Shadow within the Darkness

(Day 8)

By: Little Ucchan

Hurdling over fallen debris, running as fast as he could, Sage followed the creature across the courtyard. He came across the main entrance to the castle instead, the beast nowhere in sight. Frowning that he had somehow lost his opponent, Sage diverted his attention to the huge doorway. What better place to look for a princess than in a castle.

Pushing on the handle of one of the metal doors, he found that it swung open easily. The lights inside were on, or what was left of them. The inside of the castle was a total disaster area. Walls were caved in, windows were shattered, and the ceiling tiles were now on the floor.

The entire structure was quiet. Sage couldn't hear anything now. It was strange though, like the castle had always been this quiet. That in reality, nothing has changed. He didn't know why he felt this notion, but he did.

Stepping cautiously over piles of rubble, Sage made his way across the rough terrain. He didn't really know where to look. The castle was so big. He would end up searching all day and most likely would come up with nothing. Where should he start?

Wandering up the stairs to the second floor of the castle, he soon noticed the plush red carpet streaking the ground below him to a pair of nicely carved wooden door. Sage assumed that it was the throne room. Why else would they have this carpet here? Having no place better to go, he walked on.

The throne room was dark and gloomy. The only light visible was from the broken windows, casting eerie shadows across the floor. The walls were cracked and chipped. The beautifully woven tapestries that decorated the room were torn down. The marble floor that lay before the king's throne was worn out and uprooted.

Again, Sage had that same feeling again. As if the throne room had been empty for ages. But the battle was just being fought. It was impossible for the castle to seem like it aged so much. There was no way. But then again, there was a time in his life when he believed that mystical armor and demon generals were impossible.

Walking down the red rug up to the king's throne, Sage could only imagine what kind of events took place here. Royal balls, honorary banquets, private hearings with the king. He could almost feel the energy emitting from the room, reenacting what had taken place here for years on end.

For a split second, Sage swore that he could see all of it. Guests dancing in formal attire. People eating…and laughing. Everyone having a good time. But that was all gone now. There were no more parties to throw. No more people to invite. No more celebrating. Because no one was alive.

Except for the princesses. He just had to hope that they were okay. Sage didn't know why he was so obsessed in finding them. It really had nothing to do with him. Then he remembered the fight he had on Saturday. There was a new enemy for him and the other Ronin warriors to face. This dream had everything to do with him.

Approaching the throne where the late king of Aethos once sat and conducted his daily duties, Sage paused for a moment. He didn't know why, but he suddenly felt the urge to kneel down before the throne. As if some invisible force was pulling him down towards the earth in order to pay his final respects.

The force was strong. It was overpowering him. Unable to resist any longer, Sage went down on the floor. His left shin touching the ground while he had his right forearm resting on his knee, he hung his head low in reverence. He couldn't control the movements of his body, but deep down inside, he knew he didn't want to. Sage was pulled into a trance like state, but he was fully aware of this and didn't resist.

"Young lad. Please protect my daughters."

The voice had startled him. But he knew who it was. Without lifting his head up Sage replied, "Yes your Majesty."

The former king of Aethos stood before the young Ronin. Although only an image, his presence was striking and his features bold. Sage could tell by just looking at his face that this man fought many battles. Had experienced so much. And for the moment that he had locked eyes with the wise ruler of this kingdom, everything had returned to its normal, elegant state. The throne room was returned to its formal existence once more…and for the last time.

The brightness of the room blinded him, but he paid it no heed, for he had finally noticed the two girls standing to one side of the king's throne. Sage assumed that they were the two princesses that he needed to protect. The eldest one was about sixteen to him, with long curly reddish hair pulled back tightly in a bun for the occasion. The other girl only placed him in complete shock.

The throne room began to return to its run downed state as the three images began to fade away. Then nothing was left. The room was dark again. Nothing stirred. But Sage, now standing, was still in a stunned state. The image of the young girl was still clear in his mind. The child with long flowing brown hair and warm light brown eyes. The one that ran back into the city. Running to her mother's waiting arms.

***

"Hey did Sage go to school today?" Cye asked while he and Rowen were working on their experiment together. Physics class was a bit difficult for him. Good thing Rowen was there to help.

"Yeah. I saw him this morning," Rowen replied.

"So he's okay?"

"Not quite. His wounds aren't fully healed yet." Cye could only gawk at Rowen. Their armors were always able to heal their wound practically right when they got them. So why now this?

"What do you mean 'aren't fully healed yet?'" he questioned.

"He said the only injuries that he still has are the ones on his shoulder and his wrist," Rowen answered, glad that they were doing lab experiments so they could talk freely. "That's what he told me."

"Do you know why?" He didn't reply at first. Obviously thinking of a reasonable explanation for all of this.

"Maybe it's because he got the injuries when he wasn't using his armor," Rowen suggested. "And he hasn't worn it since."

"But how would that…"

"If you think about it. All of our injuries occur when we have our armor on," he tried to explain. "And all of these injuries are directly inflicted onto the armor. So it heals itself and our wounds. Since Sage got these wounds when he wasn't wearing it, the armor doesn't remember being injured and therefore is taking a longer time to heal him."

"You talk as if the armor has a will of its own," Cye cried jokingly.

"Maybe," he replied with a smile. "It's mystical armor after all. We know that the armor heals itself when it's damaged and also when the user wills it so."

"User wills it?" Cye questioned.

"Yeah. Like what Sage's doing. He's calling on the power of his armor to heal his wounds."

"Looks like you've been in front of Mia's computer too long," Cye commented.

Rowen just shrugged. "It was interesting. Besides, I figured that at least one of us should know about this. I mean it's our armor after all."

"That's true. Never know when it'll come in handy."

"I just wish that Sage would put on his armor. His wounds would heal a lot faster that way."

"But we promised that we wouldn't wear it unless we necessarily needed it."

"I know. But I didn't think that it would be this bad." Resting his chin on his folded hands, Rowen remained quiet, thinking back to all the things that have lead up to this day.

Cye didn't really know what to tell him. He had an idea of what Rowen was feeling right now, and it was painful. To be in that kind of situation where you knew what was going on, somewhat, and yet you can't do anything to help. That type of feeling was always a pain to bear inside your heart.

"We'll get then back for this Rowen," Cye told him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Smiling weakly at his friend, he agreed.

***

Walking down the empty hallway to her locker, Laura scolded herself for having forgotten her things for class. Luckily, she had such a nice teacher.

"You can go and get your books if you like. No harm done."

Ms. Canna was the sweetest world literature teacher there ever was. She had excused Laura from class in order to get her books, having forgotten them before hand. Laura thought that only old women could be as sweet as her.

Pushing up the handle to open her locker, she gathered her things while trying to figure out how the hell she managed to forget all of it in the first place. Today was just not her day for some reason. She couldn't focus on anything and acted aloof and detached from the rest of the world. She always was, mind you, but this was just too much. Nothing made sense.

Closing her locker Laura sighed to herself. She leaned against it with her head tilted back looking at the ceiling. Why am I like this? Not being able to figure it out, she proceeded to walk back to her classroom. On the way, she stopped in front of one of the classroom windows. Peeking through the glass she spotted two familiar figures.

Rowen and Cye. Smiling a bit she continued her walk. She remembered how Cye had brought Sammy back to her on Saturday. He was a really sweet guy. Good with kids too. She didn't realize that the first time they met. Probably because she was so pissed off at Sage at the time.

Laura then slowed down her pace. She couldn't continue walking, for she felt something odd. The air around her felt so hot. It was oppressive. Like the jungle heat. She swayed a little on her feet. The new atmosphere was making her dizzy. What is this? What's going on?

Before she could determine what was happening, the ground beneath her began to tremble. All she heard after that was the shattering of glass that echoed down the hall. Swiftly turning around she watched as the glass windows exploded all at once. Laura ran forward, worried about Rowen and Cye, but then was forced back as the hallway was immediately crowded with students running for their lives.

***

Rowen tried so hard to free himself from his restraints, but he couldn't move. The monster's tentacles were wrapped tightly around his chest all the way down to his stomach, confining his arms to his sides. He and Cye weren't given any time to react. The beast just busted through the wall without any warning. And as they were trying to get everyone out safely, it attacked them both.

Looking out of the corner of his eye, Rowen checked to see how Cye was doing. He couldn't move either. The tentacles had gotten him around the wrists and the thighs, preventing him from doing anything.

Fixating his gaze on the creature, Rowen examined it thoroughly while trying to break free. It had used both of the tentacles on its arms to capture the two Ronins. So it had no other means of attacking them. But Rowen knew that the beast still had the upper hand as his restraints grew tighter around his body. Any more force would end up crushing him. If only the guys would get here sooner.

"Cye. How are you holding up?" Rowen asked, even though doing so was hurting his chest. He couldn't breathe right.

"Fine," the Ronin replied, trying to offer him reassurance. But he knew that Cye was lying. Sweat poured down his face as he continued to struggle. But the monster showed no signs of weakness. To it, this was child's play.

***

Racing through the now empty halls to the third floor, Ryo prayed that they were okay. He felt the energy right before the entire building shook. He recognized it at once. It matched the aura he and the others felt last Saturday. It was here. Not the same one, but another just like it. This time, he'll be ready.

Turing a corner, Ryo met up with Kento and Sage. They weren't in their sub armors just yet for in fear that someone might be able to see them. But each Ronin had their armor orbs in their hands, just waiting for a chance to use them.

Coming up to Sage's right, Ryo couldn't help but notice the bandage around his friend's wrist. Looking at Sage he asked, "Are you sure you're up to this?"

"Don't worry about me," he responded, meeting Ryo's gaze. "Let's just get this over with."

"Finally, some action around here!" Kento cried out enthusiastically.

Sage just kept running. He was determined to fight that monster this time. No more running. No more being afraid. He didn't have time for these things, for this was war and there was no room for error.

Sage felt the auras in the room ahead of them. Two of them he recognized at once to be his friends. The next two belonged to his enemies. Wait a minute! Two auras?! He stopped abruptly in the middle of the hallway, forcing Ryo and Kento to stop as well.

"Hey! What's the deal Sage?!" Kento shouted since he was only a few moments away from getting into a real fight.

"Quiet!" he whispered coldly, then sharpened his senses. "Do you feel that?"

Ryo nodded. "The fourth aura."

All three of them remained unmoving. Watching and waiting. The aura was approaching them fast. It was now climbing the stairs to the third floor, its speed never diminishing.

"Get ready," Ryo warned them as they prepared themselves for battle. It was over before it even begun. It moved so fast. But the three Ronins were able to catch a glimpse of it before it entered the room where a current battle was taking place. There wasn't much to see in fact. The figure was hidden within a black cloak and velvet hood. The only thing that they could make out was the long shuriken that it held in its hand.

***

Cye couldn't take it anymore. His arms and legs felt numb all over. The tentacles were cutting off his blood circulation. He couldn't take it any longer. Cye knew that his friends were just outside of the classroom. So why? Why didn't they come in here to help them? But then he felt it. Another aura just like the monster it was fighting right now. But it was strong. Stronger than their opponent. It couldn't be another enemy. Cye was hoping that it wasn't. That his mind was playing tricks on him. But his senses never lied. The aura was still there. And it was approaching fast.

Before he could blink the pressure around his wrists and thighs disappeared. Collapsing on the floor because of his ongoing struggle, Cye watched at the tentacles slowly uncoiled itself from around him. Having been severed from its body it no longer had any power to hold the Ronin.

Immediately looking to his right, he sighed in relief when he saw that Rowen was free as well. But how? Turning their attention ahead, the only thing that they saw was the whip of a black cloak in the wind as both the monster and their rescuer jumped out of the hole in the wall to the grassy lawn of the school below.

Cye tried to lift his body up in order to find out what was going on. But his legs wouldn't work. They were still numb. But then he felt two strong arms pulling him up to his feet. Holding onto him by the waist, Kento placed Cye's arm around his neck in order to steady him.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Cye told him, glad that the others were here. Sage was helping Rowen while Ryo was already at the giant hole in wall, looking out from it.

"Guys. I think you better come over here," he called. The others followed, curious to know what was going on. In the middle of the lawn court that laid between the wall around the school and the building, was the monster and the hooded figure. Both of them stood there, awaiting for the other to make a move.

A crowd of students had gathered at the sidelines to watch the fight. Standing at a very healthy distance away from the two combatants, they waited wondering who will come out victorious is this battle.

Each Ronin watched high above the battleground. None of them interfered with the battle. They couldn't really, with all of those students watching. But they didn't want to interfere. As if the two of them were meant to face off like this. It felt wrong to interrupt. However, all five Ronins were more in shock at the appearance of the cloaked figure. The one that had saved Sage during the weekend. The one that single handedly destroyed the beast. And the one that was attempting to do it all over again.

***

The hooded figure waited for the monster's next move. They could wait here all day for all it cared. But it knew that the beast would tire first and soon the mysterious warrior would have the upper hand. Holding out its shuriken to the beast defiantly, it waited for the right moment. There!

The monster charged forward, its claw raised high above its head. Pathetic. The figure didn't make an attempt to block it. And as the tension rose among the onlookers it didn't even move out of its way. Grinning to itself, the beast sliced right through its prey. But the victory was short lived as its target disintegrated in a puff of black smoke.

The monster's eyes widened with fear as it realized that the warrior wasn't there to begin with. It was a stupid mistake that eventually cost it its life. The creature cried out a menacing scream of pain as the point of the warrior's shuriken was driven mercilessly through the monster's chest.

Standing behind the beast, the cloaked figure smiled to itself when it heard a shattering sound deep within its enemy's body. Assured that its job was done, the warrior swiftly drew out the blade from the creature's back. The monster soon vanished without a trace.

Looking back at the crowd, the warrior was greeted with cheers and cries of joy for it had saved the school and its student from danger. It was glad that it was wearing a hood to conceal its smile. It felt good to be appreciated.

Feeling piercing eyes watching it, the mysterious figure turned to look up at the hole it had jumped out of in order to pursue its adversary. Five boys were looking back at it with amazed, yet questioning stares. It wondered about these boys. Why did the demons attack them? But deciding to determine that later, the figure bowed to its audience and left the area.