Author's Note: Okay, the title says it all. The boys may finally be getting somewhere. Unless their enemy has other ideas. . .
Getting Somewhere
'Maybe this isn't as hopeless as I thought.' Sage had been meditating, trying to reach his armor, to fight alone. 'But it isn't a matter of fighting and what I'm not alone.' He asserted as he implemented his new strategy. He relaxed, not to prepare for battle, but simply to relax, like when he would lounge around at Mia's with a good book. He concentrated not on himself, but on his friends, and the wisdom kanji flared. He knew they needed him and that he was not in danger. He was beginning to see things more clearly, but a few pieces had yet to fall into place. For whatever reason, this new opponent wanted him out of the way, nothing more. He didn't realize his armor had come to him, but when he opened his eyes, his dachi was in hand and he knew he could do what he must do.
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"I'm stuck." Kento whined, already crouching, as he found that somehow the room could expand indefinitely. The problem was it was in a definitely horizontal direction. Every time he so much as brushed against the side walls, they closed on him further. If he moved any more, they'd start crushing him! And now the walls were hot. White hot. If he didn't know the simple impossibility of such a thing, he'd swear the walls were melting his armor! And the weird thing was, he was shivering! His arms hurt like heck and he wasn't sure how much he could take, or what choice he had in taking it. 'How do I get out if I can't move? Maybe the guys were right, I might not be in such a tight fix if I laid off the burgers.' He thought, trying to lighten his desperation. 'This is definitely turning into a bad day.'
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The first tiger creature was down, but the others had scattered at the fiery attack, which hadn't changed the landscape one bit. Either Ryo was weaker than he thought, or something screwy was going on. He didn't get a chance to ponder what before two more tiger creatures attacked him. He managed another Flare Up Now, but only took out one assailant. The other darted out of the way, and it and a fourth creature attacked Ryo from the side and behind, respectively. 'It's like their claws can go through the armor! They're. . . they're burning me!' A frustrated Ryo thought in surprise. 'Almost like they aren't attacking my body at all, but my spirit.' It as the strangest sensation for the fire Ronin to be burned, but it was a cold burn. His mental musings had left him distracted, however, and he was knocked down and the last creature, who had finally decided to join the fray. Ryo couldn't bring his katanas to bear, seeing as his right arm was firmly clenched in the teeth of one creature and his left was currently being sat on by another while the late comer clawed and bit at Ryo's chest and stomach, trying to get at his flesh. Finding the armor too difficult to penetrate, it whined pitiably, like a puppy whose toy rolled beneath the couch, out of reach. Ryo had to concentrate to keep himself from crying out. 'How can they hurt me so much? Wait, they aren't hurting me! I can feel their claws, sure, but that's bearable. It's something within that's hurting. My friends are in pain, that's what I'm feeling!' His virtue kanji blazed across his forehead as he wrenched his right arm from the beast and slammed the broadside of his blade into its fellow, freeing his left arm. He drove his newly freed sword into the last monster and like lightning was on his feet, ready to strike the two remaining enraged creatures. They attacked together, but this time Wildfire's bearer wasn't striking for just himself. The embers in his eyes flared to life and began to swirl as he readied his attack and let it loose, just as the creatures lunged for him. This time the flames spared neither tiger nor terrain, and Ryo at last had a way out through a newly burned hole in the wall.
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"There's no way out. This is it." Cye despaired as he reached the end of the maze and found himself cornered. For once, it looked like he shouldn't have trusted his instincts. Somewhere, somehow, he'd made a wrong turn, and the way back was cut off. The flames before him were all the way down the walls, kissing the floor in a mocking bow, as they took the shifting form of an almost feminine figure to block his only way out. He decided the day was finally getting to him, as he could no longer deny that the human figure was before him. "I think if I survive this, I should probably get either my eyes or head examined." He thought aloud, rubbing the former and shaking the later. He had to crouch to avoid the searching tongues that strove to deliver their kiss of death, but they were relentless. "I am not going down like this!" He screamed defiantly at the fire. It wasn't like he was afraid to die, or anything. That much was pretty obvious. But he was thinking of the others. The trust they'd learned to have in one another, that they'd always be there for each other. And he thought of what trials they must be facing, alone, as he was. 'But we're not alone. That's the beauty of our friendship, we're together in spirit!' So he called upon that spirit and summoned his power. He figured he could at least give himself a chance, however small.
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Sage stood once more, armored and ready. Now, their captor had at last directed its energies to him, but he ignored the pain as the pitch world swirled with obsidian energy blasts. His face betrayed no emotion as he thought of his friends who he could feel needed him. He closed his eyes, gathered his strength, and attacked! His Thunder Bolt Cut seared through the darkness as shards of glass burst all around, hung suspended for a moment as reality shifted, then fell tinkling like silver rain to the dusty wooden floor. Sage opened his eyes facing a shattered mirror. He was in his now somewhat tattered costume, showered with tiny cuts. He felt drained, but there was more that must be done. He felt someone catch him as he staggered, but his vision took a moment to adjust even to the dim light of the room as a warm hand wiped the blood from his eyes. He quickly recognized the warmth and at last cleared his head of the rushing sound enough to hear, as he looked up to focus on a pair of white-tiger blue eyes.
"Hey, Ryo. You were taking so long this time, I figured I'd better just get myself out. How are the guys?"
"I don't know. But what about you, I mean. . ."
"Let's find them first and save the horror stories for around the campfire. I'm just a little tired. Once I get my armor on, I'll be fine." And with that he rallied himself and called his armor. Ryo said nothing, understanding his friend's need to help other's perfectly.
"I came up here and saw you in the mirror, then you were out of the mirror, and that's as far as I've gotten. I don't have a clue where anybody else is."
"Well, than there's nothing to do except look around. But maybe you should head downstairs. I'll take care of Kento. I mean, I did it once, right?" Sage joked tiredly.
"Yeah, I guess that means I'll be stuck with Cye and Rowen again." Ryo smiled as they split up, trusting their instincts to find their friends.
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Kento was on his last leg. He'd tried once more to push out the wall in front, becoming desperate from the heat, and ended up practically crawling along the floor, feeling like his arms had been burnt to a crisp. He pictured the horrible charred flesh and blackened bone that would greet his friends if they ever found him and would almost have been ready to cry, had he been anyone else. He wanted to sleep, but didn't trust what would happen to him if he did. He wanted so much to be back with them, to bust down the walls and high tail it out of there. No way he'd die here! His mind had been working overtime but he'd kept coming up with total blanks as to how to fix this mess. Then, the ceiling began to fall on it's own! 'Looks like I don't get a rescue this time.' He thought ruefully, then cried out in frustration more than anything as the ceiling eased him to the ground. "I think that just broke something." He grimaced as pain arched through his entire body with such intensity he couldn't even tell where it was coming from. He was about ready to give up when something in him snapped! 'I am not betraying them! I will not leave my friends like this!' He felt power surge through him as he roared upward, his temper finally boiling over, and it all fell away. He looked up from his bowed position to find a perfectly normal sized wooden room and a green figure outlined in the yellow light.
"Sage. . ." he managed to choke out before finally giving in to cold, deep sleep.
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Sage had heard the scream and come to a solid wall. He touched it's white surface, but quickly jerked back from a searing cold. He knew Kento was trapped by the strange, elongated structure, but all he could do was stare helplessly at the wall, as he couldn't risk attacking. He was terrified and willed Kento to show him what he could do! He called out the warriors name, but his desperate plea was drowned out by the young man's roar. Then a horrible scream pierced his ears as a final, ethereal cry resonated through the house like a death knell, and the prison shattered into grey shards that melted into immaterial pale smoke. His prayers were answered. He watched, too stunned to act, as Kento slumped to the ground. At last Sage broke from his paralysis and ran over to the prone body. He reverently lifted his fallen comrade, remembering once again when he had been in similar position and hoping to every god he'd heard of that his friend would be okay.
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It's almost over. Well, this section is almost over, anyway. You decide why you're happy about that.