**A/N: It's me again! Sorry, I took so long to get back to this story. I've been getting carried away with other stories. I've never been one to just write one story and concentrate on it alone, lol. I hope you guys enjoy this new chapter, and send me some feedback on it. I love hearing from ya! ;)**



Episode 5

The enormous torrent crashed above their heads as they toppled to the rocky floor of the plateau. Ryo draped himself over Sage, shielding his unprotected body with his armor from any backlashes of Cye's attack. The water splashed down upon them, Ryo clinging to Sage tightly as they were washed over the edge of the short incline. Their fall was short, as they were intercepted by Rowen and Kento's high leaping forms. Kento took Sage from him, and Rowen helped him rebound off his body to land on his feet when he hit the ground.

They landed neatly, Kento bundling Sage like a child, "He's out."

"I landed on him kind of hard," Ryo said sheepishly. "We should check him over and make sure I didn't break anything."

"Someone should go tell Cye he didn't kill anyone," Rowen jerked his head in Cye's direction. The bearer of Torrent had crumpled to the ground and was holding his head rocking himself slowly.

"Oh shit, Cye," Kento grumbled, he looked torn. He wanted to help Cye, but he was still cradling Sage. "I'll go to him," Rowen said patting Kento's back, "Blondie's too comfortable snuggling up against your manly chest."

Kento flushed and began to sputter, but then gazed down at the dozing blond, he did appear to be rather comfortable. Kento armored down to further promote his friend's comfort, as Rowen jogged off to Cye's side.

"I'll hold onto this," Ryo appeared at Kento's side holding the sword of Halo. "And..." he frisked Sage, pulling the kanji ball from his pocket, "this."

"He was really going to kill himself," Kento murmured watching Ryo armor down and tuck Sage's yaroi into his own pocket. "Wonder how he got the sword of Halo without calling on the armor?"

Ryo shrugged, "I didn't know it could be done either, but if anyone was to figure out of course it would be Sage."

"Sage!" Cye came barreling towards them sans his armor. Kento turned to him so he could see Sage safely bundled in his arms, "He's fine Cye."

"What happened? When did you guys get here?" Cye demanded staring at the slumbering blond his hands hoovering over his form afraid to touch him.

"We just arrived actually, and sensed you two. We ran right past Mia. We caught sight of Blondie on the cliff, and Ryo jumped up to grab him. Snatched him down right when you released that wave of yours. What were you think anyway man? He didn't have his armor on, you could have crushed him."

Cye lowered his head, "I panicked," his voice was shaky. "I just...I was trying to...I thought I could knock the sword out of his hand if I just concentrated hard enough. You...you guys distracted me! If you hadn't of popped up out of no where and scared me..."

"You shouldn't have tried it," Kento shook his head. "Why didn't you go after him? You're fast enough in your armor."

"He would have sensed any move I was making towards him! He was...running from me, you know."

"Running from you?" Rowen asked as he approached and laid a hand on Cye's shoulder. "Why? I thought..."

"You guys didn't sense what I did from him, did you? If you had, you wouldn't be this composed," a fine tremor ran throughout Cye's body that Rowen could feel. "He...he was...insane. His mind was this mass of chaos, and then sudden calm. When I called out to him, he ran, and I followed. He kept giving me the impression that he was afraid I was going to stop him from doing something."

"We felt both of you in the web...but we didn't really feel anything odd from Sage. It did feel strange for him to suddenly just flare back into the circle, though. I almost fell over at the shock," Ryo said. "But it helped us find you faster."

Cye nodded, "Well I'm glad you did... That was so close."

All four quieted and gazed at their slumbering fifth, "What are we gonna d with him guys?"

"One thing's for certain, he's never leaving my sight again," Rowen grumbled.

Ryo nodded in silent acquiescence, as did Kento and Cye.

"We'd better get back to Mia, guys. She's still with the car all alone."

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i He awoke to the artificial sunlight shining in on his face. Soft grey eyes opened to take in unfamiliar drab settings cast in odd shadow. His head turned slowly to meet the light, he winced at the pain of grating muscles moving throughout his neck. He was so stiff. Why?

Where was he? He tried to sit up, but was so weak. His arms and legs felt like weights were attached to them, and his head swam as he tried to remember where he'd been earlier.

Drugs, he'd been drugged. When, and who would want to...? The light intensified then, and he shut his eyes against the harsh illumination. Too bright. He was never this affected by bright lights...what had he been given?

He felt sick and dizzy. Voices were speaking, two voices. He tried to extend his senses to see just what held him, but found he could not. It was like a brick wall being thrown up in his mind. He was cut off from his sixth sense, he couldn't feel the world around him...and the world around him couldn't feel him. He wouldn't be able to call for help...and help was something he felt he was going to need.

Someone was standing over him asking him questions, "Are you awake?"

He couldn't move his lips to speak much less force his voice from them. He lie still clenching his eyes shut. There was a chuckle, "He's ready Shikaisen."

"Then we shall begin..."i



The scream ripped Rowen from his world of dreams with long fingered claws. He jolted upright in bed, eyes wide, "What...what?" Being interrupted from deep sleep always left Rowen bewildered. His attention slowly clamped onto the harsh breathing coming from his roommate's side of the room. He pulled himself from bed slowly setting his feet down on the carpet. He stood cautiously, and gripped the bed post at the familiar swirl of vertigo that asked him to dance. He shook his head, he hated being woken up, and no one in the manor seemed to know the meaning of letting someone wake up on their own. He crept to Sage's bed, sitting down on it quickly before he winded up on his face in a heap on the floor. "Dreamer, you ok? Bad dream?"

Sage sat up in bed clutching his damp blankets to his chest heaving in and out. Rowen couldn't see his face, and didn't have the equilibrium to reach for the lamp beside them. "Where...where...?" Sage's rough voice choked.

"Our room Sage... do you remember what happened today?"

"N...no," Sage mumbled. He was shaking so hard Rowen was beginning to feel seasick, "Ok..well maybe that's a good thing. You ok?"

"We're in our room?"

"Yeah."

"In...in Japan? Mia's home?"

"Yeah Blondie, where'd you think we were?" Rowen rubbed a hand over his sleepy eyes. He crawled closer to Sage taking his soiled blankets from his tense grip, "Oh geez...these are wet. We're gonna have to change these sheets. Why don't ya get outta bed, and I'll go and find you something dry. We'll strip and remake the bed together, ok?" Rowen forced himself to fully wake up, and was about to boost himself off of Sage's bed, when Sage's iron grip clamped onto his arm, "No!"

"No? Sage..."

"Don't leave me alone! He'll get me, I know he will!"

"Sage...Sage, who'll get you buddy, calm down," Rowen sat back and reached to stroke his friend's moist hair away from his forehead. "Sage? You gonna talk to me? Who's going to get you?"

"Shikaisen...he said..." Sage shuddered.'

"Oh Dreamer, it was only a nightmare. Shikaisen is dead, and he'll never be able to hurt you ever again. Don't you remember Ryo using Inferno on him? He never knew what hit him."

"Dead? But...but I..."

"It wasn't real Sage, you were asleep," Rowen said gently. "I'm gonna get you some new bed clothes now, I'll be right..."

"No!" Sage squeezed his arm.

"Sage you can't sleep in this man..." Rowen sighed deeply, "Fine, we'll both go to the linen closet then."

"No!"

"Sage, you're being ridiculous now."

"You stay here."

"I am not staying on a wet bed!" Rowen snapped, he was grouchy and cranky and tired, and Blondie was starting to get on his nerves. At any other time of day he would have been appalled by his own actions, but that night, "Fine, get up, come on. We'll go to my bed then, come on! I'm tired!"

He used the blond's hold on his arm to pull him from the bed. He felt the blond yielding to his tug, and he began to fumbled back to his bed. He flopped back down on his rumbled bed sheets and pulled the blond down with him. He grabbed his pillow and brought it under his head as he lie down. Sage sat rigidly on the edge of the bed still shivering his breathing erratic. "Lie down," Rowen instructed. Sage made a small noise before complying, he lie down beside Rowen curling his knees into his chest putting his back to Rowen. Rowen grimaced at the dampness of Sage's thin night clothes, but for some reason as he felt the blond shivering against his back, he knew he wasn't going to be able to convince him to change out of them. Instead Rowen worked the covers from beneath them and pulled them over both of their bodies. "You want a pillow Sage?" The full size bed was ok for two bodies, but Rowen had never gotten used to sleeping with anyone and could make a full size bed seem only big enough for one person. All of the pillows were on his side of the bed, as were all of the blankets. He gently moved a pillow in Sage's direction, frowning when he didn't feel the blond make any moves to take it. "Sage?"

"They touched me Rowen."

Rowen sat up in bed as it someone had given him an electric shock, "Who touched you?"

"...said I felt so fresh and clean," Sage's soft voice murmured on.

"Sage, who?" his teeth were beginning to grind against each other. He was ready to get out his alchemy set and call up a certain demon to beat the shit out of him again.

"Spirits...so many, so dark. They all wanted me to help them do bad things, Rowen, and I told them I wouldn't. But in the end, I did."

Rowen almost sighed in relief, for a moment he thought Sage was telling him he'd ben raped. "Dreamer, you didn't do anything bad. You fought admirably, and held out longer than any of us could have done. That creep wanted you to put on your armor and you didn't."

"So many souls Rowen, so many lives lost because of me, and what I was too weak to control."

"Sage..."

"It's not my fault. It can't be my fault. You say that, but they say other things, and as long as THEY say that it's my fault I'll believe them."

"Who is they, Sage?" Rowen turned to stare at his friend's back in the darkness.

"The ones Halo killed, the innocents," Sage whispered. "They won't leave me alone. They think I should die, cross over so they can have their revenge on me. I...I tried. I was going to commit seppuku. But...but that's an honorable samurai death. I'm not honorable, so I was stopped. I shouldn't have been so dumb."

"I thought you said you didn't remember what happened today?"

"It happened today?"

"Yes," Rowen said. "Sage, how long have these...people...been talking to you? Do you hear them often?" He could smell his own fear, had his friend gone insane as Cye had said.

"When I close my eyes...when I sleep. I try not to, but I get so tired. When I closed my eyes in...there....I saw them, heard them. I saw monsters, and demons, and shapes, and heard voices, but most of all, I saw them. I close my eyes now and remember the monsters and demons, but I still see them, and hear them."

Rowen sighed in relief, it wasn't schizophrenia just bad dreams. If Sage had those dreams every night he was beginning to see why the blond hadn't slept since they'd returned. "I'm sorry Sage. Is there anything I can do?" He spoke calmly, being overly emotional at that time wouldn't benefit Sage or himself. He didn't want to scare the blond, or make him stop talking freely to him. He wondered what had freed Sage's tongue. Perhaps it was the late hour and lack of sleep and proper nourishment that made Sage forget he wasn't talking to anyone.

"Don't leave?"

"I won't."

"Ever?"

Rowen fought back a chuckle at the childish request, "Ever."

Sage shifted a bit in the bed, moving closer to Rowen's warmth, "Ro?"

"Hmm?" Rowen muttered sleepily.

"Will you stay awake with me?"

Rowen wanted to groan,"Sage, we've been up all day, it's time to sleep."

"Please?" his voice was shaky. "I can't sleep...Please?"

"Sage, come on, it's not healthy. How long has it been since you've gotten a decent's night rest huh? The hospital?"

"No...they drugged me. I woke up feeling disgusting and dirty."

"You haven't had a good night's sleep since you left for the United States. Sage, you're going to make yourself sick."

"Good, then maybe I'll die."

"Sage!"

"Please Rowen? Just for tonight?"

Rowen sighed. He really shouldn't give in, he should be volunteering himself to get Sage a glass of water and dropping a tranquilizer in it. But then Sage had been fed enough tranquilizers in the past few weeks to last 12 people a lifetime. He'd have to consult a doctor on just what to get to help his friend sleep, but he couldn't do that until morning. He propped himself up on one elbow and rolled his eyes to no one in particular, "Fine Dreamer, fine. Have it your way, we'll stay up. Turn on my light, and pass me my book, would you?"

We'll stay up tonight, and tomorrow we're going to look into your problem. He would have to hold the others at bay, as they would want to get at Sage and yell at him for the suicidal stunt he had pulled that taken 10 years from their lives. After carrying Sage back to the car, and getting him home, all of their energy, physical and emotional, had been spent. Sage had remained unconscious for the entire trip, which was lucky for him, because they all had felt the immediate need to scream at him should one of those grey eyes pop open. Sage hadn't woken up, and Kento had carried him to bed where Rowen tucked him in and collapsed into bed himself. Rowen should have yelled at him then. Sage had scared him to death...but yelling at someone who had woken up screaming and trembling, clinging to you like small child, and willingly climbing into your bed, did not seem appropriate. Especially since Sage had spoken of the incident, he'd actually said something about the time he'd spent in captivity. He'd let Rowen know what was on his mind and bothering him at the time, and it was a positive step in the right direction. Yelling might cause Sage to regress into the boy he was earlier that morning. Rowen would have to make sure they went slow, that no one condemned Sage for his brief waltz with insanity. Ryo and Kento would be hard to calm and convince, but Cye would help him.

The light came on, and Rowen was able to view his blond friend. He noted the paleness of his skin and the shadows beneath lifeless eyes. Blond hair hung unkempt and dull over his face mussed by sleep, leaving both eyes exposed to view.

Sage handed him his book, and curled back on his side in fetal position away from Rowen. Rowen opened his book to the page he had left off on, but gazed at his friend instead of reading. His shoulders were tense, his body tight as a drum.

Shikaisen was lucky he was already dead, because Rowen felt like teaching him things worse than it. No one was ever going to harm his friend again. He rested a hand on Sage's back and rubbed it in slow gentle circles. In the web he felt the tender caress of sleep over the other three warriors in different rooms it connected, and he could also feel the mild appreciation of comfort coming from the blond beside him. Sighing, he tossed the book from his lap, letting it smack gracefully onto the floor, and moved closer to Sage. He laid down taking the slightly trembling boy into his airs, bringing his slight body to his chest, and stroking his hair. The blond seemed to melt into his hold with a slight sough of comfort. "Rowen?"

"Hmm?"

"Don't leave?"

"Never, ever, Dreamer. I promise."

"Thanks."





**A/N: You like? You didn't like? Please review :) Take care!**