Warrior Call Part Thirteen
Ronin Warriors

Warrior Call

By Janime

Part Thirteen - Save a Life to Save Yours
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"Oooww. I'm in pain."
"Casey, will you please stop complaining?" Gwen begged. "You're not the only one with bruises here."
"You didn't literally get kicked in your butt," Casey said as she tried to sit, but with no avail. "Twyla, could you-"
"If you think I'm putting my hands on your derrière, forget it," Twyla said. "I'll never put my hands on anyone else's rear end." Except, maybe Rowen's... Twyla thought to herself.
The Warlords had finished with the easier lessons and had moved the girls on to the martial arts. The five Americans did well with a few accidental hits, one being Casey kicked in her backside when Kayura was training Joana.
"She didn't mean it, Casey," said Joana.
"I know," Casey grunted and finally gave up trying to sit and lay down on her right side, supporting her head with her arm. "Where's Jessie, anyway?" she asked.
"Last time I saw her, she was training with Sekhmet," Twyla said.
"Why?" asked Gwen. "I thought she likes Sage."
"She does," said Joana, "Jessie acts around Sage like Twyla does in the candy shop at the mall."
"Jessie doesn't even come close to me in the candy shop," said Twyla. "If you ask me, Jessie and Sekhmet are starting to act like relatives. Kinda like the way she is with Eric. She treats him as a younger brother."
"Twyla," said Gwen, "in case you haven't noticed, there's a big difference between your brother and Sekhmet."
"About four hundred years worth," Casey chuckled.
"I don't get it," Joana said. "How can Jessie get along with them so well? I know that the Warlords are okay now and Jessie's known them a month longer than we have, but she's acting like she's known them for a long time."
"It does seem weird the way she acts around them," Gwen agreed.

"Watch," said Sekhmet and he demonstrated an attack move. "Go ahead."
Jessie's look was uncertain. "Sekhmet?"
"What?"
"I can't kick that high."
Sekhmet walked over to Jessie and held out his hand. "Give me your foot," he said.
"Which one and why?"
"Doesn't matter and you'll see."
Jessie looked at him skeptically, and then put her left foot in Sekhmet's outstretched hand. He slowly lifted her leg till her foot was above her head. "Yeow!" Jessie yelped.
"Just keep your balance," said Sekhmet.
That's easy for you to say! Jessie thought and Sekhmet lowered her foot. "That hurt," she hissed, rubbing her upper thigh.
"It will the first few times."
"How do you know?"
"Because it was a part of my training before I joined the Dynasty," Sekhmet said, "and I was half your age when I had to do that."
Jessie looked at him as a thought came into her mind. "I have a question to ask you, and I hope that you won't hit me when I say it."
"What is it?"
"Was your voice any deeper than it is now?"
Sekhmet scowled at Jessie as she tried to hide a smile. The Warlord of Venom shook his head and smiled himself. "You're something else," he said.
"I hear that a lot." Jessie sat down. "I've been told that I'm unique."
"You are." Sekhmet sat across from her. "You're very different from the girls I grew up with."
"Sekhmet, every girl today is very different from the girls you grew up with."
"I know. But even though you are more aggressive, you're still kind and helpful."
"Promise me," said Jessie, "that you will never repeat what you just said to my parents."
"Why?" Sekhmet asked.
"Because they'll never believe you," Jessie explained. "My last year of high school, everyone who signed my yearbook wrote how nice I was, thanked me for being a good friend, and thanked me for helping them in class."
"What's wrong with that?"
"My parents read it and asked me if I had accidentally brought home someone else's yearbook."
Sekhmet looked at her. "Oh, that's nice."
"I'm a black sheep," Jessie said. "I do get part of my charming personality from my father, but no one knows where I get the rest of it from. Whenever I did something wrong, my parents would blame each other. When I did something right, they would both take the credit."
"That's not very healthy," said Sekhmet. "For your spirit, if you know what I mean."
"I know. Mom always wondered why I didn't want to be home." Jessie sighed, remembering the times she had called home saying she was staying late for work, but instead she went over to the sea wall and stayed in the parking lot for an hour at the most.
"Ryo told us that your parents wouldn't let you go to China last year," Sekhmet said, "and that you lied about coming to Japan."
"I'm twenty-two," Jessie said. "According to the state back home, I've been considered an adult since I was eighteen. But no, as long as I live under their roof I have to abide by their rules."
"I can understand some of that," said Sekhmet. "But not letting you go anywhere is a little much. If you didn't tell me that you were living at home, I would think that you're in prison."
"And I finally escaped," said Jessie. "But I think that my parents have emptied out my room by now from the way my mom sounded when I called her last month."
Sekhmet nodded. "I heard."
"I understand she means well," Jessie sighed, "but she's too over-protective. Coming to Japan was the only way I could show her that I'm an adult and that I can take care of myself." She paused for a moment, then added, "This doesn't count, though."
"If this did count," Sekhmet laughed, "I think your mother would have you locked behind ten feet thick walls."
"My family doesn't understand me," Jessie said. "I'm lucky that my friends do."
"Cale, Dayus, Kayura, Mia, and Ryo try to understand me, but that's a lost cause."
"How much do they know about you?"
"Not much."
"Have you ever told them about yourself?"
"No, I haven't even tried."
"Try me."
Sekhmet shook his head. "I don't want to dump it on you."
"Come on," said Jessie. "I just told you why I'm in Japan. So why don't you tell me about your family history?"
"I don't know," said Sekhmet.
"I'm going to get it out of you sooner or later, Sekhmet," said Jessie. "And believe me, I can be really annoying."
"All right," Sekhmet agreed. "Where shall I begin..." He looked at the ceiling for a few moments. "Ah, I know. I'm not entirely human."
"Really?" Jessie grinned. "That was my first assumption about you."
Sekhmet chuckled. "From my father's family. There was a curse put on my ancestor a few hundred years before I was born. I believe that it was at least one hundred years before the Ancient One defeated Talpa."
Jessie's eyes widened. "That was a long time ago. So this curse has been running in your family for over eleven hundred years?"
"Just my ancestor, Yosuke, was cursed. It does affect me somewhat."
"So what was the curse?"
"Yosuke insulted a spirit in the forest near his home and the spirit changed his body," Sekhmet explained. "He still had a human form, but he was more reptile-like. He had scales on his body, his eyes were like a snakes and large like mine are, and he could communicate with all snakes and lizards."
"Can you?"
"I used to with snakes, but I'm out of practice."
"Ah, I have something in common with you," Jessie said. "You're out of practice with your Snake Speech. I'm out of practice with my Tracking."
Sekhmet laughed and continued. "Yosuke's family shunned him and he ran to the mountains. However, Yosuke's wife, Hiruka, still loved him. She didn't care what he looked like. Two weeks after Yosuke left, Hiruka ran away after hearing that her parents had arranged her to marry someone else in the village. A year and a half later, she found Yosuke hiding in an abandoned temple in a forest not far from a village - I can't remember the name. He couldn't believe that she still wanted to be with him even though the way he looked."
"She loved him that much," said Jessie.
"Yes," Sekhmet nodded. "They had children and they looked more like Yosuke with less scales. An interesting part is that people who had believed that they had lost their honor went to the temple Yosuke, Hiruka, and their children were living at. Some married into the family and the temple became a meeting place for everyone. Marriage, naming, coming of age, and other ceremonies were performed there. And I lived on the top floor with my parents and grandparents."
"Were you the first one born without scales?"
"No, my grandmother was. My grandfather was an orphan her parents had taken in after she was born. When they married, my grandfather took my grandmother's family name. My father was born. He married my mother. I was born, and when I was sixteen my mother was pestering me to find a girl."
"There weren't any arranged marriages in your village?"
"No, we believed like people do today. You marry the person you fall in love with."
"You didn't fall in love?"
"They were more or less infatuations," said Sekhmet, "and a good way to pass the time during the winter."
Jessie covered her eyes. "Men will never change," she groaned.
"We won't," Sekhmet laughed. "But I did fall in love with a girl."
Jessie looked at him. "Did you marry her?"
"No, I didn't."
"What happened?" Jessie saw the pained looked on Sekhmet's face. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have made you-"
"It's all right," he said, "I wanted to marry her, but she was killed. I went out hunting that day and I fell down a hole that turned out to be a cave. That's where I found my Venom Armor. I took the sphere and returned home... but it was gone. The houses were on fire and everyone was dead." Sekhmet closed his eyes. "I never felt such a rage go through me. I buried all the members of my clan alone. With each person I buried my rage grew and so did my desire for revenge." His eyes opened. "Then Talpa found me a few years later. He said he would teach me to use the Armor of Venom for my vengeance, but I ended up being used like a puppet."
Jessie moved next to Sekhmet and put her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry," she said.
Sekhmet looked at her and smiled. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"Getting me to talk about what happened before I joined the Dynasty," said Sekhmet. "I feel better now that I have."
"Talking usually does help," Jessie said and they smiled at each other.
"If I ever need anyone to talk to," Sekhmet said.
"I'll listen," said Jessie.
"Same for you." Sekhmet got to his feet and helped Jessie up. "Now," he said, "back to your training."
"Oh, it never ends!" Jessie groaned, putting her right foot into Sekhmet's hand. "I hope I don't get a hernia from this."

"You're doing much better." Kayura said a few days later. "I'm impressed."
"There's a first," mumbled Twyla.
"Thank you, Kayura," Jessie said as she gave Twyla a warning look.
"And now moving on to what you've been fearing," said Dayus and thought, We've been fearing more than you...
"There's no way we can avoid this, is there?" Jessie asked.
"Sorry," Cale said. "As much as we know that you don't want to do this."
"Wishful thinking," said Gwen.
The Warlords summoned their Armors. "Put yours on," Sekhmet instructed.
One by one, the American girls summoned the Armors. Jessie sounded almost like Ryo when she called for Wildfire; Joana and Twyla sounded like their usual selves; Casey was trying to be funny by singing at the end; and Gwen sounded a little uncertain of what she was doing. The Armors came forth and the five looked at the Warlords.
"No headaches," Jessie said.
"That's good," said Kayura. "Sekhmet, Cale, the two of you have swords. So does Jessie and Casey-"
"Kayura, before you start pairing off, could I talk to you?" Jessie asked. They walked away from the others and Jessie whispered, "Depending on who's training who, I want to be there watching."
"Why?" Kayura asked.
"The way we've been acting, my friends and me," Jessie said. "I would feel a lot better if I was."
"You think they might do something that would hurt us."
"Yes, I know it sounds crazy, but I'm worried something might happen. It may not be intentional, but..."
Kayura nodded. "I understand. And I appreciate your concern. I'm sorry to say that we'll all be teaching one of you individually for now. But I have an idea." They returned to the group.
"May we ask?" Joana said.
"Since Jessie has been in combat already," said Kayura, "she'll be watching us train the four of you, and we'll train her when you're done for the time being."
"What for?" Casey asked.
"I won't be slacking off," Jessie said. "I'll be helping you when you need it."
Her friends looked at each other and nodded slightly. "All right," said Twyla. "It feels weird, but okay."
Kayura smiled. "Now, let's see..." She paused, trying to figure out who to pair off. Ancients, I hope this works out all right, she thought. "Casey, you go with Sekhmet; Joana, you go with Dayus; Twyla, you go with Cale; and Gwen, you come with me."
"Don't worry, Cale," Twyla said. "I promise I won't shoot any arrows unless you tell me to."
"Very good," Cale said. There's one rule I hope I won't have to remind her of, he thought.

All day the Warlords trained the girls; switching trainees and occasionally letting one relax and trained Jessie. In the meantime, Jessie walked around the cavern to make sure her friends were all right. White Blaze also kept watch. Whenever a pair was having trouble, the large tiger would go to Jessie and lead her to who needed to cool down. This time White Blaze led Jessie to Cale and Casey.
"No way!" Casey shouted.
"No way what?" Jessie asked.
"She won't listen to me," said Cale.
And she probably never will, Jessie thought.
"I am not doing the Thunder Bolt Cut," said Casey. "Forget it."
"Casey," Jessie walked over to her friend, "I had to do the Wildfire Flare."
"And almost killed us," Casey shot, "Twyla twice."
Jessie was about to shoot back an insult when a dark wave passed through them. Everyone regrouped in the center of the cavern.
"They're worse than the Energizer Rabbit," Gwen said.
"I think we should relocate the school," said Jessie.
"Agreed," Kayura said.
They ran down a passage. After some time, Jessie abruptly stopped. The blank expression on her face made everyone worry.
Sekhmet touched her shoulder. "Jessie," he said. "What is it?"
"Trap," Jessie whispered. "Dead end ahead." She shook her head and looked at her friends. "What?"
"I wish you wouldn't do that," said Twyla.
Meanwhile, Cale ran ahead and returned. "She's right," he said. "There's a cliff ahead. I don't know if there are any other tunnels."
"They're pushing us," said Dayus.
"To go over the cliff?" squeaked Joana.
"It seems that way."
"This just bites," Casey muttered.
Jessie pulled out one of her swords and stood next to the Warlords.
"Jessie..." Gwen said quietly. I can't say that I blame her for wanting to face the Nether Soldiers than the cliff, she thought.
The Nether Soldiers charged forward, attacking the Warlords and Jessie. Some managed to get pass them and went after the other girls.
Casey swung the Halo Sword like a baseball bat, cutting a Nether Soldier's head off. "Cool," she said, and screamed as another one came after her. Twyla jumped in, kicking the Nether Soldier's head, and knocked it down. Casey stabbed it as it tried to stand up. "Just do us one favor, Twyla," Casey said. "Don't shoot!"
"Fine!" Twyla shouted. "I'll knock them down and you kill them!"
"Works for me!" said Casey, and they ran into battle.

Jessie was having a hard time fighting off the Nether Soldiers. White Blaze was doing his best to help her, but the tiger could only do so much.
I won't let these things take me away like they did the guys, Jessie thought, killing a Nether Soldier and backed up a little.
Nearly falling over the edge.
Jessie quickly regained her balance and looked down the dark, seemingly endless chasm. She had been so focused on the battle that she didn't even notice how far back she was.
A Nether Soldier thrust its spear at Jessie. She attempted to dodge it and lost her balance, falling over the edge. She was so paralyzed with fear she couldn't even scream. However, one part of her mind still functioned and Jessie grabbed the spear, taking the Nether Soldier with her into the awaiting darkness.

The Warlords were having their own share of problems - fighting off the Nether Soldiers and protecting the girls was not easy.
"That's it!" Sekhmet shouted. He held out his two katanas, releasing them and they hovered in the air. He pulled out the next two blades, placing them under the first two, and repeating with the last two swords.
Sekhmet held the blades together then grabbed one, pulling it away to his right and the other swords followed like a chain. "Get behind me!" he shouted to the others. As soon as they were clear, Sekhmet unleashed his special attack. "SNAKE FANG STRIKE!"
The swords flew at the Nether Soldiers, striking all of them and they turned into smoking pools of liquid metal that evaporated.
All six Venom Swords returned to Sekhmet. Four automatically returned to the side sheaths and the Warlord placed the remaining two blades in the sheaths attached to his back.
"Just one dumb question," said Casey. "Why didn't you do that sooner?"
"We always try to avoid using the special attacks unless it's necessary," Cale said. "Believe it or not, it does drain quite a bit of energy."
"There's something to look forward to," Gwen said.
Speaking of looking... Twyla thought and scanned the room. Seeing no sign of her red and white Armor clad friend, Twyla said nervously, "Wait a minute. Including White Blaze - one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine..." They looked around with panic. Jessie was gone.
"Oh no!" said Kayura.
"Jessie!" Dayus shouted.
"Sis!" Joana screamed.
"Where are you!" shouted Gwen.
White Blaze pressed his nose to the ground. The mingled scents were difficult for him to sort out Jessie's and follow.
"Jess!" Sekhmet shouted and thought, I hope that she's-
"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!"
Gwen and White Blaze ran over to the edge of the cliff. "Oh... my... God..." said Gwen.
Everyone ran next to them and looked down. Sure enough - to everyone's somewhat relief - there was Jessie, hanging for dear life onto one of her swords stuck in the wall about thirty feet down. Her eyes were wide open and she was very pale.
"Jessie?" Twyla squeaked.
"Sis, is that you?" Joana asked.
"No, it's Amelia Earhart," said Jessie. "Get me up!"
"You're as white as the Inferno Armor," said Cale.
"If I had a mirror, I wouldn't be surprised."
"Jessie," said Kayura. "Use the other sword and climb up."
"Kayura, I'm lucky I found my voice!" Jessie said.
"What's with her?" asked Dayus.
"She doesn't like heights," Gwen answered.
"You don't like heights, Jess?" Sekhmet asked.
"I hate heights," she said loathingly.
"That's because she's chicken," Casey sang.
Jessie glared at her. "You better be glad I'm hanging for my life, Casey."
"Bok, bok, bok, ba-cok!" Casey imitated a chicken's cluck and the Warlords looked at her strangely.
"Just wait till I get up there," Jessie hissed.
"First things first," said Kayura. "We get Jessie up. Then we'll move on and hopefully find-"
"You know," Jessie interrupted. "This would sound so much better if I was standing on my own two feet up there with you guys."
"Sorry, Jessie," Kayura apologized.
"I'll get her," said Dayus. He took the flail off his arm and swung it into the wall. Dayus lowered himself over the edge till he was next to Jessie.
"Nice of you to come down and see me," Jessie said nervously.
Dayus braced his feet against the wall and held out his left hand. "Jessie, give me your hand," he said.
"Okay." Jessie let go her right hand, reaching for Dayus.
He grabbed her hand and moved closer. In doing so, Dayus's foot slipped. He let go of Jessie's hand as she screamed and grabbed her sword again.
"Are you all right?" Kayura asked, worried.
"Yeah," Dayus answered his wife. He regained his footing and moved closer to Jessie. "Come on, Jess, let's go." She looked at him with silent tears and shook her head. "You can't hang here forever," he said.
"I know," sniffed Jessie. "But this is embarrassing."
"Everyone has their fears," said Dayus. "I have mine."
"Coming from you, I find that hard to believe."
"It's true," Dayus said. "See, there's no shame being afraid of heights."
"This may not be a good time to bring this up," said Jessie. "But I'm not too crazy about spiders, either." She looked at him. "And right now, your Armor is definitely not helping me."
Dayus sighed and shook his head. "This just isn't your day, is it?"
"Who are you kidding?" Jessie asked. "This hasn't been my three months!" Dayus chuckled and put his arm around Jessie's waist. "I hope your wife doesn't get the wrong idea," she said quietly.
"She won't," said Dayus. "Remember I said that I have my fears?"
"Okay, now I believe you." Jessie's right hand released her sword and she put her arm around Dayus' neck.
"All right," he said. "On the count of three, let go. But don't strangle me."
"You got it." Jessie nodded and closed her eyes.
"Get ready," said Dayus. "One... two... three."
Jessie let go of the sword and quickly wrapped her arm under Dayus' upraised one. She gripped her hands together very tightly; her eyes still closed.
Dayus reached out and pulled the Wildfire Sword from the wall, placing it in the empty sheath attached to Jessie's back. He put his arm around Jessie's waist again and said, "Going up."
"Bellhop, top floor please," Jessie said. "Without any sudden jolts would be nice."
"Don't worry," Dayus chuckled.
"Thank you," Jessie sighed. Dayus, she thought, I promise never to kill another spider for as long as I live.
They reached the top and Sekhmet and Cale helped them over and away from the edge. Jessie fell to her knees, breathing deeply from the shock of her near death experience. White Blaze licked her face.
Gwen walked over to Jessie and said, "You're able to fly in a plane, but you're terrified to stand near an edge."
Jessie looked up. "The plane is enclosed. That's why I don't have much trouble with flying."
Gwen shook her head and hugged Jessie. Twyla and Joana walked over and hugged their height-frightened friend as well. They helped Jessie to her feet and noticed that she was shaking a little.
"I'm all right," said Jessie. She took a few deep breaths and was calm again. "Oh, Casey," Jessie said sweetly as she turned to her friend. "You were clucking before?"
"Come on, Jessie," Casey backed away. "I was only joking."
"I suppose you were. But..." Jessie pulled out a sword.
Cale quickly grabbed her arm. "Why don't you wait till after we get out of here to fight each other," he suggested.
Of all the people to say that, Jessie thought, then said to Casey, "Are you gonna get it when I have the opportunity."
"I'm so worried," Casey said.
"Plot your revenge later," said Kayura. "Let's move on."
They returned to their original training grounds, then walked down another tunnel.

Dayus hung upside-down from the ceiling of the new area. "Hit me," he said.
"You've got to be kidding," said Twyla.
"Uh, Dayus," Jessie groaned. "What did I tell you earlier?"
"You're only jumping," Dayus said. "Come on, hit me."
"If Kento heard you say that," Gwen muttered. She jumped into the air, swinging her weapon at Dayus, unfortunately missing. Gwen landed on her feet and glared at the Warlord.
"Don't look at me like that," he said.
Joana was next to jump and missed, as did Twyla. Casey jumped, swung her sword, and fell to the ground, landing with a loud 'thwump'. Jessie looked confused at her fallen friend.
"How did I miss him?" Casey hissed. "I swore I hit him!"
I swore you did too, Jessie thought. She looked up at Dayus, ready to speak, but stopped.
"Your turn, Jess," Dayus told her.
"Hold on for one moment," said Jessie. She walked over to Joana and touched the dagger attached to her friend's shoulder. "Do you mind if I borrow this?"
"Not at all," said Joana.
Jessie took the dagger and walked to the center of the room, standing right underneath Dayus. She pulled her arm back, ready to throw the dagger at him. Suddenly, she turned to the wall and let it fly. The dagger struck the wall and remained there.
Jessie crossed her arms. "How do you expect us to hit you when you're not even up there?"
"Excuse me?!" her friends exclaimed.
Dayus disappeared from the ceiling and appeared next to the dagger. He pulled it from the wall and walked over to Jessie. "Very good," Dayus handed her the dagger. "You passed the test."
"You were standing there all this time?" asked Twyla.
"Indeed I was." Dayus nodded.
"Oh, you are such a..." Gwen muttered.
"You have to understand that your enemy won't always be where you think he or she is."
"That's easy for you to say," Casey snapped. "Jessie's the only one that can Track... Jess! You Tracked him!"
"What?" Jessie asked, then blinked. "Hey, I did."
"It must be coming back," said Twyla. "We can find the Ronins and get out of here."
"I hate to shoot down your hopes, Twyla," Jessie said. "But it's going to be a while before I'm able to find them and an exit."
"But you Tracked Dayus," Gwen said. "How won't you be able to find Kento and the others?"
"Dayus is in the same room," said Joana. "And we don't know where they would be."
"She's right," Twyla said, realizing the limits.
"What do you mean?" Casey asked.
Jessie let out a frustrated sigh. "Remember, we came in here on the ground floor," she said. "Then we fell who knows how deep. And the cliff I was hanging off before is proof that this place goes deeper into the ground. We're probably on one side of this place while the Ronins are on the other. And we don't know how far it spans, either."
"Too bad you can't boost it somehow," Twyla said.
A way to boost her Tracking ability, Dayus thought, I wonder if Kayura could do something.
"Dayus," said Jessie. "You're awfully quiet."
"I was just thinking," he said and sent away his Armor. "You can send away the Armors for now. I'll be right back."
The girls watched him leave. They sent away their Armors and sat down. "What's with him?" asked Gwen.
"I don't know," said Twyla.
"They have their reasons," Jessie said. White Blaze walked over and lay down next to her.
"Whatever they may be," Joana said.
"I'm sure it's nothing drastic," said Jessie as she scratched White Blaze's ears.

"You are out of your mind!" Jessie yelled.
So much for nothing drastic, Casey smirked at Jessie's reaction.
"If it'll help us find the Ronins, Jessie," Kayura started.
"Kayura, don't get me wrong, I want to find them too." Jessie said. "But you want to hypnotize me!"
"It's not like we're going to brainwash you," said Dayus.
Like I haven't been all my life, Jessie thought. She said, "I've heard that some people who have been hypnotized end up sleepwalking."
"There won't be anything like that, I promise," Kayura said. "Please, Jessie."
Jessie sighed. "All right," she said. "But if I find myself in the middle of Tokyo..."
"Hey, look on the bright side," said Gwen. "At least you'll get out of here."
"I'm not leaving without any of you." Jessie said. "Including the Ronins. We find them first, then we go."
"And the sooner we do this, the sooner we get out of here." Kayura sat on the floor, settling the Staff across her lap, and Jessie sat across from her. Kayura made a small blue flame appear in the palm of her hand. "Look into it," she told Jessie. "Your eyes are heavy, your strength gone for now, sleep."
Jessie's eyes closed and her head dropped forward a little.
"Can you hear me, Jessie?" Kayura asked, and the American girl nodded. "Where are the Ronins?"
"Far from here," Jessie said in a toneless voice. "But they are safe. They are inside crystals the color of their Armors, and are guarded by Nether Spirits and Soldiers." She paused for a moment and then recited the poem.
"Is there more to the poem?" Kayura asked.
"Yes," Jessie answered. "Demons rise and spirits fall. Some know the truth but not all."
Kayura swallowed hard. "Is that part of the poem?"
"No."
"What does it mean?" Twyla asked.
"Probably when we were serving Talpa," said Sekhmet.
Joana looked at him. She was about to say that he was lying, but pushed the feeling aside. She was more concerned about Jessie.
"Can you tell me the rest of the poem?" asked Kayura.
"I can't," said Jessie.
"Why?"
Jessie shuddered. "Because I only have one," she said in a deeper voice. Her eyes opened and they were blood red. "And I need all nine." Jessie grabbed the Staff, stood up, and placed it in the center of the room. She started to chant, moving her hands along with the words.
"What's she doing?" Cale asked nervously.
Kayura's eyes widened in fear. "Talpa's used that!" she shouted.
Dayus ran at Jessie, knocking her to the ground. Jessie groaned and opened her eyes, relieving Dayus to see the dark brown color again.
"Dayus," said Jessie. "You're married, right?"
"Yes," he answered, looking at her confused.
"Then move."
Dayus scowled at her and moved away. Jessie sat up. "Honestly," she said, "you'd think that you would have more morals since you tied the knot."
"When you see someone reciting a chant that only Talpa has used," said Dayus, "I think you would do whatever you can in your power to stop it."
Jessie paled. "Please run that by me one more time?"
"You started to recite a chant Talpa has used." Kayura walked over and knelt between her husband and Jessie.
"I'd rather wake up standing in the middle of the city just wearing my nightgown." Jessie looked at Kayura. "No way am I doing that again."
"No," Kayura shook her head. "We'll find some other way."
"There's only one way I can think of," Twyla said.
"The Stream?" Casey asked. "But what about the Nether Spirits? They might still be hanging around in there."
"Then we'll have to go with you this time," Cale said.
"How about you, Jessie?" asked Gwen. "Are you coming with us?"
Jessie closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "You're going to have hold me back," she said and grinned at them. "Because I might do more than punch Michael this time. I might actually strangle him."
"Just stand behind us," said Sekhmet.
"That's not going to stop her," Twyla said.
Everyone sat on the floor in a circle and White Blaze walked around them.
"So what do we do?" asked Cale.
"Just meditate," said Twyla. "And let us know when you start feeling like you're slowly being immersed in water. That's how you enter the Stream."
"All right," said Kayura and she closed her eyes.
The rest of the group did the same. The Warlords felt as if they were floating in water and slowly sinking down.
"I think we're there," said Kayura.
"You are," said Joana. "We see you. Open your eyes."
The Warlords opened their mental eyes and looked around. They saw what looked like swirling stained glass around them and there was an entrance to a lush meadow with trees and flowers, which did the ones in the Mortal Realm and the Dynasty shame.
They looked at the girls. Twyla and Casey were wearing the dresses that Jessie had described earlier. Gwen was wearing a silver gown with ribbons at the end of the long sleeves and waistline, and her shoulders were exposed from the small openings on both sides. Joana was wearing a pink almost southern Victorian dress with light blue lace at the hem of the dress, neckline, and waist. Jessie was wearing a golden gown with red trim, part of her hair was gathered at the top of her head, and she was looking rather nervous.
"Jessie," said Kayura. "Are you all right?"
"I'll get back to you on that," said Jessie. I wore this in the dream with Sage, she thought. But I look like Belle from 'Beauty and the Beast'. Why are we dressed like this and why does it look familiar?
"Nice outfits," said Cale.
"You're not too shabby yourselves." Casey said.
The Warlords looked down at themselves. Kayura was wearing a dress of darker material that resembled the other girls' with a short hooded cape on her back. Dayus, Cale, and Sekhmet had on dark pants, boots, and rather unique fantasy-looking long-sleeved tops the same colors as their Armors, and dark colored capes. Dayus and Kayura were the only ones that had matching cords tied around their waists.
"Do you already have an outfit chosen for you when you enter here?" Sekhmet asked.
"Sometimes," said Jessie. "But not like this. Once you get enough control in the Stream, you can choose whatever outfit you want. Mine was a sweat suit."
"Until you stopped coming here," Casey said.
"Can we just straighten out what's happening here, talk to Michael, see if he can help us, find the Ronins, and go home without any finger-pointing, please?" Jessie glared at her. "Yell at me later."
Twyla walked over to the entrance to the meadow and peeked through. "I don't see any Nether Spirits," she said.
Kayura looked out from behind her. "Let me go first," said Kayura, and she walked into the meadow. Kayura raised her hands and shut her eyes. There was a faint glow that surrounded the magic woman and vanished. "All clear," she said, lowering her arms.
"Good," said Gwen. "I don't want to go see those things again."
"And I don't want to end up saving you not knowing how I did it," Jessie said.
They quickly walked across the meadow. The girls were amused by the Warlords' surprise of the Stream's beauty, and answered questions as best as they could about the Stream and Michael.
Jessie was quiet most of the time, answering questions when they were directed at her. An odd feeling came to her stomach and she made a sour face.
"What's the matter, sis?" Joana whispered.
"Just a feeling I have in my stomach," Jessie answered. "I'll be okay."
Joana looked at her with worry and everyone continued on towards the Caverns.
"There it is." Casey pointed to the large doors. The seal was still in place.
Jessie looked at it and the feeling in her stomach became worse, making her nauseous.
"Let's go," said Twyla. Everyone started walking towards the Cavern doors.
Jessie took a few steps and stopped. She wrapped her arms around her middle and started to take slow even breaths.
Sekhmet noticed they were one short and turned around. "Jessie," he said upon seeing her looking ill.
The others noticed the worried tone in his voice. They turned around and looked at Jessie. She took one step forward and fell to her knees. Everyone rushed back to her.
"Jessie, what's wrong?" Kayura asked nervously.
"I'm gonna be sick," Jessie answered in a shaky voice.
"We're leaving," said Twyla. She grabbed Jessie's arm and they left the Stream.
When they opened their eyes, Jessie was lying on her back. She gagged, quickly scrambled away from them over to the nearest wall, and vomited.
Twyla went to her side and rubbed her back. "Better?" Twyla asked when Jessie appeared to be finished.
"A little," Jessie coughed. "I don't understand. Halfway there I get a feeling in my stomach and I end up hurling."
"Did this ever happen to you before?" Kayura asked.
"No, none of us," said Joana. "Sis, maybe you should stay out of the Stream for now."
Jessie started to giggle. "I'm sorry, I have to laugh," she said, "I can go into the Stream anytime when I don't want to. Now that I want to, I can't. It's very ironic."
"We'll try again later," said Kayura. She walked over to Jessie and with Twyla, helped her up and away from the wall. White Blaze kicked some dirt and covered the vomit.
"But you stay out of the Stream," Twyla ordered.
Jessie looked at her. "I'd never thought I'd ever say this, Twyla, but you sound like my mother."

They had divided into groups of three: Sekhmet, Cale, Dayus; Joana, Gwen, Twyla; Casey, Jessie, Kayura, and sat in different passages. White Blaze was walking around as a lookout.
Jessie was getting bored and decided to join the tiger in his pacing. She scratched his head and thought, I wonder if you can go into the Stream, White Blaze.
"Hey, Jessie," Joana called.
Jessie walked over to her friends and saw Gwen was the only one still meditating. "You're finished?" Jessie asked.
"Nah, we're just taking a break." Twyla stretched and grinned. "Gave up on baby-sitting."
"I heard that," said Gwen, eyes still closed. "Just because you don't want to lis- AAH!" Gwen's eyes flew open. She turned very pale and almost fell over.
Twyla caught her. "What's wrong?" she asked extremely worried.
"Something hit me," Gwen said.
Twyla put her hand on Gwen's forehead. "You're burning up."
Gwen squeezed her eyes tight. "I don't feel so good."
"Lay down," said Twyla as Jessie moved over to them and helped. "Rest, Gwen," said Twyla. "It'll be okay." She put both of her hands on Gwen's forehead and whispered a chant. Finished, Twyla looked up from the feverish Gwen with a weak smile. "At least she's resting... the worst of it is over."
Joana, sitting across from them, spoke up. "No, it isn't."
"No what isn't?" asked Twyla.
"Pardon?" asked Joana.
"You said 'No, it isn't'," Twyla said. "No what isn't?"
"No, I-" Joana paused. "I..." An odd look crossed her face "I- I don't remember saying anything, but I can't deny saying it."
Twyla looked at her oddly as Jessie stepped forward and took Armored hand in Armored hand. "You mean that Gwen will get worse," Jessie said.
Joana's eyes glazed. "That which hath infiltrated her system is a vile poison indeed. 'Tis akin to the substance dripping from the swords of the Warlord of Venom, yet this hath found its way into her innards. 'Tis not a simple case of indigestion by any means. 'Tis worse than a vile disease... 'Tis deadly if not treated in due haste."
Twyla, who realized that her mouth was open from the way Joana was speaking, shut it quickly. "So, what do I have to do to help?" Twyla asked
"Wean the vile system from her heart."
"Her heart?"
"'Tis a figurative meaning, friend. Ye must go inside the problem as she was there from whence it came."
Jessie let go of Joana's hand to grab Twyla by the shoulders. "Gwen was meditating right before she felt sick, and that's what Casey and the others are doing now!"
"I've got the girls, you've got the boys!" Twyla said, breaking away and running towards the passage that held Casey and Kayura.
"Right!" Jessie turned in the opposite direction, hoping that Sekhmet, at least, would be immune to whatever it was.
Joana shook her head and looked around. "Twy? Sis? Where'd everybody go? What happened?" She shakily went over to Gwen. For a second, Joana could have sworn that the Armor of Hardrock was silver where it should have been orange. On her way to a sitting position, Joana passed out, not noticing that hers had turned pink at the same moment.

Twyla burst into the cavern and at the same moment it occurred to her that since the contamination occurred in the Stream, it was impossible for her to go back into the Stream to correct it.
Kayura looked up from Casey. "Something shot out at me from somewhere," she said. "I'm not certain what it was exactly, or from where, it moved quickly... but it hit Casey and I know it - NO!" She pushed past Twyla and ran in the direction Jessie had gone.
As Twyla absentmindedly thought that Kayura's speaking patterns were gradually sounding more and more modern, she realized what could have made a composed and mature leader panic. "Her husband..." she whispered, kneeling next to Casey. "The Warlords..."

Jessie ran into the cavern and saw the three male Warlords laying on the ground unconscious. Panicked, she ran to Cale, who was the closest.
"Cale!" cried Jessie and she shook him. "Cale! Wake up!"
The Warlord of Corruption didn't move. Jessie pressed her fingers against his throat and sighed, feeling a little relieved that his pulse was still there.
But how long- Jessie shoved the unwanted pessimistic thought away and ran over to Dayus.
"Wake up, please! Dayus!" Jessie beseeched him. Dayus had saved her life and she wasn't about to let him die. She pressed her fingers against his throat and found his pulse, which was a little stronger than Cale's. Jessie heard a groan, looked up, and saw Sekhmet trying to sit up.
"Sekhmet!" Jessie cried in half surprise, half relief. She ran over to help the Warlord sit up, but he held out his hand, stopping her.
"Don't...touch me..." gasped Sekhmet. "Poison...in the Stream...it hit me...and..."
"Are you going to be okay?" Jessie asked nervously.
Sekhmet nodded. "My Armor...and my body...adjust to all...I'll become immune..." He took a deep breath. "It takes a few minutes."
"You're very lucky, Sekhmet, you know that?" Jessie said.
Kayura ran in. "Dayus!" she cried and rushed to her husband's side. Kayura placed her hands over Dayus's heart and whispered a chant.
Twyla came in. "Casey's been poisoned, too," she told Jessie and looked at Dayus. "Is he..."
"He's alive," said Jessie. "So is Cale. Barely."
Twyla went over to Cale and did the same as Kayura was doing to Dayus. "It'll hold them for now," Kayura said. "Sekhmet, were you poisoned?"
"Yes," he answered. "It's a part of me now. I won't be affected by it again."
Kayura looked at Twyla. "What about Joana and Gwen?"
"Gwen's poisoned," Twyla answered. "Joana... she started acting weird like she did after we were attacked by the Nether Spirits."
"What did she say?"
"I think she said that I have to back into the Stream and fix what happened there."
Hope appeared on Kayura's face. "I'll go with you and help."
"But Kayura, we can't go into the Stream without getting poisoned ourselves," Twyla said. "We're Healers but I don't have an anti-poison spell."
Kayura sighed in despair. "I don't either." She stroked Dayus' cheek.
"Wait a minute," said Jessie. "Sekhmet, you're immune now." She looked at the Healers. "What if he goes with you into the Stream, and you hold onto him? You might not be affected by it and then you can fix it there. Then when you come out, we can figure out how to get the poison out of the others."
"That just might work," said Sekhmet. "Let's do it."
Kayura and Twyla sat next to him and took his hands. They entered the Stream, still holding onto Sekhmet.
"Why do we have to wear these outfits?" Twyla muttered.
"Forget about them," said Kayura. "We've got to find the source of the poison." She sighed. "And there's only one way." Kayura let go of Sekhmet's hand and stepped away from him.
"Kayura! What are you doing?!" Sekhmet hissed.
"Look!" said Twyla.
A thick line of purplish-black mist started floating very quickly towards Kayura. Just before it touched her, Kayura grabbed Sekhmet's hand again and the mist stopped.
Jessie was right, Twyla thought, watching the mist circled around them, as if to find an opening to attack. Seeing none, the mist retreated.
"Follow it!" Kayura said, and the trio ran quickly after the mist.
They followed it to a large gaping hole in the ground. Looking down they saw thick, bubbling, purplish-black liquid.
"Gross," Twyla wrinkled her nose. "Any ideas how to get rid of it?"
"I'm immune to this," said Sekhmet. "The two of you are not." He paused for a moment. "What if both of you cast your most powerful healing spells at the same time at it, and I absorb it?"
"That's a lot to absorb, Sekhmet," said Kayura. "What if you can't handle it?"
"Trust me," Sekhmet grinned at her. "I can handle it."
I hope you're right, Kayura thought. "All right. Twyla, are you ready?"
"My friends' lives are at stake," said Twyla. "Of course I am."
"Do it." Sekhmet released them. "Now."
Kayura and Twyla started to chant. The liquid started to produce more bubbles and the mist rose. It hovered in the air, and it seemed as if it didn't want to go near any of them. The two Healers focused their spells on the mist and it started to dissipate.
"Sekhmet!" said Kayura.
The Warlord of Venom jumped into the liquid, landing in knee-deep. He felt the burning start in his legs and it traveled up throughout his body. Sekhmet fell, completely covered by the liquid.
"Sekhmet!" Twyla cried.
"Keep using your spell," Kayura ordered.
Twyla did as she was told. The mist and the liquid disappeared, leaving an extremely exhausted looking Sekhmet inside a small crevice.
"Sekhmet?" Kayura asked quietly.
"...I'm...okay..." he answered between gasps. Sekhmet opened his eyes and smiled. "Told you...I can...handle it." They waited for Sekhmet to let himself adjust to the poison. When his strength returned, Sekhmet climbed out of the hole. "Jessie said that I'm lucky," he said. "She's right."
"The Stream is safe now." Twyla said. "Thank you so much. Both of you."
"You're welcome," said Kayura. "Let's get back and heal the others."
"I have an idea," said Sekhmet.
"Tell us when we get back," Kayura said, and they returned to their bodies. "What is it?"
"Use the same technique that we did with the poison in the Stream," Sekhmet said. "You can't cure them entirely. Send the poison out of their bodies and into me."
"Will that work?" Jessie asked, carrying Joana in her arms. She had already brought Gwen and Casey into the room with the others.
"It should," Kayura said. "What happened to Joana?"
"I don't know." Jessie looked at her unconscious friend. "I dragged Casey here first, and when I went to bring Gwen here, Joana was out cold." She laid Joana on the ground. "I don't think she was poisoned."
"She came out of the Stream the same time I did," said Twyla. "That was before Gwen was poisoned."
"I remember hearing Gwen scream first," said Kayura. "We'll heal her now."
Twyla and Sekhmet moved over to Gwen next to Kayura. "Stay back, Jessie," Sekhmet told her.
Jessie watched the three placed their hands on Gwen's arms. Kayura and Twyla started to chant. Sekhmet started to pale and look sick, but he managed to hold himself together.
"Done," said Kayura and smiled. "It worked."
"I know." Sekhmet was breathing hard.
"We better hurry," said Twyla, checking Casey's pulse. "She's slipping."
"She's not the only one," Jessie said as she checked Dayus and Cale's pulses.
Sekhmet and Kayura moved over to Casey and repeated the technique. They moved to Cale and did the same. Sekhmet fell backwards after healing Cale.
"Sekhmet, rest." Kayura said. She hurried to her husband, in hopes to keep him alive long enough to let Sekhmet recover so they could heal him. Kayura placed her hands over Dayus' heart and used her healing spell. Nothing was transferred from her. That never happened unless...
Jessie watched Kayura's eyes widened and tears ran down her cheeks.
"...No..." Kayura whimpered and began to sob. "NOOOOOOOOO!"
Jessie leaned over to Dayus' face. She didn't hear him breathing. Panicked, she pressed her fingers against his throat. And felt nothing. "Dayus..." Jessie whispered.
Twyla and Sekhmet stared in horror at the Warlord's still form. Kayura was crying hysterically. Twyla and Sekhmet pulled her away, trying their best to calm her, but failed.
Jessie looked at Dayus. He's dead... she thought. No... No! Dayus! You can't die! I won't let you! Jessie tilted Dayus' head back and opened his mouth. She pinched his nose, took a deep breath and breathed into him. Out of the corner of her eye, Jessie saw his chest rise. She breathed into him again. Quickly, Jessie moved, placing her hands over his heart and pressed down on his chest five times. She repeated her actions, silently thanking God and not realizing the Ancients as well for taking the CPR course during the summer before coming to Japan.
"What's she doing?" Kayura asked hoarsely through her tears.
"CPR," Twyla explained. "It's a lifesaving technique used these days. If a person's breathing and heart stops... you do the breathing for them and try to get their heart started again."
"How well does it work?" Sekhmet asked.
"It's saved a lot of lives," Twyla said. "Jessie took the course during the summer." They watched Jessie as she continued to try to revive Dayus.
Come on! Jessie thought. Dayus! COME ON!
Twyla had lost count how many times Jessie had pressed down on his chest, and now she feared the worst.
"Jessie," said Sekhmet, fearing himself that it was too late.
"No!" Jessie snapped. He saved my life, she thought, I'm not going to let him die!
"Jessie!" Twyla yelled.
Jessie stopped in mid-compression. She looked at them, her eyes telling them that she didn't want to give up.
"You tried, Jessie," Kayura said as tears started to fall again. "You tried..."
Jessie looked down at Dayus. She didn't want to believe that he was gone. Jessie gripped her hands together and raised them up. Releasing a rage-filled scream, Jessie slammed her fists down hard onto Dayus's chest.
Dayus gasped and gagged.
Shock went through all four. Kayura, Sekhmet, and Twyla raced over to Dayus. They knocked Jessie away and used the technique on the revived Warlord. Dayus's breathing turned from gasps to slow yet a little shaky breathing.
"Dayus?" Kayura whispered. Her tears of grief were now tears of happiness.
"...Kayura..." Dayus managed a whispered. "...My... wife... love..." Kayura started to cry. She lied down next to him and lightly hugged him.
Twyla looked at Jessie. "You did say that it would come in handy, Jess."
Jessie grinned, feeling like a hero, which she was. Jessie walked over to Sekhmet. He was sitting against the wall, with his head resting on his knees. "How are you feeling?" Jessie asked.
Sekhmet looked up at her. "Like I've looked death in the face and spit at it," he said. "And I have."
Both you and Dayus, Jessie thought. She walked away from them into another passage and sat down. White Blaze nuzzled her face, commending her on her actions. Jessie smiled and scratched under his chin.
"Believe it or not," Twyla said quietly, making her look up. "Despite that you've saved Dayus's life - and Kayura's if you think about it - you look a little upset, Jessie."
"Do I?" Jessie asked. "What makes you think that?"
Twyla sat next to her. "Maybe because you didn't get a chance to kiss Sage before you put your mouth on Dayus'."
Jessie narrowed her eyes. "I ought to hit you."
"I'm not trying to be mean," said Twyla. "But..."
Jessie sighed and mumbled, "Even though I saved Dayus and I'm very glad that I took that CPR course... yes, I'm a little twerked off about it."
"I thought so," Twyla smirked.
"Just as much as you would be if you had to before you had a chance to kiss Rowen," Jessie said.
"I would not," Twyla lied.
Jessie grinned. "You're full of it, I hope you know." She rose to her feet. "Come on, let's go check on everyone."
Twyla stood up and followed Jessie and White Blaze back to the others.

March 2000

Aaah... I finished. I wanted to finish this part before Spring Break. I'm flying out to Las Vegas for the week. (I don't intend to gamble. I want to see the tigers!) I know all you Ronin Warrior fans out there are waiting for me to finish this fic. Ancients know when that will happen. I have so much I want to write in this. I might have to cut some out, but I don't want to! And I keep getting ideas with the help from my two best friends. YIPE!
Another note (not too important), I finally started to spell the infamous Warlord of Venom's name as it was spelled on the package after writing thirteen sections to this fic and five of 'Family Debts'. (Dayus - I'll continue to spell as is.)
My flight is about five hours to Colorado where I have an hour and a half layover; I intend to write a lot during that. Enjoy your Spring Break, minna!

~Janime

Coming Soon: Warrior Call - Part Fourteen: Judgment Error. Now it's time for the other girls to practice the special attacks. Need I say more? (A quote from one Warlord, "Of all the attacks to get the backlash of...")

January 2001 - Corrected all misspellings I found up to this point.