Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ Uncertainty ❯ Awakenings ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter 3: Awakenings

Sage woke to the sensation of being watched. He slowly lifted his head letting his blond bangs drift in front of his violet eyes, as he opened them. Violet eyes met a pair of unblinking tiger blue. Sage looked at Ryo, knowing that the young man was not yet aware that Sage had awoken. "Hey Ryo, how long have you been awake?" he asked softly.

Ryo jumped guiltily at being caught red handed staring at Sage's sleeping form. "Sa Sage . . . " he stuttered. "I didn't know you were awake." A slight blush began creeping its way across his cheeks.

"Obviously." Sage smiled at Ryo's discomfort. "It's ok, really Ryo. Anyone else awake in here?"

"Not that I know of, but I haven't been awake for very long. I still feel sort of weird. Not quite connected ya know?"

"Give it a little while. Your body needs to adjust to you being back. It almost shut down completely when you were in Cye's mind. You had me worried there for a minute."

"Oh yeah? What minute was that?" Ryo asked cheekily.

Sage gave the other boy a look that could kill, and he growled softly at Ryo's impertinence. "Damn it Ryo, it's not a joke" he hissed. Sage felt like yelling at the impudent boy but he did not want to wake the others. Instead he turned away in a huff.

"Aw come on Sage, you know I was only teasing ya. Please Sage?" Ryo looked at Sage's back, silently kicking himself for his bold comment. "Sage?" He still did not respond to Ryo's soft request. Ryo tried to sit up so that he could reach the swordsman's shoulder but his body refused to cooperate. He fell back against the pillows, gasping, his breathing ragged. He closed his eyes as a spasm of pain tore through his soul.

Sage turned at the sound, concern distorting his handsome features. He reached up a hand to brush Ryo's raven locks off of his forehead. "Just relax Ryo. You need to gain your strength back. Don't worry about it. You are going to be off kilter somewhat for a little while, but your balance will return."

Ryo opened his tiger eyes once again and contemplated the ever calm blond. "Could you help me to sit up?"

"Sure, Ryo." Sage gently placed his arms beneath Ryo, lifting him up and turning him sideways so that he could lean Ryo up against the wall. Sage knew that Ryo's muscles were protesting the movement but he never said a word about it. "There, is that better?"

"Yeah, so how long have I been out?"

Sage looked down at the gold watch that Mia had given to him last Christmas. It was a little before four in the morning. "You've probably been out for about six hours or so." Sage pushed his bangs back out of his eyes only to watch it fall right back in place. Sage sighed, exasperated.

"Um Sage, you uh notice something different about this room?" Ryo asked the blond.

"Hmmm, what do you mean?"

"Well, look Sage. The room is clean. I mean totally spotless. Wasn't there like feathers in here earlier? So, who cleaned up the mess?"

Sage looked around the room and sure enough, there were no feathers anywhere. The furniture had all been turned upright and the vase of flowers was sitting on Cye's bookshelf with fresh water in it. "Hmm, you think Kento cleaned it up? Or possibly Mia?"

Ryo jerked perceptibly at the mention of Mia's name. "Oh god, Mia! She has no idea what has been going on. We have to tell her what happened." Ryo struggled to gain his feet but fell weakly against Sage's upright form. He didn't have the strength to stand on his own, let alone walk down the hall to Mia's room.

"And where exactly do you think you are going?"

"I have to get to Mia and tell her . . . " Ryo's voice trailed off as Sage unceremoniously and without any preamble simply scooped Ryo up into his arms and placed him back into the bed, laying the dark-haired figure down gently. Ryo was confused. "Sage?"

Sage pursed his lips, looking down at the stubborn young man before him. "Stay here, Ryo. I'll go find her. But if she's asleep, I am not, I repeat, I am not waking her. This can all wait till morning. Agreed?"

Ryo shrugged his shoulders noncommittal but knowing that Sage would not leave until he agreed. "Guess so" he mumbled.

"Good, now stay put. I will be back in a few minutes. Do you want me to bring you something to eat?"

"Nah, I am not hungry. But something to drink would be good. Perhaps some juice?" Ryo asked sleepily, the pull of unconsciousness luring him back to its fathomless depths.

"All right, be back in a flash." Sage smiled as he saw Ryo's eyes close. 'Good, he needs his rest.' Sage turned away from Ryo's figure and headed across the room to Cye. Looking down at the slender form of Torrent, Sage let out an exasperated sigh. "Cye, what have you gotten yourself into this time?" he whispered softly. Placing his cool hands on Cye's forehead, Sage was relieved to feel that Cye's temperature appeared to be returning to normal, though it was still alarmingly high. Sage let his mind wander down his link with Cye, to see how the water bearer was faring. He never noticed the darkness that claimed his body, as his mind sailed into the light that was Cye's existence.

A blast of cool wind assailed Sage's nostrils as his mind touched Cye's. The wind shifted in form as the nearby lake water began to steam. A figure emerged drenched from the water to stand in front of Sage. "Sage?" the figure queried, not comprehending. 'What was he doing here?'

"Hi Cye, how you feeling?" Sage asked still not comprehending that he was somewhere that he should not be.

Cye opened his mouth but no words came out. He simply stood looking at Sage, totally baffled. The chaos that had been Cye's mind several hours ago had coalesced into some semblance of order, but there were still a few areas that Cye needed to work through before his mind would be totally at peace. Sage being here was confusing his already fever ridden mind. He tried his voice once again and found it this time around. "Sage, you have to get out. What are you trying to do? Fall victim like Ryo? I told you all through Ryo that I would wake up after I sorted out some things. You were not supposed to end up behind by barriers again. Sage are you listening to me?"

The blond swordsman simply stared at the unfamiliar surroundings. So wrapped up in his own thoughts that he did not even hear Cye talking to him.

"SAGE!!!" Torrent screamed at his friend to snap out of it. Cye concentrated on keeping the link open. "You must go now my friend. The other's need you, I need you." Cye finished softly. "You can't stay here. You have to wake up. DAMN it Sage. GO!!!" Cye started to push against Halo's chest sending him crashing back to the darkness of the room.

Halos' mind spun as he came back into contact with his solid body. He tried to stand up but felt his legs give out, like they were made of jello. He fell back, hitting his head against the chair that Rowen had vacated a little while ago. Halo slipped into the blessed void as bright lights formed behind his eyes.

Rowen heard a slight crash as he was heading back upstairs. He had awoken about an hour ago, with his stomach rumbling. So he had gone downstairs to raid the refrigerator. A frown formed on the archer's lips as he ran the rest of the way upstairs, worried that something else might have happened. He met Mia at the top of the stairs looking worriedly down the hall. She too must have heard the noise. She was clad only in a soft terry robe that looked as if it was thrown on in haste over her short t-shirt that she had obviously worn to bed that night. "Mia" he called to her softly so as not to startle her.

"Oh Rowen, there you are. What is going on? I come home to find you all passed out in Cye's room and the room looked like a tornado had ripped through it. I tried to wake you guys up but not one of you stirred. So, I went about cleaning up the room, before I headed back to my room to sleep but couldn't. I was too worried about you guys not responding to my presence in any way. I was just going to check on you guys again when I heard that thumping noise. What is going on?" she asked again desperately, needing an answer that Rowen himself could not give her.

Rowen looked at the older girl, knowing that she meant well, but he simply did not have the time to answer her right now. He had a niggling feeling in the back of his mind that something wasn't right. Reaching out to the others through their link, he was rewarded with a brief touch from Kento and Ryo, but no Cye or Sage. Cye not responding was expected since he had withdrawn into himself but what about Sage? Even Ryo's mind touched his briefly, comfortingly though weak. Rowen brushed past Mia with a muttered apology as he headed for Cye's door. He paused briefly as he began to open the door, dreading what he would find.

Rowen blinked a few times to let his eyes adjust to the darkness of the room. The only light was emanating from Cye's bubbling fish tank in the left corner of the room and a soft night light with a sea shell covering the bulb near the doorway. At first, nothing seemed amiss but as Rowen's eyes adjusted, he could only make out the forms of three of his friends. Kento was still snoring peacefully on the floor near the center of the room, Ryo was breathing evenly on Hardrock's bed, Cye was still sleeping peacefully next to the chair that Rowen had been previously sitting on, and Sage was where? Rowen narrowed his blue eyes looking for the blond warrior as he moved deeper into the room. He could sense Sage's presence, so he knew that he was here. 'So why don't I see him?' Rowen growled in frustration.

He reached the chair and started to move it out of his way, when a light coming from the floor caught his attention. Something winked up at him as Rowen bent over to see what the object was. His hand closed around the shiny object and gasping in shock, realization set in. The object that Rowen was currently holding was Sage's gold watch, and it was Sage's arm that Rowen was currently holding. Rowen groped forward finding Sage's unconscious face. "Sage?" No answer.

The room was suddenly bathed in a glow of soft white light as the ceiling light was turned on. Rowen looked back over his shoulder to find Mia staring wide eyed at the figure on the floor. "Mia? What's the matter?"

Mia simply pointed mutely at the still figure in Rowen's arms. Rowen looked down and gasped again as he saw the red stain that was blossoming out from under Sage's head. Rowen gently turned Sage over so that he could see the wound. "Mia, could you get me a new washcloth from the bathroom, please?"

"Sure." Mia disappeared only to return a minute later with a couple of new wash cloths and a couple of towels for Rowen. She handed them to the teen who muttered his thanks. She then sat back, watching over the other three unconscious figures. Curiosity gnawing at her soul, she was dying to know what was going on but she knew that now was not the time to ask.

Rowen reached for the basin of water that was still by Cye's bedside as he dipped one of the new wash cloths into the lukewarm water. Squeezing out the excess water, he began to clean the wound on Sage's head, wondering how this could have happened. After a minute, the wound was clearly visible. Rowen sighed with relief. It was not that bad, the bleeding had slowed to a slight trickle. He never noticed the soft green glow emanating from Sage's body as the Halo armor attempted to heal its owner. But Mia did.

Mia coughed slightly, gaining Rowen's attention. "Is he all right? I mean I saw his armor healing him."

Rowen looked surprised, but sure enough glancing back at his friend, he caught the last residues of the green aura as it faded away. Rowen reached up gently to probe the wound area and found it completely healed as if it was never there, but he knew Sage was going to have one hell of a headache when he woke up. "Yeah, I think so."

"Good, now would you please tell me what is going on?"

Rowen looked up at the determined figure and sighed. "Sure, just let me put Sage somewhere comfortable." Rowen gently picked up the swordsman and for lack of a better place, he gently placed Sage next to Ryo on Kento's bed. Ryo stirred slightly but did not awaken. Rowen turned from the pair and headed out the door, motioning for Mia to follow him.

She did so without hesitation. "So?"

Rowen sighed as he headed downstairs to the living room, refusing to say anything for now. It was late and he was starting to feel the effects of the strenuous evening. He flopped down on the couch, one arm behind his head as a pillow, the other across his closed eyes. "Mia, do we have to do this now? I haven't had any sleep tonight and I am sooo tired." His voice started to trail off as sleep claimed him.

"Well, I guess not." Mia said to no one in particular since Rowen was out cold. She carefully draped a blanket around Rowen's shoulders as he moaned in his sleep. She sighed as she settled on the floor near the couch. Wrapping herself up in a large quilt, she let sleep claim her soul as well.