The Armor of the Soul

By Dixxy

Chapter Thirty-Four: Shocking Encounter

(Sara)

A few hours later I had to meet the others at Mike's place so we could eat at some fancy restaurant that Anubis had arranged for a private booth at. Our group had grown considerably, which was probably good. We had all the Senshi, two Ronin Warriors, and a former Warlady. Plus we could grow another Ronin Warrior.

The only bad thing was that I was running late.

I fought through the crowd at the mall to try and get to the door and get out. I kept getting shoved aside and then yelled at for bumping into people, even though I'd been pushed. It was a huge relief once I was outside and back on the sidewalk. I was beginning to feel trapped.

I started heading towards our meeting place. I began thinking about what I might order, since I'm not big on steaks and all that fancy stuff. If they had salad I'd buy that. Might be the only thing I would eat. Maybe part of the reason I'm so short is because I'm such a picky eater.

Suddenly I got an eerie feeling and froze. Something dark seemed to be crawling up my spine, haunting me. I ducked into an alley way to avoid getting bumped into. "What is this presence?" I asked.

"So glad to finally meet you my precious little Senshi."

I turned around and gasped. Behind me stood a teenage boy only a few inches taller than me and slightly older, but only, well, different. His clothing was something you'd see out of a movie like Conan or Gladiator. Only it was light blue and yellow with dark brown in some places, mainly his boots. On his belt hung a fierce, black leather whip and I could see the tip of a spear behind his back. His hair was weird, too. It was a soft auburn color with tufts of yellow and blue swirls. It was also a little un-kept. But what really caught me were his blood red eyes.

He grinned knowingly at me. My armor reacted, but I could somehow sense it as "confused". There was a strange mix of senses that my armor was sending off. I had no idea what they were, though. Was this strange boy friend or foe? "You know you should have no reason to fear me, Sara," he said. He began to slowly walk towards me, a strange, black jewel hanging from a cord around his neck flashing and hurting my eyes. I winced, turning away.

I heard a low, almost echoed chuckle, and warm breath on my neck. Whoever this was had taken no second thought on getting a little up close and personal. My eyes widened in shock. Who WAS this guy?! "Who are you?"

"You, my dear, know me as Destiny," he said, bowing in an almost mocking way. As he stood back up, I saw a dark grin on his face. "But, you see, I was once known as Cye of the Torrent."

I froze. Slowly turning, I looked at him, staring into those eyes. How, how could this be?! "No," I said. I narrowed my eyes. "You're not evil! You're an impostor!"

"Oh, but yes I am," he said, grinning evilly. "I am no impostor. Trulpa has. . . shown me the unimaginable wealth and power of the Dynasty."

My eyes widened. "You must have been brainwashed!" I said. "The Cye that Anubis, Kento, and Sage talk about is nothing like the evil being I see before me!"

Cye laughed. "That Cye? The weak, pathetic Ronin Warrior of Torrent? The runt of the litter? The quiet, nervous little puppy? No, that Cye is gone. Instead, I am here to take his place." The black jewel around his neck glistened. I shielded my eyes.

"The Jewel of Death. . ." I said slowly. "That's what Trulpa's used to corrupt you!"

"Maybe so, maybe so, but what truly matters is that unless you choose to join me in the Dynasty, you will perish," he said. "All of the Senshi have this option. Think about it. Never having to fear death. Never having to go to school. Having the power over an entire world!"

"Trulpa wants to destroy this world," I said. "I could never bow before her!"

Cye grinned. "Then perhaps there is no choice but to have you exterminated."

I backed away and took a fighting stance. "I don't care if you're my partner in arms! You're threatening the realm I've sworn to protect, and if I must destroy you, then so be it."

"Well, I don't feel like a fight right this moment. I want you to sweat it out, little mouse," he said. He then threw something down, causing a somewhat loud bang and a puff of smoke. When the smoke cleared, Cye was gone.

~

"Cye's been brainwashed?" Kento asked, almost in disbelief. I had gotten to Mike's place, where the other Senshi, Cara, Anubis, Kento, and Sage were gathered. Even Tiger Lily was there, sitting on the carpeted floor (why Mike didn't mind this is beyond me). They had been waiting for me so we could get to the restaurant.

"I know what I saw, and he even said that he had once been Cye of the Torrent," I said. I lowered my head. "But I thought Torrent's couldn't be possessed! And he's a Torrent just like me! How is this possible?!"

"They can't be possessed by Nether Spirits," said Anubis. He frowned grimly. "But they most certainly CAN be brainwashed, especially by a powerful talisman like the Jewel of Death."

"How do we break the spell?" asked Sage. His eyes were littered with worry, his forehead furrowed with lines of worry. "We can't just go up to him and take the Jewel of Death off."

"Between the three of us that wee captured, Cye's the fastest and most agile. I'm the strong, good in a fight Ronin. Sage is the smart one that always tries to come up with a plan and kicks butt with his big sword. But Cye's the quiet, shy one who's really good at dodging enemies," said Kento. "The only person who might've matched his agility was Rowen, but we can't talk to him or Ryo."

"I'm fast," said Keisha, raising her hand.

Sage crossed one of his legs over the other knee. "Rowen is of the Strata. He has the added bonus of flying. Rona, yeah, you can fly, but you can't go NEARLY as fast as Rowen or Cye."

"Sara might stand a chance," said Cara. All eyes turned to her. "Agility is a major trait in most Torrents. I'll agree her attitude is different from the ones I've encountered, but she does have that potential."

Sam, who usually would have made a smart remark by now, had sat quietly thinking. "Something's been bothering me for a while, and I think that you might've hit something, Sara," she said.

"What do you mean?" asked Rona.

"Well, when Kaze attacked us, he had four different kinds of attacks: earth, lightning, water, and something else," she said.

Kento and Sage exchanged glances. "Huh?"

"There was a fourth power source!" said Ria, standing up. Kento and Sage looked at her in confusion. "I don't know WHAT it was, but I think Sam might be getting on to something."

Sam smiled. "Well, Sara said that Cye had blue and yellow highlights in his hair in addition to his funky to his whacked out ensemble. The blue makes sense, but the yellow?" she said.

"And the whip you told us about," said Keisha. "Where did that come from?"

Anubis raised an eyebrow. "Yellow is the armor color of the Spring armors, better known as Cruelty. And the whip is the Senshi magic side weapon, like Sara's knife or Ria's throwing stars."

"Describe this fourth power to us," said Sage, looking interested.

"It was. . . I don't know, kind of like a lightning attack but it felt like these beams of energy were trying to choke us," said Rona. "It didn't feel as if it came from any sort of element I've ever encountered."

"That sounds like the Armor of Cruelty's powers, but why the heck was it with Kaze?" asked Kento. He groaned in frustration as he started to rub his temples. "And why does Cye have insignia FROM the Armor of Cruelty?"

"This is strange," said Cara. "We should look into it a little more."

"How?" asked Ria. "Got any ideas?"

"Well, I can't fight since I still haven't fully passed my tests, but you could TRY waiting for him," she said. Cara cocked her head to the side, pushing her glasses up. The deep maroon frames and circular lenses made her look sort of like a business woman. "Try and call him out."

"How do we know she isn't setting us up for a trap?" said Ria. She turned to the former Warlady. "Sorry, Cara, but you WERE our enemy just a few days ago. We still aren't sure how much we can trust you yet."

"Well, we'll have all the Senshi, two Ronin Warriors, the Ancient's Staff, and perhaps even Snap Dragon," said Anubis.

"What's that?" asked Ria.

"I think I know this. Snap Dragon was an armor designed for a tiger. It was given to a tiger named Snap Dragon. Let me guess: Tiger Lily and Snap Dragon combined their souls like White Blaze and Black Blaze did, right?" asked Sage.

"Right," said Anubis. "But so far she hasn't done much, I'm afraid."

"She will, won't you, girl?" said Ria, scratching behind the tiger's ears. Tger Lily purred. "We will free him. I know we can."