Physical Limits
By Mardrena
"I can't believe it! After all this time, you've kept them!" an overjoyed Anubis exclaimed as he examined the stacks of books of varying thicknesses lying atop the table.
"Yeah, well we figured they could do more good than just moldering in the Nether Realm, and now that you have your own place, they can do even greater good with you," Cale shrugged.
"Thank you!!" Anubis unexpectedly threw his arms around his fellow former-Warlord's neck.
"Get…off…me…" Cale half-growled, half-croaked.
"I know you like books but I never imagined you'd go gaga over them," Mia remarked as she and Kayura carried in other small boxes.
"Ah, but these aren't just any books," Anubis released Cale and picked up a thin volume. "You'd be lucky to find any other intact copies *anywhere* else on the planet. You wouldn't find this sort of information at your local library, that's for sure."
"Yup, before you knew him as a diabolical harbinger of terror and destruction, our guy here was quite the bookworm," Cale tousled Anubis' hair playfully.
"Well, you know the old adage 'knowledge is power'? Back then I wanted all the power I could get my hands on, and what better way than amassing the largest personal library on arcane and occult knowledge in the entire Nether Realm?"
"…This is a nice place…" Dais commented idly to himself as he surveyed the interior of the apartment Mia had found for Anubis. "Clean, spacious…separate bedrooms and bathrooms…so you two can sleep in your own beds…and not in the same room with a snorer…"
"Hey! I don't snore!" Cale exclaimed suddenly.
"The Nether Realm can hear you at night," Dais said matter-of-factly and looked over his shoulder.
"That's just an exaggeration!"
"No it isn't!" Sehkmet hollered from the adjacent room. Cale huffed to himself.
"How did you manage to get your own room?" Mia asked Kayura.
"Oh, I employed my feminine wit and charm to negotiate favorable terms with the others," Kayura brushed a hand through her hair and shrugged.
"You threatened to hurt them, didn't you?" Mia raised an eyebrow skeptically.
"Now Mia, that would breach my Ancient's Oath of non-violence…" Despite Kayura's calm, sincere tone, Mia couldn't help but burst out laughing, and Kayura joined her right after.
"It's hard to believe they're all from the same group as my father," Michelle chuckled.
"I hope they haven't frightened you any," Mia said.
"Oh not at all! They're all quite friendly. Take Sehkmet, for example. Sure, he might come off as menacing and creepy, but he's actually pretty sweet." Dais and Cale had been listening in on the conversation but their eyes went wide upon hearing that last sentence.
"Creepy but sweet?" Dais and Cale exchanged glances, staring at each other for several seconds before grinning and exiting the room quickly, snickering to themselves.
"Oh dear, they're not gonna let him hear the end of that one…" Mia muttered to herself.
"Huh?" Michelle looked concerned.
"Oh, nothing. So, what do you think of the city, Michelle?"
"Well…it's big and it's small at the same time…" Michelle began and shrugged. "It's big because you can easily get lost in it, but it's small because I'm so used to looking in any direction and seeing the horizon. Here it's mostly blocked by buildings."
"If you ever need a refreshing view of an unbroken sky, I'm sure Rowen can oblige you with a brief flight above the skyline," Kayura smiled. Michelle giggled at the notion.
"Mia, where are the others? I thought they'd be here for the housewarming," Anubis asked, concerned.
"I'm not sure what's keeping them. Ryo said he was on his way but then he sounded like he was being interrupted and hung up. All he said was 'he had a train to catch'."
Kayura wrinkled her nose. "Why on earth would he need a train if they can just port over?"
"Hey! You wanna know what happens when you cross fire with dry cloth?" Ryo asked of the shambling linen-wrapped horror that stood in the aisle of the train car. The ragged-looking mummy raised shriveled limbs and splayed bony fingers, groaning deeply. "This!" Ryo merely reached out with the tip of one sword and barely graced its shoulder, but sparks flew off onto the dirt-caked linens and the dried husk ignited almost instantly. It howled in protest as Wildfire enveloped it from head to toe. Ryo smirked triumphantly at first but frowned in concern when he noticed civilians-trapped in their seats during the sudden invasion-cringing away from the intense heat.
Suddenly the fire shrank into a thin shell around the undead and actually intensified, reducing the mummy to a pile of ash in seconds before finally extinguishing. The civilians stared at the smoking remains in awe, and seemed mostly unaffected.
"….huh…." Ryo remarked and raised an eyebrow at the effect.
"I hope the others are having an easier job of this in the forward section," Cye commented as he fired high-pressure water blasts. He had to be careful of his aim, though, as his shots could just as easily pierce the flesh of the living.
"I don't think they're after civilians. There's something on this train they're looking for," Ryo shook his head.
Two cars ahead, several uniformed guards fired at approaching undead with their pistols. The bullets merely lodged into bone and dry flesh. One guard staggered back as a mummy reached out for his throat. Then the mummy collapsed, split in two. "You'd be better off helping to secure the rest of the train. Conventional weapons aren't as effective," Sage stated. Suddenly, a mummy leapt at him from behind, but before the Ronin Warrior could react, it collapsed onto the aisle. Sage glanced from the rigid corpse to the guard holding a fire axe. He shuddered as if unable to believe his own heroics. "…But that works too."
"Hey, can I ask you guys something; How come I never hear you trash talk? Or talk in general?" Kento asked of the mummies shuffling towards him. "I mean, you could at least say something along the lines of 'Your resistance is futile!' or 'I will dine on your juicy flesh!'. I mean even a little 'Braaaaaiiiins!' would be nice, but all I ever hear you say is, like, 'Muuuuurrrr' and 'Gwaaarrrghhh' and "Bleeaahhhh'." The undead horde came to a standstill as Kento raised his arms and started making grotesque faces. Their empty sockets and half-toothless mouths actually seemed to register surprise and confusion. "…you have no idea what I'm saying, do you?" The lead mummy slowly turned its head from side to side. "Oh, okay…just checkin'…HEEYYAAH!!" Kento swiftly crushed the lead mummy with a single blow.
"Can anyone hear me? We've got a-I'm not even sure there's a code to *describe* this kind of an emergency!" the frantic conductor spoke into a crackling radio.
"Hey! Stop the train!" The conductor looked up and his eyes widened upon seeing an armored figure hovering infront of the lead car window, maintaining the exact same speed as the train itself. "You need to let these civilians off before you have any casualties!" The conductor merely gawked at him. "Don't look at *me*! Look at your damn console! Hit the emergency brakes!!" Rowen shouted. The conductor reached for a lever and grasped it. He pulled down, but the train's speed remained unchanged. He pushed it up then pulled it down again. Still no result.
"It's not working…The controls aren't responding!"
"Great…" Rowen growled and took off towards the rear of the train.
"What's in that other car?" Sage asked of the guards.
"Just a shipment of artifacts being donated from a private collection to the new Koji building of the university. They wanted them transported by train to avoid the possibility of art thieves…but we never imagined anything like this!" a guard replied.
"The Koji building…hrm…" Sage looked down the aisle at the door separating cars. He spotted a towering, bulky figure in the next car.
"You might as well give up, Ronin Warrior. I can conjure new minions indefinitely." Pharaohn grinned and folded his thick arms over his chest. "I will have what I want."
Sage glanced from the horrified civilians to the smug Dynasty sorceror. The guards stood with him, ready to meet the oncoming undead. Sage narrowed his eyes and stepped forward until he stood between rows of unoccupied seats. Then he smirked and raised his sword, employing a Rait'chian tactic and twirling the blade, slicing through the walls, roof, and floor of the entire car. Passengers held onto their seats as the car shuddered, splitting in half.
"NOO!!!!" Pharaohn bellowed as the train split in half, the forward half zooming on ahead, while the severed cars began to lose speed. Sage waved a polite farewell. "Rrrrgh!!" Pharaohn snarled then made a dismissing gesture with one hand. The mummified minions on both halves of the train vanished abruptly. He turned around and began walking towards the rear car.
"Wow…I've heard about cutting your losses but that's new…" Kento remarked upon seeing the gaping hole.
"How's the forward cars?"
"Okay, I guess. People are kinda shaken but they'll be allright." The guards listened to the exchange between the two armored warriors then blinked upon seeing a third appear by the hole.
"Hey, Pharaohn messed up the power. This train's gonna go off the rails if we don't do something fast," Rowen informed.
"What about the emergency brakes?" a guard asked.
"They failed. I need you two up front we're gonna have to stop this the ol'fashioned way," Rowen said to Sage and Kento and flew back up again.
"I'm not going to like the ol'fashioned way, am I?" Sage frowned.
"C'mon, follow me. Heep!" Kento grabbed the edge of the opening and hauled himself up onto the roof. Sage walked over then looked over his shoulder at the guards.
"You should do what you can to secure the civilians. I have a feeling this is gonna get rough," he said to them before reluctantly following Kento.
Civilians in the disconnected rear half of the train all but flattened themselves against their seats as the blue-skinned behemoth stalked past, grumbling to himself angrily.
"Not so fast royal dead-guy! You're not getting off that easy," Ryo and Cye moved to intercept the Dynasty sorcerer. Pharaohn took out a jeweled scepter shaped like a cane.
"I have neither the time nor mood for your melodramatic rantings, Ronin Leader! Here, take a seat!" The two Ronin grunted from the invisible fist that slammed them into unoccupied seats. A woman tried to rouse a dazed Cye while Pharaohn continued toward the empty rear car.
"You forget about me, King Sandy-Butt?" Pharaohn snarled upon seeing the Lady Ronin standing in the middle of the aisle. "When I get through with you what's left won't be fit for display in a museum!" Tanya smirked and brandished her swords. Pharaohn narrowed his eyes, but instead of raising his cane, he took out a similarly-decorated rod with smaller jeweled links dangling from the tip and pointed it at Tanya. She didn't have time to react as a burst of light momentarily blinded her. When she regained vision, she noticed her arms felt lighter, and much to her horror, she saw she wore sub-armor instead of battle gear. Pharaohn smirked cruelly.
He drew out his sword, and in a warped mimicry of Sage's earlier tactic, swung up with the blade and sliced through the sides and roof. "I believe this is your stop," Pharaohn grinned and raised one leg, lashing out and striking Tanya in the stomach with his sandaled foot. She collided with the rear wall, and the split section started to peel back. Pharaohn flickered out of view, leaving Tanya frantically trying to jump forward. She managed to grab the floor just as the rear wall peeled back. Sparks flew off the rails as metal bounced and slid along the rails, with Tanya dangling precariously over the thin sheet. She tightened her grip on the floor and tried to pull herself up, glancing over her shoulder at the rails sweeping past.
The fragile strips of metal holding the rear wall to the floor snapped, and the entire section slid and bounced away along the track. The shrieking of metal against metal drowned out any other cry.
"Okay, when I give the signal, you two will have to give it everything you got." Rowen instructed as he hovered infront of the train. Sage and Kento hung from the top edge of the roof. Inside the car, the curious conductor pressed his face against the window and looked at them.
"You might wanna take cover, dude. This could potentially get messy," Kento warned. The conductor gulped and ducked down further back in the car.
"Lemme get some distance between us. Here goes!" Rowen shouted and shot off ahead, creating a slight sound boom.
"…Huh…I didn't know he could fly *that* fast…" Sage commented and tensed. Suddenly a single golden arrow struck the front of the train. "That's the signal! Go!" he and Kento slid down and braced the soles of their boots against the rails. Far ahead of the train, Rowen held his palms forward and the air rippled and hummed deeply. As the train hit the field, windows shattered and the walls started to collapse slightly. Inside, civilians and guards covered their heads with their arms and knelt on the floor. Sparks flew off the rails as Kento and Sage attempted to slow the train. Kento grit his teeth and Sage cried out from the effort.
Rowen could feel sweat sliding down his face as he maintained focus, but the train eventually creaked to a stop altogether. The cars wobbled on the rails slightly, but otherwise remained on the tracks. Rowen collapsed onto the rails, completely spent. "Oh man…I don't think I was meant to use my armor like that…" he wheezed as the forward section creaked and groaned in some places. Kento and Sage likewise collapsed, and Sage yelped and began stamping his feet on the ground attempting to cool the heated metal, while Kento grabbed his ankle and pulled his leg up, actually blowing on his soles rapidly.
Ryo finally came to and stood up shakily. "The car…it's not slowing down fast enough. Is there an emergency manual brake anywhere?" he asked a civilian. A man pointed at a painted panel underneath another man's briefcase. Cye moved forward and kicked the briefcase to the side then jammed his trident into the panel then wrenched it off, exposing the brake lever. He knelt down and held his hand over it.
"Brace yourselves!!" he cried out in warning before pulling up the lever. The wheels stopped suddenly and sparks flew off the rails as the rear cars began to slow down. An elderly woman fell out of her seat and landed on the floor painfully. Ryo scooted forward and helped her to her knees, sheltering her as the cars wobbled from side to side. The cars stopped moving entirely.
"Everyone allright?" Ryo asked and looked up.
"Depends on your definition of 'allright'," a man grumbled.
Ryo and Cye stood up and looked around. "Looks like Pharaohn made a clean getaway…hey, where's Tanya?"
"Did she head to the forward section along with the others?"
"Not that I saw…" Ryo looked down the aisle and saw the open door to the rear-most car. He frowned and walked towards the doorway. "Tanya? Tanya, you there?" The two Ronin entered the car and saw the gaping hole in the rear. "Tanya! Where are you?" Ryo looked looked down and saw white-armored fingers practically buried into the floor panels. The two of them hopped out of the train onto the rails. "Sis, what'cha doing back here?" Tanya hung down from the edge of the floor with her stomach and legs lying against the track. She didn't respond. Cye frowned in confusion, but his eyes widened when he saw something.
"Ryo! Look!" he croaked. Ryo looked down at the ground and saw a steadily growing pool of red in the gravel beneath Tanya's legs. "Don't move her!" Cye warned, but Ryo in his haste ignored the warning and knelt down and rolled Tanya onto her back.
"Oh God!! Tanya! Sage! We need to get her to Sage!"
"Ryo, she *needs* a hospital! Even Sage can't handle an injury like that!"
"Okay…we can port her over to Shinasha and have the Doc look at her…Tanya, hang on! You'll be allright! You're going to be allright!" The Lady Ronin's eyes remained closed, as the pain had long since driven her from the realm of consciousness.
When Tanya's eyes finally opened, she only saw blurry lights. Successive blinks helped her regain focus, and she found herself looking up at a clean white ceiling. Her entire body felt stiff and heavy, and even glancing about the room seemed to take monumental effort. She saw curtains on one side and the other a bulky gray machine with blinking LED lights and lines moving in a rapid zigzag. Sheets were tucked in tightly about her.
"Here, I'm not sure if you'd need this for anything. We removed all the shrapnel we could find and X-rays didn't find anything else." She heard voices and lifted her head up slightly.
"Thanks…" she heard Ryo mumble and saw him standing with Dr. O'Connor by a doorway.
"She suffered extensive tissue and nerve damage, but it looks like her armor took the worst of it. Any deeper and she might've lost *both* legs..."
"Ryo…what's going on?" Tanya croaked, not believing how weak her voice sounded. Ryo still seemed to hear her and looked her way.
"Hey sis! Don't worry, you're safe now. Doc says you'll be allright after some rest."
"Doc?...where…where am I?" she frowned and tried to sit up. She couldn't feel her legs, but the lumps under the sheets told her they were still there.
"Stay on your back. You shouldn't be moving after what you went through. You're fine, you're in Shinasha Memorial," Charles assured. Tanya's eyes widened in horror.
"The hospital? No…no! Ryo, get me out of here. I can't be here!" Tanya tried to scoot off the bed. A nurse who was checking the instruments monitoring Tanya's condition walked over to the bed and tried to nudge her back down. "I don't want to be here! Get me out of here! Get *away* from me!" Tanya screamed suddenly and shoved the nurse away violently. Another nurse heard the outburst and ran in and grabbed Tanya's arm, but Tanya yanked her to the side, sending her colliding with the other nurse.
"Tanya! Calm down! It's just the hospital, there's nothing to worry about!" Ryo pleaded.
"I need an orderly in here!" Charles leaned out into the hall then looked back into the room. "Actually make that three!" he hollered. Three blue-uniformed men rushed over to the hysterical Lady Ronin's bedside and grabbed her arms, trying to pin her down, and still having trouble trying to restrain her. Tanya shrieked at the top of her lungs and squirmed about in bed as she tried to escape. All Ryo could do was stand by the doorway and wish dearly he could turn himself invisible. He glanced over his shoulder and saw staff members and passerby's pause to watch the scene. Charles fetched a syringe and medicine bottle from a cabinet and measured out a dose of some drug. Tanya saw him and desperately tried to wriggle free of the orderlies' grip.
"NO!! GET AWAY FROM ME! GET THAT AWAY! NO!! NO!!!" she screamed to no avail as the Doc skillfully administered the sedative despite her thrashing. The orderlies kept her pinned down as they waited for the sedative to take effect. Tanya tried to fight the grip of the drugs flowing through her system, and whimpered softly as the strength of desperation left her. The orderlies released her as she relaxed entirely, and her eyes closed. Charles walked over to the two nurses and talked to them gently and helped the injured one stand up. The orderlies left the room, followed by the nurses, all of them commenting about the crazy girl. Ryo remained by the doorway and had his arms folded over his chest and rubbed the knuckles of his left hand against his chin. Charles walked over, looking calm until he stopped beside him.
"You mind telling me what the *Hell* that was about?!" he hissed, understandably angry.
"She…she has a fear of being in hospital beds…when she was a kid she thought it meant you were going to die…I didn't think she'd still be afraid after all this time…" Ryo replied feebly.
"I can understand if she has a repressed memory, but that still doesn't excuse this!"
"She hates being laid up like this. She's so used to being self-sufficient."
"True…I'll keep her overnight for observation then I'll release her to your care. At least you all can do in days what would take weeks, even months of recovery, not to mention rehab."
"It's not like we can wave a magic wand. Even Sage and Shannon would need a lot of time."
"Still, she'll likely feel more comfortable being treated by them than staying here, that's for sure…" Doc said and went out into the hall to attend to other matters. Ryo watched Tanya, her face still frozen in a desperate grimace from her struggle.
"…I know exactly how you feel, Sis. You might disagree, but I know *exactly* how you feel…" Ryo muttered sadly while the Lady Ronin slept.
"It's called the 'Needle of the Heavens'. Ancient legends claim it was used by the Gods to stitch the sky to the earth, and that it can open the way between worlds," Anubis explained and set one of his books on the dining room table next to an inventory list Mia had brought from the university. The aged ink drawing looked virtually identical to a photograph of the artifact.
"So what does some obscure myth have to do with yesterday's attack?" Kento shrugged.
"Ah, but you see, every-" Anubis began and smiled.
"Myth has a grain of truth…" "Yeah, yeah we know!" "Oh *GOD* do we know!" some of the others grumbled. Anubis scowled, slightly offended and at the same time stunned.
"This could be used to bypass the barrier between the Mortal Realm and the Nether. Pharaohn no doubt seeks to gain control of the Nether Realm's strategic location and resources."
"We can't let that happen, but Lord Mabu should be notified of the possibility of an invasion." Kayura set a shallow bowl on the table and poured water into it as if for scrying.
"I thought all contact with the Nether Realm was cut off," Rowen commented.
"It is, but it is still possible for those of Kayura's skill to commune with the residents," Cale replied and watched as Kayura raised the Staff and gently dipped the ornamented top into the bowl. She began stirring slowly, chanting under her breath all the while, and with each pass smoke drifted up from the rim of the bowl. The others watched, amazed as the ring of smoke rose into the air then tilted forward. Kayura stepped back and waited for the portal to stabilize.
A clear image of a round metallic face mostly concealed by an ornamental mask formed in the portal. Glowing green eyes blinked in confusion at first. "Ahh! Lady Kayura! It is *good* to see you once again!" the being assumed to be the Nether Realm's current regent greeted cheerfully.
"Glory and long life to you, Lord Mabu," Kayura curtsied briefly. "How fares the Nether?"
"Good, very good! We've prospered greatly since the passing of our un-lamented Emperor. Just recently we completed our first harvest, and what a bounty! Shame you no longer reside here to enjoy it with us!" the portly noble replied.
"If they're just a bunch of spirits in armor, why do they have to eat?" Ryo shielded his mouth with a hand and whispered to Dais.
"Contrary to what you may believe, young Ronin Leader, we of the Nether do share an appreciation for the finer things in life," Lord Mabu chided. Ryo blinked, startled that he heard him from that distance. "Old conflicts aside, we are not entirely unlike yourselves."
"I am glad to hear things are going so well Lord Mabu, but I would not have expended such effort for merely pleasantries. I have grim news to relay: We've confirmed that Pharaohn, formerly of Dygra's command, survived our last great battle, and has made efforts to procure the Needle of the Heavens." Upon hearing that, Lord Mabu's eyes widened then narrowed.
"So…Pharaohn thinks he can use the Needle to barge in here, and take the realm as his own? Hah! He is sorely mistaken in that regard! He and any others who attempt to usurp our new order will find no sympathizers here! Granted, there have been a few isolated uprisings by loyalists of the old regime, but nothing that cannot be put down in a swift and brutal manner as is befitting of them. You have my oath, Lady Kayura, should the worst come to pass, we *will* fight any attempts at subjugation! We bow to *no* Emperor anymore, least of all a fallen sorcerer king!"
"You honor us with your dedication and valor. You have my oath that myself and the Ronin Warriors will do all that we can to make sure Pharaohn does not obtain the Needle. May you reign for many ages to come, justly and fairly," Kayura bowed again.
"Or else we'll kick your ass!" Cale shouted and leaned infront of the portal.
"Cale shut up!!" Kayura whacked him to the side with the Staff. "Don't listen to him!" she waved hurriedly at the portal at a confused Lord Mabu before the portal dematerialized.
Cye had observed the conversation quietly, but looked troubled. "I know what you're thinking, Cye," Anubis spoke up suddenly. Cye looked startled but didn't say anything. "Lord Mabu is of Sabrestryke's crowd. He would not betray the covenant between our worlds."
"As long as we're alive, you mean…" Cye muttered under his breath. He couldn't help but recall one of the various warnings he'd received in his vision weeks ago.
"The Needle is part of a collection set to go on display at a benefit dinner later in the week. Until then they'll be stored in a secure vault, though after what happened on the train, I doubt that'll stop Pharaohn," Mia stated.
"We'll set up a rotating watch on the university grounds, then. If Pharaohn hasn't made his move yet, we'll all go on stakeout the night before the event. We'll be short Tanya, but if we use the Incarnations, we can make up for her loss," Ryo said.
"Assuming she stays in bed. Sanadas seem to have an aversion to recuperating." Rowen obviously meant that in a light-hearted manner, but Ryo wasn't amused, and everyone could see that. No one said anything for several seconds.
"How is she?" Kento asked softly. Ryo didn't reply immediately.
"Her legs are pretty torn up. Sage and Shannon are doing what they can by alternating treatments, but it'll still take time before her legs heal, and even longer for her pride. "
"If she wore her Battle Armor, she wouldn't have suffered so badly," Sehkmet commented.
"That's the thing! She did! Pharaohn used something to force her to power down. The Doc says if it weren't for her sub-armor, she would've lost both kneecaps. She's lucky she'll still be able to walk." The others grimaced at the thought.
"Could Pharaohn use this magic against us?" Cye asked.
"I doubt it; otherwise he would have weakened you in a similar fashion. I suspect the…*unique* nature of Tanya's armor made her more susceptible," Anubis explained.
"We can't do anything to change what happened, but what we can do is make sure that Pharaohn doesn't get what he wants, and not only that. If we get the chance-and believe me, we will-we're going to take him out: permanently," Ryo stated firmly with vengeance in his eyes.
"I've left notes and records of my life's work and research, so I'm confident that anyone with the initiative to act as my successor will have no trouble filling the role," Pharaohn said while he sorted stacks of parchments on his work table in a candle-lit room. Various vials, jars, and clayware pots littered the corners and edges of the surface. Pharaohn turned around and his face took on an uncharacteristically warm look. "I can afford to fail in my mission. *You* however, cannot. Everything we have worked for thus far hinges on your success. Bluntly put; I'm nothing more than the diversion. I am not expected to survive…and because of that, I will wish you good luck…" he said with a half-smile to the shadowed figure standing in the doorway.
"Why, thank you Pharaohn. That's very sweet of you…you know, you remind me a lot of a teacher I remember from school…"
"And you like the child that never survived long enough for me to care for. I trust you are liking your new…*enhancements*?"
"Very much so. They've made my past missions so much easier…and I'm sure I can put them to creative use for later tasks."
"Excellent. Now, let us be on our separate ways. No doubt the Ronin will be expecting me to attempt to seize the Needle once more. I'm *counting* on it, but with the meddling Lady Ronin, as you would say, 'down for the count', maybe, just maybe, I'll survive after all."
Mia hummed to herself as she carried a breakfast tray upstairs to the guest room where Tanya would be spending the next few weeks convalescing. She balanced the tray on one hand and turned the doorknob with the other and shouldered the door open. "Okay, I brought you some-" Any cheerful greeting Mia had rehearsed bled out of her when she saw the bed empty with the comforter and sheets peeled to one side and white nightgown and slippers strewn over the bedpost. She looked to the side and saw the open window and walked over, setting the tray on the bed as she passed by. She pushed the curtains aside and peered out. "Oh no…"
Tanya had never attended school long enough to participate in organized gymnastics programs, but she moved with an unparalleled athletic grace as she went through one routine after another. Her palms rasped over the smooth bark of a sturdy low-hanging tree branch, and she continued swinging up and around with her eyes closed, completely oblivious to a very irritated Mia as she stalked out of the front door and towards the tree.
"You know, for some reason, I'd think that by now-after *all* that you've been through- you'd have more sense than this!" Mia shouted. Tanya hooked her legs over the branch then hung upside down and curled up again until her shoulders almost touched her toes. Then she reached up with her hands and grasped the branch before letting herself down onto the ground smoothly.
"It's just a little workout. Exercising keeps me from getting soft and weak," Tanya shrugged.
"Tanya; you're not supposed to *be* exercising! You're supposed to be *in bed*, *inside*, recovering! *NOT* straining your legs and undoing all the hard work Sage and Shannon put into fixing you up!" Tanya snorted and folded her arms over her chest, closing her eyes. "Okay…" Mia held up one finger and dug into her pocket with her free hand. "Ryo told me to show this to you if you did something like this…You see this?" Mia held up a tiny glass jar. Tanya glanced at it just long enough to identify the tiny white shards inside. She stared at them for several seconds coldly before averting her gaze. Mia rattled it several times, the shards bouncing about.
"This is what they took out of you when you were in surgery! These are pieces of your own armor they had to pull out of your skin after you almost got your legs ripped off on the train tracks! Most people wouldn't have *survived* such an injury, much less kept both legs! You can sigh and roll your eyes all you want, but you can't deny that you took a bad hit out there, and you *need* to take it easy and recover *properly*!"
"I KNOW MY LIMITS!!" Tanya snapped and glared at Mia angrily. Mia stopped talking and remained quiet. Much like a raging storm, the only escape from one of Tanya's rises was to wait it out. "I know how much punishment I can and cannot take! You-Just-I could *burn* your *ears* with stories about close I've come to buying the farm and still came out on top." Mia bit her lip and listened patiently as Tanya recounted a well-known story about how the Lady Ronin of old, Mardrena, had once fought all four Dark Warlords in succession, and each time, at the brink of collapsing, managed to come out on top. While Tanya continued ranting angrily, Mia's gaze roved about, first to the grass, then the tree, then Tanya's legs. Her eyes widened.
"Oh God! Tanya! Your legs!" Mia exclaimed suddenly. Tanya frowned and looked down, horrified to see the fabric of her jeans above her thighs stained dark red. Seemingly at the sight of such bleeding, whatever strength the Lady Ronin had summoned to venture outside abandoned her as her legs buckled and she nearly collapsed. Mia caught her by the shoulder and helped support her. "Tanya, I understand how you feel, and you can say that I don't, but I do. A couple years ago, when lesser Dynasty lords were trying to capture Inferno, Ryo put his own health at risk to fight, but he suffered a great deal because of it. The whole point of there being all Ten of you is so that there are others who can share the burden in an event such as this.
"I have a great deal of respect for you and the others, but beneath all that armor and magic, you're still human. You're not supposed to be worrying about fighting, you *need* to heal. Let the others do the fighting for you. The world won't suffer because you take time to recover. Tanya, do you understand now?" The Lady Ronin didn't say anything and kept staring at the ground, trying to avoid Mia's gaze as well as the sight of her own bleeding legs. "Tanya?"
"If I promise to go back to bed, will you *please* stop talking?" Tanya moaned. Mia chuckled briefly and nodded.
"Here, you shouldn't even be on your feet…Whiteblaze! Whiteblaze! Can you come out here and give us a hand…or paw, rather?" Mia called towards the door. It only took seconds for the white tiger to sprint outside and he offered his broad back to the Lady Ronin.
Tanya had resigned herself to her fate and sat in bed with the sheets pulled over her freshly re-bandaged legs. Mia had left a breakfast tray as well as a newspaper and the mini TV. Tanya had just finished eating and set the emptied tray to the side. She looked up when she saw the door swing open and saw a black and white striped form approach the bed. Whiteblaze clambered up and lay down next to her. "Hey there, come to keep me company?" Tanya smiled and reached out to rub Whiteblaze's ears. She glanced to the side when she saw shining metal plates moving past the edge of the bed. Much to her surprise, Blackblaze leapt up neatly and stretched along the opposite side of the bed. "Blackblaze…This is a pleasant surprise…"
The armored tiger set his chin over his paws and his spirit-brother likewise settled in for a nap. Then Tanya realized that the weight of both tigers on the bed kept the sheets tightly stretched over her legs, effectively keeping her pinned. "…lemme guess: you two are here to make sure I don't run off again?" Whiteblaze merely yawned and Blackblaze twitched his tail. Tanya sighed and picked up the newspaper and a nearby pen. She searched for a crossword puzzle in an effort to keep her mind occupied, but something caught her eye and she flipped back a few pages.
"…'Police are still baffled by the nature of the brazen robbery of a district evidence locker which occurred during last month's inexplicable disturbance. So far no suspects have been identified, and the department declined to disclose what exactly was taken, only that the items in question were not related to any current relevant cases'…" Tanya narrowed her eyes. "…why do I feel like that should ring a bell?" she muttered. A series of loud thumps from the hall drew her attention and she sat up straight. "Hey! What's going on out there?"
Rowen paused by the door and peeked in. "Tonight's the night before that benefit display. Ryo wants all of us on stakeout to see if Pharaohn shows his ugly mug," he explained.
"Don't worry about a thing, Tanya. You stay put and take it easy. We'll handle the rest," Cye added and the two rushed off to join the others. Tanya wanted badly to join them, but until her legs were pronounced fully healed, she'd be sitting in bed for a good while longer.
The Ronin had taken up positions in various locations. Ryo, Sehkmet, and Cale kept watch over the front gate, while Dais hid himself close to the room with the actual vault. Rowen performed sweeps of all checkpoints and Anubis and Sage patrolled the grounds outside. Cye sat on the edge of the roof overlooking the building. He scanned the sidewalks winding through the grounds and tapped his fingers on the shaft of his trident. Then he looked up when he noticed his partner returning. "Oh for gosh sakes, Kento! I know you didn't!" Cye moaned upon seeing his friend carrying a plastic bag and a cardboard cup holder.
"What? We could potentially be at this for hours. It's important we maintain proper energy levels to stay alert," Kento replied calmly and took a seat next to Cye.
"The fate of the world hinges on the protection of a crucial artifact, and all you can think about is stuffing your face?" Cye accused while Kento proceeded to remove items from the bag, setting some aside in a small pile. "We could be in the heat of battle and you'd insist on taking a snack break. I can't believe you sometimes-" Kento held up a cup and a glistening napkin-wrapped pastry. "Ooh! Thanks!" Cye's mood immediately lightened and he accepted the snacks.
Lyor growled steadily as he prowled along the brick wall towards the south of the grounds. Razor Wing circled above while Foam Reaver wove underground. Boulderdash managed to conceal his bulk amid some carefully trimmed bushes and Iguadalupen lounged along a high tree branch. Students and professors had gone home an hour earlier, leaving the complex mostly empty save for a few night owls completely oblivious to the "extra security".
"Ryo!!" Ryo looked up when he heard Rowen shout. "Ryo, I just got word there's a large force of Gargoyle Soldiers attacking apartments on the west side!"
"Anyone been hurt yet?"
"No, they're just ripping up the place, but its causing a huge panic."
"They're trying to draw us away. We have to respond, but at the same time we cannot abandon our posts here," Sehkmet muttered and watched Ryo, waiting for any order. Ryo bit his lip and rapped his fingers against the hilt of his swords. Then he took a deep breath.
"Lyor! Take the other Incarnations to the west side and get the situation under control." Lyor growled in acknowledgement and roared a command to Razor Wing, who in turn screeched to the rest. Foam Reaver, Iguadalupen, and Boulderdash abandoned their cozy spots and followed.
"That's a third of our forces right there…" Sehkmet muttered.
"We'll just have to work around the loss. Cale, go inside and backup Dais. If he gripes about it threaten him with your singing," Ryo ordered. Cale grinned wickedly and wrapped himself in shadow before leaving. Rowen went back to his patrol and Ryo and Sehkmet adjusted their positions to cover for the absence of the Incarnations.
Meanwhile, on their perch on the roof, Kento and Cye continued snacking pleasantly. "Hey Cye," Kento mumbled through a full mouth then swallowed solidly. "Didn't Mia say the security staff gets off at 9 then the automated systems take over?"
"Yeah…why you ask?" Cye thumbed white icing off the corner of his lip then licked the sugary residue off his armored thumb.
"Well, what are those guys doing then?" Kento gestured to a group of half a dozen uniformed figures walking towards the building entrance with his cup.
"Hrm…I dunno…we should find out." Cye gulped down the last of his drink and Kento stuffed the last pastry into his mouth and the pair leapt down to intercept the newcomers. "Sorry, mates, but I'm going to have to ask what you're doing here this late." The fact that they didn't react with shock upon seeing two armored men should've been the first hint, but the empty black eyes and slack jaws confirmed their suspicion. "…Lovely," Cye muttered and he and Kento readied their weapons as the shambling undead shed their disguises and attacked.
"Cye and Kento are under attack from the south wall!" Rowen reported as he flew overhead.
"We should assist, then!" Sehkmet drew his swords.
"No. For all we know it could be another ploy to draw us off. Until Pharaohn himself attacks, we can't afford to abandon our posts. Kento and Cye can hold their own for now." Ryo stated. Sehkmet and Rowen reluctantly obeyed. *Pharaohn'll have to make his move sooner or later…he'll need more than a few lemmings in linen to get past us.*
Tanya sat in bed with the TV on in her lap. Blackblaze didn't seem at all interested, but Tanya tilted the screen towards Whiteblaze's side so he could watch too. Suddenly the program they were watching changed to an emergency news bulletin. *"We're bringing you this shocking coverage live from midtown. It looks like a scene out of a horror franchise! There appears to be a spectacular fight going on between winged metal monstrosities and spectral animals of some kind. About half an hour ago dozens of these constructs appeared and began attacking random areas, causing massive property damage. A few minutes later, these animals arrived and in a clear response to the attack, just began *shredding* these constructs! So far there have been no civilian casualties, but I imagine the insurance costs for damaged property will be through the *roof*!"*
"The Incarnations were supposed to take my place at the stakeout…if they're not there…" Tanya drew in her breath and frowned in dismay. Then she looked at Whiteblaze. "Blaze, you know what this means, right? The guys need me. I know I promised Mia I'd stay in bed, but if I do, that creep Pharaohn will get what he wants. Will you help me?" Whiteblaze stared at her with a stern look in his brown eyes. "Please…?" The tiger stretched his neck up until his nose almost touched Tanya's. Then his lips seemed to spread in a smile and he ran his rough pink tongue over Tanya's chin. "Who needs a dog when I got you? Hehe, let's go!" Tanya squirmed out from under the covers and staggered to her feet cautiously.
"I should save my strength for any fighting, so I'll need you to carry me into town. Blackblaze, you coming?" The Nether tiger hadn't budged at all and seemed quite content to keep napping. "C'mon! I heard you had it in for Pharaohn. I thought you of all cats would pounce at the chance to get revenge." Blackblaze twitched his whiskers. "Fine, be that way." Tanya raised her hand, displaying the gold and onyx Jaguar ring. "JAGUAR!!"
Jaguaradina, who of course hadn't participated in the stakeout, appeared briefly before turning into armor that covered Tanya's body. "Typhoon hasn't repaired itself yet, so this'll have to do for now. C'mon, let's get out of here before Mia notices," Tanya pushed the window open.
At the same time, Mia walked upstairs to check on Tanya. She opened the door just in time to see the AnimArmored Lady Ronin and Whiteblaze creeping out the window. "Oooh no…No!" Mia turned around and ran downstairs with surprising speed. She made it outside just as Whiteblaze landed in the lawn with Tanya on his back. "NO! No no no! I'm not going to let you do this!!" Mia dashed infront of Whiteblaze as he prepared to run and grabbed his ears.
"Mia, get out of my way. I have to help them," Tanya said and narrowed her eyes.
"The only thing you have to do is get back into bed! You're in no shape to fight!"
"Whiteblaze, just go…" Tanya muttered. Whiteblaze tried to move sideways.
"No you don't!" Mia tightened her grip and pulled to the side. Whiteblaze let out a half-growl, half-gurgle and actually looked embarrassed. "You can't do this, not in your condition! You might be doing it for the right reasons, like Ryo would, but this is the wrong time!"
"Did Ryo stay in bed?" Tanya asked calmly. Mia frowned and narrowed her eyes. "No, he didn't. And you know why? Because he *couldn't*. Too much and too many people depended on him being able to fight. It didn't matter if he was injured or weak; he had to do it because there was no other option. We don't have the luxuries of picking and choosing our fights. We don't have a day planner that lets us say 'we're going to fight on this day and at this time'. We take these things as they come, because we're *supposed* to.
"It's a lot like what the Thangiens say; 'We take these things upon ourselves, so that no one else need suffer'. Right now, Ryo and the others are shorthanded at the university, and they NEED help. So please, Mia: let go of the tiger," Tanya stated firmly. Mia stared at her a few moments longer then released her grip on Whiteblaze's tender ears and stepped back, holding her hands up in defeat. "Thank you. Tell Shannon I'll be back in one piece." Whiteblaze took off in a sprint towards the highway, and Mia watched them leave both worried and irritated.
"Hey Whiteblaze, how fast can you run? No, I don't suppose you'd have a speedometer back here, would you?" Tanya leaned from side to side and examined Whiteblaze's shoulders. The tiger twitched his ears and glanced up briefly before focusing on traffic going into and out of the city. "We need to get to the university as quickly as possible…Whiteblaze, ride the traffic!" Tanya shouted. The tiger roared and leapt high into the air, landing on the roof of a car as it sped down the highway. The driver jumped upon hearing a loud metallic thump, and the driver of a car in the next lane over nearly lost control and crashed upon seeing the two figures.
"Saves on gas, that's for sure…I can only hope I'm not too late."
"You know, I read once that it takes six months to make a mummy, so how the heck does Pharaohn get so many? I mean, first they gotta dry it, then they pull the brains out the nose, then they put the organs in jars, then they wrap it, then they put it in like three coffins… Does he have a mummy factory somewhere or does he get his goons from the same shop as Talpa?" Kento mused idly and sent dried flesh and bone spraying to the side.
"Kento! Seriously, knock it off!" Cye squawked and dismembered mummies. On the opposite side of the grounds, Anubis and Sage found themselves under attack as well as Ryo and Sehkmet. Rowen did what he could to assist all three points from the sky. Inside, Cale crept towards the vault, blending in with the shadows and bypassing the barely visible laser alarms.
"Who goes there?" a voice rasped.
"It's me, idiot. Ryo sent me to reinforce the vault defense. I think they're under attack outside, so it makes sense that Pharaohn himself will attack soon." Cale shed his concealing shadows and drew his sword. Dais swung himself down from where he'd hung from the ceiling and landed next to him. "I never met Pharaohn myself. What sort of powers *does* he have?"
"Alchemy…conjuration…sorcery among other things… He's a more powerful spell caster than a fighter. Surely he'd be no match for the two of us."
"Ryo made a good choice setting the strongest Ronin to defend the artifact," Cale smirked.
"My repertoire also happens to include illusion. Much more convincing and concealing than any of *your* parlor tricks," a deep voice rumbled from behind. Cale and Dais didn't have time to react as two large blue palms grasped the sides of their helms and bashed them together, knocking them unconscious. "'Strongest Ronin'…Indeed!" Pharaohn snorted and stepped past them towards the vault. Behind him, the armors of the incapacitated Ronin began glowing.
Back outside, Ryo and Sehkmet had to fall back to the metal and glass doors to the main building. More mummies than ever existed in actual Egypt swarmed all around them. One snuck up behind Ryo and prepared to bite his neck with yellowed teeth. Suddenly a white form pounced from above and crushed the mummy then whirled around and tackled another, tearing it apart with sharp teeth and claws. "Whiteblaze?? Wait…if you're here…that means…Oh no!"
Sehkmet was far too busy decimating the undead to notice his armor start glowing, and Rowen focused more on raining arrows upon the mummified hordes than his own pulsing armor. Ryo pushed open the glass doors and he and Sehkmet ran inside. Sehkmet remained to keep the undead at bay, but Ryo took off running into the building.
"These pathetic mortals and their machines think they can keep *me* from my prize?" Pharaohn waved his cane at the electrical locks. The panels sparked then fizzled. Pharaohn chuckled triumphantly and with a wave of his palm, the vault door swung open. He took a single step forward, but paused when a slender pink form leapt infront of him.
"You want your fancy toy you'll have to go through me!" Tanya declared and aimed her clawnchers. Pharaohn scowled and drew out his flail.
"Do you honestly believe that cheap knockoff armor would fare any differently against my magics?" he growled, and the rod glowed. Tanya shielded her eyes from the blinding flash, and much to her dismay found herself in Jaguar sub-armor. She hurriedly tried to re-aim her clawnchers, but Pharaohn grabbed her by her hands and lifted her up. It only took one squeeze from each hand to crush the barrels and blades of the weapons. "Your interference is beginning to irritate me, young Lady Ronin!" Pharaohn leered at her, his blocky face merely an inch away from Tanya's. She tried to kick him between the legs, but he flung her back against the vault.
"You know, I never understood why the master feared you so," Tanya sucked air in through her teeth as Pharaohn placed the tip of his kopesh sword under her chin and tilted it up slightly. "Behind all that coarse bravado lies nothing more than an arrogant, stringy little girl. I never had the pleasure of meeting your predecessor in combat, but surely she would've proved more worthy than you. Do you have anything bold to say before I cleave you in two?" he grinned.
"Bite me!" Tanya snarled and narrowed her eyes.
"Defiant till the bitter end, as befitting of a Lady Ronin. This won't be quick, I can assure you; I want to relish this too much." Pharaohn raised his sword high and grinned maniacally, while Tanya sat on the ground helpless. The thought of putting an end to a persistent thorn in the Dynasty's side made the sorcerer feel quite tingly…and warm…
Tanya first tried to cover her eyes with her hand, but the blinding light seemed to leak past her fingers. She turned her face to the side and brought her arms up to shield her eyes. She could feel intense heat on her skin, but it seemed to subside as quickly as it began. She blinked several times then looked forward and saw a smoking pile of ash on the tiled floor. She looked up and saw a white-armored figure standing before her with one hand clenched.
The armored person opened his hand with a snap and sparks flew off of his fingers. Then he looked down at her with sparkling blue eyes. "Couldn't just stay in bed, could you?"
"I couldn't help myself; I was going stir-crazy," Tanya shrugged and grinned. Ryo smiled behind the Inferno mask.
In the room outside, Cale and Dais were barely coming to as Rowen ran over. "Dais! Cale! You two okay?" Rowen asked and knelt beside Cale and helped him sit.
"What…the hell…are you all doing here?" Dais slurred as he recognized the others.
"All of the attackers just up and vanished. Why were you knocked out?"
"Pharaohn over-powered us…"
"Not so much over-powered as got the jump on us," Cale admitted sheepishly.
"The vault's been compromised! Did Pharaohn-?" Anubis was about to step forward but stopped when he saw Ryo walk through the doors carrying Tanya in his arms.
"We won't have to worry about Pharaohn anymore. He's been cremated," the Ronin Leader said with a smirk. "We have her to thank for that. If it weren't for her, Pharaohn would've gotten away with the Needle." Ryo gently set Tanya down, allowing her to stand on her own.
"I was wondering why Whiteblaze was here. She must've bribed him…" Sehkmet commented with a grin.
"Oh it wasn't hard convincing him to carry me here…Mia, on the other hand…"
"We owe you one, Sis…" Tanya smiled at the gratitude. "But you're off-duty until your legs are fully healed, starting now," Ryo stated firmly and narrowed his eyes.
"What?! 'Off-duty'!? What the hell is this, the police force?! Hey! What do you think you're doing?! Put me down *RIGHT* now!" Tanya squawked in protest as Sehkmet, Sage, Cale, and Rowen grabbed Tanya by the arms and legs and carried her off to one side to teleport her back to the estate. "RYO!! I'm going to kick your ass for this!!" she threatened and squirmed violently.
"Well you can do that after you've recovered!" Ryo hollered back.
"oooOOOOOOGHHH!!"
"I almost pity Pharaohn, for all his efforts were for naught," Anubis began as he walked out of the vault carrying the palm-sized stone obelisk. "You see this indention here? That's where the focusing gem for the Needle originally resided. I'm guessing either it was damaged ages ago or stolen by thieves. Without it, the Needle is nothing more than an elaborate paperweight," Anubis chuckled and hefted the Needle in his hand.
"Welp, better safe than sorry," Kento abruptly grabbed it out of Anubis' hand and crushed it between his palms, reducing it to marble-sized chunks of stone.
"….Why did you do that?" Anubis blinked several times in disbelief.
"But, you said-"
"I said the Needle is powerless, I didn't say the university couldn't keep it for their display."
"Oh…hrm…" Kento bit his lip and looked down at the pieces in his palms. Ryo winced and Dais suppressed snickers. "…You think we can superglue it back together and blame it on the Dynasty?" Anubis blinked again and let out a rattling sigh and placed his fingers on his brow.
Blackblaze hadn't budged at all from his spot on Tanya's bed, making it impossible for Mia to tidy up the sheets. She'd turned the lights off since she assumed he was sleeping, but if she'd bothered to look closely, she might've seen his lips curled in a very, very, very satisfied smile.
His arms felt cold. His entire body started to feel cold. It was the shock setting in from his injuries as he lay on the floor bleeding from where long black knives stuck into his arms and chest. Every other member of his team was dead, and the attacker now sauntered past their bodies confidently. He focused every remaining shred of strength to moving his arm to his holster and peeling the clasp open. He tried to make as little sound as possible as he pulled his sidearm out and, with his other hand, shakily closed his fingers about the trigger and aimed.
His body convulsed and his arms fell limp onto the floor, the gun clicking against the tiles no more than a second after metal crunched through bone and soft brain matter. Black Hawk sneered down at the fresh corpse of the foolishly defiant guard and ruffled her wings before settling them against her back once more. She hated wasting feather knives.
Her talons clicked against the tiled floor of the formerly-sanitized lab as she headed for a long metal table covered with plastic. She stood beside it for several moments, respectfully silent upon identifying the pieces beneath the clear sheet. She gingerly placed her fingers atop the plastic and pressed down slightly, just enough so that the glaring reflections from the fluorescent lights in the ceiling shifted away. Black Hawk shuddered involuntarily, as even though the blood-red mask had been sliced in half rather violently, it still seemed to stare up at her…and into her.