:Show Down:
Lyrics come from: Ben Moody
The End Has Come
Off the Punisher soundtrack
Disclaimer: I don't own Ronin Warriors, but I do own the unfamiliar characters you see in here.
I hear the distant rumble of thunder; rain is coming, already I can see the building thunder clouds in the darkening sky above me. I'm afraid of storms, but tonight I have bigger things on my mind than that.
Another rumble floods to my ears and then I feel tiny drops of rain begin to hit the top of my head. It starts out slow at first before then beginning to pour on top of me. In no time I'm now drenched, I can feel the water drip from my hair and run down my face.
Doesn't matter.
My boots click and splash the puddles on the concrete as I walk. My leather trench billows out behind me with every gust of wind, allowing the rain to pelt against my bare midriff.
My thoughts aren't on the storm that I'm walking through or even my soaking body. My thoughts are on the person I have to thank for who I am.
Sirous.
They took from me all that I had
Left my soul and spirit dead
Killing everything in me
What is one use to be free?
The wind whips my hair into my eyes, shielding the hard and cold look I know is there. Still, the rain bears down upon me, washing away the dried blood from my healed wounds. If only it could wash away my other ones.
My fists clench the more I think about what I am and what was taken from me. A red haze descends over my mind until all I can think about is killing who did this to me. The one I'm seeking out now. The one I want dead more than anyone else on this planet.
Sirous.
I stop now, rain still pelting me in the face and look out ahead of me to the world I've been brought into. People, no, demons look away as they see me. They all know what I am. They know my secret, know who I really am.
The Goddess of Night.
I am what I am because of Sirous, because of the Supreme; because I was born. Now I won't stop until they're all dead. I won't be free until they are.
Now obsession rules my mind
This commotion makes me blind
Searching out whoever runs
Or has stolen away my life
But I'm already dead
My eyes flicker from the demons around me to back out ahead of me. Through the chilling rain a murky figure appears. A predatory smirk adorns my face as I know who it is.
His towering form comes towards me and already I can feel that demonic side of me begin to crawl. This time I don't hold it back, though. Instead, I reach up and yank my mother's pendant and fire necklace from my neck; carelessly tossing them aside and let my dark side take over.
Now to drive away the pain
I'll destroy all I disdain
I'll become what I despise
Living someone else's life
Immediately, I feel that icy cold power flow through me; take a hold of everything I am. I feel the link I share with the others as a Roninette die as I become the demon I keep locked away.
I close my eyes now, loving this new power I feel within me. Why do I keep this locked away? I feel so powerful, so almighty; I know no one can stop me now ─No one. I am the ruler of this world, the one true threat...
I am Rylea.
"I've been looking for you," I say to Sirous as he approaches me.
"Oh? Why would that be?"
"To kill you."
Don't ever back down
Don't ever turn around
My end has come
So now I come for you
My words make him falter, just like I knew they would. He chuckles as if this is all some kind of joke. I guess he still thinks that I'm playing by the Guardians' rules. Won't he be surprised?
"You won't kill me," Sirous says with utmost certainty. "You can't, Rylea."
"Is that so?" I say.
A slow, evil smirk forms over my lips as I chuckle at his naïveté. My actions confuse Sirous. The fool, he honestly thinks I won't kill him. Well, Rylea Sanada might not have, but I'm not her.
I am a demon; a cold hearted, Goddess incarnate hybrid and I can and will kill him.
I look up at Sirous now as rain falls more from the dark skies and thunder booms in the distance. My eyes now glow a luminescent yellowish-green in the darkness, a sign that I'm not human anymore.
A smirk adorns my face as I say out to him in a cold voice, "The Rylea you think you know might not have, but I'm not her. Nothing's stopping me from killing you, Sirous."
Don't ever back down
Don't ever turn around
My end has come
So now I come for you
I watch as Sirous' eyes grow larger and his confident demeanor shrinks away. I know by his reaction that he can sense and see the dark power that I feel radiating from my body.
He knows now that he's going to die.
Lightning flashes over head, turning my eyes back to my normal vivid blue color for that split second before they turn cat like again. Thunder rumbles after it, shaking the ground I stand on.
Demons start to gather around us. I hear their whispers and thoughts all around me. They're waiting to see if we're really going to fight.
My smirk widens at their musings. They weren't going to just be seeing a fight, they were going to be witnesses to Sirous' death.
I close my eyes, tilt my head back, hold my arms out wide and let the rain fall upon me. It chills me to the bone, but anything below that has been cold for a long time.
"Are you ready to die, Sirous?" my cold voice chills even me.
His face looks caught between being confused and afraid as I look back at him. I can feel the fear coming from him and I'm loving every bit of it.
No longer am I the prey; now I'm the huntress, a demonic Goddess, the stronger one between us. I love the icy cold feel of my power as it rushes through me. It's a high that I could never get from drugs.
Evil is my drug.
Don't ever back down
I let the power I feel inside me grow, no longer holding it back as I had for so many years. Afraid of what I'd become or do if I let it go, but now I have to wonder: Why did I ever hold it back?
Darkness surrounds me and I smile evilly at the look of awe that comes to Sirous' face. My dark power flows in sinuous waves around my body, pulsing in the air around me. I'm even shocked at the strength I possess now.
As much as I'd love to keep tormenting Sirous, though, I have to get down to business now. Those pathetic goody-goodies have to be on their way by now to stop me.
I smirk at the thought.
Let them try and stop me and I'll kill them along with the purebred. They mean nothing to me.
"I'm going to enjoy this," I say coldly out to Sirous while flexing my fingers, my nails extending into claws as I do and my power glitters around my finger tips; ready to be used.
Power surges through me as I lung at him and for a second, I see him cower back in fear. This only makes me feel even more powerful.
My dagger sharp nails slice through his clothes and flesh, leaving four bloody lines behind. I hear him grunt at the impact. Sirous dodges my next slash, but I was counting on that.
With my newly awakened speed, I fade into a shadow and slip behind Sirous before he knows what I'm doing. I leave four more bright red lines across his back, and then send him to the ground face first with a kick.
"Oh come on," I sneer down at his form with a mocking smile as Sirous gets up. "It's no fun if you don't fight back."
Sirous stands and throws one hand out in front of him; his eyes go luminescent like mine before silver tendrils of power shoot from his palm and head straight for me.
I smirk, not even bothering to move out of the way. His power hits the waves of darkness flowing from my body and burst into tiny sparks.
A chuckle escapes me as I say to him, "I hope that's not all you've got. If it is, then this is going to end real fast."
Shock is the only thing that registers on his face. The fool, like everyone else, he's underestimated me.
"Here, let me show you what real power is."
My pupils dilate, I feel the power building within me, and then I let it go and a stream of brightly colored tendrils rocket from my body. A shimmer of sparks are shot into the air as the power hits Sirous; knocking the man back at the force.
You trip on everything
I watch as he staggers back to his feet. One hit and already I've got him shaken up. Happily, I let the power within me build again. My skin prickles, I feel the icy power crawl beneath my skin as it waits to be let free.
Sirous's chuckling reaches my ears now.
I look over at him and find him smiling. Smiling? He's about to die and the man is smiling?
"You've turned out better then I expected daughter," he says with a smug air about him and wipes the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. His glowing eyes mockingly seem to twinkle at me as he says, "You make me proud."
"You're not my father!" I scream in rage and then let my power go once again.
More sparks of light shimmer in the darkness around us as the attack impacts against Sirous. Excited chatter from the demons around us floats to my ears and I can see them out of the corner of my eye grabbing at the colorful sparks in the air as if they were snow flakes.
Pain contorts Sirous' features now.
Smirking demonically, I slowly make my way towards him. My high heeled boots click over the pavement as I walk; darkness follows along with me in sinuous waves of velvet. I toss my head with an air of superiority about me, knocking my wet hair from around my face. What joy it brought me to see him groveling like this; defeated and on his knees to the one he'd once tried to control.
I'll take your tired breath
Something wasn't right about this, though. I know I'm stronger than him, but Sirous was making this way too easy. What was he up to?
"Fight me demon," I say to him as I give him a kick to the chest, sending the purebred spinning.
"Why?" I hear him ask me calmly as he climbs back to his feet. The look on his face makes my blood boil. "Aren't you enjoying killing me?"
"No fun if my prey doesn't fight back a little," my fist flies through the air as I say this, aiming to connect with his face.
Sirous catches my fist. His eyes loom over me, smirking down at me, "I like my prey to fight back as well."
His attack comes before I know it. Pain surges up my back as I connect with the hard, wet pavement. I bite my tongue and roll out of the way of his next attack. He comes at me again; his powerful blast hits me before I had time to dodge it, sending me flying into the side of a building. I feel my back crack and know I've broken something.
I open my eyes, wincing against the throbbing pain coming from my back. My brain is too dazed to realize that he's coming at me again until I feel a tearing pain in my stomach followed by cold metal running through me. I can't move anymore; my body is paralyzed from the blow to my back.
His sword has me impaled to the wall of the building. I feel numb all over now, unable to really connect pain with the wound. I feel the warmth from his body hovering over me and feel repulsed by it.
"Had enough yet daughter?" his warm breath rushes against my ear, sending a cold shiver down what's left of my spine.
I can taste the metallic, bitter taste of my own blood in my mouth now as it trickles out and down my chin. Bones start to pull back together now in my back, I now have feeling back there again and smirk.
Eyes burning, I look up at the sickening face of Sirous and tell him, "Not even close."
With my mobility now back, I take my leg and with one strong kick, knock him away from me. I take a hold of the hilt of the sword that's plunged through my stomach, grit my teeth and pull it free. Pain rips through me again and I cry out before biting my tongue; the sword disappears before hitting the ground.
Immediately, my wound begins to heal, thanks to my demon powers. The blood stops dripping from the wound first and then slowly, skin starts to pull back together until all is as good as it had been.
I slow my breathing back to its normal rhythm again and chuckle at the glare I find on his face.
My hands slide around my waist now and grasp the cold metal of my twin sais that are tucked into the waist band of my pants. I pull them from their resting place, twirl them around my body and then point them at Sirous.
My face goes cold and hard again, rain beats down upon me and more lightning lights up the sky; giving once again a glimpse of who I really am before it's masked again and a boom of thunder rumbles the earth.
He'd been toying with me the whole time.
Sirous cackled, "Those won't save you daughter."
Power burned within me and pushed out around me like invisible hands. Street signs bent backwards, pavement buckled and cracked and the onlookers were knocked backwards by it.
Sirous arched one eyebrow at my display then said mockingly, "Temper, temper dear. No need to have a fit."
"I'll show you temper, temper!" I shouted as I leapt into the air and brought my sai down on him.
Sirous lifted one hand and a sword materialized in it, blocking my attack with little or no effort.
I growled and somersaulted back from him. I lashed out, letting my power out in a dazzling display. Sparks flew everywhere as my power connected with Sirous and sent him flying back.
I can't feel anything
I live to see you die
Power crawls through me, unrestrained as I walk towards him. I let out another wave and smile as I watch it surge forward and it him again.
His breaths are quick and short now, blood streams from his mouth. I didn't know he could bleed.
I shout in rage as I swing my arm out in front of me and Sirous is sent sailing through the air and connected with the brick wall with a crack sound.
I advance on him, my steps fast and screaming power. The pressure builds within before it becomes too much and I let it go. It zooms through the air, splitting the darkness and impacts against Sirous.
The force of the blow leaves an impact outline in the building.
I watch as he stumbles forward, I can feel him growing weaker.
A cold, evil smile breaks out over my face as I stand over him; sais twirling and power pacing beneath my skin.
"Adeo, Sirous," I hear myself say and then I bring my sai up for the final blow.
"LEA!" someone shouts behind me. It's familiar, but I can't put a face with the voice.
I stop and look over my shoulder. The Ronins and Roninettes stand behind me ─Took them long enough.
"Lea don't do this," my Dad says to me. His face pleads with me to stop.
"Come on girl, stop this," Keish says to me next as they slowly advance on me.
My eyes narrow and I send them all sprawling back with one push of my power. "Stay out of this," I tell them dangerously and turn back to finish what had been started.
Your heart will bleed
As mine beats just as quick
Through your tortured expense
Cuz I'll never back down
"Look at yourself Lea!" I hear my Dad shout at me as I keep my back to them all now. "You're becoming what they wanted you to be! You kill him and you'll be doing what he wanted you to do!"
I stop.
His words hit me somewhere. Is Sirous really worth killing? Is he worth killing my last bit of humanity?
Sirous' strained chuckles float to my ears now, bringing my attention and eyes back upon him. Rain pelts harder on us, thunder booms louder and lightning flashes as the wind whips my trench and hair around.
"What's the matter Half-breed? Can't kill me, just like I told you?"
My cold, cat like eyes look down at him. Hatred surges through me once again. He's killed my mother without a second thought, turned me into what I am now and didn't lose sleep over it.
He deserved to die.
I'll drive you down
I'll beat you to the ground
Before I can deliver the killing blow, Sirous sends me flying with one blast of his power. The sais fly from my hands and skitter across the pavement. I catch myself mid air and twist around, landing in a crouched position.
"Stupid Half-breed," Sirous says as he stands and cracks his neck. "You should've killed me when you had the chance, daughter. Now you'll die."
Power surges from him in a bright wave, making the pavement move out in one huge wave as it comes for me.
I grit my teeth and let my power build within me. My eyes dilated and a wave of velvet darkness bolts through the air, ramming through Sirous' attack and hits him head on.
I watch as he falls to his knees, breathing hard and clutching his chest.
Don't ever turn around
My end has come
So now I come for you
I stand in one slow, fluid movement, eyes burning and focused on his form. Power billows from me, clocking me in its velvet darkness.
I start for him, mind set on ending this once and for all.
I stop over him and he looks up at me. Even as he looks death in the eyes he still smiles.
"How does it feel? Feels good doesn't it? You love it, your body craves this."
"Shut up!" I snap back at him and a surge of power rolls off my body; making the pavement roll like a wave and smack the building behind me.
The wind howls, whipping my hair around as the rain stings my bare skin. Lightning flashes brightly and boom after boom rocks me to the core.
Sirous only laughs more. "Kill me. I'll be dead, but you'll go on and be what you were meant to be."
"Yeah? And how do you know that?"
"Because you and I are the same," he says through his ragged breaths.
Then it hit me.
If I did this, then I would be like him. Killing him wouldn't bring my mom back, wouldn't change what had been done; it wouldn't even satisfy me deep down. Just leave me feeling less alive and less human deep down. He'd get the easy way out of this and I'd be left to still go on bearing the scars of what had been done to me.
In the long run, I'd just be doing what he wanted me to do. I'd be the demon that they all wanted me to be. I would be the one thing that I'd tried so hard to keep from becoming.
I stepped back from Sirous, confusing him now.
"I'm not like you," I told him evenly, disgusted that he'd even put us in the same category.
"Yes you are, Rylea. You're more like me than you know."
"No," I heard myself say sternly now, but the no felt more like I was reassuring myself than telling him a fact. "I won't become what you want me to be. You're not worth killing what little bit of myself I have left along with your sorry ass."
I turned in a swirl of trench and wet hair and began to walk away from his beaten and bruised self. My still cat like eyes fall upon the demons and the people who had come to stop me. Relief swarmed around the Ronins and Roninettes while the demons backed away from my advancing form in fear.
"I beat you, that's enough for me," I threw back at Sirous as I walked now.
A part of me grasped that and the revenge I had felt fell away. No longer did I feel the need to kill Sirous.
I already had.
An enraged growl sounded behind me and the startled cries from the others came from in front of me. I could feel Sirous approaching me from behind. He wasn't going to let it end like this.
My eyes fell on the sai lying in front of me. With lightning fast speed, I kicked the sai up in the air, caught it and then twirled it around and plunged it under my arm. I felt the cold metal plunge through flesh and I knew I'd stopped Sirous.
My end has come
So now I come for you
I pull the sai back from where it had been embedded in his body. I can hear his heart start to beat slower as Sirous falls to his knees behind me. His breaths come out short and labored against my back, making my skin crawl with each draw.
Blood puddles around my feet, turning the ground red beneath me. Do I dare turn around?
The sai falls from my hand, I hear it clatter against the pavement, splattering his blood on my jeans. Red blotches now dot my jeans, giving them an odd design. I swallow the lump in my throat and close my eyes, the copper smell of his blood burned in my nose.
"You'll never be rid of that taste for blood, Rylea," Sirous' whispering voice says from behind me. "You'll always crave it, because you and I are the same, daughter."
I heard his heart stop beating and knew he was dead.
Why didn't I feel happy?
A thud sounded behind me as he fell forward and landed face first in the puddle of his blood, splattering the back of my jeans with more of it. I kept my eyes closed, not wanting to turn around and see my work. I was afraid that the sight of my victory might trigger that darker part of me. The part that scares even me.
Don't ever back down
Don't ever turn around
My end has come
So now I come for you
I felt warm hands on my shoulders and opened my eyes to find my Dad's comforting face looking down at me. His eyes looked at me with the gentleness they always did, confusing me. I had thought for sure that I would see accusation and anger in them.
Rain fell upon us and tears came to my now vivid blue eyes, but I didn't know why. I felt the surging, icy power that had once claimed me slither away back to its resting place as another, warm power flowed through me. The wind whipped my wild, wet hair into my face, plastering it against my skin.
"I didn't mean to, he-" my Dad silenced me with one finger on my lips.
Rain dripped down his face, wetting his clothes under his jacket. His knowing, soft smiling face looked down at me and for that moment I didn't feel like a demonic Goddess anymore; I was a little kid again, having my fears quieted by my father in his subtle way.
"Come on Jouchan, let's go home," I heard him say with a gentle smile and felt his warm, inviting arms wrap around me, shielding me from the harsh rain.
I closed my eyes and smiled as I let my Dad lead me as he always had.
As I walked away from Sirous' lifeless body lying on the cold, wet pavement I knew, that I was finally free.
I was free.
Don't ever back down
Don't ever turn around
My end has come
So now I come for you
-Hey, this was done just b/c I had lots of free time on my hands. I don't think you'll ever see this or a scene like it in any of my stories. Kind of a one time thing. Hoped you like and please no flames, but criticism is always welcome. Thanks LG for the push I needed to put this up. You're the greatest!-