SailorStar9: With Chapter 27 uploaded, I present Chapter 28 of this fic. For everyone who put this fic on your favorited and followed lists and/or story alerts, thank you, but remember everyone, a lot of authors (myself included) sustain on readers' reviews.
Disclaimers: I only own the plot.
Chapter 28: Anubis Is Reborn
In front of an abandoned temple...
Anubis was alerted by Kayura's arrival when wisteria petals trailed past him.
"I've been looking for you all night long." Kayura stated. "I can't believe that you are the Ancient. The Ancient was destroyed our lord, Master Talpa. But you certainly do have a furious power. And you do not wish to serve the Dynasty. I want to see your true identity." she drew her twin jittes.
"You fool." Anubis sighed.
Kayura attacked first, letting loose a flurry of starlight beams at Anubis, before she used the opening to close in. "Why do you try to flee, rather than fight, Ancient?" she questioned, Anubis taking the fight to the temple roof and used the Ancient's staff to block off Kayura's jittes. "That skill..." she exited the temple she crashed into, Anubis having jumped off to dodge her attack. "Is not what I expected from the Ancient. Who the hell are you?"
"I have been given the duty to stop those foolish battles against the Dynasty." Anubis replied.
"How ambitious." Kayura sneered. "You basically want to bring down the Dynasty. I cannot let you live. Feel the stardust of my Starlight Swords."
"Stars only shine in the sky." Anubis remarked. "Stars that fall to the earth never shine."
"I wish to see the power of your staff again." Kayura demanded. "Prepare yourself for my ultimate sword. " she fired off a wave of horizontal energy blades at Anubis, who used the Ancient's Staff to fend off the attack. "He's holding on." Kayura was stunned. "What incredible power."
Anubis slammed the Ancient's Staff on the ground, the orb on top of the staff suddenly encased Anubis in a sphere of light and teleported him to safety.
That was clearly the Ancient's staff. Kayura mused. I mus report this to Master Talpa.
Near a waterfall...
She was formidable. Anubis admitted. I didn't know Talpa had someone like that under his control. Without this staff, I may not have made it. Does this mean my spirit has not transcended the spirit of battle? I am still not worthy of your great spirit.
At Mia's mansion...
"Cool it, Ryo!" Rowen barked.
"While we're sitting here, Sage and the others could be fighting Talpa." Ryo snapped.
"I feel the same way." Rowen soothed.
"There's no time to waste, Rowen!" Ryo insisted. "We've got to find a way in before it's too late."
"But, they're waiting for us to raid the Dynasty." Rowen reminded.
"So what?" Ryo retorted.
"Don't rush it, Ryo." Mia agreed with Rowen. "They want us to make a reckless move."
"We have to avoid anything careless that falls into their trap." Rowen added.
"I think the more impatient we get, the more we fall for Talpa's plan." Mia advised.
"What are we supposed to do, then?" Ryo demanded.
"One good thing is that the Ancient's will still lives on." Ami supplied.
"I suppose." Ryo admitted. "When that demon woman, Kayura, let loose her ferocity, we would've both been finished if the combined powers of that staff and the Nike didn't save us."
"While we're missing the other three, there's no other than the Ancient and Athena who can activate the white armor." Rowen agreed. "Someone's trying to tell us that without the power of the white armor, we can't defeat Talpa."
"Whether we can count on the Ancient or not, we still have to rescue, Sage, Cye and Kento." Ryo argued. "We're the only ones who can save them."
"You want to go, then?" Rowen questioned.
"Yeah." Ryo nodded.
"You won't get in if you fall for their plan." Rowen cautioned. "All that's waiting is a trap. However, Shinjuku was where Talpa's castle was. The Dynasty that the white armor blew away; there might be a path left there somewhere."
"That's it." Ryo realized. "That's what we have to find."
"We might get to the Dynasty without falling into a trap." Rowen noted. "How about we raid the Dynasty?" he proposed.
"We'll get our three friends back." Ryo agreed.
In Talpa's castle...
"The Ancient is alive?" Talpa echoed after hearing Kayura's report.
"No, I am not sure if he is the Ancient." Kayura corrected. "But that staff is certainly his."
"But the Ancient is the only one who can control that staff." Dais reminded.
"Ridiculous!" Sekhmet retorted. "I refuse to believe it."
"Even I, until I saw the power of that staff, thought he was someone else." Kayura admitted.
"How do you make sense of this, Master Talpa?" Cale inquired.
"Ignore him." Talpa replied. "We have nothing to fear from anyone at this point."
"That certainly is so." Dais agreed. "However..."
"We now have the armors of Halo, Hardrock and Torrent." Talpa was confident. "There's nothing to worry about. Kayura, are you prepared to lure the other two, Ryo of Wildfire and Rowen of Strata, to the Dynasty?"
"Yes." Kayura bowed.
"Kayura, we successfully captured the first three." Sekhmet reminded. "We can help you."
"Thank you, my dear Warlords." Kayura scoffed. "But I do no require your assistance."
"That very ungracious, Kayura." Dais barked.
"Now, just hold it." Talpa intervened. "Kayura has her own plan. Leave it to her."
Meanwhile...
"It's been a while since we went to Shinjuku." Yuli noted as the group prepared to travel to Shinjuku.
"This isn't a pleasure trip, Yuli." Rowen reminded.
"White Blaze, let's go." Ryo called out after Rowen shut the jeep's luggage door shut.
"That's..." Mia rested a hand on the steering wheel when the group heard the familiar clang of the rings on the Ancient's staff.
"That's..." Ryo breathed. "The Ancient."
"He was alive, after all." Rowen noted.
"I've been waiting for you, Anubis." Ami greeted Talpa's former subordinate.
"Anubis?" Ryo gaped when the former Warlord removed his straw hat.
"It was a foolish past." Anubis recounted, the group stopping by a beach. "My foolish life changed when Athena showed me her benevolent Cosmo. The senseless battles that lead to nothing... the battles I fought wearing my armor, I abandoned everything. All I have now is the staff. I only follow the path that Ancient has set out for me. I will fight the darkness that tries to extinguish the light."
"So, that's the Ancient's staff." Ryo noticed the familiar staff in Anubis' hand.
"I'd like to say I'm carrying out the Ancient's will." Anubis admitted. "But I haven't attained it yet. Wildfire, Strata, I'll tell you one thing. Do not fall for Kayura's plan."
"We know the dangers." Ryo agreed. "We've come this far because we don't fear those dangers."
"Dedication and recklessness are two different things." Anubis cautioned. "The Dynasty is different. Common sense and logic vanish like sea foam. If you're careless, you'll fall for Talpa's plan."
"I know that." Ryo stood firm. "But we must save our friends. As time runs out, we will fall into Talpa's plan."
"But if you jump into his trap, you will clearly be obliging him." Anubis reminded.
"I'm sure they believe that, too." Rowen cut in. "That, if we fall into their trap, they have us. There must be a way. We will find a way."
"Once we find that, we may be able to defeat them." Ryo insisted.
"What if you don't find the way?" Anubis asked.
"We will find it." Ryo repeated. "We'll be sure to find it."
"All right." Anubis relented. "If you are that determined, I will not stop you. Do not forget the things you've learned. Wildfire, you must open your mind, and you shall become a quiet flame. Let Athena's light guide you on your way." he made himself scarce.
En route to Shinjuku...
"The city's totally back to normal." Mia gawked at the bustling nightlife.
"You really think you can get to the Dynasty from here?" Yuli asked.
"I'm sure there's a way in." Ryo nodded. "Somewhere below this sky."
"I'm sure they know we're on the move." Rowen added, on alert for any intervention. "I won't be surprised if they attacked at anytime."
True to Rowen's suspicions, Kayura was already standing on top of a skyscraper. Raising a hand, she sent down a thunderstorm on the populace, scattering the city dwellers and shorting out shops and vehicles. Taking advantage of the darkness, she leapt down onto the street.
"Let's go, Rowen!" Ryo ordered and the two Ronin Warriors took to jumping onto the stranded vehicle roofs to the battlefield.
"She's coming, Ryo." Rowen warned as Kayura entered the fight.
"I've been waiting for you, Wildfire, Strata." Kayura greeted. "Master Talpa is waiting for you. Allow me to welcome you to the Dynasty."
"Sorry, but we'll pass on that." Rowen responded. "I get the feeling it's going to cost us big."
"We'll find our way in." Ryo declared.
"Then, you'll have to overcome my powers." Kayura challenged. "I'd like to have a good look at the power of the Ronin Warriors." summoning the blaze behind her, she shot two streams of flames at the two teens who jumped to dodge the attack.
Ryo attacked first with a punch, which Kayura easily side-stepped.
Rowen came down from above with a flying kick and Kayura easily dodged the attack.
"Watch it, Rowen." Ryo warned. "She's really fast."
"Technique like that won't get you anywhere." Kayura tsked. "Put on your armors. Otherwise, you will be obliterated by my swords." she drew out her twin jittes.
"We'll transform when we have to." Ryo snapped. "Don't you tell us what to do. We're just going have to try." he and Rowen charged Kayura again. "She vanished?" he gaped when Kayura jumped to dodge their unison kicks.
"Feel the shine of my Starlight Swords!" Kayura was in the air and let loose a wave of energy blades at the two Ronin Warriors. "How sad." she mocked the two fallen fighters. "Prepare yourself." she prepared to take out Ryo and Whiteblaze pounced in, scratching Kayura's amulet, her forcefield stopping the white tiger in mid-jump.
"He scratched me..." Kayura gasped.
"Ryo, let's transform!" Rowen barked.
"Armor of Wildfire, Tao Jin!"
"Armor of Strata, Tao Inochi!"
"How could it have stuck me with its claws?" Kayura muttered. "Unforgivable!" she snapped and sent a stream of stardust straight at Whiteblaze.
Said white tiger allowed the attack to hit, taking on Blackblaze's form after he was struck.
"Take the Starlight Swords!" Kayura barked.
"Here she comes, Rowen!" Ryo shouted.
"Right." Rowen fired off an arrow at the airborne Kayura who easily dodged the projectile and let loose another wave of starlight energy.
Ryo, Rowen and Blackblaze instantly raised their energy shields to block off the attack.
"So, your armors protected you?" Kayura noted. "But it's too late. All that bathes in the light of my Starlight Swords shall submit to me." she declared, the trio were sinking into the molten metal. "As such, those armors are now mine. You will now come with me to Master Talpa. You again?" her attention was diverted by the shine of the Ancient's staff.
"I will not allow this." Anubis barked. "Go, Wildfire, Strata!" he tossed the staff into the air, creating an energy bridge to connected to the Dynasty.
"No!" Kayura exclaimed, as Ryo, Rowen and Blackblaze were swept into the energy bridge.
"Forget it." Anubis rebuked. "Those of the Dynasty cannot enter that pillar of light."
"You're not Anubis, are you?" Kayura recognized the former Warlord. "They're headed for the Dynasty." she smirked. "We've practically captured them." she then retreated.
SailorStar9: This chapter is officially over. Read and review.
