Warning: graphic descriptions of violence. Not exactly M material, but I think it's a high T. More towards the end of the chapter so those who might be squeamish, tread carefully.

I don't own Ronin Warriors. All OCs are mine.

Chapter 25

Sephiran stopped where he was in the hallway, knowing that something wasn't right. He hurried back to his throne room and up towards a pit with a fire billowing in it. Waving his hand over the flames, a holographic image appeared over it and Sephiran searched throughout the city until it landed on the Ronins. He focused in on the image and his eyes widen when he saw Asami lying on the ground, blood pooling around her, and his general was talking with them. It was then Sephiran realized Naga was gone and the ex-Warlord had reclaimed his body. Sephiran took heavy breaths and he waved his hand again, the image disappearing from view. He walked up to his throne before turning around and kicking the pit over, the fire spilling out onto the floor. "Damn it!" He stared at the fire slowly spreading across his floor and then tore his gaze away from it. "KAI! GET IN HERE!"

It wasn't long after he screamed that Kai hurried in. "Ye-"

"GET MY DAUGHTER IN HERE! NOW!"

Kai nodded, not daring to speak as he hurried back out of the throne room and towards the chamber. He threw open the door, staring into the darkness as he called the demons in there to bring Tiffany forth. Tiffany was thrown at Kai's feet and she breathed heavily to keep herself from crying. Kai stared at the various cuts and bruises that lined Tiffany's body. Both of her arms and legs had scratch marks on them and there were bruises around her wrists and ankles for when she was held down. Her clothes were torn to shreds and no one would be able to make out she was originally wearing a kimono. The pieces stuck to her body and they swayed lightly from the wind blowing from the still open chamber door. Still gazing down at her, Kai slammed the door shut and knelt beside her, placing a hand on her arm. He smiled when Tiffany flinched at the contact. It's only a matter of time, he thought to himself. Soon, she'll be obeying Sephiran like a dog. He wrapped his hand around her arm and jerked her to her feet, enjoying the pained scream that escaped her lips. Kai didn't say anything to her, just pulled her along to the throne room. Well, more like dragged for it seemed like most of her strength was gone and she wasn't doing anything to stop him from dragging half her body across the way.

He pulled her into the throne room, throwing her in and she landed with a resounded 'thud' in front of Sephiran's feet. Sephiran glared down at Tiffany, who still hadn't moved from her spot on the floor. "Get up," he ordered her, but Tiffany only laid where she was. Sephiran shot up from his throne and marched over to her, grabbing her by the hair and jerking her up. Tiffany released a shriek of pain as she stared into Sephiran's rageful eyes. "You will obey when I give you an order, do you understand?" He let go of her hair and she crumbled to the floor. Tiffany forced herself into a sitting position, even though her body was screaming at her to not move. Sitting up, she glared at Sephiran who glared right back at her.

"Stand up."

"I can't."

"Why not?!"

"I can't feel them."

"Feel what?!"

"My legs!"

Sephiran stared at her before nodding, turning away from her. Next thing Tiffany knew, Sephiran backhanded her, making her fall back on the floor. She gently touched her throbbing cheek and glanced back up at Sephiran.

"You've cost me too much already, Tiffany. First, you take away one of my generals then you refused to submit to me. Now, your mother is dead and Naga is gone!"

Tiffany's heart stopped. "My mom's dead?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing. No, it couldn't be right. They had just talked, she was fine. "You're lying."

Sebastian let out a cruel laugh. "You think I would lie about this? She sacrificed herself to save that Warlord. If you had only obeyed, none of this would have happened! This is your fault!"

"She died because of you!" Tears pooled in Tiffany's eyes. "You started this whole thing! She would still be alive if you weren't power-hungry!"

Sephiran grabbed her and hauled her over to the fire slowly burning out. He grabbed a wooden stake and pressed it on her side, making Tiffany scream in pain as the fire burned her flesh, the wounds around the abused area sizzling. "You do not talk back to me!" Sephiran yelled over her screaming. "You did this to yourself!" He threw her away from the fire and then glared down at her, holding his hand out to her. Black energy sizzled around his hand and it sparked as it grew, enveloping his hand. "I was going to wait till you submitted, but I know that won't happen. I have no choice but to take it from you by force!" He expelled the black energy towards her but kept a connection between himself as the energy covered her.

Tiffany felt the energy cover her body, watching in fear as her whole body turned black and so did her vision. She rapidly looked around, searching for something to pop out, when a small shock ran through her before it increased, the shocks running deep into her body, stabbing her heart as Tiffany released a piercing scream. The matter over her clung to the floor, making it impossible for her to try to get away. She could feel something being sucked out of her, almost like it was trying to rip her skin off. Tiffany could only wiggle and scream as tears ran down her face.

She could feel the powers from the ex-Warlords leaving her body and each one that left made her slightly weaker. But when she felt the powers of her friends start to leave, she found new strength and fought through the pain, determined to not let Sephiran have anymore. She grit her teeth as the pain increased, the matter surrounding her desperate to suck all the powers out of her but she held on.

Soon, the pain stopped and Tiffany felt the matter slide off her and retreat back to Sephiran. She panted as she glanced up at him, her body trembling from the pain she endured and, through her blurred vision, saw that Sephiran was smirking at her. This made Tiffany confused, why was he happy when he only got four powers instead of all nine?

Sephiran knelt beside her and placed a hand on her, making her flinch from the contact. "You do realize that four is better than nothing, right?" He chuckled as he ran his hand over her head. "But I have an idea on how to get the others from you." Sephiran glanced up to look at Kai. "Get Karver and Fuzen in here."

Kai nodded and then left the room to retrieve the two generals, coming back moments later with Karver and Fuzen in tow and the generals bowed before him.

"You wanted to see us, Master?" Fuzen asked.

Sephiran stood back up to face his generals. "I'm done waiting. Send a message on every screen throughout the city to the Ronins. Lure them in by threatening her life." He gestured towards Tiffany. "Lure them in and get them to bring out the Inferno armor again. I will claim her remaining power one way or another."

"Yes, Master," they answered.

Sephiran started walking away before stopping, turning to look back at Tiffany before saying, "And make sure to discipline her and give her something to cover herself afterward." He then walked away, and Kai followed him.

Karver and Fuzen slowly walked up to her, brandishing their weapons as Tiffany whimpered on the floor. She glanced up at them once they got close to her and saw Karver raise his hand with the gauntlet on it. The next thing she knew, pain seared across her face and her vision in her right eye became red.

Iris walked around the make-shift infirmary, checking in with her patients when she heard footsteps coming towards her. She glanced up after checking in with an old man and saw Kayura walked towards her. The woman smiled at the priestess then walked up to her, pulling her away into a corner away from prying ears so they could discuss. "Have you…" Iris started but stopped when Kayura nodded her head.

"Yes, I connected my village to here. The process didn't take long, but my mother and her helpers created a drink to give to the people to make them forget this happened. Instead of remembering this event, they'll think a nasty storm came through and the city came to a halt for a few days."

"Good. What about the others?"

"Once Sephiran and his generals have been defeated, I'll cast an enchantment over the city, making them believe the same thing." Kayura glanced over the infirmary, a frown forming on her face when she didn't see Tiffany anywhere nor did she see the Ronins. She turned back to Iris. "Where is everyone?"

Iris opened her mouth to answer, but saw over Kayura's shoulder Sage walking up to them. No one else was with him, and Iris knew by the sadden look on his face that the news was not good. Kayura turned around just as Sage walked in and his expression changed to shock when he saw her. "Kayura? When did you get back?"

"Just now," she answered. "Where did you go? Did you go out to do another scout?"

Sage shook his head as he lowered it and he released a heavy sigh, thinking of the events that had transpired not that long ago. He tried to find the words to explain, but nothing came out.

"Sage?" Iris gently pried. "Did you find Asami and Mika?"

He nodded his head before taking a deep breath and letting it out, raising his head to look the two women in the eye. "We did, and they managed to get Sekhmet back."

"Where is he now?" Kayura asked.

"He's with Anubis. We've decided it would be better if those two stayed back for a while until Mika calms down."

"Has something happened with Mika?"

Sage shook his head again. "Not directly, but…" He paused to take another deep breath again. "Asami didn't make it."

Kayura gasped in shock as Iris raised a hand to her mouth, holding it as tears formed in her eyes.

"How?"

"From what Mika told us, the two went off to take on one of the generals, but Asami sacrificed herself in the end. By the time we found them, it was too late to help her."

The women stood in silence, not saying anything about the information. What could be said at this time? What could anything have been said to make this situation better? The only positive outcome from this, in Sage's perspective, was Sephiran had one less general. Asami had freed Sekhmet and now, only Karver and Fuzen were what stood between them and Sephiran.

"Where is Mika now?" Iris asked, her voice cracking a bit.

"I don't know. Once we got back, she headed off on her own. Mia saw this and went after her, but I have a feeling it may be a while before she shows herself again. Cye had mentioned that she blames herself for this and that she should have said no on Asami's offer."

Kayura turned to Iris. "I'm going to try and find her, see if I can talk to her. You let those who are sick or seriously injured know that I'll be coming back to take them to a place to get them help."

Iris nodded and then Kayura walked out of the infirmary. Sage gave Iris a small smile before walking out as well. He walked past the food court and took the stairs to the second floor, heading over to a store called 'Global Work' and saw Kento and Rowen standing in front of it, talking with each other. The two stopped and turned to him when he approached.

"Did you tell Iris?" Rowen started and Sage nodded his head.

"Kayura's back as well. She went to go find Mika to talk with her."

Kento leaned against the glass window, crossing his arms over his chest. "I still can't believe this happened. I don't understand why Mika even agreed to let Asami go out and take on a general. Did they honestly believe they could do it?"

"I think it was more about revenge than anything else. From what Mika was saying, it seems Asami was the one who planned this." Sage glanced around the area. "Where did Ryo and Cye go?"

"They went to talk with Anubis and Sekhmet," Rowen answered, gesturing his head to the right.

After Sekhmet had asked what happened, no one told him anything at first. Anubis was the one to say they should go back to the mall and he would explain everything to him. Mika had tried to run off, but Cye wouldn't let her, telling her she needed to go back with them. She didn't agree at first, but she must have realized there was no way to run from this and agreed to go with them back to the mall.

Of course, when they had all returned, Mika immediately sprinted off before anyone could say anything. Mia had watched her go and gave the guys a look before running off after her. Sekhmet was confused by this and that was when Anubis pulled him in the opposite direction, to explain to him what had happened. When the guys were alone, Sage told them he was going to tell Iris the news so she knows what happened to Asami, leaving them to go the make-shift infirmary.

"Hey, they're coming back," stated Kento as he jerked his head upwards and Sage and Rowen turned around to face Ryo and Cye walking over towards them. "What's the word?"

"Sekhmet was more upset at the fact he was taken over," Cye answered. "He said he didn't like to be used as a puppet."

"But he used to do Talpa's bidding so how is that any different?"

"There's a difference between willing and forcing, Kento," stated Sage. "When he was one of Talpa's Warlords, he and the others willingly served him. But Sephiran changed him, forcing him and the others to serve him."

Rowen turned to the two. "It was basically a possession." He looked back at Ryo and Cye. "But did you learn anything from him?"

Ryo shook his head. "He doesn't remember much. He said he tried to fight when the possession took over, but everything faded to black. The next thing he knew was standing over Asami with her blood dripping from his swords."

Silence hung over the group but was soon broken by Cye saying, "This would be hard to tell Tiffany what happened. After everything she's going through, how can we tell her, her mother was killed?"

"At least her sacrifice wasn't in vain," Sage commented, glancing over everyone. "She managed to save Sekhmet, bringing one less general to deal with."

Screaming pierced through the air, making the Ronins tense up as they hurried over to the edge of the floor. They glanced over the railing, looking for signs of soldiers in the mall or anything else going on, but the people down below were just as worried as they were as they too were looking for the screams.

Rowen heard footsteps running up to them and glanced over his shoulder, seeing Yulie hurrying up to them. "Yulie?"

He stopped short of the group, pointing behind him as he panted to catch his breath. "Guys…the theater!"

"What's wrong, Yulie?" Cye asked.

"The screens are coming on! Hurry!" Yulie ran back the way he came, and the guys followed right behind. They had no idea what the kid was talking about but knew something was wrong by his distressed face. The group passed by many different stores before coming to a section of the mall with three double, glass doors. Making their way inside, they saw Anubis, Sekhmet, Kayura, Mika and Mia all staring at the various screens inside the main lobby of the theatre. The screens were showing static and the loud, screeching noise from the static filled the lobby.

"What's going on?" demanded Kento as he looked around.

"Don't know," came Sekhmet's answer. "We heard the static from outside this place and came in the investigate."

"Anubis contacted me and told me to get up here," Kayura explained, tearing her eyes away from the screens to look at the Ronins. She opened her mouth to speak again when the static stopped, and the screens turned black. The group waited for something to pop up as they could hear noise coming from the TV

The screen turned white before focusing, Karver's face appearing on the screens with a wide smile spreading across his face. He took a few steps back as he put his arms behind his back. "Greetings, Ronin Warriors. This message is being broadcasted to every screen within this city since we have no idea where you are, but we're tired of waiting." Karver raised one of his hands and the camera zoomed out, revealing himself to be standing in front of a building with a wide screen TV covering the top half which was also playing his message.

"Isn't that the area where we all met?" Mia wondered out loud and the Ronins nodded in response, remembering the area where their first fight with a Dynasty soldier took place.

"Now, you must be wondering why I'm showing you this area or why I'm even doing this in the first place? Well, my Master is getting tired of waiting." Karver put his hand back behind his back as he slightly leaned forward. "And so am I. So, you have exactly three hours to come to the location I've revealed to you to challenge us to a fight. No tricks or games, and if you think of not coming because you think it is a trick or any other reason you might have, well…" Karver chuckled as he straightened up and then gestured over to the right with his head. The camera slowly panned away from him and towards the right, landing on a sight that made the whole group tense up with Ryo sucking in a gasp of air.

Tiffany dangled from her wrists by a black thread and it wrapped around her, the thread cutting into parts of her body. A small brown tunic covered her chest and stopped just below her bikini line. It was tied over one shoulder and was already stained, turning the tunic into a dark copper color. Blood ran down her body and dripped from her bare feet, creating a small pool underneath her as her feet were inches from touching the ground. Her head was lowered to stare at the ground and, through the silence of the camera, the group could hear her uneven breaths.

Karver's chuckle was heard off-screen as he came into view, walking over towards Tiffany before wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her into his side. "As you can see, I don't think the Priestess can handle another…outing with us so if you're not here in three hours, then she is fair game to anything I do." Karver trailed his hand down to Tiffany's thigh as his fingers disappeared under the hem of her tunic. "And I mean anything."

Ryo clenched his fists at his sides, his anger flooding through him at the thought of this general touching her, making her do actions against her will just so he could get some "fun" out of it.

"Don't," came Tiffany's strained reply.

Karver turned to Tiffany and he lovingly pushed her hair out of her face. "What was that, sweetie?" He leaned in and nibbled on her neck. "I think you need to speak up if you want them to hear you."

Tiffany slowly raised her head, her eyes meeting the camera. Mia gasped in horror as she grabbed hold of Yulie, turning him away and pressing his face into her side so he wouldn't see the gruesome marks on Tiffany's face. The others gazed on, horrified at what they saw, and Kento had to grab hold of Ryo to keep him from attacking the screen. Kayura released a choked sob and Anubis wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pressing her into his side. Cye's face turned white and he held a hand to his mouth as he tried to keep down the bile that threatened to come up.

Three jagged cuts ran from her hairline to her chin in a diagonal line. Her right eye was closed from the cuts and the tip of her nose was torn. Her lips were busted open and her chin was dripping blood every few seconds. Blood ran down her face from the cuts and her left eye held tears in them as her one good eye stared into the camera. "Don't…come," she spoke again, louder this time. "T…Trap…" She started coughing and drops of blood came from her mouth.

Karver took a deep breath and then raised his hand with the gauntlet on it before thrusting it into Tiffany's side. She screamed in pain, her body twisting in her bonds as Karver twisted his hand before tearing it out, blood pouring from her open wound. Karver turned back to the camera, his gaze hardening as he said, "Remember, you have three hours." The screen became static once more before turning to black.

Mika felt cold, tears running down her face from the image of Tiffany. She hastily wiped her eyes but more seemed to follow no matter what she did. She saw through her blurred vision Ryo wrenching himself from Kento's grip and walking over to the counter.

Ryo clutched the countertop, eyes scanning over the table as he tried to control the rage bubbling inside him. His fingers curled underneath the edge and he thought he heard a crack. He then caught sight of a jar sitting next to him and, before he could control himself, he grabbed the jar and chucked it at the screen, releasing a scream as he did so. The jar hit the screen with brute force, creating a crack right in the middle which stretched across the entire screen, the jar shattering on impact. He turned back to his friends who all looked ready to go out and kick Sephiran's ass.

"We got three hours," Ryo started after taking a deep breath to calm himself. "What's the plan?"