Power Rangers - Wolf Pack

by Nightfury991

A more realistic take on PR, with an OC Team - Evil always exists, in one form or another. It cannot be destroyed or created; only transferred. The latest evil takes the form of Demons, rising from a 10,000 year slumber. Five teens are all that stand between this world and total annihilation. But Demons aren't the only evil these Rangers will face; after all, who can you trust now?

18. Ep 17 - The Crimson Warrior

Episode 17 – The Crimson Warrior

"How did you get us to agree to come along on this?"

"C'mon, this is great! What's not to like about this?"

"I don't know… The sun burning my hair off, the fact that Rick is busy chucking up over the side."

"Yeah.. but think of the prize at the end of it!"

Eddie shook his head slightly, scratching the back of his neck as he moved out from the shaded area of the boat. The waves rocked against the sides, which only elected more gagging from Eddie at the other side of the boat, all Eddie saw was the camo shorts, legs and sandals he decided to wear. He came to a stop at the railing of the ship, arms crossed over the edge, looking out over the vast Gulf surrounding them. "But, seriously? Gulf of Mexico? What the fuck are we going to find here?"

"Hey, a friend of mine said he found something I might find interesting down here. And he said this was the exactly location!" the third member of their party exclaimed; or as Eddie saw, the entire reason he was dragged into doing this.

"What is it with you and not leaving well enough alone? The Governments going to be hunting your ass when they find out all the shit you've collected over the years, Mark."

"We've all got to have a hobby, Ed. Mine.. just so happens to be collecting stuff the Government 'claims' to be illegal just so they could get it," Mark replied, coming up beside his friend and leaned over the side, a baseball cap shading his bearded face from the burning sun. He produced a tablet from behind him, tapping the screen and handing it to Eddie. "But hey, look on the bright side; the trip shouldn't be any longer. We've reached the estimated location."

Eddie glanced down and took the tablet; showing the vast sea they were currently in, with a couple of points highlighted. Where they were supposed to reach, and their boat; both pretty much sitting on top one another. "And how exactly do you supposed we're going to get this? It's not exactly within arm's reach."

"Lucky this ship came with one of those unmanned subs, eh?" Mark smirked, taking the tablet back and switching between the apps. "Why'd you think I got us to stop just a bit before we got here?"

Eddie's hands dropped, looking over his shoulder. "You really need to get a different hobby, you know that? Like.. modelling or some shit."

"Modelling gets boring though - with this, you never know what you're.. wow!"

"What is it?" Eddie pushed off the railing and moved over to Mark, trying to look over his shoulder; since whatever he was so surprised by was showing up on the tablet. This was proved pointless, though, when Mark turned around and presented the tablet to him.

"You see this shit?!" Mark exclaimed, a crazed grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Eddie took the tablet in his hands, with Mark still holding it, and tiled it to a better angle to avoid the glare of the sun. His eyes widened and his mouth partially dropped at the pictures that were coming in. "What the fuck is that?" He asked, looking up as Mark turned the tablet back around to look at it himself.

"By the looks of it, it's got to be what I'm looking for! Can't think of anything else that would create this, this.. whatever you'd call this. Where'd you think this one is from? Reckon this is something from the Machine Empire?"

"Hell no, they're called 'Machine Empire' for a reason. This is.. something that isn't that," Eddie replied, taking the tablet again to look over the images.

The first thing that he was met with was the gleaming metal of this find; it must have been underwater for God knows how long, yet to Eddie, it looked as though it was as good as new. From what the pictures could show, it was part a humanoid's body, including the head and face, half of which was covered in this rustproof metal. The other half. "I've no idea what it's supposed to be. Rick, what'd you think.

…

"Rick?" Eddie turned around to look around at the rest of the boat, Mark doing the same, but the pair of them couldn't see their third friend. "Shit, did he fall in?" He asked, quickly handing the tablet back and moving to the side of the ship, looking over the edge. But all he was met with was shallow waves rocking against the side of the ship. "Rick!"

"He's probably gone below deck to see if any beer can settle in his stomach," Mark assured, quickly moving over to the edge beside Eddie. "You seeing some sort of feline in this thing or is it just me?"

"I don't care about that right now, shithead. Rick!" Eddie called, quickly pushing the tablet aside and headed below deck, leaving Mark as the only one up on deck. He leaded against the railing, turning the camera attached to the submerged vehicle, in the depths below them. He then picked up on something, flicking his wrist gave him a glance at his watch, and he flicked his eyes back at the tablet.

"Thirty second delay.. the fuck kind of shit is this?" Mark muttered under his breath, tapping his watch. "Last time I rent something from a Mexican…"

A sudden splash caught his attention, and he looked up from the tablet. "Rick?" He asked, looking around nearly all of the boat's deck. That didn't include the area behind the cabin, and he was sure he could see movement behind it. "Yeah, yeah. Really funny Rick," Mark called, quickly moving around the side of the cabin to the back of the boat.

His sudden shout was cut short with the landing of a blow, streaks of blood splashing across the back window.

Down below deck, Eddie heard a shout that was abruptly cut short. "Mark? Rick?" He called, stepping out from the small kitchen of the boat, looking towards the doors that led out to above deck. He slowly approached, still put off by the fact that he hadn't got a response yet. "Seriously guys, stop pissing around. I swear to God, this is the last time I let you drag me into shit like this."

He approached the door, pushing it open and stepping out onto the deck. Looking around, he saw no sign of his two friends. "Dick move, guys. Dick move." Eddie stepped out entirely, standing before the front of the cabin. He moved out to the side of the boat, double-checking to see if the pair of them had actually fallen into the water. But as he did though, he was made aware of the towering shadow standing behind him. Flexing his fingers around the railings, he slowly turned around and was met with-

"Ah!" He exclaimed, quickly getting silenced when a clawed hand sliced across his face and neck, splattering blood across the deck of the boat, and his body fell, lifeless, to the ground.

And standing above his body, a large creature stood, it's mostly metal body polished to perfection, like it had never been exposed to any sort of weather. Like it had just been taken from a factory. The few parts that weren't covered in this shiny metal, was instead covered with thick, dark tan fur, the side of the torso, no signs of deterioration, obviously hiding powerful muscles beneath. One arm was also free of metal, muscles barely hidden by the fur, thinning out slightly when it came to his clawed hand, clenching into a fist. Human blood trickling from the claw tips.

Its head was the part of his body that was mostly organic, only a quarter of its head, including the top right corner of the head and the right eye, was encased in metal. The fur was mostly dark tan, with a few lighter shades around the muzzle and single organic eye, the other eye replaced with a single, glowing red one.

"Orders received," Came a robotic, artificial voice, despite the actual mouth being organic in origin - it turned towards the distant shoreline. Immediately, the cybernetic eye focused in, running several calculations through its head; distance, time it would take, and all other relative calculations. It then turned to the controls of the vessel it had landed on, systematically working on how the controls worked and stepped up to the control podium.

"Power source located. Heading towards location."

Fingers flexed around the power switch, applying full throttle and turning the boat back to the nearest shoreline. Spray kicking up as the engines propelled the ship forward.

---

MUTT quietly tapped away at a small keyboard, resting on a small podium drawn out from the side of the wall. The only relatively present sound came from the pair of heartrate monitors, not in sync, hooked up the pair of injured male teenagers. Isaac and Kyle were lying on identical beds, both medically kept unconscious, as thick, bloodied bandages wrapped around their shoulder and abdomen respectively. Their exposed flesh, from the waist up, revealed the scared, lean torsos, Savage's training had been paying off. MUTT had already done what he could to heal them, but there was something much more pressing, in his processors….

He carefully grabbed and raised a small petri dish, inside, small metal shrapnel. He turned it slightly, sending the shards rattling to one side, leaving blood smeared against the plastic. He turned it back level when the door slid open, and someone stepped in.

"How is their condition?" Savage asked, arms folded behind his back. Still clad in his crimson-clad armour, sans mask.

"Stable, for now," MUTT answered, tapping a final key and sending the podium back into the wall. He turned around, petri dish still in hand as Savage came into complete view. "I've managed to extract these fragments from the pair of them. I haven't got around to extracting any fragments from Matthew's body yet, though I will get around to it shortly."

Savage slowly nodded, glancing down to the contained fragments. "Good, good.. there are traditions that must be followed. Respect for the dead…"

"We should leave them rest. I can examine these fragments, and we can inform the other two of the current situation," MUTT informed, gesturing towards the door Savage had just entered through. Savage glanced across at the two recovering humans, before he nodded. The two quietly left, MUTT deactivating the lights and keep the environment peaceful, should his calculations be slightly off and the aesthetic wear off earlier than expected. Not that he expected them to, though.

The two walked the short corridor connecting this room to the main sector of the Den, lights lining the length, giving off just the right amount of light to provide good vision. Though this also highlighted the many claw marks, etched into the floor by Savage's constant walking to and fro. Eventually, they reached another door and walked through as it slid open, revealing the main section, where all of MUTT's equipment was all unorganized and computers were active.

And, as it happened, the place where Tanya and Natalie had taken up temporary residence. Slumping against the most comfortable equipment, their bodies a combined mess of previously healed scars and fresh cuts plastered, one of the more noticeable plasters across one of Tanya's cheeks. The door sliding open caught their attention, and both quickly got to their feet.

"How are they?" Natalie asked, rolling the sleeves of her jacket back down, hiding the scarred and bandaged arms. Tanya looked to the pair expectantly, awaiting answers just like Natalie; though it was clear, by the way the look of desperate hope shared between the pair, they their minds weren't just focused on Kyle and Isaac…

"Isaac and Kyle are recovering and resting as of now. Matt…" MUTT paused briefly, his readings picking up the faintest changes in the readings of the two females, increased heartrate, the slightest movements, eye movement. "Matt.. 's body has been moved to another room, to ensure preservation until Savage makes a start on the traditions of.. honouring the dead."

"Please, just.. just stop calling him.. that," Natalie insisted, raising a hand to emphasis her point. She quickly brought it back to wipe the underside of her eyes with the thumb. She slowly sank down to sit on the chunky block of tech she had been sat on before, both her hands coming up to support her head. "How? H... How did this happen? I thought you said there was nothing human-made that could get through that armour!"

"That is what I am hoping to find out," MUTT informed, producing the same petri dish he had shown Savage a few minutes ago. "I have extracted these bits of shrapnel from the three males, and I believe I can make sense of how these Humans have developed these."

MUTT quickly moved behind a set of computers, Savage joining him, clearing a space by sliding a load of unused tech onto the floor, creating a great noise and sending screws and nuts flying across the room. MUTT tried sparing a look of distaste for Savage's lack of respect for his equipment, but his blank head made it difficult to express any sort of emotion, merely getting on with the job, taking the petri dish top off and carefully extracted one of the larger fragments. It fell into a thin flask, hooked up to the nearest computer, and MUTT immediately began tapping away commands into the keyboard; the bottom of the flask, connected to an electronic base, started glowing a faint red. The screen began rolling at an alarming rate, taking apart the chemical and physical components of the fragments.

"What's I... How's Isaac?" Tanya eventually asked, stepping up to the other side of the desk to Savage and MUTT, leaning over, though her eyes didn't have a chance to keep track of what was flying past the screen.

"His condition is stable for the time being, the bullet was removed, with a broken collarbone. Though I highly suspect that he is mostly suffering from physiological injures at the same time, under the conditions he was under, as well as the situation, it wouldn't be a surprise. And judging from his current state, I suspect I am correct," MUTT answered, simultaneously replying to Tanya while working on the computer.

Tanya gave a small nod, appreciatively of the answer, before quietly departed, slipping through the sliding doors. Neither Savage nor MUTT questioned, and Natalie assumed they all shared the same idea. So, getting to her feet slowly, she wondered over to the desk Tanya had just left, one arm being held by the other, and watched as MUTT kept up with the rapid pace of the screen. "How the hell do you keep up with that?"

"Processing power in my chassis allows me to process almost seven and three-quarters times faster than the above-average human," MUTT replied, Natalie finding something to keep her mind from wandering back to the darker thoughts.

At that moment though, a small alarm came from one of the computers behind Savage and MUTT, though Natalie noted how it wasn't an alarm she usually heard when in this place. Savage side glanced at MUTT, and vice versa, before Savage moved off and went to investigate the lower, less glaring alarm. "That alarm ever happen before? Never heard it sound before," Natalie questioned, leaning forward slightly, engrossing herself in the fact that MUTT could maintain the conversation while working furiously.

"This alarm hasn't sounded since you've been selected, no. From what I can gather, some of the alarms are linked to specific wavelength signatures, mostly Demonic-originating alarms have sounded, as you might have guessed. This one, howe-"

MUTT was harshly cut short when a snarl tore through the relative silence, and he and Natalie quickly ducked to avoid a flying computer monitor. Luckily, the only thing it struck was the wall, glass smashing into a couple dozen pieces and the crooked metal frame came to rest on the ground.

"What the fuck, man?!" Natalie exclaimed, using the table to hoist herself back up. MUTT turned back as well, and took a small step back as Savage came into view.

Hunched over slightly, clawed hands digging into the desk, Savage's shoulder hackles bristled, despite the armour covering most of his body, it was still visible between the armour plates. A low snarl ripping from his throat, vibrating through his body and echoing off the walls. "I will deal with this one, myself," Savage stated, pushing off the desk and turning around on the spot, claw-shaped holes torn into the desk becoming visible.

MUTT tried to step forward, to gain information about the cause to this, but Savage roughly shoved him aside and sent him back into one of the desks. Savage just stormed through the door, barely giving it enough time to fully open, leaving MUTT and Natalie, wondering what caused this sudden outburst of anger, MUTT physically righting himself off of the desk he had been pushed against.

"What's his problem?" Natalie asked, quickly moving around the desk and helping MUTT onto his feet.

"I don't know," MUTT replied, giving a slight nod to in appreciation to Natalie's help, before moving over to the remains of the computer and keyboard, carefully taking the shredded keyboard in hand, looking them over. To Natalie, it looked almost…like he was saddened by the damage.

"I have his readings, however," MUTT continued, gathering the larger parts and moving them to one side; moving across the room afterwards, Natalie stepping aside, as he moved to grab the clunky, smashed monitor. "His heartrate had increased by twenty beats a second, an increased amount of adrenaline feeding into his brain.. there is a 72% chance that Savage, somehow, knew.. whatever was coming up on the readings."

"But I thought you said there hadn't been any of those alarms before?" Natalie asked, feeling the need to help; gathering up a few of the smaller pieces of computer shrapnel into one area.

"Exactly. Whatever Savage reacted to.. only he knew what it was."

---

Entering through into the Throne Cavern, Death made his presence known to the sitting Master and pacing Batibat, the remnants of a portal's green glow fading behind him. "I can now confirm that the Blue Warrior has passed beyond my Abyss," He said, coming to a stop and slipping into a one knee kneeling position before the Master's Throne.

Batibat had paused in her pacing across the length of the Throne room, and by the time Death spoke, turned back around to properly hear the claim. Her arms unfolded to her sides, one hand resting on her hip as she asked, "Passed beyond your Abyss? And you didn't grab him before he moved beyond?"

"You think I didn't try?" Death asked, a sliver of malice in his words as he twisted his head to glance over his shoulder. "But it appears the Warriors are being.. protected, even beyond their physical forms."

"Zeta?"

Though in that moment, Batibat realized her words and her eyes widened; even Death's hand clenched in what could only be described as fear. The air around them grew cold, the few speckles of flowing fabric seemingly freezing in mid-air as the temperature continued to drop. Death turned his head back slowly to face the Master, unmoving for fear of an attack for Batibat's slipup. A low, unearthly growl echoed from underneath the shadow-covered head of the Master, two bony fingers of one fist supporting the side of his hood, while the other was firmly gripped around the skull that sat at the end of the arm rest.

After a few moments though, the fragments started to flow freely again, and the temperature rose ever so slowly, not that it was that warm to begin with. But both Death and Batibat felt the pressure around their non-existent hearts ease ever so slightly; they seemed to be spared the Master's wrath.. for now.

"Yes.. I highly suspect," Death finally answered, quickly rising to his feet and giving a slight brush to his robes. "It appears that way."

"There is.. also something else," Death continued, turning around momentarily to ensure that Batibat was paying attention to his words. "There is.. another lifeform that has made itself known in the Human Realm."

Batibat raised an eyebrow slightly, bringing one of her daggers out to casually spin around her fingers. "And what is it about this lifeform that you think it significant enough to speak of in the presence of the Master?" she asked, grabbing the handle of the dagger as it came around.

"Because this one didn't grow and develop, like Human scents do. This one.. just existed."

"What are you talking about, Death?" Batibat questioned, stepping up to stand alongside Death, the two Warlords standing before the Master.

"What I'm saying, is that this creature.. isn't of this Planet. His scent came from beyond this World."

"The One from Beyond the Gods' Grasp."

Both Death and Batibat looked up to their Master in respect of his words, though the pair were a tad confused by his words. Did this mean the Master knew of this creature where the two of them did not? Not that either of them were going to start question their Master, though, merely hoping that he would share any information he had on this creature with his two trusted Warlords.

"Death, go to the Human Realm. Inform me of any.. significant updates on what it is doing," Horror ordered, bringing his head up from the fingers it was resting against, bringing his back up straight and returning it to the other skull-ended armrest. "This.. creature will prove to be nothing but a small speck in the grand plan, but it may prove useful to.. erase it before it can became a thorn."

"Yes, my Master," Death replied, giving a slight bow in acknowledgement to the command, briskly turning on the spot and departing without another word spared. His last sighting was going through another portal, sealing shut after he had walked through it.

There was a brief silence as Batibat switched between glancing up to her Master and looking around the semi-bare walls of the Throne Room. She couldn't tell what was going through the Masters' mind when silence was all that filled the Realm; a being such as him…such power…

"Master?" she asked after another few seconds.

A low, rumbling grunt came from under the hood; it wasn't much, but it made her aware that the Master was paying attention. Relatively speaking, anyway.

"I've.. had a thought, about this creature. Perhaps.. could it be Fear's work?" she questioned, folding her hands behind the small of her back as she spoke. "We have not heard of him for quite some time now, so perhaps.. this could be his work?"

Horror slowly turned his head down to look at Batibat, causing her to take a small step back under his glaring look. As the glare grew longer, the further Batibat shrank back from her original position; casting her eyes down, her dagger long since returned to the small hilt beneath her robes. "No… This is not the work of Fear."

"If… If you are sure, Master…which I am entirely sure you are…" Batibat stated, trying to word it carefully to ensure that it didn't come across as an afterthought or anything like that.

"I know it not to be… Fear is, occupied, at this current time. This is not his work."

---

Silence was all that was in the city, not a human to be seen or heard. Only the wind provided any sort of sound, brushing discarded garbage across the ground like tumbleweeds. A lone, double page spread newspaper was picked up by the wind, getting tossed through the air and tumbled across the ground, only coming to a stop when it collided with something.

Though it quickly moved past, unwrapping itself from Savage's leg and made its way further down the street and out of sight. Savage's head turned slowly, taking in the abandoned territory of the Humans, the stone settlements, far larger than anything Savage had seen, in person, before. He inhaled slowly, taking in the relatively cool air through his mask, eyes opening fully again. Letting out a low breath, he continued walking; he had only come to a stop when he had entered the city, observing it in person for the first time.

The wind caught what little fur was exposed through the few fine gaps in his armour, the same wind also catching the leather waist cape. It carried several scents his way, the heavy, earthy smell of Humans was still very much present, despite the population of the city long gone. Humans always had a scent that stuck to everything they touched, something Savage had come to know a long time ago, back.. back then…

"No," Savage grunted under his breath, giving a slight shake of his head. As though trying to shake some lingering thoughts from his mind. "Now is not the time…"

Savage came to a stop, now finding himself a good distance away from where he had entered the city, not quiet the exact centre, but getting there. He gave a short look around the area, finding several buildings with a mostly transparent front, displaying many different.. products, the teenagers called it. What was the word that they used for these types of buildings? Small, glass-fronted.. displaying their collection like trophies of War.

'Stores,' Savage told himself, his eyes glancing across a few of the products that were on display. None were anything notable to him.. until he got to the last one.

To the majority that would past the store front, they would just pass it off as a cheap, run-of-the-mill stuffed deer toy, about the size of a small human, and didn't appear to be made of the best materials. But for Savage, something more than this.. factory-acrylic waste stuffed product. Side-tracked momentarily, Savage took a few steps closer to the window, flicking his waist cape aside as he knelt down. One hand raised against the glass, Savage took a much closer look at the stuffed animal, looking beyond what was physically present before him.

He closed his eyes again, trying, in vain, to stop the blocked off memories from coming forward, but found himself unable to stop them. Like the deer was some sort of.. trigger, setting it off.

"Val…" He said quietly, dropping to both knees before the glass.

---

The stuffed deer's head slowly turned around, so it was hanging upside down and a smudge of blood around its parted mouth, the artificial fur blurring into a much more realistic pelt. The head swayed back and forth, with the movement of the creature carrying it. Small specks of the dead creatures' blood were smeared across the armour, though thanks to the already crimson-splattered all across, it didn't stand out too much.

Large paws stepping across thinly grassed areas, trenching across mud patches constantly between the much fewer grass patches, leaving large, four-toed prints in its tracks. The leather cape around his waist brushing against the taller grass and bushes, the first few specks of mud beginning to stick to the edges.

The figure came to a sudden stop, lupine ears perking up and swiveled with the subtle movements of his head. The elongated muzzle twitched slightly, the scent of the deer around his broad shoulders becoming muddled through another, overwhelming scent hitting him like a boulder. His dark yellow eyes darted across the treeline before him.

"Val?" He called, slowly kneeling down and shuffling the kill off his shoulders, setting it down on the ground to his side. Only the wind gave him a low, breath of a response. "Val? Trig? I've warned you, Trig. Now is not the time for toying," He continued, a slight edge to his tone as a growl bubbled at the back of his throat. Still, no response was given to him. He opened his mouth partly to give a final warning when a blood-curdling howl tore through the still air.

Humans would take it as just a howl, the sound that would become synonymous with terror and fear.

Savage, however, could hear through the spectrum and picked out specific tone; and his eyes widened. He leapt to his feet, the deer's carcass forgotten for now, as he tore across the grass and mud; muddy patches of grass tearing off the ground, coiling up on the rest when it came to rest. He tore through the trees, more mud getting kicked up at the sheer speed he was running at, just a crimson-blur shooting across the forest.

When he broke through the last line of trees, he forced himself to a shuddering stop; kicking up small mounds of dirt and grass at his paws.

Across the land in front of him, bodies were littered across the ground. Blood stained the grass and their furs, multiple wounds opened across their armour less forms. Some broad shouldered, some slimmer build; some younger, some older. All life gone from their fogged over eyes, partially close. Immediately, Savage took a step back, his breathing grown heavier as memories started flooding back; war-torn landscapes, fallen brothers…it took him a few moments to pull himself back, shaking his head back into the now.

"Val… Val!" he shouted, running forward, being respectful of the dead, minding where he stepped and moved around the bodies. He moved further into the territory, keeping his muzzle close to ensure the surroundings wouldn't trigger further flashbacks or possible breakdowns. He took a path through the territory he had taken more times than he could count; nothing like this had been experienced by him before, though. When he came to the end of the path he had walked back and forth, he was struck cold in his tracks.

The cave, that was usually so well kept and maintained, was blood-soaked; the dirt and blood mixture seeping from a specific body. The build was lithe, yet well built, small muscles hidden beneath the charcoal-coloured, blood-stained fur. Savage rushed forward, sliding onto his knees beside the body; slipping his arm behind the small of her back, bringing the upper half into his cradling arms.

"Val.. Val!" Savage whispered, bringing his other hand to the side of her smooth neck, feeling for something, anything, that proved she was alive. But no matter where he pressed two fingers, he felt.. nothing. Just the pressing matter of how.. cold she felt. His breathing grew shallow and frantic, pulling the body closer to him, the blood staining the leather armour she wore across her torso smearing across his already crimson-stained armour, further embedding the colour into the armour. "No… No-No-No. Not… Not you… Not you too, please…" He rocked the body back and forth with his own, continuing the soft whispering under his breath. Ears folded back, his fingers curling around the shoulder of the female's body.

---

A sudden, forceful impact struck the ground beneath Savage's crouched form.

"Well.. you're definitely a strange specimen, aren't you?"

---

Earlier...

"Are we sure that we can confirm the kill, Clint? Since it's not likely that they're going to come back into the city after that," E questioned, hands in his pockets, as he and Clint walked through the street. The scene around them was in the closing up phase; equipment was being packed away, body bags, both empty and zipped up, were loaded up into the back of respective trucks, and armed soldiers stood at either end of the streets. The two walked among all this, E without his Silver armour, that had been left beside one of the vehicles he knew was stationary for the time being.

"It was a straight through and through; I saw the bullet come out and smash into one of the bricks. You could probably see when we head back there," Clint replied, sniper rifle long gone but he was still wearing the light body armour that he had been wearing he was up in the building, taking the shot. "Trust me, E, he's as good as dead."

"Good, good.. perhaps that will tie up one loose end," E replied, giving a slight nod as they started making their way back down the way they came, where the majority of the vehicles were parked up. As they walked, E noticed that Clint looked as though he wanted to say something, but seemed to be stopping himself before he could. "Something on your mind?"

"Nothing against it, just…wondering if it was truly necessary to put the kill order on them?" Clint asked, scratching the underside of his chin.

E nodded slightly, the slightest twitch of a smirk tugging at one corner. "Perhaps it is a little on the extreme side; given their age and such. But.. considering what the plans are for those we capture alive, killing them to put a permanent stop to them would prove to be the.. kinder, of the two options."

Judging by the way E's words were finely woven with delicate malice, Clint could only imagine what he meant by his words. His only response was a slight nod, showing the fact he was paying attention. A few more exchanges went between the pair of them, before they found themselves amid the temporary parking lot. They were interrupted, however, when they were approached by one of the soldiers.

"Sir!" The soldier panted, quickly raising his hand to a salute. "Comms for you. From Command."

E raised an eyebrow slightly, side glancing at Clint before he turned back to the soldier. "Right then. Best not leave them waiting," He stated, quickly pulling his hands free of his pockets and followed the soldiers' lead. Clint following after them, coming to a stop when they came to the open back of one of the trucks. Several, connected monitors filled the trunk, with a single keyboard and mouse to pick between them. Currently, the centre screen was focused on a dark-skinned man in a white lab coat.

"So, what've you got for me?" E asked, standing directly in front of the monitors, Clint off to one side.

"You asked us to keep you informed of anything that looks suspicious," The scientist replied, re-adjusting the glasses so they were better resting. "And we've had a few developments that you might be interested in."

"Alright, let's hear 'em."

The scientist looked off slightly, the distant sound of keys tapping echoing out. "We've had a report of a triple homicide on board a boat in the Gulf of Mexico, and we've had several reports submitted to the police of a strange.. creature, reported in several states. Though with the timeline of the reports make it impossible for it to be of human origin."

E raised an eyebrow slightly, hands slipping back into his pockets. "And we need to hear about the Mexico deaths, why?"

"From what some of the reports say, the creatures' first sightings were on the northern side of the Gulf; one report specifically stating how it arrived from the ocean. And the geography of where the reports are being submitted create a straight line, directly to Pax Valley."

"It's coming here?" Clint questioned, earning a look over the shoulder from E.

"It appears so," E replied, turning back around. "How long do we have before it arrives?"

"The last report came from a station in the south-east region of Kansas, and the first report came only four hours before. With the projected timeline, I'd say just over an hour."

E gave a small nod, saying, "Then perhaps it would be better to prepare for its arrival."

"There's another report, however, another creature was noted entering the city twenty minutes ago. Opposite side of the city, and I've got notes here describing it to be.. well, it says 'wolfish in nature'."

"One of the Rangers? So soon after what happened?" E asked.

"Doesn't seem like it. Report said it was in red armour, but that's about it," the scientist explained.

"Hmm. Alright then. Thanks for the update," E said, tapping a key to end the call. The screens went blue momentarily, and E moved off with Clint. "I'm going to need you to keep me updated on anything that happens here," He said to Clint, approaching the still-standing Silver Ranger armour, Clint hanging back as he turned, the front panels opening up to allow him to get in.

"And what of the victims of the Rangers? A few of them had families," Clint asked as the panels closed up around E, securing him in the suit. The eye pieces reignited into a faint red glow when the helmet was locked back into place.

"Give those who have families the compensation fee; those that don't have direct relations, well.. an apology should do just fine," E replied, adjusting the grip on the gauntlets around his arms. "Can't sue something that, in all legal terms, never existed."

Clint nodded slowly, arms folded across his chest as E made the final checks of his armour; both physical and mechanical. The low whining of the suits power source, the Crystal at the centre of the chest, beginning to power up. "Yes sir," Clint replied. E gave a small nod in response, giving off a slightly unnerving vibe, thanks to the combination of glowing wolf eyes, short muzzle extending from the mouth guard and short, sharply peeks acting as false ears.

With that, E quickly moved off, taking off as a silver blur down the street; a small shock wave rocking the vehicles and forcing Clint to take a step back to avoid falling over. He watched as E tore off, leaving a small dust trail across the disused roads. He turned slowly and walked off to see how things were panning out with the clear up.

Failing to notice a distant figure standing on top of one of the surrounding buildings, vanishing from sight through a thin shadow.

---

"So.. that's what you are…" E commented under his breath, crouching to one knee.

He had climbed up onto one of the buildings surrounding the target area, and soon spotted the creature that had entered the city, according to the reports. It looked just as the minimal reports described, the creature was very rugged in his design, using the built in zoom feature to get a better look at the target. Watching as it paused next to a long abandoned toy store and, strangely, approached the display glass and knelt down by one of the toys.

'Is that.. why's he mourning over a stuffed Bambi?' E thought to himself, leaning forward slightly to make sure he was actually seeing right. Giving a slight shake of his head, he got to his feet and muttered, "Let's see what this wolf is like…" He slowly stepped back, and quickly rushed forward, throwing himself off of the edge of the building and sailed through the air.

He slammed into the ground, fist and knee taking the brunt of the impact and cracking the ground beneath him, rising to his feet slowly, hands coming to rest at his sides and clenching into loose fists.

"Well.. you're definitely a strange specimen, aren't you?"

Savage's eyes snapped open, forcefully torn from the tragic memory and made aware of his true surroundings, along with his senses picking up all of the scents and sights around him. And that included the bitterly metallic scent that seemed to imbed itself permanently in his nose. Breathing through his nose, in hopes to avoid the scent cutting his mouth, Savage rose to his feet slowly and once he was at his full height, he turned around. Coming face to face with the mysterious Silver Ranger, arms by his side, the glowing red eyes of the helmet looking as though it was trying to act on an intimidation level.

Not that Savage would be threatened by mere show.

"Now... I don't know what you're from or what kind of creature are you, but I'm pretty sure you don't fully understand how the world works," E said, taking a few steps forward, closer to Savage, yet he seemed to know his boundaries, for now anyway, and only moved so close. When he got no response, he continued, "So, you let me spell it out so even you can understand. You are in the most powerful country on the entire planet, and you think you can recruit American, and British, citizens to your little Ranger cult? And bring your guerrilla warfare into conflict with the United States of America? I may not be American-born, it is my job to protect this country from threats, and that includes threats like you."

E paused for a moment again, waiting for some kind of response, briefly wondering if he had just wasted his time trying to explain everything in English, so he tried again. "Du verstehst nicht-" He began, this time in German, but was suddenly cut short when he finally got a response from the crimson-coloured Warrior.

"I care not for your Politics and your.. words," Savage replied, a low growl to the edge of his words as he took a slow step forward.

"Oh.. you do understand English then?" E questioned.

"I perfectly understand your language, Human. And your words and politics, as I have said, have no meaning to me. This world has survived millennia without you in control, and the moment you try and claim power, you teeter closer to the edge of destruction," Savage responded sharply, a snarl on the edge of his tone. "It is Warriors such as Zeta's that protect you from falling into the Abyss."

"Zeta? Who's that then?" E asked.

"Under Zeta's grace, I guide these humans in protecting your planet from a threat unlike anything you have ever seen before. And I have seen the threats humankind have faced before, with your own groups of.. you call them, Rangers?" Savage questioned, outright ignoring E's question.

"Like you know fuck all about humanity," E commented under his breath, clenching his fists tighter. Almost to the point of automatically activating his energy blades.

"I know of the battle of Mariner Bay against the Demon Queen, Bansheera, her attempts to rebuild her grand temple, thwarted by your Power Rangers," Savage stated, turning to glare directly at E.

In that single moment, E tensed up, the result of which was the activation of his blades, emitting a light blue glow and was paired with a faint 'mmm'. Savage tilted his head forward slightly, giving off a slight more sinister glare of his dark yellow eyes. "Touch a nerve, did I?"

"Of all the Ranger groups that have been and gone.. you pick that one out of, what, your ass?" E asked, drawing his fists, blades and all, into better defense positions as he and Savage began circling one another, like vultures, circling around a creature, waiting for it to die so they could feast on its corpse.

"Everything happens for a specific reason, you took one of my Warriors from this world... I should return the favour, taking one of yours from you," Savage growled threateningly, slowly raising one of his clawed hands, noting how E's fingers clenched and unclenched, the wrist blades moving up a fraction, almost coming to a form a defensive cross across his chest.

"That a threat, freak?" E asked, a deep scowl etched on his face beneath his helmet, shifting his stance wider, getting a better ground for any attack he might need to sudden throw.

Savage rose his hand completely over his shoulder, flexing his grip around the open handle of his blade. He went to draw it partially, but stopped mid-pull and scented the air. His eyes widened slightly, before narrowing again into a narrow scowl. For a brief moment, E thought he was trying to think of a better tactic than going in wildly swinging his sword. 'Can't be smart enough to think like that,' E counter-thought.

But that thought was, again, countered when his short-range radar picked something up, approaching from behind, deciding which one of these creatures would be best to turn his back on. Figuring he would be screwed no matter what, he tried to avoid risking it entirely and only partially turned, so he could look at both the Wolf Creature, and glanced to the other side, his eyes landing on the creature that had set his alarm off.

"Target identified," The cybernetic/feline hybrid said aloud, coming to a brief stop, barely a couple of hundred yards away from the pair. His cybernetic readings singling out the one target, blanking the other. Several scans swept over the silver-clad figure, all converging on the centre of the figure's body, highlighting the extraordinary power source, hidden beneath the armour plating.

"Friend of yours?" E questioned, briefly glancing back at Savage. Only to get shoved aside as Savage pushed past him, slowly closing the gap between himself and the cyborg.

"I would advise you stay out of this.. personal matter, Imposter," Savage snarled, throwing a dirty glare over his shoulder at the Silver Ranger. "Leave, before you are the receiver of my wrath." Not waiting for a response to his latest threat, Savage turned forward again, and narrowed his gaze again when he saw the figure approaching again, together, the gap closed twice as fast.

Savage continued approaching in silence, before breaking it to say, "Do you remember me?"

No reply came.

"Do you remember.. what you did to me? To my clan?"

The cyborg came to a stop momentarily, still in silence.

Savage's scowl quickly descended into a vicious snarl, swiftly drawing his Wolf Blade; flicking it around and grabbing it with a second hand; creating a faint wave that ruffled both his fur and leather. "You may not remember me.. but I remember what you did to me, and the other clans. For your crimes, and actions, I will gladly.. have my revenge, for what you did to my Clan. My Family. My Mate!"

---

"Hey! Ow! MUTT, I've fine, I'm telling you!"

"Considering the fact that you are in the recovery stage of a bullet wound, I would highly doubt that you are 'fine', as you say it," MUTT responded, finally pulling his hands back from Kyle's exposed side. The skin was an angry red, circling a partially sealed gunshot wound. A few stitches had been added in attempts to quicken the healing process. The robotic hands of MUTT eventually pulled back after a few more hits from Kyle, and moved to the holographic keyboard projected from a small podium beside Kyle's bed.

Leaning back in his temporary bed, Kyle tried taking his mind off of the uncomfortable pain in his side. Looking around, his eyes landed on Tanya. For as long as he had been awake, she had been at Isaac's side, sitting beside the Red Warrior's bed, both of her hands firmly holding one of his, partially dried blood transiting to her clothes, but she didn't seem to pay that any attention. All that filled her eyes was concern and pain, both directed from the unconscious teen she was looking at. From what he had learned, with what little MUTT had touched on while going over his own vitals, Isaac wasn't just suffering from physical injuries - his vitals, apparently, showed signs of emotional trauma, thus MUTT inducing the unconscious state.

Or something like that. Kyle was sure he was hopped up on some medical shit when MUTT had explained.

The door slid open, and he looked over to see Natalie walking into the room. "Nice of you to pay a visit now that I'm up," Kyle stated, though with a friendly smirk across his scarred face.

Natalie returned the small smirk back, though that quickly vanished as she said, "Figured the lot of us should stay close, at least for the time being.. since, well…" He could tell from Natalie's expression that she didn't want to speak of the matter, not that he could blame her.

"I get it," Kyle said softly, leaning forward to sit up straight. "It's been.. tough on all of us."

Natalie nodded slightly, inhaling sharply as she slowly sat down in one of the free chairs, bringing her head to rest in the palms of her hands.

"Now that all of you are present, I believe now would be the best time to discuss a recent discovery," MUTT eventually said, looking aside from the holographic keyboard and monitor.

"What are you talking about?" Natalie asked, both Kyle and Tanya turning to look at the cybernetic being.

"This," MUTT replied, tapping the screen and flicking it across the screen, actually moving it off of the screen and sending it to one of the ceiling projectors. "It is one of the files that I only recently found, cataloged at the very beginning. From what I discovered with these files, it was when Savage and I first encountered one another."

From the projection, several files floated down, displaying their contents, ranging from simple drawings to a page or two of writing. Upon closer inspection, Natalie noticed how the writing looked as though it as scratched into rocks and dirt patches. "Did Savage make these?" she asked.

"I would put a 89% probability on that, though I don't have any records on my data-banks of teaching him," MUTT replied, side stepping from the small computer, and approached the larger projection, interacting with the files, moving the ones of less importance aside and brought the ones he felt were more into focus, expanding the images and writings to give a better view. One such document was fairly short, compared to others, and a few images, zoomed in to get the finer details.

"That's one ugly fucker," Natalie commented as she zoned in one of the pictures, a crude illustration of what looked like a bobcats' head, although greatly exaggerated and.. red eyes? She leaned in slightly, screwing her eyes to try and pick out some finer details. "You reckon this is what Savage saw?"

"It is highly likely," MUTT responded, moving around to the other side of the projected images and moved the enlarged image Natalie was looking at, and brought another image into focus. "This, however, looks as though it may be just as relative." Natalie looked at this new image, and blinked in surprised at the stark contrast between the two pictures.

While the previous picture had harsh stretches of what she had assumed was primitive paint, depicting the sharp strips, and harsh colours for the 'fur' and sinister eyes, this one.. was the exact opposite. Care had been put into this drawing, the lines were curved and delicate, different pressures applied to achieve different depth of colour, all coming together to form the vague shape of a wolf. And judging by the way to drawing displayed a thinner build and slimmer muzzle, it must have been female. An array of shades of brown, with a hint of white towards the middle, yet the starkest contrast was the eyes; this image displayed a shade of blue Natalie never thought could be made, if the age of these drawings were accurate. There was something scribbled underneath, though Natalie couldn't make out what it meant.

"Who is she?" Natalie asked.

"Who's to say it's a female?" MUTT questioned, glancing up from examining another document, a small block of text, translated over from the original. Apparently MUTT had enough knowledge or experience with this strange text.

"Dunno.. just, the way it's designed.. whoever did this, they put care into it," Natalie said softly.

"Since when did you have an artists' eye?" Kyle asked, groaning lowly as he pushed himself up onto his elbows. Tanya had finally rose to her feet, reluctantly leaving Isaac's side and going over to join Natalie and MUTT at the projections.

"Her cousin was studying from an art degree in North Dakota," Tanya said softly, earning the look of three heads facing her. She glanced around, meeting each pair of eyes momentarily (lasting a lot shorter on MUTT's single slit in place of eyes), before saying, "What? We had a lot of time to talk about stuff back when we were in Canada."

"And out of all of the things we talked about, that's the thing you remembered?" Natalie asked, with only a slight raise of one eyebrow.

"It's relative to the conversation, K? You expect me to talk about some shit like how me and Isaac are screwing around?" Tanya asked back, earning a few blinks of surprise from Kyle. Going unnoticed, Tanya continued, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure there's no point in trying to avoid that now."

"Enough," MUTT stated firmly, looking between Natalie and Tanya briefly. "Now is not the time for these arguments. Right now, Savage needs us, he's been there for you when you needed him, be it training or for words, and it is time that you return the favour. If these are somehow connected to current events, then Savage is suffering, from what, I cannot pinpoint. But I am sure he will need your help."

Tanya and Natalie glanced back at each other after MUTT's words, before both slowly gave nods. "Alright then," Tanya said, straightening up. "Where's Savage then?"

MUTT looked aside briefly, as if going through the calculations and process through his head, before looking back at the pair of females. "Locations have been sent to your Howlers. I would advise you two go, as Kyle still needs time to recover and Isaac is currently out of action," MUTT informed, as low growls of acknowledgment to MUTT's information.

"Hey, I.. I can still fight," Kyle called, gritting his teeth as he tried to get off of the bed, only to groan loudly in pain as MUTT came over to force him back on the bed. His muscles tensed, fists clenched tightly; clearly not effected by the latest batch of Instinct pumping into his side.

"Kyle, listen to the hunk of metal. No offence," Natalie said, quickly looking back at MUTT, to which he gave a single nod. "Well.. c'mon then," Natalie said to Tanya, gesturing for the Gamma Warrior to follow her as they left the medical bay. Leaving MUTT and Kyle with the projected images, the former of which continued to examine and dissect for further information.

---

"I will gladly.. have my revenge, for what you did to my Clan. My Family. My Mate!"

Savage's words echoed as he gripped his blade through both handles, holding it across his body and ready to deliver the first strike. But he held back, waiting for the cyborg to have the chance to give its own response. A plea of mercy, perhaps; a declaration of his crimes. But no. Nothing came from the creature, just a silent, emotionless stare from the blank organic eye, the robotic side giving nothing either. He remained where he was for the moment, but that changed when he moved forward again, closing the gap.

"You are not my target, move aside," The cyborg ordered, quickly closing the gap between Savage and himself. E still hung behind, blades glowing from his forearms, yet wasn't taking any actions right now, instead, observing.

"You guys getting all this?" E asked, seemingly to himself. But the slight static in his helmet proved otherwise.

Savage blinked slowly at the cyborg, and narrowed his glare at his order, a low snarl tearing from his throat once again. His fists clenched around the blade's handles, the markings glowing an angry red under and between his armor, as he adjusted his stance slightly. In an instant, he was gone, tearing across the road, creating a shock-wave that caused E to stumble back at the sheer force. A barely visible wave blasted out into the air, as a red streak tore towards the cyborg. In the split second before he would reach the cyborg, Savage had raised the blade above his head and went to bring it down across the metal chest.

And that was when a third hand latched onto the edge of the blade.

Savage's eyes widened again when the cyborg grabbed onto the weapon, traveling at such a speed should have been impossible for him to do. Savage felt the force of the cyborg's pull, throwing him off his target and causing him to lose his footing. In an instant, Savage had slowed down considerably, to the point of visibility, tripping and falling, rolling across the ground with so much momentum, he only came to a stop when he collided with the side of a building. Having enough force behind his speed to crack the concrete and shatter the window above the point of impact. The Wolf Blade clattering behind him, coming to rest before him in a small cloud of dust.

With the nuisance taken care of, at least for now, the cyborg turned back to face E, bearing down on the Silver Ranger, as he shifted into a defensive stance once again.

"Where'd your fucked up ass come from then?" E questioned, rolling his arms around each other, taking a few different stances as the towering creature neared. He had expected the same treatment as wolfy there, just silence and his approaching form. And as it turned out…

"I come from Earth."

His assumption was incorrect.

"I'm learning a lot of things today, a lot of creatures can talk, that shouldn't talk," E responded, rolling his head side to side gently as the creature bared down on him, taking small steps back to try and keep a safe distance between them. "So, what are you after then?"

"The energy source within your chassis, I have been sent to extract it."

"Tough, because the humans are in possession of the Crystal, and we're not giving it to you," E argued, striking his blades against one another, and charged at the cyborg with a shout.

"I did not say that you had to be alive by the end of the extraction," The cyborg responded, not moving from E's attacks until the very last second; side stepping to avoid the first downward strike, and raised its forearm to block the second attack.

E had expected for the blade to easily cut through the metal forearm, there was nothing on this planet that they had discovered that they couldn't cut through. They had been very thorough, at E's request.. or rather demand. So one could imagine his surprise when he felt his blades jerk to a stop, barely making a dent in the alloy that formed the forearm. He quickly looked from the forearm to the glowing eye of the cyborg, and was met with, instead, an organic, furry fist thrusted into him. But there was no soft side to this punch, it was all muscle.

Which was further proven when the force of the punch threw him back, arms flailing around in a vain attempts to slow himself down, only stopping when his back slammed into the first building that got in his way. He landed on the ground, blades cutting small grooves, as he groaned in pain, trying to shift, though found the pain spiking with every move. A small alarm came up on his HUD, a small diagram of a skull with the collarbone flashing. "Damn he packs a punch," E grunted to himself, quickly activating the homing beacon in his suit, glancing up to find the cyborg closing in on him, he pressed the beacon activator more times than he should have, as he rose to his feet while using the wall as back support. The next time he looked up from examining the injured area, he was met with the end of what appeared to be some sort of blaster barrel. Though upon closer examining, it seemed to be a replacement for the cyborg's metal hand.

"Make peace with your Gods," The cyborg ordered, the low whining of an unknown energy source echoing down the barrel, the faintest red glow coming into view.

"I'm not one to believe in such crap," E grunted, trying to get a better stance under him, one blade had retracted into the slot, while the other slowly moved aside, ready to attempt a stabbing, if the creatures' power got too high for his liking…

Before he had the chance, though, a crimson-coated blade swung around the cyborg's neck, and was forced back, the sudden pull pushing the barrel up, a shot firing off. E ducked slightly as rubble pattered against the armor, and glanced up to find a clean shot through the wall, revealing the building's interior; he had hoped his armor would withstand the hit better.

The cyborg tried countering the sudden pull back, but couldn't counter the sudden throw back; the force of the blade against his upper torso taking him off his feet and sending him thrown across the ground. E watched the cyborg thrown back, and saw the thrower to be Savage, recovering from the initial attack from the cyborg. The wolf and humans' gaze met for a brief moment, and Savage tore a warning growl when E tried moving.

"I would advise you don't move, Imposter. Otherwise I will make you suffer more than he could," Savage snarled, pointing the end of the blade at the Silver Ranger. Not waiting for a response, Savage turned back and quickly approached the now rising cyborg, firmly spinning the blade around, so the upper portion of the blade was firmly placed on his shoulder. His eyes ablaze with fury and anger, with a low growl coming from the very bottom of his throat as the cyborg rose back to its full height. "I have waited 10,000 years for this.. and you are not going to get away, Salvac."

The cyborg turned to look at Savage when he named him, and the cybernetic eye seemed to zoom in on the wolf, as if assessing him - analyzing him. The cyborgs stance shifted slightly, organic and mechanical hands clenching into fists. "My Master has tasked me with acquiring the energy source. I will not be kept from my mission."

"To Hell with your mission," Savage snarled, darting forward and bringing his blade across Salvac's armored torso. Though sparks showered from the contact, no marks were left; not even a scratch. But as the blade moved aside, Savage brought his free hand back and brought a fist against the metal. The markings glowing anew, traversing down to the fist. A shock-wave, much smaller than the last, rippled from the connection, the faintest hint of red at the very edge as Salvac was thrown back. His body smashed back into the same building he had thrown Savage against, only he smashed right through the wall and landed somewhere in the building.

E had managed to push himself off the wall just as the second shock-wave blasted out, and as he checked on the ETA of the backup, commented, "What the hell is that then?"

Savage had remained in the kneeling position, fist stilled extended, and the faint glow of his red markings extended all the way up and down his arm. Slowly, he rose to his feet, blade slowly dragging against the ground as the glow faded to a softer tone.

"Yeah, Savage. Care to let us know about that?"

Both Savage and E turned to look up, as Tanya and Natalie, clad in their Yellow Gamma and White Omega armor respectively, landed in the square from the side. The two looked around, first from the hole in the wall, then shifting into a more defensive stance when they saw the Silver Ranger.

"This is MY fight!" Savage snarled, pointing at the two Warriors with a low snarl, gesturing for them to get back as he approached the hole in the wall.

"Hey, I want answers, fleabag!" Tanya snapped, marching up to Savage and forcefully turning him around, the two barely inches apart as they glared at one another. "We're going to help you, but I want some fucking answers as to what the hell is going on!"

"Deal with the Silver Warrior!" Savage snarled back, pushing Tanya back and gesturing to the still recovering Ranger. "Salvac…!" He shouted again, though that quickly faltered into a low growl. "Salvac is mine." Glaring between the two Warriors, Savage quickly turned and rushed into the building through the newly formed hole, bricks and rubble still falling loose.

Tanya was still breathing heavily from the loud exchange, her fists clenched into tight fists. "Who the fuck is Salvac?!" She shouted.

---

Salvac shook his head slightly, his glowing red eye providing a light to somewhat illuminate the surrounding area. Rubble and dust covered his back from the impact, leading him to get his hands under him and try to get to his feet. He would have been about to.. had he not received a kick to his head, forcing him back in the rumble again. His readings glitched out momentarily, though restored quickly to pick up the circling figure of the Wolf, the faintest sparks catching alight with the point of the blade dragging across the ground.

"That one.. was for Osion," Savage snarled, coming to a stop and watched as Salvac finally got to his feet, dust falling from his flawless metal frame and chunks of rubble further breaking down by his feet. Salvac focused in on Savage this time, and the two began circling around one another; not caring for the rubble they knocked with their feet, echoing around the now abandoned building. "You have committed crimes against the Packs of Pax Valley, you attacked us in a time of peace and mourning. The Western Lunar Clan, the Clan of the Broken Mountains, the Northern Light Clan and the Greys, mourning the loss of those who they grew up with, who they cared for!" Savage growled, coming to a stop and, in a brief spike of anger, flicked the blade tip from the ground and struck a marble column he had stopped beside, leaving a clean cut right through the hardened material.

"Those were my brothers! My sisters! MY family!" Savage shouted, emphasizing each point with a side punch at the previously struck column. And with each strike, more and more chunks of marble was smashed free, a nest of rubble soon forming at Savage's feet. "But that's not something you'd understand, is it? There's nothing like that with that brain of yours, all wires and cables! No emotion! Nothing!"

The last punch sent a large chunk flying from the great crack that had formed, and launched right at Salvac. But it just bounced off his chest, just leaving a fine layer of dust on the metal. Savage was left breathing deeply, the armour rising and falling slightly as he drew in air, eyes narrowed, and with a wild flare to his burning gaze.

Salvac returned Savage's glare with a cold, calculating look of his own. "Your world is primitive, your culture.. the calculations do not add up. It is not possible for your culture to have acquired this energy source, tell me how you came into contact with this advanced technology."

Giving a look of disbelief under the mask, Savage scoffed, "That's all it is for you, isn't it? This power you seek, it's not yours to take. It is theirs, by right! Their bloodlines are the crystals! Now shut up.. so I can kill you at long last." Flicking his blade up onto his shoulder, and shifted to bring the blade-shoulder forward.

Salvac adjusted his stance, but pressed, "Explain."

"Shut up," Savage snarled, before charging forward, with the faintest trace of red streaks blurring from the trim of his cloth. Sliding onto his knees to avoid a swinging punch, the blade striking the underside of the arm; sparks showered down, both onto and behind Savage as he slide under. Yet no noticeable damage was done, and Savage quickly spun onto his feet and jumped at the cyborg. Blade raised over his head, he brought it down in the joint gap between the shoulder and the torso, thinking it would work, and only attacked with more blood-lust when he managed to stab in.

"That was for Rotan!" Savage shouted as Salvac let out a mechanical yowl, reaching back around and grabbed Savage. Throwing him off and into another wall, the blade still lodged in his shoulder blade. When Savage came to rest on the floor, recovering, Salvac reached back and tore the blade from his armour, sparks jumping between the two plates of armour, the blade toss aside.

"You waste energy and time, you stand between me and my mission," Salvac said, marching forward, moving towards the exit he had created.

But Savage had other plans, closing the gap between them quickly, and side tackled Salvac's larger form. Their combined momentum and weight throwing them against another wall; sending cracks creeping up, smashing windows. The glass rained down on the pair, as Savage raised his head, a cut across his cheek and behind his ear, both soaking the fur around them with blood, yet his teeth were bared and he grabbed Salvac's head. Without hesitation, he began slamming the feline head against the wall; the bricks shaking and cracks ran deeper, Salvac tried raising his hands to throw Savage off, but each forceful slam kept his hands from grabbing hold of the Wolf.

And with each slam on the wall, Savage snarled out a name.

"Korta!" SLAM.

"Tre-Li!" SLAM.

"Skylar!" SLAM!

"Eli-a!" SLAM!

"Yei!" SLAM!

"WARU!" SLAM!

"ALVAR!"

The last slam against the wall ended with a sickening crack, and Savage threw the now bloodied Salvac to the ground. Not giving him a moment to recover, Savage quickly moved, straddling across the metal chassis. Salvac, his organics bloodied and scarred, looked up to Savage and tried grabbing his throat. But Savage grabbed and locked the organic arm in a hold, bending it straight. With a snarl and a sudden jerk, Salvac shouted out. Throwing the now broken arm to the side, Savage grabbed Salvac's throat and threw punch after punch, further bloodying and tearing apart the organics.

"Xander!" PUNCH.

"Fri-Lu!" PUNCH.

"Yei!" PUNCH. CRACK

"NAKU!" PUNCH. CRUNCH

"SAGE!"

Another, sickening crack echoed from the now broken portion of skull, yet the organic eye gave away nothing, no emotion, no pain.. that crossed the line with Savage. Grabbing a fistful of fur on the head, Savage tilted the head and snarled, "You will feel the pain you caused me! You will FEEL the PAIN!" He threw another punch, further adding cracks under the fur. Slamming the cyborgs head against the ground, Savage got up and looked around, finding his blade. He quickly grabbed it and returned, raising it above the cyborg's head.

"I honour you with the kill, Val," Savage uttered under his breath, fingers flexing around the single handle and raised it up, ready to deliver the killing blow.

"You have fire."

Savage paused momentarily, lingering on bringing the blade down. This gave the bloodied Salvac a chance to speak.

"This fire is not natural, anger is natural in species, but this is something more. Beyond anger.. beyond avenging the ones I killed. You fire.. it is grief."

His fingers flexed around the grip slowly, the blade coming down to rest on his armoured shoulder lightly. "You know nothing about me!" Savage spat viciously.

"Species are.. easy to read. You care too much. You claim this Val as your mate, yet yo-"

He never got to finish, Savage drove the blade through the organic skull. The body jerked and shook, the robotic eye flashing before, all at once, the movements stopped and the eye went blank. And with Savage pulling the blade free, the body lay limp.

Thoroughly soaked in the creatures' blood, the fur around his fists permanently embedded with the colour, rose to his feet, still breathing heavily as he began walking away from the body. "I honour you, Val…" He said to himself, and repeated to himself under his breath multiple times after as he left the building. Exiting through the very hole he had created when he had thrown Salvac through.

The unmoving body remained motionless, before a small green light slowly emitted from beneath the chest armour. A few seconds passed before it began to fade, as if it was draining back into the body…

---

Savage stepped into the sunlight, his crimson armour partially illuminated…only to slink back into the shadows when a bullet pinged off the wall beside his head. Dust rained down on him, and he made sure to keep his head low as he moved out. A quick scan gave him the locations of both Tanya and Natalie, both taking covered behind another section of the building, windows smashed in and bullet holes embedded in the wall.

Manoeuvring around the buildings' rubble, only stopping to avoid getting shoot, he eventually came to a stop with his back slamming against the cover Tanya had taken. Natalie sat behind her own cover across from them, peaking over from time to time to assess the situation.

"So you finally graced us with your return," Tanya grunted, sarcasm slicing through her words, as she quickly moved her head against the cover, a bullet tearing through where her head had been moments later. Bringing her head back up, she asked, "So, dealt with that asshole?"

"Salvac has been dealt with," Savage responded, glancing around the cover to a look at what they were dealing with. Only a brief glimpse was allowed before he pulled his head back, several bullets flying past and embedding themselves in the bricks behind them. "What's the situation here? I told you to keep an eye on the imposter Warrior."

"We were, asshole!" Tanya shouted back, "Then these fuckers turned up, and we're not going to try and fight them after what happened to Matt."

"Silver guy must have put out some kind of call out, no way they would have been able to get here that fast," Natalie called out over the gunfire. More and more chunks of cover were worn off, falling apart and giving the three less and less cover. "Any plans on how we're gonna deal with them?"

"What's stopping you two from teleporting away?" Savage questioned.

"MUTT said he doesn't want to risk teleporting back to the Den, since they can make bullets that can shred through this, he doesn't want to risk it if they've somehow got something that can trace us back," Tanya said, but quickly added, "Or something along those lines, I don't know, wasn't paying attention entirely."

"That is exactly the reason," Natalie replied dryly. She made to continue speaking, but she suddenly cut herself short. This gathered looks from the other pair, before they too felt it.

Unexpected vibrations through the ground.

"You guys feel that?" Natalie asked, earning two nods of conformation.

"Shit! The buildings coming down!" One of the soldiers' voice rang out, and their overlapping footsteps, combined with the sudden drop in bullets shot, gave them an opportunity to get out of there. And they quickly did, a streak of crimson, flanked by a streak of yellow and white, all mixed with shades of black, tore away from the building and found themselves tearing up the wall of another building down the street. When they came to a stop, the situation had degraded further, the building was beginning to crumble into nothing, a large column of smoke and dust rising from where it had been.

But that was not what caught their immediate attention.

"Anyone else see that? Something's in that dust," Natalie commented, gesturing to the column. Sure enough, a shape was visible, vaguely hidden, yet moving, as if rising from the rubble. Savage slowly moved towards the edge of the building, his hands slowly clenching into fists.

"No.. don't you dare.. don't you dare…" Savage snarled lowly, his ears fully perked, with his fists started to shake from how tightly he was clenching them.

"What - or who - is that?" Tanya asked, the shadow started to take shape, the murky outline of a humanoid. What could be arms, stretching out, as a low, sinister snarl echoed through the air, vibrating the very ground and the building the three were stood on.

"You take everything from me... I take your life, yet you come back.. you're going to suffer, Salvac," Savage snarled, his hackles bristled in anger as he drew his blade harshly, looking dead at the now revealed form of Salvac, towering over the buildings' rubble, the smoke cleared. All blood gone from what little fur was exposed, the pair of organic, and cybernetic, eyes scanned the area, as if hunting for his own target.

"Savage, wait!" Natalie shouted, quickly moving and pushed Savage back onto the roof, just as he went to leap off. "There's a difference between having balls and going on a suicide mission, and right now, what you're trying to do is a damn death sentence! You can't fight that thing like this!"

"If I could interrupt," MUTT's voice suddenly came over Natalie's Howler, earning the wearer's attention. "I believe I have something that could prove useful."

"What have you got for us, MUTT?" Natalie asked, grabbing a fistful of Savage's armour and, with a great deal of effort, pulled him from jumping off the edge.

"I hope you recall the Rogue Zords you encountered, resurrected with the Rogue Wolves?" MUTT questions, keys distantly tapping through the comms. "I finished reprogramming them a few weeks ago, and I imagine now would be a good time for the first real world scenario."

Natalie glanced to Savage, before saying, "Good idea, MUTT. Send 'em in."

With that, the comms were cut off, and the three were left on the rooftop, watching as the looming, metal/organic fusion tearing the remains of the building from its feet, and began knocking down other buildings surrounding it, freeing itself, scanning the surroundings. Natalie looked to Savage, as if wanting to ask him a question, but he gave off this.. vibe. The vibe of someone who wouldn't think twice to acting on instinct; be it to strike out at anyone, or to grow tunnel vision.

Thankfully, the air of awkwardness was cut short when the distant sound of howling echoed across the city, drawing the attention of those on the roof and the looming giant standing before them. The thundering boom of high-speed running followed; three sets overlapping one another as they drew closer. Finally, they came into view, three large Wolf Zords, the centre, primarily black, Zord the largest of the three; flanked by the other two, smaller Zords.

The Rogues.

"Guess we're going to have to give you this one," Tanya asked, coming up to stand on Savage's other side, earning the briefest side glare from the Wolf. She quickly tried to nonchalantly look around, avoiding his glare long enough for him to give up and move, next thing she saw, he was a blur of red, streaking through the air and disappearing into the Black Wolf Zord.

"Savage will work this out.. he's got some serious problems he needs working on," Tanya commented as she and Natalie moved besides one another, watching as the three Zords slowly closed in on Salvac.

Natalie glanced to Tanya, dryly adding, "I think you're underestimating him, just a.. just a little bit."

---

He briskly walked around the cockpit of the Zord, strangely a cooler temperature than the outside, the metal of the console and walls, briefly running the tips of his claws against the otherwise smooth surface. He finally came to a stop when he reached the head of the cockpit, standing before the control point. Savage looked around slowly, drawing his blade from his back, flicking it around so it was facing downward.

Rising the blade up, Savage let out a low snarl and stabbed downward, slotting the blade into the control port, the faintest growl echoing down the cockpit, seemingly through the Zord itself, as a slowly fading glow of red began bleeding along the meeting point of blade and console. The glow highlighted the underside of Savage's mask and muzzle, giving a semi-sinister aura to Savage and his surroundings. "Rogues.. you are mine to command, now. You obey me… Do a make myself clear?"

It took a few seconds, as if the Zord dare debate Savage's demand, before another low growl echoed down the cockpit.

"Good.. glad you've come to reason. Now…" Savage gripped the exposed grip, and brought the other hand across his chest. "I'm going to ensure this one hurts, Salvac... Zords, combine."

Salvac had turned to face the three Zords as they arrived, and had shifted into a defensive stance as the three combined into a Megazord, the larger Black Wolf's forelegs folded into its chest, forming a chest plate, as it moved up to stand on its hind legs, which folded in on themselves to create sturdy, boot-like feet. The pair of smaller Zords mirrored their modifications, legs folding into their bodies, the lower backs and flanks came away from the main body, creating shoulder armour as they connected to the larger Zord.

The heads shook loose, the muzzle splitting and formed a pair of fists, as the tails broke off and flew around the Megazord, coming to a stop either side of the now exposed head. Splitting through the middle, half of the tails folded back, creating a slick, ears-folded-back look. The lower half folded around the face of the head, acting as a mouth guard, the eyes lighting up a dark blue. Not a second later, the Megazord formation had been completed, taking a fighting stance opposite Salvac, the movements copied from Savage's stance in the now illuminated cockpit.

"You are mine, Salvac," Savage said, his voice projected out of the Megazord, echoing around the mostly empty city. His fist connected with an open palm, the Megazord echoing his movements, the metal slamming against one another, fingers unfolding against one another and began moving apart slowly. Between the palms, a large blade started to take form, grabbing it by the grips when they had formed. Swinging it around a few times, like Savage was getting used to handling the blade for the first time; bringing the blade up to point at the cyborg giant, the head tilted forward, allowing a menacing glare to transpire between them. "And this time… I'm going to make sure you stay dead."

Salvac returned the glare, and didn't waste any time in moving; quickly closing the gap between the pair and threw a punch at the Megazord, but the punch was dodged, and he received a slice across the torso. He stumbled back a few steps, crushing cars and smaller buildings beneath him. But, just like before, only sparks flew from the strike, leaving no visible remains of a cut. Looking up, Salvac clenched his fists again and advanced, throwing calculated punches.

The Megazord crossed its arms over its chest to block the attacks, moving them accordingly to counter the punches; though that didn't mean that all of the attacks were blocked. Some connected, denting the metal and sending the Megazord back a few steps, on the more forceful strikes. The cockpit shook and rattled with every landing blow, sparks showing down up Savage. Yet he remained in the defensive crossed arms position, his legs shifting to a stance to allow better support against the blows. A snarl tore through his fangs as he pulled the Megazord back, dodging one wide swing, and returned one of the strikes; aiming for the exposed organic half of the head.

But when the fist slammed into the side of Salvac's head, a shockwave rippled out, taking shape around Salvac's entire body, echoing from the point of impact. Savage's eyes followed the ripples across the body, and turned sharply to look at Salvac's face, only to be greeted with a closed fist, right to the head of the Megazord, the force of which sent the Megazord flying backwards.

"He's got some kind of shield!" Tanya said as Savage's Megazord hit the ground, the mere force of which shook the building she and Natalie were situated on, watching the fight. They moved to the edge, trying to get a look at the fallen Megazord.

The sudden impact and resulting vibrations through the ground caught the attention of others in the area. The D-13 soldiers had just loaded the still armoured up E into an armoured 4x4, and turned around quickly to look at the source. A silver hand reached and grabbed the edge of the doorframe, and E pulled himself up, the helmet panels had folded up to reveal his face, a thin trickle of blood coming from the corner of his lips, accompanied by a few small bruises across his neck and face. "So they got a new Megazord then? Fan-fucking-tastic," E grunted, before one of the medics already in the 4x4 eased E back into the vehicle, another pair of armed soldiers climbed in after and the door was slammed shut. Tires squealing, the 4x4 took off, as the other soldiers piled into the other pair of 4x4s and tore after the leading truck.

The convoy moved away from the scene of the Titan fight, as the Megazord rose back to its feet, pausing briefly on one knee, Savage trying to think as he brought it back to its full height. Normal strikes, including punches, were clearly not going to work, even as Salvac walked towards the Megazord, the faint ripples echoed through the shields. Savage growled lowly, fists clenching as he brought his fists up, the Megazord copying, and rushed to meet the monster head on.

Just because it didn't work once, didn't mean it wasn't going to work again.

"What's that idiot doing?" Tanya shouted as the Rogue Megazord tried delivering more punches to Salvac, but like before, the shields deflected the attacks and cancelled out the damage. With the attacks against him ineffective, Salvac was able to return the attacks easily, only his attacks delivered significant damage, denting metal plates and forcing the Megazord several steps back. "Doesn't it register with him that punching is gonna do jack-shit!"

"Well, what do you expect him to do? Pull some Deus Ex out of his ass?" Natalie asked.

"He's got that fucking glowing arm of his! That's done several things, some of which I don't think even make sense! If anything, that's a Deus Ex!" Tanya replied, gesturing to the Megazord as she faced Natalie.

"Fine then! Savage!" Natalie shouted, raising her voice to as loud as she could bring it, directing solely at the now kneeling Megazord. "Use that weird glowing arm of yours! What else have you got to lose?"

Though kneeling beneath another shower of sparks and the echoing snarl of pain from the Zords themselves, Savage's ears twitched slightly at the distant voice, sounding like a soft echo. He raised his head slowly, the words registered in his head and his eyes fell to the one arm, hidden beneath the layer of armour and fur, Savage could see the markings, engraved in his mind from seeing them so many times. Then his mind shifted back to the fight on the ground, none of the other attacks worked.. save for the punch with the Marks alight…

It clicked.

Savage rose to his full height, and with both fists, slammed a double punch right into Salvac's chest, just as the monster tried pulling back for another punch. The force of the hit sent Salvac stumbling back, crushing buildings and forced onto one knee, giving Savage enough room to work. And despite the hectic fight, with sparks still exploding around and the echoing growl, Savage straightened his posture, brought his hands to his stomach, one cupping the other, and closed his eyes.

In an instant, everything was silent.

Savage was no longer in the middle of battle, fighting a giant creature clad in metal, with Savage himself in a small Pack of Wolves. Now, he was in an endless, black void, yet the sensation of dirt was very much presence between his clawed toes.

Soon, though, he was not alone.

"Your bloodline has been blessed.. as your brother has been given Oktrix's Gift, you too will be gifted... Tell me, young Savage, do you know.. of the God's Mark?"

Savage exhaled through his nose slowly. "The Gods' Mark.. a powerful gift, harnessing a mere fraction of Our Saviour, Zeta's abilities, Elder Tredznor."

"An ant.. in the entire territory.. would be a far more accurate ratio, but seem to get the idea… Now, are you ready to receive your Mark?"

"Yes… Elder Tredznor."

"The process will.. not be painless." The voice swirled around him, a male voice, far younger than the previous voice.

Savage's eyes slowly opened, the faint glow that was the yellow iris of his eyes providing some light to the endless darkness.

A new voice came into focus, this one female, and close to Savage's heart.

"Life is filled with pains, some minor, some great.. some that feel as though your heart has been torn from your chest. But Life is about proving you are better, that you are stronger... that you will, not only survive…"

"But you will return the favour.. tenfold," Savage finished, his eyes lighting ablaze as he was taken from the empty void of his consciousness, and back into the heat of battle, barely any time had passed on the outside, yet it had seemed much longer in his meditating state. A quick glance around helped him reassess the situation, Salvac had recovered and was readying himself for another attack. Yet, unlike earlier, where he had let his anger and rage blind him, he focused it. Cumulating in the blazing red glow of his tattoos, glowing through the gaps in his armour pieces. His hand clenched into a fist, raised up to Savage's line of sight, as he quietly uttered, "By Zeta's rite, I honour you, Ral-Yi.. I honour you, Mother."

In that moment, Savage turned to see Salvac moving in for another attack. But Savage was ready, fully facing the oncoming attack, the arm still glowing, as he tried focusing further, projecting more than just his movements onto the Megazord. It took a few angles of focus, and Savage growled lowly, but soon, his efforts seemed to work.

Across the entire left arm of the Megazord, which also just so happened to be the Crimson-coloured Wolf Zord, a faint glow of red became apparent, highlighting the crimson panels, essentially splitting the Zord up into two glowing parts, with the only parts not highlighted being the black joints and their covering panels. As Salvac's fist came flying in, Savage quickly brought the glowing fist up to intercept.

Only this time, the result was far different.

Salvac's bellow echoed across the city, pulling his hand back and tried cradling the now stump of a hand, the articulating parts that made up the fingers shattered, sprinkled across the city like confetti. The shield retracted from around the body, coming back to the central projection point on his back. He looked back to the Megazord, who had now redrawn the large Wolf Blade, leading with the glowing Crimson Arm.

"How?!" Salvac demanded, throwing his stump to his side, more shards of metal and internal fluids sent flying to the ground.

"You may have powers that I cannot, and may never, fathom, but I have one gift you will never come close to wielding," Savage stated, flicking his blade out from the controls, it too now glowing a faint red from transitioning through his glowing fist. "Now.. it is you that cannot fathom the Power of a God!" The blade was slowly raised, drawn to Savage's, and the Megazord's, side, much like a traditional sword.

Salvac snarled, not gathering information by this stage, and rushed at the Megazord, he still had one hand useable, and he was going to make as best use of it as possible. Savage remained still, waiting.. waiting for the right moment.

There it was!

Savage brought the blade down and across, slicing clean through Salvac's torso from shoulder to hip. Sparks of red arced between the now two halves of the cyborg, as the glowing red eye flickered before eventually fading out entirely. The upper half of the torso slowly slid off, falling off entirely, with the glowing hot, mechanical internals became exposed. As both halves fell to the ground, small explosions began rocking the entire being, reducing the large chunks into much, much smaller shrapnel. Savage exhaled slowly, the red glow slowly fading from both his arm and the Megazord's, digging the blade's tip into the ground. Blade back in the console, Savage took a small step back, leaning against the back of the cockpit.

"Finally."

---

"Alright, you better start talking, 'cause I'm pretty sure the others are with me when I say, you've been keeping us in the dark about certain things for way too long," Tanya accused. She, along with Savage and Natalie, had only just returned to the Den after Salvac's defeat. Savage had lingered a bit, sending the Rogue Zords back into the place of rest before returning, finding himself met with three Warriors, waiting and demanding answers from him. They'd even gone to the trouble of getting Kyle out of his bed to help confront the Wolf and, though it was clear he was favouring one side, he didn't appear to be in that much pain. Not that much.

Savage had spared a glance from one teen to the other, and the other, before turning partially to look at MUTT, tapping away at the keyboard, from what Savage could see, he seemed to be finishing up the analysis of the bullet fragments. Savage looked back, and he inhaled slowly when he saw the human teens still had that same glare between them, straight at him. "You need to tell them, Savage. They have a right to know," MUTT commented, tapping one final key and turning his full attention to the four organic beings. When Savage seemed to be keeping from talking, MUTT then added, "If you do not speak, I will share the information I have."

"You will not speak a word, MUTT," Savage quickly countered, sparring a brief glare at the robot before returning to the teenagers. He exhaled slowly, fists clenching briefly, before he said, "Very well.. take a seat, and I will tell you what you want to know."

While it was clear that they weren't entirely happy with the initial response, Tanya gestured for the others to head over to a load of improvised seats, namely deactivated computers and mostly emptied desks. Tanya herself took both; sitting on the end of one desk, kicking her feet up onto the side of a computer. "Alright then. Firstly, what the hell is that shit on your arm? What kind of Deus Ex is that?"

Savage took his own seat, leaning against the barrier surrounding MUTT's command post, and crossed his armoured arms over. MUTT moved over to be part of the conversation, looking at Savage; ready to press him for answers, should he linger too long. His fingers flexing around the other bicep, Savage exhaled and began to speak. "These markings…" He began, unfolding said arm and turned it slightly. The faintest traces of fur between the leather plates, yet no sign of the markings that lay beneath. "They are part of a ritual, a gift from Zeta, indirectly, of course. It was around the time of the previous Warriors. Their abilities... I'm not sure even the elders of my clan know the exact extent to their true powers." The arm fell to his side, brushing against the leather waist cloak.

"But you've seen some of their abilities - healing, to an extent, allow entry to the Spirit Realm.. enhanced strength. The main side effect, as you could probably tell, was the markings make themselves known. Sort of a.. last warning, to rivals. The Gods' Mark was known, and feared, among the Four Clans."

"Four Clans?" Natalie asked, leaning forward slightly. "Something you were part of?"

"The resident Packs that resided in Pax Valley, myself and Isaac's ancestor came from the Western Lunar Clan, at the heart of it all. Tanya and Kyle's Warrior ancestors both hail from the same clan, the Clan of the Broken Mountains."

"Broken Mountains? What kind of name is that?" Tanya asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"The Demon War changed the surface world significantly," Savage commented, looking aside, eyes starting to lose focus on the teens, as he allowed himself to be brought back to the days of old. "Mountains that seemed to reach the clouds… Elder Dree," He paused briefly, a brief smile tugging at his muzzle, "We called him the Mad Wolf of the Mountains… Yei and Naku, they were proud Warriors…and good friends."

"What about me? And… And Matt?" Natalie asked, her voice soft.

Savage shook his head slightly, pulling himself back into the present. "Your Warrior ancestors came from the other two Clans; you, Natalie, have a bloodline of the Northern Light Clan. They were the more.. spiritually tuned rather than Warriors, but a few Warriors do prove themselves. As for.. Matt's bloodline, well, he stems from a Clan we called the Greys. Though we didn't have.. that much interaction with that Clan - Retu was an outcast - a skilled, albeit tame in comparison, Warrior of the Greys."

"Next question," Savage asked, looking between the three.

Natalie, Tanya and Kyle glanced between one another, before Natalie looked across at MUTT and gave a slight nod. As if some sort of unspoken request, MUTT returned the nod and turned to one computer.

"What kind of thing was that Savage? That creature you fought? Because that sure as hell wasn't something from the Demons," Natalie asked, the tapping of keys fading into the background, before a hologram separated the two groups. She noted how there were several images highlighted, including the harsh drawing of the red-eyed creature.

Savage seemed to take notice too, his reasonably relaxed posture tightened into a far tenser one, pushing him off of the desk. Slowly, as if instincts forcing him to be weary despite it being a mere hologram, Savage drew closer and only came a stop when his muzzle threatened to break through the projected image of the tormentor of his nightmares.

"He... It, is Salvac," Savage stated, a slight twitch of his muzzle, trying to suppress a low growl from rumbling out. He slowly stalked around the hologram, eyes never leaving as he continued. "A Demon, he may not be, but he has…" He lingered momentarily, earning a look from MUTT to prompt him onward, "Has.. haunted my mind for over 10,000 years."

"He came from the stars, not long after Horror's initial defeat.. we thought nothing of it, but it proved costly…" He paused again, and Tanya noticed how his fists had clenched up, and started to shake slightly. "He killed everyone.. all those who suffered through the War, and he slaughtered them.. all of them. Including my mate…"

"Mate?" Natalie asked quietly.

Tanya glanced to MUTT and gestured for something, before the holograms changed, replacing the harsh, violent drawing to the caring strokes painting of the she-wolf. "Take it this is her?" she asked, gesturing for Savage to turn around.

Savage did so, and immediately, he froze, MUTT's reading picking up on the slightly raised heart rate and partially heavier breath. The Wolf drew closer to the hologram once again, the flickering image of the stunning blue eyes the stand out for him. But not just that, everything about the painting brought back memories, both loving and of agony, came flooding back, much the same way that stuffed deer had triggered them.

"Yes," Savage said eventually, one hand raised and tried to caress the hologram; his fingers merely passing through, creating small flickers in the projection. "Val, of the Broken Mountains Call.. a highly skilled Huntress, yet there was a.. gentler side to her, rarely others saw. Sh… She was the first I found, killed by Salvac." He shook his head slightly, dulled claws rubbing against one another as he moved around to another table, closer to the other three. "I thought… I thought after 10,000 years, I would think Val w.. would've forgiven me, but.. but honour and.. and anger, I needed to do this… I needed to claim honour back."

There was a brief moment of silence, the three teens looking to the now silent Savage. Not wanting to let this silence linger, Natalie pushed off the desk and moved over to sit beside Savage, with a moment lingering in pause, before her hand came up to gently rest on the broad shoulder of the Wolf and gave it a light squeeze. "Hey… Don't beat yourself up so much. We all know what you're going through, we've all lost people close to us. Some recently," Her eyes glanced to the others, lingering on Tanya briefly, "And some a little white ago. Point is, you're not the only one who's been going through this. And, speaking personally here, I know that.. anger you feel, when you lost someone. But you need to understand, unless you're the one holding the knife, or gun, or.. or bloodied rolling pin, or providing the weapon, then it's not your fault. You've got nothing to blame yourself for."

Savage glanced aside at Natalie as she spoke, extending the looks around to the others, both Tanya and Kyle nodded, giving reassuring smiles to the Warrior. He brought his eyes back to Natalie, and gave the White Omega a small twitch of a smile.

"I hate interrupting moments such as this," MUTT sliced through the silence, removing a cable connecting him and the computer. "But I have finished the analysis of the bullet fragments, and I think you should see the results."

Savage turned to look at the robot, and after Natalie had moved away, he rose to his feet and approached MUTT, joined by the humans as MUTT came to meet them. Tapping a small button on his forearm, projected images, stemming from his eye screen, came into view. Several images depicted bullet fragments, revolving around a central image of a completed bullets. Another was a list of things, Savage himself wasn't sure he could pronounce, and the teens weren't even sure existed. "Going to explain what we're looking at here, MUTT?" Savage asked, arms folding over his chest.

"These bullets have been modified, but on such a minute scale, it was actually possible to break through the armour of your suits, on the atomic level. I did not think it was possible for them to create something, especially this soon," MUTT explained, bringing the fragment holograms into the main frame. Zooming in, and next to a control image of a regular bullet's structure, there was a noticeable, albeit extremely thin, layer surrounding the body of the fragments.

Clearly, the teens didn't like this news one bit. "Is there anything that you can do to, you know, keep us alive?" Kyle asked.

"Now that I know the cause, I can work on an upgrade to the suits that will provide added protected. But it will take time to do. And if we have anything to go by from previous events, time is something that isn't on our side."

Epilogue

"How are you holding up, sir?" Rylee asked as she opened the door to the private medical room. She had barely got a glance at E as the truck arrived at the base, screeching to a halt as medical staff rushed E, still in his Silver Ranger suit, off to sort out some unknown injures. Rylee, herself only recently recovering from injuries after the Hospital incident, had been assigning briefing some higher ups on the latest mission from Pax Valley when E had come in.

When she had entered the room, she had expected to find at least one or two doctors still working on E, figured he was in some pretty bad way. She had expected that, but that wasn't what she was met with. The bed was empty, the sheets looking freshly pressed and folded, with all the equipment set up to monitor heartrates and vitals. Yet they weren't in use, not this time. "Sir?" she asked, giving the entire room a quick look around, finally finding that E was, in fact, in the room.

He was sat on one of the chairs, one arm firmly held in place by a sling, facing a large television, now she was aware of the subtle noises from the quiet volume. His free hand made slow exchanges between resting on his chin inquisitively, and reaching for a small controller, flicking between different images and recordings. He only became aware of Rylee in the room when he caught movement in his peripheral vision.

"Was wondering what happened to you," E commented, pausing the latest scene he was on and slowly pulled himself to his feet, a faint twitch of pain dancing across his pain as his muscles and bones shifted against one another, but he quickly suppressed it.

"I was.. recovering from the Hospital incident a little while back," Rylee replied, eyes glancing down to the sling. "Broken arm?"

"Fractured collarbone," E corrected, adjusting the fabric slightly. "Lucky shot from our recently deceased friend. I take it the extraction units have made it to the sites? We need that metal. Couldn't even cut through the metal with the blades, and Fairweather said those blades could cut through anything on Earth."

"Well.. perhaps I could assign some scientists to go through records, see if anything like this has appeared on Earth before. From off world, that is," Rylee suggested, moving aside to let E out of the medical room, accompanying him as they made their way through the facility.

"I already had a couple of guys on it, they went through all our records, and nothing like this has been recorded before. We're dealing with something.. new," E replied, coming to a stop when they passed one corridor in particular; this one seemed to be more heavily guarded than the average area of the D-13 HQ. Only the test lab was as heavily guarded as this corridor.

"Why is there added security in the Cell Wing? I thought we were saving those for the Rangers," E questioned, abandoning the direction he had been heading in, and pushed through the security doors. Rylee quickly moved in to catch up with him, several security guards coming up to meet them.

"We acquired a couple of prisoners, that we figured would needed an.. added security measure," Rylee explained, as both she and E handing over D-13 ID codes to the security guards, before they were handing back after verified. Accompanied by two guards, E and Rylee were given access through the secure doors, several layers of steel and intricate locking mechanisms. The doors opened slowly, revealing the many layers and different locks, before they entered.

The room had been empty, but now, several guards surrounding the edge of the room, armed with high powered rifles and, currently, aiming at cell blocks at the centre of the room. The cells themselves looked as though they were made of glass, with metal framing and a single metal wall behind them, connecting to a thin room where guards could gain access to the cells without direct endangering themselves or allowing a chance for the prisoners to escape. But judging by the two prisoners currently in two illuminated cells, only one looked about ready to try and escape.

"Well, well.. what do we have here?" E questioned, as he approached one of the closer cells. The glass was scarred with many layers of slices and marks, as were the other walls and even the roof had been viciously attacked. Inside, circling the perimeter of the cell, much like a caged animal, a two-legged, slim-built she-wolf prowled. A constant growl came from that cell, and that only increased to a snarl when E spoke; another strike to the glass, yet it didn't break. E moved in front of the scarred cell, and instinctively stepped back when the Wolf slammed against the glass, eyes glowing a vicious blue and what fur wasn't covered in armour was a dark, almost an ash grey, in colour, which was a slight contrast to the somewhat rough and aged brown armour.

"Vile, wretched humans! Cowards! You will die at my hands!" Licos shouted, fists slamming against the glass and tried shouldering through the glass. But nothing came of it, just more scratches and an even angrier she-Wolf.

E moved on, and came to a stop at the next cell, and his glare hardened at the creature inside this cell. "Didn't expect to see you again, Demon."

Fear glanced over his shoulder at the words, the Demon's back had been to the clear viewing glass, arms folded behind his back. He turned slowly, coming face-to-face with the human, a small sneer playing across his face at the injury, and drew closer to the glass. Getting as close as possible, yet neither pressed against the glass. "Have we met before, human?" Fear questioned, head tilted slightly as he examined E. His bulky armour sliding against the glass, creating small grooves in the otherwise flawless glass. "No," he eventually said, rising to his full height, "No, we haven't. I would have killed a human so.. petty, so weak."

Rolling his eyes slightly, E stepped back to speak with Rylee, Fear following him with his eyes, a cold, calculating look that seemed to stare right through him. "Where did you find these two?" E asked her, side glancing to ensure they had relative private to speak.

"A few of our teams have had reports a few states over for each of them. Figured you'd want to bring them in here and see if we can get any answers out of them," Rylee responded.

E glanced over his good shoulder slightly, before a small smirk danced across his lips. "Well then.. let's get some answers, shall we?"