Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ The New Game ❯ Chapter One ( Chapter 1 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Chapter
Two





~**********~



<Before Story>




~**********~



In a dark dimension far from the mortal
world, an evil dynasty lies in the dark pits of human sorrow and
despair. For a long time after a gruesome war, it was immobile.
But the Dynasty could feed off dark human emotions, like greed,
sorrow, pain, hatred. . . to slowly gain back it's power and it's
evil. For the longest time, the evil waged it's battle against
the good, whether the Dynasty was truly active or not. Until,
finally, under the rule of the dark master Taulpa, the Dynasty
once again attacked the mortal world to gain vengeance from that
long forgotten war. It didn't look good, we had no defense
against the darkness. Except. Except for five young warriors, not
the first, and not the last, they were The Ronin Warriors. Their
power was the five armors of Wildfire, Torrent, Halo, Strata and
Hardrock. But even with this great force, the five had to find
power in themselves before they found the strength to defeat the
Taulpa, and with him, the Dynasty. Or so we'd hoped..

The Dynasty still lies strong in the
shadows. Under the rule now, of a human named Pren. Yes, A human,
actually trained by Taulpa. You see, Taulpa knew he would fall.
Oh, of course, he hoped that to not be true, that the Dark
Prophecy had lied, and fought with all his strength. Although, it
wasn't enough to beat the good in the hearts of The Ronin
Warriors, and he fell. But NOT with him, did the Dynasty fall.
No. It stood, and still stands, simply under the rule of a new
leader. Not just anyone, either. A leader carefully hand-chosen
by Taulpa himself. You see, this one, this HUMAN, you must
understand, was trained secretly by him in the ways of the
Dynasty. No spirits, no trickery, no sorcery was used to turn
this child. Had that been done, it would have learned rebellion
and not submitted totally and completely to the Dynasty. No,
simple, pure evil was given to this child every day, and as it
grew, it knew nothing of care, sympathy or love. Evil was all it
knew, and all it responded too. So it grew to be, as some said,
the very vessel of evil. This human was without heart, and would
do or give anything to make sure the Dynasty could win.

When news that Taulpa had fallen to the
Ronins reached the new master, Pren flew into a dreadful rage.
Dreadful, because it was a silent, seething rage that could be
set off in a moment. The new leader planned revenge, waiting for
the right time to strike.

Power, or physical strength meant nothing
to this new leader. Perhaps that was what made this new Dynasty
so dangerous, is that Power was something they didn't need to
force people to submit. Instead, it used deceit or tricks to play
on the minds of humans, which meant utter and total submission to
the Dynasty. You see, the tactic was to simply twist emotions
around, until you weren't sure what you felt. Humans were no more
then puppets, or pawns to Pren.

Kayura was the only one who knew about this
new ruler and that it was a threat still to man-kind. However,
Kayura knew that in order for the Dynasty to gain power and open
portals to the real world, it would need the five armors. So she
hid them, far from the reaches of any threat, mortal or not.

All this did was cause Pren amusement. You
see, the Dynasty was already powerful. They could break out from
the prison that kept them any time. The prison bars were like
mere threads in the way, and Pren had a razor sharp edge.
However, Pren was a smart one, and decided to wait until the
Ronin Warriors would be unable to fight. They were only mortal,
after all, and would die as all mortals did.

Many years passed. Kayura, mostly, tended
to matters having to do with her clan, and she was always
monitoring the still-alive Dynasty. The Ronins, of course, grew
up and had families. They were able to finally have normal lives
and didn't have to worry about the Dynasty. This was one of the
main causes for Kayura not informing them about this new
occurrence. She, as well, could have a normal life without the
taint of evil. And she did. . She had a family. For a small time.
The Dynasty WAS dead, for all she cared, and wouldn't come back
as long as it had no power. They were safe.

Kayura figured out almost too late about
Pren's plan. By then, the Ronins all had families and it would be
impossible for them to fight. Kayura knew not of what to do, and
the dread of her mistake grew more and more each day. She left
all that she had finally accomplished to be a normal life, to
retrieve the Five Armors from their hiding spots. But then, Pren
found out that Kayura knew, and so broke out earlier then
intended. Although Kayura could not stop the Dynasty, she might
be able to strengthen the bonds.. for a short time. And Pren
would wait no longer then necessary to get revenge. So the
Dynasty broke free. Not completely, not over powering the entire
city, which is what Taulpa did. No. This Dynasty was much more
subtle. Again, it simply crawled into peoples minds, and twisted
their emotions into knots.

However, it was that day, that very day
that the barrier between the real world and the Nether world was
broken did new hope sprout. You see, it was that very day the
Orbs, the powerful orbs that kept the armors, began to glow. . .



***********



<Dynasty>



**********



<All Warlords and Ladies to the
Council Room.>

The order jolted Sahlmezera awake. She had
been enjoying a dream of torture, the victim of which being all
too susceptible to her ways . . . All to be broken by a command.
She didn't like being woken up.

Her frustration didn't last long, though,
once she realized who it was who had called. Pren. Pren
never called them directly, it had only been done twice. She felt
a slow stab of dread, that grew quickly. She must have done
something wrong. Very wrong. Pren's wrath was something any sane
person would turn and run from. But then she remembered: <All
Warlords and Ladies.> Good, whatever it was meant the
others were part of it as well. A small comfort.

<Immediately.>

Sahlmezera shivered, and not from cold. In
trouble or not, she did not want another audience with her
leader. Once a lifetime was more then enough, and she had had
several.

She moved out from her silk red blankets
and quickly transformed into her tight-fitting subarmor. No time
to waste. Pren did not like lateness.

So many things Pren did not tolerate. And
as top warlord--or Lady, rather-- Sahlmezera had to know them
all. Did she even touch Pren bad side--she shivered
again.

She vaguely considered Portaling to the
council room, but dismissed the idea. Too grand an entrance, and
something Pren might also not like.

Sahlmezera strode out of her grand
quarters, looking for all the world a queen, and the randomly
asserted servants scrambled to get out of the way, dropping into
a curtsy or a bow and murmuring an occasional greeting.
Sahlmezera payed them no mind, to their relief. She was known to
go off at the slightest thing, and the last servant that had
annoyed her was now entertaining the leeches out in the river.

As she passed Tighdes's room, the Warlord
of Pain walked out. Wordlessly, he joined her walk and kept his
eyes ahead.

Sahlmezera watched him out of the corner of
her eye. He always had a motive up his sleeve, and he usually
treated battles like games. She despised him, and she knew he
returned the emotion. He was always trying to stop her, catch her
of guard at something that would have Pren on her in a flash.
Though she did not know why he hated her so, she was very wary
with him. Silence could mean any number of things from him, and
he always preferred keeping his emotions to himself. Sahlmezera
wondered if even he knew what was going on.

They reached the huge brass doors leading
to the Council Room. They were intricately carved, many a
servants had probably died before finishing it. She gave it only
a glance.

Tighdes moved and pushed one of the doors
open, holding it for her. He gave a mock bow towards the inside
and a small smirk. She gazed at him levelly, then walked briskly
by refusing to keep watching him. He was always mocking her
leadership. She was used to it now.

Orian and Brail were already inside,
waiting before the huge throne. They had their backs to her, but
turned as she and Tighdes moved past. She took her place at the
thrones left front side, seemly unaware that anyone else was
there in the room with her. She watched the others cautiously,
though.

Though Pren had yet to make an appearance,
Brail shifted his shoulders uneasily, his gaze now back on the
throne. So. He knew not what this was about, either. Orian stood,
motionless, and the most expression on his face was a
thoughtful-yet-bored stare. Sahlmezera wasn't fooled. She knew
Orian well, always off on his own, always having a different
agenda, always emotions tightly bottled within and he showed
whatever he choose to, if not less. Orian was unpredictable, and
dangerously so. Sahlmezera could never be sure of him.

It was a sense, one defined and that had
grown to be more and more precise after time, that made
Sahlmezera shift her attention back the Dark Throne. Pren sat
there on the huge chair. And could have very well been there all
along. Pren had a way of not letting people notice a presence.

Without a word the four of them knelt and
pressed there fist to their chests. Pren's gaze swept over them,
and Sahlmezera stiffened as she felt it on her. She didn't dare
see how the others reacted.

Pren leaned back, satisfied, and said one
word: "RISE."

Pren's voice was so commanding, so intent,
so. . . powerful that Sahlmezera winced on hearing it re-bound
inside her head. Even now, with years of tolerance, the voice was
nearly over-whelming.

They stood. At attention, fists still over
their hearts.

"I HAVE CALLED YOU ALL HERE FOR A
REASON. WE MUST ELIMINATE THE RESISTANCE NOW, SMALL AS IT MAY BE,
SO THAT IT MAY NOT GROW INTO A PESTILENCE.."

**********



<Jason>



**********



Bleep, bleep, bleep.!

I slowly woke up. Damn, why does it
always have to ring so early? I wondered to myself. Until I
saw the time. "Ahhh! I'm going to be late!" I yelled at
myself. "Again." I added un-necessarily.

Don't dilly-dally, get UP! I
thought, using one of my mother's favorite phrases. I quickly got
out of bed and made my to the bathroom. I seriously do not know
WHY I get up late sometimes, I mean, it's not like I'm not responsible,
or anything..

After I gotten my clothes on, I made my way
to the kitchen. My stepmom's cooking greeted me. Tara was already
at the table, wearing a smug grin for who-knows-what reason. I
sighed and took my seat across from her.

"Up late again, I see." She
sighed sarcastically at me. "I don't know what we'll
do with you, Jason."

I groaned inwardly and didn't respond. I
was used to her teasing. I try to ignore it, but still, it could
get on my nerves sometimes. Don't listen to her, I told
myself, Just ignore it.. Work on getting to school..

My father chose that very moment to come
in. "Good morning, you two." He said, taking a seat at
the table.

"G'morning dad," Tara said
cheerfully, immediately wiping off her sarcastic expression.

I buried my head in my arms and said
nothing. Dad. I really did not want to talk to him right now..
What would he think of me, if he found out I hadn't gotten that
great grade he just knew I'd get on the test? Not to
mention I hadn't slept well at all last night.. I'd had a
nightmare and awoke sweating. Me, being me, couldn't remember
exactly what the dream had been about, but I was scared none the
less. Weird. Just something else to add to my list of: Strange
Things That Happen in 24 Hours.

Mom and Jeren came in. After a short
breakfast, my stepmother said, "You better get going or
you'll be late, Jason."

I jumped up from the table so fast I was a
blur. I did not want to chat with my family right then.

"I'll see you later," I mumbled
as I shot out of there.



**********



<Kasina>



**********



"Class, today we have a new
student." The teacher called a few moments after the bell.

I looked up. A new student? I
wondered to myself. Huh. Kind of late in the year to be going
to a new school. I wonder if it's a guy? Or, moreover, a cute
guy.

"His name is Tysoni Sanada." He
continued. "Tysoni?"

A guy walked into the classroom. He had
short black hair and eyes like I'd never seen before. They could
almost be described as 'Tiger blue'. He was about medium build,
and probably an inch shorter then me. He was.. I couldn't
describe it. Cute, but seemly hardened in some way, a maturity on
his face that didn't belong on someone so young.

I sat in the front row. I turned my head to
see how the rest of the class was taking it. Seidi was looking at
him like... No way. I don't believe it. Not Seidi.


"Tysoni, why don't you have a seat by
Kasina?" He pointed to where I was sitting. I glanced back
at the teacher. "If you have any questions, feel free to ask
her."



**********



<Seidi> ;



**********





I sighed as I shut my locker. I had really
wanted to talk to him, but me being too shy, I didn't have the
courage. Sometimes I wish I could be as bold a Kasina. When she
wants to talk to a guy, she does, and next thing you know she's
got a date with him.

Well, to late now, school's over.
I told myself. With my books under one arm I started down the
hall. I must have been deep in thought, or something, because I
bumped strait into somebody. My books went flying.

"Oh, I'm so sorry,"I began,
looking up at who I had smashed into. It was Tysoni! The new kid.
Oh, god, he must think I'm a dork..

"Sorry.." I said again, and bent
to pick up my books. I wished the ground would open up and
swallow me.

To my surprise, he bent also to help.
"Don't worry about it, it was my fault." He said
gently. "I'm the one who should apologize, I wasn't watching
where I was going."

He picked up my books and handed them to
me. I blushed. "Thanks." I muttered. After a pause, I
added, "My name is Seidi. Mouri."

"I'm Tysoni." he said, standing
up. I had to stop myself from saying: "I know."

He held out his hand to help me up. I took
it. The second our hands touched, I felt a wave of dizziness wash
over me. Stars.. No, wait, fire swam in front of my eyes. I
couldn't focus and my eyes fell closed. Then I really started to
feel this dizziness and the fire in my mind intensified and
almost seemed 3-D. I could actually feel the heat radiating from
it.. Then, all of a sudden, it just disappeared. I opened my eyes
and found I was standing. Tysoni still held my hand, except now
he had the same, puzzled, I'm-not-quite-sure-what-just-happened
look on his face that I was sure I had.

I didn't even pause before I said:
"Wildfire." WHAT had made me say that? It just came
out, I didn't even remember consciously thinking the word. But,
now that I had said it, it just seemed to fit.

That would have been weird enough, except
for the fact he said at the exact same time: "Torrent."
I froze. Literally. I could almost feel the blood stop in my
veins. Even with my still-dazed mind I was stunned. How could
he have known? That was the name.. The name that.. I couldn't
even.. How could he have known?

His wide eyes must have matched my own. I
pulled my hand away. I felt strange, suddenly. "Thanks, I
have to go." I said quickly. I turned and practically ran
for the door.

He seemed to snap out of a trance.
"Wait. . . Seidi!" He called. But I was already gone.



**********



<Tysoni>
< br>

**********



I almost swore as I walked out of the
school. It was only all those years of good manners being pounded
into my head by my mother that stopped me. Darn it. Why did I
let her get away? TORRENT. That was one of the names! From
that stupid, stupid dream.. Why didn't I go after her? She was
one of them, one of the ones I had to find.. So why the heck did
I let her get away? Hmm, I wonder, maybe it's the fact you
don't want to be leader of some stupid group.. Maybe that's it,
Tysoni.

I sighed. Well, no need to worry now. That
girl--Seidi--probably wouldn't ever go near me again. Great. I
wonder what 'The Voice' will think about that.

You know what? I asked myself, I
don't care. That voice can just go find someone else to pick on.


I sighed again and shoved my hands in my
pockets. I paused when I hit something hard. Huh? What is
that? I grabbed it and brought it out. It was a small, red
marble. Oh. I thought, that.

I was torn between throwing it as hard as I
could or keeping it. I kept it. But I didn't like it. All of this
had something to do with that marble. How did I know? That thing
was always with me. No matter what I did. I could hide it, throw
it over a cliff, even bury it and it would still be right where I
was. I knew because I had tried all of the above throughout my
childhood. Finally I had just given up trying to get rid of it.

I blinked suddenly and looked up. My
frustrated walk had taken me almost halfway home. I didn't even
remember walking this far.

All of a sudden, there was a sort of
prickling all down my spine. A slight tickle at the back of my
neck. Someone was following me. I didn't stop to question, even
think about how I knew that. I just spun around, reacting to that
feeling. No one was there. Well, of course nobody is there
I chided myself. Still, I couldn't shake the feeling. I looked
around. It was an abandoned part of town, and I was completely
alone on the street.

I turned forward again and quickened my
pace. Not only could I not shake the knowledge of being watched,
but now I was getting a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.
. .



**********



<Kasina>



**********



My pace was matched with Seidi's, and she
was unusually quiet. My small attempts to talk to her had no
affect. So we walked in silence. When we had first left school,
there had been the occasional passerby, but now there was none.

"I wonder if there was some sort of
festival." I said aloud, referring to the fact no one was
around.

"Hmm?" She looked up. "Oh.
Yeah. Maybe." Her voice held no emotion what-so-ever. Then
she went back to being fascinated with the sidewalk.

I stopped and grabbed her shoulders,
turning her to face me. I was getting tired of this.

"Seidi, what's wrong? You've barely
said a word since we left school, and it's driving me nuts. Did
something happen?" I looked into her eyes.

She shied away from my gaze. "Well,
no, not exactly.."

"Then what?" I removed my hands
from her shoulders and placed them on my hips.

She sighed. "I don't know. It's more
of a feeling than anything else."

"What sort of feeling?" I
questioned, my voice going softer. "Seidi, I'm your best
friend, please tell me what is wrong."

"I.. Well.. Just, a bad feeling. Like
something is going to happen, ok?"

I was about to ask her what she meant when
she whipped her head around.

"Did you hear that?" She asked,
looking back to where we had come from.

"Hear what?" I was confused.

She shook her head, "Nuh-" She
swallowed, then forced herself to calm. "Nothing. I must
just be paranoid. Lets get going."

Seidi was a lot of things, but not
paranoid. "Seidi," I began, but stopped when I heard a
faint clanking noise.

She stopped as well. "Tell me you
heard that." She said, emphasizing 'That'.

I nodded. "Yeah. I don't like the look
of this, maybe we should get going."

She nodded as well and both of us started
of again, in a pace that could just barely be described as a run.




**********



<Teren>



**********

My feet were dragging as I walked down the
sidewalk. Alone. Jason had had to stay after school, something
about a project, I think. So I had to walk alone. Which was no
big thing, I really didn't mind, I just felt a little put out for
some reason. My hands were in my pockets and my head was down as
I walked down the same street I had been on hundreds of times
before. So I didn't notice that it was unusually empty,
unnaturally silent. That turned out to be a mistake.

Well, hey, would YOU be looking out for
weird armored freaks?

But I'm getting ahead of myself. The street
was deserted, of course, and the silence was creeping up on me. I
was not thinking about being attacked.

I was just walking down this street, the
same street, and suddenly there are these green-armored people
ahead, with very nasty-looking weapons in their hands. Maybe it
was just an impulse, but I didn't get the feeling they were too
friendly.

I heard a 'clink' a metal against metal.
That small sound was all that saved me. The lead armor-person
whipped this scythe above his head and threw it at me. I dived,
literally, down and against the wall of a nearby building. The
blade soared past and hit the spot that I was just in with deadly
accuracy. Well, to make a long story short, I didn't wait around
to see what those things would do next. I jumped up and bolted.

I heard them following me. They were fast.
I turned down an ally and hoped with all my might it wasn't a
dead end. It wasn't. I turned right at the end and kept running.
The 'clank' and the armored footsteps slowed when they came to a
corner. ~Ah hah!~ They couldn't turn as fast as I could.
It became a game, of whether they could catch up with me before I
hit the next corner. And losing meant death. I had absolutely no
doubts about that. Those things had already showed they were
going to kill me.

Not that I was calm. I wasn't sure if I was
going mad or not, I mean, THERE WERE PEOPLE IN FREAKING GREEN
ARMOR TRYING TO KILL ME! Hello?!?! What was what going
on? I admit that I was a little confused. Well, maybe a lot. Mix
that in with the fear, anxiety, that fact I might be going mad,
and that I was getting tired of running, didn't make me to clear
headed.

I turned into another ally. This one was
dead-ended. There was a figure ahead. I groaned when I saw
it was armored as well. Great, trapped between two armored
hallucinations. I must be going crazy

I slowed. The figure was that of a man, and
he had a slightly different armor than my attackers. I stopped
completely. His armor was black as midnight. It covered his
entire body, except for the head, which was protected by a
helmet. In the center of the chest plate there was a symbol. It
looked like a yin-yang, except the line between the two was
jagged, like a fire's flames. One side was completely red, and
the other was black as the rest of his armor. The red was the
only other color, and it was like blood. He/it spoke. His/it's
voice was like ice.

"Sorry, Hardrock." My heart
stopped on the name. He didn't sound sorry at all. "I have
my orders." Then he with drew a long, bladed staff from his
back and leveled it at me.






**********



Author' s notes: Well,
not much to say except that I'm on chapter six right now. And at
a kind of writer's block. As it is tradition, I ask you, faithful
reader-- Please review? I'm getting these out as quick as I can.