ShadowDancer and SunSinger
Chapter 13
Rocky Oberlin

Disclaimer: I don't own Ronin Warriors or the idea of ShadowDancer
and SunSinger.

Sage stayed close to Mia through the week while they waited for her brothers. Mia was nervous over the thought of the warriors being found out, but when the shadow came with the warning that Cale was bringing his friends across on an assignment, she breathed a sigh of relief. Sage was a little more dubious; he wasn't sure if it was a good idea for the Nether Realm warriors to be found with them if an attack did come their way. He took his misgivings to he FireDancer friend and Ryo tried to work out a plan for hiding the four newcomers. Then they had to sell the plan to Mia. Even Ryo winced over the thought of trying to tell their ShadowDancer friend that her brothers had to be hidden and couldn't come out for a time.

"That will be a tricky move to make," commented Cye. "She might want her brothers to help defend against the Tulpa."

"But what about the plan that they help us get into the Nether Realm?" asked Rowen. "If they are caught with us, then they can't help us without being considered traitors themselves."

"That's a nice point, Rowen," said Sage. "Thanks."

The HeavenSinger just shrugged with a puzzled look on his face, but was happy that some of the worry was off his friends' faces. Then came the hard part. "Who's going to tell her that we are going to have to hide her brothers?" asked Kento.

"May be you should do it, Sage," said Ryo. "She seems to be opening up to you more."

"Do you hate me that much?" asked Sage.

Ryo shrugged his shoulders. "Not really. But she has been going to you for comfort more then the rest of us," he pointed out. "May be she would listen to you before she gets angry."

"Or she'll just sock me one like she did with Kento," said Sage. "Next time we come up with a plan, you get to tell her."

Ryo grinned cheekily at his friend and nodded. If he did have to do that, then he wasn't coming within striking distance of Mia.

"Best to tell her now before she gets really worried about Cale and the others," said Cye. "She might not take it the right way when she's really nervy."

Sage left the other Singers and Dancers to find his love. He was going to have to temper this with understanding if he was going to ask Mia to trust them with the lives of her brothers. He didn't want to go back to beginning and work his way forward after finally getting Mia to come close enough to hug him for the first time in weeks. "Understanding," breathed Sage. "I hope that she will listen to our plan before knocking me through a wall."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Do you think that she'll even listen to Sage?" asked Rowen.

Ryo was watching the fire dance in the fireplace when the HeavenSinger asked his question. He drew his attention from the flames to look at his blue haired friend and give his question some consideration. Cye and Kento looked at the priest of the group to see what he will say. "I think that if Sage puts it in the right phrase, she will listen. We have to remember that these men protected her from a tyrant that would have loved to get his hands on one of the last know ShadowDancers in either Realms. Cale had to lie about her and force his friends to do the same. Now we are asking her to so something they might not like because we seem not to trust them like she does. This will be a test for all of us."

"In other words, we better be nice to our guests," grumbled Kento.

"Yes, Kento, we do," said Cye. "They are the only ones who will be able to get us into the Nether Realm to finally get rid of a tyrant that is looking for all of us."

"Then let's hope that Sage can sweet talk Mia into letting us hide her brothers someplace else," said Rowen. "If he doesn't, then we may have a problem that could get us all caught."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Mia knew that something was worrying the other five Singers and Dancers in the house, but she didn't care much at the moment. She wanted her brothers safe and right now she didn't know where they were or if they even were safe. She had worked herself into a fever pitch over the thought of them being thrown into Tulpa's dungeons and her not even knowing about it. It took the soothing words of an older shadow to calm her fears and make her realize the foolishness of the idea. They would have told her if there had been any trouble and that she needed to help her brothers.

"Mia?"

The ShadowDancer looked up from the book she was trying to read to see Sage in the doorway, looking uncomfortable.

"Yes?"

"Can I talk to you about something?"

"Of course. Please sit down and tell me."

Sage entered the room to sit across from the auburn haired woman. "Remember, understanding," muttered the SunSinger before he looked up at his opposite. "Mia, the others and I talked about having your brothers here and the possible danger it would be for all of us."

Mia stiffened at the innuendo about her brothers possibly being a danger to everyone else. "What do you mean?" she asked stiffly.

Sage almost panicked. This wasn't going well. "We were thinking of their safety as well," he said hurriedly. "We were thinking that if the Dynasty had followed them or us one day and saw us all working together, then any plans that were made by any of us would be destroyed because Tulpa would know that we were working with his former warriors." He watched as Mia listened to him thoughtfully. He knew that he had her thinking, but now was the hard part. Trying to convince her that they needed to hide the former Nether Realm warriors someplace else other then the house they were in. "We were thinking that if we could hide your brothers in a place different from you, then any of Tulpa's warriors wouldn't be able to go back and tell him that we were working together."

"Are you going to tell my brothers?" asked Mia.

Sage looked down, abashed. They hadn't gone that far; they were worried more about Mia and her reaction to get to that stage. "We don't know who will be telling them yet," said Sage. "We were trying to figure out how to tell you that we wanted to split you guys apart for a while."

"Then we should go talk to the others, shouldn't we?" asked Mia.

Sage nodded. He didn't think that it would have been this easy to talk to his love about this matter. May be there was some hope of having a peaceful household after the war.

Sage watched Mia leave the room to find the other Singers and Dancers. She walked stiffly like she had after punching Kento. Then again, Sage could be wrong.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

In the darkness of the Nether Realm night, four figures covertly left the huge castle that held the ruler of the beleaguered Realm. No one noted their going and the guards that should have stopped them were at the moment in a trance created by the green haired figure. The white haired figure used their inattention to weave an illusion showing the four figures leaving with a battalion of soldiers to find the traitorous ShadowDancer and the five boys hiding her. The soldiers would see none of the real or imaginary figures again for a while.

"Do you think that that suggestion will stay with them?" asked Anubis as they started for the Gate.

"It should," said Seckmet. "I made sure that it was in their system before letting Dais create his illusion."

"I thought it was funny to see armored soldiers strutting around like a bunch of chickens," snickered Dais. "I nearly gave away our position."

"Chickens?" asked Cale.

"Couldn't you have thought of something more original?" asked Anubis. "That is as old as the hypnotists on the mortal realm."

Seckmet shrugged. "Sometimes the oldest are the best."

The discussion was dropped as they approached the unguarded Gate. Tulpa would know when then left because he was watching the power flux at that very moment to "see" his troops go into glorious battle against the six Singers and Dancers. What he didn't know was that the troops that were suppose to go with his four warriors were right now empty husks in the darkest dungeons of his castle and not likely to be found again in this century.

Anubis and Cale had timed the opening of the Gates to allow a whole battalion through the many times they had gone to the Mortal Realm and knew how long to keep it open. All Tulpa would feel would be the opening and closing of the Gate for the forty-five minutes it would take to get the battalion through, but he wouldn't see any of the nonexistent soldiers. Dais was happy about that because the space between the Realms would cancel out any of his illusions before they reached the other side.

"Are we ready?" asked Cale.

"About as ready as we'll ever be," said Dais.

"Where are we meeting Mia and the others?" asked Seckmet.

"In the clearing around the WaterDancer's lake. Then we'll go from there," said Anubis.

"That's comforting," muttered Seckmet.

"It'll be more comforting when I can see my little sister again," snapped Cale.

The other three took the cue to be quiet as the started their facade. Cale stepped through the Gate, and then offered his had to Dais who was going to be in between the Realms for the long interval. On the Nether Realm side, Anubis did the same with Seckmet; only the red haired man was holding the Gate open while Seckmet joined Dais. Cale started his count and the long wait started.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

"That was the longest hour in my life," complained Seckmet as the stumbled through the dark.

"How do you think Anubis and I feel," shot back Cale. "We were the ones holding you there. I thought at one point I was going to lose Dais."

"Oh, don't say that," said Dais groggily. "I don't want to remember that part for a very long time."

"Well, it's going to give me nightmares," groused Seckmet. "I was the one holding on him and Anubis while you got a better handhold, Cale."

Anubis didn't say anything while he steadied Dais. His shoulder was wrenched and his muscles were sore from the constant fight to keep his friend from flying into the nothingness. Cale privately wondered how the shadows could transverse the expanse to get to either one of the Shadow controllers.

They quieted down as they saw Mia with the five boys that were they allies. Cale could tell that there was something on Mia's mind, but he didn't know what it was and was almost afraid to ask. He had seen that look in her eyes before and the four warriors had been sporting bruises and in Anubis' case a black eye when they first came across it. He wondered what the Singers and Dancers had done to provoke such anger that she was wearing that look. He found out when the SunSinger and the FireDancer came forward to talk with them.

"We had done some thinking while we were waiting for you," said the black haired Dancer.

"It's not that we don't trust you, but it's the fact that if you were caught with us, then all our plans would be trampled in the feet of an invading army," finished the blonde SunSinger.

"What are you talking about?" asked Cale wearily. "And why is my sister ready to knock holes into walls?"

The two spokesmen looked at each other then tried again. "We got to thinking while you were gone and came up with the possibility that if you were caught with us, then all our plans would be futile," said Ryo again.

"So we thought that if we were to hide you someplace that was close by, but not linked to us, then if Tulpa decided to try attacking us, you wouldn't be caught," continued Sage. "We would be able to contact you and visa versa, but we wouldn't be together."

"So why is our little sister ready to call the shadows to smother
you?" asked Anubis quietly.

Sage winced and Ryo looked uncomfortable. "She doesn't like the idea of you being on your own, but she did see reason. I think that she's worried that something will happen to you while she's away," said Sage.

"That is a reasonable fear," said Cale. "I would feel the same way. But I also know that if we are to pull this off, then we should stay separate." He sighed. "At least let me talk to my sister before forbidding her from seeing me for a very long time."

Ryo stood aside to let the ShadowMaster pass while Sage followed him with his eyes. His concern for Mia was evident on his face and caused Ryo to smile slightly. Dais caught the flicker. "What was that smile about?" he asked.

Ryo pulled an innocent face when Sage turned to look at him, but mouthed "I'll tell you later" to the other three warriors. He knew that they would enjoy the irony of it, but he wasn't so sure about Cale. He would bear watching.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

When Cale approached Mia, she stepped away from the other three Singers and Dancer to have a private word with him. She was still upset over the thought of not having her brother close as he had been in the past, but she also knew the danger posed if they were caught together. It still didn't mean that she had to like it.

"What's with the look, Little Shadow?" asked Cale.

The childhood nickname brought a smile to her face once again. "I don't like the idea of not seeing you as often as I had. It was hard when we were separated by the Gate, but now you're close again and I still can't see you."

"You can see me as often as you like, Mia. You just will have to be more careful then when we were in the Nether Realm."

"What if something happens to you while I'm not there?" asked Mia. "I took care of you as much as the four of you took care of me."

Cale hugged his sister close. "Then the shadows will tell you and you can get help to us faster." He brushed the hair out of her eyes to look into them for a moment. "You'll see. We'll be fine and then we'll go kick Tulpa out of our Realm." He saw the way Mia looked away from him to the SunSinger. "Then when we are done, I'll be talking to that SunSinger about his attentions to you. Are they wanted?" Mia cracked a small smile, which brought a grin to her brother's face. "There's that smile I missed. Now, answer the question."

Mia lowered her head. "Yes, the attentions are wanted."

"Good. I'll talk to him after the war and tell him that if he did anything to hurt you, then I and all the shadows in both Realms would make sure that he wouldn't be seeing the light of day again." Cale's grin broadened when a chuckle escaped his sister. "Now that we are on the same page, I'll let you go back to your new protectors while the SunSinger and the FireDancer shows us where we will be spending time in this Realm."

"Good bye, brother," said Mia.

"Not good bye. Until we see each other again."

The ShadowMaster left his sister to join his friends and the other two Singer and Dancer. The knowing look the FireDancer gave him spoke volumes on what he saw and his idea of the future. Cale figured that he would be talking to the Dancer about the SunSinger's suit of his sister. Good, at least he would be talking with someone who is almost like him and his sister.

"Shall we be going?" asked Ryo. "We want to get you to the house before sunrise."

"If you're concerned about Cale, don't worry," said Anubis. "He isn't as affected as Mia is. He just doesn't like going out in the sunlight as much."

"It was mostly a cover for Mia as well," added Dais. "We had to spin tales on how Cale and Mia would be destroyed by the sun because they were ShadowMasters. The truth is that Mia is the only one who would be destroyed in the sunlight."

"Not any more," said Ryo. "Sage managed to overcome his curse and help Mia as well."

"That's right," said Seckmet. "The SunSinger should be asleep right now. How is the night for you?"

"It's different. I still can't see what holds Rowen's fascination so much," muttered Sage.

"That's because you have something else holding your attention," teased Ryo. "Give it some time."

The four newcomers followed the SunSinger and the FireDancer into the forest to their new haven. May be at some point they would see their little sister again. Seckmet hoped so. He wanted to tease her about her attraction to the SunSinger.