I don't own Ronin Warriors. All OCs are mine.
Chapter 17
A ball of light appeared outside the castle, becoming bigger until it dispersed, the six warriors landing on their feet. Casting their eyes upward, the castle loomed down at them, its evil presence surrounding the fortress.
"Looks the same," muttered Kento, never take his eyes off the building in front of him.
"No, it changed," Kayura answered looking around, distressed at how much this enemy has taken away from her work. The Nether World was a beautiful place, flowers were blooming outside, some natural light peered through the clouds, and while the castle kept its golden appearance, it didn't have a sinister look to it when Talpa was in control. But now, almost all the flowers were dead except for a few that were slowly withering away. The natural light that used to show was gone, replaced by dark clouds, making the sky look as if a terrible storm were to happen. The castle was no longer golden for black had overrun its colorful state. Basically, all the color was taken away from the Nether World and darkness overran the place.
"No armies to greet us at the door?" Rowen glanced around the castle, training his eyes at the tops of the walls as he waited for someone to pop out and start shooting arrows and throwing spears at the group.
The doors in front of them opened and the group prepared for a fight and just as they were about to call their armors, the doors fully opened. Nothing was there.
"Be on your guard," warned Ryo before taking a step through the doorway. The group of warriors slowly trailed alongside him, eyes scanning the area.
From atop of the wall, Kai watched the warriors walk further into the courtyard. He smirked and then glanced up at the castle looming over the warriors. My Lord, they are here.
Sephiran chuckled as his eyes glowed red. "Excellent."
"What is it, Master?" Fuzen asked.
"The warriors are here."
The generals glanced at each other as bright smiles spread across their faces, the thrill of battle exciting them.
"Remember, my generals, you must do everything to get them to summon the Inferno armor." Sephiran stared each of them down, knowing full well their love of battle. "And you know what to do when that armor appears."
The generals bowed before Sephiran. "Yes, Master." They turned and started walking out of the room.
"Oh, one more thing." They turned to look at him. "Don't kill them." They nodded and walked out of the room.
Sephiran turned to Tiffany who was standing next to him. He got up from his seat and held his hand out to her. "I think it's time to go get ready for the main event, my dear." Tiffany walked over to him and Sephiran placed a hand on her back, leading her to their new destination.
The warriors were growing uneasy the more they walked. There was no way the enemy would let them just waltz into their territory, but it was more so the fact that no one had tried to stop them or anything.
Suddenly, Sage stopped where he was, craning his head to the side. He could have sworn he heard something just then but his eyes scanned the area, finding nothing.
"What is it, Sage?" Cye wondered, stopping to turn to him when he noticed Sage had stopped. The others had also stopped to glance back at him. Sage turned back to answer Cye, but his eyes widen. "Look out!" He pushed Cye to the ground and the others ducked as a sickle flew over their heads, barely missing Sage, piercing the ground behind the group. The weapon was pulled back slowly, the ground upheaving as it trailed back to its owner. It was pulled out of the ground and bits of dirt fell from the blade.
Malice stood before the warriors, grinning sadistically at them. He slowly spun the sickle in his hands as he stared them down.
"You're the one that first attacked us," realized Kayura.
"Yes, I am Malice," he answered, observing Kayura. "And you're the other Priestess."
"Where's Tiffany?" Ryo demanded.
"All in good time, Ronins," a new voice said. Two warriors stood on top of a wall, one wearing the armor of Illusion and the other wearing the armor of Venom.
"But where are our manners." The warrior wearing the armor of Venom bowed. "I'm Naga and my accomplice is Fuzen."
"And then there's me."
Kayura gasped in surprise, backing away from another warrior standing behind her. She hadn't noticed him creeping up behind for she was too focused on the warriors in front of her. The warrior behind her stared her down when a smile slowly crept across his face. "So innocent but deadly, just like the Priestess we have. Too bad I'm saving myself for her."
Upon hearing that, Ryo turned to him, giving him a death glare. "You touch her and you're dead."
The man chuckled. "Did I strike a nerve, little man? But alas, I was told not to touch the Priestess." He settled his gaze on Kayura. "Maybe I'll have you take her place."
Kayura backed up even further and Rowen and Sage moved closer to her, flanking either side of her.
"Karver," warned Malice, eyeing him.
"I can never have fun, can I?"
"You call that fun?" questioned Kento, clenching his hands into fists.
Karver looked at the warriors in front of him, amused that he got this reaction out of them. They all had pissed-off looks and it looked like they wanted to murder him for talking about their friend like that. If he could continue pushing their buttons, making claims of what he would to do to Tiffany, then maybe they would bring forth the Inferno armor.
"What's wrong with that? I like a challenge and the women have more of a …enticing quality about them."
Ryo glared at him then gave his friends a look which they nodded back in agreement. They called upon their armors, the rivers of cherry blossoms surrounding them felt foreign yet familiar at the same time since it had been so long since they had to call on their armors. With their armors on, the warriors drew their weapons, pointing them at the generals.
Kayura raised the Ancient's staff and a bright light came from it, surrounding the woman and replacing her clothes with her armor. Following the warriors, she took out her swords and pointed them at the generals.
"She fights too." Karver licked his lips then looked back at his comrades. "Her and the red armor are mine."
"Just remember what the Master said," warned Malice.
"I know." He waved Malice off. "I only want to have some fun." He took out his straight-back nodachi, the curved blade staring back at the warriors.
Kayura leaned over to Ryo. "I can go find Tiffany while you deal with them."
Ryo nodded to her plan. "Take Kalana and White Blaze with you."
"Got it." Kayura backed away and took off with the animals right behind them.
"Where do you think you're going?" Karver turned to her but Ryo jumped in his path, katanas drawn. "Your fight is with me."
From the safety of the castle, Sephiran and Tiffany watched the battle begin in the courtyard. He was amazed at the Ronins' skills and how they were handling themselves.
"They fight well against my generals," praised Sephiran. "I wonder how long it will last?"
A growl ripped through the air and Kalana came crashing through the ceiling, teeth bared and claws ready to tear him apart but Sephiran only side-stepped and kicked the animal away from him. White Blaze and Kayura appeared at her side.
"Why hello," greeted Sephiran. "I wasn't expecting any company until I came to join in."
"Let Tiffany go," Kayura demanded with White Blaze and Kalana growling in agreement.
"I'm afraid I can't do that. I need her for something very important."
"I'm warning you now, demon."
"Demon? No, I think the word you're looking for is," Sephiran raised his hand. "Monster." Flexing his hand, black energy shot out and pierced Kayura and the animals, bringing them to their knees.
"What did you do?!" exclaimed Tiffany.
"They're only paralyzed. Besides," Sephiran turned to her. "I don't want them to ruin the special moment." He trailed his hand across Tiffany's cheek before turning back to the fight.
Rowen side-stepped as the spike ball pierced the ground he once stood. Malice rushed toward him and swiped the sickle at Rowen who dodged it at last minute. Rowen backed up, running into someone behind him. Glancing back, ready for a fight, he slightly relaxed when he saw Kento behind him. He turned back to Malice and placed an arrow in his bow, drawing it back, when Malice swung his chain at him. Rowen quickly raised his bow to block when the chain was intercepted by a nodaci. Sage stood in front of Rowen, blade held out in front of him.
"You two ok?" he asked.
"Hanging in there," came Kento's reply. "They are a lot stronger in this armor than the Warlords."
Cye slid in next to the group, hearing Kento's comment. "That's for sure."
"Having a team meeting over there?" Fuzen mocked. "Trying to come up with the best strategy to beat us?"
"Hope you have one ready," Naga commented as he spun a circle with his curved katanas. "Poison Storm!" He slashed through the circle and reddish-purple darts flung at the group and they jumped away, the darts piercing the ground and melting it on impact.
Cye held out his yari and energy flowed at the tip. "Super Wave Smasher!" He pushed his weapon forward, launching the sure-kill at Naga who crossed his katanas when the sure-kill struck him, pushing him back a few feet. Fuzen and Malice charged at the group, breaking them off into pairs. Malice fighting Rowen and Sage while Fuzen fought Cye and Kento.
Karver fought with Ryo, trying to push the boy to use the Inferno armor but Ryo wasn't budging. The fight was drawing on and Karver knew Sephiran was probably getting impatient. He had to start pushing buttons and the only way to do that was to threaten his love. Karver swung his nodachi at Ryo who blocked it with his katanas. The two struggled to push the other back with their strength but neither of them budged.
"Where's the fight, boy?" Karver challenged. "Don't you want to save your girl?" Ryo pushed him back but Karver pressed forward, his blade pressing against the katanas. "If you don't, who's going to save her from me?"
"Shut up!" Ryo screamed, pushing Karver back again. Karver stood back, smirking at Ryo as he spun his weapon.
"What's wrong? I'm only trying to get the best out of you. If you don't give it your all," Karver crotched into a fighting stance. "I'll claim Tiffany as my own."
Ryo charged at him and swung his katanas, the blades connecting as Karver tried to keep the katanas from his face. Staring into Ryo's eyes, he smirked at the anger placed on the man's face. Just one more push, concluded Karver. His eyes darted to his comrades and observed them fighting off the warriors. He could tell they were struggling and Karver confirmed to himself that would-be Ryo's final push to get him to use the Inferno armor. Turning back to Ryo, Karver smiled cruelly at him. "Looks like your friends aren't doing so well, boy. They'll fail if you don't help them."
Ryo glanced over at his friends, noticing they were having trouble as Karver had pointed out. Everyone started out strong and could keep the generals at bay. But as Ryo stared at his friends, he could tell they were getting pushed back. He even noticed they were towards the back of the courtyard from where they all started out in the middle of the area.
"Tell me, Wildfire, are you going to bring out Inferno to save your friends?"
Ryo faltered his struggled for a moment, staring wide-eyed at Karver. How had he found out about the Inferno armor when they had never revealed it? At Ryo's shocked expression, Karver continued. "The Priestess can sing…once you push her to her limit."
Ryo's anger flared. "Your master said none of you would touch her."
Karver leaned closer to him until their faces were inches apart and whispered, "He lied."
That did it. Karver's lie had pushed Ryo to his breaking point and he wanted to end this fight, now. Releasing an angry scream, Ryo pushed Karver back with all his might, making the general stumbled back.
Sage glanced over at Ryo and the two met each other's gaze. With the look Ryo was giving, Sage knew the Inferno armor need to make an appearance. He looked at his other friends, calling out, "Form the Inferno!"
Kento, Cye, and Rowen sent their powers along withSage's over to Ryo. The four armor powers flooded through Ryo as his power mixed with the others. His armor started to glow and intense fire surrounded Ryo as the Inferno armor slowly took form.
Tiffany grimaced in pain when she felt the powers run through her body. Sephiran's eyes glowed red at this exchanged and raised his head to the ceiling. My generals, send me your powers now. Soon after, four different colored orbs flew into the room and surrounded the pair. Sephiran grabbed Tiffany's hands and she clenched them, focusing the power onto Sephiran. Energy sparked and crackled around them, Tiffany's hair-raising because of it.
Kayura could only watch in horror as a column of black smoke started forming around them. The smoke started to turn, rapidly spinning faster and faster until a tornado was formed in the spot Sephiran and Tiffany once stood. Wind howled violently around the area as energy flashed from inside the tornado. The storm of energy continued until it suddenly stilled and was then sucked in, forming a shape of a man. Tiffany stood in front of the mass, eyes squeezed shut and lips slightly parted as she fought to stay conscious. The nine powers of the armors flowed inside of her, threatening to consume her but Tiffany held it off, focusing on getting Sephiran what he wanted. The smoke started dissolving, revealing flesh. It traveled up the body to the head where the remaining smoke created a mass of hair on the top which laid on his head when it was finished.
Eyes snapped open, revealing deep sea green eyes. Sephiran took in a huge breath of his returned life and slowly let it out, a smile stretching across his face afterward. He raised his hands, turning them over as he inspected them. He lifted one arm into the air and spread out his hands then clenched it into a fist. Lowering his hand back down, he glanced at Tiffany who was staggering to stay on her feet. He reached out to steady her, slightly shocked at the feel of skin against his own. Twenty years spent in exile and a few weeks in an armored shell didn't do the feeling of his own skin against someone else's. His hand cradled Tiffany's cheek and marveled at the feeling of it against his own.
"Thank you, my daughter," started Sephiran. "For giving me my body back."
Tiffany didn't say anything, only glaring at him as she took deep breaths to keep herself awake. Sephiran looked over at Kayura and the two beasts lying beside her. As he walked closer, the animals barred their teeth but Sephiran paid no mind to them. He stopped right in front of Kayura and stared down at her. A smirk spread across his lips as he released the paralysis he had on her. "Come now, girl. Let's see what you can do."
Kayura launched herself at him, swiping her swords at him but Sephiran only dodged. He caught her by the wrist, giving her a smirk as he laid a finger on her forehead. An electric shock ran through Kayura's body and she opened her mouth to scream but no sound came out. Her body went limp, held up by Sephiran's hold. He released her wrist and she collapsed to the ground, walking over to the two animals and did the same thing.
"You said…you wouldn't-"
"I didn't kill them, they're only unconscious. But I must say," He held up his hand and dark energy appeared in the palm of his hand. "It's great to have this power again." He flexed his hand and the energy dispersed, flying away until the matter disappeared into thin air. He turned over towards Tiffany. "Let's go tell your friends the good news, shall we?"
The flames that were surrounding Ryo died down, leaving him wearing his Wildfire armor. The others hadn't felt their powers come back and they were confused along with Ryo why the Inferno armor didn't appear. The generals shared knowing looks with huge smiles on their faces and put away their weapons. The Ronins were unsure of the generals' actions but held their weapons ready in case they pulled some trick.
A pair of footsteps echoed in the courtyard and the generals parted way for the newcomer, getting down on one knee. An older man stood in the path the generals gave him and he smirked at the Ronins, sea green eyes staring them down. His black hair was gelled back so it lay evenly on his head. He wore a dark blue robe and the outline of an armor could be seen underneath the garment.
"Greetings, Ronin," the man started. "Sorry it took so long to greet you but I had to…prepare myself."
"And you are?" demanded Kento, raising his naginata to point it at the newcomer.
"I'm the one who invited you here. I'm Sephiran, ruler of this new world."
"You're not going to take over our world," declared Rowen.
"Oh?" Sephiran chuckled. "And who's going to stop me? You five? You don't know who you're dealing with." Sephiran raised his hand and an energy ball appeared in it, growing bigger until it was two feet in diameter. He pointed at the Ronins and the ball hurdled toward them but before it could connect with the warriors, the ball disintegrated and Kayura, Kalana, and White Blaze collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Smirking at their shocked reactions, Sephiran snapped his fingers and the three bodies twitched before Kayura snapped her eyes open and took in a huge breath of air which sent her into a coughing fit. Sage knelt beside her to help her up to a sitting position as the two animals slowly got to their feet, shaking from the attack.
"You ok?" Sage gently asked.
Kayura nodded, her body shaking from what she had experienced. "I could feel it. His power."
"That is only a taste of what I can do." He flexed his hand as energy crackled around it. "And I would love to show you more but," the energy dispersed at the flick of his hand. "I did promise I wouldn't hurt you. Leave this place, Ronins, if not for your sake then for Tiffany's."
"What do you mean? Where's Tiffany?" demanded Ryo, taking a step towards him.
Sephiran stared at him for a moment before releasing a sigh. "I guess it can't hurt to let you talk to her one last time." He snapped his fingers and another energy ball appeared next to him, stretching out to his height before it dispersed and Tiffany collapsed to the ground. She struggled to stand up but slowly got to her knees before Sephiran grew tired of waiting and grabbed her by the arm, jerking her upwards. Standing straight, Tiffany peered to meet the gazes of her friends and they were shocked by how exhausted she looked.
"What did you do?"
"She's only tired from helping me. It was the deal we made anyway. In exchange for giving me my body back, I wouldn't harm you and…" Sephiran glanced down at Tiffany, waiting for her to finish.
"I said I would stay with him…forever," Tiffany quietly said but her voice carried so her friends could hear her.
"Tiffany, why?"
"It was the only way to keep you safe." Tiffany gave them a smile as tears formed in her eyes. "Go. I'll be ok."
Ryo stared at her as disbelief ran through his body. He knew Sephiran did something to make her agree to this deal and it had something to do with them staying safe from Sephiran. He couldn't leave Tiffany here with them, especially after seeing the grief and sadness displayed on Tiffany's face. Ryo wasn't going anywhere without Tiffany, not without a fight.
"I'm not leaving her," Ryo declared, crossing his katanas together.
"If you fight me, I'll break the deal with my daughter and everything she did to keep you safe will be for nothing."
"Ryo, don't!" Tiffany stared at him, pleading with him through her eyes to get him to reconsider. "Please, just leave."
"I'm not going anywhere unless you're by my side."
"How touching." Sephiran pushed Tiffany aside where Malice grabbed hold of her. He took out his dadao, the blade a quarter inch wide which at the end angled into a sharp point. He swished his blade to the side, the end pointed to the ground, as he stalked toward the group. "Get a good look on my daughter, Ronins, for this will be the last time you will see her." He raised his weapon and the blade grew darker, turning black with energy. "Demon Blade!" Swiping his sword across his chest, energy curving towards them as it struck the warriors head-on. They screamed in pain as they flew back a few feet. They slowly got to their feet when another wave of black energy hit them, sending them back again. Cye and Kento landed on the wall, leaving an indent of their bodies while the others lay scattered beneath them. Sephiran raised his dadao again, ready to finish them off for good. "Good-bye, warriors."
"No!" Tiffany freed her hand from Malice's hold and held it out towards her friends. Power expelled from her open palm, light loping around the warriors, Kalana, and White Blaze. Sephiran stared at this in shock then turned to look at his daughter, surprise on his face at seeing this power come from her. Shocked also by what happened, Tiffany knew this would be her only chance to get her friends to safety. With a flick of her wrist, the light around her friends shown brighter until it vanished, taking the group with them. Sephiran seethed at this and fully turned his attention to Tiffany as he tried to quench the anger boiling inside of him.
"My dear, where did they go?"
Tiffany stared at him and a smirk spread across her face. "What? I was only completing the deal you made."
"That was not your decision to make."
"Really?" Tiffany reached behind her to grab hold of Malice. "Then you're not going to like what happens next." Sending the new power through her body, Tiffany sent over to Malice and he screamed when the bright light evaded his body. The body he had taken over was slowly working its way out and Malice tried with all his might to keep it down but the bright light and the will of the soul won itself over as the light devoured him whole.
Anubis snapped his eyes open, surveying the area when he realized he was holding onto Tiffany. She smiled at him when the effects of this new power took a toll on her body. Exhaustion hit her body and she would have fallen to the ground if not for Anubis's hold on her. Worry formed on Anubis's face as he stared at her. "Are you all right?"
Tiffany nodded weakly. "Just tired."
"Anubis?"
Heads turned to see Mika standing in the courtyard next to Asami, her eyes wide with shock. Seeing Anubis, alive and well, only a few feet in front of her was like a dream. There was no way he was alive; she was told he was dead! She cast her eyes over to Sephiran as she waited for an explanation, a reason as to why Anubis would be standing here. Sephiran stared back, trying to come up with an excuse when Anubis spoke first. "Maria? Is that you?"
Realization came upon Mika and her shock turned into anger. "You lied to me. You used me, just like Talpa did!"
Sephiran glanced at Kai and nodded his head. Kai turned to Mika, hand raised as he quietly chanted a spell but before he could complete it, Tiffany sent out light to Mika, enveloping her in light as she disappeared from view. Turning to Anubis, Tiffany grabbed hold of his hand, staring into his eyes. "Find the others and be safe." Before Anubis could respond, he disappeared from view. Tiffany was left lying on the ground and she looked up when she heard footsteps stalking towards her. Sephiran stood over her and she could the rage wafting off him and onto her. He lifted her up the ground and then slammed the hilt of his sword against Tiffany's head; his angry face being the last thing she saw.