Chapter 5: Announcing the Bad Guys
Just after the first battle.
In the darkened room with the evil shadows and single candle, Mitaly appeared to his master. He knelt in submission before him.
"You have not completed the task I sent you to do. Did you?" his master demanded.
"I am truly sorry master, I did not fail you on purpose. The Ronins and their friends are very resourceful. We, I, had not realized that they would be armed. I..." Mitaly tried.
"You failed me!?" his Master roared. The flame of the candle hit Mitaly. "Why!? I gave you 100 soldiers!" Mitaly whimpered. "They didn't even have their armor! Your arrogance has done this! Fool!"
"Master! Forgive me, please! I'm sorry!" Mitaly whaled. His master's wrath continues for another five minutes. When his master had finished Mitaly lay smoldering but still alive, barely alive.
"Master?" another voice, asked. "Do you think you might have been a little harsh on him?"
"I shall punish those who fail me at MY discretion! Are you questioning what I do?"
"No Master. Not really Anyways," there was a shadow that could be seen looking in the direction of Mitaly's still form. "What do you want me to do with him?"
"Take him to my nether spirits. Have them patch him up." The master's shadow shifted. "Learn from his mistakes. Go my minion, and send me my Warlords."
"Yes Master," the servant's shadow bowed and grabbed Mitaly. "I shall send them to you immediately." With that the servant vanished carrying Mitaly. In the light of the candle the master's eyes shone red.
Eight new, smaller candles lit up. Next to each candle was a shadow in armor. Each bowed to their master.
"Ah," their master said happily. "My Warlords have come to me."
"Yes Master," they replied in unison.
"What tassk do you have for uss? Masster?" One of the Warlords asked. You could see a glimmer of green from his armor, snake green.
"Are you impatient my pet?" his master asked amused.
"You ssent Mitaly before uss. Why Masster?"
"My pets, I sent him first so as not to bother you. For you will attack an conquer the mortal world for me."
"But Master, why have you now called us here?" another Warlord asked quietly. His armor had a pinkish hue.
"The Ronin warriors shall once again don their armor; they could be a problem for us."
"Masster, let uss take care of them!" the first Warlord pleaded gleefully. "Before they get the Armor."
"It is too late, they have passed into an area protected against us by my loathed enemy! No, for now you shall prepare for their re-emergence. Mitaly did get us some useful knowledge. The Ronins can be ambushed!"
"Master," a third Warlord chimed in, "do you with me to tell them?" This Warlord's armor shone with a dark blue sheen.
"Yes, tell them Newor, my evil Warlord of Strata."
"My brethren of evil! As our Master has already said Mitaly gathered good and useful information for us to use against the pathetic threat of the Ronin Warriors. They are leading what they call normal lives, they are attending High School. Plenty of targets, kidnappings and threats. As of tight now there is no one at the school, but they have a key. They will be going to the school sometime this week, once they get back. We could easily set up an ambush. They wouldn't want to damage the building, therefore they will be easy to take care of."
"Who thought that up? You Newor? Why don't we just ambush them when they leave the mountain?" Yet another Warlord chimed in. A glint of orange.
"You never were one for subtlety were you Otnek?" Newor replied.
"We can take them by force!" Otnek said. "Just an all out attack should rid us of this problem. Besides, we should only need one Warlord."
"And that would be you Otnek? Give me a break!" Newor spat at him.
"I'll break you!" Otnek growled.
"Enough!" their master commanded. "I shall send one of you to test the Ronins. Only one may go. Who shall I send?"
"Ssend me Masster! My poisson will desstroy them eassily and painfully."
"Not you Temkes. And not Otnek or Newor." Their master paused.
"What about me Master?" the pink armored Warlord chimed in. The other three whom had not been chosen glared at him. "Shall I snare them in my web?"
"No Sayid," four gone, four to go.
"Master," came a quiet voice, this Warlord's armor glinted green. "Send me."
"No Egas."
"Master." A glint of red. "What about me? I'll go."
"No Oyr, not this time." Six down and only two were left.
"Master, I shall wash them out with the mighty power of my Armor." This Warlord bowed and his armor glinted a light blue color.
"Not you Eyc," there was only one Warlord left. His armor glinted a dark gray. This Warlord hadn't spoken yet but was eager to go.
"That must mean," he said in a dark husky voice, "you wish to send me to test the Ronins." He bowed his acceptance of the task. "Do you wish me only to test them? Or do you want me to try to destroy them when they leave the mountain with their newly reclaimed armor."
"I shall send you Elak. You shall only test them. If you should appen to kill one, bring me the armor. But do not try to kill them. Deceive them. Do not show ytour true power."
"I shall do as you ask my Master. I shall not fail you." Elak bowed deeply to his Master. His candle went out as he disappeared.
"Masster?" Temkes asked
"What?"
"What do you want uss to do you now?" he bowed respectfully.
"Observe the fight to come. Watch the Ronins as they battle. For all of you, including Elak, the power the Ronins possess can be used to our advantage. They are now going to have to relearn to use their armor."
"Of course Master," the Warlords replied in unison.
"We shall destroy the human world! I shall finish what that idiot Talpa started."
"Masster, did you know Talpa?" asked Temkes.
"Yes," their master paused and they waited respectfully. "Talpa was my brother, but I shall never mourn his loss. I never liked him. He never listened to me. The fool!"
"Master," Sayid asked quietly. "We didn't know that you had a brother. What made4 him such a fool?"
"His armor of course! He allowed himself to be defeated by a monk long ago. The monk took the armor from Talpa. Then he fractured the armor into 9 parts. Each part had its own power, virtue, and ability. Then all of the armors went to different humans. Instead of trying to make all of those humans into his warlords he only tried to get the armor back."
"What did you suggest, Master?" Egas asked.
"I told him that once his armor was fractured and given to others that it would be very difficult to reclaim his armor again. I had the same thing happen. My rival fractured my armor. But I knew that the armors would be more powerful on those the armors had chosen. All of you. Picked by the armor. You can enhance the power of the armor. Talpa used and abused his Warlords, they turned against him. I know better, I understand how to treat my wonderfully evil Warlords."
"That's true Master," Otnek replied, the others chuckled evilly.
"Talpa's dynasty was defeated due to his ignorance and arrogance. He deserved to be defeated. He also abused the power of his nether spirits, and the power that he had in himself. He used it whenever he thought to power up his Warlord's rather than trust in the power of his Warlords. They began to rely too much on the power he provided. He also kept them ignorant of the true nature of their armor and where their power really came from."
"Of course Master," Oyr said. "You are far wiser than Talpa."
"you showed us the true nature of our armor, how to be true to the spirit of our armor and truly serve you. You have also shown us how to tap into the power of our armor." Newor added simply.
"Of course I did! I am not the idiot my brother was. I am proud of my Warlords, I know that I can rely on all of you."
"Masster," Temkes said. "I remember when you sshowed uss how to usse the power of our armor. We sshall not fail you! We have won many battless to bring honor for you! I sshall bring great honor to your dynassty mysself."
"So shall I!" chimed in Otnek challengingly.
"Of course you shall! I did not train you disobey me, and I did not train all of you to fail me! Do not fight amongst yourselves! But I do want all of you to go train and prepare. I hall call you back to myself when Elak is just about to begin his test of the Ronin dogs. Go now!"
"As you wish Master." The Warlords replied, bowed and then one by one the Warlords disappeared and as each disappeared his candle went out. Two there were two shapes standing next to the Warlords' master. Both were smaller than him but both radiated power. They suddenly disappeared, it could not be distinguished if they were human or not.
Just after the first battle.
In the darkened room with the evil shadows and single candle, Mitaly appeared to his master. He knelt in submission before him.
"You have not completed the task I sent you to do. Did you?" his master demanded.
"I am truly sorry master, I did not fail you on purpose. The Ronins and their friends are very resourceful. We, I, had not realized that they would be armed. I..." Mitaly tried.
"You failed me!?" his Master roared. The flame of the candle hit Mitaly. "Why!? I gave you 100 soldiers!" Mitaly whimpered. "They didn't even have their armor! Your arrogance has done this! Fool!"
"Master! Forgive me, please! I'm sorry!" Mitaly whaled. His master's wrath continues for another five minutes. When his master had finished Mitaly lay smoldering but still alive, barely alive.
"Master?" another voice, asked. "Do you think you might have been a little harsh on him?"
"I shall punish those who fail me at MY discretion! Are you questioning what I do?"
"No Master. Not really Anyways," there was a shadow that could be seen looking in the direction of Mitaly's still form. "What do you want me to do with him?"
"Take him to my nether spirits. Have them patch him up." The master's shadow shifted. "Learn from his mistakes. Go my minion, and send me my Warlords."
"Yes Master," the servant's shadow bowed and grabbed Mitaly. "I shall send them to you immediately." With that the servant vanished carrying Mitaly. In the light of the candle the master's eyes shone red.
Eight new, smaller candles lit up. Next to each candle was a shadow in armor. Each bowed to their master.
"Ah," their master said happily. "My Warlords have come to me."
"Yes Master," they replied in unison.
"What tassk do you have for uss? Masster?" One of the Warlords asked. You could see a glimmer of green from his armor, snake green.
"Are you impatient my pet?" his master asked amused.
"You ssent Mitaly before uss. Why Masster?"
"My pets, I sent him first so as not to bother you. For you will attack an conquer the mortal world for me."
"But Master, why have you now called us here?" another Warlord asked quietly. His armor had a pinkish hue.
"The Ronin warriors shall once again don their armor; they could be a problem for us."
"Masster, let uss take care of them!" the first Warlord pleaded gleefully. "Before they get the Armor."
"It is too late, they have passed into an area protected against us by my loathed enemy! No, for now you shall prepare for their re-emergence. Mitaly did get us some useful knowledge. The Ronins can be ambushed!"
"Master," a third Warlord chimed in, "do you with me to tell them?" This Warlord's armor shone with a dark blue sheen.
"Yes, tell them Newor, my evil Warlord of Strata."
"My brethren of evil! As our Master has already said Mitaly gathered good and useful information for us to use against the pathetic threat of the Ronin Warriors. They are leading what they call normal lives, they are attending High School. Plenty of targets, kidnappings and threats. As of tight now there is no one at the school, but they have a key. They will be going to the school sometime this week, once they get back. We could easily set up an ambush. They wouldn't want to damage the building, therefore they will be easy to take care of."
"Who thought that up? You Newor? Why don't we just ambush them when they leave the mountain?" Yet another Warlord chimed in. A glint of orange.
"You never were one for subtlety were you Otnek?" Newor replied.
"We can take them by force!" Otnek said. "Just an all out attack should rid us of this problem. Besides, we should only need one Warlord."
"And that would be you Otnek? Give me a break!" Newor spat at him.
"I'll break you!" Otnek growled.
"Enough!" their master commanded. "I shall send one of you to test the Ronins. Only one may go. Who shall I send?"
"Ssend me Masster! My poisson will desstroy them eassily and painfully."
"Not you Temkes. And not Otnek or Newor." Their master paused.
"What about me Master?" the pink armored Warlord chimed in. The other three whom had not been chosen glared at him. "Shall I snare them in my web?"
"No Sayid," four gone, four to go.
"Master," came a quiet voice, this Warlord's armor glinted green. "Send me."
"No Egas."
"Master." A glint of red. "What about me? I'll go."
"No Oyr, not this time." Six down and only two were left.
"Master, I shall wash them out with the mighty power of my Armor." This Warlord bowed and his armor glinted a light blue color.
"Not you Eyc," there was only one Warlord left. His armor glinted a dark gray. This Warlord hadn't spoken yet but was eager to go.
"That must mean," he said in a dark husky voice, "you wish to send me to test the Ronins." He bowed his acceptance of the task. "Do you wish me only to test them? Or do you want me to try to destroy them when they leave the mountain with their newly reclaimed armor."
"I shall send you Elak. You shall only test them. If you should appen to kill one, bring me the armor. But do not try to kill them. Deceive them. Do not show ytour true power."
"I shall do as you ask my Master. I shall not fail you." Elak bowed deeply to his Master. His candle went out as he disappeared.
"Masster?" Temkes asked
"What?"
"What do you want uss to do you now?" he bowed respectfully.
"Observe the fight to come. Watch the Ronins as they battle. For all of you, including Elak, the power the Ronins possess can be used to our advantage. They are now going to have to relearn to use their armor."
"Of course Master," the Warlords replied in unison.
"We shall destroy the human world! I shall finish what that idiot Talpa started."
"Masster, did you know Talpa?" asked Temkes.
"Yes," their master paused and they waited respectfully. "Talpa was my brother, but I shall never mourn his loss. I never liked him. He never listened to me. The fool!"
"Master," Sayid asked quietly. "We didn't know that you had a brother. What made4 him such a fool?"
"His armor of course! He allowed himself to be defeated by a monk long ago. The monk took the armor from Talpa. Then he fractured the armor into 9 parts. Each part had its own power, virtue, and ability. Then all of the armors went to different humans. Instead of trying to make all of those humans into his warlords he only tried to get the armor back."
"What did you suggest, Master?" Egas asked.
"I told him that once his armor was fractured and given to others that it would be very difficult to reclaim his armor again. I had the same thing happen. My rival fractured my armor. But I knew that the armors would be more powerful on those the armors had chosen. All of you. Picked by the armor. You can enhance the power of the armor. Talpa used and abused his Warlords, they turned against him. I know better, I understand how to treat my wonderfully evil Warlords."
"That's true Master," Otnek replied, the others chuckled evilly.
"Talpa's dynasty was defeated due to his ignorance and arrogance. He deserved to be defeated. He also abused the power of his nether spirits, and the power that he had in himself. He used it whenever he thought to power up his Warlord's rather than trust in the power of his Warlords. They began to rely too much on the power he provided. He also kept them ignorant of the true nature of their armor and where their power really came from."
"Of course Master," Oyr said. "You are far wiser than Talpa."
"you showed us the true nature of our armor, how to be true to the spirit of our armor and truly serve you. You have also shown us how to tap into the power of our armor." Newor added simply.
"Of course I did! I am not the idiot my brother was. I am proud of my Warlords, I know that I can rely on all of you."
"Masster," Temkes said. "I remember when you sshowed uss how to usse the power of our armor. We sshall not fail you! We have won many battless to bring honor for you! I sshall bring great honor to your dynassty mysself."
"So shall I!" chimed in Otnek challengingly.
"Of course you shall! I did not train you disobey me, and I did not train all of you to fail me! Do not fight amongst yourselves! But I do want all of you to go train and prepare. I hall call you back to myself when Elak is just about to begin his test of the Ronin dogs. Go now!"
"As you wish Master." The Warlords replied, bowed and then one by one the Warlords disappeared and as each disappeared his candle went out. Two there were two shapes standing next to the Warlords' master. Both were smaller than him but both radiated power. They suddenly disappeared, it could not be distinguished if they were human or not.