For the Ronin Warriors, things seemed to have calmed down since Talpa was defeated. Life is quiet. Peaceful... But in the shadows some new evil has been quietly, stealthily gathering power. A new foe, with dark dreams of destuction and revenge. A dark force that corrupts and twists what good comes near it.
"Nothing is ever quiet, except for fools." -Cry The Beloved Country
In case anyone is wondering why this looks familiar, I finally decided to rewrite this old fic. The idea was there, but at least in the early chapters, the writing skill wasn't. ^_^ Hope you like it!
~Li-Cat~
O N E:: Evil Returns
Ryo leaned back and pelted the ball to Sage, who caught it neatly. Yuli jumped up in down in great agitation. "Throw it here, Sage! Over here! I'm open! I'm open!"
Grinning, Sage tossed the ball gently in the younger boy's direction. "There you go, Yuli." With a yelp of glee, Yuli held the ball up triumphantly.
"Careful, Sage," Kento teased good-naturedly. Sage rolled his eyes, while the other Ronin Warriors grinned. "You wouldn't want to hurt yourself. Throw it to me, Yuli, I'll show you how it's done."
"Sure, Kento!" Yuli called, happy to be included. He pitched it in his direction. In a flash of fur, White Blaze neatly intercepted the pass, then turned holding the ball in his mouth and seemed to grin insolently at Kento. Everyone else broke into laughter.
"Hey, No fair!" Kento grumbled. "Stupid tig- Oof!" Kento was suddenly knocked off his feet. Picking himself up, he wheeled on the young man who had run into me. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?!"
"Pardon me, I didn't see you," the blond youth excused himself, without stopping.
Kento, still suffering from a bruised ego stepped in front of him. "What do you mean you didn't see me? I was right in front of you!"
"Kento..." Rowen warned uneasily.
The man's golden-brown eyes flashed with sudden anger. "Are you accusing me of lying?"
"If you're blind, please excuse me," Kento jeered sarcastically, his initial anger beginning to fade, but still refusing to back down.
Both of them glared at each other for a tense moment before Rowen and Ryo stepped smoothly between them. Cye rested a hand on his friend's arm. "You'll have to forgive him, he doesn't mean half the things he says," Mia said, with a stern glance at Kento.
The blond youth looked at Kento an instant longer, shrugged, and left. Sage watched the young man oddly as he walked off. "There's something strange about him."
"There's something moronic about him," Kento muttered darkly.
"Aw, lighten up, Kento," Ryo said.
"Yeah!" Cye piped up, "Sitting in the dirt suits you!" There was another round of laughter, as the group watched Kento chase Cye around the park.
Rowen suddenly blinked and held out his hand. "Is that rain?" On cue, a full-fledged downpour started.
Ryo groaned. "Take cover! …somewhere," he trailed off, looking around.
"There's a parking garage over there," Cye suggested placidly, not at all put out by the increasing wetness of his clothes.
"Let's go!" Yuli cried, taking off running with all the impetuosity of his age. The others didn't argue his judgment. One by one they filtered into the shelter of the covered garage, and stood in a slightly bedraggled group, dripping on the cement. White Blaze shook a miniature shower of rainwater from his coat, growling his disgust.
"So what do we do now?" Mia asked.
"We wait until it stops," Sage answered philosophically, already settling himself down against a wall. The momentary silence that followed his remark seemed shattered by the overloud resonance of a footstep in the cavern-like parking garage.
Yuli wrapped his arms around White Blaze's big neck, hiding his face in the tiger's fur. Sage got back to his feet.
"Who's there?" Ryo's voice echoed emptily in the air. Another step sounded. "Show yourself!"
"Well, I'm getting the willies," Kento murmured. "Probably just a dog."
It was a strange glimmering in the light that caught Sage's attention. Slowly he pointed. "Who are you?" Half-hidden by more than shadows was a figure clad in preternaturally black armor. The dim light that touched it seemed to quaver before disappearing into the infinite darkness of the metal.
The figure finally spoke, its voice cool and clear. " I am a servant of the glorious Tenebras, ruler of the netherealm."
"Aw, man!" Kento groaned. "How many times do we have to kick some psychopathic would-be rulers butt? Can't they be a little more creative?"
"For those words, you will pay dearly," the figure said, a sneer touching the threat.
Cye blinked. Something in the voice... "It's a girl!" Cye exclaimed suddenly, startled. He stared a while, eyes large, then looked around helplessly. "Should I be surprised by this?"
The female fighter ignored him disdainfully. She raised a glittering sword to point at Ryo. "Ryo of Wildfire, leader of the Ronin Warriors, will you surrender to my Lord, and swear fealty?" The voice turned oddly cold. "Do realize that this fate is far better then that which awaits you down any alternate path. Far better."
Ryo felt a chill creep down his spine, triggered both by the strange tone of her words and the amount this new enemy obviously knew about them. He reached within himself to touch the core of fire that blazed there. "We serve no master," he said fiercely. "That's why we're called the Ronin Warriors."
The dark soldier made a contemptuous noise. Green eyes, only half visible through a curving faceplate, hardened. "You have sealed your fates for no purpose. You will serve Tenebras anyway. And you will be the first!" In an instant, she wheeled on Kento, arcing her sword through the air and bringing it slashing down to point at him. "Darkness annihilation!" At her words miniature lightnings and crackles of glowing red energy leapt from her sword tip, striking Kento on the chest. He cried out in pain as he flickered with electricity for a moment before it seemed to disappear within him. He staggered, then fell to his knees. "Kento!" Cye cried in distress. "That's it, lady, I'm kicking your ass! Armor of the Torrent- Tao Shin!" Around him the other Ronin Warriors also summoned the power of their armors. The black warrior, surrounded and outnumbered, placed her sword against Kento's throat.
"I could break his very soul," she said with cold malice, not daring to move. The Ronins likewise stood frozen, forming a surreal tableau of the razor-edge of battle. Kento glared up at the armored woman who held him hostage and felt a sudden shock as green eyes met his with an emotion that was both foreign and unreadable. Cye tensed his grip on his yari as Rowen started to sway in the direction of the enemy's back. White Blaze filled the air with an angry rumble.
"Stop." A second figure appeared, clad in deep violet armor. The helmet was removed, revealing a head of tousled blonde hair and disturbingly brown eyes. Kento let out a gasp of recognition.
"It's the boy from the park," Mia said. Kento chose that instant to swing his leg forwards, kicking the black-armored woman's legs out from under her. She flipped backwards and landed unsteadily on her feet, quickly regaining her balance. As quickly, Kento stumbled out of her reach, and stood defiantly among his friends, any signs of pain banished from his face.
Cye seized the opportunity, raising his yari with an angry cry: "Super Wave Smasher!" The dark warrior threw herself to one side, even as the blonde youth threw himself into Cye. In the resulting struggle Cye's yari was sent skidding across the pavement, while the stranger was finally separated from Cye.
The violet-armored one stood warily, brandishing a black handled trident with three golden prongs, a cross-blade, and the far end chiseled to a wicked point. "I won't let you hurt her."
"Why, does your master forbid it?" Rowen sneered, "If you serve Tenebras we've no reason to spare you!" He raised his bow, sighting along its golden arch. "I won't ask you again to step aside." When the young man still didn't move, Rowen drew back his bowstring, and energy started to gather around his arrow's tip.
The peculiar trident suddenly rose, and the youth's eyes flashed, as it seemed to move of its own accord to aim its center spike at Rowen. "Chimera banishment!" Three blue-green beams of solid energy shot forwards, impacting solidly with Rowen's chest; two more lanced from the side blades, driving Cye against the garage wall, and slicing across Sage's arm. Kento pushed Yuli and Mia to the ground, and Ryo moved towards the fallen and still Rowen as White Blaze dove towards the two offenders with an angry growl. The woman glared a final message of malice at the Ronins, before stepping back and disappearing into the shadows as completely as if she had never been present. White Blaze was stopped in mid leap by a tap of the trident on his nose. The great tiger twisted aside, landing short of his prey, and stood looking at the armored man in startled silence. By the time the initial confusion had died down, there was no trace remained of either of the two armored enemies.
Mia assisted Sage to his feet, applying pressure to the injury on his arm which would hopefully develop into no more than a bad bruise. Kento and Yuli helped a somewhat bemused Cye to sit up, but Rowen lay still. Ryo bent over his friend, shaking him gently. "Come on, Rowen, you're can't let a little bump like that get you," he pleaded, with an attempt at lightness in his voice. Quietly, subdued, the others gathered slowly around.
Sage touched Ryo's shoulder, and Mia reached out to grasp Rowen's hand. "C'mon, mate," Cye breathed.
Rowen winced, and his eyes cracked open. "Would you please stop shaking me? I feel like a stampede of elephants just trampled me." A crooked smile touched his face, and everyone let out their breath.
Kento grinned, folding his arms. "I'll see if I can't arrange that sometime for your educational benefit."
"I think you scared him," Cye commented, conspiratorially.
"I think I scared me," Rowen retorted. "Can we go home so I can go back to sleep? It's giving me a neck cramp looking at all of you like this."