TITLE: What Lies Within
PART/TITLE: 2 of ??/The Price of Victory
AUTHOR: Dragonfriend (sag_diva@yahoo.com)
ARCHIVING: Anywhere, but PLEASE let me know where
you're putting it first….
WARNINGS: This story contains violence, probably a
little bit over the average Ronin Warriors episode. Unlike American edited
episodes, however, there WILL be blood.
DISCLAIMER: Ronin Warriors belongs to its respected
creators. Amber, however, is mine. If you want to use her, then that's just
fine. Just pop my name in the disclaimer and you're all set. The song Moon
Revenge is written by Fuyumori Kayoko, performed by Peach Hips, and found on
the Sailor Moon R Movie (the Japanese version, anyway). And this fic is from
Amber's point of view.
NOTE: I did not choose this song for the lyrics, but
for the actual music. I can send any of you guys the MIDI or MP3 file of the
song if you wanted. And, yes, a translation will be provided at the end of the
fic.
___________
I'm surprised Master Talpa trusted me enough to let me join the fight this time. He said I wasn't ready. What does he truly know of "ready?" Unfortunately, I had to have the quartet of Warlords with me. Anubis I don't mind so much. I actually like him. No… Like isn't the word I want… The word I was is respect. Cale on the other hand is a different story. I cannot stand the man, let alone get along with him. If I had the time, I would seriously bash his head in. Time does not allow for such things, unfortunately. Not this time around. As for Sekhmet and Dais? They are all right. Dais and Anubis were the first two warlords that I had ever met before in my life… I loved them like brothers.
Finally, I saw the heads of the Ronins heading this way. FINALLY. I released a breath that I did not even know I held. Time to kick some Ronin butt. I looked at Anubis, waited for his signal. He had to give the four of us the go-ahead. Sometimes, I hated the fact that Anubis was the Demon General. I felt my senses thrill at the thought of battle.
"NOW!" Anubis roared, shooting his right hand down by his side.
I nodded, looking at the others. Which ones were they heading for? Anubis wanted Wildfire, that much was for certain. Dais went for Hardrock. Sekhmet headed for Strata and Cale for Torrent. I found myself faced with green armor. So I was stuck with Halo. Green. I didn't like green all that much.
Yatto tadoritsuita ai nigrishime
Chiisa na nemuri ni yasuragu hito
Tojita mabuta ni sayonara kuchizukete
Toki no hanazononi anata okizari ni shita
"Well, Amber, looks like I'm stuck with you," Halo pointed out, looking at me.
"Likewise," I replied, brandishing my staff. "Do you want to make this easy and surrender?"
"Not a chance in hell," Halo retorted, brandishing his sword.
"I didn't think so," I sighed. "Shall we begin then?"
"I think we shall."
Halo charged at me, swinging his sword at my right. I hurriedly blocked it with my staff, then spun around in an attempt to hit him in the stomach. Halo, unfortunately, is smarter than he looks, considering he jumped quickly out of the way. Damn it. He then drew his sword up into the air and drew it down to the left. My staff was once again there to block it. I jabbed the part of my staff with the daggers at his face, hoping to scar him there, possibly confuse him in the process. The confusion part worked just fine----for about three seconds. Then his sword was right back there again. We struggled there, locked in that pose for a few moments. Eventually, he won out, enough to push me back into the ground. I tasted dirt in my mouth.
Ai wa yume no mama de wa tsuzukanai
Musaboreba utsukushii shikabane sore de mo
"Not so proud now, are we?" Halo demanded, laughing at me.
That laugh would forever haunt me now. I growled, pushing to my feet. Now I knew how Anubis felt when he got pushed into the dirt by Wildfire. I would NOT let that happen again.
"You'll regret mocking me boy!" I roared, grabbing my staff in my right hand.
Nozumu no nara okikakete kite
Ano kuchizuke wa akai Tatoo
Sadame no yokoku kizamu de wakaru
Kuchibiru gata ni itamu Tatoo
Kakusenai wa anata
It's Moon Revenge
I leapt into the air, practically flew through it. The air felt heavy now, but I didn't mind. As long as Halo would be punished, I didn't care. I spun my staff around in the air, centering all the power I could summon at the moment. I felt the energy gather at the tips of the daggers, waiting to be released.
"CHAOTIC COSMOS BLAST!" I shouted, aiming the blades of my staff at Halo.
I felt the energy surge from me, blasting forward to Halo. It's an odd thing when this happens. The caster of this is not aware at all of passing time. So, when the attack is finished, one hardly knows what occurred. After my vision from the attack cleared, I could see Halo in the dirt now. I landed a few feet away from his shaking form. Walking towards him, I dodged the renegade attacks in the area. The green armor would no longer taunt me if I had my way. And I usually did. I could see him struggling to get up. A few stripes of blood pooled around his body, near his face. Had I actually cut the boy? I planted my right foot on his chest in a gesture of triumph.
"Not so proud now, are we?" I demanded of him, throwing his words back in his face. I laughed at him now. "I believe I'll be proud to tear you limb from limb."
Unfortunately for me I had not noticed Halo's hands reaching for my foot. Once he had gotten there, he grabbed it. All I felt was a firm pressure around my ankle. The next thing I knew, I had gotten flipped into the dirt again. DAMN HALO!
"You'll regret mocking me," Halo said quietly, tossing my own words in my face.
I could taste dirt in my mouth. That and blood. The blood felt sweet in my mouth and the dirt added to the obscenity of it.
Yami ni tojikomerarete no mikareau
Oora wa kesenai tajiroganai
Sukete mieteru wakare de moenagara
Tsugi no meguriai mo mata anata ga ii to
My staff was nearby. I don't think I've ever been so glad to see a weapon in my life. I grabbed it, and slammed it against Halo's backside; he went flying. Finally… The pest was gone for a moment. And, as usual, before I knew what happened…
"THUNDERBOLT CUT!" Halo proclaimed, slicing his sword through the air.
A burst of energy was heading my way. Tossing my staff behind me. I ducked and carefully flipped over it. I continued my flip backwards for several turns before I landed near my staff. I could still see Halo's shocked eyes. How did she do that, he was probably asking himself.
"It takes practice, boy," I called to him from where I stood, grabbing my staff. "Now come back here so we can finish this!"
"Gladly!" Halo replied, racing towards me, his sword before him like a lance.
"Silly boy. Weren't you taught how to handle those things properly?" I demanded, easily deflecting the sword. I then proceeded to kick him into the dirt.
If we were keeping score, it was a stalemate. Two on two. I would emerge the victor, I vowed. I didn't care how, but I would win.
"The Dynasty is using you!" Halo started, turning to face me. That is… once he had stood.
"I've heard that one plenty of times before, Halo," I snapped. Actually, that was a lie on my part. I hadn't heard those before in my life.
Ai wa fukaku naru hodo yokubari de
Toiki sae shibaritai rifujin sore de mo
"They only want you for the armor!" Halo shouted over the din of battle.
Suddenly, nothing mattered more than Halo's destruction.
"Stop lying to me, boy!"
I slammed my staff up, ready to smack him in the head. Halo was ready to retaliate and his sword was up there with mine. Once again, we were locked in a battle of strength. However, I mentally pushed the power I knew was within me into my arms over my staff. I pushed forward with all my might. Halo went down on a knee. At long last, I realized, victory would be mine.
Hikari no usu noboritsumeteku
Akai kioku wa doku no Tatoo
Mirai no kaosu shimesu Tatoo
Futari de nara kudakechiru made
Kuchibiru gata ni itamu Tatoo
Daita mama de ii wa
It's Moon Revenge
Halo was putting up a strong fight, but it would soon be over. He deserved it. He was lying to me. The Dynasty was all I had known… the only ones who had shown me kindness. The only ones…
"Amber!" Halo begged, looking up at me from beneath his helmet. All I could still see was the flash of metal on metal. "Please, listen to me!"
"NO! You're merely lying to me!" I shouted, all my anger coming out as frustration. "I WON'T ALLOW IT!"
"Amber! They only want you for the armor!" Halo tried again. "You'll never be rid of them, Amber! Please! Just stop now! PLEASE!"
"You…must…DIE!"
"Amber, they're using you! They only want---------"
All I could feel now was anger. Anger and frustration. How DARE he! What did he know of the Dynasty's intentions? They only wanted to help me and Halo DARED to lie to me, dared to tell me that they wanted my armor. What did he know? And still his words would haunt me from this day on. Long after this fight, they would play over and over in my brain. My anger consumed me and turned into a raging fire. So I smacked him across the face with the back of my hand. His head turned from mine with the contact. I had been victorious. I was going to murder him like the rat he was. He deserved it.
"SHUT UP!" I ordered. "The Dynasty has been good to me."
"Only because they want your armor!"
I could see rivers of blood flow down Halo's exposed cheek. It mingled with the blood all ready on the armor and the ground. His once pretty armor was becoming stained. What a pity.
"No… I-----Shut up!"
Nozomu no nara oikatkete kite
Ano kuchizuke wa akai Tatoo
Sadme no yokoku kizamu Tatoo
Watashi ni nara hitome de wakaru
Kuchibiru gata ni itamu Tatoo
I brought my staff up, fully intent on killing the pest. I WOULD kill him. I glanced at my fellow Warlords. Sekhmet was having fun with Strata, as was Cale with Torrent. Anubis was busy dodging Wildfire's attacks while Dais taunted Hardrock. I had business doing this… This wasn't a fair fight. Something in the back of my mind told me that. Halo had taken the opportunity while I was distracted to pin me in the dirt and jerked my head back, his sword at my throat. I froze. One wrong move would ensure my death.
"Go on," I prodded. "Kill me. You have the opportunity to do so. Take it!"
Nothing happened. Every muscle in my body tensed in anticipation of death. I awaited the kiss of metal upon my throat, waited for my vision to die. And still nothing happened. I saw my fellow Warlords also on the brink of defeat. Anubis was about to signal for a retreat, I could tell.
"Why do you hesitate, Ronin?" I demanded. "Kill me!"
"I don't want to kill you," came the response from Halo. "You win this one by default, Amber of Chaos."
I watched in shock as he removed the sword from my neck and released my helmet. I gasped, surprised. Why did he do this? Just to torment me?
"One day, Amber, I hope you learn the truth," Halo said, sadly. "Until then… The fight is mine."
I stood, rubbing my neck. "You are a fool, Halo."
"RETREAT!" I heard Anubis shout.
Kakusnai wa anata
It's Moon Revenge
"We will meet again, Halo," I promised, teleporting out of the area with my fellow Warlords.
And next time, Halo, the fight will be mine.
Here's the Translation I promised you. Might be SLIGHTLY inaccurate, but…
Finally I have made it here, I grasp onto love
The man who rests in a light sleep
On your closed eyes, I kiss you goodbye
In the garden of time I left you behind
Love will not go on if it is just in our dreams
When my desire is strong, even a beautiful corpse will do.
If you wish for it, then chase after me
That kiss of mine is a red tattoo
A carved notice of destiny, that tattoo
For me I call tell with a single glance
In the shape of my lips, that painful tattoo
You cannot hide it
It's Moon Revenge
Even if we are trapped in darkness, you enchant me
Your aura can't be erased, it will not falter
Seeing through our farewell, I was burning inside
I would like the next one I meet to be you again
The deeper that our love gets, the more of it I want
I want to tie down your sighs, even if it's unreasonable
The swirls of the light are rising up high
The red memories are a poisoned tattoo
Showing the chaos of the future, a tattoo
When we are together, till we're broken apart
In the shape of my lips, a painful tattoo
You can go on holding me
It's Moon Revenge
If you wish for it, then chase after me
That kiss of mine is a red tattoo
A carved notice of destiny, that tattoo
For me I call tell with a single glance
In the shape of my lips, that painful tattoo
You cannot hide it
It's Moon Revenge