The Hellhound's Demon

Ghost of a Chance, Part I

Kali rolled her eyes as she led the way into the loft. She and the others had just triumphed against another Rinshi general sent by Dai Shi, and the others were starting to drive her crazy with their upbeat and enthusiastic attitude.

Sure, she thought, it's good to have a little confidence, but the last time a Ranger team got ahead of themselves it almost cost the world everything.

"We rule!" said Casey

"Yeah, we're not afraid of anything," Theo laughed.

"You said it!" Lily agreed.

"Hey, you're not happy," said Theo, nudging Kali. "Why not? We kicked ass. You should be happy."

"Yeah, we're one step closer to destroyed Dai Shi," said Casey. "As the Hellhound, you should be jumping for joy."

Kali bit back a growl. "I'm just not overly enthusiastic to see the consequence of your new found attitudes," she said

"Consequences?" Lily echoed. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about that not everything ends on a good note," said Kali. "You're getting ahead of yourselves. Yes, well done for destroying another Rinshi, but we're not out of the woods yet. Dai Shi is getting more and more powerful by the day, it's going to take more than what we have now to defeat him."

Casey scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Please, Dai Shi doesn't stand a chance against us," he said.

Kali shook her head. "Try to remember that you're not the first team of Rangers to take on an evil entity like Dai Shi, alright," she said. "I did it two years ago with the Master, and guess what? There was a time where even I got overconfident, and you know what happened? Darkness took advantage of it. I almost lost everything."

"That's not going to happen to us," said Theo, grinning. "Because, we're Pai Zhuq and we're awesome! Plus, we have a veteran on our side."

"Even this veteran is prone to mistakes," said Kali. "I'm still learning my craft, and even the Hellhound changes every day. I have less control over it with every new ability I learn. So, don't get ahead of yourself if you think I'll be able to bail you out of trouble all the time."

Theo cocked his head to the side, his lips parting as if to say more. He broke off and swung around to face RJ. The Wolf Master was sitting in his kitchen with Rylie.

"Did you see that frog whooping, RJ?" Casey asked.

"He didn't stand a chance!" Theo grinned.

"When do we get our master's stripes?" Lily asked, eagerly.

Kali scoffed.

"What?" Casey asked, frowning at her.

"Master's Stripes?" Kali asked. "You three? I wouldn't trust you with a guardianship at this point, much less a master's stripe."

Lily furrowed her brow. "Isn't a guardianship higher than a Master Stripe?" she asked.

"Yep. But, if you're ready for your master's stripes then you, technically, automatically become a guardian," said Kali. "You three are more likely to wreck the Mystic Realm than protect it in this state."

Theo opened his mouth to argue but was cut off as RJ spoke. "Kali's right. You're no were ready for the master's test," he said.

"What do you mean? We're fearless fighting machines, we're unstoppable!" Casey argued.

Kali shook her head. "Answer me this hypothetical," she said. "It's the final battle against Dai Shi, his army is astronomical, tens of thousands against you, the odds are not in your favour. There is a chance, if you fail that you don't make it back alive, and the end of the world is upon you. How do you feel?"