Everyone stood in a loose circle, their attention centered on Jax.
He cracked his neck, then his knuckles.
"Alright," he said, voice steady but laced with challenge. "Let's show the rookie what G-Force really looks like when you own it."
Jax clenched his fists.
A pitch-black mist erupted around him, dense and fluid like living smoke. It spiraled up his arms, then condensed around his fists, taking form of—a pitch-black lion's head, roaring silently, jaws open wide as if about to devour the world. The ground beneath his feet trembled faintly.
Kai whistled low. "Still dramatic as ever, huh?"
Jax smirked. "The king of beasts has to keep up appearances."
Kai stepped forward next, drawing in a slow breath. His own G-force energy ignited—an emerald green hue, clear and sharp, cutting through the air like a blade of wind.
It coiled around his now clenched fists, shifting shape until it formed the sharp, proud head of a emerald green hawk. Its eyes glowed with keen precision, the faint sound of rustling feathers echoing in the air.
"Fastest among the skies," Kai said quietly, a grin pulling at his lips.
Saya rolled her shoulders. "Show-offs."
She exhaled, and her G-Force bloomed—a deep, dark violet that spread like ink through water. The G-force energy clung to her frame, sleek and smooth, before forming the elegant but dangerous visage of a dark violet panther's head around her now clenched fists. Its glowing eyes narrowed, its outline rippling as if ready to strike at any second.
Dante chuckled, stepping up with a grin. "Alright, my turn."
He slammed a fist into his palm—and a surge of crimson exploded from him. It was darker than blood, heavy, violent, pulsing with raw heat. The G-force energy surged and twisted until it formed the rough, powerful head of a bear, its teeth bared, breath steaming in the air.
Kai whistled again. "That one always looks like it's ready to eat someone alive."
Dante grinned. "That's the point."
All eyes turned to April.
She hesitated for a moment, unsure. Her hands lowered at her sides. Jax's voice broke the silence—calm and reassuring.
"Don't force it," he said. "Just… imagine it. How you see your Gear. How Ultima looks to you. Picture its power. Its shape. What it feels like."
April nodded slightly.
She took a breath, then closed her mind off to the noise.
Her thoughts drifted—back to the faint image she saw the first time she'd spoken with Ultima. That shadowed form of a wolf… watching her from behind the mist.
Her fingers curled.
The air shifted.
A faint orange mist began to rise from her body, wrapping around her slowly, spiraling toward her now clenched fists. It flickered, unstable at first—then steadied, condensing and thickening. The glow brightened until the air itself pulsed with orange light.
Then, it began to take form.
The mist compressed into a perfect sphere around each fist—and then the spheres warped, twisting and reshaping until they became two lupine heads of orange flame-like energy.
Each one had three glowing eyes on the right and three on the left, unblinking, alive, radiating both serenity and ferocity.
The room went silent.
Kai's mouth opened slightly. "So… that's how Ultima looks, huh?"
Even Saya was still, her expression unreadable. Dante gave a low, impressed whistle.
April looked at her own hands, the glowing wolf's head breathing faintly against her skin. She tilted her head, half-smiling pretending to be calm—but inside, her heart raced.
'That's… inside me?'
The orange mist pulsed once more before fading back into stillness, leaving only faint traces of light around her clenched fists.
Jax nodded approvingly. "Yeah… that's definitely a wolf."
April exhaled slowly, her voice barely above a whisper. "Then… I guess that's what my TakeOver Mode looks like."
Her stitched eyelids softened—though the faint criss-cross stitches around her eyelids caught the glow, pulsing faintly with the same orange hue.
The others exchanged silent looks.
Even among the pack, no one had ever seen a G-Force energy quite like April's.
And as April lowered her fists, one thought crossed her mind—If this was what her G-Force looked like now…
What would happen when she let it run wild?