Five years since the Hell Gates opened…
Ten years since the Ronins had triumphed over Talpa…
Fifteen years since Sage's tenth birthday…
Twenty years since he had begun to train…
Yet…
Only one day…
Since the greatest Adventure had really started…
Five years ago, Sage made his announcement.
He was leaving. Permanently? He did not know.
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation had learned about his ability to 'read' auras.
How they found out, he would probably never know.
His 'other-sight' was a deep, innate skill that he had always possessed, even before becoming a Ronin. The FBI wanted him to work for them. In return, he would have the life he'd always dreamed of…
No Ronins, no Kayura asking him to jump into another fight, no bondage to the armor that dragged him down incessantly, and, most importantly, no more whispering voice in his ear.
It spoke to him of each flare of the sun, each flicker of a candle, every single tip of light that ever was born around him. Light bulbs burned his eyes, so sensitive was he to this, and it bothered him to no end.
So he would leave, no words of protest, no arguments.
He was leaving the Ronins, his friends, behind in order to start a new life, one that was created in a new world, a place of freedom and opportunities that would never arise in Japan…
Kento hated him for it.
Even now, Sage could still remember the hate in his eyes. He was slinging his backpack over his shoulder and turning to board the plane when he glimpsed Kento Rei Faun's anger-filled glare, from where he stood on the other side of the gate-room.
He never thought that a Ronin could hate that purely.
The plane to America was depressingly quiet. No whispers to comfort him, no twinges to glance away from…he saw normally, without the pinpricks of pure light stabbing his eyes.
Then Kayura spoke to him.
Even as he glanced down at his laptop, he could hear her voice, soft, echoing, childlike. It pervaded his mind, and he could do nothing to stop her. He was human.
Sage, why did you sever from Korin? She seemed surprised and perplexed, Do you have any idea what you have done?
He tried to shake her from his head, but to no avail.
Without a warrior of light, the powers in the spiritual realms has become unbalanced, She continued, her face appearing before him, superimposed on his computer screen, You know of what I speak.
"Find someone else," He had whispered. There was no one around him, the plane was half-empty, "I was the smart one. I got out while I still could. I won't be a slave to the armor anymore, Kayura. I won't."
You have found the truth, Sage, She sighed, No mortal can truly control the armor. The armor controls them, which is why you were all bonded to it at such an early age. So you would feel no different when you called upon the armor…
"But we would feel empty without it."
She nodded, But you were different—
"They're all slaves, addicted to this thing you call armor, and you tricked them into believing that it was they who controlled the fates of the world," He had held his voice down, "Find a new lackey, Kayura. This one quits."
He had slammed the laptop closed. Obviously taking the opportunity to regroup her thoughts, Kayura slipped from his mind.
That had been five years ago.
Upon reaching Washington DC, Sage had been met by Tyler Kohen, an agent that was barely five years older than he was. The two had become instant friends, just add coffee…and, of course, Krispy Kreme donuts.
The first two years were spent training at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Once Sage had survived through that, he spent six months in a laboratory, as doctors and scientists attempted to figure out how his 'other-sight' worked.
When they failed, Sage was told that he was a 'valuable asset' and was to 'remain in close proximity' to the Washington DC area, unless notified by his superiors.
For a half of a year, Sage was an assistant interrogations agent, then was promoted to a full interrogator. His other-sight served him and the government system well, proving innocence where it was hidden, and guilt where it was buried.
Then came a case that he could not just sit in a blank, cold concrete room and simply watch on television.
A man named Udon Vo Saeki, a murderer, robber, and drug-dealer, had graduated to bank robbery, grand larceny…and Sage was not about to miss it, as he had been the pivotal witness in two of his cases, which had ended in convictions for Saeki.
He had disappeared after his last conviction, after screaming a curse of revenge on Sage…and a promise that he knew a secret about the FBI agent that no one else would ever dream of knowing.
"You ready for your first field job?" Tyler grinned his twenty-eight-going-on-eighteen playboy grin at a female officer-on-duty, who seemed less than amazed with his ego, "It's been what, four years since the Academy? And they're only now assigning you to a real case?"
"Three years, Tyler, three, not four," Sage had grinned at his friend, reveling in every moment of the freedom and adrenaline that pumped through his veins, "And it's about time."
"Just don't get yourself killed, all right?" Tyler turned serious, "I lost Connor that way, and I sure as hell don't want to lose you too." Sage knew how hard it was for an agent, even one as young as Tyler, to lose a partner to a bullet, especially one that had been meant for him…
"Relax, Tyler, I'm not going to get myself killed, not in your lifetime anyway," He chuckled, "I've never lost someone like that, but I've come close to being lost myself."
"Tell me all about it later, over a cup of Java…and your cup of tea. Anyway, let's see what's going on," Tyler approached the police officer in charge, "I'm Agent Kohen, this is my partner, Agent Date. Can you brief us on the situation?"
"Two snipers on the roof, Saeki ain't inside, but his two goons are, with one hostage, a little boy named Ricky Wages," The white haired man humphed. His nametag marked him as Captain Kerry Michols, "We've lost three bank guards to this ass, and all he does is laugh at us."
Sage grimaced and looked at the windows that formed the massive entrance to the prestigious bank, "He's going to be inside when we go in."
"What?" Michols demanded, crossing his arms, "And how would you know that?"
"Sage has a little more up here—" Tyler grinned and tapped his head, "—Then either your or I have. Let's just say that there is a reason that he's a full, active agent at twenty-three."
"Field or office?" The police's press liaison, a rather punk-looking woman with blue hair that matched her navy suit sneered at the two agents, her eyes taunting them from under black eyeshadow, "You look like a Pale-Baby to me."
"Pale-Baby?" Tyler looked at her, his eyebrows on the rise.
"Someone who spend their duty hours in an office instead of outside, either on a beat or case," Sage winked at her, though anyone else would have mistaken it for a blink. She, on the other hand, knew exactly what it was.
"Get moving, One-Eye," She snapped and turned towards Captain Michols, "If you're gonna save that little boy, you'd better hurry."
"Do we have a time limit?" Sage glanced at Tyler.
"Yup," Tyler grimaced again, "A little something called 'half an hour, or else we kill the kid.' Gotta love the good ol' pressure cooker…"
"Let's go, then," Sage checked his gun to make sure that the clip was secure and the safety was on, "The snipers are just that, so we should have no problems."
"How do you know all this?" The liaison snapped, chewing her gum loudly.
"He's a mind-reader," Tyler grinned at the skeptical look on her face, "We don't have time to show you right now, but I promise, he'd be more than willing to show you later…"
"Enough with matchmaker," Sage shook his head, "He knows that we're coming, right?"
"Yep, he's a-waiting," Michols gestured grandly towards the bank. Sage and Tyler glanced at each other. Tyler carefully checked his gun, his joking demeanor disappearing as he slipped his ready, safeties-off handgun into his holster.
The door had swung open easily in his hand.
Inside, the lobby was quiet, like a tomb in Atlantis at night. That was an analogy that Sage had picked up from an old Ancient Civilizations and Linguistics professor at the Academy, who he sat with often at lunch.
The little boy was sitting smack in the middle of the reception area, to the far side of the marble fountain. He was bound to an old-style chair, one that did not roll. Pity… Sage thought.
"Hey…buddy, your name is Ricky, isn't it?" Tyler turned on his amiable smile as he spoke quietly to the child from where they stood in the relative safety of the front door frame. He waved, "You okay?"
The little boy glanced over his shoulder and spoke in broken words, "I—okay…"
Yeah right, Sage thought as he shook his head, trying to clear his mind of everything around him. It took him a while to tune out Tyler's breathing, the gentle lapping and splashing of the fountain, his own heart beating…
When he opened his eyes, he saw a whole new world. Walls bent and shifted, floors warped and waved while auras surrounded everything. For the most part, they were faint, white shadows, marking inanimate, neutral objects.
The boy's aura was of a regular strength, white for an innocent, but tinged with orange for fear and scattered other colors marking apprehension, sadness, and even guilt. There were two pillars on either side of the room that glowed vague dark purple, meaning that they were inanimate, but held something dangerous.
Sage pulled his gun and took a step forward onto what his mind thought was a bucking, heaving floor. He stumbled slightly, but got his bearings. Tyler followed closely, keeping within whisper range.
"What's wrong with you? You walk like you're drunk," He hissed.
"I'm trying to keep us alive," Sage had snapped back, knowing exactly what he was doing…well, for the most part, "Two pillars, one four to the right, the other five to the left. The gunmen are hidden there."
"And how do you know that?" Tyler snapped, his gun at the ready. It dawned on him when he glanced at his friend's cloudy, glassed over eyes, "Oh, yeah, almost forgot about that little detail…"
"Get the boy. Saeki is here," He held his gun towards one of the two pillars. Tyler finished untying the kid and picked the small boy up carefully, rubbing his back soothingly as he began to cry.
Sage knew the movement was coming when a human aura, partially hidden by the pillar, suddenly turned bright red instead of warning red. He knew the gunfire was coming before it actually did…
The blonde agent pushed the older man and child out of the way. They went crashing into a potted plant as the soft zip, zip, zip of a silenced handgun and the deafening pow, pow, pow of a hand gun shattered the air.
He went down.
"Sage!" Tyler screamed, setting the little boy down. He urged little Ricky to dash towards the front door, and the little boy needed no more urging. For a tiny child barely out of Pull-Ups, he could sure run when he needed to.
The silenced shooting continued as a black clothed figure descended the main staircase, snapping off rounds at the marble floor around the fallen agent. He was as cocky as a bird, strutting towards his prey, his ego swelling.
"I knew that I would get you in here, Date," He snickered, keeping the silenced gun pointed at the fallen man as the two goons and one sniper stood around him, "Did you really think that I would kill a child just for some money?"
Sage didn't answer. He was too busy trying to keep the air in his lungs.
"This was all just for you," Saeki sneered, "You put me in jail the two times in my life that it mattered most, Date. I had a child born during one of those ten-year stretches, and they wouldn't let me out so I could see my son. The other, the twenty-years, I missed my wife's death."
"I'm so sorry," Sage gasped, his shoulder throbbing.
The older Japanese man scowled and hooked his boot under Sage's shoulder, rolling him onto his back. Sage looked up at the man with clear eyes. The pain had chased his other-sight away, and now he had no idea what the criminal had planned.
Saeki placed his boot on the bullet wound and applied pressure, pressing Sage's injured shoulder against the floor. He smiled as the agent grimaced in pain, "Now, Agent Kohen, you come out from wherever you are, or your friend goes through…unnecessary pain."
Sage remembered Tyler stepping out from behind the pillar…his gun firing.
There had been one final zip, and a swift kick as Saeki dove away, and it sent Sage spinning into oblivion.
The bullet had torn a furrow into Sage's side, and the doctor at the local hospital said that he was lucky that it didn't knick anything vital. Tyler just shook his head, saying something about the irony of getting shot on the first mission out.
Needless to say, Sage was a little embarrassed when his supervising agent came into his office cubicle a few weeks later. He was struggling with the phone, his right arm in a sling, and she just chuckled and walked away.
It took four months for him to heal completely. He was so used to healing quickly with his armor. Now that he didn't have it, he kept reopening his wounds, unused to having to wait in order to recover.
Six months after the fiasco in the bank, Saeki still had not resurfaced. Sage was a little surprised to learn that he had escaped the bank, but not completely amazed. In fact, from the look in the criminal's eyes, he knew that the man would not forget this…
Then came that damned invitation…
Tyler and his fiancé had asked him to come with to a Japanese restaurant to celebrate their upcoming wedding. Needless to say, Sage had felt like a fifth wheel, but he took it all in stride.
The restaurant was a little too traditional for his personal taste, and there was a little too much Chinese mixed in to make it purely Japanese. Then Saeki showed up.
Through boredom, Sage was scanning the restaurant with his other-sight, noting the familiar brownish-beige tint of dullness shading Tyler's fiancé's aura as well while Sage's friend regaled them with familiar stories of mission and cases.
While he looked around the drunkenly twisting room, he cursed the other-sight for blurring his real vision and giving him such a headache. It felt like there was something inside his head that jackhammered away at his temples.
Strangely, that had only begun to happen after the incident with Saeki and the bank. The headache, at least. Like the shock of being shot snapped something that did not work well broken.
"Sage? Hey, Sage, I'm gonna hit the bathroom real quick before the food gets here," Tyler excused himself. Sage watched him walk through the Picasso-like confusion of the room.
Then Sage caught a glimpse of a blindingly bright red aura. At first, he was startled and suspicious. That bright of red warned of instant danger, that something bad was going to happen.
But as he stared at it, he felt a chill creep up his back. That aura was familiar…
Almost hidden behind the red was another eye-tearing field of color, this one orange. Two more glows moved towards the red and orange ones, both blue, one bright turquoise, the other electric navy.
All were ringed with gold.
The more he stared, the more startled he became, and the more his head pounded and thudded. Black spots gathered and faded in his sight…then symbols flared on each of the fields of color.
Virtue…Trust…Justice…Life Force…
"Sage, are you all right?" Cassandra, Tyler's fiancé, reached over and gently shook his arm. He jumped and knocked over his glass of water. He snatched out his hand to catch it, but all he managed to do was stop it from pouring all over his shirt. He stood quickly.
"Oh, Sage, I'm sorry, but you looked pale all of a sudden," She apologized, grabbing napkins.
"No, it's okay, really," He tried to smirk, "I'm going to the bathroom to dry off. Tell Tyler…"
His other-sight gone because of the break in his concentration, he could now see the sign for the men's bathroom, and Tyler walking out of it, right past the table where he had seen the four glows…
"Never mind," He glanced around for an alternate route, but Fate was not working with him. He passed by Tyler right in front of The Table, and he accidentally bumped into his friend, pulling his jacket away from his side.
He heard a quiet 'What in the—?' as at least one person at the table saw the gun and holster. A grimace passed across his face when his old shoulder wound was jostled; he moved to grip the old injury.
"Ah, Sage, man, I'm sorry," Tyler grabbed his shoulders to keep them both in balance, "You okay? Your shoulder still bothering you?"
"I'm all right," Sage smirked and went into the bathroom, not sparing a glance for the owners of the four auras.
Once in the bathroom, he rested his head against the wall, closing his eyes and sighing. This was not a good day for him. How could they have found him? Were they even looking for him? After all this time, was he really the only one that had left?
How could he face them?
He grimaced as he straightened up, opened his eyes and rolled his shoulder. It was stiff, but it didn't seem to hurt so much as ache, a dull pain deep in the muscle that the bullet had torn.
"Poor Dill-Weed," A sickeningly smooth voice hissed from behind him, "Is your old war-wound still hurting? Maybe I should have kicked you there instead of in the side."
Sage's eyes widened.
"Nope, no turning around. You don't get to see my new face until after I kill you. I plan on taping a picture of me laughing inside the cover of your coffin, just so you remember who it was that beat the great interrogator."
"Saeki?"
"Smart. What's with the soaked shirt?" The end of a silencer poked him in the side, "Clumsy, aren't you? Was the glass too much for your poor shoulder to handle?"
Sage spun and grabbed the gun. They both froze.
Saeki was completely different. His face had changed, growing darker and more rugged, instead of the Asian complexion that he had sported before. His eyes, his devilishly dangerous eyes, were almost black instead of their former gray.
"Now you've seen me. I really can't let you live now," He smirked and pulled the trigger.
The explosion stunned both of them. It was too loud for a silenced gun…but it was just the right volume for a 9-millimeter Beretta handgun…
Saeki looked at the bleeding hole in his shoulder and at the ragged dent that had been punched out of the wall by Sage's bullet, the one that the blonde man never even remembered firing.
He growled in anger and grabbed his collar, "You're going to die for that, Date."
"Quit talking already," Sage's voice was hard and cold. His fist shot up and contacted solidly with his opponent's jaw. The grip on his collar loosened, and he took the opportunity to punch again.
Saeki bounced off the wall and got a hold of Sage's jacket, throwing him out of the bathroom with superhuman strength. Sage was barely able to dove out of the way as he tried to break his neck with a two-handed attack.
People panicked and ran away, scurrying from the restaurant in droves. Sage gained his feet again and faced off against the fugitive…
The look in Saeki's eyes reminded him of someone…Cale…
Everything seemed to freeze.
This is exactly the same as being a Ronin…he's trying to kill me for doing good and protecting the people that can't fight for themselves… He realized, I wanted to get away from that life…but now I'm smack in the middle of another crusade.
Saeki's fist met his chest with heart-stopping force, a green-yellow glow surrounding the clenched hand, throwing him back into the wall. The strength made a literal dent in the wood paneling…
"How—how did you do that?" Stunned, it was all Sage could do to try to catch his breath.
Saeki grinned, "You like my new powers? Yeah, you should know them."
He punched him again and again and again, his arms a blur of green and yellow energy, reminding one of the Matrix. Sage coughed up a sudden burst of blood, then Saeki grabbed his collar and slammed him into the opposite wall.
"Yeah, I found a cute little thing over in Japan, when you put me on the run," Saeki kicked him as he slid to the floor, "I never thought that I would like marbles, but this one was special."
"Wha—what?" The blonde agent gasped.
"Problem is, I had to steal it from a group of very protective kids," He laughed, standing over the agent, "But its mine now. And I have to kill you in order to get the full power."
"You stole Korin!" Sage cried, gaining his feet, but just barely, "That's why you've been trying to kill me! You stole the Armor of Halo!"
"Maybe you do have some untainted brain cells in your head," Saeki mused, rolling up a sleeve of his shirt, revealing green and gray subarmor…gray? "It has been mine ever since I escaped from you and that damned conviction."
Sage dove forward and reached for the man's throat. With superhuman speed, Saeki's knee had impacted with his stomach and his elbow had smashed down into his back, sending him into a heap of pain on the floor.
Sage realized something after Saeki seemed to swell with power. The more that Sage was injured, the stronger Saeki became. But how could he use that to his advantage?
"Freeze! FBI!" Tyler yelled, his gun out and at the ready. He was on the floor, out cold, before he realized that Saeki had moved.
"Hey, Saeki, try picking on someone that has the same power level as you!" Kento…oh, God, it was Kento! Saeki grinned and made to summon Korin, the Armor of Halo. Sage could feel the power ripple out from the man's form as he cried out, "Armor of Halo, Dao—Chi!"
Sage dove forward, grabbing him in a full nelson. The energy covered them both, drowning out Saeki's cry of rage. The glow grew and pulsed around them…
When it faded, Saeki stared down at his hands. One hand was still subarmor, but the other was covered in the Armor of Halo…he looked like a mismatched warrior, his right shoulder fully armored, but the other normal subarmor.
Instead of appearing like a half-dressed samurai, Sage did not change. The only thing that appeared differently was his eyes, which blazed with a quiet, sympathetic light.
"What have you done to me!?" Saeki screamed, his eyes widening to the size of saucers. He pointed at Sage, "This is my armor now! Mine! Give it to me!"
Sage said nothing. Saeki screamed in rage. He charged, wielding the Sword of Halo. Instead of moving, the blonde agent took the brunt of the attack. The Sword pierced through his body, sending light spraying everywhere.
Saeki laughed maniacally as he tried to pull the Sword from Sage's body. Yet the former Ronin did not fall…and the Sword stayed where it was.
"What—? Die, you fool!" Saeki was about to charge again, this time with his fists, but Sage's eyes flared. The Ronins watched in purest amazement as the Sword of Halo appeared in Ryo's hands.
Sage raised his hand towards Saeki. Power streamed to Saeki's screaming and cursing form, from the former Ronin's body.
When the glow disappeared from Sage's eyes, it was replaced by a look of purest fear and agony. But it seemed like he could not stop the energy transfer…His arms were frozen, pouring his energy into Saeki.
Ryo took the chance and dove forward, his familiar armor covering his body, unbidden, but welcome nonetheless. Saeki strained against the bonds that surrounded him, and he broke them just in time to avoid Ryo's killing blow.
The criminal reached out and grabbed Ryo's wrist. He flung him against the wood paneling, shattering the wood and sending Ryo reeling. Sage dove between them, protecting the stunned Ronin with his body.
Saeki hesitated, and it was all the time that Sage needed.
"Freeze." Sage hissed. His 9mm Beretta exploded in the criminal's face, flattening itself into the helmet, right between his eyes. While Saeki was stunned, Kento brought his fists down onto his back, knocking him to the floor. Cye pinned him with a foot, crushing his body into the floor.
Defeated, Saeki powered down…
And a quiet crystal rolled away from his hand, blackened and charred, the light inside dying tainted and destroyed.
Rowen stepped over to Sage, a look of slight anger on his face, "Sage! For God's sake! Why haven't you called us, or emailed, or written, or something! We would have been happy with a letter in a bottle!"
Sage holstered his gun, then reached down to help Ryo to his feet. He had forgotten how heavy the subarmor made a person…
"You should have told us what you were getting into!" Rowen continued, his face growing red, "It took a maniac, hell-bent on killing you, in order to bet us all together again! Are you listening to me?"
When Rowen reached for Sage's shoulder, he stopped. Sage was ignoring him, stepping over to his unconscious friend, who groaned and stirred. He reached down and pulled him groggily to his feet, supporting him.
"Aw, forget it Rowen," Kento snapped, "He's not one of us."
Sage turned to face them all, "If I see any of you using your armor in public, I'll book you for concealing and discharging dangerous weapons, plus attempted murder and possibly aggravated assault. Consider this a warning."
Rowen looked like he'd been stabbed. Cye, standing over the unconscious Saeki, bent down and picked up the scorched orb. Sage and his friend disappeared outside, into the screaming sirens and officers.