Guardian Souls
By: Ghost of the Dawn

Chapter 19: Like A Mountain

Falnan - Yesterday

Kento gripped his head in frustration. It was hard to make sense of what he was hearing. Queen Laelia stood on one side of him and her advisor, Shinsetsu on the other. Kento was slumped in a chair, clutching at his bangs. That blonde girl was wandering around the room somewhere. She didn't know how to sit still. None of the information Kento just heard made him happy.

"So let me get this straight," Kento said. "Robyn disappeared the same day everyone left to war. And you think that she's possessed by Minami. She's probably also following the army and my friends. AND they're probably fighting each other right now?? What the hell did I come back to this castle for?"

"Lord Hardrock, please calm yourself," Shinsetsu advised. "None of us could have foreseen these events. We would have sent a message out after you, but we were certain you would have met up with the army yourself."

Kento stared at the floor, defeated. They had done a lot of flying and they had covered miles and miles of forest area as they did so. They probably passed right over the entire thing without even knowing it. Why did everything never go the way he planned?

"If My Lord would like to try to catch up with the army," Shinsetsu offered. "We can find you a guide and you can take the dragon out again."

Kento perked up. He hadn't slept on anything but dirt for almost a week but he was even more eager to see his friends again. He stood up.

"I'll go get the dragon right now."

"And you're going to leave me here?" Natalia asked from the far corner. She had been admiring the tapestries, but stopped when she heard Kento, the only person she knew in this place, was leaving.

"Sure am," he nodded. "There's no place for you where I'm going. Besides, this is a much better castle than the other one."

Natalia looked away. What he said was true. She wasn't going willingly into a war zone and this castle was really nice. It was full of friendly people and she was feeling a lot more comfortable here.

"Shinsetsu, see about finding Lord Hardrock a guide as soon as possible. Either someone small, or something with their own flying mode of transportation," Queen Laelia ordered.

"It shall be done, Highness." Shinsetsu bowed. "I will also find someone to see to packing you some more supplies, My Lord."

He left the room and Kento headed for the door after him. "I'll go get Seiji ready."

"Wait," Natalia asked, her voice a bit uncertain.

Kento stopped and looked at her.

She shrugged, unsure why she asked him to wait. Yes, she knew it was better she stay there. But he was still the only person she could count on in this place. She should say something to him.

"Uh...be careful, huh? Bring my friend back in one piece if you can." She gave him a weak smile.

"Will do," Kento grinned, giving her a thumbs up. He turned and ran out of the room.

Minutes later, he was down in the stables, approaching a snoozing Seiji.

"Time to wake up, dragon," Kento called. "We're going back out."

Seiji opened one sleepy eye at him and then closed it again. He let out a tired snort and thumped his tail. He wasn't getting up any time soon. Kento glared at the creature. He was just as lazy as the stupid tiger!

"Why you little..."

"I don't suggest going back out, Lord Hardrock."

Kento turned and saw an old woman who had been standing behind him.

"Oh yeah?" Kento asked. "Why not?"

"It would be more advantageous if you stayed here."

Kento eyed the old woman. He knew he should respect his elders. But he had no idea who this woman was. What if she was some old crack pot? Could he afford to listen to her?

"Why do you say that? Who are you?"

"I am the one who speaks about what can't be easily seen. I am the other half of the one who cannot see, but speaks of only what can be seen clearly by man."

Kento scrunched up his nose at her. "I don't understand a word you just said, Grandma."

He cried out in pain and surprise when the old woman reached up and grabbed his ear, sinking her nails into his skin.

"My name is Shinmei! I'm Shinsetsu's twin," she barked at him.

"Okay, okay! Let me go!" Kento cried as he flailed around pitifully.

"Not yet. Now you listen to me," the old woman ordered. "They will all be coming here to this castle. Lady Hardrock, the warriors, all of them. It will be THIS castle that will become a battle ground, NOT Akuma's. You will stay here and wait for the battle to come to you."

Kento went stalk still in her grip as he let this new information sink in.

"How do you know all this?" he asked in an unconvinced voice.

"Don't ask me stupid questions!" Shinmei barked as she tugged his ear, making him yelp again. "We're wasting time! Your fellow warriors aren't faring too well. You are the only one who can stop Lady Hardrock, but you need to be prepared or you will fail as well!"

She finally released her death grip on his ear and Kento shrank back, rubbing his bruised, red flesh. Why were old ladies so mean and scary? This one and his grandmother should be in a pit fight. Kento mildly wondered who would win.

"So, are you coming?" Shinmei demanded. She was looking over her shoulder, annoyed he wasn't following her.

Kento looked from the old woman to the sleeping dragon who didn't seem at all bothered by her loud presence or the fact that they weren't going to leave like Kento earlier said they would.

"Fine," Kento huffed and slouched after the older woman.

Later, a young guide wandered down to the stables. He saw the ice dragon he was told about, but no Lord Hardrock

"What the hell is this place?" Kento wondered as he looked around.

There was a sharp slap to the back of his head. Kento grabbed his aching skull and glared down at the small, old woman. How did she reach that high?

"Ow! What was that for, Grandma?"

Another slap came out of nowhere, too quick for Kento to dodge.

"Watch your language and respect your elders, young man," Shinmei lectured. "We are in a very holy place now. You will act accordingly."

Kento didn't retort, but the look on his face remained dubious. It was just a room, like any other room. There was a floor and a ceiling and it had stuff in it. Nothing particularly caught Kento's eye. Just some boring room.

Shinmei looked at his face and frowned. "You're not showing the proper respect!" And slapped him again.

"Jeeze! Stop hitting me!" Kento complained, shrinking a bit to protect himself from being hit again.

"This room contains all that belonged to your predecessor, the previous Lord Hardrock," Shinmei continued to explain.

Kento blinked. They were standing in some dead guy's room? A shiver involuntarily snaked up his spine. He suddenly didn't want to be there. In fact, why WAS he there in the first place?

"Hey, exactly why did you bring me here to-- Grandma?"

The old lady was gone. Vanished as if she had never stepped foot in that room in the first place. Kento looked all around to see if the old bat had just hidden herself somewhere. Nothing. He even spoke some choice swears out loud and looked around to see if he could get her to run out and attack him again. Still nothing.

Kento let his massive shoulders slump. "This makes no sense," he sighed.

He thought about heading back to get his dragon when a gust of wind picked up. Kento through that to be odd seeing as how there were no windows in the room and they weren't advanced enough for air conditioning. He turned around to locate the source and found himself no longer in the small castle room, but in a large, expansive field. The sky above him was wide and clear. The grass growing at his feet was golden and tall, almost to his waist; and danced gently in the breeze.

The snap of approaching feet in the brush caused Kento to turn around. Before him he saw a man; a bit older than him--mid to late twenties. He was taller, but still broad. Darker skin and black hair. He smiled at Kento playfully as if he were looking to start a friendly tussle.

"Who are you?" Kento wondered out loud.

The stranger didn't reply. Instead, he stretched out his hand and a long staff rose from the ground. Kento recognized it instantly. It was Hardrock's own naginata. He gaped at the man standing before him.

"Are--are you the..."

The man just grinned and tossed him the familiar weapon. "You're going to need this."

Before Kento could ask what for, the man extended his arms and the ground all around him tore up under Kento's feet.

Kento could not put into words what had happened to him. For a moment all sound was gone, all thought was gone. There was just darkness where the chunks of earth flew around him, and light where they were not. His feet were no longer on anything solid. Nothing in the world was holding still. This confused Kento's senses more than anything else. One thing he always knew to be truth was that there was always a sturdy ground beneath him. Now that it was gone, he wasn't sure what to do.

Large chunks flew at him and he donned his sub armor and crossed his arms over his head to protect himself. He gritted his teeth as the whole world seemed bent on beating him down, pounding him from every direction. The ground seemed to sift from beneath him as more earth was piling on top.

'I'm being buried alive!' Kento's mind panicked. Hardrock or not, he still needed air to breathe.

He curled up, clutching his weapon tight. He felt the power whirl in from being surrounded in his element. He let it build up inside him and then it exploded, freeing him from his crushing prison; dirt and rocks flying everywhere. The second Kento could stand, he called up his full armor and then stood, looking far more menacing than before, in front of the stranger that had attacked him.

However, the man looked hardly intimidated by his opponent's new weaponry.

"You're going to fight me in that?" he asked dubiously.

"What about it?" Kento demanded. "You wore it once. You know what it can do."

"Yes, I know what one can do with it," the man nodded. "But I also know what one can do without it."

"Without it?" Kento demanded. "What the hell are you talking about?"

The former bearer of the Hardrock armor just grinned.

"This," he said in a gravelly voice.

A second wave came, a hundred times worse than the first.

Mia was in a lighter mood today. Anubis knew she was a bit worried with all the Ronins gone, but he had seen her this way before. When he was alive, he had stayed with her at her house for a time and watched her as she tried to busy herself with anything instead of worrying about her friends. So here, it was the same. She eagerly plunged into any information or history book she could get a hold of. Anubis was often in the library with her as she read and pondered. It was very seldom anyone else was with them which left Mia free to talk to the spirit out loud. She happily showed him anything that was of interest to her and he let her carry on, just enjoying the sound of her voice again. He could often hear an underlaying tone of worry in her sometimes, but when she got exceptionally excited about one find or another, it would momentarily vanish. That was when he enjoyed hearing her speak the most.

It was later in the afternoon now and Anubis, like he had on a few occasions even at Mia's house, had to remind Mia to not forget to eat while she was busy delving in the pursuit of knowledge. But that was also something he found endearing about her, too. All other reason was flung out the door when she was working on a project. Her sincere enthusiasm to jump head first into something and not stop until it was done was refreshing and, Anubis had to admit, quite cute.

But he had reminded her that while he did not need such things like sleep and food, Mia did. So, with a bit of reluctance, Mia allowed herself to be pulled away from her studies to head to the kitchen to see if she could make herself something to eat. Anubis followed along side her even though he would not be eating anything with her and Mia and told him she hated it when people just sat there and watched her chew. She would give him that look and try to duck her head away from him as she ate. He was looking forward to it.

The Japanese woman and the ghost passed a rather lovely young woman coming up the hall. She was tall with tanned skin and blonde hair. She was wearing what everyone else in the castle was wearing, but Mia sensed a difference about her. She turned as soon as the blonde girl passed by and called out to her.

"Excuse me?"

The girl stopped and turned, looking at her questioningly.

"Um.." Mia fumbled for the right words. How does one ask something like this? "Are you from...this world?" She faded off in the last two words, hoping the attractive blonde wouldn't see her question as extremely stupid.

The blonde blinked at her. "No...are you?"

She also sounded a bit hesitant in her reply.

Mia smiled in relief. "I didn't think so."

The blonde blinked at her. "Are you...Kento's friend?"

"Yes," Mia smiled. "You must be Robyn's roommate. I'm Mia. I'm so glad you made it back here safely."

"I'm Natalia," The blonde American replied. Than she narrowed her brows. "Just how many people did they take out here? Was this supposed to be like a camping trip or something? Because that's messed up."

Mia didn't know how to respond to that. Behind her, Anubis was chuckling. Mia was robbed of the luxury to glare at him. She couldn't cast dark looks to someone this blonde couldn't see. She looked dubious enough already.

"So...is Kento here?" Mia then asked, unable to come up with anything else.

"He was," Natalia replied. "I think they had him go back out again and try to catch up with the others. They're fighting somebody or...something, I guess."

Mia was a bit disappointed to hear that. She was hoping she would be able to catch Kento's return and make sure he was in good shape before wishing him luck when he set off again. But apparently her tireless studies had made her miss all that.

"Oh, Lady Mia," one of the more familiar servants called to her right then. "Half the castle has been looking for Lord Hardrock. Everything is ready for his departure. Have you seen him?"

Mia blinked. Maybe she hadn't missed her chance after all. "No, I haven't," she replied. "But I'll help you look." And she continued on to the kitchen.

Kento fought to stay standing, but eventually, his fatigue and injuries won and he fell to one knee, panting heavily. He rested most of his weight on his staff, trying not to fall all the way down on his face. Blood was leaking from several cuts on his face and neck. He couldn't see, but he was sure he was also bleeding in parts under his armor as well. He wasn't sure how the stranger did it, but he did. This was the most grueling fight Kento had ever been in. He had used every move he knew on his opponent--sent the Iron Rock Crusher after him several times. The grassy plain had been reduced to a barren wasteland from all the attacks. But here he was now, on his last legs with that man standing over him, smiling his same smile and he was untouched.

"This is bullshit," Kento panted. "Why are you fighting me? We're not enemies! And why--why can't I beat you?"

His hand slipped from his weapon and he fell to his hands and knees.

The previous Hardrock strolled casually up to him. He looked down at the fatigued warrior, hands on his hips. "You cannot beat me while you think of that mantle the way you do. All you see of it is the shell of an armor. There's more to it than that."

"What...do you mean?" Kento panted.

The man stamped his foot and the ground beneath Kento split in two and his body fell in. With what strength he had left, he clung to the side of the now deep ravine for his life. The previous Hardrock continued to look down at him, his feet right by Kento's quivering hand.

"Look at you. You're built like a rock. You are far more compatable to this title than I ever was. But there's still something you don't understand. Hardrock is not an armor of brute force. The mountain does not go out to attack it's enemies. It stays and it waits. The enemies attack the mountain and it slowly wears the enemies down with its harsh snow and steep cliffs. It's adversaries always give out first and the mountain stays strong and proud. Be like the mountain. Do not waver, but wait."

Kento just looked at him with the one eye that wasn't getting any blood dripped into it. "Look buddy, I don't know what the hell you're talking about. Why can't anyone ever give me a straight answer for anything?"

The previous Hardrock just smiled. "The mountain holds answers, but you must find them yourself."

Kento, despite the fact he was hanging for his life, was about to tell that jerk where he could stick his answers when he was no longer hanging from a ravine. Nor was the previous Hardrock there to smirk at him any more. Instead, he was standing again, or floating. He couldn't tell. He was surrounded completely by black in every direction. Where was he?

"Hey Kento." It was Ryo's voice he heard. "Kento, what's wrong?"

Kento spun around and saw his friends and...himself. Younger versions, only fifteen years old. They were in a very familiar setting in a subway tunnel beneath Toyama.

"I'm freaking out!" Kento heard his younger self say. "What if I end up like him?"

Kento clenched his fists. It had been almost five years. But he remembered this conversation well.

"Kento!" Rowen barked. "Get over it and arm yourself!"

Kento watched his younger self hesitantly call his armor. He heard the gasps from Mia and saw the incredulous looks of his friends all over again when his armor didn't come when he called. To that day, Kento still wasn't a hundred percent sure why Hardrock had done that. He had been scared. Why hadn't his armor come to protect him? Why wasn't it eager to show him it wasn't evil? Why did it just abandon him that day?

I cannot save you from your fear.

Kento froze. That voice wasn't from the scene he was witnessing. In fact, he had never heard that voice before in his life. ...or had he? Darkness descended upon the scene in the subway and to his left, another one was revealed to him. This one contained the voice he had heard earlier. It was his younger self–even younger than before. This Kento was only about seven or eight and was staring up at the empty shell of the Hardrock armor with wide eyes.

I can give you strength, the armor had promised him. Strength enough to fight your enemies and protect what is important to you. But I cannot save you from yourself. I cannot protect you from your fear or your doubt. If you believe in me, I will be there. If you doubt, I cannot help you. My power comes from your will as your power comes from me. I am only as strong as you are. Will you still take me? Will you accept this of me?

Kento chuckled to himself. How did he ever forget that conversation.

"I have to be strong enough for both of us, huh?" Kento mumbled to himself. "Fine. To be that strong, I must wait. Like the friggin' mountain; I'll wait."

He opened his eyes and he was back in the field, weapon in hand. The previous Hardrock was before him again, his face expressing that what Kento had been through before was just round one. It was time for the fight to begin again.

But this time, Kento pulled out of his fighting stance. He threw down his metal bow and called off his armor. The previous Hardrock raised an eyebrow to him.

"Are you sure? I beat you so badly last time. Don't you want the armor on?"

Kento shook his head, his own grin slowly spreading. "Hardrock told me it's only as strong as I am so the way I see it, there's no difference whether I have it on or not.

The previous Hardrock matched his smile. "You see, that's the difference between you and I. I may know how to fully use its power, but Hardrock has never spoken to me. In all the history of these mantles, your generation is the first to include your own names with the names of what you bear. So come," he waved his hand forward. "Show me why you are called Kento of Hardrock."

Kento nodded and as his previous successor crouched for battle he stood, and he waited.

Falnan- Today

Mia hardly slept a wink all night. There had been no word back from the Royal army in three days and Kento had gone missing. She herself and any members of the castle staff that could help had searched the castle from top to bottom. Not one trace of Hardrock had been found. Some had suspected he had gone on to find the army anyway. But that didn't make any sense to Mia. He had not taken any supplies with him. Nor a horse or that dragon. Others feared he may have been assassinated by a spy sent to infiltrate the castle by Akuma. Mia doubted that, too. She had an acute sense of feeling when something was terribly wrong. She didn't know why, but sometimes she could just tell if one of them was hurt or in serious trouble. And while she still worried greatly for him, she did not have the feeling that this was Kento's situation. He just simply...wasn't here right now.

As Mia looked out the window at the new day dawning, she silently prayed he would show up soon. And when he did, if he was okay, she promised to give him a piece of her mind.

The breeze flowed gently over the tall grass as it had once before. Two men lay on their backs side by side lazily staring up at the wide, clear sky. The landscape around them was beautiful and unmarred. There was no sign there had been any kind of battle tearing this world to rouble until there had been hardly anything left to tear up.

"Well, I guess I should be going soon," Kento announced as he sat up. He stretched out the muscles in his back and popped his neck. It had been quite a work out.

"You probably should," the other man agreed. "She should be coming soon. You will want to meet her before she reaches the castle gate."

Kento looked over at him, his eyes a bit wide in anticipation. "So she is coming, Minami."

He furrowed his brows, trying to mentally prepare himself. He had been warned already. She was a spirit possessing Robyn's body. Ever since he heard this news, Kento had been trying to picture what she was look like now; what a fight against her would be like. Even after his training, he still had no idea what to expect. Knowing that the fight was coming soon made his heart start to flutter nervously. He couldn't afford to mess up with this one.

"It's not Minami, you know," the previous Hardrock said, still looking at the sky. "Everyone thinks she is the original reincarnation of the first Hardrock Priestess, but she's not."

Kento cocked an eye ridge at him. "What are you talking about?"

The other Hardrock sat up, resting his elbows on his up turned knees. "I'm the only one who knows," he admitted, looking down at his hands. "I knew from the beginning, right at the ceremony. Hardrock could feel it wasn't her, but I went ahead with it anyway. I pretended it was her because in truth, I fell in love with her the second I saw her. And at that moment, my heart said that if she wasn't the one who was to stand by my side until the day I died, then I no longer wanted my title. But Hardrock accepted her anyway and it became our little secret. Hers and mine and Hardrock's. Only because of THAT one rule, the armor listened to me and no one was the wiser."

"Rule?" Kento wondered, getting even more confused.

"You haven't seen it yet, have you?" the other man asked. "The writing on the temple wall. The one key phrase that gives us some inkling as to why the armors do what they do."

Kento shook his head. He was all ears for this bit of information.

But the previous Hardrock just shrugged and flopped back on his back. "Well, maybe you weren't meant to see it then. And it certainly isn't my place to tell you."

Kento raised a clenched fist in annoyance. "Why you smug little..."

"It is my fault, you know," the previous Hardrock continued, making Kento forget his anger. He stared sadly up at the sky. "All of this. It's all my fault. Had I spoken up at the ceremony, she wouldn't have made priestess. If I had been able to protect her, she wouldn't have died so horribly full of hate." His eyes grew hard and full of regret. "If I hadn't told her to go back..."

"Wait, wait," Kento interrupted. "YOU'RE the reason her spirit came back to the living world? You TOLD her to?"

"I did," he replied softly. "When our spirits met on the other side, I rejected her for what she had done. For the pain and suffering she had caused others before she died. I told her I would not accept her until she went back and fixed what she had broken." He paused and gave a sad smile. "Even though it was myself who was to blame in the first place. I really am a selfish bastard."

"Yeah you are," Kento agreed as he stood and dusted off his pants. "Because now I have to clean up after the both of you. You Hardrocks are a giant pain in the ass."

The other man smiled apologetically. "I know."

Kento folded his arms over his chest. "So exactly how do I get back to...the..."

Before he could even finish the sentence, he was suddenly back in the castle in that small room where he was before. Nothing had changed. The field and the one inhabiting it were gone.

A bit dazed from all that he had just experienced, Kento wandered aimless and blankly around the castle, unsure of exactly where he was. After a while, he heard a few shouts in the back of his recollection, but hardly paid attention. It wasn't until a breathless Mia came running up to him and threw her arms around him that he felt himself finally lurch full back into reality.

"There you are!" Mia cried as she pulled back. Her expression instantly went from elated to angry. "Where have you been? The whole castle has been looking for you all night long! You've made everyone worry!"

"All night?" Kento repeated. "I've only been gone for one night?" It felt like he had been gone for a week. Though, as he thought about it, he neither ate nor slept the whole time he was there. Nor had there been night or day in that place.

"Where were you?" Mia demanded. "We were starting to think you already left or that something bad had happened to you. Where have you been?"

Kento hesitated on his response. He doubted "in a field" would be a sufficient answer for Mia. Not that he minded her staring at him. Her face, happy or angry, was a welcome change to staring at that guy for so long. And lucky for him, his stomach changed the subject for him.

"Can I get something to eat first?" Kento asked sheepishly as his tummy rumbled. "I haven't had anything in a while."

Mia sighed and let it drop. She turned her back to him, expecting him to follow. "Sure...come on.."

The shadows fell as it began to hit afternoon. Kento could feel something coming. This was it. He had told everyone to get in the castle and stay there, giving no further explanation. He didn't have to. He was Lord Hardrock. Kento had to admit, it was pretty cool to have everyone listen to him for once.

It was quiet outside the castle when a figure rose out of the ground before it. She stared at it with hate filled eyes and split the earth, intending to cleave the castle right in two. But the split had stopped at Kento's feet when he appeared, under no power of her own, and she had to take a step back at his appearance.

"Lord Hardrock, I presume," she said to him.

Despite the fact that he had been warned, Kento still wasn't entirely ready to see Robyn's vestige standing before him like they were enemies. It was hard to take in, but Kento forced himself not to show any of that in his face.

"That would be me," he said calmly, folding his arms.

"Not going to put on Hardrock to fight me?" Robyn asked as she looked him over.

Kento drew in a deep breath. This was real this time. Now he would see if his training paid off.

"I don't need it to beat you."

"I see," Robyn smiled coldly.

She raced for him, but Kento didn't move. His hands stayed at his side. Cool and patient; like a mountain. Without a weapon, Robyn clenched her fist and it screamed for the place between his eyes. At the last second, Kento's hand shot out and caught her wrist, Robyn's whole body hung aloft in mid air. The breeze from her rushed attack brushed by a second later, ruffling his hair. The rest of him didn't move. Behind him, the wall of the castle cracked, such was the force that had been exerted between them.

For a second, their eyes locked. Kento looked into those green depths and saw nothing familiar. He wondered about his friends; he wondered what they saw. He wondered how they felt when they faced this. He wondered what it meant that she was the only one at this castle without any of his other friends in sight. All this wondering went through his head in the blink of an eye. He had a job to do now.

His face was different than any expression she had seen on the other warriors' faces when she had attacked them. That caught Robyn a bit off guard. She hadn't expected a full defense from this one if he was like the others. She had a feeling this one wasn't going to hold back.

Kento tightened his grip in her wrist and then flung her into the air. On her descent, he made the same motions Robyn had earlier and cracked open a fissure in the ground where she would have landed. Having none of that, Robyn quickly closed the fissure before she hit; even calling up a mound of earth to fly up higher and catch her; softening her landing. She glared at Kento as the ground slowly brought her down to normal level.

"So, you've learned," was all she said.

"Yeah, I've picked up a few things, thanks to your boyfriend," Kento shot back. "I'm not going to be so easy to beat."

The look that plastered Robyn's face was a mixture of disbelief and hurt and anger. "He did?" she choked out. "Why is HE helping you?"

Kento smirked, this was the opening he was looking for. She was distracted now. "Why don't you ask him when you meet him?"

He charged forward, at the same time, willing the ground beneath Robyn's feet to slide. She lost her balance and he threw himself into her. They both slid to the ground, Kento on top, holding Robyn's struggling wrists above her head. She had a horrid, venous expression on her face that Kento thought would never have been capable on Robyn.

"Let me go!" she snapped at him.

Kento wasn't about to do any such thing. He had been ignoring it, but his side was aching. He glanced from her face down to the growing red spot at her side. He chanced holding her hands with both of his so he could use a free hand to feel the blotch. He bit back a few choice curses when he found the red spot was warm and wet. She was bleeding.

Robyn, however, was not biting back any curses. She threw them all at him freely in her rage. She may have been massively strong, but she shared the same strength Kento had. With equal shares in the Hardrock strength, Kento still had the stronger body, thus he could hold her down with only one arm where no other mortal could. Seeing there was no way she could force her way out, Robyn opted for a different approach. She began to let herself sink into the sand.

However, Kento instantly noticed what she was doing and let himself sink down with her. He was not going to let her go no matter where she slunk to. Enraged that her plan hadn't worked, Robyn let out a burst of energy, tearing up the ground below and all around them. Kento was forced to divert his attention to his face and his energy into stopping the explosion. With Kento distracted, Robyn slipped out from under him and, while kneeling, delivered a double palmed attack to his abdomen.

Kento was sent flying backward, the force pushing him back on his feet. He flew towards the stone wall of the castle but planted his feet in the dirt at the last minute, willing the ground to swallow his ankles, slowing him down. He hardly had time to take a breath from his close encounter when Robyn came flying at him again, fists ready. She jabbed one through the air. A stiff burst of dirt shot up and caught her wrist as it went through it. It stayed their, holding her like a magical, locked wall. Robyn punched with her other fist, mere inches from Kento's face. The ground shot up and caught that as well.

As angry as ever, Robyn fought to free herself, but it was of no use. She was stuck there. Then, she slowly started to sink into the ground. Robyn's eyes went wide. This was under no choice of her own. She struggled with the stubborn earth, but she still ended up being swallowed until only her head and shoulders were sticking out of the ground.

Robyn struggled furiously in her dirt bindings. "How are you doing this?" She demanded. "You can't overtake me!"

Kento just looked down at her, his form casting a shadow over her face. "Hardrock is MY armor. You just borrow it from time to time. Who do you think it listens to more?"

Robyn just growled at him, her face had murder written all over it.

But Kento paid it no mind. He squatted down next to her and reached out, ruffling her already wild hair.

"Don't worry," he said with a gentle smile. "I won't let anything else happen to you."

"I don't need your protection," Robyn spat back at him.

Kento's expression turned from kind to stern. "I wasn't talking to you," he informed her.

Robyn's eyes widened, some of the fire escaping from them. She opened her mouth to argue, but the ground had already finished swallowing her completely. Kento watched solemnly as she disappeared. Then, there was nothing but a crack in the ground. That, too, sealed itself with a thin ribbon of orange light. Then, all was quiet and Kento let out a heavy breath. It was over. He grunted as he pulled himself back up on his feet.

"Kento!"

He looked up at the sound of his name and was very surprised to see a winded Sage running up towards him. He waved to his friend.

"Hey Sage! Long time no--" He was cut off as the blonde threw his arms around his shoulders.

"You have no idea how glad I am to see you," Sage admitted.

"Uh...yeah.." Kento replied back awkwardly. He wasn't too cozy with being hugged by another man. Though he supposed he should be grateful Sage was hugging his shoulders and didn't have his arms around his neck like a woman.

Sage pulled back and looked at the place where Robyn had disappeared only a few moments earlier. It was obvious he caught at least the last of the fight.

"How did you do that?"

"It's more than I want to explain right now," Kento said, brushing off Sage's remaining hand. "I can tell you she'll be there for a while and she'll be safe. She's sleeping right now. At least until it starts getting dark. When it gets close to midnight, I doubt I'll have the power to keep her sealed in there."

Sage nodded in understanding. That bought them some time.

"So where's everyone else?" Kento asked.

Sage's shoulders slumped a bit. "I'm not sure. Pretty far away, as far as I know. I don't know when they'll manage to get back here. It may take days."

Kento breathed heavily out his nose, hands on hips. He wanted that full story, too. But something told him they didn't have time to play catch up with what either side had been doing for the past few days. The question was what should they do now?

He looked up at Sage.

"Tell me you at least have a plan."

Sage's mouth cracked into the first smile he had given in weeks. "Don't I always?"

Servants and all manner of castle personnel jumped out of the way and stared in shock and wonder as their previously missing Lord Hardrock tore through the castle corridors along side their once Lord Halo. The two warriors didn't pay notice to anything. They were in a hurry.

"So that Akuma guy is coming here?" Kento asked as they ran. "All by himself?"

"Yeah, I think so," Sage replied. "And it might not be good. He may be only one man, but you didn't see the state of those gates. He must have torn right through them. He might be tough to beat."

"But one thing at a time. We're getting Robyn back first, right?"

"If we can, that's the plan, yes," Sage confirmed as he reached the desired room and flung open the doors.

It was the open, spacious room with the strange, giant symbol painted in the floor. The last time any of them were in there was when Kento and Robyn had left their bodies to visit the spirit world and get Diana. The place still looked the same. To Sage, it radiated a power all its own and he could feel it even without touching the symbol.

Kento ran into the room, right in the middle and dropped to his knees, ready for what would come next.

"Alright, how we going to do this?" he asked eagerly. "Tell me what to do."

Sage walked in slowly, taking his time to approach Kento and kneel opposite of him. "I don't know if we'll be able to do this, especially since Robyn isn't in the room with us."

"I ain't bringing her up here," Kento informed him.

"I know, I know," Sage nodded. "But we have to try to get her back in control somehow. That other spirit lay dormant in her once, we need to see if we can do it again. The only way to help Robyn gain control is to go into her psyche and restrain that other spirit."

"Wait, wait," Kento interrupted. "Let me see if I have this right. Don't you, when you do this kind of stuff, just project yourself into some kind of astral something spirit plane?"

"Yes."

"And this is different, right? You want us to actually go INTO Robyn's head, right?"

"More into her spirit," Sage clarified. "But her consciousness is also part of it."

Kento eyed his blonde friend warily. "Have you ever done that before?"

"No," Sage replied calmly. "But I'm out of options. If Robyn's spirit is being suppressed somehow, than just trying to force a meeting on her in the spirit plane, especially where she's somewhere we can't physically touch her, is near impossible. But I might be able to use this room to help us force our own consciousness inside that mess and try to separate those two spirits and put the right one back in control of her body. That's where you come in, Kento."

"Me?" Kento asked dubiously.

Sage stared at him with all seriousness. "Normally, even the most experienced person probably won't be able to do what we're attempting. But I'm hoping that the two of you share enough of a spiritual link with Hardrock that we'll be able to slip inside."

Kento's expression didn't change. "Why do I get the feeling you're wanting to use me as a personal shield for this?"

Sage's shoulders actually fell as he let his head drop.

"I don't think she likes me very much," the blonde admitted.

Kento rolled his eyes. They SO did not have time for Sage's personal issues right now.

"So just tell me, is this going to be dangerous or what Sage??"

Sage's expression was grim. "A little bit."

"How much is 'A little bit'?" Kento pressed.

"A little bit," Sage continued to insist.

"Like, if I kicked your ass a little bit as in the way you say a little bit, how much am I kicking your ass?"

Sage actually broke into a small chuckle. "You are so eloquent, Kento."

"Hey, did you just call me a fruit?" Kento demanded, taking serious offense.

Sage dropped his head. He could never hold a conversation with Kento for too long. There were always these...language barriers between them, somehow.

"So what are you guys doing in here?"

Sage looked up to see a tan blonde leaning on the door frame, watching them suspiciously. He instantly recognized her as Robyn's friend. So Kento had done what he had left to do. Sage was about to say as politely as he could to please give them some privacy, but Kento was already waving her off.

"Don't mind her, she's not important," he insisted. "Let's just do this."

Sage nodded and turned his back to the blonde who had huffed at Kento's comment. He leaned over, looking Kento in the face; his eyes intense. He was leaning too far for Kento's comfort.

"Um...Sage? Could you maybe..."

Sage reached out, grabbing the back of his head and pulling him forward. Their faces were about to meet and Kento was going to voice how he really wasn't cool with that when they suddenly weren't kneeling anymore. They were standing in a vast space of nothing. There was neither light nor dark surrounding them, just nothing. At their feet was the mark that had been etched in the floor. It was glowing a patient red, awaiting whatever task they had in store for it.

This felt a bit familiar to Kento. Though he had only done it once before. Now they were on the spiritual plane, but there was somewhere else they needed to be. He waited for Sage's instruction for what to do next.

"Okay," Sage said, sounding a bit unsure of himself. "Now we...concentrate on Robyn, where she is physically. And then we need to focus all our will into projecting into her spirit, okay?"

"I'll do my best," was all Kento could promise.

Sage held out a hand to him. "So we don't get separated."

"Now we have to hold hands?" Kento whined. "It just doesn't stop!"

"Just do it," Sage argued back, sounding annoyed. "You'll survive."

Sighing, Kento reached out and took his friend's hand. He was surprised how different of a sensation it was. It wasn't a mere physical feeling of skin touching skin. It was something deeper. It was like a touching of raw conscious power and the moment they touched, it held fast like two links being chained together. No matter what they did, it would not break.

"Now concentrate," Sage told him.

Kento would have closed his eyes, but technically, he didn't have eyelids; or eyes. He focused on that physical place in the ground where Robyn's body was hibernating, then he traveled deeper. He wasn't sure if he was doing it right, but his mind automatically started searching for something familiar. He was feeling power, different kinds all swirling around him. None of them felt like anything he knew. Then, he felt something. Something that reminded him of high school, of a certain laugh, of his armor power and he focused on that. He felt himself tugged in that direction and Sage's presence was pulled with him.

Their decent ended and Kento felt himself stop in a place drowning in darkness. So dark, he couldn't even see the hand that was supposedly still holding onto Sage. He couldn't see a thing, but he felt they were somehow in the right place. The feeling here felt familiar, of someone he knew. But it was too much like that someone he knew. Like he was invading a private bedroom, only a hundred times more intense. Even the air around them felt like it belonged to someone else and they had entered without permission.

"We're here...right?" Kento tested.

"I...think so." It took Sage a while to answer. For a moment, Kento almost thought he was there alone despite the fact he was holding onto someone's hand, until Sage spoke.

"Why is it so dark?"

"I don't know, Kento. Maybe it's from two spirits trying to inhabit one body. Or maybe..." Sage paused. Kento could tell he didn't like saying what he was going to say next. "Maybe it's the darkness that has always been inside of her."

"It's not evil Sage, it's just dark," Kento shot back.

"...I know," came a hesitant reply.

A faint yellow glow appeared in the distance and slowly came towards them. Two yellow glows. As it came closer, what the duo thought to be glowing orbs actually turned out to be two large, oval eyes. Kento and Sage just stared at it as it stood only a few feet away from them. They had no idea what it was or why it was here. It seemed to be human like in form. Near as either warrior could tell, it was standing on two legs. It wasn't very tall and its large, yellow eyes blinked slowly like a cat's. Open. Close. Open. Like it had all the time in the world. It didn't feel completely evil, but it did radiate something from it that caused unrest deep down in the warrior's souls.

HAVE YOU COME FOR ME? it asked. Words without a discernable voice echoed in their heads.

Kento and Sage just stood there. They could not make a single lick of sense from that question. They had no idea where they were or what they were talking to. They didn't even know where to start answering that question.

NO. The thing answered for them. YOU ARE NOT THE ONE.

And with that, it was just gone. Vanished in the darkness. The two confused warriors were left alone once again. Kento could almost feel the confusion seeping off Sage from their connection.

"So...I have no idea what to do now," Sage admitted.

"ROBYN!" Kento suddenly called out loudly, startling Sage. "Are you out there?"

"Kento!" Sage shot back. "Are you TRYING to give me a heart attack?"

"Heh, sorry."

Something touched them. Something small and soft. Two hands gently wrapped around theirs, all holding onto each other.

"Are you lost?"

"Robyn?" Kento tried to look at the person who was standing behind them, but there was nothing but darkness. Even trying to see with his senses, the only thing he could pick up were those hands closed around his and Sage's.

"Why are you here?" Robyn's voice asked innocently. It was as if she had no idea what was going on at all.

"Robyn," Sage spoke up. "Where is your body? Why are you not in it?"

"I am," came the simple reply. "But I am...stuck. I cannot move."

"Do you know what's holding you?" Sage continued to ask.

Robyn didn't answer, but something began to appear to them in the darkness. It was a hole, long at thin and black like the rest of their surroundings. Like it had been slashed into the fabric of the existence they were in. It was rimmed with a jagged edge of pale green which pulsated almost like a heart beat, as if it were alive.

The light from the manifestation wasn't much, but it was enough to illuminate Sage's profile to Kento's eyes. Between them, Kento could also see Robyn's placid face. The rest of her, he still had trouble even sensing was there. But he could also see her hands as well and around the wrists, it looked like heavy shackles.

"I don't understand," Kento spoke out loud. "That thing is over there. What's it doing to you, Robyn?"

"I know what it is," Sage said in a dark tone. "I feel Halo's power lingering in it. This is from the wound Myune gave to her. I don't know if she even realizes it, but Halo's power is keeping the wound from healing and keeping Robyn too weak to take over her body. And I bet as long as Myune has control of it, this gash will remain open."

Kento's hand traveled over to his side. Even without his physical body, he was starting to feel the throb in his side from being too close to this.

"So what do we do then?"

Sage was quiet for a moment.

"It's my job," he finally announced. "I need to take control."

He let go of Kento's hand and the bond was broken. Whatever power that had been anchoring him to that spot was gone. Kento could feel himself slipping away even as he saw Sage lunge forward and throw himself into the gaping hole.

"Sage!" Kento called, but his friend was already gone and he was without any power now to keep him there.

Despite what he wanted, he felt himself being pulled away from that place. He didn't want to go just yet. As per his wish, two hands shot out and grabbed his wrist. Kento was dangling there for the moment, but he felt the pull on him grow greater by the second. He looked up to see Robyn's hopeful, face smiling at him as she clung to his wrist.

"It's going to be hard," she promised him, though she was smiling. "Just do your best, okay?"

"What?" Kento flailed. "What do you mean by that? Robyn! Don't let go of me! Don't--"

But he was already set free, unable to do anything else but answer the nagging pull, dragging him back. His eyes flew open and he sat up, breathing heavily and looking startled. He turned his head to check his surroundings and saw nothing but wide, blue eyes.

"Are you okay?" Natalia exclaimed, leaning close to his face. "You look like you've been running for your life!"

Kento ignored her and tried to dodge around her close proximity without accidentally bumping into her impressive cleavage. Leaning around her, he managed to catch a glimpse of a blonde body still lifeless on the ground.

"Sage! Hey Sage! Are you okay?"

Kento crawled over to him and checked the body over. It was still warm and he thought he felt a faint pulse somewhere. But Sage was out cold. His body was still missing it's spirit. Kento swore under his breath. He had no idea where Sage was now. Natalia just stared from him to the sleeping blonde blankly, unsure of what was going on.

"Lord Hardrock, come quick! It's horrible!" Both heads shot up as a servant girl burst in. She looked quite disheveled like she had just been through a really rough ordeal. Kento could only guess at what happened, but his stomach sank at the sight of her.

"A great tragedy My Lord," the girl cried, falling at his feet. "The Demon has come! Akuma is here! He killed the Queen's bodyguards and attendants and took her hostage! I am the only one to survive to deliver a message. He wants all mantle bearers in the castle to meet him on the terrace right away or he will kill Her Highness! Please go saver her, My Lord. I beg of you! There is no one else!"

Kento looked grimly from the hysteric girl to Sage's lifeless body, then to Natalia's wide, blue eyes. He sucked in a deep breath. He was the only one who could do it. Sage was out cold--maybe even without a spirit right now and the other guys where heaven knew where. This would be the second fight he would have to brave alone that day. And that suited him just fine.

"Natalia, watch Sage for me," Kento announced. "Don't let ANYONE touch him until I get back. Can you do that for me?"

Natalia looked into his eyes. He had been there for her and now it was her turn to return the favor.

"I'll watch him," she promised, sitting down next to Sage and pulling the blonde's head in her lap.

Kento gave a nod and turned to the servant girl. "Show me where he is."

She ran pretty fast for a girl so young. Kento was sure the little servant girl was running on adrenaline alone. He stayed right behind her as he was led up a spiraling stair case, higher and higher. The tower had a few small windows in them in which Kento glanced at as he ran by. It was getting dark now. Was it really that late? Were he and Sage gone that long and had Natalia been watching them all that time?

The girl reached the top of the steps and pointed a shaking finger to the door ahead of her. Obviously, she did not want to lead him any further. Kento gave her an encouraging smile and patted her head before walking ahead. He paused to take a deep breath and then used both hands to push the heavy oak door open. He exited the tower door carefully. Before him lay a flat bed of stone which served as the roof of the castle. It was large enough to land two helicopters easily. Kento squinted in the fading light. There was only a ribbon of red on the horizon now. It was hard to see, but the place looked empty.

"Come to fight me all by yourself, Hardrock?" announced a voice.

It seemed to echo from every direction. Kento glanced around, unsure of where it came from.

"Where are you, you creepy little bastard," he mumbled as he looked around.

The hiss and snap of a starting fire was heard a fraction of a second before a large torch lit up at the other side of the terrace. The sudden light revealed a thin, young man where Kento could have sworn was not there a moment ago. He looked about 17 or 18. Just a little younger than Kento. His hair was jet black, slicked away from his cold face and eyes. At his feet behind him lay a small body wrapped in fine silks. Her back was to him, but Kento knew it was the body of Queen Laelia.

Kento took a few steps towards them, muscles tense. Akuma eyed him, but didn't seem too concerned Kento was there.

"So, we're at the final battle now," Akuma announced, smiling at him in a way Kento did not like. "And all there is, is you and me. It's a bit anticlimactic, don't you think?"

Kento crouched in a fighting stance. An orange ribbon of light appeared in his hands. When the light was gone, Hardrock's naginata was in its place. "I don't get what the weather has to do with anything," Kento told him. "But I'm sure I can still kick your ass all by myself."

Akuma cocked an eyebrow at him. "You idiot! I didn't say climate! I said anticli--"

That was all Kento needed to dash forward in full attack. He raised his weapon high and brought it down for the strike. Akuma barely managed to catch it in his hands before it cracked his skull.

Kento grinned at him. "Just keepin' you on your toes, dude."

Akuma glared, obviously not pleased with being caught off guard. "You really have no reason to be here. This isn't your world and non of your business. What right do you have to interrupt this brother, sister reunion I've put together?"

Kento stared at him. "Say what?"

That was all the distraction that was needed as Akuma took his turn to attack. With more force than Kento expected from the scrawny young man, Akuma thrust one palm into Kento's abdomen and sent him flying into the tower wall. Kento braced for impact, feeling his subarmor immediately form on his body before he hit. Even with the subarmor, the impact was jarring enough. It took a moment for Kento to get his bearings again. Akuma was already stalking towards him.

"You really don't know what you're up against, do you Hardrock?" Akuma smirked. "They never really told you about me, did they? Why they named me what they did? Why I don't need an army to take over this castle."

From somewhere beneath his clothes, blackness began to peek out over his skin, traveling down his bare arms, covering his hands. It crept out of his collar and up his neck; over his face and changing his eyes a different color. Now they glowed a dangerous red. Akuma spoke again and his voice was as if a different person--no, a different entity had taken over.

"For my name sake," the deep voice hissed and oozed. "A demon is what they willed me to become."

Kento pulled himself to his feet, mustering more of his usual charisma.

"Demon, huh? I've seen scarier than you."

"Perhaps," Akuma warbled. "But you cannot beat this demon. My destiny is sealed like yours is--but we have two different purposes. I was made to destroy this world. However, it is not your destiny to save it. Therefore, you will loose."

The black on his arms began to move and wriggle. It seemed to grow a life of its own and suddenly shoot out in multiple long, sharp tentacles towards Kento. One sliced past his cheek, cutting it open. A few others flew past him to embed themselves in the tower behind him. One, however, managed to catch him right below the collar bone on his left shoulder. He heard the shattering of his sub armor and how it tinkled like broken glass before he felt the sharp prick of it slicing through skin and sinew. He was pinned back against the tower wall as another one broke the armor on his right thigh and pierced him through as well.

Kento bit back his pain, refusing to cry out. He managed to continue to glare as Akuma sauntered closer to him, the black tentacles still connected to his arms and wriggling like worms on the sidewalk.

"You see, Lord Hardrock," Akuma boasted. "Destiny can be a very beneficial game if one knows how to use it to one's advantage."

Kento just gritted his teeth against the wriggling things burrowed in his skin. He tried to ignore the pain as he let his power build up. It was too late to try to call his full armor now, but he still had a plan in mind.

Akuma looked up as the tower at Kento's back began to shudder. Without warning, a hand full of stones near the top broke loose and flew for Akuma's head. The demonic young man pulled away to dodge the attack, pulling his barbs out of Kento's body and setting him free. Kento made a sound of relief as they were finally jerked from his skin and he was no longer pinned to the wall. He immediately pulled himself away so he could better assess the situation.

He was already bleeding freely from his wounds. Around them the sub armor remained broken, looking almost burned around the edges. No matter what power Kento tried to will to it, the armor refused to heal itself. In fact, maybe he was seeing things, but Kento could have sworn the armor was actually receding from the wounds. This was the power he had been warned about since the first day he had arrived in this place. Akuma had the power to reject the armor's power and block it from the wearer. If Kento wasn't careful, he really might be forced to continue this fight completely by himself.

First thing was first, however, he had to get Akuma's hostage away from him. Akuma had brought the fight to Kento first, but one could never guess if and when he would suddenly turn and use the unconscious queen as a shield or worse. Kento threw more stones from the side of the tower at Akuma, making sure he was thoroughly busy with protecting his head from being bashed in. Then he made a mad dash for Laelia's body.

He was almost there when something wrapped around his neck and pulled him back with a painful jerk.

"Oh, I don't think so," Akuma scoffed. He had beaten off the stones with his powerful tendrils and used an extra one to reach clear across the terrace to strangle him. "Where do you think you're going?"

Kento tried to fight the hold on him, but pulling away only managed to tighten the hold around his own neck. He coughed and gasped as he was dragged away from the queen's body by the neck. More tendrils wrapped around him, pulling his hands away from fighting the choke hold and trapping his arms to his side. A few of them were prying at the cracks in his sub armor while the rest wrapped around his entire body.

Then it began to squeeze. Kento gritted his teeth, groaning against the growing pressure he could feel everywhere on his body. Akuma continued to watch with dead eyes as his prey struggled before him. Finally, the pressure was too much and the sub armor shattered in the demon's grip. Kento couldn't stop himself from crying out as he was back in his regular clothes again with nothing to protect himself. Flashes of black and white flitted across his vision.

"How does it feel to slowly die like this, Hardrock?" Akuma mocked. His gleeful expression suddenly turned to one of hate. "Now imagine dying a slower death over the past hundred years. Compared to that, the fate I'm giving you is quite merciful, don't you think? Unfortunately, this way there won't be much left of you to return back to the earth from which you came. Too bad."

Kento was in no position to respond. There was a sharp ringing in his ears now, but he could pay no attention to that either. All his concentration was forced inward. Pressure like this would have pulverized a lesser man already. It was only the Hardrock power Kento was forcing into his body that had stopped his bones from shattering like his sub armor. However, he wouldn't be able to keep this up for long. Something needed to happen or he was going to die.

His vision was fading quickly. Kento didn't know if he was seeing things or what. But he could have sworn he saw a giant black shadow floating above him, descending lower. He was on the edge of blacking out, but on the edge of consciousness, he heard familiar voices calling his name.