The Armor of the Soul
By Dixxy
Chapter Forty-Four: The Countdown Begins
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Note: The winged character in the prologue (don't worry, she'll get a name later) was taken from a contest I held on my website for something. So she isn't mine.
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The Under City was unusually dreary that morning. The thick smell of smog, drugs, and rotten eggs hung heavier than usual in the gray sky. The sound of swears, screams, desperate people begging for mercy, and gunshots were slightly more common than usual that gloomy day. The buildings and people seemed even more miserable than the norm.
The last of the Flitterees sat in the window of her sky rise apartment in the Under City, looking out at the city that she hated to say was her home. Irritated wings flapped behind her, long pink and blue flowing in the soft breeze that passed through. I wouldn't have to be here if it weren't for that bastard Talpa. I only owe Trulpa in that he's dead at her hands.
She looked up at the tall tower containing the victory lights. The yellow one was blaring violently, the red one eerily dormant. "Damn," she cursed. "They've gotten another victory- so what's this one about?" The woman knew that the yellow light was a sign of a victory, which she knew couldn't have been good. She was one of the few who lived in the Under City that didn't like the Dynasty. The Dynasty, after all, had nearly wiped out her entire species.
The winged woman knew she had only one way to find out exactly what this new victory was. She flung herself out of the window and began to plummet to the street level. At the last second, she opened her wings and began to fly towards an area of the city she knew usually had the most of the gossip. The Magical Madman Market.
The bustling, busy marketplace in the southern fifth of the city was a huge shopping center filled with shops for witches, warlocks, goblins, and other demons that made their home in the Under City. It was also the capitol of the city's prostitution, gambling, and drug dealing. The Market also had a large percentage of the city's muggings and murders. It was the home of some of the most dangerous minds in the Under City. But more importantly, it was where all of the latest news from the castle came, despite it's great distance from it.
Towards the back of the grounds was a stage, known to most of the inhabitants as Gossip Corner. This is where someone, usually a troll, announced to the city why either of the victory lights had flashed. The winged woman took a perch on a broken street light as a particularly ugly green troll with a large, potato shaped nose took the stage. The troll was accompanied by two Dynasty Soldiers, acting as body guards. The crowd hushed, anxious to know what had happened at the castle. The soldiers had meant that it had surely been a military victory. Then what was the military victory? Had Trulpa regained her armor? Had the three Ronin Warriors she captured nearly a year ago been killed? What had happened?
"According to our Empress, Lady Trulpa, the three Ronin Warriors, Kento of the Hardrock, Sage of the Halo, and the Child of Destiny, Cye of the Torrent, have been recaptured," he said. The crowd was a mix of moans, boos, and applause. The winged woman stared wide eyed at Gossip Corner. Oh no. . . they've been caught again. . .
"Wott do 'ay plan ta do wit 'em?" asked someone in the ground with a high pitched, screechy voice that sounded something like a crow in a blender.
The troll grinned, then laughed a sickly evil laugh. "Kaze, the great warrior, is to be revived!" he said. Now the crowd took on a demeanor of massive confusion. Kaze, as they all knew, had been defeated very easily by the Ronin Senshi. What good (err. . . bad) would be brought about by resurrecting him?
"But the Senshi were able to destroy Kaze last time along with save the Ronin Whelps!" said another person in the crowd. "How is this time going to be different, hmm? How does Trulpa think he'll be any better?"
"Simple. She isn't going to make the same mistake she made the last time. This time, she has a much better plan that will ensure the destruction of the Ronin Warriors, the Ronin Senshi, the Traitors, the Staff, and the Mortal World!" the troll said happily, raising his arms into the air.
More wild applause and disgust were displayed. The winged woman gasped, them flew back to her apartment, unsure of what her next move should be. I must free the three Ronin Warriors, even if it's the last thing I do. . .
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Trulpa paced back and fourth in her throne room, occasionally glaring at her three chained captives. She wore her red diamond dress, the dress she wore when she was particularly in the mood for death, destruction, and war. The all black, sleeveless dress had color only from the red diamond on the bodice and the sharp, purple belt that reflected her thin waist. Two gold bracelets adorned her wrist, long, red fingernails occasionally clinking against the bracelets. Tall, high heeled black boots clicked against the hard floor with each step she took.
All three captives were shackled together by one long chain containing the cuffs that bound their wrists, ankles and necks at bay. The eerie glow of the green candles in the throne room gave it a creepy, green hue, making Trulpa looked all the more evil and deadly, and adding a certain sense of hopelessness to Sage, Cye, and Kento. "So, the three of you not only managed to escape my grasp, but now you have discovered additional abilities in addition to your armor powers and the truth about your heritage, Torrent."
Cye looked up at Trulpa with hatred filled in his eyes. The flicker of the green seemed to be reflected in his eyes, adding to the intense glare. Even chained as he was, the Child of Destiny still held an air of defiance that should have by all means made Trulpa's spine crawl. All four knew that Cye could quite easily have enough power on his own to bring down the evil empress. "And I'm not afraid to use my powers, either."
Trulpa slapped him across the face. Kento and Sage could do nothing to stop her, but did feel the jerk of the chain as Cye was nearly sent to the hard, stone floor. They tried to pull him back and looked up at Trulpa, each of the two with a feeling of deep, burning desire to kill her. She had been the cruelest to Cye, and the two slightly older Ronins did NOT like that.
"Now the Senshi know who were are, what happened, and what your plans are, Trulpa. These are your last days," said Sage. Trulpa looked ready to hit him as well, but just stared coldly at him. Out of the three, Sage was easily the most dignified looking of them. He'd stepped in as an unofficial leader, seeing as Ryo of the Wildfire and Rowen of the Strata were both unaware that the three of them still breathed. "You know it's true, too. We're all going to bring you down."
"I have special plans for the three of your this time. This time I'm not going to foul up. This time I will have your world." She turned to Kento and sneered. "Can you see that in the future, seer?" Trulpa spat out the word "seer" to mock Kento's recently discovered ability of seeing into the future.
Kento narrowed his eyes. Instead of lashing out with a long string of swears and threats as he would have done just a year ago, he stared coolly at the Dynasty Empress. "No," he said calmly. His voice was filled with a maturity that he had lacked during the war with Talpa, a maturity he'd gained by learning the true spoils of war from Trulpa's imprisonment. A maturity he'd learned from the Ronin Senshi. A maturity gained when he had first kissed Keisha, Hardrock of the Senshi, and realized he'd do anything to keep her safe from harm. "Because there's no way that the three of us, the Senshi, Anubis, and Cara are going to let that happen! We are going to defeat you and you can't do anything to stop us, Trulpa!"
Trulpa snapped her fingers the four Dark Warlords appeared. Osiris, Sehkment, Dais, and Cale (whom Sage sent an especially cold glare towards, knowing that he'd raped Cara, the one person he should have sworn to protect in the first place) stood before Trulpa, ready to carry out whatever her wish was. "Yes, Lady Trulpa?" asked Osiris. "What do you wish us to do with these three?"
"Bring them to the isolation dungeons. I know that the two Hardrocks have a mental link and I don't want them communicating," said Trulpa. Kento took on a sudden look of loneliness. Trulpa grinned. She knew very well that the two young Hardrocks had a very young, blossoming love forming. She could see it in his eyes that he was in love. Such an odd couple, Trulpa mused, a black girl and an oriental boy, hardly able to speak her tongue. How unusual. . . perhaps the armors played a hand in this unlikely courtship.
"Come on, Hardrock, get a move on!" Dais commanded as he and the other three Warlords forced the three Ronin Warriors out of her throne room. "As of now, your days are numbered boy. ACCEPT IT!"
Trulpa grinned as they left her sight. This time, she wouldn't fail. This time, she would succeed in taking over the Mortal Realm. This time, the Senshi would twitch and cry out for mercy at her feet. This time, Anubis and Cara would regret the days they left the Dynasty. This time, she would win. . .