Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ Ronin Warriors: Dragon's Wrath ❯ Enter the Draconai ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Rwdrw1


Somewhere in Saban's Fortress...
"SHUKI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" An angry voice bellowed, resonating
through the halls, echoing everywhere.
In another part of the base, from his throne room the evil lord Shuki
Levy heard this sound. He knew all too well what this meant.
He had failed--again.
It had been about a year or so ago when he had first heard this voice.
He was licking his wounds after his horrible defeat at the hands of the
Sentai warriors that attacked his moon base and slaughtered the villains
ruthlessly. His master cut down brutally by the Ronins and their
allies, Shuki was forced to take over Saban's role as ruler of all he surveyed.
That was when a strange cloaked figure appeared to him, surrounded by several
guards, similarly dressed.
"I can help you defeat your adversaries." He had said. At
the time, Shuki had no idea how. He obviously had no idea who--or
what this person was. But he was offering assistance, which he needed
more than ever. He had asked at the time what this stranger wanted
in exchange for his services.
"I will help you crush your adversaries if you help me take my revenge."
the stranger had said.
Shuki had no idea what he had meant by "take my revenge".
On whom? On what? Why was this stranger so eager to help him
crush his adversaries when he had no clue who Shuki's adversaries actually
were? And just what did this stranger REALLY want in return?
Shuki had agreed to his demands, as vague and simple as they were.
Shuki had kept his end of the bargain; or had he?
His thoughts were cut off when two of his mysterious ally's guards entered
his chamber. They were still hidden by the shadows, dressed in light
ancient Japanese garb with a cuirass strapped over their chests.
One of the two spoke.
"Our master wishes to speak to you."
As the two soldiers led Shuki down the hall, more and more of his strange
ally's warriors lined the halls. They all had evil looking smirks
on their faces; as if they knew what was in store for him as he was paraded
down the hall towards their master's chamber. Shuki suddenly became
very nervous. Judging by the look on these warriors' faces, his chances
of exiting that chamber were not very high. He began to wish he had
never agreed to their master's terms as they arrived at the door.
One of them opened it and shoved Shuki in, slamming it behind him.
Shuki looked around the room, and in the far corner, he could make out
the image of a figure, like the others.
"Do you know WHY I have summoned you here again?" he bellowed,
his voice shaking the room once again.
"Because I could not defeat the Ronins as I promised?" Shuki
asked.
"That is only the beginning. You failed to defeat the Ronins,
EVEN WITH MY SUPERIOR AID!!!!" he bellowed.
Before Shuki could speak, his unusual ally spoke again.
"I had you convince the cast of DBZ that they should take revenge on
the Ronins for killing Saban. But by some miracle, the Ronins won!
Now they not only want to help the Ronins, the one called Vegeta has it
in for us!"
"I used my magic on your Mystic Knights, increasing the power of their
weapons and armor. I enchanted their bodies as well, increasing the
flow of energy to them when they needed it most. AND WHAT HAPPENED?
The Ronins beat them!"
The strange ally continued to speak.
"Your worthless minions also allowed Navcase to escape! He has
been my prisoner for hundreds of years! He knows all about our race,
and most importantly, how to destroy us! AND YOU ALLOWED HIM TO ESCAPE!!!
You are fortunate that he does not wish to officially side with the Ronins,
or we would all be dead! And then there is the little matter of the
last attempt...you assured me that two teams of Rangers would be able to
crush the Ronins. But they did not, forcing me to intervene and power
them up with one of my curses, only to be stopped by that accursed NAVCASE,
WHOM YOU YOURSELF ALLOWED TO ESCAPE!!!!!!!!!! Not only that, but
all the minions I sent to Capitol City have not returned, and I am quite
sure that the strange armored warriors that you did not warn me about,
are the ones responsible. You are quite lucky that I do not know
who they are, for if they are the spawn of that accursed she-devil Sun
Goddess Amaterasu, your bones will burn in hell for all eternity!!!!!!!!!!"
"I have but one thing to ask you...who or what exactly are you?"
Shuki replied, slightly terrified.
The figure in the shadows began to glow with incredible energy.
The room began to shake violently, as Chi surged throughout the room...
"YOU DARE TO ASK WHO I AM? HAVE YOU NO IDEA??" the ally
shouted.
Slowly, but surely, the figure stepped into the light, still glowing.
Shuki gasped at the sight. Standing before him was a seven foot tall,
bald reptilian creature. His hands ended in sharp claws, his skin
sleek and scaly, and shining like armor. His face protruded out somewhat,
like a dragon's. Below his chin, a small beard existed. His
eyes glowed white with rage. He was dressed in very regal clothing,
like an ancient Chinese emperor, with a sinister look to it. As Shuki
stepped back in fear, this creature thrust out its hands and lifted him
into the air with incredible strength.
"YOU KNOW NOT WHO I AM? HAVE YOU NO KNOWLEDGE OF THE ANCIENT TEXTS?
DO YOU KNOW NOT OF THE LEGEND OF RYUUJIN? THAT IS MY STORY..."
it said, far more angry than it was before.
"Then th-th-at means you're..."
"I AM CEIPHIED, LORD OF THE DRACONAI!" it bellowed, sending shivers
up Shuki's spine. "THE CURSED FORMER UNDERLINGS OF DRAKKA, ALMIGHTY
GOD OF THE NETHERWORLD, AND YOU, WORTHLESS POWERLESS MORTAL, HAVE FAILED
ME."
With Shuki trembling in his hands, he continued.
"...and I do not tolerate failure."
With no effort Ceiphied thrust his hand into Shuki's chest, and with
a splash of blood he tore his still-beating heart from his chest.
With incredible strength he then hurled Shuki spine first towards a fixture
on the wall, impaling him. The last thing Shuki saw was an energy
bolt discharged from Ceiphied that burned his still-living body to death.
His screams of pain erupted through the entire base- then silence.
Five warriors entered Ceiphied's chamber next. Each of them looked
much like him, minus the beard. They each wore a suit of armor covering
the chest, forearms and shins, painted and painstakingly sculpted to look
like the element each represented.
"Lord Ceiphied..." the one dressed to represent fire began, "I
Kouen, and my fellow generals pledge our loyalty and that of our clans
to you. What are your orders?" they asked, kow-towing before
him.
Ceiphied stepped towards his loyal generals, and motioned for them to
rise.
"Kill everyone in this base, and destroy everything. Level it.
I want this place to look like the disgrace to nefariousness that ran it.
We leave immediately." Ceiphied said as he exited the room.
On his way out, he turned to one soldier.
"You will stay here after we are finished destroying this place.
It will be your job to assess these...Ronins." Ceiphied explained.
"Yes my lord." the soldier said.
"You heard Lord Ceiphied! Nothing shall be left standing!"
Kouen roared.
The surrounding area echoed with the sounds of screams and roaring,
as the carnage began...






Ronin Warriors: Dragon's
Wrath
Chapter 1: Enter the Draconai


Several hours later...
Off in the distance, nine distinct dots appeared to be heading towards
the other side of the Pacific. Slowly but surely, they got closer
and closer, revealing themselves to be the Five Ronin Warriors and the
Four former Dark Warlords.
"Are you sure we can take these guys out Ryo? Shuki has a lot
of minions." Kento said.
"We'll do whatever it takes Kento; I'm just glad to be doing this after
all this time." Rowen added.
"It is a wonder we did not take up this suggestion sooner!" Sekhmet
added, eager for more carnage.
"We'll be able to handle it; they can't be too much for a fully armed
group of Ronins to handle." Sage added.
"Uh guys, I'm picking up an incredible amount of energy coming from
Shuki's base." Rowen said.
"It's probably nothing." Kale said.
"Yeah! Nothing but the combined level of Chi those guys have
when you add them all up!" Kento added.
"We should be on our guard anyway, right Wildfire? Ryo?"
Anubis asked.
As the distance between them and Shuki's base became smaller and smaller,
Ryo had become lost in thought. Could they do this? Would they
find the answers to their problems during their conflict with the Mystic
Knights and the Galaxy Rangers? What new problem would arise to replace
Shuki once they had finished him off? And how would they defeat that
foe?"
"Be Patient Ryo of the Wildfire...Tsubasa no Hi...All will become
clear in time." a voice seemed to whisper in his ear.
"What was that?" Ryo thought. "Tsubasa no Hi? Wings
of Flame?" "All will be revealed in time?" "What does this
mean? Hello? Is there anyone there?" Ryo called out with
his thoughts. But no answer. He finally came to his senses
and realized that Anubis was calling out to him as well.
"Earth to Ryo..." Anubis said.
"Huh? What?" Ryo asked.
"Ryo. Rowen has detected a large power coming from up ahead.
I was telling the others that we should be on our guard, should we not?"
Anubis asked.
"Yeah, We should." Ryo said.
"Good."
As the group streaked off past the camera, a voice whispered in Anubis'
ear as well..."and for you as well, Tsubasa no Kurayami..."
Anubis also tried to make sense of this as they loomed closer and closer,
faster and faster...
Some distance behind them, Navcase was slowly but surely trying to catch
up. His armor was not as advanced, or as fast as that of the Ronins.
But it was twice as dangerous to the user. As its warp dragon mode
streaked towards the fortress, within it Navcase struggled to keep control
of it...and himself.
"I must...keep...control...I have to warn the Ronins before it's too
late...he is more than a match for them...they are walking into...the gates
of hell...I'm going to need help...I won't beat them there in this ancient
junk heap."
Closing his eyes, Navcase focused every inch of his mind. His
astral body raced across time and space, high into the sky, out of the
Mortal Realm, towards the Palace of the Heavens.
In the pool in the rear of the palace, Ayame lay motionless on her back
on an inflatable mattress, drifting through the water. Her arms were
dangling over the sides of the device, being moved by the drifting alone,
in total bliss and silence, as the day and she, taking a snooze for herself
as usual, floated lazily along...
And then...came Navcase's voice, coming above the silence, appearing
in her mind once more.
"WHY DO YOU ALWAYS DO THIS WHEN I'M TOTALLY RELAXED?" Ayame shouted
angrily.
"Miss Ayame, I apologize for disturbing your slumber..." Navcase
began.
"Again." Ayame said under her breath with gritted teeth.
"...again. But this time it is urgent." Navcase began to
explain.
"Isn't it always..." Ayame said sarcastically to herself, upset
that her peaceful afternoon had been shattered by his arrival.
"Please, listen. The Ronins and Warlords are on their way to
Shuki's base." Navcase explained.
At the sound of this Ayame forgot about her sun worshipping and snapped
back to reality.
"Shuki's Base? Do they have any idea what's there?" she
asked, almost furious with the heroes for their stupidity.
"Unfortunately no. I tried to get a head start on them but unfortunately
they left before I did. I am trying to get there before them, but
their armors are much more advanced and faster than mine is..."
"Please don't tell me you're still using Ryuujin after you KNOW what
it does to you..." Ayame said in an almost scolding tone.
"It is the only way I have to get there...the curse has not spread
enough for me to teleport. Ceiphied usually puts the whole curse
on at once, he wanted me to suffer so he put a 500 or so year delay into
my treatment..." Navcase attempted to explain.
"Okay, stop complaining, calm down. I'm coming. I just
hope I get there before they do..." Ayame said.
"Thank you." Navcase said, smiling.
"And one more thing..." Ayame asked.
"Yes?" Navcase asked inquisitively.
"Would you give me some sort of warning, you know, before you
force your way into my subconscious?" Ayame asked.
"I am sorry. I'll try harder next time. It is just that
I believe that your youngest sister should not be exposed to this, her
innocence is the only thing that protects her from the severity of the
situation, your twin sister, not to mention your eldest sibling have developed
resistance to me, and the mind of your middle sibling downright scares
me..." Navcase explained and complained.
"Okay, shut up, I'm coming I'm coming." Ayame said.
"I shall meet you there." Navcase said, leaving Ayame's mind
as quickly as he had entered. This sudden shock of him leaving caused
Ayame to flip off, splashing into the pool.
"NAVCASE!!!!!!!!! I'M GONNA GET YOU FOR THIS!!!!!" Ayame
shouted in anger.
As the Ronins entered the home stretch to the base, they noticed plumes
of smoke coming in the distance.
"Look at that." Rowen said, pointing it out.
"Smoke." Kale observed.
"It appears to be coming from Shuki's base, but I am not sure why."
Anubis said.
"We should be careful. It could be a trap." Dais said.
"Right. Try and keep your power down. We don't want to
tip them off before we get there. We should slow down." Ryo
said.
With that the group slowed their speed and slowly approached the base.
As they entered the area they realized that the fires had indeed been coming
from Shuki's base. Almost everything had been reduced to rubble.
There were small fires everywhere, still burning from the damage that had
been done. The once proud fortress of Shuki was now a desolate wasteland.
"Look at this place..." Kento said softly as they passed over
the area.
"What in the world could have done this..." Sage added.
"Ryo, I hate to say it, but that signal's gotten stronger the closer
we've got to it." Rowen added.
"Look over there. There's a place to set down." Sai said,
pointing to a small piece of land that was flat enough for them to take
to the ground.
"Okay. Here's the plan. Rowen, you stay in the air and
circle around to see if you can lock down where that signal's coming from
in here. If you find it, let us know immediately. The rest
of you, come with me." Ryo said.
Their verniers fired to slow their decent as one by one the Ronins and
Warlords touched down, followed by Kale as his Epyon returned to its humanoid
form. Last to land was Ryo as his Wing Zero armor returned to its
humanoid state. He pulled out his twin buster rifle and attached
it to his shield.
"Let's be careful. We don't know what we're up against."
Ryo said, brandishing the weapon.
"I agree." Sai said, bringing out his beam machine-gun and cocking
it.
"We should proceed with extreme caution." Dais said, attempting
to stay focused and calm despite the fact that he, the infamous Dark Warlord
of Illusion, was actually scared.
"I'm ready to fry some minions." Kento said, extending his dragon
claw and gripping it with the other hand like an actual flame-thrower.
"Let's go. Slowly." Ryo said as the group of warriors stepped
forward, Kento in the lead to fry anything that got close, Ryo behind him
to vaporize it with the twin buster rifle, Sage following him with his
sword drawn, Kale beside him, his finger ready to ignite his beam sword
if anything got too close; behind them Sekhmet, looking giddy as a schoolboy,
prepared to slice everything down, Dais, ready with his own weaponry, trying
to stay calm; behind him an equally nervous Anubis, gripping his unextended
scythe tightly with his hands, and Sai, bringing up the rear with his beam
machine-gun ready to riddle anything with energy bolts.
The eight moved along carefully, examining the damage that had been
done. Every effort had been made to decimate the place. Just
then, a faint noise was heard.
"Did you hear something?" Anubis asked.
"No." Kento replied.
"It could be something dangerous." Anubis said.
"And it could just be your imagination. Let's keep looking."
Sage said.
The group continued onward through the wreckage of what used to be Shuki's
base. As they took step after step, the group slowly realized that
the further they got, the more damage had been done.
"Ryo. It may sound strange, but I'm picking up something on my
motion sensors. Something's coming towards us at a decent speed."
Anubis reported.
"Wonderful. Must be the welcoming committee." Ryo said.
"Everyone, stop and get ready."
"It's closing very fast. 100 yards and closing." Anubis
reported.
Kento aimed his flame-thrower in the direction Anubis indicated, while
Ryo pointed his cannon in the same direction in hopes that he could get
a bead on it before it got too close.
"50 yards and closing..." Anubis reported.
The warriors tightened their grips on their weapons, prepared for the
worst.
"20 yards..."
The eight heroes began to sweat. Ryo's fingers trembled on the
trigger to his weapon. Would he have to fire? Or would it be
nothing?
"70 feet..." Anubis reported.
"This better be nothing..." Sai said as he also prepared to fire.
Anubis continued to announce the distance between them and the target.
The distance grew shorter, and shorter. Minutes seemed like hours.
And then, finally, Anubis spoke the dreaded words...
"It's here!"
Everyone tensed and prepared to fire...as a small mouse scampered from
under some rubble, sniffed around, and then scampered off in another direction.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"We practically blasted what's left of this place to ashes...because
your sensors picked up a MOUSE?" Kento said.
"How was I supposed to know it was a mouse? This thing doesn't
differentiate!" Anubis shouted back.
"Hey guys! I..." a voice said.
Without a word Anubis fired up his scythe and swung towards the direction
of the voice, until he saw a glint of dark blue. Realizing what he
was about to do, Anubis managed to stop the still glowing blade only inches
from Rowen's throat.
"...took a look around this place. Nothing. I also managed
to lock down wherever that energy was coming from. If it's anywhere,
it's in there." Rowen said, pointing towards the only structure in
this place that seemed to be still intact somewhat.
"Shuki's personal living space." Ryo said. "Anubis, if you
would..."
Anubis powered down the blade and placed it on his back once again with
an angry look on his face.
"Let's go. AND DON'T EVER SNEAK UP ON US LIKE THAT!!!" Anubis
said.
"Why so tense? There's nothing here!" Rowen said as he
and the others made their way towards Shuki's living quarters. Anubis
continued to give him an evil look.
Meanwhile, back at the Palace...
Ayame climbed out of the pool and wrapped herself in a towel.
Tiptoeing towards the back door, she opened it, and headed for the stairs
to her room. Closing the door behind her, she threw off her two-piece
and threw on jeans and a T-shirt after drying herself off. She knew
that her mom and dad were in elsewhere in the palace complex discussing
the current situation. All she had to worry about was getting by
her sisters without them knowing. Mom had expressed her concern that
with Ceiphied on Earth none of them were to leave the Palace without her
express permission...and the answer was usually no.
Ayame slowly but carefully opened her door, being careful not to make
it creak as to alert the attention of her siblings. As she tiptoed
towards her eldest sisters' room, she heard a loud deafening sound coming
from within. Fortunately for her, Yuri's door was open a crack.
Ayame peeked through. Aside from the posters of athletes from Japan,
her dozens and dozens of GLAY CD's strewn over the floor, sure enough,
lying sprawled on top of her bed, was Yuri, asleep, snoring as usual.
After carefully closing the door behind her to drown out the noise,
she came towards Suiren's room. She heard several giggles coming
from her room.
"DAMN..." Ayame thought as she tiptoed towards it.
She looked into the room, but fortunately, Suiren was facing the other
way. Her room was very...girly, with its green walls plastered with
posters and wallscrolls of every single bishounen and cute seiyuu to ever
walk the earth or be animated.
"Aya! Really! You should totally leave five zillion messages
on that dude's cell phone if he's that much of a babe!" Suiren said
excitedly into the phone.
Relieved that Suiren was temporarily and indefinitely distracted and
racking up their interdimensional phone bill, Ayame proceeded down the
hallway towards the room of her evil twin sister. Peeking in, she
was nowhere to be found, however her numerous swords mounted on the wall
along with posters of Aoshi were everywhere . Remembering that the
Devil Girl was out practicing for the nine zillionth time elsewhere in
the Heavens, Ayame headed down the hall to that of her youngest sibling.
Peeking into Ran's room, she found her numerous Brilliant Green posters
lining the walls...her collection of CD's, including every released single
neatly stacked on her dresser, her clothes neatly arranged in her closet,
her pink bedspread neatly made, but...no Ran.
Ayame began to panic. Where could she be? Ayame was nervous.
If Ran was still in the palace, wandering around, she could spell trouble
for her little exit. But where was she? Finally reaching
the stairs, Ayame tiptoed down them, careful not to awaken her sleeping
older sister upstairs. Peeking into the living room, she breathed
a sigh of relief at the scene there.
The TV was on, but turned down low. The room was empty except
for one thing. Noticing a pair of of shoes lying on the floor and
a pair of purple socked feet sticking over the armrest, her eyes followed
them up to a pair of overalls and a tie-dyed T-shirt, and a head of purple
hair with her hands resting comfortably and on her chest, her beautiful
lavender eyes closed gently. Ayame breathed a sigh of relief as she
observed that Ran was sleeping like a baby, taking her daily afternoon
nap.
Ayame tiptoed slowly across the room, making sure not to wake up her
slumbering younger sibling. About halfway across the floor, Ayame
froze as she saw Ran stir. Her heart began to beat faster.
She closed her eyes in horror that she would be discovered...and
then, it happened.
Ran let out a little yawn...and then drifted back to sleep, snoring
gently. Ayame headed out the door and went goddess, teleporting off
towards the battle scene.
Meanwhile...
The Ronins had arrived at the door of Shuki's former lair. It
stood ominously before them, and it did not take them long to realize that
it was locked.
"We've got to get this open...silently." Ryo explained.
"Leave that to the man of Stone." Kento said, bringing out his
beam glaive. He proceeded to twirl it.
"No Kento. No sure-kills. That will lure whatever it is
that's here with us." Anubis cautioned. "We need a more, direct,
silent approach. Kale, if you would." Anubis said.
The others stepped back as Kale brought out the handle of his beam sword.
Cranking it up to maximum length, he leapt into the air and sliced cleanly
through the hinges, causing the door to fall...right on top of him.
"And Destonus promised us there'd be no gag humor in this episode!
Now help me lift this off him." Anubis said.
Working together the Ronins managed to pry the large heavy door off
poor Kale, who miraculously was all right, thanks to the several feet of
Gundanium armor. Powering down his weapon, the nine stepped into
total darkness.
"We better get some light in here." Ryo said.
"O' Sword of the Zeus Halo...light our way through this darkness."
Sage said. His sword began to glow, lighting their way through the
hall in front of them. Slowly but surely they moved down the halls
again, past what seemed like hundreds of bodies, of minions and humans
alike.
"Whoever...or whatever these guys are, they're pretty thorough..."
Sage observed.
"Keep your eyes and sensors peeled guys...and stay frosty." Ryo
said, aiming his cannon into the blackness. In time, they came across
a door. This time, Rowen managed to hot-wire it and get it to slide
open, rather than risk another accident for Kale. The group stepped
into what appeared to be some sort of throne room. It was very modern,
filled with screens which were now smashed or broadcasting snow.
"This appears to be Shuki's throne room. This must be where he
conducted all his attempts to kill us." Anubis observed.
The group stepped in so that all could see. It could be surmised
that the demolition crew that caused the destruction clearly intended to
do the most damage to this chamber, as nothing was left in working condition.
Shuki's throne was was smashed to pieces.
"Look at this...They must have blasted this with one shot." Kento
said.
"No..." Rowen said, examining it more closely. These cuts
are were precision. It's as if whoever did this wanted the throne
to suffer as much as the person who sat in it."
"There's nothing here. Let's keep looking." Ryo said, heading
for the door.
"I'm starting to get the idea that there's nothing here." Sai
said.
"That and we should seriously get out of here..." Dais added,
getting more terrified by the minute.
"We still haven't finished searching yet." Ryo said.
Knowing full well that Ryo would not let up until every inch of the
place was checked, the group proceeded down the hallway.
Ryo was also very worried, but he refused to let his allies see it.
To see him scared he thought, would diminish his ability as a leader.
As much as he wanted to leave himself, something told him that they should
search this place thoroughly to make sure.
Dais of course, was terrified. There was only two main things
he feared in the universe; Kayura during that time of the month and
Talpa. This was coming up as number three. He racked his brain
for every conceivable thing that could have caused this from the Nether
World. Talpa? No, he was on their side now. Kajin had
disappeared off the face of the Earth, apparently to wait until they were
old and senile to take over. Not to mention that Drakka had been
sealed into Hell, along with all his warlords, soldiers, and minions by
Amaterasu. What was left? What was left that was on Earth that
could cause this kind of devastation?
"Dais...you might want to see this." Kento said, snapping him
back from his thoughts.
The group entered what appeared to be yet another throne room.
This one was more elaborate, though it seemed that the throne had been
removed for some reason. Fancy elaborate rugs lined the floor towards
where the throne had been, tapestries seemed to have been abruptly but
carefully removed from the walls in some sort of big hurry. But the
most gruesome sight was on the other side of the room, directly across
from where the throne was.
"I'm starting to get really scared now..." Kento said, observing
the sight.
"What could have done this..." Sage added.
"I think I'm going to be sick..." Sai added.
Stuck in a spike protruding from the wall, hanging limp and lifeless,
still dripping with blood, was Shuki.
"What a way to go..." Kale added.
"Ryo," Anubis said, grabbing their leader violently. "It
would be in our best interest to get out of here...now, before we discover
what it is that did that." Anubis said.
"I'm right behind you." Ryo said.
"Not so fast, Ronin Warriors." a voice said.
The group whirled around to find a strange opponent. He was dressed
in the usual garb of one of Ceiphied's warriors, though his clothing seemed
to have red accents to it, and that was also quite clear in his scales.
"So you're the bastard who killed Shuki." Kento said, preparing
for combat.
"Easy Kento..." Ryo cautioned, "We don't want to provoke him..."
"Me? No, you are very wrong little boy. That honor went
to our noble master Lord Ceiphied." the soldier said.
"Ceiphied? Lord of the Draconai Ceiphied?" Anubis said,
forgetting he was saying this out loud.
"The very same. I'm surprised that you measly slaves to the weakest
of the armors are still alive...but I forgot who you've been fighting all
this time."
"Weaklings? I'll SHOW YOU!!!" Kento screamed in rage.
"TIME TO BE BURNED TO A CRISP PAL!!!!"
"Kento no!" Ryo shouted, but it was too late. Kento let
down a stream of flame, laughing eagerly, but then he heard his opponent
laugh, and he cut off the flame. His laugh ended abruptly.
"Was that supposed to hurt me?" the soldier asked, brushing the
soot off his singed clothing. "Perhaps it's time to show you the
true power of the Draconai..." he said, beginning to build up energy.
"Um Ryo, we better run. This guy's powering up...and he's doing
a VERY good job of it." Rowen said.
Before they could flee, the soldier fired a ki blast from both hands,
which knocked the nine clear through the wall and into the next room.
"That...really hurt." Kento said. "He's mine!" Kento
shouted, charging at him with his staff, ready to clock him. As he
got closer and closer to the soldier, the soldier never moved, simply standing
there, waiting. Kento swung, and with lighting fast reflexes he blocked...with
his claw. With the other he punched Kento, knocking him back onto
his teammates.
"Who's next?" He taunted.
Sage and Kale nodded to themselves, and charging with their normal blades
lunging towards the soldier in a double team, they were shocked to watch
him stop both their blades with two fingers each, and then push them back
with incredible strength. But he learned this was was only a trick
to allow Sai to get ready with his man catcher. The energies began to build
around the weapon as he brought it out of the kata and aimed straight at
the soldier.
"SUPER WAVE SMASHER!!!!" Sai shouted, letting him have it.
But he saw that it was in vain. A wall of solid energy had appeared
in front of the warrior.
"I would have thought that me being a dragon that I would be able to
generate a wall of sheer will to protect myself...what? You didn't?
Too bad."
"I have had enough." Anubis said, readying his scythe blade and
charging at the soldier.
"Anubis no! We already tried that!" Ryo said. "He'll
just block!"
Moments before striking, Anubis retracted the metal blade and ignited
the beam, slicing cleanly through his arm.
"That hurt..." he said, nursing his wound. But moments later,
another regrew. "Bio-regeneration. It's a wonderful thing,
isn't it?"
He let loose with a power punch to the chest, knocking Anubis dramatically
backwards and slamming into the wall again.
"That's it! Technology!" Rowen deduced.
Sai took aim with his beam machine-gun and riddled the soldier with
hundreds of shots, tearing his clothing and leaving several scars.
The others opened fire with their vulcans and machinecannons, leaving even
more damage.
"How dare you harm me!!!!" he shouted, blasting them once again,
sending them flying. "If you desire to fight me...I wish to die honorably,
not cut down by a hail of the accursed new magic."
"Well, he wants a clean fight, let's give it to him." Kento said.
The warriors brandished their weapons and charged at the soldier, hoping
their outnumbering him would be the key to victory. It appeared that
he was more than a match. He blocked the Ronins' assaults time and
time again, punching them, kicking them, knocking them back, only to be
charged again. He finally let loose with a powerful attack, knocking
all the Ronins in different directions, slamming into walls at almost exactly
the same time...
"Either this guy's really tough or he's been watching WAY too much DBZ..."
Kento said.
"That does it." Ryo said, stepping forward. "Hey, You!"
"You wish to address me, after I have clearly wiped the floor with
your measly efforts?" the soldier replied. "This will be a
very disappointing report to bring back to my master."
"Yeah, but I have the advantage in the air." Ryo said, firing
up his thrusters and spreading the wings, rocketing upward through the
roof.
"What little you know Ronin..." the soldier said, arching his
back, causing a pair of batlike dragon wings to slowly appear from it,
before flying into the air to face Ryo.
"Let's go." Ryo said, bringing out his sword.
The sparks flew as the two clashed again and again, darting through
the sky like dragonflies.
"Everyone, I think Ryo is trying to buy us some time. Let's get
out of here." Anubis shouted.
"But what about Ryo?" Sage asked.
"He knows what he's doing. Let's get out before another of those
things shows up." Dais said.
Weak but still functional, the group broke into a run as they fled out
the way they came, while Ryo continued to battle in the sky. As they
ran, the soldier spotted them.
"Where are you going? I'm not finished with you yet..."
He said, charging up an energy bolt and letting it fly.
"NO!" Ryo shouted, diving to stop it before his friends were
killed. But he had his own problems.
"Everyone! Get behind me!" Anubis shouted suddenly.
"Anubis have you lost your..." Kale started to say.
"NOW!" Anubis said sharply.
As the energy blast loomed closer and closer, Anubis shut his eyes,
and focused. He felt a new power surge from within just as the blast
struck...but he felt nothing.
When the smoke cleared, the Ronins were all safe and sound.
"What? How could they..." then the soldier noticed something
glowing on Anubis..."Oh shit..."
"Yeah, 'oh shit' is right..." Ryo said, locking on to him with
THE GUN. "Ninmu Ryoukai..."
Ryo let him have it with the twin buster rifle, causing a huge scream
of pain as he was slowly vaporized into nothing. The beam headed
out for several miles before dissipating.
Ryo breathed heavily, and breathed a sigh of relief that the soldier
was now vaporized...
"Ninmu...Kan...ryou..." Ryo said.
"I think we REALLY need to get that suit off him..." Anubis said.
Ryo touched down, putting his weapons away.
"Let's get back to Mia's. Maybe she has more information on the
Draconai." he said.
With that, the nine took off for home, leaving behind forever the desolate
wasteland of Shuki's base.
Several minutes later...
Navcase touched down and shrunk Ryuujin back to its normal size.
He looked around.
"I'm too late...I was too late..." he said, mourning the loss
of the Ronins.
"Nope, they're still around. I already checked." Ayame
said, lying on a piece of rubble, desperately trying to get a tan.
"What happened here?" Navcase asked.
Ayame hopped down from her perch, and took off her sunglasses.
"From what I figured out, the Draconai leveled this place, but judging
from the nine armor shaped holes in what must have been Ceiphied's throne
room, I'd say he left a little welcoming gift for the guys..." Ayame
said.
"It's my fault...I wasn't able to warn them...I have failed."
Navcase said.
Ayame watched this noble warrior berate himself for not being able to
be there to help. She was kicking herself too, for also not hurrying
as much as she could have. But in the corner of her mind, she thought,
"Damn, Navcase's kinda cute when he's wallowing in his own self-pity..."
"Oh cheer up." Ayame said, placing her hand on his armored shoulder.
"It's only one victory. The battle's just begun. Look, the
boys are back in Toyama trying to get more information..."
"You know as well as I do that the ancient texts that mention the Draconai
are quite vague...only my first hand experience with them can help them,
and they do not have access to the reams of knowledge in the Library of
the Palace of the Heavens. I must help the Ronins until they learn
how to properly defeat the Draconai...but this armor is far from being
'an oldie but a goodie'" Navcase explained.
"Right, you've got to keep them alive until Mom and Dad can do something.
As for Ryuujin, maybe you need an upgrade or something." Ayame suggested.
She handed him a business card.
"Go see this guy. He's the one who built our armors and the Ronins...if
he can't do anything to that old heap, then you're really finished."
Ayame said, heading off. "Oh yeah...before I forget...I want you
to have this." she said.
Reaching around her neck, she pulled on a cord that brought out a pendant
with a blue crystal attached to it. It sparkled in the sunlight.
Navcase opened his helmet up and she placed it around his neck.
"It'll protect you..." Ayame explained, "and give you hope, believe
me, I'm full of it." Ayame said.
"I'm very flattered by your gift, Miss Ayame but I have som"
He turned to find that Ayame was no longer there.
"...eone. Enjoy your sunbathing, or whatever it is you teens do
these days..." he said, smiling. Then, with a somber look on
his face, he looked to the sky, and whispered sadly, "Yuriko..."







To Be Continued...



Next Episode:
RYO: Hey Dudes, it's me, Ryo.
Next time, we go to Mia to find out more about these Draconai things.
They're pretty tough. Imagine our surprise when we learn they've
set up shop in Toyama. As usual, it's Ronin Warriors to Arms, but
a familiar face is waiting for us when we arrive on the scene.
NAVCASE: You have no idea
what you're up against Ronin Warriors. No matter how hard you try,
you will never defeat the Draconai if you continue along this path...
RYO: Join us Next time for the
next exciting episode of Ronin Warriors: Dragon's Wrath, Wrong Path
to Victory. See ya!