Ok, this is the next to last chapter. Nearly finished! Thanks to all my reviewers.

P.S. I've just gone and reread Element, and I'm getting very good at the 'predicting the end of the world as we know it' thing, aren't I?

Chapter 14

The Ronins stood fixed in place for a few seconds, not seeming to believe what was happening. Eventually, they turned to Karala to see what she would do. She pulled out her katanas and moved into a fighting stance. Their faces registered shock. Surely she wouldn't...

It seemed she would.

Ryo smirked slightly, then brought his katanas down to crash on her's. She blocked the thrust, retaliated and moved back to let Rowen get a shot at him. The fight had begun.

Cye was the first to go. Ryo had managed to hold the rest of them off for a while, and when Cye charged him, threw him into the opposite wall. Hard. They heard some of his bones crack as he hit the ground. Kento's face was contorted with rage.

"That's my best buddy you just threw into a wall, pal! You are so going down!"

Kento was the next to go.

Karala stepped aside of the fighting for a moment to talk to Kayura. The older woman looked seriously frightened.

"How can we stop him? He's too strong!"

Karala ducked as Anubis came sailing over their heads to crash into the wall behind.

"I don't know, Kayura. I don't think he can be stopped."

"But you have to! You're the daughter of light, aren't you!"

Karala said nothing.

"Look Kal, isn't there anything you can do to stop this? If we don't defeat him then the entire world'll be destroyed!"

Karala watched as Rowen was knocked out. They were now down four warriors and Ryo didn't seem to have even a scratch.

"Maybe if we all attack him at once..." she said slowly.

Kayura nodded, and communicated the order to all the warriors.

Ryo looked at the circle of warriors surrounding him and laughed. They were so pitiful, they couldn't even put up a fight when they were being beaten.

They all attacked. He didn't move.

The attacks engulfed him, removing him from sight. A moment later, when all the dust from the consequent explosion had cleared, he was still standing there, just as he was before.

He smiled.

"Do you really think you can beat me? You're even stupider than I thought! Flare up now!" The last sentence was a scream.

Fire consumed the remaining fighters, but this fire was black, black as night. When the attack stopped, only Karala was left standing.

Ryo moved forward, catching her thrust on his own blades, swiping under her guard and ... running her through.

Ayato looked stunned. The girl was smiling, looking happy to have lost. It wasn't 'til she spoke that he understood.

"I guess we win, Ayato. You probably didn't consider that making him kill us... me, would provoke his turning back to us." Her voice grew weak.

Ryo's eyes cleared, returning to their usual blue. He looked at Karala, as if knowing what was happening but not wanting to accept it.

She fell to her knees. "Game, set and match, Ayato. I win."

She sank to the floor, and didn't move.

Ryo's eyes began to blaze with fire. Ayato's eyes widened as his son turned round to face him.

A moment later, the Dynasty exploded.

Ryo found himself with the other Ronins and Warlords in front of Mia's mansion. Back home.

He looked around. The others were just starting to wake up.

Kayura groaned. "What happened?"

Ryo didn't meet anyone's eye. "We won."

Sage looked around. "Where's Karala?"

"Dead."

Kayura gasped. "No... How?"

"I killed her."

The Ronins' faces went very quickly from sadness to anger. The Warlords' and Kayura's showed... understanding.

Kento shook with anger. "What! You killed her? How could you do something like that!"

"I didn't choose to." Ryo's eyes were bright with unshed tears. He got up and went inside.

She's dead! Help! I just killed my own characters off! Ok, only one more chappie to go!

Carline