The Armor of the Soul
By Dixxy
Chapter Forty-Two: Assault!
(Sam)
While Sara had gone over to Mike's house, the remainder of the Senshi was at my apartment. Sage had called me that morning and told us that they were going to try something with Sara and see if it worked. We were going to give them space as to not distract them from whatever it was. "What do you guys think'll happen next?" asked Ria.
"I guess we'll have another battle with Trulpa, but this time we'll have three of the Ronin Warriors to back us up!" said Keisha. "This time we'll get rid of her and we can finally get back to normal."
"I wouldn't say that," said Rona. "There's bound to be other evil demons in the Nether Realm, remember? Kento and Sage were telling us stories about those other guys, Sarenboob and Saberstick, remember?"
"I think you mean Saran Wrap and Saber Tooth," said Ria.
"No, it was Sarenbo and Saberstryke!" said Keisha.
"Who gives a shit? They're all dead now. Behind us, kaput, deceased, gone, elevator going down, DEAD." I said. "But I'd like to think I can go back to being semi normal."
"Eh?" asked Rona.
"I'd like to give guys a try. I mean, Sage, Kento, and Cye are pretty nice guys, you know?" I said. "And Sage has kind of showed me a little about how even guys can be good and that not every guy is like the way my dad was."
Keisha grinned. "You're falling for him. Hard."
I looked away. "You should talk," I said. "We all know Sara already caught you and Kento making out in the backyard minus a few key articles of clothing. Face it, Keisha, you're falling HARD for HARD-rock."
"Kento wasn't wearing a shirt because he was sparring, it was one kiss, and not a single article of clothing left my body!" she protested. "And, and. . . Sam, you make me so mad sometimes!"
"She admitted it," said Ria. Then, she sighed heavily. "You know, curiosity has won me over. I wanna see what's going on at Mike's house right about now. Seems like they think it's gonna work."
"So do I," said Rona. "I want to see if they succeeded in changing Cye back."
I nodded. "So, do we go check it out?" The decision was unanimous.
~
On our way to Mike's house, we all sensed a dark presence. I could see it in the others' eyes, we all knew that it was about to attack. "You guys feel that?" asked Rona.
"I did," I said. "Which way?"
Keisha didn't say anything, but her stronger senses brought us to one of the parks in town. Nothing was there except grass, benches, and a ball park. "It's here," she said. "I can feel it very, very close by."
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"I'm sure- AHHHH!!!"
"AHHHH!"
The next thing we knew we were entangled in a giant spider web net. "What is this?!" said Ria.
"It must be Daria or Dais," said Rona. "We've got to get out of here!"
"Too late," said Keisha. "They're already here."
I looked up and saw that all seven of the warlords were standing around us. "Excellent observation," said Daria. "It would seem as if we've captured you all, now doesn't it?"
"Oh shut up," I said. "Sara and the Ronin Warriors are out there- what the heck? I'm relying on a man?"
"Sam, now is NOT the time," said Ria. "We're gonna get out of here and pulverize you!"
"BLACK LIGHTNING SLASH!"
The web encasing us was released by the suddenly flash of black electricity. There, standing on the other end of the park, was Cara. She was in her full armor, only her face mask was gone.
"Cara? What happened to your stupid eye glasses?" asked Vanessa.
Cara narrowed her eyebrows. "Easy. They were the one thing preventing me from seeing. The Ronins have changed that."
"Well, you will now be destroyed by those you have deserted, Cara!" said Cale. He held out his head, creating a black mimic of the Halo spells.
"Go ahead, Cale," said Cara.
"Is she- oh, right," said Rona. "Let's armor up and start kicking some Warlord butt!"
"Ronin Senshi, GET IT ON!" said Ria. "Wildfire of the Senshi, TAO JIN!"
"Halo of the Senshi, TAO CHI!"
"Hardrock of the Senshi, TAO GI!"
"Strata of the Senshi, TAO INOCHI!"
Ria smiled. "Guys, prepare to attack!" she said, preparing her own elemental attack. Keisha began her earthquake maneuver, Rona started up a windstorm, and I began summoning a thundercloud.
Anubra cried out something as they began to prepare spells and summoned Tin Cans a dime a dozen. In other words, they were reinforcing their efforts considerably.
Before long, a nicely violent battle ensued. Basically we all started to attempt to kick each other's butts. I actually found myself having fun trying to rearrange Sehkment's face.
Before long, the battlefield was engulfed in white lightning. I looked up and wondered if one of my thunderclouds had gone out of control, when I looked over and saw Sage conducting the storm with incredible ease. He was GOOD. For that matter, I also saw Kento making quick work of Tin Cans with the assistance of Anubis and Tiger Lily. I was also impressed by the attacks Kento was coming up with, something I was sure that Keisha was impressed by.
I also smiled to see Cye and Sara working together with their water magic. For the first time I saw the Ronin Warrior of Water without his little curse. He did, in a weird way, kind-of resemble his father. He just looked more, youthful and bright eyed. I saw Sara kept on stealing a few glances his way, obviously at least a little interested in what he was doing.
KA-POW!
The battlefield was suddenly jolted like a bug on trampoline. Only the Warlords and remaining Warladies weren't down on the ground. I looked up and saw that Trulpa- the REAL Trulpa- had joined the party.
And ultimately, had come to crash it.
"Well, well, well," she said, looking at Cye. Trulpa shook her head, looking very disappointed. "So, you've reversed my little curse, I see. I am not amused by this at all. I should've had you under my permanent control."
"Well you're gonna be dead in a minute," said Kento, getting to his feet. "I just want you to know that you took away nearly a year of my life living in your stupid little Nether Realm, and you're going to pay for it!"
"Our friends and families think we're dead. Because of you we can't ever see them again. You used us for your own purposes, twisting us into a hideous monster or using me to get your hands on an evil relic," said Sage.
"You manipulated me into a monster that I couldn't control. You made me face off against my friends, my father, and the Ronin Senshi, whom I'm supposed to protect from harm," said Cye. "You're a monster!"
All three of the Ronin Warriors looked beyond pissed.
Trulpa laughed evilly. "Well, from the looks of this battle, the three of you have improved greatly," she said. "Now it's time to execute my next back up plan."
Anubis raised the staff. "I won't let you, Trulpa!" he said.
"Oh, is that so, monk? You don't weld the full power of the Ancient One, you don't have nearly enough power to do it alone," said Trulpa. She eyed Kento, Sage, and Cye. "Besides, my reasons for coming here involve my three special guests."
"We aren't going back with you, Trulpa," said Sage. "If you think for one-"
ZABAMMMM!!
Suddenly, all three of our new friends were encased in balls of dark energy, all three screaming in pain. My panicked eyes turned to Sage first. I was worried about him. Never before had I ever felt such strong feelings about anyone. Not even my aunt, or my mother.
That was when I realized I'd fallen in love with the guy.
"Let them go!" Keisha cried.
Trulpa laughed. "Tell you what, little Senshi brats, if you want your pathetic little Ronin Warriors back so badly, you can come and get them yourself!" With that, she, her generals, and the Ronin Warriors, disappeared in a sudden explosion of magic.
Ria looked out at the battlefield in disbelief. "We've got to get them back."