"Love Undying"
By Amanda Swiftgold and She-Ronin

Chapter Three - Milk, Eggs, and Evasive Explanations

It had started out a normal day, but things were beginning to change for the worst. Hanging upside down in the slowly darkening sky, hidden amongst thick black clouds, an outline could be seen. Normally, the busy people in downtown Toyama didn't pay much attention to changes in the sky; Japan was a veritable hotspot of freaky weather. However, that day in the bustling Japanese city, there was not one person outside that did not stop to stare in awe at the shape of…

…A giant rotisserie chicken…

* * * * *

Upon the elegantly carpeted floor of the palace, five extraordinarily handsome men stood in a neat square formation, the man in the center swathed in shadows and unable to be seen. Their fists were placed over their hearts in gestures of unfailing devotion as they stared straight ahead at a huge, elegant throne. Sitting upon it, on a red satin pillow, bright white in the darkness, was a gargantuan egg, power humming beneath its shell. Barely visible in the center of the egg was a dull ember of energy, easy to miss if you didn't know it was there.

"Master Eggsecutioner, I have located two of the bearers of the armors. They have just arrived in Toyama, in the Mortal World," the one swathed in shadows said grimly, kneeling before the throne. His unique voice echoed throughout the large hall, hoarse and raspy. "Please, may I go down and capture them?"

"No," the egg said simply, spinning in a complete circle upon its fluffy pillow.

The shadowed man's head shot up. "But-"

"Patience, my Poultrylord of Salmonella. I, too, know of the girls' arrival. Soon, soon we will make our move." No longer did the mysterious white object turn; instead, it somehow seemed to lean back so that its weight rested delicately against the padded surface of the throne. "That accursed hippie is watching out for them."

There was silence for a moment, as they waited for their master to continue. When nothing happened, they relaxed a little. "Patience," the man closest to the center one said mockingly. His slanted amber eyes could be seen beneath his bright golden curtain of bangs, a perfect complement to the pearly white and glimmering gold subarmor he wore. "You have no patience, fearless leader."

"Oh, please," the shadowed man hissed, opening his mouth to say something. However, all intended words flew away as a spitwad hit him in the back of the head. His hand automatically flew up to feel where it had hit, and if it had stuck in his hair. He whirled around. "All right, which one of you little bastards did that?!" He looked over at the blonde man furiously. "Was it you?!"

"No."

He looked back behind him, and glared at the three other men, one with long orange hair in a tail, another with a snowy white braid, and the final with long dark hair that touched his lower back. The white-haired man was holding something behind him, staring back innocently. It seemed like he was almost about to start whistling a little tune. The other two were snickering.

He started towards the white-haired man, sneering. "Cockerel! How dare you?!"

Raising a snowy-white eyebrow, Cockerel sent the straw behind his back skittering over to a dark corner of the throne room. Not hard to do, as it was properly decked out in shadows to begin with, except for the large chandelier over the throne. Their master hated ambient lighting. "Is there a problem?" he asked, flashing his perfectly aligned teeth.

"You damn well know what the problem is! I'm going to teach you a lesson you'll never forge-"

"POULTRYLORDS! ENOUGH!" The egg began to shake upon its cushion, teetering a bit dangerously.

"He'll scramble himself!" the orange-haired man gasped, no longer finding the situation so amusing. He fell to his knees. "Forgive us, Master Eggsecutioner!"

The others followed suit, echoing with repentant cries of "Forgive us!"

After a moment, the egg stopped shaking. It almost seemed to be heaving with exertion. A small crack had appeared along the surface of its shell; however, the red glow flared up sharply and, with a crackling noise, the damage repaired itself. "Very well," it sighed wearily, "but don't do it again."

"Yes, Master!" It was said in perfect unison; yet, if one were to look closely at the assembled young men, they would note twitching eyelids, sharp facial tics, and general glares at one another that promised revenge.

"Cockerel, Golden Goose, Darkwing, Chickenthief - go forth to the Mortal World and search for the other new bearers… and you," the egg known as Eggsecutioner suddenly said to the shadowed man, "go forth and spy upon the other two. Serve me well, my Poultrylord."

"Yes, my Emperor!"

Once again, there was that flawless blending of their voices as each of them saluted in turn and stepped back into the shadows, fading from the throne room like phantoms.

Left alone to its thoughts - not to mention the beautiful silence - Eggsecutioner chuckled and summoned the large viewing screen to appear before it. It was archaic, really, but there was something about the antiquity of the device that appealed. It was funny, the thought that Talpa had been able to do something right during his three resurrections in the mortal world.

And now, to watch and wait, it thought to itself. The egglord let out a deep, masculine chuckle that reverberated throughout the room. "Soon," he told the viewing screen, as if expecting it to respond, "Pinecone, you will no longer be able to protect your precious armor wearers! Then I shall have my revenge and rule the world!"

* * * * *

"You're… you're…" Sharra looked from one man, then to the other, and at last, back again. A split second later, her eyes rolled back in her head, and she hit the plush carpeted floor with a loud thud. Her heels went flying up in the air comically before slamming back down.

Swiftgold cried out and knelt by her sister, fanning her with her hands. "Sharrcanine!" she said, hoping the annoying nickname would make her say something. It always had before, and though Swiftgold knew she'd pay dearly for the old Pokémon jokes later on, if Sharra awakened, it would be worth it. "Wake up! SHARRA!"

"Emily!" the blonde man cried, rushing over to them both and falling to his knees on the plush carpeting.

The blue-haired man just stared at them in shock, seemingly uncertain of just what it was he should be doing. He ran his hand through his unruly hair, the texture disturbingly similar to that of Swiftgold's. "Oh… I was afraid that would happen," he sighed.

At the same time, four men and one perturbed woman came crashing through the doorway. "What the hell is going on?" Kento shouted, taking in the scene on the floor of the study. "It's too late for April Fool's now, anyway!"

Ryo shook his head emphatically, tears suddenly sparkling on his lashes. "Is this some kind of joke? It's not very funny!"

"What did you do to her?" his wife questioned them, wide-eyed. She'd reflexively wandered over to stand next to Ryo, having placed a comforting hand upon his shoulder. "I thought you just dropped by to talk to Ryo when he got home!"

"Cale…" Sekhmet mumbled, staring at his comrade. "With Sage? You used to hate him! Please tell me it's some kind of stupid prank."

Sage sighed and looked down, holding a hand to his chest. Now his own eyes glimmered with unshed tears. "It… it's true, guys. Cale and I… we had an affair. We're their fathers."

Cale hesitantly put a hand on his shoulder before pulling it away. The longing in the air was tangible, the others in the room suddenly feeling embarrassed and out of place at the hunger that radiated from them. Why had they never noticed it before?

"But… but…" Cye stammered. "With Sage?"

"I said that already!" Sekhmet snapped, tearing his gaze away from Cale. The faulty logic was mind-boggling to the former Warlord of Venom, and the fact that neither of them seemed to feel like explaining made it even worse! "Seriously, you two, I have to ask you something. It's pretty apparent that you're both… men, in case you haven't noticed. Men cannot conceive a child together! How on Earth-"

"Look!" Cale cried sharply, pointing at one of the many windows in the mansion. "Do you see that?"

Everyone, minus Swiftgold, reflexively looked over in the direction he was gesturing. There was a scrawny bird flapping around on the windowsill. It tilted its head at them and then flew away. When they'd turned around again, he'd already scooped up Sharra and left the room.

Swiftgold stared blankly up at everyone else, who were all doing their fair share of blankly staring. "It… has to be true, doesn't it?" she said slowly. "I mean, this all started because of the pendants, didn't it?" She lifted hers up, looking at the jade lightning bolt that dangled from the chain.

Sage nodded from where he was kneeling next to her. "Yes, that's mine," he admitted.

Both Cye and Kento took a look at it, and their faces paled a little as they realized they could not deny it. "It could have been duplicated," Kento argued weakly. "It's amazing what counterfeiters can do nowadays."

"Counterfeiters make money, Kento."

"They can make other things, too! It's… you know, like a forgery."

Mia shook her head, putting her hands on her hips. "Now, why would anyone want to do a thing like that? And what would the point be? They obviously aren't denying it, are they?" she lectured before angling a smile at Sage, who returned it a little. "Come on," she prodded, "this is hardly the welcome Swiftgold or her sister need right now after the shock of… of finding their parents."

Swiftgold looked up at the woman through threatening tears and tried to smile. "Where did he go with Sharra?" she asked a little worriedly.

"Probably just downstairs, Amanda," Sage said reassuringly, standing and hesitantly offering her his hand to grip.

"So that was my real name, huh?" she muttered, taking her father's hand and letting him help her, although she pulled it away as soon as she was on her feet again. It was a little too early, and this a little too strange, for her to start trusting anyone here yet.

Ryo sighed, looking out the window toward the balcony, although he wasn't really seeing anything. "Let's go downstairs," he said, "and we'll all have a nice talk." He turned his crystal-blue gaze over to his friend, sizing Sage up in a new light. He never would have expected it, never could have thought this up in a million years.

The Dynasty may have made it hard for strange things to shock him anymore, but this! This took the entire cake and swallowed it whole. Any belief he had in any sort of cosmic order had just been completely and totally destroyed. But, being the leader, he'd be damned if he'd let anyone else know how he felt.

Once downstairs, everyone seated themselves on the lush furniture; Sharra sprawled out on the sofa with her sister sitting beside her worriedly. Gyah. We should have stayed in America, the short-haired girl thought with a sigh. "So, how did all this happen? I mean…"

Cale was sitting clear on the other end of the living room away from Sage, sandwiched between Ryo and Cye, who were staring at him with slack jaws. His cheek twitched in irritation. "It was a long time ago, just after we-" He paused for a second, glancing around at the others in the room. Well, what the hell? "-Saved the world. Or your father and his friends did."

Sage flushed a little and looked away. Don't look at him; he's still married, even if you're not! "To make a long story short… we were superheroes, Ryo, Rowen, Kento, Cye and I."

"Okay, you're joking now," Swiftgold said immediately. "I mean, I can accept - well, no, I can't, but this is just going way too far!"

"I know it sounds strange," Mia said kindly, pouring a cup of tea and pushing it across the coffee table toward the befuddled American. "But it is the truth. I've studied the legends of the Ronin Warriors since I was, well, about your sister's age, Swiftgold, and my grandfather devoted his life to it. Several of the Ronins themselves sit here now."

Her husband gave her a quick smile, sweeping a hand through his hair proudly. "And one She-Ronin, Mia. Don't forget your own power!"

"Of course not," she replied brightly, "but that came later, after all. When Talpa returned."

"You too, Mia?" the teenager said weakly. I thought you were the sensible one here! She looked down at her sister's sleeping face and was sorely tempted to poke her and wake her up so she had to sit and listen to all this too. "What kind of legends are you talking about?"

Kento waved a hand briefly. "Well, there was the armor poem, wasn't there?"

"The first one, yeah," Sekhmet agreed. "We - Cale and I - weren't in that one, though…" he explained to Swiftgold, who merely blinked at him, her face slack. "And there was the 'Rime of the She-Ronins' that came up later in files, too."

"I was up for two nights deciphering that one," Mia reminisced, her eyes distant and a little smile playing on her lips.

Sharra stirred a little, stretching as if to unconsciously rub her eyes. "Armor… poem…" she mumbled, still out of it. "All you need… is love…"

"Heeey?" Swiftgold got out, startled; she raised her hand from her sister's head to peer down at her quizzically. "Sharra, stop that."

"Let her wake up naturally," Cye advised, holding out a hand when she moved to shake the other girl. "No need to give her another shock."

She settled back, obviously unhappy, and in the silence that followed Sharra's voice kept on; she spoke slowly, as if repeating the words, and no one dared speak as they listened…

"Testosterone floods… in the… sweat-reeking shower-stalls… remember that thing… with the Giants and the lawsuit? …Damn… the man! All together… now…"

Cale sat up straight, sticking his elbows half-accidentally into Ryo and Cye's ribs. "Maybe we should wake her up anyway," he said worriedly. "That sounds like dangerous nonsense to me-!"

Sharra smacked her lips sleepily. "Bubbling… in the tunnels of the heart…"

Sage's eyes, however, grew even wider. He looked quickly at all the others, who had stunned expressions that showed they'd recognized it too. "But that sounds like…"

"Like what?" Swiftgold cried, half-frantic.

Kento leaned forward, his round face solemn. "Like… the armor poem," he said portentously.

Ryo jumped up, shaking his head hard. "It can't be!" he cried out. "Mia searched the computer completely! There are no other poems!"

"Poultry-babe takes a… flying leap…"

"Sharra, stop that!" Swiftgold said now, leaning down to shake her sister by the shoulders. Something felt tight inside her chest, a strange awareness that told her that, somehow, she ought to know what Sharra's unconscious words meant. "Stop it! They're - they're infecting you with their poems!"

With a loud snort, the girl woke up, thrashing around before rolling off the couch and landing on the floor with a loud thud. She got up to her hands and knees, glaring up at everyone through her fall of long blonde hair. "Hey," she said loudly, "I LIKED that dream! Wait - why was I sleeping?"

"Actually, you fainted. Because of… Dad," Swiftgold supplied helpfully, crossing her arms over her chest with a glower at the others. "And… uh, Dad."

Both Sage and Cale looked down automatically, and Sharra fell back against the couch frame with a little squeak. Finally, she gazed up and challenged, "Why are you looking at me funny? I should be the one looking at you funny!"

Swiftgold gave her a look. And she hasn't even HEARD about the superhero stuff yet.

"You were talking in your sleep, dear," Mia answered gently.

"Oh, no!" she gasped. "I didn't say anything about this hot wolf-guy who wanted my body and we had a kid who looks like Karl Urban, did I?"

Silence. Finally, Sekhmet managed, "Uh, no. You didn't."

The sixteen-year-old beamed, seeming to relax. "Thank God!" However, her face suddenly froze once more. "What did I say?"

"You seemed to be reciting a… poem, of sorts," Cye informed her. "Though I can't well say it's like any of the others, to tell the truth…"

When she continued to look confused, Sage said quietly, "We were discussing legends, Sharra, of the Ronin Warriors and mystical armors. It has to do with our pasts-"

"Oh. Oh, that poem!" she cut in. Sharra jumped up, taking a seat back on the couch.

It was Swiftgold's turn to fall forward, nearly bruising herself on the edge of the coffee table and spilling the untouched tea from the cup. "You mean you knew what you were saying all along?" she shrieked.

"Well, no," she argued back, pouting. "I can't remember the damn thing for the life of me. I just remember reading something about it back in Kansas, you know, when we were cramming on Japanese to come here." She sighed and shook her head. "Well, forget all that," she demanded. Her eyes fastened piercingly first on Cale and then on Sage, who both gulped in unison. "What I want to know is - okay, say you really are our real parents. Why did you abandon us?"

The two hesitated, staring at each other and then at the others. They seemed to share some kind of unspoken agreement, because directly after that, they told everything.

They told how Cale and the other Warlords had come to the Mortal World to learn to live in the modern age, and how Talpa had arisen in a terrifying new form as NeoTalpa. They explained to the girls how the She-Ronins were found to fight the menace, and how the circle of love was formed as everyone discovered their soulmate and drove off the evil.

But after that, they said, was when everything changed. Sage and Cale had met again at a fair, running into each other by the poultry show. They both wanted a funnel cake, but as both were short on cash, they bought one together.

Something had happened over that fried pastry, and they couldn't stop thinking about each other. They met by the bantams until the fair had left town.

"I KNEW-" Sharra cried out, but Swiftgold slapped a hand over her mouth, like the others listening to the story in complete and utter awe.

Cale had gotten into a fight with the Kayura and left, and Sage had been out of town on the racecar circuit. They'd been together, unknown to their friends and spouses, for almost a year.

The blue-haired man blinked away the memories and turned his gaze on his oldest daughter. "That's when you came into the picture, Amanda," he said delicately.

"HOW DID SHE COME INTO THE PICTURE?!" Kento screamed out, but despite the volume of his demand, no one paid attention to it.

Staring at his hands, Sage continued the story. He'd been married to Heather, the bearer of the Armor of Sunlight, but his long absences had taken their toll on the marriage, and they divorced shortly after. It was an amiable parting, but with one serious problem - Heather had given up her armor, and the circle of love was broken. If the Neo-Dynasty attacked again, they would be seriously weakened.

Though Cale had returned to Kayura, he never forgot what he felt with Sage, and their love could not be denied. But soon after Sharra - named Emily by her parents - was born, the Neo-Dynasty did attack again. And, with the circle of armors weakened, the two could not allow their children to be used against them by the evil enemies. They decided to leave Amanda and Emily where they would be safe - with a commune of hippies in the middle of the Kansas plains.

It was a long, hard struggle in the darkness of the Nether World, but in the end the Ronins and She-Ronins emerged victorious, NeoTalpa put to rest for good.

Swiftgold's eyes grew big and round in her head, her hand flying up to her throat. Well, this explained a lot! Yet, how could she believe all of this insanity so easily?

Sage finally clasped his hands together and smiled shakily. "So, when NeoTalpa came back, we had to do what was best for you and Emily - don't you see? It's not that-"

"I don't see, blast it!" Sekhmet interrupted roughly. "You're going to have a lot of explaining to do to Kayura! And… and… you're men!"

"Said that already," Sharra remarked helpfully. The green-haired man scowled at her, but she beamed back at him, unconcerned. So, maybe this was a little unconventional; they'd still found out who their parents were - and a lot more in the process! Wait until the hippies back at the commune heard about this. "But…" She eyed her fathers warily for a second. Swiftgold nodded over at her, wanting to know just as much as everyone else how they had come into existence. "…While we're on the subject…"

Cale suddenly clapped his hands, giving Mia a curt nod. "Would you mind too much if the girls stayed with you for a few days? They shouldn't stay at that hotel, you know, but I…" a grimace, "need to talk to Kayura and the children about all this."

"-You're dodging the question-"

Scratching her head in confusion, Mia gave her husband a baffled look, and was met with a blank nod she took as his agreement. "Um… okay?"

* * * * *

"That's one odd weather balloon today, mate!"

Darkwing sat, his armored legs dangling over the edge of the school building, and let out a cold little laugh. The group of exchange students standing directly beneath him gazed up at the floating mass of rotisserie, so stupidly unaware of the doom that was hovering above their heads. "That's right," he muttered under his breath smugly, "it's just a weather balloon."

He glanced over the mass of teenagers pouring out of the Han'a High School building, trying to pinpoint which of them had that special power within their bones. Now, where is it? That power… It was so near, and he could almost taste the magic on the tip of his tongue - the power of Calcium.

Darkwing frowned and began to swing his legs back and forth, absently taking a sip from the milk carton he was holding in his hand. "This is a really stupid assignment," he 'told' the chicken-palace hovering thousands of feet in the air. The other Poultrylords were probably talking about him while he was away, on top of it all.

Suddenly, the milk carton fell from limp fingers, his head flying up and eyes widening in shock. The cardboard container hurtled towards the ground and splattered its vitamin-rich contents all over the pavement. A few droplets of milk rolled across the ground and stopped suddenly at the feet of a passing student, soaking quickly into the concrete.

The girl looked up at him and smiled slowly, dark hair flowing gracefully around her in the gentle breeze. "You shouldn't," she breathed, "put good dairy products to waste that way. Just for that, I'm going to have to kick your ass."

"Bring it!" he roared back, and flew into the air. Black metal wings unfolded impressively from the back of his armor as the European swooped towards her with a battle cry.

Her shining hair whipped around her face, and she bared her teeth in a defiant snarl, light surrounding her body entirely as clothing shredded-

And the girl crouched there in her yellow subarmor, smashing her foot down on the milk carton. "Let's do this," she taunted. "I have to be home to milk the cow before dinner."

Air whipped past her head, and she rolled away from his dive, kicking up into the air at the same time so that her boot hit his chin. Darkwing cried out in pain and tumbled onto the pavement, off-balance and unable to complete his graceful attack. He skidded along the ground and almost hit a passing student in the process.

The uniformed boy frowned at him. "Watch it!"

"Little… shit," the Poultrylord grunted, clenching his fists tightly.

The subarmored girl watched with narrowed eyes at the sight of gleaming spikes sprouting from the knuckles of his gauntlets. Have to be careful of those. I don't have medical insurance - not that I'd lose or anything. Or maybe I would. God, I hate my life. Why did I step on that milk carton? She screeched and ducked under his fist, slamming his head with the back of her arm. This-is-so-stupid. I have a cow to take care of! And… and… how can I do this? Am I meant to do this? Maybe I'm just crazy…

Darkwing went flailing all over again, but managed to stop his fall by catching the tip of his spikes along the street.

She brushed sweat from her forehead and bit her lower lip with a hiss. Those things look sharp… but I'm a champion martial artist! There's no way I can lose to a poser with a set of wings. I refuse. I've got the power! Better pick up some milk from the grocery store on the way back. …Wait. I'm lactose-intolerant. Damn it. Maybe I'll just go to bed. Alone. Always… alone. Unless that weird old man shows up again. Who is he? What is he? Did he skip out of rehab again?

The hand came flying towards her again, and she caught Darkwing's fist with her own, her wide eyes gazing deep into his. The spikes had pierced deep through her palm and come out the other side. "Hurt?" he mocked.

"N-no," she lied, tears pricking behind her eyelids. Yeah, it really did hurt; blood was running along her hands and even down into her subarmor. Stupidly, all she could think of was that she was going to lose to a man who had metal wings constantly flapping up and down behind him, like a bird's, yet he wasn't flying now-!

Darkwing grabbed a handful of her hair roughly and laughed before yanking the spikes out of her hand and slapping her roughly across the face. She whimpered at the taste of blood in her mouth, yet found the strength to glare defiantly at him as his fingers closed around her throat. "Now," the man grinned, "let's get you back to Master Eggsecutioner so I can get my spring bonus…"

"Over here, flappy metal dude!"

Darkwing, great warrior of the Rotisserie Club-Dynasty, whirled around, still holding onto the struggling girl - only to catch sight of a tanned hippie ass less than ten feet from where he was standing. "Good God! Pull your pants up!" he roared, tossing the lady warrior aside.

She landed on her back and grunted. Thankfully, she'd missed the sight of the mooning individual shaking his butt tauntingly at her attacker…

"You're violating my freedom of speech…! All I can say is…" the gray-haired hippie's lips parted into a sneering smile, and one could almost imagine a picket sign in his hand if he wasn't bent over with his pants around his knees, " 'damn the man'!"