Author's Note: Wow, have I been MIA or what? Sorry guys, I think I really needed a break from the fandom or something. Admittedly, there have been other fandoms keeping my attention for the past year or so. But last night I had a Ronin related dream that, for whatever reason, put me in the mood to finish this chapter. Sorry it's so short. But maybe if you leave me awesome reviews it will fuel me enough to write the last one. hint, hint ;)

Ronin Special #1

What Might have been

By: Ghost of the Dawn

Chapter 5: Robyn, Part 1

All Robyn could do was stare. All five of them were right in front of her. They hung neatly in front of her in a row, heads down and lifeless. But it was them. Had they really been there with her the entire time? Through all those different worlds? Was it really was them? It took her a moment for the words to sink.

"What do you mean, choose?" she said to nothing in particular.

Mary Anne's form appeared again next to the five unconscious Ronins, hovering in mid air. She still looked like Mary Anne, but her face had changed. There was purpose behind those eyes which had shifted to a deep red color. She wove through the floating warriors with a stride that told she had power behind her.

"I mean it's time to pick one, Robyn," her voice was deeper, forceful. She said Robyn's name almost with the mocking of a greater being. "Five different men. Five different futures; each full of possibilities. Each one capable of giving you everything you always wanted. Now you can choose which one will make you the happiest and that future will be all yours forever."

Robyn paused, eyes wandering from Ronin to Ronin, then to Mary Anne and back again; trying to let it all sink in.

"Or," Mary Anne continued. "Would you rather mix it up a little?" She ran a hand down Kento's arm. "Don't want children? I can make that happen." She fingered Ryo's back as she passed behind him. "Happier marriage?" She stopped at Cye to caress his cheek. "Get rid of "Costume Night"?" she said with laughter in her voice. "Just name it and I will give it to you. Any man you want in any world you want. I will build you your dream's paradise; just tell me what it is."

Robyn was quiet for a while more, but it was obvious in her face that her mind was racing to wrap around this new information.

"So..." she finally said, choosing her words carefully. "You want me to pick one of them and you will... create a world for the two of us to live in?"

Mary Anne smiled. "That is correct. Whatever is your wish, I will make it so for you and your one, true beloved. And you will live blissfully there for the rest of your days."

Robyn furrowed her brows. "What about the others? What will happen to them?"

"Nothing, of course," Mary Anne insisted. "They will go on about their lives as if nothing happened. Free and unharmed, I promise you."

"But, there will only be four of them," Robyn argued. "They'll be missing one. Won't they–"

"They will not remember. They will continue on with their lives, not ever knowing what transpired here. The one you choose will not be missed."

"But...that's not right. You can't do that to people. Even if they're happy, you can't give someone a fake world to live in. It... it..."

"What wrong with it?" Mary Anne said, coming forward. "Human's wish to disappear into their own personal realities all the time. I am granting that wish. Why would you not want to take advantage of it? I am giving you the opportunity to have everything you have always wanted. Why would you not want to accept it?"

Robyn furrowed her brows. "You can think I'm crazy if you want, but I want a life that's real. I want one that I've built myself and one that I'll share with someone who wants to be with me, not someone who was tricked into believing that's what they want."

Mary Anne smiled. "You really think none of these five would be happy with you unless I "tricked" them into believing they loved you?"

Robyn's eyes widened and she looked at the five young men in wonder. Was it possible their affection was genuine?

"Well?" Mary Anne continued. "We're wasting time. Pick one."

Robyn was still staring up at her friends.

Her own world. With any one of them. All those things she got a glimpse at. All those different kinds of happiness she had a taste of. It was hers if she just asked for it.

She slowly turned back to the blonde with the red eyes. "I can't," she said simply.

A rumble of anger surged through the blackness.

"You WILL choose." Mary Anne's voice rose with dangerous power. "You are not allowed to leave here. I am being very generous in allowing you one of them to stay with you. I will give you everything you ever imagined. How can you not take it?"

Robyn smiled sadly. "I can't. I won't separate them. I won't choose which one they have to lose."

The world around them rumbled again, growing dark and Mary Anne's face twisted in anger, her –it's – eyes glowing in impatience. She stormed up to Robyn and an invisible force shoved her down. Robyn trembled on the ground, feeling a taste of the power this being had. She could feel the absolute strength of this... thing and its world swirling all around her.

"This is your last chance!" a booming voice snarled. "Your eternity is waiting. You cannot escape it!"

Robyn swallowed, trying to find her voice.

"Then it will just have to be me," she managed to get out. "They need each other more. Let them all go home. I'll stay here."

Mary Anne seemed to boil before her eyes, her fists shaking, power radiating off of her. Darkn clouds swirled over her head. Then she forced herself to calm down.

"You make no sense to me. Nor do you realize exactly what I'm trying to do here. I am saving you, Robyn. I am giving you something better than what fate has in store for you. You would be a fool not to take this!" Her voice rose with passion and frustration. "Don't you understand? I am not the villain here! If you love them then understand that they are better off away from you. The crossing of their paths and yours was fate, but it's a cruel one. I am here because I pity it and I want to help you. Taking you out of their lives will be a blessing to all of you, but for you, I will also grant a companion so you will never be alone. You just have to tell me which one you want."

With these words, Robyn actually felt her own anger growing and she stood up, glaring at the being she only knew as Mary Anne.

"Whatever you think you're doing, this isn't compassion," Robyn hissed. "It's torture! And no matter what you say, you can't erase people's hearts! You can't take them away from each other and wipe their memory and expect them to never feel like something is missing from their lives. It doesn't work that way!"

She paused to swallow, knowing the words she was going to say next would be the hardest.

"I don't know who you are or why you are doing this, but I can feel I don't have the power to stop you. However, I will not choose. If you say that me being with them will not make them happy then just take me away, I will go if it will be better for them. But please don't take them away from each other." Robyn fell to her knees, head down, tears threatening to fall. "I'm begging you. Please leave them alone."

Mary Anne watched her, a look of disapproval on her face. But in the end, she sighed.

"Very well. If that is what you wish. If you insist on existing alone, I suppose some people just won't be helped. We will go then and–"

Mary Anne was cut off as a large blade was pressed against her throat.

"You may go," Sage said in a calm voice. "But I do believe you have something of ours that must remain behind."

Any argument Mary Anne had was interrupted by a second blade joining the first. Ryo, like Sage, was dressed in normal clothes, but had his armor's weapon in his hand. He brandished the Wildfire sword with all seriousness.

"And it is not up for discussion," Ryo insisted. "So I suggest you leave now and take us back or my friends and I are going to have some problems."

Mary Ann looked up to see Kento, Rowen, and Cye all standing between her and Robyn. All armed and looking extremely unhappy with their current situation. Whatever power the being possessed, it seemed unwilling to match it against the power of the five warriors.

She chuckled to herself.

"Very well. You are all fools, but I cannot feel sorry for you now. You were warned about your fate and you chose it willingly." She looked up at Robyn who was standing between Rowen and Cye. "You invite tragedy to your front door and now you'll have to live with it forever." She suddenly disappeared and everything went dark.

Mary Anne's voice seemed to echo as it lingered behind.

"Good luck, warriors. You're going to need it."

Robyn awoke with a start and it instantly all came back to her where she was when this had first happened. They had gone to Ryo's family cabin for a weekend getaway. It was Friday and they had arrived there that morning. After they had moved in all their gear they had gone hiking and Robyn had taken a nap under a large tree which was exactly where she was when she woke up.

The snapping of a twig made Robyn jump and she looked up with wide eyes when she saw all five of her friends standing around her. At first, she wondered if she had been the only one to experience what she had. But then Kento reached out a hand to her.

"Are you okay?" he asked in a serious voice.

Robyn nodded and allowed him to pull her to her feet. In a way, she was relieved that they seemed to remember it, too. That she wasn't the only one who had gone through it all. She wanted to hug Kento, hug all of them and revel in the fact that they were back in their own world again. But Kento was stiff and quickly withdrew his hand. With the rest of them, Robyn could feel the tension growing in the air and so she stayed quiet.

"Let's get back to the cabin," Rowen said and everyone seemed to agree.

They traveled in a straight line, three Ronins in front of Robyn and two behind, quiet and stoic. The sun was beginning to set and underneath the tree line where they were walking, it was already dark. The soberness of the atmosphere worried Robyn. Were they all still in danger? Is that why everyone was quiet? Did the Ronins know something she didn't? She was too afraid to ask so she stayed silent all the way back to the cabin and left the rest of it up to them.

Once inside, the facade began to unfold. Robyn knew it well. The act of pretending everything was normal while still being on the look out for anything dangerous. Cye said something about dinner and moved to the kitchen. Robyn poked her head in once and noticed he was constantly looking out the windows and checking the back door as he worked. Ryo and Rowen moved upstairs while Kento and Sage stayed downstairs, idly moving around, but often pausing to look out the window.

Robyn still wasn't sure if she should say anything so she sat herself on the couch, fists on her knees, and waited.

After a while, Sage stopped pacing and sat himself in the couch opposite her. Robyn wasn't sure if it was her imagination or not, but Sage seemed to sit stiffly and looked very uncomfortable about something. His gaze was more restless than Robyn had ever seen it. He could stare at something for quite a long time without moving. But right now, his eyes flittered about the place, coming back often to her, only to jerk his gaze away again. His actions didn't make any sense, but Robyn didn't dare ask at this time.

There was a familiar scratching at the door. Kento didn't even think twice before opening it. White Blaze pushed his massive body inside, rumbling a deep purr for all the world to hear. As soon as he was in he jumped up on Kento, putting his large front paws on Hardrock's shoulders and rubbing his head all over Kento's face. Hardrock stumbled back from the affectionate assault and spat out tiger hair as White Blaze moved into the living room.

Still purring loudly, he climbed all over Sage who was sitting on the couch and then rubbed his cheek on Robyn's knee. Next White Blazed padded into the kitchen where he rubbed himself back and forth against the back of Cye's legs while Torrent washed vegetables in the sink.

White Blaze then bounded upstairs which directly resulted in a startled cry from Rowen. Then it was quiet as the tiger no doubt had curled up somewhere near Ryo and fell asleep.

"Wow, White Blaze was sure glad to see everyone," Kento said, still wiping off the tiger slobber as he stepped into the living room and plopped himself on the couch between Sage and Robyn.

"You'd think he hasn't seen us for a week," Robyn agreed.

"Or he's very glad we're all back home safe," Sage said quietly.

The other two sobered at bit as his comment. Sage's mention of getting back safe made Robyn shutter. She was also extremely glad she was back. Back to her old life, even if it wasn't always happy or perfect. But it was the one she knew– the one she built herself. And, most importantly, it had every one of her friends in it. She didn't ever want to leave it again. Not for anything. And she was going to do everything in her power to make sure that thing wouldn't take her again.

Thinking about being taken away again made Robyn anxious. Could it happen again or was it over? She really had no way of knowing. As far as she was aware, none of them knew what the being that called itself Mary Anne was or what kind of power it had and if it would ever come back.

Robyn subconsciously shifted closer to Kento on the couch.

Their shoulders brushed and Kento stiffened from the contact.

"Well, I'm going to go see if Cye needs help," Kento announced as he shot up and retreated towards the kitchen.

Robyn blinked in confusion as she watched him leave. Even more confusing, there wasn't any sound from the kitchen when Kento entered. Usually Cye was instantly kicking him back out. But this time there was only silence.

Robyn looked to Sage to see if he had noticed the odd behavior. Sage, for his part, had finally settled his gaze on the window. If Robyn didn't know any better, she could have sworn he was trying very hard to pretend she wasn't there.

Getting a very distinct feeling Sage didn't want her there, Robyn left and headed upstairs. It was quiet up there, too. The door to the room Rowen was sharing with Sage was closed. Ryo's room was open a tiny bit. Robyn peeked in to see Ryo sitting on the floor with White Blaze curled up around him, his back to the door.

Robyn wanted to go in. She would have been happy to talk to - be near - any of them. But Ryo's body language told he wanted to be alone.

So Robyn shuffled into her own room and sat on the bed. It was so eerily quiet in the cabin, it made her uneasy. Her friends weren't like this. Why were they all so quiet? So distant? Robyn slid off the bed to sit on the floor and wrapped her arms around her knees. With what had happened, she wanted to be near them; she wanted to feel safe. But they, for whatever reason, needed space and quiet for the moment. She just hoped it wouldn't last long.

When dinner was ready, Robyn hoped normalcy would return with them all sitting together and enjoying Cye's cooking. It didn't come.

Dinner stayed quiet, even awkward. Food was passed around in silence. Robyn couldn't help but notice the Ronins giving each other guarded, almost accusing looks. Furthermore, none of them would look at her.

It confused her to see them act this way. She wanted to hear their voices. She wanted them to talk about what happened and assure her it was over. Likewise, she badly wanted to express to them how relieved she was to be back with all of them again. She wanted to tell them how confused she had been when she was lost and how much she really did love this life she had with them now.

But her boys did not seem in the mood to talk. So Robyn ate her food in silence, granting that which they still appeared to want. All the while letting confusion bubble up insider her at their behavior. Usually they were in good spirits after winning a fight– which they did, didn't they?

Robyn puzzled more than she ate and, one by one, her friends finished and excused themselves from the table. Then they silently threw away their paper plates and left the room. Before she knew it, Robyn was the last one at the table. Even Cye was finishing up cleaning the dishes at the sink and did not stay afterward.

Robyn was left at the table alone. The cabin holding five other occupants plus one tiger seemed empty with the silence. Robyn watched small bugs flitter about the light above her as her food grew cold. She hardly ate even half of it before throwing it away.

Afterward, Robyn wandered into the cabin's main room. No one was there. They were all upstairs and, with the darkness coming from up there, they were either in bed or had their doors closed. They definitely weren't on their guard any more. They just did not want to be around her.

Sitting on the couch, Robyn was beside herself. She didn't know what to do. Why were they like that? Was there anything she could do for them?

Robyn pulled her knees up to her chest. The cabin felt lonely and empty and she was starting to not feel as safe as she originally had. She thought long and hard about all of them and how they had been acting. And even though she definitely didn't want to consider the option, she had to wonder if this was yet another fake reality and she still had yet to make it home.