Mia grinned slightly. It was amusing to her that Anubis
thought he could outsmart her so easily. Anubis looked over
at her, determination in his eyes. Mia grinned, holding her
sword in one hand.
"I see you sorry excuses for warriors actually did something
without my help." She laughed. "Too bad your sucess will be
short lived." Anubis still held the kanji orb in his hand.
He heard a voice...the voice of Tamura whisper to him.
~"She will resist taking the armor....she must be shown her
destiny before receiving the armor, or she will never truly be
the same...."~ Anubis nodded. Without a word from the guys,
Anubis transformed into his full armor, only he didn't wear his
helmet.
"You want a fight Mia? Then I'll give you a fight." He looked
back at the guys.
"You all need to sit this one out alright?" Ryo was about to
protest when serene thoughts entered his mind.
~"Let him Ronin Warriors....he must do this alone..."~ Something
told him to trust the voice. He looked at the guys, and the look on
their faces told him that they heard the same thing. He and the others
backed away from Anubis and Mia. Mia laughed flirtily.
"This will be lots of fun." She grinned and gripped her sword.
Anubis tucked the kanji orb away. He looked sadly at Mia.
"Let's get this over with." He murmered. Mia smiled.
"As you wish." She closed her eyes and the silver necklace
she wore began to glow. Her sword glowed a bright silver-blue
and Anubis could feel emense power coming from it. When Mia
opened her eyes again, her sword returned to normal. She grinned.
In the blink of an eye, Mia attacked Anubis. Anubis barely blocked
her blow and Mia smiled pleasingly.
"So you have gained some skill. Perhaps you'll last more than
two minutes." She laughed as she used her feet to try and kick
Anubis' feet out from under him. Anubis jumped over them and away
from Mia. Mia grinned. She liked this. It was somewhat of a
challenge. More words entered Anubis' mind.
~"Be strong.....my power is with you.....you can defeat her...."~
Anubis nodded. -Alright- he thought. -I'll do it...for Mia.- As
Mia attacked next, Anubis felt a surge of power enter him, as if
someone were giving him more energy to fight. Mia slashed her sword
at him and he easily dodged it. Anubis still jumped farther way from
her. He couldn't attack her, not even with the encouragement of Tamura.
Mia was about to attack him again when she suddenly froze. Her face
lit up in fear. She fell to her knees.
"What's happening?" She asked aloud, with urgency and fear in her
voice. "Why can't I move?" She heard Tamura's voice enter her mind.
~"I will not allow you to do evil as I once did....."~ She declared.
Mia gasped.
"No! Stop this! What are you doing?!" Anubis could hear Tamura's
words as she spoke to Mia. Tamura then spoke only to Anubis.
~"Take this staff....and with it, vanquish the evil that is within her."~
Suddenly, in Anubis' hands was the Ancient's staff. He had used it
before and knew how to use it. He looked over at Mia, whom was
struggling against the unknown force holding her. Anubis held the
staff and looked at Mia. He whispered into the wind,
"Forgive me Mia...." Then he held the staff and it started to glow.
Anubis muttered some words that no one could understand and he jumped
into the air. Gold energy gathered at the end of the staff and he
brought it down towards Mia. Mia's face was full of fear and her eyes
were brimming with tears. He couldn't stand to see her there, her eyes
pleading for forgiveness.
~"Do it!"~ Tamura's voice demanded. ~"Quickly....it is the
only way! I cannot hold her much longer...."~ Anubis closed his eyes
and as the energy from the staff collided with Mia, the Ronins had to
cover their eyes from the blast of light. A small tear ran down Anubis'
cheek as he heard Mia scream in pain. When the light faded, Anubis
collapsed to his knees beside Mia. She was now lying motionless upon
the snow covered ground. Anubis scrambled to her side.
"No...what have I done?" He asked, tears welling up in his eyes.
He looked about him and saw that nothing was moving. No wind was blowing
and the Ronin Warriors seemed to be frozen in place. He looked around
in confusion.
"You have done well Anubis." Tamura's voice rang in his ears.
Anubis shook his head. He sat beside Mia and looked down at her.
Tamura smiled as her form appeared on the other side of Mia.
"Do not worry, she will be ok." Anubis looked over at the
Ronins.
"Why aren't they moving?" He asked. Tamuar answered softly.
"I have frozen time. You and I are the only ones who know what
is going on right now." Anubis nodded. Mia wasn't frozen either,
he could tell because she was breathing ever so slightly. He looked
down at her.
"And Mia?"
"Yes. She can comprehend what is happening. But her life is
bordering on the realm of the living and the realm of the dead."
Anubis looked up at her.
"How can I save her?" He looked around and the staff was gone.
However, he saw the icy blue kanji orb. Tamura sighed softly.
"You will know in your heart how to awaken her." With that,
Tamura's spirit disappeared, but everything around Mia and Anubis
remained frozen. Anubis sighed and looked down at Mia. Another
tear ran down his cheek and he softly brushed a piece of Mia's hair
away from her face. He closed his eyes.
"I'm sorry Mia...." He whispered. "I'm sorry...my love..."
He leaned down slowly and pressed his lips softly against hers.
He stayed only a moment, and then drew away again. Anubis gasped
as the kanji orb that had been laying in the snow was now floating
in the air and glowing silver-blue. He watched as a symbol appeared
on Mia's forhead. Her eyes began to flutter open. She looked up
to see Anubis.
Anubis watched as Mia's eyes slowly opened. As they symbol on
her forehead became clear, it was the symbol of love. Mia's eyes
opened all the way and she looked up at Anubis.
"Anubis?" She asked softly. Anubis couldn't believe it.
"Mia!" He shouted and pulled her into his arms. Mia's mind was
flooded with memories....true memories of everything that had happened.
>From Taitou kidnapping her to Anubis saving her, she saw everything.
Tears came to her eyes.
"Anubis!" She put her arms around him and put her head on his
shoulder and sobbed. Anubis stroked her hair.
"It's alright Mia...I'm here...." Mia hugged closer to him.
"Anubis....I love you...." Anubis smiled.
"I love you too Mia...." The blue kanji orb suddenly emitted a
bright, silver-blue light that engulfed Mia and Anubis and the
world around them. When the light dimmed, everything was back
to normal. Anubis noticed that Mia was in white and silver-icy
blue subarmor, much more slim fitting that the Ronins, but the
same basic idea. Mia looked up at Anubis, whom looked down into
her eyes and stroked her hair gently.
"I'm sorry I never told you..." Anubis whispered.
"I'm sorry I never realized how much you mean to me...." Mia
responded. Anubis, oblivious to the Ronins, kissed Mia again.
Mia returned the kiss. Mia felt like she could kiss him for the
rest of eternity. She slowly broke the kiss.
"I promise I will never forget how much I love you...or ever
deny it again." Mia swore to him. Anubis smiled down at her.
He would have kissed her again, had the Ronins not showed up right
at that moment. Everyone smiled as they saw Mia and Anubis in
eachother's arms. Anubis stood up and helped Mia up. Ryo was
about to speak when a shadowy form appeared at the entrance of
the cave.
"Damn you Anubis." He spoke harsly. "Now I will have to
kill her, just like I did her mother." He grinned. It was
Taitou. Mia looked up at Anubis. Anubis looked down at
her.
"We'll fight him...together." Anubis gave her a reassuring
look, then turned to Taitou. Taitou was in his black and
gold subarmor. He saw that the necklace he used to control
Mia was now laying broken in the snow.
"Such a pity. She was a fine warrior. This should be a
good fight." He grinned as he began to call upon his armor
and the Ronins, Anubis, and Mia prepared for the biggest battle
of their young lives.
Will Mia, with help from Anubis and the Ronins, be able to
defeat Taitou? Will Mia be able to control her armor? Is there
secret link between Taitou's past and Mia's armor? Can Mia
overcome the dark past of her armor and it's purpose? Does
Anubis turn evil again? Does Anubis kill Mia? Does Mia kill
Anubis? Does Taitou have a trick up his sleeve? Find out when
you read chapter 11 of Darkness!