Author's Note Disclaimer: I have no ownership in any way or form of Ronin Warriors. This is an one shot character death fic. Mature content will be used so read responsibly. Enjoy!

The moon-drenched sky gave everything an eerie glow. An early frost fell across the land, which brought with it a chill of the grave. A numbness crept over him, not just from the cold but the memory. The memory will never go away.

Once again, Ryo found himself without sleep. The nightmares of the battles with the Dynasty held fast to his mind, buried forever deep within his soul. The sacrifices they made and their loss of innocence was the price of saving the world. It would forever be a burden he and the others would carry upon their shoulders.

Ryo zipped his jacket and plunged his hands into his pockets. He walked a few paces and then stopped as he glanced back at the manor. The others asked Ryo to go with them into town, but he declined and told them to go ahead without him. They tried their best to have convinced Ryo to change his mind, but in the end, the red Ronin convinced his friends he'd be fine. So here he stood alone in the frigid night. Ryo closed his eyes and sighed, . 'Maybe I should have gone with them after all.' He waited for a few minutes, and then his eyes snapped opened when he heard the clash of the cold steel calling him to battle.

Ryo clutched his orb and willed his subarmor, as he raced towards the clashing steel. 'It can't be the Dynasty! We defeated Talpa, so the gates should be closed!' Ryo thought to himself when he sped through the backyard of the manor. He got closer, Ryo frowned in slight confusion as he took in the sight of three figures fighting in front of something shimmering in the moonlight. 'What? a portal?'

A loud cry brought Ryo's attention back to the fight which was a few feet ahead of him. "Hey! Ever heard the term fair fight? In case you haven't, just to let you know, two against one is far from it!" Ryo clenched his fists as he moved into a fighting stance. His eyes narrowed at the two who towered over the one laying on his back with his weapon in front of him.

The two hooded fighters glanced at one another and then over at Ryo. "This matter doesn't concern you human, now leave!"

"I think it does. Your portal opened up in my backyard. So I'm telling you to leave him alone and go back to whatever realm you came from, otherwise, you'll be dealing with me!"

Scarlet eyes glowed from their hooded cloaks in anger. Then they raised their hands and pushed back the hoods. Green serpent men with flickering tongues and thrashing tails stood before him.

Despite the darkness, Ryo saw just enough to know he was in trouble. Their knives whispered out of their sheaths. Ryo caught the glinting of the slim blades from the moonlight. He shifted more into his fighting stance. Before Ryo could even make his move, a couple of thunking sounds made by the blades as they embedded themselves into the nearest trees on either side of him. Ryo was taken back on how fast these serpent men launched their attack. Before the red Ronin knew it, another pair of glinting daggers presented themselves at the same time as they came at him leaving their prey behind.

The injured man grimaced as he forced himself to roll onto his stomach. He pulled his arms and legs closer to himself. He winced as he pushed up to stand. He still had a grip on his weapon with one hand, while his other held onto his side. The man felt something warm and sticky between his fingers. He brought his hand up and saw the first few scarlet drops of blood as they flowed like ghastly flowers blooming in the night. His attention was brought back to the three fighting when he heard the steel of their blades made contact with Ryo's subarmor.

A massive fist impacted against Ryo's temple and sent him sprawling. His body smashed into a tree and then crashed to the ground. Ryo groaned when he placed his hand to his throbbing head.

'Man, they're juiced! Strong and fast, I'm going to have to call my full armor now or I'm done for!' Ryo saw them getting ready for another attack. He pushed himself up and flipped away from the two serpent men. When Ryo was on his feet, and his armor was complete he held his katanas in each hand. "Alright, now it's payback!" Ryo took a running start, jumped up and whipped his elbow around and drove the point into the nearest serpent man's jaw.

The serpent man who was nailed in the jaw plowed through the ground a few feet with its shoulder and then the rest of his body slumped rest of the way to the ground.

The second one kicked out his leg and drove it into Ryo's midsection. He watched Ryo double over, and hovered near him. "Filthy human! This is what you get for picking a fight with us!"

Ryo winced while getting his bearings. He narrowed his eyes at the one who spoke to him. "You're the one who brought the fight to my home snake boy!"

The serpent man which still stood hissed at Ryo and charged him at full force. Steel met steel as the swordsmen fought. Ryo's sword blocked the first blow, but not the second. In Ryo's counter, he whipped around a roundhouse kick, and it crashed into the serpent man's chest. The serpent man answered back when his tail met Ryo's face in a crunch of bone. Ryo yelled as he flew back into a tree and dropped to the ground unconscious.

The two serpent men glanced around the portal, they were not able to see where the human they chased earlier disappeared. The two looked at one another and then disappeared through the portal going back to their realm.

A few hours went by, Ryo finally came around. His hands went to his pounding head. He winced when he felt the coldness of his hands. He brought his hands down from his head to see he was in subarmor.

"You are lucky to be alive, they could have killed you if they wanted."

Ryo glanced around for the voice who spoke to him. "Why didn't they?"

"Because, the time on their portal was running out and they needed to get back to their realm."

"Just who are you? What were those things? Why were they after you?"

The man laughed, "You are quite inquisitive. My name is Apep. Those things were serpent men. To the reason they were after me is because they despise humans."

Ryo took his time and readjusted from lying down to sitting. "Yeah, I kind of got that part. But why?"

"Our world outside our walls was a wild, savage place. The serpent men hunted and enslaved humans. If they were finished with them, those monsters would use humans as sacrifices."

Ryo frowned when he continued to listen to the story.

"Our war priest had more than enough. So he cursed the serpent men to have the ability to morph into a human. He believed this curse would buy us a little more time to increase our supplies and fortify our walls. While we were getting our homes ready, the serpent men would hunt one another when they morphed to human form. It worked for a time, but then they started to use their new ability to their advantage."

"You mean they worked themselves in with the rest of you when they were human?"

Apep gave a small nod, "Yes, and before we knew it our defenses were destroyed. The air was heavy with the weight of a thousand screams. Their souls were damned, and the serpent men's minds were sick with death. The humans fear of the unknown stretched like a shadow in the alley of their minds. The dread of their loss hung over them, numbing the people to inaction. The serpent men won."

Ryo's fists clenched tight in his lap. What happened to Apep and his people wasn't right. He felt his anger as it burned inside of him. Ryo looked over at Apep. Determination set in his eyes. "I want to help make things right."

Apep raised a brow towards him. "What can you do? You're only a boy?"

"I wear mystical armor. My friends and I have fought in different realms before. I can help you fight in yours."

"Before you commit to your decision, allow me to finish my story."

Ryo gave a nod, but he knew he was going to help Apep anyway.

"Our war priest's hate for the serpent men and what they have done could not be caged, nor his damaged soul will ever be soothed. Humiliated and betrayed, his hate turned to poison in his mind. He had given into his hate, and there was no turning back. He lived for nothing more but to kill those he hated. One night, the serpent men made their way into the war priest's chambers and fatally wounded him. Then they blended into the crowd and vanished. I arrived and hurried to him. I held him as he continued to die. I vowed to him, this night would end in my death or theirs."

Apep studied Ryo, "So, do you still stand by your decision?"

Ryo's determination didn't waiver for a moment. "Yes, I still want to go with you to your realm and help put an end to the suffering."

Apep stood along with Ryo, "What about your friends? Won't they want to come?"

"There's no time. The longer we waste talking, the less time your people will have to survive. Besides, we can always use your portal to come back and get them later if needed."

"Very well," Apep created a portal and then looked over at Ryo. "Brace yourself for what you'll see for it may give you nightmares."

Ryo gave a nod, he glanced back towards the way back to the manor. A cold breeze blew around him, for that brief moment there was fear in that breeze, the first whiff of death. It was more than fright, it was a freezing of the soul. Ryo shook it off and turned his full attention towards Apep and the portal. The two went through and it closed behind them.

Apep and Ryo crossed through to the other side. The trees choked the sun from the sky, and plunged them into a primal twilight. Ryo walked closer to the edge of the cliff. He saw the half-finished construction, it was like an open wound on the city's skyline. Time stood still under the eerie spell of the decrepit horizon.

Apep walked next to Ryo and glanced at him. "Welcome to my realm. We better get going it isn't safe to stick around for too long after passing through a portal." Apep walked past the red Ronin and onto a carved-in set of cliff stairs.

Ryo turned his attention towards Apep as he watched him descend. There was something off about this guy, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Or possibly could be by being in a completely different realm made him feel a bit uneasy. Whatever the reason, he was here and there was no going back. Ryo reminded himself he gave his word to help set things right. He took a deep breath and followed him.

In a short amount of time Ryo and Apep made it to the city. "Stay close, even in the daylight these alleys are dangerous as a dimly-lit maze."

Ryo gave a nod as the two continued further into the city. Dismal and brooding, the city was a grim reminder of the past. He remembered the time when the Dynasty merged with the Earth. This was the same, but it seemed to even more so. The street they walked was nothing more than blackened stone and burnt dreams.

They arrived to the center of the city, Apep stopped and turned to look at Ryo. "During the war, the serpent men's mage cast his most fatal spell here. This is where it hit the hardest. His spell fused the bodies of the people into the cobblestones. Still to this day, there has been no way to lift the mage's spell."

Ryo looked around in shock. He could see their fear and anger as they were intricately etched on by a professional sculptor. "Are...Are they still alive?"

Apep closed his eyes with a deep frown. "They're in a catatonic state. As long as they're fused like this they will stay that way."

Ryo looked over at him, "How can they be freed?"

Apep opened his eyes and stared at one of the fused people. "This magic is forbidden, it has been for centuries. How they came across it we don't know. In regards to them being freed, they can't."

"So they'll be like this forever?"

"Yes, as a reminder to the remaining survivors of how vicious the serpent men can be in terms of cruelty." Apep gave one final glance around, and continued on his way.

Ryo noticed Apep as he left the area. Glancing around he felt like the city was watching him, waiting to strike. The red Ronin caught up to Apep, "You never told me where we were going."

"To an underground bunker where the prisoners are being held. The plan is to spring them, and regroup with the others to come up with a counter attack."

Ryo gave a nod as they continued towards their destination. As they started to close the gap, things which had once been men moved in the misty street ahead.

"Wait," Apep took cover behind a large pile of rubble, and brought Ryo down with him. "Sentries, we'll have to go around to the back. There's a secret entrance not far from here."

Ryo glanced towards him. For a brief moment he could have sworn Apep's eyes changed into the serpent men he fought earlier. He shook it off, maybe this realm was affecting him by seeing things. But then again he and his friends have been tricked before when they dealt with the Dynasty. "Wait a minute," Ryo grabbed Apep and yanked him back as he pinned him against the rubble.

Apep struggled as he attempted to get away from the red Ronin. "What do you think you're doing? Let. Me. Go."

"Something has been bothering me ever since you and those other two serpent men first arrived on Earth. At the time when we fought, I didn't think about why they left you alone. They only concentrated on me. Then just now I saw your eyes, they changed, you're a serpent man!"

Apep laughed as his true form started to morph. "Well done human, but it is unfortunate. For you to have figured out my secret. I'm no ordinary serpent man, I'm their leader!" Apep stood in front of Ryo fully changed into his true form.

Ryo staggered back in surprise when he looked upon Apep's face. It was acid-scarred and twisted like a thing born out of a nightmare.

Before Ryo could even call upon his full armor, Apep held up an enchanted blade with strange symbols on it. He plunged the blade into Ryo's side and yanked it out.

Ryo yelled as he clutched his side and dropped to the ground. His subarmor faded away, his orb dropped in front of him as he was now in regular clothing. Ryo started to reach for his orb, but Apep got to it first and crushed it under his foot. Ryo narrowed his eyes at him, "How?"

Apep laughed once more, "This is an enchanted blade. It can destroy anything mystical, especially armor. I couldn't dagger you with it on Earth. You had to come to my ream freely in order for it to work. We've been to your realm before Ryo of Wildfire. We watched your battles with the Dynasty and figured out how to destroy the Ronin Warriors. Something Talpa wasn't able to do."

The ragged wound on Ryo's side wept tears of blood. Ryo winced as he fought to get back up on his feet. 'He's right, I can feel my remaining armor's power within me getting weaker.'

Apep motioned for the sentries to surround Ryo. "So what are you going to do now? You're stuck here and you're nothing more than a human without his armor."

Ryo shifted his feet into a fighting stance. "I may not have my armor, but I can still fight!" Even in his wounded condition the red Ronin launched out with two quick left kicks as he knocked back one of the sectarians. He knotted up his fists and launched a pair of brutal strikes at Apep's face.

Apep hissed when he recoiled back from Ryo's strikes. A black curtain of hate fell over his graveyard eyes. "Subdue the human!"

The cauldron of Ryo's eyes burned with scalding furry. He glanced right, then left. Ryo could see them getting closer closing off his escape. He noticed a broken blade partially hidden in a nearby pile of rubble. Ryo faked going through and went over instead. His landing was a bit unsteady, but he got out from the middle of them.

Ryo dove for the partial blade and gripped it in his hand. He rolled up to his feet and plunged the cold combat steel into the next sentry side, and yanked it out as he brought it in front of him. Ryo's breathing labored while his heart hammered in his chest.

Out of nowhere, Apep clothes lined Ryo, one arm caught across his chest as it brought Ryo down upon his back. The partial blade flew out of his hand and skidded across the ground. Apep stomped on Ryo's wrist to hold him there.

Ryo glared at Apep as he tried to struggle free, but with the pressure he had on his wrist as well as his wound freeing himself was a bit difficult. "Tell me, the story you told, was it true or a lie?"

Apep had an amused expression on his twisted face. "It was all true. I just didn't tell you who I really was."

"Why? What was the reason?"

"Because the human population and the serpent men of my realm were to a point of being extinct. So we decided to poach around in your realm for a while. Haven't you ever wondered where the missing people turned up?"

Ryo growled low in his throat. His mind went back to his friends back home. Were they back from town? If so, have they noticed he's been gone? Have they noticed the evidence of the fight from earlier? The coldness of manacles were felt when they snapped around his wrists. A lead chain secured in the center of them.

Apep jerked Ryo to his knees, and then yanked him once more to his feet. He turned his back on Ryo and lead him to the underground bunker. They made it to the stairs. They lead into a blackness and something much worse would be in store for the red Ronin. The door locked behind them, and the four walls became his tomb.

Ryo narrowed his eyes in order to try and adjust to the darkness. When they were closer to their destination he saw some kind of magical circles engraved in the floor and symbols on the wall. He saw them light up when Apep crossed over them. Ryo felt himself being levitated from the ground. The lead chain from his wrist connected to the one from the ceiling. Another pair of chains shot up from the ground within the enchanted circle under him and secured his ankles.

A fire pit roared to life after Apep spoke an incantation as it illuminated the cold, dank room. Mold grew on the damp walls, and cobwebs hung from different sections of the ceiling. Skeletons with shredded clothes loitered on opposing walls, the dank halls smelled of death, despair, and something far worse.

Apep motioned for two of his guards, "Rid this human of his rags and put him into something more suitable."

The two nodded and walked over to Ryo and started ripping and tearing away his clothes.

Ryo tried to struggle free, but the chains prevented him from barely moving. "Get your dirty scales off of me!"

The two hissed at him as they continued to pull off the rest of his clothing. Once they were done, the two threw them into the fire. They walked away from him and came back mere moments later with a loin cloth and tied it in place and moved away from him. Ryo felt his body starting to shiver from the dank room. He knew he couldn't show Apep or any of the other serpent men his fear or any kind of weakness. If he did, then they would know he was broken. But Ryo had no intention of being broken so easily.

Apep studied over his tools of torture. He stopped in front of each one, picked it up and studied the weapon closely before setting it down and moving onto the next. He wanted to savor this moment, it has been a long time since he had a human prisoner with a strong spirit in his underground bunker.

The first item Apep lifted a small clawed gauntlet and slowly slid it upon his hand. His fingers flexed in order to have adjusted to fit better. He turned around and faced Ryo, without saying a word, Apep slashed across Ryo's face, not once, but three times.

Ryo yelled out from the intense pain with each swipe of Apep's first choice of torture. He tasted his blood as it trickled over his mouth and continued flowing down. Ryo's face was a death mask, dripping red with blood, hot with hate as he glared at his captor.

Apep pushed the tips of the small clawed gauntlet slightly under Ryo's throat. "What was it you wanted to say to me human?" He pushed it a bit further as it pierced Ryo's throat, "Do you want to beg for mercy, for me to spare your life?" Apep stared down into Ryo's eyes, and he could see his answer, this human would not bend to his will. Ryo's spirit was too strong. "Why don't you beg me human?"

Ryo's voice was filled with venom, "I will never beg to the likes of you!"

"Then you are a fool!" Apep snarled as he yanked back his clawed gauntlet and swiped across Ryo's throat. He held out his free hand as one of his followers handed him his whip and took away the clawed gauntlet. Apep circled behind Ryo and raised his whip and released his rage upon him. The whips cracked like claws against the bloody ruin of Ryo's back.

Ryo tried to hold the images of his friends in his mind, but the whip soon replaced them. The whip welts were deep and hideous, rimmed with blood. The stinging, burning pain became the whole of his world.

A new surge of pain shot through Ryo's body. The heat was just as intense as his own armor's. It came from an iron poker, it glowed red hot against his skin as Apep slowly drew it from Ryo's back, to his side and then in front of him. "Irony at its best, wouldn't you say so human since you are the one who is bonded to fire." Apep mused as he continued to carve into Ryo's chest and torso with the iron poker.

Ryo wished he did have his armor, he would then really teach this psycho the real experience of playing with fire. Once more, the memories of his friends flowed in his head when he felt a brief relief from the siring pain. 'Sage...Rowen...Cye...Kento...White Blaze...Mia...I'm sorry, forgive me. I wasn't strong enough to stop them.'

Apep walked over to his weapons table and put down the whip and iron poker. He walked around the table carefully thinking over what to use next. Every so often he glanced at Ryo's beaten and bloody form, he was pleased with his work so far. Apep returned his gaze back to the table, he started to wonder if Ryo's other friends would be as much fun as him.

Apep's hand caressed the blade of a sword. He traced the intricate symbols engraved on the hilt before taking hold of the sword entirely. Apep took his time walking back to Ryo. "A sword forged to protect and forged to kill. It all depends on the intentions of the one wielding the weapon. Your Ancient was a fool to place such power in the hands of mere children. You should curse the Ancient for taking away your innocence of youth and giving you in trade a life of misery."

Ryo's breathing was ragged and shallow, he frowned when he thought he saw the ghostly image, 'Ancient?'

"Goodbye Ryo of Wildfire! You once lived by the sword, now die by it!" Apep declared as he raised the sword and pierced Ryo's heart. Cold steel bit into him, bringing with it the comfort of death. With the swing of Apep's sword, Ryo's nightmare ended. The pierced heart pumped its last as Apep turned the sword and twisted it out of his body.

The ghostly image of the Ancient called forth Ryo's spirit to stand beside him. 'I'm sorry for the burden I've put upon your shoulders, Ryo of Wildfire. You fought well to the bitter end. But your time for fighting is done. Now it's time for your soul to rest.'

Ryo's spirit glanced back at his broken body. A tear fell free from the corner of his eye and splashed upon the dungeon floor as soon as the Ancient and Ryo vanished from Apep's realm and into the after life.

~fin~