Midnight Shadows

By Mieren

Sage blinked, head snapping up. Something had triggered his senses, standing the hair on the back of his neck on end. Noticing his look, the others froze, eyeing him askance.

Kento paused in shoveling food into his mouth, blinking at his friend from across the table.

Something wrong?" Rowen voiced the question that they had all been thinking.

"Something's here," he whispered, rising slowly. The others jumped to their feet without further question, thoroughly unnerved by the expression on their friend's face. They had never seen him so horrified.

Sage was in his full armor before reaching the front door, the others following suit in a mixture of worry and confusion. The five circled the house nearly a half a dozen times before Sage snapped.

"Where are you?" he shrieked into the stillness.

White Blaze roared suddenly, ears flattening to his head as he snarled at the thick trees beginning on the edge of Mia's property. The Ronins gathered behind the massive tiger, raising their weapons cautiously and eyeing the trees uncertainly.

A shadow detached itself from the darkness, the blurred figure resolving into a terrifying abomination before their disbelieving eyes. A long sinuous body decorated by long spikes and heavy ridges landed before them on its eight legs, triangular maw raising slowly to regard the five boys contemptuously. Blood red eyes narrowed as Ryo and Sage leveled their weapons.

"What the hell is that?" Kento shrieked, leaping back, arms flapping wildly.

"Flare Up Now!" Ryo screamed, unwilling to wait to find out the answer to his friend's question.

The greenish bronze abomination calmly stepped aside as the sure-kill shot by it, snarling at the boy that had unleashed that devastating blow in its direction. Scaled lips peeled away from pearly teeth lined in several rows in the massive jaw. Spitting out a few unintelligible words, a blast of energy shot towards the five boys in front of the beast, who nimbly leapt out of the way.

The twisted creature watched with interest as the tiger evaded his blast with ease, wondering idly what the great cat was doing here. It didn't have long to ponder the tiger's presence before a second sure-kill was thrown in its direction, immediately followed by a third and fourth. It sidestepped the blows calmly, hissing angrily.

"Guys!" Yuley called out loudly as he darted from the house.

"Yuley! No!"

A second blast from the creature shot towards the young boy. White Blaze, too far off to get to the boy, tackled the scaled abomination, sinking his fangs into the ridged neck. Yuley's scream echoed through the trees for a mere instant. A flash of blinding light erupted from the eight-legged creature as it thrashed from beneath White Blaze's furious slashes.

The five boys stared in horror at the sight that greeted them when the searing light cleared from the air. Yuley lay still on the ground, skin blackened and body incinerated beyond healing. A crater scarred the lawn where the beast had been before vanishing, taking the great tiger with him.

* * *

The funeral was held that night, Mia's cries piercing the darkness from where she clung to Ryo's shoulder near the small grave. The Ronins waited until she had passed out, with a little help from Sage's soothing powers, before discussing what they were going to do.

"I say it was from the Dynasty!" Kento insisted for at least the hundredth time.

"We know it was! That doesn't help!" Sage screamed at him in frustration.

"We need to mount a counterattack now before they can send another one of those things! We've already lost Yuley and White Blaze! What's next? Mia? Us?"

"We can't just attack without a plan, Kento! We don't know what we're up against! We didn't even scratch the thing! It just left, or have you already forgotten?"

"I think we should attack!"

"Guys, this isn't helping!" Cye wailed, trying to keep Sage and Kento from one another's throats.

"I agree with Kento," Ryo said softly, drawing everyone's attention. This was the first time he had spoken since the battle earlier in the day.

"There must be a gateway somewhere that we haven't seen," Rowen said calmly, relying on logic, as always, to solve any problem. "We should look for it so that no more of those things will appear."

"Fine! Lets go!" Kento roared, leaping to his feet.

"This can wait until morning," Cye cried out, grabbing his friend's arm.

"He's right. We're at a severe disadvantage in the dark," Rowen murmured thoughtfully, chewing his lower lip.

Ryo pushed himself to his feet, storming off to his room. Sage immediately recognized the guilty look on his face and followed him, intent on forcing his friend to see some sense even if it killed them both.

The next morning the five Ronins started their search in the city, but it would be a long time before they found anything relating to the monstrosity that had taken two of their companions from them.

* * *

"Guys," Kento said softly, poking Rowen in the ribs. "There's someone over there." Rowen glanced in the direction he pointed and shook his head slowly.

"I don't see anyone. Are you sure you're not hallucinating? It's been a full hour since you've eaten after all. Really Kento, the city's empty."

"I'm not hallucinating," Kento griped defensively, "there's someone over there." When the others continued to ignore him, Kento muttered something thankfully unintelligible under his breath and trotted over to the alley he had been staring at so intently.

As Kento neared the alley, he barely had time to shout before crumpling to the ground. A tall, lithe figure cloaked in solid black darted past him and tore down the street at a seemingly impossible speed. Cye took off immediately, the others following after a moment as Kento pushed himself unsteadily to his feet. Cye's eyes widened as he realized that he was losing ground. He was a fast runner, quicker than all of his friends, faster still in his subarmor, but he was falling behind.

The person in black pivoted suddenly, bolting down another alley. Cye spun expertly to follow, gasping as he turned into an empty alley. He glanced around furiously and was rewarded with a glimpse of a black boot leaving a fire escape for the roof. Not bothering with the fire escape, Cye jumped up to the roof. The black figure leapt frantically away from Cye, a vagrant breeze pulling the hood back from the shrouded face only to reveal a young girl.

She glanced at Cye, her green eyes wild, long black hair wildly disarrayed from the slight breeze and whipping about her slender form. As Cye opened his mouth to tell her that he wasn't going to hurt her, she bolted again, launching herself off of the five-story roof. With a bit-off curse, Cye jumped after her, latching onto her wrist before they had fallen more than a story. Tucking her deftly under one arm, Cye twisted in midair to land surely on his feet. Before Cye could even open his mouth time, he wilted to the ground as the slender girl proved to be very flexible by planting one of her sturdy boots into the back of his skull.

The girl was already on her feet and running before Cye hit the ground, only to be cut off at the end of the alley by Ryo, Sage, and Rowen. As Sage slipped past her to help pull Cye to his feet, the cloaked girl tackled Rowen, cracking her fists across his face three times in rapid succession. As Ryo moved to intercept her, she lashed out with one leg, kicking his feet out from under him. Ryo spun nimbly in his fall to catch himself, but grunted as he was thrown to the side as the girl's other leg lashed out, her boot heel catching him in the temple.

Kento appeared at the opening of the alley as the girl sped out, and was promptly decked as she passed. He tried frantically to grab one of her ankles as he fell, only to be kicked in the ribs forcefully with a steel-toed boot for his efforts. As he tried to roll to his feet, Cye and Sage sprinted past him, quickly followed by a bloodied Rowen. Ryo paused in passing to haul him to his feet.

As Ryo and Kento trotted unsteadily into the street, they found themselves in a scene of absolute chaos. Sage, Cye and Rowen had surrounded the panting girl, Sage on one knee clutching his forehead to slow the stream of blood oozing between his fingers. Cye and Rowen were leaping about wildly in futile attempts to dodge the stones and chunks of pavement flying through the air courtesy of the cloaked girl. Ryo barely had time to gape in shock before a blinding pain exploded between his eyes. Kento grabbed Ryo's arm before he could do a face-plant in the pavement, only to be immediately dropped by another rock himself.

Kento heaved himself to his feet, swearing loudly. Crossing his arms in front of his head, he charged the girl. Upon reaching her, he firmly tucked her under one arm to stop her infernal rock throwing and turned to Sage, offering his free hand to pull his swaying friend to his feet.

"Don't hold her like that, Kento!" Cye cried out, his warning coming too late for Kento as a heavy boot landed in the back of his skull.

The girl tried to slip away, only to have one arm caught by a glaring Sage. She rolled into his arm, swinging her foot viciously. Sage's eyes widened as he lifted a few inches off of the ground. He glanced down at his subarmor, swallowing as he considered what his chances with girls in the future would've been without it. His eyes snapped back to the girl an instant too late as her fist took him fully in the jaw.

As Sage crumpled, Rowen tackled her, the two of them rolling across the pavement in a tangle of arms and legs. Being the stronger and heavier of the two, Rowen quickly pinned the girl, kneeling on her wrists and holding her shoulders firmly to the ground. Tossing his head to flip a bloody lock of hair out of his eyes, Rowen opened his mouth to ask her what she was doing in an abandoned city, only to have his breath rush out between his teeth as a knee landed firmly in his back. A second blow flipped him over her head.

Cye grabbed her as she rose, holding her close enough that she couldn't use her legs to clobber him again. He wisely kept her arms pinned securely to her sides, understandably wary of her fists and elbows. "Now…" he began, stopping abruptly as stars exploded in his vision as her forehead slammed into his.

The girl staggered unsteadily to her feet, intent on running once again, only to go down for good as she was tackled by Ryo and Kento both. Ryo kept her arms pinned, glaring at her angrily while Kento laid across her legs, swaying somewhat unsteadily.

Rowen walked over unsteadily, more than half-supporting Sage and Cye, both of which were barely conscious. All of them were bloodied.

"Now, what are you doing here? The city has been empty for months." Ryo tensed as she shifted in his grasp. "We're not going to hurt you. We just want to talk," he said slowly.

The girl glared at Ryo, her eyes narrowing and lips peeling away from her teeth in a feral snarl. She bucked wildly in his grasp, one shoulder producing a sickeningly loud pop. At the sound she gasped and shuddered, the muscles on that side of her body going completely limp. Ryo winced, wondering how badly she had just hurt herself. He was abruptly snapped away from wondering as she snarled menacingly, nearly foaming at the mouth in her blind rage. Although her left arm remained entirely still, every other muscle fought against being held, quivering in his grasp.

"We are not going to hurt you," Ryo repeated softly, glancing at his friends, knowing that the startled expressions on their faces must be mirrored by the one on his own. He glanced back down at the girl as she relaxed slightly in his grasp. Getting up slowly, he released her and motioned for Kento to do the same. She leapt to her feet, left arm hanging limply, and glared at them suspiciously, scowling. Watching them warily, she walked over to the nearest building and slammed her left shoulder into the wall, a loud pop drifting back to the Ronins, who winced at the sound. She walked back towards them slowly, her jade-colored eyes shimmering in an inquisitive fashion as she tapped his armor lightly with the tips of her fingers. Ryo gasped. She topped Sage by almost four inches, and he was far from short.

"We're the Ronin warriors," Ryo said slowly in answer to her inquisitive expression, not bothering to elaborate as her eyes widened in recognition. She nodded slowly, chewing her bottom lip for a moment, deep in contemplation. After a moment of silent debate, she walked closer to Ryo, who shifted away slightly, still wary from their battle. As he edged away and she contently followed, Ryo couldn't help but sigh. As the five Ronins walked slowly back to Mia's house, a silent shadow trailed them. Due to the blows he received to his back and the many to his head, Rowen was having trouble walking as was Sage, though for a different reason. Every few minutes Sage glanced downwards, eyeing the dent in his subarmor, before turning to stare at the steel-toed boot that was responsible for it. Kento walked slowly, holding his ribs for the most part, occasionally unfolding his arms to wipe the blood streaming from a gash in his scalp out of his eyes. Cye staggered drunkenly down the street, the two massive blows he received to the head leaving him unsteady and slightly delirious.

Ryo watched the others with concern. He appeared to be the steadiest among the group, and he felt as though he would drop at any moment. For the first half-hour the group had walked, he had all but carried a near unconscious Cye, who still looked as though he needed help to stay upright. Ryo glanced back at his new shadow, still trailing five paces behind him, and sighed again. They had all tried to get the girl to speak to them, but she wouldn't utter a word, not a single syllable. She hadn't even acknowledged that they existed after nodding to herself when they had introduced themselves. Except by following us, Ryo thought with a wry grin.

Cye tripped on his own feet, landing heavily on the pavement, completely unable to catch himself, almost appearing as though he hadn't even tried. Kento lunged wildly as Cye first stumbled, but was too sore to move quickly enough to counter his friend's fall. He moved to help the younger boy to his feet, crying out as Cye made no move to help pull himself up, then shifting quickly to carry him. Kento was promptly shoved out of the way as Ryo's living shadow moved forward to study the youngest Ronin. Kento opened his mouth to protest, but stopped short as she lifted Cye's unconscious form across her shoulders and took her place behind Ryo once again. Rowen and Sage shook their heads in resignation, motioning for a furious Kento to leave her alone.

Ryo only glanced at the girl for a moment before starting forward again. The others couldn't remain on their feet much longer and he doubted the girl could carry Cye like that for very long. In his subarmor, he was heavy. Ryo grimaced, closing his eyes. At the rate they were moving now it would take hours to get back to where they had left the car before entering the city.

Kento and Sage were suddenly thrown violently into the wall of a nearby building, cracks in the wall clearly visible. Ryo's head snapped up instantly, eyes locking on the forms of more than a dozen Dynasty soldiers.

"Armor of Wildfire! Dao Jin!"

Even as Ryo called his armor, his shadow darted past him, depositing Cye at his feet before physically tackling the nearest soldier. Ryo swore loudly. Rowen had already fallen, and neither Kento nor Sage made any move to get up.

Ryo spun his katanas wildly around him, too tired to fight properly. His graceless swings were barely keeping the soldiers at bay. One slid past his defenses, knocking him roughly off his feet to send him rolling across the pavement. A dark blur passed behind the soldier as he neared Ryo. He managed to turn aside the soldier's first swing, but didn't bother with the second as it fell well short of him, a spear broken across the soldier's head. The girl only glanced at Ryo before commandeering the soldier's weapon and charging into the thrall once more, treating the new spear much like a quarterstaff. Ryo barely had time to regain his feet before it was over.

The cloaked girl swiftly drug all of the fallen Ronins to the center of the street. Plucking Rowen's headband from his hair, she promptly tied his left wrist to Sage's right. Tossing Cye over her shoulders once more, she slipped Rowen's and Sage's tied arms across Cye and slowly struggled to her feet, glancing quickly at Ryo and Kento. Ryo positively gaped. He had been surprised when she had been able to carry just Cye, and now she was carrying Rowen and Sage as well, although her knees looked decidedly unsteady. Ryo quickly banished his armor and slipped Kento's arms over his shoulders, leaning forward as he stood to pull Kento well onto his back. He looked up, shocked to see that the girl hadn't waited on him, instead taking the lead in a slow lope that Ryo was almost unable to keep up with.

Ryo had no way of keeping track of time as they ran down the streets. At least two hours, he estimated. The girl had slowly increased her pace until he had to run frantically to keep up, nearly dropping Kento several times. After what seemed like an eternity, she slowed and stopped. Ryo stumbled to a halt beside her, dropping Kento on the ground in his haste to put him down, then collapsing beside him. He glanced at the girl and grinned ruefully as he noticed that she was breathing as hard as he was. She had deposited her load to the ground rather roughly, and was now glaring down at the three still forms.

After a moment she reached down to untie Rowen and Sage, shaking them both slightly. Pursing her lips thoughtfully when neither moved, she began to shake Rowen vigorously, who in turn issued a loud snore. With a vexed hiss, she placed one hand firmly over his mouth while the other pinched his nose shut. Ryo's lips twitched. He had tried to wake Rowen in the past and knew full well the impossibility of getting his friend up any sooner than two in the afternoon. He couldn't help but grin though. Despite everything he had tried in his past attempts, he had never thought of this. Ryo watched in amazement as Rowen tried to breathe through her hand for a moment before making an odd sound deep in his throat and lurching upright. As Rowen first began to move, she calmly released him and turned to Sage.

"What the hell…" Rowen trailed off as he peered around, obviously confused. Ryo only remained where he had collapsed, chuckling softly.

"She had to find some way to wake you up," Ryo said, grinning at his friend's frustrated expression. "She got tired of carrying you. You'd think that you were as heavy as Kento considering how happy she was to put you down. With the way you sleep though, I'm surprised that you didn't just suffocate or try to gnaw her hand off."

Rowen made a face at him, about to reply, instead spinning to face the cloaked girl at her startled cry. She was clutching one hand in the other, blood running down her arm. With an effort, Ryo suppressed a snicker. "Your sleeping habits are rubbing off on Sage, I think." Rowen calmly picked up a stone and chunked it at his friend, who finally gave in and laughed.

The girl flipped her raven-black hair out of her face and studied Sage carefully. Dropping down to position her face directly next to his, she softly breathed into his ear, running one finger down his cheek. Sage's mouth twisted into a contented smile, sending Ryo and Rowen into peals of laughter.

"Way to go, Sage!" Rowen called loudly, bringing a cringe from Sage, whose eyes fluttered open slowly, squinting in the light. Rolling his head to glance to his right, Sage uttered a sound that was nearly a shriek, scrambling away from the girl as quickly as he was able to get his bruised muscles to respond. Between fits of laughing, Ryo and Rowen tried to explain things to Sage, who slowly shook his head as he struggled to chuckle and speak at the same time.

"Twenty bucks says neither method works on Kento," Sage muttered.

"You're on," Ryo grinned.

Rowen looked at Ryo and Sage and shook his head. Ryo's going to lose, he thought simply as he looked at the girl's face as she walked towards Kento. Holding Kento up by one arm, she delivered a full-armed slap to his face. As Kento spluttered, only half awake, she dropped him onto the pavement to turn to Cye. Rowen grinned at him ruefully, hoping the girl was gentler with Cye. Half awake thought he was, Kento took a wild swing at Sage as he tried to pull him to his feet, both of them ending up in a heap cursing loudly at one another.

Worried that she was about to employ the same tactics on Cye, Ryo struggled to his feet, moving to intercept the girl before she reached him. As he caught her arm, she slammed her elbow into his chest, knocking him to the ground, gasping. The four Ronins watched her warily, wondering if they would have to fight her again. Ryo groaned at the idea and knew that Rowen's wince came for the same reason.

Without even glancing at Ryo from where he lay sprawled on the ground, she knelt beside Cye, placing a hand gently on his forehead. She immediately reached up to her neck and unfastened her cloak. While the others watched, concerned, she wrapped the thick black cloth around Cye, lifting him gently into her arms. Kento came forward to take his best friend away from her, but stopped short as she glared at him. Grinding his teeth, he moved forward to place his hand on Cye's forehead, as she had done, and gasped, eyes widening in horror. At the others' confused stares, he slowly shook his head.

"He's ice cold," Kento whispered, half to himself. Rowen darted forward before the words were out of his mouth, gently checking Cye's temperature and pulse before running his hands carefully through Cye's hair.

"His skull is cracked," he said slowly, glancing at Sage.

Sage nodded, quickly moving forward to help the younger boy, only to pass out from the strain. The others looked at his still form in horror. Sage was too weak to use his abilities, and without him, Cye couldn't be healed. Kento and Rowen tried to awaken him for a few minutes before supporting him between the two of them. Ryo's eyes were tight with strain as he started the group moving once again.

* * *

Upon reaching the car, the girl refused to release her hold on Cye, simply slipping into the front seat of the vehicle after fumbling with the door handle for a few seconds, cradling him gently in her arms. The others watched her for a moment before piling into the car, Kento quickly stuffing Sage into the back seat before vaulting in after him. Rowen shoved Kento roughly to the side as he climbed in beside them. With one last glance at the girl, Ryo sighed and turned the car to head back to Mia's.

The drive back was a quiet one, the only sounds in the car being Sage's heavy breathing. Rowen frequently leaned over the seat to check Cye, only to be slapped hard by the girl after leaning over her one too many times.

Mia ran out to meet the guys as they pulled up, crying out as she saw Cye draped unconscious in the arms of a cloaked figure and Kento carrying Sage much like a sack of potatoes.

"What happened?" she asked, grasping Ryo firmly by the shoulder.

"We'll have to explain later. Right now, we need to do something about Cye. He's hurt pretty badly," Ryo said softly as the girl fell in behind him again. He grimaced at her before heading inside, leading the girl quickly to Cye's room, Mia following the entire way, trying futilely to pry answers out of the exhausted Ronin. As Cye was deposited gently on his bed, Rowen pushed past all of them to examine Cye again, Kento crowding behind him, entirely forgetting that he was still carrying Sage. As Rowen placed his hands on Cye's skull, he stirred, groaning groggily and trying to rise. Rowen gasped and quickly pushed him back to the bed, glancing at the others.

"I suppose I was mistaken," he said slowly, "he's not hurt as bad as I thought he was. At the worst he'll have a headache for a few days. If it was anything more serious than that, he wouldn't be moving so soon." Looking at Kento, he added, "You can put him down now, Kento. He needs to rest."

Kento glanced at Cye one last time before trotting out of the room to get rid of Sage before coming back in to examine his best friend for himself. Pushing everyone else out of the room roughly, he dropped to the floor beside his friend's bed, intent on watching him through the night. He fought his drooping eyelids valiantly for several hours, head snapping up when Cye began muttering in his sleep, his slurred speech almost unintelligible. Swallowing nervously, he leaned forward to hear more clearly.

"As an innocent falls to the darkness, a shadow waits in the midnight's sheltering arms, hidden and alone. Only the light shall evade destruction brought by the first shadow's coming, but will fall to the second. Golden fires rise to a plea coming from the night, and thus shall the Diamond be taken. Flames of sapphire will fade into the night, and the darkness will fall in the wake of their destruction."

Shaking his head numbly, he leaned back, knowing the futility of trying to understand his friend when he started ranting like that.

* * *

Kento awoke groggily to see a blanket draped across his shoulders and his friend missing. Lurching to his feet in panic, he bolted downstairs to alert the others, skidding to a stop as he saw Cye and Mia in the kitchen, calmly cooking breakfast.

Cye looked up at him and grinned cheerfully. "I didn't think that you'd be up so soon, Kento. You were downright wasted. I tried to wake you up in the middle of the night so you could sleep more comfortably in your bed, but you wouldn't budge. Hey, do me a favor and wake the others. Breakfast is ready."

Grinning foolishly upon seeing that his friend really was all right, Kento spun to wake the others. He passed Sage in the hall, drearily heading to the bathroom to primp for the next hour if Kento had to guess. Shrugging, he turned to pound on Ryo's door. When no one answered immediately, he opened the door and glanced in, nearly choking as he saw Ryo dozing peacefully on the bed, the girl sprawled across him.

"No wonder you're sleeping in," Kento called loudly. "You were up all night!"

Ryo's eyes opened slowly, he craned his head to look around, crying out in horror when he saw the girl lying halfway across him. Scrambling frantically, Ryo tried to move away from her, but froze as her heard a click and some muffled snickering. Looking up, he saw Kento grinning openly while Sage snapped another picture. Quickly untangling himself from the sheets and the girl, Ryo launched himself after the other two Ronins, but not before Sage bolted to hide his newly developed Polaroid that he had been flapping around merrily.

Ryo glared at the girl as he quickly dressed, stalking down to the kitchen only to find the others snickering fitfully. He grumbled to himself, turning to Kento.

"You forgot to get Rowen up."

"You think I'm crazy? I'm not goin' in there. Rowen'll kill me."

"I'm certainly not getting him up, I have to live with him remember?"

"Well, one of you needs to get him up. I can't right now, I'm busy cooking."

"I'm not going to do it. What if he kicked his clothes off again last night? I don't want to see that this early in the morning, and I don't think he wants me to either."

The girl walked into the room, silently watching the others argue as she claimed a seat at the table. Grabbing up one of the waffles piled on the table, she gnawed on it quietly while they debated who was going to go through the battle of getting Rowen up this morning.

Rising slowly, she left the room, heading back upstairs. The Ronins and Mia watched her go, turning to each other when she was out of sight.

"Maybe she'll get him up," Ryo said hopefully, not wanting to experience Rowen's wrath if he had to awaken him. The others had similarly hopeful expressions on their faces that would have been quite comical if they weren't there for such a good reason. Anyone who woke Rowen had to face his fiery, and often vengeful, temper.

As they heard the bathroom door open and running water, Mia sighed. "I guess that was too much to hope for. She probably has too much sense to go in there." She paused, looking at the guys. "Cye told me as much as he knew about her. Did you guys find out anything else while he was unconscious?"

Ryo shook his head. "Not a thing. She won't speak at all. But don't change the subject. We still need to find someone to wake Rowen."

Cye and Mia immediately seemed very preoccupied with cooking breakfast. Kento started shoveling food into his mouth, hoping that would deter him from being chosen. Ryo and Sage began a contest of wills, staring at each other intently with jaws set in firmly stubborn lines.

The decision was taken from them, however, as they heard a loud pop and a startled shriek from upstairs. Thinking that the girl had found the true depths of Rowen's temper by trying to awaken him, Ryo hopped to his feet and sprinted upstairs. He was nearly trampled in the hall, though, as a completely naked Rowen darted by him in a dead run. Staring after his friend in shock, he was nearly run over again as the young girl shot by him after Rowen, neatly cracking him in the backside with a wet towel, earning another squall from the blue-haired youth. Pausing only for a moment, Ryo chased the both of them down the stairs, laughing wildly.

Swinging into the kitchen, Rowen squawked indignantly as he spotted Mia, spinning to dart out again only to be popped once more. The Ronins in the kitchen only had time to gape in astonishment before Rowen was gone again to the sound of more cracks from a wet towel. Immediately getting to their feet, the guys followed the two combatants into the living room, Sage happily clicking pictures of Rowen as he tried futilely to avoid the towel snapped at him with unerring accuracy.

Already covered in a mass of welts, Rowen spun in a blind fury, trying to pull the towel out of the girl's grasp. As they both pulled frantically at the towel, the girl shrugged, suddenly releasing her hold to send Rowen sprawling backwards before darting wisely out of the room.

* * *

The next morning, no one bothered to fight over who had the privilege to fight Rowen out of bed. Ryo simply asked the girl where she lay sleeping on the couch in the living room. Blinking at him drearily, she rolled to her feet, trudging up to Rowen's room. The others followed, Sage with a camera, to see what horror she would inflict upon their friend to pry him out of bed this time.

Sitting beside him on the bed, she ran one finger across his cheek slowly. When Rowen failed to react in the slightest, she placed one hand on either side of his head, lowering her face closer to his. Sage grinned, getting the camera ready as he expected his friend to receive a kiss from the strange girl. He nearly choked laughing as she did something completely different from what he had anticipated, licking Rowen's face sloppily from chin to forehead. Rowen launched himself out of the bed, executing a mad little dance around the room, spitting and hacking in a fury. The girl grinned at her handiwork, spinning to return downstairs.

* * *

Sitting at breakfast stiffly, Rowen glared at the girl sitting opposite him at the table. Every morning for the last week she had been the one to wake him up with methods that were less than pleasant at best. Today he had simply been dropped out of the window from the second floor. Yesterday she had filled his nose with whipped cream. The day before that, she had calmly reached under the sheets, with his friends watching of course, and grabbed his other friend. The guys were still teasing him about that one.

As if sensing his sudden scowl, the girl looked innocently across the table at him. She stiffened suddenly, head snapping back, a low growl emanating from deep in her throat. All conversation at the table ceased as the guys looked at her trembling form.

"What is it?" Ryo asked slowly, not expecting an answer. She had been staying with them for over a week and still would not speak. They had all but given up attempting to force her to talk, all attempts merely earning them disgusted scowls. Jumping to her feet, she bolted outside. A startled squawk originating from outside got all of the guys on their feet immediately, bolting outside into a scene of total chaos.

Despite the time in the day, the sky was dark, the area surrounding the house unnatural shadows. The young girl was grappling with Cale on the ground in a tangled mass of arms, legs, and armor. Sehkmet slashed at her with a venom-laced sword. Back arching, she twisted awkwardly to avoid the blow, losing her hold on Cale in the process. The Ronins immediately donned their subarmor, charging into the fray. Sage and Kento were thrown to the ground as Dais launches his own attack from behind, Kento feebly rolling to his feet as Dais seized Sage and vanished.

Rowen howled in fury as his friend disappeared, calling his armor. Kento opened his mouth to call his armor as well, dropping again as Cale threw the girl viciously into him as he rose. Kento roared with a sudden viciousness that matched Rowen's as Sehkmet tackled Cye, carrying them both to the ground an instant before vanishing with his captured victim. Launching herself in a futile attack, the girl tackled Cale again. Ryo and Kento used the small break in the fighting to call their armors. Sehkmet and Dais reappeared, smirking at the three standing Ronins.

"Recruiting girls to help you fight?" Cale taunted, approaching Ryo. Ryo growled, leveling his katanas, the girl falling in behind him again much to his frustration.

Rowen and Kento rounded off with Dais and Sehkmet, who sneered in disgust at the boys who had the tenacity to face them.

Mia screamed as a blinding flash of light burned her eyes. Squinting wildly at the battleground, she cried out again, staring in absolute horror. The yard was empty. The girl and every one of the Ronins were gone.

* * *

Ryo pushed himself groggily to his feet, rubbing his eyes in a vain attempt to clear them. He had been fighting, hadn't he? He shook his head, trying to clear a mind that refused to awaken, looking dully at the blur that was his armor. Slowly his eyes cleared and he gasped in recognition. He was in the middle of one of his favorite hiking trails, nearly five miles from where he had been fighting the Warlords. He looked around frantically, trying to find some sign of the others. Seeing a small crumpled heap not ten paces from where he stood, Ryo blinked in confusion. The girl? Why was she here and where were the others?

Ryo moved to help her up, pulling her limp form across his shoulders before turning to head back to Mia's. Trotting drunkenly down the trail, he silently mulled over the flash of light that had exploded in the battlefield, leaving him alone so far from where he had been. Glancing skeptically at the girl, he idly wondered if this was her doing, but dismissed the thought as soon as it entered his mind. He wanted to call out for the others but inwardly knew the futility of it and remained silent. He tried without success to convince himself that the others had been scattered about like he had been, that he would find them waiting at Mia's. Tears burned in his eyes as he accepted the truth. The others were gone. He couldn't sense their presence in the slightest. He was in the middle of the woods, injured and carrying an unconscious girl. Alone.

Sometime later, Ryo passed out on the edge of Mia's lawn, the last thing his mind saw before shutting down was Mia, running towards him as he collapsed.

* * *

Sage groaned, struggling briefly to regain his feet. His eyes snapped open fully at the sound of screamed vulgarities. Kento, he thought dully. Trying to locate Kento in the absolute blackness surrounding him, he tried again to rise, lurching strangely to one side before coming to the conclusion that he was bound, wrists to ankles. He slowly applied pressure to the bonds, testing their strength. They didn't budge in the slightest. Growling softly, he increased the pressure on the bonds until the muscles throughout his body began to tremble from the strain. He lay limply on the ground, panting softly, irritated by the darkness, his inability to rise.

"Kento," he called out softly, not surprised when he didn't get a response. Listening to the curses drifting softly through the air, he realized that Kento must be a good distance from him, judging by the echoes. He must have been absolutely shrieking earlier for Sage to have heard him so clearly. Sage winced, wondering what had been done to his friend to make him cry out like that, in such desperation. Sighing softly, he began twisting his wrists as he worked slowly on freeing himself from his bonds.

* * *

Kento bucked wildly against the chains tying him hand and foot, spitting curses at the top of his lungs. He had awoken too early for his captors' liking. Unfortunately he had already been tied, left to watch helplessly as his friends were drug roughly away. Unbidden, the memories of Cye's limp form returned to him.

Kento lurched against his bonds, blood flecked spittle flying from his lips as he saw Sehkmet tying Cye. His sudden curses startled Sehkmet from his work.

"What's wrong, Hardrock?" he asked, delivering a kick to Cye's ribs, grinning as Kento's curses and vulgarities increased in volume and pitch.

The world spun wildly as Sehkmet slammed his heel into Kento's temple.

Kento refused to pass out. He could only watch in tears as Sage and Rowen were removed from the room. Cale and Sehkmet remained, amused by Kento's shouts as they held a blade to Cye's throat.

"Shall we kill him," Cale asked in all seriousness, "or shall we bring him over to fight for us? The choice is yours, Hardrock."

Tears streamed freely down Kento's face as he remembered his decision. All of them would suffer the consequences of his choice.

* * *

Rowen had vaguely heard Cale's taunts drifting down the halls followed by Kento's vulgarities. He was aware of being drug down the halls roughly by a chain tied to the bonds holding his wrists. Sage was no longer being hauled beside him, having been deposited in a well-guarded chamber nearly half an hour ago. Where the hell were they taking him? Surely they didn't think that the four of them had to be separated by this great a distance.

He craned his head to look stiffly over his shoulder, catching a glimpse of Dais's white hair. Dais noticed his look and grinned maliciously.

"How would you like to hear your friend's decision?" he asked, lips peeling away from his teeth in something that might have been interpreted as a grin. "Hardrock decided that you are all to serve the Dynasty, boy, starting with your friend Torrent."

Rowen froze, his throat constricting. Kento said WHAT?!? He was going to kill him when he got out of this.

Dais grinned wider upon seeing Rowen's face twist into a disgusted snarl. Chuckling softly, he lifted Rowen by the chest plate of his subarmor, so that he was on eye level with him. "Anxious for your friend, Strata?" he taunted. "You can join him if you like. Two can be affected by the Nether spirits as easily as one." He laughed again as Rowen bucked in his grip frantically, complying with his wish to be released by dropping him to the ground.

Rowen tossed his head, twisting viciously in his bonds, frantic to be loose. Ryo, oh God, Ryo. I didn't see him with the others. Ryo, for the love of God, get us out of here.

* * *

Cye regained consciousness slowly. A strange feeling washed over him. He almost felt like he was floating. Abruptly, he realized that he was underwater. His eyes snapped open as he realized it was either swim or drown. Not exactly sure which way was up, Cye let out a mouthful of the precious little air he had left, spinning nimbly in the water to begin moving towards the surface with sure, graceful movements. With his first stroke he realized that he was not in water. It didn't move quite right and it was beginning to burn his eyes. He was about to shut his eyes again when he saw a blur sink slowly by him just to his left. His eyes burned so badly he could barely make out its shape, but his mind didn't miss the distinctive mass of blue hair. Rowen.

Cye snagged Rowen by clutching a fistful of his unconscious friend's hair. With a desperation he hadn't known before, Cye began to struggle towards the surface.

Bursting to the surface, Cye gulped down a much-needed breath of air, careful to keep Rowen's head above the water. His eyes burned painfully, everything around him beginning to blur. He blinked uncertainly, frowning when he found that he couldn't even make out his friend's face in the dim light that pulsed softly, seeming to originate from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. All he could see of Rowen was a mass of blurred colors. The blue of this hair, he expected, but the near purple face streaked with red made Cye catch his breath. Listening to his friend's rasping breath until he was convinced that Rowen hadn't taken in a lung-full of water, or whatever they were in, Cye tried to gauge how badly his friend was injured. Knowing he couldn't support them both forever even with the help of his subarmor, Cye began to swim around slowly in the increasing darkness, looking for a shallower area, somewhere where he could touch the bottom.

* * *

Ryo's eyes fluttered open weakly. The minimal light in the dim room was too much for his pounding head, resulting in a feeble groan. A cool hand was placed on his forehead immediately. Ryo ignored the stinging lights and forced his eyes open, struggling briefly to sit up. Gentle hands pushed his shoulders back down.

"Don't try to get up yet, Ryo," Mia said softly, appalled at how easily she was able to hold the youth down.

Ryo ignored her, trying to rise again, angry that he could not get up, that he could not help his friends. How would he be able to help them if he couldn't even sit up? When he began to struggle again, a second pair of hands pinned him while Mia moved back, muttering to herself with her hands on her hips, one foot tapping impatiently. Glaring at the slender girl holding him down in Mia's place, Ryo attempted to knock her hands away and roll off of the bed onto his feet. Sensing his intentions, the girl calmly plopped down on his chest, effectively pinning him beyond any movement. Growling in frustration, Ryo could only relax helplessly.

Mia nodded in satisfaction. "Now that you've agreed to stay put," she said dryly, "you can help us plan. I could use some help here. The girl isn't exactly easy to understand, you realize. She's been trying to communicate with hand gestures, but sometimes it takes me awhile to figure out what she's trying to tell me." When Ryo looked up at her expectantly, she continued. "So far, I've figured out that she wants you to go with her into the Dynasty to get the others. She's been trying to explain the details to me, but I haven't been able to understand any of them. Some of her gestures are a bit strange at the very least."

Ryo nodded slowly. "Can I at least sit up to do this?" At Mia's scandalized expression, he added hastily, "I won't try to stand. I just want to sit up so I can eat without choking."

Mia's expression was frankly disbelieving. She knew his tricks far too well by now. She wished that White Blaze were here to help her out with his unruly owner, sighing softly as she looked at the thick rug where he used to sleep. In a battle about two months ago, he had simply disappeared while trying to protect Yuley. Her eyes misted at the thought of the little boy, the memory of the too-small coffin. No one should have to die that young, not like that.

Snapping her thoughts back to the Ronins to keep from having a complete emotional breakdown, she glanced at the utter confusion of Ryo's face. She understood that look immediately. The girl was trying to explain her plans while he simply had no idea what she was doing. The girl let out an irritated breath, settling on a single set of gestures that Ryo obviously understood well. She pointed to herself, to Ryo, and then to the door.

Mia sighed. "He needs to rest," she began, eyes widening as the girl hopped off Ryo's bed and pulled him to his feet when he nodded. Ryo's knees buckled for an instant before he locked them, refusing to get much-needed rest when his friends needed him. Grabbing his armor orb, he donned his subarmor as he followed the girl out of the room. Mia rose furiously, following the two of them out of the room and into the kitchen. Dumping out Mia's cloth backpack, the girl began to pack any food she saw into it, blatantly ignoring Mia's protests. She paused every now and then to push some food on Ryo with a look that told him he had better eat it if he didn't want it shoved down his throat.

Ryo glanced at the clock on the microwave, frowning slightly. It was midmorning. Looking to Mia, he slowly asked a question that she had been hoping he wouldn't. He would be frantic when he learned the answer. "What is today?"

Mia's throat tightened. "Tuesday," she whispered, wincing as Ryo nearly choked on what he had been eating. He had returned to pass out of her lawn around mid-afternoon on Saturday and hadn't woken up for nearly three days. When the girl tapped him on the shoulder and turned to go, Ryo nearly trampled her in his haste to get to the others. Mia's eyes misted and then filmed as she watched them walk outside, the girl eyeing the surrounding area carefully. She cried silently as they got into the car, Ryo speeding off to find a gate to the Dynasty somewhere within the abandoned city. Mia fell to her knees, crying aloud for Ryo. What chance did he have? What chance did any of them have? Ryo was entering the Dynasty exhausted and injured with only an unarmed girl posing as his only chance to escape alive. Her lungs burned with sobs as she watched Ryo go to what she was certain would be his death.

* * *

Ryo leapt out of the car, ramming the Dynasty gate with his shoulder. He strained until his muscles screamed at the misuse, stopping his exertions as he was pushed to the ground. He glared at the girl, face twisting into a scowl as she approached the door, closing her right hand into a fist. At the first crack of her fist, the door shivered, a small crack appearing where the girl's hand had come into contact. A swift series of kicks resulted in a fair sized hole in the door. Ryo's jaw dropped in shock. She hopped through, motioning sharply for Ryo to follow. He followed slowly, gasping when the door vanished behind him. The girl was already trotting swiftly across the barren lands, unerringly towards the horizon, which seemed to have a faint outline of a dark castle.

* * *

Ryo collapsed. He had been exhausted when they started, and they had been running for several hours on end. The girl circled back, quickly tossing him across her shoulders before breaking into a run once more. Even having seen her do this before, Ryo couldn't believe she had enough strength to carry him like this without tiring. He had come to recognize her heavy breathing for what is was, simply a need for oxygen, not an out-of-shape pant that anyone else would be exhibiting. After another three hours of carrying him, she paused for a break, rummaging through the backpack she had been carrying, her breathing already back to normal. Even after being carried for three hours, Ryo was weary, his legs rubbery. He groaned when she started moving again after a scant ten-minute break. The only thing that kept Ryo on his feet and moving was the knowledge that his friends needed him.

It took Ryo and the girl a full day of running to reach the castle, the scant three breaks the girl had allowed not enough for Ryo's weary body. She had ended up carrying him for the last nine hours while he dozed uneasily across her shoulders. He had felt horrible at first, but gradually relaxed when he realized that she didn't mind and it wasn't wearing her out significantly.

Soldiers appeared on occasion, but never heard their silent approach or departure, the girl being unnervingly quiet on her feet.

Reaching the edge of the castle, she dropped Ryo to the ground, leaping up to grasp the side of the wall nearly four stories above the ground. Scaling the wall for another few feet, she vanished into a small, nearly invisible hole in the wall. A slender hand snaked out, motioning for him to follow. Ryo leaped up, grasping the proffered hand and swinging himself into what appeared to be an open air vent. The girl had already turned to move down the airshaft. He sighed forlornly, crawling stiffly after the lithe form disappearing into the darkness.

After a few minutes, she turned sharply down a side tunnel so narrow that Ryo could barely fit. After less than a minute of crawling, she vanished completely. Ryo gasped. Where the hell was she? A hand appeared out of nowhere, snagging his wrist and pulling him into a hole leading straight down. Falling for what seemed like forever, Ryo's descent was suddenly ended as the girl latched onto another tunnel, both of them slamming into the side of the vent. Ryo was roughly pulled into the tunnel after the black-cloaked figure, leading him to a small open area within the tunnel. This area had caved in from above, creating a huge cavern but blocking the path leading forward. A slender hand placed itself on his chest, silently indicating that he was to stay there. Too weary to object, Ryo slumped against the wall in the utter darkness, wondering idly what she was doing. His breath caught in his throat as the girl turned to face him, depositing the bag of food and her heavy boots in his lap. Even in this absolute blackness he could clearly make out her eyes, glowing a soft red. She spun and vanished into the tunnels once more.

Ryo panted miserably in the darkness. He was tired and still in bad shape from the battle with the Warlords a few days ago, some of them having managed to have gotten in a few good shots, not to mention alone and lost in the middle of the Dynasty, effectively blind in the unnatural gloom surrounding him. To top it all off, the girl, whom Ryo now seriously doubted was human, actually seemed to know her way around this maze, which was more than slightly disconcerting.

TBC…

Upon request, I'm posting this again. This will take awhile to repost since both my computer and ff.net are giving me grief, but I'm trying.