Someone requested that I give Kay a weapon. I think a staff would suit her perfectly.
Chapter Ten
Kay-
Kay swung her staff and easily knocked the empty metal helmet off the shoulders of her opponent. The soldier crashed to the ground after smoke poured out of its neck. While it was still falling, she automatically turned and ducked under the sword of the second soldier, coming up closer to it's body and ramming her staff through it's chest. This one fell as the other did, releasing the energy that gave it movement in a cloud of smoke.
She was only up to two soldiers at a time now and she couldn't help but think of her dear brothers whom she had often seen spar with dozens of the things at a time, when they couldn't spar with each other, anyway. She sighed and leaned her staff over her shoulder, wishing that she were as great a warrior as they were. Well, Rajura always said that with practice she would be one of the greatest of all time.
Now that her morning work out was done, Kay headed back home, into the castle. She wore a short tunic that was belted at the waist and long, baggy trousers to make her training more comfortable. Kay also fought barefooted, to toughen her feet, just in case she ever had to fight without shoes.
The castle was, as usual, empty. Occasional guards, the simple soldiers who were nothing but husks, ignored her as she went directly to her chambers. She could remember no life before living here, but Kay was often sure there must have been something else.
"Where was I before I came here?" She had asked Anubis once, while he was giving her lessons in the battle yard. "I had a dream last night that I was in a village with lots of other people. There were other children, just like me."
Anubis looked away uncomfortably and Kay was instantly sorry that she'd asked. There was something that they were hiding from her and, although it irritated her, she never wanted to cause her brothers any pain. Kay's first memory was four years ago and it was of waking up one morning with the four men who would become her four brothers all looking down at her, worried. Before that moment, though, there was nothing. It seemed to Kay that there should have been more to life before that. After all, she'd been eight at the time. She should certainly remember more.
The girl paused to look out one of the many windows at the moon as it hung in the cloudless sky. She often saw in dreams a sky that was blue. Here, at home, the sky was never blue. She remembered a having a woman holding her and feeling completely safe, but there were no women, here.
"I do wish they'd tell me what's going on." She sighed, starting back to her room. Oh, well, it really wasn't all that important. If there were, her brothers would have told her. They loved her, of that she had no doubt. She felt perfectly at home and entirely safe at home with her brothers, she just wished she knew how she got here and where she came from.
Kay paused briefly at a large, ornate metal door and stopped, looking at it. This was the forbidden place. This was where her brothers had told her that she was never to go, on pain of a spanking. Even though she often saw them going in when they were in their armor, looking grim or, more often, angry. They must have a good reason. Kay continued on her way, leaving another mystery behind. It would bring her brothers pain if she indulged her curiosity and that she would never do.
Her brothers were everything to her, they had raised her. Naaza sat with her while she was sick, Anubis taught her how to read, Rajura was like a mother to her, and Sh'ten...
Kay had to stifle a sob at the thought of her missing brother. The others wouldn't tell her what had happened to Sh'ten. He'd gone out one day and never returned. This scared Kay to no end for it could only mean that something awful had happened to him and the others didn't want to scare her by tell her the truth. If something happened to him, then what if something happened to Rajura, Naaza, or Anubis? What if none of them came back? She would be utterly alone.
After dropping her staff back in her room, Kay tried to forget all the depressing thoughts and went to find Rajura. He had always told her to practice her basic moves in the morning and, if she did well, he would work with her in the afternoon. First she went to his room, but there was no one there. Kay frowned, he must have gone out to that other place they went to when they put on their armor. The place where Sh'ten had vanished.
Next stop was Naaza, to see if he wanted her to do lessons today. First, though, she went to Anubis' room. "Oniisan?" She knocked on the door softly before pushing it open. The room, as usual was dark, but Kay had never been afraid of the dark. Anubis had taught her long ago that the dark was as warm and comforting as the light could be. A cold nose touched her hand and Kay smiled down at Junior. "Hey, where's Anubis?" She asked the powerful looking wolf as she scratched behind his ear.
Junior led her into the darkness, to Anubis' bed where the Yami Ma-Sho was asleep. Kay had heard the titles of her brothers before, but really didn't understand them. She'd never been told why they were warlords or what they were fighting against, just that it was a long battle and they didn't want her involved because she was so young.
Kay shook her head, no wonder she didn't remember seeing them last night. It must have been a late battle. She turned to leave the room, giving Junior another pat on the head, but stopped at Anubis' desk. He had always been proud of his fine oak desk, supplied with paint and brushes for his elaborate calligraphy and beautiful paper. On the desk, though, was something different, something that she had never seen before.
Kay picked up the picture, a lovely painting of a young boy sitting in the grass with a little sword in his lap.
"What are you doing here, Kay?"
She looked up at Anubis who was now sitting up on his bed. "Sorry, Oniisan. I didn't mean to wake you. I was just wondering who this was." She went to him with the picture and handed it to him.
Anubis looked at it without speaking for a moment.
"Anubis? Did I hurt your feelings? I'm sorry."
He shook his head, making his dark blue hair fall into his eyes slightly. "No, Kay. I'm just remembering. This is a boy that I know. His name is Seiji."
Kay looked at the boy in the picture, at the short cut blonde hair and the serious expression. "He doesn't look very happy." She commented.
"He wasn't. Seiji didn't have a very nice life. I'm going to bring him here to live with us as soon as I can."
Kay's eyes lit up. "You are? I can have someone to play with?" She couldn't remember ever having anther child to play with and wondered what he would be like.
Anubis touched her hair lovingly. "Sorry, Kay. But this picture was done a long time ago. He's older now, he must be about sixteen."
Her hope died, but she smiled anyway. "Is he nice?"
Anubis thought about this, studying the picture. "He was strong and smart, sad and lonely, but yes. I think he could be nice if someone taught him how."
Kay didn't like this answer. "What do you mean? You can't teach someone how to be nice. You just are or you aren't."
Anubis smiled. "He never had friends as a child and spent much of his time alone. I recently found out that he's found some friends, but they are on the wrong side of the war we are fighting. I don't think he remembers me kindly. I...I hope that these new friends of his are good to him."
Kay started to back toward the door. "I'll go now, Anubis. You still look tired." With that, she left him still staring at the picture.
Poor Anubis, Kay thought, going to find her next brother. That boy had better not hurt Nubie-Chan, Kay thought with a scowl. She would not tolerate someone hurting her brothers. This Seiji would be fine so long as he came back here to make Anubis happy, but if he was on the wrong side of the war, then he might end up hurting her Oniisan and that would not be tolerated!
Before going in Naaza's room, she saw Wanda in the hall, in front of Naaza's door. "Hello, Wanda." She said politely, as snakes held manners in high esteem, "Is Naaza in his room?"
The small green and red snake slowly shook her head.
"Well, thanks anyway." Now where could he have gone? There was one room left in this hall, the unused guestroom. Although she was pretty sure he wasn't there, Kay looked in and was surprised to find that she was wrong. Naaza was sitting in a chair near the door, his eyes closed, though Kay was sure he was wide awake.
"Hello, Kay. Did you have a good sleep?" Naaza asked, not bothering to open his eyes.
She smiled and walked over to him. "Oh, yes. I was just finishing my morning training and I was wondering if you wanted me to do any lessons today." Even as she asked, Kay couldn't help but stare at the strangers. She had never, never seen any other people other than her brothers. There was a woman with long red/brown hair and two boys. One of them had a bandage wrapped around his head, with a bit of blood having soaked through. "Who are they?" She couldn't contain her curiosity.
Naaza considered his answer. "They are guests. We are going to try and get them to join our side of the war and get them to help us."
Kay slowly approached the beds where the three were asleep. "Are they tired?"
"No, the two boys are injured and the girl had a bit of a shock so she fainted. They will get better in time." Naaza was about to say something and then paused, a frown on his face. The green haired Ma-Sho carefully stuck the tip of his tongue out and licked his lips before bringing his tongue back into his mouth and looked as if he tasted something. (Imagine a snake tasting with its tongue to smell.)
Suddenly, his eyes popped open and he turned on her. "Kay! You've been into my make up, again!" He accused angrily. "Don't deny it, I can smell it on you!"
Kay stepped away with her most innocent smile. "Now, Oniisan, would I do that?"
He jumped out of his chair, furious. "Yes, you would! I'm not going to have any left if you keep using it up! Who the hell are you trying to impress, anyway?"
"Well," Kayura said slyly. "Who are YOU trying to impress?"
Naaza blushed, turning his cheeks a light shade of green. "That's not your business! Keep out of my things!"
"But I just used the red eye shadow this time, Naaza." She defended herself. "I didn't touch the green this time, honest!" Kay, realizing she should have washed her face better, started to back out of the room. She couldn't quite help the tiny grin on her face.
His eyes grew even wider than usual. "That's not the point! Keep out of my make up!" with that, he instantly forgot his prisoners...er...guests, and chased the laughing girl out of the room. "When I get my hands on you, child!" He threatened. Kay ran as fast as she could, but wasn't really afraid. Naaza wouldn't hurt her.
Kay ran straight to Naaza's room and when he caught up with her, she was holding Julius, one of his cobra's in her arms. Naaza hissed at the snake. "Get away from her!"
The snake flicked its tongue at him and curled around Kay's throat. Naaza, able to understand the snake quite well, looked at it in shock. "What do you mean, 'no way'? How dare you talk to me like that!?"
It hissed at him and Naaza spluttered. "You traitor!" He shook his fist at the cobra. "How can you side with her against me?"
Kay kissed the top of the cobra's head. "He likes me better than you, Naaza." She said sweetly.
"You little brat! You've subverted my snake!"
From everywhere in his room, his many, many snakes were slithering out, all hissing angrily. Naaza was shocked. "All of you?" He looked extremely offended. "Fine! Be that way!" With his remaining dignity held together by threads, Naaza marched out of the room, his head held high.
Kay laughed and gave Julius another kiss. "Don't worry, I'll apologize to him in a minute. Thanks for helping, guys. You all get an extra mouse tonight."
Nasutei-
Nasutei opened her eyes just as soon as the other two people ran out of the room. She'd woken up quite some time ago and had managed to stay perfectly still while she knew Naaza was in the room. Even when she heard the strange voice of the child and how unusual Naaza sounded. He was playful and friendly, even teasing the little girl. What was going on?
She sat up and took a look around. On another bed was Heero, still out cold, by the look at him. Nasty swung her legs over the side of the bed and paused to check his pulse and, to her relief, found it strong and steady. Where Naaza had knocked him on the head, there was a large lump, but nothing life threatening. She peeled back one of Heero's eyelids and saw that, yes, the pupils were dilating properly, so there was probably nothing wrong with his brain. Well, nothing new.
Nasty quickly turned her attention to the other patient, and her heart faltered at the sight of him. "Oh, Shin." She whispered, going to his side. He skin had gone very pale and though the bandage on his head was newly changed, the blood was still soaking through. His pulse was weak and his skin was clammy. She had no way of knowing that his condition was far improved since Naaza had taken him in his care.
What am I going to do, Nasty wondered. She knew that they were prisoners in the Dynasty, but why was the door unlocked and why weren't they in a dungeon or something?
I have to find a way out of here, she realized. If she could find a way to contact Sh'ten then she was sure he could rescue them. But they had to save Shin, no matter what. As she had no idea how to get back to Earth, she was desperately hoping that Sh'ten was all ready looking for them.
The girl took a deep breath and slowly opened the heavy door. It wasn't locked or even guarded. The hallway was completely deserted. Her heart was thudding with fear as she crept out into the hallway and started to look for a way out of the palace.
She must have spent nearly an hour wandering through the palace, getting herself completely lost. Every hall and passage looked exactly the same! It was like some huge labyrinth and there were no clues anywhere. How did the Ma-Sho find their way around?
At one point, Nasutei found the armory and just had to stop. The armory was well lit and all the weapons were newly polished. Someone obviously took very good care of their weapons and she wondered if the Ma-Sho did it themselves or if they set the soldiers to doing that sort of menial task.
The hall was magnificent with stone walls covered with ornate weaponry for decoration as well as crates of more common weapons, such as plain swords that the soldiers probably used. One weapon, in particular, caught Nasty's eye. It was a naginata, an almost seven foot long pole with a curved blade, like that of a large ax, on the end. She knew what she had to do, if she was going to have a hope of surviving this place. Taking off her usual pink sweater and letting it fall to the floor, Nasty took the Naginata off the wall and tested it for weight.
The thing was heavy, but nothing she couldn't handle, thanks to Shu's weight lifting training. The boys had persuaded her long ago let them train her in some weapon so she would be able to protect herself. She admitted that she wasn't very good at it yet, but she had to try.
After another few minutes of creeping around, the naginata came in very useful. A group of a dozen soldiers appeared from around a corner and charged her. Praying that she'd learned her lessons properly, Nasty lowered her weapon and charged in to meet them. The battle was a blur and she saw it in slow motion, slashing and stabbing with the blade, along with dodging the swords and spears of the soldiers.
In the end, Nasty was the only one standing, sweating and panting for breath with nothing but scratches and a few bruises. The soldiers were now empty green armor fallen around her.
She stood there, not quite understanding what she'd done, for just a few seconds before turning to run again. That battle was sure to attract, if not the Ma-Sho themselves, then more soldiers, at least. She ran as fast as she could. There must be a way out somewhere!
Duo-
They had all made it outside before the roof of the house caved in, followed by the rest of the house. Duo ran over to Seiji who was setting Ryo down on the grass as gently as he could. "What's wrong with him?" Duo demanded, worried for Ryo's sake.
"He'll need to rest." Shu told Duo kindly. "But he should be all right in a little while."
"What do you mean, "should"?" Duo turned on Shu sharply.
"The Kikoutei takes a lot out of him when he uses it and it's exhausting trying to control it. Everytime he uses it, it takes him longer to recover. It will probably take a week for him to wake up, this time." Shu began to gather wood from Nasutei's fall house and pile it next to Ryo.
"Shouldn't we take him to the hospital, or something?" Duo asked.
Touma shook his head. "No, not necessary. Ryo just needs someplace safe to sleep." He looked around at the mass destruction. "We'll have to stay here, I guess. We can't draw innocents into the battle." With Seiji hovering protectively over Ryo, they all sat trying to pass the time until Ryo woke. As soon as Shu had built his pile of wood up about three feet, Touma brought out a lighter and set the pile on fire.
"Isn't Ryo a little close to the fire?" Duo asked, seeing that Ryo was only a few inches from the blaze.
Quarte answered. "The fire will make him stronger. It's like a power source for him." It unnerved Duo that Quarte, now that he had the light blue armor, knew so much about the strangers and all this magic stuff. More disturbing was that he trusted them so much, easily accepting whatever they told him. Duo could only imagine how Trowa must feel. It seemed that Quarte was spending more time with these new people than with his own friends.
"I have no intention of sleeping on the ground. I'll see you all in the morning." Wufei announced, going to his Gundam. They still had to wait until Sh'ten came back before they could do anything and now, Seiji told them though Touma, it would be best for them to get some sleep. The Troopers began to make camp around Ryo and the fire. With his Koibito missing and Ryo so badly injured, Duo had decided to stay with Ryo, too. He still didn't understand all this and still wanted to protect Ryo.
Shu shouted after Wufei, "Can I come with you, Little Panda?"
"No, you most certainly can not!" Wufei snapped, turning his nose up at the thought of someone else touching his Shen Long.
Shu began running after Wufei. "Come on! Just for a minute, I just want to see what a Gundam is like on the inside."
"No! If I let you in, you'll never leave."
Shu continued to follow and pester Wufei until the two had vanished from sight. Wufei's shouting voice could be heard coming from the darkness for quite some time.
Duo sat by Ryo's side that night as the campfire burned low and he made sure to feed it, keeping it blazing through the night. "A pity we have no time to get to a volcano." Touma commented, coming to sit with Ryo.
"A volcano, why?"
"Well, you see how the fire is helping to heal him, it makes him stronger. The stronger the source of heat, the stronger he will get." Touma smiled suddenly, the first one since Shin had been abducted. "Some day, I plan to take him to the sun and see what that will do to him. It should be educational, if nothing else."
"Duo," Quarte was standing behind him now, nervously wringing his hands. "Can I talk to you?"
Duo nodded and Touma, exchanging a look with Quarte got up and went to talk to Seiji. Quarte sat down where Touma had been. "Is this whole telepathy thing for real, Quarte?"
The blond nodded, his eyes fixed on Ryo's face. "Oh, yes. You just saw it at work. I asked Touma if I could have a minute to talk to you alone and he said to call if I needed anything."
Duo frowned. "Why would you need anything?"
Quarte sort of smiled at this. "I think I've been adopted into a new family and they're looking at me as sort of a defenseless little brother. Duo, this is serious." Quarte looked at him, very serious. "This is bigger than OZ, bigger than anything. I've seen what this Arago can do through their memories. They shared their memories with me. Do you realize what that feels like? They even know all about me, because I couldn't shield myself when I first got the armor. I know so much about them all and I only met them today.
Sh'ten showed me what's happened in the past when there was no one strong enough to stand up to Arago. The Earth was nearly destroyed several times. I...I'm afraid, Duo."
Duo looked at Quarte, surprised. Quarte, though the most modest boy Duo had ever met, had never admitted to being afraid before.
"Don't you see, Duo? I'm supposed to help in this war now, too. I don't know if I can control this armor and if I'm not strong enough it'll take me over. I won't be me anymore, I'll be Suiko. I'm just not strong enough."
Duo patted his friend's shoulder. "Why don't you talk to Trowa about this? He's always been good at inspiring you."
"I've tried." Quarte insisted. "I think he's upset that I'm one of the Troopers now." Duo followed Quarte's look over to the normally silent Trowa, who was now glowering at the ground. Duo had seen it earlier, Trowa was shutting Quarte out, and jealous of how close he was to the Troopers. Trowa didn't like sharing Quarte with anyone.
"I see your point." Duo thought. "Well, what about Seiji? He seems to have all the answers."
Again, Quarte shook his head. "He's to worried about Ryo."
To Duo's eyes Seiji was the same as always, calm and cool, not giving away any emotion at all, let alone worry. "He's creepy, anyway." Duo commented. "Just like Heero."
"I thought you loved Heero."
"I do, but he's still creepy."
"There is a reason they are so much alike." Sh'ten told them, loudly enough for everyone to hear and look at Seiji curiously. Seiji glared at Sh'ten, obviously understanding what Sh'ten was talking about. "I'm sorry, but when you told Ryo, I heard also."
Seiji was silent, but apparently said something with that telepathic thing. Sh'ten answered him outloud. "I know that you were shielding, but I am far older and more experienced than you are. I couldn't help but pick up your thoughts as your emotions were so strong."
Seiji turned his back on Sh'ten.
"He hasn't forgotten you." Sh'ten told Seiji quietly. "In all this time, he was still going to come for you. Don't worry, I won't tell if you don't want me to. I just thought you should know, he still wants you."
Duo's little mind was screaming to have the blanks filled in, but no one was giving, even Quarte said that it would be rude to tell what was going on, the little he knew, anyway.
"I told you not to touch that!" Now everyone looked at Wufei and Shu who came trudging back to the make shift camp. Wufei and Shu were both covered with ash and Wufei's hair was crispy at the end of his little pigtail.
"How was I supposed to know what that button did?" Shu asked defensively.
Wufei turned on him angrily. "'DO NOT TOUCH!' written in big black letters on a big red button is usually enough to discourage most people!"
Duo suddenly understood and giggled. "He pushed the burglar alarm, didn't he?"
Wufei nodded, still glaring at Shu. "It's mean to discourage would be robbers, but this fool decided he wanted to see what all the buttons did."
Shu shrugged. "That Gundam is a piece of junk, anyway."
Wufei saw red and screamed. "What are you talking about?!"
"All those buttons and no radio? You gotta be joking me, I wouldn't take that thing if you paid me."
"Ahem." Sh'ten cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Where is Nasutei-sama?"
"She's been kidnapped along with Heero." Quarte told him and then wished he didn't.
Sh'ten glared at him and his eyes flashed red for an instant. "What?" He asked in a dangerously soft voice.
Quarte backed away a little. "She was kidnapped along with Heero and Shin."
Instead of exploding, Sh'ten managed to calm himself and took a deep breath. "I am calm." He muttered to himself. "I am calm. I am calm." When he opened his eyes, they were back to their original color and he looked down at Ryo. "What happened to him?"
"Kikoutei." Touma answered and it seemed to explain everything to Sh'ten.
"Then we will have to wait until he is well enough to fight." Sh'ten declared and sat on the ground, folding his robes around him and laying his staff on his lap.
Duo shouted in disbelief. "Aren't you at all worried? You're friends were just capture and maybe killed by evil demon things? Are you just going to sit there? Why don't you go without Ryo?"
"We need all the armors if we are going to stand a fighting chance." Sh'ten's voice didn't even rise. "Those evil demon things you are talking about are my brothers and they won't hurt Nasutei-sama, she is not a threat. Shin will not be physically harmed, he is to valuable. Heero, I don't believe they will hurt them. They seem to know what is going on with you as our replacements, so they won't hurt an armor bearer."
"You don't sound to sure." Touma commented, throwing another log on Ryo's fire.
"I confess, I'm not. My brothers wouldn't hurt any of them without reason, but Arago is another matter. He controls everything in the Dynasty and will decide the fate of our friends."
Trowa spoke for the first time in a long time. "I understand that you all have a kind of telepathic link." He gestured to the troopers and Sh'ten. "But you," He looked at Sh'ten. "You have a link with the enemy, also, don't you? Why are only you connect with them?"
"I am in a unique position. I was a Ma-Sho, not long ago. Now I fight with the Troopers. I don't know why exactly, but I am linked with all of them now." Sh'ten quickly changed the subject, as he was clearly uncomfortable with it. "It is not difficult to get to the Nether Realms, but it will be necessary for most of you to stay here." He looked at Duo, Trowa, and Wufei. "You would be, forgive me for saying this, liabilities in the Nether Realms. You do not have the power to survive there."
"What about Quarte?" Trowa asked.
"He will go with us. We need the power of Suiko."
Trowa looked at Quarte. "Do you want to go with them?" He would not let anyone force Quarte to do anything he didn't want to do, which was obvious.
Quarte went to Trowa and touched his face with the metal covered hands. "I don't like this any better than you do, love. But this is the way it has to be. I can't just let everyone down because I'm afraid." He tried to smile reassuringly at Trowa. "I will come back."
Ryo's eyes opened, flickered and then settled on Duo. Everyone gasped, happy, but concerned. It seemed that Ryo waking up this early was unexpected.
"Ryo! You're awake!" Duo knelt next to Ryo, but it seemed that Ryo was looking through him. "Ryo? Are you all right?"
"I don't have much energy." Ryo did sound very tired, as if he'd not slept in years. Slowly, almost painfully, Ryo reached to his throat and pulled off a chain with his kanji ball attached. He gave the chain a sharp jerk and snapped the chair. With a smile, he handed it to Duo.
Duo looked at the offered kanji ball and slowly shook his head. "No way. You are not dying and I am not taking that thing!" He started to back away, but bumped into something. He turned to find a line of Troopers standing like a wall behind him and Quarte was standing with them as if he'd always been with them.
"You have no choice, Duo." Ryo's eyes were starting to close again. "Take it before it takes you. Look at it closely." Ryo's symbol for benevolence faded and shifted to the symbol for passion. "Recca wants you, Duo." Ryo's eyes fell closed and the kanji ball fell through his fingers.
Without thinking, Duo grabbed it and felt it grow warm in his hand. He felt that the armor was pleased. Duo looked down at Ryo and saw that he was still breathing. Thank god he wasn't dead. "Man, when you wake up, I am going to kill you for this."
Sh'ten told Duo, "Your words of power are Armor of Wildfire! Tao Jin!"
Duo frowned at the ball in his hands. "I don't want to! I don't want all of you wandering about in my head." That part was terrifying to him. He had things in his past that he didn't want anyone, not even Heero to know about. How could he let perfect strangers into his head?
"If Recca weren't needed, then it would have stayed with Ryo. So, it must know that another battle is coming and Ryo won't be strong enough to fight, yet." Touma told him, sounding very sensible. "We won't win without you, Duo. It is your choice, though."
Duo grunted bitterly. "Some choice! Take the armor and let you all in my head or don't and let Heero die and be taken over by the armor." Duo really didn't want to do this. He really, really didn't want to do this. In his mind's eye, Duo saw Heero looking at him. Depending on him. Aw, hell.
Duo raised the small orb high and shouted, "Armor of Wildfire! Tao Jin!"
He was engulfed with heat, a warm comforting heat, like sitting next to the fireplace after a day spent shoveling snow. It felt like coming home. When Duo looked down at himself, he was in Ryo's armor.
WE'RE SORRY YOU HAD TO GET INVOLVED, BUT RYO WAS RIGHT. YOU CAN NOT AVOID THIS. A strange voice, like liquid silk, was in Duo's mind. Duo turned again and looked at all the Troopers. He really could feel them all, though they were being polite and keeping themselves hidden, he knew they were in his head. They could see everything he couldn't hide. Just like he could see Quarte and all the little pains and joys of Quarte's life. Suddenly there was curtain infront of Quarte's mind. The curtain had been supplied from Seiji.
WELCOME TO OUR FAMILY, DUO. Duo saw Seiji bow his head, ever so slightly. YOU ARE WELCOME AND RYO WOULD BE PLEASED TO HAVE YOU WITH US. I AM SHIELDING QUARTE SO YOU WILL NOT SEE HIS SECRETS AND I AM SHIELDING YOUR MIND. I WILL DO SO UNTIL YOU BOTH LEARN CONTROL.
"Thanks." Duo said. Not only were there people running around in his head, but now one of them was, what, controlling his mind?
I AM NOT CONTROLING YOUR MIND. Seiji insisted in an unnaturally beautiful voice. NONE OF US CAN DO THAT. I AM JUST HELPING. I WILL BE ABLE TO PICK UP YOUR THOUGHTS, BUT THE OTHERS WON'T AND I WON'T SPEAK OF ANYTHING YOU THINK TO ANYONE. YOU CAN TRUST ME.
"Why don't you sound like that when you talk?" Duo asked, still not entirely comfortable with this whole situation.
LACK OF PRACTICE, I SUPPOSE.
Something poked Duo's hand and he looked down at a familiar tiger. "What?" Duo started to back away from the thing wearily. The creature had been black a minute ago, when it fought with Ryo against that Lady Kayura.
Sh'ten put a hand on the tiger's head. "This is Byakuen, he is Ryo's friend, but he is also the bearer of the swords of fervor. We will need him if you have to change into Kikoutei."
Sh'ten raised his staff and it started to glow. "We must leave now." He declared. The clouds above them began to swirl and Duo was almost afraid of a tornado, but a tunnel of light appeared, drawing the armored five along with the tiger up to the sky. Duo and Quarte tried not to panic, but the others seemed to be perfectly at ease.
Sh'ten-
Sh'ten was just about to send himself up after them, when Wufei and Trowa exchanged a look. Trowa said, "I'm not letting Quarte go anywhere without me."
"Shu will get himself killed without someone sensible to look after him." Wufei commented.
Sh'ten, getting worried, started to say that they should stay and take care of Ryo when both boys jumped into the beam of light and were carried up after the Troopers.
"What are you doing?" Sh'ten screamed after them. "You idiots! You'll get killed!" After a few minutes more of ranting and swearing, Sh'ten sighed, accepting reality. "Oh, well." He looked at Ryo and decided a little protection was needed. With the staff, he drew a circle around Ryo. "That should protect you against most things. Just so long as we don't take to long."
Sh'ten jumped in last of all and the column of light vanished behind him, closing the gate between realities.
To be continued...
Chapter Ten
Kay-
Kay swung her staff and easily knocked the empty metal helmet off the shoulders of her opponent. The soldier crashed to the ground after smoke poured out of its neck. While it was still falling, she automatically turned and ducked under the sword of the second soldier, coming up closer to it's body and ramming her staff through it's chest. This one fell as the other did, releasing the energy that gave it movement in a cloud of smoke.
She was only up to two soldiers at a time now and she couldn't help but think of her dear brothers whom she had often seen spar with dozens of the things at a time, when they couldn't spar with each other, anyway. She sighed and leaned her staff over her shoulder, wishing that she were as great a warrior as they were. Well, Rajura always said that with practice she would be one of the greatest of all time.
Now that her morning work out was done, Kay headed back home, into the castle. She wore a short tunic that was belted at the waist and long, baggy trousers to make her training more comfortable. Kay also fought barefooted, to toughen her feet, just in case she ever had to fight without shoes.
The castle was, as usual, empty. Occasional guards, the simple soldiers who were nothing but husks, ignored her as she went directly to her chambers. She could remember no life before living here, but Kay was often sure there must have been something else.
"Where was I before I came here?" She had asked Anubis once, while he was giving her lessons in the battle yard. "I had a dream last night that I was in a village with lots of other people. There were other children, just like me."
Anubis looked away uncomfortably and Kay was instantly sorry that she'd asked. There was something that they were hiding from her and, although it irritated her, she never wanted to cause her brothers any pain. Kay's first memory was four years ago and it was of waking up one morning with the four men who would become her four brothers all looking down at her, worried. Before that moment, though, there was nothing. It seemed to Kay that there should have been more to life before that. After all, she'd been eight at the time. She should certainly remember more.
The girl paused to look out one of the many windows at the moon as it hung in the cloudless sky. She often saw in dreams a sky that was blue. Here, at home, the sky was never blue. She remembered a having a woman holding her and feeling completely safe, but there were no women, here.
"I do wish they'd tell me what's going on." She sighed, starting back to her room. Oh, well, it really wasn't all that important. If there were, her brothers would have told her. They loved her, of that she had no doubt. She felt perfectly at home and entirely safe at home with her brothers, she just wished she knew how she got here and where she came from.
Kay paused briefly at a large, ornate metal door and stopped, looking at it. This was the forbidden place. This was where her brothers had told her that she was never to go, on pain of a spanking. Even though she often saw them going in when they were in their armor, looking grim or, more often, angry. They must have a good reason. Kay continued on her way, leaving another mystery behind. It would bring her brothers pain if she indulged her curiosity and that she would never do.
Her brothers were everything to her, they had raised her. Naaza sat with her while she was sick, Anubis taught her how to read, Rajura was like a mother to her, and Sh'ten...
Kay had to stifle a sob at the thought of her missing brother. The others wouldn't tell her what had happened to Sh'ten. He'd gone out one day and never returned. This scared Kay to no end for it could only mean that something awful had happened to him and the others didn't want to scare her by tell her the truth. If something happened to him, then what if something happened to Rajura, Naaza, or Anubis? What if none of them came back? She would be utterly alone.
After dropping her staff back in her room, Kay tried to forget all the depressing thoughts and went to find Rajura. He had always told her to practice her basic moves in the morning and, if she did well, he would work with her in the afternoon. First she went to his room, but there was no one there. Kay frowned, he must have gone out to that other place they went to when they put on their armor. The place where Sh'ten had vanished.
Next stop was Naaza, to see if he wanted her to do lessons today. First, though, she went to Anubis' room. "Oniisan?" She knocked on the door softly before pushing it open. The room, as usual was dark, but Kay had never been afraid of the dark. Anubis had taught her long ago that the dark was as warm and comforting as the light could be. A cold nose touched her hand and Kay smiled down at Junior. "Hey, where's Anubis?" She asked the powerful looking wolf as she scratched behind his ear.
Junior led her into the darkness, to Anubis' bed where the Yami Ma-Sho was asleep. Kay had heard the titles of her brothers before, but really didn't understand them. She'd never been told why they were warlords or what they were fighting against, just that it was a long battle and they didn't want her involved because she was so young.
Kay shook her head, no wonder she didn't remember seeing them last night. It must have been a late battle. She turned to leave the room, giving Junior another pat on the head, but stopped at Anubis' desk. He had always been proud of his fine oak desk, supplied with paint and brushes for his elaborate calligraphy and beautiful paper. On the desk, though, was something different, something that she had never seen before.
Kay picked up the picture, a lovely painting of a young boy sitting in the grass with a little sword in his lap.
"What are you doing here, Kay?"
She looked up at Anubis who was now sitting up on his bed. "Sorry, Oniisan. I didn't mean to wake you. I was just wondering who this was." She went to him with the picture and handed it to him.
Anubis looked at it without speaking for a moment.
"Anubis? Did I hurt your feelings? I'm sorry."
He shook his head, making his dark blue hair fall into his eyes slightly. "No, Kay. I'm just remembering. This is a boy that I know. His name is Seiji."
Kay looked at the boy in the picture, at the short cut blonde hair and the serious expression. "He doesn't look very happy." She commented.
"He wasn't. Seiji didn't have a very nice life. I'm going to bring him here to live with us as soon as I can."
Kay's eyes lit up. "You are? I can have someone to play with?" She couldn't remember ever having anther child to play with and wondered what he would be like.
Anubis touched her hair lovingly. "Sorry, Kay. But this picture was done a long time ago. He's older now, he must be about sixteen."
Her hope died, but she smiled anyway. "Is he nice?"
Anubis thought about this, studying the picture. "He was strong and smart, sad and lonely, but yes. I think he could be nice if someone taught him how."
Kay didn't like this answer. "What do you mean? You can't teach someone how to be nice. You just are or you aren't."
Anubis smiled. "He never had friends as a child and spent much of his time alone. I recently found out that he's found some friends, but they are on the wrong side of the war we are fighting. I don't think he remembers me kindly. I...I hope that these new friends of his are good to him."
Kay started to back toward the door. "I'll go now, Anubis. You still look tired." With that, she left him still staring at the picture.
Poor Anubis, Kay thought, going to find her next brother. That boy had better not hurt Nubie-Chan, Kay thought with a scowl. She would not tolerate someone hurting her brothers. This Seiji would be fine so long as he came back here to make Anubis happy, but if he was on the wrong side of the war, then he might end up hurting her Oniisan and that would not be tolerated!
Before going in Naaza's room, she saw Wanda in the hall, in front of Naaza's door. "Hello, Wanda." She said politely, as snakes held manners in high esteem, "Is Naaza in his room?"
The small green and red snake slowly shook her head.
"Well, thanks anyway." Now where could he have gone? There was one room left in this hall, the unused guestroom. Although she was pretty sure he wasn't there, Kay looked in and was surprised to find that she was wrong. Naaza was sitting in a chair near the door, his eyes closed, though Kay was sure he was wide awake.
"Hello, Kay. Did you have a good sleep?" Naaza asked, not bothering to open his eyes.
She smiled and walked over to him. "Oh, yes. I was just finishing my morning training and I was wondering if you wanted me to do any lessons today." Even as she asked, Kay couldn't help but stare at the strangers. She had never, never seen any other people other than her brothers. There was a woman with long red/brown hair and two boys. One of them had a bandage wrapped around his head, with a bit of blood having soaked through. "Who are they?" She couldn't contain her curiosity.
Naaza considered his answer. "They are guests. We are going to try and get them to join our side of the war and get them to help us."
Kay slowly approached the beds where the three were asleep. "Are they tired?"
"No, the two boys are injured and the girl had a bit of a shock so she fainted. They will get better in time." Naaza was about to say something and then paused, a frown on his face. The green haired Ma-Sho carefully stuck the tip of his tongue out and licked his lips before bringing his tongue back into his mouth and looked as if he tasted something. (Imagine a snake tasting with its tongue to smell.)
Suddenly, his eyes popped open and he turned on her. "Kay! You've been into my make up, again!" He accused angrily. "Don't deny it, I can smell it on you!"
Kay stepped away with her most innocent smile. "Now, Oniisan, would I do that?"
He jumped out of his chair, furious. "Yes, you would! I'm not going to have any left if you keep using it up! Who the hell are you trying to impress, anyway?"
"Well," Kayura said slyly. "Who are YOU trying to impress?"
Naaza blushed, turning his cheeks a light shade of green. "That's not your business! Keep out of my things!"
"But I just used the red eye shadow this time, Naaza." She defended herself. "I didn't touch the green this time, honest!" Kay, realizing she should have washed her face better, started to back out of the room. She couldn't quite help the tiny grin on her face.
His eyes grew even wider than usual. "That's not the point! Keep out of my make up!" with that, he instantly forgot his prisoners...er...guests, and chased the laughing girl out of the room. "When I get my hands on you, child!" He threatened. Kay ran as fast as she could, but wasn't really afraid. Naaza wouldn't hurt her.
Kay ran straight to Naaza's room and when he caught up with her, she was holding Julius, one of his cobra's in her arms. Naaza hissed at the snake. "Get away from her!"
The snake flicked its tongue at him and curled around Kay's throat. Naaza, able to understand the snake quite well, looked at it in shock. "What do you mean, 'no way'? How dare you talk to me like that!?"
It hissed at him and Naaza spluttered. "You traitor!" He shook his fist at the cobra. "How can you side with her against me?"
Kay kissed the top of the cobra's head. "He likes me better than you, Naaza." She said sweetly.
"You little brat! You've subverted my snake!"
From everywhere in his room, his many, many snakes were slithering out, all hissing angrily. Naaza was shocked. "All of you?" He looked extremely offended. "Fine! Be that way!" With his remaining dignity held together by threads, Naaza marched out of the room, his head held high.
Kay laughed and gave Julius another kiss. "Don't worry, I'll apologize to him in a minute. Thanks for helping, guys. You all get an extra mouse tonight."
Nasutei-
Nasutei opened her eyes just as soon as the other two people ran out of the room. She'd woken up quite some time ago and had managed to stay perfectly still while she knew Naaza was in the room. Even when she heard the strange voice of the child and how unusual Naaza sounded. He was playful and friendly, even teasing the little girl. What was going on?
She sat up and took a look around. On another bed was Heero, still out cold, by the look at him. Nasty swung her legs over the side of the bed and paused to check his pulse and, to her relief, found it strong and steady. Where Naaza had knocked him on the head, there was a large lump, but nothing life threatening. She peeled back one of Heero's eyelids and saw that, yes, the pupils were dilating properly, so there was probably nothing wrong with his brain. Well, nothing new.
Nasty quickly turned her attention to the other patient, and her heart faltered at the sight of him. "Oh, Shin." She whispered, going to his side. He skin had gone very pale and though the bandage on his head was newly changed, the blood was still soaking through. His pulse was weak and his skin was clammy. She had no way of knowing that his condition was far improved since Naaza had taken him in his care.
What am I going to do, Nasty wondered. She knew that they were prisoners in the Dynasty, but why was the door unlocked and why weren't they in a dungeon or something?
I have to find a way out of here, she realized. If she could find a way to contact Sh'ten then she was sure he could rescue them. But they had to save Shin, no matter what. As she had no idea how to get back to Earth, she was desperately hoping that Sh'ten was all ready looking for them.
The girl took a deep breath and slowly opened the heavy door. It wasn't locked or even guarded. The hallway was completely deserted. Her heart was thudding with fear as she crept out into the hallway and started to look for a way out of the palace.
She must have spent nearly an hour wandering through the palace, getting herself completely lost. Every hall and passage looked exactly the same! It was like some huge labyrinth and there were no clues anywhere. How did the Ma-Sho find their way around?
At one point, Nasutei found the armory and just had to stop. The armory was well lit and all the weapons were newly polished. Someone obviously took very good care of their weapons and she wondered if the Ma-Sho did it themselves or if they set the soldiers to doing that sort of menial task.
The hall was magnificent with stone walls covered with ornate weaponry for decoration as well as crates of more common weapons, such as plain swords that the soldiers probably used. One weapon, in particular, caught Nasty's eye. It was a naginata, an almost seven foot long pole with a curved blade, like that of a large ax, on the end. She knew what she had to do, if she was going to have a hope of surviving this place. Taking off her usual pink sweater and letting it fall to the floor, Nasty took the Naginata off the wall and tested it for weight.
The thing was heavy, but nothing she couldn't handle, thanks to Shu's weight lifting training. The boys had persuaded her long ago let them train her in some weapon so she would be able to protect herself. She admitted that she wasn't very good at it yet, but she had to try.
After another few minutes of creeping around, the naginata came in very useful. A group of a dozen soldiers appeared from around a corner and charged her. Praying that she'd learned her lessons properly, Nasty lowered her weapon and charged in to meet them. The battle was a blur and she saw it in slow motion, slashing and stabbing with the blade, along with dodging the swords and spears of the soldiers.
In the end, Nasty was the only one standing, sweating and panting for breath with nothing but scratches and a few bruises. The soldiers were now empty green armor fallen around her.
She stood there, not quite understanding what she'd done, for just a few seconds before turning to run again. That battle was sure to attract, if not the Ma-Sho themselves, then more soldiers, at least. She ran as fast as she could. There must be a way out somewhere!
Duo-
They had all made it outside before the roof of the house caved in, followed by the rest of the house. Duo ran over to Seiji who was setting Ryo down on the grass as gently as he could. "What's wrong with him?" Duo demanded, worried for Ryo's sake.
"He'll need to rest." Shu told Duo kindly. "But he should be all right in a little while."
"What do you mean, "should"?" Duo turned on Shu sharply.
"The Kikoutei takes a lot out of him when he uses it and it's exhausting trying to control it. Everytime he uses it, it takes him longer to recover. It will probably take a week for him to wake up, this time." Shu began to gather wood from Nasutei's fall house and pile it next to Ryo.
"Shouldn't we take him to the hospital, or something?" Duo asked.
Touma shook his head. "No, not necessary. Ryo just needs someplace safe to sleep." He looked around at the mass destruction. "We'll have to stay here, I guess. We can't draw innocents into the battle." With Seiji hovering protectively over Ryo, they all sat trying to pass the time until Ryo woke. As soon as Shu had built his pile of wood up about three feet, Touma brought out a lighter and set the pile on fire.
"Isn't Ryo a little close to the fire?" Duo asked, seeing that Ryo was only a few inches from the blaze.
Quarte answered. "The fire will make him stronger. It's like a power source for him." It unnerved Duo that Quarte, now that he had the light blue armor, knew so much about the strangers and all this magic stuff. More disturbing was that he trusted them so much, easily accepting whatever they told him. Duo could only imagine how Trowa must feel. It seemed that Quarte was spending more time with these new people than with his own friends.
"I have no intention of sleeping on the ground. I'll see you all in the morning." Wufei announced, going to his Gundam. They still had to wait until Sh'ten came back before they could do anything and now, Seiji told them though Touma, it would be best for them to get some sleep. The Troopers began to make camp around Ryo and the fire. With his Koibito missing and Ryo so badly injured, Duo had decided to stay with Ryo, too. He still didn't understand all this and still wanted to protect Ryo.
Shu shouted after Wufei, "Can I come with you, Little Panda?"
"No, you most certainly can not!" Wufei snapped, turning his nose up at the thought of someone else touching his Shen Long.
Shu began running after Wufei. "Come on! Just for a minute, I just want to see what a Gundam is like on the inside."
"No! If I let you in, you'll never leave."
Shu continued to follow and pester Wufei until the two had vanished from sight. Wufei's shouting voice could be heard coming from the darkness for quite some time.
Duo sat by Ryo's side that night as the campfire burned low and he made sure to feed it, keeping it blazing through the night. "A pity we have no time to get to a volcano." Touma commented, coming to sit with Ryo.
"A volcano, why?"
"Well, you see how the fire is helping to heal him, it makes him stronger. The stronger the source of heat, the stronger he will get." Touma smiled suddenly, the first one since Shin had been abducted. "Some day, I plan to take him to the sun and see what that will do to him. It should be educational, if nothing else."
"Duo," Quarte was standing behind him now, nervously wringing his hands. "Can I talk to you?"
Duo nodded and Touma, exchanging a look with Quarte got up and went to talk to Seiji. Quarte sat down where Touma had been. "Is this whole telepathy thing for real, Quarte?"
The blond nodded, his eyes fixed on Ryo's face. "Oh, yes. You just saw it at work. I asked Touma if I could have a minute to talk to you alone and he said to call if I needed anything."
Duo frowned. "Why would you need anything?"
Quarte sort of smiled at this. "I think I've been adopted into a new family and they're looking at me as sort of a defenseless little brother. Duo, this is serious." Quarte looked at him, very serious. "This is bigger than OZ, bigger than anything. I've seen what this Arago can do through their memories. They shared their memories with me. Do you realize what that feels like? They even know all about me, because I couldn't shield myself when I first got the armor. I know so much about them all and I only met them today.
Sh'ten showed me what's happened in the past when there was no one strong enough to stand up to Arago. The Earth was nearly destroyed several times. I...I'm afraid, Duo."
Duo looked at Quarte, surprised. Quarte, though the most modest boy Duo had ever met, had never admitted to being afraid before.
"Don't you see, Duo? I'm supposed to help in this war now, too. I don't know if I can control this armor and if I'm not strong enough it'll take me over. I won't be me anymore, I'll be Suiko. I'm just not strong enough."
Duo patted his friend's shoulder. "Why don't you talk to Trowa about this? He's always been good at inspiring you."
"I've tried." Quarte insisted. "I think he's upset that I'm one of the Troopers now." Duo followed Quarte's look over to the normally silent Trowa, who was now glowering at the ground. Duo had seen it earlier, Trowa was shutting Quarte out, and jealous of how close he was to the Troopers. Trowa didn't like sharing Quarte with anyone.
"I see your point." Duo thought. "Well, what about Seiji? He seems to have all the answers."
Again, Quarte shook his head. "He's to worried about Ryo."
To Duo's eyes Seiji was the same as always, calm and cool, not giving away any emotion at all, let alone worry. "He's creepy, anyway." Duo commented. "Just like Heero."
"I thought you loved Heero."
"I do, but he's still creepy."
"There is a reason they are so much alike." Sh'ten told them, loudly enough for everyone to hear and look at Seiji curiously. Seiji glared at Sh'ten, obviously understanding what Sh'ten was talking about. "I'm sorry, but when you told Ryo, I heard also."
Seiji was silent, but apparently said something with that telepathic thing. Sh'ten answered him outloud. "I know that you were shielding, but I am far older and more experienced than you are. I couldn't help but pick up your thoughts as your emotions were so strong."
Seiji turned his back on Sh'ten.
"He hasn't forgotten you." Sh'ten told Seiji quietly. "In all this time, he was still going to come for you. Don't worry, I won't tell if you don't want me to. I just thought you should know, he still wants you."
Duo's little mind was screaming to have the blanks filled in, but no one was giving, even Quarte said that it would be rude to tell what was going on, the little he knew, anyway.
"I told you not to touch that!" Now everyone looked at Wufei and Shu who came trudging back to the make shift camp. Wufei and Shu were both covered with ash and Wufei's hair was crispy at the end of his little pigtail.
"How was I supposed to know what that button did?" Shu asked defensively.
Wufei turned on him angrily. "'DO NOT TOUCH!' written in big black letters on a big red button is usually enough to discourage most people!"
Duo suddenly understood and giggled. "He pushed the burglar alarm, didn't he?"
Wufei nodded, still glaring at Shu. "It's mean to discourage would be robbers, but this fool decided he wanted to see what all the buttons did."
Shu shrugged. "That Gundam is a piece of junk, anyway."
Wufei saw red and screamed. "What are you talking about?!"
"All those buttons and no radio? You gotta be joking me, I wouldn't take that thing if you paid me."
"Ahem." Sh'ten cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Where is Nasutei-sama?"
"She's been kidnapped along with Heero." Quarte told him and then wished he didn't.
Sh'ten glared at him and his eyes flashed red for an instant. "What?" He asked in a dangerously soft voice.
Quarte backed away a little. "She was kidnapped along with Heero and Shin."
Instead of exploding, Sh'ten managed to calm himself and took a deep breath. "I am calm." He muttered to himself. "I am calm. I am calm." When he opened his eyes, they were back to their original color and he looked down at Ryo. "What happened to him?"
"Kikoutei." Touma answered and it seemed to explain everything to Sh'ten.
"Then we will have to wait until he is well enough to fight." Sh'ten declared and sat on the ground, folding his robes around him and laying his staff on his lap.
Duo shouted in disbelief. "Aren't you at all worried? You're friends were just capture and maybe killed by evil demon things? Are you just going to sit there? Why don't you go without Ryo?"
"We need all the armors if we are going to stand a fighting chance." Sh'ten's voice didn't even rise. "Those evil demon things you are talking about are my brothers and they won't hurt Nasutei-sama, she is not a threat. Shin will not be physically harmed, he is to valuable. Heero, I don't believe they will hurt them. They seem to know what is going on with you as our replacements, so they won't hurt an armor bearer."
"You don't sound to sure." Touma commented, throwing another log on Ryo's fire.
"I confess, I'm not. My brothers wouldn't hurt any of them without reason, but Arago is another matter. He controls everything in the Dynasty and will decide the fate of our friends."
Trowa spoke for the first time in a long time. "I understand that you all have a kind of telepathic link." He gestured to the troopers and Sh'ten. "But you," He looked at Sh'ten. "You have a link with the enemy, also, don't you? Why are only you connect with them?"
"I am in a unique position. I was a Ma-Sho, not long ago. Now I fight with the Troopers. I don't know why exactly, but I am linked with all of them now." Sh'ten quickly changed the subject, as he was clearly uncomfortable with it. "It is not difficult to get to the Nether Realms, but it will be necessary for most of you to stay here." He looked at Duo, Trowa, and Wufei. "You would be, forgive me for saying this, liabilities in the Nether Realms. You do not have the power to survive there."
"What about Quarte?" Trowa asked.
"He will go with us. We need the power of Suiko."
Trowa looked at Quarte. "Do you want to go with them?" He would not let anyone force Quarte to do anything he didn't want to do, which was obvious.
Quarte went to Trowa and touched his face with the metal covered hands. "I don't like this any better than you do, love. But this is the way it has to be. I can't just let everyone down because I'm afraid." He tried to smile reassuringly at Trowa. "I will come back."
Ryo's eyes opened, flickered and then settled on Duo. Everyone gasped, happy, but concerned. It seemed that Ryo waking up this early was unexpected.
"Ryo! You're awake!" Duo knelt next to Ryo, but it seemed that Ryo was looking through him. "Ryo? Are you all right?"
"I don't have much energy." Ryo did sound very tired, as if he'd not slept in years. Slowly, almost painfully, Ryo reached to his throat and pulled off a chain with his kanji ball attached. He gave the chain a sharp jerk and snapped the chair. With a smile, he handed it to Duo.
Duo looked at the offered kanji ball and slowly shook his head. "No way. You are not dying and I am not taking that thing!" He started to back away, but bumped into something. He turned to find a line of Troopers standing like a wall behind him and Quarte was standing with them as if he'd always been with them.
"You have no choice, Duo." Ryo's eyes were starting to close again. "Take it before it takes you. Look at it closely." Ryo's symbol for benevolence faded and shifted to the symbol for passion. "Recca wants you, Duo." Ryo's eyes fell closed and the kanji ball fell through his fingers.
Without thinking, Duo grabbed it and felt it grow warm in his hand. He felt that the armor was pleased. Duo looked down at Ryo and saw that he was still breathing. Thank god he wasn't dead. "Man, when you wake up, I am going to kill you for this."
Sh'ten told Duo, "Your words of power are Armor of Wildfire! Tao Jin!"
Duo frowned at the ball in his hands. "I don't want to! I don't want all of you wandering about in my head." That part was terrifying to him. He had things in his past that he didn't want anyone, not even Heero to know about. How could he let perfect strangers into his head?
"If Recca weren't needed, then it would have stayed with Ryo. So, it must know that another battle is coming and Ryo won't be strong enough to fight, yet." Touma told him, sounding very sensible. "We won't win without you, Duo. It is your choice, though."
Duo grunted bitterly. "Some choice! Take the armor and let you all in my head or don't and let Heero die and be taken over by the armor." Duo really didn't want to do this. He really, really didn't want to do this. In his mind's eye, Duo saw Heero looking at him. Depending on him. Aw, hell.
Duo raised the small orb high and shouted, "Armor of Wildfire! Tao Jin!"
He was engulfed with heat, a warm comforting heat, like sitting next to the fireplace after a day spent shoveling snow. It felt like coming home. When Duo looked down at himself, he was in Ryo's armor.
WE'RE SORRY YOU HAD TO GET INVOLVED, BUT RYO WAS RIGHT. YOU CAN NOT AVOID THIS. A strange voice, like liquid silk, was in Duo's mind. Duo turned again and looked at all the Troopers. He really could feel them all, though they were being polite and keeping themselves hidden, he knew they were in his head. They could see everything he couldn't hide. Just like he could see Quarte and all the little pains and joys of Quarte's life. Suddenly there was curtain infront of Quarte's mind. The curtain had been supplied from Seiji.
WELCOME TO OUR FAMILY, DUO. Duo saw Seiji bow his head, ever so slightly. YOU ARE WELCOME AND RYO WOULD BE PLEASED TO HAVE YOU WITH US. I AM SHIELDING QUARTE SO YOU WILL NOT SEE HIS SECRETS AND I AM SHIELDING YOUR MIND. I WILL DO SO UNTIL YOU BOTH LEARN CONTROL.
"Thanks." Duo said. Not only were there people running around in his head, but now one of them was, what, controlling his mind?
I AM NOT CONTROLING YOUR MIND. Seiji insisted in an unnaturally beautiful voice. NONE OF US CAN DO THAT. I AM JUST HELPING. I WILL BE ABLE TO PICK UP YOUR THOUGHTS, BUT THE OTHERS WON'T AND I WON'T SPEAK OF ANYTHING YOU THINK TO ANYONE. YOU CAN TRUST ME.
"Why don't you sound like that when you talk?" Duo asked, still not entirely comfortable with this whole situation.
LACK OF PRACTICE, I SUPPOSE.
Something poked Duo's hand and he looked down at a familiar tiger. "What?" Duo started to back away from the thing wearily. The creature had been black a minute ago, when it fought with Ryo against that Lady Kayura.
Sh'ten put a hand on the tiger's head. "This is Byakuen, he is Ryo's friend, but he is also the bearer of the swords of fervor. We will need him if you have to change into Kikoutei."
Sh'ten raised his staff and it started to glow. "We must leave now." He declared. The clouds above them began to swirl and Duo was almost afraid of a tornado, but a tunnel of light appeared, drawing the armored five along with the tiger up to the sky. Duo and Quarte tried not to panic, but the others seemed to be perfectly at ease.
Sh'ten-
Sh'ten was just about to send himself up after them, when Wufei and Trowa exchanged a look. Trowa said, "I'm not letting Quarte go anywhere without me."
"Shu will get himself killed without someone sensible to look after him." Wufei commented.
Sh'ten, getting worried, started to say that they should stay and take care of Ryo when both boys jumped into the beam of light and were carried up after the Troopers.
"What are you doing?" Sh'ten screamed after them. "You idiots! You'll get killed!" After a few minutes more of ranting and swearing, Sh'ten sighed, accepting reality. "Oh, well." He looked at Ryo and decided a little protection was needed. With the staff, he drew a circle around Ryo. "That should protect you against most things. Just so long as we don't take to long."
Sh'ten jumped in last of all and the column of light vanished behind him, closing the gate between realities.
To be continued...