"She used to be my sunshine, now we've
grown apart. Night is falling in my heart.
Oh, the light is slowly fading, skies are
growing dark. Night is falling in my heart."
-Diamond Rio, "Night is falling in my Heart"

***
Chapter 8:
The Hostages
By Satori Shiro and Darster

The throne room is in its usual dark and gloomy state. Lord ShadowRaven sat on his throne, making the plans, and revising some, for the upcoming battle with the mortals of this dimension. He was able to conquer his home world and the Nether Realm, and now he hungers for more. As he was conquering the Nether Realm, he stumbled on to some useful information. Apparently, it seems as though Talpa did not get a chance to use it. Such a pity, he mused to himself, this is the start of something much greater than that moron ever dreamed of.
Only one thing seemed to nag at his victory, slowly eating pieces of it away. Even dead, the Warlord of Cruelty thwarted his plans. However, it was not Anubis himself, but his descendant, and current incarnation troubling him. No wonder Talpa had hidden the Armor of Nature deep within the Nether Realms, hoping it would never be found, or used against him. Ah Talpa, you fool, ShadowRaven gloated, betrayed by your own Warlord.
Anubis had taken the Stone of Protection to the mortal realm, and his family, knowing someone in the lineage was destined to unlock its powers…and she had. There would be no corrupting this one as Talpa had done her ancestor so many years ago. Her spirit was too strong. No, he would have to neutralize Mother Nature another way, but how? He dismissed the thought, concentrating on other matters for the moment. Like that elusive child, The Keeper of the Gates. The Phoenix has been doing her best to protect this world and the child, but this shall soon end, and I will win, he thought.
"Come to me, my shadow warrior," he bellowed through the castle.
Appearing before him, a mass of the darkest shadow formed into something that resembled a human being wearing a suit of armor. The armor consisted of spikes and a sword. The bearer's face was hidden in the mask of the helmet. The master watched the armored figure for quite some time before speaking.
"I want you to bring the chosen one to me when she is found. And I wish her to be alive." The dark figure did not even budge one bit as the energy that came from the master surrounded him. "Don't let anything stop you from this mission. Now go and wait till I call for you."
The armored soldier bowed and then disappeared in a swirl of smoke and shadows. ShadowRaven watched as Lady Kimiko entered through the dissipating mists and purred in approval.
"I see you are ready for your battle my dear. And you have some news for me?"
She bowed deeply to him, all of her doubts removed now. "Yes, My Lord. My spies have come across another group that may be of some use to you."
The dream portal opened with a flip of ShadowRaven's wrist. It settled on a small battle involving the girl and the man her spy described. It seemed the plans for their capture were already in motion.
"Only the girl seems to have any concern for the Phoenix child," she continued in explanation. "The other has other motives that I cannot ascertain."
"Ah, but I can, my lady. He will be quite valuable to us, to you especially."
These mortals amazed him. The solution to his problems wandered right into his trap, his neutralizing agent, so to speak. These two foolish mortals just insured his victory.
"To me, my lord?" She asked, slightly confused.
He ignored her question, as he grew thoughtful, remembering an afterthought. "Your lieutenants do know to capture them alive, I presume."
She nodded. "Yes my lord, but what if there is any resistance?"
ShadowRaven cackled aloud, quite amused with her last statement. "Ah, but my dear, I did not say 'how' alive."
Lady Kimiko merely smiled, turning back toward the portal.

Y r S w T

Rei sat there for a while not knowing what else to do. They sat at the table not saying much. Abruptly she got up and went back up the stairs. Mia, startled by her sudden departure, could only stare at the space where she'd been moments before.
Rei came back down the stairs to the kitchen with her backpack in her hands. She sat down at the table and started to dig around in her bag. White Blaze padded over to see what was in the bag.
"White Blaze," she scolded the tiger as his large head interfered with her search, "I need to get, ah, here it is." Rei pulled out an old leather bound book. "This is the cause of all the trouble."
Triumphantly, she held the book up for Mia to see as White Blaze continued to go through the bag at her feet. He brought his head out of the bag with a small pouch in his mouth.
"This is a book of old legends and myths that my mother gave me."
"Legends?" This caught Mia's full attention. "May I see that?"
"Sure."
She handed the book over to Mia to look at. White Blaze placed his head on Rei's lap and dropped the small pouch there. Rei looked at the tiger and then the pouch.
"What do ya got there, ya thief?" She opened the pouch and found a gold necklace that looked as though the medallion missed half of itself. Rei shook her pack to see if the other half was in there. She scowled in frustration as her search came up empty. There had to be another half…she just knew it! But where was it?
Mia flipped through the book to see what it contained. To her surprise, there was quite a bit of information on the Samurai Troopers. Samurai Troopers?? She read a bit more and gasped. It was about the Ronins and their yorois! Eagerly, she turned the pages to see all nine of the Ronin armors described in detail, as well as stories of famous battles and the like. Mia skipped to the end of that section to find a very short section describing what seemed to be a tenth armor, though the only thing pictured was a white jewel swirled in the pattern of a five pointed star. Engrossed, she read on to find that this jewel was known as the Stone of Protection, the key to an armor so powerful that it must be hidden away.
Mia inhaled sharply as realization hit her like a blast of cold water. Didn't Rei just tell her that the strange girl who looked like Anubis wore a necklace with a white stone? What if…??
"Rei, take a look at this," Mia insisted, shoving the book at her. "Is this the jewel that the girl you saw was wearing?"
A yawn greeted her from across the table, seemingly the only response Rei was able to make. Mia looked at her with concern, and noticed the dark circles under her eyes. "When was the last time you slept?"
"Can't 'member," Rei mumbled sleepily. White Blaze stretched and stood, then he bumped his head into Rei's hand, trying to direct her to the couch in the living room.
"What?" She protested as the tiger nudged her again.
"He's right, you should rest. This can wait till you are refreshed."
"But…oh never mind."
Rei couldn't argue with that, and walked into the living room behind White Blaze. Mia followed, holding the book that Rei valued so much. Rei lay down on the couch, closed her eyes, and immediately fell into a deep sleep. White Blaze retrieved an afghan and covered the sleeping girl with it. The large tiger circled once, and laid protectively in front of the sofa, eyeing Mia through half closed eyelids.
Mia settled herself in a nearby chair and opened the strange book again, becoming deeply involved in its readings. Perhaps there would be some useful information here, and then she would check her computer. Maybe her journals and this book would help make sense of these strange happenings.

Y r S w T

The ronins went tearing through the forest trying their best to get through without having to mow the trees down in the process. Ryo was in the lead, with Rowen and the others right on his heels. Ryo was in a big hurry for he was afraid for Mia's life. He had already lost Yulie and he was not planning on losing her, too.
Auburn was bringing up the rear of the group when this overwhelming feeling knocked her for a loop. She was not sure what it meant, but one thing was for sure, she was not going to like it. As if to punctuate it, she heard a hawk's cry piercing the air. No, she thought worriedly. Not Cody…they couldn't possibly know… Nevertheless, the deep dread nagged at her, and wouldn't let her alone.
"Guys," she said as she stopped. "I have to go back."
"Why? What's wrong?" Sage asked her as they stopped and looked at her.
"I don't know. I just have a feeling, and I need to do something." I can't waste time debating over this, boys, she thought as she backpedaled toward the way they came.
"Wait, why don't I go with you?" Cye offered. He sensed there was something wrong and he didn't want her to go by herself.
"No, that's okay. Besides, that girl needs you elsewhere. I'll find you."
She smiled and then ran off. They watched as she ran through the trees until they could not see her any more. Everyone just stood there not know what was going on.
"Let her go," Ryo said finally. "We have to get to Mia's and make sure everything's okay."
"But…" Cye protested, getting a bad feeling.
"She can take care of herself. She did kick Cale's butt after all," Kento said, finalizing Ryo's decision.
They continued on, all feeling a sense of dread, and this time Cye picked up the rear. He tugged the chain around his neck and pulled out an odd blue jewel that looked like Auburn's stone. It glowed suddenly, and before Cye could react, he disappeared in a wash of blue light. Too busy worrying about Mia, the others never noticed he was gone.

Y r S w T

Cody and Keiko ran through the woods not really knowing what to do or where they were going. Cody had a vague feeling that all this had to have something to do with his beloved, and that by being here, he'd put her in greater danger. The back of his neck prickled, and his mind screamed danger as he yanked Keiko to the ground. Keiko yelped in protest but quieted as she realized how close she was to becoming a shish-ka-bob. Another arrow whizzed by overhead, but they quickly got up and started to run again.
"Man this is one, eventful day," she huffed as she followed him.
"Par for the course," he muttered. "Let's just hope we don't bogey."
Keiko ducked another arrow and ran right into him in the process. They kept on going until they ran into a dead end. The forest walled them in on three sides, and the shadow warriors surrounded them on the fourth.
"Now what?"
"We stand and we fight."
"You have got to be kidding!"
"You got any better ideas?" he shot back at her as he watched the shadow demons surrounding them on all sides. "I, for one, am definitely not going with THEM." Man, Auburn, what have you gotten yourself into. What have you gotten ME into, he asked himself?
Three demons jumped at them at once. Keiko screamed as she saw them coming right at them. Cody pushed her away and fried the oncoming demons with an empathic blast, the ferocity of which sent him reeling. He didn't think he could concentrate that much power, but he blessed Auburn for teaching him how.
Too late, he realized that the demons wanted him to push her away because at that moment Keiko's shadow grew into a big circle that quickly started to pull her in. Three more shadows jumped at him as his shadow, too, started to expand. Dumbly, he stood there, drained of energy, waiting for the inevitable.

Y r S w T

A tall, lean woman in battle armor stood in front of the dream portal with a smile on her lips. She watched a battle that was unfolding right in front of her.
Lady Kimiko laughed as she watched the young man's futile attempt in protecting the girl. How pathetic, she thought to herself. But then again, she had to admire his reckless courage. As she watched, she noticed another figure headed their way. It's that girl! She practically screamed in outrage, not believing what she saw! The girl ran toward them in full battle armor. She had not expected to see the girl but she should have. In that instant, she saw the tie that linked her and the boy, and the reason the master wanted him taken.
"Suma, you will be having company soon. Go and attend to this problem at once. Dais is on his way to deal with the boy for you."
With that, she cut the link and called for the warlord of illusion. He was not at all happy to see her.
"I have a job for you," she said before he could say anything.
"I have better things to do at the moment, so if you would make this quick…" he said darkly to her.
"I want you to capture a certain person." She said, more of a command then an order.
"Oh and why should I do this?" He folded his arms defiantly as his good eye stared at her.
"My lieutenants are busy with other things at the moment, and I saw that you weren't doing anything, so I called you."
"Why don't you go yourself?"
"Because I have some things to attend to for the master. If you have a problem with my orders, take it up with Raven." She smirked for she knows he wouldn't dare to mess with the master when he is in a foul mood.
"Fine." Dais left as quickly as he had entered. Kimiko turned back to the portal to see that Dais had joined the fray. From what it looked liked, he joined just in time. The young man was actually defeating the shadow warriors and husk soldiers.
This is going to be interesting, she thought darkly as she watched them battle it out in the portal.

Y r S w T

White light suddenly lashed out around them, and Cody and Keiko both toppled to the ground as the demons disappeared and the shadowy gateways let go their hold. More demons moved in to capture them, but the white battle aura surrounding them held the spirits at bay.
This isn't my power, he thought, my channeling is not that strong. Fervently, he wondered where the focus of power had come from until he shifted position and heard the clink of a metal chain around his neck, as well as Bird's piercing cry above him. The Stone of Protection rested against his chest, responding to the aura of its nearby owner. Lightning cracked out of a clear sky, and a gaping hole appeared in the ground where Nether Spirits stood a moment before. He couldn't see her, but he could feel her presence.
:What the hell are you just standing there for? Get out of here, NOW!:
Auburn's voice commanded him into movement, and he pulled Keiko up beside him, and sprinted away from the battle.
"Come on! They're distracted!"
"What the hell…?" Keiko exclaimed, not knowing how close to the truth she was. She followed him until he broke into a small clearing on a hidden path. More blasts exploded behind them and Cody turned back toward the fight. Auburn would never fight them all off herself, armor or not.
"Stay here," he ordered Keiko, "I'm going back."
"You are nuts!!" She yelled to his retreating form.
She didn't have time to ponder it further as a mass of husk soldiers moved in around her, and the shadowy gateway opened behind her, sucking her in before she could utter a sound.

Dais yawned as he watched the girl disappear into the Nether Realm where that bitch Kimiko could handle her, since the other two seemed too much. Too easy, he thought. The boy would be a much greater challenge, at least he hoped. If Kimiko had wasted his time, there would be hell to pay.
He chuckled to himself as he watched the young fool charge recklessly back into the fray, where a force of soldiers greeted him. As long as Suma kept the girl busy, this would be a piece of cake.

Auburn felt as though she swam in a sea of demons and darkness. Every time she defeated one batch, another batch of soldiers swarmed in around her. She tired quickly, and realized she couldn't keep this up too much longer.
The smell of burning and rotting flesh reached her, and she glanced to her left to see Cody's trademark fireballs destroying the spirits left and right. Mildly surprised, she noted that the Stone of Protection enhanced his abilities as well as it enhanced hers. Because of their psychic link, she inferred. The surprise wore off quickly, replaced by worry, frustration and anger.
"You idiot!" She screamed at him over the clash of the battle. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?!?"
"Shut up and fight!" he growled, turning so he and Auburn fought back to back. "We can talk about this later."
With a wave of her hand, she recalled the jewel back to her, as yet another wave of Nether spirits overwhelmed them.
"We can't keep this up," Cody said, exhausted, as he fired off yet another empathic blast.
"There has to be a power focus somewhere. That's the only way they could be coming this fast," Auburn replied.
From overhead, Bird directed her vision to a woman's figure hidden in the shadows. She directed the warriors toward them, and seemed to be enjoying their struggles. Cody picked up Bird's thoughts and glanced over to the shadow, then back to Auburn.
:Tag Team?: he asked
:Clear a path, we'll see who laughs last.: she replied angrily.
Auburn drew her sword, and Cody tapped his reserve energy and conjured a ball of flame. With a nod from Auburn, he loosed it, yelling, "Laugh this off lady!"
"Frozen Tundra Squall!" She cried, loosing the icy surekill toward Kimiko's lieutenant.
The fireball cleared the remaining demons out of the way, and the ice blast shot unerringly toward the unsuspecting woman, encasing her in a frozen case. With their focus of power cut off, the remaining attackers vanished. Auburn sighed in relief and looked around, then did a double take as she realized that Cody, Bird, and the rest of the forest had also.
She didn't move. Darkness surrounded her, but her armor told her she still stood within the trees. She closed her eyes and reached out through her shields, searching for Cody, but the only thing that reached her ears was the hawk's panicked cry…
:NOOOO!:
Cody's cry of pain screamed through their soul link, and she fell to her knees as the excruciating pain slammed through to her, then doubled as her and Bird's secondary link opened. Not him, she panicked, Bird…oh god, no…
She forced her eyes open and saw the illusion drop. A man with long white hair picked up Cody's unconscious body and opened a Gate into the otherworld. She struggled to stand and defend him until she saw his hawk on the ground beside her, shot down by a Dynasty archer.
God no, she thought, if Bird dies… She cradled the hawk's unmoving form and cried, frozen in empathic shock.
Bright blue light flashed behind her, and Cye appeared, surveying the situation. Who the hell, he thought, watching the strange man walk toward the Dynasty Gate, holding an unconscious boy in his arms. More blocked memories resurfaced in Cye's mind, and he remembered that this was a friend of Auburn's. No wonder she turned back.
"Let him go," Cye commanded, armoring up and readying his surekill.
"I would be more worried about that bird if I were you, Torrent. If it dies, so does he," the man said, walking into the portal with his prisoner.
Cye could only stare in shock as the portal closed. How did he know me? He pushed the thought aside as Auburn's anguished sobs reached his ears. He knelt down beside her, and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"What happened?"
"Never mind," she managed between tears. "Get us back to the others, I need Sage's help."
"I can't…I don't even know how I got here."

**************
to be continued…

Konnichwa! I see that you have returned to this realm and because of this, I am very glad. This story is kind of confusing, isn't? Characters of all sorts, heroes and villains alike, are just jumping out of the woodworks! Well, I hope you enjoy the story for there is more to come! Suggestions, Comments, etc., are all welcome in my domain!
-Satori ^_^