SailorStar9: Figured I needed to get this chapter out before you guys hunt me down. So this is Chapter 11. Read and review.
Disclaimers: Nothing here are mine, well, except the plot.
Chapter 11: Assault on the Dynasty
"Close the gates to the Netherworld!" Talpa ordered. The sky grew overcast as a thick fog encased the surrounding area.
The group was seen walking through the thick fog.
"What's with this fog anyway?" Ryo asked.
"Must be the power of the Netherworld." Kento replied.
"We can't see which way is east or west with this." Ryo remarked.
"Talpa must have sealed off the Netherworld." Mia added.
"Sealed?" Yuli echoed. "Does that mean we can't get to Shinjuku?"
"Now that the five of us are reunited, Talpa must guard his home turf carefully." Sage explained.
"But does he think he can keep us away with just fog?" Cye questioned.
"This isn't any ordinary fog." Mia supplied.
"What do you mean Mia?" Ryo asked.
"Just something my grandfather said." Mia replied. "The gates of the Netherworld are protected by a fog moat, guarding like a stone wall with no stones through no one shall be able to penetrate. Only those spirit pilgrims of the Netherworld shall pass."
"A fog moat?" Sage echoed.
"You mean we could be standing in a moat with no water right now?" Cye asked.
"It kind of feels like we're standing on water." Yuli agreed.
"This isn't the time to be awed by Talpa's power." Kento retorted. "Let's just go already."
"He's right." Ryo agreed. "Whatever may happen we still have to go."
Then the group pressed forward.
Just then, Whiteblaze growled lowly.
"Whiteblaze, what's the matter?" Ryo asked the white tiger.
With a loud growl, the white tiger pounced off.
"Whiteblaze!" Ryo called out as he ran after the animal, the rest of the group following behind.
After some time, the overgrown feline stopped and was growling at something when Ryo caught up with him.
Then, the Warrior of Fire gasped when he saw the fog moat before him.
"Look! A wall of fog!" Yuli exclaimed.
"A stone wall with no stones huh?" Ryo echoed.
"What's that? Should we be afraid of some fog?" Kento scoffed as he walked towards the fog wall. "He thinks he built a wall out of this fluffy stuff?"
"Hang on!" Rowen warned as Kento reached out to touch the fog wall. "Don't be so eager to walk into that fog."
"That's right." Ryo agreed. "We don't know what behind it."
"Then what are we supposed to do?" Kento asked.
"Kento, give me a hand." Cye told him, pushing a minivan along.
Kento sighed, "I think we;re being way too cautious."
With a quick push, Cye sent the van forward but not before Kento jumped into it.
"Kento!" Cye blinked.
"I'll have to see what the big fuss is about. See ya." Kento grinned as he rode the van forward.
"We'll lose the advantage if one of us goes out alone." Sage remarked.
Back with Kento, the van was struck midway into the fog.
"There's no need to worry." Kento assured himself. "Nothing's going to happen."
After a while, he looked around, "Huh? So nothing's actually going to happen?"
Getting off, he sighed, "If nothing's going to happen, that's a bit of a letdown."
A slight movement alerted him from behind and Kento barely managed to jump away from the wind strand that had appeared.
"What the..." the orange clad warrior gasped when he saw the wind strands carrying the van up.
Another two wind strands flew towards him and Kento jumped to avoid them, causing them to collide with each other.
The Warrior of Earth barely had time to dodge when the wind treads threw the van at him and Kento was thrown out of the fog wall along with the van.
"Kento!" Cye and Ryo gasped at their fallen friend.
"That's no ordinary fog." Kento warned, throwing the van off himself.
He had barely got his sentence out when the two wind threads from before emerged form the wall and proceeded to drag him back in.
"Get back!" Sage cautioned, placing himself before the non-fighters as Ryo leapt in to save Kento.
"Get out of here!" Sage warned, kicking the wind strand that had come for him. The three non-fighters took off running.
Cye jumped up to save the captured Kento, only to be caught by the wind threads himself.
Rowen then jumped in, cutting Kento free with Ryo doing the same with Cye.
Mia and Yuli were running frantically away until Yuli tripped over a manhole cover.
"Yuli!" Mia gasped, stopping in her tracks.
Yuli let out a terrified scream as the wind threads closed in on him.
Athena quickly placed herself before the boy, her Cosmo expanding. The wind threads recoiled after coming in contact with her Holy Cosmo and Ryo took this chance to carry Yuli away. Whiteblaze then leapt in to carry the two females off on his back.
"So those annoying pests have come." Talpa remarked as he viewed the proceedings on his viewing screen.
"Come, Dais, Warlord of Illusion!" the evil overlord commanded.
The said Warlord appeared before Talpa.
"You summoned me, Master Talpa?" Dais inquired.
"Do you know that those annoying pests have arrived within the boundaries of my castle?" Talpa asked.
"I'm aware of that." Dais replied.
"Dais, I shall give you a chance to win my favor." Talpa offered.
"It's my greatest pleasure to serve." Dais bowed respectfully. "Master Talpa, I have a plan in mind to deal with this."
"What is it?" Talpa asked.
"I must ask that you open the gates." Dais replied.
"What? You want to open the gates and let those annoying pests in?" Talpa inquired.
"Through the gates of the Netherworld pass multitudes of Nether Spirits, thousands of spirit pilgrims pass through when they are open. If we were to invite the Ronin Warriors through, the powers of their armors will be neutralized." Dais explained.
"If that's so, Dais, then you can use your power and destroy them like the mice they are." Talpa noted. "But failure will not be allowed once the gates are open."
"Yes sir! I will not disappoint you." Dais replied.
Back the the Ronin Warriors, the group were discussing their next step.
"Where do we go from here? We can't stay here like this." Ryo inquired.
"No." Sage objected. "You saw what happened when we entered in our sub-armor. I don't think Yuli and Mia could even try."
"I know." Kento added. "Remember what Mia said?"
"Only those spirit pilgrims of the Netherworld shall pass huh?" Ryo echoed. "But..."
He was cut off mid-sentence when he noticed the fog was lifting.
"The fog is lifting" Ryo remarked.
"But why?" Mia questioned.
"It's a sign for us to go." Kento said, getting up.
"I'll check it out." he added and jumped up to the roof of a skyscraper.
"Let's see..." he noted, looking around.
"The gates!" he exclaimed, noticing the four huge doors of the Netherworld. "There are four gates!"
A moment later, the other four were on top of the building.
"What are those?" Ryo asked. "Those gates are higher than the buildings."
"Right, let's go for it." he added.
"Wait a second." Sage stopped him.
"What about Mia and Yuli?" the green-clad warrior asked.
"Right." Rowen agreed. "Athena too. We can't risk her."
"I know." Ryo replied. "We won't want to put them in any further danger."
"Do we leave them here?" Cye asked,
"But will they go along with that?" Kento inquired.
"Ryo!" Yuli shouted from below. "What's going on? Let's hurry up and go!"
"I'm coming down." Ryo shouted back.
"What''ll we do?" Kento asked.
"Ryo..." Sage pressed.
"Leave it to me!" Ryo replied and jumped down.
"Hey!" Sage and Kento called after him.
Some time later, the group arrived before the gates.
"Wow, those are huge." Yuli breathed in awe.
"This is beyond huge." Kento corrected. "Well, it's time that we enter the Netherworld."
That said, he proceeded to push the gate open.
"Talpa's castle." Ryo gasped as the castle came in to view.
"So that's Talpa's castle." Mia noted.
Yuli nodded, "All right, Ryo. Let's go."
Ryo was silent.
Puzzled, Yuli walked towards him.
"Is something wrong, Ryo?" the younger boy asked.
"Yuli, you and Mia have to stay." Ryo replied.
"What? No way!" Yuli protested. "Why do we have to stay behind? I don't want to! I'm going with you! Ryo, take me with you! Take me with you!"
Without a word, Ryo suddenly slapped Yuli across the face.
"Ryo, you don't have to hit him!" Mia scolded.
"That's why I don't like women and children hanging around." Ryo retorted. "We let you tag along before the five of us were reunited but now you're just holding us back."
"Hey, you're so cruel!" Yuli shouted. "So is that how you see us?"
"I... I... I hate you!" the younger boy screamed and ran off.
"Yuli!" Mia called after him.
"Ryo, be careful." she warned and took off after the boy.
Sage place a hand on Ryo's shoulder, "Ryo, it must be pretty tough on you."
"I'm sure Yuli will understand one day." Rowen added.
"Athena, we can't risk having you endangered, so..." Ryo turned his attention to the Goddess of Wisdom.
The reincarnated Goddess sighed and nodded, "I understand."
"Thank you." Ryo nodded.
"Whiteblaze." Ryo turned to his tiger. "You stay here and protect them."
Whiteblaze growled and took off to find Yuli and Mia.
"Kento, close the gates behind us." Ryo instructed.
"Close the gates?" Kento echoed.
"We need to resolve that there's no turning back now." Ryo replied.
"All right." Kento nodded.
That decided, the five Ronin Warriors proceeded on, with Kento shutting the gates behind them.
"Now that we're committed." Ryo remarked once the gate was shut. "Are you all ready for this?"
"Don't ask us that now." Sage replied.
"Of course I am." Kento retorted.
"Now is the time." Cye noted.
"That's right." Rowen agreed.
With their determination at the peak, the five pressed forward.
Their tracks were stopped by Dais' laughter.
"That voice..." Ryo gasped.
"Dais!" Cye hissed.
"Where are you? Come on out!" Sage demanded.
"Welcome to the Netherworld." Dais greeted them as he appeared on top of a building. "I appreciate you coming all this way just to die."
"What?" Ryo hissed before he jumped up to have a shot at the Warlord of Illusion.
"Show yourself you coward!" the Warrior of Fire demanded as Dais disappeared on him.
Dais laughed before he reappeared again, "I want you all to have a taste of my world of illusions."
"Open the gates!" he commanded.
At his command all four gates opened, causing wind to blow from the gates, the nether spirits using the winds as leverage to enter.
Blowing their flutes, the nether spirits merged their power, blowing all five Ronin Warriors away.
As the nether spirits converged into a tornado, the five Ronin Warriors were dropped painfully onto the ground.
"What the..." Ryo gasped.
"Nether Spirits." he noted, noticing the numerous spirits all around them.
"The gates through which thousands of pilgrims pass." Sage remarked.
"Dais, you coward, show yourself!" Kento demanded.
A split second later, the orange-clad warrior was hit by Dais' weapon.
"Kento!" Ryo gasped as Dais withdrew his morningstar.
"Warlord of Illusions, Dais." Ryo hissed.
Dais laughed some more before he tossed his morningstar at them. The five Ronins jumped to dodge the weapon, only to have Dais throw his weapon again in Cye's direction, knocking the backflipping Ronin off.
Sage jumped in to attack, only to be beaten back by Dais' nunchaku. Kento leapt in for an attack but he too was hit back by the Warlord's weapon.
"Stop. There's no chance of us winning in our sub-armor." Ryo remarked. "We've got to transform."
Dais laughed, "Then show me your armor annoying pests."
"I'll have you know the power of the armor of Righteousness." Ryo swore.
"Armor of Wildfire, Tao Jin!" he called forth his transformation phase.
Nothing happened.
"I can't transform." Ryo gasped.
"So, tell me where is this armor of Righteousness?" Dais taunted.
"Why? Why doesn't it work?" Ryo questioned.
Then, he looked up at the Nether Spirits above them.
"I get it." he realized. "Those spirits must be blocking our powers some how."
"You finally understand." Dais mocked. "Now it's my turn to show you."
"Web of Deception!" he called out his attack, tossing his kamas at them. All five leapt away to avoid being struck.
Ryo managed to jump out of the way of the web threads but the threads converged on Rowen, trapping him.
Dais withdrew his kamas and extended them to Sage and Ryo who were running towards him, striking the two down.
"Rowen!" Cye gasped, jumping up to save his comrade, only to be captured by Dais' web.
"Cye!" Kento gaped, quickly dodging Dais' web strings.
"Take that!" Dais taunted, pulling his kamas along with the captured Cye onto the ground.
"Why you!" Kento hissed, jumping at Dais who threw his nunchaku at him, knocking Kento back.
Dais extended his kamas at the remaining two Ronins, but Ryo used Sage's shoulders as leverage and leapt to avoid the attack. With a somersault, the Warrior of Fire proceeded to jump-kick Dais. The Warlord tried to avoid the attack, but found that he could not move since Sage had held onto his kamas.
With an outraged scream, Dais pulled himself free in the nick of time, flinging Sage off and threw Ryo off with his extended kamas. As Sage landed, Dais' kamas were instantly at his feet, the blades attaching themselves to the ground.
"Damn!" Sage let out a curse, realizing what was about to happen and was about to jump away when he too was caught by the web threads.
"Now you're finished." Dais declared, putting his kamas back on his back.
"Damn, if only we could transform..." Ryo hissed.
Back with Mia and Yuli, the older woman eventually found the boy beside her jeep.
"Yuli." she said, coming towards the boy. "You have to understand what Ryo was trying to do."
"I know Mia." Yuli replied, turning around. "Ryo just didn't want to put us in any further danger. I wanted to go with them but it's the Netherworld from here on in. we'd get in the way."
"Yuli..." Mia smiled in relief.
Just then, Whiteblaze let out a warning growl.
"Whiteblaze?" Mia blinked at the tiger.
"Oh no, that's..." she gasped, seeing the massive web behind the doors.
"They're in trouble!" Yuli exclaimed.
Truth to be told, all five Ronins were trapped on Dais' web.
"The harder you struggle, the more my web bites into your flesh." Dais remarked.
Laughing, he lowered himself to Ryo's level.
"Dais..." the captured Warrior of Fire hissed.
"You must be Ryo of Wildfire." Dais commented. "It's a shame I must kill you. Well, how about it? Swear allegiance to Talpa, the Emperor of Doom and become one of our vassals to kill Athena then your life will be spared."
"The Emperor of Doom, Talpa..." Ryo spat. "I'll be sure to..."
"What?" Dais frowned.
"I'll be sure to destroy him!" Ryo shouted out.
"I admire your bravery." Dais mocked.
"Here's a little praise." he added and cut Ryo free.
"You're all going to die without being able to transform." Dais commented once the two reached ground-level.
"This is nothing." Ryo retorted. "You'll regret releasing me from your web."
"You're the one that's going to regret it." Dais told him.
Back with Mia and Yuli, the two and Whiteblaze had arrived at the gate. There, they saw Athena already at the entrance.
Mia took a step forward into the gate but was blown back by the Nether Spirits.
"What's this?" Mia gasped.
"Are those the Nether Spirits, Mia?" Yuli asked.
With a scream, Mia took a step back and the wind stopped.
"Mia, isn't there anything we can do?" Yuli asked.
Just then, the two humans gasped when they saw Athena raise her Cosmo as she walked into the gate.
Back with Ryo, the Warrior of Fire stood alone against the armored Dais.
"Come on." Ryo challenged and Dais struck him back with his nunchaku.
"Ryo of Wildfire, this is the end of you!" Dais taunted the defeated warrior.
But the Warlord was stopped when he felt an immensely powerful aura behind him which literally flooded the entire battlefield.
"What?" Dais gasped, turning back. "Who does this great aura belong to?"
"Who is this girl?" he wondered aloud as Athena appeared before him.
"It's dangerous for you to come here, Athena." Ryo gasped.
"So she's Athena huh?" Dais noted and tossed his nunchaku at the humans.
Athena calmly rose her arms as if to protect the two humans behind her, her Cosmo deflecting the weapon easily.
"What is this light?" Dais demanded.
"The Nether Spirits, they are leaving." Ryo noted, seeing the spirits scatter.
"That damn girl..." Dais growled.
Ryo wasted no time in transforming, "Armor of Wildfire, Tao Jin!"
"I'll never forgive someone like you." Ryo swore and unleashed his attack.
His 'Flare Up Now!' tech was so powerful, its power reached all the way up to Talpa's castle.
"What?" the evil overlord exclaimed.
The sheer force of that attack not only did it Dais completely away, it also destroyed all four gates.
"The Wildfire's armor is powerful enough to penetrate my castle." Talpa hissed. "But now you have fully awakened my fury, you will not get away with it."
Now with the other four Ronins safely on the ground, the group was reunited.
"Yuli, I'm sorry." Ryo apologized. "I'm sorry for saying such horrible things."
Yuli shook his head, "I saw right through your lousy mean guy act."
"If you guys didn't help us out, who knows what state we'll be in." Kento remarked.
"All right, let's go." Ryo looked forward. "We're going after Talpa's castle."
SailorStar9: Well that's done. Read and review.
