"What the hell is going on?!" Ryo yelled as he wiped the blood from his lip.

Sage was standing in front of the bathroom mirror, also wiping away blood from a scratch on his cheek. He leaned against the bathroom sink, trying to get a hold of the events that had just transpired. As he ran cold water into the sink, he thought about how the day had started and ended in two totally different places. Rowen, for once, was happy about the way his life was going. Then, in a blink of an eye, it turned for the worse. Sage cupped his hands and stuck his hands under the faucet, gathering a handful of cool water. He splashed the refreshing liquid across his face, and drained it from the sink.

"I don't know what's going on. All I do know is that he didn't seem to think that we were us." Sage said quietly as he stepped back into the dojo.

Ryo looked up at Sage quizzically, "He did call us demons. But why? What started all of this?"

Sage shrugged, and sat cross legged in front of Ryo on the floor, "Let's worry about the "why" later. We need to figure out where he ran off to."

They both closed their eyes, pondering for a moment on where their troubled friend was going. Sage tried and tried to link up with Rowen's mind, but his own kept picturing Rowen from earlier that evening. His eyes looked so confused and petrified when they were holding him down. It was almost as though he really did think that they were truly going to hurt him. And that scream for help....

Sage shook his blonde mane to escape the thought, and buried his head in his hands, "I can't concentrate," he admitted.

"I know." Ryo said as he leaned his arms back behind him and dropped his head, "If Kento and Cye were here, we might be able to all link up with-"

"That's it!" Sage cried as he jumped to his feet.

"What?" Ryo asked quizzically.

Sage pointed a finger at Ryo, "If Rowen thinks that someone or something is taking his friends to get to him, he's going to try to protect the one's that are left!"

Ryo stood up and faced Sage, shaking his head in agreement, "Go call them and warn them. We'll be lucky if Rowen doesn't end up killing somebody."

"Or himself." Sage mumbled as he left the room and headed for the phone.

Rowen had ran the whole way to Kento's house. The horrible images from Sage's dojo repeated itself over and over in his head, and he continued his hurried pace down the streets. He knew that there would be a good chance that Cye would be there as well. The two of them were like he and Sage; inseparable.

Suddenly, a jab in Rowen's ribs caught him off guard, and he had to stop his trek. He leaned against a wall and tried to catch his breath, as well as rub out the sudden cramp. He allowed his head to rest against the wall, and he closed his troubled eyes, trying to relax. A coppery taste in his mouth reminded him of his busted lip, and he absently wiped his mouth with the back of his armored hand.

"They'll be fine," he thought as he grimaced against the tightening cramp. Maybe Sage had broken a rib... He'd never felt like this from a cramp.

His dark blue sub-armor was almost constricting against the pain, but he couldn't risk calling it off. Finally feeling a release from the ache, he pushed his heavy body off of the wall, and continued strolling up the sidewalk. He was almost dizzy from the frantic running and fighting that he'd been through, but his head soon cleared as he approached Kento's home. Rowen stopped and looked up at the second story. He carefully crept around to the far side of the house, looked up, and saw a fine curtain drifting in and out with the breeze from Kento's room. He thanked God that he wasn't going to have to try to climb the roof to tap on the window.

As Rowen cupped his hands over his mouth to yell up to the small opening, movement from above the window caught his attention. He dropped his hands quickly and took a few small steps back. He looked behind him and saw a tall tree, one side shielded completely in darkness. His fingers trailed around the tree trunk, leading him into the shadows.

A figure was crouching just above Kento's window on the roof. Another was running just behind the other, keeping low against the roof. Rowen watched each figure intently, listening and watching for any kind of next move.

"Is he down there?" Kento whispered from above Rowen's head.

Rowen remained still against the tree, trying to quietly slide down the tree trunk to fold himself into the darkness.

Rowen watched as the figure above the window stood up, "I thought I saw him under your window, but I'm not sure."

Footsteps began to approach from behind Rowen, and panic once more began to set in.

'What am I going to do?' he thought as he crouched low on his tiptoes, ready to spring if anyone gave him the inclination to do so.

Rowen took in a deep cleansing breath, trying to find some kind of logical explanation to what was going on. But with all of the panicking and doubt that he had, there was no possible way that he could ever think clearly.

"Rowen?" Cye called quietly from behind, "Are you here?"

Rowen shut his eyes, trying to rid his mind of alarm. He was so confused by what was going on, he didn't know which way was up anymore. He wanted so bad to call out to his friends, beg for help. But he knew that he would only end up seeing the same, horrible figures that he saw in Sage's dojo.

Rowen pressed his slender body harder into the tree, hoping that he would melt into the darkness. A cold sweat broke out on his brow, and he struggled to control his shivers. He only wanted them all to go away, and he prayed that they would think that he wasn't there.

But as long as Sage was nearby, he wouldn't be able to escape easily.

"He's around here somewhere. I can feel him very close by." Sage called from the rooftop.

Rowen winced at Sage's sudden announcement, and he tried to clear his mind so that Sage wouldn't pick up on his location.

"Come on, Rowen. Come out so that we can talk about what's going on." Ryo called out from behind him.

Rowen felt so trapped. He wanted to call out for his friends, beg them for help. But Kayura's warning had seemed so sincere. The people that he trusted most in the world were his friends. If anyone were trying to get to him, they would naturally go through his friends.

He listened and watched over his shoulder in vain as they all searched for close to five minutes. It felt like an eternity before Rowen heard Kento sigh from above, "Guys, I don't think he's here. I don't see him anywhere at all, and we've almost torn the place up looking."

"I'm telling you, he's here." Sage said irritatingly, and a soft 'thud' indicated he had jumped from the roof to the ground just behind Rowen's hiding place.

"Sage," Cye began, and Rowen's nerves jumped as he placed a hand on the tree trunk, leaning into it, "I know you guys are good friends, but I believe that Kento's right."

Sage began to slowly walk around the small yard, one foot in front of the other. He slowly scanned the growing darkness, hoping for a glimpse of the familiar blue-black hair.

Rowen slowly raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his brow, and he braced his feet underneath him, ready to take off flying down the stretch of road in front of him. The pain in his ribs punched him again, but he ignored it. He could just barely see Sage's figure encroaching on the small tree, and he knew that it would only be a matter of time before he was found.

'Come on, Ro. I know you're here.' Sage's soft voice called in his head.

Rowen closed his eyes, trying to clear his head of the soft voice, listening as the fall of footsteps drew ever nearer.

Suddenly, a twig snapped beside of him, and that was his cue to get the hell out of there. He was off at a flying pace down the street that lay in front of him. He heard his frantic footfalls and the calls for his name, knowing now that he was being chased like an animal.

Rowen turned down a narrow alleyway, searching desperately for some kind of escape. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Ryo, Sage, and Cye running after him, their eyes that frightening red.

Unfortunately, as he turned a corner, he ran smack into Kento, sending Rowen hard into the ground. Before he knew it, everyone was on him like a pack of wild dogs, grabbing arms and legs, and holding him firmly to the ground.

Rowen kicked at whomever held his legs, thrashing wildly trying to get up. But they all had a vice-like grip on his body.

"Stop, Rowen. You'll only end up hurting yourself." Kento said as he held down his ankles.

"Let me go!" Rowen yelled, trying to pull him arms from out of their grip.

"Not until you tell us what's wrong," Ryo said softly over his head, "Why did you call us demons earlier?"

Sage reached over to Rowen's blue soaked hair, and stroked it softly, "Come on, Ro. We've learned that we can't solve a problem if you keep it away from your friends."

Rowen looked up at the faces hovering over his. He struggled to see the caring faces of his friends, but he only saw the glowing red eyes in the growing darkness, their mouths upturned into a hideous snarl. He quickly shut his troubled mediterranean blue eyes and turned away from them. A stifled sob escaped his lips.

The other four exchanged nervous glances. Rowen had stopped thrashing and fighting them, only trying to move a hand up to his face to wipe away his tears. Sage and Ryo had released their grips on Rowen's arms, and Sage leaned down to softly whisper reassuring words in his ear. The others looked down on the two, Kento and Cye holding their grip on Rowen's ankles.

"What do you want to do now, Ryo?" Cye asked as Rowen again began to move his legs.

Ryo looked down at Sage, still caressing each strand of Rowen's sweat-soaked hair, desperately trying to soothe his friend's soft cries.

"What do you think, Sage?"

Sage didn't even look up at Ryo, "Whatever you think is best."

Ryo sighed aloud, "Let's try to get him to Mia's. Maybe she'll know what to do."

Suddenly, a horrible scream pierced their ears. Sage sat up as they watched Rowen grab and scratch at his neck, gagging against whatever held a fast grip on him. Sage, linking up with Rowen, saw a flash of some animal clamped around his neck, horrible red eyes peering into his. But, just as Sage was pulling away from their link, he saw someone lingering in the shadows just behind Kento's shoulder.

It was Dais.

When Sage opened his eyes, he no longer heard the cries for help or the restless movements of Rowen. He was laying peacefully on the ground, drenched in sweat and tears.

"What happened?" Sage asked quietly as he looked up at Ryo.

Ryo sighed and pointed over to Kento disapprovingly, "Kento knocked him out."

Kento shrugged, "Hey, how were we going to get him to Mia's if we couldn't even hold him down?"

Sage nodded, and he quickly scanned the dark alleyway. His clear eyes couldn't sense anyone in the narrow passageway, and he dropped his shoulders in relief. Maybe he hadn't seen Dais, and it was only an image that Rowen was coming up with in his own mind. He looked down at Rowen with worried eyes. Had Rowen actually seen these things and believed them? Was it a Dynasty trick, or was Rowen truly loosing his mind?

Sage shook the latter out of his mind, and felt a firm hand grasp his shoulder. Sage looked up from his crouching position to look in Kento's warm, caring face smiling down on him.

"Don't worry," Kento said as he leaned down and pulled Rowen over his shoulder, "I didn't hit him hard."

Sage stood up, dusting himself off. As they set off for Mia's house, Sage couldn't help but think of the troubling things in his friend's head, and what it could possibly mean.

Everyone had crowded around Rowen's bed, watching him sleep peacefully. His sub-armor had long since faded, being replaced by a soft gold sweater and a pair of gray pants. His breathing was slow and rhythmic. Above the flaxen collar of his shirt, red welts surrounded by scratches were the only indication of the attack the others had witnessed.

The other Ronins had changed out of their layers as well, and were restlessly waiting for Rowen to waken. Sage leaned against the wall at the foot of Rowen's bed, watching as Mia cared for their friend. Sage had tried a few times to link once more with his comrade, but was met with a black wall each time.

The soft tinkling of water got his attention as he observed Mia wring out a cloth and drag it across Rowen's forehead and neck.

Cye cleared his throat, and looked over at Sage, "What started this, anyway?"

"Was it his mom again?" Kento muttered under his breath from Cye's side.

Sage sighed and shook his blonde head, "Actually, no. Rowen was in a fabulous mood before we got into the dojo."

"What was the good news that he had, anyway?" Ryo asked as he stretched his legs out by Mia's side.

"He told me that his mother was checking into a rehab center."

"Really? That's wonderful!" Mia stated as she set the cloth in the bowl, turning the water a soft shade of pink.

"Yeah, it is. But," Sage added as he tossed his flaxen hair out of his eyes, "why is he so troubled now?"

They all lowered their heads, and contemplated Sage's last comment. How could this happen to Rowen of all people? He finally gets a break, and now this?

"What happened in the dojo?" Ryo asked as he looked over at Rowen.

"I don't know." Sage said as he slid down the length of the wall to sit cross-legged in the floor, "We were practicing, and I noticed that Rowen was standing in the middle of the room, staring off into space. I walked over to see if he was okay, and when he snapped out of it, he just went nuts."
"When I walked in, Rowen was screaming at you, almost ready to shoot an arrow right through your chest."

Kento whistled, "You know, I've only had Rowen mad at me once on the practice field, and I think I had a few extra puncture wounds in my body."
"Did he really call you guys demons?" Mia asked as she set the bowl down and pulled a blanket over top of Rowen.

Sage nodded and looked away as recalled the earlier incidents. It just didn't make sense somehow...

"What about in the alleyway," Cye said quietly, "when we finally had him cornered and he was finally out cold. You acted like you saw something."

Sage drew a knee up to his chin, and rested his weary head on it, "I tried to link up with him to see what was going through his mind. It looked like an animal had him by the neck."

"God." Mia whispered as she applied the cool rag once more to Rowen's forehead.

"It bothers me that he acts like he can't trust us. What would have caused him to believe that?" Ryo said as he rubbed his face with his hands.

"Because of Dais." Sage whispered as he closed his violet eyes.

Everyone turned to look at Sage, the room instantly quiet.

"Dais?" Cye whispered.

"What the hell would he want?" Kento questioned.

"That would explain his awful visions."

"Yeah, but again, why? I thought that we had ended all that when Talpa was destroyed." Kento argued.

"I don't know. But I don't think that we can get to the bottom of anything until he starts talking to us and trusting us." Ryo said as he motioned towards Rowen's slumbering body.

The room grew quiet again, but Kento cleared his throat.

"Who knows with Rowen. Maybe all that studying finally got to him."

Everyone groaned at Kento's remark. Sage picked up a pillow and chunked it at Kento's head.

"What?!" Kento growled as he caught the pillow, "You can't tell me that you haven't SEEN the amount of bookwork that this kid takes home!"

Everyone giggled quietly and shook their heads. A sudden moan from the bed made them snap their heads towards the sound. Rowen was slowly turning his head from side to side, a bead a perspiration forming on his forehead. He was gripping the sheets so hard that it looked as if the material would rip. Mia patted his face with the cloth, and dried away the sweat that was forming around his brow. She finally stroked his hair as Sage had earlier, trying to calm him the best she could. The rest watched helplessly as their friend conquered some unknown monster.

Sage watched as Rowen struggled alone, the anger slowly mounting inside of him. He couldn't just sit there and do nothing! Angry tears began to build up in his eyes, and he brushed them away. He quickly sprang to his feet and stormed out of the room, everyone staring after him.

When Sage was out of earshot, Kento mumbled, "What's eatin' him?"

"Same thing that's bothering all of us, Kento." Cye began.

"Yeah. How can we help Rowen if he won't tell us what's wrong." Ryo ended looking over at Rowen, now under attack from some unknown source that none of them could prevent.