Warrior Call Part Fifteen
Ronin Warriors

Warrior Call

By: Janime

Part Fifteen – Controlled By A Thread
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Joana shifted her position and moaned in her sleep. She had been looking forward to sleep, but this was not restful.

"You missed a great movie," said Casey.
"It must have been," Jessie was answering her.
Joana looked down at herself. She was see-through, a spirit in the Torrent sub-armor. She looked up again.
"So we hit the mall after the movie," Gwen admitted.
"Why didn't you say that you were going to the mall?" Jessie asked. "I would have gone with you."
Joana felt a searing pain in her head as her other self spoke. "You said that you weren't feeling well, sis."
Joana screamed over the conversation, but no one heard her. "You lied, Jessie! You lied to us!" Tears ran down her cheeks and her breath was ragged as the pain continued. "What happened? What exactly didn't you tell us?" She dropped to her knees and sobbed as the pain slowly ebbed.
There was a crack and Joana looked up as Jessie read her fortune.
I remember that… She leaned forward, feeling like a very important thought was on the verge of coming – something that was crucial – and listened as the five fortunes were read.

Joana shot into a sitting position, and full alertness with a sharp intake of breath. Swallowing hard, she looked around her at the group. Her first instinct was to try go back to sleep, her second to wake Jessie and Twyla – but both of these felt wrong. As much as she was frightened to, Joana knew that she had to talk to Kayura. She willed herself to stop shaking and stood up.
Being careful not to wake anyone, Joana slowly walked over to Kayura. She lightly touched the sorceress' shoulder. Kayura's eye opened and she looked at her.
"Joana?" Kayura blinked.
"I have to talk to you," Joana whispered.
Kayura looked at her and nodded. She slid out of her husband's arms so he wouldn't wake, got to her feet, and walked with Joana down a passage. "What's wrong?" Kayura asked.
Joana paused, trying to find the right words to explain. "I- I don't usually have dreams the way Jessie or-"
"If you are bothered by it, Joana," Kayura said, "it must mean something. Even if it only means something to you."
"That's just it. It wasn't a dream really. It was a memory." Joana explained how she had watched herself and her friends the day after they had arrived, feeling the pain when she knew Jessie was lying, and her suspicions about their fortunes.
"So if the quirks of fate had all of us meet up," Joana concluded, "I'm pretty sure that it was the quirks of fate that gave us those fortunes. And to me, that means that this was supposed to happen," she sighed. "I don't know why, but I can feel it."
Kayura nodded. "Could you repeat the fortunes one more time for me?"
Joana took a deep breath and nodded. "Sure, Jessie got, 'You will control and be protected by the powers of Nature'."
"Which we know to be true, because she was protected by controllers of the power of Nature before she was controlling any. Go on."
"Casey got, 'Love can be anywhere even in Darkness'."
"That doesn't explain Halo, but it does explain the way Cale has been acting and looking at her," Kayura grinned. "I was hoping that I had been imagining that," she shrugged, "but they wouldn't have been able to meet if Jessie wasn't in trouble, right?"
"Probably not," Joana giggled, "and he wouldn't have had the opportunity to, what did you say, 'bond' with her?"
"What was Gwen's fortune?" Kayura asked.
"'Emotions need nutrition as much as the body'."
"Well, that certainly points her to connecting to Hardrock."
Joana nodded. "Mine was, 'Let your intuition guide you like the waves in the Sea'."
Kayura bit her lip. "The Sea is Torrent, and I'd say that you were following your intuition tonight."
"Why was I yelling at Jessie?"
"I'm not sure, Joana, but you're probably right; she must have stayed inside because she had just been chased by a Nether Soldier."
Joana shuddered at the memory of the one honing in on her at Crystal Blue. "I don't blame her!"
"One left, correct?" Kayura asked. "On to a happier thought."
"Twy's was, 'Though your feet are on the ground, look to the stars for guidance'."
"Strata. Does she often look for guidance?"
Joana shook her head. "Twyla gives guidance."
"I see," Kayura shut her eyes momentarily. "I will tell you this Joana, you haven't been the only one with specific dreams. Ryo had one of Jessie wearing the Wildfire Armor the day after they saved her."
"Oh boy," Joana said. "Were we in his dream, too?"
"He didn't say," Kayura answered, "but who knows." I only pray that it doesn't happen, she thought. "I think it would be best to get some more sleep. We'll talk about this with the others, okay?"
Joana nodded. "Okay."

"Why do they always have to have meetings without telling us what they're about?" Casey asked.
"How should I know?" said Twyla. "I'm not a mind reader."
"Forget about the Warlords for now," said Gwen, "we have someone else to worry about."
The four looked at Jessie. Their friend was still asleep, and they could tell that whatever she was dreaming was not very pleasant. White Blaze growled as he sat by Jessie.
"I wonder what she's dreaming about," Twyla said.
"Don't know," said Joana. Can't be any worse than what I dreamt, she thought.

Jessie walked through the rubble of the Dynasty. She couldn't believe that such a grand place had been demolished to practically nothing. She pulled her white robe around herself tighter, and rubbed the strange gold markings that covered her knuckles and wrists. Passing by a shattered mirror, Jessie saw gold markings along her forehead, jaw, and neck.
Someone cried out from pain. Jessie looked around and saw no one. She continued on and the mournful cries grew louder. Not far ahead, someone was lying facedown. Jessie ran to the person and held him in her arms.
"Ryo!" Jessie cried. He was badly beaten. The white robe he wore was covered with bloodstains. His face was very pale, making the red markings he had seem very bright.
Ryo's eyes opened a little. "I'm sorry, Jessie," he said between gasps.
"Don't talk," Jessie said, "save your strength. We'll get out of here."
A dark laughter cut through the air.
"Talpa…" Ryo whispered, and Jessie tightened her hold around him.
Suddenly the floor disappeared and they fell. Jessie felt Ryo being torn from her arms, and she hit the ground. Stunned, Jessie raised her head and gasped in horror.
Talpa was looming over her, with Ryo embedded in the center of his breastplate.
"You tried so hard, Wildfire," Talpa said, "but you have failed."
"He'll never be yours!" Jessie screamed at him.
"You still don't understand yet, do you, child?" Talpa laughed and reached for her. "Both of you are already mine."

Jessie screamed and sat up so quickly that she startled her friends.
"It's okay, Jessie," said Joana, hugging her. "It's okay. We're here."
"Must have been one hell of a nightmare," said Casey.
"Oh, believe me," Jessie said in a shaky voice, "it was the king of nightmares."
"Which Warlord?" Twyla asked.
"None," Jessie sighed and relaxed a little. "Speaking of the Warlords, where are they?"
"Somewhere," answered Gwen, "up to something, no doubt."
"What do you mean?" Jessie asked.
"I guess because we saw the Ronins' memories," said Twyla, "it's… well…"
"It's kind of hard to… you know… like them." Joana flinched from Jessie's look.
"But they've changed," Jessie said defensively.
"How would you know?" asked Casey.
Jessie pointed to her sub-armor. "What am I wearing? A clown suit?" Disgusted, Jessie got to her feet and walked away. White Blaze tailing after her.
"Thank you," said Kayura. Jessie stopped and looked at the Warlords. "For what you said," Kayura continued, "it means a lot to us. Ryo's the only one that trusts all four of us."
"I trust you because I know you," said Jessie. "Not from Ryo's point of view, but my own opinion. Although, I do have one word that sums up your past."
"What's that?" asked Dayus.
"Brutal – that's all I have to say. The four of you were brutal."
"Thank you," Sekhmet grinned.
Jessie laughed a little and looked back towards her friends. "My advice to you: stay away from them for a while. I don't understand why they're acting like this."
"What about you?" Cale asked.
"I'll be around," Jessie said and walked down another passage.

White Blaze watched Jessie pace back and forth, as she tried to figure out why her friends had changed their attitudes towards the Warlords. Why were they acting like this? They were fine with the Warlords before they got stuck in these caves. Jessie hated taking sides, but the Warlords had done so much for her. After all, they were her family.
No, wait a minute, Jessie thought and a strange feeling began inside her – two sides, each wanting her to say what they wanted. I care about the Warlords a lot, she thought, but I haven't know them long enough to call them family, yet.
She gasped as something inside her, like a piece of string, had snapped. And in that moment, Jessie felt her control return. She didn't even notice that Ryo's feelings had been dominating over hers.
"That's it," Jessie whispered with a smile. "That's it!"
White Blaze looked at her as if she had just lost her mind, and ran after Jessie as she ran back to the Warlords.
"Kayura! Kayura!" Jessie said happily. "I figured it out!"
"Figured what out?" Kayura asked.
"Ryo loves you."
"What?!"
"If this is your idea of a joke," Dayus began.
"No, not that way!" Jessie said. "Ryo loves Mia that way. He loves Kayura like a sister, and he loves the three of you like brothers."
The Warlords looked at each other in surprise. They never knew that Ryo would consider them family, although the Warlords had always thought of the Ronin leader as a brother.
"Always thought of Ryo like family," Cale said.
"He thinks of you the same way," said Jessie. "His feelings were dominating mine."
"Dominating yours?" Sekhmet asked.
"Well…" Jessie shifted uncomfortably. "I'm just going to say it. If I insult you, I'm very sorry. Ryo has known you a lot longer than I have. I care about you a lot and I owe you my life, but I haven't known you long enough to have the same opinion like Ryo does."
The Warlords looked at Jessie for a moment, looked at each other, and then smiled at Jessie. "We understand," said Kayura.
"And you're right about owing us your life," Dayus grinned.
"You might as well make me immortal so I can pay back the debt," Jessie smiled back.
"Now you were talking about Ryo's feelings dominating yours," Sekhmet brought up.
"I know it sounds weird," said Jessie, "but it's true. Ryo's feelings and mine were actually fighting each other. When I got mine admitted, it felt like something had snapped, and then I felt Ryo's feeling separate from mine."
"It does sound rather strange," admitted Kayura, "but it does explain why you and your friends are acting like the Ronins."
"So what do we do?" Cale asked.
"You four stay out of their sight," Jessie said. "If I can get them to say their opinions about you – hopefully their not worse than the Ronins' – maybe they'll snap out of it like I did."
"Good luck," said Dayus.
Jessie grinned and casually walked back to her friends. "Hello, everybody."
"What are you up to, Jessie?" Twyla asked.
"Oh, nothing really," smiled Jessie. "I just need a little bit of information, and I think I'll start with you, Twyla."
"About what?"
"What's your opinion of Sekhmet?"
"He'd be a great snake charmer," Twyla answered.
"How about Cale?"
"Mogli from 'The Jungle Book'."
"Dayus?"
"A warped Spiderman."
"Okay," Jessie couldn't help smiling. "And what is your opinion of Kayura? Remember, Twy, I want your opinion."
Twyla's mouth opened, but she didn't say a word.
"Twy?" Casey looked at her.
"What's wrong?" Gwen asked.
"I…" Twyla's voice sounded as if she was having trouble speaking. "I… I guess she's pretty good, and maybe she could teach me a couple of new healing spells." Twyla gasped and put her hand near her throat. "That was weird."
"What?" asked Joana.
"It felt like…"
"A string inside you had snapped?" Jessie supplied.
"Yeah," Twyla looked at her, "how did you know that?"
"I'll tell you later. Casey," Jessie turned to the blonde girl, "what is your opinion of Kayura?"
"I want the name of her plastic surgeon," Casey said.
"Every woman does. What about Dayus?"
"He must worship Halloween."
"And Sekhmet?"
"That song 'Voodoo' by Godsmack should be dedicated to him."
"Casey," Jessie looked at her friend, "what is your opinion of Cale?"
Casey made a gagging noise. "He's… not so bad," she managed to say, "and I think he's a great swordsman. Eep… what was that?"
"No doubt the string," Jessie said. "Sis."
"Why me?" Joana muttered.
"Too bad. What is your opinion of Kayura?"
"She's nice and a good sorceress."
"And Dayus?"
"Does he know about April First?"
"Cale?"
"He should take care of the timber wolves at Yosemite National Park."
"Okay, Joana, what is your opinion of Sekhmet?"
Joana started to make a high-pitched squeaking noise. "I guess… he's okay, but I don't like snakes and he reminds me of them." Joana gasped.
Okay, maybe not worse, but bad enough, Jessie thought and turned to Gwen. "What do you think about Sekhmet?"
"The king of snakes," Gwen answered.
"Cale?"
"When's the next full moon?"
"And Kayura?"
"She looks great for her age."
"All right, Gwen, what is your opinion of Dayus?"
Gwen made a sour face. "He's not so bad… and he does make impressive illusions." She gasped and looked at Jessie. "Okay, what's with that weird string snapping as you called it."
"You're back in control."
"Back in control?" echoed Casey.
"Yep," Jessie said. "Believe it or not, the Ronins' feelings were dominating over ours. That's why we've been acting like them."
"Oh man," said Twyla. "Are the Warlords mad at us?"
"Don't worry," Cale's voice spoke, "we're not."
The Warlords appeared leaning against the wall. Dayus grinned at Jessie. "You said to stay out of sight, not out of the room."
Jessie shook her head. "You have me there," she sighed in defeat.
"You were listening all this time?" Joana asked.
"And miss all the wonderful things you were saying about us?" Sekhmet pointed at her. "Not a chance."
"Leave them alone," said Kayura.
"It was your idea," said Dayus and flinched from his wife's glare.
"Hold it!" Jessie intervened. "Now that we're kind of back to normal, the five of us have something for the four of you to hear."
"What is it?" asked Cale.
"We've been screwed," said Casey.
Kayura raised her eyebrow. "Meaning?" she asked upon hearing the different definitions of the term.
"We have the wrong Armors," Jessie cleared.
"Couldn't you have said 'had'?" Joana whispered to Casey.
"How do you figure that?" asked Sekhmet.
"Well, for starters," said Jessie, "Joana can't swim, and Twyla can't aim; these two should switch. I can't lead, Gwen wouldn't hurt a fly, and Casey's not exactly wise, here-"
"Hey!" Casey yelled.
"No offense, Casey," Jessie said, "but there was that incident with the trucker…"
Judging by the looks on Twyla, Gwen, and Joana's faces, Jessie had brought up something that should have been left alone.
Casey didn't appear to be affected by it. "Oh, really?" she asked. "At least I didn't get us into this mess. I know how to listen to other people."
"At least I didn't get the Halo Sword stuck in a rock," Jessie countered.
"At least I didn't almost kill everyone with the Wildfire Flare."
"At least I don't have the hots for a certain male Warlord."
"What?!" the other four women cried as the three men shouted, "Who?!"
Casey turned her head. "Oh, please."
"And I quote," Jessie grinned evilly, "'He is so handsome'." Casey's eyes widened. Jessie went on, "'I especially love his-'"
"YOU!" Casey shrieked. She jumped to her feet and gave chase.
"Hide me! Save me! Help me! Save me!" Jessie cried, running around in attempt to escape her friend's wrath.
Finally, Kayura, Twyla, Gwen, and Joana grabbed Casey and held her, while Jessie ducked behind the male trio for protection.
"You are dead!" Casey yelled. "D-e-a-d! DEAD!"
Jessie peeked out between Dayus and Sekhmet. "Maybe next time you won't leave your diary out in the open," she said.
"You read her diary?!" shouted Gwen.
"It was an accident," Jessie rested her elbows on the two Warlords' shoulders. "I swear I thought I was reading a harlequin novel," she grinned. "Until I came upon a very, very detailed passage."
"I am going to kill you!" Casey hissed.
"For now," said Kayura, "no one does any kind of harm to anyone else. Handle this after we get home." Kayura and the others released Casey.
"So, uh, Jessie," Cale whispered, "which one of us does she like?"
Jessie stepped away and faced them. "Eenie, menie, minie… I think I'll keep that to myself." She turned around. "Oh, Casey."
"What?" Casey glared at her.
Jessie smiled. "Bok, bok, bok, ba-cok."
"Come on, Casey," Kayura quickly dragged the fuming girl to the next passage. "Why don't we do a little training?"
Casey dug her heals into the ground and looked at Jessie. "I just want to let you know," Casey said, "that Sage had a crush on Mia."
"I know," Jessie said, "he told me."
Sputtering, Casey let Kayura pull her away.
"You are bad, Jess," said Twyla.
"Thank you very much," she bowed.
"So are you going to tell?" asked Dayus.
"For now, the secret stays with me," Jessie said.

Even though the others were asleep, Kayura was wide-awake. She didn't have anything against Casey personally, but if she did have a liking to Dayus… Kayura wasn't about to compete with the American girl.
But just to make sure it wouldn't come to that, Kayura reached over and lightly shook Jessie awake. The Ronin girl blinked her eyes and looked at Kayura.
"I'm sorry to wake you," Kayura whispered, "but there's something I really need to know."
"What?" Jessie asked quietly.
"I know you said that you wouldn't say who Casey likes, but…" Kayura looked at Jessie, hoping she would understand.
Jessie did and patted Kayura's hand. "Rest easy, Kayura," she said, "it's not Dayus."
"Thank you." Kayura nodded to her, and both women went back to sleep. As she drifted off to sleep, Kayura couldn't help wondering which of the other two Warlords Casey liked – hoping it was the one she thought.