Here it is; the complete second episode of the Wolf Pack fic. Hope you guys enjoy :)
As always, props to Charlotte 'Charlie' Hartley for the assistance as Beta.
-Nf991
Episode 2 - The Rise of Steel
Isaac took a seat at one of the few empty tables in the canteen. It was about half-way through lunch break, but he had only just been let out by his teacher. They didn't seem to take so kindly to him skipping class the other day.
Nor did they like his excuse; forgetting what period he had wasn't the most original.
Or convincing…
He grunted quietly to himself, hand going to press his side; compressing the large bruise that plastered the skin underneath the top he wore.
"Damn Wolkein…" he muttered to himself, holding the irritated skin for a few seconds before pulling back again, resting his forearms across the table.
"Still tender, hmm?"
Isaac was jerked from his thoughts at the voice, and the presence of two people near him. He looked across to see Matthew take the seat across from him, a sour look sporting his face, as Natalie took the seat beside him.
"Who shat in your cereal?" Isaac commented, gesturing to Matthew's face.
Matthew raised an eyebrow slightly at the comment, resting his crossed forearms on the table as Natalie said, "I figured it'd be better for the three of us to hang out more; since, you know…"
She gestured to her covered wrist; Isaac glancing at his own, involuntarily tugging at his sleeve to make sure the Howler was covered. Despite the seemingly bulky nature of the device, it seemed rather easy to hide.
"And Kyle and Tanya? What about the two of them?"
"Got them on Facebook," Natalie replied without hesitation, taking out her phone and opening the Facebook App.
"See?"
Isaac looked, and saw that, true to her word, Natalie had the other two of them in a Group Chat. He saw a few exchanges between the three of them, but didn't notice anything important by the time Natalie took her phone away again.
Matthew eventually shifted a hand into his pocket and cleared his throat slightly to get the others' attention; taking his phone out, and flicking through it as he spoke.
"I'm not sure if you two noticed yet, but…" he pressed his screen one last time and turned his phone around to face the others.
It showed a video, capturing the five colored warriors-them-, fighting the grey-and-black blurs that made up the Wolkeins. The quality wasn't anything amazing, but you could make out the five of them.
"Who the hell took this?" Natalie whispered, guiding the phone closer to her to have a better look.
"My guess is that police cruiser; all that shit around the screen, like that stuff you see on those 'Police, Action and Crashes' programs."
"Everyone only watches it for the crashes," Isaac commented, before leaning over to have a better look. He looked down, and found that the video's views were already in the 100,000's.
"Looks like we were kinda lucky; but let's try and be more…subtle."
Natalie gave Isaac a look. "'Subtle'? Five, brightly colored guys and girls fighting faceless creatures? Oh yes, the very essence of subtly."
Isaac rolled his eyes and Matthew muffled a light snicker as he turned his phone off, slipping it back into his pocket.
"Have you seen the video yet?" Kyle asked into his phone.
"I'm pretty sure most people in Pax Valley, and probably most of the country, have seen it. Myself included," Tanya's voice said over the phone.
"Well, it's making the local news channels now," Kyle replied, taking the controller of the break room's television, flicking through the channels until he reached the local radio station, Pax News 15, aka, PN15.
"In other news, it seems like the newest team of Power Rangers have made themselves known. And right here in our town," said the female news anchor.
"Huh, good timing; it's on now," Kyle said, setting the controller down. It being a Wednesday, they were the slow days, so only a few members of staff were needed, and Kyle was on his break.
"Though they haven't been given a name yet, by either themselves or the public, this group was captured fighting strange creatures when a cruiser received a call of public disturbance."
The image cut from the news anchor and was replaced with the footage that Kyle had seen so many times, he figured he could remember it move-for-move.
Probably because he was one of the ones fighting, but, whatever.
"They haven't figured out our…you know, identities yet, have they?" Tanya asked. Kyle wasn't sure, but he could have sworn he heard a tint of worry in Tanya's voice. A very rare occasion.
"Not that they're saying; but hey, we haven't got police or anything knocking down our homes or places of work. So, I'm guessing we're still good."
There was a faint pause before Tanya spoke. "If I find out this actually happens, I'm going to kick your ass."
A faint chuckle came from Kyle, switching the television off as he said, "I know you'll do that regardless. Anyway, probably best to leave you be; newbies come in Wednesday afternoon, right?"
"Yep; making sure we don't have to call an ambulance," was the response, the usual bluntness in her voice.
"See ya," Kyle said, before hanging out and slipping the phone back into his pocket.
"Any more progression?" Fear asked, stepping forward from the cave tunnel, stepping into a large, dimly lit cavern.
There was only one source of light in the entire area, and it was focused on a single podium; upon which, rested a single black gem stone in the center of a dark metal pendant. The design of the metal resembled a cage; thin bars wrapped intricately around the black gemstone. A faint glow emitted from the gem, as if struggling.
"The Master is conscious, but he is weak from his imprisonment," Batibat replied, who had been leaning over the podium, hands gripping a part of the podium corner.
The light focused on the podium allowed for Batibat's features to be revealed in their entirety; a pale face with long black hair, tipped red, flowing smoothly over the back and sides of her head. She wore what resembled a high-collar coat over a dress; the collar covering her pale neck, yet remained open to reveal the detailed design of the 'dress' she wore. Her fingernails, tipped a deep green, lightly tapped the stone podium.
Fear grew closer, hands clasped behind his back; the light reflecting off his bronze armor, the light allowing more of his appearance to be seen. The bronze armor from his forearms continued up his arms, connecting to the spiked shoulder armor he wore.
Small spikes, facing backwards, sported portions of his cheeks, the only visible 'skin' on his entirely armored body. This included the large, black torso armor he wore; battered and dented, from what must have been multiple battles.
"Then we must give the Master a…boost of energy," Fear said, unraveling one of the hands from his back and gestured to the side.
Batibat raised her gaze from the podium, and followed Fear's hand gesture. She side glanced towards Fear again, before slowly, almost reluctantly, moving to the side.
"Don't think you can order my about, Fear…Master made us equal," Batibat said, her back facing Fear as she drew nearer to what the other was gesturing to.
A large wall came into view, made up of large bricks; colored a mixture of dark grey and black, seemingly held together simply by the pressure of the bricks on top and around it.
On the individual bricks, designs were etched; depicting various creatures, all in different stances. Different designs.
All terrifying.
"The Warriors will face Ret-Kli…" Batibat said to herself, her hand hovering over one of the bricks; this one depicting a bulky figure, with a single hole where the head was, depicting an eye.
Her hand pressed against the brick, curling her fingers against the image slightly; pulling her hand back carefully. The image seemingly removing itself from the brick, like a sticker being peeled off from a surface.
With a flick of her wrist, Batibat sent the design flinging through the domain, coming to rest over a small black-and-green portal; not too dissimilar to the one they had observed the Warriors fight through.
Batibat walked from the wall to the portal, as the image slowly lowered down; disappearing in the swirling mist. Her hands moved over the portal, her movements' smooth and slow, passing over each other multiple times. She chanted softly under her breath, her eyes closed gently; as the chants continued, the portal slowly started to grow.
Fear walked over as Batibat, seemingly finishing the ritual, brought her hands together and pushed them aside; the portal moving from the hand movement, angling sideways and moving further away.
The portal grew the further it moved, until it reached a size that would allow a human-sized creature to easily pass through it if it were a solid gap. As it moved further, a shape started to take form, coming from the portal.
Passing over the creature eventually, the portal disappeared altogether, leaving the produced creature standing there.
Said creature was humanoid in nature, but the entire body was clad in scales; thick, dark red mixed with a tint of grey. The grey becoming more prominent towards the limbs and face. The face of the creature was smooth, thin slits visible where the nose should be. Eyes with slit pupils sat on the face, dark gold surrounding a line of black.
Leather straps crossed his torso, holding light, additional armor to his body, covering up…areas.
"What is….my task…" the creature said in a slow, raspy voice; putting extra emphasis on each word.
"Ret-Kli," Batibat said, approaching the scaled creature, Fear following beside her, "there is a task that is required of you. The Five Warriors of the Wolf have been awoken. We, the Warlords of the Master, give you the order of destroying the Warriors."
At the mention of Warriors, Ret-Kli growled deeply, coming from the depths of his chest. One of his hands clenched, clawed fingers screwing into a tight fist. His pupils narrowed into thinner slits, almost disappearing into the gold surrounding them.
"I will crush…the Warriors under my feet…" Ret-Kli snarled, his scaled lips curling up slightly in a display of anger; revealing serrated fangs, lining his jaws.
"When you complete your task, you will harvest their powers and bring them back to us," Fear added, stepping a step forward of Batibat. The she-demon set a glare to the male Demon, but said nothing.
"Understood…Sir…"
"You will be provided with a Pod of Wolkeins to assist you in your endeavor," Batibat added, her hands slowly folding behind her back, pulling them back in front; producing what appeared to be a large, slightly rough stone.
"Yes…" Ret-Kli said, extending one of his clawed hands forward, taking the offered 'stone'; placing it in a small pouch to his side.
"You have your orders…" Batibat snapped her fingers, and a swirling portal of black and green smoke opened up before the three demons.
"Now execute them."
A wordless nod from the scaled demon was the response, as Ret-Kli turned and walked through the portal; fading through, before disappearing altogether.
"Well, I'd better get going to class; I've got Mr. Hyde," Natalie said, knocking her hand against the table briefly before getting to her feet.
"Ouch," Isaac commented dryly, looking up as Natalie stood. Matthew was flicking through his phone; too busy to look up.
"You?"
"I've got Andrew for Literature," Isaac replied.
"Ooh…good luck with that," Natalie said with a faint smirk, nudging Isaac's shoulder lightly. Isaac rolled his eyes slightly, shaking his head as he stood up as well.
The two teens both looked to the last teen at the table. As if feeling the eyes on him, Matthew turned his head up to look at the others.
"What?"
"You got class?" Isaac asked, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
"Figured I would try and skip class," Matthew said causally, slipping the phone back into his pocket and drumming his fingers against the table slowly.
"You don't need any help with skipping class," Natalie said, tapping one finger against her other wrist, trying to remain subtle with her gesturing.
A growl suddenly emitted from Natalie's covered wrist. The two guys' eyes snapped to the female's wrist, who quickly clasped her hand around it, trying to suppress the growl. It did little to quieten it, but, luckily, the three of them were among the last of students to leave the canteen, but they still needed to be careful.
"What the hell did you press?" Isaac hissed, leaning over to whisper into Natalie's ear.
"I didn't," Natalie snapped back, elbowing Isaac in the ribs to send him back. She grabbed the end of her jacket sleeve, revealing a glimpse of the silver-and-black Howler that lay beneath.
A low, metallic growl emitted continuously from the Howler, though not as loud as the initial growl. There was a faint glow of white from under the sleeve, but was it was mostly covered.
"What does that mean?" Matthew said, gesturing to the source of the growl.
"You think I know?" Natalie said, glaring.
"We can't just stand around, trying to figure it out here," Isaac said eventually, gesturing for Matthew to get up. Though his movements were sluggish, Matthew got to his feet.
Matthew slid his hands into the depths of his trousers, saying, "I think I know a place where we can go to figure it out."
Isaac and Natalie both looked at Matthew, before sharing a glance between the two.
"Where did you have in mind?" Isaac eventually asked.
"Behind the school? Where the druggies hang out?" Isaac asked, raising his eyebrow as the three of them walked along the side of the school. They moved quickly, trying to avoid getting see through any windows they passed.
"Hey, if you're going go somewhere where it'll take time to be found," Matthew said, leading the three of them. "Go where the crack-smokers go."
They rounded the final corner of the building, and were met with the back of the school. Normally only the home to large dumpsters and storage, had now become a haven for smokers and drug-users to quench their addictions during lessons, without teachers finding them.
But it seemed they weren't alone. A group of three teens, all males, were hanging around, smoke coming out of their little circle in small pillars.
"What the fuck do we do with these guys?" Natalie asked in a hushed, harsh whisper.
"Let me try," Isaac asked, patting Natalie's shoulder before stepping forward, approaching the group of smoking teens.
"Hey guys, we need this area, so…" Isaac said when near the three, hands slipping out of his pockets and folding them over his chest, gesturing behind him with one thumb.
"Fuck off," was the only response he got from any of them.
After a few seconds of no movement, or other response, Matthew let a smirk cross his face; stepping forward, patting Isaac's shoulder; pushing him back slightly.
"I got this," Matthew said, flashing Isaac his smirk before approaching the three smoking teens. Isaac took a step back, rubbing the back of his neck as he did so, level with Natalie again.
"That…could have gone better," Isaac muttered.
"You think?" Natalie said with an eye roll.
They were torn away from each other when the sound of a heavy strike, followed by a heavy mass falling to the floor. Matthew stood between two of the smokers, who had backed off to give Matthew space. The third teen was currently lying on the ground, hands covering his face; though the growing trickles of blood could be seen seeping through the gaps of his fingers.
"Like you said - fuck off," Matthew said, a sarcastic tone to his voice as he rubbed one of his hands, presumably the one he used to throw the punch, against his jacket.
The two still standing teens quickly nodded, scrambling off while they still standing. The third teen, blood trickles starting to escape through his fingers and onto the ground, scrambled unsteadily to his feet, rushing around the other corner.
"Bit more violent than my approach," Isaac commented, as he and Natalie quickly approached Matthew.
"But it worked," was Matthew's response, turning around to look at the other two. A faint smear of blood was down the right side of his jacket's front, but not enough to permanently stain.
"Now," Natalie said. Once the coast was clear, she rolled her sleeve up fully and held her arm out, revealing the Howler in its entirety. The crystal glowing a bright white, briefly pulsing.
"What do we press?" Natalie asked.
"Try those little buttons," Matthew suggested, gesturing to the six buttons, three either side of the main crystal, donning the Howler.
"Best chance we have," Isaac added.
Natalie shrugged too, seeing little choice but to guess, and began pressing each of the buttons, starting with the buttons on the crystal's right side, but to no avail. Upon trying the left side, she pressed the middle button, and finally, something happened.
"Natalie, are Isaac and Matthew with you?" came MUTT's voice from the Howler.
"Yeah, they're here. Maybe you should have told us how the hell to use these things!" Natalie snapped, a venom edge to her tone.
"My apologies. When the matter is dealt with, Savage and I will answer any questions you have about the Howlers," was MUTT's response, the robotic nature of his voice not creating any emotions.
"What's the matter?" Isaac asked.
"A Demon has passed into this Realm, you must deal with this quickly," MUTT said, adding, "Tanya and Kyle have already been contacted and sent to the location."
"Alright, more Wolkeins. Shouldn't be a problem," Matthew reasoned, rolling one of his sleeves up slowly, before moving to the other.
"This is not just another pod of Wolkeins. This is one of Horror's Demons, resurrected from the Demon's War. I am still trying to identify the Demon from Savage's records."
Isaac, Matthew, and Natalie all looked between themselves silently before Isaac said, "Well, no point trying to put it off. MUTT, send us to the location."
"At once," MUTT replied, before the communications were cut off.
Dropping her arm to her side momentarily, Natalie looked to Isaac when he said, "Ready?"
"Ready," Natalie responded, while Matthew's response consisted of a mere nod.
The three stood together, crossing their Howler-donned wrist over their chests.
"United, we Howl!" The three said, in near unison, pressing the central crystal.
Mid-transformation, while being covered in their respective lights, columns of red, blue and white light came down from the sky, engulfing them completely. Mere seconds later, the three of them had vanished; leaving the area barren from human life.
Kyle shouted out as he was thrown across the concrete, tumbling across the street and eventually coming to a stop against the side of a building.
He groaned lowly after coming to rest, pushing himself to his elbows just in time to see Tanya getting thrown through the large window of the convenient store, sending shattered glass flying everywhere. Clattering came from the now destroyed window, but Kyle couldn't make anything out in detail.
He pushed himself to his feet, the black-and-silver armor suit he wore a bit scuffed from the previous fighting, and turned to face the strange, scaled creature they'd been set to.
And he suddenly was face to face with the creature. Well, toe to toe. His head wasn't the same level as the creatures - it was at least two heads taller than he was.
A clawed fist wrapped around his silver-armored neck, applying steadily growing force around his throat. He gagged loudly, his hands flying around the hand around his neck, trying to pry himself free. Unfortunately, it didn't get him anywhere. It only caused a low hiss to steadily rise in the creature's throat, and more pressure applied to his throat.
Across the other side of the street, three beams of light came shooting down from the sky, catching the attention of Ret-Kli and Kyle.
"Finally…" Kyle wheezed, but gagged again as more pressure was applied around his throat.
In place of the three beams of light, the other three armored Warriors were, standing in the classic 'superhero landing' pose, their visors facing the ground before, one by one, they raised their heads to face the strange creature.
That was, until Matthew and Isaac were thrown back when Kyle was thrown at them; the three male Warriors tumbling back, a mess of red, blue and black armor.
"What took you guys so long?" Kyle remarked, a sarcastic edge to his voice as he untangled himself from the other two. Isaac and Matthew both glared at Kyle through their visors, making small mutters under their breaths as they pushed the Black Warrior off of them.
"Where's Tanya?" Natalie asked, looking aside as the three got to their feet, all standing together as the scaled Demon drew closer.
"You Warriors…may have…defeated…me once…but…I will have…this victory…" Ret-Kli said in his signature slow, raspy voice.
"He's talking about those guys Savage mentioned," Kyle commented.
"No shit, Sherlock," Isaac muttered, before adding, "You know where Tanya is; go and get her, we'll hold this guy off."
Under his visor, Kyle rolled his eyes before sidestepping as the other three took up the space he occupied, spreading themselves out more.
Ret-Kli's slit pupils were focused solely on the new three, before reaching behind him; moving his hand out again, revealing the large stone Batibat gave him earlier. He threw it to the ground, the stone shattered into a million pieces.
From a handful of these pieces, they grew, the rock texture stretching and warping, covering small areas of the growing pieces. Taking humanoid force, the rock texture moved to only cover the face of the creature; black armor forming over the upper chest and shoulders, along with the forearms and shins.
"So that's where they come from," Natalie muttered, raising her closed fists in defense.
The odd growl and grunt came from the Wolkeins, some wielding short daggers, others just with their fists as they moved around Ret-Kli constantly. They never stopped for a moment.
"Attack!" Ret-Kli roared, pointing a clawed finger at the Warriors. At the command, the Wolkeins charged, rushing towards the three Warriors.
"Let's do this," Isaac said, before leading the three of them running towards the Wolkeins, meeting them in the middle of the street in a class of blades and fists.
Kneeing one Wolkein in the gut, Matthew quickly ducked to dodge one flying dagger, rolling over the bent over Wolkein, delivering an upper cut to the creature, and sending it on its back. He checked over his shoulder, and side stepped to avoid a strike from one of the many circling Wolkeins.
Natalie did a shoulder roll to create some space between herself and the Wolkeins, landing on her feet and turning to face the larger group of Wolkeins. She blocked one attack with her forearm, the blade sliding back until it locked with the grooves. Unfortunately, this distraction caused her to miss a punch to her gut.
She grunted and fell to one knee. She lifted her gaze up, seeing one Wolkein raise its dagger to strike a blow. Natalie quickly rolled back, causing the Wolkeins' dagger in her forearm groove to stumble forward, right into the blade of the other Wolkein.
As green ooze came from this Wolkein, Isaac was facing off another three. He had his weapon drawn, a red-and-silver bladed sword, and was slicing through any Wolkein that dare lower their defenses. Green ooze pulsed out of open wounds, bodies falling to the ground.
He ducked to avoid one dagger, sending a backwards kick at a charging Wolkein. This sent it flying back, stumbling into another Wolkein.
"Where's Tanya?" Isaac muttered under his breath, grabbing the handle of his sword with both hands, looking around slowly.
"Tanya!" Kyle shouted, pushing open the door to the convenient store; preferring not to go through the shattered window left behind by Tanya's body.
He looked around the ruined shop; shelves were toppled over, produce was tossed all over the store, and most of it was scattered across the floor. Crushed cookies, fresh fruit reduced to mere thick stains on the floor.
It looked like a pigsty. For very lucky pigs, that is.
"Tanya?" He asked, his robotic tinted voice low, looking around slowly.
He heard movement behind him, and Kyle turned around sharply; only to have his shoulders sag slightly at the reveal that it was only the store manager.
"You didn't happen to…see a yellow one of me fly through here?" Kyle asked, gesturing behind him with his thumbs, to the ruined store that sat behind him.
The owner, a middle aged man with thinning grey hair and a pair of glasses, shook his head rapidly; his entire body shaking slightly. Most likely from the traumatic event of his ruined store.
"Honestly, never thought I'd ever ask someone that," Kyle muttered under his breath, shaking his head as he walked a few steps through the store.
The sound of metal clattering against the floor caught his attention; he looked to the ground to his side, seeing a mountain of dented cans and ruined packaging covering someone. And when they shifted, it revealed a bit of a yellow suit.
"Tanya!" Kyle exclaimed, rushing over and trying to remove as much of the products as possible from the body.
When he got a few cans and cookies removed, he managed to see some of Tanya's head; and when he did, he tried to stifle a chuckle.
Tanya was lying in a pile of food, crumbs and spreads littered across her armor. And to top it all off, peanut butter was splattered across her visor; bits of glass mixed in with the spread, from the shattered jar.
"You know, I didn't think you liked peanut butter," Kyle commented, trying to remove some of the spread from the Yellow Warrior's visor.
Tanya raised her own hand, and grabbed a glob of the peanut butter; swiping it from her visor.
"I fucking hate peanut butter," Tanya growled, using both her hands to wipe the peanut butter from her visor as best she could.
"Come on, the others are dealing with that Demon," Kyle said, grabbing Tanya's forearm, Tanya's hand gripping his, and he pulled Tanya to her feet. A sudden, pained shot of pain caught their attention; and in a tone that they recognized.
"Isaac," Kyle said, rushing out through the door; Tanya rushing after him, the two a streak of black and yellow as they rushed out of the store.
When they came into sight of what caused the shout, they both froze. Matthew and Natalie had been thrown across either side of the street, not a sign of any Wolkeins remaining.
But Isaac was pinned down, by a large clawed foot, underneath the scaled Demon; pressing down on the Warrior's torso, straining the rib bones. Despite his efforts, Isaac couldn't remove the clawed foot from his torso, but that was the least of his worries.
A low hiss came from above him, and Isaac raised his head slowly, only to be met with a wave of unbearable heat and searing pain. He started shouting and yelling in pain as the fire from the Demon's fang-filled mouth engulfed him. Only his lower body was visible outside the fire.
"ISAAC!"
The four other teens all rushed towards the scaled Demon and their fellow Warrior, closing in on the Demon.
Reaching the Demon first, Kyle and Tanya both kicked the Demon in the back. The fire suddenly stopped and Ret-Kli stumbled over Isaac, the fire still sticking to his armor, black soot covering most of his helmet and upper torso.
Hissing in anger, Ret-Kli turned to face the now four standing Rangers, standing before their fallen comrade, fists raised, fingers clenched together.
He attempted to stepped forward, but before he could get much closer, a black-and-green portal opened up, absorbing Ret-Kli into it, the Demon's roar of anger fading into nothing.
Once they were sure the Demon was gone, though it was strange, they all turned their attention to Isaac. Natalie and Kyle lowered to their knees, trying to pick Isaac's upper body up slowly into a sitting position.
"Is he breathing?" Tanya asked frantically, moving around to check Isaac from the front.
"We need to get him checked out," Natalie said, trying to keep Isaac's helmet and head level, the charred soot passing from his helmet to him.
"We're bringing you five back," Savage's voice suddenly came over the intercoms. The five of them were enclosed in light, and in an instant, they vanished.
The light surrounding the five of them hadn't fully dispersed when they started moving forward. MUTT and Savage approached the group.
"Give him to me," Savage ordered, his tone gruff as he grabbed Isaac from Kyle and Natalie, supporting the Red Warrior's body by throwing his arm over his shoulders, and helping him to the unfolding table in the middle of the room.
"MUTT, initiate the scan," Savage said firmly, carefully lying Isaac's charred, armored form on the table, an odd groan of pain escaping the unconscious human.
"Yes sir," MUTT responded, corralling the others Warriors away as he moved back to a console at the table. He tapped a few keys and a circular scanner lowered from the ceiling, encircling the table Isaac was resting on.
"What's happening?" Kyle asked, having taken his helmet off his head the second Isaac's body had been removed from his hands, and currently carrying it under his arm.
"Initiating scan to assess damage," MUTT answered, tapping another key moments later.
A light blue light lowered from the scanner, starting at Isaac's still-armored head and slowly moving over his body. The light passing over his slowly rising and falling chest, his fingers twitching slightly as pain racked through his body at random points.
"Third degree burns to 37% of the body," MUTT said once the scan was completed, tapping a few more keys. He moved over to the other side of the room, walking past the other Warriors and tapped a small screen on the wall.
A faint hiss escaped as a panel opened up, extending out into the room. Cold steam escaped the panel, and a faint blue glow escaped the small lights.
From the cryogenic fridge, MUTT grabbed a small vile from the middle shelf and pushed the panel closed again, walking off as it sealed shut again.
"Kyle, syringe," MUTT said, gesturing with the free hand to the Black Warrior, then gesturing to the opposite side of the room.
"Yeah... Syringe," Kyle muttered under his breath, quickly setting his helmet down on the side and rushed over to the area MUTT gestured to. Reaching the area, he began filtering through the many shelves behind the counter, desperately looking for the surgical equipment.
Tossing some appliances aside, Kyle ended up crouching down and throwing out several shelves before finally finding the syringe.
He got up and quickly rushed over to the robot and wolf-man as the other humans quickly drew nearer when they had the chance.
"Syringe," Kyle said, breathing a little heavier from rushing around, and handed the syringe to MUTT.
The robot took the syringe, and after removing the shaft-cover, pulled the handle back, drawing air into the syringe. Stabbing into the vial and injecting the air, he flipped the two of them over and drew the liquid from the vial slowly.
MUTT turned to face Isaac, as Savage slowly unclasped the helmet and removed it from Isaac's face. Revealing the true damage done to the skin beneath.
A leathery, brown color extended over half of Isaac's face; moving over his chin and his neck, moving further down his non-visible body. The brown, inflamed skin appeared severely irritated, fusing with the 'normal' looking skin. Isaac's right eye was forced shut, covered with the leathery burns covering that side of his face.
"Jesus Christ…" Tanya muttered, covering her mouth and quickly turning away, not wanting to see the result of Ret-Kli's flames.
The others all averted their gaze, trying to keep their lunch down. It being the first time they had seen such injuries up close, and not images from the Internet.
"Inject it MUTT," Savage ordered, quickly setting the soot-laden helmet aside and returning to stand over Isaac's head. He carefully placed his large, furry hands on either side of Isaac's head, turning to the left side slowly; letting the burnt side facing up.
MUTT moved to Isaac's other side, tapping the needle a few times to remove any air bubbles within the liquid.
"Fucking hate needles," Matthew said, turning around and settled on just pacing back and forth as the impromptu procedure went on.
Placing one of his 'hands' on the Isaac's shoulder, MUTT carefully slide the needle into an area of Isaac's skin, among the burnt area, and injected the medication into the bloodstream.
At the medication entering his system, Isaac's body suddenly seized up, inhaling harshly. Savage's grip on his body tightened as Isaac tried shifting, and MUTT increased his hold on Isaac's shoulder.
"He's going into shock," MUTT said, quickly removing the needle and placing it to one side, as Savage turned Isaac's head back slowly so it was facing upward again.
"I just need time," Savage growled lowly, rolling the sleeves up on his trench coat and cracked his knuckles briefly before placing his first and middle finger on both hands on either of Isaac's temples. At this point, Savage inhaled and exhaled deeply, closing his eyes slowly.
"What's he doing?" Natalie asked quietly, the entire room suddenly growing much quieter when Savage's eyes closed.
MUTT simply raised a hand up, not responding for the moment.
Savage inhaled deeply, and released the breath slowly a few seconds later, trying to remove the tension in his muscles, relaxing his face and letting his whole body loosen up.
That was when the teens noticed something.
Across Savage's left arm, faint red glow started to become apparent, glowing underneath the fur, but becoming brighter and more well-defined as each second passed.
Curves and markings were among the red designs, glowing up his arm, to the point that his sleeve was rolled to, and then they noticed it continued up the left side of his neck.
Some parts resembled stripes, mostly along his arm, while others looked similar to old body paints the further it went up his neck. Despite the slight differences in the designs, they were all glowing the same red color.
As the glowing continued, Isaac's movement and twitching slowly started to die down, and his breathing began to level out.
Now that the breathing and movement had been calmed, Savage slowly moved his middle finger up from the temple and placing them at another point just above the temple, and carefully pressed into the skin.
Isaac inhaled sharply again, but it was the only time it happened. His body remained relatively stationary and his breathing was, otherwise, steady.
Then, a faint glow of white started to appear at the points where Savage's fingers were pressed against Isaac's head.
The remaining teens watched in amazement, as the severe burns across Isaac's face started to deflate, and the color of the burns started to return to the normal skin color and texture. His undamaged eye twitched slightly, as the other eye started to resemble it among the swelling and burns.
Minutes passed, and somehow, Isaac's damaged skin seemed to be repaired, not a trace, on the surface anyway, that the burn marks had ever been on his face. His eyes were now fully visible, no swelling remaining.
Savage slowly removed his fingers from Isaac's temples once the skin had been returned to normal; the moment his fingers were removed, the red markings across his left arm and neck, started to fade rapidly. Within seconds, they had vanished entirely, disappearing beneath the rugged fur.
"It will take him a few minutes to recover," Savage said offhandedly, rolling his sleeves down again slowly, adjusting the sleeves to remove any creases. "You four, with me," he added, gesturing for the other humans to follow him.
The four looked at each other before following after Savage, leading them to the other side of the room. MUTT remaining to keep a close eye on Isaac, monitoring his condition.
Reaching one of the screens, Savage tapped a few commands into one of the keyboards, and began, "The Demon you encountered goes by the name 'Ret-Kli'."
"How the hell can you tell?" Matthew asked, crossing his armored arms over his chest.
"Every flame is unique in feel. A Demon's fire is no difference. His fire especially," Savage said, before finally turning around and flicking his hand against the screen.
The image on the screen jumped to the hologram on the center of the command room, showing a scale image of Ret-Kli, standing motionless.
"You still didn't explain how you could tell," Tanya commented.
A faint growl escaping him, Savage quickly suppressed it and, as calmly as he could, said, "When I was healing Isaac, I also felt the pain inflicted on him from Ret-Kli."
"If a mere human had been in Isaac's position at the time, they would have been reduced to a pile of ash. But because of the armor he wore, it protected him from death, but because of the heat, it managed to pass through the armor and still burnt him."
"You seem to know a lot about how this guy works," Matthew commented, raising an eyebrow slightly as he spoke.
A scowl crossed Savage's face, his gaze focused on Matthew. "My clan fought Demons throughout our lives, Ret-Kli included. Ret-Kli was among of the first Demons the Ancient Warriors faced when they were given the honor of their titles."
"You could learn something from the Ancient Warrior's time fighting Ret-Kli," Savage added, flicking the hologram back onto the screen and removing it again.
"What?" Natalie asked, joining Matthew in glaring back at Savage defiantly.
"You need to ignore the human instinct you have been programmed to follow. You humans; you scatter from danger, standing alone, leaving others to fend for themselves," Savage replied, before continuing.
"If my people did that, our Clan would have been wiped out, long before I was conceived. We unite against danger, fighting as one. That's how the Ancient Warriors trained; that is how my people train. And that is how you are going to need to train."
"We can't exactly 'train'," Kyle said, making air quotations when he said 'train', before folding his arms over his chest as he continued, "We're not like you, Savage. We have…school, jobs. And we can't exactly say, 'Oh, where were we? Just training to save the world from Demons, being taught everything by a giant wolf-man wearing a trench coat. Oh yeah, and we turn into super-powered, armored, multi-colored beings. What's for dinner?'"
"First off…" Savage started, but he was interrupted by the sound of a loud gasp.
They all turned to look back, seeing MUTT leaning over the table, trying to keep Isaac's upper body down.
"You must try to relax, Isaac," MUTT tried to order, placing either hand on Isaac's shoulder, and pressing down.
"What happened? Where are the others?" Isaac's voice asked frantically, trying to unclasp MUTT's hands from his charred shoulder.
Natalie and Matthew quickly rushed over, followed by Kyle, Tanya and Savage at a slightly slower pace.
"It's alright, Isaac," Natalie quickly said, gently pushing MUTT aside and placing a hand on Isaac's shoulder, turning his head with her free hand to face her.
"You're good, man," Matthew said, approaching on Isaac's other side and clasping a hand over Isaac's other shoulder.
"What happened?" Isaac asked frantically, reaching his hand up and grasping a handful of the fabric armor on Matthew's arm; tugging it, trying to pull himself up, while at the same time, dragging Matthew closer. "What happened? I…I-I remember…being pinned…t-t-then I-I-I…I blacked out…"
"What happened?" He asked again, his voice dropped down a pitch, yet he was starting to shake slightly.
"You suffered third-degree burns to 37% of your body," Savage said bluntly, looming over the rest of the team to look at Isaac.
"But you're fine now!" Kyle added quickly, as Tanya glared at Savage, mouthing 'what the hell?' at the wolf-man.
Isaac let the information sink in, slowly unclasping his hand from the grip on Matthew's arm, the hand visibly shaking slightly as he pulled it back to his face. He gently touched his face, running down his right cheek slowly, feeling the now normal skin.
"How?" Isaac asked softly, looking between the four humans, MUTT and Savage.
"Savage did some weird... voodoo spirit-thing to heal your burns. I'm still trying to figure it out myself," Natalie said, side glancing at the humanoid wolf.
Still a little shaky, and his breathing not yet leveling out, Isaac gently pushed Matthew a few steps back, carefully swinging his legs around the table, sitting himself up.
"W... What happened to that... that Demon?" Isaac asked softly, looking up slightly, before resting his head in his hands, rubbing his eyes slowly.
"Honestly, we don't have a clue. It just... vanished. Poof. Gone," Matthew said, gesturing with his hands the 'poofing' movement.
A confused look came over Isaac's face. "Why the hell would it do that?"
"How….dare you!" Ret-Kli snarled, smoke billowing from the corners of his mouth, his eyes narrowed to nearly vanishing in the angry gold pools.
Batibat and Fear stood next to each other, both facing the scaled Demon. Batibat had her arms folded over her chest, while Fear was settled on crossing his hands behind his back.
"I prefer to draw out the torment, something a simple minded creature like yourself may struggle to grasp," Batibat said, her fingers drumming over her arm, irritation emitting from her every fiber.
"I will return you to the Realm when the Warriors have made themselves known again. Now that you've removed the leader of the Warriors, they'll be much easier to take down."
Snorting lowly, causing pillars of smoke to escape his nostril slits, Ret-Kli glared hard at the two Warlords, baring his serrated teeth.
"I will deal with them myself," Ret-Kli snarled slowly, before turning around and walking off, approaching the still-open portal and walked through it without a second glance behind him.
"You really think that Ret-Kli's flames were able pierce that Red Warrior's armor?" Fear asked, once Ret-Kli had vanished through the portal. Surprisingly, neither of them had stopped the scaled Demon from leaving.
A faint smirk crossing her thin lips, Batibat replied, "There were not many beings would were able to recover from Ret-Kli's flames. And those that could, have died a long, long time ago…"
"Ret-Kli has returned," MUTT suddenly said, facing a monitor and tapping a few keys.
"Where?" Savage asked, approaching the robot, looking at the monitor for any answers. The others followed quietly, apart from Isaac, who followed a far bit slower.
"South of the City," MUTT answered, enlarging one of the images on the monitor, so that it fully covered the screen. True to his word, Ret-Kli was on screen, fire engulfed all around him. In the distance of what the screen showed, civilians were trying to get away from the Demon.
"You need to get out there and finish him off," Savage instructed, gesturing to four of the five Rangers. "Except you, Isaac."
"What? Look, I'm fine now. I... I'm good," Isaac said defensively, pushing aside Matthew to face Savage directly.
"You are not to be in combat against Ret-Kli; he believes you dead, and for now, we must make him think he's right. Besides, I have something I need you to do for me," Savage said, an edge to his tone when he spoke.
Isaac stared back at Savage - the two sharing an intense stare-off - but eventually Isaac backed off, turning his gaze aside.
"That's what I thought," Savage grunted, before turning to face the others. "Get going."
The teens glanced at the wolf-man, and each other, before Natalie said, "You just gave us a lecture about how we need to stay together to ensure victory, and now you're telling us that we need to split? I don't know about you, but I'm smelling bullshit."
Savage looked at Natalie, glaring intensely as he growled, "True, I did say that, but this is the only exception. I require him. If I am finished and you are still fighting, I will send him to you at once."
Natalie didn't seem too convinced, but Tanya responded, "Fine, but we'll be holding you to your word."
Isaac sighed, rubbing his hands through his hair slowly, before pulling his hands back and said, "I guess I'll be joining you guys later then."
"Don't worry about it, Isaac," Kyle said, walking over and grabbed his helmet, carrying it under his arm as he added, "I'm sure we'll get that Demon down before you turn up anyway."
"Screw you," Isaac muttered, electing a chuckle from Kyle as he put his helmet on again.
The others followed suite, and after Savage and Isaac had stepped back, MUTT tapped in a command and, with a flash of light, the four had vanished.
"So, go on. What's so important that you won't let me join the others?" Isaac asked, an angry tone to his voice as he turned to face Savage.
Savage turned to face Isaac, looking down slightly, because of the height difference. "If you'd like to come with me," Savage said, gesturing to follow him, as he turned to walk down one of the corridors connecting another room to the main command center.
Isaac looked at MUTT, who looked back blankly, gesturing for Isaac to walk after Savage. The red warrior rolled his shoulders slightly, following after the wolf-man into the dimly lit corridor.
"Warriors…" Ret-Kli hissed, turning around slowly, the flash of light caught the corner of his eye, a light he had seen before.
And just as he expected, the four remaining Warriors stood before him in a line; the Yellow first, then Blue, followed by Black and White.
"I see you are one down…" the scaled Demon hissed, smoke pouring out of the corner of his mouth, hands curling into tight fists; flashing his claws as he did so.
"Shut the hell up," Tanya snapped, curling her gloved hand into a fist. "Matthew, with you. Natalie, Kyle; make sure the civilians are out of the way."
The Black and White Warriors nodded, before quickly moving off; Matthew and Tanya spreading themselves across the space the others occupied.
"You think just two can beat me? A Beta and a Gamma…" Ret-Kli hissed lowly.
"I told you," Tanya said, a venom-edge to her voice, "Shut. The hell. Up."
With that final insult, Tanya rushed forward, running at the Demon as fast as she could, becoming a yellow blur and colliding with the Demon in mere milliseconds.
Ret-Kli staggered back, growling lowly under his breath as he cupped the part of his torso that received the punch as he stared at Tanya. The Yellow Warrior didn't let up, rushing up to Ret-Kli again, aiming a jump-kick at the Demon.
However, Ret-Kli grabbed the incoming foot as it was thrown, stopping Tanya mid-kick. He gripped her ankle tighter and flung her around. Sending her flying into one of the buildings opposite them.
As Tanya collided with the concrete, sending cracks throughout, Matthew quickly took her place, sending punches and kicks flying at the Demon; trying to avoid the claws.
Ret-Kli hissed loudly, grabbing one of the flying wrists in one hand; Matthew looked to his restricted wrist, trying to break it free. When that failed, he brought his other fist into a large swing. But this too was grabbed in an iron hold.
Grunting, Matthew faced the Demon, both of his hands now restricted. Seeing no other option, he stared down the Demon.
For a second, anyway.
Ret-Kli snarled in pain when the helmet collided with Ret-Kli's jaw, his head recoiling from the impact.
"That's for Isaac," Matthew spat, but his actions didn't seem to do him any good.
Judging from the look that dominated Ret-Kli's eye, Matthew felt a little uneasy.
Before anything could happen, however, Ret-Kli was sent stumbling forward, releasing Matthew from his hold, as he stumbled aside.
Rubbing his arms, which he was sure were bleeding form the claws digging into the suit, Matthew looked up to see Tanya standing defensively where Ret-Kli had been standing. Behind her, Natalie and Kyle were quickly running towards them. Civilians had been cleared of the area, so they had returned to the action.
The four Warriors, now united again, started circling around the Demon, cornering him on all sides. Ret-Kli's gaze when from Warrior to Warrior, never staying on one in particular for too long before it switched to the next.
"Now!" Tanya and Matthew shouted at the same time, the Blue and Yellow Warrior rushing forward - the Black and White Warriors - opposite their position, running towards Ret-Kli.
The Demon snarled, dodging and ducking the multiple attacks and, despite his large bulk, he managed to avoid most of the strikes. The few that landed on him, namely across his legs and torso, were absorbed by the tough scales.
"This guy-" Natalie grunted, ducking when Ret-Kli tried to swing a claw at her, before returning a punch to the scaled torso. "-has to have some weak spot."
"This isn't a movie," Tanya grunted, stepping back slightly when a strike connected with her helmet, disorientating her momentarily. Shaking her head quickly, she brought her fists up defensively and moved in again, throwing punches at Ret-Kli.
Suddenly, Ret-Kli struck out rapidly; striking each of the Warriors in turn, sending them all flying back. Kyle collided with a building wall, sending cracks through the concrete as he fell to the ground again.
Matthew and Natalie were sent rolling across the ground, eventually coming to a stop either side of the street.
Tanya, too, was sent rolling across the ground, but she eventually righted herself on her feet. The momentum continued carrying her back, until she came to a stop. Panting slightly, she quickly tried to get to her feet, holding her hands up defensively.
"Do you wish to die, Warrior?" Ret-Kli growled lowly, slowly drawing closer to the standing Yellow Warrior, more smoke starting to pour out more frequently than before.
He opened his mouth slowly, and Tanya saw the makings of a fireball forming in Ret-Kli's mouth. Yet she remained where she was, still in her defensive stance.
"Tanya!" shouted Kyle, quickly getting to his feet and rushing towards the Demon and Yellow Warrior. Matthew quickly got to his feet, while Natalie was finding it hard to get up quickly.
Then, a flash of light appeared in the middle of the area, causing Ret-Kli to growl in confusion, and a small smirk to form under Tanya's helmet.
"Miss me, fucker?" Isaac asked, standing in front Ret-Kli before turning the sword in his hand and striking forward, but slightly upward; aiming the strike right through the middle of Ret-Kli's fireball.
Screeches of pain escaped Ret-Kli as the sword pierced through the soft inner flesh, normally protected by the scales across the rest of his body. It also pierced through the spell cast around the fireball to keep it in shape.
The fire escaped, returning to the uncontrollable force of nature that fire was, backfiring down Ret-Kli's throat and into the belly of the beast. Black smoke billowed out of the corners of his mouth, as he staggered back slightly.
"Nice," Tanya commented, walking up to where Isaac stood; folding her arms over her chest upon reaching that point. They were soon joined by the other three Warriors, all looking at the scaled Ret-Kli, who had been reduced to his knees, the fire consuming his internals and burning them to a cinder.
"Savage finished with you just in time," Kyle commented, nudging Isaac in the ribs gently.
"Yep, and I think you guys will like what it is," Isaac said, smirking under the helmet slightly.
"That was an embarrassment," Fear commented aloud, stroking his chin slightly as he watched the remains of Ret-Kli burn in front of the Rangers.
"Only if you didn't intend for it to happen," Batibat commented, flicking a strand of her hair behind her ear, as she turned and walked off from the portal.
Fear looked aside as Batibat walked away, asking, "You intended for this to happen?"
"Ret-Kli was always going to lose in a fight - he's over confident in his abilities. But he did help provide some useful insight into these new Warriors," Batibat replied, approaching one side of the cavern, cracking her fingers and knuckles slowly.
"Now, he's going to provide a little more," She added, rubbing her hands together; black-and-green smoke sticking to her fingers.
Exhaling slowly, Batibat closed her eyes, her hands moving smoothly and slowly, passing over one of the other, summoning the smoke that attached to her fingers, drawing it to the point where both hands passed around.
Fear watched as the smoke started to form into a small, black-and-green ball - resembling a small gas ball - seeing her lips move silently, muttering a spell under her breath.
Slowly exhaling, Batibat breathed on the small gas ball, disturbing the green smoke trails from passing across the ball.
Batibat raised her gaze, looking to Fear, flicking her gaze across, gesturing for the other Demon Warlord to move. Fear moved slightly, leaving a straight, clear line between the viewing portal and where Batibat stood. With a flick of her wrist, the ball went floating through the air, vanishing through the portal.
"Uh, guys?" Natalie said, gesturing to the sky. The others turned their gazes up to the sky, and saw what Natalie had pointed out.
Though it was brief, there was a flash of black streaking across the sky, resembling a comet streaking through the air.
Except this 'comet' turned in a way that was completely unnatural for a comet, and was headed straight towards where the Warriors were standing.
They all flinched to move back, but it turned out that the 'comet' struck the ground a distance away from where they stood; it landed where the burnt remains of Ret-Kli rested.
The burnt scales were engulfed in black-and-green smoke, swirling around what remained of the body. Gathering speed, and quickly growing in mass.
"That can't be good," Matthew said, taking a small step back slowly, as the smoke grew higher and higher; surpassing the height of some of the tallest skyscrapers surrounding the area.
A great roar came from the smoke, shaking the glass of the surrounding buildings, shattering it in some cases, as the smoke finally dispersed. Revealing the creature inside.
Ret-Kli stood in place as the smoke disappeared, the difference being that he had now grown to a colossal size, surpassing the height of the buildings. His teeth alone looked about the size of buses.
"Oh…" Natalie started.
"Shit," Matthew added.
"Uh... what was that thing Savage wanted you for again?" Kyle asked, turning to look at Isaac directly.
Isaac quickly pressed one of the smaller buttons on his Howler, saying, "Savage, we need 'em. Fugly here got big."
"On the way," Savage said over the communications.
The second the intercoms went quiet, five distinctive howls rang out through the city, catching the teens' attention in an instant.
"You are fucking kidding me…" Matthew softly said in disbelief.
"Is that what I think it is?" Tanya asked.
In the distance, five large masses rushed through the forests surrounding Pax Valley, quickly making their way into the city. Kicking up large chunks of road as they ran, and catching their black tails on the corners of buildings as they made turns.
Finally, they came into sight of the Warriors.
Five large, metal Wolves came to a stop, large, metallic claws digging into the roads, looking so narrow due to the size of the Metal Wolves. One stood in the middle, the largest one, with two on either side of the central one; three were relatively the same size, while the fourth was significantly smaller than the others.
The central Wolf, with silver and black streaks across its red body, released metallic snarls, snapping its large fangs at the giant Demon.
The two to its right, with yellow and blue as their base color, with silver and black streaks crossing their backs and sides, snapped their jaws, their long, black, blade-like tails flicking behind them.
The two to its left, with the smaller white based Metal Wolf, and the medium-sized black based Metal Wolf, snarled; metallic teeth flashing, and catching the sun to reflect.
"Are those... Zords?" Matthew asked, looking to Isaac.
"Savage said he needed an Alpha power source to activate the Red Alpha Wolf; he could activate the others easier, but the Alpha needed a direct power source," Isaac replied, before rubbing his hands together.
"Shall we?" he asked, gesturing to the Zords.
"Ladies first!" Tanya quickly said, tapping the central crystal on her Howler; vanishing in a flash of yellow light. Natalie followed quickly, disappearing in a flash of white.
The males quickly followed suite, flashing in burst of their respective colors, and they found themselves standing in a black room, void of color, save for their uniforms.
"What is this place?" Natalie said, looking around the black area. She then looked in front of her, and found that she was facing Ret-Kli; the view was blurred at the edges, but she could clearly see the scaled Demon among the buildings.
"The Zords are mentally linked to their respective Warriors; imagine what you want them to do, and they'll do it. Just so long as it's physically possible," MUTT's voice said into their intercoms.
"That's not so useful," Matthew muttered, shaking his head as he tried it out, moving his head around slightly, seeing that the Wolf's head followed his owns movement. "I could get used to this," He said, flexing his fingers as tried to focus.
"So the Warriors have new weapons..." Ret-Kli said slowly, his mouth curling into a sadistic smirk. He slowly drew closer, stepping onto cars with every slow step forward he took.
"Let's see what these things can do," Isaac said, cracking his knuckles slowly as he closed his eyes, focusing on how to act.
The Red Wolf jumped forward, causing Isaac to falter slightly at the sudden leap, and again when the Wolf collided with Ret-Kli, latching the metal fangs onto the scales.
A loud, angered shout came from the scaled creature, and he tried to remove the mass of sharp metal latched onto its arm, the teeth eventually sliding off of the scales, sending the wolf flying through the air.
"Wow!" Isaac exclaimed, stumbling through the black void, trying to right himself as the Wolf landed.
Its massive claws dug into the concrete, creating large grooves in the road from where the momentum carried it; cars getting flipped and shredded, and buildings cracked when contact was made.
"That could have gone better," Isaac said, shaking his head to clear any dizziness from the fall.
The others quickly rushed forward; Natalie guiding her small, nimble White Wolf Zord onto the building's roof, sending small crumbs off of the roofs, hoping to get a height advantage over Ret-Kli while he was distracted by the others.
Matthew and Tanya maneuvered their Blue and Yellow Zords around on the ground, buildings getting knocked into from the wide shoulders of the Zords.
Using one of the lower buildings as leverage, Kyle willed his Black Zord to jump off, leaping at the giant, scaled Demon, but Ret-Kli saw this coming. Swiping across, the clawed fingers collided with the side of Kyle's Zords, sending it flying aside, rolling across a small clearing before coming to a stop, when it collided with the side of a skyscraper.
"Ow…" Kyle said, righting both himself and the Black Zord to its feet, shaking itself of any damage done to it.
"I don't think this is working," Natalie said, her Zord perched up on the skyscraper, seeing the battle take place in front of her.
"Agreed," Isaac said, working his way around the battle, to regroup with the others. Matthew's Zord quickly joined, the Zord flashing its metal fangs at the Demon.
Kyle and Natalie soon joined the group, Natalie's Zord using the building she had propped it up on as a way to slowly decent; claws grinding through the building, only releasing when she had reached the ground.
"Come on guys, we can put them together," Isaac said, his Zord moving in front of the others, taking the lead. "Press into the crystals and turn to the right," Heinstructed, holding the Howler-wrist up and pressing into the crystal and turning to the right quickly.
In their own Zords, all of the other Warriors did the same, turning the crystal to the right. In turn, all of the Zord's eyes, previously their respective Warrior's color, started to glow a bright white, Isaac's Zord jumping up, followed by the others in rapid succession.
-Megazord Sequence-
The Red Wolf Zord jumped into the air, its back legs straightening out, while the front legs folded back into the shoulders. Its eyes flashed red briefly, before it straightened up, looking forward.
The Yellow and Black Wolf Zords both jumped up next, one on their side of the Red Wolf Zord, their heads folding back; ears folding against their skulls. Their back legs folded in on themselves, while the front legs rested against the sides of the head.
The back legs of the Red Wolf Zord connected with the base of the Black and Yellow Zords, creating a body complete with legs.
The Blue Wolf Zord jumped up next, splitting across the middle, leaving the front end and the back end, with segments coming out from either half, at the point where they disconnected.
One half moving to either side, the main segments connected to the sides of the Red Wolf Zord's shoulders, creating arms for the creation.
Finally, the smaller White Wolf Zord came into view, splitting into three segments: the head, and both sets of legs. The legs folded in, creating fists for the creation. These connected with the ends of the arms, the fingers flexing, testing the connection between the arms and the hands.
Leaving the remaining head, which moved above the top of the Zord combination, a panel slowly slid down, revealing a black-and-silver face, the mouth and nose molds covered with a black mask. When it connected to the top of the Red Wolf Zord, the eyes of the face flashed into life, settling into a dark yellow color.
With the Red Wolf Zord's head as the chest cover, the completed creation landed on the ground, fully formed.
-Megazord Sequence-
Standing before Ret-Kli, the combination of the five Wolf Zords stood strong, its white, silver and black fists clenched into tight fists, as its yellow eyes were focused on the Demon before it.
Inside the head of the Megazord, stood the five teens; Isaac at the center, with Matthew to his left and Tanya to his right. Kyle and Natalie stood behind them, in the gaps between the front three.
"Oh, this is fucking cool!" Matthew said, looking around to see the other four standing in the black void.
"This is pretty sweet," Kyle agreed, rolling his shoulders slightly, one before the other.
"Let's finish this guy off once and for all," Isaac said, glaring intently at the Demon, through both his visor and the visor of the Wolf Megazord.
"I will finish you off personally, Red Warrior…" Ret-Kli snarled, before he rushed forward, creating small quakes throughout the city with every step he took, approaching the Megazord.
"Let's meet him full on," Tanya said, and together, the five of them willed the Megazord forward; walking, creating more quakes to go with Ret-Kli's.
The two behemoths clashed in the middle of the city, their punches slow due to their size, meaning that they struggled to avoid incoming punches.
Spares flew when Ret-Kli's fists collided with the Megazord's front, sending the Warriors inside stumbling as their Megazord was sent a few paces back.
"You know, guys, instead of just punching him - which we proved already doesn't work," Kyle began, looking aside at the others. "Why don't we just did what we know works? Get a sword, and spear that son of a bitch!"
"Good idea, Kyle," Isaac said, his tone muffled slightly, embarrassment evident in his voice. Why the hell hadn't he thought of that before?
"Savage? We get a sword with thing?" Tanya asked, hoping the intercoms still worked in the complete Megazord.
"You do, summon the Wolf Tail Blade," Savage said.
"'Wolf Tail Blade'? Think he's got that name trademarked?" Kyle asked, raising his eyebrow under the helmet, smirking.
"And, we're back to normal," Matthew remarked, to which Kyle just shrugged.
From the back of the Megazord, the five wolf tails that had been slotted into place when the Megazord had been completed, shot out from the slots, firing into the air.
Four of the tails formed the curved blade of the sword, the bottom one acting as the handle for the sword. Meanwhile, the fifth one acted as a hand guard; the blade lowered slowly, until the Megazord grabbed onto the handle.
In the helmet of the Megazord, five, miniature versions of the Wolf Tail Blade lowered in front of the Warriors, all looking at each other, before, one by one, they grabbed onto the sword and tested them out.
"Let's finish this guy," Isaac said, grabbing the sword with both hands. The others followed suite, and on the exterior, the Megazord did the same, the blade facing upward, both hands firmly grasping the handle of the sword.
Ret-Kli charged forward, seeing the Megazord go still, making this as an opportunity to strike the Warriors.
"Wait," Isaac said slowly, making sure no-one acted out of reflex. The others all looked at Isaac slowly, unsure of his choice, but trusting him for now.
Ret-Kli moved closer, running one of his fists straight through the middle floors of a building, sparking explosions and concrete to rain down on those below.
"Not yet..."
"Isaac, he's nearly on top of us!" Tanya exclaimed.
"Trust me!" Isaac exclaimed.
Ret-Kli just passed the second to last intersection to where the Megazord stood. At his size, that was about four steps away from reaching the Warriors.
"Isaac..."
Three steps...
"Isaac!"
Two steps...
"ISAAC!"
"Now!"
Together, the Warriors turned the blade to face forward, just at the point where Ret-Kli was about to bear down on them. With a grunt, they thrusted the sword forward, driving the blade of the sword through the teeth-filled mouth.
Ret-Kli gargled, gagging as the blade pierced the internals, slicing through the organs and soft flesh until the blade pressed against the underside of the scales on the back of his neck.
"And DOWN!"
Releasing one hand from the handle, and placing them on the back of the blade portion that wasn't slicing through the body, the Warriors, with as much force as they could muster, pressed their blades downward.
In the full scale fight, the blade, thanks to finding a weak spot in the scales, managed to crack through the scales. Little by little, the blade sliced through the front of the Demon, black and green smoke escaping the wound, like cutting into a plastic bottle full of water.
By the time the blade was cutting through the lower torso, the smoke was billowing out at a rapid pace, and that was when they felt the resistance just... vanish. Ret-Kli was reduced to nothing more than smoke, wisps of smoke escaping from the movement of the blade, now that the resistance suddenly vanished.
"What the.. where the hell did he go?" Matthew asked, looking around, turning the Megazord's head around slowly, seeing if this was some kind of trick.
"So.. are we counting that as a win?" Kyle asked, after concluding that Ret-Kli had vanished.
"I'm counting it," Natalie said, resting the back of the sword's blade against her shoulder.
"Just... where the hell did he go?"
"Didn't I tell you that he was overconfident?" Batibat asked, arms crossed over her chest, as she walked away from the viewing portal once again, looking around slowly.
"I assume you've learnt what you wanted to learn?" Fear asked, promptly ignoring the remark from the she-Demon, turning away to look at her.
"Oh, I have. All I wanted," Batibat confirmed, before she looked up at one particular spot, and stood still. This caused Fear to turn his gaze up as well, seeing what Batibat had her eyes locked on.
A small black orb came floating down through the air, and continued to descend. Batibat unfolded one of her arms, and held out one of her hands, palm facing upward.
Gently taking the orb into her hand, she ran her other hand's fingers over the orb, looking it over slowly.
"Ret-Kli...?" Fear asked, gesturing to the small black orb.
"What's left of him, anyway," Batibat muttered, walking away slowly, approaching the podium where the black gem sat. She held the orb over the gem, before slowly letting go. Surprisingly, the orb remained in place.
Slowly, the orb started to decrease in size, and filtered down into the gem below, where the energy of the orb entered the gem. A slight, bright white glow emitted from the gem, through the metal cage that surrounded it.
"Hmm.. interesting.." Fear muttered under his breath, before walking off once the entire orb had vanished entirely.
Batibat remained for a few seconds longer, watching the gem intently, desperately even, for any sort of reaction of the energy orb.
But nothing came. The gem just sat there, motionless.
Batibat sighed slightly, before she approached the wall, looking over the many choices she had. However, with her back to the gem, a faint red glow emitted from the entirely black gem. Like a red pupil, looking through a black eye.