Chapter
Five
The Koji household was relatively quiet for the first
time all evening. Kento was contentedly munching on a large slice of
chocolate cake; a peace offering from Cye for losing his cool
earlier. Rowen and Mia were reading quietly on the love seat. Sage,
Ryo, and Cye were sitting on the couch watching T.V. and Whiteblaze
was comfortably stretched out in front of the couch
dozing.
Anglarana watched this scene of peaceful calm through
the open door from her place on the porch. She stood leaning against
the rail enjoying the warm evening breeze listening the quiet
symphony of crickets. She smiled and returned her gaze to the moon,
now rapidly swelling to show its full size. It's light was bright
bathing the earth with a sereal glow. The light outlined her
features and set off the mark on her forehead with a silver- green
glow. From inside, she could hear a murmured exchange amongst the
warriors followed by a hearty laugh. Anglarana sighed as her heart
clenched with the familiar tug of loneliness. 'Where is everyone?
I can't feel the presence of even one of my people. Am I the
last...?'
She suddenly jerked upright and stared intently
into the darkened forest surrounding the mansion. The crickets had
fallen into a hush as she scanned the trees, a sense of unease
gripping her powerfully. Her mark throbbed in time with her
heartbeat, it's glow intensifying. Anglarana spun on her heel and
raced into the house. "Beware! He comes!" she called.
Everyone stood in unison and ran out the door.
"Can't he
just attack during the day like normal villains?" Sage
muttered.
"Hey, at least he isn't attacking during dinner
like last time," Kento replied cheerfully. Now that his stomach
was full, Kento was ready and eager for a good fight.
The
Ronin Warriors stood in their sub-armor a few yards in front of the
mansion nervously staring into the gloom. Everything remained quiet
and deathly still save the wind now increasing noticably. In one
moment; the empty, quiet clearing burst into action. Demon soldiers
burst from the forest by the dozens and immediately started to attack
the Ronins. Mia and Anglarana stood ready on the porch watching the
event. An immense shadow suddenly covered the moonlight, casting the
fight into ominous darkness. Sage shivered and looked up to see
Crynis hovering in the sky with a menacing grin on his face that
revealed his long, sharp fangs stained red at the tips.
Mia
tried to focus on the overwhelming odds against them and concoct a
plan that would at least ensure an escape if not victory but was
distracted by a pulsing light immediately to her right. She have
turned and gasped; Anglarana, staring at the fight with pursed lips
and hard eyes, was well illuminated by the bright light of the mark
on her forehead. Her entire siluete was aglow with a silvery-green
light that somehow seemed to distort her lines. Anglarana's eyes
slid to Mia and she took in her confusion and fear. Anglarana gave
her a smile that was both confident and gentle then returned her
steady gaze to the chaos. The Ronins fought admirably disposing the
weaker soldiers easily enough but the sheer number of them would soon
wear even the most skilled warrior down. Crynis watched the show
from well above giving every indication of pleasure at the slaughter.
Anglarana closed her eyes taking a deep breath then walked off the
porch into the melee.
"I was wondering how long it would take your master to get serious about this." She addressed Crynis skirting around the myriad of combatants. Anglarana held up her staff and the mark on her forehead began to glow a fierce silver-green. Crynis grinned in reply to her challenge. He lowered himself to the ground and stood only a few feet in front of her; his soldiers shied away from him like nervous ponies.
"My
master bade me to bring you to him intact. So be a good girl and come
quietly. I sure would hate to have to mess up that pretty little face
of yours." Anglarana laughed in her characteristic clear and
musical voice, "Then let us not keep him waiting." She
pressed on the center of her staff and two foot long blades shot out
of either end. The light from her mark shot down her arm and spread
over the staff and the blades. Crynis raised his hand, his claws
making a metallic ring as they scraped against one
another.
Meanwhile the Ronins continued to struggle with all
the demon soldiers aware of her encounter but unable to free
themselves to get to her. "Man, we gotta help her! Anglarana
can't face that thing alone!" Rowen cried as he killed another
soldier.
"Yeah, but we can't get to her right now. I
think that she can take him," Ryo replied while fending off two
soldiers.
"Forget this, let's waste these guys and go get
that monster!" Kento exclaimed.
"Right, let's armor
up!" Cye agreed. "Armor of Torrent!"
"Armor
of Hardrock!"
"Armor of Halo!"
"Armor
of Strata!"
"Armor of Wildfire! Dao Chi!" Once
in their full armor, the guys began to destroy the soldiers with
their special powers trying to clear a path to where Anglarana
grappled with Crynis. Crynis's claws struck Anglarana's staff with
horrible force making her take a step back to brace herself. The mark
on her forehead shone with a blinding light and was still getting
brighter beaching her features. For a brief moment the battle stopped
and all stood amazed at the light.
Mia gasped from where she
stood, she felt a burning sensation coming from within her chest. Not
like fire, but stronger and more demanding. For no reason she could
think of, Mia ran inside to her room. Something was calling
her.
Minutes later a pink light erupted from an upstairs
window and joined the light surrounding Anglarana. With the increased
strength from the pink light, the light on Anglarana's blades ran up
Crynis's arm and smoke and a sizzling sound accompanied it. With an
angry cry, Crynis disengaged and backed up a few paces clutching his
arm to his chest. All the demon soldiers paused looking to their
leader, then retreated back into the forest as one. Crynis moved his
hands to call upon his elemental attacks, but was stopped by a
shimmering in the air to his right. A man appeared, with blonde hair
and bored brown eyes. "Enough, Crynis. You have failed. Return
to the castle for your punishment."
"No, Master,
please! I had her, but some outside force assisted her, I swear
it!"
Justin narrowed his eyes. "Are you defying my
orders?"
"No, of course not, my master. It is as you
will it." With that Crynis rose into the air and disappeared.
Justin then turned his attention to Anglarana who was eying him with
shock. By now the light had faded to a faint gleam and the pink light
had disappeared all together. The Ronin Warriors stood together
directly behind her with their weapons raised wearily.
"Ah,
Lady Anglarana, how pleasant it is to see you again. I trust you are
well?" Justin said in an affectionate voice as he bowed deeply.
Anglarana's eyes softened sadly. "I thought it might be you but
hoped fervently that it wasn't. What do you want with this world?"
Her tone was weary and timelessly sad. Justin advanced a step. "Why,
just to reclaim you, my dear. And perhaps to enjoy the fruits of
Earth for a while." Anglarana closed her eyes and lowered her
staff. The light on her forehead began to increase in intensity
again. Justin grinned, "Not this time." He held up his hand
and a gray light surrounded her like a mist. Her eyes flew open and
she threw back a hand to grip the nearest Ronin, which happened to be
Ryo.
"Quickly! Hold hands, he means to drag me to his
castle so that we will fight alone. Or," her voice dropped in
emotion, "not at all." The Ronins nodded their heads and
gripped each others' hands. Justin frowned. "Clever, my lady.
The spell is too far progressed for me to stop it. Bring your
precious humans, this fight shall be in my domain where my powers are
greatest. When I put the Earth's strongest humans to shame, then I
will have the true battle." As he spoke the gray light wound
around the group. The scenery around them faded away and blackness
took its place.
Mia only vaguely heard the shouts and
clash of metal on metal of the battle. The calling emanating from her
room was too great. When she opened the door, she was blasted with a
bright ray of pink light. The light filled the room and was pouring
out of the window and now open door. She barely had time to register
the power of the light before it faded to a sullen glow on her
bookshelf. Mia went over to her shelf and picked up a small, purple
box. Once it was in her hands, the light increased although it was
now as gentle as a caress.
When it reached its peak, a piercing pain sliced through Mia's chest and brain. She clutched her chest with both hands and fought against the surging tides of unconsciousness. She tried to look to see what was causing the horrible pain, but the light was too bright. Belatedly, she recognized the feel of the jewel against her flesh but when she tried to pull her hand and the jewel away her effort was rewarded with an extra burst of pain. Mia fell to the floor writhing in agony. It felt like someone was piercing her heart with a flaming sword. Then, as if the pain had never existed, it was gone. Mia lay weak and drained on the floor. Through the mist of exhaustion, Mia could tell that something had changed in her body but blissful unconsciousness took her before she could contemplate on what.
Somewhere, in a dark castle, Anglarana felt a pang of awareness jostle her from her comfortable sleep. Something very important had happened somewhere; something of severe significance. All she could do was smile, despite the fear and the pain. For she remembered the pink light and the last name of the gentle, intelligent woman who assisted the Ronin Warriors. 'Finally, the last piece has fallen into place. I thought that the Jewel of Life would somehow fall into Mia's hands.'
Anglarana cast a tired glance around the dark room to reassure herself that the Ronins remained with her. Satisfied, she lay her glowing staff on the ground. It would alert her to when the others awoke, or when another presence was near. For now she could rest and regain her shattered strength. She sighed and let blissful sleep reclaim her.
This is my first fan-fic so please review me. I wouldn't even mind a few flames so long as my e-mail isn't looking like the day after the atomic bomb was dropped!! ;P It's Humor me. I get awfully lonely. :D
