So, I watched episode 48 of the first season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and I had an idea for a fanfic. In this episode Trini is learning the Mantis Kung Fu. Because of the mantis while watching I thought about what if she would deepen the method and find herself in the order of the claw. I know that in Super Megaforce Emma and Jake's animal spirit were their zords but part of my idea is for Trini to learn the style she learned in the series so I think it's logical for her animal spirit to be a mantis. Anyway, I don't think Smilodon or Saber-tooth Tiger can be considered animal spirit, so mantis it is.
I wanted Trini not to be old in the fanfic so it's probably happening in the time of Zeo in 1996. Theo, Casey and Lily were kids in this year so none of them arrived at the Pai Zhua Academy yet. But RJ is Master Finn's son so he probably grew up in the academy and Dominic was supposed to be in the academy by the time Jarrod got there (and he arrived there in 1998), so it's makes sense they are already in the academy.
RJ is twelve years old in the fanfic and Dominic is ten, it's seeming they both were older then twenty in the series but we don't know their exact age.
English isn't my native language, so forgive me for any minor mistakes.
Disclaimer: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was belonged to Saban era, Power Rangers Jungle Fury was belonged to the Disney era and now the whole franchise is belongs to Hasbaro. I don't own anything.
Since the peace conference was ended Jason, Zack and Trini weren't sure what to do next in their life. How do you find a new purpose in life after you've been a ranger? Leaving normal life was boring, without the thrill of saving the world their friendship started to drift away. Trini and Zack started dating but Jason didn't find himself and decided to return to Angel Grove to become the gold ranger in the Zeo team. Trini and Zack were in a relationship for more than a year before they broke up. It helped them adjust the life of civilians again they weren't alone but after some time things just stopped working. They started arguing and fighting and they didn't get along anymore, until they broke up. It was after Kimberly broke up with Tommy, that what made Trini realize she and Zack also should break up. They both understood it's for the best to stop the relationship, they wanted to stay in good terms with each other and still be friends.
After their break up Trini decided she wants to find a new meaning in life, she missed fighting and she wanted to learn martial arts again. She remembered the time she decided to learn the Mantis Kung Fu. While she was still a ranger that helped them fight the Mantis of Rita but she couldn't master the style because of her duty as a ranger. Now she has time to learn it. Trini decided to contact Master Li, so she could be his full-time student. Maybe learning martial arts will help her find a new purpose in life.
Master Li and Trini set up a meeting and Trini returned to the US from Sweden. She didn't return to Angel Grove to visit; it felt weird to return there when everyone moved on. Her team wasn't her team anymore, the only ones from her team were Tommy and Jason, she barely knew the rest of them. She also wanted peace and quiet, returning to Angel Grove when there is a power rangers' team with a new enemy felt like returning to the job. That would only make her feel bad about her not being a ranger.
When Trini got to the meeting place, she saw her master meditate on the grass. "Trini it is nice to see you again." Master Li said without looking at her.
"Master Li, it's nice to see you again." Trini bowed to him.
"I'm glad you reached out to me. Not everyday you train a dedicated student like you." Master Li got up and looked at her.
"Thanks master." Trini smiled.
Train in Mantis kung fu became what Trini did most of the day. It was persistence and that helped her focus. She found something to do in her life. After a few weeks of training Master Li decided she is ready to the next level. "Trini, you heard about animal spirits?" Master Li asked her at the end of a practice.
"No, master, never heard about that." Trini answered.
"There is a legend that says each one of us has an animal spirit within us. But there are some special people that can harness their spirit animal to be their guardians while practicing martial arts. Trini, I've been watching you train and I think you have the spirit animal of the mantis." Master Li said.
"What does that mean, master?" Trini wondered.
"I think you should go and pay a visit to the Order of the Claw academy. They train their students how to use their animal spirit and there isn't a better place to learn martial arts than this." Master Li told her.
"Are you sure I have the mantis spirit and not another animal like a tiger or some other cat?" Trini asked, she knew she just practiced the Mantis kung fu style but she still had a soft spot to her Saber-tooth Tiger motif.
"Yes, the way you learned the mantis style is a way you can do only with the mantis spirit animal inside you and you calm and have a strong sense of justice, people with the tiger spirit are feistier," Master Li explained.
"So, master, are you part of the academy? Are you going to teach me this ability?" Trini asked.
"No, I have a friend there. This is the address of the academy; you have the potential to learn the rare ability of channeling your inner animal. I think you should go there if you want to achieve your full potential. Tell them I sent you and take this with you." Master Li handed her a letter and the address of the academy on a note.
"Thanks for believing in me, Master. I'll give it a chance." Trini smiled and bowed.
"Good luck in your journey Trini, I'm sure your path will lead you to great achievements. Tell them I sent you." Master Li bowed back.
Trini went to the academy address. It was in the middle of a forest, not that was surprising, it was a secret academy after all. She was curious to learn this method, she was eager to find a new purpose in life. She wondered what her friends' spirit animal would be. She could only think about the zords and they were prehistoric so the zords couldn't represent her friends' animal spirits. Maybe mythological animals can be animal spirits and the Thunder Megazord represents their animals. But she got the mantis and she did not have a mantis zord nor would she want one. She needs to stop thinking about that, the rangers are her past, she needs to think about the future, she can't dwell on the past, she chose to leave, she needs to find her new path.
When Trini arrived at the Pai Zhua academy she saw two boys sparring with each other. One was with two sabers and the other was with one dagger. They were young, not older than thirteen years old. It seems like the older boy, the one with the sabers, wasn't sure what to do with them. The younger boy with the dagger seems to have advantage even though he has only one weapon and not two.
It reminded Trini of the time she fought with her daggers as a ranger. The sabers were similar to her daggers just a bit longer. With the suit it felt like she always knew how to use them. After some time, they figured out they can use their weapons without their suits if they have a similar weapon. Kimberly once decided to shoot arrows without her suit and she was great and hit all the targets. She had a muscle memory of how to shoot arrows without being a ranger. Trini was sure she could use these sabers pretty easily like she used her daggers.
Suddenly one of the sabers flew to Trini's direction and she caught it with ease. The boy with the dagger flew it away from the other boy's hand and he also disarmed his other saber to the floor. "Really, RJ? You had two sabers and I had one dagger and I still knocked out the sabers from your hands?" The younger boy teased.
"I would beat you easily if we would have done only hand to hand combat." RJ stated.
"Yeah, probably, but that was the point of our secret training, you need to work on using the sabers." The other boy said.
"I hate this, Dom, the shark technique is not for me, I can't handle this style!" RJ called.
"That's why we come to train here without permission, so you could practice on the technique." Dom mentioned.
"Yes, but it's not working." RJ sighed.
"You thought about telling this to your father and asking him to try other techniques?" Dom asked.
"I would love to but he would be furious. The shark technique is the style who've been passed from father to son for many generations in my family. I can't decline it. My dad reminds me that every day," RJ sighed.
"You should find your own style, maybe your spirit animal is not fit to use weapons? You are the best in class without them," Dom mentioned.
"Yeah, or maybe I just need a different master. Master Swoop for example can be a great master, it would be nice to learn how to fight blind," RJ said and took the saber which fell on the floor. Then he turned around to where the other saber was supposed to be and he saw Trini.
"I think you lost something, RJ." Trini smiled and handed him his saber back.
"Thanks, but who are you?" RJ asked, swooping the sabers a bit.
"Maybe she is another master? Master Swoop came to visit today, maybe there is a masters meeting or something." Dom suggested.
"I think she is too young to be a master." RJ stated.
"No, I'm not a master. My name is Trini Kwan, I've been told that I have the mantis spirit and I should come here to study how to contact my spirit animal." She explained.
"Aren't you too old to be a student?" Dom asked.
"Dom, don't insult her! You can't judge a book by its cover!" RJ scolded him.
"Sorry, we haven't met strangers for some time. we aren't very polite here, are we?" Dom chuckled.
"No, and we haven't introduced ourselves yet. My name is Robert James but I prefer to be called RJ." He introduced himself.
"And I'm Dominic Hargan, I have the rhino spirit by the way." Dom said.
"Alright, nice to meet you." Trini bowed to them. The two boys bowed back.
"Sorry we were a bit rude; I was a bit mad." RJ apologized.
"I saw, do you need help with the sabers? I think you're forgetting that they are supposed to be an extension of your body." Trini mentioned.
"You know how to use weapons?" Dominic wondered.
"Well, I worked mostly with two daggers and your sabers, which are similar to Dao swords, are much longer than my daggers." Trini said.
"I think my weapon is a bit more like a dagger." Dominic mentioned.
"Yes, but it's similar to a katana sword so it's still a sword and not a dagger." Trini stated.
"Ah, you do have knowledge about weapons, you do have potential to be a student here." RJ said.
"Thanks, and don't worry, you'll get the hang of it eventually." Trini smiled at RJ.
"I hope so, I really think I'm only a hand to hand combat kind of guy." RJ shrugged.
"What spirit do you have?" Trini wondered, realizing he hadn't mentioned it.
"Ahem, my dad has the shark spirit and these are shark sabers but I'm not sure it fits me." RJ mumbled.
"Speaking of your father, you should take her to the masters." Dominic said.
"Why me?" RJ asked.
"Because your father is a master so they won't be mad at you for interrupting them. They can kick me out for disturbing them," Dominic told his friend.
"Dom, don't worry, how many times do I need to tell you they won't do it? You are safe here, you got here not long ago, you are still a rookie. You are a student, you are here to learn, they won't kick you out of the academy for interrupting their conversation" RJ assured him.
"That's good to know they don't do this." Trini mentioned.
"What animal spirit you said you have?" RJ asked.
"Mantis, I think." Trini answered.
"It is not a good sign, all of these new spirit animals who are not part of the tradition. It could be a foreshadowing for trouble." RJ mumbled.
"Hey, there is nothing wrong with my special rhino spirit, the rhino is one of the strongest." Dominic stated.
"I know, but still, it's not a good indication. A new era of the Order of the Claw began." RJ muttered, looking worried.
"Something is wrong with my spirit?" Trini wondered.
"No, no, RJ is just paranoid, don't worry." Dominic reassured her.
"We should return the weapons to their place and go talk to the masters; they should know you are here." RJ decided.
"They are not aware I was supposed to arrive." Trini mentioned.
"Well, they are going to find out." Dominic stated.
The three of them got inside the building which resembled an ancient temple. It was a fascinating place. There were statues of animals in the hallways and carvings on the walls.
"You should know they might want to test you." RJ told Trini after they got to the meeting room.
"Alright, I think I can handle this," Trini shrugged.
"Yeah, you have potential from what you showed us before." Dominic told her.
RJ knocked on the door. "Who is it?" a voice was heard from inside.
"RJ and Dominic." RJ called. There was a sound of footsteps on the floor and the door was opened.
"What is it son?" The man in the door asked briskly but his voice was calm. He wore gray and blue colors.
"This is Trini, she wants to be a student here, someone told her she has the mantis spirit animal. Which is another new animal. It is not a good sign of what could come." RJ stated, the visit from Master Swoop today wasn't something ordinary. It seems logical he'll come to visit there aren't many living masters but the other master disappeared so the only master from outside he knew about was Master Swoop and that was only the third time he met him.
"I'm Trini Kwan, I was trained in the mantis kung fu with Master Li and he told me I have the mantis spirit and I should come here. He told me to bring this letter and he explained everything in it." Trini bowed and handed the letter.
"Nice to meet you Trini, I'm Master Finn, the shark master." RJ's father introduced himself.
Another man who wore orange came and took the letter from her and read it. "Hello Trini, I'm Master Mao, Li wrote to us that you have the mantis spirit; I would like to watch you train a bit to see that myself if you don't mind."
"Of course, that would be my honor." Trini smiled.
After the two masters walked another master wearing mostly black and sunglasses it seemed like he is blind but he didn't have a walking stick to help him. Trini assumed that the master RJ and Dominic talked about who came to visit. They went back to the garden and Trini began to demonstrate to them what she knew. She showed them mostly the mantis technique; not wanting to reveal the skills she acquired as a ranger.
"That's good Trini you do have the mantis spirit inside you." Master Mao nodded after he got to the same conclusion as Master Li. It was still weird for Trini but she was intrigued and wanted to start learning more about her animal spirit.
"Trini you can spar with RJ? I want to see you fighting." Master Finn asked her.
"Are you sure it's going to be a fair fight?" Trini wondered.
"He has years of training, don't let the fact he is twelve distract you, fight with him like any regular opponent." Master Finn answered.
"Besides, if we won't fight with better opponents we couldn't learn. If we want to learn something in life we need to fail and be at a disadvantage position if we want to succeed." RJ told her and got ready to spar with her. Trini saw Master Finn smiling with pride near them.
"Alright, if you say so." Trini nodded.
Trini did take the sparring seriously. RJ was better than she thought, but it wasn't too hard to beat him. It didn't feel like she was fighting with a child. She had a year and a half of fighting monsters and putties she could handle a boy. She didn't knock RJ to the ground right away but at some point, she decided it's the right time to finish the sparring. "You're good, but you could have knocked me faster," RJ told her.
"Maybe, but you did surprise me. It was harder than I thought." Trini said to him.
"Good job, Trini, welcome to the Pai Zhua academy." Master Mao told her and bowed.
"Thanks, Master Mao." Trini smiled and bowed back.
Author note: Trini left the academy eventually to have Minh and to explore the world more but I just thought Trini is the only character from this universe who could find herself as a student in the Order of the Claw and decided to write it.
