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

Author's Note: For a third time, I don't have much to say here. That won't be the case next chapter, but enjoy the short notes while they last (unless you actually like my notes).

The title is a reference to the hit song "December 1963 (Oh, What a Night)", written by Bob Gaudio and performed by the Four Seasons.

Enjoy, and please review!

Beta's Note: Well, JakeFL may not have much to say here, but I do have something I'd like to say. I LOVE this chapter. Laughed my ass off throughout most of it, so I hope you like it as much as I did.

The Wicked Knights
by Jake the Fearless Leader

Chapter Nine
"Oh, What a Knight"

The group of seven had relocated to the library after their encounter with the Wicked Knights. Kayura wanted to look at the Ancient's scroll again to see what else had had written about the special abilities of the Halo and Torrent Armors. Something told her that it was important. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done. When she had brought the Ronins into the room earlier, she'd returned the Ancient's scrolls to their antique chest, and in her haste, the scrolls had gotten mixed up. That meant Kayura was going to have to go through them one at a time, which was going to take hours. It was fortunate that she hadn't shared her theory with the others. Initially, it was because she hadn't wanted to get their hopes up, but now she had a different reason to be grateful. They had been combing through the library for over an hour, and she still hadn't located the correct scroll. While she was searching through the chest, Rowen and the Warlords were perusing the tombs for any reference to Zankoku and the Warlords. Ryo and Kento were already showing signs of impatience.

Hardrock was the first to voice his complaints. "Ah, come on! We're just wasting time here! How do we know there's anything in those books that can help us? We should just get out there and look for Sage and Cye."

"And what exactly do you suggest we do if we find them, offer them flowers and candy?" quipped Sekhmet.

"Emphasis on 'if.' The Nether Realm's not exactly small," Dais pointed out.

"Kento has a point. This is getting kind of tedious," said Rowen, tossing aside the book he'd just been reading.

Kayura looked up at them. "In that case, why don't you three go scout out one of the cities while the Warlords and I keep researching? You could try Daímonas. It's just south of here."

"Not a bad idea. I'm sure there are a few demons who've had run-ins with the Fae and wouldn't mind spilling their guts," added Sekhmet.

"You think so? I mean, we're talking about demons, aren't we?" asked Rowen skeptically.

"Yes, but not every demon in the Nether Realm is obsessed with power and conquest. Some are no different than humans, simply looking for a quiet, peaceful existence," explained Dais.

"That doesn't mean you don't need to be careful out there, Ronins," warned Kale. "Your armors are infamous in this realm. You'll be recognized in an instant, and for every demon that will leave you alone, there's one who will be after your blood."

"Yeah, got it," acknowledged Ryo. Together, he, Rowen, and Kento left the library and made their way out of the castle.

Daímonas City was the closest to Talpa's castle, so it wasn't too hard for the Ronin Warriors to find. It was the smallest of the four cities in the Nether Realm, and the citizens that lived here ranged from friendly to sociopathic. The three teens from the Mortal Realm stayed together, not daring to wander off alone in unfamiliar territory. They were slightly surprised by what they saw as they walked the streets. Within Daímonas was a shopping district, a residential area, and even a small park with a playground. It reminded them of Toyama in many ways, a thought which both comforted and unnerved them.

Eventually, they wandered into a nightclub called Nýchta, located in downtown Daímonas. It only took a single glance to give them a good impression of the clientele the place attracted.

"So, what do you think the chances are of us having to fight our way out of here?" cracked Ryo sarcastically.

"Chill. This seems like the kind of place our friendly neighborhood Fae might like to hang out at."

"Kento's right. We should spread out a bit and see what we can find out," suggested Rowen.

"And, what, just hope that no one recognizes our armors?" muttered Ryo as he watched Kento heading over towards the edge of the dance floor, where a large crowd had gathered. Rowen moved towards the pool tables while the Ronin leader decided he would attempt to blend in by the bar.

As Kento joined the various demons that had gathered along the dance floor, he couldn't help but notice how agitated they were. Apparently, even demons didn't like bar fights. He turned his own gaze to the two who stood in the center of the crowd. The more demonic of them had bright orange hair, pale yellow skin, and was fully decked out in leather clothes. The other fighter was surprisingly human in appearance and sported steampunk attire — a black vest over a ripped cobalt tank, black pants with cobalt detailing down the sides of each leg, and black leather boots with metallic silver buckles. He was holding his opponent by the throat. The demon tried to fight back, but his hits hardly seemed to be hurting the teen. In fact, it only seemed to amuse him.

"Tell me, demon, is everyone in this city as pathetic as you?"

Kento's eyes widened. He knew that voice. "Cye?"

The Wicked Knight of Tsunami turned at the sound of his name, spotting the Ronin instantly. "Ah, swell, look what the sewer rats dragged in," he said.

Cye tossed the demon away, sending him flying across the dance floor. The other club patrons seemed to take that as their clue to separate. As the demons moved on, the Wicked Knight turned to his former ally.

"What's with the bizarro outfit? It's not exactly your style," Kento joked weakly.

"What, you expected me to wear that stuffy armor on my night off?" scoffed Cye as he circled around Hardrock slowly.

"Well, no, but you usually just pull on a pair of jeans and a sweater, not… whatever that is — Okay, what are you doing?" said Kento. The circling was starting to unnerve him.

"Just thinking," stated Cye.

"About what?" Kento asked.

Cye stopped in front of him and gave an impish grin. "The best way to crush your skull."

Kento's eyes widened as he felt Ryo and Rowen come up behind him. They had been watching when the crowd around the dance floor dispersed, which meant they both saw Kento being sized up by who they thought was a random demon. Wildfire and Strata had locked eyes with each other and agreed silently to go to their friend's aid.

"Kento, are you alright?" asked Rowen.

"Yeah, fine," Kento answered, his eyes never leaving Cye.

Ryo turned his attention to their opponent, preparing for a fight. "Hey, buddy, why don't you just move along and mind your own — holy crap, Cye?!"

Rowen recognized their brainwashed friend just before Ryo did, but he had the same stunned reaction. Cye, on the other hand, was clearly not happy to see them, given the anger in his quickly narrowing eyes.

"Goodie. More Ronins," he sneered.

"Cye, please, just listen. This isn't you, okay. You're being controlled. You need to let us help you," Ryo urged, stepping forward and drawing the Wicked Knight's gaze to him.

"Not interested," stated Cye coldly.

"Zankoku's messing with your head, turning you against us. There's no way you'd ever want to hurt us. You know that, right?" urged Rowen.

The Wicked Knight gave no indication he'd even heard Strata, his eyes remaining locked on the Ronin leader.

"I'm outta here," he finally muttered, turning on his heels and starting to move towards the exit.

"Hate to say it, Cye, but this new you kinda sucks."

Kento had been hoping that calling out to him would make their friend stick around long enough for them to come up with a plan, but it wasn't working. Cye was clearly intent on ignoring them. Determined to get through to him, Ryo hurried to catch up to the Wicked Knight and grabbed his arm to stop him from leaving.

"Come on, Cye —"

Cye whirled around quickly. His sea green eyes flashed crimson. "Back off, Wildfire!"

He shoved the Ronin leader forcefully, sending him flying across the club and straight through an exterior wall. As Rowen and Kento ran towards their fallen comrade, the older teen turned and, pulling a bottle of Melaina's tonic out of his pocket, stalked out of the Nýchta.

"Ryo!" exclaimed Rowen as he and Kento pushed their way though the broken wall.

"Are you okay, man?" asked Kento, helping Ryo up.

"Yeah, I think so," Ryo groaned. He looked up at the hole in the side of the building. "Can't say the same thing about the club, though."

"Let's get out of here. With our luck, the owner's got it out for us," suggested Rowen.

The three Ronins quickly headed out of the alley they found themselves in and down the street in the opposite direction of the establishment.

"That was weird, right? I mean, I get that our armors make us stronger, but my armor's supposed to be the one that breaks through walls," said Kento.

"I guess Zankoku's been giving him some power boosts. And if Cye got them, we can assume Sage did, too," said Rowen.

"Cye might still be in the city. We should split up and look for him," suggested Ryo.

They couldn't think of a better plan, so the three Ronins set up a time and a place to meet. Rowen had offered to stay downtown. Ryo had been reluctant at first, but eventually agreed that he was the best candidate, as this part of the city was definitely home to the worst of the worst. Strata pretty much already had the layout memorized and knew exactly which streets to avoid. Ryo headed towards the residential area while Kento checked out the shopping district.

An hour later, Rowen was considering making his way towards the park. It wasn't long before he was going to have to meet up with the others, and there wasn't much point in staying downtown. There were no signs of Cye anywhere. He had probably returned to Zankoku's stronghold in the Western Lands after his confrontation with the Ronins earlier. Regardless, it was time to regroup. Rowen turned to head down the main road —

— and nearly walked right into Sage.

The Wicked Knight of Dawn was dressed casually in a pair of blue jeans, a green t-shirt, a black leather jacket, and black suede shoes. Sporting a smug look, he watched as the Ronin took a quick step back.

"Fancy meeting you here… Rowen of the Strata."

"Sage, I - I didn't expect to run into you," Rowen said honestly.

"No, I'm sure you didn't, but you were hoping to, right?" said Sage pointedly. It was a rhetorical question. He already knew how Rowen felt.

"Well, yeah," said Rowen. "I'm your friend, Sage, and I'm worried about you. Zankoku's done something to you, brainwashed you somehow. You're not acting like yourself."

Sage shrugged. "Maybe this is who I really am, and you're just seeing it for the first time."

"Really? This is you? Sage, you're wearing blue jeans!" Rowen exclaimed.

"Don't you dweebs ever give up?"

Rowen and Sage turned around. The voice belonged to a familiar steampunk-clad teenager. However, something was different about him. Among the light auburn locks were several black strands.

"I'm getting tired of all the whining. Really puts a damper on the fun I could be having," said Cye as he crossed over to his fellow Wicked Knight.

Rowen ignored the sinister tone. "Cye, what's with the makeover of the damned? Your hair did not look like that an hour ago."

"You really wanna know?" asked Cye, grinning playfully.

"Not so fast," Sage interrupted, grabbing his partner's arm roughly. "You got to bust Wildfire's ass back at that club. Strata is mine."

Cye pouted, but let it go. He knew when Sage made up his mind, there was no changing it. He stood back and watched as the younger Wicked Knight approached Rowen.

"You don't want to do this, Sage. You're a Ronin Warrior. You would never hurt me," Rowen said, trying to get through to the blonde.

"Guess you don't know me as well as you think you do," jeered Sage. And with that, he backhanded the Ronin across the face.

Caught by surprise, Rowen stumbled for a second, but quickly adopted a fighting stance. This was the last thing he wanted to do, but he'd never be able to help Sage and Cye if he lost here.

"I love it when they fight back." Cye's voice was soft, but full of delight.

"Really? I'd say the best part is when their bones break," chortled Sage, swinging another fist at his opponent.

Rowen couldn't block the blow in time. His head snapped to the side as Sage's fist made contact with his cheek, and he tasted blood. Before Strata could recover, the Wicked Knight slammed his elbow hard into the blue-haired teen's temple. Rowen fell to the ground, his head hitting the asphalt with a deafening crack. He didn't move after that.

"What, that's it? Talk about a let down," muttered Cye, disappointed.

"Darkness Strike!"

Sage and Cye quickly got out of the way before the blast of black lightning could hit either of them.

"Crap, the Warlords are here," snarled Sage angrily.

The three Warlords ran over to where Rowen lay motionless. Dais and Sekhmet both leaned over the wounded teenager, but Kale's kept his gaze steady on the enemy. The Wicked Knights met his eyes with their own fierce looks.

"Get Strata out of here. I'll make sure they don't follow," Kale said to his companions.

Dais lifted Rowen over his shoulder as Sekhmet turned back towards the two brainwashed Ronins. He took in Cye's new hairstyle with mild curiosity as the older teen waltzed over to join his partner. It was clear that the two had lost interest. They were already raising their hands to activate the cuffs on their arms.

"You three stooges aren't worth our time," Sage stated as the two Knights vanished without a trace.