Episode 3 - Identity
"Why would Savage want us here," Kyle broke off to yawn loudly, "At the crack of dawn?"
"How the hell would any of us know?" Matthew asked, rubbing his hands up and down his face, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes.
The other three stood in silent - Natalie looking like she was about to fall asleep against the tree - all standing in the middle of the forest. The sun barely above the horizon, and the sunlight wasn't breaking through the low hanging clouds. In any other time of day or situation, they probably would have thought the scenery would be nice.
Those people were probably fully awake.
"And where the hell is Savage? His fucking Howler woke me up, and I only got here so it wouldn't wake my sis up," Tanya muttered, trying to do something with her appearance, bed-hair still affecting her, a few strands of short brown hair sticking out at random angles.
"I see you all arrived."
The five turned to look at the source, and found that, finally, Savage had turned up, only he had removed the black-and-red accented trench coat. He only wore the trousers of his usual attire, revealing the broad shoulders, lean torso and masses of thick fur covering his body, usually covered by the clothing he wore.
"Not like you gave us much of a choice," Matthew grunted, shaking his head slightly, removing the last remnants of sleep from his weary eyes.
"I need to train you, and it's better to do so sooner rather than later," Savage replied with, his tone flat, as he moved into the small clearing that sat beside the trees the teens were situated in.
"Hey, I've already got training in martial arts," Tanya said defensively.
Savage looked to Tanya, before replying, "I am not familiar with that style of fighting. So, I am going to teach you the fighting style that everyone in my clan was taught."
"Isaac, I will be assessing you first," Savage instructed, not giving Tanya a chance to reply, and moved to stand at one side of the clearing, gesturing for the Red Warrior to move to the other side of the clearing.
Isaac looked to the others before slowly walking over to the spot Savage gestured to. The others all decided to relax for the time being, Matthew propping himself against a tree, as did Tanya, while Kyle and Natalie took a seat on a fallen tree, taking out their phones.
"An Alpha must lead his Pack, but he cannot go alone. The correct fighting style is essential in battle. Your fighting with Ret-Kli was sheer luck and timing. You in particular are going to need more training," Savage berated, hands folding behind his back.
"Gee, way to encourage me," Isaac said with a raised eyebrow, but stayed where he was regardless.
"I'm not here to encourage you, I'm here to ensure you know how to fight," Savage replied, before saying, "Morph into your Warrior form and we'll fight."
"Alright then," Isaac said, before he raised his Howler-mounted wrist across his chest and pressed onto the crystal, sliding it forward. He was covered in a brief flash of white light, and in his place stood the red, black and silver armor of the Red Wolf Warrior.
"The honor of the Red Alpha Warrior was the goal of the most skilled warrior of my clan. The speed, strength and stamina were a part of their regular training, and these were only enhanced with the introduction of the Howler's predecessor," Savage began, seeing the red clad teenager stand before him.
Through the visor of his helmet, Isaac looked back at Savage; there was a look in Savage's eye that was…strange. He'd seen that look in several humans before, it resembled knowing.
"Did you know the original Red Warrior, Savage?" Isaac asked, standing with his arms resting at his sides, his silver fists curled into relaxed fists.
Savage's look quickly changed; his eyes hardening ever so slightly, his clawed-hands curling into slightly tighter fists, before he relaxed them again.
"He was one of my clan. We all knew each other well," Savage said lowly, before he straightened his stance and added, "Now, show me what you've got."
Isaac nodded slowly, before shifting his feet to get into a better stance. A few seconds passed, before Isaac rushed forward, closing the gap between the two in mere seconds.
He threw punches at Savage's face and torso area, the swings of his fists going wide, aiming for the edges of his intended targets.
Savage simply pushed his forearm against the punching punches, sending them slightly off course, taking a few steps back, drawing Isaac further alone. While Isaac let out grunts of effort and energy with every punch, Savage looked, as if anything, he was bored; his expression blank, as he simply blocked and moved Isaac's attacks out of his way.
Deciding on a different target, Isaac added a few kicks, aiming to take out Savage's legs. Though Savage seemed to expect this; raising his leg, blocking the kicks with his clothed shin easily.
Eventually rolling his eyes, Savage grabbed one of Isaac's flying wrists as his fist came flying in, and he swung him behind, sending him flying.
Shouting out in alarm, Isaac suddenly groaned loudly as he collided with a tree, sending the leafs shaking furiously when he made contact. Lifting his head slightly, he looked up slightly, his head spinning rapidly at the previous impact. He saw three Savage's approach him, all sort of blurring together.
Crouching down in front of Isaac, Savage moved his helmet slightly, electing a slight groan of pain from the human.
"Still alive... good," Savage said, releasing the helmet from his grip, letting Isaac's relaxed muscles bring it slouching back against the bark.
"You leave room for your enemies to strike you, swinging your punches too far away from your body. Your punches need to be close to your body, defending yourself, while at the same time, on the offensive," Savage lectured, getting back to his full height and walked back a few paces, as Isaac tried to move, only to groan as new waves of pain shattered through him.
"Go into the facility, MUTT will patch you up. We will begin your actual training tomorrow," Savage added, seeing Isaac slowly easing himself to his feet.
At this announcement, Isaac's head shot up, pain throbbed through his brain, but he ignored it as best he could for now.
"You mean there's more?" He asked, panting slightly.
"This was just your assessment," Savage stated plainly, before turning around and walked back to the area where the other teens sat. All of whom had turned their heads to watch the fight; all staring, wide-eyed, at the short, but somewhat brutal, ending to the assessment.
"Matthew. Beta is next," Savage said, gesturing to the half-asleep blonde, who perked slightly at the mention of his name. He side glanced at the others, before slowly walking forward, passing Isaac as the Red Warrior slowly limped past.
"Uh, guys?" Kyle said, currently looking at his phone, as if looking at a video.
"What?" Natalie asked, turning to look at the other teen. "Another story in the news about us?"
"Actually, yeah."
Natalie lifted her head from her hands moments later, and looked over at Kyle, the others looking to the Black Warrior as well. Matthew took this time to back off a bit, not really liking the idea of getting his ass handed to him like Isaac did.
He'd be the one doing that, normally.
"It's a news article about that Zord fight with Ret-Kli yesterday," Kyle said, turning the phone around to face the others; checking he could press the play button first, before turning around fully.
"In other news, there has been a spike of complains about the most recent group of Power Rangers. Still without a name to identify themselves, the Power Rangers caused massive amounts of damage to the Southern part of Pax Valley. It is estimated they have caused at least twelve million dollars' worth of damage to the city, and at least fifteen people were killed."
The male news-anchor was about to continue, but Tanya angrily pressed the pause button on the video.
"What the hell is this? They're acting like we're the first ones to do this!" She furiously remarked, throwing her hands in the air. "I'm pretty sure the others have caused billions of dollars in damages!"
"Welcome to the Modern Era," Kyle remarked, before flinching slightly when Tanya glared at him; a glare that was usually followed by a punch.
Luckily, it didn't come This time.
"Look, I'm going to get patched up. I'll throw my two cents in when I get back," Isaac said, finally demorphing by this point; holding his side gingerly.
"Get going," Savage said, before looking back to Matthew. "Morph and get ready."
The last thing Isaac remember seeing was the alarmed look dance across Matthew's face before he headed off to patch up.
"Sir-Sir, I under-Sir, please. I understand your situation; we've had other complaints regarding the incident. I'll transfer you to someone else in the station to take your details down, and we'll investigate later."
The sheriff sighed lowly after transferring the call, and set the phone down once it had gone through to the right department. He wiped his forehead slowly, running his hands down his face to try and relax his face muscles.
It had been chaos today; people phoning in left, right and center - some were hysterical, claiming they had family in the affected areas, while others had been angry, business owners. Well, previously business owners, until their buildings had been reduced to mere rubble or looked unrecognizable.
And he had several people in person had come in, demanding the police did something.
"I need a coffee," He muttered to himself, running a hand through his short brown hair, as he got to his feet. Grabbing the light grey mug, he walked out of his office, and headed to the small kitchen they had built into the facility.
Along the way, he passed several desks, phones ringing constantly, with officers answering the calls and recording details. If he had to guess, about 90% of them would be regarding the 'incident', as he and the other officers were calling it. Better than the 'Giant Megazord tearing up half the city while fighting the freaky monster thing that happened'.
He had really hoped that something like this never happened to his city. Pax Valley wasn't anything like Reefside or Angel Grove.
But, it had happened.
Arriving at the kitchen, he turned the tap on while holding the kettle underneath. The water cap shot out, landing in the kettle up to the desired level.
As he flicked the power on, he leaned against the counter, waiting for the water to boil. The milk was in the fridge, but he didn't need that until he had finished. The coffee's home was on the counter, near the kettle.
"Another call, sir?"
Anderson turned to look to the doorway. Standing just beyond the kitchen doorway, another officer stood, a takeaway cup of fresh coffee in hand. The dark blue shirt tucked into his black trousers, black tie matching the trousers.
"They're not stopping, Rogers," Anderson replied, heaving a light sigh, resting one of his hands against his forehead, shaking his head slightly.
Rogers shook his head slightly, saying, "We've got half of the department working on taking the calls, sir. Hopefully, we'll be able to catalog them all before the end of the day."
"Any word from forensics about Seth and Charles?" Anderson asked, the kettle boiling and switching off. Anderson grabbed the coffee and a heaping spoonful of the granules into his cup. By this time, the water had grown quiet from the boiling, hopefully, to the right temperature he liked.
As he poured water into the kitchen, Rogers replied, "We haven't found any fingerprints or samples from the assailant. We're assuming it was one of the creatures that started appearing when those Monsters turned up."
"We still need to identify what the hell those things are, and where they came from," Anderson muttered, setting the kettle down again. "Notify me if anyone finds anything about those creatures or the Power Rangers," Anderson added, approaching the fridge and grabbing the milk from the fridge door.
"Yes sir," Rogers said, and left just as Anderson closed the fridge door, milk in hand.
"Amazing how the Humans so quickly turn on each other," Batibat mused, hand resting on her chin as she observed a human on the viewing portal. Except this one wasn't one of the Warriors that she would normally be interested in.
This one wore a strange piece of clothing, nothing like she was used to seeing the humans wear. Then again, she considered most things humans wore strange.
"Turning on the Warriors; their protectors," Batibat muttered under her breath, glancing at the Wall of Demons, mainly focusing on that blank spot where Ret-Kli had been imprinted into before he was destroyed.
Slowly getting to her feet, Batibat walked over to the Wall, hands holding together behind her back, eyes glancing from brick to brick.
"Perhaps... we could use this to our advantage," She said to herself, releasing one of her hands from behind her and trailing it over the old bricks that made up the Wall. Her fingers coming to a stop on one brick in particular; depicting the faint outline of a spiked Demon.
"Tecitu... He could be of use."
Performing the same ritual as she did with summoning Ret-Kli, Batibat slowly removed the imprint of the spiked Demon from the wall, leaving a blank brick in its place. She flicked the print to one side, leaving it floating through the air slowly. She summoned a portal and flicked that towards the floating imprint.
The portal passed over the imprint, opening up to the size of a taller human. Slowly, a humanoid shape passed into the physical world, revealing the first of the arms. Medium-sized spikes attached to a shoulder pad, with large, muscular arms, tinted a faint green, leaving to a clenched fist.
More of the creature passed through the portal, revealing a leather slash going across his torso, attaching the armor pad on the left shoulder to the other shoulder, and the large belt around his waist. A smooth head came into view, with a pair of completely yellow eyes glaring into nothing.
By the time the creature was fully out of the portal, the other arm was visible, another shoulder armor pad over the other broad shoulder, more spikes protruding out of the shoulder armor.
A deep, feral growl escaped him, and he tensed his muscles, more spikes ripping through the back, breaking through the skin. Remnants of green blood stuck to the jagged spikes, most likely from the creature itself.
"I have awoken…" Tecitu growled, nostrils flared as he spoke, looking around slowly. Seeing the figure in black approaching him, he turned around fully, facing the significantly smaller she-Demon.
"Because of me, on orders of the Master, you have been selected to attack the Mortals. Your actions will help the cause set forth by the Master," Batibat said, stopping just before the hulking Demon, arms slowly folding over her chest.
Tecitu growled lowly, staring down at the small creature that dare give him orders, but he knew he had to obey.
The Hand of the Master had spoken, and he was compelled to obey her, for fear of the consequences.
"Yes, Mistress."
"Ow! Ow! Jeez! Don't you have any anesthetic or something? Jesus!"
Isaac glared at MUTT, who stared back at the human with his blank slit where his eyes should be. The needle had just been pulled through one of the cuts that covered Isaac's side.
"I'm afraid I do not. I am very limited on my supplies on modern medicine."
"How can you have a limited... wait. How did you even get any modern medicine?" Isaac asked, drumming his fingers of his free side against the table he was sat on.
"It was all I could gather from your local place of healing during its construction," MUTT explained, turning back to stitching the needle through the skin around the cut. Despite Isaac's complaints, MUTT made quick work of the wounds.
"So, what's with Savage?" Isaac eventually asked, after a long period of silence had filled the area.
"What do you mean?"
"Just... what's his deal? He's hated us since we turned up at this place. He always has this... glare, or scowl across his face. I just don't get it."
MUTT paused momentarily as he stitched up the last of the open cuts, before pulling the rest of the thread through the hole, making sure the wound was tightly compressed.
"Savage hasn't had the best history with humans," MUTT said mysteriously, nudging Isaac's arm up when it started to lower too low.
Lifting his arm again, Isaac asked, "Care to elaborate?"
"He hasn't told me much of his life post the Ancient Warrior's death. I've only managed to gather together over the time I've known him. It had something to do with his clan post the Warriors. If I had to guess, humans attacked his clan and he was among the few that survived."
"Can't say I blame him," Isaac muttered softly, his face twitching slightly in pain every so often as MUTT progressed with the stitching.
"All done," MUTT said, cutting the rest of the fabric first. He tapped Isaac's shoulder and took a step aside.
Isaac got to his feet, looking at himself in a small mirror MUTT had managed to find in one of the other rooms connected to the main one Isaac hadn't visited yet.
"Reckon these are going to scar?" Isaac asked, glancing over his shoulder to the robot.
"Unfortunately, I believe so," MUTT said, throwing the needle to one side of the room, returning to the computer he had been at when Isaac arrived.
"Nice," Isaac muttered with a smirk, putting his top back on and sliding it over his torso. He then walked over to his jacket, mindful of the cuts.
"So. what are we gonna call this place then?" Isaac asked, looking around the main room, hands slowly sliding into his jacket pockets.
"I'm sorry?"
"This place? We've got to have a name for it. We can just keep calling it the 'Command Center' or whatever. We need a proper name."
"And what would you suggest, Isaac?"
"How the hell would I know? Ask Kyle, he'll come up with something. Actually, scratch that, he'll say something stupid or too comical."
"Very well, sir," MUTT said, his back to Isaac as he worked on whatever he was working on.
Isaac checked his hands from his jacket pocket to his trouser pocket, and pulled out his phone.
"Shit, I need to get to class," Isaac said, seeing the time read nearly ten in the morning.
"I'm afraid that you won't be able to do that," MUTT said, stepping aside from the monitor he was facing.
"What do you... Oh for fucks sake," Isaac said, his shoulders slouching as he saw what was on the screen. "I'm so going to get my ass chewed out for this."
On screen, he saw a massive, green-skinned and spiked creature flipping over cars, sending them rolling across the street, coming to a stop against the sides of buildings. Several Wolkeins rushed across the street, trying to strike at civilians as they ran.
"I guess I'm going to have to tell the others then?" Isaac asked, glancing at MUTT as he gestured to the entrance and exit of the Command Center.
"If you could be so kind," MUTT said, tapping away at the keyboard again, adding, "I will be teleporting you five to the location of the incident."
"You're so great, MUTT," Isaac said, sarcasm dripping from his voice, as he headed outside.
MUTT looked as Isaac headed out, turning his attention back to the monitor he had been working on. He then began tapping the keyboard again.
"Hey, guys," Isaac called, heading up the hill leading to the training area, where he had left Savage assessing the others. When he had left, Savage had been ready to kick Matthew's ass.
When he reached the top of the hill, and approached the clearing among the trees, he just saw Savage put Kyle to the ground, pressing a foot firmly on his armored chest. He could hear the groan of pain from here.
"What is it?" Savage asked, looking up to face Isaac as he approached.
"It's alright! I've got him right where I want him!" Kyle said, his voice strained as he lay underneath Savage, his hands grabbing at Savage's trousers. Only to have more pressure put onto his chest, causing him to shout in pain.
"MUTT got an alert; this big Hulk-wannabe's attacking the city," Isaac said, gesturing in the general direction of the city. The teens who weren't under Savage all looked at Isaac; it was at this point that Isaac noticed Matthew was favoring one side of his body when he pushed himself to both his feet.
"Hulk? Green skin?" Kyle asked, trying to shift Savage's foot off of him, feeling like the claws at the end of each of his toes were going to dig into his chest through the armor.
"Tecitu," Savage concluded, finally releasing Kyle from underneath his foot; the Black Warrior quickly rolling out of the way, pushing himself to his feet slowly. He brushed the dirt from the back of his armor, giving the thumbs up to the others.
"Tec.. who?" Tanya asked, stepping forward, hands pushing into her pockets.
"Tec-itu," Savage said slowly, a slight edge to his voice, the edges of his muzzle curling up slightly, revealing his fangs. "Another one of the Demons the Warriors fought; his strength is unmatched to any of Horror's Demons."
"Well, that's something positive," Kyle commented dryly, trying to itch a scratch through the neck armor of his suit.
"Look, we need to get going; MUTT said he'd be transporting us in five minutes. And that was about three minutes ago."
Savage narrowed his eyes slightly, before looking to the other teens. "We will continue this training once you defeat Tecitu. You will all observe Natalie's assessment," Savage eventually said.
"Wait, wait. So, Tanya's already been?" Isaac asked, looking to the other teens; specifically Tanya.
It was then he noticed there didn't seem to be any injury to Tanya; she didn't favor any side, nor did she have any cuts across her arms or blood stains under her top. He'd just assumed it was because he was saving the females 'til last.
"Hell yeah! She kicked his ass!" Kyle exclaimed, electing a low growl from Savage. Kyle quickly looked away, whistling innocently.
"You five better get going," Savage said sharply, looking at the others. The other three teens standing by the trees quickly got up, all walking over to the same place. It looked a little strange, Kyle the only one being morphed.
"This Demon is different than Ret-Kli; you aren't going to be able to use swords to cut him up. You'll need to match brute force with brute force."
Nodding slightly, Isaac raised his Howler wrist, pressing into the crystal. "Ready guys?"
"Ready," Matthew said, raising his Howler wrist.
"Oh yeah," Tanya replied, crossing the Howler over her chest.
"Ready," Natalie replied, pressing her white crystal.
"United, we Howl!"
With a brief flash of light and an image of a wolf passing over the four, they stood in their morphed form. Moments later, the five morphed Warriors were carried off in columns of their respective colors.
Savage watched as the colors shot into the air, and headed through the sky towards the area of the attack. He exhaled slowly, heading towards the hidden entrance for the Command Centre.
"She fights like Yei..." he said to himself as he walked.
'All available officers, report! Civilians under attack at the West Industrial Area! All available units, head to West Industrial Area!' was the call that went out to all police cruiser radio's throughout the western part of the city.
All of the cruisers that were available all changed directions, sirens blaring, as they made their way to the industrial park. Cars pulled out of the way, leaving paths for cruisers to cut through as they rushed to the park.
Arriving through the south entrance of the Industrial Park, the cruisers all made the right turn for the part of the park affected, skidding to a stop.
"Oh shit," said one of the officers as a number of them got out of their cruisers, seeing the mess that as in front of them.
Running towards them, was several humans, donning high-visibility jackets and hard hats, shouting and looking behind them, at the pale creatures rushing towards them, wielding daggers as they ran at the humans.
"Get the civilians out of here!" the lead officer shouted, pulling his pistol out of its holster, aiming it at the creatures chasing the humans.
Several of the officers who hadn't drawn their pistols yet quickly moved a few steps forward, guiding the workers out of the way, trying to get as many out of the way as possible, before the creatures reached them.
Several shots were fired once the civilians were clear, aimed at the shoulders and torsos of the creatures. But the bullets passed through them seamlessly, entering and exiting the body without leaving so much as an entry and exit wound. No blood. No wound.
Nothing.
Shouts echoed around the relatively quiet industrial park, as officers were tackled by up to three of the creatures at once, pinning them to the ground. The sound of bones shattering came from the piles of creatures over humans, followed by their pained screams.
One of the officers, looking rather young and new to the force, quickly ducked behind his cruiser's open door, hearing the screams of his fellow officers. His hands, shaking, tried to grip his gun, looking around the corner of the door, only to yell out in panic as a pale grey hand grabbed the edge of the door, gripping it with inhuman strength. A groan of metal was followed shortly after, and the officer was no longer in cover. The door was sent sailing into the air, far beyond his sight.
The officer quickly turned and pushed himself back, trying to crawl on his back away from the creature. It quickly climbed over the officer, pulling its arm back, dagger in hand.
Staring wide-eyed up, the officer flinched, his eyes closing tightly. Believing this to be his imminent death.
But he the stabbing pain didn't come; nor did the searing pain come.
Instead, the sound of a gargled shout of pain came from over him; peaking slightly, he opened his eyes fully to see the creature over him, the blade of a sword stabbing through its front. Green blood escaped the cut, trickle down onto the officer.
"Lying down on the job, officer?" Came a robotic voice from above him, the blade pulled free of the creature's chest, sending it falling backwards. The officer's eyes looked around, and his eyes landed on the Red Power Ranger.
"W... We have this under control! We can handle this!" The officer said, though there was an obvious shake in his voice as he spoke.
"You're doing a bang up job!" Came another robotic voice, and the officer turned to look around. The other Power Rangers were present, fighting off the creatures with melee weapons of their own. The creatures seemed drawn to them, leaving the dead bodies of the fallen officers alone to attack the Rangers.
"Look, get your guys out of here. You can't handle this, we can. Go," The Red Ranger said, pulling the officer to his feet, and pushed him towards the back of his cruiser. "Pretty sure it's a safety hazard to drive without a door, so take one of the other cruiser."
A great roar suddenly shook the ground beneath them, causing both the officer and Red Ranger to turn to the source. A blue mass flew through the air and crash landed on the roof of police cruiser's besides their own, shattering glass and creaking metal.
"Not that one," The Red Ranger said, before he ran around their cruiser, rushing to the Blue Ranger. Leaving the officer by himself until he was grabbed by one of his colleagues and they quickly rushed off.
"Matthew!" Isaac said, sliding over the front of a cruiser, climbing onto the car to check on the Blue Warrior.
He groaned softly, trying to pick himself up from the dent left in the roof of the cruiser. "Ow," He said slowly, rubbing the side of his helmet as Isaac helped him up. "I think I ran into that Hulk-wannabe," Matthew added, gesturing to the general direction he was thrown from.
Isaac turned to look at the area, and saw that the others, after finishing off the Wolkeins, had rushed to intercept Tecitu. Except each of them was flung back by the muscular forearms of the hulking Demon, sending them crashing into the sides of buildings either side of the road. Kyle was sent crashing through one of the few offices, sending himself through desk and rooms.
Natalie was sent towards the small oil refinery just a few buildings down from where their current location. Tanya went flying just beyond the border of the industrial park, crashing out of sight.
"He's bigger than I imagined," Isaac commented, before he flicked his sword around, rushing towards the great creature. Hoping Savage had been wrong about the advice.
Turns out, he should have listened.
Tecitu turned at the last moment, just as Isaac swung his sword at the creature's arms; the blade made contact with the muscular arm, and didn't cut through the skin. Time seemed to slow down as the blade didn't even make the tinniest cut.
"What?" Isaac asked to himself, before he looked aside and saw the other fist came flying towards his face.
He was sent flying back, the sword shooting through the air in the other direction, as he was flung back, right where he helped Matthew.
Leaning over Isaac's body, Matthew asked, "See what I mean?"
"No, I don't," Isaac grunted, slowly pulling himself to a sitting position, grabbing the offered hand presented to him by Matthew. On his feet once again, he looked at Matthew, asking, "Double team this guy?"
"Not many other options," Matthew said, resting the long handle of his spear on his shoulder, before they both faced the approaching giant Demon.
"Let's do this," Isaac said, before the two of them ran, rushing to reach the looming Demon. Matthew held onto his spear with two hands, flicking the bottom end of the spear, trying to slam the blunt end against the side of the Demon's head. He got a back-hand for his effort, sending him head-first into the ground.
Isaac tried punching at Tecitu's torso, but felt like he was punching into a brick wall. He winced silently, feeling pain throb through his closed hand.
The massive hand wrapped around his neck, squeezing tightly, as though it was trying to squeeze the life out of him. Isaac gasped loudly, wrapping his hands around the large fingers, trying to pry them apart.
"I have no time for you petty Warriors..." Tecitu growled, his vomit-inducing breath exhaling over Isaac's helmet. After another few seconds of life-ending pressure, the grip around his neck finally loosened.
Collapsing to the ground, Isaac gasped out loudly, rolling onto his side as he looked back at the Demon. Tecitu stepped back, before turning around and, crouching down slowly, suddenly jumped into the air. Using the strength in his legs to propel him into the unknown.
A few seconds of silence passed, as Isaac desperately tried to regain his breath, his lungs trying to get oxygen into his blood again.
"Hey, everybody alright?" Kyle's voice came over the comms, drawing Isaac's attention away from the small crater left behind by the massive Demon.
"I've been better," Matthew's voice replied.
"I think I've pissed some people off at the refinery," Natalie said.
"I fucked up someone's garden," Tanya's voice burst in.
"Eh, I've pissed people off in this office. Fucked up the printer," Kyle said, before adding, "Isaac, you OK?"
"Yeah... Yeah, I'm OK," Isaac replied eventually, still breathing a bit heavier. "We need to regroup. Head back to the Center and get our shit together."
"Well, that could have gone better," Kyle said, standing to the side in the main Command Room, arms folded over his chest. He had a few cuts across his cheeks and one over his right eye. Thankfully, the blood had dried up, so it wasn't getting in his eye again.
"You think?" Matthew asked, as MUTT carefully dabbed one of the last cuts, cutting the thread from the needle he had used to sew the wound shut.
The five of them had managed to find the others after Tecitu had leapt off and they had got confirmation of their suspicions when reports starting coming out about a giant green monster attacking parts of the city. Though they all ended the same.
The monster suddenly disappearing through a strange portal, leaving nothing more but a train of destruction in its wake.
Isaac stood to one side, leaning against one of the desks that filled the room, seeing Savage doing the same on the opposite side of the room.
Tanya, Kyle and Natalie were all scattered around the room; Tanya had her forehead resting against the desk, a bag of ice planted between the skin and metal and Kyle, despite his cuts, was flicking through his phone, keeping the others updated on anything regarding any attacks on the city.
As well as any more reporters ranting about them.
Natalie, too, had taken a seat at one of the desks, head resting in her hands. "We got our asses handed to us today," She muttered, dragging her hands down her face slowly and lifting it free at the end.
"If you five had listened to my advice and used brute force instead to take out Tecitu, you probably wouldn't be in this situation," Savage said aloud, walking around the area MUTT was stitching up Matthew.
"Tanya," MUTT said, gesturing for Matthew to move when he had finished, and turned to look at Tanya. She lifted her head up at the mention of her name, the odd strand of hair sticking to her forehead from the water, and slowly got to her feet.
As she sat down on the bench, and MUTT examined the bruises forming across her face, and few cuts across her neck and cheek, Isaac turned to look Savage, a look of disbelief across his face.
"You expect us to do everything perfect? We're fucking teenagers! Not adults! We're not fighters; none of us are fighters!" Isaac exclaimed, his voice raised in a loud shout, catching the attention of the other teens, MUTT and Savage.
"Hey, I'm trained," Tanya shot.
"You're trained to impress a fucking instructor. None of us have any combating experience," Isaac snapped at Tanya, pointing a finger accusingly at the Yellow Warrior.
"Fuck you!" Tanya snapped, pushing MUTT's hands aside and getting to her feet, bearing down on Isaac quickly.
"Guys, not now," Natalie said, getting up and approached the Red and Yellow Warriors. They were toe-to-toe, glaring each other down.
But they didn't seem to take any noticed of the others trying to break them apart as they continued to glare at one another, throwing abuse every chance they got.
"Enough!" Savage snarled, his clawed hands grabbing each of the teen's shoulders, dragging them apart from each other. To add emphasis to his words, he dug the claw on his thumb through their clothes, threatening to break the skin.
"Fuck!"
"What the hell?!" Tanya exclaimed, trying to rip herself free of the wolf-man's hold. But it was an iron grip. Not even at full health would she have been able to tear free of his grip.
"You two need to work together if you are to defend this world from Horror's wrath. That doesn't mean you have to like working together, but you must learn to hide any bad blood when fighting," Savage instructed, adding a bit more pressure into the fabric, the claw tip threatening to draw blood before he released their shoulders altogether.
"Alright, tell us, Savage. Why the hell are did you choose us? Hmm? If what you said about the bloodlines is true, then you didn't choose to use our parents? Why is that?" Isaac asked, ripping his shoulder from Savage's loosened grip, glaring daggers at the wolf-man.
Savage's eyes glared right back at Isaac, displaying a similar fire to the Red Warrior's. Though Isaac noticed there was a slight flicker in Savage's gaze, looking to the right, at something out of Isaac's vision.
"My research told me that a group must be around the same age to work together well. Some of the options of the previous blood generations were... unavailable," Savage responded lowly, hands slowly moving behind his back, and walked away.
Isaac watched as Savage turned to walk away, before tearing his gaze away to look at whatever Savage had been looking at previously. He saw that Natalie and Matthew looked back, at both him and Tanya. It was then that he noticed Kyle.
His head was down, looking at his phone that sat in his hand; though there was something... off. He didn't have that same presence to him like he usually did.
Already having a good idea at what Savage was talking about, the lights dimming suddenly growing dim caught Isaac's attention, drawing it back over to Savage and MUTT.
"You carry a legacy on your shoulders that even the previous Warriors may have... struggled with," Savage started, a projection coming from an unknown location, displaying itself on the curved wall opposite wall.
"I may not be able to fully understand what you suffer under, but my brothers came close to," Savage continued, as images started coming up onto the projection, appearing like carvings, depicting battles focusing on five figures. They all carried similar weapons, appearing like curved blades, hands grasped in holes built into the back of the blade. They all looked humanoid, but masks across their faces depicted long muzzles and armor across them, hugging their bodies.
"You carry the legacy of the Ancient Warriors on your shoulders," Savage said, before the images was replaced with what appeared to be stock-footage.
Multi-colored figures, fighting variously different grunts, kicking ass. All of the teens were facing the projection by this point, Tanya even turning away from Isaac to look at the screen.
"And a much more modern set of Warriors as well," Savage added, as the screen started flashing between various group shots of the various Rangers, all enemies defeated.
"Two legacies rest on your shoulders... A great stress for many people,"
The projection slowly died, and the lights brightened again, Savage walking forward once more to stand in the center of the room, facing the five teens.
"At first, I didn't think the five of you were ready for the responsibility I have given you, and honestly, I still don't think you do," Savage said, before MUTT made a subtle 'stop' gesture from his position behind the humans, who all had a look of annoyance dancing across their faces. "But right now, you five are all that stands between this world and total chaos, ruled by those Demons. And to do that, you five need to work as a pack to defeat them," Savage finished, his hands returning to his sides.
"You all harness the spirit of the wolf. Prove that you are worthy of that honor."
His arms slowly folding over his chest, Isaac glanced over his shoulder, seeing Matthew and Kyle shared a quick look, along with Natalie. Isaac turned his gaze the other way to find Tanya was side glancing at him in return.
One by one, the five teens turned their eyes to Savage. "The Power Rangers have been in a good image for the last fifteen-something years. I'm pretty sure we haven't got the same thing going for us," Natalie said, gesturing to Kyle's phone, which laid on the desk where Kyle was standing again.
"I've told you before, the sacrifices you make are for the good of the many. You think the Ancient Warriors were like your Rangers? They made sacrifices to save the masses! If a few died so that the greater population could survive, they knew that was the only decision," Savage responded, gesturing to the area the projection had been.
"And what about our lives after this? Assuming that we actually live until this is over. Our education? If we're here fighting Demons, our education is going down the shitter," Isaac said, his fingers drumming over his other arm.
"MUTT is working on something to help you with that," Savage said, gesturing to the robot. All of the teens looked over to MUTT, who was facing away from them, working on one of the many computers scattered across the room.
Exhaling through his nose slowly, Isaac turned back to look at Savage, saying, "Well, I guess we can do this."
Once all of the Warriors were facing Savage again, MUTT glanced back, gesturing for the wolf-creature to continue with his speech.
Seeing the gesture, Savage glanced around the five teens. "And, as a show of my support of your efforts, any questions you want to ask, I will answer. About the Warriors. Their Powers. Anything."
At this offer presented to them, Isaac nodded slowly, looking between the other teens. "I think we can work with that."
"Now we just have to wait for the Hulk to turn up," Tanya said, walking a few steps away to look across at MUTT.
"Any updates and I will tell you," MUTT responded, moving across to work on two different monitors.
"Looks like we're playing the waiting game," Natalie said, leaning against the wall lightly.
"And when we face this guy, we're gonna need something to fight him with. Our weapons are useless," Matthew stated. His back still somewhat sore from the landing.
"MUTT and I are working on something for that."
The streets were paced with people, rushing to and fro along both sides of the street. Some carrying bags, others just trying to work their way between the crowds of people, heading to wherever they wanted to go. All seemed normal.
For the minute, anyway.
In the middle of the street, a large black-and-green portal ripped through what appeared to be thin air. This caught the attention of most of the people in the area surrounding the portal, and those that didn't, quickly took note when they noticed everyone else was looking at something.
Some pulled out their phones, recording the same event that appeared before them, having never seen something like this. Sure, they had heard rumors around the town, but most hadn't seen one in the physical form.
That was when the creatures appeared.
Pale creatures, wearing limited black armor, started pouring out of the portal, like a swarm of locus escaping through a narrow tube. They looked around rapidly, spreading out. Climbing over cars, feral growls escaping the numbers, as they focused on the many humans lining each side of the road.
People started to run, shoving others out of the way in the hope to escape before the rest. Screams finally started to fill the air, as well as the sound of car breaks coming to a screeching halt. Rubber skid marks filled the road from both directions, as cars tried to avoid crashing; both into each other, and the strange humanoid creatures.
Until they were pulled from their cars through smashed windows, daggers slashing at their flesh, blood being drawn, soaking into the asphalt. The numerous attacks triggered more screaming, prompting more panic from the crowds.
More of the creatures poured from the portal, flooding the street like some kind of flash mob, only out for blood.
As the civilians started to thin, by a mixture of running and falling to blades, a massive weight walked from the portal - a large, muscular figure, armor donning its shoulders, spikes shooting from the armor plating, as yellow eyes bore into all those that dare look into them.
Tecitu looked around the Human Realm, disgust written across his facial features, one side of his lips curled up, displaying his rotten teeth. The humans were a pest, eating their way across the land, creating their own world in the land that belonged to the Master.
The more these thoughts circled around his head, the angrier he became, screwing his larger-than-life hands into tightly wound fists. Letting out a mighty roar, slamming his fists down into the street.
A great quiver ran throughout the ground, cracks appearing through the normally solid asphalt, sending chunks flying into the air. Some of the cars were sent dropping into the gaps created by the cracks, alarms blaring from the parked cars lining the sides of the road.
"Hey Fugly!"
A bolt of energy struck his hunched over form; though far too weak to even begin breaking through his armor or the skin. Though it did draw his attention from driving the Wolkeins towards the crowd.
Growling, Tecitu turned around, teeth bared at those that dare challenge him.
Approaching him in one line, the five Warriors. The Yellow Warrior had her bow drawn, lowering it back to her side. Once they were a suitable distance from Tecitu, the Five came to a stop. One foot in front of the other, silently facing the large Demon.
"I see you didn't get the message last time... so I won't be as gentle," Tecitu growled, clenching and unclenching his fists as he took a step towards the Warriors.
The Warriors all looked at one another in turn, before the Pink Warrior spoke. "Funny, we were about to say something similar to you."
"Get ready to be in for a world of pain," Added the Blue Warrior, cracking his fingers slowly. The robotic-adjustments to his voice making it seem like a faint growl at the end of his sentence.
Snarling in response, Tecitu began taking steps towards the Warriors, throwing cars to the side, removing them from his path between him and the Warriors.
"Alright guys, let's see if what Savage worked on is worth it," Isaac said, looking to the others, as he raised his Howler to his helmet, and tapped one of the small buttons. "Feel free to send it over, Savage."
"On the way," Was the response of the Wolf-Man.
From the sky above where the Warriors stood, a great beam of light descended, striking the ground between the Demon and the Warriors. The intensity of the light blinded Tecitu temporarily, forcing him to raise one of the large arms to cover his eyes from the light, taking a few steps back with a low snarl.
"What sorcery is this?" Tecitu snarled, lowering his arm ever so slightly to glance at the glaring light. The light continued to beam down from the sky, before disappearing moments later.
And what was in its place, was something the Demon hadn't seen before it his existence.
Resting in the hands of the Five Warriors, was what appeared to be an engraved, molded shape of metal. Possibly hollow, judging that they weren't struggling underneath the weight of it. Two long barrels came out from the front, being held by the White and Black Warriors. The end of the barrels appeared to be in the shape of wolf's heads, with the muzzles opened, and fangs bared.
Silver and black in color, designs were etched into the sides and top. The further it moved towards the back, it angled upward slightly, making it almost level with the Red Warrior's shoulder. Width-wise, it was now wider than the Blue Warrior's shoulders.
"Designs are a bit over the top," Kyle muttered lowly, looking at the device that had landed in his and the others' hands.
"Savage said that it was to do with the soul charge. I'm calling bullshit on it but, either way," Isaac said, shrugging his shoulders slightly before turning his attention back to the Demon. "But let's see what this puppy can do."
The others nodded, Kyle and Natalie dropping to one knee, resting the barrel of the weapon on their shoulders. Tanya and Matthew took a step back, standing beside Isaac. Two handles came out from either side of the weapon. The two dropped to one knee, one arm supporting the weapon from underneath and the other hand grabbing a hold of the handles.
"What is this?!" Tecitu demanded, taking steps closer to the Warriors.
"Let's finish this," Isaac said, placing one of his hands, open palm, on the back of the weapon. At the five palms firmly planted on the weapon, energy started to build within the weapon. Inside the weapon, swirls of Red, Blue, Yellow, Black and White energy came together from the points where the hands of the Warriors were placed. Combining together in the base of the weapon, the energy began to build.
"Focus guys, this is where Savage said it gets hard," Isaac muttered through grit teeth, feeling a strange sensation pass through him, and extended into the weapon. His breathing grew slightly heavier, but he stood up straight.
The others had it slightly easier, resting on one knee, though they all adjusted their grip on the handles and weapon.
"Howl Cannon charged," Isaac muttered, moving his open hand to another point on the curved end of the weapon.
"I could've come up with something better," Kyle muttered, before he side glanced to see Natalie looked back at him through her visor.
Gripping a handle that protruding from the back, Isaac turned it sideways, pressing it forward; feeling like something from a submarine.
"Howl Cannon... Fire!" Isaac called.
The energy built up inside the Howl Cannon reached a peak, as the ends of the barrels lit up; a flash of light escaped both barrels, thundering towards the close-quarters Demon.
From the blast of energy, the faint outline of a wolf's head formed; jaw opened, the sound of the energy traveling sounding like a deep growl as it traveled.
"No!" Tecitu shouted, as the large wolf's head of energy overcame him, the white energy jaw snapping shut over the hulking Demon, and explosions rocking the length and width of the street. The remaining windows shattered, and doors were blown in. Some of the loose bricks even fell from the buildings, clattering to the ground.
Dust filled the road, blocking all sight more than a couple of feet.
Waving one of his hands in front of his helmet, Kyle called, "Maybe that was a little overkill?"
"Overkill is underrated," Isaac said, as he too tried to swipe the dust out of his vision.
"Jesus, which movie did you still that line from?" Tanya muttered, as the five of them slowly walked forward to assess the damage.
After a few more steps forward, they finally cleared the dense dust cloud, and they assessed the damage of the street from the blast.
"Well... shit," Natalie muttered, seeing the excessive damage to the buildings and the cars.
"Reckon the news is gonna have a field day for this?" Isaac asked, his hands coming to rest on his hips as he looked around.
"Still, on the bright side, no sign of the Hulk wannabe," Kyle said, trying to brighten the mood surrounding the five.
"Dude, seriously?" Matthew asked, turning to face the Black Warrior.
"What?"
"You don't say that until we're completely sure," Matthew replied, before the ground started to shake beneath them.
"What did I fucking tell you?" Matthew snapped, hands clenching into fists.
"Uh, Savage?" Isaac asked into the Howler. "Demon. Growing."
"The Zords are on their way," Savage said over the intercoms just as the completed, towering Tecitu formed just beyond them. A great roar came from the Demon, shaking what windows remained complete, shattering nearly all of them by this point.
Buildings crumbled underneath the massive feet of the Demon, the distant sounds of screams coming from the destroyed areas of the city.
"Let's do this guys!" Isaac said once their Zords had arrived, coming to a stop just before where the Warriors stood. The five jumped into their Zords, coming to a rest in the familiar black emptiness that occupied the operations area of their Wolf's head.
"Let's not fuck about. Put them together, and deal with this guy for a second time," Isaac ordered, closing his eyes to focus.
Among the hisses of steam and the growls from the various Wolf Zords, the combination to form the Megazord was initiated, finishing by standing in the middle of the city, facing the Tecitu.
"So what Batibat said was true... You do have powers greater than before. But it won't be enough," Tecitu growled, eyes burning in anger as he stared down the Megazord.
"Who the hell is he talking about?" Matthew said, looking to the others.
"How hell would I know?" Tanya replied.
"Focus guys," Isaac warned, as he began willing the Megazord forward, to meet Tecitu in battle. The others quickly followed suite, willing the portions of the Megazord into battle.
Tecitu approached the Megazord, his hands screwing into tightly wound fists, pulling them back to strike.
The five Warriors raised the left forearm of the Megazord to block the attack, but the force of the punch still sent the Megazord stumbling back a few steps. Sparks flying and metal plating warping under the force. The five staggered in the head of the Megazord, their vision of the Demon shaking.
"Still packs quite a punch," Kyle commented.
"Not now, Kyle!" Isaac said, as he led the five into righting the Megazord again.
They barely righted the Megazord before another hit struck the Megazord's head, sending solid vibrations throughout the head, shaking the ground the teens off their feet. The Megazord was sent stumbling back as they tried to recover, knocking over a few of the smaller buildings.
Every time they tried to right themselves, Tecitu sent another strike at them; several notable dents starting to appear in the torso's metal, denting the wolf head that lay flat against the chest.
With the latest hit striking them in an uppercut, the force sent the Megazord flying backwards, launching the teens into the invisible back wall of the 'cockpit'. Crushing several buildings beneath the back, the Megazord lay in the ruins of the crumbled buildings.
"Savage! We're getting our asses kicked! Got any more new toys?" Isaac groaned as he pushed himself to his feet. He himself felt beaten up, and there hadn't been a single punch laid on him yet. Unsure if the others felt the same, he pushed himself up fully, trying to will the Megazord up.
The growls of protest surged through his head, causing him to look around widely. "The hell was that?" He muttered, trying to will the Megazord up. Again, the growls of protests echoed again.
"Work with me here," Isaac grunted, as the others got up.
"Who are you talking to?" Tanya asked, looking across at Isaac as she recovered.
"Never mind. Savage?" Isaac said, tapping the side of his helmet.
"MUTT has sent something to you guys that may help. Those Wolves weren't the only ones." Savage's voice eventually replied.
A great howl came behind the battle between the Megazord and the Demon, causing the former to turn around.
Running from the outskirts of the city, clawing up the ground as it ran towards the scene of the fight, a large, metal shape rushed passed buildings. Running on all fours, the entire body was covered in a mostly grey and black color scheme, grey dominating the back and sides, while black armor covered the legs and neck. A pair of dark green eyes sat in the middle of the grey head, a thin grey metal muzzle protruding, teeth bared, with a low snarl escaping it as the Zord moved.
"Oh yeah," Matthew commented, rubbing his hands together shortly.
"Alright, Savage. Walk us through using this guy," Isaac asked, turning the Zord around to face the Demon once more.
"Firstly, this wolf is female," Savage corrected.
"It's always the way, isn't it? Assume it's a guy, turns out to be a girl," Kyle muttered, eyes rolling under his helmet.
"And secondly, one of you will be given a gem to control and summon this Zord for future use," Savage finished.
At that moment, a small ball of light appeared in the center of the black room, catching the five sets of eyes and causing the teens to look at the source. The light source slowly moved around the room, eventually coming to rest above Natalie. It slowly lowered, the light growing dimmer.
Unsure of what else to do, Natalie looked at the others as she held out her combined palms, catching the orb. Upon landing in her hands, the light source dimmed entirely, revealing a small, orb-shaped gem. Transparent grey in color, and what appeared to be a small wolf figurine in the center.
"It chose me?" Natalie asked herself.
"Girls, eh?" Matthew asked, looking between Isaac and Kyle with a shrug.
As neither decided to respond, Savage responded, "Place the gem in front of you, and the sequence of adding the Zord to the combination."
Natalie looked at the others, who all looked back, before she picked the gem between her finger and thumb, and held it out in front of her. Half expecting for the gem to just drop the second she let go, she quickly drew her hand back.
Surprisingly, the gem stayed in place, floating in mid-air, the height altering ever so slightly up and down. A brief, grey flash of light escaped from the gem.
Behind the Megazord, the grey Wolf Zord's green eyes flashed, a low growl escaping the curled lips. The Grey Zord ran forward, rushing at the Megazord, launching itself from the ground with the power behind its back legs.
-Megazord Sequence-
As it someone had pushed the replay button, the White Wolf Zord's head and fists disconnected from the main Megazord. The Grey Wolf Zord's back legs folded into the front legs, and the body split straight down the middle, splitting at the neck.
The legs wrapped around the back of the Blue Beta's arms, acting like an exoskeleton, and the combined paws forming fists for the Megazord. Grey toes turned into fingers for the Megazord, flexing briefly.
The head of the Grey Wolf Zord came to a rest on top of the Red Alpha torso. The muzzle extended upward, the underside of the muzzle opening up; revealing a face beneath the panel, a grey mouth cover combined with a set of bright green eyes. The eyes flashed into life, the head turning slightly.
The grey fists slammed against each other a few times, testing the new force behind the punches.
-Megazord Sequence Ends-
The arms lowering slowly to its side, the Megazord's newest form stood before Tecitu, green eyes baring down on the green-skinned behemoth.
"Oh yeah," Tanya muttered, smirking under her helmet.
"Anyone else feel that power?" Matthew asked, rolling his shoulders and flexing his fingers.
"Definitely," Isaac confirmed, flexing his fingers as well, looking from side to side. "Let's test this out."
As one, the five teens willed the Megazord forward, ready to meet Tecitu again.
Tecitu growled loudly, moving to meet the Megazord for the second round. Screwing his hands into fists, the Demon curled one arm back and threw it towards the Megazord.
Unlike the previous time, the Megazord's blue-and-grey arm raised and blocked the fist as it came in. The impact echoed throughout the area.
"What?" grunted Tecitu, looking at the fist that the Megazord had managed to block. Drawing his attention away from the Megazord.
Away from the other free fist.
The whirl of mechanics cause his attention one again, and Tecitu turned to face the Megazord just as the other exoskeleton-covered fist, delivering a blow to the underside of the Demon's head.
The fists came flying towards the Demon, striking him over his face and his torso, and taking step after step backward, the Megazord advancing forward with every step back the Demon took.
Inside the head of the Megazord, the five Warriors threw punches in sync with each other, all grunting, and keeping their fists close to their bodies when not using them to punch.
Tecitu tried to block the attacks, but the solid punches from the newly upgraded Megazord were too forceful, and able to break through his defenses.
Grabbing the sides of Tecitu's head, the Megazord's head reared back, and slammed forward, head-butting the Demon. Thanks to the reinforcement from the newest Zord, the damage to the Megazord itself from the damage superficial.
"I say we rip this fuckers' head off," Matthew said, still gripping the sides of the Demon's head. The others looked to the Blue Warrior, before Isaac replied.
"Looks like our only option," Isaac replied, before he faced forward again. "Arm around the neck guys," Isaac instructed, just as they delivered the latest blow to the Demon's face, sending him staggering back.
As the Demon tried to recover, the Megazord walked around the Demon. Grabbing his head, the Megazord wrapped one arm around the neck and pulled the Demon up further.
As he struggled, the Megazord gripped the side of the Demon's face, latching onto the head and pressed sideways. The Demon struggled more so, and more pressure was applied to the side of the head.
"Just a bit more force..." Matthew said, straining as he mirrored the stance the Megazord was in; or the Megazord mirrored the stance Matthew and the others were doing.
A sudden, sickening crack echoed through the Megazord, centering from the Demon that now lay limp in the Megazord's clutches. But he didn't stay limp for long. Black and green smoke enveloped the body of Tecitu, and he vanished from the Megazord's grip, the arms jolting slightly from the lack of a solid form to hold, before it righted itself once again.
"Why the hell do they keep doing that?" Tanya growled, willing the Megazord to turn around, Tecitu's body was nowhere in sight.
"Dammit!" Isaac exclaimed, as he and the others willed the Megazord's arms to its side.
"Why do they keep doing that?!" Tanya exclaimed, pacing in the Command Center, looking at Savage as she turned to return the pace.
The five had demorphed and returned to the Command Room once they were sure the Demon had vanished. The Zords, including the newest Grey Wolf, had run off together, to wherever Savage and MUTT store the Zords.
"The black and green mist that you saw was how the Demons travel between our Realm and their Realm," Savage answered, beginning to regret making the promise…
"Also, who's this Bat-e...bat?" Isaac asked, arms folding over his chest.
Savage turned sharply to look at the Red Warrior at the mention of the name. "Batibat was one of Horror's Warlords during the Demon War, and in particular, she was one of the Hands of Horror."
"'Hands of Horror?'" Natalie asked, raising an eyebrow slightly. "Sounds like something you'd name them, Kyle."
"Hey, mine aren't that crap," Kyle retorted.
"There are always two. There were more, but rumor has it that Horror limited it to two because the Hands kept backstabbing each other."
"Also," Tanya started, "That Grey Wolf Zord you managed to pull out of your ass. How'd you find that?"
Ignoring the dry comment, Savage replied, "When the Warriors were gifted their powers, there were many spirits, from which they could summon them to fight. The Grey Wolf was the Spirit of Strength, hence why you could use her to defeat Tecitu."
"I'm guessing there are others?" Tanya pressed.
"There were many, scattered during the Demon War, their locations were unknown. Thankfully, the Grey Wolf wasn't thrown too far from Pax Valley," Savage said.
"So, we've got to find the others to defeat any other demons Horror throw at us?" Natalie confirmed.
"Correct," Savage replied.
"Hang on, hang on," Kyle said, waving his hands slowly. The others looked to the Black Warrior when he spoke. "'Hands of Horror'? 'Demon War'? All these titles for the Demons, and we still haven't got a name for ourselves," Kyle commented, looking between the others.
"So, and I'm just putting it out there, but I've got a name for us. The news are calling us the 'Wolves of Pax Valley,' so..."
"I'm guessing something to do with Wolves?" Isaac asked.
"We call ourselves... The Wolf Pack," Kyle said, pausing to see the others' reaction.
The others looked between themselves, glancing back at Kyle every once and a while.
"It does have a ring to it," Matthew commented.
"I like it," Natalie threw in.
Savage looked to Isaac, before he said, "You're their Alpha."
Isaac looked to the others, before he said, "Looks like we have our group name."
"And since we're calling ourselves the Wolf Pack, why don't we call this place... the Den?"
Matthew face palmed slowly at this reply, muttering, "And, we're back to normal."
"Hang on," Isaac said, looking to Savage again. "You never did tell us what MUTT did to make sure we don't get our asses chewed out for all the classes we're skipping."
"I have hacked into your place of education's database, and located the three of you which attend," MUTT replied, finishing at the computer he was working on and facing the teens.
"You mean you've...faked our attendance?" Natalie asked.
"Yes. And I will make changes to your...'grades', I believe, when the time comes in your education year."
Isaac blinked slowly. "You hacked the school?"
"Well, yes. But it was far too easy to be considered hacking," MUTT replied, earning a light chuckle from a couple of the teens.
"Someone must be helping those Warriors," Fear said as he walked into the main chamber, just as Batibat fed another orb of swirling black-and-green gas into the gem sitting on the podium.
The she-Demon raised her gaze once the orb has vanished into the pendant and asked, "What makes you say that? The Red Warrior surviving, or the fact that another one of their Wolf Spirits were summoned? Of course they have help."
"I thought you assumed that any one that could heal the Red Warrior was dead, so they would soon follow. And yet he lives, and now they have Wolf Spirits summoning left and right. The only question is, who?" Fear asked, slowly folding his armored arms behind his back.
"From what we've learnt, it cannot be the original Warriors. We personally made sure they died."
"Yet we didn't. We confirmed that three of the Warriors were killed and rotting. We do not know of the other two," Fear said, drumming his fingers against his forearm slowly.
"OK, we don't know yet, but we'll learn. And we'll find out soon enough. If it is one of the Warriors we didn't send rotting, they are no threat."
"And what makes you so sure?"
"Because the Master told me."
A small pause filled the area for a second.
"What?" Fear asked.
"The Master told me. Two of the same Warriors cannot exist at once."
"And the Master knows, how?" Fear pressed, leaning forward slightly.
"Because the Master speaks with her. He speaks with Oktrix."