Part One: The Vision
Disclaimer: Yoroiden-Samurai Troopers, the Masho, and all other related material are © Sunrise/Nagoya TV and the CBS/Sony Group.
This fic was started in 1997.
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In the stillness of the air, the sound of a wicked laughter could be heard. Three armored figures struggled to stay conscious as a being wearing black armor, known as Kuroi Kikoutei, watched them from the gray skies above.
Dressed in brown and black yoroi with a tattered red cape, the Yami Masho Anubisu regarded his opponent with seething eyes. His no-datchi, which had brought him countless thousands of victories, laid on the ground a few feet away, its blade smashed into pieces.
Wearing green and red yoroi was the Doku Masho Naaza. His face was twisted in anguish, the gash on his forehead was throbbing heavily, and his breathing was ragged. He clutched his last usable sword tightly in his hand.
Finally, garbed in magenta colored yoroi (which resembled a spider) was the Gen Masho Rajura. He was down on one knee with his fingers wrapped around his weapon, a morning star, which was next to his feet. A trail of blood trickled from underneath his eye patch and down his cheek. He didn’t bother wiping it away.
Kuroi Kikoutei emitted an eerie laughter from “his” helmet. “Have you given up?” he asked.
“No,” Anubisu replied in a weary yet determined voice. “We’ll stop you no matter what it takes.”
“You think so?” Kuroi Kikoutei mused. He folded his arms across his chest and red glowing eyes that burned through the dark helmet. “You are all finished as well as this pitiful planet. There is nothing you three can do to stop me as I had proven to you when you first tried to attack me.”
Naaza snarled, “You seem so sure of yourself. Well, we’ll send you back to Hell where you belong!”
“The Samurai Troopers have stopped you before,” said Rajura, “and now it will be our privilege to stop you again. This time, it will be permanent.”
Shaking his head, Kuroi Kikoutei chuckled. “How fascinating. You three used to be former generals of Arago. You fought for evil and for the destruction of the Ningenkai. Now you fight for the safety of mankind, no?”
“How do you know all of that?” Anubisu demanded, taking an offensive stance, his sword gleaming in his hand. “Did the Troopers tell you?”
Kuroi Kikoutei shook his head again. “No... I will just say that all of us ‘evil-doers’ have a similar connection. Even the ones who claim to have redeemed themselves. You realize that in order to stop me, you need to have good intentions in your heart. The light of hope, as you may call it.”
* Why is he telling us this? * Anubisu wondered to himself.
“Because I know that you cannot stop me,” answered Kuroi Kikoutei, his shoulders shaking as if he was snickering. “Once you have joined the dark side, all of the light and hope leaves your body. Once you joined Arago’s battalion, all hope of you ever becoming good had died, along with your hopes and dreams of ever becoming normal again.”
Enraged, Naaza leapt to the sky and shouted, “You lie! We have a chance!”
He swung his sword at the black suit of armor, but it phased through him as if he was an illusion. Kuroi Kikoutei grabbed Naaza’s wrists and squeezed them. Naaza cried out as he felt his bones getting crushed. His sword fell from his fingers and shattered onto the ground below. Kuroi Kikoutei drew Naaza’s head onto his knee and a sickening crack was heard. Then lifting a hand, he placed it over Naaza’s head and a strange sizzling noise was heard--venom! It was burning through his hair and skin!
“NAAZA!” Anubisu and Rajura screamed in unison. They helpless watched as Kuroi Kikoutei tossed Naaza’s body over his head and it vanished. He then wagged a finger back and forth at the Masho.
“I told you,” he said lightly, “you haven’t a chance. You want to be men of distinguished valor, you want to prove to everyone that you can be good, but in reality, there is no hope. You lost that hope inside yourselves hundreds of years ago. Give it up. Did you like what I did to your charming snake friend? I showed him how venom would affect him. The light would have saved him... A shame he had lost it.”
Rajura wordlessly decided to attack next. Anubis called out for him but it did no good. He took a step forward to help but suddenly a ripple of pain in his heart caused him to gasp and fall to his hands and knees. Kuroi Kikoutei moved as the morning star whooshed past his helmet. Rajura came in for a close attack. He swung his fist at him but the black armor caught his fist as he did when Naaza attacked. Raising Rajura high above his head, Kuroi Kikoutei’s eyes glowed fiercely.
Without warning, Rajura’s head was filled with excruciating pain. Blood was all around him, screams of pain echoed throughout his mind. Rotting flesh from dead humans reached out to touch him. He tried to brush them away but more and more of them came to him--by the tens, by the hundreds, by the thousands. He knew them all. They were people whom he had killed over the years under the evil influence of Arago. He told Rajura that they were wanting to destroy the Youjakai and naturally Rajura obeyed in destroying those who defied them. Now they were coming back to kill him.
“Nooo! Leave me alone!!!” Rajura screamed hysterically. “Stop it! Don’t touch me!”
Kuroi Kikoutei brought a hand which glowed with a red essence and punched the Gen Masho in the chest. Rajura’s eye widen in pain before his body sagged.
Anubisu choked back a cry. Kuroi Kikoutei had just killed Rajura--now it was his turn. Maybe there was no hope...
Kuroi Kikoutei landed before Anubisu. Apparently he had gotten rid of Rajura’s body and now it was just the two of them. Alone.
Gritting his teeth, Anubisu fixed his eyes on the armored figure and growled, “Go ahead. Kill me.”
“Willing to leave so soon, Anubisu-san?” Kuroi Kikoutei knelt before him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “You know that you and I are so much alike. Our hearts are as cold and dark as our ambitions. We were never meant to fight for good. We will always be evil no matter what we do. Why try to change when you know it’s impossible?”
Anubisu spat into Kuroi Kikoutei’s helmet. “Damn you. You know nothing of what it’s like to change! The others and I were given the chance to become good. The Troopers showed us that Arago was leading us down the wrong path. They showed us the light--”
Kuroi Kikoutei didn’t allow Anubisu to finish. He wrapped his fingers around Anubisu’ neck and slowly lifted him off from the ground. Anubisu struggled to free himself but it was no use; it was like trying to go up against a god.
“Do you think others will allow you to change?” Kuroi Kikoutei asked.
“N-Nani...?”
“Let me rephrase that: do YOU think you should be allowed to change from your ways? I mean, there might be some who will not agree. Some things can never be changed. You have sinned too many times to be given another chance. You’ve slaughtered hundreds of thousands and you want to convert?”
Anubisu grimaced. “I know what I did was wrong...”
“Wrong is such the word,” the other replied softly, “and many other words I can associate with that. One memory I find inside your puny mind seizes my attention. As you may remember, a certain comrade of yours died from a cause that you believe was depraved. Do you think he would want you to shift from being a rapscallion to a champion?”
“I... I...” Why was it so hard to talk all of a sudden?
Kuroi Kikoutei sighed. “Very well, Anubisu-san, why don’t you ask him for yourself?”
Anubis’ eyes widen in horror as the black armored figure removed his helmet with one hand and he found himself staring at the face of Shuten.
“SHIMATTA?! SHUTEN!!!”
“It’s your fault I’m dead,” Shuten hissed, his eyes glowing viciously. His long red hair flowed behind him as the harsh winds howled. “You and the others should have believe what I was saying before and because you didn’t I died! Now you will pay for the suffering you have caused me!”
“Shuten, stop,” Anubisu gasped. He cringed as Shuten’s fingers clasped his neck even tighter, making it hard to breathe. “Gomen nasei... You’re right. We should have listened...”
Shuten snorted, “It’s too late to apologize now. You think you can be a hero like the Troopers. But you know what? I think you’re just wasting your time. You’re a failure like me. In fact, we all are. We loose out in being praised as heroes because of our pasts as demon generals. We’ll always be the villains. I tried to be an ally... a hero... and look what it rewarded me with--DEATH! It’s too late!”
The Yami Masho had never heard Shuten talk this way before but that was the least of his worries. His vision began to fade as his breaths became harsh gasps. He tried to pry Shuten’s fingers from his neck but they were gripped around his neck like iron.
“You can never be a hero,” said Shuten. “Remember that, Yami Masho Anubisu. Sayonara.”
After saying that, he gave Anubisu’ neck one more squeeze. A unpalatable snap was heard and Anubis’ head and arms hung lifelessly.
***
“NO!”
Anubisu bolted strait up from his pillow, his whole body covered in sweat. Panting heavily, he looked about and found that he was in his room. Glancing at his night stand, his clock read 4 a.m. Nearly dawn. The room was dark, save for the dim lights which beamed through the pale curtains. The skies were slowly turning light and the stars were beginning to fade into the distance.
* It was just a dream,* Anubisu thought as he ran his fingers through his blue hair. * No... It was a nightmare. Shuten... Is he right? Maybe. Maybe not. *
Taking a deep sigh, Anubisu sat back against the bed frame and gazed outward. Even though it was dark, he could see perfectly where everything was. A simple dresser across from the bed, a closet next to it, a desk over by the wall, and a book shelf on the other side of the room. Rather a plain room but he figured he had time to improvise...
* Why can’t I stop thinking about that dream?* Anubisu thought as he closed his eyes in frustration. * Shuten... I’m sorry. Forgive me, we should’ve listened... We want to be heroes... so why is it so hard for us? What are we doing wrong?*
Unfortunately, nobody was around to answer his question.