Ashes of gray spilled from above, drizzling into the pool of red before her.
A thick haze of black encircled a woman kneeling before the only lightsource in the area. The woman kept a hood over her head as she clasped her hands together. The dust raining above began to thin, and with one last sputter of gray, it was all gone. Every spec seeped into the boiling pool of blood.
From this darkness, a strange object floated before her. Large rings of gold whirred around a faintly lit orb of red. Inscribed onto it's metal were runes that gave weak glows, it's flicker strengthened as the woman finished up her task. Her head kept bowed to the abnormal being as she raised herself.
"Are you finished recollecting your soldiers, Le Faye?" A voice rang behind her, calm yet booming in it's bass. She turned her head to see a figure sitting with his legs crossed who seemed to be quite relaxed, despite his heavy armor on.
The figure resembled a warrior of the greco-romans. He was clad in silver plating that covered most of his body and a frayed navy cape that was attached to a battle-damaged pauldron. His corinthian helmet covered most of his face, leaving only two jaundice yellow eyes to peer from their orbits. What little skin of his that was shown, was a bluish pigment that resembled that of a zombie.
Le Faye lowered her hood, revealing a woman with a golden deathmask on her face. She unclipped the hood off of herself, revealing her form. Le Faye was dressed in a floor-length purple dress with a crimson breast plate over it. Her hair spilled out from the back of her head with little wisps covering the top of her mask. The color of her locks looked to have been painted with ink, it's keratin glossy and resembling something artificial.
Le Faye carried with her an air of beauty despite her disguised self‒ Similar to that of a doll. Yet she brought an even greater tension with it, as if she poisoned the air around her.
"Oh, Molly…" She spoke with her tongue trilling at his nickname. "I thought you were off playing with your swords… I didn't know you were watching me."
The warrior, known as Molock, simply huffed through his nose as his face remained blank. "I simply wish to know when we can send them out to retrieve the gemstones. Areos has been quite upset since we had lost the last Valorite gem."
"Upset? Ha!" A gravelly voice erupted from the darkness. With hefty stomps over to the witch, the burly monster stepped out of the black haze. "I'm livid! That damn Ranger has every single gemstone we need for our master!"
Areos towered over both Le Faye and Molock. His armor was of a dark steel that looked to have weighed as much as a truck, yet the general had no trouble moving- As shown by how he angrily paced around the red pool. His helmet resembled that of a spartan with two large horns that looked to have appeared from his own skull rather from the metal.
Slowly shuffling forward was a man completely covered in armor. His sleek metallic form was made of silver scales that gave a faint glow despite the dark fog he was in. His three horned helmet had a visor for him to peer out from, it's screen glowing a scarlet red. The creature resembled a robot, crafted with such intricate design to make it resemble a humanoid dragon. Yet within the armor breathed the most youthful of the four beings.
The dragon turned to Molock, meeting him with a bow. "I've tracked the collective energy signature of the gems." He handed him a folded map with the current location encircled, "I believe that the gems are to be moved soon so‒"
"So I have to get there fast, huh?" Areos snatched the parchment from Molock hands, The general opened it up, gazing over it's contents.
With a laugh, he moved through the darkness and disappeared into the haze. Off to take back the Valorite gems for their master. After Areos' disappearance, the earth shifted and the cavern that they resided in had begun to illuminate.
The three others collectively turned to the large gyroscopic benign that loomed over them, taking a knee before it. The creature's heart began to burn with a bright light and it's scriptures radiated with fire. And from the air around them, a voice called out.
"My subjects," It rang in a voice that echoed into their minds. It was as if the cave itself was calling out to them. "Do not falter. Soon comes the day that we shall rise from this cave, and become Gods. Soon, will the humans know... true perfection."
"Yes, master."
"Yes, my liege."
"...Yes."
The mononateous upbeat jingle of the Aroma Mocha cafe was getting to her, added on to her faulty sleep schedule, Alexis Aiza was bound to go insane if she continued any longer. Her mousy brown hair was tousled and her lightly tanned skin was wet from the heat radiating from the machines behind the counter. Luckily, she was spared from this as her shift was to be up in a matter of a few minutes. Just had to deliver this last milkshake to…
"Hey, Lex." An all to familiar face…
Seated at the bar was an auburn haired girl who styled her waves locks into a ponytail. She was clad in a pink bomber jacket over a white top and jean shorts. Her roommate, Kristina Weber, smiled at her friend with the most subtle air of smug. "You look horrible…"
"Oh shut up…" Alexis sighed as she lazily handed her friend her drink. Seeing as her coworkers came in for their shifts, Lex decided on spending the rest of her time talking with Kris. Alexis said in a dead voice, "You better have your share of the rent done or else I'm gonna kick your ass out."
"Yeah, yeah…" Kris giggled before taking a sip of her chocolate milkshake. "Mm… Your shift is about to be over right? What do you want to do before we head home? There's that sushi bar at the corner."
"Ew, raw fish?" Alexis bleched at Kris' suggestion. Lex rubbed the side of her head, her eyes slowly drifted over at the sounds of the bells chiming at the front door of the cafe. Two new faces entering and heading their way.
Walking with a gait that was a bit slouched and uneven was a tall asian male with black thick rimmed glasses. He was dressed in a large navy blue t-shirt that seemed to be too large for his thin frame and tan khakis. His friend behind him was a sandy blonde young man clad in a black track jacket and shorts.
Lincoln Vien and Marco Alfonsi, decent guys from the interactions she's had. The two of them teamed up with Kris in their History project. Spent most of their meetings at their apartment, much to Alexis' annoyance. The three of them always took up the living room to just waste time.
"Hey, Kristina…" Lincoln greeted without a trace of energy in his voice. In his hands, he held out a silver necklace in his hands. Kris's eyes widened at the sight of it. "You left this in class, I found it near the door."
"Oh, thank you!" She nearly jumped as he handed it to her. The girl slipped the chain around her neck, letting out a sigh of relief as if she lost a part of herself. "You have no idea how much I looked for this…"
"I know I did." Lex laughed a bit, remembering how Kris nearly destroyed the whole apartment complex for that necklace.
Marco chuckled as he saw Link's stoic face contrasting Kris' beaming smile. "Hey look, the tin man does have a heart."
"Uh huh…" Link said blankly as he elbowed Marco's arm. He turned to Lex, his hand reaching for his wallet. "Hey, can I get a‒"
"Sorry, I'm…" Lex drawled a bit as she slowly looked to the clock above her. The second hand reached twelve, causing it to tick to 2:30 pm. "Off the clock."
She moved from the counter, allowing someone else to take over to deal with Link's order.
Alexis undid the straps of her apron and moved to the back, where she hung it up. In the back of the cafe, she saw her boss at a small desk working on the broken coffee maker they had there. Mary White was a stocky woman in her late thirties, her hair was dyed a bleach blonde and was always seen tied up in a messy ponytail.
"You turning in for the day?" She asked without turning away from the machine. Alexis hummed out in confirmation.
"Yeah, morning shifts are a bit of a pain…" Lex answered casually, stretching her arms above her head and releasing the tension from her spine. "But it's cool if you want me to open up the shop, just please don't ask me last second?"
"Sorry," Mary laughed as she fiddled with her screwdriver. "I had to stay up all night making something for my nephew…"
"Oh, is it like a toy or something?" Alexis smiled at her boss's gesture for her family member. But Mary simply laughed at her question.
"My nephew is nineteen…" Lex awkwardly coughed at the revelation, causing Mary to laugh once again. The owner of the cafe looked to her wristwatch, "He should have been here by now…"
Alexis peered around her desk as Mary worked on the coffee maker. Handy tools in a few drawers and spare parts in the other. Her boss was always working on their machines there, the place saved a lot of money with her being such a gear head. Her latest project seemed to be in a worn down case that she kept right next to the leg of her work surface. A strange sight to see since Mary was quite open with her little gadgets.
Lex waved to her boss and walked out the door, Mary giving a half-heartened waft of her hand as he kept her eyes glued to the coffee maker. Alexis opened the door to the cafe, expecting Kris to be waiting by herself for her. Instead she saw Marco and Link still sticking around, as well as an unfamiliar face.
A young man stood before her, around their age. light toned skin, broad shoulders, a strong face with a bit of baby fat to it, and black gelled hair. Lex's eyes scanned his attire; a bright red jacket that had a subtle gothic design to it. It wasn't too stand out, paired alongside simple jeans, but he could be spotted in a large crowd without much problem.
Lex walked up to the red stranger, making a wild guess at his identity. He stopped his leering over the room as soon as he realized that she was facing him. He raised his hand into a wave, greeting her with a light smile.
"Uh, is Mary White here?" He asked as his pupils shifted around the room.
Alexis hiked her thumb to the back, "She's in the back, but she's pretty busy right now. Say… you wouldn't happen to be related or something?"
The young man blinked in surprise before rubbing the side of his head with a sheepish smile, "Yeah, actually… She's my aunt." He opened out a hand which she shook, "My name's Dante. Dante Gryffith."
"As in Gryffith Tech!" Marco appeared right next to Dante, causing him to to jump a bit. "Dude, I still can't believe that the son of a millionaire is right next to me."
"Uh, yeah‒"
Link pushed Marco aside, facing Dante as he pushed up his glasses by it's bridge. "Ignore him, he's got a lot of pent up energy in him."
The young man of wealth laughed off his words, "It's fine, it was nice to meet you too Marco." He turned back to Alexis. "But I actually need to talk to Mary right now, is it okay if I go in?"
The waitress shrugged before opening up the counter door for him. Dante looked back to them with a small wave of two fingers before moving into the back. Leaving the four others to question his appearance here. Despite the fact that Mary was his aunt, why a rich kid needed to show up during work hours was a strange sight to see.
Kris leaned over to Lex, "He seems nice…"
Marco shrugged as he walked up with his arms folded and eyes still locked on the door, "Yeah, I guess so. I thought those rich types would be snobby, I didn't even know Arthur Gryffith had a son…"
Alexis' eyes widened at what Marco revealed, "Then… how do you figure out he was even related to G-Tech?"
"His watch," Link answered, "We saw him with the new model that's not released yet, but it had this weird chrome texture to it. The dude sounded pretty shaken up when we saw it on him, like we caught him with his pants down."
"I'd… rather use a different phrasing but yeah," Kris nodded to Link's words. She turned to her friends with a bit of a command in her gentle voice, "Let's not bother him about it, I don't think getting into trouble with a guy who could buy our heads would be ideal."
The three hummed in agreement, not wanting to be his little paparazzi troupe despite the questions they had surrounding his heritage. Lex and Kris readied themselves to walk out of the cafe with Link and Marco tagging along. As they put it, 'They had nothing planned but they wanted to go eat, and the menu here was mediocre'. Seeing no problem with it, the girls let them tag along.
"But we're choosing the place, alright?" Kris insisted as she walked towards the neon lighted door of the cafe. The boys nodded, not really minding korean barbecue- despite its taxing cost.
However, the four were stopped in their tracks. From the framed glass walls of the building, did they see something strange at the front of the cafe. Figures of gray hobbled into their sight as if they just made themselves materialize. Passer goers jolted in fear at their appearance and rushed in shrieks.
Every customer in the cafe jumped at the realization of what was in front of the little coffee shop. What stood before them were demonic skeletons that gave low growls from their agaped jaws. These creatures banged their rusted swords against their shoulders, as if to call something with their ear splitting melody. The four teens immediately moved themselves away from the door as a wave of them blocked the windows, still drumming away at their sturdy bones.
The skeletons near the door stepped away, revealing a large burly creature with two horns sticking out from his head. His large meaty fists clenched together and he leaned back, swiftly punting the glass and causing it to shatter into mere particles. Each shard laid onto the ground, not cutting into a single person. Yet cuts were the least of their worries.
The monster grabbed the nearest person and raised him by his collar. His gaze laid out before him without batting an eye to his victim. He spoke aloud, making sure his gravelly voice was audible enough for everyone to hear. "Listen here, Ranger! I know you're right here… Give me the Valorite stones, and I won't have to snap this whelp's neck…"
The man squirmed as he let out weak gurgles for air, legs flailing to try to escape from this. The customers in the shop shifted in their place as the skeletons flooded into the shop. The large monster scanned the area as his fingers slowly squeezed closer together. No sign of the Ranger, not even a peep of red.
That damn dragon, Areos silently cursed. The kid must have messed up the coordinates. Well… he could make do with this. These humans will just have to serve as hostages until the Ranger reveals himself.
Areos tossed the man, his back slammed against a table and bounced off of it with a loud smack. The general slowly waved his zweihander in one hand, gesturing to the entire room that cowered before him. Areos ordered the Revenants, "Keep everyone last one of them in here. Be ready to draw your blade if needed…"
As they were pushed to the walls by the monster, Marco looked to his companions. "What do we do?"
"Wait for the cops?" Link attempted to answer, his voice shakened and unsure of what was to happen to them. "I… I don't…. W-What is this?"
Kristina pressed herself against the cold hard wall, shrinking where she was forced to sit alongside the three. "I-I'm scared… what's gonna happen to us?"
Lex shifted over to her friend, the two mutually relying on each other for the emotional support. Alexis hid her twitching frown behind her hand. She wanted to rush out that door and call for help but that would be practically suicide. To be in a hostage situation is scary, to be taken hostage by these monsters was down terrifying.
Alexis shifted her eyes around the shop, trying to find some sort of semblance of hope for them. Once she looked to the counter, she realized something. Mary had to have been in the back, she had to have noticed the monster in her shop. She had to have called the cops or… something!
She felt a sudden chill run down her spine. Lex realized that the burly monster hovered over her, noticing how she looked to the back door. With such a simple movement of her eyes, Lex painted a target for Mary's location. She immediately looked to the other side of the room, trying to play it off as a simple gaze at the counter. This did not work, as the leader of the skeletons was already in stride for the door.
The four teens felt their chests collectively tightened in worry for Mary's safety. Not only was their only hope of escaping dashed, Mary was also to be put in the same situation as them. Lex could only shut her eyes, not having the strength to see what she indirectly caused.
The door was forced open, that much she heard. Lex swallowed hard for what was to come next. But she opened her eyes in shock after hearing what came afterwards. A swift strike against firm metal, the air splitting as something flew by, a bassy yelp of pain, and glass shattering and crashing onto the floor.
She looked to the window outside, noticing how that burly monster keeled over on top of a bed of shards. Following everyone else's line of direction, she saw something incredible. A Power Ranger, right here in this New Avalon cafe. It was if he were sent by some greater power for the sole reason of saving them.
A literal knight that rode in here to save them, all he was missing was the horse.