Chapter 28 - The Power of Love
The Ronin spun towards the sound of the door closing, but there was nothing to be seen. They were cast entirely into darkness.
"Dani!" Sage cried out. "What's going on? Where are we?"
In a sudden, blinding flood, the lights came on. The warriors gasped and reached up to shield their eyes, squinting in the sudden brightness.
"Thank you, Daniella," a booming voice dominated the room, as shocking in its power and volume as the light had been. "You have brought all five to me!"
Sage's eyes soon adjusted, and he could see the towering, monstrous visage of Talpa. The disembodied face filled the room, looming over the warriors. From behind him stepped out all four of his Warlords. "Dani!" he looked around for her frantically, but quickly caught sight of her near the massive door. "Dani, what's happening?"
Calmly, Dani stepped forward and joined the line of warlords. "What's happening is that we're ending this war."
With no further warning, all five Ronin Warriors were lifted into the air. Dani watched impassively as they began to writhe and scream in pain, experiencing the same torture Talpa had inflicted upon her only days earlier. She did not turn away.
"So, Daniella," Anubis said in his unpleasant voice as the Ronin bellowed out their curses, "It was quite a surprise to see you leading all five Ronin here after having been missing for days. I admit, I wanted to attack at the gates, but Talpa said to wait and see what you were doing. Would you care to explain?"
"I saw an opportunity, and I took it," Dani said with a shrug. "Sorry I didn't have time to tell anyone, but you can't argue with my results."
"I suppose not," agreed Anubis, "Though Master Talpa has… opinions… about your disappearance." He turned to her as a wide, cruel smile spread across his face.
The Ronin were dropped to the floor abruptly. Cye lay there panting, still feeling the phantom pain that wracked his entire body. He felt as if had been flayed alive, only to reach the doorway of death and then begin anew. Slowly, he picked his head up. "Traitor!" he screamed at Dani, anger twisting his features. The sound tore painfully through his ragged throat, ripped apart from his screams. He tried to stand, but stumbled and fell again. He looked up only to see Dani looking at him with pursed lips, her face otherwise expressionless. "Bitch!"
The massive doors opened again, and legions of dynasty soldiers marched in. Cye felt only an empty dread as they filled the room, squeezing all through the edges and the corners. They left an open space in the center occupied by Talpa, the warlords, and the Ronin, none of whom had been able to stand.
"It's going to be the last thing I do," Ryo said, spitting blood on the floor as he stumbled unsteadily to his feet. "But I'm going to kill you." He glared daggers at Dani, shakily drawing his katanas and pointing them straight at her.
"Oh, such drama," drawled Dais. "Master, can we end this now?"
"Soon, my impatient soldier. I intend to enjoy this." A new wave of pain shot through the Ronin, sending Ryo back to his knees. This attack was short-lived but intense, a promise of what was to come. "Soon they will beg to relinquish my armor back to me."
Dani felt chills run down her spine as she felt Talpa's attention turn to her. His eyes and face did not move, but she still knew immediately as the weight of his gaze settled solely upon her. She dared not turn and look at him.
"Anubis."
Anubis turned towards her again, the hateful, toothy smile again on his face. With no preamble, he drew his kusari-gama and slammed the weight into her chest. Dani was knocked sideways, hitting the ground with a loud clang. A gasp, quickly muffled, rose from somewhere in the room. Anubis stood over her, his next attack readied, but his attention turned away from her. All eyes roved instead to the source of the noise.
Dani closed her eyes tightly for a brief moment.
"And why does the punishment of my servant concern you?" thundered Talpa's voice. "This child has betrayed you and brought you to me. She has lied and connived. She is mine."
Slowly, Sage climbed to his feet. His legs felt like jelly, but the Armor of the Halo supported him and gave him enough strength to stand.
"I was merely surprised that you would turn on your own." He kept his gaze fixed forward, unable to look towards the Warlord of Revenge, still laying on the ground.
"He cares for her!" Dais crowed from in front of Talpa.
Sekhmet snickered next to him. "What, for her? That scrawny bitch? Impossible. Even a Ronin surely has more sense than that."
"Is this true? Do you harbor feelings for my Warlord?"
"I tricked him, Master," Dani said, climbing to her feet. "He thought we were in love." She grinned cruelly towards Sage as she brushed herself off. "It made it so easy to fool them."
"Ah, that was wise, Daniella. And makes this so much sweeter."
With these words, the full weight of Talpa's power fell onto Dani. It screamed through Dani, burning nerves and severing muscles. A horrible, twisted scream tore from her throat as pain unlike she had ever experienced surged through her body. Before, when she felt Talpa's power as a thousand cuts, had only been a taste. Whether Talpa had been holding back before, or his full attention was on her rather than split five ways, the agony was far beyond what she had endured earlier. The pain was unlike anything that could be described. It tore her apart, clawing out her organs, squeezing her heart until she was sure it would stop. Every atom of her body was torn asunder, no two left together. Scream after scream ripped from her, unending, uncontrollable. Vomit rose from her stomach and spilled across her face and armor, but still the torment continued. The bile choked her screams, burning as some ran back down her throat.
Eventually - it could have been minutes or hours, but felt like eternity - Dani found herself coming to her senses on the floor near Talpa's dais, panting heavily. Her throat felt entirely raw, making it hurt to even breathe. She found herself covered in sick, and a lukewarm wetness streaked down her leg inside of her armor. Her body felt like it was broken into a thousand pieces, stomped on, put through a garbage disposal, and then shoved back together with tape. A ringing sound echoed in her ears, and it took a while for any other sound to make sense to her.
There was screaming and cursing. That had been going on for a while, she thought, though it was hard to say. She also heard the crash of weapons and armor, but couldn't find the strength to raise her head to look.
"Ryo! We have to get out of here!" Someone yelled amid the sounds of battle.
"Not before we get to her!"
"She's already dead!"
Dani lay dazed on the floor, blinded by pain. This was the end. It hadn't exactly been what she'd expected. She couldn't imagine ever standing again. Her head still rang, shockwaves of suffering through her body.
Screams shot through the room from five distinct voices, and she knew Talpa had turned his attention back to the armored warriors. Thuds sounded as the dynasty warriors and warlords continued to beset the Ronin, even as Talpa laid waste to their bodies.
An armored foot connected with Dani's chest as a dynasty soldier stumbled past, but the pain barely registered. It was nothing compared to what she had just experienced.
The screams stopped, though she doubted it had to do with Talpa's mercy. The sounds of attacks continued unabated.
"Cease." Talpa's voice could clearly be heard over the battle noises, though he did not bother to lift it. Immediately, the noises cut off. "Give us space." She heard shuffling, likely as the green dynasty soldiers moved back to the edges of the room. Footsteps sounded near her as Anubis, Cale, Sekhmet, and Dais came to stand in front of Talpa again. As for the Ronin Warriors, she heard nothing. With effort, Dani dragged her eyes open and tilted her head.
From where she lay, she could only see Kento and a dark blue armored foot, both warriors sprawled on the ground. The armor she could see was scuffed and dented horribly. She couldn't turn her head to see the others better. She saw as Kento slowly drew to his knees, coughing painfully.
"I have decided to give you all a gift in your final hour," said Talpa. "Here is your traitor. While she has proven valuable, her use to me has ended. I do not keep servants who cannot follow orders. You may kill her."
She saw as Kento turned his head and looked straight at her, a grim, dark look on his face. Dani's head spun, and she again let her eyes slide shut.
"Come now, before I grow weary of this. End her."
"Is she even still alive?" Rowen's voice asked.
"How dare you question Master Talpa!" snapped Sekhmet. "Of course the girl lives, if he says it is so."
She heard shifting sounds and knew the warriors were rising and slowly approaching her. They did not walk with surety, but instead it seemed like they were limping and staggering. Soon, she felt their presence standing above her. She forcibly pulled her eyes open and looked up at them. Through her blurred vision and the dim lighting in the room, she could see the silhouettes of their armor, but couldn't make out their faces. All five stood there, looking down at her.
"Do it," she rasped out, her voice tearing its way through her shattered throat.
"Look at them," scoffed Cale. "They think they can overtake us, but they hesitate at killing the one who led them to their deaths. What fools."
"Are we sure about this?" Kento asked quietly. "I mean… look at her."
"We have to be," said Ryo grimly. "Sage?"
Dani couldn't tell which of the dark figures was Sage, but she could feel the weight of his gaze on her. She did see, however, when the one to her left gave the others a nod.
"Together?" Rowen's voice asked the group after another brief pause, one shadowed helmet turning to look at the others.
"Together," Cye agreed. As one, the warriors knelt next to Dani. They each reached out and laid a hand upon her.
At first, there was nothing. Then the feeling of warmth began to trickle through her, knitting her ravaged body back together. The sensation began moving faster, filling her to the brim, as the power of love - the virtue of the Armor of the Tempest - consumed her.
The Ronin poured everything they had into her. She felt their love for the city of Toyama, and a special love for each other. Kento's love for his family was tinged with grief, but still powerful in its strength.
"What are they doing?" Dais asked, sounding nervous.
She felt Cye's love for the water, Kento's love of food, and Rowen's love of being free. She understood their love for the citizens of the city, even though they didn't know them. The faces of Yuli and Mia - especially Mia - flashed through her mind as Ryo's love poured into her. Throughout all of the feelings of affections, the faces of the Ronin Warriors came up again and again, their devotion to one another and their cause shining through.
And then, finally, came Sage. Deep within the feelings he shared was the image of her, dirty and sweaty, but still somehow shining in his eyes.
"Stop them!" cried Talpa, but it was too late. The five warriors pulled away as Dani rose, her body shaking from the effort. Dani turned, searching, and met a pair of pale purple eyes. Sage nodded to her, then stepped back.
She turned again, looking full on at the four Warlords as they approached at a run. She took one step back, solidifying her stance with one leg behind her. "Raging Typhoon!" she cried, and unleashed the ultimate power of the Armor of the Tempest. A violent windstorm swirled around her, the immense force of it throwing the Warlords backwards. She and the Ronin stood in the eye of the storm, the winds creating a circle of space. Dynasty warriors were ripped off of their feet, flung around the room as if they weighed no more than paper. A flash of blinding lightning, paired immediately with an immense crack of thunder, flung out and struck a group of green-armored soldiers who were attempting to cling to the floor. The soldiers fell back, their armor blackened. Rain slapped into surfaces, moving fast enough to cut skin. Another streak of lightning, and a fire lit somewhere in the room, quickly suffocated by the rain.
Dani fueled the storm with every bit of love that the Ronin Warriors had shared with her, and poured in her own as well. She pictured her family at home, an ache growing in her heart as she thought of them. She recalled her hometown, and the flowers that her neighbors grew in their yard. She put in her memories of Reya, the girl she barely knew who had given her life for Dani. She allowed her affection for her friends - Ryo, Cye, Rowen, Kento, Mia, White Blaze, and Yuli - flow through her. And, finally, she opened up her heart and added in the thoughts of Sage Date.
When the blistering tempest died, again, the room was in shambles. Murals were slashed to pieces and falling off the walls. Armored soldiers lay scattered everywhere, unmoving, and the Warlords were nowhere to be seen. The walls were broken into pieces, boards and lights hanging free or already crashed to the ground. Talpa's head was still there, but it seemed paler and more translucent than before.
Dani swayed as the power faded from her body, leaving it once again broken and exhausted. The love had powered her armor and fueled her, but that was now spent, swirled away into the typhoon.
Arms caught her as she fell, then slowly and gently lowered her to the ground. Blurrily, she could see Sage's green armor learning above her. "Tell my family," she whispered. "Tell them what happened to me." Black specks floated in her vision, most thickly at the edges.
"You'll tell them yourself," he promised her, and then he was gone. She knew that he was pressing forward to finish Talpa and the Warlords while they had the upper hand. She tried to push herself up, but her weakness was too great. Her head spiraled and blackness overcame her.