"Christ on a crutch!" Xanthe exclaimed, as Kawai teleported directly into the living room, with Lys, Sage, Rowen, and Reia in tow. "What HAPPENED??"
"We'll explain later," Kawai said quickly, shoving him back. "We have to make room..."
Xanthe stared down at the shorter girl, surprised at how... angry... she seemed, before snapping to sense again. "Hurry, make room on the couch!" He barked at Mia.
"No, the floor is better," Lys said quickly. "But, um... some blankets, we need blankets..."
Kento came pounding down the stairs, taking them three at a time.
"I'm going back out there," He shouted on his way out, without stopping.
A moment later, Kasukio appeared at the door, breathing heavily. "You... left me back there," He accused Kawai, glaring at her.
"I didn't have enough energy to bring you, too," She exclaimed, just before sighing and staggering, putting her hand on her forehead. "I have to sit down..."
"We'll get her upstairs into a bed," Mia appeared at Kawai's side, Kayura on the other, each taking one of the red head's arms to help her up the stairs.
"No, no, I have to stay," She protested, pushing the women aside. "I have to reinforce Sage and Lys' healing shields..."
~ We got Cye home breathin', and he's safe in a warm bed... Now that chick's gotta deal with ME. No one messes with MY buddy and gets away with it, woman or not! ~ Kento gritted his teeth against the still lingering cold in the lake.
~ The question is... how do I get at her when she's out there? ~ He squinted at the distant forms. ~ Looks like Junichi's holding his own... where did Ryo go? ~
"Kento!" Ryo's tired voice turned him away from the battle, as the waterlogged warrior of Virtue stumbled out of the water.
"I held out as long as I could," Ryo said, pulling a weed off of his helmet, "But I'm just too hampered out there... if we could only draw her back here, then we could all fight..."
"Don't look now, but I think Junichi read your mind!" Kento exclaimed, pointing to the large wake created by something moving towards them in the water very quickly.
Junichi launched out of the water, stumbling on the solid ground rather ungracefully before he could catch himself.
"Heads up!" He shouted, spinning on his heels, holding his trident high.
Kaori came at them fast, all of her previous detached control lost in her irritation with them.
Kento parried her staff's strike, returning with his own, driving her back on physical strength alone. As one of Ryo's blades cut the air with a low whistle, the Warrior of Suspicion recoiled, with blood running from a cut on her cheek.
"No!" She held a gloved hand to the cut, shivering with the sting of barely suppressed anger. "You... if this leaves a scar, I'll..."
"Women... always worried about their skin and nails," Junichi growled scornfully.
"I will revisit your scars upon you a hundred times!" She screamed at him, rising off the ground again, and flying towards him.
"Bring it on!" He shouted, the heat of his own battle-rage finally penetrating his own calm.
A magic shield blasted around her, pushing Ryo and Kento aside as she went for Junichi. The Warrior of Trust held his ground, waiting to parry.
Her staff collided with the shaft of his spear with the harsh grinding sound of metal on metal, as she pushed him backwards.
Junichi grunted as he felt his feet slip from under him, and he fell onto his back. At a last second gamble, he threw his weight back, landing unharmed, and using his own momentum to throw his female opponent.
"Ah..." He slowly got to his feet, using the trident as a lever, shaking with fatigue.
"Junichi! Are you OK?" Ryo yelled, as Kento, the closest to him, began to hurry to the spot.
"Give it up, you'll never be able to beat the three of us!" Kento shouted at Kaori as she picked herself off the ground.
The masked woman did not answer, she only stood, watching the three, as if she were waiting for something.
Then, the wind began to pick up. Ever so slightly, a small breeze.
A small breeze, that quickly gained gale-force.
"I have a bad feeling about this!" Ryo shouted over the howling wind.
"Do you, Wildfire?" Kaori laughed. "WINDS OF FURY!!!"
The concentrated elemental attack hit Ryo dead on, slamming him in the chest and throwing him back, into the water.
"Ryo!" Kento shouted. He grabbed Junichi by the shoulder, shoving him back behind him. The shriek of the winds grew louder, and his shouts were lost in them.
The destructive force of the gale slammed into the shield of rock that Kento pulled forth from the ground, and earth clouded the air with the explosion.
The dust finally settled, and Kaori stood over the pile of shattered rock and broken trees.
"Well," She said, crossing her arms and looking from side to side. "Men. All talk and no... Huh?"
The ground beneath her feet exploded, as an orange blur shot up from the earth. Out of the corner of her eye, she barely managed to register the blue blur, before two attacks hit her at once. Junichi's spear slashed downward, shattering the brooch on her chest and slicing her cape, while Kento's staff came at an upward slash.
"Ahhh!" She dropped to her knees, holding both hands over her face as her purple eye mask flew through the air, landing in the ground several feet away. Her severed cape settled on the ground around her in a violet pool.
"Don't ever underestimate the Ronin Warriors!" Junichi hissed through his weary panting.
"The Earth around me shielded me from your attack," Kento said, wearing a proud grin to cover how tired and stressed he really was. ~ Thing is, that's never happened before. What does this mean? ~ "So, I wonder, just who is the lady behind the mask?"
He took a step towards Kaori, and she shouted something that wasn't very nice at him.
She parted her fingers, just enough that one of her violet eyes could be seen. She glared at the two Ronin Warriors, unsure of who she hated more, the Warrior of Trust, or of Justice. "You... have made the most grave mistake of your life, Ronin," She hissed. "I shall return!"
Kento waved at her. "Yeah, that's what they all say." He leveled his dark blue eyes on her violet, holding her angry gaze steady until she flinched away.
"Pay back is hell!" She snarled, a red flush creeping across her face.
"I'll be waiting!" Kento replied.
"WE'LL be waiting!" Junichi spoke up as she vanished in a twinkling of purple light.
Junichi picked up the cape, staring at the lengths of deep purple silk. A ways off in the brush, Kento found the mask and picked it up, turning it over in his hands.
"Is she gone?" Ryo asked wearily, walking up from the beach. "I'm beat."
"Yeah..." Kento took the cape from Junichi, wrapping the mask in the silk. "She's gone... let's get back and check on Cye and Reia."
"Da... Dao... Chiiii..." Lys gasped out, as the last of her strength gave up and she collapsed against Kasukio, who was waiting behind her like a watchdog.
Sage and Kawai leaned against one another, close to collapsing themselves.
"Can't... give up..." Kawai moaned, reaching for Reia again. "Dao... Ai..."
"Come on... you can... do it..." Sage whispered, as the last of his energy ran out and he collapsed as well, with Kawai hitting the carpet only moments after him.
"Get... Reia... to a bed," Lys whispered, her voice so faint she could barely be heard. "We... got her through the worst, now... only time..."
"And... get rid of that damned arrow, too," Kawai mumbled, her sides heaving with exhaustion. "It's evil... it needs to be far, far away from here... destroyed, if you can, it's been weakened enough..."
Rowen scowled, picking up the black arrow, ignoring how cold it seemed to the touch. ~ Persephone... ~ His eyes darkened with anger as he snapped the arrow with his bare hands. The two halves hit the carpet, and vanished into a puff of black smoke.
Xanthe took painstaking care to gingerly carry Reia up the stairs and get her to bed, while the others saw to Sage and Kawai. In time, Junichi, Kento, and Ryo returned, wearied but otherwise fine.
Kayura hung in the shadows near Reia's bedside, watching the girl in her restless sleep. ~ Ancients help us... ~ She thought, biting her lip. ~ Those were only two of Arcane's warriors...~ She sighed. ~ Kaos, Anubis... we need all the help we can get... ~
***
"... Kento, I have to see her!" Cye protested, trying to sit up.
"No way, little man." Kento pushed his friend back down. "You're not getting up. Besides, she's asleep. To be specific, you guys have both been asleep for the last two days."
"...Dammit, Kento..."
"...Dammit, CYE! You're not going anywhere, and that's that!" Kento shouted, pushing him back for about the hundredth time. "Reia's being watched, Lys says she's stable but she has to build up her strength on her own. She's in such a deep sleep right now, she won't even know you're there!"
"But she will!" Cye protested. "She'll know, I can help her!" He struggled against Kento's stronger grip. "I can help... her... ah..." He wheezed, and let out a strangled little gasp before blacking out again.
Kento reached for a damp cloth, and dabbed his friend's forehead. ~ I know ya can, buddy, but you won't be any use to her if you're dead... ~
As Kento had stated, it had been nearly three days since the unexpected attack from Persephone and Kaori. Physically, they'd all recovered, except for Cye and Reia, who'd of course taken the worse of the injuries. The former had actually been drifting in and out of consciousness, demanding to see the latter when awake, before drifting back into a fevered sleep, crying her name.
Kento had volunteered to watch over his friend, almost immediately after recovering from his own injuries. Aside from reminding Cye every time he woke up that he didn't have as much energy as he thought, the job was relatively easy, and it made him feel useful. After all, there was nothing they could do, but wait.
The three Warlords had checked in the day before, reporting that they had seen no signs of Arcane making a move, but they would keep their eyes open, they said, before vanishing again. Kayura and the other Ronin Warriors, both present and future, were on teeth and nails with worry for the downed warriors.
And Kento, at least, couldn't get that fight out of his mind.
He grumbled something unintelligible under his breath, as his stomach echoed the growl.
"Don't go anywhere," He said to his slumbering friend. "I'm gonna get a snack, and be right back."
~ What is this?... Ah... ~ Reia furrowed her brow in the dull pain that nagged just behind her eyes. ~ Where am I? ~ She sat up, slowly taking in her surroundings. Her armor clanked as she got to her feet, and she was distantly aware of the bow she still gripped.
She was standing on a rocky hillside, that looked like it could have once been apart of a much greater whole, but had been blasted apart. In her peripheral vision, she spied something gold glinting at the heart of the rocky mess. ~ One of my arrows? ~ She disregarded it, finding the scenes straight ahead of her more interesting than the decimated rock.
The barren hillside stood at the edge of a great gorge, that seemed to have no end. So, she couldn't get across it, to find out what was on the other side.
~ But how did this get here? ~ She wondered. Anxiety began to bubble up inside her... this massive hole was making her very uneasy, and she backed away from it.
The sound of thunder turned Reia's head to the heavens, as a deluge of rain began to cascade from the sky.
She closed her eyes against the cold sting of the rain as it pelted her body. Then, the sting began to lessen, until she barely felt the impact. The water soaked her hair and sluiced over her armor, washing it clean of the grime that encrusted it, and soothing the burning scrapes on her skin. She smiled, as the tremendous roar of the thunder and the clash of lightning seemed to be lost in the calming rain...
~ Water... ~ Reia opened her eyes, and looked around. ~ Cye! ~ She turned, and noted a figure in pale blue armor, distant and blurred gray by the sheet of rain.
She forced her legs into action, walking towards him. As they grew closer, the storm seemed to grow more severe.
Using the power in the Armor of Strata, Reia fought through the winds until she could nearly reach his hand.
"We have to get out of here!" She cried. "This storm is too strong..."
Cye shook his head, and reached out, grasping her hand and pulling her close. Almost immediately, the raging hurricane seemed to die down to a gentle summer storm around them.
"...I..." Reia gasped, sitting straight up in bed, clutching the blankets to her chest with sweaty fists. "What..."
Outside, lightning illuminated a tree thrashing in the sudden spring thunderstorm that had descended on the area, and a moment later, rain began to drum steadily against the window.
"The storm!" She cried, and began to look around wildly for Cye, before fully realizing where she was.
~ I'm in bed... ~ Reia flushed a deep crimson at realizing she wasn't wearing much, only her underwear and a man's shirt, that was too large and unbuttoned. ~ Oh... my... did I... did we... ~ Her hand flew to her gaping mouth, and a sharp pain stabbed her in the right shoulder. Her left hand grabbed at the offending shoulder, as she winced in pain, biting her tongue to keep back a cry.
~ No... I... I remember, I was hurt, ~ Reia's breath came out in hisses of pain through clenched teeth. ~ Those... Dynasty witches attacked us... oh, no! Cye! ~
Sleepy mumbling from close by snapped her to attention, as she whipped around to face the shadows beside the bed, and cried out in pain as her shoulders protested.
"...Reia! Rei-chan!" Lysithea exclaimed, as a pale hand flew to turn the lamp on the night stand on. Lys' silver hair and copper eyes glowed eerily in the dim lamp-light, her pretty face frozen in an expression of surprise.
"Lys..." Reia's strength faltered, and she sagged down onto her side. Her friend darted to help her, turning her over onto her back.
"You're awake... you're OK!" Lys whispered, smiling. "Reia..."
"Lys... what happened?" Reia asked, staring blankly up at the off-white ceiling.
"Don't you remember?" Worry quickly replaced the relief that had been in Lys' voice. "The attack?..."
Reia winced again. "I remember," She grumbled, clutching her shoulder. The wound was closed and healed, with only a hint of a scar, but it still hurt, and her muscles were all stiff. "Cye and I were..." She trailed off, and Lys grinned. "...Talking, and we were attacked."
"Well, this is hardly the time for me to ask why Junichi found your clothes at the bottom of the lake anyway," Lys shrugged. "So those chicks attacked you?... I'm so sorry, Reia... the others were right to worry, Kawai and I just thought..."
"Lys, it's OK... we're alive..." Reia's face clouded over with worry. "Aren't we?"
"Cye only needed a lot of sleep and to stay warm. It was you we thought might not wake up..." Lys bowed her head, her already sparkly eyes shimmering with tears.
"The last thing I remember, before blacking out..." Reia had to concentrate to force herself to call up the memories. "Rowen... Rowen showed up, and attacked Persephone... He blew her away, and that was when I passed out."
Lys nodded. "Well, at least there aren't gaps in your memory... when we found you, Rowen was trying to help you..." She smiled lightly, and sniffled. "I think he cares about you more than you think... we had to practically pry him away from you, so Sage, Kawai, and I could heal you..."
Reia flushed, and glared at Lys. "He'd have done the same for any of us..."
"Maybe," Lys shrugged again. "It's been three nights now, since you were attacked... Cye woke up this morning, but he's still too weak to get out of bed... otherwise, I'm sure, he'd have broken down the door and tossed me out a window to be at your side and watch you... Kento's on the verge of knocking him over the head with a pot..." The half-fey girl giggled lightly. "It would be beyond cute, if, you know... our situation wasn't so dire."
"Hm... I... I want to see him," Reia said, forcefully.
"Slow down, there... it's about midnight, everyone's asleep... well, Kasukio just went down to the kitchen to get a soda for me... and Kento's up in Cye's room, to make sure he doesn't try to get up and end up hurting himself again during the night," Lys explained.
"Please, Lys, I feel fine, I have to get up and walk or my legs are going to turn all flabby," Reia exclaimed, kicking the covers off and flinging her legs over the side of the bed.
"GOING to turn?..." Lys began, before a pillow, courtesy of Reia's good arm, smacked her upside the head. She giggled again, and smoothed her hair down. "I guess you are feeling better..."
Cye nearly fell out of bed, he sat up so fast upon waking from the dream.
"Reia..." He gasped, before realizing he was sitting in his bed, alone. The chair Kento had been sitting in when he fell asleep was unoccupied, and shadows drifted around the room, changing as the wind from the storm shifted the branches of the trees outside the window, and lightning occasionally illuminated the area.
He shivered, thinking of how violent the storm in his dream had been.
~ I remember... the wind, it was blowing so hard, and then... Reia... ~ He slowly climbed out of the bed, and walked over to the window, gripping the sill to steady his balance for a moment, ignoring the slight chill that penetrated his sweat pants and tee shirt.
~ She made the winds die down, to a nice breeze for us, and I made the rain ease, ~ He stared out at the night sky, although he could see nothing outside through the darkness, except for from the occasional flash of lightning. ~ That had to mean something, had to... I usually don't have dreams, period, and this one was just... I don't know...~
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Kento whispered, as Lys half dragged him down the hall, away from his and Cye's room.
"Yes! Good heavens, Reia was getting ready to knock me down," Lys exclaimed, releasing his arm. "You said so yourself, Cye's asleep... so, we'll let her go in there, and check on him, 'cause she will NOT take my word for it he's OK..." She frowned slightly, and looked at Kasukio, who's bright red hair made him show up well in the dark. "Were we this anxious about EVERYTHING when we started going out?"
"You mean obnoxious?" Kasukio grinned.
"Yes. And you still are," Reia mumbled, appearing at her doorway. "How do I look?"
"He's asleep, it doesn't matter," Kento said, looking her up and down. She still looked like someone who had been asleep for three days, but she'd found some shorts to accompany the huge shirt she was wearing, and some socks. Her blue hair was down, cascading over her shoulders in a messy disarray.
"I don't need an escort or anything... why don't you guys get some sleep?" She said, just as Lys yawned.
"Nuh uh," Kasukio protested. "What if you..."
"I'm not gonna die, I'm just a little stiff... and you know, if something really bad happened, and Cye and I couldn't call for help... which isn't likely... the rest of you would have a lot more on your hands than a couple of-"
"Love birds... who's wings got clipped," Lys smiled, and sighed. "That was pretty cool, I'll have to remember that for a poem or something...you win, Reia. Come on, Kasu-chan..." She tugged on the red head's sleeve, and turned to walk down the hallway, looking back at him with a beckoning smile.
"See ya, Reia!" Kasukio spun on his heels to follow after the silver haired girl as they headed down the steps, probably to the kitchen.
"I was gettin' hungry anyhow," Kento shrugged, and slowly walked off.
Reia chuckled dryly, and padded over to the door to Kento and Cye's room, to find it partially cracked open. She slowly pushed it open, willing it not to creak. ~ If he's asleep, I wouldn't want to wake him up, ~ She thought as she poked her head inside, squinting through the darkness.
It took a moment for her vision to adjust, and she realized Cye wasn't in either bed. She looked around the room, and finally spied him, standing by the window. Lightning flashed again outside, illuminating him for the briefest instant. Her eyes, still sensitive to the light, flinched away, but there was a vague imprint of the objects in the room behind her eyes for a moment when she closed them.
~ The storm is a violent one, ~ She thought, as she began to slowly and carefully walk toward him. ~ There will probably be some felled trees in the morning... ~ The wind shrieked outside, and the rain rattled the windows.
She was within touching distance when Cye seemed to sense her presence. He stiffened, and stood up straight, but did not turn around.
Reia wrapped her arms around him, clutching at the front of his shirt with her hands, and burying her face against the back of his neck.
"We made it through, then," She murmured.
"Reia..." Cye's hands came up to cover hers. "You're OK..."
"I'm tougher than I look," She giggled slightly, and sniffed. "Are you OK?"
"I'll live," He replied. "This... beastly storm woke me up, though..."
"The storm can't hurt us, Cye," Reia murmured, hugging him tighter, remembering her dream. "We are the storm... The wind..."
"...And the rain..." Cye did turn, then, still holding her hands, leaning down to kiss her.
~ The storm can't hurt us, no matter how violent it gets, no matter what... or who... it flings at us... ~
"We'll explain later," Kawai said quickly, shoving him back. "We have to make room..."
Xanthe stared down at the shorter girl, surprised at how... angry... she seemed, before snapping to sense again. "Hurry, make room on the couch!" He barked at Mia.
"No, the floor is better," Lys said quickly. "But, um... some blankets, we need blankets..."
Kento came pounding down the stairs, taking them three at a time.
"I'm going back out there," He shouted on his way out, without stopping.
A moment later, Kasukio appeared at the door, breathing heavily. "You... left me back there," He accused Kawai, glaring at her.
"I didn't have enough energy to bring you, too," She exclaimed, just before sighing and staggering, putting her hand on her forehead. "I have to sit down..."
"We'll get her upstairs into a bed," Mia appeared at Kawai's side, Kayura on the other, each taking one of the red head's arms to help her up the stairs.
"No, no, I have to stay," She protested, pushing the women aside. "I have to reinforce Sage and Lys' healing shields..."
~ We got Cye home breathin', and he's safe in a warm bed... Now that chick's gotta deal with ME. No one messes with MY buddy and gets away with it, woman or not! ~ Kento gritted his teeth against the still lingering cold in the lake.
~ The question is... how do I get at her when she's out there? ~ He squinted at the distant forms. ~ Looks like Junichi's holding his own... where did Ryo go? ~
"Kento!" Ryo's tired voice turned him away from the battle, as the waterlogged warrior of Virtue stumbled out of the water.
"I held out as long as I could," Ryo said, pulling a weed off of his helmet, "But I'm just too hampered out there... if we could only draw her back here, then we could all fight..."
"Don't look now, but I think Junichi read your mind!" Kento exclaimed, pointing to the large wake created by something moving towards them in the water very quickly.
Junichi launched out of the water, stumbling on the solid ground rather ungracefully before he could catch himself.
"Heads up!" He shouted, spinning on his heels, holding his trident high.
Kaori came at them fast, all of her previous detached control lost in her irritation with them.
Kento parried her staff's strike, returning with his own, driving her back on physical strength alone. As one of Ryo's blades cut the air with a low whistle, the Warrior of Suspicion recoiled, with blood running from a cut on her cheek.
"No!" She held a gloved hand to the cut, shivering with the sting of barely suppressed anger. "You... if this leaves a scar, I'll..."
"Women... always worried about their skin and nails," Junichi growled scornfully.
"I will revisit your scars upon you a hundred times!" She screamed at him, rising off the ground again, and flying towards him.
"Bring it on!" He shouted, the heat of his own battle-rage finally penetrating his own calm.
A magic shield blasted around her, pushing Ryo and Kento aside as she went for Junichi. The Warrior of Trust held his ground, waiting to parry.
Her staff collided with the shaft of his spear with the harsh grinding sound of metal on metal, as she pushed him backwards.
Junichi grunted as he felt his feet slip from under him, and he fell onto his back. At a last second gamble, he threw his weight back, landing unharmed, and using his own momentum to throw his female opponent.
"Ah..." He slowly got to his feet, using the trident as a lever, shaking with fatigue.
"Junichi! Are you OK?" Ryo yelled, as Kento, the closest to him, began to hurry to the spot.
"Give it up, you'll never be able to beat the three of us!" Kento shouted at Kaori as she picked herself off the ground.
The masked woman did not answer, she only stood, watching the three, as if she were waiting for something.
Then, the wind began to pick up. Ever so slightly, a small breeze.
A small breeze, that quickly gained gale-force.
"I have a bad feeling about this!" Ryo shouted over the howling wind.
"Do you, Wildfire?" Kaori laughed. "WINDS OF FURY!!!"
The concentrated elemental attack hit Ryo dead on, slamming him in the chest and throwing him back, into the water.
"Ryo!" Kento shouted. He grabbed Junichi by the shoulder, shoving him back behind him. The shriek of the winds grew louder, and his shouts were lost in them.
The destructive force of the gale slammed into the shield of rock that Kento pulled forth from the ground, and earth clouded the air with the explosion.
The dust finally settled, and Kaori stood over the pile of shattered rock and broken trees.
"Well," She said, crossing her arms and looking from side to side. "Men. All talk and no... Huh?"
The ground beneath her feet exploded, as an orange blur shot up from the earth. Out of the corner of her eye, she barely managed to register the blue blur, before two attacks hit her at once. Junichi's spear slashed downward, shattering the brooch on her chest and slicing her cape, while Kento's staff came at an upward slash.
"Ahhh!" She dropped to her knees, holding both hands over her face as her purple eye mask flew through the air, landing in the ground several feet away. Her severed cape settled on the ground around her in a violet pool.
"Don't ever underestimate the Ronin Warriors!" Junichi hissed through his weary panting.
"The Earth around me shielded me from your attack," Kento said, wearing a proud grin to cover how tired and stressed he really was. ~ Thing is, that's never happened before. What does this mean? ~ "So, I wonder, just who is the lady behind the mask?"
He took a step towards Kaori, and she shouted something that wasn't very nice at him.
She parted her fingers, just enough that one of her violet eyes could be seen. She glared at the two Ronin Warriors, unsure of who she hated more, the Warrior of Trust, or of Justice. "You... have made the most grave mistake of your life, Ronin," She hissed. "I shall return!"
Kento waved at her. "Yeah, that's what they all say." He leveled his dark blue eyes on her violet, holding her angry gaze steady until she flinched away.
"Pay back is hell!" She snarled, a red flush creeping across her face.
"I'll be waiting!" Kento replied.
"WE'LL be waiting!" Junichi spoke up as she vanished in a twinkling of purple light.
Junichi picked up the cape, staring at the lengths of deep purple silk. A ways off in the brush, Kento found the mask and picked it up, turning it over in his hands.
"Is she gone?" Ryo asked wearily, walking up from the beach. "I'm beat."
"Yeah..." Kento took the cape from Junichi, wrapping the mask in the silk. "She's gone... let's get back and check on Cye and Reia."
"Da... Dao... Chiiii..." Lys gasped out, as the last of her strength gave up and she collapsed against Kasukio, who was waiting behind her like a watchdog.
Sage and Kawai leaned against one another, close to collapsing themselves.
"Can't... give up..." Kawai moaned, reaching for Reia again. "Dao... Ai..."
"Come on... you can... do it..." Sage whispered, as the last of his energy ran out and he collapsed as well, with Kawai hitting the carpet only moments after him.
"Get... Reia... to a bed," Lys whispered, her voice so faint she could barely be heard. "We... got her through the worst, now... only time..."
"And... get rid of that damned arrow, too," Kawai mumbled, her sides heaving with exhaustion. "It's evil... it needs to be far, far away from here... destroyed, if you can, it's been weakened enough..."
Rowen scowled, picking up the black arrow, ignoring how cold it seemed to the touch. ~ Persephone... ~ His eyes darkened with anger as he snapped the arrow with his bare hands. The two halves hit the carpet, and vanished into a puff of black smoke.
Xanthe took painstaking care to gingerly carry Reia up the stairs and get her to bed, while the others saw to Sage and Kawai. In time, Junichi, Kento, and Ryo returned, wearied but otherwise fine.
Kayura hung in the shadows near Reia's bedside, watching the girl in her restless sleep. ~ Ancients help us... ~ She thought, biting her lip. ~ Those were only two of Arcane's warriors...~ She sighed. ~ Kaos, Anubis... we need all the help we can get... ~
***
"... Kento, I have to see her!" Cye protested, trying to sit up.
"No way, little man." Kento pushed his friend back down. "You're not getting up. Besides, she's asleep. To be specific, you guys have both been asleep for the last two days."
"...Dammit, Kento..."
"...Dammit, CYE! You're not going anywhere, and that's that!" Kento shouted, pushing him back for about the hundredth time. "Reia's being watched, Lys says she's stable but she has to build up her strength on her own. She's in such a deep sleep right now, she won't even know you're there!"
"But she will!" Cye protested. "She'll know, I can help her!" He struggled against Kento's stronger grip. "I can help... her... ah..." He wheezed, and let out a strangled little gasp before blacking out again.
Kento reached for a damp cloth, and dabbed his friend's forehead. ~ I know ya can, buddy, but you won't be any use to her if you're dead... ~
As Kento had stated, it had been nearly three days since the unexpected attack from Persephone and Kaori. Physically, they'd all recovered, except for Cye and Reia, who'd of course taken the worse of the injuries. The former had actually been drifting in and out of consciousness, demanding to see the latter when awake, before drifting back into a fevered sleep, crying her name.
Kento had volunteered to watch over his friend, almost immediately after recovering from his own injuries. Aside from reminding Cye every time he woke up that he didn't have as much energy as he thought, the job was relatively easy, and it made him feel useful. After all, there was nothing they could do, but wait.
The three Warlords had checked in the day before, reporting that they had seen no signs of Arcane making a move, but they would keep their eyes open, they said, before vanishing again. Kayura and the other Ronin Warriors, both present and future, were on teeth and nails with worry for the downed warriors.
And Kento, at least, couldn't get that fight out of his mind.
He grumbled something unintelligible under his breath, as his stomach echoed the growl.
"Don't go anywhere," He said to his slumbering friend. "I'm gonna get a snack, and be right back."
~ What is this?... Ah... ~ Reia furrowed her brow in the dull pain that nagged just behind her eyes. ~ Where am I? ~ She sat up, slowly taking in her surroundings. Her armor clanked as she got to her feet, and she was distantly aware of the bow she still gripped.
She was standing on a rocky hillside, that looked like it could have once been apart of a much greater whole, but had been blasted apart. In her peripheral vision, she spied something gold glinting at the heart of the rocky mess. ~ One of my arrows? ~ She disregarded it, finding the scenes straight ahead of her more interesting than the decimated rock.
The barren hillside stood at the edge of a great gorge, that seemed to have no end. So, she couldn't get across it, to find out what was on the other side.
~ But how did this get here? ~ She wondered. Anxiety began to bubble up inside her... this massive hole was making her very uneasy, and she backed away from it.
The sound of thunder turned Reia's head to the heavens, as a deluge of rain began to cascade from the sky.
She closed her eyes against the cold sting of the rain as it pelted her body. Then, the sting began to lessen, until she barely felt the impact. The water soaked her hair and sluiced over her armor, washing it clean of the grime that encrusted it, and soothing the burning scrapes on her skin. She smiled, as the tremendous roar of the thunder and the clash of lightning seemed to be lost in the calming rain...
~ Water... ~ Reia opened her eyes, and looked around. ~ Cye! ~ She turned, and noted a figure in pale blue armor, distant and blurred gray by the sheet of rain.
She forced her legs into action, walking towards him. As they grew closer, the storm seemed to grow more severe.
Using the power in the Armor of Strata, Reia fought through the winds until she could nearly reach his hand.
"We have to get out of here!" She cried. "This storm is too strong..."
Cye shook his head, and reached out, grasping her hand and pulling her close. Almost immediately, the raging hurricane seemed to die down to a gentle summer storm around them.
"...I..." Reia gasped, sitting straight up in bed, clutching the blankets to her chest with sweaty fists. "What..."
Outside, lightning illuminated a tree thrashing in the sudden spring thunderstorm that had descended on the area, and a moment later, rain began to drum steadily against the window.
"The storm!" She cried, and began to look around wildly for Cye, before fully realizing where she was.
~ I'm in bed... ~ Reia flushed a deep crimson at realizing she wasn't wearing much, only her underwear and a man's shirt, that was too large and unbuttoned. ~ Oh... my... did I... did we... ~ Her hand flew to her gaping mouth, and a sharp pain stabbed her in the right shoulder. Her left hand grabbed at the offending shoulder, as she winced in pain, biting her tongue to keep back a cry.
~ No... I... I remember, I was hurt, ~ Reia's breath came out in hisses of pain through clenched teeth. ~ Those... Dynasty witches attacked us... oh, no! Cye! ~
Sleepy mumbling from close by snapped her to attention, as she whipped around to face the shadows beside the bed, and cried out in pain as her shoulders protested.
"...Reia! Rei-chan!" Lysithea exclaimed, as a pale hand flew to turn the lamp on the night stand on. Lys' silver hair and copper eyes glowed eerily in the dim lamp-light, her pretty face frozen in an expression of surprise.
"Lys..." Reia's strength faltered, and she sagged down onto her side. Her friend darted to help her, turning her over onto her back.
"You're awake... you're OK!" Lys whispered, smiling. "Reia..."
"Lys... what happened?" Reia asked, staring blankly up at the off-white ceiling.
"Don't you remember?" Worry quickly replaced the relief that had been in Lys' voice. "The attack?..."
Reia winced again. "I remember," She grumbled, clutching her shoulder. The wound was closed and healed, with only a hint of a scar, but it still hurt, and her muscles were all stiff. "Cye and I were..." She trailed off, and Lys grinned. "...Talking, and we were attacked."
"Well, this is hardly the time for me to ask why Junichi found your clothes at the bottom of the lake anyway," Lys shrugged. "So those chicks attacked you?... I'm so sorry, Reia... the others were right to worry, Kawai and I just thought..."
"Lys, it's OK... we're alive..." Reia's face clouded over with worry. "Aren't we?"
"Cye only needed a lot of sleep and to stay warm. It was you we thought might not wake up..." Lys bowed her head, her already sparkly eyes shimmering with tears.
"The last thing I remember, before blacking out..." Reia had to concentrate to force herself to call up the memories. "Rowen... Rowen showed up, and attacked Persephone... He blew her away, and that was when I passed out."
Lys nodded. "Well, at least there aren't gaps in your memory... when we found you, Rowen was trying to help you..." She smiled lightly, and sniffled. "I think he cares about you more than you think... we had to practically pry him away from you, so Sage, Kawai, and I could heal you..."
Reia flushed, and glared at Lys. "He'd have done the same for any of us..."
"Maybe," Lys shrugged again. "It's been three nights now, since you were attacked... Cye woke up this morning, but he's still too weak to get out of bed... otherwise, I'm sure, he'd have broken down the door and tossed me out a window to be at your side and watch you... Kento's on the verge of knocking him over the head with a pot..." The half-fey girl giggled lightly. "It would be beyond cute, if, you know... our situation wasn't so dire."
"Hm... I... I want to see him," Reia said, forcefully.
"Slow down, there... it's about midnight, everyone's asleep... well, Kasukio just went down to the kitchen to get a soda for me... and Kento's up in Cye's room, to make sure he doesn't try to get up and end up hurting himself again during the night," Lys explained.
"Please, Lys, I feel fine, I have to get up and walk or my legs are going to turn all flabby," Reia exclaimed, kicking the covers off and flinging her legs over the side of the bed.
"GOING to turn?..." Lys began, before a pillow, courtesy of Reia's good arm, smacked her upside the head. She giggled again, and smoothed her hair down. "I guess you are feeling better..."
Cye nearly fell out of bed, he sat up so fast upon waking from the dream.
"Reia..." He gasped, before realizing he was sitting in his bed, alone. The chair Kento had been sitting in when he fell asleep was unoccupied, and shadows drifted around the room, changing as the wind from the storm shifted the branches of the trees outside the window, and lightning occasionally illuminated the area.
He shivered, thinking of how violent the storm in his dream had been.
~ I remember... the wind, it was blowing so hard, and then... Reia... ~ He slowly climbed out of the bed, and walked over to the window, gripping the sill to steady his balance for a moment, ignoring the slight chill that penetrated his sweat pants and tee shirt.
~ She made the winds die down, to a nice breeze for us, and I made the rain ease, ~ He stared out at the night sky, although he could see nothing outside through the darkness, except for from the occasional flash of lightning. ~ That had to mean something, had to... I usually don't have dreams, period, and this one was just... I don't know...~
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Kento whispered, as Lys half dragged him down the hall, away from his and Cye's room.
"Yes! Good heavens, Reia was getting ready to knock me down," Lys exclaimed, releasing his arm. "You said so yourself, Cye's asleep... so, we'll let her go in there, and check on him, 'cause she will NOT take my word for it he's OK..." She frowned slightly, and looked at Kasukio, who's bright red hair made him show up well in the dark. "Were we this anxious about EVERYTHING when we started going out?"
"You mean obnoxious?" Kasukio grinned.
"Yes. And you still are," Reia mumbled, appearing at her doorway. "How do I look?"
"He's asleep, it doesn't matter," Kento said, looking her up and down. She still looked like someone who had been asleep for three days, but she'd found some shorts to accompany the huge shirt she was wearing, and some socks. Her blue hair was down, cascading over her shoulders in a messy disarray.
"I don't need an escort or anything... why don't you guys get some sleep?" She said, just as Lys yawned.
"Nuh uh," Kasukio protested. "What if you..."
"I'm not gonna die, I'm just a little stiff... and you know, if something really bad happened, and Cye and I couldn't call for help... which isn't likely... the rest of you would have a lot more on your hands than a couple of-"
"Love birds... who's wings got clipped," Lys smiled, and sighed. "That was pretty cool, I'll have to remember that for a poem or something...you win, Reia. Come on, Kasu-chan..." She tugged on the red head's sleeve, and turned to walk down the hallway, looking back at him with a beckoning smile.
"See ya, Reia!" Kasukio spun on his heels to follow after the silver haired girl as they headed down the steps, probably to the kitchen.
"I was gettin' hungry anyhow," Kento shrugged, and slowly walked off.
Reia chuckled dryly, and padded over to the door to Kento and Cye's room, to find it partially cracked open. She slowly pushed it open, willing it not to creak. ~ If he's asleep, I wouldn't want to wake him up, ~ She thought as she poked her head inside, squinting through the darkness.
It took a moment for her vision to adjust, and she realized Cye wasn't in either bed. She looked around the room, and finally spied him, standing by the window. Lightning flashed again outside, illuminating him for the briefest instant. Her eyes, still sensitive to the light, flinched away, but there was a vague imprint of the objects in the room behind her eyes for a moment when she closed them.
~ The storm is a violent one, ~ She thought, as she began to slowly and carefully walk toward him. ~ There will probably be some felled trees in the morning... ~ The wind shrieked outside, and the rain rattled the windows.
She was within touching distance when Cye seemed to sense her presence. He stiffened, and stood up straight, but did not turn around.
Reia wrapped her arms around him, clutching at the front of his shirt with her hands, and burying her face against the back of his neck.
"We made it through, then," She murmured.
"Reia..." Cye's hands came up to cover hers. "You're OK..."
"I'm tougher than I look," She giggled slightly, and sniffed. "Are you OK?"
"I'll live," He replied. "This... beastly storm woke me up, though..."
"The storm can't hurt us, Cye," Reia murmured, hugging him tighter, remembering her dream. "We are the storm... The wind..."
"...And the rain..." Cye did turn, then, still holding her hands, leaning down to kiss her.
~ The storm can't hurt us, no matter how violent it gets, no matter what... or who... it flings at us... ~