Beginning of the End

Well, to say the least, I am a little hurt that I only got two reviews for the last chapter. I mean, I knew it wasn't the greatest, but I really hoped that more would contribute to help make up my mind. However, I'm just going to plow ahead. I'm sorry if anyone doesn't like the choices that I have made with the timeline, what is going on around them, or who will receive the other four armors.

Thanks also to Jess and to the guest that were able to review to the last chapter! I really appreciated the time you took to do so. Please note that since you were the only two that replied, I plan to make my story with your opinions mixed. Jess requested no romance and I hope to keep it that way, but I MIGHT have one of the armor bearers be a girl, just for a different flare to put in.

Anyhow, here is what I have been able to compile in my long absence from any updates. I hope you enjoy.

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"You mean a dream where all of us died in facing a demon?" Cye's voice was whispered compared to the quiet of the room but it struck a note of fear in Sage and he shivered. Slowly, he nodded agreement. Cye took a deep breath then locked eyes with the warrior of Halo. "We all had the same dream…and to tell the truth, we really don't think it was a dream after all."

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They talked lightly for a while longer, positioning themselves on the single bed and bunk bed around the room. Their talk consisted on the aspects of the dream.

They finished their discussion when Sage had broken down in silent tears, telling them a little about what he had witnessed…he had seen them all die, had felt them all leave him alone in the world. He left out the last part with the girl because exhaustion was quickly catching up with him. He also discontinued when the hidden sobs had choked his words and Rowen came to his side to try and calm the warrior of light.

Rowen, who had stood up from the floor to comfort the warrior of light that still stood by the door, looked to his friends for advice as Sage silently trembled before them all. Ryo and Cye got off the single bed, scrambling up onto the top bunk as Rowen still tried to calm Sage at the doorway.

Rowen saw that the single bed was open after a few minutes and carefully led the blond to the bed, making him sit down as he settled beside him. He whispered comforting words to the sobbing blond, telling him it was okay; he reassured the blond that everything would be all right and none of them would ever willingly leave him until the blonde's breathing evened out, showing he had fallen asleep.

Rowen looked up at his other comrades to find they were all asleep as well. Kento, who had staked out the bottom bunk for himself, was snoring slightly while Ryo was curled at the foot of the top bunk. Cye had curled up close to the headboard of the top bunk, a hand draped over the edge as he lost himself among dreams. Rowen settled back against the wall that the single bed was pressed against, allowing Sage to rest on his chest.

Rowen hummed a song from a seventies movie he had watched once about Jesus, a man that stood out in the teachings of Christianity. For some reason, the song just seemed…right for the situation that was presented to them right now. Slowly, he began to do more than hum as the lyrics formed on his lips and spilled forth in a rich tenor he almost couldn't believe was his own. He faltered at first, but then continued on when it felt peaceful to hear his own voice echoing around the near-silent room.

Try not to get worried

Try not to turn onto

Problems that upset you

Don't you know…

Everything's Alright

Yes, Everything's fine

And we want you to sleep well tonight

Let the world turn without you tonight

Rowen hummed a few more stanzas, not knowing the words that went with the tune. As he did, he slowly stopped focusing on the concerns of the here and now. He slipped into slumber, parts of the song still flitting across his mind.

Don't you know…

Everything's Alright

Yes, Everything's fine…

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The front door opened and shut quietly the next morning, admitting a tired and drawn looking teenager, her hair pulled from her face in a messy ponytail. Her dark green eyes closed as she struggled to suppress a yawn. After all, she had only just gotten back from her job.

She grumbled as she threw down her jacket on the living room couch. She dug into her pants and pulled out all tips she had gotten from the bar. She also pulled out a simple slip of paper that had been folded many times since she had received it. It was her first paycheck from this job, and damned if she didn't feel she deserved every penny.

She piled the money on the kitchen table, determined to count it when she had eaten something…and maybe after a nap too…yeah, a nap was definitely sounding like a good idea.

She opened the door to the refrigerator, pulling out some frozen bagel and cream cheese. While she waited for her singular bagel to toast, she wandered into the first floor bathroom, her fingers trailing on the walls of her home.

And it really was HER home. Even though she was only fourteen years old, the house belonged to hers as long as she could pay taxes. She knew she could too, what with the fortune that the nice Miss. Mia Koji had left her. She bit her lip guiltily as she scrutinized herself in front of the mirror, picking up a brush to fix her ponytail and reliving the last few years of her life.

She, Keira Milan, had been left on the doorstep of "crazy old Mia" when she was barely a year old. However, crazy didn't seem to be the right word for Mia as the eighty-year old woman had taken Keira under her wing. She had raised the young girl as her own, keeping up with the child in all of her antics. How she had loved Miss Mia and all that she had done for her…

A sound from above startled Keira from her thoughts and she looked up at the ceiling, biting her lip in confusion. She was the only one who lived in this house now, except for a few strays that she had taken on. Those strays, however, only visited her an hour before she had to leave for work and never came into the house. So who was in the Koji mansion with her now?

Curiosity getting the better of her, she came out into the kitchen, not noticing her bagels as she looked at the upstairs hallway for any intruder.

There was no one there, but another slam against the upstairs floor told her that she wasn't alone. She froze for a moment, caught between fleeing the house and calling the cops from her neighbor's home or going upstairs to investigate. Her curiosity got the better of her as she stared up into the hall from the bottom of the stairs.

She put her foot on the first stair, heard it protest her weight and almost backed off. After all, wasn't there an old saying about curiosity? Mia had tried to teach them to her, to have Keira hold onto the past and treasure it but it had been a lost cause. After all, when you have space travel, hover cars, electronic books, and three-dimensional television to entertain yourself, what else could one possibly want from the past? That's right, absolutely nothing.

She continued up the stairs, her steps still unsure but treaded softly so as to not alert her intruder. She was thankful the safe that held the fortune Mia had passed onto her was down in the basement, safe from any common criminal. Without that to help her pay the rent on this wonderful, old house, she would be forced to the streets and to turn her back on the life that Mia had given her.

She stopped at the first bedroom on her left, peering into the half-open doorway at the two messed up beds. One was adorned with a rumpled green blanket while the other had a dark blue blanket pushed to the edge of the bed. She couldn't see anyone in this room, but something made her pause with her hand still resting on the doorknob.

She remembered, vaguely, when she had stumbled into this bedroom before. Mia had found her curled up on the windowsill like a kitten, basking in the sun. However, Mia had been anything but thinking the scene was adorable. It was one of the few times Mia had ever gotten upset with her. She had forcibly dragged Keira from the room, slamming the door with a deafining bang and telling Keira to NEVER step foot in there again.

When Keira, being inquisitive, had inquired as to who had slept there before, Mia had slapped the girl across the face. Having experienced for the first time why some of the people in the city called Mia insane, Keira had put a hand to her sensitive cheek in astonishment.

Keira had tried to leave at that point, but Mia had collapsed into a puddle of sobs by the door, crying out strange names she had never heard before, but would hear again in the years she stayed with the woman. She moaned over each name, being agonizingly slow as if to apologize to that person by showing her deepest sorrow in the name.

These scenes didn't happen often, but when they did, Keira learned to leave Mia to her lonesome. They happened more frequently last year, up to the point when Mia finally…

A bang from the far wall of the bedroom she still stared into startled her from her thoughts. She thought briefly why anyone would go into this first bedroom when the door had been unopened since Keira had been reprimanded for it the first time. Dust covered the floor and the windowsill, but the beds…hadn't they been made the last time she had wandered in here?

She couldn't remember, nor did she want to as she heard another sound coming from the room over. If it really was a criminal trying to take her valuables, he was going about it all wrong. Making as much noise as humanly possible should be the last thing the man would want to do.

She stepped up to the door, noting that this, too, had been another room that would bring on Mia's fits of insanity. She had learned to avoid this room especially, knowing it held more memories for the elder woman than the first. However, as she still heard someone goofing around in the room, she put her hand on the doorknob and turned…

What met her eyes were five young men. Two were on the top bunk, one on the bottom bunk, and two more on the single bed. Feathers floated around the room and a torn pillow lay in the middle of the floor. The young men, who had been laughing or something about what Keira supposed was a pillow fight, went dead silent upon her arrival.

Through numb lips, Keira was able to ground out seven important words.

"What are you doing in my house?"