Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ The Guardian Chronicles: Book 1 ❯ Friends and Enemies ( Chapter 7 )

Nothing…

It felt…Warren wasn't sure what it felt like. He could hear his heartbeat echoing in his ears. Or was that someone else's? He couldn't feel his heartbeat. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't move anything, feel anything. He panicked…

…And his eyes snapped open. He took a deep breath and looked around. He could feel his heartbeat returning to normal.

There wasn't much to see. He was standing ankle deep in water that went on as far as the eye could see in all directions. Which wasn't very far considering the fog that hung in the air. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his arm. He jumped, startled.

"Easy, mon ami, i's just me," came a familiar Cajun voice.

Warren started to answer when another voice cut him off.

"Remy? Is that you?" Angela called from somewhere off to their right.

"Over here, chere," he replied.

Soon the Z-senshi were formed up and began looking for Starfire and Kokuenoh.

Something big and black loomed ahead of them. They hesitated, then realized it was Kokuenoh. He waited until they drew closer, then turned and trotted off into the fog.

The gate seemed to materialize out of thin air. And, with her back to them staring up at it, was Starfire.

"This is the gate into the Dynasty," she said without bothering to look at them.

Scott came up alongside her. "So, how do we get it open?"

"We don't."

"Pardon?"

She started to walk along the wall. After about 5 minutes she stopped suddenly, turning to face the wall, and studying it intently. "There…"

She pressed a specific point on the wall and a secret door swung open. She glanced back at the senshi before proceeding.

The passageway was cold and dark.

"Stay against the right wall. Don't do anything or say anything unless I tell you to." Starfire ordered.

The senshi entered single file, with Angela bringing up the rear. She yelped as the door swung shut behind her, and everything was plunged into blackness.

Warren wasn't sure how long they'd been walking when he suddenly ran into something. Starfire. Embarrassed, Warren started to apologize when he noticed two strange things. One, he could see her, however faintly, and two, she was paying absolutely no attention to him. The others had stopped, and were waiting to see what happened.

"There shouldn't be any light in this part of the passage," Starfire said. She sounded worried.

She pressed on, rounded a corner, and froze. Kokuenoh growled. As the senshi rounded the corner, they too saw the-slight problem. An all too familiar warrior blocked their path.

"Anubis," Starfire hissed.

Anubis glared at her. "Did you honestly think that I'd forgotten about this passage? Come now, Inferno, you know me better than that."

"I thought I knew you. I thought I could trust you. You are not the man I knew," she spat back.

Anubis sighed. "There's more going on here than you think, Inferno. Take some advice. For once, let other people fight their own battles. Lady Raenafel wants you dead. Not only that, but she wants to kill you herself. She knows you, knows who and what you are. And she wants to kill you badly enough to defy Arago and stop the warlords and the dark knights from killing you. That's the only reason you're still alive. Go home, little girl. Let Kokuenoh and these warriors fight this battle."

Starfire was visibly startled. This sounded like the Anubis she remembered. But he's dead. He died when he took up the Armor of Cruelty 400 years ago, "I…I can't do that," she stammered, finally, "Wildfire's inside the Dynasty somewhere, I have to find him."

Anubis's voice softened, "I'll find Wildfire. Go, before you get yourself killed," he pleaded.

Starfire's voice softened as well, for a moment. "I'm sorry. I just can't do that." Her jaw tightened. She reminded herself that this was not the man she had known. "Why do you care, anyway?" she stated flatly.

Anubis just smiled. "Maybe I haven't changed as much as you think I have, Starfire."

Anubis turned and left the way he'd come. Starfire shut her eyes and bowed her head, forcing back images of a dear friend whom she'd fought beside, and nearly died beside numerous times. He's gone, she forced herself to think, he's dead. But deep in her heart, she wondered if that was really true. Her next words cut her to the very soul, and were too soft for any ears save her own. "On my oath as a guardian, I cannot leave someone I've been sent to help. I cannot abandon a world under my protection. I will not abandon my friends to a fight they cannot hope to win. I do not know why Raenafel wants me dead, but I am not afraid of her. I will not give up, even if…" she paused, and raised her head to look in the direction Anubis had gone. "…even if it means I will have to kill you, old friend."

Starfire turned now, to see the senshi watching her, waiting to see what she would do next. You're wrong Anubis. This is my fight, too. "Let's go."

"Are you sure you're going to be OK?" Warren asked.

Damn him. He always knows what I'm thinking. "I'm fine. Like I said, let's go. Now that they know we're here, things are going to get a lot harder."

Moments later, deep within the Dynasty…

"I've had guards at the gate since we returned. IF she survived, and IF she tries to get here, we'll know about it," Mars stated, obviously confident of his own abilities.

"Don't be so sure. And don't be overconfident. You've never dealt with her before. I have. She's found a way around the guards before, and though I'll be damned if I know how she did it, what's to stop her from doing it again?" Dais reminded him.

"What, indeed?" came an icy voice, "She's been a problem in the past. Why has she returned now, here?"

All the Warlords and Dark Knights shuddered. Their master, for all the years that they had been serving him, still frightened them. The only ones in the room unaffected were the Ladies Raenafel and Kayura, and Kayura's pet tiger, White Blaze.

Arago turned to his queen. "What about you, Raenafel. Don't you have anything to say? You've shown an obvious interest in her capture."

Raenafel looked up at Arago with indifference, and her voice reflected it. "She's nowhere I can find her, milord. Which means she's either dead, or already here."

"I'm betting on the latter," Cale said.

A voice from the back of the room suddenly interrupted the conversation. "You'd win that bet, Cale." All eyes turned to Anubis as he entered the room. "She's here."

"Bring her to me."

That's all it took. Those four words from Arago, and the Dark Knights vanished. Kayura and the Warlords left through the doorway, their duty was to meet Starfire and the senshi should they make it this far. Which they undoubtedly would. Starfire was rested and at her best now. And the senshi were experienced enough to cause trouble. Arago was sending the Dark Knights to their deaths, and he knew it, as did the Warlords. The Dark Knights did not. They were only being sent to weaken Starfire, to ensure that the Warlords could capture her without problems.

Raenafel turned to Arago. "Remember your promise," she growled, "you can have the armor, and to Hell with the senshi for all I care, but Starfire is mine to kill."

"If she's caught alive," he answered, "she's yours. As long as I have the armor, and as long as she ends up dead, I don't care how it's done."

Meanwhile…

As soon as they'd exited the room and were out of earshot, Kayura grabbed Anubis and pulled him aside. "What else?" she demanded.

"What makes you think I know anything else?"

"Dammit, Anubis, don't play games with me. You know how she got in, don't you?"

"Yes."

"And you didn't warn us? That's treason!"

"I've stayed alive this long because I know who my friends and my enemies are. Can you say the same?" he asked. When she didn't answer, he pulled himself out of her grip and walked away towards his post.

She stared after him. What did he mean by that? Of course she knew who her enemies were! Inferno and her blasted senshi. And her friends, Dais, White Blaze, her parents…weren't they? She looked down at White Blaze, then knelt down and put her arms around his neck and whispered, "Well, at least you and Dais, anyway."

White Blaze purred. Of course I'm your friend. You can trust me. And Anubis. And Dais too, I suppose. But the others? No. Especially not Raenafel. She has her own agenda. She wants Zhane dead, and she'll kill you if that's what it takes. I won't let her. I'll make sure Zhane and Kokuenoh find Wildfire first. Wildfire can protect you. I will protect you. I promise.

If Kayura could have heard what White Blaze was thinking, she'd probably have had some serious doubts about where her loyalties lied. As it was, she was beginning to wonder if she could trust anyone, besides the solitary white figure that walked beside her as she went to take up her own post.