"Ronin Warriors: The Final Victor"
By Onikage
Scroll Seventeen: Battle Fallen Angel
Part Two of Two
Kento caught Dais as Cale ripped his weapon from his shoulder with an angry snarl. The force caused blood to splatter across the solid wall of granite. Sai and Anubis were doing their best to attract Yin's attention and keep her occupied for them. Cale lead an attack all his own: he assaulted Yin's front mercilessly. "Mnn… Damn," Dais gritted out. "That almost reduced me to tears…" He stood and clutched his shoulder, swaying slightly from the loss of blood that still flowed rather quickly. He fell back against the wall and groaned. "Yo, dude! Careful!"
"Hoo. Dizzy spell…"
"I think you need to head for cover with Sage and Ro." Dais frowned and tore himself away from the wall. "I'm fine Hardrock!" he snapped. In the next instant, he followed Cale in his assault.
"EVERYBODY GET BACK!" Wildfire ordered with a roar from atop of a rather high branch that was just out of Yin's reach. His body suddenly began to emit searing heat as he leapt to the ground. Yin looked at the crimson warrior curious to why this one looked so different to her. Sekhmet dangled from an adjacent branch by his legs and caught Torrent's then Cale's hand, throwing them to a safe haven among the branches. Anubis lifted an unconscious Strata under one arm as he joined Hardrock upon a branch. "What is he doing?!" Anubis exclaimed. At that moment, his armor began to glow and resonate slowly at first, and then accelerated. His was not the only one. Cale, Sekhmet, and Hardrock's armor were doing the same thing. It then occurred to the ancient warrior that he would finally witness the power of Hariel's Inferno. "Hardrock?" Anubis asked in a very confused and somewhat worried voice. "W-what is happening to me? I feel rather faint," he murmured in a slurred voice, but then regained slight composure before falling out of it again. Kento chuckled and held Anubis' shoulder to keep from falling off of the branch. "Easy there, Red. It's the Inferno that's makin' ya all dizzy. You get used to it after a while," he replied with a grin. Anubis shook the dizziness from his head and nodded slowly, nearly falling off of the branch. "Hey! Stay awake! This is the best part! Watch this oni thingy get nuked!" Hardrock grinned. Anubis looked down at Wildfire and felt his energy being drained from him. The feeling resemble that of all the blood rushing from one's head at once. The man nearly fainted.
Ryo of the Wildfire absorbed orbs of gold, amber, teal, and dark amethyst before his body was engulfed into bright crimson flames. He stumbled backwards, feeling heated shin guards bond to his armor and bladed gauntlets forming onto his forearms. They exploded into searing flames, engulfing his entire body. The light was blinding. When it subsided, armor of pure ivory protected Ryo as he stood in the midst of melted snow and charred ground. Black Blaze appeared by his side and Ryo withdrew the Swords of Fervor slowly. There was an awkward silence for a moment as Yin stared at the small man with curious and confused eyes. Badamon watched from a safe distance, Ryo noted with distain, but the evil priest was far from his worries. Ryo and Yin were now involved in a very intense staring contest when she realized that this small one posed a very large threat to her.
"GO GET 'EM, MAN!" Kento cheered.
"Hardrock shut up!" Dais and Sekhmet hissed harshly. "You'll distract her from Wildfire!"
"Heh, sorry…"
Badamon balled up his fists and launched a dark teal ball of energy in Ryo's direction in which he was all too quick to avoid. However, this slight distraction had a rather painful consequence as a large, heated fist of fire pummeled the young Ronin into the ground. Cale stiffened. He didn't even see her movements. "Sekhmet? Did you see any of that?" he asked in a worried voice. The former snake emperor swallowed hard and shook his head in silent response. "… She's faster now," he stated, "She's drawing energy from Tenku's rune… This could be bad…"
Ryo struggled to lift himself from the molten crater Yin created with his body. He gripped the swords tightly and stood on weary legs. He swayed slightly and supported himself on one of the swords. Uhh, this can't be good. My energy is leaving me… Ryo glared up at Yin with blazing eyes and drew in a deep breath to prepare himself for what would become the loudest and angriest sure-kill he would utter.
"RAGE… OF… INFERNO!!!"
*****
"That's it! I can't take it anymore!" Tori exclaimed and jumped up from the mat she had been sitting at for the past two hours. Kayura's head shot up and frowned. "Rekka, where do you think you're going?!"
"Out to find 'Jiisan or help Ryo and the others, which ever comes first," she replied with a snap. Domo stood and met her at the door with the Ronin-like onyx armor forming around her. "That's not a half bad idea. I'll go with you. Sitting here is driving me insane…"
"Now just a darn minute! Don't you remember what Sekkie told us?!" Megami exclaimed. "We have to stay here and protect Lady Kayura! What happens if you two go and we get attacked? There's no way we can stand up to someone like that weird, pervert… cat… guy! Heck, we probably couldn't together!!" Domo folded her arms.
"Exactly why sitting here does us no good. Either way, if we get attacked, Kayura inevitably dies… Might as well go down fighting as much as we can. Besides, you said yourself that we wouldn't be able to protect her even together! And if the Dynasty was really itching to off Kayura, they would have done it all ready! Talpa more than likely knows how weak we still are. They wouldn't leave us sitting here. From what I've all ready seen, it isn't they're style. We're better off moving around to keep them on their toes… At least that way we have a better chance of keeping her alive for the time being."
"What are you trying to say, Domo-chan?" Nasake asked.
"… This oni that we're all worried about is after Kayura and Masaki-san, right?"
"Uh huh…"
"Then why is it attacking the guys and not us? The first thing it did when it got here was pound Rowen into the ground, then Sage… WE were inside… The oni is trying to lure our only if not best chance of keeping these two alive away. Why do you think Masaki-san booked it?" Domo replied. Everyone fell silent. Kayura stared at Domo, completely shocked at the skill that Korin showed. It was bizarre that she knew this much about war tactics and never been involved in any type of conflict like one. Korin turned to Tori and said, "Let's go have some fun," she said with a sly grin. The two girls ducked out of the room. "Girls, wait!!" Kayura called, but they had vanished.
*****
Ryo fell to one knee as the heated blast from his soul swords resided. Gasping for breath, he fell to all fours and lifted his heavy head at the once gigantic beast. It now lay in a pile of smoldering, stinking flesh, acid-like blood, and bubbling remains. He collapsed to the ground and sighed deeply closing his eyes. The cries of his friends met his ears and he smiled to himself. Kento and Sekhmet lifted him up by the back of his armor with smiles of triumph on their faces. "Hey, hey! Way to go, man! Now that's what I call a gooood flambé!"
"What is it with you and food, Hardrock?" Sekhmet laughed. "Well done, boy!"
"I'll say! That things waaay well done!" Kento laughed.
"… Heh… Thanks…" Ryo laughed softly. Dais attempted to lift the Inferno helmet from Ryo's head, but burned his hands. "GODS!!" he yelped and shoved them into the snow. Laughter met his ears and he colored. "It's hot, Dais!" Cale laughed. Ryo groaned as his knees buckled. "Dude! You okay?!"
"Huuh… I think so. Just tired… Gimme a minute, 'kay?" he smiled and plopped down against a fallen tree.
"… Wow… Intense…" Anubis uttered with a dazed smile. "Such power I have never seen…" he breathed.
"Hell yes! And what a rush you get afterwards! Woo! Let's do that again!" Kento cheered. "NO WAY!" the others exclaimed.
"Aw man! You guys are wimps!" He knelt down next to Sage and Rowen. They were still out of it. "Damn… Sage is really injured. What are we gonna do about Rowen too?" he asked.
"Kayura will take care of it. That is, of course she's still alive," Dais murmured.
"Blast! I forgot all about them!!" Anubis exclaimed.
"Ryo!! Heey!!" Tori cried with a smile as she and Domo emerged from the forest treetops. They leapt down from them and landed gracefully at Dais and Sekhmet's feet. "Korin! Rekka! What are you doing here?! You're supposed to be protecting Kayura and Kaos!" Anubis exclaimed.
"We came to look for 'Jiisan! He disappeared and we don't know where he went! Kiku said that he went to fight the 'dead man', whatever the hell that means!" Tori answered with a frown.
"What do you mean Kaos disappeared?!" Dais and Cale exclaimed. Tori shrank back. "He's gone! We all thought that he went to fight with you guys! He isn't here either?!"
"Gods no! We could barely save our own skins!" Dais said. "Just look at them!" Tori and Domo looked behind him and saw Strata and Halo lying lifeless in the snow. Domo brushed past him and knelt beside them. "Domo-chan… H-how are they?"
"Pretty bad… I dunno if I can help them," she whispered.
"Try Domo… I'm sure Korin has given you her power to heal too," she whispered. Tori looked over at Ryo and gasped. He looked completely trashed. "Ryo? You okay?" she asked gently and went to remove his helmet.
"No don't! It's hot!!" Dais warned. Tori had all ready laid her hands on the ivory cap and unfastened it. Dais frowned. Carefully she lifted it off of his neck and heaved it to one side. "Damn that's heavy…" she murmured. Ryo swayed slightly from where he sat. She held him firmly. "Easy Ryo… Man, you look like hell," she said.
"Heh, thanks… You're a sight for sore eyes," he smiled weakly. Tori blushed and glanced over at Anubis who appeared to be sulking. He glared at them every now and then. "At least some think so," she laughed softly. She saw the cut on Ryo's temple and took the corner of her cloak and held it firmly to the open wound. "Ow!" he hissed.
"Sorry. It's like Niagara Falls over here."
"'Niagara Falls'? Where's that?" He covered her hand gently and sat up straighter. Tori blushed.
"America. 'Jiisan told me about it… They flow like there's no tomorrow."
"You been there?"
"Nah… I want to though… Sounds like fun, America."
"Hey you two! Quit planning you're honeymoon and let's get Rowen and Sage back to the house!" Kento said with a smirk. Ryo flushed and Tori frowned. She picked up a handful of snow and hurled it at the back of Kento's head. "HEY!"
"No need for that, Kento… Ugh," Sage muttered and sat up. He clutched his head and groaned. "Head ache…" Rowen was in a similar state only more vulgar.
"Rowen! Sage! You're… healed?!" Sai exclaimed. "Domo, how did-"
"Ask Sage… It's the same power," Domo smiled.
"Aw man! Cale! What the hell are you doin'?! Don't stick your arm in- awww sick!!" Kento exclaimed in disgust as the Ronin's arm was completely submerged into the slop like remains of Yin. "Eww! Cale!!" Domo shuddered. "You don't know what's in that!"
"Runes! Runes, my dear! This is how we were nearly killed!" he said and removed his arm. It was covered in the charred flesh of the beast. He had in his hand a shard. "Torrent, could you assist me and rinse this off?"
"S-sure… Aw, Cale that's disgusting! You're going in again!?"
"There are four more aren't there?"
Sometime later.
"Eww! No way! I don't want it now!" Tori squeaked. Anubis frowned and threw his head back in annoyance from where he sat. "It's clean! If you're squeamish about a little fleshy remains, then you should just go home now!"
"You promise?!" Tori smiled. Domo pinched her arm. "Ow!"
"Be realistic…" she peered down at her rune and frowned. "This… isn't my rune…" she said slowly and crushed it in her grip. Tori did the same and the red crystal turned to black ash. "They're fakes!!"
"I knew it! This was all made to get us away from Kayura and Masaki-san!" Domo snapped and threw the dust away. "That oni was a decoy!"
"We've got to find the Ancient One now! Dais, Cale, Sekhmet, you come with me! The rest of you should go back to the house and protect Kayura and the others," Anubis ordered. "Hey wait! I'm going too!" Tori exclaimed and helped Ryo to his feet. Anubis shook his head. "No, it's too dangerous…"
"Tch. Like you care! I want to help find my grandfather! I'm not going to sit on my ass and not help out!"
"Why? You do plenty of that anyway," Anubis retorted with angry sarcasm. Tori slapped his cheek. "Listen you jerk! It may come as a shock to you but I happen to love my grandfather! I'm going and you can't stop me!" she yelled. Ryo touched Tori's shoulder. "Hey, calm down, Tori… Anubis wouldn't let anything happen to Kaos." Anubis glared darkly down at the young and angry girl. "Don't tempt me, little one… Stay here." He moved aside and started to head towards the forest. Tori stepped in front of him, blocking his path. "I'm going whether you tell me to stay or not!"
"Out of the way, woman! I don't have time for your games!" Anubis snapped and attempted to push her out of the way. He burned himself on her armored body and hissed. "Dammit!!"
"I'm not staying."
"Look I can't protect you and save Kaos too! You are too weak to be doing this still!"
"No, I'm not!"
"Get out of the way or so help me-" Tori balled up her fists and glared up at him, eyes brimming with angry and frustrated tears. "… You better bring him home! You got that, Red!? If he dies-"
"Tori-sama," Ryo began gently. "Stop this… We're wasting time…"
"No!"
"By the gods woman! Go home and wait!!" Anubis snapped. "Do as I ask at least once in your life!"
"Promise me you'll bring him back…"
"Tori-"
"Promise me!!!" she shrieked. Dais' one eye widened as her body caught fire quickly. "Anubis…" he began.
"All right… I promise," he said in a soft voice. He then frowned. "Now stop crying!" he ordered.
"I'm not crying!" she snapped in a sob. She dried her eyes angrily and moved to the side after a long stare. His eyes softened slightly. Gently he took her by the arms and lifted her chin upward slightly. "Hey…" He found her eyes. "Be strong, all right?" he whispered. Tori blushed and looked away still angry. "Go home and rest, Tori…" he said gently as he released her. "We don't need for you and the others to get sick now… We'll be back as quickly as we can…" She watched them disappear into the trees before Sai and Kento pulled her along back to the house.
Anubis lowered his head once they were out of sight. He finally realized the Ancient One's intentions. He wasn't one to let 'death' find him by sitting around. He would either fight it or find it and surrender to it to end it quickly. If Anubis had guessed correctly, the Ancient had purposely disappeared to fight this on his own. He's going to endanger Shakujo as well as the Mortal World… he thought. And in the back of his mind he knew that he had no control over what the gods had in store for Kaos and his promise to Tori may have all ready been destined to break…
*****
Fou-Lu chuckled as he observed Kaos. The ancient warlord shook his head and continued to laugh more and more uproariously. Kaos' eyes narrowed darkly. His piercing blue eyes were colder than the snow upon the ground. Fou-Lu's laughter died down and he held out his palm. A blade of dark light formed in his armored, clawed hand. "… I hath always wondered what t'would be like to face the man whom banished mine master so… easily. Thou must have great power, Ancient One…" he said softly and approached him slowly. Kaos held his ground and said nothing. Fou-Lu smiled and chuckled again before vanishing into a blur that darted all around him. "Shall we start?" he laughed. Kaos' eyes scanned the clearing wherever he stopped briefly, but his eyes were just slightly behind. He closed his eyes and whispered a spell. Instantly a blast erupted from him and spread all across the clearing, hitting everything with his energy, hoping to mark or tag Fou-Lu to read his movements easier. Fou-Lu simply laughed and struck him from behind. "Thou hath to do better than mere tricks, monk! I am no ordinary demon!" Kaos stumbled forward then slashed to what appeared to be empty air. Instead, his blade met with flesh and drew a snarl from Fou-Lu. "Fight me, demon… Warrior to warrior… Or have you no honor?"
"Honor? I know not this word…" he snapped. Kaos' eyes flashed silver as he came at Fou-Lu, thrusting the Shakujo blade into his shoulder. He again uttered an incantation and the blade grew hot with holy light. Fou-Lu felt the heat of his attack even before he finished his spell. He snarled and shoved Kaos away, ripping the blade from his shoulder. As soon as he touched it, he was hurled into the ground by its power and sent pulse after pulse of white light into his body. He clawed at the ground and writhed well after the attack ceased. Kaos tore Shakujo from his shoulder and a rapid river of black blood gushed from the opening, corroding the ground and sizzling on Kaos' sword. He backed away slowly as Fou-Lu stood warily on his feet. His eyes were no longer the hard teal they usually were. Black orbs glared out at him and he lifted himself from the ground, hovering in mid-air. Dark, electrical energy crackled in between his palms as his anger grew. "Thou… art as powerful as mine master said…" he breathed. His voice became deep and demonic, sending a shiver down Kaos' spine. Time was running out.
Fou-Lu instantly snatched Kaos by his throat and held him from the ground. He sent a shock through him and Shakujo fell from his hands. "I could kill thou now… easily. I am not like Talpa…" he whispered and flung him into the stone wall of a cliff. Kaos lifted himself from the rubble. "Return to the depths of Hell, demon!!!" he shrieked as he sent powerful blast at him before charging at him with a spear of white light. Fou-Lu deflected the blast and his heel connected with his temple as he performed a twist kick as he came close. Kaos flew into the truck of a large tree and collapsed to the ground. Fou-Lu lifted him with a dark energy orb and held him inside and electrical prison. "Pathetic. Thou know thy fate… Why am I wasting mine time?" he sighed. He shrieked in agony as the energy sent electrical pulses through his body. The ball of nether energy vanished and Kaos dropped to the ground. Fou-Lu was astonished that he had survived all of that and was still conscious. "Eager to die, aren't ye?" he asked and lifted him again. Kaos' face was tired and beaten, yet his eyes had fight still in them. Fou-Lu realized this a second too late as Kaos' palm faced him at point blank and blasted him across the clearing. He snatched his sword and drove it into Fou-Lu's abdomen just as he recovered from the blast. He snarled and pulled the blade deeper into him, smiling dangerously. "Wonderful… Sadly… futile…" he whispered and thrust his armored hand into his shoulder, dislocating it. Kaos crumpled to the ground and hissed in pain. Fou-Lu pulled the sword out slowly, wounds healing completely. He hurled the blade into the tree behind him and sighed again. Kaos stood warily on his legs then collapsed to his knees, coughing up a large amount of blood into the snow. He groaned loudly as a sharp, constricting pain occurred in his chest, forcing more air out than in. A dark, slow chuckle met his ears and he glanced upward at Fou-Lu. "How in all the universe did thee ever defeat Talpa, when a lowly disciple, such as I, hath no trouble with ye?" He kneeled down in front of Kaos and shook his head. "I hath expected more from ye, o Ancient One…" Kaos said nothing and simply glared. Fou-Lu struck him on the side of the temple and onto his back. "Do ye not find it odd that I could defeat ye where mine master could not?" he paused and chuckled. "… Well… not very much so… Perhaps it is because I am stronger than Talpa… The power of the darkness is so… filling… Kurai will be freed once ye and the girl are dead and thine Guardians' seals are shattered, Talpa or not…"
Kaos stared up at the warlord leering over him in shock. Fou-Lu yanked the monk to his feet by his hair. "Haven't ye something to say?" he asked. Kaos closed his eyes as he dangled in the air. "… He will not… Amaranthine…" Fou-Lu promptly dropped Kaos and started away from him. "'Amaranthine'? There… is no such power!"
"Aye… but there is… And only I can… find it… but killing me… will not stop it from finding…them…" Fou-Lu once more picked Kaos from the ground. He held him by the neck roughly. "… We shall see, monk."
With one swift motion, he bore into the monk's chest with his clawed hand and grinned as it exited from his back. Kaos' face paled in the shock and blood spilled from his lips. "Tell them all… they art on borrowed time to find thine 'Amaranthine'…" he sneered and let the monk slide from his grip.
*****
Kiku hummed while she and Yuli sat at the coffee table drawing. Yuli glanced over at his 'little sister' and peered at her drawing. Something caught his eyes on her drawing that he found rather strange. "Kiku? What are you drawing?" he asked and set the crayon down on the table. Kiku continued to hum and scribble vigorously with a red crayon. She set it down and lifted it for him to see. " 'Jiisan and the Happy-Face-Man," she replied with a smile. "The 'Happy-Face-Man'? Let me see…" Yuli took the picture from her and looked at it. His eyes widened in shock. She had drawn a very accurate picture of Talpa. As child-like as it was it was easily recognizable. "Can I show this to Mia and Lady Kayura?" he asked. Kiku took the picture and wrote her name in big letters on the bottom of the page. "Okay. All done!"
"Hey Mia. Look what Kiku drew!" he exclaimed. Mia looked up from her mug of tea and smiled softly. She took the drawing with it in her mind that it would be a pretty picture of a rainbow or puppy dog. She saw one look at the 'Happy-Face-Man' and nearly spilled her drink. "My god!" she exclaimed. "Lady Kayura! Tell me who is in this picture!" She handed the drawing to her and swallowed hard. "Is that who I think it is?"
"It's Lord Kaos and a…" she stopped and began to chuckle, "a very accurate portrait of Talpa!" she laughed, positively tickled by the childishness of the drawing. "Nice job, Yuli," she commended. Yuli scratched the back of his head.
"Um, I didn't draw it. Kiku did…" he said. Kayura froze.
"Kiku??" She looked at the little girl who had started on another picture. Again she used the red crayon. "Little one?" she began. "Who is this man?" she asked and pointed to Talpa when she kneeled beside her. Kiku looked up. "Him? That's the Happy-Face-Man. He's has a big red mask and is happy all the time… 'Jiisan says he's always been sad… How can he be sad and smile, Kay?" Kayura stared at the picture and set it down. "I'm not sure, little one… but it is a very nice picture. Why don't you go and show it to the girls in the kitchen."
"Okay, but can I finish?"
"Of course… Lady Mia? May I speak to you in the hall?"
"Sure…" She followed Kayura into the hallway leading to the study. "What is it?"
"That child… Have you shown her any pictures of Talpa from your sources?"
"No. They're aren't any! Yuli attempted to last time he showed up, but all he got was smudges on the photo when we developed them. It's impossible…"
"Then how do you explain the fact that she knows what he looks like?" Mia paused for a moment. "… She is a descendant of Kaos. Directly even. She may have more powers than you, Lady Kayura! She probably only experiences them in episodes like dreams or energy surges…"
"Like I was when I was her age…" she added. Both women peered into the living room again. Yuli was attempting to convince Kiku about something.
"No, Kiku. You can't- Awww! Don't eat the crayon!!"
"Eww. Tastes yucky! That's not an orange!!" The two women looked at one another again and sighed. "She has a long way to go…" Kayura said.
The grandfather clock struck eight in the evening. Mia sighed. "I hope those girls and the others are all right… and the Ancient One too." Kayura nodded slowly. The clock finally struck eight. With it, Kayura gasped and fell against the wall. "Lady Kayura! Are you all right?!"
"Oh… That was unexpected…" she groaned and fell to her knees clutching her chest. "Mnn… My chest is on fire…"
"Yuli! Get some water!"
*****
Cale stopped and looked around silently. A wet scent tickled his nose. It was a scent that he hadn't known for a long time. Dais looked back at the distracted warrior. "What is it, Cale?" he asked.
"Sh!" His ears pricked to a faint clashing sound. The scent grew stronger and it was oddly strange to him. He frowned. "… I smell blood…"
"You sure it isn't that damn creature Wildfire killed?" Sekhmet grumbled. He could still smell that beast's horrible stench lingering in his nose. He could almost taste it, but he tried not to think about it. Cale flashed a glare at Sekhmet. "… It's human… and… something else…"
"Return to the depths of Hell, demon!!!"
Anubis pushed past Cale, nearly knocking him over as he dashed in the direction of his voice and the explosions. It was coming from the northern mountain wall that separated this world from theirs.
"Persistent, aren't ye?" Fou-Lu sighed and knocked away a barrage of white blasts of light that Kaos pathetically dealt. He peered at the dying man. Upon an even closer look, he appeared to be smiling. Kaos was indeed. Just a little more time… he thought. His vision was all ready useless and relied on his somewhat numbed senses to lead him. Lazily he wiped the blood from his lips as he tried to take a breath. It amazed him that he was still standing even with a gaping hole in his abdomen. The pain was gone and he felt heavy. I would have liked to see them all one more time… he thought collapsing into the snow though still conscious.
Something caught him by the arms. Noise. Laughter… Everything rushed together. His mind was so hazy. He felt something burning into his mind. It was a horrible sensation that he hadn't felt in the four years since Talpa was banished. It was as dark as the day they met. He thought the light had trapped and banished it back into the darkest part of his humanity. Unfortunately, he had neglected to see it slowly return and take its place among the hate and sorrow that had accumulated over the past years. And it was about to show itself…
Kaos opened his eyes. His vision came and went like his hearing. He didn't understand why he wasn't dead all ready. A patch of deep sapphire caught his eye as a tuff of it peeked out of his helmet. "… Cale…"
"He's alive! Dais, be quick and get Halo!!" Sekhmet ordered.
"… I cannot permit that…" Fou-Lu warned as he sent a shock through Dais before he could summon a portal. Anubis rushed to catch the man by the arm. The Ronin of Serenity clutched his head as he tore off his helmet with a searing pain ripping between his eyes. He shoved Anubis away with a snarl. Fou-Lu began to chuckle. It leered into a jovial laughter before he cackled loudly at the top of his lungs. Sekhmet stood slowly and removed his helmet before taking one snake-fang sword from the sheath on his back. He began to approach Fou-Lu slowly. The Dark Warlord smirked while his body still jerked with slivers of laughter still in him. "… I'll cut that smile from your face-" A powerful arm blocked his path like lightning. Sekhmet glared at Anubis. "Let me pass…" he ordered.
"… No."
"Dammit, man-" Anubis lifted his eyes sharply. Once deep blue irises that shone with immaculate kindness and strength became dark, hard, and as the color of blood. The whites of his eyes were now black. His entire arm quaked with anger and frustration while his breathing became heavily and his guiding virtue flashed wildly from gold to red. Sekhmet's eyes widened. Not again… A gasp from Kaos made Anubis turn his head toward him. Cale was knelt beside him and removed the ancient warrior's helmet. Ivory hair stained with crimson fanned out upon the snow. Cale was doing everything he could to keep him awake. Kaos glanced up at Anubis. The dark eyes that he'd thought were gone from this world forever met his. Slow rivers of tears flooded his eyes.
A cold wind swept around them and as it passed, the light in the old eyes faded…
The hours pass so slowly- the life's slipping out of me
No way's the night way- is there an out for meMy life's slipping out...
The night is done the bright eyes glare and now the time is come
Held back in my pitied world where everything's undone
A cold wind blows right through me in made a hollow shell
There's nothing left just ash remains enrich the soul, no soul, no soul
Sarah McLachlan ~ "Out of the Shadows" ~Touch