Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction / Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ The Guardian Chronicles: Book 1 ❯ Truth Be Told ( Chapter 8 )

Later…

Starfire and the senshi approached the fortress. Everything had been quiet since their brush with Anubis a few hours earlier had left the senshi puzzling over Starfire's connection to the samurai. Especially Warren. Right now, Starfire's expression was completely unreadable, even to him. And that bothered him. Like she's hiding something. He was fairly sure she was hiding something. But he didn't know how to ask her. And she certainly didn't look like she was in the mood to answer him.

Starfire stopped.

"What's wrong, p'tite?" Remy asked, curiously.

"We stop here and wait for them," she answered.

"What?!"

"Listen. Anubis has obviously told then we're here. And we haven't seen anyone, yet. So there's obviously a trap that's been set for us. If we go any further, we walk right into it. And I, for one, am sick of their traps. This is the best place we can fight them. We may not have the advantage, but at least here, neither do they."

Up in one of the fortress's towers, four figures watch the senshi below as they spread out and get ready to fight. "Predictable," Cale yawned, feigning boredom.

"Do you mean the fact that they came or that they didn't walk into the Dark Knight's trap?" Dais asked, looking equally bored.

"Both."

"Now what?" Sehkmet was poised on the edge of the opening. "Do we warn them? Or do we watch and wait."

"For now we wait." Anubis answered. "Before you say anything Cale, I don't like this anymore than you do, but we've all owed Inferno our lives more than once, and we all know that if Arago gets his hands on her, he'll have control over all of the nine rings."

"Which means," Dais interrupted, "that he no longer needs us, just our armor. We know, Anubis. He doesn't give a damn about the Dynasty. Neither does Raenafel. We also know that if he finds Wildfire, Arago will use him to capture her. That's all fine. What bothers me…" he drops his voice, "…is betraying Kayura."

"Kayura won't be harmed if she stays out of the way," Anubis pointed out. "Hell, at least she'd rule the Dynasty properly. I'd bet my kusari-gama she doesn't even know about the nine rings."

"What about the Dark Knights?" Sehkmet asked.

"Gabriel and Osiris know what's going on. To Hell with the rest of them," Anubis answered.

None of the heard the soft padding of feet as White Blaze trotted off, heading towards Kayura's post. So it begins. I guess we can trust the Warlords. Good. Shortly, shortly I'll show them where Wildfire is. But not yet. I don't want to disrupt their carefully laid plans just yet. Everything's falling into place. The nine rings. The guardians of the Dynasty. Welcome home.

Starfire sat on the side of the bridge, looking at her reflection in the water. Funny, it seems like every time I look at my reflection, I see someone else. When was the last time I looked at my reflection and saw me? She shuddered.

"Cold?" A gentle voice startled her out of her reverie.

"A little," she lied. Dammit, who was she kidding? Warren could see right through her. Just like…NO! she would not think about Skye again. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

Warren glanced at her as her leaned over the edge of the bridge. "No one else can hear us now," he stated calmly. "So, you want to tell me what we're really doing here? And please, don't lie to me this time. I don't know what you've been through in the past, but things are different now. You don't need to lie to get us to help you. We're here for you, all of us."

Starfire didn't look at him. She couldn't. He sounded so damned much like Skye right now that it was driving her nuts. "Where should I start?"

"How about whenever this Inferno nonsense got started?" he replied.

She sighed and shut her eyes. He was asking her to remember things that had happened a thousand years ago. Did he realize how hard that was? Probably. "I was sent to a world called Earth a thousand years ago…" she paused, waiting for a response. It was the first time she'd ever hinted at how old she really was. He remained motionless, staring at the water below. "…it was there I first encountered the Warlords. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I was sent there to help a human warrior named Kaos defeat a daemon called Arago. Arago had gotten ahold of an extremely powerful armor called the Armor of the 9th Dawn. It certainly wasn't my first assignment; I figured by now I had this thing down to an art. Arago was a typical dictator bent on ruling the world; Kaos was the typical mortal who sought to carve a name for himself by beating him. That was fine with me. For some reason mortals seem to like having heroes, and liked being them even more.

"Anyway, I got a rude awakening when I got there. I've never really dealt with a daemon, a real demon, before. And Kaos was definitely not an ordinary mortal. Actually, he was one of the bravest mortals I've ever met. He didn't really need much help from me, at least as far as beating Arago. This world had its own strength to lend the young warrior. My part came next. Banish Arago from that world and make sure he stayed there. Not too altogether hard. I sent him to a dimension called the Nether Realm. The Dimension of Lost Souls. Figured he'd fit right in. Kaos had stripped Arago of his armor when he beat him, and without it the demon could not return to the mortal world. So we kept the armor on Earth, and that should have been that.

"One small catch. He swore he'd reclaim his armor and get his revenge on me and Kaos. Well, that was something I was used to, I've had a hundred would-be tyrants on a hundred different worlds swear they'd get me back, and nothing ever came of it. Kaos, on the other hand, took him seriously. He split Arago's armor into nine parts, what we call the Nine Rings. Nine Rings also refers to the warriors that wear the armors. He bound each one with a kanji; a trait the wearer must have to claim the armor as his own. They were Loyalty, Piety, Serenity, Obedience, Virtue, Life, Justice, Wisdom, and Trust. Arago possessed none of the nine traits, so he could never claim the armor. However, the kanji alone would not have been enough to keep Arago from reclaiming the armor, so Kaos used his own power, his own life force, to create one final miracle. He granted immortality to his two closest friends, two who could help the armor bearers beat Arago: Kokuenoh and Byakuen. And to me, he gave the Armor of Inferno, bound with the kanji of Hope. Have you ever heard the story of Pandora's Box? It says that evil cannot triumph as long as there is hope in the world. Inferno is the balance between good and evil in the armors. As long as a pure heart controls the Armor of the Inferno, the majority of the armors will be good, and Arago cannot control them. If Arago captures Inferno, he can reclaim his armor and reenter whatever mortal world he chooses. And it seems he's chosen yours.

"So that should have been that. I took the armor with me and left. About a century later, however, I was called back. Kokuenoh was waiting for me. We came here, to discover that Arago had set himself up as ruler and had three warriors serving under him. Their names were Sehkmet, Dais, and Cale-"

"Sehkmet," Warren interrupted, "wasn't that what you called that samurai we saw at the carnival?"

"-Yes. As I was saying, he had those three warriors here waiting for me. What surprised me the most was the armor they were wearing. I recognized them immediately. Summer, Fall, and Winter: bound by the kanjis of Piety, Serenity, and Obedience. That was when I was hit by the reality of Arago's threat. Kaos may have been gone, but I was fair game. I defeated the three warriors easily, and figured I'd seen the last of them. I was wrong.

"I was called back a third time, this time straight to Earth. This time Kokuenoh and Byakuen were waiting for me. I had been sent to stop the next armor bearer from joining Arago. Unfortunately, Cale was waiting for me when I arrived, as well. I'm usually at less than half strength when I first arrive on a world, and Arago knew it. Cale attacked, and I was caught off guard. I probably would have been killed if it hadn't been for Byakuen and Kokuenoh. They beat him back and carried me to a nearby village. I met someone there…" she trailed off, hesitating, as if not sure how to continue, "…his name...was Anubis…" She stopped. For a moment it looked as if she was going to cry, but she didn't. "He helped me recover. I knew almost immediately that he was the armor bearer I'd been sent to find, he didn't have a clue. He was only eighteen. He was so innocent; I knew it would shatter his world if he discovered the truth. So I didn't tell him. I thought I could protect him. I couldn't. The next time the warlords came, they were different. A lot stronger than I remember them. Byakuen, Kokuenoh, and I stood our ground, but I had to be careful, I didn't want to hurt anyone in the village. Next thing I knew, Anubis was there, sword in hand, trying to help me. He was a better warrior than I would have thought. A lot better. We stood our ground for a long time, but we were beaten. I remember seeing a group of Dynasty soldiers carrying him away right before I passed out. I woke up later in one of the village elders' huts. They said the strangers were gone; that I was some kind of hero, but all I could think about was how I failed. Failed the only true friend I'd had in millennia.

"The next time I saw him, he had changed. He was much as you see him now. Cold, heartless, dead…inside. The kind, gentle, wise warrior I'd known, the one who stood with me against the Warlords to defend his home, was dead. It's hard, sometimes, to remember that he's a different person." She sighed, and finally, let the tears come silently. "The Armor of Spring…the kanji Loyalty. He could have been a great Ronin. I should have warned him when I had the chance…" She brushed away the tears and looked up at the fortress. Are you in there, Anubis? Do you know? Do you know about the crime I committed against you? Do you hate me? Do you know…do you know how much I wish I had warned you? Do you know how heavily that sin weighs on my soul?

Do you still blame yourself? Kokuenoh watches her silently, acutely aware of how she feels. He remembers, oh yes, he remembers what it was like, the day they lost. You knew we'd loose one more armor bearer to Arago. You should have known it would be him. You wished to protect him; you should have known you couldn't. Don't keep looking to the past. Look to the future. This world needs us now. Wildfire needs us now. We can't afford to loose a Ronin to Arago. Wildfire-Virtue, Hardrock-Justice, Torrent-Trust, Strata-Life, Halo-Wisdom. If we can find Wildfire, he can find the others. They can't be far. Byakuen? Can you hear me?

Yes.

Have you found him? Wildfire?

A soft mental laugh. Of course.

Is there anyone else here we can trust?

The warlords. They know about Arago's plans, now. Rapier and Crysanda, maybe. Kayura's coming around…

Good, we'll need her.

Yes. Watch out, though. Raenafel has her own agenda, and it has little to do with the Nine Rings. What about you? Have you found the new Inferno?

Yes. He's a little…green, but he'll do. He certainly seems to match the kanji.

That's what's important. I must go. Raenafel's beginning to suspect me. Best not to give her any more reason to than she already has. I'll meet you when you get here.

Alright. Good Luck.

The same to you.

Kokuenoh gave a big tiger yawn and got up, padding over to Starfire and putting his big paws up on the edge of the bridge. Starfire looked down, smiled, and scratched him behind the ears. He purred.

"Did I bore you, old boy? Sorry," she smiled wistfully at him, wishing she could take things in stride as easily as the big tiger did. "I know you've heard all this before."

"Heads up, people!" Angela yelled from somewhere above them. Everyone gathered on the bridge.

"Well?" Starfire asked.

"There's a group a soldiers headed our way at 12 o'clock," Angela announced. Starfire flew up to have a look, and was followed by Angela and Warren. "There," Angela pointed.

"I see them," Starfire answered. The three came back down. "It's the Dark Knights, all of them. We shouldn't have too much trouble with them, as long as the Warlords and Kayura stay out of it."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Jean asked.

The senshi met the Dark Knights head on. Gabriel and Osiris fell back early, as planned. A fully recovered Starfire, 5 senshi determined to win, and a very confident tiger tore through their ranks. After a brief, vicious scuffle, the senshi stood victorious, but not without a price. Warren's wings were badly slashed, to the point of being tattered, and they were bleeding pretty badly. If he ever flew again, it wouldn't be soon. She did her best to stop the bleeding while surveying the rest of the damage. The Dark Knights were dead, well, most of them anyway. Gabriel and Osiris were missing. No matter, we'll get them later. Jean had sustained a broken arm apparently, since it was in a sling. Her husband had a bad slash in his leg, but she seemed to have stopped the bleeding. Angela, being practically invulnerable, had sustained little more than a few scrapes and bruises, and these only where the Dark Knights' sure kills had hit her. But she was visibly worn out. They all were. Starfire had a feeling that had been the point of the Knights' suicide run against them. She glanced at Remy, being tended to by Angela. His worst injury appeared to be in his shoulder, where it looked like one of Mars' metal spikes must have hit him. He was paler than usual, but seemed to be alright. She reminded herself that these were seasoned warriors; they'd been injured before. Warren's wings had stopped bleeding, but she was fairly sure he'd never fly again. She didn't know how to tell him.

"How bad?" he asked her softly.

"It could be worse…" she lied.

"You're lying," he responded. He managed a weak grin.

"They're tattered," she said.

"I could have told you that," he responded, "they hurt."

She looked at him. If he could feel them, then the injury might not be as bad as it looked. She told him so.

"That's good to know." He looked up at the fortress. "So do we press on, or go running home with our tails between our legs?"

Kokuenoh answered his question by getting up from where he'd been sprawled licking his wounds and started towards the palace.

"I guess that answers that," Starfire replied. "Everyone ready?"

They decided it would be best if they took weapons this time. Tired as they were, they didn't want to rely too heavily upon their own abilities. Warren picked up Lance's broadsword, Jean took Bastet's spear, Scott hefted Loki's war axe (which wasn't nearly as heavy as he expected it to be), Angela grabbed Isis' whip and tucked Seth's sais into her belt, and Remy took Azrael's lance. Starfire glanced at the remaining weapon, Jeda's club, and decided to leave it. After all, she had her own weapons…