Onyx sighed as their ship landed in the port. They had been sent to the Kajiki system to check on things. Apparently there was some troublemaker group causing issues. Why they needed Onyx to deal with it was beyond them.

They exited the ship and made their way into the town. There were a few people here and there. Not too many were out. Then again it was an odd time of day. They were probably doing better things than wandering about outside. Onyx wished they could be doing better things than this. How were they going to find these troublemakers anyway?

"Get back here, you brat!"

Maybe it was going to be easier than they had thought? Onyx followed the yelling to find out what was going on. They came into the situation a bit too much. Someone ran into them. Onyx was able to remain standing and grabbed the person to keep them from tumbling backwards.

The person stared at them with wide eyes. "I'm so sorry."

Onyx scoffed at the apology. "I feel you have more important things to worry about than apologizing right now."

The person gulped and turned around. Onyx recognized the others surrounding them as workers of Jark Matter. Perhaps this was on of the troublemakers that had been reported?

"Akuma." One of them addressed Onyx.

"What's the issue here?" Onyx questioned. They placed a hand on the target to make sure they didn't try to flee.

"Helped steal things from the governor's storage."

Onyx looked over this thief. They looked quite rough to be honest. Not in the best shape. They probably had a good reason for trying to steal supplies like that.

"Leave them with me. I'll handle the rest." Onyx stated.

The guards nodded and left. Onyx studied the thief more. They seemed uncertain of what to think of this.

"What's your name?" Onyx questioned.

"Spada..."

"What exactly were you stealing?" Onyx asked next.

"Food."

"Why? Do you not have enough?"

Spada nodded. "The governor is very strict on food and... never leaves enough for us."

Onyx sighed. They'd have to have a word with that governor later. Starving people was not okay. They'd never approve of this. People were useless to them if they were too weak to do anything. And the less cared for they were the more likely they were to rebel.

"Come with me. I promise you aren't about to get arrested." Onyx said.

Spada hesitated, before he nodded. Onyx led him through the town. They hadn't wanted to come here in the first place and now they had accidentally gotten involved in things they should not have again. Why did this keep happening? And why had they even opted to protect Spada in the first place?

They stopped just outside the town. No one would hopefully be able to eavesdrop on them here. There were some things that Onyx wanted to ask.

"Must be sick of Jark Matter, huh?"

Spada eyed them warily. Fair enough. Bad-mouthing Jark Matter around them didn't seem like a wise idea. Onyx couldn't blame him for not wanting to respond to that. It could definitely feel like a trap.

"I do swear some of these governors go on too much of a power trip." Onyx said.

"What are you trying to do?" Spada questioned warily.

"Just trying to talk to you. No ulterior motive. I just wanna have a conversation. See if it really was worth my while to spare your ass." Onyx replied.

Spada stared at them for a moment and then looked away. "Do you believe in the legend of the kyurangers?"

That was a question to ask. Onyx was almost too shocked to respond. Asking a member of Jark Matter that seemed like a questionable choice. Perhaps he was trying to gage something?

"Yes. I do." Onyx replied.

Spada seemed surprised by the affirmative answer. Had he been expecting them to say no? Or perhaps give a more gruesome answer of how the kyurangers would never be able to defeat them? They weren't really sure what he had been expecting.

"As if some miracle can actually save us..." Spada mumbled.

So he didn't believe in the legend? Onyx guessed after how long he had to suffer for it wasn't that surprising he'd not have hope the day would come for salvation. It had been so long since the legend was first introduced to the galaxy after all.

"It's real, kid. Seriously. I've actually seen one with my own eyes." Onyx stated. "Don't lose hope."

"The kyurangers actually exist? Then... won't you guys just kill them?" Spada was doubtful. Fair enough.

"It's gonna be hard to kill them." Onyx shrugged. "I'm not going to."

"Why not?"

"Let's just say I promised someone something."

Spada was weighing his options on what to do next. Onyx wasn't sure if they should try and convince him more. They could show their kyutama, couldn't they? Speaking of kyutamas though... they were getting that strange feeling in theirs again. Was it saying that Spada should get one? But he wasn't glowing.

"Do you want to be a kyuranger? Is that why you asked?" Onyx questioned to fill the silence.

"Like I would ever be chosen." Spada scoffed. "I'm not... I don't think I could do it."

"Sure you could. What do you say? Wanna be a kyuranger?" Onyx said.

Spada gave them a confused look. "You talk as if you can make me one."

"I can. Does that mean you do want to be one?"

"I... if you think I can... be of use. It would be nice to be able to help everyone like that."

Onyx held up their hand. They didn't hold their kyutama in it, but it still summoned one all the same. They smiled and handed the new kyutama to Spada. Spada stared at it for a while.

"Why can you do this?" He asked.

Onyx shrugged. "Ask the gods. They decided despite everything that they wanted me to be able to do this. I don't understand why any more than you do."

"You're strange..."

"I get that a lot. Now, don't go letting Jark Matter know I can do this. They'll kill the both of us." Onyx warned.

"I won't say a word to anyone." Spada promised.

"Good. Now, how about you come with me and eat something? You look like you could use it."

"Are you... allowed to do that?"

Onyx shrugged. "Probably not. But, no one will stop me. They know better."

...

Onyx was called back to the home base a few hours later. Thankfully the trip back was fast. They entered into a room. Don Armage was waiting as was Scorpio. So this was most likely an assassination mission then.

"I'm here. What do you need from me?" Onyx asked. They just wanted to get straight to the point.

"We've finally tracked down Dr. Anton's location. I'd like for you to kill him." Don Armage stated.

Onyx felt some dread rise in them. They were finally being sent to kill the doctor. They really didn't want to. He hadn't really done much to deserve to die. But orders were orders. Unless...

"Say, Scorpio... how would you like to do it?" Onyx questioned. "You always keep asking for more serious jobs. I think this would be a great place to start to prove you're ready for those types of things."

"Don't feel up to doing it yourself?" Don Armage questioned.

"You've sent me all over the place already. I'd like to not go traveling more if I can help it for a bit. And I do think this would be a good opportunity for Scorpio. Let him have this job. I'm sure he'll do wonderfully." Onyx stated.

"You need to supervise him still."

Onyx sighed. "Fine. Do you want to still do the dirty work, Scorpio?"

"Yes. I can kill him with ease." Scorpio agreed.

"Then prepare to depart." Onyx stated in annoyance.

At least they got out of killing the doctor with their own hands. Though, maybe it would have been a wiser route to go. At least they could have made his death quick and painless. If Scorpio found them, which Onyx was banking on him not doing, he wouldn't show them any mercy at all.

It was too late to change things now. This was what they would have to work with. They dearly hoped that Scorpio would not be able to track down Anton and he could flee. Onyx didn't want him to die. They still didn't know why. There were just some strange things about him.

Within the hour they were prepared and set off. Onyx was not looking forward to the mess that they knew was about to follow.

"According to our intel they traced his location to the Oushi system." Onyx was reading the report for the both of them. "The robot he escaped with, Champ, was seen with him on multiple occasions. Seems like he's started up a career as a wrestling robot of all things. Go figure. He isn't important at all. Our only target is the doctor."

"Sounds easy enough as long as his robot doesn't get in the way." Scorpio replied.

Onyx nodded. "We would want to most likely figure out a time where Champ won't be around to strike. He was built to be a fighter for our side. We shouldn't underestimate what he can do. Especially since we can't say what new improvements the doctor may have made since their escape."

"I don't think he would be making that robot more powerful like that. Not if he's just living a normal life." Scorpio stated.

"Could be. Or he could have made an emergency setting that can kick in and change everything. Who knows?"

"Are we almost there?"

"Should be. Try and keep a low profile. I shouldn't need to tell you that, though."

"I know how to do this."

"Then best of luck. I'll be around if you need help. Probably go visit the governor and check up on how things are going on the planet. Kill two birds with one stone while we're here."

...

When they landed, they went their separate ways. They had devices to communicate with if the need arose. Onyx doubted they would have much to talk about during this. Scorpio was quite capable. Maybe a bit too capable for this to go the way they wanted.

Onyx paid a brief visit to governor as they had said, but didn't stick around for too long. They wanted to see if they could possibly track down Dr. Anton before Scorpio and warn him of the threat. They knew how risky doing something like that was, but were willing to risk it. They still had that feeling they needed to try.

Was this feeling possibly related to the death kyutama? Was it signalling that it had its eyes on someone for choosing them to be a kyuranger? It very well could be. But, Onyx doubted the doctor was savior material like that. That left his creation. Champ. Did he have the potential to become a kyuranger? Who knew. They'd find out soon enough at this rate.

The night was starting to fall over the planet. Onyx took to the shadows and continued to wander around. They saw nothing of note. At least that meant the doctor may have a pretty good hideout.

Onyx decided to contact Scorpio. "Any luck?"

"None."

"Let's head back to the ship. I doubt we'll see much this time of day. He's probably already in his house."

"Okay."

They met back at the ship. Scorpio went over what he had saw during his walk around the town as they waited for a worker to finish making dinner. Onyx listened, hoping there was maybe something they could use to find Anton before Scorpio did.

"The best thing I can think of at this point is to actually find the place his creation is fighting at and follow him home." Scorpio concluded.

Onyx nodded. "Sounds reasonable. Just be very careful who sees you. The governor said people love to gossip when they see anyone related to Jark Matter around here."

"I'll keep that in mind."

...

It took a few days before Scorpio had gotten enough of a lead to actually have a chance at finding where the doctor was at. Onyx had no idea if they would be able to save him at this point. Scorpio was too close to him now. Getting a chance to talk without being seen was very unlikely.

Night had fallen. Scorpio had a schedule he knew Anton followed. He set out to go finally finish the mission. Onyx opted to secretly follow him. He didn't notice them at all at they walked around the town.

There was one thing that Onyx also was worried about. They had heard passing rumors of a certain scorpion making an appearance here as well. Onyx could only assume he had tracked Scorpio here from someone spotting him and talking about it. They really hoped for everyone's sake here that they wouldn't meet right now. This was not the time for the brothers to be having a showdown.

Though, if they did start fighting... Anton might be able to flee. Wishful thinking though. Onyx would've needed to locate Stinger and inform him of where Scorpio would be for that to be viable. They doubted a miracle would happen and he could locate Scorpio before things went down.

Onyx heard noise and refocused on the task at hand. Scorpio had jumped Anton. The doctor fled as fast as he could. Scorpio gave chase and was easily gaining on him. Onyx quickly followed. This was it. There was no hope for Anton. At least Champ would be safe like he had wanted.

Scorpio caught up to Anton and stung him. Anton fell to the ground. In an instant Scorpio had practically vanished from the scene. And then someone else showed up. Stinger. He was almost able to possibly prevent this. Unfortunately there was probably nothing he could do.

Onyx watched as Stinger stung Anton. Was he trying to kill him faster or what? Maybe he could give an antidote? Onyx wasn't sure what his capabilities were with his tail. It might be possible for all they knew.

Then another figure walked into the scene. Champ. He cried out in anger and attacked Stinger, very clearly thinking he was who had done it. Onyx watched the two of them fight. Stinger was able to sting Champ and take him down. It seemed like he had inflicted some sort of paralysis onto Champ. Impressive that could work on a robot of all things.

Stinger left the scene. He was probably going back to chasing down Scorpio. He had just missed him after all.

Onyx watched as the doctor exchanged some final words with Champ before the poison took its toll. They sighed and walked over into sight. Champ regarded them warily. Did he not remember them? Or did he not trust them anyway?

Onyx felt that sense again. So, this was why they had been so adamant about having to help Anton all this time. Because otherwise Champ wouldn't be here to become a kyuranger.

They said nothing and simply summoned the kyutama. They dropped it in front of Champ and then vanished into the town. They needed to get back and talk to Scorpio. They may also need an excuse for why they were gone.

"So, you did it, huh?" Onyx greeted as they entered the ship.

"Yes. Where were you?"

"Shadowing you." Onyx replied honestly. "I had to see how you would do when you found him. Quite impressive how fast you made work of him."

"Thank you."

"I think you may be ready for a promotion."