Destiny (Ronin/Witchblade Crossover)
By: Yin-Yang & JanimeLee

~Chapter Fifteen~

            How he managed to break through the magic barrier that separated her realm and the world of mortals was a topic much discussed among the Nagashins. But that far from her mind. Let her family and people disapprove of their friendship, Ineisha didn't care. Reficul was a wonderful man. He was strong in his own right, his magical powers were impressive, and much kinder that the men in her village.

            Before everything, before the birth of Sekhmet, before selling his soul before the attack and massacre, before it all Reficul as just an ordinary man which exceptional power. He grew up with parents who loved him and tried to make good with what they had. So they weren't part of the high class of society but they got by. He was trained to fight by his father, a former soldier in the shogun's army yet respected all around him, even women by his mother. It wasn't until his late teens that he stumbled across a race of people that were said to be myth and there he met the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

            It wasn't until they went hunting one day when they realized their love for each other. They married after the harvest season. Two years later, their lives fell apart.

            And now Reficul was too close to losing his family again.

            Not again, he thought, Sekhmet must finish this--save your mother and daughter, my son. And release me.

            Naomi froze and looked around, swearing for that moment that she heard Reficul but maybe it was all in her mind. Or was it? she thought to himself.

            "Naomi? Everything alright?" Dini asked when she noticed she wasn't following them.

            "No... I mean yes. I just got distracted." she waved his hand to halt any questions and began walking once more. "I'm fine, really. Let's just get outta here."

            "This way," Rowen turned down a hallway, which led them to an empty room, aside from the pool of water in the center.

            Zenida looked at it for a moment, then took the kama-giri and tossed the spiked end over a rail holding up the ceiling, which ran across the water. She made the chain longer and the spikes submerged.

            "What are you doing?" asked Dini.

            "Trying to find out how deep it is," Zenida answered. "when the chain slacks then we'll know."

            They stood, watching the chain, in hopes to sneak out of the castle dungeon. The moment the chain became slack, Zenida pulled it back to its reasonable length. "What do you think?"

            "I say we go," Lupia said, "but that's just me."

            "Dini? Naomi?"

            The pink haired girl shrugged her shoulders. "Better than wandering around and getting ambushed."

            "I agree but how are we gonna breathe underwater?"

            Rowen tapped his helmet. "The armors let us fight in nearly any condition. Just be careful with yours Naomi, water tends to dilute the armor so the Venom makes the water toxic."

            She scowled at him and crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh that is so comforting. You mean I'm gonna melt in water?"

            ~He means that I'm going to pollute the water a little, ~ Venom explained. ~So it's best if the four of you swam in front so you won't be infected, ~

            "Naomi, I'm gonna start taking my showers before you," Dini said, and then dodge the fist that aimed for her arm.

            "Will you two quit it for once?" Lupia jumped in between. "Let's get out of here."

            "Me first!" Dini dove into the water.

            Rowen and Zenida followed; Lupia went next and Naomi dived after her.

            True to word the armors did allow them to breath and although they moved slowly but that was easy to understand. Dini looked happy as she swam ahead of the group, Lupia constantly chasing after her with Rowen and Zenida keeping a steady pace. Naomi stayed in the back but she had a lot on her mind. True enough she could not only see the venom but feel it as well. In her eyes it looked like when you tried to mix oil and water together.

            ~I'm starting to wonder if you guys can do any good,~ she thought bitterly to the spirit, sighing deeply. ~I mean yeah fighting with this on is great and makes me feel like some super hero but... Damnit there I go again, getting moody.~

            ~It's in your blood. ~

            ~What? ~

            ~The Nagashin side, ~ Venom told her. ~Even though you are only one-fourth Nagashin, most likely you will still have to go through… what they do. ~

            ~What was with the moment of silence? ~ Naomi asked her Guardian.

            ~I believe that you should ask your grandmother about a few things. ~

            ~I get the point.~

            "Whee I could be the next Little Mermaid!" Dini said gleefully with Zenida and Rowen laughed softly. However, Lupia didn't look happy.

            "Oh yeah? Then I'm the shark," she grinned and swam right after her, resulting in another chase. Naomi rolled her eyes but followed.

            soon they managed to find the exit and swimming out found themselves what looked like the courtyard of the large castle/mansion. Dini jumped out and backed away from the water; Lupia crawled out and shook herself hard, almost resembling a dog after it took a bath. The couple helped one another out and Naomi climbed out and stared at the poisoned water. but she said nothing and stared at her friends. "So now where do we go?"

            Rowen shut his eyes. Ryo, can you hear me?

            Loud and clear, his leader responded. Where are you?

            I was hoping that you could us that, said Rowen.

            ~Try looking for a statue of a man with four arms,~ Wildfire sent. ~There should be an exit near there.~

            Right. Looking around he tried to spy a statue but couldn't seem to find it.  "Ladies, we're looking for statue of a man with four arms."

            "Four arms? What could possible have four arms?" Lupia asked as she rung her hair out but Zenida turned thoughtful. The courtyard was covered in weeds and looked very unkempt so maybe…

            "Maybe the weeds covered it up," she pointed out and walked over to a large stone item. Reaching up she pulled off the vines. It was a statue alright but of a massive beast. "This isn't it."

            "Well lets spread out." So the group searched around the area, tearing vines off statues but didn't seem to the find the one with four arms until Zenida located just what they were looking for. Looking at it through she felt a sense of deja vu? But this was her first time looking at it.

            "Shiva…" Zenida whispered, remembering the legends her mother told her. Shiva was the god of destruction, as was his wife, Kali. "Found it!"

            The others raced over to her. "Okay, now what?" Dini asked.

            "where's the passage?" asked Lupia asked.

            Zenida looked at the statue; she reached up to the upper right arm holding a curved sword and pulled it down. The statue moved to the side, revealing a passage through the wall.

            "I'm impressed," said Naomi, "how did you know?"

            "I'm not sure…" Zenida stared at the opening.

            Rowen cautiously looked through the passage. "Let's go," he said, walking through. The girls followed, and the statue slid back into place.

            The passage was dark and Lupia took the lead, able to see through the darkness as clear as day. It took a while but when they reached the end of it they were outside the palace grounds. The passage seemed to have been a type of escape route back in the day in times of invasion. It had worked for their advantage and they were too happy to have escaped but now they just had to go back home and then they could really celebrate.

            I don't understand… why would there be a statue of Shiva here? Did they worship such a person, or did Shiva… really exist? she thought to herself.

            "Zenida?" Rowen looked at her with concern. "What is it?"

            "Shiva… that statue was of Shiva. He's the god of destruction."

            "Well, that makes sense why he's here," said Lupia.

            "But what about Kali?" Zenida said. "why don't they have a statue of her?"

            "Who's Kali?"

            "Shiva's wife; she's the goddess of destruction."

            "Lovely," Dini said. "They come in pairs."

            "That's not the point! Why is there a statue of a Hindu god here in this place? And if he's here why not Kali?" She was getting frustrated and it showed on her face. "Even so how did they know about him?"

            "Perhaps he wasn't a god," said Rowen.

            ~He wasn't, ~ said Strata. ~Shiva was once a powerful warrior with exceptional abilities. Kali was his wife and she was as strong as Shiva. ~

            "So what happened to them?" Lupia asked.

            ~Talpa captured them, ~ said Darkness. ~He was the one who turned them into the gods in the Hindu religion. ~

            ~Then one day they turned on him, ~ said Ogre, ~and they fled from the Dynasty. ~

            "So they were once human... like us..." the young girl said softly. "It makes me wonder if all the gods I believe it were just that... humans then were turned into immortal beings..." she laughed but it had no emotion and she shook her head, rubbing her eyes with the heels of her hands. "Let's just get out of here. Please."

            "Come on," Rowen said, and they headed down the pathway.

            Sekhmet stopped and looked at the outside wall. "They made it out."

            "How do you know?" asked Cye. "Venom or the others haven't contacted us."

            "I have my ways."

            "It's our Nagashin blood," said Ineisha. "we can always tell when someone within our line is nearby."

            "Nice trick," Kento commented.

            "Can you tell how close they are?" Sage asked.

            "Very close. I would just around the corner, so to speak." Leading the way the group was still cautious. So far no signs of soldiers or shadow beasts but Reficul had to be watching them.

The youths were all silent, with Zenida being more so than usually but then again, she had a lot on her mind. Naomi stopped though hen she thought she felt something but wasn't sure what. Holding her arm out the rest stopped behind her.

            "What's up?" Dini asked.

            "I feel... dad is close..."

            "Meaning what exactly?"

            "Since I was little I had this kind of sixth sense when it came to dad. Made playing hide-n-seek easy since I could almost always find him. Now I have the same feeling but it's stronger."

            ~Your grandmother, ~ said Venom. ~Nagashins can always tell when another is close by. It appears even with thinned blood, you can still sense them. ~

            Naomi smiled and focused on the feeling. "Come on! Follow me!"
            "Yes, Naomi," Talpa said as he watched the five run off. "Lead me to Wildfire, and help me destroy your world."

            "Dad! Grandma!" The guys looked at each other before Sekhmet grinned himself and took off. The others followed suit and it wasn't very long for both parties to meet up. Fathers embraced their daughters tightly before the Ronins could embrace the loves of their lives as well. They had found each other but now the trick was to get out of the Dynasty and back to the rest of their family. But Zenida looked back at the dark castle, thinking about what she had learned in just a short time.

            "Zenida?" Anubis looked at her worriedly, resting his hand on her shoulder. "Are you alright?"

            "... I wish I knew how to answer that," she said softly and covered his hand with her own. "Let's just go home."

            "Hey I have a question, since we each got our armors Talpa hasn't shown his face. So what's to stop him from attacking us here and now?" Dini asked quite seriously.

            "Good question," said Kento. "Any ideas?"

            "He's waiting," Ryo said, "for me to be off guard."

            "Better make sure you stay on guard," said Dais. "The last thing any of us needs is Talpa getting hold of you."

            Ineisha gasped and looked towards the castle.

            "What is it?" Sekhmet asked, growing worried.

            "He's coming…" his mother whispered.

            Everyone just looked at each other then back at the castle. "Okay, I suggest we open a portal or gate or whatever it's called and go back home!" Lupia said. "And fast!"

            "What's makes you think he won't follow us like last time?" Naomi said with a frown.

            "This time we have our armors how could he possible stop us?!"

            "May I remind you that he still has my grandfather's body??"

            "May I remind you that he is after us and will hurt our family if we don't destroy him?!" Both ladies looked at each other angrily, eyes locked it looked like a fight was about to break out.

            Sage and Cye stepped in front of the two fuming girls. "And may we remind you that this would be a very bad time to start bickering?" Cye asked.

            The ground started to shake and then exploded behind Ryo. Talpa flew out from the hole and grabbed the Wildfire Ronin, laughing as he brought the struggling teen into the air high above the others.

            "Very foolish, Wildfire," the dark emperor said. "That little barrier you had finally dwindled enough for me to get close enough to Hariel's descendant."

            "Ryo!!" came the chorused cry but they could do nothing.

            The young man continued to struggle although it didn't seem to be working but he was not going to give up so easily. "You'll never get Inferno, Talpa!"

            "Grandpa don't do this!!" Naomi yelled, hoping to try and reach the human side. "You have to fight him and not just for us but you too!"

            "Little girls should be seen not heard. Or not seen at all!!" Looking at her, his eyes seemed to glow and a large blast hit him directly in the chest, sending her flying from the ground and hit the ground hard.

            Sekhmet ran to his daughter, horrified. Naomi was still alive but unconscious. Slowly, Sekhmet turned around, glaring at Talpa with utter hatred.

            "Bad move, Talpa," Sekhmet said. He took the dagger that was attached to Cye's shoulder then dragged the blade across his palm.

            "Sekhmet! NO!" Ineisha yelled at her son.

            He ignored her; dropping the dagger, Sekhmet touch the blood flowing into his palm and then drawing four bloody lines across his face. His eyes began to glow dark green and then he was surrounded by a strange whirlwind.

            The Ronin and girls watched with shock and fear at what was happening. What strange sort of power did he possess now? Talpa also seemed taken back but his death grip on Ryo refuse to ease up.

            "Ineisha what's going on?!" Cye called to her, being forced to back up as the whirlwind increased.

            The Nagashin woman didn't answer only looked on silently as her son summoned all of the power from his soul.

            Sekhmet flew into the air right at Talpa. The Netherworld Emperor was caught off guard; he didn't have time to brace himself for Sekhmet's attack. The punch was so strong that everyone heard the upper left arm bone snap.

            Screaming, Talpa loosened his hold on Ryo. The Ronin leader managed to break free and land on the ground. He looked back up at Sekhmet and Talpa.

            "Ryo! Get over here!" Rowen yelled at their leader but they were all amazed at the battle. His arm useless for the time being Talpa tried to grab at the half-Nagashin but he was too quick. Dodging the next aim his fist connected with his chest. Armor shattered like thin glass and the emperor went crashing back into the ground. Each time he tried to get up Sekhmet kept knocking him back down by his fists alone.

            "He's gonna kill him!" Dini pointed out but no one was moving. Even Cye didn't know what to say as he carefully sat Naomi up, trying to wake her up.

            "Naomi please, wake up," he called out softly, worry and concern in his tone and eyes.

            Ineisha summoned a white orb and threw it at her son. It slammed into Sekhmet and he crashed to the ground.

            "Is it that difficult for you?" Talpa asked. "Seems your son is more willing to throw his life away then you. If I had known then what you Nagashins had maybe I wouldn't have gotten rid of the rest."

            "You killed my family…" Ineisha looked at him.

            Talpa grinned "Your kind was worthless to me. Too bad I never found out what you reptilians were capable of."

            "How could you be so heartless?!" Ryo yelled at him, hands closing into tight fists.

            The Dark Lord laughed as he stood, brushing himself off as nothing. Dark energy swirled around his arm as the bones snapped into place and his cracked ribs but the armor was still gone. "But what is in the past is gone and now only you three are left...' He laughed dryly as he looked down at them. "But when this day is over the rest of your kind will be wiped clean from the face of this earth."

            "Ow... oh god, what hit me...?" Naomi groaned, slowly cracking her eyes open and looked up. "Cye...? What's going on?"

            The bear of Torrent looked down at her with surprise but couldn't help but smile ever so lightly. "Naomi... don't ever scare me like that again!"

            She blinked but weakly smiled at him. "Now I really know you care."

            ~Sorry to break up such a tender moment but now is not the time!~ Venom spoke up loudly for both of them to hear.

            "What do we do now Ryo?" Kento asked, hands clenching and unclenching as if he wished he could wrap them around something. But for once... the leader of the armored people had no idea what to say.

            "... I wish I knew..."

            Talpa heard this and laughed hard and proud at the chaos he was creating. "Why not call upon Hariel's armor? Show me the full power of Inferno!!"

            Zenida may not have seen this armor before but from what the others told them about it had to be a force to reckon with. So why did Talpa want to see it? Looking at the raven haired youth she noted that he was torn but something clicked in. If Talpa was trying to get them to create Inferno, then he wanted it! "Ryo don't do it!!" she yelled at him, catching everyone's attention.

            "Zenida, it may be our only hope!!" Lupia yelled back at her.

            "Don't you understand? If we create it what's to stop him from not doing something that will end getting the armor! No matter what happens we can not create it!"

            "I really hate this modern world," Talpa said. "Women are too smart for their own good. What happened to the silent ones who were only there for your needs? Sorry, Ineisha, I guess that I shouldn't have said that."

            "I'm not surprised at all," the Nagashin woman said. "You would take advantage of being inside Reficul for that."

            "Hey that was completely and utterly rude!!" Dini couldn't help but yell at him, an angry scowl on her pretty face. "Just because we can't create Inferno doesn't mean we can't don our own armors and teach you a lesson!!" Clasping her hands together she could feel the energy building and quickly donned her helmet the moment it formed.

            Lupia laughed as she called upon her own armor and looked at the Ronins. "C'mon! It's going to take all of us to beat him!"

            "That's still my grandfather!" Naomi yelled at her friends as they headed towards Talpa.

            "Naomi right now that is Talpa," Cye pointed out sadly. "We don't even know if he's still alive in there."

            Oh he's very much alive, Torrent's Chosen, Talpa thought. The question is will Sekhmet die with his father when you kill this body?

~End of Chapter Fifteen~