So, here's the next chapter of The Heart of Wildfire. I took someone's advice and went back and added to it before uploading it. Hope you guys like it, and sorry for the delay, computer issues... Anyway, I own nothing, well, I have a pepsi and a candy bar! On with the story!

Edited and re-posted 2/10/2012


~~~Chapter 2

'Sage, I feel that you and the others are near. Go, go now, while you still can. Don't get caught in their trap like I did. Be safe guys, and please keep an eye on Raye for me,' Ryo thought to himself as he quickly fell into darkness.

"Hey, what's wrong Sage? You okay?" Rowan asked. He'd looked back and noticed Sage had quit walking and was just standing there next to a tree, his eyes slightly glazed.

"Yeah Sage, you alright?" Kento asked, coming to stand beside Sage as well.

'Ryo, was that really you?' Sage questioned mentally, watching the Ryo before him. Ryo did nothing, he just continued to walk down the trail, getting further away from the clearing they were in earlier. 'Can you hear me, Ryo?' Sage tried again, starting to feel a little confused.

"Sage?" Cye questioned, laying a hand on Sage's shoulder, causing him to jump.

"Huh? What is it?" Sage asked, paying attention once again. He noticed his friends surrounding him, minus Ryo.

"That's what we were going to ask you," Rowan replied softly, worry etched on his face.

"Hmm…" Sage started, watching Ryo once again. He was damn sure that Ryo wasn't paying them any attention as he continued to walk further away from them. "I'm not so sure that's Ryo. If it is, he's in a trance or something."

"Why do you say that?" Raye demanded, violet eyes flaring in anger. How could that NOT be Ryo?"

"Because of what he said to me a minute ago."

"He didn't say anything," Raye replied, looking at Sage as though he'd just grown a furry green tail or something.

"Sage can hear what we're thinking most of the time," Cye explained. "It's part of his power."

"What did he say?" Rowan asked, more than a little curious now.

"To turn back while we still could, that he didn't want us to fall into the same trap he fell in. He also said to keep an eye on her for him," Sage said, nodding to Raye.

"Did he say anything else?" Rowan questioned, blue eyes darting between Sage and Ryo.

"No, but he sounded so tired. Almost like he was after we fought Tulpa," Sage said. He looked to the ground and thought for a moment. It just didn't make any sense to him. Were there two Ryo's? Or was Ryo trapped within his own body?

"So what makes you think that he's not Ryo?" Raye spoke up, gesturing towards Ryo.

"I tried talking to him; this guy in front of us did nothing," Sage answered, watching the warrior clad in red with suspicious eyes.

"Ryo would have done something. Even if it was just to look over here to let us know he heard," Cye said quietly before Raye could ask anything else.

"So what do we do now?" Kento asked, sounding gloomy. He didn't want to fight someone that looked exactly like his best friend. "And what about White Blaze? He seems to believe that that's Ryo."

"Stay with him for now I guess. Wait until Ryo contacts me again," Sage answered defeated.

"Do you think he will?" Cye questioned, green eyes watching his feet.

"I'm not sure," Sage said quietly. "If he does, I don't think it will be for a while. He sounded too tired. I think he's fighting something."

"Like what?" Rowan asked.

"I'm not sure," Sage replied. After another minute or so, the Ronins and Raye made their way up the trail to catch up with Ryo. Whether he was the real Ryo or not, they knew they couldn't lose sight of him now, he just may be the only way to find out what was going on.


Ryo finally stirred from his fitful sleep. He groaned as he slowly sat up on the cold stony floor. He knew this was bad, he had no idea where he was or how he'd gotten there. He vaguely remembered talking to Sage, but couldn't remember actually seeing him or why he was talking to his old friend. This bothered him a little, but he couldn't say for sure why.

"What happened?" he asked aloud. "Where am I?"

He slowly stood up, testing his legs beneath him. He could stand, that relieved him a little, but the spinning and the pounding in his head only worsened, worrying him. He couldn't remember taking a hit to the head, or anywhere else for that matter.

"Sage? Can you hear me?" Ryo called out. He knew he had spoken with Sage and he had sounded worried. Why would Sage be worried? What the hell is going on?

He slowly started walking, a sharp pain making itself known in his side. Damn, so it's not just my head that hurts. He stood still for a moment, waiting for the pain to subside. Once it dulled just enough for him to move comfortably, he started walking again. He looked around cautiously, trying to figure out where he was. It was dark, and narrow like a tunnel or a small cave passage. He could barely hear water dripping in the distance. There was something about this place that bothered him. He couldn't help but thinking he'd been here before.

What had he been doing before this happened? Why did he leave his apartment in the first place? Something told him he hadn't wanted to go out, but he left because he had to. If that was the case, why weren't his friends with him? Didn't he call them? He was starting to get a very bad feeling about all of this. He could only remember bits and pieces of things so he couldn't piece things together very well.

Something just doesn't make sense here. Why do I feel like there's something I need to do and don't have time to waste? I hope Ameena's al- Ameena!

Ryo immediately took off running, ignoring the pain the movement caused and the way the world started spinning around him.


"That was weird," Sage mumbled after a while, rubbing his eyes.

"Did you say something, Sage?" Rowan asked, sitting down next to the blonde. They had decided to take a quick break before going further up the mountain side. They'd been at it for over three hours now, just following Ryo around. Ryo sat a few feet away, the tiger lying next to him, almost as though he were guarding him, from them.

"Huh?" Sage asked, looking from Ryo to Rowan.

"What's wrong, Sage? You look distracted."

"I guess I am," he muttered while looking at the ground.

"Sage?" Kento started, looking a little worried.

"Ryo's not doing to good, I can feel it. He's confused too, bits of his memory are missing," Sage mumbled. Whether he was talking to them or just thinking out loud, they didn't know. "His head and his side hurt… He's too tired to keep running… Vision keeps going in and out…" Sage whispered, his eyes closed now. "Why isn't White Blaze here? Dammit, what's going on? Where are the others? Please be safe guys. Be safe Ameena."

Sage's eyes suddenly flew open. He hunched over gasping for air.

"Sage!" Cye cried out, falling to his knees next to Sage. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I think… I think I tapped into Ryo's mind…" Sage said, shock written all over his pale face.

"What?" Kento asked in disbelief. "Could you tell where he was?"

"Caves."

"You're sure he's in the caves?" Raye asked, finally speaking up.

"Yeah. Cold, dark and damp. He's near, I can feel it," he said then looked at Raye. "Do you know who Ameena is?"

"No, not really. He's mentioned her, but nothing more. I know she's important to him," Raye replied.

Sage looked at Ryo once again. He knew this wasn't their friend, but then just who the hell was he? Ryo didn't seem to notice anyone watching him. That alone made Sage think some more. Ryo always knew when someone was watching him, even if he didn't verbally acknowledge it, you could always tell from his body language that he knew. Not now though. He just sat there, staring ahead at nothing in particular.

Rowan sat there thinking on what Sage had just said. After a few minutes he realized something and his gaze went straight to where he knew the base of the mountains were. Sage said he was positive that Ryo was in a cave. They were going to go looking in the caves before this Ryo came out of no where. Someone didn't want them in those caves. Someone didn't want them to find the real Ryo.


Ryo continued to run within the caves. He knew he was lost but wouldn't stop, he knew that once he stopped he'd be done. He was too tired, his side felt as though it was on fire and his head was pounding. His vision kept going in an out and that scared him, although he'd never admit it out loud. He had to find a way out of these caves if it killed him and from the way things were looking to him at that moment, it just very well might.

Ryo could have sworn he'd heard Sage again a few minutes ago but knew for a fact he was alone. "Why isn't White Blaze here? Dammit, what's going on? Where are the others? Please be safe guys. Be safe Ameena."

He ran around another corner, struggling to keep his speed up. He wouldn't slow down, couldn't. Ameena needed him and he knew he couldn't help her until he got out of here. Down another narrow passage, and around another corner. It appeared endless and Ryo began to wonder if he was running in circles. Someone was probably getting a kick out of watching him and that thought alone pissed him off enough to force him to keep going.

He rushed around yet another corner then stopped dead in his tracks. "Sun light?" he asked himself, amazed. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief. "Did I finally find the way out?" he asked dumbfounded. He took a couple hesitant steps toward the cave's entrance before breaking into a run once again. He wasn't going to wait for someone to come out from around that last corner to drag him back in. He was getting the hell out. Now he just had to find that guy with his armor…


End Chapter 2

Heehee. I like the way I ended that one! Now on to more typing! I hand wrote 27 pages worth of an update for this while my computer was down. None of that has been typed up yet. This part was typed, just not edited before the comp crashed and burned. Hope you guys like it so far. Please review. :)