Ronin Infantry

Ch 7

Talpa was on his way to see how the Warlords were handling the chibi Ronins. When he was about to pass his throne room, he heard laughter. Why was there laughter coming from there?

Anubis heard footsteps as they approached. "Dais, I hear someone coming. It sounds like Master Talpa. Call back your illusion!"

Dais gave a nod and called it back. The carnival was no longer there, but what stood in the wake was a demolished throne room. The Warlords vanished from their hiding place.

Talpa entered, and he was extremely enraged. "What have you done!?"

The chibi Ronins stopped what they were doing and turned around as they saw Talpa as he stood there with his eyes blazing. They gulped and huddled together.

"What happened to the carnival?" Rowen asked.

"What carnival are you talking about? This is my throne room! You little runts destroyed it!" Talpa shouted at them.

"No we didn't. We were on rides, played games. Music was playing." Ryo tried to explain to him.

"There is no music here, no games, no rides! Fun does not exist in my realm!" Talpa growled.

"No kidding, come on, let's get out of here." Kento said when he turned his back on Talpa and started to leave as the others followed closely behind.

"Who said you could leave," Talpa stated as he blasted black energy in front of them. "You have to clean this up!"

They whirled around and glared at him. "No way! That's against the law! You can't make us!" Rowen shouted.

"The only laws here are mine, now, clean this up or face the consequences." Talpa growled.

"You're a bad old man! You're mean!" Cye exclaimed when he stuck his tongue out at him.

Talpa smirked, "You have no idea child of how mean I can be."

"Hey! Let's show him he can't be mean to us!" Sage said as he and the others charged at Talpa and tackled him to the ground with their combined force.

"You little runts! Get off of me now!" Talpa yelled angrily as he was trying to fight them off.

"Forget you! Keep it up guys!" Ryo exclaimed when he tugged at his mask.

Kento ended up jumping up and down on Talpa's stomach like a trampoline. Sage tugged at Talpa's hair which was connected to the mask. While Rowen and Cye were kicking on Talpa's sides.

The Warlords watched from a far off room of what was going on with their master and the Ronins.

Sekhmet glanced at the others, "Do you think we should help him?"

"I'm sure Master Talpa can handle a handful of brats." Anubis replied when he crossed his arms and leaned up against the wall.

Dais leaned forward as he got a closer look of the situation. "I think, we better get to the throne room."

Sekhmet raised a brow at him, "Why? We have no reason to be there. So, what are you worried about?"

"Take a look for yourself," Sekhmet replied when he moved away and showed them what he meant.

The Warlords paled when they saw what happened next and then ran out of the room.

"It's almost...Off," Ryo said when he did one more good yank of the mask. "Ah! No face! He has no face!"

Ryo ran behind the tipped over cauldron with Talpa's mask still in his hands.

Sage, Cye, Rowen, and Kento stopped what they were doing and then looked at each other. They yelled as well when they saw what Ryo did was true. Behind Talpa's mask was no face. So the other four Ronins ran away from him and joined Ryo.

"That was scary," Cye said when he was trying to catch his breath. "I want to go home now."

"What are you talking about? I wasn't scared." Kento replied when he crossed his arms.

"Then why did you yell and run like the rest of us then?" Sage asked with a small frown.

"I wanted you to feel better." Kento replied in a huff.

"So not! Admit it Kento, you were scared too!" Rowen taunted as he stared him down.

"Ok, I was scared, but if you tell anyone, I'll come after you!" Kento replied.

As they continued to bicker among themselves at that moment the mask Ryo still had in his hands came alive. "Put my mask back onto my body you brats!"

"AH! IT'S ALIVE! RUN!" Ryo exclaimed when he threw the mask up into the air while he and the others ran away.

Just as the Warlords ran to the entrance to the throne room, the chibi Ronins crashed into them and knocked the Warlords to the ground. "Hey! Watch where you're going!" Anubis grumbled in annoyance.

They didn't even respond to Anubis, instead the five of them untangled themselves from the Warlords and continued to run away.

The Warlords got up and made their way over to Talpa's body. On the way over, Dais picked up the mask and placed it upon his body.

Talpa's eyes glowed and he got back onto his feet. "That's it! The armors are not worth dealing with them when they are in this state."

"What are you intending to do Master Talpa?" Dais inquired.

"I'm going to change them back and then send them home. They won't remember what happened here. I'll figure another way to reclaim the armors. As for the four of you, you'll be cleaing this mess up! Then I'll figure out another punishment for you later." Talpa replied with a growl. He then chanted a spell. The spell opened up a portal back to Earth.

Back in Mia's manor, the Ronins were scattered around the livingroom. Ryo was sprawled upside down in the recliner. Sage's body was underneath the glass-top table. Cye and Kento were face down on the couch upside down. Rowen was pinned under another chair which was overturned. There was opened take-out food and half-empty cans all over the place.

"Aw man, what happened," Kento asked when he and the others were becoming conscious. "My head feels like it's been hit by a mat truck."

"I don't know, but that is going to be the last time we do take-out from a restaurant down at the warf." Sage replied as he was slowly getting out from under the table.

Rowen pushed the chair off of himself and then sat up. "What a mess. It's going to take us all day to clean this up."

Ryo got himself to sit up in the recliner and then looked around at the others. "Anyone else got the feeling something happened to us, or is it just my imagination?"

"Hard to say for sure Ryo, but I agree with Kento, my head hurts. I say we get this cleaned up and then see about getting some rest." Cye replied as he was trying to get to his feet.

Ryo gave a nod, he got up from the recliner and then he went behind it when their backs were turned.

Cye walked to the kitchen and grabbed some garbadge bags and other cleaning supplies. He returned with them and set the items down on the coffee table. He saw that Sage was frowning deeply. "What's the matter Sage?"

"Did any of you see where Ryo went? He was here one minute and gone the next." Sage asked when he rubbed the back of his head.

A noise behind the recliner got their attention. The four of them made their way over to it. When they got there, Ryo stuck his head out, "Peak-a-boo!"