Warriors Sacrifice : Chapter Six.

Tragedy...

A fanfic by Ami Mizuno.

KEI CRIED. It was the only thing he found himself capable of doing..well that and staring in shock at the lifeless ronin body that was once called Cye of the Torrent...His whole life he had been taught that his father had been a great warrior. One who's virtue laid more in the eyes of the beholder. Kei had been told his father had been a trusting man, one of great courage and trust. He had been told that his father had been able to turn almost all enemies into allies, and that his greatest treasure and strength had been the love for his family and friends. His mother had once told him that, when he was born, Cye had taken him and carried him to the sea, saying that he wanted his son to see the endless beauty that had granted him his life. He had wanted Kei to see what it was that he would pass on. He wanted him to see the torrent of waves crashing against the sleek shores... Yet this would never happen. That future would no longer be, For Cye of the Torrent was dead and that meant that Kei Mouri, his son, would never exist.
Because of this, Kei cried.

"A Dark Warlord....one that hides behind the power of others...one that is afraid to fight his own battles...one who must kill one weaker than him to prove his own worth. This is how I see you Cale. I hope you die knowing that you are all of these things, but much worse. " Krystal stated. If it were physically possible Krystal's clear green eyes would be shooting daggers. She glared at a Cale with something worse than hate and disgust combined. The feeling she felt within her was undefinable, it was something that made Cale's blood run cold. The worst part of being face to face with what was probably a being that was more powerful than himself, was that Cale could not help but admire her. She had inherited the beauty of both her parents. The temper and spirit of her mother and the wisdom and courage of her father. He looked her over. How she had grown since the first time he had laid eyes on her! She hovered there, but a few meters out of his grasp. Her long golden blond hair pulled back in a braid that reached her waist and long bangs that only made her seem all that much more beautiful. What am I thinking?! Is she not my enemy? Is she not my sworn foe... daughter of he who caused me the scar across my chest?! So why do I admire her so!? God damn! If only she was not so beautiful...if only... He silently cursed himself. In all the centuries his immortality had granted him, never had he seen such a woman. Never had he needed to see one. Yet this one...
"May the fates protect me.." she silently prayed. "...and may the furies have mercy upon what bit soul you have left." She spoke with words of pity. She knew that the darkness had long ago consumed his soul. The fates ,goddess's of destiny, would see her through this challenge. The furies, goddess's of vengeance, would punish his soul accordingly. She knew the outcome would be in her favor, for she had seen the end. She had seen all this in the 'visions' she had both been cursed and blessed by seeing. The dream that night had been the final one in a set. One that depicted this battle as an observer would see it. Ryo of the Wildfire...Cye of the Torrent... She refused to sit by and watch as another Ronin died! He would not die as he did in her dream! She would not allow any more of them to die!
"I am Halo! I am the warrior of wisdom and light!" she yelled. With these few words she bolted upright into the air, leaving Cale no choice but to follow. He did so, with little hesitation. That was the biggest mistake he could've made. She looked down under her just in time to avoid being cut in half by his sword. He attacked with a strength that was not human...yet his attack lacked wisdom.
She smiled inwardly as she raised her hand above her head and dawned the forest green and white sub armor. Though theirs were different then those of their parents, they were still connected to the yoroi's. They say that the armors changed, depending on the wearers belief. This was no doubt true when you saw Krystal's armor. It was mainly skin tight on all the new ronins, though had leg,arm, and chest armor. Though the full armor was bulkier and more deadly, they sub armor worked just as well, depending on the fighting ability of whoever was wearing it. When it was Krystal, you shouldn't stay around too long. Her armor was was covered by ancient runes from celtic, Roman, greek japanese and other ancient civilizations. Her eyes became surrounded be strange tattoos, as did those of the other ronins. In any case..the armors had changed a great deal since the last line of Ronin Warriors. She suddenly stopped in midflight and froze. She stared at Cale in what looked like terror. He stopped as well, bewildered by the beauty's sudden stop.
"You did NOT just do what I think you did...." she yelled at Cale. He stared at her in total confusion. "..you did NOT just check me out!" she yelled. She gaped at Cale's surprised look and he took on a defensive state." YOU DID! YOU DID!!" She yelled, pointing dramatically at him.
"Why would I-- how could-- grrr...." Cale stopped and launched himself at the girl's form. How dare she mock him! She would die...as Sage of the Halo had!
"Man..you're gonna make me sick...." Krystal mumbled as she watched him lunge after her. She simply stepped out of the way a second before he would have hit and allowed him to see the stone wall behind her. ~SLAM~ "..ouch.."she winced as Cale flew head first into the wall. "..that's gotta hurt."
"Damn you!" Cale screamed as the real battle began. he true battle started in a blink of an eye. The only proof of such a fight were the constant flashes of darkness and light that occurred when their swords met.

"Where...where'd they go?! They disappeared!!!" Kei cried as he desperately looked into the sky for any sign of Krystal. One minute, both Cale and Krystal had been floating there..the next they had disappeared right in front of their faces. "Arren?! What abou--"
"Don't use your eyes Kei! Use yer minds eye! They're moving at a speed that can't be seen by the naked eye! Try to locate the aura's that their yoroi's give out..." Arren spoke, moving his head rapidly, as if watching something. Kei took his advice and , closing his eyes, concentrated on Krystal's aura. He was shocked when he found it, in a bloody fight between Cale. Though Cale seemed just has hurt, he'd hit Krystal with quite a few punches as well.
"We have to help her!" he cried. He hated feeling so helpless, he wanted to help her! She was like his sister, and he couldn't just stand by and watch her get hurt!! "What can we do?!"
" We can DUCK!!!" Joe cried as he grabbed Kei's small form and slammed it into the ground. Kei pulled himself onto his knees, spitting sand out of his mouth and glared at Joe. "HEY! Whatcha do that for?!" he cried as he watched Joe stand up and offer kei his hand. He turned to see all the other ronins also pulling themselves from the ground. He gave a puzzled look and then saw why. Sekhmet, dark warlord of venom, held his spot on top on top of a spiraling column. His snake like speech came our hissing like that of a rattlesnake.
" Roninssss......are you all fool enough to take on the warlordssss of the future?" He hissed. He stared hatefully at the ronins, enjoying their squirming, their utter disbelief.
"S...SEKHMET?!" Kento stared in disbelief. This was NOT the same warlord they had fought before.He was barely recognizable as the warlord of venom. Next to him stood what appeared to be Dais, two mysterious men, and....Sage.
"Kill them."
"As you wish master..."Sekhmet whispered. "Dais?"
"I shall take the Hardrocks...Halo..."
"Lord?"
"Take Strata, he seems to be DYING to speak with you. The rest of you know what to do."
"HAI!"They yelled as they jumped off the rooftop. Sekhmet and Dais watched them leave, smiling.
"KARMA!" Sekhmet cried into the night, calling the girl. He watched as she appeared before his eyes, her shoulder length black hair caressing her face. She had a ghostlike appearance, her pitch black hair and eyes against the pale white skin gave off an eery look of the dead. When they had found her, she had been near death, she was now one of the finest dynasty warriors to ever look down on the mortal world that she had once loved.
"You summoned me, my lord and master?" She said quietly, laying down on her knees and bowing against the cold floor. The ceremonial kimono made her seem so unreal...It was frightening to think that she was once full of love instead of hate.
"We are pleased with your successful capture of the ronin, Sage of Halo. We have yet another mission for you." Dais spoke easily, calmly. "We wish you to aid Vesta, Azrael and Rakata in disposing the Ronin Warriors...They are a nuisance that must be handled with..severely. You are in command. Your power should be more then enough to defeat them."
"As you wish my lord." Karma whispered silently, standing. She took a firm grip of the kimono, ripping it of her body. Beneath was her own outfit, designed to her liking. A pitch black outfit. Skintight to her thin frame.It held the shape of a one piece swimsuit, with tall high heeled boots that went up to midthigh. The gloves went up to the middle of her forearm, allowing the black tattoos that continued up her upper arms to be seen. She held a firm grip on her whip, held at her belt and secured the small dagger that dangled from her ankle. "They will not escape me, especially Hardrock."

"SO what's the gameplan oh fearless leader?" Joe yelled as he slammed his fist through one of the soldiers stomachs. ah..this is the life...Joe turned to hear Yulie's voice booming to them. Mostly yelling at him... but what else was new?
"All right....Joe! Take Kento with you and take care of Dais! Taro, Kei, you two take care of Rakata! But watch out! If Rakata's here, Vesta and Azrael aren't far behind! Shiro! Take care of the blond..I think they call him Shin! I'll take Sekhmet and Rowen and Arren will...Arren? ARREN?!? Damn...Rowen... Take care of Sage..." Yulie said as the groups broke up and took on the enemy. Arren.. this is no time for that magic junk...Where are you? Yulie thought as he ran towards Sekhmet.
Sorry mi amigo, but I can't take part in this fight....There's way more going on here then you could possibly know...and the fact that I can't fight on an empty stomach!!! Arren thought as he flew towards the Dynasty palace. Oh Karmaaa...You're about to have company.

Inside the palace, the girl called Karma turned suddenly, as though her name had been called. "Arren.... damn bastard... don't you know how to die?!" She whispered to herself.
"Nope! Guess that goes the same for you, eh Maria?" Karma jerked her head around to see Arren crouched on the windowsill. "After all, you did sell your soul for all of this..do tell me, have you realized just what that act has for consequences?" He asked, jumping down onto the floor. He looked up at her, his fiery red hair and blood red eyes seemed to flicker like the candlelight in the room....
"How would you know what it is like to no longer have a soul. I did not ask for this, nor did I wish this.... it was done without my knowledge so that when I awoke I was already theirs. You have no idea of what it's like....what it means....." She whispered holding back the tears. Why was she allowing herself to weaken? it was if...something...in those eyes of his.....
"You're mistaken."
"Wha?"
"I do know what it feels like, and you're mistaken that they have your soul if it all happened the way you say it did."
"B..but how could you know....."
"Because if it wasn't for the Ronin Warriors, the ones that your masters wish to kill, this world would no longer exist... because of me."

"Listen Ronins... AND LISTEN WELL!!! The only way that the two of you, the two Hardrocks, will EVER kill me is if you both DIE!!!" Dais cried, a maniacal gleam in his eye.
"Yer point? You stinkin warlord dude, you think We're afraid!? WE'RE GONNA BASH YOU SO HARD THA--" Kento turned as someone tapped his shoulder. "Joe?"
"When you answered Dais just now...were you implying that we're actually going to die, by any chance?" Joe asked, narrowing his eyes.
"If we gotta to take this Warlord wuss down!" Kento replied.
"...but..but..but...." Joe stuttered, looking down at the ground as he made circles in the dirt with his naginata.
"BUT WHAT?!" cried both Kento and Dais.
"...well....." Joe began, beginning to draw the circles with the tip of his toe as he spied the exasperated look on both of the warrior's faces. "...it's just that...."
"IT'S JUST THAT WHAT?!"
"Well ...WHAT THE FREAKIN' HELL WILL ALL THE FREAKIN' GIRLS THINK IF I GO AND DO SOMETHIN' AS FREAKIN' STUPID AS DYIN'?!?! I'm too freakin' beautiful and nice and kind and... WELL YOU DON'T EXACTLY WORK FREAKIN OUT 24/7 JUST TO GO AND GET YOUR PERFECTLY FREAKIN' TONED BODY SPLATTERED TO FREAKIN' A MILLION PIECES ALL OVER SOME ..SOME... SOME REALLY NOT FREAKIN' NICE PLACE LIKE FREAKIN' THIS!!! Sides... I'm too young to die... and..."
"... and what?" Asked Kento and Dais, both of them in complete disbelief that this kid was to be the next Hardrock.
"...and, well... NO FREAKIN' WAY AM I GONNA FREAKIN' DIE A FREAKIN' VIRGIN!!!" Joe cried. He stared at Dais and Kento for a moment. The look on their face was completely blank. That is, until they dropped to the ground laughing so hard that he thought they were gonna die, or at least have a seizure from laughing so much.
"Hm. Some great and almighty warlord..." Joe whispered under his breath as he began to twirl his naginata in his hand. He crouched low to the ground and held his naginata behind him as he watched Dais pick himself up from the ground. For a moment, he was completely open, uncertain of what had just happened. That was when Joe struck. He threw his body forward, pushing Kento out of the way as he did so, and slammed his Naginata straight through Dais. He heard Dais cry out in agony as he twisted the naginata within the warlord's body. He felt the blood being thrown onto his face.But Joe gave no heed to this.He felt Dais' attempt to counter attack, or at least hurt him enough to the point where he would remove the naginata. It hurt. It hurt like hell. By the gods... I miss you father, I hope I've made you proud. Joe's last thoughts swam around aimlessly in his head as he passed out, Dais' weapon digging deep within his back.

"Shin-chan! Shin-chan!" A nine year old Sage looked around, trying to remove some of the long locks of hair from his face so he could get a better view of his surroundings.It was dark outside, and he'd already made sure the others were safe. "Shin-chan!" He cried. He felt a strange warmth building in his eyes, but he quickly shook it off as he began to run faster. He skidded to a halt moments before he would have fallen of the side of a cliff. DAMN! Stop running like you've never done this before Sage! You are a warrior! You have been trained and taught, so why do you act as though you're a rabbit?! Think first, use your gift of sight. You are wiser then most grown men yet you forget it under times of pressure! You must not do that or it will surely mean your death! Remember... nothing is as it seems... Sage breathed deeply, catching his breath, as he remembered his fathers words. He looked around once more. Closing his eyes, he waited, and saw Shin. He opened his eyes. He knew where Shin was. Everything would be fine once he found Shin. He believed this with all his heart as he ran off into the woods in search of his brother.

"AAAAH!!" Rowen let out a pain-filled cry as he was slammed to the ground. He quickly performed a backward somersault in time to miss Sage's sword. He stared at the spot it had landed at. It would have cut him in half if he had not moved. He looked up to see Sage sage sneering down at him. He quickly jumped away as Sage jumped down, recovering his sword.
"I don't want to hurt you Sage!" Rowen cried in desperation, his arrow strung, his bow in hand.
"Too bad Ro... Cause I really want to hurt you." Sage said coldly. He began to slowly walk towards Rowen, holding the sword up to his face, as if admiring his reflection in the blade. Nervous trails of sweat streaked their ways down Rowen's face. So your best friend wants to kill you... I wonder if they have some kind of association for this kind of thing. Rowen thought as he dodged Sage's sword, but was too slow for the spin kick that landed squarely on his jaw. He cried out as he fell backward, blood dribbling down his chin. Cye... Ryo... am I next in line?
"Hey Ro..."Sage began as he lifted him up by his neck. "..did I ever tell you that you think to much?" Sage asked, grinning at Rowen's choking form. He grabbed Rowen's neck tighter, slamming him into a wall. He let go of his hold as he watched Rowen gag and cough. He smiled maliciously, raising his sword high above his head as he prepared himself for the final blow to Rowen.

Kei turned behind him and stared at the ongoing wreckage. The destruction was everywhere. Is this our ultimate fate? To fight and fight and never have normal lives? Since I was a toddler, this war had been going on, since I first learned how to fight, I've been fighting. I know Joe enjoy the fight. He once told me why... the way the heart pounds faster, the way our senses are pushed farther, the way our bodies react. He sees it as one giant roller coaster... am I the only one who sees it differently?
Kei gripped his weapon tighter then before, looking towards Taro and Rakata. They were locked in midfight, neither winning, neither losing. Taro was holding back. He was trying hard to keep control, and it was visible. Kei watched the sweat run down the two men's faces, the pain of fight setting in. That's when it happened. Kei ran towards Taro, maybe if he got close enough he could help with his powers... Kei gasped as he felt the tearing pain in his gut. The mindlink had set in. He'd gotten to close to Taro at to crucial a time. He dropped to his knees, clutching his midsection. He slowly looked up to see Taro finally lose the small amount of control he had left. The blinding flash filled the sky, as the magical power of the Dynasty that Taro held within himself was let loose upon Rakata, throwing him across the sky and burning him to ashes. Kei hoisted himself up, the pain beginning to leave him, and walked over to Taro's limp body. The light blue hair masked his face, his armor seemed pretty beat up. Kei used his fingers to remove some of the blue hair that stuck to his friends face. "Taro?" he whispered, trying to see if he could rouse the older boy. "Taro?"
"Unh....so that's what it feels like to be slammed with a mac truck...." Taro whispered silently. His voice was hoarse from exertion, and he was on the bridge of passing out.
"Taro...please hang in there. I need your help. I saw Azrael and Vesta coming towards us when you blasted Rakata... " Kei said silently, carefully lifting Taro's head onto his lap and producing a small cask of water which he carefully put to Taro's mouth. "How badly are you injured?"
Taro took a minute to answer, as if analyzing every place in his body that hurt. "I have at least two broken ribs....and I think my arm might be dislocated." He said quietly as Kei helped him to sit up.
"Can you take off your armor so that I can check?" Kei asked as he examined Taro's shoulderblade.
"Krystal taught me a few things when we went on that training mission." He answered to Taro's quizzical look. Taro obliged, removing the armor to show his doji. The dark blue top was ripped at the seams and the pure white pants seemed beige from dirt that padded across them. Kei used his small fingers, probing the area. Taro was right, it was dislocated. He took a careful grip of the arm and, without the least of warning, reset the arm. Taro couldn't help but let out a small cry of pain.
"I'm sorry but you would have braced yourself if I'd warned you, and then it wouldn't have worked."
"It's alri--" Taro was cut off as they saw Azrael and Vesta landing not far from Rakata's beaten body. "Looks like we have company...."

Yulie/Guardian dodged the lunges easily. He held up his own katanas as Sekhmet brought his swords down over Yulie. They'd been like this for quite some time, and to tell the truth it was becoming frustrating. Neither own of the was gaining any higher ground, and for some reason old fang face was even more powerful then he had been a few days ago! Yulie quickly turned and spinkicked Sekhmet in an attempt to break the hold. If he wasn't careful, he was going to get himself killed.... He heard footsteps behind them. More soldiers. He thought as he quickly dodged another lunge. That was WAY too close...Yulie remarked as he glanced down at his throbbing shoulder. He'd been cut... and he could feel the venom inside him now.... it wasn't something that was real pleasant.
He quickly dodged a few more slashes from Sekhmet's sword as he tried to keep his focus. The muscles in his arm were already beginning to stiffen..not a good sign. He turned in time to jump out of the way of Sekhmet's swords... The venom on them dripped off of them...scorching the ground with its touch. Yulie glanced over... counting the swords. one...two, three, four, five....where's six?!He turned too late, the sixth sword slipped through his midsection with terrifying ease, its poison the most dangerous. His eyes grew wide as his body stiffened and his insides began to burn. He turned to see Sekhmet's face, inches away from his own. The foul smell of Sekhmet's breath choking him.
"As we said, Ronin scum, you are a fool to believe your...students shall ever defeat us. If their parents could not do it, then what makes you think they shall?"
"You ever... though of... practicing... proper hygiene?" Yulie answered, his voice wrenching within him.He started at the the warlord's face. He slimly laughed silently.
"Defiant to the end I see...." He said, grinning.
"...why...?" Was the last word Yulie was able to sound as darkness came across his eyes, though his ears still listened to the maniacal laughter.
"Perhaps you didn't know as much about the Dynasty as you thought boy! There is much about Arren that you shall never know.... and will never know once we rid ourselves of these filthy Ronins!" He cried as Yulie felt his last breath leave him. For a few moments he fell in a strange limbo, a small figure appearing before him. As the figure got larger he realized exactly what it was he was looking at. Fire twirled around the small figure, the hair itself was fire, and though the body was otherwise, the soul reeked of the foul stench of pure evil. That was when Yulie understood. Too little, too late....

For RA was forever.

And Arren's true destiny would be fulfilled,
Just as the prophecy depicted it.

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

Dedicated to none other then... Da Jie.

Perhaps I should be worried... she did threaten to stalk Swiftgold if chapter six wasn't up soon...

BWA-HA-HAHA!!! BWA-HAHAHA!!!

Gods, I love writing cliffhangers.... it must be some kind of hereditary talent..... So tell me Saendie.. Was it worth the wait? I certainly hope so! Though, it would have been in your hands sooner if it wasn't for computer deprivation by a certain dumb blond.... *sigh* A full three weeks free of torture.. whatever shall I do? Geez... I wonder how confused my faithful readers shall be after this...... I mean... all these new time paradoxes that I so easily infiltrate into my story....

Hmmm.... Who's next on the death list.... Maybe a little boy with two white locks of hair.... or maybe a certain warlord with a growing obsession..... who knows?

So Like I said... lots of thanks..bla bla bla. Hope you like this chapter, dudes and dudettes! (whoa..that sounded so eighties...) And thanks for taking the time to read about bloodthirsty deaths!!!

Well Da Jie... it looks like you don't have to stalk Swiftgold after all! It was up pretty fast!

And for all those of you who don't know already, my e-mail address has changed! Send comments to: NurikoSama@aol.com