Chapter Nine

Closeted Skeletons

Kat taps against the arm of her wheelchair, again rolling through the same hallways that made up her childhood home. Days had passed since the appearance (and equally sudden disappearance) of Gekkouga, the sudden attacks on her family and friends, and the alleged return of the great evil, Dai-Shi.

The pieces were all in place. She and Abi might be in danger once more.

She hears a yawn from their bedroom, and Abi shuffles out. She was never much of a morning person.

"Dude," Abi grumbles, stifling another yawn. "How long have you been up?"

Kat gives her an apologetic smile. "Sorry, sis… I was having trouble sleeping."

"I know. I heard your wheels squeaking in my dreams." Abi sighs. "Come on, let's just get ready."

Abi covers her mouth with her hand, stifling another yawn. It was nine in the morning here, but she still felt jetlagged. She keeps a fair pace with Kat, who seemed a bit more energetic than she.

Abi rubs her eyes, and gestures to the coffee shop across the street. Kat gives her a smile and a nod, and Abi shuffles down the empty street, and heads into the small cafe.

The lines were too long in the mornings. It gave Abi more time to think than she wanted. She felt on edge. It was quiet- considering how quickly the attacks occurred last time. One after another with barely any room to breathe. Now, it was about to be a full week without anything.

She finally makes it to the front of the line, and mutters out the order- Blue Mountain, extra shot of caffeine, and a spoon of sugar. Hot chocolate, low whip, and a drop of cream.

Abi's so in her thoughts, she only notices a minute later when her order is finished. She thanks the barista, and drops a five in the tip jar, before using her only arm to carry the tray.

Kat grins as Abi approaches, and lowers the tray into her lap. Kat picks up the hot chocolate, balancing the tray with her spare hand, while Abi lazily nabs the coffee.

"Oh yeah… That hits the spot." Abi mumbles, already feeling a spike of morning energy. "Oh, uh, sis."

She turns, to find Kat savoring the hot chocolate- but still looking at her. Abi continues- "You think it's been a bit too… Quiet?"

Kat lowers the drink from her lips, putting it onto the tray, and taps the side of her cheek. "Hmm… They could be planning something. I don't think they expected us to have morphers at the ready. I'm a bit worried about Dad… We have no clue where he is, but they explicitly kidnapped him… I wonder what their plot is…"

Abi nods- "Yeah, I've been wondering about that too…" She grumbles, and takes another shot of her drink. "Anyway," she shifts the topic, otherwise they'd linger on this for the rest of the walk. "How's the work on my arm?"

Kat's eyes beam, and Abi figures it'll be enough for the rest of the trip.

Luka's eyes darted between the schematics he built, and the blueprints of the mods that apparently was enough to make them work.

It didn't make sense. It didn't make sense!

This was his 13th time comparing and contrasting the two. There wasn't a visible "secret part", or any notes of extra coding. No, it was like the godforsaken things just came out of a magic pit.

"This doesn't make sense!" He growls, the scratching of his scalp turning frantic. Again, he flips the blueprint over, and starts his analysis again.

Or, well, he would. He hears a snide laugh from behind him- and turns to none other than Jerry.

"Is the big, bad, genius stumped?" Jerry asks, a smirk playing on his face. "Finally found a problem without an obvious answer?"

Luka sighs, and turns in his chair- and gives Jerry an impish smile. "Just the person I wanted to see. Mind if I look at your morpher?"

"Don't try and act like the bigger person." Jerry scoffs. "Like I'd let you touch anything of mine. You'll probably rig it to explode."

"I built the thing, baby. If it had that function, I probably would've used it by now."

"All the more reason not to give you mine." Jerry huffs out, walking away and heading towards the fridge. "Just build another."

"Just build another- did you come here just to give me asinine suggestions or do you plan to actually pull your weight around here?" Luka grumbles, turning back around to focus on his work.

Jerry grimaces at that, and looks up from the barren fridge to direct his glare to Luka- "I don't want to hear that from you, freak. All you do is sit on your ass while we're risking our lives. At least the cripple has an excuse."

"Insult me all you want if that makes you feel better, but I'd recommend not, y'know, ripping on my uninvolved friends." Luka's grip tightens on the sheet, a spark flying loose from his empty hand.

Jerry sneers- "Or what? You talk a big game, but really, you're just a coward. Don't act like you wouldn't throw those so-called "friends" of yours under the bus, the same way you did to me-"

Jerry is quickly cut off, by an obnoxious alarm ringing from the TVs upstairs. "Geez, what the hell is that..?" He grumbles, and sulks upstairs.

Luka drops the schematics and follows short- "Merely another example of my genius. As soon as there's a report on anything weird, we'll know." He speaks with a hint of pride.

"Can you turn the bloody thing off?" Jerry asks, and all he gets in response is a laugh.

The TV was already switched to a news channel- the siren blaring as a weasel-like beast darted through the streets, startling civilians as it rushed through the streets with a manic grin. Claws raised from the back of its hands, and it sliced a car in half- with ease. It adjusts its vest, and flicks up its sunglasses, satisfied with the destruction it made.

Abi sighs- turning towards Mia, Jerry, and Rock. "Alright, you three. I'm waiting for repairs, so for now, you three will have to take this mission. Us three'll watch the base." A smirk forms on her face. "Show this weasel a thing or two about Pai-Zhuq for me."

The triad of rangers were quick to arrive at the weasel's destructive path.

"It hasn't really hurt any civilians so far…" mutters Rock, curiously lowering his boomerang. "Just caused a lot of property damage."

"Maybe it's… upset." Mia quietly suggests.

"If I were an animal in this concrete jungle, I'd be upset too." Rock shakes his head, and sighs. "Maybe we can reason with it, right Jerry-"

Rock turns to where his silvery comrade was supposed to be. And then he turned to the weasel- and Jerry was standing in front of it, blades drawn.

"...Oh no."

Jerry glares at the beast behind his visor. "You're a pathetic little creature, aren't you?.. Your first and last instincts are only to make things worse for everyone. Reminds me of someone I know." He scoffs, and the weasel's long neck turns around.

"Oh, great." The weasel growls. "A human in cosplay. You're all so arrogant- maybe it'll be nice to knock you down a peg."

Jerry scoffs at the banter, and swipes with his blade-, but it's met by the sharp spines that rested on the back of the weasel's arms. Its body twists, and its tail comes around, slapping Jerry's body, and sending him skidding towards Mia and Rock.

"Easy there, mate!" Rock says, holding his hand out to Jerry- who quickly slaps it away.

"Stay out of my way." Jerry growls, and stands back up, charging at the weasel once more.

He slashes down with his blades, but they're met by those claws. The weasel roars, and pushes upwards, forcing the blades out of Jerry's hands.

"You humans are so annoying." The weasel hisses, and it slams its fist into Jerry's stomach. The force causes him to hack, stumbling back, stunned. "Not even worth my time."

"Jerry!" Rock calls, readying his weapons once more. But the cobra's glare petrifies him-

"Stay out of my way!" He yells once more, "This is my fight!"

The weasel frowns, looking at the silver ranger with pity. "Geez, this is just pathetic." It turns around, and sighs. "You can't expect to fight me with a heart as weak as that. What a mood killer… I'm going home." It shakes its head, and begins walking away.

Jerry feels his patience whittling away- he grabs his blade from the ground, and throws it at the back of the weasel's head. The spines on the beast's back raise, and it ducks down- turning to Jerry with spite.

"Alright, that's it-" the weasel hisses, darting towards Jerry, rearing back its clawed fist. Jerry growls, and raises his arms defensively in front of himself-

And a slab of earth blocks the incoming strike, barely cracking.

… "Eh?" The combatants mutter.

A pebble is thrown at the nose of the weasel- who frowns, and turns.

A girl with a blank stare, holding a cane in her hand. Although her eyes were glazed with white, her black hair was free from her face in a bun.

"Hey, fur ball." She says- as plainly as her expression. "I'm your opponent."

… "You're, like. Five." The weasel mutters, dumbfounded. "And blind. Go home, kid, just let me step on this dumb worm-"

Another rock is thrown- this time behind him. The weasel's neck swivels, to the girl's new location.

"Come on. Unless you're scared of being beaten by a blind five-year-old."

The weasel adjusts the sunglasses on its face- "You're too rude to be five. You're at least nine."

"Ten, actually." The girl gives the slightest hint of a smirk.

"Alright, I'll indulge ya." The weasel grins. "But don't cry if ya loose, kid."

The beast charges towards the girl- and yelps as she somehow ducks underground. The earth crumbles beneath his feet- and a roundhouse kick strikes the back of the weasel's head, knocking its glasses off.

"I think the only one crying today is going to be our little stoat friend." The girl chuckles.

"Stoat?!" The weasel roars, golden eyes blazing. "I'm Weavul, I'm a weasel!" It throws a clawed punch forwards, which the girl ducks under. "Stand still!"

Weavul throws another punch, swinging its tail- and the girl's underground once again. Chains rise from the ground, attaching to the beast's long neck, and slamming it down to the ground.

"And I'm Stephiana. I guess you can call me a mole." She chuckles, rising from the ground once more. The chains loosen from Weavul's neck, and retract to the claw-gauntlets that formed on her arms.

Weavul frowns- grabbing its sunglasses as it rises from the ground, wiping the dirt from his vest. "Hmm… for a kid, you're pretty good. But next time we meet, it's gonna be an even fight, ya hear?"

Stephiana nods- "So long as you stop destroying stuff, I'll fight you anytime."

The weasel smirks, and skitters off.

Jerry sighs to himself once more, a hand raising to the bruise forming on his abdomen. Weavul had outclassed him in every way- and a ten-year-old girl bested that rodent. What did that say about him?

The beast called him weak-hearted. That wasn't true- his heart was merely tightly locked. It still grew within its walls, like a captive beast. And he'd rather be insulted by an overgrown rodent than have his heart broken by another traitor-

"What're you moping about for?" Speak of the devil. Jerry looks up, sees Luka giving him a curious gaze, and sighs.

"Something you know nothing of." Jerry hisses, and gets up to walk away.

But, the devil keeps talking- Lucifer was never known for being quiet. "Do you know who you're talking to? The big bad genius of this operation. (Unless it's about, like, people-stuff or relationships. Eugh.)" Luka adds this at a volume he thinks is low, but Jerry's certain the man no longer has a concept of an indoor voice. "Don't tell me- are you still pissed about that whole weasel thing?"

Jerry frowns- "So what if I am? It doesn't matter to you."

"I have a foot in this whole magic-claw-order shit. It does indeed matter that you're an abrasive little prick." Luka says, with a snort. "Has the thought even crossed your mind since you came here? Cooperating with people?"

"Such talk, from a traitorous mouth such as yours. I'd call you a snake, but my animal spirit would get offended." Jerry grumbles, and retreats- but Luka is tight on his tail.

"God, it's been three years!" Luka laughs- but Jerry doesn't find the conversation very amusing. "If you were any more hung-up about that, there'd be a hangman around your neck. Do you wanna hear an apology? Is that it?"

"Don't even bother, I know it's hollow. Leave me alone." Jerry stresses- stopping on his heel and turning to Luka. That sneer of his was practically mocking Jerry. "Your creepy voice gives me hives."

"Forgive me for trying to patch this up before it gets us all killed." Luka rolls his eyes- but that mocking smirk shifts to a genuine frown at the insult. "I don't get it. Every time you talk to me, it's traitor this, weirdass that- like you have the moral high ground. I don't know why I ever felt guilty over it- all it did was show your true colors."

"And it's all thanks to you, isn't it?" Jerry's voice raises, his hands balling into fists. "I wonder if I made you feel what I felt that day- would that make you awaken to your slug of a spirit?"

Luka smirks. "By all means, you're welcome to try! Every time you run your mouth, I feel it tickling at my nerves, begging me to finally wring your neck. Give it a reason to wake up for real."

"As if those lanky hands of yours can do anything other than tinker and plot. There's no one for you to hide behind in a real fight, no traps and schemes- just bloodrush." Jerry hisses. That face, that goddamned face- he rears back his fist and-

Feels something poke at the side of his head. He blinks- and sees Luka rubbing a similar spot as well.

"Can you two ladies stop bickering?" Stephiana asks, putting her cane back to the floor. "I've been watching you for hours."

"Sorry, sorry…" Luka mumbles- sheepish, calm.

".. The hell was that?" Jerry mumbles. The rush of anger was gone, and all he felt now was… Mild irritation.

"My special calming trick." Stephiana says, as if it were obvious. "If you strike a certain part of the head with a certain amount of force, you can cancel out emotions."

Jerry blinks- and the girl chuckles. "Kidding. Bet you had a stupid look on your face."

Luka frowns after glancing again at the girl. "Kid, I didn't give you shoes with echolocation just for you to go around half-blind and barefoot."

"Oh yeah, right…" Steph hops onto a chair, swinging her feet up and over the armrest. "They're at the base of the steps. I think they're malfunctioning on me."

Luka sighs- and walks down the stairs, muttering to himself. "(God, I have to do effing everything around here. Oh, you gotta do it Lukes, you're the only one who can go up and down the oh-so-dreadful stairs-)"

Jerry merely sighs in relief as the strange inventor stomps away- turning back to Stephiana. The girl… Maybe she could be useful.

"Thanks for helping me out, Mia." Abi yawns, placing a few bags of groceries on the table. "I would've done it myself, but, one hand and all."

Mia nods- and Abi gets the message. Mia wasn't the best at talking, but Abi just seemed to get her, even without words. It was very refreshing.

"You down for a little spar once we get upstairs?" Abi asks. "Nothing too crazy. I still need to keep in shape while the nerds work."

Mia nods, shuffling a few bags from her grip as well. Abi begins to sort through the bags, and puts them in their proper place in the cupboards and fridges.

"Um…" Mia begins, and Abi looks up- still packing. "N-nerds?"

"Ah, yeah, Kat and Luka. They can't fight much, but do they like making gadgets. I bug them for repairs all the time." Abi explains. "What, is yours-"

Mia shakes her head. The question was clear in her mind, but as per usual, she struggles to phrase it. "Join? Um- do you think I could… Join them?"

Abi smiles- "Yeah, probably. Just talk science in their ears and they'll be smitten. Or, uh... " She quickly frowns- not the best metaphor. "Well, I could talk to them about it sometime."

Mia nods, and smiles- her silent thanks, as Abi moves to the loft. Mia's eyes linger at… What looked to be a pair of boots at the foot of the stairs. But, so much metal and wires…

Abi smirks a bit- "Seems like Steph's here. Don't worry about it, she's a friend. Come on."

Lars glances from the sign of the pizzeria to the application in his hand. The place didn't have a website, despite its notoriety in Ocean Bluff. But, he had checked a month ago to see if the spot was hiring- and the owner had given him a nod.

Now, his papers were in order, and the joint looked… Abandoned. He reaches for the door, and is surprised when it pulls open.

"Anyone home..?" He asks- and doesn't even get an echo in return. Leaving the door unlocked seemed a bit irresponsible- even for a manager that looked so carefree. "Hello..?"

He hears a bit of noise from above, and his brow quirks. He didn't think this place was two stories from the front. Towards the back was a stairwell, which he sighs and heads up, to a large loft that looked bigger than the pizzeria below.

"Uh, hey, I'm here for my interview…" Lars begins, before laying his eyes upon the absolute scene before him.

"Alright, today's gonna be simple. I want you to block my blows." Abi raises her arm and spreads her stance. "We don't touch on this as much- but in a fight with a real Rin-shi, your boundaries mean nothing."

Mia nods- the signal to start. Abi aims a hand strike, and Mia moves to deflect it, and winces at the skin contact. The blow wasn't too hard- but she doesn't have time to ponder. Abi switches to her legs- a high kick, leading to a spin kick with her other leg. Even without both arms, she balanced herself expertly. High kick, spin kick, repeat- Mia falls into a pattern of meeting the strikes with her arms.

Abi gives a little smirk, and throws a punch to the side. Mia yelps in surprise, and her spirit manifests. The pink leopard grabs onto Abi's arm with its maw- just enough to stop the blow.

"Hey…" Abi mutters. "I didn't know we were using spirits." She smirks, and her black bear manifests to her side, as Mia's leopard releases her arm.

And that is the precise moment when Lars walks into the room. Abi turns at the boy, mouth agape, application papers dropped onto the floor.

"Oh, shit, I forgot to lock the door." Abi mutters, and her spirit vanishes. Mia's is quick to do the same.

Luka dully flips his screwdriver's point upright, and glances at Lars. "Well, I guess we gotta-"

"Please tell me you're joking…" Rock mutters. "This place could use a few extra hands and not a crime scene."

"I mean, he saw it. Better safe than sorry-" Luka vaguely nods his head in Lars' direction, and snickers as he sees the kid pale.

"No, no, we're not commiting crimes in my dad's shop." Kat pouts, placing an identical boot into Luka's lap, hands coming to her wheelchair. "Downstairs. We'll have the interview downstairs."

Lars is stunned out of his silence- "But… But, she just summoned a giant bear. You can't just-"

"Downstairs, please." Kat repeats, sternly, and wheels herself to the lift just besides the staircase. "Or I might help him commit the crime."

"Y-yes ma'am." Lars mutters, turning on his heel.

It'd be better for his interview if he didn't piss off the kids that could manifest giant bears.