early morning, the next day
Cemetary
Something was extremely wrong with Sage. He totally freaked out when he read
the first letter that Mia sent. The ronins recieved a letter a day and were trying to get into
the habit of sending letters. Anyway, Sage freaked out which wasn't understandable
because with all of the billions of genetic codes (humans) in the universe, there were
bound to be some lookalikes. Perhaps Seisuke was only half-Japanese? Sage's hair color
and skin tone were frequent in people who had a Japanese parent and a parent from some
western country.
Then, they (the other four ronins) confronted Sage about his problem and
demanded that he talk about it. Sage lost his temper so something was seriously,
extremely, horrendously wrong because Sage rarely loses his temper. After that, Sage
started avoiding them. Why was Sage so depressed now, one year after Talpa was finally
killed, rather than shortly after the final battle.
Then, they went to his house to apologize for making him so upset. They hoped
he would be calm and talk to them however he wasn't home. Satuki, his younger sister,
said that he was most likely in the cemetary, but she didn't say why. When they got to the
cemetary though Sage wasn't there.
The day after that (which is when this scene takes place) Kento saw Sage walking
on the sidewalk. Concerned, the bearer of Hardrock followed him and sure enough, Sage
went to the cemetary. Fortunately, he found a good hiding place to listen to Sage talking
to the grave. Now, talking to graves is normal but what Sage said was very unusual.
"It makes sense now," the blonde said quietly. "The thought of Dynasty
involvement never occured to me before, but it makes sense now... I guess I just forgot
nearly the entire attack. It's all one blur. The color of camoflauge is the same color of
Dynasty soldiers. I just..." Sage sighed. "So much time has passed and I just can't
imagine what life was like for you. I can't imagine being raised in the nether world. Well,
I guess I can stop speaking to your empty grave now."
Kento watched Sage leave and wondering who the ronin was talking about,
walked over to the grave and read the words on the tombstone. "Here is the burial
ground of little Seisuke Date whose body was never found. May he always be happy
wherever he is."
Late morning
Forest outside of Toyama
Where else could he meditate? The dojo was currently being used and Satuki was
home so the house was too distracting. He was walking through the forest, searching for
a good spot to sit down, when he heard a twig snap. Instinctively, he got in a slight
battle-stance. The forest was so quiet and then a twig snapped loudly. Either Sage was
just being paranoid or someone was out there. He began to survey his surroundings from
where he stood, but a thick wall of smoke suddenly surrounded him and blocked his view.
He instantly donned his subarmor, but was kicked from the back and into the smoke. The
breath was knocked out of his lungs as he landed face-first in the dirt. He breathed in the
heavy smoke which made him dizzy and unable to focus. Whoever planned this attack
was very clever and had been waiting for a long time. He was only vaguely aware of
being transported through a portal to the nether world before passing out.
Early afternoon
Dungeon in Lord Seisuke's castle
The room was dark, pitch black, until Sage's eyes adjusted to the amount of light
coming through the bars of the door. The chains pinning him against the wall were on the
verge of cutting off circulation in his wrists. Where was he? Who wanted him? He knew
he wasn't in Talpa's castle. All alone, he contemplated the situation for a couple minutes.
Then, the door opened and someone started to walk in.
"S... Seisuke?" the ronin had a strange feeling that his brother was responsible.
"Sage," his twin acknowleged him. His voice was exactly the same except for the
tone and he remained in the shadows. "I am sure you are wondering why you are chained
up. Well, theives rarely return what they have stolen unless they are captured."
"Theif?" Sage wondered what he could have possibly stolen from his brother who
he hadn't seen in ten years.
"Yes, in case you didn't know, you have my armor. Give me my armor." Seisuke
began to approach him, but Sage could still only see the outline of his twin.
"You... you mean Halo? You think Halo is yours?" The entire conversation was
beyond what he could imagine.
"Of course I mean Halo! Darkest prison sheds the light! That is the poem part for
the armor of Halo, correct?" Seisuke lit a torch on the wall a few feet away from Sage.
"Y-yes..." Before the ronin could start to see, he instinctively closed his eyes as
the lord reached out and touched them.
"What color are your eyes?" the insane twin wondered, carefully massaging the
perfectly round organs through the eyelids.
Oh, god, he never expected this... This just couldn't be happening. His twin was
insane! and therefore unpredictable. Best to answer rather than anger the madman with
silence. "Blue, pale blue."
"Those words mean nothing to me... I've forgotten... I've been in the darkest
prison for so long..."
"Seisuke... I'm sorry, but the Ancient One gave me the armor... Halo..."
"And you think you are worthy to wear the Light!?" He removed his hands from
Sage's eyes and cupped his hands around the ronin's ears along with fistfuls of hair.
"Look at me! I used to have eyes before the Dark Warlord of Cruelty plucked them out!"
Seisuke was at first a mirror-image of Sage. Same blonde hair, same skin tone, same
stature and size... only now, Seisuke had a huge gaping scar on the right side of his face
and his eyes were gone. The empty sockets were like those of a skull.
"Sage, you have no idea what it was like... being forced down, the cold metal
digging in... inside... The Pain!! and then... my left eye felt numb... he put his weapon
near my face and... I didn't feel anything... he lifted up his weapon and through... through
my other eye, I could see my left eye... hanging from the blade of his weapon... then, he...
he... the same procedure was done to the other-only I didn't get to see that because then
my prison was complete. For years I wondered why, why, why! But now I understand...
yes, I understand. Darkest Prison Sheds The Light. You... you have no dark prison. I've
been living in the Darkest Prison for nearly as long as I can remember..."
"I'm sorry," was all Sage could say. This was just too much all at once...
"Please give me my armor... I'm still so very scared of the dark... please... I need
my armor. Give me my armor."
"I can't..."
Seisuke sighed. "I will get my armor." He gained everything that he wanted
through violence and this was no exception. The insane twin left the room and ordered
one of his nether soldiers to torture the captive.
The lord briefly wondered why his brother decided to be so difficult. Halo did not
belong to Sage. He pushed that thought aside and proceeded to move away from the
dungeon. Seisuke still couldn't see, but at least he wasn't alone now and he never wanted
to be alone again. "Arden, make sure that Mia never learns my brother is here." He really
didn't want her to be angry at him.
"Yes, my lord." The youja now realized all the mistakes that he made trying to
raise the human child. Seisuke didn't need power, but it was probably too late. What was
done was done. Too late to change back now. Terrible things will result from this.
Mid-afternoon
Rei Faun household
Perhaps I should call the others, Kento debated with himself. No wonder Sage
freaked out! This is even freakier than nether soldiers delievering the mail. Sage has a
twin who is a lord in the nether world... and Mia is helping that lord out. Nah, I
shouldn't tell the others. Sage has to be the one to talk.
Just then, the phone rang. The caller ID said that the call was from Sage's home.
"Hello," he answered the phone.
"Have you seen Sage?" came Satuki's worried voice. "He's been gone for nearly
eight hours and no one else has heard from him. I knew he went to the cemetary and went
to meditate somewhere after that, but he shouldn't have been gone this long."
"I saw him at the graveyard this morning, but I don't know anything else."
"Did you talk to him?"
"No. I saw him leave though. Nothing looked wrong... have you called anyone
else?"
"Um, I called Rowen and Ryo. They don't know anything."
"K, how about I call Sai and then, I'll you back, okay?"
"Okay..."
A minute later
Sai didn't know anything either. "I think the nether world might be involved in
this. Sage always keeps his armor with him so there's no way anything else could beat
him."
Lord Seisuke's castle
Seisuke was worried and he never worried very often. Mia only agreed to stay
with him until he got his sight. Once he was able to see, she would leave him. He could
either have the light or he could have Mia. He didn't want to be alone again. Every day,
he spoke to her and listened to her. Lately, she asked him about his past and what
happened to him in Talpa's castle. Although he never displayed his emotions during her
questions, he realized how violent his temper was. Whenever she questioned him, he
wanted to scream and break things. Sometimes, he wondered how much longer he could
control his temper. He never wanted to hurt Mia. Because of her, the nightmares were
not as bad. He told her about how wonderful sight would be, but he never told that Sage
was also in the castle. If she knew, she might be angry at him. He didn't want her to be
angry at him, but maybe after he got his armor she would understand...
Morning, the next day
Cemetary
Sage never returned and no one heard from him so Kento showed them the grave.
"Think about it. Sage goes to this grave. The grave of Seisuke Date. They have the
same birthday. There is a lord in the nether world whose name is Seisuke and who looks
alot like Sage. Now, Sage is gone."
Everyone was quiet. The shock was just beginning to wear off. Rowen sighed, "I
agree that the nether world has something to do with Sage's disappearnce, but I don't
know what. The mail hasn't arrived yet so let's send a letter to Mia about Sage. If we
don't get a reply, that's probably cause his evil twin doesn't want her to get suspicious."
Dungeon in Lord Seisuke's castle
Seisuke sighed. He was tired of hearing his brother be tortured. "Sage, why don't
you just give me the armor?"
"Because I can't!"
"Well, why not?"
"Because my armor is connected to my soul. The only way anyone else can wear
it is when I'm dead. That's how Anubis died. Kayura wore his armor and that killed
him."
Seisuke sighed again. "Very well."
Arden interviened, "Please, I beg of you to reconsider." Even though he was loyal
to Seisuke, he respected Sage. Sage was exactly what Seisuke would be like if the
Dynasty did not capture him and blind him. "If he dies, the Ronin Warriors will be obliged
to avenge him. You are powerful, but you cannot defeat four warriors at the same time."
Plus Mia might be even more angry at him. "Fine. Mia found some plans on how
to duplicate the power of the armor. Go and get that."
After Arden got the information for the procedure, Sage was dragged into another
room. He was oblivious to everything except the draining of his armor's power and what
felt like the draining of his soul. He was so exhausted and fell asleep shortly after the
nether spirits' chanting ending. When Sage woke up and opened his eyes, he was blind.
Cemetary
Something was extremely wrong with Sage. He totally freaked out when he read
the first letter that Mia sent. The ronins recieved a letter a day and were trying to get into
the habit of sending letters. Anyway, Sage freaked out which wasn't understandable
because with all of the billions of genetic codes (humans) in the universe, there were
bound to be some lookalikes. Perhaps Seisuke was only half-Japanese? Sage's hair color
and skin tone were frequent in people who had a Japanese parent and a parent from some
western country.
Then, they (the other four ronins) confronted Sage about his problem and
demanded that he talk about it. Sage lost his temper so something was seriously,
extremely, horrendously wrong because Sage rarely loses his temper. After that, Sage
started avoiding them. Why was Sage so depressed now, one year after Talpa was finally
killed, rather than shortly after the final battle.
Then, they went to his house to apologize for making him so upset. They hoped
he would be calm and talk to them however he wasn't home. Satuki, his younger sister,
said that he was most likely in the cemetary, but she didn't say why. When they got to the
cemetary though Sage wasn't there.
The day after that (which is when this scene takes place) Kento saw Sage walking
on the sidewalk. Concerned, the bearer of Hardrock followed him and sure enough, Sage
went to the cemetary. Fortunately, he found a good hiding place to listen to Sage talking
to the grave. Now, talking to graves is normal but what Sage said was very unusual.
"It makes sense now," the blonde said quietly. "The thought of Dynasty
involvement never occured to me before, but it makes sense now... I guess I just forgot
nearly the entire attack. It's all one blur. The color of camoflauge is the same color of
Dynasty soldiers. I just..." Sage sighed. "So much time has passed and I just can't
imagine what life was like for you. I can't imagine being raised in the nether world. Well,
I guess I can stop speaking to your empty grave now."
Kento watched Sage leave and wondering who the ronin was talking about,
walked over to the grave and read the words on the tombstone. "Here is the burial
ground of little Seisuke Date whose body was never found. May he always be happy
wherever he is."
Late morning
Forest outside of Toyama
Where else could he meditate? The dojo was currently being used and Satuki was
home so the house was too distracting. He was walking through the forest, searching for
a good spot to sit down, when he heard a twig snap. Instinctively, he got in a slight
battle-stance. The forest was so quiet and then a twig snapped loudly. Either Sage was
just being paranoid or someone was out there. He began to survey his surroundings from
where he stood, but a thick wall of smoke suddenly surrounded him and blocked his view.
He instantly donned his subarmor, but was kicked from the back and into the smoke. The
breath was knocked out of his lungs as he landed face-first in the dirt. He breathed in the
heavy smoke which made him dizzy and unable to focus. Whoever planned this attack
was very clever and had been waiting for a long time. He was only vaguely aware of
being transported through a portal to the nether world before passing out.
Early afternoon
Dungeon in Lord Seisuke's castle
The room was dark, pitch black, until Sage's eyes adjusted to the amount of light
coming through the bars of the door. The chains pinning him against the wall were on the
verge of cutting off circulation in his wrists. Where was he? Who wanted him? He knew
he wasn't in Talpa's castle. All alone, he contemplated the situation for a couple minutes.
Then, the door opened and someone started to walk in.
"S... Seisuke?" the ronin had a strange feeling that his brother was responsible.
"Sage," his twin acknowleged him. His voice was exactly the same except for the
tone and he remained in the shadows. "I am sure you are wondering why you are chained
up. Well, theives rarely return what they have stolen unless they are captured."
"Theif?" Sage wondered what he could have possibly stolen from his brother who
he hadn't seen in ten years.
"Yes, in case you didn't know, you have my armor. Give me my armor." Seisuke
began to approach him, but Sage could still only see the outline of his twin.
"You... you mean Halo? You think Halo is yours?" The entire conversation was
beyond what he could imagine.
"Of course I mean Halo! Darkest prison sheds the light! That is the poem part for
the armor of Halo, correct?" Seisuke lit a torch on the wall a few feet away from Sage.
"Y-yes..." Before the ronin could start to see, he instinctively closed his eyes as
the lord reached out and touched them.
"What color are your eyes?" the insane twin wondered, carefully massaging the
perfectly round organs through the eyelids.
Oh, god, he never expected this... This just couldn't be happening. His twin was
insane! and therefore unpredictable. Best to answer rather than anger the madman with
silence. "Blue, pale blue."
"Those words mean nothing to me... I've forgotten... I've been in the darkest
prison for so long..."
"Seisuke... I'm sorry, but the Ancient One gave me the armor... Halo..."
"And you think you are worthy to wear the Light!?" He removed his hands from
Sage's eyes and cupped his hands around the ronin's ears along with fistfuls of hair.
"Look at me! I used to have eyes before the Dark Warlord of Cruelty plucked them out!"
Seisuke was at first a mirror-image of Sage. Same blonde hair, same skin tone, same
stature and size... only now, Seisuke had a huge gaping scar on the right side of his face
and his eyes were gone. The empty sockets were like those of a skull.
"Sage, you have no idea what it was like... being forced down, the cold metal
digging in... inside... The Pain!! and then... my left eye felt numb... he put his weapon
near my face and... I didn't feel anything... he lifted up his weapon and through... through
my other eye, I could see my left eye... hanging from the blade of his weapon... then, he...
he... the same procedure was done to the other-only I didn't get to see that because then
my prison was complete. For years I wondered why, why, why! But now I understand...
yes, I understand. Darkest Prison Sheds The Light. You... you have no dark prison. I've
been living in the Darkest Prison for nearly as long as I can remember..."
"I'm sorry," was all Sage could say. This was just too much all at once...
"Please give me my armor... I'm still so very scared of the dark... please... I need
my armor. Give me my armor."
"I can't..."
Seisuke sighed. "I will get my armor." He gained everything that he wanted
through violence and this was no exception. The insane twin left the room and ordered
one of his nether soldiers to torture the captive.
The lord briefly wondered why his brother decided to be so difficult. Halo did not
belong to Sage. He pushed that thought aside and proceeded to move away from the
dungeon. Seisuke still couldn't see, but at least he wasn't alone now and he never wanted
to be alone again. "Arden, make sure that Mia never learns my brother is here." He really
didn't want her to be angry at him.
"Yes, my lord." The youja now realized all the mistakes that he made trying to
raise the human child. Seisuke didn't need power, but it was probably too late. What was
done was done. Too late to change back now. Terrible things will result from this.
Mid-afternoon
Rei Faun household
Perhaps I should call the others, Kento debated with himself. No wonder Sage
freaked out! This is even freakier than nether soldiers delievering the mail. Sage has a
twin who is a lord in the nether world... and Mia is helping that lord out. Nah, I
shouldn't tell the others. Sage has to be the one to talk.
Just then, the phone rang. The caller ID said that the call was from Sage's home.
"Hello," he answered the phone.
"Have you seen Sage?" came Satuki's worried voice. "He's been gone for nearly
eight hours and no one else has heard from him. I knew he went to the cemetary and went
to meditate somewhere after that, but he shouldn't have been gone this long."
"I saw him at the graveyard this morning, but I don't know anything else."
"Did you talk to him?"
"No. I saw him leave though. Nothing looked wrong... have you called anyone
else?"
"Um, I called Rowen and Ryo. They don't know anything."
"K, how about I call Sai and then, I'll you back, okay?"
"Okay..."
A minute later
Sai didn't know anything either. "I think the nether world might be involved in
this. Sage always keeps his armor with him so there's no way anything else could beat
him."
Lord Seisuke's castle
Seisuke was worried and he never worried very often. Mia only agreed to stay
with him until he got his sight. Once he was able to see, she would leave him. He could
either have the light or he could have Mia. He didn't want to be alone again. Every day,
he spoke to her and listened to her. Lately, she asked him about his past and what
happened to him in Talpa's castle. Although he never displayed his emotions during her
questions, he realized how violent his temper was. Whenever she questioned him, he
wanted to scream and break things. Sometimes, he wondered how much longer he could
control his temper. He never wanted to hurt Mia. Because of her, the nightmares were
not as bad. He told her about how wonderful sight would be, but he never told that Sage
was also in the castle. If she knew, she might be angry at him. He didn't want her to be
angry at him, but maybe after he got his armor she would understand...
Morning, the next day
Cemetary
Sage never returned and no one heard from him so Kento showed them the grave.
"Think about it. Sage goes to this grave. The grave of Seisuke Date. They have the
same birthday. There is a lord in the nether world whose name is Seisuke and who looks
alot like Sage. Now, Sage is gone."
Everyone was quiet. The shock was just beginning to wear off. Rowen sighed, "I
agree that the nether world has something to do with Sage's disappearnce, but I don't
know what. The mail hasn't arrived yet so let's send a letter to Mia about Sage. If we
don't get a reply, that's probably cause his evil twin doesn't want her to get suspicious."
Dungeon in Lord Seisuke's castle
Seisuke sighed. He was tired of hearing his brother be tortured. "Sage, why don't
you just give me the armor?"
"Because I can't!"
"Well, why not?"
"Because my armor is connected to my soul. The only way anyone else can wear
it is when I'm dead. That's how Anubis died. Kayura wore his armor and that killed
him."
Seisuke sighed again. "Very well."
Arden interviened, "Please, I beg of you to reconsider." Even though he was loyal
to Seisuke, he respected Sage. Sage was exactly what Seisuke would be like if the
Dynasty did not capture him and blind him. "If he dies, the Ronin Warriors will be obliged
to avenge him. You are powerful, but you cannot defeat four warriors at the same time."
Plus Mia might be even more angry at him. "Fine. Mia found some plans on how
to duplicate the power of the armor. Go and get that."
After Arden got the information for the procedure, Sage was dragged into another
room. He was oblivious to everything except the draining of his armor's power and what
felt like the draining of his soul. He was so exhausted and fell asleep shortly after the
nether spirits' chanting ending. When Sage woke up and opened his eyes, he was blind.