Warrior Call Part Ten
Ronin Warriors
Warrior Call
By Janime
(With help from my other best friend Kyanite)
Part Ten - Passing The Light
**********
"Where's the end to this
thing?" asked Kento.
"Complaining isn't going
make it come any quicker, Kento," answered Dayus. Kento made a face at
the Warlord.
"How long have we been
walking?" Casey asked.
"I don't know," said Gwen,
"the battery went in my watch."
Jessie sighed and rubbed
the back of her neck. She looked at Twyla. "Are you talking to me yet?"
Jessie asked. Twyla said nothing. "I guess not."
"If it wasn't for you,"
said Twyla, "we wouldn't be in this mess."
"Well I'm sorry for being
the number one item on the Nether Realm's Christmas List," said Jessie.
"By the way, why didn't Michael tell us about me having a lot of power?"
"Knowing you," Twyla said,
"you'd use it to your own extent. Maybe that's why he didn't tell us."
Jessie thought about what
Twyla had said. Maybe she was right. Maybe Michael didn't want Jessie to
use her power yet. But for crying out loud, she was twenty-two and had
been Tracking for five years before the fight with Michael. Jessie could
understand why Michael didn't tell her when she was sixteen, but after
six years, he should have told her by now.
"What are you thinking
about, sis?" asked Joana.
"That Michael should have
given us a little warning about me," Jessie replied.
"Yeah," said Casey, "then
maybe you wouldn't have barbecued us."
"Blame that on Sekhmet."
"What?" Sekhmet looked
at Jessie.
"Well, you did say to
follow my instincts," she said.
"But what about the second
time, Jess?" Twyla asked.
Jessie didn't say anything.
"Blame it on Cale," said
Sekhmet.
"Me?" Cale asked. "How'd
I get dragged into this?"
"You told her to use the
Flare if it was necessary," Sekhmet reminded him.
"Hey, he's right," said
Sage, "Twyla, blame Cale."
"Shut up," Cale snapped.
"You're always causing
trouble!" Hank yelled at Jessie once. I should've kept my mouth
shut, she thought.
The tunnel ended and everyone
stared at the wall.
"Aw, man!" whined Kento,
"Now we have to walk all the way back!"
"The exercise will do
you some good," Dayus muttered. Kayura hit his arm.
"You know," said Twyla
glaring at Jessie, "this could've been avoided if someone could Track."
"Don't even start with
that again," groaned Jessie.
"I really oughtta shoot
you, Jessie," Twyla said.
Jessie held her arms out.
"Go right ahead!"
"I don't want to waste
the arrows."
"They're unlimited."
Twyla narrowed her eyes
at Jessie.
"Not that I'm encouraging
you, Twyla," said Cye, "but why don't you?"
"Because she has no aim,"
Jessie informed him.
The remaining seven armor
bearers looked at Twyla. "You can't aim?" Kayura asked.
"Show them, Twy," Jessie
taunted. "Use the Arrow Shock Wave. And kill everyone except me."
"No, I won't do that,"
Twyla said. "But I will use an arrow on you and stick it where the sun
don't shine."
"That would hurt," said
Kento.
"No thank you, Twyla,"
Jessie said. "Because I believe that where the sun don't shine on me is
exit only."
"Things change," said
Twyla.
"Hell no."
"Wait a minute," said
Kayura. "Okay, Twyla, I can understand that you're mad at her for not practicing.
But now is not the time to start killing each other."
Not the time to start,
my butt! Twyla thought. "Who left you in charge?"
"Twyla," said Gwen.
"I'm not taking orders
form her!" said Twyla, "Forget it!"
"Twyla, you're starting
to act like Rowen," said Sage.
"He's right. You are,"
said Cye.
Twyla clamped a hand over
her mouth. "Sorry, Kayura," she said, her voice muffled.
"It's all right," said
Kayura.
"But, you should have
more respect for Jessie, Twyla," said Dayus.
"Why?" asked Twyla.
"Whoever wears the Wildfire
Armor is the leader of the Ronin Warriors," Cale said.
"Me? Leader?" Jessie asked,
"Yeah right. Not me, pal. I take and obey orders." Everyone looked at her.
"Let me rephrase that. I take and obey certain orders."
"I'll say," Sekhmet muttered.
White Blaze rubbed his
head against Jessie's leg and she scratched the tiger's ears.
How did Ryo manage
to put up with this? Jessie asked silently. No wonder his kanji
is Virtue. He must have a lot of patience. She looked at Kayura. "Should
we start heading back?"
"Yeah, we might as well,"
Kayura said.
They turned around to
leave and tensed. White Blaze moved in front of Jessie, as if to protect
her and growled.
"Not again," Joana said.
"This attack thing is
getting kinda old," said Casey. "Why don't they try something new inste-AAAAAAAAH!!!"
The others joined Casey's
scream as the floor disappeared under their feet and they fell into a dark
room.
"You and your big mouth,
Casey," said Twyla. "I hope you're happy."
"This isn't exactly what I had in mind,"
Casey said.
"What did you expect?"
asked Sage.
"Can somebody, please,
get whoever or whatever it is off my back?" Jessie asked. She sounded like
she was having trouble breathing.
"As soon as we get some
light," said Dayus. "Kayura. Kayura?" She didn't respond. Dayus ran his
hands along the ground and he felt the Ancient's Staff. Continuing, he
felt a hand, an arm, a shoulder, and then his beloved wife's face. "She's
knocked out," he said. "Okay, roll call. Sekhmet?"
"Semi-conscious," came
the painful reply.
"I'll take that as a yes.
Cale?" asked Dayus. No response, "Cale?"
"Hold on," Jessie said.
She reached out with her left hand, patting the ground, and felt another
left hand with a tri-claw. "He's out too."
"How do you know?" Sekhmet
asked.
"Because he's the only
one with an always ready tri-claw; and he's on top of me," Jessie said,
"I'm on my stomach, Cale's back is to mine, and if I'm vertical, he's horizontal.
Twyla, shut up."
But Twyla started to laugh
despite Jessie's order.
"All right," said Dayus,
"Twyla, Sage, Casey, you're awake. Cye?"
"I am, but Joana's not,"
Cye said.
"Same with Kento, unfortunately,"
said Gwen.
Kento's out, thought
Dayus, I consider that fortunate. "That's everyone then," he said.
"Wait," said Jessie, "White
Blaze?" She felt a rough, wet tongue go across her cheek and heard a slight
purr. Jessie sighed, "Now that's everyone, Dayus."
"Too bad that the one
that can see in the dark is unconscious," said Sekhmet, "and Sage can't
call his Armor."
Don't remind me,
thought Sage.
They were literally blind
as bats in that room. And if they didn't get out of there soon, the Nether
Soldiers would find them.
Sage reached out blindly
and felt someone's hand.
"Who's touching my hand?"
Casey asked nervously.
"Relax, it's me," Sage
said. "Give me your other hand."
"Why?"
"Just do it, Casey, and
don't argue with me."
Casey managed to find
Sage's other hand in the darkness and their fingers interlocked.
"What are you doing?"
Casey asked.
"Let's just say I'm going
to make you the center of the spotlight," said Sage.
Jessie caught on. "Sage,
no! Don't you dare!"
"It's the only way to
guarantee we'll get out of this mess," Sage closed his eyes, "Wisdom."
The room was suddenly
filled with light and everyone could briefly see their current situation.
The light faded and darkness settled over them.
"Jessie," said Sage, "it's
okay. We'll be all right."
"No, Sage!" Jessie yelled.
A faint green glow told
everyone that he had vanished.
"Damn it!" Jessie cursed.
The
one guy I wanted to see naked and I don't!
"What happened?" Casey
asked.
"Casey," said Twyla, "You
like the color green don't you?"
"Yeah, what does that
have to do… he didn't."
"He did," said Cye.
"Is he out of his mind?!"
"Try 'was,' Casey," Sekhmet
said. "Sage isn't here anymore."
"I'm wearing Halo?" Casey
asked still not believing any of it.
"Yep," said Jessie, "and
it's amazing how you realized it a lot faster than Twyla."
"Hey, I was unconscious,
no thanks to you!" Twyla snapped.
"Shut up!" Dayus shouted.
"Casey, see if you can make the sword glow."
"How?" Casey asked.
As if in answer, the Halo Sword started to glow and lit up the whole room.
Casey stood and looked at the sword, "What is this thing, a light-saber?"
"Call it whatever you
want," Twyla said. She stood up and walked over to Jessie and Cale.
"Heal Kayura first, Twy,"
Jessie said.
"Why?" Twyla asked.
"Because, she's another
Healer and we need her conscious anyway. My ribcage can wait."
Twyla sighed and rolled
her eyes. She walked over to Dayus and Kayura, and placed her hand on Kayura's
head.
"Don't laugh," said Twyla,
"By the power invested in me, I heal thee."
"What kind of spell is
that?" Dayus asked. Kayura groaned.
"It may not sound like
much," said Twyla, "but it works. Doesn't it, Spidey?"
Dayus just looked at her
then helped Kayura sit up.
"I'm all right," said
Kayura. She looked around the room and saw Casey. "Oh no!"
"Oh yeah," said Jessie.
"I'm amazed that you're
still breathing," Sekhmet said, as he walked over to Jessie and Cale. "Twyla,
why don't you take care of Kento and Joana."
She did as he suggested.
Dayus walked over to Sekhmet and helped him move Cale off of Jessie.
"Thank you," said Jessie,
taking a deep breath. "I can breathe. Somebody tell him to either get lighter
Armor or go on a diet."
Twyla healed Joana and
Kento and they sat up.
"I've changed my mind
about bungee-jumping," said Kento. "Who has the flashlight?"
"How about sword-light?"
said Casey.
"Ah! Casey!" Joana cried.
"Well, I do like green,"
Casey said. "Only I prefer clothes rather than Armor."
At least your helmet
looks somewhat normal, thought Twyla. She walked over to Cale and healed
him.
"Should I ask what happened?"
Cale asked opening his eyes.
"See for yourself," Sekhmet
said, helping him sit up.
Cale saw Casey and pointed
at her.
"Yep," said Dayus.
"Casey, you have my deepest
sympathy," Cale said.
"Okay, everybody's awake,"
said Twyla. "Let's go."
"Aren't you going to heal
Jessie?" Dayus asked.
"Why? She's fine."
"Twyla," said Gwen, "Cale
landed on top of her. Armor or not, that had to hurt and she's gotta be
in a little pain."
Cale looked at Jessie.
"I did?"
"Yes, but don't worry
about it," Jessie said. "Just try to lose a few pounds."
"Fine," sighed Twyla and
she healed Jessie. "Pity. I was hoping that I could have you suffer for
a while."
"You can't have everything,"
Jessie said.
Maybe I can, thought
Twyla. She looked at Sekhmet. "Can I borrow one of your swords?"
"What for?" he asked.
"Oh, nothing much," said
Twyla sweetly, "I'm just going to poison Jessie, that's all."
"What?!" Jessie shouted.
"Have you lost your mind?"
Cale asked.
"Oh, don't worry," Twyla
said, "I won't kill her. I'm just gonna let her creep near to the edge
of death and heal her slowly. I doubt that I could heal you completely,
Jessie, so Kayura will have to take care of the rest."
"I may not have to," said
Kayura. "Because Strata might have, shall we say, boosted your healing
power."
"You know," said Jessie,
"she's right. Your healing spells never made me feel this good. I'm ready
to do the tri-athalon."
"The healthier you are,
the longer you'll suffer," Twyla said. "Sekhmet, one sword, please?"
"I don't think so," Sekhmet
said.
"Oh, please? I'm only
going to cut her finger a little, that's all."
"No."
"Pretty please?" begged
Twyla. "Just one little prick."
"And you're acting like
one now," Jessie said.
Twyla glared at her and
then a wicked smile crossed her face. "All right, forget the poison. I'll
just Twang."
Joana gave a high-pitched
squeak and Casey backed away.
"Twyla," said Gwen, the
fear noticeable in her eyes. "Don't you think you're overreacting just
a little?"
"No, I think it's proper,"
Twyla looked at Jessie. "Now which one was it on you? The gold, the red,
the mahogany… Oh! The maroon!"
"Get back you witch!"
Jessie hissed, holding her arms in the form of a cross. "Anybody got any
salt?! Cye! Oh no, wait, you can't call your Armor."
"What's 'Twang'?" Kayura
asked.
"You don't want to know,"
Casey said.
"It's a little…talent
that Twyla can do," said Jessie. "Let's say there's different colored strands
inside your head, and each of them has an effect on a certain part of your
body. Some are good, some are bad."
"And I take it that the
maroon is a bad one for you," said Cale.
"I can't move my legs
if that one is touched."
"The lime-green counteracts
it," Twyla smiled.
"Yeah, but it took you
forty-five minutes to find it!" Jessie snapped. "And the last time you
did any Twanging, you had Joana speaking Italian for two hours!"
"Two hours, ten minutes,"
said Joana, "and an hour and a half of Spanish after that."
"Oh, that was a fun weekend,"
Gwen mumbled.
"No Twanging," Jessie
ordered, "because if you try, I will definitely skewer you."
"How will you be able
to?" Twyla asked with a grin. "If you're twitching and slobbering over
yourself while lying on the ground."
"Shouldn't we be trying
to find a way out of here?" Casey asked.
As long as there's
another way out than up, Jessie thought looking around the room. She
touched the wall and ran her hand along it, hoping to find a crack or weak
spot.
"What are you doing?"
asked Sekhmet.
"I'm looking for the back
door," Jessie replied, "Since the elevator is out of service."
"Track," said Twyla. "Oh
wait, silly me. You haven't been practicing."
"Shove it, Twyla."
"Will you two knock it
off?" said Dayus. "Can you use the Staff, Kayura?" He looked at his wife,
who was deep in thought. "Kayura?"
"Hmm? Oh, sorry," she
apologized. "I was just thinking."
"About what?"
"Well, Casey was awake
when Sage gave her the Halo Armor," Kayura said, "but Twyla was unconscious
when Rowen gave her Strata."
"No thanks to someone,
who shall remain nameless," Twyla grumbled.
"I said I was sorry!"
Jessie snapped.
"The only question is,"
Kayura looked at Jessie, "was Jessie awake when Ryo gave her Wildfire."
Jessie turned her face
from the wall and looked at her. "I told you, the last thing I remember
was Ryo saying, 'Virtue.' And then White Blaze woke me up. That's all."
"That's just it," said
Kayura. "Twyla was unconscious, due to an accident," she gave both girls
a warning look, "Casey was awake during the whole thing. We just have to
find out if you were."
"Kayura," sighed Jessie.
"If I could remember, I would tell you. But do I remember? No, I don't."
…Let them…
Jessie inhaled sharply,
put her hands on her head, and staggered backwards. Cale grabbed her arm,
fearing that she might fall. "Are you all right?" he asked.
"Not really," Jessie answered.
"Ow, that hurts."
"What's the matter?" asked
Joana.
"My head's pounding,"
said Jessie, "Has been since Twyla got the Strata Armor, only it wasn't
as constant as it is now. That's why I didn't say anything."
"Maybe it's Anubis trying
to contact you," Sekhmet said hopefully.
Jessie looked at him.
"Believe me, this is not an Anubis headache."
Kayura walked over to
Jessie. Placing her hands on Jessie's head, she whispered a chant, then
removed her hands. "Did that help at all?" Kayura asked.
"No," Jessie shook her
head. "Try it again later. I think that it would be better if we got out
of here first."
"Okay, but you rest,"
Kayura said. She looked at Cale and he nodded.
"Come on," said Cale as
he led Jessie over to a rock and she sat down. Cale stood next to her as
the others started to look for a way out.
"I hate this," Jessie
whispered, taking off her helmet.
"Something bothering you?"
Cale asked.
Jessie looked up at him.
"I feel like I'm a burden to everyone. I don't remember what happened when
Ryo gave me Wildfire, I almost killed everybody, Twyla twice, I can't Track
because I'm an idiot for not practicing-"
"Hey," Cale took of his
helmet and crouched next to her. "We all make mistakes. Look at me. You've
heard about my darker days," he gestured to her Armor, "and you might see
them."
"Yours? Not yet. But I
have seen some of them with the other Warlords, and I have only one word."
"What's that?"
"Ouch."
Cale laughed softly. Jessie
took his helmet and held it next to hers, comparing them.
They're different,
she thought, and yet they are the same.
"Hey, over here," Casey
said.
Jessie gave Cale his helmet
as she stood up and they walked over to the others.
"What is it?" Twyla asked.
"There's a crack in the
wall," said Casey.
Kayura examined the spot
Casey was pointing to. She made the Staff disappear and summoned the homing
sickle. Her faceplate closed.
"You know how to use that?"
Cye asked.
"I've been practicing,"
said Kayura, "Get back."
Everyone moved away as
she started to swing the spiked end. Jessie put the helmet back on and
the faceplate closed. Cale also put on his helmet and looked at Jessie.
"I feel safer," she whispered.
Cale nodded. "I know what
you mean."
Kayura threw the spiked
end at the crack and it sunk deep into its mark.
Oh, that's impressive,
Twyla thought, then wondered where the sarcastic remark had come from.
Kayura pulled the chain
tight. It started to glow and blew a garage door-sized hole in the wall,
leading to another tunnel.
"That's one way to make
an exit," said Kento.
Kayura made the sickle
disappear. "Let's go."
As they walked down the
tunnel Kayura occasionally looked at Jessie. Her faceplate was open and
Kayura could see the pain in Jessie's eyes.
"Okay, everybody," said
Kayura, "let's rest for a while."
They sat down and leaned
against the walls. Twyla, Casey, Gwen, Kento, Cye, and Joana, faced Sekhmet,
Cale, Dayus, Kayura, Jessie, and White Blaze. The Armored ones took their
helmets off.
"Are you okay, sis?" Joana
asked.
Jessie nodded. "I'll be
all right, don't worry." White Blaze looked at Jessie and she scratched
his ears.
"Well, Jessie," Kayura
said, kneeling next to her and placed her hands on Jessie's head. "Let's
try it again."
"All right," Jessie sighed
and closed her eyes.
Kayura chanted again,
but, as the others noticed, it was different and longer than the other
one. Kayura removed her hands. "Better?"
"Yeah," Jessie nodded,
then hissed painfully and put her hand on her forehead. "I take it back.
I spoke too soon."
"That's weird," said Dayus,
"Kayura's healing spells can take care of anything and everything."
"I guess we better say
'almost anything and everything'," Kayura said. She reached out for Jessie
again.
"Don't even waste your
power," Jessie held her arm up, "I'll say it now - this is not an ordinary
headache."
"Neither were the ones
you had when Anubis was here in the Mortal Realm," Cale said.
"Didn't I tell Sekhmet
earlier that this is not an Anubis headache?" Jessie asked, annoyed, "Besides,
I don't get headaches from him anymore. Kayura took care of that, remember?"
She sighed, closed her eyes and leaned back against the wall. White Blaze
rested his head in her lap and gave a mournful groan.
Ryo, Jessie thought,
where
are you, big brother? She started to drift off to sleep.
"Michael!" Twyla shouted,
bringing Jessie back to full consciousness.
"What?" asked Cye.
"Michael can help us,"
said Twyla standing up. "We can go into the Stream and go to the Caverns
and ask Michael to help us."
Kayura rose to her feet.
"Are you sure he can help us get out of this place?"
"Not just getting out of here," said Joana,
now standing with Cye next to her. "But he can help us find Ryo, Rowen,
and Sage too."
"He's rather powerful
if he can do that," Sekhmet said.
"Yeah," said Casey, "but
he didn't have enough power to predict Jessie's right punch."
Warrior Call
By: Janime Lee