Consequences of Capture

By Dixxy

Chapter Thirteen: Dream a Little Dream

Once the boys were back in their apartment, all eyes (except for his own) were turned on Cye. Even though Sage and Kento both thought their discoveries were worthwhile, Cye HAD blurted out he knew what was going on as far as what their original intention was. "So? Who's helping the Ronin Senshi?" Kento asked.

"You're not going to believe this. . . but it's Anubis," said Cye.

"Aaeeep?" was the sound that emitted from the back of Kento's throat.

"Da huh?" was the extend of Sage's wisdom at that moment.

Cye wasn't impressed with his friend's reaction, but he continued on. "Trulpa and Anubra were in the library before you two came in- apparently Anubis somehow came back from the dead and is now involved with the Senshi. He's protecting them, probably so they can train without Trulpa seeing what they're up to. They aren't sure how, either, but do you realize what this means?"
Kento paled. "ZOMBIE!!!"

Sage shook his head. "I. . . don't think he's a zombie," he said. Timidly, the blonde turned to Cye. "I. . . I am right, aren't I? Anubis is. . . Anubis, right? Not some rotting corpse with yellowed teeth and blue, leathery skin and bugs and rotting flesh and- DAAA!!! I SHOULD'VE NEVER LET MY OLDER SISTER TELL ME Night of the Living Dead WAS LIKE THE MICHAEL JACKSON 'Thriller' VIDEO!"

Oookay. . . evidently, my two best friends both suffer from whatever 'phobia' it is that covers zombies and the un-dead. . . Cye thought, giving them both exasperated looks. "No, I doubt he's a zombie. Trulpa said 'alive and well', and besides- what makes you think those girls would trust a ruddy zombie, especially anything like the one Sage described? They may be Ronin Senshi, but I don't think ANYONE would trust something like THAT!"

"Unless it's dancing with a bunch of other zombies and a guy in a red jacket-"

"SAGE!" Kento snapped. "This is NO TIME to be discussing dancing zombies and The Incredible Mr. Plastic! We've just learned that Anubis is back from the freaking DEAD and he's helping the Ronin Senshi with. . . eh. . . something important!!! What that is we don't know but we need to find out!!!"

"Probably just training operations," said Cye. He shrugged and sighed. "If he's teaching them strategic tactics, he probably doesn't want Trulpa to know what they are. If she knows their strategies then they aren't any good, AND, if he's smart, he doesn't want Trulpa to know he's even alive. Think about what would happen if Trulpa catches him. He'll be worse off than us."

"Anubis is quite possibly the biggest traitor in the history of the Dynasty," said Sage. By then he and Kento were calming down to a point where they could use some logical reasoning. "I doubt becoming the student of the Ancient One is considered 'good practice' around here. If anyone were to find out he was alive. . . they'd probably go to extremes to kill him." He gulped. "Again."

"Sage's right," said Kento. "Not only did he betray Talpa to bow down to the Ancient One, he did other stuff. He helped Ryo against the first final battle against Talpa, helped Ryo and Rowen for the Inferno while we were in Talpa's dungeon, got them to the Nether World, found the Jewel of Life, and sacrificed his life for Lady Kayura's freedom. They're going to do something awful to him if he ever gets captured."

Cye shuddered. That feeling again. . .

"So. . . at least if we go bug the Ronin Senshi, Anubis will know who we are," said Kento. "If he's the one blocking Trulpa from finding them, he's probably a familiar face to them. We are not, and we can't just show up at their doorstep and say 'Hi Ronin Babes, we're your Partners in Arms- can we crash with you guys?'. Since Anubis knows us that makes things easier."

"But he was DEAD," said Sage. "How do you greet a dead person?"

"'So, Anubis, what's it like to die?'" Kento joked.

"Can. . . can we not talk about that?" Cye requested.

"What? It's a thing of the past, and now that he's alive. . ." Kento jested.

"Please. It. . . bothers me."

"Drop it, Kento," said Sage.

"Fine. But I still got one question," said Kento. "Let's go with my whole 'Anubis recognizing us' thing. Now I haven't seen anything about it, but we have a few problems. One, what if Anubis doesn't remember us?" Cye and Sage looked to their friend for further explanation. "I know Cye doesn't like talking about it, but he was DEAD. Who's to say whatever brought him back didn't screw with his brains?"

"Then how's he helping the Senshi?" Sage asked, sounding skeptical.

"Just because he doesn't remember his past life doesn't mean he doesn't know what to do. It could be like that Arnold movie 'Total Recall'. He didn't REMEMBER his real history, but he did have a longing to go to Mars, which was a focal point of the movie and his life. Anubis might not remember much, but he might remember enough to know Trulpa is bad, the Senshi need his help, and he's the best person for the job," said Kento. He cleared his throat. "My other point is less drastic and would assume Anubis' memories are intact. Let's say he hasn't exactly told the Senshi about his previous occupation. That could put him in a really sticky situation with the Senshi and might get them mad. If they'll too busy being pissed off at him then that might affect how a battle might play out."

Cye shook his head. "Poor Anubis. . . we're thinking off all sorts of awful things that might happen to him. . ." The Warrior of Water look at Kento. "I think we've gotten out as much as we're going to get from my discovery- how about yours, Kento? You said you saw SOMETHING."

"All right. I saw some sort of a freaky monster," Kento said. "It was like Frankenstein on crack or something- it was all patched up and sewn together- really freaky looking. It was carrying Daala's sword, and all I could sense about it was pure and absolute perfection."

"Pure?" asked Cye, raising an eyebrow. "I don't understand."

"Isn't that the sword that was made from. . . us?" Sage asked, his eyes widening.

"Things can be pure evil, can't they?" he said to Cye. Kento nodded at Sage. "Yes. I know it was THAT sword, and THAT scares me. That sword. . . it's powered by US. The sword doesn't WORK without us, and that THING had it in its hands. That means if Trulpa uses it, she has to involve us in it somewhere. And if my vision is right- and I'm sorry to say so but I think it is- that CREATURE I saw is also going to be involved."

"Oh great, what are we going to do now?" asked Cye.

"Well, what can we do?" asked Sage.

"Try to stop it," said Kento. He sighed. "Once, when I was a kid, I saw my uncle's car in a big car wreck a few blocks from where we lived. He was over at our house and when he was about to leave, I begged him to stay. He got really mad at me and he finally left, but the ten minutes I was able to stall him for saved his life- had he gotten to that intersection ten minutes earlier. . ."

Cye frowned. "Yeah, but you had a good idea as to how your uncle's car would get into the accident, even as a child. What can we do about a monster like that if we don't know anything about it? We could warn the Senshi, I suppose, but what if Trulpa unleashes it during the first battle?"

"But then we'd be interfering?" said Sage.

"Does that apply?" asked Kento.

Sage nodded. "The Warlords can't so much as a disturb a hair on their heads."

". . . Kayura?" Cye asked.

Halo shook his head. "No, but good thought. That was probably an idea of hers until Anubis came back. Chances are he's figured out something is up if he has the Staff and she doesn't. Kayura going into battle would be exactly what he needs. That would tip Anubis off that something's fishy and he'd suspect that Trulpa had her fingers in this mess," said Sage. "Remember, Kayura was with the Warlords. If he knows Trulpa was involved with Kayura's disappearance, he'll guess something happened to the Warlords, too."

"Two more questions," said Cye. He sighed and rubbed his temples. "How can Anubis help those girls if he's an armor bearer. . . and how the hell did he come back to life the first place? I'm happy he's alive and all but I don't understand it! No matter how powerful that Staff is it can't resurrect the dead! Right?"

"Mmm. . . Anubis isn't an armor bearer right now- that Osiris guy has his armor, so that little technicality is probably good enough for the Law of Dependency," said Kento. "Or Anubis found some loophole in the fine print- my dad does that all the time whenever he signs contracts. Heh, he's pissed off a few lawyers over that- never mind. Now, as far as Anubis coming back to life. . . well- I suppose if you- no- maybe if. . . ah hell, I don't have a damn clue!" said Kento, punching a pillow.

"Perfect. Kento's discovery has raised more questions than answers," said Sage. He sighed. "Mine probably isn't much better. In fact. . . never mind." The blonde dropped his book into his lap and used it as a surface to rest his elbows on. "Heh, since we know about Anubis that kills any theories I had."

"Well, we don't know that," said Cye.

"It's about Nether Realm races," said Sage. He sighed and drummed his fingers on the book he'd found. "I thought that one of the last 'good' races was helping them or something- that's what it was talking about in this book. There were two people in the Nether Realm before the demons came- the Amazons and the Flitteree."

Kento frowned. "They both. . . died out," he said. "I saw something on them a few weeks ago. Trulpa found the Flitteree's last colony and destroyed them all, and Talpa waged war against the Amazons several decades ago. Aside from the Amazons who ran away over a millennium ago, it doesn't look like either of those races has survived, and the runaway Amazons probably intermixed with whatever race was living in the world they went to."

Sage lowered his eyes, feeling a pit forming in his stomach. "Genocide."

"They. . . they killed off two species?" Cye asked, bewildered by the news.

"Well, the Amazons were kinda, oh, EVIL towards the end, but yes- they're all gone," said Kento. "Sorry I didn't say anything, but of those both catastrophes happened so long ago that I didn't think it would matter. I'm sorry, Sage- your idea was good, but that book is probably old."

"Yeah. . . you're probably right," Sage said, feeling disheartened. He sat up. "Well. . . did we really accomplish anything at all? Sure we know Anubis is alive and we need to be aware of Daala's sword and that monsters, but. . . I still feel like we're at a dead end." Kento and Cye nodded in grim agreement. "It's late. . . we should probably go to bed."

~

That night, Sage was restless.

Genocide. There were something things that Sage was sickened by, afraid of, and angered by. For some reason, the act of destroying an entire people always felt different. It just disturbed him, and the idea was something he liked to avoid. Whenever he heard the word or an interpretation of its meaning, he felt sick inside.

None of this happened until he happened to find his parents watching Schindler's List one evening. He had left his room to use the bathroom when he saw the images of the Holocaust on the television screen. Deeply upset by what he saw, he started to cry and his mother- an American- had explained to him what had happened during World War II. How Hitler had people he didn't like- Jewish people in particular and most notably- systematically killed in concentration camps.

Since then Sage was mortified by the concept, as anyone in their right mind should be. Sure he was all for destroying demons and Tin Cans, but they were different- they would kill him if he didn't kill them first, right? And they were evil. They lived (or rather. . . un-lived?) to kill. But thousands of innocent people dying at the hands of madman scared him.

Sage couldn't help but sympathize with the people. "I have nothing to do with them, yet I feel for them," he said. He looked down at book he'd found again and rubbed the soft, leather cover. Through a bit of sneaking, Sage had found himself on a balcony overlooking the barren wasteland that was the Dynasty, wondering if he could spot the ruins of the last Flitteree city somewhere in the distance. Even after failing to do so (or at least guessing he has failed), he couldn't remove himself from the spot. He closed his eyes and felt wet, salt tears begin to poor down his face. "It. . . it's not fair!" Sage let the book fall to the floor as he cried himself to sleep.

~

"Kowamini konnoi!!! Slinoo konnoi!!!"

Sage suddenly found himself walking down the streets of an odd looking city. All of the houses and buildings were constructed from multicolored rocks forming odd shapes- in fact, he only knew they were building because they had windows and doors that people dressed in odd clothing were looking through, walking in and out of, and opening and shutting. All wore clothing made from a smooth, silky material decorated with brightly dyed feathers and beads. A few had brightly colored wings emerging from their backs that moved softly as they walked, and Sage wondered if they were real or just incredible fakes.

Sage looked down and saw he was wearing the same clothing as the other people in the strange town- a pair of boots made from a leathery material, tight pants, a sleeveless tunic, and small feathers hanging from the leather-like belt that hung loosely around his waist. Feeling his hair, he noted the presence of feathers and beads strung about in his wild blonde mane.

Loosely hugging himself, Sage began to walk through the town. People greeted him warmly in the foreign tongue, but he could only smile back. He didn't understand what any of them were saying, but he knew enough to know they were friendly. A few girls sitting by a water fountain made of rubies and emeralds giggled and waved at him. Sage blushed furiously, but found that they weren't quite as shallow or empty-headed as his usual fan clubs. He gave them his best grin and a flip of his hair. They squealed with delight and clapped giddily.

As he continued his stroll, Sage experienced many different things. He saw more elegant buildings that the people were running in and out of, each seemingly more amazing than the next. He smelled something wonderful coming from a stand that was selling a strange food- the vendor gave Sage and free sample, and he loved it. It was an oddly elegant taste that he could only describe as something similar to a caramel-like chicken that melted in his mouth like nothing he'd ever experienced before. He heard the sounds of music as people sang in the strange language and small children danced around the group of entertainers- Sage stopped briefly to watch.

But the most amazing thing he saw were the wings. Oh, how wonderful they were! There wasn't just one kind, either. Some were made of feathers like traditional angels like the ones he'd grown up hearing stories about from the American side of his family (despite the fact her husband was a strict Shinto Buddhist, Mrs. Date was Christian). Others had soft, gossamer type wings that resembled different kinds of insects like butterflies or dragonflies. Then there were wings that looked as if they were made from the five elements themselves- bursts of fire, waves of water, tufts of clouds, and even crystallized wings could be seen.

"I thought. . . you should see what we were like. . . Kilon."

Sage spun on his heels to see a middle aged man standing behind him. He had sharp, blue eyes, platinum blonde hair that reached his shoulders and a neatly kept beard to match, and a tall, slender stature. He had a pair of green wings that seemed to be beams of light coming from the two yellow pieces of his back. The man had a strange look of happiness and sadness on his face. "I'm sorry you had to experience it like this."

"Wait! You can speak like me?" Sage asked. The man turned and began to walk away. Sage chased after him, only half-noticing that this world had suddenly stopped around him as everyone was frozen in time. Finding himself unable to catch up to the man, he fell to his knees. "Who are you?! Why are you here, and who are these people? Why am I here? Sir, please tell me what has happened!"

"Kilon. . . I am sorry. . ."

~

"HALO!"

Sage suddenly found himself lying on the floor by a Dynasty balcony, right where he'd nodded off the previous night. Almost reluctantly, Sage removed himself from his dream. Someone had found him, and now he was in trouble. Pulling himself into a near sitting position, he saw Trulpa' looming form over him. Obviously the demon woman was upset at his latest sleeping arrangements. Damn it! Now I'm going to get it for sure!

Taking his verbal beating with as much dignity as possible, Sage let Trulpa had her screaming fit before slapping him a few times, then dismissing him back to the apartment. Thinking about the mild reprimanding he would get from his friends, Sage teleported to his bedroom, hoping for a few minutes peace to think to himself.

Sage felt even more homesick than before.

But he wasn't longing for the Date family dojo, or even Mia's mansion.

But rather. . . something else. . .

~

I wrote a lot of this early in the morning, too. And I love Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video. Oh, and I came up with "The Incredible Mr. Plastic" out of nowhere. I love that line XD.

The language spoken in Sage's dream was completely made up. If it resembles a real language is was coincidence. I just made up some nonsense words.

This version of Consequences of Capture is already close to TWICE as long as the original version in terms of page length. Considering this is only the tail end of chapter 13, this is gonna be a LOT longer than the original.

Harry: Hee, pushing buttons. This story needed to be darker. It just NEEDED to be.

Firestorm: Honestly? I was probably to lazy to have Cye caught, so instead Sage gets busted for sleeping in the hallway.

Sakura123: 1.) Understood. 2.) Mmm, no, that's my story all right. I mean, he could be a seer in another story but I dunno. 3.) Yeah, that's true, but Trulpa is in a league similar to Talpa's. Ryo needs the Inferno to kick but and he doesn't have the power to summon it right now. Now give Bush some credit- he's got some people running. For the Democratic nomination. 4.) I have a bad habit of bringing Anubis back to life, but I have a better explanation this time.

Crystal Cat Chan: Yeah, I just did a LOT with that (I'm guessing most of you know what the dream was, right?). Mm, Kento does try to stop the MAJOR things- he won't flip out over Sage dropping a heavy lamp on his foot, but he will try and figure out how to prevent car accidents and such. Kento did that "magic TV" thing in the first edition of CoC, but I'm not sure I'll do that again. I may include a chapter featuring them for a change of pace, but I don't see much of a point in it- any chapter involving them would be really repetitive and wouldn't add much to the plot. Well, unless Rowen and Ryo had some minor premonitions to their roles in the Age of Legends (which I don't know if I could pull that off). Speaking of those two, I've decided I might be especially horrible to Rowen in the coming chapters of Dragonia. I'm still kinda debating whether or not Cye finds out- and how he finds out. I mean, maybe Anubis finds out first this time. We all know Trulpa would love to use Cye as a wriggling worm on a hook to try and catch his father (in my world). Hmm. . . I dunno. McDonald's will be hard to top. Honestly, I think that old people make up well over half of the hard-core racists and homophobic people in this country (and probably the world, too). Young people are more easily influenced and some kids are probably breaking away from what their parents believe. Simply put old people are set in their ways and it's their way or the highway. Granted some people can change their way of thinking but it's all a matter of perception. One thing you have to realize about Grams, though, is that she was involved with a Dynasty front organization. Who's to say that under any other circumstances she would've embraced Kento as her grandson-in-law before thoughts of marriage even popped into his head? It's very possible she was manipulated and brainwashed by the Dark Wing, which is probably a big factor in Grams' behavior (Keisha and Evan notice her odd behavior- even in their grief- when she first appears in Dark Chocolate, White Diamonds).

Queen Strata: Why do you hate reviewing? There's nothing that says you have to review everything, and I know I sure don't! Sometimes its hard to comment on another author's work, and that's understandable. *grins* Who doesn't love a good Ronin story? Hmm? Five years? I've only been publishing online since about summer of 2000 and it's the end of 2003. So that's. . . two and a half years. No. . . three and a half, I can't count. You mean End of Innocence (which, for version 2.0, is officially one of my worst writer's blocks EVER). Even today when I look back at that story, that story is probably one of my best works. Stylistically I've improved since I wrote that, and I'm sure there are tons of inaccuracies and what-not, but I've gotten a lot of response from it, including an e-mail from the friend of a rape victim. I'm glad you like my work, and sure you can be on my list. Oh yeah, that was funny. I'm sad it's not up anymore. I'll see if I can take a lot at it sometime.

Ileana: I agree! Sometimes the best characters in any film are the bad guys! There are movies out there that focus on the bad guy, like Psycho, The Shining, and Silence of the Lambs. Villains rock as characters but suck as people. I dunno, I think Sheila is the better villain. Trulpa isn't a good person either, but she's also a little shallow. Her intentions are basically to control the world and mess with the heads of the Ronins. She's a demon, that's how most demons think. Sheila has an out of control sex drive that causes her to go to any extremes to get what she wants. I also feel she's more controlling that Trulpa. Kento's vision? Since it wouldn't take too much digging to explain it, what Kento saw is a creature called Kaze. Kaze is a tri-mutantal, or, a mutant created from three beings (and you are correct in that Kaze is made from Sage, Kento, and Cye). In short, the three bodies are fused into one and a fourth being, usually a spirit, is embedded into the body to control the three fused together. Slowly, this process begins to break down their souls as they mix into one. The Senshi were able to break up Kaze before anything too bad happened in the original version of this series, though this is subject to change in the new version (including the mechanics of how Kaze works or even his creation). Anubis and his training with the Senshi? That's what Ronin Senshi Legends is all about!

Kar-chan: Who doesn't love a wasted Rowen?

~Dixxy