Sprayfire

Chapter XII - Necromantic Wrath

"Well, whatever happened to you that caused you to be tardy - it doesn't matter now.", said Mitchel. "The important thing is that you arrived in one piece. Now, you can fight alongside us, so we can end this.", he added.

"So, are we ready to take the next guys head on, yet?", I asked, as I cracked my knuckles. "This better be the last of the waves - I might not be able to hold on much longer...", I said, as I placed my hand on my neck, feeling my temperature slowly shoot up.

"Alright, load up guys.", Mitchel ordered, as we all took some spare parts that Troy was carrying around. "I can tell, this one isn't gonna be easy.", he added.

We were ready to take on the next wave. Russ called the attention of the figure to let him know that we were ready. We positioned ourselves in a defensive semi-circle. Then, the figure spoke;

"One ninja, two ninja, three ninja, four...", the figure spoke. "Ready your senses for shinobi galore...", the figure added, as he muttered an evil chuckle.

We just stood there, as we watched the figure laugh. We all looked at one another - some of us were confused; others were clueless. What's going on? The minions should be jumping out of the temple by now - but none are to be found...

"Am I the only one seeing an empty courtyard?", asked Private Jim.

"Yeah, me too - I don't see anything!", said Private Brock.

"Alright, where's one of these guys - let me at 'em, so I can see their faces!", Mitchel arrogantly shouted.

"Right behind you...", a faint whisper echoed behind us.

We turned around to see who it was - or what it was - but it was too late. The person had already initiated a knockdown technique. It swiftly flicked it's fists and wrists at us, causing us to get pushed back, fall down, or worse - lose consciousness. What's shocking is that there were 12 of us, and we were all caught off guard by one man. I fell down to the ground, on my side. I looked around to check on the others. Jaydee, Fiona, Bayonette and Adrian all fell on the floor with me - Roni, Mitchel and Joe were still standing, but were looking around; feeling clueless about what just happened - Russ and the Privates were out cold and unconscious. I got up and helped the others up as well.

"What was that?!", I asked the ninja masters.

"I'm pretty convinced that it's Shadow Rogues...", Mitchel told us, as his eyes darted back and forth - looking for any possible threats. "Be careful guys - I've fought Shadow Rogues before, and trust me - some of them carry poison daggers.", he added.

"A Shadow Rogue is a difficult opponent to fight.", Roni said. "Not only do they have the power to blend in with their surroundings - they can also temporarily cloak themselves from plain sight, by the use of smoke bombs.", she added.

"Not only that, Roni...", said Joe. "When I was out in my quest, I met a gang of five Shadow Rogues. One of them threw a venom flask at me. Luckily I survived the stench and the chemical itself, because I managed to run to the nearby village and get anti-venom. Watch out - these guys mean business...", he said, as he gripped his Katana and Parrying Dagger.

"But how are we supposed to fight something we can't see?!", Fiona asked.

"Leave the sensing and tracking to us.", Mitchel said. "Once we sense a Shadow Rogue nearby, we'll throw a particle smoke bomb at it. This will be enough to reveal their silhouette - making it awfully easier for you guys to get them.", he whispered into our ears.