Chapter Five: Trust Rebuilt

(Cye)

I couldn't believe how kind Robyn was being. The Maiden of Crystal. What did that really mean? What kind of powers did she have? She led us down the hallway, seemingly undaunted.

Robyn stopped and turned around. "Are you sure you're emotionally stable?"

"Absolutely," I said. I was still a little shaky, but I felt safe around Robyn. But why? We continued along, still searching for my friends. All the while there was an eerie, unsettling silence.

"Still scared about what happened to you?" asked Robyn, sending me a look. I nodded slowly. Robyn stopped us and lifted my chin. "You eyes are like shattered crystals. They're beautiful. They reflect the ocean itself."

"What do you mean by shattered crystals?" I asked.

"Crystals of innocence, shattered by what she's done to you," said Robyn. "They're still beautiful, just hurt. I intend to fix that."
I blinked. "What do you-" before I could finish she lightly kissed me. I looked back at her in shock. "What, what was that for?"

"Learn to trust again," said Robyn.

I sighed heavily. "You know, you aren't the same spunky girl I ran into this afternoon."

"Oh no, I'm still me, trust me on that, just, I dunno, filled with a new wisdom," said Robyn.

I nodded. Dad wasn't always serious about things. He got VERY silly around Ariel. Let's just leave it at they play ballerina together.

I don't think I need to elaborate.

But still, it was, odd. I felt safe, yet uncomfortable. Almost vulnerable. "You're safe, for crying out loud!" said Robyn. Then, she frowned. "Oh, I get it. Still feeling shaky from your ordeal, aren't you?"

"Maybe," I said softly. "But I-"

"Look, calm down. I won't let her near you again. I promise," said Robyn.

I blinked. "But how can you do that?" I asked.

"I'm sure this crystal thingy has some sort of a binding power. You know, making it impossible for her to even lay a hand on you," said Robyn.

I just nodded. Robyn placed a hand on my shoulder and smiled. "Here, I have an idea. This should lighten the intensity of your emotions for a while," said Robyn. She lightly placed the orbe on my head. I wondered what she was doing, then I felt a sudden, peace. The memories of the last rape were shielded. Robyn removed the staff.

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Shielded those memories so you can concentrate on the big picture," said Sheila.

"Uh, thank you- WATCH OUT!" I shouted. Robyn looked over and screamed as a horde of Dynasty soldiers lunged at us. One was on the verge of impaling her, but she was frozen in shock. I was there in a split second, grabbed her around the waist and dove out of the way. The blade grazed my subarmor.

"Cye!" cried Robyn. I looked up to see the Dynasty soldier was ticked off. I rolled out of the way of the attack and tripped him up. Robyn finally got a grip and started to throw attacks at the Tin Cans. She was only taking them down one at a time but it certainly made my job easier.

"CRYSTAL GLARE!" cried Robyn, sending out a good sized attack. It took down quite a few soldiers, but many still remained. The hallway was getting ridiculously crowded. The fight, on my part, was hard, and I didn't have a chance to steal a spear or armor up.

Two Tin Cans grabbed me and tossed me into a door leading to the now deserted playground. I screamed as I was tossed straight through the glass. I shielded my eyes, not wanting to loose an eye. I stood up, unharmed. The Tin Cans roared and charged. I had conveniently landed right by a strange pole with some sort of a basket on top. I jumped on top and send a slamming kick down into the crowd of Tin Cans. I jumped out of the way as Robyn sent an attack the way of the Tin Cans.

To say the least, they didn't last very long.

"That, was a close one," I said. Robyn smiled, and I sent one back. "Nice job."

"You didn't do too bad yourself," said Robyn.

"Hey! Cye!"

I turned around. The other Ronins, White Blaze, Dad, Ariel, and her friends came running over. "We were worried sick!" said Kojiro. "Who's the chick with the staff thingy?"

"The Maiden of Crystal?!" said Dad. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey, your friend Yuli of the Chrono saved my life and told me I had this destiny as this Maiden of Crystal," said Robyn. "So I find myself here and rescue Cye from the Warlady of Venom."

"Warlady?" asked Rowen.

"Sheila has the Armor of Venom," I said.

"That's what I've been TRYING to tell you!" said Sage.

"Well sorry!" said Rowen.

"Hmm?" I asked.

Starr cleared her throat. "As you know we saw your ex wife kidnap you into the Dynasty. We eventually went inside and Ariel told Skye and myself about the Ronin Warriors. Sage found us and we told him what we know. Then we ran into your father and told him. Eventually we ran into Kojiro, who made up a plan involving dead hamsters. We just ran into the others outside when we heard the blast."

I gulped. "Sheila and I were never married," I said.

"Oh," said Starr. She gave Ariel an odd look. Ariel had a hurtful look in her eyes. I tried not to look at her.

"Well, we have to watch out for Talpa and the Warlords, boys," said Ryo. "And, Robyn. Uh, exactly what IS the Maiden of Crystal?"

"A sort of ally to the Ronin Warriors," said Dad. "There used to be seven Maidens. The staffs of Gold, Silver, Topaz, Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald were all destroyed a long time ago. Only the Crystal Staff remains. They rarely helped the Ronins, only when they felt it necessary. This was mainly due to the Maiden of Gold, who was never very good about helping others. Soon, they were all killed and six of the staffs were destroyed. The Crystal Staff mysteriously vanished and has just now shown up."

"I have a feeling Chronos had a hand in that," said Robyn, "considering Yuli gave me the crystal that transformed me into this."
"That's odd," said Dad. "Chronos must have had a good reason to save that crystal, because he's very particular about playing with time, which is why Yuli is on punishment."

"And it was my fault he's on punishment," said Kojiro.

"Would you stop that!?" said Kento. "I don't think anything could have changed Yuli's mind and it looks like it WAS the only way to save you. Sometimes being a Ronin Warrior is about making sacrifices and taking chances."

"I know, but, when you're the one the sacrifice was made for. . ." he said, letting the sentence hang.

"Our best bet right now if to just try and figure out how we're going to destroy Talpa once and for all," said Ryo. "Let's head back to the house, we'll figure it out from there, all right?"

We all nodded in agreement and started back to the house.