Episode 21 – The God's Hand, Part 2
Isaac's eyes darted back and forth between the two Demons towering over him, finding their blades a little too close for his liking…Not that there was any distance he'd feel comfortable with them in general.
"Shit," he uttered, fingers trying to pry Batibat's boot from his throat; yet her strength in his current position was far greater than his right now. His mind raced with other ideas, or at least stalling the pair to give the others time. Just anything. Though it seemed somewhere, someone was watching him, since the second it seemed Batibat was raising her hand to strike him, a massive BANG came from outside the room, followed by another BANG as the door came crashing down. Streaks of yellow and black tore into the Restricted Room, barrelling into Masutā as the titan of a Demon turned.
Batibat quickly side-stepped, removing her foot from Isaac as she did so, and swatted Kyle off course and into another set of armour in the corner. She went to stamp back down on Isaac's throat, only smashing straight through the wooden floor. Her eyes flew up, and was immediately met with a fist straight to the nose from Isaac. The force pushed her back a few steps, more infuriated than anything else, as her blazing eyes came to rest on Isaac, unmorphed yet quickly adopting a fighting stance.
"Feel like telling us what that Pillar is, or are we gonna have to take that info from you?" Isaac asked, as Tanya and Kyle, after dislodging himself from the now-destroyed Samurai helmet, stood alongside him, all armoured up. Batibat and Masutā stood opposing them, weapons at the ready.
A smirk tugged at Batibat's expression, ignoring her bruised nose, as she twirled her blade back. "You will find out soon enough," she replied, being initially vague with any details. She brought her dagger-gripping hand up, ready to go on the offensive, as Masutā shifted into a stoic fighting stance, both hands gripping the long hilt to the sword; the blade radiating a faint green glow, as though it in of itself had its own dread-inducing feel.
The two groups looked about ready to tear the building apart fighting each other, and probably would have done that ten-fold, had they not been interrupted by a very loud, very clear shout, "Everybody freeze!"
Immediately, Kyle turned his head, quickly uttering, "Footsteps; a lot of them. And armed." The door frame was quickly filled with armoured and armed SWAT forces, balaclavas and all, rushing into the museum and lasers all pointed to the five already in the restricted area. From the window, more laser beams shot through and began collecting on teens and Demons alike.
"Regular or Killers?" Isaac asked under his breath; as much as he found it cringe-worthy, Kyle's nickname for those new bullets was going to get drilled into their heads by his constant, and annoying, reminding.
Kyle audibly sniffed, his head turning a fraction further, before he responded, "Regulars. But reckon there's Killers coming sooner or later; some of these guys reek of that Silver Bastard."
"Great, he's here too," Tanya commented bitterly, head turning slowly to keep an eye on those aimed at her. "So what's the plan then?" she asked, exhaling calmingly.
Isaac tried to remain as still as he could; the only one unarmoured one of the three, the Special Forces could read his body language that much easier. His eyes moved from one armed man to the other, the lasers beginning to focus over his heart as his mind raced to think of an idea. At that moment, his eyes landed on Masutā, who seemed to be looking at the Special Forces soldiers with a mixture of curiosity and insulting gazes; and the idea hit him.
"Duck."
"What?" Kyle question, turning his body partially.
Several guns were cocked and primes, fingers hovering over the trigger. Isaac's hands grasped the other twos' shoulders, clutching the mixture of metal-plating and under-armour.
"Duck!" he repeated, dropping to the ground, dragging the others with him as the first bullets starting firing. The rest soon followed, a shower of bullets entering the room, and swiftly exiting through the opposing walls. Some bullets ricocheted off of Masutā's sturdy armour harmlessly, which only seemed to infuriate the Hand of Horror.
"You dare attack Masutā, Bringer of the Master's Wrath?" he proclaimed, stepping towards the window as the bullets came thundering in; all focused on his distinctive armour, yet none of them passing through or doing significant damage.
From their angle, the teens noticed how the bullets actually seemed to disintegrate mere millimetres from making contact; faint green traces of energy sparking across his chest with every bullet shot at him. "How the hell are we expecting to stop this guy? He's a damn Samurai with a Demon person shield!" Kyle exclaimed, hand feeling around for a weapon of some kinds; he should've pulled out his blade when he had the chance!
"That part I haven't fought of yet," Isaac admitted, nudging Kyle's shoulder and gestured ahead of them. "But do you see any of them firing at us?"
Kyle turned to look at Isaac, before looking around and taking in all the bullets firing; the sounds bouncing off the confining walls. With a bit of concentration, he soon got an answer. "No…"
"Exactly. So let's get the hell out of here!" Isaac exclaimed, slapping the armoured shoulders of the pair as he took off, leaving a red streak behind him as he rushed through the door. The Special Forces member he ran into barely recovered as two more streaks ran into him, sending him crashing into one of the museum's walls.
A blast from the Restricted Area brought Kyle out of his run, lingering momentarily to look back into the room. A body flew to the ground, radiating an ominous green glow as it came to rest feet from Kyle. He brought his eyes up to the door itself, and he swore that wall looked sturdier than before…
"Kyle!" he heard Tanya shout, bringing him out of his thoughts and pushed him from the shop, tearing down the streets.
"Woo-ow! Wow, wow!" Tyler exclaimed, fighting to maintain his balance as the entire cockpit shook and rocked from side to side. "This is," he paused to overcome a serious case of wobbling, "a hell of a lot harder than I thought."
Thankfully, and from what he had just proven, useful, Natalie had suggested they move a fair bit away from the main city before calling the Zords. They were now tearing up the earth of the open plains just beyond the city limits. Well, he was tearing the place up. Natalie had occupied her Zord, purely to watch him. The Omega Zord itself was in a relaxed pose; lying on the ground, weight marking the spot as its resting place, with the front legs crossed and heavy head resting across them.
At the right distance, it could have easily passed for a living, organic wolf. Only…bigger.
Natalie herself sat on the lowered muzzle of her Zord, helmet off and set at her side as she watched Tyler test out the waters. She brought her Howler partway up, a smile on her face as she encouraged, "You're doing great. You haven't tripped over yet, so that's-"
A loud CRASH followed in the distance, along with Tyler's surprised shout coming over the comms.
"…Never mind," she finished sheepishly.
As the Beta Zord recovered, its head shaking to clear the dirt clogged in its panels, Natalie quickly recovered her helmet and disappeared into her Zords' cockpit. As the cables locked onto her, the Zord came to life once again; ears perking up and head raising, it rose up to its paws and approached the other, stilled Wolf Zord.
"How the hell did you guys get used to this shit so quickly?" Tyler questioned as the Omega Wolf came up alongside his own. "You were taking out massive Demons and shit as a Megazord the second you rolled them out!"
Natalie had been in the middle of unplugging herself when Tyler spoke. She answered, with a shrug, "Dunno. It just…came more naturally. I mean, maybe it's because you're not the first? I don't know how it entirely works, but it probably has something to do with the bloodlines or something."
"What, like a higher concentration or something?" Tyler questioned.
"Probably. Like I said, not something I know. Something that Savage or MUTT will have a better understand of."
"Y'know, for how cringe worthy she can be at times, she's smart."
Tyler had to resist reacting when Matt's voice sudden piped up again, as he came into view; waltzing around the cockpit of the Megazord, circling around where he was locked into place. He came to a stop at the edge of the one of the eyes. "Will you shut up?" he whispered harshly, sparing a brief side glare through his helmet.
Matt's hands went out, as mock surrender, as a metal hatch opened up in the ceiling of the cockpit; light streaming in, lighting everything up. Natalie came falling through shortly after, landing gracefully in front of Tyler.
"Probably a good idea to get you out of those," she commented, and he could swear he could see the smirk beneath her helmet as she walked around his side, fiddling with the cables attached to his back.
"Better hope she knows what she's doing, or it's gonna be a, 'shocking' experience," Matt informed, kicking off of the screen and approached Tyler's other side, peaking over to watch Natalie systematically work off the cables and wires. Matt threw a dirty glare across at Matt, who was visibly smirking, as he straightened, continuing, "Eh, this whole things a mess of cables and wires. That cybernetic fleabag had to go and ruin millennial-old designs."
"How do you know so much about these Zords?" Tyler questioned, fingers flexing when one of his hands were released. He'd expected Matt, with his back to him, to answer; since he had been directing it to the…thing masquerading as his friend, but he didn't give the answer.
"Eh, hanging around the Den after getting roughed up has its ups and downs; MUTT can be a proper pain in the ass sometimes, but he's useful if you're looking to learn," Natalie answered, working across and releasing Tyler's other arm.
"Y…Y-Yeah, makes sense," Tyler replied coolly, playing into it as he rolled both shoulders, feeling the great weight lifted from them. "I'll have to get on that; being a tech guy and all that."
Natalie chuckled softly, coming out almost cybernetic through the filter, and said, "I can see you and MUTT getting on like a house on fire. Not sure if the others will take kindly to you and MUTT talking about computer stuff like its English."
Tyler laughed a bit at this, giving a faint shake of his head as he was finally released; he took a few steps forward, loosening up his stiff joints. "Hey, he might be glad to have someone who actually understands what he says for once."
"Oh I beg to differ," Natalie teased, breaking into more laughter alongside Tyler's own. They kept up for a few more seconds, before Tyler's came to an abrupt stop. Natalie's died down soon after, taking a small step closer. "Tyler?"
"You gonna answer her or gonna let her think you're one step away from the looney bin?" Matt questioned, grinning like a maniac as Tyler tried burning holes through that thick head of his. It took another few seconds, before Tyler finally gave up and looked across at Natalie.
"Sorry…just, feel weird after being in control of the Zord," he apologized, turning back fully to the other Warrior.
She gave a small shrug in response, "It happens, don't worry about it. Now, we'll give it a bit and then we'll try and see how you are with the Auxiliary Zords."
"Auxi…what?" Tyler questioned, sounding completely perplexed.
"They call them Auxiliary Zords, but they're just members of the Pack outside of the Hierarchy. Stupid re-naming, but whatever," Matt informed, giving a faint eye roll as his hands stuffed themselves into his pockets. "Just you humans and unnecessary want for change."
Ignoring that last comment thrown at him, Tyler took note of Natalie, apparently repeating what Matt had just said to him, more or less. He gave a slight nod, trying to make it seem like he was paying attention, and said, "Fair enough…So, coffee?"
Natalie gave a nod, a smirk forming beneath that helmet. And over his shoulder, Tyler heard a prolonged groan that made him smirk.
"I'm supposed to be the bastard here, not you," he heard Matt comment aloud.
"Wow-wow-wow-wow!" Kyle exclaimed, rounding a corner down an alley and screeched to a stop. Faint clouds of smoke formed at his feet as the ground formed skid marks beneath him. The Yellow and Red streaks in front of him also came to a stop, and Isaac and Tanya leaned against the narrow walls, as all three began catching their breath. If he had to guess, they must have put at least a couple of miles between them and the Demons and Soldiers.
"What kind of fucking Demon was that?!" Tanya exclaimed, tearing her helmet off and let it roll onto the ground, breathing heavily with her head held low.
"Isaac," Kyle said, picking himself up to look at the back of the Red Warrior, hunched over and panting. "You were the one that called us in; you got anything on that guy?"
Isaac's only response was panting and gasps of breath for the first few seconds, before bringing himself up straight with assistance from the wall, and turned around. His other hand worked the clasps of his helmet, and carelessly dropped it to the ground; revealing the streaks of sweat down the side of his head, spiking his hair at odd angles and mixing with some of the recent bleeding cuts.
"That Bitch…she was talking with that…whatever-Demon when I found them. Kept calling him something like…Masseuse or some shit. They were talking about something called 'The Great Darkness' and some pillar. Then they dragged me through the window, and then you two turned up. Then we all know what happened."
"Clusterfuck," Tanya added dryly.
"What they talking about, Great Darkness? What Pillar?" Kyle questioned, hands holding the top of his helmet, as his breathing slowly eased.
"I'm gonna contact Savage, see if he knows," Isaac said, bringing his Howler up and tapped a few buttons.
"Savage," the anthro wolf answered, standing at one of the computers when it lit up, alerting him that one of the Warriors was trying to contact him.
"Savage, it's Isaac," came the voice on the other end. "We've found something Demonic, except we haven't got a fucking clue what it is. Need your opinion."
"What've you got?" Savage questioned, signalling MUTT to be ready. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the robot bring up the records.
"Ran into some Samurai armour-decked motherfucker with Batibat. They were talking about some pillar and this Great Darkness shit. She kept calling them guy Masute or some shit."
With each bit of informative scrap Isaac provided, Savage's mind raced for anything to connect the dots. Claw-tipped fingers tapped the edge of the desk, drawing MUTT's attention, as he turned around entirely to see Savage's tail lashing behind him; the trench coat had been taken off a few minutes prior, flung over the railing.
Minutes crawled by, with no words spoke as Savage thought. Isaac finally broke the silence, asking, "Savage, you still there? This fucking thing cut off again?"
"Nothing."
"What?" Kyle's voice spoke up.
"I…I do not recall such information. I know not of this Pillar or this Demon. This is extremely troubling…" Savage reiterated, fingers flexing in and out of clenched fists. "I should know this."
"Great. So we're dealing with shit that even Wolfie here doesn't know. Fan-fucking-tastic(!)" Isaac's sarcastic tone rang through the comms, further irritating Savage.
Before any more could be said, MUTT stepped in, passing control of the comms over to the computer beside Savage. "Best chance of finding out information is by keeping close to Batibat and this new Demon. There will be a high probability that, if they are speaking of this Pillar, and it is from the Past, they may be trying to recover information themselves."
"Fat chance of that happening," Tanya butted in, "We had to high-tail it out of there after the fucking Japanese Army rolled up and turned a museum into shit. Worse, we got whiff of that slimy Silver bastard."
"The Silver Imposter is on the same land mass?" Savage queried, simmering down enough to speak reasonably. Though MUTT could definitely hear him utter some…unkind words in his own tongue. "The Demon trace must have been picked up by him as well. Whatever the Demons are seeking, you must find it first; before the Demons, or this Imposter, find it first."
"Oh yes, a completely reasonable and easy to accomplish," Isaac's heavily-sarcasm laced tone returned, and MUTT picked up the faint audio signals of Kyle's voice snapping at, supposedly, Isaac.
"We'll see what we can do," Kyle's voice came front and centre. "How's Tyler doing, anyway? Natalie keeping him from killing himself?"
"She's trying to get him aquatinted with his Beta Zord, and right now, I've received a request to release the Lightning Brothers," MUTT informed, his other hand moving across to yet another keyboard, tapping in the release code.
"Tell her to go easy on him, K?" Kyle asked, before the comms were cut off suddenly.
"I don't like not knowing," Savage commented, a hint of a growl present in his tone as he tore his coat from the railing, heading off of the raised area. "I hate it."
"We learn through various experiences, not just through simple victories or defeats. Isn't that what you told me the Elders told you?" MUTT questioned, refocusing his efforts on his current computer. "A direct fight with this new Demon won't provide as much information as holding back and observing."
"I prefer prior knowledge. Lacking knowledge is…unhelpful," Savage said, finally turning around properly and headed through one of the doors, roughly putting the jacket back on, thrusting his fists through the sleeves.
"What the hell's your problem?" Kyle questioned, as Isaac walked a few steps down the alley and reached for his helmet. He had just wanted to check up on their newest member…what was his deal?
Helmet now in hand, Isaac looked over his shoulder, responding, "There's a time and place to worry about what the hell's going on back in Pax. This isn't one of those times; right now, we need to figure out what the fuck we're dealing with here. When, and only when, we're done here, I'll check up on M…on Tyler."
"I fucking knew it," Kyle commented sharply, pointing a finger accusingly at him. "You're still all hung up over what happened to Matt. I told you to drop it!"
"You try dropping shit like that. It ain't fucking easy!" Isaac shouted back, before Tanya pushed herself between the guys and separated them.
"Will you guys shut it? You're gonna cause a scene; the last thing we need right now is that Silver bastard finding us," Tanya hissed, adding an extra shove to Isaac's chest when the red-clad teen tried to take a step closer; giving him a slight glare when he threw his own one at her.
"We're going to find what those Demons are hiding," Isaac stated, pointing to the ground to draw his figurative line.
"No," Kyle responded bluntly, trying to step around Tanya. "You are going to give a proper explanation as to why you've been nothing but a proper asshole to Tyler ever since he replaced Matt."
"This has nothing to do with that," Isaac responded, teeth grinding together as he swiftly brought his helmet up and onto his head, locking it into place. "Drop it, now." He didn't even give Kyle a chance to fire a retort back; he turned to Tanya, gave her a brief, "You two try and find them," before tearing off down the alley. The force of his sudden speed tore several bricks loose from the wall, and a nearby window cracked viciously.
As the last clouds settled, Tanya turned to look back at Kyle, who was visibly fuming, as she questioned, "What was that all about?"
"What do you think?" Kyle responded bluntly, turning down the opposite way and took a couple of steps, hands rubbing his face as a groan came from him. "It's about Matt, clearly," he added, responding to his own question as he turned around on the spot. "You saw how he reacted when I even mentioned it! It's been three weeks; I've gotten over relatives' deaths in shorter time."
"This is…different," Tanya said, trying to reason with Kyle as she rubbed the sweat steadily forming on her brow. The climate didn't seem as bad as when they were in that shuttle hotel; now they were in the open, she especially was really feeling the lack of AC.
"How?" Kyle questioned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "How exactly is this different?"
"Because of these fuckers," Tanya responded, bringing her Howler up. "Savage told us these things were….changing us, almost. Faster reactions, senses increased…but what if it's doing something with how we think?"
Kyle looked at her blankly.
She sighed in frustration. "Nat looked up a few things on Wolves a while back; said she wanted to see if there was anything we could get from that. I reckon it's starting to get that 'pack mentality' effect on us."
"You're saying he's got a hard-on for Matt's death because of these Howlers? About how his thought process is or some shit?" Kyle questioned, raising an eyebrow as he glanced down to his own Howler. "I mean…I guess it makes sense, somewhat. But still…he really needs to be over it by this point."
Tanya sighed again, recovering her helmet and looked across at Kyle. "C'mon," she said, slipping her helmet on and re-attaching the clasps. "Let's go hunt us some Demons."
Exhaling through his nose, Kyle grabbed his helmet and slipped it on, giving a quick check that they were in fact still alone, before both he and Tanya tore off down the opposite direction of the alley, kicking up dirt and cracking the sidewalk as they passed over it at speed.
Unaware of the binoculars trying to keep track of them, for the brief moments after they left the alley. "Targets are on the move. Red Ranger moving West, Black and Yellow moving East,"a balaclava-clad figure spoke into a hand radio.
"Send units out to track the two. I've got Red," E's voice said over the radio.
The man holding the radio pulled it back slightly, glancing at the other man, armed with another set of binoculars and a sniper resting on the edge of the building. Both men looked at the radio; even with the encryption-modification, that seemed far too…altered.
"Are you sure it is wise to face such a Warrior by yourself? I have seen the reports on this particular one," the Head of the Japanese Special Forces Agency commented as he accompanied E down the corridor. If it hadn't of been for the light catching on the layered armour, it was the heavy footsteps that echoed down both sides that gave away the Ranger suit.
The whirl of the armour's assistor accompanied each step, as they passed through another set of doors; this time, finding themselves outside, with armed guards on either side of the entrance. Only then, did E turn around to look at the Head of the SFA; his HUD focusing in on his face, though took note of the lack of details that usually came up with the face recognition.
"This is no Warrior," E stated, turning around and walked a few steps, boots crunching concrete. "Just some punk European kid who thinks he's above the law. I'm going to remind all of them of their place."
"You must not let your past dictate your actions for this group of Rangers, Agent," the older man responded, just as E was about to leave. He took note, despite the heavy and bulky suit, of how E tensed up and looked back partially. "A path of dark intention will only lead to a darker destination."
"I don't need your bullshit fortune-cookie wisdom," E snapped, fingers flexing; almost igniting the energy blades in his wrist. The faintest trace of energy crackled along the vambraces, but it quickly subsided. Without another word, he took off; a forceful shockwave blasting out, almost knocking over the guards from the force. Yet the older gentleman remained in place, his suit flapping in the sudden wind, as he watched the silver streak take off, into his city.
He exhaled slowly, giving a slight shake of his head. "Orokamono," he uttered under his breath, gesturing to the guards to remain stationary as he walked back into the building, the guards moving into place.
"Damn, and I thought the Beta Zord was a pain in the ass to control," Tyler grunted, almost dropping to one knee in an effort to control the Crimson Wolf. Its brother was to one side of the open plain, deep navy armour standing out against the relatively green area, its head rested over crossed forelegs. The Crimson Zord was proving the more difficult to control, as Tyler was finding out himself. "Was this one this much of an asshole for Matt?"
"Not that I remember," Natalie replied, off to one side of the hill, sat down as she watched Tyler struggle. "Maybe you're doing it wrong?"
"I'm doing it exactly how you showed me," was his flat response, shoulders sagging after momentarily giving up control. The Crimson Zord, much to Tyler's annoyance, seemed to relaxed the moment he released his control over it, and casually rose to its feet and walked away; leaving massive footsteps of upturned grass and dirt. He gave the retreating Zord the middle finger as a result.
Natalie chuckled softly, rising and approached Tyler. She gave a friendly shove to his shoulder, assuring him, "It's a matter of practice. Or it might be because it…I don't know, feels that you're not Matt. It's just being an ass because you're different."
Tyler sighed lowly, and Natalie gave another pat to his shoulder. "I'll go talk with Savage; see if I can get a better idea of what's going on," she said, giving a faint, mock salute goodbye as she headed off. Tyler turned to watch her leave, catching the last traces of white armour disappearing among the trees and bushes.
"She's got a good ass, I'll give you that."
Tyler could swear he was going to jump out of his suit one of these days.
"Stop fucking doing that!" he exclaimed, coming around to face Matt once again; and like before, he had that smug grin plastered across his face.
"We'll its more entertaining watching her leave than watching your piss-poor attempt at controlling one of the Pack. And as Beta, it's your job to keep the others in line; that just makes it that much more depressing," Matt replied, gesturing first to Tyler, then to the metal titan in the distance. "It's really not that difficult."
"You explain to me then! What's the problem with them?" Tyler demanded, gesturing to the distant Zords.
"The problem isn't with them. The problem lies with you."
"And why's that? Because I'm not you?"
"Because you have the square-root of jack in common with Matt, personality-wise," Matt informed, hands finding their way back into his pockets. "You lack his…abrasiveness, which got those Zords under his control in the first place."
"Look, it's weird enough that I'm even acknowledging the fact I'm talking to someone I *know* to be dead. Mostly because all the shit I've had to come to terms with in these weeks. But don't even begin to talk about yourself in the third-person," Tyler stated, pointing to Matt accusingly as he took threatening steps closer.
Yet Matt remained in place, simply gesturing behind him to the distant Zord. "How about you try it again? Only this time, try to have some sort of backbone with them." He gained another glare thrown in his direction at his latest comment, and a purposeful shove to his shoulder as Tyler passed by him.
Reaching the peak once again, Tyler exhaled slowly, trying to relax as he focused on the distant form of the Crimson Zord; if it were a real wolf, he would almost call it relaxing with his 'brother'. He brought his hand up, and focused once again. Doing just as Natalie and Savage had told him about;
'Clear your mind, there are none but the Pack. Focus on the Pack. Reach out, and command them.'
His eyes drifted close, allowing himself to be guided, mentally, to the Crimson Wolf; it had a fiery personality, sticking out against the relative calm resonating from the Navy Wolf. The moment it felt him trying to reach out to it, Tyler felt it put up a fight. The mental link should've at least tried to connect by now. He put more emphasis on his command over the Zord, fingers almost closing into a fist as the Crimson Zord put up more of a fight.
Its growl even echoed inside his helmet.
His outstretched hand shook slightly, trying to maintain focus on the task of controlling the Zord, the spark fighting against his control.
"There is a specific amount of force required; too much is dangerous. But it's also way too easy to get to that point," Matt's voice butted through his concentration, despite his attempts to ignore it. But it threw him off just enough to give the Zord an edge; the spark moved out of his mental reach. "Here," the voice said again, and Tyler finally opened his eyes.
Through his visor, he saw Matt standing alongside him, hand outstretched to mirror his own. He refocused when he felt that spark draw closer, and closed his eyes to mental reach out. He was amazed at how…calm the otherwise aggravated Zord was now. "How the hell do you do that?" he questioned under his breath, twisting his head slightly and spared a glance across at Matt; taking note of how his eyes remained open, and he seemed far more relaxed than he was right now. "This isn't just you using Matt's body, whatever the hell you are."
"When you've got it, you've got it," Matt responded, and his smirk caught Tyler's attention. He gestured in front of the pair, and Tyler looked back around.
He almost jumped out of his armour when he found himself face to face with the massive Zord head. The spark hadn't given any indication that the Zord had approached them, hell, he was more surprised he didn't feel the ground shake with the Zords' approach. But now that he focused on the spark again, he found it didn't radiate that aggressive nature that had been present during his attempts to control in.
Now Matt-or whatever it really was-was doing all the work, however, it seemed far more passive and relaxed. Not a single shred of malice was in the giant, ice-blue eyes of the metal beast, as it lowered his head in the same pace of Matt's lowering arm. As its chin came to partially embed itself into the ground, due to the weight, Tyler took a small step closer to Matt's side.
"How the hell are you doing that?" he questioned, looking between the titanic metal muzzle and the…thing standing beside him. "Because you're sure as shit not Matt, so don't use that fucking reason."
He gave a small shrug, and Tyler saw that bastard smirk as he repeated, "Sometimes, when you've got it…you've got it. Simple as." He turned to face Tyler, adding, "Aren't you going to pet him?"
Despite the helmet keeping most of his emotion at bay, Tyler was pretty sure he got the blank look across to Matt. "It's a giant metal Wolf Zord. Stop acting like it's some overgrown pup."
"Just because its metal to you, doesn't automatically mean that it cannot feel," Matt replied, a slight edge to his tone as he spoke; simultaneously reminding Tyler of the Matt he remembered, while also surprising him with just how sharp his tone's edge seemed to be. Even for Matt's standards, it seemed…harsh.
"Now…pet him."
Slowly, Tyler turned away from Matt and faced the gigantic Zord; it seemed so much larger, standing in front of it now, than even when he was inside the cockpit of his own Zord. His hand rose back up and, with small steps, closed the gap between himself and the Zord. Barely inches away, he found himself holding his breath as his fingers brushed against the steel. He had been half-expecting the Zord to attack at the last second, dropping the peaceful façade and snapping them up.
But the attack never came; instead, Tyler made contact with the surprisingly smooth metal plates; the various sharp edges and jagged appearance to the Zord as a whole gave him the impressive that even stepping wrong with this Zord would result in a deadly cut. But this one, at least where he was touching, was very…smooth. And it just seemed to be…buzzing with energy.
'Kinda to be expected with a Zord who can harness electricity,' he thought to himself dryly, the armoured gloves seemed that much rougher as he moved it across the surface.
"Amazing creatures, aren't they?" Matt questioned, looking across as his hand slowly returned to his side. Not that Tyler seemed to notice, along with the question; far too fascinated with the sheer energy pulsing from the Zord. But Matt merely smiled, looking back to the Zord as he uttered under his breath.
All Tyler caught was "…lotta work into these."
"Hmm?" Tyler questioned, finally managing to process words as the amazement started to fade away. "Did you say something?"
"No," was the response he got, quickly followed by a stiff inhale. "Well, look at that. Looks like you've actually grown a backbone. Miracles can happen after all."
Now that was the Matt he remembered; not that he thought very fondly of those memories.
"I'm back. Sava-wow."
A returning voice brought Tyler out of his thoughts, and turned around; pulling his hand away from the bowing Wolf Zord looming in front of, and above, him. The white armour stood out against the green foliage, as Natalie brushed past the last of it to make it back from the Den. Right now, she was stopped right in her tracks, surprised she didn't get a heads up before leaving.
Then again, with the Zords' size, she really should have spotted it a lot easier.
"I see you've, uh, been getting yourself acquainted with the Zords. It's…quicker than Savage said it would take, but hey. Who am I to complain about it?" Natalie said, beaming beneath her helmet as she approached. Her movement caught the attention of the titanic Crimson Zord, yet it remained where it was for now as Natalie came up alongside Tyler. "Did a really 180, huh?"
"Yeah," Tyler responded, a small smirk forming under his helmet as he partially glanced at Natalie. "Yeah-yeah. Just…something you said, made me try things a different way. Try being…"
"More like Matt," Natalie finished off, but there was something in her tone that seemed…sad. But that thought was pushed aside when he felt the Crimson Wolf shift a fraction. Even the slightest movements shook the ground beneath their feet, almost knocking them over in the process of it relaxing. "Maybe we do still need someone like Matt, but for the most part, we need you for you, Tyler."
"Reckon the Zords would still listen to me when I'm not being an ass?" he questioned in turn, glancing across as Natalie came to sit down before the Zord. Tyler slowly joined her, fiddling with a few blades of grass.
The wind took them as Natalie replied with, "Adapting to the situation. Evolution's logic; adapt, or die."
"Bit of a brutal way of putting it," Tyler responded, looking back to the Crimson Zord, watching it watch the pair of them. Both their gazes turned when a response came.
"Everything adapts to live; it's nature. Those who refuse to change….they don't last very long."
His footsteps were surprisingly quiet, considering the weight of the suit, as he moved through the museum. The scans of the interior showed no life signs, save for his own, but E was still on guard; Fairweather made mention of how some Demons could avoid detection if they truly wanted to. His fists ready to activate his weaponry at a moments' notice.
"Lingering chemical signature of the three Ranger subjects," he commented aloud, the small recorder built into his suit activated as he examine the scene. The museum had been torn to shreds, bullet holes cutting through the wall and some were still lodged into the opposite wall. He stepped over another body, mindful of the pools of blood, forming more of the floor than the floor itself. "Multiple casualties; all officers of the JSF. No sign of Demon entities, but scanner is picking up notably high signatures."
He finally looked across the restricted area of the museum, and approached the display cases. The shattered glass had been painted with a thin layer of blood, the droplets collecting on the jagged edges. It was the blood-dotted, extra warning beneath the empty space that caught E's attention. He tapped the side of his helmet, and a new tab opened up on his HUD, connecting him to the JSF HQ.
"What is it now, Agent? We have significantly more important matters to attend to now. Namely all the families that will be burdened with the news of their fathers, sons, brothers and uncles that they will no longer see," came the video response from the Head. And as E looked around the floor, the number in his head only grew.
Not that was his current concern.
"Found something you'd probably want noted. Broken cabinet, guessing something was inside but it's not there anymore. It's got some kind of warning, wondered if you'd translate it?" E questioned, crouching down in front of the display case, tapping what remained of the blood-splattered glass.
After a moment of silence-though E was sure he heard a sigh over the comms-the Head replied, "Send a video feed over."
With a silent eye roll, E activated the video, providing a direct feed to the JSF Headquarters. He focused in on the warning first, before standing up and took a step back to get the entire case in. Just as he did so, however, he heard sudden clattering on the other end of the feed, with what he suspected was some kind of Jap curse word. The other voice was quickly silenced and the Head stiffly gave a response.
"The plaque describes a set of armour that brings great terror to those who fought the wearer. Many stories surround this missing piece; up until recent events, I assumed them all false. But if these…Rangers of yours have taken this ancient armour, I dread to consider what possible truths may be unveiled."
"This isn't the work of those punks, as much as it irritates me to say," E responded, bending down to grab a shard of glass, giving it a once over before tossing it aside. "I'm not getting any of their chemical signatures on any of this glass; it's all smeared with one of those Demons. If the reports are correct, the same female Demon we've seen around our location of interest." E suddenly exhaled in annoyance, pacing in small circles, hands resting on his hips. "Why here though?"
"What do you mean?"the Head questioned, watching the video feed intently as E stopped pacing. In the background, the other members in the room worked tirelessly at their computers, maps on every relative program and scans running throughout. In the background of some, news reports covering the situation the foreigner found himself in.
"Why this Demon in particular? Our records have several other places where there's been substantial Demon activity in the past," E explained, walking up to one of the dismantled weapons' rack and looked down at one of the weapons in a strange position, to say the least.
Considering it was lodged into the ground, E found it of great interest.
As he crouched beside it, E continued, "So what brought her to this one in particular? What's this set of armour that makes it so important to these Demons we're dealing with?"
"Sir," one of the Agents at a computer piped up, looking over his monitor. The Head looked back, cocking an eyebrow when he noted the subtle gesture the Agent made.
But he gave a small nod and turned back to the video feed. "One moment, Agent," he said, tapping on the small tablet beside him. The video feed dimmed slightly, a faint mute symbol appearing in the corner.
"What is it?" the Head questioned as he turned back and approached his own Agent. He came up to the side of the computer, looking across his screen.
"I'm receiving reports of strange activity at one of the checkpoints on Fuji. Officers stationed at Fuji had cornered off the area from the public, and I have ordered them to re-route the public path to avoid the area entirely," the JSF Agent informed, showing him both the written report, and the attached video file. The Head leaned in, the low-res video making it difficult to determine what it was showing exactly. But one thing, no matter how few pixels made it up, was crystal clear the moment it was shown.
"He is there…" he commented under his breath, inhaling sharply as the distinctive shape of the accursed armour march across the width of the video, with that mysterious other figure described to him by the previous dying reports. Looking up, the Head found the other agents in the room looking up, apparently awaiting orders. "Seal off the surrounding area, and stop every journey up and down that portion of Fuji; all climbers are to remain at their nearest stop."
The Agent that called him over quickly set about doing just that, tapping several keys as the Head moved away, approaching his original standing point. "Send a group of available units to act as a barrier, protecting the civilians on the mountain, should anything happen with this Demon. Go through all of our Archive Files regarding this suit of armour; see if there are any connections between the suit and Fuji."
Another two Agents set to work, researching and following through with the Head's orders. He gave a small nod of approval, before finally coming returning to his original spot. "Not a word of any information gained will be passed onto this foreign Agent; this is a matter of national security, should this resurrection lead to something. Mr. Abe expects this much from us, regardless of their origin," the Head stated, looking around at all of the Agents in the room, making brief eye contact with each and every one.
All of them nodding, proof they understood the tone of their Head.
"As of right now, our priority extends beyond simply protecting our country from current threats; now, we are to protect Japan from threats of the past."
"One moment, Agent."
E would've responded if he had the chance; the comms just cut off. He scoffed quietly, uttering, "Thanks for the heads up," as he threw a broken bit of the weapons' rack aside. He got up, intending on going to investigate the rest of the small museum. Surely there must have been something th-
Clunk.
He stopped in his tracks when he heard the sound; the wood must have hit something as he threw it. But…something sounded wrong. E turned around, seeing the chunk of wood on the ground; a small dent forming in the, formerly, solid wall right above where it had come to rest. "That shouldn't be like that…" E muttered to himself, as he turned around fully and approached the wall. The cracked wooden panel was directly where the missing suit of armour had been, easily missed if the suit had been where it should have been.
Brushing the remaining shards of glass aside, E reached around the display stand, no small feat considering the bulky nature of his suit of armour, and gave a quick shove to the weakened panel. It gave way with ease, the fragmented panel falling into the newly revealed void; and his hand going with it. But rather than pull it back, E wasted no time and felt around a bit. He quickly figured out what he was dealing with.
"Fake wall," he muttered to himself, shifting around and felt as far as he could from the hole. The stone brings felt rather cold, not that it concerned E. What was more interest of him was just how expansive this false wall seemed to reach.
It didn't take him long to come to a decision.
The Head tapped the tablet again, bringing the call back into focus and went to speak. But immediately stopped when he saw what was going on through the feed. And quickly took a different approach to speaking.
"Agent! What in the name of all that is sane do you think you are doing?!" he demanded, the sudden raised voice startling the other agents in the room. They all turned to the screen, and nearly every one of them had to force themselves to keep working through the shock and anger suddenly trying to force itself to the surface.
On the enlarged screen, the Agents of the JSF got a first-person view of the Foreign Agent tearing down a wall; but it was the fact that the other display cases were visible and he was throwing the panels so carelessly that made their blood boil. "There's a fake wall behind the display cases; frankly, I don't think we have the time to carefully dismantle everything here," E responded, using both hands to tear off a larger chunk of wood and threw it aside.
When he was satisfied that enough of the wood had been removed, E stepped back and assessed the situation. The real wall was mostly visible now, blank stone a lot colder than the warmer feel the wooden wall gave off. So far, however, he didn't see anything remotely linking him to this missing suit of armour.
Not that there wasn't anything.
"You are disgracing centuries old artefacts! Sacred to my people!" the Head shouted over the comms, as E moved to one side of the cases and set about moving them. With a little effort, the wooden legs squeaking as they were forced to move against the friction of the floor.
"Look, in the grand scheme of things, the past is…but a memory and we need to protect the now," E grunted, finally settling on its newest spot and took a step back to plan his next move. While the wood behind where the display case had been was a few shades lighter than that above or beside it, it still continued onward from the hole he had created. With the threatening tone of the Head of the JSF continuing to ring in his ear, E continued to tear down the wood.
"Not only is he contaminating a crime scene, he is damaging national-protected artefacts!" one of the Agents piped up, unable to simply stand there and watch in silence. He quickly fell silent, however, when the intense glare of the Head turned to face him. His head quickly ducked behind the supposed safety of his monitor, and quickly returned to his work in silence.
"Even if we were to try and stop him, with the current equipment in that area, we would be severely outgunned. The less blood that is shed, the better," the Head stated, turning back around to face the videoed destruction. "But rest assured," he added, looking over his shoulder, "we will see that we make him pay for his desecration."
He returned his full attention to the screen once again, just as E came to another stop from inflicting damage on the false wall.
"Are you quite done destroyed artefacts of my culture, Agent?"
"Unless I have to tear down the rest of this building to get some kind of answer, yes," E answered bluntly, crouching at the base of the wall-sized hole he created and checked the crammed spaces between the real wall and what remained of the false one. He looked back and forth, hoping to find something warranting the creation of this false wall in the first place, but so far, it seemed it was a simple cosmetic change-
"What have we here?" E questioned, something catching his HUD in one of the dark corners; he reached in, feeling around for the object.
"Agent? What have you found?" the Head questioned, only getting silence as his answer as E felt around in the darkness. And thanks to it being a simple video, unenhanced by E's suit, it was if they were staring at a pitch black sky. Finally, light returned to the screen as E pulled back, something clutched in his hand.
"A scroll?" E asked himself, looking over the old and tattered roll of paper; his scans automatically trying to date the latest chemicals and materials used to make up the scroll, but judging by appearance alone, E would have to guess that it easily wasn't from this millennium. He approached the nearest table in the room, brushing off the glass shards and set the scroll down. With surprising care, he unrolled the paper, laying it as flat as it could go without damaging the parchment. "Can you lot make any sense of this?"
"Do we have any information regarding this?" the Head questioned his Agents, the video momentarily muted. The initial answer was the furious tapping of keys, not a single word. But he knew he didn't have any time for this; the Foreign Agent would grow suspicious if he kept him too long.
He unmuted the video, and after clearing his throat, responded, "It is difficult to make out; while a simple translation to a more modern interpretation could be easy, several key parts of the manuscript seemed to be been erased or damaged due to time. It would take several hours to get an accurate translation, if all of it was there in pristine condition. And as you yourself said, that is time we simply do not have."
Something caught the corner of his vision, and looked over his shoulder to see the silent wave from one of his Agents. "One moment," he stated, keeping the call muted and approached the desk.
Another scoff came with another muted call. Rather than try and say something now he wasn't going to be heard, E continued looking through the scroll. Every so often moving it a little to read a different part, mindful of the delicate nature of the parchment. But even with his knowledge, E knew that this was way beyond his language barriers.
Didn't help the fact that half of the letters had faded from visible sight.
Nor did the sudden, ear-splitting screech do him any favours.
E shouted out suddenly upon being nearly deafened him initially, forcing him to one knee as he tried to work out the cause. One hand flew to unfold the helmet from his head; he would have done the same for the other, but in the surprise of the screech, he'd activated the energy blade accidently. The wild swing to get the weapon away from him resulted in the further destruction of the armour display; slicing it clean in half, shattering what glass remained intact.
"E?! E, we're—ge-…readings fr-sui-! Resp-!" the scrambled voice of Clint came over the comms, but it was barely legible through the static and high-pitch whine. Even when he managed to release the helmet and have it fold back onto itself, E found the ringing and whining still very prominent in his ears. He managed to prop himself partially up on the desk, still trying to figure out what the cause was of this; couldn't have been the suit, now that the helmet was off and he was still severely disorientated.
"W…What is this?" he uttered to himself, trying to bring himself back to his feet. Though strangely, every time he did make progress, the pitch seemed to raise just enough to bring him back down again. The last thing he remembered was falling to the ground entirely, coming to rest on his side as the darkness started to close in…
His eyes snapped open, inhaling sharply as he jerked up. A blood rush from his brain stalled him momentarily as he paused on one knee to gather his breath. E felt the cold sweat running down his face, bringing his hand up to wipe a few drops from his skin. He brought it into the moonlight-moonlight.
"How…How long was I out?" E asked himself, grunting as he brought himself up to his feet, quickly shaking the weakness in his knee. A quick tap to the control panel brought his helmet back down, the HUD lighting up as he searched for the information he needed.
2:43am. Only a few minutes, at most.
"What the hell was that?" he muttered aloud, giving a small shake to the head as he looked around the room. The notification of a call on his HUD caught his attention, distracting him long enough to answer it. "Yeah what?"
"We lost contact with you for a few minutes, Agent. I am curious as to the reason," the JSF Head came over the comms, a small video feed popping up in the call.
"Like I have any fucking clue," E replied in a grunt, giving another shake of the head as he walked around the room; a quick peak out of the window gave him glimpses of those armed Special Forces people keeping guard over the hotel, with the ordinary looking police further down the road, keeping the public eye far from view. "I swear, if any of your soldiers attacked me-"
"Do not dare accuse this countries soldiers of such, Foreign Agent. You are walking a very fine line right now; I suggest you think about your next choice of words," the Head interrupted sharply, giving what E thought was a glare at him. Though with the screen so small, he couldn't make it out entirely.
"Yeah, I get it. Pride and joy of your country, I get it," E grunted, returning to the desk he had left the scroll on; half-expecting it to have rolled back up or to be stolen by some soldier while he was out. His mind wondered to having one of the D-13 medics give him the once over when he found the scroll, still laid out on the table.
"You do not wish to make an enemy of this country, Agent. After the EMP blast that crippled the American system less than a month ago, the country has been moved to a knife's edge from the drop into oblivion. We can see it, your allies have seen it; even those who wish to see the American People crushed beneath their boot, they've seen the crippled state they try to hide. And, to be frank, I would like to see the children of this country see another day," the Head threatened, and looked as though he was ready to continue if he hadn't been interrupted.
"Gotta go, I'll keep you updated. Send your nearest unit to Fuji; I'll meet them there," E responded, completely blanking the threat, before cutting off the comm link.
He quickly left the scene, ignoring the slight looks given to him by the troops standing guards. When he was far enough away, he took off in a streak of silver.
"How did he know to go Fuji?!" the Head demanded after E had cut them off, turning to his subordinates. "The video feed was muted, so how did he gather this information?"
"We are looking into it sir," one of his Agents informed, opening up several new programs. "We are going through the video feed, to see if that can shed any light."
"See to it that you do," the Head hissed, stalking back to his post among the furious clicks and tapping of keyboards and mice.
"Those freaks could be anywhere in this country right now. How the hell are we gonna find them before they do something that's gonna fuck this place up?"
Kyle came to a stop on the latest roof top, pausing for a moment to catch his breath as Tanya moved to the edge of the building. He sat down on a small ventilation unit, rolling his shoulders as he tried to, temporarily at least, relax.
But Tanya didn't seem to follow the same mind-set right now. "They've got to be here somewhere; I mean, they're Demons! Not exactly easy to miss, one of them being a literal walking suit of armor."
"Yeah, and we know the exact extent of their powers and abilities, including the inability to shape-shift on a dime. Again, we've got a great info source."
She was almost surprised Kyle wasn't asking her to save him from drowning; his sarcasm sounded as thick as concrete. "Taking lessons from Isaac, are we?"
All she got was a faint scoff as a response, earning a smirk across her face. She continued, "Look, there's gotta be something. We were getting a Demon reading from this city in particular; now that we know what that is, do we know what another scan's gonna give us?"
"Suppose it's worth another go. I mean, what have we got to lose at this point?" Kyle said, bringing his Howler up and gave a few taps to the device. "Besides, we're gonna get fucked over when word gets out we're in Japan. News channels are gonna have a field day."
"You're acting like this is something new for us. If anything, should be more surprised if anything involving any of us gets covered up," Tanya said, coming over to stand beside Kyle, arms folded over her chest. "They'll take every opportunity to name and shame us."
"They've pretty much already done that. The Pax we grew up in? That's gone. The friends we grew up with and worked alongside? Homeless and they hate us. Our families…" Kyle paused momentarily, inhaling softly, picking his next words carefully. "Look, point is, we've left everything behind. Everything about our old lives, that's gone…only thing we can hope for is making a new life after this is all over."
"And who's to say that there's even a life after this? Only way out of this that doesn't result in us rotting away in cells for years on end…it's not a good way out," Tanya replied, walking around in a small circle as she spoke. She come to a stop shortly afterwards, sitting down perpendicular to Kyle. She let out a small chuckle, suggesting, "We could always try here."
"After the shit show we've given them so far? I don't think we'll be allowed anywhere near here by nights' end," Kyle responded dryly, earning another chuckle from Tanya. This set him off, the two leaning partially against each other as they shared this laugh.
A small growl from the Howler brought the chuckle to an end, as Kyle brought it back up to get a readout. He stood up, prompting Tanya to follow, as he slowly spun around on the spot; coming to a stop when the growling reached its loudest.
"The strongest signal is coming from there," Kyle informed, still looking down at the Howler while he pointed forward. Looking up, his pointing arm slowly dipped in realization. "Near the…top of that…mountain."
Tanya followed his gaze, and her shoulders slouched when she too came to the same realization. "Oh come on…" she groaned, moving to the edge of the building, as if it would make a real difference in the size of Fuji. "I mean, yeah, it makes sense; something called the Pillar, and with what they're like, it's gonna be massive. But still…" With a faint huff, she finished off with, "Let's just get this over with. I'll get Isaac."
Kyle moved to the edge of the building alongside her, Howler still raised as he said, "I'll meet you there then."
"Trust me, I'll run circles around you. Why do you think I'm giving you a head start?" Tanya asked, giving a friendly punch to Kyle's shoulder. This earned a surprised grunt from Kyle, and a faint laugh from Tanya as Kyle rubbed his shoulder.
"Yeah, yeah. See ya at the top," Kyle muttered, giving a final nod before he jumped from the roof. Tanya followed him with her eyes as he landed on one of the lower buildings.
As he moved further and further across the buildings, Tanya raised her Howler and said, "Isaac, it's Tanya. We've got something," into the comms.
A few seconds of silence followed, before the other end of the comms picked up. "Got something eh? What's that then?" Isaac's voice replied. It took a bit more effort to hear what he was saying than usual, though; there was a low underlying sound throughout the comms. Sounded like…rushing wind? Was he running?
"Kyle's got a Demon reading coming from that Mount Fuji, we're going to have a look there. You've had any luck so far?"
"Well, I think I've got something," Isaac replied, and now Tanya was sure she heard quiet pants between his words. "I ran back to that museum to have a look around for anything, but those had armed guys surrounding the place. Couldn't get very close. Then guess who I saw coming out of the building?" He didn't even give Tanya a chance to reply before answering his own question. "The Silver Fucker just tore off, and I'm trying to keep up. Wherever he's going, he's gonna get there as fast as he can. I'll let you guys know what happens."
"Chances are he's heading to the mountain too. We'll try to get there before you do. Talk then," Tanya replied, quickly cutting the comms as she looked to the distant Mount Fuji. "Talk about a race to the mountain," she said to herself, taking a small step back before throwing herself off the edge of the building.
Both teens completely unaware of the third figure watching them from the same rooftop; not that the white clothes they wore blended with the night sky all that well.
"We are here."
Batibat wasn't sure of the last time she was thankful to hear such words. While there was no immediate need, she had this sensation of steadily increasing pressure on her shoulders to adhere to her Master's orders. And for a lot longer than she would have liked, it seemed Masutā was taking them on the longest route possible to the Pillar possible. And while the night was still very much alive and quiet, she knew their time until morning was limited.
"We had better be," she hissed, narrowing her eyes at the back of the titan's helmet. Sometimes she wished she could burn holes into this brute's head.
Her intense glare went unnoticed by Masutā, who had lowered to one knee and had one of his hands pressed against the mountainside. His fingers dug through the soil, the earth surrounding him starting to absorb the acidic green energy radiating from the Demon. An exhale came out as Masutā raised his head, the breath coming out as a faint cloud from between his helmet armour plates.
"This world…was so close being ruled under the Master's hand. The humans should have been grateful to live in His shadow; at least then, their wretched existence would have had some merit to it then," Masutā commented aloud, making a smooth stripe in the otherwise rough surface. He repeated the action twice over, one directly beneath the other. He looked over his shoulder to the she-Demon. "Keep a watch for any…intruders. This will take some time."
"You had better hurry, Masutā," Batibat snapped, pacing back and forth in her impatience, but also trying to get a look at what the titanic Hand was doing with the cleared patch. But she never got a good view; his broad form blocked all attempts to sneak a look.
No matter.
With a huff, Batibat wondered off, leaving Masutā to his cleared spot and whatever he planned to do. She had spotted humans from a distance on their way to this spot, so that could turn into some fun if they got too nosy. But she knew better than to provoke them; for now, at least, she'd wait.
Finally.
Masutā inhaled again, taking in the crisp air. Now that his…replacement had left him be, he could actual focus without the constant annoyance that she was hanging over his shoulder. He opened his eyes once again, the acidic green evaporation into the air, as he looked down to the spot he had smoothed down.
With the upmost care, he reached for his side, fingers carefully closed around a dagger handle and pulled it from its sheath; the obsidian blade catching the slowly fading moonlight at just the right angle to make it look a paler metal. However much he may despise the humans, Masutā would give them a single shade of worth; though it may be biased, a curtain…respect for the past was still there.
Many of which he laid the foundation for.
Carefully turning the dagger around, he brought the dagger down so the tip barely grazed the ground. He exhaled slowly, uttering, "By the Gaze of the Master, I honor thy land," as he placed one hand over the butt of the handle, and pressed the dagger into the mountain. Cracks immediately spider-webbed from the initial piercing, an ominous red glow quickly seeping through. With the dagger firmly embedded in place, Masutā leaned back, hands coming to rest on his knees. He rolled his head around his shoulder armour, exhaling as he closed his eyes.
"Through the Master's Hand, I am His Sword; through Him, I strike down those He deems unworthy of His Rule."
As his chant continued, the red light emitting from the cracks started to move; jagged lines coming together, to form lines of strange words; from a tongue long since lost.
"Through the Master's Eye, I am His Rage; striking Death and Damnation in those who dare stand against Him."
The letters started to become clearer and more defined, the right glow started to snake its way further from the cracks. Like serpents, they wrapped around the Demon's wrist; slowly tightening until taut.
"Through the Master's Sanctuary, I am His Key; through His Doors, I will guide this world from the Darkness of Zeta, and into His Light."
His eyes snapped open, and his hands clutched the light wrapped around his wrists. With a faint grunt, his arms outstretched, taking what little slack remained out and pulling the strands of, now solid, light with him. The writing split directly in the middle, cracking the earth again as it opened up.
The red glow came out in force, reflecting off of Masutā's armour. It met his eye, a deadly cocktail of acidic green and demented red.
"Soon, my Master…Soon You will rule again."
To Be Continued...
Here's part two for you guys! I was hopeful to give you guys another update before the New Year, so here we are! Hopefully, I'll get the next part out ASAP.
Hope ya'll have a Happy New Year!
Nf991 signing out.