Back in the base, Kevin was carefully being fitted with the armor of the M3 unit. Each pieces was slipped onto the body suit, starting with the legs, then the arms. The chest plate and back pieces soon followed, as Fang picked up the helmet, and headed towards the young wolf.
"Ok…hold really still." He instructed, as he held the mask right over the front of Kevin's face. Kevin complied, not moving his head one centimeter, as the back of the helmet mobilized automatically. It soon covered the back of the young wolf's head, snapping into place.
Kevin breathed steadily as he felt the life support systems kicking in, computerized images popping up on the inside of the visor. He turned his head a bit, slightly adjusting the helmet, as Rose looked on with a smile. Her father stood next to her, scratching his chin.
"Ok…all systems are responding…" Fulton spoke, looking on at the displays from outside the practice room. "Let's see how he handles the training programs." Fang nodded as he heard this, walking out of the room.
Fulton's son, Jimmy, was now in the observation room, along with Topaz, both of them intrigued at what had been occurring lately. Jimmy in particular was excited to finally see his father's project up and running.
Kevin got a hold of his breath as he flexed his covered hands, looking around the room. He took out the familiar handgun, which was much less heavy in the armor, and held it at his right side.
The battle simulation started up quickly, pop-ups suddenly coming up and firing the non-lethal lasers. A few of them clipped the inexperienced wolf in his armor, as he grunted a bit and fell to the side. His adopted father winced a bit as he looked on, the doubts about this idea being re-enforced for the moment.
That moment was brief, however, as Kevin rolled right back onto his feet. With a rush of adrenaline, he reached out with his gun and fired. With amazing precision, he managed to hit the vital points of almost each and every one of the targets, even disabling a couple of their lasers. The gun fired with the same hammering noise as he shouted out in glee, caught up in the excitement. He then ran in and smashed one target down with a well placed backhand, before taking out a blue grenade and hurling it. The weapon then exploded across the room, taking down a whole mess of targets.
Fang grinned as he watched Kevin in action. "Nothing like seeing an excitable rookie." He mused. "Especially one who reminds me of me at that age."
Ned, who was watching things next to him, just nodded with wide eyes. "It's amazing how quickly my boy picked that up." He scratched his head. "It's almost as if he was born to do this kind of thing."
Fox heard this comment as he winced just a little. He'd had a bit of an odd feeling from the moment he first met Kevin. Something just seemed…a little too familiar about the boy…something…something he really didn't want to dwell on too much at the moment.
Rose bounced a bit happily, smiling on at her friend approvingly. Kevin breathed heavily as he stepped out of the room, carefully removing his helmet. He panted a bit and puffed as he had a big smile.
"That…was awesome!" The young wolf exclaimed.
"Yes…" Fulton chuckled. "But it was also just a simulation, I must remind you."
Fox nodded. "That's right Kevin…these things we've been fighting lately…they're made of much tougher stuff than cardboard."
Fang chuckled as he walked over to Kevin's side. "Ok, ok guys…let the kid have his moment. He feels great right now." He smiled to Kevin. "Believe me, you're gonna need pleasant memories like this once the realities of battle set in…the aches and pains." He grunted a bit and rubbed his side. "Some of which I'm feeling right at this moment."
A grinning Jimmy walked over to his friends, nodding to Rose approvingly. He then looked over at Kevin.
"Man…words cannot describe how jealous I am of you now!" He mused, Kevin laughing a bit in response. "I've wanted to put that suit on since day one."
"And I refuse to have you do it, Jimmy." Topaz smiled as she came up from behind, patting his back. "You know how want you to use your head for something other than a target for enemies."
"Mom…" Jimmy sighed. "You know I don't have the kind of tecchie brain that Dad has."
"Oh really?" Topaz giggled. "Then what do you call that big stereo system you threw together in your room?"
"That was a fun experiment…" Jimmy threw his hands up a bit. "I never meant to run my life around stuff like that."
"Aw, come on, Jimmy." Rose smiled to her "cousin". "Kevin and I couldn't have built something like that. You've got more of your dad's tecchie brain than you realize."
"Yeah…I suppose so…" Jimmy pondered this, before smiling back to Kevin. "I'm still jealous of you, though."
Kevin smiled and nodded. "As others will likely be, once this is all done."
This friendly conversation was soon interrupted by the sound of an alarm blaring in one of the other rooms. Rose, and her friends were startled, as Ricky came running up to Fox.
"Another one of those things just appeared around the food storage towers in the southeast section of town. No workers have been killed so far, and they're all fleeing."
Fox nodded gently. "Ok. We'd better act fast then. Fulton, make sure Kevin's fully prepped with the M3 armor and all the weapons. Fang, when that's done, transport both him and Rose to the site."
"Will do, Fox." Fang nodded.
Rose looked to Kevin, who took a heavy breath. He looked over and nodded to his adopted father. Ned nodded back slowly, affirming his belief in Kevin's abilities. The young wolf slowly slipped his helmet on.
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At the abandoned food storage center, the new Grongi was making itself. This loathsome creature bore a resemblance to a saber tooth tiger, standing in an odd looking collection of tribal necklaces and light body armor. This Grongi appeared to be of a slightly higher level, as it picked out bits of food and ate, its eyes glowing a bright red as the little bits of light shone through its bronze fur.
"Yes…feed." Faust smiled as he appeared from out of nowhere, flying down to the Grongi's level and landing. "You've always been known for your ravenous appetite. You must eat, so you can keep your strength, and your amazing speed in tip-top form. So help yourself…eat this planet's food supply, and let them all slowly starve."
The Grongi nodded wordlessly, as it lightly growled and munched away on some other food items.
After a few more moments of this, the door suddenly blew open. Faust suddenly turned as the grongi stood up and growled loudly, running over next to the Arch Grongi with amazing speed.
Kevin had taken the lead charge in the attack, the smoke still clearing from his grenade. He stood in his full body armor, as he looked back over to Rose, who was waiting inside of the M3 transport ship with Fang. She nodded to him as he walked on inside, his gun at the ready.
"You mortals are such extraordinary beings." Faust shook his head. "You take beatings, fatal ones at that, and still you return for more of them." He then looked over to the grongi next to him. "Finish him quickly, then resume your feeding."
Kevin wordlessly readied himself, as the grongi roared ferociously, leaping down towards him. Kevin fired off his gun, but each shot missed, as the grongi lunged towards him with its claws out.
Kevin quickly rolled out of the way with his fast reflexes, firing again. This time, one of the shots managed to clip the grongi in the side. A little bit of its green blood seeped out as it roared and lunged again, ignoring the wound. Kevin ducked and got a hold of the creature's middle, throwing it into a stack of metal food cases nearby. The creature soon payed its price for underestimating the young mortal as it landed and knocked over the stack, many heavy cases landing on top of it.
Faust watched this action as he soon sensed something behind him. He put up his right hand quickly, catching the lunging fist of Rose, who had just recently transformed into Kuuga.
"I made the mistake of letting myself be distracted last time…" Faust calmly spoke, looking over at Kuuga as she grunted and struggled to free her hand. "Rest assured, it is a mistake I do not intend to repeat."
With that, he used Kuuga's arm to flip her over the ledge he was standing on. Kuuga fell a few feet before extending her wings, flying back up to meet Faust with another punch. Faust simply moved out of the way as he took off on his own wings. He moved behind Kuuga before she could respond, and quickly spun, his right leg smashing into her back. Kuuga grunted as the force of the blow sent her crashing into the ground. She quickly got back up however, facing the Arch-grongi as he flew back down to attack her.
At the same time, the tiger grongi got out from under the metal cases, and launched itself at Kevin. Kevin couldn't react fast enough, as he was soon pinned underneath the weight of the fearsome creature. The grongi roared, and lunged to take a bite out of Kevin's neck. Kevin reached up and quickly caught the creature's mouth with his right hand, holding it back as best he can.
The grongi tired again and again to overpower the armored wolf, as he reached and got one device out of his left side. He quickly attached it to his right wrist as he continued to hold the tiger back with his hand. The same blade that had lopped off the scorpion grongi's tail end soon extracted itself.
The creature clawed at Kevin's armor, trying to break through it, as Kevin made the blade whir to life once more. He punched the monster with his left fist, giving him enough time to bring the blade down with his right hand, and slice into its side.
A bit of greenish blood shot out of the tiger's side as it yelped and rolled off of the wolf. It growled and clutched its new wound, as Kevin got up and fired with his gun. Multiple bullets smacked into the creature as it hissed and took off, running around the room with amazing speed.
Kuuga was still busy with Faust, fighting off every advance he made towards her. She then finally charged towards him in a great burst of strength, tackling him. The two dropped to the ground together as she rolled atop him and punched away at his face. Faust blocked as much as he could as she punched away, desperate to find a way to defeat this Arch-grongi.
It was to no avail though, as Faust quickly got his foot under her. With a single kick, he managed to get Kuuga off him, as she sailed over onto her back, rolling back onto her feet. She quickly got into a fighting stance, as Faust simply stood there, smiling.
Kuuga didn't have much time to figure out why he wasn't preparing to fight back, before the tiger grongi suddenly got a hold of her, having just run towards her from behind.
Kuuga yelled out and struggled with the grongi, as it roared and bared its large fangs, keeping a good hold of her with its strong arms.
"Yes…" Faust smiled. "I think you'll find there's no delicacy better than the flesh of an Oorgi…Bon Appetite.."
Kuuga grunted and moaned as the tiger kept a strong grip on her from behind him. It roared once more, extracting its large fangs as it leaned down to take a big bite out of the Oorgi's jugular…before it suddenly paused, and opened its eyes widely.
Faust looked on as the creature suddenly began to spit up green blood. Kevin, who had somehow found the energy to run to the aid of his friend, had just impaled the tiger through the back with his blade weapon.
"Not again!" Faust roared out in frustration, as Kevin pulled out his weapon and pushed the stumbling grongi aside. Rose soon kicked the tiger out of the way, and sensed a new power inside of her, as she extended her right hand. A weapon of light soon materialized in her grasp, a broadsword with a white handle, and Oorgi inscriptions all over the blade. It was Kuuga's sword of Justice.
As all of this was going out, the figure of Myra was watching the action from a distance. A glow came over her body, as her face began to crack apart with this light, smiling.
The creature roared out once more, wounded, but still determined. It launched itself at her in a last ditch attempt at an attack. Holding the sword with two hands now, Kuuga simply raised the weapon, swinging it like a bat once the grongi was close enough. It cut through the air swiftly, and promptly lopped off the head of the grongi. The creature's body plopped onto the ground seconds after the fatal blow, the head soon landing right next to it. Kuuga simply stood there, the sword vanishing as the creature's body began to disintegrate.
Faust simply growled in anger as Kuuga collected the creature's spirit for re-sealing, before turning and scowling at Kevin in his suit.
"You, my boy…You and your mortal ilk have interfered in our business for the last time!"
He yelled out and launched a beam attack at Kevin. The beam slammed him right in the stomach before he could respond, Faust flying in and smashing him across the helmet.
Kuuga gasped as she quickly turned, and prepared herself to defend her friend. Before she could respond to Faust's attack, however, a second beam smacked into her from behind, sending her flying into a wall from nearby.
"All right…" She suddenly heard a distorted, feminine voice speak. "I've had enough of this spectator nonsense."
Kuuga quickly sat up, as her eyes quickly widened. She saw the form of another Arch-grongi, this one a female, fly down. Her wings folded at her side, her petite, but very powerful body covered in armor similar to Kuuga's. Her eyes glowed red, as shoulder-length white hair covered her face partially, her fur as black as Faust's. Kuuga suddenly remembered the name from her last meeting with Aida. It was Mephista!
"I've enjoyed witnessing your little rise to power…" Mephista smirked. "And it's been fun watching you and Faust play with each other. But play time's over now." She slowly got into a fighting stance. "It's time to conduct the business of the Arch-Grongi, as seriously and as quickly as possible."
Kuuga readied herself as Mephista launched herself at her. Kuuga tried to fly out of her way at the last second, but was soon met with a hard right fist to the stomach. Mephista was just as strong as Faust, and even quicker, using this speed to her advantage as she spun and nailed Kuuga with her right foot.
Kuuga moaned out as she hit the ground and rolled. Mephista floated with her wings, as she summoned some energy, and held out her hands. She held still as her palms out as multiple white orbs fired out of them, all of them zooming right down towards Kuuga. Kuuga rolled again using her hands to make an energy shield, which quickly shattered under the strength of these orbs. She was hit multiple times in the shoulder and head, as she grunted and moaned, her body smoking as she fell.
Things were looking equally grim for Kevin, as he swung weakly with his blade, trying to hit some part of Faust, but to no avail. The Arch-grongi flew in close once more, knocking away his gun, before smacking him multiple times in the stomach, and the face, making him stumble everywhere.
Faust then reared back, and let Kevin have it with a hard right hand, that sent his helmet flying right off. Kevin grunted as he fell down onto his side, weakened.
Kuuga was powerless to stop this beating, as Mephista had now flown down, and caught her by the neck. The female Arch grongi smiled as she lifted Kuuga, and pinned her against a wall.
"Before I end your miserable experience, I'm going to let you have the pleasure of seeing one of your precious mortals meet an untimely end." Mephista grinned, as Kuuga struggled futilely.
Faust laughed a bit as he saw the face of the young wolf under the mask, smiling as he finally had a chance to kill himself a mortal. He then slowly raised his right hand, energy gathering in the palm as he prepared to let Kevin have it with a fatal beam attack.
He then noticed something. A necklace, a pendant of sorts, had come out of the chest plate of Kevin's armor. The pendant, a heart-shaped silver keepsake from his late mother, was now hanging down around his neck. The shape, and basic look of it was unmistakable. Faust suddenly froze before he could launch the attack.
Mephista blinked in confusion, still having a hold of Kuuga's throat.
"What are you doing? This is no time for quiet contemplation…finish him off!"
Faust stood there, looking at the downed young wolf. The energy began to leave his palm, as he lowered his arm, just staring at Kevin.
"Kill him!" Mephista roared out at Faust. "Kill him, damn you!"
This moment of distraction allowed Kuuga to get the upper hand. She suddenly brought up her legs, wrapping them around Mephista's head and neck. She then chopped at her hand, making her let go as she dropped down. She was upside down for a moment as she flipped, throwing Mephista over to Faust with her strong legs as she rolled back onto her feet.
Mephista stumbled from the surprise attack, as Kuuga quickly followed up with a strong beam attack, fired from both of her hands. The beam smashed right into Mephista as she screamed out in pain, the energy singing parts of her fur and wings.
The wounded Arch-grongi fell right into the arms of Faust, who then decided upon a retreat. He extended his wings, and flew up, carrying Mephista as he smashed through the roof, making a dramatic escape.
Kuuga breathed heavily as she watched the two Arch-grongi leave. She then looked over to Kevin as she changed back into Rose. Rose ran over to his side.
"Kevin!" She helped him to sit back up. "Are you ok?"
Kevin panted a bit. "Yeah…everything seems fine."
Rose then scratched her head as she had time to ponder what had just transpired with Faust moments earlier.
"What in the world just happened there? He had you. You were dead, and I was moments away from mourning you…but he didn't do it…why?"
Kevin shrugged a bit, as he picked up his pendant, looking it over in his hand, before looking back up to the smashed roof…
