Mia looked at the phone and the radio worriedly. The guys had heard the static getting bad and cut
the transmission almost six hours ago. It was
the middle of the night and she was up worrying like the old days. Were they all right, was Ryo handling the water
all right now? Cye wouldn't let his
friend down but there was so much that could happen at the bottom of the ocean. It was dark and cold and that was two strikes
against the Wildfire armor. If there was a
hot spring or a lava flow she knew that Cye would get him there to conserve energy and
check out the situation. The others could be
in trouble though. They worried when two or
more of them had to split off from the group.
Kento was right however. Ryo's
ties to the Lava and heat of the planet and Cye's ties with the oceans made them the
perfect team to go to the bottom of the ocean to investigate a possible volcanic situation
and gauge the lava flow and expect to come back up in one piece.
As Mia sighed and looked at the clock for the millionth time since
this whole thing started she was startled out of her reminiscing by the sound of
shattering glass on one of the lower level, followed by Yulie calling out battle
cries.
Mia, get down here and get a load of this will ya?? As soon as she heard that she grabbed her laptop,
grateful to Kento for getting her an upgraded system recently. It looked like she was going to need it.
Clattering down the stairs she was stopped dead by the sight of
familiar gray-green armor in attack formation. She
gasped as she saw Yulie in the middle of the massed army fighting them off expertly with
the Dai-Katana Ryo had gifted him with on the day he was released from Date-sensei's
training. Having learned from Ryo some of
the best techniques for fighting the Dynasty guards he was now glad for the extra practice
he had put into learning those techniques.
Mia for one could not believe that Kayura would unleash a new attack
on the mortal realm now. Especially now that
they had been at peace for over a decade now. As
she backed up the stairs to grab her short blade she did not take her eyes off the
fighting going on in her foyer. That was her
first mistake as she soon found out when a hand snaked out of the shadows to grab her
about the mouth to stifle her scream.
Pulling her back into the shadows she elbowed her captor hard and
only succeeded in bruising her elbow against a set of sub-armored abs. ~Subarmor??~ She thought to herself. When she looked up she was surprised to see the
troubled visage of Sekmet.
~Sekmet, Troubled??~ Something
did not make sense here. First the guys were
sent out by Kento to check out a natural phenomenon, then when she was out of contact with
them the Dynasty soldiers attack her place for no reason and now Sekmet grabs her, keeps
her from screaming and then lets her go looking troubled?? Something was definitely not adding up here and she had a feeling that
asking questions now would be a bad thing.
Lady Mia, you are in grave danger if you stay here. You and the boy must come with me. Sekmet almost never used her Dynasty Title unless
something was seriously amiss so she listened.
Something is very wrong in the Dynasty. He whispered
softly to her. I have been sent to
collect you and the Boy for safe keeping until the Ronin's can return from their trip
out.
Mia could only nod acceptance. Knowing that stealth was necessary to them all getting out of here alive she
flicked the lights in code and then motioned for Sekmet to follow her back up the stairs. Once far enough away from the main fight she
whispered. Yulie will be up here
shortly. I need my short blade and one other
item if we are headed for the dynasty.
Sekmet nodded once to show he understood but was brought up short by
a blade at his neck. Call off the goon
squad Snake Lips or I get a new pair of shoes a la Warlord.
Yulie had come out of one of the passages in Mia's walls right
behind the Warlord of Venom. Sekmet had not
even seen it coming and he remembered that in times of battle or even practice, Yulie may
have had Sage's training, but he had Ryo's temperament. He held perfectly still until Mia could speak to
the boy as he personally knew how sharp the sword at his neck was.
Yulie, let him go! Mia
hissed.
Mia, he is of the Dynasty, and in case you haven't noticed
so were those tin cans I was busy dismantling. No
armor and plenty of scratches and cuts to go around. Now I want to know what the hell is going on here! Yulie had not moved the blade an inch during his
speech so there was nothing for the man to do but wait Mia out.
Yulie, he kept me from being spotted by the Dynasty soldiers. Now let him go and I will get things explained. But for now we have to go with him and into
hiding. There has been no contact with the
guys yet and from what Sekmet has told me. This
is only one more puzzle piece to what is going on. Both
here and in the Dynasty. As she
finished, she glared at Yulie with a look that made even Sekmet think twice about ever
crossing the woman.
Yulie wasn't fazed by the look at all but he did sheath his
blades and help her get some things packed for a short trip. He could tell by the way she packed that this was
not social call to the dynasty. The last time
she packed like this it was business and an incursion in the Power balance in the Dynasty
had temporarily destabilized Kayura's hold on the realm.
Mia did not pack much. A change of clothes that were better suited to moving about in the dynasty, her short blade, a couple of Talismans and two spare battery packs for her computer and radio. The guys may need her soon and she was not going to be out of contact with them just because of a little thing like battery failure. She nodded that she was ready and noted that Yulie had grabbed his emergency pack and was ready. He pulled one sword and took Mia's back while she followed Sekmet to a small portal that was created during the fighting. The dangerous glint in the boy's eyes told Mia that he had given his word to someone that he would protect Mia. Something was very wrong as they stepped through the portal and into a small room in the Dynasty.
