"Ronin Warriors: The Final Victor"
By Onikage
Scroll Eighteen: Out of the Shadows
Kayura bolted up right on the couch where Mia had placed her with a scream. She had suddenly fallen into a state of unconsciousness a few moments before. Mia had placed a blanket around her to help stop her shivering and a cool, damp cloth to stop the fevers. Kayura scanned the room swiftly while breathing heavily as if she had experienced a nightmare. After a moment, she breathed a sigh of relief and pulled her knees to her chest hugging them tightly and running her hands through her hair. "… Lady Kayura? Are you all right?" Yuli asked softly.
"… I don't know, boy…" she gasped through frightened tears. She lifted her head and wiped her eyes. "… What did you see?" Sakura asked.
"… I didn't see anything really. I only felt the images… He's… he's gone," she whispered.
"Who?"
"… Kaos-sama. He's dead…" she said louder.
"Wh-what? Are-are you sure about that?!" Sakura exclaimed rising quickly from the floor. Kayura nodded slowly. Suiko's summoner began to pace the length of the woven rug. "H-he can't… He can't …" she cried and covered her mouth to stop her crying. She collapsed to the chair and gasped. Yuli crawled over to her and into her arms to offer some kind of comfort when he was also slipping. Kayura merely wept softly into Mia's shoulder. All Mia could think about was the rest of the boys. Were they in the same place as Kaos? If so, did that mean that they were dead as well?
*****
Ryo stopped in his flight from branch to branch. He looked up at the sky and turned around in the direction they had come from. The snow was falling in a heavy shower and it seemed to get heavier and thicker as the moments passed. Kento stopped also on the branch under him. "What's up, 'Yo?" he asked.
"I don't know, but don't like it… How far are we to the house? I'm getting worried about Kayura and the others," he said as Kento climbed up to him. They noticed that Sage and Sai were also coming to see what was wrong. Rowen followed shortly after. "Hey, why are we stopping?" Sai demanded and glanced back over at Domo and Tori. The cold weather was getting to Rekka's summoner. "What aren't you telling us, Ryo?" Sage demanded.
"… I think… the girls, especially Tori, are going to be really upset when the others get home. Anubis and Tori are going to be even harder to control now…"
"Excuse me?!" Kento started. "What are you sayin', man?"
"… I just felt a huge drop in my energy. Y'know how Kaos was the father of our armors?" Ryo began. "… The Ancient's dead." Each warrior stiffened in shock and fell silent for a moment. A few bowed their head out of respect. Sage lifted his head and looked back down the path they had gone. Their footprints were all ready gone from the heavy snow shower. "… Something's not right…"
"That's what I don't like," Ryo said. "I felt a fall in energy, but a horrible power rise immediately after…" Sai banished his tears angrily and swallowed his sorrow.
"Should we go back?"
"… I don't think so. We don't want to have to deal with that power and Tori's reaction of her grandpa's death. We could lose her and our own lives… Whoever killed Kaos is still there. I think we should protect whatever we have left and deal with one problem at a time…" Rowen suggested.
"Let's get them home then," Ryo said. He looked down at Tori and Domo who were growing more impatient by the minute. Kento was the first to take out his frustration and punched a large stone putting a large split down the center, before leaving in a heated walk. "What's wrong with Kento-kun?" Tori asked. "What's up?"
"Uh, let's get you and the other girls home first… We should tell you some stuff we figured out all together…" Ryo murmured.
"Is it good or bad news?" Domo asked.
"… Depends on which side of the playin' field yer on, honey," Rowen said as he glanced over his shoulder. Domo frowned and followed the rest.
*****
Cale removed his helmet and tossed it aside quickly. "Kaos? Kaos?!" he called and held his face, slapping it gently. He saw the empty and bleak blue eyes stare blankly and lowered his head. "… He's gone…" he murmured sadly. Sekhmet turned his head sharply to him. "What?! No!" Dais lifted himself from the snow and crawled over to Cale who closed the eyes of their mentor. He grimaced and forced his vision to re-a-line with a great deal of pain in between his eyes. Cale glanced at him silently. "He's dead…" he repeated. Sekhmet re-sheathed his snake-fang sword and tossed the weapon aside before kneeling by the body of the Ancient One. "Kaos! Dammit! Don't you do this!!" he shouted. "Think of what you're leaving behind!! Think of-"
"Sekhmet. He's gone!!" Dais yelled and pulled him from his limp form.
Anubis remained standing with his back to Fou-Lu as he watched his comrades in their loss of a man that they loved like a father forgotten. Fou-Lu's chuckle again reached his ears and he turned sharply. "'One down and one to go' ye human say," he laughed softly. He glanced at Sekhmet just as he charged with open claws at him. He smashed himself into an invisible barrier and fell into the snow with an angry snarl. "You, serpent emperor, art not worthy enough to avenge the old one's death…" Fou-Lu stated angrily and sent a ball of light into him, sending Sekhmet into a fit of convulsions. Dais and Cale suffered the same when they started from their spots and then Anubis. "I should kill all of you… Even the younger Ronins and those… girls…" He smiled and leered over Anubis who glared up at him from the ground as painful electrical currents ripped through him. He seemed to be only bound without my pain. That, and the fact that he wasn't screaming in agony caught the Warlord of Death's immediate attention. "I especially am fond of one in particular…" he sneered. Anubis eyes again flashed from blue to red and white to black. Fou-Lu ceased the torture of the other three and increased his on Anubis. "Hm, interesting… A half-breed oni," he murmured to himself. "Let us see the demon inside you!" he smiled and increased the intensity of power on him. The armor around Anubis' body vanished as a feral roar ripped from his vocal chords. With another, the electrical field shorted out on his body and he was crouched over on all fours breathing heavily and gasping. His shirt has been reduced to shreds and hung in bloody rags from his back and shoulders not by just Fou-Lu's energy alone; his size had increased to nearly three times. His body steamed and smoked from the intense heat and slightly charred skin. He groaned and shook his head. He lifted his eyes, which were nearly concealed by his auburn hair, which hung frayed and ragged over his throbbing shoulder muscles. His eyes were now black and red again. His hands, which had become claws, dug into the earth as he stood on wary legs, facing Fou-Lu.
"… The beast is free once more…" Fou-Lu smiled as he noted the long fangs that seemed to gleam in their own deadly light. He began to walk towards his new form slowly. Anubis responded and backed away angrily before crouching slightly, teeth bared and a feral snarl rising in his throat. He scanned the clearing swiftly: his comrades some were unconscious while one other was watching him in utter shock, but made no movement. He saw the body of Kaos and stared at it, eyes wide and confused. There was something different about his body than from the others that were also not moving. He crouched down beside the Ancient's body and touched it gently with a clawed hand. He shook it gently and whimpered when he did not wake. A started away from it in sudden fear and turned his head sharply at Fou-Lu. He backed up defensively as the Warlord approached him with a smile. "I killed him," he began. "I took his life… Me-" He was cut off by the claw that bore through his armored plate and exited out his back. Reaching up reflexively, Fou-Lu snatched Anubis' throat and squeezed, but that did not keep the former Warlord of Cruelty from taking his head in both of his hands and twisting Fou-Lu's neck sharply with a sickening crack. Fou-Lu fell limp and Anubis yanked his arm free from his chest and let him fall to the ground in a heap. Anubis let out a roar and retreated to the side of the Ancient.
Cale had never sat more still or had been so quiet in all of his life through the sudden terror that he felt. He stared at Anubis and his beast-like behavior stunned. He had seen this one other time and that was when he and the other two older warlords had pushed him beyond his limits of rage. It took nearly thirty dark priests to restrain him along with the aid of Talpa himself. Even then it was difficult to control him. Dais was nearly killed in the process. A lingering thought remained in the aftermath of his reminiscence: was there enough of the goodness in Anubis to keep him from going completely berserk? Cale looked at the dead body of Fou-Lu and then back over to Anubis. Anubis leaned over the body of the Ancient and again tried to rouse the man. Sounds emerged from his throat, but his mind was too hazed with his ogrish blood to form comprehensive speech. A pang of sadness rose within Cale as his internal instincts of his own wolven blood began as he recognized it when he heard and saw Anubis' voice and actions. Suddenly Anubis glanced up and saw Cale watching him intently. He crept towards him slowly and cautiously. Cale made no movement as he was approached. He simply just stared at the demon eyes that bore into his. He swallowed hard as he came within a foot of him. Anubis looked down next to him at the red cape spilling out onto the snow. He sat in the snow and just stared at it. It took Cale a few moments to register what the deranged man wanted. Very carefully, so as not to alarm him in any way, he removed the cape and backed away from him slowly. Sure enough, Anubis snatched it and returned to the Ancient's body before covering him with it. Cale's heart sank as he saw him sit and watch the Ancient with his knees drawn to his chest like a child. He lowered his eyes and sighed before glancing at Fou-Lu's body.
It was gone. No trace of blood remained.
Cale scrambled to his feet, surprising Anubis greatly. He snarled at him and backed away quickly. "He's gone!!" he exclaimed and searched the clearing hastily.
A scream from Anubis erupted in his ears and he whipped around to see Fou-Lu digging into his back with his claws. The warlord grinned evilly and threw him into another tree, severing it. "… That actually hurt for a bit," he smirked and cracked his neck. "An admirable attempt, however futile. I am no ordinary demon…" he added. Cale drew his weapon. "I do not wish to kill you all… yet, but I can arrange that… Thou seem so eager to die…" he smirked before turning to Cale and sending his no-dachi high into a tree. An invisible blast of energy knocked Cale on his back as he lay powerless watching his comrade be tortured for the longest five minutes in his life and all he could do was listen and watch the screams and laughter.
*****
"Mi-san, Mi-san, MI-SAANN!!!" Kiku exclaimed and ran down the hall and into the living room. A smile was on her face. "They're baaack!" she sang. She tugged on Mia's skirt from where she and Kayura relaxed on the couch. Kayura had finally fallen asleep. "Shh, Kiku… Kayura is sleeping," she hushed and followed her into the hall. She found the others returning through the temporary doorway that was a sheet. She saw Sage and Rowen. "What happened to you all?!" she gasped softly.
"… How's Kayura? Is she safe?" Ryo asked over her question. He received a silent nod. "More or less… It's the Ancient-" she began as soon as Tori and Domo entered to house. Ryo stopped her with his hand. "We know… at least most of us do," he murmured. "The others when to go find him and help… Something doesn't feel right and I think it'll be very rough from here on out…" he added in a whisper as he lead her away from the others and into the kitchen. "I'll be right back guys…" he said. "Kento and Sai? D'ya think you can find something to patch the door with? That sheet's not gonna cut the wind…" Ryo said.
"Sure, bud… C'mon Sai. Help me get the ping-pong table…" Kento said and headed for the porch. Kiku stared up at Sage. She saw the dried blood on his face and hugged his armored leg. "What's wrong, Kiku?" he asked and kneeled down.
"You have a boo-boo," she said shyly. She kissed his face and smiled. "All better!" Tori picked her little sister up.
"Were you good for Mia and Kayura?" she asked.
"Yes… 'Ri-san?"
"Hm?"
"'Jiisan says to be nice to Anubi-chan…" she said and hugged her. Tori fell silent and hugged her back. "C'mon, Kiku. Let's put you to bed. Yuli will read to you okay?"
"I want Cale-kun to read to me!" she smiled.
"Cale's not here now…" she said and left up the stairs with her.
Domo sighed heavily turned to Sage after Tori was out of earshot. "He's dead, isn't he?" she asked. Sage and Rowen stiffened.
"I'm sure he's fin-" Sage began.
"Sage. Please. Don't make this harder by filling my head and the others' with false hope," she whispered. Sage paused and gave her a silent nod.
"Yeah… we all felt it a few hours ago. There was also a surge of energy that didn't feel right. We have no idea if the others are all right either… Frankly, I'm worried out of my mind…" The emotionless face of hers slowly began to waver with the incoming feelings that bombarded her. He gently reached up and grasped her shoulder. She gasped, torn from her thoughts and wrenched her arm away before fleeing up the stairs. Sage watched her go. He turned and faced Rowen before punching the marble floor with an angry snarl. "C'mon Sage… Let's keep the look out for them."
"Why? They're probably all dead anyway…" he snapped and headed up the stairs to his and Rowen's room. "We're all going to hell," he added loudly.
*****
"Pathetic… This is hardly amusing for me anymore," Fou-Lu glowered and delivered a blow to Anubis' abdomen. As expected, the transformed Ronin moaned in pain and clutched his bleeding and sliced stomach. Fou-Lu kicked him in anger and disappointment. "… not even the strength to scream either…" Fou-Lu glanced back towards the lifeless body of the Ancient One and then to Anubis who lay whimpering and coughing on the ground. "… Beast," the warlord spat. He saw Cale propping himself up against a fallen tree with barely enough strength to stay conscious. He watched as his comrade's torture ended shortly after his own. Cale's dark, midnight blue eyes narrowed at his enemy's tiredly, however with deadly intentions that intrigued the other man… if such a thing could be deemed the name. Even through the snowstorm that blew blades of ice hard and painfully against his cheeks, a glare that would freeze even the darkest pits in Hell met the intense eyes of Fou-Lu defiantly. This man… demon… would dearly pay for his actions even if it took ten thousand centuries of training to do so. Fou-Lu stalked to the fallen warrior surrounded by his unconscious friends not even fazed by the intense wind that blew. "… Welcome to Talpa's Winter of Hell," he whispered. The wind swallowed up his voice yet it seemed to carry directly into Cale's heart and he heard it as clear as a bell in a silent room. He backed away as the wind swiftly intensified and the ice cut into Cale's skin. When he looked up, the warlord was gone.
*****
Rowen stared out the living room window for some signs of his missing friends. The storm was getting worse and worse with each passing moment of the clock. It seemed like only minutes in between chimes at the top of the hour of the grandfather clock in the library. Now it chimed two in the morning. He yawned and glared. Fatigue at last rears it's ugly head… Dammit guys where the fuck are you? A loud snore from Kento startled him as it erupted from the hallway where he and Sai stood guard. Rowen frowned. Some watchdog… He's fucking sleeping! Sai must be too then, although, it would take a bloody miracle for him to sleep. Even I can't sleep with that crap.
"Rowen-kun?" He turned his head to find Nasake and Whiteblaze in the hallway peering in at him. She was still in her battle gear. " 'Sake? What are you doin' up?" he demanded harshly in a whisper. She entered and sat across from him on the cushioned window seat. Whiteblaze lay at her feet. "I found him outside my door. He was scratching at it…" she said. "I don't think he has to pee… Maybe he's lonely?" Rowen chuckled at her. "Nah, he can use the bath tub. Ryo trained him to work the knob and the showerhead to wash away his… mess in case he was unable to go outside, like now…" Nasake scratched his fur. "Wow, Whiteblaze… You're pretty smart!"
"Kento's tries to teach him to spell… He saw this bird do it on T.V… He's such a dork," he laughed. Rowen set his hanyaku down next to him on the floor. "Hey, I thought you were allergic to cats?"
"I was, but… I guess I got used to it…" she smiled softly. "Anyway, I actually passed by your room and you weren't in there. Sage was, but…"
"Sleeping?"
"No, sitting up on his bed."
"Meditating then," he concluded. Man, Sage meditating instead of sleeping? Things must seem bad…
"Something wrong, Rowen? You look exhausted."
"I am… I'm waitin' for the guys… Sai and-"
"ZzzcandycanesZzZ… ZzzpeanutbutterchipsZzz… SPORK!"
"-Kento are in the hallway…" he finished. Nasake giggled and rubbed her arms. "You cold?" he asked and reached for her arm. She yanked herself away quickly, causing Rowen to do the same. "I… I'm fine. Thanks…" she whispered. Rowen again reached towards her and literally watched her cringe and start away. He reached past her and pulled the blanket off of the chair beside her. "Here. Use this if you're cold… Kaos should have told you guys to pack lots of winter stuff." She took it slowly and wrapped herself with it. He leaned back and stared at her while she looked lost in her own thoughts. Something is definitely wrong here… he thought. "You don't have to be scared now, 'Sake… I think the Dynasty's gonna back off for a while, at least until tomorrow." He glanced at her briefly. She didn't even acknowledge what he said. "'Sake?"
"Hm? Oh, sorry… What did you say?" Rowen crossed his arms and peered outside once more. "Nothing, 'Sake. Don' worry about it…" he murmured. His brow furrowed in thought. Then something caught his eyes. Stood quickly, rousing the tiger from a heavy sleep and looked more closely. A flash of red whipping in the wind that followed a shadow stood at the edge of the woods. "OH SHIT!" he yelled and scrambled into the hallway. His armor was on in the two seconds it took to clear Whiteblaze and the distance between where he sat and the hall. "Sai!! Sai!! They're back!"
"Wh-what?!" he answered groggily.
ZzzTurkeyzzz…" The sound of metal on metal made a loud noise followed by a:
"Wake UP fat ass! They're back!!" Rowen snapped and kicked him in the leg again to rouse the young man from blocking the large ping-pong ball table that was currently the door. "Mnn Ow…What?!"
Rowen tore the 'door' from the doorway and stopped. The snow trapped the doorway by nearly three feet of snow blocking the way. "Fuck!" he snapped and began creating a path. Sai and Kento followed him to three very exhausted and battered warriors. Two of the three carried what looked to be like sacs of potatoes. Rowen's eyes met Cale's through the shredding ice storm. All he heard was the howling wind and saw his mouth moving, but no sound came. Kento lead Dais inside. Sai took one of the 'sacs' from Sekhmet and lead him into the house. Rowen trudged towards him and saw a large thing wrapped in his red cape. Anubis and the Ancient were missing. Cale shook his head gravely and followed Rowen into the house…
*****
Mia bolted upright in bed with a scream. A muffled clamor met her ears and she snatched her robe and slipped downstairs. She followed the sounds into the living room. Ryo was hurriedly adding several logs to an all ready blazing fire and Sage was bent over one side of the couch while Sai was kneeling beside a mass of large quilts and a whit patch of hair. Another bundle was passed out on the armchair with Kayura at his feet. His entire body was shrouded with heavy blankets. Kayura hastily rubbed his legs to get the feeling back into them. The only one conscious was Cale and he sat in front of the fire with Wildfire doing all he could to help him. Mia scrambled down the stairs and tripped down the last five. Crying out she silenced herself by biting her lip and forcing herself to get to her feet and help them. The others whipped around during her tumble and Sage was beside her in that same instant. She shoved him away and snarled. "No! Damn it! Them… I'm fine!" she ordered defiantly and clenched her teeth in pain as she knelt down in front of Cale. His eyes met hers gently and almost like a child's: frightened, sad, worried, and lost… Tears leaked from them as she set eyes on his. Wrapped inside that blanket and shivering furiously, he whimpered and fell against her chest, trying desperately not to have her see him cry. Her arms folded around him and she buried her face into his tangled mass of blue hair hushing him silently. Ryo watched them closely and poked at the fire. "That's as hot as I can get it guys. Do we have anymore blankets?"
"The ones upstairs in the bedrooms, but the girls are asleep," Sai said and bundled a very disoriented Dais. "If they wake up now… it's not a good idea… trust me…"
"Where's the Ancient?" Mia asked after all ready knowing the answer. Rowen returned from upstairs and found that all eyes were on him. "What?"
"Tell her man…" Kento sighed and poured more warm water into the bowl in front of Kayura. "Not too hot, Hardrock… We don't want his feet to burn."
"Sorry…" Rowen saw Mia consoling a distraught yet silent Cale.
"… He's upstairs in his room. I put him in his bed… He's still warm," he said and returned to the side of Sekhmet, who was waking slightly. Sage straightened and stared at him in shock. "That's impossible if he's been dead for hours…" he breathed.
"You go up there and touch him! It's like he's sleeping…" he said softly. All was silent for a long while and slowly each of them came to.
Kayura pulled back the red cape that wrapped his head and gasped, backing away quickly. His hair had grown even longer and two pearly white fangs peeked out from the flesh of his lips. He slept soundly. His face was innocent, despite the intense profile he had gained. "Duuuude!" Kento whispered in amazement. "What the fuck happened?!" Cale lifted his head from Mia's shoulder and cleared his throat. "We have to chain him, NOW."
*****
Cale slowly backed away from Anubis as he lay upon the hardwood floor of the attic. Mia peered over the railing of the staircase that lead up to the attic. She slipped behind Dais and slid a blanket over his broad shoulders. He turned and smiled softly before looking back at Anubis. "Think it'll hold him?" he whispered.
"He'll never break those chains, however… I'm not too confident about the wood," Cale replied. Ryo switched on a light. Dais and Cale groaned with a splitting headache pounding in between their eyes. "Sorry… What's going on you guys?" Cale shrugged. "Nearest I can tell, the death of the Ancient… enraged him and… he changed…" He ran his eyes over the claws and torn jeans that his muscles ripped. He lay on his stomach and slept soundly. Mia stepped towards him slowly. "Gods, he must be freezing," she murmured. Dais snatched her away.
"Don't! He doesn't know who you are or any of us… He could kill you! We must wait until it wears off…" he said. Mia frowned and wrenched herself away from him.
"Me staying with all of you can kill me too, Dais. I'm not going to let him freeze to death!!" she snapped and started again with a heavy blanket in her arms. Carefully she crept towards him and laid the blanket over him warmly. He stirred and huddled into a ball. He did not wake, but seemed to whimper in his sleep. "… Poor dear," she breathed.
"Has this happened before?" Rowen asked. Cale, Sekhmet, and Dais exchanged glances and fell silent. Finally Dais spoke. "Yes… A while before we attacked this world… We didn't like Anubis one bit… We found amusement in taunting him. It was always about either his mother or father… his woman… his human compassion that we lacked… One day… he snapped… I was nearly killed," he explained.
"Since then… Sekhmet has been the only one with balls enough to insult him," Cale added. "We didn't want that to happen again… He was so powerful, especially for a half-breed… It was strange. A few days later, he retuned to normal with no recollection of what happened…" Kayura wrapped a long string of prayer beads around him in a box like formation quietly. "If he does break the wood, he can't go any where," she said. "Hopefully, he'll return to normal by morning… We should all be careful and not anger him or upset him… He could go ballistic again…"
There was a sound on the steps and Sai turned around and saw Nasake on the stairs. "Love, what are you doing up!?" he whispered harshly. "It's not safe…"
"Masaki-san's dead?" she asked as she stood from where she sat. Sai saw her tears and then felt his own come. "… Yes…" Rowen met her on the steps looked back at her for her to follow. "C'mon, hon… You need to rest. I'll make you something to help you sleep. We'll explain it in the morning…"
Kento folded his arms and leaned against the wall. "What are we gonna do about Kiku and Tori? She's gonna fucking go ballistic when she finds out… No doubt try to kill Red over there…" he murmured.
"… Tell her the truth," Sekhmet said tiredly. "Can we talk about this tomorrow?"