Chapter
4
Kento
walked over to the upset nightstand. It
was sitting on its side and the lamp that usually sat upon it was spewn across
the floor, shattered. After cleaning
the broken glass he moved to put the stand upright. But something caught his eye. It was Cye's armor orb. He
reached down to grab it but then dropped the ball when he felt how cold it had
become. Thinking it was cold only
because of Cye's absence, Kento picked it up again and examined it. He admired its reflective features as he
reminisced about his best friend.
"How did you do that?" Cye's voice was thick with his
English accent.
"It wasn't that hard," Kento replied. "All you got to do is
show them whose boss."
Cye glanced back across the elementary school playground at
his bullies who were quickly regrouping. "I'd better go before something else
happens." He started to get to his feet, winced, and sat back down on the curb.
"I guess I got hit harder than I thought." Cye said rubbing a hurt leg.
"Here, let me help." Kento lifted him up and helped him
down the street towards his home."
"What's your name?" Cye asked suddenly.
"Kento."
"Oh, I'm Cye."
The rest of the walk was done in silence.
"Kento?"
"Yeah?"
"Will you be my friend?"
"Sure."
"Can you teach me to fight like you do?"
"Why not . . . ."
The
words faded as the memory slipped away. That was the day he had met Cye. Since then Kento had always been there for him, to back him up or to
protect him. That is, until,
today. Tears flowed freely from some endless
reservoir as a lifetime of memories flashed before his eyes. And there, in the back of his mind, was that
ever-present nagging thought. The one
that told him that there was a chance he'd never see Cye again.
Under
his breath, Kento swore revenge.
*
* * * *
Ryo
felt as though he had not only let down Cye but the rest of the team as
well. Cye had been captured and was
probably dead for all they knew. But
with Kayura missing they had no way into the Dynasty.
The
conflict of emotions going on inside Ryo right now made him want to cry
out. He felt so useless just sitting
there while any number of unimaginable things could be happening to his friend.
His
problems spun sickeningly in his head making him feel worse. He had lost count long ago as to how many
times he wished this whole damn thing with Talpa and the Dynasty had never even
started. But no matter how much he
prayed he knew it wouldn't help anything. He would have to face this grim reality like a man and accept it as his
life.
Ryo
knew he had to defeat the Dynasty once and for all, and the first step to that
would be to rescue Cye.
* * * * *
Sage
sat on his bed hugging his knees tightly to his chest. He felt so bad. Bad for not being there when the others needed him, bad because
if he had been there maybe Cye wouldn't be gone and they might have stood a
chance against this new warlord. But,
now, if they got attacked, they wouldn't have a hope; not without the Inferno
armor.
He
looked across the room to Rowen who was lying in bed facing the window, his
back to Sage. How can he
sleep at a time like this? Sage thought, disgusted. He acts as
though it's not his problem, but it's everyone's.
Sage
felt a hole opening up inside of him. What would happen to them now? Would they ever get Cye back? And if they could, how? Thousands of questions ran through his mind, and the more he thought
about it the more hopeless the situation seemed.
*
* * * *
Rowen
was not asleep, as Sage had thought; he was, in fact, far from it. He was staring out the window at the clouded
sky above the mansion. Before long he
could make out the vague outline of the Dynasty sitting menacingly atop the
clouds. Could Cye really be in there? What unspeakable things were they doing to
him? The Dynasty was right there, so why
couldn't they go up there and get him?
So close yet so far, he thought as he heaved a disappointed sigh. Cye had always been there for anyone of
them. He was always the one to bring
the Ronins together again when they had a fight with each other. He, basically, held the entire team
together. Cye was never one to question
Ryo's authority; and hadn't, even in his wildest dreams, even had a thought of
betraying his friends for something more. How they would get along without him was a question indeed. Without him a breakup of the team was
inevitable. But they had to stick
together, because together they still had a chance to get Cye back.