"Did you ever give him a chance to show you what he was really made of?" Fran demanded. "Even once?" nobody spoke, and Ari folded her arms, impressed by Fran. The phone ran, and the girl answered it. After she was done, she grabbed the pizza that was to be delivered, and stormed out.

"She's right, you know," they looked over at Ari. "You didn't give him a chance. Especially you Casey, so go with her," she told him. Casey frowned, before Lily gave him a small push.

"Go," she told him quietly. Casey nodded, and followed Fran out as Theo frowned slightly.

"But he-"

"He what, Theo? Tried to help you and Lily with your weapons training, make them even more effective?" Ari challenged him. "You should have noticed grease on your weapons before you used them," she pointed out.

"She's right," Lily nodded in agreement. "We never gave him a chance," she told Theo. RJ gave a small, impressed smile.

"But that kid, back there-"

"Dom was distracted because he was trying to help Xander when Minos stole his spirit. Nobody saw that kid coming," Ari pointed out, turning and walking back into the restaurant, leaving Theo thinking it over.

Theo, Lily, Ari and RJ screamed as they were thrown from a bridge, landing on the road below heavily as Crocovile laughed loudly, landing in front of them on his feet.

"When I'm through with you, the entire city will be next!" Crocovile declared as they got back to their feet. Nearby, Camille and Minos stood watching.

"Finish them, Crocovile!" Camille ordered with a smirk. Crocovile laughed again, but as he went to strike, Casey's Strike Rider suddenly slammed into him. As the Rinshi went flying, Casey landed with his team in his Jungle Master Mode, and Dom ran to stand beside him.

"Dominic? I thought you left!" Lily gasped in surprise.

"I almost left," Dom corrected.

"Well, right now you better step aside," Theo told him.

"Hey, give him a chance," Casey turned to the Blue Ranger quickly. "You're in for a surprise," he said. Ari and RJ smiled at Casey's sudden change of heart. "Right Dominic?" Casey put his hand on Dom's shoulder.

"Hmm...that's the guy from before," Minos commented, recognising Dom from earlier in the day.

"Dom..." RJ approached with a bracelet. "This will Ranger up your Rhino Spirit," he told his friend.

"Thanks," Dom grinned, slipping it onto his wrist. He then looked around and approached Crocovile.

"Oh...I don't like where this is going," Camille's arrogant smirk had vanished.

"Rhino Morpher, initiate!" Dom called, and the bracelet transformed into his weapon. "JUNGLE BEAST, SPIRIT UNLEASHED!" Dom Morphed into a White suit with black and orange markings. "With the Power of a Rhino! Jungle Fury Rhino Ranger!"

"Rhino Ranger?" Camille made a noise of disgust. "Rinshi!" she snapped her fingers, and a large group of them appeared.

"Bring it!" Dom grinned, running at them. Ari glanced over to Minos and Camille, and her grip on her weapon tightened.

"Oh? I think I have a battle of my own here," Minos smirked, and his armour surrounded him. However, it was different, with green markings on it. He summoned his hammer, and leapt down to face Ari.

"I will get Xander's animal spirit back," she told him, and Minos laughed.

"I'd love to see you try, little bird," he spun his hammer. "This is what I wanted! Power!" he laughed loudly, and launched at Ari. She dove out of the way of his swing, using the jets on her suit to move away.

"But at what cost, Minos?" Ari slashed at him, but Minos blocked it easily and shoved her back. Even in her Master Mode, Ari wasn't strong enough to defeat him. "You've never been bloodthirsty like the others, you didn't kill Xander or Dom when you had the chance!" she pointed out, only for Minos to slam the ground in front of her. The ground began to quake, and Minos kicked her as she stumbled.

"Don't pretend to understand me, Gold Ranger! All I ever wanted was power!" he declared.

"No it's not!" Ari shouted back at him. "You convinced Camille to take me instead of a baby. You said it was because Dai Shi would want a Mystic more, but Annie has a lot of potential, maybe more than me! But that wasn't true!" Minos grew more agitated with Ari's words, and swung his hammer. She cried out as she slammed into the wall, sinking to the ground. "You're not like them. Please...give back that Spirit," Ari pleaded as tears stung at her eyes. Minos grunted, staring at her.

"You can't hold a candle to my power anymore, Gold Ranger. I'm wasting my time fighting you," he told her, and with a snort, stomped his foot and disappearing. Ari watched him, hit by the familiarity of such an action.

"Ari, are you okay?" the other Rangers ran over to help her up as Dom fought Crocovile.

"I'm fine. How's Dom doing?" Ari got back to her feet, wincing at the pain.

"Nothing to worry about. That Croc has met his match," RJ grinned.

"What do you mean RJ?" Theo asked curiously.

"The Rhino spirit is one of the toughest animal spirits there is!" RJ exclaimed with a grin. "And Dominic knows how to use every bit of it," he laughed, and they watched as Dom easily overpowered the Rinshi, tossing him into the air. He followed him up, kicking Crocovile away. Every strike of the Rinshi's was countered, and Dom called on his Rhino Blade, slashing him multiple times.

"Had enough?" he taunted. "Rhino Blade Super Slash!" he struck Crocovile with a final blow, destroying him.

"Now that's Rhino Power!" Casey grinned. "Welcome to the team," he told Dom, who smiled widely under his helmet.

"Man, you Rangers just keep popping up like geraniums," Xander mused, rubbing his shoulder as they stood in JKP. Dom rushed around, serving everyone and showing off.

"You've a nerve," Ari muttered, elbowing him. While he was still lacking his Spirit, he was feeling a little better as the pain had faded. They watched as Dom juggled several shakers, and tossed them to customers as people applauded.

"Okay, so he has a certain charm," Casey conceded.

"And business is up since he started," Lily pointed out.

"Which means that RJ's had time to take Jenna out for dinner," Ari grinned, and Jenna rolled her eyes, blushing again. Dom walked over, setting a box down in front of Casey.

"Something you wanted me to get. But it took me a while," Dom grinned to him. Casey opened the box curiously as Dom walked away. He glanced over to Dom, and blinked in confusion. He rolled out a large, colourful ball and held it up.

"The gum?! Dom!" Casey groaned in disgust as everyone else started to laugh.

I hope you liked it!

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