Anubis woke with a start, his body shivering and covered in sweat. His right hand clutched tightly to his chest as he tried to slow his raged breath. The nightmare had been enough to reduce Anubis the x-warlord of Cruelty to whimpering and shacking like a child. Looking to his side's he found Cale. He was still asleep but his arm wove around Anubis torso and pulled him closer offering whatever comfort he could to the revived worrier. The soft blue hair brushed his exposed stomach and strange enough it helped calm him. He had gotten used to that kind of thing, waking up with one of the others holding him or he himself holding them close.
It was nearly a year now and the four now X-Warlords had begun having memories long repressed by Talpa's orders come back to haunt them. Sekmet, Cale and Dais had remembered a lot especially from the second war. The nightmares of their torture woke them at nights and it was not uncommon to have one or more of them wake up together, as if just being there with each other was enough to ward off the bad dreams. However, it brought comfort to know that he was not alone. They began to remember the pain of when they would do something to displease Talpa, he would have their memories erase or torture them tell they forgot what they were begin punished for. All four remembered vividly the pain of those weeks.
The four of them now lived in the Mortal realm at the order of Lady Kuaryra. She had told them that all nine worked like a puzzle with out the Ronin's they were not complete and like wise of the Ronin's. So the four of them had grown to bond like brothers as they lived threw getting the memories back. They were still on shaky ground with the Ronin Worriers. The four of them one or twice a mouth went a spared with the Ronin Worriers to see how their skill had advanced in their absentee's. Mia however, still worked on braking all her Grandfathers cods, she had gotten frustrated during the wars and was going to be ready for anything else. She did also change the codes. She made them all fit like puzzles as well. Then they all had a master code, if you broke that all others would have a cascade decoding.
Things with the warlords however, fell into a routine. Three of them had gotten job's relatively easy. Cale was a computer programmer after he had taken a six mouth cores to learn it. Dais worked as a cook in a near by restaurant and Anubis worked in the mornings as a gym teacher at the High school. The Ronin's did not like it that much but they lived threw the intense health program he had the whole class do. Sekmet was the one who kept house believe it or not. He was a cleaning fanatic and to most that was a weak trait, he kept the place clean and tidy, cooking things and answering the phone when it rarity rang.
Yawning he saw the sun was rising and smelt a faint hint of food. Cale woke with a grin following the smell like a bloodhound still half-asleep. Leave it to Cale to give a wake up call crawling over you. Anubis then designated to fallow, it was best at times to just go with the flow in their house. But the sight he found was alerted with the heavy sound of a body hitting the floor. Cale had snapped out of his half asleep hunger phase and ran.
Dais lay on the floor holding his head and silently crying a river of tears, his hands holding his head as he lay with closed eyes. Cale immediately sent a call for Sekmet. The four of them lured their telepathic link was stronger when Talpa's evil did not cloud it. Dais had some how lost his ability to control the visions after Talpa left. The Masters magic had withheld any vision in less he wanted it and so the worrier of the Summer lived barley hanging on when visions hit him. Normally leaving him, as if hit by a truck with no armor. Cale cradled the other Warlord in his lap and gently cared for him, his body would twitch and move as if it did not know it was on the floor. Anubis knew Sekmet had a way of bringing Dais back to himself so whenever it happened they called for him first. They did not know what it was but Sekmet had his way, unbeknownst even to himself.
Sekmet ran in and sighed, it was not as bad as he had envisioned after all, kneeling next to Cale he grasped a hand in his and closed his eyes. Out of all of them Sekmet's usage of the link was the best, over the year they had no Talpa he had mastered it. The relayed on him to help with tight situations like this, Sekmet closed his eyes and used his free hand to touch the distressed warlord's forehead, the virtue of Serenity flared as did Sekmet's own virtue of Pity. Dais's flinching and movement then slowly it stopped. Sekmet after a moment then withdrew and sighed, "Dais come on out now, you can find your way back I know it."
After a moment Dais woke but shivered and clung more to Cale, the Worrier of Winter, who had become the unvoiced teddy bear of the bunch. Anubis was leader and the willing ear that listened when it was needed. Dais was the history junky, he knew most of the Dynasty history outside of Talpa backwards forwards and inside out. Sekmet was the mystic of the bunch. After their freeing he went headfirst into studying the magical arts, had his own magic room to prove it down in the basement level.
Telepathy was a big thing after they had become free, they all liked knowing how the other feeling and in most cases it helped out more when they did. Dais on the other hand even if they linked to his mind, his visions were all his own, none of them could fallow him while he had a vision. He relayed what he could afterwards. Dais shivered as he burred hi face in Cale's torso, "Guys can I talk about this later?" Came a soft whimper. Cale hugged him back and then picked him up. Looking to Sekmet they turned back to their meal. Cale on the other hand walked to the living room and sighed, "Dais what frightened you so much?"
"I saw Talpa come back, but the cost was horrid. I saw a woman that was not a woman and a phantom that seemed so familiar but I just could not place it. The two seemed almost identical in some way thought I can't remember much but the feeling of a similarity. Their was a table and it had something on it . . . could have sworn it was armor but it was all cut up and, I don't know it was there but its gone now." Dais said, his voice slowly stopped shacking as he let it out. His body seemed fatigued and his eyes told of the need for a rest. So he pulled the coach cover over Dais and picked up a pillow and gently laid back. Sleep was needed to badly and Dais fell into a deep slumber as soon as Cale placed his head on it.
Walking back in Cale called the Ronin's in. He did not say why but after an incident with the local police the Ronin's owed them that much. Looking to the others they ate quickly and cleaned up afterwards. Dais's nap was quick as well, the effects of the vision were only temporary and lasted only a half an hour.
The Ronin's came by and Dais made himself scarce, he still did not feel as if he disserved to be trusted after the almost killing of all five of the during the war. Cale relayed everything he could and Sage had said it made sense with what Mia had found a week ago in her grandfathers file, though most of the file was lost. Mia was smart and had worked on cracking the cods hard.
"So your saying Dais had a vision that Talpa returned?" Ryo said, almost sounding worried. Cale nodded as he answered, "Dais said there was a feeling of similarity to the Phantom and Talpa but he could not remember it. He doesn't have the control over his visions, like when Talpa controlled it. Talpa never let his gift truly grow for him and so now that its not held back it grew to fast for him to control." Cale sighed, he could not explain it in terms even he could understand only relay what he knew. The Ronin's had Rowan though, the acclaimed genus of the group.
Sekmet however, had some how managed to get more information out of what Dais has shared with him threw their link, "I have a feeling Talpa is not the person to worry about, but the Phantom is. I mean it takes a lot to bring people back. I should know I helped Lady Kuayra bring Back Anubis. But to bring back someone as powerful as Talpa . . . he is a demon, which makes it harder to do. Clone one and implant memories takes less effort but to bring him back that takes some power." The venom worrier was slightly annoyed at that Anubis though was taking it all in. Time like this when ideas were thrown, he remembered them for later occasions.
Kento was not happy in the lest. They had kicked Talpa's behind more times then they could count on one hand and even if the guy was a ghost the demon was nothing but a thorn in their side, "So what do we do now? Is there anything else we need to know? How they are going to bring Mr. Tin head himself back?"
"Yes, a young girl, who is not a girl." Came a soft voice from the stairs. Dais slowly walked down them, trying to seem not effected by the emotions warring inside his mind.
"A girl who is not a girl? What's that supposed to mean? What makes her not a girl?" Ryo stated confused, as the others echoed the need to know. Dais pinched the bridge of his nose, "She looked like a human girl yes in ever way she was one. However, when they used her to bring him back the soul that came from her was . . . not. I can not remember what it was I saw or felt but I just know." Dais said, trying to answer but failing.
Sage walked forward, silent as ever, reaching out he tried to touch dais. Dais for some reason evaded the touch wide eyed, "What do you want Halo?" He asked. Dais had a ere feeling about the light Ronin's touch.
"Show me what you saw, I can see it trust me." The worrier of light stated simply. Dais then watched again as the young Ronin came closer and touched his left check. Immediately it was a vertigo of colors swirling around, he felt dizzy and lightheaded all at once. But the vision repeated itself slower this time, the sounds could not he heard but the feelings and everything else was the same.
A table with a young girl on it, her short light blue hair and eyes sticking out like a sore thumb in the dark and drirry place. She was still as the dead for a moment, but Talpa exploded, his armor fusing itself to her as he body began to float into the air and a peace of the armor on the table merle floated, glowing a dark and ere blue. The phantom and Talpa . . . two other figures.
As soon as it was done, Dais felt himself fall back into his body, gasping for a breath as if he had not breathed in a short while he looked to the Ronin of Light. Weakly he leaned agents a wall, "How?" Dais asked in a drained voice.
Sage frowned, "After the second war myself, Kento and Cye showed strange powers. I can read minds, Kento can make earthquakes with his mind, without his armor and Cye makes it rain. The powers are attached to emotions, when I am worried is when my power is its strongest, Kento its extreme anger and Cye its sorrow." The younger Ronin said as he moved back, Cye and Kento showing sympathy to the warlord, "It will be a while before you feel better. It took me two hours after he read me and Kento just slept all day from the drain of it alone."
Sage frowned, their gifts were strong yet they only had a strong enough hold to were their would be no incidents in public. Kento had taken anger management classes and Cye had started to play up beat music when he was starting to feel depressed. The three of them were almost uncertain about using them. Sage used them when it was needed and, Cye had made use of his only when the plants needed it, he could not control the amount or area the rain covered so he did not use it in less it was truly needed. Kento just stayed away from his power completely, his anger classes helping out a lot when he put his mind to it. When anger came he worked threw it with slow training, he had lost ten pound as a result, the weight loss was something he was proud of, the nick names like chubby were going away when he had visited home.
Dais sighed then sat down, "So what do you make of it? I could not hear a thing that time." Dais seemed more wanting to know now, the first time it overwhelmed all his senses he could feel and smell see and touch and even the way the air tasted to him was burnt somewhere in his mind.
Sage frowned, "We have to find the girl. She is what they truly need I feel. Her soul was not human that much I am for shirr but I did not recognizes what it was and Talpa will be stronger if they get her . . . that much is for shirr."
Anubis concurred after a moment, "If they don't have her then it might not happen . . . but why they need her in the first place is still a puzzle we need to find the answer to." The worrier of Spring, was slightly afraid now that Sage had said the new Talpa would be stronger then before.
Ryo then gazed into space for a moment, "If the girl is still to be found, you guys had once told us that Dais's visions always came just before they happened. For all we know it could be happening right now."
Dais sighed, "You have to remember that was when Talpa could control my gift, now that he doesn't we just might have some moving space so I say we find her."