Chapter I: IGNITION
"I thought you said we were going be there within an hour, two hours ago. Why the hell aren't we there yet!" Dax complained, hands stuck in his pockets. "Jus' say it like it is! We're bleezin' lost out here, ain't we?"
"Curse those mosquitoes!" Bren wailed, flailing his arms about. "I'm too young to die of blood loss!"
"Ugh, I can't see a thing for all these trees!" Jinja shrieked, nearly tripping over yet another vine. "Whoever made forests should've picked something less annoying than green; I'm starting to go crazy over here!"
"My tribe, I cannot think with this noise!" Beyal added, his fingers rubbing his temples.
Team CoreTech was currently struggling to move around in a tangling rain forest. Why, you ask? After Bren had gotten the idea of slipping a tracking device on Drezz during their latest encounter, they were able to follow his trail wherever he and his crew went. Which meant that they were one step closer to finding out where Professor Tallis' made his Forge Cores. If they successfully destroyed the Punk Monks' hideout, they'd be out of commission for a considerable amount of time.
That hope, however, was slowly dying out as complaints were thrown from each person and their loud bickering increasing in volume. Chase was leading them with the CoreTablet in his hands to guide him through the forest after his team had wrestled for the device all day. In the end, he took it with an angry huff and decided to show them the way, which did absolutely nothing to reduce their yelling. Most of the yelling consisted of complaints about the heat, the insect life or the suffocating vines ensnaring the trees. His grip on the tablet tightened.
"Gah!" Bren yelped. "This stinking forest took my shoe!"
"Uff!" said Jinja as she finally tripped. "Ugh! This is the third time I'm tripping because of a stupid tree root! I'm not even standing next to any goddamn tree!"
Dax walked by Jinja rather nonchalantly and received a punch for his efforts, or lack thereof. "Ow! What the hell did you do that for!" Dax said, rubbing the spot on his shoulder. She huffed.
"It's customary to help someone up when they just fell, you ignorant jerk!"
"Last time I decided to customarily lend you a hand, I got my ass handed to me by getting pushed down a hill!"
"Well, that was because you were being a smartass about it!"
"If I'm such a pain in your core, Princess, why do you even need me to help you out?" Dax smirked. "With your man muscles, you seem pretty capable of helping yourself out."
"Oh, you were worried about getting your ass handed to you before?" Jinja said, seething. "Just you wait; I'll make sure you never get to sit down at all from now on!"
"Seriously, guys, how am I supposed to run away from the mosquitoes with one shoe? This place is putting me at a disadvantage on staying alive!"
"Quiet down, my tribe; you are all being too loud," Beyal repeated, before turning his attention to Bren. "Bren, I may have a solution to your predicament. Have you tried befriending the mosquitoes?"
"Uh, no," Bren deadpanned, irritation etched onto his face. "'Cause what is keeping us from being the best of pals is the obvious hatred toward my face!"
"Dax will have to quiet down when I make him scream like a little girl!" Jinja shouted.
"Hah! I'd like to see you try, Princess."
"The mosquitoes are baaaack!" Bren screamed, louder than ever. Beyal sighed, resigning himself to sticking fingers into his ears.
"You are so going to regret that, Lowlander!"
Chase Suno was never the guy to snap. He rarely ever did. But when he did, he could be dangerous.
"Enough!"
Every CoreTech member turned their heads to look at the leader after hearing his angry outburst. His shout resulted in total silence, the entirety of the forest seemingly forced into silence as well. Chase had his eyes narrowed tightly and his next words came out harshly and cold, with no restraint.
"Each and every one of you; shut up! Did you all forget that we're on an important mission? Dax and Jinja; save your pointless bickering for another time, like say, when we're not on a damn stealth mission?" Chase directed towards the two people in question, who looked away with slight embarrassment. Chase turned his head to Bren and Beyal.
"Bren; there's nothing you can do about those bugs so just shut up already and Beyal? Stop pointing out every obvious thing we pass because I'm really, really starting to think anyone in a radius of two miles know where we are. Because that's what you guys wanted to do, right? Inform them that we're here? Well, I can say that you fucking succeeded, because I really wouldn't be surprised if Drezz and his gang showed up here because of you all!"
All the members stared at Chase with a dumbstruck expression painted on their faces and with a slack jaw after hearing those words. Chase rarely cussed. Or snapped. Or cussed. He would normally let a little disagreement between the four friends pass as if it didn't bother him, but to have him say those words in front of them like that? It was as if Pandora's Box had been opened. Since Chase cussed – which he really never did – then it meant that something bad must happen soon. A rip in the universe. A black hole consuming the Earth. The oceans drying out. Earthquakes that'd tear open the globe like a cookie. The sun burning out.
Well, it wouldn't be all that far-fetched considering Bren had come up with a good idea, too.
Chase huffed and checked the CoreTablet before resuming his walk briskly, his team following him quietly. Although getting mad wasn't his style, he couldn't deny that it was worth it for the blissful silence allowed him to think for once that day.
Unfortunately, that didn't last long.
Suddenly, a bright flash of emerald green appeared from somewhere close by, and everyone shielded their eyes. The light slowly faded away into three figures who all wore similar white clothing, black hair and red marks under their eyes.
"The Hand of Destiny," Chase cursed under his breath. Just perfect.
Petros smiled knowingly and held out a Shapeshifter Core in his gloved hand.
"Chase Suno. Today you will become our Keeper and serve The Hand of Destiny," he stated confidently with a thick accent.
Chase groaned in response, pinching the skin between his eyes. "Look, I really don't feel like dealing with any of you guys right now. Go home or...wherever you guys live."
Petros' smiled faded in response, barring his teeth with a growl. "You think you can dismiss us so easily as if we are meaningless flies? We shall see just how far that bravado of yours will get you, Chase Suno."
Chase sighed but quickly had Lock's core in his hands in no time. Well, the faster he defeated this guy, the better. "Fine. Lock; launch!"
As if on cue, the rest of the team followed suit.
"Airswitch!"
"Charger!"
"Glowblade!"
"Neo-Quickforce!"
"Launch!"
The three members of the Hand of Destiny all skillfully launched out their cores as well, two from Dasha, two from Alistair and one from Petros. "Shapeshifters, launch!"
All ten cores span in the same directions, clicking against one another, causing all Monsunos inside to be unleashed in the glory of their raw powers. Dasha had shaped her Monsunos after Airswitch and Glowblade, and Alistair had showed his shaped after Charger and Neo-Quickforce. Petros had his Shifter-Lock out and faced Chase with a confident smirk.
"You will lose today, Chase. It is your destiny. It is your fate."
"Oh, yeah?" Chase lifted a brow, clearly not impressed. "Well, shows how much you know. Lock; Energy Wave!"
Lock roared in confirmation as the gems inside its body began to glow a magnificent color of sapphire-blue. The gemstones shot lights of energy rays in the direction of its impersonator.
"Shifter-Lock; Inner Shine!"
The emerald-green Lock raised its paw and a protective energy shield appeared and covered it entirely, protecting it from the damage of Lock's attack. Petros quickly issued an attack.
"Shooting Battery!"
The fake Lock leapt into the air with green energy engulfing its paw as it lashed out and knocked the real Lock to the ground. His energy level took a drastic hit as well, causing Chase to grit his teeth in annoyance.
"Come again, big guy! Use Jar of Light!"
Lock stood up as blue energy gathered in his jaw, enough to make a ray of light shoot from the depths of its mouth. The fake Monsuno picked up speed as it leaped away to safety and whirled around in the air above the real one, crashing down upon it with the force of its entire weight and continued to wrestle for dominance. The real Lock grabbed hold of its opponent's upper body and tossed it through the thick vegetation of the forest.
Chase and Lock ran through the cleared area that Shifter-Lock had created and scanned for any sign of it. Though, suddenly, a huge crystal-shaped missile of green energy shot through the air like a bullet and nailed Lock right in the stomach, causing him to fly through the air and collide into the ground with an explosion.
"Lock, no!" Chase shouted as he ran to the smoke that had emerged among the burned trees. Shimmering blue energy flowed in the air and surged right into his core, meaning the defeat of Lock. Chase growled slightly in anger but gasped upon what he saw next. His recent defeat meant nothing in the face of the massive defeat his team was similarly facing, as he saw blue essence return to the cores of his comrades. His team was losing. They needed to retreat right now and come up with a backup plan, lest they all fall victim to the Hand of Destiny as their Keepers.
As he ran to the others to issue the command to retreat, he was blocked by the mighty presence of Shifter-Lock, who roared loudly before him. Petros came behind him, smiling devilishly at his predicted victory.
"Back off," Chase warned with a hint of anger, cautiously taking a step backwards. The man before him laughed heartily.
"I told you now, did I not? It is your Destiny to serve us, Chase Suno. It always has been and today that prophecy shall be fulfilled!"
Perot lashed out and grabbed hold of Chase' arm tightly, his hand starting to shimmer with green energy that quickly grew onto the leader. Chase felt himself growing weaker in strength by every passing second and grit his teeth as he struggled to get out of Petros' strong grip.
"I said, let me go," Chase snapped, albeit weakly. He tensed up with his eyes closed tightly as the green energy consumed him, engulfing his being in a state of weakness that made it easier for Petros to take his Monsuno Sight. However, that energy suddenly reversed in the blink of an eye somehow and Petros gasped in astonishment as his powers were suddenly taken from him. Chase opened his eyes that were now a complete shimmering emerald green color.
"Get away from me!"
Another great flash of green appeared that blinded both the leader of CoreTech and the leader of the Hand of Destiny. But in the next moment, Petros saw before him no cocky teenage boy with the Monsuno Sight. He saw a small cloud dust from where Chase was supposed to be.