Edited and re-posted 2/10/2012


~~Chapter 3

"Sage, are you getting anything else from him?" Cye asked, watching the impostor before them. They had all agreed a short time ago that Ryo was not really Ryo, the real Ryo was somewhere else entirely. This impostor was sent to keep them from finding the real Ryo.

"No," Sage replied, eyes on the ground. He knew something was going on, he just couldn't see the big picture yet and it was about to drive him up the wall. He felt Ryo's confusion earlier, heard all the questions Ryo had and knew Ryo didn't know much more than they did now.

"My question still stands," Kento stated angrily as he leaned against a nearby tree. He was so mad at the moment that he couldn't look at his friends for fear of yelling at, if not hitting, one of them. So he had settled with leaning against a tree a few feet away from his friends.

"Kento," Rowen started, but was interrupted by Kento who was barely containing his anger as he pushed himself off the tree.

"No! Why the hell are we still here? Still following this guy?" Kento demanded, waving a hand in Ryo's direction. "We know he doesn't want us near the caves, and from what Sage got earlier, that's where Ryo is. Why are we going farther away from where we should be going?" he demanded once again, only this time he was dangerously close to hitting someone. Then before anyone could offer an answer, he spoke up again. "Forget it, I'm done waiting on you guys. Ryo would have already ditched this dude if it were one of us missing. I'm going to the caves." With that, Kento stalked away from the group, fists clenched at his sides and headed back the way they came.

"Wait, Kento!" Cye called, jumping to his feet in one swift motion.

"No, he's right," Rowen said quietly, grabbing Cye's arm before he too could take off. "Whatever we were hoping to find by following him," he said, pointing to 'Ryo' with his thumb, "can wait. Last thing Sage got from Ryo indicated he was in pain."

"I agree. Besides, I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this," Sage admitted softly, still watching the dirt beneath his feet.

"What do you mean?" Raye questioned, finally speaking up from her spot on the ground.

"I'm not sure, to be honest, it's just a feeling." Sage sat there a moment longer before finally pulling himself up to his feet. He then dusted himself off before looking in the direction Kento had gone.

"Do you think something's wrong with Ryo?" Cye asked.

"I don't know. Maybe," Sage paused. "Maybe it's just what Kento said that's bothering me. We kept following this guy; Ryo would have gone the other way once he figured out it was a decoy, not continue following the damned thing."

"Let's go then. We've wasted enough time," Rowen agreed. Once they had all picked themselves up, they headed in the same direction Kento had gone, without a glance back. If they had, they just might have caught Ryo and White Blaze transforming into something else.


Come on, I know it's here somewhere. This is where they got me. It has to be here somewhere, it just has to. Ryo thought to himself while looking around the area. Every so often he'd drop to his knees and start crawling around, digging through the grass. Then he'd get right back up, although not as easily and move further away from the caves just to start all over again. He remembered coming up from the east, but not why, or even when.

He finally stopped near a small group of trees and scanned the area. He was now in the middle of the clearing, half way between the forest and the caves. He knew something was off, kept waiting to be attacked. He knew that if he were attacked right now though, he'd lose. He was far to tired and weak, and as much as he hated to admit it, defenseless. He didn't have his orb which meant he didn't have his armor or weapons. He knew he had it when he'd headed up here, it must have been taken when he was captured. It was the only explanation he could come up with.

"Damn," Ryo sighed, finally sitting down, resting against a tree. Once he did, he regretted it, he knew he wouldn't be getting back up on his own anytime soon. His breathing was labored and the pounding in his head had doubled since exiting the caves, Ryo blamed the sunlight for this. He had a sneaking suspicion he'd bruised, if not broke, a few ribs. He decided that once he'd steadied his breathing, he'd try getting back up, for all the good that would do. He hurt everywhere, numerous bruises were making themselves known now that he was finally conscious. He could only wonder what had happened to him between the time he'd left his apartment and when he'd awoken in the caves.


Kento stomped angrily down the faded trail he'd walked a while ago with his friends, his anger only growing with every step he took knowing his friends weren't with him. He couldn't help but think of his friends, and it only served to fuel his temper.

"I can't believe them! After everything we've been through, everything we've seen… How? How could they just-" Kento stopped his rant short. He'd been so angry with his friends, with their decision or lack there of, that he'd almost missed it. His anger faded instantly as he became more alert. After a moment he realized what it was, he could feel the armor of Wildfire calling out to him. Was Ryo nearby?

Kento slowed his pace drastically as he became even more aware of his surroundings. He was in the middle of a very thick patch of trees and couldn't see much of anything. There were too many hiding places around him and he was beginning to think he should have made someone come with him, no matter how angry he was at them. He was getting an uneasy feeling and he didn't like it in the least.

His thoughts went back to Ryo as the armor of Wildfire tugged at him again. He quit trying to remember the way he'd come and let the armors guide him. Before he knew it, Kento found himself at the edge of the woods once again. This time he was a lot closer to the base of the mountains and could clearly see the caves. He was determined to find Ryo and headed towards the caves. Not three feet out of the trees, he stopped dead in his tracks. He looked confused for a moment before looking around to find what had caused him to stop so suddenly; then something on the ground caught his eyes. The armor's pull vanished immediately as Kento dropped to his knees. He slowly reached out a shaky hand and picked up a small red orb. The symbol of virtue flashed within the orb for a moment before vanishing.

"Shit," Kento muttered. "Where are you Ryo?" Kento whispered the question aloud, his thoughts growing fearful for his missing buddy.


"Where the hell did Kento go? He wasn't that far ahead of us?" Cye asked, eyes scanning the trees frantically.

"I don't know, but he can't have gone that far. Come on, we'll find him," Rowen said, gently pushing Cye forward.

I could have sworn I felt Ryo's armor for a minute there. It came from over there, Sage thought to himself, looking off to his right.

Raye looked up to see the Ronin's ahead of her, but Sage was no longer moving. He just stood there, staring off into the distance. "Did you see something?" she asked, stopping next to him. Her question got the attention of the other two.

"No," he said, shaking his head gently, eyes not moving from whatever they were watching. "But…"

"What?" Rowen asked, placing a hand on Sage's shoulder once he was next to him again.

"I think I felt his armor… Ryo's I mean, not Kento."

"From over there?" Cye asked, gesturing in the direction Sage had been watching. Sage only nodded. "Then let's go." No one would ask why Sage was the only one to feel it, because Ryo wouldn't have questioned it. They would follow Sage's instincts for now and hope that it would be enough.

After a few minutes, Rowen realized that Sage, once again, wasn't with them. Rowen looked over his shoulder; once he spotted Sage, he told the others to wait up. He slowly made his way over to Sage's still form. Sage didn't move as Rowen stopped next to him, and Rowen noticed Sage's eyes looked glazed and he was slightly paler than normal.

"Sage?" Rowen asked quietly. Sage didn't do so much as blink. Sage had felt worry and fear coming from someone he'd never felt fear from before and that worried him.

Kento, what's wrong? What happened? Sage questioned telepathically.

'Sage, something's really wrong. I mean really, really wrong,' Kento answered. 'I felt Ryo's armor pulling at me so I followed it. I'm not in the forest anymore, I'm actually fairly close to the caves now.'

And…? What aren't you telling me, Kento?

'I found Ryo's orb. It was just laying in the grass, I almost missed it. He's not here, Sage, he's not got his armor with him!'

"It's not with him?" Sage yelled aloud, startling his friends. "Shit!"

"Sage? What is it? What happened?" Cye demanded.

Sage looked at his friends while a new fear started to form in the back of his mind. "Kento found Ryo's armor… Minus Ryo," Sage answered quietly.


Hee hee hee. I was so going to end it right here, but then realized how short that would make this chapter, but I love cliff hangers! But I have made you all wait long enough for an update so I'll be nice this time and continue the chapter. Sorry for the interruption. *runs away to hide*


'It's not with him?' Kento heard Sage yell in his head. He shook his head slightly, as though to clear it. He stood there for a moment longer before glancing at the orb in his hand. Kento knew he had to find Ryo, knew something was wrong. Why else would Ryo not have his armor? They knew he had to have been attacked. The only question on their minds right now was why? He moved further away from the trees and closer to the caves. He held Ryo's orb tightly within his hands as he looked for his missing comrade.

He stopped half way between the mountains and the forest when he noticed a small patch of trees in the middle of the clearing. He slowly started to circle the cluster of trees before stopping once more. What made him stop was the person sitting on the ground beneath the trees. He slowly started moving once more, inching closer to the black haired teen on the ground, the other not once looking up. Kento knew then that something wasn't right. Ryo always knew when someone was coming, he was always aware of his surroundings. The Ryo before him appeared to be completely oblivious to the fact that he wasn't alone anymore. Kento knew he shouldn't have been able to sneak up on his friend, not even when he tried.


Ryo sat there on the ground silently, trying to think through his headache. This, of course, only made his headache worse and he silently cursed himself for it. He couldn't remember if he'd fought back when he was attacked, or if he had in deed been attacked. Surely if he'd been attacked, he'd have fought back, right? But there were no defensive wounds on him. He'd studied his hands and arms, but found no trace of having fought anyone. But his head and side hurt too much to not have been attacked.

Ryo gave up thinking for the moment and lowered his head into his hands and closed his eyes. He wanted to know what was going on, but he needed his headache to go away first. He couldn't get himself to focus on anything at the moment.

Wait… Sage. I could have sworn I spoke to Sage, more than once, Ryo thought to himself, bringing his head up a few inches. That's when he noticed a shadow at his feet, one that wasn't there earlier. He stiffened instantly, knowing he should have been paying more attention to his surroundings. He sat still for a moment longer before finally speaking up.

"Fine, you've got me. Just don't hit me over the head again, I won't fight you right now," Ryo said quietly, still not looking at the shadow's owner.

"I should hope you wouldn't fight me, and why would I hit you over the head?"

Ryo looked up instantly at the familiar voice, then regretted the sudden movement when a sharp pain raced across his skull. "Kento!"

"You alright there, buddy? You don't look to good," Kento stated, kneeling next to Ryo to get a better look at him.

"I'll live," was Ryo's quiet answer. Once he saw Kento's accusing face, he looked away guiltily. After a moment, he answered Kento's question honestly. "My head feels like it's going to split in two any moment now, I think I've bruised some ribs, and I can't get back up on my own," he mumbled.

"Damn it," Kento breathed. "What happened to you?"

"I don't know," Ryo answered, finally looking Kento in the eyes. "I just don't know," he sighed, looking away once more.

Kento took in Ryo's appearance and knew Ryo had been through a lot. The deep shadows under his eyes suggested that he hadn't had a good night's sleep in a very long time and Kento had never seen Ryo look so small before. It was clear that he'd lost weight, and not just a little. His jeans and long sleeve shirt practically swallowed him because he was so thin now, he was almost frail looking. Kento knew immediately that his friend was worse off than he looked, he never let his friends see just how much he was hurting until it was too late. He knew this time was no different, but Ryo was so pale now, almost sick looking. His mind filled with questions he wanted answers to, answers he didn't want to wait for.

"Why didn't you ask us to help you?" Kento finally asked.

"I don't know," Ryo repeated, eyes closed and head resting in his hands once more.

"Ryo…"

"I can't remember much of anything," Ryo said after a minute. "I woke up inside the caves. I kind of remember coming out here, but I'm not sure when, and not entirely sure why. I remember being hit upside the head… And Sage…" he trailed off. Sage was here, with me. What were we talking about? He was mad about something… Did I say something? Maybe I did something…

"What about Sage?" Kento inquired.

"I'm not sure," Ryo mumbled, still trying to put his thoughts together. He finally looked up again and continued. "There was something about his eyes…" He sat there, staring off into the distance before it looked like he'd finally put something together, then turned to question Kento. "What's your favorite thing to do, Kento?"

"You mean besides eating?" Kento asked almost immediately, then noticed Ryo was serious. He got ready to give a serous answer but noticed Ryo seemed to have relaxed a little with Kento's original answer. "What's wrong?"

"Shape shifters," he whispered. At Kento's blank stare, Ryo continued. "That's why I didn't ask for help, or even fight back. Sage and White Blaze were here with me, or at least I thought it was them. Sage… No, not Sage… Who-ever he was hit me over the head, I think I blacked out shortly after that," Ryo said.

"Why would they go after you though? Why not one of us?" Kento asked, his curiosity getting the best of him.

"Weakness is fire," Ryo muttered, thinking once more. Why didn't I see that it wasn't Sage? I should have known it wasn't Sage. Why would t be him? Where is White Blaze? After a moment he decided he wanted to see if the rest of his friends were here, he needed to be with them even if only for a few moments. "Help me up?"

"Sure," Kento replied softly, offering Ryo his hand once he got himself up.


("Kento found Ryo's armor… Minus Ryo," Sage answered quietly.)

"Shit," Rowen cursed softly. Ryo always had his armor, always.

"Then we need to get moving, now," Raye said before she took off running. The Ronins caught up easily, Rowen sending her a questioning look. "What?"

"What do you know?" Rowen asked.

"Nothing, I'm just assuming right now and hoping like hell that I'm wrong," Raye replied. The other's just shrugged their shoulders and continued to run.

After a few minutes, they heard someone yelling at them. "Hey! Where are you guys going?" Kento called out as the group ran past him. Cye stopped to look back, then yelled at the others when he saw Kento standing there. He then noticed Ryo behind Kento, leaning back against a tree.

"Hey Kento. Ryo? Where have you been?" Cye questioned, walking over.

"I found him near the caves," Kento answered.

"I thought I felt you guys out here, then ran into Kento by the caves," Ryo explained. "So, you guys alright? Heard you ran into a bit of trouble earlier."

"Yeah, we're all fine," Sage answered, relieved that they had the real Ryo back. They had left him for dead some time ago, he had been attacked earlier, and yet he was still concerned about them before he'd show any for himself.

"I'm glad to see you're okay," Rowen said.

"What's wrong, Raye?" Ryo questioned, not moving from his resting spot. Raye studied him for a moment before answering. He looked perfectly fine to her.

"Nothing," she replied. "I'm just surprised to see that you're alright," she said quietly. Maybe Kento had done something to help him before they came back.


"Maybe we should wait here for the others, you don't look too good there buddy," Kento said, pulling one of Ryo's arms over his shoulder. To Kento, it appeared that Ryo was having trouble staying up on his own, much less walking. Ryo had used up all the strength he'd built up while sitting earlier. "We should stop, you need to rest more."

"No, we have to keep going," Ryo said, breathing heavily. They had already past where Kento had found Ryo's orb, which was now in Kento's pocket. He hadn't given it back yet for fear that this wasn't the real Ryo either, he hadn't mentioned yet that he didn't have it anymore.

Ryo continued to push forward though, refusing to give in to rest. Kento wanted Ryo to sit back down shortly after they'd started walking though. He'd grown paler within seconds after standing up and his eyes were glazed for a minute or two. He knew Ryo was in a great deal of pain, but he would never admit it. Not until he couldn't hide it anymore.

"I can feel Sage… And Raye. They're both concerned, maybe even suspicious, about something."

"What?" Kento asked, curiosity and disbelief written all over his face. Ryo ignored it and kept pushing himself forward. It wasn't until they were back in the woods that Ryo spoke again.

"Listen."

"I'm just surprised to see that you're alright," they heard Raye say quietly.

"I just needed to rest a while, right Kento?" the two heard Ryo question.

"But… But you're right here!" Kento stammered to the Ryo he was supporting.

"Yeah, so are you," Ryo pointed out as the false Kento agreed with the other Ryo's statement. "I think it's time we make ourselves known."

"But why would they believe us over them?" Kento questioned. "They have our sub armors on."

"No they don't. You have yours on, not him. Theirs are fakes, copies. We'll find a way. Let's go," Ryo said, pulling away from Kento. He wobbled a little before steadying himself. He was determined to keep anyone else from seeing he was injured, for now at least.

"So, you're the bastard that hit me over the head earlier," Ryo said, stepping out from behind the trees, suddenly angry again.

"Ryo, wait!" Kento yelled, following him out knowing he would only injure himself worse if he kept pushing himself too hard.

"Whoa…" Cye started. "There's two of them."

"We noticed," Raye said blandly.

"What are you talking about? You hit me," the fake Ryo accused, sounding just a little too calm.

"Like hell I did!" Ryo yelled, thoroughly pissed off now. "I should beat the shit out of you right now!" Ryo growled, taking another step forward, his side screaming bloody murder but he did his best to ignore it.

"You could try," the fake Ryo replied smugly, leaning against his tree once more.

"Ryo, don't!" the real Kento yelled. He could see Ryo's pain in the way he moved, the slight tremors he tried to hide from the others. "Sage, do something!" he pleaded.

Sage was almost certain which Kento was the real one, even before he'd begged Sage to help. Ryo on the other hand, confused him. He couldn't be the first one because Ryo was never smug and with all the pain he'd felt from Ryo earlier, the first was clearly uninjured. The second Ryo he wasn't certain about either. He'd never seen Ryo as angry as this one was now, and he too didn't appear to be injured in anyway.

"Sage, please!" Kento begged again, looking desperate now.

But… Which one?

"Damn it Ryo, stop this now!" Kento yelled as Ryo got closer to the impostor, his own anger starting to show once again.

"Why? Why should I let them go again?" Ryo demanded, his voice getting louder by the minute, his eyes never leaving the shape shifters before him. "One of them came up here with me, as Sage, then beat the shit out of me. Then dumped me in that damned cave and took my armor from me!" That statement got everyone's attention and the Ronins knew immediately who the real Ryo was, but Ryo wasn't done yet. "I still don't know what happened to White Blaze or where they're hiding Ameena and you want me to let them go? I can't do that, not this time!"

"Looks like they've chosen him, friend," the fake Kento said to his partner as Sage took a step toward the real Ryo. Just as Ryo lunged forward, the two impostors changed into a pair of crows and flew away.

"Damn it!" Ryo yelled, finally falling to his knees, the pain getting to be too much for him.

"Ryo!" Kento called out, racing to his friend's side. The others stood still, still a little confused. "I told you to stop and rest longer, you dummy. You could have really hurt yourself, or did your anger make you forget about your ribs and such?" he demanded, slightly angry at Ryo for his recklessness. He then pushed something gently into Ryo's hands.

Ryo looked down and saw that it was his orb and gave the faintest of smiles. "Thanks," he said at first, then responded to Kento's demands. "No Kento, that's what made me so angry." Ryo's eyes were now closed while he tried to steady his breathing once more.

"White Blaze and Ameena are both missing; my friends, who I haven't seen in over three years, are up here fighting and probably don't have the slightest idea way, and one if not both of those ass holes tried to get rid of me today, yesterday… When ever it was I got up here. They wouldn't have gotten close enough, long enough to injure me like this if I hadn't thought I could trust them," Ryo said, sitting down fully now. His eyes shut tight as though that would make some of the pain vanish.

"I was right," Raye said, finally speaking up. "You're weak."

"Hey, that's not fair!" Kento said angrily, ready to hit her.

"No, she's right," Ryo whispered now, causing his friends to look at him with worry.

Raye wandered off for a minute, then came back with a small arm full of branches and sticks. She quickly arranged them near Ryo, then said a small incantation, causing them to catch fire.

"Thanks," Ryo mumbled. Raye only nodded, resting a hand on his shoulder for a moment.

"I don't get it," Rowen finally said, looking blankly from Raye to Ryo, to the fire, then back to Ryo.

"He's weak right now. Kento found his armor, but not him and Sage felt his pain earlier. He didn't have his element to help protect him when he was attacked so he needs the fire now to get some of his strength back," Raye said while watching Ryo carefully. Rowen only looked half satisfied with this answer.

"So, care to tell us now how you know Ryo? Or how you know about us?" Sage questioned. When she didn't answer, Ryo did.

"Raye's my sister," he said quietly, then after a moment, "Kento, you were right. We should have waited."

"Shit," Kento said, paling slightly, causing the others to worry. "How bad is it?"

"Pretty bad," he whispered, finally dropping his act. They all saw within a matter of seconds why Kento had panicked earlier at the thought of Ryo fighting. Ryo wasn't doing too good, they were surprised he was conscious.

"Ryo, what hurts the worst?" Sage asked, dropping next to Ryo.

"Chest… And my head," Ryo answered, still whispering. It was then that they realized why, he didn't have the energy to talk anymore. I really thought it was you. I couldn't remember doing anything to piss you off, but you were so mad at me. If I did anything to make you mad, I'm sorry Sage. I'm really sorry, Ryo said mentally to Sage before letting the darkness engulf him once more.