By: Excelcia
Disclaimer: I don't own Ronin Warriors. Wish I did. However, the characters that are original and not affiliated with Sunrise Inc. and its wonderful anime are a part of my subconscious and therefore copyrighted to me. ^_^ Enjoy the fic!
'Depicts a thought.
"Depicts dialogue.
Prologue: Nightmares
Halo stood in a defensive stance, no-datchi drawn. He'd been fighting for what seemed like hours. He couldn't defeat the millions of Dynasty tin cans that stood between him and his escape, so he had no other choice than to retreat into the long corridors below the golden city. He kept running and when it appeared that the soldiers were no longer following him, he stopped and relaxed a little bit. "I shouldn't stop moving. Those bucketheads gave up way too easily," he said, short of breath and ready to collapse from exhaustion. Just then, the door behind him shut, making him jump and draw his blade in one swift motion. The room was as black as pitch; Sage couldn't even see his hand five inches from his face. This was bad, and as things were going, they weren't going to get any better.
"Oh what's the matter Halo? Having a bad day?"
The voice sounded female, but Sage couldn't tell where it was coming from. He readied himself for and attack, all alerts up. "And who are you?" Laughter was his only reply. It was evil laughter as well, the kind that travels up your spine and makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up.
"You look so pitiful Halo…The warrior of light engulfed in darkness. Just like a fish out of water."
Sage held his no-datchi in front of him, "Well, we'll see how long that lasts!" He concentrated, pulling his energy. Soon, the room was brightly illuminated with the power of the Korin Ken. Sage didn't like what he saw. He was surrounded by fifty Dynasty soldiers, their weapons drawn. The room they were in was small, and there was no way out. 'K'so.' There was no where to go, he'd have to fight them off. Sage readied himself but he never got the chance to attack. The soldiers lunged at him before he could move. Once he was bound and his weapon taken from him, the door opened and Sage was led into another room. This room was considerably bigger and well lit. He tried to struggle against the two soldiers at either side of him, but to no avail. Sage could see four armored figures standing in the shadows near the back of the room.
"So we finally meet Halo," said one of the shadows. There was acid in his voice, "Forgive us if we do not shake your hand."
"He looks so pitifully weak," said another, "Why does Master Talpa need him?"
"He doesn't. Master Talpa just needs his armor." Sage recognized the voice as the female from earlier.
The fourth shadow spoke up. "Don't underestimate these warriors. They are stronger than they appear."
Sage stared at them with utter resentment. "Thanks for the compliments," he stated with deadpan sarcasm, "And who are you?"
The female shadow became angry with him. "SILENCE RONIN!" she screamed as she made a quick gesture with her arm. Halo was subsequently knocked on the ground and repeatedly kicked and stabbed, courtesy of the demon soldiers. After a few minutes of watching this, the female shadow snapped her fingers and allowed the bruised, battered, and bleeding Sage of the Halo to get to his feet. "I guess before you die, we should be properly introduced."
The shadows stepped into the light. Sage was amazed. The four individuals that stood in front of him were clad in armor similar to that of Kayura and the Ex-Warlords. However, these armors were more streamlined than his armor and Sage could feel a greater power emanating from them.
The girl stepped forward first. She had golden eyes and green hair, which complemented her pale skin. "I am Mara, bearer of the dark armor of chaos." Her armor was as black as midnight and a silver trim wound around the armored plates. She smirked as she drew two jittes from their scabbards.
The second youja stepped up. "I am Ushio, demon warlord of the psyche." This warlord had a shock of blonde hair and brown eyes. Twin katanas were strapped to his back in and upside-down X.
The third youja stepped into the light. He was muscular with long black hair and black eyes. His kursari-gama's blade flashed in the dim light. "I am Hometsu, demon warlord of ruin."
The last of the four stepped up. This warlord kind of reminded Sage of Cye. He had short brown hair and dull blue eyes and was smaller in build to that of the other warlords. His armor was a rusted red color and had a silver trim like that of the girl's armor. Even though he looked weaker, Sage guessed he probably possessed a hidden strength in battle. "I am Taro, bearer of the dark armor of alarm."
Mara smiled wickedly at the exhausted form that stood in front of her. "We are the dark warlords of Talpa's New Dynasty."
Sage shot daggers at her, "Am I supposed to be impressed? You won't succeed in turning us to the Dynasty, so don't waste your time."
The evil smile disappeared from her face and flames of intense hatred and anger filled her eyes. She looked at a soldier. It in turn brought its bo staff around and connected it with the back of Sage's legs. Sage winced in pain as he fell to his knees. Before he could move, the warlordess was standing right in front of him. The smile returned to her face as she pressed one of the jittes close against his throat. "We have no interest in you or your allies, Halo. We have been ordered to kill all of you and take your armors. The only person that Master Talpa is interested in turning to the Dynasty is the third key. That is the only person capable of harnessing the power that the Master wants. When that day comes, even the Ancient Kayura will be expendable." She pressed the jitte harder into Sage's neck, enough to draw blood. Her eyes flashed at the sight of the crimson color starting to seep from the cut. "Sadly, you will not live to see it." She motioned to Taro, who unsheathed his no-datchi as he stepped forward. Mara withdrew her weapon and continued, "Congratulations Halo, you will be our first kill."
Taro raised his no-datchi above his head. All of the warlords had wicked smiles painted across their faces. Sage shut his eyes tightly as the sword came down.
Then everything went black.
* * * * * * * * *
Sage opened his eyes and bolted up, nearly falling out of bed. He was breathing hard and covered in cold sweat. He was also shaking visibly. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and perched his head on balled up fists.
Rowen had heard his best friend startle and sat up in his own bed. "Hey Sage, what's up? Everything ok?"
Sage was barely able to speak. "Yeah," he said in a raspy and exhausted voice. He was trying to concentrate in order to control his breathing, and failing at his attempt.
Rowen got up and out of the bed and walked to the other end of the room to take a seat next to Sage. "Was it that same dream again?" Sage nodded and Rowen cursed inwardly to himself. This had been the fifth time that Sage had woken up like this since he first had that dream a month ago. They had opted not to tell the others until they learned more about it. "Any more information on who these new warlords or who this third key is?"
Sage shook his head, "No. It's just the same dream over and over. It starts the same and ends the same."
Rowen looked at his friend. "Then maybe it's time we should tell the guys. Mia might be able to find something in her grandfather's files about it."
Sage nodded in agreement and then looked at the clock. "We better get some more sleep. We have school tomorrow, remember? We can tell them after that."
Rowen nodded his head and then got up and climbed under the covers of his own bed. "G'night, Sage."
"Night Ro."
* * * * * * * * *
"NNNNOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
A girl shot up in bed, scaring the life out of the large gray wolf sleeping at her feet. She looked around frantically, expecting to see something, but then relaxed when she recognized the walls of her bedroom in her apartment. She breathed a sigh of relief and laughed when she caught the look her companion gave her; sort of like that what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-you look. She reached up and scratched behind his ears. "It's okay Orin. Just a bad dream." Orin got up and walked over to her. She hugged him and continued to scratch his ears.
These dreams had started about a month ago and continued to haunt her periodically. It was always the same thing: a young man about her age clad in green armor that looked like something right out of fuedal Japan, running through long dark corridors, being captured by someone calling themselves the 'Dark Warlords', and then being killed. It never changed, and frankly, it was beginning to scare her. Funny thing was that she could never see the faces of the people in her dream. She only knew of the events that passed by the conversation between the armored beings. One word kept lingering in her mind, though. Halo? She was sure that she had heard it somewhere. Nah. She shook off the feeling that kept nagging at her mind. 'Maybe I'm just freaking out.' She dwelled a few moments more on the entire dream itself, then began to think aloud, "I wonder why I keep getting this dream if it has nothing to do with me. It's almost like I'm picking up on someone else's dream." She looked at the wolf, "Silly, huh boy?" She sat up and looked at her clock: a quarter after five. She sighed; after that ordeal she wasn't going to get anymore sleep. She got up and put on some warm-ups and pulled her long brown hair up in a high pony-tail. "Come on boy, let's go run off some of this sleep before I have to get ready for school. She cringed at the thought: school.
Today she started as a new student at Han'a High.