Power Rangers: World of Darkness Chapter 3: Fangs of the Beast Zack looked back as Jason ran into the alleys in relief as he pulled the blades on his arms out from the last of his enemies, his cloak was shredded and stained with blood, and the black sheen of his armor had been mottled in red. Relaxing a bit, the blades receded into his forearms, the armor closing over the small holes where they had appeared. He looked back ahead of him and noticed that many more of the beast-men had been watching and now were taunting him with their barks and their yips. Zack's helmet computer registered 32 of them surrounding him in a semi-circle. "Fucking Ravnawolves." he cursed to himself, "I have to find a way to escape without them following me to the rendezvous. Where's their leader, even a race this feral must have an alpha male or something." Then, as if responding to his words, a massive figure stomped its way over a hill of rubble. The sunlight struck across its jet-black fur, which covered it from head to toe like the others of its kind. On its head was a gold and black crown, which spread around its head in a domed semi-circle, framing its visage. Locks of mangled black hair struck out from behind it, two of which were braided in a crude fashion, and hung over its shoulders down to its chest. Draped over its torso was a closed vest of black metal chain mail covered with domes of golden armor, the largest of which hung in the center of its chest, and was adorned with a ruby red brooch at the center of it. He wore on its midsection a kilt in the same fashion of black chain mail and golden domes of armor, except larger and less jeweled. Over its massive fore arms and forelegs he wore golden bracers. Clenched in it's right clawed fist it held a fiendish looking long sword, forged more traditionally than the other Ravnawolven swords, it was adorned with many ruby jewels and its blade glittered in its golden sheen. The monster reared its head back, releasing a commanding roar, and, spreading its arms, two huge furred and feathered wings exploded out from its back, claws protruding from the joints. Zack took a breath in as his helmet computer translated the language. "How dare it defeat so many of my Hunters!" it growled to its pack mates on either side of it, "Soon it will see how I, Goldar the Ravager, fares in battle." "Speak to me with respect! I merit more than third-person merit!" commanded Zack, his voice booming through the mouthpiece of his helmet, which he had set to increase the volume of his voice. He grinned at the shock Goldar showed at not only that Zack had understood what he had said, but that the human had somehow responded in a Ravnawolf tongue. Zack had known the way these aliens spoke as their superiors, but this was the first time he had tried to intimidate it. Glad that his computer was translating his English so these invaders would understand, he hoped his improvised authority would last, "I am the Black Power Ranger: Defender of Earth! I demand you leave my planet or die!" Goldar remained silent for a moment, frustration building up in a snarl. He bore his fangs and responded, beginning to stomp down the hill of debris moving into a run. "You speak so boldly! I will call your bluff!" he roared, raising his sword over his head, "I will kill you myself, as I have done to the rest of your militia throughout your land! I shall not leave, but it is you who will DIE!" Goldar then leapt into the air and flapped his wings down, sending him into flight. After raising a few feet into the air, he dove downwards, screaming towards Zack at a terrifying pace. Zack frowned, as this was not exactly what he wanted. He wasn't about to back down though. He thrust his forearms downwards and two jagged blades shot out from slots in his armor. With a loud cry he ran at Goldar and bounded at him from the ground, pointing his blades out towards the alien monster. They collided with a sound that caused the ground to shake, and blasts of wind to fly out in a shockwave. * * * "We're very close," said Alpha on Jason's back as he ran. They were approaching a hulk of concrete that at one time was a skyscraper, but it had collapsed in the first waves of the invasion, "The rendezvous is just inside the ruins of this building." Jason grinned. He was almost there. His body ached from the distance he had run, never slowing down, but he ran on. A sound like thunder rolled through the air and suddenly, the ground shook beneath him. His steps faltered and he stopped running at the edge of a deep trench. That sounded like when Zack first rammed into those aliens, he thought, and his imagination raced to how fierce the battle had become now. His thoughts were interrupted at the quick sound of footsteps on a near-wrecked building top above him and a sharp howl. Spinning around, he only caught a glimpse at the werewolf like form dropkicking him in the upper torso. It had been an ambitious Hunter, who had ran off from the pack without orders, specifically targeting Jason and Alpha in its arrogant battle plan. The beast thought it was clever and would gain a prestigious warrior name from this victory. It growled a chuckle as it watched Jason fly back down into the trench. Jason was in a free fall until hitting the slope of the trench. He rolled down on the jagged rocks. Alpha, flung from Jason's back, was rolling along side him. Jason collided with a large sewer pipe that was jutting out from the rubble. Alpha fell farther down the deep gutter in the concrete, and landed on a flat platform that at one time might have been part of a highway street. The tiny mechanized form lay still on its asphalt pedestal. Jason lay on his back, trying to regain the air that was knocked from his lungs. He flipped up the visor on his helmet and let the cool air waft into his mouth. His breathing faltered as he saw what had knocked him down. The beast-man was staring down at him from the brim of the gigantic burrow, it was aggravated his prey was still alive. With its irregular sword in its furred hand, it leapt skillfully down the incline and soon it stood proudly over Jason. Jason couldn't even scream as it raised its sword. He couldn't move, for the creature had pinned him down with a foot. His hero was off somewhere else, locked in battle, possibly dead. This is all because of me, he thought, I can't let it end this way! He clenched his first in defiance searching his heart for the courage and his mind for the means, he found he could only pray for divine intervention as the monster plunged the sword down towards his heart. The last thing Jason saw was the blade glint from a sudden red fiery glow of his body as it bore down to him. The sound of the explosion following was deafening. * * * Zack pulled himself up to his feet, raising his head above the clouds of dust that misted about the battlefield. Tell me I killed him, he thought looking for Goldar's body. He saw only a dark silhouette in a near-by cloud. It could only be Goldar; the rest of his army had either been knocked away by the force of their battle or ran away to a safer place to watch. Zack looked down at his armor. His cloak was shredded, but still hung long over his shoulders, albeit in tatters. His armor was worse for wear, and had cracks and chips crusted over its black metal, which could no longer glint in the sun behind its veil of clouds, for he was covered in dust, dirt and mud. His forearms had the broken stubs of his blades, leaving no place to replace them with new weapons. Zack was down to only his fists to fight with. A waft of air cleared some of the must from the air. In distance, Zack heard the sound of an explosion, and glancing back saw fire shoot into the air a good distance away. This was not a good sign to him and he hoped Jason and Alpha were doing all right. He looked back to the one mass of dust in particular he was glaring into a moment ago. Is it just me, or is his shadow in the cloud thinner looking all of a sudden? Zack thought. The mist twirled off of an object, revealing the source of the dark sketch in the gray swirls of musk. Standing cracked and broken, jutting from the ground, was the golden bladed long sword the Ravnawolf had used in battle, the hilt was broken off, rendering useless. However, Zack was more interested in its original wielder. Goldar was no where in sight. Zack was only confused for a moment. Until he heard the snarl from behind. Spinning around, he swung his fist around behind him. He had been too slow. Goldar snatched his fist from the air and lifted it in the air. Grabbing Zack by the throat, he proceeded to lift the brave Ranger eight feet off the ground, so he was now face-to-face with the alien warlord. "What's this?" mocked Goldar, "no more tricks up your sleeves? All out of your pathetic assortment of kitchen utensils, hmm? I would expect more from a warrior with such a long prestigious name as yourself, Black Power Ranger: Defender of Earth." "I'm not through yet." Zack managed to say, causing Goldar to rear his head back in laughter. "Still kicking, you worthless so-called defender of this planet?" he snorted in between his chuckles, "Maybe in your next life you'll think to arrive to battle on time! Look around you, we've been raping your most powerful continent for one of your Earth months!" Zack remained silent, and only cursed himself for his bad judgement and timing. So much he could have done to arrive sooner if he had gotten the chance. There was so much he had to have done in the past ten years. So much he had to prepare. So much he had to wait, for some things were beyond his control So much good it was to him now. "After I kill you," continued the bestial warrior, "I'm going to hunt down the rest of those squads of what you call the Rangers. Its only a matter of time before I get the order to raid that little command center you've set up a few miles from here." Zack widened his eyes. How did this monster know of the location of their stronghold? Have these aliens just been playing with them? How was it possible? "We know a lot more about your stupid little struggle than you want us to know. Only the legend of the Power Rangers had remained a mystery, and now, upon fighting you, I see there really is nothing you humans really can do! You hear me! NOTHING!" "Your WRONG!" cried out Zack, lifting his legs up and kicking out at Goldar. Massive curved blades jutted our around his feet as he plunged the ends into Goldar's chest, who growled and fell back onto the cracked pavement. Zack twisted out of his grasp and landed on the floor. Goldar jumped up, blood dripping from him, but his face was filled with a whole new definition of rage. Out of options, Zack raised his fists above his head, a deep violent energy focusing into his knuckles. With a shout, he slammed his fists into the ground with all his strength. The sound boomed outwards in a shockwave, knocking Goldar off his feet. The earth cracked and split around the Black Ranger, bulky rocks jutting out around him. Goldar was sent flying, but spread his wings out just in time to save him from a very painful fall. The dust was sent upwards into the sky in a mushroom cloud. Goldar roared in anger as Zack stole away in an underground shelter pathway, dashing to the rendezvous. Behind him all he could hear besides the sound of hulking shrapnel hitting the ground, was Goldar's command, which sent a chill up his spine: "Now is the time! I will wait not wait for the command! Arise my Hunters, today we attack the Rangers directly! Attack!" Zack quickened his pace, his body now running totally on adrenaline and that deep glowing purple energy radiating around him. He had to get there before it was too late. Time was not on his side.