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Anubis was floating through
a void of darkness. His eyes suddenly widened
when he remembered what happened. Seckment had surprised him...there
was a
dark portal...he and Mia were sucked in.
"Mia!" He shouted,
realizing she wasn't with him. In fact, Mia was
nowhere to be seen. He looked around for the warlord of venom,
but he was
nowhere to be seen either. Anubis saw a dim red light shining
in the
distance. ~I've got nothing to lose,~ He thought. ~Might as well
go and see
if it leads me to Mia.~
It wouldn't have mattered
if Anubis had wanted to go towards the light
because he was being pulled to it anyways. Luckily, Anubis wanted
to go
there. As he neared the light, he realized it was pulling him
in and he
recognized this as one of Talpa's tricks.
~Damn.~ He thought. ~I should
have thought about this. Now it's too
late.~ He closed his eyes to shield them from the bright light,
then was
engulfed by the shining aura.
When Anubis opened his eyes,
he saw nothing but cold stone walls around
him. He began looking for a way out, but everything around him
was solid
rock.
"You are rather pathetic
Anubis." Came Seckment's slithery voice.
"Killing you will be a great honor of doing." He claimed,
suddenly emerging
from the rock. Anubis clenched his teeth.
"Where's Mia!?"
He demanded, glaring coldly at the warlord standing
before him.
"I would be more concerned
for your self Anubis." Anubis gasped as he saw
the floor and walls turn into a red liquid that seemed to be moving
slowly
up his body. He heard is sizzle slightly upon coming in contact
with his
subarmor. ~It's acid...more like poison...~ Anubis thought as
he looked up
at Seckment's grinning face. "Just a present from Master
Talpa. You should
have obeyed him Anubis, or you wouldn't be in his predicament,
now would
you?" Anubis clenched his fist in anger as his kanji of Loyalty
flared
brightly on his forehead.
"I will not let you defeat
me this easily! I will not take orders from
Talpa, or anyone else. You will not harm Mia!" He called
upon his armor and
was surround in a swirl of cherry blossoms, which dissolved into
the acid
once they made contact with it. Anubis was now clad in his full
armor. He
tried to pull free of the acid, but he was stuck in place. Seckment
laughed
at him.
"You fool. You will
feel the sting of my poison. Enjoy your last few
moments, for soon my acid will seep through your armor and it
will dissolve
your flesh." He laughed as he jumped against the wall and
disappeared.
Anubis tried to pull free of the poison, but it held him in place.
He
gritted his teeth.
~I'm sorry Mia, I have failed
you. If only I was strong enough to resist
this poison. Please, forgive me....~ He closed his eyes, knowing
his end
was near. Suddenly, without warning, an odd staff broke through
the wall
and landed in the acid. The poison had no effect on it what-so-ever.
The
orb on the staff was glowing brightly and the rings were clanking
together.
"The Ancient's staff...."
Anubis murmered. With a burst of light from
the golden staff, the poison disappeared. Anubis stood in disbelief.
Then
an echoing voice caught his attention.
"Anubis, your true path
was not to be one of Talpa's minions. You have
realized that, and along with it, you have found a love for a
mortal girl.
She needs your help Anubis. Go to her!" The staff disappeared
and the
echoing voice faded. Anubis nodded in determination and understanding.
"I will go to her Ancient."
He jumped through the large hole the staff had
created and ran down the familiar hallways of the Dynasty.
"He kidnapped her! I
know it!" Ryo shouted. "And to think we almost
trusted him!" Ryo's anger was shown as he slammed his fist
into the wall.
"That scum! When I get
my hands on him...." Kento began.
"I don't think Anubis
did it." Rowen said aloud. Everyone's jaws dropped
open.
"As much as I hate to
say it, we shouldn't have trusted him." Cye said
softly.
"Who could have done
it then?!" Ryo demanded. Sage calmly watched them
arguing while he looked out at the balcony.
"He isn't that stupid.
This just isn't his style. Why would he take her
while we were in the house, awake and totally capable of beating
him in a
battle, when he could take her during the night while we wouldn't
have
noticed for at least a few hours?" Rowen had a look of deep
thought on his
face. "Something just isn't right about this. He seemed
almost happy when
he came here. I know he couldn't even pretend to be even close
to what he
was if he were evil." Ryo glared at Rowen.
"He did it! I know he
did!" Ryo persisted. Sage heard a familiar
clanking noise. He looked out towards the forest and saw the
Ancient.
"Look, the Ancient!"
Sage yelled as he went out the door and ran towards
the monk. The others quickly followed him.
"Ancient! You have to
help us. Anubis took Mia!" Ryo shouted. The
Ancient held his hand before him to silence the others.
"Anubis was not the one
who took her." He stated, ignoring their
surprised looks. "He has truly changed. As Ronin Warriors,
you must accept
him for who he is, not who he was. He has found his true path
now, and is no
longer evil."
"Then who took Mia?!"
Kento demanded.
"One of the other warlords
set a trap for them. Mia is being held in the
Dynasty, along with Anubis. We can only hope that my help was
enough to
keep them alive." The Ancient responded.
"How can we help?"
Sage asked, his violet eyes showing concern.
"There is nothing you
can do but hope Anubis' strength will prove greater
than his foe's." The Ancient tilted his hat down farther
as the Ronins gave
eachother looks and wondered what exactly the Ancient meant.
~Trust in
yourself Anubis. You are more powerful than you believe.....~
He Ancient
then disappeared into the shadows, leaving the Ronins slightly
confused.
"What...." Mia's
eyes opened slowly as she regained conscienceness. Her
gold eyes shimmered in the light of the aqua color fire burning
in the
center of the room. "Where am I?" She wondered aloud.
An bitter cold wind
blew past her, making her shiver slightly.
"So nice to have you
in my company Mia." A raspy voice said. Mia
recognized it as Talpa. His figure emerged from the shadows as
he sat on
his throne. Mia's eyes widened in fear. The Dynasty's leader
was sitting
right in front of her and he could no doubt kill her in an instant.
"Talpa....." She
whispered, almost scared to say the demon's name.
"Yes, it is I, ruler
of the Dynasty." His eyes glowed red. "Aradia!"
He
called to an unknown figure. Mia's eyes searched the room until
she found a
vaguely familiar figure.
"You called Master Talpa?"
It asked as his purple eyes shot a glance at
Mia. Mia cringed. It was the strange shadowy figure that persuaded
her to
let the spirits enter her.
"How much longer until
she is taken over by your spirits?" Talpa asked,
his eyes still glowing red. Aradia approached Mia and took her
hcin into his
hands, tilting her eyes towards him.
"She is in an advanced
stage. Soon, very soon." Aradia laughed slightly.
"Perhaps a little help from your powers and she will be in
our possession."
Talpa's eyes dimmed and stopped glowing all together. Mia trembled
slightly
and Aradia let go of her.
"Then I shall use my
powers." Talpa's eyes flared red again. He shouted
some ancient words of magic and black beams of magic shot towards
Mia. The
encricled her and she fell onto her knees again.
"No!!!!!" Mia shouted
in pain. The only thing she could think of was
Anubis and how she knew he must be dead by now. She felt the evil
possessing
her and could no longer hold it back. She glared up at Talpa
as she gave
into his powers. Talpa watched in satisfaction as her gold eyes
began to
glow a bright red, then they returned to their normal, bluish
color.
Anubis ran through the hallways
of the Dynasty. He knew Talpa would have
Mia in his throne room now. He burst through the doors of his
throne room.
"Talpa!" Anubis
yelled in rage. The room was dark, except for the ususal
aqua fire blazing in the center. The throne was empty, but when
he looked
closer, he could see the dark outline of a figure. "Talpa!
Face me you
demon!" He demanded. The dark figure stood from the throne
and walked into
the light of the fire. Anubis gasped. It was Mia! Her eyes
were normal
now, but she was different. Her eyelids had dark blue markings
(think
Kayura) and her hair was long and pulled into a pony tail. She
wore a light
armor that provided defense, but was built more for maximum movement
by the
wearer. (again, think of Kayura's outfit. it's pretty much like
that) Mia
opened her eyes and glared at him. A smirk played at her lips.
"Hello Anubis......."