Disclaimer: Yoroiden Samurai Troopers is the property of Sunrise. Ronin Warriors is the property of Bandai Entertainment.

Author's Note: Okay, so I have a few announcements to make here. First of all, I've decided to change the posting schedule to bi-weekly rather than weekly. This story is twenty chapters long, so I think uploading the chapters faster will benefit all of us. You get to enjoy the story faster, and I can start working on the third installment faster. So expect the next update on Tuesday. Second, the character introduced here is mine. Third, much like with Cye's mother, I made up the name of Sage's dad, as neither have names in the official canon.

Okay, that's all I gotta say. Please read and review!

The Wicked Knights
by Jake the Fearless Leader

Chapter Two
"Welcome to Oblivion"

It was still fairly early, just after breakfast. Sage should have been inside practicing kendo, not sitting on the front steps of the dojo, and yet, here he was. He'd just gotten off the phone with Rowen, who had an update about Mrs. Mouri. So far, she was doing alright, but it her doctor was still concerned enough to want to keep her in the hospital for a little while longer. The news relieved him, but didn't alleviate the worry. Sage still couldn't believe how fortunate the timing was, with Cye having just returned home. If Mrs. Mouri had been alone when this happened…

Sage closed his eyes and sighed as he pushed himself up. Sensei Date had been understanding when he asked for a break before they'd even started, especially after Sage told him why he was so distracted that morning. He didn't want to push his luck, though, knowing his grandfather would only wait so long before coming to get him.

Not that Sage minded at all. He enjoyed the time he spent with his grandfather. Being the head of the Date family, the old man had raised his only grandson to follow in his footsteps, as was tradition. Sage hadn't made it easy on him. He used to be quite the little rebel. Sensei Date would often remind him how important proper etiquette was in kendo. As a child, Sage just wasn't interested. Sure, he liked kendo, but he really wasn't fond of etiquette. He eventually grew out of it, in large part due to his grandfather's efforts. Now, whenever Sage told people what a wild child he'd once been, they looked at him as thought he had three heads.

"Sagey, what're you doing out here? I thought you'd be with Grandpa."

Sage glanced to his right to see his little sister was standing next to him, holding a wicker basket. He hadn't even heard her come outside. "Just thinking," he said honestly.

Satsuki nodded. "About your friend's mom, right? I thought she was doing better."

"She is, but you heard what Yayoi said. She's not out of the woods just yet."

Their older sister was currently a med student at one of the most prestigious universities in Japan. When she had heard about Mrs. Mouri's condition, she started explaining the procedure and every possible complication that could occur, both during and after the surgery. Yayoi didn't spare them any details, naturally, depicting every horrible outcome with blunt honestly. Shaking his head, Hitoshi Date gently pointed out that his oldest daughter needed some work on her bedside manner, causing Satsuki to laugh.

"So, where are you going?" asked Sage.

"I'm meeting some friends at the park."

"This early?" asked Sage, checking his watch.

"Yeah. It's Midori's birthday, so a bunch of us are setting up for a picnic. I'm bringing pork buns and rice balls. See?" said Satsuki, holding up the basket. "Mom helped me make them."

"Oh, alright. Have fun, then," Sage told her.

"I will. Bye, Sage," she called as she ran towards the street.

Sage shook his head and turned to go back inside. He had a feeling his grandfather would be coming to look for him any time now.

A gentle breeze blew his golden hair as he reached the door, and he found himself filled with a sense of foreboding. It was almost as though the wind was acting as a warning…

…and that was only confirmed by the dark snicker coming from behind him.

Sage tensed as he quickly spun around. It didn't take long for him to spot the source of the laughter. Hovering in the middle of the courtyard was a feminine figure donning black and burgundy armor. Out of their back sprouted what appeared to be wings - black, translucent fairy wings.

"Who are you?" demanded Sage.

"They call me Aviva, the Sinister Fae of Oblivion. I've been looking for you, Sage of the Halo."

"Why? What do you want with me?" he asked, observing the few features he could see through the face mask of her helmet - dark red eyes and dark painted lips set in a hard line.

"I have no personal vendetta against you. I'm only following orders," she responded cooly. "Now, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to get this over with."

Sage definitely did not like her tone. He didn't know what exactly her orders were, but he wasn't going to give her the chance to carry them out. He glanced around quickly, making sure his family wasn't anywhere nearby. He didn't want any of them to get hurt. Confirming that the coast was clear, he pulled out his armor orb and transformed into his sub-armor. Sage shifted into a defensive stance, ready for anything.

Garnet irises rolled behind Aviva's helmet as she observed him. "Seriously? You want to fight me?" She scoffed. "Of course you do. Alright, then. Let's see if you prove to be more worthy than my last opponent," she snapped impatiently.

His eyes narrowed. So, she had been in combat at least once before, and from the sound of her boast, she had been victorious. If he was going to have any chance of defeating an experienced warrior, he needed to exercise caution.

Slowly, Aviva unsheathed a very deadly-looking sword. The deep burgundy blade radiated with a mysterious aura, and she held it confidently by the obsidian hilt. "Prepare yourself, Halo, to feel the power of a Sinister Fae."

She charged forward swiftly, elevated off the ground by her wings, leaving Sage barely any time to defend against her. He blocked her strike by crossing his forearms in front of his face. She flew back, allowing the Ronin to retaliate. He jumped into the air and aimed his left foot at her sword arm, attempting to force her to drop the blade. His kick landed, but she merely tightened her grip on her sword. However, Sage was now in range to punch her in the stomach. Aviva grunted. She raised her foot to try and shove him away. He sidestepped the blow, punching her again before backing off. The Fae slashed her sword at him, catching his cheek.

Sage gasped, placing a hand on his face. His armored fingers were smeared with red when he pulled it away. She'd actually cut him.

"Don't tell me that's all you got," Aviva jeered. "I'm actually bored."

He glared at her. "If you think I'm going to let you bait me, you're out of your mind," Sage informed her.

Aviva rolled her eyes at him again. "If that's what you think I'm doing, then you've got a lot to learn, Ronin."

She jabbed at him with her sword, a move that Sage only just managed to duck away from. He swept his foot around and caught her in the side. Aviva growled as she flew up into the sky, her crimson eyes set in a fierce gaze. She dove for him, sword arm held back while her free hand was extended towards him. Before he could react, the Sinister Fae had him by the throat. Sage gagged as he fought to breath. She cackled as he gripped her hand, trying to get loose. He lifted his knee and nailed her in the stomach, which provided as good a distraction as any. As Aviva recoiled, Sage wrenched himself from her grasp, falling to the ground, gasping for air. He pushed himself slowly to his feet, panting. She hovered above him, almost as though she was waiting for him to catch his breath.

"Whenever you're ready, Halo."

Aviva was so calm. It was starting to unnerve him.

Sage crouched down in preparation before using his enhanced speed to spring himself up into the air. As gravity pulled him back down to the ground, he brought his fist down into her faceplate, causing Aviva to fall down to the ground with a grunt. She hadn't been anticipating that, it seemed. Still, it didn't take her very long to recover and charge at him. He grabbed her sword arm as she swung at him and shoved it away. Aviva growled as she wrenched her arm back, allowing Sage to put some distance between them. Thinking quickly, he kicked out, successfully knocking the weapon out of her hand. Probably not the best move, judging by the sudden look of fury on the Sinister Fae's face.

"You… disarmed me? How DARE you!" she screeched, jumping up into the air and taking flight.

Yeah, definitely not one of his best ideas. Sage took off in the opposite direction as Aviva sped towards him, her hands outstretched. He wasn't completely able to outrun her, as he felt her grab his arm and start to pull him towards her. Halo responded by spinning around, breaking the grip and smacking her arm away. The Fae swiped at him with her other arm, but Sage quickly ducked to avoid the hit. He aimed his foot directly at her torso. Despite landing the blow, it did nothing to slow her down. Thinking quickly, Sage grabbed her by the arms and spun her around, slamming Aviva flat on her back. As she gasped in pain, he backed up as fast as he could, putting distance between them once again.

It took her a moment, but Aviva was able to get back on her feet. So even that hadn't deterred her. There was a slight chance that she was grounded now, but Sage wasn't willing to take that chance. He charged at her before she could attack him. He jumped up into the air, aiming to strike from above. The Fae was ready for that, however, and swiftly blocked him. But Sage wasn't discouraged, even as she went to grab him again. He stepped sideways to avoid her and jabbed his knee into her stomach to push her further away.

Once again, Aviva recovered quickly, much to the Ronin's dismay. She hadn't been bluffing - she was skilled. The two opponents stood facing each other in fighting stances, daring the other to make the next move. Her dark red eyes glanced over to the left. Sage spared a glance in the same direction, easily spotting what had Aviva so interested. Her sword. She was going to try and reclaim it.

Both the Ronin and the Fae ran towards the fallen sword at the same time. Halo threw himself in front of Aviva to block her from getting her weapon back. He bent down, swiping his foot under her to trip her up, but she merely lifted her legs, allowing her wings to carry her again. Landing on them before may have hurt her at the time, but whatever pain she felt must have faded. Sage switched tactics, gripping her arm and spinning himself around in order to thrust his elbow into her torso. Aviva grunted and growled, narrowing her eyes at him as she faked left and then darted to the right, circling around the Warrior of Light. He fortunately anticipated her move and swung his leg to his right, connecting with her chest and and knocking her over. Sage kept up his assault, throwing out a series of quick punches that forced the Fae to keep dodging him.

"Screw this," Aviva sneered, and she took flight again. Sage followed her arc as she glided over to her sword. As soon as the black hilt was back in her hand, the strange aura returned to the burgundy blade. "It's time to end this, Halo. You're coming with me."

"Not a chance!" exclaimed Sage. "Armor of Halo!"

His armor appeared in a flurry of ribbons and cherry blossom petals. As soon as the familiar sensations faded, Sage drew his Halo sword and took a fighting stance.

With a piercing cry, Aviva swept towards him, sword poised to strike. Sage just barely managed to avoid her. He parried her blade with his own, on the defensive as the Sinister Fae attacked him repeatedly. As he did so, he studied her movement, observing her skill with the sword and tried to use it to find an opening. Aviva, naturally, didn't make it easy for him, not that Sage had expected her to. When he finally saw his opportunity, therefore, the Ronin didn't hesitate. He swung his blade at her sword arm, forcing Aviva to stop attacking him long enough for Sage to strike at her chest plate. She grunted, more out of anger than pain, leveling a dark glare at him.

Sage didn't give her time to recover and went on the offensive. Aviva protected herself well, matching each of his sword slashes. The two were evenly matched. She aimed high, he stopped her before she took off his head. He aimed low, looking to knock her off her feet, and she blocked him. Metal clashed against metal whenever their swords met. The Fae attempted to grab him around the wrist to disarm him, but Sage swiftly broke her grip. In return, the Ronin swept her legs out from under her and jabbed Aviva in the back twice with the hilt of his sword.

The Fae of Oblivion took a step back, and from the look in her gaze, Sage knew she was preparing to attack from a different angle. She moved swiftly around to his left side. The Ronin followed her movements and just managed to fend off her blade. Seeing the opening, he aimed a blow directly to her stomach and shoved her away forcefully. Aviva skidded a few feet away before she was able to stop herself. But even that didn't faze her for long as she charged back at him, swinging her sword up in the process. As soon as she was upon him, Sage ducked out of the way and countered. The two weapons clashed again, both warriors giving it all they had as they parried each other expertly before retreating.

Sage and Aviva stood facing each other, sizing each other up. There was only one way this was going to end.

Sage lifted the Halo Sword above his head with both hands just as Aviva launched herself into the air, swinging her sword in a peculiar arc.

"Lightning Strike!"

"Infinite Void!"

A blast of black and burgundy energy struck Sage's green-white lightning. There was a brief struggle for power before the darkness cancelled out the light. It continued to strike Sage head on. He gasped, his eyes widening as the evil energy enveloped him. A crackling sound filled the air as the energy began to crystalize around the Ronin, solidifying into a prison of burgundy ice.

Aviva regarded her captured prey. "That was… almost impressive. Almost."

The Sinister Fae of Oblivion raised her gaze to the sky just in time to see a gigantic red gate rise up from the ground just beyond the Date family dojo. The double doors opened, revealing the path to the Nether Realm. Calling upon her power once more, she twisted her dark energy into the form of a rope, which she used to tether the frozen Ronin to her. Aviva took flight, carrying her prize up and through the gate just as the doors began to close, knowing that the gate would vanish soon after.