Ronins Interrupted
By: Ghost of the Dawn
Chapter Twelve: Myriad of Nightmares
Robyn fought her way through an endless sea of heavy, thick darkness. It was like trying to walk through quick sand. The harder she fought, the more it seemed to pull her in. She could hear different voices from her past taunting her, hating her. All the negative energy around her was sucking her further into this everlasting nightmare. Why couldn't she move? Why couldn't she wake up? She could feel her life, her strength, her will to live draining away.
No! She couldn't die this way! Not so soon! Not when she finally found something to live for. When that streak of stubbornness ran through her, that was when Robyn could feel that maggoty, parasitic creature resting in her consciousness bring forth a full attack.
She was suddenly standing alone. It was very quiet and very empty. Out of the mists of this nothingness stepped five familiar figures. Robyn gasped in delight. Her friends had come! They had found her! Everything was going to be okay. She ran towards them, but stopped when she realized something was off. The guys; her friends didn't greet her in the same fashion. They all just stood there with dead gazed in their eyes. That was when Robyn was startled to realize that each one held a weapon. The same weapons each one wielded when in full armor though they weren't geared up this time. Simply in their every day clothes with blades all pointed at her.
Robyn could feel her heart being drained of all hope and feeling. She watched dumbly and with wide eyes as Cye, in the lead of the group, ran towards her with yari positioned on intent to run her through. Robyn's mind screamed for him to stop and, at the same time, her body suddenly reacted to the attack.
"What?!" Sailor Uranus cried as she saw the five armored forms standing behind Lady Ebony. The faces of the armor's wearers couldn't be seen through the masks, but where the eyes were they glowed red.
"It can't be," Sailor Mercury gasped. "They--they've turned against us."
"Believe it," Sailor Mars growled. "I knew you couldn't trust those jerks! They were trying to trick us into helping them all this time."
"Yes, weren't they so clever?" Lady Ebony smiled smugly at them as she traced the contours of Strata's arm with her fingers. "Such good boys. And now they will kill all of you--the only things left in my way!"
Several members of the Sailor Scouts faltered as the Ronin armors stepped towards them. Sailor Moon, however, stepped forward with a determined look on her face.
"I don't care!" she announced to the Mistress of Darkness. "I don't care how many people you have on your side or how many tricks you have. We're still fighting for our home and the people we love. We will beat you!"
Lady Ebony just continued to smile. "We'll see."
The armors stepped out as if by remote control and brandished their weapons. The Sailor Scouts readied themselves for the fight that was coming.
What if I just disappeared?
A slightly disoriented Sage wandered through a world that was foggy and unclear. It lacked reality and substance as if it were a dream. Where was he? How did he get there? And where was his armor?
It would be so easy.
Sage looked down to see he was dressed in his regular shirt and slacks. Where was Halo? He sensed he was somehow cut off from it, yet he wasn't alarmed. Why?
No one would notice if I left.
Wasn't there a battle he was fighting? Didn't he need his armor? Wasn't he in danger? Where was he?
No one would ever care.
"Look, here comes that girl," a young girl's voice reached his ears.
Sage spun around to see three young girls only a few yards away from him. Two of them were standing together as one talked to the other. The third was walking slowly up towards them. Sage blinked at the third. Was that.....Robyn? She looked twelve, maybe thirteen. It was a bit hard to tell it was her at all with that uncharacteristic dead pan look on her face and the fact that her head was bowed down as she approached.
"Pretend you don't see her," the first girl whispered to the second.
The two girls turned their backs as the young redhead passed.
"I don't like her, she's weird," the second girl whispered, though obviously she didn't wait until the younger Robyn was out of ear shot.
"Yeah," relayed the second. "I heard strange things happen and bad luck follows her where ever she goes. It's like she's jinxed or something."
"Or cursed! I'm not going near her! She might rub some of that off on me. It would be better if she just left this school. We don't need her kind here."
Sage stood stiff and clenched his fists to his side as the girls walked off laughing and tittering. He understood all too well how cruel and unforgiving children could be. How he had been teased and avoided as a child because of his looks. How they feared the stench of difference they felt about him and those piercing eyes of his that made them all run away. Those cursed physical traits he was powerless to change and was forced to even grow out his hair to cover his appearance because of them.
There is no place for me here.
The blonde snapped back to attention when he noticed the younger Robyn was walking his way. That voice he thought he was just hearing; he knew where it was coming from now.
Where do I belong?
"Robyn," Sage said gently as she approached.
But the young girl didn't seem to hear him. She neither looked up or even slowed her pace. It was like he wasn't even there. He did not exist at this time. It was just an apparition of the past come to haunt him for a time. Or perhaps, he was haunting it. It was so hard to tell which one of them was real in this place. And it was hard on him to endure the fact that neither of these dreams could meet together so he could assure this little girl that she would be okay.
The disheartening scene faded away and Sage spun around as he heard Robyn, the present Robyn's abject scream of horror.
Sailor Uranus grunted as she hit into Sailor Neptune and both were sent flying to the ground. The armors had attacked hard and fast and, since the girls had never fought anything like this before, they were grasping at straws on how to counterattack. Uranus' side stung smartly from being hit with the butt of Strata's golden bow. Now the mammoth armor was standing over the two outer senshi, ready with an arrow for the final blow.
"Hey you bully!" Sailor Venus shouted as she ran to join the fight. "Take this! VENUS CRESCENT BEAM SMASH!"
Before the attack could connect with her opponent, the Armor of Halo jumped in the way. Sailor Venus gasped as the light attack was easily absorbed.
"What the?!" Sailor Uranus cried as she tried to get to her feet.
"H-How can they do that?" Neptune asked in awe.
"They're monsters!" Uranus growled.
The Armor of Halo powered up its no-datchi and sent a similar energy blast back at them. The three scouts all cried out as they were hit and defeated.
Kento stayed crouched in a defensive position as he cautiously scanned the layout in all directions. Who was it that had brought him here and took away his armor? And when were they going to attack? His new environment felt strangely empty even though he could hardly see what lay five feet in front of him. He tensed, waiting for the first strike from his hiding opponent.
He didn't get one. Instead, a fearful cry broke his steady stance as Kento recognized the voice coming from the unknown.
"Robyn?"
His entire surroundings seemed to suddenly change into an unfamiliar city as a scared Robyn ran around the corner in torn jeans and a sweater. She looked so frightened; panicked. Mere microseconds later, a larger male form jetted around the building after her. Kento couldn't believe his eyes. It was that Jason punk! The guy who could morph himself into that beast-dog thing. The guy who worked for and was killed by Nago, the Demon Prince. What was he doing here and alive?!
Kento stepped forward to catch Robyn in her flight and to face off with this creep that was chasing her. His eyes grew wide as Robyn's apparition passed right through his body. So, too did Jason's. He turned around to witness as the scene continued on behind him as if he weren't even there. Really, he wasn't. Or, he hadn't been at the time this event had happened.
Jason quickly caught up to the smaller redhead and shoved her in the back so she fell face down on the sidewalk. Her cry of pain and surprise stung Kento's ears as she slid forward on the cement, tearing some skin off her face. What was this he was watching? Had this really happened at some point in the past? Why was he being shown this? Was someone trying to play with his head?
Jason haughtily strolled over and stamped his foot solidly on Robyn's back.
"Like it or not, Red," he told her. "You're the only one we can use now. It has to be you."
"You can't make me do it!" Robyn screamed at him as she tried to jump back on her feet.
Jason was quick to respond by hitting her again, causing the girl's light form to go flying several more feet before landing and sliding on her side.
"Why you cowardly bastard," Kento growled at Jason. "Is beating up girls the only thing you can do!?"
He swung wildly at the taller, American figure. But his fists never connected. Jason stalked on unharmed while Kento was left to seethe at his uselessness.
"You were supposed to be my friend," Robyn choked out as the tall young man stood over her. "How can you do this to me; to us!? We're all going to die for that monster! Can't you see what he's doing to you?"
The dark haired young man just glared heartlessly at her. "Nago has given me more power than I ever dreamed of and there's no way I'm going to let you or anyone else take that away from me!"
He roughly pulled Robyn's bruised, limp body up by the shirt and then tucked her under one arm. "Come on Red, you're the last one to go through the ceremony. Then our Master's reign can begin."
Kento watched with trembling fists as his friend was carried away. Ceremony? It was the one Robyn told them about when she was forced to feel the dark power of the Prince of Demons running through her body to become one of those who would summon him. She had spoken of it like it was the most terrifying ordeal she had ever been through. And now it was happening to her all over again. Kento was powerless to stop it as Robyn was carried off into an old warehouse where her soul's torture would begin.
The bearer of Hardrock wanted to follow when he heard Robyn scream from another direction. This voice felt far more real and immediate and Kento ran off to find it. He pledged to himself that he would use every ounce of power and strength within him to prevent what he saw from ever happening to her again.
"What do we do, Jupiter?" Sailor Mercury worried as they were faced down by the Armor of Hardrock.
The taller, brunette scout clenched her teeth into a snarl. "One thing's for sure," she replied stubbornly. "I'm not going down without a fight!"
She raced towards the possessed armor, flipping over it and then landing a kick into it from behind. The armor seemed to hardly feel the attack. Without even looking in her direction it shot out an arm and sent Sailor Jupiter to the ground.
"Jupiter!" Sailor Mercury cried as she ran to her friend's aid. She had been hit pretty hard and she looked in pain.
Sailor Mercury steeled her gaze on her new foe. Whether or not she still had doubts about them, she had to protect her friends.
"Okay, you're asking for it," her voiced trembled a bit despite the warning. "SHINE AQUA--"
She was cut off as the orange armor merely pointed its staff at them and the ground was ripped up beneath their feet. Some of the other scouts who saw what happened wanted to help, but they had troubles of their own.
Rowen felt as if he were floating in a black sky. A sky without any stars. It had to be. There was nothing solid anywhere around him. He had to be in the sky. But how did he get clear up there? And without the help of Strata? Why had his armor abandoned him in such a place? Where had Strata gone?
The sound of a siren quickly placed solid ground under his feet and a visible environment around him. The lights from an ambulance flashed as the white vehicle drove away. Rowen watched it leave in confusion. Why was he seeing this? Who were they taking away? He glanced to the side and immediately came face to face with new surroundings. He was now inside the house he had been standing outside of within the blink of an eye.
In the middle of the living room sat a little red haired girl. She had a doll in her hand which seemed to have her full attention as she straightened every hair on the toy's head and fingered its facial features. Rowen cocked his head to the side, wondering what he was looking at and why he was seeing this. That little girl looked so familiar......why?
Heavy footsteps resounded in the quiet room and Rowen looked up to see a man he did recognize and his gut turned when he finally realized what he was witnessing.
"This is all your fault," the man said as his shadow fell over the child. "Your mother is dead because of you. Because you made her life miserable."
"I didn't do it," the little red haired girl replied quietly to her doll. "Mama did it herself."
"You..." her father seethed. "You'll go straight to hell for this sin!"
The little girl, Rowen did not doubt it was Robyn now, did not reply. She merely stood up with her back facing her father, doll still in hand.
"You little brat!" Robyn's father yelled. "How dare you ignore me!!"
He backhanded the little girl, sending her sprawling to the floor. Rowen was frozen in his spot, appalled that someone could do something like that to a child. But little Robyn took the beating soundlessly as she got back to her knees.
"Why should I care?!" she screamed back. "No one else's mothers hurt them! She didn't love me! How could she be my mother?"
Her father's face turned red as his blood boiled. He let out a cry as he raised an angered fist to strike her again.
"Stop it!" Rowen demanded as he ran to catch the offending fist in his before it could strike. But the second he tried to connect with the apparition, it disappeared and he was left, befuddled and alone, in the dark once more.
Then, there was that scream.
Sailor Mars and Sailor Moon stood back to back against the Armor of Torrent and the Armor of Wildfire which stood on either side of them.
"Everyone's getting their butts kicked!" Mars exclaimed. "We can't penetrate those stupid armors!"
"We can't give up now," Sailor Moon encouraged. "There has to be some way to beat them!"
Just then, Torrent attacked. Mars gasped as Sailor Moon tried to dodge the yari as it was swung at her. With the fire senshi's attention diverted, the Armor of Wildfire jumped in and slashed her side with one of its katanas. Sailor Mars cried out in pain as she grabbed her side and stumbled backwards.
"REI!" Sailor Moon cried as she watched her friend fall to the ground; a crimson stain decorating the side of her fuku.
Sailor Moon stared hard at her adversaries. The ones who dare try to hurt her friends and destroy her home.
"All right, that's it!" she cried and pulled out her staff. "You will NOT get away with this! I will stop you!"
As she spoke, Torrent was already powering up its sure kill.
"Mommy, can I help you wash the dishes?"
Ryo stumbled in this startling new atmosphere. Where had this kitchen come from? It looked so old style and retro. Even worse than his grandmother's. How did he get here? Where was the battle? What was going on?
"Sure you can Robyn."
Robyn?
Ryo turned his head to the scene at the kitchen sink. There stood a motherly looking woman wearing an apron with her yellow-brown hair pulled up in a messy bun. Her arms were submerged in a sink full of soapy water as she scrubbed the dinner plates. At her feet, a small girl with wild red hair pushed one of the chairs from the table inch by inch to the sink.
Robyn? Ryo wondered again. That bright red hair was almost a given. Was this really her? How old could she be? No more than four or five, he guessed.
The little girl finally reached her destination and gave a small grunt as she climbed up on the chair and then pulled herself to her feet so she could peek over the counter at the murky water. Her green eyes shined bright with joy that she was able to be so helpful.
All Ryo could do was blink. If that really was Robyn than this woman was.....her mother?
The dark haired youth walked up to the pair almost in a daze. Neither seemed to notice him and, in the back of his mind, he kind of expected it though he still wasn't sure where he was exactly. He couldn't stop staring at this woman standing now mere inches from him. He studied her face carefully as she held up dishes for her daughter to scrub. Ryo didn't remember anything of his own mother or what she looked like. Was this really Robyn's mom? She looked so....normal. She looked sane and level headed. She looked......
Ryo felt his heart freeze as the woman's face suddenly changed as if she were possessed by someone else. A hateful sneer overtook her features as her hand hovered over the little girl's head. In the blink of an eye, the child's head was in the water with her mother's arm stubbornly holding it down. Ryo was powerless to do anything but watch on in pure horror as the little body kicked and struggled to break free. On the woman's face was a horrid look of satisfaction that would forever haunt him in his dreams.
The kicks were getting weaker when a door somewhere suddenly slammed. Robyn's mother instantly let go and the little girl fell to the hard floor, gasping and sobbing. She shook her head to get the soapy water out of her eyes and gazed up at her mother who still held that look of hatred on her face. Little Robyn gasped and shied away, huddling up in a corner out of her mother's reach. The terrible woman looked almost as if she would pursue when a man--Robyn's father-- stepped into the room.
"What's going on?" he demanded.
Robyn's mother looked at him with a steeled gaze and then stalked out of the room. Her father looked after the woman and then down at his daughter. The child was still curled up in a terrified ball, hastily wiping away water that dribbled down her face and soaked into her clothes. Her body was wracked with fearful sobs and hic-ups. Robyn's father just glanced idly in her direction before leaving the room as well.
Ryo was beside himself as he was left alone with the crying child. How could they do that? How could they not care? He approached the little girl shaking with wide eyes and knelt beside her.
"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I can't help you. I can't comfort you. But during that same time, I was a lonely child, too. I know what that feels like. We've found each other now though. We don't have to be lonely or afraid any more. We can take care of each other so we'll never have to be alone again."
He stretched out his hand to her in hopes of somehow connecting. In that instant, the apparition of Robyn's childhood disappeared. Ryo jumped to his feet again as a scream reverberated in his head and he was swung around in the darkness to see Cye standing there with a frozen look on his face. The bearer of Torrent's mouth quivered as his eyes stayed glued on the scene he was witnessing.
The other Ronins appeared by his side as well; all called together by the same sound. They each followed Cye's transfixed gaze to share was he was witnessing.
Cye couldn't move from his spot. He had seen it all; the entire scenario. Forced to witness as five reflections of he and his friends--copies of the ronins--appeared before Robyn. She had greeted them happily until they all turned on her. Cye cried out as a mirror of his own self led the attack. He was never heard and was somehow stuck to his spot. Robyn had cried out in surprise as her once thought to be trusted friends were upon her. There was a flash of red, and then the scene wasn't the same anymore.
Robyn gave a blood curdling scream--the same one that had called the real ronins together. She stared, shaking at the crimson liquid staining her hands and arms. The five figures before her all fell lifeless to the ground and pools of blood gathered around their bodies. Tears stung her eyes as she trembled from the sight of Cye's bleeding body, dead at her feet.
She fell to her knees as she felt the remainder of her strength leave her. This was what the dark presence had been searching her subconscious for. Her hands clenched into trembling fists as she leaned into the pool of blood mixing from the fallen warriors as it gathered around her. Hot, stinging tears feel freely like salty rivers down her cheeks. This was her biggest fear; her greatest agony.
"NOOO!" she cried to the still darkness. "I didn't mean to! I didn't mean for this to happen! I'm sorry! It's all my fault! I killed you! I'm so sorry!"
"Robyn, we're okay. We're right here," Rowen wanted to yell to her. But he was frozen in his spot. He had even lost the power over his own voice.
The others instantly found this out, too in their attempts to reach her.
"I do nothing but hurt everyone close to me! Why did they have to die!? Why do I have to be alone again!? It's always my fault!"
Robyn continued to sob miserably over the dead bodies and there wasn't a single thing the real ronins could do to reach her. She seemed just as untouchable as her younger visions had been. But this one had to be the real Robyn. How could they get to her?
What if I just disappeared?
Sage's eyes grew wide as Robyn's previous thoughts reverberated in his head.
It would be so easy.
Did she still think that way?
No one would ever care.
"I would."
Sage had not actually spoken the words, but he might as well have. Robyn, still on her knees, gasped and snapped her head around to look their way. The ronins all collectively held their breaths as Robyn stared at them all with tear filled eyes. She had heard! She could see them!
The second that contact was established, however, the group of warriors were instantly pulled away. It felt similar to a powerful shove in the chest as each were thrown back to the reality they had left.
Kento blinked as he felt the full solidness of his body once again. He raised the battle mask on his armor and looked around. Now he was back in the throne room? What was going on? He looked at the torn up ground to see Sailor Venus, Uranus, and Neptune, battered and bruised, trying to get to their feet. What on earth had happened to them?
Rowen swung his head from side to side. He was back in his armor again. But, back from where? Where had he been? What happened to everyone? They were all together for one second and then they were all torn apart again.
At his side, his gaze met with Sage's who looked just as bewildered as he felt. A few yards away lay the pained and moaning pair of Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter. They looked as though they had been fighting a whole army. Who did that to them?
Ryo almost stumbled as he felt his body and spirit merge and center themselves once again. He was back in his armor now? Why was his battle mask down? He willed it away and the first thing to catch his eyes was the trail of blood decorating one of his blades. Ryo then looked over at the fallen Sailor Mars and suddenly everything made perfect, sickening sense.
Cye awoke to a powered up yair in his hands. He saw Sailor Moon in its line of fire and gasped, pulling the weapon upward as it spewed out energy. The power of the Super Wave Smasher shot harmlessly above them all and Cye breathed out in relief. Crisis averted. Or.....was it just beginning?
"MOOOOON......"
What is she doing? Both Ryo and Cye thought to themselves.
"PRINCESS...."
That sounded like an energy call. Who was she going to attack?
"ELIMINATION!!!!"
Ryo cried out in surprise and pain as he was suddenly engulfed in white, searing power.
"RYO!" Cye called as his friend and comrade was blasted several yards away where he landed and his body lay motionless.
"What did you do that for!?" Cye then demanded of the Moon Princess. That was the first time she could see his eyes and Sailor Moon found herself baffled at the indignation burning in them. "What did we ever do to you??"
Having been almost forgotten amongst the confusion and the fighting, Lady Ebony just stood there in complete shock and surprise. She had lost hold of her iron puppets! She had locked away the spirits of the five warriors inside the dark crystal so they might also know the agony of the nightmares it produced. But the crystal had spewed them back out and the hold she had on them was cut off. How? Why? The dark rock protruding from the ground seemed to catch her attention in answer to the questions and Lady Ebony's eyes grew wide.
Unbelievable! It wasn't possible! Yes, the girl had to have some sort of power, but there was no way in creation she had THAT much power. Yet, even as she denied this, the crystal began to grow and crackle as energy built up inside it.
"How dare you?!" Sailor Jupiter growled as she helped Sailor Mercury to her feet. "How can you help bring destruction to your own world?"
"Come again?" Rowen asked, confused. "Your friend is the one that tried to blow away Ryo."
Sailor Jupiter was rendered speechless. What was up with these guys? Did they think she was an idiot? Did they think they could get away with it by acting like they didn't know what was going on?
Rowen and Sage were looking over at Kento for answers. The bearer of Hardrock just shrugged. He was just as clueless as everyone else.
"Hey dudes?" he then asked as a thought hit him. "You don't suppose.....we did all this, did we?"
The three ronins looked around at the destruction. Each had to admit, the damage done looked like it was wreaked from their powers. But none of them recalled doing anything. Nor did they notice a chilled wind that was beginning to pick up now.
Ryo grunted as he struggled to regain control over his stunned body. Every part of him tingled with numbness. What kind of power was that? It wasn't like anything he had encountered from the Dynasty. Their attacks were always so full of negative energy. This one felt so strange. So different. And as his armor tried to reflect the blast, he could feel its confusion. As if it wasn't sure what it was being hit with or how to cope. It had never been hit with pure energy before. It was an odd sensation, but definitely not a permanently crippling one.
"Hey Ryo, are you okay over there?" he heard Cye call to him.
"I'll live," Ryo replied as he stumbled back to his feet and looked around for his katanas. He was always losing those things. And when did it start to get so windy?
"H--how can he be standing?"
Cye turned back to a very confused Sailor Moon.
"The Moon Power is supposed to completely destroy anything with negative energy. But he's still there. It didn't even hurt him. That means......"
Now Cye was at a loss for words. Why did she look so lost and puzzled. He didn't get a chance to reply when a dramatically stronger gust of wind hit him in the back and almost knocked him, even with his heavy armor, right off his feet.
"What's going on? Where's that wind coming from?" Sage called above the roar. He was using an arm in attempts to protect his face from the flying debris.
"Guys, I don't want to do the whirlwind thing again," Kento has to quip.
"It's coming from that crystal!" Rowen exclaimed. "Look at it!"
Indeed, the black rock jutting up from the throne room floor was alight with energy. Blue arcs of electricity danced around it, growing more and more intense. And with it, so was the wind swirling around it.
Sailor Mars and Jupiter cried out as they were being swept away by the unnatural hurricane.
"Hold on!" Sage ordered as he grabbed Jupiter's hand. Mercury quickly held fast onto her. By now, Sage had to plant the blade of his sword into the ground just to keep himself from blowing away. Rowen was right next to him, hoping that the combined weight of both their armors would be enough to hold them steady.
"Just hold onto us!" he called to the girls.
"First you're trying to kill us, then you're trying to save us," Jupiter accused. "Would you guys make up your minds?"
At the same time, Kento with Venus, Neptune, and Uranus, had found a better shelter and were all taking cover behind a chunk of the floor that was raised up out of place, courtacy of the Iron Rock Crusher inflicted earlier.
Sailor Moon was stubbornly hanging onto the wounded Sailor Mars who was in no condition to do anything to save herself. Ryo and Cye quickly followed Sage and Rowen's example and anchored themselves down in hopes of protecting them somewhat from the powerful wind.
"Mistress, what are we going to do?" Katana asked of Lady Ebony. The cat creature had chosen to stay out of site during the battle and only now was gracing the scene. "What is causing this, my lady?"
"It's her," Ebony growled as she held up her multiple arms to protect her face from the wind. Her powers were the only thing preventing her from blowing away now. "I don't know how, but she's reverting the crystal's power. I will not have it!"
Lady Ebony threw a black ball of energy at the rock. It crackled and sizzled as it connected, but otherwise, accomplished nothing.
The wind continued to whistle and whirl around violently. Arcs of energy danced around all over the place. Above it all, a high pitched scream grew above the chaos. The sound grew more and changed. What sounded like one scream now sounded like many; along with cries and shouts and insults and incoherent mumbles.
"What's going on?" Sailor Moon cried as she continued to clutch Sailor Mars' body.
"It's Robyn," Cye said as he gritted his teeth. Only Ryo could really hear him. "All those nightmares we saw, she's experiencing them all at once. She's being forced to relive everything bad that's happened to her at the same time. It could destory her! I have to save her!"
"CYE!" Ryo called as Torrent suddenly took off. He tried to get up after him, but he couldn't leave the two girls unprotected; especially with one of them wounded by his own sword. Also, the wind was so powerful, he couldn't summon the strength enough to move against it. How Cye managed to fight his way forward was a mere marvel in itself.
"Robyn!" Cye called into the wind. The closer to the crystal he got, the stronger the wind fought against him. He took one more courageous step and was lifted right of his feet and sucked into the whirl wind churning violently around the crystal.
Come on Cye, you can do it, Kento mentally cheered his friend on. If anyone can get to her, you can buddy.
"What is that awful noise?" Sailor Venus demanded as she covered her ears. Those screams in the wind. They sounded like that of a child. A child in incredible agony. It was a sound more than any of their ears could bear and each felt like they were going to be ripped apart if it didn't cease. If that intense pain wasn't somehow lessened.
Cye had to force himself to stay focused, though it was quite difficult when one was spinning violently through the air. If he hit anything at this speed, it could very easily crack his armor and even his skull. But Cye would not let himself worry about such a trifle thing as his own well being while Robyn's life was still at stake. Stretching out his yari, he took careful aim and slammed the three pronged blade into the ground, making his body jerk to a stop. Hardly able to see, Cye wrapped his arms around the pulsating crystal and held on for dear life, praying all the way.
"Robyn!" he called to it. "Robyn, it's me. I'm right here. You have to fight it! You have to be strong! Don't let all the bad things control you! We're all here for you! Help us! Fight it Robyn! Please!"
Cye closed his eyes as hot tears spilled out. There was no way she heard him. How could she? Not with that living hell of a nightmare exploding around her. How could he get through that? Was she going to die from this? Was she going to die a victim of her nightmares? As a child, he had wanted to save Robyn from her pains and trials so badly. But he couldn't. He didn't have the power to stop it. Just like he didn't have the power to stop what was happening to her now. Everything he had ever did for her was for nothing. He was a failure as a protector. He was useless.
"Just watch, I'll be a hero someday."
Cye's eyes popped wide open as somehow, above the incessant screaming of the evil wind, a tender voice was heard. A voice that sounded and spoke words that were vaguely familiar. Though it seemed impossible, two small children were manifested in the storm. They were miraculously untouched by the galling wind tearing around them. There was a little girl with wild, thin red hair kneeling on the ground, playing in the dirt. Next to her crouched a boy with just as wild rusty brown hair. He had a stick in his hand and was drawing in the dust as well.
"I'll be big and strong and I'll beat up all kinds of monsters and bad things. Hi-yah!"
He swung his stick in the air as if it were some deadly weapon. The little girl, however, only laughed at her serious companion.
"But Cye-Kun," she reasoned. "You don't like to fight."
The rusty haired boy blinked. He looked over at the wild, red haired girl with the big green eyes and then slumped his shoulders, letting his stick drag on the ground.
"Do you think I can still be a hero without fighting?" he asked doubtfully as he plopped himself down in the dirt with his friend.
"I don't know. How do you stop bad guys if you don't fight them?" She then laughed again. "You're too gentle to fight anyone!" she teased and then punched him in the arm.
"Ow!" the little boy complained. He moodily rubbed his arm and then gave a deep sigh. "I still want to be a hero," he mumbled stubbornly.
"You can be my hero," the little girl smiled into his face.
"Really?" came the wide-eyed reply.
"Yeah. Even if you won't fight, I'll let you be my hero."
There was a span of silence.
"Robyn?" the little boy then spoke. "I would fight.....for you."
The entire congregation watched in silence as that simple scene seemed to tear away all the savageness of the storm and all the cries of anguish that were echoing in their souls.
Lady Ebony took a step back, eyes wide in a mixture of surprise and fear. She could feel her powers of the Black Crystal begin to dwindle. It wasn't working right any more. Something had changed it and the dark energy harvest had stopped. What was going on?? Surely the tides couldn't have been turned so easily with just this one thought!
Cye, arms still tight around the crystal, was blinking back tears. He had almost forgotten what he had said all those years ago. But Robyn had remembered. And she used that memory to fight off all the negativity around her. Something he had done finally made a difference.
The Bearer of Torrent blinked again when he felt a great power build up in his arms. The crystal! It felt like it was going to explode! Cye grabbed his yari and jumped back as fast and far as he could. Everyone was still watching with great anticipation as Robyn's body was slowly being pushed out of her dark prison. Her head and torso were freed when the crystal suddenly shattered and Robyn's body was thrown to the ground among the broken, black shards.
"There she is!" Sailor Uranus breathed as she suddenly jetted from her crude shelter and ran over to the body on the ground.
"Robyn!" Cye called as he scrambled to his feet.
"Stay back!" Uranus threatened as the other Ronins began to advance. "I won't let you have this girl! I won't allow you to use her to destroy our world."
"That goes for me, too." Sailor Neptune ran to join her companion.
The Ronins, for their part, just looked befuddled at what this woman was saying.
"What is she talking about?" Sage asked of Rowen.
The Bearer of Strata could only shrug.
"Well, I think we should take Robyn and get out of here," Halo continued.
"Sounds like a plan to me Sage."
The two fully armored young men started towards the two outer senshi.
"I said STAY BACK!" Sailor Uranus yelled. She slammed her fist to the ground and a large tremor raced from her touch under the surface to explode under the two ronin's feet.
"Sage! Rowen!" Ryo called as he went a few steps forward himself. What was going on? Why were these girls suddenly turning on them? Ryo didn't like the idea of fighting these women in fukus, but he would if it meant saving his friends.
"What are you crazy broads doing?" Kento screamed at them. "We didn't do anything to you! Why do you keep attacking us?"
"You're the ones who attacked us first!" Sailor Jupiter accused. She was holding up a beaten Sailor Mercury who was in a bad way from Hardrock's earlier attack. "You pretended to be on our side and you pretended to be Robyn's friend. But you were just using her! You're liars and you're traitors!"
Sailor Venus got up to join her friends. Her face looked more disappointed than angry.
"How dare you use people that way," she said in a cracking voice. She looked right over at Cye, the one she had been so sure couldn't be evil. But not any more. "As the Sailor Scout of love and friendship, I can't forgive this!"
In the background, Sailor Moon was holding a badly wounded Sailor Mars and there were tears in her eyes. How could they do this sort of thing to people? She couldn't forgive this either. She would fight them.
"Sailor Scouts!" Uranus hollered. "We must defend this world! Prepare to attack!"
"Stop...."
The voice was small, but it held enough authority to catch everyone's attention.
"Stop it."
A weakened Robyn slowly pulled herself to her feet and dragged her tired body out from behind where the Sailor Scouts were standing to defend her. She slowly inched forward until she was between the two parties.
"Robyn?" Sailor Venus called to her. "Are you okay?"
But the redhead returned the concern with a hard look.
"Don't you hurt them," she threatened. "Any of you. I won't stand for it."
"Robyn, you don't understand," Sailor Jupiter insisted. "They're not your friends, they--"
"No!" Robyn cut her off. Tears were starting to pool as she stood her ground. "They're good! They're better than any of you!" She swallowed and looked to the ground. "Each one of them is a better person than I'll ever be."
The scouts were all shocked into silence. The ronins were quiet as well; but for a far different reason as each felt a pang inside at the girl's words which they just couldn't quite understand.
"YOU!" Lady Ebony's scream of outrage broke it all. "HOW DARE YOU DESTROY MY PLAN!!"
Robyn watched, frozen, as a ball of black and electric blue energy shot towards her.
"Robyn!" Cye called, running for her.
Rowen, who was closer, actually shoved Sage out of the way as he raced for his friend and jumped right in the way of the energy blast.
"ROWEN!" Robyn screamed as she watched in horror while he took the blast.
The blue haired young man screamed as the black energy ripped through his body as if he were being electrocuted by a black current. The energy died down and Rowen's body stood there a moment, now stripped down to sub armor. He spasmed and twitched for a moment, and then collapsed.
"Rowen!" Robyn called again as he began to falter.
She wrapped her arms around his torso from behind and tried to slow his fall as his legs gave way. Robyn fell to her knees, her arms still around Rowen with his head lolling back against her shoulder.
"Rowen! Dude, are you okay?" Kento asked as he ran up to them.
Rowen just coughed and smiled weakly, looking over at a startled Cye.
"I beat you," he rasped to Torrent with a small grin. Hardly a shadow of his usual sarcastic smirk.
It quickly vanished, however, as Robyn hugged him around the shoulders and buried her face in his hair.
"Why?" she cried, dampening his hair with her tears. "Why do you risk so much just for me?"
Before anyone could give her an answer, Robyn suddenly started gagging as if someone had her by the throat. She was then surrounded by energy and lifted off the ground.
"You won't get away with this!" Lady Ebony vowed. She was now floating several yards above them all; pulling Robyn up towards her with her powers. "You've shattered my precious crystal and ruined everything! How dare you think you have power over me! I'll kill you for that! I'll drain you dry of every ounce of energy you have left."
"Robyn!" Ryo called after her.
"We've got to stop her, guys!" Kento announced.
"Yeah, but we've never dealt with this kind of magic before," Sage rationalized. "Just one hit stripped Rowen, not only of his strength, but of his whole armor and it will do the same thing to us."
"Well we can't just sit here!" Kento argued.
"Take me!" Cye called to the air above him, catching his comrade's attention. When the six armed woman didn't notice, he picked up a good sized rock and threw it at her. "I said take me, damnit!"
Lady Ebony gasped at the impudent assault. "How dare you, you little--"
"You need a certain type of energy, right?" Cye insisted. "Take mine. These armors are neither good nor evil. Either type of energy can flow through them. That should be adequate enough for you."
Lady Ebony paused in thought as Robyn continued to choke and fight against the invisible hands squeezing her neck. The Dark Mistress thought back to when her power drained that of the dark blue warrior. He was right! The power that these young men held had the capability to be manipulated either way. Sure, this new power source wasn't as perfect as that of the girl's, but with the crystal now destroyed....
"You will do then."
Ebony lifted her hold from Robyn, and the girl's body fell towards the ground. Sailor Jupiter and Venus quickly ran to catch her.
As for the ronins, all five of them were suddenly encompassed in separate energy balls and lifted off the ground. At the same time, the environment began to change drastically.
"What's going on?" Sailor Moon cried.
"Lady Ebony no longer has the power to keep the Out World stable," Sailor Neptune explained.
"We're back in Toyama," Mercury observed.
Indeed, they were now on top of that same building they were standing next to when they first left this world. With Earth's vast, empty sky about her, Lady Ebony took off through the air to finish her energy gathering in peace. The captured ronins trailed after her as she flew away.
"No!" Robyn struggled with her last bit of energy as she helplessly watched her friends being taken away. She fought to get back on her feet. "Bring them back!" She cried as she ran forward. But her weakened body gave out instantly and she fell to her knees.
Sailor Venus slowly approached as the young red head let her hair fall about her bowed face as she clenched her fists and let the tears fall.
"They're all I've got," she whispered.
Venus knelt down next to her and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry Robyn, we're still here. If we all put our powers together, I'm sure we can save them."
Robyn's head shot up and she looked at the taller blonde as if she had just casually blurted out the meaning of life and now everything made sense. Robyn slowly pulled herself to her feet again and started inching towards a new destination.
"Robyn?" Venus called. "Where are you going?"
The redhead soon found what she was looking for. A pile of broken crystal shards that were now present in this world as well without Lady Ebony's power to keep them in the other dimension. Robyn stared down at the broken fragments and then held her palm over them and closed her eyes.
"What is she trying to do?" Sailor Neptune wondered out loud.
"I think the fatigue has made her brain a bit unsettled," Jupiter commented skeptically.
Robyn ignored them as she concentrated. If only Lady Ebony knew what she had learned inside that crystal. If she only knew where her real power lied. It was her friends that gave her the strength to break apart from the crystal's hold on her mind. It was the thought of her friends that allowed her to over come the bad memories. And now, it would be her friends that would give her enough power to fight this evil.
The scouts watched in awe as the crystal shards suddenly took life and began piecing themselves back together. Before their eyes the Dark Crystal was made whole again and then it began to shrink in size. Robyn kept her eyes shut as it shrank to a mere two inches tall and then was absorbed into her chest. In this, Robyn began a transformation of her own. Black lightning and deep fog billowed out and engulfed the young girl. Energy sizzled and crackled and then vanished, leaving a very different looking person in its place.
Was that woman still Robyn? It was hard to tell. This female figure looked older and more developed. He hair had lengthened and deepened in color to a thick blood-like crimson. Around her new considerably more ample body was a low cut black dress, similar to that which Lady Ebony wore. In fact, she looked quite a lot like the Dark Mistress now, save for the fact that Robyn still didn't have six pairs of arms. But she did have the same dark eyes.
"Robyn?" Sailor Mercury called hesitantly. "That can't really be--"
The unfamiliar figure merely glanced at them before turned her gaze skyward.
I'll save you now, my friends, she thought. You have all done so much for me, I'll use every drop of power in me to get you back. Hold on for me.