Episode 14 - Tooth and Claw, Part 1
"Yo, back!"
Matthew stepped through the main control door, duffle bag over his shoulder and baseball cap coming off of his head. Ruffling his hair to get rid of the hat hair that had formed, he glanced around.
"Geez, bit light on the ground aren't we?"
To the far side of the Command Room, he saw Natalie sitting on one of the desks raised from the floor, with MUTT standing beside her, slowly unwrapping a bandage from around her upper arm. A week ago, there had been a large gash slicing through her skin, almost reaching the bone.
But now, nothing. The skin was smooth, no sign of that a cut had even been there, just the skin was a slightly lighter colour than that around the bandage. Giving her another once over, MUTT gave her the all clear and proceeding back to the computer screens and keyboards, tapping away in silence.
Turning her head slightly, she saw Matt and got off of the table. "Anyone see you?" She asked, grabbing her hoodie and slipping it back on over her head.
"Nah, got in and out quick. Thankfully, no-one home. Snagged all I could, that I needed, and took out all the money from my account, just like Isaac said."
"Good," Natalie nodded, folding her arms slightly.
"Where is everyone anyway?" Matt asked, tossing the duffle bag off onto one of the other tables as it raised up from the ground.
"Kyle's sleeping, and Isaac and Tanya are doing their usual thing."
"Fucking?" Matthew asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Savage has, apparently, forbid anything like that in the Den," Natalie replied, thankfully. "At least we don't have to worry waking up at two in the morning to bed springs."
"So, where they at?" Matt asked, again, as he unzipped his bag and began rummaging through it, half-paying attention.
"Training with Savage."
Matt snorted slightly, commenting, "God help them then."
Above ground, hidden within the thick trees and bushes that surrounded the area of the forest the Den resided beneath, distant growls, grunts and shouts echoed off of the trees. The distant sound of blades striking one another sounded out, barely seconds after each grunt sounded.
Isaac jumped back, red-accented Wolf Blade gripped in hand, and breathing deeply, sweat trickling down his forehead, and somewhat soaking into the black vest. This exposed some of the old injures across his arms, mostly faded scars, from previous encounters.
After a quick wipe across his brow to clear some sweat, he grabbed onto the Wolf Blade again and rushed forward to return a strike. Just in time for Tanya to step back from one of Savage's attacks, letting Isaac block the attack and send a kick to Savage's torso.
As Savage and Isaac exchanged blows and blocked attacks, Tanya took a second to take a breather, leaning forward to slightly to catch her breath, but not enough to make it seem like her guard was down.
She too wore a black sweat vest, though obviously a more feminine one, and dark grey sweat pants. Several fresh scars were across her arms, and what was exposed of her neck, from previous fighting, the most notable was the still bandaged portion of her arm. The bone had healed, thankfully for the Instinct MUTT and Savage had pumped into their systems the past week.
Rolling her neck slowly, Tanya adjusted the wraps around her hands and grabbed onto the Blade again, gritting her teeth as she re-joined the practice.
"Good, good. You're learning," Savage grunted, dodging and blocking attacks from now both attackers, blades clashing with Isaac's and ducking to avoid Tanya's swinging blade. "Working through unity, you may stand a chance at fighting the Demons."
"Very encouraging, aren't you?" Isaac grunted, rolling his shoulder briefly before returning another strike, swords clashing. But at that moment, he adjusted his grip, still in the sword lock, and forced Savage's blade up. The Wolf raised an eyebrow slightly, but side glanced and quickly side stepped when Tanya came rushing at him.
Her blade barely missed Savage's snout, able to see his reflection in the steel of the blade as it passed.
The three quickly stepped apart, Tanya and Isaac to one side and Savage on the other. The three held defensive stances for a few more moments, the humans breathing a bit deeply, before Savage suddenly dropped the stance. Prompting the teens to do the same.
"You two are improving, especially considering, this time five nights ago, you could neither remain conscious nor stand for very long. With that, progression has been made," Savage informed, driving his blade into the soil beside him, and folding his arms behind his back.
Tanya and Isaac both disposed of their blades, dropping their blades or attempting to lodge them in the dirt. Tanya bent over slightly to catch her breath, sweat dripping from her hair, and Isaac took a few steps back to lean partially against a tree.
"There are points for improvement, your stances, and you seem to gain temporary tunnel vision. But, these are why we train. Tomorrow, we will continue with it. For now, rest," Savage instructed, gathering his blade and walking away from the small clear patch in a largely wooded area, quickly vanishing into the woods.
Knowing he was heading towards the secret entrance to the Den, Isaac and Tanya took their time, the latter of the two heading over to another tree, just out of reach of their fighting arena, and grabbed a bottle of water. Unscrewing the cap, she commented, "Good fight," before taking a few sips.
"At least now you can't kick my ass so easily," Isaac commented, grabbing both their blades and resting them against one of the other trees and made his way to grab his own bottle of water. Though he failed to notice, Tanya side glanced at him as he approached, and a smirk slowly began to cross her lips as she drank. When he reached her and went down to reach for his bottle, Tanya quickly kicked it over.
Isaac glanced up to Tanya, still drinking from her bottle, and asked, "Really?"
"What?" She asked, faking innocence as she looked down at him. He was sure it could see a tint of a smirk to her gaze. Isaac slowly rose to his feet height again, yet with a small smirk crossing his face.
"Was that really necessary?" He asked again, standing beside her. Shifting his stance slightly, slowly cutting off a few of her options to get away.
"Don't know what you're talking about," Tanya mused, leaning back against the tree she had put her bottle at, looking at Isaac with a slight tilt to her head. She held onto the bottle with both hands, yet still had the cap still clasped in her hand.
"Knocking my bottle over."
"Oh, that. That might not have been necessary.. but this is."
Immediately, Isaac saw her hands move, but he didn't get a chance to react as she suddenly threw the contents of her bottle all over him. He shouted out at the sudden cold flooding over him, and quickly took a few steps aside to recover. All the while, Tanya belted out laughter, holding her sides as she leaned against the tree.
His vest now utterly soaked through, hugging his frame, Isaac wiped some of the water from his face and turned to face Tanya again, half of his hair stuck down from the water, and the other half was stuck up by the wipe of his hand. He tried to maintain a slight glare, but it ended up breaking into a grin as Tanya's laughs died down. In turn, it was replaced with a smirk.
"Oh.. you're gonna regret that," Isaac said, slowly moving towards Tanya. Tanya stayed where she was, yet shifted into a slight defensive stance. The one they took when practicing.
Isaac took note, and smirked as he shifted into a similar stance. The two stayed that way for a few seconds, before Tanya suddenly rushed forward. Isaac had planned for her to rush and try and tackle him, but when she got closer, he was surprised.
Instead of doing what he expected her to do, Tanya jumped, barely a few meters from him, and latched her arms around his shoulders, her legs hooking around his waist, using him to support her entirely. But Isaac quickly recovered from the surprise, and smirked as he held her sides and walked forward. A low grunt came from Tanya as her back made soft contact with the bark.
Her grunt turned to a low groan as Isaac began nipping at the base of her neck, leaving little love bites across what skin he could reach.
"Fuck, Isaac.. you horny bastard," Tanya hissed through grit teeth, lightly tugging at his hair. Guiding him across her neck.
"You brought this on yourself," Isaac whispered against her neck, adding a few gentle bites here and there. He eventually raised his head, and smirked at her increased heart rate, trailing additional kisses along the side of her neck, up to beneath her ear.
As he gently breathed on her neck, electing goose bumps to rapidly form, Tanya lightly clawed at his bicep and forearm. "Savage'll be pissed if he sees this."
"You're not complaining, are you?" He asked, smirking as he pulled his head back, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "Besides, he said nothing in the Den. He never said anything about outside the Den."
"Well, I don't know about you," Tanya mused, gently bringing both her hands to his shoulders, and pushed him back slightly. "But I'm not one to screw about on dirt. Wait until we've found a place to screw, without having to clean the dirt off later."
With an over-exaggerated huff, Isaac reluctantly pulled back, and Tanya got herself back on her feet again. Grabbing his water bottle from her feet, she flicked it in the air and smirked as Isaac quickly caught it. "Let's just you're slower in bed," She whispered into his ear, patting his shoulder as she walked around him, heading back to the Den.
Isaac glanced back at her briefly, smirking away as he glanced down at the bottle in hand. Chuckling softly, he unscrewed the cap and began taking mouthfuls of water as he followed after her.
"I believe I have found our mystery passenger," MUTT said just as Isaac and Tanya entered the Den's main Command Room. As the doors hissed close behind them, they saw the room now housed all of the others, including Matt. Kyle must have been woken up just before they arrived.
"Glad you two could join us," Savage said upon them entering, turning partially to face them, arms crossed over his chest. The other teens glanced at them, Natalie elbowing Matt in the ribs to get his attention. The two exchanged smirks and glances as Isaac and Tanya approached. "As you were MUTT," Savage asked, turning back to face the robot as Isaac ad Tanya slipped into the small semi-circle around MUTT.
MUTT turned to face the computer screens and keyboards behind him, and typed a few commands in. Seconds later, a small projector above them shot an image in the gap between him and the rest of the group. The projector showed a full-body image of a woman, wearing a lab coat and black hair coming down over her shoulders partially. A set of glasses rested on her nose, with a small smile across her face.
"Dr Angela Rawlings, formally Angela Fairweather. Former Head Scientist and Second-in-Command of the Lightspeed Aquabase in Marina Bay. Married to former Green Lightspeed Ranger, Joel Rawlings. Currently forty-four years of age."
"So, this is the person that's been helping our military friends with that Silver Ranger?" Isaac asked, arms crossed over his chest.
"It appears so. Security footage from Pax Valley Airport identifies a passenger that was removed from the passenger list for the flight. All that was required was to run a reverse facial scan, and this is how I found," MUTT further explained, deactivating the projector and returning to the computers. "I will need more time to see if I can track her from the airport. This may give us a location of where the military faction is located."
"And until then, we, what? Wait and try kicking the shit out of any Demons that decide to show their ugly mugs?" Isaac asked, glancing around at the others briefly.
"Sounds like as good a plan as any," Kyle agreed.
"In the meantime, we will continue with our training. And since Isaac and Tanya have had their training for today, you three are to have your training now," Savage instructed, turning to face Matt, Natalie and Kyle. Almost simultaneously, three pairs of shoulders shrugged and a collection of sighs came from them. In turn, Isaac and Tanya both chuckled, the pair grinning slightly.
"Fine," Matt grunted, getting up from his seat. "Let's just get this over with."
"You two, shower. And remember my warning," Savage said to the two, sending a glare at them for a brief moment, before gesturing for the other three to follow him back out of the Den.
As the four left, three slower than the other, Isaac turned to MUTT. "How the hell does Savage get all that energy from?"
"His species had higher endurance and energy; they had to during the time period they were from," MUTT informed, still facing the screens.
"Come on, Biology lessons are later. Right now, you stink like shit," Tanya said, lightly tapping Isaac's chest and gesturing to the door that led to the showers of the Den.
"Yeah, because you smell fucking incredible yourself," Isaac replied, sarcasm dripping from his tone, yet both were smiling as they moved through the door. Leaving the main Command Room of the Den, leaving only MUTT working away.
Wolkeins were sent flying through the air, slamming into rocks in such a way that, if humans were in their place, bones would surely be broken and snapped beyond repair. As some bodies crumpled to the ground after striking sharpened, large rocks, others circling around started rushing forward. A mix of standard Wolkeins and the dull-gold armour Wolkein Commanders, but all were sent either into the ground or into the jagged walls.
At the centre of it all, stood Batibat and Death, except the latter was a far cry from his appearance in the Human Realm. Instead of the spindly, exposed bone and ligaments, his proportions were more accurate to a creature his size. He was wrapped in robes, looking like ceremonial robes with a hood hiding his face, in addition to the shadows cast by the lack of light within the Realm. Whenever there was a column of light streaked through the darkness, and caught him just right, the sliced cheeks with the dried blood on the black 'skin' was visible.
Their weapons draw-Batibat with her daggers and Death, a glowing green blade, stemming from a large, black steel sword handle, at least the length of three hands, moulded with the heads of skulls at either end of the blade handle-the two stood, backs to one another, facing off either side of the Wolkeins as they came in.
The two fought the waves of Wolkeins for what seemed like hours, before the final Wolkein they had dropped to the ground, its head somewhere else entirely, and didn't get back up again.
The glowing green blade vanishing into the blade handle, Death flicked his robe back momentarily to holster the grip at his side. "I requested a challenge, not a walk."
"Perhaps you should create another challenge for yourself - might be the only way you can prove your worth," Batibat responded sharply, slipping her blades back up her sleeves and turning to face the hooded figure of Death. Her eyes narrowed into thin slits, a scowl etched on her face.
"Maybe I should. Might actually be able to make a worth-while opponent," Death commented, folding his arms behind his back and walked a short distance away, stepping over multiple Wolkein bodies to do so. "I mean, just because the Master himself made you the Demon Summoner, doesn't mean you can create decent creations from scratch."
"As of now, I am the most experienced," Batibat shot back, slowly stepping out over the bodies as well, following after Death, the faint clicking of her heels echoing down the dark caverns. "So I'd like to see you try."
"Is that how you got Fear to dishonour the Master and abandon his cause?" Death asked.
A sudden rush of wind came up behind him, ruffling his robes softly, and as he turned around, he found out the cause of it. Batibat was standing toe-to-toe with him, nearly level with him in this form. He had to look for a few seconds longer to see her pupils, almost blending into the acid green of her eyes. A low, threaten snarl came from her, exposing her slightly fanged teeth.
"Do not dare speak that traitor's name," Batibat threatened, a blade flying from her sleeve, back into her hand and almost pressed against his throat. If someone were to come across the pair, and see the dried blood across Death's throat, they would have thought Batibat had already tried slicing his throat.
"ENOUGH!"
The great, booming voice was accompanied by a sudden, cold presence washing over both of them. Immediately following the freezing sensation, more so than the usually presence, both Death and Batibat dropped to one knee, their eyes, or lack thereof in Death's case, firmly faced the ground. The presence seemed to grow in front of them, as if there was an actual being physically there.
"YOUR PETTY SQUABBLING IS OF NO CONCERN TO ME! I AM WITHIN BREATHING DISTANCE OF BEING RELEASED ONTO THE HUMAN REALM, AND YET YOU QUARRLE AS THOUGH YOU ARE TURNING HUMAN YOURSELVES! GET TO THE HUMAN REALM, AND DESTROY THE WARRIORS! MY POWERS WILL SOON BE RELEASED UPON THEIR REALM!" Horror's voice boomed down the caverns, seemingly bouncing off the walls, and seemed to vibrate the very ground that Batibat and Death knelt on.
"Master, please, we require time. This.. latest addition to the Warriors may require some observations, so we can see what we are dealing wi-" Batibat requested, pleading even, but quickly grew silent when the irritated, booming voice of her Master returned, louder than before.
"TIME IS NOT ON OUR SIDE, BATIBAT! TAKE A WARRIOR TO THE HUMAN REALM, AND BRING THE WARRIORS TO YOU. THE HUMANS WILL COME, AND YOU WILL DESTROY THEM!"
"Yes, Master," Batibat replied quietly, her fingers flexing slightly, gathering and spreading the dirt beneath her hands, as she side glanced to Death, who had remained silent throughout this entire exchange.
"Yes.. Master Horror," Death responded when both Batibat and Horror's presence seemingly turned to him, keeping his hollowed out eyes facing the ground.
With the few words finally exchanged, the large, threatening presence started to fade away, before vanishing entirely, and the temperature raised a few, but still felt rather cold, like Horror's presence remained even when he was entirely gone.
Letting another few seconds pass, Death slowly rose to his feet, and looked to Batibat as she did the same. "So, you have an idea in mind?"
"I do, actually," Batibat snapped, throwing a dirty glare at Death, before turning on the spot and began walking down the opposite end of the cavern. Her cloaked dress following her, like darkened fog, clinging to her skin. "One that will kill two birds with one stone."
"Hold that for me, please."
"Yep," Clint said lowly, grabbing onto the panel of the Silver Ranger suit and gently easing it up, revealing several wires and electrical circuits hidden away from sight. He glanced aside, seeing the other scientists working on the digital aspects of the suit, going through.. whatever they needed. He hadn't been focused on what they said.
"They're working on the muscle-memory and fighting assistance," Fairweather informed him, seeing the somewhat confused look he gave when he glanced at the other scientists. When he glanced back at her, she added, "They've got the digital aspects of the suit covered, but we need to fix some of the minor, physical problems. Now, put your mask on."
Clint nodded slightly, reaching aside and putting the welding mask over his head, and brought the mask down to cover his face. He glanced to Fairweather, seeing she had done the same, and made sure the thick gloves he wore were secure as she pulled out the miniature welding torch.
Thick, bright sparks flew when the torch activated, fusing pieces of metal and cables together from where they had broken apart. Sparks bounced off both her mask, and Clint's gloves, before she pulled away and pulled her mask up.
"Right, that should do it for that," She uttered quietly as she set the torch to one side, Clint setting the panel down again. The suit seemed to flex slightly as the panel was placed back, the plates folding into one briefly, then folding into a more relaxed position.
"Bet this is really different than your time in Lightspeed," Clint commented as he took the welding mask to the side, along with his gloves.
"Times change. Technology evolves," Fairweather replied, glancing at Clint briefly, before her eyes returned to the Silver suit. Her hand moved along the hollow suit briefly, lingering over the right chest plate, and her eyes seemed to soften ever so slightly. "Last time I worked on a Silver Ranger suit.. I never imagined it'd be my brother who would be the one to use it. Back then, it was so much more delicate. We could only contain it all within a Morpher, about the size of a phone. Really delicate stuff. Now though.. the whole suit is the Morpher."
A small chuckle came from her at that moment, drawing a confused look from Clint. "And that's funny.. how?"
"Just.. it's funny how this technology can change in just a few years. And it makes it so much easier to get repairs done…you have no idea how difficult it is to repair the finest wires imaginable under a microscope, using robot arms."
Clint nodded slightly, still not finding what was funny about all this, but said, "So, anything else left to repair on this thing?"
"Now that's done, all that's left is to make a few adjustments to the crystal's alignment," Fairweather informed, gathering a few tools, designed for finer adjustments, and moved back so she could grab the hydraulic lift.
Hooking up under the arms, with a low whirling noise sounded out, the Silver suit was slowly raised from the ground, coming to a stop when the feet were just about to leave the surface.
Now standing level with the suit, Fairweather handed Clint a pair of blackout glasses, saying, "You're not going to want to look at it directly without these."
Clint took the glasses and put them on, and after Fairweather had done the same, she pressed a small panel just beside the central plate and, with a faint hiss, the panel opened up. Almost instantly, the semi-dark room was illuminated in a bright light, catching the attention of the others in the warehouse, who immediately turned away at the sheer brightness.
"So, how are we going to adjust the alignment?" Clint asked, making it seem like he had a good idea of what was going on.
"I just need you to hand me tools. This is a very, very delicate procedure, and I don't want anything going wrong," Fairweather replied, clearing her throat awkwardly as she handed the toolbox to Clint, and carefully took a large pair of thin-ended tweezers, and moved in closer to the source of the light.
Holding onto her forearm with the other hand, Fairweather slowly breathed as she carefully began making the pre-planned adjustments. Moving one wire a few millimetres up, making slight adjustments to how the metal frame was holding the crystal, making sure to take her time and asked for each tool she needed.
Finally, she made the final adjustment, very, very carefully moving the crystal around a fraction, making sure it stayed in the frame that held it in place. Releasing a sigh of relief she didn't know she was holding, Fairweather handed the last of the tools to Clint and pressed the same panel she'd use to open it.
As the panel closed up again, sealing the crystal away, she removed her glasses and said, "Well, that's all I can do for the time being."
"I'm guessing you did well. We'll have to see when we g-" Clint began, but found himself cut off when a sudden alarm started blaring throughout the warehouse.
Merely seconds after the alarms started, E came bursting in through the double doors, accompanied by a pair of armed Division 13 soldiers.
"Demon presence detected in the city. I need to suit up," E informed, stepping up to Fairweather and Clint, the two guards standing either side of the doors to the warehouse. "With any luck, the Rangers will show up. Are the adjustments made?"
"The adjustments have been completed. You should have quicker reaction times now, and the suit itself should help you move faster," Fairweather informed, stepping aside as the other scientists moved in. E removed his jacket, setting it to one side.
"Thank you. Clint, perhaps you could help Fairweather in going through her research, seeing if we can try and pinpoint a good location and idea where these Demons are coming from," E suggested, approaching the suit as several of the scientists pressed the suit in specific places. Opening up each section in turn, E stepped forward, turning around and backing into the suit.
"Yes sir," Clint responded sharply, standing at attention briefly before gesturing for Fairweather to lead the way. The two left just as the other scientists began closing E inside the suit, making some final adjustments to make the suit comfortable to wear.
"And keep an eye on those other asteroids that we've detected."
"Demon presence located!" MUTT alarmed, the screens before him suddenly flashing red and switching from the calm, white analysis tables he had been looking at. Isaac and Tanya, who had returned to the main Command Room after showering and changing into a fresh pair of clothes, were quickly drawn away from their game of cards at the blaring alarms.
"Where they at?" Isaac asked, as MUTT began scurrying through the multiple maps on screen, silencing the alarms as he tried to find the source.
"Station District. Early reports show a passenger locomotive has been turned over, possible fatalities," MUTT informed, tapping keys rapidly. It was a miracle that the keys hadn't been forced out of their place on the keyboard yet.
The keys seemed to have faded long ago, though.
"Great, not even there yet and we're going to get the blame on any deaths," Tanya commented sourly, shaking her head briefly before folding her arms. "So, what, sending us on ahead and the others get sent after us?"
"That is unlikely."
Both teens turned at Savage's sudden voice, which hide the sound of the sliding doors as he entered, accompanied by the other three. Matt seemed to have a number of new bruises across his arm, and his hair seemed a bit more ruffled than earlier.
"It seems you've already forgotten the lessons I've taught you for the past few weeks. You must work together more often," Savage informed, approaching the screen and assessing the situation, giving the teens a brief moment to interact.
"Kicked his ass?" Tanya asked Kyle.
"That'd be me," Natalie replied, smirking smugly when Matt threw a dirty look her way.
"Eat shit, Nat."
"I think she already made you do that, Matt," Kyle commented aptly, earning a few chuckles from the others.
"By the looks of it, you're dealing with Batibat and Wolkeins, along with a new Demon. She-Demon.. by the looks of it, Fra-Be."
"Fra.. Bae? 10,000 years before the invention of the Internet, yet they still use shitty ass names like that," Isaac said in mock disbelief, hands dropping to his side briefly.
"Do not think lightly of this She-Demon - she wasn't known as the Witch of the Red Mist for no reason. She could turn Warriors of the same faction against one another at a flick of her wrist. Many of my kind fell against their brethren's blade. I advise caution when facing her," Savage warned, turning back around and approaching the teens, stopping just before the five, looking between each of them. "Now go."
"Still going to need some practice on that motivational speaking. Getting there, but I've heard better from films," Kyle commented dryly, but quickly fell silent when he heard the wolf release low, but irritated, growls. "Well, ready guys? To head into curtain death, possibly by each other?" Isaac asked, as Savage shifted away, back to the computers with MUTT.
"Just another day working with you guys," Tanya replied, smirking away as Isaac looked back, returning the smirk.
"Ready?" Isaac repeated, this time, raising his Howler across his wrist; the gem beneath the wolf-head cover glowing a faint red, along with a low growl.
"Ready," The other four confirmed.
"United, we Howl!"
They managed to time it just right, so that as the light of their transformation into their Warrior armour, MUTT finished the teleportation sequence, enveloping them in new light and sending them away to the location of the Demon attack.
By the time they arrived at the station-MUTT had miscalculated the exact location for the teleporter in the hurry Savage had put them under, electing a few snide comments from Matt and Kyle, and Natalie surprisingly a great deal more damage had been done to the station than the last report.
As they walked through the entrance to the station, stepping over shattered glass mixed with blood stains, the five looked around. They saw further blood staining across the ground and walls, smearing the signs to identify platforms, along with a few bodies littered on the ground.
Natalie slowly walked over to one body, kneeling down beside it as she slowly turned it onto its back.
"Shit," She uttered under her breath, looking away when she saw the face-side of the body.
It looked as though someone had actually managed to rip the lower jaw from the head, tearing flesh and bone to do so. As such, blood was still oozing from the gaping wound, the tongue was just hanging limply, nowhere to go, and saliva drooling into the blood, mixing in a pool beside the body.
"Fucking hell," Kyle muttered as he knelt beside Natalie, the two glancing at one another briefly before he helped her to her feet again. Taking a few moments, Natalie quickly recovered and they re-joined the other three, moving deeper into the ruined station.
Alarms started audibly sounding, emergency alarms, as they walked through the ruined barriers, heading towards the actual platforms.
"This place is usually busy as fuck.. where the fuck is everyone?" Matt asked, looking around as they climbed the stationary escalators, moving around another couple of bodies leaning over the barriers.
"Well, I'd say half of them had the sense to get the fuck out when shit went down, and I'd say a good few unlucky motherfuckers were the ones we found jawless," Tanya replied, climbing up the other escalator, usually going down. By the time they reached the top, leading to the platforms, they heard the low grunts and groans that they knew were from Wolkeins.
Heads up, looks like we found them fuck sticks," Isaac alerted, picking up to a light jog, making his way to the source of the sounds, followed by the others. It took them barely a minute to come across the Wolkeins, and quickly drew their Wolf Blades when they did see them.
Crawling over the side of an upturned passenger train, small fires breaking out at random spots, all it took was one of the dull-gold armoured ones to see them and let out a war cry-like groan, alerting the others to the presence of the enemy.
"Well, well, what have we here?" Batibat mused, coming into view, between the Wolkeins and the Warriors, one hand on her hip, the other twirling a dagger around her fingers.
"I see you didn't try and clear up the place before we came here," Matt commented, adjusted his fingers around his Blades' handle.
"I have my orders, involving you five, and I intend on fulfilling those orders," Batibat responded, raising her hand from her hip, and snapped her fingers. A portal tore through the air beside Batibat, and a figure walked through it at her command.
The figure was more on the feminine side, slender legs and a somewhat smaller waist, at least compared to a male. But it was mostly covered up by a mixture of brown leather and dulled metal armour, wrapping around her torso, waist, legs and arms. A leather strapped secured a metal plate around her shoulder, leaving the other shoulder bare. This, along with her upper arms and a small strip around her waist, exposed the dark-green, blending into a lighter green, reptilian skin beneath. This ended at her head, where a thin, mohawk hair style ran down her head, continuing down into a pony tail.
Dark yellow eyes darted between each Warrior, narrowed slits for pupils, and her clawed fingers drummed around the carved, ancient-looking wooden staff. Several designs carved into the staff length, and topping off the staff, a primitive looking skull, its jaw forced open, painted with what looked like dry blood, mixed with other paints.
"Damn.. lizard lady? Fuck yeah," Matt commented among the five.
"Seriously?" Natalie asked.
"What? We all have weird fucking fetishes," Matt responded, turning back to the Wolkeins and Demons. The Wolkeins seemed to growl and hiss, their bodies constantly moving. As if holding in all the undead energy was trying to get out of them.
"I grow weary of you chatter, humans. Fra-Be, destroy them," Batibat ordered.
"Yes, Mistressssss," The Lizard Demon hissed, a forked tongue flicking between her lipless mouth, raising a hand from her side, and gestured forward. At the command, the Wolkeins charged forward, wielding their weapons as they rushed the Warriors.
"Same shit, different day," Tanya grunted, bringing her blade up to grab it with both hands, and with the other four, rushed at the Wolkeins, ready to spill Demon blood.
Blades struck through bodies, tearing Wolkeins in half, green blood splattering everywhere, layering over the already dried human blood stains. Some Wolkeins lost their arms, electing screeches of pain before they attempted to attack again, only to have their heads sliced off, and were then sent flying across the platform by a roundhouse kick.
Matt and Kyle both took on a couple of Wolkein Commanders, sparks flying from when steel made contact. Kyle quickly blocked one sword as it came swinging in, and out of the corner of his eye, saw that the other tried to strike him when he was occupied. Luckily, Matt had moved in and raised his blade, blocking the strike from landing. The two remained locked in the sword blocks, straining to keep the Wolkeins busy. They growled and snarled, pressing forward on their blades.
They didn't even see the blur of white streak behind them, slicing clean through the necks.
Their bodies fell to the ground, heads somewhere else entirely, Matt and Kyle looked to Natalie, the three exchanging brief nods, before becoming occupied once more with attacking the hordes of Wolkeins that tried attacking them.
Elsewhere, further down the platform, Tanya and Isaac were slicing through Wolkeins rapidly, one would duck when the other swung their sword where they had been standing, catching a Wolkein off guard. Driving an elbow into one Wolkeins' face, Isaac drove his blade through its gut. Jerking to the side, it sliced clean through its side tearing flesh, spilling gallons of blood over the platform and his armour.
"I'm going for the Lizard," Isaac shouted after slicing through another three Wolkeins, throwing a punch at a fourth as it came to attack.
"Get the bitch!" Tanya replied, side stepping as a Wolkein came at her; sticking her leg out, causing it to trip up and tumble across the ground.
He didn't need telling twice. Isaac ducked and dodged several Wolkeins, even managing to flip over a Wolkein as it sliced through the air he'd previously occupied. Slicing across its head as he came landing back down, Isaac began charging towards the she-Demon.
The reptilian eyes watched the Red Warrior as he drew closer, and a smirk crossed the she-Demon's scaled lips. "Thisss should be fun," She said to herself, side glancing at Batibat, the two perching themselves on the side of the upturned rail car. With a slight nod from the Warlord, she leapt off the passenger car, landing gracefully on the platform.
Using her staff as a weapon, Fra-Be blocked several of Isaac's initial attacks; taking small steps back with each exchange. Isaac tried several methods of attacking, head on strikes, strikes from the side, even stabbing motions. All these attacks, yet no hits landed; Fra-Be managed to block or deflect them all. And she did it all with that smug smirk across her scaled face.
And that just pissed Isaac off all the more.
"Fight back, you lizard fuck!" He shouted, taking a leap back and adjusted his hold on the blade, crossing his chest defensively.
Fra-Be slowly rose to her feet, adjusting her stance just a little narrower, and that smirk across her scales. "Very well.. on your grave, be it," She hissed, her forked tongue flicking out briefly, before she raised her staff and placed it in front of her. Though it was faint at first, Isaac could see a red fog forming in the open skull of her staff.
"Du digas ast!" The lizard chanted, waving her hand before and over the skull on her staff, drawing the dark red fog from the skull; making it thicker and more noticeable. The smoke swirled around her hand briefly, before she flicked it towards Isaac. Like a bullet, the fog went streaking through the air, directly at Isaac.
He managed to dodge the streak of fog as it came at him, but quickly turned when he heard an explosion ring out behind it. Apparently, that spell created explosion, big enough to rip through one of the upturned passenger cars. Batibat wasn't present, so she must have either moved or it was a different rail car.
Turning back to the she-Demon, he commented, "Well.. now I don't feel as bad hitting a bitch." Twirling his blade around, he brought the blunt edge to his shoulder, and ran back towards the she-Demon.
While the two fought, Isaac trying to strike her with blade, and she threw spell after spell at him, the rest of the Warriors finished off the rest of the Wolkeins, stabbing the last, screeching Wolkein through the head and the chest. Natalie delivering the finish blow, cutting through its neck.
"C'mon, before Isaac gets himself killed!" Tanya called, gesturing for the three to follow her, as they ran towards the other end of the platform, to where the other fight was taking place.
But they didn't reach it.
Batibat landed on the ground before them, rising from the kneeling position, and drew her daggers from her sleeves. "I believe a rematch would be in order," She hissed, her pupils narrowing dangerously on the Warriors, specifically Tanya and Matthew. "I have a score to settle."
"Still sore about getting your ass kicked?" Matt taunted, flipping his blade around and holding it offensively, glaring at the she-Demon beneath his visor.
"We'll gladly repeat that," Tanya added, gesturing for Tyler and Natalie to begin flanking; the two slowly moved around either side, holding their blades, ready to strike if needed.
Batibat just smirked, slowly walking towards the teens, glancing either side as the Black and White Warriors circled around her. When she came to a stop, she was enclosed in a circle formed by the Warriors, all weapons drawn, ready to attack her at a moments' notice.
But that moment was postponed briefly.
"Warriors!" MUTT's voice came over the comms. "The Silver Warriors' energy trace is approaching your location."
"Great, just what we need," Matthew muttered under his breath.
"Well, where is he then?" Kyle asked, looking around briefly.
There was a brief moment of silence that followed, before a response finally came. "Directly above your position."
Four sets of eyes widened, and glanced at their fellow Warriors; Batibat sensed something was wrong with them when they suddenly ducked, dropping to the ground in the process. A sudden whirling of energy sounded above her, out of sight thanks to the cover over the platform.
But she quickly made herself vanish into mist when the plastic and wooden arch shattered, sending it scattering everywhere as a large mass crashed through, firmly landing on the ground she once occupied. The impact resulted in large cracks forming in the concrete, even going so far as to crack parts of the track. Dust flooded the scene, temporarily reducing vision to nothing, until the helmets' thermal vision kicked in, and they all spotted the same thing.
"Shit, it's him," Tanya said, quickly getting to her feet.
But she barely readied herself when he rushed at her in a blur, grabbing her by the throat, slamming her back against the nearest pillar. The force sent her blade flying, scattering across the ground as she choked. She tried to tear his hand from her throat, but his force seemed unmatched. She tried shouting, telling, either, the others where they had to hit.
"Your little advantage isn't going to work this time, Ms. Steele," The Silver Ranger commented, seemingly able to read what she was going to say. Her head turned sharply when he spoke, and he felt her struggle even more beneath his tightened grip.
His death grip only faltered when one of the others slammed into his side, knocking him off and releasing Tanya. While she was recovering, gasping for breath and rubbing her throat, Matt and Kyle quickly moved in to block him, shifting to be on the offensive.
"I held back last time, didn't want to hurt you too bad," The Silver Ranger commented, drawing its wrist blades. "Now.. you're going to feel this power."
"Good luck on that," Kyle spat back, before he and Matt quickly moving in, and the three quickly began exchanging blocks. Electricity arced around their blades as they struck one another, bodies weaving around to avoid strikes, Kyle even managing to perform a quick backflip to avoid a swinging strike from the Silver.
As the three continued to fight, moving down the platform as it progressed, Natalie quickly helped Tanya to her feet and supported her against another pillar. It only took a few minutes for Tanya to say, "I'm good," and grab her blade. With a final shake of her head, the two females joined the fight against the Silver Ranger.
Even though it was four on one now, the Silver Ranger was still putting up a good fight, kicking Matt to the ground, flicking one wrist to block an attack from Kyle, and kicking forward to knock a blade off course. Giving Kyle a firm head-butt, pushing his wrist to get the blade off, he turned his attacks on the females, managing to deflect their attacks easily, knocking blades of course.
By the time he landed a kick to Natalie's chest, sending her flying backwards into a pillar, Matt had recovered and assisted Tanya. But he quickly received a kick to the helmet, using his head as a base to flip over a blade swing from Tanya, resulting in the Silver Ranger landing behind her, and Matt falling back on the ground with a partially cracked visor. Tanya turned around, and barely raised her blade in time to block both wrist blades striking her, electrical sparks flying from the contact, forcing his weight against her.
She tried to maintain her stance, but found herself dropping to one knee in her efforts to create a solid base. She glared up at the Silver Ranger, her visor and his individual, red-lensed eyes, separated by a few inches and their crossed blades.
"You got the one-up on me last time.. that's not going to happen again," The Silver Ranger commented, clenching his fists as he pressed down harder, Tanya's arms giving off the faintest quiver in her attempts to maintain a base.
"We'll.. figure something out," Tanya grunted, straining to keep her hold up. The Silver Ranger continued to push down on her, but just before he was about to finish her off, the sound of grunts and explosions in the distant. He looked up, seeing the fight going on at the other end of the platform. A strange, dark green Demon and…
"Red Ranger," He said aloud, driving his knee into Tanya's helmet and throwing her back. Stepping over her writhing body, he quickly turned into a silver blur and rushed at the other fight. Leaving the other Warriors scattered across the platform.
From her new position on another platform cover, Batibat knelt down as she took in the fight she had just witness. "Hmm…" She muttered to herself, gently stroking her cheek, mindful of her fine, sharp nails. "Interesting… The Master will wish to hear of this."
Back with Isaac and Fra-Be, the two had moved down the platform further, several newly lit fires scattered across the destroyed station. Both were too engrossed with avoiding each other's' attacks, that they didn't notice the blur of silver streaking across the platform towards them.
Not until it collided with the pair, grabbing them by the waists and, along with itself, threw the pair into the nearest passenger car. Glass shattering around them as they separated down the passenger car, Isaac and the Silver Ranger rolling down either side of the railcar, and Fra-Be stationary in the centre of the car.
"You Warriors can't even begin to imagine the sssscale of what you are trying to stop. But, it is unlikely that you will live to sssee it," Fra-Be hissed, her tongue flickering dangerously as she raised both her hands, her staff simply floating before her, levitating from the ground.
"Vinaquirem igira-kair!" She hissed, rubbing her hands against one another briefly before facing the palm of each at either Warriors; small balls of fire could be seen forming.
"Shit," Isaac said bluntly, dropping to the ground quickly.
The Silver Ranger barely dropped down in time as fire erupted from the Demon's palms; streaking down both sides of the passenger car, igniting the seats and what bodies remained. Several more windows shattered as the flames shot past them. The flames carried on over either Warrior, tearing through the torn passenger car doors.
"Isaac… Isaac, come in!" Tanya's voice said over his Howler, her voice frantic, as if running while she was talking.
But no response came. Isaac remained flat on the ground, his breathing frantic and agitated. It must have gone through the Howler, because Tanya gave a response. "Shit, we're coming!"
"What's up with him?" Matt asked as the four quickly ran towards the rail car they had seen the Silver Ranger tackle Isaac and the she-Demon into.
"You really think he recovered for that shit that happened to him? Nearly getting killed and half his face going all shit. That's going to leave you scarred," Tanya responded gruffly, rushing at the now smouldering passenger car.
The flames continued to spread, licking the walls and ceiling of the passenger car. While the Silver Ranger and Red Warriors' helmets filtered out the smoke, Isaac's heartrate was going through the roof and his breathing was out of sync and wild.
His vision began to distort slightly, taking his away from the rail car, with the she-Demon standing before him, fires spewing from her palms. He was taken back, months ago, to their second fight…
Pinned to the ground, fires enveloping him, burning him despite the suit.. the pain exploding in his face…
A few gruff, low grunts came from Isaac, as he began attempts to crawl away from the flames, muttering, "No.. no…"
But as he attempted to go further down the passenger car, the flames seemed to follow him; almost encasing him in a flaming coffin. Flames and smoke revolved around him, encircling him tightly. He could feel the heat beneath his armour.
"NO!"
He suddenly shouted, turning into a blur as he rushed forward; cutting through the flames and smoke, and collided with the she-Demon, the momentum carrying them both down the other end of the train, smashing into the Silver Ranger in the progress.
The dividing door at the end of the passenger car burst open, the three beings falling out, rolling across the tracks. While the Silver Ranger and Fra-Be were quick to get back to their feet and resume their close-quarters fighting, Isaac continued rolling, stumbling in his attempts to get to his feet.
He grabbed onto the platform, his grip twitching slightly as he tried to find something to grab onto; his breathing ragged, and looking around slowly. He could see the others running towards where he was, not fast enough to become blurs, but pretty damn fast compared to human standards, but before they could reach him, they were stopped.
"Fucker!" Matt exclaimed as he stumbled back from whatever he had hit, shaking his head as he stepped forward again. His fists slammed against the invisible shield, but he couldn't get through. The others made their own attempts, but also failed to break through.
Isaac looked to the side slowly, and saw Fra-Be finishing a short sequence of her strange hand movements; a deathly glare across her narrowed eyes, hissing dangerously.
"I will let you finisssh each other, Warriorss," She hissed, grabbing her float staff and striking the blunt end to the ground. Dark red mist started to form at the base, slivering up the staff, looking as though it was a snake. Upon wrapping around the skull at the top of the staff, it fed into the open mouth and, seemingly giving off a low hiss, and began flooding into the enclosed area.
"Isaac!" Tanya shouted, slamming her fists into the invisible shield; creating barely visible ripples with her strikes. She dropped to one knee slightly, trying to get level with Isaac, as the red fog started to fill in from the top, and moved downward slowly.
Pretty soon, the red mist enclosed the entire area; looking like a half orb of solid red. "MUTT, can you get Isaac?" Kyle asked frantically, pressing several buttons on his Howler.
"Comms are getting jammed; nothing we can do," Savage's voice came over the comms, as the others turned desperately to the encased mist.
"Vitals are down! Nothing coming through!" One of the scientists called in alarm, rapidly tapping commands into his keyboard, glancing between it and the computer screen. Several other scientists were working frantically, trying to get through; but all attempts led to the same, static filled images and systems starting to crash.
At that moment, Clint and Fairweather came bursting through the double doors, Fairweather quickly moving to one of the nearest computers, and Clint demanded, "What's happening?"
"One of the Demons released a gas attack; we were unable to determine the chemical signature before the vitals went haywire," One of the scientists informed, working rapidly to try and get the vitals back on the screen.
"E? E!" Clint shouted into one of the microphones, gripping the microphone with such force that it looked as though he may break it.
But nothing. Just.. static.
Finally, the solid mist of the encased area began to disperse; from the top at first, and slowly feeding down right to the bottom. By the time it had dispersed enough for them to see, the shield had given way, letting the Warriors quickly rush forward to check on Isaac.
They found his body close to where they had been standing, lying still and limp across the ground. Tanya and Kyle quickly rolled him onto his back, and Tanya set to work looking over his vitals and trying to wake him. Meanwhile, Matt had seen something else.
"Looks like he survived as well," Matt commented, shifting in front of Isaac's body, as he moved to be on the defensive when he saw the Silver Ranger. Unlike Isaac, the Silver Ranger had merely dropped to a kneeling stance, slowly shaking his head, as if trying to clear his helmet of the red fog. He slowly rose to his feet, yet was still bent over slightly, one hand to his helmet and the other on his knee.
"C'mon, Isaac... Wake up, damn it!" Tanya muttered to herself, and the unmoving body of the Warrior beneath her, shaking his shoulders slightly. But as she spoke, she missed an incoming transmission. "Say again," She asked, raising one hand to the side of her helmet.
"Step away from Isaac! He's been infected with Fra-Be's spells!" Savage's voice all but shouted over the comms, causing Tanya to shake her head, wincing beneath the helmet.
"Jesus Christ, Savage. Turn the fucking volume down!" She shouted down the comms, but was quickly taken away from her conversation when a hand suddenly wrapped around her forearm. Looking down, she saw Isaac slowly pulling himself up from the ground. But something was wrong.
Strangely, he was.. actually growling; a low, mechanically-altered vibration through his system, and into Tanya's at the same time. She tried pulling her arm free, but his grip didn't let up. And there was this strange glowing beneath his visor, forming two vague circles where his eyes should be.
"Isaac?" She asked slowly, finally managing to wrench her arm free, taking a few steps back and stood up as Isaac rose to his feet quickly.
But no response came. He merely turned around, in silence, and faced the now standing Silver Ranger; though it was faint, and partially hidden by the pre-existing red lenses, Tanya could swear that his eyes were glowing a dark red as well…
A sudden snarl ripped through Isaac's suit, as he began pressing down on the Silver Ranger, shoulder past Matthew in the process, and soon broke into a sudden sprint. Jumping at the last second, bringing a power kick to the Silver Ranger. But he just missed, as he stepped back and the two engaged in vicious combat, throwing punches and kicks at one another, Isaac punching clear through another support pillar.
"What do we do? Do we help them?" Natalie asked, looking among the others as they gathered together, watching the two Warriors, seemingly possessed into fighting one another.
"Intervene with the two, and you will more than likely get killed by Isaac," Savage informed, the sound of keys tapping in the background. "Try to keep them apart, they will more than likely tear the entire Territory apart to continue their fight; probably destroy it during their fight."
"Great options. Anything that, I don't know.. doesn't involving either us fucking dying or the city getting fucked?" Matt asked.
"Your only other option would be to find and destroy Fra-Be. Destroy her, the spell will be cancelled out."
"Great, something. Any way for us to find her?"
"Give us a moment. We're trying to give an area where she could be," MUTT informed.
"Oh great. No, really, take your fucking time," Tanya replied hotly.
"I would advise that one of you remains with the fight, and keep the others updated," MUTT advised, before adding, "Location of the Demons in your Realm sent to you."
"Get going, and fucking deal with that Bitch," Tanya ordered the others, getting a few looks for her rough tone, though quickly threw a glare at them.
That was enough for them to get going, following the artificial scent trail, leading them to the Demons.
Tanya turned back to the fight, and was alarmed to find that the fight wasn't taking place before her; instead, it had moved down the platform, onto the tracks, tearing through an upturned passenger car, and further down the tracks, a trail of destruction left in their wake.
"Tanya, alert. There appears to be more asteroids just about to enter Earth's atmosphere," MUTT informed as Tanya ran after the fighting pair. Torn steel beams and splintered wood were ripped from the gravel covered track beds as she stepped over them.
"And you're telling me this because…? I've got bigger shit to worry about now, MUTT," Tanya responded sharply, ducking to avoid a flying metal beam that came hurtling her way.
"From what I can gather, together with the projected trajectory of said asteroids, and the increasing chatter around Pax Valley, the asteroids seem to be, somehow, producing the same technical signature as the Silver Warrior."
"How the fuck is that possible?"
"The Silver Howler was banished from Earth, accompanied by the Wolf Zords linked with it," Savage's voice cut in.
Tanya faltered slightly, stumbling a bit before regaining her composure and continued running. "Well, shit.. so how much trouble will we be in if they get their hands on the Zords?"
"They have a very real risk of destroying your Wolves," Savage responded grimly.
"Shit.. how long have we got?" Tanya asked.
There was a moments' silence, before MUTT responded. "Approximately 20 minutes."
"20 minutes and counting to impact!" Another scientist called, prompting Clint to move over to their monitor, accompanied by Fairweather, the three tracking the series of asteroids' movements; streaking across the atmosphere of the Earth, bearing down on the United States.
"This doesn't make sense. Earlier, it was tracked to strike the middle of Russia. Now, it's changed course in such a way, something must have changed them," The scientist commented, looking between the other two.
"Any idea?" Clint asked, glancing across at Fairweather.
"Well.. look at it this way. Two asteroid strikes within two weeks of one another, don't you think it's coincidental? Perhaps they're linked to one another; maybe it's the Silver Crystal that's changing the course of these asteroids?"
"You're saying that these asteroids may be linked to the one that brought the Crystal to Earth?" Clint clarified. "What could they be then?"
Fairweather glanced to the screen, showing digital readings of the asteroids. One larger and the other two just a bit smaller than the other.
"Maybe… I don't know. We'll have to see how this plays out."
"Sir, we're starting to get reports on the asteroids," The scientist informed, bringing up a couple of new tabs to show Clint. "It appears as though the asteroids are starting to break up."
"Can we get locations? Last thing we need is the media having a field day about us trying to grab them all," Clint asked, looking between that screen and another scientist working on getting E's vitals up and running again.
"We've sent men out to the targeted locations. It appears most of them are rural and remote areas," the scientist informed.
"Good, good," Clint muttered under his breath, nodding a bit before his attention was redirected when the other scientist called for him.
"We've got E's vitals back on line. Sir, you need to take a look at this!"
Clint quickly moved over, leaving Fairweather with the other scientist to keep an eye on the trajectory of the asteroids, and looked over the shoulder of the scientist. He saw the screens had returned from static, but several things were cause for concern. For one, several of his vitals, including his increased pulse rate and his hyperventilating-rate of breathing, that something was seriously wrong.
"Blood pressures' through the roof, heart rate is way higher than it should be, even when fighting.. what's changed?" Clint asked, glancing at the scientist.
"I'm not sure sir, we haven't been able to recover the cameras yet. But trust us, we're working on getting them up and working again," The scientist assured, briefly glancing aside at Clint but quickly returned his effort to his rapid repairs.
"Sir!" Clint turned to the first scientist, who had had his position taken over by Fairweather, seeing her tap away at the keyboard rapidly. "The asteroids! They're breaking up; the.. they're…."
"They're Zords," Fairweather confirmed, glancing across at Clint. "Three of them."
"Shit…" Was all Clint could think to say.
A thunderous, near deafening screech starting to fill the air around Pax Valley, several thousand windows shattered, and tall buildings started to quake slightly. Onlookers came from inside houses and businesses, to see a small pod of large asteroids streaking across the blue sky. Some sections cracked off, spiraling out of control and slamming into any unfortunate skyscraper that got in its way.
Screams and shouts filled sections of the city, explosions shaking the sides of buildings as a mixture of rocks, steel and glass rained down on them. The police lines went haywire from different sections of the city, shouting down the phone to be heard over the hysteria.
As the breaking down pods continued to bear down across the city, they passed over the ruined remains of the train station. Tanya found her hearing barely surviving the enhanced screeching, bringing her hands to the sides of her helmet, in a vague attempt to block the sound. But through the severe screeching, she thought she heard…
"No.. can't be…" Tanya said to herself, lowering her hands and raising her gaze, watching as the asteroids came screeching into view - hurtling through the sky, breaking up more and more, glowing burning white, the smaller sections breaking off quickly cooling down to a bright red and orange and spinning out of control.
"Howling?"
One of the smaller asteroids suddenly broke apart entirely, large chunks of rock flying through the air, revealing what it had been surrounding.
The size of the Zord looked no bigger than Tanya's Gamma Wolf Zord, but its colour scheme was drastically different. With a mainly black colour scheme, with a slight hint of silver accenting across the sides of the body and the crown of the head, and its eyes were a deep red. Its tail lashed wildly as it flew through the air, crashing through an unlucky skyscraper as it came crashing to the ground.
Two more massive impacts shook the ground around them, causing even Isaac and E to separate from their fight. Distracted from their fight momentarily, the two males, along with Tanya, stared up as three masses rose from the ruined remnants of steel and dirt.
Along with the Gamma-sized Black Wolf Zord, two more Zords rose from their not-so-graceful landing. One seemed a similar size to the Black Zord, while the third seemed three times the size of the other two. The other smaller size Zord was a dirty white all over, save for the accenting on the sides and the crown of the head being silver, and a similarly coloured set of eyes, a vicious, metallic snarl ripping from it.
It was quickly silenced, when the larger Zord growled down at it; this one had very few accenting across the many metal plates covering its body, and was entirely silver. The only difference in colour were over the lower legs, which had panels of black metal, and around its neck. Unlike the other two Zords, its eyes were a dark green, seemingly sparking in the sunlight.
The three Zords stood menacingly over the crash site, thankfully, they had broken up so much during their entry into the planets' atmosphere, there was no serious impact. Meaning, no impact damage and no extra levelled buildings. In addition, the Zords had landed just beyond the borders of the city, yet saving more buildings and lives.
"Shit…" Tanya said under her breath, taking a small, slow step back as she raised her Howler. "MUTT…"
"The Lone Silver Zords," Savage's voice replied over the comms, a slight tint of a growl passing through his words. "It seems they followed the crystal."
A sudden growl tore Tanya from the conversation, and saw the results of the latest encounter; the Silver Ranger had head-butted Isaac, sending him stumbling back, giving him enough time to leap into the large Silver Wolf Zord. He entered the head with a brief flash of light on top of the head. Tanya went to assist Isaac, but he was too quick for her.
He had already vanished in a blur of red and silver, and Tanya swore she heard a series of snarls and growls suddenly sound out. "MUTT, Savage, what the fuck?! You sent the Zords?!"
"Isaac would have summoned them if we hadn't sent them, and even I would rather not face a creature possessed by Fra-Be," Savage's voice replied in turn. "Besides, if he manages to destroy the human and retrieve the Silver Crystal, then I see no harm to doing this."
"You're an asshole, Savage," Tanya growled, quickly looking up when their five Zords came into view - sometimes she was really pissed off with Isaac and this just happened to be one of them - the fact he could have them all under his control, should he need to…
Lucky bastard.
"What's happening? Get us readings on those Zords!" Clint said, his voice raised as he moved between several of the computers, glaring at the people sitting at them. All thoughts on E's orders to go through the files with Fairweather out of his head, as he worked on getting everyone organized.
"Visual readings are coming back online!" One scientist replied, working on his keyboard quickly, multiple tabs opening and closing, numbers flying across the pair of screens. Just as it looked as though the computer was going to blow up under the pressure it was under, a fussy image worked its way onto the monitors.
Clint, Fairweather and the other scientists all grew quiet as they focused on the large screen the fussy images were being projected onto. Static filled it momentarily, before a partially clearer image started to work its way into view. Along with…
"Is… Is that growling?" Clint asked, turning to Fairweather, both standing behind the original computer receiving the images. "He's inside the Zords?"
"One of them," Fairweather corrected, stepping around the computer, taking a few steps towards the larger screen. A concerned, yet slight tint of inquisitiveness, look crossed her eyes, watching as the image came into better view. "How did he manage to do that… We've got nothing on those Zords, and the tech we've added to the Silver Crystal should have made it incompatible…"
"So, what? An act of God got him in that Zord?" Clint asked, arms folding across his chest as he came up beside Fairweather.
She gave a slight roll of her eye in turn, glancing to Clint as she said, "There's no such thing as a God."
"And yet, we're fighting Demons, twice in your case. What was that thing Einstein said? 'Equal and opposite reaction'?"
"That's energy," Fairweather replied lowly, shaking her head slightly. "Hopefully," She added, hoping to draw away from the previous exchange. "Perhaps when this is over, and we've figured out how to get E's readings back on track, we can get these Zords in and have a closer look."
"In the meantime, get his readings back online. And find out what's wrong with E!"
Isaac snarled from the cockpit of the now combined Wolf Megazord, rising from the ground and shifting the sword into a fighting stance. The feet dug into the ground, turning up concrete and tarmac. But these were little concern to that instinct driving him, watching the three new Zords standing before the formed Megazord.
Those Zords snapped and snarled at the looming Megazord, baring massive, sharp teeth and large, layered ear panels folding back in aggression. With the two smaller Wolves flanking either side of the much larger, Silver Wolf, and Isaac's infected mind knew the Silver Ranger had entered that one.
Within said Silver Wolf Zord, in the black void that was the cockpit of the Zord's head, the Silver Ranger slowly stepped forward. He came to a stop in the supposed middle of the cockpit, and looked around slowly. From the ground before him, a small podium rose up, and came to a stop just about waist-height. Placing either hand on the small, half-sunken orbs at either side of the podium.
Said orbs began to glow a light silver, and the Silver Ranger slowly raised his head. "Zords, combine."
Moments later, the two smaller wolves' eyes started glowing a brighter dark red, and with a growl from the pair, leapt into the air.
~Megazord Sequence~
The larger Silver Wolf Zord jumped into the arm, its front shoulders jutting out and rolling so they were in line with the body. The entire body rolled so its underside was facing forwards, revealing the metallic grey and silver armour-style metal plates. The lower jaw of its head folded down, revealing the head, reminiscent of a knight's helmet, with two eye slots.
The two smaller Zords, in unison, had their bodies folded up to coincide with the larger Wolf Zord's transformation. Front legs folded in on themselves, neck folding up, making the head face upwards as it moved into position as either leg. Their tails broke off, flipping away and hovering just above the wrists of the Silver Wolf Zord.
With a faint hiss and shots of steam, the folded back legs of the larger Silver Zord slotted into the White and Black Wolf Zords. This formed a set of legs, adjusting to a better fighting stance. Moving up the body, the tails of the two Zords connected to the silver-and-black plated forearms, bringing both across its chest and striking the pair. The completed Megazord shifted into a fighting stance, light shining off of the eye slots.
~Megazord Sequence End~
Isaac's eyes narrowed, still glowing a dark red, as he focused on the new Megazord standing before his, the pair standing far higher than any of the other buildings could even hope to be. From the ground, several people saw the two Megazord standing towards the edge of the city, phones were pulled out and live streams began.
"Savage.. we've got a problem," Tanya said slowly, looking between the two from her new position, she had found one of the taller buildings in the close city, standing on the edge. "Looks like that Silver fucker's got a Megazord."
"How? This is impossible; they have literally just arrived on the planet," Savage responded, snarling in anger. With another brief growl, he finally added, "We'll find out how they've been able to control them so soon. Right now, our hope relies on the others destroying Fra-Be."
"Yeah, can't fucking wait," Tanya muttered under her breath, she lowered her Howler, her helmet raising to see the two titans.
This couldn't end well.
To Be Continued…