Rise Of The Black Ranger

In a hollow dark space of a cave lay a young boy who wore a dark blue jean vest that had a long sleeve t-shirt under it as he wore slightly worn-out jeans and had long messy black hair as he was on his side asleep as he slowly thrashed around.

While in his dream he was in a dark space seeing multiple people whose faces he couldn’t identify since they were covered by hazy smoke.

“Cmon J̶̰̦̫̥͛̾̚̚a̷̫̓̏̒͋̈́s̷̡͑̿̑̇ô̴̗̜̙̒̍̕n̶̨̮̻̘̺̓̀̅̚ its time to go!” a woman with red hair shouted towards him as he looked towards her in confusion” What are you talking about, who are you people!?” he shouted at her as he saw her turn around and walk away with those other people.

His eyes widened as he scrambled towards them desperately trying to grab hold of each of them only for them to disappear “No don’t leave me alone!” he went for the woman with red hair as he grabbed hold of her shoulder in a flash a pair of red eyes were shown as he suddenly woke up letting out a scream as he clutched his chest tears streaming down his face.

“These dreams, who are those people?” He says in a shaky voice before wiping his face of his tears standing himself up and picking up an old bag patched up with leaves as he stumbled out of the cave.

He looked to the sky to see that it was night time “ Guess it's time to head out now….” he mumbled to himself as he walked into the brush of the forest.

“How long have I been out here?” he asked himself before getting an immediate headache.

“Ugh” he groaned out leaning against a nearby tree “Cmon work through it Dillon you can do this”.

He then let out a breath as he stood back up on his feet and began to walk again hearing animals making noise and random twigs snapping in proximity as he ignored it staying in his thoughts and staying focused on what was in front of him which was a path that was devoid of plant life and gave him a path to navigate through the forest.

“It’s been a couple of days I’ve been in this forest even if I do find this place somewhat terrifying with the monsters that occupy this place, It's kinda peaceful where it counts even if this place seems like a damn maze,” he says to himself.

He sighed before commenting “Great you’re talking to yourself again Dillon” as he kept walking on the path before hearing whimpering come from nearby”

“Huh?” Dillon said confused as he looked around as he walked off the path to follow the noise taking long steps to avoid tripping over the strewn about branches that were on the ground as he found where the whimpering came from as he saw a wolf pup with its leg stuck under a log.

“Hello there,” he says to the pup who tried to move from the log in desperation “wait no, I’m not gonna hurt you it’s gonna be okay im just gonna lift up the log so you can get free alright?” Dillon said softly, the pup seemingly understanding what he was saying as it stopped Dillon then grabbed hold of the log as he lifted it up the pup slowly moving out from under it slowly limping in front of the boy curious.

He crouched down in front of the pup as he took hold of its injured paw, his free hand going into his bag taking out a bandage and wrapping it around the injured area, and tightening it getting a whimper from the pup “Sorry bud have to make sure it stays on”.

He cut the bit of the bandage that was hanging off and smiled “Much better” before hearing a growl come from behind him turning around to see a wolf across from him as the pup barked at her.

“Go with your mom buddy,” Dillon said, giving the pup a small push as it ran to its mother Dillon stood himself up and gave them a wave as he went back on the path.

He started to walk on the path again and began to notice that the further he went the more moonlight seemed to funnel into the path he covered his face to block the light from getting into his eyes.

Dillon then saw an opening as he walked through squinting his eyes until his eyes fully adjusted as he saw the ruins of an old castle “A castle, at least I know I'm not going in circles..”.

He suddenly grapes his head in pain as he heard the woman’s voice again “J̴̢̖̥̼͇͙̤̀̎͊a̵̖̬͇͊̓́͘͝͝ś̴̞͇̟́̓̅̃̄ȯ̶̭̟͙̝̣̉̑̓ñ̶̘͇̣̕ͅ cmon we have to keep going..” as he shook his head frantically looking around his immediate area before seeing her in front of him as she ran towards the ruins.

“H-hey wait a minute!” Dillon shouts out running after her.

He continued to pursue her for minutes on end as he lost her again in a dark space confusion evident on his face “What where am I?”.

“Come find us J̴̢̖̥̼͇͙̤̀̎͊a̵̖̬͇͊̓́͘͝͝ś̴̞͇̟́̓̅̃̄ȯ̶̭̟͙̝̣̉̑̓ñ̶̘͇̣̕ͅ “ he heard the woman say again as he saw her with the people again “I don’t what you’re talking about, who are you people, answer me dammit!”.

She went silent as she and the people began to disappear again until he was completely alone “What do you want me to see!?” he said as he looked at his hands which were shaking as he continued to look at them his mind swirling until he felt someone’s hand on his shoulder making him flinch as he looked back, only to find nothing behind him.

“What the hell…..” he said before looking around himself “Where am I now?”.

He began to wander around the area before walking into the clearing and noticing footprints on the ground “Footprints?” he said confused “And there are so many...ah screw it I have nothing better to do and I don’t have anywhere else to go either” he muttered to himself before following them.

He followed the footprints in circles for a few moments before he felt something strike him in the chest, a large gash cutting into the shirt ripping it open in the process.

Dillon gasps out as he stumbles back in shock and pain “Wh-what!?” as he looked around himself.

Dillon then paused as he heard a distorted voice shout out “Eye!” before the same voice shouted on repeat, “Bacchirimina!”

Dillon glanced around in confusion still clutching his chest as the fear began to set in.

“Henshin!” A different voice shouted out as what seemed to be a gust of wind moved past his ear, as it almost seemed to circle around him before only a second later the distorted voice shouted back, “Kaigan: Shade! Let’s Go! Kakugo! Akuma-tekina Shade!”

“Who else is here?” Dillon muttered to himself before he felt what seemed to be another powerful gust of wind from next to his head followed by a thud as it sounded like something hit a nearby tree.

Dillon looked to where he heard the thud as he saw a fairly big dent that was made into the tree “Crap I have to get out of here!” he said to himself.

“Don’t move an inch!” a distorted voice shouted back before a large armoured figure appeared infront of him. It’s body was covered by a black material with red marking running over its form, while it looked to be wearing some kind of strange jacket that had glowing red chains wrapped around its sides and over its shoulders that seemed to constantly shift and move while loud thuds were heard around him yet again from all directions.

“What the hell, who are you?” Dillon asked as he grabbed his arm to stop it from shaking.

The figure didn’t even look back at him before quickly turning and kicking his leg just above Dillon’s head as a loud cracking noise was heard shortly after followed by a loud thud.

Dillon just stared on in shock as he finally realized he was in a battle that he couldn’t even see as he was frozen in fear.

The figure then reached to his waist before seeming to pull something that Dillon couldn’t see as the distorted voice shouted, “Shade! Omega Assault!” before multiple chains seemed to form from the figure’s armour which shot out in all directions seeming to coil around something in the air before glowing red and straightening out as red eye-shaped portals appeared in the air around them.

The figure then slowly turned towards Dillon as he saw that the figure’s face was covered by a black mask with two large eyes that looked to be oozing blood from them, a feature that looked to cover most of the armour that covered the figure.

“Who are you…?”.

“You can just call me Shade,” the figure responded as he looked at Dillon, “are you okay?”

“W-was slashed on my chest but other than that I'm okay, to a certain degree at least ” Dillon replied visibly nervous.

“That’s good at least,” the figure responded as Dillon saw the blood on the ground seeming to slowly move towards the figure’s armour.

“What the hell?” Dillon muttered as he felt another headache coming in “Damn headaches why am I this getting so many today” he grunted out grasping the side of his head a ringing noise reverberating through his head.

“You sure you're okay kid?” Shade asked looking at Dillon.

“Y-yeah it's just a headache I usually get, It's just been persisting since I woke up” He replied before gritting his teeth the pain his fingers dug into his scalp as multiple images flashed through his head.

“Why do I keep seeing these things?” he muttered to himself as he started to sway from side to side before lurching forward placing his hands on his knees the pain slowly withering away as he took a breath.

“I think I'm better, oh crap that was worse than it usually is” Dillon stated straightening himself up and looking at Shade “Now that's it's over with for now you can call me Dillon” The boy stated before going into his own thoughts Shade hearing the disheveled boy mumble to himself the boy seemingly saying nonsense.

“Why do I keep seeing those people”.

“Umm… I’ve only seen you… nobody else.”

“I keep seeing people with hazed-out faces, I think I knew them before I came to this world but I don’t remember how and they keep calling out to me with a name I can’t even hear, and every time I see them the headaches get worse” Dillon replied gripping into his own head as he continued “And I get stuck in my own head for who knows how long... ”.

“Sounds almost as bad as living in almost complete isolation for hundreds of years,” The figure suggested before adding, “and being alone is one of the worst feelings for anyone.”

"Yeah, it is….." Dillon replied, "especially for me because I just woke up in this forest one day and everything in my head was scrambled, I couldn't remember anything but the first name that came to my head Dillon I don't even know how long I've been alone, to be honest with you".

Dillon then pulled his sleeve revealing multiple scars on his arm "don't even remember where I got these as well".

“Well…. Apart from the wound you got during that last thing I can’t account for the others.”

“Yeah” Dillon solemnly replies, pulling down his sleeve a distant look appeared in his eyes as he went into his pocket pulling out a small silver necklace he began to look at it losing track of his surroundings as he heard whispers at the back of his mind him not noticing the trickle of blood coming out of his nose.

The whispers began getting louder to the point that he couldn’t think his eyes getting duller as all the other sounds became lower while Dillon gripped his chest as he began to hyperventilate the whispers getting louder to the point where they were the only thing he could hear.

“Kid. Maybe you should take a few slow breaths,” the figure responded.

Dillon didn't respond as he continued to shake seeing flashes of monsters made of metal and flames surrounding him and three other people their facial features darkened as he couldn't identify them.

Dillon then grasped his head as he let out a pained scream, his brown eyes beginning to glow a crimson red as he clutched his head, tears streaming down his face as he muttered “It hurts” over and over again before it turned into low chuckling as he stopped shaking stopping as he lowered his arms before he turned to the figure his glowing red eyes in view as he let out a loud burst of laughter.

“Why do I think this is gonna be frustrating? Can we not just talk this out?”

The boy let out a loud cackle as he lunged toward the figure before suddenly stopping he grasped his head as he shouted “N-no, not again!” as he attempted to hold himself back before he suddenly lost full control of his body as he felt himself lunge at the figure again.

“So it’s going to go like this,” Shade muttered quickly pushing Dillon to the chains towards his chains as they coiled around both of his wrists lifting them high above his head, “you need to calm down kid.”

Dillon struggled in the chains as he tried freeing his wrists before attempting to kick Shade only to get them bound together by Shade’s chain.

“You need to behave kid, and stop now!” Shade ordered his hand reaching towards Dillons forehead, a red spark jumping from Shade’s hand towards Dillon’s head.

Dillon’s eyes widened as another trickle of blood came out of his nose, a low gasp coming from him as he growled out at Shade with an animalistic look in his eye as he attempted to headbutt him.

He then felt something grab his arm as one was released and forced behind his back before being forced to the ground as he felt pressure before forced into his back as an elbow was pressed into his back, as he felt something against the back of his head holding it to the floor as he heard Shade shout, “Stay still! Calm down! And behave yourself now!”

Dillon continued to thrash around on the ground as he growled out at Shade until he felt his body beginning to slow down as completely tired himself as still attempted to get free before going limp his eyes turning back to their original color a blank look in his eyes.

The boy then groaned moments later as he muttered “Dammit…..” as he then said to Shade “You can get off me now I'm not gonna attack you again”.

“Yeah… not buying it.”

“To be fair I wasn’t really in control but I don’t blame you” Dillon replied sighing as Shade didn’t budge “Okay if you want you can just bind my arms and legs just in case If i lose control again”.

Dillon then heard a simple sigh before the pressure on his back and arms was released.

“Thank you,” he said as he pushed himself off the ground, getting no response from Shade. ”Something wrong?” Dillon then asked looking behind himself and seeing that Shade was gone.

"And he's gone…great" Dillon sighed as he stood himself up “The first person you actually meet in who knows how long and you screw it up, nice Dillon....”.

"Should probably get out of here, I don't want to be hit in the chest again by an invisible enemy" Dillon muttered as he began to walk again as he rubbed his arms "it's getting cold" he stated as a low fog came into view slightly obscuring his vision “What the hell?” he muttered as frost began to develop on the trees.

Dillon grasped his arms as he let out a wavered breath, his breath visible in the air “ Have to keep going…” as he stumbled forward.

“So cold…..” Dillon stutters out as he leaned against a nearby tree, his vision getting blurry as he slowly slid down to his knees before completely collapsing “Need to… stay awake” his vision blurring more as he saw a dark silhouette coming towards him.

“What?” he said as everything went dark.

Dillon's eyes then opened as he stood himself up looking around his immediate area and seeing only a dark void around him.

“Why do I keep coming back here?”.

“Because you don’t remember,” a distorted voice said from behind him as he turned around to see a figure the same height as him with short dark black hair and a distorted face.

“What, who are you?”.

The figure sighed in response “You're not ready to know yet” as he stated as he went silent before walking away.

“Wait a minute who are you!?” Dillon shouted towards the figure, getting no response as he ran towards him grabbing his shoulder “Answer me dammit!” he shouted as the figure completely stopped in place muttering “Your not ready” the figure turned his head 180 degrees looking at Dillon who’s heart sank as he saw a completely blank face looking towards him.

Dillon lurched back falling on his butt as the figure's body turned in the same direction his head was Dillon shaking in fear as the figure was then covered in flames as he kept repeating the sentence.

“You're not ready,” the figure said as flames burst out of him, going towards Dillon, the flames completely covering him, the boy screaming in pain as everything went dark.

Dillon then lurched up letting out a short scream as he checked his body for any burns “That was worse than my usual nightmares....” he muttered as he looked around realizing he was in a cave “When did I get here?” he said to himself before hearing a small bark from next to him as he looked to see the pup from before.

“Oh, it’s you is this your cave,” Dillon asked, getting a bark in response “I’ll take that as a yes” he replied as he stood himself up.

As he began to walk out of the cave hearing a growl from behind him seeing the pup's mother “Oh it’s you I didn’t mean to intrude I’ll take my leave” Dillon stated as he began to walk away before something tugged on his pant leg looking down to
see the pup doing it.

“What is it, little guy?” Dillon asked as the pup stopped going back to its mother who was sitting down.

You want me to go to her?” getting another bark from the pup as he shrugged “Alright…” Dillon said to himself as he walked in front of them and sat down the mother sitting directly in front of him.

“So what do you want me to do?” Dillon asked as the mother held out her paw “You want me to hold my arm out?” he asked, getting a nod from her.

‘Alright….” Dillon responded unsure as he held out his arm towards her, the wolf then opened her mouth and sank her teeth into his arm, Dillon lurching slightly as he let out a grunt of pain.

The wolf then removed her mouth from his arm as he quickly brought it back to himself “Why did you!?” Dillon shouted before looking at his arm seeing no bite mark on him “What the hell?”.

“That will help with communication between us,” a voice said in front of him as he looked up at the wolf “D-did you just talk?”.

“Yes I did” she replied as Dillon scrambled back a fearful expression on his face “I'm going crazy aren’t I?” he muttered to himself.

“No you're not,” the wolf said to him as she went towards him prompting Dillon to flinch in response “When I did that to you that made you a part of our pack and in turn, you've become my pup making me your mother and making him your brother,” she says motioning towards the pup in the back.

“Ok?” Dillon responds before feeling a stinging pain on the top of his head “what the hell?” Dillon said before scratching his head and feeling two small bumps on his head

“What was that, why does my head itch so much?” Dillon asked, groaning out in frustration and pain.

“Your body is acclimating to the change, It won't take long but it won’t be quick either,” she said as Dillon continued to scratch his head.

“Are you understanding anything I'm saying to you?”.

“Yeah I'm a part of your pack, you're my mom and-” Dillon was about to say before starting to adjust the back of his pants “What the, why are my pants getting so uncomfortable?” he said as he pulled the back down to see a small nub of tail protruding from his backside.

He tried adjusting his pants out of the way only to hear a ripping sound pulling his hand to his face and seeing ripped remnants of the back of his pants on his hand he saw the fingers were slowly going sharp as he looked back to the back of his pants only to see a big hole in it to which the nub of the tail poked through.

He tried standing up only to stop immediately going to the floor to attempt to take them off struggling to do so before ripping his foot out of the shoe and hearing some fabric tearing as his feet began to develop claws, the areas themselves developing a brownish tint to them as Dillon ripped off his other shoe with the same result.

“I am going to hate this aren’t I?” he asked, getting a nod from her “Thanks for the honesty at lea-” Dillon began to say before feeling his teeth dig into the sides of his mouth and tongue.

His eyes widened as he gasped out in pain as he felt his teeth move inside his mouth digging into his cheeks and tongue he began to gasp for air blood going down his throat as he struggled to breathe.

“Mom what’s happening to him?” the pup said in concern as the mother responded, “the transformation is taking its course he won’t die but he will be in a lot of pain”.

Dillon screamed out in pain he coughed out blood, his teeth falling out as they were replaced by newer and sharper ones as his hands dug into the floor his claws starting to fully come out as the blood came out from his fingers and toes.

He continued to gasp out in pain as he glanced at the wolf and her pup before completely collapsing to the floor, his vision getting hazy as he continued trying to breathe letting out grunts of pain as he slowly curled up into a ball the nubs of his ears noticeably bigger than before.

The wolf then walked up to him and nuzzled her head against his as she whispered “It's okay the worst part’s over Dillon”.

“It hurts…..so much” Dillon whimpered.

“I know but it's ok now” she replies continuing to nuzzle against Dillon this went on for a few minutes until Dillon's breathing went back to normal.

“I think I, I think I can get up now” Dillon stated as he pushed himself up his hair in his face seemingly longer than before as he then noticed his draft in the room noticing all of his clothes other than his boxers were torn apart.

“Dang it” Dillon sighed before stating “Those were my only clothes man.....”.

“You won’t be needing them, since there might be a possibility that you'll be growing fur soon” the wolf comments as she sits back in front of Dillon.

“Seriously?” Dillon responds, getting another nod from her.

“I've had bad days but this might take the cake” he groaned out before jerking up “did either of you see a bag next to me?”.

“Yeah, it's back here,” the pup says running deeper into the cave before dragging back Dillon's bag which seemed to be much worse for wear.

“Thanks….” Dillon states taking the bag into his hand and taking out a folded brown cloth as he unfolded revealing it to be a brown cloak Dillon then puts it on as he sighed in relief “This will work, for now at least”.

The wolf sighed walking past Dillon towards the entrance of the cave as she stated “Follow me.”

“What, Why?” Dillon asks, confused.

“Just do it” She snaps.

“Okay fine” Dillon replies, complying with her and walking behind her, both of them leaving the cave.

“So where are we going exactly?” Dillon asked curiously.

“You’ll see in a few minutes Dillon”.

“Okay?” Dillon replied somewhat confused before asking "Wait how do you know my name" getting silence in response from her before going completely silent as he followed behind her.

A couple of minutes passed as the two continued to walk Dillon looked around the forest noticing that he sees much more than usual.

“Do you guys have night vision or something?”.

“Yes,” she quickly replies.

“Cool,” Dillon replied before suddenly bumping into her “Hey why did you……Well, that place doesn’t look ominous at all” Dillon stated sarcastically as he and the wolf looked on towards a dilapidated castle.