Midnight Shadows
Part 9
By Mieren
For beginners, I want to make a few adjustments to the group.
The Ronins blinked uncertainly, eyeing her askance. Sage was the first to speak up. "What adjustments?"
Rowen, come here.
Rowen blinked uncertainly, but complied immediately, kneeling down beside where Mieren was seated comfortably on the floor of the living room. Without hesitating, she grasped his head in both of her hands and slashed at him with a cord of snowy fires. Rowen gasped as his head spun slightly, blinking against the sharp light when he finally opened his eyes.
"What did you do?" he mumbled, squinting slightly.
Fixed your eyes. You were the only one in the group that couldn't see in the dark and were therefore at a distinct disadvantage.
Rowen paled slightly, looking around the room slowly, swallowing nervously at the sharp intake of breath he heard from Kento. Concentrating on his original eye color, he felt something shift in his mind, clearing the burning sensation from his eyes. He pursed his lips thoughtfully.
"That wasn't too hard to figure out," he murmured.
You are growing attuned to magic, and so can figure out the workings of spells rapidly. I must say I am impressed at how quickly you solved that little dilemma.
Kento took a deep calming breath. If Rowen wasn't upset with what she had done, then he shouldn't be either. Something suddenly stuck his as odd.
"I can see in the dark?" he asked slowly, uncertainly.
Of course you can. Simply shift your eyes to golden and you will be able to see in a total absence of light like the rest of us can. Surely you knew that, Hardrock.
"What's the other adjustment? You used a plural, so there has to be another."
Very observant of you, Wildfire. The second thing that must be changed is that you must step down as leader.
"What?!" Ryo cried out loudly.
Remember when I said that Date was a brilliant tactician? All of you seem to be so much like your predecessors that I believe that Halo will have similar planning capabilities that the original Date did.
Sage blinked. "I don't want to lead," he said firmly, glancing at Ryo.
Mieren scrubbed her hands through her hair. Torrent has Mouri's magical skills, though he hasn't awakened all of them yet. Rowen has Hashiba's strength and his lack of knowledge of what to do with it. Wildfire has the incredible fighting abilities and the temper to match the original Sanada. Unable to weave the spells himself, Hardrock has unheard of inborn strength that rivals any of the spells that Fung used, if he ever decides to tap into those reserves, that is. Now, Halo, with the similarities I see here and your remarkable healing talent, I can only assume that you would be adept at planning battles as well.
Sage shook his head forcefully and took on an extremely stubborn expression. Ryo's murderous look wasn't reassuring either. Mieren sighed loudly and turned to Ryo.
Then will you at least agree to listen to Halo and do what he says if he makes some sort of suggestion on the battlefield?
Ryo nodded slowly, glancing at Sage, who looked as though he wanted to scream or rip his hair out, possibly both.
"Anything else?" Ryo growled.
No, but we must train.
* * *
Sage leveled his no-dachi as Mieren drew her scimitars, swearing softly to himself. She wasn't using practice weapons. None of them were. Mieren had made it clear that she wanted them to practice exactly as they would fight on the battlefield and didn't want them getting used to weapons that were even minimally different from those that they would be using.
A flash of energy distracted him momentarily. Cye and Rowen were pounding on each other viciously with both their armors and magical abilities, huge craters appearing in the streets around them. Sage sighed again. Mieren had insisted on training in the city, pointing out that if they fought near Mia's house, there wouldn't be a house left.
Ryo and Kento darted past him, katanas clanging loudly against a tetsubo. Ryo had already shifted into a wolf and occasionally took to the air, slashing at Kento mercilessly and receiving equally ruthless blows himself. Occasionally in the battles with one another, one of the guys would get seriously hurt and practice had to be stalled so that either Sage or Mieren could heal them.
Sage snapped his attention back to Mieren instantly, wondering if he should shapeshift now to save himself the agony of a few slashes and bruises. No one had managed to hit Mieren yet, despite their superior strengths and magical abilities. He made a face, wondering in dread what Talpa would be like to fight if he began with tactics like this. And he was stronger than Mieren too, probably faster. Sage swallowed nervously as he looked at his opponent, barely managing to turn aside her first slash with her shimmering scimitars.
Without bothering to slowly work up speed, Mieren launched herself at him, slashing out a complicated pattern with her scimitars. Sage leapt into the air, shapeshifting as he came down to achieve the speed he so desperately needed in fighting Mieren if he hoped to avoid serious injury. Landing lightly, he raised his no-dachi defensively as his armor finished remolding itself to him. Not waiting for her to attack again, he charged her, the clattering of his hooves and armor echoing through the buildings. Stretching himself as he ran, the world darkened slightly, bringing a knowing grin to his face. Before he had taken his second stride, his eyes flashed golden.
Sage lashed out, his no-dachi cleanly severing Mieren's simple steel scimitars at the hilts. Without missing a beat, she rolled backwards, a new weapon forming out of opal flames to create a weapon he had never seen before. The thing in her hands resembled a quarterstaff with a wicked eighteen-inch blade on each end, one curved slightly and the other perfectly straight. An occasional barb or spike appeared down the length. To stop descending weapons, he thought.
Seeing his hesitation, Mieren charged him, slashing at his legs with the curved blade while bringing the straight one around in the follow through in a disemboweling motion. Sage leapt over the first slash and blocked the second with his no-dachi, kicking her viciously in the ribs with one of his hooves as he did so, having learned in the first match with her that he was never to hesitate in striking her when he had the opportunity. She had made that first lesson quite painful earlier today, breaking seven of his ribs and shattering his jaw in her return blow when he had only tapped her lightly as a warning. The only time any of them were to refrain from striking was is his opponent cried out in unconditional surrender.
Mieren went into a roll backwards, milky flames shooting up around her as she flipped gracefully out of his reach. Sage prepared to strike her again, slamming his front hooves into the ground in a crushing movement that she barely evaded, Mieren rolling in two different directions. Sage blinked, thinking that his eyes were playing tricks on him. He gaped when he saw that there were indeed two Mierens, the girl having split herself into two separate warriors. One Mieren held two scimitars while the other brandished the barbed staff tipped with blades.
The two Mierens circled him, getting on opposite sides and tensing carefully. Swearing loudly, Sage spun to slash at the one holding scimitars with his no-dachi while lashing out with his back hooves at the one sporting a staff. Hitting neither, he struggled to gain more energy, emerald flames shooting around him in the shadows. Leaping forward, he struck the girl holding scimitars firmly with his no-dachi, hitting the other in his spinning follow through.
Both girls rolled away from him, one becoming engulfed in snowy flames for a second time. Suddenly, three Mierens stood regarding him, wicked grins painting every face with equally feral expressions. Unaware that an audience was building to watch him, Sage darted forward, spinning his no-dachi skillfully as he neared the newest Mieren facing him, brandishing her own no-dachi in a double-handed grip.
A furious interchange ensued, sparks flying through the air as no-dachi encased in green flames slammed with horrifying force into a no-dachi trailing white fire. Blades spinning through hands at an impossible speed, Sage half turned to face his second opponent as a blade-tipped staff lashed out at him at the same time as did a no-dachi. Parrying both blows, Sage went into a flurry of movement as he began countering attacks coming from both sides skillfully.
A blaze of white flames flickered a few paces from him as the Mieren holding twin scimitars split again, another two opponents moving towards an appalled Sage. The newer of the two brandished a wicked axe with a vicious half-moon blade and a thick spike on the other side for balance. Struggling to hold his own as things stood, he summoned more energy to him, feeling the sweet fires coursing through his veins in an ecstasy that neared the point of pain, his body shifting slightly to compensate. Probing his new power with his mind, Sage went into a series of wild spins and twists as he began fighting against the four warriors facing him. After holding his own for a few moments, he went on the offensive, cleanly shearing the girl's staff into two pieces before delivering a spinning kick, a difficult maneuver in his current form, that sent her careening into a wall. She did not get up.
Spinning wildly on his back hooves, Sage lashed out at the girl wielding a flame-covered no-dachi with horrifying skill. Slicing through the girl's no-dachi, Sage lashed out with one hoof with all of his strength, smiling slightly as she rolled away from him and lay still on the ground ten paces away.
Building the fires on his no-dachi through his mind, Sage unleashed an emerald fireball on the nearest girl as she swung her axe at him, the green flames dropping her to the pavement as he spun on his last target. Sage jumped forward in an impaling maneuver in an attempt to get the final Mieren off balance, freezing in shock when his blade easily slipped through her scimitars when she couldn't bring them in front to block quickly enough. Time seemed to slow horribly as Sage tried to pull back his blow. Unable to stop his thrust, Mieren was impaled on the thick blade.
Dropping his hold on his no-dachi, Sage staggered back a few steps, the gold flames in his eyes dying out to leave the clear crystal blue. Mieren hadn't moved from the defensive gesture she hadn't been able to throw up in time. Blinking numbly, she looked down at the blade planted in her chest. One by one, the other three girls rose and migrated over to her, one taking each of her arms while the third pulled the no-dachi free. Sage gaped as all four were surrounded by snowy flames that caused eerie shadows to flicker on the edges of the street, the injuries on the four girls healing slowly an instant before they vanished in a flash of light that left a single girl facing him.
"How in the hell did you do that, Sage?" Ryo breathed, training forgotten for the moment as he stared at his friend in shock. Mieren had tried the same stunt with him earlier in the day, but had driven him into the pavement when there were only two of them. Sage grinned ruefully as he popped off his helmet, taking a moment to get rid of all of the wolf-like features that had appeared in his second shapeshifting frenzy. After a moment, he shrugged and shifted completely back to a human form.
"I have no idea," he admitted, scrubbing one hand through sweat damp hair.
"That was incredible," the new voice nearly caused several of the gathered Ronins to have a shock-induced heart attack on the spot.
Sage stiffened as he recognized Cale's voice. He looked up in horror, blinking and grinning widely when he saw Dais and Sehkmet sitting on one of the nearby roofs beside Cale and Kayura, all of them watching raptly.
Mieren slapped him in the back of the head while he was distracted, glaring at him angrily.
"I'm sorry!" he wailed, moving away from her a few steps.
Idiot! You're still holding back! You can do better than that and you know it.
Sage blanched and moved away. He had barely won and she was telling him to stop messing around. He began to seriously wonder if she had taken a serious blow to the head in the fight somewhere when he hadn't seen.
Mieren sighed and looked up. Grinning, she charged the side of the building and began climbing swiftly, fingers creating their own holds as she sprinted up the stone siding. Reaching the top, she plopped down in the middle of the four Warlords and grinned widely.
Would you like to train as well? Mieren asked sweetly, grin splitting her face.
"Not against you," Dais muttered, Sehkmet nodding agreement. Cale and Kayura paled at the very notion. Mieren grinned in amusement.
Then how would you like to train with Torrent and Rowen? They're more on your level anyway. They're currently practicing a combination of physical fighting and magical attacks.
"That sounds a bit better," Cale murmured, still eyeing her nervously. Grinning at his uncertain expression, Mieren plucked him off of the roof and looked at him merrily as she hefted him over her head.
Hey Rowen! Catch! Mieren called out happily as she tossed the mortified Warlord off of the side of the ten-story building, hooting loudly when he let out a terrified shriek on his way down. You scream like a girl! she taunted as Rowen snagged him deftly out of the air with sapphire cords of raw energy.
Dais made the mistake of snickering. He was immediately picked up kicking and screaming as Mieren threw him over the edge of the roof after his friend. Torrent! Heads up!
Sehkmet struggled to keep a straight face, failing miserably. Not waiting for her to snag him, he launched himself off of the building, laughing hysterically. Kayura paled and moved slightly away from Mieren, thinking seriously about hauling out her Starlight Swords. She was never given the chance as she was picked up gently but swiftly and set across the girl's shoulders. An ear-piercing shriek rang through the air as Mieren jumped off of the roof with the mortified woman across her shoulders. Landing lightly, she deposited the trembling woman on the ground, grinning at her pale face before clapping her companionably on the shoulder and walking back over towards Sage.
"You call this being nice?" Kayura raged at Sehkmet, who was trying his best not to laugh himself sick.
"That was nice. You aren't hurt, are you?" Sehkmet snickered, earning himself another glare.
"Hell, she's even been nice when fighting us, I'd be willing to bet," Dais murmured, earning himself three incredulous looks. "You remember what I told you on the way here, right? With as old and as strong as she is, she could have done much worse things to us in battle than she did and you know it."
Cale and Kayura both paled, looking fearfully at the slender black-clad girl as she began another series of attacks that Sage repelled with surprising ease, his eyes burning golden in the shadows.
Dais grinned at their expressions and tried to put them at ease. "Her practical jokes are kind of fun though. You should see what she did to Cye and Rowen."
"You say anything and I'll kill the whole lot of you," Cye snarled.
Dais made an innocent face and threw his hands into the air. A smile twisting the corners of his mouth, he turned to the other three former Warlords. "She turned Cye into an infant and passed him off as Rowen's kid!" he whispered loud enough to be heard clearly three streets away. Cye turned purple.
"You're dead!"
"Why would that work?" Cale called out, utterly baffled.
"Rowen and the girl are lovers!" Dais yelped out as a flash of energy narrowly missed frying him.
"What did he do?" Sehkmet choked out around his laughter.
Dais laughed wildly and darted just out of the boy's reach, choking on the next words out of his mouth. "Rowen fainted when he first heard about it!" he cried out joyously, Rowen flushing a deep red before joining Cye in chasing down the older man. Oblivious to the danger he was in, he continued. "The girl even tried to breast-feed the baby Cye! Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh! That wasn't nice, Cye!" he wailed as he tried to avoid the next flash of energy.
"Tell me you're kidding," Sehkmet gasped out, tears streaming from his eyes.
"I'm not! As revenge, those two talked Mieren into punishing the others and turning them into babies in their demonic forms. When they turned back, a pretty woman was holding a naked Ryo!" Dais shrieked as Ryo stopped chasing Kento around the streets and tried to tackle him.
"That would explain why Sage was sitting on top of you in the nude when I got there," Sehkmet crowed before Dais turned his retreat from the others into a charge, oblivious to the fact that Sage had joined him in hunting the offending former Warlord.
You should have seen Dais shriek like a girl to avoid his punishment! Mieren chimed in, earning herself a mortified glare from Dais and a round of howling laughter from his friends.
Kento, Kayura, and Cale were currently the only ones not pounding on someone or being pounded on. Kento walked over to join the other two slowly, rolling his eyes as he drew nearer.
"How often does this happen?" Cale said somewhat incredulously.
"Every few minutes," he mumbled, rolling his eyes again when a tangled group containing Dais, Cye, Rowen, and Ryo rolled by them. Sage was currently smearing Sehkmet across the pavement, who was too busy laughing to even breathe right, let alone avoid the blows landing on him.
"Umm, where is the girl?" Kayura asked slowly, looking around fearfully.
"Mieren?" Kento said slowly, eyes narrowing when he didn't see her right off. Shifting his eyes to golden, he began looking around for heat signatures that would give away the girl's hiding place, trying to avoid squinting in the burning light. He growled softly when he wasn't able to locate her.
"Uh, what the hell happened to your eyes?" Cale inquired carefully, flinching at Kento's answering grin, which was far too feral for his liking.
"This," he murmured, shifting his form suddenly while trying not to grin when his armor swirled around him in a molten whirlwind. He looked up at Kayura's squeak and Cale's gasp, grinning widely and knowing that his armor had reformed to him and was now covered in ridges and wicked spikes. Standing slowly, he popped off his helmet, careful of the spikes and horns as he tucked it under his arm. Cale just stood there, jaw working silently as he stared in shock. Kayura fainted.
Kento was abruptly tackled from behind, both he and his attacker spilling onto the concrete. They both immediately rolled to their feet.
Never look for an opponent unless you are ready for them, Mieren chided.
Kento made a face and called his tetsubo to his hands, grateful that his fingers had regenerated with his eye when he had merged with Turriv, the returned digits making it far easier to use his weapon. Spinning nimbly, he charged her, once again thankful that his healed eye gave him the depth perception he so desperately needed when fighting someone as skilled as Mieren.
Mieren backed away from him and held up one hand, motioning for him to wait. Listen up, guys. She paused, blinking. Hey! Would you stop trying to kill each other already? You need to train!
Dais and Sehkmet were the first to scramble to their feet and join the imperious girl, grinning foolishly at one another. The four Ronins fell in behind them slowly. Kento made a face, wondering briefly what she was up to.
In this little exercise, I want all nine of you to work together. Your task is to thrash me until I surrender or stop moving. Hell, I'll be impressed if you even manage to hit me, she said, grinning at the nine incredulous faces regarding her.
"I can beat you without any help," Sage said slowly, eyes narrowing. "What makes you think that you can fight all nine of us?"
Ooh. Big man. You just try it.
Sage shrugged and charged her, shifting into a centaur before having finished his first stride. He was aware of the Warlords gasping. Swinging his no-dachi with all of his strength, he gasped when she casually threw up a bare arm to block it, eyes blanking to snowy orbs. His sword stopped in its arc when it bounced off of her arm, not leaving so much as a scratch. Blanching, he stepped back.
"How did you do that?!" he wailed, eyeing her nervously.
I'm old and ornery. I can do whatever I want.
"That's not an answer," he complained darkly, making a face at her.
Tough. Resume training.
"Didn't you say that you were weaker than us?" Ryo asked cautiously. Mieren blinked slowly, the color returning to her eyes.
I am. Or I thought I was, anyway. I can solve this little dilemma quick enough, but I need Rowen, Torrent and Halo to help me.
Without question, the three listed Ronins fell in behind her, placing their hands on her shoulders and sending their energy to her. Mieren sighed and closed her eyes, opal flames shooting into the sky. Pulling away from the boys, she lowered herself to the ground, tracing an intricate pattern on the ground with one of her fingers. White flames followed the trail she drew out with tedious motions, shooting into the sky as she threw her hands into the air and began chanting.
"What is she doing?" Cale asked in shock as the flames from the pattern on the ground shot several stories into the air.
"I have no idea," Rowen murmured.
"You aren't very good with magic, anyway," Cye hissed, eyes glazing as he tried to follow the patterns in the flames with his mind. "She's summoning something here," he murmured absently, swaying slightly on his feet. Kento reached out to steady him.
The blinding flames cleared suddenly, revealing a lithe figure kneeling within the intricate glowing pattern remaining on the ground, head hanging limply. Long pointed ears rose out of long, bushy, reddish auburn hair that fell nearly to his waist. He appeared to be small enough that he would be no more than five feet tall at most if he stood to his full height. The guys stared blankly as Mieren began speaking to the slender man in her own tongue, the strangely rolling language echoing softly in the still air.
"Do you know why I've called you here?"
"Damn you, warrior of the Midnight Shadows. Why can't you leave us in peace? Must you hunt us even in our graves?"
"You misunderstand. I wish only to speak to you."
"I want nothing to do with you, Destroyer."
"Listen, you old coot. The Starlight warrior is wreaking havoc in our dimension and this one, and I must know how to stop him before he destroys both."
The tiny man looked up, all of the Ronins staring numbly as the reddish auburn hair fell away from the delicate face and pointed ears. Cye dropped heavily to the ground as he looked at almost a mirror image of himself, eyes widening.
"Well, Destroyer, why don't you just smash him into oblivion? You seem to be rather good at it."
Mieren sighed, reaching out with one hand to pull Cye over to her side. "Do you recognize this face, Mouri?" The elf gasped, looking as though he would give anything to break free of the archaic scrawling on the ground to thrash the girl regarding him.
"You sink to threatening my descendant?" he hissed, eyes blazing.
"I threaten no one, elf. He is fighting by my side in this battle, as are the descendants of Sanada, Hashiba, Fung, and Date. Ironic, is it not? The descendants of the Starlight Clan fighting with the warrior of the Midnight Shadows against the warrior that was to be the Starlight Clan's savior."
Cye blinked at the conversation raging in front of him, almost thinking that he should be able to understand everything they said rather than just the majority of it, only missing few words here and there. He cleared his throat softly, looking up.
"Would you help us?" he murmured, nearly giving Mieren a seizure when he spoke in her native tongue. He was aware of several sets of incredulous eyes on his back, but ignored them completely.
The stunned elf blinked turquoise eyes at him numbly before nodding slowly. "Interesting. You didn't teach him our language did you?" He paused just long enough for Mieren to shake her head. "Our blood runs strongly through our descendants, it would appear. Very well. What do you want, Mieren?"
"I want to know why my powers appear to be taking a nap. I'm weaker than most of the lesser demons, and I'm not sure why."
"Seize your energy and I will tell you if I know."
Snowy flames rose around Mieren slowly, seeming almost reluctant to answer her demands for energy. Mouri's turquoise eyes shot open, his jaw hanging limply.
"How in the hell did you do that, girl? Why are you able to use the lighter magics? You were created from the darkest energies available to your clan so that you would be evil incarnate, a creature willing to destroy without question."
"I suppose that three thousand years can change a person. The flames have been holding silver for the last millennium of my life. They only turned white in the last month."
"Show me the last time you used your silver energies."
Mieren sighed and leaned forward to grasp the elf's head gently in the tips of her fingers, white flames licking the palm of her hand. Cye wasn't even touching her, but some of the images drifted to his mind. Mieren in the tunnels, fighting some abomination before returning to where they were camping. Mieren checking them in their sleep that first night out of the Dynasty, tears running down her cheeks.
More of the images began flowing into his mind, painfully sharp. Kento attacking Mieren while she made no move to fight back. Mieren engulfed in silver flames as she finished the words to a spell, golden lightning flashing in the distance. Mieren reaching up to grasp the shaft of Kento's tetsubo, telling him that she would not fight him an instant before impaling herself. Mieren throwing Kento's weapon back to him from where she lay dying on the ground, waiting for Kento to finish fighting before telling all of them that they must stay together if they were to win.
Cye gasped, cradling his head in his hands, eyes closing quickly to banish the vicious burning of the light as his eyes shifted to crimson involuntarily. The pain stopped abruptly as a gentle hand rested on the back of his head, soothing opal energies flowing into him. He looked up blankly, squinting for a moment before remembering to shift his eyes back to their natural sea blue. Both Mieren and Mouri were conversing again, paying no attention to him.
"You have been developing your soul over time, it would appear. Refusing to fight one of your friends was apparently the last straw in deciding whether you were good or evil. The darker energies are now closed to you, it would appear."
"I thought that the lighter energies were just a strong as the darker."
"They are, if you know what you're doing, which you apparently do not."
"What am I doing wrong, Elder?"
"The darker energies are drawn by grabbing them and wrestling with them into whatever you want them to do. Trying the same methods with the lighter energies, like you appear to be doing, does not work. To be honest, I am amazed that you're able to draw any light energy at all trying it that way."
"Then what am I supposed to do?"
"As a demon, you have a direct link to magical energies from within you. As a sorcerer, I draw my powers from external sources only. You draw the same energies ultimately, but you draw them in differently. Demons do not draw the lighter energies, it is that simple. I am not entirely sure what you are supposed to do."
"You must be out of touch with our dimension, then. Many demons draw on the lighter energies, most of them in fact. For the most part, only the demons in the Dynasty draw on the dark powers you speak of."
"Then things truly have changed, I see. Why not ask one of the boys?"
"When it comes to magic, only Rowen and Torrent can manipulate the energies. The rest are utterly hopeless."
"I see. Well, I suppose that the logical way for you to draw energies through your mind is in the same fashion that I draw them externally. Do not grasp for the energies. Instead, open your mind and allow them to flow to you."
Mieren made a face. "That's it?"
"That's the best I can answer. Anything else?"
"Yes. The Starlight warrior created one suit of armor long ago. It was split into those you see here. How do I use them against him?"
"Well, first off, you have to have all nine. You are missing one."
"WHAT?"
"Ask the boys, I'm sure they know who has the last."
"Anubis does," Cye murmured helpfully, nearly causing Mieren to jump out of her skin. She had apparently forgotten that he was there.
"Anubis, huh? What do I do with them then?"
"I'm not familiar with what he did exactly, so I could only guess from here on. I only know that you must find a way to unite the armors to increase their strength to its full potential. If the armor was split, it must once again be made whole to stand a chance against the one who made it. Is there anything else you wish to know?"
"Nothing that I can think of, Elder. Would you like to speak with your many times removed grandson for awhile before you leave?"
Mouri smiled gently at the boy staring at him in fascination. "I would love to, but I cannot stay long out of the spirit plane. I have exceeded the time that is safe for me to remain here. Perhaps some other time?" he asked slowly, eyes hopeful.
"Yes, of course. I think I'll summon the others too. I imagine that they'll want to see their descendants as well when this is over with," Mieren murmured sadly.
Cye reached out gingerly when his ancestor extended his hand to him. The elfin Mouri smiled reassuringly as he took Cye's hand, the turquoise flames rising from each meeting in gentle swirls where their fingers touched.
"A parting gift, child," Mouri murmured as the turquoise flames shot up wildly around both of them, Cye's eyes growing wide. He smiled sadly as he vanished.
Cye fell back, panting heavily. The spells shooting through his head were inconceivable, ranging from the simplest tricks to the most complicated incantations whose effects were beyond his imagination. Gentle hands pulled him to his feet, steadying him when he swayed slightly. Drawing a deep breath, he struggled to force his mind to focus on the words coming from his friends that didn't seem to make any sense at the moment. Snapping his mind back to an understanding of the language that was being thrown at him, he blinked and looked to his friends, grinning weakly.
"I'm okay," he murmured, swaying slightly.
"Good God, Cye. What did he do to you?" Ryo asked softly.
"He showed me every spell he knew, I think. Some of these things are pretty damn neat, you have no idea. Hell, as soon as I untangle this mess enough to figure out how he did it, I'll see if I can do the same for Rowen."
Rowen blinked. "Thanks," he mumbled, "but I don't think that that's what Ryo meant."
Cye stared at him blankly, obviously not understanding.
Mieren looked at him carefully, eyes narrowing thoughtfully. I don't think he meant to do that.
"Do what?"
Cye watched blankly as his friends and the former Warlords turned to each other slowly, arguing softly. He didn't think that he was supposed to be able to hear them.
"He doesn't know," Sage whispered.
"I sure as hell ain't telling him," Kento growled.
"He doesn't like us that much as it is," Kayura mumbled, "and I think that someone he likes should tell him."
"I agree with Kayura," Dais muttered. Sehkmet and Cale nodded in agreement.
"How are we going to break this to him?" Ryo breathed. "You saw how he reacted when he found out that one of his ancestors from over three thousand years ago was an elf."
"I know," Rowen murmured. "He's not going to take this well."
Cye blinked, face paling. He most certainly wasn't supposed to be hearing their conversation. Piecing together Ryo and Rowen's last words, he raised one hand slowly to the side of his head. His mouth went bone dry when his searching fingers encountered long pointed ears sticking up from under his shaggy hair. Blinking at the others where they were still arguing, he noticed for the first time since standing that he had shrunk a couple of inches so that they all towered over him. Banishing his subarmor in a flash of turquoise light, he began studying himself carefully, blinking at his wiry form.
Cye was suddenly aware that the others had stopped arguing to watch him worriedly. He swallowed thickly and began digging through the heavy arsenal of spells that his ancestor had left with him. He felt the blood draining from his face when he realized the situation.
"I can't change back, can I?" he whispered, jaw quivering slightly.
I'd help you out, but I truly have no idea how he did that. He didn't just tinker with your physical form like I do when I'm teasing you guys. What I pull are only minor spells that will wear off after a week if nothing is done to maintain them. The most powerful permanent shifting I can manage at the moment is changing someone's eyes, or something just as minor. I'm sorry, Torrent. I can't do anything.
Clenching his teeth and tightening his hands into fists, Cye looked up to the others, eyes narrowing slightly.
"We need to find Anubis," he said as calmly as he could manage. "Mieren was told that we needed the ninth armor to fight and we don't have it."
"We haven't seen him," Kayura admitted softly under his surprisingly hard gaze.
Cye snorted, closing his eyes. "We'll just see where that idiot has been hiding all of this time." Turquoise flames danced about him obediently, causing his clothes to whip around him wildly as he began chanting in another language.
"He's taking this better than I thought he would," Ryo murmured.
"No kidding," Sage muttered dryly.
A flash of light was all the warning they had. The four former Warlords and four watching Ronins jumped in surprise. Mieren merely made a face and glared at Cye.
There are easier and nicer ways of calling someone here, you know, Mieren muttered as she glanced at the baffled man in white robes standing in the middle of the street in utter confusion. Mieren's eyes lit up. You didn't tell me he was a guardian from the Clan of the Ancients. Not born a guardian like the girl, but acting as one at least.
"What was that?" Kayura squeaked.
You didn't know? You're a guardian from my dimension. The guardians protect the planet and dimension. When some of the Starlight sorcerers escaped to this dimension, the Clan of the Ancients followed to keep an eye on them. You are from that clan. The energy signature about you is unmistakable. Why do you think that I never killed you in battle? I had the opportunity many times, but I didn't want you dead knowing who and what you are.
"What the hell…" Anubis trailed off, glancing around wildly. Seeing the Warlords, he tensed, raising his staff into a defensive position.
"Calm down, you idiot," Dais smirked. "We're on your side."
Anubis blinked and looked directly at Mieren. "What about the demon?"
It would appear that they trained you a bit. I like to hide my energy signature so that I cannot be spotted easily. I am impressed. Don't worry, I'm on your side too.
Anubis made a face and turned to walk over to the Ronins, choking on his greeting when he got a good look at Cye.
"What in the hell happened to you?" he squawked.
"Nice to see you too," Cye muttered, folding his slender arms across his chest.
"Sorry. Your appearance is just kind of a surprise," he mumbled contritely.
Hey, Ronins! Why don't you give him a real surprise? Mieren called happily.
Ryo grinned evilly. "This'll teach you to avoid us for months on end. Hey guys, ditch the armor first!"
Anubis blinked numbly when each of the Ronins and Warlords banished their armor, wondering briefly what they were planning. He choked on a curse when all four of the former Warlords as well as Cye and Rowen were suddenly engulfed in flames, raw energy shooting around the city wildly as they drew as much power as they could handle safely. Cye and Rowen allowed their eyes to swirl into a burning crimson to intensify the effect. Anubis paled, looking to the three Ronins that hadn't done anything yet.
Ryo started the group going with a wild grin, shifting abruptly into a black wolf and unfurling his wings, chuckling softly at Anubis's dumbfounded expression. Kento was the next to follow suit, posing good-naturedly in his cougar form while Anubis halfway managed to spit out a curse. Sage was the last of the Ronins to show off, shifting into a centaur and trotting around for a moment before going through with the other half of his transformation, calling upon all of his wolf-like features, golden eyes blazing. Mieren followed his performance, turning into a small black dragon slowly enough for Anubis to see her transformation clearly, snowy flames enveloping her wiry form.
Anubis looked at the ten warriors numbly for a moment before fainting.
* * *
Anubis blinked at the ground shifting below him, eyes narrowing in confusion for a moment before he realized that he was being carried. He cleared his throat loudly, grumbling slightly when he didn't get a response.
"I'm awake. You can put me down now."
Ah, so the pansy rises.
Anubis blinked when he realized that it was the demon who was carrying him, squirming uncomfortably when she glanced over at him before dropping him roughly to the ground.
"Welcome back to the world of the living," Dais snickered.
"I can't see you doing any better in similar circumstances," he muttered.
"Don't worry, he didn't," Cale supplied happily. "He nearly had a seizure the first time that Ryo pulled his little trick."
Grinning slightly, Anubis began again. "Would you mind telling me what's going on, or must I keep guessing?"
How much do you know of my home dimension? Mieren asked curiously.
Blinking at the sudden question, he began slowly. "I haven't been there more than a few times. Last I saw, they were organizing a party of demons and sorcerers to go hunting for something that they called the Destroyers," he trailed off when Mieren winced and glared at the ground murderously. He continued uncertainly. "I can't remember their names, but apparently they nearly destroyed the dimension about three thousand years ago."
They are demons that nearly destroyed the dimension in a war between the sorcerers over three thousand years ago, to be exact. Their names are Mieren, warrior of the Clan of the Midnight Shadows, and Talpa, warrior of the Starlight Clan.
"Talpa's one of them?!" Anubis choked out, eyes bulging.
Yea, and I'm the other.
Anubis looked as though he were about to faint again when Mieren looked over at him sadly, eyes regarding him in a mixture of pain and curiosity.
"It's not too often that we meet someone that makes us look young, now is it?" Dais said merrily, clapping the pale man on the shoulder.
If you faint, I'm afraid I can't explain to you what's going on.
Anubis steadied himself forcefully, swallowing thickly as he turned to regard the three thousand-year-old demon regarding him thoughtfully. "I'm fine," he mumbled.
Mieren grinned at him as she, Dais, and Anubis began to follow the others, who had not stopped to wait for them. Beginning with the war of the sorcerers, she explained everything to the men walking beside her as they headed back to Mia's house, pausing occasionally when the newest member of the group asked a question or tried to faint.
* * *
As the group neared Mia's house, Mieren had nearly finished with her very long explanation.
The original Mouri was unlocking all of Torrent's innate abilities and skills, and filling his mind with knowledge of the many spells that he had learned over the centuries. To strengthen Torrent's mind and abilities, I believe that he tried to awaken the boy's elfin ancestry and accidentally surfaced it a bit more than he intended. He seemed slightly shocked to me right before he vanished. Torrent, knowing that we needed your help, summoned you here with one of the new spells he had learned, Mieren finished as she walked towards the front door that the Ronins had just flung open.
Clapping Anubis on the shoulder, she left him standing numbly in the yard, more than halfway hanging on Dais, as she trotted inside to speak to Mia. Heading straight to the kitchen, she grinned at the mountains of food piling the counters and stove.
I see that you heard my message to prepare enough food for an army of Kentos, Mieren grinned.
Cye wandered into the kitchen, eyebrows shooting towards his hairline. "And here I thought that you might need some help preparing dinner for everyone on such short notice," he murmured.
Without looking at the startled boy, Mia chuckled. "Nah. Mieren told be to get ready to feed an army. Said something about bringing back ten men with healthy appetites, so I got busy a few hours ago."
As Mia started to turn around, a message slammed into her mind suddenly, obviously aimed for her ears alone. Don't mention his appearance, Mia. He's still a bit touchy about it I believe.
I can hear you, you know, Cye retorted irately.
What?! That message was sent to Mia alone. How did you hear it?
I've gotten infinitely better with stuff like this recently, he growled, eyes flashing.
Turning numbly, Mia took in Cye's appearance with wide eyes, jaw working silently for a moment. Thinking frantically, she moved forward, a smile twitching the corners of her mouth upward.
"Cye!" she grinned, moving forward. "You're were already cute. You didn't need any help!"
Cye blinked dumbly at the compliment, jaw hanging slack for a moment before his cheeks flared, sending him darting out of the room.
That worked rather well.
Mia grinned at her slyly. "Well, he always was on the shy side."
Kento darted past them, heading unerringly towards the platters of food set out on the counters. Eyebrows raising, Mieren promptly tripped him on the way by, plopping down on his prostrate form.
You are not eating before the rest of us.
Mia snickered. "I rather like the way you guard the kitchen."
"But I'm hungry!" Kento wailed.
"Well, some things never change," Anubis muttered as he wandered into the kitchen, grinning at the sight of Kento sprawled across the floor. Glancing at the food piled heavily in the kitchen, he smiled slightly. "Need some help?"
"No thanks. I think I've got it," Mia murmured.
Shrugging at the refusal, he helped her set the table anyway while Mieren kept Kento firmly pinned to the floor, ignoring his loud protests. When the table was set and everyone had secured a plate of food, Mieren hopped up, letting the furious boy to his feet. He only glared at her for a second before charging into the dining room.
When dinner was halfway over, conversation began hesitantly.
"Would you guys care to inform me of what the hell is going on? I didn't much appreciate those four appearing out of thin air in the living room looking for you guys a few hours ago," Mia muttered, gesturing absently at the four former Warlords.
Dais smiled slowly. "My apologies, Mia. I had no intention of frightening you. If you would like, I can make it up to you later tonight." Ryo choked on his drink, glaring angrily at the older man.
Mia opened her mouth to snap at the man who was still looking at her hungrily, only to be cut off by Kento's startled roar.
"Give that back!"
Mia turned, half expecting to see Mieren with Kento's plate of food. She choked back a grin when she saw that Sehkmet had confiscated one of the bowls of food and was jealously guarding it from the furious boy.
"Bite me! I got to it first! It's mine!"
"The hell it is! Give me the damn pudding!"
"Hell no!"
Mieren stared at the two fighting over the bowl of the creamy dessert. Cheek twitching, she decided to end the madness. Plucking the bowl out of the furious Warlord's hands, she plopped down happily in her seat and proceeded to polish off the little pudding that remained before those two went for each other's throats.
"Hey that was mine!" Sehkmet cried out pitifully.
"The hell it was! You stole it from me!"
Cale watched the madness for a minute before shaking his head slowly and starting for the kitchen.
"Where are you going?" Rowen mumbled around a mouthful of food.
"To make some more pudding so those two idiots don't kill each other," he grumbled as he eyed the two offending persons.
Kayura choked slightly, tears streaming down her face. Drinking deeply from the fruit punch that Mia had prepared, she stared after Cale, a highly amused expression on her face.
"I wouldn't touch anything that he cooks," she muttered.
"Why not?" Ryo asked suspiciously.
"Let me put it this way," she chuckled, "there are just some people who should not be in a kitchen for any reason."
Rowen sighed. "I'll pry him out of there," he grumbled, rising slowly and disappearing into the kitchen.
The two walked out of the kitchen a moment later, Cale grinning happily with a bowl in his hands. Kayura eyed it askance.
"I warn you, don't touch it," she hissed softly.
Cale made a face. "I heard that."
Rowen blinked slowly. "It's okay. He didn't make it. It was already made when we got there."
Kento and Sehkmet grinned, yanking the bowl out of Cale's hands and battling over it fiercely. Kento grabbed a spoon and tried to dig into the white cream in the bowl while they grappled, Sehkmet following suit. Kento was the first to shovel a bite into his mouth, Sehkmet getting in one of his own an instant later. Both froze immediately, expressions of pure, unadulterated horror flashing across their faces.
Mia cleared her throat. "Like I was saying when you two started fighting," she growled. "I didn't make that."
Kento jumped up and ran into the kitchen. He returned after a moment, smacking Rowen on the back of his head with a resounding crack, Cale getting his own slap immediately afterwards.
"Can't either of you two idiots read?!" he yelled, face purpling.
"What did I do?" Cale whined, rubbing his head.
"You dumped a jar of mayonnaise into a bowl!" he screamed, smacking him again, more forcefully this time.
Rowen covered his head defensively. "He already had it in the bowl when I got in there! How was I supposed to know?" he wailed.
Sehkmet was still staring numbly at the bowl in his hands, cheek twitching. One eye developing a disgusted tick, he yanked the spoon out of his mouth and glared at Cale angrily. Kento caught the look in his eye and pinned a surprised Cale to the floor, snagging a spare spoon off of the table. Sehkmet brought the bowl of mayonnaise over, and together, the two began to force-feed the illiterate man. Cale's face greened before they managed to push a third bite on him.
Mia groaned and dropped her head to the table, Dais, Kayura and Anubis following her example. Cye and Sage settled on rolling their eyes while Ryo, Rowen and Mieren laughed hysterically at the small war being waged on the floor.
"Would you like me to stop this?" Cye murmured softly, grinning when Mia nodded vigorously.
A few turquoise flamed surrounded him for a moment as he concentrated. A hole appeared in the floor below the three combatants, who yelped loudly as the fell into the abyss. Everyone stared blankly at where they had been for a moment before another hole appeared in the ceiling, the three dueling idiots falling out to land in a tangled heap on the floor, groans rising weakly from the mass of arms and legs.
Cye nodded contentedly and went back to his meal, grinning at the incredulous stared leveled in his direction. Mieren's eyebrows shot to her hairline, her lips pursing thoughtfully. Rowen blanched.
"I have a feeling that I know how she's going to wake me up tomorrow," he murmured fearfully, snickers rising around the table from the knowing Ronins. The Warlords only looked at him blankly, Dais's eye narrowing.
"Is that how we're supposed to wake you up?" he asked incredulously.
Kayura looked at him suspiciously. "And what do you know of this?"
"Rowen's impossible to get up," he mumbled, not looking up from his plate.
Sehkmet glanced up from the floor, eyes shining. "I know that expression! What happened?" he called out curiously, suppressing a chuckle.
"Rowen threw him out of the second story window," Ryo snickered.
"It wasn't funny!" Dais snapped at the giggling that shot around the table.
"Mia, shall we evict ourselves from this insanity to the safety of your room?" Dais murmured softly, his tone distinctly inviting. Mia scowled darkly at him as Ryo rose to pulverize the former Warlord. Anubis groaned.
"Oh God," Kayura cried, burying her head in her arms.
Ryo decked Dais, and promptly sat down protectively beside Mia, expression murderous. Not discouraged yet, Dais turned to another woman in the room.
"Mieren," he smiled sweetly, "would you like to see what five hundred years of experience can do for a man?" Rowen turned purple and began trembling in a righteous fury. Mieren calmly rose from her seat and climbed into Rowen's lap, wrapping her arms around him possessively, grinning as he returned the gesture.
Thanks to me, I think that Rowen has a bit more experience in that department than you do, even with all your five hundred years. Smiling seductively, she looked at Rowen with amused eyes. She arched one eyebrow slowly.
"You're right, Mieren. He does look kind of like a virgin," Rowen murmured, blushing slightly.
Dais blanched and choked loudly, clutching his chest as though wounded.
Kayura groaned loudly. "Here it comes," she muttered.
"Kayura!" he wailed, unable to get any further when she slugged him fiercely before reclaiming her seat at the table.
"Anyone want anything while I'm up?" Cale asked, ignoring the battle and heading for the kitchen.
Several looks of horror flashed at him from across the table, heads shaking fiercely in refusal.
He hadn't been in the kitchen for more than a few seconds before he returned with a loaf of bread, sliding into his chair comfortably. Pulling out two slices of bread, he began piling various foods onto one slice of the wheat bread, unmentionable things sliding off onto the plate. Having rounded the table twice, he covered the bread with turkey, salami, beef, potatoes, three types of gravy, a variety of condiments and a fistful of pepper. He disappeared into the kitchen with his second slice of bread, returning with the bread in one hand and a jar of honey in the other. Kayura paled when she saw that the bread in his hand was covered in a half inch of peanut butter. Pouring half of the honey in the jar over the monstrosity of a sandwich occupying his plate, he slapped the peanut butter covered slice of bread on top of the terrifying heap. Everyone at the table took on a greenish tinge when he lifted the unmentionable combination carefully and took a large bite.
"Oh, gross," Cye gagged out, looking decidedly ill. He decided immediately that the older man didn't have any living taste buds.
"Does a lack of taste buds and horrifying cooking abilities come with blue hair?" Sage wondered aloud, making a point of not looking at Cale.
"Are you insinuating that someone else cooks like that?" Anubis gasped in horror.
"Yea, Rowen does," Ryo muttered, pushing his plate away from him resolutely, his appetite dead for the night.
"I'm not nearly that bad!" Rowen wailed, face taking on a greenish cast when he glanced over at the former Warlord.
"Who was it that thought that they could heat a can of soup in the microwave?"
"It said microwave for three to four minutes on the can!"
"You blew up the microwave! The very first day we had the new one, you put an egg in there!" Ryo teased loudly, snickers rising quickly around the room.
"What happens when you put an egg in a microwave?" Kayura murmured, vaguely aware of what a microwave was, unlike the other Warlords, who appeared beyond baffled.
"It explodes," Cye mumbled, wincing as he remembered the mess.
Grinning viciously, Sage joined in the torment. "Who was it that managed to burn a batch of jello?" Rowen glared at him angrily.
"That was only twice!"
"Hell, he threw water on the stove to put out the pilot light," Kento snickered.
"It was on fire!"
"The last time he made cookies, he just threw the eggs into the mix, not bothering to remove them from the shells," Cye murmured softly.
"They were just a little crunchy!"
"And he thought that he could substitute yogurt into one recipe when we ran out of milk," Ryo added slyly.
"It's just milk that's aged a little!" Rowen cried out in defense.
Kento was about to continue with the torment when Mieren snagged his plate of food. He cried out in frustration and lunged to reclaim his plate, swearing loudly. So far, only he and Sehkmet were still eating after Cale's terrifying display, and despite all of the abandoned plates, she chose to take one of the two in use. Sehkmet roared with laughter, squawking when his food vanished as well to the only person in the room that could out-eat both him and Kento.
Grinning, Rowen snapped up a rough shield around the two of them, wrapping his arms contentedly around the girl curled up happily in his lap and laughing at Kento's furious antics. Mieren grinned at him as she finished his dinner off less than a foot in front of him, tossing his plate back to him. After a moment, she returned Sehkmet's plate too, snickering at his mortified expression.
Rowen leaned forward and whispered something to her, her lips curling upwards in an amused grin. Sage purposely misinterpreted her expression.
"Planning some fun for later?" he called slyly.
"For now, actually," Rowen murmured, flushing slightly.
"Please continue. We'd enjoy a show with dinner," Dais snickered, elbowing the blushing Ronin.
Are you enjoying your dinner, Hardrock?
Kento eyed his new plate of food fearfully, edging further away from Mieren deliberately. She only grinned and raised one hand, flames licking her fingers reluctantly for a moment as she concentrated. Shooting him with a single blast of energy, she leaned back into Rowen's arms and grinned maliciously.
All attention turned to Kento immediately, making him squirm uncomfortably. Quickly checking to make sure she didn't repeat one of her previous stunts, he sighed in relief when he couldn't see anything wrong with himself.
"She didn't do anything," he smirked happily, grabbing his fork to resume eating. The sturdy silverware crumpled in his hand, metal being forcefully squished out of the sides of his fist. Blinking in confusion, he set down the offending implement of destruction and grabbed for another with the same results.
Mia scowled at Mieren darkly. "What did you do to my silverware?"
I didn't do anything to the silverware. It's fine. Check for yourself.
Inspecting her own fork carefully, she decided that there was nothing wrong with the thing and handed it to Kento. The metal crumpled under his reaching fingers, much to his disgust and irritation.
"I have had enough of this," he growled. "What did you do?"
Nothing much, Mieren grinned.
Growling, Kento carefully lifted a fourth fork delicately in his fingers, determined to eat at all costs. Smiling determinedly, he speared some of the food on his plate, blinking numbly when his fork impaled the plate and the table beneath it. Amused snickers arose from around the room, except for Mia, who looked as though she could chew nails.
Mieren grinned wickedly and began chanting softly. Cye blinked, a grin starting to form on the edges of his mouth as she completed the spell. He was chuckling loudly before she had the chance to throw the spell into Ryo, who blinked and began eyeing the silverware warily.
Ryo looked at Mieren in careful contemplation, eyes narrowing when her expression turned to one of innocence. Reaching out slowly for his drink, he froze when he tipped it over, jerking his hand back in surprise. To his incredulous eyes, his entire arm seemed to vanish as he pulled it sharply away, reappearing by his side. Mia growled and moved to crack him in the back of the head with one palm, gasping in shock when he vanished and appeared on the far side of the room. Ryo blinked uncertainly, looking to Mieren for answers. Ronins and Warlords alike gaped.
He stepped forward, intent on shaking her until she either told him what was going on or until she undid whatever she was pulling. Mieren casually jumped out of Rowen's arms and sidestepped him, staying beyond his reach with graceful, sliding movements. Before he could try to pin her again, she began powering up again, shooting one last snowy blast at Sage, who choked on a curse and tried to move out of the way.
Sage froze in his tracks when the spell hit him, obviously afraid to move lest he find out the effects of the spell she had cast on him. Cye chortled loudly.
"Don't worry. You shouldn't have any trouble moving," he snickered.
"How would you know?" Sage grumped, still not budging.
"I know that spell vaguely. It's some sort of memory trick."
Sage looked over to where Kento had stopped trying to eat and had moved to help Ryo pin Mieren to the floor and hold her there until she explained what the hell she thought that she was doing. Kento wasn't able to keep up with the two, falling behind horribly as Ryo and Mieren's movements were blurred by unfathomable speed as they darted around the dining room. A muscle in his cheek twitched slightly.
Swinging around, he caught Kento's arm as he shot past, yelping in horror as his grip and added weight weren't even noticed by the larger boy. Kento ended up dragging him around the kitchen nearly twice before he became aware of the squawks emanating from his friend. Stopping suddenly, he grasped Sage's arms and held him out at arm's length, lifting him easily off of the floor.
"Damn, Sage. You don't weigh anything! What did she do to you?"
"I have no idea, but I know what she did to you and Ryo."
At this announcement, Ryo gave up on pursuing Mieren and suddenly appeared at Sage's side, his eyes demanding an explanation. Sage grinned weakly.
"Remember what she told us about our ancestors?" he murmured, waiting for both Kento and Ryo to nod before pushing on. "She said that Kento's ancestor liked spells of strength, and that Kento was an embodiment of those powers himself if he ever opted to use his powers. I think she unlocked your powers," he muttered to a very startled Kento.
"Then what about me?" Ryo asked suddenly.
"She said that your ancestor was a great fighter. I'd be willing to bet it was partially because he was fast. Am I right, Mieren?" Mieren grinned and nodded happily in his direction. Sage nodded slowly. "That leaves the question of what you did to me. you said something about healing and tactical brilliance in my heritage. I can already heal, and adding onto what Cye said about a memory trick… You unlocked my innate knowledge of fighting tactics, didn't you?"
Very good, Halo. You have a wonderful grasp of the blatantly obvious.
Sage blinked slowly. "Let's get her," he grumbled, snagging Kento and Ryo as they turned to resume the chase. "Kento, you wait by the door to the kitchen, and get her when she goes by. After all, she's too fast for you to openly chase. Ryo, do your best to snag her. And don't kill her before I get a chance to pound her some," he whispered to the two boys beside him before stalking out of the room.
Ryo glanced at Kento and shrugged before they moved to do as Sage suggested. Mieren slipped just beyond Ryo's grasp, giggling merrily as he pushed himself for more speed. Kento stared at the blurs shooting around the room numbly, finally deciding to trip Mieren as she passed. Steadying himself against the door, carefully lest he break the wall, he stuck out one leg as the blurs approached at a horrifying speed.
With an infuriated cry, Ryo landed face-first on the floor, laughter erupting around the table at his reddening face.
"Kento!"
Kento grinned weakly and backed up with his hands raised defensively, looking around frantically. Mieren's startled wail caught their attention, forestalling a potentially deadly situation. The two turned in shock to see Sage firmly holding Mieren in his arms, grinning triumphantly.
"How in the hell did you get her?" Ryo gasped out.
"I knew that you and Kento would eventually end up killing each other trying to catch her, so I left for a moment to keep Mieren from looking for me. When I heard you two start screaming at each other, I slipped in and snagged her while she was busy laughing at you two idiots."
You're doing much better in planning, Halo, Mieren snickered from her precarious position in his arms. But I should have you know that you can't catch a demon like that. With those words, Mieren became translucent and simply walked through the startled boy, moving over to Rowen where he had been hiding from the carnage before dropping her spell and looping one arm around him comfortably.
Sage clicked his tongue at her in disappointment. Blinking in horror, she looked over to the boy she had her arm around, nearly jumping out of her skin when she saw that it was Sage, his spell still fading around him. Laughing loudly, she planted a large kiss on his lips, surprising him into dropping his hold on her long enough for her to escape.
I believe that I'm done tormenting everybody for the moment, Mieren announced with a grin as she dropped the spells in the room and walked over to place one arm possessively around Rowen.
Dissipating the spells completely, Mieren staggered slightly and clutched Rowen weakly for support. Eyes narrowing and then closing in pain, she slumped limply into Rowen's supporting arms, quivering like some broken thing.
Dais stopped his laughing himself sick when Mieren first staggered, walking over to the demonic girl in a mixture of confusion and worry.
"What's wrong with her?"
Cye made a face. "Didn't you guys see it? There was a backlash of energy when she released the spells she had been holding. It was strong enough to have killed any one of us, I believe."
"How were you able to see that?" Rowen murmured, not looking away from the girl draped in his arms. Cye didn't bother to respond, instead reaching up to tweak one of his long pointed ears meaningfully. Rowen grimaced. "Oh yea. That."
Mia wandered over slowly, wading through the cluster of people forming around Rowen and looking at Mieren for a moment before walking over to where Sage had fainted. "Get up, you pansy," she muttered under her breath as she prodded the unconscious boy, struggling to force him awake.
"I've seen her cast spells much more powerful and complicated than that," Kayura said slowly, eyes narrowing. "Why would this happen now?"
"I think that kissing Sage killed her," Dais suggested, earning himself several disgusted glares. "What?"
"I don't think she knows what she's doing yet," Cye murmured absently.
"She's over three thousand! How can she not know what she's doing?" Sehkmet demanded, making a face.
"You should know, you were there," Cye grumbled. "When she refused to fight Kento, she unknowingly closed herself off to the darker magics and now is limited to using the lighter arts. The lighter energies are handled differently and I don't think that she's figured it out yet. My ancestor tried to tell her what she was supposed to do, but it would appear that she either messed up or is unable to handle the energy properly."
Anubis blanched. "You mean that she's not going to be helping us fight against Talpa?" he breathed. Several of the Ronins shook their heads.
"Don't worry about it," Kento said reassuringly. "She said with our nine armors together and our added skills that we were the stronger of the two groups, so there shouldn't be a problem." Anubis glanced at him doubtfully.
Sage stumbled over, still looking decidedly pale and throwing murderous glares in Dais's direction, making an occasional face at Mieren. Leaning over her for a moment, he sighed and straightened. "I can't do anything for this. She's going to have a killer migraine tomorrow, but not much else will happen to her. She just overexerted herself a bit with energy that she didn't understand, if I'm guessing right."
"That's what Cye said," Rowen murmured.
"She's going to have to learn to control her new powers if she intends to fight in the upcoming battles," Sage mused, eyeing Mieren carefully. He walked over and slapped Rowen on the shoulder. "I envy you. She is a great kisser."
Rowen's face flashed to match the color of Ryo's yoroi, creating a few snickers around the room.
Dais's lips twitched as he tried to contain his comment, failing miserably. "If she can kiss good enough to make you pass out, then it's a wonder that Rowen's still alive after some of his midnight activities."
Rowen did something that everyone in the room would have sworn was impossible only moments before. He turned redder. Studying the floor and trying to ignore the hooting in the room, he gathered Mieren up in his arms and moved to leave the snickers behind. The others followed him into the living room as he headed for the stairs.
"Would you like a few suggestions for her to try?" Dais called loudly, causing the younger boy to stumble, his face threatening to ignite his hair.
Moving into a lumbering run, he bolted up the stairs, depositing Mieren on his bed gently before returning to the living room to the hooting laughter of the others.
"Can't you pick on someone else for a change?" he muttered, pushing Cale off of the couch so he could steal the Warlord's seat.
"What'd I do?" he wailed, looking at where he had been sitting on the couch forlornly and pulling a ridiculous face.
"You were born," Rowen snapped.
Cye snickered softly, deciding to try to cheer the older boy up a little. "How would you like my arsenal of spells to defend yourself from these brutes?"
Rowen perked up immediately, grinning happily. "You figured it out?"
Cye nodded and moved forward, snagging his friend's head gently in his slender hands as he began chanting softly. Rowen blinked. He didn't remember the original Mouri saying anything when he did this. He sighed and relaxed, remembering that there were two ways to perform every spell, weaving and speaking.
Rowen began to shift uncomfortably. The spell was taking forever and his head was beginning to burn fiercely. His eyes began to tighten with pain, but he was careful not to do anything that might distract Cye, fearful of the effects of a spell cast improperly.
Sage frowned slightly. "Didn't Mieren say that Mouri awakened Cye's elfin blood to enhance his mental capabilities so that he could handle these spells?"
Everyone froze immediately, looking up to the youngest boy in the room, engulfed in deep turquoise flames.
"You don't think that this will hurt him, do you?" Anubis breathed.
Sage looked at Rowen worriedly. "Look at his eyes! It's already hurting him! I know him, and he doesn't start making faces at something painful until it's about to kill him," Sage hissed, eyes wild. "Something is wrong. This spell didn't hurt Cye."
Rowen whimpered against the pain chewing at the inside of his skull, wondering absently how Cye had withstood this without crying out. He clenched his hands into fists, unaware that his nails were digging into his palms, blood running across his fingers. Tears began to stream unchecked down his cheeks as he began to arch his back slowly from where he sat stiffly.
"Oh God," Ryo whispered, eyes widening as Rowen whimpered again.
"Cye! Stop it, you're hurting him!" Sage yelled at the younger boy. Not receiving a response, he reached out to shake his shoulder, gasping when his hand ran into an invisible wall inches from Cye's trembling form.
Dais jumped to his feet and bolted out of the room, footsteps retreating up the stairs. A door slammed open somewhere upstairs. A few moments later, he charged back down the stairs with Mieren hanging from his arms.
"Come on! Wake up!" he snapped at the limp figure in his arms.
Sage continued to pound on the shield between himself and his best friend, Kento doing his best to break through the thing as well. Ryo and the Warlords began frantically trying to awaken Mieren, calling her name loudly. Mia sprinted into the room and threw a glass of cold water on the unconscious girl, shaking her roughly when her eyelids fluttered weakly, a groan escaping her lips.
Rowen howled in pain, muscles no longer responding well enough for him to pull away from his friend. Whimpering one last time, he went limp on the couch.
Mieren's eyelids jerked open at the sound of Rowen's scream. She struggled out of Dais's arms immediately, eyes darting around the room quickly as she surveyed the situation, immediately picking out Rowen and Cye. Darting over to them, she slammed one fist into the turquoise wall keeping the others away, blue flames parting in response to the white. Stepping through to the two boys, she snagged Cye's head in her hands.
Cye choked and convulsed in her grip, eyes flying open at the raw energy shooting through him. Mieren took up his chant where he left off, words ringing through the house in harshly snapped syllables. The turquoise flames boiling around Rowen slowly shifted to a rolling opal, the shimmering waves of power slowly dissipating until they vanished altogether.
Staggering back unsteadily, she slapped Cye with a resounding crack. Cye only blinked at her numbly for a moment before his eyes rolled back into his head and he passed out. Mieren scowled at him darkly, considering thrashing him in his sleep.
She would have fallen to the floor had Sage not caught her, supporting her trembling form as she glared murderously at Cye.
"Will Rowen be okay?" he asked softly, causing Mieren to twitch sharply.
I don't know, she admitted reluctantly. Cye did something that should not have been done. Elfin minds are stronger than human and can take more abuse. That is how he was able to absorb the information his ancestor gave him. Mouri tried to strengthen the elfin aspect in his mind to make sure that he survived, and accidentally turned him more elf that he intended. Rowen has no similar heritage to fall back on.
"Is there anything we can do?" Sage asked softly.
Mieren looked up from Cye and glanced around the room at the nine worried faces regarding her carefully, praying that she could help the unconscious boy. Sighing, she scrubbed one hand through her hair before sliding to the floor wearily.
We can't do anything yet, because I don't know if anything is wrong with him. I'm hoping that his strong magical heritage and his armor will protect him. There could be no better kanji than that of Life to protect him.
The tense faces around the room and worried thoughts shooting through their heads made Mieren's headache worse and she winced slightly.
"Are you okay?" Sehkmet asked slowly.
Yea, but keep the mental sending down a bit could you? My head hurts.
"Um, how do we do that?" Ryo asked slowly.
Talk softer and concentrate on whispering. That should help some.
"What should we do?" Mia asked slowly.
Get all of us to bed. We should rest, I believe. Oh, and I suppose you shouldn't really blame Torrent for what he did. He knew that he was hurting Rowen but was afraid of what would happen if he stopped casting the spell. If he had stopped, it would have been much worse. He hasn't the experience to stop spells yet.
"And you do? With your new energies and all, I mean," Ryo stammered.
Good point, but I wasn't drawing the energies like I'm supposed to. I pulled them in the way I have all my life, and will be sick as all hell later for that decision.
"Then why didn't you do it the right way?" Sage asked softly.
I needed the power to do what I wanted without fail, and that was the only way to make sure it would.
Sage nodded slowly, eyes stinging slightly. Lifting Mieren carefully in his arms, he started for the stairs, Ryo and Kento following right behind him with Rowen and Cye draped across their shoulders. Anubis watched them go with haunted eyes.
"Mieren can't control her powers…" Cale murmured softly, eyes worried.
Anubis nodded slowly. "If Rowen doesn't pull out of this, we've lost."
To Be Continued…
Almost there. I'm working on it. R&R!