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Anubis saw the beast lunging
at him. He quickly spun around and dove onto
his knees, holding Mia close to him, so she wouldn't get hurt.
He gasped as
he felt the tiger's claws tear through his subarmor and dig into
his flesh.
The Ronins gasped. They had espected him to do something like
throw Mia at
them and run. But instead, it looked like he was protecting her.
White
Blaze roared again. Anubis gritted his teeth.
"Call off the beast!"
Anubis yelled.
"Why should we?!"
Sage challenged. Anubis winced again. He could feel
the blood trickling from his fresh wounds.
"I brought her here because
I thought you would help her!" Anubis yelled
at them.
"And how can we be sure
it's not a trick?!" Kento asked, ready to knock
him out right then and there. Anubis watched the white tiger circle
him.
"I would never use her
as part of a trick!" Anubis called out.
"That's a lie! You've
done it before!" Cye yelled back. Anubis felt
himself growing weaker. He needed to get it through their heads
that Mia
needed them right now.
"Things have changed
Torrent!" Anubis shouted. "Mia needs your help!"
The
Ronins still refused to listen.
"I'm not falling for
that one. Come on guys, let's show him a thing or
two!" Rowen shouted. The others nodded. Anubis looked about
him in panic.
They weren't listening! Anubis felt another presence near and
so did the
Ronin Warriors. Anubis heard Seckment laugh evilly.
"So, the traitor has
found his way to the Ronin-rodents?" Seckment
laughed again. The Ronins gave him questionable looks. They didn't
know
whether to believe what they heard, or think it was a Dynasty
trick. "Hand
her over Anubis! She belongs to us now!" Seckment threatened.
"No! I will not let
you have her!" Anubis shouted back. This surprised
the Ronins even more.
"As you wish. I will
kill you for your insolence!" Seckment readied his
weapon. "Die you traitor!" Seckment leapt from the
trees and struck out at
Anubis. He again crouched to protect Mia. He tensed, waiting
for the
swords to penetrate him. They never did. He looked up to see
Wildfire,
blocking Seckment's swords with his own. Ryo gritted his teeth.
"I don't know if we can
trust you Anubis, but we'll still protect Mia."
Ryo shoved Seckment's swords away and stood in a battle stance.
Anubis
nodded, thankful they at least had the sense to protect Mia. Seckment
laughed.
"I will just have to
destroy you all along with him. Feel the sting of my
poison! SNAKE FANG STRIKE!" He shouted, using his sure
kill. Anubis hugged
Mia closer, letting his own body take the hit from Seckment's
attack. He
yelled in pain as the poisoned swords struck him easily. When
the attack
stopped, he felt the poison stinging him and felt its evil flow
through his
body. He looked around to see all the Ronins giving him looks.
Their eyes
were wide with surprise. He had again protected Mia at the cost
of his own
life. Ryo and the others had avoided Seckment's attack, but Anubis
was not
so lucky. He felt the poison taking over and he began to black
out. He
looked over to see Seckment, laughing in triumph.
"I'm sorry Mia...."
He whispered. "I can't protect you anymore....please
forgive me...." Then he fell into unconscienceness, his
body falling over
Mia's. The only one who had heard him was White Blaze. His ears
perked,
sensing a trueness to his words. Seckment approached Anubis, seeing
he was
still breathing.
"You pathetic warrior."
He sneered at Anubis. "I will finish you." He
rose his sword and prepared to run it into Anubis. The sword
lowered and
was inches away rom Anubis' heart when White Blaze roared with
strength. He
leapt from the ground and knocked Seckment down, grabbing onto
his arm with
his sharp teeth.
"Arghh! Stupid beast!"
The angered warlord of venom shouted. He ripped
his arm out of the tiger's mouth and glared at it. White Blaze
snarled and
bared his teeth, staying protectively in front of Anubis.
"Let's follow White Blaze's
example and get rid of this guy!" Rowen
shouted. Ryo nodded.
"Alright snake-boy, your
toast! FLARE UP NOW!!!!" Ryo used his own sure
kill and the column of fire blazed towards Seckment. His eyes
widened as
the fire slammed into him and sent pain coursing through his body.
He
yelled in pain.
"This is not over yet!"
He promised, then vanished into the nether realm
to escape the Ronins. After the fire had vanished, White Blaze
pattered
over to Mia and Anubis. Both were unconscience. He nudged Anubis
with his
nose, but got no response. He turned worried eyes on his master
as the five
Ronins gathered around them.