Chapter 10
Loren curled up on the couch, trying to shake off the disturbing nightmare she had last night. With Ronins at school for half of the day and Mia at her office, Loren was alone in the house. 'That was one hell of a nightmare,' she thought, 'I don't want to live through that nightmare ever again.'
Loren had woken up screaming at the top of her lungs at 2:10 AM. She must have woken up the entire household because Ryo, Rowen, Kento, Sage, Cye, and Mia ran into her room swearing that someone was getting murdered. After a few hours of talking, Loren went back to sleep. Now she was napping on the couch because she went back to bed at 4:12 AM and was still tired.
Loren shut her eyes, but her dream came back:
She heard swords clashing, opening her eyes, she saw an older Japanese man with black hair and in everyday clothes fighting the Warrior of Autumn, Sekhmet. Sekhmet was clearly defeating the older man, but seemed to prolong the older man's suffering. The older man finally was on the ground with so many wounds on him that Loren didn't even attempt to count how many were on him. Sekhmet then let his venom drip onto the wounds. Loren wanted to vomit; Sekhmet was insane, he purposely prolonged his victim's suffering for sheer enjoyment. Sekhmet looked at the older man, "Your death will make Anubis free to serve our master."
The older man smiled, despite his pain, "I don't think you're killing me just because I refused to give Anubis his freedom."
Sekhmet glared at the older man, "What do mean, old man?"
"I think it's also personal," the older man said, "I think you like him as a friend."
"What makes you say that?" Sekhmet questioned.
"You wake up every soldier in the barracks to kill them, but you leave Anubis alone and sleeping. I know you show favoritism toward him," the older man smiled.
Sekhmet laughed, "Perhaps, but you won't be the one to tell him."
The older man stared straight at Sekhmet and smiled, "You think you have won this game, but you haven't. In the end, Anubis will have the final victory, and you and your fellow Warlords will feel emotions that you killed so long ago."
Sekhmet became angry, "What are you getting at?"
The older man smiled and laughed, "You will win this round, but when the war is over, he will be the victor. You will bond, become a family, but he will show you the true meaning of family. You laugh at his weakness, but in the end, you will weep for him. He will find the light, and drag all three of you into it. You and the other Warlords have damned yourselves, but he will set you free."
Enraged, Sekhmet stabbed the older man. Blood was everywhere, but that didn't bother Loren, what bothered her was the older man's words. Loren knew that they would come true.
Loren woke up in a cold sweat; she hated this nightmare and wished it would go away. Getting up off the couch, Loren ran into the library, and picked up "Armor Genealogy." Loren began to take in the information that was in the section on the Spring Armor bearer. On the 4th page in the spring section Loren found the curse that she had heard. The older man had been Anubis' lord and was trying to protect Anubis from Talpa and the Warlords. The lord's name had been Nagauji Kumano, and it had always been whispered that he could see into the future. If the story weren't so dark, Loren might have laughed at the whole coincidence.
'There are so many ironies to this story,' Loren told her armor.
'I wish Anubis had found me sooner,' Cruelty said sadly.
'Cruelty,' Loren consoled her armor, 'you're not perfect.'
'He was my master,' Cruelty said, 'I had a duty to protect him form harm.'
'You aren't omnipotent,' Loren said calmly.
'I know,' Cruelty said in a defeated tone, 'but I still wish he would have found me sooner. Maybe he would have had a fighting chance.'
'But what could you have done against the other armors?' Loren asked realistically.
'I know,' Cruelty said.
'It's not your fault,' Loren said finally, 'so don't worry about it.'
Cruelty cut the connection as Loren continued to read from the book. About five minutes later, she nearly jumped when she heard the sound of glass breaking.
Loren ran to the source of the noise. It wasn't coming from inside the house, but outside.
'This has got to be a trap,' Loren thought. 'I'm in the house, alone. So I'm going to assume that the Warlords will think I'm easy prey.'
Loren pulled her orb out of her pocket and called her sub armor. As she walked outside of the house, Loren felt an oppressive and spine tingling sensation, "Come on out Dais, Cale, Sekhmet, I know it's you."
Loren didn't even flinch when the three Warlords appeared, encircling her. Loren would have laughed at the whole situation if it weren't for the fact that she was alone. She broke into a fighting stance and smiled, "Three men attacking one woman, that has got to be the most cowardly thing I have ever seen."
"You have Anubis' sense of honor," Cale stated.
"I knew you would be like him," Dais echoed.
A gust of spring wind blew around Loren's dirty-blond bangs as she rose to the challenge, "You three must have screwed with his mind really well. How else could he be part of a "family" that has psychopaths in it?"
The Warlords looked at Loren with a mix of shock and anger.
Then Loren looked at Dais, "So when you capture me, are you going to brainwash me and manipulate my memories like you did with Anubis?"
She got no response.
Loren laughed at the silence, "You didn't think I would find out, did you? You didn't think I would find out what you did Anubis' lord? Or that I would find out that you brainwashed him and manipulated his memories so he would join Talpa willingly?"
The Warlords looked shocked, Loren definitely had the intelligence and wisdom of their former leader.
"Shall I go on?" Loren sneered, "Do you want to remember all those innocent people you murdered who tried to keep Anubis safe? Do you want me to remind you of all his friends you killed so violently right in front of him?"
"SHUT UP!" Dais yelled.
"The truth hurts." Loren stated, "Live with it."
Raising her arms in the air, Loren yelled, "Armor of Cruelty, Tao Chu."
Loren fully embraced her armor, and when she was done powering up, she looked at her three opponents, "Are you three ready for me to make your lives a living hell?"
"You'll be living with us soon," Cale yelled as he charged at her with his sword.
Loren dodged out of the way of the sword as the weighted end of her weapon connected with Cale's throat, knocking him to the ground, wheezing for breath and leaving him to deal with the cuts on his throat by the three claw parts on her weapon's weighted end. Dais began to use his scythes from his weapon, but was met by the chain part of her weapon. As the scythes connected with the chain, Loren kicked Dais in the lower region. As she broke away from Dais, who was now holding himself, she came into Sekhmet's attack range. She tried to move away, but was a fraction too late; Sekhmet's two Katanas knocked her to the ground. Loren was on the ground looking at Sekhmet. Loren realized that Sekhmet had used the flat end of his blades to knock her to the ground, and that he didn't knock her unconscious. Loren glared at him, but Sekhmet couldn't seem to look at her, "You've lost, come with us."
"And if I say no," Loren shot back in an angry manner.
"Then I'll..." Sekhmet started to say.
"Then you'll do to me what you did to Nagauji Kumano," Loren finished.
"No," Sekhmet replied, "don't force me to hurt you. Just come with us right now."
Sekhmet prepared to grab Loren when they both heard, "Super Wave Smasher!"
Sekhmet turned around only to be hit by a pillar of water, Loren then heard, "Iron Rock Crusher!" and "Thunder Bolt Cut!"
The Warlords had to retreat. Dais cast an angry glare at the Ronins, "This isn't over yet."
"We will be back," Cale threatened.
"And we will leave with the Warrior of Spring," Sekhmet promised.
Seeing that they were now outnumbered three to six, all three Warlords teleported away from the battlefield.
Loren curled up on the couch, trying to shake off the disturbing nightmare she had last night. With Ronins at school for half of the day and Mia at her office, Loren was alone in the house. 'That was one hell of a nightmare,' she thought, 'I don't want to live through that nightmare ever again.'
Loren had woken up screaming at the top of her lungs at 2:10 AM. She must have woken up the entire household because Ryo, Rowen, Kento, Sage, Cye, and Mia ran into her room swearing that someone was getting murdered. After a few hours of talking, Loren went back to sleep. Now she was napping on the couch because she went back to bed at 4:12 AM and was still tired.
Loren shut her eyes, but her dream came back:
She heard swords clashing, opening her eyes, she saw an older Japanese man with black hair and in everyday clothes fighting the Warrior of Autumn, Sekhmet. Sekhmet was clearly defeating the older man, but seemed to prolong the older man's suffering. The older man finally was on the ground with so many wounds on him that Loren didn't even attempt to count how many were on him. Sekhmet then let his venom drip onto the wounds. Loren wanted to vomit; Sekhmet was insane, he purposely prolonged his victim's suffering for sheer enjoyment. Sekhmet looked at the older man, "Your death will make Anubis free to serve our master."
The older man smiled, despite his pain, "I don't think you're killing me just because I refused to give Anubis his freedom."
Sekhmet glared at the older man, "What do mean, old man?"
"I think it's also personal," the older man said, "I think you like him as a friend."
"What makes you say that?" Sekhmet questioned.
"You wake up every soldier in the barracks to kill them, but you leave Anubis alone and sleeping. I know you show favoritism toward him," the older man smiled.
Sekhmet laughed, "Perhaps, but you won't be the one to tell him."
The older man stared straight at Sekhmet and smiled, "You think you have won this game, but you haven't. In the end, Anubis will have the final victory, and you and your fellow Warlords will feel emotions that you killed so long ago."
Sekhmet became angry, "What are you getting at?"
The older man smiled and laughed, "You will win this round, but when the war is over, he will be the victor. You will bond, become a family, but he will show you the true meaning of family. You laugh at his weakness, but in the end, you will weep for him. He will find the light, and drag all three of you into it. You and the other Warlords have damned yourselves, but he will set you free."
Enraged, Sekhmet stabbed the older man. Blood was everywhere, but that didn't bother Loren, what bothered her was the older man's words. Loren knew that they would come true.
Loren woke up in a cold sweat; she hated this nightmare and wished it would go away. Getting up off the couch, Loren ran into the library, and picked up "Armor Genealogy." Loren began to take in the information that was in the section on the Spring Armor bearer. On the 4th page in the spring section Loren found the curse that she had heard. The older man had been Anubis' lord and was trying to protect Anubis from Talpa and the Warlords. The lord's name had been Nagauji Kumano, and it had always been whispered that he could see into the future. If the story weren't so dark, Loren might have laughed at the whole coincidence.
'There are so many ironies to this story,' Loren told her armor.
'I wish Anubis had found me sooner,' Cruelty said sadly.
'Cruelty,' Loren consoled her armor, 'you're not perfect.'
'He was my master,' Cruelty said, 'I had a duty to protect him form harm.'
'You aren't omnipotent,' Loren said calmly.
'I know,' Cruelty said in a defeated tone, 'but I still wish he would have found me sooner. Maybe he would have had a fighting chance.'
'But what could you have done against the other armors?' Loren asked realistically.
'I know,' Cruelty said.
'It's not your fault,' Loren said finally, 'so don't worry about it.'
Cruelty cut the connection as Loren continued to read from the book. About five minutes later, she nearly jumped when she heard the sound of glass breaking.
Loren ran to the source of the noise. It wasn't coming from inside the house, but outside.
'This has got to be a trap,' Loren thought. 'I'm in the house, alone. So I'm going to assume that the Warlords will think I'm easy prey.'
Loren pulled her orb out of her pocket and called her sub armor. As she walked outside of the house, Loren felt an oppressive and spine tingling sensation, "Come on out Dais, Cale, Sekhmet, I know it's you."
Loren didn't even flinch when the three Warlords appeared, encircling her. Loren would have laughed at the whole situation if it weren't for the fact that she was alone. She broke into a fighting stance and smiled, "Three men attacking one woman, that has got to be the most cowardly thing I have ever seen."
"You have Anubis' sense of honor," Cale stated.
"I knew you would be like him," Dais echoed.
A gust of spring wind blew around Loren's dirty-blond bangs as she rose to the challenge, "You three must have screwed with his mind really well. How else could he be part of a "family" that has psychopaths in it?"
The Warlords looked at Loren with a mix of shock and anger.
Then Loren looked at Dais, "So when you capture me, are you going to brainwash me and manipulate my memories like you did with Anubis?"
She got no response.
Loren laughed at the silence, "You didn't think I would find out, did you? You didn't think I would find out what you did Anubis' lord? Or that I would find out that you brainwashed him and manipulated his memories so he would join Talpa willingly?"
The Warlords looked shocked, Loren definitely had the intelligence and wisdom of their former leader.
"Shall I go on?" Loren sneered, "Do you want to remember all those innocent people you murdered who tried to keep Anubis safe? Do you want me to remind you of all his friends you killed so violently right in front of him?"
"SHUT UP!" Dais yelled.
"The truth hurts." Loren stated, "Live with it."
Raising her arms in the air, Loren yelled, "Armor of Cruelty, Tao Chu."
Loren fully embraced her armor, and when she was done powering up, she looked at her three opponents, "Are you three ready for me to make your lives a living hell?"
"You'll be living with us soon," Cale yelled as he charged at her with his sword.
Loren dodged out of the way of the sword as the weighted end of her weapon connected with Cale's throat, knocking him to the ground, wheezing for breath and leaving him to deal with the cuts on his throat by the three claw parts on her weapon's weighted end. Dais began to use his scythes from his weapon, but was met by the chain part of her weapon. As the scythes connected with the chain, Loren kicked Dais in the lower region. As she broke away from Dais, who was now holding himself, she came into Sekhmet's attack range. She tried to move away, but was a fraction too late; Sekhmet's two Katanas knocked her to the ground. Loren was on the ground looking at Sekhmet. Loren realized that Sekhmet had used the flat end of his blades to knock her to the ground, and that he didn't knock her unconscious. Loren glared at him, but Sekhmet couldn't seem to look at her, "You've lost, come with us."
"And if I say no," Loren shot back in an angry manner.
"Then I'll..." Sekhmet started to say.
"Then you'll do to me what you did to Nagauji Kumano," Loren finished.
"No," Sekhmet replied, "don't force me to hurt you. Just come with us right now."
Sekhmet prepared to grab Loren when they both heard, "Super Wave Smasher!"
Sekhmet turned around only to be hit by a pillar of water, Loren then heard, "Iron Rock Crusher!" and "Thunder Bolt Cut!"
The Warlords had to retreat. Dais cast an angry glare at the Ronins, "This isn't over yet."
"We will be back," Cale threatened.
"And we will leave with the Warrior of Spring," Sekhmet promised.
Seeing that they were now outnumbered three to six, all three Warlords teleported away from the battlefield.