The Search Begins
Talpa’s soldiers herd the captured humans into the Nether Realm. Anubis, meanwhile, is forced to deal with sharp scoldings from the other three Warlords. They tell him that by failing, it shames Talpa and makes them all look bad. Talpa appears and also rebukes Anubis for allowing Ryo to revive. He stresses the importance of destroying the Ronin Warriors before they reunite. Sekhmet, Warlord of Venom, offers to finish off Ryo and locate the other four. Talpa grants his request, saying, “Your poison will run over the Earth and drive them out of hiding.” Sekhmet assures he will be victorious.
Mia drives toward the University with Ryo. Yulie is fast asleep in the back. Mia tells Ryo that her grandfather will know where the other Ronins are located. Ryo still wonders why he was sent to the volcano. Mia is certain that her grandfather will have the answers.
As they drive through a small neighborhood, Yulie asks Mia to pull over since his house is nearby. Mia tells Yulie that his parents were captured, and they can’t come home. Yulie insists that they got away. Mia reluctantly agrees and stops. Sure enough, the house is deserted. Yulie finds the room with his mother’s plants, which are withered and dying. Yulie determines to help Ryo rescue his parents from the dynasty. He begins watering the plants. “Uh, it’s kinda pointless to water plants when they’re almost dead,” Ryo remarks, but Mia glares at him.
At the University, dark clouds cover the skies. A poisonous fog rolls in, killing trees and flowers. Sekhmet appears on the roof, laughing evilly.
Ryo and company arrive and are shocked by the destruction. They go inside and find Mia’s grandfather working on the computer. Mia questions him about the other Ronin Warriors, but the old man angrily shuts her off. He tells her humanity is doomed and she should learn to accept her fate. Mia is shocked that her grandfather would just give up, and she begins to search the computer on her own.
Yulie plays around with a camera he finds. As he gazes through the lens at some suits of armor, he sees one of the suits move. The suits suddenly come to life and attack. Ryo and White Blaze quickly destroy the soulless armors—with a little help from Yulie (Hey ugly, smile! I guess ghosts don’t like getting their picture taken.).
At that moment, Dr. Koji attacks Mia, and Ryo realizes that he’s possessed by a dynasty spirit. Using a sharp katana, Ryo drives the spirit from the doctor, but it’s all ready too late. Dr. Koji manages to tell Mia to remember the poem…then he dies. Mia is devastated.
There is a flash of lightning outside, revealing a dark silhouette on a nearby building. Sensing the danger, White Blaze growls and rushes outside. Ryo is surprised as Mia relentlessly begins searching the computer files for any useful information. Tears still stream down her face, but there is a determined strength in her face. Ryo tries to get her to rest, but Mia insists that finding the other four warriors is far more important.
Sekhmet stands watching them from the other building. He knows they are looking for their friends, and he will let them lead him to the others. A loud growl interrupts his thoughts. The Warlord turns to see White Blaze standing behind him. The tiger roars again. “That troublesome tiger sniffed me out,” he mutters.
Mia is growing more frustrated, trying to figure out the encryption in her grandfather’s computer. A blast of power draws their attention to the window. Ryo senses the danger and rushes to investigate.
White Blaze meanwhile is having a hard time fending off the Warlord of Venom. He raises his sword to strike when Ryo calls to him. Ryo challenges the Sekhmet to battle and transforms into his own armor. Sekhmet, however, has a few tricks up his sleeve. He seems to sprout four extra arms and rushes to battle Ryo. Ryo is no match for the six venomous katanas and is knocked to the ground.
Mia continues to struggle with the code. Finally, in a flashback, she remembers the poem her grandfather had taught her when she was young (this poem is excellent):
Torch of spirit, sought through five.
Drinking strength from immortal fire,
Darkest prison sheds the light,
Churning beneath a swirl of salt,
Burning within a throne of rock,
Floating among the Eyes of the Ages, unmoored in the stream of the sky.
Mia realizes that the poem is the key to finding the others. Another blast of energy from outside tells them that the battle is getting closer. Mia quickly packs up the laptop and grabs Yulie. Yulie manages to take a picture of the battle before Mia pulls him from the room…they leave just as Sekhmet’s attack destroys the building.
Ryo lays injured and worries about his friends’ safety. Sekhmet moves in to deliver the final blow. Mia appears with Yulie who tells Ryo that Sekhmet doesn’t really have six arms—he can just move them very fast. Ryo sheds his armor and dodges Sekhmet’s swords. Grabbing one of the swords, Ryo finally defeats the Warlord.
As the group drives away, Mia tells Ryo that she knows where the others are. Their first stop: Catasoda Gulch Pinnacles.
Sekhmet emerges from the rubble—still very much alive and even more determined to find the other warriors.
Halo’s Prison
Mia, Ryo, and Yulie drive to the Pinnacles to search for the first of their friends: Sage of the Halo. Mia determined from the poem that Sage is trapped inside the caves. White Blaze soon joins them at their destination.
Sekhmet appears nearby on a rock. He, too, has discovered Sage’s whereabouts. He comments that he was wise to pretend to die back at the school.
The group reaches the entrance to a large cave. Yulie calls out Sage’s name, but there is no answer. White Blaze suddenly growls. Mia asks what’s wrong and Ryo answers, “He thinks someone is following us.” Someone is…Sekhmet emerges from the waters. He ruefully thanks Ryo for guiding him to Sage. Ryo is amazed to see that the Warlord is still alive, but Sekhmet assures him that he is not so easily defeated.
Sekhmet draws his sword as Ryo warns Mia and Yulie to stand back. Sekhmet lunges for Ryo, who easily dodges it. “No medicine in the world will save you from this snake bite,” he taunts. The two fight briefly before Ryo jumps around and gives Sekhmet a swift kick in the head, sending him flying.
Mia watches, amazed at Ryo’s skills. He appears even more powerful than before. Sekhmet also realizes this, and decides to finish the battle swiftly. Dynasty Soldiers appear and join the Warlord of Venom. Ryo tells Mia and Yulie to run for it. They quickly duck into the caves. Ryo stays to fight, but this time he doesn’t fair as well. In a bold move, Sekhmet throws his swords at Ryo. The boy dodges them, but one sword flies over his head and drips poison into his eyes. Ryo screams in pain, clutching his eyes. Sekhmet laughs at the now blind warrior as Ryo drops to one knee. (Good quote by Sekhmet: Your eye, they burn! And your vision is blurred! And now you’re as blind as the bat’s in those caves!”).
Inside the caves, Mia and Yulie are running with White Blaze beside of them. White Blaze senses that Ryo is in trouble and stops. He runs back to help his master, while Yulie tries to get Mia to come too. Mia tells Yulie that they would only get in the way. They had to believe that Ryo would be all right.
Sekhmet recalls his six swords, Ryo barely jumping over them. The Warlord creeps closer to finish the boy off. Ryo desperately tries to sense where Sekhmet is, but he can’t. Just as Sekhmet is about to bring his swords down on Ryo, White Blaze knocks him aside. Angry, the vile snake fires a blast of poison at the tiger. Injured, White Blaze runs to Ryo, who quickly swings onto the tiger’s back. Sekhmet tries to stop them but just misses as the two run into the cave.
Deep inside the caverns, Ryo tries to wash the poison from his eyes, but it does no good. Sensing that White Blaze is injured, he asks the tiger to stay put while he searches for Sage. Ryo transforms into his armor and leaps into the darkness. (Ryo quote: Ronin Swords, guide me to Sage.”)
Mia and Yulie continue to search for Sage. Unfortunately, Sekhmet catches up and takes them prisoner.
Ryo continues to search blindly for his friend before his swords point to a large pillar of stone. Inside the stone is Sage. Ryo calls out to his friend, but Sage doesn’t respond. Sekhmet soon shows up and quickly defeats the helpless Ryo. In his desperation, Ryo screams out for Sage, punching into the pillar of stone. Amazingly, the stone begins to shatter. Bright beams of light fill the cavern as the rock blows apart. Ryo collapses, exhausted.
Sage emerges from the stone and sees Ryo lying nearby. Angry, Sage turns to face down Sekhmet. The Warlord charges, but Sage easily knocks the swords from his hands. He raises his sword above his head and summons his ultimate attack: Thunderbolt Cut. The blast of lightning hits Sekhmet propelling him through the cave walls.
Back outside, Sage tells Ryo that while he had heard Ryo calling him, he was unable to answer because he was in a trance. Sage uses his sword to reflect rays of sunlight into Ryo’s eyes—restoring his sight. Sage apologizes for causing his friends so much trouble.
The Counter Attack
After successfully rescuing Sage, the group is eager to find the rest of their missing friends. The next Ronin to find is Cye of the Torrent. Ryo figures out from the poem that Cye is resting within the whirlpools in the Sea of Toyama. Sage and Mia decide to head north to find Kento of Hardrock, leaving Ryo, Yulie, and White Blaze to help Cye.
Sekhmet watches the group from above. He is unfazed by his loses and still believes he can gain the upper hand in the battle. He quickly alerts Talpa of the Ronins' movements. Back at the castle, Talpa and the remaining three Dark Warlords watch the scene unfolding. Anubis points out that Sage is heading north alone, and asks to go fight him. Cale chides Anubis, saying that he already used his last chance. Cale turns to Talpa and says, "Master, I want him. Please allow me this great honor." Talpa senses Cale's eagerness for battle and grants him the request.
Ryo dives into the water while Yulie waits with White Blaze on the bridge. As he begins searching, Ryo is suddenly attacked by Dynasty Soldiers. He quickly arms up and fights them off. His armor slows him down, but it also allows him to breathe underwater. White Blaze helps by taking out more soldiers who are firing arrows at the boy. Once the soldiers are disposed of, Ryo dives deeper to find Cye. Sekhmet dives in after him.
As Ryo swims deeper, his armor suddenly begins acting weird. He soon finds himself nearly doubled over in pain. Sekhmet appears before him, assuring him that he will not be so careless as he was in the caves. Ryo tries to fight back, but the pain is too much for him. Sekhmet sprays him with poison, killing some nearby fish in the process. The Warlord of Venom then combines his six swords and unleashes his ultimate attack: Snake Fang Strike. Ryo is sent reeling backwards; the attack knocking the swords from his hands.
Confident that Ryo is dead, Sekhmet moves in on Cye, who is sleeping inside a large blue bubble in the middle of the three whirlpools. The fish form a barrier to protect Cye, but Sekhmet easily kills them with a blast of venom. A Killer Whale swimming nearby attacks the warlord next, but Sekhmet drives it away with more venom.
Ryo's swords appear and revive Cye. "Welcome back, Cye of the Torrent," Sekhmet taunts him. "You awoke in time to die alongside Ryo of the Wildfire." Cye is horrified. "What?! You...you killed Ryo?!" He catches Ryo's sword as it floats toward the bottom. In his anger, Cye produces a strong current that momentarily knocks the warlord aside. Cye retrieves Ryo and leaps with him up to the bridge. Leaving Ryo with Yulie and White Blaze, Cye dives back in to deal with Sekhmet.
Sekhmet tries to blast Cye with venom, taunting him. "How do you like the taste of my poison?" Cye is unharmed and simply replies, "Uh, Sekhmet, I wouldn't put it on the menu. It's a little bland for me." Sekhmet realizes that Cye is immune to his venom while underwater. Sekhmet then tricks Cye into fighting on land, quickly gaining the advantage and leaving Cye badly injured.
During the fight, a gasoline truck crashes and explodes into flames. White Blaze quickly drags the still unconscious Ryo over to the truck, knowing that the fire with revive him. (Smart kitty!) Within a few moments, Ryo is back on his feet; much to Sekhmet's amazement. In one final blast, Ryo and Cye unleash their ultimate attacks at the same time, sending the Warlord of Venom limping back to Talpa.
