Summary:
The Ronins have turned into chibis.. And Talpa has them.. Except he can't kill them.. Because in order for the armors to work, he needs them alive.. So.. Talpa is forced to play a daddy.
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Ronin Infantry
Ch 1
A lone figure, donned in gray armor, stood in front of a black cauldron that was set in the middle of the room. Smoke rose from the bubbling mixture, rising higher and higher until it dissipated in front of his red plated face. A deep and bone chilling evil laugh started low in his throat, and then boomed so loud the echoes traveled through the castle's corridors.
Four other figures turned their heads toward the door when they heard their master. They looked inquisitively at each other. They knew that laugh. For he always laughed when he had a scheme. But what could it be?
A long-auburn haired man with dark set eyes frowned deeply. He had known Talpa for years, but even he could not second guess him. Their master had not even told them of any plans he had which the man found rather odd. "Master Talpa is up to something," he said. "But what exactly could it be?"
"I wouldn't doubt, Anubis, that we'll find out sooner or later," Dais replied when he leaned back and closed his eye.
"Whatever the master has planned, I'm sure it will be glorious," Cale stated in a manner of fact tone.
Sekhmet raised a brow toward them. "As long as the master's plan gets rid of those annoying Ronin brats once and for all, I don't really care."
Their curiosity got the better of the Warlords, and they decided to see exactly what their master had in mind. They got up and walked to where Talpa had just spoken the last part of the incantation. Five recognizable rays of colors shot up from the cauldron and then hovered above. The five rays started to circle and then they phased into darker shades. Each ray morphed into a tiny orb with each of the Ronins' virtues engraved on them.
With a flick of Talpa's wrist, the five tiny orbs flew out of the castle and toward the Ronins' home.
"Master, if you don't mind me asking, could you tell us what you are doing?" Anubis questioned with a slight frown.
"I've put into action a plan that will reverse the aging of those annoying Ronins. Then that way the four of you can retrieve and bring them here. It'll be less of a fight to reclaim the armors from them when they're infants," Talpa replied with an evil grin. "After your embarrassing defeats, my Warlords, a strategic scheme will take your place. We will keep the Ronins here as children, making them useful to me for my own glory. If you doubt that this will work then watch and see for yourselves."
Their master's cruel words were nothing unusual to them. They had heard his reprimands time and time again. At the command of Talpa, the Warlords turned to watch the viewing mirror with morbid curiosity. The Koji Manor appeared on the screen and soon they could see inside where all five Ronins were lounging.
Ryo sighed as he finished his last crunch on the floor. He had been doing crunches for the past half hour. The last battle he had with Anubis had left him particularly sore, and he did not wish to go through it again. He looked toward the clock and smiled. He had done it. Two hundred crunches in one hour.
He stood up and sighed. It was good of Mia to turn one part of the basement into a full fledged gym. Here they could spar and train when the weather became too rough or cold. This was where Ryo spent most of his days when he was not sleeping. He took a towel off the rack and wiped his face. Then he sighed. "I better go see what the guys are up to."
He headed upstairs and found himself in the living room. The television was on and everyone was engrossed by what was on. "Hey, guys," Ryo greeted as he sat down beside Sage. "What's on?"
"A documentary on mythology," Sage said. His arms were crossed and his vision stared directly at the screen as if he were in a trance.
"A documentary?"
"Yeah," Rowen said, "it was something all of us felt inspired to watch. Especially when it talks about ancient armors."
"Ancient armors?"
"Quiet, dude!" Kento said as he turned the sound up.
Ryo stared at the screen, listening as the narrator explained ancient myths, both realized and unrealized throughout the centuries. But a strange feeling overcame him. He frowned deeply. Something was wrong. Very wrong. He could hear a scream in the back of his mind and for a moment he quickly glanced around.
Beside him Sage suddenly stood. "Did you guys hear anything?"
The television was put on mute and they listened. Ryo's eyes darted back and forth. It was silent. Or was it? A strange humming sound penetrated through his ear drums. The sound was getting louder and louder. But what was it? Where could it be coming from?
Kento felt he was going to explode. He anticipated action, but it was too still for him. At first he did not hear whatever it was that Ryo and Sage heard, but as he stood still and allowed himself to listen, he began to hear it as well. "I hear a buzzing sound!" he whispered.
"It sounds like buzzing to me too," Cye said after a moment had passed.
"I hear humming," Ryo admitted and Sage nodded in agreement.
Rowen was silent. A frown crossed his features as he contemplated what his friends were hearing. He could not hear anything at all and at first wondered if his friends had gone insane. His eyes searched about the room. Something didn't feel right to him.
The lights slightly dimmed suddenly, and they wasted no time in bringing forth their armor orbs. It was still quiet. At first Sage thought Cale was nearby, and his eyes darted back and forth as sweat glistened on his face.
It happened quickly. The front window blew open and glass shards flew inward to the living room. The Ronins' mouths dropped open in shock, but their initial alarm did not last long. A heavy wind blew into the house, pushing them back, and knocking furniture over, and sending smaller items flying through the air.
"What's happening?!" Cye demanded as he shielded himself from a flying lamp.
"I don't know, Cye! But whatever it is, you can bet it has Talpa written all over it!" Sage answered as he dodged an armchair.
"Hey! Rowen's books are attacking me!" Kento cried out. Sure enough, several books were slamming themselves against the bearer of Hardrock. He grunted and used his elbow and his hand to deflect them. "I always knew these books were evil!"
"Hey! My books are not evil!" Rowen shot back.
"This is no time to argue!" Ryo snapped at them. He focused his attention toward the broken window. He could sense them. But where were they? "We know you're there!" he shouted through the window. "Why don't you come and face us! Or are you too scared?"
A crack of thunder and a flash of lightning caught their attention. The five Ronins stared out into the darkness. They could not see them, but they were certainly there. There was silence then. The wind had stopped blowing, and there was no lightning nor thunder.
Sage was concerned. Why had they suddenly assailed them without physically making contact? It made no sense to him, and there was a great desire of concern. He had a bad feeling.
"That's it?" Kento said in disbelief. "Man, what a bunch of chickens! They were afraid to come out and fight us!"
"I don't think that was it, Kento," Rowen said with a frown. "Knowing the Warlords, they wouldn't just give up that easily."
"Rowen is right," Cye said. "We better stay alert."
The five Ronins were back to back, with their eyes peeled, and the muscles in their bodies tense. It was quiet now, too quiet. Kento fidgeted. He was getting restless. He wanted action. He wanted to fight. He bounced lightly on his feet, ready to spring at a moment's notice.
Ryo was the first to notice them. Five small colored orbs were floating toward the house. As they came closer and closer he could see their kanjis written upon the orbs. But something wasn't right about them. They felt dark. "Heads up, guys!"
They turned to face the direction Ryo was looking in. By now the strange orbs were at the window.
"Huh? Our orbs?" Cye was confused. This made no sense to him. What was going on?
"Those aren't our orbs, Cye," Ryo said as he backed up.
"They look just like ours," Kento mused, "but only darker."
"I don't like this," Sage said. "What's Talpa up to?"
"No idea, Sage," Rowen said. "But if it's Talpa, you'd think he'd come up with a better plan."
"He's losing his touch!" Cye declared.
The orbs were in the living room now, and they spun around the Ronins in a full circle. Faster and faster they went, glowing brighter and brighter. Once again, Sage and Ryo heard the familiar humming sound, and Kento and Cye heard the buzzing. Rowen still could not hear anything, but his feeling of dread increased more and more as the orbs were circling them in a dizzying effort.
It was unbelievable. They did not understand what was happening, but they knew that Talpa was using a different tactic. Sage attempted to call forth his subarmor, but a wave of shock struck against him. He winced and gritted his teeth as he looked toward the dark version of his orb.
'We cannot call forth our subarmors,' he realized.
Ryo looked toward Sage and grimaced. Was this the end of the Ronin Warriors?
The Warlords were impressed. The ingenuity of their master had them desiring to be more adept in their plans of attack. But Talpa had lived for many centuries. During that time, he had studied humans and learned all about their needs, their desires, their weaknesses, strengths, and so on. These facts alone helped Talpa to make the best possible plan of attack.
Cale grinned as he watched Sage of the Halo suffer. The poor fool. Had he been more in tune to his own armor, he would have figured out the negative impact the dark orbs held. But Sage was always in the dark, even when he thought he was within the light.
Sekhmet continued to watch. Being a patient man that he was, he knew it was a matter of time before something happened. The orbs were still gyrating the Ronins at a startling velocity that it seemed they were made of nothing more than air. It was rather humorous watching one of the Ronins become slightly dizzy.
Dais was expecting something to happen. He did not take his eye off the viewing mirror as he feared he would miss anything. How long the orbs would continue he did not know. All he knew was the enjoyment he felt at Kento's expense.
Anubis narrowed his eyes. Unlike the others he was not so patient. He wanted something to happen and soon. He remained motionless as he did not wish to provoke Talpa's wrath. Talpa was not kind when it came to insubordination. The Warlords were to remain at a standstill and watch what was happening.
The dark orbs were circling faster and faster around the group of the Ronins. So fast they were that Kento felt dizzy just watching. He closed his eyes briefly in an attempt to calm his racing brain.
Rowen was nervous. They could not call their subarmors, and they had no way to defend themselves. Every time they attempted to escape, a certain amount of force struck against them. It was slightly painful, but did not render them unconscious.
"Man, we need to figure a way to stop these things," he said after a moment.
"Yeah. Any ideas?" Ryo looked back toward him without actually turning around. He hoped Rowen would say that he did, but to his dismay Rowen did not.
"I can't believe Talpa would use such an idea as this," Cye said with a frown.
"What I want to know is, what is going to happen?" Kento said. He was getting more and more irritated. Something needed to occur.
And something did. The orbs suddenly stopped and were very still in the air. Sage glanced at Kento, annoyed. "You had to say something."
They were apprehensive and very alert. Having no idea what was going to happen, they strived to ready themselves. Nothing could have prepared them for what would take place next. A single line of dark energy struck each Ronin in the chest.
The pain. It was terrible. It burned with an icy feeling. Ryo was gasping even as he was thrown back.
Each of them hit the floor rather hard. Their bodies were agonizing to them. It was hard to breathe. Pain was not something new to them, not by a long shot. Still, they wondered how it had come to be.
The pain took hold of them for a few minutes, causing their bodies to convulse. They gritted their teeth as they were forced to endure the onslaught. But then gradually the pain stopped and slowly faded away. The orbs abruptly vanished.
Kento was the first to stand up. Groaning, he placed his hand on his head and looked at the others. "Man, what a slam," he mumbled.
"Everyone okay?" Ryo asked after he struggled to his feet.
"I think so," Cye said hesitantly as he slowly rose.
"What was that?" Sage asked as he got up. His ears were ringing and placing his fingers inside did little to help.
"I don't know," Rowen said as he weakly stood, "but I bet it was Talpa."
Thinking of their current situation had them knowing that Rowen was right. True, they had had many enemies in times of past, Talpa was the one who somehow kept coming back. It was something they did not understand, and probably never would. Talpa was a powerful demon, and unless they found a way to cut his power, they would never destroy him.
Fatigue settled upon them. Whatever they had been attacked with had caused their energy to deplete slightly. There was no denying it. They needed sleep. But the mess of the house prevented them from directly going up the stairs.
They began to clean the place, taking out the debris and straightening the knocked over furniture. As for the broken windows, Rowen and Ryo cleared the frames, and Kento and Sage put plastic over them as Cye fastened the plastic into place.
"This will have to do until we can go to the hardware store and get glass windows," Cye said as he stepped back. A long yawn escaped his mouth.
"We'll head out tomorrow," Ryo said as he stretched. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to sleep for a while." He headed upstairs to his room.
It didn't take long for the others to make their decision. The house was straightened and the doors were secure. They did not sense any evil lurking nearby. Sleep sounded good. One by one they headed upstairs to their rooms as well.
Talpa chuckled as he watched his enemies. They were lying on their beds, fast asleep. Within twenty four hours the changes would take effect and they would no longer be as they once were. He turned to the Warlords.
"The Ronins will become children during the night. Granted I could kill them, I will not. I want them alive. That monk placed a certain power within each of them that only they can activate."
"Master, forgive me for speaking so boldly," Dais spoke as he looked at the demon, "but why can't we torture them as they are? Surely we could persuade them to activating this power you speak of."
"Fool!" Talpa sneered. "Many times have we tried torture techniques! They were always against me! Have you forgotten that, Dais?" His eyes glowed and Dais shrank back.
"Forgive me, sire," Dais said automatically. "I was wrong."
Talpa glowered at him. "Keep in mind of what I say. When the Ronins are children it will be less of a hassle to me. Once I have what I want, they will become their true age once again. Only this time they will be weaker than before. And so torturing them will become more pleasurable."
Anubis kept silent. The other Warlords seemed hard pressed into fighting the Ronins when they were weak, but he did not see the point. What was the point in feeling victorious if his enemy could barely put up a fight? Still, he wisely chose to remain silent.
Late in the night as they slept, a physical change took over Kento, Sage, Ryo, Cye, and Rowen. Their bodies slowly reverted back to their childhood stage. Their bodies grew smaller, their heads seemed to enlarge slightly, and their clothes were now three times too big. By morning, the effects would cause more than just fear and alarm. It would cause total chaos.
