Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ To See the Light ❯ Isisis' Sacrafice ( Chapter 9 )

To See the Light

Chapter Nine: Isisis' Sacrifice

Author: Crimson (crimson@glomped.com)

--

Tomorrow came too fast, or too slow, whichever way, it came. And I was unprepared.

I don't think I slept, but then I did, or didn't. Ugh. I was out of it.

I rubbed the sleep out of my eye, at 4:39AM, so the clock read. I had about twenty minutes or so before Cale and Sekhmet would meet me in the kitchen.

I yawned. I felt like a zombie, a nervous wreck, but I didn't care.

I blinked. I looked around the dark living room with little interest. There was nothing here for me. There was nothing in this whole realm for me…

Nothing except memories of her.

When did I fall in love with her? When had my feelings towards her change to more then just mere friendship? Companionship?

If I loved her then she was destined to be killed. Everyone I've ever loved has died. It was a constant ongoing cycle that was never ending. I was cursed…

I had long learned to accept the fact that I couldn't be loved or love someone. Fore if I did they would eventually leave me alone, and I would have to deal with loss all over again…

I was tired of being left alone. It was best to not get attached so you didn't have to deal with the fact that you'd be left alone with no one there…once again…the ongoing cycle…

I ran a hand through my hair and sighed deeply.

Today's plan had better work, I was losing patience. I was tired of being patient. Tired of being civil, or rational for that matter.

When was I allowed to be selfish?

Was I? Or would that be once again, turning to the ways of blood?

I wanted her.

But I suppose wanting and having are two completely opposite things.

Damn my luck.

No wait, what luck?

Haha, ever since I could remember I had the worst luck. Out of anybody that I knew.

That's right…lucky me.

I lamented and pushed my weary body off the small couch that was meant for two people to sit. Definitely not one warlord to sleep.

My aching body yearned to be stretched and I could only oblige.

Bones cracked in my back and I felt a smidgen better. But things still plagued my mind.

What if we weren't successful?

What if she couldn't break the spell Badamon had over her?

Or worse, what if I couldn't?

I shouldn't dwell on what if statements. That wouldn't be right…

But then again, what was right?

My head pounded. What a day to try and rescue Destiny. A day without sleep, without light…without hope.

Still, I had to have hope. If I didn't have hope, no one was going to have it for me.

I was going to have hope.

Hope that Talpa would be stopped once again.

Hope that Destiny would see the light.

I wandered half-heartedly into the kitchen, plopping down onto a stool and placed my head in my hands on the counter.

If only I could sleep the day away…

If only.

I hadn't heard anyone walk into the kitchen, but apparently someone had. And in my zombie-like mode I didn't really care.

"I guess you're ready." Sekhmet blatantly stated.

I grunted my response not bothering to look up.

I felt an unsteady hand upon my shoulder, "Don't worry Dais, we'll get her back."

"I'm worrying." I replied.

"Ah, Dais, you have returned to us!" Sekhmet chuckled, "Always the worrier."

"Got to have one in every society." attempting a witty comment, I looked up from the counter.

"Let's get going. We don't have time to waste." Cale smiled and I hadn't realized he had come down as well, "And we don't want to give up our element of surprise."

"That is…" Sekhmet rolled his eyes, "If we can even find her."

"I have a sneaky suspicion we will." Cale smirked thoughtfully.

And that was that.

--

Sekhmet had the upper hand out of all of us, which made me slightly bitter towards my comrade. While I was limping desperately and Cale was barely managing to stay a few feet ahead of me, Sekhmet walked on strong and without injury.

We were without horses since the whole Sunstone battle left the majority of the horses dead. The only ones left were gimp, wounded and could not be ridden.

Which left us to walk. And me with my bad leg was taking a toll on our quest. We were making bad time and barely getting anywhere.

We were in the Sunstone kingdom now, but only on the outskirts. Cale figured the Princess must be at the palace, and the palace was another good fifty or so miles.

We could teleport ourselves to a designated location, but if the area was guarded by Badamon's magic we would risk giving ourselves away and once again, lose the element of surprise.

So Cale kept his eyes open, hoping he could sense somewhere safe we could transport to. He had knack for knowing those things, where else I was fairly clueless. Sekhmet had talent in that area but lacked patience to develop his skills.

We had to teleport though. I could barely keep going and I knew Cale was becoming tired. We dared not confront the Princess in an exhausted stage, she would surely whip us down faster then we could summon our armor.

"Cale…" I urged through gritted teeth, limping miserably. I eyed the blue haired man, turning my head so I could get a better look. I closed my eyes and sharply admitted, "I can't go on."

Cale frowned visibly and nodded his understanding, "Hai Dais, I know…" his voice trailed off and I knew he was contemplating on exactly what we should do.

Sekhmet stopped walking and looked back towards us, "I don't think it is wise for us to stop. We must continue."

"Don't you think I know that!" Cale snapped, glaring at snake-like Warlord.

Sekhmet grinned, cocking his head to the side, "Just making sure, Cale."

"Humph." Cale pouted, ignoring Sekhmet for the time being.

Sekhmet shrugged his apologies and his attention was diverted elsewhere. I watched as he scanned the horizon, as I was not quite sure what his companion was looking for.

Suddenly, Sekhmet spoke up, "Look!" he exclaimed.

Cale and I watched as Sekhmet pointed up towards the sky, and as we followed his gaze we saw exactly what he was talking about. The sky had turned a horrendous shade of purple, almost raven black. It was ravenous…and breathtaking, while striking fear in the pit of our stomachs. The clouds were changing into a brilliant orange that I had never seen before.

It was all so mysterious…and enticing…

Something indeed was happening.

The winds picked up speed and my hair was blowing in my face and I was enticed to pull some of the white strands out of my mouth. But I couldn't stop starring…

"Cale…" I warned, hoping he would have the answer.

When Cale didn't answer me, and I noticed he was gawking upwards as well as I was, Sekhmet added more urgently, "Cale!"

Cale snapped out of it and looked at me with a determined expression on his face, "We're transporting now…" he made sure both Sekhmet and I had heard him before continuing, "Follow my lead."

I closed my eyes and concentrated on Cale's energy. This was needed to do so otherwise I would lose him and not meet up with Sekhmet and him after the transportation.

In the darkness of my mind, I could sense the blue light that I recognized right away as Corruption. I felt my own powers fading out of the area we were in, and into an absolution that consisted of a blank plane. This was what made transporting possible.

I sharply took an intake of breath, cringing as my body shuttered under its strain. I was weak, I knew that, and it damaged my ego so to know so.

How was I ever going to make our plan possible being so impaired?

As soon as the darkness took over, a brilliant light replaced it, sending us to our designated destination Cale had picked out. I was the last to arrive…

"What's wrong with the sky?" Sekhmet immediately demanded, the moment he materialized starring back up at the heavens.

Cale shot me a weary glance, "It's happening…the portal, to the Dragon Realm is colliding with this realm." He didn't have to finish…we knew what it meant.

It meant that he was coming back to the Nether Realm.

I heard rustling and immediately I perked up my awareness. My good eye shifted from spot to spot, searching in eager for the source of the sounds I kept hearing. Something was out there… "Guys…" I warned, taking a fighting stance as the sounds kept getting closer to us.

My hair prickled as they neared.

I held my breath as Sekhmet shouted, "It's a trap!" just as the words were out of Sekhmet's mouth, an assemblage of Dynasty soldiers surrounded us, their spears and chains gun-ready in their armored hands…

"It's been a while since we've seen their kind." Cale hissed, nodding for us to transform. We didn't hesitate to do so.

"Armor of Corruption!"

"Armor of Venom!"

"Armor of Illusion!"

Within seconds, though to us it seemed much longer, we were battle armed and rearing for a fight. As my hand went to my six scythes, evil laughter filled my ears and I was forced to look up.

And there she was. Hovering about six feet above us in plain view, the Princess was grinning wickedly, observing us from the air. Her long dark red hair flapped around her frame in the wind, as the corrupt Starlight Swords hung from their holster glistening in the strange, erratic sunlight.

"Come for your deaths, I see?" her voice was tinged with Badamon's and she cackled, sending shivers down my spine.

What if we couldn't pull this off? I panicked.

"We'll see about that Princess." Cale snarled, readying his no-datchi for her incoming attacks.

"So quick to die Corruption?" she taunted, raising an amused eyebrow, "It can and will be arranged, so don't be so expeditious to lose your life." She clucked her tongue in distaste, "Such a waste of good armor."

I closed my eyes and wished I didn't have to go through this. She was Anubis' daughter, how could the Gods put this upon me? My heart beat faster as I realized the battle was going to hit us full force.

Was there ever an escape to battle?

Her body slowly descended towards to the ground, and before we knew it she was on our level, the Star Swords at her bidding. "I wish I didn't have to kill you warlords, after all you were with us for a very long time. But I suppose all things must come to an end." Badamon's tongue was louder then that of Destiny's. "Master Talpa has no more use for you, you are has-beens!" his/her words were becoming louder and more persistent.

Cale snorted in disgust, "Come vial lady and prepare to shed blood from that of my dark blade."

Destiny didn't flinch or move a muscle as Cale screamed his attack at the top of his lungs. "BLACK LIGHTENING SLASH!"

Ebony lightening ruptured from the purple firmament, thundering as it did locked right on its target.

She flipped away with ease as the attack hit. In fluid movements she appeared as a spirit, her form shimmering where she had once stood.

She snickered, "I hope you can do more than that Warlord, otherwise you three won't stand a chance!" the possessed Princess' hands shot towards the sky as she closed her eyes. A tremendous gust of wind burst through the fields of Isisis, nearly blowing me over. Her words echoed in my ears, "CRY OF THE HEAVENS!" she began, pulling affably at the nova knifes. She raised them and with an intricate twirl of the weapons, cried out, "STAR SWORD SCREAM!"

"Think fast!" I shouted, my voice sounding different in my helmet. I hoped that the Sekhmet and Cale would dodge the attack. I leapt from my spot in the province, landing in a nearby tree. I panted as thick beads of sweat trailed down my face, matting my white hair to the inside of my helmet.

I quickly scanned the area to make sure my comrades made it out safely. I spotted Sekhmet fifty feet away from my tree, hidden in the brush. A ways away from him was Cale, looking exhausted, but not defeated.

Maybe, just maybe, we could pull this off.

A rather massive crater embedded in the boulder that had been underneath our feet only moments before was our reminder to stay clear of the Star Swords. A thick cloud of smoke rose steadily from the abyss, stinging my nostrils.

"Where are you!" I heard him/her bellow, annoyed that her efforts had done nothing to injure any of the Walords. Her eyes searched for her enemies, looking back and forth for any signs. But the Warlords decided to remain motionless.

I spun a web. I knew I had to trick her into thinking that she killed me. And I knew the perfect deception. Of course it would require the use of my armor.

Always a plus, I grinned to myself.

Hanging upside down from the tree branch, my maroon armor gleamed in the light, instantaneously attracting the attention of Destiny. She yelped in surprise, taking a small step back. She obviously hadn't expected me to be so close to her.

Before I could get a word in edgewise, with a sword she slashed the strand of silk that was holding me up. I felt myself falling in air, but I was not an amateur. I contorted my body, and with ease landed on my feet.

Reacting before the Princess/Badamon could, I ran towards the trunk of tree, jumping against it and flipping my body in an aerial summersault. I landed perfectly behind her. Seizing a scythe from my back, I managed to press it her against her neck, threateningly. "Badamon! Let her go!" I ordered.

Badamon's chuckle was evident as I frowned, holding my ground. I pressed the scythe closer to her neck as if reassuring my point. "If I kill her, you will leave this world as well!"

"AH." Badamon continued to laugh, "True Dais, but if is it worth killing the Princess to rid her of me?"

I pondered that for a moment and in my hesitance the Princess broke free of my grasp, throwing back my hand with the scythe. My scythe rattled to the ground in a clamber.

She turned around to face me and for the first time in weeks I was close enough to see her features. Her face was paler then normal, and her cheeks looked slightly flushed, as if she was sick. Large bags had formed under her eyes and I knew this was because of Badamon's influence on her.

But it was her eyes that shocked me. They looked incredibly sad, fatigued, and devoid of any hope. They seemed sunken and her green eyes seemed to be fading darker and darker as Badamon continued to use her as a pawn. And the harrowing reflection of Badamon in her eyes startled me.

I felt a wave of rage engulf me, my emotions strung out and my body ready to contest.

"Leave her!" I hissed, my eyes narrowing to dangerous slits. I couldn't stand to see her suffer no more. This was no way a Princess of the Sunstone should be treated. And this certainly wasn't the way the descendant of Anubis, my former Leader, should be treated.

I would free her…With my bare hands if I had to.

I became very aware of the two presences behind me, one of the Warlord of Corruption and the Warlord of Venom. While I engaged with the Princess, they took on the forces of the Dyansty Soldiers. I could hear the clanging of battle ripe and fresh in the air.

The battle had begun.

She rushed at me full speed, intent on blood. Her swords were pointed out in front of me ready to take my life. I instinctively ducked under her and with one zealous kick sent her sprawling away from me.

She didn't fall though, that would be beneath her/him. She landed on her feet, awkwardly, but she managed to maintain her balance. While she was recovering I attacked, "Web of Deception!" I called upon my armor's sure-kill.

My numchas collected and flew straight for the Princess. A voluminous webbing was cast around her and she became caught in my work. The sticky strands of webbing were clinging to her body, holding in her place, and as she struggled to get free she only got tangled more and more into the adhesive silk.

I took a deep breath to calm my nerves, hoping I would work up the courage to pull this through. With another loud shout, I called upon the powers of Illusion, "Web of Deception!"

This time, instead of weapons or webbing, I invaded the Princess' mind. I closed my eyes and envisioned the appropriate hallucination for the Princess to see.

The scenery around her remained the same except the webbing she was tangled in had disappeared and replaced by my image standing next to her. She looked around a moment, confused, wondering what had just happened.

But at my sight she quickly readied herself for an attack and raised a Starlight Sword.

"Kill me…" my clone's words echoed in her head, "My Princess…"

"My pleasure." She/he seemed to purr. She raced towards me, swords glistening. She elevated the swords so that she could strike my neck, hoping to chop of my head.

The illusion seemed to be working perfectly when all of sudden she halted.

The sword was centimeters from my clone's neck and she stopped. The blades were wavering slightly, back and forth, as if a fight within put the assassination on pause. Without a word the swords were dropped to the ground, dust rising as they settled.

"NO!" the Princess wailed, clutching at her head, writhing, "Don't make me kill him!" it was her genuine voice. No traces of Badamon hidden within it, "Please!" her words were mere whispers, but I knew they were her words.

She fell to her knees, sobbing loudly and desperately, still clutching her head. "Stop, please stop!"

In my admiration, love, and haste for her I let the illusion fade away. My clone disappeared and the webbing that was around the Princess lay in sticky puddles on the ground. As my guard was down, I heard Cale shout to me, "NO DAIS, NO!"

I ignored him. I ran and joined the Princess, kneeling beside her. Tears were streaming down her face and her eyes were closed shut tightly in concentration.

I held my breath…she was pulling through Badamon's spell!

Pieces of armor fell beside me from a fallen Dynasty Soldier. Its now-useless spear fell next beside it. The spirit hissed out of the empty shell and headed towards the heavens. But all of this didn't matter.

"Princess!" I called to her, placing an armored hand on her face, turning her towards me, "Princess you can fight it! You're strong, I know you can fight it!"

She didn't seem to hear me. She kept struggling against her innards, struggling more and more. After a minute, she gasped for breath. "Please…stop…" her words were timid.

"You can fight it!" I encouraged, searching her face for answers. I didn't know what to do! "Destiny come back to us!"

When she heard her name, her eyes popped open.

I smiled sincerely, so relieved I didn't know what to say. The spell had been broken. The evil inside her had vanished.

Acting upon instincts I gathered her body into my arms. But my moment of joy was short lived.

Destiny's head turned to face me and I noticed that her eyes were deep green, not her normal sparkling emerald. A vicious smile overtook her face and she seemed to mock me. I didn't react fast enough to the appalling realization that Badamon hadn't left her body.

But she did. The tips of her swords were at my throat and there was nothing I could do. The only thing I could do was close my eyes and accept my fate. My Destiny…

I deserved to die. I knew I didn't deserve to live, or to be happy. If the cost of my life broke the spell on her then so be it, I would die. I owed that much to Anubis, to save his daughter.

I was on my knees, at her mercy. I didn't move, not that I wanted to. There was nothing more I wanted from the world then to save Destiny.

My love.

Funny, I thought I would never find love. And you would believe that too if you had lived over a thousand years without another soul to call your own. I always thought I would be alone, and I would've been too, if it hadn't been for Anubis' friendship.

And her.

I could sense movement though my eyelids were shut closed. The swords were being swung back to give me the final blow, the fatal slash to my exposed throat. I sucked in a breath, trying to not be nervous…a Warlord was never nervous… Even at my last hour I was lecturing myself.

"I hope you enjoy the next dimension." The words weren't hers anymore. They were Badamon's.

I accepted my fate.

The swoosh of metal slicing through the air was loud and crisp in my ears. As Cale had always said, a spider always relied more on their senses then that of their sight.

But the cutting edge never struck my neck. Instead the loud clanging of metal hitting metal erupted in my ears. My eyes shot open and I was awestruck to see the Armor of Cruelty loyally defending my life.

"You can not have him!" Kayura's eyes were a blazed as the Cruelty kusari-gama struck her old weaponry.

Wasn't Kayura supposed to back at the safe house? I looked to see Cale and Sekhmet's eyes upon our scene, surprise written all over their faces. Apparently they hadn't known either.

The Princess slashed back against her father's armor. "Kayura…" a growl escaped her lips.

I watched as Cale tried to make his way to Kayura's side but the gross amount of Dynasty Soldiers were currently holding him back. Tying up his time fighting with their ghoul armor.

I found myself blocking Dynasty Soldiers from attacking Kayura while she fought with the Princess. It seemed just as one of my scythes killed one, three more of identical soldiers were waiting for me to fight them.

After just a few minutes of this I was starting to become thoroughly exhausted. I didn't want to even imagine the pain and endurance Cale and Sekhmet had to keep up in order to keep beating them off. I was tiring dramatically, as the endless amount of soldiers just didn't let up.

The females continued to battle for all it was worth. The Princess matched Kayura's hits evenly and so forth, the contention equal of strength. Neither Cale, Sekhmet, nor I were able to aid Kayura in her fight, we were only able to keep the Dynasty soldiers from interrupting the battle.

The classic clash between good and evil was impressive and I was sure it would be remembered for centuries to come. The loud clangs of chains hitting swords rang as clear as bells as I continued to fight off soldiers.

In the distance I could barely make out Sekhmet's sure-kill cry, "Snake Fang Strike!" as he tried to kill off more soldiers with one blow. I saw a few soldiers fly from the blow, covered in the purple goop I knew all to well as Sekhmet's snake poison. The armor on the soldiers began to melt and within minutes their spirit flew off for a new destination. But still, we were getting no where.

"Badamon only one of us will emerge out of this battle victorious!" Kayura's declared above the noise to her opponent.

"For once Lady Kayura, I agree." The Princess returned, her voice an image of the Demon Spirit's. "Let us put this to an end once and for all." The petite form of the crimson haired girl jumped into the sky, waving the swords like batons. "The heavens call for your soul, Kayura."

Kayura didn't cower, instead she stood taller. "I came here for a purpose Badamon. To repay an old debt." She humbly bowed her head.

"What!?" I heard Sekhmet clamor.

Small droplets of water fell from Kayura's eyes as she looked sadly in Cale's direction. "I'm sorry…" and with a blink more drops fell, this time more rapidly. Rushing down her face like a small river.

I had never seen Kayura cry. Not even when Talpa had first brought the last member of the Ancient's clan to the Dynasty when she was 12 years old, mortally.

"Cale, I love you. I always will." The breeze swept up her words, but Cale heard them. I didn't want to watch the scene unfold in front of me, but I couldn't look away.

Cale's eyes widened in realization of what Kayura was trying to accomplish. "NO, OH GOD NO KAYURA!" but his screams went unheard in her ears.

She was determined to fulfill the armor's fate.

"It never really belonged to me any ways…" Kayura looked up at the Princess with a sincere smile, tears still glistening in her midnight blue eyes, "I never mastered it's powers because I wasn't the intended owner." She paused, glancing over at Cale who was trying desperately to fight his way through the crowd of soldiers to stop her.

But somehow I knew he wouldn't make it. She had her mind set on what was going to happen, and what was not.

"I am now returning the armor to its rightful owner."

The Princess simply ignored her. "You can not stop me, Lady Kayura." she smirked as she called upon her deadly kill, "STAR SWORD SCREAM!"

Kayura followed suit as the sure-kill engulfed her body, "QUAKE WITH FEAR!"

The world seemed to explode with purplish white light and metal chains. I was blown a good fifty feet from where I was standing, only to land in brush. My heart skipped a beat as the powers collided, making the earth rattle and the ground shake beneath us.

Standing shakily, I paused only a second to throw off my helmet so I could see as well as I could with my one eye. Grasping a nearby bush's branch for balance, my heart fell as I saw Kayura transfer the Cruelty armor to Destiny's body.

Screams echoed down the valley as well as sobs, and that what was brought me back to reality. I ran as fast as I could back towards Kayura and Destiny and stopped dead in my tracks at what I saw.

My jaw went slack as I starred down at a newly created ditch with Kayura lying half in and half out of. A puddle of blood surrounded her body and Cale was holding her limp body, pressing his face against her dirt stained one. She was breathing heavily and she was no longer cloaked in the Armor of Cruelty, but in her traditional robes of the Ancient.

It was Cale who had made the screams and sobs I heard only seconds before. "Kayura, don't leave me!" he begged to the fallen girl, over and over again. "I can't live without you…"

Kayura coughed, spitting up globs of blood. But still, she remained strong for a dying warrior. She smiled up at her lover, saying her last words to him. "Remember Cale, I love you and…you have the strength to go on…" her voice became weaker, "Without me."

Closing her eyes I saw as she took her last shaky breath. Cale cuddled the body closer as he wept openly. Hot, angry, sorrowful tears flowed down his cheeks. "It…" he choked, "Wasn't supposed…to…happen this way…"

"Cale I-" I heard my own voice speak up.

Cale looked up at me, crying, and I could've broken right then and there. To see my fellow comrade, Warlord, cry was too much for me to see. I turned away giving him the privacy he deserved and walked towards Sekhmet, who seemed to be starring off into space.

Upon joining him, he looked at me, sadness all to evident in his beady eyes. "You do realize that not even a hundred feet away from here Anubis died giving the armor to Kayura." He pointed his armored finger towards Lucifer Wash.

I hadn't even noticed that the Lucifer Wash was right in front of us. We had transported a lot closer to the palace then we had thought. It had seemed Cale had led us right into battle where our former leader had died valiantly and honorably.

Just like Lady Kayura did.

"The Princess…?" I questioned, glancing towards the bridge where a girl stood, alone and lost.

"Hai." Sekhmet confirmed.

I walked onto the bridge above Lucifer's Wash wishing we were meeting under any circumstances but these. She turned upon hearing me and I knew at that second that she was really free of Badamon's control. Because when I starred into her eyes, she was blinking up at me with bright, emerald eyes that could only belong to the mind of Anubis' daughter.

"I…I…" she stammered, her voice strained and constricting, "I…" she sobbed, starring horridly down into the ditch where Cale lay mourning the loss of Kayura. "I…"

"Destiny." I said.

She turned to me, her face a look of torment and agony. "Oh Dais, what happened?" she pulled nervously at the cloak of Cruelty she wore. "What happened to me?" her eyes wandered back to Kayura, and she promptly closed them. Trying desperately to get the image out of her mind. "I…I…" she took a deep breath, gasping and then it turned into another sob. "I…I killed her, didn't I?"

I didn't answer her. Instead I just closed the distance between us and took her into my arms. With a wave of my hand my armor disappeared completely, and I was back into my regular clothes. She could only comply under the stress she had been under and buried her face into my chest. I held her in my grasp, promising her that I would never let her be hurt again.

Then the rain started.

--

to be continued…