"It's almost time for the Ancient Gate to open. The key is even closer now, I can feel it's power. Soon I'll be free and the world will be mine to control." thought the Gatekeeper.
"Well, it looks like Gatekeeper finally made his move. I'm surprised that he didn't pull this stunt of his sooner. Gatekeeper is keeping something from me, I know it." thought Phoenix suspiciously.
"Phoenix, I need you to bring our guests here." said Gatekeeper.
"Of course Gatekeeper, but may I ask why did you bring them here?" asked Phoenix.
"You'll see soon enough Phoenix, now do as I requested and retrieve them." replied Gatekeeper. Phoenix faded from Gatekeeper's sight and reappeared in front of the door that held their guests.
"Hey is everyone alright?" asked Kaye.
"Yea Kaye, it looks like everyone is fine, where the heck are we and what happened?" asked Ryo.
"Good questions Ryo, whatever is going on, I'm sure that we'll find out soon enough." replied Mia.
"Guys, it looks like we have company." said Kaye as she saw the door opening.
"Welcome, I'm glad that all of you could make it." replied Phoenix.
"It didn't look like we had much of a choice of ignoring the invitation." said Rowen.
"Phoenix, where are we and why did the Gatekeeper bring us here?" asked Sage.
"What makes you think that it was Gatekeeper that brought you here, and not me?" replied Phoenix.
"Get real Phoenix, we all know that you have powers, but you're not powerful enough to send that golden light our way." said Kento.
"It doesn't matter who brought you here, Gatekeeper wants to see all of you, so let's get going already." replied Phoenix angrily. So Phoenix lead the reluctant warriors to a large room. When they arrived, no one could believe what they were seeing.
"It can't be, but it is, it's the same gate that's in my dreams. But are we in my dream realm, or are we in a different realm altogether?" asked Kaye quietly.
"Sorry, my dear you are not in how you put it in your dream realm. Where you are is of no concern to you right at the moment." said Gatekeeper.
"Fine then, for the sake of stating the obvious, why are we here?" asked Cye.
"Alright I'll play along, you see I'm the voice that Kaye has been hearing in her dreams. The golden light is the glow from the Ancient Gate that keeps me locked in here." stated Gatekeeper.
"Ok, so now what, how come you were locked up behind the Ancient Gate?" asked Mia.
"The reason why I'm locked away isn't the issue at hand, the real reason is the key, and without realizing it the key is with you." replied Gatekeeper.
"What are you talking about, what key we don't have it so you just better back off." warned Kento.
"You fools, the key isn't an it, the key is a who." said Gatekeeper.
"What do you mean, how can someone be a key, and who is it?" demanded Kaye.
"Now, now my dear I'm surprised that you haven't figured it out yet. Why do you think that you've been having those visions for the last month?" asked Gatekeeper.
"No, it can't be, I'm the key. No, I refuse to believe that! I won't do it, I won't free you from the Ancient Gate. You were imprisoned there for a reason and that's where you'll stay." said Kaye angrily.
"You don't seem to understand young one, you don't have a choice in the matter." said Gatekeeper.
"What do you mean that she doesn't have a choice? There's always a choice." said Cye with a hint of anger.
"That may be true, but in this case she doesn't, and there is nothing that any of you can do about it." replied Gatekeeper.
Everyone got into defensive position so they would be ready for any kind of attack. Meanwhile Phoenix was just standing by watching the events fall into place with amusement, unaware of what Gatekeeper also had in mind for her as well.
A golden beam of light shot out from the gate, it latched onto Kaye. She began to float above her friends. Kento grabbed Kaye's hands and was trying to pull her back to him. "Kaye don't let go, try to hang on." yelled Kento.
"Kento, I'm losing my grip." Kaye yelled back.
"Give me my key!" ordered Gatekeeper.
Another ray of golden light came from the Ancient Gate and hit Kento and Kaye with such force that it separated them. Kaye was pulled back into the Ancient Gate. When Kaye was pulled into the Ancient Gate she disappeared, and Gatekeeper emerged. "Yes I'm finally free, after centuries of being imprisoned I'm free to rule this world!" yelled Gatekeeper.
"Bring Kaye back right now!" yelled an angry Kento.
"Your friend is gone forever, she can never come back so you better get use to it. There's nothing that you Ronins can do about it. Phoenix, come by my side you have served me faithfully, and for that I want to reward you for your services." said Gatekeeper. Phoenix wasn't sure what to make of Gatekeeper's statement, so she catiously walked over to him.
"What is he up to, what's the real reason he hasn't made his move against me yet?" thought Phoenix.
"On second thought Phoenix, you don't deserve the reward. Instead I think that I'll destroy you, goodbye." said Gatekeeper as he launched an attack towards Phoenix. The attack was coming in fast and hard there was no place for her to take cover. So she tried to brace herself for the impact, but for some reason it missed her and she was laying on the ground.
When Phoenix opened up her eyes she couldn't believe who she saw that saved her from Gatekeeper's attack, it was Kento. "Why did you save me from that attack?" asked Phoenix.
"I'm not sure why, I just did, for some reason I believe that you'll help us get Kaye back." replied Kento.
While all of this was going on, Gatekeeper was watching the whole event unfold right before his eyes. "This is an interesting turn of events, I'm very surprised that the Ronins saved Phoenix. It doesn't really matter anyway, the real threat to me is gone, now I believe that it's time to take my leave of this place." thought Gatekeeper as he disappeared from the room.
"Hey, guys where did Gatekeeper go?" asked Mia. They looked around and couldn't see any trace of him anywhere.
"Now isn't the time for talk, we have to get out of here if we have any chance to help Kaye. You know your way around here so lead us out. But if you get any crazy ideas about crossing us, you will be wishing that Gatekeeper would have finished you off." threatened Ryo.
Phoenix nodded her head to show that she agreed to help them, for now. "Kento come on we have to get out of here. If we stay here, we won't be of any help to Kaye." said Cye.
"I can't believe that you would leave Kaye here just like that Cye. If I could have held on to Kaye a little longer." said Kento.
"Kento, you know that I or any of us wouldn't just leave Kaye here, she wouldn't leave any of us either, but we don't have any choice. As soon as we can figure out how to get Kaye back with us, we'll be back trust me Kento." replied Cye.
"Yea Cye, I know that you're right, I'm sorry it's just that." said Kento quietly.
"We know Kento, I'm wondering though why didn't Gatekeeper destroy the Ancient Gate after Kaye was pulled into it?" said Rowen.
"It's because the Ancient Gate is the only thing that is keeping the different dimensions together." replied Phoenix.
"What are you talking about keeping the realms together?" asked Sage.
"The Ancient Gate is a gateway to other realms. If it's destroyed, then every realm that is connected to it will mix into each other and cause a black hole that will suck everything into it." explained Phoenix.
"Then Kaye is alright, where is she exactly?" asked Mia.
"Yes Kaye is fine for now, since she is the key to open the Ancient Gate, she is the only one holding the realms together. You see Gatekeeper had to find someone to switch places with him in order to get his freedom, so he needed a human key." explained Phoenix.
"How did Kaye get to be selected as this so called key anyway, and how do we get her out of there without having the realms becoming a black whole?" asked Ryo.
"The key selection happens every hundred years. Unfortunately, Kaye was the one that the fates have chosen. But to get her out, I'm not sure exactly how to do it. Gatekeeper is coming back, we have to get out of here now." replied Phoenix.
'Lightning, I know that you and the others don't trust me, and I don't blame you, but we need you to transport us out of here before Gatekeeper sees us. Then later after he leaves we can transport back, alright.' said Phoenix. Lightning nodded and trasported all of them out of there and to the library.
"Lightning, what the heck were you thinking transporting us away from there?" yelled Kento.
"Hey Kento don't yell at him, he didn't want to leave either, it was my idea so if you want to blow up at somebody, blow up at me." Phoenix yelled back.
"Ok you two that's enough, if you two can put your differences aside then maybe we can figure out how to get Kaye back, and Gatekeeper back into the Ancient Gate." replied Sage.
"It seems like your friends have left you. I hope that your accomodations suit to your liking, you'll be there for a while." taunted Gatekeeper.
"They didn't leave me, I know that they'll come back. They'll figure a way for me to get out of here and put him back into this gate. I suppose that I better make the best of my time until they figure a way for me to get out of here." thought Kaye as she looked around her surroundings. Kaye decided to pick a direction and head that way. No sooner did she go in that direction that an energy wave came out of nowhere and zapped Kaye.
"Man that really hurt, I guess trying to go anywhere is out of the question, no wonder Gatekeeper was so anxious about getting out of here. I wonder how long he has been locked away. Where are the others, are they alright? Kento where are you, I hope that you're not blaming yourself for what happened. Please Kento be alright." thought Kaye. Without Kaye knowing, her kanji on the chain began to glow orange.
Not too far from the room where the Ancient Gate is, the others were discussing what to do next, while Kento was keeping his distance from his friends and Phoenix. "Kaye I can't help but keep playing the scene in my head. Why couldn't I hang on, I'm suppose to be the strongest of the Ronins. So why couldn't I keep a hold on you?" thought Kento.
"Kento of Hardrock, remember what I have told you." echoed the Ancient's voice.
"Kento, are you alright?" asked Cye as he approached Kento.
"Cye, why did I let go, how could I've let go of Kaye? I could have prevented her from going into that gate, but I didn't." said Kento angrily.
"Kento, I'm sure that you did the best that you could. I know for a fact that Kaye wouldn't want you to blame yourself for what just happened either. Now you are going to snap out of it, and help us figure out how to get Kaye back." stated Cye with determination in his eyes.
"Cye, you remember this morning when you checked in on me?" asked Kento.
"Yea, what about it Kento?" answered Cye.
"Well I didn't have a chance to tell you, but the Ancient payed me a visit last night. He said that I'll find the way to get Kaye back." said Kento quietly.
"What did the Ancient mean by that I wonder." said Cye.
Kento took his chain that he got from Kaye into his hands and looked at it. "Something else happened besides the Ancient's visit. For some reason Cye, my gift from Kaye glowed silver, and I found out that Kaye's glowed orange." said Kento.
"Hey Kento, the two of you have a strong connection to each other. Trust in that connection and I know everything will work out." replied Cye. Kento gave a thankful look towards Cye, he knew that Cye was right.
Phoenix wasn't too far away from where Kento and Cye were talking. She was interested in their conversation, so Phoenix decided to join in. "Very touching conversation boys." said Phoenix as she approached them.
"Who asked for your opinion anyway?" asked Kento angrily.
"Easy there Hardrock, I was just interested in the conversation that the two of you were having, that's all. I do have a question for you though. I would like to know the real reason of why you saved me from Gatekeeper's attack." answered Phoenix.
"I told you once already, it's because I thought that you would help us get Kaye back, that's all." replied Kento angrily.
"If you say so Hardrock, but I think that I'll just let Kaye stay in there and have Gatekeeper rule this world. He's your problem not mine. Besides I don't see any reason why I should help you out anyway." said Phoenix.
That really sent Kento's anger off, he was about to attack Phoenix until she got hit from behind.
"Well, it looks like Gatekeeper finally made his move. I'm surprised that he didn't pull this stunt of his sooner. Gatekeeper is keeping something from me, I know it." thought Phoenix suspiciously.
"Phoenix, I need you to bring our guests here." said Gatekeeper.
"Of course Gatekeeper, but may I ask why did you bring them here?" asked Phoenix.
"You'll see soon enough Phoenix, now do as I requested and retrieve them." replied Gatekeeper. Phoenix faded from Gatekeeper's sight and reappeared in front of the door that held their guests.
"Hey is everyone alright?" asked Kaye.
"Yea Kaye, it looks like everyone is fine, where the heck are we and what happened?" asked Ryo.
"Good questions Ryo, whatever is going on, I'm sure that we'll find out soon enough." replied Mia.
"Guys, it looks like we have company." said Kaye as she saw the door opening.
"Welcome, I'm glad that all of you could make it." replied Phoenix.
"It didn't look like we had much of a choice of ignoring the invitation." said Rowen.
"Phoenix, where are we and why did the Gatekeeper bring us here?" asked Sage.
"What makes you think that it was Gatekeeper that brought you here, and not me?" replied Phoenix.
"Get real Phoenix, we all know that you have powers, but you're not powerful enough to send that golden light our way." said Kento.
"It doesn't matter who brought you here, Gatekeeper wants to see all of you, so let's get going already." replied Phoenix angrily. So Phoenix lead the reluctant warriors to a large room. When they arrived, no one could believe what they were seeing.
"It can't be, but it is, it's the same gate that's in my dreams. But are we in my dream realm, or are we in a different realm altogether?" asked Kaye quietly.
"Sorry, my dear you are not in how you put it in your dream realm. Where you are is of no concern to you right at the moment." said Gatekeeper.
"Fine then, for the sake of stating the obvious, why are we here?" asked Cye.
"Alright I'll play along, you see I'm the voice that Kaye has been hearing in her dreams. The golden light is the glow from the Ancient Gate that keeps me locked in here." stated Gatekeeper.
"Ok, so now what, how come you were locked up behind the Ancient Gate?" asked Mia.
"The reason why I'm locked away isn't the issue at hand, the real reason is the key, and without realizing it the key is with you." replied Gatekeeper.
"What are you talking about, what key we don't have it so you just better back off." warned Kento.
"You fools, the key isn't an it, the key is a who." said Gatekeeper.
"What do you mean, how can someone be a key, and who is it?" demanded Kaye.
"Now, now my dear I'm surprised that you haven't figured it out yet. Why do you think that you've been having those visions for the last month?" asked Gatekeeper.
"No, it can't be, I'm the key. No, I refuse to believe that! I won't do it, I won't free you from the Ancient Gate. You were imprisoned there for a reason and that's where you'll stay." said Kaye angrily.
"You don't seem to understand young one, you don't have a choice in the matter." said Gatekeeper.
"What do you mean that she doesn't have a choice? There's always a choice." said Cye with a hint of anger.
"That may be true, but in this case she doesn't, and there is nothing that any of you can do about it." replied Gatekeeper.
Everyone got into defensive position so they would be ready for any kind of attack. Meanwhile Phoenix was just standing by watching the events fall into place with amusement, unaware of what Gatekeeper also had in mind for her as well.
A golden beam of light shot out from the gate, it latched onto Kaye. She began to float above her friends. Kento grabbed Kaye's hands and was trying to pull her back to him. "Kaye don't let go, try to hang on." yelled Kento.
"Kento, I'm losing my grip." Kaye yelled back.
"Give me my key!" ordered Gatekeeper.
Another ray of golden light came from the Ancient Gate and hit Kento and Kaye with such force that it separated them. Kaye was pulled back into the Ancient Gate. When Kaye was pulled into the Ancient Gate she disappeared, and Gatekeeper emerged. "Yes I'm finally free, after centuries of being imprisoned I'm free to rule this world!" yelled Gatekeeper.
"Bring Kaye back right now!" yelled an angry Kento.
"Your friend is gone forever, she can never come back so you better get use to it. There's nothing that you Ronins can do about it. Phoenix, come by my side you have served me faithfully, and for that I want to reward you for your services." said Gatekeeper. Phoenix wasn't sure what to make of Gatekeeper's statement, so she catiously walked over to him.
"What is he up to, what's the real reason he hasn't made his move against me yet?" thought Phoenix.
"On second thought Phoenix, you don't deserve the reward. Instead I think that I'll destroy you, goodbye." said Gatekeeper as he launched an attack towards Phoenix. The attack was coming in fast and hard there was no place for her to take cover. So she tried to brace herself for the impact, but for some reason it missed her and she was laying on the ground.
When Phoenix opened up her eyes she couldn't believe who she saw that saved her from Gatekeeper's attack, it was Kento. "Why did you save me from that attack?" asked Phoenix.
"I'm not sure why, I just did, for some reason I believe that you'll help us get Kaye back." replied Kento.
While all of this was going on, Gatekeeper was watching the whole event unfold right before his eyes. "This is an interesting turn of events, I'm very surprised that the Ronins saved Phoenix. It doesn't really matter anyway, the real threat to me is gone, now I believe that it's time to take my leave of this place." thought Gatekeeper as he disappeared from the room.
"Hey, guys where did Gatekeeper go?" asked Mia. They looked around and couldn't see any trace of him anywhere.
"Now isn't the time for talk, we have to get out of here if we have any chance to help Kaye. You know your way around here so lead us out. But if you get any crazy ideas about crossing us, you will be wishing that Gatekeeper would have finished you off." threatened Ryo.
Phoenix nodded her head to show that she agreed to help them, for now. "Kento come on we have to get out of here. If we stay here, we won't be of any help to Kaye." said Cye.
"I can't believe that you would leave Kaye here just like that Cye. If I could have held on to Kaye a little longer." said Kento.
"Kento, you know that I or any of us wouldn't just leave Kaye here, she wouldn't leave any of us either, but we don't have any choice. As soon as we can figure out how to get Kaye back with us, we'll be back trust me Kento." replied Cye.
"Yea Cye, I know that you're right, I'm sorry it's just that." said Kento quietly.
"We know Kento, I'm wondering though why didn't Gatekeeper destroy the Ancient Gate after Kaye was pulled into it?" said Rowen.
"It's because the Ancient Gate is the only thing that is keeping the different dimensions together." replied Phoenix.
"What are you talking about keeping the realms together?" asked Sage.
"The Ancient Gate is a gateway to other realms. If it's destroyed, then every realm that is connected to it will mix into each other and cause a black hole that will suck everything into it." explained Phoenix.
"Then Kaye is alright, where is she exactly?" asked Mia.
"Yes Kaye is fine for now, since she is the key to open the Ancient Gate, she is the only one holding the realms together. You see Gatekeeper had to find someone to switch places with him in order to get his freedom, so he needed a human key." explained Phoenix.
"How did Kaye get to be selected as this so called key anyway, and how do we get her out of there without having the realms becoming a black whole?" asked Ryo.
"The key selection happens every hundred years. Unfortunately, Kaye was the one that the fates have chosen. But to get her out, I'm not sure exactly how to do it. Gatekeeper is coming back, we have to get out of here now." replied Phoenix.
'Lightning, I know that you and the others don't trust me, and I don't blame you, but we need you to transport us out of here before Gatekeeper sees us. Then later after he leaves we can transport back, alright.' said Phoenix. Lightning nodded and trasported all of them out of there and to the library.
"Lightning, what the heck were you thinking transporting us away from there?" yelled Kento.
"Hey Kento don't yell at him, he didn't want to leave either, it was my idea so if you want to blow up at somebody, blow up at me." Phoenix yelled back.
"Ok you two that's enough, if you two can put your differences aside then maybe we can figure out how to get Kaye back, and Gatekeeper back into the Ancient Gate." replied Sage.
"It seems like your friends have left you. I hope that your accomodations suit to your liking, you'll be there for a while." taunted Gatekeeper.
"They didn't leave me, I know that they'll come back. They'll figure a way for me to get out of here and put him back into this gate. I suppose that I better make the best of my time until they figure a way for me to get out of here." thought Kaye as she looked around her surroundings. Kaye decided to pick a direction and head that way. No sooner did she go in that direction that an energy wave came out of nowhere and zapped Kaye.
"Man that really hurt, I guess trying to go anywhere is out of the question, no wonder Gatekeeper was so anxious about getting out of here. I wonder how long he has been locked away. Where are the others, are they alright? Kento where are you, I hope that you're not blaming yourself for what happened. Please Kento be alright." thought Kaye. Without Kaye knowing, her kanji on the chain began to glow orange.
Not too far from the room where the Ancient Gate is, the others were discussing what to do next, while Kento was keeping his distance from his friends and Phoenix. "Kaye I can't help but keep playing the scene in my head. Why couldn't I hang on, I'm suppose to be the strongest of the Ronins. So why couldn't I keep a hold on you?" thought Kento.
"Kento of Hardrock, remember what I have told you." echoed the Ancient's voice.
"Kento, are you alright?" asked Cye as he approached Kento.
"Cye, why did I let go, how could I've let go of Kaye? I could have prevented her from going into that gate, but I didn't." said Kento angrily.
"Kento, I'm sure that you did the best that you could. I know for a fact that Kaye wouldn't want you to blame yourself for what just happened either. Now you are going to snap out of it, and help us figure out how to get Kaye back." stated Cye with determination in his eyes.
"Cye, you remember this morning when you checked in on me?" asked Kento.
"Yea, what about it Kento?" answered Cye.
"Well I didn't have a chance to tell you, but the Ancient payed me a visit last night. He said that I'll find the way to get Kaye back." said Kento quietly.
"What did the Ancient mean by that I wonder." said Cye.
Kento took his chain that he got from Kaye into his hands and looked at it. "Something else happened besides the Ancient's visit. For some reason Cye, my gift from Kaye glowed silver, and I found out that Kaye's glowed orange." said Kento.
"Hey Kento, the two of you have a strong connection to each other. Trust in that connection and I know everything will work out." replied Cye. Kento gave a thankful look towards Cye, he knew that Cye was right.
Phoenix wasn't too far away from where Kento and Cye were talking. She was interested in their conversation, so Phoenix decided to join in. "Very touching conversation boys." said Phoenix as she approached them.
"Who asked for your opinion anyway?" asked Kento angrily.
"Easy there Hardrock, I was just interested in the conversation that the two of you were having, that's all. I do have a question for you though. I would like to know the real reason of why you saved me from Gatekeeper's attack." answered Phoenix.
"I told you once already, it's because I thought that you would help us get Kaye back, that's all." replied Kento angrily.
"If you say so Hardrock, but I think that I'll just let Kaye stay in there and have Gatekeeper rule this world. He's your problem not mine. Besides I don't see any reason why I should help you out anyway." said Phoenix.
That really sent Kento's anger off, he was about to attack Phoenix until she got hit from behind.