Author's Notes: It's been a while! To be exact, the idea for this whole affair came to me around New Year's 2008/2009 when I was pent up sick in bed for days with nothing to do but rewatch the series. That means this story has been crashing around in my head off and on for nearly a decade. The first posted draft (which contained only a few thousand words) trailed off here in this chapter. Over a year has passed since a post to the revised version has been made, and even now as these next four chapters go up, I see past mistakes and a few irrelevant details which must be retconned when there is more time. Hey, most of the framework is laid out, but I'm still making things up as I go. As usual, please forgive any errors and inaccuracies. Thank you for reading!

Chapter Ten

Mouri Cye regretted his decision the moment he was airborne. Even as muscle memory engaged and he automatically unfolded into a straight dive his inner dialogue was screaming You idiot, you've never done this once in all these years! You would never do it in calm waters, you would never do during the day when you can see! But he did see everything crystal-clear by the light of the rising moon. It was enough for his vision to make out every rock, every blunt face, every sharp edge. Anyway, it was too late. All he could do was take a breath, hold his body straight from his toes to the blade of his hands as he fell.

Right between two slabs of stone.

Though he did not strike anything solid when he broke the water's surface, the tide powered strong eddies circulating around the rocks which then caught his momentum, turned it and slammed him against the cliff wall. It was enough to knock some of the breath from his lungs. He surfaced at the crest of the waves, bobbed around to get some air and let the feeling in his ribs pass. Cye was shocked with himself. He was literally mere inches from death, and though he had been several times before, this instance required no enemies, nothing more than his own impulses and zero forethought.

He kicked along, toying with the idea of returning to shore already. He was nervous with adrenaline, yet he had already come this far and the water was pleasantly warm, so why waste it? When he felt right again after being thrown against a rock he took in a few deep pulls of air and dove. The water pressure exerted against his body was somehow soothing and it felt good to drift in the suspended gravity. There was less turbulence far below the surface where the moon's illumination was broken into soft, dancing blue beams of light that barely grazed the sea floor. He tasted the familiar brine of seawater on his lips and cupped his hands to propel himself away from the cliff, startling a few sand-dwelling fish along the way.

The water was somewhat calmer or at least more predictable in the small gulf before the beach. Still, he knew he must be wary of the tidal forces surrounding him on a night like tonight; despite his prowess it was easy to be swept away altogether. As he swam he played his usual series of games that were rather more like tests of ability: seeing how far he could go between the rocks and the beach, then back again, then pushing out against the incoming tide as far as possible between breaths. Sometimes he stopped for breath or perhaps just to roll around beneath the surface blowing bubble rings.

The longer he stared into the ocean the more he became aware of the curious dark mass that he thought he saw before the dive, tried to dismiss it as a trick of the violent water. It appeared completely black where it lurked near the horizon just below the moon's reflection. Compelled by curiosity, Cye went under and swam furiously toward it. From what he could tell it was something larger than any whale he'd ever seen, a figure of such magnitude it was unfazed by the many mighty currents. Though there were no eyes to be seen he had the cold, horrible feeling that this thing was looking right back at him.

His lungs craved oxygen sooner than usual, forcing him to kick up to the turbulent surface. The distant creature that originally caught his attention was not visible here, and when he returned to the depths he had lost sight of it. Yet he swam on through the offshore kelp forest, determined to know if it was a threat, employing his best techniques for speed and finding that he was still near the beach each time he surfaced for air. It was as though he made no progress in the kelp patch despite the way he moved effortlessly past the tall plants. It took a bit of patience to navigate through the underwater forest. The undulating columns of seaweed never ended, sometimes tried to wind around him in the violent surface currents and hold him just below.

Eventually he grew tired of this quest when he neared the outlying monolithic rock so tall it was never submerged even in the highest tides. He found the well-known handholds and clambered up to take a break on its flat top where he could marvel at the warm mist that shifted in the ocean's wind and ringed the moon with a rainbow. The light lent such rich textures in each layer before him he could not help being entranced by its beauty. Each star was its own crisp, unique color. The perfect circle of the moon rose behind the dissipating fog, her brightness obscured just enough for him to study her scars. The rhythm of the waves kept drawing his eyes down to play tricks on his brain. The water was not gradients of black as it should have been, but all the vivid blues and greens he had seen on the brightest days while the beach shimmered with gold dust, millions of dry grains like miniature stars. The waves crashed and danced, and he saw each one.

These waves whispered, TORRENT…

"I am not hearing that," Cye said aloud to himself, just as much for cover noise as for reassurance. "This is part of whatever's wrong with me… my mind is so tired it's playing tricks."

TORRENT…

"No!" The bearer of the water armor turned away from his element.

TORRENT…

…

In the world between worlds Kaosu and Anubis heard the ocean's repetition as they sought Cye's energy signature. The sound was the way through the veil. Together they called, "Torrent…"

…

The moon glared on the wet rock.

"TORRENT…"

Cye shielded his eyes from the glare, sensed movement around him. Two figures in wide brim hats and ancient robes stood in the light.

Cye's heart sank with recognition. "Anubis? Ancient One?"

"Cye of the Torrent," Kaosu spoke. "A dark god awakens and seeks your energy. You bear Torrent, the Ronin armor of water. Water in which it sleeps like so many of the ancient gods. Your life force is being bled away. It feeds from a distance, from another plane. Once it devours the force of Torrent it will disrupt the balance holding evil forces out of this world. The seas will rise in apocalyptic waves. The rain shall fall until all drown. And only thereafter shall all the other elements succumb to evil."

Cye's blood chilled with the sickly reminder that he was the very last defense against hell. "You have time to prepare yourself. You need not take action until three full moons expire."

Cye calculated the meaning. "Wait, do you mean two months from tonight?"

"This full moon, the next full moon, the one thereafter! That is when the door shall open! By then you may be dead!" Anubis was not about to waste time by speaking in riddles. "Next moon, find Lady Kayura, for she knows the incantations. But only then; your armors will not have the energy to open another door until the moon is nearly full."

"Seek the Lady Kayura, for her words turn the key…" Kaosu's words weakened against the noise raging all around.

A large wave broke against the cliff and sent up a spray into which the two spirits vanished. Cye's skull was pounding with an instant headache. His tired eyes burned in the moonlight as though he had been staring into the salty air for quite some time, as though once again he was completely drained from the spiritual interaction.

He was compelled to tell the others about this regardless of whether or not he was granted more time. It was time he didn't know he had been running out of.

The surf was picking up height with the moon's guidance. It was a long way to go. Cye breathed and found a suitable jump point. This dive was far less frightful, much lower with fewer stones to avoid. He started for the beach, seeking any friendly current and finding none. Everything wanted to pull him out to sea, even in the areas he knew to be relatively kind even during high tides. He had the strange certainty that it was all against him right now.

He surfaced between the surges in an attempt to body surf back to the beach. The first take of air was sweet relief. The second was interrupted by the fall of a very large wave. His proximity to the cliffs lighted upon him only as a third swell rocked him forward and under when its crest broke overhead, plunging him below the rock shelf into a vortex little more than five feet below the surface. Cye helplessly spun in circles, flailed his arms to slow the momentum and was thrashed about until at last the undercurrent spat him out. With only half a breath and an equilibrium rolling around in circles he first swam down, then up, disoriented as he tried to follow the shelf for guidance.

At the top he went over and found the relatively flat ledge that he could stand on in low tide, now too violent with waves to makes such an endeavor. Exhausted and unwilling to return to the currents, he found a projection of wet rock and pulled himself halfway out of the water where gravity intensified the weight of his body. His muscles trembled as he clung to the wall to rest and search for handholds, fighting the constant assault of water around his legs that tried to carry him away. When he scouted a sufficient path up he began the climb. It was all going well until a colossal wave struck the cliff at just the right angle to send the water up. Cye leaned close to the rock and dug in his fingers until he thought they might bleed, yet the sheer volume was enough to lift him before the waterline dropped so sharply he bounced off a stone and wedged his right upper arm into a crevice. Hanging stretched between the rocks with the filleted flesh of his arm bleeding into the sea, he could hardly pull in enough breath to let out a lone howl of pain.

…

The phone rang. Sayoko answered.

"Sayoko dear, did you forget to do something?" Marina asked in a chilly tone.

The girl slapped the heel of her palm to her forehead. "I forgot to call you back last night! I'm so sorry, mum!"

"Is that mama Mouri?" Kento enquired from the living room.

"What was that?" Marina heard a male voice garbled through the telephone wires.

"It was the TV," Sayoko waved a silencing gesture at the earth Ronin.

"Well how is Cye doing?"

"He's okay. Definitely sick, but he's managing. Pretty sure he went to bed after dinner."

"Ah," Marina said suspiciously. "And will you be staying there tonight?"

"Might as well. He forgot to feed the fish; somebody needs to look after them."

"Alright. I'll leave in the morning and be there by nightfall. Until then, call me at Asuka's if you need anything. Goodnight, dear."

After they said their goodbyes Sayoko hung up the phone and exhaled. "I hate lying to my mother. I swear that woman knows."

When the Ronins stared at her she shrugged, "No sense in making her fret the entire drive home. We'll explain everything when she gets here."

She decided to excuse herself in favor of a bath. There were too many people in the main room, all unfamiliar save one. It was stressful just to sit among such intense individuals, never mind everything else happening in the Mouri household.

Downstairs, she lit the candles atop the ledges, disrobed, and sank into the tub where she settled with her head resting in the flood of moonlight that spilled in through the high windows. There was no place in the world quite like this enormous bath. It was sensual in the most innocent form of the word: the scent of cedar felt cleansing with every breath, and its oils soothed and perfumed the body. Sayoko stretched out fully to enjoy the quiet water, her only moments of peace all day.

Until she was struck with unexplainable dread, perhaps something like her mother experienced. She felt as though something was very wrong, and if this was incorrect, something was about to go wrong. Slowly she sat up in the candle-lit water.

When nothing happened, nobody clamored around on the main floor, she got out to dress in fresh clothes, extinguished the flames, and went up to check anyway, surveying the situation as she emerged from the stairway. Rowen hunched over his homework at the dining table while Sage sat by his side curiously leafing through a biology textbook. Kento snored, deep in his habitual after-dinner snooze on the couch. Ryo was stretched out on the floor next to White Blaze. Cye was nowhere to be seen, presumably still asleep. She glanced at the clock, strode to the table for the remote and turned the channel over to the final minutes of a sitcom before the evening news.

The anchors went through several segments before one began, "Last night we brought you a story on the mirage gate over Naruto Bay. It seems that a wild urban legend is taking off overnight - literally!"

The camera cut from the news station to the park near the bridge spanning the strait. Ryo sat up as he instantly recognized the place where he found Cye in his elemental slumber, and worse - he could mark the exact spot where Sekhmet's attack caused a gas truck to crash and incinerate its driver, the noxious flames fueling the armor of Wildfire.

"It's like a party here. There are people barbecuing, there's music. Some people have tents set up where they're napping so they'll have the energy to stay awake tonight," a hopeful young park ranger spoke to the news reporter.

A voiceover narrated, "The photograph taken by Yama Hoku has been cited largely as a hoax, though there are many who believe this to be a marvelous natural phenomenon or perhaps a miracle."

Ryo patted Kento's shoulder to wake him as the controversial photo was broadcast. It was a large red Dynasty gate.

"Is it really that bad?" Sayoko watched the fright appear on their faces.

"That door leads to pure evil," Ryo said.

"Yeah, and there's a ton of people gathered right in front of it," Rowen added grimly.

"I knew we should've gone there today," Sage heaved a passive-aggressive sigh.

The report cut to a dark-featured middle-aged man in a trucker hat who insisted, "Half the country is calling me crazy, but I swear to you all it was real. I'm a pretty skeptical man myself and I've been trying to find a reason. Maybe it was a mirage due to the water and the heat. All I know is I saw some sort of phenomenon."

The reporter had a brief conversation with an astrologist who claimed the moon would be exerting extra influence on the earth for the next three months, then another exchange with an astronomer who stated that no such thing was true. To conclude the story the reporter gave the camera his best smile and said, "No matter what the explanation may be, it's quite a good time here. C'mon down and join the fun."

"Yeah, travel halfway across the country for some Dynasty fun," Kento sneered. "He's right about one thing: we should get going there now."

"What about Cye?" Rowen asked.

"What about him? If this is a serious threat then we all need to go." Without any further argument Hardrock went to check on Torrent, whose door was open a crack. He knocked loudly, looked into the room and turned on the light. "I thought Cye went to sleep a while ago? He's not here."

Everyone got up, wandered through the house calling for Cye until it became obvious he was gone, though his shoes remained by the front door. No sign of him in the garage or the backyard. That left only the beach to be checked. They made a line along the walkway that descended the cliff with Sayoko far in the lead, for she knew the way. So this explained the dreadful feeling in her stomach.

White Blaze took a moment to sniff the air until he caught a familiar scent. He caught up to Ryo and nudged his master's hand as they ran along, an old familiar signal. Sayoko was near the bottom of the boardwalk when the entire structure thundered with a galloping cadence. Before she could turn a shadow passed over her: it was Ryo astride White Blaze, the tiger frighteningly silent in midair. He managed to land with an equally quiet thump in the sand. Amidst the emergency circumstances the girl was astounded.

"Hop up," Ryo motioned.

She thought to ask about the strain on the animal's back but this seemed to be routine and there was no time for questions, so she did as told. Riding on a tiger's back was an entirely new experience. He took off before she totally figured it out. Instinctively she grabbed handfuls of fur and clamped her legs, praying to God that this beast wouldn't turn and maul her for making such a mistake. But White Blaze was unconcerned with the two humans riding on his back while he was completely engaged in seeking Torrent, whose odors he had lost in the restless waters.

His ears flicked at a sound as Sayoko strained to hear. There had been a song on the sea wind, faint and pained and undeniably the voice of her brother.

"What is it?" Kento treaded over the wet stones close behind them. Sage and Rowen were a few paces back, Sayoko noticed, and they were casting wary glances all around as though they expected more trouble than this.

"I heard Cye!" she shouted over the crashing crests.

"Where?" Ryo craned his head around.

"Down there," she pointed, her eyes never leaving the water. She cupped her hands to her mouth and screamed, "Cye!"

All Cye could do was breathe with the sea's rhythym that sent him flopping against the blunt cliff footings. Every movement sent danger signals up his nerves into his brain, which was absolutely certain that the trapped arm would simply yet agonizingly tear off at any second. He'd swallowed seawater which churned in his stomach until he puked it back out, all over himself and into the water around him.

A spray of foam jetted up from the rock field to reveal Cye's scent in the waves. White Blaze tore across the sand, leapt onto the ridge and nimbly pawed along the flat surfaces with perfect feline grace while Ryo and Sayoko stared critically at the tidal landscape. With a surefooted drop he brought them down to the water's edge where they looked around for a minute before spotting Cye, who was now too tired to call their attention. Immediately they clutched at his arm and clothes only to find he was wedged firmly in the sharp crevice. Ryo yelled, "He's down here! Kento, help! He's stuck!"

Hardrock clambered down the stones, hooked his hand under Cye's uninjured arm, pulled up until he felt the trapped shoulder twist while Cye screamed in pain. He resituated and immediately tried again, his eyes darting around in terror as he watched the water rise to dangerous levels around his best friend. The shoulder would not move, not at this angle.

"We've gotta reposition," Ryo shuffled around and nearly slipped into the turbulent water. White Blaze tried to climb down on the narrow ledge, wanting to help. His master pushed him out of the way with the command, "No, stay up there! You can't go falling in too!"

"We can't move him! It's not working!" Kento shouted desperately. "Cye, you've gotta call your armor!"

Cye heard this, groaned, barely shook his head. He hadn't dealt with the Ronin armor for years and he never wanted to again, even now when the water was closing around him. But it seemed there was no other way. Weakly he called out, "Armor of Torrent! Dao Shin!"

The water lit up all around him, cloaked him in the familiar old blue plated armor. Even the upraised, pinned arm was properly shielded despite the stone holding him in place. He exhaled in relief, finally able to breathe without fear of drowning once the mask slid down to provide an oxygen barrier from the seawater that swelled around his throat and mouth. What was more, Torrent delivered a burst of energy strong enough for him to attempt a climb up, though he couldn't get a foothold at this angle and the power was fading fast.

"Cye!" Sayoko screamed as she watched the tide rise over him. "Oh God, help him!"

"He's okay, he can breathe underwater with his armor," Ryo's explanation did little to placate her.

Under the surface Cye floated with the hope that buoyancy would assist in freeing him. It did not. Kento was up to his elbows in the water as he clutched at his hand, unable to move him yet again without danger of falling in. Cye reached back with his good hand to unhook the yari from him back. He found a proper foothold, twisted his body and turned the trident until its prongs were hooked into the nearest rock crevice, counted the waves until a large one came along. When the water surged up the rock face he levered his body with the yari until his shoulder moved in the wedge. It was still not enough.

Above, Ryo saw the weapon break the surface as Torrent moved his weapon into place. He signaled for the others to retreat with the command, "Get back!"

Everyone raced toward the beach. The yari's blades scraped against stone as Cye held it out further away from his body, prayed that the energy wouldn't tear him apart as he shouted, "Super Wave Smasher!"

After so long without practice and in a weakened condition, the unleashed power did no such thing. It was enough to jar the stones apart from one another, knock him loose and provide a barrier from the consequential rockslide. The percussion waves were painful despite the way Torrent allowed the energy to flow through him rather than batter him. As the force rolled him around he caught glimpses of the black mass much closer than it was before. A radius of water was temporarily displaced, the resulting current began to suck him toward the sea, then there seemed to be more water than ever as a monstrous wave rushed in to fill the void, lifted him up and sent him crashing onto the ground.

"Cye!" Everyone shouted as he lay motionless on the stones. They ran to gather him up, heedless of the angry rebound tidal waves. He stood, stumbled toward the gravelly sand and was surprised when the armor of Torrent shed itself in a cascade of water though he had not willed it away. There was little time to think of that, for he was dizzy. More importantly, all his energy went with it. He took three steps forward and felt his legs go out from under him as though he were a marionette with cut strings.

Ryo rushed forward and caught him just in time. Still, there was enough dead weight to send him staggering back. Kento and Sage were at his side immediately, both stabilizing Cye by his ribs, who checked back into consciousness with an exhausted moan. Kento settled under his good shoulder to take on most of the weight as Ryo and Sage gave them space. He joked, "Man, you weigh a ton! I think you need to go on a diet."

"You're one to talk," Cye grunted. Together they hobbled along to the beach. Each step stirred the remaining seawater in Cye's stomach. He turned his head into the crook of his arm with a plea, "Set me down, Kento. Before I'm sick on your shoes."

Despite the way Hardrock gracefully settled him onto the wet sand, the shifting equilibrium was all too much for Torrent, as hot bile erupted from his mouth the moment his knees were steady on the ground. Cye felt shame mixed with the violent spasms while everyone looked on. He finished, dipped into a tide pool to wash off, then stood guardedly with his bad limb hanging lifelessly at his side. "Rowen, grab my arm."

"I dunno, I think we should get you to a hospital…"

"Just do it!" he barked. All around him everyone shrank back from the yellow sheen of moonlight reflected in his eyes.

Rowen looked as though he was about to argue. At last he tenderly picked up the arm with traction as the injured Ronin moved with him in a way to avoid pain until his shoulder was at the correct angle. At that point Cye leaned forward, rolled his shoulder until the ball joint clunked into its socket with a loud pop. He got up and walked in circles with pained gasps as feeling returning to the nerves of his hand. He grunted, "Dislocated. Nothing we haven't all dealt with before, right?"

He flashed a pained smile at the other Ronins as everyone groaned with disgust and sympathy pain. With that Torrent turned and started for the boardwalk to the house. Halfway up the walk he turned and stared out into the water.

"Do you guys see anything out there?" he asked cryptically.

Everyone slowly scanned the sea and the sky. For a moment Sage thought he saw something move in the water but another look revealed nothing.

"I don't know what we're supposed to be looking for," Ryo shook his head.

"You don't see a…" words failed Cye. What exactly did he see? If not a whale, not a squid, then what? A trick of his imagination, probably. He looked to where he spotted it before… Nothing there. "Nevermind."

++To be continued++