Disclaimer: Yoroiden Samurai Troopers is the property of Sunrise. Ronin Warriors is the property of Bandai Entertainment. The enemy that the Ronins confront is my own, but that's about it.

Author's Note: And that's it. Thanks to everyone for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Please, be sure to leave a comment, positive or negative. I'll respond to it either way. And, as always, thank you to my bud Marco CoolDude for all the editing. I'm pretty sure I've converted you into a Ronin Warriors fan, lol.

The Crystal of Nix
by Jake the Fearless Leader

Epilogue

Battles were exhausting. It always took time for the Ronin Warriors to recover whenever they defeated a powerful Dynasty overlord. This time was no exception. As Ryo woke up that morning, his body let him know that it was still feeling the electric shocks. He'd had worse, though, so he did his best to ignore the soreness.

After changing into his favorite red sweater and his jeans, he left his room to go check on his friends. The four were right where he'd left them the previous night, though it seemed as though Cye had at least shifted in his sleep. Content that they were all on the mend, Ryo headed down to the kitchen to join Mia for breakfast. She had made enough for the others, as well, just in case they woke up at some point during the morning. Ryo helped clean up after they ate, which allowed Mia to head up to her office earlier than she'd anticipated. She had work to do for her classes. This meant Ryo was left to his own devices. He decided to finish his homework in the living room, and then turned on a soccer game when he was done.

It was just about time for lunch when Cye walked into the living room, fully dressed and appearing alert. "Hey," he greeted.

Ryo stared at him, surprised. "Cye, what are you doing up? You should be resting," he said.

"Ryo, relax. I'm okay," he said with a reassuring grin. "I wasn't drained as much as the guys."

"Are you sure you're okay?" asked Ryo, analyzing the older Ronin. He certainly had more color in his cheeks than he had the night before.

"Yes." Cye moved into the kitchen. "I told Mia that I'd make lunch so she could keep working. Want anything in particular?"

"Nah, I'm good with whatever," said Ryo, relaxing back into the couch. If Cye was up to cooking, then he was definitely feeling better.

Between the two of them, Ryo and Cye managed to wake the others long enough to get them to eat a little cream stew. It wasn't much, but at the very least, it would help them recover faster. Mia had all ready said that school was out of the question for the next day, at least, though Ryo and Cye would be able to go. That brought little joy to the Warrior of Trust.

Some time later, the two Ronins found themselves out on the dock by the lake. Cye told Ryo everything that had gone down the day before - the arrival of the bronze soldiers, Goruda's tricking them into attacking, and his reason for wanting the power of their armors. Ryo listened with growing incredulity.

"So, all he really wanted was to get stronger?" he asked.

"Yeah, I mean, you heard him. He was obsessed with becoming all-powerful," said Cye.

"I know, I just thought he had something else up his sleeve that he wasn't sharing with the rest of us." Ryo looked over at the older teen. "So, any idea why you weren't zapped as badly as the guys?"

Cye exhaled slowly. "No, not a clue. Kento passed out almost right away. Sage and Rowen weren't that far behind him. But I was okay for a while, at least until we summoned the Inferno."

"Hmm. Weird," Ryo said thoughtfully. He watched as Cye started pulling off his sneakers and socks. "What are you doing?"

"Thought I'd go for a swim," he said, pulling off his shirt. "You wanna join me?"

"No, thanks, I'll stay here."

"Okay, I'll be right back." Cye flashed his leader a grin before diving into the lake.

The moment he hit the water, he could feel the rest of his strength return to him. Sure, getting a good night's sleep had helped, but Cye knew from experience that his element healed him faster. He'd relied on it often during the war with Talpa. And, thanks to the power of his armor, he had no problems breathing underwater, even while not in sub-armor, so he could stay under as long as he wanted.

Cye swam down towards the lakebed, laying himself flat on his back across the sand. This was one of his favorite things to do underwater. He loved staring up at the surface, watching the glittering sun. It was the most beautiful sight in the world, the only thing that could calm him when his ADHD proved to be too much. The fish that made their home in the lake swam around him, used to the presence of the Ronin of Water. He'd done this quite often since moving into Mia's.

Cye could have spent the whole day down there, but that probably wouldn't be a good idea. He knew that Ryo was waiting for him. No need to feed Wildfire's paranoia. So pushing himself up, Torrent swam up to the surface and his way over to the dock.

"Hey, it's about time. I was starting to think you fell asleep down there or something," joked Ryo, though the relief on his face was visible.

"How long was I down there?" Cye asked as he pulled himself onto the dock.

"Little over an hour," replied Ryo.

"An hour?" Wow, no wonder the other Ronin had been concerned. Cye hadn't meant to stay that long.

"Good thing you can't drown, huh?" Ryo laughed as Cye started using his armor power to dry himself off.

"Yeah, sorry. Guess I lost track of time," apologized Cye.

"Don't sweat it," Ryo told him. "It's gotta be easy to do, with no clocks down there and all."

Cye nodded in agreement. "There's just something about being in the water. I feel like it's the only place where I can really clear my head," he explained. "The strangest thing about it? I've always felt like that, as far back as I can remember, before I even discovered the Armor of Torrent."

"Yeah?"

"Hmm. Before the accident, Dad used to take me out on the Hagi Sea. He bought this cabin cruiser, and every Saturday afternoon, we'd pack lunch and go, just the two of us. Sometimes we'd stay out overnight if the weather was clear."

Silence fell between them as Ryo watched Cye carefully. He never spoke about his father, always saying that the memories were too painful. For him to open up like this…

But Ryo could see the tears forming in his friend's sea green eyes, even as he pulled on his shirt to hide them. Time to change the subject.

"Come on, we should head back and check on the guys," said Ryo, standing up.

"Yeah, right," Cye agreed quickly. He picked up his shoes and socks, not bothering to put them back on, and walked besides his leader as they returned to the house. "So, do you think that's the last we'll hear from the Nether Realm?"

Ryo sighed heavily. "I want to say yes, but somehow, I doubt it," he said. "Hopefully, the next one won't show up for a while."

"Yeah," agreed Cye.

As the two Ronin Warriors entered the house, they failed to notice the unnatural solar eclipse that was just beginning in the sky.