Author's note: Re-edited version of chapter 5. Grr, this damn chapter was
crap to upload... anyways, it's here so you'd better damn well enjoy it.
jk. Actually, no I'm not.
::insert disclaimer here::
**************************************************************************** **********
NEVER get onto a plane unless you know EXACTLY where you are going
Chapter 5
Morning came quite uninvitingly and our two heroines were sleeping as peacefully as sleeping on pavement could give. White Blaze was used as a big, moving pillow for Amariie while Rain was getting a firm backside from the gritty cement next to the overturned car they used as mild shelter. As Amariie was snoring away, Rain's mind was running non-stop. A dream plagued her thoughts. In this dream, she saw a man with long white hair in the distance, holding the staff that nearly killed Amariie's boot. He pointed his staff to a bigass volcano, a soft chime sounding. Surrounding the mountain was blackness and void. From inside the mouth came an immense bright red light that flowed across the dark, breaking it apart and cleansing the land. Beside her, Amariie was...well, not dreaming of volcanoes.
Rain was sharply awakened by a girly giggle from the unconscious form next to her. Opening one eye to glare with discontent at this pain in the ass, she closed her eyes and tried once more to go to sleep.
Suddenly an arm wrapped around Rain's waist and pulled her tightly. Another giggle and a murmured "I love you Matt" caused Rain to bolt upright shrieking.
"GET OFFA ME!!" shouted Rain while shoving Amariie's arms off of her.
Amariie pulled her head up to glare at her bud. She scrunched her nose up in annoyance and sat up wearily. "Why'd ya wake me, Rainey? I was having the nicest dream!" she said as her eyes turned glittery.
"So I noticed," said Rain lowly while dusting off her shirt.
White Blaze raised his head and licked Amariie's face cheerily. Amariie, however, did not enjoy this. "EW! STOP! BAD KITTIE! BAD, BAD KITTIE!" she screeched like a banshee. "My HAIR!"
Still lying on the ground, Rain smacked her head against the ground. "Oh god help me..." she whispered. She suddenly remembered the weird dream she had. That guy looked familiar. Last time she eats spicy Doritos before she goes to sleep...Something about a volcano. And that guy with the deadly boot killing staff. Her thoughts turned to the boys. 'They couldn't have just disappeared,' she thought while sitting up, 'Maybe they were put some place where we couldn't find-' Rain's thoughts ended as Amariie's sparkled.
"Oooo!" she squealed and pushed herself to a standing position.
Rain sighed and stretched. "Now what is it?"
Amariie pointed down a vacant road, then began skipping along the trashed sidewalk humming to herself. Rain and White Blaze both simultaneously rained an eyebrow. Well White Blaze didn't but we all know he did. "Shiney!" the blonde said bending over while trying to hold back her hair.
Kittie stood up and stretched, then accompanied Rain to where Amariie stood gazing at the gutter. "Uhh... 'Arrie? I don't think we should be running off right now," Rain said as she walked up to her pal's side.
"But lookie!!" Amariie said all-too-happily as she picked up a long, very sharp, Japanese-style sword. "Ooo! Rain! Can I?? Please?!" her pale blue eyes lighting up like a Christmas tree on crack. Suddenly, if it were possible, her smile widened even more. "IT'S KENSHIN'S SWORD!!!"
The silver-haired one rolled her eyes. "Sorry to break it to ya hun, but Kenshin is just a cartoon. It's not real." Rain quickly snatched the sword from Amariie's grasp before Blondie decided to play with it as most ditz do and began examining the sword's hilt.
Pouting, Amariie plunked down on the curb next to White Blaze, who was obviously bored. "Hey Rain-chan, where do you think that knife thing came from? I mean, maybe it just flew out of some cool sword shop! With a totally hot owner!" her large eyes went all glittery again.
Completely and happily ignoring her, Rain got to thinking. She doubted it just landed there by accident and it did look rather familiar...
"DUDE!" said Rain suddenly, jolting Amariie out of her yummy daydream. "This is Ryo's sword! It must have fallen out of his hand when he was fighting with..." she paused and gave a slight smile, "that warlord Anubis."
Amariie clasped her hands together and jumped up off the curb. "Oooooooohhh! I think SOMEBODY likes the baddie! Rainey and Nubie sitting in a tree, K.I.S-"
"Oh shut up!" Rain snapped, cheeks flushing scarlet. "We've got to find our boys!"
Giggling, she replied, "Right! Hehe, that Rowen guy was cute. He's got one hell of a..."
"Stay focused please, Ama-" but before Rain could finish, a loud breaking/crumbling sound came from behind them. The very place they had been moments before was completely crushed underneath tons of cement and metal from a collapsing building.
Rain stood in shock for a moment, as did kittie and blondie. "...I hate to say this, but if it wasn't for you, Amariie and your airheadedness, we would've been crushed under that building."
Amariie made various vogue poses. "Yes I know, the temple devoted to worshipping me is open 24/7. Feel free to pay tribute anytime."
Rain snickered. "Yes, Amariie the queen of modesty."
Amariie frowned. She bent down at messed up White Blazes' fur. "At weast you wuv me, fwuffy wuffy. Oh yes you do! Yes you do pretty kitty!"
Raising her eyes to the sky to stare at the horizon for a while, Rain got hardcore deja vu. In the distance, sticking out like a sore thumb, was a volcano. A big red freaking volcano. Rain grabbed Amariie's upper arm and pulled her closer. "OH my god 'Ariie! It's the volcano from my dream!"
Her companion gave her a weird look. "What dream would that be, dear?"
"The one I had last night," Rain said very slowly. "Ryo's in there, I just know it!"
White Blaze lifted his head and purred with approval. Amariie skipped over to an abandoned Mercedes Benz convertible (with the top on) (... cuz you know you find those lying around everyday...). Opening the door, she found the keys in the console, but the car wouldn't start for anything.
Rain rolled her eyes at her friend's choice of vehicles. "It must be this darkness. It's blocking all the technol..." she couldn't even finish her sentence before hysterical laughter ran through the area. Rain's eyes turned into big hearts and she started to drool.
"And people call ME guy-crazy..." Amariie said, crossing her arms.
Rain desperately tried to hide her feeling of enjoyment. She loved action and excitement, and even though not in a million years would she admit it, but fancied the idea of being madly in love with villain, just like in those sap books 'Arrie reads. A blackened figure walked out of the soft morning fog that blanketed the concrete and stopped, facing the two girls. He folded his arms as he narrowed his eyes and smirked. "Hmm...You two girls shouldn't be all alone in the big...empty...city by yourselves now," he said, strongly lingering with emphasis on every word.
Rain folded her arms mockingly as White Blaze paced next to her, teeth bared. "Oh just go fuck yourself, Nubie-chan," she said while Amariie's jaw dropped.
Anubis' tolerance grew thin. He threw a scowl their way, then his face lightened. "Got quite a mouth there, girl."
Amariie grabbed Rain's shirt collar and whispered, "Are you psychotic?! ...Don't answer that. But you're gonna piss him off!"
"Shush, I'm just bluffing so we can escape. Play along," she whispered back.
Amariie glanced at Rain, then the warlord. She began glaring at him and stepped ahead of Rain. "Ooo! Lookie! Big bag warlord all alone. I'm so scared! I'm gonna shit myself," she said, sarcasm dripping from her mouth.
Anubis glared back at the perky little blonde. "You think I'm all alone, ne? Well," suddenly the ground shook and dozens of soldiers burst through the streets. How? We don't know. Probably through sewage systems...explains their smell...Anyways, dozens of trashcans stood behind Anubis, waiting for his signal. "What do you think now, girl?"
Amariie backed off some and whispered harshly to Rain, "PLAY ALONG?! Yeah, like THAT worked!"
Rain's eyes widened as more came from alley ways. "Better get running!" she shouted to Amariie as she grabbed her arm.
"What's wrong with you? We can't run away!" Amariie shot at Rain.
Surprised by her courage, Rain stopped. "You're right! We aren't cowards!" She lifted her head to meet the evil (yet charming) warlord. "We won't run from you!"
Amariie poked Rain's arm. "Uhh I meant we can't run. I'm wearing heels."
With a quick flick of Anubis' wrist, the soldiers began to advance, shooting arrows at the trio. Rain shoved a freaked out Amariie towards the car, jumped in behind her, and slammed the door. She was sure White Blaze was alright yet more soldiers were coming closer and more arrows were trying to pierce the car. Just as the Benz was about to be smashed by a giant flail, a blinding light came down and repelled all the weapons. The golden light condensed into that same damn golden staff. A thunderous rumbling sound started once the staff hit the ground. The beer cans stopped as the earth beneath them began breaking away. Within moments, it had become a huge ravine separating the soldiers (and stunningly gorgeous warlord) from the other three. "Don't think you can run from the Dynasty!" Anubis shrieked from across the split.
Amariie rolled down the window and leaned out, sticking out her tongue. "Watch us, Carrot top!!" Rain was laughing at Amariie's half-in the car, half out stunt, when she realized that it was getting brighter outside. The staff had cleared the sky and the sun was shining. Turning the key again, the car started up.
Amariie slid back in. "Aw score! Now we've got a hot car!"
Rain smirked at her. "Buckle up, we're heading for the volcano!"
White Blaze, ready to go outside, growled loudly in approval once more and they all headed off towards the horizon.
As the three came upon the mountain's base, Rain began getting an intense feeling. "He's in there, he has to be."
Amariie, painting her nails, said, "Well he better be or I'll be pissy. I'm not coming all the way over here so we can turn around."
The car couldn't do any further due to the brush, so Rain parked it in a meadow. As they both got out of the comfy car, White Blaze took off running like a bat outta hell. Groaning, Amariie pointed at him. "Oh man, I am SO not chasing him. I'm stayin right here and YOU can go save Ryo or whatever. I still have heels on AND a dress!"
Rain only rolled her eyes in response and started walking in the general direction where kittie went. After nearly half an hour of hiking uphill, she stopped and whipped her brow. "Just a walk in the woods. Just a walk in the woods," she said tiredly. Rain lifted her head when she heard White Blaze roaring like hell a little ways ahead of her. "We could've hijacked a helicopter, but noooo 'I wanna ride the Benz!'" she said in a mock valley girl tone.
Rainey jogged the rest of the way on the barren burnt ground and soon came upon the opening to the volcano. Kittie-kittie was already there, looking down into the pit. He looked up to see Rain kneel next to him. She cautiously peeked over the edge and gasped at the sight. The bottom was filled with churning lava that seemed ready to explode at any moment.
"How the freaking hell can he be in there? I swear, leave it to Talpa to chunk Ryo in a pit of oozing lava. I'm surprised I haven't turned into a crispy critter myself," Rain mused as she smoothed Blaze's coat. He turned towards Rain with a knowing look. They both looked down in the core to see a small red dot, brighter than the molten lava, in the middle of the pit.
Meanwhile, Amariie leaned up against the shiny silver Benz, bored. She sighed once more and twiddled her hair. "Hmm...maybe I should have gone with them. It's all boring and crap here. Too much dirt and grass. I need to redo my mascara, it's all screwed up AGAIN! Ugh! Saving the world is too much trouble!" she cried.
She plopped herself into the driver's seat and fished in her purse a small smooth container of mascara (the French kind). Humming to herself, she pulled down the mirror above her and as she looked in it, she noticed Ryo's sword sitting in the backseat.
Giving a huge sigh, Amariie said, "Ugh! Idiots! Rain forgot his sword. How stupid is that. I guess I'll have to save the day now. Ooohh maybe I WILL save the day!"
She reached backwards and grabbed the long sword, holding it in her hands for a moment. "Pretty," she murmured as she used the blade's reflection as a mirror and promptly applied some more mascara. "Well I certainly can't save the world without looking hot."
After lingering moments on the thick mascara, she attempted to trek up the mountain in heels. Quite a while passed before she saw the figures of Rain and the kitty. Taking in a large breath of air, she proceeded to drag herself up to them, unwisely using the priceless ancient mystical weapon as a hiking stick. "Of course, leave it to men to lie dormant in the most inconvenient places!" she snapped impatiently, while rubbing her sore foot. Rain glanced over at the newly arrived Amariie's hand. "The sword! Of course, we forgot about that! Give it to me Amariie."
"Catch!" she tossed the sword over to Rain. Unfortunately, Amariie's awful aim nearly got Rain decapitated.
"Dumbass!" Rain screamed, and the two watched the sword dive into the volcano.
Suddenly they noticed the speck start to become larger.
"Wow! I woke him up! I'm sooooo cool! See Rain, what would the world do without me?" Amariie giggled.
Rain crossed her arms and smirked. "You've got a point, the makers of hairdryers and eyeliners would be out of a job..."
"Smartass..."
"Whoreface..."
Once again (luckily) the soon-to-be catfight was interrupted by a dark presence. Rain felt someone behind her and seeing Amariie's eyes bulge, she figured she was right. Slowly, she turned around to see Anubis standing a few feet away. Unknowingly, she gave a faint smile at him. Obviously this guy didn't know when to give up... whihc wasn't always a BAD thing, but in this case where he was trying to kinda kill them, it was, BUT if he wasn't all mucho bad and working for Dyna- ::TWAP:: err ok, moving along....
"This guy don't know when to give up," whispered Rain to Amariie, cowering behind her.
She merely nodded in reply and gripped the strap of her purse. Anubis stood near the semi-flattened rim of the volcano and smiled. "Nice trick back there with the canyon. Very clever. Yet cleverness won't ever get you anywhere."
White Blaze was situated protectively in front of Rain and Amariie, growling fiercely at the warlord. Anubis gripped his bladed end of his chain and threw his arm back to attack. Before he could strike, the ground started to shake. It started off faint, but quickly grew tremendously. Rain looked around to find the source. The volcano. Of course! Without warning, a huge wall of lava flew to the sky, a red figure in the midst of it. The form slowly seeped from the lava and floated above the girls and the warlord.
"Holy crapola! It's Ryo!" Amariie cheered.
Ryo's arms were out stretched, holding his replenished twin swords. His eyes snapped open, seeking the warlord. The intense blue orbs burned holes through Anubis. For one moment Anubis felt the gut wrenching feeling of fear in his stomach, thinking he was outmatched. He only suppressed the feeling. Again. Dumbass.
"Yay! Goooooo Ryo! Oh damn, I should've brought my pom-poms!" Amariie squealed with excitement.
Rain was too busy drooling over the badass hottie, which would probably try to destroy them again. *sigh* Men can be so confusing sometimes.
Ryo jumped down to confront Anubis, Rain and Amariie scattered to give them as much room as possible. White Blaze stood at Amariie's side and she idly scratched his ear as if to comfort herself. Anubis smirked and slashed at Ryo, who easily dodged it and came back with a kick to his chest. Anubis stumbled backwards a bit, surprise clearly present around him. He grabbed for a rock formation to steady himself. 'Hmm...I feel like cooking chicken teriyaki tonight...Dais likes it...I mean...Wildfire seems stronger...There's no way he could be stronger than me. Not this...boy,' he thought deeply. Trying not to let it get to him, he repeatedly attacked Ryo, who only deflected the warlord's weapon as if it were a toy. Something was different about Ryo, but what? Eh, probably had something to do with that 1950's movie of Badamon's. He always went for the classics. Typical. Ryo smiled faintly. "Too tough for ya, Anubis?"
Feeling taunted and humiliated, Anubis scowled and crashed his scythe onto Ryo's sword. They both stared at each other, determining who was stronger. Anubis then realized that the Wildfire armor had somehow been given tremendous power. Feeling the need to change tactics, he rapidly released his force and jumped back.
Ryo shifted his grip on his swords. "Giving up so easily, Nubie?"
Anubis growled. "QUIT CALLING ME THAT!" he bellowed, clearly unhappy at his new nickname. Getting only a wide grin from his opponent, he narrowed his eyes and glanced to Rain, standing nearby. "You are slightly stronger, Wildfire. You have a warrior's spirit, I'll give you that. Well, let's see how you react to THIS!"
He then leapt over to Rain and landed before her. Her reflexes were a tad too slow due to the Hot Warlord Switch was on and found herself shoved up against Anubis' chest. Ryo charged forward, but Anubis turned Rain's body around and placed his arm tightly around her chest. Ryo stopped in his tracks, not wanting to risk Rain's like (Oh, he's done it before who cares) Rain blushed and bit and began to like the feeling of being close to him, but then a voice popped in her head, 'ARGH! RAIN! STOP! He's the bad guy! Stop acting like Amariie!!" Getting a kick from reality, she picked up her foot and slammed it into Anubis' shin as hard as she could. But all she got was a nasty bruise. "AH SHIT!" she yelled, wincing. "You didn't even FLINCH! Damn fucking armor!"
Anubis leaned his head down and smirked. "Got some fire there, girl. Too bad you're on the wrong side."
Rain turned her face towards him. "I'll show you wrong side!" she said and began struggling with him.
Flambe' frowned at Anubis as Amariie ran up beside him with White Blaze, who, knowing Ryo didn't need his help, decided to just babysit the blonde. "Rain!" Amariie screamed, fearing for her friend. But then she noticed that her left arm was burning. She held it against herself and realized it was cause of Ryo's armor. Ryo began moving towards Anubis, his mind set on freeing Rain. "No, Ryo, wait!" she said quickly. Once she got his attention, she continued, "Your armor is burning like hell! Don't touch her, but kick Anubis in the balls please."
Ryo stopped and knew Amariie was right. He couldn't get anywhere near Anubis while Rain was there. He was using her as a shield.
Nubis saw Ryo's distress and frowned. "Why so down, Wildfire? You wish to fight me, but can't get close? Well this may solve it," he said. Rain blinked once in confusion and before she knew it, she felt a hard shove on her shoulder and noticed the ground was not where it was supposed to be. Anubis had pushed her over the side of the volcano.
Amariie looked on in shock as she watched Rain fall in. Without a single thought in his head, Ryo jumped in right after Rain and could hear her scream, "I'M GONNA KICK YOUR SORRY ASS ANUBIS!!!!"
After a good five minutes of falling, no make it ten, Ol' Fireball was just about to grab Rain when the scene when Amariie burned herself on his armor flashed back in his mind.
"Aww no! If I grab Rain now, she'd be toasted! I've gotta get rid of my armour!"
So, he (somehow) got rid of the armour.
"Aww dammit, I'm screwed," Rain thought to herself as the scorching heat grew. Suddenly she opened her eyes to see Ryo grab her and push off towards the side of the volcano. He rebounded offa the crater and soared (no one quite knows how..these boys seem to defy gravity) up out of the volcano. Ryo landed and placed Rain beside Amariie and White Blaze (and if you know teenaged girls when something emotional happens, that is not a smart thing to do).
Amariie's eyes went anime-teary. "RAIN!!!!!! YOU'RE SAFE!!!!!! WHAAAAAA!!!!!" She burst into tears and gave Rain the hugest hug.
Rain was choking "And... I...would...like...to...stay...that...way...*cough choke*"
Ryo, crouching next to Rain, looked up and smiled with pride. "There. You're ok for--"
Before he could get five words out of his mouth, the forsaken sound of slicing air rang through the air. Ryo knew what it was and simply said, "shit." then Anubis' chain wrapped around him and slung him across the volcano. Amariie and Rain reached for him, but their attempts were futile.
"NO!" cried Rain.
"Well this keeps getting better and better," said Amariie sarcastically.
Ryo was slammed up against Anubis and then again thrown into the air like a yo-yo. Ryo crashed against several rather large boulders, the rusted chain wrapped around his torso. Amariie, kitty, and Rain sprinted along the edge of the volcano, trying desperately to reach their friend. "You'd think he'd get a concussion or something after that..." Amariie said to Rain, noticing that Ryo kinda lacked an important device called a helmet. As they came close to Anubis, the warlord sensed they were coming too close. He whipped around and held Ryo in front of him, his scythe cupped around Ryo's chin. Ryo's eyes were squeezed shut and his teeth clenched in pain.
Anubis narrowed his eyes, yet they flashed with clear amusement. "Come any close girls and your little friend will die."
Rain and Amariie stood their ground as Anubis held his prize. Rain stared at Ryo as Amariie shot Anubis her best bitch look. Rain looked to White Blaze, wondering why the hell he wasn't leaping in and helping.
Then Ryo did something no one would've thought. He slowly opened one eye to look at Rain and cracked a faint smile. Rain widened her eyes as Ryo's composure went back to the helpless hurt kid routine.
Anubis gripped his scythe and was about to slice Ryo's throat. Just before the blade touched the tender flesh of Ryo's neck, Ryo shattered the chains in an instant and before Anubis could say "what the hell," Ryo turned around in a blur and quickly brought up his armored knee to a...delicate part of the warlord. Even though he was protected by his armor, he felt the intense pain. Anubis doubled over in pure agony.
Amariie burst out laughing and slapped her knee. "Good job, Ryo! You actually took my advice!" Rain chuckled a bit and walked casually over to the pain-filled warlord. She knelt down in front of him. Anubis was still in shock from Ryo's attack that all he could do was look at her and into her silver jade eyes.
"Hi Nubie-chan. How ya feelin'? Good I hope. Now I'm not the kind of person to hold grudges against others, but I happen to remember a certain incident involving....oh lava and you," she said pushing her finger on his chest. "Revenge is a bitch," she said and shoved him backwards into the volcano.
Unfortunately, Ryo's ankle was still in Anubis' reach when he started to fall.
"I'll bring you to the abyss with me, Wildfire!", the warlord hollered as the two fell into the crater.
"Not on my watch!" Ryo suddenly pushed off of the warlord and landed on a ledge inside the cliff.
"Armour of Wildfire, Tao Jin!"
Anubis used (what was left of) his grappling hook and took a chunk out of the wall, creating a platform for himself. How? We don't know. Ryo, now fully "digi-volved" (as our dear Amariie would say), landed in front of Anubis. Typical men, they started fighting.
Meanwhile, on the lip of the volcano, Rain watched intently at the battle with White Blaze lying down, paws hanging over the edge, as Amariie headed towards the car.
"Ariie! What are you doing!" Rain shouted at her lack of support.
"Meh, this is boring. I'm gonna go re-do my nails," Amariie sighed and began walking downhill. Just then, a huge explosion came out of the volcano, catching the three completely off guard (and kitty got some burnt toes). First came Anubis, scorched and screaming, then came Ryo, gracefully landing in between Amariie and Rain. There was a bright blue light and a voice came.
"GODDAMMIT, ANUBIS! GET YOUR BRAINLESS ASS BACK HERE BEFORE I MAKE YOU GIVE ME A SPONGE BATH! And a pedicure...and a foot massage...Um. *AHEM* JUST GET BACK HERE!" Talpa's voice echoed before Anubis promptly disappeared.
"I toasted Anubis!" Ryo shouted in victory, holding his swords high.
Rain smirked. "I'd say more like deep-fried!"
So Amariie, Rain, White Blaze, and Ryo trekked back to the Benz, which was still stationed in a small clearing at the bottom of the mountain. Amariie happily plopped herself onto the leather backseat and began to redo her nails. Before Ryo got into the car, he looked up at the volcano's top, which was presently giving off large sparks, creating a warm beautiful glow that hung in the now evening air. He sighed and thought about his other friends. Were they even still alive? Or killed by Talpa? He hung his head and stared at the ground, kicking a few stray stones with his subarmor; the click of stone against metal echoed through the air. He felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw Rain smiling at him and White Blaze at her side.
"Nice strategy back there," she noted.
Ryo smiled sadly and went back to looking at the ground.
"Are you thinking about the others?" she asked curiously.
Ryo simply nodded.
Rain put her arm around his shoulder and affectionately ruffled his already messy hair. "Don't get depressed. I promise you, we'll find them and kick Talpa's crippled ass back to...well...wherever."
Ryo looked up at her, his eyes began to gleam with hope. "Yeah?"
Rain's smiled broadened. "Trust me. I have a feeling it'll be alright."
White Blaze rubbed up against Ryo's leg to comfort his saddened friend.
The two turned their heads and watched the sun glistening behind the volcano as it was setting.
They were interrupted by a fussy Amariie. "Come on already!! I still have my toes to paint and hair to fix and I so-o do not wanna do it by light of the moon."
::insert disclaimer here::
**************************************************************************** **********
NEVER get onto a plane unless you know EXACTLY where you are going
Chapter 5
Morning came quite uninvitingly and our two heroines were sleeping as peacefully as sleeping on pavement could give. White Blaze was used as a big, moving pillow for Amariie while Rain was getting a firm backside from the gritty cement next to the overturned car they used as mild shelter. As Amariie was snoring away, Rain's mind was running non-stop. A dream plagued her thoughts. In this dream, she saw a man with long white hair in the distance, holding the staff that nearly killed Amariie's boot. He pointed his staff to a bigass volcano, a soft chime sounding. Surrounding the mountain was blackness and void. From inside the mouth came an immense bright red light that flowed across the dark, breaking it apart and cleansing the land. Beside her, Amariie was...well, not dreaming of volcanoes.
Rain was sharply awakened by a girly giggle from the unconscious form next to her. Opening one eye to glare with discontent at this pain in the ass, she closed her eyes and tried once more to go to sleep.
Suddenly an arm wrapped around Rain's waist and pulled her tightly. Another giggle and a murmured "I love you Matt" caused Rain to bolt upright shrieking.
"GET OFFA ME!!" shouted Rain while shoving Amariie's arms off of her.
Amariie pulled her head up to glare at her bud. She scrunched her nose up in annoyance and sat up wearily. "Why'd ya wake me, Rainey? I was having the nicest dream!" she said as her eyes turned glittery.
"So I noticed," said Rain lowly while dusting off her shirt.
White Blaze raised his head and licked Amariie's face cheerily. Amariie, however, did not enjoy this. "EW! STOP! BAD KITTIE! BAD, BAD KITTIE!" she screeched like a banshee. "My HAIR!"
Still lying on the ground, Rain smacked her head against the ground. "Oh god help me..." she whispered. She suddenly remembered the weird dream she had. That guy looked familiar. Last time she eats spicy Doritos before she goes to sleep...Something about a volcano. And that guy with the deadly boot killing staff. Her thoughts turned to the boys. 'They couldn't have just disappeared,' she thought while sitting up, 'Maybe they were put some place where we couldn't find-' Rain's thoughts ended as Amariie's sparkled.
"Oooo!" she squealed and pushed herself to a standing position.
Rain sighed and stretched. "Now what is it?"
Amariie pointed down a vacant road, then began skipping along the trashed sidewalk humming to herself. Rain and White Blaze both simultaneously rained an eyebrow. Well White Blaze didn't but we all know he did. "Shiney!" the blonde said bending over while trying to hold back her hair.
Kittie stood up and stretched, then accompanied Rain to where Amariie stood gazing at the gutter. "Uhh... 'Arrie? I don't think we should be running off right now," Rain said as she walked up to her pal's side.
"But lookie!!" Amariie said all-too-happily as she picked up a long, very sharp, Japanese-style sword. "Ooo! Rain! Can I?? Please?!" her pale blue eyes lighting up like a Christmas tree on crack. Suddenly, if it were possible, her smile widened even more. "IT'S KENSHIN'S SWORD!!!"
The silver-haired one rolled her eyes. "Sorry to break it to ya hun, but Kenshin is just a cartoon. It's not real." Rain quickly snatched the sword from Amariie's grasp before Blondie decided to play with it as most ditz do and began examining the sword's hilt.
Pouting, Amariie plunked down on the curb next to White Blaze, who was obviously bored. "Hey Rain-chan, where do you think that knife thing came from? I mean, maybe it just flew out of some cool sword shop! With a totally hot owner!" her large eyes went all glittery again.
Completely and happily ignoring her, Rain got to thinking. She doubted it just landed there by accident and it did look rather familiar...
"DUDE!" said Rain suddenly, jolting Amariie out of her yummy daydream. "This is Ryo's sword! It must have fallen out of his hand when he was fighting with..." she paused and gave a slight smile, "that warlord Anubis."
Amariie clasped her hands together and jumped up off the curb. "Oooooooohhh! I think SOMEBODY likes the baddie! Rainey and Nubie sitting in a tree, K.I.S-"
"Oh shut up!" Rain snapped, cheeks flushing scarlet. "We've got to find our boys!"
Giggling, she replied, "Right! Hehe, that Rowen guy was cute. He's got one hell of a..."
"Stay focused please, Ama-" but before Rain could finish, a loud breaking/crumbling sound came from behind them. The very place they had been moments before was completely crushed underneath tons of cement and metal from a collapsing building.
Rain stood in shock for a moment, as did kittie and blondie. "...I hate to say this, but if it wasn't for you, Amariie and your airheadedness, we would've been crushed under that building."
Amariie made various vogue poses. "Yes I know, the temple devoted to worshipping me is open 24/7. Feel free to pay tribute anytime."
Rain snickered. "Yes, Amariie the queen of modesty."
Amariie frowned. She bent down at messed up White Blazes' fur. "At weast you wuv me, fwuffy wuffy. Oh yes you do! Yes you do pretty kitty!"
Raising her eyes to the sky to stare at the horizon for a while, Rain got hardcore deja vu. In the distance, sticking out like a sore thumb, was a volcano. A big red freaking volcano. Rain grabbed Amariie's upper arm and pulled her closer. "OH my god 'Ariie! It's the volcano from my dream!"
Her companion gave her a weird look. "What dream would that be, dear?"
"The one I had last night," Rain said very slowly. "Ryo's in there, I just know it!"
White Blaze lifted his head and purred with approval. Amariie skipped over to an abandoned Mercedes Benz convertible (with the top on) (... cuz you know you find those lying around everyday...). Opening the door, she found the keys in the console, but the car wouldn't start for anything.
Rain rolled her eyes at her friend's choice of vehicles. "It must be this darkness. It's blocking all the technol..." she couldn't even finish her sentence before hysterical laughter ran through the area. Rain's eyes turned into big hearts and she started to drool.
"And people call ME guy-crazy..." Amariie said, crossing her arms.
Rain desperately tried to hide her feeling of enjoyment. She loved action and excitement, and even though not in a million years would she admit it, but fancied the idea of being madly in love with villain, just like in those sap books 'Arrie reads. A blackened figure walked out of the soft morning fog that blanketed the concrete and stopped, facing the two girls. He folded his arms as he narrowed his eyes and smirked. "Hmm...You two girls shouldn't be all alone in the big...empty...city by yourselves now," he said, strongly lingering with emphasis on every word.
Rain folded her arms mockingly as White Blaze paced next to her, teeth bared. "Oh just go fuck yourself, Nubie-chan," she said while Amariie's jaw dropped.
Anubis' tolerance grew thin. He threw a scowl their way, then his face lightened. "Got quite a mouth there, girl."
Amariie grabbed Rain's shirt collar and whispered, "Are you psychotic?! ...Don't answer that. But you're gonna piss him off!"
"Shush, I'm just bluffing so we can escape. Play along," she whispered back.
Amariie glanced at Rain, then the warlord. She began glaring at him and stepped ahead of Rain. "Ooo! Lookie! Big bag warlord all alone. I'm so scared! I'm gonna shit myself," she said, sarcasm dripping from her mouth.
Anubis glared back at the perky little blonde. "You think I'm all alone, ne? Well," suddenly the ground shook and dozens of soldiers burst through the streets. How? We don't know. Probably through sewage systems...explains their smell...Anyways, dozens of trashcans stood behind Anubis, waiting for his signal. "What do you think now, girl?"
Amariie backed off some and whispered harshly to Rain, "PLAY ALONG?! Yeah, like THAT worked!"
Rain's eyes widened as more came from alley ways. "Better get running!" she shouted to Amariie as she grabbed her arm.
"What's wrong with you? We can't run away!" Amariie shot at Rain.
Surprised by her courage, Rain stopped. "You're right! We aren't cowards!" She lifted her head to meet the evil (yet charming) warlord. "We won't run from you!"
Amariie poked Rain's arm. "Uhh I meant we can't run. I'm wearing heels."
With a quick flick of Anubis' wrist, the soldiers began to advance, shooting arrows at the trio. Rain shoved a freaked out Amariie towards the car, jumped in behind her, and slammed the door. She was sure White Blaze was alright yet more soldiers were coming closer and more arrows were trying to pierce the car. Just as the Benz was about to be smashed by a giant flail, a blinding light came down and repelled all the weapons. The golden light condensed into that same damn golden staff. A thunderous rumbling sound started once the staff hit the ground. The beer cans stopped as the earth beneath them began breaking away. Within moments, it had become a huge ravine separating the soldiers (and stunningly gorgeous warlord) from the other three. "Don't think you can run from the Dynasty!" Anubis shrieked from across the split.
Amariie rolled down the window and leaned out, sticking out her tongue. "Watch us, Carrot top!!" Rain was laughing at Amariie's half-in the car, half out stunt, when she realized that it was getting brighter outside. The staff had cleared the sky and the sun was shining. Turning the key again, the car started up.
Amariie slid back in. "Aw score! Now we've got a hot car!"
Rain smirked at her. "Buckle up, we're heading for the volcano!"
White Blaze, ready to go outside, growled loudly in approval once more and they all headed off towards the horizon.
As the three came upon the mountain's base, Rain began getting an intense feeling. "He's in there, he has to be."
Amariie, painting her nails, said, "Well he better be or I'll be pissy. I'm not coming all the way over here so we can turn around."
The car couldn't do any further due to the brush, so Rain parked it in a meadow. As they both got out of the comfy car, White Blaze took off running like a bat outta hell. Groaning, Amariie pointed at him. "Oh man, I am SO not chasing him. I'm stayin right here and YOU can go save Ryo or whatever. I still have heels on AND a dress!"
Rain only rolled her eyes in response and started walking in the general direction where kittie went. After nearly half an hour of hiking uphill, she stopped and whipped her brow. "Just a walk in the woods. Just a walk in the woods," she said tiredly. Rain lifted her head when she heard White Blaze roaring like hell a little ways ahead of her. "We could've hijacked a helicopter, but noooo 'I wanna ride the Benz!'" she said in a mock valley girl tone.
Rainey jogged the rest of the way on the barren burnt ground and soon came upon the opening to the volcano. Kittie-kittie was already there, looking down into the pit. He looked up to see Rain kneel next to him. She cautiously peeked over the edge and gasped at the sight. The bottom was filled with churning lava that seemed ready to explode at any moment.
"How the freaking hell can he be in there? I swear, leave it to Talpa to chunk Ryo in a pit of oozing lava. I'm surprised I haven't turned into a crispy critter myself," Rain mused as she smoothed Blaze's coat. He turned towards Rain with a knowing look. They both looked down in the core to see a small red dot, brighter than the molten lava, in the middle of the pit.
Meanwhile, Amariie leaned up against the shiny silver Benz, bored. She sighed once more and twiddled her hair. "Hmm...maybe I should have gone with them. It's all boring and crap here. Too much dirt and grass. I need to redo my mascara, it's all screwed up AGAIN! Ugh! Saving the world is too much trouble!" she cried.
She plopped herself into the driver's seat and fished in her purse a small smooth container of mascara (the French kind). Humming to herself, she pulled down the mirror above her and as she looked in it, she noticed Ryo's sword sitting in the backseat.
Giving a huge sigh, Amariie said, "Ugh! Idiots! Rain forgot his sword. How stupid is that. I guess I'll have to save the day now. Ooohh maybe I WILL save the day!"
She reached backwards and grabbed the long sword, holding it in her hands for a moment. "Pretty," she murmured as she used the blade's reflection as a mirror and promptly applied some more mascara. "Well I certainly can't save the world without looking hot."
After lingering moments on the thick mascara, she attempted to trek up the mountain in heels. Quite a while passed before she saw the figures of Rain and the kitty. Taking in a large breath of air, she proceeded to drag herself up to them, unwisely using the priceless ancient mystical weapon as a hiking stick. "Of course, leave it to men to lie dormant in the most inconvenient places!" she snapped impatiently, while rubbing her sore foot. Rain glanced over at the newly arrived Amariie's hand. "The sword! Of course, we forgot about that! Give it to me Amariie."
"Catch!" she tossed the sword over to Rain. Unfortunately, Amariie's awful aim nearly got Rain decapitated.
"Dumbass!" Rain screamed, and the two watched the sword dive into the volcano.
Suddenly they noticed the speck start to become larger.
"Wow! I woke him up! I'm sooooo cool! See Rain, what would the world do without me?" Amariie giggled.
Rain crossed her arms and smirked. "You've got a point, the makers of hairdryers and eyeliners would be out of a job..."
"Smartass..."
"Whoreface..."
Once again (luckily) the soon-to-be catfight was interrupted by a dark presence. Rain felt someone behind her and seeing Amariie's eyes bulge, she figured she was right. Slowly, she turned around to see Anubis standing a few feet away. Unknowingly, she gave a faint smile at him. Obviously this guy didn't know when to give up... whihc wasn't always a BAD thing, but in this case where he was trying to kinda kill them, it was, BUT if he wasn't all mucho bad and working for Dyna- ::TWAP:: err ok, moving along....
"This guy don't know when to give up," whispered Rain to Amariie, cowering behind her.
She merely nodded in reply and gripped the strap of her purse. Anubis stood near the semi-flattened rim of the volcano and smiled. "Nice trick back there with the canyon. Very clever. Yet cleverness won't ever get you anywhere."
White Blaze was situated protectively in front of Rain and Amariie, growling fiercely at the warlord. Anubis gripped his bladed end of his chain and threw his arm back to attack. Before he could strike, the ground started to shake. It started off faint, but quickly grew tremendously. Rain looked around to find the source. The volcano. Of course! Without warning, a huge wall of lava flew to the sky, a red figure in the midst of it. The form slowly seeped from the lava and floated above the girls and the warlord.
"Holy crapola! It's Ryo!" Amariie cheered.
Ryo's arms were out stretched, holding his replenished twin swords. His eyes snapped open, seeking the warlord. The intense blue orbs burned holes through Anubis. For one moment Anubis felt the gut wrenching feeling of fear in his stomach, thinking he was outmatched. He only suppressed the feeling. Again. Dumbass.
"Yay! Goooooo Ryo! Oh damn, I should've brought my pom-poms!" Amariie squealed with excitement.
Rain was too busy drooling over the badass hottie, which would probably try to destroy them again. *sigh* Men can be so confusing sometimes.
Ryo jumped down to confront Anubis, Rain and Amariie scattered to give them as much room as possible. White Blaze stood at Amariie's side and she idly scratched his ear as if to comfort herself. Anubis smirked and slashed at Ryo, who easily dodged it and came back with a kick to his chest. Anubis stumbled backwards a bit, surprise clearly present around him. He grabbed for a rock formation to steady himself. 'Hmm...I feel like cooking chicken teriyaki tonight...Dais likes it...I mean...Wildfire seems stronger...There's no way he could be stronger than me. Not this...boy,' he thought deeply. Trying not to let it get to him, he repeatedly attacked Ryo, who only deflected the warlord's weapon as if it were a toy. Something was different about Ryo, but what? Eh, probably had something to do with that 1950's movie of Badamon's. He always went for the classics. Typical. Ryo smiled faintly. "Too tough for ya, Anubis?"
Feeling taunted and humiliated, Anubis scowled and crashed his scythe onto Ryo's sword. They both stared at each other, determining who was stronger. Anubis then realized that the Wildfire armor had somehow been given tremendous power. Feeling the need to change tactics, he rapidly released his force and jumped back.
Ryo shifted his grip on his swords. "Giving up so easily, Nubie?"
Anubis growled. "QUIT CALLING ME THAT!" he bellowed, clearly unhappy at his new nickname. Getting only a wide grin from his opponent, he narrowed his eyes and glanced to Rain, standing nearby. "You are slightly stronger, Wildfire. You have a warrior's spirit, I'll give you that. Well, let's see how you react to THIS!"
He then leapt over to Rain and landed before her. Her reflexes were a tad too slow due to the Hot Warlord Switch was on and found herself shoved up against Anubis' chest. Ryo charged forward, but Anubis turned Rain's body around and placed his arm tightly around her chest. Ryo stopped in his tracks, not wanting to risk Rain's like (Oh, he's done it before who cares) Rain blushed and bit and began to like the feeling of being close to him, but then a voice popped in her head, 'ARGH! RAIN! STOP! He's the bad guy! Stop acting like Amariie!!" Getting a kick from reality, she picked up her foot and slammed it into Anubis' shin as hard as she could. But all she got was a nasty bruise. "AH SHIT!" she yelled, wincing. "You didn't even FLINCH! Damn fucking armor!"
Anubis leaned his head down and smirked. "Got some fire there, girl. Too bad you're on the wrong side."
Rain turned her face towards him. "I'll show you wrong side!" she said and began struggling with him.
Flambe' frowned at Anubis as Amariie ran up beside him with White Blaze, who, knowing Ryo didn't need his help, decided to just babysit the blonde. "Rain!" Amariie screamed, fearing for her friend. But then she noticed that her left arm was burning. She held it against herself and realized it was cause of Ryo's armor. Ryo began moving towards Anubis, his mind set on freeing Rain. "No, Ryo, wait!" she said quickly. Once she got his attention, she continued, "Your armor is burning like hell! Don't touch her, but kick Anubis in the balls please."
Ryo stopped and knew Amariie was right. He couldn't get anywhere near Anubis while Rain was there. He was using her as a shield.
Nubis saw Ryo's distress and frowned. "Why so down, Wildfire? You wish to fight me, but can't get close? Well this may solve it," he said. Rain blinked once in confusion and before she knew it, she felt a hard shove on her shoulder and noticed the ground was not where it was supposed to be. Anubis had pushed her over the side of the volcano.
Amariie looked on in shock as she watched Rain fall in. Without a single thought in his head, Ryo jumped in right after Rain and could hear her scream, "I'M GONNA KICK YOUR SORRY ASS ANUBIS!!!!"
After a good five minutes of falling, no make it ten, Ol' Fireball was just about to grab Rain when the scene when Amariie burned herself on his armor flashed back in his mind.
"Aww no! If I grab Rain now, she'd be toasted! I've gotta get rid of my armour!"
So, he (somehow) got rid of the armour.
"Aww dammit, I'm screwed," Rain thought to herself as the scorching heat grew. Suddenly she opened her eyes to see Ryo grab her and push off towards the side of the volcano. He rebounded offa the crater and soared (no one quite knows how..these boys seem to defy gravity) up out of the volcano. Ryo landed and placed Rain beside Amariie and White Blaze (and if you know teenaged girls when something emotional happens, that is not a smart thing to do).
Amariie's eyes went anime-teary. "RAIN!!!!!! YOU'RE SAFE!!!!!! WHAAAAAA!!!!!" She burst into tears and gave Rain the hugest hug.
Rain was choking "And... I...would...like...to...stay...that...way...*cough choke*"
Ryo, crouching next to Rain, looked up and smiled with pride. "There. You're ok for--"
Before he could get five words out of his mouth, the forsaken sound of slicing air rang through the air. Ryo knew what it was and simply said, "shit." then Anubis' chain wrapped around him and slung him across the volcano. Amariie and Rain reached for him, but their attempts were futile.
"NO!" cried Rain.
"Well this keeps getting better and better," said Amariie sarcastically.
Ryo was slammed up against Anubis and then again thrown into the air like a yo-yo. Ryo crashed against several rather large boulders, the rusted chain wrapped around his torso. Amariie, kitty, and Rain sprinted along the edge of the volcano, trying desperately to reach their friend. "You'd think he'd get a concussion or something after that..." Amariie said to Rain, noticing that Ryo kinda lacked an important device called a helmet. As they came close to Anubis, the warlord sensed they were coming too close. He whipped around and held Ryo in front of him, his scythe cupped around Ryo's chin. Ryo's eyes were squeezed shut and his teeth clenched in pain.
Anubis narrowed his eyes, yet they flashed with clear amusement. "Come any close girls and your little friend will die."
Rain and Amariie stood their ground as Anubis held his prize. Rain stared at Ryo as Amariie shot Anubis her best bitch look. Rain looked to White Blaze, wondering why the hell he wasn't leaping in and helping.
Then Ryo did something no one would've thought. He slowly opened one eye to look at Rain and cracked a faint smile. Rain widened her eyes as Ryo's composure went back to the helpless hurt kid routine.
Anubis gripped his scythe and was about to slice Ryo's throat. Just before the blade touched the tender flesh of Ryo's neck, Ryo shattered the chains in an instant and before Anubis could say "what the hell," Ryo turned around in a blur and quickly brought up his armored knee to a...delicate part of the warlord. Even though he was protected by his armor, he felt the intense pain. Anubis doubled over in pure agony.
Amariie burst out laughing and slapped her knee. "Good job, Ryo! You actually took my advice!" Rain chuckled a bit and walked casually over to the pain-filled warlord. She knelt down in front of him. Anubis was still in shock from Ryo's attack that all he could do was look at her and into her silver jade eyes.
"Hi Nubie-chan. How ya feelin'? Good I hope. Now I'm not the kind of person to hold grudges against others, but I happen to remember a certain incident involving....oh lava and you," she said pushing her finger on his chest. "Revenge is a bitch," she said and shoved him backwards into the volcano.
Unfortunately, Ryo's ankle was still in Anubis' reach when he started to fall.
"I'll bring you to the abyss with me, Wildfire!", the warlord hollered as the two fell into the crater.
"Not on my watch!" Ryo suddenly pushed off of the warlord and landed on a ledge inside the cliff.
"Armour of Wildfire, Tao Jin!"
Anubis used (what was left of) his grappling hook and took a chunk out of the wall, creating a platform for himself. How? We don't know. Ryo, now fully "digi-volved" (as our dear Amariie would say), landed in front of Anubis. Typical men, they started fighting.
Meanwhile, on the lip of the volcano, Rain watched intently at the battle with White Blaze lying down, paws hanging over the edge, as Amariie headed towards the car.
"Ariie! What are you doing!" Rain shouted at her lack of support.
"Meh, this is boring. I'm gonna go re-do my nails," Amariie sighed and began walking downhill. Just then, a huge explosion came out of the volcano, catching the three completely off guard (and kitty got some burnt toes). First came Anubis, scorched and screaming, then came Ryo, gracefully landing in between Amariie and Rain. There was a bright blue light and a voice came.
"GODDAMMIT, ANUBIS! GET YOUR BRAINLESS ASS BACK HERE BEFORE I MAKE YOU GIVE ME A SPONGE BATH! And a pedicure...and a foot massage...Um. *AHEM* JUST GET BACK HERE!" Talpa's voice echoed before Anubis promptly disappeared.
"I toasted Anubis!" Ryo shouted in victory, holding his swords high.
Rain smirked. "I'd say more like deep-fried!"
So Amariie, Rain, White Blaze, and Ryo trekked back to the Benz, which was still stationed in a small clearing at the bottom of the mountain. Amariie happily plopped herself onto the leather backseat and began to redo her nails. Before Ryo got into the car, he looked up at the volcano's top, which was presently giving off large sparks, creating a warm beautiful glow that hung in the now evening air. He sighed and thought about his other friends. Were they even still alive? Or killed by Talpa? He hung his head and stared at the ground, kicking a few stray stones with his subarmor; the click of stone against metal echoed through the air. He felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw Rain smiling at him and White Blaze at her side.
"Nice strategy back there," she noted.
Ryo smiled sadly and went back to looking at the ground.
"Are you thinking about the others?" she asked curiously.
Ryo simply nodded.
Rain put her arm around his shoulder and affectionately ruffled his already messy hair. "Don't get depressed. I promise you, we'll find them and kick Talpa's crippled ass back to...well...wherever."
Ryo looked up at her, his eyes began to gleam with hope. "Yeah?"
Rain's smiled broadened. "Trust me. I have a feeling it'll be alright."
White Blaze rubbed up against Ryo's leg to comfort his saddened friend.
The two turned their heads and watched the sun glistening behind the volcano as it was setting.
They were interrupted by a fussy Amariie. "Come on already!! I still have my toes to paint and hair to fix and I so-o do not wanna do it by light of the moon."