Revenance
By S. Arallion
Based on "Ronin Warriors"
(the English version of the anime series "Yoroiden Samurai Troopers")
Disclaimer: All characters in this story are owned by their respective copyright holders—namely, not myself. Anything you don't recognize is my fault. I make absolutely no profit from my use of these characters. ~~Arallion
Part 8: Awakening~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Halo is getting tired.
Anubis narrowed his eyes at the darting figure ahead of him, always just barely out of reach. The lithe, green clad form was dodging a hair more sluggishly, he noted, and his choice of path was becoming more and more desperate. A bit longer and he would falter at a critical moment, and Anubis would have him.
Strangely, he felt more clearheaded than he remembered feeling for some time. Even more strangely, he was feeling less and less interest in destroying his opponent. A very small voice inside his head murmured to him urgently to keep running, but not to catch the boy. The voice was soothing, and vaguely familiar. He couldn't place it exactly, but for some reason it was very important to him to please that voice.
Sage made a sharp turn in front of him, and he hesitated a moment before following suit, trotting easily along the narrow tightrope of steel, within touching distance of the Ronin. Sage looked over his shoulder, and Anubis stared into the silver eyes which were widening in panic.
Take him now, you fool! Kill him! The voice that intruded on his unsuspecting mind brought back memories of fear and pain, the booming tones resonating through his very bones. Despite himself, he found his gauntleted hand reaching forward to capture the tiring Ronin, but just as he realized this, his balance seemed off and he stumbled. The urge faded, accompanied by a snarl of anger, but his balance was restored as quickly as it had been disturbed. Anubis blinked. Sluggishly, his mind began to try to analyze what had transpired.
Sage leaped away from his grip and launched himself onto another strand of the web. He began hopping from chain to chain, followed closely by the Warlord. With another look back, he yelped and made a desperate leap—
--into nothing. To his dismay, there weren't any more chains to hang onto, and a rock was coming up fast. He closed his eyes, knowing that he was dead, even if the rock didn't kill him.
Anubis felt a shock of adrenaline flood through his body as the Warrior of Light fell. Without thought, he sent the chain of the kusari-gama sailing forward to wrap around the boy's body, catching him around the shoulder and waist and snagging on his armor plates.
Sage hung inches above the jagged rock, blinking in total confusion. He looked up, upside down, at the Warlord who leaned precariously out into emptiness, using his own weight as ballast. Silver-blue eyes met blue-green ones, both wide with astonishment.
"Don't move, Halo," Anubis' voice echoed hollowly out of the helmet, sounding very uncertain. "Are you all right?"
Sage blinked again and sighed. Hanging upside down wasn't his idea of a great time, and the blood was rushing to his head. "What do you care? Why can't I move?"
"Just stay still, Ronin, and let me think."
"Like I have a choice," Sage said faintly, swinging helplessly from the chain of Anubis' weapon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kayura dashed in front of the frantic warriors, holding out her arms to stop them. "Wait! We have to use this chance. While Anubis holds Sage balanced like that, Talpa can't take over his actions. We might be able to get through to him right now."
"But Sage—" Kento began worriedly.
"Is fine," the lovely monk pointed out. "Even if he's dropped, he's close enough to the ground not to take any damage."
"Hmm, and it looks like Sekhmet is there to catch him anyway," murmured Dais, nodding towards the concealed Warlord of Venom, lurking in the shadows of a jagged boulder.
Kento looked at his fellow warriors for reassurance, noticing that none were happy with the idea but would still go along with it. "Oh, okay. But if you need me to thump Anubis, just yell."
Kayura grinned at him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What is happening to me? Anubis thought frantically. Saving a Ronin Warrior? Talpa wanted them all dead, didn't he? Where did this fit into the plan?
The small, soothing voice returned to him. Your soul is Loyalty—but you can choose your own master.
He stared at the dangling form below him through the confines of his helmet, indecisive. The helmet was obscuring his vision, clouding his mind. Suddenly claustrophobic, he dismissed it, to allow his eyes to gaze unfettered on the cause of his confusion.
Haven't we done this somewhere before….?
Kill him! The booming voice thundered in his ears. In startled reaction, the Warlord ducked to the side, long red hair flying out. Sage yelled, below him, as he was almost dropped. Breathing hard, Anubis latched onto another chain and held on for dear life until his equilibrium returned.
"What are you trying to do, kill me?" Sage squawked up at him.
The Warlord glared down at him with raised eyebrows. "Is that a serious question?"
"Um, never mind."
The booming voice had subsided, becoming only a faint echo in the back of Anubis' mind. He shook his head wearily and closed his eyes, resting his forehead for a moment against the cold steel of the chain. The soothing voice brushed his thoughts again, stronger this time, drowning out the other.
You have not yet chosen your master in this life, Anubis. You must choose now, or I cannot assist you.
"Ancient One?" Anubis' head shot up, his eyes suddenly sharp and clear.
To his shock, a roiling cloud of Ankoku spirits was moving rapidly towards him. He heard a shout from below as the familiar outline of the Warlord of Venom appeared beneath Sage, and the other warriors began to clamber up the rocks towards them. I remember now, Ancient One. Forgive me—my life is still yours…
He dropped the kusari-gama, and Sage with it, onto Sekhmet. Then he closed his eyes and stepped lightly off the chain web as the bloodthirsty spirits drove in to overwhelm him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Horrified, the warriors watched as the pink-tinged cloud of shrieking Nether Spirits closed on Anubis' position. Sage dropped unceremoniously into the waiting arms of Sekhmet and yelled in surprise. Sekhmet dodged the scythe portion of the weapon easily as it came down after the Warrior of Light.
The cloud swirled in on Anubis, but just as the spirits obscured his form, he dropped from the chain. He fell too quickly for them to change direction, but also too quickly to survive the fall.
Kayura's staff exploded into light as they raced desperately up the rocks. The armor Anubis wore glowed in reaction and dissipated to sub-armor, then as the glow continued, to the simple monk's clothing they found so familiar. His descent slowed until his sandaled feet reached the rocks, when he crumpled into a limp, unconscious heap.
"Pick him up," Kayura ordered, keeping a watchful eye on Talpa's minions overhead. Cale and Ryo pulled the sagging Warlord upright and stepped to Kayura's side, in the shelter of her flaring staff. The Ronins and Warlords closed around them protectively, and Kayura teleported them away, the chains of Anubis' magic disintegrating around them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"We're baaaack," Mia heard from the entry, along with the now-familiar clatter of armored feet. She dropped her dishrag and ran out of the kitchen to see the weary warriors stumbling in, all exhausted-looking. Yuli and White Blaze were disappearing into the living room after Cale, who was moving towards the couch.
"Did you—oh, goodness," Mia stopped as she caught a glimpse of long, reddish-brown hair cascading over Cale's arm.
Lady Kayura stood at her side. "We were able to bring him back, but I don't know how long he will be able to resist Talpa. If the Dynast gains any more power, he will again be able to reach into the mortal realm, and Anubis will be vulnerable again. Somehow, we must find a way to return the Armor of Loyalty to its original state." She met Mia's apprehensive blue gaze seriously. "Did your grandfather have any more information on this aspect of the nine armors?"
"I haven't seen anything yet," Mia replied, shoulders drooping. "I'll look, though. The way things have been happening, it seems like Grandfather's information only appears when it's relevant and needed. Let's hope this situation is the same." She felt Kayura's hand touch her arm comfortingly, and sighed as she looked at the still form on the couch. "Can I do anything to help you with him?"
Kayura brushed a stray hair from her nose. "Perhaps some warm tea," she thought aloud. "He is recovering from breaking the hold of the Ankoku spirits, and there is little we can do to help him now except to keep him safe while he rests."
Mia nodded thoughtfully. "How about moving him upstairs to one of the bedrooms? It might be more quiet, considering the amount of people that are going to be in this house for awhile," she smiled wryly.
"A good idea," Kayura said gently. "I'll get Cale to do that."
Cale and Rowan followed an awestricken Yuli upstairs to set Anubis up in Mia's small guest room. The rest of the warriors sank down tiredly into chairs in the living room, or followed Mia into the kitchen to settle upon chairs and counters, waiting for water to boil. All were strangely hushed.
"I can't believe that Talpa was actually able to do that," Sage muttered after a moment. He looked a little bruised and his hands were scraped and battered from the chase through the web of chains.
"Me neither," Ryo replied. "It just doesn't seem—well, right." White Blaze, at his side, made a small grumbling noise and rubbed his broad, snowy cheek against Ryo's hand.
The kitchen lapsed into silence again. Mia looked around to see Sage and Ryo slumped in their chairs at the table, Sekhmet leaning awkwardly against the wall by the telephone, and Cye perched in his usual place on the counter next to the sink. The teakettle began to whistle, and they all jumped at the sudden sound.
"Easy, guys, it's just the water boiling." She smiled calmly at them, and they relaxed with nervous laughter and shuffling. "Cye, would you mind making the chocolate? I'm going to start the tea."
Cye shook himself visibly, his gaze clearing as he focused on Mia. "Sure, no problem." He hopped off the counter and pulled the powdered chocolate from its place in a cupboard.
"I don't know why I'm so freaked out about this," Ryo commented, leaning back in the chair.
"I know why I am," a voice rumbled from behind him. Ryo shot a startled glance over his shoulder as Sekhmet pulled another chair out and sat down at the table. The Warlord looked as haggard as they all felt. "I keep thinking: if Talpa can bring someone back from the dead with a simple addition to his armor, what other things might he be able to accomplish? There have to be nastier insignias than that Phoenix. Right, Lady Mia?"
Mia shook a measured amount of tea out into the pot before answering. "I found several different insignias that could be added to your armors," she replied slowly. "And yes, some of them could be nasty if controlled by Talpa."
Sage let out a groan. "So we could all be in danger of having our armors altered and controlled if we were captured again."
A steaming mug of hot chocolate was plunked down in front of the blond Ronin's morose nose. "Stop worrying about it right now," Cye admonished. "We have other things to worry about. We stole a Warlord out from under Talpa's nose, and we have to be prepared to fight about it. It doesn't look like Talpa's strong enough to come after us right now, but he will be. We can't afford to wear ourselves out before he even gets here."
Sage sniffed the chocolate and a tiny smile pulled at his lips. "Thanks, Cye. I guess I'm just a little frazzled right now."
"I can't say I blame you," Cye grinned. "I wouldn't want to be hanging upside down from the end of Anubis' kusari-gama."
"What?" Mia was shocked. "You guys haven't told me what happened yet! Sage, are you all right?"
The three boys and the Warlord looked at each other. "I'm fine," Sage said with a shrug. "Although being saved by two Warlords in the same battle does make me a little uneasy…"
Sekhmet grinned at him. "Aww, shucks."
Ryo proceeded to tell Mia what had happened, with some input from Cye and Sage. She listened carefully, drinking her tea with them. "That must have been quite an experience," she finally said after the tale was finished.
Sage grimaced. "Something like that. Ryo, I don't think I want you to volunteer me for anything anymore." The comment was only partially humorous.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mia cracked open the door to the guest room silently, peering in. The light from the hallway spilled across the foot of the bed, illuminating a rumpled blanket cast over a very still form. She pushed open the door and stepped in as quietly as she could, walking to the small table at the head of the bed to set down the cup of tea she carried.
Turning to leave, she hesitated, realizing that she hadn't actually seen him since he was brought in by Cale. His presence hadn't registered with her yet. Perhaps she was protecting herself from further unhappiness, she thought, wondering why it seemed so unreal. It was possible that this was all a dream, and she would wake to find him gone again…
Yet, his body was there in front of her, the cover gently rising and falling with his even breathing, red hair spilling over the white pillowcase in a dark flow. His narrow face was still and drawn, pale hands folded over his chest. She stood there quietly for a moment, losing herself in the translucent planes of his features.
"Mia?"
The familiar, rough-edged voice was almost inaudible. She jumped in spite of herself, focusing again on the pale face. Anubis' blue-green eyes were open, shadowed with exhaustion, but watching her with an unreadable expression. She wondered how long she had been standing there while he looked at her.
"You're awake," she smiled hesitantly. "I brought you some tea. I hope it's not cold…"
He blinked and glanced to the table, where the cup sat. A wisp of steam still rose from the water invitingly. "Thank you," he managed to say, his voice coming out ragged and painful.
Mia winced at the sound. As he moved to push himself upright, she picked up the cup and held it out for him. He sipped the warm liquid and gave her a grateful look.
"I should let you rest," she muttered quietly, a little embarrassed at having been caught staring. To her surprise, one lean hand reached out to her as she started to move away.
"Please don't leave just yet," he said faintly.
Mia turned back and was startled to see an unhappy, vulnerable expression in his eyes. Nervously, she pulled up a chair to the bedside, and took his outstretched hand. "Are you feeling all right?"
"Not really," he said with a tired chuckle. His eyes were focused on their hands, his long fingers wrapped gently around hers. "I never expected to see you again."
The comment was so quiet that Mia wondered if she was meant to hear it at all. She tried to keep him talking, the defeated tone in his voice worrying her. "Do you remember anything of what happened?"
A muscle in his cheek jumped. "I—remember enough," he answered evasively. "Is Sage all right?"
"He's fine," Mia reassured. "A little bruised, but no more than anyone would have been. Less than yourself, I would imagine." A faint smile answered the comment. His thumb moved absently on her palm in a soothing rhythm, but his eyes were still haunted.
"If you could—let them know that I didn't go back to the Dynasty by choice," he said, eyes closing in a pained expression.
Mia was surprised, then annoyed. She squeezed his hand forcefully. "They already know."
His eyes flared open, making contact with hers for the first time since she'd sat down. "They do?"
"Of course they do. They believe in you, remember? I believe in you, and I know you would never do anything to hurt us." She locked gazes with him fiercely, noting surprise and renewed gratitude in his look. "Well?"
He blinked at her. "Well… what?"
"Apologize for having so little faith in us," she elaborated, with a humorous note in her voice.
He made a small noise of laughter, and one corner of his mouth twitched in a half-smile. "I'm sorry…"
"Hmmph," she grinned back at him. "Go back to sleep so that I can go back to researching this situation."
"You've found something about this?" Anubis' gaze sharpened with interest.
"Stay," she admonished sternly, as he appeared to be considering getting out of the bed. "I do the research, you get some sleep. Would you like more tea?"
He looked into her eyes silently, with a raised eyebrow and a bemused expression.
"Why do you do all of this, Mia?"
The soft question caught her off-guard. She lowered her gaze, suddenly acutely aware of his fingers, loosely encircling her wrist. "If you're asking why I keep researching, it's because I want to help. I'm not a warrior, so I have to help in other ways. I can't just sit by and watch, knowing that people could be hurt by my inaction."
Anubis sighed, releasing her hand slowly. "The Ronins are lucky to have found such a dedicated ally." When she looked into his eyes again, they were unreadable. He was beginning to droop, she could tell.
"I'm glad they can count you as an ally, too," she returned seriously, taking the cup from him to bring it back downstairs. He said nothing, but his expression looked doubtful as she left the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~