~ Cue dramatic theme music~

Chapter Fifty Seven

Her wings burned as she flew, she hated night flying. No thermals, no updrafts, no hot air to fill her heavy wings. After all, unfurled, her wings were twice as long as she was tall. Leea was sure that there was some sort as magic involved, because she was sure that no human could fly even with the large wings that she had. The cold air cooled her sweat covered forehead as she worked her way over Toyama.

No one noticed her as she flew far above them in the dark night. It was late anyways, no one was out this late. She landed on the roof nearby the school and looked at the address Kento had scribbled down for her. She squinted at street names and realized she accidentally landed on the right building. She cursed her own luck.

Cye's apartment was on the top floor, so she looked around to make sure no one was around. She fluttered down to the top floors balcony, knocked on the the first apartments door. Cye opened it wide eyed, "Leea!"

"Geez," she huffed as she pushed herself passed him. "I don't know what was worse, the flight or the fear that someone was going to see me."

"Sorry, but I doubt Sage can heal anyone," Cye said as she saw Raleigh on his couch. She was curled up on her side, shaking from the pain that her wounds were causing her.

She slid a hand under head, "Raleigh..."

The warrior opened her bright green eyes, Leea...

"Shhhhh," she cooed as she heard Cye close the door. She couldn't feel here wings they were so sore, but she felt for whatever energy the armor had given her to heal with. She stroked her soft hair and felt her virtue for Empathy light up.

She felt a deep sadness as she saw the wounds heal with golden light. The sadness seemed emanate around the feeling of failure. She stroked the warriors head softly as her shaking slowly subsided. She saw her virtue for Hope light up and the room faded into a vision..

Lady Nyx.

It was the castle from the nether realm. She could see the young Raleigh knelt down in front of beautiful woman wearing the armor of Opal. The woman had one blue eye and one red eye with deep black hair. She had pulled off her dragon shaped helmet, and let her hair cascade out.

Raleigh, she said, its as I feared. They won't let up. Kronos insists that this is the way, but Talpa...he's being eaten alive by that blasted armor. It's worse than the Rage. He's being consumed by the terror that feeds it. It was wrong for them to make such a monster.

Raleigh looked up from her bow, she was much younger with short hair and lacking scars, My lady, the Hecatones are advancing. Our soldiers can only do so much.

The woman slammed her shield against the wall, I hate to ask for your father's help.

No, he would be more than willing to help after your help with hiding the light, Raleigh replied with an eager nod.

The Light was an easy task, child, she paused as she heard a soft cry from a nearby bed. She leaned over and shushed the child that Leea assumed was a young Ruby back to sleep, It's the ability to choose our Fate we're fighting for. The Elder Ones won't give it up. They want to control us so that they can feed off the humans. I won't be controlled any more. I want more for her.

Raleigh nodded, My father says the same for me.

The woman came back over and ran a hand over her beautiful red hair, I must go leave for the Earth.

Why ?

I must protect the Light, she paused, Talpa is going to lose that battle, Raleigh. I dare not ask this of you...

No! I am my father's honor!

Please, protect her from him, it's not the Hecatones that will consume him, its the armor. She started to leave the dimly lit chamber. I will find the Light.

Raleigh tried to protest but the woman went, There will be no more kingdom to fight for. Talpa has won, the humans will only know of our darkness. You must remain and wait for my return. If I don't return, please protect her. Even Talpa, with all his force, can destroy one of us who is so young. The ancients cannot protect us anymore.

Raleigh asked, Why would he destroy his own kin?

The woman shed her armor and placed two pearls with the sleeping child, because she can ware my armor, and that is more dangerous to him than anything else.

Leea broke from the vision as the healed warrior starred up at her. There was a flash of Talpa torturing her for just a moment. She hugged the girl instantly, weeping tears into her shirt that she instantly realized was Cye's. He had a certain style to him as all the ronins did.

She looked up at him and glared, "you better have been a gentleman about it."

He blushed, "of course."

Raleigh sat up and smiled, Thank you, Lady Leea.

"You're very welcome," she smiled and then asked solemnly, "what happened after Lady Nyx left?"

It's a bit fuzzy, because I spent most of it in the dungeons of Talpa's castle, she paused to rub the spots where the wounds used to be. But he exterminated as many Old Ones as he could, and took whatever the energy is that they feed off of. He learned to feed off of the humans somehow when he did. That's how built such a powerful army.

Cye sat on the other side of her, "Leea, do you see stuff when you heal people?"

"A little bit, when I healed Baroness, there was something wrong though...I don't know what."

It might not work on a Trickster of her caliber, Raleigh offered.

"What does that mean," Cye asked of the girl.

She is a lot older than I. I am part Trickster, part Old One, she paused to stretch a little. She is full Trickster, and one of the oldest ones. They have glamour, and ways to manipulate people but she doesn't seem right... I agree.

"Why is that," Leea asked.

She doesn't feed of any of the humans she's come into contact with. That's why they went to the deepest parts of the nether realm to hide, because in Elysium they can still feed off of human faith and hope. She doesn't seem to need any of that.

"Well, that's odd," Cye said to her, he was still a little red.

She looked at him and smiled,Perhaps she is some sort of new monster, like me.

"You're no monster," he said but then he looked outside. They heard some commotion outside and lightning striking the building. The lights promptly snuffed out and Raleigh stood up. She was ridiculously tall, and made Cye's shirt look like a midriff.

Leea looked at them, "What's wrong?"

"The nether realm," Cye hissed as he ran to the window that blew open. He could see gates appearing everywhere around Toyama. He saw Mia's car pull up, and he opened the door instantly. "Mia!"

"Cye, it's Talpa," she said as she ran for his stairs. There was another lightning strike nearby. "It's not just Toyama though! It's all of Japan!"

Leea gulped and held onto his arm, they had not told her much about the monster whose name kept popping up but she wondered if it would be worse than the Hecatones. Raleigh snarled and pulled out her transformation orb, it wasn't cracked like Baroness's had been.

Armor of The Silent Chains!

Her beautiful silver armor appeared in a flash and Leea had realized she left her transformation orb at home. She smacked her forehead lightly with her palm and Cye asked, "did you forget yours?"

"Sorta ya," Leea responded as Mia made it up the stairs. "Lynn and Stell should be fine, I checked back in on them after I left when I saw the clouds. I knew this was the nether realm."

Cye nodded and looked at Raleigh, "we need to regroup, Raleigh, but none of us have use of our armors..."

Leea blushed as Raleigh smiled and knelt before them, It would be my honor to help my ronin allies protect the Light.

Mia frowned at the warrior and then at her friends, then crossed her arms as she said, "my car will probably stop working again. It'll be a long walk back to my house, hopefully, they realize what's going on and will meet us half way. I should have designated a safe point, for situations like this."

"Mia, we didn't know this would happen again," Cye said with long sigh as well. He looked at his cell phone, it was already dead. "How about we start hoofing it?"