Work Text:
The Order Of The Claw
It had been nearly a year since he passed his turbo powers to TJ. At first, he tried to keep himself busy with studies and work, but as time went on, he realised something within him was not right. Some part of him was not at peace. It was an unsettling feeling. It was as though there was still power in him, hidden deep within his soul, calling out to him.
It took nearly lashing out someone for him to realise what was wrong. It wasn't exactly a good day. After almost a year on campus, most bullies kept themselves out of his way. But on this day, he stumbled upon a group of idiots picking on a girl. He sighed and went to help her. The group turned its attention towards him. He was able to subdue them without much effort, but one particularly thick-headed guy managed to land a hit on him with a wooden staff, drawing the blood. The staff broke on impact, as did his patience. And it was that moment when the White Falcon raised, screeching while taking a flight inside his mind. The winged lord of the sky was calling out to him. Ever since the day he of his retirement, he realised. Everything was crystal clear all of a sudden. Escaping the situation as soon as he could, he rushed towards his apartment. Tossing his bag and keys on the couch, he got into a meditative stance, trying to regain control over his being and reconnect with his animal spirit. And reconnect he did, at least for a while. Although asserting control was another matter altogether. He flew with his animal spirit, together as one again, though he had no control over the direction or destination of the falcon. One by one, the falcon reached out to its teammates. Blue Wolf, Red Ape, Yellow Bear, Black Frog and finally, Pink Crane. Freeing them from their cages, guardian spirits of animals flew together leaving streaks of the colours behind, although he wasn't able to see any of their human counterparts.
Falcon surged towards a meadow, along with other animals, where they came in front of Dulcea, Phedos' Master Warrior, and a bald man in traditional warrior grab. "Ah, at last. Welcome my warriors. I was waiting for you." She said.
All the spirit animals stood in front of her in half circle. Personally, Tommy was confused. He had thought his ranger days were over.
As though reading his thoughts, Dulcea replied, "This is not a quest for ranger powers my falcon. You and your teammates are here to learn a way to reconnect with your animal spirits, as once connected they can never go away until you die. They can be suppressed as happened in your case, they can be exhausted to a certain level, they can even be borrowed from someone or given to someone, but go away? Never!"
Walking towards them with the man following her, she said, "This is Master Mao, of Pai Zhua, Order of the Claw."
"Greetings warriors." Master Mao nodded.
"Seek him out once you return to the physical plane. Search for the Order of Claw, in the outskirts of the town called Ocean Bluff, and then you will be able to connect with and call forth your animal spirits at your will. May the power protect you my warriors." she said, before letting them go.
He woke up from his trance, his arms and legs shaking. And his falcon is still unsettled, unable to connect with him again. Shock of retaining him yet not being connected with his falcon finally caught up with him, and he sat on his knees with a thud.
It was a week before semester was about to be over, with summer break starting immediately afterwards. A week was enough for him to arrange his immediate affairs. The day semester was over, he borrowed his uncle's car and headed in Ocean Bluff's direction. Finding Pai Zhua Academy was easy enough, as power was guiding him. He entered the academy, his duffel bag hanging over his shoulders.
Master Mao was there to greet him. "Welcome to Pai Zhua, falcon warrior. You are the first one who answered the call of Master Dulcea, founder of Pai Zhua. And I am the current Master of the Order."
"Master Dulcea was here on earth about 10,000 years ago, to fight with evil spirit of Dai Shi. She contained the evil spirit, and trained few individuals in ways of Pai Zhua to guard the evil spirit. Since then, we have been passing on the knowledge to few students, who are best mentally and physically. And you, Falcon warrior, are the leader of the spirit warriors choosen by Master Dulcea herself."
He turned around, going inside the academy, and Tommy followed inside. "From tomorrow, you will learn the way of Pai Zhua, and when the time comes, you must assist those who seek your guidance to learn the ways of the order. When the time comes, you must answer the call of the power, and help the light over evil." Stopping outside a room, Master Mao gestured to him inside. "Rest well falcon warrior, your training starts tomorrow at the break of dawn." Tommy nodded. "May the power protect you, young warrior." Master Mao said before leaving.
He had thought his days with power were over, but apparently life had much more in store for him than he ever imagined. His conscience wouldn't let him sit idle, when he was required in battle, and apparently Morphing grid and guardians had no intention of letting him do that either. He sighed, remembering the old saying, 'Once a ranger..."
As he was informed, his training started with the break of dawn. Physical training was neither new nor difficult for him, he was a practitioner of martial arts from a young age after all. But spiritual training was another experience altogether. He was able to feel his bond with falcon growing strong with every passing day. And according to Master Mao, it wouldn't be long before he was able to call forth his animal spirit.
His first surprise came a week after he came to Pai Zhua. The room next to him was occupied all of a sudden. And it was the occupant of the said room that brought a pleasant surprise for him. Blue Wolf of his team was in Pai Zhua. One of his oldest friends, Billy, was finally in front of him. The training resumed, as did their easy companionship, and the distance that had grown amongst them was dissolved as though it was never there.
Next surprise came with the return of Red Ape, Yellow Bear and Black Frog. Rocky, Aisha and Adam were back as well. With tearful reunions and heartfelt conversations, the easy camaraderie was back.
The next surprise was because of the presence of a person who brought back bittersweet memories for him. The next person who came to Pai Zhua was Pink Crane. His Pink Crane. Kimberly. He was both hoping and dreading that crane would be Katherine, but Master Mao explained that Pink Crane was Kimberly's animal spirit. Katherine was carrying Kimberly's powers during her Ninja days. As probability of two persons who know each other having similar animal spirit was quite low. Besides, Kimberly got the call of the falcon. Return of Kimberly brought back awkward silence and hurt feelings. And at Master Mao's insistence, they had a heartfelt chat regarding the past. They all learned that falcon and crane were separated due to external influences, as both had received a similar letter, that broke up their blossoming relationship. Putting everything past them, the old friendship was rekindled. And their training of Pai Zhua continued.
It was three months after Tommy's arrival, Master Mao asked him if he was ready for the final test. He replied with yes without any hesitation.
He called forth his falcon at last moment of the test, a dual with Master Mao. "Jungle beast, spirit unleashed! I require your assistance old friend!" He said, and his falcon came forth, subduing Masters animal spirit. First, one to pass the test was Tommy, with a proud falcon beside him. Exactly three months after the arrival date, others took their tests, and Pai Zhua was proud to present six new Masters of the Order of the Claw.
After that, life took different turns for everyone, although they managed to keep in contact with each other this time around. Old friendships and old flames were rekindled. And tradition of ranger reunion was born where every former ranger was invited to connect with others.
It was a couple of years after Tommy's adventure in black. Master Mao visited them in their mindscape. It was time. They were called to the town of Ocean bluff. It was time for them to fulfil their promise and do their duty, to the Order of the Claw and to the Morphing grid.
This time, everyone was waiting for Tommy at the centre of the town, already fighting with Rinshi warriors, and trying to protect the teens who were sprawled on the ground behind them, who were holding their stomachs with pain.
A humanoid wolf and five other monsters, along with foot soldiers were trying to get past the circle made by animal spirit warriors protecting the teens. All the warriors were immediately aware of their leader's presence. Once Tommy joined his team members in a circle, fighting his way through the crow of monsters and foot soldiers, all of them called forth their spirit animal, forming protective armour around themselves. With their powers combined, there was no chance for monsters to win. Few of the monsters retreated, while few were destroyed.
The teens managed to get on their feet once the pain subsided. Morphing into the Ranger form, they joined the battle. The humanoid wolf was hit with an energy blast which managed to knock him out, and to their surprise, he turned into a man in his early twenties. All the rangers rushed towards him, and veteran rangers learned that he was their mentor. Once the area was clear of all the monsters, they moved to ranger headquarters, which turned out to be a pizza place, Jungle Karma Pizza.
Moving RJ to bed so his condition could be monitored, they sent all the rangers to rest, informing them that their training would begin from the next day. At first, they were sceptical to follow orders from complete strangers, but then their eyes fell on claw stripes on their forearms. Many of their doubts faded away with that. Although one remained, namely why didn't all these masters help them before, though no one managed to voice it.
The next day, their training resumed, and veteran rangers took the newest team of rangers under their wing. Their dilemma was solved by Master Mao, who made an appearance on the first day of their training when they learned the history of their new mentors. With how much they had sacrificed for the protection of the world, it was no wonder they were called in as last resort to train rangers. Honoured by working with legends, and filled with new determination, rangers took their training to a new level.
Wolf spirit warrior was monitored closely, and once he regained his consciousness, he learned to gain complete control over his wolf spirit with the help of Blue Wolf. RJ soon joined the team as a wolf ranger. Before long, they were ready to take on the threats rinshi warriors presented.
Soon, it was time for rangers to face their destiny alone, but before leaving, Tommy gathered them all in training room for a few parting words, which may serve as lessons in difficult times.
"Always have trust in your hearts rangers. Trust your instincts. Be a team, work together. And remember, a Pai Zhua Master doesn't ask, he knows." He told them with a smile.
"May the power protect you rangers." Said all the veteran rangers, before disappearing in front of their eyes.
Although training of rangers was complete, animal spirit warriors didn't go far away from Ocean bluff. It wasn't long after that, all Pai Zhua warriors got a call for the final battle against Dai Shi.
Staying true to the spirit of the Order of The Claw, and Power Rangers, every single one of them went to the battle. Seeing Master Mao, along with other masters, they bowed and joined the fight against evil. All the spirits of animal guardians flew together, protecting the light from evil. The chosen team of three warriors, power rangers, connected with their animal spirits on a great level, where no master or student had ever reached before and destroyed the spirit of Dai Shi, freeing the world from his malevolent presence, restoring the balance.
Everyone went their own ways after that. Although the bond of their friendship between newly retired rangers was as strong as ever.
Six months after the final battle, five newest veteran rangers received a mail by post, inviting them to the annual gathering of the veteran rangers in Angle groove.
A message each letter had, managed to make them smile and wonder what else destiny might have in store for them, "May the power protect you," the letter said, reminding them that the power had strange ways of connecting with its rangers.