Episode 22 – The God's Hand, Part 3
E threw himself up the rest of the building, landing with a resounding thud that was sure to echo throughout the facility; luckily, it seemed that anyone in the vicinity was either asleep or not paying attention. A short walk across the width of the roof brought him to the opposite edge, crouching down as he looked over the edge. With the night beginning to draw to a close, the first traces of orange and red beginning to blend with the distant black sky.
But with how illuminated they had made this station, he would expect most to think it was midday. E took a deep inhale of air, his filters working harder than usual to get him a good amount for how high they currently were.
Now he had a good look of the area, E brought a hand up and tapped the side of his helmet; his HUD picking up on the pulse echoing from him and over the surroundings. He did a slow visual scan of the area, turning his head as more pulses rhythmically came out. "Scanning the area now; send the units to my location when I locate them," he said into his comms, not waiting long enough to confirm the order went through before cutting off. Just as one blip from the call sounded, another followed.
Bingo.
"Got a lock on something," he uttered, slowly rising to his feet as he looked up to the point of interest. It looked as though it was halfway up the mountain, at the bare minimum. He walked to the edge of the roof and was about to le-
"Oi!"
E turned sharply at the voice, only to be greeted with a uppercut to his helmets' chin. The force sent him flying backwards, clearing the roof and sunk through the air; only coming to rest with a painful landing in a newly formed crater in the concrete. And if no-one had heard him landing on the roof earlier, they definitely heard or saw his impact on the ground. He groaned lowly as he tried pulling himself free of the crater.
Only to have a sudden weight land square on his chest, forcing every last ounce of breath; and with the sudden pain forming in his chest, E saw another visit to the infirmary at HQ in the foreseeable future.
Right now, however, the only thing he saw was a fist bearing down on him. At the last second, he managed to jerk his head to the side. Enough to avoid a direct hit, but it still grazed the side of his visor with the punch to the concrete. He went to return it with a punch of his own, but found he couldn't move either of his arms.
"Nice try, fucker."
It finally clicked with E on who it was; he hadn't caught the red armour in the brief flashes he had glimpsed at, but it was the voice more than anything else that gave it away. Despite the verbal encryption, he could still make out the British…tint to his malice tone.
His thoughts were interrupted once again, when another punch landed square in the middle of his visor; throwing his head back into the concrete. Another two punches came at him before he had a chance to process the first one entirely. By the fourth punch, E tasted blood over his lips and found one of his eyes twitching to get something-he suspected blood-out of it.
"I've got this guy. You two go on ahead!"
He hadn't heard other voices over the ringing in his ears, but by the tone and slight pause between the sentences gave E enough suspicion. And from the words, he had a pretty good idea who he was talking to. The final nail in the suspicion coffin was the sound of air snapping echoing out; two sets, it sounded like, almost simultaneously.
'They know where to go as well,' E thought to himself, looking around the width of his visor as he took in all the info the HUD presented to him; numerous small contusions across his face were detected-and felt-along with more pressure being applied to his wrists and chest area.
Wait a minute.
If E hadn't been in the situation he was in, he'd kick the shit out of himself.
He clenched one of his fists, activating the energy sword; it jutted out and took form. It missed the knee of the Red Ranger, though, as he moved out of the way just in time. Now freed, E quickly pulled the rest of his body up and out of the hole he formed. As he brought himself up to his feet, small chunks of rubble that came with him falling off, E made sure to keep an close eye on the Red Ranger before him; he'd need to keep from turning his back on this bastard.
"Getting the drop on me ain't that easy, so I'll give you that, punk," E commented sarcastically, shifting into a better fighting stance as he activated the other blade. "But you clearly overestimate yourself; how about I show you what it really feels like to get hurt?"
"Funny. I was about to say the same thing to you," Isaac responded, fists raised up and brought close to his body; ready to take on an offensive or defensive stance at the drop of a hat.
A small huff of frustration came from E as he and Isaac circled one another; neither taking eyes off the other as they moved, step by step.
"You really don't understand the full scale or consequences of what you're doing, do you?" E questioned, glancing from side to side for a split second. His eyes were quick to return to Isaac's visor, however, and kept up the stare as he continued, "The list of crimes you're going to be held accountable for is an impressive one; Al-Qaeda would be jealous, if they gave a damn. But you…"
E paused, both in voice and movement, as he came to stand before one of the glass walls of the Station stores. "You are well within our jurisdiction. Even with your…foreign origins."
"…How much do you know about me then?" Isaac questioned, fists briefly relaxing in shock, but were quick to tense back up as he took a threatening step forward. "How much?!"
"Huff and puff all you want, you're not going to get anywhere with it," E commented, eyes rolling beneath the visor. He turned his head a fraction, his suit picking something up, before a small smirk tugged at his lips. "You are, however, definitely making yourself look worse to these people."
Isaac would have thrown an insult back at the Silver Ranger, but in the moment that he tried thinking of one, the words got through and the silence lingered the more the words echoed around his head. It took him a few seconds, but he finally tore his eyes away from E.
Finally seeing the multiple eyes watching him.
He took a small step back from the realization that several people, tourists and natives alike, were watching the pair; apparently, throwing E into the ground and kicking the shit out of him was enough to wake them up. And the look in their eyes was something that sent a small shiver down the length of his back. A terrorized look; a cocktail of emotions mixing in their shaken gaze.
"You think you're saving the world. Let me break it to you."
A punch came out of nowhere, striking Isaac in the jaw and sending him flying through the air. An unfortunately placed car acted as his cushion; the doors warping against his sudden impact. The alarm blared in the background, as Isaac tried recovering from the attack. But the sound of electrical sparking kept him still. He slowly looked down, finding an energy blade held far too close for comfort. He followed the blade up, giving a dirty glare to E, the Silver Ranger moving the blade an inch closer.
"You're saving YOUR world; while destroying theirs in the process," E spat, jerking his head towards the onlookers as he pushed the blade a fraction closer; between the car and blade, any escape routes were effectively cut off. He slowly crouched down, maintaining the blade's place as he got eye level with the slouched Ranger. Slowly, he leaned forward, the fingers beneath the blade slowly clenching and unclenching.
"You Rangers have ended so many worlds; cut so many lives short. Have any of you ever taken a moment, to stop and think about all those you've killed; so much potential, cut short by your actions. They deserved to live so much more than you."
E's free hand shot forward, grabbing a hold of the Red helmet, forcing the jaw up slightly. He leaned in closer, the blade moving threateningly closer to Isaac's now exposed neck. One of his hands tried to ply E's hand from his helmet, but it was like an iron clasp was attached to his helmet.
"So many of the fallen would want nothing more, than to see you bleed out," E continued, his voice dialling back a fraction, as he steadily moved the blade closer. Isaac tried struggling more, but E moved the blade closer still, quickly forcing him to stop any movement as the energized edge skimmed his neck armour. "You fight for your own survival, but are willing to let others take your place in death. Some Red Ranger."
Isaac's glare hardened at that jab, a low snarl forced its way through his throat.
The two were interrupted, however, by the sound of several engines roaring closer and bright lights coming into view. E looked around as the two were surrounded by vehicles, tires screeching to a halt and lights aimed at them; doors opening and the occupants jumping out before the vehicles had completely stopped.
"Agent!"
With a grunt of frustration, E shoved Isaac back against the car and stood up, deactivating his weapons as an armoured-up person came up to him. In the background, E heard several guns armed and loaded, and out of the corner of his eye, saw several of the armed people close in on the Red Ranger.
"Next time, I suggest you wait a few seconds longer," E hissed, jabbing the man's chest with several hard prods; each one forcing him back a small step. And knowing that he outgunned them several times over, E knew he could get away with this. Judging by the glare given by the man, he had the same thoughts.
"We can handle the situation from here. It appears you know where to go."
E spared one last glance over his shoulder, seeing the Red Ranger had wisely decided to stay put, for now at least. He turned back to the one talking to him, now silently gesturing for him to go. An offer E reluctantly took, and slowly walked around one of the trucks-
"Agent. The scroll."
The call behind him made him pause momentarily, throwing another look over his shoulder; this time, directed at the solider. With the addition of a 'hand it over' gesture, E rolled his eyes as he reached into the compartment, fishing out the ancient scroll.
He spied another soldier walking in his direction, though his attention was directed to the lead soldier behind him. As he passed him, E moved his hand out abruptly; knocking the wind out of the guy, while simultaneously handing him the scroll. The man glared daggers at E, though only saw his reflection in the visor, as E gave him the 'go on' gesture with a flick of the head.
And without a word, E left; disappearing in a streak of silver, nearly knocking the man over with the resulting shockwave. He regained his balance, however, and quickly made his way over to the lead soldier. Uttering a curse under his breath as he reached the lead, handing over the scroll.
"OK, should be around here somewhere. Not gonna be something we can really miss, is it?"
"Well, with you guiding us, we're bound to overlook it," Tanya responded with a sarcastic eye roll, the pair quickly coming to a walking pace up the side of Fuji. Kyle leading the way, Howler raised up and performing slow sweeps of the area.
"Y'know, you're gonna really hurt someone with that sarcasm of yours one day, Tanya. You're only lucky I've known you for this long," Kyle responded, turning around fully, while walking backwards up the mountain. He gave a shake of his head and looked down to his Howler again. "We're getting pretty close, keep an eye out for anything suspicious."
Tanya looked over Kyle's shoulder, and gestured behind him. "Then you better turn around or you're gonna fall right into it."
He was about to ask her what she meant by that, but took her advice and, while still walking back, turned around. This brought him to a sudden stop, stumbling after nearly tripping over an upturned rock. "Yep…that'll be it."
The two carefully drew closer, bashing in the red glow radiating from the frame in the mountainside. Like someone had cut a rectangle from the surface, and revealed the hellish imagery that apparently lay beneath. Distant sounds came from within the frame, but so many overlapped one another that it just resulted in a constant noise.
They exchanged looks, between themselves and back to the portal before them. "Reckon we should wait for Isaac?" Tanya asked, looking back down the mountain briefly. But when she turned back, she found she no longer was facing Kyle.
"Isaac can handle himself; for all we know, that Bitch and Samurai are probably already have whatever the Pillar is. Best bet; we get in there, and hope for the best," Kyle said, quickly approaching the portal in the ground. He lingered momentarily as he stood at the base, hands twitching into fists as he breathed slowly.
Just as he was about to step forward, he felt the presence of Tanya step up beside him. He glanced across, smirking beneath his helmet as Tanya seemed to return it along with a slight shoulder nudge. "You really think I'm going to let you walk in there alone?" she asked, turning back to face the portal. "I've got your back."
"Don't you always?" Kyle asked rhetorically, turning his own eyes back to the portal. The two lingered a second longer, and finally, they took the final step forward.
"I would stop right there if I were you."
The new voice startled them enough to take a step back from the portal and turn sharply, quickly taking fighting stances. Upon seeing the silver-clad Ranger standing a short distance from them, it only made them stick to those stances all the more.
"How the fuck did you get here? Better yet, how the fuck did you know to come here?!" Tanya shouted, going to take a threatening step forward. She probably would have continued all the way to stand toe-to-toe with the Silver Ranger, had Kyle hadn't grabbed her shoulder.
"You're getting the same answer I gave that Red Ranger of yours," E responded, making a mental note of how Tanya tried going for him again. Only this time, Kyle found it more of a struggle to hold her back long enough to calm her down. "You're not getting one."
"Look, this bullshit is pointless," Kyle said, shoving himself between Tanya and the Silver Ranger, ensuring the two were kept at bay. "Right now, God only knows what is happening in there. We don't know, and I'll bet anything you lot have nothing on it. But if those Demons do…whatever it is that they're going to do, it's gonna end up with all of us dead."
"Your point?" Tanya questioned, still glancing suspiciously at the Silver Ranger standing a short distance away. Still far too close for her.
"If you are quiet done attempting to make a rousing speech-"
E surged forward before he gave himself a chance to finish, a shade of electric blue mixing with the silver streak as he activated his blades. He pushed off of the ground at the last second, launching himself into the air and brought his weapons down on the teens.
But he didn't catch them off guard, though he wasn't banking on doing so. As such, he brought his blades across one another, blocking their own attack upon clashing. Upon landing, he dug his boots into the dirt, forming a solid base to press the defensive attack.
Energy blades sparked and sizzled against the yellow and black-tinted blades of the Warriors, keeping them from reaching the wielders. Both groups pushed against the other, never getting more than a few inches before getting pushed back; the stalemate moving back and forth a few times.
Tanya was the first to finally break the stall, landing a solid kick to E's abdomen. The force sent E stumbling back two steps, allowing all three to readjust their battle stance. The three remained momentarily still, as if trying to goad the other to attacking first.
E made the next move, rushing forward and kicked up a cloud of dirt and rock with one of his blades. Tanya stepped back to avoid the cloud, while Kyle stepped forward and rolled into the cloud, making E miss him entirely. As E flew over Kyle and landed on the ground between the two Warriors, Tanya rushed forward, blade outstretched to the side and ready to bring it back across. And she would have landed the hit on E's helmet, had one of his blades not come up to block it.
She brought her blade back, the two exchanging quick blows back and forth; Tanya ducking and flipping over E's precise strikes. For the most part, only small scratches across her armour's surface was all the damage dealt. It was only through a trick that E landed a serious blow.
Tanya had gone to strike down on one of his blades, only to have the blade disappear back into its port the second they were about to connect. Without the blade, Tanya's strike went all the way to the ground, with the momentum of her downward swing bringing her down with it. At just the right level for E's fist to connect with very little effort. She was sent flying backwards, the punch separating herself and her Blade, and landed with an uncomfortable thud a short distance up the mountain.
"Tanya!"
E turned and barely back-stepped in time to dodge another punch to his visor. Kyle closed in quickly, his movements rapid and forceful, as though he was trying to remove E's head from his shoulders with a single punch. And from past experience, E knew not to give him a chance.
Kyle gave a swing of his own blade, but it found E's hand and wouldn't come back to him, no matter how much he pulled. E ripped it from Kyle's grip, and tossed it aside. He turned back after throwing the blade, and quickly side-stepped to avoid a flying kick. Kyle landed and turned to face E, and the two slowly circled one another.
"Kyle, isn't it?" E questioned, stopping in his steps as he spoke up. He noticed how the Black Warrior stopped in his own tracks, and seemed to tense up. He continued, "Kyle Colon. Pax Valley born-and-bred. You've got a pretty clear record; why throw your lot in with the likes of these people?"
"You know jack-shit about me," Kyle snarled back, fists clenching in anger. He rushed forward, throwing a punch, only to hit air as E side stepped and pushed him further, nearly making him trip up over his own feet. As he recovered, E continued.
"We know enough about you, as well as the others. Well, except that Red Ranger of yours. His government seems reluctant to release any information about him. Don't suppose you'd be wil-Oof!"
He was thrown back by Tanya, coming up behind him and grabbing him by the waist. With a snarl of effort, she managed to lift him clear off the ground, over her shoulder and brought him down on his head; all while fighting E's attempts to free himself. As he recovered in the dirt, Tanya moved back towards Kyle. Though not before 'accidently' delivering a boot to his armoured groin.
"How long have you been holding that one in for?" Kyle questioned, quickly jogging over to grab his and Tanya's Blades.
"Long enough for you to forget," Tanya replied, hand raised to catch her Blade as it was casually thrown to her. Now armed again, she turned to look at the portal-the entire reason why they were here in the first place-and looked across to E. He had made progress, but was still only on his hands and knees. "He's not going to stay down forever. If we're going through, we've got to do it now."
"Right," Kyle nodded, he too looking between the recovering Silver Ranger and the crackling portal. The two moved to stand alongside one another, and gave each other a silent nod of agreement. Shifting into pre-running stances, the two took off, a mixture of black, yellow and silver-accented streaks in the short distance. The streaks were stopped abruptly, upon them entering the portal; the surface rippling and crackling energy upon their entry.
As the surface began to settle, E finally pushed himself to one knee, breathing slowly as he faced the portal. "Oh you're not getting away that easily," he uttered, pushing himself all the way to his feet and gave his shoulders a quick role each. A second later, he took off in a streak of silver, shooting right into the portal and disappearing in an instant.
The lead soldier finished speaking with a couple of his subordinates, gesturing for them to return to their position, while he walked away. Under his orders, three of the Jeeps were positioned to form three-sides of square in an attempt to block any lingering public eyes. Granted, he had given the order to remove any civilians from the immediate area; not that that meant anything to some people, it seemed.
He walked around one of the sides, coming up to the number of soldiers standing at attention. He paused in front of them, giving them a nod to stand at ease. "I'm going to speak with him," he stated, looking between the two on either side of him. And it wasn't easy to ignore the weary looks they exchanged, despite their balaclava concealing most of their expression.
"Sir, no disrespect…but is that the wisest thing to do?" one of the soldier piped up, quickly ducking his gaze when the head soldier turned to him.
"Given what we know, perhaps it's not the wisest move to make. However, given our experience with this Foreign Agent, I think it best to gather our own intel before he returns for him," the Commanding soldier answered, receiving instinctive nods of disciplined agreement, followed by the soldiers standing aside, revealing what they were guarding.
"Didn't know I got visitation rights," Isaac grunted, shifting his back against one of the Jeeps; wrists trying to flex against the handcuffs, resting on his lap. His helmet was tilted partially to the side, favouring one shoulder; turns out that Silver Ranger could throw. And throw hard.
"I would apologise for the Agent's…brutish methods, but considering your own colorful records, and the fact that he is not under our authority, I like to think the proper precautions were taken," the Officer stated, taking a cautious step forward, as the soldiers keeping guard turned around, guns partially raised. "But what I am more curious about, however, is the fact that you are still here."
"And why does that interest you, Spring Roll?" Isaac questioned, leaning forward slightly, lifting his head up.
Ignoring the comment, the Commander continued, "Because you and I both know you could easily break those handcuffs without a second thought, and escape in the blink of an eye. A number of bodies across the ground seemed to have become a calling card of sorts."
"So," he continued, crouching down so he was eye level with the visor, "why don't you tell me what brought you to Fuji?"
Isaac exhaled slowly, letting his head fall limp to one shoulder as a rough chuckle passed through the voice-modifier. "That Silver guy clearly knew where he was going…didn't he tell you?"
The Commander tightened his jaw, and glanced over his shoulder at the soldiers standing behind him. Isaac followed their eyes and silent exchanges, and beneath his helmet, a smirk formed. "Oh….he hasn't told you either, huh?"
"Sir," another soldier stepped up to the area, interrupting the Commander from responding to Isaac. He turned to look at the new soldier, and after glancing back to Isaac's relaxed form one last time, rose to his feet and walked off with this new soldier, leaving the guards to fall back into place.
As the leader walked out of normal ear shot, Isaac leaned back against the car door. With the soldiers' backs to him, he turned his head partially, closing his eyes. He focused, zoning in on the smell, and sounds, from the two; though letting his mind wander a little, giving him a good idea of what the others were uttering under their breath.
Even if it was in Japanese, they weren't sounding nice.
He focused back in on the two, and while he was straining a bit harder with the background noise of the countless civilians beyond the soldiers, he managed to get a lock on the pair.
"Sir, we have lost communications with the Foreign Agent. Our intelligence suggests it has nothing to do with any sort of weather or terrain interference," the informant said, the pair coming to a stop when, they thought, they were far enough away. "They suggest it to be something else."
The Commander sucked on his teeth briefly, giving a small glance over his shoulder, and saw a glimpse of red behind the line of soldiers. One of his hands found the informant's shoulder, and slowly guided the pair of them a few steps further, despite the odd look the informant gave him.
"What was the last report we got from him before losing contact?" he asked, now a much further distance away from the Jeeps, and closer to the soldiers stationed to keep any civilians away.
"He reported having the location for the Black and Yellow Rangers, and he was picking up this…he described it as strange, reading."
Isaac exhaled slowly as he eavesdropped in, head twisting to the side a fraction further as the voices fell out of range. Even with the soldiers' backs to him, he could tell what they were thinking. The subtle movements; gloved fingers rubbing against one another, the quiet twitch of triggers moving a fraction.
Then there was the uttering under their breath, though he paid that little mind; couldn't understand them even if he wanted to.
"-ere was his last location?" he focused back in on those two, even though they were out of sight.
"His last known location was two kilometres from two markers up. After that, the receptor started to get fuzzy."
He exhaled slowly, facing straight ahead again. His fingers flexed slowly, clenching into fists as he uttered, "Fuck this…"
The Commander was about to reply, when he was abruptly interrupted by what sounded like a massive explosion. The nearby civilians shouted and screamed in panic, as he and the informant turned to the source.
The Jeeps had been tossed aside, as if mere toys, and came crashing back down onto wheels again; the middle truck had completed a full flip and a half, a massive dent in one side. Windows smashed and frames warped. The soldiers fared no better; cuts and bruises aplenty, barely dodging shrapnel. One unlucky soldier was shouting in agony, bloody hand grasping the shrapnel lodged in his shoulder.
As medics quickly rushed in and the rest of the soldiers scrambled to control the situation, the Commander slowly moved in, zoning in on the one point of interest to him right now. The shouts from the informant were muted, pushed to the back of his mind as he came to a stop beyond the downed soldiers.
"Tawagoto," he uttered under his breath, looking up the side of the mountain. His expression scrunched up into a scowl as the tail-end of a red streak climbed higher and higher; even in the poorly-lit conditions, it stood out like a sore thumb. He quickly backed up, dodging the rushing medics, and wrenched open the door of a Jeep still right-side up. He reached across to the central console and grabbed the radio.
"All units, be advised! Terrorist threat has escaped, located on Fuji! Exact location to follow," he said into the radio, fighting to keep from shouting the information down the wire. He threw the radio back, smacking it against the console as he turned around. He ran slow hand through his hair, giving a sudden shout of frustration as he turned back and gave a solid kick to the door. Another pair of kicks followed, leaving boot marks on the abused décor, before slamming the door shut as a final blow.
"OK…gotta be the closest I've ever been to taking drugs."
Tanya threw a look over her shoulder as Kyle spoke aloud. While she didn't respond verbally, she mentally agreed with her friend. This…was definitely something out there.
Jagged crystals jutted out at every direction and angle; barely holding the form of the archway the pair were walking along. A vibrant blood red glow radiated from every crystal's surface, showering the two Warriors in the crimson light. The 'light' stretched down to the farthest visible point of the path, and possible further still. 'How much further can this go on for?' Tanya asked herself.
"Whatever this place really is, let's just get this over and done with. They're probably already at the Pillar," Tanya finally responded, giving a slight jerk of her head, that told Kyle only one thing. Try to keep up.
He was, there for, ready when Tanya took off, running right alongside her; strangely enough, they weren't traveling fast enough to bring out their trails of colour behind them. Not that either of them paid that detail any attention though. They were far more interested in not stabbing themselves accidently on any crystal that jutted out of place…or rather, more so out of place.
Finally, the narrow cavern came to an end. And, as Kyle almost found it, it ended with a sheer edge. If Tanya hadn't grabbed him and pulled him back onto solid 'ground', he would have known just how much of a drop it was.
"Thanks," he said, looking around slowly at the apparent void before them. The odd shard of crystal was visibly floating through the air, but apart from several of these spread out, it seemed empty. "What the hell kind of place is this?"
"Belly of the beast?" Tanya asked rhetorically, giving a slight shrug as she too looked around. "Now, we just need to find that Bitch and the Samurai and then-"
"And then what?"
The pair shifted into fighting stances at the new, but familiar, voice echoing around the chamber. They looked up when the she-Demon descended into view, carefully coming to rest when she was level with the Warriors; slowly, she rose to her full height, daggers drawn. As if the dagger-like glare she threw at the pair wasn't enough. "How did you enter this realm?"
"Kinda easy when you leave the front door open," Tanya retorted, fingers flexing back and forth in the fists. Despite her focus remaining on the she-Demon, she allowed a few lances here and there at their surroundings. "So this is the Pillar? Lot more…crystal-y than I would have thought."
Batibat's glare flattered momentarily, fists clenching up; one of her daggers slipping free of her sleeve, managing to catch it at the last second. But a small, forced smirk was pushed onto her face. "Well…perhaps you meat-sacks are more intelligence than I give you credit for; if, only slightly."
Her empty hand raised up, and her palm opened up.
The rumbling beneath their feet caught the pair's attention, and they looked around. The walls suddenly didn't seem as constricting as before…They were spread out, tripling their width as Tanya and Kyle looked all around to keep up to date with their unfamiliar surroundings. "How the hell's she doing that?" Kyle questioned, slowly drawing his Wolf Blade into a defensive position.
"We are the Hands of the Master. We forged our World, and in time, we will re-forge your World once again," Batibat responded, both hands now outstretched as the expansion came to a stop. That smug smirk dancing across her pale skin, both hands snapped fingers.
Simultaneously with swords slipping from her sleeves and into her hands, a pair of portals opened. Their formation created less of a tear, more of a ripple, as Wolkeins piled out, each in various stages of having weapons drawn.
Tanya was the first to engage the attackers, deflecting one attack and slammed the sharpened end through a Wolkeins' head. Its body slumped to the ground as she pulled back, ducking and kicked one attacker to the ground. One tried kicking at her, but before it had the chance to bring his leg out straight, she slammed the knee back. The force sent the soldier down, its head jerking up to make up for the sudden difference in height.
And was greeted with the creation of a new, narrow eye hole.
Kicking the body the rest of the way down, Tanya turned and went on to the next foot soldier.
Across the crimson-soaked room, Kyle elbowed a Wolkein in the stomach, making it stagger and lean forward; allowing him to role across its back, kicking back a pair of daggers aiming to strike him upon landing. Finishing it off with an elbow to the face, Kyle swerved to avoid a swinging dagger, barely scratching the surface of his shoulder, and returned it with a well-aimed strike across the throat.
A lucky right-hook caught him off guard, knocking him to the ground as his Blade slid just out of reach. He rolled and dived out of the way of most swinging hits, and tried reaching for his Blade.
His fingers grazed the handle…and a heeled boot rested on the flat, reflective surface. He looked up, and barely dodged the other heel to the eye. He rolled aside, dodging Batibat's stomps, eventually jumping back to his feet as Batibat kicked back his Blade.
Giving a slow exhale, Kyle brought his fists up close, flexing his fingers. "I'm gonna rip that smug grin off your fucking face."
Across, Batibat merely smirked and brought her dagger out, twirling it between her fingers. "If that is all you've come here to do, then consider it a wasted trip," she responded, tauntingly, as she gripped the dagger and charged forward.
Kyle dodged most of her attacks, and deflected those that he could. One sliced down his forearm, lighting up sparks as Kyle twisted to keep the intended target-his neck, if he had to guess-and used his momentum, and threw a rolling punch at the she-Demon.
And while she effortlessly dodged the punch, the momentum allowed her to push herself back, widening the distance between the two of them.
Breathing a fraction heavier than normal, Kyle shifted back into stance and got ready to fight again. But even as he brought his fists up, something nagged at the back of his mind. Something seemed…off. Batibat, even in a fight as short as this, would have been throwing every attack she could at them; no-where near as many were sent at him during this one to what she usually did. Then there was the distances she made, despite her apparent-according to Isaac-preference for going in for the kill to get it done with.
Then it hit him.
"Where is he?" he demanded, taking a few threatening steps forward. "That Samurai-wannabe. Where the hell is he?"
All he got was a smirk in response, followed by a small hand gesture. 'Come'.
The sound of something cutting through the air tipped him off, and he turned around. The dagger skimmed the side of his helmet, the Wolkein only managing to lean another scratch across the side of the visor. It was enough for Kyle to become momentarily stunned, falling to the ground. The Wolkein briefly gained the upper hand, standing over Kyle and ready to strike the final blow.
Though his vision was still slightly blurred, Kyle made out enough to see what was going on; bringing his forearms up and across his face to block the attack.
It raised the dagger, ready to bring it down, when its body went rigid and the dagger fell loose, landing beside Kyle. The Wolkein looked down as Kyle unobscured his view, both of them spotting the weapon tip lodged through its chest. A grunt sounded out behind the Wolkein, and Kyle just rolled out of the way as it crumpled to the ground.
"Am I always gonna have to save your ass?" Tanya asked rhetorically, grabbing Kyle's extended hand and helping him back onto his feet. All while she kept facing Batibat, shifting into a fighting stance as Kyle shifted back into one of his own. "Now where is he?" she demanded, twisting her Blade around to point it at Batibat.
But she just rolled her eyes and scoffed, flicking her free hand to open portals throughout the ground; taking in all the fallen Wolkein bodies, leaving only herself and the two Warriors. "You fight for a world that doesn't want you to be a part of it. Why is that?"
"Maybe because we happen to fucking live here," Tanya snapped back.
"And yet, you suffer the threat of destruction from your own kind."
"You're more than willing to do the same," Kyle pointed out bluntly.
"Myself, and other Demons, are merely defending our home from the human paras-" Batibat stopped herself, mulling over her words for a few seconds before a small, sickly smirk twitched the corner of her lip. "From the human threat. But you…"
The she-Demon took a few steps closer, only pausing momentarily when the Warriors threatened to spring forward. When they remained in place, she took another couple of steps. "You Warriors…are different from the regular humans. You have strength and will, fighting for what you think is your world and birth right. But…you fight, both for a species that doesn't care for you, and a species that is all but extinct."
Batibat paused a few feet from the two teens, looking between the two. Tanya was still ready to spear the she-Demon right through the gut, should she even hint at something she didn't like at all. But…surely it was the red glow radiating from everywhere, messing with her eyes in some way…she didn't see that particular shade of malice laced into her ever-present glare.
She gave a quick shake of her head, banishing that thought from her mind before it had any chance to linger. 'Yeah right,' Tanya thought bitterly, tightening her grip on her weapon.
"There some kind of point you're getting at?" Kyle asked, a slight helmet twitch towards Tanya before returning his glare to the she-Demon.
Batibat looked from Tanya to Kyle, and between the two a few times. Her eyes flicked up for the briefest moment, and a small smirk appeared across her lips. Yet there was an absent of something…excessive smugness, perhaps?
"I'm giving you the opportunity to join us."
Both Tanya and Kyle's eyes widened at this statement, exchanging a quick look of disbelief with one another. Seeing this, Batibat pressed the matter.
"Join us, and you will rule alongside us as Gods of the Master's New World. Rule over what remains of your species, respected and feared. Like Warriors of your calibre shou-Oomph!"
Tanya and Kyle both leaped back at the sudden blur tackling Batibat, and as Kyle ran to retrieve his weapon, Tanya got a good look at what the blur was.
"What the fuck are you doing here?!" she demanded, as the Silver Ranger was thrown off of Batibat, and across the 'room'.
Blades activated and dug into the surface, E quickly brought himself to a stop and picked himself up into a fighting stance. "She's distracting you, isn't that clear enough?" E questioned harshly, as he focused the rest of his attention on the slowly rising Batibat. "Or are you two already blinded by your arrogance?"
"Oh, we're the arrogant ones?!" Tanya shouted, wanting nothing more than to walk right up to the Silver Ranger and knock him out. But she knew that right here, surrounded by this Demon place and the Demon inhabitants, wasn't exactly the best time to have a pissing contest.
But by God, this guy felt almost worth it.
E seemed to follow the same mind-set, as he kept another argumentative comment down and cautiously watched as Batibat prowled back and forth.
"A pocket dimension, if I had to hazard a guess," E commented, sparing a brief glance around at the red-glow radiating from each of the crystals embedded in the walls. "Two separate locations occupying the same place; just different planes overlapping one another. In any case, Mount Fuji is just an unassuming mountain. But with a crack made between the two planes…"
"The Realm of my Master occupies your world. You humans just don't notice it," Batibat hissed back, eyeing E up and down like a piece of meat. A piece of rotten, fly-swarmed human flesh.
"It'd be hard to ignore when you're probably gonna be blinded by red light," Tanya blurted out, ignoring the glare Kyle was giving her under his helmet. "Like a fucking stop sign in your face constantly."
"I'm sure that mouth of yours has gotten you out of a few situations before this, and I'm sure you've got a few things you think you can bring to the table," E finally let the sarcastic edge to his voice loose. "But right now, I suggest what you bring is silence."
Tanya looked ready to respond-whether it was with harsh words, or violent strikes that much was unclear-but held back when she thought she heard something.
As she turned around slowly, looking around for the source, E continued to question Batibat.
"Now, you're going to explain what the purpose of this place is, and tell me what the deal is with stealing that Samurai armour," E instructed, fingers flexing as the blades extending from his forearms hmm'd with energy, contrasting greatly with their red surroundings.
A short period of silence followed, only to be harshly broken from a sinister cackle from the she-Demon. That same look of malice returned in the form of a smirk on Batibat's lips, her acidic cat-like eyes watching E with what could only be a sliver of amusement.
"Well…why ask me, when you could simply ask him yourself?" she questioned, extending one hand forward to point above E and the teens.
At this, E cocked his head to the side, apprehensive as to the tone she used, and turned his gaze upward.
"Shit!" he explained, acting quickly to avoid getting crushed beneath the giant, falling form.
"Tanya, get back!" Kyle exclaimed, grabbing her forearm and pulled both of them back a few steps; despite being a supposedly safe distance away, who knew what sort of rules this place had?
The impact cracked the crystal surface, extending far from where Masutā initially struck the ground, rising from his kneel. Bringing himself up to his full height, the titan of a Demon turned from facing Batibat, to look between the three humans.
"Humans? In the Masters' Realm?" he questioned, booming voice echoing in the cavern as his acidic eyeholes narrowed, one hand coming to grip the handle of his katana. The smallest section of blade was pulled from the sheath, the toxic-green smoke pouring out. "You bring the Master great dishonour with your mere presence in His domain."
E looked the living suit of armour up and down slowly, mindful of how much of the Demon's sword was revealed. "So…pieces are starting to fit into place now. This place is the reason she came here-whatever purpose this serves-yet she must have required you, otherwise she would have taken the armour from the museum and taken you to Fuji."
"So, what makes you so special, that this Demon needed to…what, bring you back to life?" E further questioned, defensive stance relaxing the slightest bit as his questioning went on. Not that he was expecting to get any straight answers.
"We are Hands of the Master. Your world will be moulded to the Master's needs, and we are the crafters," Masutā informed, pulling his katana out completely, gripping the handle with both hands as the demonic smoke billowed from the metal. Slowly, the blade was pointed from E, to Kyle and Tanya. "But the Warriors of Zeta have no place in my Master's world. You humans have no place in my Master's true world."
"For that reason, and many others," Masutā continued, bringing his sword up into a battle stance, the green glow of his sword reflecting off the metal plating of his helmet and mask.
"You must die."
E's eyes narrowed into a glare as he re-established the defensive hold of his blades, his scans providing him with all the information they could. But it appeared, in this realm, his equipment wasn't working to its absolute best; the edge of all the charts and scans were fuzzy, and even the standard image showed signs of static.
He paid these little mind, though, as he shifted his stance into one ready to rush in. "Then you better give it your best shot."
The eye holes formed from Masutā's menpō and kabuto narrowed into a scowl, forcing more green smoke from the corners, and brought his sword up close to his body. He twisted the blade slowly, the red light catching the metal just right to highlight the full length of the weapon.
"Shit's about to go down," Kyle whispered to Tanya.
"Yeah, clearly," she replied, throwing a look over her shoulder to her friend.
"Uh…I was talking about us," Kyle said, pointing ahead of the pair.
Tanya cocked an eyebrow and turned back around. A sudden shout escaped her as she moved to the side abruptly, it almost hitting her what Kyle meant. The two barely dodged the strike from Batibat, her blade lodging itself into the floor. Kyle went in for an attack, but a knee to the gut, followed by a swift set of kicks to the chest, sent him flying backwards.
As he recovered, Tanya managed to dodge another kick from the she-Demon and countered one of her punches with a strike of her own to Batibat's side. The she-Demon staggered back a few steps, holding her side, yet that sinister smirk was plastered across her face. She quickly charged back in, forcing Tanya back with every dodged attack.
As the two kept up their deadly dance and Kyle recovered, Masutā had engaged E; his powerful strikes and wide swings forcing the smaller, armored human to react fast, or else start losing limbs.
E rolled to dodge a particularly low swing, having to role to the side to avoid the chunk of crystal that was kicked up by the strike. Watching the chunk sail by, E turned his eyes back to the slowly approaching Demon; like a predator, stalking their prey with the knowledge that they're chances of escape were dwindling, fast.
He exhaled deeply, rising back to his feet and re-acted his wrist blades; arms extending out, with the blue weaponry extending a few feet further. "This world is not yours to lay claims to," he stated, bringing himself into an offensive stance, one blade pointed towards the stalking Demon.
"This world, was my Master's right before your kind had crawled out of the ocean," Masutā countered, his blade zeroed in on E and never let it point anywhere else. He closed in slowly, the two circled one another until the very tips of their blades knocked one another.
Masutā struck first, aiming a swift, heavy strike to the side. The green smoke formed a small curve with the sudden movements, only to be brought to an equally sudden stop by E's block. Blue electricity sparked with the duel-block, catching the Demon's sword right between his blades. The two exchanged a brief glare, before separating after E landed a firm kick to the Demon's torso.
Staggering back a single step, Masutā quickly re-established his footing and grip on his sword. "Impressive reactions," he commented, slowly circling E while establishing a safe perimeter around the armoured human. "But it will take more than quick movement to prove worthy of a Warrior's death."
"I'm not after a Warrior's death," E countered, sparking his electrical blades against one another briefly. "Because I don't intend on dying this day, or the next. In fact…"
He fell silent, charging forward with blades outstretched. Ducking to avoid the shoulder-height swing, he twisted with his movement and slashed right across Masutā's side. Though it did less damaged than he thought-light scratches with over-dramatic sparking-, E continued with his strikes, adding an additional 'X' across the Demon's back. Thanks to his smaller size compared to the titan, he had barely enough time to move out of range by the time Masutā reached and swung at him again.
"Only ones dying, right here, are you Demons," E finished, settling back into a defensive stance, now opposite his previous position.
His own stance not even hinting at any significant damage being down, Masutā glared down the Agent. Bringing his sword back into the defensive hold, he quickly moved in for a new wave of attacks.
The two groups fought one another vigorously; Kyle had jumped back into the fight against Batibat, he and Tanya delivering different blows in tandem, with Batibat managing to block almost all of the strikes aimed at her.
Taking a step back, the pair looked at one another, giving a silent nod of agreement to one another and returned their focus to the approaching Batibat. At once, they rushed forward to meet her, blades raised up. As Batibat closed in, they brought the down, aiming for her head. But they weren't able to land the intended blow; the she-Demon caught on with their intention, and raised her own hands to block both blades. One getting caught by her dagger, while the other was grabbed by her bare palm.
Immediately following this, Tanya shouted, "Down!" as she adjusted one hand's grip on top of her Blade, and tried bringing the weapon down, despite Batibat's resistance. Kyle caught on, and now Batibat had to deal with both super-strength Warriors pressing their weapons down on her, forcing her down to one knee.
Masuta had pushed E back after another failed attack, when he heard the grunt from across the chamber. He turned to see Batibat, kneeling beneath the two blades pressing down on her. The titan of a Demon turned fully to face the scene, as though he would remain as merely a witness.
Giving E another moment to strike.
With the Demon's back to him, the Silver Ranger charged forward, arms spread wide and ready to give another attempt at getting through the Demon's hard exterior. He had been so focused on aiming at the back of his neck, he didn't even see the hand reach for him.
His shout of surprise seemed somewhat muffled as the padded palm clasped around his helmet, fingers tightening to ensure E wouldn't be able to pry his way out. That didn't stop him from trying; trying to slice through the forearm and fingers, even as he was raised off of the ground.
"Look out-t-t!" E called out, his voice, along with the rest of his body, was thrown across the room, unable to correct himself for long as he sailed through the air.
The three in E's projected path all froze and looked towards his impending impact, and while Tanya and Kyle seemed momentarily stuck as to what to do, Batibat knew exactly what she wanted to do. Letting her dagger-block drop, she grabbed onto the other Blade pressing down against her, and with a mighty heavy, pulled them with her as she rolled backwards.
The two teens let out surprised shouts of their own as they were flung forward, losing their grip on the Blades as they sailed through the air, right towards E.
Their collection echoed throughout the chamber, the three landing with a solid thud and three separate, distinct grunts escaped the mess of bodies. Kyle tried untangling himself from the others, only to get his head shoved aside as E made his own attempts to rise. His attempts were thwarted as well, however, when Tanya took the opportunity by slamming her elbow into the side of E's helmet.
"That's just the start of it," she hissed, as she and Kyle finally managed to separate themselves from E and all three of them quickly got to their feet. Tanya, it seemed, didn't want to stop at the simple elbow, but with the two Demons closing in on them, that idea moved to the backburner; for now, at least.
E shared the same thought process.
"Back to back," he said, leaning more towards an order than a request, as he turned to face Masutā, his calm demeanor in his walk a stark contrast to the current situation. At any other time, Tanya would have taken this chance to attack him through whatever means she could.
A time like this, though…
"Back to back," she repeated to Kyle, and even she could see the skeptical look beneath his helmet. She gave a small glare of her own from beneath hers, before the pair of them turned and stood, backs braced against E's, as they raised their fists.
"You can't possibly hope to win this fight; much less, think you would leave here alive," Batibat commented, taking intentionally slow steps, twirling her dagger between her fingers. Another dagger slipped from her other sleeve, handle grasped in hand yet the blade extended further, forming a sword as she brought it across her body defensively.
"Well, I'm sure we're gonna disappoint," Kyle jabbed, earning him a glare from the she-Demon for his efforts. Though whether he would have preferred Batibat glaring him down or Tanya's glare she was more than likely giving him right now, he wasn't sure.
"You are merely delaying the inevitable, Warriors," Masutā warned, raising his katana up to bring it level with his helmet, the glow highlighting the imperfections and slash through his mask. "Though, that much can be expected, when Gods and Prophets send children to fight for them."
"The hell you talking about?" E demanded, fingers flexing and relaxing into fists in rapid succession.
"Children…they act impulsively, focusing on the now rather than having the foresight to see what their actions, or lack thereof, effect the grander plan at work."
"Shit," Kyle uttered, garnering the attention of Tanya.
"What is it?" she questioned under her breath, all while remaining mindful to keep one eye on Batibat.
"Shitshitshitshitshit!" Kyle's uttering steadily grew louder, and was near shout-level as he exclaimed, "The Pillar! The fucking Pillar!"
"So they finally understand, at long last," Batibat teased, that same smirk, laced with sadistic intent, tugging at her lips. "Though, I suspect…"
Her lingering pause, and subsequent silence, gave way to shuddering, high-pitch wail; like the crystals that made up the walls were screaming in agony. The glow emitting from the walls slowly started to fade from dominated red shade, slowly giving way to a dark, sickly shade of green washing over those in the 'room'.
The humans looked around in bewilderment, watching as the hundreds of thousands of crystals that made up the walls began to rotate on the spot, creating numerous, overlapping screeches that seemed to shake them to their bones.
Though for the Demons, the shift from crimson to the sickly green shade signified one thing.
"The Pillar. It has awoken."
"For once, I think you better listen the fuck up," Tanya stated, her eyes remaining on Batibat, yet her statement caught the attention of both humans beside her.
"And what kind of advice do you think you can offer me, Ms Steele, that'd help our current situation? Because I'd just love to hear it," E asked, malice slicing through each of his words as he turned his head a fraction; making sure the Yellow Warrior heard everything.
"Hey, she knows what she's talking about. Lay off," Kyle advised stiffly, only to get a silent threat in the form of E raising one of his blades horizontally to him.
Only when E lowered the blade to hold it defensively against Masutā, did Tanya look over her shoulder and said,
"Fucking run."
E's eyes darted to the side, watching Tanya out of the corner of his eye with a quiet scoff; typical blunt statement. Though his eyes soon found their way back to the titanic Demon standing before him, bathed in the radioactive-green glow, and moved around to look at the rotating crystals surrounding them all.
Any options they had were dwindling rapidly…
"Don't, even for a second, think this is going to do you any favours in the long run," he uttered, fists forming again to draw the energy out of his swords, and pull them back into his forearm armour.
The second the last spark of blue energy faded into the silver ports, E took off; barely missing the sword Masutā went to bring down upon him, leaving it embedded in the crystals instead of his head. The Demon turned to face the silver trail E left behind, and his eyes narrowed when streaks of yellow and black tore past him, blowing about the loose ends of thread tying his chest armour to the torn and shredded fabric.
A final set of footsteps came running towards him, but he held his unarmed hand out; causing the she-Demon to stop just before passing him.
"They're getting away," she hissed, as Masutā turned around to briefly face her; only to get given the cold shoulder by the taller Demon, and watched as he wordlessly walked in the opposite direction of where the humans had run off.
"Their day of reckoning will catch them; it always does," Masutā threw the comment over his shoulder as he slowly brought his sword around and replaced it back into the sheath; locking into place with the last wisps of green smoke snapping out of sight. "Their Ancestors met theirs at the Master's Wrath, and even if we do not end them personally, the Master will always be their end."
He paused, standing in the centre of the green-flooded room. One of his hands rose part way up, palm opening up and facing the crystals that made up the floor. Beneath the floor, directly below the spot his palm was covering, the light instantly became that much brighter.
"But now," Masutā continued, slowly drawing his outstretched palm into a clenching fist. Though faint, small cracks started appearing in the floor's surface as the light's intensity grew further still.
"They will see the Master's true strength. They will see, just how much they pale in comparison."
"Tanya! Kyle! Can either of you hear me?"
Isaac paced back and forth, his footsteps forming a small groove in the mountain's surface, as he repeatedly talked into his Howler. To his side, the suspiciously door-shaped portal remained etched into the ground, faint wisps of red energy radiating from its surface.
With his latest question resulting in more static, the Red Warrior let out a grunt of frustration, twisting around sharply to face the portal once again; small mounds of soil forming around his boots in the process. "Fuck this," he stated to himself, giving a quick shake of the head and took steps towards the portal.
He tried waiting for as long as he could, testing to see if the comms would suddenly work; but no adjustments in frequency or amount of times he pressed the button did anything to change the static that came through. And he knew, despite the distance he had created between here and where he had left those Special Forces guys to clear up his mess, they were closing the gap real quick.
Distant shouts caught his attention, and he gave a sharp turn to the source; the roars of engines and overlapping voices barking orders may have been inaudible to most, but to Isaac, they sounded far closer than he would have ever wanted them to be.
"Fucking hell. Fucking, fucking, fuck!" he uttered to himself, quickly turning back to the portal and inhaled sharply. He threw another look over his shoulder, getting a clearer sound of the approaching force, and in that moment, his decision was made.
Though he only managed a couple of running steps when something came flying out of the portal, colliding with him and sending the pair of them tumbling a short distance down the mountainside. Isaac groaned as he came to a stop, lying on his stomach as a pair of silver boots slammed into the dirt a short distance in front of him. With the sound of electricity crackling from the figure, Isaac pushed up a short distance and commented, "Demons don't even want you, eh?" as he slowly rose to his feet.
E glared back at Isaac as the Red Ranger rose, both blades honed in on him. He would've have said something, or he'd rather have done something other than stand there. But before he could, two more shapes jumped from the portal, and Tanya and Kyle came landing and brought an end to the brief stand-off.
"Back up," Tanya stated, pointing accusingly at E while Kyle held his Blade defensively. She looked back at Isaac as he approached, standing on her other side, "So glad you finally decided to show you."
"Yeah, I know you missed me. What happened in there?" Greetings quickly gave way to brief questioning, as Isaac shifted into his own defensive stance beside the others.
"Shit went sideways. I'll explain later," Tanya responded under her breath, throwing a slight look to the portal they'd only just jumped out of. "Right now, we've got to get as far away from that portal as possible."
"You three aren't going anywhere," E stated, taking a side step when they tried moving to one side. His hands tightened into fists, twisting the blades around a fraction. "Only way you're getting out of here, is if you're under our lock and key."
"Like hell is that gonna happen," Isaac spat, looking ready to rush E and take him one-to-one. And if it hadn't been for Tanya putting a foot in front of him, he probably would have.
But a faint rumbling beneath their feet would've stopped them all from making any moves towards each other. The four froze on the spot, slowly turning to look at the portal; finding a pool of green forming in the centre of it, spreading out to cover the glowing red. More deep rumbles came from the portal, triggering several small cracks around its perimeter.
Tanya slowly looked back around, looking at Isaac. He caught her eye, and glanced to her.
"This is where we start running," Tanya stated.
"Yep."
That was the last word any of the teens said before taking off, vanishing through a blur of their mixed colours. E went to chase after them, but the ground shook at just the right time to shake him almost off balance; while not enough to knock him down, it was more than enough to keep him from immediately chasing after the Rangers.
He recovered quickly, throwing his own look at the portal. His jaw tightened, and teeth were bared in a silent snarl of aggravation, and deactivated one of the blades as he brought the hand up to his helmet.
"This is Commander E, re-establishing comms. Any units coming up Fuji, turn around and get as far away as you can. Evacuate any civilians that were too stupid to follow orders, and make arrests on those who think we're joking around. Keep them off the mountain, at all costs."
He got several responses back, a mixture of English and Japanese voices, all giving the same response when it boiled down to it; they understood his orders, and knew better than questioning him.
With that sorted, another rumble in the earth prompted him to take off, not wanting to hang around for whatever backlash he could receive if that Demon realm decided to spill into their world. Yet even has he ran down the mountain, he looked around for any trace of lingering streaks of the teenagers. His hands clenched into fists, almost triggering the blades again, as he got nothing; neither visual or from his scans.
They'd gotten away.
"Get our guys onto transports and get them back to Pax ASAP," E ordered, a glare easily etching itself onto his visor-covered eyes.
He blew down the mountain at speed, leaving a long streak of silver light behind him. Tracking it back to its source, found the last traces fading. Only a few steps away from the now-warped rectangular portal. Small rocks rumbled and rolled with the shaking of the ground, as the portal warped further and further out of its original shape.
It suddenly slammed close, pulling the surface of the mountainside together and concealing the portal again. Though not before two more blurs slipped through the cracks at the last second, both Demons landing where the humans had been mere moments earlier.
"And you are sure the humans' curiosity will not lead them to the entrance?" Batibat queried, looking around for any of the lingering Warriors as Masutā raised one hand to where the entrance had been moments earlier.
"Even if they were to find it, they would have no chance of getting to it; all they will find will be more rock and earth," Masutā replied, slowly lowering his arm back to his side as the last traces of green glow evaporated into the air. He turned around to look down at Batibat. "Now…"
"Now?" the she-Demon questioned, raising an eyebrow slightly as her suspicion rose. Masutā took a slow step closer, hand brought to rest against the handle of his sword. Her own hand slowly opening up, palm facing away and dagger slowly slipping from her sleeve.
"Now, you will take me before the Master. So I may restore myself by His side," Masutā stated, more along the lines of an order rather than a simple request.
Batibat's eyes narrowed a fraction and her pupils contracted ever so slightly at the demand, her fingers almost tightening around the dagger out of instinct. But she refrained from doing so, and tried to relax her hand as she looked up to meet Masutā's eye…rather, eyeholes.
"And what makes you think I should take you back, and present you before the Master?" she questioned, her eyes darting to the taller Demon's hand-specifically, the one across his sword-for any sign that she didn't like.
Catching his fingers loosely wrapping around the leather-wraps, she quickly looked up when he began speaking again; his voice now carrying a sliver of threat. "I served the Master with utter devotion and loyalty. I am the reason the Master's reach extended to this region so early in the War. And if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be standing there right now; the Master would have destroyed you for your inability to perform the task, at which point, I will find my own way back to serve the Master again."
"Either way…I return to the Master. How long it takes me, and whether you accompany me or not, is entirely up to you," Masutā drew his sword a fraction, releasing the pent up smoke from the sheath and letting it spill onto the ground.
Batibat's grip on her dagger loosened, letting the blade drop into sight and grab the handle once again. Her eyes narrowed, keeping Masutā's arm in her peripheral vision while she stared him down. Neither Demon said anything for several drawn-out, tense minutes.
"…Fine."
The she-Demon's fingers slowly curled up, sliding the dagger back up into her sleeve as Masutā locked his sword back into place; sealing the smoke inside.
"Then let us proceed."
Giving a look over her shoulder, back at Masutā, as she turned away, Batibat snapped her fingers and a portal tore itself through the air. When it was stable, she turned partially back around and held a hand towards the portal. "The Master awaits," she assured, yet her expression was anything but.
Masutā stepped forward, lingering for a second before the portal's reach, and threw a look aside to Batibat. Her only response was a further prompt towards the portal. He stepped through the portal, disappearing from sight.
Batibat's fist clenched quickly, as the portal collapsed in on itself and sealed up. A look, cross between satisfied and simmering anger, flashed across her face. "Unwise to threaten of Hand of the Master, Masutā. Thought you would know better," she said aloud, knowing no-one was around to hear, and opened up another portal. Without a second look back, she walked through, vanishing from the mountainside.