SailorStar9: Figured I needed to get this chapter out before you guys hunt me down. So this is Chapter 16. Read and review.
Disclaimers: Nothing here are mine, well, except the plot.
Chapter 16: Raid on Talpa's Castle
Were we last left off, the Ancient entrusted Athena to his disciples before using the last of his life to create the energy bridge to Talpa's domain.
"I can't believe that the Ancient is really dead." Kento remarked.
"Ancient One..." Cye muttered a prayer to his mentor.
"The Ancient must have used all of his power create the bridged for us." Ryo commented.
"This means we are to cross that bridge and head into Talpa's castle." Sage noted.
"Okay, let's go." Rowen instructed. "We can't let the Ancient One's death be in vain."
"Yeah." the rest of the Ronin Warriors nodded in agreement as the five positioned themselves at the entrance of the energy bridge. Anubis remained silent as he stood before the bridge.
"Don't you guys lose to Talpa." Yuli told them.
Ryo nodded, "We'll defeat Talpa and all five of us will be back safely. We'll do what we have to save the people of Tokyo and your parents."
"I'm afraid I won't be of much help from this point on." Athena told the six warriors.
"Athena..." Sage blinked.
"I'll leave Talpa to you. I'll also use this time to prevent Talpa from gaining more human souls." Athena replied.
"How?" Ryo asked.
"What do you intend to do, Athena?" Anubis asked.
Athena said nothing as she just walked down the road, towards a skyscraper.
"Athena!" Ryo called out as the five Ronin Warriors ran after her.
In response, Athena rose her Cosmo and prevented the five from coming any closer. Then she continued walking until she reached the entrance of the building.
Turning back, she called out, "Everyone, you must not concede defeat. Because if the world is to have peace once more, it'll depend on all of you."
"We understand." Ryo nodded.
Athena returned his nod and turned back, raising her Cosmo as she entered the building. As her Cosmo radiated outwards, the entire building was surrounded in her tremendous aura.
"You take care of each other." Mia warned.
"Whiteblaze, I want you to look after Mia and Yuli." Ryo told the white tiger.
The said large cat growled in response.
"All right, are you guys ready?" he turned to his comrades.
"Too late to ask now." Kento replied.
"Let's stick together." Rowen advised. "Let's go!"
"Yeah!" the five Ronin Warriors chorused.
With a battle cry and a leap, Ryo lead the six into the energy bridge.
"Good luck." Yuli muttered.
Ancient One, please watch over them. Mia pleaded mentally.
Back in Talpa's castle, the evil overlord chuckled, "How foolish are you Ancient One. You are dead and you still resist me? But I'm impressed with the determination of your disciples. Arise Nether Spirits!'
At his command, numerous Nether Spirits arose from their slumber.
"I want all of you to attack them. I want to see the power of their armor!' Talpa ordered.
Obeying their master, the Nether Spirits flew out of the castle to attack the bridge.
"What's that?" Mia gasped as she saw the Nether Spirits surround the bridge.
"What the heck is this?' Kento inquired, sensing something was very wrong.
"Nether Spirits!" Sage exclaimed.
Each glowing pink, the Nether Spirits rose and channeled their power to attack the bridge.
"They're trying to destroy the bridge!" Rowen realized as the group felt the first impact.
"What's going to happen, Mia?" Yuli asked fearfully.
"Is there something we can do, Rowen? We're in big trouble if this continues!" Sage asked, the group floating helplessly as the bridge was getting bombarded by the Nether Spirits' continuous attack.
"Ancient One..." Mia muttered.
"What is this?" Ryo asked as the bridge suddenly started to emit different colors of light.
"Is the bridge going to be destroyed?" Cye wondered.
"Damnit!" Sage let out a rare curse.
"No, it's not it. Look carefully." Rowen objected.
In response, lightning streaked up the energy bridge before bursting into numerous steams of light that eliminated the Nether Spirits.
"Amazing..." Yuli breathed in awe.
"The Ancient One... this is the power of the Ancient." Mia gasped.
"Incredible." Cye was astonished.
"The Ancient did build this bridge after all." Sage remarked.
"Don't let your guard down. Anything could still happen." Rowen warned.
Back in his castle, Talpa chuckled, "Ancient, I'm impressed. But your power does not reach inside my castle. I will never return the six armors."
"This is it." Ryo noted once the group arrived at the castle gates.
"This is Talpa's castle." Rowen remarked.
An arrow suddenly flew towards the group and Cye quickly swatted it away
"Dynasty Soldiers!" Ryo gasped as more arrows were buried on the ground before them.
In response, the said soldiers jumped up form the ground before them.
"They're trying to stop us." Ryo hissed. "Come on!"
The group managed to dodge the attacks that were thrown at them.
"Damn!" Sage cursed as another soldier blocked his path.
Ryo was about to head forward when he too was blocked by another soldier.
Back in the castle, the three Warlords were in the lava pit in the dungeon, writhing in pain as they received the energy of the Nether Spirits.
"If this will mean more power, we can bear this!" Cale commented.
"Sekhmet, Dais, Cale." Talpa appeared before his Warlords.
"Master Talpa." Dais greeted.
"The Ronin pests and the annoying traitor are at the castle gates." Talpa announced.
"Master Talpa, please give us a chance to eliminate this problem." Sekhmet pleaded.
"We can take them on now." Cale agreed.
"My Dark Warlords... infuse yourselves with the power of the power of the Netherworld. This will complete you." Talpa declared.
At his order, the Nether Spirits' powers reached their climax as they bathed the three Warlords in their power.
Outside the castle gates, the six warriors were engaged in battle with the sea of Dynasty Soldiers.
"We'd gotta do something. There's no end to this!" Kento complained as he tackled a soldier away.
Ryo parried off a spear with his armguard.
"Fighting them will just tire us out." Rowen agreed.
"We can't take this much longer." Sage added his two cents.
"Looks like we have to armor up." Cye suggested.
"Okay!" Ryo agreed.
"Quake With Fear!" Anubis unleashed his attack at the Dynasty Soldiers.
Taking this opportunity, Ryo jumped up.
Taking their leader's cue the other four followed suit.
"Armor of Wildfire, Tao Jin!"
"Armor of Halo, Tao Rei!"
"Armor of Strata, Tao Inochi!"
"Armor of Torrent, Tao Shin!"
"Armor of Hardrock, Tao Gi!"
Fully armored now, the five Ronin Warriors poised on top of the side wall.
"Let's go!" Ryo called out, unsheathing his katanas as he leapt into battle.
One by one, the five Ronins took out their opponents.
"Take this! Arrow Shockwave!" Rowen called forth his surekill.
His attack literally pulverized the sea of Dynasty Soldiers.
"Talpa, we're coming for you!" Ryo cried out.
Jumping up, he unleashed his attack,'Flare Up Now!', sending the boomerang of energy at the castle entrance.
However, the energy was reflected back at him.
"No!" Ryo gasped in shock.
The energy boomerang continued to its destructive path, throwing the rest of the Ronin Warriors off their feet.
"Well, well, my annoying little pests." Talpa chuckled.
"Talpa!" Rowen hissed.
"Why you! Come down now!" Kento demanded.
"Not to rush it, but I have a wonderful gift for you." Talpa told him.
That said, he disappeared as three red lightning bolts came down.
"What is that?" Rowen asked.
"Dark Warlords!' Ryo replied.
Truth to be told the three Warlords stood before them, each brimming with evil energy.
"Web of Deception!" Dais unleashed his attack which threw the six warriors off their feet.
"Black Lightning Slash!" Cale let loose his attack, engulfing the six warriors in his darkness.
"Snake Fang Strike!" Sekhmet released his attack, sending all six warriors to the ground.
"They've gained so much power!" Ryo gasped as he struggled to get up. "But how?"
Dais laughed, "Now you know what our true powers are."
"The power Master Talpa has given us is more than enough to crush all of you!!" Cale mocked.
"That's only if you still have any courage left." Sekhmet scorned.
The Warlords laughed and disappeared.
"Did they receive the same power-up you did?" Sage asked Anubis. The former Dark Warlord nodded.
"Incredible power..." Cye muttered.
"What do we do?" Sage asked.
"We fight them, of course." Ryo replied.
After a while, the group stood before the Dynasty gate.
"Now we go in." Cye noted.
"Behind this gate is Talpa." Ryo added.
"Kento, open the gate." Sage instructed.
"Okay, leave it to me." Kento replied and pushed the gate open.
"Be careful, you guys." Ryo warned as the gate flew open.
His warning came too late as the group fell into the darkness behind the door.
"No! We're being sucked in." Ryo remarked in horror.
"What the...?" Sage gasped.
"What is this?" Ryo's eyes widened at the swirling darkness before him.
"Cale, the Warlord of Corruption." Sage replied.
After a while, Sage used the light of his sword to see through the darkness.
"Are you all okay?" the Warrior of Light asked.
"We got separated from the others." Anubis told him. "It looks like it's just you and me, Halo."
Sage did not have the time to reply as a masked fighter appeared before him, swinging his sword and Sage dodged the attack.
However, the figure suddenly appeared behind him, knocking Sage forward.
"Cale, I know it's you!" Sage called out to his nemesis. "Come out and face me!"
The said Warlord laughed, "Welcome to my temple of darkness. I will have you enjoy the cocoon of darkness of my making!"
"Do not be fooled by his illusions, Halo! " Anubis warned.
"Silence you traitor!" Cale hollered. "Black Lightning Slash!"
"Quake With Fear!' Anubis used his surekill to repel Cale's attack, though some streams of darkness found their way to Sage.
Sage barely managed to deflect the attack.
Cale laughed some more as his darkness overwhelmed the two warriors.
"May the light of Halo show the way to Cale." Sage commented, concentrating on his power.
"I see him!" Sage cried out, his sword reflecting where Cale was.
"There Cale!" he shouted, light glowing for his blade as he slashed at the Warlord of Corruption.
"Now Halo!" Anubis called.
Cale laughed as his disguise was unrevealed.
"You're much braver than I thought, Sage of Halo." he praised.
"Cale, I'm not afraid of your darkness." Sage told him. "I'll finish you first before defeating Talpa."
Cale laughed, "Don't be foolish. What can you do without the Ancient?"
"What?" Sage demanded.
"It's only because of the Ancient you've made it this far. But now the Ancient is gone. You cannot beat me without the Ancient." Cale replied.
"What?" Sage hissed. "I will show you the true power of the Halo right here and now!"
"Stop this Halo." Anubis raised his arm to stop the Warrior of Light in his tracks.
"Anubis, stay out of this." Sage told him.
"Listen to you now!" Anubis rebuked. "You're already falling into Cale's trap."
"But..." Sage protested.
"Remember Halo, you still have another supporting you in this battle." Anubis reminded him.
"You think you can go up against my new power? Not even your precious Goddess can help you now!" Cale challenged as he leapt towards the two.
Sage met the Warlord of Corruption in midair as they clashed.
"What the..." Sage gasped as the two opposing elements were unrivaled.
"I've got you! This is the end!" Cale announced, jumping to attack Sage.
"What... what is this?" the Warlord of Corruption gasped as he felt a powerful yet soothing aura drive his darkness away.
"It's Athena." Sage told him.
"Quake With Fear!" Anubis unleashed his attack at his former comrade.
Both Ryo and Cye awoke to another Warlord's domain.
"We sure got thrown around there." Ryo commented as he got up.
"Are we still inside the castle?" Cye asked.
The two gasped when they saw a giant statue before them.
"The Demon of Venom." Cye recognized the statue.
"This must be hell then." Ryo remarked.
His next sentence was cut short as the two found themselves sinking into the ground.
"What is going on?" Cye blinked in confusion.
"The floor..." Ryo gasped.
"Welcome to my toxic hell hole." Sekhmet chuckled.
"What? " Cye hissed.
"Show yourself!" Ryo demanded.
"Silence!" Sekhmet hollered. "Repent as the whirlpool of poison swallows you up."
"Cye, let's get out of here!" Ryo told the Warrior of Water as he used his katanas to free himself.
"Not so easy." Sekhmet chortled. "There's no way out for you."
"Sekhmet!" Cye hissed at his nemesis.
"Now feel the power of the Warlord of Venom." Sekhmet taunted.
"Snake Fang Strike!" he unleashed his surekill, flinging both warriors away and making them sink into his pool of poison.
"The poison will course through your body and you will be paralyzed." Sekhmet informed them.
"Sekhmet..." Ryo hissed as he sank into the whirlpool.
"My whole body's going numb." Cye mumbled as Sekhmet laughed.
As he sank deeper into Sekhmet's poison, Cye thought, I can't let it end like this. I must... I must at least try to save Ryo.
"This shall be your grave." Sekhmet mocked.
His pleasure was short-lived when he saw a gentle golden light shining from the depths of his poison.
"What is this" the Warlord of Venom gasped as his poison pool receded..
"It's Athena." Cye replied, as he stood up.
"Super Wave Smasher!" he used his surekill to blast Ryo out of Sekhmet's domain.
"Ryo, make sure you destroy Talpa." Cye remarked, once his leader was out of the way.
Readying for battle, he faced the Warlord, "Sekhmet, you and I are going to settle this."
Sekhmet smirked, "What can you do? Ryo might have gotten away but you shall die right here." and jumped down to attack the Warrior of Water.
"Incredible... how could he get so powerful in such a short time?" Cye wondered aloud as Sekhmet parried him away.
"Die!" Sekhmet hollered, unleashing yet another 'Snake Fang Strike' on Cye, blasting the Warrior of Torrent away.
Meanwhile, Kento and Rowen found themselves on a spider's web in the third Warlord's domain.
"Damn, what is this place anyway?" Kento asked.
"These guys..." Rowen replied.
Dais laughed, "Welcome to my world of illusions."
"Is that you, Dais?" Rowen demanded.
Dais laughed harder, "This is my domain, the world belonging to the Warlord of Illusions and it shall be your graves!"
"What're you talking about?" Kento hissed.
"Show yourself!' he demanded, throwing the clawed end of his weapon in a random direction.
"Not another of Dais' illusions." he commented when his attack missed its target.
"Strata and Hardrock, you shall both die and meet the grim reaper." Dais told them
"Web of Deception!" the Warlord unleashed his attack from the numerous statutes surrounding the two.
"Damn, there's no end to this!" Kento complained as he deflected Dais' attack with his weapon.
"Kento, find the real Dais." Rowen told him.
"I know, but where?" Kento asked.
Dais laughed as his attack struck the two mercilessly.
"Leave this to me, Kento. Find the real Dais, all right?" Rowen replied.
Just the, a soothing golden aura flooded the battlefield, dispelling Dais' illusion.
"It's..." Kento wondered aloud, as the Goddess's Cosmo radiated in the battleground.
"Athena..." Rowen finished the sentence. "She's helping us, even though she's protecting Earth."
"I found you, Dais!" Kento called out, tackling the statute which Dais had hidden in.
His illusion revealed, Dais showed himself, "So my delusion had ben discovered. Looks like we've really underestimated that Goddess of yours."
"Dais, I hate people who are always trying to fool others." Kento told him harshly.
"Shut our mouth!" Dais hollered.
"I'll take you to hell with me." Kento swore.
"Kento!" Rowen called out as he landed back on the spider's wed.
"Rowen, I 'll leave Talpa to you. You'd better defeat him!" Kento called back as he and Dais disappeared into the darkness.
"Kento!" Rowen cried out.
"Don't you die, Kento." he remarked as Kento and Dais disappeared from sight.
"Talpa, where are you?" Ryo demanded as he rushed straight into the heart of Talpa's castle, the doors sliding open one by one.. "Face me!"
"Talpa..." the Warrior of Fire gasped as the last door opened and the ghastly figure of Talpa's head appeared before him.
The evil overlord chuckled, "You've done well in getting here, Wildfire. But why are you alone? What happened to your friends?"
"Talpa!" Ryo hissed. "The darkness will never win! Prepare yourself!!"
"Wait!" Anubis appeared just in time to stop the Ronin leader.
"I'm here too." Rowen added.
"Rowen. You're okay." Ryo turned to smile at his friend. "Where's everyone?"
"I don't know but I'm sure they're all right." Rowen replied.
Turning to Talpa, he added, "Talpa, I have a question. Why have you taken Tokyo hostage?"
Talpa chuckled, "Strata, don't you know? The Netherworld and the human world are one. Take a look."
The two Ronins turned to the screen and were stunned by what they saw: numerous Nether Spirits.
"These are..." Ryo gasped.
"The people who were captured." Rowen noted.
"What's that?" he gasped as the Nether Spirits began to take shape above the captured people.
"What's happening?" Ryo inquired.
"The Netherworld becomes stronger, gaining power as it feeds on human souls. Human grudges, as long as such emotions exist, we will never be destroyed." Talpa explained. "In other words, it is the negative feelings and emotions of you human that allow us to exist."
"Talpa!" Ryo hissed. "In the name of the Ronin Warriors, I will defeat you. I'll have you return these people."
"I wonder if you can." Talpa taunted.
His eyes glowing an evil red, he used his power to attack the three fighters.
"You think the likes of you can actually defeat me?" he mocked, his power flaring up.
"Talpa!" Rowen yelled, firing his arrow.
"Rowen!" Ryo called out to his friend as his attack backlashed on him.
"Anubis, Rowen..." he turned to the older fighter.
The former Warlord nodded," Leave Strata to me." and he went off after Rowen.
"Talpa, prepare yourself!" Ryo cried out as he dashed forward to attack.
With an enraged scream, he slashed the evil overlord's head, only to be blasted out of the castle.
Elsewhere, the three remaining Ronin Warriors were fighting a battle on their own. Sage blasted out from a side wall as he clashed against Cale. Cye emerged from underground, taking Sekhmet upwards with him. Kento came out violently from another building's wall, with Dais in tow.
SailorStar9: Phew, this chapter is finally done. Read and review.
