I own the rights to this story, I made the leading Kaiju hero myself and any human character that came along with it.
Chapter 5: The Search Part 3
(Andar 20 Hours Ago)
On Planet Andar, Shawn had exited the portal that led him to the planet as he looked around, seeing a dark forest around him. He could feel a cold chill in the air around him, like death was all around him in this forest. He got tense as he felt that he was being watched by unfriendly eyes. Throughout the forest, he could see the illumination of the eyes of various animals in the darkness of the forest, and he could only guess what they were… predators. "Not the welcoming committee I was expecting." He said to himself as he pulled out a katana for defense as he walked into the forest. As he traveled, he could hear the growls of all the animals around him, making him feel a sense of unease as he focused on the task of finding the nearest village.
But before he could try to go further, something big could be heard through the forest. He looked around to find what it could be, but it was too dark to tell what it could be. Shawn knew he was in a bad situation at this point in time, and he needed to get out of the forest as fast as he could. He put his katana away and ran off, earning a snarl from whatever was stalking him as it chased after him. He could feel the tremendous force of its steps as he ran away from this unknown predator, he knew it was something big, and one thing came to his mind, Kaiju. He ran as fast as he could as the beast chased after him, he felt its breath getting closer as it prepared to bite down on him, but Shawn leapt over its jaws and landed on the branches. He didn't focus on looking back, survival was the only thing on his mind as he ran away from the creature. The unknown kaiju chased after him to kill him before he could escape, but his speed and agility was able to keep him alive.
He ran as fast as he could across the branches, he soon noticed daylight peering through the tree's ahead, he saw it as his best chance to get away, believing that this kaiju was nocturnal by nature as he ran towards the light. The creature chased after him in an attempt to catch him before he could get away. It drew closer to catch Shawn as its massive jaws were close to catching him, but Shawn quickly pulled out his dual katana and streaked them together, causing a flash of light as it blinded the creature as Shawn caught a brief glimpse of what the beast looked like as he flew out of the trees and landed safely in a meadow as the creature snapped its jaws through the trees, causing them to snap and fall over and hit the ground as Shawn looked at the maw of the creature, as it sneered with a menacing hiss as it pulled back into the dark forest. He exhaled as he stood up and put his dual katana away. "That is something… I hope I never have to see it again." He commented only to hear a rope tightening behind him, he turned around and saw a group of native warriors aiming bows and arrows at him. They were almost cat-like in form, but retained their human appearances. "Ohhh… fuck…" He cursed.
"You angered Rathor, you know what will happen when night falls?" Asked the leader of the group.
"Let me guess, she'll be back for revenge?" Shawn asked.
"And none will survive her wrath, for she will not just devour our warriors, but our women and children as well. And it will be all your fault!" He yelled at him as he shot his arrow at him, but Shawn quickly pulled out a katana and sliced the arrow clean in half, cleanly as the two halves went around him without so much as even leaving a scratch on him. The natives were stunned by this action, but they aimed their arrows and fired at him. Shawn took his other katana and sliced through each of them easily, he charged towards them and sliced their bows to make sure they didn't fire another shot. He stood a good distance from them as he slowly put his dual katana away, and upon hearing them click into the scabbards, the bows instantly snapped in half.
They looked at each other in shock as they looked at Shawn showing how shocked they were, he glared at them as he kept on hand on one katana. "Care to try again?" He asked them.
The lead warrior glared as he pulled out a tomahawk about to attack him. "That's enough Janda!" Called out a strong voice as the warrior, Janda, withheld his attack and saw the leader of his tribe approaching. He was a noble elder, about late to mid 40's, held a warrior's war spear in his hand and wore the garments that represented his station as leader of his tribe. "That is no way to welcome a guest, who was sent by Lady Yuki of Sephoria." He told him.
"But chief, this outsider angered the Rathor, the beast will surely return when night falls upon us." Janda replied.
"Our wards have long since shielded us from the beast's wrath, and they will do so again." The chief said to him as he looked upon Shawn and walked towards him. "I apologize for Janda's behavior my friend, he is not very trusting of those who are not from our lands." He explained.
"The fault was mine, the portal I was transferred from opened in the forest where I encountered the Rathor. I didn't know what was going to happen, so I did what I could in self-defense." Shawn replied to him.
The chief nodded his head in understanding and looked towards one of his katanas and pointed to it. "May I see your weapon?" He asked him as Shawn reached behind him and pulled out his katana and held it out to him. The chief reached to it and took it by its handle and held it up as he observed the weapon, he twirled it around as he felt how light it was. "It's really light, for a weapon. But very elegant." He complimented the craftsmanship.
"Thank you sir, I forged them myself, folded over the metal a hundred times to remove any flaws in the work. Once hammered and formed into its shape, quenched it to perfection. Smooth as silk." Shawn explained.
Janda meanwhile, scoffed from hearing it. "No weapon can be perfect." He declared.
"Yeah, and look what I did to your weapons." Shawn pointed out as the other warriors nodded, knowing he made an excellent point. "But since you received Lady Yuki's message, I assume you know the reason as to why I'm here?" He asked the chief.
"I do, you seek the guardian, Talosus." He replied as he gave him back his katana. "But there is something you must know, the temple in which it lies…" He paused for a moment and looked towards the Dark Forest. "Is within the very forest you escaped." He pointed to it.
Looking back to the forest, Shawn's skin immediately turned pale as he stared at the forest. "You have got to be kidding me… I just got done escaping this forest from a predator that can't be seen, and you expect me to head back in?" He asked him.
"Not immediately, no, in fact you had only just arrived here. Return with us to our village, there is much for you to learn about the forest." The chief told him as he led Shawn back to the village, but Shawn looked back to the forest, sensing the dark aura it possessed. He knew going in there would be a death sentence. But he needed Talosus' crystal if he and his team stood any chance of stopping Chad and his crew from taking Ryosuke and Misato.
(Sephoria)
Meanwhile on Sephoria, Sylvia was at the archery range, practicing her archery skills as she aimed an arrow at the target that was 50 yards from where she was. She held the arrow as she pulled it back, feeling the strength of the bow string as it was pulling against her. She inhaled and let out a slow exhale and launched the arrow towards the target, hoping to hit it dead center. But it landed on one of the outer circles that surrounded the center. She sighed, knowing that she was better than this and didn't know what was wrong. "You were off by a few meters." Said Ryosuke as he stood behind her.
She jumped from hearing him as she looked towards him and exhaled to be relieved of the startle. "And what would you know about archery?" She asked him as she arched her eyebrows and placed a hand on her hip.
"A lot actually." Ryosuke walked over to her and looked at where the target was. "You weren't centered enough in your stance, that's why it didn't land in the center of the target." He explained as he adjusted her stance, he brought her feet together a bit and adjusted her aim with the bow. "Okay, try it out now." He told her as she looked at him curiously, making him roll his eyes a bit as he looked back at her. "Just humor me." He told her.
She looked at him then to the target as she shrugged her shoulders and decided to do so, she stayed in the position Ryosuke put her in and took out narrow and aimed it at the target she was practicing on. She aimed carefully at the target as she gripped the string tightly, till finally she released it and let the arrow fly. It soared across the field towards the target, once it drew closer, it pierced the target dead center. She let out a surprised gasp as she looked towards Ryosuke, who clapped his hands to applaud her shot. "You really did know archery, I can't believe you never taught anyone." She said to him as she set the bow down.
"I never was much of an archery teacher, but my mother was the best. She won every archery tournament that we ever attended, and she would always win." He chuckled as he sat down remembering the good days, before he joined the Garrison.
Sylvia approached him and sat beside him as she looked out, she eventually looked at him with something on her mind. "Why did you get thrown out of the Garrison…? I mean, I know you and Chadwick never got along, but what was the reason for it?" She asked.
Ryosuke was surprised by her question as he looked towards her, but he sighed and looked to the sky. "It wasn't exactly my best day, but what happened was basically Chad's fault." He explained.
(Flashback)
Years ago when Ryosuke and his friends were in the Garrison training grounds, they were preparing for their second month of training. Ryosuke was preparing himself for today's training session by doing a few stretches as he crouched and stretched his legs to get them loosened up, but his ears caught the sound of an argument taking place as he looked to see Blair being harassed by Chad, and Jaden was trying to defend her. "Leave her alone Chad, she doesn't want anything to do with you." Jaden told him.
"Like you would know, I mean what woman wouldn't want this." Chad played with his junk in front of her. "It's clear she goes for real men."
To which she was not attracted to as she glared at him. "If you see any, let me know." She told him as everyone laughed at him. "I don't go for bullies, so why don't you go fuck one of your little boys in your boy band." She told him off, to the point he was about to reach past Jaden and grab her, but Ryosuke knocked his hand away and got between them, surprising Chad as Blair poked her head out from behind him. "Jackass!" She yelled.
"Get lost, Kanbara, this doesn't concern you." Chad told him.
"When it comes to you harassing my friends, it sure as hell concerns me. Now get back with your group, and leave them alone." He ordered with a stern look as he turned to Jaden and Blair and walked off with them.
But Chad scoffed when he saw it. "You know… it's no wonder you take after your mother." He said as Ryosuke stopped in his tracks from the mention of his mother. "She must have been a real coward when she died in that battle." He told him.
This caused Ryosuke to get angry as he clenched his fists, earning Jaden's attention as he looked at Ryosuke worriedly. "Ryosuke, don't, he's just trying to get under your skin." He told him.
"Not just a coward, but a whore, because whoever the father was, he must've wanted nothing to do with a bastard like you." Chad commented as he soon started laughing at Ryosuke, earning shocked looks from the other cadets as Jaden looked towards Ryosuke.
That did it, Ryosuke's eyes snapped open forming a glare as he turned towards Chad and charged at him, punching him in the face and tackling him down to the ground and pinning him as he relentlessly punched him in the face, making him bleed from his nose and mouth as Chad tried to fight back. At that moment, Misato walked into the room and her eyes widened as she saw Ryosuke beating up Chad. "What is going on here?!" She asked as the cadets panicked.
Jaden and Blair rushed towards Ryosuke and grabbed hold of him and pulled him off as Chad's friends grabbed him and got him up and held him back as both struggled to try and kill each other. "I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOOOUUU!" Ryosuke yelled at him.
"Comeover here and try it then, I dare you!" Chad egged him on.
"That's enough!" Misato shouted as she got between them and looked at them. "Ryosuke, report to my office now." She ordered.
"But Commander, he-"
"Now, Ryosuke!" She ordered as she interrupted him.
Seeing it, Ryosuke looked down but glared towards Chad as he pointed a finger at him. "If you want to finish this, I'll be outside." He told him as he started walking away, but he turned back towards him holding his glare. "My mother wasn't a whore!" He yelled as he stormed off.
Misato's eyes widened upon hearing it and looked towards the cadets. "Is that what this was about? Somebody tell me what happened this instant." She ordered.
"He's crazy, commander, he just snapped and attacked me for no reason." Chad explained trying to look innocent.
"Liar! You were picking on us when Ryosuke was trying to defend us!" Blair argued as she pointed to where Ryosuke went. "And you had the audacity to call his mother a whore, when in reality, she was a hero of her time!" She yelled.
Misato glared towards Chad as she approached him. "Is this true, cadet?" She demanded to know. Chad panicked as a bead of sweat ran down his face, Misato soon grabbed him by his collar and held him up. "You little shit… you dare to make a mockery of my friend? My sister?! I oughta have you expelled from this Garrison, or kill you myself!" She yelled.
"Stand down Commander Shirogane." Ordered an authoritative voice as she looked seeing the head of the council approaching, "You will release my son this instant." He ordered.
"Sir, you cannot expect me to simply let this little punk go after what he just did!" Misato shoved Chad away.
"I saw what happened, Ryosuke Kanbara struck the first blow out of anger, and that is by far, an undisciplined act of aggression against the Earth Garrison. I will deal with my son personally, but Ryosuke Kanbara is to be expelled from the Garrison immediately." He ordered as Ryosuke's friends widened their eyes in shock.
"You can't do that!" Jaden yelled.
"He was only trying to defend us!" Blair argued.
"Stand down cadets, unless you wish to join him." The councilmen suggested.
Jaden and Blair glared at him, knowing that isn't a bad idea. "Better to be under his command, than to be under yours, sir." Jaden said to him as he stormed off with Blair, Misato watched them go, knowing that they were making the right decision. But at what cost?
Meanwhile at Misato's office, Ryosuke sat in the room with Jaden and Blair as they looked at Ryosuke, seeing how hurt he was for what Chad said about his mother. Jaden reached over and touched his shoulder. "Ryosuke, it's going to be alright. Forget about Chad, he's sure to get what's coming to him." He told him.
"He's right, I'm sure Misato can pull a few strings with the council." Blair added.
"Guys, I appreciate the fact you are trying to help me, but don't bother. I never belonged here anyway." Ryosuke told them as he held his head. It was at that moment that Jaden took two of his fingers and smacked them across his head. "OW!" Ryosuke cried out and looked at him.
"Listen carefully pal, you may be a hot head, but you're our friend, and friends stick together, no matter what." He told him.
"We're here for you, so don't let what Chad said get to you." Blair told him as she wrapped her arms around him in a warm embrace to comfort him. "No matter what, we'll always have your back." She told him as Jaden smiled and put an arm around his best friend to show equal support.
Ryosuke felt this and closed his eyes as he let out a sigh and smiled as he looked at them. "Thanks guys." He said to them as he accepted them, Misato witnessed the entire moment between them, feeling touched as she smiled and walked into the room and closed the door behind her. Ryosuke and his friends looked behind them and saw her. "Misato."
"You got quite the support group Ryosuke, which is why I have no plans to have you thrown out so easily." She told him as she walked to her desk, earning surprised looks from Ryosuke and his friends. "Now I know what you might be thinking, aren't you supposed to be kicked out? Well, that may be true, but I have ways of pulling a few strings." She told them.
"You don't mean…" Blair theorized as she also gestured a certain gesture.
"Oh dear god, no! Not with those fucks on the council." Misato said with disgust. "I made a call to an old friend, he is willing to take you three in. He is even going to put you three to work on his ship, with Ryosuke being its captain." She informed them. Ryosuke was surprised upon hearing it, and could hardly believe what she was saying. "You will be the captain of the Axalor, and Colin Edwards will be your guide to becoming the leader I know you will grow up to be." She told him as Ryosuke looked down, feeling unworthy of such a responsibility.
But feeling determined with the support of his friends, he looked up to Misato to show he will not let her down. "I accept this responsibility, commander." He told her as Blair and Jaden smiled and nodded at him, for they would be by his side, no matter what.
(Flashback End)
Back in the present, Sylvia was surprised by all she heard as Ryosuke stared at the sky. "From that day, I was captain of a crew that was in fact undisciplined, but with help and support from my friends, it became quite a team." He told her.
"That is quite a story, but still cannot believe Chadwick would go as far as to ruin your mothers reputation that way." She told him.
"He was a jealous and spiteful bastard, he would go to great lengths to get what he wanted. Money, power, women, comes with being the son of the Head Councilman, Jonathan Worthington." Ryosuke explained and looked at her. "I will not let anything happen to these people, they treated us fairly, and it's only right we protect them, no matter what." He told her.
Seeing his determination, Sylvia felt her heart skip a couple beats as she looked at him, and smiled at him warmly as she reached over and touched his hand. "I know you will." She replied to him as she smiled at him. He smiled back as he and Sylvia looked out to the sky together.
(Andar)
Back on Andar, Shawn followed the chief to his village as he looked around, seeing everyone staring at him as he traveled with the chief. Some of them were terrified of his presence, others felt threatened as some gripped their tomahawks, giving him a sense of unease. "They're afraid of me, I can tell by the way they are looking at me." He told him.
"Not many travelers amongst the stars have been fortunate enough to come to our world, traverse the depths of the Dark Forest, and live to tell the tale. But give them time, once you succeed in obtaining Talosus, they will see things differently." The chief assured him as he walked to the largest tent in the village, Shawn looked at the tent for how big it was as he followed the elder into it. "I am sure you also noticed that we haven't gotten much food in the village, that is because food is scarce around here. The Rathor has often hunted our livestock and trampled our crops." He explained, as he was unaware of a set of eyes watching them from the shadows. "On Andar, it is survival of the fittest, hunt or be hunted, kill or be killed." He told him as the figure above them leapt above them.
Shawn sensed it as he quickly threw down a smoke pellet and combusted it on the ground as a cloud of smoke surrounded him, the figure's eyes indeed as she couldn't see him anywhere. She looked around, unaware that Shawn appeared behind her and tackled her to the ground and pinned her down. Once looking upon her in the light, Shawn's eyes slightly widened upon seeing her face as she had two different colored eyes. She chuckled as she waved her hand at him. "Hi stranger~." She greeted him.
The chief sighed upon seeing her and walked over. "Feline, must you be this way when we have guests?" He asked her.
Shawn looked towards him curiously. "You know her?" He asked him.
"This is Feline, our cunning warrior, and she is also my daughter." He introduced her.
Shawn looked towards her surprised as she smirked at him. "So you can let me go now, or do you like being on top?" She asked him as Shawn rolled his eyes and got off of her and lifted her back up. "Thank you." She said with a sly smirk.
"Don't mention it… now why were you sneaking around like that?" He asked her.
"Hey, like my father said, I'm the cunning one in the village. I like to sneak up on my victims without them knowing." She explained and turned towards him. "But you managed to sneak up on me without me noticing, how did you do that?" She asked him as she was ecstatic and was purring with glee.
Seeing it, Shawn was not quite trusting of her just yet as he pulled away from her. "On my planet, it is a ninja art that is used to distract our enemies, leaving them in a daze of confusion till they are attacked from behind." He explained.
Feline was in awe upon hearing it as she looked almost like a fangirl. "This is so amazing! You gotta show me how you do it! Come on, show me some techniques, I wanna learn from you!" She pleaded to him.
The chief chuckled as he placed a hand on her head. "Later, Feline, right now, our guest needs to know what awaits him in the Dark Forest." He told her as she moaned in annoyance and plopped onto the ground like a normal cat, Shawn walked past her as he followed the chief and saw mural drawings of all that lived on the planet. "The creatures of the fields have long since been plentiful and prosperous, but the predators of the Dark Forest come out at night, hunting all that live in it. We use magic wards to prevent the beasts from entering our village and feast on the livestock within, but one was close to penetrating it. The only thing that could repel Rathor was the light of the sun, it cannot stand its brightness." He explained.
"That explains why she reacted the way she did to the spark of my katana's." Shawn replied only to feel one was missing from its scabbard as he looked back and saw Feline was holding it in her hands as she stared at it in amazement.
"Wow, so this is the weapon of a ninja? It's breathtaking!" She squealed as she was totally geeking out, only to see Shawn grab the katana and take it from her. "Hey! I was looking at that!" She complained.
"It's not a toy, and not to be played with." Shawn advised her as he put it away and looked towards the chief. "What can you tell me about Rathor?" He asked him as Feline stuck her tongue out at him, earning a scowl from him.
"The Rathor as you know is sensitive to light, but at night when the moon is full, she is less vulnerable. And the moon will be full tomorrow night, which gives you enough time during the day to travel into the Dark Forest, and obtain Talosus's crystal, before Rathos awakens." He explained.
"And also gives me enough time to rest for the night, where will I be resting?" He asked him.
"Feline will show you to your tent." He gestured to her.
She smiled gleefully as she rushed up to him and grabbed his arm. "Come with me, I'll show you!" She ran off with him as he cried out being pulled by his arm while the chief watched it happen, causing him to shake his head knowing his daughter was probably not the best choice.
A moment passed as it was close to sunset, Feline rushed him towards his tent and got in as she pulled him in. "And here is your tent, I hope you-" Before she could finish her sentence, Shawn crashed against some pottery that caused her to wince and look towards him as his eyes were spinning out of control. She rushed up and sat over his lap as she knocked his head a bit. "Hey, you alright? You're not broken are you?" She asked him.
Hearing it, Shawn shook his head and got his eyes back in order as he scowled at her. "Do you have any self control?" He asked as he pushed her off of him and stood up.
"Nah, I prefer being wild." She said proudly.
"So I noticed." Shawn replied as he took his belongings and walked to a place to put it.
Feline licked the back of her hand and fixed her hair a bit and looked at him. "So, are all people on your planet, ninjas? She asked him.
"Not all, but there are some who stay true to the old ways." He explained as he set some of his equipment onto a table and had them sorted out. The explosives in one area, the kunai and shurikens in another, wall climbing gear across from them, and a retractable spear at the top with his dual katana. Feline noticed the spear head and grinned as she snatched it. "Hey!" Shawn shouted as he tried to get it back from her. "Give it back!" He yelled.
"Hold on, I just want to look at it." She said as she leapt to a table, and examined the spear. She eventually noticed the button and rubbed a finger against it. "Oooh, what's this do?" She pressed against it, causing the spear to extend as the butt end knocked against her forehead and knocked her down to the ground.
Shawn sighed as he shook his head and walked over, taking the spear from her and retracted it as he put it back with the others. "Didn't Your father ever teach you not to touch things that do not belong to you?" He asked her.
She groaned as she rubbed her forehead as she had a pretty big lump on it. "Unfortunately, no… I took after my mother." She explained.
"Clearly…" Shawn replied as he set his dual katana against the wall of the tent and looked towards her. "So care to explain about your unique eyes…?" He asked her.
Feline reached to her face and touched it as she closed her eyes. "I had them when I was born… one eye being blue, the other velvet. I thought that they made me feel freakish, because no one would look at me." She explained.
Shawn looked towards her as he looked her in her eyes, seeing how unique they were in their own right. "I hardly find you to be freakish, Feline… but rather, your eyes are more beautiful than you give them credit for." He told her.
This caused Feline to blush from the compliment as she turned away hiding it as she moved her hair behind her cat ear. "Y-You're just saying that, I know what you might be really thinking." She replied.
"No, I'm serious." Shawn said to her as a genuine smile formed across his face. "I've met plenty of women who claim to be the most beautiful, but I know it's only makeup, implants, and plastic surgery." He explained as he looked at her. "But you are not like them, and that is what makes you special, in your own unique way." He told her.
Feline's face grew redder as she turned away from him. "T-Thank you… I greatly appreciate the compliment." She said as she looked back to his equipment and noticed a green pellet that made her curious as she picked it up. "Ohh, what's this do?" She asked.
"You really shouldn't play with that." Shawn warned her, but she didn't care as she started toying with it, only to press the button as a green mist came out of the pellet. She smelled it as the mist clouded her head, making her dizzy as she wobbled a bit and moaned as she fell and her head fell into Shawn's lap. She was sound asleep from the sedative as she purred in her sleep, causing Shawn to sigh as he shook his head. "I told you not to play with that." He reminded her, ignoring the fact she was asleep. He did in fact notice something else as he reached to her shoulder and moved her over and saw something that made his eyes widen in shock. She had a crystal embedded in her chest, but he didn't know whether it was a guardian, or a dark one.
(Sephoria)
At the Axalor, Shawn had informed Ryosuke and Lady Yuki of what he had just discovered from Feline, and showed it through. Both Ryosuke and Yuki couldn't believe what they were seeing. "Are you certain Shawn?" He asked him.
"Positively, I don't know what crystal was placed here with Talosus, but I was hoping Lady Yuki would shed some light on the subject." Shawn replied.
Yuki was examining the crystal as she touched the screen to examine the crystal, she examined it as she used some of her temple's magic to see which one it was. To see whether or not it was a guardian, or a dark one. Once revealed, it was revealed to be a humanoid liger. "Catora… seems Artemis didn't want Talosus alone on Andar." She explained.
"Artemis…? As in the Goddess of the Hunt?" Shawn asked her.
"Yes, she must have entrusted Catora to guard Talosus in the event that something were to happen to the one who sought him out. That being you Shawn, I have reason to believe that Feline can be trusted." She explained.
(Andar)
"So basically, you have nothing to worry about." Ryosuke informed Shawn.
He was about to reply, but Feline moaned in her sleep as she started to stir and look at him. "H-Hey… when did you get three heads…? I wanna nuzzle them." She said as she was still feeling a little woozy from the anesthetic gas and passed out, falling back to sleep as she purred.
Ryosuke noticed it as he looked towards Shawn. "Anesthetic gas?" He asked him.
"Inhaled when she thought it was smoke, she'll be fine in a few hours. Can't say she won't be feeling a splitting headache when she's out of it." He admitted as he looked back to Feline. "I'll contact you later to update you on my progress." He said as he turned off his comlink.
She purred as she was having a dream, she grinned as she stretched out. "Saucer of milk…. big yarn ball." She muttered in her sleep as she purred from the dream, this made Shawn smile at her and shake his head. He took a blanket and covered her with it to keep her warm, allowing her to snuggle up in it as he sat on the ground and looked at the images on the tent walls. Seeing images of Talosus and Rathor battling one another… his eyes widened as he saw past images of what happened centuries ago between Talosus and Rathor, sensing that history will repeat itself.
Meanwhile outside as night fell, Rathor exited the Dark Forest and began to approach the village. But the chief's mystics were ready for his arrival as they chanted an incantation, causing a barrier to form around the village as it was formed from pure light. Rathor snarled as he lashed at the barrier with his long claws, but when his claws struck the barrier, a flash of light immediately hit him as he became temporarily blind. He let out a painful shriek and walked away shaking his head.
(The next day)
Morning broke, and signs of Rathor were visible on the ground as Shawn walked out of the village, seeing the giant footprints in the ground as the barrier was still in place. "Someone has been a busy little predator." He commented.
The chief approached and looked at the mess it made when it tried to break in. "Indeed… Rathor has been known to be unrelenting. He would stop at nothing to get to us, no matter where we were to move our village, he would just keep coming after us." He explained and looked over to him. "Have you seen my daughter anywhere?" He asked him.
Shawn knew that question was coming up as he turned towards him to answer honestly. "She was so curious about my equipment, she accidentally knocked herself out with my anesthetic gas pellet." He held up the one she used accidentally. "But don't worry, she'll be all right. I also swear that nothing intimate happened between us." He assured him.
"That is good to hear, because if you soiled your seed within my child, without so much as her consent, or mine… I would have you disemboweled." The chief warned him with a serious tone.
To which Shawn took seriously as he nodded his head in understanding, till he and the chief heard a groan and looked back seeing Feline approaching as she held her head feeling the pain of the anesthetic. "Ooohhh, what in the world hit me…?" She asked.
"It was an Anesthetic Gas pellet, I told you not to play with it." Shawn reminded her.
"He's right, young lady, you shouldn't play with tools that you know nothing of." The chief scolded her as Feline lowered her head. "But regardless, he still needs a guide into the Dark Forest." He informed her.
She smiled gleefully as she rushed up. "I know the forest like the back of my hand, please father, let me go with him! I can help this time, I swear!" She pleaded as her eyes dilated with a bit of a sparkle in her eyes.
Shawn noticed it as he glanced towards the chief, who tried to resist it. But she is his daughter, even though he couldn't say no to that face, he let out a sigh and looked at her. "All right." He said to her as she was about to cheer. "But remember, you are the future of this tribe, I cannot bear to lose you like I lost your mother." He informed her.
She sighed in response to his reminder. "Yes father." She replied as she walked ahead of Shawn, he watched her go and looked to the chief. He nodded his head to Shawn as he nodded his head back to him and followed Feline to the forest, knowing that the dark horrors within will be watching their every whim. The chief watched them as they slowly entered the Dark Forest, disappearing into the darkness within, never to be seen. He feared for his daughter, but he knew that she was a capable warrior, as well as a big mischief maker. He knew that Shawn was going to have his hands full with her.
Within the Dark Forest, Shawn followed Feline through it as he kept his eyes open and his senses sharp for when they may run into Rathor. Feline meanwhile was back to being her normal self as she was feeling chipper about the adventure. "I can't believe this is happening, I'm leading you straight to the temple that no one has ever been able to reach except me…!" She squealed cheerfully.
"Your father seems to be a little protective of you, wouldn't you agree?" He asked her.
"He's like that, any overbearing parent would be. I mean he expects me to marry a man who is either of the same tribe, or another. But he doesn't get me, I want to choose someone I want to marry. Not someone who was arranged for me, I mean can you imagine what that's even like?" She asked him.
"Not really, but you're right to choose someone you want to spend the rest of your life with." Shawn said to her as he followed her through the forest and pulled out a katana and sliced a few vines. "So… want to tell me how you came into possession of Catora…?" He asked her.
Panicking from the question, Feline wanted to try and avoid it the best she could. "It… it isn't any of your concern, I was just lucky to even gain the honor of being her host, and nothing is going to distract me from getting your to that-"
"Oh look, a mouse." Shawn interrupted.
This caused her to tense up as her tail straightened out and puffed up from hearing it. "WHERE?!" She asked only to hear him chuckle as she glanced towards him, forming a scowl as she crossed her arms not amused. "Ha, ha, very funny Shawn… but to answer your question, I found it in a temple that was East of my village, deep within the mountains. It was within that temple where I found Catora, our sacred guardian. Whereas Talosus was placed in a more dangerous location, that no one is supposed to enter." She reminded him as she turned towards him with a look.
Seeing it, Shawn nodded his head in understanding. "Point taken." He replied only to notice something behind her as he quickly pulled out a kunai and threw it as Feline panicked and ducked down as the blade pierced through the mouth of a snake and pierced it into a tree, killing it instantly as the nerves in its body were still moving a bit. Feline was surprised by what she witnessed as Shawn walked over to the corpse and grabbed the neck under the head to keep it from biting as he ripped the kunai out, the jaws did in fact snap as the brain was still functioning a bit. But with the loss of blood, the snake finally stopped moving. "First thing about exploration, you need to be careful of your surroundings." He told her.
Seeing it as she was in awe of what he did for her, Feline couldn't stop staring at him from how amazing he was. But she eventually shook her head to snap out of her daydream and stand up from the ground. "I'll keep that in mind… let's get moving, shall we?" She suggested as she walked ahead to lead him further into the forest.
But unaware of their knowledge, Janda and two of his followers were secretly stalking them in the forest. "Janda, this is insane… we are not supposed to be in this forest." Said one of his followers, who was slightly skinny.
"He's right, we shouldn't even be here" Said the other one who was fat and plump.
"When I want either of your opinions, I'll ask for it. That outsider humiliated us, even in front of the chief. We will not endure his presence any longer, and if one shall obtain Talosus, it will be me." Janda declared.
"You do realize he's a wolf right?" The skinny one asked.
"Just shut up and follow…!" He growled as he followed Shawn and Feline.
Hours had passed since they entered the forest, Shawn and Feline were even taking the chance to get to know one another, and what they had to go through growing up. "You're serious, this Jirou, thinks that he is the most masculine man on your team?" She asked him.
"Yeah, he thinks with all his muscle, he can take any woman he wants. But one of these days, he's gonna have to grow up and pick the right woman." Shawn explained as he walked beside her.
This made Feline scoff and chuckle at the thought of it. "I doubt any woman would want anything to do with him, he is probably a big dumb brute." She remarked.
"As big a brute as he may be, he means well. Basically he is a gentle giant at heart." Shawn admitted as he felt something against his foot and looked down seeing it's a piece of stone. He reached down and picked it up, he turned it around and saw that it was part of the head of a statue that shattered against the ground. He looked out as his eyes slightly widened upon seeing the temple itself, with statues in the likeness of Talosus himself. "Looks like this is the place." He said as he walked to it.
"That's right… this place has been here since Talosus was sealed within, and none have been able to reach it." Feline explained.
"Until now." Called out Janda as Shawn and Feline turned towards him surprised.
"Janda…? What are you doing here?!" She asked him.
"Isn't it obvious, Feline? I'm here to take Talosus' crystal before he does, he doesn't deserve such a power. Just as you don't deserve to be our next leader." He explained.
Feline growled at him angrily as her fur stood up on edge. "That is not your decision to make!" She hissed as she seethed with anger towards the insubordinate traitor.
"Feline, hold your breath." Shawn advised her as she took a deep breath and he put on his mask as he smashed a smoke pellet to the ground, causing it to combust and hide them in a cloud of smoke.
"Get them!" Jand ordered his followers to capture them, he watched as they entered the smoke and heard several punches within the veil of smoke. But once it dissipated, it revealed his followers were knocked out from each other. He looked up and saw Shawn and Feline running up the steps to the temple entrance, he growled fuming with anger and ran after them.
Shawn ran inside with Feline as he took a torch and lit it on fire as he ran. "This guy has serious issues!" He commented.
"He is considered the black sheep of the village, I can see now why my father never wanted him to be my future husband!" She replied.
"WHAT?!" Shawn asked in surprise.
"Look, what matters right now is getting you to Talosus before Janda, and I doubt someone of your skill would want him bearing that power." Feline told him as Shawn nodded his head at her and they ran further into the temple, with Janda on their heels as he chased after them. Shawn looked back seeing he was still coming for them, he needed a plan, and he needed it fast.
He reached behind him and pulled out a pellet and saw it for what it was and smirked as he glanced at Feline. "Feline, when I throw this pellet, make a hard left at the next corridor." He told her as he kept up with her.
"Why, what does that do?" She asked him.
"Best you don't want to look." He answered as he saw the next corridor coming up. "Turn left in three, two, one, NOW!" He yelled as he turned sharp towards Janda and pressed the button on the pellet and tossed it towards him, causing Janda to react as he pulled out his tomahawk and struck it. Only for it to combust as Shawn and Feline got into the corridor as a blinding flash of light filled the hall that Janda was in, he screamed from the light as he was blinded by it.
He groaned in agony as he was disoriented from it, and he could hear a loud ringing in his ears. "My eyes… MY EYES! What have you done to my eyes?!" Janda demanded to know. Keeping silent, Shawn looked at Feline and gestured to her to be silent as he took her by her hand and snuck away from Janda to avoid getting caught. "Coward! What did you do to my eyes?!" He tried to find him as he felt his way along the walls.
Meanwhile Shawn and Feline managed to give him the slip as they ran down a corridor to get far from Janda, Feline let out some pants as she was feeling exhausted and looked at Shawn. "What was that?" She asked him.
"Flashbang Pellet, disorients the senses and causes blindness for about twenty minutes. Twenty-five, tops." He admitted as he looked towards her. "Now, which way is the crystal?" He asked her.
"How would I know? I only followed the safe path here, I never went inside before." She admitted.
"Are you serious?" He asked as he groaned while facepalming himself, but he sighed to calm himself down. "All right, I can make this work. Just… try to remain calm." He told himself as he closed his eyes and inhaled, letting out a slow exhale. He opened his eyes and pulled up his comlink. "Please let this work." He pleaded as he took the opportunity to contact Ryosuke for aid. "Ryosuke, I'm at Talosus' temple, but there's a problem. Janda, a fellow member of Feline's tribe, got greedy and is trying to steal Talosus. We need a schematic of the entire temple." He informed him.
"Triangulating your location, schematic coming in now." Ryosuke replied on the other line, Shawn soon received a message from him. "Schematics sent, we even found some inscriptions at the entrance that you likely missed." He informed him as Shawn opened the file and formed an astral image of the entire temple.
"The inscriptions read, "By Moonlight's Guidance, will you reach the den of the Wolven Guardian." It speaks of a full moon that shines down upon the temple once every 1,000 years. What shape is the moon taking right now?" Sylvia asked.
"Last we checked, it is a full moon, but how is that going to help?" Shawn asked only to see a trail of light trailing across the floor and went past him and Feline. "Moonlight's Guidance… at this point, I am starting to like magic." He commented and turned off his comlink. "Let's go." He said to Feline as he followed the light trail.
Meanwhile, Janda staggered to try and find his bearings, he groaned still feeling the effects of the flashband pellet. "Curse that human…! When my sight returns, I am going to tear him apart…!" He declared, till suddenly, he heard something. It was a low growl, he slowly turned around to the sound of the growl. Still unable to see, he could smell the scent of blood in the air, coming from the breath of a predator standing before him. He panicked knowing what it could be as he slowly reached for his tomahawk. But something grabbed hold of his hand as he felt his whole arm get ripped off, painful as he let out a scream from it. Both predators stepped out of the shadows, revealing themselves as smaller versions of Rathor. They hissed at him and pounced on him, mauling him to death with their fangs and cutting him to pieces with their claws as he screamed bloody murder, literally.
Elsewhere, Shawn and Feline heard the screaming as they looked back hearing the painful screams of Janda. "That doesn't sound good." Feline said, feeling worried.
"Whatever is killing Janda, is likely going to come for us. We need to move, now!" He said as he ran with Feline to follow the moon trail, to reach the inner sanctum before the Rathorling's got to them. As they made their way down the corridor, something immediately didn't feel right as Shawn smelt the scent of blood ahead of them causing him to stop.
Feline saw it and stopped as she looked at him. "What…? What is it?" She asked him.
"Blood… don't you smell it?" He asked her.
Feline looked ahead and sniffed the air, and the scent hit her like an anvil as she backed away. "I do… there's something ahead of us." She said as she let out her claws, growling as she looked down the corridor. Stepping into view, a Rathorling walked up as it still had Janda's arm in its mouth. It growled as it swallowed the entire hand whole, and started to growl viciously towards them and started marching towards them.
Shawn watched it as he reached for his dual katana, and slowly pulled them out. But the second Rathorling snuck up behind them and prepared to kill them. Causing Shawn to react quickly and grab a kunai and throw it at the Rathorling's right eye, piercing it as it bled tremendously as the Rathorling let out a painful cry, while its sibling charged towards Feline, who's Catora Claws were out, and she leapt over the predators claws as she used hers to grab hold of its face as she planted her feet against the back of its head, pushing hard as she pulled her claws against the reptiles skin and ripped off bits of its flesh, leaving deep gashes as the Rathorling cried out in agony from it.
Feline landed on the ground and saw the two Rathorling's thrashing in pain from the injuries they received, but they eventually returned their attention to Shawn and Feline with a menacing glare towards them. "I think we just pissed them off." Shawn commented as the two siblings snarled and went to resume their attempt at killing them, but Shawn pulled out his dual katana and tossed one to Feline.
She saw it and caught it as she leapt away from a claw strike from the larger Rathorling, and landed next to him. "Let's see just how sharp these swords of yours are." She said as the Rathorlings snarled and charged at them, Feline saw the eldest swing its claws at her, causing her to block with the sharp edge of the katana as the Rathorling's claws struck against it, only for its claws to be sliced off as the beast cried out from it. Feline was surprised and amazed at how sharp it was compared to any blade she had ever seen before. "Okay, that answers that question." She commented as she avoided the Rathorlings other claw hand and sliced through its arm, rendering it defenseless as she took the katana and leapt over the beast and sliced at its neck as she fell down and landed on the ground. She looked back to the Rathorling and watched as its head slid off of its neck and the body wobbled a bit and fell down to the ground. "Damn, I have got to get me one of these." She said with a smirk.
Meanwhile Shawn blocked the attacks of the other Rathorling and swung a roundhouse kick against its jaw, knocking out a few fangs as it shrieked from it. It growled at him and swung its tail at him to trip him over, but Shawn leapt from it as the Rathorling charged at him and rammed him while he was in mid air. He let out a grunt as the beast forced him down to the ground and snarled as it went to kill him. Shawn narrowly avoided its jaws as he pulled out a Kunai and repeatedly stabbed it in its neck, causing it to shriek and flail trying to get him off. But he pulled the beast down and pinned it down as he looked towards Feline. "Feline, now!" He yelled out as Feline charged over and stabbed it in its head with the katana he lent her.
The beast's body trembled a bit from the feeling of the blade in its skull, but it fell limp as it finally died from it. The two pant from exhaustion as they got up and pulled out their blades from the corpse of the Rathorling. "That was new… Rathorlings never come this close to the temple." Feline commented as she tossed Shawn his katana.
He reached out and caught it as he put it away. "Janda's screaming must've drawn their attention, or Mommy Dearest was not too happy with me when we first encountered each other." He theorized.
"Now she's really going to be upset, especially because of the fact we now took a liking to killing her kin." Feline pointed out.
"Self-defense, we had no choice." Shawn replied as he followed the trail of light down the corridor, Feline followed him to see what lies at the end of the corridor. As they made their way down the corridor, Shawn was getting a strange feeling that this was way too easy. But one step on a booby trap, his eyes widened as he quickly grabbed hold of Feline to stop her and pull her back as a pendulum swung in front of them. "WHOA!" She cried out as more pendulums swung out down the hall.
"I knew this was too easy, no one would have built this temple without adding security." He said as he watched the pendulums swing back and forth.
"I don't suppose all your ninja training taught you to get past obstacles like this?" She asked.
"Luckily it did, and you could learn a thing or two from this." He told her as he watched the pendulums swinging, he watched carefully for a pattern they were going in. Just as he watched, he almost felt that time was slowing down around him as he watched the pendulum's slowing down. His eyes swiftly widened as he rushed towards the pendulum's, he slid on his knees to slide under the first pendulum and leapt past the second pendulum, and managed pull out his spear and extend it as the spear head pierced into the third pendulum as he stuck the butt end of his spear to the ground to hold the deathtrap in place as the gears grinded and the entire trap broke apart.
Feline was surprised as the two other pendulums halted in front of her and she safely walked past them. "When we get back to the village, you're teaching me that." She told him.
"Deal." He accepted as they proceeded down the corridor. "Just watch out for the next booby trap." He warned her as she halted her next step, noticing the pattern in the floor, realizing it was a trap and she carefully pulled her foot away from it. She stared at it for a second and let out an exhale seeing nothing happened, but the temple started to shake from something large outside. This caused a stone to dislodge from the sealing and land onto the boobytrap as Shawn's and Feline's eyes widened in shock, and forced them to run fast as darts shot through the holes in the walls. "Shit, shit, shit, SHIT!" Shawn yelled as he ran down the corridor trying to narrowly avoid the darts that were close to hitting him.
Feline avoided some as she even crouched like a cat and leapt ahead as two darts almost hit her and she reached the safe zone, while Shawn was avoiding to get shot but the darts, which he had a feeling were poison tipped. He grabbed a nearby shield that was on the ground and blocked the darts that shot at him relentlessly as he leapt and avoided them while blocking two more as he leapt to safety and hit the ground as a dart landed right between his legs, barely missing his manhood as he exhaled. "Any closer, and I would have really been screwed." He commented as he got up with Feline's help.
"You okay?" She asked him.
"I'll be alright." He replied and looked at her. "The question is, are you?" He asked her.
"Yeah, I'm fine, never felt better. Let's hurry up and find Talosus before mama Rathor tears this place apart." She told him as Shawn nodded his head and followed her, for he felt that they were close to more traps than the crystal at this point. After 30 minutes of going through trap floors filled with spikes, shooting spears, poison gas, even flame jets, they finally reached their destination. They pant to catch their breath after the last little trap they went through. "I'm starting to get the feeling someone really didn't want anyone to get that crystal." Feline commented.
"Me too, but there's no going back the way we came." He told her as he got up and walked towards a wall that had the very likeness of Artemis herself, he was amazed by how different she was compared to the Greek statues back on Earth. "This is interesting." He said as he found something inscribed on the wall. "There are some writings here… but I don't know the language." He admitted.
"Let me look." Feline approached and looked at the inscriptions. "It's a riddle… "I am here all the time, even when you cannot see me, I appear to be as big as a dime, I am able to do something different, but closer to another galaxy, I am important in your life, in more than just a couple ways." Huh… it's gotta be the moon right?" She theorized.
"No, the moon brings coolness, and can easily be looked upon at night. So the answer to that… has to be the sun." Shawn replied as the trail of light illuminated around the wall and the carving of Artemis as the eyes glowed and the wall was eventually revealed to be a door as it started to open. He smiled and looked towards Feline. "The riddle must've been made to honor her brother Apollo, the Greek God of the Sun." He informed her as he went inside the inner sanctum.
Feline rolled her eyes and followed after him. "I knew that, I just wanted to figure it out myself. But you would think that a temple representing the moon would include a riddle revolving around the moon, not the sun." She said, but Shawn chuckled as he knew she was lying to herself. The two looked ahead and saw the Crystal of Talosus sitting upon the pedestal before them. "Whoa… that's Talosus?" She asked.
"Currently, yes. But i have seen what these crystals can do, and what yours did to help against the-" Before Shawn could explain, a giant claw pierced through the ceiling of the temple and tried to crush him, but he narrowly avoided it as Feline yelped and dodged the claw as it almost hit her. Shawn looked to the hole that was made by Rathor, and saw it peaking through the hole as it looked towards him, recognizing him from the other day as its eyes narrowed at him, which made him panic. "Oh fuck." He muttered as Rathor snarled and struck against the temple, causing it to collapse.
Feline watched it happen as she got up and saw the floor split between her and Shawn as she looked at him worriedly. "Shawn!" She called out to him.
"Feline, you need to hold that thing off!" He ordered.
"Me? But why me?!" She asked him.
"Because you're the only one with a guardian crystal, and can become the guardian within it. I, on the other hand, still need to bond with Talosus in order to help you, now go!" He ordered as Feline looked at him feeling she shouldn't leave him, but with the current situation, she had to do what she could to hold off Rathor. But before she could go out to face the predator, she turned back to Shawn and rushed towards him, grabbing his face as she planted her lips on his, kissing him as he was caught by surprise.
Just as quickly as she kissed him, she released her lips from his as she looked at him. "Make it fast… I won't be able to hold it off for long." She told him as she backed away and turned sharp charging out as her crystal glowed brightly, her eyes glowed with it as she sneered showing her fangs and leapt out of the temple, letting out a snarl as she changed to her guardian form, Catora. She struck at Rathor's face as she landed a hard kick against its torso, causing it to shriek and crash against the ground as it looked towards Catora as she landed on the ground. Standing in her full form, she was a humanoid cat with long dark burgundy hair, light burgundy fur with even lighter torso and face, covered in stripes, and had sky blue and yellow eyes. She let out a menacing snarl towards Rathor as the mother of the children they killed got back up on her feet, showing her raptor-like appearance, with Therizinosaurus-like claws and a spearhead at the tip of her tail. The powerful mother let out a screech and charged at her and swiped her claws at her, Catora avoided her attacks as she leapt back as she swung her tail, snaring Rathor's left leg and pulling hard as Rathor shrieked and fell down to the ground.
Growing angry with her agility, Rathor got back up as she shook her head as Catora went for another attack, but Rathor avoided her assault as she bit down on her arm and swung her down to the ground as Catora rolled across it. She groaned from it as she shook her head and saw Rathor lunge towards her with her claws, causing Catora to roll away from her as she swung her tail and snared her wrist. She pulled Rathor towards her as she threw a fist and landed a hard punch against her right cheek, knocking out a couple of fangs in the process.
As the battle took place outside, Shawn approached the crystal and looked upon it as it glowed immensely. He inhaled and sighed as he looked at the crystal, he kneeled down and closed his eyes. "I don't know if you can hear me Talosus, but your bodyguard is out there, keeping you safe from Rathor… while I am left in here, defenseless, and this entire temple could collapse at any second." He explained as Catora struck at Rathor with her claws and narrowly ducked under the angry mother's claws, only to see her use a large claw on her right foot and scratch her cheek as Catora shrieked from it and backed away and held where she had been attacked. But she glared at Rathor for it and charged at her and tackled her down and pinned her down to the ground. "I'm even afraid to admit that I may not be worthy of being your vessel… I lost too much in my life, and taken a lot as well. I do not deserve your mantle, not with the reputation I currently possess." He admitted.
Meanwhile Rathor struggled to get Catora off of her, she managed to get her legs up and her feet pressed against her torso and shoved her away as Catora stumbled back and landed against the temple as stones of it fell into the inner sanctum. Shawn looked back as his eyes widened and he tried to run from the falling debris and snatch the crystal, but the debris caught his leg and made him fall down nearly a foot towards the crystal. He groaned from it as he looked back, seeing the debris crushing his leg, while Rathor took her chance to pin Catora down to prevent her from attacking further. Shawn groaned as he noticed it and his eyes widened seeing Catora was trapped under the foot of this lethal predator, he looked back to the crystal and tried to reach for it. "W-Worthy… or not… my friends need me…!" He struggled to reach for it, but the temple continued to shake as more debris slowly piled on top of him. "Please… I lost one family to terrorists, I cannot lose my new one." He admitted.
Upon sensing his grievance, the crystal glowed brightly as it started floating in the air. Shawn noticed it as his eyes widened a bit as it floated towards him and landed in his hand. He looked at the glowing crystal as he held it in his hand, and took the chance to plant it over his chest as it started to merge into his chest and become one with him. His eyes soon changed yellow as he let out a groan as his hair turned white and his muscles began to grow. Claws grew from under his fingernails and toenails as a tail sprouted, fur grew around him as he grew in size and let out a powerful howl.
The howl went far across the dark forest, and reached the village where Feline's father stepped out of his tent and looked towards the forest, hearing the howl of the guardian within it. He knew it was a sign that Talosus had been released, that Shawn and his daughter had succeeded in their mission. Meanwhile Rathor let out a hiss as she went to claw Catora's head clean off of its shoulders, but a hand reached out of the temple and grabbed hold of Rathors wrist, causing her to panic as Catora looked behind her as Talosus emerged from the temple, destroying it as he let out an angry growl as he formed spikes out of his arms and snarled striking against her chest as she fell back and crashed to the ground as her chest began to bleed from the strike. Talosus helped Catora stand on her feet as she looked upon him, seeing him as a pure white Wulver type kaiju as he looked towards Rathor who steadily got up holding her chest as she snarled viciously at the two mammalian kaiju.
Talosus narrowed his eyes at it and looked to Catora who looked back at him, he nodded to her knowing he would need her help against this particular endeavor. To which she nodded her head in understanding as she stood up with his help and looked at Rathor. They roared at the reptilian predator as she roared back and charged at them and struck at them with her claws, Talosus used his spikes to block against the claws, as Catora leapt over him and landed a solid kick against her face. Rathor shrieked from the attack as Talosus charged at her and clawed at her a few times, leaving deep gashes in her skin as she writhed in agony from it. She wasn't, however, out of the fight, she snarled at the duo as she lashed out at them with her claws. Talosus narrowly avoided her claws as he managed to sneak around behind her and bite her shoulder as he mauled and thrashed her around as she struggled to break free.
She grew angry as she reached back with her jaws and bit down on his neck and pulled him down and threw him, while Catora bit down on her left arm and pulled her away from Talosus to keep her from trying to kill him, Rathor struggled against her as she had enough of her meddling and went to claw her eyes out. Talosus tackled his fellow guardian away to avoid her attack as they leapt back and ran to the forest. Rathor saw it and snarled as she gave chase, to finish them once and for all.
The two guardians ran into the forest to avoid her attacks, Talosus looked to the darkness of the forest, knowing that it would be hard to hide from Rathor given his white coat. But he could still use time as an advantage, he looked out towards the sky to check the time. He noticed that the sun was near to rising, it was a reddish hue, for it was a sign that blood was shed this night. He knew that they needed to lure Rathor out into the open, where he and Catora had the advantage. He snarled towards Catora to gain her attention as he gestured to head towards the edge of the forest, she nodded her head as she and Talosus headed towards it as Rathor went to slash at them, only to miss as they made a hard left turn to avoid her attack.
She snarled angrily as she continued the chase after them, while back at the village, the villagers could hear the loud rumble of the guardians and the vicious predator that was chasing after them. The chief saw several tree's flying into the air that made him worry, he turned to his mystics knowing that the village needed the barrier. "Mystics, ready the barrier, now!" He ordered as the mystics rushed and stood in the middle of the village, holding their hands together as they focused their power into building the barrier as it appeared around the village. The chief looked out to the forest, fearing the battle would hit their village and devastate everything. As the rumbling got louder, the dust from the forest was kicking up more as the battle came closer to the edge of the forest. Within a split second, both Talosus and Catora leapt out of the forest and landed in the fields as Rathor lunged at them. Talosus smirked as he extended his spikes from his arms and plunged them straight into her shoulders as she writhed in pain from it.
He held her into the air high enough as the sunrise in the distance soon began to appear within the fields, Rathor's eyes widened as she saw the sun as it shined into her eyes. She cried out in pain as the light was affecting her tremendously, Talosus felt her thrashing around trying to escape, but he wasn't going to let her go that easily as he snarled and avoided receiving her claws to his eyes as he bit down on her claws on her right and bit down hard to snap them off. This caused Rathor to scream from it as she kicked him away and landed on the ground as she tried to run back to the forest feeling that morning was near, Catora snarled as she charged towards her and slashed her legs, cleaving them clean off as Rathor shrieked and rashed against the ground. But it did not stop her from trying to crawl towards the forest, at that moment she felt a bright light forming behind her.
She turned around and her eyes widened as Talosus was glowing like the moon, his spikes along his arms glowed bright as he slashed through the air, sending blasts of crescent moon shaped energy towards Rathor as they struck her with devastating power. His mouth soon filled with light, and he unleashed a beam of light towards Rathor, landing a solid hit against her torso where he clawed her, and with the much power unleashed into her body, caused her to combust into a powerful explosion that wiped out part of the edge of the forest. When the smoke cleared, Talosus saw that nothing remained of Rathor, and he inhaled as he unleashed a howl as the sun shined behind him, while the people of Feline's village cheered for the two guardians as Talosus and Catora looked towards them.
Talosus looked at them and smiled as he began to revert back to being Shawn, while Catora returned to being Feline. She was panting from exhaustion from becoming Catora as she chuckled a bit. "So… that's what it's like to be in a giant monster battle." She commented.
Shawn was panting as well as he chuckled and looked at her. "Yeah, you should have seen Garoma in action on Sephoria." He told her as they sat down and laughed together.
Her father soon approached them as they looked upon him, seeing a proud smile on his face. "You have done that which we were unable to, the Dark Forest has been relieved of Rathor, and the creatures of this world are now safe." He informed them.
"Thank you chief, but we don't know if that was the last of Rathor, she may have had more hatchlings, and I have to return to my colleagues. They will need my help in the fight against Chadwick and his forces." Shawn explained.
"Not alone…" Feline walked up to him. "I'm going with you."
Her father was immediately surprised by this. "Feline…" He wanted to protest.
"Father… I possess a guardian crystal, my destiny isn't here on this planet. It's out there, helping Shawn and his friends fight against the Dark Ones. I know you wanted me to be safe, but no one in the universe will be safe if those beasts are unleashed." She explained to him.
The chief looked at his child as he saw a lot more of her mother in her, more than he could have ever imagined. He sighed in defeat but smiled at her as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "You are my daughter, and I will be happy for you, no matter where you choose to be." He told her as Feline smiled at him and hugged her father in a warm embrace.
Shawn smiled for them only to get a call from Ryosuke as he answered it on his commlink. "Shawn here." He answered.
"Did you get the crystal?" He asked him.
"If it's embedded in my chest, then the answer is yes." Shawn replied to him.
"Good, the others have already reported in, and they have their crystals with them. Now you better get back here right away, it seems Chad is arriving ahead of schedule." Ryosuke informed him.
"On my way Ryosuke, and I'm bringing backup." Shawn informed him as a portal opened up beside him as he looked towards Feline. "So, are you up for an adventure of a lifetime?" He asked her.
She smiled as she grabbed him by his chest armor. "I'm ready if you are." She told him as she let go of him and walked into the portal, Shawn knew she was going to be trouble, but he rolled his eyes and smirked as he looked towards the chief. He looked upon Shawn and nodded to him out of respect. Shawn nodded back and headed into the portal to join Feline and his comrades, not knowing what battle they will face.
(Violet Queen's Palace, Earth)
Meanwhile on Earth, Shenrah's eyes glowed more than before, sensing the emergence of the final guardian. "Ahhh, so the final guardian has emerged. Now it is only a matter of time before my long awaited resurrection." He said.
Kiriko approached him as she placed a hand on his face. "Patience my love, we still need to find recruits that will harness those who were loyal to you. And I think I have the perfect candidates for them." She explained.
"Chadwick's crew I take it…? What could they be useful for?" He asked them.
"Some of them are useful pawns, but one in particular, is more intriguing." Kiriko pulled up one of their files, showing a handsome young man, hair pulled back and tied into a ponytail, brown eyes, light skin, and good physique. "Jason Oliver: Age 24, height 6'2, average weight, but very skilled in martial arts. His parents are Garrison Retiree's, his brother helps protect a Native American reservation, and he chose to join the Garrison, and fell under Chadwick's command. Regrettably, of course." She admitted.
"Indeed, someone such as him deserves better, but why him?" Shenrah asked. Kiriko smirked as she held up a red crystal, which Shenrah recognized all too well. "Garoma's brother?" He asked.
"The same, it took me a while to find him on Earth, but with the help of an archeologist, whose whereabouts are now… unknown." She chuckled as Shenrah could only let out a heart chuckle, knowing what she did with him. "But with Garoma's brother on our side, Garoma wouldn't so much as try to destroy him. He loves his brother all too well, he couldn't destroy him then, he won't destroy him now." She explained.
"But you forget, Ryosuke Kanbara knows nothing of Garoma's family tree, therefore he will have no qualms taking Tagora's life." Shenrah reminded her.
"True, but memories have a way of resurfacing." Kiriko reminded him as she put Tagora's crystal away, tucked snugly between her cleavage as she smirked and looked at him. "And worry not my love, your Life and Power crystals will be recovered, once Garoma is out of the way. Now if you will excuse me, I need to see to it that Chadwick doesn't screw up." She said to him as she bowed and disappeared before his eyes.
"See to it that you do, my beloved queen." Shenrah said as his eyes glowed menacingly as a growl could be heard from him, showing as a sign of impatience towards her human allies.
(Hey guys, Leonidas1994 here. I will admit, having this get finished on New Years Eve is one way to start off the New Year. But yes, this is the latest chapter in my story, and I hope you guys enjoy the story. As for the characters, Feline, if you guys are pronouncing her name wrong, is kind of like Celine, but spelt with an "F", just so we can clear up the confusion. As for Jason Oliver, you guys can say that I named him after both Jason David Frank and Tommy Oliver, but combined them to honor the great Power Ranger himself. Rest In Peace. And his kaiju form, Tagora, will basically look like Garoma's but will have a major difference in color and facial features. But hey, enjoy the chapter.)