AUTHOR'S NOTE: Action! I repeat, Action is in this chapter! It might not be described very well but it's here. Let's just pray that it's our boys that kick butt and not the bad guys!
xyxyxyxy
The Test of Strength
Chapter 10: The Final Battle
A week and a half later, tiger blue eyes slowly made their way open. The owner of said eyes was still a little drained and tired, but he'd live. The young teen blinked until his eyes were adjusted to the light, then began to look around the room. He quickly noticed that two things were different. Whiteblaze had decided to take up residency at the foot of his bed, but the real shock was that the Warlord of Venom was standing at his window.
"Sekhmet? You okay?"
The Warlord turned to face the Ronin, who was still lying in the bed. The man in question was wearing black pants, a dark green shirt, and a black jacket. "You have them all worried, Wildfire." He walked over and sat down on the bed. "Your heart slowed down dramatically."
"Really?"
"Don't you think you're overdoing it?"
"I'm doing what I have to."
The Warlord looked into the boy's eyes, as if he was trying to find out some hidden secret. "We have something in common, you and I. Feeling helpless isn't all that great, is it?" Sekhmet almost smiled at the look that crossed the teens face. "But you're not helpless, Wildfire. I've watched you fight Talpa; I know what you're capable of. Hell, I've had you kick my ass more than I want to admit. But even the strongest of warriors needs to take it easy at times."
Ryo didn't say anything; instead, he looked down at the floor.
"I know you won't while we have an enemy but once this is over I want you to rest and stop pushing yourself. I'm not going to stop you from fighting. Believe it or not, Wildfire, but you're our leader as well. Our help is there if you need it; don't forget that," the Warlord added.
"Will you go back to the Nether Realm when this is over?" Ryo asked, looking back up.
"Until we're needed again."
A comfortable silence fell in the room for a few minutes, before Sekhmet decided to break it. "Soylaberst might be getting ready for another attack soon. Do you think you'll be ready?"
"I'll have to be; we'll need the Inferno."
"You're strong, Wildfire. Both in body and spirit; don't lose that," the Warlord said as he made his way to the door and opened it.
"I don't intend to."
Sekhmet nodded, then left the room, closing the door behind him. Ryo looked at the tiger, which was still sleeping at the foot of his bed, and shook his head. He reluctantly left the warmth of his blanket, and got dressed. He had to go slow, for his body still carried a dull pain, and he felt dizzy if he went too fast. The wound in his side was practically screaming at him, so Ryo figured he irritated it when he used his armor.
'That's the last time I give them my sure-kill,' he thought as he and Whiteblaze made their way to the living room. Ryo paused at the doorway, taking in the scene. Kento and Dais were sitting on the floor, playing one of Kento's fighting games for his Play Station. From Dais's reactions, Kento was kicking his arse. Rowen and Kale were playing chess at one of the small tables; and by Kale's face, Rowen was winning, which wasn't a big surprise. Sage, Sai, Sekhmet, and Yuli were playing some board game, which looked to be 'Sorry'. Mia and Kayura were sitting on the loveseat, watching the boys play the board game.
"Hey, guys," he said as he entered the room.
/Hey/ the Ronin and Warlords invaded his mind at once. Ryo grabbed his head and fell to his knees. He remembered the mind link now; his head feeling like someone had just set dynamite off inside of it. He felt Whiteblaze rub against his arm, and he reached out to scratch underneath the tiger's chin.
Sage was the first one to his side, bending down to check him over. "Are you alright, Ryo?" he asked, lifting Ryo's face up to look into his eyes.
Ryo gently shook his head, clearing out the fuzziness, and tried to focus on the group before him. "Yeah. Just not all at once next time," he smiled reassuringly.
"Sorry 'bout that, Buddy," Rowen chuckled, and helped Sage lift Ryo off the floor.
"Thanks, but I got it," Ryo said, gently pulling himself from their arms. He reached out and Whiteblaze fell into place by his side. The two sat down by the fireplace, with Ryo leaning against his companion.
"It's good to see you up and about, Wildfire. We were beginning to worry," Kale replied.
"How long was I out?"
"Almost two weeks," Sai offered.
"I thought you'd be out for a few more days, though," Kento said as he hammered away on his controller. "Yes! Kicked your ass again, Dais!"
Dais flung his controller to the floor. "That's it! I quit. I've had enough of this game."
"Come on, Dais. Can't take Hardrock's war tactics?" Kale laughed.
"Like you're one to talk!" Dais snapped.
Before they could continue, Ryo asked, "What of Soylaberst?"
Rowen and the others looked at him. "We don't know. They haven't attacked since ya lent us ya'ah su'ah-kill."
Ryo nodded at this, and looked at the floor. "We're going to have to use the Inferno," he said, telling them what he had already told Sekhmet.
"You can't, Wildfire! If you do, it'll kill you," Kayura disagreed.
"Saranbo said the same thing, and I'm still here," Ryo argued.
"Maybe so, but you've been through more than before, and with your side-" Kale began.
"My side isn't going to be changing any time soon. I'll have to fight with it like it is," Ryo said softly.
"What did Ky do it anyway?" Dais asked.
"Nani?" Ryo asked, looking up.
"You told us Ky did something to it, so what is it that he did?"
They all watched as Ryo looked at the floor again, and pulled into himself a little. It was like he was trying to keep the memories from flooding his mind, but it wasn't working.
"He poisoned it."
"How? Did he poke ya with a needle?" Rowen asked, shivering with the thought of a needle penetrating his skin.
"Made you swallow something?" Sage added.
"No, his hand. You know, with the green light," Kento suggested.
"That was for the anti-healing," Sai corrected.
"His tongue."
It was said so softly that they almost didn't hear him, but they did. They all turned to look at him, not sure if they heard him correctly.
"His…tongue?" Sekhmet asked disgusted. "What'd he do, lick it?"
"That was part of it," Ryo sighed, slightly blushing from the embarrassment of saying this. Whiteblaze rubbed against his arm, and purred, affectively giving Ryo the assurance he needed. "He put his tongue in there, and when he pulled out he said that he hoped I'd enjoy his gift. It won't heal; not at the normal rate anyway. So stop worrying about it, it's fine," Ryo added gently, looking up at them.
"I'm sorry, Wildfire," Sekhmet said sincerely. He noticed the others looking at him funny. "Yes, I can be sorry."
"In more ways than one!" Sai chirped.
Everyone got it except for the one being picked on, but Sekhmet just shook his head as if to say, 'I don't care.'
"I'm hungry," Kento announced.
"You just ate two hours ago!" Dais said. Even after all the time they've spent with the Ronins, the Warlords still couldn't believe Hardrock's appetite.
"And now I'm starving!" Kento snapped.
stststst
"You're better than I remember, Halo," Dais panted as he spared with the blond swordsman.
Sage didn't say anything, instead, gave a little smirk and lunged for the Warlord.
Ryo watched the two for some time, then, he and Whiteblaze, turned to see how the others were doing. Sai was holding his own against Kale, just as Kento was doing with Kayura, and Sekhmet had his hands full with Rowen. The Warlords quickly noted that since the defeat of Talpa, they weren't as strong as they use to be. They weren't really in touch with their virtues like the Ronins were. That was where the Ronins gained the advantage, even though they hadn't been fighting as long.
"We wanna play, too!" a voice mock whined.
The group turned around to see the three armors standing almost ten feet away. Zual was the one who made the comment, while the other two chuckled lightly.
"Yeah, Wildfire can be my partner," Ky added.
Whiteblaze growled, standing protectively in front of Ryo. Tiger blue eyes glared out from under black locks at the green armor. Ryo wasn't afraid of Ky; he hated him and the other two. They had hurt his friends, and for that, they would pay.
"I must warn you though, boy, you won't be able to touch me," Ky continued smiling.
"Why's that?" Ryo found himself asking.
The green armor just held up his index finger and winked. Ryo knew what that meant, but the others didn't. Ky's finger began to glow.
The others watched as Ryo clutched his side and fell to his hand and knees. Then Ky began to bend and twist his finger around in the air. As he did this, Ryo clenched his teeth tighter, refusing to scream out in pain. Ryo knew he had to do something. He could feel the wound being ripped open and Ky's finger moving around inside it. He was thankful that they were all in their subarmors, so the others wouldn't see the blood he knew was running down his side. His vision began to blur and he felt the darkness trying to take him under. Ryo held back the tears of pain, not willing to give Ky the satisfaction again.
Once he pushed the darkness away, his vision cleared and he looked up at Ky, who was still moving his finger around. Flames exploded Ryo's eyes, swirling around. With much effort, Ryo rose to his feet, stood up straight, and released his side.
"Enough games, Ky. Ronin Warriors to arms! Armor of Wildfire!"
"Armor of Halo!"
"Armor of Venom!"
"Armor of Corruption!"
"Armo'ah of Strata!"
"Armor of Hardrock!
"Armor of Torrent!"
"Armor of Illusion!"
"Armor of Cruelty!"
"Dao Chi!" they all shouted as one. Each armor appeared, under the falling cherry blossoms, on their respected wearers.
Ryo withdrew his katana's and stood in a defensive stance. The other Ronins and Warlords stood two of each on both sides, making Ryo the central figure; with a large white tiger standing protectively by his side.
"Bravo, Wildfire!" Soylaberst applauded.
"But what happens if I do this?" Ky asked, and his index finger began to crackle with electricity.
Ryo felt an electrical current sweep through his body and instead of releasing a scream of pain, he released one of anger. "This!" he shouted and leaped for the green armor.
Ky was shocked by this and hesitated. Ryo was in front of him, with one of his katana's raised, before he could do anything. The sword came down, in one quick motion, and sliced right through Ky's wrist. The armor screamed as his hand fell to his feet.
Ryo dodged Soylaberst's hands, as the armor attempted to grab him, and jumped back into formation with his friends.
"Why you little…You'll pay for that!" Zual shouted. "Winds of Ebony!" His sure-kill flew at the group, but they all managed to dodge it.
"Black…Lighting…Slash!"
"Snake…Fang…Strike!"
"Arrow…Shock…Wave!"
Zual was hit by all three, causing him to fly backwards several feet, and hit the ground with a loud thud.
"Iron…Rock…Crusher!"
"Super…Wave…Smasher!"
"Quake…With…Fear!"
Kayura's chains wrapped around Ky, sending currents throughout his body and affectively holding him in place until the other two sure-kills hit him. He flew into a tree which broke in half from the pressure.
"Thunder…Bolt…Cut!"
"Web…Of…Deception!"
"Flare…Up…Now!"
Soylaberst smiled as the sure-kills hit him full force. He was pushed back twenty feet, forced down to a knee and fist but other than that he was unharmed. He looked up and glared at the red Ronin.
"That's all you have to offer? Ha! And here I thought Talpa had a worthy adversary but you're not worthy at all!" he laughed, standing up. He reached behind his back and withdrew a long, black sword. The hilt matched his armor, a dark blood-red with black fog, making it look like marble. The armor raised it above his head with one hand, while he pointed at Ryo with the other. "Fury Swipe!" he cried, bringing the sword down.
Everyone moved out of the way, except for Ryo, who continued to glare at the armor.
"Ryo, move out of the way!" Sage shouted in utter shock. 'What the hell is he trying to do? Get himself killed?'
/I can't. He's holding me here/ Ryo thought calmly to the group. "Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!" he screamed as the sure-kill engulfed him, racking his body with pain. His body never budge an inch since Soylaberst was holding him there so he would have to take it all.
/Form th' Inferno/ Rowen thought to the others.
Dark blue, green, orange, and light blue sphere formed around Rowen, Sage, Kento, and Sai. The four boys released them and the beams shot towards the Ronin in the middle of Soylaberst's sure-kill.
Ryo felt the others' powers slam into him, and nothing else existed except for the Inferno coming to life. His Wildfire armor exploded and began to swirl around his body. His red and white subarmor changed into dark blue and black as the heat hit him. After the flames engulfed him, Ryo emerged with the white armor protecting his body. The armor for his arms and legs appeared next as he took a step back.
Ryo opened his and glared at his enemy.
Soylaberst looked upon the new armor with complete fascination. He never knew what it looked like, for he had only heard stories. He could feel the power it held, and the power yet to be called upon. The need to have such an armor consumed him.
"So that's how it is then. Well, two can play at that game. Ky! Zual! Join with me!"
Before anyone could make a move, the other two armors merged with Soylaberst, causing his armor to fade from the dark blood-red to pure black with white fog covering the surface. His claws grew nine inches on his left hand, while his right hand remained the same, holding onto the sword. A long blood-red cape dropped over his back, four horns grew out of his helmet, and spikes grew on top of his shoulders.
The new Soylaberst slowly approached the Ronin in white.
Blackblaze released a vicious roar and jumped over Ryo's right shoulder, landing nicely at the boy's left side. Ryo walked up and grabbed the Soul Sword's hilts and pulled them out of their cases which were on the tiger's back.
"Thanks, Blaze. Now get out of here. Go guard the others," he whispered. The tiger gave him a puzzled look with its golden-yellow eyes. "I'll be fine, boy. I just don't want you to get caught in the cross fire." He heard a low growl of disapproval followed by retreating footsteps.
"Now it seems fair, wouldn't you agree?" Soylaberst smiled. "You're not the only one's who can combine armors!" With that, the black armor leaped at the white armor. Ryo met him half way, locking swords. They both tried to push the other down. After a short struggle, Ryo finally pushed off and forced the other to retreat. "Nicely done but it won't save you," Soylaberst laughed.
"Why do the bad guys always say that?" Ryo snapped, irritably. He hit the hilts together, pulled them apart, and leaped into the air. "Rage…Of…Inferno!" Red and white flames sped from the Soul Swords towards their target.
Everyone watched as Soylaberst threw his arms wide, as if welcoming the sure-kill, and let the flames engulf him. Ryo landed back on the ground in time to see the black armor emerge unharmed.
"No…" he heard several of his friends gasp.
"Hahahahahahahahahahaha!" Soylaberst laughed. "That's all you've got? That's the 'Almighty Inferno'!"
Rage began to build inside Ryo. His blood boiled as he realized why his sure-kill hadn't worked. He, himself, wasn't at his normal power level. The armors had weakened him with the kidnapping, the hospital visit, and when he had given his sure-kill to his friends. They knew what they were doing, and it had worked. If only he could get more power. 'That's it,' he thought. He didn't have time to put his plan into action, though, for Soylaberst leaped at him and they locked swords again. The black armor quickly forced Ryo down to a knee.
/Guys? Can you hear me/ Ryo thought.
/Loud and clear, dude/ Kento answered first.
/Whadda ya need/ Rowen asked.
/More power/ Sage suggested.
/Yeah, but not from you guys/ Ryo said bluntly.
/Nani/ the other four Ronins exclaimed.
/We have to combine all nine. I need the Warlords to give me theirs/ Ryo explained.
/But all nine could kill you/ Sekhmet hissed.
/Trust me! I have no intention of dying, Sekhmet. I know what I'm doing. You said you'd help us whenever we asked for it. Well, I'm asking now. Please, Sekhmet…Kale…Dais…Kayura…Help us defeat him/ Ryo pleaded.
The Warlords answered him with four more spheres of power, which raced towards the figure in white. Ryo shoved Soylaberst away and quickly rose to his full height. He stretched his arms out as the spheres surrounded his body. Once again, nothing else existed except for the power engulfing his body in the form of flames. When he emerged, there were armored wings sticking out of his back.
"You wanted to see how strong I am? Here's your answer!" Ryo leaped up into the air. "Rage…Of…"
"Fury…Swipe!"
"Inferno!" Ryo shouted and brought his katana's down.
Both sure-kills slammed into one another head on, neither giving the other any lead way. The two fighters continued to pour out more power, also not giving any lead-way to the other.
"The soul of virtue always wins!" Ryo shouted, releasing everything he had.
Soylaberst's eyes widened as he saw the Inferno's flame break through his own. He had nothing else to put out; all his power was already gone. The black armor was too shocked to think of escaping so he stood there, paralyzed as the sure-kill impaled his body and shot out of his back. He screamed of pure agony as he felt the flames spread through his body, burning his life away. Once the sure-kill passed through his body and disappeared into the clouds, Soylaberst dropped to his knees and dissolved into black dust, which quickly evaporated.
TBC
xyxyxyxy
There you go, guys! And NO we aren't done yet. If you missed it, Ky and Zual's bodies merged with Soylaberst, not just their powers. So the bad guys are gone. The next chapter will wrap up everything. There's someone we have yet to hear from. Can you guess who it is?