Episode 4 – Spirit Hunting
All had been going well for the five teens. They had all had the day off, no homework to worry about, and no work to be surprised at.
Well, it had been.
Until they got a call out from Savage about a Demon sudden appearance. Despite their protests, Savage ordered them to get ready for teleportation to the location specified.
Which is where we would find the five teens now; fully morphed, their specific weapons drawn and fending off hoards of the Wolkeins. Green blood was been splattered across the street, some scattered across windows of the surrounding businesses.
Isaac stabbed through a Wolkeins' torso, where a heart would be on a human, before ducking when another Wolkein tried to stab him in the back. Withdrawing the sword from one torso, it was swiftly slicing across another, spewing green blood forth.
Matthew ducked quickly, falling onto his back to avoid the strikes of fists from Wolkeins in front of him. The back of his head hitting the concrete, he groaned briefly before a shadow cast over him.
"Shit!" he exclaimed, quickly rolling to one side, just as the armored foot stamped down. Concrete crumbled under its foot, right where Matthew's head had been resting moments ago.
Rolling onto his foot and knee, Matthew looked up at the number of Wolkeins surrounding him, circling around the kneeling Blue Warrior slowly.
"Alright, you wanna play like that?" Matthew muttered, flexing his fingers around his spear, as he pushed himself to his feet. His other hand wrapped around the spear, and he prepared to shift into the fighting stance. He was stopped, however, where several bolts of yellow energy shot around Matthew, striking through the heads of the foot soldiers.
"What the...?!" Matthew exclaimed, looking around as, one by one, the Wolkeins fell, the arrows that shot through their heads vanishing from sight as they collapsed.
He looked sharply to his left, where he saw Tanya, standing on a decorative piece of concrete besides one of the buildings, where several decorative bushes were planted. Her hand was drawn back, firing another bolt from her bow - right at Matthew.
He side stepped quickly, avoiding the bolt which struck a Wolkein straight through the head just as it was about to attack Matthew behind his back. As it fell to the ground, a cry of pain escaping the creatures' non-existent mouth, Matthew glared at Tanya under his visor.
"Bit of warning next time!" Matthew shouted.
"You didn't need it that time," Tanya replied, quickly jumping off from her perch point, turning around, swiftly firing another arrow off, and striking a Wolkein through the chest. Straight through and through, as it slumped to the ground.
Kyle kept his fists close to his body, the forearm braced knuckle dusters latching onto his arms, as he looked around at the Wolkeins surrounding him. He threw punches at any Wolkein that dare draw close to him. The punches landed hard, possibly deforming their faces further, if they did not collapse, a larger dent forming in their faces.
Grabbing one of the Wolkeins' face as it came close, and drove his knee upward, dragging the head down quickly. Driving the knee into the lower jaw of the creature, the sound of a sickening crack echoing through its body as Kyle let go.
"That's nasty!" Kyle said grimly, before looking to the side and sharply ducked, a black dagger barely dodging his smooth black helmet.
Natalie ducked and rolled out of the way, trying to put distance between herself and the Wolkeins. She turned on the spot upon landing on her feet again, spinning the daggers in her hands, grabbing the handles once the blade was facing down.
She ducked as one tried striking at her head, driving her own dagger into its side, twisting the dagger, as the other dagger struck the neck of the Wolkein. As this Wolkein screeched, Natalie quickly withdrew both daggers, throwing one at another Wolkeins' head, sending it staggering forward a few steps before falling over.
Running past the fallen Wolkein, grabbing her dagger back as she ran past, and jumped kicked another one. With the strength enhanced by the power of her gem, the Wolkein was sent flying back, throwing through a glass panel of one of the buildings.
"Shit," Natalie muttered under her breath as the glass shattered, and the screams could be heard.
The screams caught the attention of the other Rangers and Wolkeins, the latter reacting more to the sounds of the humans.
The Warriors noticed this too late, and were unable to stop the hoard running towards the shattered panel. "Guys! After them!" Isaac ordered, as he ran towards the shattered panel.
The others quickly followed, their specialist weapons in hand, as they ran towards and through the gap in the side of the building. The five filtered into the building, looking around.
Turns out, they had broken through the screen panels of a bank. This being the ground floor, it was mostly empty space, save for seats for the customers. The main staff area was sealed off through protective glass screens. This being Pax Valley, there were a few decorative designs littered around the place. A few metal-molded wolf heads filled the top corners of the room, decorative designs painted onto the walls and roof.
It would be have been a nice design, if it weren't for the civilians scattering for escape as the Wolkeins attacked. The staff working the counter behind the protective glass, despite their protection, flinched as some Wolkeins tried to attack them, seemingly confused as to what the protective shield was protective these particular humans.
"Natalie, Kyle, get the civilians and staff out if you can. Matthew and Tanya, let's take the Wolkeins out," Isaac ordered, quickly sweeping his eyes across the area and assessing the situation.
The Blue and Yellow Rangers nodded, and quickly ran off, Matthew breaking off to kick down the staff-only door, and Tanya moved to areas she could see civilians.
Kyle and Natalie quickly followed after Isaac, the three of them running at the Wolkeins. Though they tried to be quiet, they were sure that at least some of the civilians were injured from the Wolkeins. Red blood was splattered across the perfectly smooth floor, but not enough that looked like a dangerous amount.
Grabbing one Wolkein by the shoulder, Isaac used his strength to fling the foot solider across the room; flying across the large room, colliding with the smooth wall of the bank floor. A dent was left in the wall once the Wolkein came to rest on the floor, unmoving.
The Wolkeins returned their attention to the Warriors, and attacked; splitting off to take on all three, and due to the masses, there was more than enough to go around for each Warrior.
As the other three fended off the Wolkeins, bodies starting to fall to the ground, Natalie and Kyle filtered through the behind the counter, looking for the staff that were stationed behind the counters.
Finally coming across a couple of bankers, ducked behind the counter and quivering in their shoes, looked up to the source of the door slamming open.
"Come with us. We're gonna get you out of here," Natalie said, quickly moving to one of the employees and guided them to their feet, moving them towards the exit; Kyle briefly looking through the glass screen, seeing the fight between the rest of the group and Wolkeins on the other side.
"Kyle!" Shouted Natalie, catching the Black Delta's attention away from the fight on the other side. He quickly rushed to get the other staff member, guiding her to her feet and helping her towards the exit.
They were guided from the building, but they were jumped by a couple of Wolkeins, the staff shouting in panic.
"I got this," Kyle said quickly, speaking before Natalie had a chance to respond. He handed the other staff member, and he quickly activated the knuckle dusters. He quickly started throwing punches at the creatures, sending them staggering back as the punches kept flying.
Natalie, with a look of disbelief dancing across her hidden features, quickly shook her head and settled on just guiding the staff out of the building and to safety.
Punching one of the Wolkeins with such force that it was sent flying through another window, Kyle turned his attention to the other one. And that was when he noticed the Demon they had been alerted about.
Thick chains wrapped around its forearms and across his waist, along with ripped cloth around the chains from what must have been clothing at one stage in its life.
Large, curled horns protruded from the sides of its head, one of the tips broken off, judging from the weathering to the horn, it didn't happen recently.
"Wow, ugly," Kyle commented, throwing the other Wolkein across the bank floor, shattering a large picture that sat on the wall.
"But I'm sure there are much worse where you're from," Kyle commented, holding his fists out defensively.
The Demon looked at Kyle, an expression of what could pass for amusement in human terms.
"I will make this quick, I have my orders…" Said the Demon, flicking his wrists slightly; chains dropped from the ones circled around his wrists, grabbing a hold once a large portion had been unraveled.
"Took the words right out of my mouth," Kyle responded, clenching his fists quickly before running forward.
Cracking the chain as if it were a whip, the horned Demon swung the chain at the charging Black Warrior. Kyle quickly ducked to avoid the chain, but failed to notice the second chain whipping around him.
He shouted out as the chain wrapped around one of his forearms, and was flung across the room like he was a ragdoll. He slammed into one of the nearby walls, denting the wall and sending small chunks flying off from the rest.
He landed on the ground once again, but that lasted shortly; the chain tightening around his forearm once again, and flinging him to the opposite side of the floor. The chain came loose, sending Kyle flying further than the chains would have allowed.
Rolling across the floor, Kyle finally came to a rest at the site where Isaac, Matthew and Tanya were slaying the Wolkeins.
"Kyle!" Tanya exclaimed, kicking one Wolkein back and using an energy bolt to stab another through the head, and looked over to the resting body of the Black Warrior.
"I'm good," Kyle replied, waving a hand dismissively as he pushed himself to his feet quickly, trying to move. He yelped when a thick chain wrapped around his neck, pulling tight.
Isaac and Matthew turned to look at Kyle at the teen's shout, and quickly finished off the remaining Wolkeins and quickly ran to the choking Warrior.
The horned Demon, one arm by its side while the other was extended forward for flicking the chain at the Black Warrior, pulled the chain tighter, the Black Delta Warrior trying to move back to accommodate for the tightness and try and loosen it.
"I expected more... you disappoint me," the Demon said softly, before a faint green glow came from his otherwise grey eyes. Loosening his hold on the chain ever so slightly, he gripped a portion further down and made a strong flicking motion.
The green energy flowed along the chain, in sync with the flick, and struck the chain around Kyle's throat. Beneath his visor, Kyle's eyes widened as green energy filled them, covering his body in a flash of green. He shouted out, his entire body shaking as the energy passed over him.
The horned Demon maintained the source of energy passing over the Black Warrior; right until the Yellow Warrior fired a number of bolts against his side. He snarled, his grip on the chain loosening entirely; unraveling from his arm, leaving it bare of metal.
He turned his attention to the other four Warriors, all facing the Demon.
Now that the chain had loosened around his throat, the green energy evaporated from Kyle's armor. His body went limp, dropping to his knees before he fell backwards, collapsing onto his back.
"You're going to pay for that," Tanya said, as if a growl was on the edge of her tone, as she drew her other hand back, a yellow bolt of energy forming in the space that was formed.
Isaac rushed at the Demon, Natalie and Matthew following him on either side as they attacked the Demon. Now only armed with one chain, the Demon fought back; flicking his single chain at the approaching Warriors. The three dodged and ducked to avoid the end of the chain, making movement towards the horned Demon. The closer and closer their got to the Demon, the more frantic their movements in avoidance.
They finally were within reach of the Demon, and Isaac moved to the left side, grabbing the arm of the Demon as it came in for a punch and restricting his movement.
The Demon snarled and tried to lash out at the Red Warrior, but he found his other arm was restricted as well. Matthew had grabbed the arm from behind, pulling it back to an almost breaking point.
His arms outstretched, forced apart by the two male Warriors, the horned Demon snarled and roared, trying to wrench himself free from the Warrior's grip. Drawing his attention away from the other Warriors.
Natalie quickly ran up and jump, driving her knee into the underside of the Demon's jaw, driving his head upward, making a growl of pain escaped him. Natalie quickly rolled into the air, grabbing onto the curved horns on the Demon's head. Her weight carrying the head backward, exposing the grey skin of his neck.
Before the Demon had a chance to attack the Warrior that dare pull at his horns, he became aware of the fact that there were only three Warriors holding him, holding him in place for the fourth Warrior.
He shouted out, just as Tanya aimed the energy bolt at the Demon's exposed throat. One eye closed, she released her hold on the arrow, firing it across the room. Cutting through the air like a fine knife, the arrow connected with the Demon's throat. Slicing straight through, vanishing before it made contact from Natalie, holding the Demon from behind.
His eyes widened, and a gargled shout escaped the Demon. The Warriors released the Demon as the arms flew to its throat. Trying to keep the wound close, but failing miserably to do so. Collapsing to his knees, his movements became more and more sluggish. He fell onto his front, green and black smoke starting to surround its body.
But the Warrior's attention was drawn away from the Demon seconds after he fell to his knees, they all rushed over to the body of Kyle, who had yet to move from the spot where he had slumped over.
"Kyle! Kyle, come on," Tanya exclaimed, crouching down onto one knee, shoving Kyle onto his front. She waved her hand in front of his visor, trying to elect a reaction from the limp body.
"We need to get him back to the Den," Isaac said, looking around the empty building. The Demon's body had completely vanished, with remnants of the black-and-green smoke evaporating into thin air.
Just as he said that, however, the ground beneath them suddenly shook, nearly knocking Tanya off her feet as a menacing growl vibrated throughout the city.
"Looks like we can't," Matthew commented, grabbing his spear from leaning against the wall.
"You guys head back to the Den. I'll take this guy on," Isaac said, adding, "Summon your Zords and get going."
Matthew nodded slightly, before he and Natalie slowly gathered Kyle to his feet, one arm going over either of the shoulders, his body still limp and head hanging forward.
Once they were all ready to go, the three summoned their Zords, Matthew activating Kyle's Howler to summon the Black Wolf Zord. Isaac summoned his own Zord, and said,"Get going. Now. Find out what's wrong with him."
Nodding, Matthew said, "Savage, we need a teleport to the Den, now."
Moments later, four of the teens vanished in a flash of their respective lights. Isaac remained standing in the bank. He turned around, about to head out of the front of the bank to get into his Zord.
But he was blocked when three police officers walked through the front doors, guns drawn. They all walked together, aiming their guns in all directions until they saw the Red Ranger. They all quickly aimed at Isaac, one shouting, "Freeze!"
Rolling his eyes, Isaac instead walked forward, drawing closer to the officers. They were standing in his way, after all.
"I said freeze!" The officer shouted again, both hands gripping their pistols, aimed solely on the approaching Red Ranger.
"I don't have time for this," Isaac said lowly, the voice coming out as a growl through his filter. He saw the officers flinch at his tone, and a small smirk crossed his lips.
He was now nearly level with the officers, and stopped momentarily when they refused to move.
"It would be wise if you were to move," Isaac advised, looking between the officers every few seconds. When they refused to move, Isaac's shoulders sagged and sighed, "Fine... if you want it like that."
He moved his arm, and instantly, one of the officers raised his pistols, pulling the trigger. Before the bullet had a chance to fire from the barrel, Isaac's hand grabbed the slide of the pistol. The bullet couldn't even leave the barrel, stopped by Isaac's armored palm. He then ripped his arm back, his fingers gripping the release mechanism of the pistol.
His hand pulled back entirely, the slide of the pistol gripped tightly in his hand. The officer looked at what remained of his pistol, a look of shock plastered to his face.
"Want to try again? You've got two more tries," Isaac said, tossing the slide off to the side. He looked between the other two officers. Reluctantly, the middle officer took a single step back and stepped to the side.
"That's what I thought," Isaac said mockingly, as he walked forward; seemingly bumping his shoulder into the officer to the right, and walked through the bank's front doors.
"When the hell are they going to do anything about them?" One of the officers grunted as another officer, the one who had lost half his gun, quickly moved to locate where the slide had been thrown.
"They can't act like they run the place. They need to be brought down a peg or two."
"There's a rumor going around that the President knows what's going on here," The other officer said, slowly holstering his pistol again. "Come on, witness statements need to be taken."
The four teens appeared in the white Command den, and Matthew and Natalie quickly carried him over to the table that rose from the ground. Savage and MUTT quickly approached, seeing the two carry the lifeless Kyle.
"What happened?" Savage asked, as Matthew and Natalie carefully lay Kyle down on the table, removing the clasps of his helmet and removing said helmet from over his head.
"He was jumped by this... horned, goat-legged Demon? With chains wrapped around his arms?" Tanya replied, removing her helmet before she spoke and rested it on a small space that Kyle wasn't occupying.
"Horns and chains? Hmm... sounds like Horror has released Diagnal," Savage muttered, as he stood at the head of the table, examining Kyle's face, and carefully lifting his eyelids to examine his pupils. When they seemed normal, he carefully twisted Kyle's head to rest on one side. Pressing two clawed fingers against his neck, he turned his focus back to the others when Natalie spoke.
"Dai… Dia… Dag… Whatever. Point is, can you tell us what the hell happened to him?" She said, gesturing to the unmoving Kyle.
"If we are talking about the same Demon, then no physical damage has been done to Kyle," Savage said, removing his hand from Kyle's neck and approaching one of the monitors. The scan lowered from the ceiling and began passing over Kyle's mostly morphed body.
"But...?" Matthew asked, feeling one was coming.
"But his vitals are falling steadily. He's been damaged on the spiritually level," Savage finished, as the scan finished and the scanner itself folded back into the ceiling of the room.
"How the hell can he be damaged spiritually?" Natalie asked, walking around the table slowly to look at Kyle's face. His expression unmoving from the neutral look that happened when the facial muscles relaxed.
"Since the Howler was connected to his blood stream, there have been... well, leaks, transferring energy from the Howler into the user. Kyle isn't the only one. All of you have, and are, suffering from leaks in your Howlers."
"What?!" Matthew exclaimed, as he and the others quickly brought their Howlers in front of them, examining them quickly.
"Is there anything that can be done to stop it?" Tanya asked, glaring bitterly at the wolf-man.
"I'm afraid not, it is the process of your abilities. The bloodlines between your generation and the Ancient Warriors, and the abilities of the Warriors are transferring into you," Savage said, before he decided they had side tracked far enough.
"Anyway, Kyle has been damaged on the spiritual level because of his connection with the Howler. Diagnal was able to figure out the source of the Ancient Warrior's power and was able to develop a spell that would sever the connection between user and Howler."
"If we hadn't of developed a technique, we would surely have lost the Warriors... long before their demise," Savage finished, completing the end of the sentence quickly like a bad taste he wanted to get over with.
"Luckily, however, my clan developed a method to heal them, in similar ways to how Healers dealt with injuries," he added, moving from a monitor to one of the hidden cryogenic freezers in the wall. "We called it Spirit Hunting."
"'Spirit Hunting?'" Natalie asked, raising an eyebrow slightly at the name.
"It's a technique Healers taught younglings and Healers-to-be to be used on both the Warriors and the others of the clan, should the situation ever arise," Savage replied, collecting several containers from the cryogenic freezer, along with a couple of vials of liquid.
"You're telling us that you were a Healer?" Matthew asked, walking over to one of the desks and looking over the cables and keyboard that lay over the desk in a mess.
"I am saying nothing like that," Savage said, a faint growl to his tone as he closed the freezer into the wall again, turning to face the humans again, a number of vials and containers in hand. "I have my reasons for knowing this," Savage added, moving towards the teens again.
"Hmm," Matthew muttered, raising an eyebrow slightly, but dismissed it as Savage set out the various liquids and powders on a counter beside where Kyle was rested.
"However, this technique requires two for it to work, not taking into account the one it's being used on," Savage further explained, unscrewing some of the vials.
"One acted as an anchor for the other, in case things get too... dangerous."
"Wait, what do you mean dangerous?" Tanya cut in.
"The subconscious is defensive over that which enters it. Another spirit is no different," Savage responded, before he looked between the teens.
"Which one of you is going to accompany me?"
"What?" the three asked in unison, looking between Savage and each other.
"I can't have MUTT accompany me. We are unsure if cybernetics are compatible with the human mind," Savage said, gesturing to the robot.
"And I do not want to experience what the human mind has to offer," MUTT responded. If it wasn't for his robotic tone, it would have passed for sarcasm.
With a faint roll of his eyes, Savage said, "One of you three must accompany me into Kyle's subconscious in order to unite him with his spirit fully."
Matthew and Natalie looked between themselves, before both their eyes turned to Tanya. Seeing the eyes baring down on her, Tanya looked to the others.
"What?" she asked.
"Well, you know Kyle better than any of us. It should be you," Natalie said, gesturing to the still limp body of Kyle, still lying there. Only this time, MUTT was at his side, a small scanner grasped in his hand and going over Kyle slowly. Picking up any little details the larger scan may have missed.
"But I have more experience fighting than you do. We're wasting time by just arguing. Meanwhile, Isaac's getting his ass kicked by what's-his-face," Tanya replied, gesturing to the exit for the Den.
"Matthew and Natalie are right," MUTT said offhandedly, catching the teens' attention.
"What do you mean?" Tanya asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I analyzed the exchanges between the three of you and Kyle," MUTT responded, raising his head to look at Tanya when she spoke.
"What?" she asked.
"I accessed your mobile device in order to assess the exchanges. Matthew and Natalie have had less than one hundred exchanges between them with Kyle. Whereas you have over tens of thousands exchanges alone,"MUTT responded.
"Did you hack into my phone?" Tanya asked, her voice rising steadily.
"I simply accessed it when you had left it on the side during one of your training sessions," MUTT replied, turning back and walking around Kyle, placing the small scanner on the side.
Tanya opened her mouth to respond, but Savage raised his large hand. "We'll discuss this after Kyle has woken up."
"Fine, I'll help," Tanya grunted, drumming her fingers against her side.
"Good," Savage responded, before a small beep came from a monitor. Before he could move, MUTT quickly moved to the monitor.
"Isaac?" MUTT asked.
"MUTT! Kyle alright yet? This guy's harder than I thought," Isaac's voice came over the comms, along with his vaguely heavy breathing.
"We're sending Matthew and Natalie to help you shortly. Just hold on until they arrive," MUTT replied, looking aside to check that Matthew and Natalie were ready. They both nodded, moving to the places where they had placed their helmets.
"No really, take your time. I've got all the time in the world," Isaac's voice replied, sarcasm dripping from his tone.
The comms were then cut, and MUTT turned around to look at the teens. Matthew and Natalie had placed their helmets back on, making sure they were locked into place.
"We're wasting time. Let's get going," Matthew said, lightly punching one fist into the palm of the other.
MUTT tapped the command into one of the computers, and a bright light encased the two teens. Even after becoming accustomed to the sight, Tanya still raised her hand to block her eyes from the light.
Once the light had vanished, indicating that the others had teleported to the ensuing Megazord battle, Tanya lowered her hand again. Once confirming that the teens had teleported from their previous spot, she turned back to look at Savage.
"Alright then," she asked, slowly pushing one of her hands into her pocket. "Tell me what we need to do."
Isaac was thrown across the cockpit of the Megazord, as the Megazord itself was thrown to the ground, large areas of trees crushed beneath the massive weight of the metal wolves like toothpicks.
During the fight, Isaac had managed to guide the fight away from the city and into the small areas of forest just outside the city's borders, but Diagnal had been pretty brutal throughout the fight.
Large dents in the metal panels of the multiple Zords could be seen, some so deep it looked as though the metal panels would break if they were struck another time. Isaac heard multiple growls echoing through his head, expressing pain throughout the different parts of the Megazord. And the pain seemed to be echoing through Isaac's own body.
Groaning under his breath, Isaac grit his teeth tightly as he pushed himself to his feet, moving back to the center of the cockpit.
"You're pissing me off now," He grunted, holding one of his upper arms momentarily before pulling his other hand away, standing straight.
The horned Demon slowly walked closer, lengths of chain extending from the arms. Dragging along the ground, leaving large grooves in the ground, uprooting trees and sending them scattered across the forest floor.
"You're a fighter, I admit that…but I like toying with my prey," Diagnal said, smirking slightly; revealing crooked teeth, with one or two seemingly absent from the jaw.
Flicking one wrist, he launched the chain into the air; whipping at the Megazord.
Isaac quickly moved the Megazord to the side, the chain barely missing the Megazord's torso and shooting right past it. Summoning his model of the Wolf Tail Blade, Isaac waited for the quick sequence of the Megazord getting the actual version of the black sword in its hands.
He was about to move, when he was aware of the presence of a bright light either side of him. He looked to his sides, and once the light vanished, saw two figures of blue and white.
"How's Kyle?" Isaac asked.
"Savage is working on it. He's got Tanya to help him," Matthew replied, his own version of the Wolf Tail Blade forming in his hand, flicking the blade around a few times.
"In the meantime, we've gotta take care of this horned bastard," Natalie said, looking to Isaac as she took a hold of her own sword. "You okay?"
"Few cuts, starting to get a pain in my right shoulder from getting thrown about by this guy. Still, could be worse," Isaac responded, before he looked at the Demon, pulling his chain back for another attack.
"Let's kill this fucker."
"Uh... what is that stuff?" Tanya asked, as she saw Savage prepare themselves for the ceremony.
Shallow bowls were spread out across a cleared work desk, which had been moved to beside Kyle. All were filled with various liquids, some were clear, while others had a few powders sprinkled into the liquid. Despite being thoroughly mixed in, the powders were still very prominent in the liquids.
"It is a mixture, created by our Healers, to help loosen the mind's hold on their spirit," Savage replied, grabbing another small vial and added a few drops of the clear liquid to a partially filled bowl, before grabbing a small spoon and carefully stirring the liquids together.
"And we're going to have to drink that?" Tanya asked. She was pretty sure they gave classes on not accepting strange drinks from strangers, though she wasn't sure if Savage classified as a stranger or not.
"No, it's for him," Savage said, gesturing to the still morphed Black Delta Ranger.
Kyle was still resting on the table he had been placed onto initially, though it had been moved to the center of the room. Two chairs had been placed on one side and at the head of Kyle.
"MUTT, needle," Savage called.
"Yes sir," MUTT said, moving away from one of the computers and going through the draws underneath the desks.
"So... where did you find him?" Tanya asked lowly, gesturing to MUTT with her thumb.
Savage glanced at the spot Tanya was gesturing to, before turning his eyes back to the thoroughly mixed drink.
"I found him here. A living being must have... activated him when I arrived," Savage said, placing the bowl to one side. "He's been active here since I took this place as my home."
MUTT quickly returned from his search, handing the syringe to Savage. The wolf took the syringe, and carefully placed the end of the syringe into the liquid, and began drawing the liquid into the tube.
Tanya glanced at MUTT as he turned to leave. She could have sworn she saw him look back at her through the black visor across the head piece. But it didn't last long enough for her to check as he was walking away before Savage had the tube of the syringe filled.
"Grab those two bowls," Savage said, gesturing to two other bowls located next to the ones he took. Tanya grabbed the two bowls and quickly followed Savage around to Kyle's side.
"These for him as well?" Tanya asked, raising both bowls slightly, as if gesturing to them.
"Nope," Savage responded, turning Kyle's head slowly to the side, exposing the side of his neck. He carefully slid the needle into Kyle's skin. "They're for us," he added, as he injected the liquid into Kyle's bloodstream.
Tanya's eyes shifted to the bowls, somewhat unsure. "I'm not drinking this shit," She muttered.
"If you wish to save your friend, you will need to drink that," Savage responded, withdrawing the syringe from the skin and setting it to one side. Kyle groaned lowly in his unconscious state, his head slowly rolling to the other side as the foreign liquid coursed through his body. Savage then grabbed one of the small bowls and said, "Take the other bowl and take a seat."
He moved away to one of the chairs, and he waited for Tanya to grab her own bowl. "I swear to God, if this kills me, you're gonna regret it," Tanya muttered, before she moved over to the other bowl and picked it up carefully. Swirling the liquid around the bowl slowly, she walked around to the other chair.
Tilting his head back, Savage tipped the bowl against his muzzle, swallowing the liquid slowly. Seeing no other option, Tanya slowly did the same.
And she immediately felt a burning sensation light up her throat. She almost coughed the liquid back up from the burning feeling coursing down her throat and into her stomach.
"Fuck! I've had vodka that didn't burn as bad as this!" Tanya exclaimed, dropping the nearly empty bowl to the ground.
"I tried to make reductions to it. Tt was designed for my people, after all," Savage responded, setting his bowl to the side and slowly returned his hands to rest in his lap.
Tanya, still coughing slightly, resting one hand in her lap while the other curled in front of her mouth, trying to clear her throat. That was when she felt a light headed feeling overcome her, her hand lowered to her lap to join the other as she groaned lightly.
"Relax, your mind is trying to clear itself. Once cleared, we may proceed..." she heard Savage's voice say, beginning to grow muffled towards the end of his sentence.
Feeling her eyes grow heavy, the sensation over took her before she had a chance of fighting it. She felt... scared; something she hadn't felt this for a while. Just the helplessness of the situation was something she never experienced before, and it was scary.
Before she knew it, her eyes were closed and her body slumped.
Inhaling sharply, Tanya jerked her eyes open.
She snapped her head up, looking around rapidly, though her vision swirled and she had to close her eyes tightly again until her surroundings stopped spinning. Bringing her hands to her head, she slowly opened her eyes and took her surroundings in. Truth be told, she was expecting her surroundings to be the walls of the Den.
However, her surroundings were slightly different; the walls around her were still white, but they seemed... ghostly. The walls seemed to be flowing, like an ocean of white. When she looked lower, she had to double check what she was seeing.
Several individual desks, five by five, one of which she was occupying. Quickly getting up, she looked around. The desks were void of anyone, save for the one she had recently stepped up from.
"What the hell?" Tanya muttered under her breath, flexing her hands slowly before resting them at her sides.
"Good, you made it."
She turned around sharply, raising her hands instinctively, into closed fists. She relaxed only slightly when she saw it was Savage who stood at the head of the 'room'. The first thing she noticed, however, were the dark red markings on the one arm standing out, like they did when Savage used his abilities to heal Isaac's burns.
"You going to explain this?" Tanya asked, gesturing to the surroundings; looking around slightly, but in the end, returning to look at Savage.
Simply looking back at the irritated female, Savage slowly slipped his large clawed hands into his trench-coat pockets, as he responded, "Every persons' subconscious has a form it takes, a different portrayal of their inner mind. Some Healers said they saw forests and Dens."
"Alright, Mystic Mike," Tanya muttered, before she cleared her throat slightly and said, "So, what you're saying is that this," She gestured to their surroundings, "is what Kyle's subconscious takes? A classroom? One that looks like the one we shared when we went to school?"
"In a nutshell, yes," Savage said, looking around briefly before he turned back around, asking, "That's a phrase you humans use, isn't it? 'In a nutshell'?"
Unable to stop a roll of her eyes, Tanya paired it with a faint chuckle, and responded, "Yes, we say that."
Nodding once, the neutral expression remained on Savage's face as he said, "Good. Now, we're wasting time. We need to get moving."
"Why, have we got a timer?" Tanya asked, naturally walking around the desk she found herself sitting at, and headed along the gap between the desks, reaching the front of the 'class'.
"We only have a limited amount of time before the drugs lose their effect and we are forced out of Kyle's mind," Savage responded, walking towards the door of the 'class'. He reached the door and turned it, opening the door for the class.
Tanya quickly followed after him, sparing the room one last glance. It seemed surreal to think that Kyle thought of this, the classroom that he and her shared while they were in high school together, was what form Kyle's subconscious had taken.
"And there's another reason why we have to hurry," Savage added, as they walked out of the room.
Tanya opened her mouth to responded, but she found herself fall silent when they walked into the 'corridor'. Only to be further surprised when she saw what made up the 'corridor'.
Or rather, what was supposed to be a corridor. The walls were the same, ghostly sea of white, but they seemed to be even more opaque than the ones in the 'classroom'. They seemed almost non-existent.
The only thing that hinted towards there being any sort of wall were the numerous doors that lined either side of where Tanya and Savage stood. While the same color as the 'walls', they looked more solid, as if they were actually real.
"What are all of these?" Tanya asked instead, gesturing to the doors lining either side of them.
Savage shrugged his shoulders slightly, shaking his head a little before he responded, "Suppressed memories? Hidden pasts? It varies from person to person."
"Suppressed memories? Kyle?" Tanya asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.
"The Healers told us many things about what they saw during their Spirit Hunts. And one thing that was unanimous with all of their visits were one thing. They saw similar things such as these doors, and they all represented memories their minds would rather forget."
"I'm pretty sure Kyle would have told me about anything like that. We've known each other since we were in kindergarten," Tanya said, slowly folding her arms in front of her chest as she side glanced at Savage.
Savage returned the side glance, before he said, "Alright. Allow me to prove something to you. How even close friends, like what you and Kyle claim to be, will tend to keep some secrets to themselves."
Once he finished, he turned to one side and walked towards one of the closest doors. One of his hands removed itself from its pocket, and grabbed the door handle firmly. Turning the handle sharply, he pushed the door open a fraction.
The moment the door opened, a loud crying came from inside; because the door was only opened so much, Tanya couldn't see what was inside. All she could hear was crying.
A child's cry.
And, among those cries, if Tanya strained her hearing, she could hear another sound. Another cry. Only... Wait...
"I... Is that his mother?" Tanya whispered to herself, leaning forward slightly to try and get a look at what was in the room. But all that she could see was darkness.
"He never talks about his mother..."
Just then, Tanya could hear another tone. A different voice. Male. Though it was faint, what she could hear wasn't pleasant.
The woman's crying intensified, combined with her own teary shouts and the male's angered voice.
"Shit..." Was all Tanya could say.
"Like I said..." Savage said, slowly closing the door again. The crying, shouting and screaming cutting of entirely when the door snapped shut.
"Even friends keep their secrets."
All Tanya could do was nod, her eyes unintentionally drawing to the many other doors that lined the sides, her mind beginning to wonder. What else was going on in here that Kyle hadn't shared with her? What else was in here that she didn't know about?
"Come on," Savage said, nudging Tanya's arm as he turned to continue walking onward. Only to pause when he noticed Tanya wasn't following. "We need to use this time to find Kyle's Wolf spirit."
Reluctantly, Tanya tore herself away from the door and slowly walked after Savage. The two walked in silence among Kyle's subconscious for a few steps, before Savage decided to break the silence again.
"The subconscious records everything that happens to us, even if all of the senses haven't developed, they store it. He probably doesn't even remember anything that happened through the door. He probably doesn't even remember anything like it. He..."
"Just shut up," Tanya muttered quietly, but loud enough for Savage to hear.
Surprisingly, this promptly silenced the wolf-man and the two walked in silence, passing two more doors on either side.
"Anything we're looking for that could give away where his spirit is?" Tanya eventually asked as they passed three more doors. The doors seemed to go on continuously, going off into the distance of her vision.
"Diagnal cannot extinguish a being's spirit entirely. If he had that kind of power, Horror would surely have taken that power for his own," Savage responded, somewhat thankful for the break. Why he was thankful, he wasn't sure.
"So...?" Tanya pressed.
"There's a spark. A small part of a spirit that hasn't been extinguished during the initial attack. But given time that too will be extinguished. And if that goes... that person is gone for good."
"And where would be fine this spark?" Tanya asked.
"Usually it is protected by the essence of Diagnal. Surrounding it, waiting for the moment in which the person's spirit dies."
Tanya wanted to continue badgering questions until she got herself a clear answer, she noticed something. From underneath one of the doors, sickly green smoke starting to pour out. As if a fire was happening behind the door, producing a toxic green cloud.
"Is something like that a hint?" She asked, gesturing to the door.
Savage turned to the door Tanya gestured to, and he visible tensed. Tanya could see the subtle muscle twitches beneath his thick fur.
"Exactly," Savage muttered softly, quietly gesturing for Tanya to follow him as he moved towards the door. Tanya followed closely, though made sure to keep a suitable distance between herself and Savage.
He carefully rested his paw on the door handle, before pausing to look at Tanya. "I pull open the door, you have a look. Assess the situation and tell me what's happening."
Tanya slowly nodded, moving around Savage slowly so she was on the other side of the door. Giving another confirming nod, Savage slowly opened the door a crack. Not much, but enough for Tanya to get a quick peak.
After a few seconds, Tanya pulled her head back, gesturing for Savage to close the door.
"Well?" he asked the instant he closed the door.
"There are these weird smoky, green creatures. The kind of green you expect to see from a catheter bag," Tanya replied, before seeing one of Savage's eyebrow raise itself. "Never mind. It looks like death," Tanya simplified.
"Then this is the room where they're keeping Kyle's wolf spirit," Savage said, his eyebrow returning to his rightful place as he moved in front of the door. "On three, we charge in. Leave the creatures to me. Try and find Kyle's spirit," Savage instructed, as his paw returned to rest on the handle.
"Just like that?" Tanya asked, bemused by the bluntness coming from the wolf creature.
His only response was a silent nod. Rolling her eyes, Tanya just nodded back.
The two stared at the door for a few seconds, before Savage turned the handle sharply and yanked the door back with such force that, if it was in the real world, Tanya would have thought that it would have ripped from its hinges.
The two of them quickly rushed in, and they both got a good look at the situation.
Many creatures filled the 'room'. All the same; sickly-green, humanoid shaped smoke columns. The lower part of their 'bodies' didn't even touch the ground. They simply stayed floating, the odd hiss and unearthly breaths escaping them.
At the door slamming open, their 'heads' turned in unison, facing the two creatures that stood in the doorway, unprepared for something like this to happen. Still, their programmed reflexes activated and they all moved towards the intruders, unholy whispers escaping them as they closed in on their new prey.
"Go!" Savage shouted, raising his closed paws, tightly wound fists, as he moved into the room, drawing the attention of the entities.
Tanya quickly rushed to the side, side stepping the many ghostly-creatures that filled the room. Despite the cold feeling that overcame her the further she went into the room, she tried to focus her mind on finding the spirit.
"Alright... wolf spirit... wolf spirit..." She muttered under her breath, looking around for something that looked…something like what she was looking for. "Wolf spirit…gonna try looking for a Wolf…" She told herself, carefully moving around the creatures as they focused in on Savage. She tried to catch a glimpse of what was going on, but because of the density of the many creatures, she couldn't get a clear look.
Figuring she should just focus on trying to find the Wolf spirit, Tanya pushed herself deeper into the 'room', trying to figure out what kind of memory Kyle was suppressing for the creatures to hide his Spirit in.
The further she entered the memory, however, she began to notice things. The sound of crushing leafs reached her ears, and she looked down to find herself on a leaf covered forest floor.
Lifting her eyes from the ground, she took a step back to take in the surprise change of scenery as her surroundings went from blurry, to a crystal clear forest. The trees were bare of any leafs, presumably all on the ground she stood on.
The feel of a faint wind caught her attention, her short hair whipping slightly at her face. Flicking the strands out of her eyes, the next thing she caught onto was a smell.
A coppery smell.
"Blood," She whispered to herself, slowly taking steps forward.
More leafs crushed beneath her feet, Tanya tried to locate the source of the blood smell; why the smell was so pronounced and easy to find, either her smell was acute in these memories, or a lot of blood had been split.
She followed the smell of blood for as long as she could, before it became so strong that she was sure she was going to throw up.
Finally, she came across the source.
And at the sight, she was curtain she was going to throw up. "God..." she whispered to herself, having to avert her eyes from what she saw.
At the base of a tree, surrounded on a pool of its own blood, was a wolf; pretty young looking, probably not even fully grown. Its dark grey fur was caked in its own dried blood, large patches making it seem like a massive fox from how much blood was covering its body.
Its throat was clean cut, fresh blood still oozing out of the deep cut, covering the ground around and beneath the fallen wolf. The face was lifeless, eyes half open and cold, as its tongue tip hung out of its partly opened jaw.
"That Yellowstone Hunter..." Tanya said to herself, trying to avoid looking anywhere but the dead body. The news report Kyle had shared with her almost two years ago still stuck in her own mind all this time.
She never thought it effected Kyle this much to have it suppressed, like that other memory...
A faint hissing behind her brought her back to her senses, and quickly whipped around. One of the sickly-green ghost entities had broken off from attacking Savage, whom seemed to be dealing just fine with the entities, and come to attack her.
She tried throwing punches at the entity, but she found her fists seemed to simply pass through the entity. The sickly green mist disconnected in the spaces of her punches, before it reformed as one again.
"How the fuck do you fight these, Savage?" Tanya muttered under her breath, taking a small step back.
Despite her attempts to distance herself from the creature, it took one step forward for every step she took forward.
She backed up to the point where she was pressed against the side of the tree, hands slowly grasping the bark, trying to find a part that she could rip off and try throwing that.
A whimper caught her attention; a strange noise to be heard from the surroundings, but it caught Tanya's attention in an instant.
She side glanced to the body of the dead wolf, which seemed to be the source of the whimper. It was at this point that she noticed a faint black glow radiating from the side of the wolf. It was faint against the pelt, but it was there.
"Black Ranger, Black Warrior, Black Spirit..." Tanya whispered to herself, turning herself back to the creature, making out no facial features. Or any features at all. Just a blank fog in the vague shape of a humanoid.
"So that's what you're protecting..." Tanya whispered, raising her voice slightly as she spoke to the fog. Not that she thought it could understand her. "Now... How can I get mine to work?" Tanya asked herself, looking aside at her hands, bringing them back from the rough bark, glancing down at her palms.
She tried closing her eyes, clenching her fists, anything that she thought would work. But nothing came to be. And that just pissed her off.
"For fuck's sake!" she exclaimed, slamming her fists against the bark.
At the flash of anger rocking through her system, she felt pissed off and... something else. She lifted her hands up again, ignoring the faint scuff marks that had formed from the roughness of the bark, but there was something else she hadn't seen before.
Hanging around her hands like seaweed through water, yellow energy wrapped around her fingers and hands. She turned them over, finding the same was on the other side. The energy strands waved through the air, following her movements, before she turned her gaze up to the entity.
"Alright, fucker, try this," She said with a dark smirk, before thrusting both her palms forward.
The yellow energy came flowing forward, striking through the entity, and a distant wail came from the creature as the yellow energy passed through it. This time, the two halves didn't join back together.
Instead, they were reduced to nothing more than thin puffs, evaporating into the air.
"Shit, that actually worked…" Tanya said to herself, surprise evident in her quiet voice.
Once it had successfully reduced the entity to nothing, the yellow energy balled together and slowly lowered to the leaf covered surface. It slowly warped and morphed, trying to take a shape. After a few seconds of trying, it succeeded.
Tanya let out a long, low whistle of surprise as the yellow energy took the form of another wolf, a faint yellow outline, filled with a mixture of continuously flowing yellow energy and patches of solid yellow areas. Even its eyes seemed to be two orbs of flowing yellow energy, as it stared at the teenager.
"Uh..." Tanya tried to think what to say, or do. It's not like this happened enough for people to give classes on how to deal with it.
But the creature broke eye contact first, as it slowly moved away from in front of Tanya and around the tree. Tanya followed the spirit wolf with her eyes, as it finally came to a stop at the side of the downed, black spirit wolf.
The yellow spirit slowly paced along the side of the other wolf, lowering its muzzle slowly. Nudging the neck of its fallen comrade, small wisps of yellow energy transferring from the standing wolf to the fallen one.
The yellow energy slowly connected with the fallen wolf's body, traveling along its side. Drawing closer to the small spark of black at the center of its cold body.
Tanya watched in amazement as the energy connected with the black spark, brightening it momentarily. Once the yellow vanished, the black energy started to branch off from the small spark, following the arches that the yellow energy previously went along.
The black energy expanded along the body, reaching each limb of the body, covering the paws and pelt in a mixture of swirling black energy and patches of solid black energy.
The blood that coated the pelt slowly faded, revealing the dark grey and black pelt that lay underneath. The pelt changed again when the waves of black energy passed over those spots, turning the pelt into the patches of solid black energy.
Upon reaching the eyes, they shot open, revealing pools of black energy; swirls of transparent energy among the black orbs as the energy passed over the muzzle. By this point, the wounds around the throat were sealed shut and all blood evaporated.
The energy now fully flowing throughout the body of the wolf, the black spirit wolf pushed itself to its feet, a bit unsteady at first, but regaining balance quickly.
"So... you're good now, yeah?" Tanya asked, looking between the yellow spirit wolf that came from here, and the black spirit wolf. The two wolf spirits looked back at the human, the black spirit looking to the yellow spirit.
Nodding its head once, as if reassuring the black spirit wolf, the yellow wolf spirit turned its attention to the other figure in the memory.
Savage slowly approached Tanya and the two spirits, the red markings across his arm and neck standing out against the leafs and trees, all of the other warm colors that filled the memory.
"I see you figured it out yourself," Savage commented, looking to the yellow wolf spirit first, then to the black wolf. "Your Wolf Spirit restored Kyle's Wolf Spirit."
"What can I say?" Tanya asked, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly, a smirk crossing her lips. Yet Savage's expression remained neutral.
"Come, we must leave. His Spirit will be able to re-activate his Howler from here and awaken Kyle, restoring both him and his powers," Savage instructed, as the yellow spirit slowly evaporated, the flow of energy swirling in the air.
As it filtered back into the crystal of the Howler on her wrist, Tanya looked over the device for a few seconds. "So, how do we get out of here?" She asked, turning her eyes back to Savage.
Savage simply let a small smirk cross his muzzle, as he slowly raised one of his paws. A single finger raised, a dull claw visible.
The paw flashed forward, cutting Tanya across the arm.
"Ah! Fucker!" She exclaimed, covering the small cut left on her upper arm. Though the second the pain flashed through her, her vision went blank and she was out.
"Fucker!" Tanya shouted, jerking her eyes open. Immediately after, she closed them at the brightness of her surroundings. Giving herself a few seconds to adjust, she gave it another try and opened her eyes yet again.
Now adjusted, she opened her eyes fully, finding herself in the Den. She let out a small sigh of relief, before looking across at where she expected Savage to be sitting. But no, he was already up and about, standing beside Kyle's body, looking him over slowly.
Carefully getting to her feet, Tanya walked over to the other side of Kyle. "Do you think it worked?" she asked.
"The Black Wolf Spirit will instinctively return to the Howler, activating both itself and Kyle again," Savage assured, as he kept his eyes rested on Kyle.
A few minutes went by and nothing happened, not a twitch of his features. Tanya was about to speak again when a low groan came from Kyle, along with a bit of head movement.
Seconds later, his eyes snapped opened and he inhaled sharply, his body reacting accordingly and tried to sit up. But he was held down by a firm paw gripping his shoulders.
"Kyle, calm down. You're okay," Savage said firmly, keeping Kyle's back against the table.
"W.. Wha.. What happened?" he asked, looking between Savage and, when he noticed her, Tanya. "All I remember is fighting that horned guy. Then it all went blank."
"You were damaged spiritually, but we have managed to fix it," Savage assured briefly, before slowly loosening his grip on Kyle's shoulder and stepped away.
"You fixed my spirit?" Kyle asked, confusion in his tone.
"Never mind that now. Can you fight?" Tanya asked, carefully wrapping her arm around Kyle's shoulder and helping him to sit up, swinging his legs over the table.
"And a hello to you too," Kyle replied, an edge of sarcasm to his voice. "But yeah, I'm good now."
"Good. Because the others need you," MUTT cut in, looking to the two humans. "They've been fighting Diagnal for the past hour now."
"Shit, that long?" Tanya asked, getting a strange look from Kyle as a response.
"Think you can finish him off?" Savage asked.
"Hell yeah," Kyle responded, getting to his feet. Tanya stood beside him, and glanced over at him.
"Ready?" she asked.
"As I'll ever be," Kyle responded, crossing the Howler over his chest.
"United, we Howl!" they both called in unison, their respective colors enveloping them. Once the light had vanished, the two stood in their respective armored forms, the wolf-esque helmets reflecting small patches of light.
MUTT tapped the command into the computer, and the two were teleported to the Megazord.
"Why won't this fucker die?!" Matthew shouted as he pushed himself to his feet, looking a bit battered from being thrown about.
The other two remained silent, they too looking a little worse for wear as they got back into fighting stances in the cockpit of the Megazord. Diagnal sitting in the direct center of the visor, which had a faint crack running down the left eye.
They were briefly distracted, however, when two columns of light filled the cockpit. Situating themselves in the gaps between Matthew, Natalie and Isaac, Tanya and Kyle stood.
"Hey guys. Miss me?" Kyle asked, looking around at the others.
"Yeah, like a hole in the head," Matthew responded, though no malice slipped into his voice. "Good to have you back, man."
"Formalities later. Right now we need to finish this ass-hat," Isaac said, looking over his shoulder at the newcomers.
"Alright; what have you tried?" Tanya asked.
"Everything! The Wolf Blade does fuck-all, and we can't get passed the chains," Natalie replied, looking to the Yellow and Black Warriors.
"Maybe we can bring something that can help," Tanya said, getting a look from all of the others. Kyle included.
"Can we?" Kyle asked.
"Yes," Tanya confirmed, raising her Howler-mounted hand. It took a few seconds for the others to notice, but there were traces of yellow energy wrapped around her wrist and fingers.
"The hell is that?" Matthew asked.
"Savage called it Residue Spirit Energy," Tanya said, adding, "Look, I'll explain later. But right now, this might work."
They were brought back to the battle when the Megazord was struck by another attack, sending the five of them staggering slightly.
"Alright. Try it Tanya," Isaac instructed.
Tanya nodded, before she raised the residue-covered hand, screwing it into a fist. The yellow energy started to grow in concentration, covering her entire hand and upper forearm.
"Try this one of for size," Tanya muttered, before moved her hand forward; the energy passing through the darkness of the cockpit. Fading into the darkness in front of them.
From the outside, Diagnal dragged his chains, wrapping them around his forearms.
"I've wasted enough time with you..." He growled, before he loosened his hold on both chains and swung them up for a strike.
He failed to notice a streak of yellow energy passing across the torso of the Megazord, centering on the left leg of the Megazord. The Yellow Gamma Wolf Zord's eyes flashed up momentarily, a low growl escaping the foot of the Megazord.
"Now, we're in business," Tanya said, before she shifted in her stance, the Megazord following suite, the Yellow Wolf Zord the leading leg.
The Demon swung one of his chains forward, aiming for the Megazord's head. But its left arm crossed its torso, the chain wrapping around fully. When he tried to pull the chain back, he found the chain was firmly latched in place.
"Gotcha," Tanya said, before together, the five of them turned their arms. The Megazord copied their actions, turning around. This tightened the chain, pulling the Demon towards them.
Having completed a full turn, the Demon staggered towards the Megazord. Almost at the last second, Tanya willed the Megazord to raise its left knee. The others followed suite, reinforcing the Megazord's stance.
The Megazord's Yellow Wolf knee drove into the Demon's torso, shattering the ribs and spine of the Demon from the force, and any organs and arteries that the Demons had would have ruptured. Diagnal gagged, his grip loosening on the chain, before letting go entirely. His end of the chain rattled to the ground in a large clump of metal, as his hand fell limp to his side.
Mere seconds after the knee contact, the Megazord's right arm reared back and thrusted forward, driving itself into the jaw of the horned Demon, and knocking off the tip of the other horn in the process. The force of the punch sent the Demon flying back, landing on his back, the ground shaking momentarily.
Ripping the chain from its other forearm, the Megazord walked over to the Demon, standing over it momentarily.
"See ya, motherfucker," Matthew called, before the five of them raised the left foot. They moved forward before raising the foot, and brought the full weight of the Megazord, in the size of large skyscrapers' foundations, onto the head of the Demon.
They were met with initial resistance, but with a sickening crack, the pressure gave way and the Megazord's foot rested on the ground again. The crushed skull and horns of the Demon scattered both underneath and around its foot.
That only lasted momentarily though, as the parts of the Demon started to evaporate into the black-and-green mist the Warriors were so used to.
"Alright, that guy has to be dead," Natalie said, as the Megazord stood to its full height, in victory.
"The point is, he's gone. He's-Wow, Isaac. You OK?" Kyle said, changing course mid-sentence when he noticed the Red Warrior.
The others looked to Isaac, who was swaying slightly. He dropped to his knees all of a sudden, and started to fall back. He would have fallen back completely, if Matthew and Tanya not rushed forward and gently eased him down.
"What's wrong with him?" Matthew asked, unclasping the latch of Isaac's helmet on his side. Tanya did the same on her side, and they removed his helmet. Isaac's expression was neutral, his eyes closed loosely; his breathing weak and slow.
"Savage, something's wrong with Isaac," Natalie said into the comms, she and Kyle kneeling down either side of Isaac.
"He's suffering from exhaustion. It's too early in your training for any of you to handle more than your own Zord. And he had to use all Five at once before Matthew and Natalie eased the workload," Savage replied.
"We need to take him back to MUTT," Tanya said, about to contact MUTT for a teleport back to the Den.
"You can't," Savage's voice came over the comms once again.
"Why not?!" Tanya shouted.
"Because MUTT has run out of supplies for humans. You need to take him to one of your places of healing," Savage instructed.
"How the hell are we going to explain this?" Matthew asked.
"We're smart. We'll think of something," Kyle assured.
"You and your optimism. Something I'll never miss," Matthew grunted.
"Sir, I beg you to consider my suggestion."
"Mayor Delaware, I see what you're saying, but I'm not sure how the people are going to take it."
"Sir, with all due respect, they have been the cause of over a dozen deaths since they made themselves known. And even today, three more deaths. One of them was a solider."
The man exhaled through his nose slowly, rubbing the underside of his chin.
"I'm sorry to hear. I... I'll consider your proposal," He said, leaning forward in his chair slightly, resting his suit-covered forearms on the smooth wooden desk.
"Thank you sir," Said the other man, a thin man in his late-40s, wearing a light grey suit and a pair of thin glasses resting on his nose.
He slowly got up from the dark brown chair, and another man approached him. He wore a black suit and tie, white shirt underneath. An ear piece was visible in his right ear, connected to a wire that went into one of his jackets pockets.
"This way," He said quietly, guiding the man out of the room.
Mayor Delaware followed, and just as they reached the door to leave, he paused and turned around. "The Power Rangers are destroying my city, Mr. President. I hope you make the right decision."
With that, Delaware was escorted out of the Oval Office. Leaving the President and another pair of the Secret Service. Harrison exhaled slowly, leaning back in his chair as he went through the entire conversation in his mind.
"Damn Power Rangers..." He said to himself, closing his eyes momentarily.
Here you guys go; Episode 4 - Spirit Hunting. Hope you enjoyed it.
As always, please R&R.
-Nf991