Ronin Warriors: Next Generation: Forever You Will Know Me
By: Shadow Chaser
Chapter 7
Kento opened his eyes; all he could see was blackness. 'Am I blind?' he thought to himself. Suddenly a bright, piercing light shone in front of his face. Kento instinctively covered his eyes, but found that strong iron chains held his hands away from each other. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.
"So now Hardrock, don't like the light? Too bad…I was hoping you put up a fair fight," a metallic voice said, coming from the direction of the light.
Kento slowly opened his eyes and recognized the silouhette of Dais, standing behind the bright light.
"What are you doing here. Shouldn't you be a lap-dog, running errands for Shadow?" Kento said, pulling on the chains, testing its hold.
"Why, Hardrock, I'm surprised to see you think this way. No, Shadow Lord holds me with the highest esteem," Dais said arrogantly.
"Yeah, I'm sure he does," Kento muttered under his breath, as he pulled on the chains binding his arms.
He grinned behind his faceplate as he heard the stones groan and shuffle a bit under his weight as he pulled.
"Hey, Dais, get a load of this!" Kento yelled and pulled with all his might, as the chains holding on to him came loose with a thundering crash.
He picked up his nunchucks/staff and charged swing at Dais who stood unmoving in surprise. Dais' expression then became icy as he stood there stoically. Kento swung with all his might, hitting Dais on the left side of his neck. There was a giant flash, and Kento found himself, back in chains, a shining bright light in his face.
"So now Hardrock, don't like the light? Too bad…I was hoping you put up a fair fight," Dais said.
'What the hell is going on?' Kento wondered as this time, he saw Dais without his faceplate on, grinning like the devil.
* * *
Wildfire…
Wildfire…
Ryo stirred up as he heard melodic voices calling his name. 'Whoa, in which country did I land on?' Ryo thought to himself as he saw an area littered with jagged rocks and a very tall mountain.
"Why Ryo? Isn't it great to be out of the Nether Realm?" a voice that he had not heard from in a long time said behind him.
Ryo spun around; fully aware that he was in his armor, and saw a face no older than what he saw when he was just six years old.
"Dad?" Ryo gaped, "but…but I thought you died, killed by a lion."
"I am very much alive son. Do you not see me?" Ryo's father said, opening his arms to embrace his son.
Part of Ryo wanted to hug a person he had not seen for ten years, but another part of his said that it was a trap. Ryo hesitated, unsure which one to follow. He looked down on the ground, willing himself to decide which was the right course. 'Where are my friends?' Ryo thought as he contemplated the decision. Suddenly his father cried out and Ryo's head snapped up to see a lion pounce on his father, tearing him to shreds.
"NO!" Ryo yelled, startling the lion, which ran away.
Ryo ran to his father's side and held his father's head prone, resting it against his knee. 'Ryo, my son, choose wisely,' he heard in his mind as he saw his father's eyes slowly drop down. 'No this cannot be happening, it's not true!' Ryo thought angrily as he cradled his father's still form.
"It hurts doesn't it Wildfire?" Shadow Lord's voice said, breaking though Ryo's anguished thoughts.
"You have a sick mind, you know that Shadow!!" Ryo said angrily, not looking up to face the demon.
"Your friends will face the same fate if you do not take action," Shadow Lord said, "look. Look how your friends suffer as you are here, outside the Nether Realm."
Ryo finally looked up and saw in the viewing portal, that indeed his friends and teammates were in considerable pain. He saw Sage, bounded by his arms, above a swirling cloud of dark water-the spirit pool. He was semi-conscious, and an occasional black-lightning would snake it's way up and hit him, making him wince in pain as his armor flashed a bright green then return to it's normal color.
"You see how Halo is suffering, he needs your help," Shadow said then closed the viewing portal and summoned another one.
Ryo glared at Shadow for a moment, before letting his eyes rest on the portal that he summoned. He didn't like what he saw. The C-Ronins was being tortured, along with Mia and White Blaze. He watched as he saw his future daughter being whipped by a single Shadow soldier she could have taken out with one swift stroke from her twin katanas. Her face was not defiant and full of leadership, her eyes were dulled from the pain, and she now had a haunted look.
"Your daughter, she was once just like you, but as you are out here, she in there suffering because you are too careless," Shadow taunted.
"I am not careless," Ryo said desperately trying to instill some confidence in himself.
"And what about Mia, the one you care the most other than yourself?" Shadow inquired, grinning behind his mask as his plan was working perfectly, "she trusted you to do the right thing."
"Ryo, why aren't you here! I trusted you, how could you betray me like this, leaving me here," Mia whispered from the viewing portal as she hung limply on the chains binding her to the damp wall of the prison.
That was the last straw for Ryo, as he turned away, unable to even look at Shadow Lord, unable to defy him. 'Is it true? Is this what's happening right now? How could I do this?' he thought to himself. Shadow Lord smirked evilly as he closed the viewing portal. 'All is going according to my plans. Soon Wildfire will be traversing in self-pity and the desperation of rescuing his friends. Then I can drain the remainder of his powers and forever rid myself the leaders of the Ronins and C-Ronins,' Shadow thought as he teleported away.
Ryo didn't even noticed Shadow's disappearance as he uttered a single word, falling onto his knees, "NO!!"
* * *
His kanji ball glowed brightly…
Cye was aware that he was half-awake, but half in a dream-like state. He recounted all those times he fought, against the Dynasty and the Warlords; against the Red Dungeon and the Warrior of Annihilation, his hardest enemy before Blackhawk; and now against the Shadow Realm and his dark-warlords. 'All through these battles, I've fought to defend my friends and myself. But was it right?' he questioned himself as he saw the battle images flash by in his meditative state. He felt another presence enter his mind and recognized it as Shino. 'Shino? How'd you do that?' he asked, hoping that his future son could hear him. 'Dad? Thank Cajun food, you're all right. Where are you?' Shino replied. 'Wallowing in self-pity and outside the Nether Ocean. I escaped Blackhawk,' Cye thought, 'Cajun food?' 'Sorry, mom says that,' Shino replied, 'you and I have a rapport with each other ever since you got your second generation armor, since my C-Torrent armor is an almost a clone of it. I can't really hear your questions, but I could feel your emotions, since you are in the original armor.' Cye "felt" Shino thinking of something. 'Here, I'll give you a glimpse of your future. You once had this discussion with me when I first got my Conjunction armor,' Shino thought.
Flash!
"You did good out there today son, I'm very proud of you," Cye said putting an affectionate arm around Shino's shoulders as they both sat on the small dock in Mia's property lake, overlooking the beautiful and colorful sunset.
The Ronins lived in different parts of Toyama and nearby Sendai, but Mia's mansion was a secondary home, if they had prolonged battles or if they wanted to have a get together.
"But dad, when I fought out there, I didn't feel right. I felt as if I was committing a big error in the face of God," Shino said, tossing a couple of rocks out into the lake.
"You're not son. I had this once, self-pitying myself. Saying, was I right to fight? It was when we battled a fierce opponent named Mukara. He held a twin version of Ryo's Inferno armor, a black color. It was so powerful that it controlled Mukara, not Mukara controlling the armor itself. I was afraid. My kanji says Trust. But how could I trust my own instincts; I realized that the armors were controlling us Ronins, I was so afraid to let my power go to Ryo to form Inferno. I was afraid to fight," Cye explained.
"Damn, dad, you afraid?" Shino said in disbelief.
"Yes, but eventually I realized that I had to fight, to save my friends. So you're not committing a big error. You just need to keep your heart pure and right to not let the armor control you," Cye said, then ruffled his son's reddish-brown hair.
Flash!
Cye jolted out of his meditation abruptly as Shadow Lord's mental voice filled his head. 'So Torrent, you have escaped, now did you. You won't get very far to rescue your friends,' Shadow said and severed the connection between Shino and him. Cye stood up and took his kanji ball out from his pocket. He felt a sharp dull pain in the upper portion of his right arm, reminding him of his battle with Blackhawk.
"Torrent!" Cye yelled out as he felt the cool, light blue sub-armor replace his clothes.
He stepped out from his hiding place and was greeted with at least a dozen Nether and Shadow soldiers. Kicking one in the chest, he leaped high into the air, and plunged straight down into the group of soldiers, his left arm extended out like a knife. His left arm snapped one of the soldier's head back and it faded away. Cye ran past the others and jumped high into the air again.
"Armor of Torrent! Dao Shin!" Cye yelled out as he put his hands out and braced himself for the transformation process.
Light blue condensed energy formed on his hands, as cherry blossom roll-paper shot around him. He gritted his teeth as the energy surged though him. Suddenly light petals of cherry blossoms fell around him and touched his sub-armor, hardening into the Torrent armor. There was a flash and Cye found himself back in the air, his yari in his right hand. He landed and the Nether and Shadow soldiers formed a circle around him, intending to trap him like a cat in a corner.
"SUPER WAVE SMASHER!" Cye yelled and water-energy burst through the crescent shape end of his yari, obliterating the soldiers.
He winced as the unearthly screams of the Shadow soldiers reached his ears, piercing the usual silence of the Nether Realm. Then all was quiet, with the occasional lapping of waves reaching the shoreline. Cye breathed a sigh of relief as he leaned heavily against his yari. He noticed that he was still exhausted from the battle with Blackhawk, and knew that it was not good. 'If I fight like this, getting exhausted, my guard won't be up. I have to conserve my energy,' he thought to himself, as he looked warily around for anymore soldiers. Seeing none, he started to walk into the maze that housed the main tower/castle in the Nether Realm.
Someone watched him unnoticed, his head peeking just a little above the ocean with glowing green eyes.
* * *
Mia felt totally helpless as she watched Ryo's armor darken a bit with every flash of a green tendril lashing at him. She hung by her wrists, her legs too tired to support her own weight, and every single move she made hurt her arms. She glared darkly at Blackfire, who stood away from the pool/sphere, his expression neutral and unemotional. 'Oh, Ryo, wake up! I know you can do it! You need to wake up so you can regain power to your armor. You're slowly dying Ryo!' Mia thought desperately, hoping he could hear her.
"Why are you doing this? Ryo is a part of you Blackfire, can't you feel his pain like your own?" Mia shouted angrily at Blackfire.
"He is not me. He is an abomination. He is the clone," Blackfire said, his voice devoid of any emotion as he continued to watch Ryo hang above the specially made Spirit pool.
"You are the clone! You are the one doing it to yourself! What if he dies? Then you will not exist!" Mia said then shrank back as Blackfire came towards her, his glowing light blue eyes blazing with anger.
Blackfire slapped Mia hard, snapping her head to the side, "You will learn to shut your mouth up girl! Continue your little crusade to free Wildfire, for all I care."
Blackfire spun around and walked out, leaving Mia half-dazed from the hit.
* * *
Kento glanced around warily unsure what course of action to take. 'What is going on here?' he thought to himself as he saw Dais twirl his nunchucks. Kento spread his legs apart, shoulder width as he hooked together his nunchucks into a staff. 'Is this an illusion, a dream state?' he thought as he pinched himself on the neck. He yelped and realized that it was all real, and he was not under a dream-like state. 'Aw hell,' he thought as he held his staff ready.
"Well Dais, ready to rumble?" Kento asked, blinking against the bright light shining in his face.
"You know that Shadow Lord will rule the universe and you will be his slaves, so why don't you give it up Hardrock and save yourself the trouble!" Dais said, the metallic cling in his voice echoing off the walls of the room.
"Well, I'm sick and tired of you saying about how good Shadow Lord is. Stick those words up your little puny ass and stay there!" Kento shouted, his temper finally blown.
He swung at Dais and expected a giant flash like the previous times he fought, but there was none. Dais blocked and unleashed a barrage of nunchucks ends in Kento's face, trying to blind him to an unexpected attack. Kento twirled his staff, blocking the nunchucks and stabbed at Dais's abdomen.
"You fight very well Hardrock," Dais commented, wiping some blood from his split lip as he stood up from the hit, "Now try this! Web of Deception!"
Hundreds of white web-like strands flew towards Kento, cris-crossing all around him, forming unbreakable bands of energy. Kento felt the constricting grasp of the white energy and found himself short of breath as he tried to break them apart.
"Don't like it Hardrock? Well, try this for size!" Dais said, and his nunchucks flew at an impossible speed, hitting Kento all over.
Kento cried out from the assault, unable to move back or defend himself as Dais's sure-kill held him in place. 'Justice! I have to get out of here!' Kento thought as he felt his kanji glow on his forehead. His armor pulsed with the strength of Justice as he tried to free himself.
"What's this? Hardrock, leaving so soon? Please stay, we have much more to discuss. Web of Deception!" Dais cried out and hundreds more of the white-energy strands wrapped themselves around Kento, enfolding him in a cocoon.
"Armor of Hardrock! IRON ROCK CRUSHER!" Kento yelled, and felt incredible power surge from his body to his staff.
The energy condensed and blew apart the cocoon, and Kento flew though the air and landed on the ground, panting heavily from the power he incorporated to the sure-kill.
"Dais, you've caused enough trouble! Iron Rock Crusher!" Kento yelled again and this time, his sure-kill lifted up heavy rocks and dirt, headed straight towards Dais.
"Web of Deception!" Dais yelled, countering the attack.
Both sure-kills met each other half way, neither one relenting. Finally the power build up was too much and Kento and Dais flew in opposite directions as the sure-kills exploded. 'Man, that was sure a toughie. I have to stay conscious,' Kento thought as he flew though the air. He noticed that he escaped his prison, even though it was a crude way.
"Heads up Cye! Here's Kento of Hardrock!" Kento called out to his best friend who was running towards Shadow Lord's castle.
He saw Cye look up and grin and knew that he was all right and also escaped his prison. 'Everything's all right. The Ronin Warriors will soon be back together. Then we could kick Shadow Lord and his goons ass,' he thought.
* * *
Ryo snapped his eyes open, and noticed that he was in a pool of some sorts, with reddish water and a dome sphere around him. 'Okay, chill Ryo, that was just only an illusion that Shadow wanted you to think. Your buds are not in trouble, they're just disabled,' Ryo tried to calm his anxiety, 'but what if they are in trouble?' He noticed that he was hanging 'y' style above the pool, his feet barley touching the surface of the pool. He looked around and saw Mia, hanging limply on a wall.
"Mia!" Ryo yelled, trying to see if she was awake.
He saw Mia lift up her head with effort, and knew that she was injured; how severely, he didn't know.
"So, Wildfire, you're awake. Good, this will make your armor drain much easier," Shadow Lord's voice bounced all over the walls of the room.
"If you want this armor, then you'll pay the price!" Ryo said, struggling to free himself from the chains.
Shadow laughed evilly as he materialized, hovering in front of Ryo who gritted his teeth in frustration. He pointed two fingers at him and Ryo suddenly felt a tingling within his armor. Suddenly black-lightning flashed from his armor and all around him. Ryo cried out against the onslaught, and out of the corner of his pain filled eyes, he noticed that the water in the pool got darker, almost a blood-red-crimson color.
"Feel my poison Wildfire!" Sekhemet said, from behind him.
Ryo felt as if he was going to pass out from the intense pain of both the water-poison waves lapping over him and from the black-lightning produced by the Nether spirits. 'I have to stay conscious. I can't let them invade my mind again!' Ryo thought as he desperately tried to keep his eyelids from closing.
He was totally helpless against the onslaught of dark power.
* * *
Blackfire paced around the main hall where Shadow usually resided. 'Is Mia right? What if Wildfire dies, will I cease to exist too?' Blackfire thought as he rubbed the back of his neck, wincing at the ripples of skin around his neck. He remembered when he fought Wildfire in the future, when Talpa came back for the third time; he got whipped in to shape, literally. He stopped abruptly as he remembered the pained look on Mia's face and part of him felt sorry and wanted to help her.
"I thought I quelled that part of me down. Looks like I wasn't too successful," he mumbled to himself, shifting his helmet around his hands.
"Blackfire, stop pacing around, you're gonna make me sick!" Kamagati's sharp voice said, bringing his head around to his left.
"Why do you care, hell aren't you even supposed to be torturing the C-Ronins?" Blackfire spat, casting her a scathing glance.
Kamagati made a cat-like noise and snorted, "Look who's gotten on the wrong side of the bed. Anything I could do to help?"
Blackfire dismissed her seductive glances and turned away to think. 'What if Mia's right? I don't want her to be hurt, yet I want to get rid of Wildfire. Arrg! What's wrong with me!' he thought as he glanced at his helmet, an exact copy of the Wildfire helmet, but a crimson-black color.
* * *
Author's ranting:
To: Anyone who actually reads this
From: I sort of passed the midterms Shadow Chaser
The Rant:
Okay peoples, here's the disclaimer…Ronin Warriors and their characters do NOT belong to me. They belong to Nagoya and Sunrise Inc. My characters however, belong to ME. Ask if you want to borrow them. Okay, things are getting kinda hectic. I have exchanged students coming over and a crunch time on my newspaper, so these chapters are really slow. I know, I know this is a sorta boring chapter, but don't worry, it'll get better soon! Next chapter: Rowen of the Strata fights for his life against Raven and Kayura as Cye and Kento rush to rescue their friends.
Dedications:
This chapter is dedicated to Moon Guardian and Onyx. Thanks guys, I wouldn't have written this chapter without your help! You guys deserve a big round of applause, and for those who did not read Onyx's fan fictions, I suggest you go read them NOW!
Email me at shadow_chaser41@hotmail.com if you have any comments or character discussions you want to commence.
