Panthora Warriors

Chapter 7: Gear and Claw

Something just didn't feel right the next day. I don't know why but there was that feeling that I wasn't the only one in my own house. It was that kind of feeling you get when you think you're being followed. But that feeling was soon interrupted as my phone started ringing. "Dude we have a problem. Get your furry butt over here as fast as you can.'' When I arrived at the den my friends were frantically pressing buttons and running checks. "What the hell is going on here!" "All our systems are down, the computers, the scanners, the training bots, nothing's working, we've run checks and everything!" "Where's Mystica?" "She's in her room trying to find a spell that could help us." I found Mystica furiously searching shelf after shelf and flicking through book after book. "Mystica, magic isn't going to work, the thing that's going to solve this is to find the source of the problem." "You mean it's a technical problem?" "Yes! And I have a very good idea that Scorpius is behind it, come on, we'll go and check the generator."

I am not going to lie; I was not prepared for the problem we were going to find at the generator. Hacking into the system was cybernetic being, he had a robotic arm with a holographic keyboard, a series of circuits running under his skin like veins, his crystal representing the tech element was in the centre of his chest and one of his eyes was replaced with a red one like Victor Stone from the Justice League. "Who are you?" "Me! I'm the guy who's going to leave you powerless. Literally!", he spoke in a computerised voice and by the way he could speak for himself I could immediately tell he was an A.I. (Artificial Intelligence). I pressed a button on my watch which turned into a mini wrist cannon. I pulled the trigger which released a small plasma blast and shot towards Terrabyte. The blast was enough to damage his crystal which caused him to short circuit. As he disappeared through a portal I managed to fix the generator and all of our systems were back online. That night I got onto my laptop and started working on something that would end our technical problem. Back in his cave Circuit returned to Scorpius to seek repairs for his damage. "Saber wolf, take Circuit to your lab and repair him and while you're at it; give him an 'upgrade'.", Sabre wolf nodded and directed Circuit to his lab.

The next day I was really excited to show my team what I had been working on the previous night. I arrived at the den to find them all watching a movie. I decided to join them. Then the alarm went off, which could mean only one thing, Terrabyte was loose on the radar. I grabbed the memory pen from the desk while my friends looked at me like I had two heads. After a quick transformation and a ride on the creature cycles we finally arrived at the warzone. When Terrabyte appeared from the rubble and dust he looked different, he had chrome skin and a quick scan showed that he had learned/downloaded some new fighting skills. Fighting him was like fighting a specially programmed fighting dummy. If you have ever tried to punch a chrome robot you would know very well that it hurts, a lot. My plan was to try and pin him and insert the memory pen into his system. Then a new idea sprouted in my head, Reece, Shaun and Blake would fight him while me and Leo would floor him with a creeper attack. Once he was 'grounded' I inserted the stick into a USB slot in the back of his head, what my friends didn't know was that the memory pen contained a virus I had been working on that could shut down any system, within seconds Terrabyte was gone. But something was telling me that it wasn't over because at that moment a sinister laugh poured into the streets. We turned to find a wolf spirit like Reece but instead of grey he was as black as night. "Did you really think that it was going to be that easy, you're more pathetic than I thought!" "Who are you?" "I'm the guy who's been creating minions for Scorpius. Malsah, Genesis, Speed demon, Terrabyte. Ring any bells! Allow me to introduce myself; I am Saber wolf!" He really lived up to his name. He was able to take us down with zero effort.

We returned to the den weak and sore, why was he so strong? Mystica had the answer to that. "I wasn't so surprised on how easily he beat you guys!" "What do you mean?" "Saber wolf is a dark wolf spirit, meaning he's faster, stronger, smarter and more powerful than all of us put together." "Is there any way we can beat him at all?" "I'm not sure, but there may be a way we can damage him enough to weaken him. Reece, do you remember the little present I gave you?" "The Luna Sabre, yeah, what about it?" "Saber wolf is a 'dark' wolf spirit which means the only weapon against him is light!" Suddenly all the lights went out and the main screen lit up, on it was a video call from Saber wolf. "Sorry to interrupt, but I think I overheard you saying that you could defeat me, Scorpius was right, you are dumber than you look!" "Well status update, you're the one that's going downhill buddy!" you could easily hear the rage in Blake's voice. With a sinister laugh Sabrewolf hung up and all the lights came back on. We were left sitting there wondering how Reece could use the Luna Sabre without Saber wolf predicting the attack. Then the seed of an idea planted in my head. "Reece you're going to hate this idea but I think the only way we can pull this off is if you take the beating and then use the Luna Sabre!" "WHAT! You want me to get my ass kicked and then use the Luna wolf. How does that work?" "If you wait then Sabrewolf won't suspect any surprises, plus I checked which night has a full moon and apparently Friday's full moon will take an hour to fully emerge!" So it was then decided that Reece would tango with Sabrewolf on Friday, alone. Friday came quicker than we expected, we video called Saber wolf to inform him. "Sabrewolf, we challenge you to another battle!" "So, you actually think you can beat me huh? Fair enough, so who's it going to be?" Reece stood up, "Me! I'll fight you, 10:30 tonight at the construction site!" "I'll be there!"

While we watched from the den Reece set off to the construction site where we said the battle would take place and just like he said himself, Saber wolf was already there. If you have ever seen your best friend get the crap beat out of them, you would know all the pain we were feeling. Sabrewolf was taking every chance he had, Reece couldn't lay a hand on him. After an hour Reece was on the ground and could no longer move, Sabervwolf was grinning from ear to ear in triumph. Just when we thought it was over, the full moon emerged from the clouds and a bright light shone from the building site. From the mist Reece walked out in the Luna armour, the Sabre in hand and beside him stood the Luna wolf, glowing a luminous blue and gaze focused on Saber wolf. But what we weren't expecting was that Sabre wolf had a spirit of his own, beside him was a giant black wolf with emerald green eyes. The two wolves clashed with each other growling and snarling while Reece and Saber wolf locked swords. The wolf spirits biting and clawing at each other, the two warriors slicing their way through iron and steel. The Luna wolf's eyes lit up and an almighty blast of light hit the centre of the dark wolf while Saber wolf cried out in pain as he could feel the same burning pain his spirit could. Weak and unable to move, Reece delivered the final strike, he took hold of the sabre and drew it in a circle, then with the sword held high he gave Saber wolf the final blow before walking away from the explosion.

When Reece came back to the den we were all celebrating and triumphant that our enemy's greatest weapon was now destroyed. We sat Reece down on the sofa and poured him a drink. I went to the kitchen to prepare a meal big enough to feed a village, smiling as I went.

Deep within the rubble at the construction site a trembling and broken black hand emerged. Lying on the ground he muttered under his breath "I will have my revenge and I will destroy you and everyone you love!"