New Life, New Secrets, New Destiny
Chapter 2
"Master Talpa, everything is ready, but there seems to be a strange power in the mortal world," asks a shadowy figure to Talpa in his full form.
"Do not worry. Nothing can stop me now."
---
"What should we do now?" Mia asks, walking down the sidewalk with Ryo.
"I think we should be getting back. Kyoto is waiting for us."
"Okay." They continue to walk down until they approach a white archway. "Ryo, wait a minute. Can we go in here? We never got to see what was really here."
"I don't know. The guys are waiting for us Mia."
"Come on, you can't deprive me of something in my condition. Please?" she asks with puppy eyes.
"Okay, but we better make it quick." She takes his arm and drags him in. They walk in through a pathway of cherry blossom trees and approach the little white gazebo looking structure where they came from. They go through it and see a lake with five pillars in a pentagon and a giant one in the center. One was red, another dark blue, light blue, green, orange, and the center one was gold. "This place looks like a shrine," Mia comments as she heads closer.
"But this looks familiar somehow," Ryo says, trying to figure out why it could look so familiar.
"I guess you guys are visiting here," says a man as he walks closer to them. "This is a shrine dedicated to the six warriors that protect our world. Long ago an evil wanted to destroy us, but six warriors came and rescued us. Since then, we've honored them and give our thanks for protecting us with this shrine."
"Who were these warriors sir?" Mia asks while she and Ryo turn around.
"It can't be! Lady Mia! Lord Ryo! I'm so sorry I didn't recognize you from before," he says, falling to the ground, bowing to them, "Please excuse me. I must go tell the others." He gets up and turns towards the exit.
"What was that about?" Ryo asks. They turn around and examine the shrine more closely. Mia walks closer to the edge of the lake and soon makes her way towards the large pillar in the middle while Ryo starts to exam the outers, especially the red one in front. She lifts her head and follows the pillar up to the sky. "I wonder." She puts her hand up to the pillar and suddenly freezes in place. She has another vision of the angel from before being swallowed up by a dark light and the shadowy figure from before appearing. She quickly takes away her hand and holds it. "What is going on?"
"Mia, ready to leave?" Ryo asks from the shore.
"I think so."
---
The group minus Ryo and Mia sit down in the living room of Kyoto's large house, which resembles the Koji manor. Yuli stares at a painting on one of the walls with his mouth open. The painting is of an angel from the side with her eyes closed, looking like she's flying. She is in a long white gown that is low cut and has long sleeves that widen out at the bottom. She has very long white hair and a pair light silver wings. "Hey Yuli, you can close your mouth now," Sage says.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Sage, what do think of the painting?" Yuli asks pointing. Sage looks at it and examines it.
"I didn't notice it before. She's quite pretty."
"Hey you guys. We're back," Ryo says coming in with Mia, who looks kinda pale.
"Where have you two been?" Rowen asks.
"We went to explore the city, that's all," Mia comments walking to the couch and sitting down in the spot the guys made for her.
"It looks like everyone is here now. We can start now," Kyoto says walking into the living room, standing off to the edge so that everyone can see him.
"Great, then tell us where we are and why?" Dais asked.
"You are many years in the future from your time. The rest is a long story. Five years after the time you came from, an odd evil will enter and start to attack the mortal world. All the people will start to panic, fearing for the worst. But then, six warriors in different armors would appear from the crowd and cause the evil to disappear."
"That must be us," Kento says.
"Correct, all of you except for the former warlords. The people were very grateful and thought these warriors were sent from the gods to rescue and protect them. From then on, the warriors were treated themselves like gods. A little time later, the evil returned, but seemed different this time. The Ronins were not able to defeat the evil this time, and would not have if it wasn't for the winged golden warrior." Ryo and Mia start to look very concerned.
"What did she do?" Ryo asks.
"She used all her power to trap with demon in another realm so that it could never resurface in the mortal realm again. UNforntuantely, the victory did not come without a price. When she used all her power, she sacrificed her life in the process, in order to protect this realm. To show their respect and gratitude for the warrior's sacrifice and the others work, the people built statues dedicated to each one of them. Torrent by the sea, Wildfire by the volcano, Hardrock by the mountains, Halo in the forest, Strata by the cliff overlooking the sky, and Heavens in the center of the town. Up to this day, the people go to each statue and pray to one of the statues, depending on their problem." As the story ends, they all look deep in thought and concerned, Mia most of all.
"We encountered a man today who called me Lord Ryo and Mia, Lady Mia. What's up with that?" Ryo asks.
"They gave you titles of respect to show how important you are to them. That's all."
"But why did they put Mia in the middle of town?" Sage asks.
"Lady Mia seems to be a favorite among all the people. To them, without her, the battle wouldn't have been won It is also believed that she is directly linked to the gods and spirits in the heavens, so they think more highly of her."
"We do just as much work as she does," Kento complains.
"But he's right about how Mia's more powerful and connected directly," Rowen comments.
"What happened to the rest of us?" Cye asks, the others just as interested to know.
"A couple years after Lady Mia disappeared, the rest of you disappeared and it was said that you were put into a deep sleep until the next time you were needed. A legend also arose that when the ultimate evil came, the Ronins would come back and protect this world and also bring back Lady Mia to finally destroy all the evil that existed and they would rule over us all. A few years ago, I was meditating when suddenly an angel came to our world. It called itself the Angel of Light and said that a great evil would arise soon, stronger than anything we could ever imagine. IT told us to build a place of rest for the Ronins and Lady Mia in the cherry blossom field, so we did and it became more like a shrine to us."
"I knew that looked familiar. The shrine looks likes us five Ronins and Mia in the center," Ryo says.
"That's right. We would go and pray there and hope that the Ronins and Lady Mia would protect us, but no evil came like the angel said, until one year ago. It struck without warning and just as the legend said, the Ronins came back, but were unable to destroy the evil because they couldn't bring back Lady Mia to help them and they were taken away by the evil. Everyone became fearful and we wondered where the angel was that came to us before. Then about a week ago, the angel appeared where we built the shrine and told us that the evil would be coming back for the last and final time to take this world. I didn't know what to do, until the angel told me to bring all of you here because you would be able to destroy the evil somehow, so I did."
"But how is Mia supposed to fight?" Yuli asks.
"I don't know, but something will happen, I know it will," Mia answers.
"I have a question. You keep talking about this angel, what does it look like?" Kayura asks. Kyoto goes over to a desk and picks up a photo album. He turns around and shows them the book.
"Many people have seen different images of the angel and have drawn them." He opens the book and flips through the pages slowly, showing each different picture of the angel.
"Wow, she's beautiful," Kento comments as they examine each picture. Kyoto continues to flip until Yuli stops him.
"I've seen this one. This is the one on the wall." Yuli points to the picture and everyone looks at it. Mia continues to stare at it and suddenly her eyes widen.
"That's the same one I saw in my vision," Mia whispers underneath her breath. She grabs her head as a sharp pain begins to manifest and starts to groan looking at the ground. "No. Why is this happening now!" Everyone looks at Mia as Ryo puts his hand on her shoulder.
"Mia, what's wrong?" Mia starts to scream in pain and tears start to run down her face. "Mia, talk to me."
"Stop it! Please stop it! Why is this happening to me? Please help me! Help me!" Mia keeps screaming with her head in her hands, falling off the couch onto the ground on her knees, bending over.
"Mia, tell us what to do. How can we help you?" Ryo says, trying to get Mia's attention as the others stand back, trying to give her room and she starts to shake.
"Please, I'm begging you, help me!" Suddenly the Spirit Orb around Mia's neck starts to glow, quieting Mia down until she passes out cold, covered in sweat.
"Is she alright?" Sage asks.
"I think so. She's probably just tired. I'm going to get her into bed." Ryo picks her up and starts to head for the stairs.
"That was too strange. I just hope Mia's really okay," Rowen says. The room becomes silent for what seems like hours until Dais speaks up.
"SO, what does this evil power want?"
"I don't know for certain, but I think he's after the angel because of the power it holds."
"What power?" Sage asks.
"It's said that there is a gateway from the spiritual world into the mortal world called the Mortal Gate. Many of the evil spirits that lived in the spiritual world went to the gate because it was the only way they could fully into the mortal world."
"But Talpa came into the mortal world and so did his nether spirits."
"But not at the same time. Evil could let things into the mortal world little by little, but it wouldn't be as powerful. The only way to get everything into the mortal world would be with the gate. Many of the gods were afraid that al the evil forces would find its way into the mortal world through this gate, so they created a being whose responsibility was to guard it. That guard is the Angel of Light. It protects the realm by defeating all evil that wishes to use the gate. But it is also said that the Angel of Light has in her person a power, which she uses in order to guard the gate. Many have gone after the angel in hopes of stealing her power, but so far have been unsuccessful. If any evil demon got a hold of the angel, they could take her power for themselves and destroy the mortal world as we know it."
"So we either have to defeat this evil now or we have to find this angel, right?" Cale asks.
"Correct, but first we should tell the people you are here. This way, they won't be scared when it starts attacking."
"But they're going to want to see Mia," Cye comments.
"That's where I can come in," Kayura replies. "I can impersonate Mia like I did a while ago. They haven't seen her for so long and don't know about us ex-warlords, so they won't be able to tell there's an impersonator."
"Good, then all we have to get is Ryo and we'll go to the shrine."
---
"Anubis."
"Yes Master Talpa."
"I feel a strong power coming from the mortal world. IT might be the angel. I want you to go there and find out right away."
"Yes Master Talpa, I will do what you say." Anubis bows out before he disappears into the darkness.
---
At the shrine, a huge group of people gather around waiting. By the red pillar, everyone except Mia and Kayura stand in their armor. "Attention my people, the gods have looked upon us in our time of need. They have brought back to us the Ronin Warriors and some friends to fight this evil that will soon come upon us," Kytot announces, soon followed by a sea of cheers.
---
Mia slowly starts to open her eyes and sits herself up, taking in her surroundings. "What's happening here?" White Blaze looks up from his spot by her bedside and approaches the woman. Mia pets his head in recognition as the Spirit Orb around her neck starts to glow. "They're in trouble, I know they are." She gets out of bed and goes out onto the balcony, White Blaze following. "Come on boy, we gotta go help them."
---
The cheers start to die down as of the people start to speak "But where's Lady Mia? We can't do anything with out her." Everyone talks and nods in agreement. At that point, a person comes from the sky and lands next to the guys.
"Finally, Lady Mia is here!" Everyone starts to cheer again.
"Now nothing can hurt us." Mia soon enters the crowd, White Blaze right next to her, looking at what everyone is starring at.
"What are they doing there and why does Kayura look like me?" Suddenly a ball of fire hits the ground, sending everyone into a panic.
"What was that?" Ryo said looking into the sky, trying to find the source. A man in yellow armor appears from midair and hovers above the rest.
"SO nice to see you all. MY name is Anubis and I'm here on behalf of my master."
"Wait a minute, are you the same Anubis that we battled long ago?" Kento asks.
"That Anubis was weak. It just so happens though we do have the same name, but I am stronger than he'll ever be. Now, tell me where the angel is."
"Never. Armor of the Wildfire, Halo, Strata, Torrent, Hardrock, Corruption, Illusion, Venom, Cruelty!"
"Hey, there's no Lady Mia!" someone hollers.
"It can't be! She was there before!" someone screams, everyone now attempting to run out of the area. But they are unable when a strange bubble starts to appear, swallowing all the people.
"Let them go!" Kyoto demands.
"I'm going to keep them prisoner until you give me the angel," Anubis says, pointing his a sheathed sword towards the warriors.
"We don't know where it is," Ryo replies.
"Don't lie to me." He takes his weapon out from its cover, displaying a large jagged sword, which he was able to change into two. "Nether Scream!" A huge black beam goes straight towards the guys, and it hits them.
---
Mia watches from the bubble as the guys fight and listens to all the people panicking in the bubble that is now in the sky. "The guys are in trouble and these people are in trouble too. What should we do White Blaze?" White Blaze roars and Mia nods as if she understands. "You're right boy." She grabs the Spirit Orb in her hand and takes it off her neck. "Everybody, stay calm and get ready to leave once we're on the ground." The group of people suddenly calm down and look towards the woman standing with the tiger.
"Is that Lady Mia?"
"I think so." Mia closes her eyes and the orb starts to glow, which then transforms into her staff. She points it into the air and the bubble starts to sink to the ground. Once grounded, it disappears and everyone runs away. Anubis looks at what happens and starts to get enraged.
"What is happening? Who dares to ruin my plans?"
"I do," Mia says, attempting to twirl her staff around.
"How could you something like this?"
"I'm a lot more than I seem to be," she says, getting into a battle stance, Whtie Blaze ready to attack as well.
"I won't be defeated by a mere girl. Nether Scream!"
"Mystic Barrier!" Mia stands up to the blast, only getting pushed back a bit. The blast dies down and Mia still stands, though looking tired. "I didn't think something like that could take so much out of me."
"How can this be? I promise you girl, the next battle will be your last." With that he disappears. Mia makes the staff disappear and drops to the ground, White Blaze making sure she doesn't land to hard. She grabs onto White Blaze as she attempts to catch her breath. Ryo runs over to her to check on her.
"Mia, what are you doing here? I thought you were still sleeping."
" I woke up a while ago and knew something was wrong, so I came over here."
"You're in no condition to fight though," Sage says.
"I know, but I had to do something. I just didn't think it would take so much outta me with just a defense spell."
"I guess so, but now we have a big problem. We have to figure out what this thing is that is attacking," Kyoto says.
---
"Master Talpa, I'm sorry that I have failed you. I promise that next time I won't be defeated."
"You didn't fail me Anubis. From this fight, I've learned what power we are up against. And now, I know what I'm going to do."